Disclaimer: DC does not belong to me. XD

Thank you everyone who took the time to find out why I hadn't updated in such a long time. I had addressed this in my profile, and for those who did not get a chance to look, there, I asked for a two week break since a close friend and brother of mine recently passed away.

Just a note, but I completely revised Sir Arthur Conan Doyle's work "A Scandal in Bohemia"… I think it was. The one with Irene Alder. XP My apologies, but I did it to suit my fancy… and for it to fit my fanfic.

I hope you enjoy this chapter… it's not really up to my usual standard though.

Silent Life

Chapter Seven

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"I…I…"

"Haibara?" Conan stared at her inquisitively. "What's wrong?"

She turned and glared at him, "I think this idea of a school play… is great. I'd rather you not keep trashing it…" the auburn haired girl began walking forward. "If you are going to continue to complain about how childish it is, I'd prefer that you take a different route to hakase's house. I don't need a whining baby following me around… especially one who doesn't realize how lucky he is to be able to have had such childhood memories."

Ouch. The miniature Kudou Shinichi winced. He had forgotten that she hadn't led a normal life growing up… it really hadn't occurred to him that this could be important to her… a chance to relive the life she never had. "I'm sorry," he smiled and shrugged at a surprised Haibara who had stopped to turn and stare at him. "I wasn't thinking… I guess I shouldn't be complaining… it is a Sherlock Holmes story – no matter how altered it is."

For the first time ever, Conan noticed the tiny blush lighting across her cheeks. His eyes opened wide as he observed the shy nod of her head and the silent appreciation in her eyes.

"Thank you…" she whispered to herself. "Thank you for understanding."

Although those words were meant only for her to hear, Conan took in every single one of them… and as something turned in his stomach, a new fluttering of emotions began to tickle his heart, causing a small blush of his own to darken his face.

"What… is going on with me?" he mused as he caught up with Haibara and walked down the street with her.

The next morning, the ever-popular and mysterious Conan and Haibara were all that was talked about in Tanaka-sensei's class. (Someone please let me know their teacher's real name!) The two of them were welcomed into the school like a pair of celebrities… word of them being cast into the two main roles of the school play was… traveling quite quickly.

The way the minds of young, elementary-school children works in a way unique to what the world would call "normal." All of them seemed fascinated that someone in their school would be performing a play… just like the "big kids" in front of so many people at the fair.

"Haibara-san! Can I have your autograph?"

"Conan-kun! Do you think you could-" "No! I want to ask him first!"

"Haibara-san! I love you!"

Even their teacher seemed extremely engaged in their new "activity". "I've already gotten the scripts all made… I want the both of you to memorize them as well as possible, okay? Go over to each other's houses, follow each other around, move in together…" Tanaka-sensei's eyes gleamed. "Whatever it takes for you two to get your parts down perfectly!"

"You'd think that she was talking to professionals… not a few elementary school kids…" Conan whispered to Haibara, and she nodded in agreement. To his surprise – and the surprise of everyone else – she took his hand and led him out of the room.

He didn't resist, for reasons unbeknownst to himself, but it may have been the fact that he was too busy thinking about how soft and small her hands were. The students and teacher stared at them as the two of them descended the stairs and went out into the playground.

"What are you doing?" Conan asked, upon regaining his senses. "Why aren't we in class?"

"How can we rehearse lines with all that noise? The teacher gave us the lines… she won't object to us practicing… that's what she told us to do," Haibara crossed her arms. "Unless you'd rather not practice with me."

Conan gulped. It was that tone… he recognized that tone of voice… his mother and Ran had both used it… the tone that all women used when scaring men into doing what they want… just by changing the pitch of their voice. He sat down under the tree obediently and opened the script book. It meant death if he refused her.

"Let's see… we'll just start from where we both speak at the same time…" she ran her finger down the page. "…there. Page twenty… line seven."

"Now look here Watson," he read aloud. "See this dark and dreary street? This elusive Irene Alder lives in one of these homes. Even now, she may very well- there she is! Hurry, you go find which house she is in… that'd be whichever is empty at this late hour. I'll follow her."

"Skip Watson part…" Haibara mumbled. "Who are you?" she whispered. "Another one of the king's men? Come to take back what is rightfully mine? Men who work for such a cold-hearted person are dull… either that, or are equally stripped of morale. Such people are not worth my time. Speak quickly! Who are you?"

Her words left Conan breathless. Haibara was a great actress. "You're good," he grinned.

Poking him with her script, the scientist rolled her eyes, "You're required to be a good liar when you're a part of an organization that deals in every possible illegal activity known to man. It's your line."

"Ah… Madam," Conan's voice was husky. "I am not what you would call one of your king's 'men'. Merely, someone who wishes to see justice done… the ending of a treaty between two countries does not seem very warm-hearted to me."

Blue eyes fixing onto the tiny print of the script, Haibara spoke, "Fair enough. Then I'll just say that this is for my revenge. Mine own. What will you do to stop me? If what you are after is the photograph… then do you think that it belongs to the king? It is my property… and at least twenty of the most clever thieves in Europe have come for it, is this what you would call justice?"

"I would not call it justice… but merely steps that must be taken in order to ensure that a war will not break out between these nations. If you only mean to have this picture as a memory… a keepsake, per say, then I would not take it from you." He raised an eyebrow. "Yet you have threatened to give this to the media…"

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"A sound is heard from the buildings and Irene is instantly tense," a young brunette child by the name of Yumi read out loud. "Some lights go on in the rooms above."

"I have committed no crime… yet I should be taking my leave," Haibara turned to Conan. "Tell me, what is your name?"

He gave a small bow and a coyish smile was present on his face, "Sherlock Holmes, madam."

Straightening up, Haibara ran a hand through her hair and brushed her clothes off. "Mr. Holmes, then, I've heard about you from some of my friends. Good luck finding a way to take that photograph away from me… in fact, I invite the challenge." Giving him a small curtsy of her own, she smirked back at him. "Until we meet again."

"Um… here you disappear into the darkness of the streets and-" Yumi began.

"I told you only to read the highlighted parts!" Tanaka-sensei strode over to the young girl who had been assigned the role of narrator. "You better practice, Yumi-chan."

Bowing her head slightly and pouting, Yumi nodded, "Hai…"

Tanaka-sensei turned towards the two leads her class play, "You two are brilliant! My goodness… sometimes I have a hard time believe you children are really only in elementary school! This is going to be as good… no, I'll see to it that it's even better than any high school play!"

Both laughing nervously as their teacher continued to ramble on about how wonderful the festival would be, they discreetly grabbed their school bags before running out of the classroom as the bell rang.

"Geez… she's a woman possessed," Conan groaned, scratching his head frustratedly.

Haibara only smiled as she fastened the backpack strap to her shoulder and continued walking by his side. "But it was fun… not having to listen to one of her mundane and repetitive lessons. Instead we talked about your favorite topic all day long." She winked at him. "Sherlock Holmes, right?"

It was that feeling again. Conan fought to his face from turning a bright red. Why? He looked at her and smiled back. What is this? What's wrong with me?

"Kudou-kun… hey…. Kudou-kun!" Conan snapped back to attention as Haibara began waving her hand in front of his face. "What's wrong?"

The concern in her voice made him blush… again. "N-Nothing," he brushed her hand off gently. "Let's go… I need to ask hakase to fix my tranquilizer watch… well, just give it more needles."

Grinning at him, Haibara nodded, "Okay… how about we rehearse some more? We only read through one or two scenes."

Conan merely stared at her.

"What is it? Do I have a bug on my nose?"

"You look… beautiful when you smile." As soon as the words left his mouth, he felt like smacking himself on the face.

Since when had he started to use the word 'beautiful'? Even in reference to Ran, he had always called her 'pretty'.

The pink hue of her cheeks was apparent, and it took her a full three seconds to regain her composure. As if finally realizing that she had been acting very un-Haibara-ish, the smile on her face slowly slid down until it was a cool, emotionless line again, and the shining of her eyes dimmed so that she looked almost distracted.

"Thank you," She said it in a way that sent shivers up Conan's spine. "We should get going now."

"Yeah…"

What's wrong with me…? Since when have I become so desperate that I resort to flirting with a boy who's already been taken? Since when I have begun to let my guard down?

Haibara cursed herself as she pulled her pajamas on. "Stupid… I did it twice… again when we were reading our lines in the living room."

Flopping down onto her bed and staring up at the dark ceiling she silently wished that her sister was next to her. "Onee-chan… what are the feelings inside of me… even when I had… with Shuichi… these emotions never… it was…"

"Shuichi…" she breathed. "Damn… how is it that I still think about that idiot… that…"

Haibara got up and walked over to her desk. Pressing a button underneath the rim of the table, she pulled open the small drawer that popped out. "Idiot…" she slid the top-most photograph from its resting place and looked at the man in the picture."

"I wonder…" Haibara ran a finger along the curve of his face. "I wonder of you would be jealous… if you would even care that my heart now has room for a man other than yourself."

With a small laugh, she threw the picture back down and shut the small drawer abruptly. "Probably not. But then you never really cared, did you? All of it was for your precious FBI…"

As tears started trickling slowly down from her eyes, she curled into a tiny ball and buried her face into her knees, "Kudou-kun was right." She sobbed. "I do like to cry…"

"Onee-chan…" her sniffles echoed quietly in the dark room. "Onee-chan…!"

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To be Continued…

I hope this chapter was satisfactory, since I'm still not really in the right mood yet. Please don't forget to review!