In Class 1-B, it was practically a law of nature that Genta would be the first to finish his meal.
When such a law is broken, it usually signifies that something terrible has happened.
"It could be trouble at home," Haibara mused, considering the family angle. "For example, a family member suddenly falling seriously ill, or perhaps a recent fight with his parents. If that's the case, it might not be something outsiders can interfere with."
Once someone is hurt emotionally, even their favorite food loses its appeal.
"No way..."
The classmates, curious about Genta's state, gathered around.
"I don't think that's the factor at all. I can say for certain that his parents are happily running their shop every day," Kobayashi-sensei said as she walked over.
The teacher, who bore a striking resemblance to Officer Sato, felt something was off with Genta. She had even made a special trip to his house yesterday. His parents seemed perfectly normal, but Genta's behavior was strange.
"Strange?" Conan caught a whiff of something unusual.
"Yes. Genta looks like he's terrified of something. As soon as he gets home, he retreats to his room, covers himself completely with a duvet, and won't stop shaking," Kobayashi-sensei frowned, looking quite troubled.
"Then what exactly is he afraid of?" Mitsuhiko asked. Even the rest of the group didn't know about this.
"I've asked several times, but he refuses to tell me. You kids might have better luck asking him yourselves," Kobayashi-sensei said, pinning her hopes on his peers.
After school.
"Hasn't Genta come out yet?" The quartet stood by the school gate with their bags on their backs.
"Over there!" Conan spotted a suspicious, large round head peeking over the wall, looking around. The Great Detective pulled the others to hide against the wall.
"Why is he..." Even Haibara was a bit bewildered. Genta was jumping the fence.
In the next instant, Genta scaled over the wall. After landing, he scanned the area nervously and dashed quickly into an alley.
"Wait a minute, Genta!"
Conan felt it was better to get a clear answer. Genta looked like a criminal who had committed a major crime and was trying to flee!
"...!"
The stout boy was startled by someone calling his name and nearly tripped over his own feet.
"What exactly are you doing so sneakily?" Conan asked, leaning in and staring at him.
"Could he be practicing ninjutsu?" Ayumi giggled.
"That makes sense! So that's why he didn't eat lunch—he's dieting to become a ninja!" Mitsuhiko nodded in agreement.
"Y-Yeah, exactly! I saw a really cool ninja movie a few days ago," Genta immediately admitted, seeing that they had provided him with a convenient excuse. I'm not doing anything weird, and I'm definitely not being suspicious.
"Give it a rest. If that were true, why would you be shaking under your covers at home?" Conan ruthlessly exposed the lie. When Genta lied, his fingers were never still.
"I bet you dreamed about being slashed by a blood-covered ninja, so you wanted to practice in reality to deal with him in your dreams, right?" Haibara crossed her arms, stating bizarre things in her usual flat tone.
The "Evil Scientist" was quite adept at this.
"T-That wasn't a dream! I really saw it!" Genta couldn't hold it back anymore and argued loudly.
"Saw what?" Ayumi stepped forward.
"What exactly was it?" Mitsuhiko also looked worried.
"I... I'll tell you guys then," Genta paused for a moment, his face pale with dread. "A killer is coming to kill me very soon!"
"Someone is going to kill you?!"
The quartet received an answer they hadn't expected. Mitsuhiko and Ayumi were the first to react, even letting out a chuckle.
"Stop joking around, Genta." "We're just elementary schoolers. Why would a killer come after us?"
Under normal circumstances, that logic held up. Haibara nodded as well.
"True. He's not like the two of us," the Evil Scientist said, shooting the Great Detective a glance.
"Hey, hey, hey..." Conan gave a helpless smile. Don't say such scary things in broad daylight.
"I knew it. I shouldn't have told you," Genta sighed, seeing they didn't believe him. He turned to leave.
"Wait, Genta! Why don't you explain it clearly?" "We won't laugh at you anymore."
The four of them chased Genta into the shopping district. Just then, a car horn suddenly blared from the side of the road. Genta jumped, nearly turning to run.
"???" Tsuneo was sitting in his car, wondering what was wrong with them. He had just honked to say hello, yet they were acting like startled rabbits.
"It's Brother Tsuneo!" Ayumi said, patting her heart after seeing the repairman step out of the car. Seriously, Genta's scaring us to death.
"Didn't you guys go out to solve a case today?" Tsuneo asked with a smile as he walked over.
"I'm afraid a murder is about to happen soon," Genta muttered with his head down. And the victim is me.
"Huh?" Tsuneo pulled a piece of chocolate from his pocket and held it out to Genta. You look like you're in a bad mood. Here, eat this. I 'confiscated' it from Professor Agasa. If he didn't like that, there were also snacks "confiscated" from Haibara in the car.
He doesn't want it?! Wait, what happened? The repairman suddenly realized Genta hadn't taken the chocolate. His face froze in genuine shock.
"See? Even you find it unbelievable..." Conan saw the expression on Tsuneo's face and almost laughed, then started explaining the story.
"Someone wants to kill you?"
Tsuneo thought about it. In his memory, there were indeed many instances where Genta and the others were in danger, but was there one with an advance threat?
"The other day I was walking through a culvert under the railway and heard strange footsteps. It was dark, so I couldn't see, but whenever I stopped, the other person stopped. When I ran, he ran," Genta explained, quickly eating a piece of chocolate to calm his nerves.
That's clearly a stalker, right? With Tsuneo nearby, Genta seemed a bit more stable.
"That must have been the sound of your own footsteps," Mitsuhiko suggested. "An echo or something."
"No way! Recently someone almost pushed me off a footbridge, and yesterday I was nearly hit by a motorcycle that ran a red light!" Genta's recent experiences were indeed far from ordinary.
"It... it's probably a coincidence..." Ayumi said, looking at Tsuneo, whose expression had turned serious.
Clang!
Tsuneo glanced at a screw that had fallen to the ground, then looked up at the advertising sign on the roof of a building.
That thing looked like it was about to fall...
(End of Chapter)
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