Speechless for a moment, Yuu Hoshimiya finally said, "Save the drama for later. Let's get out of this TV station first."
Momiji Ooka, held in Yuu's arms, stopped struggling. Instead, she wrapped her arms around his neck, enjoying the closeness as her beautiful body pressed tightly against him.
Her slender legs were bound by the blue kimono, and her small, clog-clad feet swayed up and down, looking rather cute.
Yuu had only intended to skim some experience and send a mentally unstable criminal to prison for reflection. He hadn't expected Momiji Ooka to deliver herself to him to boost her affection points.
Although Momiji's favorability seemed maxed out, it was based on the premise of exclusivity.
To make her one of his "wings," her current affection probably wasn't enough.
But with a beauty in his arms, Yuu felt this trip to Osaka was well worth it—he even felt he should have come sooner.
Meanwhile, in the plaza not far from the TV station, Ran, Kazuha, and Sonoko watched the building with worry.
Before they came out, they hadn't known if it was a drill or a real emergency, so they hadn't been too concerned.
But after asking the staff and learning that a bomb had been planted, even knowing Yuu could teleport didn't completely ease their anxiety.
At that moment, Heiji emerged from the emergency exit carrying Professor Agasa, followed by Mikiko dragging Conan.
The girls looked eagerly behind Mikiko but saw no sign of Yuu.
Ran asked immediately, "Did you see Brother Yuu? He said he was going to find you!"
Mikiko replied quickly, "Teacher Hoshimiya went to the recording studio. He should be out soon."
Heiji panted, trying to catch his breath. "Don't worry, Ran. Teacher Hoshimiya is amazing; he'll be fine. But Professor, you really need to lose weight! My back is broken!"
Just then, a convoy of police cars screeched to a halt, and the Bomb Disposal Unit jumped out.
Inspector Otaki led the team, gave instructions to the disposal squad captain, and began directing the scene.
Seeing this formation, Heiji and Conan knew the situation was serious.
BOOM!
An explosion roared, and tongues of fire shot out from the seventh floor—the location of the recording studio. Countless shards of glass rained down from above; the scene was chaotic.
President Achiwa, who hadn't gone far, was hit in the forehead by a piece of glass and was quickly escorted away by his entourage.
Otaki hurriedly ordered all officers to retreat and called for the fire department.
The explosion startled everyone.
Ran stared intently at the emergency exit, but no one came out. She started to run toward it but was pulled back by a small hand—Ai Haibara.
Ai's pale blue eyes were calm.
"Going there now will only cause trouble. Trust Brother Yuu!"
Hearing this, Ran remembered Yuu's superhuman physique and his teleportation magic, and she finally calmed down.
On the seventh floor, Yuu flicked Momiji on the forehead again.
"Jinx!"
Just moments ago, Momiji had said in his arms: "Yuu-kun, in TV dramas, the hero always gets into danger because the heroine drags him down. Do you think that will happen to us?"
As soon as she finished speaking, the explosion went off, and the corridor they had just run through was blocked by falling debris from the ceiling.
Fortunately, Yuu reacted quickly, retreating a few steps and shielding Momiji with his body to prevent them from being buried.
"Seriously, Momiji, stop talking nonsense. Do you want us to die together in this station?"
Hearing Yuu call her by her first name, Momiji was ecstatic.
Her cat-like eyes stared at Yuu, tears flowing again as a unique maidenly blush appeared on her face.
"It really is destiny! Yuu-kun, as long as I'm with you, I'm not afraid even if we go to the Underworld!"
Good grief, she's even bringing up the Underworld. Yuu's mouth twitched.
However, he could tell that Momiji was actually speaking from her heart.
Yuu wasn't sure if he could tank a bomb blast right now—a point-blank explosion would probably still hurt him.
But in a situation like this, with collapsing buildings and shockwaves, he would be unaffected.
Even if he couldn't teleport away with Momiji, his magical defenses and superhuman body would keep him safe.
His complaint was mostly out of speechlessness; he felt uncomfortable if he didn't voice it.
This kind of love-struck girl was easy to handle, but she could be annoying when she wanted to be.
Yuu quickly stopped his wandering thoughts. He placed the box of Karuta cards in Momiji's hands, then lifted her legs and hoisted her onto his back.
Two soft mounds pressed heavily against his back as he burst into speed, rushing toward the other end of the corridor.
There was another emergency exit there, but the handle was rusted, and no one had been able to open it earlier.
With Momiji on his back, Yuu moved like a phantom.
He heard the explosions from the studio and sensed the flames sweeping toward them, preparing to cast a protective spell at any moment.
With a powerful kick, he blasted the emergency door open and darted inside. The flames surged after them but were blocked as Yuu slammed the door shut again.
Firelight flickered through the cracks but didn't harm Yuu or Momiji.
However, a chain of explosions followed, and flames and thick smoke billowed from below the stairwell—the way down was impassable.
Yuu had no choice but to carry Momiji upward. Explosions continued to ring out, the fire spread, and waves of heat washed over them.
Soon, Yuu kicked open the door to the roof, arriving on top of the twenty-one-story building.
But as soon as they stepped out, Yuu frowned.
The roof of the TV station wasn't made of solid concrete but of new steel and panel materials. These were easy to construct and allowed for flexible studio layouts, but they were terrible against fire.
By the time they reached the roof, it was already a sea of fire, with several large holes burned through the floor, blocking their path.
"What do we do now?" Momiji asked tearfully. The path ahead was blocked, and black smoke billowed from behind, making her cough.
Yuu saw the only path was a steel beam spanning a large hole that hadn't collapsed yet. Without hesitation, he carried Momiji and ran across it.
His speed exploded, and he traversed the steel beam through the flames, reaching the edge of the building.
If there had been a drainpipe on the exterior, Yuu could have climbed down easily. But a landmark building like this wouldn't have exposed pipes.
As for flying down with magic...
There were too many people watching below, plus countless cameras.
It would be too shocking, so Yuu didn't consider it.
In hindsight, it would have been better to use magic inside the station to tunnel a way out.
The station was exploding anyway; a collapsed wall wouldn't be strange.
Momiji was the only witness, and even if he couldn't contract her immediately, he could have used magic to make her forget.
But going back inside now would be hard to explain with so many eyes on them. It would be better to wait for rescue.
Although, the way things looked, waiting would likely mean meeting the Grim Reaper before the rescue team.
But then, Yuu spotted something that gave him an idea.
From the front, the TV station looked like a radiator. On the main façade, each floor had a trapezoidal protrusion.
There were windows between the trapezoids, but each protrusion offered a ledge wide enough for a foothold.
The only problem was that jumping from the roof to the first ledge was a drop of about three stories.
But the fire was growing, and the heat was becoming unbearable.
Thinking of the absurd stunts in the later Conan movies, Yuu decided not to hesitate.
He didn't want to be famous, but he wasn't afraid of it.
If he was going to be famous, he might as well make a big scene of it.
For one thing, the Ooka family would owe him a huge favor for saving their heiress in the public eye.
Yuu put Momiji down, took off his jacket, and used it to tie her securely to his back.
Then he lifted her up again and whispered, "Momiji, hold on tight. From now on, don't let go for a second, understand?"
Momiji nodded vigorously, wrapping her arms tightly around his neck and pressing her body against his back without hesitation.
Then, she let out a scream.
"Ahhh!"
Momiji hadn't expected Yuu to jump off the building.
They plummeted three stories—about eight or nine meters. Yuu landed steadily on the trapezoidal ledge, absorbing all the impact so Momiji didn't feel a thing.
He slapped her butt. "Stop screaming; you're going to break my eardrums. We'll be out of here soon."
"But from now on, my hands can't protect you. Hold on tight and don't let go!"
Momiji nodded heavily.
The appearance of two figures on the station's façade immediately drew attention from below. People looked up, pointing and shouting.
"Look! There are people trapped up there! The fire forced them to jump!"
"It's true! A man and a woman!"
"Oh my god, they're hanging in mid-air! Is anyone going to save them?"
Hearing the commotion, Ran and the others looked up. She recognized Yuu instantly.
"It's Brother Yuu!"
Sonoko frowned, squinting.
"Wait, he's carrying a woman on his back. That kimono... it's Momiji Ooka! Why is she there?"
Everyone looked worried.
Heiji rushed to Inspector Otaki, urging him to deploy the inflatable cushion.
But up on the ledge, Yuu had already begun to move.
Carrying Momiji, he started to climb down along the leftmost edge of the trapezoidal structures, where it was easiest to find leverage.
He descended as if walking on flat ground. With his wingspan of over two meters and limbs full of power, every step landed precisely on the protruding ledges.
If he couldn't find a foothold, he kicked off the wall to bridge the gap effortlessly. His movements were fluid, making it impossible to tell he was carrying a person.
To the disbelief of the crowd below, Yuu descended seven or eight floors in just a few seconds.
On his back, Momiji stared in shock, but her heart settled.
At this rate, they would be safe in less than half a minute!
The crowd watched with mouths agape, as if witnessing an action movie.
"Is that guy Spider-Man? How can he climb so fast?"
"No, he must be a secret agent trained by the government, like 007!"
"Heavens! And he's carrying a girl! That's incredible!"
Heiji and Otaki stared in stunned silence, looking at the half-inflated cushion that now seemed completely redundant.
However, an accident occurred just as Yuu reached the eleventh floor. An explosion shattered the windows, and tongues of fire lashed out.
Yuu was on the far left edge, away from the blast zone, so he wasn't hit.
But the loud bang startled Momiji. Her hands lost their grip, and she fell backward off Yuu's back.
The situation was critical. Yuu abandoned any pretense of normalcy.
He reached out with his right hand and caught Momiji's hand. But her momentum pulled him off the ledge, leaving them both dangling in mid-air, supported only by Yuu's left hand gripping the stone ledge.
The crowd's hearts leaped into their throats!
It looked perilous, but everything was under Yuu's control.
With his physical stats, he could climb down with one hand easily. He could hang there for hours without breaking a sweat.
But the people below didn't know that!
Even Ran and the other girls, blinded by concern, screamed in terror.
Ignoring the falling glass, they ran toward the base of the TV station.
The crowd turned their heads, unable to watch the pair fall to their deaths. To any normal person, this was a death sentence.
No rescue, hanging by one hand with two people's weight—how long could he last?
But they didn't know Yuu wasn't normal. This "danger" was nothing to him.
Momiji, tears welling up again, spoke with finality: "Yuu-kun, let go! If you don't, we'll both die!"
Yuu ignored her. With a surge of strength in his right arm, he hauled the girl up, placing her on the ledge beside him so she could grab the ledge above.
Then, swinging his body and kicking off the wall, he pulled himself back onto the ledge.
The crowd cheered wildly.
"Way to go!"
"Amazing!"
"Incredible!"
Heiji and Conan breathed sighs of relief. As expected of Teacher Hoshimiya.
Stabilized on the eleventh floor, Yuu protected Momiji with his right arm and said, "Momiji, climb back on. We'll be safe soon!"
Momiji wiped her tears and nodded. She wrapped her arms around his neck again, sliding from his side to his back.
Hiss!
This girl really is stacked. I feel it even more this time.
Once Momiji was secure, Yuu released his hold on her waist and resumed his rapid descent using both hands and feet.
This time, it went smoothly. No more explosions occurred, and Yuu soon reached the second-floor ledge. Ran had already set up a ladder, and he climbed down safely.
Seeing the pair escape unscathed from the twenty-story building, the crowd in the plaza burst into spontaneous applause and cheers.
Many people had filmed the scene on their phones, and uploading it online caused a sensation.
Professional cameramen who had evacuated with their high-definition gear were even more excited when they recognized the "flying man" as the topic-generating Yuu Hoshimiya.
They sold the footage to TV stations immediately, and soon the morning news was dominated by Yuu!
"Consultant Hoshimiya in Danger Again! Transforms into Flying Man to Save Girl from 21st Floor! Can Anything Stop Our Super Teacher?!"
"Terrorist Attack on Osaka TV Station! Building in Flames! Yuu Hoshimiya Saves Girl Single-Handedly!"
"Tokyo Police Consultant Shines in Osaka—The Pride of Osaka Castle!"
Short clips shot from various angles went viral.
Especially the scene where Yuu pulled the girl in the kimono up with one arm—a display of overwhelming "boyfriend power"—made countless girls swoon with hearts in their eyes.
Fans flocked to join Yuu's fan club, causing his numbers to skyrocket once again.
Some videos focused on his role as a police consultant, while others, seeking clicks and drama, focused on his identity as a high school teacher.
The teacher-student topic was an enduring classic.
Unscrupulous media and bloggers began fabricating stories about the "Handsome Teacher and his Beautiful Students."
If they were fake, it wouldn't matter.
But the problem was that some of their wild guesses were actually correct...
Only the truly absurd ones—like "the entire female student body and staff are his harem"—were false because no one believed them.
But since no one believed them, the truth didn't matter.
Soon, gossip and scandals overtook serious reporting, attracting massive traffic and public attention.
Through Noah's monitoring, Yuu learned of this immediately and felt a headache coming on.
This was exactly why he didn't want to be famous.
Fame brings trouble.
Being a teacher at Teitan High was comfortable—he had the blonde beauty Jodie as a colleague and several beautiful students as companions.
But now, it seemed his days as a teacher were numbered.
Once people started looking at him under a microscope, his relationships with the girls couldn't be hidden, let alone seeking thrills at school.
Teacher-student relationships weren't strictly taboo, especially with a small age gap like Yuu's, and many people could accept it.
But that was assuming the student had graduated and it was a normal romantic relationship.
Yuu's harem had absolutely nothing to do with "normal romance."
As for waiting for Ran and the others to graduate...
That was an eternity away.
Or rather, once they graduated, Yuu wouldn't need the identity of a Teitan High teacher anymore.
To prevent anyone from using the "teacher-student" angle against him, Yuu immediately instructed Ayako Suzuki to process his resignation from Teitan High.
From now on, he would just be a full-time Police Consultant!
Since he was in Osaka, he planned to develop his connections in the police world properly.
Especially with a few beautiful female officers as key targets!