Conan: I'm Really Not Tokyo Ghost Story

But Blackie wasn't there.

Just as Sano was about to end the conversation, the hopeful look in Sonoko Suzuki's pitiful eyes finally caught his attention.

...Is there something wrong with this girl?

In fact, not only Sano, but even the other people in the car could roughly sense that Suzuki Sonoko's words were a bit off.

"Hey, Sonoko!"

Ran Mouri quietly tugged at Sonoko Suzuki: "Don't you already have Kyogoku-senpai? What are you doing? You haven't fallen for someone else, have you?"

Sonoko Suzuki also quietly patted Ran Mouri and said, "These are two different things."

Keep an eye on Sano.

"...and you too?"

After rubbing his temples, Sano fulfilled Sonoko Suzuki's wish.

This immediately drew cheers from inside the car.

Is it really necessary?

Several people, including Miwako Sato, stared blankly, seemingly unable to comprehend Sonoko Suzuki's thought process, until Ran Mouri's gaze inadvertently shifted to a group of police officers running wildly outside the car window.

"What are they doing? Are they arresting criminals?"

Ran Mouri asked a question with some doubt, which immediately changed the subject.

"Ok?"

The group looked in the direction of the sound and saw a greyhound running at the front of the group.

"...Isn't that your dog?"

Conan turned around in surprise to look at Sano, which surprised Sato Miwako, who was driving, even more. She quickly asked, "Sano, is that dog yours?"

Sano glanced at Sato Miwako: "You could say that, but you could also say that."

The group: "..."

Does this guy have to talk like that to die?

Conan, not wanting to listen to Sano's nonsense any longer, quickly gave the answer: "That dog is a stray. Sano-nii just fed it a few times by chance and gave it a name, hehehe..."

"Oh, I see."

Sato Miwako seemed relieved: "Then everything is fine."

What happened to that dog?

Ran Mouri asked curiously... After all, the dog seemed to be in bad shape, and if possible, she would certainly like to help it.

Whether from Ran Mouri's personal perspective or for Sano's sake.

This is all the case.

Miwako Sato provided the answer, leaving Conan and his two companions stunned.

"Eat...people??"

Sonoko Suzuki covered her mouth in alarm: "No way..."

"This is real."

Miwako Sato sighed, "So if Sano really did own that dog, then as the owner, he might have to bear a lot of legal responsibility, just like the guardian of a child who has made a mistake. Fortunately, he only fed it a few times, so it's not a big problem. By the way, you're lucky that you didn't encounter this mad dog going crazy when you were feeding it."

...If that dog had gone mad when Sano was feeding it, it probably would be dead by now.

After giving Conan a deadpan look, he thought for a moment, then tugged at Sano's sleeve: "Are you alright?"

"what?"

"You seem to really like that dog, don't you? Maybe there's more to this than meets the eye. Why don't we investigate and see if there's any chance of a breakthrough?"

Sano chuckled in response to Conan's suggestion.

"Impossible, don't even think about it. No matter what the truth is, once an animal kills a person, it is destined to be dealt with. This is a completely different concept from the previous dog that knocked a person down the stairs and caused them to fall to their death."

Sato Miwako nodded and said, "That's true."

Sano raised an eyebrow and looked at Sato Miwako. He hadn't originally wanted to comment on the matter, but since she insisted on getting involved, he decided to change his mind.

Then Sano has to say something.

"Especially since the current official regulatory system is not strong enough, there are no cameras on the street, children's testimonies are not accepted, and dogs don't even have a chance to speak up for themselves. Even heroes who save lives can only become destitute fugitives, becoming rats in the street, hated by everyone."

Sano smirked: "You don't show up in time when the child is in danger, but you're quite good at dealing with the dog that rescued the child."

Upon hearing this, Sato Miwako and the others were all taken aback.

"Sano, have you... already investigated that matter?"

"Is it strange? After all, it's a dog I've fed a few times. Even if I can't save it, I should at least try first. After all, I'm not a policeman."

Sano spoke again, his tone still full of sarcasm.

After a few seconds of silence, Sato Miwako stepped on the brakes... not because she was angered by Sano's words and was planning to have a proper battle.

It's just because the Sano family has already arrived.

After Sano got out of the car, he knocked on Sato Miwako's car window.

Upon seeing this, Miwako Sato immediately opened the car window.

"Out of consideration for our past relationship, I'm giving you a friendly reminder: regardless of whether that dog gets caught or not, you'd better not get involved."

A mysterious smile suddenly appeared on Sano's lips: "Because by then, the dog's real owner might be angry."

...The true master?

After a moment of surprise, Miwako Sato instinctively asked, "What does this mean?"

"It's nothing, that's all I wanted to say."

Sano didn't say anything more, turned around, waved, and left, leaving the people in the car puzzled.

...Tsk, why does this person only say half of what they mean? Isn't this just pure seduction?

Conan stroked his chin thoughtfully. According to Sano's logic, the dog actually had an owner, and that "owner" was probably not a simple person.

Chapter 385, Chapter 384: The Rise of Ito Taka

If that's the case, why hasn't that person shown up yet?

Wouldn't it be better to just solve the problem directly?

And didn't we just say that this problem is unsolvable?

From what Sano was saying, it seemed like the problem could be solved as long as that person was willing?

And one last thing.

As a detective, Sato Miwako is at least quite capable in terms of combat skills, regardless of other factors. Even if that person gets angry, what can he do to her?

Could it be that... even Sano thinks that person is "dangerous"?

Wait!

Conan's eyes suddenly narrowed as he remembered that there were two crucial things he hadn't asked Sano yet.

First, what exactly happened to Sano when he returned from Izu a while ago, and how is he now? However, considering that Ran Mouri said earlier that he had already gone to school, his behavior today was not unusual at all.

Let's ignore that for now; the important thing is the second point.

Similarly, after Ran Mouri returned from school, she mentioned that Sano had gone to class.

Incidentally, there's also that photo from two years ago on Sano's website.

Conan already had a slight suspicion that Sano was connected to the Black Reaper, and now it's almost a confirmed fact, barring any unforeseen circumstances.

Sano and Kokushi definitely know each other.

So Conan sent a text message to Sano at that time... but unfortunately he never got a reply.

Conan then tried calling again, but was discouraged by a text message that said, "If you bother me again, I'll block you." He could only wait in frustration to ask again at their next meeting... Of course, he also considered going to their home to look for them.

But considering Sano's habit of never being home, Conan gave up on the idea.

It was a rare coincidence that we met today, and Conan was probably going to ask about this, but he got distracted by the case and various other trivial matters and forgot about it.

I just remembered.

Of course, that's not important either. What's important is that the timing of this thought just happens to connect with the "dog owner" point that Sano mentioned.

"Could it be that the dog's owner is actually Black Death?"

"……What did you say?"

Conan's muttering wasn't quiet; at least the other people in the car could hear it.

Among them, Sato Miwako's emotions fluctuated the most... After all, if the dog's owner really was Kokushi, then for the Metropolitan Police Department...

This would undoubtedly be a huge problem.

……

Sano was unaware that after his riddle-like remarks, the people in the car had already started brainstorming, and he was currently looking at the investigation report on Ito Taka.

After the last meeting to "discuss" the Ito Taka issue, Sano's failure to confirm his "safety" meant that the matter was not over. Although Gin didn't say much, he still had to maintain appearances.

So Sano... had the intelligence team send some peripheral members to investigate.

Well, it's all just a smokescreen anyway, so whether the investigation is thorough or not doesn't matter.

Furthermore, given Ito Taka's abilities, Sano doesn't believe that if the other party really wanted to hide something, they could easily find out by simply conducting an investigation.

After reviewing Ito Taka's "resume," it turned out to be nothing more than superficial trivia.

However, there were some things that Sano might find interesting.

For example, Ito Taka was diagnosed with mental illness at the age of eight and was successfully admitted to a mental hospital, but this should not be considered the beginning of his rise to fame.

Ito Taka stayed in that mental hospital for a long time. After being discharged, he would go back for follow-up visits from time to time, and there were no major problems.

When he was thirteen, Ito Taka was hospitalized again, but not long after he recovered and was discharged, he was hospitalized again, but this time, he was transferred to a different hospital.