i am just a student? in Conan world

"Well, you see..." 

Mouri Kogoro hesitated for a moment. 

He wasn't exactly thrilled about Hattori Heiji's sudden invitation. 

As an adult, he had plenty of other things to do. 

Like betting on horse races, for example... 

But looking at the beautiful woman pleading with him, her eyes full of charm, Mouri Kogoro puffed out his chest and declared confidently, "Leave this kid to me!" 

"..." 

Fujino glanced silently at Mouri Kogoro. 

So, Uncle Mouri was still the same old guy—completely weak to a pretty face. 

He had zero resistance when a beauty asked him for something. 

Hattori Shizuka nodded, feeling relatively at ease leaving things to Fujino and Mouri Kogoro. 

... 

It was already late. Even though Hattori Heiji and Toyama Kazuha had brought their luggage, Fujino and the others had no idea this was supposed to be a trip. 

With no other choice, they decided to let Heiji, Kazuha, and Shizuka stay the night in Shizuoka. Fujino took the Mouri family back to Tokyo, and the next day, they'd take the Shinkansen to Fukuoka to meet up before heading to their final destination: Fukui Prefecture. 

Hattori Shizuka, however, didn't join them for the trip to Fukui. Once they reached Nagoya, the starting point, she parted ways with the group and took the Shinkansen back to Osaka. 

Before leaving, though, she gave Hattori Heiji a stern warning: "When you're with Mouri-san and Fujino-kun, you better behave yourself and not cause any trouble." 

"What do you mean, me causing trouble..." 

Hattori Heiji muttered, exasperated. 

Every time trouble happened, it was always Fujino or Kudo stirring things up. 

He was just along for the ride! 

But the way his mom was talking... 

It sounded like he was the troublemaker? 

"It's exactly because you're so reckless that I'm worried..." 

Shizuka sighed, exasperated by her son. 

Suddenly, as if remembering something, she stepped closer and whispered in Heiji's ear, "And don't you dare bully that Fujino kid..." 

"Huh?!" 

Heiji blinked, stunned. "Oba-san, what are you even talking about?" 

Bully Fujino? That guy? 

Was Fujino even a kid? A sneaky, troublesome kid like that? 

And when had he ever bullied him? What did she mean by bully? 

Thinking back on some past incidents, Heiji's throat tightened slightly. 

"Hm?" 

Shizuka's expression grew a bit sterner, her eyes narrowing with a cold glint. 

"Okay, okay, okay!" 

Heiji shivered and nodded frantically. 

"Fujino's had a tough life, losing his family and living on his own. He's had it much harder than you. If he's genuinely good to you, you can't keep picking on him..." 

Shizuka's expression softened as she patted Heiji's shoulder. "Anyway, you get it. Last time you got into that car accident, wasn't it Fujino who helped fix your bones? Even if he's not perfect, you can't be ungrateful or talk behind his back." 

"Wait, you weren't even at the hospital last time... How do you know all this?" Heiji muttered to himself, ignoring the first part of her lecture. 

Nearby, Fujino, eavesdropping quietly, nodded to himself, thinking, Shizuka-oba is so kind and understanding. She really gets my good intentions. 

"Hm?" 

Shizuka seemed to sense something and shot a sharp glance at Heiji, as if she knew exactly what he was thinking. 

Her aura seemed to grow even more intimidating. 

"I get it!" Heiji yelped, stunned by his mom's sudden intensity. 

Was this really his mom? 

Why was she siding with an outsider?! 

"Good, as long as you understand..." 

Shizuka's expression softened. Then, out of nowhere, she added, "By the way, do you know what Naruto is?" 

"Naruto?" 

Heiji blinked, confused. 

He'd never heard the term before. 

After a moment's thought, he asked hesitantly, "What's Naruto supposed to mean?" 

"Oh, nothing. Just a term I overheard. I thought it might be something you young people are into, so I mentioned it." 

Seeing that her son didn't know either, Shizuka didn't press further. 

"Ding-ling-ling! The train from Nagoya to Osaka is about to depart. Passengers, please board promptly." 

The station's announcement suddenly rang out. 

"Alright, alright!" Heiji said, tugging at Shizuka's sleeve. "Since you know you're not young anymore, hurry home, Oba-san." 

"..." 

Shizuka stepped back, letting out a quiet sigh, feeling a bit exhausted. 

When he was little, Heiji used to listen to everything she said. Now it was "Oba-san" this, "Oba-san" that. 

How did his personality get worse as he grew up? 

Was this teenage rebellion? 

"Well then, I'll leave Kazuha and Heiji in your hands!" 

Turning to the group, she gave a polite nod, her gaze lingering on Fujino with a hint of guilt. 

She'd initially thought her son was being bullied. 

But now, it seemed like Heiji was the one bullying Fujino. 

And here she was, teasing an orphan who'd been through so much... 

Why did she feel so guilty? 

... 

Fukui, on the ferry to Mermaid Island 

A gentle sea breeze blew as the small ferry glided across the calm ocean, white ripples spreading from its sides. 

"Man, seriously!" 

Mouri Kogoro leaned against the railing, a cigarette dangling from his lips, shooting a resentful glance at Hattori Heiji. "You couldn't even thank me, kid? Dragging me out here with no warning, saying we're going to Fukui for some investigation or whatever." 

"Haha, what's the big deal?" 

Heiji grinned. "I'm covering the costs for this trip, so just treat it like a vacation. Besides, I already told... uh, Conan about it." 

"Huh... what?" 

Conan, also leaning against the railing, froze mid-yawn, choking it back. 

"I didn't know anything about this!" he protested. 

Mouri Kogoro shot Conan a look. "Talking to an unreliable kid like him—what's the point?" 

Conan gave a wry smile, then squinted resentfully at Heiji. 

You're the one paying, fine, but why drag me into this? 

"I don't really mind," Mouri Kogoro said, turning to Fujino. "But you made Fujino drive back to Tokyo overnight, sleep at one in the morning, and then wake up early for the Shinkansen. He's probably exhausted, right?" 

"Nah, it's fine. Just my usual routine," Fujino said, gazing out at the horizon where the sea met the sky. 

"Usual routine?" Mouri Kogoro raised an eyebrow. "What time do you normally sleep, Fujino?" 

"Around midnight, sometimes one. Then I'm up by four or five in the morning." 

Fujino answered casually. 

Truth be told, he only needed three or four hours of sleep to feel fine. 

In extreme cases, two hours were enough to recharge him for the day. 

"That's not good!" Mouri Kogoro said, concerned. "Sleeping four or five hours a day—you could drop dead! Why don't you take a nap when we get there?" 

"No need." Fujino waved it off. "I'm used to it, and I've got plenty of energy." 

"Well, if you say so..." 

Mouri Kogoro nodded, then turned to Heiji, curious. "By the way, kid, you said we're going to some island in Fukui, but which one is it?" 

"It's an isolated island in the Wakasa Bay, called Usa Island," Heiji said, his tone growing serious. "But the locals call it... the Island Where Mermaids Live." 

"The Island Where Mermaids Live?" Mouri Kogoro took a drag of his cigarette, his interest piqued for once. "So, are there beautiful mermaids there?" 

"Well..." Heiji gave a wry smile. "They say there's an old lady on the island who ate mermaid flesh and became immortal. That's where the name comes from." 

"I've heard of that island!" Ran, who'd been chatting excitedly with her best friend Kazuha, suddenly joined the conversation. 

Wearing a white turtleneck and a green blazer, Ran perked up. "Isn't that the place with the immortal old lady that was all the rage three years ago?" 

"Yeah, I've heard of it too," Kazuha added, her eyes sparkling with interest. "I wanted to check out the rumors on that island, so I dragged Heiji along. If there's a way to stay young and beautiful forever, that'd be amazing..." 

"Right!" Ran giggled, covering her mouth. "Stay young and beautiful, and make Hattori fall head over heels for you..." 

"Hey, hey!" Kazuha panicked, waving her hands. "Not so loud!" 

"You guys are still young!" Conan muttered, rolling his eyes at Ran and Kazuha's gossip. 

He hadn't expected Ran and Kazuha to believe in stuff like immortality. 

Were girls really that gullible? 

If immortality was real... 

Wait a second. 

Conan froze, his pupils dilating slightly. "Am I not basically de-aged already?!" 

"Mermaids? That's such a boring story. If you ask me, an 800-year-old nun would be way more interesting," Mouri Kogoro said, disappointed, his interest fading. 

He'd been hoping for beautiful mermaids in kimonos with fishtails. 

Not some old lady... 

He took a deep drag of his cigarette, looking wistful. "This client of yours—don't tell me they just want to see this so-called mermaid, and you dragged me along for it? Let me be clear: I'm not wasting my time on some dumb mermaid hunt." 

"No way!" Heiji said firmly. "If it was that kind of case, even I'd think it was a joke." 

"It's the exact opposite. The client sent me a letter with just one shaky sentence: 'I'm about to be killed by a mermaid, please save me!'" 

"A mermaid?!" 

"Killed?!" 

The others gasped. 

"Saori Monkyo," Fujino said suddenly, his expression unchanged. 

"Huh?" Heiji blinked, then quickly asked, "Fujino, how do you know the client's name?" 

"Isn't it obvious?" Fujino turned to Heiji, looking at him like he was an idiot. "What's stopping a client from sending letters to two detectives?" 

"She sent you a letter too?" Heiji asked, shocked. 

"Yup. Not just a letter—she met me in person," Fujino said with a nod. "She even paid the commission a few days ago. Technically, she's my client." 

"Then do you know where she is now?!" Heiji asked urgently. "She left a contact number, but when I called, it connected, and I heard a woman's voice—moaning, I think? There were heavy, weird thumping sounds and even electric buzzing. After that, the line went dead, and I couldn't get through again. That's why I'm heading there to check it out." 

"Could she already have been killed by the mermaid?!" Ran and Kazuha asked, horrified, turning to Fujino. 

Mouri Kogoro's cigarette slipped from his fingers and fell into the sea. 

Why did Heiji's description sound so... sketchy? 

Electricity... Wasn't that a bit too wild? 

"Well..." Fujino paused, thinking. "The day she came to Tokyo to hire me, she was kidnapped in broad daylight." 

"Kidnapped?!" Heiji exclaimed. 

It was his first time dealing with a client getting abducted. 

Of course, he didn't usually get clients to begin with. 

Conan's expression grew serious, his mind racing. 

She said she was going to be killed by a mermaid, and then she got kidnapped. There's definitely a conspiracy here. 

"Hey, hey!" Heiji said, unable to sit still. "You knew she was kidnapped and didn't investigate?" 

"Of course I investigated," Fujino said. "I'm a consultant for the criminal division, and she's my client. I went to the crime scene right away and shared info with the police." 

"So, what'd you find?" 

"Nothing." 

Heiji: "..." 

You didn't even try, did you? 

With Fujino's skills, he could've probably found her the same day! 

Fujino's calm gaze drifted back to the sea. 

Of course he hadn't investigated. 

How could he? 

Could he really say, "Oh, my client was kidnapped... by me"? 

As for that phone call, it was probably during his "Mermaid Reformation Project," where he was rehabilitating the culprit. 

It was serious work, and the person being "reformed" was perfectly happy. 

So why did Heiji make it sound so... scandalous? 

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