His first few days in the organisation had been surprisingly uneventful. As interesting as it was to see his parents' empire from the inside, he was itching to do something meaningful, to finally become a true member of the organisation. But his father didn't allow him to go on missions while he was still trapped in this body.

He had tried to argue with him - with his size he could sneak out better from potential crime scenes and honestly, who would suspect a child? - but his arguments fell on deaf ears. Apparently Shinichi was too weak in this body and wouldn't be able to defend himself properly if something were to go awry. His father had looked at him knowingly and Shinichi had cursed Vermouth for telling him about his one-sighted fight with Gin. His other objection had been that they didn't know yet if the poison has any other potential, delayed side effects.

Shinichi had spent a few hours every day in the laboratory. It was interesting to observe their experiments and he was naturally curious about the drug that had de-aged him. He had read the research paper on its composition and had pestered Sherry with questions.

The young scientist seemed more approachable than most other organisation members and she entertained his curious nature without getting annoyed. She had even stopped looking at him with so much guilt and pity in her eyes which he greatly appreciated.

Most other members of the organisation avoided him. He heard them whisper behind his back, but no one dared to approach him with Gin by his side. It was the only advantage the presence of the bad-tempered man had. He accompanied him almost everywhere, sometimes joined by his trusted partner Vodka. Shinichi wondered why he was so adamant to keep such a close eye on him, seeing as they both strongly disliked the other.

At least they had reached some kind of truce in the last days. Shinichi believed that his stellar performance on the shooting range garnered him at least a bit of respect from the experienced agent. Something he had promptly destroyed by criticising a plan Gin and Vodka had created for an upcoming operation. Gin had literally thrown him out of the room when he had interrupted them the third time with suggestions for improvement. Shinichi could admit that his arrogance had always been one of his greatest weaknesses.

After spending the last three hours in the lab he had met up with Gin and Vodka again for dinner. In the beginning, the Shinichi had considered the concept of a cafeteria in the headquarters to be almost as strange as his shrinking. To see all these different members of the organisation come together to eat and sometimes chat like at any other company had been surreal. But his parents had always valued delicious food, so it made sense that they included it in their organisation. Besides, even people like Gin couldn't survive solely on cigarettes and the blood of their victims. At least it was less absurd to see Gin eating here than to imagine him in a kitchen trying to cook something.

He tried his best to ignore the barely concealed glances and whispered discussions from the others who were present in the dinning hall. Slowly it was getting annoying. For being part of a criminal organisation they weren't particularly good at being discreet. Though, he did wonder what theories they had about him. He got his answer from an unexpected source when a woman with short blond hair and glasses sat down next to him.

"What do you want, Pinot Noir?" Gin asked, clearly irritated.

"To eat," she said cheerfully and put a piece of meat in her mouth to emphasise her answer.

"Can't you sit anywhere else?" Gin's patience, which already was almost non-existent, seemed to be wearing thinner day by day.

"That's no way to treat a lady. Honestly, where are your manners? Shouldn't you set a better example for your child?"

Shinichi almost spit out his juice, Vodka's jaw dropped and Gin looked like he had been struck by lightning. Pinot Noir ignored their shocked reactions and continued.

"It's the most popular rumour among the others. But don't worry, I don't believe it." She looked at Shinichi, winked at him and pinched his cheek. "Your are obviously far too adorable to be his child."

Shinichi was taken aback for a moment, but he quickly caught himself and when she let go of him, he grabbed her hand. Out of the corner of his eye he had noticed a familiar birthmark on the inside of her wrist.

"Stop it, Mom. It's not funny." He looked at her properly. The mask was flawless and looked like real skin, but she didn't wear contact lenses and hadn't changed her body shape. He was annoyed with himself that he hadn't noticed it early. He should have expected her to show up sooner rather than later.

"You noticed it quicker than I had anticipated." She sighed and propped her face up on her hand. "You know, seeing you like this makes me feel so much younger."

"At least someone sees something positive in this situation." He turned away miffed and continued eating. He hated this shrunken body. No one took him seriously, he was too weak and he depended on the help of others. This was an unwelcome change, especially for someone who had lived on his own for several years already.

His mother ignored his remark and addressed Gin again. "Do you mind if I borrow him for a few hours?"

"Not at all," he said slowly, his voice was lower than usual. He pushed his chair back and stood up. "Take as much time as you want. Come, Vodka." He walked away under the curious glances of the other people in the cafeteria, but their attention quickly turned towards Shinichi and his new companion.

They finished their meals in silence and afterwards he followed Pinot Noir to her own private office where they could talk without anyone listening in..

"What do you want?" he asked as soon as she had locked the door.

"Can't a mother just check on her beloved son who almost died?" She grabbed a wine bottle and poured herself a glass. Shinichi stared at her with raised eyebrows. He knew his mother well enough to know that she wasn't telling the truth. At least not completely.

"For what it's worth - it is one of the reasons." She sat down on the violet couch and motioned for him to join her. "I'm here to discuss your future." He had rarely heard his mother be this serious.

"Don't tell me you want to talk me out of joining the organisation."

"Of course not. You already know too much. We would have to kill you if you didn't want to join us." Judging by her smile, it was supposed to be a joke; nonetheless Shinichi still wondered whether or not her words had a pinch of truth to them. With everything he had seen so far he couldn't rule it out completely and he was unsure how to feel about this revelation. His parents did love him, he knew that, but being in a business like this forced people to make sacrifices. He had no time to ponder that question further because his mother spoke again.

"But have you thought about the details? Do you want to join as Shinichi Kudo or would you prefer to wear a disguise to keep your identity a secret? Once you are a true member of this organisation there is no going back. You can't just quit. Are you prepared to give up your civilian life completely?" She took a sip of her wine before continuing. "Your school contacted me to inquire about your unreported absence. I called them back and apologised on your behalf. I told them you got caught up in a difficult case and completely forgot to notify them. But that explanation will not keep them satisfied forever."

He opened his mouth, unsure what to say, and closed it again. He was embarrassed to admit that he had completely forgotten about it. He had been so occupied with learning everything about the organisation and the drug he had ingested that his seemingly normal life as Shinichi felt like a distant memory; school, cases, extracurricular activities, Ran. He had accidentally said her name out loud.

"Yes, she called me too. She is incredibly concerned as you have essentially vanished and she wanted to report you missing because you are not answering your phone."

Right. His phone. He had left it with his other belongings and clothes in his father's office after he had changed into Conan's clothes. His father had given him a new phone with the numbers of a few select organisation members. Where had his father put his things? How many missed calls did he have? Most importantly, how could he have forgotten about her?

"I'll text her as soon as possible, okay?" A text would most probably not be enough to appease her worries entirely, but for the moment it had to suffice. He couldn't call her with this childish voice.

"I take it you don't want to leave your former life completely behind you."

"I guess," he said. There were many things to consider, but with the fame he had gained as High School Detective. he couldn't simply vanish to become a full-time criminal. It would raise too many questions. "If you and Dad can lead a double life, so can I."

"Sure, but we wear disguises."

"I'd say my current size also counts as disguise."

His mother sighed, stood up and walked over to her desk. "Sometimes you can be really dense, you know? Just like your father. Wasn't your shrinking and your identity supposed to be top secret? You must have noticed how curious everyone is about you. Usually there are no children in the organisation. Sherry was the last one, but she was born into the , on the other hand, appeared out of nowhere. An with Gin constantly by your side, it's no wonder everyone gossips about you. Don't you think at least a few people will try to dig deeper?"

She paused for a moment to take another sip of her wine. "Don't forget that 8 organisation members already know that shrinking is possible. But even if they keep quiet as they are supposed to, it's not unthinkable that someone might notice the similarities between the mysterious child and the famous High School detective. It would spread like a wildfire through the organisation."

To emphasise her point, she turned the picture frame of her desk around. Shinichi stared at the family portrait that had been taken on his tenth birthday during on of their many vacations. He couldn't deny that his face hadn't changed that much through the years. Anyone who would see Conan next to a picture of Shinichi would at least assume that they are related.

"But only member of the organisation now about Conan. Even if someone were to connect the dots, I could still lead a normal life on the outside."

"When did you become so so naive? People get captured and quickly forget about their loyalty. Many try to negotiate a deal." She looked to the side as if remembering something.

"So what am I supposed to do?" He asked through gritted teeth. It was annoying to get lectured like this and even more annoying, that she was right.

She opened the upper drawer. "I'd hoped that you would ask me this. How about a disguise?" She smirked as she held up a pair of glasses.

Shinichi blinked a few times in disbelief before answering. "Seriously? Who would be fooled by that?"

"Sometimes it's the little things that have the greatest impact. I'm an expert when it comes to disguises, you should trust me," she said as she walked back over to him. "Please?"

He reluctantly grabbed the glasses and put them on. The weight felt unfamiliar on his face, but at least the lenses seemed to be made out of normal glass so he could see without problems. "Happy?"

"Very."

Shiho had spent the last few days focusing entirely on her work. Their new approach had turned out to be a good ideal as they had found traces of the poison in the boy's tissue. Apart from that, they had barely made any progress and Gin had voiced his growing impatience. She was under immense pressure to find something and put all her time into the research, however her thoughts always shifted back to Akemi.

She worried that she might not have figured out her hidden message, hence still being oblivious to the danger she was in. If her attempt had failed, would she even get a second chance?

Or has she already fled? Everytime the door opened Shiho winced, expecting a furious Gin to storm in and drag her into an interrogation cell to find out why Akemi had disappeared and where she was hiding. She was prepared to face whatever fate awaited her if it meant that Akemi was safe, but that didn't mean she was looking forward to it.

The prospect of never seeing her beloved sister again also weighed heavily on her. After their parents death Akemi had been the only positive influence in her life, a loving embrace in an otherwise bleak life filled with intimidation, death and never ending work. She hoped that her memories would be enough to keep her from losing her soul to the organisation completely.

Despite constantly thinking about her, Shiho hadn't expected Akemi to call her.

"Hello?" Shiho said a bit out of breath, ignoring the curious glances from her colleagues.

"Shiho, do you have a moment?"

"Of course." She stepped outside into the corridor. Technically it was unnecessary since all their communication was listened to anyway, but somehow it felt safer.

"I just wanted to thank you for lending me this book. I really enjoyed reading it."

She sighed in relief. It seemed like she had received her secret message. "I told you so."

"And I also thought about your other words."

"What do you mean?" Shiho said cautiously. She had only left one message, so what else could Akemi be referring to?

"You were right, we have to go out more often." She sounded joyful, almost forced. "I didn't have time to look for a potential date for us yet, but why don't we start with a shopping trip? You can't wear your labcoat on a date."

Shiho remained silent, unsure what to make of it. She had only mentioned the double date as a part of her secret message, not as a genuine desire to meet a man. Had she been wrong in her assumption? Had Akemi not deciphered her message? Before the fear could overwhelm her, she remembered her sister's words and paused. What had she said? A date for us. Even if Akemi had assumed that Shiho wanted to meet someone, she wouldn't be looking for a date herself. Akemi was trying to tell her something.

"I don't know, I'm quite busy at work." It was the truth. No matter how much she wanted to see her sister, especially now when it would most likely be for the last time, she doubted that the organisation would let her have any more freetime in the foreseeable future. With Gin monitoring the progress for the antidote rigorously and his increasing impatience at the lack thereof, it was obvious that they wouldn't be allowed to have any distractions.

"Please, just for a few hours? You haven't bought new clothes in a while and neither did I. I need you with me." Shiho heard the desperation in her voice and frowned. "I … Between us two, you have the better fashion sense. I would be lost without your opinion."

What was going on? Why did Akemi insist on a shopping trip that neither of them really needed? Was it an attempt to say goodbye? Or…? She couldn't suppress the sharp intake of breath as realisation finally dawned on her. She quickly cleared her throat to cover up the noise. In hindsight it was obvious. Why had it taken her so long to realise it? She knew how caring Akemi was. She should have expected that she would never leave her behind alone in the organisation, not even when her life was in danger. Akemi wanted them to flee together, like she had promised her years ago.

"I can ask, but I don't think they'll allow it," Shiho said with a hoarse voice.

"They can't expect you to work all day, every day. Everyone needs a break. Just ask them, okay? For me."

"I - I'll try. But I can't promise anything."

"Perfect. Text me when you have an update."

After the phone call Shiho stayed motionless in the corridor to gather her thoughts. Her entire focus had been on rescuing her sister, so much so that she hadn't even considered that Akemi wouldn't never leave the organisation without her. And she would rather die than let Shiho bear the consequences of her escape.

But what now? They were two against a powerful organisation with an enormous amount of resources. How were they supposed to escape their watchdogs observant eyes? If they attempted to flee and failed, the consequences would be worse than death.

Akemi was aware of this and still insisted that they tried. Determination and hope filled Shiho. She must have a failsafe plan. For a long time Shiho had believed that she would spend her whole life working for the organisation, but now she might have a chance to escape from their grasp. She trusted her sister. If she wanted them to go on a shopping trip, Shiho would find a way to make it happen.

In retrospect she realised how naive she had been. Nothing in the organisation was ever easy. Still, she never expected that the price for her freedom would be this high.