Out-of-control players in the world of Detective Conan

"Xiao Lan, I'll be going now. I know a great hiding spot."

Sonoko Suzuki said to Ran Mouri with a mysterious expression.

After all, this airship was built by her family, and she knew exactly where to hide it most secretly.

"Yeah, actually I saw a nice place while I was wandering around."

Ran Mouri returned the smile to her best friend.

Sonoko Suzuki blinked her big eyes in surprise.

She knows where to hide because she is familiar with the terrain. What is this, Ran Mouri?

"Ran, you didn't just make plans to play hide-and-seek with Conan, did you? Who would subconsciously look for easy hiding places while strolling around?"

"hey-hey."

Ran Mouri blushed and smiled awkwardly.

Just as the two were chatting, a pair of hands suddenly grabbed their arms.

"Got you!"

"ah!"

The two were startled. Ran Mouri instinctively tried to elbow him, but she quickly stopped when she saw who it was.

"Mr. Fujioka, have five minutes already passed?"

"Hahaha, sorry, sorry."

Takamichi Fujioka laughed heartily twice and shook his head.

"No, I just saw you standing here and came to remind you to get out of the way."

"There are less than two minutes left, hurry up, girls."

"Okay, then we'll be going."

Upon hearing this, Sonoko Suzuki and Ran Mouri turned and left without further delay.

……

A passageway on the airship.

"Why are you following me? Why don't you go hide yourself?"

Qi Ming glared at Ai Haibara, who was following behind him, and said.

"I'll keep an eye on you to make sure you don't cheat."

"Tsk, I already said I wouldn't cheat, so what, you little Hawkeye Captain, are you going to report me?"

"But you've come at the right time. Help me keep an eye on things; I'll be hiding here."

Qi Ming looked at the painting hanging on the wall and turned to Ai Haibara.

Ai Haibara was still somewhat confused about Qi Ming's meaning, but in the blink of an eye, Qi Ming's figure disappeared before her eyes.

"Someone even said they wouldn't cheat... This person ran away on their own, how can it not be considered cheating?"

Ai Haibara muttered to herself, somewhat speechless.

You were just saying you'd eat if I cheated, you little glutton!

However, just as this thought crossed her mind, a scraping sound came from inside.

Apply it—

what sound?

Ai Haibara turned her head in confusion, then her eyes widened.

A poster was seen moving upwards by itself, step by step!

"Quickly help me check, is my hiding method reasonable?"

Shortly after, Qi Ming's voice appeared on the poster.

"..."

Ai Haibara's expression shifted from shock to confusion to acceptance in just three seconds; she learned to accept it.

Accept what?!

Can you now create non-living characters through character customization?

The Mask?

"...You still say you won't cheat!"

Upon hearing this, Qi Ming retorted confidently.

"What, isn't this how you play hide-and-seek?"

"Also, can you check if these corners of my car are parallel to the ground? I can't see them right now."

"..."

Ai Haibara had absolutely no intention of replying.

So what if they're parallel? So what if they're not?

Who would have thought that a living person would turn into a painting and hang on the wall?!

You've become so ruthless in your pursuit of victory!

"You can hang it up yourself, I'm going to find a place to hide it too."

Haibara sighed and turned to walk away.

The toilets on the airship are separate, so she decided to go to the toilet for a while.

This could be considered cheating, but it was a reasonable tactical arrangement.

……

Airship entertainment room.

"You two have been following me for so long, can't you go hide?"

Kaito Kuroba couldn't stand the two plasters stuck to his back any longer, and turned around to curse them, feeling both embarrassed and annoyed.

“That won’t do, because I always feel like you’ll find time to steal things from the observation deck.”

Conan responded with a grin.

"Stealing? What did I steal?"

Kaito Kuroba pretended not to understand and pointed to himself, looking completely bewildered.

What's the meaning of this little detective's sudden discovery of his identity today?

Conan chuckled, hands in his pockets, while Hattori Heiji skillfully blocked Kuroba Kaito's escape route.

"Do I need to spell it out for you, Phantom Thief Kid?"

"Phantom Thief Kid? What's that?"

Kaito Kuroba remained bewildered.

"You two detectives better not talk nonsense, or I'll sue you for defamation, believe me?"

Conan chuckled and took a few steps closer to Kaito Kuroba, asking a question.

"Two detectives?"

"Brother Kuroba, I'm clearly just an elementary school student, why do you think I'm a detective?"

"..."

Kaito Kuroba's eyelids twitched.

Why is my mouth so rude sometimes?

"Leave me alone. I'm not Kaito Kid. Detectives need evidence to speak, so don't talk nonsense."

Kaito Kuroba gave up, but still denied their claim that he was Kaito Kid.

But even if you know who I am, so what? Do you think anyone will believe you if you tell them?

As long as he doesn't confess, no one can convict him.

"Okay, so you're not Kaito Kid anymore."

Conan said no more, and stared at Kaito Kuroba with a serious expression.

"What I want to ask you today is something else... why did you join that organization?"

Seeing Conan's suddenly serious expression, Kaito Kuroba also temporarily put away his playful nature.

"What's wrong? Why do you look so serious?"

"You don't have a grudge against this organization, do you?"

That's more than just having a grudge.

Simply...

Conan was about to recount Qi Ming and the organization's crimes, but the words got stuck in his throat and he couldn't say them.

"...It's nothing, you don't need to worry about this."

It all started when my curiosity got the better of me and I went to peek at Qi Mingqin and the others making a deal.

Aside from the perspective of detective justice, there wasn't much of a grudge between them.

Seeing Conan's expression, Kaito Kuroba understood what was going on and sighed softly.

"I can only tell you that my joining this organization was a complete misunderstanding."

"A misunderstanding?"

Conan was clearly unimpressed by Kaito Kuroba's words, and Kaito Kuroba simply rolled his eyes at Conan.

"You seem to know him quite well. Do you think I could refuse if he forced me to join?"

“…It seems like that.”

Conan believed it now.

After a while, Conan asked Kaito Kuroba.

"How about we cooperate?"

"cooperate?"

"I won't interfere with your actions anymore, but I hope you can provide me with information about that organization."

"..."

Kaito Kuroba pondered Conan's suggestion of cooperation, then shook his head after a moment.

"That sounds pretty good, but little detective, you seem to have forgotten something."

Kaito Kuroba said to Conan with a sly grin.

Have you ever successfully interfered with me before?

"Wasn't it all because I confirmed that the gem I stole wasn't the one I needed that I deliberately let you succeed?"