Characters: Gosho Aoyama

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That

Hattori Heiji looked out the window of his house. Unlike Tokyo, Osaka's weather was bright and blissful, unlike the memories that flooded Heiji's mind.

It was sunlit That day, too. That day I had to tell Neechan…

He crossed his arms and took a deep breath. Heiji checked the calendar. Because Kazuha was out of town on business, Heiji was feeling lonely. With the reminiscent looks of outside and his forlorn feeling, Ran came across Heiji's mind.

It hasn't been that long since I talked to her, but it feels as if there were no other conversations aside from That one.

So many times he's wanted to talk to her about Kudou, about anything, but if the occasion came up, an ominous silence would fill the room.

Neechan still hasn't gotten over him. I know she hasn't. Heiji let out a hollow laugh. Kazuha took it almost as hard as Ran did.

Pulling his phone from his pocket, Heiji decided to dial a familiar number. After about two rings, the phone answered.

"Hello," said the young woman on the other end, "I'm almost ready, just give me-"

"Haibara-san?" Heiji cut her off, "Sorry to call you at such an arbitrary time."

"Oh…Hattori-kun." It was obvious that he wasn't whom Ai expected. "No, it's fine…How…How's Kazuha-san?"

"We don't need to do this, you know?" Heiji asked, making Ai feel less uneasy. "I was just thinking about Kudou…. How's he doing?"

Sounding preoccupied, Ai responded, "As a matter of fact, he ran across Her today. Why? Where you thinking about That day, Hattori-kun?"

Letting out a defeated sigh, Heiji said, "It seems we all are, aren't we?"

With a casual laugh, Heiji heard Ai say, "Seems that way. But honestly, Hattori-kun, this can not be the only thing you wanted to talk to me about, is it?"

"You got me again, Haibara-san. Actually, I was a bit curious of how your…" Heiji lowered his voice. "That…" He coughed, uneasily.

"The cure, you mean?" Without allowing Heiji to speak, Ai continued, "I know you think it's a fruitless effort-"

"I never-"

"But," she didn't seem to notice; "I'm no longer doing this for him. I'm doing this for my conscience and myself."

"Is that so?" Heiji asked, unconvinced. "I didn't know you had a conscience."

Trying not to smile, Ai said, "If you're done acting like a juvenile, I have to continue to live like one."

"Wait-" Hattori tried, only to get a tone from the other end.

Haibara Ai…is it that I acted too much like That guy you know?

Heiji shrugged, That can't possibly be it…as if she could…

Hanging up his phone, Heiji laughed at his 'juvenile' thoughts.

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-Dire Moonstone-