"Gomera, of course! Gomera!"
"Actually, I think the Kamen Rider movie looks pretty good too..."
"But Dad and I saw that one last weekend..."
The children immediately launched into an excited discussion when Tangze asked.
For elementary school kids, an outing where they got to spend their own pocket money really was more fun.
"Gomera, huh..." Tangze spoke while keeping an eye on the tickets in Shiratori's hand.
His vouchers weren't actually close to expiring; Tangze had made that excuse up on the spot. But they really were using movie vouchers today, so they still had to decide which screening to choose.
Tangze had already made up his mind, though. He'd drag Shiratori into the Gomera movie if he had to.
The Junior Detective Agency plus a Gomera movie? That combination had case written all over it...
Shiratori watched Tangze chat patiently with the children crowding around him, smiling all the while. A faint envy crossed Shiratori's face.
"Officer Shiratori, do you like children?" Ai Haibara, who had stayed to the side, looked up at him. "Professor Agasa received an invitation. Are Officer Takagi and Officer Sato getting engaged?"
The two questions seemed unrelated, but the connection between them was devastating.
Shiratori caught her meaning perfectly. His face fell.
"If I remember right, you're some distant relative of Tangze's? A cousin or something..."
"Something like that. His mother and mine are related through the family."
"No wonder you're Tangze's little sister..."
"Hmm?"
What she meant was obvious: even if he liked children, the woman he liked would never have any with him. He might as well give up and go to bed.
Kids these days were brutal...
"I really should give up on her, shouldn't I?" Shiratori gave a self-deprecating smile. "If only I could give up on the person