The Morning After the Storm
When she awoke, the first thing Shiho Miyano saw was a white ceiling.
It wasn't a hospital.
Just a simple, spacious room—clean but unfamiliar.
She sat up slowly, her heart pounding in fear.
The blanket slipped from her shoulders, revealing her current attire: a soft, pink children's nightgown.
No surveillance cameras.
No guards were stationed nearby.
That discovery gave Shiho a flicker of hope.
Maybe… Cointreau didn't recognize me?
Maybe he'd just picked her up by chance and assumed she was a sick child.
But reality would catch up quickly.
She had vanished from a gas chamber with high security. Her escape wouldn't go unnoticed. If Hayashi Yoshiki was at all connected to the Organization—and realized a little girl in a white coat was found nearby—then...
She had to act before that happened.
Quietly, she opened the door and stepped out.
She found herself in a room that looked like an office.
And there, on a sofa, sat the man.
He was reading, relaxed, and surrounded by peace.
But the moment she saw him, Shiho Miyano's body froze.
Her instincts screamed.
The same ominous aura—cold, suffocating—wrapped around him.
She couldn't breathe.
"Good morning. How did you sleep?"
She forced herself to answer calmly, her voice brittle.
"That's good. You had a pretty bad fever last night. But you look better now."
He smiled, closed his book, and stood.
He approached—casually, gently.
Shiho studied his face closely.
He… really doesn't recognize me…
A high-ranking Organization member doing what a respectable man would do—rescuing a child in a storm.
Some operatives held prestigious public identities. It made their infiltration easier.
Just as she began to relax—
"Now that you're up, come with me."
Her entire body seized.
The name rang in her ears like a death sentence.
Even though Hayashi Yoshiki hadn't written her in the Death Note, she truly felt her heart stop.
He had known all along.
He gazed at her kindly.
But her blood ran cold.
In her child form, she looked impossibly delicate—short brown hair, pale cheeks, intelligent eyes. Too clever for her age.
But he saw through her.
"Are you… taking me back to the Organization?"
Despair welled in her chest once more.
She'd survived the gas chamber.
Survived transformation.
But she wouldn't escape this man.
She got into the car in silence.
Blank expression. Dead eyes.
She didn't even resist.
If I'm killed… at least I hope they don't suspect Kudo.
But the car didn't go to the lab.
Instead—it stopped outside a small old apartment building.
Hayashi Yoshiki rang the bell.
A man opened the door—Dr. Masanobu Asanami.
"Yes. This child is with me."
Shiho Miyano followed numbly.
Everything felt surreal.
She obeyed without thought.
It's probably Gin. Or Vodka. Ready to shoot me...
She pushed open the door.
There, sitting on the bed, reading—
Akemi Miyano looked up, stunned.
She recognized her immediately—even in child form.
For a moment, neither moved.
Then, slowly, Shiho stumbled forward—numb, disbelieving, shaking.
Akemi tried to rise but winced from the pain.
"Shiho, what happened?"
They ran into each other's arms.
They took turns explaining:
Shiho: the imprisonment, the gas chamber, the APTX4869.
Akemi: the betrayal, the gunshot, the rescue.
Their reunion was miraculous.
After months apart, each believing the other was dead, they held one another, weeping.
It was melodramatic—but earned.
Hayashi Yoshiki stayed away.
So did Dr. Asai, though he was curious.
"Mr. Hayashi… You've done something truly good today."
At first, he'd suspected bank robbery when asked to watch the news.
Hayashi Yoshiki had risked everything to save these sisters.
"Is there anything else I can do?"
"Yes. Please close the door for them."
A Message from the Darkness
Hayashi Yoshiki's phone buzzed.
Sender: Cointreau (Gin)Message:
"Search for her with everything you've got!"[Image attached: Shiho Miyano's ID photo]
Hayashi calmly replied:
"You know my office doesn't accept search commissions."
A few seconds later, another buzz.
"I sent it to the group chat."