92: Chapter 92: Miyano Akemi's Request

The next day, Fujino residence, balcony.

Fujino watched the pedestrians pass by below, casually glancing at the time on his watch.

High noon. Time to initiate the revenge plan.

He went down to the underground garage.

Fujino took out the pack of White Wolf cigarettes.

Lighting one, white smoke billowed out, coalescing into a wolf shape as before.

"Help me find Miyano Akemi."

Fujino commanded softly, watching the smoke wolf hovering in the air.

"Awooo!"

The white wolf let out a sky-piercing howl, circled calmly once, then shot off rapidly into the distance.

Seeing this, Fujino mounted his motorcycle and followed.

"That's right, this is the place!"

Meanwhile, Conan, riding his solar-powered skateboard, arrived at the apartment of Hirota Masami, aka Miyano Akemi.

After searching the room, he quickly found the key to the safe deposit box containing the ten billion yen.

Just as he excitedly realized he'd found the stolen money, a figure suddenly appeared behind him.

Chop!

A swift hand strike knocked Conan unconscious.

"Isn't this the kid from the detective agency?"

Miyano Akemi murmured, looking down at the unconscious Conan.

She picked up the safe deposit box key from the floor, paused...

Then, with a trembling hand, she slipped the key into Conan's pocket.

"Sorry, Conan-kun. I can't let you get dragged into danger too."

She stood up slowly, took a deep breath, then turned and walked out of the apartment.

Following the white wolf, Fujino arrived near a warehouse.

Donning the Assassin's Robes, he crept closer. Soon, he spotted a vintage Porsche 356A parked nearby.

"This must be Gin's car."

Fujino's eyes narrowed, observing the Porsche.

The Porsche 356A was Gin's beloved car.

Such a classic car was a rare sight nowadays.

He wondered what that guy was thinking, driving something so conspicuous for covert operations.

Putting the thought aside, Fujino opened the car's trunk.

He paused, then retrieved the bombs he'd made last night from his pocket dimension.

He placed the bombs inside the trunk, checked the timer mechanism.

Everything correct. Fujino closed the trunk, making it look undisturbed.

Gin-san, accept ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠the judgment of fate!

BANG!

Just then, a gunshot echoed from nearby.

Unsuppressed, the sound reverberated through the area.

Fujino looked towards the source.

The warehouse direction.

Honestly, whoever fired that shot is incredibly unprofessional... Aren't they just attracting attention?

Although, if they're staging a suicide, then it makes more sense.

Fujino took a deep breath.

After confirming his own bombs were stable, he crouched low and moved towards the warehouse.

Under the setting sun, a warehouse somewhere in Tokyo.

The dilapidated warehouse was bathed in the red glow of sunset. Several large holes, likely from decay, dotted the roof, allowing beams of dusty golden light to pierce the dim interior.

A woman lay on the concrete floor, bathed in the hazy light.

She wore a brown pencil skirt, a dark red blouse, and a white blazer.

Blood flowed steadily from a gunshot wound in her abdomen, pooling and coagulating on the sunlit patch of floor beneath her.

Fujino, clad in the white robes and black mask, walked slowly towards her.

Reaching the woman's side, he saw a face both familiar and unfamiliar.

"You are..."

Miyano Akemi struggled to lift her head, her hazy vision making out a figure.

As her sight gradually cleared,

the figure before her wasn't the one she most longed to see.

Suppressing her disappointment, she looked up at the black mask and whispered weakly,

"I've heard of you... the Beika Batman."

She had heard rumors about this strange figure.

Someone who used any means necessary to bring criminals to justice.

Why he was here now, she no longer had the strength to wonder.

"I've heard of you too,"

Fujino knelt beside her.

"Miyano Akemi."

Miyano Akemi's lips moved, forming faint sounds.

"How did you..."

"I've been investigating that organization in black for a long time."

Fujino removed his mask, simultaneously lowering the hood of his Assassin's Robes.

Seeing the young, yet unnaturally mature face before her,

Akemi's eyes widened slightly.

But her suspicion quickly faded.

She recognized the face beneath the mask.

"I never expected... the legendary Beika Batman is just a high school student. You're only the same age as my sister..."

She had seen this face in newspapers before.

The famous high school detective.

The legendary Beika Batman being just a teenager...

It was indeed surprising.

"For someone about to die, there's no need to hide my identity anymore... cough cough!"

Suddenly, Miyano Akemi coughed violently, blood trickling from the corner of her mouth.

The coughed blood, like blooming crimson roses, splattered partly onto Fujino's white robes.

Fujino touched the blood-stained fabric, his pale fingers smeared with sticky, light red.

"You knew the Black Organization would kill you without mercy, yet you still came."

Fujino sat down slowly on the floor beside her, looking at the wound still bleeding from her abdomen. He shook his head.

"A gunshot wound this severe... even I can't save you now."

An injury like this was beyond his current medical capabilities.

Even with the 'White Angel' amplification, it wouldn't be enough.

Ultimately, 'White Angel' only boosted healing effects.

For someone this close to death, he'd need an amplification of at least 1000% or more to even attempt saving her.

"It's no use... it's too late,"

Miyano Akemi breathed raggedly.

"Before coming here, I already knew... the Organization wouldn't let me go."

"It's an organization shrouded in mystery."

Suddenly, Miyano Akemi grabbed Fujino's hand.

"As a low-ranking member, all I ever figured out... was that their representative color is black..."

"I know."

Fujino let her hold his hand, feeling the blood stain his skin, ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠and nodded silently.

"In the end, I wasn't useful at all, was I?"

Miyano Akemi's gaze turned vacant, a self-deprecating smile playing on her lips.

"It's selfish, I know... but if you can... please protect my little sister..."

Her breathing became increasingly shallow, the coldness of death enveloping her.

"Miyano Shiho... she's an executive in the Organization... she knows many things about them."

"She's been imprisoned by the Organization since she was little, forced to research things... but she's a good kid..."

Her words trailed off. Like a snapped string, her hand, slick with blood, suddenly lost its grip and fell limp.

"Your request... I accept it."