In the afternoon, after lunch, Tsuneo was napping at home when a phone call jolted him awake.
"The sweater?" On the other end was a certain detective, who'd rushed to Dr. Agasa's house after school.
He'd asked around only to learn the repairman hadn't shown up for a meal.
"Conan, what sweater are you talking about?"
"Why'd you go to the doctor's looking for a sweater?"
Voices from Teitan Elementary faintly carried through the receiver.
Sounded like they'd tagged along to the doctor's to hang out.
"Got it, I'll head over soon." Tsuneo yawned from under his covers, glancing at the paper bag on the cabinet.
What's the rush? It's not like it'll sprout wings and fly off like Kaito.
…
Twenty minutes later.
Tsuneo strolled into Dr. Agasa's house, paper bag in hand.
"Here, take it." He tossed the bag to a certain someone, then plopped onto the sofa, munching on snacks while watching the kids play video games.
It definitely wouldn't fit, but Conan still scurried off to some corner to try it on.
"Last night's meeting go okay?" Haibara asked, flipping through a textbook with Ayumi.
She meant the person recently emailing her sister.
"Fine, no hitches." Tsuneo nodded.
Miyano Akemi and that person had dated for a while.
Even just through emails, confirming identities wasn't hard. With some trust established, the meeting went smoothly.
"Meeting?"
"Tsuneo-nii, you went to see someone last night?" Ayumi tilted her head, curious.
A potential fiancée, maybe?
Or another case?
"FBI, ever heard of it?" Tsuneo grinned, patting her head.
What's this kid blushing and imagining?
"…" Haibara shot him a speechless glance.
Saying stuff like that so casually.
Then again, he's used to spouting nonsense; who'd believe him…
"FBI?!" Two kids playing video games rushed over, staring at Tsuneo with wide eyes.
"What do they look like?"
"Suits, sunglasses, driving sports cars?"
"They asked you to help with a case?"
"Don't fall for it. Think about it—a repairman's just meeting clients." Haibara closed her textbook, chuckling.
"Me, lie? Besides the FBI, I also met Kaitou Kid last night." Tsuneo smirked, ruffling Genta's chubby cheeks.
"Tch, I thought it was real FBI!"
Genta and Mitsuhiko, hearing Kaitou Kid mentioned, ran back to their game.
As expected, he's full of it—Haibara was right!
She'd never lie to us!
"By the way, have you seen today's paper? This one!" Ayumi pulled a newspaper from her bag.
The front-page headline screamed: Dark Knight Spotted in Ekoda.
Four crime syndicates, over 150 people involved.
The scene was probably too grisly to publicize.
No photos leaked.
"Sooner or later, someone'll put a bounty on him," Haibara said, unsurprised.
She, the doctor, and Miyano Akemi had seen the news that morning.
"Here's to that." Tsuneo opened another pack of Haibara's favorite snacks, dumping them into his mouth.
Ring ring ring~
The phone rang; Tsuneo recognized the number.
"Tsuneo-nii!"
Sure enough, Sonoko's voice.
She sounded thrilled—probably got another notice from that thief…
"It's Kid, Lord Kid's notice!" Sonoko shouted excitedly.
Few people get this happy about being targeted for theft.
"Heh, Suzuki Consortium's in his sights again?" Tsuneo chuckled.
The paper mentioned some dynasty's egg, worth 800 million yen.
You really don't care, do you?
"Hehe, only the police and you know, Tsuneo-nii. Dad said we need you to guard the Suzuki family treasure again!" Sonoko's laugh was as bright as ever.
"No problem, I'm happy to help."
"Hahaha~~~"
The call ended with a certain high school girl's dreamy laughter.
"Don't worry, I told you, I won't let you meet him…" Tsuneo pocketed his phone, smirking coldly.
Haibara: …
What's wrong with this guy now?
Soon after, Conan returned, beaming after trying on the sweater.
"What's up with him?" Haibara asked the repairman, puzzled.
One after another, they're all weird…
"Took a bath with a big sister. I saw it myself…" Tsuneo said truthfully, no lies.
"Pervert."
Haibara shot him a side-eye, unsure which of the two she meant.
"No, I didn't actually see it!" Tsuneo shook his head quickly. He wasn't that kind of guy!
Peeking? I don't even need to, okay?
"Some people, no matter how popular, can't help having weird fetishes," Haibara said, done with his excuses, picking up a magazine.
"Weird fetishes…"
"What're you guys talking about?" Conan approached, exasperated, sensing they were gossip –
ing about him.
Good thing the three kids were glued to their video game, or else…
"She says I've got weird fetishes. You know me—I don't have any." Tsuneo yanked his naive, loaded little brother over to vouch for him.
"Uh, these past couple years, I haven't heard anything…" Conan nodded, dazed.
So they weren't talking about him.
"You've heard stuff before?" Tsuneo bit his nail, staring at him.
"When you first started as a repairman, someone said you and a client…"
Before the detective could finish, Tsuneo clamped his mouth shut.
"Heh, yeah, I got into a fight with a client, that's right." Tsuneo held Conan down, grinning and nodding.
"Oh?" Haibara's lips curled, intrigued by the old rumors.
"Where are the doctor and Miyano Akemi? They went grocery shopping and still aren't back?" Tsuneo, dragging Conan, shifted topics and moved to the window.
"Judging by your reaction, those stories aren't true, are they?" the detective asked, exasperated.
"I was swayed, led astray," Tsuneo explained.
"Heh…"
"So, just how many people swayed you back then?"
(End of Chapter)
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