June 15th, Sunday
At two in the afternoon, a crowd of guests gathered outside Beika Church. Long Western-style tables in the center were adorned with food and a towering champagne pyramid.
The guests chatted and laughed, their conversations buzzing with wedding gossip.
In the bridal dressing room at the back, today's star, Sayuri Matsumoto, had just slipped into her wedding gown. She greeted a steady stream of friends and family offering their congratulations.
"Happy wedding, Sayuri-sensei!"
"Wow, thank you!"
"That dress is gorgeous, Sayuri!"
"Of course it is—I picked it out myself, you know."
"Congratulations, Sayuri-sensei."
"…"
"…"
A camcorder captured every moment of the well-wishers' visits.
Ran Mouri and Sonoko Suzuki, doubling as volunteer videographers, excitedly manned the camera, eager to preserve precious memories for their favorite junior high teacher.
Until a very familiar face appeared in the lens—
"You look absolutely stunning today, Sayuri-sensei," Hayato Masaki said.
"Hayato-kun! You came!"
Sayuri Matsumoto's face lit up with a smile. "It's been a while. You've really grown into an impressive man."
"It has been a long time," Hayato Masaki replied, his smile tinged with warmth. He glanced at the stunned Ran and Sonoko. "Ran, Sonoko, you're here too, huh?"
"Wait, you all know each other?" Sayuri Matsumoto asked, surprised.
"Yes, Sensei. Hayato-nii is my mom's nephew," Ran explained.
Sonoko, equally thrilled, looked at Hayato Masaki. "So, Hayato-nii was one of Sayuri-sensei's students too?"
"Well, I did go to Teitan Junior High back in the day," Hayato Masaki said with a grin.
He was here as an invited guest.
Sayuri Matsumoto, the music teacher at Teitan Junior High, was young, beautiful, and cheerful, making her wildly popular among students.
Even today, plenty of her former students had shown up to her wedding on their own accord.
"I had Hayato-kun's class my very first year teaching," Sayuri Matsumoto said, beaming at Sonoko's excitement. "Bet you didn't know this, but back then, Hayato-kun was super good at sweet-talking."
"Huh? What's that?"
"He seems all gentle and reliable now, right? And sure, he was a polite, straight-A student back then too, but—"
Sayuri Matsumoto paused, smirking, then turned to Hayato Masaki. "Mind if I spill the rest?"
"Sensei, don't tease like that!"
"It's your wedding day—don't be so sneaky!"
Ran and Sonoko couldn't help but protest.
Hayato Masaki just chuckled, unfazed.
"Go ahead, it's fine. It's not like it's some dark secret."
"Fine, my foot! You have no idea how we teachers reacted when we heard about it," Sayuri Matsumoto said, before diving in. "Rumor was, all the delinquents in school looked up to him as their leader."
"What?"
"D-delinquents?"
"For real. The kind who'd pick fights and cause trouble. When I first heard, I thought there had to be another 'Hayato Masaki' at school or something."
(…What are you, the hero of some shoujo manga?)
Conan, standing nearby, couldn't help but snark to himself.
"Oh, Conan's here too?"
Hayato Masaki only now noticed the kid—no wonder he was always darting around crime scenes, collecting clues before Kogoro Mouri inevitably caught him and delivered a fist to his head.
"Hey, Hayato-nii," Conan said, plastering on an innocent grin. "I saw you in the paper the other day. You cracked that library case in no time, huh?"
"Not quite. It was mostly thanks to you kids mentioning the elevator overload thing," Hayato Masaki said, brushing it off and giving credit to the brats.
Conan, though, felt a pang of frustration. How come he had all that time to think, was right there at the scene, and still missed the elevator clue?
At this point, even Conan had to admit—when it came to deductions, Hayato Masaki was a cut above.
But he wasn't about to give up!
"…"
Hayato Masaki caught the kid staring at him, eyes suddenly burning with determination, and got the sinking feeling a new case was about to drop.
Perfect timing, too, with Gin fretting over his fading spotlight lately.
"So, Hayato-nii used to hang out with delinquents?" Ran asked, still processing, her tone laced with disbelief.
"Not really. It was just… convenient," Hayato Masaki said.
"Convenient?"
"Yeah. Teenage boys can get all sorts of weird ideas, right? For some reason, those troublemakers kept coming after me, so I figured I'd just bring them all together."
His breezy explanation left them dumbfounded.
Bring them together?
(Like beating them up and making them your pals, Pokémon-style?)
Learning this new side of Hayato Masaki, Ran and Sonoko's reactions were priceless, their impressions of him clearly shifting.
Hayato Masaki, though, didn't think it was a big deal.
It'd been over a year since he arrived in this world, and everything he'd mentioned came from memories etched in his mind.
What nagged at him, though, was that this was his body, and those actions in his memories felt like things he'd genuinely do.
"Oh, by the way, a few of my old female students were asking about you earlier," Sayuri Matsumoto said, nudging Hayato Masaki with her elbow, heedless of her wedding gown. "So? If Hayato-kun's single, your sensei could play matchmaker."
Hayato Masaki didn't dodge the offer, just smiled.
"I am single. If Sayuri-sensei's offering to set me up, mind if I ask—are there any girls here prettier than you?"
"Hah! As if! I'm the star of the show today," Sayuri Matsumoto shot back.
"True. No doubt about it—Sayuri-sensei's the most beautiful woman here," Hayato Masaki said, his tone smooth. "When I watch movies, I always pay attention to the leading lady."
"That's a dangerous line, Hayato-kun," Sayuri Matsumoto teased, raising a brow. "Sadly for you, I'm already spoken for, so I'll have to say sorry."
"No worries. I'm just sweet-talkin'," Hayato Masaki replied, his smile unwavering. "You ain't in my heart, Sensei."
***
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