As Sato Miwako uttered the last word, the atmosphere in the ward seemed to freeze, instantly falling silent.
"Haha!" Just then, Kogorō Mouri suddenly burst into hearty laughter, breaking the tension. He waved his hand and said confidently, "I think this is just some patient in one of the wards playing a prank out of boredom. They just want to scare people in this building. It's nothing serious."
Conan nodded in agreement, his eyes narrowing behind his glasses. "I think Uncle Mouri is right. After all, it's been two days already. So many times on the first day, but only once on the second. The pranksters are probably afraid of being exposed, so they didn't dare do it as many times as they did on the first day."
Sato smiled and looked at Kogorō. "Mr. Mouri, I might have to stay in your room tonight to see if anything like that happens across the street."
"No problem, I'd be happy to." Kogorō's gaze was already fixed on the building across the street. "I really want to ask the person who played this prank what they were thinking, playing such a trick in a hospital. Aren't they afraid of scaring some of the elderly patients half to death?"
"Dad." Ran's soft voice rang out. "Since you're alright, I'll go back now." She then used both feet and hands to pull Kurosawa toward the door.
Kogorō gave his daughter a wary look. He knew how timid she was. Though she was terrifying when angry, she seemed to lose all her strength when it came to "supernatural" topics, becoming completely powerless to resist. He sighed helplessly, softening his tone. "Don't worry, I told you it was a prank. There are no real supernatural events in this world—they're all made up. You don't need to be afraid."
"I... I'm not afraid at all!" Ran's face flushed red, especially in front of Sato. How could she admit to being scared? Taking a deep breath, her tone hardened slightly. "Dad, I'm telling you, I'm not afraid at all. I'll stay here tonight and wait with you."
Kurosawa lowered his gaze, his eyes inadvertently sweeping over the girl's legs beside him. Underneath her school uniform pleated skirt were gray thigh-high stockings, making her legs appear straight and long. But that wasn't the point. The point was that Ran's seemingly steady legs were actually trembling slightly, causing her pleated skirt to quiver gently—revealing her true feelings of being incredibly panicked despite her outward bravado.
Kurosawa couldn't help but curl the corners of his lips. He didn't expose her adorable bravado but simply whispered in her ear, "Don't worry. I'm here."
Hearing this, Ran looked up and met his gaze. His relaxed expression and smiling eyes comforted her. She nodded vigorously.
"Yeah, I'm not scared at all."
"Yes, yes, no need to repeat yourself."
"I mean it."
"Okay, okay, I believe you. No need to repeat yourself."
"I— Fine, I won't say it then."
Time passed. In the blink of an eye, it was 11 p.m.
The lights in the ward were off. Ran was asleep next to Kurosawa. Even so, ever since she had learned about the paranormal events in the hospital, she hadn't let go of his arm.
Kurosawa gasped and stretched his shoulders.
Sato, who was by the window, turned around at the sound and asked softly, "What's wrong?"
"My arm is numb." Kurosawa pointed to the arm Ran was holding.
Sato couldn't help but chuckle, saying slyly, "Isn't it nice for a girl to hold him?"
"But—"
"Hmph!" Before she could finish speaking, Kogorō, sitting by the hospital bed, snorted coldly, expressing his dissatisfaction. In Kogorō's eyes, Kurosawa was simply a blond-haired bastard—incredibly attractive to innocent girls—and had to be kept in check. If he hadn't known that his daughter was afraid of these supernatural tales and needed someone to rely on temporarily, he would have forcibly separated the two.
"Uncle Mouri, Ran is asleep. Should I put her on the bed?" Kurosawa said.
"I'll do it." Kogorō got up.
"It's here." Conan suddenly spoke, pointing in shock at the hospital building across the street from the window. On the third floor across the street, a room was lit up, and two figures appeared behind the window. One of the figures had its hand raised high, as if holding a knife, and was about to stab the other figure hard in the back.
"Let's go!" Sato turned and rushed out of the ward. Kogorō and Conan quickly followed.
Beika General Hospital was a U-shaped building, so this building connected to the building opposite. Each floor was interconnected—you just needed to run forward and turn two corners to reach the other side.
Kurosawa looked at Ran, who was still fast asleep with her arms around his. He reached out and flicked her nose, gently nudged her shoulder, and called out, "Ran, wake up. Wake up—a paranormal event is happening. Don't sleep."
Instantly, as if triggering some keyword, the girl abruptly opened her eyes. Her pale purple eyes widened, meeting Kurosawa's smiling gaze.
"Oh, you're awake. This supernatural event was orchestrated by the gods. They've successfully turned you into a boy."
Ran snapped out of her daze, frantically touching her chest. Finding it still there, she breathed a sigh of relief. At the same time, her intelligence returned, and she glared at Kurosawa, saying irritably, "Hoshino, you're so annoying! You scared me to death!"
"Idiot. Only you would believe that."
"I don't believe it. I just woke up—my mind is still foggy. That doesn't count. By the way, where are Dad and the others?"
"I told you—a paranormal event happened. They went to investigate. Want to go?" Kurosawa stood up, vigorously shaking his numb arm, finally feeling a little better.
Ran shrank back, her expression conflicted, but finally nodded firmly. "Yes."
"Let's go then."
So the two left the ward and continued along the road ahead. After turning two corners, they finally arrived at the building across the street.
It was bustling with activity. Outside an empty warehouse, patients and nurses were gathered, all peering inside and whispering amongst themselves.
"It looks like someone died," Ran overheard someone say, referring to a doctor.
Kurosawa didn't speak. Instead, he activated his superpower, Scene Rewind, to see what was going on.