"I'm full."
Inside the restaurant, Ren Kuroda set down his chopsticks and, without changing his expression, nudged Sonoko's leg lightly under the table.
She blinked in surprise—then her face lit up with excitement. Wait… was that flirting?
Flirting right in front of Ran—and her parents?
Now that was her kind of thrill. Bold. Dangerous. Exciting.
Unable to resist, Sonoko brushed her foot back against his in response.
Ren stared at her for a long moment, deadpan. The glint in her eyes practically screamed I'm enjoying this way too much.
"…Right," he sighed. "It's getting late. I should head out."
"Ah—" Sonoko froze. It hit her a second later—he wasn't trying to flirt at all. He was signaling for her to leave with him.
A flicker of disappointment crossed her face, but it was quickly replaced by excitement. Alone time with Ren? I'll take it!
Setting down her chopsticks, she stood up briskly. "Ran, Uncle Kogoro, Aunt Eri! I'm heading home. You three take your time, okay?"
"Got it—be careful on your way back!" Ran smiled knowingly. She understood what they were doing: giving the Mouri family a chance to have some time together.
Kogoro and Eri both offered polite goodbyes.
Once outside, Ren didn't even give Sonoko the chance to speak before asking casually, "It's still early. Want to catch a movie?"
As a guy, he wasn't about to keep letting her be the one to invite him out all the time.
"Mm-hm! Yes, definitely!" Sonoko said instantly, eyes lighting up. She pulled out her phone. "Let me just text my mom, or she'll worry."
Ren's gaze drifted subtly around the area. About twenty or thirty meters away, a few men in business suits stood pretending to check their phones. He'd noticed them trailing Sonoko since she'd left the tournament.
Bodyguards, he thought. Typical for the Suzuki family.
Once she'd sent the message and slipped her phone back into her purse, she turned to him curiously. "Hey, Ren, can I ask you something?"
"You want to know why I didn't speak up for Shinichi back there, right?" Ren said before she could finish.
"Eh? How did you know?" Sonoko blinked, surprised.
He chuckled. "Your face gave you away. You're always smiling, but suddenly you went quiet—that means something was bugging you. And there aren't many things that could bother you right now… that dinner scene was one of them."
Sonoko laughed, delighted. "Wow, you know me better than I thought."
Ren leaned back, his tone even. "It's not that I didn't want to defend him. It's just… he doesn't seem interested in fixing the problem himself. If the person involved doesn't care, why should we rush to help?"
"…You're right." Sonoko relaxed, the tension leaving her shoulders. "If he's not worried, why should I be? Forget it—let's not waste our night talking about him."
Her mood instantly brightened again, and she started excitedly debating which movie they should go see.
10:00 p.m.
Ren's short "date" with Sonoko came to an end. He saw her off as a sleek black car pulled up to the curb.
"Ren~~! Tomorrow morning, nine o'clock, Dorabika Amusement Park—don't be late!" Sonoko waved out the window as the car pulled away.
"Yeah, see you there," Ren replied, waving back. Once her car disappeared down the street, he turned and began walking home.
Passing a convenience store, he ducked inside to grab breakfast for the next morning.
As he strolled back toward his apartment, his mind started spinning with anticipation—not for romance, but for tomorrow's storyline.
Not because of the murder case that was about to happen.
Murder? Boring.
Gunfire—that was excitement.
Ren had long since lost any real interest in playing detective. These days, his head was filled with plans for robberies—
—or as he preferred to call them, acts of justice.
He'd already marked his next target: the middle-aged corporate president blackmailed by the Black Organization.
A full hundred million yen.
No way he was letting that slip by.
That much money practically begged to be "liberated," especially with the Outlaw System at his disposal.
But even that wasn't all.
A wild idea had taken root in his mind.
He wanted to use this opportunity… to take down Gin.
He couldn't stand the thought of anyone in this city being more dangerous than him.
Besides—wasn't it about time Detective Conan ended anyway?
This was the dawn of a new era.
The era of Ren Kuroda, the Crimson Outlaw.
Grinning faintly at his own madness, Ren arrived at his apartment building.
He took the elevator up to the thirteenth floor. But as soon as the doors slid open, he froze.
Someone was standing at his door.
As he got closer, his eyes widened slightly. "Ran? What are you doing here?"
Ran looked up briefly, then down again. "I… I ran away from home."
Her voice was small and fragile. Her eyes were red, her cheeks still streaked with tears.
Ren sighed quietly. He already had a pretty good guess what had happened.
"Come in," he said simply, unlocking the door and holding it open for her.
Ran stepped inside, slipped off her shoes, and sank into the couch.
Ren poured a cup of warm water and handed it to her.
"Thanks," she murmured, clutching the cup between her palms.
"What happened?" he asked, sitting beside her.
He already had a strong hunch.
After all, for someone like Ran—a model daughter—to run away from home, there were only two possibilities: either Kogoro had brought home another woman, or it had something to do with Shinichi.
This time, it clearly wasn't the first.
"I… I had a fight with my parents," Ran said quietly. "Because of Shinichi."
Then she told him everything.
After Ren and Sonoko had left, the Mouri family had stayed to eat together. Everything was fine at first. The mood was cheerful—until the meal was nearly over and Shinichi still hadn't shown up.
On the way home, Kogoro had muttered a few harsh words, and Ran, defensive as always, tried to stand up for Shinichi.
But this time, even Eri sided with Kogoro.
That hurt more than anything.
It made Ran feel like her parents were both against her—and against Shinichi.
So she'd stormed out of the house, too upset to look back.
"I see…" Ren nodded slowly, keeping his expression neutral—though inwardly, he was impressed with himself. His deduction had been spot-on.
Ran looked at him hopefully. "Kuroda-kun… what should I do?"
Her eyes shimmered, searching for an answer.
Ren knew exactly how to handle this.
It wasn't about lecturing her or telling her what to do—she already knew the answer deep down. She just needed someone to nudge her toward it.
Smiling faintly, he said, "You know, what you're feeling is completely normal. Every couple goes through this kind of thing. Even your parents did back in the day."
Ran blinked, looking up at him in surprise.
"Yeah," Ren went on lightly. "When your dad and mom first got together, their families didn't approve either. Love's never easy—it's about getting through the hard parts."
Ran lowered her gaze, her fingers tightening around the cup.
And for the first time that night… she smiled.