When it came to Belmod, Fujino still harbored some reservations deep down.
Sure, this "old auntie" was the Black Organization's infamous Thousand-Faced Witch, known for playing both sides. But at the end of the day, she was still part of the Organization.
Following his principle of giving anyone from the Organization a hard time, Fujino had just dropped some cryptic words through his alter ego, Kuro.
Saying things halfway and leaving them vague was the most infuriating approach for someone like this old auntie. After teasing her with words, he didn't dare push it too far. Controlling Kuro, he leaped off the bus's roof.
But he wasn't reckless. Just before landing, he used the tunnel's dim lighting to strip off his clothes, smoothly reverting to his shadow state. For Kuro, being "naked" or clothed made no difference, so Fujino didn't give it a second thought. What did Kuro's exposure have to do with him?
Still, the scene that unfolded was a bit absurd.
A weirdo in a bat mask suddenly jumped off the bus roof, whipped off his white robe with a flourish, and—amid what looked like a swirling vortex—vanished into the tunnel's darkness.
It was enough to startle Sato Miwako, who was tailing behind.
"This guy… just disappeared?" Her brow twitched, half-expecting he was about to do something drastic, only for him to vanish without a trace.
"How the heck did he pull that off?" she muttered, staring at the spot where Kuro had disappeared, her curiosity piqued.
She'd seen this guy vanish at night before and chalked it up to some visual trick. But this? This was hard to explain. A flood of theories flashed through her mind—like maybe this guy was some "Child of the Night," a ghost without a physical form.
"Sato, what's the situation?" Megure Juzo's voice crackled through her radio, snapping her out of her wild thoughts.
She collected herself and grabbed the radio. "I'm still tailing the bus. That guy just boarded it but came out shortly after."
"Nani?" Megure sounded baffled, unable to wrap his head around what this guy was up to after jumping onto the bus. Had he already taken down the robbers?
Shaking it off, he quickly instructed, "Sato, keep following and stay on alert. The bomb squad's on their way. The bus might stop after exiting the tunnel. If the robbers are subdued, evacuate the passengers immediately and stay safe!"
"Understood!" Sato nodded, flooring the gas to keep up.
---
On the bus, Fujino's right hand sliced through the air, delivering a precise chop to the lanky robber's neck. The hand strike was spot-on, knocking the guy out cold—no repeat of the awkward moment when he'd needed multiple chops and a "magic attack" to subdue Takagi.
Satisfied with putting the "cute robber uncle" to sleep, Fujino stood up and glanced at the old auntie he'd just teased.
Belmod stood frozen, her eyes locked on the hole in the bus roof. Her face was hidden behind a mask, but Fujino could imagine her pensive expression. Clearly, she hadn't recovered from the shock of "Bat-man's" stunt.
As someone who'd lived long enough to become a master manipulator, Belmod wasn't hung up on why this guy wore a bat mask. Instead, she was pondering his affiliations and whether they posed a threat to her identity.
Last time, she hadn't reported to the Organization about encountering a white-robed figure who'd kidnapped Pisco. Explaining it would've been too much hassle. Her current mission in Neon was to investigate Sherry's defection, among other things—like "babysitting."
To avoid complications, after hearing about Gin's encounter with a similar figure, she'd pinned the blame on the "Zoo Organization." But today's events… Could this bat-masked guy also be from the Zoo Organization? Bats were technically animals, so it wasn't a stretch. The problem was, he'd recognized her identity, which spelled trouble.
She was currently disguised as a man, and he'd called her out. It was hard not to wonder if he'd dig into her background.
"Araide-sensei?" Fujino studied "Araide Tomoaki" for a moment, satisfied with the effect of his actions. He flashed a casual smile. "Thanks for the assist back there. If you hadn't reacted so quickly, that guy might've fired."
"No big deal…" Belmod snapped out of it, putting on a shy, boyish act. "You're the one who reacted fast and took down the robber."
On the surface, she played along, but inside, Fujino's actions had startled her. When that "big bat" burst in, even she hadn't reacted in time. Who'd expect someone to subdue robbers with such a violent, anti-terrorist approach? She'd only seen tactics this aggressive in the internal affairs units of a certain northern country years ago.
The real kicker? This high school detective had reacted instantly, charging in with a clean, efficient takedown. It forced her to reassess Fujino, marveling at his reflexes. Naturally, she didn't suspect the two had coordinated beforehand—or rather, that this was a meticulously planned scheme by two cunning minds. She just assumed Fujino was exceptionally gifted.
If the Organization got their hands on him, he'd probably rival even Gin. He was young, too—give him a year or two of training, and his potential would be limitless. But recruiting wasn't her job, and she had no interest in bringing fresh blood to the Organization.
Meanwhile, Conan sprang into action, rushing to the heavyset woman to search for the bomb's remote detonator. After a frantic search, he came up empty.
"The detonator's gone?!" Conan froze, a sinking feeling in his gut. He quickly checked the bomb itself. Using skills from his "Hawaii Vocational Tech" training, he confirmed it hadn't been triggered and breathed a sigh of relief.
But the situation wasn't resolved. If the remote was missing, they were still in trouble, and he had no leads.
Thinking fast, he turned to Fujino. "Fujino-nii! Did you see the watch that fat auntie was wearing?!"
"You mean the detonator?" Fujino pretended to think for a moment. "I noticed it got snatched by Mihama Batman. I paid attention."
"Eh?" Conan blinked, clearly thrown off.
Fujino's response raised two questions. First, how had Fujino figured out the heavyset woman was an accomplice and that her watch was the detonator? Second, how did this "Batman" guy know about the watch and the bomb on the bus? Conan had only pieced it together through meticulous observation. There was no way an outsider could know the situation inside the bus so clearly—unless there was a mole.
But with the crisis averted, Conan brushed aside the details. Surviving was enough for now. Curious, he asked, "Fujino-nii, did you also figure out that fat auntie was working with the robbers? You were up front the whole time."
"Just a lucky guess," Fujino said, eyeing Conan warily, sensing a trap. "When we boarded, I noticed that auntie's watch wasn't ticking. I thought it was broken at first, but every time you were about to get caught, she'd chew gum, and the robbers would move in. That tipped me off she was with them. Then those two placed the ski bag in the middle—obviously a bomb. Put it together, and her watch was clearly the detonator. They probably planned to take her hostage and detonate the bomb after getting off, blowing us all sky-high."
"Wow… As expected of Fujino-nii! You saw through the truth way ahead!" Conan squinted, flashing a kid-like grin, feeling he'd matched Fujino's deduction. Being held hostage hadn't dulled his reasoning skills. Yup, definitely a tie.
Belmod glanced at Conan curiously and chimed in, "Conan-kun, you noticed all that too? That's impressive!"
"Nah!" Conan realized he'd let his guard down and played dumb. "I just picked up some stuff from Uncle Mouri, Shinichi-nii, and Fujino-nii. I'm nowhere near their level!"
"Yeah," Fujino chuckled, keeping the mood light. "This kid's always soaking up detective knowledge. A real little genius."
Belmod: "…"
*Buddy, you're making it way too obvious.*
She inwardly rolled her eyes, thinking it was a miracle Fujino hadn't figured out Kudo Shinichi's identity after all this time. But then a thought struck her.
*Has he really not noticed?*
Fujino and Kudo Shinichi had known each other for a while. With Conan's slip-ups, it seemed impossible for Fujino not to have picked up on it. Given Fujino's sharp observation skills—evident from his earlier deductions—could he really have missed Conan's true identity?
She wasn't buying it. Even she'd figured out Conan was Kudo Shinichi after a brief interaction. Was Fujino pretending not to know? No way—shrinking was plausible to her, but to someone like Fujino, it'd be unthinkable.
The old auntie spiraled into overthinking, her clever mind weaving theories from Fujino's subtle cues. And, coincidentally, she wasn't entirely wrong—just off on the details.
---
As they chatted, the bus exited the tunnel and pulled into the emergency lane. Sato Miwako, Chiba, and other officers rushed forward, preparing to storm the bus.
"Sato-keiji, what's the plan?" Chiba whispered, crouched by the bus's wheel, revolver in hand, glancing at Sato near the front door.
"Not yet," Sato replied softly. "There's a bomb onboard, and we don't know the situation. We can't move recklessly."
"All clear, Sato-keiji. You can stand down," Fujino called out, stepping off the bus and spotting the poorly hidden officers. *Seriously, they think this is stealth? And they're plotting out loud…*
"Fujino?" Sato looked at him, surprised.
"The three robbers are down," Fujino explained. "Mihama Batman took out two, and I handled one. Batman grabbed the bomb's detonator, and the bomb's inactive. We're safe."
"I see…" Sato exhaled, relieved but not shocked. She waved to her team. "Move in! Evacuate everyone to safety, now!"
With the police bustling about, the bomb was disarmed, and passengers were moved to a secure area. Learning about the bomb sent chills down their spines—they'd been *this close* to meeting Enma-sama.
"Mihama Batman is just too cool!" Genta gushed, eyes sparkling, finally saying something sensible. "He took those robbers out in no time!"
"He's definitely awesome," Mitsuhiko agreed, excited by superheroes. "I can't believe we saw the legendary crime-fighter in action!"
"Legendary? He's just a shady weirdo who hides everything he does," Conan grumbled, his opinion of Mihama Batman soured by personal bias. "A real hero should be a normal person, not someone who resorts to vigilante justice and kills."
"That's not fair," Mitsuhiko countered, sounding more mature. "Sure, people are split on him, but he's a hero who risks his life to fight criminals. Seeing that white figure take down evil feels… reassuring."
"Fujino-nii was awesome too!" Ayumi piped up, smiling. "He took down a robber, right, Haibara-san?"
"Mm… yeah," Haibara Ai mumbled, distracted, wrapped in Fujino's jacket. Her mind was racing—between Mihama Batman and the lingering sense of danger she still felt.
"Still thinking about that Araide guy?" Conan noticed her odd behavior, glancing at the jacket.
"Not just him. There's someone else…" Haibara's eyes flicked to Akai Shuichi nearby. "I sensed the Organization's presence from him too."
"Organization presence?" Conan scoffed. "What, their members have a smell now?"
"It's a sixth sense," Haibara snapped, annoyed at his dismissiveness. "A careless detective like you wouldn't get it."
"Heh…" Conan brushed it off, feeling mocked again.
"Alright, enough praising," Fujino cut in, ruffling Haibara's hair. "Mihama Batman was the real MVP. If he hadn't busted through the roof to distract the robbers, it wouldn't have been this easy."
Haibara, growing used to the head pats, felt a warmth that drowned out her worries. She let it go, basking in the unfamiliar sense of safety.
"Fujino-nii was critical too!" Mitsuhiko added. "If you hadn't been there, Batman might've been shot. You two worked together perfectly!"
"Totally!" Genta nodded. "They're both partners in justice!"