Sleeping Kudo Shinichi... Of course, this time it did not make the newspapers.
Originally, what he had promised Ai was simple: let Kudo Shinichi and Conan appear at the same time, say a couple of things to Ran, and that would be the end of it. He had not expected the guy to make such a spectacle of himself in full view of everyone. Then again, Kudo Shinichi was exactly the kind of person who could not walk away once he saw a case.
At least he still had some sense of restraint. After Inspector Megure arrived, Shinichi told him not to publicize the fact that he had appeared.
He should be grateful this was not yet the age when everyone could pull out a phone and post a whole essay online.
"Eat some more, Conan. Don't be mad, okay? Ran-onee-san has just been in a bad mood lately..." Ran pressed her palms together apologetically toward Ai, who was disguised as Conan, and even gave her some toys and snacks.
Apparently, Ai's expressionless, aloof look had been mistaken for anger.
Ai accepted the snacks on Conan's behalf and shared them with the Detective Boys—excluding, of course, "Conan" himself, who was currently moving around in his high-school identity.
As for the toys, they all went to Yimi. She was currently sitting on the floor in a W-position, working on a jigsaw puzzle. Mouri Kogoro had bought a foam mat to spread over the floor, so at least her butt would not get cold.
The mission still had not been completed this time either, but the kitty knew that was normal.
"Damn it, that stinking brat! That little punk!" Kogoro pulled out an old newspaper and started punching the photograph of Kudo Shinichi from back when the two of them had shared the limelight.
The brat had actually confessed to his daughter right in front of him at a murder scene.
"Finished!" Yimi carefully lifted the completed 10×10 jigsaw inside its frame and held it up for Ai to see.
Kogoro turned his gaze toward Yimi. "When you grow up, don't get too close to scumbags like that. You hear me?"
"Meow?"
"Honestly, Dad, what are you saying to a little kid? And Shinichi isn't a scumbag. You practically watched him grow up too, didn't you?" Ran carefully took Yimi's completed masterpiece and set it aside, then picked Yimi up and moved her over before cleaning up the mess on Kogoro's desk.
Kogoro spread the newspaper open again. "I've never heard of anyone confessing beside a corpse. Far as I'm concerned, that brat was asking for a beating."
"That's why I never agreed to anything." Ran blushed and turned her head away, one hand gripping the drawstring of the hood hanging over her chest.
No matter how she looked at it, it would be awful if, whenever she remembered how they got together—or when their anniversary came around—the first thing that appeared in her mind was the agonized, twisted face of a corpse.
After throwing out the trash, Ran suddenly seemed to remember something. "Oh, right. Dad, you make dinner for Conan and Yimi tonight. I'm going out to eat."
"Going out? That brat asked you, didn't he?" Kogoro guessed the truth immediately.
"What does that have to do with you, Dad~?" Ran skipped lightly out the door.
Because she did not want such a terrible memory attached to the moment, she had decided to give that idiot another chance. The setting yesterday really had been awful, but whenever she remembered that fool actually daring to confess to her in front of so many people, she could not get angry at all. If anything, the corners of her mouth kept trying to rise.
"All day long..." Kogoro muttered under his breath.
The brat who had been playing with Ran since childhood had grown up and was actually starting to pursue her for real.
In truth, Kogoro found it easier to accept than his exaggerated reaction suggested. At least some random blond punk had not suddenly swooped in from nowhere to take Ran away.
He just suddenly felt as though he had aged more than ten years in an instant.
"These two pieces in the background are in the wrong places. It isn't obvious at first glance, but if you look carefully at the lines, you can tell they're a little different."
Ai spotted a subtle mistake in the puzzle, pried the two pieces loose, and placed them in Yimi's palm so she could fix it herself.
Kogoro pointed at Ai in Conan's form. "Hey, hey, hey! What are you doing, brat? Who said you could hold her hand?"
Ai: "?"
Why are you suddenly getting triggered over a seven-year-old kid?
...
At the restaurant.
A little head popped out. Peek.
"Are you looking for someone, little miss?" A waiter helplessly asked the two tiny children sneaking around suspiciously.
"No. We are, following them." Yimi pointed at Kudo Shinichi and Ran, who were seated across from each other, and answered honestly.
"Oh. Just make sure you don't bother the other guests." The waiter nodded and walked away.
Yimi was extremely curious about why Conan had suddenly grown so much taller. Ai had wanted to stop her, but she was also terribly curious herself, and after calculating the timing, she figured it was about time anyway, so she came along.
"Why did you choose somewhere this fancy?" Ran looked around uneasily.
Shinichi smiled and placed a card on the table. "It's fine. A certain married couple abandoned their son and went off to enjoy themselves, so I might as well make them cough up some cash."
"You're such a spendthrift."
"They're the real spendthrifts. Besides..." Kudo Shinichi looked awkwardly toward the window. "This restaurant has a bit of special meaning."
That brat had already pushed him this far. There was no point being shy now, right? These were things he had wanted to say while he had the chance anyway, even if yesterday's rejection had hit him a little hard.
"This is the restaurant where my parents got together."
Kudo Shinichi blushed as he said it. He scratched his cheek, practically forcing himself to look Ran in the eyes. "I was thinking... yeah, a murder scene really wasn't the right place for that. But maybe you'd like it more somewhere meaningful like this... Of course! I didn't plan to say it at that moment either. My head was just kind of a mess..."
This time it was Ran's turn to blush and look away. "Shinichi, say what you said yesterday one more time."
"Woah." Yimi watched their faces move closer and closer together, her ears standing straight up as she carefully observed what would happen next.
Ai was debating whether to cover Yimi's eyes when someone chose exactly that moment to ruin the mood.
A woman screamed.
Shinichi knew that sound far too well. It was unmistakably the scream of someone who had just seen a corpse. But today, he really did not want to deal with an unexpected incident.
"Hey, did you hear..."
A man who looked like a polished office worker came running over to say something, only to notice the two children spying nearby. Since he had children of his own, he decided that a conversation about a dead body was not suitable in front of kids.
The man he had greeted seemed to understand his concern. He stood up and followed him a short distance away. "What happened?"
The newcomer lowered his voice. "Looks like our company president was shot dead by the elevators. With a handgun."
Yimi's hearing was excellent. Lowering their voices did nothing to hide it from her.
"Meow."
This world really was strange. It was as though murder cases periodically respawned somewhere nearby.
Yimi ran toward the elevators.
Ai, worried about when Kudo Shinichi would turn back, hurried after her and reached out to grab her.
Then Ai felt her heart give a violent thump.
Someone from the Black Organization... now? Why are they here?