T.A series Volume 2: The Illegitimate Extra

Chapter 12 - Rulebreaker

When Kudo Shinichi insulted the fraud driver, the one tiny regret he had in mind was he didn't expect the fraud to be so outraged by his words, he sped up Ranran's doom unwittingly in the midst.

That was the only thing going through the apprentice's mind as he and Ranran watched as the figures of the 3 evil men on the shore grow smaller. A breeze stirred the surface of the lake, and the boat moved sluggishly across the water.

As the two children attempt to free themselves, the blue-eyed boy's heart sinks as he realises that his words are the reason they wound themselves here. It's remarkable how their lives are so delicate, and how everything may alter with the exchange of words. All of this reminded him of the time his obnoxious personality caused him to have a dispute with Ran, which eventually led him back to Ranran, then Tantei association.

Though he has no regrets about how he got to where he is now, he does have some sorrow about how the two ended up in the boat for disparaging the fraud driver's family history. Shinichi considered everything he might have done differently, but he has no idea what he would've done in that circumstance.

"Ranran...I'm sorry..."

"Right now, Shinichi, I don't want to hear your apologies," Ranran yelled at him, her ice-blue eyes brimming with wrath as she fought. "After what he did to Junko, that idiot deserved it!"

"Say what now!?"

"He asked for it! As much as his crappy background led him to this life, you did well in telling him off that he could've chosen a different path rather than hurting kids like us! He deserves every word of it!"Ranran shifted her bounded hands to her skirt, "Even though it did kinda speed up our doom."

"Ranran...."

"That's why...don't ever think those words will be the reason for our end."Ranran rolled around, but again, fail to free herself, "There is nothing to be apologetic, especially onto criminals like them."

Ranran is right, as much as it was indeed his fault for ending up here, it was their fault solely for doing this to kids like them! Even so...

"Damn them! We are tied up and we can't flee!"Shinichi furiously make attempts to untie himself, but it was proven unsuccessful.

"Don't worry, I didn't take out my swiss knife with me for nothing, "Ranran smirked before managing to produce one from her skirt pocket.

"Wait, you had it the whole time!?"Shinichi gave her the 'are you serious' look, "Why didn't you do it earlier while we were in the car!?"

"We were in a 1959 Jaguar MK 2!"

"So!?"

Shinichi's look remains unchanged, and Ranran honestly believes she could facepalm right now if she weren't bound. "Shinichi, did you know that anyone who happens to be in a car that is 18 years old or older is 71% more likely to be killed in a car accident, than a driver of a car that is three years old or newer? If we hadn't fled and confronted the driver sooner, we'd be dead in that Jaguar!"

That revelation went deep into Shinichi's heart, reminding him of his inexperience as her apprentice.

"Stop feeling like a failure right now! You'll be able to catch up when we get off the boat!" Before Ranran released Shinichi from the gagged rope, she unfastened herself from the ropes; he had his hands bound around his wrist, which hurt. "Come on, we'd better hurry or we'll drown!" Ranran indicated the opposite bank. "Why don't we try paddling over there with our hands?"

Shinichi plunged his hand into the chilly water and quickly piled it back. Then he let forth an alarming shriek. "If we're going, we'd best hurry since we're starting to sink!"