Chapter 2
aenigma
Shinichi had thought of her as a nuisance more than anything else when she entered his life. Tricking him, causing him immense pain, and, most importantly, creating a drug that shrank him in the first place.
Haibara Ai was the alias she gave him when they first met. He had thought sorrow to be a strange name and had pondered over it. The answers evaded him—coming hours later—when he learned who her sister was. The significance of her self-made title was not lost on him.
Haibara, thus, went from being the girl who was a nuisance to being the girl he couldn't leave alone.
His discovery of her real identity was an accident. She had never shared it with him. Her code name, Sherry, though—she had given out freely. It was used in their daily banter and to silence him when she discussed the organization. Haibara was smart. And despite Shinichi's reluctance to admit it, she keeps him on his toes.
Ai Haibara and Shiho Miyano were the same person. The 18-year-old woman turned child was at the present studying him as he delved into another murder case. The victim was a 54-year-old woman who was exiting a store when she was hit by a car. They said it was an accident, but something else was always going on. Something that was beyond the scope of what could be seen.
"So, Corpse Magnet?" Haibara piques, squatting beside him, "What have you discovered?"
Shinichi frowned, turned to look at her, and was speechless for a moment. Although impassioned and sometimes emotionless, his gaze was always drawn to her forest green eyes. They said that the windows into one's soul were the eyes, and hers were a mystery. It was a puzzle he could never solve. "Cat got your tongue?" Haibara nudged him, and he sighed.
"Aren't you a little close," he muttered. She gave him a look of disbelief before she deliberately edged nearer.
"Why Kudou? Uncomfortable?" She smirked, whispering into his ear, and he gave her a withering glance.
"You seem to be enjoying this a little too much," Shinichi complained, and Haibara shrugged before pinching his arm.
"What the heck was that for?!"
She points to the three children glaring at him from behind, and then he groans.
"Conan, what are hiding from us again!" Genta lamented.
"You lied to us!" Mitsuhiko shouted.
"Ai-chan said you would be here, and she was right!" Ayumi exclaimed.
He could only suffer as the three children pestered him about the case before silently cursing the evil-eyed, yawny girl beside him.
Later, after solving the case, which involved a rather long chase through the alleyways of Tokyo and sending the children back, Shinichi finally had a chance to take a breather. A yawn ensued beside him, and he found the auburn-haired girl walking silently beside him. It wasn't like he needed her help, but she had called the police, calmed the children, given him the clue, and even help him catch the criminal all in the span of a day. It was a wonder why she kept doing so.
"You brought them to me on purpose, didn't you?" Shinichi asked, and she shrugged.
"They were whining, and I couldn't be bothered," Haibara replied with a cheeky glint. A sigh escaped his lips as he kicked stones down the path.
"Next time, keep them away. The children shouldn't be near dead bodies."
Snorting, he could almost feel the sarcasm dripping from her words.
"Yes, Mr. Corpse Magnet, I'll try to predict the future and keep the children in line," she argued. "It's not like we don't find bodies regularly—no."
"Stop calling me that!"
"I can't, even now, I feel like—" she paused in anticipation at the scream that echoed across the park. Her gaze shifted to him, and she shrugged. "What was I saying?" she asked as she headed toward the source. "A corpse magnet."
For the second time in a day, Shinichi found himself in the throes of accidental death or murder. Haibara Ai, once again, by his side, providing him with much-needed support. A comforting feeling despite his outward disdain for her constant teasing and pranks.
Somewhere along the line of solving crimes and hiding in a vestige of a small child, Haibara Ai had grown into a kind of confidant. She was becoming the partner he never had, like Watson to Sherlock.
As for why his feelings changed, he could scarcely recall, but if he had to guess, it was probably that incident that provided the trigger.
It was a cold day, and the sky was overcast with a blanket of swollen gray clouds. Rain pelted relentlessly on the roof of Hakase's house as he walked in, wet and dripping from his run through the frigid weather.
"Should have brought an umbrella," Shinichi murmured. After opening the door, he encountered the darkness of the small, dreary house. None of the lights were on, and it was strangely empty. The rain had made the room smell musky, the papers lining the floors and sofa adding to the strange melancholy lingering over the place. A bright light flashed over the familiar layout when he reached for the switches, making him wince. "Hakase!" he called out and frowned as he realized the professor was not present. Cursing, he slowly made his way through the mess. He had wanted to speak to the old man about a particular case, but, as luck would have it, the professor wasn't around right now. Shinichi considered trying again later when a loud thud emanated from the basement.
She was here. Haibara Ai —an enigma that recently arrived a month ago. And he had half a mind to just leave. Shinichi having enough of the girl's teasing at school and, in the cases he worked on. Haibara was, at best, moody and sarcastic and, at worst, a prankster who thought too much about everything. Shinichi was about to head out when he heard another heavy thud.
There was something about this sound that sent chills down his spine. The professor wasn't here—what if, she—
Shinichi sprinted down the stairs. Although he would not admit it, he was still wary of the former Black Organization member. Perhaps it was just his nerves. However, you can never be too careful. While he approached the slightly opened door, he heard the sounds again. Slowly he walked through the dim basement. Peering in, he could see a faint, bluish light flickering eerily on the floors. Scanning the room carefully, Shinichi was about to enter when he spotted her, Haibara Ai, standing by the wall. Strawberry blonde hair reflects the blue and green hues from a flickering screen. The white coat she wore was shriveled, and her hands were clenched into fists. Haibara radiated a strange aura. Like she was carrying a heavy weight—maybe even crying?
Shinichi was poised to call her but stopped when she raised her hand and hits the wall with her closed fist.
Stunned, Shinichi fell silent as the girl repeated the act again...and again. Her knuckles would bruise later, and there would be blood. He wanted to stop her, but something held him back. Shinichi could only watch as she shook silently and then violently. It looked like she was drowning. Then she went still, Shinichi unable to move. With her forehead pressed against the wall, Haibara drew in deep, sharp breaths, choking a bit between them. It took a while, but when she finally composed herself, she stood abruptly, her hands brushing against her eyes. Shinichi watched, transfixed, as Haibara slowly resumed whatever work she had been doing.
For a long time, Shinichi stood there, his attention fixed on the girl's haggard form. Her grief was too raw, her pain too tangible. The sight of her anguish made him feel like an intruder who was privy to something he shouldn't have seen. A sense of guilt overcame him, and he thought about Akemi Miyano—a woman he failed to save.
His awareness of her presence heightened after that incident. The way Haibara's eyes seem to possess a faraway look when they talk about their families. The way she held herself when she addressed the detectives. Her quips and nags at the professor for overeating. The little glint of sardonic humor in her eyes as she teased him. And most importantly, the genuine smile that rarely appears when the children expressed something meaningful to her. It was the little things she did that had an effect on him.
A change was taking place, an inner revolution, as he would label it. Shinichi had a hard time wrapping his mind around it. It was unlike the hormonal rush he had felt for Ran or for anyone else, for that matter.
"Penny, for your thoughts," Haibara asked as they entered the professor's house. It was past midnight, an unholy hour for two first graders, but they knew otherwise. The professor greeted them with coffee, and they told him about the murders that happened today.
"Just thinking," Shinichi answered her.
"And when have you ever stopped," Haibara teased, "Soon you'll be bald like Hakase."
Shinichi waved her off as she headed for the basement. Later, after talking with Ran and telling her he was staying over at the professor's house, Shinichi relaxed on the bed next to Haibara. Pensively staring at the ceiling. Having been offered her bed, he had become flustered and insisted on taking the floor instead.
"We're hardly adults, Kudou," she chided in her usual monotone. "There would be nothing sexual about two children sleeping beside each other."
"But we aren't kids either," Shinichi responded. In truth, the thought of laying beside her had been enticing to him, and he could feel his heart beating in anticipation. However, It still baffled him.
"Ara," Haibara smirked, the teasing gleam in her eyes returning. "It's that, isn't it?"
Annoyance creased his eyebrows. "What?"
"Is the great detective scared to sleep next to a gurrl?" Haibara mocked. He gawked at her and heard the professor chuckling before throwing off the covers and jumping into the bed. Turning to face her, Shinichi patted the empty spot in her bed.
"Well, what are you waiting for, come on in," he demands. After looking at him for a second, Haibara settled beside before turning to him.
"Don't worry, Kudou. I won't do anything to you," Haibara teased, "Well, not yet." she whispered seductively. Her voice sent chills down his spine, and he retorted by throwing a pillow at her. A fight ensued before Hakase intervened. Soon, they lay together, Haibara falling into a deep slumber almost immediately. While the day's events must have exhausted Shinichi, he could not sleep. Not when the girl beside him was warm and smelled—really, really good. Turning slightly, Shinichi reached for her auburn fringe draped over closed eyes. Teasing it with his fingers, thoughts of a girl who had just been discharged from the hospital a few weeks ago lingered in his mind.
She shifted. Her shirt rode up slightly, revealing the knife wound that had now become a scar. Shinichi grimaced, brushing his fingers across her skin. When Haibara was stabbed, he was mortified. An intense fear had torn through him, and he had never felt so helpless.
In a way, the feeling is similar to the time he first witnessed her nightmares.
Stumbling across it by accident— he observed, stunned, as Haibara woke, panting—failing to hide it for that moment. The pain was a contradiction to the stoic mask she often wore. Desperation in her eyes, shivering breaths, profusely sweating from the trauma.
He had asked the professor about it later. The old man simply smiled, informing him of her nightly terrors that were so frequent he had made it a point to prepare coffee for her every morning.
Shinichi sighs, glancing at her. Instinctively, he reached out, trailing a finger down her cheeks. There were no worry lines, no piercing gaze, nor sardonic remarks. Haibara was still while she slept, like a little girl with no care in the world—no memories of dead sisters and family...or them.
The peaceful aura she exudes, though, far from the truth.
"You sure are popular, aren't you," his mother had told him as they entered the makeshift movie studio to watch the latest Yaiba flick.
"What do you mean?" he had asked and watched as his mother looked at the two girls.
"Oh," he quipped, "You mean Ayumi-chan."He already knew of the little girl's infatuation with him. However, he was not going to pursue it. No, not when he was seventeen years old and could be arrested as a pedophile if this continued.
His mother had frowned."Not just her, Haibara-san."
The comment—a passing remark, something he had dismissed. Shinichi had remembered asking the scientist about it later, and she had given him a face that made him look and feel like an idiot. Even though it felt like a lifetime ago, his mother's words returned to him as he regards her.
It still confused him. These turbulent emotions, and yet, as he reached out to hold her hands in his, falling asleep much later, he thought—it wasn't too bad.