"Conan? Wake up quickly..." Ran gently shook Conan. "You're not catching a cold, are you?"
"He should be fine," Fujino walked over. "It looks like he just fell asleep because he's tired. After all, this is an arcade, and the noisy sounds can make kids feel dizzy."
"Is that so...? I did feel that way when I was little," Ran rubbed her chin, nodding in agreement. Then, she walked over and piggybacked Conan, asking Fujino, "By the way, Fujino-senpai, do you have any leads on this case?"
"Yeah, I already know who the culprit is."
...
At the Arcade
"Inspector, we've searched everything here..." Takagi reported to Megure. "But there's absolutely nothing like a needle here."
"If that's the case, then the murder weapon is probably still on the culprit," Megure rubbed his chin, his gaze sharp. "Everyone, could I trouble you to cooperate with us for a body search?"
"An investigation is fine, but searching me? Isn't that a bit unreasonable?" Shimizu's mouth curved into a slight arc. "After all, I was fighting that guy at the time. How could I possibly have had a chance to poison him? Besides, he wasn't dead yet then..."
"He wasn't dead at that moment? How can you be so sure?" Fujino walked over slowly, with Ran carrying Conan behind him.
"He was playing the game with me at the time, how could he be dead?" Shimizu looked around. "Many people here can testify for me."
"Is that right?" Fujino glanced at him. "How do you prove that it was *you* fighting him at the time, and not *him*?"
"Huh?" Shimizu was startled by the question. Everyone present was also confused.
Inspector Megure scratched his head. "Fujino-kun, what do you mean by that?" What does 'you fighting him, and not him' mean?
"That's exactly what I mean," Fujino looked at the arcade machine next to them. "Actually, at the time, you weren't using your own character, but the opponent's character. It was a character swap. This way, you could attack the opponent unilaterally... This game doesn't have health bars, and you can't determine whose character is whose. I believe at the time, you must have chosen the opponent's commonly used character, while you used your opponent's commonly used character."
He paused, then turned back to Shimizu. "This is a full-body feedback game. Every time you're attacked, it gives feedback to your body. As long as you continuously attack, the opponent's body will show subtle movements. By using this, you could create the illusion that the opponent was still alive..."
"I see..." Inspector Megure frowned and looked at Shimizu. "If it's really as Fujino-kun said, then Bitou was probably already poisoned before the match began. In that case, the culprit..."
"That's right, the culprit who killed Bitou is Mr. Shimizu," Fujino exhaled, stating his deduction in a deep voice. "Before the match, you used the excuse of discussing strategy to stab him with a poisoned needle. While he was incapacitated by the toxin, you started a game, chose your own character, then returned to your seat and used the opponent's character to start the match, beating the helpless opponent... As for the end of the match, because the characters were swapped, you didn't continue attacking and chose to end in a draw. After all, if one side won, the screen would definitely show a different result screen, but the draw screen is the same."
"I see," Emori pondered. "No wonder I felt like today's match was a bit off. So that's it, that's why one side didn't fight back at all and was just beaten unilaterally... Normally, even in a completely one-sided match, one side would still get hit. And with Bitou's personality, if it was the deciding round, he would definitely go up and finish the opponent off."
Inspector Megure said sternly, "Mr. Shimizu, would you please come back with us for questioning?"
"Hold on, hold on, this is a bit too unreasonable, isn't it?" Shimizu frowned and looked at Fujino with a grim expression. "The murder weapon? If what you said is true, then the weapon should still be at the scene... As for a body search, I can cooperate..."
"According to your plan, the murder weapon is no longer on you anyway, so even if you're searched, there's nothing to expose," Fujino turned and called out. "Mr. Dejima, please check the bottom of your shoe."
"The bottom of my shoe?" Dejima was startled and lifted his foot, immediately freezing. "What in the world is this?"
"That should be the murder weapon," Fujino glanced at the bottom of his shoe. "You hid the poisoned needle inside the tip of a cigarette in a cigarette pack. After stabbing the opponent to death under the guise of discussing strategy, you used chewing gum to throw the poisoned needle onto the ground. If no one noticed, the weapon would be taken away by someone else... I must say, it was quite daring."
"I see..." Inspector Megure walked over and grabbed Dejima's shoe off.
Fujino: "..." Why are you pulling his shoe off...? You don't just directly take off someone's shoe when looking for evidence...
"Inspector Megure, it might be better to be careful. After all, I can't be sure if there's any residual poison on it..."
"Oh!" Inspector Megure carefully peeled off the chewing gum and the poisoned needle. "If we can find Shimizu's DNA and fingerprints on this, then it's criminal evidence..."
"Hmph..." Shimizu snorted, just about to say something, but was interrupted by Fujino again. "However, I think he's already thought of that. These things were likely dug out of trash cans in other places, so even if they're checked, they won't lead back to his evidence."
Shimizu: "..." Can you please let me try to argue for myself?
"This is an anti-trope move, using contrast to dispel suspicion..." Fujino turned back to Dejima again. "But there's still other evidence, for example, the coins... Mr. Dejima, please open the coin box of that machine. I remember you collecting coins before. Normally, there should only be two coins in there. One is the one I inserted earlier, and the other is the one Shimizu inserted after Mr. Bitou was poisoned... I noticed at the time that he wasn't wearing gloves. If you investigate, there should be his fingerprints on it..."
"I'll go right away!" Dejima was about to open the coin box when Shimizu suddenly called out, "Enough!"
"My fingerprints are indeed on there..." Shimizu lowered his head. "I tightly squeezed that coin before inserting it. I originally planned for this game to be the last game..."
Fujino looked at Shimizu. "It was for your sister, wasn't it?"
"That's right, for my sister who's going blind in the hospital..." Shimizu sighed. "To help that guy pay off the large gambling debts he accumulated from horse racing and car racing, she's been working desperately this past month. To save money, she hardly ate... In the end, that guy even joined some Sumiyoshi-kai, and my foolish sister... she even followed him after all that."
"That drug trafficking violent crime organization?" Inspector Megure rubbed his chin when he heard this. The last time, the Beika Batman killed an executive of this organization. Although it wasn't within his jurisdiction, he had a very strong impression of this group.
Then, he looked at Shimizu, somewhat confused. "Then why did you still associate with this guy?"
"Because he said that if I could beat him once, he would leave my sister," Shimizu sighed, then looked at the arcade machine next to them. "I worked hard to improve my skills to beat him, but unfortunately, I still couldn't defeat him in the end. But honestly, I have some regrets. If I had been able to beat him, perhaps I wouldn't have killed him..."
"Should I say you're too naive, or what...?" Fujino silently looked at Shimizu and asked, "Do you think he would have obediently left if you had won?"
Shimizu was startled by the question, looking at Fujino with some confusion.
"I think even if you won, he wouldn't have left easily," Fujino took a deep breath, his eyes slightly narrowed. "To be honest, I don't understand why anyone would like someone like that, but for a thug with no morals, their promises are just empty checks. If it were you, would you easily let go of a tool who was devoted to you and desperately paying off your debts?"
Hearing this, Shimizu also lowered his head. "Perhaps even if I had won, a person like him wouldn't have easily left my sister..."
"Right? In the end, you would have had to kill him anyway," Fujino walked over slowly and patted Shimizu's shoulder. "What you did this time was correct. At least now your sister's eyes haven't gotten worse, and you don't need to regret it."
"Yeah..." Shimizu looked up. "At least she can get rid of that detestable guy..."
"But in court, you still need to put on a show," Fujino leaned into his ear. "After all, if you appear sincere, hire a good lawyer, and show signs of surrendering, you might get a reduced sentence... After all, the other party was just a thug who joined a violent gang..."
"Huh?" Shimizu was startled, then smiled helplessly. "I didn't expect the detective who caught me would even want to suggest ways for me to get a reduced sentence..."
Fujino's expression was calm. "Just keeping business and personal matters separate." He wasn't an absolute 'champion of light', but since the case happened before his eyes, he couldn't ignore it. Officially, it was his detective identity, plus the system task. But personally, he could understand the other party. Matters of emotion are the hardest to interfere with.
He didn't quite understand why, in this world as well as the other, good girls always clung to scumbags. He really didn't know what those scumbags were thinking... But ultimately, matters of emotion are inherently unsolvable.
Fujino had a memory of this plotline. He felt that there was no need to stop the other party. Because, to some extent, Shimizu was carrying out justice. Of course, he could have stopped the other party and then delivered his own 'justice' to Bitou... But there was no need. He wasn't very familiar with Bitou, and there were no conflicts of interest. As for stirring up his so-called 'sense of justice,' he didn't really feel much about this case. From Shimizu's situation, the best solution was to physically remove Bitou... For something like this, it was better to respect the other person's fate and let them do it themselves.
...
Late at night, in a high-rise apartment building.
"Yeah, quite a few things have happened," Jodie, wearing a short red pajama dress, sat on the sofa, holding the phone between her shoulder and ear while filing her fingernails. "You're right, Neon (Japan) isn't boring at all. I just ran into a murder case... and met a lot of interesting people."
"A murder case?" Shuichi Akai, on the other end of the phone, was slightly surprised.
"Yeah, it happened at an arcade and was solved by a high school detective from our school," Jodie recalled Fujino, musing. "He's a very scary guy. Not only is his observation meticulous, but he also knows many fighting techniques. In terms of combat ability, he's definitely not weak... He even saw through a lot of my disguises..."
Shuichi Akai caught the key point. "You were exposed?"
"Of course not," Jodie explained. "He didn't pay attention to those things. After all, I'm from America, and I explained it all away."
"The detectives over in Neon are indeed quite good..." Shuichi Akai thought for a moment. "How's the investigation into that matter going?"
"I've got a lead on one of the targets' movements..." Jodie casually picked up an apple from the table and admired her slender fingers. "That woman not only changed her appearance but also pretended to be carefree and went to school... Is that what they call not losing one's childlike innocence?"
"Maybe it's just a disguise..." Shuichi Akai thought. "Has the target's code name been confirmed?"
"The target's code name?" Jodie picked up the apple casually. "For now, let's just call her Rotten Apple. It's the most fitting title for her."
...
Two days later, it was another weekend. Fujino drove Ai Haibara to Professor Agasa's house. The reason was simple: Professor Agasa, the grandfather figure to these children, was taking them out again. He heard they were going mushroom picking in the mountains. Even Fujino was dragged along by Ai Haibara and some of the Detective Boys.
He did have some memory of the mushroom picking plotline. If he remembered correctly, it should be the plot involving Jubei the Great Black Bear... Hmm, Fujino was a bit curious. He wondered if, with his strength, and perhaps stacking one or two enhancement cards after activating his detective boost, he could wrestle with the black bear.
(End of Chapter)