When 10-year-old Majima Michio got called over to the residence of the Kudo family by cycling his bike, he didn't imagine himself ending up in some expensive looking mansion, let alone, in a lavishly decorated living room so to speak.

It wasn't that he wasn't used to seeing large mansions of that sort, especially western-style ones to say the least. His part-time job as a babysitter often takes him to places he never thought possible. Then again, baby-sitting services in Japan ain't as popular as it is in a Western country. Presumably due to the culture relying on their loved ones to look after their kids is more of an acceptable solution than relying on a stranger. However, some parents hire babysitters in Japan as a form of privilege reserved for high-income earners, after all, they can't just sit at home all day looking after children while they watch money slipping through their fingers. However, adults rarely hire Michio since he is a kid himself.

Anyway, probably for that reason, Michio had already gotten used to seeing all of this here and there, parking his bike as he pressed the door intercom, "Yes, who is this speaking?"The voice boomed.

"Ah? Hi, it's Majima? Majima Michio?"

"Ah, he is here! Alright, wait just a minute alright?"

The gate soon opens on its own as he enters the compound.

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

No matter how many manors he had entered, he can never get used to seeing how lavish the house is, let alone, the living room he is currently in now.

This living room is no different from the ones he has seen. But what strike to his amazement was, the interior reminded him of a Versailles palace. Luxurious fancy looking couch and sofas, sparkling brightly lit chandelier hanging above them, as well as some antique-like table in between.

"I am sorry. You mention.....the grandkids are around 6 to 7 years old!?"The boy was in disbelief as he sat on the sofa in the living room.

Now Majima has gotten requests over on looking after kids younger than the age mentioned. Since they can't cook or fend for themselves, Michio had always done it without complaints while their parents are away. 6 years old by account is considered to be young as well in Michio's books.

Except.....this is Japan, where kids here are very independent to the core around that age!

Considering they are both 6 or 7 years old, they shouldn't have any problem looking after themselves, let alone, require the services of a babysitter. After all, by that age, they should be able to cook their own meals, or order takeaway of that sort if their parents aren't around. Maybe....since both of them are born spoon-fed all the time thanks to this.....supposed lifestyle, they were unable to look after themselves. Michio can't help but think.

Out of curiosity, Michio asks, "Forgive me for asking this, but shouldn't they be old and smart enough to be taking care of themselves by then? I mean....." he paused, "I know most of my friends at that age being able to do those things?"

"They can take care of themselves."The man answered, before he had a deadpan look," It's the part where they can't is where you step in."

The part they can't?! "What part they are unable to do so?"

"It's during after school you need to look after them, or whenever they are free."

"Why?"Michio asked, confused over such an arrangement.

"Well, here is the thing. That is the problem."The elderly man is hesitant to explain, but the woman sitting next to him glared, implying he should address the situation, "Our grandchildren are both born as prodigies."

Bruh!? Prodigies!? That is Michio's first time having such....client? He hasn't accepted their request yet, so he shouldn't jump to conclusions too soon.

Sensing more confusion towards the boy, the woman decided to jump in, "I am sorry, Majima, but I need to make it clear."She clears her throat before she begins, "As my ex-husband says, both of them are born smart. Way....a lot smarter than we imagine."

By this point, Michio is now beginning to question whether accepting this offer was a good idea.

The couple-or rather, former couple, is his potential client. The woman before him is name Kuroba while her ex-husband is Kudo. From what Michio had gathered before coming here, was that they both divorced around 6 years ago. 

Though the marriage had soured, around 2 years ago or so, Miss Kuroba apparently lost a lot of money due to a scam, so the ex-husband was kind enough to invite her back into their marital home. Everyone in this neighbourhood did find it strange, but they gradually got use to their sighting. 'Amicable exes who are comrades when it came to their family' was the motto they often go with.

In fact, they are so amicable, that they are alright with people addressing them as 'Mr and Mrs Kudo'.

As grandparents, they are rumoured to be loving towards their grandchild. Or rather a year ago, recently acknowledge an illegitimate, hence, grandchildren. Two of them to be exact. 

"....what is....that supposed to mean?"

"You see, Majima....when one is born too smart....one gets easily bored. And for prodigies....boredom is dangerous."The man gave the boy a serious look.

".....is it?"

"Yes, cause the smarter one is, the more one becomes curious....so curious, the two had been doing....dangerous activities."

Michio grew a sweat, noting both of their eyes are serious when the man said it, "Sorry for me to ask, but where are their parents?"Michio questioned the elderly couple.

"Well....they are working overseas. So...."The elderly man scratches his head.

"Basically, they had the two a little early. Working was to be expected, so they tend to look after themselves a lot. Far away from our grasp."The elderly woman sighs.

"You mentioned curious-seeking danger.....what are you guys trying to imply?"

"See....they both are into......solving cases."

"Eh?"His eyebrow raised an arch as he press for more answers," as in playing Detective games right?"

Majima Michio recalled reading the news about 'The Fox' on the news, about some girl solving murders, known as 'The Fox'.  When the story first broke out, a lot of other kids (including the ones his age) turned wannabe detectives by mimicking in hopes of having the share adventures as 'The Fox' had. After all, the average everyday life as a school going kid is plain boring if one would ask, so Michio wasn't surprised when even his classmates started doing it, only to get severely scolded by their parents when they started stalking adults in the hope they get something out of it, only to be disappointed.

"Mr and Miss Kudo, I understand that others our age do this in school as well."Michio tries to justify their actions, "I am pretty sure it's just a temporary phase that will eventually grow out of it. Even my friends stopped when they got into a lot of trouble."

"No, Majima. I think this is permanent, especially for those two."The elderly man shook his head at the young boy, "Unlike what you think.....they have been into crimes, serious crimes of dark nature."

"Eh!?"

"You may not know this, but our grandchildren have been looking into.....crimes that have gone too far."The elderly man sighs as he went on, "I give you an example: crimes like murder, smuggling, thief, gangsters...they somehow manage to look up such things."

Michio was in disbelief, surely the adults are over exaggerating this, right?!

"Most recently....they cause some shopping mall to explode-"The woman shook her head, curling her palms on her knees.

"I am sorry, what!? E-explode!?"Two children causing a shopping mall to explode!? Did Michio mishear it!?

"Ah....so you aren't aware, huh?"The man huffed before he went on to say, "Majima, are you aware of the Haido mall incident?"

Haido Mall? That sounded familiar-wait, Majima perked up his head as he recalled the news having been played out of the radio yesterday while having dinner, "Wasnt there some explosion yesterday!? Something about drug lab operating below the carpark and people got arrested because of this?"

"Yes yes."The woman confirmed Michio's words, "well, you see....what happened to us yesterday was...."

...........

Yesterday night was a chaotic mess.

After the incident at Haido mall, Ranran wasn't expecting much when they both decided to head back to their separate home. The only thing she was dealing with was Shinichi arguing at that time, saying she shouldn't have let Botan off the hook, considering he did intentionally choose to do drug smuggling and harm many innocent people along the way. However, while she was arguing back that Botan's adoptive parents' medical fees need to be paid no matter what, and that she can't see any legal option for him to pave him and his adoptive families out of debt, they were stunned to find a familiar car approaching them.

Worst, it was an angry set of grandparents, and they don't look happy one bit.

"You both took it too far with what happened at the mall!"

The angry screech from both adults made Shinichi wince while Ranran who stood next to him couldn't care less about how the adults were feeling, even with the angry expression they wore on their faces didn't intimidate the 6-year-old, which surprised Shinichi, considering he is internally freaking out at adults being angry towards him.

Then again, this is Kudo Ranran, a.k.a 'The Fox', Shinichi realizes this as they were being scolded in the living room of the elderly Kudos residence. If she was intimidated, she wouldn't even make it that far in solving murders and confronting suspects that blatantly lie straight in her face, while also, dealing with incompetent adult detectives who probably sneered at her abilities since she is a 6-year-old kid. Neither of their parents is available at the moment as again, they had to work overseas, so the grandparents have taken charge of the lecturing.

"As soon as we found out when the police called, I got a shock of my life!"The elderly woman was looking down at the troubled children, "I didn't want to believe the both of you, well-educated grandkids of mine was responsible for the bombing till the police called. Imagine much to my surprise and horror, when one of them contacted me and had CCTV footage to prove it!"

"Put it this way, Obachan, it ain't like Shinichi intentionally threw the said brick to blow up the place on purpose."Ranran justified as she defended Shinichi, before she boldly adds, "Also, it was thanks to him that people got arrested and police made actual progress! I am certain if it wasn't for him, "Ranran huffed as she folded her arms, "more people would've probably turned into cocaine addicts and they be out there murdering the streets!"

"Exactly!"Shinichi agreed as he argued, "You should've seen the way those idiots keep using cocaine in every single cafe! It was one of the worst-"

"The both of you, shut up!"

That shut them up, as Shinichi froze in terror while Ranran was being...Ranran.

Expression of boredom....he couldn't help but notice that was written all over her face.

"Ranran, when we say we allow you to do all those detective work by solving murders...I didn't say the both of you should go raid a meth lab without police officers, let alone, drag Shinichi into the mix!"The elderly lady told her off in anger.

"Exactly as she says! What on earth were you thinking when you two decided to do that!? Do you not realize how dangerous this was!? God, you and Shinichi could've both died!"Her ex-husband pinched his nose."I won't even have two grandchildren to head home to had you both failed!"

"Died!? Hah!"Shinichi choked out amusement, "If you had seen how incompetent those idiots are, we wouldn't even have gone that far!"

"Exactly! Did you even hear what those dispatchers said when I called for help?"Ranran nodded alongside Shinichi, but that ain't helping their case as she taunted, "they didn't believe a word I said! Not even when the video was being live-streamed till Shinichi blew up the freaking mall! Only then do they take action."

"Precisely! No wonder the moral there was that low! They are all run by under-qualified idiots!"Shinichi was shaking his head at the situation, "Bloody hell, we shouldn't even be worrying about this nonsense, and yet here we are doing their bloody job for them! And we are kids! Not even 7 years old yet for God's sakes!"He rants before turning to Ranran, "You know what, I say we continue what is left of the investigation."

"I agree. Let's start with looking into the identity of that Echis guy!"

"Kudo Shinichi and Kudo Ranran!"Shinichi flinched as Ranran rolled her eyes with both of their attention back to them, "Do you not see the seriousness of this situation here!?"

"Yeah, we do," she commented.

"Then you should be aware-"

"That while you two are here yapping over the fact that we blew up some shopping mall when in reality, the mall's irresponsibility is the reason why it happened. Unfortunately, you guys choose to side some irresponsible shopping mall over the kids in this very family."

Shinichi's eyes grew wide in terror as the adult blackened at Ranran's snarky response," Kudo Foxe Ranran-"

"We are leaving."Shinichi tells her, his expression was showing a mix of anxiousness before dragging Ranran out of the house, much to her shock, "Hey! What gives-"

"Kudo Shinichi! What are you doing!?"The grandfather asked in anger.

"What else do you think Ranran and I are doing? We are going to finish off where we started!" he turned to spat at the two.

"What did you just-"

"It's pointless reasoning to the both of you anyway. You don't know what is really going on and rather be ignorant over everything like you did with everything with this family!"

Dead silence."Let's go, Ranran."

"Kudo Shinichi and Kudo Ranran! Get back here!"

But the children were clearly ignoring the exasperated adults' orders, as Shinichi rushed Ranran out of the house just to shut the door, leaving the adults all on their own."Those two! I swear one day it'll be a matter of time before they meet their doom!"

"Why won't they just listen to us!"The grandmother wails, "if this continues....we would have no grandchildren to head home to anymore......" the old man could do nothing but groan at that, as he was beginning to regret offering their family connections to the detective work in the first place.

When he did this back then, he did it out of pure intention so that the two kids won't fall into the wrong crowd. Having been in a life of luxury for a long time, he had witnessed children who are born into such background having lost their sense of purpose and do things such as partying with women till late at night, street racing, noisy house parties.....he feared the two kids will follow their path since their parents to aren't often around to guide them. Initially, it did work.

However, what he didn't foresee was....they be so into it, they ended up blowing up shopping malls of all things!

"Where did it all go wrong....."The woman continued to wail, "It must have been their fault-"

"Don't blame them!"The husband scolded his wife, "Don't forget who was the one who wanted them to marry young and had kids early!"

The wife's face fell at her husband's harsh words.

"What? Are you going to deny it!?"That shut the woman up as he folded his arms while rubbing, "We need to find a solution. Something that will make them listen to us!"

"Oh for God's sakes, there aren't puppets!"

"You-"

"You can't make children listen to you when right from the start, we never listen to them in the first place! Did you forget the last time 'that' happen....what happened later on!?" he spoke sadly.

By this point, his ex-wife knew better than to argue.

"Ranran was born because of this, and she suffered tremendously thanks to the harm that she-devil had caused! I am never going to make that mistake after all the evil 'that woman' inflicted to the entire Kudo family!"He shook his head, "Not now, nor ever!"

It was then the two were hit with a realization.

It hit them hard, and in hindsight, they should have realized it sooner— the same mistakes kept on occurring without being ratified. As a result, even the children ain't listening to them.

"We....really need to work out on our communication within this family. This is getting out of hand."

The woman wasn't going to argue as she nodded in silence. "We are utterly terrible grandparents too, huh?"

"Why is grandmother still living with him? I thought the both of them had divorced many years ago?" Ranran blinked at Shinichi, still wondering about this unanswered question for over a year plus since moving here.

"As soon as they heard you were moving back to Japan, she got scammed, so Ojichan let her move in."

"Hah!? He let his ex-wife move back in!? Especially after that incident they had caused years of -"

Ranran stopped herself before she could reveal any further, perking Shinichi's interest, "What incident, Ranran?"

"It's....nevermind, it is ancient history."

She brush this aside, but Shinichi can't help but feel there is a lot more to it.

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

Michio's mouth formed an O as the unfortunate grandparents detailed their last night's conversation, minus the part where they spoke about Ranran's situation.

"And that itself is worrying, because those crime cases they have been involved with had seemed to stick with the girl like a magnet nowadays, and Shinichi loves it whenever she comes over to him with those cases. The last case they got involved was....you guessed it. Fortunately, the two were alright, still...."

Seriously!? What the hell!? Damn! These aren't your average pair of children he is asked to babysit, he could've been babysitting a pair of future terrorists for all he knows! After all, they did bomb a shopping mall of all places!"Did you both try getting them grounded by contacting their parents?"

"We did, but it didn't do much help considering they always find means of escaping!"The man lamented in despair as he continues, "Which is why we decided we need someone to keep an eye on the two, that way neither of the two would do anything stupid that will end up losing both of their lives for good! Especially the girl! I can't afford to lose both of our only heirs if this keeps up."

"And may I ask how were you able to get to my contact number?"

"Your mother is the one who suggested you through our mutual friend because she said you are very responsible, and you are very good when it comes to achieving goals in getting people to do as they are told." The grandfather looked at him hopefully, wanting him to give in and say yes.

Michio sighed to himself, this was something he had never once dealt with before in his part-time job as a babysitter. Usually, he dealt his fair share of naughty and clever children, but what if this task he takes in might bite more than he could chew?"What do I get out of this?"

His eyes seemed to light up with more hope. "Money. How about 15,000 yen per month?"

His eyes went wide. Woah, what?! That was a lot of money. A lot for him and his mom anyway.

The Kudo family is rich, and the boy bet that much money was nothing compared to the rest that they had. Michio was still deciding whether he should say yes or no though. Kudo Shinichi and Kudo Ranran, a pair of supposedly 'dangerous' children he is assigned to babysit.

Are they as bad as their grandparents were making them sound to be?

Over the years of growing up, Michio had seen many bad children. Misbehaved, throwing tantrums, crying. And he always wins. He never took in 6 years olds so far, but children involving themselves in cases such as murder or blowing up some meth lab itself is a first for him. Two child prodigies that are into murder crimes? Now that is worrying.

Like, could babysitting the two really be that bad?

But now that he thinks of the babysitting situation, he realizes something, "Did you guys try to hire a professional one at least? I mean...."Michio gazed around the living room's surroundings, "I mean, don't get me wrong, but you guys are capable of affording one who is more qualified in these sort of things than I would? A 10-year-old?"

"Believe me, it's not like we didn't try! All of them always fled one after another. Especially the girl, she is the most scheming one among the two."

"Eh!? That serious!?"

"As I said, they are too smart. Although this I admittingly agree will benefit them in their future career, I can't have them both die at such young age because of this. With that skill of yours, I am certain they were toning down their activities at least. Remember, that money will be enough for whatever you are planning to do with it. Well, for if you accept the offer, that is," he said as he scratched the back of his neck, nervously waiting for me to say something.

"Are they as smart and as terrifying as you said they are?"

Both grandparents nodded to his question. Of course, anyone would be glad to have such a salary. But not him. But, on the other hand, he would be getting a lot of money in return for babysitting the two kids who sound like a double threat, according to their grandparents.

Majima Michio wasn't rich like the Kudo family and highly doubted he would ever come to be as wealthy as them. What kept striking him most about this whole situation was that these are two little kids, age 6 or 7, interested in such deviant crimes and eager to solve them. In most situations, a normal prodigy would naturally flee from such scary things, the two were the total opposite.

But maybe this isn't as surprising for Michio, compared to that time his mother admitted that she recommended him to look after the two since his late father knew both of the children's parents way back.

Well, if the Kudos trusted him enough to ask him to watch over their two kids, then surely his parents, his late father and very much alive mother must be pretty close friends.

It was hard to believe because the Kudos were so high up in society, whereas his family wasn't like that at all could become friends. He didn't know much about the Kudo family. Heck, he only knew them because they were known to be wealthy and popular around their area. Other than that, he was clueless about them. Also, his late dad used to work under both their parents but he ain't sure when that was. Surely that's how they met and became friends eventually, right?

Michio was assuming that it went that way, anyway.

"So the boy's name is Shinichi while the girl's name is Ranran, right? I just want to make sure," He asked them both.

"Yes, Shinichi and Ranran," Miss Kudo answered him with her unchanging soft voice.

The boy inhaled a few breaths of air before letting out his final answer. His mind was working itself to the edge on coming up with the pros and cons of the situation if he accepted their proposal. Two 6-7-year-old kids, both prodigies, love murder mysteries. Actual, not pretend detective games. Are those two as dangerous as they made them sound to be?

He should be, given his experience.

He is fairly certain that he could handle whatever children they are was thrown his way.

"Okay, count me in. I'll watch both of your grandchildren," He said, hoping he didn't make the wrong decision.

Well, Kudo Ranran and Kudo Shinichi, here he comes. Hopefully neither two-bite.

Cause if they do.....they won't see him coming.

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

"WHAT!? OUR GRANDPARENTS DID WHAT!?"Shinichi's eyes widened in horror as the two were walking their way to school the following Monday, while Ranran breaks the bad news to him."WHY!? WHY WOULD THEY-"

"It's pretty simple, Kudo Shinichi. They just wanna end our so-called 'nonsense'. Not that they truly understand the incompetency in the first place."Ranran huffed.

"This is ridiculous! What in the world possessed them to"

"Well, after that mall fiasco, our family also receive a lawsuit from Haido mall."

That made him stumped, "EEEEEH!?Really!?"

"It's true," Ranran nodded in confirmation, "Okasan called in as she is friends with some lawyer and found out about this. She wasn't happy when she found out we were both involved."

"What!? Seriously!? If they wanna someone to pay up in damages, they should've sued those drug bastards who been secretly running the lab under their very noses for 6 bloody months!"Shinichi responded gritting his teeth in anger.

"Technically, even though they've been running for over 6 months secretly, they never once cause it to explode till you threw the brick at the tank the other day."Ranran pointed out.

"It's was in self-defence!"He defended.

"Yeah, but it doesn't change the fact you were the reason why the mall blew up in the first place, you know?"

"...." Shinichi is tongue-tied, as he went limp.

"Don't worry, apparent the family manage to find a good lawyer. As long all goes well, we don't have to pay a single yen.....provided if we win in court."Ranran reassures him, not before she deeply frown, "Now our other problem is what are we gonna do with the new babysitter they paid to look out for us."

"Which reminds me, "He snapped his head at her, "Do we know the identity of the babysitter so to speak?"

"Of course I do, I ain't The Fox for nothing."Ranran pouted before she scoop out her phone from her pocket and pass the phone to him to read his files, "Majima Michio, age 10, studies under Teitan Elementary-"

"Wait!"He suddenly cuts her unexpectedly, "On top of it all, he studies at the same school as us!?"

"Yes, Shinichi."She frowned in annoyance.

"Man, this is a low blow! Even from them alone!"Shinichi's mood worsens as they turned to the right junction, "Our reputation is going to be ruined if other kids find out about this babysitting thing!"

"I don't see how worst can it get, given already Naomi is probably spreading rumours about our supposed 'date' right now-"Ranran grins mischievously.

"Oh please, don't remind me of that anymore, alright?"

Shinichi pinches his nose bridge as he groans, so far, his journey on becoming her apprentice hasn't been smooth sailing. On his dream aspect, it is finally heading in the direction he was expecting it to be. However, it seems like the world is constantly tossing one banana skin after another to ensure he slips no matter what, and he is struggling to balance it all.

"Anyway, that meant a change in plans."

"Eh?"He turned to her, who happens to be wearing a solemn expression, "You mean we should call off our plans on investigating Echis today?"

Ever since the two children heard the name 'Echis', the two had been discussing his identity. Theories had been thrown back and forth, that perhaps he could've been a small-time criminal who struck lucky since he build his entire criminal empire for only a year, but with the way things are organized, that possibility wasn't possible.

"Of course not, just because an unexpected crap happens, we ain't gonna call off the investigation."Ranran grins, "So here is what we are going to do."

..........

"I can't believe that Ranran and Shinichi are official now."

"Mah, all we have is for that Naomi's word to go about."

"Even so, the two suit each other, nah? Both of them with their surname Kudo....not to mention, intelligence, beautiful and handsome, and the families knew one another......I won't be surprised if they get married someday."

"Is she better than Mouri-kun?"

"Mouri Ran we all know have parents who are divorced. After that episode she did with Kudokun......we all know she isn't a good fit for Shinichi, unlike the calm Kudo Ranran."

"But I heard she is scheming."

"Yes, but I also notice the ones she targeted through her schemes are those horrible bad kids in our school. Especially those bullies....man, I feel like I can breathe again after she got rid of them."

Around the school courtyard, the kids of Teitan Elementary are doing their usual after school lessons have ended, kids of all ages were running around playing tag as some are excitedly chatting about the recent dating rumours while having a drink, the cool wind of Spring breezing past the trees as it sways back and forth while leaves and Sakura petals flutter about. With the bright blue sky where the sun lightly shines, one would imagine nothing bad would happen.

"As expected from Naomi....she really can't keep her mouth shut, "Ranran muttered to herself upon hearing the other kids whispering about them, as she waited for Shinichi's arrival at the school gate as the two already made plans to look into Echis's identity. Those rumours meant nothing to Ranran, considering she doesn't have any feelings for Shinichi, to begin with. If only they knew he broke into her house, they would obviously see it differently.

Even so, there is another problem she would need to deal with, mainly, Mouri Ran and Suzuki Sonoko.

Though they finally toned down their attempts in trying to approach her or Shinichi whenever they are alone with all the rumours going about, Ranran can still feel the presence of anger she receives from that spoiled rich girl (don't ask, she has that sense that tells her so), also, from Ran. Ran's expression may look timid in appearance, but she can sense the fire in that girl, and she is determined to take Shinichi's back.

Honestly, she would love to personally do all sorts of things towards the two morons, but catching Watanabe Ikeda and getting to the bottom of who they are dealing with, this Echis person is their no.1 priority. If those girls ever try to do anything funny, Ranran knows Shinichi will not sit still and do nothing. The tension between him and them has worsened a lot since he moved to sit with Ranran, she can't see when will it subside at this rate they are going.

"Ranran!"

Ranran's eyebrow raised as she turned her attention to the voice, it was Shinichi hastily running up to her, with a boy taller than Shinichi following him from the back. Waving his hand back and forth amongst, he did a peace sign as he flick two of his fingers up and down.

"As expected.....to make sure we have no chance slipping out of school, he made sure to approach us now, cause if we tell him off here, he may humiliate us by exposing the babysitting situation in front of everyone here. After all, anyone in Majima's shoes would've done the same after hearing all those stories Obachan and Ojichan told about us, "Ranran narrowed her eyes at him in suspicion, "Good thing I told Shinichi to signal me over. Now all I need to ensure.....this plan I came up with will get rid of him, permanently."

That's her cue. Michio is with him. Alright, time to pull 'that act'.

"Ahh! There you are! I was wondering where the little miss is."Michio says nonchalantly as if he was talking to a child.

"E-Eh? Who are you?" Ranran played the role of a horrified little girl.

"Who am I do you ask?"He chuckles, "I'm Majima, your babysitter."

"Eh!? Say what now!?"Ranran feign shock while Shinichi thinks Ranran is a very talented actress, he thought to himself.

"Oh, so you didn't know, huh?"He formed an idiotic smile and chuckled, while he introduces himself, "I am Majima Michio, your babysitter your grandparents invited me over to look after the both of you after what you guys did with Haido Mall. I am supposed to take you home myself." 

"Hah!? What would-Oh....."Ranran groaned to herself, "why ain't I surprised?"

"Alright....so....are you two gonna do your thing, or....." Michio gesturing her to follow him along with Shinichi in tow.

"Relax, we are gonna go shopping at Beikai mall. That's all."Shinichi shrugged, "Ranran just needed a couple of personal things for that matter."

"Eh!? Shopping!?"Michio became a little taken aback, "shop for what? Also, how would I know if you two aren't lying?"Michio puts his hands on his hips.

"If you are so curious, why not follow us then?"Ranran answers.

"Eh?"

...........

"Thanks, Mrs Kudo. I will make sure they will be back on curfew after heading to Beikai Mall." Michio spoke over the phone while Shinichi roll his eyes and walk away, not before capturing Ranran's hand as he drags her away from the elder boy."One question did his pay include the weekends too!?"

"Obviously."

"My God....."Shinichi couldn't help but feel annoyed, "So after this, he is gonna follow us every time we leave school for the rest of our lives?"

She stopped halfway as Shinichi did before she turned around to glare at Michio with a deadly look. Frowning, she said, "Don't worry. We will be back later. We are just going to shop for books, that is all."

"Then you shouldn't have a problem with me going, right?" Michio smiled at the two in a nice, teasing way.

"He is playing mind games with you already."

"I can see that. But......"The little girl chuckled softly, "Money tends to make you do things like Majima does. So I ain't surprised."Michio stayed silent, he wasn't sure how to reply to that as he ain't certain if that girl is mocking him, or stating facts."Neh Majima."

"Hmph? What is it?"

"Just asking.....if you leave us alone and claim that you were with us the whole time.....you would still get paid as long as we don't disclose the truth, deshou?" The girl spoke to him in a serious tone, as Shinichi silently observe Ranran's negotiations on the table while Shinichi noted Majima froze at her words, "trust me, we will keep our mouth shut. What say you?" She smiled innocently like her offer was no big deal.

Michio stared at her as if she lost her mind, not before he quickly shook his head, "I am sorry, Miss Kudo. I don't do things the way....you do."

Ranran then answers, "Fine, follow us. But you better try to keep up with us and our life though or else you'll get lost along the way."

"L-lost you said?"

"She is right, you know? I too don't plan on helping you once you do. If you so badly want to keep your word on this deal with our grandparents, then so be it. You're in for a very wild ride."Shinichi warned Michio.

The girl's red lip then forms a sinister smile, "But.....just so you know, I don't mind you following us if you are.....that bold to do so." She smiled sweetly and mockingly down at him.

"We'll see about that, Ranran," Michio stated, returning her mocking smile.

"If you say so."

As they headed back, Shinichi whispered, "Are you sure you have an idea to get rid of him? From the looks of things, he can't be bribed," he said so quietly that she almost didn't hear him.

"Kudo, there is a reason why I am called 'The Fox' in the first place," she said, smirking.

Judging Ranran's expression, Shinichi realizes the ride Michio is about to be placed in is gonna be the ride of his life.