In the forest, Mitsuhiko Tsuburaya hugged his insect box tightly and followed Yuki Kitahara. Although he was sweating profusely due to the heat, he still had a satisfied smile.

"Thank you, Yuuki." Mitsuhiko said, "If it weren't for you, I wouldn't have been able to catch so many fireflies!"

In the insect box, there is a layer of bamboo leaves covered with water droplets, and there are more than a dozen fireflies inside. As night falls, the transparent box gradually lights up with yellow light.

"In recent times, you have been running out every weekend just to catch these fireflies?" Yuuki Kitahara said, "Why don't you tell everyone? We can also help!"

"I..." Guangyan's face turned slightly red: "I actually want to catch it secretly and give everyone a surprise."

Kitahara Yuuki looked at him noncommittally, but a picture quickly came to mind.

"——You want to surprise Haibara and Ayumi, right? Because they said before that they want to see fireflies, even just once?"

"Ah? You, how do you know?" Mitsuhiko stammered.

Kitahara Yuuki tilted his head and asked probingly: "Which one do you like? Ayumi or Haibara? Or do you like both?"

For a moment, Mitsuhiko blushed to the roots of his ears. He looked at Kitahara Yuuki in disbelief, surprised that he could talk about such a blushing and heart-pounding topic so calmly, and was so embarrassed that his thoughts were being seen through.

At a loss.

Hmm...I like both.

Kitahara Yushu observed and concluded, then changed the subject and said: "It's already dark, we have to get out of the forest quickly."

"It's okay." Mitsuhiko thought he was worried about getting lost, so he quickly said: "We have flashlights on our watches, and there are fireflies to light the way."

As he spoke, he turned on his flashlight.

"That's not what I'm worried about." Kitahara Yushu said: "There are bears in this forest, don't you know?"

"Bear?" Mitsuhiko screamed, holding the insect box with one hand and pulling Kitahara Yuuki back: "Let's go quickly, wild animals are particularly active at night."

Kitahara Yuuki lowered his eyes and silently followed him to quicken his pace.

In fact, there are no bears in this forest, but there is a man who is more dangerous than the bears wandering around - the serial murderer, Kiichiro Numabuchi.

He silently listened to the information stolen from the nearby police communication channel——

"Shancun, how is the search going on over there?"

"Not found!"

"Police Department, the traces on the ground have disappeared!"

"He may have jumped to a tree and moved his position, so he didn't leave any traces. Look at the trees around you!"

"How can I catch up with you... Is that guy a monkey?"

"Don't complain! Get motivated! Let me see your true nature!"

Kitahara Yuuki touched his arm and took another look at Mitsuhiko, who was walking in front, panting.

He didn't tell Mitsuhiko about the wanted criminal lurking in the forest, so as not to scare him. But if that guy really appeared in front of them, Yuuki wouldn't be afraid, but he still wanted to be friends with the children, so

I don't want to expose my specialness in front of Mitsuhiko.

It should be fine, right?

After all, in such a big forest, it is much more difficult to meet someone than to find fireflies.

It's a pity that there are no cameras with full coverage in the forest, and satellites in the sky cannot observe the situation on the ground. Otherwise, he could take Mitsuhiko to bypass Kiichiro Numabuchi's location, and then guide the police to catch him!

Mitsuhiko Tsuburaya walked slower and slower, and he could no longer lift his feet. Walking in the forest for half a day would exhaust even an adult's energy, not to mention he was only a primary school student.

Suddenly, the boy tripped on a tree root and threw himself forward. He subconsciously stretched out his hands to protect himself, and the insect box he had been holding in his arms flew out.

——Oops!

Mitsuhiko yelled in his heart, thrashing about in a hurry, and was about to fall to the ground when his shoulders suddenly tightened.

Kitahara Yuuki supported him with one hand and held the insect box firmly with the other hand, as if the thing had no weight at all.

"Let me hold it for you." Yushu said, "Can you still walk? Are you injured?"

"No, no." Mitsuhiko said blankly.

"Move your toes and see if there is any pain." Yushu pointed.

Mitsuhiko did as he was told, then shook his head.

The two started on the road again, but their front and rear positions were switched again. Mitsuhiko looked at Yushu. He was also small and even a little thin, but he walked very steadily step by step, and the hand he held was very strong, which made Yushu very strong.

You don’t have to worry about accidentally falling down.

This is a child of the same age as him, but much better than him.

Mitsuhiko couldn't help but said frustratedly: "Yushu, do you think I'm useless?"

"Of course not!" Yushu asked in surprise: "Why do you say that?"

"You, Conan, and Haibara-san, you all know a lot of things. No matter what you do, you are confident, but I can't do anything well."

Mitsuhiko whispered: "Haihara-san is mature and confident, like an adult; Conan feels much better than the famous detective Uncle Maori when reasoning; and you... Sometimes I think you are like Brother Kitahara

You are equally smart and agile, and can even catch fireflies much better than me. Compared to you, I am particularly useless."

——That’s because we are not real children!

But Yuuki Kitahara couldn't say "We are different from you", as this would only make the child feel excluded. He imagined what his brother would say at this time, and then said: "Everyone has his own

Your strengths. In fact, I also think that you are much better than me."

Mitsuhiko looked at him in surprise, unable to believe his ears.

"...me?"

"That's right!" Yushu said: "After watching the fireworks, everyone actually heard Haibara and Ayumi saying that the current summer scenery poem is incomplete because fireflies can no longer be seen in the city. But...

…None of us thought about going to the forest to look for fireflies. You were the only one who thought about it and put it into action. You didn’t give up even if it was very hard. I think this is particularly remarkable.”

"I..." Mitsuhiko said with a blushing face, "I'm not very..."

"You have extraordinary mobility, and you are particularly able to take care of other people's emotions. This is your innate talent, and it is also what I want to learn." Yushu continued: "Knowledge reserves can be obtained through learning, and reasoning ability

It can also be cultivated slowly, you have been studying hard. So don't worry, you don't have to be inferior to anyone. I think Conan and Haiyuan think the same way."

"...Really, really?"

"certainly!"

Kitahara Yuki said it categorically.

Mitsuhiko stopped talking. In fact, he was now as happy as if he were surrounded by rainbow bubbles, and even the fatigue from a day's walking seemed to have flown away. He walked briskly, wanting to jump up, and his eyes were still looking around.

.

Then he saw a pair of extremely terrifying eyes that were more white than black!

A skinny man squatted on the tree, staring at him!

"Ahhhh——"

Mitsuhiko screamed in horror.

Kitahara Yuuki turned his head and saw that Numabuchi Kiichiro had jumped down from the tree. He was standing with his back and legs bent, like an upright monkey, with a pair of silver handcuffs on his wrists.

Kitahara Yuuki: "..." What are you afraid of?

How could it be such a coincidence? Such a big forest...

At this moment, he suddenly remembered what his brother said to him before he went to formal school:

"It's okay to be friends with Conan and the others. They are all good kids. But you must pay attention - the kids in the Junior Detective Corps all have a physique that attracts crime. Your life in the future is destined to not be too peaceful.

Be careful not to expose yourself."

Yuuki used to think that only Conan was like this! Does it turn out that Mitsuhiko is like this too?

It’s really not easy for them to survive to this day smoothly...

Numabuchi Kiichiro jumped down from the tree, but he did not rush to kill or escape. He stood in the distance, grinning a dangerous-looking smile, and still stared at Mitsuhiko, who was shaking with fear.

"Kid...do you also like fireflies?"

Mitsuhiko: "... ah?"

…………………………

"What now?" Kithara Sosuke hung up his Bluetooth headset and asked softly.

"We had a great conversation. It seems like he has no ill intentions towards us." Yuuki glanced at Kiichiro Numabuchi and said.

This man successfully won Mitsuhiko's friendship with a Genji firefly train. The child seemed not to have seen the handcuffs on his wrists and was not afraid at all, and even asked him if he had been wronged.

Kitahara Yuuki knew that the Young Detective Team had encountered several cases in which innocent people were framed as murder suspects, but the dangerous smell in this man was almost overflowing. He didn't understand why Mitsuhiko could turn a blind eye to this.

Maybe because he hasn't shown his fangs yet?

Kitahara Yuuki was wary, but as long as the other party didn't attack Mitsuhiko immediately when they met, he would be confident that he could handle it no matter what the situation was.

"Brother, you don't need to come over. The Kyoto team has worked hard. Let's go to bed early tonight." Yushu said.

"Are you sure?"
To be continued...