BONUS CHAPTER in thanks for the review by Glebby_Boi! Thanks for your support!
Conan: "…"
He quickly replayed the phone call in his head. Aside from calling Jiangxia and the others by name instead of "Brother Jiangxia" or "Sister Sonoko," he hadn't said anything suspicious.
"Good… good…"
Conan stared at Amuro Tooru for a moment. He recalled the mystery person on Jiangxia's end with unknown intentions. After hesitating for a bit, he finally shared some details:
"Brother Jiangxia's classmate invited him to a concert this afternoon. But Jiangxia said he had a case today and turned them down. Then just now…"
He briefly explained what had happened earlier.
Naturally, anything about Kudo Shinichi was completely left out.
Amuro Tooru listened silently. The more he listened, the more he felt that this "elementary school student" named Conan was… off.
He was supposed to be in first grade, yet his logic and insight weren't childish at all. Most kids would've been easily fooled by the voice changer—wouldn't have even suspected the person on the phone was impersonating someone.
Then again… another first-grader came to mind.
That scarf-wearing kid from the Izu Princess Hotel.
He didn't talk as much as Conan, but he'd fake injuries, manipulate situations, and he was eerily accurate with needles. Amuro had underestimated him once—just once—and paid for it. In hindsight, it was a ridiculous oversight.
Comparing the two, Amuro's suspicions began to ease. Maybe he just didn't understand modern children anymore. The flowers of the motherland were blooming alright—but the directions they were growing in were… questionable.
Especially that little one who enjoyed stabbing people with needles.
…
Amuro was briefly distracted, but quickly returned to the matter at hand.
While Conan's description gave him a rough idea of the situation, it still wasn't enough to figure out who had taken Jiangxia's phone—or why.
Still, the mention of voice changing did ring a bell.
Vermouth. The so-called "Chameleon."
According to intel, she'd quietly slipped into Tokyo from the States not long ago.
If it was her, pulling off this sort of impersonation would be trivial. The question was… why? Why target innocent little Jiangxia?
Amuro Tooru: "…"
…Okay, fine. Innocent might be a stretch.
He remembered that Vermouth really didn't like Sherry. And part of the reason she came to Tokyo was to hunt down that runaway watered-down liquor.
And among Sherry's sparse list of acquaintances, Jiangxia obviously ranked pretty high.
Gin had contacted Jiangxia before because of that, if memory served.
So it wasn't totally surprising if Vermouth came knocking too.
Especially considering Vermouth's… unique relationship with the boss. She had a track record of using up other members like disposable chopsticks. Even if Jiangxia just sat quietly and sipped tea, there was a good chance he'd still get dragged into something messy.
Amuro frowned at the thought.
"Leave this to me," he said, patting Conan's head before hopping back onto his bike. "Kids shouldn't meddle in adult affairs. Go home and study."
Conan: "…" Excuse me?! Could you at least tell me what case Jiangxia took today??
…
Amuro disappeared from view.
Then he pulled out his phone and tried calling Jiangxia directly.
No answer.
After thinking for a moment, he dialed a different number.
*Goal #1: Top 200 fanfics published within the last 31 - 90 days by POWER STONES.
Progress: 20/60(approx) for 10 BONUS CHAPTERS
Goal #2: One BONUS CHAPTER per review for the first 10 REVIEWS.
Progress:3/10*