Kudo's Countdown

Kudo Shinichi died on the night before dawn.

When he woke up again, he found that he seemed to have returned to the past. He was still the high school detective admired by everyone, the savior of the Japanese police. Edogawa Conan had never appeared.

After testing the waters several times, the detective reached a conclusion: he had been reborn.

He remembered the battle against the Organization. Even though the good guys had won in the end, it couldn't change the fact that, in a sense, the ending had been a bad one. Thinking of all the familiar faces lying in pools of blood, Kudo Shinichi was filled with regret. He hadn't been able to protect them!

So he rolled up his sleeves, picked up a pen, and prepared to rewrite the ending.

After being caught in the blast from the bomb in Ferris wheel car 72 despite arriving too late to defuse it for the umpteenth time, Kudo Shinichi reached a second conclusion: his death would cause every event to return to its starting point.

The detective smiled and picked up his pen again, arranging one way after another for himself to die.

Tip 1:

The curly-haired police officer had stopped working on the bomb. He stared in surprise at the message that came through his friend's phone. After a moment of stunned silence, he calmly picked up the tool and cut the red wire.

White light flashed. Kudo closed his eyes, and the hands of the clock turned once again.

Tip 2:

A private number belonging to an FBI agent across the ocean received a malicious "threatening letter." The agent immediately began tracing it back to its source, following the trail all the way to Tokyo, where he found his ex-girlfriend, now reduced to scale, and her younger sister.

The big boy wearing black-rimmed glasses grinned broadly. "Surprise, Mr. Akai."

Tip 3:

The roller coaster roared past. Tourists screamed all around them as it plunged into the darkness. A click sounded beside him. The detective reached out and caught the body that had just managed to sit upright, speaking softly:

"Don't make a choice you'll regret."

"This isn't the only way to solve things."

Notes:

(1) A rescue-focused story. Everyone who can be saved will be saved.

(2) Kudo Shinichi-centered, no romance, all characters are platonic.

(3) The protagonist dies. Please take care if this bothers you.

(4) There are two Kudo Shinichis.

(5) Secondary pairing: Shuichi Akai and Akemi Miyano. They are not related.

* Blurb to be revised

* 2023.1.19

Theme: As long as there's even a glimmer of hope, never give up!