SailorStar9: With Chapter 179 uploaded, I present Chapter 180 of this fic. (Sighs) Guys and girls, is it too hard for you to leave a review, instead of just putting this fic up on your favorited list and story alerts?

Disclaimers: I do not own Sailor Moon or Detective Conan, I only own this plotline and the pairing.

Pairing: Established!Furuya Rei/Mizuno Ami

Chapter 180: Taiko Meijin's Shogi Board, Brilliant Move

"Is it true that all of you left Genda-san in this room to go shopping before Haneda Meijin, Yumi and Conan-kun arrived?" Sato asked the three.

"He said he'd put in some snacks." Hishinuma nodded.

"Like cheese and prosciutto on crackers." Uryu clarified. "You can eat them while playing without getting your hands dirty."

"This must've happened when someone came here during the ten minutes we were out shopping." Hishinuma surmised.

"Isn't it possible that one of you pretended to leave but actually returned to the room to kill him?" Sato questioned.

"I bought enough hot coffee for all of us at the nearby coffee shop." Hishinuma defended. "They were kind of lukewarm."

"We heard the coffee flavor had gotten worse, so we drank some at the entrance downstairs." Uryu added.

"Couldn't you use instant coffee and water from a hot water heater to make lukewarm coffee?" Takagi wondered.

"The water heater's broken right now." Hishinuma stated. "It only dispenses cold water."

"How about an electric kettle?" Takagi inquired.

"I broke that one the other day." Hishinuma admitted.

"What about that stove?" Sato turned. "Couldn't you use that to boil waer?"

"When we found Genda-san, Hishinuma-san and Mina put the bags they were holding on the stove." Uryu related. "Why don't you check the bottoms of the bags? Nobody used that stove." she added, after Takagi confirmed the bags were fine. "We were out shopping for about ten minutes. If someone used the stove to boil water, it would stay hot for about fifteen minutes. The bags should be burnt or melted."

"Which mean this murder might be the work of an outsider." Sato mused, after confirming Uryu's and Mina's alibis. "Not only that, it's likely that these are serial murders. It was publicly announced this afternoon that when the missing shogi player, Nishikido Kimiharu, who was suspected of match fixing, was found, one of the legs of the shogi board next to the body had been cut off. Two legs have been removed from the shogi board next to Genda's body. It's only been a couple of hours since the announcement, so it's unlikely that this was a copycat."

"Did any of you know Nishikido?" Takagi asked.

"The three of us didn't." Hishinuma answered. "But apparently, the late Genda-san and Nishikido-san were friends. These study sessions were originally run by Nishikido-san. The four original members were Nishikido-san, Genda-san, Kishimoto Yuhei-san, who recently became depressed and Uryu Kinji-san, who went pro around the same time I did. Uryu is Shoko-san's older brother."

"I've heard rumors about those four." Shukichi supplied. "There's a foursome that's been rapidly improving their skills recently."

"Why did Kishimoto become depressed?" Takagi inquired.

"I think it's because my brother Kinji killed himself." Uryu admitted.

"Just before he died, he said someone from the Shogi League asked to meet him." Hishinuma revealed. "Kishimoto-san became depressed after Kinji killed himself. He really looked up to Kinji. After that, I was invited to join the study sessions because they didn't have enough members and I invited the girls."

"It sounds like we'll have to talk to Kishimoto." Sato remarked. "He may know why Uryu killed himself and his suicide may be connected to the murders of those two shoji players."

"Those two may not be the only ones." Conan stated. "There are two legs left on the shogi board."

"Do you know Kishimoto's address?" Sato inquired, realizing Conan's suspicions could be true.

"Not his exact address, but I think he lives in a detached house next to the public bath." Hishinuma answered. "It's quicker to show you." he drew the curtains apart. 'Next to the black chimney you can see from here... wait, I can see smoke. Isn't that around Kishimoto's house? Is Kishimoto their next target?"

Outside Kishimoto house...

"Inspector Yuminaga." Sato greeted the arson inspector. "What's the situation?"

"We avoided a total loss, but the resident who was inside was burnt to a crisp." Inspector Yuminaga responded. "Since no vital signs were detected in the body, he seems to have died before the fire started. Mizuno says it's possible he was alive until shortly before the fire started because his rectal temperature hadn't fallen much."

"You mean he died after that shogi player was murdered at Beika City apartment?" Takagi gaped.

"I heard from Megure that a shogi board was found at the crime scene." Inspector Yuminaga added. "We actually found one here, too. A shogi board missing three legs."

The next day...

"Yumi-san, what is it?" Conan took the call. "Taiko Meijin hasn't come home? Not since last night?"

"Late last night, he said he'd be out late since he was meeting with a friend and headed out." Yumi informed. "I went to sleep without waiting for him to return, but he wasn't there when I woke up. I thought he must've come home and left again early in the morning, but I've asked around and nobody's seen him."

"Did you call those three shogi players?" Conan asked.

"I tried calling, but none of them said they knew." Yumi replied. "I thought you might know, so I called you."

"Was Taiko Meijin acting strange when you left the apartment when the murder occurred?" Conan inquired.

"I wouldn't call it strange exactly." Yumi recalled. "When we left the apartment with the three shogi players, Chukichi suddenly said he forgot something and borrowed the key and headed back inside. I'll try calling someone else."

In the Kudo household...

"How unusual for you to call me, kid." Akai received the unexpected call from Conan. "Shukichi's missing after getting involved in a murder?"

"Taiko Meijin might've identified the culprit and went to see them." Conan explained. "All three suspects are shogi players like him, so he probably wanted to convince them to turn themselves in."

"Tell me more about the case." Akai requested, pulling out a notebook.

"Could you put your phone on speaker so I can listen, too?" Yusaku requested. "So, as the number of victims increases, the number of legs on the shogi board decreases." he got the gist from his shrunken son. "You already know the number of legs is a feint. You said Akai-kun's brother seem to have noticed something. What made you think that?"

"When the Meijin moved around the people in front of him to get a look at the body, he touched the kitchen counter." Conan recalled. "He held his hand as if he'd touched something. I don't know if it's hot or cold, but his expression changed then."

"What was on top of the kitchen counter then?" Yusaku inquired.

"Two ice trays, a mixer and a toaster." Conan replied.

"Sounds like there was a magic tool one of them could've use to fabricate an alibi." Yusaku realized what happened. "In any case, sounds like we need to hurry. Meet up with Akai-kun and make sure his brother is okay."

SailorStar9: Any OOC-ness is regretted. *Sighs* Don't you just hate plot bunnies sometimes? Read and review.