"There you are, Ai-chan!" Ayumi scolded. "We were waiting for you forever!"
"Sorry," the blonde apologized again. "I forgot."
"Well, you're here now, so we can play!" Mitsuhiko smiled at her. Ai gifted him with a tiny smile, her heart filling with sadness at the happiness it gave the younger boy. It was so obvious he had a crush on her.
She hated herself sometimes, having to act cold to the rest of the Shonen Tantei, preparing them for when she would eventually disappear. Lately, though, she'd been thinking. Shiho Miyano had nothing to look back to. When (not if, she told herself) she finished the antidote, should she take it? The only thing Shiho Miyano wanted was gone, taken by the bastards from the Organization just like everything else. Whereas Ai Haibara had friends, a home, a sort of grandfather…a life. Yui and Ai had Ran, too. Her best friend, even after all she'd put her through.
"Let's play hide-and-seek!" Ayumi decided. "C'mon, Ai-chan!"
"All right," she replied. "Who's it?"
"Not me!" Genta and Mitsuhiko exclaimed. Ai raised an eyebrow at Ayumi, who grinned.
"I guess I'm it then," the brunette giggled.
"Count to 50!" Genta said. Ayumi complied, going to a tree behind a bench some distance away, and started to count in a loud voice.
"…48, 49, 50! Ready or not, here I come!" Ayumi uncovered her eyes and turned around from facing the tree, then set of to find her companions.
She found Genta first, hiding in some bushes. "Aww!" the heavy-set boy complained about being found first. Giggling, Ayumi turned only to run smack dab into something. Looking up, she saw the 'something' was a person, and a strange one at that.
The man was wearing all black, from head to toe, and his face was hidden from view, except for his eyes. This mysterious figure was also very burly. "Where is the Seiryuu no Miko?" he rasped.
"Miko?" Genta wondered.
"There aren't any shrines around here," Ayumi told him.
"Where is the Seiryuu no Miko?" he repeated. "She is here, I can feel it." He glared at Ayumi. "If you are hiding her, the consequences will be extremely severe." Ayumi quivered under his glare.
"Hey! You leave Ayumi-chan alone!" Genta cried, coming between the two.
Ai, hearing the commotion, came out from her hiding spot. When she saw the man, she shivered, eyes widening. This man had the air of a cold-blooded killer.
"Ayumi, Genta, get away from him!" she cried, fear seeping through her voice. Hearing their friend, the two complied, running back towards her. "Get away from here, both of you," Ai ordered, her steely gaze brooking no defiance.
The man in black cocked his head, eyes narrowing. "Seiryuu no Miko," he intoned. "You will come with me."
A/N: Dun Dun Duuuuuun! Cliffie...of Doom! There have been a lot of those. Don't forget to review!
Preview of the next chapter: "Bold words for someone about to die," the man sneered.