Chapter 8: Say My Name
"Shinichi!"
"Shinichi!"
"Today was… supposed to be a date!"
Ran called after his retreating figure, but all she could do was sigh helplessly.
"Kudo-kun probably has something more important to deal with!"
Makoto stepped in to smooth things over—though his words carried a hidden barb.
"Something more important?"
"So I'm not important?"
"Being with me isn't important? Going on a date with me isn't important?"
"He's always like this, always—Holmes matters more than me, deduction and cases matter more than me, everything matters more than me…"
Ran pounded his chest with her little fists and cried like a heartbroken high school girl.
"No!"
"You matter more than anything—you matter more than the whole world!"
Makoto said, and pulled her into his arms.
"R-really?"
"You're sure?"
Ran tilted her head up, eyes brimming with tears.
Her tear-streaked face made her look all the more heartbreakingly beautiful.
"Positive!"
"You're my one and only—I really do love you!"
Makoto recited the lyrics with a completely straight face.
"Higashino-kun——"
Ran's face went red as she closed her eyes.
It was as though everything she'd lost just moments ago had been filled back in by this man.
◇◇◇
The Ritz-Carlton Tokyo, penthouse presidential suite.
Outside the floor-to-ceiling windows, the neon lights blazed and the night skyline glittered.
Tilt your head up and Tokyo Tower rose into the sky, impossible to miss against the Tokyo night.
"Yes, Dad—I'm staying at Sonoko's tonight."
"Don't worry, I'll be back tomorrow!"
Ran hung up the phone and let out a long breath of relief.
Good thing Suzuki Sonoko made such a reliable cover—a couple of lines and it was sorted.
And tonight, Mouri Kogoro seemed to have had too much beer again—he'd barely said a word before the sound of snoring came through from the other end.
"Sorry for the trouble!"
Makoto said apologetically.
"Not at all—no trouble whatsoever."
"Getting to be with Higashino-kun like this, I feel so happy!"
Ran bowed her head, her cheeks flushed.
"Makoto."
"Call me by my name."
Makoto said, his tone brooking no argument.
"Makoto——"
Ran lifted her head, her face burning red.
Then she looked out the window, her voice lighting up with excitement. "That's Tokyo Tower! You can see Tokyo Tower from here—it's so tall, so beautiful!"
"It's even more beautiful with two people looking at it."
"Ran!"
Makoto pulled her close from behind, bending down to murmur in her ear.
"Makoto!"
Ran called his name, but her cheeks only grew more flushed.
Especially that single word "Ran" just now—the moment she heard it, Kudo Shinichi's face flashed through her mind.
Her heart raced, her pulse scattered.
As though she were doing something very, very wrong.
But before long, her mind went completely blank and she stopped thinking altogether.
◇◇◇
Tropical Land, a dim corner by the wall.
"Are you all right, little guy?"
Two officers shone their flashlights over him, their faces full of concern.
'Little guy? I'm a high school student—you're the little guy!'
Shinichi grumbled to himself.
"Little guy, what happened to you?"
"Your head is bleeding!"
An officer shone the light at his head.
Thin streaks of blood along his forehead—clearly the result of a heavy blow.
"A wound?"
"Right, just now I was…"
It all came rushing back to Shinichi.
He'd been tailing that suspicious man in black and had stumbled onto an illegal deal.
But then the man's accomplice had come up from behind and knocked him out cold with a single blow.
"Right, we found an injured kid."
"Age?"
"Looks about elementary school—first grade, maybe."
An officer relayed the situation to his colleagues over the radio.
"Elementary school?"
'How could I be elementary school age?'
'I'm clearly…'
Shinichi looked down at himself.
"Whoosh!"
In an instant, the color drained from his face.
It was as though every last bit of his soul had been sucked out of him.
"Little guy? Little guy?"
The officer spun around and called out—only to find that the injured little kid had already vanished.
Late at night, after a rain.
Puddles on the ground.
Shinichi pressed his face against a glass window and stared at his own reflection.
An oversized shirt, oversized pants, oversized sneakers.
All hanging off a tiny body.
The whole thing looked completely, deeply wrong.
'I shrunk!'
'I really, actually shrunk!'
'Could it really be—was it that drug?'
He thought back to the words he'd heard before losing consciousness—"a mysterious new poison developed by the Organization."
His body had shrunk, but his mind was just as sharp as ever.
'So right now, I should go…'
Shinichi's brain kicked into overdrive and came up with an answer almost immediately—home!
No. 22, 2nd Street, Beika—the Kudo residence!
His parents had moved to the United States three years ago for work.
For those three years, he'd been living there alone.
But!
Next door to the Kudo house—Professor Agasa!
Right now, the only person who could believe him and help him was that genius inventor.
…
…
Edogawa Conan — Shinichi's alternate identity. Series: Detective Conan.
Higashino Makoto — Protagonist. Transmigrated.
Mouri Ran — Shinichi's childhood sweetheart. Series: Detective Conan.
…
…
Translated by CheapBiscuit.
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