Conan: No, why aren't you following the script?

After returning home from the Chinese restaurant, Ai Haibara's mood was not very good for several days.

There was nothing they could do about it. After all, they had such relatives who not only disregarded blood ties but also schemed to exploit the two sisters, causing them to be increasingly distrusted by the organization, and ultimately leading to their deaths...

Following this logic, it seems reasonable no matter how Ai Haibara treats Shuichi Akai.

However, she did not do that. After learning about Shuichi Akai's background from Isao Kitagawa, Ai Haibara simply stayed at home, either doing laundry or preparing meals for two.

Apart from that, she didn't do anything else. She even turned down all the activities of the Junior Detective Club.

However, although Kitagawa Isao knew about her situation and wanted to give Ai Haibara some time to calm down, the Detective Boys, who were completely unaware of the situation, did not think so at all.

Sure enough, on Saturday morning, the children rang the doorbell of Kitagawa Isao's apartment early in the morning and swarmed in.

"Hey, Haibara-san, have you been sick lately? We came to visit you!"

As soon as she entered, Ayumi, holding the cake she had bought in advance, excitedly greeted Ai Haibara.

However, the little girl wasn't particularly interested in this. She just glanced at her indifferently and continued reading her magazine without looking up: "Do I look sick? Didn't you say you were going to watch the parade with the professor today? Why are you here?"

"Oh dear, it's all because you left without a word yesterday, Haibara-san. We wanted to take you with us, and Kitagawa-nii is home too, so let's go see the parade together, okay?"

"I'm sorry, I'm not interested in this kind of thing, and Kitagawa-nii also has his own things to do, so if you want to go, you can go by yourselves and don't need to worry about my feelings."

"How can that be done!"

Before Ayumi could even react, Mitsuhiko couldn't sit still any longer. "We're a team, Haibara-san! How can we leave you out? Besides, today's parade is the Tokyo Spirits! Aren't you even a little bit interested in Akagi Hideo?!"

"I'm really not that interested..."

Hearing this, Ai Haibara put down her magazine and rolled her eyes. "If it were Higo, that would be fine, but I have absolutely no interest in members of the Tokyo Spirits team..."

Just as Ai Haibara was about to say something harsh to extinguish the three boys' hopes, Kitagawa Isao, who was preparing snacks, suddenly came out carrying a plate:

"The Tokyo Spirits team? Come to think of it, I quite like the players there. Where are they going to hold a parade later? Can I go with you guys?"

"Brother Kitagawa, you..."

Upon hearing Kitagawa Isao's words, Ai Haibara's eyes widened immediately, as if she had been betrayed.

However, Kitagawa Isao smiled at her and casually ruffled her hair: "Staying at home all the time isn't good for your health, Ai. You've been staying home for quite a while now, so why don't you just go out with me and have some fun?"

"Alright, alright..." With Kitagawa Isao's words, Haibara Ai had no choice but to reluctantly agree, no matter how unwilling she was. After all, the situation was so complicated, and she couldn't leave herself alone at home. Since Kitagawa Isao was going out, she would just go along with him half-heartedly.

Anyway, it's just a change of scenery for spacing out...

With that in mind, Ai Haibara quickly put her plan into action. She ran inside to change into a new outfit, and together with Isao Kitagawa, they took the three little ones and got into the car to set off.

The three kids were naturally overjoyed. Completely unaware of Ai Haibara's thoughts, they assumed that their own persuasion had worked when they saw that she was actually willing to go out. After meeting Conan at Professor Agasa's house, they proudly boasted to him about their achievements.

Meanwhile, after successfully reuniting with Kitagawa Isao and the others, Conan Edogawa was also extremely shocked. However, seeing Ai Haibara's aloof demeanor, he didn't say much.

After returning from Osaka Prefecture, Conan Edogawa appeared much more somber than before. Perhaps it was because he had experienced two murder cases in quick succession, or perhaps it was because he had overheard the conversation between Kogoro Mouri and Heizo Hattori that night.

In any case, Conan, with reason regaining his mind, is much better off than before for Kitagawa Isao.

With Shuichi Akai and Rena Mizunashi already in his custody, and the FBI and CIA swarming around Vermouth like headless flies, Kitagawa Isao feels he might not be able to handle the situation if Conan were to interfere.

Now that he's suddenly become more reserved and reduces the risk of getting into trouble, Kitagawa Isao is undoubtedly happy to see it happen.

After chatting with Professor Agasa for a few minutes, they quickly drove to a street that the parade would pass through.

Conan and Ai Haibara each sat in Kitagawa Isao's car. The two didn't exchange a single word after getting in the car, which Kitagawa Isao was naturally happy about. After slowly parking the car on the side of the road, he told the two not to wander off and to stay close to Professor Agasa, while he ran to a dessert shop not far away and bought ice cream for each of them.

The unexpected dessert made Professor Agasa's eyes light up instantly, but under Ai Haibara's watchful gaze, he swallowed hard, then waved his hand and declined, saying, "Kitagawa, this... forget about the ice cream. You can give it to the children. I'm on a diet right now, so I'd rather not have this kind of thing..."

However, Kitagawa Isao ignored him and shoved the ice cream into his hand. "Oh, Professor Agasa, don't be so polite. I've already bought the children's. If you don't eat this, it would be a waste if no one ate it."

"Well, what you said, Kitagawa, is true... but I..."

Professor Agasa hesitated, looking like he wanted to take the ice cream but didn't dare. Finally, after seeing Ai Haibara snort and turn her head away, he happily took the ice cream and greedily licked it off.

"Delicious! And it's chocolate flavored!"

"Hehe, Professor Agasa, you can eat as you please. Take your time, no rush..."

Seeing Professor Agasa's exaggerated expression, Kitagawa Isao chuckled, distributed the ice cream in his hand to the members of the Detective Boys, and then returned to Ai Haibara's side, skillfully taking her small hand in his.

This time, however, when faced with that familiar hand, Ai Haibara snorted coldly and ruthlessly flung him away.