On the other side, a cheerful Sonoko Suzuki was linking arms with Ran Mouri as they walked into a spacious, upscale KTV private room.
"It's such a shame Kazawa couldn't come with us," Sonoko said, full of anticipation for the celebration party, while also wistfully thinking about the handsome classmate. "He seemed to really like the band 'Rex.' If he were here, I bet he'd have had a great time."
This wasn't just because she still had a thing for him—Sonoko also felt a subtle sense of guilt.
Ever since getting to know Kazawa, she had invited him out more than once. And as long as he had time, he always said yes. Being alone in Tokyo for school, maybe he really did need friends and social connection.
But every time she tried to plan something fun for him...
Cases. More cases. Dead bodies, explosions—every time.
Ran sighed, clearly thinking the same. "I wonder what Kazawa's up to lately. He seems super busy. He looked pretty interested this morning when we talked about meeting Rex. It's such a pity."
With his hands in his pockets, Conan casually chimed in, "He's probably getting ready to return to Kyoto. He might have a lot of things to prepare."
Conan knew Kazawa had made several trips to the police headquarters—probably trying to secure permission. Leaving Tokyo while still in a monitored probation period could have serious consequences.
Sonoko glanced down at the kid and pouted. "Why does Kazawa tell you everything? Seriously—you're just a grade schooler! How did you two even get so close..."
Ran didn't have time to answer, because she had just spotted the people in the room. Her face flushed with excitement as she tugged on Sonoko's arm and whispered, "Look! The band members are all here!"
"Wow, Daya's so hot." Sonoko had eyes only for the spiky-haired guy. She clenched her fists and gave a little cheer.
Conan scowled and looked at Kimura Tatsuya, who was chugging beer. He muttered in his head:
Ordinary. Completely average.
"Welcome, ladies." Terahara Mari, wearing bold red lipstick, stood up and greeted them. Her bright and stunning face made the beauty-conscious Sonoko instinctively tense up. "Thanks for always supporting Rex."
Kimura Tatsuya glanced at her cheerful smile, took another swig of beer, and said nothing.
Wasn't this supposed to be a party? So why was the spiky-haired guy so grumpy? Conan, already unimpressed with him, silently scoffed.
In the Impression Space—
With one foot planted on the round belly of a Jack Frost, Kazawa coldly emptied his clip. Amid its wailing, the creature was blasted back into black sludge. Cracking his neck, Kazawa walked back toward the car.
Hikaru Hoshikawa had been watching the whole time, stunned speechless. Kazawa moved fluidly—attacking, dodging, occasionally putting on his mask and using special moves and debuffs. It was a smooth and skillful display of clearing out obstacles.
Clearly, this wasn't Kazawa's first time in this space. Before Hikaru ever helped drive, Kazawa must have been handling all of this on foot... alone.
Kazawa's strength... was beyond what Hikaru had imagined.
"All right, next level. The signal hasn't vanished yet, he's still alive. We're racing the Grim Reaper now." Kazawa slid into the driver's seat and pointed at the platform ahead. "Close your eyes and hit the gas. Forget the stairs—just drive down."
"Huh?!"
"This one's Rex's signature song, right?" Hearing the familiar intro play from the speakers, Ran clapped her hands joyfully while holding her juice. "'She Thinks She's Pretty.' I love this one."
"Yeah, let's dedicate it to our most beautiful manager, Miss Terahara Mari." Drunk and flushed, Kimura Tatsuya sarcastically raised his glass toward Mari. "This song really captures the real you, doesn't it?"
What a jerk...
Conan frowned. Mari bowed her head deeply, clearly suppressing her emotions.
Being the manager of someone like that… she must have put up with a lot. Conan thought sympathetically.
Mari took a breath, then smiled, stood up, grabbed the mic from the table, and walked to the front. "All right. I'll sing."
She inhaled deeply, then began. Her voice was smooth, clear, and beautiful. Ran couldn't help but clap again.
"She's amazing... Miss Mari really shouldn't just be a manager," Ran murmured.
Kimura Daya drained another beer, his cheeks flushed. He stared straight at Mari as she sang with her eyes closed, letting out a deep breath—not looking triumphant, but strangely sad.
Why does he look... kind of heartbroken?
Conan watched, puzzled.
This band's got some complicated dynamics...
Back in the Impression Space—
With a loud thud, the Beetle crashed to a halt. Hikaru Hoshikawa was panting, still shaken.
Even though this was a strange world, being told to drive straight into a vortex had still been way too intense. His hands were sweating on the steering wheel.
"We made it." Kazawa stuck his head out the window, carefully scanning the lone man standing in this isolated space. He let out a sigh of relief. "Still alive. Good..."
Hikaru glanced at him oddly. "You've been mumbling the whole way here... You can tell when someone's about to die or something?"
"No, but I can say for sure—stubborn, sharp-tongued guys like him die fast." Kazawa said flatly.
He opened the door, got out, and walked toward the shadowy figure. "Kimura Tatsuya. Is that you?"
The golden-eyed shadow turned to face him, muttering to himself, "Why would she do that? Doesn't she know how ugly she looked like that... even if she just asked me, just once... Why? Why did she have to make that decision on her own...?"
"Tch. Let's be real—guys who act tough and can't be honest end up loveless and poisoned by the girl they like." Kazawa said ruthlessly, knowing the guy couldn't hear him.
This was one of the most unjust deaths Kazawa had ever seen.
In his internal "Top 30 Dumbest Deaths" list, Kimura Tatsuya easily made the cut.
Because he was a sharp-tongued tsundere, the girl he liked had plastic surgery to match his preferences, quit her music career, and became his manager. Daya was shocked and saddened by this. He hated seeing her change herself to fit him, felt like she'd lost her light, and it broke his heart.
And how did this tsundere express that sadness?
By insulting her for years.
He couldn't even talk straight—wrote songs with lyrics like "She thinks she looks good, but only her back view is decent"...
"All you had to do was tell her: 'I like the real you. I hate seeing you hurt yourself trying to please me.' Was that so hard?" Kazawa said out loud, pulling out his model gun and pointing it at him. "Huh? Was it?"
"Tsundere are out of style, didn't you know? You actually managed to traumatize your crush into a breakdown. That's a skill, man."
Kazawa had rushed to drag Hikaru into the Impression Space as soon as he heard where Conan and the others were going today.
He was exhausted just thinking about it.
Without waiting for a reply, Kazawa opened fire. Bang bang bang—he emptied a clip of pellets into the shadowy figure.
Still acting tough? Still playing tsundere? Still being a jerk?
He flipped his wrist, reloaded, and fired again. Bang bang bang!
"Love being difficult, huh?" Kazawa growled at the now-cracked and transforming shadow of Kimura Tatsuya. "Then get ready for maximum social shame!"