Mouri Detective Agency, Second Floor.
The bright afternoon light streamed into the living room. Ran, Conan, and a snoozing Kogoro Mouri sat on the sofa, listening to Kurosawa Hoshino finish his account.
After a moment of silence, Ran's expression turned deeply sympathetic. "Hoshino-kun, your luck really is something else. This is the third time this month. It always seems to be over the smallest things, but someone ends up trying to hurt you."
"What's that saying again?" Kogoro grumbled without opening his eyes, his voice muffled by the newspaper over his face. "Right, a cursed star. You're like a cursed star."
"..."
Kurosawa Hoshino offered a wry smile. Without a word, he pulled an envelope from his pocket and slid it across the coffee table. "Mouri-san, this is for my meals next month."
Kogoro's eyes snapped open. He snatched the envelope, gave it a discreet feel, and slipped it into his pocket with practiced ease. His demeanor instantly brightened. "Ah, Hoshino-boy, we're neighbors! What's all this about meal money? Do I look like someone who'd let a kid go hungry? Really, you're too formal." He chuckled, giving Hoshino a hearty pat on the shoulder.
Ran covered her face with her hands, her ears turning pink with second-hand embarrassment.
"Hehe." Kurosawa Hoshino's smile didn't waver. He was long since accustomed to the detective's theatrics.
He and Ran had become acquaintances, and the story began exactly one month ago.
One month ago, Kurosawa Hoshino transferred into Teitan High School Class 2-B and moved into the apartment directly across from the Mouri Detective Agency. It was then that his memories from a previous life awakened, revealing the startling truth—this was the world of an anime.
Before he could fully process that reality, a second revelation arrived: a system.
[Host: Kurosawa Hoshino]
[Origin Points: 0 (Acquire first superpower at 20 points)]
[Current Superpower: Danger Premonition]
The inaugural ability was straightforward: moments before genuine danger struck, a brief vision of the impending threat would flash in his mind, granting him a critical window to evade or counter.
It was this very ability that had allowed him to narrowly escape three life-threatening "accidents" in the past month.
As for "Origin Points"? Having consumed countless novels in his past life and combining that knowledge with the nature of this world, the answer was obvious: solve cases and alter the plot—specifically, the plot that should have revolved around a certain high school detective.
Since the main storyline hadn't officially begun yet, and his foreknowledge was spotty for events prior to "that incident," he had bided his time, patiently waiting for Kudo Shinichi to take his fateful sip.
Now, a month later, the wait was over. The protagonist had shrunk. The path to earning Origin Points and unlocking more extraordinary abilities was finally open.
It was from that point on that he'd started joining the Mouri family for meals—a perfect excuse to ensure he'd be on hand for the cases to come. The arrangement was simple: a modest "food allowance" made Kogoro Mouri more than happy to have him.
…
Shaking off his reverie, Hoshino's gaze settled on the small, unusually quiet boy beside Ran—the world's protagonist, Shinichi Kudo, now known as Conan Edogawa.
"Mouri-san, Ran, is this child a relative of yours?"
"No," Ran answered with a gentle smile. "He's a relative of Professor Agasa. His name is Conan Edogawa. He actually helped Dad a lot today with a case about a kidnapped little girl."
Kurosawa Hoshino feigned curiosity. "It's getting late. Aren't you taking him home?"
"Well," Ran's voice softened, "Professor Agasa is a bachelor, and he's often busy with his inventions and experiments. He wouldn't be able to take proper care of Conan. So, we agreed he could stay with us for a while."
"I see."
Hoshino nodded. He reached out and placed a hand on Conan's head, ruffling his hair with deliberate enthusiasm. "Nice to meet you, Conan-kun. I'm Kurosawa Hoshino. You can call me Hoshino-nii."
"…"
Conan stared back with dead-fish eyes, his lips twitching imperceptibly. Like hell I will.
He was intensely wary of this transfer student who had appeared in his class a month ago and was now regularly eating meals with his childhood friend. A nagging suspicion told him this guy might have designs on Ran and was here to poach her.
"Tsk, a bit shy, aren't we?" Hoshino remarked, his tone light. Then, his expression turned thoughtful as he addressed Kogoro. "Mouri-san, if Conan is staying here, space might be a bit tight, no? You only have the two bedrooms, right?"
"It's fine, he's just a kid. He can crash on the floor in my room," Kogoro said dismissively, having already resigned himself to that fate when he agreed to Ran's plea.
"Mouri-san, I have a suggestion. Would you like to hear it?"
"Go on."
"Why doesn't Conan stay with me? I live alone in the apartment right across the street, on the third floor. I have a spare room he can use."
"Eh?!"
Kogoro Mouri's eyes lit up as if he'd seen a beacon of salvation. He had only agreed to this arrangement under Ran's pressure. If someone else could take the little brat off his hands, it would be perfect!
"What a brilliant idea! Excellent, excellent! Hoshino-boy, you're a thoughtful young man!" Kogoro praised, already envisioning a child-free peace.
"Huh?!" Conan's jaw nearly hit the floor. He hadn't expected Ran's father to be this spectacularly unreliable, selling him off to a virtual stranger without a second thought.
Ran hesitated. "Dad, is that really appropriate?"
"What's inappropriate about it?" Kogoro argued, waving a hand. "Look, Hoshino eats all three meals here every day anyway. He lives right across the street—it couldn't be more convenient. If it's fine for him, why would there be a problem with Conan? It's practically the same thing!"
Ran considered this. It did make logical sense. Her hesitation faded, and she gave a small, conceding nod.
"…"
Conan felt like he was internally hemorrhaging. His dream of living under the same roof as Ran was crumbling before his eyes, all thanks to this sudden interference.
He shot a discreet but sharp glare at Hoshino. If I weren't in this body right now… I'd definitely have a few choice words for you.
"Oh, right, Ran," Hoshino said, as if suddenly remembering. He lifted a grocery bag from beside the sofa. "I bought the ingredients on my way. Should we start dinner soon? I'm getting hungry."
"Ah! I'm so sorry, I completely forgot about cooking with everything that happened!" Ran exclaimed, leaping to her feet. She took the bag from him and hurried toward the kitchen.
"Mouri-san, I'll go help out," Hoshino said, following her.
In the kitchen, Ran was already tying on her apron. Hoshino rolled up his sleeves. "What can I do, Ran?"
"Hmm…" She glanced at him, thinking. "Hoshino-kun, are you good with a knife? If you are, you could slice the pork."
"Ah… not really," Hoshino admitted honestly. Knife skills, in either of his lives, had never been his forte.
"Then, could you wash the vegetables and do some rough chopping for me later?"
"Got it. That, I can handle." He smiled, turning on the faucet. The familiar, comfortable sounds of meal preparation began to fill the Mouri apartment.