Interlude

Sunsets and Empty Apartments

Today was movie day. Or, as Genta liked to call it, "the all-you-can-eat popcorn" day. With hands in his pockets, Shinichi followed the laughing children as they made their way down the busy pavements of Beika streets. Spring was coming to a close, and the trees bearing pink blossoms were now sprouting green leaves. As summer approached, they abandoned their coats for light-colored t-shirts and shorts.

"I can't believe you guys traveled without us!" Mitsuhiko complained as Shinichi recounted the case of Isonade to them. Two weeks had passed since the incident. And in those two weeks, Shinichi had been involved in one other case. It involved a kidnapping for which Kogoro Ojisan had been hired. After skipping school for two days, he returned to find three outraged children waiting for him. "Mo, you always leave us out!" they had exclaimed.

They were annoyed by this. Genta more so when the professor told him about the Unagi Bento boxes he had eaten while they toured the area.

"It was a murder case, guys, not a holiday," Shinichi responded when they protested.

"But you've got to solve it! You've even identified the culprit. Hakase told us!" Genta's voice booming in the crowded streets."Are we even detective boys anymore?" he continued, hands on his hips, as the children stared at the shrunken detective and scientist. Speaking of the auburn-haired girl, Shinichi eyed her as she yawned, rubbing her tired eyes. Rather than help, Haibara remained in the shadows while the children bugged him.

"Late night?"

"What do you think?"

"You could have helped me with them, you know."

"Ara, when does the great detective need any help from this mad scientist?" she quips, and he frowns. As they walked, they followed the children, who were now talking excitedly about watching the recently released Gomera movie.

"Big monsters, fighting even bigger monsters, what's not to like?"

It was not her cup of tea. He knows that for a fact. Often, he finds her sleeping in the darkness of the cinema as the children cheered at the movie. Haibara prefers watching documentaries and soap operas about people backstabbing each other. "The wonders of human nature," she had said to him once, and he could only scoff at the movie she had been watching during one of his visits to the professor's house. An exciting psychological thriller featuring a group of school girls plotting to murder each other.

Looking at the posters outside the old cinema he had visited since he was seven, he commented, "We can always watch another movie if you like." Now, the building stands a stark lime green among the modern buildings of Beika city.

To put it simply. It was hideous. "I'm not a kid. I won't deny the children the chance to watch Gomera just because I can't stand it," Haibara looks disdainfully at a poster of a gigantic lizard breathing down on an insect.

But you do look like one.

"However, if you wanted to watch another movie, you could always suggest it," she replied. Shinichi snorted at the sly Cheshire smirk that had appeared on her lips. "I enjoy Gomera very much," he said. "It's not like—"

He stumbled when he saw her gesturing to one of the riskier-looking posters. It featured a rising Japanese actress. Mikado Akino—a 26-year-old bombshell with long chestnut brown hair, big bright blue eyes, and a curvy voluptuous body. Wearing a tight leather suit, she sat across a Harley Davidson, gun in one hand and book in the other.

"Isn't this the adaptation of the book you were reading?" Haibara teased.

"To each his own," Shinichi responded as she chuckled, gazing intently at the poster.

"How do you think she drives that motorcycle?" Shinichi regarded it, noting that the actress was holding items in both of her hands.

"Using her mouth?" Haibara suggested, and a snort of laughter escaped his lips.

"It's just a poster Haibara. It's not meant to be taken literally," he chuckled, and she shrugged.

"What are you two doing? Come on!" Genta shouts at them from the entrance. Holding out his hands to the ticket counter. "Five children's tickets please!" he exclaimed excitedly. The cashier gives a practiced customer service smile, handing the tickets to the children. They pulled them, Mitsuhiko and Ayumi following Genta to the snacks counter.

"Ai-chan, aren't you going to get anything?" Ayumi asked the shrunken scientist, who was hanging back. The girl smiled slightly at Ayumi. Shinichi noticed the unusually concerned expression on the child's face. "I'm fine, and I'm not hungry; I had a heavy breakfast," Haibara reassured the children who had been pestering her.

"You're not lying, are you?" Genta continued.

"Haibara-san, dieting is not good," Mitsuhiko told her. Shinichi looked at the children, puzzled. It wasn't as if he hadn't noticed. But why were they worried? Something must have happened during the two days he was away with Kogoro Ojisan and Ran.

The movie was as expected. A loud, mindless movie about monsters versus monsters.

"So, how was it?" Shinichi inquired.

Yawning, she stretched as they exited the cinema. The children chattered excitedly ahead.

"What?"

"Did you enjoy the movie?" Shinichi smirked while she shrugged.

"I guess it was alright," she responded as he pointed to the drool on her lips.

"Maybe you ought to wipe that off before Mitsuhiko interrogates you about the plot," he chuckled as she scowled.

They followed Genta, who led them to the pavement beside Beika's River. The skies above were orange with the coming evening. In the grassy sloped patches near the silently flowing river were butterflies. They fluttered towards a red steel bridge crossing the river in the distance. "Crayfish!" was the boy's latest fascination. "We're going to catch crayfish tomorrow," he announced. The boy raced down the grassy slopes towards the river.

"Can I skip-" Haibara began, but the children stopped her.

"You can't worm your way out of this, Haibara," Genta frowns, "it's a detective boys' activity."

"That's what they said," Shinichi teased as she sighed. "I see…"

Haibara strolled ahead with hands held behind her back as Genta and Mitsuhiko sprinted down the banks. Shinichi relaxed as Ayumi walked alongside him. An innocent face was framed by shoulder-length black hair and blue eyes looking ahead at the shrunken scientist. Again, he noticed Ayumi's distress and couldn't help himself.

"Ayumi-chan," he asked, "what's wrong?"

"Nothing," she said rather quickly.

"What happened? You can't keep it from me," Shinichi insisted as the little girl fidgeted nervously with the ribbon on her shirt.

"It's Ai-chan. Is she sick?"

"Huh?" Shinichi asked, stunned at the news. He tilts his head in question, looking at her, and she leans forward, "Ai-chan...was crying."

Crying?

"Eh, not crying, but tearing up. Well, not really, but she was sad, that's for sure," Ayumi reveals.

"What happened exactly?"

"Well, while you were gone, Genta and Mitsuhiko-kun wanted to play soccer, so we went to a nearby park," she said. "And Ai-chan wanted to rest. So we played, and she sat by the side."

"Ayumi-chan?"

"She was lying on the grass," the girl glanced at Haibara. "We shouted for her to join us, but she didn't respond, so Ayumi decided to go get her."

"But when Ayumi saw her, she had her hands over her eyes like this," the girl demonstrated by lifting her arm up, covering her eyes with it. "...Ai-chan looked as if she was in pain. When Ayumi asked Ai-chan if she was okay, she couldn't answer."

The revelation was disheartening, and Shinichi was again reminded of the unyielding grief that resides inside the shrunken scientist.

"Of course, Genta had to pester her a little more, and Ayumi-chan finally convinced her to play soccer with us, but," Mitsuhiko interrupts the conversation.

"She was slower than usual, and she—" Genta appeared beside them, scratching the back of his head. "She left halfway."

"Ai-chan didn't look very well, so we decided to follow her," Ayumi continued.

"But Haibara-san commanded us to leave her alone," Mitsuhiko concluded. "She is really scary when she does that."

"So, Conan-kun," Genta muttered, "Is Haibara sick or something?"

With troubled looks, the children glanced at him. Just nine years old and already so perceptive. They have always been this way. "Why didn't you tell me sooner?"

"Because you're always arguing with Haibara-san," Mitsuhiko told him.

"That's not true."

"We want to help Ai-chan. She isn't sick, right?"

"No," Shinichi answered.

"So we will spend more time with her then." Mitsuhiko declared.

"Yes, yes. Kaa-chan once said that if you want to cheer someone up, you have to be with them," Genta nodded his head in agreement.

She may be more annoyed, though. Shinichi smiled a bit as the children giggled. He was moved by the gestures. Friends that he would never have as Kudou Shinichi. They genuinely cared. A little family that he had shaped with Haibara. Their childlike innocence was enough to melt the ice that was Sherry.

"Speaking of which, where is she?"

Mitsuhiko points to the girl walking ahead. There she stood alone on a dirt path. Blood orange hues glowed in the setting sun. A nostalgic vibe pervaded the scene. The wind blew through auburn hair. Across a golden orange river, blank eyes stared.

A moment of loneliness entered Shinichi's heart, and he paused. The children seemed to sense it as well.

"Oi, Haibara!" Genta called out. "Wait up!"

They were now a long distance away from the girl. A large gap appeared suddenly from the depths, like a gaping hole. It made Shinichi slightly uneasy. He remembered his nightmare in Matsuda—of a girl dead, with a bullet wound to the head. Her life—taken by a silver-haired beast that he was powerless against.

Shinichi was suddenly alarmed by the rift that seemed to have manifested so rapidly.

"Haibara," he reached out to her.

She did not stop, nor did she appear to hear him. And his pace quickened involuntarily.

"Conan-kun, what's wrong?" Ayumi asked.

"I don't know. I'm not sure, but something is amiss."

Concern filled the children's expressions, and they, too, sped up.

"Haibara!" Genta yelled, trying to catch up to her. Yet, the distance seemed to be increasing between them. Haibara appeared to be getting further and further away.

"Haibara-san!" Mitsuhiko shouted, and they began running.

As the sun set across the river, hues of orange were painted on the surface. Reflections were strewn across the bridge, shadows extending across dirt paths, and grass rustling in the evening breeze. Everything about the scene seems surreal.

It felt as if...she might disappear.

"Ai-chan!" Ayumi yelled desperately. It pierced through the dreamlike ambiance. Haibara froze in her tracks, staring at them with confusion and irritation.

"What is it?" she was confused by their actions, and her eyes widened as Ayumi hugged her.

"What happened?" Haibara questioned. The boys clung to her shoulders while Shinichi slipped a hand into hers. Taking hold of her other hand, Ayumi pulled her along.

"Okay, what's going on?"

They huddled around her as she struggled.

"Let me go," she protested, slightly annoyed by the sudden group hug.

"No!" Ayumi exclaimed, and Haibara frowned.

"Never!" Mitsuhiko emphasized.

"Kaa-chan said friends have to stick together. We're not going anywhere, Haibara," Genta chimed. The children give her their widest grins, and she turns to Shinichi, vexed by the situation.

"Haibara," Shinichi whispered, "Let's go home."

The operation, despite the difficulties, was successful. Entering the apartment, Shuuichi Akai noticed that it was deserted. On a single wooden shelf stood a single photograph. Two young women appeared in it. A raven-haired woman was grinning widely, her hands encircling a teenage auburn-haired girl looking at her sister with a passive smile. He reached for the photograph, smiling bitterly before placing it in his jacket. All that remained of Akemi Miyano was this. Her old apartment had been completely destroyed by the damnable Organization.

Akai closed his eyes, still feeling the ghost of the woman haunting the apartment. An apartment that belonged to her sister—Miyano Shiho. With a deep sigh, he braced himself, studying the surroundings. Despite being located in a wealthy part of Tokyo, it was modest in design. Apart from a metallic table, a white bed by the window, and a shelf filled with organic and biochemical texts, the room was largely bare. A crooked smile appears as Akai opened the drawers, revealing a few outfits, mostly lab coats.

A shrunken scientist had an empty room that said nothing about her personality. He knew the organization to be cold, but Akemi was at least given some freedom. He visited her house once, and there were many stuffed toys. The woman loves anything cute. She had a bubbly personality, which was reflected in her décor. Shiho's apartment, however, was empty, and he was once again reminded of the stark difference in treatment between the two young women.

"We have recovered the thumb drive, Shuu," Jodie appeared shortly after. The grim look on her lips softened when she saw him gazing at another picture Shiho had kept in her cupboard.

There was a picture of two young girls, one older and the other only five. Jodie reached for his shoulder, giving it a reassuring squeeze. "She's in a better place now," the blonde-haired woman tries to comfort him, but he can only nod. This was not the time to ruminate over a woman he loved.

With a heavy heart, he approached the metallic table. Pausing, he gazed dismayed at the silver hair he discovered when he slides open the drawer. Jodie shrank back a little as he reached for the small black book.

"What is this?"

"Part of his game. He was here," Akai answered. A silver-haired monster named Gin— the beast that looks like a man. Akai knew of the man's psychological taunts. This monster was skilled at digging into his psyche.

"Dai-chan," Akemi had said, "Please protect my sister. Promise me."

He remembered it clearly and was gripped by pain. While opening the book, he gasps. The revelation was too much to handle, anger swept through him, and Akai snapped the door shut.

"Shuu? What's wrong?" Jodie asked as Akai slammed the table, scaring the woman for a moment.

That beast! He closed his eyes, trying to control himself, but he couldn't. Blood rushed through his body.

No. It couldn't be. It just couldn't be!

Grabbing the book, he stuffs it inside the jacket.

"Shuu, what is going on?"

Akemi knew. He pauses for a moment, and pain stabs through his chest. He couldn't save her. He had failed both of them.

"Shuu! Where are you going!" Jodie calls out to him, but he slaps her hand away. She glares at him. Akai couldn't answer; all he could see was the ghost of Akemi calling out to him with tears in her eyes. The guilt overtook him, and he left the apartment building, walking down the corridors.

That detective kid needed to know. Akai needed to tell him.

"Akemi."

His destination set, he made a move.

Next chapter: Arc 2 Part 2 :D

We finally reached it :D - Sherry's past.