Conan: I'm really not the mastermind behind the scenes

Conan Edogawa did not sleep soundly.

So much had happened that day that the moment he closed his eyes, images of the Takeuchi family, the medical malpractice, the Karasuma Group, and other such things began to flash through his mind. He didn't know how much time had passed before he finally drifted off to sleep.

Then he was startled awake.

The hotel was in a Japanese style, and the door from the living room to the bedroom was a sliding door. He heard a loud "whoosh" as the sliding door was pulled open.

Conan Edogawa wasn't sleeping very soundly to begin with, and this sound completely woke him up. He opened his eyes and sat up.

Standing at the bedroom door was Morofushi Kagemitsu.

"Mr. Morofushi? What happened to you..."

He didn't finish his sentence.

The living room lights were off, with only moonlight streaming in from the window. He saw that the policeman's face was terrifyingly gloomy in the moonlight. He had never seen the man with such an ugly expression before, and the hand pressing on the door was so forceful that it seemed as if he could crush the fragile sliding door.

"Where's Aoyagi?"

Zhu Fujingguang asked.

Conan Edogawa was baffled. He turned his head and replied, "Mr. Aoyagi is right here..."

He didn't finish his sentence again.

Because he saw that the bedding next door was empty.

—Aoyagi Akimitsu has disappeared.

"........."

Without saying a word, Morofushi Kagemitsu turned around and went back to the living room amidst Conan Edogawa's shouts of "Wait! Mr. Morofushi!" He braced himself against the window frame with one hand and jumped directly from the second floor.

When Conan Edogawa threw off the covers and ran to the window to look down, he could only see Morofushi Kagemitsu chasing after a figure, running along the same path they had taken that afternoon.

Things happened so fast and so suddenly that Conan Edogawa didn't come to his senses until his figure disappeared.

What happened? Where did Aoyagi-san go? I was sleeping right next to him, why didn't I hear a sound? If something happened, why didn't he wake me? And what about Morofushi-san…?

Mr. Zhu Fu, who were you chasing just now?

All the problems piled up, giving Conan Edogawa a headache.

"Beep--"

Just as he was wondering what to do next, a faint sound of an electronic device starting up caught his attention.

He turned around in surprise and saw that the tracking glasses he had placed next to his pillow suddenly lit up, displaying a circular map with a dot of light moving rapidly in a certain direction.

He paused for a moment, then immediately understood.

"Could it be..."

……

Morobuchi Kagemitsu felt as if he had stepped on something when he landed.

He didn't have time to worry about that and went straight after Anisette in the direction she had left.

He soon saw Anisette's back, and she seemed to hear his footsteps chasing after her. Without turning around, she also started running.

Without much thought, Morobuki Kagemitsu sped up.

At that moment, he forgot his suspicions about someone and abandoned his vigilance as a police officer. Even though the thought of "could this be a trap?" had already flashed through his subconscious, he still chased after that figure when he saw his back.

They chased each other through the streets.

The moon hung in the night sky; it was a waning crescent, its gentle light enveloping the two of them.

The nights in small towns are always exceptionally quiet.

There were no pedestrians on the street, no office buildings with their lights on, and no convenience stores still open. Even in the city center, it was pitch black all around.

At an intersection, Morofushi Kagemitsu just managed to catch up with Aniseto.

Aniset actually ran to the city hall. Unlike city halls in big cities like Tokyo where there are still people on duty at night, the lights here were off, and there were only two security guards standing at the entrance, completely stunned as they ran over.

Aniset, clad in high heels, swiftly kicked out three times. The first kick sent one of the security guards flying, the second kick sent a second guard rolling on the ground several times, and the third kick landed on the door, sending the metal door flying more than ten meters before crashing into the opposite wall.

Zhu Fujing didn't have time to look at the two unlucky security guards who had fainted. He seized the brief gap in her attack, grabbed her shoulder, and finally pushed her down.

The two bodies fell heavily to the ground, one on top of the other, making quite a commotion.

The city hall was dark, and Morofushi Kagemitsu could not see the other person's face. He could only feel his heart pounding violently against that body.

"You're so fierce."

Aniset, who was temporarily restrained, did not struggle violently, but only let out a complaint.

As Morofushi Kagemitsu held her down, for some reason, he recalled that scene from three years ago...

……

"No need."

In the jewelry store, when offered to buy all the lipsticks that Morofushi Kagemitsu and Scotch Whisky liked, Anisette slowly replied, "One or two are enough. I can't possibly use more than that."

Morofushi Kagemitsu's only task at the moment was to make her happy, or at least prevent her from making things difficult for him. Hearing her say that, he naturally replied, "Okay, I'll do whatever you say." Then he asked, "Do you like this emerald?"

Aniset took the ring, but didn't put it on. She just looked it over as if assessing something: "Okay, that's about right."

Morofushi Kagemitsu: "Then I'll buy it for you?"

Anisette: "Hmm."

The saleswoman, all smiles, calculated her commission and prepared to take Morofushi Hiromitsu to pay the bill. Just then, Anisette called her back.

"Do you have any earrings with blue diamonds or sapphires here?" she said. "I want to buy him a gift too, the color of which is as close as possible to his eye color."

The salesperson reacted even faster than Morobushi Kagemitsu: "Okay, please wait a moment."

Watching her departing figure again, Morofushi Kagemitsu hesitated for a moment: "Are you going to give me an earring?"

“Yes,” Aniset said. “I like people and animals that listen to me, and since I’m also a little interested in you, I’ve decided to give you a gift.”

Morofushi Kagemitsu paused for a moment: "What I mean is, why an earring? I don't have pierced ears."

“It’s not difficult to wear it now,” Aniset said matter-of-factly.

Zhu Fu Jingguang: "..."

He was certain that when she said "get it pierced on the spot," she didn't mean taking him to a shop to get his ears pierced immediately, but rather that she meant forcibly piercing them by sticking the earring post directly into his ear.

Seeing that he didn't say anything, Anisette grabbed his arm and shook it: "You'll look really good in it, it'll only hurt for a moment, I promise I'll be gentle—okay?"

Morofushi Kagemitsu: "…………"

He silently pondered whether this would cause inflammation, and whether he should appropriately refuse or even get angry.

However, before that, he had a question:
"You're like this with the piano..." He paused, not saying the code name aloud, "...is it the same?"

"Him? Soft approaches won't work with him, we have to be tough."

Aniseth released his hand.

Morofushi Kagemitsu glanced at the salesperson who was talking to her colleague about finding suitable earrings, and followed up by asking, "For example?"

“For example, I saw a dress that I thought would suit his silver hair perfectly, and I wanted him to try it on. He refused.” Aniset sighed. “I didn’t mean any harm. I even thought of a matching hairstyle, and he still refused. We’re such good friends.”

Zhu Fu Jingguang: "..."

Should he say Gin is scary, or should he say Anisette, who tried to make Gin wear a skirt, is scary...? No, wait, is this true? Maybe he should ask his childhood friend who's an intelligence agent if he's heard about this?

"And then?" he asked.

"I put it on anyway."

Aniset became happy again.

"He was injured on the second day of the mission and couldn't move for the time being, so I put that piece of clothing on him. When he struggled, the wound reopened, and it looked so pitiful, so I asked the doctor to tie his hands and feet up, and then I tied his hair up into two big braids."

Zhu Fu Jingguang: "..."

...Forget it, he decided not to pollute Bourbon's ears with such things; he could just listen to it himself.

“So,” Aniset looked at him, quite helplessly, “if he had listened to me from the beginning, things wouldn’t have turned out this way—we’re actually very good friends, and if I had other ways to get him to follow my instructions, I really wouldn’t want to hurt him.”

Zhu Fujingguang was taken aback.

Then came a chill that rose up my back.

……

Morofushi Kagemitsu knew that he had never understood Aniset.

She is in a high position, inexplicably willful like a rich young lady, likes to act coquettishly and inappropriately, and... is absolutely self-centered and brutal, full of organizational style.

But none of that mattered anymore; what he wanted was organizational intelligence. What kind of person Aniset was had nothing to do with the Public Security Bureau.

"why do you ignore me?"

Aniset spoke again.

The question sounded familiar, and before Morobuchi Kagemitsu could recall where he had heard it before, he sensed Anisette move.

"Fine, ignore me if you want. I have my own things to do, so don't bother me."

As she spoke, she broke free from him—she was incredibly strong, and he couldn't even hold her down with both of his hands—she easily escaped his control.

Anisette remained calm and composed. She grabbed his arm, but didn't get up or retaliate further. She maintained this posture, observing Morofushi Kagemitsu who was so close to her.

“A child has come,” she said. “Did they come with you? Are they your children?”

what are you going to do?
Before Morofushi Kagemitsu could voice his unspoken thoughts, he heard Anisette speak to him in a sweet and cheerful tone:

"Scotland, for your safety and the safety of the children, marry me right here, right now."

Zhu Fu Jingguang: "..."

Morofushi Kagemitsu: "??!!!!" (End of Chapter)