~Arc 2~
-Part 2-
Chapter 16
Revelations
Something was different about this morning. Shiho opened her eyes, wincing as sunlight filtered through the blinds. Slowly, she rose from her bed, glancing at the clock beside her. It was still early, only seven. Running a hand through her messy hair, she frowned. As the pain ran through her back again, she was instantly reminded of where she was. Japan. The 13-hour flight from America was a non-stop trip, leaving her a little lightheaded. Her feet rested on the cold wooden floorboards as she struggled to get out of bed. Shiho was in an apartment provided by the organization. It was empty, far too big for a single person. White sheets covered the bed, and a shelf stood beside it. Her suitcase rested beside the bed. When she checked the date on her phone, she was relieved to see that she had at least one day of rest.
It was a chilly day. Much colder than she was used to. Peering through the blinds, she studied the scenery before her. There were several tall, gray buildings surrounding her apartment. It was a dull, dreary scene devoid of anything, and she could not help but smirk. She took out a cardigan from her suitcase and wrapped it around. Opening the door, she was greeted with the scent of coffee and...burnt toast?
"There you are," a voice called from the kitchen. So familiar it made her pause. Azure blue eyes meeting hers, a raven-haired woman stood with a sunny smile appearing on her lips. The woman wore an apron over her red sweater, and her cheeks were smeared with the distinctive ash of calcified smoke. She held a spatula and was in the process of…burning eggs?
Shiho rushed forward, abandoning her cardigan on the ground. She turned the knob of the stove as smoke rose from the pan. "What are you doing, Onee—"
She felt arms wrapped around her, holding her, something she'd never experienced before in America. Shiho felt the cold disappear almost immediately, and the woman buried her face in her shoulder, squeezing and holding her close. Her scent is reminiscent of toast, eggs, nutty coffee, and the nostalgia of...
She stood still as her sister tightened her grip.
It was different now. The black organization still ruled, but Akemi was here. Her sister. Not the child she once was but a woman who carried her own. A raven-haired beauty whose eyes held the gentle warmth of childhood memories. They were both different, not having met for many years…their contacts were far and few between. Yet, here she stood, greeting Shiho with the force of a sun. Shiho was a child once again, held in her sister's embrace, eyes closing as she rested within the arms of Akemi Miyano. She had longed for this. It did not hurt. It was warm; it felt safe…it was…
"Shiho," the woman's hug was tight and everlasting. "Welcome home."
"Haibara! You better not be skipping our group activity!" a voice calls her, the pounding on the basement door doing nothing for her throbbing head. She rose and found herself strewn over the laboratory table, with notes stuck to her cheeks. A dream? As echoes of past memories emerge, a lump forms in her throat. It spreads like a hurricane, passing through her chest.
"Haibara-san!"
Cursing softly, she swung the door open, only to be greeted by the all-too-happy faces of the detective boys and Kudou Shinichi. They were all carrying nets and wearing rather unsightly-looking fishing suits. High-waisted waders that were waterproof. Shinichi wears a yellow one over his white shirt. It was a fashion disaster, and Shiho wrinkled her nose in disgust.
"No," Shiho replied, and the children grinned. She did not like the look on their faces.
"Wait-" she protested as they took her. They dragged her out of the house with her lab coat still on. The professor chuckled at her plight. It was mid-morning, the sun was halfway up, and it felt like summer despite it being late spring. Disgruntled, she stood, coat discarded on the grass, and watched the children and Shinichi wade into the river's shallows. Shiho half-remembered Genta saying something about Crayfish fishing, so she could only assume the ridiculous activity she was witnessing now was akin to that.
"You should have worn the wader we got you, Haibara!'" Shinichi slinked around the area in gloves. He was knee-deep in muddy water.
"No."
No amount of money could force her into something so ugly.
As Genta fell face-first into the river, Ayumi laughed.
"Are you going to stand there, Haibara-san?" Mitsuhiko frowned at her inactivity as she settled into the grass.
"Yes, I prefer watching," she replied explicitly. Having worked all night on the antidote, she was in no mood to wade knee-deep into the cold waters of a shallow river.
Shiho sat by the grass, sighing. The sun blinded her for a moment. White wispy clouds dotted the clear blue sky. Forming luminous sky castles across the sky. Birds chipped as green, lush grass rustled, swaying with yellow wildflowers.
Why was she here?
She knew the answer...and the guilt arose. An apology was in order. Even though she had snapped at them five days earlier after playing soccer in the park, she had no idea why the children were so nice to her. Their kindness was unconditional. Even when she was harsh and treated them with the cold indifference of past habits…even when she tried to push them away…they always came back. Their giant smiles, innocent in nature, radiant and warm. Their laughter always manages to ease the darkness that threatens to overwhelm.
It was hard for her to stay indifferent—but she had to. The notion was reinforced by her sister's death. If she remained, they could get hurt or worse—killed. With her arm resting on her closed eyes, she takes a deep breath, biting her lips to maintain control.
"Haibara," Shinichi dumps a crayfish on her knees. She sits up and regards it with a raised eyebrow. He grinned, his suit dripping wet from his walk through the river.
"Did you expect me to scream?" she asked, and he shrugged.
"Well, you're afraid of cockroaches."
"That is an insect, and this," she picks it up and viewed it with disdain, "Is a crustacean."
"I thought you couldn't tell the two apart."
"I worked in a lab, just so you know. Experimenting with creatures is practically part of the job," Shiho quips, and he smirks.
"Worked in a lab?" Mitsuhiko asked, and she stopped.
"What do you mean?" Genta gave them both skeptical looks.
"Experimenting on animals is not right, Ai-chan!" Ayumi protested, hands on her hips.
While she was forced to devise an excuse, she scowled at Shinichi, who was whistling.
"Ai-chan, won't you join us?" Ayumi held a net in her hand and was giving her a puppy dog look. One that Shiho found she was weak too.
"I-"
"Leave her be," Shinichi interrupts, 'She's just scared~."
"Of what?" she snaps, and he points to the river.
"Why, I mean, Haibara, you do know how to use a fishing net, right?"
Her annoyance grew, and she grabbed the net from Genta. Her shoes discarded, she wades into the river, much to the children's delight.
"You're on, Edogawa-kun," Shiho challenged, and he smirked.
"We'll see."
Hours later, they emerged from their battle. Drenched and thoroughly soaked. Shiho shivered slightly as she smiled in triumph. Genta counted their catches with glee.
"That's ten! Haibara wins!" Genta shouted, and she glanced at the boy with a smug smile.
"That doesn't prove anything!" Shinichi snapped, and the children laughed at their rivalry.
"Man, I wish we could do this forever," Genta said as they sat by the riverside. Eating from the bento boxes prepared by the professor in the morning. After a grueling morning of activities, the egg mayo sandwich was a welcome lunch.
"That'll be great," Mitsuhiko said.
"Genta-kun, we can't keep doing this forever," Shinichi was amused by the children's remarks.
"Ayeeee…"
"We can't be catching crayfish like this when we're twenty," he chuckled at their bugged-eyed expressions.
"But…but-"
"That's right," Shiho whispered. Though hard to hear, his words were truths that needed to be said. "Nothing lasts forever."
"Haibara," Shinichi warned, and she shrugged.
"We'll all grow...go our separate ways. That's the reality of it."
A wry smile appeared on her lips as an inexplicable ache formed in her chest.
Perhaps she had gone too far.
"I'm joking."
Only to be met with the determined glare of a little girl. Grabbing her by the wrist, Ayumi leaned forward. Their noses practically touching.
"What-"
"It doesn't matter!" Ayumi declares, "Even if we're adults, even if we're separated, even if Ayumi is no longer able to meet with you guys, it doesn't matter! We'll be together forever, right here," the little girl gestured to her heart, slapping it with an open hand. "Because we're friends!"
"No matter what, we'll always remain friends."
Again, Shiho is stunned by the little girl in front of her. Hopeful. Her eyes filled with determination. The girl's innocence and tenacity leave her speechless once more.
"What did I say," Shinichi asked later. Shiho watched the children ahead. Their innocent conversations flowed from food to school to a cartoon showing in theaters at the moment, and she couldn't help but smile. Looking away from the irritating, annoying smirk on Shinichi's lips.
"Ice cream, we are getting ice cream, and Hakase will pay for it!" They sang. Shinichi laughed.
"Hakase, going to go broke if this continues."
"Yeah, most probably," Shinichi winks at her as they walked toward the children.
This will never last, won't it?
The trip back was uneventful. The peaceful lull of the day continued, surrounded by the cheerful, carefree innocence of the children; she sighed.
These idiots.
The sight of a brown-haired man bearing the cold-hearted aura of the black organization shattered the day's peace. Shiho froze when she saw the man standing before the professor's house. Olive-green eyes glared at her, glasses reflecting anger—a sadness that chills Shiho to the bone.
"Subaru-san, what are you doing here?" the children greeted him, but he did not respond. His attention was fixated on hers, and she winced when grabs her by the arm. It hurt, and she cried out softly, her fear turning into anger, and she glared at him with the same intensity.
"Subaru-san!" Shinichi exclaims.
"Let her go!" Genta shoves the man away. Mitsuhiko and Ayumi shielded her from the man.
"Subaru-san, you're hurting Ai-chan!" Ayumi shouted, tears appearing in the little girl's eyes. The man, realizing what he had done, released her and forced a smile.
"Oh, I'm sorry," he lacked his usual calm demur, and he sounded exhausted, "I just wanted..."
"What's going on!?" the professor emerged into the front entrance where they stood. Glancing frantically at Shinichi and the children and then at her. The fury for the man before her threatens to erupt, and she swallows, collecting herself.
"Hakase," Shinichi ordered, "Could you bring the children to get some ice cream?"
"But—"
"Hakase!"
"Come on, let's go," he told the children, who were still staring daggers at Subaru.
"No, he's up to something!" Genta grumbled, "He was hurting Haibara!"
"Yeah, no way we're leaving him with her!" Mitsuhiko chimed in. Ayumi bounded over to her, hugging her tightly. There was a tense silence as the children huddled around her.
"It's ok," she forced, releasing herself from the kids and giving them a reassuring smile.
"But-" the children protested as she waved them off.
"Thanks for your concern," she answered, "But I'm alright. Subaru-san probably has something to tell me." She turned to the professor.
"Hakase," she requested, and the professor shuffled the protesting children out of the courtyard.
"You better not do anything to her, you hear me!" Mitsuhiko shouted, the professor chuckling nervously before guiding the children out of the gate. There was a deep awkward silence, Subaru running a hand through his brown hair.
"You've got some nerve," she seethes, her rage springs to life, "Moroboshi Dai!"
His fake alias made him wince. This was all she knew about him. This man her sister had talked about. "What do you want?"
The man's anger seems to have vanished, and Shiho is left staring at an empty husk. An aura of defeat surrounded him, making her feel slightly anxious. Has something happened? Was the operation unsuccessful? Were they in danger? The escalating tension made it difficult for them to speak; Shinichi found his voice first.
"Subaru-san, what happened? Didn't the operation end? It was successful, wasn't it? Jodie-sensei messaged me a while ago," he asked.
Subaru stood, coiled like a snake, staring at the ground. A hand tightening over something in his pockets.
"We've got the thumb drive," he forced. Subaru's voice was soft, unexpected for a man who had just achieved the impossible. Who now had a winning chance of taking the organization down. She expected him to be ecstatic, and not—this.
"Is anything the matter? Did something happen?" Shinichi prodded. The boy's concern reached new heights as he stepped toward the man. It couldn't be. Shiho's eyes widened in realization.
They were in my apartment. He couldn't have.
"Why didn't you tell us?" Subaru whispered.
Erase it.
Shiho balled her hands into fists, fingernails digging into her open palms. Focus.
"Shiho, why?" Subaru pulls out the black notebook from his pockets. Flipping it open, the photographs fell, landing on the grass patch, staining it with her past. Shinichi regards them for just a moment, then he gasps, stepping back in disbelief. Face contorted, aghast by the revelation.
"Haibara?" Shinichi whispered breathlessly, and she shut her eyes tight. Do not feel. You are ice. Erase it.
"It's in the past," her voice carefully controlled, holding the mechanical tone she had used on Shinichi when they first met. "It shouldn't matter anymore."
"How can you say that?" Subaru held out the notebook, displaying its contents. Fingers tightening, leaving imprints on it. "Shiho, why didn't you tell us!" he forced out. His question lingered in thin air.
"You've got the thumb drive, haven't you?" Shiho smirks, "You've got what you wanted to take down the organization. What happened in the past is over. There is no reason for me to delve into it."
The photos on the ground came into view, and then—
She was on the bed, pinned down with a hand covering her lips. Gin laughed as he pressed down harder. Shiho couldn't breathe. This man. Why was he here? This place, this apartment. She would not let him taint it. Not here—not the apartment where her sister came to visit—not this place she regarded as home.
"Sherry, do you think this is over?" he drawled, his voice grating against her ear, and she struggled, hitting him with her fist. Using the techniques he had taught her. She kicks hard, and he slaps her. The notebook he had been holding slammed into her face, and she was staring at photographs taken of long past. Of a girl, she could barely recognize. 14 years old, tied to a bed, pinned down by a beast that was doing the same. She bulked, wanting to vomit, and the man laughed. Wicked eyes glaring into her own. "Are you going to disobey me again?"
Golden eyes pierced through. He released her, and she grasps onto her blouse that he had forced apart.
"What do you think would happen," his hands lingering over the photograph on the study table. A photograph was taken months ago—of Akemi hugging her from behind, smiling widely. The woman's smile was untainted by the darkness of the evils of an organization. "If she finds out about this?"
"You will not touch her!"
"Oh, but that's not for you to decide," he taunts. "Her fate lies with you."
He nears her.
"Right, sweet Sherry?
She falters, memories of a man dead in a basement, neck twisted as Gin laughs, teeth glinting in the darkness. An abyss she could not climb out from. He seizes her yet again, and Shiho collapses onto the bed. Going limp as he grabs her throat, squeezing it tight.
"You're mine, Sherry. Remember that."
"It's nothing," Shiho returns to the present, "It's in the past. What's done is done."
"Haibara, how can you possibly say that!" Shinichi shouted. Unrestrained, filled with anger and she steps back. He was lifting the pictures, showing them to her. "What did they do? Why did you allow it? Why didn't you tell us?!"
His words pierced like hot knives cutting through butter, stabbing her from within. It was hard to look at him. Accussortory eyes burning with fury. Shinichi wanted answers. Answers she could not give. She could almost feel him. Gin's touch burned, wet and sticky, his lust erupting from the bowels of hell. He was panting, rough, relentless. The hurt ran through, racing down her neck, chest, and back.
"Why didn't you tell us?!" Shinichi repeated. This time desperate.
"What has my personal life got anything to do with any of this?" she was barely keeping it together, answering in a way a machine would. "It happened, Kudou-kun," she spat, "It's over. You have the information; now focus on the mission at hand."
"Haibara," he seethes, "I don't care about the mission. I care about yo-"
"It does not matter," she stopped him before he could say anything else. Clenching her fist, she couldn't help the slight tremble coming over. Shiho could not bear to see the expressions on their faces. The shock, the horror, and the judgment cast upon her.
She turns away, reaching for the handle of the professor's house.
"Akemi knows, doesn't she," Subaru whispered. She paused, falling back. Her sister's voice whispered in her ears, growing from a single point—echoing—her last goodbyes. Gone. Shiho had told her. And now—
"Don't speak of her."
"That was why she wanted to leave," Subaru continued, "She wanted to help you."
"You have no right to talk about her!" she breathes heavily.
"Shiho, your sister loved you deeply. I made a promise to her," a wry smile spreading across his lips, "I vowed to protect you if things went south. Akemi gave me no choice…" he trailed off, reconsidering his words.
"I want to help you."
What was he saying? How could he? She's—
"Gone," she started, and he stopped.
"She's gone!" she shouted, hands clamped over her eyes, pressing them down. Wanting to blot out the blinding hot pain that was overwhelming her. The sorrow ran deep, along with the wave of fury crashing down on her, threatening to engulf everything in sight. "She's dead, Moroboshi Dai! Do you know why? Because you failed her! We failed her! There's no bringing her back. She's gone, dead, buried, finished! Do you not understand!"
"Haibara," Shinichi tries to grab her, but she shoves him away, glaring at him. He steps back, eyes widening at her unrestrained pain. Subaru Okiya. He promised, and yet—
"You couldn't even protect her!" she ranted, "There's no bringing her back! You don't owe her anything. Don't speak of her!" She shouted, losing any semblance of control.
Shiho couldn't breathe, and she curled in on herself, bending over to control the raging agony of memories that were flashing past. Subaru was silent, eyes wavering as he bowed his head. Fist clenched as silence descended over them.
What did I do?
Why?
Akemi had tried to help. He failed to protect her, but what Shiho did—was worse. She had told her sister everything.
And, in the process—ruined Akemi's life. The woman would have done anything for her. She had taken her sister's love and dragged her into the darkness.
"Haibara, no, please," Shinichi comes closer, possessing azure eyes that were too gentle, too kind—too vulnerable. She will hurt him, just like her sister, just like them. She couldn't be here. Shiho had overstayed her welcome.
Everyone. Everything around her—dies.
Shiho pushed him before he could hold her. And he cries out as she rushes into the house, down the flight of steps, slamming the basement door behind her. It closed with a resounding bang.
Her knees buckled as she sunk to the floor, her chest tightened painfully, and she couldn't breathe. She tried but found herself rasping. Hot angry tears ran down her eyes, and she couldn't see. Her vision blurred as she rested her forehead on the ground, pressing it on the rough surface, trying to force the image of him back. It was fruitless, her memories flooding back. His stench assaulted her senses.
That vile smell of cigar smoke mixed with Gin. The foul, sour odor of his breath as he licked her. The grunts. The pain—that flowed from her chest to the juncture between her thighs. Sharp and unrelenting, he had entered her and had not stopped. Not when she begged, not when she cried. He had laughed, grabbing her roughly by her hair, pulling her head back before biting her neck, marking her with his scent. Golden eyes burning hot, red, turning into hell as she appeared, Vermouth. Her punishment for refusing to kill a target. A whip slashed across her skin, a knife running down her back, creating scars that could never heal, the pain crushing.
A gentle giant emerging from the abyss of buried memories, she tries to forget, but it rears its ugly head. The brown-haired man was dumped on the ground, green eyes staring at her—dead. His smile was wiped clean. Aperol. A choice she was forced to make. A choice she could never turn back. A sob escaped her lips. I'm sorry. I'm so sorry, Ryuu-san.
She was—
A murderer.
The memories swirled, becoming a chaotic mess. It hurt. She had thought herself immune.
How had she survived? How did she go through it? Shiho could not—she could not face them again. Terror gripped her, pain stabbing her like knives—like the knives they used on her.
Enough.
She had enough.
They know. They had found out. There was no going back. The shame was almost deliberating. Shiho could still see the disgust in Subaru's expression. Still see the shock on Shinichi's face. She wasn't clean…
She could not wash away this sin. Gagging, Gin's shadow loomed above her, her heart beating so hard she felt like she would faint.
Onee-chan.
"How do you like the eggs, Shiho?" Akemi, seated opposite, smiles with her chin propped on her hands. It was the first time they had seen each other after their six years apart, yet it felt like Akemi had never left. Her sister rushed over when she heard the news of Shiho's arrival. Home. Her sister had said. Welcoming her back with open arms. Gentle eyes gazing into hers, withholding years of love—of affection.
"You burnt them," Shiho answered and watched as Akemi frowned.
"I'll have you know. I am a better cook than I look. It's just that—"
"You can't cook?" Shiho teases, and her sister huffs. Shiho couldn't help the soft chuckle that escaped her lips. She stops, surprised by the sound of her laughter. How long has it been? Since she was allowed the freedom—
Scooping the eggs into her lips, she was greeted with the slightly burnt taste of yolk. It was arid, bitter, tasting like smoke. It tasted terrible. But…it was…
"Shiho?" Akemi asked, "Why? Where does it hurt?"
Tears rolled down. She couldn't control them. They flowed uncontrollably, freely. Her sister walked over, wiping them away with her hands, holding onto her shoulders. The weight, a stable rock in a sea of swirling, hurt.
"It's ok," Akemi whispered gently, "It's ok, Shiho, everything—will be ok."
Glancing at the instrument on the table, Shiho picks it up. Studying it in her hands. The coolness of it brought her back to reality. Shiho longed for her sister's embrace. She had felt safe. She wanted to feel that again, but her sister was gone. She was no longer here. There was no one left. She was alone.
They had the thumb drive, and they could access the information. They could take down the organization. They could expose it. There would be other brilliant scientists that could help Shinichi with the cure. The data there was relevant enough. It isn't necessary to be here anymore, isn't it? The mission was accomplished, and the objective was achieved. If she had done this earlier, it would have been better. So why did I try?
Tawara-san had told her to make a choice, didn't he?
And she would.
She smiled, twirling the scalpel in her hand. A feverish grin graced her lips.
I'll see you soon, Onee-chan.
And she raised the instrument, ramming it down.
There were no words to be said. Shinichi stood solemnly by the furnace located in the professor's courtyard. And he watched as the photographs bearing the monster's work of art curled into black smothering ash, burning away the abuse, hurt, and pain. Shinichi takes the notebook and throws it away later. Paper turning into ash amidst the roaring fire Subaru and him had conjured just a few minutes ago.
"It could be used as evidence," the man had said earlier, but Shinichi did not hesitate. It will never be used again. He had picked the photographs from the ground. All eight of them. They were numbered carefully, meticulously. As if a label of some sort, her suffering was a trophy for him. That bastard. It was a sick game he played. The girl—his toy. Shinichi shuts his eyes, feeling the vortex of fury swirling through him.
"I would end him," he seethes through a clenched jaw. The man who stood behind him bore the same expression. The fire cackled, burning like the anger in their chest, threatening to implode.
There was nothing in those eyes—none of that cheery nature. The girl he had come to know—who had in the coming months become Haibara Ai was wiped clean. The revelation brings about the woman shrouded in mystery. The ice-cold entity Gin had created. Sherry. The aura around an impenetrable ice wall. She had pushed him away, and at that moment, Shinichi saw the years of torment buried within her eyes. Failing to hide them, the girl was screaming.
Shinichi couldn't stay still. Not when she was suffering, alone in that dreadful basement. He made for the door, and Subaru stopped him. The disguised Akai Shuichi shook his head slowly. Contemplating the situation at hand.
"She needs to be alone," he whispered. The man seemingly understands the sorrow that pervades the girl. The same sadness lingered behind tired olive eyes. Alone? She has always been alone. Never reaching out…never complaining…never once—asking for help.
And all he could see was her limp body lying still on the cold concrete ground. A raven-haired woman turns into the shrunken scientist, blood gaping from a hole in her stomach as a silver-haired beast laughs, descending into a darkness nobody can pull out from. He was afraid.
"In the end, people who betray don't have anywhere to go," she had told them once amidst the busy sidewalks filled with soccer fans walking from a game that day. She stared up at the sky with melancholy in her eyes, a hidden message Shinichi had grasped too late. "If the rumor is true, then the person must be lucky," a statement she had said in response to the former disgraced soccer star Higo-san's false escape to Spain. "Because he can forget about everything and run away. To a place far away, where the booing won't reach him."
"Eh?" the children had asked, and the girl shrugged.
"Just kidding."
She was never joking. Burying it deep, putting up a wall to keep them at bay. Momentarily revealing her desires—pulling it off as a joke so that they will not worry. She's been controlling it since the day they met, for all her life. Shinichi gritted his teeth. Idiot!
He would not allow it. Even if she screams, even if she pushes him away, even if she hits him or hates him. He would never leave her alone, ever again. Turning the knob, he entered the professor's house. Subaru tried to stop him, but he ignored the man's words, practically running down the stairs leading to the basement.
"Haibara," he barged into the room and was greeted with the metallic scent of blood.
What?!
Dread hit him as a heaviness settled in the pit of his stomach. It was as if the floor was swept away from under him, and all he could see was the scarlet red gushing from her wrist. "H…Haibara.." he could barely utter her name.
"Boy!" It was Subaru's commanding voice that broke through the fog of panic. Shinichi gasped and leaped forward, opening the cupboards frantically and finding the first aid kit the professor had kept somewhere. He found and opened it, almost dropping the contents in haste. Pulling out the gauze, he stands over her, bending down to wrap the wound tight. A silver scalpel sits by the side, falling to the ground. Her fingers stained red, used to push it in.
"Haibara, no!"
"Boy, we go now!" Subaru shouted.
Still holding onto her wound, he had lifted her with the help of Subaru, carrying her up the stairs into Subaru's car, the blood staining and dripping onto the ground. Her pulse was faint, and he swallowed the growing panic in his chest.
Subaru started the car, and they raced their way through the streets, Subaru dodging and ignoring the traffic stops and signs. His car skidded to a stop at the entrance of the hospital. Jodie-sensei ran out from the entrance with emergency nurses as they received the bleeding girl. Onlookers paused at the sight, and they pushed through. Shinichi still clutching on.
"Let go, boy!" one of the nurses shouted, Jodie-sensei having to pry him off, and he stumbled back as the woman held onto him. "It'll be ok, cool kid," she said. Shinichi struggled in her grasp, trying to make for Haibara. Jodie-sensei stops him, taking hold of his shoulder, and he pauses, looking at the redness of his hands, stained with her blood.
"Hey, listen to me, Kudou-kun," Jodie-sensei snaps him out of his shock, "It'll be ok."
Suddenly, he felt dizzy and stumbled back, falling into the arms of the FBI agent. Jodie-sensei looked at them, grabbing hold of Subaru, who seemed equally haggard. "Come on, standing around would do us no good," she said firmly. The weight of her hold did nothing to quell the gut-wrenching anxiety that was pulling him apart.
"What happened!?" The professor arrived later. The man panting, eyes opened in shock. They were seated outside the operating theater. The minutes passed by in an agonizing wait. "What happened!" the professor shouts at both of them.
"I was gone for just an hour! What did you do, Subaru-san!" his voice echoed down the corridors. Jodie-sensei had to calm the old man down, and he sank to the seat, defeated when he heard of the situation.
"Why…why," the professor laments, the white-washed halls of the hospitals. "Why Ai-kun…"
They couldn't speak, and Jodie-sensei offered to get them coffee.
For a time, Haibara seemed to be improving. He thought she treasured the time she spent with the children, with the professor—with him. She had been free—forming relationships and conveying feelings that she would not normally have expressed.
But reality hits—it didn't matter what they did. They couldn't reach her.
The woman had chosen to leave. The lifeless body of Akemi was mixed with Haibara's, leaving him speechless. She had felt so—cold. The futility of the situation eventually sets in. Squeezing his eyes shut, he covered his mouth with his hand, trying hard to hold back the sob.
"Shinichi?" the professor whispered.
He bounded over, gripping his chest. The pain spread, and he couldn't stop the hot tears from rolling down his eyes. And, for the first time in his life—he cried.
Episodes Used: Episode 279 -probably the best in the series :D, well apart from 280...and 177...and well- hmm
And the next chapters...are probably my interpretation or made-up fiction of what went on in America. I hope you enjoy it...it evolved from a one-chapter fiasco to three.
Again, I thank you all for the reviews and kind words, enjoy :)