Conan: I'm Really Not Tokyo Ghost Story

"And then it's you."

Sano then pointed at Ai Haibara: "Although we've only met once before, a kid dressed in adult clothes, who looks like he's being chased, is extremely vigilant, and whose identity information is vague, only saying he's looking for Shinichi Kudo, just doesn't seem right."

Conan, who was internally complaining, twitched his lips again upon hearing this.

He said that Sano was able to calmly intimidate Ai Haibara because he had already had clues and suspected her during their last meeting.

So now, Professor Agasa clearly knows about Ai Haibara's existence but doesn't tell me, and Sano strongly suspects Ai Haibara's identity but also doesn't tell me.

Are these two teammates still worth keeping?

One deliberately concealed information in order to intimidate others.

The other person has information but doesn't say it. If it weren't for Ai Haibara threatening him and then being threatened in return tonight, when would he have planned to say it?

Can't they just give me some normal teammates?!

Ai Haibara and Conan both fell silent until a while later when Ai suddenly asked a tricky question.

"Since you actually know that I am very likely to be the same kind of person as Shinichi Kudo, why didn't you mention it before, and why... did you bring up such unreasonable things as bedwetting and educating children?"

Sano raised an eyebrow. Was this fake loli still upset about what happened before?

That's quite a memory. Does it mean you think you're an "easy person" and therefore easy to bully?

To be honest, Sano found Ai Haibara's current reaction a bit boring.

It's a bit too bland.

At the very least, they should be a little more dazed and annoyed, like Conan's parents.

"First of all, it was just a guess before. Detectives need evidence, not intuition, so before I confirmed it just now, you were still a child in my eyes."

Upon hearing Sano's words, Conan, who was trying to sort things out, immediately cast a strange look at him.

Who was it that kept talking about intuition before, and now they say you can't rely on intuition but have to rely on evidence?

"Secondly, even if you really did shrink from an adult to your current size, you're still a child, aren't you?"

Sano looked down at Ai Haibara: "Don't think that just because your body has shrunk but your mind is still the same, you're no longer a child. A person's thinking ability can be affected by their physical condition to a certain extent. It's like how a woman's emotions and thoughts can change drastically when she's menstruating. It's the same principle."

"A more practical example is your fellow sufferer behind you."

Sano suddenly turned his attention to Conan: "His body has shrunk, and his thoughts have become childish, naive, foolish, and prone to courting death. He's a complete brat."

Conan: "?"

Damn, why is he suddenly cursing himself?

After listening to Sano's explanation, Ai Haibara lowered her head thoughtfully.

Because what the other party said wasn't entirely without merit... what a load of rubbish!

It's one thing to use fallacies and reverse cause and effect to fool laymen who don't understand, but to actually fool someone like me who's a researcher in this field?

Excuses, they're all just excuses!

"Then what do you mean by pretending to be someone from that organization when you clearly overheard my conversation with Kudo?"

Ai Haibara asked the crucial question with a sharp insight.

Sano had previously mentioned the concept of "intimidation," and although Ai Haibara did not think that this was her intention, she had every reason to suspect that it was.

The other party seemed to have taken into account that he had seen the other party's handgun and lighter during their last meeting, so he took them out first to eliminate this "possibility" before pulling out another fake gun.

This is the result of painstaking planning.

"Well..."

Sano stroked his chin and tentatively replied, "Fun?"

Ai Haibara: "..."

The wind stopped for a moment, and Ai Haibara took a deep breath, then suddenly turned and kicked Sano in the shin.

Of course, Sano easily dodged by simply lifting his leg, and then stretched out his hand to pin Ai Haibara down, preventing her from getting within his arm's reach.

...Actually, it doesn't seem to matter much if I get kicked.

After all, with Ai Haibara's current small arms and legs, what's the difference between hitting someone and tickling them?

Chapter 200, page 199: The Plague God's Performance Increases

Even when she's angry, it feels like she's being affectionate, which is kind of cute...

Sano was startled and shuddered.

What are you thinking? This is a fake loli, a dirty adult in the guise of a child!

The lesson from Coron is still fresh in my mind. How could I be deceived by appearances? I need to wake up and wake up.

"You bastard!!"

Ai Haibara's head was held down, unable to move forward an inch. She tried to pry Sano's hands off but couldn't budge them. She wished she could just bite him.

Then Sano twisted his wrist, causing Ai Haibara's head to spin, forcing her to frantically spin along with him.

...What's going on here? Are elementary school students fighting?

Conan's mouth was slightly open as he looked at the two people in front of him, feeling that the wind seemed a bit noisy tonight.

Sano previously said that if a person's body shrinks, their thinking ability will also shrink. Conan didn't believe it at first, but now it seems that it's not entirely impossible.

...Then why does Sano look like an elementary school student even though he didn't shrink?

Two or three minutes later, Ai Haibara was already dizzy and unable to stand, and due to her shrunken body, she began to pant. Only then did Sano withdraw his hand with satisfaction and speak leisurely.

"Let's not waste time on these trivial matters and get down to business."

"Heh, anyway, the premise that you can see through everything is that you know Shinichi Kudo has shrunk."

Ai Haibara, panting, took over the conversation with a cold laugh.

He then gave Conan a cold glance and said, "I really didn't expect that this high school detective would be so foolish as to involve an outsider."

Ok?

Is this my own fault?

Conan pursed his lips. Putting aside the fact that confessing to Sano was a last resort, even if he was stupid, Ai Haibara wouldn't have fallen into the trap and been threatened by Sano instead if she hadn't insisted on threatening him!

However, looking at it this way, it's understandable that Ai Haibara was successfully intimidated by Sano. She suffered from a lack of information, and if it weren't for Sano's sudden intervention, he would probably have already been successfully intimidated by Ai Haibara.

...This makes me look really low.

No, no, it's just because it was too sudden, and the other party even used Professor Agasa as a pretext. I was too anxious to react in time, and among the three people present, only my information was at the lowest level, so it was inevitable that I would be at a disadvantage.

Conan comforted himself for a moment, then finally turned his attention to the important matter at hand.

"By the way, what exactly does it mean to escape from that organization? Also, why did you shrink as well? And what is the meaning of this drug that you made? You'd better give me a complete explanation."

Conan temporarily put aside his various annoyances and dissatisfactions and asked all the questions that he had not yet had answered.

"Well..."

When the conversation turned to serious matters, Ai Haibara became a little more serious. However, before she could even speak, Sano waved his hand and interrupted, "You two keep talking. I'm going back to sleep. I have things to do tomorrow."

"..."

Conan and Ai Haibara stared blankly at Sano's departing figure, their minds unable to process what was happening for a moment.

So after intimidating them and explaining their thinking, they stopped caring about anything else?

Conan recovered faster—after all, this wasn't the first time he'd experienced Sano's lack of curiosity and low desire to explore.

After a brief moment of stunned silence, Ai Haibara didn't think too much about it—after all, the other party knew that she was likely to shrink, but had never tested her before, so it didn't seem strange that things were like this now.

Furthermore, how could a normal person like me possibly understand the thought process of a lunatic who would do something as absurd as "throwing a gun at the other side just to hammer someone"?

Ai Haibara has encountered quite a few psychopaths in the organization, so she's used to it.

...Tsk, it still seems absurd no matter how you look at it. Even the thought processes of those lunatics in the organization are not as bizarre as this high school detective's.

After a moment of silence, Ai Haibara and Conan met eyes, and then fell silent again.

What were we supposed to say again?

Tsk, it's all that troublemaker's fault.

……

The next day, before Sano could even wash up, he was dragged out by Ran Mouri and Sonoko Suzuki who came to his door.

In addition to the two best friends, Kogoro Mouri and Conan and Ai Haibara, the two fake kids, were also standing at the door.

"Oh, we meet again."

Sano weakly greeted the three people outside.

...Actually, Conan's appearance could be said to be within Sano's expectations, but Ai Haibara... was a bit surprising.

I went for my follow-up appointment myself. What is this fake little girl trying to do by showing up here?

"morning."

Conan, looking sleepy, also greeted him.

...Yesterday, Sano said "See you tomorrow" before leaving, and Conan didn't realize it until this morning when he found out that Ran Mouri was actually going to accompany him to his follow-up appointment.

Of course, this shouldn't have anything to do with Conan. He didn't need to go through all this trouble with him, especially since he hadn't slept all night because of a case and was now exhausted.

But when Conan recalled Sano's words, "See you tomorrow," he couldn't help but wonder if Sano actually wanted him to go with him.

After all, for someone with mental health issues who has attempted suicide three times, a follow-up appointment must be quite stressful.

If that's the case, then the other person considers him a close friend, so how can Conan possibly ignore it?

Conan glanced at Ai Haibara next to him, wondering why she wanted to follow along.

Ai Haibara, who was standing nearby, had also been up all night and looked rather listless.

The reason why Ai Haibara followed was actually quite simple: she just wanted to assess Sano's current condition.

Although it might not be appropriate to say this to someone with a mental disorder, Ai Haibara really didn't expect that Sano actually had a mental illness.

However, it's not that he's mentally ill, but rather that he has a mental illness.