Shiho was walking down the street. She wore khaki pants and a long sleeved, dark red shirt made of a light material. She had a small black purse on her shoulder, but she didn¡¦t carry anything else. She glanced around on the street here and there, not expecting to see anyone, not looking for anything. But she found someone she knew. The boy with the dark hair was staring right at her. Blue met blue as she started back with wide eyes. Shinichi¡¦s eyes were burning brightly as they looked into Shiho¡¦s eyes, which seemed strangely empty. Her eyes reminded him of the dark, bottomless, blue oceans. Shinichi was a little puzzled. Shiho was acting a little strangely.
Shiho bit her lip. This was her second time seeing the boy with the dark hair, but she still didn¡¦t know anything about him; she still didn¡¦t remember anything about herself. She wanted to talk to that boy, to ask him questions about her that she couldn¡¦t herself. She was frightened though, she didn¡¦t know who he was, what if he wanted to kill her? Yes, someone had wanted to kill her. She was sure of that. Someone had wanted her dead. Was it this boy? She looked at him for another second, then turned around and ran like a frightened deer.
¡§ Hey, wait!¡¨ Shinichi shouted. ¡§ Come back, don¡¦t run.¡¨ He started to run after the frightened girl. Shiho ran blindly down the streets, hoping to loose Shinichi, but he kept following her. Shiho was running as fast as she could, but Shinichi kept up with her easily. Shiho ran and ran, not caring where she was going, just wanting to get rid of Shinichi. She ran for four more blocks, her feet pounding heavily on the sidewalk with each step. With each step, her feet felt heavier and heavier. Finally, she couldn¡¦t run anymore. She grabbed a lamppost and leaned against it, gasping for breath, clutching her stomach. Shinichi came running up.
¡§ Ai, what¡¦s wrong? Why¡¦d you run from me?¡¨ Shinichi asked. Why would Ai run from him? Shiho didn¡¦t say anything, she was still gasping for air. A few minutes later, she was able to breathe normally, and she turned around to face Shinichi. She was still leaning against the lamppost.
¡§Ai?¡¨ Shinichi questioned again. Shiho still didn¡¦t speak. She didn¡¦t know why he was calling her Ai, she didn¡¦t know who Ai was. Relief spread through her, he wasn¡¦t looking for her, and he didn¡¦t want to kill her.
¡§ I¡¦m not Ai, I don¡¦t know who Ai is.¡¨ Shiho told Shinichi.
¡§ What?¡¨ Shinichi exclaimed. ¡§ You don¡¦t know who Ai is?¡¨ he looked at Shiho carefully. ¡§ You¡¦re kidding, aren¡¦t you?¡¨ he asked hopefully.
Shiho shook her head. She had a blank expression on her face and Shinichi knew she wasn¡¦t lying. What had happened to her? How could she not remember being Ai? How much did she remember?
¡§Shiho?¡¨ he asked tentatively. He hoped she would remember her real name. Could emotional stress have caused her to forget about being Ai Haibara? Where had she gone after leaving the Professor¡¦s house?
¡§ How did you know my name? Who are you?¡¨ Shiho gasped fearfully. How did that boy know her name? Who was he? Who was he?
¡§ I¡¦m Shinichi. I¡¦m Shinichi Kudo. Shiho, don¡¦t you remember me?¡¨ Shinichi prayed that she would know him. For some reason, he didn¡¦t want to be a stranger to her. ¡§Shiho?¡¨
¡§No. I don¡¦t know anyone named Shinichi Kudo.¡¨ Shiho replied. She wasn¡¦t frightened now, because she knew that if Shinichi wanted to kill her, he could have done so when she was trying to catch her breath. The questions were in her brain again. This boy obviously knew her, but why didn¡¦t she know him? Who was AI? Why did he call her Ai? Did Ai look like her? Who was Shinichi Kudo? Where had she met him before?
¡§ What about your sister? Do you remember her?¡¨ Shinichi asked. Now he just wanted to see how much she remembered.
¡§ I don¡¦t have a sister.¡¨ Shiho said, giving him a confused look. What was he talking about? She¡¦d never had a sister. Maybe he didn¡¦t know her after all, but no, he had too. That feeling she had was just too strong. She knew she had known him, but that was all.
Shinichi stared at her. She may have been able to forget him, but she couldn¡¦t have forgotten her sister. This wasn¡¦t natural. Shiho betrayed the Organization because they killed her sister. She would never forget her sister. He was about to ask her about her sister, then remembered that they were still out on the street. Anyone in the Organization could walk past and see them. See him and the girl with red hair.
¡§ Come on, let¡¦s get something to drink.¡¨ He pulled her toward a small coffee shop, just wanting to get off the street. Shiho was surprised, but she let him pull her along. She didn¡¦t know why, but she trusted Shinichi. She knew he wouldn¡¦t hurt her.
They walked into a small coffee shop and sat down. A waiter came to take their order. Shinichi was annoyed, because he just wanted to talk. Shiho, however, thought they were really there to eat, and ordered some coffee and cake. The waiter began to write down her order, and then found that his pen had run out of ink.
¡§ Would you like to use mine?¡¨ Shiho inquired with a smile, offering a slim, white pen to the waiter.
¡§ Thank you, Miss.¡¨ The waiter accepted the pen gratefully. Shinichi looked on in disbelief. Shiho might offer someone her pen, but she wouldn¡¦t smile at him or her. She must have really forgotten everything: APTX-4869, her sister, and the Organization. Ai had rarely smiled.
¡§ Why didn¡¦t you order anything, Kudo-kun?¡¨ Shiho asked after the waiter had left. Shinichi was still staring at her in disbelief, and was surprised to hear her speaking. He mumbled that he wasn¡¦t hungry, and she reminded him that it was his idea to come here.
¡§ What do you do, Kudo-kun? I know I¡¦ve heard your name before, I just don¡¦t know where.¡¨
Shinichi was about to tell her everything, but then stopped himself. Now that Shiho had forgotten everything, she was just a normal girl, and it would be too dangerous for her, just as it had been too dangerous for Ran. He couldn¡¦t tell her about them. Besides, he thought, she was happier without her memories. He thought of her smile again.
¡§ I¡¦m a high school detective. You might have heard of me on the news.¡¨ He finally told her. He expected her to start asking him about his cases, but her reaction wasn¡¦t what he expected. He heard her draw in her breath sharply, then, plates, cups and silverware crashed to the floor as she frantically ran out, knocking everything off the table.
¡§ No, no, no!¡¨ she cried. Shinichi watched as she blended into the crowd outside, then shook his head in astonishment. Glancing on the floor, he saw her white pen. He smiled, and then bent down to pick it up so he could give it back to her when he saw her again.