She was born into the Organization and the darkness; even at a young age, she somewhat had an understanding that they were the "bad guys," but as long as she was able to be with her family, she was happy. But maybe such "happiness" wasn't meant for her, for the heavens took her mother and father away from her. She clung onto her sister, her last family member, but she was soon taken away from her as well.

She was only six when she was whisked off across an ocean to pursue "better education," as her guardians liked to put it. Her American schooldays weren't anything out of the ordinary; she grew a liking to peanut butter and blueberry jelly sandwiches and lived as closely to an ordinary white girl with zero functioning taste buds and cooking skills as possible. She had a lot of work to do and a lot of knowledge to absorb for someone so young, but if it was for something her parents loved, it was worth it; if she understood her parents' passions, then would she be able to get closer to them?

As soon as she became a teenager, she was taken back to Japan. She didn't have any complaints, since she was able to see her sister again. It turns out, however, that she wouldn't have much free time to be with her one and only family member. They worked for the Organization, just as their parents did, and freedom was a luxury. As a scientist, she had mountains of work and research to do; she was even given a new name: Sherry.

Sherry was an academic prodigy and a highly respected scientist; she was the head of the research lab and had many other scientists working for her. Everyday, she showed up to work on the only thing she had left of her parents, which was their incomplete secret research project. "Silver Bullet" was too flashy of a name, but she went along with it.

At eighteen, she created the APTX-4869. The drug that was capable of killing someone while leaving no traces was soon given to other members of the Organization to use. It wasn't up to her, whether it be creating this sort of drug or using it for human experiments. She was simply following orders, and as long as she herself faced no consequences, she had no serious complaints. As long as she herself faced no consequences…

Her sister was dead. She heard about the news on a rainy day, another day trapped in the lab, doing research and work that never seemed to end. One of her coworkers casually dropped the news that some low-ranked member of the Organization had been executed by Gin, someone who was involved in a bank robbery a while ago. Her mug of black coffee dropped to the floor and shattered upon impact, but she couldn't care less about that right now. Her sister was gone, her one and only family, her precious sister…

She was aware that she was way past the age of teenage rebellion, but she abandoned all work at hand until she received some sort of acceptable explanation. She thought it would have some effect, any effect, but what awaited her was execution, a simple reminder that she was just as replaceable as anyone else. If so, she'll give them what they wanted.

And so, Shiho Miyano was dead.

Reverting back to age six was not part of her plan. What kind of sick joke was God playing with her this time? She just wanted to die peacefully and be reunited with her family once again, but instead, Ai Haibara was born in place of Shiho Miyano. Regardless, she had to find some way to survive for a bit longer, and her only hope was Shinichi Kudo.

The name caught her eye in the long list of test subjects a while back, but never did she ever think that she would have to depend her life on this man. She fell unconscious in front of his house like a complete loser, and thank god Professor Agasa took her in. With a new name and a new identity, she was reborn.

Meeting this Shinichi Kudo was a different experience altogether. Even as Conan Edogawa, he was just as driven by his ideals and sense of justice as he was in his past life. Old habits die hard, she assumed, but god, this was frustrating to watch. For someone who had been living in the shadows for most of her life, her cynical nature seemed to be natural to her upbringing. She questioned his idealistic righteousness, wondering how someone like him really existed. She was going to have a hard time getting along with him, she thought.

But somehow, they grew to trust each other, to see each other as a valuable friend and partner. She thought it was a curious thing, as their friendship was built on the fact that their paths intertwined because of the drug that ruined his past life, the drug she created. Even so, they trusted each other, helped each other, and stood by each other through everyday, mundane elementary school life as well as dangerous encounters with the Organization. She found herself getting attached to the life she was currently living, and really, it was his fault. She found happiness in normal life, a type of naive happiness that didn't exist in the Organization, and sometimes, she even found herself smiling and enjoying living.

She was never a big believer in the idea of "love," for the taste of love she had in the Organization was a bitter flavor that stained her heart and stayed on the tip of her tongue. But this seemed… different, almost as good as the fairy tales foolish children believed in. If she became a child once again, could she try to be foolishly naive, just this once?

But of course, light and dark just weren't meant to mix. He was the hero, the main character of a shounen, and she was just one of the antagonists that received a redemption arc that would never be able to walk alongside the hero in the finale. He had his heroine waiting for him — sweet Angel Ran Mouri, beautiful, kind, caring, brave… He had to be there for her, his damsel in distress, saving her like any knight in shining armor would for his princess. Who was she to stand in the way of such justice?

She was just another passerby in his life; she never dreamed of replacing Ran Mouri, and she didn't want to, either. Anyone could see that the two were head over heels in love with each other, and she wasn't about to be the "bad guy" to take it all away from them — after all, she'd already done it once, didn't she? She watched their drama unfold and witnessed their reunion, all their crying and hugging. She smiled, wished for the best for him and her, then slowly turned around and walked away, moving forward towards her own future.

Seeing him one summer three years later in the midst of the most beautiful lavender fields was unexpected, and that itself was an understatement. She thought her travels to Provence would take her far away enough from her past, but there he was, dressed in a swoon-worthy white dress shirt and navy slacks. She could see that messy hair, those blue eyes, and that stupid smile from a mile away as he approached her.

"Hey, Haibara," he said, grinning like a child, and immediately, she was reminded of the boy she spent much of her happy days with. She wanted to correct him, to tell him that she was no longer Ai Haibara; she was Shiho Miyano, and he was Shinichi Kudo, and they've lost all reason for their paths to intertwine any further. But that smile, that goddamn smile, caught her by surprise, and she lost all words.

He was there for work, supposedly, and she was simply taking a long vacation. She expected them to part ways once again after they greeted each other in the flower fields, but he insisted on catching up over a cup of coffee. She gave in, knowing that he wouldn't change his mind even if she ran away; besides, the cafés in France were gorgeous. They talked more than she expected, and he wouldn't take no for an answer in regard to having dinner together. She wanted to ask if his Angel was with him, but from hints between his words, she could tell that perhaps, maybe, she was no longer his girlfriend.

But what would giving herself hope do? After all, Shinichi Kudo would never fall for her, and she knew she could go on just fine without him; she'd already done so for three years.

She was twenty-five and back in Tokyo, returning to the place she once left hastily. She was still oftentimes swamped with work, but this time, she was researching about topics that actually mattered to her. She was reunited with Professor, who was the closest father figure she had. The Detective Boys had grown up a bit, and they were now all approaching high school — she marveled at how quick time seemed to pass. And of course, she was truly, hopelessly in love with her detective, her idiot of a boyfriend. For what seemed like the first time, her life was at peace, and she was happy.

As for the future, only time will tell.