As soon as Shinichi moved his seat officially next to Ranran, everything after that turned into a big mess.

The classmates that had watched all of this unfold before them were very amused by the spectacle, but the school was more lively than it was upon hearing the rumours about what really happened in their class.

Various words could be heard across the hallways.

"I heard Kudo Shinichi had openly declared he wasn't very happy sitting next to Mouri Ran, his rumoured girlfriend, and told the sensei to arrange his sitting right next to Ranran."

"I've been told that apparently, Ran didn't trust him after that soccer club incident took place, which is why he did what he did."

"I also been told Sonoko, her best friend was giving him a hard time for something he has never done. How stupid of him to do that, let alone, in front of the entire class! Had he had no shame? To humiliate his girlfriend like that publicly?!"

"Are you that naive? Shinichi isn't that stupid! In fact, he was rather clever, because why bother wasting his time to get a stubborn brat girl like her to trust him since she never will, when he could be using his time to focus on his tantei dreams by hanging out with Ranran! Also, he didn't have a girlfriend. It was Sonoko or Ran's delusional belief that they own him as if he wasn't Ran's personal property.

"Seems like Ranran herself must be the type to give people tough love. Not to mention, she was also open-minded about letting him sit right next to her, even forgive him, especially after what he had done to her last year."

"I am glad that even though she is cunning, at least she is also open-minded towards him. Just by thinking about Shinichi having to bear with Ran being so cold towards him....who would've known she was so shrewd unlike Ranran would."

Ranran and Shinichi who became the origin of the turmoil seemed to have hidden themselves days later. It wasn't like they completely vanish into thin air. You can still see them in class, but then in a blink of an eye as soon as it is either recess or after school, they vanished.

Even Ran and Sonoko had to go into hiding as the days dragged on, as vicious rumours such as 'Ran not being a good friend' or 'being a bratty girl being one of the reasons to not trust Shinichi's innocence threaten to ruin her reputation. In any case, to Shinichi's fangirls, it is like her being cold towards their crush because she is a 'dumb girl', so it be a matter of time before the commotion dies down and life can go back to normal.

At last, Sonoko stormed away from another potential hiding spot as more kids had gathered around, still pissed at what had happened as Ran walked alongside.

"Damn that Geek! Whom knew he'll be this ruthless!" Sonoko wore anger on her face. Ran sighed as she walked across the hallway with Sonoko, she was worried about Shinichi. After that huge feud he had with Ranran, he had yet to talk about it, let alone, to herself Ran."Still thinking about it?"

Ran blinked at Sonoko and nodded, "I know Shinichi told us to leave him be, but it just doesn't feel right. I mean, he seemed really upset."Ran answered, looking so bothered.

"Uhmm...Ran, you know, I've been thinking of telling you this for a long time.."Sonoko said, biting her lower lip.

"What is it Sonoko?"

"Regarding his relationship with Ranran.....what if.....they are finally more than that?"Sonoko whispered, then Ran stared at her blankly, not clearly getting what her friend is trying to say. A frown formed on Sonoko's face, "You know we've been hearing rumours that she was adopted into his family to be married off to him, correct?"

Ran nodded.

"You know....you haven't been speaking to Shinichi in a long while. Maybe during that period....."Sonoko paused, unable to continue

"Sonoko, what are you trying to say....?Be honest with me!"Ran cried, pleading for the truth.

Sonoko was helpless..she have no choice but to just continue with her story, "I heard.... rumours. They are just biased rumours, with no truth in them. Even so.....she was seen with him, a lot lately....." Sonoko sighed, her words rang in Ran's mind.

"Sonoko..."

"Ran. I think there may be a chance someone has been using this feud between the two of you as an opportunity to get Shinichi to be closer to Ranran. If you don't do something about it, you will likely lose him to her for good." Sonoko said to Ran.

Meanwhile.....

"I think your plans of public humiliation would make her distance herself away from you, but I doubt it does any favours with that best friend of hers so to speak."

The two children are hiding out on the school rooftop. It may have been locked, but kudos to Shinichi's pick-locking abilities they were able to hide out from the chaos Shinichi had caused. The two were having lunch with Bentos in tow, sitting together on the same bench from time to time beneath the clear blue sky, a total contrast to the simmering chaos beneath them. They have been hiding out here for a while since it happens.

"Shinichi?"Ranran asked again.

"Sorry. I spaced out for a minute.", said Shinichi who seemed a little bit not himself to Ranran, he held onto the spoon but did not have a single bite.

Ranran observed him putting his spoon into the box for a while before she decided, "I ain't surprise that you are still upset over what you've done, considering you been friends with Ran since kindergarten, to begin with."

"Ah no, it ain't that I was thinking about..." Shinichi told Ranran, not knowing how to quite finish his sentence. However, Ranran seemingly knew what he wanted to say.

Why must things turn out this way?

When you are used to having the people closest to you mistreat you without realizing it until you finally lose them for good, you develop a strange sense of nothingness.

Ranran didn't tell him to take it too far, just distance himself from her. He didn't really need to take it too far in her books, but the fact that he did, indicates to her that his relationship with Suzuki and Mouri has been riddled with problems, problems that not even Ranran herself is aware that up to a point, he had to take such drastic measures such as humiliation to do so.

Perhaps Reina is right, there is something going on between the three of them.

Shinichi's frustration, his recklessness—it all stemmed from something deeper from those two, something he wasn't ready to say aloud to Ranran, not just yet.

"Kudo.....I know I shouldn't say any of this, but later on in life when you look back on this day......you will realize this is nothing.....compared to the many hurdles you are about to face as a detective."Ranran cast her gaze to the sky.

"Eh?!"He froze, dropping his sushi into the bento box.

"You know when we are younger when one tells you 'I don't wanna be your friend anymore, I hate you!' for the first time as a kid, one would cry because they fear no one loves him or her anymore and that they blame themselves that their friend leaves them."

"Is that so?" questioned Shinichi.

"I'll tell you a bit of my past experiences. Before we moved into what was then my hometown, I live in a trashy like neighbourhood. We call it...the slums."

"Ehhh!?"Shinichi was stunned. Ranran lived such a life before?! How is it he isn't aware of this?! None of the adults told him about it.

"Back then I was around 2 years old....my parents used to drop me at a play area while they go shopping in a mall, "Ranran reminisce as if it was yesterday as she ate another spoon of rice," we used to have this kid, I think his name was Theodore. He was around.....10 years old at that time. Theodore....was a spoiled prick."

"Is he?"

"Every day whenever I am there, he made the kids' lives miserable. If he sees a toy he likes, he would snatch it away from them without caring that they cried. If he wasn't snatching, he was guilt-tripping them into thinking that he didn't wanna be their friend anymore if they don't give them the toy they were playing with. He would even go as far as to throw balls onto whoever he likes from the ball pit, or push kids down from a high climbing obstacle course when he impatiently waits for them to slide down, leaving them with bruises and cuts on occasion."

After finishing her bento, she moved the box away from her lap and set it next to her, putting aside her chopsticks as she continued to turn to the boy," the worst part? His mother claimed he was autistic, so even if one of the victim's parents tells the manager to get him out, he refused because he feared he will lose his job for kicking an autistic child out of a mall."

Shinichi listens to the tale intently, finishing his bento before he too does the same.

"But I at that time didn't think he is, cause otherwise, he wouldn't have been smart enough to guilt-trip people, let alone do all those evil crap onto other kids."

Shinichi stare back at Ranran, "Well then why do you think his mom thinks he is?"

"For government benefits, I think."Ranran huffed in annoyance thinking of it now, "I think she lied so that she can claim more money from the fake disorder. You have to remember,  we live in such a poor hostile environment, the people living there would do anything for money."

"And is he, really?"

"Whether he truly is or not, I didn't care. But what I do care is as long he doesn't bother me and my tin soldiers toys I found from the play area."

".....but he did, didn't he?"

"Yup."

"And so....what did you do to him?"He wanted to know more, taking a drink and sipping it.

"When he used the same words on me, I was like 'technically I didn't have any, to begin with, why does that matter to you?'"

"PFFFFTTTTT!!!"The drink he just drank spurted out, making Ranran react in shock."Kudo, are you alright?"

"Ah no...I am alright, just.....listen to something unexpected. That's all."Shinichi reassures her, as he once again continued to sip his drink before saying, "Continue."

"He then tries to snatch the soldier I arranged, followed by him stomping on them. So I did the only thing reasonable."

"Which is?"He swallowed the drink midway as she answers, "I have a total of 5 toy soldiers with me, I had to, unfortunately, sacrifice one."

"Oh, so you gave it to him?"This was so unexpected of Ranran, considering her nature.

"Yeah, right through his nose."

"PFFFFFFTTTTTTTTTTT!!!!"Once again he turned away from Ranran, having spurted the drink he had drunk midway, before coughing, "You seriously need to handle your drink well."Ranran frowned at him.

"Can I help it!? After hearing what you just did!? You were only 2 years old for God's sake! This info just blew up all of my expectations in this story."Shinichi justifies as he cleans himself up with a tissue, before he wonders and turned to her puzzled, "He didn't die, did he?"

"I honestly don't know, but I remembered I wasn't happy now I had to play with only 4 soldiers now and went on playing while he was laying down on the floor making some weird noises."

Is she serious!?  "You went on playing...wait, right next to him!? While he was struggling to breathe!?"

"How would I know? All I know was that his mouth was blue by the time his mom rushed back hurriedly with the manager and he was sent to the ambulance on a stroller. After that incident, I never see mother and son ever again and for some reason, the kids who never once approach to talk or play with me for some reason when Theodore is around, finally came to play with me, this went on till I move into my hometown."Ranran shrugged.

Ranran is seriously a dangerous little girl, also, the real reason why they probably didn't approach you is that you are psychotic till you got rid of their enemy. He could not help but think.

"Did you ever know he was autistic or not?"

"Whether he is or not.....I just don't tolerate idiots who are interfering with my plat time."

Shinichi swallowed his final sip before putting his can aside."Kudo-kun can just easily do it without hesitating, huh?"He sighed."As expected from you, you have no fear."

"Truthfully speaking, not many of us are aware, but when one says they don't want to be friends anymore, a friend once told me there are always going to be better friends than the one who said those horrible things to you."Her voice caught his attention immediately, surprised and a little bit shocked he looked towards her."The ones that convince them to stay...always find themselves living in misery, like those kids who willingly let Theodore make them miserable as they are. They fear getting hated. So one should live happily without a care, without being considerate."

"But.....although I don't think what you said is wrong," he frowned, "constantly doing as you please without compromise.....doesn't this make you selfish?"

"Being selfish isn't all bad to be."

"I doubt it. Being selfish is the worst, cause that meant you are not considerate to people."

"Then let me ask you a simple question. Do you feel happy?"

"Eh?"

"Since meeting Ran and Sonoko? Do you feel happy? Fulfilled? That the life you are living in is the life you want? Constantly considerate to the two?"Shinichi falls silent at the question she posed to him, "I mean...I don't know whether you being constantly subjected to teasing on becoming a couple between you and Ran, hanging out with them whenever they head to the mall-"

"How did you know all of this?"He suddenly felt guarded.

"I overheard Sonoko brag about how she was able to get you to carry her stuff to her friends."

"That little prick-"Shinichi muttered in anger.

"Anyway, I don't know how all of this would make me happy in my shoes. Then again, everyone has their different views when it comes to happiness."

".....then what is 'happiness' to you, Ranran?"

"Happiness?"Ranran gaze at the blue sky with a blank expression, the sun hid behind the clouds," getting to do what I love without anyone holding me back."

"Do what you love huh...."

For a long time, Kudo Shinichi is known by the entire school as a good Tantei prodigy, no different than Ranran. He never once hid himself in regards to his passion for becoming a full ledge Tantei, and his dream never wavered when other kids made fun of his obsession. When Ran became his friend, that was no different either. However, in the past 2 years since they became friends, he noted he has reduced his conversation about Holmes around Ran and Sonoko up to a bare minimum. It wasn't that Ran and Sonoko made him do so, as he would go on and on without hesitation, even when they would go 'shut up with Holmes' after explaining the movie they had watched about it for about 2 hours. They never stopped him.

Even so....maybe it's because he began to notice their mood whenever he talks about his idols.

Maybe that's why.....

The more he thought about it, the more it had come to realise that if he has no Ran, no Sonoko, he was all alone with a Tantei obsession label on his own. Didn't have a true friend of his own that is into the Tantei business as much as everyone in their school.

This made Shinichi realize how sad it was.

Sensing he was feeling sad, Ranran goes on to say, "Your next test is gonna include this Watanabe case."

"Eh!?"Immediately the melancholy sadness of his life was replaced with excitement, turning to the girl, "What do you need me to do?"

"Watanabe's family. If you can find anything interesting, let me know. That is the 2nd test."

"Watanabe's family huh...."Shinichi ponders about this, if he recalled stalking her at that time, she was searching for his nephew." nothing much is known about his family when the news reported him having escaped from prison."

"Watanabe has been a seasoned criminal way back to his younger days and has shown no signs of stopping till he got arrested around in his 50s according to the criminal records."Ranran pointed out before adding," also, no family would wanna acknowledge that they have a black sheep like him as their family member. Cause let's face it, everyone will have a huge distrust towards the family as well, as if they were evil beings. However...."

".....however?" he prompted her to continue.

"There got to be at least one family member whom he greatly cares about the most."

"That's true...."Shinichi nodded, "Alright, I will try to look into it and see what I can find."All of a sudden, his phone erupted with a beep sound, notifying the received text.

He frowned, refusing to fish out his phone. Ranran who is still sitting next to him, be like, "You didn't block both of their numbers?"

"I did, but I fear they used our other classmates' numbers to do it."He sighs before finally deciding he had it with them, scooping his phone to only then read the contents of the message, a couple of missed calls and more texts he is gonna probably ignore.

Except for the recent one where it reads:

Kudo-kun, it's Reina-san. Is Ranran with you? She had to do soup duty today, I've been trying to call her but she isn't picking up her phone for some reason.

"Soup duty...."Shinichi processed the meaning behind the text, only to realize, "Ranran, today is your turn to carry the soup pot?!"

"Ah damn it, I didn't wanna carry the damn pot of soup."Ranran sighs....before whining, "In my old school, we just need to head to a venue and we be given the food automatically, not do things D.I.Y. Uggghhh....."Ranran stretch her back for a moment, "I swear Japan just wanted to cut cost and do free labour by exploiting kids like us, so they made us do things all by ourselves!"

"This is how it will be for the rest of our lives, Ranran. Deal with it."He lectured her as she whined more."I don't wanna carry soup!"

Now unlike the school back in the U.K, many elementary schools in Japan eat school lunches in their classrooms. Making matters worst for someone like Ranran who was used to be in a school where she just needed to head to the cafeteria to have her meals, it seems like she had to do additional duties than what a cafeteria worker should've been doing in her opinion. This make Ranran frown at that prospect." But if I do so, you would have to go down back in class to drink the soup as well." she turned to him, "Are you going to be alright while I am gone?"

"I am certain she won't dare to come to me, Ranran."Shinichi scoffed at her, "I know her well enough."

"Shinichi, there is a saying my mother used to tell me 'never underestimate the scorn of a woman'. Ran may not dare to, but Sonoko isn't a gossip queen filled with dramatic flairs for a reason. If I were you, I will be very worried."

Personally, now Ranran is quite troubled.

Though she knew Shinichi has proven himself to be capable of certain things, she ain't sure how things are gonna turn out later on.

................................................................

Shinichi then quickly remembered Ranran was right on her words.

While waiting for Ranran to show up as it was her turn to take the pot of food into the classroom to discuss further from his desk, Sonoko slam her book on top of his desk, where his bento suddenly popped open and the remnants spilt all over the table and floor. The classroom was suddenly very quiet. "Kudo Shinichi!"

Shinichi reacted in shock.

"You are the absolute worst! How could you dump Ran like that? You've been friends with us for a year! How is it that you decided not to patch things up with Ran, after everything you've been through with us! You don't even deserve much better than you just walking down the street with that Ranran girl!"

"What are you talking about!?"Shinichi was becoming confused, as he has no IQ when it comes to the love department, frustrating Sonoko more.

Before Sonoko could even argue over how Ran had loved him all this while," Already slandering rumours about me dating Shinichi, I see? It has only been a while since I head out to carry a pot soup, and already causing drama merely 5 minutes since my absence."

The little girl's booming voice cut through her lecture, causing both to become startled as Ranran drops the pot on the floor, while the other kid holding the handle on the left side struggled to hold onto the heavy pot as Ranran marched up to them, her head turning to Sonoko, "Even if we were, what make you think you have entitled the rights to know every bit of Shinichi's love life? From what I heard, you both gave him the cold treatment without even listening to his explanation."

"Ranran-"

Ranran raised her hand to stop Shinichi from talking before turning to Sonoko, "Suzuki-san, deshou? Kudo Shinichi belongs to no one. He can openly date anyone he wants. So how can you be claiming that he is someone's boyfriend when he did not know of this?"

"Well.....he belongs to Ran-san! The entire class knows this! We all known each other since kindergarten-"

"Is that so?"Ranran glances at Shinichi, reading his shocked expression, before turning back to Sonoko, "Then if that is the case, do you have any evidence?" she offers her hand to her as if she was expecting something from her.

"E-e-evidence!?"Sonoko became stunned by Ranran demanding proof out of the blue.

"Evidence that he truly loves her?Love letters? Recordings that he confesses to her or the other way round? Video? Anything like that? Or that this Ran-san love him?Physical evidence to say the least? Or did you or anyone here actually hear him personally say he loves Ran? Or did Ran say such a thing personally?"The more Ranran pressed, the more Sonoko couldn't answer, let alone, the other classmates."I heard that this whole rumour mill between Shinichi and Ran began because they were the only closest male-female friend in kindergarten, correct?"

Ranran puts both her hands into her skirt pocket as she glances at everyone, demanding answers from them. One by one, all of them nodded."Actually....it's because she and he blushed whenever we said it, that's why...."one of them said.

"So you guys only have that to go on, huh....."Ranran's words trailed off before thinking, "Well now you mention it, if we look at Shinichi and Ran together, I can see why, they do look cute," Ranran admits, glancing at Shinichi while rubbing her chin, before turning her focus back to Sonoko, "Even so, just relying love base on everyone's expectation for the two to be together, won't it be sad if they do according to what all of you pressure them to do, only to end up breaking up in the end?"

"Eh!?"

"If that really works the way all of you guys say it does....how is it that Ran's parents ended up splitting up in the first place?"

Sonoko turned with a pale look on her face, while their classmates were nodding with each other, muttering that what Ranran said was true. Ranran's words were beginning to sink into everyone's minds.

A brief mention, Ran's parents met when they were their age in the same school and the same class when they were the same age. As far as Ranran had recalled, their love story was big news back then according to her dad as they had two contradicting personalities, one who always had their nose in the books while the other had a rather delinquent vibe, so when they got married and ended up having Ran, it was a shock to everyone.

What happened was the shock after that was....they separated. And that too wasn't a secret.

The entire school is aware of this, including class 1-A. It is after a tight-knit community, so nothing could really stay hidden for long. The cause of their split was unclear, but rumours of a third party due to sightings of Mouri Ran's father hanging out in hostesses club, let alone, him constantly drinking was said to be the reason.

But in Ranran's personal opinion, it was a clearcut case of personality clash.

Mouri Ran's parents is friends with Ranran's mother, so she had glimpses when she met both of them separately in person. Ran's mother is a bit of a borderline workaholic lawyer, but intelligent and at times: sharp. Knowledgeable when it came to the laws of Japan. In courtroom, she is merciless at times. And on occasion, she can be confrontational, but that is part of her lawyer duties. Beautiful too, which she has no shortage of suitors in the process when they heard she has split up with her husband, but she always turned them down. 

She is also a good mother, a point proven as she didn't divorce her husband even though they split up, despite speaking ill of him at times, not to mention, force their daughter to choose who should she end up following since they now live separately. The reason for that is to prevent Mouri Ran from being bullied in school, since children of divorce parents are the biggest target after all, and to top it off, she wants Ran to choose for herself rather than for them.

Then you have Mouri Kogoro, intelligence wise he is a failure, but when it came to physical prowess, he is good in terms of tackling bad people who threatened him. As a father, he tries his best to raise her as well.

Or rather in Ranran's intel....it's a bit the other way around.

He sucks at house chores, getting drunk most of the time while Mouri Ran cleans up his empty bottles and cigarettes. In addition to that, Ran is also in charge of settling house expenses by managing his money, house chores, as well as cooking in general. Not that common to hear children doing this sort of thing, but borderline common in Japan as Ranran learned.

But he does make sure the cigarettes are constantly wet, and that the beer cans and alcohol bottles are empty to a point, she can never try a sip or smoke for that matter.

Still, he has flaws of his own, in a way: He lack awareness on how his actions can at times hurt people in the process. 

And that same trait was unfortunately....inherited by Mouri Ran as well.

Mouri Ran whose presence isn't around as she had to run some school errands, Ranran noted while all eyes are onto them, much less, her best friend is here causing a ruckus onto Shinichi at the moment....honestly, Ranran wished she could just find her, drag her and make her see what her idiot best friend is doing to Shinichi right now.

But it's bothersome, so she can handle this on her own.

"Being put in such an awkward position, anyone can blush too if one were to make such claims as you do all the time."

"That ain't true!"Sonoko argues.

"Ok then, hey everyone, Suzuki secretly has a crush on Shinichi!"Ranran abruptly announces, welcoming shock and gasp in the entire class.

"Ooi! What the hell!?"Sonoko responded bashfully, and so did Shinichi.

"See? You both are blushing even though I just say it without proof."Ranran hit her mark with a smile, as all the kids' gasped at the two before she went on, "There you go, that ain't proof it is love. If there is one thing I was taught is this: You can't pressure people to fall for someone, or else things will eventually become catastrophic."

Sonoko and everyone falls silent at her words.

"And if you have personal issues with Shinichi over me seeing him, that is very childish of you. If anything, this kind of problem should've been between Ran and him, not you and him. The way you were doing it earlier, it was as if he belonged to you."Ranran dropped one harsh word after another as she went on, "Also, there is always going to be prettier and talented girls coming after him besides me. How you spoke Shinichi earlier, was also by far disruptive and disrespectful to everyone here who are currently hungry. Neither of you are respecting his opinion on this matter. What you are doing now....is showing the ugly nature of yourself, even for a lady from a rich family."

That stung Sonoko, not to mention, her pride.

"You are right, Miss Kudo Ranran, even though you tend to rebel in class a lot."A voice came out from the classroom, heads turn to see it was their teacher.

"Sensei!"

"Ranran, I heard everything, no need to explain. That is mature of you in handling this situation, and she is right. When it comes to love, be responsible no matter what. Cause otherwise, it is as devastating as it is. Also, Suzuki Sonoko, you'll report to me after class for causing the unnecessary commotion, Kudo-kun, go clean yourself up. Miss Kudo, just accompany him."

"Alright," Ranran nodded before she escorts Shinichi, "Let's go."

Shinichi nodded before he quietly got up to follow the teacher's orders and went out of the classroom, silent except for subdued classmates.

"But sensei! Ranran, she-"

"Enough, Suzuki-san," the teacher interrupted firmly, raising her hand to silence Sonoko. "What you did was disrespectful! Who are you to go about flipping Kudo-kun's bento!? Did your parents not teach you to not waste food!? Or that living in a rich family doesn't exempt you from basic manners?" 

The teacher's voice was sharp, cutting through the air like a knife. Sonoko flinched, her face turning red with embarrassment as the weight of the reprimand settled on her shoulders.

"Yes, sensei." Sonoko gave him, then at Ranran a glare, as if blaming her for getting them into this mess.

Thankfully, aside from a muttered "He never eats it anyways," from Sonoko, the class waited until he and Ranran were out of the room to start talking.

"Ranran is seriously too qualified for anyone. I bet even murdering someone is-"

"One more word about this, you be seeing yourself out of this school soon," Ranran stated bluntly, blue eyes deadly as the surveyed the crowd across the hallway.

Shinichi was dumbfounded as their classmates stiffened. Whispers similar to those of, "Oh crap, better run," erupted through the crowd before they all simultaneously nodded classroom like their lives depended on it.

Though Ranran has no idea why Shinichi was popular over for, she was surprised by the effect Kudo Shinichi had on people. Almost every girl was infected by a sudden rush of blood to their cheeks, guys were shaking their heads, and even the envy and admiration from other boys was pretty evident in their eyes.

It reminded her of someone, 'that boy'......same situation, except-

"Seriously, I just don't understand why these kids are constantly fantasizing between you and Ran."Ranran kept looking from the back, before talking to him, "As if you were famous or something."

"Ah, that. Actually...I ain't, though.....I wouldn't say the same for my family."He scratches his head nervously.

"Eh? What do you mean?"

"Well.....how much were you told about my parents before coming here?"

".....that one is a mere aspiring mystery writer and the other some former actress?"

".....is that all you were told?"

"Am I wrong....?"

Sensing that she doesn't, he goes, "No, you ain't wrong. Except the fact is....they are quite famous."

".....famous as in....international status?"

"Well...for Okasan, almost. For Tousan, yes."

"Damn."

"Yeah, as you can see....being the son of two famous parents made it hard to be approached by others, it would seem."Shinichi couldn't help but sigh, "crowding up and staring at me from a distance, it has become my usual norm."

"Have you tried to consider giving them that friendly approach?"

"Hah!?"

"Like....this expression of yours right now, not approachable."She pointed at his face.

"Meh, I refuse to. I will be like a beehive attracting bees to attack me. Right now, some of them are probably thinking 'oh, his presence is mentally straining'."Ranran couldn't help but feel bad for him a little."Just the mere sight of me was enough to cause a stir."

"What about Ran, are her family any different?"

"Ah no, she isn't, she lives normally like the rest of the kids here."Shinichi shook his head," she is the daughter of my mother's friends."

"Eh....small world."

Even Ranran is a little taken aback, though she seems to have no knowledge of how famous my parents were oddly......what did our grandparents say to her I wonder? Shinichi wonders as they were heading to the boy's washroom."I think...I roughly get what you are going through right now."

"Eh...?"

"You.....aren't ungrateful over this life you were blessed with, you just want the fake lies from those faces to end."

Shinichi remains quiet.

"What?"

She struck on, "No one aside from you has ever said this out directly at me. Normally, as soon as they hear this, they just either shy away or jump at the opportunity to come after me."

"Is that so?"Ranran suddenly noted they made it to the washroom, "Alright, that's as far as I can go. Do what you gotta do."

"Alright," He nodded, but not before saying, "Um...Ranran."

"Hm?"This made her perk up her head, "Yeah?"

"Arigato....for what you did for me earlier."Shinichi thanked her.

"Eh...?" Ranran turned to him, then realizing what he was referring to, "Ah that, it's ok....what that rich girl talking nonsense about you was so uncalled for. Seriously, who the hell does she think she is? Seriously," she scoffs, "is she pretending to be stupid or so to do the things she did?"

"Not really....she had always been that way."

"Is it?

"Since kindergarten, she use to make fun of me and Ran being together. It was so just to see the two people she care about the most to be united, it was expected."

"Then....what was with Sonoko being hostile towards you over-"

"It is kinda mutual between her and I."

"Hm?"

"When we were younger, she was boy crazy, not that it changed now, but really, she says she wants to get married to a good looking boy constantly. One day....she acted unreasonably over a celebrity boy who studied in our kindergarten."

"Eh....."

"Whoever she dates meant nothing to me. However.....that day I overheard he was making bets with some other boys on how many girls he managed to sweet talk. When Sonoko was the next one.....I had no choice but to publicly call her on being a delusional girl who is an extreme fangirl to get her out of the situation."Shinichi sighs.

"Ah, is that so?"That she didn't know.

"This naturally distances him from her, but of course, our friendship stayed as it is now because of it. The feeling between Sonoko and I are mutual, to begin with. Not that we hate each other to a point of wanting to kill one another, no, it is just different beliefs. And yeah, Ran is like a sister to her, which made sense. I didn't even respect Ran well when I lost my school badge, and ask her to make one for me."Shinichi noted Ranran was still listening to him, certain she is thinking badly of Sonoko, "Still, she ain't all bad. She once invited me over to her birthday party back at her home, almost every party Ran was in too anyway. Though...I believe she did that was to show us off over what she has that I and Ran don't."

"....You know, "Shinichi perked up as Ranran mumbled, "though I ain't clear over what is your relationship with Ran, which I ain't going to ask about it, if you don't love her that way at all, all you needed to do is just say you don't like her that way. That way, no one can fault you for that."

"What if no one-"

"Believe you? You were able to convince everyone in class that you wanted nothing to do with Ran anymore. I am pretty sure you can do better than that. Now hurry up," she folded her arms at him, "go wash up before the teacher questions why are we taking so long to return."

Shinichi didn't expect her to say that, he had mixed feelings about whether this was a compliment or that she expected more in his detective abilities. As he turned to enter the washroom, the one thing that remained on his mind right now, was to look into Watanabe's family to ensure that she didn't make a mistake taking him in as her apprentice.