Mitsuhiko and Genta were afraid of Jiangxia—but they still wanted to save their classmate.
Unfortunately, they were just a step too slow. Haibara Ai had already jumped into action.
Mitsuhiko, ever the precocious one, caught a glimpse of Haibara on the skateboard and spent a second locked in a tragic internal debate: Is it inappropriate for a boy to touch a girl's waist? Should I just hug her shoulders instead? Before his awkward brain could reach a verdict, Conan had already zoomed off, leaving them in a cloud of dust.
Mitsuhiko coughed, gagging dramatically.
Genta, blocked by Mitsuhiko's dithering, also failed to jump on.
The two abandoned boys exchanged looks. After a long pause, they mumbled, "…Should we call the police first?"
…
As Conan sped after Ayumi on the skateboard, his face gradually turned pale.
At first, all he could think about was Ayumi. And Jiangxia. Concern. Urgency.
Halfway through, his brain had been completely overtaken by one thought: Ouch ouch ouch ouch ouch.
—Because Haibara Ai, hanging on tightly behind him, had latched onto his shoulder like a stressed-out koala. Her fingers were now unconsciously digging into his flesh. Half of it was probably due to the skateboard's ridiculous speed. The other half… concern for those two fools near the suspiciously bloody head.
"Don't overthink it." Normally, Conan didn't waste time trying to comfort people during a crisis. But right now, if he didn't say something, he was pretty sure Haibara was going to strangle him before they even caught up.
He forced himself to speak calmly. "Don't let the kid's words mislead you. You don't know him that well—Jiangxia wouldn't kidnap anyone. Ayumi must've been mistaken."
Then he paused, reconsidering. Jiangxia did have a pretty distinct face—not the kind easily mistaken.
"…Or maybe it's some sort of misunderstanding," he added.
—Because when Ayumi had screamed "Jiangxia is also in the car," the other three kids had all reacted like synchronized swimmers. So Conan had lumped Haibara in with them, assuming she, too, believed Jiangxia had done something...murdery.
Fair enough. She had just recently witnessed Jiangxia's delightful flair for violence. They hadn't known each other long—mostly just shared a few meals. She was still at that fragile impressionable stage where one wrong move could flip her entire opinion.
Haibara's eyelid twitched. Her eyes slowly sharpened, glinting cold.
"Jiangxia definitely wouldn't do something like that. But…"
But—if it was an Organization mission, and Jiangxia was just… assisting…
She couldn't say that out loud. That would expose his identity.
Haibara inhaled deeply. Calm down. Do not start scolding the dense detective. He can't help being like this. He was born this way.
The cold air of high-speed skateboarding cleared her mind.
She rephrased: "…But if someone forced him, that would be a different story."
Conan's mind instantly filled with images of criminals rolling on the ground in agony—mowed down by Jiangxia's fighting skills, which he envied so much it physically hurt.
"…Who could possibly coerce Jiangxia…?"
But wait. Coercion didn't have to be physical.
What if some villain used a little girl as a hostage?
He pulled out his phone.
Earlier, Haibara had stopped him from calling. So he'd sent a message instead—asking Jiangxia to contact him ASAP.
Still no reply. Maybe he hadn't seen it. Or his phone was dead. Or he was busy being suspicious.
After a moment's hesitation, Conan dialed anyway—hoping to finish the call before Haibara noticed.
This was a calculated risk.
After all, he was just an innocent little first-grader. The most harmless creature in the Detective Conan universe. Who would ever suspect him?
Of course, the call had to be carefully worded. He had to make Jiangxia aware that something was wrong with Ayumi—but also make sure that, in case someone else was listening in, nothing sounded suspicious…
…
Jiangxia was holding a paper party popper, idly dismantling it.
The car had stopped at an intersection, so the usual rattling had quieted. That's when he heard his phone ring.
Amuro Tooru heard it too, and gave a brief glance before losing interest.
It was his everyday phone.
Jiangxia checked the screen.
Conan?
…What a rare caller. The God of Death hardly ever called him. But when he did, it usually meant ghost time was right around the corner.
But Amuro Tooru also had a case going on. If their murder-related activities overlapped, who should he go with? Should he help Amuro first… or Conan? Or maybe he could schedule the deaths properly.
That Sayuri lady's husband was supposedly planning to poison her. Rich second-gen scumbag type. Should be easy to beat him into coughing up some murderous intent.
Looking forward to the possibilities, Jiangxia answered.
Then immediately froze.
Conan, using a syrupy childish voice, was saying: "Brotheeer Jiangxiiiaaa~ Didn't you say you'd be in our town's school play? Why aren't you here yet? And Ayumi's late toooo! If you don't come soon, the play's gonna be cancelled~"
Jiangxia: "…"
He silently pulled the phone away from his ear and stared at it suspiciously.
…Kudo's lost his mind?
Amuro Tooru raised an eyebrow. Jiangxia, deadpan, hung up with a snap.
Then he started thinking.
Okay, maybe Kudo hadn't lost his mind.
If he was suddenly acting like an actual six-year-old on the phone, something must've gone wrong.
And he mentioned Ayumi specifically. Did that mean he and Ayumi were kidnapped together?
Jiangxia glanced sideways at Amuro Tooru.
Sure, police were supposed to handle hostage situations. But this particular policeman was… not exactly a model cop. If it came down to a rescue mission, his talents might not be a perfect fit.
Still, something didn't add up.
If Conan had been kidnapped, he wouldn't have said weird stuff like "Ayumi is late."
And lumping Ayumi and "Brother Jiangxia" together, like they were both no-shows…
Wait a second.
Jiangxia's eyes narrowed. He suddenly remembered a faint scream he'd heard earlier on the road. A scream he'd ignored.
A lightning bolt struck his brain.
As someone with the divine gift of spoilers, of course he remembered that case—the one with the person stuffed in the trunk.
Under the guise of putting his phone away, Jiangxia subtly reached out and grabbed the ghost mermaid still circling around Amuro Tooru, trying to sniff out murder vibes.
He communicated silently: Go check the trunk.
Ghosts weren't great at spotting normal humans, but when it came to murderers, souls, and creepy stuff, they were top-tier bloodhounds.
Unless the human was someone like Gin—who basically walked around drenched in murderous intent like it was cologne.
*Goal #1: Top 200 fanfics published within the last 31 - 90 days by POWER STONES.
Progress: 36/60(approx) for 10 BONUS CHAPTERS
Goal #2: One BONUS CHAPTER per review for the first 10 REVIEWS.
Progress:2/10*