However, to the surprise of Conan and Ran Mouri, Hattori Heiji was unusually quiet, saying nothing.
It wasn't until the car picked up speed and the engine noise grew loud and steady that Heiji suddenly stretched out his hand and slipped Conan—who was squished between Jiangxia Tongzhi and Ran—over to his side.
Ran blinked in surprise, then let out a relieved sigh.
She thought maybe she'd been too hard on Heiji earlier—he was acting kind of off today, a bit lost in thought.
Thinking it over, Heiji probably hadn't noticed where he sat when he got in. He'd opened a door, sat down, saw Jiangxia next to him, and was shocked but too embarrassed to move, so he'd just sat there stiffly.
And just now, he finally lost it and used Conan as a shield... Well, that's how it should be, Ran thought, relieved.
Conan was caught off guard, staring at Heiji with confusion.
He was about to ask what was going on when Heiji whispered, "You're Kudo aren't you."
Conan's eyes went wide: "!!!"
The noise in the car was deafening, and from Jiangxia's seat, it would've been nearly impossible to catch those words.
But wherever a ghost can drift, hearing can stretch—Xiaobai was perched on Heiji's shoulder, eyeballing the two like a supervisor. So Jiangxia heard every word clearly.
After hearing Heiji's decisive declaration, Xiaobai pretended to snooze, pleased to leave a good vibe for the two high school detectives.
...
Heiji studied Conan's reaction and silently concluded—this kid must be Kudo Shinichi.
He hadn't accidentally sat next to Jiangxia—no, he'd deliberately chosen that spot to avoid Ran.
Heiji had only been here twice, but he already noticed Conan's oddities—let alone Jiangxia's. And if you think about it, Jiangxia really didn't see Conan as a kid.
Ran, on the other hand, was always wiping Conan's mouth like he was a toddler...
So Heiji guessed Jiangxia knew Shinichi's secret, but Ran didn't.
Adults turning smaller? That was incredible. Heiji wanted to ask Conan more but chose a spot away from Ran.
Conan never imagined Heiji wouldn't scold Jiangxia but instead quickly took off his vest as soon as he got in.
Shocked, Conan tried to bluff his way out but failed spectacularly.
Heiji peeled off Conan's vest in minutes. The two quickly clicked and exchanged intel.
Conan was stunned when Heiji mentioned a woman in the woods who grew bigger and smaller.
His mind raced through possibilities:
First, it wasn't Heiji himself;
Second, the hairstyle Heiji described didn't match Haibara Ai;
The little boy who knocked him out in the bombing case earlier wasn't the same gender, so scratch that.
Only one suspect remained.
Conan asked in disbelief, "…Is it Anonymous?"
Heiji blinked. The woman in black had seemed familiar, but he'd been too busy wrestling his scientific worldview to think much.
Now hearing Conan's name, Heiji realized: "So Anonymous can become a kid. No wonder the papers say she's elusive—pull off some high-profile moves, then shrink and vanish. Hard to catch that!"
Conan nodded and took it further—the boy who stabbed him? Probably an adult who'd shrunk. Heiji's witness to Anonymous becoming a child confirmed it.
And these two had crossed paths with him many times—Anonymous and her crew often fought against the Black Organization, like defusing bombs Gin left on the Shinkansen, or tailing that tall man in black.
Putting it all together… could this be the Avengers of poison victims?!
The thought made Conan's eyes sparkle—the enemy of my enemy is my friend. Anonymous's methods might be extreme, but since the Maple Leaf Gold Coin case, she and her team had saved him more than once.
Anonymous was definitely more of a friend than the Black Organization.
What intrigued Conan most was Anonymous's size-changing tech—Heiji said she could actively shift back to adult size.
Honestly, Conan wanted that tech desperately...
He grew more excited by the minute.
Since it was a poison victim alliance, Kudo Shinichi should count, too.
Maybe the contact between Anonymous and the boy was to recruit him. After all, Shinichi Kudo was a famous detective.
Sure, joining such a shadowy group was risky, but curiosity—and the desire to "turn back into an adult"—clouded Conan's judgment.
He stroked his chin, pondering how to find Anonymous and politely ask to join the team.
No need to rush now.
Curious Conan and Heiji chatted about "adults getting smaller" and naturally touched on the Black Organization.
Suddenly, Conan stopped, glanced at Jiangxia—who was leaning back asleep, totally oblivious.
Conan relaxed and whispered back to Heiji.
Heiji listened, sympathy growing in his eyes.
Looking at it this way, Kudo was worse off than Heiji himself—
Physically, he'd shrunk;
Mentally, he was stressed due to being a target for the Black Organization at any moment;
A bunch of mysterious big and small people had him in their sights.
Career-wise, Conan was stuck close to Jiangxia, enduring his endless reasoning with no escape.
Still, Conan wore earmuffs and resolved to solve cases. How could Heiji give up his detective dreams?
He patted Conan's head in sympathy.
Look, Kudo trusts you enough to tell you about dangerous groups. Shows he usually has no solid partner.
Heiji noticed Conan glanced at Jiangxia when mentioning the Black Organization.
He frowned, whispering, "You think Jiangxia has a problem? But if he saw you were Kudo Shinichi and was in the Black Organization, you'd have been arrested ages ago."
*Goal #1: Top 200 fanfics published within the last 31 - 90 days by POWER STONES.
Progress: 42/60(approx) for 10 BONUS CHAPTERS
Goal #2: One BONUS CHAPTER per review for the first 10 REVIEWS.
Progress:2/10*