Crossroads in the Snow

Fujino quickly scanned the man's body.

My gaze lingered on the stainless steel kitchen knife.

Sunlight streamed through the narrow window, making the tip of the knife gleam with a dazzling silver light.

Fujino's Eagle Eyes were able to clearly capture the man's sword-wielding movements, and his Combat Insight was also triggered at the same time, allowing him to predict the man's next move.

He quickly raised his left hand, grabbed the man's wrist holding the knife, and forcefully twisted his hand.

"Snap!"

The bones in the man's wrist, which was holding the knife, snapped instantly.

There was no time for the other party to react.

Fujino quickly raised his right hand, bent his arm, and slammed his elbow towards the man's face, followed by a knee strike to the man's chest.

"Puff!"

The man spat out saliva, staggered backward from the knee strike, and was then slammed to the ground by Fujino's over-the-shoulder throw.

Logically speaking, the man should have fainted long ago after such a series of attacks.

But in his state of extreme excitement, he still tirelessly emitted shouts from his throat, like the excited cries of a wild beast:

"Butterflies! I want butterflies! My butterflies, how can I live without butterflies... I have to get this to that person!"

The man seemed oblivious to the pain and continued to struggle to get up.

Fujino stomped hard on the man's shoulder with her right foot and pulled him up with her left hand.

"Snap!"

Fujino forcefully dislocated the man's arm.

However, due to the effects of the medication, the man was still tightly gripping the kitchen knife in his hand.

Seeing this, Fujino kicked the man in the chest again.

After this heavy blow, the man gradually lost consciousness, and the knife slipped from his hand.

"Drug addict".

Fujino stood up, his gaze unusually cold.

Initially, he thought the killer must be the victim's enemy. The killer started attacking indiscriminately after entering the house, and the wounds on the body were messy and disorderly. Compared to a robber breaking into a house and killing someone, it seemed more like a premeditated murder or revenge.

However, he overlooked one point.

That means the murderer was a drug addict... He killed people simply because he wanted to kill.

Shortly afterward, the backup that Takagi Wataru called for arrived at the scene.

When the murderer was taken to the hospital, he was already barely alive.

Multiple fractures of the lower jaw ribs, dislocated shoulder blade, severe back contusion...

Meanwhile, police also detected traces of illegal drugs in his blood.

Fortunately, Fujino's counterattack was considered legitimate self-defense and he would not bear any legal responsibility.

The police quickly identified the deceased and the murderer.

According to the police investigation, the murderer was the victim's boyfriend, who was an idle layabout and unemployed, and often committed violence against his family after drinking.

The victim moved out to live alone and worked to support her two children because she couldn't bear the torment.

Even so, he would still come knocking on my door demanding money...

Just last night, the murderer came again to demand money, but this time, the two got into an argument. After taking drugs, the mentally unstable murderer picked up a kitchen knife and killed the victim.

As heavy snow began to fall, a cordon was set up around the crime scene, and the area was surrounded by residents from the neighborhood.

"Mother..."

Xiao Yi stood by the window outside the kitchen, holding her Panda Backpack in her arms, the bloody handprints particularly noticeable.

She blinked her clear eyes, staring blankly at the small window, bewildered and at a loss.

"..."

Fujino stood outside the alley.

He stared at the scene before him, remaining silent.

"You've done a great job."

At that moment, Hiratsuka Shizuka walked up from behind.

A smile played on her lips as she comforted her, "If you hadn't discovered her brother, she would probably be all alone in this world."

"However, you are wrong about one thing."

Fujino shook his head, turned around, and said calmly, "It should have been his mother who saved him."

"Okay, stop thinking about it. I know a really good ramen shop..."

She lit a cigarette, patted Fujino on the shoulder, and said boldly, "Although you still owe me so many ramen meals, this time it's on me!"

"This time it's on me."

"Um?"

Hiratsuka Shizuka was taken aback for a moment, then laughed and said, "You said it yourself, you can't go back on your word!"

Fujino took a deep breath and looked up at the sky. "Of course not, after all, I owe you a lot of favors in the past... it's time to pay them back."

Snowflakes drifted down from the sky, and cumulus clouds blocked out the sunlight.

Fujino's figure was obscured by the dim light, half black and half white.

The crossroads of 4-chome.

The streets were covered with a layer of white snow.

The three children walked ahead, happily having a snowball fight, while Ai Haibara and Conan followed silently behind.

On the way, Ai Haibara kept absentmindedly recalling the nightmare from the previous night.

"This is not a place for me to stay."

Conan mimicked Ai Haibara's tone, "If you don't want to involve innocent people, you have to leave here quickly... or something like that, right?"

"..."

Ai Haibara narrowed her eyes and turned to look at Conan speechlessly.

Although that's what she really thought.

"Don't worry, no normal person would believe that someone could drug you to shrink you. If you don't want to be exposed, just pretend to be a child."

Conan tiptoed on the soccer ball and added, "And what about Fujino? He's really strong and seems to have some connection with Kaito Kid. If we have to resort to this, we can just tell him about our situation, and he should be able to help us."

Ai Haibara suddenly spoke up, "We absolutely cannot tell him."

"Well?"

Conan was somewhat surprised. "Why not?"

Ai Haibara coldly replied, "No means no."

Conan pulled out the handful of sunflower Sunflower Seeds that Fujino had given him a while ago and started cracking them open. "You don't mean you have feelings for him, do you?"

Ai Haibara coldly turned her head and glared. "..."

Conan ate another Sunflower Seeds: "By the way, how old were you before you shrunk?"

Ai Haibara did not reply.

He simply squinted his eyes, seemingly lost in thought, and continued his stroll.

Until one street corner.

The little ones each went their separate ways and headed in their own directions home.

A black crow flapped its wings across the snow, then landed on a telephone pole, leaving a few black feathers in the snow.

Ai Haibara turned around, looked back, raised her head, and suddenly saw a black vintage car.

She stared at the black car in front of her.

I felt the snowflakes around me gradually stop.

Time seemed to stand still at that moment.

Her breathing became increasingly rapid, and she seemed to freeze in place.

"Hey, what are you looking at?"

Conan noticed Ai Haibara behavior, followed her gaze to the black car, and exclaimed, "Oh, it's Porsche 356a. These kinds of cars are old relics. I didn't expect anyone to still be driving one."

"This is..."

Ai Haibara opened her mouth, barely managing to squeeze out a weak sound from her throat, "This is... Gin's car."