Chapter 59: Haibara Ai: There is a Grim Reaper in this world

Living room.

Kido back-carried the wet and feverish young girl into the house, and after a moment of hesitation, with a slightly flushed old face, he dialed Ran’s number.

Although it was hardly appropriate to disturb Ran in the middle of a torrential rainstorm at midnight, asking him to give a young girl a bath and change her clothes...

If she were truly just a little girl, it would be one thing, but knowing full well that she might be Shiho Miyano shrunk down in body... he simply couldn't bring himself to do it.

Among the people he knew, only Ran seemed suitable...

However, how should he explain this child's identity?

The Black Organization was undoubtedly still on her tail. They might not yet know that Shiho Miyano had shrunk, but for now, it was still unwise to let any wind of this leak.

...

"A child from a friend's house?"

In the night of District 2, two figures—one tall, one short—hurried along through the heavy rain.

Ran held an umbrella, while Conan followed closely behind, wearing a raincoat.

The two stopped outside the courtyard gates of the Western-style mansion, rang the doorbell, and were let into the house by Kido.

By this time, Shiho Miyano had been given a fever reducer, but her condition was still far from good.

It wasn't just a simple cold.

"Just how did this child..."

Ran was full of puzzlement, but she didn't have the leisure to ask further. After shooing Kido and Conan away, she hurriedly scooped the young girl up in her arms and carried her into the bathroom, her face filled with deep heartache.

Kido had prepared hot water without wasting any time.

Taking advantage of the sound of running water from the bathroom, he and Conan managed to rummage through a few of Yukiko Kudo's old clothes.

"Brother Kido, what on earth is going on?"

Conan was completely bewildered.

She didn't look like a friend's child at all. In the pouring rain, looking like that and wearing adult clothes, it reminded him of the first day he had shrunk.

He had been in that same disheveled state back then, except it hadn't rained.

"Could it be..."

"She's probably the drug developer I told you about."

Kido didn't hide it from him.

"Right now, she's likely escaped from the Organization and is being hunted down by them. Don't go spreading nonsense after you get back..."

"It's her?"

Conan's expression changed drastically.

"Why would she come to my house?"

"Probably because she knows you're still alive and wants to ask for your help. After all, her current situation is pretty much the same as yours."

"But..."

Conan's expression was complex; he wanted to hate her, but couldn't quite bring himself to do it.

It was the drug developed by Shiho Miyano that had turned him into his current state, but on the other hand, it had also saved him in a roundabout way—those two men in black had considered shooting him dead on the spot back then.

Moreover, it was Shiho Miyano who had later changed his status in the records to deceased.

A wretch who manufactured poison to kill people...

"Wait," Conan snapped back to reality, fine beads of sweat popping up on his forehead, "If she betrayed them, wouldn't that data be called into question as well?"

"Why are you looking at me?" Kido spread his hands. "Go ask her yourself once she wakes up... Also, you'd better think of a way to settle her somewhere. If she gets exposed, you'll go down with her."

Conan fell silent for a moment. "Brother Kido, can you let her stay with you?"

"Don't even think about it. I can't even take care of myself." Kido remained unmoved.

Cuteness couldn't be eaten as a meal, and he detested trouble above all else.

"Just look after her for a few days."

Conan's gaze was earnest.

"Please, Brother Kido. Doctor Agasa isn't around right now, and you're the only one I can trust."

"..."

"Consider the house rent as her foster care fee."

"..."

It was noon the next day by the time the young girl woke up.

Both Ran and Conan had to go to school, leaving only the unemployed Kido keeping watch by her side.

"Awake?"

Kido was flipping through a newspaper and looked up at the briefly bewildered girl.

Her cute eyelashes fluttered, her gaze cold and detached.

A live-action Ai Haibara... Let's just hope she doesn't drag any massive troubles my way.

"You are..."

The girl was dazed for a moment, then sat up and quietly looked down at her clothes, which had been completely changed.

"Don't worry," Kido said with a light cough, resuming his reading of the newspaper. "I had someone help change and wash them for you."

"What is your relationship with Shinichi Kudo?" The girl vaguely retained some memories from the previous night. She looked calmly at Kido, got out of bed, and slipped on her slippers.

"He's my landlord now."

Kido put down the newspaper.

"You should rest easy. That guy entrusted me to take care of you, and it should be relatively safe here for the time being."

"I'm going to the restroom."

The girl's peripheral vision glanced at Kido, her gaze lingering slightly on the newspaper spread.

The library incident made the headlines, and the police were searching for a temporary worker named Shiro Hiiragi—a dangerous individual who might be carrying a handgun.

Universities had seen the emergence of quite a few Shinigami research clubs...

A well-known writer had died unexpectedly at home.

An unexplainable, massive fire broke out at a certain pharmaceutical factory, and all data was burned to ashes.

Seeing the final piece of news, the girl's pupils constricted sharply, and she walked out of the living room with a faint tremor.

That was the location of her research laboratory...

"The restroom is through the main hall, on both the left and right sides," Kido reminded her, setting the newspaper down with a hint of puzzlement.

Shiho Miyano had shrunk and betrayed the Organization, so why hadn't there been any news about her elder sister, Akemi Miyano?

He remembered that in the early stages of the original work, there was the "Billion Yen Bank Robbery Case," during which Akemi Miyano, who carried out the mission, was killed by Gin afterwards, which in turn triggered Shiho Miyano's defection from the Organization.

Had the plot changed?

"Splash!"

The guest restroom.

The girl stood on tiptoes to turn on the faucet, looking at the face of a little girl in the mirror, her expression slightly dazed.

She was Shiho Miyano, yet she was not the Shiho Miyano of this world.

The her from the original world had lived under the identity of Ai Haibara for a very long time.

Perhaps because she had constantly missed her older sister, the moment she opened her eyes and woke up one day, she suddenly discovered she had traveled back to a time when her sister was still alive.

However, it wasn't time reversal; rather, she had arrived in another parallel world that felt similar yet different.

There were many strange things here that only she could see.

To put it in layman's terms: ghosts and spirits.

The most terrifying thing was the "Shinigami" that was gradually spreading nowadays—though invisible, she was certain that thing existed.

While working in the Organization's research institute, she had read quite a few archived records.

Even her parents in this world had researched the mechanics of Shinigami before they died.

Using the power of the FBI, she had managed to transfer her sister to the United States in advance, protecting her as a vital witness. She wondered how that would turn out.

Until she resorted to her old trick, shrunk, and defected, no relevant news had ever been sent back.

Perhaps no news was good news...

The girl lowered her head, shedding a few crystalline tears, and hurriedly washed her face to conceal them.

When she left the restroom, she had returned to her calm demeanor.

"Good news, kid Kido!"

In the living room, Kido had just picked up a phone call from Kogoro Mouri.

"Next week you should be able to officially open for business. Remember to come over to my place tomorrow!"

"So fast?" Kido was somewhat surprised by the mustache's execution speed.

Or was the mustache's timeline acting abnormal again?

"Hahaha, look who you're talking to! The Public Security Bureau heard my name and expedited it immediately. What really took time was all that paperwork... If this were anyone else, I'd demand at least 500,000 for the agency fee."

Kogoro Mouri laughed proudly.

"Setting that aside, I plan to go see that coach of yours, Yoneyama... Today should be convenient, right?"

"He's usually at the gym in the afternoon."

Kido was in a pretty good mood.

The mustache proved quite reliable after all; those 300,000 yen hadn't gone to waste.

"Are you going to open a detective agency?" The girl returned to the living room after Kido finished his call, looking at the stack of flyers by the table as she spoke.

"I have my own place; I came here specifically for the agency," Kido turned around to explain. "Don't worry, it won't affect you..."

"I can help you. Before entering the research lab, I earned many degrees and studied business management, accounting..."

The girl redefined her own positioning.

"Let's formally introduce ourselves. My name is Ai Haibara now."

"?"

Kido felt something was amiss.

In the original work, the name "Ai Haibara" was apparently chosen only after she was taken in by Professor Agasa.

"Aren't you going to school?"

"Why would I go to school?" The girl glanced at him with mild perplexity. "For the next period of time, I will try to go out as little as possible. I'll have to trouble you to take care of me."

In her original world, Genta Kido was a star who had died long ago.

How truly strange.