File Five: The Disappearing Detective Case

For the longest time, the four kids patiently sat on a bench close to the murder scene, right where Shinichi had told them to wait. Conan had his arms crossed over his chest with an annoyed look on his face, an action that did not go unnoticed by the others, prompting them to exchange concerned looks.

We were witnesses, and we saw the murder taking place. The boy was far too deep in thought to realize the staring. He was pretty serious... and desperate? It was like he was pleading for us to stay away.

But why was that? There was no way they could turn into suspects because they were only kids, and they weren't on the ride. Was there something he didn't want them to see? Or someone?

Or someone he doesn't want to see us...?

"Shinichi-oniisan!"

Ayumi's excited voice brought him back to the real world, prompting him to raise his head to see Ran and Shinichi standing in front of them. The female teen was grinning widely at him, and Conan could only nod with a smile, silently greeting her.

"Aren't you going to introduce me to your friends, Conan-kun?" Ran asked him.

Classmates. He had to refrain himself from correcting her.

"These are Kojima Genta, Tsuburaya Mitsuhiko and Yoshida Ayumi-san," he introduced quickly, and turned to the children, who were curiously staring back at the girl. "She's Mouri Ran-neechan. And you know who that one is already."

Conan pointedly ignored the glare Shinichi sent his way, just watching the other kids beaming at Ran, and her smiling in return before her eyes wandered around for a bit. He honestly didn't know what she was searching for until she focused on a nearby ice cream shop.

Ran turned back to the kids. "Do you guys want some ice cream?"

"Ran-neechan, I don't think that's a good idea..." Conan tried to stop her, glancing at Genta from the corner of his eye. The others simply cheered at the offer.

"Don't worry about it, Shinichi will pay me back later." Not caring a bit about the way Shinichi groaned, she turned to the brothers. "What do you two want?"

Seeing no way out of it, the teen sighed. "Coffee."

"Co-" Conan winced under Ran's stern look. "... Chocolate is okay to me."

"Chocolate it is." And then, smiling as if nothing had happened, the girl marched towards the ice cream store, Conan's classmates following close behind like hungry sharks. At the sight, the kid couldn't help but let out a weak chuckle, choosing to remain seated ─ he was in a terrible need of a respite.

His brother plopped down next to him. Both of them sighed, loudly and in perfect synchrony.

"Tired?" Shinichi asked, looking amused, and the child nodded. "I'm surprised you agreed to come with them to a place like this."

"I got dragged into it and Professor Agasa didn't help." Conan's head dropped, groaning at the memory of the old professor spoiling everything for him. "And by the way, he lent me some money and expects you to pay him up."

Shinichi whined and held a hand to his head, wondering if he should go get a part time job, as it seemed like his allowance wasn't going to last long.

"And by the way, was your school project about roller coasters and scary houses?" The teenager flinched, not failing to notice the teasing grin the youngest had on his face while looking around, as if searching for something. "Also, where is Sonoko-neechan? I don't see her anywhere."

The kid watched as his brother blushed and looked away, before glancing towards the group. Ayumi and Mitsuhiko were happily chatting with Ran as they waited while Genta seemed to be content to sing about ice cream.

But then, he noticed something in the older girl's eyes.

"Luckily, they didn't get to see anything disturbing." Shinichi instantly understood he was talking about the murder they had just ran into. "But Ran-neechan seems to still be a bit upset."

"She was crying until now," the teen admitted. "I couldn't get her to stop."

Conan made a non-committal hum in response, watching the rest of their group in silence. Ayumi had gotten a strawberry ice-cream and Mitsuhiko had chosen vanilla. Genta's had so many flavors that he couldn't possibly identify all of them. They are going to make a big dent in his wallet.

Ran handed the little girl a second ice cream, chocolate this time. Conan figured it was his.

"The murderer was so dumb, though." After hearing that, the kid frowned. "That trick was so simple that it wasn't even a challenge, you know."

"It's not a game." The older boy glanced at the younger and froze. There was something burning with anger behind his eyes, yet at the same time was cold, freezing even. "Someone just got killed today."

Shinichi stared at him, long enough for Conan to huff and look away. He didn't dare to say anything else.

And it remained like that, even after Ran had come back, a coffee ice cream for the detective in one hand and a lemon sorbet for herself in the other, with the other kids trailing behind. The uncomfortable silence was filled with children's laughter and random conversations.

Yet, none of the brothers said another word.

At least, until it was time to go. Just as Shinichi was about to offer Ran to go walk home with Conan and him, the kid spoke for the first time in a long while, still not even glancing at him.

"I will stay the night at Kojima's."

Not expecting that, the high school detective was left without words. Conan didn't even give the chance, just walked right past him. The rest of the children stared at him for a second, before snapping out of it and following.

Shinichi didn't move.

"H-Hey, Conan." Hesitantly, Genta tapped him on the shoulder. "I didn't ask my mom-"

"That was a lie. I'm just going home."

Genta and Mitsuhiko exchanged a look, not understanding what was going on, but Conan didn't bother clarifying it. Ayumi, on the other hand, turned to look over her shoulder, noticing Ran and Shinichi talking with each other, and that a soft blush was coloring her cheeks.

The young girl smiled to herself and happily continued on her way back home.

"They are good children." Ran let a smile draw on her face, gazing at the group of children walking further away from them. "I'm glad… I was worried about Conan-kun."

But when she looked back at Shinichi, her smile turned into a concerned frown. He was still staring at his brother, a sad glint in his eyes that was almost foreign in his face. "He doesn't like me that much, does he?" then he whispered, mostly to himself.

"Huh? What makes you think that?"

"He's lying about staying at that kid's house," he explained, closing his eyes and placing his hands inside his pockets, pretending he didn't care ─ though, Ran knew he did. "He just wants to walk back home without me."

Ran blinked at it, before finally realizing what was really going on. "I-I don't think..." she stuttered, feeling her face warming up. "... that's the reason he lied."

Shinichi gave her a curious look, failing to notice the way she fidgeted nervously in her place. "Why did he do it, then?"

She didn't respond, just flushed even more, looking so embarrassed, even if the detective couldn't figure out the reason behind her odd behavior. He opened his mouth to question it, when he felt something buzzing inside his pocket.

Immediately, he brought the phone out and glanced at the screen.

His eyes opened wide.

Suddenly, the high school detective took off running, smiling apologetically from over his shoulder. He raised his hand and waved at her.

"Sorry, Ran, can you go home without me?"

"Eh?" It took her a second too late to react. "Wait-!"

She wanted to follow him but, out of the blue, her shoe lace just… snapped off. With a gasp, the girl raised her head to see that Shinichi had broken in a full run, his back growing smaller and smaller with every step he took.

He's leaving… Her hand stretched towards his retreating form.

Ran didn't know why, but an odd feeling was settling in the pit of her stomach. Something, akin to a strange premonition, was screaming at her. Telling her that something bad, very bad, was about to happen. It was almost like...

... like I will never see Shinichi again...

A phone was ringing.

The annoying noise prompted the kid's eyes to flutter open, moving the book on his face with a tired groan, before sliding out of the couch he had just napping on. What time is it? On the way to the phone, he grabbed his cellphone and flipped it open. So hungry...

He had texted his brother a few hours ago, telling him to buy something on his way back home because their refrigerator was empty, rendering him unable to cook anything. Groaning, he realized his brother had yet to reply.

Conan picked up, ready to chew his brother off if it was him, but before he could say anything, a female voice shouted in his ear instead.

"SHINICHI!" The young boy yanked the phone away from his ear in pain. "What did you think you were doing, leaving me all alone like that?! And, at the top of that, why aren't you answering your phone, you-?!"

"Ran-neechan?"

Ran halted, and her fury dissolved into nothing at the young voice she definitely did not expect to hear. Just as she was to apologize for shouting to him, a shuddering breath caused her heart to clench with worry.

"Conan-kun?"

"Ran-neechan… Isn't Shinichi-niichan with you?"

Realization dawned on her like a bucket of freezing water. Shinichi hadn't returned, leaving Conan all by himself at home. And, judging by his shaky voice, he was scared.

He hadn't even realized he had called him 'Shinichi-niichan' ─ for reasons she couldn't hope to understand, the boy was unusually cold to his brother. That was why hearing him call Shinichi by his name with that childish, and very confused, voice truly upset her.

"No, he left suddenly," she said, then added quickly, "Don't worry about it he probably ran off to solve some case, that stupid mystery freak," but didn't get an answer besides a vague hum.

Conan barely registered Ran asking him if he had eaten something ─ to which he whispered a 'no' ─ and faintly remembered her telling him she would be there in a few minutes to take him to her home before setting the phone back on the receiver.

Even then, the child didn't move. Just stood there, silently, in the middle of a room that hadn't felt so big before. He didn't know how long he had stared at that random point on the wall until his empty gaze fell on the mobile phone on the floor, which had slipped from fingers gone weak upon the realization that Shinichi wasn't with Ran.

Cold eyes. Silver hair. The gun. Black as crows ─ it all came back as a suddenly jumbled string of unpleasant memories causing him to shiver. This bad feeling… He hugged himself, feeling as if the air had become several degrees colder all of a sudden.

The child was still immersed in his own thoughts by the time he opened the door for Ran, and remained like that even when the girl offered the sweetest smile she could manage and clasped his hand, while gently taking him to her home. He stayed quiet as a mouse throughout the entire trip.

It wasn't until she stopped that he finally raised his head. Dull blue eyes settled on the building with big letters that read 'Mouri Detective Agency'.

"We're here, Conan-kun," she told him, gently while kneeling down in front of him, even though he had been there before. "I'll make something to eat real quick. Hold on a little longer, okay?"

There was a weak nod. That was enough for Ran to stand up and gently guide him upstairs, but before she could even take a step, a grown man rushed right past them, tripping in the process and falling flat into his face. Mouri Kogoro, he recognized him, barely batting an eye at what had just happened. That's Ran-neechan's father.

"The first job in six months! A rich man's daughter has been kidnapped!" Probably the man was too excited at the prospect, because he didn't even notice Conan standing beside his daughter. "The witness said that the kidnapper was a man in black!"

Conan's breath froze in his lungs. A man in black?!

He didn't even give it a second thought, just ran inside the taxi the moment it came into a stop. Ran, who didn't really expect such an action, barely had the time to jump in. Only when the car was already moving did Kogoro notice the child and loudly demanded to know why he was there ─ the kid didn't bother giving him a proper answer, fueling his anger.

"He just came in on his own!" she shouted back at her father, successfully shutting him off. Her eyes drifted to the kid, softening a moment. He was probably curious and wanted to see a detective work by himself, she decided, before frowning just a little.

Just like Shinichi.

As it turned out, the kidnapping had absolutely nothing to do with those mysterious men in black. In fact, all that case managed to do was get him overly frustrated over the fact that Kogoro wouldn't, for the life of him, ask the right questions. And if that wasn't bad enough, nobody would listen to him, because he was just a little boy.

It wasn't until he had almost gotten eaten by a dog twice his size, then befriended him, that the adults finally paid attention to him. That was when he was told that the pet wasn't very friendly with outsiders.

"Really?" He blinked, and put on the most innocent, sweet voice he could muster. "Then why didn't he bark when Tani-san was kidnapped?"

That had seemed to solve everything ─ the butler, the only witness, had kidnapped her. He claimed she was safe in a nearby restaurant, prompting Conan to wonder why someone would leave a little girl alone in a restaurant so late at night.

But then, there was a call. The girl had been kidnapped a second time by another individual. The girl screamed, telling them she was in a school storage, where she could see a black chimney, before they hung up abruptly.

The adults started discussing what they should do, while Conan grabbed his phone and started looking into a map.

If we don't hurry up, they will change locations, and then... He frowned. What would you do, high school detective, Shinichi-niichan?

He raised his head, and contemplated the dog for a few moments, a smirk suddenly drawing in his features. "Say, this could be quite the crazy trip..." He whispered to the dog, hands petting the animal. "You want to save Tani-san, don't you?"

If he didn't know better, Conan would have said that the dog had barked in response. Deciding that this had to be the most reckless thing he had done in his entire short life, the boy climbed the dog, and was gone the next second.

He went through every single school that met those requirements, but no such luck. The boy and the dog looked and looked, desperately, through the entire city, until they were left breathless, hoping for a miracle that could tell them where the girl was being held captive.

Until he realized it. There was a building that could be seen as a chimney from another perspective. With a gasp, he went to check it… Bingo. And yeah, there was a school nearby.

Moments after that, he found himself entering the place without giving it a second thought. The dog was quick, attacking the criminal while Conan rushed to the kidnapped girl, gently taking the tape off her mouth.

She just stared at him, eyes wide and confused. "Who are you?"

"Edogawa Conan," he answered, going around her and beginning to untie her. "I was looking for you, Tani-san."

He didn't get to, however. In a swift movement, the kidnapper had kicked the door away from him and grabbed the boy from the hood of his shirt, flinging him to a side. The air was suddenly knocked off his lungs upon colliding with the wall.

The pain was everywhere, but the kid still forced himself to look up. Through squinted eyes, he watched the man moving closer, bat in hand and ready to beat the life out of him.

… I'm so done for.

And it would have been that way, if it wasn't for a leg coming from nowhere, knocking the criminal with a powerful kick. Blinking, Conan's eyes flickered to Ran, who was breathing out in a karate stance. Amazing. Now he understood why his brother was so afraid of making her angry. He almost felt bad about the criminal, seeing him lying on the ground in a weird position. Almost.

Honestly, he felt bad about Shinichi too. Considering how mad she had sounded when he first picked up the phone, he figured his brother would be in serious trouble when he came back.

It turned out it was the girl herself who was the mastermind behind the first kidnapping, all because his father wasn't giving her enough attention. The father realized his mistakes and ordered the butler to book them a trip to Australia. Just like that, the case was solved.

Of course Kogoro took all the credit, even if he did virtually nothing to solve the case, but Conan didn't really mind, actually. All he had done was simple reasoning and not entirely detective work. He hadn't even caught the criminal.

But as they left, the little girl turned around and looked right into Conan's eyes.

"Thank you, Detective-san!"

And that truly surprised him.

He didn't think much of it and went home with Ran and her father after that. She explained to him that she was taking him in for the night because his sorry excuse of a brother ─ as Ran had kindly put it ─ was off somewhere in a case. He had gladly agreed, claiming that he didn't mind him staying as long as he wanted.

"He might be my lucky charm! I'll even take him as my son if he wants to stay!"

It's only for one night. He let out a dry laugh in response.

Yet Shinichi didn't return the next after that, or the other. Like that, Conan ended up living with Ran and her father for two entire days, without a single word from his missing brother.

"Maybe we should call the police," the kid came to that conclusion, glaring at a poor random spot on the Agasa's ceiling, lying on his back on top of the couch.

"He must be caught in another case," but the professor was quick to reassure him. "Don't worry, he'll return soon."

Conan didn't seem convinced at his words, but nodded anyway, eyes still stuck on the same spot from before and a concerned frown deeply carved into his features. The professor contemplated him for another several seconds until he offered him to try out one of his newest inventions.

At first the kid was apprehensive, worried that the innocent-looking bowtie he was handed would blow up in his hands, like any other Agasa's invention. So, hesitantly, he turned the dial behind it and spoke close to it, and was pleasantly surprised to realize that his own voice sounded different in his ears.

Actually… This could come in handy, he thought, handing it back to him. But Agasa told him to keep it instead and to have fun with it. The kid didn't really give it much thought, just nodded and thanked him, before claiming that he needed to return to the agency.

Agasa watched Conan closing the door and let out a long sigh.

"If one day something were to happen to me, you have to promise two things." He could still remember that conversation he had with the detective, eight months ago, around the time Conan had moved to Japan. "One, don't tell the police. And two… Please, protect Conan."

Agasa recalled being worried and terribly anxious for a few weeks after that, but hadn't asked any further, fearing what the answer would be. Nowadays, however, he wondered if he should've been braver. He should have asked, he should have said anything.

It was too late now. All he could do at the moment was trusting Shinichi. Even if he had to keep Ran, Conan and the police in the dark. Even if he had to create weird inventions on a daily basis for a crazy, seven year-old kid to keep him protected from harm.

Sometimes, though, he wondered.

Is this the right thing to do, Shinichi?

Two days quickly became three.

On the third day he had decided that enough was enough and had tried going back to Tropical Land to gather more information ─ skipping school in the process ─ yet came back empty-handed.

"I'm home," Conan called as he entered, only to find himself face to face with a furious Ran, who glared at him with her hands firmly placed on her waist.

"What were you doing, young man?" she scolded him, her voice firm and stern. "I got a call from Kobayashi-sensei. She said you didn't show up to school this morning."

The little boy cringed. I forgot to call my school. He had planned to call his own school using Agasa's invention to copy Ran's voice, but he had been so caught up on his investigation that it hadn't even crossed his mind. Sighing, the child guessed he should deal with the consequences, and proceeded to quietly listen to a fifteen minute-long about responsibilities and the importance of education for his future.

Eventually, the girl had finished her lecture ─ a fact that Conan was incredibly grateful about. "So?" Yet, the sternness didn't vanish instantly. "Will you tell where you were instead of school?"

"I..." Figuring that there was no way out of it, the young boy lowered his head. "I went to Tropical Land."

She said nothing right away, probably too shocked at that. But then, when his words really sunk in her head, her gaze softened.

"Who was there with you?" Her voice became gentler as well.

Conan shook his head, keeping his gaze firmly set on the floor. "I went alone," he whispered, and stayed there, in silence, for several seconds, before he finally raised his head to look at her. "... I'm sorry."

"Just don't do it again, okay?" Instead of the strict approach from before, Ran smiled at him. "I'll let it slide, just this time."

Conan just nodded and silently walked past her, making his way to Kogoro's bedroom ─ which he was also using for the time being. "Conan-kun." But paused and turned around when he heard Ran calling his name. "He will be back before you know it." Her warm, loving gaze was being clouded by the tears she was desperately fighting to hold back. "Don't worry about it, okay?"

Even if he wanted to, he couldn't say anything ─ his throat had closed up on him, just like that. So, instead of that, he left, uttering no word to the kind girl who had brought him to her home. Once he arrived at his destination, the young boy sat on his futon, a longing expression pinching his face while he stared out of the window.

No matter how much he desperately wished he could, he couldn't bring himself to believe Ran's words.

Because it didn't seem like she believed them herself.

The rest of that afternoon went by uneventfully, with Conan reading a book at Kogoro's room while the man 'worked' ─ even though he had actually been watching Okino Yoko's videos on the TV. At some time, close to evening, Conan finally looked up from his book, curious about the weird noises coming from the office ─ Kogoro was shouting excitedly about something he didn't know about. Did he finally win a horse race?

Out of everything that he had expected to see upon arriving at the place, what he saw wasn't exactly what he had in mind. There, sitting on the sofa, was a woman he recognized right away, drinking some tea and sitting across a dumbstruck Kogoro.

… Okino Yoko?!

Giggling at his obvious shock, Ran took into her own hands to whisper to the kid what was going on. Apparently, the idol was being stalked by someone, thus requiring Kogoro's help.

That… actually didn't explain a lot. Why would such a famous idol come to Occhan, though?

Yoko's scream filled his ears as soon as she opened the door to her apartment, causing him to instantly tear his gaze away from the beautiful sight of the city through the window and take off running, Ran and Kogoro in tow. There, he saw the idol and her manager, terrified beyond a doubt, unable to look away from whatever gruesome scene was there for them to witness.

Those two were the only ones there, though.

"You guys?!"

Conan gave Ayumi, Genta and Mitsuhiko a bewildered look, but they didn't react, far too frightened and shaken about whatever had happened inside Yoko's room. Confused, he turned to glance in the same direction, and realized what had happened.

A man laid motionless in the center of that room, a knife stabbed on his back and blood seeping everywhere.

The police didn't take long to arrive and begin their investigation. Any other day, he would do the same, examine the entire room in search for any piece of evidence, but not this time. Instead of that, he could only stare at the other three children as Ran checked on them like the mother-hen she was.

"Guys…" He blinked repeatedly. "What are you doing here?"

"You didn't come to school today," Mitsuhiko explained right away. "We were worried you had caught a cold or something and we wanted to check on you, but..."

"You weren't home," Ayumi continued. "We spotted you crossing the street on our way back and we called for you, but you didn't seem to hear us."

"So we followed you-" Genta began with a wide grin.

"You mean stalked," Conan interrupted, an eyebrow raised in disbelief.

"Now, now, be a little nicer," Ran scolded with no actual anger, even though she secretly knew Conan was actually right. "Thank you for taking care of Conan-kun." But it wasn't like they had done it with ill intentions. " Next time try to talk to him before following without him knowing, alright?"

"Okay!" they chorused, bright smiles on each of their faces, prompting Conan to roll his eyes.

Deciding that he had enough of this, Conan turned around, about to leave them alone, when his eyes caught on something on the floor. Watermarks. Indeed, there were tiny little drops of water next to the body. It's rather hot in here, too. The heater was on, definitely, and set in an unusually high temperature.

There also was that hair that the manager had picked up when he pretended to fall a few moments ago. Does it belong to Yoko-san? He didn't understand what it implied, actually.

Just as he was struggling to come up with something, he spotted something underneath the sofa ─ an earring, he noted after a closer look. But trying to get Inspector Megure to listen to him proved fruitless, so he had to actually hide from plain sight and call for him, using his bowtie to change his voice to a generic older male voice.

That was like Ikezawa Yuuko, the owner of that earring, officially became the third suspect. The police brought her right away, yet all she did was argue with Kogoro and turn around to go to the bathroom. As she did that, however, Conan came into a shocking realization.

They look exactly the same from behind!

"Hey, uncles..." Conan called as innocently as he could.

"Shut up, you annoying brat!" Kogoro yelled angrily at him.

He didn't expect, however, Ayumi to come from behind him and kick Kogoro on the shin, hard, before taking off running. As he watched the older man chasing after him, he could not help but wonder. Is she really that mad about Occhan yelling at me?

Yuuko proved to have been in Yoko's apartment after lighting a cigarette with a lighter that certainly didn't look like such, and the fact that she already knew where the bathroom was ─ both facts pointed out by Conan, while pretending to be a very curious child.

She ended up confessing that the victim had attacked her when she had sneaked inside, but swore she hadn't killed him. The victim was later identified as Yoko's high school boyfriend, making things even more confusing.

It wasn't until he saw a weird dent on the floor that everything cleared up in his mind. Now, the problem was... How to let the adults know about the trick?

"Yoko-san, Yoko-san." He started tugging on the idol's coat to get her attention. "I'm thirsty... Can I get some tea, please?"

"Conan-kun!" Ran rushed to his side and picked him up. "I'm so sorry, this child-"

"No, it's okay." Yoko waved her hand, with a kind smile drawn on her face. "I will be back soon."

Conan followed the woman as soon as Ran released him and watched her making the tea. Once she was done, she smiled at the boy.

"Would you like some sugar?"

"I can put it on myself, thank you."

With that, he grabbed the cup and the spoon, added a little sugar and swirled the liquid. Then, he took off running inside the living room, where the murder had taken place, with the cup on his hands and the spoon sticking out.

He almost collided with Kogoro, and he would have thrown him away by force if he wasn't holding a scalding hot drink in his hands.

"That was dangerous, Conan-kun," Mitsuhiko said, seriously. "You could've gotten hurt."

"You're right." He laughed nervously in reply. "I could have gotten burned or even stabbed, right?"

That remark caught Kogoro's attention. Conan mentally smirked when he noticed him watching.

"Stabbed? How?"

"If the cup had fallen like this..." He placed it on the floor. "... and then I fell on top of it like this..." The kid laid down and rested his upper body on his elbows, so the cup was between his arms and under his chest. "I could've gotten stabbed."

Kogoro's interest in what seemed an innocent and very childish demonstration grew.

"But, Conan-kun." Ayumi giggled. "You can't get stabbed by a spoon."

"Maybe if it was a knife, with the sharp end pointing out, it could be dangerous, but..." Mitsuhiko reasoned.

"And if the tea was frozen solid." Conan moved the spoon, so it stood straighter. "It could stay like this... and then you could get seriously hurt even without the cup."

"You have a very active imagination..." Genta raised an eyebrow.

The detective's eyes went wide after they focused on the watermarks close to the body, and the chairs that stood nearby, upright despite the messy state of the room it was in.

"I've solved it!" he yelled at the inspector. "The criminal... is the victim himself!"

Now that Kogoro was on the right track, he made a perfect deduction. Conan couldn't help but sigh, relieved, when the detective stated that the victim had killed himself after mistaking Yoko with Yuuko, therefore misunderstanding the woman's defensive attitude of rejection, and had tried to pin his murder to his old love.

"But..." Yoko questioned after the deduction was finished. "Why did Fujie-kun do such a thing?"

"I guess… Because he was still very much in love with you."

At those words, Conan couldn't help but frown. No, that's wrong, he thought, silently watching as Megure read the deceased's diary, which had been found in his house. That wasn't love, it was just… obsession.

Regardless of what she thought of him… Had he truly loved her, he would've wanted her to lead a happy life.

He gave Ran a brief look, with eyes far too wise for such a little boy, before they slid closed.

Am I wrong, Shinichi-niichan?

A/N:

Published: 03-02-2020

Last edited: 01-20-2021

Based on the Company President's Daughter Kidnapping Case and An Idol's Locked Room Murder Case.