Title: The Skating Rink Mystery
Fandom: Detective Conan
Characters: Conan, Ai, Genta, Mitsuhiko, Ayumi
Rating: G
Word Count: 1,010
Summary: Haibara's not happy when they go to the skating rink, and Conan is determined to find out why.

The Skating Rink Mystery

Conan tightened the laces of his skates as he half-listened to the chatter of the children around him. Their class was on a trip to Beika City’s rink, and everyone was in a good mood. At least, everyone except Haibara.

He straightened and reached for the helmet on the bench beside him, glancing at her as he did so. She had been frowning slightly every since they arrived at the rink, and the combined efforts of the other Detective Boys hadn’t made her reveal what was wrong. She didn’t seem sick, he thought, and if Haibara didn’t like something she usually said so instead of stewing about it.

Strapping on his helmet – he’d rather not wear it but their teacher had insisted everyone have one – he stood up, wobbling slightly before he found his new centre of gravity. He hadn’t skated in a while, but he was confident his skills would come back to him after a bit of practice.

Genta and Mitsuhiko were already making their way out the door, the latter half-supporting the former as he swayed back and forth. Conan smiled at that, predicting a fall before their reached the ice. Ayumi was having trouble with the buckle of her helmet, so he went over to see if he could help.

“Conan-kun, can you fix the straps for me?” she asked shyly, tipping her head back.

“Sure,” he agreed, fiddling with them for a moment before stepping back. “How’s that?”

She tipped her head back and forth a few times then beamed at him. “It’s great! Thank you, Conan-kun!”

“You’re welcome, Ayumi-chan.” He smiled and helped her stand up, steadying her until she figured out how to balance on her skates. “Don’t take big steps until you get used to the skates,” he reminded her, getting a vigorous nod in return.

“Ok! But I’m going to wait until Ai-chan is ready, so you go on ahead,” she told him, gesturing towards the door.

“Alright.” Haibara had her skates on as he passed her, so he figured they wouldn’t be far behind him. He met some of his classmates in the hallway between the dressing rooms and the ice, most of them bracing themselves against the wall as they walked. He hid a smile as he strode by, thankful that his parents taught him to skate at a young age. It didn’t take him long to reach the rink, and to his surprise, Genta and Mitsuhiko were already skating, albeit slowly.

“Hey, Conan!” Genta called, nearly toppling over as he waved at him. “Where’s Ayumi and Haibara?”

“They’ll be here soon!” Conan called back, stepping onto the ice. He waited for a classmate to pass by, then pushed off, gliding smoothly across the frozen surface. His first lap of the rink was slow as he got used to the feeling of skating and the movement of his arms and legs. He grinned at Genta as he passed him, the boy having fallen while attempting to stop. He wasn’t hurt though, and a glance back showed him scrambling to his feet.

Conan sped up as he started his second lap, moving away from the boards and into the middle of the rink. It was less crowded there, but he was still careful to keep an eye out for any stray child that crossed his path. Even so, he had to weave around a few classmates, but no one seemed to mind. He spotted Ayumi and Haibara at the entrance to the rink on his third go around, the slight frown still firmly on the latter’s face. Sighing, he decided to get to the bottom of the matter and slowed, skating over to meet the pair. Genta and Mitsuhiko converged on them as well, clinging onto the boards in order to stop.

“What took you, Ayumi?” Genta complained, pouting at his friend.

“I decided to wait until Ai-chan was ready!” she shot back.

“Sorry, we should have waited...” Mitsuhiko said sheepishly, giving the girls a hesitant smile.

“Yeah, you should have!” Ayumi frowned at them, then smiled. “But we’re here now, so let’s skate!”

“Yeah!”

“Let’s go!”

The three moved off in a clump, leaving Conan next to Haibara. She still looked dissatisfied, so he waited until she started moving before speaking.

“So, what’s wrong?” he asked bluntly, steps slow to keep himself at her side.

“Nothing,” she replied promptly, making him roll his eyes.

“Haibara, everyone can see that something’s wrong!” he insisted. “Ayumi and the others are worried about you.”

“I’m fine,” she countered, sounding defensive.

Huffing, Conan pushed off hard, shooting out ahead of her before swinging around and coming to a halt. That forced her to stop, and they glared at each other for a moment. “Do you have something against skating?” he pressed at last.

He saw her mouth tighten, but she answered after a pause. “I think it’s a silly activity and that our time could be spent doing something more interesting.”

“That’s it?!” He stared at her. That couldn’t be the reason. Had he finally found something she actively disliked?

“That’s it,” she replied calmly. As he continued to stare in shock, she added, “What? You seem very surprised, Edogawa-kun.”

“I—You—Never mind.” Sighing in defeat, he skated backwards a few feet. “You do know how to skate, right?”

“I do. I learned when I was young.”

Ah-ha. If she had learned when she was a child, then there was a good chance she had been taught alongside her sister. And that meant Haibara associated skating with her, and therefore didn’t want to do it in order to avoid those memories. Satisfied that he had gotten to the root of the problem, he nodded and turned away.

“Alright, I’m going to keep skating. See you later.” The other Detective Boys were approaching them, so he assumed they would want to skate with Haibara. He’d rather skate by himself, so he pushed off towards the middle of the ice, determined to get in as many laps in as possible.