"Ai-chan, are we going home now?"
"No... I have something to do."
"Yeah, come play with us again!"
"...Sorry, I'm not in a good mood today. See you tomorrow."
Without answering the children's questions, Ai Haibara, schoolbag slung over her shoulder, turned and walked away.
It was afternoon—school had just ended at Teitan Elementary.
She headed alone to Mihua's Second Apartment and took the elevator to the floor mentioned in the text message.
Ai Haibara pressed the doorbell to Hayashi Yoshiki's apartment.
The door opened shortly after.
Hayashi Yoshiki stood in casual clothes, his right arm bandaged and fixed in a sling.
Haibara's expression tensed.
"Come in," Yoshiki said softly with a smile.
She stepped inside, and he moved toward the living room, pouring her a glass of water.
"What's up? You suddenly said you wanted to see me."
"That's exactly what I want to ask you."
Haibara didn't sit down. She walked straight over and stared at his right arm, her face unusually serious—almost grim.
"If Edogawa hadn't mentioned it in passing, I wouldn't have even known you were hospitalized due to an explosion."
"I told you at the cinema, remember? I said I don't want you hiding anything from me."
Her small voice carried a sharp chill.
"...But I don't recall agreeing to that."
"You didn't deny it either, so I'm counting that as consent."
"That's... a bit unfair."
Yoshiki gave a soft smile and reflexively lifted his hand to pat her head—
—but winced and lowered it again. His right arm couldn't take the strain.
He didn't try with his left hand either.
After a moment of silence, she muttered in a restrained tone:
"...Why do you always do such dangerous things?"
"Yeah... why indeed?"
Yoshiki didn't seem to have an answer himself.
Looking at his calm face, that familiar gentle smile, Ai felt a quiet frustration swell in her chest.
That idiot... that idiot Cointreau.
She'd gotten the full story from Conan Edogawa.
He'd mentioned it casually at first, but when Haibara heard that Hayashi Yoshiki had been hospitalized for several days, she couldn't sit still. She came straight to his place to find out what had happened.
Conan told her everything:
After being hit by a car, Yoshiki—despite his injuries—had tried to rescue the driver. He reached into the wreck, with a fractured arm no less... and was thrown by the explosion.
Why would someone from "that organization" do something like that?
She clenched her small fists in frustration.
Why does he still act like a decent person when he clearly doesn't care about some of the victims anymore?
Seeing her so upset, Yoshiki couldn't help but smile. He raised his left hand and placed it gently on her head.
He softly ruffled her hair and said quietly, "I just didn't want you to worry."
"...Then don't do it again."
It was a vague, evasive promise.
But it was still gentle enough to quiet her.
She knew she couldn't change him.
But he'd saved her—and her sister.
She couldn't just ignore that. Even so, the helplessness was suffocating.
She held his hand on her head and looked up at him.
"Close-range exposure to an explosion usually causes internal injuries—especially to the chest or abdomen. It's often invisible but rapidly worsening. What did your medical report say?"
"Extremely serious. All my organs are in danger."
"You saw through that, huh?"
"Thank you. I know you're worried about me, Ai-chan. And that makes me very happy."
He said this with a small, genuine smile and rubbed her head a bit more affectionately.
Haibara, still frowning moments before, softened slightly.
Now that her worry was eased, she finally looked around.
The apartment was exactly as expected from someone like Hayashi Yoshiki—clean, minimal, and orderly.
"Did you clean this place yourself?"
"Normally, yes. But with my hand injured, sometimes Ran or Aunt Eri drop by to help."
"So, were you here just to check on me?"
"...I guess so. Oh, right—I've developed an antidote for APTX4869."
Her expression brightened as she moved into her element.
"To be precise, it's a temporary antidote. It can briefly restore someone who's been shrunk by the drug to their original size."
Even if Pisco hadn't forced her to drink alcohol during a cold to regain her body size, she would've still developed it eventually.
Yoshiki raised an eyebrow.
"...Impressive. Is it only effective for those who took APTX4869?"
"Of course. It only works on shrunken individuals. I haven't tested it thoroughly yet."
Now that was interesting. Very interesting.
What would happen if someone took APTX4869 and the antidote simultaneously?
Would the effects cancel out? Would it destabilize the body—or even accelerate death?
Yoshiki couldn't help but want to find out.
"In that case, I've got good news."
"I have a small amount of APTX4869."
Haibara froze in shock.
Her mind connected the dots instantly.
"Wait... the theft at the research institute—!"
Yoshiki smiled and raised a finger to his lips.
"Will that help with your research?"
"...Somewhat. But even if I had the finished drug, reverse-engineering it would be incredibly difficult."
"Still, if it helps you, that's what matters."
After a moment of thought, she decided her priority would be on refining the temporary antidote. As for the APTX4869 itself, leaving it with Cointreau didn't seem like a bad idea.
"By the way, Edogawa's been really concerned. He even asked Professor Agasa to investigate the accident."
Yoshiki continued to smile.
He wasn't sure whether Kudo Yusaku would catch wind of that investigation through Professor Agasa. That guy had one of the lowest IQs in the original story anyway.
But it didn't matter—even if he did.
After all, Hayashi Yoshiki had already made plenty of preparations.