"Urgh…""Ugh… ughh…""Ughhhhh…"
On the passenger ferry, Conan was hunched over the railing, retching miserably.
Not that he had anything left to throw up — he'd already emptied his stomach the moment they boarded. Now he was just dry-heaving, looking utterly pitiful.
Beside him, Ran Mouri rubbed his back gently, worry written all over her face. "Conan, are you okay? You've been sick ever since we got on the boat…"
"I-I'm fine, Ran-neechan… ugh—" Conan tried to speak bravely, but another wave of nausea cut him off.
A few steps away, Mouri Kogorō puffed on his cigarette, smirking with shameless amusement. "Serves you right, brat. Who told you to sneak into a restricted crime scene?"
He snorted smoke from his nose. "Now you've seen something you shouldn't have — I bet you'll be having nightmares tonight!"
Normally, Conan would've fired back with some snarky retort, but not this time. He stayed silent, face pale, a haunted look in his eyes.
Ran frowned, more curious now than concerned. "Conan… what did you see in there? You and my dad came back looking exactly the same."
Conan forced a strained smile. "Ran-neechan, trust me… you don't want to know."
Just thinking about it made his stomach churn again. He could barely handle it himself — there was no way Ran could stomach that kind of horror.
"Now I really want to know," Ran muttered under her breath. She turned toward Ren Kuroda, who was sitting calmly nearby. "What about you, Kuroda-kun? You looked completely fine — but you're curious too, right?"
Ren gave a casual nod. "Yeah."
Conan perked up instantly, his expression twisting into something devious. "Kuroda-nii, come here. I'll tell you what happened in there."
Ren chuckled. "No need. I can guess."
"Eh? Really?" Ran blinked, doubtful. Kogorō and Conan both glanced at him, intrigued.
Ren folded his arms and began his "deduction."
"Mouri-san used to be a detective — he's seen plenty of corpses, right? So for him to turn that pale… it had to be something beyond his threshold. Something that hit him on a physical, not just emotional, level."
He glanced toward the horizon, lowering his voice for dramatic effect. "Combine that with last night's explosions… my guess? Someone got blown apart. Pieces everywhere."
He remembered the "mud rain" from the night before — how it had splattered the ground in grotesque chunks. He hadn't looked too closely, but it didn't take a genius to figure out that not all of that mud was dirt.
Some of it had been red. Some of it had been white. And some had been… oddly shaped.
"Ahhh!" Ran's face went white. She clapped her hands over her ears. "Stop! I don't want to hear it!"
Even the idea made her stomach turn.
Kogorō gave a dry laugh, though the tremor in his voice betrayed him. "Kid's sharper than he looks."
He wasn't wrong. The scene had been a nightmare. Even the hardened officers had stumbled out vomiting, forced to keep working through the stench and gore.
"It really was… awful," Conan murmured, shuddering at the memory. If he'd known what was waiting behind that police tape, he never would've gone.
Ren just smiled faintly, saying nothing more.
As the ferry rocked gently across the sea, Ren opened his System menu in the corner of his vision.
[Mission: Cumulative kills – 100.][Current progress: 43.]
He sighed. "Only forty-three, huh?"
He'd thought the C4 blast at Kuroiwa's mansion would've netted him at least half his quota — all those disguised "residents" wiped out in one go.
Apparently, the System didn't count them all.
What a waste.
Big operations like that didn't come around often. If only he'd received the mission before the villa raid — that place alone had held over a hundred people.
He shook his head. Too bad.
Monday, lunch break.Teitan High School, Class 2-B.
Ran was chatting animatedly with Sonoko Suzuki, recounting what had happened on Tsukikage Island.
"It was seriously terrifying," Ran said, her voice low. "The explosions were so loud, I thought it was an earthquake."
Sonoko's eyes went wide. "Explosions? On an island?! What kind of place is that — a war zone?"
"Right? I still get chills thinking about it," Ran admitted.
Sonoko leaned closer. "So what caused it?"
Ran shrugged. "No idea. I didn't really ask about the details."
Ren, who was sitting nearby, joined in casually. "Akemi-san's still on the island. I talked to her this morning — she said it was probably an internal conflict between drug traffickers."
He said it smoothly, as if it were a simple rumor, but in truth, the line was deliberate. Since Akemi now knew who he really was, it was safer for their ongoing contact to look completely innocent.
"Drug traffickers?!" Sonoko gasped. "What the heck is going on with that place?!"
Ran shook her head firmly. "I'm never going back there again."
"Same here," Sonoko agreed. Then, brightening, she grinned. "Next time, let's go to Izu instead! Hot springs, beaches, way safer!"
Ran's eyes lit up. "That actually sounds really nice!"
Sonoko turned eagerly to Ren. "You in?"
Ren smiled. "Sure. I've never been to Izu before — count me in."
Akemi would be staying behind on the island for at least a week, helping Narumi Asai recover the gold when the investigation cooled down. Until then, Ren had time to spare.
"Perfect!" Sonoko clapped her hands, already pulling out her phone. "Okay, I'll plan everything. Oh! And I found this amazing omelet-rice restaurant online — how about we go there after school?"
Ran gave an apologetic smile. "Sorry, Sonoko. I can't today — I promised my mom we'd have afternoon tea together."
Sonoko's face fell — for exactly one second. Then she brightened again. "Then it's perfect! That means Kuroda-kun and I can go together!"
Ren chuckled, shaking his head slightly. Her enthusiasm was almost contagious. "Alright, sounds good. Let's go after school — we'll send Ran a photo to make her jealous."
"You two are terrible!" Ran laughed, half-complaining, half-amused. "Fine, but you owe me next time!"
That evening, Ren and Sonoko stepped out of the restaurant, full but unimpressed.
"The plating looked great," Ren said honestly, "but the flavor was pretty average."
"Yeah," Sonoko agreed, wrinkling her nose. "Not as good as that little place near Beika Station."
"Guess we won't be coming back," Ren said dryly.
They both laughed, strolling down the busy street side by side.
"So," Sonoko said, tilting her head playfully, "where to next?"
Ren thought for a moment. "There's a department store nearby. I need to pick up a few ingredients for tomorrow's lunch."
"Sounds fun! Let's go!" Sonoko said brightly. She liked the domestic vibe — it felt oddly cozy, like she was already practicing to be a wife.
When they arrived at the department store, there was a small stage set up near the entrance, where a live Kamen Rider performance was underway.
A crowd of kids cheered excitedly.
Among them, one small boy looked utterly dead inside.
Conan sat slumped in his seat, watching the overacting heroes with the same enthusiasm one might have for a dental appointment. His three little classmates, however, were screaming with joy.
He sighed, looking around out of boredom — and then froze.
There, walking together, were Ren and Sonoko.
Conan's eyes widened.
A grin slowly crept across his face.
"Hey, I'll be right back!" he called to his friends — and before they could ask where he was going, he darted through the crowd.
"Ren-nii!" he called cheerfully, running up to them.
"Oh, Conan," Ren said, raising an eyebrow. He hadn't expected to see the kid here — and experience told him that whenever Conan appeared, trouble wasn't far behind.
Conan turned to Sonoko with an innocent smile that hid pure mischief. "Ren-nii, is this your girlfriend? She's really pretty!"
Sonoko's cheeks went pink, her mood instantly lifted. "Aww, what a sweet boy!" she said, patting his head affectionately.
Ren could see right through the brat's scheme — but he played along. "Not yet," he said with a grin. "But maybe someday."
Sonoko's face lit up even more.
And Conan? He was grinning too — not out of kindness, but satisfaction.
Perfect, he thought smugly. The more I pair these two up, the fewer people there are to steal Ran away from me.