SailorStar9: With Chapter 173 uploaded, I present Chapter 174 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 174: The Wordless Witness

Time passes...

"Thanks for today." Shinozaki Himena was on the phone late one night as she was walking home. "I only went because I was told they were all hot doctors. But it was like, where are all the hot guys? I'll call you later. Good night." she hung up after climbing a flight of stairs. Under the glare of the street light, she spotted a large shadow in front of her.

In a nearby apartment unit...

Kageyama Shinobu was listening to music on his headphones when he heard a shrill scream from the road underneath the apartment. Pulling the curtains apart, he saw a hooded figure holding a crowbar and standing over the bludgeoned Himena.

Upon hearing the drunken conversation of a pair of baseball fans, the murderer fled and allowing the two baseball fans to discover the body.

The next morning...

"The murder victim is Shinozaki Himena-san, 26 years old, a domestic helper who lived in the area." Takagi reported. "According to the friend she was speaking with on the phone before her death, the victim was coming home late after a mixer. Mizuno-san believes the weapon is a hard rod-like object like a crowbar."

"Another random attack?" Conan voiced.

"Conan-kun." Takagi gawked. "Mouri-san and Ran-san, too?"

"You already got wind of the case?" Megure sighed.

"I believe there are two similar incidents in the area this week." Mouri pointed out.

"Young women dressed in flashy clothes are being stuck over the head at night with the same rod-like weapon used in this case." Takagi confirmed.

"It's safe to assume the same person is responsible." Megure concluded. "We need to arrest the culprit as soon as possible. We didn't' find anything notable among her belongings either."

"Did the previous victims a=say anything about the incidents?" Conan asked.

"Perhaps because they were drunk like this victim, neither of them remembered the incident." Takagi answered.

"Boy." Tachibana Shino bent over to Conan after Mouri deposited him outside the police tape. "Do you know those police officers? The random attacker left that body behind, didn't they?"

"More importantly, who lives in that house?" Conan turned to the two-story house opposite the murder, having seen Kageyama pull the curtains shut.

"That's Komori-san's house." Tachibana replied. "A mother and her son live there. Her son, Hikaru-kun, lives on the second floor. Apparently, Hikaru-kun failed to find a job. He's been cooped in there forever. I believe it's been about three months. I think they're called idol otakus. Apparently, he was following Okino Yoko around. That's probably why he failed to find a job. Where are you going?" she called out, finding Conan gone.

"You're looking for Hikaru?" Mrs. Komori echoed after Mouri made his request. "He's up there. I don't think there's any point in asking him questions." she led Mouri and Conan upstairs. "He stayed in his room when the police came here earlier."

"I'm the great detective, Mouri Kogoro." Mouri introduced himself. "Hikaru-san, I'd to ask you some questions."

"'I didn't see anything.'" Mrs. Komori received a text from Kageyama. "'Leave.' This is how he's been recently." she sighed. "He won't even speak to me."

"Why did he say he didn't see anything?" Conan questioned. "Regardless or whether or not someone is the culprit, wouldn't their first concern be becoming a suspect? I'd understand 'It wasn't me.; or 'I don't know anything.', but the first thing Hikaru-san said was 'I didn't see anything.' maybe Hikaru-san did see something. In the same way that the crime can be seen from that room, that room is visible from the crime scene. Even if Hikaru-san didn't see anything, maybe the culprit saw Hikaru-san."

"Make sure you lock your windows and doors, just in case." Mouri cautioned and left with Conan.

"Are these Hikaru-san's leather shoes?" Conan spotted a pair of leather shoes in the shoe cabinet. "They're dirtier than you'd expect for someone looking for a job and they have a different feel from the other shoes here. What happened to the shoes that were here?" he pointed to the empty spot.

"There should be some Okino Yoko sneakers there." Mrs. Komori recalled. "They seemed so important to him. Where did he put those?"

At the Mouri Detective Agency later...

Conan was pondering about the case when a news piece about Okino Yoko's Dome Tour came on and a sudden idea came to his mind. And with the idea, he pieced together what had happened and he rushed back to the Komori house.

That night...

Conan was dashing to the Komori house when he bumped into Kageyama who was exiting from the side road. "You're that kid from this afternoon." he remembered Conan.

"You're Hikaru-san, right?" Conan realized who he was. "Did you run away from home? Your suitcase." he pointed to the roller suitcase. "You shouldn't do that. Your mom would be worried."

In Hikaru's room afterwards...

"Seriously?" Kageyama gaped at the utterly destroyed room. "What's going on?"

"We were too late." Conan noticed blood on the floor.

"What's going on?" Kageyama demanded, seeing Conan unwrap a metal rod that was wrapped in white cloth stuck in a fallen backpack.

"The random attacker took him away." Conan replied. "The real Hikaru-san." he clarified. "If you assume he swapped places with someone, it explains everything; why he stopped speaking last week, why his favorite sneakers vanished around the same time, why those out-of-place shoes appeared in their place, and why the bottoms of those shoes were worn down differently from the others. The real Hikaru-san is a hardcore Okino Yoko chaser. Naturally, he wanted to go to her dome tour that started last week. Hikaru-san is a shut-in, so his mother would never allow him to go to a concert. So, Hikaru-san, asked you, his friend, for a favor. He asked you to take his place while he was at the concert."

"I'm Kageyama Shinobu, Hikaru's friend." Kageyama admitted. "Everything you said is correct. I never thought something like that would happen."

"There's no reason for you to refuse to testify anymore." Conan rebuked. "What did you see last night?"

"I saw the culprit." Kageyama confessed. "I only caught a glimpse of their face since it was dark. The only thing I saw clearly was..."

"Thanks." Conan nodded. "That's plenty. Let's go and rescue Hikaru-san." he took off.

In Tachibana's house...

Tachibana was about to kill Hikaru when her home phone rang.

"This is your fault for seeing something you shouldn't have." Tachibana smirked, knocking the fleeing Hikaru on the back of the head with her crowbar. "You saw me last night; you saw me killed that woman from your room. Because of kids like you screwing around, the world is going to hell."

"Listen to me, lady!" Kageyama hollered from the streets. "He's not the one who saw you last night. It was me. He didn't know anything."

"What the hell is going on?" Tachibana snarled and flung her door open, only to be knocked out by Conan's kicked soccer ball.

The next morning...

"Conan solved the random murder case?" Amuro was surprised, the couple were having a rare day off.

"Sure did." Ami nodded, resting her back against the stone wall of the mixed onsen that was attached to the ryokan Amuro had booked earlier in the week.

"You sound stressed." Amuro pointed out. "I think the ryokan also provides anma massage. You should try it out."

"I will." Ami assured.

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