Ai was blind. She moved her hands cautiously, respecting the darkness, and she was alone, save for the voice in her ear.
"A little up and to your right," said Conan.
She hated that she had to follow his orders without question, but she was in no position to question him. She'd tried to keep track of what he'd instructed her to do before and how good it had felt, but after a few rounds, she'd lost all track of things, and for the last few minutes, she hadn't bothered.
This time was different. She inched her hand through space—up and to her right—and touched something wooden and wobbly. There were audible gasps around her, but with just the tip of her finger, she steadied the object.
"That one?" she asked.
"Yeah, I like that one," said Conan.
With her thumb and forefinger, she grabbed onto the object.
"No, you've got two on your thumb," he said.
She slid her thumb back toward the corner, and feeling confident she had only one piece, she began to pull it loose. More gasps. People were worried. The whole object seemed to sway in her grasp. She hesitated.
"You're fine," said Conan. "Keep going."
"It's moving all over the place," she protested.
"It's fine," he said confidently. "Don't worry. I'd never let us fall down here."
So sure he was, as if he could reassure her and make all her fears go away thanks just to the certainty in his voice. He would believe something like that.
Ai obliged him, pulling the piece free. Held breaths were finally released, and she replaced the piece on top. Conan worried that she was being too bold, but Ai had a feel for what she was doing, and though she couldn't see, she was quite sure of herself, too. She placed her piece back again, and Conan was pleased. "Nice, Haibara!" he said.
And Ai was certainly pleased with herself, especially when Ayumi and Genta went next, with Genta guiding Ayumi, and Ayumi, anxious over the situation, decided she didn't like what Genta was asking her to do. She tried to pull a different piece, and the whole thing came crashing down. It was a relief, too, to be able to take off her blindfold and see the Jenga tower she'd been working on for the last twenty minutes—or what was left of it.
The others didn't understand. Genta and Ayumi working together had been like pulling teeth, but Conan and Ai had quickly found a rhythm despite the complexity of the game. How had they done it?
Ai and Conan exchanged a glance. He shrugged his shoulders, and she smiled coyly. It takes a little time, she thought, to learn to trust someone. She considered telling the kids that, but they would learn that soon enough anyway, and for now, she and Conan could keep that to themselves.
For CoAi Week 2018 Prompt #1 – "Trust"