Kudo Shinichi truly didn't know his mentor.

Having worked by her side for over a month, her reaction was something he did not foresee it coming. The first time they met at the parkour park, even when the others called her a 'bastard', she never lost her cool. Even when he confronted her of her cunning plans when she framed him for pushing her down the obstacle course, she always casually brush it off as if it was nothing.

But observing her reckless reaction in an attempt to attack Michio's girlfriend, or recently, after having discovered the girl is none other than 'The Snake's daughter, who is simply targeting Michio to extract intel from their association...this was surprising in more ways than one.

From his perspective, whenever she mentioned her mentor, he always assumed she had a professional relationship as mentor and apprentice. But there must be more to it for her to react that way, otherwise...

....perhaps her mentor was someone beyond that to her.

Following the failed attempt to confront her, he could see that taxi driver were starting to stare as she told the driver to stop, but he overwrote her orders and told the driver to go. Initially he tried to calm her down, but it was like trying to stop a hurricane. She was relentless. 

So the only solution for him was to take her to a luxury cafe in an attempt to distract her.

It had been a busy day, as usual in Cafe Au Lait, a luxurious cafe that is well known among children his age for being child friendly. The owner belonged to a woman in her early forties, someone who is always trying to find new ways to make her cafe more luxurious and inviting, and she specifically allow children who behaved well to enter. It was an cafe reserve for those children who ain't playful, erratic and unreasonable.

That's right, it was an environment meant for someone like Kudo Shinichi.

When Shinichi first found out of this place, all the children in his age group turned against him following the parkour scandal that took place with Ranran. Although Ran and Sonoko didn't leave him, it was rather lonely with others giving him hostile stares. He kept up his appearances of a obnoxious person to brush this off, but deep down, it was difficult with the oppressively atmosphere.

Wandering into this cafe was the best thing he had ever stumbled upon, as the woman often give good advice. She wasn't that hostile to him even when she was one of the few people who learnt of this incident, let alone, turn him away. The funny thing was she only turned away the boys whom he was hanging out at that time for calling 'Ranran' a bastard, but perhaps she probably saw through his facade over why he befriended them in the first place.

Even after the attempted break-in at Ranran's place, she always left the door open for him to pour out his sorrows. She rarely give advice unless he asked, which he thinks is a good thing. No child likes to be told of that it is their fault and correct their behavior. The first thing that hits Ranran when he took her into the cafe without letting go of her hand in case she went out to attack Michio's girlfriend, was the smell of fresh coffee and baked goods. The second thing is the luxury. 

The cafe is decorated with rich, dark wood and leather furnishings. The walls are lined with bookcases filled with books and magazines. The floors are covered in thick carpets. The tables are set with white tablecloths and fine china. The waitstaff are all dressed in black and white uniforms. They greet them with a smile and a menu.

At some point, Shinichi grew worried that with Ranran struggling to contain her anger, he assumed she was going to make a grab of anything and throw it in the face of the waiter.

But he knew since Ranran lived 4 years of her life in the U.K, a place she always commented was her 'true home', he knew taking her to this cafe, the only one whose environment resembles the closest to home, that will calm her down. And it seems t be working, for her anger vanished as if it never existed in the first place.

Somehow, there were coincidentally Ranran's favorite food and drink, which made her anger fade away as if it never existed in the first place.

Seriously, how does this woman know what are their favour food and drink of that sort.

For Shinichi, he was given a plate of lemon pie, his favorite. 

As they both quietly ate during teatime, Ranran didn't apologize for her earlier episode. Even so, Shinichi thinks he had to bring this up. No one likes to be told off, he did not want to be that person that tells them they are at fault. But not saying anything would not guarantee she wouldn't do something as reckless as this again.

Also, his break-in experience was enough to remind him why he should use his mouth more.

"Humans are blessed with mouths to speak in the first place. Since mother gave birth to me with one, I might as well say it."

That's right, God gave them mouths to talk. He should use it.

With a sigh, he reminded her sternly, "Ranran, you know I don't normally say it out unless this is in the wrong. But what you did earlier could've cost us both our lives. We had no weapons to deal with The Snake, let alone, his daughter."

As much as Ranran hated being told of, he knew this time he was in the right.

Even so, she isn't without a plan. Keeping up with her calm expression as she sip her drink, she decided it's better to address the issue before acting remorseful. "I apologize."

"Good," He sigh of relief, thinking she finally gets it. Even so, there is another problem they are now dealing with. "Michio's girlfriend is the daughter of The Snake...how is this possible....?"

Exactly, even Ranran is still reeling from what they have both just seen. Eating another spoonful of cake, she tries to think of what she knows of the Snake.

The Snake's true identity is suspected to be the man who allegedly faked his death back in her hometown after the murder of her mentor. Her mentor's abusive mother, the one who murdered him, had this secretary named Harvey.

And as far as she had known growing up, her mentor mentioned Harvey was never married. Let alone, with child, or even had one. His dating life as far as she remembered was he had no interest at all, always obsessed with work documents on a day to day basis whatever The Boy's mother gave him to do. Which was surprising, given that most men under Harvey's positions that do shady things are into going to 'adult luxury night clubs' as her mentor worded it.

Since Ranran never personally met him, aside of hiding herself a lot and staring at him whenever she did her duties as The Fox, it ain't possible to completely know of his personal life whenever he isn't working.

So how is it Harvey, who is suspected as The Snake, had a daughter!?

Ranran try to think what she knows about the situation further. Her mouth occupied with the sweet saltiness of the red velvet case, her mind drifts to the reason over why she suspected Harvey is The Snake. In the first place, the whole suspicion thing began during the events of Extinction Heist case, was because he had her mentor's White Deer doll plushie hanging in his Jaguar car. Another damning evidence is when the car The Snake own was rare, very few of them were made around the world with that human detection feature thanks to its faultiness. Only 2 of them were made. So she didn't had any reason to not believe that man behind the Snake Skin is none other than Harvey.

But the fact he had a daughter....how old is she anyway?

Guessing her height and all, Ranran assumed she is around 9 or 10-years-old. That meant around the time when Ranran is 3-years-old, she should be around 7-years-old, the same age as her mentor. Where did she come from? What is even her real identity? Ranran doubt the name she given to Michio, 'Adeline', is even her real name.

Even Shinichi suspects so, as upon leaving his spoon on the plate after finishing his lemon pie, he fired a question, "Neh Ranran, when you were The Fox, did The Snake's files not mentioned he had a daughter?"

Thinking about it, she shook her head same upon having eaten her fill, "No, no mentioned at all."

That is right, when Ranran read through the files at the time, it only mentioned him as single, having no wife nor was in a relationship with anyone in general. Let alone, any surviving relative. His entire identity was shrouded in mystery even after starting his empire for over a year, since in the first place, supposed this man is in fact Harvey, it was clear no one could've figure out it is him since he didn't belong here. Not to mentioned, his old life as Harvey is declared as 'deceased' in the U.K legally, so who would suspect a dead man resurrecting in a foreign country randomly, let alone, Japan of all places?

"Since even the police department had no clue who The Snake's real identity is, we must look into the one closes to him, mainly, 'Adeline'. The girl he is using to try and dig any intel out of us, and I suspect we all know why."

Of course Shinichi knew what Ranran was referring to, the 'King of Rubies' case they are currently working on. Drumming his fingers, he was hit with a realization, "If that is truly the case, are you suggesting The Snake is involved!?"

"I don't jump into conclusions, but given the timing, I ain't surprise if that was truly the case. I mean think about it: The tiger case, we cost him millions of yen in sabotaging his tiger smuggling attempt. He is going to need to do another crime to get the money to keep his empire running elsewhere."

Ranran is right, Shinichi was tugging his hair in frustration over what to do with the situation, "What I don't understand is how is it he knew we are involved in this case?"

"He had eyes everywhere. You don't forget this is the same man who build his empire within a year." She reminded him, before feeling the suspense, "Anyway, the fact he sent his 'daughter' over to infiltrate our association...that meant our ruby switching theory wasn't completely in the wrong."

"What I don't understand is....why did he send his daughter to spy on Michio instead of the rest of us?" He ponder about this a lot, with his index finger on his chin," If I want to dig out anything from Tantei association, obviously I would target the founder since they have more answers in running the show."

Suddenly, Shinichi was hit with an emphiphany.

"Oh right! We put Majima Michio's name as the leader of the club when we applied for a room in school! Supposedly they secretly broke into the building and read through the documents...they probably could've mistaken him as the true founder of the association!"

"Not only that," Ranran adds, "Michio's dad wasn't around when he was born, so that made him too vulnerable around girls his age waiting to exploit him. She probably exploited this loop hole to extract info out of him at ease without hesitation, knowing she will never be expose because of Michio."

"But The Snake is the type who do things behind-the-scenes, no?" The apprentice then sort out his points as he recalled the intel Ranran given to him about his motto as a criminal, "He is the type who would do intensive digging on the subject they spy on before they infiltrate. Surely after getting to know Michio...by now, they should've realize judging his personality, he doesn't have the leadership in him to run the association and suspect someone else as the founder?"

This angle was also something worrying Ranran thought about it for a while after Shinichi dragged her into the cab. Harvey was someone who is very diligent with his job when he was secretary, even when it came to her mentor's mother's 'nightly adult activities', he always manages to cover up away from the press, who was at that time doing coverage on the custody hearing on her late mentor between her and his biological father, let alone, his abused situation. He will never leave any stone unturned if he had the opportunity.

However, that will for the time being be the least of her concerns. It's better they didn't know she is the founder yet. "Another thing I don't understand is...."Shinichi rubbed his chin," Why are they so convince that using a pretty girl would work on MIchio? Did they do a digging about his personality as well? If so...that is scary as hell for The Snake to go that far to infiltrate our association."

That's right, Ranran can't exclude this possibility that The Snake could've done some personal digging into each of the member's personality before making this decision. Did he perhaps think that maybe Michio's personality with girls was a fraud? Which is why he targeted him in the first place? It would make sense then, why he did so.

The Snake's only intel or glimpse into their identities was none other than the time the association members attended a premiere after the events of 'Illegitimate Extra'. Even with the influence of the Kudo family blurring their faces, Michio's identity was leaked to the school, resulting tons of fangirls oogling their eyes at him for his good looks, so perhaps his daughter could've ask someone attending the same school to acquire more about him. Also the entire bloody drama caused by Mouri Ran made it evident that everyone in their school knew who the members are.

Since The Snake no longer had any presence within the Japan police department anymore after her father removed majority of the people who allegedly work for him, there is no way for him to know of their true identities and positions of their role, aside of where their HQ are situated.

"Who the hell did The Snake think we are!? To be easily swayed by pretty little girls!? Did he think all the boys in our HQ are that much of an idiot!?"

It happened without warning.

One moment he was rambling, then next thing she knows, she realizes Shinichi has never been so....agitated by the fact The Snake thinks all the boys in their HQ is easily manipulated by pretty little girls like Adeline.

The more he thinks about it, the more angry he had become.

And that was a warning signal, the signal that tells her to leave him alone to process everything they have just recently discovered. Deciding she had to do something, she called out, "Shinichi, now I think it's good to know that she is infiltrating him."

"Hah!?" That made him snap, "How is that a good thing!? The Snake is infiltrating our association!"

"Hear me out," Ranran tries to calm him down as she explains, "Now that we know 'The Snake' has a daughter, that mean we would be a step closer to knowing his true identity, no?" As he was giving her a blank stare, Ranran continued, "Why don't we meet someone who knows his daughter personally? That way, we will know of her father's true identity."

"Someone who knows his daughter?" Shinichi repeated before wondering, "Ranran, you know of someone who might know her?"

"I might, but..." Ranran sounded very hesitant to share.

"...but what?" He prompted her to continue.

"You might not like this idea." She grimly said.

"Even if it is a bad idea, as long as it inched us a step closer to The Snake's real identity that not even the cops know, it would help break this red ruby case wide open, no?"

Having attain his attention, Ranran finally told him the plan.

............

"Out of all the criminal-like ideas you've had, this has to top out of all of them!" said the little Tantei boy in dismay while he and her took a cab back to the association.

After having a wonderful meal at the cafe, Ranran was able to arrange using personal connections to contact the very person he felt distrustful for a long while, as Ranran waited for the receiver at the other end of the line on her smartphone to pickup, "It's the only way to not tip of Genzo that we are investigating this case, but also, to understand what sort of girl are we dealing with, Shinichi."

"I don't want to make deals with some criminal, if he chooses to reveal everything about The Snake and his....whatever true connection he has with that girl without his own terms. You know with such intel, he won't willingly give it for free, Ranran."

Ranran wasn't responding to him while he continued on with his rants.

"After that betrayal stunt he caused onto us, there is no way he wouldn't ask to be freed out of prison. And you are bound to piss several people of."

Truth to be told, even Ranran herself didn't want to make such deals with that man. Yet at the same time however, Shinichi knows the last thing she would want to do is to give any opportunity.

"Who says I am going to give him a 'get out of jail' free card? I ain't that dumb." Ranran looked at her partner, "If you are against this, why aren't you stopping me then?"she asked.

"Because I too ran out of options, also, I want to be the one to say 'i told you this was a bad idea from the start' if Watanabe refuses to corporate."

That's right, they are going to contact 'Watanabe Ikeda', the same man who attempted to switch a white tiger and sell it of to the black-market by The Snake.

When he was broken out of jail, he remained working for two gangsters at that time: The Snake and The Crows, for over a month. Which means for the association, this is the only closest tie anyone could think off that knows of The Snake's connections to the people around him.

"How certain are you he will pick up the phone?" Shinichi questioned in skepticism, since it's almost been a minute since the phone continue to ring, "I mean we were the ones responsible for tossing him back in prison."

"Anything that is tempting to the outside word that will benefit him in either shape or form, he won't hesitate. That is why he broke out of prison without escaping in the first place, he taught by scamming two sides, he had the most to gain. Also, he has no choice but to comply, since I had to pull strings to ensure he picks up, by mentioning Botan."

Watanabe Botan is the jailbird's child nephew that Ikeda cares for the most. The two first met him when they got word of his cocaine smuggling activities for the cafes that enlisted his service to have customers hook on them. There is no way the jailbird wouldn't miss this call for the word if Ranran uses Botan's name.

Finally, the clack sound could be heard as an old familiar voice grumbled, "What do you kids want? Do you all not made me suffer enough after what had happened?!"

From the sounds of it, he sounded as if he was in severe pain, presumably, gotten into a physical altercation with another inmate. And Shinichi isn't surprise, since Ranran somehow manages to influence the court to send him in a different kind of prison in Japan where cases of physical beatings are very high.

"You deserved it, for attempting to kill children like us." Ranran reminded him in a cold tone, it sent shivers to Shinichi that the girl next to him...is she really a 6-year-old child?

The apprentice then recalled the news having reported her as The Fox back then, a child detective who is very cut-throat and ruthless, that is what she is known for.

Additional 3 years in prison, that was the sentencing he received after Shinichi submitted all of the evidence. One would say this is rather cruel, since he is already an old man. And to top it off, he lost many of his childhood friends, most recently, the last one in the hospital he paid a visit when he escaped.

Then again, Shinichi didn't stop her, since he too felt like Watanabe Ikeda deserved it for endangering their lives back at an abandon housing after trying to help him. One does not bite the hands that feeds the other, and Ranran was going to made sure he knows of this.

In someway, Ranran is merciless when it comes to betrayal. "What do you guys want?" Whined the old man.

"Well you see," Shinichi huffed as he goes on,"I'm looking for information, about this individual you may have know off, this individual is somehow connected to The Snake. Somehow, this person has cunningly infiltrated into our lives, and I need proof to get rid of this person, or our lives will be in danger."

"And what makes you think I might know who they are?"Watanabe said.

"You spent time with The Snake for quite the period of time before we sent you to prison."

"For roughly 13-15 days. I wouldn't really know all of them well, just because all of us did this one time thing regarding the tiger heist."

"Even so, it wouldn't be that difficult, because the person we wanted to seek info is a bit....unexpected."

Watanabe rolled his eyes. "Let me guess, if I don't say it, I might end up having no choice but to do it?" he asked.

"Threatening is easy," Ranran laughed, but it was in Shinichi's perception, a laugh that degrades the other, "But then after a long thought, we too know you are the type who would do or make any lucrative deals if you are willing to talk.  You ain't wrong, I was tempted to do it after what you did to my friend Tak-san and everyone around me. However...."A smile formed," I then recalled the fact you still even to this day, remained a good uncle to your nephew who still hadn't attended school since your arrest till now."

The reason why Watanabe Botan had stopped attending elementary school was due to financial strains within his adopted family, adding in his uncle's recent exploits, it was better to dropout then be whispered he is the nephew of a criminal who attempted to end the lives of 7 children.

"So here is the catch, I will do the deal, but it won't be early released out of prison, Mr Watabe. It will be more about 'what is best for your family' deal."

"What is...best?"

"Your late elder sister insisting on wanting to send Botan to a school overseas...I can grant that for you."

"Are you serious?" The prison bird asked, hope in his voice. "You will really get my nephew to enroll in school?"

Shinichi's eyes widened at this. Watanabe was never the kind to express what he truly wants, but as an uncle, this was new. Him pleading not to be led out of prison, but rather, pleading for his nephew away from the streets.

"Yes, I am dead serious. Not only that, with your nephew's level of intelligence, he can study there under scholarship despite your criminal background. However, I won't be responsible on convince him to go there, let alone, remove every single rumour about cocaine and your endeavors if that ever come about in the new school he attends. That will be entirely on him. If he fails, that is also on him. It will also be entirely up to the family he was raised in...the problem is, can he handle the pressure should he be given the opportunity?"Ranran added.

Shinichi thought deeply about it. His nephew haven't been to school that long for over several years according to the records after his mother died in prison. No wonder Watanabe was desperate. It is his sister's last living relative after all, Watanabe would do anything to ensure the best of his nephew's welfare. No kid would have motivation going to school if their love one is said to have died, while the other is rotting in prison paying for his crime.

"Alright, I will accept the deal."As expected from Kudo Ranran, she is really something. Shinichi couldn't help but think. The jailbird then questioned over the phone, "Who is this person you want me to snitch on?"

Having his attention, Shinichi then said, "The Snake's daughter."

A loud gasp could be heard emitting, judging his tone, the two children couldn't help but noted she must be someone feared, for the jailbird later confronted, "The both of you...are you both asking for death?"

That is not the response neither of the two were expecting.

Even so, Ranran knew she had to continue, "That will be an answer for another time. So are you in or kiss your nephew's scholarship goodbye?"

Reluctantly, he had no choice but to pour this out. "I met her when one of the Snake's men brought me over to their place to hide before pick-locking the cage to get the white tiger out, just as I was getting to know his men while briefing about the plan."Watanabe explained over the phone as he went on,"the rest of us happen to be thirsty, so one of them decided to order takeaway from Mcdonalds, since they can't afford me leaving and be exposed as I was a runaway fugitive at that time. Then suddenly, this little girl showed up. A girl of ten, Adeline, came in to our meeting room with a couple of glasses of ice cool beverage."

The two listened in tense silence as Shinichi hurriedly jot down everything there is to know about Adeline.

"At that time, I felt tense, as I assumed she was one of your members that infiltrated here to meet all of you, because I didn't truly know how many of you were connected to that boy who went out fishing, you know? But then one of them reassured me and said, 'Don't worry, she is The Snake's daughter."

Things just go from bad to worst. And judging from Shinichi's expression, Ranran can tell Shinichi is about to blow out, not directly at her, nor at the slow taxi driver whose cab they are on, not even at the revelations of a jailbird who betrayed them, but mostly towards the dense Majima Michio.

"Do you remember the name of the said daughter?"Shinichi proceeded to ask.

"If I recalled correctly, the name was kinda.....unusual. A mix of the English name Adele at the first, and Madeline at the end."

"Adeline, right?"Ranran prompted him to recall.

"Yes! That is the name!Adeline, it is definitely Adeline."The prison bird confirmed their suspicions,"Which is unusual, but then again, she look like a caucasian instead of Japanese like ourselves, so I would assume her name probably was given from there."Watanabe spoke over the phone without hesitation.

Silence filled the cab again, everyone letting the information sink in.

As Shinichi is too consumed with anger over Michio's idiocy, Ranran decided she had to take over the questioning,"Do you know anything about his daughter? Like her mother, where is she from, is she connected to the Snake biologically, or...."

The prison bird's voice at the other end just shrugged."To be honest, I don't know much about her. Still, when I asked around, I do remember one of them telling the other that he was shock to learn he had a daughter when he first got involve in this business. When I ask where is her mother, he told me she has no mother as The Snake raised her single-handedly, she claimed that he told her that her mother had passed away shortly after giving birth to her. The only think they know off is that he told everyone he had her in the UK, because we all noticed her face looked like a Caucasian, and she didn't have a Japan accent. She had a very European like accent."

A Caucasian huh...?

That meant...is she from the same state as Ranran is? Or from somewhere else. "What is it? British? Scottish?"Ranran tries to pin point for answers.

"I don't know, but what I do know is that she ain't a local based on the way she speak in Japanese."

"Don't get me wrong, The Snake has been a long wanted criminal even before The White Tiger case, deshou? So how is it that no one knew The Snake had a daughter!? I mean....why would Genzo not let us know any of this!?" Shinichi blasted in anger through the phone as Ranran who was sitting next to him just winced.

"It ain't possible for that to happen, Mr Kudo, as The Snake is very particular on not wanting his daughter name to be acknowledge among officers. If any of us leak this out and risk endangering her by exposing her identity if either of us were arrested or captured by rival gangs, he will kill us all,alright? Even I myself telling you this secretly is enough to kill me by The Snake himself."

"You said she has no mother, and that she is from the U.K, is she adopted by him?"Shinichi proceeded to ask.

"No,I ain't certain."

"This Adeline....how much is she aware of her father's criminal activities?"Ranran probed.

"Oh, she is very much aware, alright. Let me tell you, that girl watches everyone like a hawk. I heard many stories about her from his other buddies, and furthermore, she is too cunning. I am glad my nephew aint as devious as her, let alone, in a relationship or even had a crush on her."

"Wait, your nephew knows her as well?"Shinichi realizes.

"Kinda, the crime boss he works for knows The Snake, so sometimes they do cross path. The other day when my other nephew came over to pay me a visit, I asked if he had a girlfriend, one of them said: One girl was interested, caucasian like, very pretty, but he turned her down because he said he didn't trust her. So I knew it had to be The Snake's daughter. This was before I broke out of prison."

Shinichi just growled, not happy with this new information while Ranran decided she has to ask one last question.

"What happened....to those boys whom later realize they were being fooled by this Adeline girl?"

"Eh?"

"Did any of them have resentment? Enough to...."

"Ah, no. Not that I know off, I don't think any of them dared to do anything to her, because she is after all, The Snake's daughter. The Snake is one of the most feared and powerful criminal among us, they be shooting themselves in the foot if they are going to do a thing to their cunning daughter. That's why after I ended up in prison, I warned Botan to stay away from her. Not to mention, if it were anything, she will probably shoot either of them-"

"Wait, what do you mean when you said 'she will probably shoot either of them?"Shinichi cut into Watanabe's explanation.

"You didn't know? She has a gun with her given by her Tousan. She actually knows how to shoot someone with a gun."

It wasn't long before Ranran had to be the one to cool down her partner-in-crime's anger down, upon having ended the interview. "Shinichi, calm down,alright?"

At this point, Ranran can tell Shinichi is fuming in rage as the taxi drive them back to their destination.

Now, Ranran knows whenever Shinichi is literally mad, let alone piss off, he tend to keep things to himself before he blows up. He was actually no different than Ranran when it comes to this aspect. Of all of the angers he had contain, this one she can tell is completely. This time, he wasn't making any noise, but the growling voice within his is reaching its breaking point any minute. And Ranran can tell.

 Even Ranran wasn't happy upon this unexpected development this case has taken.

For Michio to date a girl who isn't Junko is nothing to them, but for him to date someone who is their rival arch nemesis, let alone, having just recently entered their third major case, they can imagine if anyone, let alone the journalist club from Teitan Elementary, were to find out about this, their office will be shut down on the spot by this point!

And it won't end with the office being shut down, but with their reputation as respectable Tanteis dragged down the mud pit so deep, they won't even be able to enter the field of law in the not to distant future at this point if this were to be expose! Don't even talk about even attempting to get another job on their own, this sort of news can be describe like an infectious disease, everyone will be aware of you having it and distance themselves from you far far away.

"How dare that Michio blindly didn't look into this girl's background...."the little boy gritted his teeth as he mutters.

"Shinichi...."But he ignored Ranran calling out to his name, too focused onto his anger.

"Of all of the girls he had to date, he must date that serpent! How stupid that idiot can be bewitched based on looks!"

"Shinichi, as much as I am as piss off at Michio as you are, we need to keep our cool before-"

"How can I keep my bloody cool, when this idiot is about to bring down our association, when it has only reached its infancy stage before it could even grow!?"

The boy lost it while Ranran just sat there, sank in deep thoughts. Ranran knew how much passion Shinichi had for that Tantei dream of his, so she can imagine in horror how he would react if his beloved Tantei association was to be shut down because of Michio being a total moron!

Of course there is more to it besides being piss off at Michio, after all, this trap was meant for Shinichi, making him feeling a lot piss off than he already is.

Meanwhile, the driver glance at the reflection of the mirror for a moment, showing a concern look at the two passengers he is ferrying,"Is everything alright from the back?"

"Yes sir, everything is fine. It's just him having stress about his future in life,that is all. Sorry about that,"Ranran gave the taxi driver a convincing apologetic yet a look of reassurance as she turned back to Shinichi,"We go punish him went we head back. I promise you,ok?"Ranran vowed to him before the man later pay his attention to the road.

After a long pause on the road, Shinichi knew there was one more thing he had to know." Neh Ranran, may I know...what happened to that boy?"

"Eh?"

"That playboy who duped your client and her bestfriend? Surely you gave the evidence to her and woke her senses up?"

"Telling it is easy, but you cant just simply go up and blankly show evidence upfront."

"Why not?! You have proof!"

"No one likes to see the ugliest side of their loved one, Shinichi. If I did, and if she confronts him, he would do whatever he can to distort the truth, and she could've blindly believed in him without hesitation. Insisting it further will just make her hostile towards us."

"What?! You talk as if she is brainwashed!"

"That's because she is, Shinichi." Still doubting her claims, she elaborated her point of view, "In this world, we are all addicted to happiness, in many different types of forms. Love is...like an addictive drug. You know heroin drugs, they will go violent on you when they don't have it one day, right? Same for my situation at that time, I mean that boy is a seasoned pro, he is born with that manipulative talent."

"Like you?"

"Something like that, but he is far worst than me. I mean he was doing all of this for the thrill of being loved not just by her alone, but by others girls as well."

"I used to wonder why is it all those girls keep falling for him aside of his good looks and status, and then I learn why: he used to use this tactic, that he would be rude to other girls who he deduce in his target's mind prettier than them, giving his targets some reassure and treat them specially well as if they were his only one, then get them to do whatever he wants."

"Is there...a cure?"

"There is, which is to set a trap to see it for themselves. We call it unmasking. I basically have to manipulate him that a popular girl in our school is interested in him, then I tricked my client that I was going to meet her at the courtyard of our school, when she saw and heard the whole thing later on upon him meeting one of his victims, she ended things for good."

"Oh no, he tried to strangle me when he found out my client's friend was the one who contacted me." Ranran chuckled dismissively, much to his horror, "My mentor ended up having to rush over in a mask and taser him. He was later kicked out of the academy, but I didn't care. He earned it."

Seriously, what kind of life did Ranran lead in the U.K!? The more he hears of this, the more he swears his brain are blowing to bits with all of the info she was giving. "But I am surprise you still continued on with this job though, I mean if I were you, I would've quit a long time ago! You were strangled for God sakes!"

"If you had seen what I seen when his true self began to shed out...it was utter terror. His eyes were deranged, he had black eye ring around him like a racoon, and even the uniform he was..." She shivered in fear thinking about that day,"He was so bewitching, even the girls who I used to admire as very academically driven because morons! They were expelled from the academy because of their idiot lovesick brain thanks to his manipulation, literally willing to throw away everything for their boy!"

"How is it you were not bewitched by him if you claim he managed to bewitch every single girl in your school?"

"Oh that? My father taught me how to see their intentions based on their action, it was easy when I got the hang of it."

After hearing all of that, Shinichi hopes the next question he poses would give him some tiny hope about Michio, "So based on your experience, do you think Michio is...beyond saving?"

And she knows why he asked that. "I wouldn't know," She admitted frustratingly, "It also depends how long he is under her influence. The only thing we had is a CCTV footage in his mom's shop that dated it took place not long ago."

"Then...say if he was in for the long run...if he end up like those girls in your previous case who still blindly believed in your client's ex, what do you do to them?"

"Huh?"

"I mean...the case you were working on, I am certain there are girls who you can't convince that the boy who fooled them is evil, right?"

"Well...we get rid of them, by kicking them out of our academy. Or in worst cases..."Ranran paused, refusing to divulge any further. But Shinichi had to know, he must know. "Well...we put an end to their lives, if they become too hostile."

Shinichi's jaw fell, he was horrified. "That serious!?"

"Reality....is a complicated matter," She confirmed it, before casting her eyes down to the foot of the cab, "Those girls want to continue the addiction to happiness to escape reality. And that can sometimes... turn poisonous even for them."

It was at this point, that to Shinichi's horror, he knew things are going to take a turn for the worst."Neh Ranran," With his bangs covering his eyes, he said, "Do we still have that pair of baseball bats in the Tantei Association?"

After the second incident in Illegitimate Extra, Takuma who is recently assigned as the inventory supplier stocked up weapons for the members to fight of against criminals, though Ranran think they should've been supplied with guns since the bad guys have them. "You mean the one Takuma bought recently and had it placed in the box at the equipment room not long ago?"Ranran wonders why the switch in subject,"Yeah, what about it?"

"When we go pay Michio a visit there, we are going to get those baseball bat."

"Eh?"

"You said boys will act violent if we try to convince them that those girls arent who they claim to be, just like how drug addicts would react without drugs, right?"

"Yeah?"

"I didn't wanna do this as Michio had contributed a lot for our association. At the same time....I ain't gonna risk doing nothing and be soft on him if he is willing to endanger our association and our bloody lives, let alone, attack us all violently just for one bloody girl!"

"Eh!?"

"We are first gonna pay him a visit, then we will see what he has to say."

"What if he denies about their relationship?"

Ignoring Ranran's shocked expression, he scoffed with a vengeance, "Then he is going to be the first member to have a taste on what it's like to lie to the founder and apprentice of tantei association!"

And it was then that Kudo Ranran knew, as soon as anyone is in the way of Shinichi's dream as a detective, even if one is easily swayed by the criminal's daughter, he too will show no mercy.

Ranran distanced herself slightly further from a very fired up Shinichi as the cab finally made it to their destination, while the unknowingly happy Majima Michio who is in their HQ has no idea that a tornado is coming towards him.