Alcohol-Free
Whiskey, lemon juice, add 1 teaspoon of sugar, then shake, pour into a wine glass and garnish with a lemon wedge and cherry.
"Sour whiskey for my wonderful mother."
Mary who was half-lying on a beach chair lowered the magazine covering her head slightly, and watched her eldest son bring the cocktail with skillful movements. She took it and looked at him cheerfully behind the sunglasses that didn't prevent them from making eye contact.
"It's slightly sour and easy to infuse. It's perfect for relieving heat and appetizing dinner."
Ignoring the strange signals from his mother, Shuichi Akai decided to act stupid to the end, and firmly brought up the topic of tasting alcohol.
Mary looked at the orange-yellow colored liquid and took a sip. She felt very happy.
"Seems like you're not idle when you die"
"This is what I learned when I worked part-time in a bar in my early years in the USA," he explains.
"So, the tricks of pretending to be dead and stealing your life, changing your face and hiding your name were also learned back then?"
Faced with his mother's aggressiveness, he had no choice but to explain a little, "That was a very important issue. It was a necessary strategy. Besides, didn't I get an unexpected treasure after that battle?"
Mary smiled very rudely.
It was his ability to find Tsutomu who had been missing for years, but this "unexpected treasure" was tied to him as well. So, he deserves it. It was a very obvious thing to them who the treasure is. That girl.
"Hahaha, it's so cool around here!"
Masumi who had just finished riding a motorcycle with her second brother ran along the road, and the sand under her feet was blown away by her. The man behind her followed casually in a life jacket like he was tired of playing with her.
"I'm so thirsty. Mama, give me a drink."
Masumi who was just about to pick up the glass on the table and was about to drink it, had it immediately taken out of her hand by her other brother, and replaced with half a bottle of ginger ale.
"A child shouldn't drink."
"Eh...!?"
Masumi was devastated. Although she was not old enough to drink, but when she was alone in England, who knew, she would secretly open alcohol and drink it. But unfortunately, there was now only ginger ale available in Japan. Shukichi couldn't help but laugh, "Of course, in Shuichi brother's eyes, Masumi will always be a little sister." He seemed to suddenly think of something, and added, "Speaking of little sisters, there is more than one little sister now."
There was still one more "little sister".
Shuichi tilted his head to look up, and the girl was watching the waves on the beach not far from where he was. She was wearing a white dress today, sitting on a large rock by the shore, like a daisy blooming in summer on the sand, very pretty.
Not long after the war ended, he came to the famous beach in Japan with his family for a vacation. It was a bit of relaxation before they returned to England, and it also gave him a bit of time to plan their future vacations.
Shiho Miyano is really enjoying the quiet at the moment.
It had been more than half a year since she had recovered her former body condition. In the past six months, her world had undergone tremendous changes. At first, she just wanted to help all the survivors. So, she studied the antidote every day and night. When she regained her body, she looked at herself in the mirror and suddenly asked,
"Who am I?"
Not Ai Haibara, a student of Teitan Elementary School, but Shiho Miyano. But, who is Shiho Miyano?
After wearing a mask for a long time, it has become difficult for her to adjust to who she really is. She only knew that she came from the dark abyss, but at this moment she didn't know where to go.
She couldn't stay at the Professor's house to prevent the children from finding clues, and the Kudo house couldn't accept her either. She didn't know what she should do.
When she was in a dilemma, the man spoke to her.
"Come to my area!."
A brain that was too good was both an asset and a crisis. When the evil dragon fell, the treasures it left behind would naturally be targeted by other little minions. The persuasion was as hard and sincere as ever. Although in her opinion it was more of a weak reason why he wanted to force her to stay by his side.
She agreed, she thought it would be fine, let's say there was a place for refuge for her, but she was not sure that she would succeed so easily. So, she could only answer awkwardly, "Semms like i can get involved with Taiko Meijin."
She saw Shuichi raise his eyebrows calmly.
"Drink up. If you stay in the sun, you could get heatstroke."
A familiar voice called her back from her world, and when she turned her head, it was a very familiar person bringing her a drink.
She took it. The cylindrical glass was filled with a ruby-like liquid, and dense air bubbles appeared actively, and the water was barely visible to the naked eye. She took a sip. The sweet and sour taste accompanied by a subtle spicy flavor filled the entire mouth and nose, and a cold feeling suddenly spread throughout the body. The ratio of lemon juice and pomegranate molasses is just right, and with the dilution of ginger ale, the taste is instantly enhanced.
Sherry Temple
The famous non-alcoholic drink named after a famous actress looked like a soft drink to appeal to children in terms of formula and flavor. Suddenly she remembered the same rhetoric he had just used to reprimand Masumi, and she couldn't help but laugh.
So, in his eyes, is she still a little sister?
Had he forgotten that she also had an alcohol name.
"What are you laughing at?"
"Nothing, I just feel happy to have a brother who takes care of me so much now. Thank you very much, Onii-chan.."
Her majestic words and cute expression sent chills down his spine. Lately, she was more and more interested in making fun of him, or his age, or his bad hobbies. She was always like this. She was neither well-behaved nor cute, but only she could make him laugh. He had been defeated many times.
She still cared little about this identity, and he could read it from her evil words.
In fact, he only found out the whole picture of the blood relationship between them after the organization was over. Obviously, they all found out too late, and it was all over. Now how could he look back and treat her as a little sister?
Under the setting sun, the seaside inn where they were staying had already started preparing for today's dinner. Dinner was an outdoor barbecue, which allowed travelers to enjoy the cool night sea while enjoying the heat of the fireworks.
"Shiho-nee, this is delicious. I'll give you some." Masumi walked over to her with a big smile and sat down next to her to share the meal.
In the Akai family, the thing she could least resist was Masumi. If Shuichi Akai was the dark fire surrounded by icebergs, Masumi Sera was the blinding sun. Although she is a shark in the deep sea, she is used to the temperature of humans, and sometimes she is overwhelmed by her enthusiasm.
When Shiho first met her in her true identity, she approached her from behind without saying a word, and said happily, "Hey, this sister turns out to be our family too... um, there's a smell of Shu brother in her body"
Her heart raced a few times in panic. She didn't need to be so flustered, and there was no embarrassing relationship between them, but next time she might get caught, subconsciously she still wanted to hide it.
But their family wasn't normal people, maybe they had found out a long time ago, and maybe it was just him and her, pretending that nothing was going on in front of people.
But what was he thinking. She wasn't sure.
After returning to the living room, Shiho breathed a sigh of relief. She opened the curtains and looked towards the sea. There were still many tourists singing and dancing on the beach. The bonfire brought happiness to the people on the beach. As night fell the sunlight disappeared, and the day became quiet and deep.
Shiho had rarely seen the sea in the past. She had gone to a small island on a ferry before, and it left not-so-good memories. It was already rather dark, and she was worried.
Would there be another accident that she couldn't bear this time?.
Was happiness something she could get?
"I think you've gotten so used to living comfortably that you've forgotten where you came from."
"There are so many rats. Rye. I didn't expect you to be able to hide him so deeply. Listen, Sherry, it is the fate of traitors."
"No..."
She woke up suddenly, and a hasty knock on the door pulled her back to reality.
It turned out to be just a dream. She quickly reacted, and slowly lifted the heavy blanket. She dragged her stiff body to open the door. When she saw the worried expression of Shuichi standing outside the door, her heart suddenly became very calm.
After staring at each other for a few seconds, she immediately stretched out her arms and hugged him tightly as if she had not fully awakened from a dream. She was afraid that he was just a fleeting shadow in front of her. Too many people had left her, and she didn't want to lose anyone she cared about again.
Shuichi was a little surprised by her action. When he regained consciousness, he hugged her back trying to transfer his body temperature. Her body was very cold, and she was sweating profusely. She really seemed to be having a nightmare.
This kind of crossing of their necks made the atmosphere between them ambiguous. The act that was originally just to entertain was slipping to the brink of danger for some reason. Shuichi did not want to take advantage of the other person's weakness.
She invited him.
"Are you drunk?" He asked carefully, but he couldn't smell the alcohol.
"No."
"Do you know what you're doing..?"
"Yes."
With that answer, Shuichi no longer held back. He took her lips appropriately, closed the door silently, and added a safety lock.
Today, she was a little restless which made her a little lost. Since that thin boundary had been breached, there were only two paths left between him and her. The way forward and the other way, but they were still wandering in the same place. She really did not understand what he meant. By being by his side, she always felt distant from him.
Shiho was a little dizzy. She obviously didn't drink a drop of alcohol today, but right now she was more dizzy than ever, but she wasn't drunk at all, and she could feel his touch and tease when she was sober.
If it is said that she was involved in alcohol last time, this time she asked calmly. At this moment, she didn't want to care about the relationship and his identity. It's okay, even if there is no future, she wants to hold him wholeheartedly for the time being.
The pleasure gradually squeezed out the rationality, and in the dim room, only the breath of the two could be heard, filling each other's once wounded souls.
Shiho couldn't sleep well that night, and a disturbing thought suddenly came to her mind. The sweetness and sadness of love made her heart feel mixed. She didn't know how to define their relationship. She was afraid that she would become too greedy and gain nothing.
It seemed that loving someone was very easy to worry about.
As dawn broke, Shiho quietly got up, she put on a long robe that could cover her body, and went out. Since she couldn't sleep, she wanted to wait for the sun to rise by the sea.
The sea breeze in the morning faded the salty smell of the night, and her body felt cold but not bad. She sat on a long bench, a moment later she felt that there was an extra piece of clothing behind her.
"The sea breeze before sunrise is the most likely to cause someone to catch a cold. Remember to add a coat next time before going out."
Shuichi sat beside her after putting the coat on her shoulders.
"Did I wake you up?"
"I slept well. I always knew when you weren't next to me. When I saw you wearing light clothes, I went out after you."
"Why did you come last night?" She suddenly remembered something.
She didn't know last night that she had just woken up from a nightmare a second ago, and he arrived at her doorstep a second later. How extraordinary. Did he also hide a bug in her suitcase?
Shuichi smiled a little embarrassed, "I installed software to test the quality of your sleep on your phone. I just tried it out, and I happened to find something wrong with you. So, I came over."
"..."
It was his habit.
It was his previous habit that made her nervous some time ago. This man would always keep worry for her in his heart, but had secretly opened a safety net for her behind her back.
"Overly competent big brother."
"This is the duty of a knight as I once said. To protect you even if I sacrifice my life."
"Then how long can this protection last..."
How could he not hear the sadness in her words. After a moment of silence, he suddenly got up, and half knelt in front of her,
"Will you be my family?"
She smiled, "We are family already."
"I mean family in another sense."
"..."
Shiho was shocked.
Before she could regain consciousness, Shuichi took out a smooth metal ring from his shirt pocket. Shiho saw clearly that it was a pair of women's rings with Roman inscriptions.
Shiho Akai.
At that moment, the morning sun finally emerged from the sinking sea, and under the soft sunlight, the ring finally slipped onto her ring finger.
Now that the darkness has passed, the future can also move towards the light.
THE END
Epilogue
"No diamond as promised as an engagement ring. So, our love will not soon rot and wither in the future."
"Uh..Dad. You're overreacting!"
"Hey ... !"