I'm in Conan, I'm not a gangster

Chapter 572 An Accidental Encounter with Makoto Kyogoku (2nd Update)
Friday afternoon, Tokyo Station, Shinkansen entrance.

The afterglow of the setting sun spilled onto the station square, bathing the passersby in a warm golden light.

Shiraishi E changed into a simple dark blue casual outfit, stood near the ticket gate with one hand in her pocket, and scanned the crowd, looking for Sonoko's figure.

Suddenly, his gaze fixed on a beautiful figure not far away—

After confirming several times, he finally realized that this was the garden.

The other person was wearing a pink and white dress, with her short hair flowing smoothly over her shoulders. Her headband had been removed, making her look much more gentle and graceful.

She walked over, wearing beige leather shoes and carrying a delicate woven handbag.

Shiraishi E raised an eyebrow slightly. After taking off the headband, he almost didn't recognize her: "Sonoko, over here!"

Sonoko saw Shiraishi E after hearing the sound, and ran over, her skirt swaying gently with her movements.

"How about it?" She spun around, winking triumphantly. "I've changed from head to toe, no one will recognize me now, right?"

Shiraishi looked her up and down and couldn't help but chuckle: "You've really changed a lot... But even if you turned to ashes, I would still recognize you at a glance."

Sonoko pouted: "Hey! That's such an unromantic metaphor!"

Shiraishi E chuckled and reached out to ruffle her hair, saying, "What I mean is—no matter how you dress up, the only thing that remains unchanged is that you're still so beautiful."

Sonoko's cheeks flushed instantly, but she couldn't help but smile. She grabbed Shiraishi E's arm and pressed herself against her, saying sweetly, "You know how to talk~ Let's go, let's go, the car's about to leave!"

Just as the two turned to leave, suddenly—

"Shiraishi-kun! How can you do this to Sonoko?!"

A furious shout rang out from behind, startling passersby who all turned to look.

Shiraishi E and Sonoko were both startled and turned around to see a tall, dark-skinned boy standing a few steps away, his brows furrowed and his fists clenched so tightly they cracked.

Sonoko blinked and muttered softly, "Who is this person?"

Shiraishi E whispered a reminder: "Kyogoku Makoto, remember? The karate champion from when we were on vacation in Izu, the one who said he fell in love with you at first sight."

"Ah!" Sonoko suddenly realized, then pouted, somewhat annoyed, and muttered under her breath, "What... He said he liked me, but I couldn't even recognize him when I stood right in front of him?"

She used to be quite happy about being secretly admired, but now she just finds it ridiculous—how can someone like someone if they can't even recognize them?
Shiraishi E looked at Kyogoku Makoto and said calmly, "Kyogoku, there are so many beautiful girls in the world, why do you insist on focusing on Sonoko?"

Makoto Kyogoku's gaze was firm, and his voice was loud: "You don't understand! This is love! Since you don't cherish Sonoko, then break up with her!"

Shiraishi E sighed and said to Kyogoku Makoto, "If you like her, you can go after her. I'm not stopping you."

Makoto Kyogoku opened his mouth, but couldn't utter a single word... If he had the courage, he would have done it long ago.

By this time, Sonoko had lost her patience and said, "Please... you can't even recognize me standing right in front of you, and you still have the nerve to talk about 'love'?"

Makoto Kyogoku was stunned for a moment, then looked closely at Sonoko. A few seconds later, his pupils suddenly contracted, and his face instantly turned red: "You...you're Sonoko?!"

Sonoko snorted, too lazy to pay him any attention, and tugged at Shiraishi E's sleeve: "E, let's go, let's ignore him."

Makoto Kyogoku then realized that he hadn't recognized the girl he had been longing for, and he was so annoyed that he wanted to crawl into a hole in the ground.

Watching the two figures turn and leave, Makoto Kyogoku clenched his fists, struggled internally for a few seconds, and finally gritted his teeth—

"Wait! I...I'll go to Osaka with you!"

Shiraishi E and Sonoko stopped in their tracks at the same time, turning around to look at him as if he were an idiot.

Sonoko was speechless: "...Are you sick in the head?"

Makoto Kyogoku hurriedly waved his hand and explained, "I'm not sick! The Kansai Karate Association invited me to Osaka for an exchange match, it was arranged a long time ago!"

As he spoke, he pulled a crumpled invitation from his backpack.

Shiraishi E took the invitation and glanced at it; it was indeed stamped with the official seal of the Kansai Karate Federation.

"Forget it, the Shinkansen isn't ours anyway." Sonoko pouted and quickly pulled Shiraishi E toward the ticket counter. Seeing this, Kyogoku Makoto hurriedly followed, looking like a large dog that had done something wrong.

The three of them bought bento boxes at a convenience store on the platform.

Sonoko specially chose the most expensive premium Wagyu beef bento, intending to share it with Shiraishi E, but she was dumbfounded when she got on the train—only the last row of three seats was left in the entire carriage.

"What terrible luck!" Sonoko muttered under her breath, reluctantly sitting down in a window seat.

Shiraishi E sat naturally in the middle, while Kyogoku Makoto stood like a gatekeeper blocking one side of the aisle.

After the train started moving, Sonoko glared angrily at Makoto Kyogoku across from her, feeling that he had no sense of propriety at all.

Disrupting my precious time alone with E Shiraishi!
Kyogoku Makoto opened the bento box and began to wolf it down, completely unaware of the murderous glare in her eyes.

What's even more infuriating is that he would occasionally exclaim, "This fried shrimp is so delicious!" It was just like a scene from a food show.

Shiraishi noticed Sonoko's displeasure, pinched her cheek, and said, "You should sleep for a while. Once we get to Osaka, you'll have plenty of energy and can have a lot of fun!"

"Mmm." Sonoko felt that this was the only way, so she rested her head on his shoulder.

Shiraishi E gently adjusted her posture to make Sonoko more comfortable.

He watched Kyogoku Makoto intently eating his bento and, curious about the life of a fighter, struck up a conversation: "Kyogoku-kun, do you often travel to different places for sparring?"

“Hmm.” Kyogoku Makoto nodded, swallowed the food, and said, “At least twice a month.”

"And what about when there are no competitions?"

"A 10-kilometer morning run, 500 repetitions of basic exercises, and three hours of sparring." Makoto Kyogoku answered methodically, his fingers unconsciously gesturing moves on his knees.

Shiraishi E raised an eyebrow: "Aren't there any entertainment options?"

Makoto Kyogoku thought about it seriously for a moment: "I'll be working as an assistant instructor at a children's dojo on Wednesday afternoons, and I'll occasionally work part-time at a convenience store on weekends."

After saying that, she added, "Working can help you practice your speed and accuracy at the checkout counter, which is also helpful for your spiritual practice."

Shiraishi E chuckled: "Your lifestyle is even more rigorous than that of an ascetic."

“My master said that martial arts are about practicing in daily life,” Kyogoku Makoto said with a devout expression.

Shiraishi E nodded and said, "That's true. Only through hard work and sweat can one achieve such success."

Makoto Kyogoku adjusted his glasses and said earnestly, "Shiraishi-kun, I'd like to spar with you."

These words made Sonoko raise an eyebrow, thinking that two men dueling for her sake was a pretty good script!

Just thinking about it made her smile.

Shiraishi E asked with amusement, "In what capacity?"

Makoto Kyogoku said seriously, "As a fighter."

Upon hearing this, Sonoko pouted, thinking that this guy really wasn't romantic at all!

Shiraishi was not surprised by this answer; the other party's energy was focused on fighting.

The other person didn't know what Sonoko wanted, but he did.

So he said, "I want to challenge you as a rival in love. Whoever loses... will stop bothering Sonoko!"

Sure enough, upon hearing this, Sonoko could no longer pretend to be asleep and became excited: "Great! Great! You two can fight over me!"

Makoto Kyogoku frowned, somewhat disliking this approach, feeling that such sparring wasn't entirely pure.

Shiraishi E warned, "Unless you agree to this condition, I will not spar with you."

Hearing this, Makoto Kyogoku knew he had no choice and could only nod: "Okay, I agree!"

(End of this chapter)