A/N: Finally done with this chapter! It took longer than I thought. Thank you as always, to those who read my story, and especially to cahyaputra, YELLOW JACKET PRIDE, Anime Lady PIMP, and korenai-chan for leaving reviews!

Disclaimer: Fanfic. Need I say more?

Chapter Nine

Agony

"Dont look back."

That's what I said. But I can't keep it myself either.

-0-

(Ai's POV)

"Ow…"

I muttered for the third time as I slipped to the ground. I stood up as quick as I fell down. There was already a bruise on my bottom, and my arms and hands were bleeding a bit from scratches.

Damn tree. I attacked it once more.

This time, I made sure to step on the holes that were big enough to put my foot in. Why were five meters so freaking difficult to climb to? I saw that brat go on higher trees without having any kinds of trouble at all. How come I couldn't?

Two more eggs fell as I continuously failed. It was frustrating. What the hell is up there, and why is it dropping eggs? All I could imagine was something like a snake. But the bird was still chirping steadily although the nest was rustling.

C'mon…My trembling foot reached the sixth hole. I sighed and continued on with the seventh. My arm barely reached the branch of mystery now.

"AH!" I cried as my sweating palm slipped on it. Thankfully, I didn't fall.

I breathed in and out for the next few minutes. My heart was thumping as if I just ran a mile. Phew. I finally got my feet on the branch.

Then I sighed again. Why did the bird build the nest at the tip? I considered going down as I measured the distance with my eyes. But then again, I went through all the troubles to see the truth. I took a step forward.

The branch shook a little. Whoa! It was harder to keep my balance than I thought. When I was finally able to breathe normally, I took another step. This time, it was fine. I gave a sigh of relief. I tensed again for the next.

Then, I heard a sound. A sound that brought panic. A sound that made me realize something.

Something dangerously stupid.

I was so worried about my balance, that I forgot about my weight.

The branch gave a crack.

I froze. My whole body was tingling as the adrenaline rushed to my heart. It was totally silent for a moment except for the baby bird chirping. The branch didn't fall. One step more…

At this point, I really didn't have much confidence. I wasn't even sure how to get back. My body trembled as I carefully placed the last step.

Then, the branch groaned. By the time I turned my neck around, I was already starting to fall. I saw the nest that I've been so obsessed with fall from the corner of my eye.

The wind whipped my face. My body was being scratched countless times by leaves and small woods. In less than a second, I heard a small crunch as my shoulder hit another branch. God, I'm stupid. So obsessed…so pathetic…I smiled, as the gravity pulled me still faster towards the ground. The searing pain was already bearable as I thought of what would happen next.

Maybe this is a goodbye. Maybe I hoped for something like this.

I started to feel half-conscious as I felt the speed bothering my eyes. But before I could shut them, I saw something pop underneath me.

I crashed on it…Or did I?

The thing was soft. When I was about to open my eyes and poke it, I was falling down again. But only for a second. Someone puffed when I hit the…ground? Then, I realized I was on top of someone.

I opened my eyes. The material under me was an…air bag? No. It was a deflated soccer ball. Wait, that means-

"Ha…i…ba…ra." When I scrambled the rubber out of the way, I saw his face all distorted. "You…"

"Oops." Surprised, embarrassed and thankful at the same time, I gave him something like an apologetic grin.

"Just…Just get off of me, will ya? Ow…" I realized I was sitting on his chest. I turned a little pink and quickly stood up. In the process, my shoulder stung. "Ah." I winced from the pain. He noticed.

"What's the matter? Where are you hurt?" He was actually worried. And I thought he'd be suffering from cracked ribs or something worse.

"It's nothing. Let's go back." I grabbed my hurting shoulder and started to walk towards anywhere.

"Hold it." His tone changed as he grabbed my arm. Here it comes. "What did I tell you? I knew you'd do something like this anytime soon."

Sigh. "I was totally not gonna commit suicide, Edogawa-kun! Just leave me alone!"

He snorted. "Yeah, right. Why would you climb a tree that high except for that reason?"

Then, I gasped as I remembered the objective. "Did you see anything fall?" I asked him sharply.

"Oh…you mean the nest? It's over there." He pointed at the bottom of the tree. I ran over there and saw a badly crushed nest that had the baby bird, some eggs, and…nothing else. The bird was still chirping quietly.

"What is it?" He examined the nest. "This is…a cuckoo."

He looked around and grinned. The type that annoyed me so much at times. "So, what did you figure out tantei?"

"Why you climbed the tree." He said, and his face turned serious again. "But it's still really stupid. You went up there to check out on the nest, right?" I nodded slowly. "But you shouldn't have. There's nothing strange about eggs falling down." He held the baby bird inside of his cupped hands. "Cuckoos plant their eggs on other birds' nests. Since cuckoos are able to break out of their eggs faster than other birds, they try to eliminate the others." He saw my expression. "It's just natural. I mean, any kind of birds would still feed the cuckoo, even though they look different."

"…I see." He smirked. "How did you come here?"

"You said you were going into the forest…and your footsteps were suddenly off the trail so I decided to look for you."

"Stalker." I closed my eyes and turned my back to him.

"Haha…"

He held out his hand. "C'mon. Let's go back."

I tried to stand up on my own, but my shoulder hurt again. I swayed a bit. However, I just ignored it and got up. When I saw his face again, I read she's so stubborn. He then carried me on his arms.

"Hey!" I could feel my face flush a little.

"Just bear it, sheesh."

I sighed and smiled a little, looking away. "Anyway, thanks…"

He didn't say anything, but I could sense that he was thinking it's my job from his satisfied grin.

-0-

"Let's rest for a while here." He was sweating a little when we finally got to the trail.

"Are you sure?" He tried to sound like he could go on forever.

"I know you're tired. Just rest."

He sighed as he let me go. He sat down and wiped his sweat. Soon after, he just laid down on the dry grass. I sat down next to him, careful not to use my hurt shoulder. He covered his arm over his eyes to block the sunlight. Pssh. Trying to act tough. I couldn't help but to smile a little.

"You're heavier than you look."

I stiffened. "Thanks. And it's really polite to talk about weight with ladies."

He smirked. "A lady…"

I watched his face as his smirk slowly faded away. He put his arm down and instead closed his eyes. I smiled a little at his glasses. That ridiculous disguise. His key, his beginning of becoming Edogawa Conan. It was simple as that. Wearing a pair of glasses. Then I wondered, what would Kudou Shinichi look like? Half-joking, I took off his glasses slowly.

"Wharryadoing?"

"Shut up and stay still." I murmured.

I folded his glasses in one hand, and placed the other next to his face. The face of Kudou Shinichi was in front of me. The one that I haven't seen for more than 10 years.

Then, his eyes snapped open. I realized I've been touching his cheekline and quickly pulled back, a bit embarrassed. He slowly closed his eyes again.

"Hey, Haibara." I glimpsed at him. He still had his eyes closed, so it was safe.

"Was it really nice in America?"

I thought about it. "It was like my childhood again."

"Which means…?"

I sighed. "Since I'm half Japanese, the American kids were not so eager to be friends."

"Weren't there any Japanese?"

"Well, there were, obviously, but I'm half British, remember?" I could feel my painful smile. "They were also hesitant."

"And your attitude wouldn't have paid off either." He finished.

I glared at his closed eyes. "Not that I wanted to be friends with people that are a decade younger than me."

"Well." He half-opened his eyes. "How did you deal with it?"

"Your parents were nice."

"Thanks."

There was a silence as both of us just gaped at the blue sky.

He closed his eyes again and suddenly said, "I'm sorry."

"For what?" I was startled. He didn't answer, but I kinda knew it.

"Don't be. It was still nice to be free." He was still silent.

"Actually…" I paused. "I'm really thankful of what you did." His face softened a bit.

A few minutes passed. "Is it nice to be back?"

"…I guess it's alright."

"I don't know how this would sound to you, but…" He opened his eyes. "You do belong here."

He continued. "Please. Don't hurt yourself."

I snorted. "You freak me out."

"No. Seriously."

I examined his face. His eyes stared straight at the sky. They were…sad? "…Fine."

He gave me a contented smirk and got up. I noticed that his eyes were back to normal. I stood up on my own. My shoulder wasn't hurting that bad now. We walked through the trail together.

-0-

Finally, I could wrap my shoulder in some bandages. We were sitting around various campfires with our sleeping bags out, and I was silently heating my marshmallow. There were still murmurs and whispers behind me. I sighed.

God. Of all the people that could've saved me. It was him. And he just had to walk with me all the way to the nurse's office.

Almost everyone was staring at us as we went in there. They didn't even bother to ask us where we were. I didn't even want to think of their imagination.

A few minutes before, he digged in his bag to take out the marshmallows. The four other representatives were staring as he handed me one. Even after he offered some to them. I tried to give mine back, but I remembered the gratitude I was supposed to be feeling for him. I watched the fire dancing in front of my eyes, trying to distract myself. I had to clench my teeth to ignore all the things in the background. Including him…staring at me?

"What?" I asked him for the fourth time.

He turned his eyes to the mountain and just said, "Nothing."

Again.

The weirdest thing was that he was comfortable with the buzzing background. I tried my best not to disturb him much today as a gratitude for the incident that happened before. But it was so annoying right now, I was about to snap. Then I glanced at him, and saw once more, that he was staring at me.

"What?" I can't handle this.

"It's burning." He pointed at the fire. I saw my marshmallow on fire. I turned red and blew out the fire.

.

Most of the students were sleeping. It was really late, after the boys stopped drawing pictures on the faces of the sleeping ones. I couldn't sleep. I simply stared at the glazing stars that filled the dark sky, mesmerized.

"Pretty, right?" I looked at my side, surprised.

"Huh, I never knew you could say such word."

"Haha…" And he stared at the sky like I did.

"Stars…I used to memorize their names when I was a kid. I've been gaping at the telescopes so much I fainted one day."

He smirked. "So much for being a scientist."

I glared. "Actually, what I like about stars is their appearance. They twinkle when you are far away, but when you approach them, it can burn anything in less than a second. Nobody knows how destructive it can be from a distance."

"I see." It was silent.

"But even though it is from a distance, they are the dreams of millions." His tone changed. "Nobody looks at the stars considering their danger. They find guidance…and hope when they see stars shine."

He noticed me staring at him. "Huh, I guess that was too much."

"Yeah. For a boring deducing freak, no one would imagine you could say those things." And to me. I thought.

He snorted. "You should sleep now if you don't wanna faint again."

With that, I closed my eyes.

"…Haibara?" I pretended to be asleep. I didn't really want to hear more corny words coming from his mouth.

Then he whispered to himself.

"The similarity is striking, you know."

I couldn't sleep much that night.

-0-

(General POV)

"Tsuburaya-kun!" A girl with reddish brown hair was running towards a bus, covering her head with her hands from the rain.

"Ah, Haibara-san! You should get on the bus right now." He had a checkboard and an umbrella in his hands, counting students.

"I have something to ask you."

"What is it?" He sounded a bit hopeful.

"You're in the same class with…Aikawa-san, right?"

His face wasn't satisfied. "Yeah…What about her?"

"Why didn't she come?"

He didn't answer. The girl didn't like this reaction.

"What happened? Tell me!"

"She…didn't want to come."

Obviously, she thought. "Why?"

He was still hesitant. "I…I don't know. I just…I just told her that she'd be sharing a room with you."

Her face was shocked. "And?"

"And…And her face was kinda…solid, if you know what I mean." He glanced at her face. "Then, about ten minutes before we took off for the trip, she called me that she won't go."

She bit her lip.

"What's wrong?"

"No…it's nothing." She quickly entered the bus before he could inquire further.

She saw Conan pointing at the empty seat next to him, grinning. She sighed and sat there. She ignored his questions. Instead, she stared out the window the whole time. Kana, Ayumi, Ran…

About an hour more of thinking, she had enough. Her head started to ache. Gosh, it's just too much. What do I have to do? And what should I do with him? He was…somewhat sincere? I don't get it…I don't…get…Kana…She slowly lapsed into unconsciousness. Darn, I'm so tired…He was right. She smirked a little before falling asleep.

The rain was starting to pound against the window.

"Achoo!" His earphones came out of his ears from the force. He sniffed and shivered. "It's getting colder…You okay, Haibara? Aren't you just wearing a T-shir-" Suddenly, the bus rocked, and he felt a weight against his shoulder. He turned his head around, and saw her head resting on it, breathing steadily.

"Um…" He blushed a little. Then he smiled.

Carefully, he took out his sleeping bag and zipped it open. It covered both of them.

.

The bus shook again. She opened her eyes slowly and yawned. It was pretty cold. She glimpsed at the window and saw the rain pouring harder than ever. She moved her arms, and felt the sleeping bag. What the- Then, she was startled by a snore. Aw, no way. She moved her head away from his shoulder, only to realize his arm around her.

"AHH!" She quickly pulled away. He woke up by the sudden noise.

"Wasshappeni-" He felt a blow at his waist and puffed. "Hey!"

"Pervert." She muttered.

His face was pink. "What? That was just to keep you warm!"

"And who told you I need warmth, fool?"

"You leaned first, you know."

"I'd rather stay awake and freeze than sleep on your shoulder."

Jeez, this girl. He massaged his hurting spot gently, grumbling away. And I bet she would've been annoyed if I didn't do anything. So much for being worried. He glanced at her sitting as far as possible from him. She was staring out the window quietly again. Then, he noticed some goosebumps on her arm. He put out his arm holding the sleeping bag.

He smiled when she finally noticed and turned around. She took it.

He thought her eyes were softer.

-0-

About a month passed.

Two boys were seen, cutting up the bushes at the school garden. They were both sweating as they worked. A teacher walked up to them and told them to go.

"AH! I'm so damn tired!" Conan exclaimed. "The gardening job is really stupid and tiring. And I could be practicing for my soccer competition at that time."

"Well." Answered Mitsuhiko, smiling. "You don't really need it, though. You're too good at soccer already."

"Eh, Mitsuhiko?" He stopped walking. "Why are you coming with me?"

"Ah-Haha-I thought I could borrow some of your mystery books! If you don't mind?" His answer was doubtful. Conan's eyes narrowed. "I see…"

He has no idea.

Together, they reached Conan's (or Shinichi's) house. Then, Mitsuhiko dialed a number behind his back.

Someone answered.

"Are you ready?" Mitsuhiko whispered.

He took the silence as a yes. Conan walked up to the door.

"5, 4, 3, 2, 1…"

Annnnnd…

"Zero."

Conan still didn't notice.

-0-

-End of Chapter Nine-

A/N: Yeesh, still having some blocks in my mind…mainly cuz the plot is getting confused by my thoughts about the other story. I really, really wish this chapter was alright. Anyway, hope you liked it…and please review :3