Conan: I'm Really Not Tokyo Ghost Story

And so, the group decided to walk to the nearest police station.

During this time, Conan approached Sano and said, "Hey, Sano, have you noticed anything? I think that guy is probably after Sonoko's camera."

...Actually, in the case of Sonoko Suzuki, Sano's true identity hasn't been involved much yet, because he had been working at the hotel and only appeared at a few key points in his opinion.

Therefore, logically speaking, even if Sano's "reasoning ability" is strong, he shouldn't have made any discoveries.

But Conan still asked... because he felt that Sano's behavior was a little strange.

It seemed like they had figured something out, but they just wouldn't say anything.

This reminded Conan of the incident at the previous carnival.

He clearly saw the truth a long time ago, but deliberately waited until he also saw the truth before speaking...

That's absolutely outrageous!

Unfortunately, Sano simply shook his head indifferently at Conan's question.

"...I said, there are people following us, didn't you guys notice?"

Ai Haibara, who had been practically AFK since arriving in Izu, finally couldn't resist making her presence felt at this moment.

"Ok?"

Conan turned around without making a sound and saw that it was the same fat man who had spied on him and his group at the Sea House earlier. He immediately frowned.

"I'll go grab him!"

As soon as Ran Mouri spoke, Makoto Kyogoku grabbed her wrist and looked at her with some confusion.

Kyogoku Makoto: "..."

Don't ask Kyogoku Makoto why he stopped Mouri Ran; he didn't know either. He had already discovered the stalker earlier, and Sano had stopped him in the same way.

Kyogoku Makoto did ask Sano why he was being stopped, but Sano remained silent.

Therefore, Makoto Kyogoku is now simply instinctively "imitating" his predecessors.

Who knows if Ran Mouri's move will disrupt Sano's plans?

Meanwhile, Michiwaki Masahiko, who was further ahead, was secretly delighted when he noticed the commotion behind him. He had been worried about how to get rid of Kyogoku Makoto, that big troublemaker.

...Michiwaki Masahiko did try to persuade others to take the police car, saying he could just stay with Suzuki Sonoko... but unfortunately, nobody paid any attention to him.

Compared to their trust in Masahiko Michiwaki, most people present were naturally more concerned about Sonoko Suzuki's safety.

Seeing this, Michiwaki Masahiko couldn't insist on saying anything more, otherwise it would make him seem like he had ulterior motives.

"Sonoko, that guy seems to be catching up. Should we run?"

"what?"

Before Sonoko Suzuki could react, Masahiko Michiwaki had already grabbed her and started running.

Seeing this, Sano and the others behind could only speed up as well.

Chapter 342, 341, Kyogoku Makoto, the Master of Flirting

Soon, the group ran into the nearby forest.

Ran Mouri was initially questioning whether coming to this kind of environment was too risky.

However, Masahiko Michiwaki deliberately dragged Sonoko Suzuki into the conversation to evade the issue.

“We split into three groups to surround this guy. I’ll go with Sonoko.”

Michiwaki Masahiko forcefully took control of the situation, issued the order, and then dragged Suzuki Sonoko away. Ran Mouri and the others could only subconsciously follow his instructions, while only Kyogoku Makoto instinctively wanted to follow Suzuki Sonoko.

...Although he was stopped by Sano again in the next second.

"You go with Ran and the others, I'll go with Sonoko's group."

As soon as he finished speaking, Sano noticed that Kyogoku Makoto hesitated. After a second of reaction, he changed his words and said, "Never mind, you go and follow Sonoko. I'll follow Ran. But remember to be a little flexible and don't follow too closely. Mastering the timing of your entry is the most important thing."

"What do you mean?"

Seeing that Makoto Kyogoku still looked confused, Sano rolled his eyes in annoyance: "What do you mean? You've already lost to Kuroshi, so you'll have to put in more effort if you want to win over Sonoko Suzuki. Do I have to teach you the secrets of being a hero and saving a damsel in distress?"

"Don't waste time, hurry up and catch up!"

Urged on by Sano, Makoto Kyogoku mumbled a reply and chased after Sonoko Suzuki and the other person.

...Sano originally wanted to follow Suzuki Sonoko himself, which was an instinctive action, but then he thought that Kyogoku Makoto seemed to be even more powerful than his own body. In addition, he had recently been thinking about "passing on missions to others", so he simply let her go. Anyway, even if something really happened to Suzuki Sonoko... "Kuroshiki" wasn't really gone.

As for why they didn't simply go with Sonoko Suzuki, it's because Sano couldn't be 100% certain that the problem was only with Masahiko Michiwaki. In case something went wrong with Ran Mouri, it's always better to be on the safe side.

Sano chased after Ran Mouri and the others.

Meanwhile, on the other side, Sonoko Suzuki had already been pinned to the ground by Masahiko Michiwaki.

After dragging Sonoko Suzuki away for a distance, Masahiko Michiwaki finally revealed his true colors and those gleaming "fangs".

...Without the threat from Kyogoku Makoto, Michiwaki Masahiko could only describe his feelings as one of pure joy.

So what if you can fight?

In this world, you need your brains!

Fortunately, the delinquent didn't follow along, otherwise it's hard to say whether the "three groups" explanation would have been acceptable.

Masahiko Michiwaki rambled on about why he was targeting Sonoko Suzuki, roughly because he suspected she had filmed him committing the crime.

Sonoko Suzuki was completely unaware of this.

As for why Masahiko Michiwaki is so fixated on the "brown-haired girl" setting, it's because he was traumatized in that area, which led to his psychological distortion.

...Faced with Michiwaki Masahiko's changed attitude and ferocious expression, Suzuki Sonoko, whose mouth was covered, could only whimper, her eyes filled with despair and pain.

"Well then, goodbye!"

Michiwaki Masahiko plunged his short sword in, but at the same moment, a dark figure pierced between him and Suzuki Sonoko.

...On the other side, Ran Mouri and the others had already surrounded the small round ball that had come chasing after them.

Ran Mouri, furious for her best friend, glared at the other person with a fierce expression that looked like she was about to attack at the slightest provocation... Unfortunately, the other person pulled out that police ID.

Ran Mouri was instantly stunned.

"...What, what's going on?"

With the little ball's explanation, Ran Mouri finally understood why the other party had been following her and her group.

It turns out that it wasn't Sonoko Suzuki they were after, but Masahiko Michiwaki!

"There are already four or five girls suspected of being killed by that guy, and they all have the same characteristic: brown hair. I've been following him for a while, but I haven't been able to find any crucial evidence..."

As Ran Mouri listened to the little ball's explanation, her face gradually turned pale. Finally realizing that she had the wrong target, she turned around to hurry up and chase after Sono Suzuki... but after turning around, she saw Sano instead.

"Senior, what are you doing here?"

That slight doubt didn't make Ran Mouri hesitate for long; her confused mind only wanted to find Sonoko Suzuki as soon as possible.

"Something's wrong, Senpai! Sonoko, she..."

Ran Mouri instinctively wanted to seek help from her "reliable senior," and her eyes even reddened, her heart filled with helplessness, anxiety, and panic.

However, Sano calmly pressed down his palm, indicating that the other party did not need to rush.

"Kyogoku is with Sonoko, so nothing will happen."

Upon hearing this, Ran Mouri was stunned, but also relieved... She had the same confidence in Makoto Kyogoku as Sano.

"No matter what, let's hurry over there."

Ran Mouri, ultimately not daring to gamble with Sonoko Suzuki's life, urged her on.

So the group immediately moved on to Suzuki Sonoko's place.

...Then what came into their view was the unharmed Sonoko Suzuki, and Masahiko Michiwaki, who had been beaten beyond recognition and was foaming at the mouth.

Another unexpected point is that Makoto Kyogoku was actually injured.

A short knife was stuck in the upper arm where the customer had bitten him some time ago.

...What's going on? Kyogoku Makoto actually got stabbed?

Ran Mouri and the others paused, their expressions momentarily stunned.

Unlike the astonishment of the people around him, Sano, who witnessed the whole thing through the black cat clone following Sonoko Suzuki, remained relatively calm because he already knew about it... even though he was even more surprised than the others when he saw it.

Given Kyogoku Makoto's strength, he shouldn't have been able to get hurt by someone like Michiwaki Masahiko.

Even now, Sano doesn't quite understand the reasons behind it.

Could it be that the fight with Black Death just now affected his condition?

Sano's gaze quietly shifted to Kyogoku Makoto's arms... The fight had left patches of bruises on his arms, and there were probably some on his torso as well, but they were hidden by his clothes.

This level of "injury" shouldn't affect Makoto Kyogoku... It couldn't be because he was too worried about Sonoko Suzuki and panicked, could it?

Sano recalled the critical moment when Sonoko Suzuki was almost stabbed. Because Makoto Kyogoku hadn't shown up, he was almost ready to take matters into his own hands.

In that final second, Makoto Kyogoku rushed out and blocked the blow for Sonoko Suzuki, before kicking Masahiko Michiwaki away.

If someone deliberately chooses to be stabbed to avoid even the slightest possibility of their beloved girl being stabbed, then that would be perfectly reasonable, wouldn't it?

"you……"

Sonoko Suzuki stared blankly at Makoto Kyogoku, who had been kicked away by Masahiko Michiwaki and then knocked away with a wooden stick, still in a daze.

"You've been following me?"

"Yeah, because I saw this guy flirt with two or three girls before he met you guys. He doesn't seem like a good person at all."

Makoto Kyogoku deliberately kept a straight face, maintaining his aloof demeanor.

"But why did you protect me?"

Sonoko Suzuki's gaze fell especially on the spot where Makoto Kyogoku had been stabbed.

"You may not know me, but we met before at a karate competition. You were cheering for your friend back then."

Kyogoku Makoto replied in this way.

...This "friend" can only be Ran Mouri.