Conan: I'm Really Not Tokyo Ghost Story

Suddenly, a golden light caught Sano's eye as he opened the door. He turned his head and saw a blonde figure walking out from next door... but it wasn't that little girl's house, but another neighbor's.

Sano hadn't paid much attention at first, just remarking that his neighbor was quite fashionable... or perhaps he didn't know when he had changed neighbors.

But when that figure turned around...

Sano's eye twitched involuntarily.

It's blond hair.

When did this guy start living next door to me?

accidental?

Or is it that they came specifically for me?

Before Sano could react, the blond-haired man was also stunned. He then took out his phone, and after shifting his gaze back and forth, he seemed to have confirmed something.

He pounced on Sano in an instant.

"Boss!!!"

"What the hell?!"

Sano kicked the blond-haired man in the face, preventing him from getting closer.

Who the hell are you?

Admittedly, Sano is indeed a little panicked, but he is still trying his best to remain calm, his brain instinctively churning out a solution.

Unfortunately, the accident happened too suddenly, and in the end, they could only pretend to be unaware of it.

...The key point is that this blond guy immediately called Sano "Boss" as soon as he came in.

This really puzzled Sano.

Given the appearance of such photos, a misunderstanding was inevitable, but Sano's true identity and the blond-haired man had already met once in Izu.

The Black Death wasn't absent from the game back then.

How can it still be "misunderstood" like this?

Chapter 377, Section 376: Ito Taka willingly takes the blame.

After the initial chaos subsided, the blond-haired man calmed down somewhat. After a brief exchange, Sano roughly understood the current situation, which was...

The blond guy had completely forgotten that he had already met Sano in Izu.

This guy just happened to overhear the "photo of Shinichiro Sano from two years ago" during a casual chat among the Black Reapers members. His gossipy nature got the better of him, so he took a look and was shocked to discover...

...Isn't this just a black guy without a slicked-back hairstyle?

In an instant, Huang Mao suddenly realized.

It turns out that my boss is none other than the high school detective Shinichiro Sano!

Especially after seeing Sano's full-face photo, the blond guy felt more and more that it looked remarkably like the fleeting glimpse of Kokushi when he took off his mask for the only time, or even that it was the same person.

...This guy really needs to get his brain checked.

Sano was both speechless and amused after learning the whole story. In the end, he told the blond guy about the incident in Izu, confirming that he and Kokushi could not possibly be the same person.

This greatly disappointed Huang Mao.

"So, what exactly is your relationship with our eldest son?"

After his initial disappointment, the blond-haired guy quickly rallied and, fueled by his curiosity, asked, "Are you two good friends? Did my boss wear that special forces uniform because of you, or did he actually wear it earlier? And since you two know each other, why didn't you say hello when you bumped into each other in Izu last time...?"

Huang** kept asking a whole bunch of questions.

Although Sano was too lazy to answer, he simply threw out a "I don't know" at him, as if he disdained to answer, and then went into the room.

...Damn, that scared me to death.

Sano almost genuinely thought that something terrible had gone wrong that he hadn't noticed, causing his disguise to be exposed. He was even considering whether he should silence him first, but it turned out to be a false alarm.

His own disguise was so perfect that even if he was suspected, there would be no evidence to prove it.

Was it because of some unexpected factors that caused you to feel nervous today?

Sano did a few stretching exercises and then took out his phone to check the text messages from other users.

Yes, the blond guy did send a text message to Black Death, as did the other special forces members, and even the officials. They all made some cautious probes. As for Gin, that was the case.

It seems they don't know about this... Of course, it's also possible they do know, but don't care, so they didn't even ask Sano. Oh well.

Why should we care?

"Dong dong dong."

Suddenly, there was a knock on the door. Just as Sano thought it was that blond guy who was still not giving up, he opened the door and saw Ito Taka standing outside with a smile on his face.

"Oh, Master!"

Sano was taken aback, then frowned: "You need something?"

"Oh, Master, what are you saying? Can't I come to see you even if there's nothing wrong?"

Ito Taka handed a small box to Sano: "Here, a gift."

"Gift?"

Sano took the box, glanced at it, and found that inside were two glutinous rice balls... or more accurately, a kind of snack unique to Japan.

It seems to be called, what was it called again?

Dafu?

Maybe.

Sano looked away and asked, "Why would you give someone a gift out of the blue?"

...Could it be that my birthday is coming up again?

That doesn't make sense; you should have checked the calendar beforehand.

"They're neighbors, so you have to give them some gifts beforehand to build a good relationship."

Ito Taka's reply left Sano speechless—what the hell was going on? Why were they all moving to his crappy place?

You should know that the place where Sano lives is not a good place.

Sano was used to living there and was too lazy to move. As for Ito Taka and the blond guy, one became a member of the organization and the other was the second-in-command of the Black Reaper. Even if they weren't particularly rich, they were definitely not short of money.

How did you end up living here?

...Although the reason is unknown, the blond guy's situation could perhaps be considered a simple coincidence, while Ito Taka's situation suggests that this guy wasn't targeting him.

Anyway, Sano won't believe it.

Where do you live?

Sano didn't ask many questions, but simply asked where Ito Taka lived.

Although they are neighbors, they don't necessarily have to be next door, especially since he knows all the residents on both sides of Sano... It's impossible that he's sharing an apartment with the blond guy, right?

Or perhaps, this guy has some kind of relationship with that little girl?

Ito Taka's answer proved that Sano was overthinking things; he lived next door to the blond guy.

It was the room next to Sano's.

At this point, the topic should probably end.

But Ito Taka did not leave; instead, he remained standing at the door.

"...Is there anything else?"

Faced with Sano's question, Ito Taka blinked: "Seriously, Master? You've accepted this gift, aren't you going to invite me in for a chat?"

"boom!"

Sano immediately closed the door.

Ito Taka: "..."

Ah, as expected, a master is a master.

Ito Taka shook his head, turned around and went home, while Sano only then noticed that Gin had sent him a text message.

However, I didn't come because of that photo from two years ago, but because of Ito Taka.

"I should have reminded you to remind your subordinate, right?"

ha?

Sano tilted his head in confusion, then remembered the question about Ito Taka that Gin had mentioned to him on the flight to Amelica.

...Later, as things got busier, Sano forgot about it again.

Even the low-level task that Gin gave to Sano yesterday, which Sano then passed on to Ito Taka, has probably been outsourced by that guy again.

Otherwise, Gin wouldn't have reminded him again.

Let's see what Ito Taka is thinking.

Sano sent Ito Taka a text message, telling him to wait at the designated location. Then he switched his disguise, entered his black cat form, and set off.

Soon, the four met at the agreed-upon location.

Besides Sano, Itō Taka, and Gin, there's also a slacker named Vodka.

"I should have warned you before, don't hand over the organization's tasks to outsiders again. If something goes wrong, you will be executed for treason."

Sano took the initiative.

He immediately launched into a stern reprimand of Ito Taka.

"Are you not understanding what I'm saying or what? Why are you doing this?"

Upon hearing this, Gin and Ito turned their attention to Ito Taka.

Despite Ito Taka himself looking completely bewildered.

What the hell is all this?

When did I get warned... Oh, I see.