Chapter 42: Black Cat — Just Make the Costume Based on the Pictures I Sent
Ran snorted at Kudo Shinichi's excuse; having grown up together, she didn't buy for a second that he would honestly tell her his identity. If she hadn't run into him today, he probably would have kept hiding it.
Still, she was a little grateful to Renji Miyauchi for forcing the reveal — even if she hadn't met him in person, the man had made her aware of the danger her childhood friend faced. Renji Miyauchi seemed like a dangerous, useful presence.
The first time Conan had reverted to Shinichi, it only lasted a little over half an hour — far shorter than the antidote Haibara later developed. But it had been enough to make Conan trust Renji Miyauchi a touch more. Provided Renji didn't pull another stunt like that.
While Shinichi and Ran were processing, Renji Miyauchi was happily at his computer, surfing the net. The cyberpunk-world hacking techniques he'd picked up were far beyond what this era's internet expected. After a little adaptation, he quietly accessed the police population system — just ordinary resident files, nothing classified — leaving no obvious traces.
He wasn't reckless. This world hid its own monsters and geniuses: prodigies who'd built intelligent AIs in childhood, researchers who'd propose brain-link devices, engineers commissioned by shadow organizations — real threats and rivals. Compared with genuine tech-giants like those, Renji's cheat wasn't urgent. He could bide his time, use the database for research, and occasionally give the diary girls a little surprise.
"Kayaba Akihiko's death-game idea will likely blow up later," Renji mused. "But some of these young AIs — worth watching."
He skimmed a few files, pocketing possible leads for future plans.
Time moved while he updated his diary and refined rewards. A few days later he finished the Spirit Camera and produced several working units.
"Time for Jerry to make an official appearance in front of the girls," Renji said. Since learning the Breath of the Mouse, Jerry had grown restless — itching to go out at night and tangle with the stray vengeful things that drifted through town.
Jerry seemed to have developed advanced Yin-Yang vision since arriving here; Renji guessed it was either innate or copied from his rewards. Either way, Jerry didn't need special glasses. It could see plenty.
"Alright, everything set? Go on," he told Jerry, who carried a little pouch.
That pouch was built with a Seamless Extension Charm — one of Renji's diary rewards. He'd made Jerry a permanent ten-cubic-meter pouch and himself a near-one-hundred-cubic-meter backpack. One hundred cubic meters was about the size of a modest apartment room — more than enough to stash sensitive diary rewards out of sight.
Jerry checked his kit, gave a crisp salute, and slipped into the night.
Renji opened the diary and wrote today's entry:
> I'm heading to Tokyo today — I've been wandering Chiba and Kanagawa and will hit the city later. Didn't spot everything I wanted, but there were interesting sightings.
Gokou is doing her usual chūnibyō bit; unsurprising. What shocked me was that she actually tries to make her own costume models. Uh… your art still needs work. Let me send you clean 2D references to model from:
Black Cat. White Cat. Maid Cat. Divine Cat.
Use them, don't thank me.
I visited Sōbu High — Yukino, you do have a diary. You dodged that car accident on your first day; will you form the Service Club later?
Big Teacher still managed to break bones while saving a dog — unlucky, as ever. He'll be hospitalized a week or two, poor guy. Fate really insists he can't have a normal high-school start.
In Kanagawa, Shohoku's team hasn't formed, and Sakurajima Mai is filming outside. I don't know if she's started adolescent syndrome yet.
At Sakakino City I found out Sawagoe Itaru can no longer meddle in human affairs. No idea who did it, but well done to whoever fixed that harm.
Ito Makoto and Taisuke Sawanaga haven't committed crimes yet — I'll leave them for Kotonoha to handle.
Oh, and I left small gifts around for everyone on this trip. Look carefully; there might be surprises.
When the diary updated, Ruri Gokou was at her desk sketching character designs for an avatar.
After reading the Mysterious Person's earlier entries, she and the group had decided that light novels probably wouldn't pay off for her right now. The otaku audience wasn't mature enough yet for her deeper settings. So she'd pivoted toward streaming: make a virtual avatar and test the waters. If revenue beat her part-time job, she'd keep going.
She used a cheap PC and applied her drawing, programming, and modeling skills, following tutorials online. A few days of work, however, showed that her modeling level lagged behind her other skills. Just as she considered spending Reading Value to boost her art, today's diary smashed her plans.
The diary's images: four different stylized versions of her — Black Cat, White Cat, Maid Cat, Divine Cat — appeared right in her feed. Ruri's face went crimson.
She'd expected Black Cat and White Cat concepts, maybe the Divine Cat idea, but the maid cat poses — complete with cutesy gestures — mortified her. Had her future self really degenerated to that level just to please someone?
Ruri rejected the maid idea internally. She vowed she would never wear a maid outfit and perform such ridiculous acts. Still, the diary had broadcast those images to the group, and embarrassment spread fast.
Meanwhile the group chat exploded.
Utaha: "The Mysterious Person says he'll come to my signing the day after tomorrow. My book's sales aren't great so I don't expect many attendees — but if he comes, maybe I can catch him."
Kaguya: "I'll go back to the family residence in Kyoto day after tomorrow to speak with my father. I'll have Hayasaka accompany me."
Umaru: "Kaguya, do you really plan to confront your father? I'm nervous, but I'll come help the day after tomorrow!"
Kaguya: "My recent actions have already reached the main family. Father may not have long; I can't simply stand aside. The diary hasn't issued danger warnings for me, so I'll try."
Kaguya: "Also, Black Cat, your forms are adorable. But you can't finish all that alone — want help?"
Umaru: "Black Cat-chan, you look so cute in all of them. Which will you use as your avatar? Make one for each day!"
Evil King's True Eye: "So these are the four Fallen Saint Black Cat forms… I have already engraved your visage into the Evil King's True Eye. Be grateful."
Black Cat: "@Kaguya I can manage slight edits on my own for now. I'll be at Utaha's signing weekend."
Umaru: "Then after the signing, come to the arcade and fight me. @NO NAME, No Name-chan, you coming? The three of us can compete."
Blank: "OK, but if you cry after losing, don't blame me!"
In a few lines, the second diary Fan Club meet-up and an arcade competition were arranged.
Utaha's attention flicked. The diary had mentioned Yukino again — one half of the Peerless Duo — so she wondered if Yukino had a diary too. Had she joined the chat?
Utaha: "Does Yukino have a diary? Is she in the group?"
Umaru: "Here it comes! The clash between the Mysterious Person's two favorite heroines! Yukino — peep if you're here~!"
Silence.
Umaru: "Looks like Yukino hasn't joined. Too bad."
Utaha sighed. Yukino Yukinoshita's name had weight; she was cooler than Utaha had expected.
Black Cat: "She probably hasn't joined. I wanted to ask her about the Service Club."
Umaru: "Honestly, only a few people wouldn't misread that title."
The gaming experts in the chat dug into what the Service Club name might imply. A panda-avatar user then nudged the conversation back onto a serious track.
Mr. Pan: "You're wearing colored glasses and misreading normal words. The Service Club simply helps people solve problems so they can change. That's all."
The group paused. Judging from the tone, everyone suspected that Mr. Pan might be Yukino herself — she spoke rarely but with clarity when she appeared.
Utaha glanced at Mr. Pan's handle and recalled the early days when the newcomer had first spoken up about the Mysterious Person's identity. Her guess then — that the Mysterious Person might be a high-schooler — had sparked debate. Looking at the diary's revealed facts, the longest-running franchises the Mysterious Person knew were Conan, Kaito Kid and Cat's Eye — decades of continuity.
150ps=1 extra chapter and so on
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