Tears welled up in Ran's eyes, gathering at the corners before threatening to spill over.
She had never imagined that she would see the boy she'd thought about day and night standing before her again.
Clenching her fists tightly, she finally let out all the emotions she'd been bottling up. If she kept holding them in any longer, she felt like she'd break.
"Shinichi! Where have you been?! I thought you disappeared! Then you suddenly show up again! Do you have any idea how worried I've been about you?!"
For a long time, she'd believed that their farewell at Tropical Land had been the last time she'd ever see him.
She had even blamed herself countless times.
Why had she insisted on dragging Shinichi to the amusement park? If they hadn't gone, would he still be walking to and from school with her?
Would he still be by her side... forever?
Shinichi's eyes dimmed.
He knew his own condition better than anyone. He had a feeling that returning to his high school body was only temporary.
He might die.
Or he might become Conan again.
If that was the case, what right did he have to say the words he'd kept hidden in his heart? He couldn't drag the person he cared about most into that swamp.
She didn't deserve to become entangled in that darkness.
"Idiot... why are you crying? I didn't disappear. I just had a really difficult case to deal with."
"Well, how else was I supposed to think?!" Ran protested.
"You disappeared right after Tropical Land and never showed up again! So of course I thought you'd disappeared!"
Lowering her head, she muttered softly,
"It's always another case... Your head is filled with nothing but cases."
A faint smile appeared on Shinichi's lips.
He hated seeing Ran cry. He wanted the girl he loved to remain bright and cheerful forever.
Suppressing the feelings in his heart, he said,
"Dummy... did you forget my dream? If I want to become Sherlock Holmes, I have to solve even more difficult cases."
"...Besides, my head isn't filled with only cases."
Ran immediately looked up, her big eyes sparkling as she leaned closer.
"Then what else is in there?"
'That's cheating! Looking this cute from this close is seriously cheating!'
Shinichi awkwardly looked away.
Normally, he'd always looked at Ran from Conan's perspective. But seeing her from eye level like this, he felt like he might accidentally blurt out everything in his heart.
'Hold it together. You absolutely have to hold it together.'
"I-I... My head's filled with plenty of other things too. For example... those two unreliable people enjoying themselves overseas."
"And besides deduction... I really love soccer."
Ran narrowed her eyes in dissatisfaction.
"Is that all? What about other people?"
"Oh, and Onizawa-sensei too! His deduction skills are seriously incredible!"
Outside the room, Ritsu nearly stumbled.
He helplessly wiped away sweat that didn't actually exist from his forehead.
'Since when did I become someone that important?
Come on... If you're trying to dodge Miss Mouri's question, could you not drag me into it?'
Naturally, that answer wasn't enough to satisfy Ran.
A dazzling smile spread across her face. The sound of her cracking her fingers echoed like firecrackers.
Crack. Crack.
It was strangely intimidating.
"And?"
Shinichi carefully swallowed.
"Haha... Of course there's you and Sonoko... and Nakamichi and everyone else! My head's filled with lots of things, okay?"
"Don't make me sound like an idiot."
Knowing full well that this deduction idiot would never say the words outright, Ran could only sigh.
'Was I just imagining things all along? Does Shinichi only see me as an ordinary friend?'
Noticing the change in her expression, Shinichi couldn't bear to let her keep overthinking. So he quietly added,
"I already told you you're an idiot... how could I possibly say something that important at a murder scene?"
"Huh? Something important?"
"Yeah."
"What important thing?"
Shinichi covered his reddening face with one hand and stammered,
"D-Don't get so close, dummy! I still have a cold. What if I infect you?"
Ran reluctantly took a step back, pouting.
"Then tell me. What exactly is this important thing?"
"Right now, I... Cough!"
"Cough! Cough! Cough!"
Shinichi suddenly doubled over in a violent coughing fit. Half-kneeling on the floor, he clutched his chest.
'What's happening...? That feeling again! My chest...
It hurts... My bones... It feels like my bones are melting...!'
"Shinichi? Shinichi! What's wrong with you?!"
Ran never expected his condition to change so suddenly. She hurriedly crouched beside him.
Only then did she notice that his entire body was drenched in sweat.
'Had he been forcing himself this whole time?'
Hearing the commotion inside, Ritsu immediately pushed open the door.
"What's wrong?"
"Onizawa-san, Shinichi's cold seems really serious. Where's that doctor from earlier?"
"Huh? Kudo caught a cold too?"
The moment Ran heard that, she suddenly remembered Conan, who was still lying upstairs by himself. She hurriedly said,
"Onizawa-san, could you please look after Shinichi? I'm going upstairs to check on Conan!"
"Of course."
But then, the study door opened.
Having successfully solved the case, Heiji was planning to ask Onizawa when he'd figured out the truth.
Instead, he watched as Onizawa supported Shinichi and headed toward the restroom.
'Kudo's condition is so bad he needs someone to help him walk?
...Wait. Why are they going to the restroom?'
"Hattori-kun."
Takagi smiled.
"Thank you very much for helping with today's case. We'll be heading out now."
"Ah... y-yeah. Don't mention it. Besides, I wasn't the first one to solve the case."
"The inspector did."
The moment Takagi heard that, he knew Hattori was referring to Onizawa.
'Come to think of it... Where did Inspector Onizawa go?'
He looked around but couldn't find him anywhere.
'That's strange. He's not the type to neglect a case because of personal matters.'
Meanwhile, driven by curiosity, Heiji quietly walked toward the restroom. Carefully poking just half his head around the doorway, he secretly peeked inside.
What he saw... became something he'd never forget for the rest of his life.
Conan, dressed in an oversized white dress shirt, raised his tiny hands and took the shirt off before changing back into his own clothes.
Beside him, Onizawa picked up the discarded clothes and walked into one of the restroom stalls.
About two minutes later, the person who walked back out... was Shinichi?!
Heiji quickly pulled his head back.
Rubbing his eyes, he made sure his vision wasn't playing tricks on him before peeking inside once more.
This time, the Shinichi inside had suddenly grown another four inches taller. And the voice that came out of "his" mouth... was Onizawa's.
'Dear God... Am I... dreaming?'
Ritsu had noticed the dark-skinned snooper outside the door from the very beginning. Calmly unbuttoning his dress shirt, he walked out and patted Heiji on the shoulder.
"I'll explain later. We don't have time right now. I'll treat you to dinner tonight."
"...O-Okay."
After agreeing, Heiji looked toward the now-short Conan. Seeing Conan flash him an awkward, toothy grin, a horrifying thought suddenly surfaced in his mind.
'Could he... actually be Kudo? No... Why am I even having such an absurd, completely unscientific idea?'