GOAL BONUS CHAPTER #2
Conan's mood was... complicated.
That morning, Ran Mouri had put a lot of effort into dressing up and then sneaked out the door, claiming she was "going to see Kudo Shinichi."
Conan froze, staring at her in confusion. He quickly snapped out of it and decided to follow her like a soldier on a mission. But when he asked her who she was meeting, she only said it was an "important person."
After trying everything—begging, pleading, and even pouting—nothing worked. In the end, Conan crossed his arms, sulking, when suddenly, his eyes caught sight of a familiar figure out of the corner of his eye.
He stiffened, then slowly turned to see Jiang Xia standing by their table, giving them a friendly look.
Conan's expression could only be described as "struck by lightning."
He stared for two whole seconds before snapping out of his shock and looking at Jiang Xia with a betrayed expression, as if saying, "I treated you like a brother, and you... you actually...!"
Ran, clearly annoyed, smacked Conan's mouth with a hand, "Sorry, the child is ignorant."
Jiang Xia kindly shook his head, "It's fine."
He set down his drink and walked away.
Conan blinked, his grey matter kicking in. He realized Jiang Xia was wearing a waiter's uniform and carrying a tray. Wait a second... Jiang Xia's working here?
The realization began to form in Conan's mind, piece by piece. If Ran was meeting Jiang Xia, she wouldn't need to travel all the way to this café. She wouldn't be scheduling a meeting during Jiang Xia's working hours...
It's definitely not Jiang Xia.
Conan took a deep breath and stood up again—there was no way this "important person" Ran was meeting was smarter or more handsome than him.
Ran didn't notice the slightly burning gaze Conan sent her way.
Of course, Ran wasn't meeting Jiang Xia today. She was meeting her mother, Kisaki Eri, the famous lawyer. Ten years ago, Kisaki Eri and Kogoro Mouri had a big fight and separated, and ever since, the opportunities for mother and daughter to meet had been rare.
Ran didn't want to tell Conan about the complicated family situation. She didn't want Conan to accidentally spill the beans to Kogoro, so she refused to tell him who the "important person" was. She was also hoping to send Conan off for a while.
While wandering in distress, Ran suddenly spotted a cake shop across the street with a long line.
That long line must mean the cakes are delicious...
A light bulb appeared above Ran's head. Kids love sweets, right? Maybe if I bribe Conan with some cake, I can get him to go home.
She smiled and patted Conan's head, telling him to wait here obediently while she got the cakes.
Conan rolled his eyes, perfectly replicating a dead fish, then immediately sprang to action as soon as Ran crossed the street. He made a beeline for the counter.
He found Jiang Xia and leaned in, whispering, "Hey, do you know who Ran is meeting today?"
Jiang Xia looked at him, realizing that since the last time Conan had revealed his Kudo Shinichi identity in the karaoke booth, the kid had become more self-assured, almost like Shinichi Kudo himself.
Speaking of that, Jiang Xia suddenly remembered something. I should probably remind Shiho... Wait, Shiho? Now she probably went by the name "Haibara Ai." I should tell her not to sell me out as a migrant worker in the organization. I need to keep my reputation intact and avoid unnecessary harassment.
But that wasn't important right now. Jiang Xia focused back on the eager Conan, then pretended to think deeply before shaking his head, "I don't know, there's too little information. And I just came in today."
Conan sighed in disappointment. Without Jiang Xia's help in playing detective, he was left with no choice but to return to his seat and stare at the other guests, hoping to spot who Ran was secretly meeting.
Jiang Xia, meanwhile, was observing the café's customers. Based on his earlier interaction with Conan and Ran, he had already started piecing things together. And now that Conan had asked again, Jiang Xia knew exactly what was going on.
Soon, a buff man will try to murder his mistress in the bathroom and use a fancy trick to shift suspicion...
Jiang Xia glanced over at a bulky regular customer talking to the boss, then at a woman wearing sunglasses, loudly scolding the clerk. After a moment of contemplation, he pulled out a coin.
This wasn't random. He was going to side with his amazing luck.
Jiang Xia used the distraction to bounce the coin, catch it, and then lower his head to inspect it. Shikigami, collected.
Though Jiang Xia had recently picked up a large group of shikigami in the old castle, he was still lacking ghosts of a certain kind—those with a murderous aura.
The more shikigami he collected, the stronger his puppets became, but the greater the need for a "murderous aura" to trigger their power. Currently, Jiang Xia's shikigami were still relatively weak, and their physical abilities were basic. The more powerful his shikigami became, the easier it was to suppress their murderous intent.
Now, collecting Shikigamis seemed like a more efficient option.
Jiang Xia looked around again, checking on the café's current guests. Then, as if sensing the shift, he saw the scene that confirmed it.
– On either side of Conan's seat, a strong man sat on one side, while a very beautiful middle-aged woman with curly hair occupied the other.
Conan felt the woman looked familiar but couldn't place her. Still, that didn't matter now. He was too focused on the other guest.
As Jiang Xia approached with coffee, he saw Conan glaring at the strong man with a look of pure murderous intent. The "flower boy" had been bragging on the phone about his date with a "pure little girl." Conan had overheard, and, well... his mind jumped to conclusions.
He slowly began to sulk. The hatred in his eyes grew, and his hand itched for the switch on his strength-enhancing shoes.
Jiang Xia set the coffee down, watching Conan's little meltdown in amusement.
Looks like the drama had only just begun.
*Goal #1: Top 200 fanfics published within the last 30 days by POWER STONES.
Progress: 3/50(approx) for 10 BONUS CHAPTERS
Goal #2: One BONUS CHAPTER per review for the first 10 REVIEWS.
Progress:0/10*