Chapter 369: I Understand, Tooru Amuro Is Also Anonymous

Double Chapter

Also, Conan couldn't help but think—Amuro Tooru showing up at school tonight was a little too suspicious.

…

Most of the mysteries inside the school building had been solved. Those who were meant to be socially destroyed had been thoroughly humiliated. With nothing left to cling to, everyone started drifting out of the building in small, awkward groups.

As they headed toward the front gate, Conan stared at "Amuro Tooru's" back, thinking about all his odd behavior tonight. The more he thought, the weirder it seemed.

Vermouth was strolling across the schoolyard when she suddenly felt a laser-sharp gaze stabbing into her.

She paused and turned her head—sure enough, Conan was watching her from behind.

"…"

Her frown eased slightly.

Good. The cool guy seemed to be on alert around Bourbon. That was a relief.

And Bourbon himself was charismatic, skilled at disguises, and generally acted friendly. If Conan was already this wary, maybe Ouzo had dropped him a hint or two at some point…

At that thought, Vermouth's earlier irritation at being eyeballed completely melted—like a snowflake dropping into lava. In its place was a faint, inexplicable warmth.

…

At the school gate, the dean of students expertly took a hard turn at the corner and briskly vanished into the night.

Kobayashi-sensei clearly wanted to do the same. But just as she was about to move, she noticed Jiangxia turning back and looking directly at her.

She froze. "W-what is it?"

The streetlight near the gate, along with the glow from the security room, illuminated her completely—her figure, her expression, her face.

And looking at her like this, it really was obvious: she looked quite a bit like Officer Sato.

Jiangxia instinctively adjusted his collar, covering the pocket where he kept the baton.

Then he pointed toward the four little eavesdroppers beside them and asked, with clear intent, "Do they have any more upcoming responsibilities? Or anything else that would keep them after school?"

It was a rare chance to kidnap the Detective Boys under a legitimate excuse. If he didn't harvest some shikigami or killing intent from this, what was even the point of life?

Kobayashi-sensei, feeling her survival instincts kick in, shook her head like a maraca: "W-we usually don't schedule things that cut into after-school time. Cleaning duty never runs this late either... There won't be anything like this again."

"I see…" Jiangxia's gaze slid toward the four children. He smiled gently. "I'll come pick you up after school tomorrow, then."

The three kids (Ayumi, Mitsuhiko, and Genta) huddled up like penguins in a blizzard, identical looks of doom spreading across their faces.

Desperate, they looked at Kobayashi-sensei for rescue—only to find her still staring at the ground, not making eye contact with anyone.

She was deep in the aftershock of being caught practicing alone in the dark by her students. Right now, her whole soul just wanted to crawl into a shell and hide. She didn't notice their silent pleas at all.

With their homeroom teacher checked out, the kids turned their wide, hopeful eyes to the other adult present: "Amuro Tooru."

This time, they made eye contact.

A sliver of hope flickered in their eyes—surely this kind-faced blond big brother would understand the innocence of children and help them avoid this psychological horror movie sequel.

But "Amuro Tooru" was clearly lost in thought, even as his eyes met theirs.

Still, "he" picked up smoothly from where Jiangxia had left off: "Ah, unfortunately, I have something on tomorrow. So I won't be able to make it."

Conan's eyes narrowed into a half-lidded deadpan as he looked at this increasingly sketchy boss.

…No one invited you.

Why are you declining so seriously?

Suspicion rising again, Conan tapped his chin thoughtfully.

Even when he'd previously tattled to Inspector Megure that Amuro Tooru was carrying a gun, the investigation had come up clean. Amuro had all the correct licenses and looked perfectly legal. No obvious identity issues.

And yet… Conan's instincts kept flaring. There was something off.

Especially after tonight's interactions.

…Maybe it was time to devise a trap.

How about convincing Jiangxia to invite Amuro Tooru on a hot spring trip or swimming?

If Amuro was really the mysterious Anonymous, then he might be hiding a "Z"-shaped tattoo somewhere. If they could see which parts he was strangely protective about exposing…

Of course, if he did have a tattoo, he'd never agree to take off his shirt in public. That reaction alone would be a huge clue.

Yes. This plan had legs.

Conan began scheming out the logistics in detail, a dark glint in his eyes.

Tomorrow… we hunt.

They'd been delayed quite a bit in the school building, and now it was getting very late.

Once Kobayashi-sensei recovered a bit of composure, she decisively waved goodbye and disappeared with impressive speed.

"Amuro Tooru" glanced at the group still standing there—one Jiangxia + four children—and thought back to the car he'd driven today. It was going to be a squeeze, but technically, four kids could fit in the back seat.

And if push came to shove, Jiangxia could hold Conan in the front. It was late—less chance of running into traffic police...

Vermouth's lips curved ever so slightly.

Spinning the keys on her finger, she offered casually, "Hop in. I'll drive you back."

Jiangxia glanced at the faint trail of killing intent still clinging to "Amuro Tooru," then thought of the Detective Boys and their shikigami-harvesting potential.

"No need. They all live nearby—I'll walk them home."

"…"

Vermouth's key-spinning paused midair, a flicker of reluctance flashing in her eyes.

But remembering she was currently playing Bourbon, and Bourbon wasn't the type to insist… plus Conan's increasingly suspicious stare was beginning to burn holes into her, she wisely bit her tongue.

…She still had plans to visit again wearing this disguise, after all. No need to make the cool guy too alert.

So after the rejection, "Amuro Tooru" gave a natural nod, turned, and strolled off. His steps were light and unhurried, though maybe a little slower than they needed to be.

Still, the car wasn't far. A moment later, his figure disappeared inside, and the vehicle rolled quietly away down the dark street.

A breeze rustled the leaves at the school gate.

Only Jiangxia and the kids remained now—the dean had fled long ago, moving with such ninja-level stealth that Jiangxia hadn't even noticed.

"Let's go," Jiangxia said, waving to the children.

He would now fulfill his role as Responsible Adult™ and escort them home one by one—while keeping an ear out for any late-night screams, or corpses conveniently dropped onto his path.

…

Half an hour later.

Jiangxia watched as Ayumi scampered through her front gate, then let out a quiet, disappointed sigh.

Genta and Mitsuhiko's homes had been even closer to the school—they were long gone.

Now Ayumi, the last of the bear children, had also reached safety. And tragically… nothing had happened along the way.

No mysterious figures lurking in alleys, no suspicious screams, no shikigami-tier vibes.

Jiangxia, now left only with Conan, made his way toward the Mouri Detective Agency with a sense of letdown.

—From what he remembered, Conan's "God of Death" aura only really kicked in when he had company. When the kid was walking solo (or just with Jiangxia), murder rates dropped significantly. Some sort of in-universe failsafe, probably.

Jiangxia's thoughts wandered briefly, then returned.

Anyway, without other accompanying characters, the chance of a case tonight was now microscopic.

He felt like a player in an open-world game who'd spent thirty minutes smashing a weird-looking rock, only to find it was just… a rock. No treasure chest. No secret entrance. No ambush.

…Well, he had time. There was always tomorrow.

Plus, since the kids had already agreed to the movie, and Kobayashi-sensei had been pre-cleared, there was no way they could back out now.

Jiangxia felt like a fresh mystery loot box had just dropped into his inventory.

With that thought, his spirits rose again, and his footsteps lightened.

…

Conan, of course, had no idea about the neighborly rollercoaster of emotions happening beside him. Nor could he pick up Jiangxia's subtle expressions in the dim lighting.

He yawned.

Now that the other kids were gone, he decided to finally bring up the topic of Amuro Tooru.

But just as he opened his mouth, a vibrating buzz cut in from the side.

Jiangxia's phone.

Since confirming earlier that neither Kobayashi-sensei nor the dean emitted killing intent, he'd wisely switched his phone from silent back to vibrate—just in case any Important Clients called.

It was his everyday phone. Thank goodness. If it had been the organization's line, he'd have to find a way to dodge Conan or fake-deafen himself when Gin called.

Jiangxia pulled out the phone and checked the screen.

"…"

Professor Agasa?

He vaguely remembered the professor was supposed to be in Kyushu for an academic conference right now.

In fact, it was because of that trip that the professor had asked him to help escort the kids to the movies in the first place. He wouldn't have returned already, right?

Jiangxia hesitated a moment, then answered—mentally committing to tomorrow's movie no matter what the professor said.

Sure, the Gamera monster flicks were kind of childish for a high school student. But Jiangxia Tongzhi was a man with no childhood. Liking children's movies was just character backfill.

With all these thoughts flashing through his mind like a lightning round of sudoku, he pressed the call button.

"Hello? Professor."

Professor Agasa's cheerful voice came through the speaker: "So? How was the movie?"

"Actually, we didn't make it today…" Jiangxia gave a brief summary of the evening. "I rescheduled for tomorrow."

"Haha, those little guys are still as mischievous as ever," Agasa chuckled, twirling his mustache. The warm image of the Detective Boys being loud and chaotic filled his mind, and his tone turned indulgent.

*Goal #1: Top 200 fanfics published within the last 31 - 90 days by POWER STONES.

Progress: 30/60(approx) for 10 BONUS CHAPTERS

Goal #2: One BONUS CHAPTER per review for the first 10 REVIEWS.

Progress:3/10*