CH 9 - The Things and the Time the World Needs

-x-

If... If only there was a way to sort this out, think this over, without the confusion and uncertainty, he wouldn't be so irritated. There had to be a way. Some way.

All right. Suppose there were two sisters. You were best friends with the younger one and had only heard of her older sibling from her descriptions. However, there was a problem. Your best friend had lied to you once, but because it wasn't one that'd altered much of your life, you'd forgiven her. Then her sister was murdered. Evidences were pointing to your best friend, and you knew that she had told you before about the lack of her sister's love for her. What would you believe? Your instinct as an older child that the viewpoint of your best friend's sister was distorted and misunderstood? Or your best friend? The wound of betrayal that had been mended but the scar still visible?

Instinct.

But he couldn't say for sure. He was an only child and he would never understand the minds of the eldest siblings. Nevertheless, instinct never betrayed.

However, what would happen if your best friend was indeed innocent? Would she be all right? What if, this time, instinct lied? Would the world around your best friend shatter and collapse? No, the world was too big. No matter what happened, there would still be a world around you...

Yes, there would still be a world around you, he nodded in agreement with the voice that came from the outside world. Therefore...

Where did that voice come from?

"Conan-kun!" The same voice shouted, causing Conan to look up startled. Ayumi's face, one full of concern, peered into his. "Did you catch the flu?"

"Flu?" The word slipped out in astonishment before he realized that Ayumi could come up with no other explanation for his absent behavior. "Oh! No! I'm fine. I'm just tired." Conan smiled in reassurance but failed to convince Ayumi completely. He looked around and met Haibara's gaze that was asking for help while Mitsuhiko's and Genta's glares demanded an explanation for worrying Ayumi. "I'm sorry. What were you talking about?"

"We were saying," Mitsuhiko began in a grumpy and monotonic voice. It had been a while since the Detective Boys – all five of them – walked home from school together, and now this Conan was spoiling all the fun. How dare he! "Since Haibara-san has finally recovered, we should let hakase bring us to a camping trip this weekend."

So that was why Haibara was looking at him for help. Conan looked at Haibara again, but she had turned her head away.

"U-um..." Conan shifted on his feet and wondered why Haibara left the difficult excuse-making task to him. "I'm afraid this weekend isn't too convenient for us."

The anticipation, mixed with worries, annoyances, or whatever else, of the three members of the Detective Boys turned into incomprehension.

"What do you mean?" Mitsuhiko asked.

"W-we... uh, hakase won't be in town this weekend," Conan lied. "And... uh, Kogoro-ojisan is visiting a relative, and he's bringing Ran-neechan, Haibara, and I along with him."

"Why Haibara-san also?" Mitsuhiko frowned in confusion. "And where is hakase going?"

"Yeah! Why can't we go?" Genta demanded.

"Ojisan has never taken us on any trips before. But this time, he's taking Ai-chan, too, with Conan-kun," Ayumi stated quietly. She was merely stating the facts to organize her thoughts, and yet it was undeniable that she was unhappy about the arrangement. Cocking her head to the side, Ayumi thought for a while before her eyes shone. "Ai-chan can stay at my house when hakase isn't home! And then we could – "

Conan was about to speak when Haibara interrupted with a gentle but firm smile, "That's very nice of you, and I thank you. However, the adults have decided and it'll be difficult for a few children to change their minds."

There was a short silence among the three children before Ayumi and Mitsuhiko muttered a disappointed "Oh," while Genta grumbled under his breath.

Mitsuhiko continued with a hopeful look on his face, "Yeah, I understand. We'll go someday later, then?"

Haibara transferred her gaze onto the ground and paused to think of a respond. She was aware that Mitsuhiko and the other two were asking for a promise, but she didn't want to make any. She didn't want to break any. With a smile, which the three didn't register as rueful, Haibara replied in a soft voice, "We'll see."

And that was enough to cheer the three of them up.

"We'll catch lots of fish!" Genta shouted, receiving applauds of "Oh!" and "Yeah!" from the other two. "Remember that time when I – "

Their reminiscence of past trips and their laughter continued until they parted, leaving Haibara and Conan to watch their departure with sentiment.

"Don't worry," said Conan, trying to be optimistic as he resumed walking. "You'll join their fishing trip. We'll all join their fishing trip."

"Yes, of course," Haibara said in a whisper and trailed after Conan. A moment of silence passed between them before Haibara asked, "Are you coming over again, today?"

"What, are you tired of me already?" Conan glanced over his shoulder and cast a mischievous grin at Haibara while his teasing tone challenged her.

"I am indeed," Haibara replied in the same but a little more apathetic tone. "Seeing your face at every corner everyday can drive people insane."

"Why, thank you... But before we go back," Conan said as he stopped at an intersection and waited for the green light of the direction away from the one that led toward Doctor Agasa's house, "we have to pay Jodie-sensei a visit first." There was no response from Haibara, and when he looked around, he found the strawberry blonde standing still on the sidewalk and looking at him with unwillingness in her eyes. "Are you not coming?"

"Must I go?" Haibara asked without holding back the tone or the look that signaled her refusal to follow.

"No," Conan folded his arms and said with an annoyed look, "of course not. Not unless you want to go to the exhibition, that is."

Raising her eyebrows at the jeering tone of the detective, Haibara returned an amused look that challenged the detective with the question asking "And you will stop me how?"

"I wouldn't care if I had to tie you up and lock you in a cellar." Conan shrugged and glanced toward the traffic light, which had just turned green on his side.

"Threats don't work on me," Haibara said with a shake of her head and was ready to head home. "I'm just afraid I might bust your 'cute lil' plan' again, while the outcome of that situation might not be pretty."

Sighing, Conan hurried two steps toward the strawberry blonde, grabbed her arm despite her protests, and dragged her across the road as the green light began to blink. "Come on. There's nothing scary about the FBI. If you want to go, you'd have to cooperate."

Once they were on the other side, Haibara yanked her arm out of Conan's grip and glared at him before walking beside him with annoyance.

They strolled down the street in tense silence for a while before Conan placed his hands behind his head and broke the silence when he said, "I don't understand. If you knew it was him all along, why would you – are you sure that he is the boss?"

With her hands clasped behind her back, Haibara shrugged and mumbled, "It's a high probability."

"Only a high probability?" Conan yelled and gestured his hands in mid-air to describe the devastating effect of relying upon such ambiguous information. "Haibara! How can you tell me such...? And let me worry such..."

"Well, I'm sorry," Haibara apologized, not sounding sorry at all. "I'm a scientist. I've never known what a hundred percent is." She waved her hand around and located a point in space. "Do you know where the third electron of this air molecule is going to be next? I don't..."

"That's not what I meant!" the detective interrupted before the chemist could ramble on. It would be disastrous if the scientist's tongue was let loose to go on bragging about Heisenberg's uncertainty principle; he still had questions that he wanted to ask her, those which he'd been haunted by and couldn't ask her at school. "I-I thought you knew who he was."

"I do," Haibara admitted. "But it was a guess, nonetheless. I've never come face-to-face with the boss of the Organization before when I was in it. From what I know and from what we've found out, he's who I came up with. You've always had the choice not to buy my word, and you still do. I don't care."

She didn't care.

Conan let out a frustrated sigh. "It does make sense, though. And everything falls into place. Yes, everything... Everything except for the fact that he should be the last person we would ever suspect... the last person we should ever suspect!" He shook his head. No, that didn't sound right. He muttered to himself, "Damn, I can't believe I just said that."

From feeling disappointment and defeat to a "then-again" indifference, Haibara said, "I'm sure you're aware of the psychology used. You're a detective, after all, and should've witnessed many criminals use the same strategy." Haibara smirked. "My, he really deserves two thumbs up, doesn't he? For being capable of fooling the great high school detective Kudo Shinichi..."

Ignoring Haibara's scoff, Conan said, "I just can't believe that they'd go through so much trouble! So much that it's... it's illogical!"

Haibara sighed. "People like to believe in Occam's razor. So why not spice things up a little and make life unnecessarily complicated? Then people would say, 'Oh, we're on the wrong track. It can't be this complex...' Which would you believe? The simple and elegant explanation or the dull and cumbersome one?"

Figuring out what was adding to his distress, Conan stared at Haibara and remarked, "You're exceptionally calm on this matter right now. It's... not like you."

Sure, she was a calm and collected person, but she'd never been casual about talking about the Organization before. Her attitude now was as if she was chatting about philosophy with a close friend over afternoon tea.

"When you reach a state where you realize that agitation wouldn't help, you'd shut out the fear in your conscious mind." Haibara's expression stiffened as she felt the dread crawling back. "It's not gone, however. It just doesn't make things worse."

"Then... why now?" Conan asked. "I'm curious. Why at this particular time and not earlier?"

"A cloud of star dust has to collapse first on its own weight before it can form a star. That star has to die first to allow a second or third generation star to be born before planets such as Earth can form. After the conditions are set, then can there be life forms. And from the so-called 'evolution' can there surface the so-called intelligence, the so-called civilization. Yet, for the star dust to exist there must be the universe. Where the universe comes from, that'll be where our knowledge ends. But we can't even be sure that our existing knowledge is correct."

Raising his eyebrows, Conan asked, "And that is related to my question because?"

"Things need things to happen. Things need Time to happen. But not everything can be explained with things and Time. We're too weak and too dense to comprehend the world."

Conan blinked and continued wondering about the relevance of her answer, but she didn't look as if she'd answer in any more details or in any form he'd prefer. "Oh... okay." And that was all the dumbfounded detective could mutter.

After walking in silence for another minute or so, Conan stopped in front of a building, looked up at it, and said, "We're here."

"Should we tell them?" Conan asked after they stepped into the lift.

Haibara thought for a moment and said, "I don't see how it would help in anyway except put them in more danger."

Conan chuckled. "Look. They're the FBI. If they're in any danger, they're already in it."

"But why would they believe us?" Haibara questioned and walked out of the lift after the door opened. "We have no proof that he is the boss."

"O-h!" Conan cried out as he followed Haibara and led her to Jodie's apartment door. "Pro-of! That's r-ight! We don't have it!"

He rang the doorbell while Haibara glared at him with her arms folded. She wasn't very appreciative of his mockery, but there was nothing she could do. In a way, she started it and called for the biting response.

"Who is it?" Jodie's voice came through the electronic doorbell system.

"It's Conan. And Haibara."

"Oh! H-hold on!"

Through the doorbell system, Conan and Haibara heard James speaking in English but sounding very far away. "Speak of the – "

But Jodie's voice drowned James' voice with an "Ah, Shui – " before all the sounds were cut off.

The door opened and Jodie greeted them with a smile. She told them to come in, to take a seat, and asked them what they wanted to drink.

"No, we don't need anything. We're fine," Conan answered and sat down with Haibara on the sofa.

While Haibara kept her eyes fixed on a door in the room she noticed that had just been shut, Conan looked around the room. James was standing by the wall beside the sofa they were sitting on – he looked upset. Jodie sat down on the sofa across the tea table, and although she was smiling, Conan could tell she was unhappy about something but was trying her best to forget about it in front of her guests.

"So, what do you need?" Jodie asked as she made herself comfortable on the sofa and tucked her hands between her laps.

There were two other people – both young Caucasians, one male and one female – sitting, huddled around two laptops and a computer on the desk, at the back of the room; the female was just hanging up a phone. Conan didn't recognize them, but assumed they were FBI agents. Both of them looked frustrated and were trying to focus on their jobs while still attempting to keep an ear on the conversation across the room. The male agent didn't speak Japanese, Conan noticed, since the female was translating Jodie's question in a very soft voice.

The odd atmosphere was unnerving. Had they come at a bad time?

"We," Conan began slowly, "have something we need to tell you."

"Splendid," James remarked immediately. "We have something to tell you, too."

"Y-you do?" Conan asked and looked up at James.

Jodie smiled and shifted on the sofa, grabbing Conan's attention. She said to Conan, "Why don't you go ahead first?"

Conan looked at Haibara, who realized that she needed to pay attention not to the door but to the people around her. But she was unable to pull herself together to answer the question.

"Uh," Conan replied for her. "Haibara wants to go along with me to the exhibition on Friday."

Jodie's smile dropped and she looked taken aback. "I-I thought that..."

"I have to go there," Haibara said in a soft voice, as if she didn't want to be heard. "It's a must."

The other female agent in the room shook her head at the agent who didn't understand Japanese and mouthed in English "I can't hear her."

"No, I'm afraid you cannot go," James said and looked at Haibara, who looked at him through the corner of her eyes.

She was expectant of James' response and showed no reaction toward his statement.

"We... actually, have a good reason," Conan said, causing Haibara to look at him in surprise.

She hadn't expected that he'd agree to her going along.

"It's unnecessary to name that reason," James said. "She is not going – "

"But if I go alone – "

"That is exactly right – " James pointed firmly at Conan " – you are not going either."

Gaping, Conan stared at James as his mind went blank for a second. "W-was that what you wanted to tell me?" he asked after he got ahold of himself, receiving a nod from James. "How come?" he looked at Jodie without comprehending the sudden change in plans.

"Um..." Jodie flashed an apologetic smile and lowered her head. "I... made the decision of letting you carry out the undercover job, which was supposed to be for one of our agents, without consent from my superiors. I'm sorry."

That was completely out of expectation. All Conan could mutter was an "Oh" after recovering from the shock. "But the plan was – "

" – amazing, natural, and potentially successful." James finished the sentence for Conan, who looked up unable to understand. "Alas, the job is reserved for one of our special agents, not for anyone else, especially not for an elementary school kid, no matter how smart you are and no matter how much I deem you worthy of being recruited into the FBI. You are... anyone else – a child, a civilian..."

"So are you saying," Conan asked as he grew nervous and excited, "that if I wasn't a child but an adult like... occhan, then it wouldn't matter?"

Aware of Conan's intention, Haibara shot him a dangerous look, which he ignored. He continued looking into James' eyes, hoping that the FBI would give him a positive answer.

"You'd still be a civilian, so anyone else."

"But... occhan is a... a great detective! He'd know how to handle tough situations. H-he was once a police officer..." Conan's voice trailed off. He knew his argument was weak and pointless. "And..."

James shook his head. "He's untrained. FBI agents are different from police officers." He sat down on the armchair beside the sofa and continued, "I understand how much you want to help us, and I appreciate all the help you've given us in the past, but, this time, the undercover job at the exhibition is dangerous. We have too little information on the host of the exhibition and too little evidence that Catherine Choi is indeed involved in the Organization."

Opening his mouth, Conan wanted to point out that he was sure that Cathy was a member of the Organization, but when James looked at him and waited to hear his statement, he shut his mouth, deciding to keep quiet.

James continued, "It could very well be a normal exhibition and meeting among different companies while Catherine Choi is coincidentally involved because her father's company is a partner of the host company of the exhibition and meeting. Then it could also be what I think you fear – a trap set specifically for the FBI. Yes, I agree with you completely that we could be sending an agent straight to death, but that's... an agent's job. A duty. You are not an agent, neither is Mouri Kogoro.

"We're sending a new agent who has just been transferred over to this case, so they shouldn't be able to recognize the agent. Whereas for you two, the Organization recognizes you, especially you." He nodded gently and motioned his hand to Haibara. "I recommend that the both of you stay at home and continue with your daily activities without concerns for the Organization or our job. We will send agents to ensure safety in the area you're living in."

Nodding, Conan looked down at his feet while he sulked and searched for a reply.

Staring at the table, Haibara said in a cold and low voice, "I do not like being watched."

Surprised, Jodie explained, "But it's for your protection."

There was no response from Haibara. It was as if Jodie had never explained.

"Well," James sighed. "What do you say?"

"Has this conversation come to an end?" Haibara asked in the same cold voice without looking up, while Conan was chewing on what to say.

"I... do believe so," Jodie replied, once again, in the surprised tone.

"Then there's no more reason for me to stay here any longer," Haibara said before James could speak. She picked up her backpack, rose from the sofa, and headed for the door where she put on her shoes.

Stunned by her actions, everyone in the room, including Conan, stared at Haibara. Even though the other female agent forgot to translate what Haibara had just said, the agent who didn't understand Japanese inferred from her sudden actions what she'd said.

"H-Haibara..." Conan called out and turned to the FBI agents with an apologetic, embarrassed, but forced smile before he jumped to his feet and hurried after Haibara, who was opening the door. "Wait up! Haibara!"

Taking in a deep breath after the front door was shut with a loud click, Jodie asked in English, "What should we do?"

The door, which Haibara focused her attention on initially, opened and Akai Shuichi came out.

The agent who didn't understand Japanese whistled, causing the people in the room to fix their eyes on him. As he spun himself around on the computer chair, he said, "They seemed pretty uncompromising. I've never seen such kids before, especially not the girl. How old are they anyway?"

Shuichi looked at Jodie. "We let them do whatever they want," he said, making everyone in the room raise an eyebrow at him. "I have a feeling the little guy will come back to you later." He gestured to Jodie, who was becoming more and more astounded. "So have everything ready for what you have planned... with the addition of the girl in the picture."

"Agent Akai," James called out in a thundering but not shouting voice – the displeased expression on his face said everything. And you knew you were in trouble if your boss called you with Agent your-last-name, although, maybe not as much trouble as it would be when the Agent was dropped. "May I have a word with you?"

Out on the streets, Conan slouched, feeling glum, as he walked beside Haibara. "Well, that went really well."

"It was to be expected," Haibara answered in a bored voice, sounding as if she'd wasted her time for nothing.

Sighing deeply, Conan asked, "What should we do now?"

"Whatever we were supposed to do. We're leaving with the Suzuki's, aren't we?"

"How much did you hear from the phone conversation?" Conan asked and sighed again, but Haibara ignored him. "Yeah... It's one of those combined-with-grand-ball exhibition meeting parties. We have to put up with Lady Suzuki for a long while, sadly enough." He pulled out his cellphone and muttered to himself, "I'm going to have to ask Jodie-sensei for one more favor..." Then a string of mumbles and grumbles followed as he entered the email message. "And I can't believe they undermined my skills as a detective... Those stupid FBI agents... Who do they think they are anyway?"

-x-

Sonoko flung with frustration a bag into the trunk of her family car and groaned, "Why can't your dad take care of them? We're behind schedule just because we waited for these two to show up!"

"You know how otousan is with children," said Ran, trying to soothe her best friend's anger. "And hakase's out of town."

Letting out another groan as she shut the trunk with a loud thump, Sonoko cried out and waved her hands in exasperation, "So we're stuck being the babysitters! Life is so cruel! You!" She pointed to Conan and continued yelling, "You'd better not bring some homicide bad-luck thing with you again or I'm sending you straight back here to Ran's dad! You got that?" Then she opened the door and beckoned everyone into the car. "Get in! Get in!"

Haibara, who was wearing Conan's baseball cap with her hair tucked in, climbed into the car first while ignoring Sonoko's complaints. Conan followed, then Ran, and finally Sonoko.

The car sped off. Ran busied herself chatting with Sonoko to stop Sonoko from grumbling any further while Haibara, who kept her eyes fixed on the scenery outside the car, and Conan, who leaned back in his seat with his arms crossed in front of his chest, remained silent throughout the trip.

Conan's bag was sitting by his feet. He'd refused to put it in the trunk when Sonoko asked about it, even though that request without a solid reason had created more complaints from Sonoko earlier on and made her even madder at him. Nevertheless, he had to be careful with the bag – there were guns inside. This afternoon after school when he dropped by Jodie's apartment, he was given a couple guns for self-defense purposes. Haibara hadn't gone with him, so she knew little of how much they'd modified the plan, but she heard from Conan, who heard from Jodie, that Akai Shuichi managed, somehow, to persuade James Black to approve of the plan.

After a few hours drive, they arrived at the top of a hill where the main exhibition hall – a white mansion – stood. If it reminded anyone of anything, it'd be the back side, the side facing the enormous French garden, of the palace of Versailles scaled down. The ground covered in pale yellow sand and pebbles laid out the path for the cars to drive on; the mountain forest surrounded the place. In front of the mansion, there was a large marble fountain not carved into any particular shape but consisted of layers of shell-like basins.

The mansion had a few steps leading up to the front door; the wall on each side of the door had a large square window in the middle made from several smaller square crystal-looking glasses. From the outside, the building was about two stories high, and yet it looked like there was only one floor due to the lack of windows at the positions where one would expect for a second floor. It must be a large hall, Conan noted. There was also a small wing branching off the left side of the mansion – right side of the observer if stood facing the building. The small section to the side of the mansion looked like a green house, except that it wasn't transparent. There were no windows and no doors on the green-house-like wing.

The small detective pondered about the need for such an exhibition hall on the top of the hill. The resident halls, or hotels, as well as the buildings for the majority of the activities for the night were to be held at the foot of the hill.

The car stopped not far from the fountain. Unlike the orderliness one would usually expect among the arriving guests, the cars were parked everywhere as if it was an unofficial parking lot at a beach. Many cars left after the passengers descended, but the sight still reminded Conan of families camping at a beach.

And speaking of beaches, Conan noticed a salty smell in the air when he stepped out of the car while clutching onto his bag. They were close by the sea, and Conan could hear the waves crashing into the cliffs if he concentrated hard enough. Otherwise, the noises nearby dominated the atmosphere.

Looking around, he saw Sonoko and Ran taking out their bags from the trunk while Haibara was standing, with her back facing him, not far from him.

"Hey," Conan said as he walked up to Haibara, strapping his bag around his shoulders, and continued glancing around the area. "Do you sense any of them?"

"It's..." Haibara remarked, paying no attention to Conan, and took off her hat, shocking Conan with her action and her comment, "so nice here."

"Nice!" Conan exclaimed.

First, she took off her hat, which was supposed to hide that striking red-colored hair of hers. And then she muttered a comment that... fit the scenery but didn't fit the situation they were in.

"Oh." Haibara turned to look at Conan as she remembered his question. "As a matter of fact, I sense no one. It actually feels safer here than it did at home."

Conan gaped. "But that's..." he paused when he heard someone calling "Ran-chan" coming from the direction of the mansion. It was the very familiar coarse feminine voice. He turned around, at first reacting to the sight with wide eyes due to wonder. If Cathy had amazed him with her outfit the first time he met her, she could kill him with this one. There was a person's name he was looking for to describe Cathy... Then he frowned as he completed his sentence, "...impossible. You still don't feel anything?"

"If by 'feeling anything' you mean dread, anxiety, fear, or of the sort, then no," Haibara answered and looked over Conan's shoulder. "Tranquility, yes."

"But..." Conan glanced back-and-forth between Haibara and Cathy in utter confusion before he pointed to Cathy and said, "You see that girl over there with Ran? You don't sense anything from her? At all?"

Haibara looked toward the direction Conan was pointing. Cathy was greeting Ran... in the French way or, at least teaching Ran about the ritual. Standing beside Ran, Sonoko was impressed and couldn't wait to try out the greeting. After all, she was the romantic one.

"You mean," Haibara said, "the girl who's pretending she's Marie Antoinette?"

Marie Antoinette! That was the person Conan was trying to compare Cathy to! The Austrian princess turned French queen but later beheaded was prettier than Cathy, though.

"She has a weird taste for clothes," Haibara continued commenting. "It's not as if this is a costume ball. Is it? Who is she? Am I supposed to sense something from her?"

"You don't know her?" Conan stared at Haibara in disbelief and bewilderment and asked.

"Am I supposed to?" Haibara asked in the same bewilderment. "Why would I want to know someone like her?" Clearly, she didn't like Cathy's fashion taste.

"But she... she said that..." Conan stammered in complete confusion before he was cut off by Cathy's laughter.

"Oh!" Cathy laughed while looking back and forth between Ran and Conan. "You brought Conan-kun with you!" She beamed at Conan and when she saw Haibara, she waved. "Hey!"

Noticing Conan's tensed body and protective stance in front of her, Haibara whispered, "You don't think she's one of them, do you?"

"That's what I'm trying to figure out from you!" Conan yelled back in a whisper.

"They're serving brunch in the main hall in the mansion," Cathy told Ran and Sonoko – Conan realized that Cathy had a loud voice, since he could hear her but neither Ran nor Sonoko talking, given the distance between them, but he wasn't sure if she was talking louder than usual on purpose or not. "The servants will take care of all of your bags, don't worry about them. Hey, you two!" She called out to Conan and Haibara, "Do you want to join us and have some snacks? We've got some really tasty food here!" Then she turned back to Ran. "Are they feeling out of place? I do believe they're the only kids that have come. Maybe we should send them to the hotel downhill where they can watch TV or play video games?"

"It's ok!" Conan shouted. "We'll go check out the cool fountain over there! It looks very... very..." Curses! Why did he have to say this sentence? "Very... Doraemon-like!" He finished the sentence in a squeak.

Haibara snickered behind him. "Doraemon?"

"I couldn't come up with anything else that sounded childish!" Conan defended his pride with a red face.

"Don't worry," said Haibara, unable to stop grinning. "She called you cute."

"I don't want to be called cute by her!" Conan's face was painted by another layer of red while he continued defending himself, "Besides... the fountain does look sort of... futuristic!"

"Sure," Haibara chuckled and looked away to muffle her laughter. How she wished she had a video camera.

And as to Conan... this day sucked.

"Have fun!" Cathy called out to Conan and Haibara before turning back to Ran and Sonoko. "Come on, let's go."

"We'll come back for you later, okay?" Ran called out to Conan before following Cathy to the mansion.

"Okay!" Conan waved and grabbed Haibara's arm while trying to hide his scarlet face. "Let's get out of here!"

Suppressing her laughter, Haibara glanced toward the trio walking toward the mansion and asked, "Are you going to leave the two of them with... the..."

"Cathy Choi! Her name is Cathy Choi!" Conan uttered with abomination as he stopped in front of the fountain, let go of Haibara's arm, folded his own arms, and sat down hard on the marble edge. If he didn't hate Cathy before, he hated her now, even if she was an innocent citizen. Dropping his bag onto the ground, he sighed after his face returned to normal color, "They should be fine – "

"Did you," Haibara asked as she recalled about the name of the Marie Antoinette double, "mention that name to me before?"

"Yes, I did," Conan answered and looked up at Haibara. "That was... after I knew... suspected her to be one of them." He paused as he watched Haibara took a seat to his left. "How come you aren't sensing anything?"

The strawberry blonde didn't hear him. Her eyes widened in shock as she recalled even more. "Did you say she reminded you of me?"

Conan's mouth fell open. Oops. "U-um..." Conan gasped as if he had just found out that there was a huge test, which he didn't study for, the next day. "It... It was a lie, okay? I didn't want you to be worried!" The redness before due to embarrassment resurfaced on his face, but this time, he was ashamed. "Y-you... have a good memory..."

"Damned with it!" Haibara sighed heavily, fumbled with the cap in her hand, and looked away. She wasn't happy, she really wasn't. To be compared to a girl like that! Intentional or not!

"I'm sorry! I really didn't mean it when I said that!" Conan clutched his head and apologized; it was probably one of the most sincere apologies made in history. "Oh my god!"

He never was good with girls, was he?

After letting his face cool down a little, Conan, feeling obligated, explained without looking at Haibara, "It was in the hospital. I heard her talking to the boss."

Haibara tensed, and even though she wanted to ignore him for the rest of the day, she found herself asking, "In person?"

"No. Over the phone."

"Well, maybe she was talking to some other boss."

"But she mentioned Gin!"

Taken aback, Haibara found herself talking nonsense. "Maybe it was the actual liquor? She... likes to drink gin?"

"But it was the way she said it." Conan paused, finally getting over the embarrassment, and continued when Haibara turned to look at him, "She said, 'My father will transfer the money into your account, boss. Ah, Gin... he'll have to wait. I have a... a...'"

"I have a what?"

"I... I can't remember," Conan lied and lowered his head, feeling even more ashamed to look up into Haibara's eyes.

"You think that'll fool me? What did she say?"

"I don't know! I can't remember! If I can't remember, I can't remember!" Conan cried out and looked at his bag sitting on the ground to his right, knowing that he was trying to convince himself more for some reason than he was trying to convince Haibara.

"I guess you're not damned, then," Haibara muttered in a whisper and turned her attention to the trees in the forest.

She wanted to say more, to twist the sentence that Cathy had said in some way so that it wouldn't be indicating that one of their members were close to them. So that Conan would be forced to tell her out of frustration. But she couldn't find anything to say. Everything would be a stretch.

Then suddenly, she didn't want to know. It was probably due to the same reason he didn't want to tell her. Maybe she didn't want the peaceful feeling to be shattered. Maybe she didn't want to think that it was possible for the Organization to recruit a brand new group of "staff" whom she knew nothing about, whom she could sense nothing from. The FBI decided to send new strangers, so why couldn't they?

Sighing inwardly, Haibara played with the cap in her hand and put it on her head, but this time, without tucking her hair under the cap to appear boyish.

The world around Conan fell silent. So silent all of the sudden that he jerked up to look around at his environment. Only then did he hear the cars driving by, the people talking, and the fountain splashing. He thought aloud, "It's like we're not part of the world a few meters away from us."

"I told you this place has its charms. I like it," Haibara said in a soft voice, still looking at the trees.

For the first time in these few minutes, Conan looked at Haibara. He wasn't sure why she responded to his comment. "You've been talking a lot, lately," he remarked and looked down at the yellow sanded ground, not noticing Haibara's indignant stare at the forest. It changed, however, when he completed his comment – a blush appeared on her face.

Smirking and looking at the ground, he had said, "I like it."