Leaving Kudo Shinichi, who was holding his chest and breathing heavily, alone in the cloakroom, Joker flipped his finger and closed the door.
Kudo Shinichi stood at the door, peeking out through the gap in the blinds.
Joker, disguised as him, began running along the path Shinichi had just taken. When Mouri Ran turned the corner, she saw his retreating figure and chased after him without hesitation. She didn't expect that in just the few seconds after turning the corner, the "Kudo Shinichi" she was chasing was no longer the same person.
Unlike the real one, who was weakened by illness and heart pain, Joker was in full health. Mouri Ran could no longer close the distance between them.
She chased him all the way to the entrance. Seeing "Kudo Shinichi" about to step outside, she finally stopped and shouted with unwillingness, "Where are you going? Why can't you stay—just for one day…"
What on earth was he thinking? Appearing so suddenly, only to vanish again—it just made people even more worried!
How urgent was the mission? Or was he trapped in some dangerous situation, unable to move freely?
Biting her lip in frustration, Mouri Ran glared at "Kudo Shinichi," who had come to a stop. "Didn't you say the last time that you had something important to tell me the next time we met? So what is it?"
Don't ask me, I don't even know!
Inside the cloakroom, Kudo Shinichi stiffened. Already in too much pain to move, the question struck like a dagger.
"Sorry…" Joker turned back to glance at her, showing a Kudo Shinichi-style smile. "Let's save it for our real reunion—when I can truly stand before you."
Glancing briefly toward the cloakroom where the real Shinichi was hiding, Joker then turned and stepped out the door.
"Wait!" Mouri Ran's shout didn't stop him. She chased after him through the front entrance.
But outside, only violet blossoms fluttered gently under the sunlight in Tsujimura's garden.
—
Kazawa climbed back into Takayoshi Tsujimura's bedroom through the window, unhooked the scarf he had used as a makeshift tool, and quickly changed out of thief mode, returning to his original appearance.
While Kudo Shinichi had been solving the mystery in the study, Kazawa had not been idle.
He had leapt out the window, exited through the front door, disguised himself as Shinichi, and stood on the first floor waiting for the panicked retreat. After successfully luring Mouri Ran away, he rushed back upstairs, waiting for Edogawa Conan to revert to his child form.
He really had done it all—damage, defense, full carry. Shouldn't Conan at least hand him two MVP awards?
Just as he was muttering to himself, there was a knock at the door.
Kazawa walked over, cracked it open, and—just as expected—saw Conan standing outside, sweaty and clutching a pile of oversized Teitan school uniforms.
"Back already?" Kazawa raised an eyebrow and let him in. "I was just wondering how I'd cover up your disappearance while sick…"
"I don't know how either…" Conan stumbled in, the shirt still dragging on the ground and tripping him up with every step. "But for now, it seems I can only temporarily return to my real body…"
Joker's statement on the phone had been right on point—he had even anticipated the reversion and rushed in to help.
It seemed the liquor wasn't the true antidote. And the transformation process itself… was agonizing.
Best not to drink it again until things were clarified…
Conan pulled a smaller-sized suit from under the covers, sighed, and resigned himself to changing.
"At least this time, we shook off that Hattori Heiji. Not bad," Kazawa said, picking up the crumpled school uniforms, shaking them out, folding them, and stuffing them into a bag. Then he spotted the underwear on the ground and froze.
Yeah… no need to take this back.
Snap! The sound of a lighter.
Conan had just finished dressing and turned to see Kazawa, completely expressionless, lighting the gray cotton underwear on fire.
Conan: "…"
Even though it wasn't his, he suddenly felt a chill down his spine.
Kazawa tossed the burning underwear into the ashtray and glanced at Conan, who had frozen up. "Lie down. You're still a patient."
Conan climbed into bed silently, not daring to say a word.
Kazawa was hard to deal with right now. Best to behave.
As his head hit the pillow, the fading adrenaline wore off, and dizziness and fatigue overwhelmed him. Conan could barely keep his eyes open. "Kazawa… Remember to tell everyone not to leak anything about this incident or the connection to Kudo Shinichi…"
"I got it, I got it." Kazawa reached out and gently covered Conan's eyes, as if closing the eyes of a corpse. "Just rest in peace."
Rest in peace… what?
Conan vaguely heard unfamiliar syllables coming from Kazawa's mouth. He tried to make sense of it, but exhaustion overtook him.
…Whatever. Kazawa's reliable. Everything will be fine.
Kazawa removed his hand and watched quietly for a while. He gave Conan a light flick on the head—no response. The little detective, worn out from fever and stress, had finally passed out.
Kazawa leaned back in his chair and exhaled.
Good. The plot was still under control. All the acting, disguises, and sprinting had paid off.
Right now, Conan's curiosity toward Joker would be at its peak—but with how sick he was, there was no way he'd be sneaking off to Joker's house anytime soon.
Perfect. It gave Kazawa time to focus on the newly spawned Hattori Heiji.
After checking Conan's condition again and placing a cold towel on his forehead, Kazawa stepped out of the room.
"So we're not allowed to release anything about Kudo this time?" Inspector Megure frowned. "Tsujimura Isao is a diplomat. The media is going to eat this up."
"Just keep the focus off the detective," Kazawa said calmly, clearly experienced in this kind of situation. "The media doesn't care about how the case was solved. You can tell them about Mrs. Tsujimura's motive. That way, Mr. Yamashiro Kenji gets some justice, too."
Inspector Megure blinked, then looked at Kazawa in surprise. "Kudo told you all this? You and Kudo have a good relationship, huh? I heard he was already gone by the time you transferred to Tokyo."
"Well, since Kudo-san and Conan are close, Conan mentioned me to him, and that's how we started communicating," Kazawa said smoothly.
If anyone looked deeper, he had the perfect cover:
His own case.
Thanks to Conan's clever strategy, those in the know believed that Kudo Shinichi had left Tokyo to investigate Kazawa's case. From that angle, staying in contact with his "client" made perfect sense.
Now that Conan's request was handled, Kazawa relaxed and glanced around the Tsujimura family's study—still filled with remnants of the past.
Takayoshi Tsujimura and Sachiko Katsuragi sat close together, talking quietly, watching the police car take Kimie Tsujimura away.
Toshimitsu Tsujimura sat alone at the table in tears—mourning his son? Or the tragedy of his shattered family?
Evil was punished. Justice had been served. It was a kind of happy ending.
Satisfied, Kazawa turned to leave, preparing to follow the dazed Mouri Ran out of the house—just as he crossed paths with Hattori Heiji's sharp, inquisitive gaze.
Kazawa smiled warmly at him.
The fish had taken the bait. It was time to reel it in.