Kogorō Mouri got up and answered the phone. "Hello, this is the Mouri Detective Agency."
"Haha, Mr. Mouri, it's me, Hattori Heiji."
"You're actually going to invite me?" Kogorō was surprised. Though he had overheard the call, he thought it was just a joke from Hattori, but it seemed he was serious.
"Eh? Mr. Mouri was there earlier? That's perfect. Please come to Osaka tomorrow. I'll treat you well."
"Are you sure?" Kogorō was somewhat doubtful.
"Of course, Mr. Mouri. I keep my word. I guarantee you'll eat well, drink well, and have a good time."
"Ahem, is there any alcohol?"
Hattori fell silent.
Ran slapped her forehead, feeling a little embarrassed.
Conan tried hard to hold back his laughter.
"Just kidding, just kidding." Kogorō broke the silence. "I accept your invitation."
"Great! Then please tell Kurosawa that he absolutely has to come too."
"Okay." After saying that, Kogorō hung up and looked at Kurosawa. "Hey kid, are you coming or not?"
"Yes." Kurosawa smiled. Though he didn't know what it was about, Hattori had taken the initiative to invite him. He wouldn't dare say much, but he should be able to easily earn one Origin Point.
Conan spoke up. "Hoshino-nii, can I come along?"
"Sure." Kurosawa nodded. Actually, he knew that refusing would be useless. Conan could just pester Professor Agasa to go with him.
"Ran, prepare dinner. I'm hungry." Kogorō said.
"Okay, I know." Ran smiled, knowing that she was late today and her father must be starving. Without delay, she got up and went to the kitchen to busy herself.
The next day. Osaka, nearing noon.
On the observation deck of the famous Tsutenkaku Tower.
"Wow! We can see so many famous places!" Ran was observing the cityscape of Osaka through binoculars.
Kurosawa and the others had arrived almost an hour ago. Hattori had picked them up at Shin-Osaka Station and taken them here by subway as soon as possible.
"Of course." Hattori said proudly. "You can see Tennoji Zoo, Osaka Stadium—all of these places clearly. Isn't Osaka great?"
"Yeah," Ran replied, quite agreeably. "Especially the view from here—it's really excellent."
Kogorō was much less polite. "But this place feels no different from Tokyo Tower. Also, it's already noon. Aren't you going to take us to eat? You said last night you'd make sure we had a good meal."
Hattori checked the time on his phone and laughed. "Almost there. The person I'm waiting for should be here in about ten minutes."
Kogorō rolled his eyes at the unreliable kid and simply ignored him, wandering around silently.
Kurosawa said calmly, "Hattori, you didn't just invite us here for fun, did you?"
"I just invited you guys to have fun. You and Ran enjoy the scenery. Conan and I have something to discuss." After Hattori finished speaking, he led Conan away from Kurosawa.
Kurosawa shook his head, then suddenly caught a glimpse of a somewhat familiar figure out of the corner of his eye.
It was a high school girl with dark brown hair tied in a high ponytail with an orange headband. She wore a light blue and white patchwork dress—the main body light blue with a dark blue trim around the hem—and brown ankle boots.
Toyama Kazuha? The name flashed through Kurosawa's mind, and he strode toward her.
This undisguised action caught the attention of the girl who had been watching them. Her eyes and expression visibly panicked. She looked around frantically, trying to find a place to hide, but it was too late. Finally, with no other option, she looked out from the observation deck, pretending to admire the scenery as if nothing had happened.
Kazuha heard the boy's laughter and her heart skipped a beat. She tried hard not to look away and continued to pretend to be a passerby. After a while, when there was no movement around her, she breathed a sigh of relief and thought to herself, Hehe, they didn't notice me. My tracking skills are really good.
Then she turned her head and met Kurosawa's half-smiling face.
"Ah—!" With a scream, Kazuha staggered back and almost fell to the ground. She patted her chest and said with lingering fear, "You scared me! You can scare people to death."
The commotion attracted the attention of many people who came to play, but they all only glanced at her and then looked away.
Kurosawa laughed. "What were you doing that made you so guilty you almost got scared to death?"
"I wasn't! Hmph, I know you. Your name is Kurosawa Hoshino—everyone calls you Kurosawa-kun, right?" Kazuha had a charmingly naive expression on her face that said, You don't know me, but I know you. She proudly raised her chin.
"Yes, that's my name, and that's what everyone calls me. It's nice to meet you, Kazuha." Kurosawa shrugged and said teasingly.
"How did you know my name?" Kazuha's eyes widened, her water-green pupils darting around as she warily glanced at the people around her. She whispered, "So, you really are a reincarnated person, right? Just like what they say online—you were reincarnated from the future and know a lot about past cases, which is why you solved them so quickly. We've only just met, yet you immediately knew my name. That means we've met in the future. Heh, how about that? I've discovered your biggest secret, haven't I?"
"Ahem, can I call you Kazuha?"
"We're not that close."
"Just call me Hoshino, and I'll call you Kazuha. That way, we'll be more familiar."
"Don't change the subject. Did I just hit the nail on the head?" Kazuha's face still held the surprise of discovering a super secret as she stared straight at him, wanting to see how he would explain.
Kurosawa sighed, a doting and affectionate expression on his face. "Kazuha, you're still the same as ever. You're right—I really did come back from the future. Back then, we were husband and wife. You were my wife."
"Husband and wife? Wife?" Kazuha stammered, stamping her feet in disbelief. "How could we be husband and wife in the future? How could I marry you?"
A laugh came from behind Kurosawa.
Kurosawa turned his head and saw Ran covering her mouth and laughing. He chuckled, "Don't you think she's adorably silly? So cutely silly."
"Yeah." Ran nodded, then quickly shook her head. Her pale purple eyes were full of laughter as she looked at Kazuha. "Not silly at all—just a little too gullible."
Listening to their conversation, Kazuha finally realized what they meant. Her face flushed red, and she glared at Kurosawa. "Fine! You lied to me!"
"Is it possible that, like Ran said, you're the one who's too gullible?"
"You—wait, no—how did you know my name? Did Heiji tell you?"
"Huh—you know Hattori?" Ran was surprised, not expecting the girl in front of her to actually know Hattori's name.