That bastard Lei!
Amuro Tooru clenched his fists, his gloves pulled taut in his grip.
The organization didn't fully trust Bourbon, so they'd assigned another team to secretly monitor things from the shadows—this was within Amuro Tooru's expectations.
But for that team to be led by Rye, and for them to use violent methods on Kazawa... That, he hadn't foreseen at all.
Hatred surged in his chest, mixed with deep worry over Kazawa Akira's situation.
To go after just one high school student, the organization had already sent out two code-named members. That alone showed just how important the information Kazawa held truly was.
"Why didn't you tell me?" Amuro Tooru scolded Kazawa sternly, face cold. "Do you think I'm incapable of handling these problems? Hm?"
Of course not—your guys are way too good at tailing people, I didn't even notice.
Kazawa couldn't argue back, so he just lowered his head with a well-behaved expression, admitting fault:
"Sorry. I made you worry. I won't do it again."
Amuro Tooru sighed and switched to another approach to persuade him:
"Your case is serious. If this blows up, everyone who's handled it will go down with it. You need to be careful about your own safety."
"Got it. I'm sorry, I shouldn't have made decisions on my own," Kazawa kept the same obedient look.
Seeing that expression, Amuro Tooru couldn't bring himself to scold further. He shook his head and turned toward the kitchen counter.
"Hope you really get it. What do you want for lunch? How about I make you some sandwiches?"
"Okay—" Seeing Amuro Tooru drop the issue, Kazawa quickly played along.
Two band-aids were tossed in front of Kazawa from behind the counter.
"Stick them on the cuts on your face. Even small wounds can leave scars."
If you know they leave scars, maybe don't yank on them so hard earlier?!
Kazawa, guilty, didn't dare say that out loud.
The café quieted down, with only the sizzling sounds from Amuro Tooru's frying pan breaking the silence.
The lunchtime news started playing on the television.
Kazawa turned his head to watch, curious if there were any new murder reports.
Now that "Sleeping Kogoro Mouri" had debuted, he needed to keep an eye on relevant cases, in case it gave him a chance to approach the main storyline characters.
Traffic accident… Famous singer passed away… Violent case… Another violent case… Homicide… More homicide…
After listening to seven or eight headlines, Kazawa was already feeling numb.
What's up with Tokyo's crime rate—it's like Gotham out here.
As he silently judged, the next breaking news suddenly cut in.
"We have breaking news. Maru Group's CEO, Maru Denzaburou, held an emergency press conference just thirty minutes ago, declaring that he 'wants to confess his past wrongdoings to the public.' During the press conference, Mr. Maru revealed evidence that the group had been involved in illegal financial lending activities. He admitted to long-term use of mortgage lending and violent debt collection to illegally seize dozens of antique artifacts—"
Kazawa immediately sat up straight and focused.
Hey, say what you want about Maru Denzaburou being scum, but he's got action power. That's impressive efficiency.
Got beat down in the morning, and by noon he's confessing everything. Didn't even waste a minute.
"…Now we go live to the scene of the press conference with our reporter on site…"
The sweet and elegant face of the news anchor was replaced in the next second by the old, balding face of Maru Denzaburou, complete with a scraggly beard.
"Driven by greed, I've committed grave sins," Maru Denzaburou wept under the flash of cameras. "I've hurt many people—even caused someone to take their own life from my pressure. I know my sins are unforgivable, but I want to return all of my ill-gotten gains to their rightful owners."
"If some items have already been sold, I'll do my best to retrieve them. Please believe in my sincerity."
He bowed deeply to the camera.
"For all the pain I've caused—I am truly, deeply sorry…"
Kazawa touched the band-aids on his face and smiled faintly.
"What are you smiling at?" Amuro Tooru placed a plate in front of Kazawa and looked up at the TV, shaking his head. "An evil man repenting in his old age—what's the use? The harm's already been done."
"Just thinking… maybe the world's getting a little better," Kazawa still smiled. "And that's enough."
Too bad for the detective upstairs though—he probably missed out on a well-paying case.
———
Kazawa's sympathy only lasted until dinner.
Mouri Kogoro, along with Mouri Ran and Conan, sat at the bar of Café Poirot, looking quite pleased as he bragged to Amuro Tooru:
"…I have no idea what came over Maru Denzaburou. Just a few days ago he hired me to investigate whether his wife was cheating. We even had a follow-up meeting set for yesterday! Then, before I even got the final payment, the guy suddenly holds a press conference and turns himself in! I thought all that work was for nothing—what a chaotic man."
"So the case got canceled?" Amuro Tooru stirred a bubbling pot and played along with the conversation.
"Yeah, but turns out things took a great turn," Mouri Kogoro puffed up with pride.
"I went there hoping to at least get some of the remaining fee, or maybe a breach-of-contract charge. But then Mrs. Maru bought all the photos and evidence I had on hand!"
"Dad…" Mouri Ran rubbed her temples. "Is that really something to be proud of?"
Mouri Kogoro waved it off dismissively:
"If I weren't so good at what I do, I wouldn't have gotten all those photos in the first place. That money would've gone to waste."
"Anyway, now that Maru Denzaburou is definitely going to prison—there's too much solid evidence—the group's going to fall into Mrs. Maru's hands. The board got their hands on my materials, which could've hurt her, so she paid three times the price to buy everything off me."
Mouri Kogoro let out his signature smug laugh. Mouri Ran and Conan both gave him deadpan half-lidded looks, and Kazawa side-eyed him with contempt.
"Uncle Mouri, maybe you shouldn't talk about client privacy out in the open…" Conan sighed.
"It was Mrs. Maru's idea for me to talk more publicly," Mouri Kogoro insisted on his professionalism.
"Now that she owns the evidence, stirring up some rumors will help lower the stock price. She's still planning to buy more shares!"
Mouri Ran felt very complicated. Thinking of both Maru Denzaburou and the beautiful Mrs. Maru, she muttered, "So this is what adult relationships are like?"
"Rich people live different lives. Whatever, Amuro, give us three seafood pastas!" Mouri Kogoro waved energetically, looking ready to enjoy his wealth.
Kazawa took a sip of hot cocoa, his gaze drifting.
So… that calling card really was that fast, huh?
If it had been even a day later, Maru Denzaburou probably would've ended up as a shish kebab...
Really can't let your guard down around these "grim reapers."
Conan stopped squinting and rested his chin on his fingers thoughtfully.
Maru Denzaburou's sudden confession—it was just too strange. After doing bad things for decades, he suddenly had a change of heart past fifty?
Could it have something to do with that calling card?
In the letter, a group calling themselves "The Phantom Thieves of Hearts" said they'd make Maru Denzaburou pay today. And today, he really did confess and apologize.
Was it intimidation? Vigilante action?
How exactly did they pull that off?
Sitting nearby, Kazawa choked on his cocoa and let out a sneeze.