The next day. Noon. Beika Park.
Kurosawa Hoshino and Ran arrived to meet Sonoko and Hattori Heiji.
Sure enough, Sonoko was already there. Last night, Ran had told her about Hattori, and Sonoko found it interesting, so she decided to come along. Kurosawa Hoshino had exchanged contact info with Hattori yesterday, so after getting Ran's late-night message, he'd reached out.
"So you're Hattori Heiji? Just like Ran said—your skin is *really* dark."
"And you are?"
"Me? I'm Ran and Hoshino's good friend, Suzuki Sonoko. Call me Sonoko."
Kurosawa Hoshino and Ran arrived to find Sonoko circling Hattori Heiji, looking him over like she was appraising livestock.
"We're here!" Ran ran over happily.
Sonoko spun around. Instantly, the two girls were locked in a tight hug, giggling.
Kurosawa Hoshino walked up to Hattori—and stopped short at the sight of Conan.
Conan looked terrible. His face was deathly pale. Dark circles ringed his eyes. He swayed on his feet, legs trembling like they might give out at any second.
"I'm... I'm fine..." Conan shook his head weakly.
The alcohol from yesterday was hitting him hard. He felt weak all over, limp, nauseous—wanting to vomit but unable to.
"Probably just a bad cold," Hattori said quickly, guilt written all over his face.
He was terrified Conan might drop dead in front of him. That would make him the killer. He'd given Conan that alcohol yesterday—the waitress at the cafe downstairs had seen it. No way to deny it.
"Really?" Kurosawa Hoshino considered.
In the original story, Conan had downed a whole bottle of baijiu and was hungover the next day. But this seemed worse. Still, he was standing. Probably just needed a couple days to recover.
He chuckled and let it go. Turning to Hattori: "Ran and the others are just hanging around Beika Town today. Nothing special. Sorry—you might not get to do anything exciting."
"It's fine, Beika Town's plenty for me." Hattori adjusted his cap, then pulled a newspaper from his pocket. "Speaking of which—after you left yesterday, did you solve another case? The Beika Library thing?"
"Yeah, I happened to pass by. Noticed something weird with the elevator, then found a book hiding drugs."
"You really are something..." Hattori didn't know what to say.
"Heiji-nii, can I see?" Conan perked up at the mention of a case. Even feeling half-dead, he couldn't resist.
"Here." Hattori wasn't about to argue with him now. Not when he looked like he might drop at any second.
"Thanks." Conan took the paper. The article detailed how Kurosawa had cracked the Beika Library case. Even though he hadn't been there, reading about it made him happy.
"Eh—" He let out a soft exclamation.
"What?" Hattori leaned in.
"Nothing. Just saw something about a fire at a pharmaceutical company." Conan's mind went to Haibara Ai.
He'd asked her this morning where she'd escaped from. Her response: *Don't even think about it. The organization is more careful than you imagine. Every place I've ever been will vanish without a trace.*
He'd pushed anyway, gotten the address. Planned to check it out when he felt better.
Now this. A fire. The address matched. Clearly, the organization had covered its tracks.
Hattori stroked his chin. "Kurosawa, Tokyo's got a lot going on. Two cases yesterday, now a pharmaceutical fire."
"Heh. You'll be complaining about worse later."
"Later? What do you mean?"
"Exactly what I said. Later." Kurosawa waved him off and walked toward the two girls. He fixed his stare on Sonoko.
Sonoko's face tightened. She ducked behind Ran.
"Come out here." Kurosawa's voice was calm.
"You're so petty," Sonoko muttered.
"What was that?"
"I said you're the most generous person ever, Hoshino! No way you'd hold a grudge about those photos!"
"Flattery won't save you."
"Want a shoulder massage?" Sonoko edged forward. When he didn't move, she started kneading his shoulders diligently.
Ran covered her mouth, laughing.
"How's that? Pressure okay?" Sonoko asked eagerly.
"Not bad." Kurosawa closed his eyes, looking satisfied.
Hattori walked over with Conan. "Hey, I thought you were showing me Beika Town. What's with the massage?"
"Mind your business," Sonoko snapped.
Watching Hattori get shut down, Conan managed a weak smile. *Finally. Usually it's me getting bullied. Someone else gets to feel it for once.*
"Alright, that's enough. You're forgiven—for now." Kurosawa raised a hand like a lord dismissing a servant. Sonoko stopped immediately.
Then she ran back to Ran's side, hands on her hips, face fierce. "Hoshino, we're even! No more bullying me for no reason, or you'll regret it!"
"Don't worry. I'm not that kind of person."
"You're not? Right, Ran?"
"Right, right."
Best friends. Always on the same side.
Kurosawa turned to Hattori. "So, what do you want to do?"
Hattori rubbed his stomach. "Eat first. It's your fault we're only going out at noon—I've been saving my appetite for you guys to treat me."
"Leave it to me!" Sonoko jumped in. "I know a cheap old place. Great food. You won't be disappointed."