i am just a student? in Conan world

"Oh, so it's Kaito."

Fujino said calmly, then asked, "I heard you got sniped, didn't die, right?"

Kaito Kuroba gave him a deadpan look, "What do you think?"

"Then you must've been close to dying."

"..."

"So, why'd you call me? If there's nothing, I'll hang up."

Kaito was speechless, "Hey, after what happened last night, don't tell me you forgot?"

"What did I do?"

Fujino sounded confused, "Didn't I just tell you where the Recollection Egg was hidden and stop a terrorist attack?"

"And you're still shameless enough to mention that?"

Kaito grumbled, "You tricked me with a double cross! And I trusted you!"

"I said where Inspector Nakamori hid the Egg, not where I hid it."

Fujino chuckled, "Just admit it, I told you where the Egg was, didn't I?"

Kaito: "..."

Thinking about it, that was true.

He said where Inspector Nakamori hid the Egg but never said where he hid it.

Darn, it was all a trick!

And to think he was so touched last night, only to be played again...

He rarely felt moved for a detective, but Fujino made sure it hurt.

Darn it!

Give it back!

Give me back my feelings!

"So, you stole the Recollection Egg this time, even blew up a substation, all for that Kasaka Natsumi?"

As Kaito went silent, Fujino continued.

"Looks like you've met her."

Kaito took a deep breath, trying to calm himself, "Yeah, stealing the Egg this time was partly because of her..."

"Of course, it was for her."

Fujino clicked his tongue and sighed, "Sure, she's pretty, but man, doing all this for a girl…"

Kaito was speechless again, "Do you really see me as that kind of guy?"

Fujino nodded, "Yep."

What could Kaito say? This guy always assumed he did things for beautiful women.

Same thing happened last time.

"What exactly do I look like in your eyes?" Kaito couldn't help but ask.

Fujino replied, "An arrogant, perverted thief who's into older women."

After a pause, Fujino added, "Or maybe a pervert who's into everyone, regardless of age."

Kaito: "..."

Another silence.

Just one short phone call, and he'd gone speechless twice.

This was...unprecedented.

Did he really seem like someone who'd act based on lust?

And for all ages?

"Alright, I'm done messing with you."

Fujino paused before deducing, "The real reason you stole the Recollection Egg must be for the other Egg, right? I already got the full story from Kasaka Natsumi. I'm curious, why go through so much trouble for these two eggs?"

Fujino was probing.

"What could it be?"

Kaito smiled, realizing Fujino was fishing for information. "Since you're a great detective, why don't you take a guess?"

"Guess, huh?"

Fujino walked slowly to his room, "Could you stop being so cryptic?"

"Fine, I'll give you a hint."

Kaito sighed, "This time, I'm just returning the Egg to its rightful owner."

"Oh."

Fujino wasn't surprised, just casually mentioned, "By the way, I found out who sniped you last night. It's a sniper named Scorp, known for shooting people in the right eye."

With that, Fujino hung up.

"Scorp?"

Kaito looked confused after the abrupt hang-up, then turned to Jii, "Jii, could you look up who this Scorp is?"

The balding Jii searched for a bit before responding, "Master Kaito, Scorp is an international criminal, age and gender unknown, who specializes in stealing Romanov dynasty treasures. The signature move is shooting people in the right eye. The person who sniped you yesterday was likely Scorp."

"Seems like they're after the Recollection Egg too."

...

The next day, August 27th, came quickly.

The Suzuki Modern Art Museum exhibition had ended.

Yep, it ended in just one day.

Fujino was speechless.

The Recollection Egg was transported back to Tokyo on a luxury Suzuki family yacht.

Fujino estimated that the cost of this whole event probably exceeded 800 million yen.

He really didn't understand rich people's hobbies.

...

A gentle sea breeze blew, carrying a faint scent of seawater.

The bright sunlight reflected off the ocean, creating a sparkling scene.

Ooka Momiji stood at the port, reluctantly saying goodbye to Fujino, "Fujino-kun, we rarely get to meet. Won't you stay a few more days?"

"No thanks…"

Fujino paused, then said, "I have a lot of cases waiting for me back in Tokyo."

"Cases, huh?"

Ooka Momiji thought for a moment before nodding, "Well, in that case... safe travels. I'll see you in the future..."

"Ahem!"

Fujino turned, "Next time, Miss Momiji!"

And with that, he quickly boarded the ship.

"Is he embarrassed?"

Watching him leave, Ooka Momiji smiled, "But we'll meet again soon~"

...

On the ship's deck.

Ran watched the scene unfold at the port and said, "Looks like Miss Momiji hasn't given up on Fujino-senpai yet…"

"Seriously, it was just a childhood promise…" Sonoko leaned on the ship's railing, sighing. "Fujino-senpai doesn't even remember it, but she's still clinging to it."

"That's the power of a promise."

Xiao Lan sighed, "But for Miss Daoka to stick to a promise for so many years, that's pretty impressive."

"Unlike you, who has a detective-obsessed childhood friend."

Sonoko clicked her tongue and pouted, "That's why I just don't get all this childhood friend, childhood promise stuff."

...

The ship set sail soon.

The huge ship's sole purpose was to transport the Egg of Memories, so aside from the essential crew members, there weren't any other passengers, giving it a somewhat empty feel.

Fujino returned to his room.

He laid down on the bed.

To be honest, he gained quite a bit from this trip to Osaka.

7 million yen for the protection fee of the Egg of Memories, a 1 million yen reward, a certificate of appreciation, and he even snagged a replica of the Egg of Memories as a souvenir.

As for the unexpected variable, Daoka Momiji…

To be honest, she really caught him off guard.

From her behavior, it didn't seem fake.

According to the intel in Fujino's memory, Daoka Momiji was also quite wealthy, though he wasn't sure how she compared to Sonoko Suzuki, but in terms of aristocratic status, Daoka Momiji was clearly superior.

There was no reason for her to mess with a down-and-out detective like him.

If Daoka Momiji wasn't the problem, then it must be him.

The memories in his head, at first glance, seemed fine.

But when something happened outside of those memories, that's when the problem arose.

Human memory is constantly being cleaned up and forgotten over time. Some distant, insignificant things can be completely forgotten in about a month, and for those with poor memory, it might only take a few days.

Clearly, that's what was happening to him now.

But this gave him a theory.

That his current situation might be similar to the original Hattori Heiji's—a case of some subtle misunderstanding.

He didn't remember what he said back then, but even if he did, it probably wouldn't help much.

Daoka Momiji wouldn't give up easily.

Even in the original case, where Hattori had Kazuha, she didn't hold back her advances.

Especially with her calling him "my future husband" and all.

It gave him chills just thinking about it.

"This is a problem."

Fujino scratched his head and sighed softly.

What had he been thinking in the past, to get involved with such a lady?

"Knock, knock!"

At that moment, a knock on the door interrupted his thoughts.

Fujino got up from the bed and went to the door.

As soon as he opened it, a camera was shoved in his face.

In an instant, Fujino's expression became calm, his eyes narrowing slightly, recognizing the person.

It was Ryū Samukawa.

A moment later, Fujino's expression darkened slightly, and he instinctively raised his fist.

His fist stopped just three centimeters away from Ryū Samukawa.

Then Ryū fell backward onto the floor with a thud.

"Mr. Samukawa, do you need something?"

Fujino lowered his fist and looked at him calmly, "It's pretty rude to just film people like that..."

"Tch!"

Ryū Samukawa shakily stood up, clearly scared by Fujino's punch. "That little girl's reaction was more interesting. Some detective you are, opening the door and throwing a punch at people..."

After that scare, Ryū didn't dare say much more.

He muttered under his breath and left, planning to surprise someone else.

But after Fujino's warning, he was more cautious and didn't get too close with his camera.

After all, there was a Russian guy on board. If he tried that with him, his camera might get smashed.

"…"

Fujino watched Ryū leave with an indifferent expression.

Then he turned and saw Xiao Lan with Conan.

"Mr. Samukawa is really over the line," Xiao Lan said as she watched him walk away, "He's the one without manners."

Fujino glanced at Xiao Lan. "Did he film you too?"

"Yeah."

Xiao Lan nodded. "Just like with you, he shoved the camera right in my face. It scared me for a second."

—It startled her so much that she almost used her karate, but luckily, she held back.

"What scared you?"

A voice came from nearby.

The three of them turned to see Sonoko Suzuki, with Makoto Nishino and Natsumi Kōsaka following behind her.

(End of the chapter)