"Ran, what's wrong with you? I feel like you've been a little absent-minded lately."
It was after school at Teitan High School.
With no club activities scheduled, Ran and Sonoko decided to take some photo booth pictures. Halfway through, Sonoko suddenly spoke up.
"Is that so?" Ran replied.
"Yes! I was talking to you so excitedly, and you didn't seem to be listening at all."
Sonoko narrowed her eyes and teased, "What's going on? Are you thinking about sex or something?"
"What did you just say?!" Ran flushed.
"Come on, admit it! The only thing that can distract a teenage girl this much is a boy—a seriously good-looking one."
"You're impossible," Ran muttered, trying to brush it off—but her heart throbbed uneasily.
Though it wasn't exactly about romance… she had been thinking about Hayashi Yoshiki a lot lately.
Ever since she realized Yoshiki might truly have feelings for her, she couldn't help but pay more attention. Whenever she had a moment to herself, her mind wandered back to that look in his eyes before the parachute jump, or how he leaned in as if to kiss her but stopped at the last moment—
Fantasy Park, the tired and vulnerable smile he showed her...
And most recently, that moment in his office when it almost happened again.
Maybe what she thought about during the day invaded her dreams—because just last night, Ran had dreamed of Hayashi Yoshiki.
In the dream, he didn't stop this time—he kissed her.
She'd woken up in a daze. Not repulsed... but overwhelmed.
Confused, her thoughts wandered—to Kudō Shinichi, to Sonoko, who openly admired Yoshiki, and even to her own mother, Kisaki Eri, who seemed to encourage her relationship with Yoshiki...
"You're looking guilty now, aren't you?" Sonoko smirked, raising an eyebrow.
"It's really nothing!" Ran exclaimed. "Let's just go take those photos!"
"Okay, okay—don't push me!" Sonoko laughed as Ran shoved her toward a nearby photo booth.
Trying to shove aside her tangled emotions, Ran smiled and posed with Sonoko for a string of silly, fun pictures.
There were a lot of machine types here. After they took a batch of funny photos, Sonoko even tried a wedding-themed booth solo, grinning mischievously.
"Hehe, if I meet a guy I like, I can send him this photo. Who knows? Maybe it'll seal the deal~"
"Are you serious?"
"Totally joking. But honestly? Since meeting Yoshiki, my standards for good-looking guys have skyrocketed."
"...Are you still into Yoshiki-kun?" Ran asked cautiously.
"Of course!" Sonoko answered instantly, but her excitement quickly gave way to a more thoughtful expression.
"The problem is... he's just too high-level. He always seems so calm and gentle, but no matter what, it feels impossible to close the distance. I think maybe... Yoshiki is the type you can only admire from afar."
"...Is that so?"
"Yeah," Sonoko sighed. "It's hard to imagine anyone conquering him. Maybe only a girl who saved the galaxy or something could win his heart."
"You're exaggerating."
"Maybe. But that's how I feel."
Just then, a familiar voice called out:
"Sister Ran!!"
It was Conan, running toward them.
Ran and Sonoko weren't surprised—they'd agreed to meet up with him.
As the three of them made their way downstairs, they noticed a crowd gathered near a shooting arcade machine. A blonde woman was showing off some impressive marksmanship, drawing awestruck gasps from the onlookers.
"...Isn't that...?"
"Teacher Jodie?"
They walked closer out of curiosity.
Jodie Starling, who had just cleared a level and holstered her light gun, looked over in surprise. "Oh! Mōri-san and Suzuki-san?"
As the crowd murmured in disbelief that this stylish foreigner was a high school teacher, Jodie quickly waved them away from the commotion.
While the adults chatted, Conan—still somewhat surprised by Jodie's professional gun stance—wandered around aimlessly.
Then, something caught his eye.
"Brother Yoshiki?!"
"Conan?" Hayashi Yoshiki blinked, surprised. His eyes shifted to the foreign woman standing with the group, and recognition struck instantly.
"Yoshiki-nii!!" Sonoko called, waving cheerfully.
"Yoshiki…" Ran greeted softly, her voice trailing.
"What are you all doing here today?" Hayashi Yoshiki smiled, but when he looked at Ran, his smile faded slightly. "Is something wrong, Ran? You look a little out of it."
"No... maybe the air here is just a little stuffy," Ran replied quickly.
She didn't know Yoshiki had been "exposed," so his concern was genuine, not feigned.
"And who is this handsome man?" Jodie asked with amusement.
Sonoko enthusiastically introduced them to each other.
Jodie Starling, in reality, an FBI agent, was undercover as an English teacher at Teitan High to investigate Vermouth. With her reappearance, it was clear—Shūichi Akai couldn't be far behind.
Hayashi Yoshiki was very interested in meeting the one man said to rival Gin.
"But Yoshiki, what brings you to a place like this? Playing games?" Ran asked curiously.
"No, I'm actually here for work."
"Work?" Conan perked up. "Did someone hire you for a case?"
"Not exactly. I'm just checking out what kind of games are trending right now. Yusaku Kudō asked me to."
"Shinichi's dad?"
"Yeah. I worked with him recently on a game script in the U.S. Besides mystery games, the company wants to branch into other genres—so I'm doing some field research."
(Though honestly, this kind of thing is usually handled by market analysts... maybe Yusaku just trusted Yoshiki's instincts?)
Anyway, he had time to spare.
"Looking for game trends? Oh! I highly recommend the new battle sim—Super Warrior Spirit!" Jodie clapped enthusiastically.
She led them to a fighting simulator that used motion feedback to simulate real hits and attacks.
Intrigued, Hayashi Yoshiki watched as Ran, encouraged by Jodie, sat in the gaming pod and donned the virtual helmet.
From the sidelines, he couldn't help but smile.
It really was an interesting world.