My computer completely broke down and I've finished with this ages ago, I just couldn't update!! Fortunately, my friend Claire is nice enough to update for me, so a cookie to you, Claire!!

Disclaimer: I don't own DC. I wish I do, but life rarely goes the way we wish it does.

Chapter 12

Happy times, among all others, always pass too quickly for anyone's liking. The days under Agasa Hakase's care definitely qualify as happy, and so three years quickly crept past under everyone's notice.

It was a lot like hanging around the Detective Boys again, only the three kids obviously weren't there. The professor took them on camping trips, amusement parks, that sort of thing. Occasionally Ran joins them. So far no one has died in any of those occasions; Ai took that to be a big improvement.

Unfortunately, all good things must come to an end.

"Ai-kun, come see, is this her?" Agasa Hakase called, and Ai rushed over to the living room, where he is pointing at the TV, now broadcasting the news.

"American actress Chris Vineyard was suspected of being part of a plan to assassinate the former senator…" The reporter is saying. "…The FBI are now involved in the case. It is assumed that Chris Vineyard is not acting alone. The FBI has tracked down a few others…"

"Is it, Ai-kun, is it them?"

Ai nodded.

She had done it. The black syndicate's existence is known, but there is no happiness inside her. Sure, she's glad that Vermouth was caught, but their downfall would mean… she looked around, wondering how much time she would have as Haibara Ai.

"Hakase… why am I still here?"

"Well…" the professor considered the question. "The organization would have to be destroyed to a point where Sherry could no longer work on APTX4869, and they've found those in Japan, so…"

Agasa Hakase was asked to assist the FBI and the police since he had provided information for them. He would be going to America for little more than a week.

"…So I would probably be gone soon, when you get back." Ai concluded. Her voice was steady, even if she felt anything but.

They both agreed that from now on, Ai shouldn't go to school anymore. There were too many risks of her suddenly disappearing.

"What will you tell Shinichi-kun?"

Ai strived to find an answer, and failed. "I don't know."

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

For three years, every morning began the same way.

No matter how early Ai wakes up, somehow Shinichi would always be standing by her bedside. Unknowingly to Shinichi, Ai would feign sleep, opening her eyes by a millimeter, watching him. He always had a look in his eyes that she couldn't define; it seemed sad and happy all at the same time. But when she opened her eyes, deciding to get up, there would be a grin on his face, followed by, "Morning, Ai-chan! When's breakfast?"

Ai never knew what to make of this.

Both Ai and Agasa Hakase tried to keep their spirits up, and to any other, it would seem like any other morning. But Shinichi noticed things. He is going to become a famous detective, after all, and he saw that the other two's smiles didn't reach their eyes. But he didn't say anything.

"The game is in two days." He said suddenly, looking up from the book he was reading. If you're good enough, they let you play on the middle school soccer team, Shinichi happened to be their best player.

"So?" Ai asked, stirring milk into her coffee.

"You'll both go, right? You and Hakase?"

Ai exchanged glances with the professor. "I—"

"Sorry, Shinichi-kun, I'm leaving for America tonight, work, you know… But of course Ai-kun would be there!" Agasa Hakase interrupted.

Shinichi grinned. Then, after wolfing down his plate of pancakes, announced that he has soccer practice and left.

Ai turned to the professor, stunned. "Are you sure about this? What if I…"

"It's a twenty hour plane flight, Ai-kun. It's just one day, you can afford to leave the house." Hakase smiled. "And you'd want to be there to see Shinichi-kun score the winning goal, don't you?"

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

A/N: And so the story takes a sad turn… it's a happy ending though…maybe… XD