As if fate had arranged it, when Shiratori entered the theater, he was surprised to find that the woman he had seen in the lobby cutting paper flowers onto cups was sitting in the seat beside his.
The woman had medium-length hair similar to Miwako Sato's and wore... fluffy hat and clothes?
"Wouldn't that be hot?" Conan, sitting several rows behind, looked at Shiratori's back and muttered softly.
That kind of clothing did make someone look cute. Its soft silhouette easily conveyed a harmless, non-threatening air, but it still stood out among a theater full of people dressed in ordinary spring clothes.
"Maybe she's the kind of woman who thinks being cute is enough," Ai Haibara said quietly, propping up her chin. "Like the kind who wears short skirts even in winter."
"That's trying way too hard... Look, she probably can't stand the heat anymore."
As the two of them discussed it, the woman stood and passed by Hitoshi Shiratori, who had just taken the seat beside her.
Shiratori's attention was entirely captured by the coincidence of her unexpectedly appearing in the adjacent seat. He had not even placed his Coke in the cup holder yet.
As the woman shoved urgently toward the front, the Coke in Shiratori's hand was immediately knocked flying and crashed toward the floor.
"Eh...!" Shiratori's eyes widened, too slow to react.
He was not particularly concerned about the Coke itself. His gaze was fixed entirely on the cherry blossoms around the rim of the cup.
That string of cherry blossoms was identical to the exquisite, adorable decoration in his memories, as though it had been lifted straight out of them.
Watching it fall now, he even had the illusion that fleeting time he could not grasp was slipping through his fingers...
He reached out, but