Detective Conan: Death Note

That night, they went to eat at a conveyor belt sushi restaurant. Although it was a bit simple, Ran was very happy. Because every time Eri K

That night, they went to eat at a conveyor belt sushi restaurant.

Although it was a bit simple, Ran was very happy.

Because every time Eri Kisaki took her out to eat, she always wanted to go to fancy restaurants, as if worried that life following Kogoro Mouri would be especially tough, and wanting to make up for it.

But Ran thought it was unnecessary.

Occasionally, going to conveyor belt sushi was quite enjoyable for her.

When Hayashi Yoshiki drove her back to the Mouri Detective Agency building, she said goodbye seriously to the other girls and turned to go upstairs, pulling out her phone to send a message.

Mouri Ran: "I'm home, Mom."

Kisaki Eri: "Good. Did you thank him properly?"

Kisaki Eri: "Has Yoshiki become more proactive?"

Mouri Ran: "Of course I thanked him properly."

Mouri Ran: "What..."

Kisaki Eri: "Don't play dumb. The last time you went with Yoshiki to get the test results, you were hiding something from me, weren't you?"

Ah, how did Mom find out?

To Ran, it was an embarrassing matter, so naturally, after Hayashi Yoshiki asked her to keep it a secret, she did.

Mouri Ran: "Because Yoshiki-niisan asked me to."

Kisaki Eri: "Do as you see fit."

Kisaki Eri: "Young men basically have a hard time resisting temptation... I heard from Yoshiki that his office recently hired a pretty female assistant."

Saying that young men are easily tempted and then telling Ran to handle it herself...

What does that even mean?

The first thing that popped into Ran's mind made her blush.

She typed a few words, then immediately held down the backspace to delete them.

Repeatedly.

But wait—Yoshiki-niisan actually hired a pretty female assistant?

Ran hadn't heard him mention that.

Standing downstairs by her apartment, Ran kept looking down at her phone, wondering how to reply, until two heads popped out of the second-floor window.

"Hey, Ran, you're home, but still standing down there? I'm starving!"

"Starving, Ran-neechan!"

"Ah!"

Remembering her two burdens at home, Ran quickly looked up, raised the bag in her hand, and shouted,

"I brought sushi for you guys! Coming up now!"

"Oh!!!"

"Sushi!"

Luckily, Yoshiki-niisan thought of everything.

Running upstairs with the bags, Ran thought to herself:

Just as they left the conveyor belt sushi place, Hayashi Yoshiki said that Kogoro Mouri and Conan might still not have eaten, so he packed sushi for them.

Mom was right—Yoshiki-niisan really is an outstanding guy in every way...

Back in his apartment, after showering, Hayashi Yoshiki sat down in the living room and turned on the TV.

He had some interest in the new drama recently filmed by Yoko Okino.

The show aired two episodes back-to-back.

After watching the first episode today, during the commercial break, he switched channels—and suddenly an urgent news alert flashed on the screen.

[Breaking News]

[At about 21:50 today, a major explosion occurred at the National Tokyo Microbiology Institute in Nishitama City.]

[According to reports, the explosion was caused by an armed group of seven attackers. The group detained two security guards, hijacked on-duty researchers, broke into a high-security laboratory, and escaped after detonating plastic explosives inside.]

[Half an hour after the incident, a suspected member of the criminal group posted a statement online, claiming responsibility as the "Red Siamese Cats."]

The TV screen quickly switched to show the criminal group's declaration.

It read:

"We, the Red Siamese Cats, attacked the National Tokyo Microbiology Institute and kidnapped deadly bacteria.

We will take further action within seven days. Stay tuned."

Watching the news, Hayashi Yoshiki immediately stood up and headed to his bedroom.

He turned on his computer and searched for related information.

Many chat rooms and local forums were already discussing the incident.

Among the information was material about the Red Siamese Cats—a criminal organization dismantled by the police more than ten years ago.

At that time, the group had launched several terrorist attacks targeting corporations, using kidnapping and intimidation to extort money.

Ring, ring, ring...

Seeing Kaito Kuroba's name on the caller ID, Hayashi Yoshiki picked up:

"Hey, what's up?"

"You heard about the news, right?"

"The news about Jirokichi Suzuki challenging you on his world-class airship? I was following that a few days ago."

"No, I mean the explosion at the microbiology institute and the kidnapping of deadly bacteria."

"Yeah, I saw that. I'm currently researching the Red Siamese Cats," Hayashi Yoshiki said while watching his computer screen.

"Why do you care about that?"

"It's serious, isn't it? Do you think you'll be invited to help the police?"

"The attackers were an armed group. What help could a detective like me offer?

Besides, I already got an invitation from Jirokichi Suzuki before any police call.

It's first come, first served."

After Hayashi Yoshiki finished speaking, he immediately heard a "Tsk!" from the other side.

"Fine! If you want to get involved in this mess, come on over.

I'm preparing a special reward for you this time."

"Okay, I'll take it seriously, too."

"...Well, you don't have to be too serious."

Kaito's reply sounded a little weak.

Getting this monster to take things seriously?

Better to spare him...

Remembering how last time Kaito used super glue to stick himself to a motorcycle and caused him great embarrassment, Kaito shuddered.

After hanging up, he continued browsing online information.

He wasn't very interested in the Red Siamese Cats from ten years ago—this incident was actually a mercenary team acting behind the scenes, using the Red Siamese Cats name as a cover.

Thinking this, Hayashi Yoshiki called Gin.

"Can you gather some information on international mercenaries?"

"Yes."

Gin answered promptly, then added, "If you need anything done, the organization can handle it."

"No need for that. I just need information."

"I'll send it later."

"Thanks."

Hayashi Yoshiki hung up.

In fact, he could have easily assigned this kind of research to subordinates in the organization without going through Gin.

But even if he did, Gin would probably learn of his orders immediately because of how much attention he paid to him.

So Hayashi Yoshiki decided to contact Gin directly—and Gin didn't refuse anyway.