Chapter 208: A Promise Under the Maple Tree?

Fujino looked confused, a big question mark on his face.

He was feeling a bit overwhelmed.

The girl standing before him was definitely Ookawa Momiji, no doubt about it. But why had she come looking for him?

Ookawa Momiji had indeed said those words just a moment ago and then walked straight up to him. It seemed like she was calling him.

But when did he become Ookawa Momiji's future husband?

He remembered she was supposed to be interested in the Osaka Black Chicken... Did she mistake him for someone else? That shouldn't be possible… The Osaka guy's dark skin is unmistakable.

Plus, he hadn't done anything flirty or questionable. He was innocent...

Fujino was utterly confused.

Suddenly, his thoughts were interrupted.

He looked down and saw Ookawa Momiji slipping her arm through his.

...

Ridiculous.

If he'd known this was going to happen, he would've worn a T-shirt.

...

The onlookers around them exchanged puzzled glances.

Sonoko and Ran were both frozen in place, completely shocked.

Ran's face flushed red, and she was the first to speak after snapping out of it, "She said Fujino-senpai is her future..."

"Husband?!"

Before Ran could finish, Sonoko jumped in, her voice rising involuntarily.

In her daze, it felt like her girlish dreams had shattered into pieces.

"Heh heh heh..."

Conan, standing nearby, couldn't help but laugh genuinely.

He never imagined Fujino would run into such a situation. Suddenly, he felt a weight lift from his shoulders, a burden he had carried for a long time. He even let out a sigh of relief.

At last, he didn't have to worry about losing Ran to someone else.

Tsk tsk tsk!

Conan pulled out the sunflower seeds Fujino had just given him, getting ready to snack. After a moment, he even mimicked Fujino's earlier gesture and turned to Heiji Hattori, "Want some seeds?"

"....."

Hattori had no idea why Conan was so happy.

But since there were free snacks and an entertaining situation to watch…

He silently accepted the sunflower seeds and turned his gaze toward Fujino, standing not far away.

The two dogs watching the drama, lol.

...

Fujino noticed Conan and Hattori munching on sunflower seeds in the distance.

Those two were watching the show.

And they were eating his seeds while watching him deal with this!

Damn it!

He cursed them in his mind, suddenly imagining one as a German shepherd and the other as a husky.

"It's been so long, Toji. Finally, we meet again."

Ookawa Momiji's voice interrupted his thoughts.

Fujino looked down to see her still holding onto his arm, her cheeks flushed, and tears welling up in her eyes as she spoke emotionally. "As promised, I'm here to confess my love."

"Uh..."

Fujino stood frozen, completely unsure of what to do.

Help! What do you do when a strange girl suddenly confesses her love? Urgent, need advice online.

"Wait a second, what exactly is going on here?"

Sonoko, finally recovering from the shock, frowned and looked at Ookawa Momiji, asking, "When did Fujino-senpai become your fiancé?"

"This all began a long time ago... under a maple tree..."

Ookawa Momiji started explaining.

Then she turned to Sonoko and asked, "But before that, what's your relationship with Toji?"

Sonoko raised her head proudly. "I'm Fujino-senpai's classmate, Suzuki Sonoko."

"Classmate... Suzuki..."

Ookawa Momiji lightly touched her lips, as if she suddenly remembered something. "Oh... now I remember, the second daughter of the Suzuki family."

Sonoko looked surprised. "You know me?"

At that moment, Ran walked over as well.

She glanced at Fujino, then at Ookawa Momiji, and asked curiously, "Excuse me, who are you?"

"My name is Ookawa Momiji, and I'm Toji-kun's future bride."

Ookawa Momiji tilted her head and smiled happily.

"Wait, when exactly did Fujino-senpai become your fiancé..."

Sonoko, still not satisfied with the explanation, muttered.

Then she turned her gaze to Fujino and asked, "Senpai, do you know anything about this?"

"I really don't."

Fujino frowned. "I don't remember making any promises like that with Miss Ookawa."

"How could you... have you forgotten?"

Ookawa Momiji looked shocked, letting go of his arm. She quickly pulled out a photo and showed it to Fujino. "You said the next time we met, you'd marry me."

Fujino looked at the photo.

It was an old, slightly yellowed picture. Underneath a maple tree, a little girl in a kimono with tea-colored hair was holding hands with a messy-looking boy, as if making some sort of promise.

Fujino studied the photo, raising an eyebrow.

That boy looked kind of familiar... It seemed like a younger... No, a child version of 'Fujino.'

Great. He was a stand-in!

But wait... According to his memory, even if the Osaka Black Chicken knew Ookawa Momiji, they met at the Karuta competition, right?

What was this situation?

Fujino furrowed his brow, his brain working faster than ever, trying to figure out what was going on.

Ran, Sonoko, and Kazuha all gathered around, curious.

Ran studied the two people in the photo and asked, puzzled, "Are these two...?"

"It's me and Toji-kun."

Ookawa Momiji explained. "This photo was taken after Toji-kun saved me as a child. A passing photographer happened to capture the moment."

She smiled and continued, "At that time, Toji-kun had been bitten by a stray dog. He told me, who was crying in fear, 'The next time we meet, I'll marry you.' Afterward, we made a promise. That's why Toji-kun is my future husband!"

"Huh?!"

Everyone was stunned.

"Did this really happen?"

Fujino looked up, equally confused, and asked, "Miss Ookawa, when exactly did this happen?"

"Ten years ago," Ookawa Momiji answered without hesitation.

Fujino was speechless. "Ten years ago?"

How could she remember something from that long ago so clearly?

Still holding the photo, Ookawa Momiji asked with tears in her eyes, "So, dear, do you remember now?"

Fujino replayed his memories, but nothing useful came to mind.

"Nope."

He shook his head helplessly. "I really can't remember."

"How could that be? I remember it so clearly."

Ookawa Momiji frowned, her eyes beginning to fill with tears. "Does that promise mean nothing to you?"

"A childhood promise?"

Ran, sensing that things were getting complicated, said, "But that was just something said when you were kids, right?"

"Exactly. It was so long ago... Fujino-senpai was just an eight-year-old back then."

Sonoko nodded in agreement.

Before they could finish, Ookawa Momiji interrupted.

"It doesn't matter if he was a child or an adult."

She looked serious. "A man should always keep a promise, especially one concerning a lifelong commitment!"

Her voice trembled as she looked at Fujino, tears falling from her eyes. "Or are you really going to pretend this promise from years ago never happened?"

Fujino raised an eyebrow, feeling utterly speechless.

How had he suddenly become the villain in this situation?

He glanced at the tears sliding down her cheeks. She seemed genuinely heartbroken...

It didn't seem like she was faking it.

There was no reason for Ookawa Momiji, a wealthy young lady, to try to deceive a humble detective like him.

But he really couldn't recall ever meeting Ookawa Momiji or making such a life-changing promise...

It was more likely a misunderstanding, like with the Osaka Black Chicken. But since he couldn't remember what he said back then, explaining the misunderstanding was tough.

He couldn't think of anything...

He needed a way to brush this off for now.

After a moment of contemplation, Fujino decided to use his best skill.

Bluffing!

"That's not it. It's just that I really don't remember."

Fujino took a deep breath, sounding a bit helpless as he continued his bluff. "Actually, I was in a car accident a while ago..."

"Car accident?!"

Ookawa Momiji's eyes widened in shock.

"Yeah, I had a motorcycle accident."

Fujino nodded seriously, continuing his bluff. "I was hit by a big truck. Both me and the bike were sent flying... I think I might've injured my head, so I don't remember some things from a long time ago."

This was Fujino's contingency plan, one he had prepared in case someone noticed he had changed.

In this world, he was an orphan with no close friends, but if anyone from his past came along and noticed his drastic change in personality, they might think he had a mental disorder and send him to a psychiatric hospital.

Though amnesia due to a car accident was still a form of mental illness, at least it was a medical condition, so he wouldn't need to be institutionalized.

Ookawa Momiji scanned Fujino up and down, her voice filled with concern, "And the injuries?"

"That was a while ago. I've fully recovered from the external wounds."

Fujino replied.

"When did you get into this accident, Fujino-senpai?!"

Both Ran and Sonoko asked with concern after hearing this.

"It was probably right after I finished recording that show X-Ray Neon Detective," Fujino thought for a moment and answered honestly. "That night, I was hit by a truck."

He wasn't making this up or exaggerating the details.

Fujino really had been hit by a truck.

In a detective world like this, losing a bit of memory after getting hit by a truck seems pretty normal, right?

"No wonder you didn't come to school for a few days!"

Sonoko Suzuki, after thinking for a while, suddenly understood.

Meanwhile, Hōyō Ōoka had already started taking action. She calmly pulled out her pink flip phone and gave an order to her butler on the other end: "Iori, contact the hospital affiliated with Kyoto University... Get me the best brain specialist... Yes, that's right, he lost his memory after a car accident..."

Fujino was stunned, "A brain specialist?"

Just like that, one phone call, and she was planning to take him to see a brain specialist at Kyoto University Hospital?

This was absurd...

Why wasn't she following the usual script?

(End of chapter)