SailorStar9: So with Chapter 91 uploaded, this is Chapter 92 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?
Pairings: Established!Furuya Rei (Amuro Tooru)/Mizuno Ami
Disclaimers: I own absolutely nothing, except this plot and pairing.
Chapter 92: Welcome to Bocchan Restaurant, Part One
Time passes...
"Yoshida-san?" Haibara turned when Ayumi stopped in her tracks.
Ayumi said nothing and knelt in front of a bench to see the wounded cat lying underneath it.
"It's really hurt." Genta remarked. "Did it get hit by a car?"
"No, it doesn't seem like it." Conan corrected. "There aren't any signs that it was hit by a car."
Unfolding a handkerchief, Fumio reached in to retrieved a pair of pink and yellow threads from the cat's claws.
"Somebody probably hit or kicked it." Conan supplied, Fumio showing him the torn off strings. "This might serve as a clue to finding the culprit."
"We also need to get this cat to the hospital." Fumio reminded.
In front of the Bocchan Restaurant...
The Detective Boys had followed the police cars to the restaurant.
"You kids again?" Mouri chided.
Inside the restaurant's courtyard...
"That man's shirt is yellow and pink." Mitsuhiko pointed out, seeing Koga Ushio's body floating in the restaurant's lake.
"The victim was Bocchan Restaurant employee, Koga Ushio, thirty-six years old." Takagi reported. "The weapon hasn't been found, but is most likely a kitchen knife-like blade. The body was abandoned in Sanshiro Lake. Judging by the body's condition, he was killed last night around midnight."
"You lot again?" Inspector Megure spotted the unwelcomed group behind him. "Try not to get in our way by walking around the crime scene. Continue, Takagi."
"This morning, Bocchan Restaurant's manager, Akazawa Zenichi, whose home is located here at the restaurant, discovered the body." Takagi continued.
"It's possible that cat happened to be here at the crime scene last night." Conan reasoned. "Since their crime had been witnessed, they intended to silence him."
"Regarding the criminal profile, since the murder occurred within the restaurant late at night, it's hard to imagine that it was committed by an outsider." Takagi added.
"So, it's likely that the murder was committed by someone who works at Bocchan Restaurant." Inspector Megure mused.
"Inspector Megure," Chiba came in. "All the employees have arrived for work."
"That's our uniform." Akazawa informed the police as the rest of his work force entered the scene.
"What is that?" Conan muttered, bemused.
"Boys, Uranari's been killed." the lead guard in the Chinese button-up shirt declared.
"What evildoer could do such a thing?" Shima Rokusuke questioned. "The sun may forgive them, but I will not."
"How marvelous." Kiyohara Uni sobbed. "Bocchan's sense of justice is this old Kiyo's pride and joy."
"Now you've done it, you dastardly Red Shirt!" Hotta Izumi snapped. "All to get at Madonna!"
"Please, Yama Arashi." Toyama Chiaki chided. "You make it seem like I am the reason for this."
"I'd never do anything as senseless as kill someone." Akazawa shook his head.
"Indeed." Yoshikawa Kozo concurred. "You suspect the president? What a fool."
"Nodaiko, stay out of this!" Hotta barked.
"Now, now." Tanuma Toyoo played peacemaker. "Let's not cast suspicion on each other."
"You're always afraid to rock the boat, Tanuki." Shima rebuked.
"So, that's how it is." Fumio laughed nervously. "Bocchan Restaurant recreates the world inside a novel, isn't it?" he turned to Yoshikawa.
"I'm impressed you noticed, son." Yoshikawa beamed. "That's our selling point."
"A novel?" Ayumi blinked.
"You haven't heard of 'Bocchan'?" Mitsuhiko asked.
"Mitsuhiko, take it away, please." Fumio requested.
"'Bocchan' is a famous novel written during the Meiji Era by Natsume Soseki." Mitsuhiko started. "The protagonist Bocchan leaves his maidservant Kiyo in Tokyo to begin teaching at a school in Shikoku. But his students pulled pranks on him, like putting grasshoppers in his bed. The principal, Tanuki, is irresponsible. Meanwhile, he learns that his colleague, Uranari's fiancée, Madonna, has been taken from him by the head teacher, Red Shirt. The righteous Bocchan is unable to forgive them, so he and his colleague, Yama Arashi, beat up Red Shirt and his obsequious sidekick, Nodaiko. It's a very satisfying story."
"You're lucky, onee-san." Ayumi walked towards Toyama. "You get to wear those pretty clothes while bringing customers their food."
"That's not my only job." Toyama smiled.
In the restaurant's main hall...
"Bocchan's Dancers?" Genta muttered, the recording was played in the television screen, showing the staff dancing the can-can.
"They all dance together." Ayumi gawked.
"But why the can-can?" Fumio wondered.
"We should get started looking for the culprit." Haibara set the group back on track.
In the restaurant's dining area...
"Those three..." Conan started, the Detective Boys peering out from the chairs they were hiding behind as Shima, Hotta and Yoshikawa walked by. "Their colleague was just murdered."
"It's understandable." Toyama brought in soft drinks for the kids. "After all, the victim, Uranari was..."
"Did he have problems?" Conan asked.
In the restaurant's welcoming area...
"Inspector." Chiba ran in and whispered into Inspector Megure's ear.
"The victim Uranari had a bad reputation?" Inspector Megure echoed.
"Are you sure you're not mistaken?" Mouri scoffed. "Uranari is a kind-hearted and good man."
"In the novel." Chiba reminded. "But apparently, they're all totally different from the characters they play. For example, the dastardly Red Shirt is a good-natured man who cares for his employees. Bocchan is actually a twisted man with no sense of justice, Yama Arashi is a delicate crybaby. And Madonna seems plain, but she wrestled as a student. Uranari was incredibly strict and he often yelled at his subordinates as the head receptionist. Naturally, everyone working in customer service strongly disliked him."
"So, that's what it is." Conan informed the Detective Boys.
"So, they're nothing like their characters in the novel." Mouri mused. "Inspector, that means the culprit is one of the good guys from the novel." inspiration struck him. "Either Bocchan or Yama Arashi."
"Stop thinking about the novel already." Inspector Megure sighed.
"But they did have old scores to settle." Chiba cut in.
Sometime later...
"The question is their alibis." Mitsuhiko remarked, the Detective Boys were also present for the questioning.
"You were able to confirm their alibis, too?" Inspector Megure looked at Takagi and Chiba. "Which means, we haven't been able to verify last night's alibis for Shima who plays Bocchan, Hotta who plays Yama Arashi, and Yoshikawa who plays Nodaiko. You three are the only ones "
"Having an alibi is a bigger miracle." Shima retorted.
"It was midnight." Hotta reminded.
"And we're suspects because of that?" Yoshikawa scoffed. "Unbelievable."
"Indeed." Inspector Megure agreed. "We'll have to question you later. We appreciate your cooperation."
"We should split up and help too." Conan sent his team off.
A few hours later...
"We didn't find anything conclusive." Haibara started once everyone reconvened.
"Is the culprit one of those three or Red Shirt?" Conan pondered. "We'll figure it out tomorrow."
The next day...
The police were sent once again to Bocchan Restaurant when Kiyohara found Akazawa's body hanging on the tree in the yard.
"'I offer my own death as an apology to the man I killed.'" Inspector Megure read the suicide note written on the sand after Akazawa's body was brought down.
"Inspector, this was found on the alter in Red Shirt's home." Takagi brought in the bagged kitchen knife.
"That's probably the weapon used in Uranari's murder." Inspector Megure remarked. "After killing his romantic rival Uranari, he realized he couldn't escape with his guilt so he took his own life."
"You two don't seem satisfied." Haibara spotted the deep-thinking looks on Conan and Fumio.
"If he really did it, then why leave the weapon on the alter?" Conan posted a question.
"Maybe he disposed of it initially, but once he decided to kill himself, he left it there by way of apology." Mitsuhiko suggested.
"Then, why wasn't the suicide note written on a piece of paper?" Fumio asked.
"Because their handwriting would give it away." Haibara answered.
"You mean Red Shirt's death wasn't a suicide?" Mitsuhiko gasped.
"What we're saying is that it's possible it was faked." Fumio stated.
"They knocked him out and hanged him by the neck." Conan explained. "Then, they fabricated the suicide note and placed the murder weapon on the alter to frame Red Shirt for the murder of Uranari. If that's true, then they must have left some evidence."
"The rope is wet." being most athletic, Fumio was on the tree in an instant. "There are also water droplets on the leaves of the branch underneath."
"His hair and clothes are also wet." Conan inspected he dead body after Fumio reported his findings.
"He just got out of the bath." Mouri cut in.
"Well, we still don't know if the suicide was faked." Conan told the Detective Boys after Mouri chased him off.
Back at the vet...
After finding out that the cat had two broken legs, Conan realized that the Bocchan Restaurant was not the original crime scene and the Detective Boys set out of locate the real murder site which they found was located in a nearby playground.
SailorStar9: Any OOC-ness is regretted, by the way. *Sighs* Don't you just hate plot bunnies sometimes? Read and review.