(つ･･)つ¤=[]::::::

Conan's door was open when Heiji got to the top of the stairs. Heiji stood in the doorway, rapped his knuckles on the door. "Mornin', Kudou. How awake are ya?"

Conan yawned, sat up in his futon. "Not very. I'm not sure if I ever really fell asleep. I couldn't get comfortable." He stretched. "Did I miss anything fun last night?"

Heiji shrugged, leaning against the door. "'Bout half an hour after ya went ta sleep, another one of Akagi-han's friends came back with everyone else who was at camp. I went an' confirmed it- this is Akagi-han's house." Conan raised his eyebrows, stood up. "Oh, nee-chan brought your clothes. They're behind ya." Heiji pointed to Conan's suitcase, propped against the wall.

"Ah, thank you." He began digging through his suitcase, searching for a new set of clothes. "If this is Akagi-san's house, where is he? I didn't see him anywhere last night. You yelled pretty loud when you tripped coming up the stairs- I'd think a die-hard fan of yours like him would come running to greet you."

Folding his arms, Heiji shook his head. "He never came home last night. The guy who found us was lookin' for Akagi-han. The other guy lookin' came back empty-handed around the time everyone else showed up, too."

"What about Akagi-san's brother? He mentioned he lived with his wife and brother, right?"

"Akagi Kenshin-han said he didn't see his brother at all. He got too drunk and was still recoverin' from the hangover. Nakano-han found us, an' Kakei-han's the other one who went looking for Akagi-han."

"Who brought everyone else here?"

"That's Ishiwatari-han. I'm thinkin' he's got some sorta sketchy job, 'cause of-" his hulking frame; all those rings; that bulge in his pocket- "Nah, ya'll get it when ya see him."

"Speaking of the kids, where are they? I'm surprised Genta and Mitsuhiko aren't trailing you as we speak."

"Oh, that." Heiji glanced out the window. The wreckage from the storm still littered the ground. "Agasa-hakase took all of 'em back ta the campsite. They wanted ta make sure they got all their stuff. They left 'bout an hour ago."

"Even Haibara?"

Shaking his head, Heiji stole a quick glance at his phone to check the time. "The little nee-chan woke up early this mornin'. After takin' your vitals, she went right back ta sleep. She's in the other room." Wagging his finger, he mimicked Ai. "'Make sure he doesn't go anywhere,' she told me. She got real worried when I told her 'bout Nakano-han's quote-unquote 'medicine.'"

Conan shrugged on a new shirt. "I guess it's because of Kyoto. If you remember, the Paikaru worked when I gave myself a nasty cold."

"Hmm." Heiji lifted his hand to his chin, thinking for a moment. "Have ya felt anythin'?" He gestured vaguely to Conan's chest, where he seemed to grab each time he got big or small.

Fear flashed across Conan's face, blink-and-miss-it. With a well concealed deep inhale, he pulled a pair of new pants from his suitcase. "I haven't felt anything out of the ordinary," he said after a brief moment's hesitation.

Heiji's face dropped into a frown, his arms crossed in front of his chest. "Don't lie ta me."

Conan remained silent as he pulled on his pants, and Heiji looked away to give him a bit of privacy. "The possibility's there, an' if ya're gonna get a growth spurt, we need ta get ya outta here. As much as I'd love ta have ya on the same level, we're not really in the best of situations. It's a thin line ya're walkin'."

When Heiji looked back at him, Conan was pinching the bridge of his nose, his jaw clenched tight to prevent any biting remarks from slipping out. Heiji groaned, rubbed the back of his head violently. "Gaah, now I sound like Oyaji. I'm not tryin' ta scold ya, Kudou, or tell ya that ya might be in danger. Ya know that well 'nough. But I get it, ya know? I don't want ya gettin' hurt is all."

Nodding, the tension faded from his face. Conan murmured a few indiscernible words, slid his glasses onto his nose. He took another breath to speak, but his voice died in his throat. He doubled over with a bout of wet coughs and was left on the floor gasping for air. His hand pressed itself to his chest of its own accord, the other clenching the bedsheet until his knuckles turned white.

Heiji leaned forward with a start, crawled to Conan's side. "Oi, don't be doin' this ta me now," he muttered. He put his hand to Conan's forehead only to have it swatted away by a tiny fist.

"I. Feel. Fine," Shinichi hissed through gritted teeth, every trace of Conan's innocence thrown out the window. "I am fine." He held his breath, squeezed his eyes shut. Too many beats passed before he let out a long exhale. His eyes opened slowly, his fists relaxing gradually. Tiny crescent moons dug themselves into his palms. His breathing, at last, slowed to a normal pace, but it shook with each breath in.

Heiji met no resistance as he took Conan's pulse and temperature. Conan's heartbeat bounced between steady and erratic, constant and sporadic. His skin burned, sweat dripped down his face. Heiji uttered a curse. "Ya always talk 'bout truth an' stuff- why not live it when ya can?"

Conan grimaced, his hand rising absently to his glasses. "I'm fine," he repeated quietly, regaining some of Conan. Bit by bit, Shinichi's fury faded away. "It's not a pulse- just a raw throat. I coughed too much last night." He shifted, took a long, deep breath in. "High pain tolerance. I don't feel it as much."

"Heiji, where are ya?" Kazuha's cry echoed up to stairs, frantically bouncing off the walls to reach our ears. Conan's head snapped up, and he broke away with a speed that belied the amount of pain he'd been in only seconds ago. Burrowing into the covers of his bed, he offered no explanation as he set his glasses aside and pretended to be asleep.

"'M up here, Kazuha," Heiji called into the hallway. Crawling back to his crutches, he gave Conan a backwards glance before leaving the room.

"Kudou, for your sake, I hope ya're right 'bout this."

A pair of footsteps pounded up the stairs, and Kazuha swung around the corner half a moment later. "We found Akagi-san," she said quietly, emphatically. "Outside."

"Breathin'?" A lump formed in his throat, his chest tightening.

She swallowed, a small jerk of her head to the side. "No."

"Did ya leave 'im alone? Is anyone with the body?" Urgent undertones- if word got out they found his body, his killer would be on alert or might target someone else. With no known motive, anything was possible. Heiji started down the stairs, taking care not to slip and fall the rest of the way down.

Kazuha, right behind him, waited patiently for him to reach the ground level. "Ran-chan's sittin' there with Mina-san. All I did was take his pulse, so Mina-san doesn't really know anythin' yet. Ran-chan managed ta convince her ta keep away from the boat." She ran around him, held open the front door. "Ran-chan called the police, an' they'll be here in 'bout an hour."

A quick nod. "Wakata. I'll do a quick look over of the scene before they get here. I'm hopin' this is just against Akagi-san, not an indiscriminate killin'."

They started down the hill, a stone path allowing them to walk alongside each other with little effort.

"Did ya notice anythin' weird 'bout the scene? Any footprints or somethin'?"

"Well, he's sittin' there dead in his boat. Lyin' there, more like." She jogged down a particularly steeper portion of the hill. "It doesn't look like he was killed there, though."

"What makes ya say that?"

She shrugged. "See for yourself. They're right over there." She pointed to a fallen tree. It blocked a boat from going further down the little river.

Ran sat atop the tree trunk, a hunched, stooped figure at her side. She held their shoulders, rubbing her hand in circles on their back. At the sound of Heiji's crutches, Ran lifted her head. Mina's tearstained face came into view and Ran left her side after murmuring a few words of comfort to the older woman.

"Heiji-kun. The police will be here in an hour," she said. "I'll take Mina-san inside and make sure to keep this quiet." She passed a phone to Kazuha. "Here's this back. I took a few pictures, but nothing too intricate."

"Thank ya, Ran-chan. We'll be up in a minute." Kazuha tipped her head, gave a weary smile. It's going to be a long day, said the bags under her eyes.

Heiji leaned closer to Ran. "Nee-chan, can I get Conan-kun's help on this one? I've got a feelin' his tips 'll be crucial this time," he whispered in her ear. His throat was dry, bile rising in the back of his throat. Conan needed rest, but he also needed a distraction.

Ran pursed her lips. "He's still sick. He didn't sleep well last night. I'm worried about him."

"The kid thrives when his mind's at work. Ya've seen it too." She still wasn't convinced. She absentmindedly wrung her hands. "I'll take him for fifteen minutes," he offered at last. "After that, I'll make sure he doesn't set foot on the crime scene again."

At last, she nodded slowly. "I'll hold you to that."

Taking the five steps back to Mina's side, Ran lifted her gently from the tree trunk. With a soothing murmur, she slowly led the wife of a dead man back to her house.

Heiji turned to the crime scene, slipping gloves onto his hands. "Akagi-han, how did ya die?"

He didn't expect a response. Akagi's body would tell him what he needed to know.

(⌐▨_▨)

For the second time that hour, knuckles tapped on the bedroom door. It wasn't Heiji- Conan would've heard his crutch. Too large to be one of the kids, not heavy enough to be a full-grown adult. It had to be either Kazuha or-

"Conan-kun? Are you awake?"

With the lights off, her voice floated into the room as if carried by a gentle breeze. In these moments where he wasn't forced to be Conan, he still got shivers from just her voice.

Darkness continued to encircle him as he felt Ran walk closer, the floor creaking with each step she took, the ground shaking even as she took great care to tread lightly. At last, she knelt behind him, gently placing her hand on his shoulder. "Conan-kun, come on. You've been asleep long enough."

"Ran-neechan, go away. Let me sleep," he mumbled with no forced drowsiness. The attack from earlier drained all his strength. There was no guarantee he wouldn't scream at the next one. With spasms happening all through the night, he'd be overestimating if he said he got two or three hours of sleep.

Conan didn't lie to Heiji. Everything he told him was true. Conan hated lying through his teeth- it disgusted him to no end. While he knew it was necessary, he avoided doing so at all costs. The art of half-truths, of stating near facts isn't one to pick up easily, but it's surprising how well it works. He doesn't lie when he says he's Edogawa Conan- that's the name of the character he plays when he's this height. He might very well be a distant relative of Agasa-hakase, but he's family whether by blood or not. Conan hasn't told a real lie in years. He didn't intend to start now.

Groggily, Conan sat up, tried not to throw off the blanket too frantically. His whole body burned- the last thing he needed was more insulation. Cool air brushed past his face as Ran put a pill in his little hand. He met her eyes questioningly for a moment before obliging, downing the medicine and taking the glass she held out for him.

"Your fever isn't quite gone, but it's not as bad as it was last night," she said, taking the empty glass from him. "Hattori-kun wants your help outside. Do you want to go?"

Conan nodded, ignored the blur that began to creep across his peripheral vision. "Un! I love helping Heiji-niichan!" The young enthusiasm sounded fake even to his ears. He ducked his head, looked for his glasses. Putting them back on his face, Conan finally stood up, forced down the dizziness and nausea. "Let's go, Ran-nee-" He attempted to take a step, but his legs, his arms, his entire being screamed in protest. Of their own volition, his knees buckled.

Ran caught him, lifted him up in her arms. "I'll carry you."

"But- Ran-neechan," he protested weakly as she shifted him into her arms, held him securely. Conan wrapped his arms around her neck, his head resting on her shoulder. "You said you don't like me being at crime scenes."

The logical portion of his mind, though it was buried under a haze of pain and sickness, berated, Barou, she's letting you do what you do best. Don't make her change her mind.

"You're right, but today's an exception. Kazuha-chan will make sure you don't get into too much trouble, and Hattori-kun will keep an eye on you. I know you like being helpful, so Hattori-kun made a deal with me. Fifteen minutes of detective work, and then you stay in bed the rest of the day."

A small nod, an even smaller voice: "Arigato."

As Ran began walking, various sounds washed over him accompanied by a wave of drowsiness, nausea. From the room across where he'd slept, a pen scratching across a paper followed by an unfamiliar man's greeting. Ran called him Kakei-san– the one who came back empty-handed.

She started down the stairs, went down five steps before Nakano-san said hello. He asked how was Conan feeling, does the kid need a doctor, but Ran shook her head, descended the last of the stairs. Once on level ground, she replied with a kindly tone that Conan-kun was still tired, that a bit of fresh air would do him good. Nakano reminded her that hakase promised to take all you kids back once he returned to the house. With a nod, Ran said she planned to make sure Conan-kun got home soon.

A large hand ruffled Conan's hair, but her didn't have enough energy to fight it. "Get better soon," Nakano said with a note of concern.

She offered thanks once more for finding him, a goodbye over her shoulder as she opened the door.

A warm breeze cascaded over Conan's body, cooled his sweat-covered face. The scent of death hit his nose as soon as she stepped outside. His heart leapt to his throat- of course it was another case. Death followed him closer than his own shadow, and with Heiji nearby, a body was sure to find its way to their presence.

With each step Ran took down the hill, another scenario spiraled through Conan's mind. A suicide, slit wrists and a note. An accident, smashed skulls or crushed spines under a tree trunk. A murder, bloodstains and a nowhere-to-be-found weapon.

His eyes refused to open, refused to comprehend any information unless absolutely necessary. He needed to search the area, find clues and hints about what was going on. He couldn't see anything, and it was maddening. He knew nothing. Was the victim old or young, male or female, stranger or acquaintance? Was it a stab wound, drowned, or suffocated?

"Nee-chan, ya brought 'im," Heiji called happily, a hint of guilt hidden behind his cheerful exclamation.

"Your timer begins as soon as I go inside," she said shortly. Ran lifted Conan off her shoulders, set him down on his own feet. Her hands securely on his shoulders, she steadied him as he scrubbed at his eyes, trying to get them open. "Conan-kun, if you don't feel up to this, I'll take you right inside," she offered. With her other hand, she pulled his hands from his face. "Here, you've got sleep in your eyes. Let me help." Gingerly, her hands wiped the gunk off his eyes.

Opening his eyes, an ocean of grass and mud greeted him, dipped and swayed, pulsated and contracted in time with his heartbeat. Again blackness began creeping across Conan's vision– in seconds or less, he couldn't tell if his eyes were open or closed. Ran said something, her voice distant, dim behind a ringing in his ears that drowned out anything softer than a murmur, muffled anything lower than a shout. Conan clutched his head as it coursed with a wave of pain.

Ran's grip on his arm tightened, and a whimper, unsolicited, escaped him. His hand flew to hers, tried to pry it off because it hurt. He gritted his teeth, tried to bear the pain because if he couldn't she was going to know– not here not here need to get away but how pretend you're fine you are fine this isn't pain it's not pain– and he forced a smile onto his face.

"I'll be fine, Ran-neechan," said Conan unconvincingly. As the words left his lips, a jolt wracked his body. His nails dug into his arm. His eyes went completely black. Everything sounded as though he was underwater. Ran's grip on his shoulders loosened. Edogawa Conan fell to the ground, collapsed in a lying, shivering, sweating heap.

┐( ˘_˘)┌

Despite her small stature, Haibara Ai was a force with which to be reckoned- -a fact often forgot by those she seldom interacted with.

Case in point: Hattori Heiji.

She could give him a shred of credibility- he had the sense to guard the door, stand out of her reach and out of her way as she conducted a brief-yet-thorough examination on unconscious not-child. With fleeting satisfaction, she thought of the uneasiness with which he'd glanced at her- as Machiavelli articulated, being feared was favorable over being loved. His broken leg a hindrance, he was all but at her mercy if she decided to take out her frustration on him.

Her patient had been perfectly safe, everything within an acceptable margin of deviation, the soldiers on standby, the cavalry ready to move at the drop of a hat and then a body decided to show up. Until the murderer was found, she turned the blame onto the one corpse who wasn't unconscious and forty-eight minutes away from earning ten years in less than that many minutes.

On the other hand, Ai knew she'd be hypocritical to make such judgments of the Osaka boy; beneath his antics, rash tendencies, his absolute inability to remember to address Conan as such, he possessed the same level of intellect as Kudou-kun. Quite competent when he put his mind to it, his skill with a sword was nothing to sneeze at, either. As she did not fail to notice, he insisted on walking with his crutch on the same side as his injured foot, contrary to the instructions both Akagi-san's wife and Ai herself gave him. She realized, after a moment's conversation with the Osaka boy, that it was to have the crutch act as a weapon if necessary.

It was because she knew better than to underestimate him that Ai saw fit to scold him.

"You mean to tell me that you knew Kudou-kun felt as he did and yet you still asked Mouri-san of all people to bring him to assist you on a case?"

"No, Haibara...san. Ya got it wrong," he protested.

"Really." She spared him a glance, raised her eyebrows. She scribbled Kudou-kun's heart rate, his temperature. "Then please, elaborate upon how your actions do not fall into the category of incompetent and reckless."

"I knew Nee-chan kept an eye on Kudou last night, so I thought she knew his condition better than the rest of us. Ya went back ta sleep, so I wasn't gonna risk wakin' ya up. I asked nee-chan 'cause if Kudou was too sick, she wouldn't let 'im outta her sight.

"Kudou's gotten real good at hidin' when he's in pain, too. I knew he was hurtin' but I couldn't tell if he just wasn't tryin' ta hide it or if it was really that bad. I had my suspicions, but he's never taken this long ta grow up. I thought that he was either feelin' the backlash from gettin' big and then shrinkin' again or he wasn't gonna grow at all. Considerin' that Nee-chan hasn't changed at all- at least the ways she's interactin' with 'im- I assumed it was just a bad reaction with the alcohol, nothin' more."

Begrudgingly, her distaste for him began to fade. The Osaka boy had solid arguments- she couldn't hold anything against him without a fair amount of cognitive dissonance.

Snapping her folder shut, she nodded to Hattori. "I'll accept your justification for now." He visibly relaxed- he out a long breath, his shoulders fell. "But you're still going to have to make up for this mess we're in."

Gone was the fearful uncertainty, now wholly replaced by a fierce loyalty burning in his eyes. "What do ya need."

"Wait downstairs, and send Agasa-hakase up as soon as he walks in the door. I'll put Kudou-kun's skateboard and both of his phones in his backpack and put it in the car. My backpack as well- I've got a change of clothes for him." He gave her a strange look at that one. "Oh, don't be like that," she said, waving him off. "Once I learned you were coming along, I thought it better to be safe than sorry.

"Based on my research, he has less than an hour." A quick glance at her watch. "Forty-one minutes, if my estimations are correct."

"We'll need every minute," muttered the Osaka boy.

Ai flashed him a smile devoid of happiness. "Hattori-kun, that's the most intelligent thing you've said all day."

ヾ(*・-・)ﾂθ ●

The first thing he became aware of was a continuous rumble, a constant drone, an almost-not-there steady vibration. Next came a soft fabric laying across his body, keeping him warm. Air blew on his face and feet, sending goosebumps up his arms and a shiver down his spine. He found the edge of the blanket, pulled it closer around his shoulders. With mild irritation, he wished he could reach up and turn off the air conditioning without drawing too much attention to himself— he wasn't sure as to exactly who was in the car with him, whose car he was in, or where they were going. The best course of action was to wait, gather more information.

Shinichi let a sliver of light peek through his eyelids, squinted as he tried to get my bearings. A split second realization whacked him over the head: he was no longer in pain. Yes, there was an ache in his bones, a slight discomfort that faded more with each passing moment, but the sensation of burning alive, of drowning in magma, of his bones turning to molten rock was gone. With the realization came a sudden elation, the urge to see if he was actually–

"Hakase, do you still wish for me to answer your question?" Ai, relatively close, spoke softly, tentatively.

"Ai-kun." He spoke with all the gentleness of a caring grandfather. It was easy to forget the two weren't related by blood. "You don't have to if you don't want to. While I worry about Shinichi-kun's well-being, I have faith in your knowledge of such things. I know none of this was on purpose."

Shinichi opened his eyes a little more, saw that the middle seat blocked them from his view and vice versa. Feeling a little more comfortable, he shifted his positioning and glanced around the car. It was the van they'd driven to the campsite in. Shinichi laid across the row of seats furthest from the front, his long legs (long legs!) bent to give himself enough space to lay down. A sleeping bag under his head was still damp from his sweating up a storm a short while ago. The blanket was too short to cover his feet, and the air conditioning continually blew on them. He shivered again, looking for something to cover his feet. To his disappointment, he found nothing.

"Doesn't that make it worse? If one of them had actually been here, if anything went wrong- there were so many things that could've gone wrong. I put him- and by default myself and anyone who's cared for either of us- in a dangerous situation. If anyone finds out he's still alive, everyone else will be killed."

After a brief pause, Agasa responded, "Tell me about his condition. How much do you know about what his body is doing?"

She took a moment to think, her silence speaking volumes. "Considering the drug won't be at full strength for another week, not all of the Paikaru anti-bodies will be destroyed. The reason it took so long for the Paikaru to react was that the drug had to suddenly destroy the antibodies as fast as possible– in the tests I conducted, it worked more efficiently in the presence of Paikaru. As soon as all the antibodies were gone, Paikaru would revert the affected cells to their normal state. The other drug I gave him was made to extend Paikaru's effects. Considering his heart rate, his body fat, and a few other factors, I'd say he's got about a quarter the typical time frame before he becomes Edogawa Conan." Haibara stopped, took a deep breath. "Why do you ask?"

"You were prepared. Thanks to your foresight, we have Shinichi-kun out of danger. He's himself again and no one else has figured out that Conan-kun and Shinichi-kun are one in the same. He's safe, Ai-kun," Agasa assured her. "Whether you made a mistake in keeping that antidote a secret, you've been quite thoughtful about how you will proceed. You've made up for any mistakes in the past and then some. You did good."

"He'll never be able to use Paikaru again," she said suddenly, flatly. "No matter what I've done, it won't produce the same effects."

"You won't use this method?"

Shinichi could hear her glare. "I don't want to become Miyano Shiho ever again. Nothing remains in that lifetime. I don't want anything accidental like he's experienced so many times, either. Any transformation I undergo will be intentional and under dire circumstances."

Their conversation turned to more mundane topics after that, and Shinichi found himself in a grey area between awareness and unconsciousness. He knew he heard every word spoken, but when he woke, he couldn't remember any of their later conversations.

The car sputtered to a stop, pulled off to the side of the road. Agasa said Shinichi's name, luring him to consciousness. Haibara's response indistinct, a car door opened and drew him fully to awareness.

"Shinichi-kun, wake up." Agasa's large hand on his shoulder told him to get up. "You need to get dressed quickly," he said softly.

"The police are due to pass us in fifteen minutes," called Haibara from the front seat.

"Keisatsu?" Shinichi asked, yawning, sitting up. "Why do you care if the police are going to be here?" he spoke slowly, clearly, relishing his deeper voice.

"Kudou-kun, quit enjoying the sound of your own voice and put on those clothes. Middle seat. Hakase managed to find you some shoes and socks, as well. I understand you're happy to be yourself again, meitantei, but you need to work fast."

Agasa handed him a bundle of clothes, a pair of shoes sitting on top. "As soon as you change, Ai-kun has both of your phones and your skateboard."

Shinichi took the clothes, hiding a bit further behind the seat as he changed. "Must I deduce your intentions on my own or will you state it explicitly?"

"Get dressed first. I won't tell you anything until you have clothes on," she shot back lazily.

Without further comment, he pulled on the last of his clothes. "Thank you for getting these for me, hakase," he said as he put on his socks and shoes. "Getting back to the Akagi house would be hard without them."

"You knew it from the start, didn't you," Haibara said with a backwards glance.

"I just don't know the 'why,'" admitted Shinichi with a shrug. He emerged from the car, clothed in a cheap school uniform that hung a little loose around his shoulders. His body, it seemed, had lost a little weight. One of Agasa's old baseball caps sat on his head, a simple yet effective disguise.

Haibara climbed from the front seat and met Shinichi on the opposite side of the car. "First, drink water. No doubt you're dehydrated." She handed him a bottle of mineral water. He was thirstier than he thought, downing the whole bottle in only a few gulps, almost forgetting to breathe.

She handed him the Shinichi phone, holding the Conan phone in her other hand. "I have your bowtie, so I'll return any calls that Edogawa-kun gets while he's sick. I'll forward any text messages, too, so that you don't need to worry about getting away from others to be Conan." He nodded again, putting his phone in his back pocket. "And here's your skateboard- I'll take that bottle from you, too."

He traded the bottle for the skateboard, squatted down to her height to talk with her. They'd never taken the antidote at the same time, and some part of him wondered what it would be like to meet Miyano Shiho at her full height (and him at his).

"I still don't get the why." She raised her eyebrows, giving him a skeptical look. "I can't say I'm complaining, though," he said, shrugging a tad bit defensively.

Crossing her arms, she met his eyes. Every moment or so, her eyes flickered elsewhere before being forced back into eyes contact. "I made a mistake when I forgot to tell you about your vulnerability to Paikaru. Because I put your secret in danger, I thought it best to allow you a short time with your friends and do what you enjoy most.

"You have six hours. Do not waste a single moment. I expect you to be back in safety by tomorrow morning."

"Ryokai, Haibara-san." Shinichi gave a playful salute. She rolled her eyes, turned back to the car. He called one last word to her retreating figure:

"Arigato."