With a silent sigh, Kaito Kuroba didn't dwell on how old man Mouri was still alive. He turned to Fujino and asked, "By the way, what are you doing here? Did you figure out my plan?"
"You mean, renting a car to old man Mouri, planning a flat tire here, then using that chance to knock him out and impersonate him for the dinner party?"
"You figured that out?" Kaito Kuroba frowned, looking at Fujino. While he expected it, he was still a little surprised.
"I could hear your calculations all the way from Tokyo." Fujino pouted. "And what are the odds of a flat tire *just happening*, then *just happening* to find a gas station, and *just happening* to have no spare tire? I'd say you definitely tampered with the car, planning this out when you rented it in Tokyo."
"It was a bit too coincidental, I'll admit. Next time, I'll do better." Kaito Kuroba nodded. "But you're right, renting the car was part of the plan. Hmm, just offer him a discount, and he'll pick this car without even looking at the model."
He thought for a moment, then mumbled, "Though I didn't actually expect him to rent a car, since you have one. My original plan was to blow out your car's tire... Uh, I was just thinking about it."
Suddenly sensing the change in atmosphere, Kaito Kuroba looked up and saw Fujino glaring at him with a dark expression. He quickly corrected himself.
"Hmm, good thing you didn't blow it out." Fujino chuckled, a meaningful glint in his eye. "If you had, you probably wouldn't be alive for much longer."
Kaito Kuroba: "..." *I don't believe you'd kill me. But for some reason, I feel like you'd definitely make my life a living hell. It's just a car, isn't it? Is it worth destroying the bond between us?*
*It's fading, it's fading! Our bond is fading!*
"There's a reason, actually." Fujino crossed his arms, looking at Kaito Kuroba, intending to make him give up on the idea of messing with his car. "That car was left to me by my parents. You know they're both... gone."
Kaito Kuroba: "..." *Okay, so our bond isn't fading. Am I a beast now? Damn it, I deserve to die.*
Kaito Kuroba sighed, patting Fujino's shoulder. For once, he empathized with Fujino. "My brother, no need to say anything more. I get it."
Fujino looked up meaningfully. "Are you an orphan too?"
Kaito Kuroba fell silent again: "..." *Why do I feel like you're insulting me?*
He wasn't an orphan. His dad might be gone, but he still had his mom! Well, technically, he was from a single-parent household.
---
"Dad, why are you so slow?" Ran asked, puzzled, when she saw Fujino and Kogoro Mouri return with a tire.
"Uh..." Kaito Kuroba, disguised as Kogoro Mouri and carrying the tire, froze for a moment.
*Question: What do you do when a pure, beautiful girl who looks just like your childhood friend calls you 'Dad'?*
A warm feeling spread through him. He was called "Dad" by a young girl... Heh heh, heh heh heh!
"Ahem." Fujino lightly coughed, silently kicking Kaito Kuroba's calf.
Snapping out of it, Kaito Kuroba shot Fujino a resentful look, then scratched the back of his head, explaining in Kogoro Mouri's voice, "I was just chatting with the old man at the gas station for a bit, picked up a map, and even got a shortcut, so it took a little longer."
"Oh, I see..." Ran looked at Kogoro Mouri. She felt like something was off, but she blinked and didn't think too much about it.
With the car fixed, they resumed their journey. The sky gradually darkened, and the clouds grew thicker. Large raindrops fell, splashing into puddles by the roadside. The white car drove along a secluded dirt road, and inside, curses could be heard. "What kind of shortcut is this? That old man at the gas station actually sent me down this terrible road! If this road doesn't lead us there, I'm going to kill him!"
"Heh heh..." Fujino glanced at Kaito Kuroba. That old man must be Jii Konosuke, right? That old man was Kaito Kuroba's butler, like Batman's Alfred. You could say he was a strategic intelligence officer. And he was an old friend of Professor Agasa. Kaito Kuroba's gadgets were all ordered from Professor Agasa... Thinking about it, was that small detonator made by Professor Agasa too?
"This road really does seem to be a shortcut." Conan pointed to the mansion near the cliff in the distance. "Look, that looks like where we're headed!"
"What 'Twilight Mansion'?" Kaito Kuroba, still wearing Mouri's face, scoffed, "I think 'Vampire Mansion' would be more fitting, wouldn't it? It's built so remotely and looks so eerie."
"Hey, Dad..." Ran looked at the Twilight Mansion, recalling what Fujino had said earlier, and asked worriedly, "Are we really going to a place like that?"
"Fooli— Ahem, the invitation has already been sent to the house, so why wouldn't we go?" Kaito Kuroba thought about it, glanced at Fujino in the rearview mirror, and ultimately decided not to say that word.
He paused, then continued, "Besides, we've already received a two-million yen check. If we don't go, our reputation will be ruined."
"But even so, that letter was still too strange, wasn't it?" Ran thought for a moment, recalling it. "The signature and everything just gave me a creepy feeling."
"You mean that 'God-Forsaken Illusionary Brat' thing?" Kaito Kuroba thought about it and scoffed, "I think someone's just trying to be mysterious!"
Meanwhile, Conan looked out the window, his eyes narrowed. "Illusionary Brat"—he had already figured out what that meant. Kid! He didn't know why Kaito Kid was acting so mysterious... Though he usually was pretty mysterious anyway. But he felt it was necessary to check it out. It'd be great if he could get a kick in on that guy.
"Dad, maybe we shouldn't go." Ran looked worriedly at the Twilight Mansion in the distance. "The closer we get, the more uneasy I feel, a kind of oppressive feeling. If there really are vampires, that would be terrible!"
*Please, we're almost there, stop complaining already...* Kaito Kuroba felt exhausted. Was this girl always like this? Was she really that afraid of ghosts and spirits?
So he said, "There are no vampires in Japan. If anything, at most it's just a mountain hag!" And hopefully a beautiful one, Kaito Kuroba silently added.
"Watch the road!" Fujino suddenly warned.
Kaito Kuroba snapped back to attention and immediately saw an old woman with an umbrella standing directly in the middle of the road. He frantically slammed on the brakes. "A mountain... mountain hag?!"
"It's just an old lady whose car broke down!" Conan glanced at the car behind the old woman, grumbled, then leaned out and asked, "Grandma, why are you standing in the middle of the road?"
"My precious Fiat stalled, and I'm waiting here to see if anyone else passes by." The old woman, dressed in a pink suit, wearing a hat, and holding an umbrella, looked back at the white car, then at the people inside. "You must be going to that house too. If it's on your way, could you give me a ride?"
Kaito Kuroba looked at the car not far away, speechless. *Who waits for a ride in the middle of the road? Old lady, aren't you afraid of getting hit by a dump truck?*