Introducing a Junior
Having listened in on everything Lisa said, Sonoko smirked mischievously and chimed in. "Exactly! Ran, you're just too honest for your own good. You don't even know how to appreciate the beauty of a handsome man."
She jabbed Ran with her elbow as she spoke. "Just like Lisa said," Sonoko went on, "we could start paying more attention to the cute guys around us. Who knows — you might just discover their charm!" And with that, she gave Ran a playful wink.
When Lisa had first spoken, Conan had quietly let out a sigh of relief. The last thing he wanted was for anyone to learn he was really Kudou Shinichi. If his identity came to light, it wouldn't just cause unnecessary trouble — it could put everyone around him in danger.
But almost immediately, he heard Lisa urging Ran to move on to someone new, with Sonoko gleefully fanning the flames, and his mood soured even worse than before.
Conan was just about to interrupt and steer the conversation elsewhere, before Ran could actually be talked into it, when Lisa dropped a line that nearly made him cough up blood.
"Ran, sweetie, if you don't have anyone in mind right now, why not take a look at the people around you..." Her gaze slid, ever so casually, toward Hondo Eisuke, the implication unmistakable. "Or, big sis here could always introduce someone to you myself."
Lisa's smile was mysterious and just a little too knowing. "I have four juniors from school, and every one of them is quite the looker — brilliant students, too. As it happens, one of them is coming to Japan soon, so you could meet him then."
She gave a soft laugh and continued, "Come to think of it, that junior of mine is a real gentleman — gentle, considerate, always thinking of others." Sometimes a little *too* considerate of others, to the point of neglecting his own feelings. "He's rather like you in some ways, Ran. I'm sure the two of you would get along wonderfully."
A faint flush crept across Ran's cheeks. "Thank you, Lisa, that's very kind of you — but I'll have to pass. Shinichi isn't actually missing. He calls me pretty often. He... well, he really does care about me."
A little embarrassed, Mouri Ran turned Lisa down all the same, and in the same breath defended Shinichi.
"Yeah, yeah! Shinichi-niichan cares about Ran-neechan a lot!" Conan hurriedly piped up from the side, backing her up.
Hearing Ran reject Lisa so clearly, Conan felt the knot in his chest loosen just a little, and his mood lifted a notch.
Emotions aside, he'd caught something in Lisa's words — four juniors. Could all four of them be from Teyvat? And handsome *and* well-educated, no less.
Thinking back to the faces of everyone he knew who was connected to Teyvat, Conan couldn't help a bitter little thought: does Teyvat really judge people by their looks? Don't tell me it's nothing but beautiful people in there — not a single plain face among the whole lot?
A faint smile lingering on her lips, Lisa gave a gentle shake of her head. "Oh, Ran, don't be in such a hurry to say no! You could always get to know him first and decide afterward. Even if it doesn't work out romantically, there's no harm in becoming good friends, is there?"
Her teasing tone left Mouri Ran flustered and unsure what to say.
Seeing her hesitation, Lisa pressed her advantage. "Then it's settled! I'll have my junior contact you when he arrives."
Before Ran had any chance to refuse further, Lisa had already spoken first and locked the matter in place.
With that, she gave Ran no opening to respond — just a light wave of her hand, a goodbye, and she was gone.
Now that things had come to this, of the four of them, Sonoko was excited at the prospect of some unknown handsome stranger, Ran was quietly conflicted — and the other two, one big and one small, were in distinctly poor spirits.
Shortly afterward, Hondo Eisuke and Conan found some excuse or other to split off from Ran and Sonoko.
"Go ahead. Say it. You went out of your way to get away from Ran and the others, so there's something you want to tell me, right?" Conan kept his head down, hands stuffed in his pockets, eyes on the pavement, his voice low as he walked.
Hondo scratched his head and smiled a little helplessly. "Oh, it's nothing much, really. I just wanted to tell you — I've decided to go to America after all."
At the mention of it, a hopeful smile bloomed across Hondo's face. "I want to join the CIA, like my dad and my sister. That way, someday, I can take down that evil organization... oof!"
*Thud!*
Before he could even finish, Hondo walked smack into a telephone pole and cut himself off mid-sentence.
Conan gave him a look of weary resignation. "Maybe work on fixing that clumsiness first." Then, eyes half-lidded, he asked, "So — if you've already decided to leave, why bother going back to school at all?"
"Even if it's only for a little while, I want to spend as much time with everyone as I can." Hondo rubbed the spot on his forehead he'd just banged, looking sheepish. "And... actually, I was thinking of confessing to Ran."
"I've never seen a girl so sweet and gentle. She really makes your heart flutter. When I heard she and that Kudou guy were a couple, I'll admit I was a bit crushed." Then Hondo's spirits lifted again. "But you know, that Miss Lisa was right — Ran has the right to choose. And if that's true, then that choice could be me."
He came to a stop, propping his chin on his left hand and gazing thoughtfully into the distance, brow furrowing. "I've made up my mind to act, but I still think it'd be better to ask Kudou-san first. It's just, from what I've heard from Sonoko, Kudou-san doesn't seem to be in any position to contact the outside world right now, so there's no way to know how he truly feels about all this..."
Then, as if a thought had struck him, he murmured half to himself, "Maybe it really is like Miss Lisa said — maybe Kudou-san doesn't actually care about Ran all that much? If that's the case, then confessing to her now wouldn't really be a betrayal of him, would it...?" His voice trailed lower and lower with every word.
"That's not true!"
But his train of thought was promptly cut off by Conan, who at some point had lowered his head, his expression hidden from view.
"Huh?" Hondo stared down at him in utter bewilderment, completely lost as to why Conan had suddenly blurted out "not true."
"I said, that's not true!" Conan raised his voice and repeated himself, emphatic. "I care about Ran — a lot!"
"Eh? I never said *you* didn't care about her, Conan. I was just thinking Kudou-san might..." Halfway through the sentence, something seemed to click, and Hondo's eyes went straight to Conan. "Don't tell me you're..."
He didn't say the rest out loud, but Conan gave a small nod of understanding. "Yeah."
"I knew it." A smile of dawning relief spread across Hondo's face.
...