Fourth Strike; Audio

[kendo_taisho]

[There's a few seconds of silence, then a resigned huff of breath.]

I turned eighteen last week. Didn't even notice. Not sure what t'do about it. I'm a legal adult outta school and I should be happy about that. So much I can do here that I wasn't able to before. Can make a real difference in a way that matters to more than just a few people here an' there.

But I can't help but remind myself that I should have had someone here with me for this milestone. Kazuha should've graduated with me, an' I know when I go home it won't have mattered, but I was never supposed t'do it alone. She's been there with me practically my whole life, ya know? Everythin' important we did together. I haven't been thinkin' of home much, but I can't forget that she's not here, an' she should be.

[Another stretch of silence.]

Anyone else dealin' with this? What d'ya do to make it okay when ya can't share yer accomplishments with the people ya care about?

Comments

permatext

[hypnotherapy]

[ Ah, now here's a subject close to his heart. He feels the loss of what he misses most, the gap that can't be filled, every day. ]

Think about how they would have reacted, usually.

But generally, I try not to dwell on it. Keeping myself busy is a less difficult alternative.

permavoice

[kendo_taisho]

S'what I've been doin' since I got here, I think. [Not that he did it consciously on purpose.]

I just had the chance t' stop and think today.

[hypnotherapy]

Ah, it caught up at last, did it?

I suppose I should wish you a happy birthday, but it doesn't seem all that happy. Still, I'm sure she'd be proud of you.

[kendo_taisho]

[Amused snort.]

Prolly, but she'd spend ten minutes scoldin' me for gettin' into trouble without her, first.

[hypnotherapy]

Ah, she's that type of friend, is she? Well, a milestone is a milestone. And a congratulations after ten minutes of scolding is still a congratulations.

Though I have the feeling that you're not the type to listen to 'don't get into trouble without me'.

[video]; ID reads Kaito Kuroba

[tuxedo_magician]

You should have said something! Aoko totally would have thrown you a party too!

[video];

[kendo_taisho]

[Switches on video just so Kaito can see his feigned annoyance.]

I forgot! What more d'ya want from me? At least I'm sayin' it now.

[video];

[tuxedo_magician]

[Kaito wants to say that he's as bad as Kudo but refrains. Hattori doesn't even know that he knows Shinichi after all.]

Man, at least I didn't tell people on purpose. How can you just forget your birthday?

[video];

[kendo_taisho]

[The comparison would have annoyed him. He doesn't forget his birthday exists, it just snuck up on him this year. What with the gang warfare and busted internal clock from being brought to a different time.

He couldn't possibly forget back home. His mom wouldn't let him.]

I was busy.

audio;

[beautstrength]

Is there no one here who would have wished to celebrate your achievements with you?

audio;

[kendo_taisho]

Yeah, my best friend's here, and I've made a few more besides. Can't deny I'm grateful for that.

audio;

[beautstrength]

Then I would share those accomplishments with them. Hopefully your friend will also be able to enjoy them one day.

audio;

[kendo_taisho]

Hope so. I've never gone this long without talkin' to her. It's weird.

permatext

[deadtective]

Stop accomplishing things, generally. It's been working out pretty well so far.

Permavoice

[kendo_taisho]

That doesn't seem very proactive. Why wouldn't ya want to accomplish things?

[deadtective]

Effort, mostly. Plus it really frees up my schedule for picking up stupid hobbies.

[kendo_taisho]

Hobbies are accomplishments too. For some just reachin' out an' sayin' hello is an accomplishment. All depends on how ya look at it. Doesn't have to be work.

video

[huntergames]

The same thing happened to me, but I wasn't here for my own birthday at all.

[ A contemplative pause. ]

Do something you would normally do together even if they aren't here. It'll bring back good memories, I'm sure.

video

[kendo_taisho]

That's not a bad idea. We usually take a trip or somethin'. Wonder what kinda places are worth visitin' around here. Unfortunately a lotta what we do is city specific. Can't even get good Osakan food in this country. I've checked.

Did it happen for ya at home, or did ya miss yer birthday entirely?

[eastdetective]

[Thank you, Hattori, for reminding Conan that if things hadn't gone so wrong he would have been graduating this year as well. That even if he had been home he wouldn't have been able to graduate with Ran.]

What point is there in debating it?

[kendo_taisho]

[He's not going to apologize. He feels bad enough that this is the first time he's actually sat down and thought about the consequences of not being at home.]

Ain't a debate. Just statin'.

[eastdetective]

It's the way it is, whether we talk about it or not.

[resipiscent]

Hey, happy birthday. But... for me, I haven't really thought about birthdays in a while, so I can't say what I'd do for mine were I alone. But I guess... I'd just save up all the things I'd done, so I could tell them when I saw them next.

[kendo_taisho]

Thanks. I normally don't forget, but I guess bein' pulled outta yer time kinda gives ya jetlag or somethin'.

That's not a bad idea, actually. I mean, there's always a chance th' porter could bring her too, right? She'd hate it if I didn't tell her what she missed.

[resipiscent]

It seems to, doesn't it?

Or, you could write a journal for her. That would be a good present.