While everyone was distracted and the police were questioning Momiji, Toru quietly stepped out of the infirmary.
The moment he reached the corridor, a pink blur rushed at him and smothered his face in a soft embrace, nearly suffocating him.
"Toyomi, if you keep hugging me like this, I'm going to die."
Toru's voice was muffled in the overwhelming softness.
Toyomi quickly let go, wiped the corners of her red eyes, and said with a slightly embarrassed smile, "I heard everything. If you hadn't risked your life, Chika might've been in real danger."
Toru smiled gently. "Chika's my sister. Of course I would. She's still inside, Toyomi. You should go see her first."
Toyomi nodded earnestly. "Alright, I'll go now."
As Toyomi entered the infirmary to check on Chika, a faint, cold voice drifted from beside Toru.
"So, how did it feel getting smothered by a big-chested woman?"
Toru looked to the side and saw Haibara standing in the corridor, dressed in a black short skirt. She leaned casually against the wall with her arms crossed.
She was the perfect picture of a child with the mind of an adult.
"Haibara, why are you here?"
Toru blinked in surprise.
"I heard you were in danger, so I rushed over. What a shame, though. You didn't get crushed by anything inside."
Haibara's tone was laced with irritation. After throwing that jab, she added, face cold, "...I suggest you stop doing such reckless things."
"Once or twice is one thing. Keep doing it, and you're bound to get killed."
"I'm the only one who can stay by your side right now. You better remember, your life is tied to mine too."
Toru walked over and ruffled Haibara's brown hair. "If you were in danger, I'd save you too."
Her cheeks flushed red. She slapped his hand away and looked aside. "That's not what I meant."
"I'm saying, can you be more careful with your own life?"
Toru replied gently, "Don't worry. I've assessed the risks. If I were actually in a life-or-death situation, I wouldn't charge in. People should care about themselves more, right?"
Haibara's mood eased slightly.
As long as he was okay, that was enough.
"But it seems like you've made some progress, Haibara."
"What kind of progress?"
"You finally left the house. And without any disguise."
Her expression froze. She suddenly realized that in her rush to check on Toru's safety, she had come all the way from the Fujiwara main residence to the hospital without even a mask or hat.
She instinctively reached into her pocket for a mask but paused, then put her hand down.
She looked up as Toru prepared to leave.
"Are there any leads on the bombing case?"
"Yeah. I had someone investigate the origin of the explosives. I've more or less identified the mastermind."
"Planning to take them out?"
"They threatened my family. They won't live."
As a former Black Organization member, Haibara didn't have high moral standards. Though she disliked meaningless killing, she didn't care much about human rights when it came to criminals.
"Then be careful when you do."
Haibara knew Toru's identity and understood what he meant: he planned to eliminate the mastermind personally.
She once hated the Black Organization for using her research to kill people, but now, unexpectedly, she said, "Do you need the drug? I brought some APTX4869."
"That stuff won't shrink people again, will it?"
"No, I removed the Silver Bullet component. It's pure poison now."
Toru thought for a moment. "Not this time. Those two aren't worth using it on."
But he didn't say he wouldn't use APTX4869 himself.
The two people he planned to kill this time were local Kyoto figures. Their deaths wouldn't cause too big of a stir.
But if he ever needed to kill someone with high status in the future, this drug would be extremely convenient.
Faking their deaths as a sudden illness would be perfect.
No wonder the Black Organization had Haibara develop it. It was extremely useful, especially for taking out important figures cleanly.
Haibara hesitated, then said, "I saw Kudo Shinichi earlier."
"Yeah, I know. Wherever that guy shows up, something bad happens. He's the real grim reaper."
Haibara let out a soft laugh. Then she said, "...I talked to him. With his intelligence, he might connect the dots and guess who I am."
Now she regretted it. She shouldn't have gone to mess with Kudo Shinichi earlier.
It was fun at the time, but the consequences could be a pain.
Toru pinched her small, delicate nose with a grin. "It's fine. One Kudo Shinichi won't cause any trouble. If he figures out who you are, then so be it."
"With me around, he can't touch you. If he wants to go back to being Kudo Shinichi, he needs your drug. He'll play nice."
His confident tone made Haibara feel completely at ease. She softly hummed in response, forgetting he was still pinching her nose.
"Alright, I've got work to do now. Oh right, Haibara, I almost forgot to tell you something."
"What?"
"Even though Toyomi's pretty well-endowed, you're not bad either."
Haibara raised an eyebrow. "Are you mocking me?"
She was in elementary school. Flatter than a pancake!
"No, I mean when you grow up. You've got potential."
Toru pulled out his wallet from his inner pocket and opened it.
Inside was a photo of an older Haibara.
Her eyes went wide. She leapt up and tried to snatch it. "You pervert! Why do you have my photo?"
Toru lifted his arm and dodged her. With a satisfied grin, he pressed the photo to his chest, waved, and turned to leave.
Haibara stomped her foot in frustration, but then, thinking about how he had placed her photo over his heart, her heartbeat suddenly quickened like a startled deer.
She stared sharply toward the infirmary.
"I've been researching some new drug components. Need a test subject... Kudo Shinichi, just you wait. You'll be my lab rat."
Now, she was more eager than ever to return to her original body.
…
Back in the infirmary, Conan suddenly shivered.
Who's cursing me?
He shook it off and kept listening to Momiji's account.
"Toshiya Yajima is your biggest rival in this year's Karuta tournament, right, Ms. Ōoka?"
The Kyoto Prefectural Police Inspector General was personally leading the questioning.
Momiji nodded slightly. "Yajima-kun is very skilled. He won last year's Kyoto Karuta championship. We're both in the Satsuki Society, and he was aiming for the title again this year."
Based on this alone, Momiji should've been the prime suspect.
However, evidence showed Yajima had only just died, and Momiji had been a victim of the bombing with a solid alibi. It was clearly unrelated to her.
Momiji knew this too, so she stayed calm.
The inspector general didn't dare press her too hard. After confirming her innocence, he politely said, "Thank you for your cooperation, Ms. Ōoka. Please rest well."
Momiji smiled. "No problem. It's only right to cooperate with the police."
Just then, an officer entered and reported, "Inspector General, we've found some new details on the Satsuki Society. This might also be connected to a missing persons case from five years ago."
"A missing person?"
"Yes. Five years ago, the Satsuki Society was led by Ms. Satsuki. Back then, another Karuta group in Kyoto, the Meikei Society, was also quite famous."
"The leaders of both groups agreed to a Karuta duel, with the loser disbanding their society."
"This match got a lot of attention, and many media outlets came to broadcast it live. But on the day of the duel, Meikei Society's president never showed up. He vanished completely."
"The police searched, but no trace of him was ever found. It became a cold case."
As soon as the report ended, Conan and Heiji exchanged a look. A flash of understanding crossed both their faces.
Momiji hesitated, then said, "Meikei-sensei... he was my teacher."
The inspector general grew more serious. "Ms. Ōoka, can you elaborate?"
Momiji lowered her voice. "Back then, I learned Karuta from Meikei-sensei and joined the Meikei Society."
"But like the officer said, one day he just vanished. With no leader, the Meikei Society disbanded, and I joined the Satsuki Society afterward."
"Officer, if this is truly connected to Meikei-sensei, I hope you can find the truth."
The inspector general nodded. "Rest assured, Ms. Ōoka. We'll do our best. We won't trouble you any further."
With that, he and the officers left.
Conan leaned toward Heiji and whispered, "Looks like we've got something."
"Yeah. Same thoughts, Kudo. Let's go check it out soon. I'll say goodbye to Ms. Ōoka first."
Heiji stepped forward and spoke politely. "Ms. Ōoka, I heard you were hurt in the explosion, so I came to see you. Now that I see you're okay, I'll take my leave."
Momiji looked at Heiji, eyes narrowing slightly.
Just as Heiji began to feel nervous, wondering what he had done wrong, she said calmly:
"Perfect timing, Hattori-kun. There's something I've been wanting to tell you."
(To be continued.)