Chapter 33: Fleeting Glances
### Chapter 33: Fleeting Glances
"Fujino-senpai, you can even defuse bombs?"
Ran stared at Fujino, looking incredulous.
"Ahem."
Fujino cleared his throat lightly in response.
After thinking for a moment, he scratched the back of his head and explained, "Well, as a full-time detective, it's quite normal for me to know how to defuse bombs, isn't it?"
Then, he quickly changed the subject and asked Ran, "By the way, Ran, why are you also heading to Kyoto?"
"It's for a wedding."
She smiled lightly and explained, "A friend of my father is getting married today, and the wedding is in Kyoto... Plus, I've never been to Kyoto before, so I thought I'd come along and see."
Ran didn't dwell on Fujino's bomb disposal skills.
From her perspective, it was reasonable for a detective to have some unusual skills.
Don't ask her how she knew, because Shinichi was like that too.
...
Due to the pesky bomb on the Shinkansen, Fujino was taken in for questioning by the Kyoto police.
However, upon learning of his identity as a high school detective, the Kyoto police were quite lenient.
According to them, "High school students can't defuse bombs… What, you're a high school detective? Well, that's fine then."
High school students can't, but high school detectives can.
Very reasonable, very Detective Conan!
As for Conan and Ran... Since they had no involvement in the explosion case, they headed straight to the wedding of a family friend after disembarking...
And then there was the woman with the bomb.
After Fujino executed a shoulder throw, the woman remained unconscious until the police arrived and transported her on a stretcher to the hospital. She would be investigated once she regained consciousness.
As the sun set, at the entrance of the Kyoto Police Headquarters.
Fujino stood on the street, taking in the neon-lit surroundings, and murmured, "So this is Kyoto?"
However, he felt that the surroundings seemed somewhat familiar.
Familiar yet strange.
It was as if he had been here before.
But no matter how he tried to remember, he couldn't recall any memories of the original owner being in Kyoto.
Could it be déjà vu?
Fujino wondered to himself.
"Vroom!"
At that moment, the roar of an engine interrupted his thoughts.
He looked up to see a pristine white Rolls-Royce speeding past him.
Fujino immediately recognized the model of the car.
It was the old model Rolls-Royce in white, with the silver mascot on the front...
That car was worth at least the price of a small house, if not more.
"Are people in Kyoto all this wealthy?"
Fujino remarked with a deadpan expression.
...
Meanwhile, inside the Rolls-Royce that had just sped by.
In the luxurious interior, a girl in the back seat leaned forward, gazing out the window with a pensive look.
The girl was beautiful, wearing a gray-white school uniform with shoulder-length brown curly hair, adorned with two red ear studs.
Once the familiar figure outside the window disappeared, she sat back in her seat.
At this moment, the butler suddenly looked up and asked the girl, "Miss, did you see someone you know just now?"
"No, it just felt somewhat familiar."
"Could it be someone you haven't seen in years?"
"An old acquaintance?"
Hearing the butler's guess, the girl pondered and spoke with a hint of sadness, "Maybe I just mistook them for someone else."
She then gazed out at the sunset through the window, smiling absentmindedly, "The person I like is in Tokyo…"
As night fell, in a wooded area on the outskirts of Kyoto.
Fujino, wearing a Batman mask and holding a peach wood knife, followed the system's instructions and walked into the desolate forest.
At that moment, a red dot was blinking in the distance.
The red dot marked the location of the target for this system mission: "Numazawa Kiichiro."
Following the system's guidance, Fujino pushed through the bushes in front of him and came upon a clearing in the forest.
In the center of the clearing stood a yellow tent, and some faint light could be seen through the fabric.
If the system was correct, this should be where Numazawa Kiichiro was temporarily staying.
"Who's there!"
At this moment, someone inside the tent seemed to notice a disturbance in the forest.
With a roar, they stood up, slashing the tent's fabric with a sharp blade and leaping out.
"Quite perceptive…"
Fujino pushed through the grass and revealed himself, lowering his voice intentionally as he asked the figure, "Are you Numazawa Kiichiro?"
Looking at the figure in the distance, Numazawa Kiichiro remained silent, but his muscles tensed uncontrollably.
With the aid of the moonlight, he saw the details of the intruder.
It was a man of average build, dressed in a black suit, wearing a black mask, and holding a samurai sword.
A cold, fierce light seemed to emanate from behind the mask's eyes.
Damn, it must be them!
It must be them coming!
In a panic, Numazawa Kiichiro gripped his dagger tightly, his frail body suddenly unleashing immense strength.
He charged at Fujino with the speed of a leopard, shouting, "You filthy dogs, go to hell!"
[Detective Enhancement activated; Countdown 0-1-59]
[Strength Amplification activated; Countdown 0-0-59]
[Perception Amplification activated; Countdown 0-0-59]
The system's voice echoed.
Facing Numazawa Kiichiro's fierce attack, Fujino remained calm, slowly raising his wooden knife...
With less than two meters between them, Fujino made his move.
He shifted his stance slightly, tilting the wooden knife to the right and using his right hand to swing at the incoming dagger.
"Clang!"
A metallic clang sounded.
The dagger clashed with the wooden knife, producing a resonant metallic sound.
The tremendous force pushed back against Numazawa Kiichiro's hands, causing them to tingle with pain.
But he did not release the dagger.
Instead, he struggled to pull it free from the wooden knife's hold.
Rolling several times like a beast, he got up and continued to glare fiercely at Fujino.
An ordinary person would have discarded the dagger after taking Fujino's hit.
But Numazawa Kiichiro did not.
Because he knew that if he lost the dagger, death would follow!
(End of Chapter)