It was 12:30 AM.
Conan had finally cracked the code—why the Beika City Grand Hotel—and successfully infiltrated the rooftop, waiting for Kaito Kid to arrive.
At the Beika Museum, Kurosawa Hoshino didn't join the excitement. He'd given all the necessary warnings. Whether the police caught him or not was up to them. So he stayed behind, playing cards with Ran and the others.
"Are we really not going to watch Kaito Kid get caught?" Aoko asked while playing cards.
Kurosawa glanced at her and said helplessly, "Aoko, with your skills, you can't even fight back against me. Don't go and make things worse."
"What? I learned self-defense from my dad. I'm not weak at all." Aoko even made a casual gesture. But her soft, thin arms, paired with her innocent face, didn't look like self-defense—it looked more like a form of charm.
"Then what happened this afternoon?" Kurosawa said quietly.
Aoko's voice rose. "You're a boy. It's normal that I'm not as strong as you. If it were a girl, I definitely wouldn't be weak."
Hearing this, Kurosawa and Sonoko looked at Ran, who was staring at the cards in her hand, considering what to play. The two exchanged glances and smiled helplessly in tacit understanding. If it were a girl—and that girl were Ran—the consequences would be unimaginable.
"Ahem." Sonoko coughed twice. "Alright, as long as the police handle it, let's just wait for good news."
"Yay! I won again!" Ran happily played her last card, smiling at the three of them.
Kurosawa sighed, threw his cards on the small table, and quickly flicked Ran's forehead. "Ran, let me win once. What's the point of you always winning like this?"
"But I already let you win a lot." Ran touched her forehead.
Sonoko shook her head. "Next round, next round." She threw her cards on the table, glanced at Aoko—who was still holding her cards, unmoving—and said amusedly, "Aoko, what are you daydreaming about?"
"Huh? Oh—" Aoko snapped back to reality, but still subconsciously stared at Kurosawa—especially his action of flicking Ran's forehead and his smiling eyes. It reminded her of memories from many years ago. A figure she'd always hidden in her heart surfaced.
"What's wrong with you?" Sonoko waved a hand in front of Aoko's eyes.
"Well—" Aoko hesitated for a moment before finally speaking. "I remembered my first love."
"What?" The three of them were shocked.
Even Kurosawa was surprised. When did Aoko have a first love? I never saw it in the anime. Could it be Kuroba Kaito?
Ran became interested and exclaimed, "Wow, Aoko, you're so bold! You even mentioned your first love!"
Sonoko was even more excited. "Tell us about it! I really want to know!"
"Actually, it was when I was seven years old. I was waiting for my dad to pick me up under the Ekoda Clock Tower when I met an older boy. He was about the same age as Hoshino is now—probably a high school student back then."
"Aoko, you actually like guys that much older? I didn't realize that." Sonoko teased.
"No, no—" Aoko explained, her face flushed. "At first, I thought this older brother was a kidnapper. I was terrified. He was wearing a hat and a mask—only his eyes were showing."
She glanced at Kurosawa and said shyly, "Hoshino, can I see what you look like with your hat on and your face covered?"
The sudden request startled Ran and Sonoko. Even Kurosawa was caught off guard. What surprised him even more was that Aoko had just described her first meeting with Kuroba Kaito. How did it turn into a high school student?
"Let's help." Ran and Sonoko snapped out of their surprise. They approached Kurosawa with great interest—one covering his face, the other covering his forehead—leaving only his eyes visible.
Sure enough, he looks just like him. Aoko's heart fluttered as she looked into those bright, clear eyes. She lowered her head and continued, "Actually, I only spent three days with that older brother. He also liked to flick my forehead, just like Hoshino did just now. My dad was very busy those days—he couldn't pick me up from school on time—so the older brother always took me home."
Ran and Sonoko suddenly understood. They returned to their seats.
Sonoko said softly, "Do you know his name? I can have someone look it up for you."
Aoko shook her head. "I asked, but the older brother never said. He only said I would find out later. After three days, I never saw him again. When I was little, I even said that I would marry him when I grew up."
"Wow, this sounds like a novel plot." Sonoko clasped her hands together and twisted them back and forth, as if she'd been drawn into the story.
Ran glanced at Kurosawa and chuckled. "If that's the case, according to novel plots, Kurosawa's eyes look so much like your older brother's—maybe he is the older brother you knew back then. But unfortunately, the ages don't match."
Kurosawa was also wondering if the existence of another version of himself had changed some things in the past. He asked, "Aoko, do you know Kuroba Kaito?"
"Yes, we're neighbors. We even went to the same school and were in the same class. Hoshino, do you know Kaito?"
"I've heard of him. What's your relationship like?"
"It's alright. We're friends—after all, we've known each other since childhood." Aoko spoke casually, showing no signs of liking anyone, and no embarrassment.
Kurosawa observed her for a while, nodded, and didn't ask anything more. He didn't want to dwell on things he couldn't understand for now. There was no need to get stuck in a rut.
Meanwhile, outside the museum, Conan and a group of police officers returned. They brought news that, just as Kurosawa had deduced, tonight was only an April Fool's prank. Kaito Kid was indeed going to steal the Black Star—just not tonight. He'd left behind a new teaser.
*"The Sallybeth will depart from Yokohama Port on April 19th. And that genuine, jet-black star on board—I'm going to reserve it. From Kaito Kid."*
After Kogorō Mouri finished reading the announcement, Kurosawa asked, "Today's April Fool's. How many days until April 19th?"
"Tomorrow is the 2nd," Ran replied, giving him a strange look—as if to say, "Do you really need to ask such a simple question?"
Kurosawa didn't say anything more. He just nodded, indicating he understood.