RNP Page 84
Page 84
The two packed up their empty milk tea cups and prepared to leave the observation deck.
As they descended the steps, Yuuki Takada naturally slowed his pace to match Sato's speed.
Just as she was about to step off the observation deck, Miwako Sato suddenly stopped, as if she had made up her mind.
"Takada-senpai."
"Hmm?" Yuki Takada turned around.
Sato Miwako raised her head, her eyes still flickering, but her tone was firm: "That... excuse of being taken... next time... if it's necessary... it's not that we can't use it again..."
Her voice grew softer and softer until it was almost as faint as a mosquito's buzz. After she finished speaking, she immediately turned her head and walked quickly forward, as if afraid of being seen by her already bright red ears.
Yuki Takada stood there, stunned, for a full two seconds before she realized the meaning behind her words.
A surge of immense joy and warmth welled up within him. As he watched Sato Miwako's retreating figure, almost moving in sync with her own, the smile on his face could no longer be contained, expanding rapidly and shining as brightly as the brightest star in the sky at that moment.
He quickly caught up with her, no longer trying to take her hand, but simply keeping a distance of side by side, his voice full of ease and joy:
"Okay, I got it. Next time... I'll remember that excuse."
Miwako Sato didn't turn around, but she subtly raised the corners of her mouth slightly.
Soon, the two returned to the beach.
"Sato, I heard that the Metropolitan Police Department is going to hold a skills simulation competition soon, and it seems that you all have to choose one?" Takada Yuki asked softly.
The sea breeze from Hamsa stirred Sato Miwako's hair as she whispered, "Firearms shooting."
“No…” Takada Yuuki replied, “Sato, actually, considering your current situation, I think you should choose another option. I don’t think this project is suitable for you. And you don’t need to let what happened last time…”
Miwako Sato suddenly stopped, and the fine sand on the beach sank into her shoes.
"Who said it's because of what happened last time?"
She bent down and picked up a seashell, its edges gleaming like pearls. She said softly, "Don't worry, I'm pretty good at gun shooting. I'll definitely win first place in this skills simulation competition."
Yuuki Takada looked at her reddened ear tips, and the sea breeze carried the lemon scent from her hair.
The cries of vendors drifted from afar, mingling with the sound of the waves and sounding exceptionally clear.
Chapter 103 A Chance Encounter with Shinichi Kudo
Especially after witnessing Sato Miwako's grappling and fighting techniques, Takada Yuki roughly understood what was going on.
Compared to Sato Miwako's firearms shooting, Takada Yuki still felt that her grappling and hand-to-hand combat skills were superior.
"Sato, I've always thought you were quite agile, so why did you suddenly choose to shoot those complicated and tedious firearms?"
Yuki Takada crouched down and used a twig to draw crooked gun shapes on the sand.
"Of course, I still hope you can choose a competition event that suits you."
The seashell suddenly fell to the sand with a "plop".
Sato Miwako stared at the heart he had drawn, her voice trembling almost imperceptibly: "And what about you? Where are you planning to apply?"
Yuki Takada fell silent.
Given the current situation, it's clear that the gun shooting competition that Yuuki Takada was assigned to participate in was Kiyoharu Matsumoto.
He couldn't possibly disobey his superiors' orders and switch to another project on his own.
"I...I chose to shoot with a gun."
He had barely opened his mouth when Miwako Sato suddenly grabbed some sand and threw it in his face.
"Liar!" Her eyes reddened, and she turned and ran.
Yuki Takada hurriedly chased after her, only to be hit squarely by her sudden braking.
Sato Miwako pressed her forehead against his chest and said in a muffled voice:
Do you think I know nothing?
"If it weren't for you on that Shinkansen train that day, I'm probably now..."
"..."
As the tide rose past their ankles, Yuuki Takada realized that Miwako Sato had lost one of her shoes to the waves.
As the sun sets, her bare feet tread the sand, her eyes sparkling.
"I don't want you to regret this." After a long silence, Yuuki Takada said softly, reaching out to wipe the sand off her face.
……
The beach at Odaiba Seaside Park shimmered with golden light in the afternoon sun, and the waves gently lapped against the shoreline, leaving trails of white foam.
Shinichi Kudo and Ran Mouri, both junior high school students, came here with the Teitan Junior High School field trip group. At this moment, the two of them are taking a stroll along the beach during their free time.
"Shinichi, look over there, isn't something happening?" Ran Mouri suddenly said, pointing to the two people not far away.
Shinichi Kudo looked in the direction she pointed and saw a man in casual clothes chasing a barefoot girl.
The girl suddenly stopped and turned around to throw herself into the man's arms.
Despite the distance, Shinichi Kudo's keen observation allowed him to quickly capture the details—the girl seemed to have tear stains on her face, and the man was gently wiping them away for her.
"It looks like a couple had a fight and then made up." Shinichi Kudo shrugged, not particularly interested in such emotional entanglements.
"That girl seems to have lost her shoes..." Ran Mouri said with concern, "Why don't we go over and see if we can help?"
Before Shinichi Kudo could answer, Ran Mouri had already started walking in that direction.
Shinichi Kudo sighed and had no choice but to follow. He knew Ran Mouri's personality; kind and considerate, she would never turn a blind eye to someone in need.
As they approached, Ran Mouri recognized the two men immediately.
She frowned and glanced at her: "I feel like I've seen that woman somewhere before... Wait, isn't that Officer Sato?"
Upon hearing this, Shinichi Kudo looked at it more carefully again.
Indeed, that tall figure and neat short hair clearly belonged to Detective Miwako Sato of the Metropolitan Police Department's First Investigative Division.
The male figure with his back to them seemed somewhat familiar, as if they had seen him somewhere before. At that moment, he was gently patting Officer Sato's back, trying to comfort him.
“Strange, what’s Officer Sato doing here…” Shinichi Kudo stroked his chin thoughtfully. “Wait, who’s that guy? Oh, I remember, he seems to be Officer Sato’s superior, named Yuuki Takada.”
"Hello, do you need any help? I saw that this lady seems to have lost her shoes," Ran Mouri asked politely.
The two turned around and looked at the middle school student who had suddenly appeared with slight surprise.
Sato Miwako managed a weak smile: "Thank you for your concern, I'm fine, I just lost a shoe in the waves."
“Walking barefoot on the beach is dangerous…” Ran Mouri said, “I happen to have a spare pair of shoes here, if Officer Sato doesn’t mind…”
Yuuki Takada sized up the two of them, then seemed to remember something, his gaze lingering on Shinichi Kudo for a few more seconds: "If I remember correctly, you should be Ran Mouri, the daughter of Kogoro Mouri, right? And aren't you the soccer kid we met that night? What, you two are here today?"
"What soccer prodigy?" Shinichi Kudo nodded, his intuition telling him that this person was not simple. "My name is Shinichi Kudo, okay? And today happens to be a field trip for our Teitan Middle School at Odaiba Seaside Park, otherwise we wouldn't have met you two police officers."
“Oh, I remember Ran Mouri’s classmate, right?” Yuki Takada said softly.
Miwako Sato nodded slightly, but a trace of lingering melancholy remained in her eyes.
Shinichi Kudo noticed that when she heard Yuki Takada say her name, her fingers curled up slightly.
"We just saw you chasing Inspector Sato over there," Shinichi Kudo asked tentatively. "Is everything alright?"
Yuki Takada and Miwako Sato exchanged a complicated look.
Then, the two suddenly smiled faintly, and Takada Yuki answered first: "I think you have misunderstood something. I was just helping her solve some things."
Shinichi Kudo's detective instincts were awakened.
He gleaned more information from their body language: Sato Miwako's eyes were slightly red, clearly from crying, while Takada Yuki's expression conveyed both guilt and determination.
The two were much closer than ordinary friends, yet they maintained a subtle restraint.
"Officers, has something happened at Odaiba Seaside Park?" Shinichi Kudo suddenly asked.
Sato Miwako paused for a moment, then smiled: "No, no, it's just that we're both off today, and Takada-senpai invited me to come here for a visit."
"Oh right, wasn't there a drunk older sister last time? I haven't seen her this time," Shinichi Kudo asked casually.
"You mean Yumi? We haven't seen her since she came to Odaiba Seaside Park."
Sato Miwako widened her eyes slightly, then chuckled softly: "Takada-senpai, look how sharp this child's observation skills and memory are, a bit like you when you were young."
Yuuki Takada snorted, "I'm not that old yet."
But there was a hint of appreciation in his gaze as he looked at Shinichi Kudo.
Ran Mouri had already taken a pair of spare slippers out of her backpack and handed them over: "Officer Sato, please use these! They're a simple style, but it's better than going barefoot."
Sato Miwako gratefully accepted the slippers: "Thank you, Ran Mouri. It's so good to have you here; you're so thoughtful."
She put on the slippers, which fit perfectly, and couldn't help but smile, "They fit just right."
"Alright, since that's the case, we won't bother you any longer." Although Shinichi Kudo was very curious about the story of the two policemen, he also knew the limits of politeness.
"Wait..." Just as they were about to leave, Yuuki Takada suddenly spoke up: "Since you're so enthusiastic, why don't you do me a favor?"
He looked at Miwako Sato, his eyes gentle yet pleading. "Officer Sato, I don't believe I'd participate in a shooting competition; I'm more inclined towards hand-to-hand combat. Can you help me prove that?"
Miwako Sato frowned: "Takada-senpai, don't involve the two children."
"It's just a small demonstration, don't worry. Besides, I think Shinichi Kudo would be interested in this." Yuuki Takada found a relatively secluded spot, took a small device out of his pocket, and said softly, "Plastic training rounds, completely harmless. I want to show Officer Sato that my choice to shoot firearms wasn't what she thinks."
Shinichi Kudo's eyes lit up.
It has to be said that boys are very interested in gun-related things.
Yuki Takada pointed to an empty plastic bottle about twenty meters away: "I can hit that bottle with all six shots from this training gun. But if I do, Officer Sato, you have to promise me you won't be angry with me anymore."
Sato Miwako crossed her arms in front of her chest, clearly not believing it: "That kind of toy training gun? Twenty meters? Takada-senpai, you know that's almost impossible."
Yuuki Takada smiled faintly, then turned to Shinichi Kudo: "Kudo-kun, you seem like someone who can make objective judgments. Would you like to be our referee?"
Shinichi Kudo nodded in agreement.
Ran Mouri was somewhat worried, but she still stood next to Shinichi Kudo and watched.
Yuki Takada took a deep breath and raised his training gun.
His posture instantly became professional and steady, as if he had become a completely different person.