Chapter 8: The Professor's Distant Relative... Akemi Hirota
Beika Town. Early Morning.
Sunlight sliced through a gap in the curtains, painting a long, thin stripe of light across the floor. Conan sat on the edge of his bed, chin resting in his hands, lost in thought.
Everything that had happened yesterday felt like a fever dream, yet it was undeniably real.
"Resurrection of the dead..." he muttered, the words a violation of everything he knew. As a materialist who lived by logic, he had always dismissed supernatural phenomena. Now, he had witnessed a miracle that science had no words for.
"But that body was definitely..."
His mind replayed the scene at the pier. Akemi's body had shown every sign of death. A bullet through the heart. Complete blood loss. His own hands had been stained with her blood. It was impossible for it to have been faked.
Conan shook his head, trying to clear the fog. He hopped off the bed and, after washing up, headed into the living room.
Kogoro Mouri was already out, and Ran was in the kitchen preparing breakfast.
"Good morning, Conan-kun!" she greeted him with her usual bright smile. "What would you like to eat today?"
"Anything's fine," Conan answered distractedly, his mind still replaying yesterday's impossible events. He needed to see it again. He needed to be sure.
"Ran-neechan, I'm going to Dr. Agasa's today. I might be back a little late."
"Hmm? Okay, but don't be too late, alright?" Ran said, placing a plate of toast on the table.
An hour later, Conan was hiding behind a large tree near Dr. Agasa's house, observing two figures as they walked out the front gate.
It was Haibara and Akemi, walking side-by-side toward the main shopping district. Akemi wore a wide-brimmed hat and sunglasses, an obvious attempt to conceal her identity.
"She's really back..." Conan whispered to himself, his eyes glued to the woman who should be dead.
There was no doubt. It was Akemi Miyano. It wasn't just her appearance; her body language, the way she spoke—it was a perfect match to his memories.
He followed them from a safe distance. The two entered a clothing store, presumably to buy some daily necessities for Akemi. He overheard their quiet conversation.
"Thank you, Hai... Ai," Akemi said softly.
"You don't need to thank me, Sis. Just remember, when we're outside, you have to call me Haibara or Ai."
"I'll remember. And my public identity is the Professor's distant relative... Akemi Hirota, right?"
"Right."
Hearing this, Conan frowned slightly. They were already building a new identity for her. It was a logical move; a person who had "come back from the dead" couldn't exactly reintegrate into society through normal channels.
After leaving the store, the sisters headed in the direction of the municipal office, likely to file for new identification. Conan didn't follow them any further. He had confirmed what he needed to know. He turned and walked back toward Dr. Agasa's house.
In the Professor's sunny backyard, Mitsuhiko stood in the middle of the lawn with his eyes closed, a faint blue light emanating from his body. He was trying to get a handle on his new magical abilities.
Suddenly, the blue light intensified, and his body began to turn transparent.
"I did it!" he opened his eyes, staring in amazement at his semi-translucent arm.
"That's amazing, Mitsuhiko-kun!" the Professor exclaimed excitedly from the porch.
Just as Mitsuhiko was about to push his power further, a wave of dizziness washed over him. The blue light instantly vanished, and his body solidified. "Damn, I still can't hold it for very long..."
A calm voice came from the back door. "I think you're rushing it."
Conan had appeared in the backyard, having already sized up the situation. "I don't understand the principles behind this 'magic' yet, but if it exists, it must have rules."
Just then, Dr. Agasa emerged from his lab, looking defeated. "Conan, Mitsuhiko, come in here for a second."
Inside the lab, the Professor pointed at a bank of monitors displaying chaotic, unreadable data. "I've tried every scientific method I can think of," he said, frustrated. "I can't analyze the Soul Gem's composition at all. This thing... it's beyond the scope of science."
Mitsuhiko touched the gem on his chest. "Maybe magic just can't be explained?"
As they stood there stumped, Haibara and Akemi returned. Seeing the three of them gathered around the equipment with long faces, Haibara put down her shopping bags and walked over. "What's wrong?"
After a brief explanation from Conan, Haibara glanced at the jumbled data and shook her head. "Give it up, Professor. Trying to force a scientific understanding of magic is pointless. The fundamental principles are too different. It's an exercise in futility."
"Then what are we supposed to do?" Mitsuhiko asked.
"Practice," Haibara stated simply. She took her own silver Soul Gem from her pocket. "I've been experimenting. My abilities seem to be related to analysis and healing."
She picked up an empty test tube from a rack. A silver light glowed in her eyes. Instantly, a clear liquid materialized inside the tube, rapidly filling it to the brim.
"Water?" Conan's eyes widened. "From thin air?"
"I reconfigured the hydrogen and oxygen molecules already present in the air," she explained. "The process is... strange. It violates several basic laws. I'll need a lot more practice to control it precisely."
By evening, the Beika sky was painted a brilliant orange.
Mitsuhiko and Haibara continued their training in the backyard while Conan and the Professor tried to organize the day's "research," though they had almost nothing to show for it. Akemi sat in the living room, flipping through a magazine, her gaze occasionally drifting to the window, a complex mix of pride and worry in her eyes.
The Professor's phone rang. "Ah, Mouri-kun!... Yes... Okay, I'll tell him."
He hung up and turned to Conan. "That was Mouri. He said he's taken a new case and has to head out to investigate tomorrow. He wanted to know if you wanted to go with him."
Conan nodded. "Okay, got it."
As night fell, Akemi took the initiative to clean up after dinner while Haibara organized her data in the study. It was time for Conan and Mitsuhiko to head home.
"See you tomorrow," Haibara said, her farewell as brief as ever.
As he was leaving, Conan glanced back one last time. Haibara was dressed in her usual clothes, the silver Soul Gem hidden beneath her shirt. She looked the same, but there was a subtle change he couldn't quite place. He couldn't help but wonder what it felt like to face death and then be given a second chance at life.
He shook his head and left.
On the street, Mitsuhiko walked alongside Conan. "Conan-kun, I..." he began, then hesitated.
"What are you worried about?" Conan glanced at him.
"I'm just thinking... did we open a box we shouldn't have? Magic... souls... This stuff is way beyond our understanding."
Conan was silent for a moment. "Whatever it is," he said finally, "if it exists, then it can be understood."
Mitsuhiko nodded, but the worried look on his face remained. They parted ways at a crossroads. As Conan walked alone toward the Mouri Detective Agency, his mind was a whirlwind of thoughts.
Meanwhile, on the other side of the city, Kyubey stood on the roof of a skyscraper, its red eyes surveying the entirety of Beika Town.
"Two contractors, plus the chat group's passive income... Energy total: 3509.46," it calculated internally. "It's nowhere near enough."
Its gaze swept over several key locations in the city. The girls' dormitory at Teitan High School. The Metropolitan Police Department, where Officer Miwako Sato was working late. Beika General Hospital, where a young nurse was on the night shift.
Finally, its gaze settled on the Mouri Detective Agency. "'The Sleeping Kogoro'..."
Rain began to fall, slicking Kyubey's white fur, but it paid the weather no mind, continuing its cold observation of the city below.
Inside the Mouri Detective Agency.
Kogoro Mouri sat at his desk, irritably flipping through a thick case file. "Dammit, what kind of case is this?! I can't make heads or tails of it!" He scratched his head, beads of sweat on his forehead. An unopened can of beer sat on his desk; he was clearly too frustrated to even drink.
"Dad, don't push yourself too hard," Ran said, placing a cup of hot tea beside him. "Mom was the one who passed this case to you, right? She must have faith in you."
Kogoro just grunted. "That woman did this on purpose! She knows that lately I've been..."
Conan pushed the door open, cutting off his complaint. "I'm back."
"Welcome home, Conan-kun! Dinner's ready."
"Thanks!" Conan replied, but his eyes were drawn to the file in Kogoro's hands. From his angle, he could make out a few words. High-end apartment... locked-room murder... It certainly looked like a tough one.
Suddenly, a strange chill ran down Conan's spine. His head snapped toward the window, his body instinctively tensing.
On the rooftop of the building opposite them, a small, white silhouette flashed for a split second before disappearing.
It's here...
"Conan-kun? What's wrong?" Ran asked, noticing his strange behavior.
"Nothing," he said quickly. "I probably just saw something."
Rain pattered against the window, blurring the world outside into a watery curtain. Reflected in the glass was Kogoro's tired face and the untouched can of beer on his desk.
In that moment, Conan felt a deep, unsettling sense of dread begin to spread through his heart.
Down on the street, Kyubey moved silently through the rain. As it stepped in a puddle, the reflection of its dark red eyes rippled and distorted in the water.