Chapter 32: Masumi Sera
As Kyubey's final, chilling words faded, its small body vanished into the shadows as if it had never been there. The dead silence on the wreckage was broken by the sound of approaching sirens.
"We have to go! Now!" Conan's raw voice snapped everyone back to reality. The instinct for self-preservation took over. To be found here, with their powers, would mean a one-way trip to a government lab.
"Professor! Ran! Mitsuhiko!" Conan yelled, fighting a wave of dizziness as he pulled Ran and the still-shaking children to their feet. Kogoro scooped up the weakened Mitsuhiko and grabbed Sonoko. They moved quickly, using the smoke and fires as cover, disappearing into the chaos just as the first police cars arrived. In the confusion, Conan's eyes met those of a woman in the crowd—Vermouth. A silent, mutual understanding passed between them. They both gave an almost imperceptible nod before melting away. Akai was long gone. Kid's hang glider had vanished into the sky.
Before the official cordon was established, they had all dispersed like drops of ink in water, leaving the ravaged train and the ghosts of its passengers to be explained away by an official report on a tragic "accident."
Several Days Later. Beika Town.
The sun was bright, the streets were bustling. The official story of the "Bell Tree Express Accident" was on the front page of every newspaper, citing "aging tracks" and a "gas leak." On TV, experts pointed at charts, and online, the initial wave of grief and suspicion was drowned out by the official narrative. Life, it seemed, was being forced back onto its normal track.
But for the survivors, the track was permanently warped.
At Teitan Elementary, Mitsuhiko walked past his classmates, his face pale, dark circles under his eyes. He didn't join their hushed conversations about the tragedy. He just stared at his shoes, lost in a world of his own. In the classroom, Haibara stared out the window, her eyes vacant. Any sudden noise made her flinch.
On the walk home, Sonoko tried to tell jokes to cheer Ran up, but Ran's smiles were fragile and fleeting. Her gaze was often distant, haunted by the memory of fire and explosions. The secret they now shared was an invisible wall, separating them from the normal world. They were survivors, but they were also prisoners.
In the shadows, the world was changing. At FBI headquarters, encrypted orders were sent out to agents in Japan, South Korea, Canada, and Mexico. Their new mission: identify, assess, and control potential "supernatural assets," with a particular focus on adolescent girls. Akai, in charge of the Japanese theater, made sure to steer the operation away from Kogoro's group. He wanted to keep Akemi's sister safe.
But elsewhere, the hunt was on. Girls who had shown the slightest "abnormality" were taken from their homes. "For national security," the agents would say, "your daughter's 'special talents' require our guidance." Threats, bribes, or the girls' own desire to protect their families... the results were the same. They were taken to black sites, where they became test subjects in a desperate race to understand and replicate the power of "magic." Those who weren't useful were broken, their Soul Gems corrupting until they inevitably became Witches, their final moments unrecorded and unmourned.
Teitan High School. Class 2-B.
A new transfer student was introduced. She was tall and tan, with short, boyish hair and a confident, cheerful smile.
"Hi, everyone! I'm Masumi Sera, just transferred from England. My specialty is Jeet Kune Do. Nice to meet you!"
Her energetic, friendly nature quickly won over the class. When she heard Ran was the captain of the karate team, her eyes lit up. "Karate? Awesome! We should spar sometime!"
"S-Sure!" Ran replied, a small, tired smile gracing her lips for the first time in days.
During gym class, they did just that. It was a purely physical match, a whirlwind of powerful, precise strikes from Ran and fast, fluid movements from Sera. They were evenly matched, and after a thrilling, exhausting spar, they grinned at each other, a new respect between them.
"You're amazing, Sera-san!" Ran said, genuinely impressed.
"You too, Mouri-san! Your strength is incredible," Sera replied, her eyes sharp. She could sense an unusual power in Ran, something beyond normal human ability. Because she was the same.
But the moment of exhilaration passed, and the shadows returned to Ran's eyes. Sera noticed the subtle shift in her and Sonoko's moods. She didn't know the reason, but she thought a little bit of normal, everyday fun might help.
"Hey," she said, leaning in. "I know this great crepe place that just opened up. How about I treat you both after school? To celebrate our awesome fight?"
Ran hesitated, then managed a weak smile. "Crepes... that sounds... nice."
"Alright! If someone's treating, I'm in!" Sonoko said, trying to sound cheerful as she slung an arm around Ran's shoulders.
"It's a date, then!" Sera grinned. As the other two walked away, her smile faded slightly, and a memory surfaced.
(Flashback) England. A long time ago.
Masumi and her mother, Mary, were watching TV. A certain boy detective was on the screen. "That little kid," Mary had said, her voice sharp. "He looks like that boy we met at the beach. The 'wizard' who could make my son smile."
"Shinichi Kudo," Masumi had replied. "You think that's him? Not only that, I think he's one of those 'special' people, too."
"A magical... girl?" Mary had looked at her daughter, a hint of exasperation in her eyes. "And you wasted your one precious wish on something so trivial."
"Mom, I told you, I thought that white thing was just a toy! How was I supposed to know it could actually grant wishes? Besides," Masumi had said with a grin, "you don't need to look for a cure anymore, do you?"
"Indeed," Mary had conceded. "The clock that those people stopped... has finally started ticking again."
Masumi had turned to the window, the reflection showing the faint, golden glow of the Soul Gem hidden beneath her shirt.