Outlaw in the World of Conan, Tokisaki Kurumi

82 A Secret Conversation with Miyano Shiho

Honestly, Kurumi didn't have a hundred percent certainty about whether she could successfully save Miyano Akemi.

Within the Organization, she had already offended too many people.

Although she had Vermouth and the boss backing her, Kurumi could fearlessly face most threats.

But Rum, the second-in-command of the Organization, had always seen her as a thorn in his side, constantly looking for opportunities to eliminate her.

That person, even more mysterious than Vermouth, had been targeting her because she had destroyed several of his businesses that profited from creating those harmful things over the past few years.

The assassins sent after her were all his doing.

Miyano Akemi's identity within the Organization was precarious.

First, her boyfriend was a traitor to the Organization.

Second, she wanted to leave the Organization with her sister, Miyano Shiho, who was a valuable asset.

With just these two points, Miyano Akemi's survival until now was sheer luck.

Therefore, how to secretly preserve Miyano Akemi's life had been a major headache for Kurumi lately.

Even though Kurumi never showed it to outsiders.

Miyano Shiho looked at Kurumi, her mind in turmoil.

She couldn't help but wonder if Kurumi was saying these things to her as part of an Organization test, and whether she should trust her.

On the bed, because it concerned her last remaining family member and she didn't want her sister to die, Miyano Shiho ultimately chose to believe.

Because she no longer had a choice.

"Listen, the Organization won't be making a move on your sister for now," Kurumi said with a serious expression, explaining that she was currently in charge of contacting and monitoring her sister. "But I don't know how long I can stall them, so we need to prepare for the worst."

As she spoke, Kurumi held up one finger. "First, for the time being, continue to pretend you know nothing about this. Keep doing what you normally do."

Miyano Shiho nodded.

"Second, given my situation, I can't protect your sister. So, in the plan, your sister has to die."

Hearing Kurumi say her sister had to die, Miyano Shiho immediately became agitated.

"What did you say?" Her eyes widened, and she looked at Kurumi in disbelief.

Suddenly being yelled at, Kurumi looked at Miyano Shiho speechlessly. "No, can you calm down a little? Please listen to me first, okay?"

"Uh..." Miyano Shiho paused, then sat back down.

She knew she had been too impulsive and hadn't grasped the hidden meaning in Kurumi's words.

"You mean, my sister should fake her death? And then use that to escape the Organization's surveillance?"

As expected of a highly intelligent individual.

Seeing how quickly Miyano Shiho grasped the key point, Kurumi smiled with satisfaction. "Yes. Ever since Gin informed me that I was responsible for your sister, I knew they wanted me to personally kill her."

Kurumi didn't believe the Organization would actually give her such a task out of kindness.

From the moment she learned about this, Kurumi knew that they wanted Miyano Akemi dead, and at the same time, they wanted to find leverage against Kurumi.

Kurumi could imagine how the Organization planned this.

If Kurumi developed some feelings for Miyano Akemi during their interactions, then regardless of whether the mission failed or succeeded, they would assign Kurumi the task of personally executing Miyano Akemi.

If Kurumi killed Miyano Akemi without hesitation, they could widely publicize that Kurumi killed Miyano Shiho's sister and Akai Shuichi's girlfriend, thereby attracting hatred.

But if Kurumi refused or hesitated even slightly, Rum would immediately label her with the accusation of "you want to betray the Organization" and make a big deal out of it.

In short, Rum, the Organization's second-in-command, had prepared a big, dark pot for Kurumi, who had disrupted his operations.

Kurumi explained her thoughts and speculations to Miyano Shiho.

"I didn't expect that your life in the Organization would be so difficult," Miyano Shiho's expression turned grim.

She had always seen Kurumi's brilliant achievements, but she hadn't expected that beneath that dazzling brilliance lay a dark, deep abyss.

Miyano Shiho would certainly hate Kurumi if she killed her sister. That was a given.

But she was ultimately alone. Unlike Akai Shuichi, who had the FBI of America behind him.

If he truly harbored resentment towards Kurumi because of this, he could easily deal with Kurumi using the FBI's vast resources.

"What a clever scheme of using a borrowed knife to kill." Through this incident, Miyano Shiho's resentment towards the Organization deepened.

"Ah... I'm definitely going to offend Akai Shuichi." (After all, I'm stealing his girlfriend.) Kurumi concealed her true thoughts as she spoke. "But in my eyes, the threat he can pose is only that much, at most a slight inconvenience." Saying this, Kurumi looked at Miyano Shiho with sincere eyes.

"But you are different."

Miyano Shiho's heart skipped a beat.

She couldn't quite understand when she had gained such an important position in Kurumi's heart.

Could the rumor within the Organization be true? Miyano Shiho suddenly recalled a shocking rumor that circulated within the Organization like an urban legend.

[You know Bloody Mary, right? She has issues! She likes women, especially those who have boyfriends! Every time she steals someone's girlfriend, she sends the original boyfriend a photo of them being very 'intimate'! Then she enjoys the man's angry and desperate expression.]

Connecting this rumor, Miyano Shiho guessed this was why Kurumi cared so much about her feelings.

Because she loved her older sister and didn't want her sister to hate her due to a misunderstanding.

However, beyond the shock, Miyano Shiho also felt a slight sense of anticipation.

Miyano Shiho only felt hatred towards Akai Shuichi, who had used her sister and then abandoned her, hiding away in America.

Although Kurumi was a girl, she was at least willing to risk her life to save her older sister.

Just that resolve alone was already leagues above Akai Shuichi.

"How do you need me to cooperate?" Miyano Shiho asked.

She was prepared for anything.

"You just need to pretend you don't know about this. Once I 'kill' your sister, the Organization will definitely tell you about it. By then, you can hate me as much as you want."

83 Is this driver's license real or fake? Fake. Real? Real!

"Is this reliable?" Miyano Shiho felt that Kurumi sounded a bit unsure of herself.

Kurumi naturally wouldn't show any weakness.

She revealed a profound smile with full confidence, "Of course. At worst, I'll just have a complete falling out with the Organization. It's not a big problem!"

As a Stand user, Kurumi knew very well how many Stands with monstrous abilities were in her system.

If her plan failed, she could completely exchange for Killer Queen and use the third bomb, Bites the Dust, of the pink big cat to rewind time, finding a way to perfectly resolve the predicament through constant failure.

Or perhaps...

Using the teacher's alt account, which was Kishibe Rohan's Heaven's Door, she could directly and forcefully alter others' memories, turning them from enemies into servants who only pledged loyalty to her.

The more she thought about the many trump cards she had, the more invincible Kurumi felt!

[Saikō ni high da!]

The excitement within her was about to burst out. Kurumi even felt like poking her own temple with her index finger and quoting a famous line.

However, considering her image, Kurumi forcibly suppressed this surge of excitement.

After leaving the research institute where Miyano Shiho was, Kurumi returned home and spent a few leisurely days.

One noon, after finishing her meal, Kurumi suddenly thought of something.

"Sister Narumi, I want to go shopping for some clothes this afternoon. Do you want to come along?"

She tugged at the weight on her chest, feeling that her bra had been uncomfortably tight lately.

This uncomfortable feeling made Kurumi decide to buy some new underwear that fit her current size.

She would also buy some clothes for Narumi.

"Me?" Aso Narumi, who was clearing the dishes, pondered.

She realized that she hadn't bought any new clothes since coming to Tokyo.

When she had nothing else to do, she would quietly stay at home and didn't feel like going out much.

"Sure, but there aren't many days left in winter, so we probably don't need to buy too many winter clothes." Looking at the calendar on the wall, the thrifty Narumi felt they could buy fewer clothes.

Hearing Narumi's words, Kurumi didn't know how to explain to Narumi that time in this world was actually very abnormal.

Although the days still flowed normally from Monday to Sunday, it was only the week, not the month.

Perhaps after a week passed, tomorrow would already be the next month.

But when you woke up and looked at the newspapers or TV, you would be surprised to find, "Wow, why is it the beginning of the month again today?"

Then, you would have to start your life again from the first day of this month, waiting for Schrödinger's next month.

It might come, or it might not.

However, Kurumi noticed that the people in this world, whether it was Vermouth and the others, or ordinary people.

The people in this world showed no signs of abnormality regarding this unusual phenomenon.

It was as if the world was designed this way.

Only days mattered, not months or years.

In the end, Kurumi didn't mention it to Narumi.

"It's nothing, I still have some money in my card, so buying a few clothes isn't a big deal."

Glancing at the pilled purple sweater Narumi was wearing, Kurumi decided to buy some clothes for Narumi as a gift.

"Then Sister Narumi, please wait for me for a moment. I'll go get my savings book." Saying that, Kurumi stood up from her chair and walked back to the bedroom without giving Narumi a chance to refuse.

Watching Kurumi's retreating figure, how could Narumi not know what Kurumi was thinking?

During the days they had spent living together, Narumi had discovered that Kurumi was actually a very easy-to-understand and gentle girl.

She would rush into life-threatening danger for her 'friends' without hesitation, and she would choose to use violence against criminals who harmed innocent people.

Narumi thought that if she were to describe Kurumi's actions and mindset using American superhero comics, Kurumi would definitely not be a righteous, beloved hero.

Rather, she would be most accurately described as an anti-hero who dwells in darkness but still holds onto a glimmer of hope in her heart.

Thinking about everything Kurumi had done for him, Narumi felt a sting in his nose.

"It's just... that's why I like you..."

Neatly clearing the dishes and putting them in the kitchen, Aso Narumi prepared to doll himself up and happily go shopping with Kurumi.

A little over ten minutes later, the two, looking quite spiffy, left the house.

Sitting in Kurumi's car, Aso Narumi looked at Kurumi, who was fastening her seatbelt in the driver's seat, and a question suddenly popped into his head.

"Kurumi, you're only sixteen this year... is it really okay for you to be driving?"

Narumi knew perfectly well that in Japan, you needed to be eighteen to get a driver's license.

And Kurumi was only sixteen right now. Driving on the road at this age, clearly not an adult, if they were stopped by the police or got into an accident, combined with Kurumi's unsavory, dark identity, wouldn't that be like a lamb walking into a tiger's mouth?

Narumi felt a pang of worry at the thought.

In response, Kurumi took a driver's license out from the sun visor above her head and handed it to Narumi. "Don't worry, I have my documents."

"Documents?"

Taking the license, Narumi looked at the information on it for Kurumi.

It clearly stated that the holder of the document was Tokisaki Kurumi, and her age was exactly eighteen, the age of adulthood.

Even the photo was of Kurumi herself.

"Is it real?"

"It's fake."

"Then is this fake driver's license really okay?"

"It's real!"