Chapter 9: Being a Husband Isn't So Bad Either

"The one who took Shinichi is a guy named Shoichi."

"I know him. He's a bit mentally unstable; it was probably just an accident. He doesn't know anything about Shinichi."

"Then what about us?"

"We just continue. We haven't made Shinichi learn his lesson yet; we can't let this plan end so easily."

"Alright, I'll go pick him up again."

When Conan walked out of the police station, he saw that smiling, plump middle-aged woman again.

To avoid implicating Kogoro Mouri and Ran, he said his goodbyes once more and got back into the woman's car.

He had tried to resist, but he was quickly subdued by her.

A sedative had kept him unconscious until now.

Conan woke up in a daze and heard two people talking outside the room. He peered through a crack in the wall to look out.

He saw the plump woman speaking to a masked man.

"How do you plan to handle this brat?"

"Kill him, of course," the man said.

The woman countered, "I've already received orders from my superior to take this guy back for experimentation."

"Now that he knows the Organization's secrets, how could I possibly let him live?"

"But..."

"Don't say another word!" The man pulled out a gun and aimed it at the woman. "If you keep nagging, there will just be one more corpse here."

"Fine," the woman conceded.

The man put his pistol away and said, "Get some sleep. There's a deal to be made tomorrow. Once the transaction is complete, we'll use a bomb to blow that person to kingdom come."

Conan heard every single word of their conversation.

A deal tomorrow?

...

"Mr. Shoichi, Ai, time to wake up and eat breakfast."

In the early morning, Ms. Yuko knocked on the door of Shoichi's bedroom after preparing breakfast.

Ai sat up groggily and looked at the man beside her, her mind momentarily blank.

*What did I do yesterday?*

"Get up, don't be lazy," Shoichi said, lifting Ai out of bed.

Walking out of Shoichi's bedroom and meeting Ms. Yuko's gaze, Ai felt like she wanted to sink into the ground.

*Ms. Yuko won't think I'm some kind of weirdo, will she?*

The entire breakfast process was like chewing wax for Ai, whereas Shoichi showed no signs of abnormality at all.

The thought that she had gone out last night to avenge her sister, only to end up clumsily offering herself up, filled Ai with a wave of shame.

*I'll endure it for now. Sooner or later, I will avenge Sister.*

"Let's go, I'll drive you to school."

After breakfast, Shoichi drove Ai to school.

On the way, he even encountered Yumi Miyamoto and pulled over to greet her.

His driver's license had been issued; Shoichi could now drive legally.

Upon arriving at the school, Shoichi led Ai to meet the principal. Standing beside the principal was a female teacher, presumably Ai's homeroom teacher.

"Teacher, I'll leave Ai in your care," Shoichi said.

"Please rest assured, I certainly won't let your child suffer any grievances at school," the teacher said with a bow.

Shoichi patted Ai's head. "Listen to your teacher at school. Now, go back to your classroom with her."

Teitan Junior High, Class 2-B.

Sonoko was staring toward the office with a lovesick expression.

"Ran, I saw a huge hunk walk into the office! Ms. Mihara went in too. Do you think that handsome guy is transferring to our class?" Sonoko said, tugging at Ran's arm.

Ran was in a bad mood because of Conan's departure, but she still smiled and advised Sonoko not to get her hopes up.

*None of those handsome guys you meet are good people.*

Soon, Ms. Mihara walked into the classroom alone.

"Quiet down, everyone. I have something to tell you. We have a transfer student joining our class. I hope you all get along well."

"Teacher! Can the new student sit next to me?" Sonoko shouted.

Ms. Mihara nodded; of course she could.

"Ai, please come in," Ms. Mihara said to the doorway.

Just hearing the name, Sonoko's infatuation flared up.

"Ai... what a melancholic name. He must be a cold, aloof type of hunk."

But when Ai walked into the classroom, the expression on Sonoko's face froze.

*Wait, what happened to my big handsome guy?*

*What's up with this kid? She must be the handsome guy's sister, right?*

"Hello everyone, my name is Ai Haibara." That was Ai's brief self-introduction.

Ran marveled at the new student's age, then said to Sonoko with a chuckle, "Sonoko, you guessed right. She is indeed the 'cold type,' but unfortunately, she's not a hunk."

Sonoko's heart was broken.

Once Ai sat down in her seat, Sonoko leaned over to greet her, and after only a few words, she steered the conversation toward the man who had dropped Ai off.

"It was your brother who brought you to school, right?" Sonoko asked, seemingly casually.

"No," Ai shook her head coldly.

Sonoko was puzzled. *Was it her father?*

*A "daddy" type wouldn't be bad either.*

"Did he go back right after dropping you off?"

Ai glanced at this infatuated woman.

*Shoichi isn't exactly a good person; you'd better not jump into a pit of fire. You can't handle a man like him.*

"He went back. He has something wrong with his head; he can't stay away from the psychiatric hospital for too long."

The ordeal finally passed.

Ai felt that the students at this school were too immature.

Aside from Sonoko, whose head was full of thoughts of dating handsome guys, and Ran, whose head was full of thoughts of Shinichi Kudo, there was also that bad woman whose head was full of cute things and who wanted to take advantage of her.

This school was terrible.

"Are you not used to the new school?"

Ms. Yuko stepped out of the car and waved to Ai.

"Ms. Yuko?"

Yuko smiled and said, "Mr. Shoichi has something to do at noon and won't be coming home for lunch, so I came to pick you up. How is it? Are you getting along well with your new classmates?"

"It's okay," Ai said untruthfully.

It was just that she had nothing in common with those silly students.

Having spent too much time in the Organization, she had forgotten how to interact with people normally.

...

"Manager Shoichi, thank you so much for your help. Without your assistance, it would have been impossible for my company to go public so quickly."

"Don't mention it. It was just a little help. You are a long-time client of our bank; this small favor is nothing."

"This is my token of appreciation. You must accept it."

After accepting the sincere gift, Shoichi walked out of Room 302.

Feeling the weight of the briefcase, Shoichi was quite satisfied; it was worth all the help he had given.

"Watch out!"

A young boy suddenly popped out, lunged at Shoichi, knocking him to the ground, grabbed the briefcase, and bolted toward the exit.

(End of Chapter)