Strangers

015

A day had passed since that incident happened on her apartment, and now, there was no signs of Kudo Shinichi. As much as she wanted to ignore, she can’t help but be worried about the detective. Every time she walks out of her apartment door, the detective was out there standing and waiting for her, and although she keeps on ignoring and treating him coldly, he still persistently showed up. But it was the second day that he did not show up and Shiho does not really know if she will be glad or worried. Is he that hurt when she pushed him away? Or did he finally gave up trying to woo her? She let out a humorless chuckle as she allowed her brain to think of many reasons why he disappeared. She should be relieved, right?

This is what she wanted, or is it?

Today was Saturday, and she had a lot of free time on her hand, and although there was no school, she was planning to go to the university lab and continue her experiment for her thesis. Luckily, Geneva was out of town to visit her grandma. She shook her head to wash unnecessary thoughts about a certain raven-haired man, as she walked toward the university.

She was already at the university’s gate when her phone rang. It was an unknown number. She hesitated but still answered it.

“Hello?” she asked.

No one answered for a moment. She was about to hang the phone up when a voice she knew well speaks.

“Shiho?” the voice whispered. The voice was hoarse and weak, but she recognized it anyway.

She felt her knees buckled a bit. There was something wrong in how he speaks. Call it her intuition, but those countless times she spent talking with the detective tells her that something is not right at the moment.

“Is everything all right, Kudo-kun?” she inquired, trying as much to sound nonchalant as possible.

There was a minute of silence, and all she heard was heavy breathing. Now, there is definitely something wrong.

“Just want to hear your voice.” Again, that weak voice.

That reply is really off. “Where are you?”

She waited for a response, but after a few seconds, the line went dead. He had hung up. And now, she can feel a bit of panic rising in.

She took a long look at her phone before she sighed and sauntered off. Now, there might be a change of her schedule.

***

Shiho Miyano was standing outside the five-star hotel where the detective said he was staying. She was currently having an inner debate whether to go inside and checked on him. She figured this may seem weird visiting him, but hey, her instinct tells her she somehow needs to.

So she sighed and headed in.

Few minutes later, she found herself outside the detective’s door. She contemplated a bit before she knocked on the door a few times before it was finally opened from the inside. The tall figure of a raven-haired young man with a rather pale face greeted her, and from the looks of his face, he clearly wasn’t expecting her.

“What—” Shinichi stuttered as he looks at the scientist through his half open lids.

“Checking on you.” She answered quickly before she pushed her way inside like it was her place.

“You should probably wait for me to invite you in first, you know.” He mumbled as he closed the door behind him. He then proceeded to dropped himself on the couch in his living room.

Shiho blinked several times, before looking away to check out his place. “Says the one who rudely and occasionally barged at my place.” She replied while looking through the mess on his table, and noticed several bottles of medicine and some energy drinks.

“Kudo-kun…” she called as she walks toward the table to pick up a thermometer on it. “You…” Her eyes widen at what she saw and without a warning, she closed the gap between them. She automatically placed her hand on his forehead, and muttered as she felt his high temperature. “Since when have you gotten this bad, Kudo-kun? You have a very high temperature!”

Shinichi just brushed her hand off, and turned his body away from her.

“Go away,” he murmured as he covered his face with his right hand. He can feel a rush of familiar warmth creeping to his cheeks as he realized the scientist’s presence. And the splitting headache that he was presently feeling messes up with his mind.

Shiho, on the other hand, frowned, a feeling of irritation starting to build on her chest. “Well, you called me,” she pointed out.

“I did not.” He denied, his voice ruffled because he was still covering his face.

Shiho raised a brow. ‘Did the detective not realize that he just called her in the phone? Probably delirious from the fever.’ She thought.

“How long have you been sick?” she asked.

No answer.

She asked again, “This is because of that heavy rain the other night, wasn’t it?”

Still, no answer. Shiho was getting irritated.

“Kudo-kun!” she said louder than expected but he still refused to answer or even look at her. Is this her fault again? She remembered she pushed him away that night. She observed him for a moment before her eyes softened with guilt and worry. “Why didn’t you tell anyone you’re sick? Does your mom know?”

And still, Shinichi did not answer.

“Kudo-kun!” she called again, this time shaking his arm as if to wake him. Try as she might to appear calm and nonchalant, she’s not used to seeing the detective this weak and defenseless. It’s making her worry, though she have trouble admitting it to anybody, or even to herself. “This is not funny, you know!”

And then, it happened in a blink of an eye, as Shinichi got up, pulled Shiho in the arm and leaned in for a chaste kiss on her lips. It happened so fast, Shiho did not even realize it until she felt the warmth of his lips gone on her cold ones. She was too surprised to react, or to even move.

“You’re noisy,” Shinichi whispered as he rested his head on the crook of her neck. The warmth of his breath left a tingling sensation in her skin.

And after that, he went back to the couch in the same position as if nothing trivial happened.

Shiho blinked, still flabbergasted and unmoving.

***

unsolicited trivia about moi: i usually write a book with an definite ending in my mind. all my other books are like that, heck i even write the last chapter first! but 'strangers' is a bloody exemption. i wrote this on a whim and i don't know how it will end guyssssss hahahaha i am so stuck like Shiho and Shinichi are not talking to me, if that makes sense. Help? HAHAHAHA

*sulking in a corner*