SPOILER ALERT: This chapter has a slight spoiler for chapter 1072 of the manga

"Hakase! Are you home?" Conan knocked on the door early morning. "I was wondering if you could help fix my skateboard."

A young girl swung the door open. "Well, look who it is…you're not welcome here!"

"Eh? Did I do something?" Conan tilted his head in confusion.

Ai glared at the shrunken detective. "I know who Subaru-san is, and I know that you knew the whole time!" She huffed.

"Woah, Haibara! He wanted to tell you himself! That's why I didn't say anything…" Conan backed up as Ai's glare became harsher and harsher.

"You lied to me! We're supposed to be partners. I've been working so hard to find an antidote, and you…you…"

KNOCK KNOCK

"Oh, hi Conan-kun!" Rei peered through the open door.

"Amuro-san?"

"Please, call me Furuya-san! Ah, I guess I should call you Kudo-kun then?"

"Er… what are you doing here, Furuya-san?"

"Just returning something to Miyano-san! Am I interrupting something?

"No, Kudo-kun was just leaving!" Ai exclaimed as she pushed Conan outside.

"Oi, Haiba-" Ai shut the door in his face.

"I guess I came at a bad time, huh?" Rei asked as he handed her the listening device from the other say.

"No… I'm just upset with Kudo-kun about keeping this stuff from me." She sighed, taking the tracker from his hand. "Sorry for tracking you, I just needed to make sure you weren't up to anything."

"Oh, I understand." Rei chuckled. "I've been undercover enough times to know you can't trust just anybody. In that case… does this mean I'm on your good side?"

"For now." Ai smirked. "Well, thanks for returning this, I guess I'll see you later…"

"What, just like that?" Rei pouted. "I wanted to make sure you're doing ok. That was a lot yesterday, after all."

"I'm ok." Ai said, unconvincingly.

'I guess she doesn't want to talk about it right now…' Rei thought. "Well… how's your research going? Do you think you'll have an antidote soon?"

"Those documents we found have been pretty helpful. I've been trying to pull it all together, but I can't seem to find the missing piece. I'm not sure how long it will take…"

"Well, my friend Jinpei used to always say… rushing is the biggest trap ever!" Rei confidently placed both hands on his hips. "You just need to take a step back, is there anything I can help with? I don't know much about this science stuff, but maybe you need a fresh pair of eyes."

"Well… I guess you could make a good assistant." Ai crossed her arms. "I'm not a very nice boss though, are you up to it?"

Rei put his hand up to salute.

"Yes, ma'am!"

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Meanwhile, Conan decided to stop by his old home next door to check in with Akai.

"Hey, Akai-san… I heard Haibara found out, did you tell her?"

"Sort of… she found out by accident and I had to tell her everything." Akai sighed. "But I guess there is no tact way to really reveal something like this, huh."

"Yeah, she was pretty upset about the whole thing, but I did see her with Amu… Furuya-san. When did they get close?"

"Ah, it looks like they've gotten along well. I'm glad, I think a friendship would be good for them. I'm certainly not good at that stuff."

"So… what are you going to do now?" Conan asked.

"Well, I should give her some space. I plan on moving back with my family in Japan. It's been awhile since I've seen my mom and siblings."

"Eh, you're just going to leave like that?"

"Well, it'll take some time for me to pack and make arrangements, I'll still be around her for a little bit."

"Ahhh, I need to make amends with Haibara, but I don't know what to do!" Conan scratched his head in frustration.

"Sorry, I shouldn't have made you lie to your friend." Akai shook his head. "But I'm sure you two will make up. You've been through a lot together."

"I guess, but Haibara can be pretty scary..."

Akai chuckled. "You need to keep the people you care about close to you. I know I should have… that's why you need to look out for Miyano, your friends, and that Mouri girl too."

"Eh?!" Conan blushed. "What do you mean…"

Akai laughed. "Good luck, detective."

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Ai and Rei began cleaning the basement, clearing up the clutter and re-organizing her research materials.

"Hm?" Rei picks up a photograph. "Ah, this is Akemi-san! I recognize her from when we were kids…"

"Oh, this…" Ai looks at the photograph of a young Akemi hugging her beloved sister. "Kudo-kun found this at her old elementary school. I don't remember this moment, but it's nice to have a photo of us as kids." Ai gazed lovingly at the picture. "Ah, there's a note on the back too, see?"

'It's nice to see her look so excited.' Rei smiled. "It's pretty cool that Kudo-kun was able to find this."

"Yeah, it is…"

Ai looked down, thinking about her adventures with the shrunken detective.

"Hey, do you think we could go somewhere together?"

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The pair wandered around a cemetery, holding a bouquet of lilies.

"I've never been to my sister's gravestone…" Ai explained. "I couldn't risk the organization finding me here. This is the first place they would look."

"I understand. I go to my friend's graves often when I am thinking of them… I can't imagine not being able to visit them."

"There it is!" Ai exclaimed as she walked up to a gravestone. "This is Akemi's…huh?" She suddenly stopped in her tracks.

"There are red roses here… but who would put these here?" Ai examined the area.

"And look at the gravestone…" Rei chimed in. "It looks like it's been well-taken care of."

"Did he…?" Ai said aloud.

'Akai…' Rei thought to himself as he put down some incense. "Would you like to light it?"

"Oh, thank you…"

The two payed their respects before packing up and taking their leave.

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Rei pulled up to Agasa's house, dropping off Ai.

"Thanks for going with me." Ai said as she stepped out of the car.

"No problem. And let me know if you need any help with that antidote stuff." Rei smirked. "I think I make a pretty good research assistant, eh boss?"

"You were ok." Ai smirked back. "I'll see you later, Furuya-san."

"Ah, are you saying you WANT me to come back?" Rei's face lit up.

Ai shrugged. "It's not so bad having an assistant, and I wouldn't mind having your food again. Those pancakes were pretty good."

"I see, I see… well, I'll need to brush up on my recipes then. See you later!" He said before driving off.

Ai went back into her home, heading towards the basement, where she admired her clean space.

"Ah, welcome home, Ai-kun" Agasa called from the other room. "I brought some dinner for us! Help yourself before it gets cold!"

"Ok, I'll be there in a minute!" Ai looked over the photograph once more before going to the kitchen. She read over the message her sister left on the back:

"The silver bullet is the bullet of justice… Therefore, you should also fly straight like that bullet, and stick to what you think is right! I hope these words will reach you…"

- Akemi

'What I think is right…' Ai thought as she went to go eat.

"Did you have a good today Ai?" Agasa asked as he dug into his meal.

"Mm…" Ai nodded as she looked over at the house next door.

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Akai opened his phone, scrolling through his old messages. He stopped at a particular message he must have opened a thousand times.

"If I'm able to escape the organization like this, will you go out with me as a real boyfriend?"

- Akemi

P.S.

Promise to take care of Shiho, ok?

'I never got to reply to you… but I'll make sure to keep that promise…' Akai thought to himself.

"Akemi."