The laws in the world of Detective Conan are sometimes infuriating.
Criminals have all sorts of reasons that can reduce their sentences.
Take crimes committed while drunk, for instance...
From what he remembered, there was one case where someone, after getting drunk, pushed a child down the stairs, causing their death. But in the end, the court only sentenced them to five years, and even gave them a suspended sentence...
What's even more absurd is that the child's parents sought revenge, only for Conan to chase them down again and again until they were *both* sent to prison.
Is being drunk really considered unconscious behavior?
Does anything done while intoxicated count as accidental homicide, or something that warrants a lighter punishment?
Fujino couldn't understand how such idiotic judgments came about.
"Lord Mermaid! Can you grant me the power of the mermaid?"
Lowering his head, Fujino saw Kadokawa Saori sitting on the ground in front of him, looking up at him with expectant eyes.
Fujino: "..."
Seriously...?
She just... believed he was a mermaid.
And she wanted to ask him for mermaid power?
Honestly, he had a bit of doubt about this woman's mental state.
But Kadokawa Saori didn't think so.
Right now, her gaze was fixated on Fujino's body with fervent intensity.
Every now and then, she would even swallow, looking exactly like a big bad wolf eyeing a little lamb, or a tigress staring at a teenage boy.
Kadokawa Saori hadn't felt any pain from being hit those few times earlier, and the cool breeze on her backside hadn't made her feel embarrassed either.
On the contrary, she was abnormally excited, thinking about how to obtain the mermaid's blessing of eternal life.
In Japanese legends, eating the flesh of a mermaid grants the power of immortality.
There was a similar legend on their island, saying that *Miyo-sama* lived to be a hundred because she ate mermaid flesh...
That is to say, as long as she ate his flesh, she could gain the ability to live forever.
This temptation was quite significant. Clearly, in her eyes, Fujino had become a living Tang Monk [a reference to a legendary figure whose flesh was sought for immortality].
Kadokawa Saori decided to go all out.
Ever since the incident three years ago where Miyo-sama died in a fire only to come back to life the next day, she had firmly believed in the existence of mermaids and became a devout follower.
As a loyal follower of mermaids, she naturally wouldn't miss this chance.
Even if she was beaten to death today, she would still bite off a piece of the Lord Mermaid's flesh.
She suddenly stood up and pounced towards Fujino.
At the same time, she opened her mouth, viciously trying to bite a chunk out of Fujino's body.
"Smack!"
Fortunately, Fujino reacted quickly, sending a slap across her face that sent her flying about a meter away.
"Is this crazy woman... trying to eat my flesh?"
Fujino took two steps back, looking at Kadokawa Saori, who had been slapped away not far off, with lingering fear, his brows slightly furrowed.
If it had been an ordinary person today, they would probably have definitely gotten a piece bitten off.
"This woman wants to eat human flesh for eternal life... has she become this superstitious about mermaids?"
Fujino felt his scalp tingle. He thought to himself for a moment, then a thought struck him. He decided to turn her plan against her: "Do you really want eternal life?"
"Yes!"
Seeing her surprise attack fail, Kadokawa Saori immediately became respectful again, quickly rolling over and kneeling on the ground as if begging for alms. "As long as I can live forever, I am willing to pay any price."
"Alright, alright..."
Fujino looked at Kadokawa Saori, his eyes under the hood narrowing slightly. "First, close your eyes. I will give you the mermaid's blessing right now."
"Really?!"
Kadokawa Saori looked exceptionally excited and immediately closed her eyes.
"Of course, it's real..."
Fujino silently picked up the taser and carefully approached Kadokawa Saori step by step.
"Zzzzz..."
"Ah— Harder, please~"
*Is she a masochist?*
Fujino was almost afraid it felt like he was *rewarding* her.
The sound of electricity mixed with screams floated on the evening breeze of Tokyo.
Even though Fujino didn't have the ability to turn people into *actual* mermaids...
...He could still turn people into mermaids through physical means.
A mermaid, right...?
It's just someone without legs. That's very simple to do. He had previously used large iron pipes and other things to help quite a few criminals become 'mermaids'.
Actually, he had another way to turn people into mermaids.
But that method was too bloody, and if not done properly, it would directly result in death.
His method of directly breaking both legs to turn them into human-shaped 'mermaids' was still more reliable.
***
The next morning.
Haibara Ai had made breakfast early. After eating, she changed into a warm, light pink fleece-lined windbreaker.
Miyano Akemi also dressed a bit warmly, in a light blue sweater shirt, plus a knee-length skirt, and black tights...
Fujino grabbed the skiing gear he had bought with Ran and others last time, got into the car, and drove the two of them to Dr. Agasa's house.
As soon as they arrived, he saw the little ones (Conan and the Detective Boys) arriving at the same time.
"Ah, you're here."
Dr. Agasa opened the door, his voice a bit strange. "Have you had breakfast? Do you want to eat something here...?"
"We've already eaten," Miyano Akemi replied with a light smile, then looked at Dr. Agasa curiously. "By the way, why does your voice sound a little strange? Do you have a cold?"
"Not at all! I just caught a chill accidentally last night," Dr. Agasa said firmly.
But before he could say more than a couple of sentences, he was hit with a light cough, and then his nose started running.
Everyone entered the house.
"If that's the case, maybe we should go another day," Conan said, glancing at Dr. Agasa, then continued, "Like this, Dr. Agasa, you can't drive at all. It's easy to have an accident if you drive."
"Mm-hmm," Ayumi nodded in agreement, "If you have a cold, you should rest well at home."
"If it gets serious, things could become really bad," Genta added.
"Yeah, you might even have to be hospitalized," Mitsuhiko chimed in.
"It's not that serious..." Dr. Agasa found a handkerchief and blew his nose, feeling a bit helpless from being told off but also heartwarming.
For a lonely old man with no children, such concern was very comforting.
However, as a stubborn old man, Dr. Agasa didn't intend to give up the opportunity to go out and play with the children.
Since Dr. Agasa was in a state of having a cold, his usual little Beetle car was effectively 'sealed.'
To prevent any accidents, everyone could only choose the bus as their mode of transportation.
At the bus stop.
"But speaking of which, Dr. Agasa, you're usually healthy, why did you catch a cold so easily?" Conan asked Dr. Agasa curiously while waiting for the bus, bored.
In his impression, Dr. Agasa had pretty good health and rarely caught colds throughout the year.
Dr. Agasa turned his head and blew his nose again. "I stayed up late last night... and accidentally caught a cold."
"It's better to stay up late less, Dr. Agasa. You're already quite old. You can't mess with staying up late. If you're not careful, you could have a stroke," Fujino offered his advice. "Once we get there, I'll take the kids to play. You should rest well at the ski resort hotel."
"I'll leave it to you then, Fujino-kun," Dr. Agasa nodded, but felt a little uneasy. Although he didn't really care about his age anymore, it was still a little hard to accept being told he was old.
Soon, the bus arrived at the stop.
After they boarded and paid the fare, they found their seats one by one.
Fujino put his skiing equipment under the seat, then sat with Haibara Ai in the seats next to Dr. Agasa and Conan.
As the bus drove, Fujino sat by the window, looking out at the street view with a myriad of thoughts in his mind.
The situation this time was a bit chaotic. Jodie, Vermouth, Akai Shuichi – these people would all be getting on this bus in a little while.
Aside from them, two robbers would also get on.
FBI, the Black Organization, several people shrunk into elementary schoolers after taking a drug, him the transmigrator, and two robbers.
A small bus packed with such a group of major players was certainly lively.
Except, those two petty thieves really didn't rank very high.
In Beika's excellent matchmaking system, running into such a crowd of living deities was truly unlucky enough.
Forget Jodie, Vermouth, and *that man*.
Even Conan with just a soccer ball and a tranquilizer needle could take them down.
If it were him, he could knock them all out in three swift moves.
"Huh? You guys are here too?"
Just then, the bus pulled over at a stop, and a familiar voice suddenly called out, sounding a bit surprised.
At the same time, Fujino suddenly felt a warm touch on his fingertips.
He turned his head and saw Araide Tomoaki, wearing a black wool sweater plus a green suit jacket.
To be precise, it was Vermouth disguised as Araide Tomoaki.
And the warm touch was from Haibara Ai.
The moment she saw Araide Tomoaki, Ai-chan's Organization radar triggered again.
Although she had experienced this before, her biological warning radar suddenly triggering while riding a bus really made her feel uncomfortable.
She instinctively grabbed Fujino's hand, trying to find a sense of security.
"Huh?"
Mitsuhiko also spotted Araide Tomoaki, then exclaimed in surprise, "It's the teacher from our internal medicine checkup the other day!"
But soon, the little ones noticed something key.
Behind Araide Tomoaki was Jodie, wearing a red sweater and a magenta trench coat.
Genta's mouth curled into a mischievous smile like he was enjoying gossip. "So, Dr. Araide is out on a date today!"
"Is this Dr. Araide's girlfriend?" Ayumi asked, looking at Jodie with a little girl's smile. "She's so pretty."
"No, no," Araide Tomoaki smiled awkwardly. "This is just the English teacher from Teitan High School where I work. We're not on a date."
"Hi!" Jodie greeted everyone, and quickly noticed Fujino sitting nearby. "Fujino-kun, you're also taking this bus? What a coincidence!"
"Ms. Jodie," Fujino nodded and greeted her.
"Fujino-kun, is she someone you know?" Miyano Akemi, sitting behind, noticed the two in front and asked Fujino curiously.
"Yeah, she's a teacher from our school," Fujino turned back, then looked at Jodie and "Araide." "But you and Dr. Araide...?"
"Hehe, actually, I *am* going on a date with him to the Ueno Art Museum!" Jodie laughed, brightly introducing herself to everyone around.
Fujino looked at the two, his gaze lingering briefly.
Two women going on a date... a little bit of a yuri vibe there.
"Don't talk nonsense..." Araide Tomoaki found a seat next to Conan and sat down, smiling awkwardly. "We just happened to run into each other at the bus stop."
"Hmph..." Jodie let out a playful snort and walked over, complaining resentfully, "You're really making a girl lose face, you know?"
"But it would also be bad if rumors spread around school," Vermouth's acting was superb, feigning an honest and earnest appearance as she said awkwardly.
"Oh! I guess so," Jodie exaggeratedly covered her mouth, then neatly sat down beside "Araide."
"Thump, thump!"
At this moment, Haibara Ai's heart beat even faster.
She squeezed Fujino's fingers tightly, not daring to look up.
Because besides the Black Organization presence, she also sensed another one, slightly weaker, and somewhat strange.
The source of that presence had just boarded the bus.
It was a tall man wearing a knitted hat, a mask, a light blue trench coat, and black hair.
The man was covered up tightly, but in this winter weather, it didn't seem out of place.
The reason Haibara Ai felt that strange presence from him wasn't because of anything else.
It was precisely because this man was Akai Shuichi, who had once been an undercover agent in the Organization and was known as "that man."
After getting on the bus, Akai Shuichi began scanning his surroundings with his peripheral vision.
His purpose for getting on this bus wasn't for anything else.
It was precisely to cooperate with Jodie to complete the FBI's mission.
However, saying "cooperate" wasn't quite accurate.
Strictly speaking, it should be surveillance.
After scanning, Akai Shuichi quickly spotted Fujino.
He had some impression of Fujino and had seen photos.
But since he didn't know him, he couldn't make a judgment.
His gaze swept past for a fleeting second, and he immediately withdrew it, continuing to observe.
However, when he looked further back, he clearly froze for a moment.
The person his eyes landed on was none other than 'Miyano Akemi', sitting behind Fujino...
Akai Shuichi looked at that face, which was unfamiliar yet felt somewhat familiar, and was instantly astonished.
Immediately, he connected it to the deceased Miyano Akemi.
*Could she just look like her?*
But that feeling of familiarity was indeed very strong.
Akai Shuichi's astonishment lasted only for a moment. Immediately, he put away that unusual emotion, then sat down in the back of the bus, intending to focus on his mission.
His every move was taken in by two suspicious gazes.
Conan felt there was something strange about the man.
Fujino, on the other hand, had been watching the other person intently with narrowed eyes until they sat down.
As if sensing someone was watching him, Akai Shuichi didn't show any strange reactions, simply coughed twice, then opened his eyes, revealing his deep green irises.
Conan observed him for a moment, then didn't continue watching, turning his head to look at something else.
Fujino, however, continued to stare at the other person until their eyes met.
At this point, Akai Shuichi also noticed that Fujino was staring at him.
He felt a little strange.
Logically speaking, they had never met before, so this situation shouldn't be happening.
*Has my disguise been exposed?*
Or did the other person sense something...?
(End of this chapter)