Outlaw in Conan's World, Tokisaki Kurumi

Watching the car suddenly stop beside him, the man halted in confusion.

The window slowly rolled down. To the man's astonishment, a pistol fitted with a suppressor and a woman's face appeared before him.

"Bye~ bye~"

When the woman's husky voice rang out, his eyes widened in terror.

Piu!

The black muzzle flashed with fire the next second.

Akai Shuichi's Arrival

On that pitch-black rainy night, in this silent alley, a long-haired man wearing a bathrobe collapsed to the ground with a stunned expression.

Blood slowly flowed from the hole in his forehead and the back of his head, trickling onto the damp ground before being diluted by the drizzling rain and washing into a nearby sewer.

"One down."

Inside the car, the woman slowly drove away after the man fell.

That woman was, naturally, Kurumi in disguise.

According to the intelligence obtained from the organization, both the bank security guard who had gone undercover and the racer from before were scum who deserved to die.

So Kurumi felt not the slightest guilt as she cleaned them up.

Following the intelligence, Kurumi drove to the former racer's home.

Like Miyano Akemi, he rented an apartment in Tokyo. As he slept, he had no idea a figure had already appeared beside his bed.

Holding a fully black USP pistol fitted with a suppressor in her right hand, Kurumi revealed a cruel smile.

She aimed the black muzzle at the sleeping man's head sticking out from beneath the blanket and fired without hesitation.

"Piu~"

Fire flashed. The man on the bed did not even have time to react before a .45-caliber bullet took his life.

Kurumi engaged the safety, put away her pistol, and leisurely left the man's apartment.

Back in the car, Kurumi took out her phone and composed a text message to Gin.

The one billion yen is already in hand. Only the final target remains.

Even now, Kurumi did not know the names of the two men she had just killed.

Closing her phone, Kurumi stepped on the gas, and the black sedan headed toward Miyano Akemi's residence through the night.

Everything... was proceeding exactly as planned.

Meanwhile, inside Miyano Akemi's apartment, a tall male figure sat in a chair in the living room, silently adjusting the pistol in his hands.

As the owner of the place, Miyano Akemi calmly watched him, showing no surprise when he pulled out a gun after entering her home.

Because all of this was part of Kurumi's plan.

A few days earlier...

Aso Narumi desperately wanted to help Miyano Akemi escape the organization's pursuit, but she lacked the ability to do much. She could only keep asking Kurumi about the plan.

"Um, Kurumi?" As the time for Miyano Akemi's operation drew closer, Narumi grew increasingly uneasy. Seeing Kurumi still lying on the sofa in simple clothes and watching TV, she hesitantly asked, "Are you really not worried at all? About Miss Miyano's safety?"

"Worried? Not at all. I already have a way to ensure her safety while successfully shaking off the organization's pursuit." Kurumi pointed at the movie playing on the television and said to Sister Narumi, "Look, Sister Narumi. This gave me the inspiration to confirm the final—and most important—step." After saying that, Kurumi looked at Narumi expectantly.

Stared at by Kurumi's strange gaze, Narumi suddenly felt uncomfortable.

She nervously looked down at herself, thinking Kurumi had spotted something odd about her clothes.

No? What am I wearing today?

"No!" Seeing Narumi's thoughts veering off somewhere strange again, Kurumi said firmly, "What I mean is, only you can complete this most important step!"

Realizing she had misunderstood, Narumi immediately perked up.

She was certainly happy to hear that she could help, but Narumi, who lacked even the strength to tie up a chicken, had no confidence whatsoever.

"Can I really do it, Kurumi?" Narumi looked deeply doubtful.

"Of course!" Kurumi flipped off the sofa and sprang to her feet, then grabbed a notebook and pen from the table and began writing furiously.

For about half an hour, Narumi quietly watched Kurumi from the side.

"Done! These are the lines!"

During that time, Kurumi endured the boring romance dramas, cop movies, and even spy films, finally completing two full pages of dialogue.

Handing the notebook to Narumi, Kurumi confidently explained Narumi's crucial upcoming task.

In the brightly lit living room, the man who had been lowering his head and fiddling with his pistol looked up at Miyano Akemi on the sofa.

"Akemi, I told you I'd come back to protect you." Beneath the man's black knit cap was the handsome face of a healthy, tan-skinned man.

"But, Dai!" Hearing him say that, Miyano Akemi excitedly rose from the sofa and looked at the man she called Dai. "But the organization has been monitoring my apartment the whole time. They'll definitely react if you come here!"

The Dai in Akemi's words was Akai Shuichi's alias within the organization—Moroboshi Dai.

As a traitor to the organization, Akai Shuichi had always been hunted by them. Yet they had gained nothing from every operation against Akai Shuichi of the FBI, even losing quite a few members because of it.

Even the organization's overseas bases had suffered considerable damage.

"It doesn't matter. Compared with my own safety, I believe yours and Shiho's safety are more important." With a confident, handsome smile, Akai Shuichi pulled back the hammer of his pistol.

"I already made a mistake once. Now, I have to make up for it."

Hearing such reliable words from her boyfriend, Miyano Akemi continued, "But Bloody Mary is the one in charge of watching me now. She's..."

At the mention of Bloody Mary's notorious name, Miyano Akemi's tone was full of concern.

Before Miyano Akemi could finish, Akai Shuichi reassured her, "If it's Bloody Mary, then no matter how strong she is, I'm confident I can fight her evenly."

"By the way, do you have any black coffee here?"

"You still have the mood for black coffee at a time like this?" Hearing Akai Shuichi say something so unfocused, Miyano Akemi grew a little angry. "But if you knew that, why didn't you take me away from here?"

Akai Shuichi's expression turned serious. "Because I need this opportunity—an opportunity to cut off one of the organization's fingers!"

A vicious glint flashed in Akai Shuichi's eyes.

"Besides, I need those people monitoring you to understand..." As he spoke, Akai Shuichi deliberately raised his voice. "There are some people you can't afford to provoke!"

"And now, let Bloody Mary's death serve as the opening act!"

Showdown

After eliminating two pieces of scum overnight, Kurumi drove to the apartment building Miyano Akemi rented at around one in the morning.

Under cover of the night, Kurumi's black sedan parked at the mouth of the street-side alley nearly blended into the darkness.

In the silent night, aside from the lights still on in a few apartments, it seemed everyone else in the building had already gone to sleep.

After replacing her pistol's magazine with a fresh one, Kurumi pushed open the car door and headed toward the silent apartment building.

Her black leather shoes made crisp sounds against the stairs.

As Kurumi climbed upward, her footsteps sounded like Shinigami about to reap lives, announcing the countdown of those destined to die.

One step... two steps...

Arriving at Miyano Akemi's door, Kurumi skillfully picked the lock.

She quietly entered the pitch-black apartment, pulled out her pistol, and cocked the hammer at the back of the gun.

But just as Kurumi was about to leave the entryway and head for Miyano Akemi's bedroom, she had only just stepped into the living room when she heard a click. Then, the dark living room was instantly illuminated by white light.

Her wine-red right eye constricted at the sudden brightness. With every muscle tensed, Kurumi raised her pistol and warily watched the brightly lit room.

Was I set up? For some reason, a hint of unease suddenly rose within Kurumi.

However, when Kurumi saw Miyano Akemi calmly appear before her, she revealed an evil, cruel smile.

Lowering her arm, Kurumi said to Miyano Akemi, "Interesting. It seems you knew I'd come looking for you tonight."

"Because I know very well that whether my plan succeeds or not, none of you will let me go." Although her life hung by a thread, Miyano Akemi acted as if she had not noticed and continued looking at Kurumi calmly.

"I've already dealt with your other two accomplices." As she spoke, Kurumi noticed Miyano Akemi's furrowed brows. She looked around and suddenly said, "I suppose that since you can face me so calmly, the bodyguard you hired must be hiding somewhere in this room."

"Ha~ But that doesn't matter."

Utterly confident in her own strength, Kurumi relaxed instead.

Switching her pistol to her left hand, Kurumi stretched out her right hand with an evil grin and pointed her index finger at Miyano Akemi. "You're next—Miyano Akemi!"

Feeling the evil aura constantly radiating from Kurumi, especially after hearing that the other two robbery accomplices had also been killed, Miyano Akemi clenched both fists tightly. After gritting out, "Bastard!" she walked toward Kurumi. "Bloody Mary!"

Seeing Miyano Akemi actually walk toward her, Kurumi found it even more amusing.

Spreading her hands, she remarked with interest, "Oh~ You're actually approaching me? Instead of running away, you're coming right to me to die?"

Kurumi felt she did not even need a gun to deal with Miyano Akemi.

"Your sister Sherry finally managed to contact you. Like a student still answering questions as an exam is about to end, she risked her life to tell you never to defy the organization."

Ignoring Kurumi's words, Miyano Akemi suddenly stopped.

But at that moment, a man's voice suddenly came from the balcony behind Miyano Akemi.

"If I don't come closer, how am I supposed to knock you down?"

Along with that voice, the man in the black knit cap entered Kurumi's sight.

Not recognizing him immediately and simply assuming he was a bodyguard Miyano Akemi had hired, Kurumi answered viciously, "Oh, oh! In that case, why don't you come a little closer..."

"I'll accept your boring provocation. Once I deal with this man... Miyano Akemi, it'll be your turn to die!"

Meanwhile, Rum had been following the reports from the people monitoring Miyano Akemi. When he learned that the organization's greatest threat, Akai Shuichi, had secretly returned to Japan and was currently inside Miyano Akemi's home, his first thought was to have someone eliminate him.

But then Rum thought of how Kurumi, that thorn in his side, apparently did not know this intelligence and was planning to kill Miyano Akemi that night. He felt he could simply sit back and reap the benefits.

Wouldn't it be wonderful to let Akai Shuichi and Kurumi fight to the death, then send his own people in to kill them both?

Having settled on this plan, Rum immediately ordered his capable subordinate Curacao to take over a dozen elites and lie in ambush near Miyano Akemi's apartment.

And the subsequent developments unfolded just as Rum expected. In the relatively cramped confines of the room, the two seemed to have started fighting in close combat rather than using guns.

Though he could not see the scene, based on Curacao's report and the sounds coming through the listening device, Rum felt he had to eliminate Kurumi.

He knew Akai Shuichi's strength very well.

And now, Kurumi could actually match Akai Shuichi in close-quarters combat and even seemed to hold a slight advantage. This only strengthened Rum's determination to get rid of her.

"Sir, Miyano Akemi seems to have fired!" Looking at the living room, which had suddenly gone completely dark, Curacao had no idea what was happening inside when she heard a gunshot.

Based on her experience, Curacao believed that gunshot, which had not been muffled by a suppressor, could not have been fired by Kurumi or Akai Shuichi.

"Very good. It looks like you two really are working together as husband and wife!" Clutching her abdomen, Kurumi endured the pain as she pressed down on the wound steadily spilling blood.

"We learned it from you. When dealing with scum from the organization like you, we don't need to follow any rules!" Seeing that Kurumi had actually been shot, Miyano Akemi's eyes lit up as she fired several more shots at the wounded Kurumi, trying to kill her right then.

On the other side, Rum, realizing the situation had suddenly reversed, urgently gave an order. "Curacao, lead your people in immediately. Help Bloody Mary deal with Akai Shuichi first, then kill her!"

Receiving Rum's order, the fiercely loyal Curacao answered and immediately led her team straight toward the apartment building.

"Haha!" Dodging Miyano Akemi's bullets, Kurumi pulled a smoke grenade from behind her back, yanked the pin, and threw it directly into the spot where the two stood in the living room.

"Get down!"

Thinking Kurumi had thrown a grenade, Akai Shuichi hurriedly threw himself over Miyano Akemi.

Expecting an explosion the next second, Akai Shuichi suddenly heard Kurumi's arrogant voice.

"You fell for it, Akai Shuichi! This is my escape route!"