Gradually Becoming Like Fujino

Fujino felt that Hattori was born at the wrong time.

If this were the internet age, with his abilities, he could easily make a name for himself on websites like the top forum moderators.

"You really didn't find anything?"

Hattori Heiji couldn't help but glance at Fujino.

He acknowledged Fujino's abilities.

"It's not like we found absolutely nothing."

Fujino withdrew his gaze and turned to Hattori Heiji, he said, "It's not that that information was useless, but rather that it was completely useless."

"Not even a single clue?"

Hattori Heiji was taken aback. "Logically speaking, if someone is kidnapped in broad daylight, it's impossible that there are no clues at all... For example, the suspect's appearance, characteristics, etc., there should be eyewitnesses."

At this point, he frowned slightly and said, "Could it be that the guy covered his face and wore loose clothes?"

"That's not quite right. To say he was pretending is an understatement; he wasn't pretending at all."

Fujino rested his hand on the railing, rubbed his chin with his hand, and said, "The eyewitnesses at the scene saw the other person's face... it was a black man."

"Black person?"

Hattori Heiji, then, without immediately understanding, asked in bewilderment, "Could it be an African foreigner?"

No, that's not it.

Fujino shook his head and explained, "It's not certain whether they are foreigners or not. They just have dark skin, so dark that you can't even see their face clearly. Plus, they are dressed in all black and operate in the dark, so the clues from the eyewitnesses are not very useful. They only describe the feature of being dark."

"You can't even see their faces clearly anymore?"

Hattori Heiji was slightly taken aback. "How dark must it be?"

"Well, it's hard to say. If I were to give an example..."

Fujino turned around, glanced at Hattori Heiji, and said seriously, "Darker than you."

Hattori Heiji: "..."

Why do they even use me as an example in cases like this...?

"Is she even darker than Hattori?!"

Conan, standing to the side, also seemed curious, and pondered, "How dark would it have to be...?"

Hattori Heiji: "..."

Even you're badmouthing me?!

Is it wrong to choose black?! It's not like he could choose to choose black!

Hattori Heiji sighed softly, calming himself down.

Actually, on second thought, using him as an example is quite apt.

Even darker than him... you can't even see his face clearly.

No wonder they couldn't gather even a single clue.

After all, his family had treated him like a ghost when he got up at night before, and they were terrified.

"Could it be that the person who answered Hattori's call back then was that person?"

At this moment, Conan for a moment and suddenly brought it up.

"Ah, I think that's how it should be."

Hattori Heiji frowned and asked, "Did the kidnapper make any demands? After all, it's a kidnapping; logically, they should have wanted something, right?"

"There's still no news on that."

Fujino said, "After the kidnapping, the kidnappers seemed to vanish into thin air and did not make any demands to the police."

"How so?"

Hattori Heiji was taken aback by this, somewhat puzzled, then hesitated before saying, "If it really was that guy who answered my call, and so much time has passed without him making any demands, then Kyo Saori is probably in grave danger... Damn it, if only I had noticed that sooner..."

Conan nodded, looking somewhat disappointed, and clenched his fist.

"Actually, it can't be said that he's dead."

Fujino suddenly interjected, "The police haven't found Saori Kadokawa's body yet, so we can't confirm that she's dead..."

Kadowaki Saori is indeed not dead; as the kidnapper, he knows this best.

He didn't kill Kadowaki Saori; he just broke her leg and threw her onto the roof of the unfinished building.

As for whether he would die... he couldn't be sure.

However, given his skill, Kadowaki Saori shouldn't die from her injuries.

As for whether he would starve to death or be discovered, he was uncertain.

"I think Fujino- Senior is right."

Ran, who was standing to the side, nodded as she listened to the conversation. "Maybe Miss Menxie isn't dead yet."

Conan Hattori Heiji clearly did not know that Fujino was the Xiao Hei.

They both naively believed that Fujino was just trying to comfort them.

At the same time, he secretly thought to himself: Fujino may be quite mean at times, but he can also be a really good person at other times.

"But since that Kadowaki Saori is no longer on this island, what's the point of us coming here?"

Uncle Mori lit another cigarette, glanced at the small island not far away, and suddenly brought it up.

He was indifferent to the matter of the Kadowaki Saori.

After all, that person wasn't his client; at most, they were just a stranger. He didn't need to invest too much emotion in them.

The only reason he came was to take care of Hattori Heiji.

"It is necessary!"

Hattori Heiji rallied and said, "Although Kadowaki Saori is no longer kidnapped on the island, she said before she was kidnapped that she was about to be killed by a mermaid, so she must have had a premonition beforehand... Moreover, even if she was kidnapped, I should return the commission money to her family."

"Yes, I think Hattori- nii is right."

Conan nodded in agreement, saying, "Maybe after we get to the island, we can investigate and find out why Kadowaki Saori was kidnapped."

"Yes."

Fujino nodded and looked at the small island not far away. "Maybe we really might find out why Kadowaki Saori was kidnapped."

The ferry docked at noon.

Since no one had slept well the night before, everyone decided to go to the hotel to rest first before making any further plans.

Renyu Island is a small island, so naturally there aren't any good hotels.

The inn where Fujino and his group stayed was a small, old-fashioned wooden inn.

"Mr. Hattori Heiji, is that right?"

The hotel receptionist was an elderly woman in her sixties, dressed in a kimono. After Hattori Heiji gave his name, she produced the keys to three suites.

Mouri and Conan share a room, Ran and Kazuha share a room, Hattori Heiji a room alone.

The original plan was as follows.

But Hattori Heiji hadn't expected Fujino to come along, so he could only laugh awkwardly and say, "Then you can stay in my room tonight!"

"Forehead..."

Fujino glanced at Hattori Heiji, his face full of disdain.

Hattori Heiji: "..."

So what's with that disgusted look on your face...?

Fujino decisively chose to open another shop, not intending to spend Hattori Heiji there.

In the afternoon, in the hotel room.

Hattori Heiji sat on the hotel bed, turned to Conan who had just entered, and asked, "What do you think of this case?"

"If Kadowaki Saori's letter of request really stated that she would be killed by the mermaid, then perhaps we can find some clues on the island..."

Conan sat down in a chair and pondered, "By the way, is there anything else strange about that letter?"

"Yes, there are..."

Hattori Heiji, then grumbled, "For example, the letter of authorization was addressed to you, but the address was my house. I was really annoyed and wanted to just tear it up... It's not like my house is your personal mailbox, Kudo Shinichi. But I thought I should tell you, but you didn't even care about it."

"Who would believe it if someone suddenly started talking about mermaids?"

Conan retorted speechlessly, "If someone suddenly suggested we go find a mermaid or something, would you believe them?"

"That Fujino guy will believe it."

Hattori Heiji said in a serious tone, "When Kadowaki Saori asked that guy to find the mermaid, didn't he agree?"

"Forehead..."

"Alright, we'll find out about this after we investigate."

Seeing Conan's unpleasant expression, Hattori Heiji changed the subject and asked, "Speaking of which, why didn't you expose my mom when she tested you guys? Didn't you even notice?"

"That's because there was never any chance at all."

Conan paused for a moment, then seriously examined the situation and said, "Although I discovered the strange things about her and that she lied, there simply wasn't enough time."

Hattori Heiji thought about Conan's usual approach, "Why don't you just shoot Uncle Mori unconscious like you always do?"

"Fujino is right there, I can't use my skills at all."

Conan was speechless for a moment, then sighed and shook his head, "Besides, even if there is an opportunity, there is no need to expose her. Since she lied, she must have something she wants to hide. Forcibly opening up someone else's wound to see what's inside... As long as she hasn't broken the law, there's no point in exposing her."

"Um?"

Hattori Heiji glanced at Conan, looking him up and down, and said, "Hey, have you been possessed by someone?"

Conan's face turned pale. "Huh?"

"I just felt this wasn't something you would do."

Hattori Heiji: "Why does this sound like something Fujino would say? You kid, have you been spending too much time with Fujino and are you starting to become like Fujino? Let me tell you, if you become like Fujino, I'll break off all ties with you right now..."

"Hey! Hey!"

Conan was speechless for a moment. "What do you mean you'll break off all ties with me on the spot if I transform into Fujino's appearance?"

Well, that's hard to say.

Hattori Heiji, then hesitated and said, "Although Fujino has a cunning side, his personality is actually quite good, with a very unique charm... If you became like that, you'd probably be terrible."

"Um... although what you said is indeed correct."

Conan raised an eyebrow. "So that's why I'm so awful?"

"Heiji, are you two ready?!"

Just then, Kazuha's voice suddenly came from outside the door.

"I see."

Hattori Heiji responded and turned to Conan: "Let's not talk about that for now. Let's find out what Kadowaki Saori meant by being killed by the mermaid before we talk about anything else."

After leaving the hotel, the group immediately went to the village office on the island to ask the local staff if they knew anything about Kadowaki Saori.

However, because a festival was being held in the area, the staff only pointed out the gift shop Kadowaki Saori worked before leaving hastily.

Inside the gift shop.

"Mermaid Omamori, mermaid belts, and dugong buns."

Ran and Kazuha stood in front of the shelf, looking at the first volume displayed there, and said curiously, "There are so many things about mermaids on this island."

"Speaking of Heiji..."

Toyama Kazuha turned to Hattori Heiji and asked, "What exactly is a dugong?"

"It must be a creature that looks a lot like a human."

Hattori Heiji: "Back in the south of Japan, there used to be a creature called a dugong. You could use dugongs to make elixirs of immortality and such. Because they looked a lot like humans in the sea, they were called mermaids."

"Hey, Grandma Shopkeeper!"

Conan first approached the older woman standing behind the counter and asked, "Do you know someone named Kadowaki Saori?"

"Saori?"

The woman frowned and looked at the group. "What do you want with her?"

"Well, just a few days ago, we received a letter of authorization from Kadowaki Saori."

Hattori Heiji stepped forward and said, "We just asked the village chief's assistant, and they said that Kadowaki Saori used to work here, so we wanted to find out more about it..."

"Was it a detective hired by Saori?"

At the counter, a middle-aged woman wearing a purple sweater and an apron with wrinkles on her face looked at the group of people suspiciously and frowned.

The older woman is the store manager here, and the storefront saleswoman has always been Kadowaki Saori.

Because Kadowaki Saori was kidnapped a few days ago, she has to work as a waitress herself for the time being.

Although being a detective is a profession in this world where it's relatively easy to gain people's trust.

But seeing the group of people with their families in front of her, she still hesitated.

She had also heard that Kadowaki Saori was kidnapped by the Blackie.

Therefore, the people on the island don't have a good impression of Blackie lately.

"We are detectives from Tokyo investigating the kidnapping of Kadowaki Saori."

Fujino pulled his work ID out of his pocket. "I am Fujino, Criminal Consultant in the Metropolitan Police Department Criminal Investigation Department Division."

"Criminal Consultant?"

The store manager took a close look at Fujino's work ID.

He then looked up at the fair-skinned Fujino, clearly relieved, and said, "Saori did work here... She was kidnapped about four days ago after leaving..."

"..."

Hattori Heiji to the side, glanced at the work ID in Fujino's hand and narrowed his eyes slightly.

So why is it that calling someone a detective doesn't work, but this guy can get away with it just by pulling out his work ID?

Criminal Consultant?

Do you even have this thing?

How come he's never heard of it?

Although he had heard that Fujino had been granted amnesty by the Metropolitan Police Department, he had forgotten about it as soon as he heard it...

But I didn't expect it to be so useful...

One day he'll ask his dad for one too.

Pulling himself out of his thoughts, Hattori Heiji turned to the shop manager and asked, "Did Miss Monkiya exhibit any unusual behavior before she disappeared? Like, mermaid-like things..."