Tangze: I've Finally Been Waiting for This

"Ran, Ran—"

"Eek?!" Startled upright by her best friend's sudden voice while she was lost in thought, Ran Mouri abruptly slammed her phone face-down on the table. "W-What is it?!"

"I came back after lining up. There were way too many people in the restroom... I should be the one asking what happened, shouldn't I? You jumped like you had some secret you couldn't tell me." Sonoko Suzuki let out a long sigh. "What's been up with you lately? Are you still hung up on that Jodie-sensei thing?"

The fact that Jodie-sensei's true identity was an agent from America had shocked even Sonoko Suzuki, who had seen plenty of unusual people through her social circles.

Ran Mouri, who had appeared at the harbor on the day of the case, seemed to know some of the inside details. Every so often, she would fall into this kind of silent, pensive state, which Sonoko was not used to seeing from her.

"You look a little like that deduction maniac. Is this what they call spouses growing alike?" Sonoko teased, hands on her hips.

"Hey, hey, don't say such nonsense." Thinking of where the real Shinichi Kudo was, Ran's cheeks flushed bright red, and she hurriedly stopped Sonoko from continuing. "I'm just, um, a little worried..."

"Worried about what? That Jodie-sensei won't come back? Didn't she say she'd return to Japan to see us once this case was resolved? FBI agents get vacations and personal lives too, right?" Sonoko tilted her head as she guessed.

"It's not that." Ran's hesitant gaze landed on a variety show preview flashing across a nearby billboard. Catching a glimpse of Akechi Goro's face, she hesitated for a moment before swallowing her concerns.

Now, whenever she saw Akechi Goro's face, she would think of that photograph, and subtle