"Washing Machine" Shrinkage Log~

"Washing Machine" Shrinkage Log~

Night fell over Tropical Land.

The Ferris wheel, lit up in a rainbow of colors, turned slowly. Lights also came on in the surrounding buildings. Although it was nighttime, it wasn't dark.

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

Kudo Shinichi, that attention-seeking guy, took a look at Shu Yunwen's handheld camcorder, then handed it back to him and smugly said, "So, Shu-san, you happened to film that woman committing the crime, which is how you knew she was the culprit and figured out how she did it?"

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

After the case was over, when Inspector Megure was wrapping things up, he'd originally wanted to take Shu Yunwen's camcorder, too. But after Shu Yunwen argued his case, Inspector Megure finally took only the tape. At this point, if the camcorder had been taken away, there was a good chance they wouldn't have caught the moment Kudo Shinichi went from big to small.

Well, Shu Yunwen was now seriously wondering whether the story had gone completely off the rails because he'd barged in. Would "Washing Machine" even shrink? That was the question.

"Eh? What do you mean, it would make me feel better?" Kudo Shinichi snapped, his private thoughts exposed just as Shu Yunwen was lost in his own.

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

"It's, it's fine!" Shu Yunwen waved his hand, then asked, "By the way, Student Kudo, weren't you going to follow someone? Did you end up losing them?"

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

Today had apparently been a real blow to Kudo Shinichi. He'd followed Gin and Vodka, only to be shaken off; then he'd heard about the roller-coaster case and rushed back, only for Shu Yunwen to solve it first.

Yeah, that was a double blow!

"I see!" Shu Yunwen smiled. Just as he was thinking Conan-kun might have been erased from existence by his interference, he glanced in a certain direction and his expression suddenly changed.

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

He saw two familiar figures, one burly and one tall and slender!

At once, Kudo Shinichi, who'd been feeling a little down, perked right up. "Shu-san, Xiumei, Ran, I have to leave again. Shu-san, as a man, you have to take the little ones, Xiumei, and Ran home!"

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

"Shinichi!" Ran said anxiously.

"Ran, don't worry about me. Call me when you get home!" Kudo Shinichi made a phone gesture beside his ear, then chased after Gin and Vodka.

Ran watched Kudo Shinichi run farther and farther away, her hand still reaching after him. Her face was filled with sadness and reluctance.

"...He's gone... Back then, 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, fists clenched, looking very much like she wanted to beat him black and blue. "Shu-san! How could you say something like that? That was just, just so rude!"

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

That's right. The whole "He's gone..." and so on hadn't been a voice-over or Ran's inner thoughts. Shu Yunwen had actually said it while standing beside her...

Yeah, that was a seriously obnoxious thing to do!

Tsukamoto Kazumi gave Shu Yunwen a helpless look, then apologized as well. "Ran, I'm really 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 by myself, so don't follow me!" In the end, Mori Ran glared at Shu Yunwen in anger, then hurried off on her own. As she ran, Ran wondered to herself: Why had Shu Yunwen's words been exactly the same as what she'd been thinking at the time?

It... was a little too strange.

At that moment, the three little ones—Genta, Mitsuhiko, and Ayumi—glared at Shu Yunwen with dead-fish eyes.

Ayumi: "That was so mean! You bullied a girl!"

Mitsuhiko: "And I admired you so much!"

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

Then the three little ones stuck out their tongues and made faces at Shu Yunwen.

Shu Yunwen was annoyed. Tsukamoto Kazumi reached out and patted the three little ones on the head. "Yunwen-san already apologized to Ran." Then Tsukamoto Kazumi turned to Shu Yunwen and said, "Yunwen-san, that kind of prank really is mean! Please don't do it again."

"Uh... Got it." Shu Yunwen nodded, then suddenly clutched his stomach. "Sorry, my stomach suddenly hurts. Kazumi-san, could you hold my things for me? I'm going to the restroom. I'll be right back, so wait for me, okay?"

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

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

Mitsuhiko followed up, "Why did Brother Yunwen take the camcorder with him to the restroom?"

Genta chimed in, "Could Brother Yunwen be planning to film himself going to the bathroom so he can watch it later?"

"Ugh..."

Ayumi and Mitsuhiko looked at Genta in horror and disgust. Even Tsukamoto Kazumi looked askance at Genta's way of thinking. It was too bizarre.

"G-Genta, you're disgusting!" Mitsuhiko's face had turned green.

Ayumi looked horrified. "That's something only a pervert would do, right?"

"Huh? Is it?" Genta asked, confused.

"Mm-hmm!" Mitsuhiko and Ayumi nodded furiously together.

Ten minutes later.

Behind a building, surrounded by bushes, was a patch of grass.

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

Vodka ran 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 some trouble this afternoon, the police are still patrolling around here..."

"Did something happen this afternoon?" Vodka asked.

Gin's gaze was sinister. "It was nothing. A man's head fell off while he was riding a roller coaster... Never mind."

As he spoke, Gin reached into his coat and pulled out a box from his pocket. "We'll use the drug instead. It's a new poison developed by the organization. Even after the victim dies, they can't detect any toxins. It hasn't been tested on humans yet, so let him 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 giving him the drug, Gin and Vodka jogged away.

About five minutes later, Shu Yunwen walked in from outside the bushes, smiling. His camcorder was on, recording the scene before him. After about five or six minutes, Kudo Shinichi, lying on the ground, suddenly let out a piercing scream. Then his whole body began to shrink, like melting snow, smaller and smaller, until at last he became a little kid.

"Whew... That was seriously terrifying." Shu Yunwen shrugged, whistled, turned off the camcorder, and walked out of the bushes.

After a few quick steps, Shu Yunwen spotted a security guard and hurried over to greet him. "Hello, sir. I just saw a child lying on the ground in those bushes!"

"Really? I'll go check at once. 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 toward the bushes first.

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

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

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

"No, no need. I think I just had a bit of diarrhea, but I feel much better now."

As soon as Shu Yunwen finished speaking, Mitsuhiko said unhappily, "You feel much better now, but I'm about to starve to death."

"Me too. Ayumi's so hungry," Ayumi complained.

Shu Yunwen hurriedly said, "Sorry, sorry~ I'll take you home right now."

Genta, the glutton, muttered from the side, "Doesn't an apology mean treating us to something to eat?"

Shu Yunwen and Tsukamoto Kazumi exchanged a glance.

Neither of them had any appetite right now. Thinking about what had happened that afternoon made them lose their appetite; they probably wouldn't be able to eat for a day or two.

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

After reassuring the three children, Shu Yunwen and the others finally left Tropical Land.

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

After walking Tsukamoto Kazumi home first, Shu Yunwen took a taxi and dropped Ayumi and Mitsuhiko off at their homes in turn. Then he went home with Genta and listened to Kojima Mie nag.

After dinner, Shu Yunwen returned to his room and watched the footage of Kudo Shinichi turning into Conan again. Then he heard Kojima Mie call him to answer the phone. Shu Yunwen left his room and picked up. The person on the other end immediately spoke. "Hello, Shu-san. This is Mori Ran. I got your home phone number from our teacher. I'm calling because I wanted to ask about Shinichi. It's already very late, but no one is answering when I call Shinichi's house. Did you see him after 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 can't answer the phone for some reason. For example, he might be using the bathroom, taking a bath, or out getting something to eat. I suggest you go wait at Student Kudo's house. You might find him there!"

Mm. If the call wasn't going through, that meant "Washing Machine" still hadn't gone home. Sending Ran to wait outside his house was definitely the smart move~

"Shu-san's right," Ran replied. "I'm sorry to bother 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 generously.

After hanging up, Shu Yunwen returned to his room and continued watching the hard-won footage.

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

"Y-You really are Shinichi!"