Eitan was only a few years older than Ran.
That thought made Eri pause—if she'd had a son back then, would she be picking out clothes for him like this?
"Ran-jie jie said she'd be here around 4:30. Let's head to the coffee shop and wait for her."
"Okay."
Eitan had no objections.
It was a short ten-minute walk to the café. After settling in and ordering, Eri and Eitan chatted idly until Ran appeared at the entrance.
The moment she saw her daughter, a radiant smile bloomed on Eri's face. She waved her over and shifted on the sofa to make room.
"Mom, Onisan."
Ran's voice carried a cheerful note. She was still in her Teitan High School uniform—white shirt and tie beneath a blue blazer and a matching pleated skirt. At sixteen, she didn't wear makeup, but her natural beauty, inherited from Eri, already stood out. Her bright, clear eyes were like polished gems.
"Come, sit down. Oh—who's this little one?"
Eri smiled, then noticed a short elementary schooler tagging along.
"This is Conan Edogawa. He's temporarily staying at our house. He's a relative of Shinichi Kudo," Ran said with a touch of helplessness. "He insisted on coming along when he heard I was going out."
"I see…"
Eri gave him a glance. He looked vaguely familiar but not worth fussing over.
"Hello, Onisan."
Conan tilted his head up and smiled sweetly.
Hearing that overly sweet voice, Eitan's grip on his coffee cup tightened slightly—but his smile remained gentle.
Ran sat beside Eri. Conan, smiling still, sat next to Eitan—but internally, his heart was boiling with jealousy.
(So it was him Ran-jie jie was going to meet…?)
Conan felt a sour pang shoot through his chest.
He'd just shrunk, and his childhood friend was already going on dates with a handsome guy?
How could he tolerate that!?
"So… Ran-jie jie is here on a date with Onisan?"
"Eh?!"
Ran's eyes widened in alarm. Seeing Eitan freeze for a second, she panicked and blushed furiously. "Don't say weird things, Conan! The 'date' I was talking about was with my mom!"
"Ah, I see!"
Looking at the two sitting across from him—clearly mother and daughter—Conan slowly relaxed.
But then—
"It's true I invited Ran today," Eri said, smiling lightly. "But if you two enjoy each other's company, you can certainly go out more often. After all, you're cousins."
"Onisan must be really popular," Conan blurted, his voice pitched higher. "He probably doesn't have much free time, right? Even Ayumi from our class wouldn't stop talking about Onisan after that day."
"Don't judge people by appearances."
Eitan found it amusing to see Conan struggling to keep his composure while burning with anxiety inside.
"Mhm. Eitan lives quite a disciplined life," Eri nodded thoughtfully.
"…."
Conan had nothing to say.
Then Eitan's gaze lingered on him.
"I just realized—you look a lot like Shinichi Kudo."
—!
Conan froze.
"H-ha, t-that's because I'm Shinichi Kudo's relative!"
"Now that you mention it," Eri mused, "he does look a lot like Kudo when he was younger."
"Right? I thought the same when I first saw him."
"Exactly the same?" Eitan asked.
"I think so." Ran nodded, slightly uncertain.
Cold sweat rolled down Conan's neck.
Just then, Eitan pulled out a notebook and began jotting something down. To change the subject, Conan asked with a forced laugh:
"Onisan, what are you writing?"
"I just thought of a rather interesting idea," Eitan replied calmly. "A famous Detective gets caught in a laboratory accident and turns back into an 8-year-old. From then on, he solves crimes and investigates the group behind the accident while posing as a grade schooler—"
"That sounds really interesting!" Ran's eyes lit up.
"It's an intriguing concept," Eri said, considering. "Though a child Detective might be better suited for a younger audience."
"Right. So it's probably more suited for manga than a novel." Eitan nodded. Then, smiling gently, he looked at Conan. "What do you think, Conan Edogawa? Sound good?"
…Ahahaha… I-I don't know.
Please stop! Could a mystery novelist's imagination not be so terrifying!?
Conan Edogawa broke out in a cold sweat, eyes filled with dread as he stared at Eitan, heart pounding wildly in his chest.
What terrified him even more was how Eitan kept writing—then suddenly stopped, looked straight at him with a serious expression—then continued writing again!
Conan was frozen stiff.
Across the table, Ran was happily enjoying her cake.
"Mmm~~~"
The sweet taste made her reaction adorable. Ran delicately covered her mouth with one hand, eyes curling into crescent moons. Eri, watching fondly, handed her a tissue.
Eitan, meanwhile, quietly sipped his coffee.
Not bad.
Coffee beans often came with vague descriptors—floral, citrus, caramel, woody—but Eitan didn't concern himself with all that. He only remembered one thing: floral and fruity coffees were usually acidic, while woody ones leaned bitter.
"By the way, Conan, your full name is Conan Edogawa, right?"
"…Hmm."
"Okay."
Watching Eitan pick up his pen and continue writing, Conan could practically feel his smile cracking.
He's not… going to actually use me as a character, is he!?
No way—
He had to stop this idea before it went too far!
Conan was quietly panicking.
In truth, Eitan had written "Conan Edogawa" in his notebook—but his thoughts were elsewhere.
He had always been curious about how the Death Note identified a "true name."
Was it the one on a person's legal documents?
Was it the name someone internally identified with?
Or was it the name the world recognized them by?
In Conan's case, although his true name was "Shinichi Kudo," he now lived as "Conan Edogawa." To the world, and even in official records, he was Conan. Even Conan himself had grown used to that identity.
So then…
If he wrote "Conan Edogawa" in the Death Note—
Would it actually work?
Eitan tapped his pen against the page, thoughts swirling deeper.
He always kept a notebook nearby, with a few torn pages from the Death Note discreetly tucked inside. So writing names was always… convenient.
"Onisan, are you writing down my name too?" Conan asked, unable to hold it in.
"Yes. Your name's actually quite interesting."
"It's… just okay…"
Conan forced a smile. The name had been something he'd blurted out in a rush. But now, his eyes were glued to Eitan's notebook.
Ever since the Yoko Okino incident, he'd gone back to watch Eitan's Beika TV broadcast. That's when he discovered Eitan had a habit of collecting people's names.
"Come to think of it," Conan said, "Onisan once mentioned he's bad at naming things. How bad is it, really?"
"I'm curious too," Ran chimed in, her eyes wide.
"Ah…"
Eitan's face stiffened.
Under their expectant stares, he hesitated—then slowly flipped his notebook around to show them.
[Conan Edogawa]
[Kohei Edogawa, Kosei Edogawa]
[Kato Conan Edogawa]
[Corgi Edogawa]
"…"
"…."
Ran and Conan were both stunned. Ran's eyes turned into dots.
No way…
Conan stared at him in disbelief.
All those names you were thinking up while staring at me… These were the results!?
You couldn't channel even a little bit of that genius imagination into your naming skills!?
Ran finally let out a soft pfft of laughter.
Then quickly tried to cover it. "S-sorry… I wasn't laughing at you, Onisan…"
"It's fine," Eitan said as he calmly closed the notebook. "I really am bad at naming. Everyone has their strengths and weaknesses."
Eri, trying to maintain her composure, nearly cracked as well.
Still… when she looked at Eitan's perfectly handsome face, there was something surprisingly endearing about this small flaw.
Ran nodded in agreement.
"Yeah. Actually, it makes Onisan feel more… human."
"?"
"Well," she said with a bit of embarrassment, "you're so handsome, and you're good at so many things. Even though you're easy to talk to, you still feel kind of… unreal."
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