1 YEAR AGO

"Sherry?" Rei asked as he skimmed through a large folder of documents.

"Yes. You've probably never met because she works in another department of the organization." A mysterious man in black explained.

"But her real name is Miyano Shiho, and it is your job to find and kill her. She is a traitor and must be dealt with."

"This is quite an extensive file, even childhood information is here." Rei examined one particular photo of a small child.

"She has been surrounded by the organization her whole life as her parents were also involved. Which is why it is important to get rid of her, she knows far too much about us.

The boss is counting on you to not screw this up...

Bourbon."

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.

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PRESENT DAY

"What are you doing out so late?" Rei asked.

Haibara shyly backed away while covering her face, putting up her little girl act.

"You don't need to be so shy; I already know who you are." Rei chuckled. "Shiho-chan."

Haibara's scared eyes quickly became an ice-cold glare. "The same goes for you. What do you want with me?"

"Woah woah, I'm on your side!" Rei held up his hands. "A good police officer wouldn't just let a small child wander the streets at night, would he?"

"A good officer also wouldn't try to blow someone up." Haibara scoffed.

"You know what happened on the train wasn't my intentions." Rei looked down. "It seems like we have a lot to discuss."

"I'll pass." Haibara bluntly said as she turned away. "I hardly know you, what is there to discuss? Besides, it's the middle of night."

"I suppose so. My apologies for interrupting your midnight stroll. I'm sure we'll meet again at a more appropriate time." Rei waved as he slowly vanished.

'Hmph. What a stubborn man.' Haibara thought as she began walking back home. She briefly turned back, looking up at her equally suspicious neighbor's home. 'But I do wonder what he was doing in front of Subaru's house?'

Haibara quietly crept back into her home, not wanting to wake the professor. Tired, she immediately went to her bed.

'No point in forcing myself to stay up. I'll just continue working tomorrow.' She thought as she closed her eyes, trying to not think about her interaction with Furuya Rei.

'Hopefully tomorrow will have less distractions!'

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THE NEXT MORNING

"Good morning!" A cheerful voice greeted Haibara she yawned, entering the living room.

"Good morn- Huh? That's not the professor's voice…" Haibara said as she looked around the room, locking eyes with a familiar blonde man leisurely flipping pancakes in HER home.

"You- how did you get in here?!" Haibara angrily stomped her foot.

"Now now, Ai-kun." Agasa came from around the corner.

"Amuro-san told me there was an urgent discussion he needed to have with you. Besides, he's one the good guys, isn't he?" The professor innocently stated as he drooled over the delicious breakfast Rei was preparing.

"Please professor, call me Furuya-san!" Rei exclaimed.

"Barging in here so early in the morning is hardly what I would call appropriate." Haibara grumbled as she sat down on the couch.

"I know, but I figured some breakfast could help make up for it?" Rei smiled as he placed a stack of pancakes with fresh fruits creating an adorable smiley face on top. "These were very popular when I worked at Poirot Café."

"These look wonderful Amu… Furuya-san!" Agasa happily dug into his meal.

"So?" Haibara asked as she carefully rearranged her fruits into a frown. "What exactly do you want with me?"

"I don't want anything!" Rei exclaimed as he took a bite of his own meal. "I just think we got off on the wrong foot back then. A VERY wrong foot. I want to make amends."

Haibara knew bits and pieces of what had actually happened on the Mystery Train, based on what Conan had told her during the aftermath.

"Actually, you got just off on the wrong foot last night." Haibara explained. "That was our first time meeting."

Rei raised an eyebrow in confusion.

"You think you're the only one who can do disguises? Don't worry, no one died there in my stead."

"I see…" Rei was very surprised to hear this turn of events. He was already dumbfounded on how she survived in the first place.

"Well, that makes things a lot easier then!" He happily cheered.

"Indeed, it does." Haibara quipped. "Now that we're on the same page, you can go now."

"Hey, that's not fair." Rei chuckled at the small scientists' sassy remarks. "I would still like to know more about the daughter of Hell's Angel." Rei smiled. "I was quite fond of her, you know."

"You knew my mother?" Haibara's eyes lit up, amusing Rei.

"I'll go put these dishes away…" Agasa remarked as he stepped away, not wanting to disturb their private conversation.

"Yes, I knew her a long time ago. Although we lost contact… but I want to know more about you!" Rei explained. "So are you and Conan-kun stuck as kids forever?"

Haibara was taken aback from the sudden question. "No, hopefully not." She looked up. "I've been working on the antidote for a while, but it's difficult without knowing the full composition of APTX-4869."

"Hmm… The majority of the files were wiped by the organization, but I can look back at what we were able to recover." Rei wished he could be of more help. "By the way, what are you going to do when you end up creating the antidote?"

"I've been able to live a pretty peaceful life as Haibara Ai…" She glanced down to hide her sorrowful face. "But she isn't real. It's wrong to try and go against time and start a new life as if nothing happened."

"Yeah, I understand the feeling. Regardless of how nice it may seem on the outside, it's tough keeping everything bottled up, pretending to be someone else…"

Haibara could tell that his words were sincere. She wanted to know more about her mother, but she felt she would get another chance to talk more in the future.

"I can tell we have a lot in common, Shiho-chan!" Rei suddenly grinned.

"Wha-I did not give you permission to call me that!" Haibara huffed. "Miyano-san will suffice."

"Well Miyano-san," He held her hand. "Furuya Rei is at your service." He had forgotten how good it felt to be so open with someone.

"Well Furuya-san, I must get back to work now." Haibara quickly moved her hand away, walking him to the door.

"Oh, by the way, what is your relationship like with him?" Rei motioned to Okiya Subaru's residence. "Are you two close?"

"Hardly." She huffed. "He is a very strange man that I do not trust. Hopefully when I give Kudo-kun the antidote he can kick that guy out when he moves back in."

"Hmmm…" Rei hummed. 'It seems like she is not aware of Subaru's true identity.'

"Well, if he ever bothers you, just let me know!" Rei bent down to Haibara's eye level. "I'll protect you, Miyano-san." He said in a gentle voice.

"I do not need protecting!" Haibara blushed. "Goodbye."

"See you later!" Rei chuckled as he left.

'What a troublesome guy.' Haibara thought as she rolled her eyes.

"By the way, professor…" Haibara called out as she saw the elderly man walk back to his room.

"Since you decided to indulge so much on those sugary pancakes, you can expect an extra strict diet for the rest of the week!"

"Eh?!" Agasa gasped. 'She's definitely punishing me for letting Furuya-san in…'

Haibara grabbed a leftover strawberry off the kitchen counter. She smiled as she took a bite out of it. 'I guess he's not so bad…'

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Meanwhile, Rei met up with his police colleague, Yuya Kazami.

"You look cheerful today." Yuya inquired. "Did something good happen?"

Rei simply smiled. "Just a beautiful day, isn't it?"

"Yes, that's true!" Yuya agreed.

"By the way, think you could help gather the files we obtained from the organization?" Rei requested.

Yuya tilted his head in confusion. "I suppose I could do that… why now?"

Rei winked at his trusted associate.

"It's top secret!"


Woah! It's been so long since I last published something, but I never forgot about this story!

I hope you enjoyed this chapter, I'm gonna try to write more often now. Please let me know what you think! :)