Hayashi Shuichi had promised Yukiko last night that he would see her off at the station today, and afterward, he was scheduled to help Professor Agasa move house with Reiko.
Thinking of this, he forced himself to crawl out of bed. He splashed cold water onto his face; the icy droplets sliding down his cheeks instantly sobered him up considerably.
After a hurried wash, Hayashi Shuichi walked briskly toward the Fujimine family's apartment.
Along the way, police cars whistled past from time to time, and occasionally, he saw one or two tattooed men being shoved into the back of patrol cars by officers.
It looks like the Sumiyoshi-kai caused quite a stir last night... Hayashi Shuichi watched the scene thoughtfully. Just as he was about to continue on his way, a police car pulled up beside him.
The window rolled down slowly, revealing Inspector Megure's honest, good-natured face.
His eyes were bloodshot, clearly the result of a busy night. Yawning, he spoke, "Hayashi-kun, where are you headed? Need a lift?"
"No need, I'm going to Yukiko's place," Hayashi Shuichi waved his hand, then feigned curiosity as he asked the obvious, "By the way, why is it so lively this morning?"
"Don't mention it," Inspector Megure yawned again, raising a hand to rub his throbbing temples. "Last night, the Sumiyoshi-kai's head honcho in Beika—that Itou Ichiro you met before—was taken out in his own home. The Sumiyoshi-kai members have gone mad, scouring the streets for their boss's killer. They've turned the entire Beika district upside down."
"Did they call the police?" Hayashi Shuichi raised an eyebrow.
"No. These yakuza types care too much about face," Inspector Megure curled his lip in disdain. "They're worried that asking the police for help would make them lose respect in front of other criminal organizations. Plus, they're afraid that if the police catch the killer first, they won't be able to exact their own revenge."
Hayashi Shuichi asked, "Then why did I just see police arresting gang members?"
"That's because they went too far," Inspector Megure sighed helplessly. "Usually, we can't be bothered with yakuza squabbles as long as they don't involve ordinary citizens. But their harassment everywhere last night was simply outrageous, so we had to step in to stop it."
"They were busy all night," Hayashi Shuichi pretended to be curious. "Did they find the killer?"
"If they had, they wouldn't still be on the streets," Inspector Megure shook his head. "Rumor has it that the ones who attacked Itou Ichiro last night were a man and a woman—two assassins dressed in bizarre costumes. If you ask me, it's nine out of ten likely to be people from one of the other two major syndicates. Unless the Sumiyoshi-kai wants to start a war with them, this matter will definitely end without a conclusion."
After chatting for a few more moments, Inspector Megure drove away.
With Megure gone, Hayashi Shuichi finally relaxed completely. It seemed that Tomizawa Chikage had returned to the hospital safely last night.
Arriving downstairs at the Fujimine apartment, Hayashi Shuichi saw that Yukiko was already waiting at the entrance.
She was wearing a pale blue dress, her hair tied loosely in a ponytail, looking exceptionally fresh and charming in the morning light.
The two walked side by side toward Beika Station. Along the way, Yukiko chattered excitedly about interesting things happening on set, but Hayashi Shuichi was a bit absent-minded.
"It's such a short walk, yet you've yawned several times already," the girl glared at him in dissatisfaction. "Is accompanying me really that boring?"
"I didn't sleep well last night," Hayashi Shuichi explained helplessly, his face still showing traces of fatigue.
"I don't know what happened last night, but the streets were a mess," Yukiko nodded, still a bit shaken. "I was woken up once in the middle of the night, too. It was so noisy outside, I didn't know what was going on. And this morning, I saw so many police cars patrolling..."
As they talked, they arrived at Beika Station.
Hayashi Shuichi was just about to go buy a ticket for the girl when Yukiko stopped him. "No need, I'm not taking the train today."
"Then how are you getting there?" Hayashi Shuichi frowned.
"Someone is driving over to pick me up, of course," Yukiko replied casually.
Someone is picking her up... It wouldn't happen to be some pretty boy she met on set, would it?
Hayashi Shuichi immediately felt a surge of displeasure. "Why didn't you tell me yesterday?"
Having seen the messy, chaotic nature of the entertainment industry in his past life, the first thought that popped into Hayashi Shuichi's mind upon hearing that someone was picking Yukiko up was: Could I have been cuckolded?
"Did I not tell you yesterday?" Yukiko tilted her head in thought. "Well, now you know. Anyway, I'm already at the station. Don't you have things to do?"
"My business isn't urgent," Hayashi Shuichi stood his ground, his face stern.
"Hey, why are you acting so weird?" Yukiko glanced at him suspiciously, then reached out to gently push him. "You should hurry up and go; I'm really fine here."
"I'll wait a bit longer," Hayashi Shuichi said with a dark expression. "I can only rest easy after I see you get in the car with my own eyes."
"Why do you have to..." Yukiko looked at Hayashi Shuichi's grim face. After a moment of stunned silence, realization suddenly dawned on her. "Hey, you don't think the person coming to pick me up is a man, do you?"
"Is it not?"
Just as Hayashi Shuichi's words fell, a bright yellow sports car screeched to a halt beside them, tires crying out against the pavement.
Hayashi Shuichi, who had intended to see what the 'pretty boy' looked like, felt his heart skip a beat when he saw the driver clearly.
Uh, if I'd known, I would have left earlier...
"Now are you satisfied? When I came back yesterday, the director mentioned that Miss Vineyard would also be going to the set today, so he told me to catch a ride with her. That way, I don't have to go all the way to Takasaki," Yukiko glared at Hayashi Shuichi, then greeted the driver of the sports car. "Miss Vineyard."
"Mm, get in," Sharon nodded. She glanced at Hayashi Shuichi with a cold expression, her eyes full of distance, offering not a single extra word.
Because of the incident with the Miyano couple yesterday, Sharon and Hayashi Shuichi had truly fallen out; she had even left him with harsh words upon parting.
Unexpectedly, less than a day later, the two were meeting again. The air seemed thick with awkwardness.
Yukiko looked at them in confusion. These two had a bit of an ambiguous vibe before, so why is this meeting so cold?
But regardless, Hayashi Shuichi cutting ties with Sharon was a good thing as far as Yukiko was concerned.
She waved to Hayashi Shuichi and walked toward the passenger seat of the sports car.
While Yukiko hadn't gotten in yet, Hayashi Shuichi hurriedly whispered, "Don't drag other people into the matters between you and me."
"Some people are just too full of themselves," Sharon sneered, her tone dripping with mockery. "Yukiko and I are colleagues on the same set. What does that have to do with you?"
At this moment, Yukiko opened the door and got in. The girl asked confusedly, "What are you two talking about?"
"Nothing. Some people are just being overly sentimental," Sharon explained briefly, then ignored Hayashi Shuichi completely. She slammed on the gas, driving away.
After seeing off Yukiko, Hayashi Shuichi returned to the izakaya. After having breakfast with Reiko, they headed toward the apartment Professor Agasa was currently renting.
It was an old apartment building, the corridors piled high with clutter.
Arriving at Professor Agasa's door, they rang the bell. It took quite a while before Professor Agasa hurriedly opened the door.
The moment the door opened, the sight before them left Hayashi Shuichi and Reiko dumbfounded. Rather than an apartment, it would be more accurate to call it a warehouse.
The room was in total disarray, piled high with wires, instruments, and other miscellaneous items, leaving only a narrow path for people to walk through.
"Professor," Reiko's eyes went wide, "you're moving today, yet you didn't pack in advance?"
"Sorry," Professor Agasa scratched his head with a dry laugh. "I was fixing that Voice-Changing Bowtie all night. I got too absorbed and forgot to pack these things."
"Professor Agasa," Hayashi Shuichi reminded him kindly, "don't scratch your head so much if you don't have to. Be careful or you'll scratch all the hair in the middle off, and you'll turn into a 'Mediterranean Sea' in the future."
"Eh? Is that really a thing?" Professor Agasa was startled and hurriedly smoothed down his hair.
"Professor, besides the Voice-Changing Bowtie, didn't you say yesterday that there were many other fun inventions?" Reiko urged. "Hurry up and show us!"
"They're all here, let me look..." As Professor Agasa spoke, he struggled to rummage through the pile of junk, occasionally getting tangled in wires. It took a great deal of effort before he pulled out a pair of enormous shoes.
Reiko stretched out her hand to measure them; the shoes were almost as long as her arm. "Professor, are these shoes for a giant?"
"Haha, of course not!" Professor Agasa explained proudly. "These are my Power-Enhancing Shoes. They use electricity and magnetic force to stimulate the acupuncture points on the foot, allowing muscle strength to be utilized to the absolute limit. It lets even a child kick with the force of an adult."
"So cool!" Reiko's eyes instantly sparkled. "Professor, can I try them?"
"About that..." Professor Agasa gave a dry laugh. "I'm afraid not. These shoes are too big; they won't fit you."
"With feet this big, aside from a giant, I doubt anyone could wear them," Reiko retorted. "Professor, couldn't you make them smaller?"
"I want to, as well," Professor Agasa subconsciously went to scratch his head again, but remembering Hayashi Shuichi's warning, he quickly put his hand down. "But with the current level of technology, this is the best I can do. Maybe when technology advances in the future, I can shrink them to the size of normal shoes."
Seeing Reiko's disappointment, Professor Agasa hurriedly dug out another instrument from the pile. It had a display screen on top and had the length and width of a book, though it was several times thicker.
"What is this one?" Reiko leaned in with great interest, examining the strange device.
"This is my Criminal Tracking Radar," Professor Agasa said, opening the bottom of the box to reveal a ball the size of a tennis ball.
He then pressed a button on the box, and the screen lit up, showing a constantly blinking dot in the center.
"This ball is a signal transmitter. Within a five-kilometer radius, the radar can locate the position of the ball."
"This one seems actually useful," Reiko nodded. "But isn't it a bit too big? If it could be smaller, that would be great."
"With current technology, this is the limit," Professor Agasa spread his hands, looking dejected.
"Professor, isn't there anything someone my age can use?" Reiko asked expectantly.
"Let me think... Right, that skateboard should suit you," Professor Agasa clapped his hands and dove back into the junk pile to search. His voice drifted out occasionally, "Strange, where did I put it?"
"A skateboard? Big Brother taught me before, I'm actually very good at..."
Before Reiko could finish her sentence, she saw Professor Agasa dragging out a metal box with four wheels attached to the bottom.
The girl looked shocked, her mouth hanging wide open. "Professor, are you sure this is a skateboard?"
"This is, indeed, my Solar-Powered Electric Skateboard," Professor Agasa explained awkwardly. "But the battery and motor unit, well..."
"Limited by the level of technology, you can't miniaturize it?" Reiko finished the unspoken sentence for him.
"Correct," Professor Agasa nodded in embarrassment, his face slightly red, wishing he could crawl back into the pile of junk.
"Professor, it seems like none of your inventions are of any use," the little cousin remarked bluntly.
Standing to the side, Hayashi Shuichi had already realized that these were the first-generation prototypes of the tech gadgets Conan would use in the future.
Although they were useless now due to their size, they would become indispensable aids to Conan eventually.
"Alright, Reiko," Hayashi Shuichi patted his sister on the head. "The Professor's inventions are just temporarily unusable because they're too large. They will definitely be useful in the future."
Professor Agasa laughed dryly, taking Hayashi Shuichi's words as polite comfort, and shook his head with a bitter smile.
The three began to pack up the clutter in the room. Professor Agasa wasn't married and didn't even have a girlfriend, so aside from these inventions, instruments, and tools, there wasn't much else in the apartment.
According to Professor Agasa, there was no need to organize the junk; just throwing it into boxes would suffice.
The three of them worked for over two hours, and soon, most of the items were packed into boxes.
The room gradually emptied, leaving only a few scattered items.
"Phew, finally almost done," Reiko wiped the sweat from her forehead, panting with exhaustion.
Just then, she suddenly noticed something lying on the floor nearby. It looked like a small flashlight.
Curious, Reiko picked it up. "What's this?"
"Careful! Don't press the button on it!" Professor Agasa shouted a warning as he rushed toward Reiko.
Startled by his intense reaction, the little cousin's hand slipped. The "flashlight" she was holding dropped to the ground, landing squarely on the red button on top.
In the next instant, a cold glint shot from the front of the "flashlight," striking Professor Agasa in the neck.
"Professor?" Reiko, thinking she had caused a catastrophe, asked with a trembling voice, "A-Are you okay?"
"I'm fine, it's just anesthe..." Before Professor Agasa could finish his sentence, his body swayed, and he collapsed onto the floor.
"Big Brother, what do I do? D-Did I kill him?"
The little cousin's face turned pale with fright. Bean-sized tears swirled in her eyes, and her voice took on a sobbing tone.
"I didn't mean to... I really didn't..."
(End of Chapter)
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