Come to think of it, Satoru Gojo also felt a bit guilty.
When he watched Detective Conan in the past, he always felt that the logic of certain characters was missing. It was likely an inevitable setting imposed by the author for the sake of the plot.
For example, why did Chikage Kuroba have to work abroad? Why did Toichi Kuroba insist on keeping the truth from Kaito? Since he guessed that his son would become Kaitou Kid in the future, why not just explain everything?
Think about the composition of the Kuroba family.
The first Kid, the second Kid, and the retired Phantom Lady.
Now, add Satoru Gojo to the mix... Being the head of the Gojo clan is one thing, but in the shadows, he was the adopted son of the Black Organization's boss and the ace of a transnational criminal organization.
Ordinary families are "happy together"; they are a "family destined for life in prison."
Then there was Conan, who kept hiding his identity as Shinichi Kudo from Ran even in the late stages of the plot. The number of characters who knew his identity was enough to form a soccer team, yet he still wouldn't let his girlfriend know the truth, forever excluding her from the reality of his life.
If it was for the sake of "protection," that excuse no longer held water.
Because... they had already dragged those people into the line of danger.
Forget it. Looking for realism in a manga world is like swimming in a desert; there's no point in digging too deep. What matters now is how to make Kaito Kuroba stop overthinking things.
He didn't answer Kaito's questions about Toichi Kuroba directly. Instead, he stretched out his index finger and wagged it in front of the boy.
"Want to know what Uncle's best magic trick actually is?"
"You already said it, that... 'Heart-Stealing Act' or whatever."
"That's only my second-best one."
Kaito muttered to himself, knew he'd change the subject. Is this gigolo uncle going to perform a song and dance to cheer me up?
Oh, that's just wishful thinking.
Satoru Gojo: This young master... no, this clan head's singing and dancing services are worth at least 100 million yen!
"What? You think it's unreliable?" Satoru stood up and boasted, "Mature adults don't lie to children, sprout Kaito-kun."
"I promise, you have never seen this trick before."
Facing the palm his cheap uncle held out, Kaito froze. "Eh... do I have to reach out too?"
"Of course, you're my partner now." Satoru spread his fingers, showing Kaito his empty palm. "Grab my hand."
Kaito wanted to see what kind of medicine he was selling, so he obediently clasped hands with Satoru. "What else do I need to do?"
"Now, close your eyes. Listen to the sound of the wind in the air."
"Take three deep breaths... Imagine you are a tree rooted in the earth, integrated with nature..."
"You are a part of the world."
It sounded like some kind of meditation, completely unrelated to magic. After Kaito followed the instructions, his tense nerves actually relaxed quite a bit.
His body felt light, and he didn't know how much time had passed, only hearing Satoru say a word after letting go of his hand.
"Alright, you can look now, Kaito."
"...It's time to witness a miracle." Kaito's eyelids twitched, then lifted.
The moment he opened his eyes, he realized he was no longer in the pavilion.
His bangs were blown into disarray by the wind, and the chill seeped through the gaps in the bluish-grey tiles into the soles of his shoes. He subconsciously stumbled half a step, but was caught by his collar by Satoru's single hand and gently pulled back.
"Where is this?!"
"The highest rooftop of the Gojo estate."
Kaito's mouth hung open; what he saw exceeded his cognition. He was certain that he had just been holding Satoru's hand while meditating.
His father once told him that every magic performance required props and techniques.
Exactly when... did he trigger some mechanism after distracting me? Was the pavilion modified? Or am I dreaming?
Satoru had already let go of him, squatting on the eaves, overlooking the scenery. The hem of his pale blue haori fluttered in the wind.
"Viewing things from this angle is pretty nice, right?"
The panorama unfolding before Kaito's eyes made him forget to answer for a moment.
The Gojo mansion looked like a scroll burning beneath his feet.
The sunlight slanted through the clouds, gilding the layered eaves in the color of amber. The shadows of the courtyards were stretched long and thin, and the servants busy in the distance looked like matchsticks, stained in the warm tones of an impending dusk. The bamboo forest nearby looked like a jade sea, breathtaking.
And the koi ponds Gojo mentioned, the ones everywhere—he could see them from this unexpected height too.
Dozens of red and white fish silhouettes darted through the pools, occasionally flicking their tails as they swam, weaving haikus on the sparkling water's surface, their scales refracting gorgeous halos of light.
For the first time, Kaito Kuroba felt that... koi fish could be beautiful.
Satoru's voice drifted in with the wind: "Alright, don't lean too close, careful you don't fall."
"But even if you do, it's fine—I'll catch you in the three seconds before you turn into a little biscuit."
Kaito came back to his senses, blinked, and asked, "Is this also magic?"
"Guess~"
Teleportation via physical contact was, of course, the power of the Limitless technique: "Blue."
The two sat side-by-side on the edge of the roof, a harmony they had never experienced before.
"How is it? Do you feel like your worries have drifted away with the wind now?"
Kaito nodded. He thought for a while, then spoke as if realizing something profound.
"Uncle, are you trying to tell me... that only by standing high can one see far?" He looked at Satoru, his expression serious. "When I grow up, will I be able to understand the things I don't know yet?"
Satoru Gojo: ? What is this kid overthinking? I just wanted to bring you up to play.
He decided to go with the flow, sighing, "That you can understand this principle so quickly... Uncle is very gratified."
"Frankly, I don't know much about Toichi either."
He truly didn't know where that guy had gone after faking his death, so it wasn't a lie. "Maybe when you stand on top of Tokyo Tower, you'll see him piloting a glider in the sky. Anything is possible, right?"
"Then what if I never find him?"
Kaito blurted it out, but suddenly felt a weight on his head.
"...That won't happen."
The calloused, articulate hand was stroking his hair, bringing a reassuring, heavy warmth.
"With a good boy like Kaito, how could a father bear to abandon him?"
"Huh? What... what are you talking about!"
The child's reddened face amused Satoru so much he laughed out loud, ruffling the black hair until it was a complete mess.
Kaito Kuroba suddenly felt a pang of regret for his past resistance toward this man.
No matter what, he was genuinely thinking about him, carefully guiding him and telling him not to be trapped in a dead end.
If he were a "bad guy," why would he be so kind to him?
"...Thank you, Uncle."
Accepting the man for now, the dark-haired boy grinned, revealing two cute canine teeth.
[Ding! Impression points from story character Kaito Kuroba increased by 1000! Analysis: Trust.]
Kaito's natural curiosity got the better of him, and he couldn't help but ask: "By the way, what trick did you pull? Bringing me to such a high place instantly—where's the mechanism?"
It couldn't possibly be some superpower like teleportation, anyway.
Satoru rubbed his chin: "A mechanism, huh..."
"Oh no, Aoko won't be able to find us, she'll be worried!" Kaito remembered his childhood friend who had gone chasing the cat. "We should hurry and..."
"Kaito! Brother Gojo!"
Just then, Aoko, who happened to be nearby, popped out from behind a shrub, holding a yawning Daifuku in her arms.
"How did you guys get up to the roof? It's amazing! I want to play too—"
"Aoko, be careful!"
Don't know if it was his imagination, but Kaito felt that Satoru seemed to have anticipated Aoko was nearby from the very beginning, which was why he had been so unhurried.
Is his uncle a magician... or a sorcerer?