The New Classmate
A few days later, the world was calm and the sunshine was bright, as if everything had finally settled back into peace.
Teitan Elementary.
Conan sat at his desk, propping his head up one-handed out of sheer boredom, his gaze wandering aimlessly as his thoughts drifted somewhere far away.
Up at the front of the room, the teacher held forth on the day's lesson, but all of it was old news to Conan—he could have recited it in his sleep.
He was starting to nod off into tedium, a stray complaint forming in the back of his mind: Man, it'd be nice if something interesting actually happened for once...
Right at that moment, a soft knock at the classroom door broke the quiet.
Conan jolted, yanking his head off his hand and snapping his eyes toward the front of the room.
No way. I think one idle little wish, and something special actually happens?!
Their homeroom teacher, Kobayashi Sumiko, walked slowly into the classroom with a warm smile, leading a small girl by the hand.
"Everyone, this is our new classmate," Kobayashi said gently, giving the girl's shoulder a light pat and nudging her forward a few steps.
Conan studied the little girl with open curiosity. She had a purplish-grey bob cut that reached her ears, and her wine-red eyes were clear and bright, like a pair of glittering stars. Dressed in a neat school uniform, she gave an overall impression that was quiet, sweet, and endearing.
With an innocent, unguarded expression, the girl introduced herself in a slow, soft voice. "My name is... Qiqi. Please... take care of me."
Her speech was a little slow, but her voice was clear and pleasant, and the earnest look on her face as she spoke made her all the more adorable.
A flicker of suspicion stirred in Conan's chest. Who is this girl? And why does she show up here, of all times?
Almost without thinking, his eyes swept over her, searching for any unusual accessory. It was a habit he'd picked up recently—whenever he met a somewhat attractive stranger, he'd automatically check them for a Vision.
But to his mixed relief and disappointment, the girl wore only the Teitan Elementary uniform. No familiar glass bead anywhere on her.
The students below burst into applause in welcome.
With the new student's arrival, the atmosphere in the classroom grew lively.
The Detective Boys in particular were brimming with curiosity and excitement over the girl named Qiqi, eagerly speculating among themselves about where she'd come from and what stories she might be hiding.
"Qiqi's memory isn't very good, so everyone, please look after her and don't be mean to her, okay?" Kobayashi finished, then shifted her gaze toward Ayumi. With a gentle pat on Qiqi's shoulder, she gestured for the girl to take the empty seat beside her.
Qiqi nodded with a slightly dazed expression to show she understood, then made her way to the corner of the classroom and sat down next to Yoshida Ayumi.
Ayumi greeted Qiqi warmly and eagerly introduced the other kids in the class. Qiqi responded now and then—slowly, but to nearly everything Ayumi said.
Time flew, and before long it was the end of the school day. The surrounding students trickled out one by one, and soon there was hardly anyone left in the classroom besides the Detective Boys and Qiqi.
Qiqi paid little attention to the changing crowd around her, simply packing up her backpack at her own unhurried pace.
She had just finished gathering her things and was about to leave—hadn't even stood up yet—when Genta, who'd been barely containing his curiosity at her side, pressed her back down into her seat.
They'd been dying to have a proper chat with the new girl for ages. But earlier, with so many people around, and with the new student speaking in such a shy, soft voice, they'd worried that swarming her would scare her off—so they'd held out until after school.
The Detective Boys introduced themselves first, but before they could go on to brag about the group's illustrious track record, they saw Qiqi lower her head once more, dig through her backpack, pull out a pen and a notebook, and scribble a few lines.
"Qiqi, what are you writing?" Ayumi leaned in curiously, just in time to see Qiqi noting down the names they'd just given along with a few distinguishing features.
"I guess since her memory isn't so good, she's writing down our names," Conan said from a short distance away. He hadn't been able to see the notebook's contents, but he'd nailed exactly what she'd written.
Qiqi had been about to answer, but hearing Conan voice the reason first, she quietly shut her mouth and gave a nod of confirmation.
Headband Girl — Yoshida Ayumi (cute)
Freckled Boy — Tsuburaya Mitsuhiko (smart)
Round Chubby Boy — Kojima Genta (gluttonous)...
Ayumi slowly read out the contents of Qiqi's notebook.
Then she paused, and—over Genta's indignant sputtering and the "pfft" Conan couldn't hold in—read out what came next:
Glasses Boy — Edogawa Conan (very smart, mature)
Teahair Girl — Haibara Ai (like a grown-up)
The moment Qiqi's final descriptions of him and Haibara were read aloud, Conan and Haibara simultaneously fixed their attention on the little girl, inwardly marveling at how sharp her powers of observation were.
The others, clearly, paid those two descriptions no mind whatsoever, having already barreled on to the next topic.
Haibara listened quietly to their chatter from the sidelines, chiming in with a word or two on occasion.
Little by little, everyone learned that Qiqi had once been in a serious accident, one that had nearly cost her her life—and that she'd been saved by a doctor named Baizhu.
Since Qiqi had next to no family left at the time, this Baizhu had taken her in as his adopted daughter.
Recently, Dr. Baizhu had been transferred to Beika for work, which was what had brought Qiqi along and gotten her transferred into Teitan Elementary.
Conan listened to her story, a thoughtful look creeping over his face.
Baizhu...Why does that name sound so familiar?