An Unauspicious Reading
Xia Yu looked over at the two newlyweds-to-be who had joined them today.
As for the case very likely to unfold tonight, she remembered this part of the story well.
After all, this was the episode that marked Bourbon's first appearance. There were plenty of other cases she knew nothing about, but this one she knew cold.
And it was also one of the few cases from back then that had left her with a lingering ache in her chest.
When she had first learned the true relationship between the two newlyweds, she'd been stunned for a good long while.
Paimon said, 「So, Traveler, they're really twins? You can't tell at all just by looking at them.」
「True,」 Xia Yu agreed with a nod.
Nothing about their appearances suggested even the slightest resemblance. Only by studying them closely could you just barely make out that their faces shared a similar shape — no wonder their friends had noticed nothing amiss.
"I heard you two fell in love at first sight?" Mouri Ran asked the couple with a smile, her eyes glimmering with curiosity and expectation, as if she were hoping to be told a proper romantic tale.
"We did," Banba Raita said. "From the very moment we met, it felt like destiny."
Well, destiny really botched that arrangement, didn't it, Xia Yu thought.
Listening to the two recount their love story, she glanced up at them once, then went back to her meal.
When Banba mentioned that he and Hatsune shared the same birthday, the same blood type, the same life experiences — that sometimes they even seemed to read each other's minds — she lifted her head and studied them again, looking as though she wanted to say something but couldn't quite bring herself to.
She hesitated, visibly torn — and in the end said nothing. She picked up her drink, took a sip, and lowered her head once more.
Conan noticed the slightly unusual reaction from Xia Yu-san sitting across from him, and gave her a puzzled look.
Strange. Why is Xia Yu-san so quiet today? She hasn't said a single word this whole time. And why did she almost say something just now, then stop herself?
"Speaking of destiny, though," Kamon Hatsune said, "I heard there's a fortune-teller around whose readings are supposed to be remarkably accurate. With the wedding coming up, I actually went to her for a reading."
"Oh? What did the fortune say?" Ran asked, curiosity getting the better of her.
At the mention of a fortune-teller, Ran found herself remembering the astrologer Sonoko had dragged her to visit not long after Shinichi first vanished. She wondered if this was the same woman Kamon-san was talking about.
Come to think of it, Mona's reading had been quite accurate. Sonoko really had met Kyogoku Makoto by the sea that summer.
Mona had also said that Shinichi wasn't far from her — that he might even be right beside her.
And somehow, even though Ran had never actually caught sight of Shinichi around her, she'd always felt that Mona's reading was right. Shinichi hadn't gone far at all. He was always there whenever she needed him, lending a helping hand.
Lost in the thought, Ran drifted off for a moment — and so she completely missed the way Conan's whole body went rigid the instant he heard the words fortune-teller.
An astrologer. It's been so long since I've heard that word. If he could have it his way, Conan never wanted to see that person again for as long as he lived. He truly didn't want to experience even once more that feeling of having his secret laid bare under someone's knowing gaze.
In response to Ran's question, Kamon Hatsune shot Banba Raita an irritated glare. "Mona-san — that's the fortune-teller — she told me that if I stayed with Raita, I would be hurt. And that we'd never be able to hold our wedding at all."
Banba rolled his eyes and waved a hand in weary exasperation. "And because of that, she gave me the cold shoulder for ages after she came back. Made me absolutely furious, I'll tell you.
"The way I see it, all that astrology stuff is a crock. She says things like that for one reason only — to keep you girls coming back for more readings so she can squeeze more money out of you.
"Look at us. Our wedding is tomorrow. The fortune-teller says we can't hold the ceremony? That's a load of nonsense, plain and simple."
Truthfully, Kamon Hatsune didn't entirely believe in Mona's readings either, but hearing Banba dismiss it so cavalierly, she couldn't help but argue back, unwilling to concede the point. "Plenty of my friends swear Mona-san's readings always come true. If you ask me, she only said that because she could tell how fickle you are, Raita — that someday you'd end up hurting me!"
「Whoa! I had no idea Kamon-san got a reading from Mona too. Though that reading wasn't very accurate, huh? It said Kamon-san would kill herself tonight, didn't it? That's a lot worse than just getting hurt.」 Paimon sounded genuinely puzzled — for once, Mona's fortune had missed the mark.
「It was pretty accurate, actually,」 Xia Yu said. 「If I'm on the scene, there's no way I'd let Kamon-san actually go through with it. When she tries, we just find a way to save her.」
「But won't Kamon-san be in terrible pain even if she lives?」 Paimon worried that Hatsune might simply try again after being rescued.
「It takes enormous courage for someone to want to die. Kamon-san was most likely just hit with a piece of news so devastating that, for a moment, she couldn't see any way out. That's the only reason she'd even think of —
「So we save her, then find a way to stop Conan from announcing the truth about Kamon Hatsune and Banba Raita in front of everyone. After that, the rest of their relationship is theirs to sort out on their own.
「From that point on, it has nothing to do with us. If we can lend a hand conveniently, fine — but this is their life, and in the end it's their decision to make. It's not right for outsiders to meddle too much.」
As the couple went on bickering over the fortune-teller's verdict, Xia Yu sipped at the juice in her glass and laid out her plan for Paimon, one quiet breath at a time.