Investigation Of The Detective Boys

"Oi, Rin! Why did you let us out of that room?" Conan asked Kourin as he followed her to the living room.

"It's not yet time for us to question Ryoma-niichan about what happened to him. I asked him before you two barge in the room but he's not sure if he's going to answer it."

"Is that so?" Haibara looked at her. "Then how are we going to start investigating his case if we don't get any clues and information from him?"

The three fell silent.

"Oh, by the way, did Miyuzaki-sensei call about the chemicals she's investigating?" he asked, facing Kourin.

Kourin nodded. "She called Agasa-hakase yesterday afternoon. I'm not sure about the details but you can ask him about that if you want." And then she stood up and walked towards the door as they heard someone ring the doorbell.

Conan frowned. "Rin, is there something that you're not telling us? You've been acting weird ever since we saved Echizen-kun."

That made her stop in her tracks. And then she turned around and faced him. "If you want to know the truth, we need to finish solving Ryoma-niichan's case. If I'm not mistaken... his current case and what happened there a year ago have a distinctive connection. Let's just hope he won't suffer the same way I did a year ago because of that incident." She headed straight to the door to open it.

Conan and Haibara were baffled by what she said. He glanced at Rin with confusion written on his face.

'What was that supposed to mean?'

"Edogawa-kun, have you asked Hakase about this?" Haibara inquired silently.

He shook his head. "I'm not exactly sure if I should ask Hakase about Rin. She doesn't even talk to anyone when she arrived here with her left arm wounded and burned."

When Kourin opened the door, she saw Mitsuhiko, Ayumi, Genta, Doctor Miyuzaki, and Doctor Yanai there.

"Everyone, what are you doing here?" she asked.

"We're the Detective Boys, right? That's why we're here to help you and Conan-kun investigate the case," Mitsuhiko happily said.

"But you'll get caught in danger if you—"

"Don't be ridiculous!" Genta suddenly said. "We've already solved dangerous cases before you came."

Ayumi happily nodded. "Genta-kun's right. We're your friends, remember? We're here to help each other."

Kourin sighed and intently looked at them. "This case is not as easy as you think it is. We're already dealing with someone even more dangerous than any of the criminals you've faced before."

"Rin-chan..." Doctor Miyuzaki could only say.

When Kourin realized what she had said, she bowed to them. "I'm sorry. I guess I've said too much."

Conan stared at her as the others accepted her apology. 'I'm going to solve this case! And I'm going to know Rin's secrets that lie hidden within this case.'

"Rin-san, is Ryoma-niichan already awake?" Ayumi asked.

She nodded. "But... right now, he's worried about his family and confused about his situation."

"You mean... he found out?" Haibara asked her.

"Yeah. But I told him not to worry since it will be temporary. Although I'm sure he won't take it lightly." And then she looked at Doctor Miyuzaki. "Sensei, what about the results of your tests?"

The said doctor smiled. "Shin and I managed to know the components but we need someone's help for us to make an antidote for it."

"Someone's help?" The others were puzzled by it but Conan and Kourin knew exactly what was she talking about.

And while the other kids were wondering about it, Professor Agasa came out of the kitchen.

"Ah! Rin-kun, Ai-kun, Conan-kun, could you come here in the kitchen for a while?" He noticed the guest standing by the door. "Everyone, Ryoma-kun is already awake. You can visit him in Rin-kun's room if you want. And Miyuzaki-sensei, Yanai-sensei, can you please explain the situation to him? He's a bit confused right now."

"That's what we came to do today." Doctor Yanai guided the other kids upstairs where the room was located.

Haibara, Kourin, Conan, and Professor Agasa then headed to the kitchen.

XXXXXX

In the kitchen...

"What's wrong, hakase? Calling us all of a sudden..." Then Conan glanced at Kourin who became quiet.

The professor sighed and looked at Haibara. "Ai-kun, since you're a chemist, could you help Miyuzaki-sensei and Yanai-sensei make the antidote for the chemicals?"

"So it was me they're referring to when they said that they're going to need someone's help." She sighed. "I get it. Don't worry. I'll do the best I can to help them make the antidote."

"Shinichi, you will be helping Rin-kun to investigate Ryoma-kun's case. By the way, Rin-kun..." The girl looked at the portly professor when she heard her name. "There was a call from someone you knew. She said her name was Shouko."

"Shouko-san? Why did she call you?" Kourin was surprised to know the news.

The professor shrugged. "Who knows. But she said something about the Dark Rose. I think it's really important for you to know that since it seemed that she was in a hurry when she called."

She was stunned and her eyes widened at the same time when she heard that. "Dark... Rose?" she mumbled as she tried to absorb the thought in her mind.

"Dark Rose? Is that some kind of organization?" Conan asked but it seemed that Kourin didn't hear him. "Oi, Rin!"

Kourin was startled and then she looked at him and Haibara with shocked eyes full of fear.

"What's wrong, Rin-san?" Haibara asked silently in a concerned tone. Kourin shook her head.

Conan frowned and looked worriedly at his cousin. "Rin, are you alright?"

The girl nodded and showed a faint smile to them. But Conan could easily tell that the smile was forced. "I'm fine. It's just that... I'm just surprised with what I heard." Then she faced Professor Agasa. "Hakase, did she tell you anything more after that?"

"Hmm..." The professor tried to recall the phone conversation. "She just said that the Dark Rose is on the move to destroy a target. And she wanted you to know who so she said that she'll call you later."

"Is that so?"

Conan and Haibara looked at Kourin intently as the professor talked to the girl.

And right now, Kourin couldn't hear anything about what the professor just said.

'Dark... Rose... It seemed that I'll be facing my dark past sooner than I thought. But if they're also after Ryoma-niichan, who is their real target?' Her thoughts plunged deeper into her mind. And suddenly, she remembered something. 'Otou-sama, Okaa-sama, I know you wanted me to live that's why you saved me that night. Onii-sama, I know you wanted it that way, too. But I have to do whatever it takes for me to save Ryoma-niichan so that he wouldn't suffer the same sorrow and pain I had when I lost almost all of those people I care about in the whole world. I wouldn't let him feel the same way.'

"Rin-kun, are you listening?"

Her thoughts were disrupted when she heard that. When she realized it was Professor Agasa, she immediately apologized to him. Conan could only observe Kourin's actions.

Haibara observed Conan, nevertheless. And as she observed Kourin, as well, she noticed a certain emotion in the girl's eyes.

An emotion well-hidden from them ever since Kourin arrived at Professor Agasa's house.

'Fear... Why do I see that in Rin-san's eyes now? And that time... That time she heard the words "Dark Rose"... she was surprised and had become silent. There's something behind those words.' And suddenly, Haibara remembered something that Kourin said a while ago.

~"If I'm not mistaken, his current case and what happened there a year ago have a distinctive connection..."~

~"This case is not as easy as you think it is. We're already dealing with someone even more dangerous than any of the criminals you've faced before..."~

'Just what does she mean by that?'

Unknown to Haibara, Conan was also thinking of the very same thing. 'Dark Rose...Why does Rin become scared when she heard that? And she said that "we're dealing with someone even more dangerous than any of the criminals we've faced before". Wait! Could it be that... she's dealing with...?'

At that moment, Kourin heard her cellphone ring. Though hesitant, she answered the call. She felt relieved when she heard a familiar voice on the line.

"Hello, Rin-chan?"

"Shouko-san, why did you call?" When she asked that, she heard something weird on the phone. "Say, where are you right now? I'm hearing something weird over there."

"Aah... I'm on a train right now. I'll be catching a plane to Hokkaido tonight. It appeared that I have a lead to where the Dark Rose's members are located. And I also have to finish the research that Nanako-chan and I are currently working on."

"Is that so? Is there any other news about them?" After she asked that, she had turned on the loudspeaker so that the others could hear the conversation, as well.

"Yeah. They began to move again. And according to our spy in the organization, someone who had a secret connection to the Shinomiya clan is their current target... for them to lure out a certain person out of his hole."

Kourin frowned. "Wait, did you say that their current target is someone connected to my family? I don't understand..."

"Me, either. But I've investigated through it and I've found something that I don't know will surprise you."

"What do you mean by that?"

She heard Shouko sigh over the phone. "That certain someone connected to the clan is famous right now in a certain activity. And that is—" Shouko stopped talking on the other line.

And at that moment, all of them were listening to the call and heard a loud noise on it. A gunshot sound.

"What was that? Why is there a gunshot?" Conan asked but all they could do was listen.

Kourin, at that time, was worried about Shouko's situation. "Shouko-san! Shouko-san! What's going on? What was that gunshot we heard?"

She could hear the woman catch her breath as if she had just run away from her current position. "I'm sorry, Rin-chan, but I have to end our conversation for now. I'll call you back once I finished investigating the case, okay?" After that, the phone call was cut.

Professor Agasa approached Kourin. "Rin-kun..."

Conan and Haibara approached her, too, as she put her cellphone back in her pocket.

"Rin-san, are you alright?" Kourin nodded and managed to give a faint smile to them.

'Shouko-san... It seems that the chase will begin once again, huh? They do that for them to destroy me and those people with a connection to my family. Please... be careful,' she thought as she kept on worrying about her friend... and Doctor Miyuzaki's younger sister.

XXXXXX

Inside a traveling train going to the airport...

Miyuzaki Shouko (a) was running inside the train after that gunshot. She didn't want Kourin to know but that gunshot was meant to kill her.

It was a good thing that her senses were sharp, that was why she managed to evade it.

She glanced at her back and she saw an auburn-haired woman holding a gun chasing her. That woman continued to shoot her but she need to evade it because she knew the contents of the bullets inside that woman's gun.

Her sister, Doctor Miyuzaki Shouda, once told her about the contents of the bullets used to kill Kourin's family one night just a year ago.

'I'm not going to let myself be killed by that woman! Not until I finished my mission to the Shinomiya family and fulfill my promise to Rin-chan...'

And as she managed to hide from her pursuer, she couldn't help but remember the day she had given an oath to Rin... an oath that will determine the fate of the only surviving member of the Shinomiya family...

xxxxxx

Flashback; Shinomiya mansion; Miami, Florida...

It has been half a month after that gruesome death (b) and Kourin was still in shock about what happened that night. Though she's doing fine, she rarely talks to anyone, except if it was Doctor Miyuzaki Shouda or the doctor's sister, Miyuzaki Shouko.

One night, Shouko went to Kourin's room to check the kid's condition, as her sister asked her to do. But she never expected that she'd find the girl in the family dojo where she trained sword fighting and kendo. The young girl was holding the katana once used by the head of the Shinomiya family, Shinomiya Ryuuki.

She approached the girl but stopped in her tracks when she saw tears fall from Kourin's eyes. She couldn't help but feel sorry for her since her family, the people she loved most in the world, died in a single night... and she's just eight years old.

"Rin-chan... why are you here?" Shouko went near the girl and sat beside her.

Kourin placed the sword on the wooden floor. "I just want to calm myself for a while. It's really hard for me to cry every day... even though I'm sure those tears won't bring them back to me no matter how hard I wish for it."

Shouko fell silent. And then she looked at the sword. "Rin-chan... I'm sorry." Kourin glanced at her. "If I was here during that time... If I hadn't left you just to take a vacation... I could've... I could've managed to save them." And then she let her tears fall down her face.

And because of those tears that made her vision blurred, she didn't notice the young girl standing up in front of her. She felt Kourin's soft hands cupping her face as the girl's finger wiped the tears on her face.

"Rin-chan..." And Shouko was surprised to see Kourin smiling at her.

"I'm alright. And you don't have to apologize. Besides, you needed to rest that time since you deserve it for all the work you've done for us." And then she hugged her. "I'll be fine now. Okaa-sama and Otou-sama risked their lives to protect me. Onii-sama did the same thing. It would be hard for me but I have to move on."

As she heard those words from the little girl, she couldn't help but cry harder and hug her in return.

"Please stop crying, Shouko-san." And then the girl looked at her. "You have to move on, as well. I know you respected and loved my family as much as your sister. That's why I thank you, from the bottom of my heart."

She wiped Kourin's tears and smiled. "It's me who should thank you. I never said this to your parents but if it wasn't for them, Onee-chan and I wouldn't be alive until now. That's why... I'll make an oath to you."

Kourin frowned. "An oath? What for?"

"I'll be protecting you from now on. And I'll do everything I can with my skills to find the people who killed your family."

"You don't have to go that far. Besides, it will be hard for you to locate them."

Shouko smiled. "But you remembered their mark, right? It's going to be okay. I'll find your family's killer before your coming-of-age ceremony. And I promise you, I'll come back alive."

"But—" The girl hasn't finished saying what she wanted to say when Shouko wagged her finger.

"You shouldn't underestimate the skills of a member of the Miyuzaki clan (c) just because I'm a woman. I've trained hard to protect your family. This is the least I could do since I have failed to protect your parents and your brother. I'm going to uncover their true faces and defeat them so that you'll be able to leave peacefully. Okay?"

Kourin stared at her and then sighed. "Okay then. Just promise me, whether you succeed or not, you'll come back alive. Okay? I want to enjoy making chocolate fondant with you. Since you're good at baking, I would like to learn a lot about it from you. And... you're going to teach me martial arts, so you better come back, okay?"

She smiled as she saw that the little girl was truly determined when saying those words. And then she nodded.

"I will come back. I promise..."

That's right! That day, I promised her that I'll be back. So I'm not going to let that woman catch me and kill me. I'm not going to make Rin-chan cry so hard once again, Shouko thought as she pulled out the gun from her inner chest pocket.

xxxxxx

Shouko decided to escape from her pursuer by finding a chance to jump from the train's roof. It was hard to go there but she managed to do so. She ran to the roof but stopped in her tracks when she heard a woman speak.

"Do you think you can escape from me, Shouko?"

Shouko heaved a sigh and turned around. And then she smiled sarcastically. "Themis (d), you're still proud as ever, huh? Well, I guess you're right. I don't think I could escape from you. But I have to get away from you since I made a promise to the princess."

The woman named Themis shook her head and pointed the gun at her. "Tsk. Tsk. Tsk. Such a pity. With your training and experience, you could become an asset to the agency. Just tell me where the surviving princess is."

She stared at her unwaveringly. "I'd rather kill you than tell you that. You have to go through me first."

Themis laughed. "Do you think you can kill me? Even though you came from the Miyuzaki clan, you still have no match for my skills. So I suggest—" she said as she slowly walked towards her. "—that you should just give up and tell me where the girl is."

Shouko slightly glanced below the roof. 'It's going to the river. This is my chance to escape!' And then she gazed back at Themis.

"Really? I have no match for your skills? Maybe. Don't worry, I'll be able to know the truth sooner or later. But right now..." she walked sideward and reached the edge of the train's roof. "I still have a promise to fulfill."

As soon as she said that and when the train traveled to the bridge, she jumped off the roof.

But it seemed that Themis wasn't going to let her go like that easily. The woman continued to shoot at her as she was going down. Unfortunately, one of the bullets struck her left shoulder. And her gunshot wound was, in fact, through and through due to the impact on her body.

And after that, she fell into the cold river, and her vision began to blur. Her arm had started to get weak that's why she couldn't swim well. 'I hope I can survive this. And... I'm sorry... Rin-chan...'

XXXXXX

Back at Professor Agasa's house, inside Ryoma's room...

Ryoma continued to stare outside the window thinking about the life he was having now. He sighed as the memory of that stormy night rushed into his mind.

And that night resulted in his inability to walk right now, even though Kourin said it was temporary. But he has no idea how long would that "temporary" last.

He was still thinking when he suddenly heard a knock on the door. He just answered "Come in" since he couldn't stand and open the door.

Three kids entered that room, two boys and a girl. Along with them were two adults; a male, and a female doctor. They were smiling when they entered so he doesn't have to fear anything.

'One of them must be Miyuzaki-sensei,' he thought as he saw them go near him.

"How are you feeling, Echizen-kun?" the female doctor asked as she placed her things on the side table.

"Well, I..." he sighed and looked at his legs covered in a blanket. He suddenly felt small hands holding his hands. He glanced at the little girl who then gave him a faint smile.

"It must have been hard for you, Ryoma-niichan." Ayumi then glanced at Karupin who stayed near him. "Even this cute cat went out and searched for you amid the storm. That's why he was injured when Rin-san saw him. Anyway, Ryoma-niichan, what's his name?"

"Karupin," he answered placidly but inside, he was amused and quite restless to see a lot of people worry about him, which he was not used to.

Doctor Yanai chuckled when he saw Ryoma's "hidden" expression. And then he faced and called out the freshman.

"What time did you finally wake up, Echizen-kun?"

Ryoma took some time to think and remember the time Kourin mentioned a while back. "Rin-chan said it's 1:30 in the morning when I asked her."

And the kids called out for his attention.

"We're sorry. We didn't even introduce ourselves to you. By the way, I'm Yoshida Ayumi."

"I'm Tsubaraya Mitsuhiko. Nice to meet you."

"Kojima Genta, leader of the Detective Boys."

Ryoma frowned a bit. "Detective Boys?"

The kids smiled and nodded. "We've already solved a lot of cases together. Aah... Conan-kun, Ai-chan, and Rin-san were our members, too," Ayumi proudly said.

Though he doesn't understand some of it, he looked at the two doctors who were just chuckling at the sight of it. And then they just shrugged their shoulders.

"Anyway, we're going to conduct a health check for us to know your current condition. In case you're wondering, my name is Miyuzaki Shouda. Rin-chan might have mentioned my name to you."

Ryoma nodded. And then he glanced at the other doctor.

"My name is Yanai Shingo. We're the ones who helped you during your whole week of slumber."

He avoided their stares. "Thank you... and I-I'm sorry for the trouble."

"You don't have to apologize to us, Ryoma-niichan. Besides, we're here to at least help you with your case."

The freshman was stunned by what Ayumi just said. "W-what do you mean by that?"

Doctor Akira suddenly spoke. "Let me explain it to you. We are helping these kids investigate because we believe that your case and the past case that I've encountered a year ago might have been a connection. If not, these cases were just the same."

"The same? How come?" Now Ryoma became confused with what the doctor said.

"The chemicals that Shin and I found in your wounds were the exact chemicals we found in one case. The bullets used to shoot you and the bullets found at a crime scene in that past case... It led us to conclude that the people whose after you and those that we're trying to locate were just the same."

Mitsuhiko frowned. "Now I'm having a hard time understanding what Miyuzaki-sensei just said."

"Me, too," Ayumi said. "But Miyuzaki-sensei, just because the chemicals you found in that past case you're mentioning and in Ryoma-niichan's wounds were the same, that doesn't mean you are going to conclude that they were the same people, right?"

"Ayumi-chan has a point," Genta nodded as he said that.

Doctor Yanai was about to speak when Doctor Miyuzaki stopped him. "But Shouda..."

She smiled. "Let me handle this, Shin. This might help Echizen-kun understand his situation right now." And then she faced the baffled freshman while Karupin continued to meow. She heaved a sigh to calm herself. "The old case that I'm talking about happened a year ago in America. To be exact, it happened in Miami, Florida. During a reunion at a mansion of a wealthy Japanese family, a group of people who appeared to be one of the greatest groups of assassins in the world suddenly broke into the mansion and killed each and everyone inside. That group of people was later known to be the Dark Rose Agency (e)."

Ayumi became afraid. "D-Dark Rose? Who were they?"

Even Mitsuhiko and Genta felt the same. But for Ryoma, he listened intently to every word the doctor said.

"The Dark Rose never left anybody in that house alive. A total of 176 people were killed in just one night. When the bodies were discovered the day after that, I was a part of the CSI who investigated that massacre." And then she became quiet.

"Is that the case you mentioned earlier that might have a connection to Ryoma-niichan's case? If a massacre had happened and a lot of people were killed, don't you think the media would know and release information about that?" Mitsuhiko inquired.

Doctor Miyuzaki shook her head. "That case is not what you think it was. That particular case did become a media frenzy for about a month here in Japan. But the Miami police released too little information about this case as per the elders' request. You might have known or heard of this but the news reporters here stated that a wealthy family residing in America was brutally murdered. And yet they never released the other names of those who died there, only the names of the members of the main family who died and even those who presumably died. But that's just it. So in other words, anyone but the police didn't know any information about the massacre... including the shreds of evidence that we found at the crime scene."

"Does that mean no one can manufacture the same chemicals except for the criminals themselves?" Ayumi asked and the doctor nodded.

Doctor Yanai seemed to be troubled that Ryoma and Doctor Miyuzaki noticed.

"What's wrong, Shin?"

Doctor Yanai looked at her. "Shouda, is it okay for you to tell the kids this much? Without her consent?"

She fell silent for a while and then she glanced at Ryoma.

"Even without that person's consent, I'm sure she'll understand why I have to tell this information to them. Sooner or later, these kids—most especially Echizen-kun—will be deeply involved in this current case no matter how much we try to prevent it. We couldn't do anything but to at least give them some information that might help them."

The kids were puzzled by what the doctor said but somehow, they had understood some of it. Ryoma couldn't help but think about it until he had asked himself some questions.

'Could it be that the case Miyuzaki-sensei mentioned earlier... has a connection to Rin-chan? A case that has remained confidential up until now... The chemicals that paralyzed me were the same ones found in the previous case... How do the pieces of the puzzle connect to her? I guess it's not enough to conclude something right now.'

Ryoma didn't say much when the two doctors examined him. The three kids played with Karupin while talking to him and telling him about the cases that the Detective Boys had solved.

But still, his mind was somehow glued to the thoughts of his family, his friends... and the mysteries of Shinomiya Kourin.

'Just what exactly is her secret?'

XXXXXX

Outside Ryoma's room...

Conan and Haibara heard Doctor Miyuzaki's story about the previous case she had in America. It was a good thing that Kourin was not with them since the girl was talking privately to Professor Agasa.

And at this moment, Conan finally remembered the news that the doctor was talking about. For some reason, he felt his strength immediately drained after hearing everything about that case from the doctor. He couldn't help but want to solve that past case and the mysteries surrounding his cousin Kourin. Even though the doctor stated the identity of the culprit, he still wanted to find out who they were and the reason for them to commit that heinous crime.

"What are you thinking now, Kudo-kun?" Haibara asked him placidly.

Conan looked at her and after a moment or two, he sighed. "Now it makes me even more determined to know everything that happened to Rin before she came here. And if Miyuzaki-sensei was telling the truth, that the chemicals found in that past case and Echizen-kun's wounds were the same, then... we just need an important clue that will complete the puzzle."

She frowned. "What do you mean by that?"

"We just need a vital clue from Rin that will help me complete the puzzle of this case. Miyuzaki-sensei, Yanai-sensei, and Rin know something about our current case. They already had a lead to it. And one more thing... The Dark Rose... There's surely something odd to it. Because Rin will not be surprised and scared like that if they had no connection to her."

"And so... what are you doing to do now?"

He fell silent and then he leaned his back on the wall. "For now, I have to think of a way how am I going to find a clue from Rin. I might even ask Hakase about this since she's opening up to him more."

It was that time when they saw Kourin approaching, along with Professor Agasa.

Conan and Haibara fixed themselves and waited for the two to enter the room. And when Kourin stopped there, she frowned when she saw Conan and Haibara looking at her seriously.

"Why are you looking at me like that? You're giving me the creeps, you know that?" Kourin asked.

The two just smiled which made her even more curious about what these two were up to.

"Don't mind us, okay? Just go inside the room," Conan said cheerfully—too cheerful and child-like for her taste.

She glowered at her cousin. "I thought you already entered here. You even barged in here a while ago, didn't you? I can't believe you if you tell me that you're shy entering in here."

Professor Agasa and Haibara chuckled as she smiled and Conan glowered at her.

"Ha ha ha... Very amusing."

She chuckled and then knocked on the door for the people inside that room to know that she would enter.

As the three kids entered Ryoma's room, Professor Agasa couldn't help but remember his conversation with Kourin after Conan and Haibara left the kitchen...

XXXXXX

Flashback; in the kitchen, a few minutes earlier...

Soon after Conan and Haibara left the kitchen to go to Ryoma's room, Professor Agasa waited for a while and when he confirmed that the two weren't near anymore, he glanced at Kourin who was still staring blankly at the wall.

"Rin-kun, are you sure you're not yet going to tell them the truth? Knowing Shinichi, this situation had already aroused his curiosity and he will be more determined to find out the truth about this."

Kourin sighed and stared at the professor.

"But if I tell them the truth about me and Ryoma-niichan's possible connection to the case, I couldn't even guess what's going to happen to them." And then she glanced outside the window. "I don't want them to suffer like my parents... like everyone who had lost their lives because of their tight connection to my family."

The only thing that Professor Agasa could do at that moment was to calm her down.

"You don't want them to know that?" the professor asked.

She could only smile faintly. "With these things happening now, my fate will be set in motion once more. It's not just me. Ryoma-niichan will be having a difficult time now. I'll tell them the truth once I regain the courage to do so. I just need some time to at least make them cautious about the new enemy."

"But Rin-kun... This new enemy, the Dark Rose... Who are they, anyway? And what are the reasons for them to hunt you down and kill you? They even included Ryoma-kun in this."

She fell silent for a while as if trying to recall something. "If I recall what Oji-sama (f) said the day he brought me here, they were after some secret of my family. Though I don't have any idea about it at all. In Ryoma-niichan's case, I couldn't conclude anything about it for now."

"Is that so?" And then he recalled something. "By the way, what are you going to tell Miyuzaki-sensei about Shouko-san? She might have heard you shout when you called out Shouko-san's name on the cellphone."

"Umm... I don't know. I have to wait for her call before I decide to do something about it. And about me shouting, well... I adjusted the time of the soundproof room so it should go off right after Shouko-san hang up the phone." And then she looked at the professor. "Hakase, please just let me tell them alone all about the truth. I might have a hard time explaining if others will tell them that."

Professor Agasa smiled and hugged Kourin. "You don't have to worry about that."

"Thank you... Hakase..."

XXXXXX

Professor Agasa's thoughts were disrupted when Conan suddenly called him. The boy's stares were giving him the creeps. He doesn't usually hide anything from this kid.

If it wasn't for Yuusaku's request, he might not have kept Kourin's secret from Shinichi up until now.

"Hakase, why are you standing there? You need to get inside. Miyuzaki-sensei and Yanai-sensei are calling you now," Conan said.

He just laughed and entered. And then the two doctors had a conversation with them that the kids couldn't exactly hear. This situation gave Conan some suspicions about the professor himself that he knew something about... a certain thing.

And then Conan stared at Kourin and Ryoma who were having a good conversation in which Genta and Mitsuhiko usually interrupt. Haibara and Ayumi just played with Karupin.