[Detective Conan] My Troublesome Older Brother

For some unknown reason, I suddenly gained the ability to glimpse the future.

I learned that my dad would go missing one day, his fate unknown, and my beautiful mom would turn into a little girl. And my older brother would complete his undercover mission by enduring humiliation and choosing to stage an accident with a pretty older woman?! His own cousin, no less?!!

My hand trembled as I held my phone.

I never knew you were like this, bro (pointing fingers).

With a strange nudge from fate, I left my adorable little sister behind and followed my brother far from home to the unfamiliar United States.

To keep my brother from teetering on the edge of morality and doing an acrobatic leap off it, I decided to reform his lack of morals with love. (Lights cigarette.)

Family is supposed to love one another. Keeping secrets from each other is kind of lousy.

"I saw you walking alone in the dark, Shuichi, looking so lonely, so I came to keep you company. Now I'm in too deep to get out, so you'll just have to keep me by your side and protect me."

"You're not alone. We'll get to the bottom of what happened to our father. I barely knew the old man myself, but for your sake, I don't mind lending a hand."

"I like you quite a lot, only a tiny bit less than I like Masumi."

-- Sera Maki

Sera accidentally mentioned that Mom used to have a large chest (she's a little girl now, so she doesn't have one anymore, and the word "used to" is ambiguous). Akai misunderstood and thought Mom was gone (dead), so he could only try to casually get information out of her and check whether Mom was okay. It suddenly made me feel so sad. Our cat-boy doesn't even dare contact his own family. What a lonely man (sob, poor cat-boy).

Akai is my favorite character in Detective Conan. Setting his looks aside, he's such a gentle person. Akai is about the only one in Detective Conan who doesn't have a childhood sweetheart, and his life doesn't have much of a comedic side, either. His life really wasn't much better than Tooru's. At least Tooru had a wonderful time at the police academy, surrounded by plenty of good people. Akai could only investigate his father's disappearance alone in America, and Tooru even mistook him for a scumbag (Tooru thought he'd killed Scotch).

Akai's kindness is subtle. He casually let Conan know that Ran was actually very sad because Shinichi was gone (in America, when Vermouth disguised herself as a murderer). He also never revealed the truth behind Scotch's death, letting Amuro hate him instead. (Scotch killed himself after hearing Amuro's footsteps but not seeing him. He thought a real enemy had arrived.) Amuro hated him so much he even wanted to kill him. But if he knew he had indirectly caused his childhood friend's death, it would be an unimaginable disaster. Akai didn't tell him. He never told him.

The heroine is Sera's older sister, okay? She's a deadpan, sarcastic type and a family fanatic. Her deadpan personality developed later; she wasn't born that way.

The heroine is called Maki. She's half an ordinary person, I guess (hehe). She's not a member of the Black Organization. I absolutely won't make her a villain, so take it easy, everyone. There might be a tiny bit of angst, but there definitely won't be any melodramatic misunderstandings between family or friends. I really hate being betrayed by someone close to me, so no melodramatic misunderstandings, please.

It's family-focused, and the romance will depend on how things go, probably just in the extras. I've read lots of Detective Conan fanfics, and some heroines... how should I put it... can trip on flat ground while walking. There's nothing wrong with falling, but then you somehow end up tumbling into your crush's arms, followed by a whole lot of inner monologue and blushing... I just end up cringing for you. And it's with a stranger you've only just met, too... then he has to say, "Have you looked enough?" or "Had enough of hugging?" Argh, so awkward! Even Barbie's Dreamhouse is coming out! So I might keep the romance to a minimum. Ahem, I've said too much. I guess I'm a sarcastic type too.

That's all.

Theme: A loving family.