Duang! Duang!
Akashi's small face was abruptly squished.
For a brief, horrifying moment, he thought he might end up with a "seafood feast" smeared all over his face.
"So close... so close!" he muttered to himself in panic.
Meanwhile, Sumiko's expression turned desperate. Her face flushed, and tears welled up in her eyes as she stammered, "Akashi-kun, please believe me! I swear, I'm not a pervert!"
But how could she possibly explain this situation?
It defied all logic!
Sumiko couldn't even understand how things had spiraled out of control so badly. She had started the day as a respectable teacher, determined to educate her students. Yet somehow, she'd ended up in this mortifying position.
Her mind raced as she imagined the worst-case scenario:
What if the boy ran off and told everyone that a female teacher had behaved inappropriately with a student?
It would be the end of her career—no, her entire life!
She could already see it:
Colleagues gossiping behind her back;
Parents marching into the school to demand her resignation;
The principal dismissing her on the spot.
After that, no school would hire her again. She'd be unemployed, a recluse hiding in shame at home, with no hope of redemption.
Sumiko's vivid imagination painted a tragic, hopeless future.
Her heart sank as despair consumed her.
But then, Akashi's voice cut through her spiraling thoughts like a ray of light.
"Kobayashi-sensei, I believe you!"
His words pierced the darkness of her mind, pulling her back from the edge of hopelessness.
"But," he added, his voice tinged with discomfort, "could you... get up first?"
The boy gently patted her pale, soft thigh, clearly trying to preserve some semblance of dignity for both of them.
Sumiko jolted upright, flustered and mortified.
---
Once on her feet, Sumiko hurriedly straightened her clothes, smoothing out every wrinkle as if trying to erase the memory of what had just happened.
When she finally looked back at Akashi, her eyes were filled with a mix of anticipation and desperation.
"Akashi-kun, what happened just now... it was a huge misunderstanding! Please, you have to believe me!"
Akashi could sense that something was off about her demeanor.
Still, deep down, he knew the blame lay with him. If he hadn't pushed the experiment so far, none of this would have happened.
He took a deep breath and spoke earnestly.
"Kobayashi-sensei, it's not your fault," he said. "Actually, it's mine."
Sumiko's eyes widened.
"Because of my... special physique," Akashi continued, "it can sometimes cause women to act strangely around me. It's not their fault—it's just something about me that affects people unintentionally. So if anyone is to blame, it's me."
Sumiko blinked, stunned by his words.
"What... a kind-hearted child!" she thought, her heart softening.
Here was a boy who had clearly been wronged, yet he was taking the blame to protect her. How noble, how selfless!
But still...
"This reason is a little too far-fetched!" she muttered to herself. "How could there possibly be a physique like that?"
Even so, she felt relieved.
"So... you won't go out and tell anyone about this, right?" she asked hesitantly.
Akashi nodded firmly.
"Of course not."
Hearing his assurance, Sumiko finally exhaled in relief. The crushing weight of her fears seemed to vanish all at once.
"Thank goodness! You really are the best, Akashi-kun!" she exclaimed, pulling the boy into a tight hug.
---
For a moment, Akashi found himself pressed against her soft figure, unsure of what to make of the situation.
His thoughts spiraled as he tried to process everything.
He had hypnotized her. He had used her for experiments.
And yet... she was 'thanking' him?
"This teacher is way too naive... or maybe just stupidly cute," Akashi thought, feeling both amused and bewildered.
Or could it be... a side effect of the hypnosis?
"Does hypnosis lower IQ?" he wondered, utterly baffled by the turn of events.
Meanwhile, Sumiko, unaware of his thoughts, held him tightly, her heart filled with gratitude for the boy who had "saved" her reputation.
---
At that moment, a teacher entered the office, only to freeze at the sight of Sumiko and Akashi locked in an embrace.
"What's going on here?" the teacher asked, her expression a mix of confusion and suspicion.
Sumiko sprang back, releasing Akashi as if she had touched a hot stove. Her face flushed red, and she stammered, "N-Nothing! It's nothing!"
She quickly scrambled for an excuse.
"This child... he just misses his family a little," she explained with a nervous laugh. "I was comforting him, that's all!"
The teacher raised an eyebrow but said nothing further. Sumiko, desperate to move past the awkwardness, patted Akashi's shoulder and said, "Be strong, Akashi-kun. It's okay. Let's get back to class, alright? Once school's over, your family will come to pick you up."
Akashi sighed inwardly as he left the office. What a pity—this interruption had ruined his plan to keep hypnotizing Sumiko and slip out of school unnoticed.
---
When he returned to class, the earlier commotion had subsided. Sumiko's reputation as a stern disciplinarian still held some weight. The girls in the classroom only dared to steal quick glances at him from their seats, whispering amongst themselves.
As for Conan, the sharp-eyed little detective, he was busy fending off the overenthusiastic Genta.
"You should join the Shōnen Tantei-dan!" Genta declared, practically dragging Conan into the fold.
The sight made Akashi chuckle.
"Somehow, the people who are destined to be together always end up that way," he thought.
---
The day passed uneventfully, and before long, it was time for school to dismiss.
Elementary schools in Tokyo typically release students between 2:00 PM and 4:00 PM, but today classes ended earlier—just before 3:00 PM. It suddenly made sense to Akashi why, in the anime, the Detective Boys always seemed to have time to stumble into mysteries.
It wasn't just plot convenience; they simply had shorter school days and very little homework.
Standing near the school gate, Akashi realized that Eri hadn't yet arrived to pick him up. Perhaps she had forgotten what time the school let out today.
Though he could have stayed and waited, Akashi decided it wasn't necessary. After all, he had the skills and strength to take care of himself.
Pulling out a mask and a pair of sunglasses from his bag, he disguised himself before leaving.
"Let's see if this works," he thought. "If people still act strangely around me when they can't see my face, then the problem really is beyond saving."
Just in case, he had a backup plan: a spinach he'd prepared earlier.
---
Once he stepped out of the school gates, Akashi immediately spotted a familiar group.
The Junior Detective League members were huddled together, arguing over a piece of paper. Genta, clutching the paper tightly, shouted, "I'm telling you, this is a treasure map! We're going to find treasure!"
"This will be the first mission of the Junior Detective League!"
Conan, meanwhile, wore a look of absolute despair.
He had intended to follow Akashi and investigate him further. Instead, he was being dragged into this absurd treasure-hunting escapade by Genta and Mitsuhiko.
"I can't shake them off," Conan thought grimly. "Resistance is futile."
Seeing the chaos unfold, Akashi's eyes scanned the area. His gaze quickly fell on three suspicious-looking men in black suits, loitering near a stone pillar.
"Ah, so that's what's going on," Akashi mused, piecing the situation together.
---
As it turned out, Genta wasn't entirely wrong. The "treasure map" in his hands was, in fact, real.
It led to a stash of maple leaf coins—currency stolen by an Italian criminal gang during a major heist.
After the heist, the gang leader had fled to Japan and hidden the coins, only to be captured by Japanese police shortly after. However, his crew had managed to track down the location of the hidden treasure.
The crude map now in Genta's possession was their only clue.
Unfortunately for the Junior Detective League, their innocent antics had placed them in the crosshairs of the gang members.
Akashi watched from a distance, shaking his head.
"Well, that's their problem," he muttered, turning to leave. "No need for me to get involved with those idiots. It's just too embarrassing."
But just as he began walking away, a thought struck him.
The stash reportedly contained fifteen thousand maple leaf coins, valued at around 600 million yen.
Akashi stopped in his tracks, his eyes lighting up with excitement.
"Wait... six hundred million yen?" he whispered to himself.
This wasn't just a coincidence—it was an opportunity!
He had been wondering how to fund his future plans, and now the solution was practically falling into his lap!
"If I can get my hands on that money, I'll have everything I need," Akashi thought, a sly grin forming on his face.