"What's this guy going to do?"
Conan watched the shadowy figure slowly approaching him, feeling utterly bewildered. It was fine if his shot missed; no one would find out anyway. But if it missed and he *was* found out, then it would be big trouble! This shadowy figure, all black, clearly wasn't someone to mess with! He was about to face retribution!
Feeling that things were looking bad, Conan immediately retreated behind Heiji Hattori. "Save me, Hattori-nii!"
"Hey!" Heiji Hattori was speechless to see Conan hiding behind him. *This kid, you only think of me when your shot goes awry, huh?* He looked up at the shadowy figure and could tell he meant business. Though the face was obscured, the figure's general darkness told him the shadowy figure was definitely not in a good mood. After all, Heiji himself had been hit by that kid's shot before, so he knew how "pleasant" it felt.
Facing Heiji Hattori, who was blocking his path, the shadowy figure, who clearly wasn't about to play nice, certainly wouldn't indulge him. "This kid is getting a lesson from me today, I said so!"
The shadowy figure swiftly moved, grabbing Heiji Hattori's wrist in an instant.
"?!?" Heiji Hattori was momentarily stunned. Before he could react, he was already being pulled into a spiraling shoulder throw. However, with the momentum of the throw, though a bit difficult, Heiji Hattori managed to land on both feet, avoiding the awkwardness of being slammed onto his back.
The shadowy figure's movements were quick, but for Heiji Hattori, a highly skilled kendo practitioner, it was nothing. But before he could even breathe a sigh of relief, he was taken down to the ground with a leg sweep and an arm lock.
"Damn it!" Heiji Hattori cursed under his breath, pinned to the ground. He tried to break free but felt the opponent's strength was like a mountain, impossible to escape.
His strength lay in kendo, and his weakness lay in kendo. As a kendo master, Heiji Hattori's combat ability in his normal state wasn't particularly strong. Once overpowered by someone with greater strength, and facing Fujino, who was skilled in actual combat, he was effectively useless without proper grappling techniques.
"Heiji!" Kazuha Toyama, seeing Heiji Hattori being bullied, instantly transformed into a tigress. Disregarding her appearance, dressed in a goose-yellow coat, red sweater, and black mini-skirt, she lifted her long leg and kicked towards the shadowy figure.
The shadowy figure (Fujino) looked back... *Uh, looking back might not be appropriate here.* Kazuha Toyama practiced Aikido and had some foundation. In the world of *Case Closed*, when it came to hitting people, gender didn't matter. If he were hit by that kick, a normal person would surely have their kidneys knocked out.
Fujino naturally didn't want to be kicked, so he released Heiji Hattori, grabbed Conan, and, clutching his somewhat underdeveloped head, took off running. Although the shadowy figure wouldn't cause substantial harm to his main body, he was afraid of pain...
"Eh?!" Kazuha Toyama, having kicked at empty air, was momentarily stunned and almost fell. Steadying herself, she turned to Heiji Hattori and asked, "Heiji, are you okay?"
"I'm fine..." Heiji Hattori stood up, rubbing his shoulder, which felt a bit sore. However, his attention was focused on the shadowy figure who had made off with Conan. He turned to Fujino's main body and shouted, "Fujino! K-Conan has been kidnapped!"
Fujino: "..." *Master, Conan has been snatched by a demon again! Why does this feel a bit like Zhu Bajie from Journey to the West?*
*But he's hitting himself... Hmm, I'll play along.* Fujino sighed inwardly, then moved swiftly, giving chase.
The shadowy figure quickly sped up again, leaping with Conan in his arms, grabbing the edge of the shrine's roof, and climbing back up.
Fujino also leaped onto the shrine's roof, then threw a punch. The shadowy figure turned, perfectly coordinating to block the punch with his other hand, then retreated several meters. It was as if he had been hit by a dump truck.
Special effects 100%, actual power 1%.
"Fujino-senpai, get out of the way!"
"Ha!" Just then, a delicate shout reached them. Both Fujino and the shadowy figure instinctively turned their heads and saw Ran, in a red hoodie and dark blue skirt, leap onto the shrine's roof. She sent a solid, fair, long leg kicking towards them.
*Why do all you girls in short skirts like to use flying kicks!* Fujino complained internally. His main body quickly dodged, but the shadowy figure, due to trying to multitask, couldn't avoid it and took Ran's flying kick head-on.
"Thud!" A heavy thud echoed.
Special effects 100%, actual power 500%. This time, the shadowy figure genuinely felt like he'd been hit by a truck. He was sent flying, falling from the shrine's roof. Fortunately, he reacted in time, adjusting his posture mid-air to prevent Conan's head, still tucked under his arm, from hitting the ground and being fatally injured.
Ran, using the force of her kick, performed a backflip and landed steadily on the roof.
"S-S-Such good quality roofing." Fujino looked at Ran, who had just landed, and rubbed his arm, secretly complaining.
"Conan!" Ran, seeing the shadowy figure land and continue to flee, her eyes entirely focused on the kidnapped Conan, quickly leaped down from the roof.
"Ah—" However, she didn't land properly, accidentally twisting her ankle and letting out a small cry.
"Are you okay?" Fujino also jumped down from the roof and asked Ran.
"I'm fine!" Ran clutched her ankle, urging him repeatedly, "Fujino-senpai, hurry and chase that shadowy figure!"
"Then you stay here and don't move." Fujino instructed, then turned and gave chase.
---
## Meanwhile
"Whoa!" Conan, who had been kidnapped by the shadowy figure, was startled by the fall and quickly gasped for air. With his neck clamped, and quite forcefully at that, Conan was already having difficulty breathing. Coupled with the recent fright, he didn't dare to take a deep breath and felt a bit oxygen-deprived.
However, the more dangerous the moment, the clearer his thoughts became. Conan immediately reached for his power-enhancing shoes, intending to kick the shadowy figure directly.
"Crack-crackle!" Upon hearing the electrical crackle near his ear, the shadowy figure understood what was happening. He looked down and caught Conan in the act of activating his power-enhancing shoes. Knowing the destructive power of these shoes, he naturally couldn't let the kid cast his "spell." He reached out and snatched Conan's power-enhancing shoes off.
Spell successfully interrupted!
Conan: "Huh?" He had been kidnapped a few times before. But with his power-enhancing shoes and the unscientific recoil, he had always succeeded in kicking the suspect's kidneys to bits.
But this time, it seemed he had failed... This shadowy figure was a bit too much; how did he even know about his power-enhancing shoes?!
"So, you're the high-tech kid, huh?" The shadowy figure looked down at Conan, a wicked grin on his face, and with his other hand, he sharply tapped Conan's solar plexus.
"Ugh..." A burning sting shot through him. Conan realized he had been hit in the solar plexus and felt a wave of discomfort. How many years had it been since he'd felt this burning sensation? The last time was when he was little...
No, when he was little, he was "brave and dashing" and "well-behaved and clever." Even his mother had never hit his solar plexus. And today, this shadowy figure had taken his first!
*Something's not right, very not right. Why hit the solar plexus during a kidnapping?* Conan's thoughts drifted, and as he saw the wicked grin on the shadowy figure's face, he felt a sudden tightening in his... *nether regions*!
This villain was definitely not right!
---