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"Seriously!"
"This is a total snooze-fest. I shouldn't have even bothered showing up."
Sonoko Suzuki sat in a quiet corner of the banquet hall, her signature headband in place, looking bored to tears. "Not a single hot guy in sight. What a waste of a good outfit."
Ran Mouri sighed helplessly beside her.
They were still guests at someone else's banquet, so complaining like that could at least wait until they left.
Ran understood Sonoko's personality perfectly. They had grown up together, after all.
Despite being the second daughter of the massive Suzuki financial group, Sonoko didn't put on any aristocratic airs. She was just hopelessly boy-crazy. Whenever she saw a handsome guy, she practically lost her mind.
Ironically, she had no real dating experience. All her big romantic stories were just talk, with nothing to back them up.
"I know, I know!" Sonoko waved a hand curtly.
"Speaking of which, why did you drag this little brat to a banquet like this? Why didn't Kogoro show up?" She shot a deadpan look at Conan, who was tagging along right beside Ran.
"Dad had some other business to take care of," Ran explained. "As for Conan, I was worried he'd get bored home alone, so I just brought him along!"
Hearing his name, Conan played along and flashed a cute smile.
"Tsk!" Sonoko clicked her tongue.
She didn't know why, but even though he was just a first-grade elementary student, looking at him always reminded her of Shinichi Kudo.
He gave off the same annoying vibe, and it always got on her nerves.
'This loudmouth!' Catching Sonoko's look of blatant disgust, Conan grumbled internally.
"Ran! Ran!" Just then, Sonoko spotted something amazing. Forgetting all about Conan, she frantically slapped Ran's shoulder.
"Ugh!" Ran winced, rubbing her shoulder.
"Sorry, sorry! But look, Ran! There's a total hottie over there!"
"Hmm?"
A hot guy? Following Sonoko's pointing finger, Ran quickly spotted the target.
"He really is handsome..." Ran nodded after taking a good look.
He was definitely good-looking, and he seemed pretty young—probably about their age.
The guy who had caught Sonoko's eye was none other than Kai.
Kai was already handsome to begin with, but after becoming a Jujutsu Sorcerer, his features became even sharper and more defined. Maybe Cursed Energy worked like a beauty filter, because his entire aura had leveled up.
"Right? Right??" Hearing Ran agree, Sonoko looked ecstatic.
"Damn..." This time, the one feeling annoyed was Conan. Following their gaze, he shot Kai a look and huffed bluntly. "What's the big deal? I don't think he's that handsome. Shinichi is way better-looking."
Ever since shrinking, Shinichi Kudo had finally realized his true feelings for Ran. The only problem was that he was stuck in Conan's body.
Add the imminent threat of the Black Organization into the mix, and coming clean was impossible. He had no choice but to hide the truth—and stay constantly on guard against any other guys trying to swoop in on Ran.
"Hmph!" Sonoko never had a high opinion of a smug show-off like Shinichi anyway. Hearing Conan defend him, she fired right back.
"Since when is that Kudo guy a catch? Besides, if he's so great, why doesn't he show his face? He's out 'investigating cases' and hasn't bothered to show up once! I bet that guy doesn't care about a single thing except his precious mysteries!"
"..." Conan desperately wanted to shout: 'Who says I'm not here?? I'm standing right in front of you!'
But he stayed quiet. Right now, everyone believes Shinichi Kudo is overseas solving cases. If anyone learned the truth, the Black Organization would target Ran and the others and ruin their lives.
"Well? Cat got your tongue?" Sonoko pressed. "And why does that Kudo guy only ever call you? Does he not have Ran's number? It's obvious he doesn't care about her at all!"
"Sonoko!"
This time, Ran spoke up, cutting off whatever Sonoko was about to say next.
Seeing a flash of sadness cross Ran's face, Sonoko opened her mouth, but ultimately kept quiet.
She just felt bad for her best friend. With a childhood friend like that, Ran was better off without him.
Sonoko thought Ran was amazing, and that Shinichi Kudo just wasn't good enough for her. Lately, she'd even tried to set Ran up with other guys, but none of her matchmaking had worked.
"Ran-neechan!" Conan looked at her, his heart aching.
He desperately wanted to confess that he was Shinichi. But the thought only surfaced for a second before he forced it down.
'Just wait a little longer.'
Once he defeated the Black Organization, he would find a cure and become himself again. Then he and Ran could go back to how things used to be.
Of course, thinking like that was a bit naive.
"Alright, Ran, let's stop thinking about sad stuff. Look at that hot guy! I think he's looking over here!" Noticing Ran looking down, Sonoko quickly changed the subject to cheer her up.
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Just like Sonoko said, Kai had indeed noticed their group.
'Interesting. Even Conan is here?' His amused gaze swept past Sonoko and Ran, finally landing squarely on Conan Edogawa.
He never expected the infamous Grim Reaper, the kid who always seemed to bring murder with him, to actually show up.
'Is someone going to die at this banquet tonight?'
Still, running into the Conan cast in a massive anime crossover world was pretty entertaining.
It was clear Conan had been shrunk for a while. Still, the timeline in this world hadn't glitched or stopped. The endless, chaotic timeline from the Detective Conan universe didn't seem to affect this crossover reality.
Who knows? This pint-sized Grim Reaper might actually get to grow up one day.
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"Wow! He's so handsome! Did you see that, Ran? His smile makes him look even hotter!"
Sonoko, practically buzzing with excitement, smacked Ran's shoulder again. She looked just like a die-hard fan spotting her favorite idol.
"Sigh..." Ran gave her best friend a helpless look. "If you like him that much, why don't you go ask for his number?"
Truth be told, Ran was actually quite eager to see what Sonoko would be like in a real relationship.
"Uh... maybe not!"
Sonoko was the type to talk big but never actually do anything. She could hype herself up, but when it was time to act, she always backed down.
Ran let out a resigned laugh. She was far too used to her friend's antics.
Conan, on the other hand, just clicked his tongue. "Tsk!"
He shot her a look that clearly said 'I knew it,' curling his lip in a dismissive sneer.
But the very next second!
Whack!
Sonoko brought her fist down hard on the top of Conan's head.
"You little brat! Were you just looking down on me??"
"I didn't even say anything!" Conan winced, grabbing his head in pain.
'This loudmouth! Hitting me that hard... I hope you stay single forever!'
"Hmph!" Sonoko didn't care about his excuses. That brat's look had ticked her off.
"Alright, Sonoko, don't be mad. Conan is just a kid!" Ran stepped in with a gentle smile to smooth things over.
Sonoko never stayed mad for long. Suddenly, a new idea popped into her head and she forgot all about Conan. She turned to Ran, her eyes lighting up.
"Ran, why don't you go ask for his number instead??"
"WHAT??" Ran and Conan shouted in unison.
Sonoko narrowed her eyes, locking onto Conan. "What are you yelling for, you little brat?"
If anyone was going to overreact, it should be Ran. It had nothing to do with him!
"Uh!" Conan quickly realized his reaction was way too suspicious.
He scratched his head and quickly tried to come up with an excuse. "Ahem! Well, I just thought... we don't even know what kind of guy he is! What if he's a bad person?"
After solving so many murder cases, Conan had seen plenty of well-dressed men who turned out to be monsters. What if this guy was just a wolf in sheep's clothing? He couldn't let Ran get hurt.
"Hmph. You won't know if he's a good guy until you actually talk to him," Sonoko countered. "You can't just assume every hot guy is secretly a creep. Or maybe... Ran, are you still hung up on that Kudo guy?"
She directed that last sentence squarely at Ran.
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