With a loud splash, Heiji jumped into the swimming pool and immediately started swimming laps like he owned the place.
At first, the three women—Kazuha and the others—were still enjoying their sunbath. But before long, Kazuha sat up and pulled off her sunglasses, staring into the pool like she couldn't believe what she was seeing.
"Kazuha, what's wrong?" Sonoko asked, propping herself up to look over.
"Heiji… he—" Kazuha lifted a hand and pointed, her fingers shaking a little.
Sonoko rolled her eyes. "He's just swimming. What, are you going to start staring like a fan?"
Then Sonoko followed Kazuha's finger.
Her expression froze. Her mouth fell open.
"Seriously… was Heiji a competitive swimmer or something?"
Yukiko's voice drifted over from nearby, just as surprised.
In the pool, Heiji switched strokes effortlessly—butterfly, freestyle, breaststroke—then dipped under for a long underwater glide before resurfacing and taking off again. It was smooth, fast, and practiced enough to make it hard to look away.
Splash.
Yukiko, now in a one-piece swimsuit, dove in and swam toward him with an easy, confident rhythm.
Heiji, caught up in the water, noticed her and slowed down.
Yukiko circled him once, studying him like he was some kind of mystery, then reached out and gave his arm a quick pinch.
"Heiji, what are you?"
Heiji's face darkened. He shot her a flat look. "I'm a wolf. And you're being annoying."
"A wolf?" Yukiko blinked, clearly not following.
Heiji tilted his head. "Meaning: don't mess with me."
From the shore, Sonoko cupped her hands and shouted, laughing, "He means you're distracting him!"
Yukiko paused, then huffed. "As if."
Instead of backing off, she swam right in front of him, clearly enjoying his reaction.
Heiji sighed, dipped under the water, and pushed off hard into another lap to escape her.
A second later, Kazuha and Sonoko jumped in too, and the pool turned into chaos—splashing, chasing, laughing, and yelling over one another until everyone was exhausted.
By late morning, all three women were stretched out on the loungers again, tired and content.
Heiji went into the kitchen and threw together a few simple dishes.
After they ate, the cruise ship had already passed the halfway point of the journey.
"Sonoko, is there anything fun to do on Tsukikage Island?" Kazuha asked, lying against Heiji while looking over at Sonoko on the next lounger.
Sonoko shrugged. "No idea. I've never been there."
Kazuha rolled her eyes. "What if it's boring?"
"Hee-hee. If it's boring, we'll just make Heiji figure something out." Sonoko stuck her tongue out.
Heiji lay back with his eyes closed, one arm around Kazuha, looking completely at ease.
The Alice cruise ship continued across the sea at a steady pace.
Far behind them, a fishing boat moved in the same direction—quietly keeping the same heading.
Two hours later.
"Heiji, are we there yet?" Yukiko asked as she stepped into the cockpit, towel in hand, drying her hair after changing back into her clothes.
"Soon," Heiji said, glancing at the display. "About thirty minutes. Tell Kazuha and Sonoko to get ready."
Yukiko nodded and left.
The fishing boat behind them was almost there as well.
On that fishing boat, Ran leaned against the railing, the wind tugging at her hair. "Dad, what kind of job is this supposed to be?"
"It sounded like a phone call case," Conan said, leaning forward over the rail.
"Tch. If it weren't for that call, I'd be watching Yoko's drama right now," Mouri Kogoro complained, looking bored out of his mind.
Ran shot him a look. "Dad, it wasn't easy to get work. If you mess this up, we're going to be short on money again."
"Yeah, yeah, I get it," Kogoro grumbled. "Stop nagging like your mother."
Ran's expression fell. "It's because you're like this that Mom doesn't come home. And if she ends up finding someone else, don't come crying to me."
Kogoro stiffened for half a second, then forced a careless laugh. "As if. Who would want a woman that stubborn—"
Conan glanced at Ran's face and stopped smirking. She'd gone quiet.
He quickly pointed ahead. "Ran, look! There's a really nice boat in front of us."
"You brat," Kogoro snapped, flicking Conan on the head. "That's a small cruise ship, not 'a boat.' Don't yell like that."
Then Kogoro's eyes lit up anyway as he stared. "Hah… must be some rich kid traveling in style."
Conan rubbed his head, looking unimpressed.
They entered the harbor.
Heiji guided the Alice in smoothly, docked, and dropped anchor.
"Heiji, hurry up!" Sonoko called. She was already on the shore.
Heiji went down the ladder. With a click of the remote, the ladder retracted back into the ship.
There was now a clear gap between ship and shore—no one was casually climbing aboard.
"There's a fishing boat behind us," Kazuha said, glancing back as the old, worn vessel approached the dock.
Hearing that, Yukiko, Kazuha, and Sonoko started walking ahead.
Kogoro watched them from the fishing boat as it drew closer. "So it's really some rich family. Must be nice."
As the distance closed, he squinted at the figures walking away. "Huh… those backs look kind of familiar."
Ran narrowed her eyes. "Yeah… I was thinking the same."
Their boat finally docked.
"Ahhh, solid ground!" Kogoro shouted the moment he stepped off.
"Dad," Ran sighed, "keep it down. You're embarrassing."
"What's there to be embarrassed about? I'm the famous Mouri Kogoro," he said, puffing up.
Conan let out a tired little sigh.
"Ran!"
A loud voice called from ahead.
"Sonoko?" Ran froze.
"Ran!"
"Kazuha too?"
"Oh my… I thought I heard you," Yukiko said as she stepped into view, smiling.
"Heiji's here too?"
"Mom?" Ran blurted out.
"Hattori?" Conan added, staring.
As the group walked toward them, Ran and Conan could only stand there wide-eyed, completely stunned.