The establishment of the Time Travelers Alliance began in the first year of Conan

Chapter 194 The "break" between red and black (three in one, asking for monthly tickets QAQ)

For Koizumi Hongzi, it was like she was back in the past, rushing to school because she was late.

Or, like a graduated student who secretly takes a leave of absence on a weekday and sneaks into school to try to regain old memories.

Everything looks familiar yet strange.

The cement floor is still smooth, and some of the damaged edges of the playground track have not been repaired.

The teaching building stood quietly, the blue glass windows on both sides reflecting the flowing clouds in the sky. The row of green plants at the entrance of the teaching building was as lush as when I left.

It was as if I was away for a few days instead of a few months.

Even this time, when she and Kuroba Kaito returned to Jiangda High School, the whole journey was surprisingly calm.

No surprises at all.

The contingency plan sent to her by the Reality Intervention Department emerged in her mind, and that precise and calm voice rang in Koizumi Hongzi's ears.

"Your operation this time should go smoothly. Based on our analysis of the [story timeline], it's unlikely to affect Jianggutian High School at this point."

"This operation doesn't require the use of red magic. The Alliance has already prepared a pretext for you. Since it's beneficial to reality to a certain extent, according to analysis, the [real timeline] won't interfere with your actions this time."

"So, just treat it as a vacation."

At that time, in addition to the contingency plan, the crystal ball used for communication also displayed a picture showing a TDD location near Gutian High School that the alliance had pre-arranged during the retrospective.

"However, to be on the safe side and to record the relevant movements of the dual timelines, two basic versions of TDD and APTX-4869 have been placed in the corresponding locations. The specific locations are as follows..."

Koizumi Hongzi looked down at her wrist. Unlike before, she now had a bright silver watch on her wrist.

— is TDD in disguise.

The pointers on the dial shone silver in the sunlight. They did not fluctuate even slightly due to the shaking of her wrist, which told Hongzi that there were no abnormal fluctuations in the RSI values around.

It's class time now, and the campus is so quiet that it's a little unreal.

Apart from the faint sound of the teacher's lecture in the teaching building, the playground was empty and my memory of the class schedule was already very vague.

Hongzi wasn't sure if this was a real thing or if there really wasn't a physical education class today.

Stopping in front of the teaching building, Koizumi Hongzi looked up and glanced at the clock hanging in the center.

——It’s nine o’clock sharp.

She stopped and looked back, but Kuroba Kaito still didn't catch up with her.

Koizumi Hongzi was silent for a moment, and finally she sighed softly.

In that case, just treat it as a normal task and complete it.

"Da da da--"

The crisp sound of footsteps echoed in the empty corridor, and then, at the moment the bell rang, Koizumi Hongzi stood at the familiar classroom door.

After hesitating for a moment, the hand finally rested on the door handle, and then with a "swish", the door was opened.

The various sounds that were originally intertwined in the classroom seemed to be drained away in an instant.

The teacher who had just stepped down from the podium, as well as the entire class of students, all turned their gazes towards her almost at the same moment.

Time in the classroom stood still for a moment, but the silence only lasted for a moment.

Just a second later, everyone continued their conversation as if nothing had happened.

The classroom instantly returned to the bustle of the break.

The students were chatting, flipping through books, and packing up their things in their seats. The teacher was organizing her lesson plans. Occasionally someone would glance at her sideways, but there was no expression of surprise or excitement.

It was as if everyone had ignored the fact that the witch had disappeared for several months.

——No one called out the familiar "Hongzi-sama".

The tense feeling in Koizumi Hongzi's heart finally relaxed.

That's right.

After completely eliminating the "magic" in the dual timelines, the influence of the witch's characteristics in herself has become very small.

The lingering effects of the red magic he had used on those students in the past certainly couldn't last for several months.

No one gathered around her enthusiastically anymore, no one called her "Lady Hongzi" in an almost pious tone anymore...

All this actually made her feel inexplicably relieved.

Otherwise, it would be like when a person grows up and his family mentions his childish behavior in some public occasion.

Koizumi Akako wasn't sure if she would just "run away" because of those voices.

Koizumi Akako absolutely doesn't want to recall her past personality of being overly tsundere, somewhat narcissistic, and even doing exaggerated things.

more importantly--

Ever since she learned that her act of resisting the prophecy given by the crystal ball was actually still a part of "fate", Hongzi even felt a vague disgust towards her past self who used magic to control others.

She hated fate.

However, the indifference and forgetfulness shown to her also caused a gloom to flash in Koizumi Hongzi's eyes.

after all--

Is all this happening now due to the disappearance of magic's influence, or is it some kind of interference from reality...

Blinking gently, Koizumi Hongzi put away the complicated emotions in her mind.

The key now is to complete the alliance's mission.

……

For Nakamori Aoko, Kuroba Kaito had disappeared from school and home for several months.

Whether it was her, Aunt Chikage, or Mr. Terai, they only received news from Kaito in the usual weekly text messages. Even the content was just a simple sentence, and it never changed at all.

"I'm safe now, don't worry about me."

But how could Qingzi not worry?

This would undoubtedly cause a high school student to have some bad associations. She had wild thoughts countless times at night and even couldn't help but guess about possible bad situations.

Injured? Being chased?

Or maybe that recurring text message every week is just...

However, as time went on, her anxiety grew stronger and stronger. Even after asking her father to investigate, her uneasiness finally turned into real fear.

"I'm so sorry, Aoko."

That day, Ginzo Nakamori was sitting in the living room, and there was a hint of helplessness and heaviness in his voice.

"But we really didn't find any trace of Kaito."

Her father's words made Nakamori Aoko's heart sink instantly. Her fingertips trembled slightly and her lips trembled a few times, but no sound came out.

Looking at his daughter's haggard expression, Nakamori Ginzo could only comfort her in this way.

"Maybe Kuai Dou really was delayed by something important..."

Even he himself doesn't quite believe it.

Even recently, Hakuba volunteered to help him find Kaito, but in the end, nothing happened.

And now, Hongzi is back.

For Aoko Nakamori, her heart beat faster when she saw the familiar figure appear at the door.

Almost subconsciously, she stood up from her seat and ran towards the door with uncontrollable excitement.

In her opinion, Hongzi's appearance meant only one thing—

Kaito disappeared at that time just to track down Hongzi!

So now that Hongzi has appeared, it means Kaito must be here too!

Then, when she ran towards the classroom door and her eyes fell on the porch, Nakamori Aoko's footsteps suddenly stopped.

——Only Koizumi Akako was on the porch.

At that moment, Nakamori Aoko's pupils contracted slightly, and she could even hear the sound of her heart pounding in her chest.

The bad premonition in her mind even made Nakamori Aoko feel dizzy and unable to stand.

Her lips trembled slightly: "Hongzi-san! Fight him quickly... Fight him quickly--!"

Koizumi Hongzi just looked quietly at Aoko, whose face was full of anxiety.

"Kaito is safe now, Aoko. I just saw him a few minutes ago."

"Then where is he now——"

"Nakamori Aoko, you don't have to worry about Kaito's safety."

Koizumi Hongzi paused and did not answer Aoko's question about where Kaito was.

"He is busy with something very important now. He will come to see you when he is done."

But for Aoko Nakamori, what's the difference between this and every time she received a "safe" text message from Kaito in the past?

But this time, Hongzi told him the information himself.

The relevant information in the second plan emerged in Hongzi's mind.

"...We just need to repeatedly confirm with Nakamori Aoko and assure her of Kuroba Kaito's safety. Based on our psychological analysis and prediction, this is enough to maintain Nakamori Aoko..."

But at this moment, Koizumi Akako was standing in front of Nakamori Aoko.

She saw Nakamori Aoko suddenly drop down, as if something was broken in her eyes.

A deep silence separated Nakamori Aoko and Koizumi Akako.

Then, Qingzi finally spoke - her voice was very soft, even with a hint of cautious tentativeness.

"Can I know what he's doing?"

Nakamori Aoko's words made Koizumi Akako sigh in her heart. She originally didn't intend to reveal too much.

The Reality Interference Department's contingency plan told her that this operation did not require the use of red magic, and in order to prevent accidents, she should also strictly abide by the principle of minimum interference.

But Koizumi Akako finally changed her mind, or rather, chose to change her plan.

A crimson light that was invisible to others lit up from his wrist, and then the reality anchor on the TDD was activated.

Koizumi Hongzi combined the two different contingency plans in her mind: "He went to save the world."

"Eh--?!"

Aoko Nakamori's surprise came out almost instinctively.

Meanwhile, "BOOM!"

—This was the sound of a detective trying to eavesdrop, his head banging against the door frame unexpectedly.

"Hongzi-san, when you say saving the world, you mean..."

As Nakamori Aoko spoke in a somewhat doubtful tone, Koizumi Akako felt the TDD on her wrist vibrate violently.

Almost at the same time, the expression of "Hongzi's housekeeper" who was handling the "school transfer procedures" for Koizumi Hongzi in the principal's office changed.

Kuroba Kaito stood up suddenly, nodded hurriedly to apologize to the principal, then quickly picked up his phone and walked out.

"Mr. Principal, I suddenly remembered that I have an urgent call to make."

"I'll come back with Miss Hongzi later to handle the formalities."

Regarding the dual timeline, Koizumi Akako's words were undoubtedly an attempt to use "saving the world" to hint at some information about the alliance within the detective camp. It seemed like a direct approach wouldn't work.

Gritting her teeth, Koizumi Hongzi decided to complete the hint to Hakuba Tan first. This was a task that had to be completed.

The hint to Aoko can be given separately after Bai Ma leaves.

"It was just a joke!"

Hongzi felt the TDD warning on her wrist immediately become slightly smaller, and she added:
"Actually, he discovered the news about his father. Aoko, I think you understand how important this matter is to him."

"But--"

Ignoring Aoko's next words, Koizumi Hongzi turned her head to look at the high school detective who was trying to eavesdrop and was about to sneak away.

"Hakuba-san, you just overheard the conversation between Aoko and me, didn't you?"

Her words made Bai Matan stop and then he gave Hongzi an embarrassed smile.

Then that awkward smile quickly disappeared in Koizumi Hongzi's indifferent eyes.

Bai Batan's expression even became serious because of Hongzi's next words.

"You still remember why you transferred to Japan."

For Hakuba Tan, it was the Japanese media's encouragement for him to challenge the recently popular Kaito Kid that finally prompted him to transfer from London to Ekoda High School.

In fact, after discovering Kaito Kidd's hair not long ago, he combined the data he had previously collected related to Kaito Kidd and searched the information of high school students all over Japan, and came to that conclusion -

Kuroba Kaito is Kaito Kidd!

But when he wanted to continue his investigation, his father, Director Hakuba, stopped him and strictly forbade him to have any access to any information related to Kaito Kid.

But how did Koizumi Hongzi know this? !
Before Hakuba Tan could recover from the shock of the information Koizumi Anko had tossed out, he saw her mouthing several words to herself.

"GSSRA."

For Aoko Nakamori, everything that had just happened made her full of confusion.

She even heard Hongzi suddenly and inexplicably throw a sentence to Hakubatan-san -

"If you really want to know all this, ask your father."

Bai Ma Tan's expression changed slightly.

His eyes flickered for a moment, but Hongzi didn't look at him again. After casually completing her hint to Hakuba Tan, she returned her gaze to Nakamori Aoko.

"Aoko, if you want to understand what happened to Kaito—"

However, at this moment, a familiar voice suddenly came from the end of the corridor——

"Ms. Hongzi! So you're here!"

That voice made Koizumi Hongzi sigh inwardly.

Then she saw her "butler"'s expression was serious and calm, and she saw Kuroba Kaito looking at her with that firm look, stopping her from continuing.

"The principal is waiting for you!"

"I have an important meeting this afternoon. Please come with me to complete the transfer procedures!"

The last chance was lost due to the obstruction of Kuroba Kaito.

After a few seconds of silence, she finally sighed softly, said nothing more, turned around gently, and walked to the other side of the corridor.

Nakamori Aoko and Hakuba Tan watched the long crimson hair move farther and farther away from them with hesitant and thoughtful looks, and finally disappeared at the end of the corridor.

However, for Koizumi Akako and Kuroba Kaito——

The silence between the two continued until they left the teaching building, and even continued until they left Jianggutian High School without being broken.

In the end, it was Hongzi who broke the silence between them.

"Kaito, are you really not going to meet with Aoko? I was just trying to help you out of kindness—"

Anko's words caused the anxiety Kaito had just felt to spread rapidly in his chest, eventually turning into an almost agitated feeling.

If he hadn't interrupted Hongzi in time, Nakamori Aoko would probably have discovered something based on Hongzi's hint!

This was the first time Anko saw Kaito look a little angry.

"Hongzi, you just changed your plans!"

"You have no idea what this means if you keep talking!"

Kuroba Kaito took a deep breath, and his tone unconsciously carried a hint of anger.

"Aoko is just an ordinary person!"

These words made Koizumi Hongzi slightly stunned.

Her steps paused, and the emotions in her eyes seemed to be ignited by something, becoming complex and profound in an instant.

Kuroba Kaito, realizing that his tone was too impulsive, calmed down in this moment of silence.

"You think you're protecting her?!"

Koizumi Hongzi looked into his eyes as if she was meeting Kaito for the first time, and a feeling of disbelief arose in her heart.

Then, her voice took on a similar anger.

"By trapping her in a character setting?!"

Koizumi Hongzi's words made Kuroba Kaito's heart tighten suddenly. His voice suddenly became low, and even his tone became a little dry.

"We are facing the timeline, Hongzi, we are facing the world itself."

Kuroba Kaito slowly raised his head and looked at the sky which was beginning to darken.

He let out a breath softly, as if he was explaining to Hongzi, or as if he was convincing himself.

"I know that Aoko, Mom, Mr. Terai, and even my dad who is said to be still alive, may have been worried about me."

"But as long as that text message is there, and after your hint this time, they won't really take any action."

He closed his eyes, his voice low and helpless.

"Yes, just like you said, Anko, this also means they are trapped in their persona."

Kaito's words inexplicably caused an unknown flame to rise deep in Koizumi Hongzi's heart.

Koizumi Hongzi tried hard to suppress the anger in her heart:
"The alliance can accept them. They have almost no connection with [Kudo Shinichi]."

"Kaito, you've deprived them of the chance to know the truth."

"You've deprived them of the opportunity to break free from their 'personality' and their fate. If it were you who was deprived of it..."

However, before she could finish her words, she was interrupted by Kuroba Kaito.

Kaito's voice suddenly rose:
"Not everyone is like you, willing to sacrifice their life to break their fate, Hongzi!"

Koizumi Hongzi was stunned.

Her lips parted slightly, but no word came out.

Then, before Koizumi Akako could react, he expressed his true thoughts.

"They're just ordinary people."

"And their 'personalities' aren't that..."

Kaito didn't continue speaking. He looked at Koizumi Hongzi who suddenly lowered her head.

Koizumi Hongzi lowered her head, her long crimson hair obscuring her expression. She didn't say anything, but her silence made the atmosphere in the air even more depressing.

Kuroba Kaito took a deep breath.

"Hongzi, tell me—"

"If the alliance needs them to guide [Kudo Shinichi] after his character is broken, what should I do?"

Kuroba Kaito's words left Koizumi Hongzi silent. She understood what Kaito wanted to say.

It is possible that Aoko Nakamori and Ran Maori will have an intersection in the future.

And Officer Nakamori is more directly a member of the police system, and the identities of Kuroba Toichi and Kuroba Chikage...

Before the "setting was broken", the people around Kuroba Kaito all had pretty good "personalities".

It can even be said that before the "setting is broken", they will be safe because of the inertia of the original plot.

"Hehe, Hongzi, don't you think I'm a little bit..."

Kuroba Kaito's tone also dropped, "I just want to protect them, Anko."

Is that what you think, Kuroba Kaito?

"Just want to protect them..."

Koizumi Hongzi repeated what Kaito had just said, her voice soft but filled with an indescribable emotion.

But she suppressed this emotion now and just asked a question that Kuroba Kaito had been avoiding.

"But Kaito, have you ever thought about what Aoko would think if she knew what you did in the future?"

Kuroba Kaito shook his head. He did not directly answer Hongzi's question, but just ended the question with a short sentence.

"You've read Ran Mouri's file, right? After she learned the truth, she was targeted by the dual timelines."

"As long as the ceremony continues, the panic, sadness, and fear will never end."

"Just like I sometimes think, if I hadn't told Mao Lilan the truth at that time, maybe she would be..."

Kuroba Kaito's words made Koizumi Akako's expression become a little indifferent for the first time.

She shook her head slightly and paused.

Koizumi Hongzi did not continue to refute.

Originally, she wanted to tell Kaito that she could use red magic to let Kaito and Aoko talk in a dream and then make the final decision.

But now, it was obvious that Kuroba Kaito would not agree to his proposal.

Koizumi Akako was the first to call Kuroba Kaito by his full name.

"You're too arrogant, Kuroba Kaito."

There was a hint of coldness in her voice, and her gaze even made Kuroba Kaito feel a little unfamiliar.

"You don't understand Mao Lilan's thinking at all."

"People like you who have a happy 'persona' cannot understand people like us, our pursuit and desire for the truth and to break our fate."

Kuroba Kaito looked up in some surprise and saw Koizumi Hongzi giving him a cold and disappointed look.

The next second, he saw a flash of red magic under Hongzi's feet.

"Wait, Hongzi!"

But it's too late.

With a flash of red magic, Koizumi Hongzi disappeared before him.

All Kuroba Kaito heard was Hongzi's voice, which was filled with obvious disappointment, remaining in the air.

The last whisper left by Koizumi Hongzi was like a sharp needle, piercing his heart.

"Kuroba Kaito, you don't understand anything."

(End of this chapter)