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"You two, behave."
Kai didn't want to show any favoritism.
After scolding Yukino, he shot a quick look at Haruno. The seriousness in his eyes made her heart skip and stopped her from teasing them any further. Kai always seemed especially captivating when he took control.
"I'll be a good girl, then," Haruno replied in a sweet, coquettish voice.
Ran Mouri and Sonoko Suzuki stared in disbelief at the scene. They never thought the two proud Yukinoshita sisters would act so meek in front of someone like Kai.
"Hey, Ran, don't you think this Kai guy is exceptionally charming?" Sonoko whispered into her ear.
Ran froze and shot her best friend an incredulous look. "Sonoko, have you lost your mind?"
To Ran, Kai seemed like the classic playboy. She valued real romance and disliked men who played with women's feelings, so she couldn't see why Sonoko found him charming.
"No, that's not what I mean." Sonoko didn't like playboys either, but after another quick look at Kai, her cheeks turned a little pink. "Aren't you curious about what makes him so special? How did he get both sisters to listen to him like that?"
Ran hesitated. Sonoko had a point, and even though she didn't want to, she started watching Kai more closely.
Haruno and Yukino were both stunning. Each sister could easily turn heads, and while the Yukinoshita family wasn't one of Japan's biggest, they still had plenty of money and influence in Chiba. Even if they arranged marriages for business or politics, they would never let both daughters marry the same man unless there was a really good reason.
There was only one explanation: Kai must have something special. Otherwise, how could he win over both Yukinoshita sisters at once?
"Well..."
Ran kept watching him. Besides his good looks, nothing about Kai stood out at first. Still, she couldn't help but wonder what the sisters saw in him.
"RAN-NEECHAN!"
When Conan snapped out of his daze, he saw Ran and Sonoko looking at Kai. He didn't care about Sonoko's interest—she could chase anyone she liked. But Ran was different.
Was she becoming interested in that scumbag?
No. There was no way. Ran-neechan was too genuine to fall for someone like him.
Before Conan could think about it any more, a piercing scream shattered the calm of the banquet.
"AAHHHHH!"
Fumino Yukinoshita was chatting with Tomoko Suzuki when she heard the scream. Her face grew tense as she turned toward the sound.
The Yukinoshita family was hosting the banquet. Any big incident would hurt their reputation and make people question their security.
"What happe—?" Before Fumino could ask what happened, a maid burst through the doors. Her face was pale with fear, and she barely made it into the hall before collapsing.
"Someone's dead! There's a body!"
"What??"
Her announcement sent a wave of panic through the guests. Shocked voices filled the hall as everyone tried to process the news. Had a murder really happened here?
No one reacted faster than Conan. He forgot about Ran and dashed out of the hall before anyone could stop him.
"Conan!"
By the time Ran snapped out of her shock, Conan was already gone.
"Seriously, why does that little brat act exactly like Shinichi?" Sonoko grumbled beside her. "The second he hears about a case, he takes off faster than anyone else—"
Shinichi Kudo was always like that too. Whenever there was a case, he forgot about everything else and focused only on finding the truth.
Ran's expression shifted at Sonoko's complaint. "Conan really is a lot like Shinichi..."
She wasn't clueless. Conan had lived with her long enough for her to notice how much he and Shinichi were alike. This wasn't a world where people ignored the obvious just because the story said so.
Conan looked almost exactly like Shinichi did as a kid, but Ran could have just thought they were related. Family members often looked alike. But their matching personalities were much harder to ignore.
Both of them got excited whenever there was a case. They had the same habits, mannerisms, and detective instincts, and both ignored everything else when a mystery showed up. Two unrelated people looking the same was odd enough, but having the same personality made it almost impossible to believe.
Still, the idea that a normal teenager could turn into a child went against everything Ran knew about logic and science. No matter how suspicious Conan seemed, that kind of change just shouldn't be possible.
That belief kept her from asking him about it. But Sonoko's offhand comment brought all her old doubts back.
"Did you say something?" Sonoko asked. She had heard Ran muttering but could not make out the words.
"N-No, it's nothing!" Ran shook her head and pushed her suspicions down again. Even if she said her crazy theory out loud, no one would believe her. For now, it was safer to stay quiet.
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Meanwhile, Kai glanced at her with amusement. Thanks to his sharp senses as a jujutsu sorcerer, he had no trouble hearing her quiet muttering.
So Ran was already beginning to catch on.
It made sense. This wasn't the frozen world of Detective Conan anymore. In this new universe, time moved forward as normal. Ran wasn't a naive girl blinded by love, either. She was great at karate, and growing up in a broken home had made her mature faster than most people her age.
Perhaps all she needed was a small push to uncover the truth.
Kai gave a small smirk. Things were getting interesting.
"A murder? Seriously?"
"That can't be right..."
Next to him, Haruno and Yukino frowned as they watched the chaos unfold. With Yukinoshita security guarding the whole place, no outsider should have gotten in, let alone committed murder. Every guest was a respected member of high society who knew what would happen if they caused trouble at a Yukinoshita event.
"Should we go take a look?" Haruno asked. Her curiosity had already overcome her caution.
"We should wait until security confirms what happened," Yukino replied, frowning at her sister's eagerness.
Did Haruno think this was just entertainment? Yukino had no interest in running toward a crime scene just to satisfy her curiosity.
Haruno clicked her tongue and gave her sister a taunting smile. "You're such a coward, Yukino. Don't tell me the word 'murder' frightened you so badly that you can't even move."
Yukino stared at her in silence. No matter the time or place, her older sister always found a way to be insufferable.
"What does it matter?" Haruno continued as she wrapped herself around Kai's arm. "Kai will protect me, won't he?"
Even though she was curious, Haruno wasn't reckless enough to run into danger without protection. She only acted boldly because Kai was with her. With him there, she couldn't imagine anything hurting her.
"Stop causing unnecessary trouble for him!" Yukino snapped when she saw her sister clinging to Kai again.
Haruno's smile grew wider. She might not be good at everything, but no one was better at getting under Yukino's skin. She knew just how to push her buttons.
"Are you jealous, Yukino?"
Yukino didn't answer, but the irritation in her glare said it all.
"That's enough!"
In the end, Kai had to step in again. He was the only one who could stop the Yukinoshita sisters before their arguing got out of hand.
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