Morning, Dr. Agasa's house.
"Nightmare?"
"What's so scary about that Gin guy…" Tsune held his rice bowl, glancing speechlessly at the pint-sized scientist on the living room couch.
According to Miyano, Haibara occasionally woke from nightmares.
The source? A certain silver-haired, cold-blooded killer.
"Well…" As a former low-level member of the Organization, Miyano still found him terrifying.
Dr. Agasa glanced at Tsune, silent.
If he's not so scary, what about those bullet holes in that bulletproof vest?
"Someday, I'll let her meet a guy who doesn't even seem human."
After eating, Tsune dropped that line, grabbed his tool bag, and headed out.
"Dr. Agasa, who's Tsune talking about?" Miyano cleared the dishes, curious.
Not human? What's that?
Dr. Agasa thought for a moment, then it hit him. "I think I know who!"
According to Shinichi, they'd met quite a character in Izu before!
…
A well-fed repairman, in high spirits, drove his red pickup, humming a tune, heading toward Third Street.
"Huh?"
On the road, Tsune spotted a familiar car parked by the side.
Is Beika Town the Black Organization's headquarters or what?
Always loitering around here?
Yep, that car—Gin's beloved Porsche 356A, the one they'd just been talking about over breakfast.
"Thought he'd switch cars by now." Tsune glanced at the Porsche fading in his rearview mirror, chuckling.
Obsessive types often meet grim ends…
"Big Bro, it's about time." Vodka, in the driver's seat, checked his watch and spoke up.
"Let's go talk to that guy." Gin inspected his gun, a cold smirk on his lips, then opened the door and headed across the street with Vodka.
The two crossed without even glancing at traffic. Gin's eyes were distant, lost in thought, while Vodka mimicked his disregard.
Rules? Ignored. Pure rebellion!
Cars screeched to a halt around them, drivers staring at the black-clad duo like they were lunatics.
"Hey!"
"You—"
A driver poked his head out, ready to curse, but met Gin's icy glare and shrank back.
They watched the two stride across the road into a high-end apartment building.
"What a pair of crazies!" the driver muttered before driving off.
Good thing Tsune missed that scene.
Otherwise, he'd have rammed those two lunatics with his truck.
Way too rebellious!
…
Teitan Elementary, Class 1-B.
"Haibara, here's the disk I borrowed. Tell the Doc this game he designed is insanely fun!"
At school, Mitsuhiko and Genta approached Haibara, handing her a disk.
"Got it, I'll tell him." Haibara smiled.
After spending time with them, she found these kids pretty adorable.
"The sound effects this time are unreal!"
"Yeah, way better than last time, right?"
Genta and Mitsuhiko couldn't stop praising the Doc's game.
"Look, it's snowing outside!" Ayumi shouted happily from the window, waving at them.
Unlike the excited Teitan trio, dreaming of snow play, Haibara stood still, recalling last night's nightmare.
She'd dreamed Gin uncovered her true identity.
On a snowy day, no less.
"What's with that grim look?" Conan asked, puzzled.
Heh, did that repairman mess with her again? Her snacks? Or that sickeningly sweet sandwich she loves?
"If I get caught…" Haibara lowered her head, voice soft.
"Don't worry, you dyed and straightened your hair. You're fine." Conan paused, then realized she meant the Organization, comforting her.
Weird, why bring this up now?
By the window, the Teitan trio was debating something.
"Genta, you're wrong. Tsune's car was a gift from some dumb, rich lackey," Ayumi recited Tsune's own words.
"No way!" Genta looked confused.
"He told me he won it in a raffle buying rice!"
Mitsuhiko scratched his head. "That car's pricey. A rice raffle? The store would've been cleaned out."
Then he shared his own version, straight from Tsune.
Conan smirked, exasperated.
Why's that guy spreading rumors everywhere?
That "dumb, rich lackey"—is that me?
"Heh."
Haibara, hearing these ridiculous versions, snapped out of her fear and even laughed.
"Both of them have some serious issues…"
Conan shook his head, sitting down. He really couldn't fathom what went on in those two's heads.
The repairman's weird logic seemed contagious.
Even Dr. Agasa had caught it lately, doing odd things.
Like that day he rambled about building a fire-spitting robot.
For what? To burn the floor?
Good thing Conan stopped him, or the house would've gone up in flames.
And Hattori, too—calling the other day, all hyped about "leveling up" and planning more training.
Overall, though, Haibara was the weirdest.
"Huh? Who's got issues?" Haibara mimicked someone, glaring at him.
You're the real problem, you little lab rat!
"Haibara, what're you guys talking about?" The Teitan trio, done debating Tsune's car, ran over, curious.
In the end, they agreed Ayumi's version was most believable.
A gift from some dumb, rich lackey to Tsune.
No doubt, they'd nailed the right answer…
"This guy says he wants to snowball-fight you three and claims he can take you all," Haibara pointed at her desk mate.
The trio instantly shot Conan hostile looks.
"Haibara, you…"
The detective, now drafted into a snowball war, slumped onto his desk, defeated.
(End of Chapter)
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