Giving the "Victim" Some Understanding

"Oh, I see."

Sato Miwako nodded slightly. "If you realize that you might leave a mark, you will subconsciously tighten your arms to avoid the mark being discovered. I think there is a section on this in criminal psychology."

"Officer Denmi, please take a photo for record-keeping!"

"Yes!"

At Juzo Megure's call, the police officer in the blue overalls came over and took a picture of the mark under Ooba Etsumin's armpit with his camera.

"I never expected that just because of one action, I would still be discovered in the end..."

Ooba Etsumin, who was being pulled along by Sato Miwako, sighed, looking somewhat lost in thought, and said with a hint of helplessness.

"Mr. Ooba, do you have anything else to say?"

Juzo Megure put the other person's hand down and asked in a deep voice.

"There's nothing more to say."

Ooba Etsumin shook her head. "It was I who killed the culprit who murdered my brother."

"The culprit?"

Sato Miwako was taken aback upon hearing this and released her grip. "How did that person kill your brother?"

"That was my twin brother. He was killed by that Akano guy a year ago."

Ooba Etsumin lowered her head and explained, "Just a year ago, he went to watch a Nova Team match. When he came back, I found that he was covered in injuries. He said it was because he fell down the stadium stairs... But that very night, he lay on the ground in pain, clutching his head. After three days of rescue efforts, he died. The cause of death was intracranial hemorrhage caused by the collapse of the wall."

"Since she died at night, it means the bleeding wasn't severe at the time."

Upon hearing this, Fujino lowered his eyes and pondered for a moment, "Patients with intracranial hemorrhage do not feel any discomfort other than dizziness."

He sighed as he spoke, "The brain doesn't have pain receptors, so even if it's injured, it can't feel pain. If a professional had noticed him at the time, perhaps..."

"Yes."

Ooba Etsumin clenched her fists and wiped away her tears. "If only I had forced him to go to the hospital, but he said he was fine... In the end, I could only watch him die."

"The matter of Akano killing your brother..."

Sato Miwako couldn't help but ask, somewhat confused about the connection between their two deaths.

"Actually, I discovered this by chance."

Ooba Etsumin explained, "I was using my brother's computer when I accidentally logged into the 'Tokyo Ruffians' forum run by that guy Akano through the search history. I saw Akano's post from the day my brother had the accident, and I immediately understood..."

As he spoke, his expression suddenly turned grim. "He wrote on it that today he kicked a bastard who was messing around on my website down the stairs."

"So, in other words, he actually kicked your brother down the stairs, which led to his death?"

Sato Miwako frowned. "But how exactly did you determine the truth of this matter, instead of just that guy..."

"That's because I've already confronted him face to face! When I went to him to find out the truth about my brother's death, he said to me with a malicious smile, 'Why aren't you dead yet?'"

Ooba Etsumin looked down at her jersey. "This jersey is my brother's keepsake. Every time he went to watch the Nova Team, he would wear this jersey... So, I thought I would take my brother's place and punish this murderer!"

"Now that the case is clear."

Juzo Megure pulled handcuffs from his pocket. "We'll talk about the rest when we get back to the police station."

"However, the nature of the matter has not yet been determined."

Fujino reached out and blocked Juzo Megure's handcuffs, then looked at Ooba Etsumin: "Mr. Ooba, you confessed to the murder yourself, didn't you?"

"Uh... that's true."

"In court, the fact that someone surrenders themselves to the authorities can be considered when determining the sentence, and giving the real 'victim' a certain degree of forgiveness is itself the significance of the fact that someone surrenders themselves to the authorities."

After a pause, Fujino continued, "However, the situation is a bit complicated right now, so we need to investigate further before making any decisions."

"Since there's no arrest yet, it can be considered a surrender..."

Sato Miwako nodded slightly. "However, the specific details still need further investigation."

"In that case, Mr. Ooba, please come with us to the police station for questioning."

Juzo Megure was initially taken aback by Fujino's blocking, but after recovering, he understood what it meant.

The general idea is that if what Da Ye said is true, then the police can consider allowing him to turn himself in.

However, if the investigation results show that everything the other party said was false, then the proposal can be rejected outright.

After all, the circumstances surrounding the surrender are still quite ambiguous, and it all depends on what the police think.

He extended the handcuffs, and this time there was no resistance; they were successfully put on.

Conan, who was standing to the side, looked at Fujino with a strange expression and was momentarily stunned.

He suddenly felt that the images of Fujino and Sherlock Holmes overlapped in that instant.

So much so that he felt the other person suddenly had a bit of Sherlock Holmes about him.

Could it be that Fujino is actually Sherlock Holmes?

Conan shook his head, immediately banishing the terrible thought from his mind.

Yes, absolutely not.

It must be a hallucination caused by overlapping appearances...

Yes, it must be a hallucination!

Conan comforted himself with this thought, preferring to believe it was just an illusion rather than considering the possibility that Fujino was a conman.

"I hope he wasn't lying."

Sato Miwako watched Daiya's departing figure and murmured, "Don't let Fujino- kun's good intentions go to waste..."

"Fujino- kun's kindness?"

The wooden figure beside him, Takagi, was clearly not quite understanding the deeper meaning behind the words and actions of the group in less than a minute, and was taken aback. "What does this mean?"

"It doesn't mean anything."

Sato glanced at Takagi and suddenly realized that his partner was a bit dazed.

She immediately understood why Fujino did that.

Give the 'victims' some understanding.

Sato Miwako agrees with what Fujino said.

As a police officer, she was upholding the law and justice; murder is murder, and those responsible must be punished by law.

However, outside of the law, there are some things that cannot be brought into the realm of law and justice.

Since they're no longer within the law, this is probably the only way to punish them.

Perhaps she could have arrested the murderer without hesitation, but gradually she began to feel a strange pity for the murder.

"Um?"

Takagi frowned in confusion and turned to Fujino beside him. "Advisor Fujino..."

"It doesn't mean anything."

Fujino nodded slightly. "It would be pointless to say it out loud."

"So what exactly does it mean?"

Takagi looked completely bewildered, as if she had missed something exciting.

Why are there so many riddle-solving people around me?

I went out drinking with friends today, so I'll write and post this sooner rather than later.