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Shiho was roughly shaken awake. Groaning at being pulled out of her sleep, she slowly sat up - then froze as her eyes met the purple ones of the girl sitting next to her. “Mouri-san,” she breathed out, immediately sitting up. “What are you doing here?”
Ran bit her lip nervously, looking around. “What are you doing here, Miyano-san?”
Shiho almost said “This is my house,” but as she looked around, she realized that, no, this was not her house. “We’ve been kidnapped, haven’t we?” Shiho asked, her throat feeling dry.
“I think so,” Ran murmured, her gaze unwilling to meet Shiho’s.
Shiho got up to her feet. “Let’s look around and try to get an idea of where we are,” she said. “Kudo-kun probably knows what has happened to us and is doing his own investigation. We can depend on him to help us if anything goes wrong.” She paused, then amended her statement, saying, “Well, worse than it already has.”
Ran chuckled without much emotion. “Yeah, sure.” Shiho held out a hand and helped Ran to her feet.
Talking with Ran was awkward for Shiho. Ran was dating Shinichi, whom Shiho was in love with. Shiho wasn’t going to be jealous of Ran, but it was still strange. However, Ran had never been this awkward around her before. It’s probably just because we’ve been kidnapped, Shiho reasoned. That has to be it, right?
Ran’s behavior became even stranger as Shiho walked around the room, searching for a way out. Ran was the type of person for small talk, but she was unusually silent. As Shiho finally finished searching, determining that the tightly locked door was the only way out, she headed back to Ran. “Is something wrong?”
Ran startled, staring at Shiho, then shook her head. “No, nothing.”
Shiho sighed. “You can tell me.” The words were hard to say.
Ran looked at Shiho, then said, “I’m sorry. This might be my fault. Because Shinichi and I…”
Shiho swallowed. “You think the kidnappers took us to get back at Kudo-kun. And you think it’s your fault, because you’re dating him.”
Ran shook her head. “No. Well, yes, but… Shinichi and I, we’re not dating anymore.”
“...Oh,” Shiho said. That was… surprising. “But-”
“The kidnappers probably don’t know that,” Ran said. “It was a pretty recent thing, and the last time I was present during one of Shinichi’s cases, we were still together. So…” She sighed. “They probably took you because you just happened to be with me at the time, or something.”
Shiho thought about it, then realized Ran was right, they had been at Agasa’s place together. Ran had been going to pick something up that she had forgotten the last time she was there. Shiho remembered watching her leave, but… “We were at Hakase’s place. If anyone was taken because they happened to be there at the wrong time, it was you.”
Ran glanced away. “Are… you sure?”
“No,” Shiho admitted. “But the kidnapper’s motive isn’t our primary concern right now. We should be focusing on getting out.”
Ran nodded quickly. “You’re right.”
“Do you have a hairclip?” Shiho asked. Ran took one out of her hair and handed it to Shiho. “Thank you,” she said, getting down on one knee and attempting to pick the lock in the door.
“Shinichi and I…” Ran started, then paused, a bit awkwardly. She continued again. “We broke up because we hadn’t been in love with each other for months. And he… he loved someone else.”
“Oh, really,” Shiho murmured. She saw Ran give her a meaningful glance, but, unsure how to interpret it, she continued lockpicking.
“You’re in love with him, aren’t you?” Ran questioned.
Shiho froze, then continued on as if Ran’s question hadn’t shaken her. “Yes, I am.”
“Maybe you have a chance,” Ran whispered quietly.
“Like you said…” Finally, the door opened, and Shiho returned the hairclip to Ran. “He’s in love with someone else.”
Ran didn’t reply to that.
Shiho sighed. “Like I said before, we can depend on Kudo-kun to help us if we need it. I’m sure he’s already narrowed down the suspects for our kidnappers. Our goal is to try and get ourselves out on our own.”
The moment Agasa called Shinichi, telling him that his newly installed security cameras showed Shiho and Ran getting kidnapped, Shinichi began investigating. Ran was his best friend, and Shiho… Shiho was the person he could depend on. The person he could hand his life to and trust that it would be kept safe. The person he loved. He had to find them and get them back… No matter what.
If only that task weren’t so difficult.
The kidnappers, whoever they were, had covered any identifying physical characteristics in the footage Shinichi saw. He sent it to Takagi and told him about the situation, and now, Shinichi was working with the police department to find Shiho and Ran’s kidnappers.
“Any leads?” Takagi asked him as he set a cup of coffee down at the desk Shinichi was currently settled at.
Shinichi sighed. “Debatable. I’m looking through my most recent cases right now.”
Takagi nodded. “That makes sense.”
“As for motive…” Shinichi thought. “It would make sense if they just took Ran, and at a location Ran frequents. The last case we went on together was back when we were still dating.” He saw Takagi’s shocked expression at the realization that they weren’t still dating, but Shinichi didn’t expand on that. “But they took the two of them in front of Hakase’s place instead, where Miyano lives. Doesn’t that make her the target?”
“What about that organization?” Takagi questioned.
“I already looked into that,” Shinichi said. “It can’t be them. Feel free to double check, though.” He passed the file to Takagi, who nodded and left.
Shinichi turned back to his own files, then paused as one caught his attention. Picking it up, he thought, Well, maybe this one is a lead…
Shiho quickly determined that whoever kidnapped them must have been rich, because this house was huge. Glancing at Ran, she noticed that the other girl seemed to vaguely recognize the place. “Do you know where we are?” Shiho asked her.
“I don’t know…” Ran murmured. “It… It looks familiar, but…” She sighed. “I’m not sure.”
“Tell me if you think of anything,” Shiho said, dragging her eyes back forward and continuing on.
“Alright,” Ran agreed. The two continued walking.
As they progressed throughout the mansion, Shiho began to worry. No one had seen them yet. Wouldn’t the kidnappers at least be keeping an eye on them? They were hostages, after all.
“Miyano-san?” Ran questioned. “Is something wrong?”
“Yeah,” Shiho admitted. “The kidnappers… they aren’t coming out.”
Ran breathed out. “I see. I guess you’d find that suspicious. You and Shinichi were always the more suspicious types, after all.”
Shiho gave her a look. “What do you mean by that?”
“I mean you’re both detectives,” Ran said, then quickly added, “of a sort,” at Shiho’s look. “I mean… you guys both solve mysteries. For Shinichi, he’s passionate about it, while you aren’t. But in your own ways, you guys are both detectives.” She smiled slightly. “You guys have that in common. But me? I don’t have anything in common with him… or at least not enough for our relationship to have worked out in the long-term.”
Shiho sighed. “You and Kudo-kun do have a lot of similarities, Mouri-san. Would you like me to list them all?”
Ran held up her hands in front of her, as if to ward Shiho off. “No! No thank you!”
Shiho managed to smile lightly, but then she realized what Ran had said before. “Are you trying to set up Kudo-kun and I?”
Ran’s smile faltered. “What… What do you mean?”
Shiho sighed. “You should stop. Like you said before, his heart is already taken by another. Let him be happy together with whoever that other person is.”
Ran had a strange look on her face. “I…”
“Who does he like anyway, for you to want him to end up with me instead?” Shiho muttered. “Kaitou Kid?”
Ran was silent, a conflicted look on her face. Shiho sighed and continued walking through the mansion.
“Yamagata Nori,” Shinichi said, slamming the paper down on the table. “Brother of Yamagata Bunko, who was arrested a month ago for murder. Yamagata Nori promised revenge, and now…” He breathed out. “By kidnapping Ran and Miyano, he’s trying to get it.”
“Any potential accomplices?” Takagi questioned, glancing over the paper.
“Yes. His girlfriend…” Shinichi handed another paper to Takagi. “Horie Rei.”
Takagi breathed in suddenly. “I’ve heard of her. She’s suspected to be involved in many gang-related crimes. If she’s involved…”
“Then Miyano and Ran are in trouble,” Shinichi said darkly. “We have to get to Yamagata-san’s place as soon as possible.”
Takagi’s eyes widened. “We… can’t just barge in. Can we?”
Shinichi grinned. “Oh, never underestimate the power of a teenage detective. If anyone asks, you know nothing, okay?” He bolted off, ignoring Takagi’s cry for him to wait.
Shinichi knew Shiho like the back of his hand. He knew she would depend on him if there was a tough situation where she had to admit she couldn’t handle it.
Shinichi needed to be there for her.
Shiho had known their luck would run out eventually.
She and Ran froze as they entered a drawing room with a man sitting at the table silently. Ran took in a deep breath. “Yamagata Nori,” she whispered. “He’s the brother of a culprit Shinichi arrested.”
“I am,” Yamagata muttered. “I… I wanted my revenge, so…” He laughed. His voice sounded hollow. “I kidnapped you guys.”
“Let us out,” Shiho said coldly.
“Why should I?” Yamagata demanded.
Ran grabbed Shiho’s arm. “Be careful, Miyano-san,” she whispered. “He…”
“You have your karate, don’t you?” Shiho questioned.
Ran nodded. “Yeah, I do, but Yamagata-san has his girlfriend.”
Shiho raised her eyebrow. “...huh?”
“Horei Rei.”
Yamagata raised his head. “Rei and I broke up,” he whispered. “You don’t need to worry about her.”
Ran paused, looking conflicted, but Shiho just said, “Alright then. Release us, or my friend here will beat your ass.” Shiho didn’t believe she had ever said those words before, but she wasn’t exactly interested in finding a more formal way to say it right now.
Thankfully, “beat your ass” had the intended effect, since Yamagata’s eyes widened. “Alright,” he muttered. “I just… I just wanted to scare off that detective boy, I guess…”
But as Yamagata slowly got up, the door busted open and a woman pointed a gun at him. “Nori!” She screamed. “I’ll teach you for breaking up with my sister!”
“Horie Momoko,” Ran whispered. “She was in the case too.”
“Doesn’t matter,” Shiho hissed out. “What matters right now is that we’re in danger.”
Shinichi’s skateboard stopped in front of Yamagata’s house and, immediately, he ran towards the door, stopping for a moment as he realized said door was already unlocked. What’s going on? He ran inside and paused as he saw Horie Momoko pointing a gun at Yamagata Nori. Pulling his eyes away, he noticed Shiho and Ran, the latter clutching tightly to the former’s shoulders. His eyes met Shiho’s, and she gave him a small nod, pushing Ran backwards as a precaution.
Shinichi took out a soccer ball from his belt and kicked it at Horie.
Horie gave a cry of surprise, but it didn’t last long, as the soccer ball soon knocked her into unconsciousness. Letting out a short breath, Shinichi turned to Yamagata and raised his eyebrows. “You want to play me as well?” He deliberately touched his belt.
Yamagata quickly shook his head. “No thank you! I was just releasing them anyway!”
Shinichi looked at Shiho, and she said, “That’s true.”
Shinichi sighed, dropping his arm to his side. “Come to the police station, Yamagata-san. Someone bring Horie-san as well.”
Ran picked Horie up with ease and the four of them made their way out. Shinichi walked next to Shiho. “Are you guys okay?”
Shiho nodded. “Yeah, we are.”
Shinichi smiled. “Great. I knew I could depend on you to keep Ran safe. And yourself, of course.”
Shiho raised an eyebrow at that, but said nothing in response.
It was only when they were at the police station that Shiho asked, “Do you have feelings for Kaitou Kid?”
Shinichi choked on his coffee. “ What?! ”
Shiho turned her cool look towards him. “Mouri-san said that you’re in love with someone, but at the same time, she tried to set us up. Therefore, whoever you like isn’t someone she approves of.”
“I do not like Kid,” Shinichi hissed out. “I mean, he’s cool and all, for a criminal, but I don’t like him.” Glancing away, he muttered. “Besides, maybe she was trying to set us up because you’re the one I’m in love with.”
“...oh.”
Shinichi looked back at her to see a blush on her face. “Oh? That’s all you have to say?”
Shiho smiled lightly. “You want me to say more? Alright then. I love you too.”