The taxi sped along, leaving Beika Town behind, passing through Cupido Town, and heading straight into Inunaki Town.
Soon, they arrived at a large café with a red roof and red & white walls.
Haibara frowned slightly.
They had just come from Poirot Café—why stop at another one?
This was Cat's Eye Café.
She looked up at the logo of a cat's eye above the entrance, confusion flickering in her blue eyes. But before she could voice her question, Akashi gently took her hand.
The two children stepped out of the taxi and entered the café together.
The moment they walked inside, they were greeted by a familiar figure standing behind the bar—Ai Kisugi.
The moment Ai saw Akashi enter, surprise lit up her face.
"Little brother! You finally showed up!" she exclaimed. "Why haven't you come by in so long? Were you off fighting child labor again?"
As she spoke, Ai leaned over the bar with raised hands, clearly aiming to touch the little boy's face affectionately.
Akashi calmly took a step back, easily dodging her gesture.
Haibara, meanwhile, had her gaze fixed on a maid inside the café.
She wore a black-and-white maid outfit, her long legs wrapped in knee-high white stockings and tucked into short black boots. Burgundy hair flowed down from her head, and a silver mask covered part of her face—her whole appearance looked like it came straight out of a two-dimensional world.
Yet… something about her was incredibly familiar.
Haibara's blue eyes trembled slightly.
The maid had also noticed them. Abandoning her duties at the guest table, she immediately apologized and trotted toward them in her little boots.
The maid's eyes locked with Haibara's.
Despite the burgundy-colored contact lenses that masked her true eye color, Haibara recognized her immediately.
It was her sister.
Excitement surged within the little girl. She instinctively opened her arms, ready to rush forward and embrace her long-lost sibling.
But the next moment, the maid-like woman suddenly walked right past Haibara—
—and picked up Akashi in a hug instead!
She rubbed her face affectionately against his cheek and made bird-like cooing sounds.
"You heartless brat! Have you forgotten about me?"
"..."
Haibara froze mid-step, arms still outstretched. Her entire body stiffened like a statue.
That voice—it's definitely her sister.
But seriously? She ignored me?
Akashi, caught off guard, quickly protested:
"Of course not! I wouldn't dare forget! It's the weekend, so of course I came to see you."
But Akemi's expression turned a little sour.
"If I hadn't texted you first, would you have even shown up?"
Trying to deflect, Akashi changed the subject swiftly. "Look, I even brought Shiho with me!"
Only then did Akemi notice the little girl beside Akashi.
Until now, her focus had been entirely on her beloved. How could she have noticed anyone else?
Akemi's face lit up with joy.
"Wow, Shiho! So this is how you look now? You're adorable!"
She immediately let go of Akashi and scooped Haibara up in a joyful hug.
Haibara remained speechless.
This isn't how I imagined our reunion would go at all...
Still, she composed herself and asked, "Sister, why are you working here? Still pretending to be a waitress?"
Akemi glanced at Akashi and replied with mock bitterness:
"Blame that heartless guy over there. He insisted I stay here to train, said it'd help hide my identity."
Seeing the sisters about to dive into a full conversation, Akashi quickly interrupted:
"Let's head upstairs first. We can talk more privately up there."
Discussing such things in a public café was never a good idea.
Akemi gave a quick nod and turned to Ai.
"Ai-chan, I'm leaving things in your hands."
Ai chuckled playfully. "No problem, Miss Mei. Go right ahead."
Clearly, Akemi and Ai had built a good relationship.
This tomboyish girl showed nothing but respect toward Akemi—which, honestly, made sense. With Akemi's gentle nature, she could probably get along with just about anyone.
The three of them made their way up the stairs.
Akashi, walking at the rear, couldn't help but glance at Akemi's back.
Her long burgundy hair flowed behind her maid outfit. Her black uniform contrasted sharply with her white knee-high socks, revealing a sliver of skin between—the infamous absolute territory.
Her entire appearance now was vastly different from before.
Looks like sending her to Cat's Eye Café for a makeover wasn't such a bad idea after all.
As if sensing his gaze, Akemi turned slightly, her burgundy eyes glancing at him. Her eyes seemed to smile, radiating a teasing energy that sent a tingle down his spine.
So different...
They soon arrived on the second floor and entered a cozy living room with large floor-to-ceiling windows.
Akemi removed the mask from her face, revealing a delicate and beautiful face.
Haibara couldn't help but ask, "Sister, what happened to your hair and eyes?"
"I dyed my hair burgundy and wear colored contacts," Akemi replied. "Sister Hitomi said my real eyes were too striking—they made it obvious I was mixed. So she told me to switch lenses."
"She also wanted me to change my entire style. Only after transforming completely would I avoid being recognized."
"Once I master disguises and voice-changing, I can come find you more easily."
A look of hope glimmered in her eyes.
Akashi chimed in, "So how's your training going?"
Akemi scratched her cheek awkwardly.
Honestly, it was going slowly.
If she were good at this sort of thing, she wouldn't have ended up as a peripheral member of the organization in the first place.
Unlike her genius sister Shiho, Akemi had never been that sharp.
Akashi reassured her, "Just focus on learning how to disguise yourself. I'll take care of the voice-changing part."
He immediately thought of Dr. Agasa—the great inventor who'd made butterfly-shaped voice changers and even masks with voice modulation.
Making a wearable voice-changing collar should be possible.
And if it's not?
Then he'd just make it possible.
Akemi's eyes lit up. She laughed, "Akashi, you're the best!"
Haibara couldn't resist muttering, "Sister, don't praise him like that."
"You don't know what a menace he's been while you were gone."
Oof.
Ai-chan, betraying him like this? Was she really about to bring up what happened this morning?
Akashi shot her a warning glare.
In response, the little loli snorted softly, then changed her tone.
"He takes me to elementary school every day, making me attend classes with a bunch of kids."
"It's outrageous. It's like he's addicted to pretending to be a child!"