Now Shinichi has his motives for looking into The Fox.

One of his motives includes trying to fish out the case Ranran has managed to silence Takuma for. With his capabilities, he shouldn't have any problem figuring out what that case was, after all, he too had witnessed what happened at the riverbank last Sunday.

That day was like any other as he had soccer practice to catch up at that time, and the soccer venue was held not far from where the riverbank was when an unexpected 'bang' sound erupted. Being the curious boy he was, he ran over to check what had happened. Of course, being a smart little boy, he hid at the corner of the slope to take a peep from his hiding spot.

What he saw, later on, shocked him.

A dishevelled looking man whose face he couldn't see clearly was being forced into the car, Ranran and Takuma having fled with some bullet shells he was able to make it out (thanks to his dad taking him to many, many crime scenes growing up), and a tinted car having fled the scene.

Because things were happening at a fast pace, he did not have a good look at what the man looked like. He was able to make it out that it was some homeless man with a scar on his face, but that was about it. This is why he was puzzled why would a mysterious driver fire bullets in front of the two children while kidnapping this man? Does it make any sense? He is a homeless man after all. Why couldn't the kidnapper just wait till the two kids leave?

"Unless....he knew this was the only chance to kidnap him. Plus...." His eyes widened," He had no intention of leaving the witnesses alive, cause the kidnapped victim is someone one would easily recognize."

But who could he be? At that time, Shinichi has no clue.

Then shortly after hearing rumours that Ranran could be The Fox while browsing about fox related news, a news suggestion popped up next to the search results. This one reporting the runaway jailbird who broke out of prison, Watanabe Ikeda, a 60-year-old scar face criminal, well known for pick-locking safes of all kinds. This theory fits since the timing of his escape tallies. Not to mention, the distance between the prison and riverbank ain't far off given his timing of escape.

If what he deduced was the truth, that explains why Ranran silenced Takuma and Reina the other day when Takuma brought up 'the case'. But there were many obstacles ahead of Shinichi. Starting with the fact he didn't have much to go about on whether that was really Watanabe. If it wasn't, he'll be wasting a large amount of time trying to locate him. This is when the idea of trying to identify Ranran as The Fox comes into play. If he can prove this, he can get her to share more details about the case.

The problem was how is he going to get her to admit this? As far as he had known, Ranran had always been tight lip.

So the other way to get her to talk was exposing her as The Fox.

Sometimes Shinichi is certain Ranran is Pink Panther while he is the unfortunate inspector.

Growing up having watched the said cartoon around the age of 5, he had always assumed that as much as someone as incompetent Inspector Clouseau would likely exist in real life (Ran's dad probably), there is no way someone can easily slip past anyone at ease as Pink Panther would. The panther just got lucky because of a dumb inspector who isn't capable of using his brain cells. Investigating someone like Kudo Ranran, how hard can he be?

But that is when he realized how much he underestimated the said girl.

For starters, Shinichi didn't have much research luck regarding Ranran's life back in her old neighbourhood in London (regarding the rumours of her having a backer), let alone, has any link that associates her with The Fox. With all the free time he had in the world now that he is no longer with Ran or with Sonoko, he put his energy into looking into her background through social media. Of course, many in his shoes would say 'just ask the family' or ask her personally, since they are both related.

That is the problem, he couldn't even if he wanted to.

Now a brief story, when they were 5 years old, he had allegedly pushed Ranran down from a high obstacle course, fracturing her leg as a result. This incident left a sour taste in the mouth of adults, including the parents of both sides, let alone, the grandparents. Ranran and Shinichi's parents felt guilty about the situation, given that they were the ones who force their kids into getting to know one another, and the two refuse for unknown reasons.

It was due to that reason, that Shinichi knew if he had contacted her parents, the chance of them admitting whether their daughter is The Fox is zero to none.

So he did his own research on internet forums and stuff. But even that itself was difficult, given that there were others whose names were similar online, anyone can be anyone. Then he tried googling for overseas news, anything that would give up any detail about Ranran once more. But even that too proven to be fruitless. Even searching on Social media was also a flop.

Shinichi was slightly disappointed at the lack of information.

Because of his timing, searching news about The Fox has become twice as difficult, given the timing that The Fox reduce its investigation activities. Also, this news was often published in a small column despite being popular among readers who are engrossed with the story. To top it off, the pics published in there were seemingly removed for some reason online, including article stories as well.

When he finally did spot news about Fox, however, he nearly missed it.

It was at a forum where deleted news is posted, where it told the readers how this extraordinary 'Fox' can solve and pinpoint the culprit one after another based on witness accounts. There were tiny indications that linked Ranran as The Fox, as he read how savage the 'Fox' was and how she tore apart the adults' suspects despite the odds against her.

One thing Shinichi noted is that she was often seen wearing a fox mask of one kind. There was only one low-resolution photo of the girl in a fox mask, which seems to be taken at a tailor shop. Through the window, there was a mirror placed at such an angle, he can see the reflection of The Fox talking to one of the officers where the crime happened. Unfortunately, he couldn't quite make out the clothes she wear as the surroundings in the photo is quite dim. So he tried to increase the brightness of the photo using photoshop, but nope, it didn't do good.

Reverse searching the mask, he was surprised to learn that the mask isn't available in Japan. What gives? If he knew where which store sells the mask she purchase, at least he can go to every single store and get confirmation whether Ranran was one of their clients. Another question he wonders about was why did she choose to disguise herself? Cause if she didn't, it feel like she is missing out on becoming famous. After all, how many children their age can solve a murder?

Still, Shinichi doesn't think becoming famous qualifies makes you a qualified detective. Sometimes being too famous is a bad thing. Perhaps she was probably aware of this.

Shinichi shakes his head towards the questionable Kudo Watson Ranran of a character.

Thinking about that red lip girl who is sneering at him in the back of his mind, Shinichi told himself he ain't going to give up. Also, he needed a distraction, something that will steer him away from his personal problems with Ran. If he can't find anything online, he should be able to figure out Ranran's daily schedule at least.

After extensive researching about the fox and Ranran, and upon stalking here and there whenever he is mostly free, he was able to put together what sort of life Ranran lived.

Where a crime scene is, Ranran is not far from it.

There have been some sightings here and there, whenever a crime takes place around the city where she happens to be nearby (only to later vanish), the window of those said indoor crime scenes will remain tightly sealed with curtains where not even he could get a good glimpse over what is going on (not to mention, the doors are locked, emergencies one as well). If the crime happens outdoor, there be heavy security to ensure no one is allowed to enter (even the forensic guys and police detectives would have a tough time entering without a proper identification check, Shinichi noted).

He also has a strong reason to suspect that she is the 'Fox' reported on the news. There was a situation where his dad once offered him to join one of the police departments as a 'one day experience' on what it's like to work as a tantei thanks to his dad's connection, but at that time, Shinichi turned it down as he wanted to rely on his own abilities to prove himself a worthy tantei.

Considering Ranran and himself happen to be under the same family, what if she took up the offer he left behind?

That would explain her access to those crime scenes, where the police and detectives did not seem to mind her being around, as well as her wearing a mask.

With that much experience being exposed to crime scenes, Shinichi is certain there is only one case in mind over which case Takuma was referring to that Ranran is involved, it's probably the one involving the escaped jailbird.

For starters, she had been scouring around Beikai district from one cafe after another, searching for a boy who shared the same surname as Watanabe. Now that may have been a coincidence to Shinichi since there are others named Watanabe, but Ranran seemed eager to look for that Watanabe boy for the past 3 days after school without fail, constantly reminding others to call her back by leaving her number if he ever appears.

By this point, Shinichi is more convinced than ever Ranran is 'The Fox' due to her methods of investigation. Very professionally done if he were honest.

Now he thinks of this, Shinichi has gotta admit she is intelligent, no, far too intelligent than him if he is honest with himself. He himself lacks the experience to do so, and even if he wanted to do so, he couldn't get adults to attend to him one bit, as they all called him 'a wannabe-Tantei', as if he treated this as a game, and tell him to behave and don't run around the crime scene.

Usually, his tousan was the one who had to be there to have access to such crime scenes. But Ranran was on another level, she didn't even need an adult to get them to pay attention to her. Just really....who is she really?

He wanders aimlessly, he needs to dig deep over why is she doing all of this.

And there is one person he had in mind that can answer this question.

.....

There are many girls in Teitan Elementary school that call themselves gossip queens.

Take Suzuki Sonoko for example, she claims to know everything about everyone in school. Starting from the fact she knew of their new science teacher having issues with her in-laws, to the fact a girl from Grade 4 unexpectedly had a half-brother she does not know of from her mom having an affair only to dump the said brother.

No matter the details are true or not, even if they were kept secret, Suzuki always seems to find them. However, that is where she is wrong. Shinichi mutters as he headed back to school a week into the investigation of 'The Fox', heading upstairs to the floor where all the students of 3rd grade reside. Unlike Sonoko, there is another girl besides him whom he considers a true Gossip Queen.

He needs to find her, that Miyama Emiko.

Miyama Emiko is a 9-year-old girl from 3-D, one whom everyone knows of her in school as 'The Queen of Intel' where she easily get a good grasp of anyone around the school. Shinichi knew of her as one of the suspects when locating the missing bento case in their school. According to an acquaintance he knew, her intel is 90 per cent accurate. She open this business after her parents had a toxic divorce to avoid getting bullied. In the school's hierarchy, anyone with divorced parents is bound to be in serious trouble.

But in return for intel, she expects expenses in return.

"Hey," Shinichi said, grabbing the attention of Emiko as recess started, he approach her after class has ended, "You always been the intel of this school besides Suzuki Sonoko. I won't mind giving you the sweets you wanted, but in return, I need you to give me a little info on this."

"I don't mind having the sweets since I've been craving for some," she replied, her hands opening up as he dropped the sweets," but that depends on who you are asking for."

"Well, is Kudo Ranran."

"Kudo....Ranran? You mean....the one whose-..."

"Miyamasan, "Shinichi emphasized her surname to remind her not to go that far.

"Sorry," Her gaze slowly shifted away as she frowned, wondering why she should keep silent about it, considering the whole school knew about their relationship.

Shinichi frowned upon noticing this. "What?"

"How is it that one doesn't acknowledge his sister? I know the situation was beyond anyone's control, but.....why did you have to treat her like that?"Emiko couldn't help but ask.

"What can you tell me about her that I don't know about?"Shinichi asks, deciding to ignore her question.

"I don't know, what kind of intel are you specifically asking for?"

Here it goes, "Is Ranran the Fox?"

For a moment, Emiko was stunned by his unexpected question, "The Fox?" Emiko repeats, giving him an odd look, "The one that been solving murder cases all over the news?"

"Yes," Shinichi confirms.

"Do you have any reason for your suspicion? Or evidence to say the least?"Emiko observes him in scepticism, "Cause you can't just simply point at a clever child and go 'she is The Fox'."

"No, I don't."Shinichi admits, "However...there are some abilities of Ranran that made me think otherwise." Emiko waited for Shinichi to explain, "I ain't asking if she is 'The Fox', I am asking if she is capable and asking for your opinion."

For a while, Shinichi didn't know what was going through Emiko's mind. After feeling nervous waiting for her response, Emiko frowned further, becoming disturbed at his nosiness towards Ranran, "Why do you want my opinion on this? Also, what are your motives if I were to give you my answer?"

As expected from the queen of intel, leaving no stone unturned. Shinichi resisted the urge to tell her 'It's none of her business, as he realized that based on her reaction and tone, she was becoming curious about his motives, but he had to get intel from her one way or another. He decided to come clean with her, "Not long ago...there was a shooting incident nearby one of our soccer practice venues near the riverbank."

Then Shinichi shares his suspicions with Emiko as she listens to him intently."So that happened, huh?"

"It did happen."Shinichi nodded to her in certainty, "And I am certain she is working on that case,  that man who broke out of prison recently."

"You mean that Watanabe guy who escaped prison!?"

"Yeah, that is the one."Shinichi nodded to her as he went on with his lie, "I felt like if Ranran is indeed The Fox, I would like to offer my partnership with her since we have reached common ground in searching for the criminal."

That was an obvious lie, he knew Emiko can keep secrets. However, he is up against a scheming cunning Kudo Ranran. If he had told her the truth, it may end up tipping Ranran off one way or another. God knows how Ranran is always able to obtain information at her fingertips.

"Oh!" the girl said, her face now surprised before she sighed in relief. "Well, in that case, yeah, there were rumours of her looking into the case too."

"There were?"

"Hikari-san had told everyone about that shoot-out at his American Football club, since his friendship with Ranran wasn't a secret, they all naturally assume she is looking into it now."

"Ah, is that so...."

"Also, about that suspicion of yours...I do believe she is capable enough to be The Fox."

"Eh...!? You too think so!?"Shinichi was astounded by her answer.

"Yes."

Emiko struggled to find an answer to the questions that constantly plagued her. 

"For someone like you to have smart observant tantei skills, for you to even bother to come up to meet me to look into her.....it tells me you are having a hard time looking into it. Huh? But...I am sorry to disappoint, but there isn't much I can tell you about her."

"....is that so."

"That said, however, I did hear a lot of things about Ranran a while back, like some really scary things."

Shinichi raised an eyebrow. "Like?"

"That she used to work as an apprentice."

"....an apprentice you say?!"

"Eh!? Is that so!?"He then fires multiple questions at once, "Do you have evidence? Did you see her solve cases before? Where? How?"

"Woah! Hold your horses, Kudo-kun. I didn't say I have proof she is The Fox, just suspicions to go on."Emiko attempted to calm his excitement down.

"Ah haha, sorry. I tend to get excited when it comes to unsolved cases."Shinichi scratched at the back of his head nervously.

"Anyway, one of my suspicions isn't full proof, but..."The girl's face became hesitant again, and after a few seconds of Shinichi staring at her, waiting patiently in response, she sighed in defeat. "You know she has gotten into trouble recently with that Yoshi boy and his mother, right?"

"As if we don't know? The entire school knows about this anyway," Shinichi paused, taking a moment to reconsider what he had just said, and he furrowed his brow. "What does this has anything to do with your suspicions towards the Fox?"

"According to my intel, before Yoshi move here...in his previous school, he was a gambler."

"A-what!?"That Shinichi didn't know, his mouth formed an 'O' at that revelation.

"Gambler. The source behind his addiction was gathering as many pokemon cards as possible."Not fully understanding how pokemon cards have anything to do with gambling, Emiko explains to him, "Some pokemon cards if sold online, can make one ton of money. The motive behind this is all thanks to his dad. "Emiko clarifies as she went on," Yoshi's dad is rich. Super rich."She emphasized, "But he had a reputation in being a complete cheapskate. To those who knew his family, his dad kept a tight leash on everyone's expenses. He would drive to work with the cheapest car, celebrate their family birthdays in a fast-food restaurant, even the clothes they wear were not branded goods. There were all handovers from other relatives. As a result of his cheapskate ways, the kids in his inner circle poke fun of him a lot. Probably due to his inferiority...that's when the gambling began. "

Shinichi recalls the confrontation outside their school towards Yoshi towards the scared little boy clinging to his mother's leg, the clothes he wear were now he recalls, on the tattered side.

"Now this info would've been enough to kick Yoshi out of school. But his dad was after all an influential businessman. He was so influential, he even paid people off to those who are aware of his addiction before transferring his son here, and made sure his son can never end up getting kicked out of this school by donating a heavy sum. This is where the situation between Reina and Ranran comes in...when he threatens if Reina tries to punish him according to the school rules, her step-dad will lose his job."

 What the hell!? Shinichi knew Yoshi is a scumbag, but he never would've imagined he would stoop that low.

"Yeah...you can imagine how Ranran reacted when she found out about it."She unwraps one of the sweets Shinichi has given to her before popping it into her mouth, "I have a couple of cousins who used to study under the same school as Yoshi's, they told me this unusual doll-like girl was there asking questions from everyone about it. And she was very persistent, even though the staff and teacher cast her out, she always somehow manages to sneak herself back in. That's right, one-day everyone witnessed the head principal was on his knees, begging with her to not say a word with whatever information Ranran has to use it against him."

"...pleading her on his knees you say?"Alright, this sent chills down Shinichi's spine. Just who on earth is this Kudo Ranran? 

"Anyway, it was a spectacle to behold. When I think about it, The Fox's methods were as similar as hers, constantly having to use underhanded methods to make those high profile suspects crumble before her just like that principal. Obtaining information that is damning... how many kids like Kudo Ranran have the talent of blackmailing adults? Even though they are both 6 years of age."That made Shinichi gulp, as Emiko sighed. "Anyway, the blackmailing plan for Ranran must have failed, or else she wouldn't have to resort to blowing up his...bottom."

For a while, Shinichi's face fell. 

"Forgive me for asking, but did I not recall there was a parkour incident where you allegedly push her down and fracture her leg?"Emiko pressed onto him, "You ain't gaining this intel just to solely ask for partnership, are you not?"

She ain't wrong on that, "Look, she framed me, alright? I have no reason to be afraid of her, especially when she is at fault."Shinichi justifies his actions.

She smiled, much to her chagrin."You think?"

"Why are you certain that I have something wrong against her?" He found himself asking in irritation.

"So far I evaluated the 'victims' Ranran had implicated throughout the time she started school....all these kids have in common are that they wronged other innocent kids."Emiko said in deep thought, before she turned to him, "what do you think she 'framed' you in the first place?"

By this point, Shinichi didn't know how was he to explain any of this.

To be honest....he thinks he knows why. Yet.....yet, he dreaded this feeling, he felt....something is wrong with his thoughts, but he has no clue what. Deciding to distract himself from those feelings, he questions Emiko one last question."For Ranran....how do you view her?"

"Hmmph?"A sudden change in topic, she noted, but she chooses to answer,".... I view her neutrally."

"Neutrally you say?"

".....If I view her in a way everyone would, she be in my eyes, an evil, cunning, ambitious spoiled little rich girl who stop at nothing to get what she wants. Then again...I do understand where she was coming from."

"....as in how?"

" To be in a foreign country where her friends are no longer around....her familiar language, her familiar place once she called home, and in a school where bullies of a foreign country don't welcome here...I would act out the way she is doing now if I were in her shoes."

".....is that so?"

"Yeah," she nodded to him, "It's also probably the reason why she was smart enough to befriend Matsuyuki Reina."

Shinichi is aware of Matsuyuki Reina and her background, such as the fact that she came from a well-known prestigious, successful family thanks to her stepfather. But not many people know at that time was, she was also one of the few children in their school who has divorced parents. Any school you head to, your parents having divorced automatically makes you a target for bullies to poke fun of, because it labels the child as poorly raised. He knew this because of what Ran had to endure recently. Shinichi knew of the divorce through Reina's stepdad in one of the fancy rich parties the family forced him to go to when his stepdad mentioned that he just got married to Reina's mom since the stepdad and the Kudo grandparents are friends. If the kids in this school knew of this, they wouldn't have elected her based on biased views that she is poorly raised.

This is why if it was anything, he became curious as to why Reina was hanging out with Ranran of all kids.

To be elected as head of the student council is like running to become president. Always expect the opponent to play dirty for the opposition to look better than the other. With Reina having already such a reputation being a child of divorced parents, the last thing Reina needed was to have a questionable character like Kudo Ranran to smear her reputation.

Students hung out with those who were in whatever school status they were branded by other kids to avoid having ruined their reputation in school, and to his knowledge, for someone like Reina to willingly risk her secret and have Ranran hanging out with her.....Shinichi can only come up with 2 reasons.

Either Ranran blackmailed Reina's secret in other to make use of her position as head student council to get away with whatever things she did in school, or...., the likeliest explanation is.....Reina employed Ranran's services as Tantei with motives of her own, in return, she becomes her friend as payment.

From Shinichi's perspective, seeing someone like Reina with that background hang out with someone like Ranran was....a mix of eerie on what Ranran is capable of, while at the same time, impressed towards her intelligence.

His brain processed everything she had told him about Kudo Ranran and her hobbies, plus her antics.

Speaking of the said devil, here is Ranran walking past him chatting with one of the 3rd-grade students. "Kudo-san?"Emiko asked. "Do you have any other questions?"

Ranran didn't notice that Shinichi's eyes still rested on her from afar. If what Emiko said is true about Ranran's blackmailing methods is as similar as The Fox....that meant she had to be a very seasoned detective, and that she was hiding it from everyone. It's still not concrete evidence to prove Ranran is The Fox based on Emiko's testament, but then how many 6-year-olds in this world are capable of resorting to such methods the way Ranran and The Fox are?

The detective rolled his eyes in annoyance. The answer is none.

Shinichi shifted his gaze back to Emiko, who he knew began to grow curious as every second passed based on her body language. "No, I have no further questions. You told me everything I needed to know."

"But are you sure you want her as your partner-in-crime? After everything that had happened?"

Shinichi had already opened his mouth to answer Emiko but closed it shut again after this question. Emiko could feel how he was avoiding her gaze, his thin lips told her everything, even when his words tried to tell her a different story.

"To be honest, no."Unbeknownst to Ranran, piercing blue eyes are watching her."But you know...I ain't against it."

This made Emiko's eyes widen in surprise.

"What is....with that look?" Shinichi can't help but be irked by it.

"I mean....I would've assumed.....you despise her. Especially...after that stunt you pulled last year...."

"Last year's parkour event?" Shinichi's brow furrowed in confusion, trying to recall what Emiko was referring to.

"You don't remember?" Emiko raised an eyebrow, her gaze fixed on him intently. "You were the one who allegedly pushed Ranran down, right?"

Shinichi's eyes widened slightly as he processed her words. "Allegedly. But that incident was-"

"I know, you didn't push her."

Shinichi blinked, surprised by Emiko's abrupt interruption. "You....knew?"

"Knew? I was there, almost 90 percent of the Beikai District neighborhood was present, in case you forgotten about it?"

The little boy's mind raced as Emiko's words hit him like a sudden jolt. "Wait, if you knew, that means-"

"Yes, I saw that the other boys pushed her, not you."

"Wait, if you knew....why didn't you say a thing when I call out for witnesses!?"

"In the first place, I dug around and learn you called her a 'bastard' at that time, so it was fair at that time that she framed you. Also, considering she was raised in the U.K for almost 5 years of her life, only to suddenly move here in Japan...did it not occur to you by calling her that, it may result it the huge population of bullies in Teitan Elementary school to bully her?" Emiko explained calmly towards the 6-year-old boy.

"But everyone blamed me," Shinichi grew a little angry at Emiko's casual response, "Everyone believed that Ranran was the victim, not me!"

"To be fair, she is in many ways one. But you are not seeing the bigger picture yet."

Seeing the confusion in him, he demanded to know, "What on earth are you talking about?"

"Think properly, Kudo. Lately they had been a series of incidents that hasn't been going your way ever since you entered Teitan Elementary, right?"

Emiko's words hung in the air, as his mind raced back through the series of unfortunate events that seemed to have plagued him since his arrival at Teitan Elementary. The accusations of him being jealous while being caught in a love triangle, the misunderstandings between him, Mouri Ran and Suzuki Sonoko, the rumors spread about him —it all started to form a troubling pattern.

"Well... although there have been a lot of things....I don't see how any of this is related to the parkour incident with Ranran," Shinichi admitted reluctantly, his anger subsiding into a contemplative silence.

"I guess your time spent with Mouri and Suzuki must have made your Tantei brain rusty," Emiko frowned as she crossed both of her arms.

"I don't think my detective skills have anything to do with it," Shinichi replied, trying to keep his tone calm despite his growing frustration and confusion as to where was Emiko heading with this.

"Open your eyes, Kudo," Emiko says before ending their meeting with, "That is the only advice I can give you to end your predicament."

Shinichi watched Emiko leave, her words echoing in his mind. 

"Why do I get the feeling that I am missing something about these chain of events?" Shinichi muttered to himself, frustration mounting as he tried to piece together Emiko's cryptic message upon leaving the girl. 

Emiko's words continued to gnaw at him, persistent in their ambiguity. He replayed their conversation in his mind, trying to dissect each phrase for hidden meaning.

"Now that she mentioned it....everything began to go south the moment I started to attend Teitan Elementary," Shinichi mused aloud, frustration evident in his voice. "But what is the common thread? What am I missing?"

Unbeknownst to him, his curiosity would gradually set a chain a events that will ultimately lead to a inevitable fate.

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

"Are you.... genuinely 'quitting', Ranran!?"

Takuma was in so much shock when Reina messaged him a shocking news regarding Ranran's one year old career as a child Tantei, he immediately made a quick phone call to the girl in question.

"I ain't 'quitting', but hiding out till the news dies down," Ranran sighed while taking out her shoes from the locker, with her smartphone on her right hand leaning to her right ear, "I have a gut feeling that someone had been fanning the flames of the rumour mil lately, regarding my association as 'The Fox', hence, this decision.."

"Even so....i doubt this will do a thing to put a stop to that Kudo boy investigating you." Takuma frowned.

"Tak-san, you worry too much," Ranran chuckled softly, her voice tinged with a hint of amusement despite the seriousness of their conversation. She finished tying her shoes and slung her rondesu bag over her shoulder, preparing to leave the locker room.

"He is asking everybody in class about you, Ranran," Takuma sighed heavily on the other end of the line. "If he start connecting the dots..."

"I've been in this game a lot longer than he has since I was 3. He may have had real life experience in investigating crimes since his Tousan always take him to those crime scenes since he was young, but I had been exposed early to the real life cruelty in nature, something which he does not have. If he was going to do so, he won't see it coming with what I had in store should he poke his nose where it shouldn't belong."

"I get that you're skilled, Ranran. But Kudo is resourceful. He won't back down easily once he's onto something."

"I know."

"Eh?"

"Which is why....I prepared something beforehand should that day finally arrives."

Takuma remained silent for a moment, "Is this....going to involve violence again?"

As always, Ranran isn't surprise with Takuma's choice of words. From her early exposure to the harsh realities of the world to her current circumstances, it had often been her first resort. 

Which is why when Takuma offered to become her friend, she warned him about those tendencies, and he was completely alright with it. After all, her friendship with him is so much better off than those 'fake friends' he had made.

"Yes."

"I see," Takuma finally replied, his voice tinged with resignation. "Is he....going to come out in a body bag, Ranran?"

"Not if I could help it."

"Why I am not surprise," Takuma sighed, the weariness in his voice palpable.

Ranran's hatred for Shinichi had always been questionable to the eyes of many. 

Then again, if those words of his neighbours insists that her mother is Shinichi's dad's first love happens to be true, it wasn't surprising to Takuma as to why Ranran wanted nothing to do with them.

From what Takuma had heard through the neighbourhood, even around the area where Ranran and Shinichi lived, Ranran's mother and Shinichi's father used to date in high school before they fell out due to a 'scandal' that everyone were hushed about. If that wasn't bad enough, his mother didn't like Ranran's mother due to....whatever background her mother had growing up.

Anyway, to summarize it short, while dating Shinichi's mother as he ultimately gain recognition as a mystery writer, Ranran's mother fell pregnant without telling him, ultimately, migrating to the U.K and ended up marrying a man who accepted them, then the family moved back here.

Overall, no matter how hard Takuma tried to probe about this out of curiosity's sake, he felt like there is a lot of holes about what is there to say about Ranran's family, let alone, her role in the family. For starters, if Ranran is truly the daughter of a mistress, why is it everytime he spotted her with Shinichi's mom at some mall, there has been no hostility between woman and child?

No matter how hard Takuma thought about it, it would be unnatural for a married woman to see the child of her husband's with another through a allege affair. Yet, he witness Shinichi's mom being overly excited in picking out cutesy dresses and stuff for the borderline frustrated Kudo Ranran.

And no, in case anyone is wondering, the clothes the woman picked were expensive. Takuma knows cause he tend to shop for branded goods on discount.

The only tiny bit he suspects why she despises Shinichi, is probably the fact that he called her a 'bastard' child at that parkour event along with the other boys. The promising child athlete is certain that at some point in her life, if Shinichi's dad didn't choose Shinichi's mother, she wouldn't have been allegedly bullied over this matter.

Which is why he was amused following it's aftermath.

The methods she used were although ruthless and manipulative, in Takuma's opinion, he thinks this is well-deserved retribution toward Shinichi.

"Well, I am about to go home. Talk to you later-"

"Ranran."

"Hmph?"

"Are you...did you die before reincarnating here?"

"Excuse me!?" Ranran exclaimed incredulously, momentarily taken aback by Takuma's question.

"I mean... you've always been so calm when such situations like this happened, as if you've been through them before, like you know exactly what to expect and how to deal with it."

Ranran chuckled softly, though there was a hint of amusement in her voice. "Tak-san, Isekai isn't real like the world of the anime. You can only live once."

"But..." Takuma started, his voice trailing off uncertainly.

"I don't know," Takuma admitted after a brief pause. "It's just...sometimes I feel like whenever we talk about the future, mainly at times whenever we: Reina and I, would say things like: Kudo-kun is a budding Tantei in the making with a bright future, you would say: No, he will be the 21st century Heisei Holmes of the century."

There was a thoughtful silence on her end of the line before she responded. "You know I tend to joke about that a lot, right?"

"Yeah, but still....and anyway, there were other times I noticed that when our sensei requested you to do something in class, such as passing back everyone's homework, each time you reached before either Suzuki, Shinichi or Mouri's desk, you pass their books to the kid in front and would tell them to hand the books to them instead of doing it yourself."

"Ah, that?" Ranran replied with a chuckle, "It's just a habit, I guess. Back then, I used to sit in the back row too. It's like a reflex to pass things forward rather than directly."

"Yeah, but you do it as if you didn't want to leave any room for interaction."

"Tak-san-"

"Is it because... you fear that they will know you are The Fox?"

"To be honest...."After a long pause, she replied, "Yes, I didn't want that Kudo to know."

"Ah, as I thought so." There was a brief pause before Takuma spoke again, his voice filled with empathy. "Just know that if you feel cornered, let me know and I will rush over with a baseball bat to strike him when he least expect it!"

Ranran burst out laughing at Takuma's unexpected offer, the tension momentarily broken by his earnestness. "Alright, I will."

As soon as Takuma hung up, Ranran's smile turned to somber as she muttered to herself. "Tak-san, you have no idea how close you almost were....."

He wasn't in the wrong, she wanted to leave no room for them to cross into her life, let alone form any interaction between her, Kudo, Mouri and Suzuki. Cause having them would mean death in her future.

Each day was a tightrope walk for Ranran after that night two years ago, any misstep could lead to instant death. She couldn't afford to dwell on what-ifs or maybes anymore, not since 'he' was gone for good.

"Ch-no, if you are still up there in Heaven watching over me, though I don't believe in Kami-sama since that day....." Ranran's voice hardened as she spoke to no one, a flicker of anger igniting within her chest. "Please...look away now, because things are about to get really ugly.....for 'him' to say the least."