That evening, Shiho was busy with her laptop, to the point that she didn't notice there was someone else in the room.
"Hey, you're really busy, huh?" The man's hand was on Shiho's shoulder as she turned towards him with a smile.
"You're home already? Are you hungry? Wait a moment, I'll prepare something," Shiho said as she stood up.
But as Shiho was about to walk away to prepare dinner, her steps were halted. The man embraced her from behind, saying, "Stay like this for a while, I've missed you so much," he whispered. Shiho hit him and said, "You're smelly, go take a shower. Then we'll eat, our child has been hungry waiting for his father."
Rei smiled and nodded, he kissed Shiho's cheek, then walked a little in front of her and bowed while gently rubbing her belly and kissing it.
That evening, they talked about their activities during the day. Shiho shared about her day and the progress of their baby, mentioning how the baby in her belly was already kicking. Rei was extremely excited to hear that, he saw Shiho's eyes sparkle as she talked about the baby in her belly.
"Shiho, if you were not pregnant, would you still marry me?" Rei asked suddenly, haunted by that question. Shiho's gaze changed, she looked disturbed by the question, she shook her head and got up from her seat, leaving her husband in the dining room and entering their bedroom. Shiho couldn't believe that Rei would question something like that.
Rei's heart sank as he watched Shiho retreat to their bedroom. He felt a pang of regret for asking such a thoughtless question. He quickly followed her, wanting to apologize and make things right.
As he entered the room, he found Shiho sitting on the edge of their bed, tears streaming down her face. Her emotions were a mix of sadness and frustration. Rei approached her cautiously, feeling guilty for causing her pain.
"I'm so sorry, Shiho. I didn't mean to upset you with my question," he pleaded, his voice filled with remorse.
Shiho sniffled and looked up at Rei, her eyes red and swollen. In that moment, anger fueled her words before she could stop herself.
"How can you say that?" she snapped, her voice trembling with anger. "I'm carrying our child, and It's not just about the baby, Furuya, it's about us! And I expected better from you."
Rei's heart sank further as he realized the extent of his mistake. He sat down beside her, feeling the weight of her anger. He knew he had to earn back her trust and apologize sincerely.
"You're right, Shiho. I was thoughtless and insensitive," he admitted, his voice laced with regret. "I should have considered your feelings before speaking. I love you, and I'm truly sorry for hurting you."
Shiho looked at him, her anger slowly fading away, replaced by a glimmer of sadness. She took a deep breath, trying to control her emotions.
With a heavy heart, Rei watched as Shiho turned away from him and laid down on the bed, her back facing him. He felt a sense of emptiness, knowing that his thoughtlessness had caused a rift between them. But he was determined to make things right.
"I love you, Furuya," she whispered, her voice barely above a breath.
Shiho woke up from her sleep, wiping away her tears. "Rei... I love you, I miss you," she whispered. She smiled sadly, reminiscing about that dream the moment when she had first revealed her true feelings to her husband.
Shiho looked at the clock, it was still 10:00 PM. It seemed like her soul was so tired today. As soon as she arrived home after meeting with Kudo earlier, she immediately fell asleep in her room.
Shiho grabbed a glass of water and decided to take a short walk outside to get some fresh air. Tonight, Hiro was staying at the Akai family's house. Usually, when she felt sad and missed Rei, Shiho would go to her child's room, hugging her beloved child tightly.
Shiho sat on one of the swings in the park, staring at the starless night sky. "Rei, there are no stars tonight. When will you come back to us?" she murmured while gazing at the sky.
"Neechan..." The voice of a man snapped Shiho out of her reverie. She turned towards the source of the voice, surprised to see the dark-skinned man here.
"It's you, Hattori-kun? What are you doing here? Where's Kazuha-chan?" Shiho asked. Heiji walked towards Shiho and sat on the swing next to her, chuckling.
"Of course, who do you think I am? I have work in Tokyo, just stopped by Kudo's place. Kazuha is in Osaka, our baby is not easy to leave behind," Heiji explained.
"Oh, I see. How many months is she now, Hattori?" Shiho asked.
"9 months. Oh, by the way, why are you alone at the park? I saw you looking around earlier, I thought you were with your little hero, where's Hiro?" Heiji continued their conversation.
"There's no way I would go out at this hour if Hiro was with me. He's staying at his grandmother's house, Aunt Mary is currently in Japan," Shiho said.
''I've heard from Kazuha that the tomboy girl is getting married soon, I never thought the detective would be interested in her," Heiji continued, and they both chuckled afterwards.
"Neechan, what about you?" Heiji asked.
"Huh, what about me? Of course, I will attend Sera and Hakuba's wedding," Shiho replied.
"Hey, I meant that guy. Kudo asked for my help in investigating Amuro-san too. It seems like we should help him remember by sharing some things about your past, for example," Heiji continued with his speculation.
"I met him this afternoon, Hattori-kun. He was with his girlfriend, and it felt like I was meeting a completely different person, you know. Rei has never looked at me so coldly. It hurts to watch them laugh together, and I couldn't even bring myself to approach Rei when that girl was being affectionate with my husband. I don't know if I can handle meeting him again, Hattori-kun," Shiho confided, tears flowing without her realizing it.
Heiji pulled Shiho's hand, "Come on, let's go to the bar nearby, Neechan. I'll accompany you for a drink tonight, since Hiro isn't here, right?"
Shiho smiled and nodded, knowing that this Osaka kid wanted to cheer her up. She followed Heiji.
Once they arrived at the bar, Shiho ordered tequila while Heiji got his whiskey. "You know, it feels strange drinking just the two of us like this, Hattori-kun. As far as I remember, we've never just casually talked like this before," Shiho started the conversation that evening.
"Yes, that's right. When I first met you, you were still Haibara, an 18-year-old girl trapped in the body of an elementary school kid. We rarely talked unless it was about Kudo, right, Neechan?" Heiji continued, reminiscing about that time. Shiho smiled faintly and nodded.
"I haven't had a drink in a long time, Hattori-kun. For the past four years, I've only been focused on Hiro. Rei's been gone for four years, and now he's back without any memories of us," Shiho continued, taking a sip of her tequila.
"Furuya-san. I'm sure he will come back to you, Neechan. You know, he loves you very much. He once told me that he would try to destroy the organization so that you could enjoy a normal life," Heiji chuckled, remembering that. He had never told anyone, including Shinichi, about it.
"His love for you, Shiho Neechan, is so immense. I believe that even if he doesn't remember you, his heart still remembers you. You still have to fight and be patient, I, Kudo, and the others will always support you," Heiji reassured Shiho.
"Tell me more about Rei, what did you and he talk about that I don't know, Hattori-kun," Shiho pleaded.
''Well, I didn't have much interaction with him, you know, when you guys had that fight and didn't communicate for 2 or 3 months. Furuya-san had a mission in Osaka at that time, and he asked me to have a drink with him," Heiji reminisced, recalling the events of that night and starting to tell the story.
That night, Heiji received a call from Furuya Rei, and the agent asked Heiji to accompany him for a drink.
"Furuya-san, it's unusual for you to ask me to meet like this. Is there something you want to discuss with me?" Heiji sat next to the slightly intoxicated man. He noticed that there were already two empty bottles on the table.
"Oh, Hattori-kun. I have a mission in Osaka and it seems like I need a drinking buddy tonight. Kazami is a lighter drinker and he's already tired today," Rei explained but was interrupted by a younger man next to him.
"Alright, so you called me, right? What's up, Furuya-san? Why do you look so down? Did you have a fight with Miyano-san?" Heiji started analyzing the agent in front of him, and Rei gave a bitter smile.
"Last month, it was Shiho's birthday and I had prepared a ring to propose to her during our dinner that night. I was so excited that I came speeding there. I saw her staring at the necklace from that guy. I felt jealousy creeping in at that moment, and our dinner didn't go smoothly. Shiho was very angry at me, and for the past month, she has been avoiding meeting me, Hattori-kun," Rei continued his story.
"What happened that made Neechan angry? Did you say something?" Heiji asked.
"I am a jerk, I said something inappropriate to her, even mentioning Akemi's name," Rei continued, tears falling from his eyes.
"I love Shiho, but I feel insecure about myself, about her feelings for Gin," Rei continued.
"I know, I'm not a fool, Furuya-san. I'm also a man. I can tell from your gaze towards Haibara that you like her," Heiji responded.
"When I was in the organization, I once met Akemi-chan, and she entrusted her younger sister to me. At that time, Akemi-chan told me to keep Shiho away from Gin and to take her sister out of the organization. I never expected that it would be the last day I saw my childhood friend. From then on, I started looking for information about Shiho. News of her escape and betrayal of the organization reached my ears, and I was sent by RUM to find that girl," Rei continued, sipping his newly arrived martini.
"On that train, when the carriage exploded, I honestly felt devastated witnessing it. My agent was waiting to save Shiho in the helicopter, but Vermouth, that devilish woman, truly wanted to kill her," Rei continued.
"I know that story. Kudo proudly told me about it. At that time, we didn't know that you were a member of the NPA infiltrating the organization, Furuya-san," Heiji said, Rei nodded.
"I began to realize the similarities between Shiho and Haibara Ai, especially when i helped the child detective search for the football keychain. After the case was solved, I looked at the photo of the child again and became convinced that it was Shiho," Rei smiled as he remembered that time.
"At that moment, I started trying to get closer to that girl. She would always hide and act shy whenever I was around. At first, I thought that was it, but I was wrong. My observations were accurate - I saw that she wasn't just shy, but actually scared when I was near her, Hattori-kun," Rei said.
"Ah, yes, that Neechan, she seems to have a strong instinct when it comes to the organization, right? Please continue, Furuya-san. I have the whole night to listen to your story, and it's quite fascinating," Heiji responded to the semi-conscious man.
"On New Year's Eve, we held a New Year's party at Poirot. There were me, Azusa-san, Ran-chan, Sonoko-chan, and Kudo-kun. At that time, I overheard Kudo-kun's telephone conversation where he asked Haibara to take the antidote temporarily and join us at the party. He would confess that Haibara is his cousin. But, of course, the girl refused, maybe because I was there," Rei smiled wryly.
"I had a brief conversation with Kudo-kun. I knew he was Conan-kun. Strangely, the boy wasn't surprised and instead asked me why I only revealed his identity now. Then I asked about Shiho. Of course, I told him about my relationship with the Miyano family first. Kudo-kun told me about Shiho and his initial plan to invite her to our party so she wouldn't be lonely as the Professor had a seminar out of town at that time. After talking for quite a while with Kudo-kun, I decided to go to the Professor's house," Rei continued.
''You met that little girl that night? And then you fell in love with her?" Heiji asked, shaking his head.
"I think so, I really fell in love like a fool that night. In front of the Professor's house, I brought a cake for the girl, of course, in my imagination, the little girl would open the door and be surprised to see me. I am a professional agent, I always simulate in my head what might happen, Hattori-kun," Rei continued.
"Do you know what? My prediction was wrong. When the door opened, it wasn't the elementary school girl I met, but Miyano Shiho. I still remember her wide-open eyes and her beautiful face that looked so cold when she saw me," Rei chuckled slightly recalling the events of that night.
"You really like that Neechan, don't you? What happened that night? Did you guys kiss?" Heiji teased.
"You don't need to know the details, Hattori-kun. What's clear is that night, Shiho started seeing me not as her enemy anymore. I was very careful in approaching her even after the organization fell, trying to restrain myself. Sometimes, I still can't believe that Miyano Shiho became my girlfriend. I'm really lucky, Hattori-kun," Rei said with a smile, reminiscing about his girlfriend's face.
"And now, what will you do?" Heiji asked.
"I don't know. My words were too harsh on her. I wanted to be the reason for her smile, not the reason for her tears. It seems like I am not deserving of her, Hattori-kun," Rei cried, this time sobbing heavily under the influence of alcohol. Heiji witnessed a man cry like this for the first time, and it was painful to watch.
"About one or two months after that, I received a wedding invitation from you guys. The rest, you know the continuation of the story, Neechan," Heiji continued his story, while Shiho smiled genuinely, tears streaming down her face.
"Hattori-kun, thank you for telling me that, thank you for comforting and strengthening me," Shiho replied as she wiped her tears.
"By the way, what really happened that New Year's Eve, Neechan? I remember Furuya-san blushing when I teased him that night," Heiji replied, teasing Shiho a little.
"I'm not sure, I don't remember it very well. You can ask Rei again if his memory recovers," Shiho answered with a smile, truthfully knowing that she could never forget that night. Shiho remembered it very clearly, but if she were to tell the story now, she knew she would only end up crying, remembering it all.
"Neechan, let me take you home. Tomorrow, you have to be a strong mother in front of Hiro, right?" Heiji said, and Shiho nodded, smiling at him.