Disclaimer: Detective Conan is not mine. This fanfic is a translation.
Enjoy Reading!
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Irie's full name is Irie Kakufu. He is 46 years old and lives with his wife.
Fourteen years ago, he opened a hardware store in Tokyo. He's a quiet man who doesn't like socializing, but the neighbors all praise his knife-sharpening skills as second to none.
The tattoo on his shoulder was done ten years ago. The design comes from a trophy he won after taking first place in a community table tennis tournament.
Jinpei interrupted Wataru's explanation. "The tattoo was done ten years ago?"
"Yeah. The person who partnered with him in doubles was Sotomori, I already asked about it," Wataru replied. After thinking for a moment, he continued, "Also, he said something to his wife back then; 'Go water the flowers.' Though I don't really understand what that meant."
Hearing that, Hiro immediately reacted. "In the Nagano dialect, 'watering' is often said as 'dousing' instead!"
"Wait… does that mean Irie is from Nagano? Or at least lived there?" Kenji said excitedly.
"Kenji, you're forgetting something," Jinpei said seriously. "If the tattoo was done ten years ago, that doesn't match up with what happened fifteen years ago."
"True." Hagiwara picked up his notebook. "Alright, next is mine. I was in charge of Sotomori from the laundry shop."
Sotomori, full name Sotomori Hajime, is 55 years old and lives alone.
Originally, the laundry shop belonged to his uncle, who fell ill. Sotomori only helped out while his uncle was hospitalized, but after his uncle passed away, he took over and has been running it ever since.
The Kannon tattoo on his upper arm was done to commemorate his wife and mother, who both died in a traffic accident twenty years ago. When he got the tattoo, he deliberately had the two Kannon faces inked facing each other.
"That old man is also praised by the neighbors as a skilled repairman. He graduated from a technical university, and apparently he can fix most basic appliances, just like Jinpei!" Hagiwara said with a grin.
Looking at his police notebook, he added, "As for why he partnered with Irie in doubles, it's because they're from the same hometown."
Being from the same hometown meant Sotomori was also very likely from Nagano Prefecture. Ritsu mentally noted this and turned his attention to Jinpei's report.
The person Jinpei investigated was named Mononobe Shuzo, 35 years old. The scorpion tattoo on the back of his neck was from his reckless youth, when he joined a yakuza group called "Scorpion Cup."
He got the tattoo at age 20. He's currently single and lives alone.
After hearing the investigation results on all three suspects, there was a strange, hard-to-explain sense of inconsistency. Noticing the thoughtful look on Hiro's face, Ritsu asked, "What's wrong?"
"Oh… I just remembered something from a phone call with my brother," Hiro explained. "He said that the place I hid back then wasn't a sliding wall cabinet, it was a wardrobe that opened outward."
"Maybe you're mixing up your house with your relatives' place in Tokyo? I remember your home being a traditional Japanese house, so it should've had sliding doors and wall cabinets," Jinpei said.
"Yeah… that's probably it."
An outward-opening wardrobe… So that's where the inconsistency lies!
Realizing this, Jinpei voiced his doubt. "But if that's the case, isn't it strange? If he hid in an outward-opening wardrobe, and the killer slipped and crashed into it, the door would've shut. He shouldn't have been able to see the killer at all."
Listening to their discussion, Wataru thought about the wardrobe in his own home and said, "Maybe the gap Hiro looked through… wasn't vertical, but horizontal?"
Ritsu immediately reacted. "Class rep, are you saying… it was a louvered door?"
"Exactly. If it was a louvered door, you could still see outside even if it was closed. That means the tattoo you saw back then probably wasn't a goblet."
"?!"
If the top and bottom were obscured by the slats, the image of two Kannon figures facing each other could easily be mistaken for a goblet!
Realizing who the culprit was, everyone dropped their mops and rushed out of the police academy.
Sotomori Hajime's laundry shop, Sotomori Cleaners, was located at 1-2 Asahi Town, not far from the academy. At their running speed, they could reach it in under eight minutes.
Jinpei shoved the door open and shouted into the shop, "Hey, old man Sotomori, you here?!"
The laundromat was eerily quiet. There were no employees around, it looked like it was closed for the day.
Rei glanced at the washing machines nearby and noticed that wires were connecting two of them. As he reached out to open one, Jinpei spotted him and shouted, "Don't touch it! That's a bomb!!!"
"A—a bomb?!"
Jinpei, clearly experienced with such things, crouched down with his hands on his hips and examined the crude bombs connected by wires. "Yeah… they're all linked to the other machines. This could blow up the entire shopping street."
"Looks like the one on the far right is the source. If we stop that one, we should be fine."
Hiro frowned. "But why would he set up bombs?"
"Now's not the time to think about that," Wataru said decisively. "Jinpei, you handle the bomb. Hiro and I will look for Sotomori. The rest of you evacuate the nearby residents!"
"Yes, sir!"
"Wait!" Jinpei raised his bandaged hand helplessly. "Sorry, but my hand's like this right now, I can't do delicate work. Kenji, can you take over?"
"I'd love to say 'leave it to me,' but did you forget my fingers got scratched up by that cat too?" Kenji said with a wry smile, showing his bandaged fingers.
Both of them turned to look at Ritsu. They had planned to ask him, his dexterity in bomb disposal was second only to theirs but unfortunately, his dominant left hand was also wrapped in bandages from a glass injury the day before.
"Guess we've got no choice… Zero, you're up."
"M-me? But I don't—"
"I'll guide you. Just stay calm!"
"…Alright."
Ritsu and Kenji ran outside to evacuate the people in the shopping street, doing everything they could to prevent casualties in case the bomb exploded.
Even so, they had absolute faith in their teammates.
After evacuating everyone and returning to the shop, they received the good news. The bomb had been successfully defused. At the same time, they saw Wataru coming downstairs carrying a sleeping little girl, while Hiro escorted the culprit, Sotomori Hajime.
"Looks like we worried for nothing, Ritsu," someone remarked.
"Yeah…"
As Sotomori walked down the stairs with his head lowered, he softly asked, "What time is it now?"
"Hm?" Hiro checked his watch. "4:29 p.m.… why?"
"…I'm sorry, child. I'll go downstairs and apologize to your parents now…"
The moment he finished speaking, a massive explosion erupted from the second floor. No one had expected there to be another bomb upstairs.
As they froze in shock, Hiro saw Sotomori suddenly dash toward the second floor, now engulfed in flames, clearly intending to kill himself. Without hesitation, Hiro chased after him.
"Don't go, Hiro! It's too late!!"
"Turn back—Hiro!!"
As Hiro reached the top of the stairs, he turned back and shouted loudly, "Outside! The cherry blossoms!"
Jinpei frowned. "What's he talking about? It's not even cherry blossom season yet!"
Cherry blossoms? Blooming?
A memory flashed through his mind, the moment in the bathhouse when he had spread out the class flag.
So that's what he meant!
Rushing to the second-floor balcony, the five of them spread out the class flag emblazoned with "Blossoming Sakura", waiting for their "hero" to appear.
This was their unspoken understanding and their unconditional trust.
Bursting out of the flames with Sotomori in tow, Hiro didn't hesitate. He leapt outward, landing onto the outstretched flag below. As he lay there, he could hear Sotomori sobbing beside him.
"Let… let me die…"
"That's not happening," Hiro said firmly. "You need to atone first."