With the back of his neck firmly gripped by fate itself, Conan didn't dare make a single unnecessary move.
His emotions were a complete mess. His situation was already complicated enough. If he dragged Sensei into all this and something happened to him, he would never forgive himself.
But trying to fool Sensei now was easier said than done. In fact, it was practically impossible.
What was he supposed to do? He honestly had no idea.
Conan was at a complete loss when Ritsu leaned down beside his ear and whispered, "Kudo Shinichi... are you really not planning to come clean and explain what's going on?"
Conan's pupils shrank.
He stared at him in utter disbelief.
'How does Sensei know who I really am? No... that shouldn't be possible. Did Agasa secretly tell him?'
"Sen—I mean, Onizawa-nii, what are you talking about?"
Ritsu couldn't be bothered to continue dancing around the subject. Placing a hand on Conan's head, he casually ruffled his hair while looking toward Ran.
"Mouri-san, Conan says he'd like to visit my apartment and see the lemon shark I keep. Would it be alright if he stayed over for one night?"
Ran blinked in surprise.
"Huh? But... wouldn't that be an inconvenience?"
"Not at all. I'm still living alone at the moment."
'Another lie without even blinking.'
Even Ritsu felt a tiny bit guilty about how naturally the words came out. Not guilty enough to stop lying, though.
Ran sighed helplessly before crouching down in front of Conan.
"Then, Conan, make sure you listen to everything Onizawa-san tells you, okay? And don't cause any trouble at someone else's home."
"...Okay. I'll be good, Ran-nee-chan!"
Conan forced a stiff smile.
He could practically feel the invisible pressure radiating off Ritsu. If he refused now, there was a good chance Sensei would expose his true identity right in front of Ran.
All he could do was grit his teeth and agree.
'Hopefully... he doesn't actually feed me to that lemon shark.'
...
After leaving the rest of the paperwork to Takagi, Ritsu drove straight toward his apartment.
While stopped at a traffic light, he didn't forget to send the script to Akemi, asking her to cooperate with the act so they wouldn't accidentally give anything away.
The silent drive was pure torture for Conan. He was sitting in the plush leather seat of a luxury car, yet somehow it felt like he was sitting on a cactus.
"So? You don't want to get out? Planning to sit in the car for a few more minutes?"
Only then did Conan realize they'd already arrived in the underground parking garage.
Chuckling awkwardly, he hurriedly climbed out, then carefully closed the car door with exaggerated caution, afraid he might somehow scratch it.
His entire face screamed "Please don't kill me."
Ritsu narrowed his eyes. As though reading his mind, he said,
"Relax. I'm not going to tell Ran your identity. And no... I'm not feeding you to the shark either."
"T-Thank you... Sensei."
Conan reluctantly expressed his gratitude.
At this point, it seemed better to simply admit who he was. After all, he had tranquilized his teacher right in front of him and then used the voice-changing bow tie to solve the case while his teacher was fully conscious.
"Gingerbread is a picky eater."
Ritsu added casually.
"He doesn't eat liars."
Conan nearly slipped while stepping into the elevator.
When the elevator reached the apartment floor, Akemi was already standing in the doorway with the front door open, having received Ritsu's message earlier.
The elevator doors slid open.
The moment Conan saw Akemi...
'...Didn't he say he lived alone? They're obviously living together! Seriously... I just got force-fed relationship bliss.'
Akemi's acting was flawless. She stepped forward naturally, loosened Ritsu's tie, and accepted his suit jacket.
"You must be starving. I've already reheated dinner."
"Thanks. I'll freshen up first. It's hard to avoid bringing the smell of a crime scene home."
Akemi then bent down to Conan's height and smiled warmly.
"Edogawa-kun, come on in. Would you like something to drink?"
"No thank you, Akemi-sensei. I'm not thirsty."
"Then I'll cut up some fruit for you. Go have a seat on the sofa."
Conan obediently sat down.
As he waited, he couldn't resist looking around the luxurious apartment. Then his eyes landed on the enormous glass aquarium surrounding part of the living room.
His jaw nearly dropped.
'So this is how rich people live? A miniature aquarium... inside the house... just to keep a single lemon shark.
That's unbelievably extravagant.'
After washing his hands, Ritsu glanced at Conan, who was sitting ramrod straight on the sofa.
After quietly exchanging a few words with Akemi in the kitchen, he returned carrying a bowl of tempura rice.
Eating casually, he said,
"I've sent Akemi away. So... Can you finally explain why you became Edogawa Conan?"
Conan honestly recounted everything that had happened at Tropical Land that day.
Since Ritsu had already witnessed more than seventy percent of the events himself while acting as Augier, he could tell Kudo wasn't lying.
"Onizawa-sensei... The reason I didn't tell you was because I was afraid you'd get dragged into danger.
If that organization can create a drug that shrinks people... then the force behind those three men in black must be far more dangerous than anyone can imagine."
After swallowing a bite of shrimp tempura, Ritsu pretended to analyze the situation.
"Kudo. I understand your reasoning. But an organization of that scale isn't something you can defeat alone.
And if a drug capable of shrinking the human body without obvious side effects were ever released onto the market... it would create unimaginable social chaos."
Remembering everything Haibara had once told him, Conan decided Sensei was someone he could trust.
"The drug probably won't ever reach the market. The researcher responsible for developing it is... dead. And the laboratory was destroyed in a fire."
Even so, Conan still wasn't telling the whole truth. Given his current circumstances, keeping a little guard up around everyone was simply necessary.
Ritsu nodded.
Secretly, he was pleased.
Kudo hadn't told him everything. That meant he'd grown considerably through this ordeal.
He was no longer the reckless detective who charged headfirst into every mystery without considering the consequences.
"If that's the case, then that's for the best. I'll keep an eye out for these men in black. And if you uncover any new information, I'd appreciate it if you'd let me know."
"I will. Thank you for believing me, Sensei."
Ritus nodded.
"Now that I've confirmed your identity..."
Ritsu smiled as he rubbed the spot on his neck where the tranquilizer dart had struck.
"Let's talk about something more important. Kudo, you don't seriously shoot Kogoro with tranquilizer darts every time then use some method to imitate his voice, do you?"
Conan awkwardly removed his tranquilizer watch and voice-changing bow tie. Like a child caught doing something wrong, he lowered his head.
"I'm sorry, Sensei... You know Uncle's deduction skills are... pretty terrible. I was worried innocent people might be wrongly accused.
So I used the inventions Professor Agasa made for me to conduct the deductions."
Strictly speaking, he had been preventing wrongful convictions.
But legally, it was still a crime.
Ritsu examined the gadgets in his hand. He couldn't help admiring Agasa. These inventions were decades ahead of modern technology, especially the voice changer.
For an intelligence operative, that thing could save your life.
"Hmm. I'll pretend I didn't see any of this."
He stood up, walked to the front door, opened it, and mercilessly said,
"Well. All my questions have been answered. And since you're not actually a child, safe travels."
"...Huh?!"
Conan stared at him.
"Sensei! Didn't you say I was staying the night?!"
Without the slightest hint of embarrassment, Ritsu narrowed his eyes and looked at him with complete disdain.
"Interrupting two adults' private time together is practically a crime. You can stay at Professor Agasa's house."
"Y-You... Fine."
Bang!
The front door shut.
After sending Shinichi away, Ritsu looked toward the closed door.
"You can come out now."
Akemi stepped out of the room, smiling.
"Why didn't you ask him?"
"What?"
"Aren't you really going to tell Mouri-san? She's been worrying about him this whole time."
Carrying his now-empty tempura bowl into the kitchen, Ritsu turned on the faucet. He didn't begin washing the dishes immediately.
Instead, he waited until the cold water gradually became warm before speaking.
"...I understand him."
He understood exactly why Shinichi couldn't bring himself to tell Ran the truth.
It was to protect her. He knew how kind Ran was. He knew how deeply she cared for him. The moment he revealed the truth, she would inevitably become involved.
And that was simply too dangerous.
But more importantly, the lie had begun from the very start. As more and more lies piled on top of one another, the snowball only grew larger.
By the time he finally wanted to tell the truth, the weight of all those deceptions had robbed him of the courage to say it.
He feared she would overthink everything. He feared their relationship would never recover.
And perhaps even more than that... he feared the unknown that would come after she learned the truth.
Akemi understood exactly what Ritsu meant. She sighed softly without saying another word. Instead, she found herself wondering when all of this would finally come to an end.
All she wanted was to live an ordinary, peaceful life with her little sister.
Sometimes... it felt almost laughable.
For people like them, the greatest luxury of all was the very ordinary life that so many others wished to escape.
----
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