Author's note: Eh. Finally. I managed to defeat the plot-bunny-strike and write this chapter. The plot bunnies are working again, so I don't think it'll take as long for the next chapter to come out as it did this chapter.

Chapter 3—Detour

I lean sideways against a wall of my apartment, a mug of hot green tea in my hands, and look out the window. Feeling calm and content after a sip of the tea, I watch the students hurry home from school and the cars speed down the road. A man stops at a flower shop and searches for the perfect bouquet that is, perhaps, for his wife or girlfriend. Two girls walk along the pavement, chatting amicably. A couple stroll by, each tugging at a leash of a poodle. I smile as one of the poodles pause to sniff the feet of a little boy; the two- or three-year-old boy squeals and rushes back to his mother.

I lose sight of everything the moment I realize that this isn't something I do every day. In fact, I've never stood by the windows to observe the street—the outside world—after school. Or any time when I am home. I let the steam coming from the tea warm my face. My gaze returns to the street, and I know that I've been looking out, unconsciously, for a person in the street. I can no longer see him, of course. But I can almost imagine him walking briskly down the road, a bright smile on his face, alert and aware of his surroundings. For better or for worse.

I see the couple with the poodle dogs again. They've just finished chatting with the little boy's mother. I wonder if they knew each other from before. Poodle dogs, I thought. I can see his smug grin and his proud declaration, "I just know."

-0-

He was true to his words when he said he'd walk me home. Not that I had any doubt that he wouldn't. He just decided to take a detour. The intersection at which I was sure I needed to make a left, he insisted that we go straight. It was closer this way, he said. I cast him a wary look, but he ignored it, took my arm, and half-dragged me across the street. I figured he wasn't a kidnapper or a rapist, so I didn't protest. Maybe he was right, I reasoned with myself. The other way might be closer. I was never good with roads anyway.

After a few minutes, he increased his pace and, leaving me behind by several meters, stopped in front of a large store window. With a huge smile across his face, he gestured for me to hurry up and pointed at the window. I wondered what he wanted to show me.

It was a pet shop. Through the glass pane, I could see puppies, kittens, hamsters, rabbits, fish, birds... I could feel a smile creeping across my face. I might've looked like a child brought into a toyshop. I don't know. I looked at him, and he grinned.

"You like animals, don't you?" he asked.

I returned to looking at the kittens and puppies. "How do you know?" I liked the small black kitten with one white paw. It stumbled across the tail of its sibling, and they wrestled. Two brown puppies chased each other across the wooden floor, slipping every now and then. The shopkeepers needed to change the floor to one that isn't as slippery, I thought. But it was amusing to watch the puppies slide as if they were running on ice. They were so cute.

"I just know," he announced.

I didn't pay attention to him, but he might've puffed out his chest to assume the brilliant-detective-always-deduces-right posture. Now that I think about it, I wonder whether his smugness comes from an ego or from a playful act. And if it comes from an ego, whether his ego developed from his successes as a detective or from his nature. Regardless, it made him lovable.

"You've spoilt me," I said to him, my eyes still fixed on the little animals. "Now I'll want to walk this way everyday and possibly spend half the day admiring these animals."

"Oh." He seemed to grow tense beside me. I looked up. Was his face flushed? "Um," he stammered and shifted on his feet. "I have a confession to make." He dug his hands deep into his pockets and stared at the ground.

I straightened up and looked at him curiously.

"You see...this road doesn't exactly lead to your house. I just wanted to show you this pet shop, these animals, that's all." He looked up with a sheepish grin.

I blinked. I didn't know what to make of his so-called confession. Should I thank him or be mad at him? I cocked my head to the side, placed a hand on my waist, and said, "You've spoilt me even more. Now I'll want to walk the extra mile to visit this pet shop everyday, and then spend half the day admiring these animals." He became even more sheepish looking when he noticed the smirk on my face.

"If you want one, I can buy it for you," he offered. "As a welcome gift or something. Welcome to Tokyo and Teitan High."

I shook my head with a chuckle. "Thank you. But I don't have time to take care of a pet. I would love to, but I don't have time."

He scratched the back of his head and furrowed his brows. "Yeah, I guess." He thought for a minute. "I know the owner of this shop. I could talk to him and I'm sure he won't mind letting you spend time with the animals at the shop."

I raised an eyebrow. "As in, a part-time worker?"

"No. As in, a friend. Maybe you could even own a pet but keep it in the shop for babysitting." He looked at me seriously. "Do you want me to talk to the owner?"

Before I could think through everything and give him a response, he'd entered the shop. I hurried after him and caught him exchanging warm greetings with the owner, who was in his mid-fifties. His grey hair was becoming thin. "This is Haibara Ai," he introduced me to the owner. "And this is Takahashi-san."

"Hi," I said quickly and hoped I'd sounded as confident as I'd wanted to.

"I was just explaining to Takahashi-san," he told me. He continued, and I didn't know why I wasn't able to stop him. I was getting embarrassed and could feel the heat on my cheeks.

Takahashi-san laughed. "Of course!" He turned to me. "Ai-chan, if you don't mind me calling you that, pick your favorite and we'll take care of it for you here when you're busy. It'll be yours, for free"—he winked, and before I could protest—"or you could choose to be friends with all of the pets we have here. Until they find an owner, of course."

I felt my cheeks burning, and I hoped they weren't as red as I imagined them to be. I tried to tell Takahashi-san that I was okay with just being a window-shopper, but the two of them defeated me. Note to self: Never argue with two very friendly people and especially not when you know you're really on their side too.

I ended up being the owner of the kitten with a white paw, the two brown puppies, a canary, and three goldfish. For free. I started to wonder if business was bad, but the people in the shop told me otherwise. There were many customers. Some there to buy new pet food or things to entertain their pets. Some there to select a guinea pig for their friend's daughter's birthday. And I got the privilege to spend time with all of the pets at the shop whenever I wanted to.

Maybe Kudo-kun solved a crime of some sort that involved Takahashi-san and this was Takahashi-san's way of returning a favor. Maybe not. What do I know?

When I left, feeling never more embarrassed in my life, I noticed that Takahashi-san's gaze followed us out the door. There was something in his gaze. I'm not sure what, but it seemed like Takahashi-san's found something, not for himself, but for either Kudo-kun or me.