Yes, that's him!" Ryoko Akagi glanced at the time on her phone, tears clinging to her lashes. "The match started an hour ago. If we can't find Mamoru soon... what if..."
Tangze naturally lowered his hand so even Conan, short as he was, could see the note in it. He followed Ryoko Akagi to the apartment building where the Akagi family lived.
"This is the note Mamoru left behind..." Ryoko Akagi picked up an irregularly shaped scrap of paper from beside the fax machine. "It was on the dining table when I came in this morning. The soccer match, the match has already started..."
Tangze took the note. After pretending to ponder it for a moment, he turned back and switched on the television.
The sports channel was broadcasting the Tokyo Aoyama Team's match live. Tangze checked the game clock and said quietly, "Then we still have half an hour. Ms. Akagi, may I inspect the house?"
Ryoko Akagi's gaze remained fixed on Hideo Akagi on the screen. The commentator was lavishly praising The Kicking Ace's record, but Hideo Akagi himself wore a grave expression, his brow tightly furrowed. He had accidentally scored a goal in the first half, and was probably worried that his missing little brother would be harmed because of it.
"Yes, as long as it helps." Ryoko Akagi anxiously watched the score on the television and paid no attention to Tangze bringing an elementary school student along to investigate.
The two of them quickly found Akagi Mamoru's bedroom, which the culprit had turned completely upside down. Tangze silently handed the note to Conan and patted him on the back.
"Huh?" Conan was just about to study the note carefully when Tangze shoved him toward the center of the bedroom with a look that said, Good luck. "You want me to inspect it alone?"
Tangze spread his hands and casually leaned against the doorway. "You're the detective. I'm just an innocent neighbor helping a hapless detective keep up appearances, so naturally you should do it. The person asking for help was even willing to pretend to be your girlfriend just to get Shinichi Kudo's help. That's such sincere trust. Don't let her down."
For some reason, it felt like this guy really enjoyed watching him make a fool of himself... Conan gave Tangze a half-lidded stare for a while before continuing his inspection.
Tangze watched with interest as all sorts of expressions utterly unfitting for Conan's age flitted across his round little face, then expertly checked out and let his mind wander.
Man, without Ran to give him a hard time, it felt like he'd wasted the price of admission. This case really wasn't that flashy. Ran Mouri's jealousy was practically the engine driving the entire investigation, chasing Conan until he had nowhere to run. Without that part, it just didn't have the same flavor.
Should he casually let it slip someday at school that "Shinichi Kudo's girlfriend came looking for him"?
Nah, that would make him too easy to expose. Aside from Conan, he was the only one who knew about it. Conan would come after him later. Forget it.
Still, it was fine. There would be plenty more chances to stir things up. Ran Mouri's suspicion of Conan was something that flared up again and again.
Beside him, Conan had already found the empty box and was trying to locate the missing game cartridge among the clutter. "Stop standing around over there. Come help me find this game."
Tangze sighed. Rather than walk toward the pile of junk stacked like a small mountain, he went to the television connected to the game console and turned it on. He pointed lazily. "There's a cartridge inserted here. Is this it?"
Conan suspected the guy was slacking off. He sighed as he walked over. "Look carefully at the cover. Doesn't it have a title? It obviously isn't..."
As he approached, his footsteps halted. His eyes landed on the game's save screen after it booted up. It displayed the characters' levels, classes, and names. The hero's name was Mamoru written in katakana, while the others were Hideo, Ryoko, and—
"Naoki!" Conan lunged at the screen. Staring at the final name, he pulled out the note and compared it again. "That's what this note means! It doesn't say, 'Big brother, help Mamoru survive.' The front and back were torn off—he was referring to the game characters! He meant, 'Brother Naoki will help the Mamoru in the game survive'!"
"Naoki, Naoki... Hideo Akagi's teammate who joined the club with him this year is named Uemura Naoki!" Conan abruptly turned toward Tangze.
Tangze cooperatively struck a classic detective pose, stroking his chin. "Looks like the person who took Akagi Mamoru was this guy."
The two exchanged looks and nodded. In the living room, they found Ryoko Akagi with her hands clasped together, staring at the match.
"Ms. Akagi, do you know someone named Uemura Naoki?" Tangze dutifully played messenger.
"I do. He's Hideo's good friend and lives on the sixth floor of the apartment building across from ours," Ryoko Akagi answered, barely pulling her eyes away from the screen. "He often comes over to play games with Mamoru. He's very good at video games."
As she spoke, Ryoko Akagi's expression gradually stiffened. She had clearly understood Tangze's implication.
"Then we need to hurry." Tangze smiled, tucked the following Conan beneath his arm like he was carrying a cat, and let him dangle from his arm. "We can't let the culprit ruin The Kicking Ace's brilliant record."
With that, he yanked Ryoko Akagi up with one hand, carried the bewildered Conan with the other, and rushed out of the apartment. He even remembered to kick the Akagis' front door shut with his heel.
"Wait—"
"Tangze!"
Tangze completely ignored both of their protests as he started running.
The Free Fighting he had mooched off Tooru Amuro had shown excellent agility and attacking power in battle, but exactly what it could accomplish in reality still needed testing.
His physical abilities really had improved, though—enough for Tangze to sprint at full speed while dragging one adult and one child along.
Since Ran Mouri wouldn't get a chance to kick down a door, then...
It took only two or three minutes to reach the sixth floor of the building across the way. Tangze set down the dizzy Conan and gestured for the panting Ryoko Akagi to ring the bell.
Ryoko Akagi looked admiringly at Tangze's less-than-muscular build, remarked that appearances could be deceiving, and stepped forward to press the doorbell.
"Ding-dong—ding-dong—"
After two or three rings in succession, a man's voice finally came from the intercom beside the door. "Who is it?"
"It's me, Ryoko!" Ryoko Akagi grabbed the intercom and answered loudly.
The person on the other end fell silent for two seconds, then continued in a relaxed tone. "Oh, Ryoko... What brings you here so early?"
"It's urgent. Just open the door, Naoki!"
The intercom clicked off. After a long while, just as the increasingly anxious Ryoko Akagi was about to knock on the door, the lock finally turned and the door opened a crack.
There was a door chain on it! Conan frowned.
"What is it?" A long face appeared through the narrow gap. He looked suspiciously at Conan, then turned to Ryoko Akagi.
Because of the angle, Uemura Naoki could not see Tangze on the other side. Seeing only a high school girl and a child, he relaxed slightly.
"Can you let me in?" Ryoko Akagi lunged forward, trying to force open the gap, barely two palms wide. "I'm sorry, but can you open the door?"
"Ah, no, it's not very convenient. My girlfriend's inside..." Uemura Naoki tensed and gave a dry laugh.
Ryoko Akagi gritted her teeth and shouted into the apartment, "Mamoru! Mamoru! Are you in there? Answer me!"
"Hey, that's enough..." Uemura Naoki shoved the door, but failed to push the squeezing Ryoko Akagi away. A trace of viciousness appeared on his face.
"Ms. Akagi." A hand landed on Ryoko Akagi's agitated shoulder and pulled her away from the door. "Step back."
"?" Ryoko Akagi turned around in surprise.
"?" Conan looked up, puzzled by Tangze's serious expression, only to see him exhale and raise his arms.
Wait, wait, could Tangze also—
Scenes of his childhood friend's past exploits flashed before Conan's eyes, making his pupils shake. What was going on? Was Shinichi Kudo the only person in the world who had never learned martial arts? If Tangze could hear his thoughts, he would probably answer: Yes, exactly. You're the weakest one in the Red Faction.
Tangze gathered his strength and lifted his leg, kicking the front door hard.
With a deafening bang, the entire security door tore free from its hinges. Before that force, the door chain was as fragile as a strand of hair, snapping instantly.
Uemura Naoki, who had been pressed against the door, flew backward with the metal slab and was heavily pinned to the floor.
"Whew—" Tangze leaned his head in to inspect the results.
The door had not warped much, only denting slightly in the middle, and the frame had not been smashed apart. But he really had kicked the whole thing off. Tangze assessed the outcome and gave his combat strength a simple rating—half a step below Ran Mouri.
Not bad. It was enough. Tangze nodded in satisfaction.
Before you continue