"We have to wait for rescue," Yuu said, leading them to a structurally sound corner.
"It's my fault... if I didn't want to see this movie..." Ran began to sob, tears streaming down her face.
"Stop that," Yuu interrupted. "This is the bomber's fault, not yours. If anyone is at fault, it's me for not realizing it sooner."
He held her tightly, and Eri joined the embrace, stroking Ran's hair. "He's right, Ran. We blame the criminal, not ourselves."
Outside, the sirens of fire trucks and ambulances wailed. The building was designed by Moriya, a perfectionist madman. He hadn't leveled the building yet; he had left one final, "perfect" bomb. If it detonated, the entire skyscraper would collapse, crushing everyone inside.
Ran's phone rang. It was Kogoro and the police.
"Ran! Are you okay?" Kogoro's voice was frantic. Conan was also on the line. They explained the situation: Moriya had been caught, but he refused to give up the location of the final bomb, only hinting it was near Ran.
"I'll find it," Yuu said, but Ran stopped him.
"No, Yuu-kun. The criminal specified me. There might be a trick."
Ran's "Luck" attribute was high. Following her intuition, she found a shopping bag left in the lobby. Inside was a large, ticking device. The crowd shrieked and scrambled back, leaving Yuu, Eri, and Ran alone with the bomb.
"Inspector Megure? I found it," Ran said into the phone.
"Good! Ran, how much time is left?"
Ran looked at the digital display. "3 minutes and 21 seconds."
In the police command center, Moriya laughed manically. "Detective Mouri, your daughter is the closest thing to Shinichi Kudo. Since I couldn't kill him, she'll do. There are two wires: red and blue. One disarms it. The other triggers it instantly. It's a game of luck."
Kogoro grabbed Moriya by the collar, ready to kill him. "Tell me which one!"
"I'll tell you: cut the blue one," Moriya sneered. "But will you believe a madman?"
Back in the lobby, Yuu produced a pair of small red scissors he'd borrowed from a girl in the crowd.
"Ran, Eri-san... you should move back," Yuu said, though he knew if it blew, they were all dead anyway.
"No," Eri said, hugging Ran from behind. Her ample breasts pressed into Ran's back, her deep cleavage visible as she leaned over the bomb. "I've spent too much time away from you, Ran. I'm not leaving you now."
Thirty seconds remained.
Suddenly, Conan's voice came through the phone. He had slipped away to call Ran directly. "Ran! Cut the red wire! Moriya hates red; he wouldn't make it the 'safe' color!"
But Yuu remembered the original plot. Moriya had manipulated the "lucky color" of the day. Red was the color of the "Red Thread of Fate" between Ran and Shinichi. Moriya knew Ran wouldn't want to cut her "link" to Shinichi, so he made the Red Wire the detonator.
"Ran," Yuu said, his voice low and steady. He placed his hands on both their shoulders. "I think you should cut the blue one."
He was ready. If she cut it and he saw a spark, he would attempt a Forced Blink. His teleportation limit was 10kg, and the two women weighed over 100kg. The backlash would likely kill him or leave him a vegetable, but he would never abandon his women. He didn't care about "revenge" if they were dead.
Eri looked at Ran. "Ran, choose. I trust you."
Ran looked at the two wires. She thought of Shinichi... and then she looked at Yuu, the man who had actually been there for her, who was currently risking his life to stand by her side.
Snip.
The sound of the scissors was like a gunshot in the silent hall.
The timer froze. 00:00:06.
"We did it! Yuu-kun, the blue one was right!" Ran collapsed into his arms, shaking.
Outside, Moriya's face fell into a mask of disbelief. "How? How did she know? Did she really believe my lie?"
Conan, behind the police car, was stunned. He had told her red. He felt a pang of frustration—not because they weren't safe, but because his logic had failed. He was more obsessed with his deduction than the actual survival of his friends.
After the rescue teams cleared a path, Yuu led the two women out into the cool night air.
He looked at the skyscraper, then at his own hands. He was still too weak. If he were a true Master, he could have punched through the rubble or used magic to shield them.
I need to find Akako Koizumi, he thought. The World of Magic is my next step.
He was tired of being at the mercy of "Destiny." He wanted to be the one holding the scissors every time.
"Ran, Eri, Yuu-kun! Are you okay?" Kogoro ran over, looking disheveled but genuinely worried.
"We're fine, Dad."
"Thank god..."
"Hey, Ran-neechan!" Conan chirped, running up with his "innocent boy" act. "Which wire did you cut? Was it the red one like I said?"
Kogoro smacked him over the head. "Shut up, brat! Who cares about the color? They're alive!"
Ran looked at Conan, then back at Yuu. "No, Conan-kun. I cut the blue one. Yuu-kun told me to."
Conan froze. He looked at Yuu Hoshimiya, his eyes narrowing. This man... he had seen through the trap that even the "Heisei Holmes" had missed.
As the emergency lights flickered, Yuu shared a look with Eri and Ran. They had survived death together. The "Reward" he had planned for this event was no longer just a possibility—it was an inevitability.
The mother and daughter were ready to be claimed.