Chapter 34: A Kind Father and a Filial Son

Yukiko Kudo was currently worried that her son—a brat who lacked any real combat prowess even before he shrank—might have stumbled into danger while running around aimlessly.

The headstrong boy, convinced he was being hunted, would likely refuse to ask for help even if he were in trouble. She and her husband had merely intended to play a prank on their son and, at the same time, warn him that facing a massive, sinister organization alone was incredibly dangerous. If something were to actually happen to him...

She waited for her husband on the other end of the line to propose a new plan, irritably rubbing her hair before looking up to scan the street once more.

Just as she looked up, she saw the miniature Shinichi Kudo, who had been missing for some time, tumble out of the second-floor terrace of their home. He scrambled to his feet and reached for the railing, as if planning to vault over it and jump down to escape.

No sooner had his small hands gripped the railing than a dark figure emerged from the shadows of the room, reached out with casual ease, and seized the boy by his slender neck.

"!" Yukiko gasped in shock. The figure was clad in black, a hood obscuring most of his face. With one hand clamped firmly around her son’s throat, he dragged the tiny boy back into the darkness without letting him utter a single sound.

Forgetting all about their plans, she screamed into the phone: "Hurry over! Something’s happened! Yusaku, there’s a man in black in the house—he’s grabbed Shinichi!"

Terrified by the thought of the organization that truly threatened her son's safety, Yukiko’s hands began to tremble. She sprinted toward the house, her frantic, panicked voice barely audible to the two people eavesdropping on their transmission.

The man in black, of course, was Karasawa.

After dragging Conan back, he and his "hostage" headed to the first floor and set up a simple trap at the entrance.

This slightly unscrupulous fishing expedition had been half Conan’s idea and half Karasawa’s suggestion. Karasawa knew exactly what kind of situation would genuinely rattle the mischievous couple. So, among the various schemes Conan proposed—such as calling the police in advance, playing along with their game, or setting an ambush—Karasawa added his own twist:

"Since they need to use a disguised identity to take you away rather than just finding an opportunity to kill you outright, it means you have value to them; you aren't an immediate target for elimination. Let’s pretend someone else is already one step ahead of them, planning to capture you. Their plans will be disrupted, and they’ll be forced to come in and find out who this third party is and what their intentions are. In doing so, we can turn the tables and control them."

Karasawa’s proposal sounded rigorous and persuasive. After some consideration, Conan, feeling like a gambler, ultimately adopted the plan.

Yukiko desperately wanted to kick the door open and rush in to check on her son, but she knew well enough that she wasn't a fighter. Rushing in alone would likely result in them both becoming victims, so she could only pace at the door, waiting for her husband to arrive.

Yusaku Kudo, dressed in a black cloak and wearing an eerie, exaggerated smiling mask—a full "Night Baron" cosplay—had not been far away. After Conan escaped from Yukiko’s car, he had been driving toward their home to support his wife, who intended to drug their son. After all, she looked so much like a suspicious woman kidnapping a child that he feared his wife might end up in handcuffs before she could even take the boy, which would have been incredibly awkward.

Unexpectedly, a much larger complication had arisen.

He frowned, pressing down on the accelerator as he thought rapidly. It was too strange. That organization shouldn't be targeting Shinichi yet; why would he encounter an attacker? Could it be that they had come to the house to confirm if their son was dead, only to run into the boy hiding at home?

Yusaku was frantic. Ignoring the need to find a proper parking spot, he pulled the car sideways in front of their home, jumped out, and opened the front door alongside his sweat-drenched wife.

The Kudo residence had small yards both front and back. The house was deathly quiet. Yusaku scanned the area vigilantly, quickly concluding that someone had indeed broken in through the backyard.

The intruder had entered through a side window; there weren't many of them—at most one or two—and they hadn't left many traces.

After a brief assessment, Yusaku nodded to his wife. Yukiko pulled out the house keys and opened the front door.

The entire first floor was pitch black, with all the curtains drawn. Yusaku dared not switch on the lights; the attacker might not have realized they had entered, and he couldn't risk alerting them.

With that in mind, Yusaku stepped cautiously into the house.

He crossed the foyer and was just about to step into the living room when he felt a sharp pain in his ankle.

*Not good, piano wire!* The mystery writer, having solved many cases involving such traps, reacted instantly. However, his physical prowess was only marginally better than Conan’s. Even with his mind racing, he couldn't maintain his balance and tripped, crashing to the ground.

"Karasawa!" Seeing the trap work, Conan shouted, lifting his high-tech shoes and kicking the prepared soccer ball.

The ball flew at a tricky angle, ricocheted off the wall in the foyer, and slammed into Yukiko’s back as she followed behind Yusaku. She let out a shriek and tumbled down right behind her husband.

The moment Conan called out, Karasawa leaped from behind the sofa, caught the off-balance Yusaku, and tackled him to the floor.

He pinned Yusaku’s back down with his knee and twisted the man’s arms behind his back. Having spent his life hunched over a desk with little physical exercise, Yusaku had never experienced anything like this; he let out a howl and was rendered completely immobile.

"I’ve got this one, Conan! Use the tranquilizer!" Karasawa shouted, playing his part, though he didn't apply too much pressure.

"Stop! Wait! It’s me, it’s your father! Stop, Shinichi!" Yusaku, realizing the situation, saw his son emerge from behind the table, flip open his watch dial, and shout at the top of his lungs.

Conan, his adrenaline surging and feeling exhilarated by his successful strike, froze in his tracks.

Karasawa also complied, stopping his efforts as he looked up at a bewildered Conan.

*Snap.* Yukiko, having been knocked over and struggling to crawl up while clutching her waist, finally managed to turn on the lights.

The group, tangled together in a heap, remained silent for a few seconds. Conan walked over and ripped the smiling mask off the cloaked man.

Beneath the mask was indeed the face of Yusaku Kudo, who was grimacing in pain and sweating from Karasawa’s hold.

"Ah! Dad! Why are you..." Conan slapped his forehead, speechless.

*So, that woman...* Conan looked at the woman holding her waist. She yanked off her hood, and her fluffy, wavy long hair tumbled down, revealing the delicate, beautiful face of Yukiko Kudo.

"Ah, you two!" Conan pressed his temples, his head throbbing as he stared at Yusaku, who was still struggling to get up from the floor. "This was your idea again, wasn't it, Dad!"

Conan realized in an instant that his parents had found out about him shrinking and had made a special trip back just to prank him.

Karasawa pulled off his hood, blinking innocently with a blank expression.

Conan glared angrily at his parents, who were still recovering from the thrashing. Not knowing how to explain the situation to Karasawa, who had simply been trying to help him out of the kindness of his heart, he clenched his fists, relaxed them, and then rolled his eyes.

"There's no saving them. Karasawa, just call the police and have them hauled away."