Teitan High School.
Kurosawa Hoshino and Ran returned to school after a long absence.
The moment they stepped inside, students turned to stare. Every step they took drew more eyes, as if they were rare animals on display.
"Good morning, junior. Ran, Sonoko—good morning."
A familiar female voice came from behind. The three turned to see Tsukamoto Kazumi hurrying over to join them.
"Good morning, senpai."
Tsukamoto patted Kurosawa on the shoulder. "Junior, there's been news and newspaper articles about you every single day lately. You're solving cases nonstop. Everyone's opinion of you just keeps getting higher."
"I can't help it. I just happen to run into them." Kurosawa said this, but inside he felt a bit disappointed. It looked like he probably wouldn't encounter a case today.
Only two Origin Points short. He was anxious, but he knew worrying wouldn't help.
"I think you're amazing. Even more amazing than Kudō junior back in the day."
"Kudō is still very strong."
"But I think you're stronger. I've seen the news about him solving cases—he was never as fast as you."
They chatted and laughed as they walked toward the teaching building.
After changing his shoes, Kurosawa saw Araide Tomoaki emerge from somewhere. The man held a small bag in his hand and handed it to Ran.
"Ran, could you please take this to the staff room on your floor for Ms. Jodie? I need to see other students, so I won't be going upstairs just yet."
"Dr. Araide, no problem. It's on my way anyway." Ran took the bag of medicine.
Kurosawa shook his head inwardly. Vermouth, you always try to get close to Ran whenever you have the chance. You're acting like a total creep.
Araide Tomoaki was tactful—he delivered the medicine and left without lingering.
Ran," Sonoko nudged her best friend with an elbow, "I've noticed Dr. Araide looks at you with such gentle eyes."
"Really?" Ran was taken aback. "I feel like Dr. Araide looks gentle with everyone. He's a very kind person. You can sense that, right?"
Sonoko thought about Araide's behavior and reputation at school, then nodded. "You know what? That's true."
Kurosawa couldn't tell if Vermouth was faking it or if the mask genuinely radiated kindness. In the later plot, when the real Araide Tomoaki returned, he learned about some of the things Vermouth had done while impersonating him. Even he wasn't sure if the person who had done so many good things under his identity was truly a bad person.
"By the way," Tsukamoto said, "are you eating lunch in the classroom or the cafeteria?"
"We all brought our own lunches," Ran replied.
"That's great. How about we eat together by the playground at noon?"
"I'd rather not be treated like a monkey." Kurosawa didn't need to guess—if he ate by the playground, he'd be surrounded by the entire school.
Tsukamoto thought for a moment. "Then I'll come to your classroom. Would you welcome me?"
Ran said, "Of course, senpai. You're welcome anytime."
Sonoko added, "Besides, our class is very easygoing. And everyone in our year knows your reputation as the former karate captain. They wouldn't dare refuse you entry."
"Oh dear, you make me sound so scary." Tsukamoto waved her hand.
Kurosawa's mind flashed back to the scene at the karate club with Ran—the boy flying backward had looked terrifying.
A short while later, school ended and they went home.
Kurosawa and Ran opened the door to the second floor of the Mōri Detective Agency and walked in one after another.
"Huh? Conan, is this your new friend?"
Kurosawa heard Ran's words, turned his head slightly, and saw the little girl sitting on the sofa. He stared at her for a few seconds, stunned.
Wait—how did Shiho Miyano become Haibara Ai?
He took a few steps closer to examine the little girl. No mistake.
That's not right. The bank robbery never happened. How did Haibara Ai appear?
While his thoughts raced, Haibara noticed Kurosawa staring at her blankly. She was certain he couldn't possibly recognize her, but she still felt inexplicably nervous.
After a moment, Kurosawa snapped out of it. He looked at Haibara and smiled. "Little sister, hello. What's your name?"
Has this guy changed his personality? Conan stared at Kurosawa strangely. This guy, who was often teased even by Ayumi and the others, was now being so kind to Haibara, whom he'd just met. It was odd.
Haibara lowered her head slightly and spoke softly. "Haibara Ai."
"Haibara Ai. That's nice. I'll call you Ai from now on."
Kurosawa acted very familiar, starting to fish for information.
The two of them, one big and one small, chatted for about ten minutes.
Kurosawa gathered some information: Ai was still living at Professor Agasa's house, and today was her first day of school.
After hearing this, Kurosawa frowned inwardly. Where did things go wrong? Did Miyano Akemi die early?
Oh well. If I can't figure it out, I'll stop thinking about it. It was the Detective Conan world, after all. The timeline was already a mess. It wasn't so hard to accept that some things had happened earlier.
"Huh? Ai, you're living at Professor Agasa's house?" Ran's eyes suspiciously scanned Conan.
Professor Agasa had dumped Conan on her, saying he couldn't take care of him and had no experience with children. But now, Ai was living at his house. It made Ran wonder if Conan was too naughty—maybe Professor Agasa simply didn't want to deal with him.
"Mm." Ai nodded, glancing at Kurosawa out of the corner of her eye. She felt wistful.
They usually chatted online, always bickering. Now, meeting in person like this—her so small that he didn't even recognize her—it was a strange experience.
"Ai, stay for dinner." Kurosawa smiled, placing his hand on her short brown hair and ruffling it. "I know Professor Agasa's house. I'll take you home later."
Ai resisted the urge to slap his head and the urge to say something sarcastic. She reluctantly nodded.
After all, she was a child now. Naturally at a disadvantage against a high school student.