Four points of the same star

FOUR POINTS OF THE SAME STAR

Chapter 7

The mysterious saviour.

"The playground!"

"No, the videogame centre!"

"No, let's go to the park!"

Conan's head touched his palm while Ai looked around with a bored expression.

The Detective Boys had gone to the cinema together.

Agase had given them some free tickets for Masked Yaiba's film. Ayumi, Mitsuhiko and Genta were overjoyed since he was their favourite hero. They had also managed to convince Conan and Ai to go with them. The two were not really enthusiastic but they hadn't been able to refuse, seeing the kids' happiness.

'Why did I let them drag me here?' Conan thought, listening to their shouts. 'Why didn't I just stay home and relax?'

The film was over but since it was only four o'clock, the kids wanted to go somewhere else together. Ayumi wanted to go to the park, Genta to the videogame centre and Mitsuhiko to the local playground. They were... discussing about the choice at the moment.

Conan and Ai stood in silence waiting for their decision.

"If I had known it would go like this, I would have made up an excuse and helped Rei." Conan muttered under his breath. He turned around as he heard Ai snicker. "What's so amusing about that?"

"I was imagining what help you'll be able to give her." she said, "Unless you are an expert in cryptography and never mentioned it before."

Conan blushed but managed to reply.

"Why? Are you helping her in some way?"

"A bit. She has found some files full of chemistry symbols and scientific formulas and asked me to work on them. I don't know if they're related to the APTX-4869, but there's a chance. I work on those files the moment I come back from school."

He looked at her in surprise. Two weeks had passed since Rei's arrival and she had set to work as soon as her things had arrived from America. Her guardian had sent her most of her possessions so she chose a room in Shinichi's house and stocked them there, taking only what she needed.

Rei had saved all the information related to the Organisation in her laptop and had several notebooks full of notes and hints related to the codes used to write that files.

It was true that he didn't understand anything of that stuff but he thought that Haibara didn't as well.

"What?" he asked, "Why didn't you tell me anything?"

Ai looked at him.

"Because it's not a sure thing, Kudo." she replied, "The files are written in a strange code and Rei only has hints of it's translation. She has still got a lot of material to work on. For example, the files she has shown me are still half de-crypted. That's why I decided to help her; maybe, in two, we can find some useful information. And, as this wasn't enough already, she's also looking for information of that friend of hers and that's not an easy job, either."

"I see.." Conan said with a nod, "Well.. if it had been easy she wouldn't have come here to ask my help."

Rei had decided to search Ryuji alone at the moment. She had said that it would have been suspicious if many people started asking questions about him around. It would have been dangerous for them but, especially for him.

"By the way.." Conan remarked, smiling slightly, "Is it an impression or you two have become close friends? You even call yourselves with your first name!"

"Well, let's say that we have many things in common and we manage to talk to each other freely." she replied. "And she's not totally clueless like a certain person I know."

"Huh? What about me?" he asked.

"I didn't tell it was you." she replied sarcastically. "Don't tell me that you think you're clueless, Kudo?"

Conan was about to reply with a witty retort when Ayumi appeared.

"Hey, we've decided to go first to the videogame centre and then to the park." she said happily, "Let's go Conan-kun, Ai-chan!"

The two nodded and followed the chattering kids.

-:-

"Hey, it's not fair, Genta!" Mitsuhiko protested, "You cheated on the last game."

"It's not true. I just played a.. ehm.. secret move."

Conan smirked.

'Secret move?' he thought sarcastically, 'Of course...'

"Ai-chan, don't you like video games?" Ayumi asked, "You didn't even play a game."

"No, I just didn't feel like playing, today." Ai replied, "Don't worry, maybe next time."

The little girl seemed satisfied by her answer.

The five children were heading to the park. They only had to cross the road and walk straight forward. While they were waiting for the traffic light to turn green, Ayumi noticed that her shoelaces was loose, so she bent down to tie them. The others didn't notice it and walked on as soon as the signal turned green.

"Hey, wait a minute!" Ayumi called out, getting up. Ai heard her and stopped half-way, while the boys waited on the other side of the street.

A car appeared from nowhere. It was going towards the girls' direction at full speed.

Conan saw it first and whipped around.

"Haibara!" he shouted, "Watch out!"

Ai turned around and saw the car coming towards her. She could have avoided the impact but turning back around she saw that Ayumi had frozen in fear. She would never be able to get away in time.

'I have to help her!' she thought and ran towards the little girl and pushed her on the sidewalk. Unfortunately, Ai tripped on a stone and fell heavily on the ground.

The car was going to run over her.

'It's the end...' she thought, ' At least, Ayumi is safe..'

"Haibara-san!" Mitsuhiko, Genta shouted.

"Ai-chan!" Ayumi screamed.

"HAIBARA!" Conan shouted. He began to move towards her even though he knew that he wouldn't be able to reach her in time.

But he had to try.

He couldn't let her die..

Suddenly, he saw someone dashing in front of him. A boy.

He dived forward and grabbed the little girl. The car braked but didn't stop completely: it hit the boy's shoulder and they both slammed against a motorcycle that was parked there.

"Damn it..!" Conan said and hurried towards them, followed by the other two kids.

-:-

Ai didn't realize what had happened.

She saw that the car was getting closer and instinctively closed her eyes waiting for the impact. Then she felt someone grabbing her.

"Don't worry." a gentle male voice whispered.

Seconds later, she heard the car brake and then the impact. She felt herself flying and collided against a motorbike with her saviour.

"Ai-chan, are you ok?" Ayumi asked anxiously, going close to her. "You're not hurt, are you?"

Ai managed to get up.

"No, I'm fine, Ayumi-chan." she said, "What about you? I pushed you on the sidewalk without warning. Are you hurt?"

The little girl shook her head, tears filling her eyes.

"Hey, Haibara-san!" Mitsuhiko asked coming close to her, "Are you fine?"

"Yes, I'm ok, but what about...?" Ai turned to the boy that had just saved her. He had gotten to his feet and had gone to talk to the driver of that mad car. Conan was with him, too.

The driver was a young man, about 24 years old and he didn't seem worried. He was angry instead.

"Hey, are you mad?" he shouted, "You could have put me in trouble coming out like that. Do you want to die soon?" Conan arched an eyebrow: that guy hadn't even noticed that he was going to run over Haibara. "Well, you should be glad that I'm in a hurry or I would have called the police." And after this, he started the engine and sped away before they could stop him.

"9694JT." the two boys muttered.

Conan looked up at the boy.

"You took the car's license plate, didn't you?" he asked.

"Yes, and so did you, right?" the elder boy said.

"Of course. Let's see if he'll be able to drive after the police hears us."

"No, way. And it will be a relief for human kind. By the way, what's your name?"

"My name's Conan Edogawa. And you are..?"

The boy was going to answer but stopped when he noticed that the other kids had come closer.

"Why did you let him go?" Genta asked.

"Yeah, he should have apologized to Haibara-san." Mitsuhiko remarked.

"Don't worry. We'll deal with him later." the elder boy said. He knelt down so that he was at Ai's level, "Are you all right?"

Ai blushed. She hadn't noticed it before but now that he was so close, she saw that he was really... good looking. He was tall with short dark-blonde hair and light blue eyes; he was wearing black jeans with matching trainers, a light grey shirt and a black leather jacket. He had a friendly, open smile and a gentle voice.

"Yes, I'm fine." she said, "Thank you for saving me… er.."

"Oh, right, I didn't introduce myself." he said with a smile, "My name's Ryu Misaki, pleased to meet you."

"My name is Ai Haibara." she replied with a small smile, "Pleased to meet you, too. And thanks for before."

Conan frowned slightly.

'Why is she smiling at him in that way? Wait a minute... what do I care if she smiles at him?' he thought, shaking his head incredulously. He turned around and saw that Ayumi was crying and the others were trying to calm her down.

"Ayumi, what's wrong?" Conan asked, "Are you hurt?"

"It's.. it's my fault.. if.. if Ai-chan was going to.. to be run over.. by the car." she stammered, tears rolling down her face.

"It's not your fault, Ayumi-chan." Ai said, coming closer to her.

Ayumi looked at her at then noticed that there was a cut on Ai's knee.

"Ai-chan, you're hurt!" she cried, "Look, you're bleeding!"

Ai who hadn't even noticed the wound, tried to reassure her but the little girl was desperate. She glanced at Conan but he shrugged helplessly. He tried to think of something to say to calm her down but nothing had come to his mind.

"Hey, it's not your fault. It was an accident."

Conan and Ai looked and saw Ryu approaching to Ayumi. He slowly lifted her up in a brotherly sort of way.

"Listen.. er. Ayumi ,right?"

"Y...Yes.." she mumbled through the tears.

"All right, Ayumi, listen to me. What has happened now was an accident. It's not your fault," he said calming her down, "Let's say that the only one to blame is that mad driver. So, stop crying now. I bet you look prettier when you smile."

Ayumi blushed and gave him a small smile.

"There you see, I was right." Ryu said, "Are you ok, now?"

"Yes, thank you, Ryu-nichan."

Ryu seemed surprise for a moment.

'Oni-chan? It's been years since someone has called me like that.' he thought. Memories were coming back to his mind but he mentally pushed then away. He put Ayumi back to the ground and turned to the other kids.

"Well, I still don't know what your names are." he said

"I am Genta."

"I am Mitsuhiko."

"Pleased to meet you, Ryu-nichan." they said together.

"Pleased to meet you, too. Listen, why don't we celebrate our meeting?" he said, pointing to a bar that was near them.

"Yes!" the three kids yelled.

"You go in and order what you want, I'll come in a second." he remarked. The kids ran into the bar.

"Ok, now.." he said to himself.

"I think these are yours."

Ryu looked down and saw Conan handing him a baseball cap and a pair of glasses.

"Oh, thanks.. ehm Conan, right? They must have fallen before." he said. He then noticed that Ai was there, too.

Conan smiled slightly.

"You noticed that they were still shaken by the accident. That's why you decided to offer them something." he said, "It would have cheered them, right away."

"You have found out my plan." Ryu replied, smiling and taking the dust of his cap, "By the way, why aren't you two with your friends?"

"Well, I'm feeling fine and I'm not hungry, either." Conan said.

"You're fine? Are you sure?" Ryu remarked, "You looked pretty worried before and the glares you shot that driver... believe me, if looks could hurt, yours could have killed."

Conan blushed.

"What..? You're wrong.. I.. didn't..!" he stammered.

Ai turned to him.

"Were you worried for me?" she asked and the boy became even more embarrassed.

Ai smirked and turned to Ryu.

"What about you, Ryu-nichan, are you ok?" she asked, "The car hit your shoulder and you also protected me from the impact with the motorbike."

There was a hint of concern in her voice that made Conan come back to sense. He frowned again.

Ryu put on his glasses, after having checked that they weren't chipped or broken.

"Don't worry, I'm fine." he replied, "But speaking of the motorbike, I'd better check if it's damaged. We slammed against it pretty hard and knocked it down."

He walked towards it and lifted it up easily. Conan and Ai were impressed by his strength. The motorbike was a grey Honda VFR 800 and it's not really small: two people were needed to lift it.

"Ok, let's see.." Ryu muttered, controlling every side of bike "There are a few scratches on the side and the left wing mirror's in pieces. Well, it could have gone worse."

"I don't think the owner will agree." Conan said, "This is a new model and it costs quite a lot."

"Seems that you're an expert in motorbikes, too." Ryu remarked," But don't worry about the damage. I am the owner and since I slammed against it, there's no one to blame.

Conan blinked.

"This is yours?" he asked with amazement.

"Yes. Do you like it?" the other boy asked.

"Yeah, it's really great, even though I prefer the Honda Hornet 900."

"That's a good one too but this goes faster."

The two started to compare the two bikes' lacks and qualities.

Ai looked at them with a slightly amused face.

'Those two have just met and look how they're talking about motorbikes.' she thought. She fixed her glance on Ryu. 'I think I've already met him somewhere: his voice sounds familiar.. but where?'

"Hey, aren't you coming?"

The three turned around. Genta was calling them from the bar entrance.

"Come on let's go." Ryu said and walked towards the bar with Conan and Ai who followed him in.


'This is getting frustrating..'

Rei rubbed her eyes wearily as she watched her laptop's screen that was full of numbers and letters.

She felt so close to a breakthrough. She had re-read all her notes and checked out the files she had already worked on but still something was missing.

She knew that the piece she needed to make it all click together was just inches out of her grasp. The point was finding it. Part of her wanted to stop for the day, knowing that her thinking was just going to get fuzzier. But she knew that even if she stopped, she wouldn't rest. If that niggling, irritating feeling hadn't gone away by now it wasn't going to any time soon.

She had closed herself in Agase's lab the moment her things had arrived from America but she still didn't find a way to translate all the information that she had from the Organisation. She only had hints that once executed brought her to another dead end.

'The key must be hidden here…' she thought, 'I have to find it: the information in these files can help many people, not only me.'

She had asked Ai to help her when she found some files with scientific formulas. Rei had some knowledge in chemistry and physics but she knew that Ai was an expert and the files could be related to the poison that she had been forced to make. The girls had set to work together but there were still no results except for the fact that they spent lots of time together. As a result their friendship had become stronger.

Rei smiled.

It was the first time that she had a female friend. A girl of her age with whom she could talk freely and that was trustworthy. It was different from her friendship with Shinichi: he was a friend and a brother, at the same time, but he couldn't understand certain things.

'He hasn't even noticed that Ai likes him.' she thought, smiling again.

She heard a knock on the door and looked up.

"Rei-kun, why don't you take a break?" Agase asked, coming in with a tray of food, "You're working non-stop since breakfast and you didn't have lunch, either. Come on, I've made you a few sandwiches and a cup of tea."

"Thanks Agase." Rei said with a smile, "Maybe you're right: a break could help me." She got up, stretching her cramped back and arms, "Have Ai and Shinichi come back?"

"No, I think that the kids have managed to drag them somewhere else after the movie." he replied, hiding a smile and Rei laughed, imagining Shinichi's face. She helped herself with a sandwich.

"Please join me Professor." she said pointing to the tray but he shook his head.

"It's just for you." he said.

"This is delicious."

Professor smiled with a sense of pride.

"I am glad you like it." he replied and left the room.

Rei picked another sandwich and looked around the room: it was all neat and in order. Nobody would have thought that three people worked in there: Agase with his inventions, Ai with her experiments and she with her researches.

The word research brought many things to her mind, first of all her friend Ryuji. Her first impulse was to go and look for him, asking if anyone has seen him around but she knew that it would have been a mistake; if the men of the Organisation were there, she would have just drawn their attention and put everyone in danger. She had to be careful: there were other people involved in the case besides her. First of all Ryuji, Shinichi and Ai and Hakase.

She turned to the window and stared at her reflection.

She had changed. Her hair, her clothes, her eyes.. nearly everything.

'Matt will be satisfied.' she thought.

Before her leaving, Matt had given her one advice.

"Nobody must recognize you, Rei: try to disguise yourself. And wait till your.. er.. death is official."

'Well, nobody has recognized me besides Yukiko-san: it means that I'm good in disguises.'

She looked at her reflection and her eyes filled with sorrow when she saw her bare neck. Her mother's chain was not there. She had to leave it to Matt, as the final evidence that the young suicide was really Reila Ikeda. She didn't know if she would have it back again.

It had been the price for Ryuji's and her safety.

Her stare then fell on her wrist: there was a thin thread bracelet tied to it.

It was a lucky charm that she, Ryuji and Matt had bought the day they had begun to work together on the case. She remembered Ryuji's smile and what he had said that day.

"This will protect us in case something goes wrong."

Rei smiled sadly and touched the bracelet.

"I hope that it has protected you. I really hope that you are all right."


Ryu smiled looking at the children sitting in front of him.

Ayumi, Genta and Mitsuhiko were happily eating the delicious cake they had ordered along with some fruit juice. They seemed to have forgotten the accident and were cheerfully chatting. Conan and Ai had only ordered a cup of coffee like him.

'Typical of small kids.' Ryu thought, 'They recover very quickly.'

He liked small children very much. Their innocence and their happiness gave him a sense of peacefulness. The same feeling he had with his sister.

'I don't have to think about her..' he thought, shaking his head, 'Or I'll feel worse..'

"Ryu-nichan, are you ok?" Conan asked

Ryu turned to his side.

"Yes, Conan, I'm ok." he replied, "Just a bit of headache. I think I've caught a cold."

"I think you've got fever, too: your face is slightly flushed." Ai said.

Ryu looked at the two kids sitting on his side.

'They are more mature and responsible than the other kids of their age. Their eyes are different, too.' he thought and smiled slightly. The two kids reminded him two persons very important to him. Especially Ai. She was exactly like her..

His stare was fixed on the little girl as he took a sip of coffee. When she looked up and their eyes met, he smiled from above the cup, making Ai blush and Conan frown again.

Ryu looked in front and saw that Mitsuhiko was staring him.

"Hey, is something wrong?" he asked the little boy.

"No." he answered, "I just noticed that you and Haibara-san look a lot alike."

"What?" Ryu and Ai said together.

Ayumi joined in.

"Yeah, Mitsuhiko's right. Look, your eyes are the same colour and your hair's alike, too." she said, smiling brightly," You look like brother and sister."

She didn't know how much her statement struck the two. They were both taken back.

'Well, I've got a friend that seems to be my sister's double.' Ai thought sarcastically. 'And now, there's a boy that seems to be my brother.' She turned to look at Ryu and noticed a strange glint in his eyes: it was pain and sorrow. Conan noticed it, too.

'He's got the same look that Haibara had when she speaks of her sister.' he thought, 'Maybe, he's lost someone like her.'

Ryu got to senses quickly and his eyes brightened slightly.

"You're right: we do look alike." he said with a smile, "I've noticed it, too."

A forced smile, for Conan and Ai.

A waitress came to their table.

"Do you want to order anything else?" she asked politely.

"Do you want something else?" Ryu asked the kids and they shook their heads. He turned to the waitress with a smile, "No, we don't want anything else, thanks. May I have the bill, please?"

The girl just nodded and went to the counter, blushing slightly. Ryu had made a good impression.

The group got up and while Ryu was paying, the kids walked out.

"Please, come again." they heard the waitress say amidst a fit of giggles. Conan turned around and saw a very embarrassed Ryu coming out.

"What happened, Ryu-nichan?" Conan asked curiously.

"Nothing.." he replied, red in face but seeing the boy arch eyebrow Ryu gave up and handed him the bill.

"Turn it."he muttered.

Conan turned it and looked at the back. Ai glanced at it, too. There was a telephone number written by pencil, along with a name: Ayako Saionji.

"Who is it?" he asked confused.

"The... waitress.." Ryu mumbled and Conan and Ai stifled a laughter seeing the colour of his face.

Genta, unintentionally, helped Ryu out.

"Hey, what's the time?" he asked.

"It's nearly six o'clock." Ryu replied, looking at his watch. Ai noticed that he had a thin chain of thread around his wrist and had a déjà-vu.

'I've seen that bracelet somewhere..' she thought, 'Recently..'

"Haibara?"

"Huh?" she turned around.

Conan handed her his handkerchief.

"For your knee." he said.

Ai was taken aback.

"Thanks, Kudo." she said softly, taking it.

"Listen, have you seen that thread bracelet that Ryu's wearing? I think I've seen another one like that in these days."

"I had the same feeling, too." she replied, tying the handkerchief to her knee, "But that's not the point.. I think I've met him before."

"Really? Where?"

"I don't remember where."

"Well, surely not in the Organisation." he remarked, "I don't think one of them would risk his life to save someone."

Ai looked at him.

'He's right. None of them would save someone, risking his life or worse risking to expose the Organisation. Then where? I'm sure I have seen him or.. heard him before.'

Ayumi, Genta and Mitsuhiko had decided that it was better to go home since it was getting late.

"Bye Conan-kun!"

"Bye Haibara-san!"

"Bye Ai-chan!"

"Bye Ryu-nichan! Hope to see you soon." the kids gleefully shouted as they ran home.

"Bye." the other three replied with a hand wave.

"Well, what about you two?" Ryu asked, turning to the "kids" "Are you going home or do you want to come with me?"

They looked up.

"Where?" Conan and Ai asked.

"To the first police station we can find. We have to report that mad driver, right?" he said, taking a pair of keys out of his jacket pocket and heading to his motorcycle.

"Ok." Conan said and Ai nodded.

"Let's go then." Ryu said, starting to walk and pushing his bike.

-:-

"Phew, we've managed it at last." Conan muttered.

They had found a police station close by but they had spent nearly an hour explaining the policeman what had happened. He was an old agent that didn't hear very well.

To top it all, it was raining heavily.

"It's pretty late now. I'm sorry, I didn't think it would take so much." Ryu said." Your parents will be worried and I can't drop you home since I don't have other helmets."

"Don't worry about that, Ryu-nichan." Conan said. "We can walk as soon as it stops raining."

"If it stops raining." Ai underlined and the boy grimaced.

Ryu looked outside at the pounding rain and then at the two kids. He had decided what to do.

He opened his motorbike's trunk and pulled out a raincoat. He handed it to Conan and Ai.

"Cover yourselves with this. And no questions, I'll explain in a minute." he said with a smile.

As soon as they did what he had asked, Ryu lifted them both(with great embarrassment of the two) and put them on the bike's seat.

"Ryu-nichan, what are you doing?" Ai asked.

"Well, I can't drop you home but I can't also let you two go around alone with this weather." he replied, "So, I've decided to walk you both home."

"Wait a minute, you'll get soaking wet if you push the bike the whole way with us on top of it." Conan remarked. "Maybe you should wear the raincoat."

Ryu shook his head.

"I've got my cap and my jacket: it will be enough to keep me dry." he said. "Small kids like you get ill easily, so you must wear it."

"But you are sick." Ai said, "If you get wet, you could get worse."

"Don't worry. I'll be fine and no more protests: I've already decided." Ryu said, "So, who shall I leave first?"

"Haibara lives closer." Conan said quickly, "Let's leave her before."

"All right, Ai, you're the first. Show me the way, please."

With this, he started walking under the rain.

-:-

Agase's house was close and it was still raining hard.

Ryu, Ai and Conan didn't talk much. Every now and then, the elder boy asked if he was going the right way and one of the kids would answer.

Ai's stare was fixed on Ryu: she was sure that she had met him before but she didn't remember where and in which occasion.

'In the Organisation's headquarters? Or in America during my studies?' she thought. 'But if I met him in one of these places, he's involved with them, too. No, it can't be: Ryu's too gentle and kind to be one of them.'

Ai remembered the way he had saved her, his concern on her conditions, the way he had comforted Ayumi and his attempt to cheer the kids with some treats. He acted as an elder brother that tried to make his younger siblings happy.

'He can't be one of them.' she thought again.

Conan was staring Ai. Her gaze was fixed on Ryu and he felt a strange twitch in the stomach, seeing the scene.

'Why is she looking him with so much interest?' he thought, frowning, 'She said that she could have met him before, then what? Is she going to stare him the whole way?' Suddenly, he realized what he had been thinking and blushed, glad that no one would have noticed because of the rain and the raincoat that covered his face. 'What's going on with me? Why am I so concerned in what Haibara does? Am I... jealous? Jealous of her stares to Ryu? Oh, God maybe I'm turning mad. Haibara's just a friend.. a close friend, and that's all.'

But deep inside, he wasn't still sure...

Ryu felt the cold rain soak his clothes and he shivered slightly. He felt a bit dizzy, too.

'Damn it, I think I underestimated my conditions: the fever's rising and my vision's getting blurry.' he thought, 'Hold on, Ryu. You leave the children and then you can go back home.. well, back to my temporary house.'

He stopped in front of a large house and glanced at the door plate: Agase.

"Ai, is this your house?" he asked, turning around.

"Yes, Ryu-nichan. Why don't you come in?" she asked a bit worried, "You look exhausted."

"No, I can't I have to drop Conan." he said, "But thanks, anyway."

"Wait, Ryu-nichan." Conan stated, "Agase's my relative too. I can call home and say that I'm staying over at his house. Haibara's right: you don't look well. It's better if you stay inside and wait till the rain stops."

Ryu smiled weakly.

"All right, but I don't want to disturb."

Ai rang the door bell while Ryu parked his motorcycle by the entrance. Agase opened the door immediately.

"Ai-kun! I was worried. Did you see what time..?" he stopped rambling when he noticed Ryu. "Hello, who are you?"

"Hello, my name's Ryu Misaki." Ryu said, "I'm sorry but it's my fault if they are late. They were with me the whole time."

"No, don't worry but are you feeling well? You look very tired." Agase asked letting them in. "Oh my, you're soaked. Wait a minute.. Rei-kun?" He called loudly, turning around "Can you bring me a few towels? Conan-kun and Ai-kun have returned with a friend and they got soaked in the rain!"

"Yes, I'll bring them in a minute." the girl replied.

Ryu tilted his head hearing the reply.

The voice sounded oddly familiar...

'It can't be her.' he thought as an unpleasant feeling pool in his stomach. 'She's.. not here.. I think the fever's getting over me.'

He leaned against the wall, feeling shivers attack his body and his head spin slightly. But nothing of this bothered him. The only thing that worried him was the article on the newspaper that he had brought a couple of weeks ago. He prayed that it was a mistake and not the truth because it could shatter whatever was left of his tattered heart.

-:-

Rei shut the book she was reading and headed to the wardrobe where Agase stocked the towels. She picked three towels and wondered why Conan and Ai had come back so late and most of all, with one of their kid-friends. With this thought, she headed downstairs and to the front door. She had hardly reached the corridor that she caught a glimpse of the people standing by the door. She stopped dead on her tracks when she saw the tall boy next to the Conan and Ai. The towels fell to the floor with a muffled thump.

'It... can't be..' she thought, wondering if the long hours of work were making her hallucinate. 'But he looks just like..him.'

Conan noticed the look on Rei's face and approached her.

"Rei, are you all right?" he asked.

But she didn't answer. Her eyes were fixed on the boy; despite the cap lowered on his face and the water-soaked clothes, her conviction was growing. With her heart beating faster than it had in the last months, she slowly walked towards him.

Ryu looked to his side and froze. He recognized her immediately despite her changed appearance but was too stunned to speak.

Ai looked at his face. His eyes were wide with shock as though he had seen a ghost.

Finally, Rei managed to put words together.

"R.. Ryu?" she asked, slowly approaching him.

"Rei..? Is it you?" he asked, trying to get closer to her but he was too weak. His legs gave away before he could even get himself straight, making him stumble. His cap fell to the ground.

Rei rushed forward and caught him before he fell down unconscious. Unknown tears were rolling down her cheeks.

"You're alive." she whispered against his ear, holding his limp form, "I thought I'd never see you again, Ryu.."