Authours Notes:

The first mystery is ending here... and I feel like it is kind of quick but... I feel it could have been worse. Hope ya'all like it! :)

Warnings: Foul language… blood and violence. Animal mutilation… and murder… you know how it goes.

The Lycanthropy of a Shrunken Detective

Chapter Thirteen

"You've gathered everyone…" Nobuyoshi said nervously. "Have you figured out what happened?"

Yamamura grinned proudly. "Of course I have! It's quite obvious when you put all the clues together!"

"Oh?" Mr. Mizushima asked.

"Yes!" The inspector said then spinning dramatically he attempted to strike a thoughtful pose, that came off a little more high school geek trying to look cool for the camera and less intellectual sleuth than he may have realized.

"It's clear from the clues that we have gathered that this was a violent crime, committed in a moment of high emotional tension! At least two of you here have a motive that fit's this profile!"

Conan and Heiji shared a glance but neither said a word. So far Yamamura hadn't said anything too off the mark. Even though neither one of them believed that he had the right suspect in mind.

Shiori grumbled and Nobuyoshi nervously adjusted his glasses. "You suggest a crime of passion?" The foreigner Iñiguez asked

"Exactly." Yamamura said his eyes narrowing as they shifted from the suited man to the one wearing a loose fitting hoody. "I believe that the victim had words with there murderer before they died. It was something in her last conversation that set the killer off. Leading them to murder!"

Conan tried not to laugh at the dramatics but a snicker snuck out anyway. "He's not exactly wrong yet." Hattori half snickered and half hissed. "Keep it together Kudo."

Conan sobered quickly at that. "Oh… just give it time…"

"Be quiet you two!" Kazuha failed to whisper.

"Considering what we know. You… had an affair with her!" Yamamura pointed to Nobuyoshi then to Shiori. "And you were constantly flirting with her. A word of rejection could have set either of you off."

"Fuck you!" Shiori growled.

"That temper is proof of it no?" Yamamura looked smug. "How is this for a theory? You went to the baths but decided you still weren't satisfied with your conversation earlier so you went to talk to her again. That's why you left the bath's you even admitted as much yourself. Eyewitness statements state you were gone a good 15- 20 minutes."

"As much as this man is a jerk, I don't think he did it. 20 minutes is not enough to commit the crime, clean it up, and carry the body up the mountain!" The young Mizushima said fist on her hips.

"So what are you suggesting I did it?" Nobuyoshi asked glaring at the girl."

"No. I um… I don't know… I'm just- I don't know."

"Ya need evidence to support a claim like that." Hattori spoke up his arms crossed.

"Er…" Yamamura frowned. "Well…" He crossed his arms. "Maybe he killed her hid the body, cleaned up, then later took the body up to the mountain."

"When?"

"Er…"

"Well, it is possible that after everyone else entered the bath's that ya killed her and then sat with us to look innocent before ya went back to clean up- twenty minutes might be enough then but-

Hattori barely saw what happened next as he wasn't really paying attention, just theorizing. A small blur moved in the corner of his eye as he saw a larger form move forward. "I'm not gonna go to jail for something I didn't do!" Shiori was screaming as he rushed forward.

The little blur suddenly registered in Hattori's mind as the little form of Conan and he jumped forward pulling the smaller detective into a protective embrace as he began a roll. He could hear Conan growling as they went down. Then pain flashed through his head and his vision went white for a second. The sound of clattering metal jarred him but brought him back. "You absolute moron! What the hell were ya thinkin'?" He berated the struggling Kudo.

"Ha-Hattori!" Conan sounded breathless. "Hattori! Hattori!"

"C-calm down." Heiji tightened his arms around the squirming boy in his arms. "I'm okay."

"He was rushing you- I- I had to do something- I had to protect Hattori." Hattori pulled back his vision blurred as he looked confused at the smaller detective. His vision was wavering in and out but he could see that Kudo was just as confused as he was by what he was saying but he wasn't sure why- his head hurt too much.

Something red fell to the ground next to Conan's head and they both froze. "Bastard!" Kudo's voice was rough. "You-"

Hattori could see the boy's eye's shifting even through his blurred vision and he could feel small claw's digging into his shirt. "Calm down. Kudo. Calm down." Hattori mumbled. "I'll be okay. I'm hard headed, remember?"

"Conan! Hattori!" Ran's voice suddenly registered to the two and Hattori looked up to see that Shiori was being cuffed. "Are you two okay?"

"Y-yeah." Hattori said. "I think Conan's kinda freaked out."

"You're hurt!" Conan growled.

"I'll live."

Conan moved his watch aiming through squinting eyes and over Hattori's shoulder as he fired the small hidden needle. Yamamura made a strange noise and stumbled as he fell against the wall sliding down limply. "What?!" Mr. Mizushima yelped.

"Kudo…" Hattori was fighting to stay conscious as spots began to fill his vision. Telling his rival that he was being reckless was a little beyond him at the moment.

"Inspector Yamamura?" Nobuyoshi hesitantly asked.

"Since when was it a good idea to attack someone to try to prove your innocence!?" Yamamura's voice came out angry but hushed.

"You all were all but pinning this on me! If I'm going to jail anyway I might as well go for a reason!"

"Hahaha!" Kudo laughed into his bowtie eyes narrowing dangerously. "You are an idiot."

"What?"

"We weren't accusing anyone yet. I was just pointing out some theory's to prove that they were improbable. Hattori was doing the same."

"What?" Shiori's voice cracked.

"The killer isn't you or Nobuyoshi." The two men shared a look of a combination of surprise and relief.

Nobuyoshi swallowed thickly. "Th-then who-

"It should be obvious. There's only one person who was away from the baths long enough to do any of this." Yamamura's voice explained. "There's only one person who knows not only the area enough but also knows where all the cleaning supplies are and wouldn't look suspicious carting out a large sack out to the dumpsters out back."

Sora gasped looking too her side her eyes wet and wide. "That's right. The killer was nonother than Moto Hitomi."

"What…?" Mr. Mizushima looked shocked. "But why?"

"It wasn't planned."

"It sure as hell looked planned!" Shiori spat. "The way that the body flew out over the bath when we were all there- how could that not have been premeditated?"

"You're right." Everyone looked to Yamamura as his voice continued. "The hanging was premeditated- but it hadn't been meant for Kobayashi."

"What are you saying? Was the killer planning to kill someone else?"

"It was planned for the murderer themselves."

There was a silence that seemed to suffocate the room. Hattori shifted feeling that Kudo's deducing had calmed him enough and neither had to worry about him looking more wolf than human. Sitting back he groaned feeling his head throb. "It was the note that Kazuha found in the locker room." He said.

Conan nodded. "It was a suicide note."

"Right." Hattori said. "Do ya remember who signed the note?" Hattori asked his eyes failing to focus exactly on his friend.

"W-well…" She glanced at Moto. "It said Moto…"

The younger Mizushima gasped. "What?"

"It was… before we started dating- I was so lost." Moto said her fist balling.

Conan moved behind the plant that Yamamura was sitting next to. "So from what I've deduced, this is what happened… you became enraged at her for taking your girlfriends job. For threatening her inheritance and insulting your relationship. So you hit her across the back of her head with the cigaret stand and then proceeded to take her to the cliff side where you put her in the noose you prepared nearly a week ago and had not yet removed. A set up that was set to trigger when the trash truck came by. Part of you wanted her to be seen as you were, so it'd be harder to pin on you. Though I'm sure another part wanted everyone to see what you'd done… I'm just not sure why." Conan concluded with Yamamura's voice.

"Because I always knew I was no good!" Hitomi all but screamed. "Sora was helping me forget that- she makes me feel like I'm not just a huge fuckup- but then I lost my temper- because Naomi said those things about Sora… I just lost it. I didn't mean it- I was just so angry- I blacked out. When I came to she was dead!" She took a shuttering breath. "When I had planned to kill myself I'd set up that hanging noose… I wanted everyone to see me… to know what this life had done to me! Then… Sora saved me- I had forgotten about it- till I'd killed Naomi… Then it was the only way to show everyone exactly why I don't deserve… I hurt Sora when I did this! I didn't like Naomi but if either of us deserved to die it was me!" Sora looked beyond upset and had opened her mouth as if to protest only to bite her lip in uncertainty.

"Then…" Shiori said slowly his voice shaky. "When I went back to flirt more with Kabayashi…"

"She was already dead." Moto's voice was cold. "She was in the trashcan just 3 feet from you. You're such scum you didn't even realize you weren't flirting with your crush."

Moto couldn't look at Mizushima as she was handcuffed and pulled away. Sora Mizushima looked as if her whole world had shattered.

Shiori was led out right after her.

Yamamura groaned rubbing his head as Conan rushed over to Hattori.

"Good job inspector!" One of his officer's was praising him. "You got such a clean confession!"

The dazed man blinked before he smiled. "Of course!"

"Hattori!" Conan ran up to the teen. "Are you okay?"

Hattori was tentatively feeling the back of his head as he glared at the innocent looking cigarette stand laying in the middle of the floor. "Damn, they need to get rid of that thing- it's lived too well as an improv weapon."

"We'll be getting rid of it." Mr. Mizushima said placing a comforting hand on his daughter's shoulder. "Along with any of it's like. Maybe put in some cemented stand's that can't be moved."

Conan let out a chuckle. Ran scooped Conan up and hugged him close. "You're too small to be trying to play hero Conan! I'm so glad you're okay."

"Let's get you cleaned up." Kazuha said to Hattori.

"We need to eat something soon or we'll be heading back to Tokyo on empty stomachs…" Ran said.

Mr. Mizushima bowed to the group. "Allow me. Dinner is on me for anyone here who is willing to stomach it. Our cook is out today, but I can pull something together."

"Thank you…" Mrs. Ishikawa said hesitantly. "But, I think Yuki and I have had enough adventure for one day so we're going to head home."

"We'll take you up on that." The elderly Mr. Makoto said with a grin his wife nodding eagerly beside him.

"Very well." With that, the owner led those willing to a room with a large table. It wasn't long before Hattori was patched up- Kazuha keeping an eye on him to make sure he stayed awake as everyone enjoyed a simple meal. Thought's quiet as the world moved on.

Authours Note:

Sorry, this one is late... I kinda was struggling with a few pieces... It's probably really obvious... still... next chapter we, well, move on.

(Word's used 1939. Date posted 3-5-2018)