Outlaw in Conan's World, Tokisaki Kurumi

"Achoo!"

Conan's face looked rather grim as he sneezed his way along.

Damn it! Tokisaki stood me up! "Achoo!"

He blew his nose with the napkin he carried around, leaving an especially amusing expression on his face.

Yesterday, Conan had waited at the docks until nearly three in the morning. He had felt like the cold wind was about to freeze him solid, yet until he unknowingly fell asleep, Kurumi and Jotaro—whom he had been eagerly awaiting—never appeared.

When Conan woke up from the cold, it finally dawned on him that Kurumi had absolutely played him.

The passionate Italians and Diavolo, DIO's Mansion in Egypt and DIO's best friend, Father Pucci, Kars-sama, Wamuu, and Esidisi... Kurumi had made all of them up on the spot. She must have discovered the bug he had stuck to her shoe and decided to retaliate.

That woman is seriously petty! "Achoo!"

After enduring the cold wind all night, Conan could not even go home at dawn. He had told Mouri Ran that he was staying overnight at a classmate's house, so he could only miserably find somewhere sheltered from the wind and curl up for a little sleep.

The consequence was that Conan, unsurprisingly, caught a cold.

It was not until morning, after barely sleeping and suffering all night, that Conan retrieved the backpack he had hidden in advance and went to school.

Conan felt completely groggy.

Near the school, Kurumi finally spotted Conan entering her field of vision and swaggered toward him with a grin.

"Little Conan~ How did last night feel? Did you feel empty, lonely, and cold?"

The instant Conan heard Tokisaki Kurumi's voice, a voice seemingly carved into his DNA, he angrily tried to locate where it came from.

When he saw Kurumi's black-clad figure, Conan wanted to roar! He wanted to vent! He wanted to demand why Kurumi had screwed him over so badly!

He opened his mouth and let out a sound filled with all the emotions in his heart!

"Achoo!"

A huge glob of snot shot out of Conan's nostrils.

"You! You bastard!" Conan hastily wiped his nose, pointed at Kurumi, and demanded, "You did this to get back at me!"

"Get back at you?" Kurumi arrogantly crossed her arms over her chest, utterly unconcerned that the gesture made her breasts look even fuller. "That's right. I am getting back at you!"

You actually admitted it so shamelessly?!

Seeing Kurumi admit it so bluntly, Conan suddenly did not know what to say.

"I... you..."

"What do you want to say? Weren't you the one who pulled a trick first? You actually stuck a bug on my shoe. Aren't you something?" Kurumi looked at Conan with disdain. "Even I found out about your little tricks. Do you think you can fool Gin, whose abilities are no less than mine?"

Kurumi smiled as she patted Conan on the head and earnestly reminded him, "So, I'm teaching you a lesson."

"First, you must think things through before acting, especially when it involves the organization. Some people in the organization may be useless, but there are also people you absolutely cannot underestimate."

"Second, think carefully about anything you overhear from organization members, because you do not know whether the words you overheard were deliberately meant for others to hear."

"Third, there is no conflict of interest between us. On the contrary, just as I told you on Moon Shadow Island, I dislike the organization, and you and I share the same goal in that regard."

Though Conan felt displeased inside, he quietly listened to Kurumi's lesson.

Because he could tell that everything Kurumi said directly pointed out his shortcomings.

Except for the last point.

"I will never coexist with criminals like you!" Conan angrily slapped away Kurumi's hand from his head, shook his head fiercely, and marched toward the school without looking back.

"Honestly, you blockhead still need a lot more 'teaching'~ Kudo Shinichi..." As Kurumi watched Conan's receding back, an indescribable glint flashed through her eyes.

After leaving Teitan Elementary School, Kurumi drove to her next destination.

The organization's research facility in Tokyo.

Ignoring the fierce-looking organization members along the way, Kurumi headed straight for Miyano Shiho's laboratory.

"Does a senior member like you have nothing to do all day?"

Wearing a white lab coat, Miyano Shiho sat in her chair with her legs crossed, staring speechlessly at Kurumi.

"Yep!"

Kurumi's immediate answer stunned Miyano Shiho for a moment.

No, are people these days really this honest?

Noticing Miyano Shiho's speechless expression, Kurumi said unconcernedly, "Don't be so distant. I have some connection with your sister, after all. I think we get along quite well."

The moment Kurumi mentioned her sister, Miyano Shiho could no longer sit still.

"Are you threatening me? Using my sister!"

As the last family she had left in this world, Miyano Shiho least wanted to hear that someone from the organization had gotten close to her sister.

Facing Miyano Shiho's furious question, Kurumi shook her head. "Nope. I mean as friends."

Kurumi took a rectangular object from her pocket and, under Miyano Shiho's confused gaze, smiled and pressed several buttons.

"All right. Now there are some things I can tell you."

"What is that thing in your hand?" Miyano Shiho ignored Kurumi's words and instead asked about the little object in her hand.

"Oh! You mean this?" Kurumi waved the device in her hand and explained, "It's just a jammer."

Kurumi's words immediately made Miyano Shiho think of a possibility.

"Are you saying the organization installed listening devices in this room?" Unease appeared on Miyano Shiho's face as she sat in her own bedroom.

She knew that the organization surely monitored her every move, but she had never imagined they would be so deranged as to install listening devices even in her bedroom.

"So I've been monitored in my bedroom this entire time?"

"Yep, that's right."

Kurumi nodded.

"Then why didn't you tell me earlier?!" As though she had thought of something, Miyano Shiho's face instantly turned extremely ugly.

Kurumi put on an innocent expression. "You didn't ask, did you?"

"All right, all right. Let's put that aside for now. I came this time because I have something very important to tell you." After calming the tense and furious Miyano Shiho, Kurumi said seriously, "It concerns your sister, Miyano Akemi."

What Is Your Plan?

"My sister?" Miyano Shiho warily watched the carefree-looking girl before her.

"Yes. Didn't your sister tell you?" Kurumi crossed her legs and slipped the jammer into her pocket. "Your sister made a deal with the organization. The terms were... Miyano Akemi would obtain one billion yen for the organization, and in return, the organization promised to let you two sisters leave."

"Leave the organization? Would they really be that kind?" A sense of foreboding struck Miyano Shiho, and her expression became panicked.

Because she understood the organization, she knew just how dark it truly was.

Miyano Shiho knew perfectly well that, to an organization with immense funds, one billion yen was merely a drop in the bucket. They would not care about such a small amount of money.

Moreover, her value to the organization was incalculable. They would never agree to let her—and the drug she researched, which could bring endless wealth and power—leave the organization for a mere one billion yen.

Most importantly, even though Miyano Akemi was only an outer member of the organization, she still knew some of its secrets. To preserve the organization's secrecy, they would absolutely silence her sister.

In other words...

"Whether your sister succeeds or fails, the organization will kill her." Kurumi directly voiced Miyano Shiho's concern.

Bang!

Miyano Shiho slammed her fist hard into the bed.

"Then what is your purpose in telling me this?"

Suppressing the panic and fury in her heart, Miyano Shiho cleverly guessed that Kurumi had come to speak with her and blocked the room's surveillance because she had something extremely important to say.

It might even concern her sister.

"My purpose? It's simple. I don't want the organization to kill your sister." Kurumi casually said something that went against the organization's interests.

"Why? Aren't you a member of the organization? Aren't you afraid I'll report you to the others for doing this?" Miyano Shiho narrowed her eyes slightly. She did not believe Kurumi could be this kindhearted.

So she decided to test her.

When Miyano Shiho said she would report her, Kurumi's expression did not change at all. She simply stared quietly into Miyano Shiho's beautiful eyes.

Until Miyano Shiho guiltily shifted her gaze away under Kurumi's stare.

"Miyano Shiho, as someone with an organization codename, I'm sure you've heard at least something about what I did before."

Of course Miyano Shiho knew what Kurumi meant. Kurumi's actions back then had shocked everyone in the organization who knew about them.

Even Miyano Shiho, who had been fortunate enough to learn about it, had been badly frightened.

Alone and unaided, Kurumi had wiped out an organization-operated stronghold that manufactured and sold White Powder. All forty-three organization members there had been killed.

Those responsible for the stronghold's security were not kind people.

Fully armed, they could even go up against the police without flinching.

What was even more terrifying was that, aside from fatal gunshot wounds, many of the dead had their heads smashed apart by brute force. Some even looked as though they had been attacked by a vicious beast and violently torn into chunks of flesh.

Without exception, everyone who suffered the cruelest deaths had been leaders at the stronghold.

After the incident, not only did several members assigned to clean up the scene vomit from the bloodshed, some were even so terrified by the horrific sight that they wet themselves.

Although Miyano Shiho had not seen the scene herself, she could still imagine its brutal severity from other people's descriptions.

As for the organization's punishment afterward, Kurumi had received only a verbal warning. Whether Kurumi and the organization had any further conflict that escalated afterward was something Miyano Shiho did not know.

Still, making an optimistic guess, Miyano Shiho believed that although Kurumi remained loyal to the organization, her hatred for White Powder was enough for her to eliminate those scum without regard for the consequences.

Perhaps Kurumi had long since grown dissatisfied with the organization as well.

Miyano Shiho nodded very solemnly, indicating that she understood perfectly.

"Actually, after that operation, the organization tried to eliminate me." Kurumi's tone was so relaxed that she sounded like a bystander. "Gin led the team at the time, along with three other codename members. After a fight, I killed those three and severely wounded Gin."

At this point, Kurumi recalled, "If I remember right, I broke both of Gin's hands and four of his ribs. Not to brag, but Gin is really a tough guy. Even after such serious injuries, he didn't beg me for mercy like the others did. He just glared at me viciously."

"Ah~ Thinking back, that look was really scary~" Kurumi pretended to be frightened, hugged herself, and squirmed in her chair.

"..."

Miyano Shiho stared at Kurumi in stunned disbelief. She had never imagined that the seemingly petite and delicate girl before her had such astonishing accomplishments.

Even Gin, the strongest person in the organization, had lost to Kurumi.

"Since you understand, that means we have common ground when it comes to being unhappy with the organization!"

"Uh... yeah, I suppose...?" Still shocked, Miyano Shiho's voice trembled.

Satisfied with Miyano Shiho's reaction, Kurumi continued, "Besides, I rather like your sister. Such a beautiful woman is about to fall victim to the organization's poison. As someone who cherishes beauty, I really can't bear it!"

Watching Kurumi grow inexplicably excited, Miyano Shiho felt that this girl might be even more dangerous than the organization in some respects.

Especially where her sister was concerned.

If she got the chance, she absolutely had to remind her sister to be careful around Kurumi.

Convinced that Kurumi's sexual orientation was questionable, Miyano Shiho made a decision in her heart.

"But what are you going to do?"

"It's simple. We just need to keep your sister safe from the organization, don't we?"

"Is it really that simple?" Miyano Shiho felt Kurumi might as well have said nothing.

Keep her sister safe from the organization? Did Kurumi really have that much influence?

"It's that simple." Kurumi gave an affirmative answer.

"You don't have a specific plan?"

"No." Kurumi answered with complete confidence.

Smack!

Speechlessly covering her face with one hand, Miyano Shiho wondered how this girl had managed to survive until now.

Was she just charging ahead on pure recklessness?

That was seriously badass.