Nihashi Middle School.The narrow path leading from the athletic field toward the abandoned warehouse was quiet under the night sky.
Ren Kuroda walked beside Ran Mouri, their hands linked.
"Um… Kuroda-kun," Ran stammered, her cheeks pink. "D-do we really… have to hold hands?"
She looked away shyly. Outside of a few emergencies when Shinichi had pulled her along, she had never properly held hands with a boy before.
"Of course," Ren said with total confidence. "Detective Mouri told us to act like a couple, didn't he? If we're going to play the part, we have to look convincing."He added solemnly, "A hostage's life is on the line. We can't afford to half-act this."
"Well… when you put it that way," Ran murmured. The logic was hard to argue with.Still, the situation felt strangely unreal to her.She'd known Shinichi for years, yet they'd never once held hands like this—and now here she was, fingers intertwined with Kuroda-kun of all people.
Her mind wandered nervously until Ren asked, "What do you want for dinner later?"
"Dinner?" Ran blinked, startled by the normal question. "Uh… maybe ramen?"
"That's your dad's favorite," Ren pointed out. "I'm asking what you want."
The simple correction made Ran's heart skip.She smiled faintly. "I'm fine with anything. What about you, Kuroda-kun?"
Ren chuckled. "Detective Mouri's bound to get a nice commission once we hand over the kidnapper. Let's go somewhere good and actually enjoy ourselves.If he doesn't spend the reward money, he'll just blow it on horse racing or mahjong anyway."
Ran laughed. "That's… true. You really do know my dad."
And honestly, she couldn't deny it—without Kuroda's deduction, they never would've found the culprit this fast.Treating him to a good meal afterward felt more than fair.
They chatted casually as they walked, and soon the warehouse came into view.
Inside, the kidnapper stiffened at the faint sound of voices outside.He gripped his knife tightly and crept to the entrance, peering through the cracked doorway.
A couple? Just two teenagers walking hand in hand?He exhaled in relief—then frowned. Still, if they got curious and wandered closer, that could ruin everything.
He stepped out boldly, shouting, "Hey! You two! What are you doing here this late?"He waved his knife for emphasis. "This isn't a date spot! Go to Beika Park for that!"
Ran immediately slipped into her role, shrinking behind Ren with convincing fear."S-sorry! We're leaving!" she stammered, tugging at his sleeve. "Come on, Kuroda-kun, let's go!"
Ren couldn't help admiring her performance. Women really are born actors.He let her pull him away, playing along with the scene.
They had barely taken a few steps when a strangled scream echoed from behind them.
They turned—and there was Kogoro Mouri, already pinning the kidnapper facedown on the ground.
Once the culprit was caught, everything went smoothly.The young hostage, Tani Akiko, was safely returned to her father, the company chairman, who gratefully pressed a stack of bills into Mouri's hands.
A neat, round sum—one million yen.
It sounded like a fortune… until you remembered that most Japanese workers earned barely 150,000 yen a month.In other words, less than seven months' wages for rescuing a CEO's daughter.
Ren muttered under his breath, "Tch. How stingy."If it had been him?He would've walked out the door, put his mask back on, and gone straight back to "work."No way he'd let the chairman off without coughing up at least a few million.
Mouri, meanwhile, was over the moon. "Already more than enough!" he said cheerfully, counting the money twice before tucking it into his wallet."Come on, you two! Dinner's on me tonight! Order whatever you want!"
Later That Night — Beika City
"Ugh…"Ren let out a satisfied burp as they stepped out of an upscale yakiniku restaurant, a bright grin on his face.He'd eaten here plenty of times before, but food always tasted better when someone else was paying.
"Thanks for the treat, Detective Mouri," he said happily. "That was amazing."
"You sure ate like it was amazing," Mouri grumbled, glaring at the 200,000-yen bill in his hand. "Kobe beef, seriously? You're trying to bankrupt me!"
"I'm still growing," Ren replied with a straight face. "Can't die of fullness at my age."
"Growing, my foot…" Mouri muttered, massaging his temples.
Ren checked the time and smiled. "It's getting late. I'll head home. See you, Detective."
"Hold it!" Mouri barked. "You ate half my paycheck and now you're leaving? You've got the day off tomorrow—come have a drink with me!"
Normally Ren would've humored him, maybe even drunk him under the table again.But tonight, he had other plans.
During dinner, Akemi had sent him an email—she'd found new intel.
He'd agreed to meet her after dark.
"Sorry, I'm wiped out," he said, waving as he turned to go. "I'll come by tomorrow instead."
After a quick stop home to change into fresh clothes, Ren made his way to Beika Park—the same park where so many odd things seemed to happen.
Before meeting Akemi, he bought a thermal night-vision scope from the System's black-market shop and scanned the area.
They had a working partnership now, but Ren wasn't naïve.Given Akemi's history of being manipulated by Gin, he wasn't about to walk into a trap unprepared.
He swept the dark park carefully—benches, trees, shadows.No one but her.
Satisfied, he slipped on his Azu mask and approached.
Akemi was sitting on a bench, swatting at mosquitoes. When she heard his footsteps, she stood up, relief on her face."Mr. Azu, you're finally here! Couldn't we meet somewhere without bugs next time?"Her tone carried a hint of frustration; clearly, she'd been getting eaten alive.
"Fair enough," Ren admitted. "Next time, we'll pick a better spot."He folded his arms. "So, what's the new lead?"
Akemi gathered her thoughts. "An Italian bank—Bastarda Bank—was robbed by a gang. They stole fifteen thousand maple-leaf gold coins, total value six hundred million yen!"Her voice grew more animated as she spoke. "And those robbers… fled here, to Japan!"
Ren raised a brow. "You're sure? Where'd you hear that?"
She blushed slightly under his mask's gaze. "Ah… um… from the evening news. During dinner."
"…Right."Ren fell silent for a moment. He'd overestimated her intel sources again.
Still red-faced, Akemi continued quickly, "Their leader, Dino Cabane, was arrested by the police earlier today.If we can snatch him from their custody, we could make him tell us where the maple-leaf gold is hidden!"
Ren tilted his head thoughtfully. "Snatch him… from the police?"
He remembered the case—vaguely.The gold bags hidden in a building ceiling somewhere.The three kids finding the map by chance later.But with Conan out of the picture, those "key event" characters would never trigger the discovery.And Ren didn't exactly have time to befriend a bunch of grade-schoolers just to advance fate.
Waiting around for destiny to cough up the treasure was pointless.Better to take action—and maybe have a little fun messing with the police for once.
After all, shooting gangsters was getting repetitive.
Finally, Ren nodded."All right," he said. "I'm in."