That evening.
Ekoda Town.
On the quiet street, Kurosawa Hoshino walked silently alongside Aoko.
Aoko had left after dinner at Ran's place. Kurosawa Hoshino didn't feel comfortable letting her go home alone, so he decided to walk her back—it wasn't far, and the subway made the round trip convenient anyway.
"Oh!" Suddenly, Aoko let out a startled cry.
"What's wrong?" Kurosawa Hoshino looked at her.
He saw Aoko standing in place, staring down at her right foot.
"Haha!" Aoko laughed cheerfully and lifted her right foot, revealing a small pebble. "I stepped on a pebble. Almost twisted my ankle just now."
With that, she kicked the pebble like a ball, dribbling it forward as she walked.
The small stone rolled nimbly under her feet, occasionally hitting the drainage grate by the roadside with a crisp tap-tap sound.
"Hey, Hoshino, you can stop here. I'm almost home." Aoko stopped and smiled at him.
"Really?"
"Really. Just go down this street and I'm there."
Aoko bent down, picked up the pebble, and held it out to Kurosawa Hoshino. "Here, a self-defense weapon for you. If you run into danger on your way back, throw this with all your might—it'll leave a bump on anyone's head. Pretty impressive, right?"
Kurosawa Hoshino took the stone, feeling its cool surface against his fingertips. He looked at Aoko's serious expression and couldn't help but smile. "If I hurt someone and get arrested, I'll tell the police you supplied the weapon, and you'll get arrested too."
"You can't do that! You can't betray a good friend."
"It's called sharing blessings and hardships. It means enjoying the good times together and enduring the hard times together."
"Oh~" Aoko nodded in sudden understanding. "Got it, I'll remember that. Hoshino, this is far enough. You don't need to walk me any further."
"All right. Call me or send a message when you get home."
"Mm." Aoko nodded vigorously, turned, and ran a few steps before looking back and waving. "Bye! Stay safe on your way back."
"Bye." Kurosawa Hoshino waved back, watching her figure slowly disappear at the end of the street before turning around.
He hadn't walked for a minute when his eyes narrowed, focusing on the night sky ahead. It looked like a small object was flying toward him.
As it got closer, he could make out Kaito Kuroba's triangular hang glider, with the person dangling beneath it.
Kaito Kuroba also noticed someone on the street below looking up at him. He glanced down and nearly crash-landed on the spot.
"Hiss~ Why is it this guy?"
He sucked in a cold breath, steadied himself, and reasoned that since he was in the air, Kurosawa Hoshino couldn't do anything to him. So he wasn't too scared or nervous.
"Just passing by?" Kaito Kuroba thought, not slowing down as he continued forward.
After flying a bit more, he spotted Aoko, who had just reached her front door. A lightbulb went off in his head—he understood what was going on.
"So he was walking Aoko home."
He didn't linger there. He kept flying until he was a good distance from home, confirmed no one was watching, and landed in a deserted corner. He changed out of his gear and quietly walked back.
Actually, Kaito Kuroba usually didn't land near his home, but today he'd had something to do and had gone out for a short flight. Since he hadn't stolen anything tonight and there was no police pursuit, he figured it was fine to land near home.
Meanwhile, on Kurosawa Hoshino's side.
He wasn't delayed by the encounter with Kaito Kuroba. He headed to the station, took the subway home, and received Aoko's text confirming she'd arrived safely.
But on the way, as he passed Awadamachi Station, a flash of inspiration struck. He got off the train.
The reason he got off here was that he remembered a plot point from the original story involving Ai. There seemed to be a case around here.
Although Ai had already been shrunk early in this timeline, the case from that episode would still happen whether she appeared or not. So when Kurosawa Hoshino passed by, he remembered and decided to check it out—after all, it was worth 1 Source Point.
He exited the station and walked along the street. Before long, he reached the Awadamachi Station police box. He didn't stop there, but continued a little further and paused at a phone booth. He looked back at the small building next to the police box—on the third floor, there was a sign: Awadamachi News Agency.
He tugged at his collar to slightly cover his face, then activated his "Scene Replay" superpower.
Soon, the scene before him changed, and many figures appeared.
Kurosawa Hoshino ignored everything else and focused on the exit of the small building, speeding up the replay time.
About ten minutes later, he stopped the superpower. He had the result he wanted. It was a bit different from the original—currently, the counterfeiter shouldn't be injured yet. It was still the same group: one woman and three men.
"No hostages. That makes it easier." Kurosawa Hoshino thought, taking out his phone and dialing Inspector Megure's number.
Before he could speak, Inspector Megure beat him to it. "Brother Hoshino, what's the location? I'll send people right away."
Kurosawa Hoshino shook his head and smiled. "Inspector Megure, you've even learned to answer your own questions."
"Haha, Brother Hoshino, after all this time, I'm pretty much used to what it means when you call."
"Inspector Megure, I'm at the Awadamachi Station police box. It's best you don't come in police cars. Wear bulletproof vests, bring weapons, and ideally bring bulletproof shields too."
"Hiss~" Inspector Megure gasped in shock. "Brother Hoshino, did you discover some kind of arms trafficking ring?"
"Not sure. My gut tells me this isn't ordinary—it doesn't feel like a normal criminal group."
"Understood. Intuition, right? I'll be prepared. Brother Hoshino, wait for me. I'll be there with my team soon."
After hanging up, Kurosawa Hoshino walked into a nearby coffee shop to wait for Inspector Megure.
About half an hour later, just when Kurosawa Hoshino was starting to feel full from drinking beverages, he finally spotted Inspector Megure looking around on the street.
He took out his phone, called him, and told him his location.
A short while later, Inspector Megure entered the shop, spotted Kurosawa Hoshino immediately, and strode over. He lowered his voice and said, "Brother Hoshino, I'm here. I brought my people—they're all parked on a side street nearby, not on this one. Quickly, tell me about the group you found."
"Inspector Megure, you saw the Awadamachi Station police box just now, right? In the building right next to it, on the third floor, the sign says Awadamachi News Agency. Inside, there's one woman and three men."
"Good, good, good. Brother Hoshino, let me take you to my car to wait. Just wait for my good news."