Chapter 100: Friendship
"Oh! I really didn't expect our little Mitsuhiko to be so capable."
Asami, Mitsuhiko's older sister, cupped her cheek with a bright, entirely unbothered smile. She had just learned that her little brother had ventured off completely alone to catch fireflies for a girl, yet she looked more thrilled than concerned.
Dr. Agasa stood nearby, wiping a bead of sweat from his brow. He stared at the teenage girl, utterly speechless at her complete lack of panic. The siblings truly possessed entirely different temperaments.
Seeing that the rest of the children had already made up their minds to go track down their missing friend, Asami leaned forward, her eyes sparkling with anticipation. "If you manage to find the fireflies with Mitsuhiko later, don't forget to take a picture and send it to me. I haven't seen fireflies in the summer for such a long time. I feel like I've missed out on so many precious summer memories..."
"Okay, don't worry." Natsume raised her phone, offering the older girl a reassuring nod.
"Alright, let's go!" Ayumi and Genta cheered in unison, throwing their fists into the air.
Haibara stood quietly behind the energetic duo. Watching their bright, expectant faces, the corners of her lips curled upward, revealing her very first genuine smile since the terrifying incident at the port. 'Searching for fireflies with friends... I suppose that counts as a beautiful summer memory too, doesn't it?'
Conan caught sight of Haibara's rare, relaxed expression. He stuffed his hands into his pockets and offered a soft nod of agreement. "Yeah."
"What are you two whispering about back here?"
A small voice suddenly chimed in. Nahida leaned in close to Haibara and Conan, her large green eyes blinking up at them. "Children should act like children. Don't always weigh yourselves down with so many heavy worries. You should just relax a bit. Hmm... maybe you could try going to the bathroom more often or something."
Conan jumped slightly at the sudden interruption. He stared down at the tiny girl, his brow furrowing in utter confusion. "Setting aside the fact that we aren't weighed down by worries... why in the world would going to the bathroom more often help us relax?"
"People always say they feel refreshed after using the washroom, so it was just a friendly suggestion. Besides, isn't Conan already doing a great job at this?" Nahida tapped her chin with a small finger, tilting her head as if recalling a fond memory. "I remember at crime scenes, every single time after Conan finishes thinking, he always announces that he needs to go to the bathroom. Isn't that just your way of relaxing your mind after deep thought?"
Nahida stared up at him, her gaze perfectly innocent and questioning.
Conan choked on his own breath.
His mouth twitched violently, completely at a loss for words. He couldn't exactly announce to the group that he wasn't actually using the toilet during those times. How could he explain that he was just looking for a secluded corner to use his Voice-Changing Bowtie to imitate Kudo Shinichi on the phone, or trying to slip away from the police to hunt for clues?
Trapped by his own lies, he could only swallow hard and accept Nahida's bizarre speculation about his frequent bathroom habits.
"Pfft..."
Conan shot a deadpan glare to his side. Through half-closed eyes, he watched Haibara desperately covering her mouth, her shoulders shaking as she stifled a laugh.
Was it really that funny? Did this girl completely forget that Nahida's well-meaning advice had been directed at her, too?
"Pfft... cough, cough." Dr. Agasa caught Conan's incredulous glare and quickly turned his head away, suddenly finding the wallpaper fascinating. He couldn't be blamed for laughing. Who told this teenage detective to constantly use the exact same excuse? If Shinichi just bothered to change his alibi once in a while, he wouldn't be misunderstood by a little girl.
"Cough, cough. Going to the bathroom all the time isn't very good for your health, either. If there's a chance, Ran really should take Conan to see a doctor." Watching Conan's face gradually turn the color of a ripe tomato, Natsume stepped forward to deliver the final blow under the guise of bailing him out. "I happen to know a few people with excellent medical skills. If Ran doesn't mind, I can introduce them to her."
Conan glared at the blonde girl. 'Dr. Agasa, Sister Natsume... why are you guys teaming up on me too?!'
Seeing the little detective's cheeks puffing out in genuine embarrassment, the group finally took pity on him, dropping the teasing to focus on gathering clues about which specific forest Mitsuhiko had wandered into.
Amidst the lighthearted banter of the adults and the innocent chatter of the children, they followed a trail of eyewitness accounts. After asking around at various train stations and bus stops along the way, the group finally arrived at a dense, sprawling forest deep in Gunma Prefecture.
The evening air was thick with the scent of damp earth and summer leaves. Genta took the lead, stomping through the underbrush. "That kid Mitsuhiko is really something, walking such a massive distance all by himself."
Ayumi hugged her arms, looking around the darkening woods. "Yeah, we know Mitsuhiko came here. But this forest is absolutely huge. Where are we supposed to find him?"
"Don't worry, Mitsuhiko is wearing his..." Conan tapped the side of his glasses with a confident smirk. 'Detective Boys Badge. Through my Criminal Tracking Glasses, I can pinpoint the exact radio signal emitting from his badge.'
Before Conan could even finish his dramatic reveal, a small voice cut through the chirping of the crickets.
"Go this way." Nahida had already trotted ahead of Genta. She raised a small hand, pointing directly toward a specific cluster of trees.
Conan blinked. He quickly activated the radar on his left lens, checking the blinking red dot on the digital map. He compared the coordinates with the exact angle Nahida had just pointed out. His jaw dropped slightly. She was perfectly accurate.
How did Nahida know Mitsuhiko was over there? Was it just a lucky guess?
Conan stood frozen on the dirt path, staring blankly at the back of Nahida's head.
Haibara walked past him, her hands casually resting in her pockets. "Great Detective, why are you dazed? Aren't you coming?"
Conan snapped out of his stupor and jogged to catch up with her. "No, listen. Genta and Ayumi are one thing. They're kids, they won't overthink it. But don't you suspect Nahida might be pointing in the completely wrong direction? You're just blindly following her lead?"
"Weren't you just using your tracking glasses to check the location of Mitsuhiko's badge?" Haibara turned her head, her tone perfectly flat. "If her direction was wrong, you would have definitely yelled out to stop us instead of just standing there looking foolish."
Conan swallowed his retort.
Well, thank you so much for the overwhelming trust.
For the next twenty minutes, under Conan's increasingly incredulous gaze, Nahida pointed out the correct path at every single fork in the road. Whenever the group hesitated, the little girl simply gestured toward the brush, leading them flawlessly through the dense foliage.
At this point, Conan couldn't help but sweatdrop. Did Nahida secretly plant a tracking device on Mitsuhiko before he left?
Before long, the battery in Conan's tracking glasses finally gave out, the digital screen flickering before fading to black. Fortunately, the gadget was no longer needed.
Following Nahida's final instruction, the group pushed through a line of tall bushes. The sound of rushing water filled the air, and there, sitting quietly on the grassy bank of a glowing river, was the familiar silhouette of a small boy.
Everyone instantly recognized the freckled face.
"Mitsuhiko!" Genta and Ayumi shouted his name with pure joy, sprinting across the grass toward him.
"Huh? Why is everyone here?" Mitsuhiko spun around, his eyes widening in absolute shock as his friends suddenly swarmed him out of nowhere.
Conan walked up to the bewildered boy, offering a small smile as he explained how they had tracked him all the way from Beika to Gunma.
"Mitsuhiko, you're being way too unfair. You should have called everyone to come together for something cool like this." Genta threw a heavy arm around Mitsuhiko's neck, grinning from ear to ear.
"Exactly. I think all of us in the Detective Boys searching for fireflies together makes for a much better summer memory." Ayumi looked at him, her tone scolding but her eyes warm.
Haibara stepped forward, her hands still in her pockets as she looked down at the boy. "Yeah. Or do you just not consider us your friends?"
"No! Of course not!" Mitsuhiko waved his hands frantically, his face flushing.
Seeing the genuine care etched across everyone's faces, Mitsuhiko's panic melted away. A soft, moved smile spread across his lips. "Everyone..."
Natsume and Dr. Agasa stood a few paces back, watching the children bicker and laugh by the glowing riverbank.
"Children's friendship is truly a moving sight, don't you think, Sister Natsume?"
Nahida turned around to look up at the blonde girl. She held her hands behind her back, smiling with the serene, ancient grace of a wise sage.
Natsume looked down at the tiny, child-sized Archon. Her expression instantly flattened into a deadpan stare.
'Nahida... it is incredibly strange for you to say something like that while looking like a literal kindergartener yourself...'
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