[Year: 2016
18th April
Time: 10:00 Am
Shinagawa international school]

The gym was alive with its usual chaos - the clang of weights hitting the floor, the thud of sneakers against the wooden panels, and the hum of half-shouted conversations bouncing off the high walls. Amid the noise, Kai and Kavei stood side by side at the weight rack, the steady rhythm of their lifts almost masking the tension in their conversation.

Kai broke the silence first. "The case they talked about yesterday... that was about your friend, wasn't it?" His voice was careful, as though testing the ground before stepping forward.

Kavei didn't look at him right away. "Yeah," he said finally, keeping his gaze fixed on the barbell. "Daichi still hasn't been found, huh?"

Kai gave a slow nod. "Search is still going on," he replied, his tone quiet against the background noise.

Kavei's expression barely shifted. "Hm," was all he said, but the pause that followed felt heavier than the weights in their hands.

Kai hesitated before speaking again. "But... do you think the same thing as well?"

Kavei turned his head slightly, one brow raised in question.

"About the incident five years ago. With Aroshi-san," Kai clarified. "Do you think it's connected?"

For a moment, Kavei didn't answer. His mind flickered back to the day Kai had saved him - pulling him out of that half-conscious state in the washroom and taking him to the back of the school building as he had asked. That was the first time he had told anyone about Aroshi, though he'd buried the raw edges of the memory beneath a flat voice. Kavei was surprised at himself for even bringing it up to Kai. He wasn't the type to share things like that, yet the words had come out before he could stop them. Maybe it was because Kai had just pulled him out of trouble, or maybe something in that moment made his guard slip without him noticing. Whatever it was, he couldn't explain it.

"I don't know," he said at last. "It became a big deal because Aroshi's parents had money. They could afford a massive search team... but she still wasn't found."

"Yeah, but..." Kai's voice dropped lower, "it never seemed like a normal kidnapping."

"You're right," Kavei agreed. "There were no ransom letters. No demands. Nothing."

"So what do you think it was?" Kai asked, the unease in his voice hard to miss.

Kavei rolled one shoulder in a shrug. "Some kind of lunatic, maybe."

Kai's eyes widened a fraction. "That's not exactly comforting."

"Why? You think it was a cult? Or the Yakuza?" Kavei asked, a smirk tugging at the corner of his mouth.

Kai let out a nervous laugh. "At this point, who knows?"

Kavei shook his head and set the barbell down with a muted thud. "Forget it," he said, the finality in his tone closing the topic.

Their brief stillness was broken by the gym teacher's voice cutting across the room. "You two in the back - are you planning to actually finish the set today, or is this a social hour?"

Both boys exchanged a faintly amused glance before getting back into position. But as the weights rose and fell between them, the unspoken questions hung in the air - about Daichi, about Aroshi, about Kavei trying his best to have hopes for her being alive, and about how some mysteries only grew darker the longer they remained unsolved.

[Year: 2016
Date: 18th April
Time: 7:40 pm
Scene: Kavei's house]

Evening had settled softly over the small house, the warm air outside thick with the lazy hum of Frogs (kaeru) calling from rice paddies or irrigation ditches. Inside, Kavei sat cross-legged on the tatami, the dim light pooling around him as his mind wandered. A gentle knock broke the stillness.

He slipped on his coat over his nightgown and shuffled to the door. Sliding it open, he found a familiar face-someone who was equal parts mailman and neighborhood helper, judging by the dust on his shirt and the tired ease in his stance.

Kavei dipped his head politely, then disappeared for a moment, returning with a glass of water. "Here. You've been out working all day."

The man accepted it with both hands. "Ah, thank you, Kavei-kun."

"It's nothing," Kavei replied, then hesitated. "Wait-come in for a minute."

The man glanced toward the street, as if weighing his route, but stepped inside. Kavei slipped into the kitchen and came back holding a small paper bag.

"What's this?" the man asked.

"Berries," Kavei said simply. "Picked them up today. Take them."

The man's eyes widened a little before a genuine smile broke across his face. "Oh-thank you. That's kind of you."

Kavei waved it off. "It's not much."

The man chuckled as he tucked the bag under his arm. "Glad I saved this stop for last-always a good way to end the day. Thanks again."

"Yeah, yeah," Kavei said, the corner of his mouth lifting before he slid the door shut.

The room was quiet again. Kavei returned to the mat, where an envelope rested in his lap. Plain paper, his name written in neat, almost old-fashioned handwriting that felt faintly familiar.

He opened it carefully, unfolding the single sheet inside.

Dear Kavei, how are you? I hope you're keeping well. How are your friends-Kenma, Ojiro, Narito... and your studies?

'Kenma? 'The name snagged in his mind. 'Who...? And how would they even know him?' Kavei frowned slightly, eyes flicking back to the page as he kept reading.

Dear Kavei, how are you? I hope you're keeping well. How are your friends-Kenma, Ojiro, Narito... and your studies?

I and my husband are still worried about you all. You must be around fourteen now. Things here aren't going well, but at least we're healthy. To be honest, Kavei, we're still looking for our daughter. After we came back home, we couldn't believe she was gone forever. And as a parent... something tells me she's still out there. If you hear anything, you must tell me. My number hasn't changed. Grandmother is doing well-the doctor says she'll live longer than she looks. Hoping to hear from you again.

Aroshi's mother,
Haibara.

Kavei's eyes lingered on the signature, his fingers curling slightly against the paper.

Aroshi's mother.

Why now? And why write as if she believed Aroshi was still alive?

The letter sat in his lap, but his thoughts had already drifted far from the stillness of the room-into the dark spaces of memory and the questions he wasn't sure he wanted answered.

Kavei didn't even think about it-he was already on his feet, reaching for his phone. His fingers moved on their own, tapping out a number he'd carried in his memory for years. Each soft click of a button seemed too loud in the quiet room. He pressed the phone to his ear, heart beating a little harder than usual as the line rang.

After a few moments, a click, then a voice.

"Hello?"

"Hello... Miss Haibara?" His words came out carefully, like he wasn't sure he'd reached the right person.

A woman's voice answered-familiar, but distant, like hearing an old song from a dream. "Who is this?"

"K-Kavei. I'm... Kavei. Miss Haibara?" He repeated her name, a faint tremor in his tone.

There was a pause, then a sigh that carried years of weariness. "Kavei-kun... so you got my letter." Relief was there in her voice, but something heavier too-an old sadness that had long since settled in.

"You could've just called," Kavei murmured, keeping his voice even. "How have you been?"

A dry, humorless laugh came through the line. "Hah... after losing our daughter, there's not much worth telling. How about you?"

"Oh. I'm... alright." Even to his own ears, it didn't sound convincing.

"Kavei-kun, I know this might sound rude but..." She trailed off. The silence stretched, filled only by the faint buzz of the line. "...will you help me look for Aroshi one last time?"

Her words sat there between them-heavy, almost desperate.

Kavei hesitated, then said, "Of course. Only because you're her mother... and because what you wrote in the letter was a little strange."

"I understand. Thank you, Kavei-kun," she said softly. Gratitude threaded through her words, but it trembled under something more fragile.

"But tell me..." Kavei asked, unable to stop himself. "Did you... see me on TV?"

"Oh. No. I saw the news on my husband's phone," she replied, her tone steady but oddly flat.

"I see. Well... I'll do what I can. Don't worry." His voice sounded more confident than he felt.

"Thank you. How are the others?" she asked after a moment.

"The others?"

"Yes-Kenma and the boys. And your family..."

Kavei's lips twitched into something that wasn't quite a smile. "I left the Turners years ago. Haven't kept in touch with the boys either."

"Oh... I suppose a lot happened while we were gone."

He shifted his weight, the floor creaking under him. "How's Granny?"

"Like I wrote-healthy. She misses you and the boys. She still asks about Aroshi... and I give her the same excuse every time." Her voice faltered just enough to betray the guilt she carried.

"Don't worry, ma'am. We'll figure something out. And... honestly, even I don't believe she's..." He caught himself, the last word trembling on his tongue. "...gone."

"Right? Right?! I know my daughter is alive!" Her sudden burst of emotion startled him, breaking through the careful tone of their talk.

"C-calm down," he said gently.

"Oh-sorry. Did I scare you, Kavei?"

"It's fine. I'll call if I find anything."

"Yes, please... I'd appreciate that."

"Bye," he said quietly.

"Bye, child."

The line went dead with a soft click. Kavei lowered the phone, staring at nothing for a moment. That unsettled weight lingered in his chest, tangled with a resolve he hadn't realized was there.

Whatever it took, however far he had to go, he'd find the truth about Aroshi-and give her mother the answers she'd been waiting for all these years.

Next: Main Case Mini Arc