THE VALENTINES PARTY CASE.
Sweets, Are No Good Part 2..
The Valentine party carried on, the group indulging in the feast until the long-awaited moment for exchanging chocolates finally arrived. Katsuhiko Minagawa, the handsome young man, rose from his seat and casually made his way toward the bathroom.
Ran Mouri noticed this and turned to Sonoko Suzuki.
"Sonoko… aren't you going to follow him and give him your chocolate?" she asked.
Sonoko simply smiled, her expression calm yet sly. "Nope… not happening."
Ran frowned slightly. "Then why are we even here? Yesterday, you were the one so excited… but it turns out you were just acting again."
Sonoko smirked, her eyes narrowing with mischief. "Of course… I came here to watch you give your chocolate to that Wakamatsu guy."
"What?!" Ran exclaimed, startled. "What do you mean? Why would I give him chocolate?"
Sonoko's eyes widened in exaggerated disbelief. "Eh— Ran, aren't you interested in him?"
"Huh?! Why would I be?" Ran shot back immediately.
"Well, it's because you two were chatting when we first met them," Sonoko explained, folding her arms. "That's why I agreed to come—I wanted to see if you'd actually give him chocolate. I figured you were just being shy… you lonely girl."
"What chatting? When did that even happen?" Ran protested. "Besides, he was the one bombarding me with questions non-stop!"
Sonoko blinked, momentarily thrown off. "Wait… did I really misinterpret that?" she muttered under her breath.
"Of course you did," Ran replied bluntly.
Nearby, Conan had been quietly listening to their entire exchange.
Meanwhile, Minagawa stepped out of the bathroom, only to be followed by Kaori, the woman dressed in jeans. She hesitated for a moment before finally gathering her courage and offering him chocolate.
To her dismay, Minagawa gently refused. He told her that she was only a friend—and that was all he could give in return.
Kaori froze for a second before lowering her gaze. "I see… so you really do like Yoshimi," she said quietly.
Understanding dawned on her. As her childhood friend, she knew exactly why he favored Yoshimi above the others. With a faint nod, she accepted the rejection and turned away, retreating in silent defeat.
Minagawa watched her departing figure, his gaze lingering for a moment before he looked away.
Back in the living room, the rest of the group continued chatting. Then, Wakamatsu—the gorilla-like man—finally made his move. He slid beside Ran, inching closer to her with obvious nervousness.
"Yosh… now's my ultimate chance…" he muttered under his breath.
Closing his eyes, his already rugged face flushed deeply. Slowly, hesitantly, he extended his right hand toward Ran's, intending to grasp it.
However, Conan Edogawa had been observing him the entire time. Just before Wakamatsu could touch Ran's hand, Conan slipped his own hand into the path.
Wakamatsu grabbed it without hesitation.
"…How soft…" he murmured, completely unaware.
"What a lovely hand… I—I…" he stammered, his courage reaching its peak. Then, unable to contain himself any longer, he shouted, "Ran-san!" as he pulled the hand toward his face.
Because of Conan's small body and light weight, he was dragged forward—lifted straight toward Wakamatsu's puckered lips.
Wakamatsu kept his eyes tightly shut, completely oblivious. But Conan saw everything—the looming face, the lips closing in.
Then it happened.
Their lips met.
Wakamatsu's eyes snapped open—and instead of Ran's face, he was met with a bespectacled child.
They both froze.
Then instantly, they recoiled, releasing each other as if burned. Both began gagging, retching out invisible vomit in exaggerated disgust. Conan furiously wiped his lips with his sleeve, while Wakamatsu did the same, horrified.
His romantic moment utterly ruined, Wakamatsu's embarrassment twisted into anger. He grabbed Conan by the collar and snarled, "Get out of the way!" before flinging him aside.
Conan's small body tumbled across the floor, rolling until he slammed into the wall with a dull thud.
"C-Conan-kun!" Ran cried out in shock, jumping to her feet as she saw him thrown like a ragdoll.
But before she could reach him, Wakamatsu stepped in front of her again. "R-Ran-san…" he stammered nervously.
Ran stiffened, caught off guard. "Y-Yes?"
Before he could continue—
Conan suddenly sprang up. With explosive force, he launched himself forward and slammed the back of his head into Wakamatsu's skull like a cannon.
"Get away from her!"
The impact was brutal. Wakamatsu's massive body jolted before collapsing heavily onto the floor, knocked out cold—but only for a moment.
Outside the house, Kaori—who had just been friend-zoned by Katsuhiko Minagawa—stood alone, quietly crying. She wiped her tears with the back of her hands, trying to compose herself, when the faint sound of approaching footsteps reached her ears.
She turned around and saw Naomichi, the gloomy man, standing behind her.
"Kaori…?" he called out hesitantly. "Why are you crying? Don't tell me… it's Minagawa again. Did he do something to you?"
For some reason, irritation flared within her. "It's none of your business!" she snapped sharply.
Her harsh response triggered something in Naomichi. His expression darkened as his voice hardened. "Minagawa is nothing but human scum. There's no reason for him to hurt you like this… Kaori!"
Kaori turned away from him, her fists tightening. "Just leave me alone!" she shouted.
Naomichi watched as she distanced herself, rejecting his concern despite his obvious worry. His eyes burned with anger; his teeth clenched audibly, his frustration spilling over.
"…That fucking piece of shit…" he muttered inwardly, cursing Minagawa.
Reaching his limit, the gloomy man finally turned his back and walked away, returning to the house—leaving Kaori exactly as she had demanded.
Back in the living room, Mrs. Minagawa was now placing dessert onto the table. One by one, the group began to gather again.
"Now then, here's the dessert," she said as she set down the plates, followed by a cup of black coffee for each person.
They took their time, enjoying the homemade cake she had prepared.
Even Conan Edogawa ate his portion, though his attention remained guarded, his eyes occasionally flicking toward Wakamatsu—the gorilla-like man—who had already recovered and was now casually eating dessert as if nothing had happened.
Everyone indulged in the cake—except Minagawa. The handsome young man clearly disliked sweets, leaving his portion untouched. However, he still drank the cup of coffee alongside the rest of the group.
Susumu, the child, reached for a cup and took a sip of the coffee.
His mother immediately noticed. "Susumu, that's no good—don't drink from other people's cups," Mrs. Minagawa scolded gently. Then, scooping a piece of cake, she fed it to him instead.
Susumu's face brightened, and he happily opened his mouth, eagerly eating the cake.
Meanwhile, Yoshimi Watanabe, seated beside Minagawa, glanced at him and asked softly, "Katsuhiko… aren't you going to eat your cake?"
Katsuhiko Minagawa finished his coffee, slipping one hand into his pocket as he replied, "No… I don't particularly like sweets."
He then pulled out a pack of cigarettes.
Yoshimi watched him and frowned slightly. "Don't you think you've been smoking too much? You should try to cut back a little."
Katsuhiko Minagawa grew irritated, his expression sharpening as he suddenly raised his voice.
"You're too damn noisy… you're acting like my mo—"
He cut himself off mid-sentence.
A wave of dizziness hit him without warning. He lifted his right hand to his forehead, steadying himself. "Looks like… I got a little drunk…" he muttered.
Everyone in the room turned their attention toward him as he slowly pushed himself to his feet. "I think I'll get some fresh air first."
He shook his cigarette pack, but no sound came out. "…Tch. Empty?!"
Naomichi, who had been watching him the entire time, stood up and approached. Without hesitation, he extended a red pack toward him. "Here. Take mine."
Minagawa glanced at it, grabbed it without a word, and walked away—offering no thanks at all.
Naomichi watched him leave, a faint smirk forming on his lips.
Minagawa stepped out through the living room's glass door into the yard. Yoshimi Watanabe quietly followed behind him. The rest of the group remained inside, their eyes tracking the two figures as they disappeared outside.
Wakamatsu observed them, then muttered while sipping his coffee beside Ran Mouri, "Yoshimi really likes him… I wonder what she even sees in that guy."
Then, suddenly brightening, he turned toward Ran. "Which reminds me—do you have any chocolate for me, Ran-san?"
"Eh?!" Ran raised an eyebrow in surprise.
Before she could answer—
"AAAAHHHHHHHH—!"
A piercing scream shattered the air.
Everyone snapped their heads toward the glass door.
They saw Yoshimi rushing back, her face pale with terror, her entire body trembling. Her expression was filled with sheer panic as she staggered forward.
"I-it's… Ka—Ka—Katsuhiko h-he…" she stammered, her finger trembling as she pointed outside.
All eyes followed her direction.
There, lying motionless on the grass in the yard, was Katsuhiko Minagawa.
They all rushed outside.
Mrs. Minagawa reached him first. The moment she saw him lying unconscious on the ground, shock overtook her. "Ka—Katsuhiko! Katsuhiko!" she cried, grabbing his shoulders and shaking him desperately.
Hearing her voice break, the others hurried over.
They all saw it—Katsuhiko lying lifeless on the ground.
Conan Edogawa was the first to react. "Call the police—and an ambulance!" he said sharply to Ran beside him.
Ran nodded immediately and rushed off without hesitation.
Mrs. Minagawa clutched her son's body, her hands trembling as she searched for any sign of life. There was no breathing. No pulse.
Her voice broke into a scream. "KATSUHIKO!!!!"
Wakamatsu stepped forward, seeing that Katsuhiko wasn't moving at all. He gently held Mrs. Minagawa by the shoulders, helping her stand.
Conan moved in closer, his gaze sharp as ever, examining the body.
A piece of chocolate lay just above Katsuhiko's head. His body was face-down against the grass. Between the index and middle fingers of his right hand, a cigarette was still faintly burning, thin smoke curling upward.
After some time, the ambulance arrived—but it was already too late. Katsuhiko Minagawa had died.
Even so, they rushed his body to the hospital for further examination.
Meanwhile, the police who arrived remained at the Minagawa residence, conducting their investigation.
From the hospital came the report—the cause of death of Katsuhiko Minagawa…
Food poisoning.
AM N. NOT.
(っ－＿－)っ
♤DRAFT ♤