'What's going on? Is this guy doing it on purpose?'
Conan's heart was tense and fearful, pounding rapidly as cold sweat unconsciously beaded on his forehead.
Ever since he had shrunk after taking that mysterious drug and discovered that the Organization behind it wasn't simple and likely had a vast, dark network, he had been terrified that the fact he was still alive would be exposed.
This wasn't just about his own life. It concerned the lives of all his close relatives and friends.
If the Organization found out that he hadn't died and had instead turned into a child, would they capture him and subject him to various inhumane experiments?
Would his friends and family also be cruelly murdered by the Organization because of him?
That was why Conan had done everything he could to conceal his identity.
The only bit of good news was that someone turning into a child after taking a drug was so fantastical that it made hiding his identity relatively easy.
But now, someone he had just met had casually said he looked like Shinichi Kudo. Whether the guy had noticed unintentionally or actually knew something, it made Conan feel deeply anxious and afraid.
'If this Fujiwara Toru could notice it, could others notice too?'
That was Conan's biggest fear.
"Huh? Now that Fujiwara-kun mentions it, I realize Conan really does look like Shinichi when he was little."
Ran bent down and leaned in close, studying Conan carefully. The more she looked, the more he resembled Shinichi in her eyes.
"Uh... uh, Shinichi-niichan and I are relatives, so maybe we look alike?"
Cold sweat formed on Conan's forehead as his mind raced to come up with an excuse.
He was incredibly thankful now that he had told his parents everything right after shrinking.
His mother had created a plausible identity for him, using the excuse that he was a "relative."
Ran thought about it and found it reasonable. Since Aunt Yukiko had said he was a child of a distant relative, that meant they were related by blood.
Although it was still a bit strange that Conan and Shinichi looked so similar as children despite the distant relation, as long as the explanation was logical, she could accept it.
Seeing that Ran was no longer suspicious, Conan felt like he had narrowly escaped death.
'Thank goodness. Ran's not the type to press for answers, and she's never been one to focus on tiny details.'
Seeing that the crisis had passed, Conan finally let out a quiet sigh of relief.
He cast a subtle glare at Toru, who was still chatting and laughing with Eri and Ran.
That one casual comment from this guy nearly gave me a heart attack!
But with just a glance, Conan noticed something strange.
'What's going on? That area between his thumb and index finger?!'
Even though the man had obviously treated his hand, making the marks faint, Conan—no, Shinichi Kudo—was extremely detail-oriented. That was his talent as a detective.
He had noticed the calluses between Toru's thumb and index finger. In his experience, one of the habits that would leave marks like that was years of holding a gun.
His thoughts raced, and despite the risk of drawing attention, he gritted his teeth and asked with a child's innocent curiosity, "Fujiwara-nii, did you say you used to live in America?"
"Mm, yeah. Why, Conan? Do you want to go to America, too?"
Toru pretended not to notice anything, smiling as he teased.
"I heard people can shoot guns in America?"
Conan looked up at him with eager eyes.
It was normal for little boys to be interested in guns.
"If you have all the right paperwork, sure, you can shoot guns. But guns are everywhere over there. It's really dangerous. You have to stay alert at school all the time. Who knows when a classmate might suddenly pull out a gun and start shooting."
Toru spoke with emotion, reminiscing about his gun-filled life in America.
He really did miss it.
"Is America that dangerous?"
Ran covered her mouth in surprise.
"It's that dangerous. That's what happens when gun ownership is so widespread. But that's something America can't control. After all, it's a country founded on guns."
Toru shrugged.
Conan continued, "Fujiwara-nii, do you shoot often? Are you a shooting athlete or something?"
Toru smiled, "No, I just mess around with guns sometimes. I'm not a shooting athlete, just a regular student."
While he spoke, Toru was also a bit surprised.
This Shinichi Kudo really was sharp. His observation skills were frightening.
He had already tried to cut back on habits from his time as a spy and had even used advanced tech to erase some physical traces, but this kid still noticed.
No wonder he was called the "Heisei Holmes." Solving so many cases, he really did have skills.
Still, Toru didn't care. His current public identity was with the CIA. With that as a cover, he was a "righteous agent" officially recognized by a national institution.
If Conan found out he was from the CIA, he might even drop to his knees and beg for help.
But if Conan found out he was currently on good terms with the Black Organization, and that the CIA Director was even cooperating with them, would he completely break down?
"Why do you ask, Conan?"
"Ah, nothing. I'm just interested in shooting."
Conan scratched his head and laughed sheepishly.
Only after Toru's attention moved away did Conan's smile fade.
'This guy's lying. Those calluses aren't from ordinary training, and it looks like he deliberately removed them. If he hadn't cleaned them up recently, I might not have even noticed.'
'So who exactly is this guy? And why is he approaching Ran and Eri?'
(To be continued.)
Lots of bonuses, so it's only fair to get lots of Power Stones, right? : )
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◇ One bonus chapter will be released for every 200 Power Stones.
◇ You can read the ahead chapter on Pat if you're interested: p-atreon.c-om/Blownleaves (Just remove the hyphen to access normally.)