Double Chapter
Misa Takeda had gradually sunk into depression — until she met Rob, that cheerful, resilient man with disabilities. For a while, her spirit finally found a new anchor.
But after Rob recovered and left, he suddenly dropped a note telling her to "go die."
Misa's heart shattered. Yet, thinking back on all their days together, she felt Rob couldn't be that heartless. There had to be something else.
She drifted around in a daze for a few days, turning that final note over and over. Then she remembered: when Rob first arrived, her father's attitude toward him was terrible. But once Rob promised to pay the family, Shinichi Takeda's tone flipped overnight.
Could it be… her father hadn't been satisfied with the money, had a fight with Rob, or even blackmailed him — making Rob think Misa was in on it too?
That ugly possibility seemed kinder than Rob turning evil for no reason. So Misa clung to that hope and went to confront Shinichi Takeda. She was desperate for a clear answer, but her tone was sharper than she meant — it turned into an interrogation.
Unfortunately, Shinichi Takeda had just taken drugs that day. His emotions were already on edge. When Misa cornered him with this "proof" that his wife had once betrayed him, his anger surged. By the time he came back to his senses, he'd already strangled her.
After he sobered up, Shinichi secretly hung Misa in the puppet warehouse late that night.
Back then, the puppet warehouse wasn't abandoned yet. He made up a business trip, sent everyone away, and a few days later, Yuzo Takeda — who'd been told to fetch something — found the horror hanging from the beam. By then, Misa's body had started to decompose. Combined with her previous depression, the whole thing was chalked up to "suicide."
A few days after that, Lady Kinuyo, crushed by guilt over her daughter's "suicide," hanged herself in the same place.
…Quite the tragic pot, Jiangxia thought, ticking the blame up on his fingers. From Misa's angle, the guilt mostly fell on Rob and Shinichi Takeda.
If she wanted Shinichi dead — well, that was easy. The man was already about to meet his maker anyway.
But if it was Rob she wanted gone, that would need some wording adjustments.
Instead of "kill him," it'd be more like "make sure he faces punishment." The guy had already killed someone and would be arrested soon.
No wasted effort there.
Thinking this through, Jiangxia eyed the new ghost. He dropped his voice into that enticing, villain-cadre tone:
"Who do you want to punish?"
Hearing this, the new ghost raised her tiny, translucent hand and fiddled with the straw hat veil that hid her face. Her gaze lowered, lost in thought.
She definitely hated Shinichi Takeda… but she kept circling back to that scene — Shinichi finding out the child wasn't his. Even though she thought herself innocent, she couldn't deny he'd been provoked badly.
So her hate for him wasn't bottomless.
Truth was, what weighed heavier on her mind was still Rob's sudden "go die." She just couldn't understand it — how could someone so cheerful and kind flip overnight?
She thought for a bit, adjusted her little straw hat, and solemnly told Jiangxia what she wanted:
She needed to know why Rob said that.
That night, she'd suspected Shinichi Takeda had meddled. But she paid for that answer with her life — and from his reaction, she knew her greedy father hadn't extorted Rob after all.
So Rob's sudden cruelty was still a riddle that gnawed at her.
Jiangxia listened, head tilted, surprised at how simple the condition was.
But thinking about it, for him, it made no real difference — anything short of "kill Rob" was basically a freebie, and Hattori would probably dig up that truth anyway.
He nodded and extended a finger, touching the ghost's raised chibi palm.
A faint glow flickered where they met — agreement reached. Once her wish was granted, Jiangxia would sign her for his ghost menagerie.
He gave her an absentminded pat on the head, a tiny smirk on his lips. "But what if — just saying — what if you find out Rob really did it for no reason at all? That he just felt like messing with you?"
The new ghost froze.
Then her whole ghostly body began to shudder, eye sockets flaring red, blooming into angry blood-spot eyes. The delicate kimono on her back rippled and split — out shot eight sharp spider legs.
She hissed out a hoarse, bone-deep roar. The spider legs flexed, clamped onto the sink, and she looked poised to pounce straight to Rob's throat.
Jiangxia: "…"
He calmly raised his hand and smacked her back down before she could spring off.
He watched the angry spider legs clawing at his wrist and her still-human face.
Huh. So that explained her freaky ghost mechanics — gentle and slow when calm, but turbo-speed once she snapped.
He pinched one of the spider legs and gave it a tiny shake, like a handshake: "Easy, easy. Claws away. I said if."
Nearly a minute later, the spider ghost's legs finally unclenched. They folded back, and the eight-legged form smoothed away into an elegant girl in a white veil.
Jiangxia let go.
The spider lady didn't run. She stood there for a moment, then turned her back and raised a hand — as if secretly wiping ghostly tears.
She really did feel like the gloomy type: easily depressed, a bit manic, painfully shy, not at all the energetic shikigami you'd want for messy errands.
Still, better than a giant spider, Jiangxia thought.
…
Having wrapped up the ghost business, Jiangxia gave her one last head-pat and headed back to the dining room.
He already knew the real truth behind Rob's betrayal. But he figured once the Shinichi Takeda pot was resolved, he'd tell her right before leaving Puppet Peak — rip off the bandage and vanish before she could sprout all eight legs again.
Best for her… best for him too.
…
When Jiangxia returned, Shinichi Takeda was still at the table. The man looked up sharply.
He felt the detective had been gone too long. With his guilty conscience buzzing, he wondered if Jiangxia had already found something and slipped away to confirm it.
However…
Shinichi Takeda lightly touched the phone line hidden in his pocket through the fabric.
—There was only one phone and one car in the house, restricting both communication and escape. Even if Jiangxia discovered something, it'd be impossible for him to report it to the police without Shinichi's say-so.
Thinking this through, Shinichi Takeda felt reassured.
He nodded at Jiangxia, forced a polite, hollow smile, and lowered his head to continue eating.
…
After a while, Shinichi Takeda was the first to push back his chair.
"It's getting late, and I have a puppet that needs urgent delivery, so I'll get to work." He looked at Jiangxia. "I'll leave the investigation in your capable hands."
Jiangxia just nodded, calmly watching Shinichi Takeda leave — Miss Spider ghost perched politely on his small table, clinging to his leg like an elegant shikigami accessory.
Robert had also finished his meal, though he'd barely touched his food.
He deliberately avoided meeting Shinichi Takeda's eyes as the man left, then turned to Yuzo Takeda, who was humming away, sake cup in hand.
"Could I borrow the truck keys? I'd like to visit Misa's grave."
The Takeda family only had one truck. Robert had come by taxi before, so he didn't have his own ride.
"Of course!" Yuzo Takeda was very generous — he dug out the keys and handed them over, then glanced at the clock. "But it's getting pretty late. If you're not in a rush, why not wait till tomorrow?"
Robert shook his head and naturally lifted the camera hanging around his neck — classic tool person. "The sky's clear tonight. The moon and stars look beautiful. It's the perfect time."
"The moon and stars?"
Kazuha Toyama had been practically vibrating with boredom since arriving — no internet, no phone signal, and no shopping.
At the mention of stargazing, she perked right up. "Can I come with you?"
Robert was more than happy to have an innocent alibi: "Of course."
Jiangxia watched the two line up to leave, then looked over at Heiji Hattori. "You go too."
Heiji immediately stiffened, eyes sharp.
Jiangxia was sending him away on purpose — did that mean there was a huge clue here, one so big Jiangxia couldn't solve it instantly?
What could be so tricky that even this human cadre needed time?
His brain whirred. Then his eyes glowed with stubborn excitement: "No."
"…"
Jiangxia silently studied him for a second. He stood, brushed the crumbs off his clothes, and caught up with Robert and Kazuha, who were halfway to the door.
"Wait, I'm coming too."
…
The psychological strength of these criminals really was getting worse these days. He'd sensed Robert eyeing him warily during dinner. It was unlikely, but if Robert really ran now, those two precious shikigami clinging to his leg might vanish with him.
Plus, Kazuha's Aikido was solid, but she wasn't on guard around Robert — the man had a taser, after all. If he snapped, a surprise attack could easily disable her.
Originally, if Heiji Hattori had agreed to tag along, Jiangxia would've been fine staying behind. But since that yinbi refused… fine. Let him deal with the aftermath.
According to Robert's plan, once they drove out in the truck, Shinichi Takeda would meet his "accidental" death.
Everyone who stayed behind would have to clear the table, discover the corpse, break into the sealed puppet warehouse, search for clues… all the messy pot work.
If Heiji wanted to handle all that alone, so be it — he could solve the case too, make himself useful.
Besides, Jiangxia still had a letter of invitation to accept. If the sender suddenly died while he was on site, rumors might spread — some superstitious fools in the Detective Conan universe could get scared and stop hiring him altogether.
This case was flashy enough to boost his fame, but too much fame was more trouble than it was worth.
…
Heiji Hattori stayed glued to the table, watching the trio walk off into the darkness. He felt something was off.
Jiangxia's "departure" had been way too decisive.
Heiji mulled over what they'd said at dinner. Yoko Takeda had clearly said the fish had been bought according to the number of people.
But only two fish were missing — and three people had suddenly appeared tonight: him, Kazuha, and Robert.
The math didn't add up.
That meant there was one more person expected at the Takeda house tonight.
He couldn't prove it was Robert, but it made Robert a lot more suspicious. Letting Kazuha go stargazing alone with him really would've been risky — no wonder Jiangxia insisted someone else tag along.
Speaking of stargazing…
What was so great about looking at stars, anyway?
Heiji stabbed at his bowl of rice, sulking.
He still had to beat Jiangxia at something — if he could pin down Akio Negishi's real killer before Jiangxia got back, that would shut the corpse picker up for once.
He leaned back, mind racing, piecing together every clue about the Takeda family pot.
It was rare for Jiangxia to be absent. This was his shot to shine.
…
Meanwhile, Kazuha asked where exactly they were stargazing.
Robert replied it was about an hour's drive up the mountain, so she popped into the restroom first.
Jiangxia waited under the eaves, tilting his head at a 45-degree angle like a dramatic Buddhist, pretending to admire the mountain scenery.
Robert peeked at him, then let out a tiny sigh of relief.
He slipped to the truck and ran his fingers along the equipment hidden in the back.
A few days ago, after hanging Akio Negishi in the puppet warehouse and snatching a puppet stuffed with drugs, Robert had rigged up a special mobile hanging device on the second floor of the same warehouse.
He'd already sent Shinichi Takeda an anonymous tip-off: Come get your stolen puppet tonight or else.
Now, Shinichi Takeda was inside the warehouse — completely alone.
From the second-floor window, a nearly invisible fishing line stretched down to the truck — taut and waiting.
All Robert had to do was hit the gas.
He took a breath.
As Jiangxia and Kazuha strolled toward the truck, Robert slipped out a hidden air gun and fired a few BB pellets at the warehouse window.
The final plot was about to boil.
*Goal #1: Top 200 fanfics published within the last 31 - 90 days by POWER STONES.
Progress: 15/60(approx) for 10 BONUS CHAPTERS
Goal #2: One BONUS CHAPTER per review for the first 10 REVIEWS.
Progress:4/10*