Conan: The Phantom Heart Thief

The moment the words "Kudo Shinichi" were spoken, everyone in the room visibly perked up.

"You've definitely seen Kudo." The dark-skinned boy observed their reactions and smiled with confidence. "Where is he hiding? Hand him over quickly."

"Hand him over…" Conan, lying in bed with a fever, twitched his mouth. What kind of wording was that?

Mouri Ran put her hands on her hips and sighed, "I'd like to know where he is more than you… Shinichi showed up a few days ago and then vanished again…"

"You've seen him recently? I thought they said Kudo's been missing for a long time."

"As for him being 'missing,' Shinichi just went out to investigate a case. Ugh, those annoying reporters…" Ran smacked her forehead in frustration.

"Hattori Heiji!" In stark contrast to the other two's casual attitudes, Kazawa called out his name with a bright smile. "You're Hattori Heiji, right? The high school detective from Osaka?"

Hattori Heiji, who was just about to introduce himself with full momentum, was cut off by Kazawa and could only change topics with a dry cough: "…You've got good taste. That's right, I'm Hattori Heiji. I came here especially to find Kudo Shinichi. I want to see for myself what kind of guy this famous detective is who can be as well-known as me."

"You're really that dark, huh? I thought Mr. Amuro already had dark skin…" Kazawa's follow-up comment wiped the smile off his face, "Every time I see you in the newspapers, I always feel like I can't make out your face. So it wasn't the photographers' fault after all."

"Pfft—" Conan, weakened by illness, couldn't hold back and burst out laughing more openly than usual.

"Ahem…" Ran coughed to cover up her laughter and tried to change the topic. "Right, Kazawa, you're from Kyoto, aren't you? Compared to Shinichi, you should be more familiar with Osaka's detectives."

"Yeah, he's more famous in Kansai than Kudo-san… Actually, if you look closely, you really do resemble Kudo Shinichi." Kazawa approached with great interest and circled around Hattori Heiji. "You really do look alike. No one in the media has mentioned it, so I thought it was just me. But now that I see you in person, I realize it's probably because the newspaper photos don't show your face clearly."

"Hey!" Hattori Heiji couldn't take it anymore and ripped off his baseball cap. "That's enough!"

"Sorry, sorry. I just got excited seeing a celebrity I know." Kazawa, having fun teasing, grinned unapologetically. "Please, go on. You came here looking for Kudo-san, right?"

Hattori Heiji gave Kazawa a side-eye, feeling like this guy was hiding his sharpness behind a friendly face. But remembering his main purpose for being here, he set the teasing aside and turned back to Ran: "So you've actually seen him after he disappeared… That rumor about you being 'Kudo's woman' must be true, huh?"

"W-What?" Ran's face turned red, and she flailed her arms nervously. "Where'd you hear that nonsense?!"

Kazawa quickly held down Conan, who instinctively wanted to shout, and pushed him back under the quilt.

Thankfully, Conan's face was already red from the fever, so it didn't look unusual. Hattori didn't notice their small movements, his attention still focused on Ran. "Your friend named Suzuki said you're the only one who knows his whereabouts since I couldn't find him at school."

Sonoko, you gossiping menace… Ran clenched her fists quietly.

"And besides, ever since Kudo disappeared, this uncle—" Hattori pointed to Mouri Kogoro, who was behind his desk reading the newspaper and dozing off, showing no interest in the younger generation's chatter, "—suddenly started solving tons of cases… Don't expect me to believe that has nothing to do with Kudo."

"Hey, hey…" Kogoro, who got caught in the crossfire for no reason, lowered the newspaper and said, "I'm the one solving the cases. What does that brat have to do with me?"

"That's kind of a stretch." Kazawa joined in. "After Kudo disappeared, it wasn't just Mr. Mouri who rose to fame, right? Isn't there also a high school detective named Akechi Goro? Why not suspect he's related to Kudo too?"

Conan, wrapped up in the quilt beside him, tightened it even more — as if tightening his own poor little secret — and nodded rapidly in agreement.

Mouri Kogoro happened to glance down at the newspaper's society page where Akechi Goro's grinning face was featured in a report about helping the police catch a burglar two days ago. He crossed his arms unhappily and muttered, "That flashy brat clearly isn't on my level!"

"I thought about that too." Hattori Heiji rubbed his chin and answered seriously, "Before I came here, I looked into Akechi Goro. But I couldn't find anything — not where he lives, not any contact info... So I came here first."

"Hey, hey!" Kogoro slapped the newspaper on the table, covering Goro's smug face. "Can you not say such rude things in front of me?!"

Conan squinted at him.

Hattori Heiji didn't respond, but instead stared straight at Kogoro with the same scrutinizing look.

Though his reasoning was wild, the conclusion he reached was spot on. Uncle Mouri really has no idea... Conan rolled his eyes internally and sneezed again.

The room fell into an awkward silence. And at that moment, they finally heard a knocking sound from the door — knock knock knock.

"How many times do I have to knock before someone answers?" A woman wearing sunglasses and a luxurious fur coat entered the office, visibly displeased. "Is this how you treat your guests?"

"S-Sorry, I'm really sorry." Upon seeing the obviously wealthy woman, Kogoro's face lit up, and he rushed to greet her. "A few kids were chatting and I neglected my duties. Is there something you'd like to hire me for?"

The woman glanced coldly at the group of high school students in the room, then removed her sunglasses and said, "I have an urgent request... I want you to investigate my son's girlfriend."

Upon hearing it was another boring family drama, Hattori Heiji immediately lost interest and turned back to Ran: "You said you couldn't find him... But how did you see Kudo a few days ago?"

Mentioning that question made Ran hold her cheeks, looking sad.

Her father didn't take the warning video that Shinichi gave her seriously, but she had kept it in mind all this time and felt worried whenever she thought of it.

"He said he was investigating a complicated case and had no time to come back to Tokyo. A few days ago, he only returned to tell me something in person..." Ran didn't hide anything. In fact, she wished everyone else would treat it more seriously. Her dad's casual attitude toward his own safety gave her a headache. "He said someone wanted to warn Dad that he'd be in danger soon and should be careful..."

"Oh?" Hattori Heiji turned his sharp gaze back to Mouri Kogoro. "He's that concerned for this uncle's safety?"

"Come on, Shinichi and I have been childhood friends, okay?" Ran snapped, "Of course he cares about my dad. What's so strange about that?"

"A-choo!" Conan rubbed his nose and sneezed again.

"A-choo!" Kazawa covered his mouth and nose and sneezed as well.

"Wait, Kazawa, don't tell me Conan gave you his cold…" Ran turned to Kazawa with concern. "It is flu season right now…"