"That's it," Azuma Shoyo said.
With that, he picked up Conan from the side and prepared to leave with Ran.
"Wait!" Shinobu Kocho called out, stopping him.
"Something else?" Azuma Shoyo turned back, asking.
"Can I get your contact info?" Shinobu Kocho pulled out her phone.
"You've got a phone?" Azuma Shoyo asked, surprised.
Shinobu Kocho blinked, puzzled. "???"
Is having a phone some big shock?
Why that tone?
Seeing her expression, Azuma Shoyo realized he'd asked a dumb question. He'd instinctively pegged her as someone from an era without modern tech. So, when she whipped out a phone with a butterfly charm, it threw him off.
"Sure, my number's ******," he said, rattling off his digits.
Shinobu Kocho dialed him right away. Once his ringtone chimed, she hung up. "If anything comes up, I'll reach out!" she said.
Then she turned to check the scene elsewhere.
Azuma Shoyo waved Ran over—she was still dazed—and, hefting the unconscious Conan, headed out.
Outside the venue, Sonoko and the other two waited anxiously.
Just then, Sonoko spotted Azuma Shoyo, Ran, and Conan emerging. "Shoyo! Ran!" she shouted, running over. "You okay?"
Her eyes landed on Conan, dangling from Azuma Shoyo's grip. "What's with this kid?"
"He's fine—just passed out from shock," Azuma Shoyo said, shooting Ran a subtle look.
Ran, her worldview freshly shattered, snapped to it. Catching his cue, she nodded. "Yeah, Conan got spooked by a body," she said.
"Seriously?" Sonoko scoffed, eyeing the sleeping Conan. "This brat bolted over like he's got guts, and that's it?"
Unconscious, Conan had no clue Sonoko'd just tagged him as all talk, no game.
Shizuka Marukawa, dragged by Chie Morinaga, arrived a beat later. "My little troublemaker, slow down!" Chie thought. If she hadn't held her back, Shizuka would've outrun Sonoko.
Wouldn't that just fuel Sonoko's suspicions more?
Wait… suspicions? Chie glanced at her best friend's eyes locked on Azuma Shoyo—brimming with concern.
Well, damn, she thought. Shizuka, into younger guys, huh?
"Shoyo, you okay?" Shizuka asked, worried.
Sonoko's wary gaze snapped over instantly.
"I'm fine. Just Conan passing out," Azuma Shoyo said.
Noticing Sonoko's look, he glanced between them. "What's up with you two?" he asked.
"Nothing," Sonoko jumped in first. "Let's go. I don't like this vibe."
Azuma Shoyo studied her, then Shizuka—nervous and fidgety—and pieced it together. "Alright. Conan needs a change anyway," he said, nodding.
With the incident killing their mood, no one wanted to keep playing. When the limo arrived, they piled in and headed back.
The park's murder case aftermath? Not their problem anymore.
Back at the villa, Kogoro Mouri was predictably AWOL.
A maid took Conan for a bath and fresh clothes.
During that gap, Ran cornered Azuma Shoyo and pulled him to the garden. "Shoyo, what was all that about?" she asked, brimming with questions.
The sudden killing, that freaky man Shoyo called a demon, the girl from some "Demon Slayer Corps," and Shoyo's power to explode people out of thin air—it all left her reeling. She wouldn't sleep tonight without answers!
"Sit down," Azuma Shoyo said, guiding her to a chair. "Ran, what I'm about to say might be hard to swallow. It's all true, though. You've just never brushed this world before, so it's new."
Ran nodded, staring at him intently.
"The world's not simple. Beyond the surface, there's a ton of wild stuff hidden in the shadows," he began. "Like the demon you saw today—it's one of the supernatural things out there. They've been around for centuries."
"They feed on humans, need to eat people to survive. They can't handle sunlight, so they only move at night or on cloudy days."
Ran cut in. "But… shouldn't demons be, like, bodiless?"
"You're right," Azuma Shoyo nodded. "Normally, demons are spirits, no physical form. But there's all kinds, and 'demon' is just a label."
"What you saw today's one type. In daily life, we bump into the kind you're thinking of too."
"What?!" Ran clapped a hand over her mouth, horrified. "Shoyo, you mean… ghosts are around us all the time?"
He nodded. "Yep. Don't freak out, though—most people can't see them."
"Only folks with special gifts, like a yin-yang eye, can spot them. Those ghosts? No bodies, no real minds. Some repeat old habits from life, others just drift."
"But here's the rule: if you can't see them, they won't hurt you. If they catch you seeing them, though, they'll come at you."
Ran paled. Real ghosts—not just the solid kind from today, but the ethereal ones from stories! Knowing they shared her space creeped her out.
Good thing, she thought, Shoyo said they won't attack if you can't see them—or don't let on that you can. A small relief.
Next up—
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