It's over. I'm a kid too. Shinichi Kudo, still adjusting to this bizarre reality, froze at Sora's approach, unable to react in time.
Then…
Sora reached out… and yanked Shinichi to the roadside.
"Damn it! Walk on the side, you trying to die? Watch it, you little brat!"
A truck sped by, leaving only the driver's curses and a splash of puddle water. Drenched, Shinichi sneezed.
"Let's head back? I'd like to change clothes," said Sora, who had just saved a life, watching the truck disappear, slightly surprised.
Thanks to Shinichi's detour, they'd taken a longer route, yet still stumbled into this classic scene.
The rain wasn't heavy but relentless, and Sora was clad only in a coat. Though his child's body covered all it needed to avoid public indecency, it was drafty.
After this incident, Shinichi seemed to realize things might not be as he'd assumed. This guy didn't seem intent on eliminating him—in fact, he'd just saved his life.
Shinichi had been distracted. Without that pull, the driver wouldn't have had the chance to yell.
They walked in silence for a while, the child's body tiring Shinichi quickly. Finally, unable to hold back, he spoke again: "Who are you?"
Who am I? A good question, Sora mused.
Since crossing over, he'd been pondering what identity to adopt in this familiar yet strange world, wearing Shinichi Kudo's face. An amnesiac orphan? A non-amnesiac orphan? He'd considered many roles, but Shinichi's odd deduction sparked a new idea.
"I'm Shinichi Kudo."
Hmph, again?
"You're Shinichi Kudo too."
Obviously.
"We're both Shinichi Kudo." Sora stopped, turning with a playful look at the stunned Shinichi. "This evening, Shinichi Kudo ditched Ran Mouri to tail two suspicious men in black. But one of them got behind him, knocked him out with a blow, and forced a strange drug down his throat. When he woke up—"
"Not only had he become a child, but he'd split into two people. You," Sora pointed at Shinichi, "and me."
The air seemed to freeze. Sora could clearly hear Shinichi's breathing grow heavier. Then—
"Who'd believe that?!"
"Fair… but you've seen it. We're both kids now."
"Splitting into two people is absurd!"
"Is shrinking into a kid any less absurd? That defies physics."
"…That's still more plausible than splitting into two."
"Then let's test it."
"Huh?"
"If someone has Shinichi Kudo's appearance and his memories, who else could they be but Shinichi Kudo?"
…
Minutes later.
"What was the last thing I said to Dr. Agasa?"
"Doc, forgot to tell you, your zipper's down."
…He knows that? Shinichi sank into deep doubt. He'd asked a barrage of questions only he should know, yet this guy answered effortlessly.
He even remembered things more clearly than Shinichi did.
"When you eliminate the impossible, whatever remains, no matter how improbable, must be the truth."
"Not necessarily," Shinichi squinted. "Maybe you've been spying on me since I was a kid, so you know almost everything about me."
"Why not go further? Maybe your life's just a show on a screen, everyone around you an actor, and your so-called life is just entertainment for others. How's that?"
"…Hey, come on." Shinichi's eyes narrowed, head throbbing. Compared to that, swallowing a weird drug and splitting into two didn't seem so bad.
A stray dog darted out from somewhere, startling Shinichi slightly. It barked twice at them, then vanished.
Sora watched it go, much like he'd watched the truck, then sighed, deciding to speed things up.
"By the way, you've been asking me questions. My turn."
Shinichi blinked.
"What were we thinking about before bed last night?"
…Last night before bed? Oh, right, since we planned to go to the amusement park with Ran today… Shinichi flushed slightly, but a bad feeling crept in. No way…
"Oh, right," Sora answered himself. "We were thinking about Ran. What was she doing?"
"She was wearing a white…" Sora continued, but Shinichi, as if stung, leapt forward, trying to cover Sora's mouth to stop him.
It didn't work.
Sora casually stepped to the right, dodging.
"…wedding dress. Under dim yellow light, Ran glared at someone with resentment, utterly unwilling—" Sora said slowly, as Shinichi, who'd missed, stiffened, "—unwillingly reading Sherlock Holmes to that jerk named Shinichi Kudo."
"Tch, I'm pretty awful."
Shinichi, nearly crashing into a lamppost, turned. Even in the dim light, his face was as red as a certain black-clad organization member's stance.
Silence stretched for minutes.
As Sora switched from counting sheep to counting mice, Shinichi finally broke the quiet.
"So… we're both… ugh… split from Shinichi Kudo?"
"Exactly."
"But your personality's clearly different." Shinichi grasped at straws, pointing out a flaw.
"Because I'm Shinichi Kudo's subconscious, and you're his conscious mind," Sora yawned, patching his story.
Shinichi was skeptical, but after tonight's madness—shrinking into a kid, something unscientific—splitting into two didn't seem that far-fetched—
Like hell it did!
This was way too unscientific!
Calm down, Shinichi Kudo. Stay calm.
He took a mental deep breath, trying to sort out the chaos.
First, this guy looked identical to him, down to the same injury. Second, he knew things only Shinichi should know, even thoughts he'd had.
"Fine, 'subconscious,'" Shinichi sighed. "What do we do now?"
"Go home and change, obviously," Sora replied. "Conscious."
Shinichi wasn't fully convinced, but with no better explanation, he reluctantly accepted the setup for now. They fell silent again, heading toward the Kudo residence.
Shinichi lagged half a step, letting Sora lead.
Sora knew he was testing if he knew the way home.
Shinichi knew Sora knew he was testing him.
These subtle probes would likely continue, but for now, both walked the streets as Shinichi Kudo.
It was late, raining lightly, with only the occasional truck passing and no pedestrians, sparing them trouble. They were, after all, kids in oversized high schooler clothes. When Shinichi started panting, they arrived.
The Kudo residence.
Sora glanced next door. Dr. Agasa's house looked like it had recently suffered a small explosion—part of a wall was down, and faint light suggested the invention-obsessed doctor was still working.
Shinichi jumped, trying to reach the gate's latch.
"Hey, stop staring and help."
"You crouch, I'll do it."
Shinichi rolled his eyes but squatted, letting his "subconscious" step on his shoulders to reach the latch. Sora unlatched it and hopped down.
He could've opened it without stepping on Shinichi, though.
Without waiting for Shinichi to stand, Sora walked in, retrieved the key from memory, opened the door, and headed straight to Shinichi's bedroom.
This was to deepen Shinichi's trust.
Shinichi trailed behind, watching this guy navigate the house as familiarly as he did, and sighed again. He, Shinichi Kudo, heir to Sherlock Holmes, might've actually split.
(End of Chapter)