The sky had darkened. On the streets of 5-chome, only Kurosawa Hoshino and Ran remained, strolling slowly.
"I've had a great day. So relaxing." Ran stretched lazily, her graceful figure radiating a bright smile.
"Yeah. I don't know how to face Dad now," Kurosawa teased.
"Oh, you're so mean!" Ran playfully punched him, her cheeks flushed. Especially remembering what she had said back then, Ran felt incredibly embarrassed. She was completely unprepared for the reality between her parents.
"Oh my god, Uncle Mouri didn't even call to urge us to come home. Isn't he home?"
"He must know Mom's with us, that's why he didn't call. I think he's probably starving at home."
"That makes sense." Kurosawa nodded.
His mind drifted to Conan, wondering how he was doing. Perhaps he could pretend to be concerned and call to solve a case over the phone. But thinking about it, he figured the call wouldn't be answered. If it were Conan alone, he definitely wouldn't dare not answer. But with Yukiko Kudō around—that woman had the kind of personality that could do anything—preventing Conan from answering his call wouldn't be a big deal at all.
"We're here. I'm going up now." Ran stopped downstairs at her apartment building, smiling at Kurosawa.
"I'm going back too." Kurosawa turned and slowly walked toward the opposite stairwell.
Just then, Danger Prediction flashed through his mind, and a scene appeared: he had just placed his foot on the stairs when a person wearing a hat and mask rushed out from the shadows under the eaves and hit him on the head with a shovel, knocking him unconscious.
Who is it? Kurosawa thought. His foot had already stopped at the top of the stairs. He glanced to the side, his hand instinctively reaching into his pocket—only to realize he hadn't brought his baton. But no big deal. He could handle it with his bare hands.
Just then, from the shadows under the eaves, a dark figure suddenly rushed out, wielding a shovel and slamming it down toward where he stood.
Kurosawa exhaled softly. As the shovel swung, he calmly stepped to the right, easily dodging the attack. The shovel slammed into the ground with a bang. The impact caused a slight numbness in the attacker's wrist and a brief pause in his movements.
What? Sawaki Kohei was shocked that Kurosawa could dodge such a sudden attack. But the next second, he saw a fist loom large before his eyes.
With a bang, accompanied by a scream, Sawaki instinctively released his grip on the shovel, covering his eyes and backing away. He had clearly never been hit like this before, screaming repeatedly, unable to open his eyes.
"Hoshino!" A frantic shout suddenly came from the side. Kurosawa turned his head and saw Ran rushing toward the opposite stairwell like a speeding truck. Halfway there, she leaped into the air, her sneaker-clad feet flying straight toward Sawaki.
"Ran! No—" Kurosawa rushed forward and caught Ran in mid-air, his forehead covered in cold sweat. Looking at the still bewildered Ran, he said irritably, "That kick of yours could have killed someone."
Then, in accordance with the scene that had just appeared in his Danger Prediction, he spun around with Ran in his arms, directing her feet toward Sawaki, who had recovered somewhat and was preparing to launch a sneak attack.
Thump! Sawaki's head snapped back, and he fell straight backward, lying on the ground groaning. Finally too weak to get up.
"I—uh—" Ran blinked her pale purple eyes, looking at Kurosawa as he faced her. Her face slightly flushed, she said shyly in a low voice, "Hoshino, could you let go of me first?"
Kurosawa didn't let go immediately. He teased, "Be careful. I'm really afraid you'll kick him to death."
"How could that be? I know my limits."
"No, you don't."
"You're not me. How do you know?"
"Compared to your usual behavior."
"Am I usually this violent?"
They went back and forth, the boy holding a girl in his arms. It looked quite romantic under the night—but it would be even more perfect if there wasn't a poor soul struggling on the ground.
Splash. The French windows of Kogorō's room on the third floor across the street were opened. He walked to the balcony, leaned on the railing, looked at the two kids, and shouted, "What are you doing? What are you doing in the middle of the night? I'm not dead yet!"
"Dad! Come down quickly! Hoshino's been attacked again!" Ran ignored her father's words and hurriedly shouted.
"What? Attacked again?" Kogorō's expression changed. Snapping out of his daze, he suddenly realized he was on the third-floor balcony. His head started spinning. He'd even forgotten he had a fear of heights. He stumbled back a few steps, panting heavily. Remembering his daughter's words, he quickly left the room, rushed downstairs, and ran to his kids.
Sure enough, there lay a man wearing a hat and mask on the ground. The man seemed to have anticipated his fate, lying motionless, staring intently with his one uninjured eye.
Kogorō said, "Wait, what were you thinking? Attacking this brat without even asking about his record?" As he spoke, he bent down and removed Sawaki's hat and mask—his expression instantly freezing. "Sawaki, it's you?"
"Mr. Sawaki?" Ran, still being carried in a princess carry by Kurosawa, exclaimed in surprise.
"Why did you attack me?" Kurosawa asked Sawaki, puzzled. Then he said to Ran, "Hold onto my neck."
"Why?" Ran asked back, but still obediently wrapped her arms around his neck.
Kogorō glanced at her and explained, "The way he's carrying you makes it much easier for him—less strenuous."
After saying that, he realized what he meant. His face immediately darkened, his eyes flashing with a fierce light.
"Let go of me!" Ran also realized what he meant and quickly patted him.
"I forgot I could let go." Kurosawa released Ran without any embarrassment.
In a distant corner, in the shadows, Ireland witnessed the entire attack on Kurosawa by Sawaki—and saw how Kurosawa counterattacked and took down Sawaki. He thought to himself, Being suddenly attacked, he didn't let anger cloud his judgment. He stopped his girlfriend's flying kick. Quite calm. And he has strong observation skills.
Stopping his thoughts, he took out his phone and dialed Masuyama Kenzo's number.
"Is it over?" Masuyama asked impatiently.
"It's over, but it's not what you think." Ireland said with a smile, recounting what he had seen.
After listening, Masuyama laughed heartily. "It's even better that you helped us handle it. Come back."
Ireland hung up the phone, took one last deep look at Kurosawa in the distance, turned, and quickly left.
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