Slightly startled, the two swung round to find a short, worried man glaring at the two kids. His black tee shirt and jeans were hopelessly crumpled.

"Oh, that's easy to explain..." Ranran shot him her most charming smile. "We bumped into Sergeant Genzo outside. He's investigating the damage to the same film a few nights ago in the Movix theatre."

The man relaxed and held out his hand as the two kids shake.

"Well, if you know Genzo, that's okay, I guess. I'm Tanaka Kirin," he introduced himself. "I directed The Origin of My Childhood."

"So you're the one who made that dumb movie," Ranran muttered.

"What did you just say?"Tanaka didn't manage to hear properly.

"Nothing," Shinichi quickly jump in," She said so it was you who make that movie."

"Ah, I see."

Tanaka then led them down corridors lined with huge posters of movie stars. They passed through a small studio crowded with lights and pieces of scenery as they spoke in low volumes, "Why did you stop me from saying it?!"Ranran questioned Shinichi.

"As much as that movie suck, doing this won't get him to corporate on our case Ranran!"He hissed at her.

"But it's true, the movie suck."Ranran remarked, before forming a Cheshire grin, "You know, we can break into this place if he took it as an insult."

"No," Shinichi has to put his foot down, as he had enough since her Dark Web antics, "We are going to do it civilly, not resort to violence!"

Eventually, they reached Tanaka's office where the director flapped his arms angrily.

"It's crazy what's happening to my film," he said. "We'd just started sneak previews in one theatre when someone ruined the print. And then last night, somebody broke in here and stole the other ten prints before we could send them out. It was supposed to start screening in ten different cinemas tonight."

"But now you can't," Shinichi remarked.

"That's right. It will take us weeks to replace those prints," Tanaka told the two children as he entered his office.

"Good."Ranran mouthed, "That movie is a waste of time and money."

"Eh? I am sorry?"Tanaka blinked.

"What she meant is what bad timing it is," Shinichi said, hoping he sounded heartfelt. "That was the film I was working on for our school drama. Now I guess nobody can see it," he probed.

"Well, I can show you the out-takes," Tanaka offered. He crossed to an editing machine and switched it on."There are the shots that we didn't use in the final movie, the ones that didn't turn out so well for whatever reason."

Shinichi elbowed Ranran, nudging her to do her thing."I don't want to do it."Ranran replied in annoyance.

"Just do it for the investigation!"Shinichi hissed at her.

"We can just break it in the warehouse-"

"No violence!"Shinichi reminded her.

"But that movie really sucks! Why should I bother to lie over something? That be sugarcoating!" Ranran rolled her eyes.

If there is one thing Shinichi has to learn since working as her apprentice is that threats won't work on someone like Ranran. So, he has to resort to an alternative. "How about I'll buy you pancakes from that cafe you kept rambling on wanting to eat for breakfast, for the entire week!?"

She then groaned, Ranran does anything for a sweet breakfast. Not to mention, it is free.

Ranran chose her words carefully. "It was such an interesting movie," she began, as she sounded convincingly truthful. "There was one scene that left a very memorable impression for me... the scene where the woman cried in the street."

That is very realistic for someone who wanted free breakfast badly. Shinichi couldn't help but muse.

One must resort to bribery when it comes to Kudo Ranran. That was what he had learned so far.

Tanaka beamed with pleasure. "It's nice to hear you liked it so much." He crossed to a pile of film cans and opened one. "Yes, here we are. Act 2 Scene 12."

He loaded a roll of film onto the editing machine and images flashed onto the small screen.

"Every shot we film is called a take," he explained, assuming the two children could use the notes for their supposed school project. "Sometimes we shoot six takes before we get the one we like. We shot four takes of the street scene, so I can show you the three out-takes."

The two children then pulled up their chairs and watched three different takes of the same scene.

"In this take, you can see how the camera wobbled a bit in the middle," Tanaka pointed out. "In this one, the camera failed to focus on the star by a certain time frame. Her face is too blurred, so we couldn't use it. And in this one, the star didn't look like she is genuinely crying."

"Who would with such dumb scriptwriting? Even I wouldn't cry if I were the FL."Ranran muttered.

The blue-eyed boy rolled his eyes at that comment before he jumped up excitedly in front of the man. "Can you play that one again?" He asked. "And can you slow it down?"

Tanaka spooled back and ran the take again in slow motion. Halfway through the scene, a grin gradually crawled across Shinichi's face while Ranran rolled her eyes.

In the background, a man was standing in a doorway. He was only visible for a fleeting moment before the camera moved past him. His bald head was covered with hair, but there was no mistaking Nambe's long, curved nose.

"In the shot, we chose for the movie, which was the next take, that man steps out of the doorway and walks down the street," Tanaka recalled. "He didn't seem too happy about the camera being there."

"Where did you shoot that scene?" Ranran asked him.

"Downtown," Tanaka told him, checking some notes in the film can. "In Asakusa. Six months ago."

"Asakusa...you mean the entertainment district where they used to have theatres and geisha houses back then during the Edo Period?"Shinichi guessed.

"Yes! That one!"Tanaka confirmed.

Tanaka then played the scene again and Shinichi squinted at the screen. "There's a sign near the door... it looks like...Ukiyo tavern. I think I better scribble it down."Shinichi then scribbles the word down in his notebook of his.

"Shinichi can recognize taverns? That is unusual, especially for your age."Ranran couldn't but be disturbed by this revelation.

"Whenever I drop by Ran's place, I am aware that her dad had drunk from that place because their tavern's brand is imprinted on one of the beer cans he left on the table. If we asked Ran's dad, we should be able to locate the tavern, considering I recalled him mentioning he is a regular patron when he was drunk that one time."

After they were done, Shinichi thanked Tanaka for showing them the out-takes.

"I hope you can find that movie, I mean it would mean a lot to mean if you kids do." Tanaka could be heard grumbling to them," I just started with this movie because I wrote it based on past experiences in my university days. It was to be a tribute."

"Eh? So it is based on real-life?"Ranran and Shinichi were stunned by this revelation.

"It did happen in real life, but the ending is worst than the actual movie."Tanaka explained as he grimaced, "It was based on my one university friend at that time, but unlike the movie, they found each other during their intern days. At that time...one of them wanted to make extra money, so she got a part-time job as a housemaid in this rich family. That's how she found him."

"You said the ending was worst, did someone got married off or something?"Ranran asked.

"No, if anything, she committed suicide by jumping off a bridge."

"What?!"Both founder and apprentice's mouths fell at that revelation."Isn't that a little extreme?"Ranran couldn't help but comment, "Can't she just find another one? I mean, all this for a guy is still..."

"At that time, like in the movie, her family was heavily riddled in debt. Even though she relied on a scholarship to enter our university, it wasn't enough to get by whenever she needed meals or even to look after her diabetic mother and her little brother who was in high school at that time. Their father passed away around the time they lost contact with her childhood sweetheart's family."Tanaka elaborated.

"You mean the part where he murdered the ML's beloved grandmother?"Shinichi raised that scene.

"That alleged beloved grandmother part was a lie, in real life, she looks down on her house staff and bullies them mercilessly because of their upgrade in status. I know this because my late friend told me in person. That elderly lady was especially harsh on her late father as well, but I never knew why."

"In your opinion, do you think she is capable of committing suicide?"Ranran observed Tanaka for any sort of response.

"No," He shook his head at that thought," She is very tough, I doubt she is the type to abandon her mother and brother who was around 18 years old at that time. I felt like she was forced to a corner to do so."

"Do you have the name of that university friend?"Ranran try to pry for any info, "Maybe it could be her brother who is behind this? Or her other friends?"

"Why would they want to do that to me? I am innocent in all of this!"Tanaka argued.

"I mean you did mention her brother was 18 at that time, he probably treated anyone who did or did nothing to save his beloved sister as his enemy."Ranran suggests, before adding, "Also, maybe he felt insulted by this tribute as it may not accurately portray his sister's true character in real life. I am certain some dislike the portal regardless of one's tribute."

"Also the name of the family she used to date, the more details the better."Shinichi prompted.

"I guess...you do both have a point."The man realizes this, scratching his head thoughtfully, before answering, "Her name is Seto Manami, she was 20 years old when she died. The man she used to date was under the Tadashi family, their only son by the name of Tadashi Saji, they are well known for their ties in the movie industry. As for friends...she is very kept to herself, so I ain't sure. I don't even know what her family look like."He thinks of this nervously, "Truthfully, we were under the same theatre club in uni, and we bonded over that. Out of everyone, I was the only one she told me about her home life."

.....

Meanwhile, Michio, Emiko and Junko were able to locate one of the places where Namba formerly lived at the time of his disappearance.

Though their client wasn't wrong about most of his properties having been auctioned off, they were able to locate one property that was abandoned, one that the government wasn't able to sell off due to rumours of Namba's alleged spirit haunting the property, stirring buyers away from purchasing the property.

The address was stated in one of the newspaper stories. When they arrived, they discovered an old apartment block set back from the street in a walled compound. The paintwork was peeling, one or two windows were broken, and the concrete in the car park was cracked.

"According to research, this was Namba's first property he moved into when he became a stuntman. He never sold it even after he became a film director to remind him of his humble beginnings. Even so..." Junko wrinkled her nose. "Would you lend a million yen to someone who lived in a place like this?"

She didn't wait for Michio's reply. "I wouldn't!"

"Neither would I."Emiko formed the same expression as Junko.

As they entered the compound, an elderly man emptying trash into metal bins looked up from his work. "You three kids, who are you looking for?" he called.

The three walked to where the old man waited by the foul-smelling bins. "Good afternoon, sir," Michio greeted him. "We're not looking for anyone who lives here now, but someone who used to live here."

"Namba Katsumi, am I right?" The old man wiped his hands on his trousers and took a swig from his water bottle.

Emiko was shocked. "Uncle, how did you guess?"

"You three are the second one who asked me that same question today," the old man informed. "There was a young woman here earlier."

Junko's skin tingled with excitement. "What did she look like?"

"The woman? Young... pretty...hazel hair, in her 30's" the janitor recalled.

"She had a grey car, right?" Michio asked.

"Yes, she drove it in and parked here. She was full of questions about poor Namba-san. Did I know where he was, had anyone been looking for him, that kind of stuff?"

"Poor Namba...it sounded like you knew him personally." Michio probed, doing his best to ignore the stench of rotting rubbish.

"I do, but not in the way you would think." The old man's weathered face crinkled into a toothless grin. "I've been the janitor here for twenty years, and I can tell you everything you want to know about someone just by their trash. If you want to find out about a man, look in his trash can. Trash talks louder than words."

"And what was in his trash can?" Emiko prompted him.

The old janitor slammed a lid back onto a metal bin. "He rarely eats at home, whenever we have small talks, he talks about his unfortunate widowed mother who is bedridden. He never had any visitors, so there were no food scraps. It was mainly all newspapers... newspapers and newspapers... one that talks about money in the entertainment business. This started even when he started to work as a stuntman."

"Do you recall the car the woman was seen in?"Junko probed.

"It was a 1969 Toyota 2000GT I recalled. I had a brother who works as a mechanic, so I recognize the car instantly."

Junko scribbled down on her notebook as Michio brushed a fly from his face. "You must have been shocked when he died?"

"Do you know what?" The old janitor dropped his voice. "On the day the officers were planning to raid his house hours earlier, he removed all his belongings before he died. Almost as if he knew he was about to die. When the police stormed into his apartment, it was empty. Just a shell. Nothing left."

"Some people said he didn't die," commented Emiko. "They said he just disappeared."

"I know," the old man cackled. "I remember all the gossip. There was one man. A Muniko-san. He came here lots of times. He wanted to tear the place apart with a group of men with ties as Namba owed them a million yen."

"In your opinion, you think Namba Katsumi schemed his death, just so he could keep the money?" Michio asked. "Or do you think he knew that someone wanted to kill him?"

"Personally, in my opinion, he isn't capable of ending his life. I mean...whenever I see him read those papers involving money in the movie industry, even his early days as a stunt man, he had ambition written all over his face."

The three kids exchange glances with each other.

"Anyway, I'll tell you something else in advance," the janitor whispered. "The day he vanished, there was someone who even tried to break into his apartment one night."

"Do you know why?"Junko inquires.

"No, I ain't sure. But whatever his secrets were, they were very important to a lot of people enough to resort to breaking in. This was after the officers arrived to arrest him." The old man shrugged, picked up his broom, and began to move off. "Nothing here surprises me anymore. Nothing..."

~~~~

Asakusa was jammed with traffic. Human traffic.

It was fortunate that Ranran had her scooter and Shinichi with his spare skateboard.

The two strolled past colourful shops and busy restaurants, navigating the heavy traffic until the two kids reached a narrow little building that seemed to lean against its neighbours for support. The tavern's name, Ukiyo,  hung on its door, just as the out-take showed him earlier. That wooden front door, however, was locked. The shop window beside it was shuttered.

The two kids stepped back and looked up at the single floor above, where shutters covered the long windows that faced the street. Apart from the number by the door, there were no other signs or nameplates - nothing that told him what the building was used for, or who occupied it.

'It's a real mystery,' Ranran observed. 'I wonder what goes on inside?'

Then, a crowded restaurant in the next building caught Shinichi's attention. But before he could see if he would gain any information from the people there, a familiar grey car caused Ranran to drag him before diving for cover behind a truck as the vehicle nosed into the curb.

A young woman in a denim shirt and jeans got out and hurried towards the front door of the tavern. Her denim jacket was slung over her shoulder. She glanced around quickly, turned a key in the lock, and disappeared inside, closing the door without noticing the observing little boy and girl, as Ranran manages to secretly take a picture of her.

"Earlier Emiko contacted us to inform us of that woman outside Muniko's house. Didn't think we would see her here."Ranran commented.

"Exactly, "Shinichi gathered his thoughts as he had Ranran ducked down into a squatting position. "What do you think she is doing here?"He then stared at that tattered banner of the tavern," According to Ran after I ask her to contact her dad, that tavern shut down years ago, so she couldn't have been there to drink her sorrows."

"No, she barely even looks dazed either, "Ranran's eyes narrowed at the woman, "Maybe it could be a revamped apartment or gathering spot like our association with the pink vending machine."

"You have a point," Shinichi agreed, rubbing his chin in a thinking pose, "Maybe she could be an associate of Namba."

"Or perhaps she could be working for the Tadashi family to look into this since the movie is a portrayal of their son's life after all."Ranran proposes.

"Do you think she may be behind stealing the movie?"He turned to his mentor for her opinion.

"I wouldn't be surprised, given the poor man in Movix was knocked out when the film was ripped."Ranran then decided."Let's back to the HQ, I think we need to look further into this."

~~~~

While Ranran and Shinichi were on their way, so was Takuma and Ran as they head back with their shared solar-powered skateboard.

"We are on our way as well," Takuma wasn't staring at Ran as he was navigating the board, still, Ran could be heard telling Ranran over the phone, "There are disturbing findings we found as well. Yeah, don't worry. Oh yeah, tell Shinichi to be careful as well."

Takuma still noticed on a side glance that the keychain hanging on her smartphone, the one Shinichi gave her, is no longer around.

As soon as she hung up, "Another argument huh?" Takuma shot bluntly, his pupils are unmoved. Ran shot him a startled look from behind, but said nothing. Sunlight streamed and glinted on her hair."I am just guessing, that's all," Takuma shrugged. "Whenever you see Shinichi, you just kept stirring trouble onto him on purpose, especially when it comes to Ranran."

Ran laughed nervously. "That ain't true—"

Takuma grinned gently. "Yesterday at headquarters, you were looking at Ranran as though you wanted to hit her for telling you off in interrupting his speech."

Ran looked away, her eyes seemingly growing weary as her eyelids slowly retracted.

"Look, I may be Ranran's friend, but keep in mind I was like you at one point, hating her to the core because of what she did to have all my former friends removed from the American Football club. However, just because she may seem cruel and all of that, didn't mean she isn't without a heart. She has it, but she rarely shows it to anyone."

Takuma decided not to talk about it later on, as he thinks Ran is never going to stop prejudicing Ranran till Shinichi comes back to her. However, he was wrong.

"I just wish Shinichi listen to me sometimes, that's all," she replied in a hollow voice, as she clung to Takuma while he stir the Skateboard. "I mean, he never listens to me. He's always so stubborn. He just does what he wants to do. Especially whenever Ranran comes up with unreasonable demands, he just does it willingly without questioning it. But when it comes to me, he never bothers."

"Do you expect him to because you two knew each other longer than her?" Takuma persisted.

"Of course I do!" Ran responded in a scoff. "He worships her because she is as clever as Sherlock Holmes, his idol. Which I admit, she is." The long brown-haired girl pauses.

"....however?"Takuma prompted her.

"She is also unpredictable, she thinks she is immune to danger. That's the problem with her. I don't think he has any idea how dangerous Ranran can be, enough to end his life."Takuma blinked as she continued, "The other day before all of you arrived, he bought a box and left it in the Hq."Ran recalled those memories, "I was sorting through the files in Tantei association situated in our school when I came across a box on his seat."

"What kind of box was it?"Takuma couldn't help but be curious, trying to avoid the cars driving by.

"I have forgotten, I think it was a box where the brand reads Lolita."

"Ah! I know that brand! It's a popular little girl shoe brand."Takuma recognizes the brand, "I wanted to buy that brand one day for my girlfriend's birthday."

"That's right because I was bored, I was curious to see what it was, so I opened up the bag."

"You do know that is rude to open one's packaging, right?"Takuma couldn't help but be appalled over how ill-mannered Ran is.

"To be fair, Shinichi often expose over what I do with Sonoko, let alone, my home life."Ran justifies as she adds, "Did I tell you that one time he accurately guessed what was the colour of my swimsuit my mother bought for me last year during a summer vacation?"

"He did what!?"Takuma's jaw dropped.

"Another time, he even guessed what was the colour of my panties by accident when the spring wind blew my skirt up from afar."Ran blushed to recall that time Shinichi insensitively pointed out his deduction without blushing.

"Shinichi...what an obnoxious twat!"Takuma couldn't help but think, at the same time, he was honestly impressed with Shinichi having said all of this in a straightface to a horrified Ran. If it were Takuma, he is asking for death.

"Anyway, I consider this to be justifiable, so I opened anyway."Ran's eyes cast a sad gaze, "It was a cute shiny black mary jane shoes. Something I liked. But...before I know it...I learn it was for Ranran."

"Eh? How do you know that?"

"There was a card attached to the top. The card said 'To my mentor'."Takuma was speechless, why would Shinichi buy a pair of cutesy shoes for his friend? "I was so surprised! I never would have guessed that the gift was meant for Ranran. I was happy for him, but I was a little hurt that I wasn't the one he wanted to give the gift to."Ran rambled at that thought.

"Why did he buy her a pair of shoes anyway?"Takuma finds himself asking more about it.

"He told me he bought it when it was at the mall wandering around aimlessly after spotting it on the display window. He recalled the other day when you were all locked up and had to cross underneath the drain to escape, her shoes were beyond gone after having soaked in the disgusting murk for so long. I was so embarrassed that I had assumed the gift was meant for me."

"Why would you assume he bought it for you?"

"Whenever Shinichi and I have our feuds, he hands me gifts. It ain't shoes, but it could either be a cute bunny-shaped eraser, or a sakura themed pencil box..."Ran's words then trailed off, "After that feud we had, I thought he would still want to make amends, you know?"

"Why would he if you tried to overstay your welcome with the association?"Takuma blurted out of the blue.

"Eh?"

"I mean your real reason for joining the association at that time was caused by Ranran."Takuma tries to explain, hoping Ran had some senses in her to digest this, "Although you may not have officially declared that you would leave after all of this was over, you did intentionally choose not to submit the contract because you wanted Shinichi back as your friend, correct?"

"Even so-"

"Yes, you want to make amends with him. That is a personal business between you and him. No one is against it. But there are other ways to do so rather than remain there. Like meeting him after school? You didn't have to resort to avoiding signing the contract and overstaying your welcome. Otherwise, it makes you a girl who has ulterior motives, Mouri."

Ran was speechless as the two went silent. Takuma had a point.

After a long pause, Ran answers, "I felt like...if I don't remain there, I won't see him anymore."

"In what way would you not? You can see him in class."Takuma remarked.

"I don't mean that, "Ran's eyes saddened, "I mean him in my personal life."The half-Korean boy did not know what to think of her statement."When we were around 5 years old...I noted we are beginning to drift apart."

Takuma let the breeze blow through them as Ran recounted their past.

"Before, we used to always hold hands and travel around the neighbourhood, head to the park to play, even celebrate festive without feeling wary of what others think of us. I think...after others kept commenting we are cute as a couple...that is where we no longer do so anymore."Ran laments, "Suddenly, Shinichi started to join a group of boys that is into macho, think girls are cooties, while I started to hang out more with Sonoko..."

"Ah yeah, I had that phase with Reina before."Takuma recounted their bitter past, "All of us had to go through that at some point. I think my father calls it the 'self-awareness baby' phase where we don't want to be called a baby of that sort."

"Yeah," Ran nodded to him, wondering sadly, "Why must we grow up? If we don't...things would remain unchanged as it is."

For a while, Takuma said nothing. Finally, upon arriving at the HQ, Takuma and Ran stopped the skateboard. As Ran hopped off and Takuma picked up the board, he turned to Ran and answered, "You know, Ranran also said the same thing as well."

"Eh!? She did?"Ran is surprised by Takuma's words.

"She did, "Takuma nods to her, recalling, "She lamented that growing up is the worst thing to happen to her when Reina and I were talking about what we wanted to be growing up. If she has a choice, she wishes to remain a child for life."

"Did she say why?"Ran probed.

"No," Takuma admits, before giving Ran an amused glance, "But now I think back, maybe you two are no different in character after all when it comes to this."

Ran was speechless.

....

Meanwhile, Tantei association's 3 eldest kids were heading back as well. The only conversation they are having besides the investigation was something worth talking about.

"I am going to dress in a leather jacket when the school uniform is finally abolished," Michio announces to the two girls, as he brought his bike, a mountain one while Junko pedals on the bike with Emiko in the back seat in tow.

"You are going to look cool in it, I'll admit, "Junko noted, stirring the bike as Emiko held on to her seat.

"Ah haha, no need to overly praise it."Michio chortles to himself as he dismisses bashfully.

"It's true, Majima. I have seen you in it before."Junko then sighs to herself, "Meanwhile, I am going to look awful."

"That's not true," Michio thinks with a frown, "You look great in that pink t-shirt and worn-out jeans."

"You don't understand, Majima, there was nothing but hand-me-downs my mother used to wear."Junko thinks of this gloomily.

"It isn't discoloured nor had patchy holes as she never wore it once."Michio comments.

"No, of course not. Even so...it would be nice to have some new clothes for myself."Junko's face darkened, as she dreads the day the uniform ruling is removed from school.

Micho pedals his bike quickly downhill while Emiko and Junko were behind. "Majima enjoys riding downhill quickly, huh?"Emiko couldn't help but muse.

"He is the happiest when he is with his bike."Junko chuckles as her eyes softened."It's also the closest thing that connects him with his dad, as that belonged to his dad."

"Eh? Really?"Then Emiko recalled, "Oh yeah, he died in a motorbike accident, correct?"

"He did."Junko confirmed, gazing up to the beautiful sky, "He was actually on his way to sell the bike because his mom pleaded with his dad, as she was worried he ended up dying in some accident. But...never would she had imagined this happened all because she told him to."

The girls had sombre expressions.

"She blamed herself every day without fail for causing her husband to die. That motorbike had been with him throughout his life, and he never once had an accident till she told him to sell it off because of Michio."Junko expressed bitterly before shaking her head," Enough of talking of sad things, now it's time to think about what clothes to wear. Aah," she groans in frustration, "What am I going to wear to school with limited money...!?"

"Money..."Then Emiko remembered something, "The other day at the circus, you mentioned your paternal grandmother had tight control over your dad's money, is there a reason?"

"Ah, that..."Junko's gaze fell on the passing scene, "My mother...was a former gambler."An 'o' formed on the artist's mouth, not knowing what to think of this."She used to gamble off the money of her own parents. One thing led to another, before one knows it, she ended up in jail later on in her late teens' thanks to gambling."

Emiko blinked, struggling to process all of this in her head. And she thought she had the worst parents in the world.

"Grandmother obviously couldn't trust her with the money, even though she moved on from her days and got a job. So it is what it is now..."Junko complained, "Now what am I going to wear...I am certain Ranran is going to mock me."

"Then do something about it," Emiko challenged her with a smile."There are things even the most extravagant clothes in the world can lose to cheap everyday clothing."

Junko was silent for a moment. Then she jabbed her head atop her palms with her elbows resting on her thighs. "There's nothing I can do! It's Kudo Ranran we are talking about!"

"Who knows? You never try, you never know." Emiko simply continued smiling.