A/N: Phew, this was a though one. But I did it. I hope you enjoy.
The third file: Not quite an intermission
Sub-File four: Skiing trip murder
It had been a while since Shugo had gone downhill skiing. Like, over ten years. The last time was probably when he went to Italy with some of his friends to have a week at the Alps. Anyways the boy was feeling a bit rusty but after some tries, the muscle memory kicked in and Shugo was like pro. At least among their class. And even better than Heiji!
Who apparently decided again to go and 'talk' with Kazuha, who in turn had been sitting at the bottom of the slope since the morning. Shugo had tried to talk to the girl and get her to go back to the hotel but no! She just had to sit in the snow and watch Heiji! At that rate she'd get seriously sick.
Heiji skidded to a stop, in progress sweeping snow at Kazuha.
"Hey, sorry!" The dark-skinned Osakan grinned, lifting his goggles on his forehead. "For a second, I thought ya were a Buddha statue."
"What the hell? This is the fifth time!" One of Kazuha's friends, Minako, protested.
"Apologize ta Kazuha!" Another, Konata, added.
"I am just splashing snow at her leg, so that the snow will cool the ankle." Heiji just explained cheerfully just when Shugo came to a stop next to his friends and classmates.
"That won't help, ahou!" Kazuha shot back.
"You still at it, Hei-chan?" Shugo chuckled with a wry smile on his face.
"Oi, don't call me-…" Heiji looked up to retaliate at the nickname but right then some guys from their class decided to pelt them all with snowballs. Shugo thanked his lucky stars that he hadn't removed his goggles yet. Now, if only he also had a helmet like he usually did. But well, this was a world of manga where helmets weren't used because those things covered hairstyle and unique hats…
"Sensei… Heiji is playing with girls again!"
"What the hell?" Heiji rubbed the back of his head and looked back at the other guys, Seijiro, Konta and Takato.
"No, he is not!" Minako, Konata and Motoko growled, with Konata already making a snowball.
"You guys are loosers!" Konta shouted. Well, that ensured that the girls would retaliate.
Shugo just watched the total annihilation of the boys, whilst Heiji crouched by Kazuha to talk with her.
"Kazuha, go back to the hotel. You gonna catch cold."
"S-Sure…" The girl nodded and the middle school detective went to join the brats that decided to do a tactical retreat. Shugo sighed.
"That's what have I been telling you since morning, Kazu-chan…" The boy spoke, finally lifting his goggles up, a top of his dark blue skiing-cap. "But no… It's only after Hei-chan tells you, that you finally believe…"
"Eh, Midorikawa-kun, since when have you called Kazuha 'Kazu-chan'?" Minako asked incredulously.
"Since the new year's." Shugo replied. "I spent majority of it with either the Hattori's or the Toyama's. And the nicknames just happened."
"Heiji's mother also calls him Hei-chan, so that where Shugo-kun picked it from." Kazuha explained.
"It's a habit of mine… To call my closest friends like that no matter whether they are girls or boys." Shugo grinned sheepishly. "Hei-chan is the second one to complain about it."
"Well, I don't mind." The ponytailed girl smiled at her friend who then helped her back on her feet.
"Hmm… Despite his quirks, Midorikawa-kun might be the most tolerable guy in our class…" Motoko sighed. "Why are guys so stupid?"
"They think that we are their enemies." Konata replied.
"Yukionna… eat these guys are take them away!" Motoko yelled after the three idiots and Heiji.
"Yukionna?" Kazuha asked.
"Remember, sensei was talking about it this morning. This mountain had a folk tale called 'the Silver Cloth of Yukionna'.
"Like angel's silver cloth?"
"No, no, the story goes like this…" And the trio of girls (and a fourth one, Kyoko) began explaining the story to Kazuha. After finishing, the aikido master sweatdropped nervously.
"It's just a folk tale, right?"
"Yea… but I don't know." Kyoko sighed.
"Every time there is a blizzard, someone goes missing." Motoko continued. "And a similar incident happened four years ago. That's why sensei asked us to go back to the hotel is snow starts to fall heavy."
"Heiji could be in trouble."
"Yea… He is cool and…"
"He has a lot of curiousity."
"That's right."
"What?! Heiji won't be tricked by that dumb…" Kazuha was suddenly all fired up. And the quartet snickered at her reaction.
"Yep… "
"Your Heiji will be fine!"
"He is smart!"
The bantering following was interrupted by a supervisor talking to a megaphone and calling everyone of Kaihou Middle school to lunch.
"I don't know about Hei-chan's reaction to Yukionna…" Shugo spoke when taking off his slalom skis. "But there is definitely some sort of unnatural chill on these mountains."
"Ya really think so?" Kazuha asked. The boy just nodded and shuddered. He'd felt it several times while skiing down. Like icy wind scratching his skin and trying to sink its claws into his core. Quite distracting honestly but with already a year of experiences with auras, the boy could push the feeling away. And somehow during the year it had leaked among the classmates that Shugo had some sort of connection with the supernatural. Though it wasn't that big of a thing. On the same scale than the fact that the omamoris made by Kazuha actually worked.
"Yeah… And I have a feeling something is approaching us."
The food was good. Some noodle soup, simple but it chased the hunger away which was the most important point of the meal. Shugo ate with some acquaintances from Kyudo club while Heiji and Kazuha ate with the three boys who'd pelted snowballs at the girls. On the background the actor Minowa Shouhei was being surrounded by his fans and causing the noise level in the cafeteria of the hotel raise with their incessant chatter. Shugo took a one look at the actor and had to look away then. Even after four years… the dark fog of murderer hung around the man. During the last year Shugo had managed to encounter many sorts of people and could see from the aura now that Minowa Shouhei did not regret or feel guilt of the murder he committed four years ago. It was almost suffocating. And it was unlike Yamato's aura. The blonde man had this hint of regret and distaste at his own actions but only because he committed the assassinations on organization's orders. But Shugo knew Yamato was honestly a good person and was used to his presence. Now, if it were Gin… Shugo doubted he could even breathe with the man nearby.
"Midorikawa-kun, are you alright? You look a bit nauseous." One of Shugo's rivals asked the boy. Haruoka Kaori was her name. She was just behind Shugo in the terms of accuracy.
"I'm fine, Haruoka-san." The boy waved the concerns away. "Hmm… do you think I should cut my sidelocks away?"
"Maybe…" The girl mused. "At least with your hair starting to grow out, you should pull it on a ponytail."
"Is it already long enough? I don't have a hairband though…"
"I think I have an extra back at my hotel room. I can get it for you before the next lesson starts."
"Thanks, Haruoka-san." Shugo grinned and toned into the conversation between the film crew and the private detective about the details of the incident four years ago. The boy looked at the people gathered and…
It was like icy grip was holding the metaphorical heart of Mimata Kousuke, the killer who'd take Minowa's life that night…
Shugo snapped out of his musings just in time. Just in time to get up and go diffuse the situation about to erupt.
"Well… We got to ask dead Jirou for that answer but I know one thing though… If that was a murder, then it is impossible for human which mean it was done by a ghost… like the Yukionna." Minowa spoke quite disrespectfully of the late Mizukami Jirou.
"Idiot!" Heiji bit out. Shugo appeared by his side and laid a hand on his shoulder to hold him back. "It's called a murder because a human has done it! Plus… There is no such thing as impossible! Baka!"
"Heiji, stop…" Kazuha hurried to the duo. Meanwhile the film crew burst out in laughing.
"Ha? What's so funny?"
"There was someone like you…" Mimata(stuntman) began.
"…who used the exact same wording when were we talking about the incident." Tateishi(make-up specialist) continued.
"I think his age was around yours…" The director Oyama added.
"A middle schooler!?" Heiji frowned. Shugo glanced at the boy and then the film crew before pocketing his hands.
"Well… aside from disrespectful talk of the dead, I think this evening will be quite promising." The teen spoke up. "For Yukionna's vengeance that is."
"V-Vengeance?" Kazuha gasped.
"Midorikawa, did ya…" Heiji trailed off, fully conscious of the place and the fact there was numerous strangers around. So he did have some tact.
"There's an unnatural chill on the slopes. Same chill is here inside. Maybe it's the Yukionna's influence that hardens human heart enough to commit murder… And if we are lucky the one who angered her four years ago will be the one to die today by the hands of one conducting Yukionna's will." Shugo mused, glancing at the film crew plus detective without looking at anyone in particular. "Either way, with Yukionna's approval or not, human actions are always done by humans and thus humans should be the ones responsible of them. Murder just happens to be one of them. Even when one tries to cover that bloodstained veil with Yukionna's silvery cloth."
With those parting words, Shugo headed out of the cafeteria.
"Shugo is sayin' scary things again…" Kazuha whispered. Heiji merely watched after his friend.
"But he was absolutely right." The dark-skinned boy replied. "Let's go."
Haruoka caught up with Shugo at the reception area and gave him the hairband.
"I have to say Midorikawa-kun that you were quite cool just then. A bit unnerving maybe, but definitely cool." The girl smirked.
"Oh? Did I make you swoon?" Shugo grinned. He got slapped on the arm as a reply.
"You wish. You are more like this mysterious priest character in fantasy manga. People ask him about stuff but he is not of boyfriend material. While Hattori-kun in the other hand… Well, he is a noble but hot-headed samurai character." Haruoka shrugged. "And Toyama-san is the main character who'll end up with her handsome protector."
"Like Inuyasha and Kagome then… As long as I'm not Miroku though…" This elicited a laugh from the girl.
"Just go already before I lose it."
"See ya later, Haruoka-san."
"See ya, Midorikawa-kun."
The snowstorm was thickening as Shugo headed to the ski lift with his skis and ski sticks. Behind him he heard a cheerful and obnoxious female voice.
"Well~, what a lovey-dovey scene, you two! You know when a couple draws a shape in the snow, the snow will melt!"
"Suzuki Sonoko-san… I'm so not going to greet you now." Shugo muttered and got on the lift. He wanted to get some rounds in before the murder would take place and he'd be swept into the investigation. Or before he'd meet some familiar faces from Tokyo and would be obligated to exchange greetings. Even after all these years, Shugo was every bit unsocial Finn than he had been as Lari.
It was several descents down the slopes of different difficulties. Shugo was getting on the lift again. A couple of seat behind him came director Oyama, the stuntman Mimata with the actor Minowa hidden in the bag next to him, and detective Katashina behind them in the other hand. The make-up specialist Tateishi in the other hand was somewhere in front of Shugo, maybe even halfway up the hill already. And the snow storm was thickening.
Shugo got off from the lift and placed his skis against one of the huts there. He was making his way back to the lift platform when the sound like a gunshot rang through the storm. Oyama got off the lift soon after with one Kudou Shinichi running up from the slopes.
"Did something happen?" The Tokyoite middle school detective asked the director who recognized the kid.
"Oh, it's you… Well, I don't know. I just got off…"
Just then, the next bench of the ski lift emerged from the snow storm, carrying its dead passenger Minowa.
"Stop the lift!" Shugo yelled to the person supervising the lift and passengers getting off safely in the uphill. "This is an emergency! Stop the lift! Quickly!"
"Yes!" The man in question ran back to the hut where the emergency stop was.
"Minowa Shouhei?" Oyama gasped and approached the actor.
"Don't touch him!" Shugo shouted. "We don't know yet what has happened!"
"Someone call the police and ambulance!" Shinichi joined to instructing people, not recognizing Shugo just yet. It suited the boy just fine as he pulled his phone from a pocket inside his jacket and dialed 119.
"What's going on? Shinichi? What happened?" Ran asked when she came from the slopes running after Shinichi.
"Don't look Ran!"
And she screamed. Shugo grimaced but thankfully just then both the lift stopped and the number connected.
"Yamagata emergency services, how can I help you?"
"There has been an incident at Zao Onsen Ski Resort. I'm not sure what the situation is but it looks bad. I request an ambulance here…"
The call was soon over and Shugo was then already dialing for the police 110.
The police arrived surprisingly quickly. Because Shugo had been there to discover the body and call the police, he'd been asked to stay and give his statement. It also gave him the opportunity to follow the police investigation. In the case he'd need to actually contribute, it was good if he had the facts straight and in order.
"With the gun pointed at the temple…and Bang! It's suicide, right?" The inspector mused as he inspected the corpse of Minowa. If Shugo remembered correctly, the man had introduced himself as inspector Rokuda.
"Hmm… His right hand's still holding the gun, so it must be a suicide." The officer with the inspector stated
"The problem lies with this bag that's beside the victim. If my instincts were right, I'm afraid…" The zipper of the bag was being opened. "It's filled with snow… It's that old case all over again."
"Yes… It's another case hinting about the legend of Yukionna. When the victim's life had been taken away, Yukionna's clothes will turn into snow."
"I remember that they are making a film about this legend around this place…"
"Yes…" Oyama approached the police officers. "The movie is mainly based on the event that happened four years ago. But since this had happened to the main actor Shouhei, I guess that we'll have to stop our work."
"What? That's the actor Minowa Shouhei-san?" The assistant officer gasped.
"I remember that you were at the scene four years ago…" Rokuda eyed suspiciously at the director.
"I'm the director Oyama Morizou. I was sitting in the lift right in front of his. And these two kids, who rushed over when I was getting off after hearing the gunshot, noticed his abnormal actions…"
"What? Oi! What are you doing kid!?"
"I'm sorry but if we don't start the lift again, the passengers on it might be…" The lift supervisor spoke up.
"Ya ya ya… You can start after we have removed the corpse and the evidences." Rokuda answered while his assistant lifted Minowa's corpse and laid it down on the ground. Apparently the guy was surprisingly light.
"He only wanted to play in winter series or movies… because he doesn't want his thin body to be shown…" Oyama explained.
"In other words, he's a guy with a strong sense of pride, and the show-off type, right?" The inspector deadpanned. The two police officers collected the victim's belongings from the lift then and finally Shinichi approached the inspector.
"Ah, keibu-san… I've discovered three points of interest." The boy told with three fingers lifted up. Shugo noted it was in French style, not Japanese. The kid had indeed been influenced by his mother. "The first thing are the skiing sticks found on Minowa-san's lift. The sharp tips of the sticks are inverted which proves they've been used somewhere else.
"The second point it the lift bench itself. Near the right side of the seat from front up… there's a crack. And by the marks around it, it looks quite recent too so it must've been used to something.
"And the last point is…" Shinichi went to explain but Shugo cut in.
"The bag next to Minowa-san, right? While it's full of snow, the snow isn't soft but frozen solid. Thus indicating that it most likely had been outside for hours." The computer genius told the Tokyoite. "Isn't that right, Shin-chan?"
"Oi! Don't call me with that name, Midorika-…" And the detective lost his cool for the precious moment before his brains caught up with what he was saying. "Midorikawa?!"
"Shugo-kun?" Ran looked at her old friend, now recognizing him too.
"Hiya, Ran-chan… Fancy seeing you guys here." Shugo grinned and thus successfully dragged the pair out of the immediate scrutiny of the police.
"When did you come here?" Shinichi asked immediately.
"Our class arrived from Osaka just yesterday evening."
"Osaka? Have you been there this whole time? It has been years!" Ran gasped.
"No… Osaka was a pit stop at first. I went the rest of elementary school in Nagano. But the middle school I started in Osaka. Am I right in guessing you go to Teitan junior high?"
"Yes. But it has been years since we last heard of you. How have you been?"
"Just fine. Made some acquaintances and friends on the way. What about you?"
"We're fine too. Shinichi plays soccer for our school team while I practice karate."
"Karate? That's cool! Yamato-nii has taught me some hand-to-hand but to be honest, I prefer Kyudo."
"Kyudo?"
"Yes, I picked it up some years ago. I had a good teacher when I lived in Nagano and when I came to Osaka I joined the Kyudo club."
"Are you good then?" Shinichi asked skeptically.
"One of the best! Next year I'm going to participate in competitions with Haruoka-san and some others." Shugo grinned. "But enough of me. How about we head at the bottom of the slope now? I bet Shin-chan is itching to start investigating this case."
"Don't call me Shin-chan!"
Shugo skied the hill down once more while Shinichi and Ran walked down. The fourteen-but-really-twenty-four year old went to put away his skis before joining his detective friend. Ran had already joined Sonoko whom she'd met quite soon after reaching the bottom.
"Excuse me! Did anyone happen to film Minowa-san when he was getting on the lift?" Shinichi asked people. Most fans glared suspiciously at the kid and refused to show their footage. But the detective's saving grace came in the form of…
"Shizuka-san?" Shugo gasped when he spotted the woman in the crowd. While the boy had known she'd be there, it was still a surprise to actually meet her among the other people.
"Ah, Shugo-kun, are you playing a detective's assistant again?" The woman smiled at him while Shinichi watched the video.
"Well, sort of. Shin-chan here is the first detective I got entangled with seven years ago. Hei-chan is the next one. I just don't seem to catch break. Even in Nagano my closest friend was a police officer." Shugo sighed dramatically.
"And apparently it's the detectives that suffer from your nicknames." Shinichi grumbled. "But this filming is really good… If it were Minowa-san's fans they would've filmed only him."
"Not actually… My son asked me to take it for him. He told me to film the boarding points of the lift, as a reference for the case that happened four years ago…" Shizuka explained to the Tokyoite.
"Eh? Is your son a police?"
"He's just a middle school student. But I think he wants to be a detective very much."
"Hmm… Detective… That's just like me. However, I can't solve the case by myself yet…"
"That's just like my son."
"I think that Shin-chan and Hei-chan are quite equal in the terms of skills." Shugo mused. "Hei-chan just is a bit more hot-tempered which occasionally makes him rush things… Shin-chan in the other hand has this arrogance that he has to keep in check." The boy smirked, making the other glare at him.
"Oi… We haven't seen in years and you are already talking trash."
"I doubt you've changed much…"
Up the hill, there was a couple looking at the bottom of the slope and following the movements of their son through binoculars.
"Aiyaa… Shin-chan is chatting with a beautiful lady." Yukiko spoke. "Hmph! Just like someone I know…"
"No… That's the expression of a detective. Even though it's still much untamed…" Yusaku smiled.
"By the way, you who claimed to be one of the top detective story writers in the world… Can you solve the mystery?"
"Yukiko… Is that a question?"
"What? You already know the answer?" Yukiko exclaimed in surprise.
"I came here for inspiration of the case that happened four years ago. Who would've thought that when the case I about to be filmed, this would happen again…" The author mused.
"Hey, if you know who's the criminal, hurry up and inform the police."
"No… This case is to be left to the youngsters. I'll just sit back and watch for now. Besides… Shinichi seems to have found an extra pair of eyes to help him…"
"Huh? Who?" Yukiko lifted the binoculars on her face again. "Oh! Is that…?"
"Midorikawa Shugo-kun. He had a keen eye even as a child and much different perspective than that of a regular detective. Even Kuroba Toichi told me that Shugo-kun was exceptionally bright and mature. Heh, I wouldn't be surprised if he were to solve this case before even Shinichi."
"You think so, huh…" Yukiko mused. "Then… Can you give me some clues as to what had happened? I promise I won't reveal the conclusion of this case to Shin-chan!"
"Hmm… Did you know that on this mountain, there is another legend about the Yukionna. IT's a very touching but sad story…"
"I didn't expect this tape to be so high demand." Shizuka mused when Heiji was looking at the video.
"Huh?"
"Besides you, there were other people who wanted to watch."
"Don't tell me that it's a middle school student…"
"Yes, one of them. He apparently is Shugo-kun's friend since Shugo-kun was accompanying him."
"Midorikawa was?!" Heiji exclaimed. The young detective had been meaning to track down the kid ever since the incident at the cafeteria and ask what exactly the boy had sensed. Especially now that Shugo's prediction had come true. A murder had indeed happened.
"One of them? Who was tha other one then?" Kazuha asked.
"Ah, yes… He had been here earlier than the middle school student, with moustache, dressed stylishly." Shizuka blushed slightly. Heiji narrowed his eyes.
"Mustached…"
Shugo leaned his elbows against his knees as he sat on a pillow cross-legged and watched the movie Shinichi had loaned from the hotel reception. The kid was bored out of his mind. Maybe he should go to look for Haruoka and ask her to give him a haircut. The girl's parents were hairdressers after all and owned a barbershop. And he definitely didn't need the commentary the classmates of Shinichi and Ran were doing on the background.
"Idiots! It's not like that!" Ran shouted at the boys with her cheeks flaming. Shugo in the other hand just sighed and looked up.
"Don't you have anything more productive to do?"
"Ara? Who are you?" One of the kids asked. But before Shugo could answer, Shinichi drew everyone's attention to a scene in the movie.
"Hey, look! This scene when Minowa-san came to rescue the actress who's fainted! His skill from the top until he goes out of the scree, his cap is fixed with a clip. But when he entered the screen again, there isn't any clip. Even though it's just seconds away…" The young detective pointed the television screen.
"Either there is a camera trick in use and actually two different scenes merged together by computer… Or then they swapped the actor. Meaning that a stunt double or similar did the skiing part and Minowa-san himself crouched by the actress." Shugo pointed out.
"So he might not even know how to ski!" One of the background characters grinned.
"That's impossible! He was spectacular!" And cue the interjection from one Suzuki Sonoko and her posse.
"Are you sure it's him?" The cardboard cutout asked.
"Of course! He was chatting with the director and his fanc. I got it all recorded on my camcorder!"
"Sonoko!" Shinichi spoke up. "Can you show us the tape you've recorded?"
Minutes later…
"Sonoko-chan… Do you happen to know where did Minowa-san leave his bag?" Shugo asked the girl.
"… No way! Midorikawa Shugo-kun! Is that really you?" The polka-haired girl exclaimed.
"Well, yes…" Shugo chuckled awkwardly. "But could you please answer my question?"
"Ah, right… He left it in front of his fans! He said that there's something important in it and told us to look after it… Oh, does anyone know why the lift stopped just now?"
"Kudou, I think I'll take my leave now. I promised to meet up with my friends." Shugo got on his feet.
"Oh, right… See you, Midorikawa." Shinichi nodded after being mystified for a moment when Shugo didn't use the nickname.
But Shugo didn't go to look for Heiji and Kazuha. He knew exactly where he'd find them from. By the ski lift.
"Hattori! Kazu-chan!" Shugo called the duo. Kazuha was carrying the bigger version of the bag sold in hotel shop and Heiji was wearing a satisfied smirk.
"Just in time for tha big reveal, Midorikawa!" Heiji called back, ready to board the lift.
"Solved the case then, eh?" Shugo grinned. "Me too. Found enough evidence to confirm what I felt earlier."
Heiji and Kazuha took the first available seat in the lift while Shugo came on the next one with the large bag. It was show time!
Knock, knock.
"Hey, hey, who is it? All unauthorized persons are not supposed to enter…" Inspector Rokuda himself opened the door. Behind him, his assistant answered to the phone call Shinichi was making.
"I know everything." Heiji announced. "The one who murdered Minowa-san and faked it as a suicide. His identity, and his murder method. I know it all!"
"What? Aren't you the strange kid who rushed down the range after seeing the picture of the corpse?" The inspector asked skeptically.
"I asked them ta send us up using the lift because I've found important evidence regarding this case!"
"Important evidence?"
"Oh come on, you again?" Mimata frowned.
"Anyways you're going to say the same thing as the officer, right? That all four of us could have killed Shouhei, right?" Tateishi added.
"We already told you, it's impossible! How could be have placed the gun in Shouhei's hand when he was sitting alone on a lift?" Oyama asked.
"Besides, apart from that detective who was a police, it's pretty hard to shoot someone in the head in that kind of storm." Mimata argued.
"Hey hey, you can't do it even if you're a police." Katashina pointed out. "Because the storm was so hard that even the carriage in front is barely visible."
"Yes, it's impossible to kill someone in that weather from distance." Shugo agreed with a hint of amused smile on his face. "That is, if Minowa-san was indeed sitting alone in the lift."
The last sentence was said in beautiful tandem with Shinichi and Heiji both.
"What?" Rokuda exclaimed before quickly cooling down into mere skepticism. "Hey hey… Are you telling me that there's someone else besides Minowa-san hidden in the bag?"
"But even if the bag was empty at the time, it is impossible to fit an adult within." The assistant told Shinichi.
"No, ya are wrong. He hid in this bigger bag." Heiji took the bag from Kazuha. "It can be purchased from tha hotel shop."
"H- How is that possible? How could he have carried the bag containing the culprit up the lift?" The inspector asked.
"No… It wasn't tha culprit who was in tha bag. It was Minowa-san himself!"
"How's that possible?"
Shugo sighed and began explaining while leaning against the door frame with his arms crossed on his chest. "The one carrying the bag was the culprit. While only the lower parts of his face visible and with a wig of the same color than Minowa-san's… Add identical cap and same jacket… Voila! You get a body double."
"B-But, didn't he speak with his fans?" Oyama asked. "That was really Shouhei-kun's voice…"
"That's of course." Heiji deadpanned. "That answer was from Minowa-san himself who was listening carefully! This way, people would probably think that the imposter was Minowa-san, right?"
"I see…" Katashina spoke up. "So that's why he spoke only after picking up the bag."
"Hahahaha! Are you joking? With his arrogant attitude…" Tateishi laughed.
"He went in because of his arrogant attitude. I'm afraid that tha professional skiing standard he achieved is nothing but a superficial image. It's ta deceive people." Heiji huffed. "He might be able ta ski a little but he was definitely not a professional. I bet even Midorikawa could do better than him."
"Don't stray from the topic, Hattori." Shugo chided his friend playfully. The backhanded praise felt good though. "Anyways, I watched the skiing scenes in his movies Yukionna's Love and Yukionna's Mysteries… Not only the movements when skiing are different between the movies, but within the same scene there is a clip securing his cap while skiing but the next moment with the actress the clip is gone. Minowa-san was allegedly out of the scene only mere seconds and the camera footage wasn't cut in the middle. It all proves the usage of a stuntdouble. Isn't that right director?"
"Yeah… He said that he wasn't bad at skiing but he hurt his feet during the filming of the first movie. He insisted upon doing it himself but to convince him to use a substitute, I hired and stuntman." Oyama confessed. "That skiing scene was greatly commended by the public… Thus in the second movie, in order to fool other members of the crew, the substitute was used again."
"I-Is that so?" Tateishi asked.
"This way, when he arranged his meeting with his fans, he hid in tha bag and waited at the foot of tha mountain." Heiji continued. "And asked tha substitute ta carry the bag and converse with tha fans after skiing down tha mountain."
"B-But if anyone opens that bag during the descend…"
"Just put tha bag in front of his fans and tell them, 'there is something very important in it, please look after it' and no one will touch it." And the deadpan was back.
"Hey… Are you telling me that the stuntman is…" Rokuda spoke up again, his eyes already straying towards Mimata.
"Yeah, tha one who after disguising as Minowa-san carried tha real one up tha lift and killed is tha one who was not on either tha carriage in front of or behind, or even in tha returning lift, Mimata-san… It could only be ya!"
"K-Kousuke?" Tateishi gasped.
"Exactly." Shugo nodded gravely. "However the stuntman in the movie four years ago was Mizukami Jirou-san. As I mentioned previously there are differences in skiing between the movies. I'm guessing that Mizukami-san passed the role of substitute onto Mimata-san before his demise."
"A trick which ended up being used in crime." Heiji picked up the explanation once more. "After pulling Minowa-san's head out of tha bag and shooting him at tha temple, he pulled his body out of tha bag and wrapped his finger around tha gun. Then Mimata-san jumped off tha lift with tha empty bag. There are around two points where tha distance between tha lift and ground is only three meters. And evidence of this all was tha crack on the right of tha lift which was probably left behind when Minowa-san was shot. Furthermore, when Minowa-san got onto tha lift, he was sitting on tha left but when tha body was found, he was sitting on tha right of tha lift. And this is tha evidence because it's very difficult to change seat on tha lift."
"But Mimata-san was talking to me when the gunshot was heard." Tateishi argued.
"That was a fake. Probably made by a firecracker." Shugo interjected. "After jumping from the lift, Mimata'san put on his skiing gear, made a delay mechanism with a cigarette and continued towards the bottom of the mountain. And then the firecracker is lit! By the time he reaches the foot of the mountain and starts a conversation with someone, the sound is heard thus creating himself an alibi."
"In other words in this case he met Tateishi-san. If he met up with some of Minowa-san's fans he could've just asked something like 'where is he?' when the firecracker sounded and he can still establish an alibi." Katashina picked up.
"That means that he used a silencer when he killed him?" Rokuda mused.
"Yeah… Although tha silencer have not been found, I found tha bottle with tha firecrackers!" Heiji announced.
"But… But what about the bag filled with snow?"
"Didn't I just say it? There are two locations with the distance between tha ground and tha lift being three meters apart. He just have to place tha bag at one of the locations and use tha reverse tipped ski sticks ta hook it up."
"I see, three meters… Each skiing stick is 120 centimeters long so with the two poles hooked up onto each other, the bag can basically be hooked up… But is it possible in that storm?" Katashina asked then.
"No. You only needed one stick, the other meter came from the strap of the bag. Pull it up and freeze it in position with water and you have the extra meter. Both tips were reversed for misdirection because with only one tip, the trick would have been obvious. Mimata-san must have placed the bag on one of his rounds down disguised as Minowa-san. That is the first location close to the ground. After that he went on the lift and hooked it up and jumped off at the second location." Shugo shrugged. Then the assistant asked a question from Shinichi to which Heiji decided to answer in turn.
"Tha pause between carriages is a bit over six seconds. Tha approximated speed of tha lift is 2-5 meters per second, meaning that tha distance between tha carriages is about ten meters. While ya can't see what's going on ten meters ahead of ya because of the storm, ya can still see things three meters below ya. Besides Mimata-san placed tha bag there himself."
"And evidence of all that?" Rokuda prompted. "In theory this is fine and all but we can't really arrest anyone without any actual evidence."
"Well…" Heiji smirked. "If Mimata-san met Tateishi-san and accompanied her up on tha lift and was taken immediately to tha investigation, then under this jacket that he's wearing must be the same jacket than Minowa-san wore or maybe even the bag tha he had hidden in… That's because ya didn't have tha time to dispose of tha jacket and tha bag and if someone else discovers them, things will turn bad…"
"Ah… Great…" Mimata sighed and began unzipping his jacket. "I've been enduring up until now… It's so hot." And from beneath of revealed the identical jacket and the bag bunched inside.
"K-Kousuke-kun… you…" Tateishi gaped.
"So it is you indeed…" Oyama muttered.
"'Indeed'? Did you realize that I was the killer?"
Then came the explanation of the motive. Of how Minowa had killed Mizukami Jirou with the same method. How Minowa had confessed at gun point. And now Oyama had suspected it all and written the script of the movie accordingly.
"Well, it seemed you were right in your prediction kid." Mimata spoke then, looking at Shugo.
"Huh?" The boy looked up in surprise.
"About Yukionna's wrath. The storm was definitely thicker than usual around here and now afterwards… I feel like I've been drained out of my own hatred. Maybe it was the Yukionna guiding me tonight…"
"…I do hope you still take responsibility of your own actions. Unlike Minowa-san did." Shugo spoke slowly, eyeing the man skeptically. Mimata only nodded.
"Of course."
"Well, if it comforts you any, the veil or murderer is much lighter upon you than what it was upon Minowa-san." The boy shrugged with a way that seemed indifferent. "And the icy grip upon this mountain seems to have lessened somewhat… Maybe because the events of four years ago have been brought to light now."
Meanwhile…
"Please describe the details when we are back at the station…" Rokuda had told Mimata and then turned to address Heiji while Shugo spoke to Mimata. "Ah, can you come with us to the station too?"
But before Heiji could answer, the assistant gained the inspector's attention. "Erm, keibu-san? What do I do about this middle school student at the end of the phone? He made the same deduction as that kid, and almost simultaneously… He said that he is bringing the bottle here."
"Then bring him to station too…"
"If ya only take him, it'll do too…" Heiji announced in annoyance.
"Huh? Why don't you go with him?" Kazuha asked.
"Ahou! I understood tha extension of tha belt by freezing only through tha hint oyaji gave me while that guy solved tha case by himself. I'm embarrassed. Furthermore, I said I was going ta carry you on my back down ta tha hotel… Midorikawa ya coming?"
"Ah, well to be honest… I was with that other kid for the most of the investigation since he is a friend of mine… And if he is anything like before, he'll just send a mutual friend of ours up here with the bottle. But in the case he comes anyways I want to greet him again and also congratulate him." Shugo smiled.
"I see… So ya go to the station and give tha statement then. Ya solved this case on your own too. I'll talk ta sensei then. C'mon Kazuha…"
"See you, Hattori."
Around ten minutes later Ran appeared with the bottle as the evidence and explained that Shinichi didn't want to come up because he had solved the case only because of a hint from his father. That caused quite the few chuckles. Once Ran heard that the other middle school student had declined, citing the same reasons, she turned to Shugo then.
"Nee, Shugo-kun, does this mean you solved the whole case without any help?" The karate expert and future champion asked.
"Now now, Ran-chan… Of course I had help. From the Yukionna herself."
Giving the statement at the police station went quickly and efficiently. And thankfully inspector Rokuda seemed to completely ignore Shugo's talk about Yukionna and auras. It was afterwards when Shugo was ready to leave back to the hotel that he got surprised.
"Yukiko-san? Yusaku-san?"
Indeed, the Kudou couple was waiting for him with a car in front of the station.
"Hello, Shugo-kun! When we heard that you were here and giving the investigation statement, we thought to come and pick you up so you don't need to bother the good officers anymore." Yukiko explained cheerily with the dark undertone that told she was secretly pissed for a reason or other. And it was clear that she had been the one to tell Yusaku to come and pick Shugo from the station.
"Ah, is that so… Thank you very much." With some quick words Shugo explained to the police officer that he'd rather take a ride with his friend's parents and climbed then in the car.
"Now, Shugo-kun… Why haven't you keeping in contact with us? It was quite the surprise when I heard from Shin-chan and Ran-chan that you were here."
"Uh, well…" The boy stammered and studiously avoided the amused look in Yusaku's eyes and the cheery but threatening smile on Yukiko's face. "It was sort of… We forgot?"
"Is that so?" Yukiko kept smiling.
"Well, we did move sort of quickly from Osaka… And had limited contacts… And what do you want me to say?" Shugo finally glared at the woman.
"Hmm… nothing really. Just a promise to never cut off contact like that."
"Deal."
"I'll be holding on to that."
Shugo just sighed. The next few years would be so long…
A/N: Some things to point out now. One, I made up a bunch of names for the kids on Heiji and Kazuha's class. You probably noticed. Two, the name of the ski resort is real. No, I've never been there, I merely discovered it while searching info about Yamagata. Three... Heiji and Kazuha's Osaka-ben is tiring to write. Especially when it wasn't put in the manga files that I used as a reference. (I have two potential sites that I use and one of them as really old scans and the other uses Case Closed for the older cases.)
Replies to reviews:
-Zeladious:
It will be sort of relevant later on. Besides 'Tsukiko' follows the naming theme even if it's something that she picked up for herself.
-Hellfire000:
Okiya's are just a fabrication made by Shugo. Kagemiya's are real and 'Daiki' and 'Hoshi' are part of them. Then the dimensional messing happened to them while separated and connected them with their counterparts of our world. They picked up the names 'Shugo' and 'Tsukiko'. Because of the timings, Shugo is ahead of Tsukiko even if she technically connected first. But the timings are also perfect for Shugo to have kept and eye on Tsukiko and then help her beforehand. The event's of the next chapter will clarify things a bit more.
-zoela:
Umm... It's not really large... Well maybe it is considering that usually in mangas people only care about the kids and parents and siblings and maybe the occasional grandparent but in general the familytree itself isn't that big.
()
I'm thinking that in the next chapter you guys could get a glimpse of Hoshi... Maybe.