"Heeeh? So, it really was them then?"

"Mhm. It would appear so."

Furuya Reiko and her mother were currently sitting in their living, with a serious expression gracing each of their faces. Honestly, if somebody were to walk in on them, they would probably end up feeling very confused for multiple reasons. One, nobody would ever expect to see the type of expression Reiko had donned, on a child. Two, the conversation itself was extremely strange and somewhat cryptic. And finally, the both of them were slurping up ramen like it didn't break the mood whatsoever. 

The ramen was a necessity, though. They were hungry. 

Criminal organizations be damned. 

"That's certainly troubling," Haruna sighed. "I was really hoping to keep anybody else from getting involved with them." She slurped up some more ramen before giving her daughter a pointed glance. "I wasn't even wanting to get you involved."

Reiko also took a slurp of her ramen as she tried to hide a small smirk. "Too bad I'm nosy, huh?"

"Too bad you're nosy." Haruna confirmed with a small smile. While she wanted to keep her daughter safe and away from such dangerous things, she couldn't deny that she appreciated having somebody to always help her out. Plus, she hated keeping secrets from her most precious person. "Which is why I'm sure that you know what we need to do next…"

Haruna and Reiko exchanged mischievous grins. 

"How busy do you think Auntie Yukiko and Uncle Yusaku are these days?"

Sluuuurp~

****

It had been ten days, and Conan was on his way to making a full recovery. During the past week and a half, Ran had finally found out about Reiko having made friends with Conan and the Detective Boys. Apparently, Conan had 'forgotten' to mention to her about the new addition to class, so there was a fair bit of confusion on Ran's part when she first noticed the young blonde at the hospital. And now, the kids, excluding Haibara, along with Ran and Sonoko were all visiting and were just receiving some very good news. 

"What? Really?!"

"Yes," the Doctor smiled at the two teenage girls as the kids had all gone over to play some video games with Conan. "The important organs weren't damaged, and his recovery has been great. Looks like he can go home in two or three days."

"That's great!" Ran seemed to light up at the news. 

"But because the surgery made him weak," the Doctor started to add. "He has a small upper windpipe infection."

"Windpipe infection?" 

"A cold!"

The trio glanced over to where the kids were playing games. Well… Conan was the one actually playing on the handheld device that the kids had brought. Meanwhile, Ayumi, Genta, and Mitsuhiko were all shouting around him. 

"The game's not bad, right?!" Genta grinned. 

"It's really popular at school!" Ayumi told Conan cheerfully as the boy started getting into the game. 

"Ah, over there!" Mitsuhiko pointed out on the screen. "There, to the left!"

Reiko stood a bit off to the side, shaking her head in amusement. Video games weren't really her thing, so she was just calmly standing by. It totally wasn't because she sucked at video games. Not at all. And if Conan tried to say anything otherwise, he was definitely lying.

"Alright!" Sonoko walked over and plucked the game out of Conan's hands. "Game over! The patient has to return to his room." Ran grabbed ahold of Conan's wheelchair. "It's late. You guys better go home."

"Sorry, everyone," Ran apologized as she started pushing Conan away as the Detective Boys began yelling their goodbyes. Reiko was tagging along with the highschoolers, though, as she had permission to stay late. Plus, she was one of the few kids that Sonoko could stand long periods of time with. 

As they walked along the hall, Sonoko and Ran began discussing the play their school was going to be doing. 

"If he can go home in two or three days," Sonoko remembered. "That's just when school starts getting busy."

"If it's in three days, then that's when we're performing in the play," Ran noted. 

"What are you gonna do?" the highschool heiress asked. "You have to pick up this kid, but you'll be busy all day."

"I'll get my dad to help."

"So," Sonoko grinned a bit slyly, sharing a hidden smirk with Reiko. For some reason, those two always seemed to get along unusually well. Maybe it was the fact that they were partners in crime when it came to teasing the two lovebirds. "Did you tell him?"

"Who?" Poor Ran seemed so confused. 

"Shinichi!" Said boy looked nervous as Sonoko threw out his name like it was supposed to be obvious. "If he heard you're gonna be the main actress, he has to rush back to see it! Right, Reiko?!"

"Mhm!" Reiko nodded with enthusiasm, ignoring the exasperated glare she was receiving from Conan. 

"He won't do that," Ran smiled, shaking her head a little. "But... it doesn't matter anymore… I'll be happy so long as Conan can get better and come see the play." She looked down at the boy. "You will come, right?"

Sonoko and Reiko glanced at each other with raised eyebrows. Reiko, of course, knew what it was all about, but she was still young and didn't particularly understand the whole sexual tension thing. It was safe to say that while Reiko loved to ship people and get them together, she was by no means an expert on how actual relationships or romance worked. 

"Oh…" Conan looked a bit surprised as well as nervous as he answered. "I will…"

"What's this?" Sonoko looked at them with deadpanned confusion. "How come I sense something sappy?" Suddenly, she pointed lazily at a somewhat panicking Conan. "You're not taking your love for Shinichi and putting it on this kid, are you?"

"What are you talking about?!" Ran protested as Reiko snickered at her cousin's expression. 

"You heard her Reiko. She didn't deny anything," Sonoko leaned down to dramatically 'whisper' in the child's ear. "We need you to get your cousin here ASAP before Ran forgets about him!"

Reiko, in turn, gave the teenager a very serious salute.

"Aah, Sonoko-neechan!" Conan tried to divert the conversation away from him. "What happened to your wrist?!"

His blonde cousin could only narrow her eyes and pout at him for the sudden change in conversation. To which he, in turn, responded like a true adult and stuck out his tongue without anyone other than them noticing. 

Reiko placed a hand over her heart in offense. 

Much hurt. Very betrayal. 

"Oh, this?" Sonoko held up her bandaged wrist, falling for the diversion. "I sprained it during practice, so I can't play the knight anymore."

"But luckily, we have a great replacement," Ran was apparently choosing to look on the bright side of things. 

"Do we know them?" Reiko asked curiously, her attention now away from Conan. 

"Ah, you might not know him, Reiko-chan," Ran smiled kindly down at the girl. "Conan-kun might remember him, though. It's Dr. Araide!"

"Oh?" Conan remembered the case which had involved the Araide family. 

"Even though she doesn't say so, he's really great," Sonoko complimented with a bit of a teasing tone. "So it'll be interesting when they start liking each other."

"Sonoko!"

As Ran and Sonoko continued talking, Reiko quietly made her way over so that she was right next to Conan. The boy in question was currently glaring into space with a pout settled on his face. 

"You don't look pleased," Reiko noted, making sure to keep her voice down so Ran and Sonoko wouldn't hear. 

"E-eh," Conan began to panic once more. Much to the humor of Reiko and Haibara, they had yet to inform the boy about the blonde knowing his situation. So, of course, Conan was still trying to mind the way he acted around her. "What- What do you mean?"

"I meant exactly what I said," Reiko tried to hide a small smirk at the dry look on her cousin's face. "What did you think I meant?"

Conan only narrowed his eyes at her, knowing exactly what she was doing. While they normally got along extremely well, neither could deny that they had a habit of teasing one another every chance they got.  Luckily, he was saved from replying when they were all interrupted by the sound of yelling coming from his room. 

"What were you thinking?!" The first voice, a female by the sounds of it, shouted. "Why did ya' buy lilies?!"

"You're so talkative," This time, it was a male voice that spoke up. "At least I got flowers."

"The voices are coming from Conan's room," Sonoko noted as everybody stared in slight confusion. It was only when they made it to the doorway that everything made sense. 

It was just Hattori Heiji and Toyama Kazuha.

"Oh," Ran's brows raised a bit as she saw the teens from Osaka arguing in the room. 

"Idiot! Lilies symbolize a 'beheading.' It's bad luck!" Kazuha continued, not even noticing the four looking in on them. "We came ta' visit a sick patient!"

"Why didn't ya' say so earlier!" Hattori shouted. "Idiot!"

Kazuha looked like she was about to yell back, but Ran managed to announce their presence before they even got a chance. 

"Kazuha-chan and Hattori-kun?" Ran questioned. "What are you guys doing here?"

"Ah, Ran-chan!"

The two admittedly looked a bit embarrassed at having been caught arguing so loudly. 

"We heard this kid got hurt, so we flew back after school let out ta' visit!" Hattori explained why they were there even though they had just seen them not even a few weeks ago. 

"What's his condition?" Kazuha asked a bit worriedly. 

"The doctor says that if all goes well, he can be out in 2-3 days," Ran informed them with a smile. 

"Alright," Hattori decided. "Then that means you guys can go and buy a lucky flower."

"I suppose…" Kazuha muttered a bit annoyed and made her way over to the door. "If you're so unwilling…"

"And you guys go along with her, so she won't get lost!" Hattori called out to the other girls as the three shuffled out of the room. 

"Okay!" They all looked at him a bit strangely but ultimately decided that it would be best to just not question him or his strangeness this time. 

The two male detectives and the currently unnoticed child stayed quiet as the three teenage girls left the room and closed the door behind them. 

"So," Conan started in his normal voice, climbing into his bed after making sure the girls had really left. "Tell me. What's your purpose for coming here?"

"I came to see ya'," the teasing grin on his face said otherwise. "Why are ya' so hostile? Aren't we as close as brothers?"

"That's why I asked you why you brought lilies for me and even asked them to buy new ones," Conan told him dryly, already knowing how Hattori could get. 

Hattori only laughed as he leaned down a bit to get at eye level with Conan. "Ya' found me out!" He grinned before schooling his face a bit more seriously. "Actually, an old man named Agasa called me yesterday."

"Huh?" 

"He wanted ta' discuss with me about you," he admitted.

"Discuss?"

"I don't know what happened, but…" Hattori paused before he grinned teasingly. "I heard that the girl almost figured out your identity!"

"Not 'almost figured out,'" Conan told him with a slight deadpan on his face. "It's 'already figured out.'"

"Well, it's not like you're discrete about it or anything," Reiko finally spoke up from where she had taken a seat on one of the chairs in the room.  

Both boys panicked as their heads snapped towards the girl's direction. They clearly had not realized that she had not left the room with the others. The two started to try to sputter out excuses almost immediately. Though, Conan should have probably known better given that he was the one who first warned Haibara that she might find out. 

"I'm honestly surprised she hasn't found out sooner," Reiko admitted whilst pulling her legs up into the chair in order to sit crisscross applesauce. "I can only assume that she was probably in denial before now. Which I suppose is fair given the weird as all-can-be circumstances. "

"Oi, Kudo!" Hattori pointed at Reiko, looking back and forth between the two cousins as Conan hissed at him for using his real name. "Who's this sassy, lost child?"

"I'm not lost," Reiko's objections were inevitably ignored. 

"Reiko, what are you doing here?!" Conan opted to choose to ignore both Hattori and Reiko's previous words as he questioned the girl nervously with sweat sliding down his brow. 

"I just came to visit my poor, injured cousin while he's in the hospital," Reiko started, donning the most innocent expression she could. "What's so wrong about that?"

Conan could only send her a dry look. "That's not what I meant, and you know it."

"I-" she was cut off by a very confused Hattori.

"Wait- cousin?" Hattori looked between the two like they were a tennis match. "And she knows about everything?!"

"She's not supposed to!" Conan exclaimed, frustrated but not entirely surprised anymore after the initial shock wore off. 

"Ah, right!" Reiko came to a realization before holding out a hand in Hattori's direction with him shaking it hesitantly. "It's nice to meet you, Hattori Heiji. My name is Furuya Reiko. I'm also Shinichi-nii's favorite cousin."

"You're my only cousin," Conan grumbled. But hey! He didn't deny it!

Besides, it's not like she was lying. While they would always end up teasing each other in some shape or form, they did, in fact, get along fairly well given how far apart their ages are. 

"Exactly," Reiko grinned at the boy. "Which automatically makes me your favorite!"

"Yeah, yeah," Despite his words, his lips still twitched up just a bit in amusement before narrowing his eyes at the girl. "So, how'd you figure it out?"

At that, Reiko deadpanned and gave him a disappointed look. She let out a sigh as she shook her head, ignoring the nervous expression of her cousin. 

"As I said before," she started. "You haven't exactly been discrete. I know you're reckless, but you've been taking a lot of risks. It's no surprise that so many people know who you are already. And you can't deny it," she had to interrupt him as he looked like he was about to speak up to defend himself.  "Auntie and Uncle already filled okaa-san and I in on everything that's happened since you've shrunk."

"Eh?" That last sentence admittedly surprised him. His parents hadn't told him anything! You would think that they would have told him if his identity had been compromised. Then again… it was his parents they were talking about... "When…?"

"Just this week," Reiko admitted. That had certainly made for quite the interesting conversation. "But we've had our suspicions about you for a while. We were a bit surprised to hear about you getting involved with the crows, though."

At that, both of the boys eyes widened. 

"Oi, oi!" Hattori started, a bit of frustration leaking to in his voice. "What are they thinking tellin' a kid about a dangerous organization like them?!" He paused for a second before leaning over to whisper in her ear. "You are an actual kid, right?"

She nearly snickered while doing so, but Reiko still nodded in response, clearly amused at the teenager second guessing himself. 

"If it makes you feel any better," Hattori couldn't help but frown at the amusement in the girl's voice. Sassy indeed. "Okaa-san and I have known about them for years; long before you guys got involved."

The two boys stared, multiple questions already forming in a matter of seconds. 

"How was that supposed to make me feel better?" Conan sighed at the nonchalant shrug he received from his cousin in response to his question. He was pretty sure the hospital was meant to be a place for resting and healing, so why, just why, did he feel so goddamn exhausted? "How did you guys even find out about them in the first place?"

"Hmmm," Reiko paused. This was one of the questions she'd have a hard time answering. It's not that she didn't have an answer. It was just an answer that she'd prefer not to say so soon. That would be something better left to her mother for explaining. "That's a story best left for another day. But for now, I'll tell you the same thing I told Haibara-san. We have both friends and foes involved with them, and you know how Okaa-san can get when it comes to her enemies."

Conan let out a dry laugh as both him and Reiko sweat dropped, remembering all the times Nomura Haruna had gone on a warpath and utterly destroyed anyone who dared to get in her way. It wasn't until a few seconds later that something else Reiko said finally set in. 

"What do you mean 'the same thing you told Haibara?'" He questioned incredulously. How in the world had his cousin managed to get Haibara, of all people, to talk about anything regarding the organization?

Reiko only smiled in response. 

******

2907 words excluding A/N's

Question: do you guys think I'm doing the characters personalities any justice?

Finished- 1:06 am on April 23, 2021

Bye~