File 4 – Unexpected Visitor

The doorbell rang. Haibara Ai – or in her present form, Miyano Shiho looked up from the computer. Dr. Agasa was fast asleep on his desk. The doorbell continued to ring, and the elder scientist was not going to wake up. Sighing, Shiho got up and headed for the door.

"Ai-chan!" "Professor!"

Hearing the voices, Shiho immediately opened the door. "It's you---" She blinked, and then looked down at the three children at the doorstep, who were staring up at her. They were Yoshida Ayumi, Kojima Genta and Tsuburaya Mitsushiko, her classmates in Teitan Elementary School before she returned to her original form. They had the innocent, confused look on their face.

"H-hello," Ayumi said shyly. "Is Ai-chan at home?"

"Oh. Um, no, she isn't," Shiho told them, thinking quickly.

"Where is she? She hasn't been in school yesterday," Mitsushiko stated.

"Oh...she went on vacation with her parents," Shiho replied with a small smile.

"Like Conan-kun? They're so lucky," Genta said with a sigh, his hands behind his head.

Ayumi was gazing at Shiho. "Are you Ai-chan's onee-san?" she suddenly asked with a bright smile. Shiho was taken back slightly. "Because you look very much like Ai-chan!"

Shiho let out a smile. "No, but I am close to her. I'm Shiho," she said. "Anyway, aren't you supposed to be in school? Don't worry, Ai will be back soon." She patted Ayumi's head.

"Really? Yay!" Ayumi cheered happily. "Thank you, Shiho-neechan!"

As Shiho waved at the kids who started to go on their way, she sighed. I'm not lying to them...am I? If so, why did I do it? I don't even know whether I'm going to change back. I guess...

I miss being with them.

---

"...Otou-san likes to sleep all day, he should be giving Okaa-san a call sometimes," Ran was saying on the way home. It was after school, and as usual, she walked with Shinichi. "I must find another way to get them together."

"Don't you ever give up?" Shinichi said with a sweat drop. "You're going to make them hate each other more than ever if you keep doing it."

"No! They're so close to getting back together!" Ran retorted. "It's because they won't give each other a chance, and Otou-san's attitude towards beautiful girls---hey, I know! I'll take him to the museum and invite Okaa-san too! There's an exhibition this Sunday, it will be perfect!"

Yeah, right, Shinichi thought. Ran was always planning her parents' get-together, and usually her plans almost worked---almost.

Just then, he noticed someone ahead of them turning around the corner. He felt suspicious. "Ran, we'll walk until here, okay?" he said. "I have to rush home. See you tomorrow!"

"H-hey, wait!" Ran shouted, but Shinichi had run off. She let out a sigh. "He's always like that..."

Shinichi ran forward and stopped after rounding the corner. He struck up a smile. Aha! Ang was walking ahead, glancing around. Now what is she doing here? he thought suspiciously. Going home?

He continued to follow her, keeping a careful distance. Ang seemed to be pausing and looking around all the time, as if searching for something. As he continued tailing her, he was aware that the neighborhood around him looked familiar---but he was too busy concentrating on Ang.

Just then, Ang rounded another corner. Determined to catch up, Shinichi ran towards the corner. He rounded the same corner.

"What are you doing?"

Shinichi let out a squeak as he halted quickly. He couldn't keep his balance and fell onto the ground. Ang raised an eyebrow, peering down at him from under her cap, which she had suddenly whipped out and put on after going around the corner. He quickly sprang up, brushing himself, grinning stupidly. "Err..."

"You're following me, aren't you?" Ang guessed with a grin.

"W-what? I'm not!" Shinichi retorted, although his face had turned red. But he could not help feeling curious. "Where are you staying anyway?"

"At a friend's," Ang replied simply. "Don't you recognize this neighborhood anyway? Look over there." She jerked her head to one side, and Shinichi looked. His jaws dropped.

His house was standing right in front of him.

He turned back to say something, but Ang was already heading forward. She made a turn---right into Dr. Agasa's driveway. "WHAT?!" Shinichi ran after her, dumbstruck. "Y-you're kidding me, right?"

"When did I ever joke before?" Ang asked as she rang the doorbell.

Shinichi was about to open his mouth when the door opened. Dr. Agasa smiled brightly at the doorway. "Welcome back, Ang-chan!" he greeted cheerfully. "How was school?"

"It was great. Thanks, Professor," Ang said as she strode in, leaving a speechless Shinichi outside.

Dr. Agasa smiled at him. "Hi, Shinichi!"

"Don't 'hi' me!" Shinichi snapped. "Why is she here and how did you know her?"

"Didn't she tell you?" Dr. Agasa replied, raising an eyebrow. "I met Ang-chan on the Web. When she told me she's coming, I offered to give her a place to stay."

"Does Haibara know about this?" Shinichi demanded.

"Of course I do." Shiho appeared behind Dr. Agasa, an amused smile on her face. "Chirudo-san is a nice person, you should be happy," she remarked.

"Since when did you call anyone nice?" Shinichi muttered, trudging into the house. He saw Ang emerging out of a room, already dressed in a pair of jeans, shirt and jacket, her cap still on. "What's up with the cap anyway?" he asked.

"I know it's boyish, but bringing this cap along means bringing a memory with me," Ang answered. Her expression seemed to have softened for some reason. "It reminds me a lot of someone whom I was really closed to..." She stopped, and let out a laugh. "Sorry, I'm not supposed to be talking about this. So, what do you want to do?"

As Ang and Shiho started to crowd around a computer, Shinichi raised an eyebrow in confusion. Dr. Agasa walked up to him. "Shinichi-kun, she had a tragic past, believe me," he whispered. "Best not to mention it at all..."

Shinichi looked at him. "What tragic past---"

"HELLO!"

Shinichi fell down once more when someone appeared out of nowhere over his shoulder. "H-HATTORI?!" he exclaimed.

Hattori Heiji looked down at him with a grin. He was in his school uniform---obviously having traveled from Osaka to Tokyo right after school. "Hey, you really are back!" he said cheerfully, patting him on the shoulder. "And you look very good!"

"W-what are you doing here, Hattori?!" Shinichi demanded, clearly annoyed.

"Dr. Agasa called me and told me everything," Heiji replied with a grin. "I just HAVE to come back and take a good look at you."

"So, you're Kudo!" Tohyama Kazuha appeared behind Heiji, her cute face lighting up. "Oooh, I can see why Ran-chan likes you," she giggled.

Shinichi blinked, turning red. "What?"

"Shut up, Kazuha," Heiji retorted. "I've brought you here, now why don't you go home?"

"Hey!" Kazuha folded her arms in annoyance. "You're staying, so I'm staying too! By the way, I heard a lot about you," she said to Shinichi. "You're very amazing in deducting cases! You're the cleverest tantei in Japan!"

"Er, thanks, I think," Shinichi said, holding a hand behind his head.

Heiji's vein throbbed. He wrapped an arm Shinichi's neck and pulled him to one side so that Kazuha could not hear them. "So, where is she, cleverest tantei in Japan?" he hissed with a forced smile, a strong note of irritation in his voice.

"Who?" Shinichi frowned.

"The Master of Ciphers, of course. You met him last night, didn't you?"

"Oh...there she is." Shinichi pointed at the two girls.

Heiji raised an eyebrow after looking to where he was pointing. "It's a she?"

"Surprising, isn't it?" Shinichi muttered.

"Ang-chan, come and meet a couple of more friends," Dr. Agasa invited cheerfully. Ang looked up and walked over. "These are Hattori Heiji and Tohyama Kazuha from Osaka."

"Hajimemashite!" Ang bowed with a smile. "I'm Chirudo Ang from the United States. But I'm a Chinese."

"Hajimemashite!" Kazuha replied, her face lighting up. "You must be the Master of Ciphers! It's so nice to meet you!"

"Arigatou gozaimasu, Tohyama-san."

"Call me Kazuha, I don't mind," Kazuha told her. Ang nodded.

"Where are you going to stay then?" Shinichi asked Heiji. "In a hotel?"

"Nah, too expensive," Heiji said, pointing at his luggage. "Hope you have a spare room in that big house of yours, Kudo."

Oh great, now I have to deal with him too, Shinichi thought with a sigh.