Chapter 78 (Previously Chapter 77): Beneath the Gentian Flower: Return to Rice Flower...
Q: What does it feel like when the power goes out?
Answer: "I can't even see Heiji-nii anymore!"
"...Be careful, or I'll go tell on you to your sister Ran." Hattori Heiji grinned, revealing two rows of white teeth, and threatened with a smile, while a public service announcement against unauthorized filming played in the background.
Conan stared at the almost completely black background on the screen, his grumbling echoing in the hallway: "Weren't you watching a movie? You had time to call me?"
"Kazuha went to the restroom. I came to ask how the Nagano case is going," Hattori Heiji said, propping his chin on his hand, somewhat bored. "I've seen the reports; Nagano is the only case that hasn't released an official result yet."
Conan leaned against the wall, with the fire extinguisher box mounted on it right next to his head. He recalled Hattori Heiji's words, "This...?"
In fact, the time it took for the different teams to solve the case was not much different, but the case in Nagano Prefecture involved a police officer who almost became the murderer. Therefore, both the subsequent public relations and the way the case was announced required time to prepare.
In terms of timing, the Nagano investigation team was probably the fastest to catch the murderer of Dr. Ueda and Ms. Yamanashi.
When Conan and Morofushi Takaaki came out of the mountains, Yamato Kansuke, Uehara Yui, and Akai Shuichi had already thoroughly searched the hospital's records from thirteen years ago and quickly located a young woman who was related to Officer Anri by blood. Before Morofushi Takaaki came out of the mountains and delivered the message, the three of them worked together to follow the clues and catch the tail of the organ trafficking chain.
The trigger for this serial murder case was the "sanatorium" that the three victims were setting up before their deaths. It was called a sanatorium, but it was actually a den of trafficking. Several victims and their families, including Detective Anri, could no longer endure the difficult and lengthy evidence collection process and chose to expose the blood-soaked truth to the public in the most extreme way.
Whether this approach is right or wrong is a matter of differing opinions between Conan, who prioritizes life and believes in justice and the law, and Zhuge Tongzhi, who has witnessed countless wrongful convictions going unpunished.
However, putting aside these disputes about right and wrong and returning to the case itself, if Zhuge Tongzhi hadn't led the way to find another way out through the tunnel, Conan, who was waiting for the rescue team to arrive, might not have even gotten to the end of the case.
Although he solved the case, the credit should be given to Kogoro Mouri.
As a result, he got a hard punch from the uncle. Conan raised his hand and touched his head, which had become round again, revealing crescent-shaped eyes—and because he had been beaten so many times, the uncle even named that punch 'the ultimate move—the Iron Drill Fist'.
What kind of ultimate move is that? I think it's designed to kill me.
The detective, now a child, chatted briefly with his like-minded Kansai detective friend about the case details before noticing that the lights had completely dimmed. "Has the movie started?"
"Hey, why isn't Kazuha here yet?" Hattori Heiji scratched his head in frustration, then put on his baseball cap, intending to go out and find Toyama Kazuha. But as soon as he stood up, he saw his target walking towards him from the other end, bending over.
The boy, who had completely blended into the darkness, slumped back into his chair, pretending he had never gotten up, and said in a low voice, "The movie's already started, where have you been, you idiot?"
"You just started talking, okay? You're such a chatterbox." The girl with the high ponytail, who was carrying a bucket of popcorn, sat down and glanced at her childhood friend. "I just stopped by to buy some popcorn."
I originally thought of buying some because I saw the caramel butter flavored popcorn and remembered that Heiji Hattori and I had eaten this flavor of popcorn when we went to an amusement park together when we were kids. I remembered it as very sweet and delicious.
However, she now chose to be petty and put the popcorn away from Hattori Heiji, grabbed a handful and stuffed it into her mouth, puffing out her cheeks as she ate it.
"Hey, hey, give me some too." The movie had already started, and Hattori Heiji leaned close to Toyama Kazuha and whispered, "If you don't give me some, I'll just grab some myself."
"This is so annoying, fine, I'll just put it here."
"Hmm—it feels a lot like the place I ate at in the amusement park when I was a kid, but it's a bit too sweet."
"Right? I remember this flavor."
Heiji Hattori whispered a few words to Kazuha Toyama before suddenly remembering his good friend on the other end of the phone. He turned on the screen and saw that the other party had sent him a cryptic smiley face emoji ":)".
'Go watch your two-person movie :) — Kudo'
"Well, I hope it's the kind you're thinking of." Hattori Heiji twitched his lips as he looked at the suggestive chat history, then glanced at the movie screen in front of him, where the plot was already unfolding, and raised his hand to scratch his cheek, which had turned red from the teasing.
He grabbed a handful of popcorn and stuffed it into his mouth, his cheeks bulging and popping amidst the noise of the children around him. Meanwhile, Kazuha Toyama, who was beside him, was so engrossed in eating his popcorn that he forgot all about it.
Hattori Heiji glanced at the exhilarating anime scenes on the screen, then at Toyama Kazuha beside him, whose cheeks were flushed with excitement. He propped his chin on his hand and murmured, "This is a movie that you and Ran-neechan can also legitimately go see..."
"Kamen Rider—!!" Excited shouts came from in front of him, behind him, and beside him. The dark-skinned high school detective watched the latest Kamen Rider movie with a blank expression, stuffing another mouthful of popcorn into his mouth.
Ah, I really want to solve cases with Kudo!
…
Ugh, when will these two ever stop?
Refusing to become part of a couple's play, Conan put away his phone and walked out of the fire escape. Looking at the two still confronting each other and the girl between them who looked utterly hopeless, he felt a little frantic.
Mr. Akai and Mr. Amuro really, really don't get along at all!
And Mr. Akai, you're usually such a calm person, how come you always manage to go back and forth with Mr. Amuro, picking fights with him?!
"Hey, Husband, I'm taking Kiri-chan back to her uncle's house. Do you have any objections?" Furuya Rei grabbed Zhuge Tongzhi's wrist and gently pulled the girl towards him, his gaze sharp as he looked at Akai Shuichi.
Zhuge Tongzhi took two steps toward Furuya Rei, then was gently pulled to a stop on the other side.
“That’s quite a coincidence. Midorikawa-kun mentioned that he was going to hold a tea party at the Kudo residence.” Shuichi Akai smiled with narrowed eyes, pulled the black-haired girl closer to him, and said gently, “Let’s just go now.”
Zhuge Tongzhi took two steps toward Akai Shuichi, but as expected, he was stopped by Furuya Rei.
"Oh, I'm quite skeptical of the truthfulness of your words." Furuya Rei smiled insincerely, tightening his grip. "Kiri-chan and I have something to say, sir, please let go."
“I have always had a clear conscience.” Shuichi Akai smiled, his eyes narrowing, and his grip showed no sign of loosening. “I also have some questions for Kiri-chan that I haven’t had a chance to ask, and I would like to ask them for advice.”
Both sides were mindful that the person in their hands was still a child who was not yet a child, so it was more like a childish snatching game than a tug-of-war.
Zhuge Tongzhi, who didn't think he had anything particularly attractive about him, swayed back and forth between the two men, gradually turning his beady eyes into mosquito coil-shaped eyes, and finally closed his eyes peacefully in the rhythmic swaying.
Is this the legendary... left and right representing men?
No, let's just think of it as a standing version of a cradle for sleeping.
"Kiri-chan, which way do you want to go?" *2
Zhuge Tongzhi, who had already transformed into a roly-poly toy, staggered to his feet, glanced at Furuya Rei, who had a smile on his face but exuded a murderous aura directed at Akai Shuichi, then glanced at Akai Shuichi, who remained calm in the face of the murderous aura and made a gesture of holding a stewed beef, and finally silently looked at Conan standing in the distance.
For various reasons such as discussing intelligence, exchanging information, and engaging in free-fighting, the four of them ended up driving back to Tokyo in one car. Along the way, she and Conan, sitting in the back, had become indifferent to the various verbal battles between the driver and passenger.
I was thinking of stopping at a service area to rest my ears and buy a bottle of water, but I didn't expect that the service area would not become a truce zone, but a decisive battle zone instead.
Zhuge Tongzhi: -w-
If I had to choose between the Public Security Bureau and the FBI, I'd choose Edogawa.
Although she inevitably encounters murder cases and the like, sadly, she has gradually become accustomed to it and can now recite the emergency call numbers for the First Investigation Division, so it doesn't bother her anymore.
After hearing Zhuge Tongzhi's choice, Furuya Rei and Akai Shuichi simultaneously turned to look at Conan, who was carrying several boxes of takoyaki. Before the boy thought he would also be drawn into the battle, he turned back, exchanged a glance, and then let go of each other's hands.
Finally free from the battle, Zhuge Tongzhi ran over and took a takoyaki topped with his favorite bonito flakes. Under Conan's half-moon-eyed gaze, he began to happily nibble on the takoyaki.
"Alright, that's settled then." The two men smiled confidently.
The waiter, Amuro Tooru, who works downstairs from the Mori Detective Agency, shrugged and said indifferently, "Anyway, Midorikawa is going to pick up Kiri-chan, but someone doesn't have any reason, right?"
Living in the Kudo residence, less than 100 meters from the Mori office, Akai—who could share his braised beef stew with Okiya Subaru anytime—calmly replied, "Perhaps?"
In the end, it was the steaming hot takoyaki that shut them up. The four of them stood in a row outside the convenience store, quietly rewarding their tired stomachs with fast food.
However, neither Rei Furuya, who immediately began preparing to return to his job as a waiter, nor Shuichi Akai, who immediately went home to stew beef, knew that their "chance encounter" was not at the Mori residence at that moment.
Regardless of whether the Japanese Public Security Bureau and the FBI ultimately prevailed, Zhuge Tongzhi and Conan had already arranged to visit Professor Agasa's house.
While they were dancing with eight eggs in the tunnel, Ai Haibara, who was working tirelessly to develop an antidote based on the magical old baijiu, finally developed a semi-finished antidote that could temporarily restore them to their original form!
Conan upon receiving the message: (Running healthily and in the sunshine) (Rainbow radio calisthenics) (Quietly happy) (Thanks Ai Haibara) (Wish he could fly back for the antidote) (His head doesn't hurt anymore after being beaten by the old man)
Zhuge Tongzhi, who had no obsession with getting bigger, quietly ate his takoyaki faster. After watching his friend, whose appearance had been completely renewed, being stopped by a murder case at the service area, he spoke frankly for the first time and revealed the truth of the case. When the perpetrator began to repent and said, "That year, the apricot blossoms were in the light rain..." he simply handed the case over to the police and left.
So, Edogawa, you can also not be a riddle teller?
The black-haired girl carefully picked up the last few bonito flakes, dipped them in teriyaki sauce, and stuffed them into her mouth. Hearing Conan's urging, she threw the cardboard box into the trash can, clapped her hands, and boarded the car back to Beika Town.
Well, unlike Conan, who was eager to turn back into Shinichi Kudo to see Ran Mouri, she didn't want to take any more growth-enlarging pills and endure the excruciating pain of her heart about to explode.
Furuya Rei nodded slightly through the rearview mirror, while Zhuge Tongzhi took a tissue and vigorously wiped away the sauce residue.
For her, there's no practical use for growing bigger.
Right?
-----------------------
Author's note: Right? (laughs)
I've been watching 73 interviews lately, and it's all just (laughs) hahahahahahahaha
…
Ahem, I wanted to ask everyone what kind of plot you'd like to see? (shyly)
Because Zhuge Liang had been working too hard for too long (wiping away tears)
I plan to give the child a rest.
So what follows will be some everyday scenes and bento boxes featuring kicking the class monitor.
…
Mwah!
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