Kanjuro had only taken a few steps when hurried footsteps and a clear, somewhat urgent female voice came from behind him:
"Please wait! Kanjuro-kun!"
Kanjuro stopped as requested and slowly turned around. It was Ran Mouri who had caught up, slightly out of breath. Her lovely face glowed with a healthy radiance in the sunset, and those purple eyes still held the same kind of confusion and curiosity that felt familiar and dear to Kanjuro. Shinichi Kudo followed closely behind her, his gaze even more vigilant, as if ready to deal with any sudden situation.
Kanjuro's gaze fell upon Ran and instantly became incredibly 'gentle'—a warmth that could melt ice, completely different from his usual aloof and indifferent demeanor. He curved the corners of his mouth slightly, his voice as soft as a whisper:
"What is it, Classmate Mouri? Is there something else?"
Ran was somewhat flustered by his sudden gentle gaze, her cheeks slightly flushed. But she mustered her courage and voiced her confusion: "Um... Kanjuro-kun, I don't know why, but from the moment I first saw you just now, I've felt... a very strange sense of familiarity between us. Have we... met somewhere before?" She tilted her head, trying hard to recall, but came up with nothing.
Hearing this, the smile on Kanjuro's face deepened, carrying a subtle hint of knowing everything. He didn't answer directly but, in the same gentle tone, gave a guiding remark identical to the one he gave Shinichi Kudo:
"That feeling? Perhaps." He paused, his gaze seeming to see through Ran to the equally stubborn-eyed girl from eighteen years ago. "If you're also curious... perhaps you too can go back and ask your mother, Ms. Eri Kisaki. Maybe... she knows me too?"
Another 'go back and ask your mother'! And this time, he directly mentioned Eri Kisaki by name!
Ran was completely stunned, her delicate eyebrows tightly furrowed. She looked at Kanjuro's handsome face with its mysterious smile, her heart filled with doubts. Instinctively, she felt Kanjuro didn't seem like a bad person—that inexplicable sense of familiarity couldn't be fake—but she had also seen Shinichi's suspicion and his earlier shock.
She eyed Kanjuro suspiciously but ultimately chose to trust her own intuition and her childhood friend's judgment. With a hint of defiance, she responded, "You know my mom? That's so strange... Anyway, if you really are the kind of criminal Shinichi says you are, I definitely won't let you get away! I won't lose at karate!" She waved her small fist, trying to look more imposing, but paired with her slightly naive expression, it wasn't very intimidating. "As for what exactly your relationship with Mom is... I don't know right now, but I'll figure it out!"
Kanjuro couldn't help but find her amusing as he watched her trying hard to appear alert yet unable to hide her innocence. He nodded, readily going along with her words and even starting to 'polish his own image':
"Alright, alright, relax, Classmate Mouri. Actually, if you think about it carefully, I really am a good person." He spread his hands, his expression'sincere.' "Look, I've saved people (referring to Kitami), haven't hurt anyone (on the surface), and am so... approachable. Ran, don't you feel, from our interaction, that I'm actually quite nice?"
He skillfully used the natural sense of familiarity brought by their blood ties to bewitch her.
Ran was taken aback by his question and subconsciously thought along his words. Setting aside Shinichi's suspicions, based solely on their brief interaction just now, Kanjuro-kun was indeed good-looking, spoke gently, had a friendly attitude, and that inexplicable sense of familiarity made it hard for her to feel any animosity.
She hesitated for a moment and honestly nodded: "Well... just based on feeling, talking to you does feel quite familiar, and I don't think you seem like a bad person..." But she immediately added firmly, "But! I trust Shinichi's judgment! He's a very skilled detective!"
Shinichi Kudo, who had been tense the whole time, felt his heart leap when he heard the first part of Ran's words, afraid she was being deceived by Kanjuro's hypocritical facade. Only when he heard the last sentence did he slightly relax. He immediately stepped forward, without a word, grabbed Ran's arm, pulled her back a step, and placed his own body between her and Kanjuro.
"Ran! Don't be fooled by his sweet talk!" Shinichi Kudo's tone was serious, his gaze sharp as a knife, fixed tightly on Kanjuro. "This guy is dangerous! He deliberately brought up our parents to mess with our heads or to test something! Stay away from him!"
He felt an unprecedented pressure. Kanjuro was not only mysterious but also seemed to know a great deal about their parents' past, which made him uneasy and strengthened his resolve to uncover Kanjuro's true nature.
Kanjuro looked at Shinichi Kudo's protective, nervous demeanor and Ran, who was pulled behind him and still looked somewhat bewildered, and shrugged indifferently, the same inscrutable faint smile still on his face.
"Alright, since Classmate Kudo is so worried, let's end it here for today." He waved his hand, his tone light. "Goodbye, you two. I hope next time we meet, we'll have a chance to... communicate more amicably."
After saying this, he didn't linger any longer, turned around, and leisurely walked away, his figure soon disappearing around the street corner.
Shinichi Kudo watched the direction Kanjuro had vanished, his brow furrowed, the doubts in his heart growing larger. Meanwhile, Ran stood in place, pondering the inexplicable sense of familiarity and the meaningful look in Kanjuro's eyes when he mentioned her mother. A huge question mark was deeply planted in her heart.
(Mom... and this Kanjuro, do they really know each other?)
(What exactly happened... eighteen years ago?)
Night slowly fell, and a new mystery had already begun. Burdened with a bellyful of questions and Kanjuro's meaningful words, Ran returned to the law office run by her mother, Eri Kisaki. It was late, and only Eri was left in the office, reviewing documents under the lamp, her intelligent and capable figure showing a hint of fatigue.
"Mom, I'm back," Ran said softly.
Eri looked up, adjusted her glasses, and a gentle smile appeared on her face. "Ran, what brings you to Mom's office today?"
Ran hesitated for a moment but couldn't suppress her curiosity. She walked to the desk and tentatively asked, "Mom, I want to ask about someone... Do you know a person named Kanjuro? He seems to be a student at Sobu High School."
Clatter!
The pen Eri was holding suddenly fell onto the desk with a crisp sound. The smile on her face instantly froze, replaced by an unmistakable shock and... a hint of panic? She abruptly looked up, her gaze sharp behind her glasses, her voice unconsciously rising:
"Ran! You... why would you suddenly mention this person?!"
Ran was startled by her mother's intense reaction. It was the first time she had seen her usually calm and composed mother show such an expression. She quickly explained, "It's just... after school today, Shinichi and I Ran into him. Shinichi seemed to be questioning him about some cases he's investigating... Then, he told me... to come back and ask you, Mom, saying maybe you know him too..."
She carefully observed her mother's expression and cautiously asked, "Mom... do you and that Kanjuro... really know each other?"
Eri's heart sank heavily, a chill shooting from the soles of her feet to the top of her head. (Kanjuro... he saw Ran?! Did he notice something?!) Immense fear and unease instantly seized her. What she feared most seemed to be happening.
She forcefully suppressed the storm raging in her heart, trying to make her voice sound calm, but her slightly trembling fingertips betrayed her inner turmoil. "You... you saw him? What exactly did he say to you? Besides telling you to ask me, did he say anything else?" She urgently pressed for details, trying to discern Kanjuro's intentions.
Ran recounted everything about her encounter with Kanjuro today, including his 'familiar' attitude, his mention of Shinichi Kudo's mother, and his final meaningful words, all exactly as it happened.
As she listened to her daughter's account, Eri's face grew paler and paler. Kanjuro's seemingly gentle yet utterly controlling demeanor gradually overlapped with the memory of that demon-like figure in the dim Old School Building. He must know! He knows Ran is his daughter! What exactly does he want?!
No! She absolutely cannot let Ran get involved! She must never let her know that unspeakable truth!
Eri suddenly stood up, her hands braced on the desk, her tone becoming unprecedentedly stern and urgent. "Ran! Listen to me! From now on, you are not to have any contact with that Kanjuro! And you are not to inquire about anything regarding him! Do you hear me?!"
Ran was stunned by her mother's sudden harsh command. She asked in confusion, "Why, Mom? Who exactly is he? Why can't I ask?"
"No reason!" Eri almost shouted, cutting her off, her chest heaving with agitation. "Just do as I say and don't ask! Be obedient! Stay away from him! That person... is very dangerous!" She couldn't explain that dark past to her daughter and could only protect her with this forceful approach.
Seeing her mother's nearly distraught appearance and the unwavering determination in her eyes, Ran, though filled with confusion and reluctance, ultimately nodded in compliance. "...I understand, Mom. I won't go looking for him again."
"Alright, it's getting late, you should head back now," Eri said wearily, waving her hand as if she had exhausted all her strength.
Ran gave her mother a worried look and silently turned to leave the office.
The door closed softly.
Eri Kisaki seemed to have all her strength drained away as she slumped back into her chair. She picked up the now lukewarm coffee from the table, but her hand trembled uncontrollably, causing ripples in the cup. She tilted her head back and downed the cold liquid in one gulp, the bitter taste seeming to spread all the way to the depths of her heart.
Memories from eighteen years ago, like beasts breaking free from their shackles, flooded her mind.
That 'Occult Research Society' wrapped in a gorgeous lie, that Old School Building basement filled with strange fragrances and the scent of desire... that Kanjuro with his demonic charm and eternally youthful face... and that chaotic, dark ritual involving a hundred people, which she and many other deceived, seduced girls participated in like sacrificial offerings... It was on that night that she lost her purity and... unexpectedly conceived a child. Her best friend at the time, the equally naive and innocent Fujimine Yukiko, was also unable to escape.
Afterwards, they both discovered they were pregnant. Immense fear, shame, and confusion enveloped them. To cover up the truth and protect themselves and their unborn children, they chose to keep it secret. Yukiko, with her more impulsive and bold personality, secretly gave birth to a daughter, named her Fujimi Fuko, and either sent her away or entrusted her to someone else to raise (the exact method Eri Kisaki wasn't entirely clear about). Yukiko herself continued her acting career, later married into the Kudo family, and adopted Shinichi Kudo.
As for Eri Kisaki herself, with incredibly complex feelings, she gave birth to a daughter and named her Ran. She and Kogoro Mouri were only married by agreement, without any physical relationship, partly to give her daughter a seemingly normal family. This secret she buried for eighteen years, never mentioning it to anyone, including her beloved daughter.
She thought that dark past would be buried forever, but she never expected that nightmare of a man, Kanjuro, would reappear and even come into contact with Ran!
(What does he want to do? Acknowledge his daughter? Or... does he have other schemes?)
(Ran... my poor child, Mom will never let you come to any harm! Never!)
Eri Kisaki clenched her fists, her nails digging deep into her palms.
As an excellent lawyer, she was accustomed to controlling situations, but facing Kanjuro, this being beyond reason, she felt deep helplessness and fear for the first time. She could only use her own methods to build a wall, firmly protecting her daughter behind it, even if it made Ran feel confused and dissatisfied.
The night was deep. Under the lights of the law office, Eri Kisaki endured the dual torment of past nightmares and present threats alone. Yet, the threads of fate had long tightly connected her daughter with the demon she most wanted to avoid.
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