Beika Town, Kisaki Eri's home.
Several days had passed since the incident on Tsukikage Island. In the end, the autopsies showed nothing more than heart problems, with no toxic substances detected. No matter how bizarre it was, the whole thing could only be written off as what goes around comes around. If the case had been treated as a major investigation, it might well have become one for the history books.
When Kisaki Eri was busy, Yimi would go to Kogoro's place with Conan after school. But sharing a bed with Ran while kicking Conan over to Kogoro's bed was not especially convenient.
Her real permanent home in this world was still Kisaki Eri's place. Even after Eri bought her a child's bed, though, Yimi still had a habit of crawling into other people's blankets.
Looking at the little girl sleeping on her stomach with her chin resting on the pillow, Kisaki Eri wrapped an arm around her and rolled her over. Then she realized that lying on her back would squash her tail. But developing a habit of sleeping on one side all night without turning over was not especially healthy or comfortable either...
Kisaki Eri, who had experience raising one daughter and seeing one cat through its entire life, found herself facing a difficult problem. Was this why Yimi liked crawling into other people's beds? Was it more comfortable for her to sleep on her side like this?
Ding-dong~
The doorbell rang. Kisaki Eri first looked through the peephole. Being a lawyer was a profession that could make plenty of enemies, so naturally she had to be cautious. The person outside was a friend of hers.
"I heard Goro passed away recently..."
"Everyone who keeps cats has to go through that eventually."
"I happen to have another one here... Just look at him. Isn't he adorable?"
"..."
"Well, I'll get going then."
* * *
"Mmph."
Awakened by the sound of Kisaki Eri talking with her friend, Yimi unhappily padded across the floor and walked out without even putting on her slippers.
"Awake? Come see what this is." As though preparing a surprise, Kisaki Eri held a box out in front of Yimi.
Inside was a small Russian Blue kitten. It looked curiously at Yimi and meowed.
"Hah!"
Yimi woke up instantly. She hurriedly sent the last traces of sleepiness flying with Love Train and stared warily at the creature that had suddenly appeared.
She would roughhouse and play with other cats, but that did not mean she would tolerate another cat entering her territory without permission, even temporarily.
"Don't be scared, don't be scared. I thought you'd like cats." Sensing that the atmosphere was wrong, Kisaki Eri moved the blue cat a little farther away.
"Meow~" The blue cat called again.
"It's a child." Yimi's wariness immediately faded.
Only then did Kisaki Eri dare bring the box closer. "Not a child. A kitten. A colleague just brought him over. I've decided to call him Goro. That was my last cat's name too."
"Mmph."
Yimi crouched in front of the box, tapped Goro's nose, and introduced herself. "I'm Yimi."
Yimi would remain wary of a cat that barged in on its own, but she was still very friendly toward kittens.
Kisaki Eri nodded in satisfaction and patted her head. "Get along nicely, okay?"
"Okay."
* * *
"But that doesn't mean you can bring a kitten to school whenever you feel like it. I'm going to tell your guardian about this. You can come pick him up after school."
In the office, Kobayashi-sensei looked sternly at Yimi.
She had secretly stuffed Goro into her schoolbag and brought him along, only to have him confiscated.
Schools really were strange places. Back when Yimi herself had been a cat, Origami had managed to bring her into school just fine. But now that it was Yimi's turn to bring another kitten, she was being scolded instead.
After class, Yimi carried Goro in her arms and walked home with her backpack on, visibly unhappy.
A light drizzle was falling. Fortunately, Kisaki Eri had prepared an umbrella and raincoat for Yimi in advance.
Yimi perched Goro on top of her head and covered him with the raincoat hood. Still sulking after being scolded, she deliberately stomped through puddles in her rain boots, splashing water all over Conan's face.
That everyday mischievousness could not possibly be an act.
Conan stared at her without blinking, his thoughts becoming even more tangled.
That sunglasses-wearing robber had died just as strangely. It had been night, after all. If someone had fired a poison needle at him like the one Conan used to shoot Uncle, it would have been difficult to notice.
But Conan had been right beside Yimi. He would never forget that the girl had made no movement at all. The robber had simply kicked at her, then suddenly died.
The former mayor on Tsukikage Island had died a long time ago. Yimi would probably have been only four or five years old then. But she looked only about seven now, which was hardly much of a difference.
Conan really could not believe that this harmless-looking little girl would kill people. More importantly, Yimi had never had any opportunity to do it.
On Tsukikage Island, he had not seen what Yimi did while Kawashima was grabbing him. But when Nishimoto died, Yimi had been even farther from the man than Conan himself.
He did not like admitting it, but the two of them had barely left each other's side on the island. The only opportunity she could have had to tamper with anything was when she ran out after Narumi.
But Ran had gone with her. Conan had subtly steered the conversation toward that subject before, and Ran had confirmed that she stayed with Yimi the entire way and they did not encounter anyone from the memorial service.
Forget that she was only a child. She simply had no opportunity at all. A completely innocent child using a method even he could not detect to kill someone was far too incongruous.
"Mmph?"
Apparently noticing his gaze, Yimi suddenly turned around.
"W-what?"
He had always thought of her as merely a child he was bad at dealing with. Yet now, when she suddenly turned to face him, Conan felt an inexplicable pressure that made him break out in a cold sweat.
Yimi pointed at him. "Today's homework. Let me copy it."
"Do it yourself!"
This kid... there's no way, right?
* * *
"Kaitou 1412?"
"Yeah. He's really popular with girls lately—that master thief in his forties!" Sonoko excitedly told Ran.
Ran gave an awkward smile. "You've told me about him before. Kid, right?"
She had not paid much attention at the time. It was only after Yimi suddenly said he was connected to Shinichi that Ran dug the memory back up.
Sonoko continued enthusiastically, "The Beika Museum is gathering famous gemstones from all over the world for an exhibition right now. My dad is planning to put our family heirloom on display too."
Ran's close friend really was a genuine heiress from a wealthy family.
As Ran listened carefully, the streetlights along the sidewalk came on. Two streams of pedestrians moving in opposite directions passed one another.
Out of the corner of her eye, Ran suddenly glimpsed a familiar figure walking past while chatting and laughing with several girls.
Ran stopped and instinctively grabbed his arm. "Shinichi?"
Kuroba Kaito, who had previously met Yimi on a rooftop, looked at her in confusion.
Ran then remembered what Sonoko had just been talking about. Her expression darkened. "Did you come back to steal the pearl?"
"?"
Kuroba Kaito sucked in a sharp breath and shook off her hand. "You've got the wrong person."
Even his voice sounded almost identical, but his tone was clearly different from Kudo Shinichi's. Both of them were smug, just in completely different ways.
Under normal circumstances, Ran absolutely would have noticed the difference. But she was exceptionally sensitive right now and could hear only the faintest trace—almost too faint to count—of guilt in his voice.
Ran watched him leave and stood there in a daze.
"What was that guy's problem? Is he cheating?" Sonoko was indignant on behalf of her best friend, then became puzzled. "Wait, did you tell him about the pearl just now?"
"No. It's nothing." Ran did not explain.
* * *
Mouri Detective Agency.
"You saw Shinichi-niichan?" Conan could not have been more shocked.
"Yeah. And after I said he came back to steal the pearl, he actually looked guilty!" Ran clenched her fist.
She had not told her detective father. The reason she was telling the two children was that Yimi had been the one to identify Shinichi before, and Conan had been standing right beside her.
Conan's mind reeled.
It wasn't me! I didn't do it!
Who the hell is this Kaitou Kid?
I'm going to catch him right now!
————
Ah, I'll fix the chapter order later. It's already 1 AM here, hehe, so I'll sort it out for everyone after I wake up tomorrow.
And one more thing: I probably won't be uploading any new chapters for a little while, so don't wait for them. How should I put this… I accidentally uploaded a bit too far ahead. Compared to Patreon, WebNovel is currently about two days ahead of where its actual tier should be.
So for now, Yumi won't be uploading any more chapters for the next 2-3 days.