Outlaw in Conan's World, Tokisaki Kurumi

Aso Narumi had taken Kurumi's warning to "be sure to watch out for Conan" to heart.

Hearing Aso Narumi answer her question with another question, Conan, unfamiliar with the Kira Yoshikage reference, put on an innocent, wide smile and replied in a childish voice, "Uncle asked me to help him look for something, but I didn't expect to run into you here, Doctor!"

That was not why Conan had come here. It was merely a pretext borrowed under Mouri Kogoro's name.

In truth, he had always felt that the Asai Narumi before him was somehow strange. This indescribable sense of incongruity, combined with what had happened on Moon Shadow Island, kept reminding him of the murder at the art museum not long ago.

It seemed as though someone had deliberately arranged all of this from behind the scenes.

For some reason, Conan suddenly thought of the girl who called herself Tokisaki Kurumi.

Moreover, Conan had previously asked the innkeeper about it. From the registration book, he had indeed found Kurumi's name.

Conan recalled the conversation he had had with the innkeeper when he asked whether any tourists had recently stayed there.

"Uncle Innkeeper, was this big sister named Tokisaki Kurumi really pretty? And did she have one burgundy-colored eye?" After learning from the innkeeper that Kurumi had indeed come here, Conan immediately grew excited.

"Yes." At the mention of Tokisaki Kurumi, the innkeeper could not help sighing. "That young lady was definitely the prettiest girl I've ever seen." Then he looked suspiciously at the child before him. "Kid, why are you suddenly asking about something like this?"

As someone with professional ethics, the innkeeper knew full well that he absolutely could not reveal his guests' private information.

Realizing he was being suspected, Conan hurriedly explained, "Because my sister knows her, and she helped me before too!"

"Is that so?" Hearing Conan say that, the innkeeper lowered his guard. That did not mean, however, that he would voluntarily reveal information about a guest.

With a regretful tone, the innkeeper said, "If you're looking for her, you're too late. She checked out this afternoon. It seemed like she went back to Tokyo." At that, he sighed helplessly. "But it makes sense. Mr. Kawashima has gone missing, and with things so unsettled, it was only natural for a girl all alone to choose to go back."

"What? She already went back?"

"Yes!"

The recollection ended—

Back to the present.

Kurumi had left yesterday afternoon. Nearly twenty-four hours had passed since then.

Could it be that she wasn't the mastermind this time? Conan was suspicious, but based on the information he had gathered, Kurumi, who had supposedly returned to Tokyo yesterday afternoon, clearly could not have attacked a police officer and placed the gift box in the piano room just a few dozen minutes ago.

But that was only if Kurumi had truly left the island rather than hiding somewhere on it.

"By the way, Doctor, do you know Tokisaki Kurumi?"

Feeling that there was something wrong with Asai Narumi, Conan asked as if it had just occurred to him.

Aso Narumi: "Let's Have Something Good Tonight"

Although Conan's question surprised Narumi, it was still within the scope of their plan.

"If you mean know her... I suppose you could say that." Though Aso Narumi had no idea how Kurumi had predicted that Conan would come asking about her, Narumi still followed Kurumi's earlier instructions and tried her best to distance herself from Kurumi.

The moment she heard Aso Narumi say she knew Kurumi, Conan perked up.

Ever since Kurumi had somehow played him for a fool at the art museum not long ago—and had even left him with a deep psychological shadow before departing—Conan had been unable to stop thinking about that beautiful black-haired girl.

He had even begun to suspect that Kurumi might be an accomplice of the men in black who had turned him into this form at the amusement park. Otherwise, how could she possibly have known that he was Kudo Shinichi?

At present, Conan could not find the two men in black from that time at all. Even if he wanted to investigate, he had nowhere to start.

But Kurumi's appearance had let Conan glimpse a ray of hope.

Thus, Conan decided to focus all his attention on Kurumi first.

It was not as though Conan had not considered starting with Director Ochiai, the real culprit who had killed Mr. Manaka. But no matter how he questioned him, the answer Conan received remained, "Miss Tokisaki merely came to discuss that painting, Divine Punishment, with this old man. I know nothing else."

Director Ochiai's explanation clearly did not satisfy Conan.

But he worried that continuing to badger Director Ochiai about Kurumi might alert the enemy, so Conan could only give up on him for the time being.

"Then, Doctor, do you know where Big Sister Tokisaki went? I still want to thank her for helping me!"

Unaware that the beautiful doctor before him had long since sided with Kurumi, Conan believed the excuse he had made up was quite good. Little did he know that in Aso Narumi's eyes, this big-headed brat's words only made her more wary and annoyed.

"Well..." Though she was displeased inside, Aso Narumi still put on a thoughtful expression and said, "I remember Miss Tokisaki took a boat and left yesterday afternoon. Before she left, she even specifically told me she wanted to go out and have fun with me."

"After all, we were both born in Tokyo. We're fellow townspeople."

Hearing Narumi say exactly the same thing as the innkeeper, Conan began to wonder if he had really overthought things. Did what had happened on Moon Shadow Island truly have nothing to do with her?

But even so, Conan did not want to give up such a good opportunity to find Kurumi.

Completely worked up, Conan's tone became somewhat impatient. "Then do you know where she lives in Tokyo?"

In his anxiety, Conan even forgot that he currently looked like an elementary school student.

Growing increasingly dissatisfied with Conan, Narumi shook her head. "Even if you're a child from Detective Mouri's family, that doesn't mean you can be so rude when speaking to adults!"

Frowning, Aso Narumi scolded Conan with an expression of disapproval.

Realizing that his overly impatient questioning had indeed angered her, Conan hurriedly apologized. "I'm sorry. It's because Big Sister Ran also wants to find a chance to talk with Big Sister Tokisaki, so I got a little anxious. We don't know where Big Sister Tokisaki lives, so even if we wanted to visit her, we couldn't."

Knowing when to back down, Conan began acting meekly so that he would not anger Aso Narumi.

Seeing Conan apologize so obediently, Aso Narumi could only sigh and choose to forgive him.

"To be honest, I don't know where Miss Tokisaki lives either. She only said that she would find me and didn't leave behind any address or phone number." Aso Narumi sounded somewhat helpless.

"Is that so? What a shame..." Conan secretly observed Aso Narumi. From her expression and the tone of her voice, she did not seem to be lying.

Did I really overthink it?

Ignoring Conan, who had lowered his head and seemed to have fallen into self-doubt, Aso Narumi pretended to take a box of paper from the shelf and said, "All right, little brother, I'm heading back first."

"Remember to turn off the lights and close the door after you find what you're looking for!"

Leaving those words behind, Aso Narumi walked out of the storeroom.

A moment later, Aso Narumi, who had assumed Kurumi would be loafing around at home, did not see her on the second floor.

After placing the white paper she had brought from the storeroom onto the table, Aso Narumi suddenly noticed a note.

Don't panic! I'll be back tonight!

Looking at the elegant handwriting on the note, Aso Narumi knew without thinking that Kurumi had definitely left it for her.

"So mysterious..."

Tearing the note into pieces and tossing them into the trash, Aso Narumi began considering what she and Kurumi should eat that evening.

Hmm... Kurumi has been working so hard. I should make something nice for her tonight! Aso Narumi thought happily.

Aso Narumi, who had never invited anyone to eat at her home before, opened the refrigerator and discovered that there were only enough ingredients for one person.

"Ah! I nearly forgot that I live alone!" She was glad she had checked the refrigerator. Otherwise, by the time Kurumi returned that night, there would not have been enough food for two people.

Going to the bedroom, Aso Narumi found her wallet and prepared to buy some vegetables from the village vendors.

Quite confident in her cooking, Aso Narumi decided that, to reward Kurumi for helping her so diligently, she would not buy the cheap dishes she normally threw together when she was alone. Instead, she would buy some slightly more expensive, better ingredients.

Slipping her wallet into her pocket, Aso Narumi happily hummed a tune as she walked downstairs with light steps.

Right, I nearly forgot Kurumi told me to lock the doors and windows!

Suddenly remembering Kurumi's warning that certain people liked snooping and rummaging through things, Aso Narumi efficiently locked all the first-floor windows before finally leaving the clinic.

Meanwhile, Kurumi, hiding on the second floor of the Community Center, had already heard every word of the conversation in the piano room downstairs through a listening device.

At first, Kuroiwa and Nishimoto, who had been summoned by the police, tried to argue under Inspector Megure's questioning. But when Mouri Kogoro turned on the recorder and began playing the tape, the two finally admitted in panic that they had joined forces to murder the Aso family all those years ago.

Their personal confessions made everyone present even angrier than Kawashima's voice on the recorder.

Though they wanted to immediately send these two scum to prison, the criminal eyeing them still had not been caught. If they rashly took the two away, who knew whether that vicious criminal would do something even crazier in order to keep them alive?

Let Them Turn on Each Other

Through the listening device, Kurumi sat on a sofa on the second floor, casually reading a magazine she had swiped while listening to the conversation downstairs through her earpiece.

Things developed almost exactly as Kurumi had expected. With Kawashima's testimony on the recorder, Inspector Megure and Mouri Kogoro barely needed to question them further. After simply laying out the facts, Village Chief Kuroiwa and Nishimoto, who had still wanted to stubbornly deny everything, immediately panicked.

Nishimoto, in particular, firmly believed in Aso Keiji's Curse. When this quiet man heard that someone had sent another hand belonging to Kawashima, the most timid of them all collapsed to the floor and wet himself in fright.

Slowly, an unpleasant smell began spreading through the room.

"Enough! I don't want to hear any more of your excuses!" Inspector Megure slammed the packaged White Powder they had found beneath the piano onto the instrument with a bang.

"What I want to know now is whether you people were truly doing this! And whether you even murdered Aso Keiji's entire family to hide your crimes!" Megure had never felt so enraged. He glared furiously at the two pieces of trash before him.

If carrying out the death penalty in Japan were not so troublesome, he would have wanted to execute these two on the spot.

But as a law enforcement officer, he could at most indulge in that thought in his mind.

Faced with the irrefutable evidence before them, the two knew that no amount of arguing would help.

"Officer, I admit that we did do those things." At this point, in order to shake off as much responsibility as possible, Village Chief Kuroiwa decided to dump all the blame onto Kawashima, who had disappeared and might even be dead.

"But it was all Kawashima's idea!"

Hearing Kuroiwa say that, Nishimoto, who had already been frightened out of his wits, shot to his feet with a bang. He was fast!

Though his legs were still trembling, he put on a fawning expression and joined Kuroiwa's excuses. "That's right. Buying and selling White Powder was Kawashima's idea too. Otherwise, where would he have gotten so much money?"

At that moment, whether it was Mouri Kogoro, Inspector Megure, or even Mouri Ran beside them, the three of them gradually became indignant as they watched these two scum shamelessly try to shirk responsibility even now.

"Fine. As for your trafficking and murder, there will naturally be a judgment once you reach the Metropolitan Police Department," Inspector Megure said. "But right now, we have received a warning from the criminal who kidnapped and injured Kawashima. His next target will be one of you."

Hearing that they might also follow in Kawashima's footsteps, Kuroiwa and Nishimoto fell to their knees.

These greedy, death-fearing men were afraid of the judgment of the law.

But compared to being brutally murdered, at least they would still be alive in prison.

They would merely lose their freedom.

"No! I don't want to die!" Nishimoto wailed sharply. "It was Kawashima! Kawashima did everything! Why does the criminal want to kill me?!"

Upstairs, hearing Nishimoto's words through the earpiece, Kurumi smiled and decided that he would be the next one she dealt with.

"Inspector Megure, since we need these two as bait to lure out the criminal, I think we can protect them in secret. Once the criminal truly makes a move, won't we be able to catch him?" Mouri Kogoro tried to come up with a method that could temporarily ensure the safety of these two scum while also catching the criminal.

"Wait, are you saying you want to use us as bait?!" Kuroiwa immediately jumped up in opposition after hearing Mouri Kogoro's words.

"Kawashima's fate is still unknown, and even if he's alive, who knows what he has become after having both hands cut off?"

Thinking of how Kawashima might have been mutilated beyond recognition by that vicious criminal, Kuroiwa's panic gradually overwhelmed his fear of the police.

Seeing Kuroiwa dare to get angry at them, Megure and Mouri could no longer sit still.

"You bastard, after doing something so utterly heinous, you still have the nerve to say that!" Since Inspector Megure was a police officer, there were some things he could not say outright no matter how angry he was.

But Mouri Kogoro was different.

He was a detective. Even if he lost his temper and beat these two up, he was sure Megure, his former superior, would not say anything to him.

Thus, knowing this as well, Inspector Megure naturally let Mouri Kogoro vent that anger on his behalf.

"But aren't you police supposed to guarantee our safety?" Nishimoto joined the fray at this point.

The two had completely forgotten that they themselves were the true culprits and instead began blaming the police for doing nothing.

Hearing these two scum actually turn the tables on them, Inspector Megure was so angry that his mustache nearly bristled.

Amused by the performance downstairs, Kurumi covered her mouth to keep herself from laughing out loud.

These two were truly idiots, so idiotic that Kurumi did not even know how she should send them on their way.

Wait!

Kurumi suddenly came up with a good idea.

Since these two like turning on each other so much... why don't I add fuel to the fire?

Having made up her mind, Kurumi only needed to wait for the police to build the stage for her.

That night, to make it easier to watch over and "protect" Kuroiwa and Nishimoto, the two pieces of bait, Inspector Megure specifically locked them in a room on the second floor of the Community Center—the same empty room where Kurumi had stayed earlier.

It was not as though Inspector Megure had not considered using the village chief's office on the first floor to hold Kuroiwa and Nishimoto. But considering that the criminal might use the first-floor windows to forcefully kill them, he ultimately decided to place the two on the second floor of the Community Center, with officers guarding the door around the clock.

Not only that, aside from the officers on duty, Mouri Kogoro also volunteered to stand guard in the hallway. He even brought bedding with him, clearly determined to remain there.

However, the people keeping such a tight watch had no idea that Kurumi, whom they believed to be the criminal, was currently on the second floor of Aso Narumi's clinic, enjoying a delicious dinner with the beautiful doctor.

Hamburg steak, sukiyaki, salmon, and more.

Having clearly spared no expense, Aso Narumi had made Kurumi an entire table full of delicious food.