Ran searched every room on the second floor but couldn't find Conan anywhere.
Panic began to set in as she started blaming herself for completely forgetting about the seriously ill Conan after seeing Shinichi again.
Then she spotted the now-recovered Shinichi standing at the bottom of the stairs. She hurried downstairs, gesturing with her hands as she asked,
"Shinichi, have you seen Conan? He's the little boy I've mentioned to you so many times on the phone. He's staying with us, and he's about... this tall."
"You mean the little kid with glasses?" Ritsu, disguised as Shinichi, replied.
"He's in the restroom. I just went in there too, and I'm feeling much better now."
To properly match Shinichi's height of only 174 centimeters (5'8½"), he had to keep his knees slightly bent and his feet spread apart so the difference in height wouldn't be too noticeable.
"Ran-nee, I'm over here!"
Conan walked out of the restroom with a smile.
"Sorry for making you worry, Ran-nee. My cold's almost completely better now—Achoo!"
"Honestly!"
Ran hurried down the remaining steps, draped Conan's coat over his shoulders, and carefully wiped the sweat from his forehead with her handkerchief.
"You shouldn't be walking around without your jacket. You finally started feeling better, and now you're being reckless again!"
Unable to help himself, Ritsu smiled.
"Ran, when you have children in the future, you'll definitely make a wonderful wife and mother."
Ran froze.
Then, once the meaning of those words registered, her face turned bright red.
"W-What are you talking about?!"
Noticing Conan frantically signaling him with his eyes, Ritsu suddenly remembered, he was currently wearing Shinichi's face.
Which meant, he—no, Shinichi—had basically just implied he was imagining their future life together as a family of three.
Cough.
He'd accidentally spoken from the perspective of an outside observer.
-Warning: Character setting compromised-
"Hahaha... I didn't mean anything by it!"
To keep himself in character, Ritsu copied Shinichi's usual sheepish laugh, rubbing the back of his head repeatedly before suddenly turning serious.
"Ran... there's actually something I want to tell you."
Seeing Shinichi's expression become unexpectedly solemn, Ran stood up.
"What is it?"
"I accepted an invitation from the FBI to assist with investigating an international case. So I won't be able to return to school for a while."
"...I hope you'll wait for me."
When it came to lying, Ritsu was a professional, even Conan almost believed the story.
The moment Ran heard the words FBI and internationalcase, her first concern wasn't that she might rarely get to see Shinichi anymore.
Instead, she immediately worried about how dangerous it sounded.
"An international case? You're still a high school student! Why would you get involved in something that dangerous?!"
"Dummy, I'm Kudo Shinichi, the high school detective! If I want to become Sherlock Holmes, how could I run away from difficult cases?"
"Of course I have to face them head-on!"
Ran fell silent for a moment. Then her gaze drifted to the two mismatched buttons on Shinichi's shirt. With a helpless sigh, she reached over to fix them.
"You can't even take proper care of yourself... and you're trying to act like an adult solving cases."
"You're the real idiot."
Watching the scene before him, Conan couldn't hide the envy in his eyes. It was almost beginning to turn into jealousy.
Ritsu felt incredibly awkward.
He could only keep both hands behind his head while Ran quietly fastened the two buttons correctly.
Thinking back to today's murder case, he added,
"So... Ran, could you keep this a secret for me? My current identity isn't something that should become public knowledge."
"So please don't let the police mention my involvement."
"I understand."
Ran frowned seriously.
"But you have to promise me you'll stay safe, okay?"
Right now, all she wanted was for Shinichi to come home safely. After all... the version of Shinichi she loved most was the one passionately solving mysteries.
"I've got a flight to catch, so I should get going... Ran. And you too, little kid with glasses."
"See you next time."
Putting on an act, Ritsu ran out the front door.
In reality, he simply circled around the house, climbed back in through the restroom window, and changed back into his own clothes.
The moment he climbed through the window, he was met by Heiji's probing stare.
'...Why is this guy still in the restroom?' Ritsu thought.
Calmly removing his disguise, he changed back into his own clothes inside one of the stalls before stepping back out.
Patting Heiji on the shoulder, he lowered his voice.
"Let's go. Dinner's on me."
...
Meanwhile, outside the restroom near the staircase,
Conan looked up at Ran once more.
'So... I'm back to seeing her from this height again. Ran... There really are important things I want to tell you.
Sensei could've said them for me... But I'm selfish. I want to tell you myself. And then... never leave your side again.'
"Ran-nee-chan?"
Hearing Conan's voice, the sadness on Ran's face disappeared. She crouched down with a smile.
"Conan, what do you want for dinner tonight? I'll make whatever you want."
Conan wanted to answer.
But remembering that Onizawa-sensei still had many things to discuss with him, he reluctantly said,
"Ran-nee, I promised the Detective Boys I'd go to Professor Agasa's house tonight. We're making curry together."
"I see. Alright then, I'll take you over there."
"Conan, are you going to Professor Agasa's house?"
Ran turned toward the restroom just as Onizawa and Heiji walked out together. Tilting her head, she looked completely puzzled.
'Do boys also go to the restroom together?'
"Yeah, Onizawa-nii."
Ritsu adjusted his glasses before looking at Ran.
"Mouri-san, I'll take him to Agasa's house. It's on the way anyway. I was planning to stop nearby to buy Akemi's favorite little cakes."
"Then thank you very much, Onizawa-san."
Turning to Conan, she smiled. "Conan, be a good boy, okay? I'm heading home."
"Okay, Ran-nee-chan!"
Watching Ran leave, Ritsu turned to Heiji and raised an eyebrow.
"How did you get here?"
Heiji was still somewhat dazed.
"By car."
"Alright, then you and Conan can take a taxi together. My car only seats two."
Taking out his police notebook, Ritsu tore off a page, wrote down an address with a black pen, and handed it over.
"This is my home address."
"...Okay."
Walking out of the mansion and back to his car, Ritsu found Takagi peering through the window. Walking over, he asked,
"Takagi, did you need something?"
"Inspector Onizawa! Seriously, where did you disappear to? I called your phone, but you never answered."
"Sorry, when I'm investigating, I always put my phone on silent."
Takagi waved with a smile.
"It's nothing."
"Then I'll head back to the MPD. You can leave the remaining paperwork to me."
Ritsu looked at him with concern.
"How's your injury?"
"Much better. And..."
Takagi scratched the back of his head shyly.
"The few days I spent in the hospital were actually pretty nice. Hehe."
Being doted on by Miwako could probably be considered a blessing in disguise.
Ritsu sighed helplessly.
"That's one kind of happiness you really don't need."
"I understand, Inspector. Then I'll be going!"
"Mm, take care."
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