Welcome back, one and all! Here's chapter five, whose title I shamelessly stole from the old version of the fic. But is it really stealing if I wrote them both? Truly a mystery for the ages. In any case, with this we officially start the kuchisake-onna case! I'm excited for this one, but the chapter I'm most excited for is the next chapter, although this one also had some fun moments in it... for me at least. Not so much for any of the characters, lol.
As always, thanks for reading!
(don't) believe what you know
chapter five
the kuchisake-onna wears clothes dyed bright red
"Balance?"
"Yes," Agasa nodded, "-it would seem that the founders of the cult were convinced that our world had gotten out of balance with the spirit world. Apparently they were seeking to correct that."
"The spirit world, huh..." Conan trailed off. "Sounds fishy."
"Certainly," Agasa agreed, "-but the cult had at least six hundred members at its peak, so clearly there were people willing to believe it."
Conan hummed, scanning the information that Agasa had printed out for him. It had taken quite a bit of digging, but they'd finally managed to find some actual information about the mysterious cult that had abducted Hattori and another child. They had apparently called themselves the Spiritual Foundation, and like he expected, they had dissolved nine years ago in the wake of the kidnapping scandal.
Spreading the papers out across the table, Conan's eyes landed on one particular photo. The photo's subject didn't look like much, but he was apparently the cult's founder- a man by the name of Sanada Shouhei. He'd moved from the Oita prefecture to Osaka seventeen years ago after a supposed spiritual experience, at which point he'd started the Spiritual Foundation. From what little he could gather, the kidnapping had been done under his direction, with several other high ranking members involved.
And just as Kazuha had said, he'd apparently died in an accident when the police raided the complex. What she hadn't mentioned was that it wasn't just him- apparently several other cult members had been seriously injured, as well as several police officers. There weren't any names listed, but...
...he couldn't shake the feeling that it sounded like more than just the failure of an old building.
"But Shinichi," Agasa began, "-the boy in this photo..."
"Yeah," Conan said, his eyes landing on the photo in question, "-it's Hattori."
He'd already known that by asking the Professor for help, it was likely he'd expose Hattori's secret- or at least, the part he already knew. He felt kind of bad about it, but he was confident that the Professor wouldn't say anything.
"What about Hattori-kun?"
"Haibara?!" Conan exclaimed, jerking his head up in surprise. "Weren't you down in the lab?"
"The two of you were making so much noise that I came up to investigate." Haibara dutifully reported, picking up one of the printouts. "So? What's this about Hattori-kun?"
"That's..." Conan trailed off.
Crap, he hadn't meant to involve Haibara. He'd chosen now specifically to ask the Professor for help because he thought she'd be busy for awhile. Involving the Professor was bad enough, but...
"It's nothing!" Conan said quickly, snatching the paper from her hand all while trying to frantically collect the rest before she could see the contents. "Don't worry about it!"
"It certainly doesn't look nothing." Haibara observed, her gaze downright frosty. "What's this about a kidnapping?"
"So you saw that part." Conan deadpanned.
"I did." Haibara said, taking a seat. "So? What's this about?"
Heaving a sigh, Conan's shoulders slumped. Well, he'd tried.
"Hattori's keeping something from me." Conan confessed. "I'm trying to figure out what it is."
"Keeping something from you?" Agasa asked with a frown.
"Yeah," Conan said, "-while we were staying at that inn, he snuck out in the middle of the night for some reason. Through the window, no less."
There was also the matter of the person he'd been talking to, not to mention whatever it was that he'd hidden in his bag. And then there was that dream...
...but he'd keep those to himself for now.
"Did you ask him about it?" Haibara asked. "He might have just wanted to go for a walk."
"Sure, I did." Conan said. "And that's what he said. But don't you think it's strange that he left through the window? We were on the second floor!"
Haibara simply shrugged. "He's always been a little strange."
"Strange?" Conan asked. "How?"
"You seriously haven't noticed?" Haibara asked, arching a brow- before heaving a long sigh. "Unbelievable. I thought you were supposed to be a detective."
"Well sorry about that." Conan grumbled.
"Think about it," Haibara began, "-don't you think the speed with which he connected you with Kudo Shinichi is weird? He'd only ever met you that one time."
Conan frowned. "Sure it was a little fast, but he's a detective."
"That may be true," Haibara said, "-but no one else has made that connection yet. Even Detective Sato, or that woman from the FBI. They're both just as perceptive, and they both have cause to know about Kudo Shinichi. Detective Sato has even met him once."
"Now that you mention it, I didn't believe it was you at first either," Agasa mused, "-and I've known you almost all your life."
"That's true, but..." Conan trailed off, his frown deepening.
Now that she mentioned it, it was a little strange. Why had he been able to come to the conclusion that he was Kudo Shinichi so quickly? Sure, Ran had her suspicions in the past, but she had the benefit of knowing him since they were in preschool- and sure, he was pretty sure Akai-san had figured it out by now, but it had definitely taken longer for him to make the connection than it had for Hattori, even after he'd started living in his home.
"Even if that's true, what does that have to do with anything?" Conan asked.
"I didn't say it did." Haibara shrugged.
"So?" Agasa asked. "What's this about Hattori-kun being kidnapped?"
"You remember those weird kidnappings in Osaka awhile back?" Conan asked.
"The ones they never named a culprit for?" Agasa asked.
"Yeah," Conan nodded, "-Kazuha let it slip then that Hattori had been kidnapped once before. Apparently he and this other girl were both kidnapped by the same cult when he was in the third grade. They were both missing for three weeks."
"What would a cult want with them?" Haibara asked, arching a brow.
"No idea," Conan shook his head, "-the police apparently never got a clear motive."
At least, according to Kazuha. He didn't think she was lying, but...
"I guess asking the founder isn't possible anymore," Haibara remarked, "-unless you know anyone who can contact the dead, that is."
"As if there's anyone like that." Conan huffed.
"But this girl," Agasa began, his brow deeply furrowed in thought as he studied the picture of the red eyed girl, "-I get the feeling I've seen her somewhere before..."
"Really, Professor?" Conan perked up. "Where?!"
"That's the thing." Agasa shook his head. "She looks vaguely familiar, but I just can't remember where I've seen her."
"I see..." Conan's face fell.
"Sorry, Shinichi." Agasa apologized. "If I remember, I'll be sure to tell you."
"Maybe you don't remember because you met her when she was older?" Haibara asked, picking up the photo. "She'd probably be around seventeen now if she's Hattori-kun's age."
"That's true." Agasa agreed. "We could always try running her photo through some aging software."
"Can you do that?" Conan asked.
"Yeah, it's no problem." Agasa nodded. "I can't promise that I'll remember her, though. I could just be confused."
"That's fine." Conan said. "Just having a more recent photo would help."
If he could just find out who she was, he might be able to ask her some questions about Hattori. Whatever his secret was, it had to connect his kidnapping somehow, so there was no doubt that she knew something about it. Whether or not she'd be willing to tell him...
...well, that was a different story.
"Then, I'll get right on that." Agasa said, standing up.
"Thanks, Professor." Conan said. "And I'm sure I don't have to say this, but let's just keep this whole thing between us for now."
"Afraid Hattori-kun will learn you've been sneaking around behind his back?" Haibara asked.
"No," Conan shook his head, "-he's the one who challenged me."
"Challenge?" Haibara arched her brows. "In that case, why doesn't he just tell you?"
"Who knows?" Conan shrugged. "Maybe it's something I need to find out on my own?"
Well, what that could be, he had no idea. He just knew that whatever it was, it wasn't something that Hattori had wanted him to know at first- and that it likely involved last time's kidnapping incident somehow. He didn't want to think he was involved in anything dangerous, but...
Your faith in a close friend will be shaken as you unravel the secrets they've been hiding.
Shaking the thought off, Conan clenched his fists. He didn't care what some stupid fortune said- there was nothing that could shake his faith in Hattori.
Even if it had been right about the pipes.
"I'm home!"
"Welcome back!" Ran smiled. "Dinner is almost ready!"
"Okay!" Conan called out, slipping off his shoes and leaving them in the entrance.
He'd left the task of aging up the girl's photo to the Professor and Haibara. From the sound of it, it probably wouldn't be ready until tomorrow, so for the time being, he'd decided to return to the detective agency. The door had already been locked when he'd arrived, so he'd figured Uncle had closed for the day and headed upstairs to the apartment.
He figured as much, but...
"Where's Uncle Kogoro?" Conan asked.
Usually he'd be at the table enjoying a beer or two, but he was nowhere to be found. Weird.
"Dad got a call from Inspector Megure," Ran reported, peeking out from the kitchen, "-he said something about helping him with a case."
"A case?" Conan perked up. "What kind?"
"He didn't say." Ran frowned. "He had a pretty serious look on his face when he left though, so I think it was probably important."
"Important?" Conan asked, his expression more serious now.
An important case... not to mention something that the Inspector was willing to call the old man in to help with. What could it be?
Damn it, he was almost regretting going to the Professor's now. If he'd been here when Kogoro had gotten the call, he could have tagged along with him. He just had to hope this was something the old man could handle on his own.
Maybe if he checked the news...
"That's right," Ran said, "-did you remember to give the Professor his souvenir?"
"Yeah, I did." Conan absently replied, already scrolling through his phone. The news wasn't reporting on any big incidents yet, but as for social media... maybe this was it?
"Hey, did Uncle Kogoro really not mention anything about the case?" Conan asked, glancing towards Ran.
"He didn't." Ran said. "Why?"
"No, no reason." Conan shook his head. "I was just wondering if he'd be back in time for dinner."
"It doesn't seem like it." Ran said. "Tonight it'll be just the two of us!"
Crap. He was grateful that Ran had her back turned to him- it would be pretty hard to explain why he'd turned so red. He would have thought that after living with her for so long, he wouldn't be phased by that kind of phrase, but he guessed karate wasn't the only way Ran was powerful.
Shaking it off, he turned back to his phone. If this was what the old man was called in for, he could understand why he hadn't wanted to tell Ran. She'd always hated things like this, after all.
"What are you looking at, Conan-kun?"
"N-nothing!" Conan said, hastily putting his phone away. "More importantly, what's for dinner?"
"Ah, that's-"
He only half listened to Ran's answer, making sure to smile so as to not worry her. It was probably only a matter of time before she found out, but there was no way he could show her this. After all, they'd only just finished dealing with that fake kamaitachi case- and now there were reports of people seeing a kuchisake-onna?
Oi, oi, give him a break.
"Heiji," his father said without so much as looking at him, "-no phones at the table."
"Ah sorry," Heiji quickly tucked the phone in question away, "-just got a text from Kazuha."
His father didn't respond, simply giving him a look that indicated he didn't quite believe him, but wasn't willing to start over dinner. Which... fair. He'd been lying. He hadn't gotten a text from Kazuha- she was still miffed about the whole Ebisu Bridge thing. He just wasn't about to admit what he'd actually been looking at.
Of all the places, it had to be Tokyo.
Scarfing down the rest of his food, he made an excuse to hastily leave the table. Pulling his phone back out, he made his way to his room, making sure close to the door behind him. Scrolling down his social media feed, Heiji frowned, scouring the recent posts for any more information. If this was a real kuchisake-onna...
...no, even if it wasn't, he might need to act. Urban legends could be a major pain in the ass like that. The more they spiraled out of control, the more likely it was that something would actually appear. And from the look of it, social media was already going nuts.
Still, it was hard to get a real picture of the situation just based on social media posts alone. What little he could gather was that there had purportedly been several attacks the previous two nights- a quick check through the news did reveal at least one mention of a woman being assaulted, though it didn't go into any specifics. That didn't necessarily mean that the attacks hadn't happened- the police might be temporarily withholding information. The only way he could find out for sure...
...heaving a sigh, Heiji tucked his phone away.
He was going to have to go to Tokyo- and right after he'd challenged Kudo to figure out his secrets.
Really, that was just his luck.
"Heiji?"
Knocking on her son's door, Hattori Shizuka frowned at the lack of response. "I'm coming in, Heiji."
That didn't receive so much as a single protest- and sliding open the door, it was obvious to see why. Heiji's room was empty.
Heaving a sigh, she cast a quick glance over his room. Heiji's phone was missing- he'd obviously left to go somewhere without telling either of them. This was hardly anything new, but usually he at least left through the front door.
Which meant...
Sliding the door shut behind her, Shizuka allowed herself another sigh. She wished he'd say something at least. Didn't he know much they worried about him?
Returning to the dining room, she paused just outside the door to collect herself. Heizo would have his questions, of that she was certain. He rarely discussed it with her, but she would have to be a fool not to notice the fact that he had his suspicions.
And if there was one thing she wasn't, it was a fool.
"That makes the fourth one, doesn't it, Inspector?"
"So it would seem."
Inspector Megure's expression was grim as they watched the ambulance drive off into the night. Fortunately, it seemed as if the victim would survive, but...
...it was unlikely there wouldn't be scars.
The culprit, unfortunately, had gotten away. They had a description, but...
...a woman with long hair wearing a surgical mask and wielding a knife only brought to mind a certain urban legend.
So far, there had been three attacks the previous two nights- one on the first night, and two on the second. Several others had reported being chased down by such a women, but they'd all managed to escape. All the victims thus far had been attractive young women, but beyond that they hadn't figured out a connection between them. The chance that the attacks could be random was a haunting possibility- if that was true, it could potentially cause a mass panic. So far the police had been able to keep news media from reporting on the details of the attacks, but that could only last for so long.
After all, there was someone running around the city with a knife, carving up the faces of young women- it was truly the very picture of the kuchisake-onna legend. If Ran heard about this...
...well, he could roughly picture how she'd react.
It had been enough to prompt the Inspector to give him a call- although he certainly hadn't been enthusiastic about it. They'd just finished going over the previous cases when they'd gotten a call about the fourth and had sped right over, arriving just in time to see the victim being carried into the ambulance.
Unfortunately, she wasn't in much of a condition to talk- not with her mouth freshly slit.
"What do you think, Inspector?" Kogoro asked.
"I don't know what to tell you, Mouri-kun," Megure confessed, "-though under the circumstances, I certainly wish I did."
He couldn't agree more.
"In any case," Megure continued, "-we should check the surrounding area. There's a chance that someone might have seen our assailant flee. Could I get your help with that?"
"Of course, Inspector!" Kogoro agreed, giving him a salute. "Now that great detective Mouri Kogoro is on the case, they won't get away with this!"
Usually that would have been met with a deep sigh, but this time the Inspector let it slide. The situation was just that serious.
But good thing that kid had been over at Professor Agasa's place when he'd gotten the call, otherwise he was certain he would have snuck into the taxi with him. The last thing he wanted was to be in charge of wrangling a six year old during this mess.
Even if that six year old was sometimes unusually perceptive.
"Are you really alright sleeping by yourself, Conan-kun?"
"Yeah, I'll be fine!" Conan beamed. "It might be able to sleep better tonight without Uncle Kogoro's snoring, even!"
"That's true," Ran admitted with a slight laugh, but he could still make out the faint lines of concern at the edge of her mouth, "-then goodnight, Conan-kun."
"Goodnight, Ran-neechan!"
It was no surprise she was worried- first he'd missed dinner, and now Uncle apparently wasn't coming home at all tonight. He suspected that meant there'd been another attack, though the local news outlets were still keeping the details quiet.
He imagined it wouldn't stay that way much longer.
In any case...
He waited until he heard Ran's bedroom door shut before he sat up, pulling out his phone. There were several people posting on social media about the supposed kuchisake-onna- someone had even posted a blurry photo. It didn't tell him much, unfortunately- it might even be a fake. Posts about the kuchisake-onna were blowing up, after all.
Throwing off his covers and standing up, he tucked his phone away in his pocket. He hadn't even bothered changing into his pajamas- not when he knew he'd be sneaking out. Quietly opening the door, he peeked out into the apartment. The lights were out, and Ran's bedroom door was still shut. There was a faint bit of light leaking out from underneath her door, but a few moments later, it went dark. Holding his breath, he waited until he could make out the sound of her soft breathing, before he released it in a sigh.
Good, she'd gone to bed.
Quietly making his way to the entrance, he paused to grab his skateboard before quietly sneaking out the door. Ran would probably be mad at him, but...
...there was no way he could leave a case like this alone.
"I don't know about a woman, but I did see a strange person."
To say Kogoro perked up would be an understatement. Thus far, he hadn't had any luck finding potential witnesses- although it wasn't that late yet, this area apparently didn't see a lot of foot traffic at any hour. The perfect place to lie in wait for a potential victim, he couldn't help but think.
"A strange person?" Kogoro asked. "Can you describe them to me?"
The woman's brows furrowed, tilting her head slightly. "I don't know."
"You don't know?" Kogoro asked, arching his brows. "What do you mean, you don't know?"
"For some reason, they were strangely hard to focus on." The woman remarked. "But they were wearing some kind of strange mask."
"Mask?" Kogoro asked. "Like a surgical mask?"
"No," the woman shook her head, gesturing to the top half of her face, "-it was a weird half mask, like this."
"And where did you see them?" Kogoro asked.
"Up there," the woman said, pointing to the roof of a nearby building, "-but they disappeared almost as soon as I saw them."
The roof? Kogoro frowned, his brow furrowing. What were they doing on a roof? And why a mask? Was tonight just the night for masked weirdos to be out or something?
"Anything else?" Kogoro asked.
"No," the woman shook her head, "-sorry."
"No, that's fine." Kogoro said. "The police may have some more questions for you later, so if I could perhaps get your contact information?"
He waited for the woman to write it down, before tucking it in his pocket and thanking her for her time. Once she'd gone back inside, he glanced towards the roof in question with a frown. He didn't know if it had anything to do with the case, but...
Crossing the street, Kogoro's frown deepened. What would someone be doing on a roof at this hour? And why-
Something crunched underneath his foot. Stooping down, he picked it up. At first glance, it was just a simple piece of paper, but there was something written on it in a strange gold ink.
"Eye?"
For some reason, the handwriting looked vaguely familiar, but he just couldn't place it. The backside was blank, not even the faintest hint of ink leaking through. Strange. What was something like this doing here?
Tucking it in his pocket with a frown, he turned back around-
"Uncle?"
-and most definitely did not yelp like a schoolgirl.
"Y-you!" Kogoro blurted out, jabbing his finger towards them in an accusatory manner. "What are you doing here?!"
One Hattori Heiji had the audacity to grin at him, looking for all the world like he was supposed to be here, and not back in Osaka, where he belonged. His clothes were dark enough that he almost blended into the night- and for a moment, he got the odd feeling that something was slightly strange about him, before he realized he was just missing his usual cap.
"So it really was you, Uncle! I thought it might be!" Heiji said. "What, ya came ta look into the case too?"
"Case...?" Kogoro's brow furrowed. "Then, you too? But it hasn't even been reported by the news yet, so how do you know about it? And didn't you go back to Osaka?"
"I did," Heiji said, "-but then a former classmate called ta ask me fer help."
"Former classmate?" Kogoro frowned.
"Yeah," Heiji nodded, "-apparently they got chased around by some knife wielding neechan. Spooked them real good, so they gave me a call. I rushed right over!"
"I see." Kogoro said. I made sense, but...
...something just felt off.
"So," Heiji asked, peering behind him as if he expected to see something- or more likely, someone, "-where's the kid?"
"By kid, do you mean Conan?" Kogoro asked. "I left him at home, of course. I can't have a kid running around this late at night."
"Guess you're right," Heiji admitted, rubbing the back of his neck, "-plus he's got school tomorrow."
Weird. He'd expected him to look more disappointed about not seeing Conan. But if anything, he almost looked relieved.
"Don't you also have school tomorrow?" Kogoro asked, arching a brow.
"Don't worry about that." Heiji brushed it off, clearly not worried about it himself. "It's not the first time I've played hooky."
"With an attitude like that, it's a miracle that you even have enough days to advance to the next grade." Kogoro observed.
Something told him he was going to be stuck with Osaka kid for awhile. Of all the luck- he'd somehow managed to avoid bringing the brat, only to wind up with an even bigger one. At least Ran wouldn't kill him if he let anything happen to this one-
...Shizuka-san almost definitely would, though.
"It's fine, it's fine," Heiji said, "-more importantly, is it true there's someone runnin' around dressed up as a kuchisake-onna?"
"So it would seem," Kogoro admitted, "-apparently they've attacked four people now, not to mention the ones they've just chased around like your friend."
"Four people, huh?" Heiji frowned, a considering expression crossing his face.
"Yeah, so-"
The sound of his phone's ringtone cut him off. Pulling it out, he glanced at the screen. It was the Inspector.
"One second," he said, holding up a finger to indicate that Heiji should be quiet for once in his life, "-hello, Inspector? Did you locate the culprit?"
"No, I'm afraid not." Megure said. "But we received a call from the hospital. Apparently the first victim has woken up and is willing to talk with us."
"I see." Kogoro said, momentarily wondering if he should warn the Inspector that Heiji had appeared, before deciding against it. He'd probably just yell at him like this was somehow his fault. "In that case, I'll be right there."
"So," Heiji asked after he'd hung up, "-what did the Inspector want?"
"The first victim has woken up, apparently. She wants to speak with us." Kogoro said, eying him. "...I don't suppose I can convince you not to tag along?"
Heiji just flashed that damn smile of his. "It's like ya don't know me at all, Uncle."
Heaving a long sigh that he was certain the Inspector would echo in short order, Kogoro resigned himself to his fate. At least the brat wasn't here too.
Why? Why was Hattori here?
Peering out from behind the building he'd ducked behind, Conan squinted suspiciously towards the Osakan detective. What was he doing here? He definitely hadn't expected to see him again so soon- it had barely even been two days since they'd parted ways at the inn. He should be back in Osaka with Kazuha, not here in Tokyo.
Was he here about the case? But it still hadn't been reported by the news, had it? Then how did he know about it? He didn't seriously come out all this way at this hour just because of some social media posts, had he?
And why didn't he stop by the detective agency first?
Clicking his tongue, he wished he could hear what Hattori and Uncle were saying, but he was too far away. Should he just approach them? He'd been planning on following Uncle anyways...
...but come to think of it, where had Hattori even come from?
That was odd. Why couldn't he come up with an answer? It wasn't as if he'd appeared out of nowhere. Sure, it sometimes felt like he did, but...
Abruptly realizing that they were on the move, Conan shook the thought off. Grabbing his skateboard, he meant to hurry across the street and catch up with them, but something stopped him in his tracks. Something white seemed to almost flutter out of one of Kogoro's pockets, without the man noticing.
What was that?
Pressing the right side of his glasses, Conan zoomed in on it. It looked like some kind of paper- probably the same one that Uncle had picked up just before Hattori had spoken to him. Whatever it was, Hattori seemed interested in it, because he plucked it out of the air and tucked it into the pocket of his dark hoodie without even so much as looking at it.
And then, just as abruptly, Hattori turned his head in his direction.
Without even thinking about it, he quickly ducked out of view. Out of the corner of his eyes, he could make out Hattori frown, before turning back around. Conan let out a long breath, before furrowing his brows.
Why had he hidden?
He didn't quite know, but something was strange about today's Hattori. Peering back around the corner, he quickly studied his friend. He was wearing the same black hoodie he'd seen him wear that morning, and he didn't have his usual cap. The only thing he had was a small satchel he wore attached to his belt on one side- which come to think of it, he'd never seen him wear before.
No, that wasn't true. He'd seen it somewhere before, but where...?
That's right! That dream! He'd definitely been wearing it then. Why hadn't he remembered sooner?
But that meant...
...as he thought, that really hadn't been a dream. Hattori had clearly wanted him to think it was one, given the pains he'd gone through to erase any evidence that he'd snuck out. But it that wasn't a dream, then how had he put him to sleep? It wasn't like he had any of the Professor's tranquilizer darts. And if it hadn't been a dream...
...then what had that mask been?
Actually, come to think of it... quietly moving to follow the pair from across the street, Conan studied the satchel. It looked like just the right size to hide a mask like that in, and Hattori had definitely hidden something in his bag when he'd gotten back to the inn. Had it been the same mask?
There was only one way to find out.
It looked like the kuchisake-onna wasn't the only thing he'd be investigating tonight.
Facing forward, Heiji frowned. Weird. He'd thought he'd sensed Kudo for a second there, but he guessed it must have just been wishful thinking- or maybe dread.
Actually given the circumstances, it was probably both.
As much as he liked to put his head together with Kudo's, this case was an exception. He still wasn't sure yet if the culprit was a real kuchisake-onna or not, but even if it wasn't, he had a bad feeling that before long, one might just turn up. Which meant he had to solve this case before then- even if that meant relying on the police for help. That wasn't ideal either, but...
...at the very least, Kogoro seemed to have bought his lie.
But honestly, why he'd have to go and pick up that paper? He didn't need something like this to end up in police custody. He wasn't exactly a stranger to the Tokyo MPD, but he still couldn't access their evidence lockers as freely as he could Osaka's- and even that had its limits.
His old man was pretty sharp, after all.
Well, at least he'd gotten it back. He'd planned on making up an excuse to split up afterwards, but then Kogoro had gotten that phone call. He'd couldn't exactly pass up on a chance to talk to one of the victims. He'd be able to figure out pretty quickly if the kuchisake-onna was real or not that way.
Who knew? Maybe luck was on his side today.
Ah, there was the exasperated sigh.
"Mouri-kun," Megure dryly remarked, "-I see you brought Hattori-kun with you."
"Technically he brought himself, Inspector." Kogoro corrected. "I didn't even know he was in Tokyo until just awhile ago."
"Don't be that way, Inspector," Heiji flashed a bright smile, "-I came all this way ta help!"
"Apparently a former classmate of his was one of the people chased around by the culprit." Kogoro provided. "They asked him for help."
"Just for the record, he does know its a school night, correct?" Megure asked.
"I mentioned it, but he doesn't seem to care." Kogoro said.
Megure heaved another long sigh, before directing his gaze towards Heiji. He was still all smiles, as if they weren't in the middle of a serious case.
"So?" Heiji asked. "Who's this victim we'll be talkin' to?"
"She's a graduate student by the name of Kawakami Sakuya," Megure began, seemingly resigning himself to his fate, "-she was the first confirmed victim of this supposed kuchisake-onna. She was found by the owner of a nearby gas station after he heard her scream."
"Kawakami?" Heiji asked, his eyes narrowing.
"Yes," Megure nodded, before perking up, "-did you perhaps realize something, Hattori-kun?"
"No, no," Heiji shook his head, his expression suddenly much more strained, "-I just used ta have a classmate with that same last name, that's all. More importantly, did the culprit really slit her mouth?"
"Yes," Megure nodded, his expression growing more grim, "-she had deep cuts on both sides of her mouth."
"A gruesome thing to do to a young lady." Kogoro muttered.
"What about the other victims?" Heiji asked.
"The others were a small time actress by the name of Ayukawa Yuka," Megure began, "-a first year college student named Kurumi Rin, and most recently a waitress by the name of Kitagawa Rumiko. Other than the three of them all being women close in age, we haven't been able to find a connection as of yet."
"Then maybe Kawakami-han can help us with that." Heiji said. "Her room's this way, right? The one with the scary lookin' guard in front of it."
"You're having them guarded?" Kogoro asked, glancing towards the Inspector.
"It's just a precaution until we can be certain of the culprit's motive." Megure said.
Kogoro nodded. That made sense- with so much uncertain about the case, it paid to play it safe. The police had stepped up patrols too, although it hadn't done much to help the fourth victim. He imagined she was probably in surgery by now, though she'd been taken to a different hospital.
As he thought that, he caught a faint hint of movement out of the corner of his eye. Glancing in that direction, he frowned, not seeing anything out of the ordinary.
Just his imagination, he guessed.
Crap, he'd almost caught him.
Honestly, he didn't know why he was still hiding. Now that he thought about it, he was pretty sure Hattori wouldn't do anything weird with both Uncle and the Inspector around, and yet when Kogoro had turned to glance in his direction, the first thing he'd done was duck behind a potted plant.
...he seriously hated how well it had been able to hide him.
Peeking out from behind the plant, he realized that they'd already gone inside the victim's room. Glancing towards the guard, he made a face. Crap- now that he thought about it, how was he supposed to listen in on their conversation with him there? He could try and follow them in, but... something told him the guard wouldn't let him.
Heaving a sigh, he resigned himself to just asking Hattori afterwards. At least he knew why he was here now. Still, he could have come by the detective agency first if that was the case. Why hadn't he?
And that satchel...
Shaking his head, Conan focused on the task of hand. Solving this case took priority over figuring out Hattori's secret. He might not be able to listen in, but he could still do some legwork in the meantime. Pulling out his phone, he put the name Ayukawa Yuka into the search engine. The other three might not garner him much, but if she was an actress, no matter how small time she was, she probably still had some kind of digital footprint.
Good, he'd been right. It looked like she had a blog. He might be able to find something here. Scrolling through, he scanned the posts for anything that might be helpful. It looked like she helped out with some kind of acting program twice a month, but-
"Excuse me? Do ya know which way Kawakami Sakuya's room is?"
Blinking, Conan glanced up. Someone asking for the victim?
She looked around his age- or well, his actual age. Judging from the potted plant she was carrying, she was probably a relative or friend of some kind. It was only when she turned slightly in his direction that he abruptly realized her right hand was missing two fingers, and the tip of another. There was what looked to be a scar peeking out from underneath her sleeve- something old and deep.
Hm? Come to think of it, her accent...
"Hey, hey, onee-chan," he began before he could stop himself, "-are you maybe from Osaka?"
Blinking, the girl turned to glance down at him. "Yeah, I am. But who...?"
"I'm Edogawa Conan!" Conan said. "If you're here to visit Kawakami-san, you'll probably have to wait. Some detectives are talking to her right now."
"Detectives?" The girl asked, tilting her head. "I see. I suppose it can't be helped then."
"Are you perhaps a friend of Kawakami-san's?" Conan asked.
"No," the girl shook her head, "-I'm her younger sister. My name's Atsuko."
Lucky! Maybe he could learn something from her while they waited.
"Her sister, huh?" Conan asked, holding up his phone to show off a photo from Ayukawa Yuka's blog. "Then, do you know this woman?"
Squinting at the photo, Atsuko frowned. "She looks a little familiar, but... I'm sorry. I only ever see my sister about once a month. Our parents divorced when I was in fifth grade, ya see, so I don't really know that many people from her life here in Tokyo."
"Is that so..." Conan's face fell slightly.
"But what's this about?" Atsuko tilted her head. "Does this woman have somethin' ta do with my sister's attack?"
"Something like that." Conan said. "She was the second victim, apparently."
"Second?" Atsuko blinked in surprise, before her expression slowly became one of horror. "Ya mean there have been more crazy attacks?"
"Yeah," Conan nodded, "-you didn't know?"
"No," Atsuko shook her head, "-I just heard that my sister had her mouth cut by some crazy woman an' that she was in the hospital, so I rushed over here. She really took care of me while I was hospitalized once before, so..."
"Because of your hand?" Conan asked.
Atsuko flinched, her right hand curling in on itself before she slowly nodded. "Yeah. I was in a bad accident durin' elementary school. She stayed with me when our parents were too busy fighting each other to care, so I brought her something ta hopefully cheer her up."
"An orchid?" Conan asked.
"Yeah," she nodded, "-it's her favorite flower. It sounds like she's goin' ta be hospitalized fer awhile, so..."
"But," she continued after a moment, "-you sure seem informed, kid. I didn't even know that stuff about sister's attack."
"Ah, that's because-"
"Hey, brat! What are you doing here?!"
Flinching, Conan turned slowly to face Kogoro, the Inspector and Hattori standing just behind him. Guess they must have finished talking with the victim already. Hattori in particular looked paler than usual, so it must have been rough- or maybe he was just that surprised to see him, after the way they'd parted last time.
No, wait... he wasn't the one he was looking at.
Next to him, something shattered. For a moment, he thought Atsuko might have just lost her grip on the flowerpot, but as his gaze slowly traced upwards, he realized that she was as white as a sheet, staring straight ahead.
...at Hattori?
Wait, didn't he say...
"No, no, I just used ta have a classmate with that same last name, that's all."
...it couldn't be, right? Sure, she had a Osakan accent, but that was too much of a coincidence. And what was with the way they were looking at each other? If he didn't know better, it was almost like they'd both seen a ghost.
Hattori's voice was so quiet, for a moment, he almost didn't recognize it as his. "...Atsuko?"
"So it really is you, Hattori-kun." Atsuko began, clenching his fists so tight that her knuckles turned white, her expression of horror turning to one of anger. "What are ya doin' here? Don't tell me this yer fault too?!"
Your fault...? What did she mean, your fault?
He half expected Hattori to snap something right back, but he'd only gone deathly quiet, his shoulders drawn in. His silence only served to make Atsuko angrier.
"I don't know if yer here ta play detective or whatever, but ya can get lost already! No one wants ya here!" Atsuko yelled, all but forcing herself into Hattori's personal space, grabbing his collar with her good hand. "Haven't ya caused me- caused my family- enough problems already, ya jinx!?"
Hattori didn't say anything- not even to refute it. What did she mean, a jinx? Sure, he always ran into a case when Hattori was around, but that didn't mean-
-but whatever she meant, he wasn't about to just stay quiet when someone was screaming in his friend's face like that.
"Hey-!"
"Now hold on just a second here," Kogoro cut in before he could get out more than a single word, deftly removing Atsuko's hand from Hattori's shirt, "-I'm not sure if you've noticed, but this is a hospital. I don't know what your issue is with the Osaka brat and I don't care, but you should quiet down."
Now it was Atsuko's turn not to say anything. She just took a step back, gritting her teeth, before brushing past all three of them, storming towards the victim's door. Megure almost moved to stop her, but-
"It's alright, Inspector," Hattori said, "-she's her little sister."
Megure almost seemed to hesitate- before backing off. Atsuko shot him a long look, before she entered her sister's room, closing the door with more force than was probably necessary.
For a long moment, no one said anything- before Megure slowly turned to look back at Hattori. "What was that about, Hattori-kun?"
"What, that?" Hattori said, almost seeming to snap back to his usual self- but even an idiot could see how strained his expression was. "Ya don't have ta worry about that. It's got nothin' ta do with the case. Just old history."
"If you say so..." Megure trailed off, not looking the least bit convinced.
"Really, really." Hattori assured him, before pulling out his phone as if he were checking a text. "Ah, I'm supposed ta meet up with the classmate who called me, so I have ta go. Call me if ya learn anythin' else, Inspector!"
"Ah, wait-!"
Before anyone could stop him, Hattori was already on his way out the door. It wasn't like he couldn't get out fast enough.
After what they'd all heard, he could sort of understand why.
"Oi," Kogoro began, glancing down at him, "-normally I'd lecture you about sneaking out after dark to snoop around, but you should probably go after him."
"Agreed," Megure said, a deep furrow set on his brow, "-that behavior definitely wasn't normal for Hattori-kun."
"Yeah," Conan nodded, hesitating only for a moment, "-thanks."
And then he was gone, after Hattori. He got the bad feeling it was already too late- and sure enough, he couldn't find so much as a single trace of the Osakan detective, even though he couldn't have possibly gotten that far yet. He even did a lap around the hospital on his skateboard, but there was no trace of him.
It was like he'd just vanished.
Again.
Heaving a sigh, Conan's shoulders slumped. What had that been about? She'd called Hattori a jinx, and blamed him for bad things happening to her family- no, more specifically to her. What's more, Hattori hadn't even attempted to deny it, much less get angry like he would have expected him to. The Inspector was right- that wasn't like him. Normally he'd fire back with just as much vigor, but he'd just... taken it.
He'd thought it was just the kidnapping, but was there something else Hattori was hiding about his childhood? His gut instinct said it had something to do with Atsuko's accident, but honestly, that wasn't much to go on. Sure, he could always ask her directly, but the way she'd spoken about Hattori...
...there was no way he'd be able to listen without getting mad. Whatever bad blood existed between her and Hattori, it didn't change the fact that her sister had just been attacked- they probably needed space.
Groaning, Ran sat up in bed.
She'd never been much of one to wake up in the middle of the night- usually she slept straight through until morning. She'd even managed to sleep through being attacked that one at Sonoko's villa, but despite that, she found herself awake.
No- to be more exact, she'd never really fallen asleep.
Yawning, she swung her legs out of bed, casting a glance towards the clock. It was already past midnight, she thought with distaste. Maybe something warm to drink would help.
Getting up, she headed towards the kitchen before pausing, glancing towards her father's door. She knew the reason she probably couldn't sleep was just because she was worried about him- it was strange that he hadn't told her anything about the case the Inspector had called him to help with. And now he was staying at police headquarters overnight?
How couldn't she be worried?
Silently creeping towards his door, she peeked in, wondering if Conan really was sleeping. He'd said that, but maybe he was really-
-gone.
Conan was gone.
For a brief moment, worry engulfed her- before it was quickly overtaken by anger. Now that she thought about it, he'd had that same glimmer in his eyes that he got whenever he tried to follow her father into a crime scene. He hadn't possibly-?
His shoes and skateboard were gone. He had.
Forget the warm drink. She had a child to find.
"What, you're still here? I thought I told you to go after the Osaka brat."
Glancing up at Kogoro with a frown, Conan didn't even try to mask his frustration. He hadn't been sure what to do next, so he'd just hung around the entrance of the hospital, waiting for either Uncle or the Inspector to come out.
"I tried," Conan said, "-but Heiji-niichan had already disappeared by the time I got out here."
"So he's good at the reverse too, huh..." Kogoro muttered, before glancing down at him with a look of annoyance. "Don't tell me you plan to stick around, brat."
"Yeah," Conan nodded, "-after all, I'm worried about Heiji-niichan, and since you're investigating the same thing, you might run into each other again."
He'd tried sending Hattori a few messages, but he wasn't responding. He suspected he'd turned of his phone if the out of service message he'd gotten when he'd tried to call him was any indication.
Heaving a sigh, Kogoro scratched his head. "I guess I have no choice. Just listen to what the Inspector and I say, okay?"
"Alright!" Conan agreed. "But speaking of the Inspector, where is he?"
"He's confirming something." Kogoro said. "We might have found a link between the victims."
"A link?" Conan asked.
"Yeah," Kogoro nodded, "-apparently the second victim, Ayukawa Yuka, helped out with an acting seminar twice a month that the first victim was a member of. The Inspector is checking to see if the other two were members as well."
"Hmm," Conan hummed in consideration, "-but that's not the only reason you're looking into it, right?"
Kogoro arched a brow, before shrugging. "That's right. According to Kawakami-san, there was a young woman enrolled in the seminar who had a deep cut across the side of her face. What's more, she always wore a surgical mask to hide it."
Conan perked up at that. "Did you get her name?"
"If I recall-"
"Oi, Mouri-kun!" Megure called out, running towards them. "I got in touch with the person running the acting seminar! It seems the other two victims really did take part in it too!"
"Then we have our connection!" Kogoro said. "And the other woman Kawakami-san mentioned...?"
"Yes," Megure nodded, "-they confirmed that she was part of the seminar as well. One Nakao Aiko, age twenty-seven- a former model, before she got into an accident that scarred her face. Apparently she's currently living with her parents just a few blocks from here. He gave me her address."
"Then, we-"
Whatever Kogoro was going to say died in his throat as the sound of a scream pierced the night. Almost on instinct, all three took off in the direction of the sound- but he was the one who got there first, using the extra speed his turbo engine skateboard gave him. Lying on the ground of a back alley they'd probably been using as a shortcut was a young man, his hands frantically clutching what seemed to be a deep stab wound.
The weapon- and the culprit- were nowhere to be seen.
"Run," the young man gasped out, "-get away... from here."
"Don't try to talk!" Conan said, kneeling next to him. "An ambulance will be here soon!"
But even as he said that, he could tell it was already too late. There was blood trickling from his lips- one of his lungs had probably been pierced. No matter how close the hospital was, they wouldn't make it in time.
"Who did this to you?" Conan asked, a knot of dread forming in the pit of his stomach.
"Ku-," the man gasped, "-kuchi...sake-onna..."
Conan swallowed, just as the man drew his last breath. Yeah. That was just what he'd been afraid of. This wasn't just a series of assaults anymore.
This was a murder investigation now.