File One Hundred and Thirty-Five: Odd-Eyed

Shinichi had said nothing.

Not a word at all, but a frown was on his face. Quickly, he had closed the distance between him and his father and promptly slid a phone, of all things, across the desk.

One look at the picture, and Yusaku set his computer aside. Deadlines would have to wait a little longer, he supposed.

There was a boy on the screen, not much older than his youngest son. From the quality of it, he would presume it was quite a few years old, but then again, it was hard to be certain. On the screen, there were tall slender fingers physically clutching that photograph, a clearly unstable hold considering the slight blurriness of the picture as a whole.

"Where did you get this from?" he asked.

"Kuroba. Detective Takagi gave it to him." At his son's answer, Yusaku's gaze narrowed ever so marginally. "As expected, you do know who this child is."

Yusaku didn't answer for a while and simply contemplated the picture in question. Eventually, he pushed the phone away. "Yes, I do," was all he said.

A sigh left Shinichi's lips, taking this phone back and giving it a brief, last glance over. "I have investigated this person as thoroughly as I could," he said, shaking his head. "I hoped I could figure out his relation to the Organization and the truth behind his death, but as far as his private life was concerned, I got no results."

"I've been in this case for much longer than you. It's only natural."

"Three years. From the day he disappeared, to the day you gave up, when he was declared dead." He placed the device back inside his pocket and added, "I used to be disappointed. You just didn't look like the kind who would give up so easily."

Shinichi's gaze sharpened as they fell on his father, squinting as if they could pierce through the most protected corners of his father's soul. As if somehow he could see the truth materialized in front of him. What really lied inside that serious, stiff facade of his.

But he wasn't anything like Conan. He couldn't really see anything.

Eventually, they closed. "You still don't look like it," he finished.

"Rather than on me, shouldn't you be focusing on how Detective Takagi got a hold of it in the first place?"

For a matter of fact, even if he wasn't a detective, Kuroba had already tried his best to figure that out, but hadn't been so successful. Sneaking in had been easy, being granted access to the security cameras the simplest thing ever, but still, he had got nothing. To his utter disbelief, the files regarding that day had been mysteriously erased, no clue of who had done it or how left behind.

But if his father was willing to deflect the implicit question he had clearly understood, then Shinichi had no obligation to share anything with him.

"And you wonder why Conan doesn't like you." He reached the doorway in a heartbeat, only pausing long enough to add, "Even I am having a hard time, especially in moments like these, Dad."

And without further ado, the teenager stepped into the hallway, shutting the door without risking a single glance behind. For a moment more than necessary, he simply stood there, eyes closed as he reviewed everything that had happened lately inside his mind. Once finished, he drew in a deep breath and left.

Through the hallway, the heels of his shoes echoed, easily overriding the silence that had settled onto his own house, not unlike that of an abandoned residence whose inhabitants had been missing for so long, which actually wasn't all that accurate.

Besides Conan himself, Akai was probably the only one out at the moment, far too busy dealing with the aftermath of some mission that had him running around since last night. Obviously, his father was there, too. Typing out like crazy in hopes of catching up with his many deadlines for once in his entire life ─ and from what it seemed like to Shinichi, he was willing to bet this time wouldn't go any differently.

It didn't take him long to find his mother's curly locks peeking out from around a corner. Upon further approach, he easily spotted huddling next to a window ─ and apparently, she had spotted him too in turn, judging for the way she motioned him to come over.

He had no other choice to complain, lazily walking over with his hands tucked inside his pockets. She really went her way out to pretend she was leaving in front of the FBI, thought Shinichi. Probably had lunch somewhere with Dad and returned when the house was empty again.

Conan had definitely not looked pleased when he found that out. His eyebrow had twitched, the left side of his lips tugging upwards as he contemplated them both, grinning widely back at him.

He had looked exactly as he did right now. Out in the street leading to the Professor's house, glaring at the window they were both spying him from. What an impressive intuition, because he was sure there was no possible way he could have seen them from so far away.

Eventually, he lost interest. Only a step into Agasa's yard, and the door had been thrown open, children dashing as if there was a fire inside. Startled, Conan jumped back, then stilled as the three started to argue about something to him, Ai contented with just watching from afar. Surprise turned into neutrality, then a roll of his eyes made its mandatory daily appearance.

Shinichi thought he should have warned him that his eyes would be stuck like that if he kept on doing it, but it would be foolish of him to think that Conan was prone to believe such things, anyway. Yet, at this point, it would seem like the boy was actively trying to prove it was just a myth.

"He's late," Yukiko pointed out. How she knew that was beyond him. "That's unusual for him."

"Maybe he was at the library?" offered Shinichi, then at the clueless look his mother had sent him, he added, "He made a friend there a while ago."

"A friend?" she repeated, genuinely surprised.

"They bonded over Sherlock Holmes."

Clearly, no more clarification had been needed after that, a giggle sliding past her lips with no effort at all as she turned around, bouncing lightly on her feet as she walked away to do… whatever followed in her ridiculously unpredictable routine of hers.

Unlike her, Shinichi stayed a little longer. Conan's friends had eventually grown tired of complaining, probably about their friend's lateness, and were laughing about something once more. Agasa, all the way from where his yellow beetle was parked, called them over and, in a heartbeat, Ayumi, Mitsuhiko and Genta were rushing towards him.

Conan watched them go from afar, an amused smile on his lips, and approached Ai. Together, in a much slower pace, they went to follow their stead.

Two years ago, he would have thought this was an extremely implausible sight, the thought of Conan actively making friends truly inconceivable.

But now…

Smiling one last time, Shinichi, too, walked away.

Thus, he wasn't around to see the girl stop midway, watching her friends piling one after another in the Professor's far too compact car, an unreadable expression taking hold of her. "This is unnecessary," he did not get to hear her whisper, either.

Conan, however, did. "What, the aquarium?" he asked, pausing to look at her over his shoulder. "You kind of brought this to yourself when you asked for sharks."

"It isn't even my birthday today."

For a matter of fact, yeah, he knew that well enough. It took him far too long to figure out; he wasn't about to forget about it so easily.

"They want to make up for the lost day," said Conan, shrugging. "They were heartbroken to find out they missed the last one."

Finally, there was a flash of emotion ─ in the form of a glare shot at him. "Whose fault is that?" she rebuked.

"Yours, actually," replied Conan, quickly enough. "At some point, they were bound to realize that they have known you for over a year and didn't seem to get any older." Shrugging, the boy added, "And, even if I haven't deduced the date, they'd probably made one up for themselves."

She opened her mouth, but no sound came out ─ a rare sight to behold, mused Conan.

Instead of pointing it out, he stated, "This is probably the first time you've celebrated it with children of your age, right?" Ai stole a discreet glance towards him, and he beamed in return. "It's natural to feel scared. We humans are made to fear what's unknown."

The girl arched an eyebrow. "I don't want to hear it from you," she said. "Did you forget how reluctant you were to-"

"I didn't," he interrupted her. Taken aback, she turned to face him fully. "That's exactly why I know what I'm talking about, Ai."

For the second time today, she didn't know what to say.

Yet, she didn't have to. "What are you two doing?" Since the professor called for them, waving a hand over. "We're leaving!"

"Ai-chan, Ai-chan! Hurry up, hurry up!" Ayumi yelled, having already settled onto the backseat of the car, alongside the other two.

The girl in question settled her friend with one long look, which she seemed to have grown immune to at this point in time. A shrug of her shoulders later, and the faintest of smiles adorning her features, she resumed her far too calm pace towards the car.

It took a little longer for Conan to do the same. "Why do I feel like I'm being left out?" he mumbled as he climbed after the young scientist.

Only Agasa heard it. It made him chuckle. "Well, she's the reason for this outing, this time," he said.

Conan, far from uttering a single word, shifted his gaze to him, and stared, then stared some more. Soon, the smile behind Agasa's mustache shifted, becoming much more awkward than initially. Sweat began to drip from his forehead, uncomfortable at that plain, blank gaze that did not seem to leave him alone.

Eventually, the boy turned his head away. "I don't want to talk with you."

"E-Eh?"

Unwilling to clarify the situation, the little detective promptly closed the door, making a point not to send the briefest of glances to what laid behind the window, namely a confused professor's wince, and the endless blinking his odd behavior had produced. Seconds became a full minute, forcing Agasa to give up on the matter in favor of walking back to the front to occupy his position as the driver, thus marking their beginning to their trip. A trip full of chatter loud enough to split his head in half, snacks and sweets in quantities large enough to give a dentist their worst nightmares.

Letting his head against the window with a dashed expression, the boy decided it would be the longest trip he had had in a while.

"Oh, look, look, Ai-chan! Isn't it adorable?"

That had been Ayumi, shoving a phone to her friend's face to show her a cute photo she had found, or something. Whatever it had been, it had not bothered the girl at all.

"It is, but Irene-chan is cuter. The other day… Wait, let me just…"

Another phone had been taken, and another photograph had been shown. Ayumi's squeals of delight did not take long to appear ─ loud, of course. She couldn't have it another way.

Indeed, this is going to be the longest trip I have had in a while…

From the corner of his eye, he noticed a faint, yet sweet smile, posing on the lips of that one girl who had been so reluctant to be here in the first place.

But not necessarily the worst one.

With a subtle smile of his own, Conan turned his head away, deciding to let them be. Briefly, he wondered if there was anything to keep his mind entertained on the way there, hopefully distracting enough to block Mitsuhiko's voice, currently arguing to Genta about him eating his share of the snacks they were supposed to share.

I should have brought 'Line-Up in the Dead of Night' with me, lamented the boy. Chances to read it are slim as they are, how come I manage to miss them when I finally got one, regardless?

Like last night. He had been so eager to get the chance to read a single chapter at least, but of course there had been a blackout. Ran had caught onto his plan of reading with the help of a flashlight pretty quickly, which resulted in her confiscating his wristwatch for the night because it would ruin his eyes, or something like that ─ like they could get any worse, mused Conan.

Speaking of last night's blackout… It kind of came out of nowhere, huh?

Fortunately, he had brought his earphones with him. Meaning he was free to pull off his phone and check the news. He had barely reached the ten-minute mark when Ai peered at his screen, prompted by curiosity.

"What are you looking at so intently?" she asked.

Finally, he looked away, turning the device slightly so that she could see better. "The cause of the massive power outage last night still hasn't been announced," he told her. "I thought it was weird."

Ai hummed lightly, observing the presenter on the screen. Ayumi had not been so subtle with her reaction, breaking on a big gasp once she settled her eyes on it, her finger pointing at the screen in a matter of seconds.

"It's a special program on the aquarium we're going to!"

He tilted the phone slightly to verify her claims. She was right.

Mitsuhiko incorporated quickly. "Let me see, Conan-kun!"

Thus, he unplugged his earphones and did his best to position it so that everyone could see ─ sans Genta, who wouldn't stop complaining about it from the front seat, but Conan paid no attention to any of it. Instead, his focus was on the screen, or rather, the ever-smiling woman presenting the major changes before the reopening.

The video changed, and the inside of the installations of the place were beginning to show on his phone. Children laughing alongside their parents, roaming the place and seeming to be having the time of their life.

"The first thing I want to draw your attention to is that all amusement facilities and various stores are now located indoors," her voice rang through the speaker. "That way, you don't have to worry about the weather!"

Conan's gaze flickered towards the front of the beetle, eyelids lowering out of boredom. "Don't worry, Genta," he called. "You aren't missing out on much here."

"Don't be like that, Conan-kun," Ayumi chastised him. "The program is far from over!"

"I'm afraid I'd have to agree with him," stated Ai, shrugging. She either did not notice her friend's growing pout or cared little about it, because she continued, "Touto Aquarium has been closed for almost a year now. If locating all stores and facilities indoors is one of the three highlights for this grand reopening, I'm afraid-"

"-the aquarium's main attraction, a spectacular show by the dolphins!"

"Dolphins?!"

Now there were three brand additional sets blinking at them ─ both of them. Soon, he had joined the rest, sending a rather dumb glance to his side to realize that, believe it or not, he had not been the only one. Ai's stare remained on the screen, her eyes slightly wider than what their usual size.

"What's with you two?" asked Genta from the front, raising an eyebrow at the pair.

Smiling, Conan began to sweat and stutter.

"Instinct," replied Ai, calmly ─ which was a huge contrast to what she had been like just seconds before. "Hard-headed detectives are instinctively interested in cold-blooded murderers."

Ayumi swiftly slid further away from her friend, confused yet also too scared to ask. Admittedly, it wasn't too different for the other two boys, whose eyebrows shot up in response ─ though, in Mitsuhiko's face, there was also a stiff bout of laughter that led Conan to believe he was aware of the fact that Ai had just thrown at their faces.

Dolphins murder for fun ─ Ai had told him that once while teasing him about that terrible clay figurine he had created, which had been supposed to look like a dolphin. One thing had led to another, and they ended up finding out that none of them had ever seen a dolphin in their entire short lives.

And I wound up inviting her to Hawaii. He had not stopped to think about that before, but now that he was free to take a step back and reflect on his actions, warmth suddenly rushed up to his face. Now that I think of it, she looked rather shocked when I said that to her…

I must have creeped her out. No wonder she never spoke of it again… What was I even thinking?

Sighing, he pressed a hand to his face ─ unwittingly hiding Ai's unreadable gaze posed onto his being.

Timid, frightened Mitsuhiko was the first one to try to say something, "I understand about Conan-kun, but Haibara-san, weren't you just-"

"I wasn't."

"But-" Conan did not get to see what Ai's look was like, but seeing how Mitsuhiko froze, stuttering a faint, "You weren't," gave him quite a good idea.

And he wasn't exactly looking forward to seeing it.

"And finally, I would like to introduce you to the biggest selling point of the renewal," the presenter continued. The way she appeared genuinely excited made the boy curious about whatever she was about to reveal ─ or, alternately, where she had learned to act so convincingly. "The world's first giant double-wheel Ferris wheel!"

At Ai's side, Mitsuhiko and Ayumi gasped. As per previously announced, a massive Ferris wheel stood in the middle of the screen, colorful beams and fountain water shooting all around it to create a wonderful spectacle for their young, impressionable eyes to marvel at. A view like none other, as the presenter described it, which would vary depending on which side, north or south wheel, they were to board on.

"Isn't that, like, a scam?" wondered Conan, out loud. "In a regular Ferris wheel, you'd be able to see both sides in a single ride…"

Whereas, in this one, to fully appreciate everything, they'd have to ride twice, boarding once on each side. Well, it sure is profitable, mused Conan.

"Don't be so negative, Conan," Surprisingly, it had been Agasa who had spoken up, chastising him lightly for his crude commentary. "I'm sure the special water and light show are worth it."

Conan didn't even blink. "Don't tell me you want to be scammed." A wince was everything he needed for confirmation, so he turned to his friends. "You heard him, guys. Let's help the Professor get scammed."

All three nodded, a little too enthusiastically ─ about getting a fun ride at the Ferris wheel, or helping the Professor go bankrupt, he wasn't entirely sure. Of course, such excitement had managed to erase the man's smile from his face.

"I thought we were going to the aquarium," he argued, way too softly.

Conan smiled sheepishly. "We could go to both."

"Eh-"

"But of course, it's not up to any of us to decide any of that." Calmly putting his phone away, having the program ended a while ago, he shot a sideways glance. Pretending not to notice at all, Ai remained quiet, arms crossed over her chest and a neutral expression posed on her features. "None of us is getting any older tomorrow, after all."

It took a moment, but eventually, she began, "Professor." The smirk that crawled onto his features afterwards made Agasa hold his breath in anticipation. "Please take care of our tickets."

Agasa, defeated, all but slumped over the driving wheel.

Touto aquarium was as lively as he had imagined it to be. A grand reopening, the promise of improved facilities and loads of fun had definitely made the trick ─ and the way they had marketed it. They had done a wonderful job on that, he had long realized after seeing every ad on every single piece of media he came across, a belief that had only been strengthened by the special program he had witnessed.

So, at this point, Conan was pretty much prepared to see anything happening in such a place.

However, he did not expect the stench of gasoline, of all things, to attack his nostrils so viciously. Even less did he expect that it would lead to a bench, or rather, a white-haired woman quietly sitting on a bench.

Her hunched posture, dirty and tattered clothes certainly caught his eye, but it was her lost gaze which prompted him to stray away from his group of friends to approach her.

"Hey, are you okay, oneesan?" he asked her.

She raised her head to direct that one lost, confused look at him. Raven black, icy blue, both fixated onto his body, prompting him to pause, surprised for less than a second.

Huh, he had never met anyone with heterochromia before. In person, in any case.

Ai snuck up from behind him. "I don't think she can understand Japanese," she stated, breaking him out of his brief trance.

"I understand," said the woman. "I can understand."

Well, that made things so much easier.

"What happened?" asked Conan. "Why are you here all alone?"

When the woman failed to answer, the boy started to believe it wouldn't be so easy. Perhaps she was too far into shock, which was already worrying by itself. She sported some cuts and scrapes, principally on her knees and hands. At her side, laying over the bench surrounded by what seemed to be tiny glass shards, there was a phone, its screen shattered beyond repair.

"Can I see this for a bit?"

After her approval, showing a total lack of desire for privacy, the boy promptly grabbed it. He stepped slightly aside to inspect it properly, but no matter how hard he tried, he found it impossible to make it react. It was broken, for real.

"How long have you been here?" asked Ai. The woman thought hard about it, yet was unable to come up with a response, so the girl tried again, "Then, where did you come from?"

At her shake of her head, Conan sharply raised his. He exchanged looks with his friend before turning to the woman and asking, "What's your name?"

That, too, remained unanswered. Amnesia, was the obvious conclusion. Resulting from a head trauma, confirmed Ai after a quick check up with, truly, fit perfectly with the theory that had been forming inside his mind for a while now.

Ai turned back to him, surprised. "A car accident?" she repeated his words. "How do you know that?"

Conan simply showed her the phone before leaving it back on the bench. "It's completely smashed, so it must have been a big impact," he said, then motioning to the small fragments of crystal, he added, "Look. There are pieces of a car's windshield."

The girl took a moment to let it all sink before nodding. "So it's traumatic retrograde amnesia."

Nodding, the boy carefully picked up a glass shard and observed it from close. She must have hit her head while driving ─ an old car. "Nowadays, cars have a film over the glass to keep from shattering," he mumbled, mostly to himself than anything else. "There's a faint smell of gasoline from her body."

Yet, Ai must have been listening to all of it. Holding her hair behind her ear, she leaned slightly closer to the woman. Her eyes opened slightly ─ he was right.

"Oneesan," said Conan, after a while. The woman, far too creeped out from being sniffed by kids ─ and the whole situation overall ─ jumped slightly. Honestly, Conan couldn't really blame her. "Do you have anything else with you?"

She did. Not something he would expect her to, however. Black at first, green, yellow, white, blue and red after opening it up ─ Conan could only stare in confusion, unable to figure out why someone would carry what seemed to be a wordbook, filled with so many transparent colored cards.

"Conan, Haibara!"

"We've bought tickets for both of you, too!"

Despite their obvious joy and excitement, Conan barely held back his urge to sigh. Slumping slightly, he briefly caught sight with Ai's little, amused smile, before turning to see that certain trio of children quickly making their way to them, the Professor doing his best to chase after them, in turn.

With Ayumi gushing over her beautiful eyes, and Genta failing horrendously in understanding why Mitsuhiko called her an 'odd eye', what once was peace and quietness became, well, the complete opposite.

The chaotic sight stole a giggle out of the mysterious woman, however, so maybe their presence wasn't entirely a bad thing, Conan figured.

Even though he would much have preferred them to take things more calmly, they weren't deterred from taking the poor confused woman's hand to drag her around the park in search of clues, right after being informed of the current situation.

Also, right after Conan nearly gave said poor woman an anxiety attack by snapping a photo of her face out of the blue. Yeah, he supposed he should have been a little subtler, but luckily, he had convinced he would only use it to find her 'friends' ─ if she had some hanging around, in any case.

Even through the lenses of his camera, she appeared terrified. Her ashen face, her parted lips and tense figure ─ it wasn't even the first time he had witnessed her acting like this, in the span of minutes. From the looks of it, the mere mention of the police seemed to have that effect on her, and not even she had been able to explain that strong feeling of aversion rooted deep within her soul rather than on memories alone.

Conan did not know how long he had been staring at the photograph, or rather her wide, wide, different colored eyes. Neither had he been aware of the frown that had settled onto his features.

"How long are you going to be loitering about?" It was Ai's smooth, almost emotionless tone that had him snapping out of it. She was looking at him, her eyebrows raised. "What are you doing?"

Unsure about how to reply, he promptly walked over to the now vacant bench, wrapped it in a handkerchief, and tucked it in his pocket. He could clearly feel Ai's scrutiny from behind, briefly before she added, "Do you really intend to not report her to the police?"

"Of course," he said, scrolling through the contacts on his phone. "It's not going to be me, though."

Before long, he found what he had been searching for, but before his deed could be done, he froze, a finger wavering over a certain contact.

A sigh and a shake of his head later, the name 'Kudo Shinichi' had disappeared from sight, leaving its place for 'Mouri Ran' to pop up instead.

"Inspector, this is the picture that Ran-san sent us now."

"According to the report, she might have been in a car accident."

Nodding, Megure shifted his gaze from Sato's face to the phone Takagi was showing him, where a white-headed woman seemed to look back at him, surprise shown in her different colored eyes. Immediately, he was remembered of that massive car accident last night, where the driver had gone inexplicably missing.

"It was such a terrible accident, but the media and even we haven't received accurate information," said Takagi. Facing Sato, he added, "Does that mean…?"

In turn, Sato nodded. "I think we need to look into it."

Megure did not have the time to answer since Chiba came in, calling for him. A single shake of his head anticipated what he knew was coming, "The Third Investigation Division also hasn't received specific information."

So he sighed. His reaction earned questioning looks from Sato and Takagi ─ besides the rest of the police workers situated on their own desks, keeping an ear out for any bit of information they could recollect from a conversation they were no part of. But he didn't mind it.

"I heard a rumor last night," said Megure. "Someone broke into the National Police Agency."

"But that information has not come down to the Metropolitan Police Department," added Chiba.

Too engrossed in their conversation they were, nobody noticed that one worker at the end of the room slowly rising from his seat. None of them saw him quietly approach the door, slipping outside completely unnoticed.

Instead, the inspector frowned profusely.

"Maybe there is some big force at work here."

With a gentle click, the door was shut. Once in the corridor, the young man allowed a broad grin to draw itself in its place. Wasting no time at all, he plucked out a phone, swiftly dialed a number before placing it to his ear.

And calmly began to walk away.

"Hey, Meitantei. You won't believe what I just heard."

Soon it became evident they weren't going to be as lucky as he had hoped to. They might have been walking around for maybe half an hour, shoved that photograph to the faces of probably dozens of people. A smile then, an apology there, they would move on to the next, unwilling to rest until they got the slimmest sight of a clue.

It had been after yet another clueless lady that he noticed that his smile wasn't as big as the beginning, and that his cheeks were starting to hurt a little. And they weren't even closer to figuring out her identity, either.

"You would think that with those distinctive hair and eye colors anyone was bound to recognize her," commented Conan, mostly to himself than to the girl walking beside him. "But no. Of course not."

Ai nodded at him. "I wonder if she has ever really been here."

Actually, he had been thinking the same, too, even though he had been trying not to. It hadn't been a conscious desire to remain ignorant of it, so to say, but there was something under the surface. An awful feeling that had long anchored on the pit of his stomach, clinging and twisting, ever since he had caught sight of those eyes of hers.

But of course, there was no rational reason to believe such things, besides a paranoia-fuelled belief that one member was hanging around from close, watching their every move, waiting for his chance to strike.

That one who had undoubtedly died four years ago, but was pretty much alive as well.

Schrödinger would definitely have a field day with this, had he lived enough to see it.

"Ai-chan! Conan-kun!" Spinning on his heels, he found her. Slightly frustrated by the looks of it was Ayumi, rushing right towards them at high speeds. "Where were you? We suddenly lost sight of you two!"

Conan opened his mouth, ready to explain that they were working hard to figure out whatever the hell was happening, like they were supposed to be doing, but Ayumi didn't seem to really care about getting a reply.

"Come on!" she exclaimed instead, clearly excited. In a swift movement, she had captured Ai's wrist. "You gotta see this!"

Still silenced by surprise, the small scientist stumbled forward as her friend dragged her along. Conan watched them both for a second, then shrugged, and followed after them.

Beaming radiantly as always, the girl enthusiastically led them away from the spot they had been hanging at, weaving their way across the wide sea of feet and legs of people that Conan, come to think of it, had not gotten the chance to ask about that white-haired woman. Eventually, the waters parted, and the sight of what had gotten their friend in such a state stood in front of them for their eyes to behold, in the form of one of those fancy carnival game stands he would regularly see at any ordinary fair.

First, he caught sight of Mitsuhiko, then of Genta. Both seemed to be cheering, solely focused on the tall white-haired woman standing in the middle, her back facing them.

As he approached and at a better angle, he saw a dart in between her fingers. Her eyes became sharper, so different from the dull confusion from before. The sight made Conan freeze, his breath caught in her lungs.

"Oneechan is so good!" Ayumi explained to them. She didn't seem to notice that Conan had not made the slimmest manifestation of actually paying attention. "She's going to get prizes for everyone!"

Ai hummed, deep in thought. Conan's gaze slowly slid towards the dartboard. Two shots had already been made already, both had landed perfectly.

As the third dart stabbed on board, a collective cheering erupted. Three children jumped up and down, made their joy known, even taught the clueless woman how she was supposed to high five them ─ even squealed over her showing off that beautiful little smile again, commenting on how good it looked on her face.

Conan, however, could only stare at that one last dart, stabbed onto the board in between the other two.

He didn't quite notice the glance Ai shot towards him.

Clueless to it all, the smiling man behind the counter approached them to show them the several keychains secured on a pegboard, in many colors and sizes, for them to choose. All of them were dolphins, noticed Conan after a second glance, and really, he supposed he should have expected it, since it had long proved to be the newly designated mascot of this aquarium.

It didn't stop him from squinting his eyes at the pink little dolphin doll Ayumi gathered in her hands.

A blue one went for Genta, while Mitsuhiko chose green. Finally, they all turned to their friends, and Ayumi asked, "Which one do you guys want?"

Before the boy had any chance to speak a word, the worker stepped away, pulling the rest of the keychains away from their reach with a nervous smile. "Now, we said you had to pick three…"

"Eh?!" the three of them gasped, collectively.

"But there are six of us!" argued Genta. "So we need six! Any less than that…"

"Even if you say so-"

There was a sharp knock on wood. Looking towards the sound revealed a hand and some spare change left over the counter. Haltingly, the worker slowly turned his attention to the deadly serious, teal gaze barely peeking into sight.

He took notice of the way the hand was leaning over the counter, palm facing up and expecting.

"You… want to try, young lady?" Ai did not move her hand, neither did her expression shift. "Alright, go ahead…"

She uttered not a single word afterwards, just closed her fingers around the three darts she was given. Conan watched, mildly interested, as she took a few steps backwards, took a deep breath, and her gaze zeroed on the target.

"Good luck, Haibara!"

"You can do it, Ai-chan!"

The girl had this utterly focused glint on his eye ─ Conan was genuinely curious, and was unable to predict how this was going to go. Is Ai any good at darts? Honestly, he had no clue.

As the first dart left her fingers and cut through the air, Conan's eyes went a sliver wider, her teary face popping into his mind uninvited, sobbing uncontrollably like the little girl she was supposed to be. Megure frantically trying to soothe her, and the gun dropped somewhere at her feet were still fresh in his memory, despite the course of time.

That day, the girl had picked up a gun on her own, missed her target by an inch ─ on purpose.

The projectile landed right at the center of the dartboard. A perfect score.

She was raised in the Organization, trained by Gin himself to, among other things, be able to handle a gun. Conan felt his body tense at that mere thought. Since Sherry was an important asset to them.

It didn't go any differently for the second one. A smirk out of satisfaction drew itself on Ai's face as she watched her dart stab itself right next to the first one.

Among the joyful clapping of his friends, Conan twisted his neck towards the newest addition to their group. Being able to shoot so accurately is vital for an Organization member. Cold sweat was collecting on his brow without his consent, and his gaze was unable to stray away from her different colored eyes, keeping a close watch on the group of children. Especially a high-ranked one…

"It's the last one!"

"You can do it, Haibara-san!"

Renewed by confidence, the little girl pulled her arm back, the last dart firmly tucked in between her fingers.

Black and blue eyes moved away from the group and settled onto the little girl's body.

Just as the projectile was about to leave her grasp, a gasp left her lips ─ her eyes fully open and terrified, for reasons that went beyond Conan's understanding, and didn't move again. All she did was stare at the last lone dart that had fallen far from the rest, barely even making it to the dartboard, as if she was surprised herself by her own results.

But of course, Ayumi was quick to try to reassure her friend, her hands falling onto her shoulders. "You did so good, Ai-chan!" she exclaimed, shaking her lightly in her excitement.

After blinking twice, her cool demeanor was back. "That's only enough for two prizes," she said.

Conan stepped ahead. "It's okay," he said. "I'm fine, even without one."

"But, Conan-kun…" Mitsuhiko tried.

Conan raised an eyebrow at them. They were only keychains, why were they getting so disappointed about it? He couldn't understand it, no matter how long he pondered over it.

Ai's strawberry blonde locks fell over her face as she leaned slightly forward, the tip of her lips curving as she pointed at a certain one on the pegboard. Stuck to her face it remained, contemplating the purple little dolphin resting on the palm of her hand.

What was that reaction just now? That was also something he couldn't get his head around. For less than a second, she was scared.

He knew she had ─ because that was a sight he had grown used to seeing after being close to her for almost two years. The way her breath would hitch, her muscles would freeze and color would drain from her face ─ a telltale of a presence she abhorred and feared just as strongly.

If she felt an Organization member nearby… Does that mean-?

"Why don't you go ahead?"

Fortunately, he managed to hold back a frightened squeak, even if that didn't remain true for the violent twitch that struck his body as well. "W-What?" he stuttered, trying his best not to let his newfound panic slip on his tone, and failing pathetically.

Though the white-haired woman barely even reacted to any of that. Perhaps she was just interpreting his very obvious fear as shyness. For all she knew, he could just be a timid little boy, he supposed.

"You can go ahead and pick one," she replied. "I'm fine."

Conan paused, oddly confused.

"Are you sure?" Mitsuhiko said. "After working to get one for us…"

Haltingly, the boy moved over to where Ayumi waved him to come closer, and before he knew it, he was blinking at a cute, bright red smiling dolphin hanging back and forth from his fingers. He wasn't sure how to feel about it.

Out of everything, it had to be dolphins, huh? he thought, his shoulders dropping lightly.

"It's not fair that one of us is left out!" exclaimed Genta, clearly outraged. "I'm going to try out!"

"Genta-kun, maybe it's best if we-"

"I can do it, let me just-"

"Hey!" Everyone immediately looked around, their attention caught by that familiar voice coming from nowhere. "I'm here! Here!"

It took them an embarrassing long time to realize they were supposed to raise their heads to see the Professor, waving at them from the platform above. For a moment, Conan wondered if he was supposed to feel bad that he had completely forgotten that the man was supposed to be there, but shook it off right away ─ he still hadn't gotten over what he had learnt, about Kaito KID and those stupid gadgets he was selling.

"The Ferris wheel is less crowded!" he was shouting. "If you want to ride on it, now is your chance!"

Which, predictably, got all three of their friends excited over the prospect, equally bright grins etched on their faces as they nodded to one another. Suddenly, they had convinced themselves that the view on the Ferris wheel might remind her of something, which sounded more like an excuse to keep on having fun for Conan, but whatever. Even if he wanted to point it out, the other two boys had already rushed over to the woman, holding her hands as they dragged her with them.

Only Ayumi stayed behind. "Let's go, you two!" she exclaimed, ready to hold Ai's hand again.

This time, however, she took it away before the girl had the chance to. Turning her gaze away from Ayumi's wide, surprised eyes, she muttered, "I'll catch up with you guys later."

But Ayumi said nothing, just remained there, staring back at her friend with a quickly vanishing smile. Witnessing all of it, Conan decided it was his time to intervene.

"Don't worry, we won't take long," he assured her, hoping that his smile was enough to convince her. "I promise I'll drag her back to you guys, and we'll have all the fun we want afterwards."

He didn't think he was too successful, but at least it had been something, or so he wanted to believe. Her gaze lowered to the ground, her fingers locking with one another as she nodded lightly. She did not say anything else, merely rushed back to the rest of their group of friends, never ever looking back.

Conan's smile remained until he was sure she wasn't going to glance back, then his eyebrows rose far above his hairline. "And they say I'm the rude one in our group," he told her, but she did not respond. "Look. I know you don't like-"

"It's not about what I like or what I dislike," interrupted Ai, her voice cold, emotionless. "It's about making sure we aren't going to die at the end of the day."

So Ai was also feeling as if something was amiss with this woman, huh. That wasn't exactly what he would call reassuring, but it was a curious coincidence ─ or a logical conclusion after a process of continuous observation.

Walking over the counter, she proceeded to ask the worker if he happened to recognize the woman that had accompanied them earlier, only for it to be denied ─ in fact, he commented in between laughing, he would have definitely remembered someone as skilled as her.

Nothing out from what Conan would have expected to hear, neither was it any different from any response he had gotten throughout the day.

Empty-handed once again, they were just about to leave.

"Oh, right." But they were stopped from doing so. "Can you please pass this to your friend from earlier?"

In response, Conan peered down, curiously, at the pristine white dolphin keychain he had just been passed.

"We had a few extra prototypes left over before coloring," was the explanation offered to him. "It's not colored yet, so she can have fun painting it in any color."

Tucking it inside his pocket, Conan nodded vigorously. "I think she'll love it," he answered. "Thank you, oniisan!"

"You're welcome. Have fun!"

In contrast to him, Ai didn't even try to be friendly. Not even a smile crossed her face as she turned around and went to follow the boy.

"Where do we go next?" she asked.

He didn't ponder over it for long. "Let's meet up with the Professor," he suggested. "I think observing her behavior will be a good plan."

Ai nodded quietly, agreeing fully heartedly to his suggestion.

"There's also…"

Confused, she looked over at him. Her puzzlement became only more evident upon catching sight of a smile etched on his features.

"We're celebrating your birthday here," he said, shrugging. "Ayumi-chan is a sweet girl, but I'm not interested in seeing how she would react if I kept you from having fun with everyone."

For a single heartbeat, she was silent. Then, the surprise dulled, her eyes rolled in mere annoyance.

"Like I said, it's not my birthday."

"Within the margin of error I'm using, it still is."

"You do have a way with words, you knew that?"

"So I've heard."

"Hey, Oneechan. Don't space out or we'll leave you behind!"

"I'm sorry. I felt like someone was talking to me."

Surprised, Mitsuhiko immediately turned his head away from his friends and let his gaze stray away, fixated on the many other carefree groups of families and friends all the same that enjoyed their time at the aquarium. At first he was hoping that it was some kind of lead, an indication that there was someone out there that knew the woman, currently hurrying to catch up with them, who would possibly be of great help in recovering her memories.

But she had shaken it off right away, claiming that it was nothing but a mistake on her part, and truly, Mitsuhiko had no reason not to believe her. Had he lost sight of any of his friends, and had they failed to recognize him, he would most definitely not let it go. He would have gone after them until he could understand the ongoing situation.

So, he figured she was right.

"Are we really riding it without Haibara and Conan?" he heard Genta mutter.

"They are engrossed in the investigation," he replied, "Knowing them, I doubt they'll come around anytime soon…" yet trailed down into silence as an almost inaudible sigh made its way to his ears. "What's wrong, Ayumi-chan?"

That, by itself, hadn't been his only concern. The girl had been quiet for a while. That, and those crestfallen that gazed at the panorama beneath, gradually drifting further away from themselves as the escalator took them up, had greatly unsettled him, too.

"This wasn't supposed to go like this," she murmured, far too softly. "I wanted Ai-chan to have fun with us."

"Well, unlike us, she didn't seem to be too excited about this…"

"Then, what are we supposed to do?!" Driven by urgency, the girl snapped back. Mitsuhiko barely even avoided jumping back in shock, and truly, he was glad he did. Falling down from this height did not sound pleasant to him. "Were we being selfish in bringing her?"

Mitsuhiko wasn't sure how to answer.

Yet, to be fair, he was nowhere closer to being the most clueless individual in their whole group. Genta came first to help the woman out, whispering a quick, "She's the girl who was with us earlier. It's her birthday tomorrow."

In return, she nodded slowly and remained silent.

"She's been acting strange," observed Mitsuhiko. "Like that time with the darts. After hitting the blank twice in a row, it's weird she would miss the last one. By such a large margin, too."

"Oneechan just looked at her and missed," added Genta.

The aforementioned woman lowered her head, her hand resting over her chest. "Maybe she doesn't like me?" she wondered.

"Don't worry about it," said Genta, waving a hand. "Haibara doesn't like anyone."

"Genta-kun!"

At the minor argument that had suddenly broken in, Professor Agasa could do nothing but laugh awkwardly, then sigh tiredly. Because, even if blunt, there was no possible way he could deny the boy's claims ─ Ai was, by nature, unfriendly to people at their first meeting. She might have mellowed some over her time in Beika, but the truth to the statement still stood.

Ayumi was still quiet, her lips pursed as if to make it known to the world that she was upset.

That tension eased up from his lips as his shoulders dropped lightly.

"I don't think there's much to it," he began. "Ai-kun is a bit awkward about it, that's all."

Ayumi's eyes flickered over to his face, so he added, "I'm sure Conan is doing his best to convince her to ease up a little."

The more she looked at the professor, the more his eyes began to open, little by little. "Professor…" she murmured.

"She will come around before you know it." So, he put on the best smile he could muster. "Then we can ride this Ferris wheel again, all of us together."

His words worked like magic, and in an instant, the little girl before him had lit up like a Christmas tree. And so did he.

"Does that mean you'll buy us some more tickets?"

Agasa froze, but Ayumi spun on her heels, beaming at her friends and the woman with them.

"Did you hear that, guys?"

"Yeah! I did! I did!"

"You're coming with us, too. Right, Oneesan?"

"If you don't mind me being there…"

"Yay~!"

Thus, there was nothing left for Agasa to do besides drop his head and heave out a heavy sigh. He had kind of set himself for this one, he lamented.

"Hey, aren't those…?"

"Ah! Conan, Haibara! This way!"

"Up here! Up!"

Grinning widely enough to split their faces in half, the three children watched as their friends stood down there, their heads whipping from one side to another as confusion multiplied by the second. Conan was the first to spot them, raising their head to the source of the sounds, yet unlike the slight smile or even a show of annoyance, his reaction was none of what they had expected to see.

The moment his eyes connected with them, they snapped open, far over what should have been deemed natural. His lips moved, his voice too soft from where they stood, and Ai immediately turned towards them. She was just as terrified as the boy before.

Confused, Genta leaned further to try to piece their reactions together. His hand on the rail slipped, and soon, he felt himself falling over.

Conan wouldn't remember screaming, nor would he ever be able to point out the exact moment he had started running. Yet certainly, he would forever remember the sight that encountered him only moments later. That of his friend's legs dangling in the air, crying and begging for help from the white-haired woman who had jumped over, standing on the very edge of the building in an attempt to assist the young boy.

Like that one time with the darts, her gaze sharpened.

As fingers slipped, and their owner was brought down by Earth, the woman jumped after him.

More like, she hopped over and slid all over the building structures ─ while wearing stiletto heels ─ and jumped again, wrapping her arms around Genta just before he could crash into the ground, rolling over.

And by the time Conan's brain could process what had really happened, the woman had slid gracefully and safely back on land, gently trying to shake Genta awake. In the next heartbeat, the small detective had managed to snap himself out of it, hurrying his way to meet his fallen, and possibly injured, friend.

Thus, he failed to notice the girl who did not follow. That who stood back, her breath dying down somewhere down her lungs, her limbs shaking like a weak leaf stuck in a hurricane.

Not even the reassurance that Genta was perfectly fine was enough to shake off that cold, eerie feeling that settled on her soul like an old friend she had always known.

A/N

Gamelover41592: Sorry, I can't say anything about that yet

CherryGirl 21-6: Never heard of the Magademy Awards, but I looked it up. It's such a cool concept! And yay for Ai-chan winning :)

ajjr12: It would be interesting, for sure. But I doubt I'll get to write it

emiliani . jennifer01: Well, actually… I've been slowly beginning to write something like what you're saying. Kinda. I don't know if I'll get to publish it, but it does exist, so to say xD