"Shiho…" Akemi squeezed her sister's hand, not interrupting her words.
Dr. Agasa scratched his nose, glancing at Tsuneo.
He'd already told Akemi in the car to let both sisters stay, but talk of crows, abysses, and corpses left him momentarily speechless.
Tsuneo propped his chin, grinning. "Scared of being found? Try a new hairstyle."
"If that doesn't work, we'll shave you like the doctor."
Akemi instinctively shielded her sister's head, shaking her head nervously.
Dr. Agasa touched his slick Mediterranean hairstyle, unfazed.
The figure in cartoon pajamas eyed the odd repairman again.
He'd tangled with someone as dangerous as Gin—how could he be so nonchalant?
"Alright, alright, just settle in. We're already enemies of that Organization, right, Tsuneo-kun?" Dr. Agasa said, waving a hand with a smile, looking at Tsuneo.
"For now, yeah," Tsuneo said, nodding, thinking of a certain dog-brained detective.
With that guy's stubborn streak, even without the shrinking drug, he'd probably chase the Organization to the ends of the earth…
"Haibara."
"How about Ai Haibara?"
Dr. Agasa clapped his chubby hand, eyes lighting up.
"Haibara" came from "Gray," inspired by detective Cordelia Gray.
"Ai" drew from V.I. Warshawski, another fictional sleuth.
The name echoed a certain detective who borrowed his alias from novelists.
"Ai Haibara."
Reuniting with her resurrected sister was a miracle, but the shadows in her heart lingered. Shiho Miyano chose the mournful "Ai" in the end.
"Can I meet that high school detective?" Haibara asked, turning to the repairman who'd been watching the show.
"He's in first grade at Teitan Elementary now. We can have the doctor pull some strings to get you enrolled."
"That way, you can keep an eye on this lab rat up close," Tsuneo said, a grin spreading across his face.
"Is that so? Looks like you know what I'm thinking," Haibara said, standing in her cartoon pajamas, hand on hip, a faint smirk tugging at her lips.
Dr. Agasa followed their cryptic exchange, but Akemi had to puzzle over it.
High school detective?
First-grader…
"Conan?"
"Are you talking about Conan?"
Recalling the boy's odd behavior and her sister's shrinking, Akemi ventured a bold guess.
Tsuneo nodded, asking Haibara, "You haven't told her yet?"
"Not yet," Haibara said, turning to Akemi with a calm look.
Shinichi Kudo was the same Edogawa Conan she'd mentioned before, from the Mouri Detective Agency.
"Big sister, big sister…"
Akemi's mind echoed with Conan's calls, and she shook her head, expression strange.
That kid shouldn't be a detective—he should be an actor…
"Oh, right, I've got a gift for you," Tsuneo said, mysteriously pulling something from his pocket and handing it to Haibara.
"A Porsche?" Haibara stared at the car emblem, baffled.
"I gave one to the detective earlier. This one's still warm—yours now," Tsuneo said, grinning brightly.
"Tsuneo-kun, is this… from that car again???" Dr. Agasa blinked, stammering.
"We're fated, me and that car," Tsuneo said, nodding with a laugh.
…
"Vodka, found her yet?" Gin stood by his beloved car, staring coldly at a missing spot on the hood, speaking into the phone.
"Big brother, we've got people looking, but no news yet," Vodka replied cautiously.
That woman somehow broke free of her cuffs and vanished from the gas chamber.
Big brother shouldn't have taunted her, saying her sister was dead. Now things were messy.
"Erase everything tied to her from this world!" Gin ordered icily.
Whether they found her or not, the Organization's secrets were at risk. Some things had to be discarded.
"Got it, big brother!" Vodka exhaled in relief after hanging up.
Why did big brother sound extra pissed today?
Gin lit a cigarette, took two sharp drags, and glared at his car with a cold smirk. "I'll catch you eventually, you rat!"
He'd checked the car—nothing wrong, except for another missing emblem.
Steeling himself, Gin tossed the half-smoked cigarette into a puddle, opened the door, sat down, and turned the key.
Nothing happened.
Gin took a deep breath and tried again.
"Heh heh heh…"
"Heh heh heh…"
A chilling laugh echoed in the silent car.
…
Two days later.
Teitan Elementary, Class 1-B.
"Heard we're getting another transfer student today."
"Really?"
"Yeah, no one's transferred since Conan."
"What kind of person will they be?"
"Hope it's a cute girl!"
The Teitan trio buzzed in the classroom about the new arrival.
"What do you think, Conan?" Ayumi asked, leaning toward the detective at his desk.
"Probably another bookworm," Conan said, propping his chin, glancing at the excited kids.
Soon, the classroom door opened, revealing the mysterious transfer student.
"It's a girl!"
"She's so cute!"
"Everyone, back to your seats," the teacher said with a smile, writing "Ai Haibara" on the blackboard.
"This is Ai Haibara, who'll be studying with us from now on!"
"So, Haibara-san, where would you like to sit?" the teacher asked, scanning the empty seats.
"Teacher, over here!" Genta waved enthusiastically.
"No one's next to me!"
The black-haired Haibara scanned the room expressionlessly, spotted her target, and smiled faintly. She walked over and sat beside a certain detective.
"Nice to meet you."
Conan nodded, a bit dazed.
"She seems kinda cold," Mitsuhiko remarked.
"Hmph," Genta, who'd wiped the empty seat next to him spotless, crossed his arms, staying silent.
"She's probably just nervous," Ayumi said with a smile.
(End of Chapter)
---------------------------------------------------------
🚀 Want more?
📖 On Patreon you can read 10+ chapters ahead, plus there will be exclusive stories available only there.
💖 If you'd like to support me, check it out: patreon.com/DaoistRoeoNQ
🔓 Patreon will always stay ahead of the public release — and some stories won't be published anywhere else.
✨ All support is completely optional — even if you don't join, I'm still grateful to have you here reading!