File Fifty-Three: The Mystery of the Sake Cup
When Mouri Kogoro received a call from Inspector Megure, requesting to gather all people that had visited the Nishitamashi Twin Towers the other day ─ whatever the reason ─ the detective had simply groaned before telling Ran and Conan to call their friends and heading to the police headquarters.
As soon as the group arrived, they were told that Iwamatsu had died, stabbed in Tower B, 67th floor where he had been staying. The murder weapon had yet to be found, and the victim had been holding a sake cup broken in two pieces. Nobody could understand the reason, but guessed it was a dying message.
Kogoro had pointed out that the Japanese word for 'sake cup' ─ choko ─ sounded like 'chocolate', so the culprit had to be Hara. Ayumi, Mitsuhiko and Genta loudly disagreed, claiming that someone that had given them chocolate couldn't be the bad guy.
Conan could tell there were so many things wrong with both sides of the argument, but couldn't bring himself to say anything about it. There were more things to worry about than theie stupid conclusions.
Such as the fact that sake cups could be associated with alcohol.
"Wrong," the soft, monotonous voice brought him out of his thoughts. Haibara had read his mind, that was scary. "It's far too obvious for them not to notice."
The boy nodded at her, a frown still present, before he spotted his friends huddled together, talking between each other about something he couldn't hear. But he could imagine.
So he wasn't surprised when he found them, gathering at Beika Station the next day. I knew it, he sighed, silently sneaking up on them.
"I can't wait!" Ayumi beamed.
"Being ahead of Conan is exciting!" Genta exclaimed.
"Who are you ahead of?"
Flinching violently, the three children slowly turned around until they met face to face with an unamused Conan, who was crossing his arms in front of his chest and raising an eyebrow above his hairline, clearly waiting for an explanation.
"H-How did you know?" Mitsuhiko stammered.
"Was I supposed not to?" his frown deepened. "You were going to investigate the case on your own, and thought I would stop you all, right?"
"... Which you always do, anyway," Genta stated.
"You always go investigating on your own, Conan-kun!" Ayumi argued. "How is this any different than what you do?"
"Well, I..." he trailed off, because he knew they were right. So he sighed. "Alright, I'm going with you, wherever you're going."
He turned around right away, purposely avoiding to meet eyes with the grinning faces of their three friends.
So, the four friends took the train ─ Haibara had apparently been invited yet had declined because she had 'some cleaning to do', which Conan had the feeling it was not it, but didn't say anything at all. They had explained to him that they had plans to go see Kazama and Kisaragi, then Hara the next day.
They had found out that, even though Kazama's house is in Setagaya, he had an apartment where he worked from just one station from Nishitamashi. Kisaragi lived alone and had built his house in Asahino three years ago.
Conan was mostly surprised, however. Their investigation has depth.
"Well," Mitsuhiko pondered as they walked out the station. "Kazama-san's apartment is somewhere near this station... As for Kisaragi-san... There! On that hill!"
The boy with glasses looked towards the hill Mitsuhiko had pointed out and hummed. Must be a pain to live in a place like that, he wondered, shrugging before turning back around so he could follow his friends.
Until something made him stop on his tracks. "Eh?" he blinked, eyes not looking away from the scenery right in front of him. The Mount Fuji, split in two by the Nishitamashi Twin Tower buildings.
"Conan-kun?" Ayumi asked, worriedly.
"Come on, we're going to leave without you!" Genta yelled.
"Uh, yeah. I'm going!"
First, they went to visit Kazama's apartment, and if he was being honest, Conan felt a bit uneasy as soon as he stepped inside. He was, after all, Moriya's student, and the events of nearly a year ago were still stuck on his head, and he didn't think he was going to forget them anytime soon.
There was nothing out of the ordinary about him, however. There were some random buildings' models and a computer. Conan recognized it as a CAD-System.
"So, children," Kazama asked. "Why are you visiting me?"
The boy nearly sighed when Genta and Mitsuhiko started whispering, pressuring each other to speak up. "To the point, Kazama-san. We," ultimately, notebook in hand, it seemed like Mitsuhiko was the one to begin the questioning. "... love what you've done to this apartment!"
Both boys slumped backwards, watching their fellow detective boy rambling, talking about many other things that had absolutely no relation with the case. Seeing that there was no way they were going to progress like that, Conan massaged his temples and opened his mouth to speak.
"We're known as the Detective Boys," Ayumi beat him to it. "We're investigating the murder of Oki-san."
Wow, she's serious about this.
Now that the ice had been broken, Mitsuhiko asked him many questions they had written down before getting in there. Questions like what Kazama thought about Oki ─ he had been offensive, but because of his influence in the city council Kazama had a job ─ or if he had any disagreements with the victim ─ he didn't recall any concerning Oki.
"Then you did with others?" Conan spoke up, causing the adult to pause.
Of course, he denied it.
"Eh," Ayumi noticed a framed picture standing on the table next to Kazama. "That picture..."
"Ah, that's my only son. Isn't he cute?" he explained, and Conan could see a boy, not older than three, waving at the camera. "There are times when I am working alone at night and want to hear his voice, so I sometimes call knowing he's asleep. Parents are silly, right?"
Conan didn't know why, but those words resounded with him the entire way to the Kisaragi Residence.
To say they didn't have a warm welcome could be the understatement of the century, since the old man had only given them a cold, stern look upon meeting them at the door, silently letting them in. Then, he simply sat in the middle of an empty room and started to paint.
Mount Fuji, Conan observed, as he and his friends sat right behind him in a line. Why would he have the curtains closed, then?
After all, that huge window in front of him would show all of them the sight of it, if he wasn't mistaken. Then, it came to him. From this place, all he would be able to see was...
His eyes widened.
"Umm..." pressured by Genta again, Mitsuhiko was the first to break the silence. "We're the Detective Boys."
Kisaragi paused.
"We're here about Oki-san's case-"
"CHILDREN SHOULDN'T IMITATE THE POLICE!"
At his loud outburst, the three children next to Conan were startled, jumping back terrified at the sight of the old man. "Isn't that being a hypocrite, Kisaragi-san?" their friend, however, remained unfazed by it, simply questioning back with a plain look.
When the child's expression didn't change at the intense glare he received, the others decided that he was either brave or lacked survival instincts.
"Because your paintings are, after all, well-made imitations of nature. Your beloved Mount Fuji, in your case," the boy didn't even blink. "Aren't we both imitating reality in some way or another?"
Silently as always, Kisaragi studied him for a few moments before he finally turned around. For the longest moment, the child and man stared at each other until Kisaragi spoke up.
"Though I suppose it would be beneficial if you left with something."
That's how Conan found himself staring at a painting of his own face, standing outside the house. They didn't get anything besides that, but Conan figured it had been predictable.
"I'm glad we got these paintings, but..." Mitsuhiko blinking, staring at his own.
"But we found out nothing about the case," added Genta.
"I guess you can't do anything unless you're with the police," Ayumi then turned to their other friend. "Conan... kun?"
Blinking owlishly, they watched his friend giving an intense, long look at his own painting. That, for less than a second, got their hopes up, as they thought that he would have surely realized something about that seemingly useless piece of art...
"... My glasses are not that big," then, he mumbled, a frown pinching his face.
It took a long few moments for those words to be processed but, when they did, laughter filled the silence, prompting Conan's eyebrow to twitch, figuring he wouldn't like the reason for it at all.
"But Conan-kun..." Mitsuhiko managed, between breaths.
"Your glasses are big," Genta pointed out. "Anyone would recognize them by a mile away!"
"Geez, thanks, guys."
"Come on, don't be so mad, Conan-kun," tried Ayumi, even if the way her voice broke with a giggle she couldn't hold in. "Those glasses are what makes you, you. You should be proud of them. "
"... Don't even try, Ayumi-chan."
"Seriously, that's the best you could come with?"
"... Should I pretend I know what you're talking about, or...?"
Applying pressure to the bridge of his nose, Conan made his way inside the library of his house, making sure to hurry to do what he had wanted to check before it would be time to meet his friends.
"Cough drops. Ran-neechan received your return gift for White Day this morning. They were cough drops... I mean, really?"
"What's wrong with that?" Shinichi argued while his brother strolled around the room, eyes wandering over the bookshelves, looking for that book. "Her voice sounded hoarse over the phone, so I thought..."
The child shook his head. "You might be the best for solving crimes, but you are definitely the worst when it comes to romance..."
"What could you possibly know about romance?" he was pretty sure that Shinichi had rolled his eyes. "You're too young to understand."
"I can't be too young to understand that you fail at it. Badly," he shot back. "Ran-neechan had this clueless look on her eyes when she received it..."
She also had shaken her head, sighing softly, with a small yet very warm smile on her face, before she stuck one of them into her mouth, but he wasn't telling him that. Details, right?
As his brother rambled about something, he finally found it. Dragging his father's chair next to the spot he had just been standing at, Conan climbed up and grabbed the desired book.
Any other day, he would have wondered what was wrong with him upon looking at the girly, flower-filled cover. Well, he had been reading this a lot, according to his mother, right?
"I wonder if Ran actually has a cold, though," at some point, his brother said.
"Ah, yeah, she has one. It's not that bad, however," he merely confirmed. "I bet she got it from Haibara-san the other day."
"That's likely..." Shinichi pondered. "Speaking of which, how are things going on your end? After, you know, everything."
"Strangely okay," Conan stated, thinking against telling him about the black Porsche found parked at the Nishitamashi Twin Towers Building ─ for one, he wasn't sure it was Gin's, and he also didn't want to get Shinichi in any danger. Experience taught him that he would jump in a train and come to Beika, again. "There is no sign of them. Well, I don't think there's anything I can tell you that Haibara-san hasn't."
"Ah, no. I haven't talked with her ever since we met the other time."
The boy could have tripped and fell off the chair right there, but managed to keep himself upright. "What do you mean she hasn't?"
His brother had fallen silent, unable to understand what he had said wrong, yet he paid no mind. Climbing down, Conan's mind started to run, eyes wide and staring far away, remembering each and every single one of her actions, but he didn't get anything besides the weird behavior.
"A few days ago we went camping and Genta said that Haibara-san had been talking with someone over the phone at night. Professor Agasa just told me that she had done the same thing last night..." he explained, sweat rolling down his forehead, as he sat on the floor. "Who was she talking to, if it wasn't you?"
"Hey, hey, you don't think...?"
"No. Haibara-san would never betray us," Conan assured him, even if he was pretty sure his brother knew that already. "Admittedly, she has been acting kind of weird lately..."
Shinichi started to hum, thinking deeply about the problem in hand. "Something had shaken her."
"Shaken her? Hey, do you know what it was?"
"Maybe," he stated. "Ran protected her with her body the other day, didn't she?"
"Her attitude towards her is the only thing that hasn't changed. She is still reluctant to go anywhere close to her, whatever the reason."
"Have you ever wondered why she does that?"
Conan blinked. "Of course I have, but I don't have a clue... Do you?"
He had a feeling that Shinichi knew what he was talking about, so he stayed silent, as his brother sighed, exhausted, as if debating whether telling him or not.
"... It has come to my attention lately," he finally decided to speak. "That Ran resembles Akemi-san by a whole lot."
Conan's eyes widened at that, before he looked down at the book on his hands. "I see," he only managed to say in a low whisper, his eyebrows furrowing together at the memory of that woman's death, which would forever be carved in his mind.
Now that I think of it, she was the first person I have ever seen dying, huh?
Maybe that was why it still affected him this badly to this day.
"Conan?" his brother's worried voice ran through. "Are you okay?"
"Ah, yeah. I'm fine," the lie came out smoothly. "Anyways, I need to meet with Ayumi-chan and the others in a few minutes, so I guess I will call you later."
"We both know you never call."
"Sharp."
"... But you do know, right?" Conan paused at the seriousness of his voice. "If you need somebody to talk to, I'm here."
"I know, I know," that got him to smile. "Even if Genta would probably be much better than you giving out advice."
"You're an insufferable brat, you knew that?"
"Are you talking to a mirror, by any chance?"
"Whatever. Bye."
Immediately after his brother had finished the call, Conan set the phone down and focused on the book he had picked, his mother's book about hanakotoba. For the longest time, he just stared at it, before he let out a long sigh.
He pulled his little notebook out and played with his pen, before closing his eyes, trying to remember each and every single line for that weird message he had found when he was four.
Conan supposed he had looked at it an insane amount of times when he was younger, because once he remembered the beginning of that letter, the rest had easily come out. As if he had memorized it a long, long time ago.
Of course, he wrote it down before he could forget.
I solved this when I was four, right? Or at least, a part of it, he frowned. I should be able to figure it out again.
So, taking a deep breath, he focused in the first half of it.
"Please, listen to my words.
In this big classroom, filled with so many people, I feel completely alone. I miss you so much, Oneechan. I desperately want this day to end so I can see you again. So I can have dinner with you, feel the gentle touch in every bit of food that you cook for me, even if it does not taste good..."
Then, he opened the book, coming to the conclusion that it had to be related to flowers if he had gotten so absorbed into reading those things ─ that he had never been fond of in the first place. He now figured it shouldn't be that farfetched, considering the first line. Her fake name was Hana, meaning flower.
To listen to the words of a flower. Again, hanakotoba.
Which means...
'I feel completely alone'... Solitude... his finger moved across the lines in the book, until he found it. Erika?
'... desperately'... Desperation... Sakurasou.
'... gentle'... Haibisukasu.
'... taste good'... Good taste? Tenjikubotan, then.
He wrote those words down, hand stroking his chin as he pondered over them. He even tried writing them in romaji, using kanji, hiragana, but no avail. He couldn't see what Haibara had meant with that.
Not to mention he hadn't even started on the second part, which he clearly remembered not getting it before.
Even when she was five, that girl was a headache, right? he let out something between a snicker and a sigh, massaging his temples.
He wondered if it would be easier if he just asked her, but then decided against it. Considering how she had acted at the mention of her old name, he figured it wouldn't be the best course of action.
"Good morning, Conan-kun!"
"You're slow!"
"We've been waiting!"
Upon the sight of his friends Conan picked up speed, opening his mouth to apologize ─ he had ultimately lost track of time and had to leave his house in a rush ─ when he spotted someone standing behind Ayumi, her icy blue eyes shifting towards him just a little in acknowledgment.
"Haibara-san wants to accompany us to meet Hara-san," apparently, his shock must have shown on his face, because Ayumi clarified.
"A-Ah, really?"
"Is that alright?" she shrugged. "I'm a little interested in that game of Hara-san."
He didn't find the words to answer, blinking with a dumb expression on his face that did not disappear, even when they began to walk, just staring at Haibara who, if she realized his actions, didn't let it bother her, just focused on the conversation everyone was having, smiling every once in a while.
At some point, she had ended up trailing behind the group. Conan noticed there was a thoughtful look on her eyes, as she gazed at the concrete she was walking on, and frowned slightly.
Haibara didn't even look at him, but he did slow down his pace so it would match the girl's. Her attitude did not change, and that got his eyebrow to twitch.
"Hey," groaned the boy. "What's with you?"
"I'm not sure what you mean, Kudo-kun."
"You have been avoiding me since that day," Conan pointed out. "And I tried, I really tried to figure out what I did, but you're not making it easy for me, Haibara-san."
The scientist didn't feel like answering.
"Did I say something-?"
"You didn't say anything wrong," she finally answered, with a huff. "I must be tired after everything that has happened, that's all."
It did not convince Conan, she could tell without even looking, but she refused to say more. So, without another single word, the girl picked up the pace, leaving a very confused and equally frustrated detective behind her.
Soon, the group got to Hara's apartment and Mitsuhiko happily rang the bell. A curious glance towards the apartment let Conan realize the door was open, causing them to wonder what was wrong and come in.
They found Hara alright. Lying dead on the floor, a gunshot on his chest and a silver knife on his hand. And that was, by far, the least disturbing fact in the entire murder scene.
It was the sake cup that sat in the middle of the already dry pool of blood, broken into two pieces. Completely clean.
Inspector Megure came to Mouri's Agency closer to night and explained to all the residents that the murder had occurred between 5:00 PM to 6:00 PM, meaning that Kisaragi, who had been with the kids at the time, couldn't be the culprit. They were also told that all of Hara's computer data had been erased, and that might have been the killer's motive.
That didn't put Conan at ease. Not at all.
"Regardless, I have reason to fear even more deaths awaiting," Megure stated.
"That's why Inspector Megure has requested Tokiwa-san to postpone the Opening Party," Shiratori added. "But she refused."
The inspector in question sighed. "Not only that," he reached to grab something from his pocket. "We received these."
Mouri was passed an envelope which he opened, just to see a party invitation. Everyone, including Agasa and the children, had their names written on it. Conan could only blink at the information.
Haibara Ai descended down the stairs.
Slowly and silently, her coat resting over her shoulders, Haibara headed towards the basement.
She knew that this habit was wrong ─ so, so, so wrong ─ and potentially dangerous, but she didn't think she would be able to sleep another wink of sleep if she didn't hear it. Her beloved sister's voice.
Ever since the day that Mouri Ran had saved her ─ her scent was the same ─ and taken care of her ─ her touch and smile were the same ─ her nightmares had only gotten worse and worse. Every time she would close her eyes, she would see her. Walking away from her, a sad look on her ever gentle eyes, before getting swallowed by darkness.
So, with a shaky sigh, she grabbed the phone, dialed that number and pressed it against her ear.
"Yes, this is Miyano," Haibara closed her eyes with a smile, taking into that amazing sound that she had missed so much. "I'm not home at the moment, but leave your name and a message after the beep."
When the beep ran through his ears, the girl didn't think about it twice.
"Oneechan? It's me. We're going to the Twin Tower Buildings' Opening Party-"
The line was cut for some reason. A gasp escaped her as she spun around, shocked beyond belief to see the boy, who wasn't supposed to be there, looking at her, with a frown painted behind his thick glasses. In his hand was a wire, and Haibara immediately understood what was going on.
The professor, still on his pajamas, stepped up from behind the child, who simply stood there. Silent, unmoving.
Though his gaze was unwavering, she could tell he was trying to determine which words were the best to say in a situation like that.
Not that he let him think about it, she just took off running, knocking him over to a side and away from her way.
"Haibara-san!"
Agasa tried to stop the boy from going, but he was too fast for him. So, with a sigh, he watched both children disappear in the darkness of the hallway.
She managed to get inside a room, closing the door abruptly before Conan could do anything about it. Then sighed, loudly, resting her back against the door.
So Conan glared at the door for a few moments, until he huffed. "Look," he began, pressing his hands against the wooden surface. "I'm not going to pretend I know what you're going through, but-"
"No one understands my feelings," she snapped, causing Conan to flinch.
"I know-"
"What can you know?!" Haibara's voice rose. "Shinichi-san... Your brother... Your brother is alive, Kudo-kun. You two still have a chance... but..." she trailed off into silence. "... Once you die, it's all over."
For a couple of minutes, Conan was quiet, gaze fixed on his feet and hands curling into balls, deep in thought. Letting his shoulders drop, he turned around and leaned against the wall.
"Did you know?" the tired sound of his voice actually caused Haibara to listen. "There is... There is no day I don't regret being unable to save your sister."
His eyes fell on the palm of his hands, which were trembling by now.
"And in nights like these, I can't help but wonder... What would have happened? If I had just been a bit faster, a bit more smarter... If I had pressed a bit more on the wound, I don't know," a smile crossed his face, but it didn't quite reach his eyes. "... Maybe, just maybe, everything..."
Her hands, which had been covering her tearful face, slowly lowered, her gaze falling into the door behind her. Kudo-kun, she thought, clearly hearing the pain on his voice as he remembered that fateful day, when her sister had bleeded out in this boy's arms.
She hadn't realized that her death had affected him this much.
You have a good heart, Kudo-kun, Haibara realized. But it's soft. Incredibly soft.
With a heart like this... With the lightest touch...
... If you found out the truth...
Her lips pressed together.
... it would shatter beyond repair.
A/N:
ajjr12: No, I don't think I'm going to do movie 7. If I do any other movie, I will most likely skip through a lot of them.
XxThe-Crest-Of-AnubisxX: The New York case took place after Shinichi got his codename, so it was around that time.
aixelle: Well... There you have it, I guess XD
ABCOPQRXYZ: Since I don't speak Indonesian, I had to use a translator for this, so sorry if I understood something wrong. The thing is, Miyano Shiho actually exists, and she is Haibara. The name Hana is actually fake. Sorry if it was confusing!
Bry: Most likely the rating isn't going to change, because I don't plan to touch those themes.