Kazunobu Chiba and Naeko Miike

The romantic relationship between Kazunobu Chiba and Naeko Miike.

Relationship analysis

Chiba being reminded of the younger Miike.

Kazunobu Chiba and Naeko Miike were childhood friends and attended Teitan Elementary together where they both joined the school broadcasting committee (although Naeko only joined because Chiba did). When Naeko was to move away, Chiba wrote down his feelings in a love letter. Naeko wrote her response on the side of a VHS in the committee storage room, hoping Chiba's sweating habit would cause the message "I like you, too" to show up on his hands after grabbing the tape. Unfortunately, Chiba couldn't find the right tape and never got the message.

On the day of his elementary school reunion, Chiba returned to the school and searched for the tape again. With the help of Conan and the Detective Boys, he finally finds the message and heads for the reunion. Unfortunately Naeko doesn't show, and he hears from a former classmate that she said she is "now with the one she loved". Depressed, Chiba immediately leaves and finds a lady traffic cop giving him a ticket. When the officer offers to forget about the ticket since he is a fellow officer, Chiba scolds her for offering to ignore his illegal parking. Chiba leaves with the ticket, but then wonders how the girl knew he was a detective. The officer turns out to be Naeko, who has just been transferred to the police headquarters in Tokyo (working under Yumi) and looks forward to working with the one she loves.

Chiba and Miike moments

Volume 71: File 741-742/Episode 624: A Video Letter of First Love

The first time Naeko Miike introduces herself.

• Chiba feels nostalgic in his old elementary school and wants to wander around. He says he received a phone call from Naeko asking if he saw her reply to his love letter 13 years ago.
• When Naeko moved away, Chiba wrote down his feelings in a love letter. Naeko wrote her response on the side of a VHS in the committee storage room, hoping Chiba's sweating habit would cause the message "I like you, too" to show up on his hands after grabbing the tape. Unfortunately, Chiba couldn't find the right tape and never got the message.
• On the day of his elementary school reunion, Chiba returned to the school and searched for the tape again. With the help of Conan and the Detective Boys he finally finds the message and heads for the reunion. Unfortunately Naeko doesn't show, and he hears from a former classmate that she said she is "now with the one she loved". Depressed, Chiba immediately leaves and finds a lady traffic cop giving him a ticket. When the officer offers to forget about the ticket since he is a fellow officer, Chiba scolds her for offering to ignore Chiba's illegal parking. Chiba leaves with the ticket, but then wonders how the girl knew he was a detective. The officer turns out to be Naeko, who has just been transferred to the police headquarters in Tokyo (working under Yumi) and looks forward to working with the one she loves.

Volume 75: File 790-792/Episode 659-660: The Joint Investigation with First Love

• Naeko makes her second appearence during a case involving threats that were placed in cars along with Yumi. Ironically, one of the victims happens to be Chiba himself. Naeko hides behind Yumi and continues to blush in front of him.
• However, Chiba remains oblivious to the fact that she is his childhood first love. She is forced into investigating the car cases with Chiba as Ayumi's, Mitsuhiko's and Genta's plan to get them to confess their love to each other.
• Soon after, a crash occurs and they find a man on the floor with another threat in the person's car. While everybody is investigating the current act of vandalism, Naeko helps out by giving information on the other cases.
• Meanwhile, Ayumi, Mitsuhiko and Genta continue to get Chiba to realize who Naeko really is, but he gets distracted by Conan, who keeps finding more evidence and Yumi who won't allow Chiba to steal her latest friend from her. Chiba comes close to finding out when a gust of wind blows Naeko's hat off, but is interrupted. Naeko feels like he doesn't remember her at all and calls him a dummy.
• Naeko continues to help with the investigation and they are able to find the culprit. Soon after Naeko takes Chiba home when Chiba remembers that he's seen her before. Naeko, thinking that he realizes she's his first love, is about to say that Chiba is correct when he says that it was from the time where she gave him a parking ticket. Naeko becomes embarrassed that she assumed wrong, but Chiba reveals to himself that he has a feeling who Naeko really is.

Volume 80: File 847-849/Episode 731-732: The Ex-Boyfriend Living Next to a Crime Scene

Naeko's childhood best friend, Sakurako Yonehara found a corpse in the house she's working at as a housemaid. She calls Naeko who was on patrol with Yumi at that time and they came over while waiting for the Division 1 officers to come. While investigating the evidences of the case, Chiba recognizes Sakurako but still failed to realize Naeko's existence.

Volume 89: File 942-944/Episode 847-848: Chiba's Difficult UFO Case

• Naeko is the one who sent the package containing reports about the consequences of obesity to Chiba, and she plans to send him a tape with steps to follow an 8-hour diet. She blushes and smiles as she thinks about it. Although unaware of who sent that package, he finds the package extremely helpful, as he is enjoying losing weight.
• When Naeko saw Kazunobu become a lot skinnier, she blushed and smiled without any policewoman noticing. However, when the policewomen start showing some interest in Chiba, Naeko feels relieved once his body size is back to normal again because they are not interested in him anymore.

Volume 96: File 1013-1017

• While looking for a suitable partner for his next stakeout, Yumi suggested Naeko for Chiba, however, the latter told her it would look like an inspector with a middle school girl, much to Naeko's embarrasment; even tough she is the same age as him.
• Naeko gets kidnapped by the culprit, Naeko tried to contact Chiba so he could come to rescue her, unfortunately , her phone was taken away by the culprit.
• Chiba managed to rescue Naeko and arrest the culprit, however, Naeko was injured in her right leg while protecting Chiba from a bowgun arrow, which forced Chiba to carry her to the hospital on his back.
• While going to the hospital, Chiba came across a red light with no one around. Worried about Naeko's bleeding, Chiba tried to cross the red light, but Naeko managed to convince him from breaking the rules; using the same words that Chiba told her in the past.
• Chiba finally manages to recognise Naeko after hearing those words as his love interest, Naeko responded simply by giving him a hug and telling him that he took too much time to remember her.
• The two walk towards the hospital, while blushing at the same time.

Trivia

• The Chiba/Miike couple is one of the many couples that met in childhood, but with some major differences to the main childhood couple: Shinichi/Ran. Miike was transferred to another school in their sixth year and they haven't seen each other for 13 years.

Gallery

• 

  Chiba is reminded of the younger Miike.

• 
• 

See also

• Kazunobu Chiba
• Naeko Miike
• Ninzaburo Shiratori and Sumiko Kobayashi
• Wataru Takagi and Miwako Sato
• Shukichi Haneda and Yumi Miyamoto