"The Washing Machine" Shrinks

~

Tropical Land. Night fell.

The Ferris wheel, lit up in colorful lights, turned slowly. The buildings all around it were lit up too. Though it was nighttime, the park wasn't dark.

Shu Yunwen, Washing Machine, Ran, Kazumi, Genta, and the others walked along the path to the exit, chatting now and then.

Kudo Shinichi, always eager to show off, took a look at Shu Yunwen's handheld camcorder, then handed it back to him. He sought some consolation in his own superiority. "So, Shu-san, you happened to film that woman committing the crime, which is how you figured out she was the culprit and solved the case, right?"

"Mm..." Shu Yunwen rolled his eyes and checked the newly installed tape in the camcorder. "...If that makes you feel better, Student Kudo, you can think of it that way."

After the case was over, Inspector Megure had wanted to take Shu Yunwen's camcorder along with the rest of the evidence. But after Shu Yunwen argued his case, Inspector Megure had finally taken only the tape. At this point, if the camcorder had been taken away, they might not have been able to record Kudo Shinichi's transformation from big to small.

Well, Shu Yunwen was starting to wonder if his unexpected appearance had already thrown the story into complete disarray. Would Washing Machine even shrink? That was the question.

"Huh? What do you mean, 'if it makes me feel better'?" Kudo Shinichi snapped, his feelings laid bare as Shu Yunwen stood there lost in thought.

Ran hurriedly spoke up. "Shinichi! That was incredibly rude of you!" Then she apologized to Shu Yunwen. "Shu-san, I'm really sorry..."

"N-no, it's fine!" Shu Yunwen waved his hand, then asked, "By the way, Student Kudo, weren't you supposed to be tailing someone? Did you end up losing them?"

Kudo Shinichi froze for a moment, then grew dejected. "I was following them just fine at first, but then I lost them. I followed them to several places, but they got away from me at a fast-food restaurant..."

Today seemed to have been a real blow to Kudo Shinichi. He'd tailed Gin and Vodka, only to get shaken off. Then he'd rushed back after hearing there was a case at the roller coaster, only for Shu Yunwen to solve it first.

Yeah, that was a double whammy!

"I see." Shu Yunwen smiled. He'd just started thinking that Conan-kun might have been erased from existence, when his expression suddenly changed as he looked in a certain direction.

Kudo Shinichi followed Shu Yunwen's gaze, and his expression changed too.

He saw two familiar figures—one burly, the other tall and thin!

In an instant, Kudo Shinichi, who'd been looking dejected just moments before, was full of energy again. "Shu-san, Xiumei, Ran, I have to leave again. Shu-san, as a man, you have to take the kids, Xiumei, and Ran home!"

Shu Yunwen opened his mouth, then nodded. "Don't worry!"

"Shinichi!" Ran called out anxiously.

"Don't worry about me, Ran. Call me when you get home!" Kudo Shinichi made a phone-call gesture beside his ear and took off after Gin and Vodka.

Ran watched Kudo Shinichi run farther and farther away, her hand still stretched out toward him. Her expression was sad and reluctant.

"...He's gone... At the time, I didn't know why, but I suddenly had a feeling—a dreadful feeling that I'd never see Shinichi again..."

"..."

"...Ah!!!" Ran glared angrily at Shu Yunwen, her fists clenched as if she wanted to punch him until he was black and blue. "Shu-san! How could you do something like that? That was just, just so rude!"

"Ah, well, I'm really sorry." Shu Yunwen scratched his head sheepishly and apologized repeatedly.

That's right. Those words about "He's gone" and so on hadn't been voice-over narration or Ran's thoughts. Shu Yunwen had said them aloud while standing right beside her...

Yeah, that was a seriously obnoxious thing to do!

Tsukamoto Kazumi gave Shu Yunwen a helpless look, then apologized too. "Ran, I'm sorry. Yunwen-san didn't mean any harm..."

Shu Yunwen apologized again. "I'm sorry, Student Mori. Please forgive me!"

"Hmph... I hate you! I hate you! I'm going home by myself. Don't follow me!" In the end, Mori Ran glared at Shu Yunwen, then hurried away on her own. As she ran off, Ran wondered, Why had Shu Yunwen's words been exactly the same as what she'd been thinking at the time?

That was... a little too eerie.

Just then, Genta, Mitsuhiko, and Ayumi all stared at Shu Yunwen with dead-fish eyes.

Ayumi: "That was so mean, picking on a girl!"

Mitsuhiko: "And I used to admire you so much!"

Genta: "I'm telling Mom what you did today! Doing something so mean is unforgivable!"

Then all three kids stuck out their tongues and made faces at Shu Yunwen.

Shu Yunwen was getting annoyed. Tsukamoto Kazumi reached out and patted the three kids on the head. "Yunwen-san already apologized to Ran." Then Tsukamoto Kazumi turned to Shu Yunwen. "Yunwen-san, that really was a mean prank. Please don't do it again."

"Uh... All right." Shu Yunwen nodded, then suddenly clutched his stomach. "Sorry, my stomach suddenly hurts. Kazumi, could you hold my things for me? I'm going to the bathroom. I'll be right back. Wait for me, okay?"

Tsukamoto Kazumi took the things Shu Yunwen handed her and nodded. "Okay, Yunwen-san."

After watching Shu Yunwen walk away, Ayumi suddenly said, "That's weird!"

Mitsuhiko chimed in. "Why did Brother Yunwen take his camcorder to the bathroom?"

Genta then muttered, "Is Brother Yunwen going to film himself using the bathroom so he can watch it later?"

"Ew..."

Ayumi and Mitsuhiko stared at Genta with horrified, disgusted expressions. Even Tsukamoto Kazumi looked at Genta askance. What a bizarre way of thinking.

"G-Genta, you're disgusting!" Mitsuhiko looked as if he'd gone green.

Ayumi looked horrified. "Isn't that something only a pervert would do?"

"Huh? It is?" Genta looked confused.

"Yeah!" Mitsuhiko and Ayumi nodded vigorously.

Ten minutes later.

Behind a building, surrounded by trees, lay a grassy patch.

Kudo Shinichi hit the ground hard. Gin walked out from behind him. "Vodka, you were careless. We'd only been followed by this kid earlier this afternoon, and you still let your guard down. He saw the deal."

Vodka hurried over and pulled a gun from inside his jacket. "Damn it! Let's just kill him!"

Gin stopped him. "Put the gun away. Because of the trouble earlier this afternoon, there are still police patrolling the area..."

"Did something happen this afternoon?" Vodka asked.

Gin's eyes were cold and sinister. "It was a minor thing. A man's head happened to fall off while he was riding a roller coaster... Anyway."

As he spoke, Gin reached inside his coat and pulled out a box. "We'd better use the drug. It's a new poison developed by the Organization. Even after the victim dies, there's no way to detect the toxin. It hasn't been tested on humans yet, so he can be the first... By the way, I heard this guy's some kind of high school detective?"

"Kudo Shinichi, right? A brat who doesn't know when to quit!" Vodka kicked Kudo Shinichi.

After forcing the drug down his throat, Gin and Vodka jogged away.

About five minutes later, Shu Yunwen walked in from beyond the trees, smiling as the camcorder recorded what was happening. Around five or six minutes later, Kudo Shinichi, lying on the ground, suddenly let out a terrible scream. His whole body began shrinking, like melting snow, smaller and smaller and smaller, until he finally turned into a little kid.

"Whew... That was damn terrifying." Shu Yunwen shrugged, whistled, switched off the camcorder, and left the trees.

He hurried along and spotted a security guard. "Hello, sir. I just saw a child lying on the ground in those trees!"

"Really? I'll go check right away. Sir, may I ask who you are? Sir? Sir?" The guard agreed and asked Shu Yunwen who he was. When Shu Yunwen didn't answer and kept walking farther away, the guard hesitated, then headed for the trees first.

He had to check whether there really was a child there!

"I'm really sorry to have kept you waiting!" Shu Yunwen scratched his head sheepishly and apologized repeatedly.

Tsukamoto Kazumi smiled. "It's all right. But are you feeling okay, Yunwen-san? Should I go with you to the infirmary?"

"N-no, I'm fine. I think I just had an upset stomach. I feel much better now."

As soon as Shu Yunwen finished speaking, Mitsuhiko said unhappily, "You may feel much better now, but I'm starving."

"Me too. Ayumi's really hungry," Ayumi grumbled.

Shu Yunwen hurriedly replied, "Sorry, sorry! I'll take you all home now."

Genta, the glutton, muttered, "Why don't you buy us something to eat to make up for it?"

Shu Yunwen and Tsukamoto Kazumi exchanged a glance.

Neither of them had any desire to eat right now. Just thinking about what had happened that afternoon turned their stomachs. They probably wouldn't be able to eat for a day or two.

"It's already too late today. How about I treat you all to something another time, when we have time?" Shu Yunwen said.

After soothing the three kids, Shu Yunwen and the others finally left Tropical Land.

Tsukamoto Kazumi's home really was close to Tropical Land.

After taking Tsukamoto Kazumi home, Shu Yunwen took a taxi and dropped off Ayumi and Mitsuhiko in turn. Then he went home with Genta and listened to Kojima Mie nagging him.

After dinner, Shu Yunwen returned to his room and watched the footage of Kudo Shinichi turning into Conan again. Then Kojima Mie called out for him to answer the phone. Shu Yunwen left his room and picked up. The person on the other end immediately said, "Hello, Shu-san. This is Mori Ran. I got your home number from our teacher. I'm calling to ask you about Shinichi. It's already very late, but no one's answering when I call Shinichi's house. Have you seen him since we parted ways?"

Shu Yunwen smiled. "You mean Student Kudo? I'm sorry, but I haven't seen him since we parted ways."

"Is that so?" Ran sounded disappointed.

Shu Yunwen said with a smile, "Student Mori, perhaps Student Kudo hasn't answered for some reason. Maybe he's using the bathroom, taking a bath, or gone out for something to eat. I suggest you go wait at his house. You might find him there!"

Right. If no one was answering the phone, Washing Machine hadn't gotten home yet. Having Ran wait outside his house was definitely the right move~

"That makes sense, Shu-san," Ran replied. "Sorry for bothering you."

Shu Yunwen took the opportunity to apologize again. "By the way, Student Mori, I'm really sorry about what happened this evening. I didn't mean any harm."

"Please don't worry about it, Shu-san. I forgive you," Ran said graciously.

After hanging up, Shu Yunwen returned to his room and continued watching the precious footage he'd obtained.

At the same time, in Professor Agasa's room, Professor Agasa looked at the shrunken version of Kudo Shinichi in front of him and stammered:

"Y-you really are Shinichi!"