Shinichi set his things on the small desk and sat beside it, the chair creaking and wobbling as he did.
“What a cheap hotel,” he scoffed.
It had already been a year and a half since the organization was brought down.

The only one who had gotten away was Vermouth. He wasn’t surprised, only extremely disappointed at his great failure. However, he did have a little relief in knowing he didn’t have to be as careful with his identity, she had known the whole time. He kept an eye out for her, knowing she didn’t give up so easily, but in all this time, he hadn’t a clue of where she was or what she was doing.

Now, he just felt frustrated, tired.
Too frustrated to think, too tired to cry any more.
“I’m so pathetic,” he thought with a pitiful, bitter smile.
“Maybe I should have been more honest,”
Shinichi leaned back and stared at the ceiling.
He felt stupid, as if he were intoxicated, and wondered if he should try to sleep instead.

“Kudo,” a voice behind him said.
She brushed her hair back and sat next to him.
“Are you ready?”
“For what?” he asked curiously.
Haibara sighed.
“You’ve only been pressuring me for this as long as I can remember. Should I just have given up?”
His eyes brightened up.
“You mean?”
Haibara held out her hand, revealing a small pill.
“It still has it’s risks, but I’ve gone through several months of testing. I’m not sure there’s anything else I can do,”

He took a deep breath, trying to ready himself.
Haibara sat in the corner of the room.
He fell to his knees, instantly feeling the stinging, melting, burning…
Haibara winced. It was hard to watch someone in such immense pain, but a necessary evil in this case.
She watched and waited for something to happen.
After a few minutes, he still lay unconscious, breathing heavily.
He saw a blurred face in front of him, but he couldn’t make out who’s.
He heard a muffled voice yell “Kudo!” but that was the last thing he heard.