T.A series Volume 7: Feathers of Fury

Chapter 19 - A Hellish Night

When 6-year-old Mouri Ran stared at the face of her former neighbour, 9-year-old Kasumaki Rokuro, a person she'd never thought she'd see again, she was elated.

Having just left the cab and waving her goodbye to Shinichi and Emiko, she was looking forward to watching some TV before sleeping, her Tousan had gone out to do his private investigator duties, meaning he is likely not to return till around 2 to 3 am sharp.

Especially after dealing with the calculative 6-year-old Kudo Ranran, she truly deserves a break.

Joining Tantei Association has been a difficult and suffocating 2 months. It's one thing to deal with Ranran's harsh words towards her, let alone, her constantly belittling her while seeing her as a pest, but it was another to see her former friend and crush, Kudo Shinichi, constantly siding with the she-demon.

The worst part was as she headed upstairs to the apartment located above her dad's private investigator office, she realized her wallet is no longer in her pocket, meaning it must have slipped out when she was getting down from the cab. Which sucks, since the keys to the apartment are in her wallet, so that meant she can't enter her home.

As Ran headed downstairs, she was contemplating the idea of contacting her mother to pick her up and stay at her place. Now she could simply call her dad, and he will be more than willing to drop everything before rushing home to let his daughter in. One time, she remembered seeing him drunk, yet he stumbled in a hurry under the downpour of heavy rain one night before unlocking the door for her.

The problem is....they may not have enough financially to remain living under the roof of the apartment this year.

Lately, they had been relying on her mother's income, and although she is more than happy to give the money to them when asked, Ran felt like it would've been unfair to heavily rely expenses on her since her mother had this job as a lawyer not long ago, and then to top it off, recently purchase a place for herself after splitting up from her dad. She has mortgages to settle, so she can't simply burden them, even her dad has pride too.

Calling her mother, she knows Eri Kisaki would fetch her from her. The problem is that after that slapping incident at the principal's office in Teitan Elementary School, Ran didn't want to see her mother after that. Especially since she sided with the she-demon instead of her own daughter. A thing that is still heart-breaking even up till now.

Her dad's private investigator business hadn't been doing well lately, since he was utterly an incompetent detective. It didn't help that Tantei Association exists, since Ranran and Shinichi are so talented and capable as child Tantei, it was a no-brainer for anyone to seek someone who had experience dealing with six major cases, rather than to head to Mouri Kogoro's detective agency whose only experience involved solving infidelity cases, as well as cases that include missing pets.

So to see her former neighbour being around was a change of mood for her.

As Ran approached Rokuro, a nostalgic smile crossed her face. "Rokuro-kun, is that really you?" she asked, her voice filled with genuine delight.

Rokuro grinned back at her, a mischievous glint in his eyes. "Hey, Ran-chan! Long time no see. You've grown so much!"

Ran blushed slightly at the compliment, feeling a sense of warmth in seeing her childhood friend again. "Yeah, it has been a while. What have you been up to?"

"Oh, you know, just to check on my parents' working situation. Recently they got suspended, and I have no idea why," Rokuro replied casually, not giving away much about his recent activities. "By the way, what are you doing out here in the middle of the night? Shouldn't you be heading upstairs?"