Chapter 2: Adopting Anya
Frank was nothing if not efficient. By afternoon, he'd already dragged Natsukawa through several orphanages across the city.
American orphanages tended to be well-funded—at least the ones in Frank's network were. Grand buildings, pristine facilities, all the bells and whistles you'd expect from institutions backed by deep pockets. This was New York, after all, a city that obsessed over appearances. But behind the impressive architecture and manicured lawns, the sheer number of children waiting for homes told the real story. The Big Apple's glamorous facade hid a darker reality.
"Still nothing?" Frank rubbed his temples as he started the car, pulling out toward the next location.
His mind kept drifting back to Natsukawa's earlier comment—that the Japan trip and the IRS mission wouldn't conflict. What the hell did that mean? Was the Black Organization's headquarters actually in Japan? He'd asked four times now, but Natsukawa just smiled that infuriating smile and changed the subject.
It was driving him absolutely insane.
"Just doesn't feel right yet," Natsukawa said, watching the city blur past the window. "Can't explain it."
They'd visited several facilities by now. Plenty of bright kids, perfectly suitable for adoption. But every time Natsukawa considered choosing one, something stopped him. A gut feeling, an instinctive rejection that overrode logic.
Maybe that was his spy instincts talking. In intelligence work, intuition often saved your life when analysis failed. If his sixth sense was screaming no, he'd learned to listen.
Fourth Orphanage - Late Afternoon
"Welcome, gentlemen. We're so glad you could visit."
This facility was backed by some major charitable foundation—the kind with more money than sense. Natsukawa counted at least twenty staff members as they walked through the building, which looked more like an upscale private academy than an orphanage. Someone unfamiliar with the place might mistake it for an exclusive kindergarten.
He noted the conspicuous demographics but kept his observations to himself. Some things were better left uncommented upon.
A flash of white suddenly burst from behind a hedge.
Natsukawa had sensed the movement a split second before. Instead of flinching, he watched with mild curiosity as a massive dog bounded toward them—easily over a meter long, with thick white fur. A Great Pyrenees, unless he missed his guess. The breed was famously gentle, loyal, and protective. Perfect family dogs.
Its tail wagged like a metronome set to extremely happy. Definitely not aggressive. Probably the facility's mascot or guard dog.
Then he noticed the small rider perched on its back.
A little girl—barely a meter tall—with distinctively pink hair pulled into two side ponytails and bright green eyes that seemed to sparkle with mischief. She wore strange cone-shaped hair ornaments on either side of her head that looked almost like a tiny wizard's hat, paired with a long black dress. Her small hands gripped the dog's fur like she was riding into battle.
"Anya! Take Bond away from here right now!"
One of the staff members hurried forward, clearly mortified.
The girl was undeniably cute. Natsukawa felt a flicker of interest, though he quickly suppressed it. He hadn't evaluated all the candidates yet. He needed someone intelligent—a kid sharp enough to infiltrate Teitan Elementary's social circles and gather information naturally. Someone who could help him access the main storyline without raising suspicion.
"Anya won't go! Anya wants to stay with Papa!"
The girl's eyes lit up as she beamed directly at him. The Great Pyrenees—apparently named Bond—padded closer and rubbed its enormous head against Natsukawa's leg, nearly knocking him off balance.
"Mr. Natsukawa, Mr. Frank, I'm terribly sorry." The staff member looked genuinely apologetic. "Anya is one of our orphans. She and Bond showed up together about two years ago. She's usually very... reserved with potential adoptive parents. She's never done anything like this before. This is the first time she's ever shown interest in anyone who visited."
Interesting. The kid had good instincts, apparently. Either that or she was desperately lonely.
"Your name is Anya?" Natsukawa crouched down, patting the dog's head while studying those large green eyes.
"Anya's name is Anya! And this is Bond!" She pointed to herself, then to the Great Pyrenees, her expression suddenly deadly serious. Almost nervous, actually.
Something about her demeanor seemed... off. Like she was trying very hard to make a good impression but wasn't quite sure how.
Natsukawa paused mid-pat. Was this kid actually not that bright? She'd need to interact with Conan Edogawa later—someone with the deductive abilities of a teenage detective trapped in a child's body. Would Anya accidentally blow his cover with some innocent comment?
"Anya is very smart! And... and very well-behaved!" The girl broke into a visible cold sweat, clearly struggling to sell herself.
Oh no, she had no idea what to say. Her face said it all.
This clearly wasn't the place for a proper conversation. The staff member gestured toward the building. "Perhaps we should move to a more comfortable setting? We have a reception room available."
Reception Room - Twenty Minutes Later
As they settled into the private room, Natsukawa found his initial concerns fading. Something about this kid just felt right. Compared to every other child he'd seen today, Anya triggered that rare gut instinct—the one that said this is the one.
In all his years as an intelligence operative, he'd only experienced this feeling a handful of times. His sixth sense was overriding his analytical brain, and experience had taught him to trust it.
"What's the process for adopting Anya?"
The question came out after a long moment of consideration. His mind was made up. This weird little pink-haired girl was exactly what he'd been looking for, even if he couldn't articulate why.
Sure, Anya seemed a bit... simple. But she was adorable, and more importantly, she had that innocent charm that would make her instantly likable. With that personality, she'd blend seamlessly into the Detective Boys at Teitan Elementary.
He wouldn't need to give her complicated instructions. Just enroll her in Class 1-B, and those meddlesome kids would adopt her into their group within days. The Detective Boys were like social magnets for any child who seemed even remotely interesting.
Then he could simply ask Anya about her day after school. Casual questions about what Conan did, where they went, what mysteries they stumbled into. Easy intel gathering through an innocent conduit.
Perfect operational design.
The Detective Boys were a unique phenomenon in the Detective Conan universe. In Natsukawa's memories of the anime, those kids had an almost supernatural ability to stumble onto treasure hunts and valuable discoveries. He might even turn a profit from this arrangement—though that was secondary.
What really interested him was imagining Conan's expression when he solved some elaborate mystery only to discover someone had already claimed the treasure.
That would be absolutely priceless.
"Papa, Anya is six years old and should be in first grade! Bond is a very good dog, and he's amazing at finding treasure!"
Perfect. Natsukawa's confidence solidified. The age was exactly right for his plans.
"The paperwork..." The staff member hesitated, glancing between them uncomfortably. "Mr. Natsukawa, isn't your wife here? Adoption in the United States requires a marriage certificate, proof of assets, employment verification... and we need to conduct monthly check-ins to confirm the child's wellbeing. Single-parent adoptions are generally not approved. It's considered detrimental to a child's development."
"Wife... right..."
Natsukawa went silent. The thought of fabricating an entire spouse—complete with marriage certificates, background documentation, and monthly charades—made his head hurt.
Whatever. This wasn't his problem. That's what support staff were for.
He glanced back at Frank, who immediately caught on. Frank nodded, placed a hand on the staff member's shoulder, and gestured toward the hallway. "Why don't we discuss the details privately? I'm sure we can work something out."
Natsukawa had complete faith in Frank's abilities. Bureaucratic obstacles were like tissue paper to him. He turned his attention back to Anya, who was still perched on Bond's back like a small empress surveying her domain.
"Papa, can Anya take Bond too?"
She asked quietly, almost fearfully. Her hands tightened in the dog's fur.
Bond was her best friend. Two years ago, he'd carried her away from that terrifying laboratory—the place where the mad scientist had experimented on them both. She'd never forget the cold steel tables, the needles, the pain...
The reason she'd appeared before Natsukawa at all was because of Bond. Bond's precognition showed her that this man would be her father. And when she'd read Natsukawa's thoughts, she'd known for certain—her papa was a spy! And apparently, he was going to train her to be a spy too!
How exciting was that?!
As Subject Seven of Project Apple, Anya possessed telepathy. She could read the thoughts of people and animals, though she couldn't fully control the ability. She didn't know its exact range, and overuse caused terrible nosebleeds. Worst of all, during a full moon, the power vanished entirely, leaving her vulnerable and ordinary.
Bond was Subject Eight. His ability was precognition—he could see fragments of possible futures, though the visions came randomly and weren't always clear.
She'd heard Bond's thoughts and seen his visions. This man—Natsukawa—was meant to be her father. That's why she'd blocked his path and immediately called him "Papa."
"Bond, huh..."
Natsukawa considered it briefly. One dog. In the grand scheme of things, it barely registered as an inconvenience.
With the small fortune he'd accumulated as an intelligence operative, he could afford to run a private zoo if he wanted. One Great Pyrenees was nothing.
"Sure. Why not."
"Yay! Thank you, Papa!"
Natsukawa hadn't spoken the words aloud yet—he'd only thought them—but Anya had already heard the answer in his mind. She leaped from Bond's back straight into Natsukawa's arms, nearly knocking him backward with her enthusiasm.
"Anya will be a good girl and study really hard!"
Thirty Minutes Later
Thanks to Frank's particular brand of persuasion, Anya's adoption paperwork was remarkably straightforward. Natsukawa barely had to provide any real information before walking out with his new daughter.
Of course, Anya's unusual circumstances helped. Most children didn't just show up at orphanages on their own with experimental animals in tow. The facility hadn't even officially registered her—probably because they had no idea what paperwork to file for "mysterious child who escaped from secret laboratory."
So when Frank applied his specialty—which involved a briefcase and a very understanding attitude toward financial incentives—the staff quickly became cooperative.
Fifty thousand dollars in cash had a way of smoothing over bureaucratic irregularities.
That sum would keep that particular staff member comfortable for quite a while. Long enough to forget this entire conversation ever happened.
Natsukawa's Apartment - Evening
"Is this Anya's home?"
Anya showed absolutely no fear of the unfamiliar apartment. Within seconds, she'd transformed the living room sofa into a personal trampoline, bouncing with the kind of reckless abandon only six-year-olds possessed.
Bond, by contrast, was the picture of dignified canine behavior. He found a comfortable corner, circled twice, and promptly fell asleep with his nose tucked under his tail.
The contrast fascinated Natsukawa. Chaos and calm, perfectly balanced. Maybe this really was fate.
"This is your home for tonight," he said, watching Anya bounce. "But tomorrow, we're leaving."
"EH?!" Anya stopped mid-bounce, her eyes widening in horror. "Anya doesn't want to go back to the orphanage! Anya wants to stay with Papa!"
She launched herself off the sofa with surprising speed and accuracy, wrapping herself around his leg like a small, desperate barnacle. Her green eyes glistened with tears that looked entirely too calculated to be genuine.
"Relax. I'm kidding." Natsukawa patted her head. "Tomorrow we're flying to Japan. You'll be starting school there, so you need to be on your best behavior."
Frank's forged documents would be ready by morning. The plane tickets were already booked. They'd depart tomorrow evening and arrive in Tokyo the day after—accounting for time zones and a layover in San Francisco.
"Japan! Yay!" Anya's tears vanished instantly, replaced by pure excitement. "Anya wants to be a detective in Japan too!"
Every six-year-old on the planet knew about Japan's reputation for child detectives solving murders. It was like their primary cultural export.
"You're going to school, not playing detective," Natsukawa emphasized.
Anya clearly wasn't listening. Her mind was already racing with images of herself in a deerstalker cap, magnifying glass in hand.
Before leaving the country, Natsukawa had one final meeting scheduled—with his IRS contact. He needed to discuss operational funding, equipment requisition, and logistics.
The deposit he'd received was just that—a deposit. Mission expenses were separate, and he fully intended to charge the IRS's Tokyo branch for every piece of equipment he needed. Firearms, ammunition, surveillance gear, forged documents for his cover identity in Japan...
He wasn't asking for an attack helicopter—though that would be nice—but reliable weapons were non-negotiable. Sure, Frank could procure black market gear through his contacts, but why waste his own money when the client could foot the bill?
It would be idiotic not to take full advantage of the IRS's resources.
Especially since they were still making him pay taxes on the damn contract fee.
The irony was almost physically painful. He was hunting tax evaders while being taxed on the income from hunting tax evaders.
Who the hell designed this system?
[End of Chapter 2]
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