Chapter 135: Ran Mouri: What Does It Mean to Be the Chosen One? (Additional Chapter for Leader Qinghe Yue)

Inside the ramen shop, Ran Mouri momentarily pushed aside that strange, unsettling feeling as she savored the delicious food in her bowl. However, the moment she set down her soup bowl, that bone-chilling sensation returned. She glanced back at the crowd behind her, but everyone was simply eating, with no suspicious characters in sight.

Kogoro Mouri noticed his daughter’s sudden shift in demeanor. "What’s wrong?"

"It’s nothing, I just felt a sudden chill," Ran said, looking toward Conan. "Did you guys happen to..."

At that moment, Conan and Heiji Hattori were both staring in another direction.

Heiji Hattori remarked, "He wasn't just passing by; he came specifically to see us."

Conan agreed, "That’s right."

"Hey, what are you two talking about?" Kogoro looked completely bewildered. This trip had been a disaster; being forced into a police car was one thing, but now everyone around him was acting like a riddle-maker.

"It’s nothing, Ran-neechan, Uncle Mouri. Heiji-niichan and I are just going to step out for a moment. Please wait here for us."

Conan hopped off his high stool and ran out with Heiji. Upon reaching the shop entrance, the two began quickly scanning the street for Frank, who had intentionally left them a glimpse of his back as he turned into a side alley.

A few minutes later, someone sat down next to Ran in the ramen shop.

"Excuse me, but this seat is taken," Ran said.

"You’re that Kudo, aren't you?" Kazuha Toyama rested her chin on her hands, staring coldly at Ran.

"What? Me?" Ran was utterly confused.

"Heiji talks to me about you all the time," Kazuha continued, leaning closer to Ran to exert the kind of pressure only a primary partner could inflict upon a perceived rival.

"Ah, no, you’ve got the wrong person! My name is Ran Mouri," Ran said, waving her hands dismissively. She certainly wasn't a mistress; everyone here had their own childhood sweethearts, so why would she ever play that role?

"Is that so?" Kazuha looked unconvinced. "Then where did Kudo go?"

"He went out to handle a case! And he still hasn't come back!" Ran gritted her teeth, her chopsticks snapping in two. That jerk—leaving his girlfriend behind in the middle of a date and then just vanishing!

Kazuha flinched, finally convinced that Ran wasn't Shinichi Kudo. "Um... sorry, I mistook you for someone else. By the way, where’s Heiji?"

Reminded by Kazuha’s question, Ran suddenly realized something. "Were you the one staring at me from behind earlier?"

Kazuha’s face flushed red, and she nodded in embarrassment.

"If you were the one staring at me, then who was watching them?" With that realization, Ran stood up and rushed out, leaving behind a bewildered Kogoro and Kazuha.

Once outside, Heiji and Conan were nowhere to be seen, but Ran instinctively headed in the direction they had taken.

Meanwhile, in the alleyway, Conan and Heiji stood back-to-back, flanked by Fina on their left and Vernon on their right, while Frank stood at the alley entrance to keep bystanders away.

"Who are you people! Why did you lure us here?" Conan demanded loudly.

*Thump, thump, thump.* Footsteps approached from directly in front of them. Heiji and Conan watched tensely, only to nearly stumble in disbelief. The person walking toward them was a young girl with tea-colored hair, wearing a pleated skirt and a short T-shirt. Aside from an unusual air about her, she looked like an ordinary, adorable girl.

"Shinichi Kudo, where did my sister die?!" Ai Haibara asked, cutting straight to the chase.

"Your sister?" Conan looked at her blankly. Who was her sister?

"My sister used the alias Masami Hirota. You know it, don't you?! Tell me where she is!" Ai was frantic, shouting at Conan.

"Masami Hirota..." Memories flashed through Conan’s mind—the older girl lying in a pool of blood in that warehouse, the one who had told him the organization’s signature color was black.

"APTX-4869—that’s the serial number of the drug that shrunk you. Tell me where she is, and I’ll give you the antidote!" Ai continued.

Just then, a loud *boom* echoed through the alley, causing the walls to shake. Frank, who had been kicked into the wall, looked dazed; he was only trying to stop a frail, ordinary girl.

Ran glared warily at Frank. Her intuition told her that Conan was inside the alley and in desperate need of her help.

"Sorry, but it’s best if you don't go in there," Frank said, becoming serious. He couldn't afford to be beaten down by an ordinary girl if he wanted to keep his reputation in Ouroboros.

*Hah!* Without hesitation, Ran launched a side kick directly at Frank.

Frank blocked with both arms, gauging the power of her strike. Since she was likely an ally, he couldn't just draw his weapon. Even so, despite his own enhancements, Frank struggled to withstand the force of her rage-fueled kick; his forearms felt like they might crack.

Realizing that a brute-force contest would lead to mutual destruction, Frank shifted to technique. Ran’s training was purely academic Taekwondo, and she usually relied on her extraordinary speed and power in real combat. Frank, however, had mastered hundreds of martial arts styles, and his technique completely overwhelmed her.

Ran attacked with all her might, but every strike missed its mark as Frank diverted her momentum again and again. After a dozen exchanges, if not for the fire in Ran’s eyes, it would have looked like a master teaching a student.

"Get out of my way!" Suddenly, a flash of inspiration struck Ran. She seemed to enter a focused state, the various techniques Frank had used coalescing into a single realization.

She crouched, twisted her waist, channeled power from the ground, and thrust upward with her knee!

Her knee connected solidly with Frank’s abdomen, sending him flying dozens of meters through the air, right past Conan and Vernon.

"You don't want to drag innocent people into this, so just play along," Fina said, jumping down from the wall and gesturing to Conan. "We aren't part of the Black Organization; otherwise, everyone around you would have been shot long ago."

Conan reconsidered. She had a point. Since the situation was still unclear, it was better to keep Ran out of it—and he certainly wasn't afraid that a truth-seeking, embarrassed Ran might deliver that same knee strike to him.

When Ran finally entered, she found Fina holding Ai’s hand, with Conan standing beside Heiji. The two groups seemed to be getting along quite well, though she couldn't shake the feeling that they were looking at her as if she were some kind of rare animal.

"What’s going on here?" Ran asked, thoroughly confused.