Traveling back thirty years to Conan, intercepting Princess Eri

"What could have happened? The thief has been turned in, and a statement has been taken. Could it be that he forgot his luggage on the train?"

Lin Xiu frowned as she recalled the events, then her pupils suddenly contracted.

The situation was urgent; he was only focused on catching the thief and negotiating with the police officers, his mind completely absorbed in the matter.

He actually told the girls the most crucial thing: he had completely forgotten where he and Kogoro Mouri were!
That train bound for Osaka probably restarted several tens of minutes ago, carrying those girls and speeding towards its destination!
The two looked at each other, both seeing the same bleak expression of impending doom on each other's faces.

Cold sweat broke out on their foreheads almost instantly.

Lin Xiuyi and Mouri Kogoro knew the personalities of those girls all too well!

Eri Kisaki is rational and wise, but also proud and strong-willed, and has an extraordinary concern and possessiveness towards Shuichi Hayashi.

Yukiko is lively and outgoing, expresses her emotions directly, and is quicker to become jealous than anyone else.

Lingzi, though well-behaved, is extremely dependent on her older brother. He must be worried sick about not being able to contact her for so long.

Then there's Liuli, who has a gentle appearance but also an undeniable sense of conviction.

As for Midori Orikasa and Chikage Tomizawa, they each have their own tempers and willfulness.

These girls would never blame the two men for their act of bravery in helping the police catch the thief. On the contrary, they would probably be proud of it.

but!

They absolutely, unconditionally, and without a doubt, will do so because...
These two perfectly healthy people simply vanished without a word or explanation for over an hour.

They were completely forgotten, leaving them anxious and lost in their own thoughts on the speeding train, feeling incredibly angry, wronged, and disappointed!

This is no longer a negligence; in their view, it is simply a display of "indifference" and "complete disregard"!

"Oh no! We're completely finished!"

Kogoro Mouri had a long face, his features almost scrunched up.

He gripped his hair tightly, his voice trembling with tears.

"I...I just made a solemn promise to Liuli on the train that no matter where I go or what I do, if we are separated for a while, I will tell her immediately and I will never let her worry."

"My sweet words hadn't even warmed her heart yet, and I never expected... I never expected that in less than a day, I would... I would break my promise! She must be utterly disappointed in me!"

Lin Xiuyi felt a chill run down his spine. He could already picture Eri Kisaki's icy gaze, which seemed to freeze the air, and Yukiko's seemingly cheerful but actually sharp and incisive complaints and interrogations.

My upcoming trip to Osaka will likely face a severe "trust crisis" and a "survival test" even before it begins.

Announcements for other trains came over the station's loudspeaker; people came and went, and the noise continued.

But at this moment, these two "heroes" standing at the gate of the foreign dignitary seemed to be in the deathly silence before a storm, their faces filled with the same despair.

"Ruined……"

……

At the same time that Hayashi Hideichi and Mori Kogoro were busy taking notes at the station office, the atmosphere on the speeding Shinkansen train was gradually shifting from a boring game to a subtle anxiety and doubt.

“That’s strange…” Yukiko raised her wrist for the umpteenth time, looking at the delicate little dial on the watch, then turned her head to look around the connecting area between the carriages, her brows furrowing slightly.

"The train will stop at Osaka Station in two or three minutes. Where's Shuichi? Why isn't he back yet?"

"Is Onii-chan really planning to hide all the way until he gets off the train, and then slip away in the chaos?"

Lingzi hugged the small backpack in her arms, feeling both annoyed and amused, imagining her brother playing hide-and-seek with them like a child.

"Who knows what that bastard is up to!"

Eri crossed her arms over her chest, her tone laced with a hint of gritted teeth.
"Maybe he's hiding too many unspeakable things, things he's afraid I'll find out about, which is why he doesn't dare come back to face the questions from the three of us."

The girl's mind began to uncontrollably list various possibilities, each one making her anger rise a little higher.

"Come to think of it, it's all your fault!"

Yukiko immediately turned her anger towards her "arch-rival" beside her, her voice full of resentment.
"If you hadn't stopped me, I would have rushed up and grabbed Shuichi long ago, preventing him from escaping! Now look what's happened, we can't even find him!"

"Huh, just you?"

Upon hearing this, Eri Kisaki turned her head and swept Yukiko up and down with her signature cold and scrutinizing gaze, her tone filled with undisguised disdain.
“If he really wants to run, with your strength and speed, even ten of you combined couldn’t stop him.”

Seeing the tension between the two girls rising again, and an argument about to erupt, Liuli, who had been sitting opposite them quietly watching the window, sighed helplessly, turned around, and interrupted them.

"Alright, alright, can you two pause for a bit?"

"What I want to know most right now is, where exactly did Shuichi take our Kogoro? It's been over an hour and there's still no news."

Although Ruri believed that Kogoro Mouri and Shuichi Hayashi wouldn't do anything wrong, her boyfriend's prolonged absence still left her feeling empty and worried.

"How do we know!"

Unexpectedly, Eri Kisaki and Yukiko replied almost in unison, their voices filled with the same frustration and grievance.

After saying that, the two of them paused for a moment, then, as if annoyed that they had reached a tacit understanding, they quickly turned their heads away and glared at each other, as if to say, "Who wants to answer with you?"

This somewhat comical show of unity against a common enemy eased the tension slightly, but the core concerns remained unresolved.

Just then, Midori Orikasa, who had been quietly observing her surroundings, seemed to remember something and said in an uncertain tone,

"Um... when the train stopped at Kyoto Station just now, I think I saw some commotion on the platform through the window. A lot of people gathered there, and station staff in uniforms ran over. Could it be related to Shuichi-senpai and Kogoro-senpai?"

While the girls were talking, the train had already come to a smooth stop at Osaka Station.

Passengers in the carriage stood up and began taking their luggage from the luggage racks, preparing to disembark.

For a moment, the passageway became somewhat crowded and noisy.

Looking at the surging crowd around her, and then at the two empty seats next to her, Tomizawa Chikage, the eldest and most decisive leader of the group, took a deep breath, stood up, clapped her hands, and made her decision.

"Alright, stop guessing and get off the train! There are a lot of people on the platform, don't get separated. As for those two guys..." (End of Chapter)