"That voice sounds familiar," Mitsuhiko and Genta said, exchanging glances.
"Ayumi, Ayumi, can you hear me?!" Conan, recalling the newspaper's report of serial abductions and murders, ignored Tsuneo's teasing and shouted urgently into the Detective Badge.
Those kidnappers were real killers!
"It's Conan…" Ayumi mumbled, lifting a blanket, groggy. Trying to sit up, she hit her head. "Ouch!"
"Ayumi, it's me! Where are you?" Conan asked, panicked.
"I don't know… dark, cramped. Why am I here?" Ayumi's voice trembled. "Oh, I hid in a car's trunk in the park and fell asleep."
"There's money! A bag full of cash!"
"A saw… it's sticky."
"And a wrapped round thing…"
"Wait, don't open it!" Conan yelled, alarmed.
"Ahhh!" Ayumi's scream echoed through the badge.
Tsuneo's face grew serious. Parking, he pondered which case this was.
Ayumi faced danger often, but with the new badge, this felt like a rare early misunderstanding case.
Three kids zoomed by on a skateboard, lifting a girl's skirt nearby.
"You're laughing? Ayumi might be with those killers!" Conan snapped, baffled by Tsuneo's chuckle.
"The news just reported those two were caught by Officer Megure," Tsuneo said, starting the car slowly.
"Caught?!" Conan slowed his board.
"Sure, but Mihama Town's never short on criminals. Can't lose face," Tsuneo quipped, spiking Conan's anxiety.
Bloodied saw, a girl's head, a bag of cash—Conan's face darkened.
Tsuneo stopped at a gas station. "Fill it up!" he called to a pretty attendant.
"We're giving out Kamen Rider towels or T-shirts with fuel!" she said, smiling, holding both.
"Only one?" Tsuneo asked, conflicted.
"Um, one of each then…" The shy attendant, blushing under his gaze, handed them over and scurried to another car.
So handsome, and that truck's a new model!
"Wait, something's off!" Conan said, hearing the attendant's voice again through the badge.
"We're giving out Kamen Rider towels or T-shirts!"
The voice echoed, near and far.
"Ayumi's in the car next to you!" Conan shouted, drifting with Genta and Mitsuhiko.
Tsuneo sighed, stepped out, and knocked on the white sedan's window. "Open the trunk. Left my kid in there."
"Huh?!" Two dolled-up women, headed to Teitan University's festival, stared in confusion.
Tsuneo pulled Ayumi out, playfully tossing a realistic fake head to ease her fear.
"It's… fake," Ayumi sighed, relieved.
Minutes later, Conan and the boys arrived.
"Ayumi, you okay?" Genta and Mitsuhiko asked, concerned.
"Yeah! Thanks to Conan," Ayumi said, hugging his arm, then turning to Tsuneo. "And you, big brother."
Tsuneo nodded, arms crossed, feeling their antics resembled a wolf-and-sheep cartoon from another life.
After dropping the Detective Boys home, only Tsuneo and Conan remained.
"One thing," Tsuneo said, gripping the wheel, expressionless. "Next time these kids get into trouble, call the police."
"Got it," Conan nodded. He'd been rash, seeing the car but not calling the cops.
"Fearless detective," Tsuneo grinned, mocking Conan's frail frame and reckless streak.
Today, Ayumi was safe. If it was real danger, he'd probably block a gun.
"You're the fearless one," Conan shot back with dead-fish eyes, unsure if it was praise or shade.
"Wrong. I'm just shameless, not noble like you," Tsuneo said, tossing the free Kamen Rider towel and T-shirt at Conan's face.
"Heh," Conan chuckled.
The Dark Knight, claiming he's not noble? Who's been cleaning Mihama's streets, ignoring piles of dirty money? Not me.
Ten minutes later, dusk settled. The truck stopped at Dr. Agasa's.
"Your treat today, right?" Tsuneo asked, stepping out.
"Fine, fine, I'll pay," Conan shouted through the window.
Who blocks someone in a car for a meal…?
(End of Chapter)
---------------------------------------------------------
🚀 Want more?
📖 On Patreon you can read 10+ chapters ahead, plus there will be exclusive stories available only there.
💖 If you'd like to support me, check it out: patreon.com/DaoistRoeoNQ
🔓 Patreon will always stay ahead of the public release — and some stories won't be published anywhere else.
✨ All support is completely optional — even if you don't join, I'm still grateful to have you here reading!