"Sonoko!"
Ran let out a resentful, coquettish cry.
But she had long since grown accustomed to her best friend's teasing.
With a helpless sigh, she explained, "There's no way he'd ever give up on a case. He's the kind of person who never quits halfway through. Once he sets his sights on something, he'll stick with it to the bitter end, even if he has to force himself."
"Is that so? Just what I'd expect from childhood sweethearts..."
Sonoko clasped her hands beneath her chin like a lovestruck girl and said in a strange, affected tone, "Haaah~ That's what I like about him. Like, like, like him the most!"
As she spoke, she leaned toward Ran. "Come on, darling Ran, give me a kiss!"
"Sonoko, don't say such weird things!"
Ran's face turned bright red as she desperately pushed her away. "I was only saying he's a stubborn old stick-in-the-mud who always forces himself to see everything through!"
"Eh, is that so?"
Sonoko wrapped herself around Ran and stubbornly clung to her. "Then hurry up and forget Kudo! The two of us can kiss first!"
Ran: "Eh?!!!"
I treat you like my best friend, and you're actually after my body?
"Ahem!"
Seeing that the yuri atmosphere was becoming increasingly difficult to control, Fujino coughed lightly, nearly choking on the scent of lilies in the air. He reached out and separated the two. "All right, Sonoko, stop teasing Ran. What are you two going to do if you actually end up kissing?"
"Oh, right, right!"
Sonoko pulled her lips back. "After all, her first kiss has to go to her beloved Shinichi!"
"..."
Ran had become completely numb to her best friend's antics.
One moment Sonoko was telling her to break up with him, and the next she was teasing her.