Conan: The Phantom Heart Thief

Mouri Ran picked up several large hardcover books and carefully wiped off the dust. When she tried to return them to their place, she found the angle made it difficult to exert any force.

Just as she was about to ask Sonoko for help and find something to stand on, a gloved hand reached out, took the thick books from her, and easily pushed them back into their original position.

"Ah, thank you." Mouri Ran turned around and found herself staring into a pair of scarlet eyes. She froze for a moment, then realized it was the new teen who had just moved in next door. "Thank you so much. I'm really sorry to trouble you with helping us clean today…"

The three new neighbors were all very warm-hearted. Not only did they go back to change into more suitable clothes for cleaning, but they even brought their own vacuum cleaners and robot sweepers, saving a lot of trouble.

"I'm sorry, I didn't ask for your names yet." Mouri Ran placed her hands together and bowed slightly toward him.

Hearing this, both Suzuki Sonoko and Conan immediately stopped their tasks and turned with eager eyes.

Right—none of them had asked the names of these good-looking new neighbors yet!

Even Conan, who'd known Kazawa for some time and had always called him "Joker," realized he never asked his real name…

Kazawa glanced at the three curious, expectant faces, thought for a moment, and replied casually:

"My name is Ren Amamiya."

As soon as he said it, Kazawa felt a strong urge to laugh but managed to suppress it.

Since he was playing the bit, he decided to go all in. He turned and pointed to Akemi Miyano.

"This is my sister, Haru Amamiya."

"Amamiya…" Mouri Ran repeated the surname thoughtfully, then smiled politely. "That's a lovely name. And who is this?"

"This is Xingchuan Hui," Kazawa said, deliberately not giving him a fake name. "He's also family."

Xingchuan Hui's hand trembled twice while holding the feather duster. He glanced at Kazawa helplessly, then silently resumed cleaning.

Although the name he used wasn't a pseudonym, it wasn't much different in effect.

After all, his official registered name was "Twallow Hayabus," and the most recognized identity of his current face was "Goro Akechi." Though he used "Hoshikawa Teru" as his name now, aside from Kazawa, no one really knew that identity.

Akemi Miyano tossed her cleaning rag into the basin, glanced at Kazawa playing games again without warning, and sighed softly.

Sigh… my brother's at it again. What can I even do with him? Haru Amamiya…

"I remember no one lived in the house next to Kudo's," Suzuki Sonoko said, not missing a chance to get closer to the handsome guy. She walked up beside Ran. "Are you tenants, or are you settling in?"

"We've moved in. Bought the house next door," Kazawa replied as he picked up a book from the shelf, wiped off the dust from the spine, and sighed. "So this was the home of the famous author Mr. Yusaku Kudo. We really lucked out buying this place. Are you friends of his son?"

"That's right." Suzuki Sonoko eagerly took over the conversation and stepped closer to Kazawa. "You might've heard of him—Shinichi Kudo, a somewhat well-known high school detective."

"Of course I've heard of him." Kazawa smiled gently and gave Conan a meaningful look, which immediately made Conan's hair stand on end. "He's quite the brilliant detective, isn't he?"

Hey! Stop staring at me when you say that! Conan's expression tightened.

Kazawa narrowed his eyes and asked, deliberately, "I'm curious—what kind of person is this detective? A smart and famous student like that must be popular at school, right?"

"Popular…" Suzuki Sonoko instinctively wanted to roll her eyes in disdain, but restrained herself for the sake of appearances. "Yes, he's very popular. He gets love letters every day. It hasn't been easy for Ran with a guy like that as her first love."

"'First love'? Oh, Miss Mouri is Kudo's girlfriend?" Kazawa asked, still looking at Sonoko, but his eyes remained locked on Conan.

"Sonoko, stop spouting nonsense in front of others!" Mouri Ran blushed furiously. If she weren't holding a stack of books, she would've jumped over to cover Sonoko's mouth. "What first love!"

"Eh? Isn't he your first love?" Sonoko teased, then playfully tapped her chin in mock contemplation. "That guy is such a blockhead. He just yells about how awesome he is when he gets love letters. I've never seen him get close to any girl…"

"So, his first love must've been someone else," Ran muttered, patting her warm cheeks, trying to avoid the subject.

This sweet, early-summer crush… such a romantic atmosphere.

Just as Sonoko was about to continue teasing, the sharp ringing of the doorbell echoed through the house.

Ding-dong—

"Ugh…" Suzuki Sonoko covered her ears. "Hasn't this doorbell been unused for a while? It's so loud and jarring."

"Guests?" Mouri Ran, grateful for the interruption, quickly put down her books and grabbed Sonoko. "I'll check!"

"Wait—you're dragging me along? Let go, Ran!" Sonoko protested, still reluctant to leave behind the attractive company in the room.

"Come on. If you keep talking nonsense, I'll tell everyone…" Ran's voice trailed off as she dragged her out.

As soon as the two girls disappeared, Kazawa leaned close to Conan's ear and dropped his playful tone into a soft whisper: "Is that so, Mr. Detective?"

"You—don't talk nonsense to Ran." Conan, who had kept his back to the group, turned around with a flushed face. He tried to sound firm, but his voice dropped when he glanced at Hoshikawa Teru and Akemi Miyano. "…I haven't asked you yet, Miss Masami Hirota. Didn't you say you'd find a way? Why is she still…"

Just mentioning the name Masami Hirota made Conan's mood sink. The blush faded quickly.

Because he was late… because he failed to catch the lies early enough… in the end, he couldn't save her—she had died at the hands of the organization.

Behind him, Akemi Miyano—quietly wiping a desk—froze. She peeked at the sorrow on Conan's face, then quickly lowered her head and wiped even faster.

"Don't be so tense," Kazawa said with a smile, turning slightly and gesturing toward the others. "Let me introduce us—we are the 'Heart Phantom Thieves.'"

Xingchuan Hui, who knew all too well the reality of this so-called "Phantom Thief group," stared blankly at the bookshelf.

Kazawa was doing his thing again. He just couldn't go a single day without some flair and mystery.

"As for Masami Hirota…" Kazawa dragged out the last word and noticed Akemi Miyano's subtle shoulder twitch before continuing with a cheerful tone, "Don't worry. She didn't die at the hands of the organization."

Conan's expression changed. He quickly looked up. "You… you mean, you saved her?"

"Yes. Masami Hirota is alive." Kazawa patted Conan's round head and smoothed down his stubborn ahoge. "You may not be able to see her for now, but I promise she's safe. Even if she hadn't escaped back then and had been killed, that would have been the organization's fault—not yours. Don't blame yourself, little detective. Just keep doing what you believe is right. Don't worry."

Akemi Miyano stopped the mindless act of rubbing the same surface repeatedly. She looked back at Conan—both relieved and a bit uneasy.

Kazawa had brought them back. That was no bluff.

Given that Akemi had already met Ran and Conan before, and Hoshikawa Teru's real face was famous, Kazawa had taken the precaution of giving both of them simple disguises.

Just some basic changes—adjusting the distance between the eyes, adding shadows—subtle enough to throw off recognition. Even Conan, sharp as he was, didn't realize the person he was talking about was standing just a few steps away, nervously waiting for his reaction.

"She's still alive… That's good. I'm glad," Conan murmured. He leaned against the bookshelf and exhaled. "That's really… great."

"Don't ask me where she is now. That has to remain a secret," Kazawa nodded. "Don't tell anyone, either. That would only endanger all of us. Once the organization falls apart, you'll see her again. Until then, keep moving forward, dear collaborator."