After returning to Tokyo City, Senichi first gave away the souvenirs he bought from England.
He shipped the gifts for his parents back to Hokkaido, distributed the ones for his colleagues during work hours, and, of course, personally delivered the gift for Ayako during their date.
As for Conan and others, he took the time to deliver their gifts to Professor Agasa's house and let everyone gather there.
Though it was said to be a gathering, in reality, only Conan came to Professor Agasa's house, as the other three were already living there.
The reason for Senichi's personal visit, besides giving the gifts, was to inquire about how many cases occurred while he was away from Japan.
This subtle inquiry made Senichi's heart ache.
Aside from the "Melancholic Groom" case he already knew about, there was another case that happened while he was flying across the ocean. And to his dismay, it turned out to be a movie case!
Not only did he get no reward for "Melancholic Groom," but he also missed "The Fourteenth Target". Just thinking about it made him feel frustrated.
Otherwise, Senichi could have potentially apprehended the culprit right after the incident with Officer Megure and stopped the subsequent case.
What a pity! Sometimes you gain happiness, and sometimes you lose it. Missing out means it's gone forever.
However, during a casual chat with Conan, Senichi unexpectedly received some news: Ran and Sonoko planned to go to the arcade together this week.
After the main storyline ended, the only arcade-related case was the one where Jodie appeared.
"Hmm, the arcade seems like a good place for a date," Senichi said to himself while rubbing his chin, subtly hinting at the idea.
Conan picked up on the hint and smoothly extended an invitation, "How about going together this week?"
"Yeah, let me ask Ayako to join us," Senichi smiled, "It's been a long time since I last visited the arcade; it brings back good memories."
Although he said that, in this era, going to the arcade to pass the time was a common activity for young men and women during the summer.
Because the computers nowadays still have those thick, boxy-style monitors.
The graphics quality for playing games is terrible, and the lag is unbearable. Besides, it's not suitable for a romantic date.
But, the arcade is quite suitable for a date. Most of the games there are designed for two players, making it perfect for couples or friends to play together.
On the weekend, the four of them, along with little Conan, entered the arcade.
If we talk about the first attraction for girls here, it's undoubtedly the claw machines.
"To the left, to the left! Move a bit to the right!"
"Hurry, hurry! There's no time left!"
With Sonoko's excited cries, Ran operated the claw machine and tried to grab the stuffed toy under the hopeful gazes of the two.
But in the end, both of them could only look disappointedly as the doll dropped "in the middle of the way" and fell back into the pile.
Meanwhile, Senichi and Ayako were playing on a different claw machine. At this moment, Ayako also seemed like a little girl, nervously watching the claw holding the doll.
Finally, with tension in her heart, she watched as the claw slowly moved the doll and dropped it into the chute.
"Success!" Ayako smiled, whispering in excitement, "Senichi, Awesome!"
"It was just a little trick." Senichi smiled faintly, not mentioning the game skills, but instead shared a little trick he knew from his previous life with Ayako and the others.
The trick involved observing where people couldn't catch dolls on a certain machine after some tries, and at that moment, you would go to that machine to try your luck.
Because of the stacked coins, after a few plays, there would be a chance where the claw wouldn't be too loose. So, as long as you managed to grab a doll, it would likely be successfully caught.
Upon hearing Senichi's method, Sonoko and Ran eagerly continued to try it out and soon each grabbed a doll, overjoyed with their success.
After all, girls have no resistance to cute things.
Afterward, everyone played racing games together and then took the most popular photo booth pictures of the era.
When taking pictures in the future, various expressions and small head accessories added to the top were common functions exclusively available in the photo booths.
Conan was dragged by Sonoko and Ran to take a photo together. In the picture, Conan was wrapped in a japanese traditional thief outfit with a downtrodden expression, showing his helplessness.
But just as Conan thought he could finally relax after taking that photo, he saw Sonoko smirking and starting to adjust the background and decorations for another shot.
This time... it was a pink and lovely princess-themed head accessory.
"What's going on!!" As he was about to be dragged into taking another embarrassing photo, Conan struggled desperately.
"Hehe~ This was brother-in-law's suggestion~ Just a little prank on you~ Don't worry, it will become a cherished memory when you grow up~" Sonoko pressed Conan's head and chuckled mischievously.
"You're such a little troublemaker, always causing trouble at crime scenes. Brother-in-law said this is your punishment!"
Senichi, you sneaky old fox! Conan roared inwardly, looking hopefully at Ran, hoping she would stop Sonoko's malicious behavior.
But when Ran hesitantly reached out and held his other arm, Conan lost hope.
Between the two girls' happy smiles, Conan reluctantly took what could be called a dark history photo.
After finishing the shoot, Conan immediately ran to another photo booth. When Senichi came out, he glared at him with resentment.
"Hey hey hey, surprise~" Seeing Conan's expression, Senichi knew exactly what had happened. He rubbed Conan's head playfully, planning to play it off with a smile.
"Surprise my foot! Your prank went too far!" Conan was furious at Senichi's feigned innocence.
Senichi smiled and asked Ayako, who still didn't know what happened, to join Sonoko, who was smiling smugly nearby.
As Ayako walked away, Senichi crouched down and patted Conan meaningfully, "Don't be so angry, you know... cross-dressing is a one-time thing or countless times, you'll get used to it~"
"You sneaky jerk!" Conan couldn't help but roar, "You did this on purpose, didn't you!"
Of course, it was on purpose! You, the Grim Reaper, trigger cases every day, making it hard for me to have a peaceful date. Pulling a prank on you is just to even the score~
Of course, he couldn't say that on the surface, so Senichi put on a serious face and said, "I did this with a purpose."
"A purpose!?" Conan scowled with a deadpan expression, "To satisfy your wicked taste?"
"No, no, no. Think about it. Didn't your disguise as a little girl play a significant role in the plan to save Akemi before?" Senichi looked at Conan earnestly.
"But you only brushed shoulders with that role, and you didn't need to fully impersonate a little girl role. What if in the future, we need you to go undercover as a girl to confront the Black Organization?"
Hearing Senichi's words, Conan couldn't help but pause, then fell into deep thought.
Well, it seems... there's some truth to what he's saying...
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