Next morning. "How did you sleep Conan-kun?"
"Fine, Ran-neechan. How about you?"
"Fine, hehehe" She giggled.
"Oh, come on, It's too early for this" He thought.
"So, Conan-kun got any plans for today?"
"Not rea-" He was cut by his cell phone ringing.
"Moshi moshi… Oh, okay, got it" Click.
"Who was that Conan-kun?" She raised her eyebrow.
"U-uh, It was my friend"
"Oh. So, do you have any plans?"
"Yeah, actually I'm going to the hakase to play video games"
"Okay, have a great time Conan-kun" She waved and winked at him.
"Yeah, Ran-neechan"
"What was the wink for?" He took out his turbo modified skateboard and sped to Agasa hakase's place.
He stepped into hakase's front porch and found Jodie-sensei at the doorway, with James and Camel.
"Oh, Cool Kid~ That was fast"
"Yeah, so what do you want to talk about Jodie-sensei?"
"Ah, let's go inside first" They entered the scientist house and sat on the sofa.
"We are here to discuss our plan to destroy the organization"
"Okay, I'm listening"
"Okay. We already explored the meeting place. It's a large five storey building surrounded by two storey warehouses. The area is deserted so if there's a gun war, no civilians will get caught in it. The main building can contain approximately 800.000 peoples. And the separate warehouses can be used for about 50 peoples, more or less"
"Ok. So what's the plan?"
"There's gonna be four separate teams. Team A, team B, team C, and team D. Team A will surround every building from the outside. Team B will go into the warehouses. Team C will go straight to the meeting place. And team D, the snipers, will stand by in the nearby warehouse's roof"
"That sounds like a great plan. But what about me, Ai, Hattori, and Kaito?"
"You and that little girl, Sherry, will go to the laboratory while Heiji and Kaito will back you up"
"Huh? What for?"
"For the data of the drug of course"
"Oh, I'm sorry Jodie-sensei but I don't need the antidote anymore"
"Why?"
"Well, let's just say I already have everything I want in this form. In Edogawa Conan" Jodie only smiled when she heard this. She knew that Ai have feelings for Conan, and now she's happy that Ai's feelings have been returned.
"Okay then, suit yourself" She said in a cheery voice.
"Then you will be placed with the D team. You can use a sniper right?"
"Yeah, I used one once. Then Hattori and Kaito will be in which team?"
"I think they will want to be placed in the C team. Mostly Kaito, since the person who killed his father, Snake, will likely be there"
"How 'bout Ai?" "I will be with Jodie-sensei" Ai suddenly appeared.
"Yikes, where did she come from?" He thought.
"But are you okay with it? I mean, you will be in danger"
"Well, I'm not you're damsel in distress, Conan" She glared at him.
"How about us?" Yuusaku and Yukiko appeared too.
"Otou-san. Okaa-san? You will go there too?"
"Of course. Do you think we will just let our son leave to fight an international crime organization alone?" Yukiko said with teary eyes.
"Oh no. Here comes her acting" He sighed.
"Of course not okaa-san" "Then we would like to be placed in the same team as our son"
"Ok. Then, everything is settled. Now we just need to wai-"
"How about me?" A man's voice cut her sentence. Everybody turned to the speaker and became speechless. "O-Okiya Subaru-san?"
Conan and everybody else was surprised.
"O-Okiya Subaru-san?" Conan said.
"No. Not Okiya Subaru. But…" He said while removing something from his head.
"Akai Shuuichi" Everybody's eyes widened as they saw the person who is supposed to be dead, except Conan who is grinning.
"M-M-Moroboshi Dai?" Ai thought.
"S-S-Shuu?" Jodie asked him with disbelief.
"Yeah, it's me" He replied. "Shuu…" She quickly hugged him while crying.
"How come you are still alive? I checked for the fingerprints and it was yours. How did you escape? Why didn't you contacted me? Wh-"
"Calm down, Jodie. I'll explain everything" Then everyone listened to his explanation.
"You all want to know how did I survived, right? Well the answer is, this is all a plan that was devised by that boy and me" He stated calmly.
"WHAT? CONAN-KUN, YOU KNOW ABOUT SHUU BEING ALIVE?" She shouted at Conan.
"I-I'm very sorry Jodie-sensei. It's because if we want to trick the enemies, we must be able to trick our allies first" He apologized. She sighed.
"So, how did you manage to carry out this plan of yours?"
"It's a long story…" Shuuichi replied.
Flashback
They were in Akai Shuuichi's Chevrolet. They were waiting for agent Camel to finish their plan to 'lend' Mizunashi Rena to the organization.
"Hey, Akai-san?" The boy said.
"What is it, boy?" The older man replied while lighting his cigarette.
"I have a plan. But I don't know whether you like it or not"
"What plan is it?" "Well, I know that Gin will be suspicious if they got Mizunashi Rena back so easily. And I think that they will force her to call you out and kill you"
"Carry on"
"Well, I was thinking of a plan to fake your death. You know, so they will let their guard down a little because their toughest opponent is gone"
"Well, that sounds like a good idea"
"Yeah, but you will have to face the consequences"
"And what is that, boy?"
"You can't tell anyone about this plan nor contact them in any way"
"No problem. I'm not really the type who calls for back up every now and then anyway"
"Okay, so let's go down to the details. I think when they call you out, they won't use snipers since they know you can smell their scent. So you only need to wear a bulletproof vest and a fake blood releasing contraption. But you will need to put it everywhere in your body especially on the back on your head, because I figured that they will order her to shoot your head to proof you are dead"
"Got it, but how will we make everyone thinks I'm dead?"
"First, you will need Kusuda Rikumichi's body and fingerprints. Then you need to wash off your fingerprints from everything you have touched. After that you will have to replace your fingerprints with Rikumichi's fingerprints. Lastly, when you are shot, you need to put one of your hands on your pocket"
"Care to explain why do I have to do all this?"
"Okay. You need Kusuda Rikumichi's body to replace yours. When you are called out, I will send a couple of patrol cars there with a reason 'There's an accident in that area' and of course I will try to find a real accident so they won't get suspicious if there's actually no accident"
"Why do I need to replace my own body?" The older man asked with curiosity.
"Well, if they were on a mission and suddenly a patrol car passes the area they will have nothing else to do except blowing up the evidence with plastic explosives"
"Oh, so you're saying, when they placed a bomb in my car, I need to switch my body with Rikumichi's so there will be a corpse in the crime scene?"
"Yeah. If not a single body was found in the crime scene, they will get suspicious again. Because no matter how close you are with a plastic bomb, there must still be a corpse. But don't forget to place the corpse's hand in the same pocket you used and shot him a few times at the same place you was shot"
"Okay, then what about the fingerprints? Why do I need to replace mine with Rikumichi's?"
"Remember when you touched my phone?"
"Yeah"
"Well, we're going to use it"
"Why?"
"Listen. If there was someone from the FBI just died, your colleagues definitely would confirmed it, right? Especially Jodie-sensei"
"Yeah. But that still doesn't answer why we need your cell phone for this plan to work"
"Well, you need to break Jodie-sensei's phone and I will lend her mine, of course, already touched with Kusuda Rikumichi's fingerprints. Then, when you 'died', the only thing Jodie will use is that phone, since your Chevrolet will likely be in custody and your hand will be kept by the police as evidence. So she will remember you touching my phone, and use a background story like 'I met this person earlier this day, so I thought maybe it's the same person' to check for your fingerprints. And since all the fingerprints from your car is already replaced by Kusuda Rikumichi's, the police will tell her that it's the same person"
"Ok. So how will I escape?"
"Well, after you switched the body you need to run away and hide somewhere until it's safe to go"
"Where will I go?"
"You can live in an apartment near my house, with a disguise and a change of name of course. But at one time we need to meet, pretend to be acquaintances and you need to say you didn't have a place to live and I will lent you my house"
"Ok. What disguise should I use?"
"How about, a tall man with glasses, mixed brown-gray hair, and with a status of University Graduate Student?" "Sounds good" The man cupped his chin with his hand. "What about the name, identity and so on, and so on?" The man asked. "I will take care of that. And for the name, what do you say for Okiya Subaru?" "Pretty nice" When they agreed on the plan, the older man's cell phone buzzed. He answered the call and waited for the response. "It was… A success" Click. A man from the other line said. After the call ended the older man gave a thumbs up sign to the boy and the boy did the same. The man started the car and drove off. "You never cease to amaze me boy" The man said with a smirk. "Right back at you" The boy replied.
Flashback over
"That is how all of this started" Shuuchi finally said after finishing his story.
"So, you planned all of this Conan-kun?" James asked, amazed by the boy's intelligence to be able to predict that far.
"Yeah, and Akai-san agreed so we decided to carry out the plan" Conan answered.
"So, the only ones who knew this was only you and Shuu?" Jodie asked too.
"Yeah. And I'm sorry for not telling you Jodie-sensei" He apologized again.
"Wait… Didn't you two meet on the arson case? Don't tell me you started the fire?" Jodie grimaced.
"Oi, oi. Seriously?" He thought, sweat dropped.
"No. Of course not. But, I think we can call it a fortunate accident because we don't need to from a plan about meeting together" Conan answered.
"Jodie-sensei, are you still mad at us?" The boy sounded guilty.
"No, it's okay. I already understand the circumstances. And I'm glad that you're alright Shuu" She smiled at Shuuichi.
"Thank's Jodie" Shuuichi smiled back at her, he is pretty happy that somebody actually cares for him. Then suddenly the front door opened.
"CONAN-KUN~ WHERE ARE YOU~?" A girl voice called.
"Ah, there you ar-" She stopped mid-sentence when she saw Shuuichi.
"S-S-Shuu-nee?" She asked with a shocked and trembling voice.
"Sera-chan" Shuuichi said with a surprised expression.
"WHO ARE YOU? WHY ARE YOU IMPERSONATING MY BROTHER?" She yelled.
"Listen to me first, Sera-chan. I am your brother. Don't you remember me" He said while walking towards her.
"NO. YOU'RE LYING. MY BROTHER IS DEAD. YOU CAN'T BE MY BROTHER NO MATTER HOW SIMILAR YOU LOOK WITH HIM" She said with rage.
"Let me explain first, okay. I faked my death. And the only one who knew about my wellbeing is only that boy over there" He gestured his hand towards Conan.
"Wh-what?" She asked with a mix of confuse and disbelief.
"Look, I already explained everything to them so please understand. I really am your brother, Akai Shuuichi"
"Bu-but, why?" He sighed and told her about his mission and his faked death. While the two is talking, everybody else is thinking while looking at him.
"So, Masumi Sera is Akai Shuuichi's sister. No wonder I was familiar with her. But I am still curious about her. I once asked her about have we met before, but she only replied 'I can't tell you yet. Not until the time comes'. And the wallpaper on her phone. Who is that girl who looked exactly like her? And who is the second brother?" Conan thought.
"So, that person is Akai Shuuchi's sister. That's why I thought I've met her somewhere before" Camel thought.
"Shuu got a little sister? He never told me about her. Why didn't he?" Jodie thought.
After the two siblings ended their conversation, Shuuichi spoke.
"So, what team will I be in?" The room was silent until James answered.
"I think you will be in the D team, since you are our trump card, beside this kid, and you are our best sniper"
"Okay, then let's get back to the headquarters" He said while approaching the front door.
"Wait, you can't go out like that. If somebody from the organization recognizes you, you'll get killed" Jodie blurted.
"No need to worry. Until the awaited battle with the organization comes, I will remain as Okiya Subaru" He replied while putting his mask back on.
"Oh, okay then" Jodie, James, and Camel soon followed Shuuichi.
"Oh, Sera-chan?" Shuuchi asked before going out of the house.
"Yeah, Shuu-nee?" She asked back.
"Can I stay at your place after I go back to the hq? I don't want to burden the Kudo family anymore and I think spending time with my little sister is not a very bad idea, since we've rarely met" He smiled at his little sister.
"Okay, here's the key" She took out the automatic hotel key and handed it over to him.
"Thanks. See you at home" "Okay, Shuu-nee" Then everybody started to leave.
"Hey Conan-kun" Sera approached Conan while smiling, revealing her little tooth in the corner of her mouth.
"What's up, Sera-neechan?" She chuckled.
"Hehehe… I already heard it from Ran-chan… So, you're already going out with that girl, huh?" She smiled even wider.
"Whaa- N-no I'm not… Where did you get that idea from" He waved his hands in front of him while blushing. He tried to deny the fact that he was recently going out with Ai.
"Conan-kun, I know you are better than me in revealing criminals desire, but you are terrible at hiding your own" She moved closer to Conan.
"So, are you really going out with that girl?" He sighed.
"There's no way I'm going to win over this girl"
"Yeah, well technically at least. Because I haven't confessed to her yet. I don't even know whether she likes me or not"
"Well, Conan-kun, you can read a murderer's mind, but not so great in reading a girls heart" She stood up and started to leave too.
"Well. Good luck. I wish the best for you Conan-kun" She waved at him.
"Ah, Sera-neechan" "Yeah, Conan-kun?"
"Can you keep this a secret from Ran-neechan?"
"Which one?"
"The FBI and the Black Organization things and my involvement. Can you keep it a secret from Ran-neechan?"
"Of course, you can count on me" She gave him a thumbs up and left.
Now the only ones there was Conan, Ai and Agasa hakase. Conan's parents returned to the Kudo mansion.
"Ai-kun, it's time to sleep" Agasa reminded her. She threw herself onto the sofa.
"Hakase, it's still too early for bed. Can't I do something else?" She whined.
"I gotta admit it. She sounds very cute when she whines. Just like a real kid" He thought. He walked to Ai, abruptly lifted her and carried her bridal-style.
"Wow, she's very light. Just like a feather, I could carry her like this forever" He thought while holding Ai in his arms.
"Wha- What are you doing, Conan? Put me down at once!" She demanded.
"Not until we reach your room" He said while climbing the stairs.
"What does he think he's doing? Carrying me all of the sudden. But I like it. His hold on me makes me feel warm on the cold, dark, night" She thought. He reached her room and laid her down on her bed. He caressed her face and her hair. Then unexpectedly, he kissed her on the cheek. They both blushed when realizing what just happened.
"Goodnight, Ai" He stood up and walked to the door.
"Goodnight, Conan" She smiled.
Outside Ai's room.
"Aww~ Look, our son is already a grown up" Yukiko said with a cheery voice while pinching Conan's face.
"Okaa-san, stop it" He said.
"Hehehe… You two look very cute together. I can already imagine your life when you're married" Yukiko squealed. He blushed at the thought.
"Aww~ You're blushing" Yukiko teased him.
"Okaa-san" He sighed.
"What's wrong Co-chan?" Yukiko asked him.
"Well, you see, I have a problem with showing my relationship with Ai in school"
"Why? Are you being bullied because of Ai-chan?"
"No, the thing is… Ayumi has a child crush on me and so does Mitsuhiko on Ai" He said in a sad voice.
"I don't want to end our friendship but I'm having a hard time thinking about a way to tell them without breaking our liaison" He said disappointed. Yukiko noticed he was being serious and gestured Yuusaku to come closer.
"Co-chan, how about this, me and your father will talk to them separately and will convince them to give up on you two. Of course in a gentle way, not force. And maybe we can hook them up too" She smiled at Conan who was looking at the floor suddenly lifted his head to meet his mother's gaze. Then he smiled too.
"Thanks, otou-san, okaa-san. You two always finds a way to make things better" His father smiled.
"We're your parents so it's our job to take care of you, son" he smiled and went to the door.
"Then, otou-san, okaa-san. Goodnight"
"Goodnight, Conan" They said in unison.
The next day. "Prepare for another day filled with boredom. Well, not everything is boring though. At least I could spend all day with Ai" He brushed his teeth, ate breakfast and left for school.
"You can go ahead, Ran-neechan. I'll catch up if I can" He waved his hand.
"Okay Conan-kun, don't trip or fall"
"Yeah, Ran-neechan. I know" She chuckled.
"Geez, she still treats me like a child" He arrived at Agasa's house.
"Ai, let's go to school" He yelled from the outside. Inside Ai's room.
"He is never so excited to go to school before. Not until the day he started to come to the hakase's house to walk me to school" She walked downstairs and bid goodbye to the hakase.
"Ai~ Come on or we're gonna be late"
"You don't need to yell you know, you can just come inside" She closed the door and walked beside him.
They'd reached school and went in their class. Kobayashi-sensei entered the class.
"Ohayou~ Class" The teacher greeted.
"Ohayou~ Kobayashi-sensei"
"Kids. I'm sure you all know that Valentines day is only a couple of days away right?"
"Yes, sensei" "Good. For Valentines day we have a school activity. The school will stage a dance ball and you may bring your dates. You can choose whoever you want. If the person accept of course and the school will pick the best couple at the ball" After Kobayashi-sensei finished talking the class hurriedly ran to the two children sitting in the back.
"Haibara-san, would you like to be my date?" A boy said.
"No, go with me Haibara-san"
"No. Me"
"Me. Choose me" Ai was surrounded by many boys while Conan is asked by many girls.
"Conan-kun. Be my date for the party"
"No, Conan-kun. Be my date to the party"
"Go with me Conan-kun. You won't regret it"
They both rejected all the request and looked at each other. They both blushed.
"So, you haven't got any date to the party?" He asked, blushing.
"Yeah, seems like it" Rrrriingggg. The school bell signaled lunch time. Ai and Conan walked to the cafeteria. They sat with the Detective Boys as usual. Before eating Ayumi asked Conan.
"Conan-kun, can you meet me at the park later?"
"Uh, oh okay" Conan answered.
"Yay, then it's a promise Conan-kun. Don't forget" Ayumi started eating, then Mitsuhiko asked Ai too.
"Haibara-san. Can you go to the school garden after school?" Mitsuhiko asked shyly.
"Yeah, sure" She replied with her usual 'cool' voice.
In the afternoon. "I have to meet Ayumi" Conan ran to the park.
"Sorry, I'm late" He said while trying to catch his breath.
"It's okay" She answered in a cheerful manner.
"So, what do you want to talk about?" She hesitated and finally spoke.
"Conan-kun I-I-I like you" She confessed.
"U-uh…" He didn't know what to say.
"So, would you go to the ball with me?" She asked, closing her eyes, hoping he would say yes.
"I-I'm sorry Ayumi, I-I can't" He answered. He felt guilty for making her sad. She was like a little sister he never had.
"Why? Why can't you go with me?" Tears forming in her eyes.
"I'm sorry Ayumi, but I don't like you. I mean not in a romantic way. I like you as a friend" He stated.
"It's Ai-chan isn't it?" She asked sadly.
"H-huh. What do you mean?" He stuttered.
"Don't lie to me Conan-kun. You like Ai-chan don't you?" He tried to find an excuse, but found none. Then she started running.
"Oi, Ayumi-chan. Stop" He ran after her.
"CONAN-KUN WA BAKA, BAKA, BAKA" She said while crying. He almost reached her when he suddenly tripped on his own foot.
"Kuso- Now what've I done?" He sighed and started to go home. They both didn't know that someone was watching them behind the park lamp.
Somewhere in school. "Ah, Haibara-san. Thank you for coming" Mitsuhiko approached Ai.
"Sure, I promised didn't I?" She said, smiling a little. She didn't want to be rude to the boy in front of her. Mitsuhiko showed Ai a couple of red roses.
"Haibara-san would you go with me to the ball?" He asked nervously.
"I-I-I'm sorry Tsuburaya-kun. I can't" Ai tried to be gentle at rejecting him, but not too kind or the boy will think that she likes him but too shy to admit it.
"W-why?" He asked dejectedly.
"Of course I can't. Why would I go out with someone who is ten years younger than me" She said sarcastically to herself.
"Well, it's not the only reason I can't go out with him. The real reason is because I love a certain metantei who is too dumb to notice my feelings" She remembered that he was still waiting for her answer.
"It's because… It's because…" She tried to find a reason but she can't.
"You like Conan-kun, don't you Haibara-san?"
"Huh? What? Why would I like him? What makes you say tha-"
"Don't try to deny it Haibara-san. I know that you like Conan-kun"
"How can you be so sure?" She asked while waving her hand in front of her.
"It's from the way you talked to him. The way you always talked with each other about things we, or even Ran-oneechan doesn't understand. And the way you always understands him without even talking to each other" He said exasperatedly.
"Wow, these kids are getting sharper. What monsters have you created, Conan?" She mused in her head.
"So, am I right Haibara-san?" He asked again.
"I-I think so. Maybe" He looked down and started turning around.
"I-I'm sorry Tsuburaya-kun. I can't go to the ball with you. Are you mad at me?" She asked with worry because it's like she was going to ruin their friendship if he was mad at her.
"No. Of course not, Haibara-san. Then I'll be going. Again, thanks for coming, Haibara-san" He ran off smiling at her while waving his hand. She knew that smile was forced, she bit her lip. Then she started going home too when a mysterious person walked away from behind the school walls.
Ayumi was still crying. "Conan-kun baka" She yelled in her head. She was running when she accidentally bumped into a man.
"I'm sorry little girl" He apologized. The man was around his late 30's.
"Ah, Ayumi-chan? What a coincidence" Yuusaku said in a cheerful tone to stop the girl from crying.
"Who are you mister? Do I know you?" She asked Yuusaku. Afraid that he might be a bad person or any of those things.
"Of course. Well, sort of. Although we've never met" The man scratched his head while smiling apologetically.
"May I ask for your name mister?" She asked again.
"Sure. My name is Yuusaku Kudo. I'm Conan-kun's father" Her eyes widened and quickly fixed herself up, trying to make a good image in front of the father of his dream boy.
"Oh, I'm sorry, Yuusaku-ojisan. I didn't recognize you since we've never met" She apologized.
"No, no. It's my fault for greeting you all of the sudden before announcing my name" He grinned.
"Why don't we go to a café and have a chat there, Ayumi-chan?" Yuusaku offered.
"Okay, Yuusaku-ojisan" They went into a café nearby and ordered some snacks.
"So, Ayumi-chan, what things happened lately in school?" She looked down.
"Well, there's a dance ball in school and we are allowed to pick our dates to the ball" She told him, holding her tears.
"So, who is your date for the ball, Ayumi-chan?" He asked trying not to put on too much pressure in her, cause he already know that Conan rejected her. He was hiding behind one of the park lamps.
"W-well. I asked Conan-kun to the date. But… B-but he rejected me. He rejected me because she likes Ai-chan" She started crying again, but not too loudly. She didn't want to embarrass her crush's father.
"Then what will you do Ayumi-chan?" He asked gently.
"Huh? What do you mean? Of course I want to make him mine… What do you think I would do?" She was angry at the question. Yuusaku smiled and placed a hand in Ayumi's shoulder.
"Ayumi-chan, do you know how much Conan-kun likes Ai-chan?" She was confused by the question.
"I-I guess so. He always looks at her when she was not looking. He always took care of her whenever she was sick. And almost every time Ai-chan's around, he's there too" The smile grew wider in Yuusaku's face, almost scaring the girl.
"Then what if you took him away? What if you have him against his desire? If he really likes Ai-chan that much, what will happen if you separate him from her? Even if he chooses you, it's because of pity, not love. You will only get his shell, while his contents is gone with her" Yuusaku said with concern. He doesn't want the girl to interfere with his son relationship, but he also doesn't want to crush a little girl's dreams.
"Ayumi-chan. Sometimes in life, we need to let go of the one we love. And if the person is happy, we should be happy too" Yuusaku changed his tone from concern to a half cheerful and a half serious.
"So, what will you do, Ayumi-chan?" The girl thinks hard for a moment. After a couple of minutes, she made up her mind.
"I think… I will let him go" She answered a little more enthusiastic than before. Yuusaku smiled and sipped his coffee.
"Ayumi-chan. I think you made the right decision. And I think you better ask your other friend who I think, probably rejected too" Yuusaku said calmly.
"Huh? Other friend? Who is my other friend?" Ayumi asked curiously.
"Hahaha… I mean Tsuburaya Mitsuhiko-kun. He is your childhood friend isn't he?" He laughed.
"Oh. But I thought he likes Ai-chan?" Ayumi asked sadly, for her second option is fading away too.
"I said probably rejected didn't I? That means there is a chance that Ai-chan turned down his offer" Yuusaku cheered her up.
"Really? That's great. I mean, not because he is rejected. Well, I thinks he is pretty cute. He is always shy when talking to girls. And always speak in a formal manner because his parents are teachers. And he is pretty handsome too, although not as much as Conan-kun" She blushed.
"Then go already. Go find him before someone else asks him out" He signaled her to go to find him.
"Okay. Thanks Yuusaku-ojisan. Oh, and how do you know about him being rejected?" She asked one last time before leaving. Yuusaku couldn't find any right excuse.
"Ah, w-well let's just say I saw him walking home dejectedly and deduced that he was rejected by a girl" He laughed nervously.
"Deduced? Are you a detective, Yuusaku-ojisan?" "Well, used to be. But now, I'm a mystery book writer. You know, the Night Baron series, I'm sure you've heard of it"
"Ohhhh… Well then, thanks. I hope we meet again, Yuusaku-ojisan"
"Sure. Me too. Bye, Ayumi-chan" He waved.
"Bye" She replied.
Meanwhile. "Why can't you go with me Haibara-san? Why is it always Conan-kun? Why does he always gets the girls?" Mitsuhiko thought sulkily.
"Mitsuhiko-kun?" A woman's voice broke Mitsuhiko's train of thoughts.
"Huh, ah Yukiko-san. What are you doing here?" Mitsuhiko asked surprised, because Conan's parents rarely visits Japan.
"Oh, nothing. I'm just going to see how Conan-kun is doing, but it doesn't matter. More importantly, why are you looking so depressed Mitsuhiko-kun?" She asked concerned. She knew he was rejected. She was eavesdropping behind the school walls.
"U-uh, ummm…" He tried to find the right words. He doesn't want to make her think he was mad at her son.
"Why don't we go somewhere better to have a chat?" Yukiko asked.
"O-okay" They went to the park, bought ice cream and sat on a nearby bench.
"Well, the thing is Yukiko-san… I was rejected by Haibara-san" He sounded very sad.
"Oh my…" She acted like she was shocked, she didn't want him to know that she was watching him being rejected.
"So, do you want to talk about it?" She asked in a low voice.
"Yeah. She said she didn't want to go with me because she likes Conan-kun" There was a hint of jealousy and anger in his tone.
"Mitsuhiko-kun, do you know why she likes Conan-kun?" She asked.
"H-huh. What kind of question is that? Of course because he is smarter than me. And he is better at soccer than me. And he is more good looking than me, well, most girls said that" Yukiko giggled when she heard this.
"What's wrong Yukiko-san? Is something wrong with what I've just said?" She stopped giggling and smiled.
"Mitsuhiko-kun. Don't you know how smart you are for a child your age?" She chuckled.
"What are you talking about? I can't even compare my knowledge with Conan-kun and Haibara-san" She sighed lightly.
"Mitsuhiko-kun. Conan-kun and Ai-chan are special. They are what you call prodigies. So you don't need to include them on your list. Now think about it. Beside those two, who is the one who always speak smartly and formally? Who is the one who reminds people of dangers around them? Who is the one who takes care of the Detective Boys if those two are absent?"
"I-I don't know" He spluttered.
"It's you, Mitsuhiko-kun. You are the one who those two are depending on. But it doesn't mean they doesn't trust Ayumi-chan and Genta-kun. They put more trust into you because they knew you are smart and can handle hard situations"
"But what situations could I handle?"
"Maybe you are still scared when seeing a corpse. Not like Conan-kun and Ai-chan who quickly rushed to the deceased's body. Maybe you can't defuse a bomb and deduce the next target place at the same time. Maybe you couldn't catch bad guys with your kick. But you are not him. You are different. You are Tsuburaya Mitsuhiko, not Edogawa Conan. Different people do different things. Like the time you bandaged Ai-chan's ankle when you are running away from a murderer. Or when you handed your jacket to Ai-chan when you and your friends are trapped in a package delivery truck. Or when you always helped Conan with his deduction, or finding clues, or providing him evidence. You are the one who did that. Not Conan-kun. Not Haibara-san. Not Ayumi-chan. Not Genta-kun. Maybe they helped, but you are the one who worked the most. Don't you even know that Mitsuhiko-kun?"
She smiled gently at him. He was stunned. He really did all those things but never thought highly at them. Maybe because he is too modest or maybe because he is simply jealous that Conan always gets the good part. But now, he knows that without him, the case wouldn't have been solved. Without evidence, the culprit wouldn't have been caught.
"So, do you still think so little about yourself?" Yukiko asked cheerfully.
"No. On the opposite, I'm proud for what I've done" She sighed happily.
"So, now do you know why Ai-chan likes Conan-kun?"
"Didn't I told you before" Mitsuhiko replied. "Mitsuhiko-kun, how much do you know about Ai-chan?"
"I know her very well. She likes animals. She likes to makes fun of people. She dislike going somewhere alone. And she also dislike some of the people we've met. I know that she sometimes looked so sad and sorrowful"
"That's only what she shows you. But what about the others?"
"What do you mean?" He was confused.
"There is a difference between knowing and understanding, Mitsuhiko-kun"
"Huh?"
"That's the difference between Conan-kun and the others. He understands Ai-chan. He always comforts her. He always cheered her up when she was down. He always catches her when she falls. He always takes care of her. And so, she have more trust in him than anybody else. Because he is there when her sister died. Because he is there when she cried. Because he is there when she's scared. He protected her. He understands her. That is the difference" Yukiko smiled again at the boy. Mitsuhiko thinks for a couple of minutes.
"I think you're right Yukiko-san. They understand each other so well that they know what the other was thinking"
"Yeah. That is what I mean. So, what would you do now Mitsuhiko-kun? Would you destroy their relationship or are you going to move on?" Mitsuhiko thinks again and then his mood lightens up.
"I think I will find another girl. Being rejected doesn't means we can't try again" Mitsuhiko said cheerfully.
"Then what about Ayumi-chan?" Yukiko suggested.
"Well, I liked her since preschool and she is pretty too. Yeah, I will ask her out" Mitsuhiko stood up from the bench and said thanks to Yukiko.
"Thank you, Yukiko-san. For the talk and everything. Including the ice cream. And tell Conan-kun I wish him good luck with Haibara-san. Goodbye" He waved.
"Goodbye~" Yukiko replied. Then he suddenly walked back to her.
"What's wrong, Mitsuhiko-kun?" She asked confused.
"Well, I just want to ask how do you know all the details of our cases?" Her eyes suddenly turned to dots.
"U-uh. W-well, Conan-kun sometimes told me about his latest cases, so I knew several of them" She said while smiling nervously.
"Oh, okay. Thanks again Yukiko-san"
"Your welcome" Then the boy vanished from her sight.