AN: A oneshot that I've been wanting to write for awhile, to bring Ai some form of resolution in regards to her older sister's death. RIP Akemi, you deserved better, but instead, here we are.

Grave

Summary: When everything was finally over, there was one thing that she knew she still had left to do.

It was over.

After living with a literal nightmare haunting her waking hours for so long, plaguing her wherever she went, it was almost hard to believe. Some would accuse her of being overly fatalistic, and perhaps they were right- but she'd long ago had since accepted that their shadow would hang over her for the rest of her life. No matter how far she ran from them, it would never be enough.

And now they were gone.

Not all of them, no, but those that remained lacked all that made the Organization so fearsome in the first place. They were no longer cast in shadow, but now had been illuminated by the light, and the light was not so forgiving a thing. Those who were wise would bury themselves deep within the earth, never to emerge again- as for those who weren't, they would probably be caught one day.

But as for those who had been chasing her, as for those who cast shadows so long she felt she might never escape them... they had lost the power to do as such. For what felt like the first time in her life, she was free- and if she had to be honest, she had no idea what to even do with said freedom.

She had thought it would never come.

But it was over. Everything was finally over.

Everything that was, but one thing. It was something that had already been put off for far too long- something that she had wanted to do ever since the beginning, but had not the power to do so.

In the end, she still didn't have the power to do it herself. It became a task that she had to leave in the hands of others- and while there was a part of her that chafed at it, she knew that one way or another, it needed to finally be done. While she didn't view herself as superstitious- far from it, in fact, she being a woman of science- even so, she felt that if it weren't done, she'd never be able to move on.

Nearly a year and a half after her death, Miyano Akemi's remains were finally claimed, and laid to rest.

In the end, she had been forced to leave it to Shinichi, since Haibara Ai did not truly exist, nor could Miyano Shiho ever resurface. Not that there was really any reason to- what Miyano Shiho did not, Haibara Ai had. She'd left behind nothing but a shamble of a life that she hadn't really ever wanted in the first place. While she could never honestly say that she enjoyed having the form of a child, she would be lying just as much if she tried to claim that she did not enjoy the chance to have something akin to a true childhood.

She'd never had one, after all.

But for this, at the very least, Miyano Shiho did need to return. It wasn't as if her sister didn't know this face- the last time she wore it, it had been before the family had truly been torn asunder. But in order to do what she needed, Miyano Shiho had to return, if only for the span of a day.

She still wasn't sure if she would ever be able to move past her sister's death. She had, in a sense, died because of her- because of her role in the Organization. She would never know if they would have agreed to let her go were her rank with them not so high, were she not so highly valued at the time- but the fact remained, that her sister's death would not have happened if she were not.

She would probably chide her, telling her not to blame herself, were she still able to speak. But Miyano Shiho was not a superstitious woman, and she knew that the dead could no longer speak. In that regard, she felt almost a little bit silly about this- and yet, here was where she found herself, at long last.

"I'm sorry that it took so long, onee-chan." The apology was the first thing that came off her lips, and she was certain that Akemi would chide her for that too. "Both to put you to rest, and to visit."

She didn't know much about the grave visiting customs of this country- she'd been largely brought up in America, after all. But she'd been given an overview by the Professor, and though she was a bit uncertain about it still, she had vowed to do her best. Perhaps in truth, there was no need to clean the tombstone, seeing as it had only been planted in the ground a mere handful of days ago, but doing so felt right.

"It's over, onee-chan."

Drawing in a long breath, Shiho forced a smile to her face, grateful that there was no one around to see it. She had insisted on coming here alone, not wanting anyone to see what kind of expression that she might make when faced with her sister's grave. That was for her, and her alone.

"The last trial finished this morning." In truth, she felt a bit silly speaking to open air like this, and yet, she would be lying if she tried to claim that she did not find any comfort in it. "Everything is finally over."

"The Organization is gone. I don't have to hide anymore."

The forced smile fell then, as she reached out, placing a light hand against the gravestone. It was cool to the touch, almost soothing, in a way.

"But you don't have to worry about me anymore. I've found a place where I can live." This time, the smile that found it's way onto her face was far more genuine- smaller, but also softer, more fond. "A place with family and friends. I'll be fine, onee-chan. So you don't have to worry about me anymore."

The words wouldn't reach her, Shiho knew. The dead were the dead.

And yet... in doing so, she somehow felt as if a great weight had been lifted from her shoulders. Perhaps it was simply just because being able to do this, to visit her sister's grave, as herself, was a sign that everything was truly over.

Perhaps it was something else.

Either way, she almost hated to draw her hand away from the stone, to part from here. But there were people waiting for her, down below- and she couldn't linger here forever.

After all, she could visit her whenever she wished to now. She was no longer someone of the shadows, but someone who was allowed to live fully in the light.

It was what her sister had always wanted for her. If- and that was quite the if- there really was some form of life after death, then perhaps wherever she was, her sister was smiling. If such a thing really existed, then she could only hope so.

"Goodbye, onee-chan."