Chapter 146, Fifty-Seventh Cycle (18)

Hiroki Sawada really enjoys his new life.

As Sakura said, his friends are all very good, and his neighbor Shinichi Kudo is also a very interesting person, just as he said. Hiroki Sawada enjoys playing with Shinichi Kudo.

However, he also developed some new confusion and curiosity.

It's mainly for cherry blossoms and cherry blossom friends.

Cherry blossoms are all extraordinary people.

This complexity doesn't just stem from their identities as criminals, police officers, and scientists; it's also reflected in their vastly different ages and personalities.

For example, there's Amuro Tooru, whose age is unknown. He's a very handsome blond-haired, dark-skinned young man who pulled him out of the sea and sent him back to his country. Sometimes he's terrifying, sometimes he's very gentle. He also has amazing disguise skills and is incredibly familiar with that organization, or rather, he should be a member of that organization.

For example, 51-year-old Professor Agasa is a very talented inventor and a genius scientist involved in many fields. Although he is sometimes a bit careless, he has a lively, cheerful and kind personality and can get along well with almost anyone. He has many friends and takes great care of him after adopting him. He is a person who really likes children.

For example, 27-year-old Officer Matsuda is the ace bomb disposal officer in the bomb disposal unit. He is straightforward and intimidating, but he is actually very gentle and meticulous. He seems to be seriously building a robot that he named "Unit-00" with the goal of creating a Gundam. He is a very interesting person.

For example, there's himself, a programmer who's only 10 years old and is currently faking his death?

Isn't that amazing?

Hiroki Sawada was making friends for the first time and wasn't very familiar with them. After getting to know and talk with Shinichi Kudo, he realized that even among people like them, Sakura was the most special kind, which made him even more curious.

After spending some time with the two people and getting to know them, Hiroki Sawada couldn't help but try to ask them about their story with the cherry blossoms.

After all, Sakura also said that having common topics will make the relationship between people closer.

Hiroki Sawada asked Professor Agasa, "Professor Agasa, what kind of person do you think Sakura is? Can you tell me how you met?"

“Cherry blossoms,” Professor Agasa reminisced as he made coffee. “It was several years ago, really. Time flies. Back then, the cherry blossoms had only just appeared, and I didn’t even know anything about them. It all started with that email from that day…”

Hiroki Sawada sat obediently in the chair, resting his chin on his hand, his eyes sparkling as he listened to the professor slowly recount his story with the cherry blossoms.

After making his own coffee, Professor Agasa made a cup of milk for the incredibly cute child, then sat down opposite him and laughed.

"When I first received that email, I thought it was some kind of prank. But the things he suggested were all amazing, and they were all real. So I started to worry that a bad guy was pretending to be a child and making me make dangerous inventions. I was even ready to contact the police." Professor Agasa scratched the back of his head and chuckled. "Hahaha, it turns out he was actually an assistant to the police. I'm not kidding, that kid was really doing the work of a champion of justice."

Hiroki Sawada's lips curled up immediately, and he could easily imagine what kind of email Sakura had sent to the professor.

Moreover, according to the doctor, the wording used for cherry blossoms a few years ago was much more embarrassing than it is now, which made him suspect that the person on the other end of the internet was an elementary school student who was still watching Kamen Rider.

"But where would you find such a brilliant elementary school student?" said Professor Agasa.

Dr. Agasa: "..."

Professor Agasa looked up at Hiroki Sawada, who was only 10 years old when he became a graduate student at MIT and created Noah's Ark, the greatest invention in human history, and fell silent.

"Okay, sorry, there really are such amazing elementary school students." He covered his face.

Hiroki Sawada was amused by his funny reaction and laughed heartily. He was a big change from the somewhat reserved, uneasy and melancholy child he was at the beginning, so Professor Agasa also laughed.

No matter how capable you are, a child is still a child. Before they grow up, they still need the love and protection of adults.

No matter what the world is like, it's not at the point where we need to immediately sacrifice children's youth and lives to save it; that would be absolutely wrong.

*

Because Mr. Matsuda brought two of his friends with him this time, Mr. Date and Mr. Hagiwara, although they were also good police officers, were not familiar with Sakura, so Hiroki Sawada did not ask directly, but curiously watched with them as "Unit Zero" used its mechanical arm to pick up things.

Shinichi Kudo from next door also came over to join in the fun, bringing along his childhood friends Ran Mouri and Sonoko Suzuki.

When the final presentation was a success, the group immediately clapped and laughed to celebrate, showering the presenter with praise. The curly-haired, sunglasses-wearing youth in the center proudly crossed his arms and raised his chin.

"It didn't explode this time." Shinichi Kudo, who was standing far away at the door with Ran Mouri by his side, sighed regretfully. "I originally brought them to see Unit-00 explode, otherwise they would never believe that Mr. Matsuda would fail in his experiment and roll out in such a sorry state like the professor."

Matsuda Jinpei: "..."

Matsuda Jinpei revealed a fierce expression, reached out and grabbed the arrogant boy by the neck, frantically rubbing his head until he howled and begged for mercy before letting him go. The people around him burst into laughter.

The adults seemed to have their own things to do, so Hiroki Sawada went to the Kudo residence with Shinichi Kudo. He had gotten along quite well with the three of them, apparently because they often took him along to play, as they had misunderstood his tragic past.

Mr. Yusaku Kudo was also home today. When he was alone, he sat down next to him, gently patted his head, and smiled, "Are you getting used to life here?"

Hiroki Sawada nodded earnestly: "Everyone is doing well, and I really enjoy my life right now."

"It's a pity that Shinichi and the others are about to graduate from middle school and go to high school, which is a bit far from Teitan Elementary School..." Kudo Yusaku pondered for two seconds, "Hiroki, why don't you skip a grade and go to the same class as Shinichi and the others?"

Hiroki Sawada shook his head slightly: "Thank you, Uncle Kudo, but I don't want to stand out too much. I'll just start from elementary school like any other child."

He's so sensible, it breaks my heart.

Just as Yusaku Kudo was about to speak, the three children returned laughing and joking.

He organized his thoughts, and in that short time, Yukiko across from him was already biting her handkerchief and glaring at him with teary eyes.

Yusaku Kudo, feeling helpless, decided to speak directly to the children: "We're having a Halloween party tomorrow night, and your Yukiko-neechan will dress up for us and we'll go out shopping and have fun. One of my college buddies will also be coming over. Do you want to come along too?"

Sonoko Suzuki and Ran Mouri readily agreed, excitedly discussing with Yukiko Kudo what kind of Halloween makeup they wanted.

Only Hiroki Sawada was stunned and didn't react.

The 10-year-old boy opened his eyes slightly, looked up and met Yusaku Kudo's gaze. He received a smile and a nod of affirmation from the other man, and only then did he realize that the "best friend from college" he had mentioned was his father, whom he hadn't seen for several years.

Hiroki Sawada originally wanted to laugh happily, but he almost couldn't hold back his tears. After being frantically asked and comforted by the others, he finally managed to smile.

“Yes, I’m really looking forward to Halloween tomorrow,” he said.

*

When Hiroki Sawada returned, his eyes were red but his mood was clearly good. Matsuda Jinpei noticed something was wrong, put down his wrench, extinguished his cigarette, walked out of the room, squatted down next to the child, tilted his head and smiled, "What's wrong? Did you lose a fight? Did that brat Shinichi bully you?"

Hiroki Sawada touched the corner of his eye sheepishly: "No, I'm just so happy. It seems like my critical period is over, and I can see my father tomorrow."

"Oh, no wonder. Tomorrow is Halloween, which is a good time to meet. So don't stay up late tonight, so you can be in perfect shape to meet your dad tomorrow. If you don't sleep at night, you won't grow tall." Matsuda Jinpei rubbed his head with his clean hand, feeling relieved, and then turned to continue his research.

“Mr. Matsuda, um…” Hiroki Sawada followed behind him, “May I ask Mr. Matsuda how he met Sakura? I already asked Professor Agasa, and I’d also like to know Mr. Matsuda’s story with Sakura, is that alright?”

"Cough cough cough cough—" Matsuda Jinpei, who was drinking water, suddenly choked and coughed wildly, as if he had returned to the first time he saw Furuya Rei perform his chuunibyou hacker act. The exaggerated laughter of the class president and Hagi seemed to return to his ears, making him feel both strange and uneasy, giving him goosebumps and wanting to laugh but also choking and unable to speak.

Hiroki Sawada, bewildered, quickly helped him recover, only to find his expression extremely strange and complex, to the point that Hiroki Sawada couldn't decipher it at all.

"Hmm... our story... there's really not much to say..." The curly-haired youth looked conflicted, pushed up his sunglasses, and finally leaned against the door with a sigh: "If I had to say, it would probably be that we became friends after a fight."

Hiroki Sawada's eyes lit up instantly: "Mr. Matsuda, have you ever seen cherry blossoms?!"

"Hmm...I guess so," Matsuda Jinpei said.

Matsuda Jinpei probably never saw cherry blossoms, but he did see Furuya Rei.

Tsk, he can't fool kids as skillfully as that blond bastard.

Hiroki Sawada became completely excited: "Does Mr. Matsuda know the age of cherry blossoms? When I asked him, he always said that secrets make men more charming and always brushed me off, but I'm really curious. Can Mr. Matsuda tell me?"

Matsuda Jinpei thought about a baby-faced, ageless friend who was almost thirty, his eyes rolling back in his sunglasses: "Hmm... In short, he looks very young, which is completely inconsistent with his bad temper."

"That guy is like a firecracker, he'll explode at the slightest provocation. He seems calm and can talk a good game, but he can't stand the slightest provocation. He has a really troublesome personality."

"And what's most annoying is his excessively protective instinct!" Matsuda Jinpei said, getting increasingly agitated. "No matter what he does, he's as stubborn as a mule. No matter how many times we tell him, he'll recklessly rush into dangerous situations, and he'll even hide things from us. Does he really think we don't know anything? Heh, wait until he's done with his work and comes back, I'll give him a good beating..."

Hiroki Sawada couldn't help but laugh.

Matsuda Jinpei: "..."

Hiroki Sawada quickly waved his hand: "Hahaha, sorry, but Mr. Matsuda really does have a good relationship with Sakura."

Upon hearing this, Matsuda Jinpei sneered, revealing a sinister grin as he cracked his knuckles and said, "Yeah, we're so close that I'd punch him the moment we meet."

After getting to know Hiroki Sawada, they learned from him exactly what Rei Furuya had been doing during that time.

After discussing it in the group, all four of them concluded that the guy had definitely messed things up again.

If that guy hadn't run off to America... ha.

*

"Achoo!" Furuya Rei touched his nose and wrapped his clothes tighter around himself, looking a little strange.

It's almost December, and it's getting a bit cold in the US.

But it's okay, he'll be able to go back to China soon.

Shuichi Akai has been on the run for half a year and is still alive and kicking. The new year is almost here, and Bourbon has no intention of wasting time with him.

In the end, the BOSS completely handed over the troublesome Shuichi Akai to the relatively uninvolved Vermouth to continue the pursuit, while Bourbon returned to handle other matters.

This relieved Furuya Rei, as he no longer had to figure out how to get back to Japan.

In any case, he had to get back before the New Year to face the death of the class monitor with everyone.

Date Wataru's death throes will finally come to an end on February 7th, but based on past experience, if the timeline is to converge, it will start from January 1st and continue until the final move is activated on February 7th. During this period, there can be no relaxation whatsoever.

According to Furuya Rei's speculation, the cause of Date Wataru's death should lie with the Muddy Association.

Ida Wataru's cause of death was a car accident, but the reason for the accident was that he spent the whole night investigating the case of the Muddy Association kidnapping a wealthy man's child, so the real cause should be the Muddy Association.

If it's a mudslinging party, things will get a bit complicated.

Rei Furuya couldn't eliminate the Muddy Association like he did the Yamaguchi-gumi, because it was the Muddy Association case that turned Shinichi Kudo into Conan Edogawa, officially starting this suspenseful detective game.

It was Rei Furuya, who was Bourbon, who provided Gin and Vodka with information about the Muddy Association.

Although Date Wataru himself is not closely related to the main storyline, the Muddy Association that caused his death is deeply involved with the main storyline and the protagonist, making it difficult for Furuya Rei to deal with him.

Even so, he hoped that the cause of the squad leader's death was the mud massacre.

After all, if it weren't for the Muddy Society, the class monitor's death would have been a completely uncontrollable and unpredictable "accident."

That would be the worst-case scenario.