Chapter 4: Miracles and Magic are Real!
Near the base of the Twin Tower Buildings.
The night wind howled, kicking up dust and smoke from the smoldering wreckage. In the distance, the sirens of approaching fire trucks grew louder, their flashing lights painting half the sky a hellish red.
Ai Haibara stood beside Mitsuhiko, her hands repeatedly touching her own arms and face as if to confirm they were still there.
Alive.
She was alive, completely unharmed.
Her gaze fell upon Mitsuhiko, his strange blue dress, and the soul-like gem glittering on his chest.
It's real. This isn't a hallucination.
As the vision of the dazed crowd began to clear, reporters swarmed the area like vultures, their camera flashes igniting the night.
If Mitsuhiko's "magical girl" identity was discovered...
A thousand horrific scenarios flashed through Haibara's mind. Major research institutions would fall over themselves to get their hands on a being like him. Mitsuhiko would become a lab rat. Dissected. Subjected to endless, painful tests.
Even worse... what if the Organization found out?
The thought sent a jolt of pure ice through her veins. Haibara grabbed Mitsuhiko's wrist.
"Mitsuhiko! We have to get out of here, right now!"
He blinked, still basking in the warm afterglow of his successful rescue. "Huh? Go where?"
"Anywhere! Anywhere people can't see you dressed like that!" she urged, her eyes darting around frantically.
The crowd was starting to notice them. A few people were already pointing toward the spot where the unusual blue light had faded.
"What's over there?"
"Did someone fall?"
"What is that kid wearing?"
The reality of the situation finally hit Mitsuhiko. Not the terror of becoming a lab rat, but a far more immediate and socially devastating crisis...
The crisis of being seen in a dress.
He gripped Haibara's hand tightly. "Hold on!"
With a single thought, his body began to glow. He dissolved into a swirl of countless blue particles, and in an instant, both of them vanished without a trace, leaving behind a crowd of bewildered onlookers staring at empty space.
Hidden in a nearby alley, Kyubey watched it all, a strange light flickering in its crimson eyes. It groomed its fur with a delicate paw, its long tail swishing rhythmically.
[Non-Human Beings Chat Group]
SpongeBob SquarePants: WOAH! They teleported! That is the coolest thing I have ever seen!
Tom Cat: [Cat_Jaw_Hangs_Open.jpeg], [Cat_is_Dumbfounded.jpeg]
A secluded corner of a park.
Dappled moonlight filtered through the leaves, and the sound of cicadas filled the night air.
Mitsuhiko and Haibara materialized out of thin air. Haibara stumbled and fell onto the soft grass, breathing heavily. Her heart was pounding in her chest, not from exhaustion, but from the whiplash of surviving a near-death experience and a magical rescue.
"Was that... teleportation?" she gasped, looking up at Mitsuhiko. His dress seemed to emit a faint, ethereal blue glow in the moonlight.
Mitsuhiko looked down at his own outfit, and his face instantly turned beet red.
"I-I didn't ask to wear a dress!" he stammered, grabbing the hem of the skirt in humiliation. "This outfit! I-I'm not a pervert, I swear!"
"Mitsuhiko, that's not what I meant..." Haibara said, her voice surprisingly calm. Her scientific curiosity took over as she pointed to the gem on his chest. "That jewel... is that the source of your power?"
He nodded, instinctively placing a hand over his Soul Gem. "It feels like... a part of my body now."
A moment of silence passed between them.
"Mitsuhiko," Haibara began softly, her voice filled with genuine gratitude. "Thank you. I'm so glad you were there."
He blushed and scratched the back of his head. "I wasn't thinking! I just knew it was my fault you were falling! And then that white creature said it could give me the power to save you..." His eyes lit up with childish wonder. "It's true! The magical girls from the anime are real! Miracles and magic are real!"
Haibara stared at the gem on his chest, lost in thought.
Miracles and magic...
Her sister. Akemi Miyano. If magic truly existed...
"Are you thinking that perhaps even the dead can be brought back to life?"
A calm, alien voice spoke from behind them.
Haibara spun around. The white creature—Kyubey—was perched on a low tree branch nearby, its red eyes glowing faintly. It swished its tail, paused to lick a paw clean of non-existent dust, and stared at her.
"How... How did you know what I was thinking?"
Kyubey stopped grooming and tilted its head. "Akemi Miyano was very important to you, wasn't she?"
Haibara's pupils contracted. "How do you know about Akemi?"
It leaped gracefully to a lower branch, its expression as placid as a still lake. "I know many things. I know who you are, Shiho Miyano. I know your past. And I know all about your sister."
Haibara felt the air leave her lungs.
Kyubey's tail stood on end, its voice gentle but utterly devoid of warmth. "If you wish to see Akemi Miyano again, it's not an impossible desire."
"State your wish."
"Make a contract with me, and become a Magical Girl."
Haibara's fists clenched at her sides. Her own heartbeat was a deafening drum in her ears.
To see my sister again... Is that really possible?
Back at the Twin Towers pool.
The red Ford Mustang sat half-submerged, sending ripples across the water's surface. The crowd cheered and applauded as the occupants, soaking wet, climbed out of the pool.
"It's incredible! They actually used the explosion to jump between the buildings!"
"What was that blue light from before?"
"Did someone fall?"
"Where are the other two kids?"
Genta and Ayumi looked at each other, unsure how to answer. Conan quickly pulled them aside.
"Don't say a word about what happened to Mitsuhiko and Haibara!" he hissed. "Especially not about Mitsuhiko transforming!"
Ayumi's eyes went wide, and Genta gulped. The scenes from their favorite cartoons flashed through their minds. "Would he be captured and experimented on?" Ayumi whispered.
"Like in a sci-fi movie?" Genta added.
Conan nodded gravely. "Even worse. Imagine what a sinister organization would do to get their hands on that kind of power..."
The Black Organization.
The thought made his blood run cold. He tapped his Detective Badge. "I can track their location with this."
Just then, Inspector Megure pushed his way through the crowd, sweat beading on his forehead. "Kids! Are you alright? Where are Haibara and Mitsuhiko?"
Ayumi quickly fabricated a lie. "They took a different way down! They had to go to the bathroom!"
Genta nodded vigorously. "Yeah, yeah! It was a real emergency!"
Inspector Megure, as oblivious as ever, simply scratched his head and accepted the children's story. "Is that so? Well, as long as you're all safe."
Using the chaos as cover, Conan, the kids, and Dr. Agasa slipped away.
Dr. Agasa's yellow Beetle sped through the night. The engine hummed, but the car's interior was unnaturally silent. Conan sat in the passenger seat, his brow furrowed in deep thought.
Magical girls... Magic...
The concepts shattered the very foundations of his scientific understanding. If magic was real, what was the point of detective work and logical deduction?
The radar on his glasses beeped, showing two friendly signals in the nearby park. The car couldn't enter, so Dr. Agasa pulled over. They all piled out and rushed into the trees.
From a distance, Conan could already hear Kyubey's voice.
"...make a contract with me, and you can see Akemi Miyano again."
Conan broke into a sprint. "DON'T LISTEN TO IT, HAIBARA!"
He burst through a line of bushes, with Genta, Ayumi, and Dr. Agasa right behind him.
Kyubey turned its head calmly toward him. "Conan Edogawa."
"What are you?" Conan demanded, his face grim. "Why are you trying to trick Haibara?"
"I am merely providing her with another option," the creature replied. "Whether she accepts it or not is her decision alone."
Warning bells screamed in Conan's head. This contract has to be a trap!
"There's no such thing as a free lunch!" Conan shot back. "There has to be a catch!"
Kyubey swished its tail and tilted its head. "No free lunch? Then what about disaster relief aid? To the one receiving it, is it not free?" Of course, whether it was free for the one giving it was another matter entirely.
Haibara stood frozen, her gaze shifting between Conan's desperate plea and Kyubey's tempting offer. My sister... Akemi...
Meanwhile, Ayumi and Genta's attention was completely captivated by Mitsuhiko's new look.
"Mitsuhiko!" Ayumi gasped, her eyes sparkling. "You really became a magical girl! You look so pretty!"
Mitsuhiko's face turned a shade of crimson that rivaled a tomato. "Don't say pretty! It's so embarrassing!"
Genta grumbled, "I'm not wearing a dress to be some magical girl... though having superpowers would be pretty cool."
Kyubey's gaze shifted to the other two children. "You both have the potential to become Magical Girls as well, you know." It looked at Ayumi. "Do you want to be just like the heroines in your cartoons? Is that your wish? Make a contract with me, and it can be reality."
"DON'T YOU DARE!" Conan shouted. "Don't even think about it!"
Genta held up his hands in surrender. "Alright, alright! I didn't want to wear a dress anyway!"
Ayumi glanced nervously at Conan and looked down, her cheeks pink. "I-I won't, either..."
Kyubey observed them all silently, its gaze lingering on Haibara. The seed had been planted.
Haibara stared at the creature, only one thought consuming her entire being.
My sister... can I really see you again?
[Non-Human Beings Chat Group]
SpongeBob SquarePants: Oh, barnacles! Why is Miss Haibara hesitating? Isn't bringing back family a good thing?
Tom Cat: [Cat_is_Confused.jpeg], [Cat_Thinking_Hard.jpeg]
Conan saw the flicker of desperate hope in Haibara's eyes. He knew her sister was her greatest weakness. At the same time, his entire scientific worldview was crumbling. Was magic just an unknown phenomenon that science had yet to explain? Or was it a supernatural force that shattered the laws of physics entirely?
And a more chilling thought entered his mind...
In the future, if criminals started using magic... how in the world was he supposed to solve those cases?