Detective Conan: Death Note

"The Sherlock Holmes of Heisei is actually the Lupin of Heisei!?"

"Shocking Identity Reversal!"

"High school detective Shinichi Kudo has been missing for several days, but when he reappears, he has become an international thief!"

"Information about visiting Kudo Shinichi"

"The identity of Kaito Kid is revealed!"

"The time when Kudo Shinichi disappeared and Kaito Kid reappeared basically coincided!"

The next day, the whole of Tokyo was flooded with news about this.

Not only the media but also the citizens were privately discussing the matter with unusual intensity. Now, you could hear people talking about it everywhere.

"Good fellow, I didn't expect that, Kudo, you actually had such a secret identity."

"How could it be me!? How do you feel now?"

Listening to the Kansai-accented teasing from the other end of the phone, Conan, with a gloomy face, now just wanted to bite someone.

He hung up the phone in great frustration.

When Conan came out of the bathroom and entered the living room, he heard Sonoko shouting:

"What the hell!? The Kaito Kid I was looking forward to is actually that Kudo guy!?"

"No, no, no, no! I can't accept this!"

"Damn you, Kudo Shinichi, you've destroyed all my dreams and expectations!"

She was so furious at her idol's collapsed reputation that her eyes were brimming with tears, but she also made Conan so angry that cross veins popped up on his forehead.

Ran gave a bitter smile.

"Okay, Sonoko... I have a feeling that it's not Shinichi."

"What do you mean 'it's not'!? I watched the live broadcast several times last night—it was Kudo!"

"Maybe there's some misunderstanding?"

Ran didn't know what else to say, so she could only smile helplessly.

"And if you were so angry, why did you keep cheering for Yoshiki to catch him?"

"Of course, because Yoshiki is more handsome!"

Sonoko said this confidently, then sighed:

"Ah, it would've been perfect if the face under Kaito Kid's disguise was Brother Yoshiki's..."

"It would've been bad if Brother Yoshiki got arrested though."

"That's true..."

The two girls fell silent.

At that moment, Mouri Kogoro's furious roar came from the stairs outside the door:

"I told you, Kudo Shinichi is not here! Do you reporters have ears!? How many times do I have to tell you before you understand!?"

Then the door opened.

He stormed in from outside, cursing:

"Really, these media people have nothing better to do all day!"

"Dad."

"Well, I think you shouldn't go out these days, Ran. It seems all those reporters want to get information about that guy from you."

Mouri Kogoro sat down with an unhappy look:

"That guy—he doesn't want to be a detective, but he wants to be a thief!"

"That doesn't necessarily mean it's Shinichi..."

"Yes! That's definitely not Shinichi-nii-san!"

Conan quickly stepped forward to defend himself.

However, at this point, the media and newspapers had basically confirmed it.

Conan didn't dare to imagine—if he hadn't become small, he would've been completely surrounded by reporters, unable to even leave his house.

No, the police might have even come to arrest me by now...

Knock knock knock.

Maori Detective Agency.

Mouri Kogoro, who had just lit a cigarette, immediately became furious.

He walked quickly to the door, cursing:

"How many times do I have to tell you reporters—you're like flies—"

"Good morning, Uncle Mouri."

"Uh, it's you, Yoshiki...?"

When he saw Hayashi Yoshiki's face clearly, Mouri Kogoro's words got stuck, and he immediately stepped aside.

Hayashi Yoshiki walked into the house carrying a gift.

"Brother Yoshiki!"

Sonoko and Ran greeted him immediately.

"Well, is Sonoko here too? Good morning."

"Good morning, Brother Yoshiki~"

Hayashi Yoshiki was smiling. Conan looked at him, hearing his sweet tone but seeing that gritted teeth smile.

—Kaito Kid is in the same group as Hayashi Yoshiki, and now he hates the whole family as well.

"Good morning, Conan. How did you sleep last night?"

"I slept very well!" I didn't sleep at all.

"That's good. Children should get more sleep—it's the time when they grow."

Hayashi Yoshiki smiled as he patted his head.

Conan even remembered—it was the same spot where he got a huge bump last night.

But, with Ran, Sonoko, and the others present, Conan couldn't get angry. He could only turn away, sulking.

"Since you're here, why did you even bring something?" Although Mouri Kogoro said this, he was actually very happy.

"Just two bottles of wine and some skincare products for the girls."

Hayashi Yoshiki smiled, then looked at Ran:

"I asked Aunt Eri for advice, and she helped me choose the skincare products, so feel free to use them."

"Thank you, Brother Yoshiki..."

While Mouri Kogoro was making strange pleased noises because of the wine, Ran's smile was bright.

At that moment, Sonoko shouted, her eyes sparkling:

"Brother Yoshiki, you looked so handsome last night!"

"Yeah?"

Hayashi Yoshiki chuckled.

"It's good that we managed to protect the Blue Miracle. By the way, is Mr. Suzuki Jirokichi okay?"

"Yeah, Uncle Jiro is fine. He was knocked out by the Phantom Thief—no, by Kudo Shinichi last night and tied up in a room. But he got furious when he saw the news this morning."

Sonoko grinned.

"Not only did the newspaper front page have nothing to do with him, but even the ad he wanted to place for the Suzuki Museum got squeezed into a tiny corner. He also said something like 'When I catch that Kudo Shinichi brat, I'll teach him a lesson!'"

Conan turned away, his teeth grinding in rage.

"So."

Hayashi Yoshiki glanced at him, smiled, then turned to Ran with concern:

"But Ran, are you okay?"

"Eh? I'm fine, Brother Yoshiki."

"That's good. I was a little worried you'd be upset after hearing all this."

"That won't happen..."

Although she was slightly shaken, Ran still didn't believe Kudo Shinichi could be Kaito Kid.

"But you might have trouble going to school for a while."

Hayashi Yoshiki looked out the window.

"Some persistent reporters will ride this wave of popularity and frantically try to find people connected to Kudo Shinichi for interviews or to dig up more information about him. It's quite a headache."

Even Inspector Megure and his colleagues had been visited by reporters.

For example, topics like 'The police previously allowed a thief who fooled them to be the hero of the case'.

In short, they would do whatever it took to make the news sell.

This farce would probably drag on for quite a while.

As long as Kudo Shinichi doesn't reappear because of his disappearance, the identity of Kaito Kid will stick to him like yellow mud falling into his crotch—impossible to shake off.

But it's easy to clear things up.

All we need is for Kuroba Kaito to make his move...