Chapter Text
If someone asked Shinichi to describe hedgehogs, he’d list off their most basic characteristics:
They are small nocturnal quadrupedal rodents that fit into the palm of your hand, with noses and mouths just big enough for small insects and even smaller plants. Without the white sclera typical of human eyes, a hedgehog's eyes appear like the black button eyes of a stuffed animal. Above all, they're mostly known for their key defense mechanism: the spines that cover their back.
In a pinch, they can roll up into a ball using these spines to camouflage or act as a deterrent to predators due to their sharp and spiky nature. They usually come in various shades of brown, sometimes white, and are known for being slow, due to their short legs.
Honestly, they were kind of cute. Tiny, innocuous things that were both small and adorable.
“Oi, Kudo!”
Nakamichi waved from the field, hands over his head and with a slightly exacerbated look in his eyes.
Oh, right. He forgot.
Shinichi was supposed to help supervise the Teitan High Soccer Team.
The team decided to practice in a little park known for its somewhat large hedgehog population, hence Shinichi’s train of thought, but it was also reminiscent of an old memory from when he was a kid.
But oh well, that could wait. Besides, his break was over.
“We need you over here to coach the new guys! Some of the underclassmen keep scoring out of bounds.”
“Hai, Hai…I’m coming, Naka.”
Shinichi proceeded to push himself up on his feet, yawning and stretching as he finally got up from the tree stump he used to ponder and relax on. He was still reeling from last night's case and that meant he wasn't able to sleep at all. Thankfully, watching over his former soccer team shouldn't be too stressful.
And with that, he walked to Nakamichi and the guys, his mind trying to drift away from his exhaustion.
Heh, it was actually kinda nice and quiet, for once. Nobody screaming bloody murder, no crime scenes littered with corpses. Perfect for a good cup of coffee-
*BWHOOSSHHHHH!*
"…Eh?"
Shinichi blinked as he suddenly felt a large gale of wind blasted by his body, blowing his shirt up and sending his hair flying into his face.
"What the-?"
He froze in place as he just processed what went by him. Weird, where did that wind come from?
At the same time, he could also hear the school zone speedometer going ballistic, beeping insistently like it was trying to wake up the whole neighborhood. Naturally, this got Shinichi’s attention and, since Nakamichi and the others were currently reeling from the loud noise and a couple rogue soccer balls, he left to go investigate.
However, after he walked over to the end of the small park’s concrete platform, he spotted something on that speedometer that completely baffled him.
The speedometer…apparently was reading for something that was going… AT 482 KILOMETERS PER HOUR?!
Shinichi just stared at the speedometer like he just saw Tokyo get vaporized right in front of him. D-Did the thing accidentally read that burst of wind as going at that ridiculous speed? That was like a third of the speed of sound.
What kind of wind goes so fast that it causes a speedometer to read it as a third the speed of sound?!
Shinichi just blinked as he processed the information, and was about to turn back and finally walk his way to Nakamichi when-
*WHOOSH!*
Another burst of speed blew right past him, going so fast that Shinichi almost lost his footing and his phone was almost blown out of his pocket. Shinichi yelped and whipped his head around to look for whatever that thing was because there was no way it was just wind.
Then came another blaring of the school zone speed checker as he caught yet another ridiculous speed on the checker, going around 500 kilometers per hour.
Shinichi was baffled, confused, and… had a strange foreboding feeling in his gut. It was…honestly kinda creepy, like an ominous prediction hovering over his shoulder or karma on its way to claim its due.
But Shinichi didn’t really care right now. He’d rather turn around and just forget whatever happened here on this day in this part of Japan, localized entirely in this park. Honestly, it was way too early for this kind of crap.
And so, he did that, turning around and, after stepping over a tiny hedgehog that came out of the bushes, walking over to Nakamichi and the other soccer players, quickly forgetting about what the heck just happened. Or…more like forcibly forgetting.
Meanwhile, in that same park, a man emerged from the shadows of the trees, walking over carefully to a bench. The man watched his surroundings like a hawk, carefully observing the area while keeping a laser focus on the man sitting on the bench just meters away from the foliage.
A chuckle escaped the man as he walked forward with the knife in his hands, not noticing the tiny hedgehog that laid like a stone at his feet. However, it didn't take long for his foot to finally meet the small creature, and sadly, the man didn't really care about the stupid animal, so much so that he kicked it away with unbridled force, launching the poor rodent into the air and out of the park.
That hedgehog didn’t end up flying into the street, thankfully.
The reason for the hedgehog’s survival, however, would baffle even the greatest of conspiracy theorists.
Suddenly, a flash of electric blue light boosted past the park, and with that boost, the hedgehog seemingly vanished.
Or did it?
Somewhere else, far away from the soccer players and the soon-to-be crime scene, in a small clearing far away from human eyes, was something extraordinary.
The small hedgehog that avoided being roadkill was sitting in the palms of…another hedgehog.
Except, it was different. In a myriad of ways.
Firstly, it was much larger. It dwarfed its tinier cousin, standing at about the height of a preteen human. Staring at the smaller hedgehog were big green eyes that looked incredibly human-like and cartoony.
Secondly, it was a completely different color. While most hedgehogs were brown, or sometimes white, in color, an electric blue color covered the spiky boy on all except his chest and muzzle, which were a nice peach color. If one were to see it, they would probably say that the poor thing had been spray painted to heck and back, but let it be known that it IS his natural coat.
It was also, for some odd reason, wearing some very select pieces of clothing. A pair of crisp white cloth gloves covered its hands, while mangled shoes and charred socks covered its feet. These were the only things that the larger hedgehog wore, leaving it almost completely naked.
The curious larger creature stared at the smaller hedgehog in wonder at the little creature, as if to say 'Hey, are you a little me?' without even speaking.
The tinier hedgehog, obviously frightened by the bigger one, curled up into a ball instantly.
"Woah!"
The blue boy jumped slightly at the sudden motion of the little spike ball. He, thankfully, did not drop it.
"Hey, buddy," The larger hedgehog said reassuringly, pulling the little spine ball closer to his face, "It's okay."
The small ball unfurled slightly.
The blue hedgehog proceeded to point at himself, gently cupping the small rodent in his other hand.
"I'm not gonna hurt you."
He then recupped his hands around the small spikeball.
Suddenly, the sound of a speeding car and several police sirens echoed through the park, causing the tiny hedgehog to lock up tighter in its ball and for the larger one to perk up its ears. With the harsh sound, however, came a small smirk on the blue hedgehog's face.
"I'm only here…to let you experience THIS!"
Quickly bending his legs into position, the larger hedgehog's eyes lit up with joy as he was about to take his smaller version on the best thing the little hedgehog would ever experience in its life.
And, with a single little spark of blue electricity emitting from his eyes…
"WOOAH!!"
Shockwaves echoed throughout Beika as the creature known as Sonic The Hedgehog took his smaller Earth clone on the joy ride of its life.
Little did both the teenaged detective and the electric blue hedgehog know…
…That they were only a few days away from meeting face to face.