"So… you'll be getting your old body back soon?" Akai asks the shrunken detective.

"Mm. But we're going on one last hiking trip with the kids, so I'll still be like this until after this weekend. So, what's up with you? It looks like almost everything is packed."

"Yeah…" Akai nodded. "I'm going to stay a little until you two turn back. Besides, I would love to see you both in your real bodies."

"Ah, I'm so excited! My real body! Ah, but will Haibara be ok with you being here?"

"We… came to a little agreement." Akai smiled as he looked at an empty dish sitting on his table.

"An agreement?" Conan tilted his head.

Akai shook his head. "It's nothing."

.

.

.

"Almost… got it…" Agasa was on his tippy toes on top of a chair, trying to reach the cake he secretly bought. He hid it high up on a shelf so Ai couldn't see. 'Maybe I hid this a little too well…'

"Professor? Are you here?" Ai asked from the other room.

"Ai-kun! One minute-arghh!" Agasa fell over to the ground.

"Pr-professor?! What happened?" Ai ran over to him. "What on earth were you doing?"

Ai squinted her eyes as she looked up on the shelf. The professor had managed to pull it close enough for her to see. Her worried face quickly became a scary glare.

"Ah, hehe…" Agasa chuckled. "This is, uhh… ow!" Agasa felt a sharp pain as he tried to get up. "I think I sprained my ankle!"

Ai let out a big sigh. "Serves you right…"

"What are we gonna do about the hiking trip?" Agasa asked.

"Already on it…" Ai pulled out her phone.

…

A FEW DAYS LATER

"So… that's why that guy who works at Poirot is taking us instead?" Genta asked as he pointed at Rei.

"Your name is Amuro-san, right?" Ayumi said.

"R-right…" Rei smiled.

"Why can't Subaru-san take us?" Mitsuhiko asked.

"Subaru-san has been tasked with taking care of Agasa while we are gone." Ai said.

"We can still have a great hiking trip, kids! It's going to be a long drive, so I made some curry for us to eat before we go!" Rei brought out plates for all the kids.

"Mm… this is yummy!" Genta exclaimed after he took a bite. "But I like Subaru-san's better…"

"Yeah, Subaru-san makes the best curry!" Mitsuhiko chimed in.

"Subaru-san, Subaru-san… you kids seem to really like him, huh!" Rei said, trying to hide the annoyance on his face.

"Well, I prefer this curry!" Ai said. "It has a much more authentic taste."

"Why, thank you!" Rei grinned. "I'm sure Subaru-san's curry tastes like it came from a box, no wonder children like it."

Meanwhile, Conan just tried to eat his curry in peace. 'Oi, oi…'

.

.

.

A few hours later, the gang are driving towards a hiking trail in Nagano.

"NA-GA-NO~ NA-GA-NO~"

The children happily sang as they drove up to their destination.

"Look, we're almost there!" Ayumi excitedly said.

Rei parked the car, and the group embarked on the trail.

So, do you all hike together often?" Rei asked.

"Uh-huh!" Genta nodded. "It's one of the many activities of the Detective Boys!"

"Detective Boys?" Rei asked.

"We've solved lots of cases!" Mitsuhiko said.

"So just give us a call if there's a mystery to solve!" Ayumi said.

"I'll keep that in mind." Rei chuckled.

"Hey, look!" Genta pointed. "There's a river up ahead!"

The kids began running ahead to get closer.

"Be careful you guys!" Haibara warned. "It's slippery he-!"

Haibara suddenly felt a warm embrace carefully holding her.

"I got you." Rei said as he helped her regain her footing. "Be careful. It's slippery here!" He teased.

"Th-thanks…" Haibara turned away, walking towards the kids.

"What are you guys doing?" Conan asked as the kids scavenged the ground.

"We're collecting rocks so we can skip them in the water!" Mitsuhiko explained.

"My rock is gonna go the farthest!" Genta exclaimed. "Here, you guys play too!" He said as he handed rocks to Conan and Ai.

"1…2…3…GO!"

The kids all threw their rocks, all making one skip, except for Genta's which immediately sank.

The kids all laughed. "Nice one, Genta!" Ayumi teased.

"Ah, you guys just got lucky! Look, I can do two skips!" Genta said as he aggressively threw his rock in the water, sinking again.

The kids laughed again, to Genta's annoyance.

"You just need to use more technique." Rei said as he picked up a rock. "You have to throw it at the right angle…"

He gently tossed the rock, which effortlessly crossed the river.

"Woah, he got four skips!" Genta exclaimed. "Let me try again!"

The kids began practicing skipping the rocks together as Conan and Ai watched in the back.

"Here, let me show you." Rei said as he put a rock in Ai's palm. He gently guided her hand, lightly swinging it.

"I can do it myself!" She suddenly said, flustered.

"Oh, sorry…" He said as he walked away to help the kids.

"What's with you?" Conan whispered to Ai. "I thought you liked Furuya-san?"

"Wha-" Ai felt a blush creep up on her cheeks. "Why would you think that?! Baka!" She swung the rock out of frustration.

"Woah, six skips!" Ayumi marveled. "You're awesome, Ai-chan!"

"I guess you really are good at this." Rei said.

"Uh, yeah…" Ai said. "Let's keep walking!"

The group continued walking along a trail.

"How did you learn to skip rocks, Amuro-san?" Ayumi asked.

"Oh, I used to skip rocks all the time with my childhood friend." Rei said, thinking about his late friend, Hiromitsu, AKA Scotch.

.

.

.

The group sat down to enjoy a snack break. Haibara and Conan gave each other a nod, ready to break the news.

"Listen guys… the reason we came here today is because Haibara and I have to tell you something."

Conan looked down, trying to find the words.

"We're moving away." Haibara suddenly said.

"EH?!" The kids said in unison.

"No way…" Ayumi began to tear up. "You're leaving?"

"Where are you going?" Mitsuhiko asked.

"Both of our parents want to move to America, and we're leaving tomorrow" Conan explained. "But don't be sad! We'll see each other again, eventually…"

"Hey that's really far away, isn't it?!" Genta exclaimed.

"It's across the world, Genta…" Mitsuhiko sighed.

"Why can't you stay here?" Ayumi sniffled. "It's not fair!" She cried as she ran off.

"Ayumi!" Conan called out.

"C'mon guys, she might get hurt!" Rei said as he went after Ayumi.

.

.

.

'I don't want them to go…' Ayumi cried as she sat under a tree, clutching her Detective Boys badge.

Suddenly, a mysterious hand crept up on her shoulder.

"FOUND YOU!" Rei exclaimed as he appeared before the little girl, spooking her.

"This is so unfair, Amuro-san." Ayumi said as she wiped her face with her sleeve. "I thought we were all gonna grow up together. Now the Detective Boys won't be the same…"

Rei sat down next to Ayumi. "You know, I had a group of friends like you and the Detective Boys. They were the best friends ever, and I would do anything to be with them again." He sighed. "They are far far away now, but I still think about them everyday. I feel sad sometimes too, but I practice the little things they taught me, as my own way to still feel close to them. Can you think of anything like that for Ai-kun and Conan-kun?"

Ayumi pondered for a little bit. "Well, Ai-chan made me her favorite food once, blueberry jam and peanut butter sandwich. I can make those sandwiches when I miss her…" She pondered again. "Oh! And Conan-kun taught me lots about soccer, I can play soccer with Genta and Mitsuhiko when I miss him!"

"That sounds like a great plan, Ayumi!" Rei smiled. "I'm sure they will be happy to hear that."

"Ayumi!" Conan and the others called out. "Thank goodness for these homing glasses, I was able to track your badge."

"Ayumi-chan, are you okay?" Haibara asked worryingly.

Ayumi nodded, giving a sad smile. "I feel better now."

"Let's head back now, shall we?" Rei said.

"Excuse me!" An older man with a mustache called out to the group.

"You all can't be here! This area is closed off." The man exclaimed. "Not your fault though, we're still putting up the police tape…"

"What are you doing here, Inspector Morofushi?" Conan asked.

"Oh, it's you… that boy from the Mouri detective agency. There's been an incident in this area, so it is closed off while we investigate." He explained. "So you and your friends will have to play somewhere else, ok?"

"Of course, sorry to bother you!" Rei bowed as he directed the kids away from the police tape.

"Zero?" Morofushi mumbled as he looked at Rei.

"Huh?" Rei was taken aback by hearing his childhood nickname.

"Oh, sorry." Morofushi shook his head. "You look just like my younger brother's friend."

"Ah… you're Hiromitsu's brother?" Rei turned back to the kids. "I'll catch up with you guys soon, go on ahead without me!"

"Huh? Why?" Genta asked.

"C'mon, let's go!" Haibara pushed the kids ahead as she looked back at Rei.

"I remember you two hanging out a lot." Morofushi said as the kids scurried away. "I'm glad he had a good friend like you around." He smiled.

"I'm sorry about Hiromitsu." Rei sorrowfully said. "To be murdered like that…"

"Murder?" Morofushi raised an eyebrow. "My younger brother wasn't murdered, he killed himself while undercover."

Rei tilted his head. "Why do you say that?"

"I have a friend in the FBI who did me a favor and let me know the details. Apparently he thought he was going to get caught as he heard someone's footsteps closing in, and he killed himself out of desperation." Morofushi explained.

Rei's eyes widened in shock as he recalled that day. 'Those must have been my footsteps… Does that mean he killed himself because of me? It wasn't Akai Shuichi? ' He thought to himself.

"But, how do you know that's what really happened?" He asked, slightly panicked.

"Oh, the forensics report confirmed it." Morofushi explained. "The gun residue aligned with a very close-range shot, it was definitely a suicide."

"Inspector! We got something over here!" an officer called out.

Morofushi handed his card to Rei. "I must get back to work. But please call me whenever you like! I'd love to keep in touch."

Rei awkwardly took the card. "Uh, sure…" He tried his best to keep a straight face, as to not reveal how upset he was underneath.

.

.

.

The drive home was a silent one.

"We'll send letters, and talk on the phone every week, I promise!" Conan suddenly said, trying to make the kids feel better.

"You can't stay a little longer?" Mitsuhiko sighed.

"How about this… we can hang out again for one last time tomorrow, and do whatever you guys want." Haibara chimed in. "We could go to Tropical Land, play soccer… how does that sound?"

"Can we have a goodbye party?" Ayumi asked. "That way, we can invite everyone at school to say goodbye together."

Haibara smiled. "That sounds like a wonderful idea."

"I'll start calling everyone!" Mitsuhiko said as he pulled out his cell phone.

"Ooh, what kind of food will there be? You can't have a party without lots of food!" Genta started daydreaming about his favorite treats.

"Oh, Genta!" Conan sighed as everyone laughed.

One by one, everyone got dropped off, leaving Haibara and Rei alone in the car.

"Thanks for the ride, by the way." Haibara said. "What were you and the Inspector talking about earlier?"

"Oh, nothing!" Rei flashed a smile. "We were just catching up, I'm good friends with his brother. Make sure to keep in touch with those kids, okay? I know they'll miss you guys a lot." He slowly stepped on the brakes as they arrived at Agasa's house. "Looks like we're here!"

Haibara nodded, suspicious of his demeanor. "Of course, I will." She said as she stepped out of the car. "Will you come to the party tomorrow?"

"I would love to, but I can't." Rei furrowed his eyebrows. "I have plans tomorrow, but I'll see you next time, ok?"

Haibara nodded as they both waved goodbye.

'We still barely know each other, after all…' She thought to herself. 'He doesn't have to tell me everything, I guess.' She shrugged in defeat as she went to her desk drawer, pulling out a photo of her and the Detective Boys.

She gave a sad smile as she stared at the picture, focusing on the image of her shrunken self.

'I guess this is goodbye, Haibara Ai…'

Rei finally made it home. Slowly walking to his shelf, he reached for a folder, carefully sliding out a photograph. It was a picture of his police graduation day with his fellow officers, including Hiromitsu.

Rei held the photo close to his heart as he crouched down, unable to hold back his tears any longer.

'I'm so sorry, my friend…'

Whew! It's been a while since I posted. I hope you all enjoyed this chapter!

I'm really excited for you all to see what's in store for Rei and Shiho :D I promise there will be more romantic scenes for them soon!

I have the whole plot planned out, and seeing your comments really encourage me to finish putting those ideas into action. So, thank you for your kind words!

As always, please let me know what you think :) Thanks for reading!