Detective Conan: Death Note

Kyoto, Japan—a city neighboring Osaka.

After Hayashi Yoshiki arrived by train, he made his way to Umekoji Hospital, following the address he'd been given.

"Brother Yoshiki, over here!"

In the corridor on the eighth floor of the inpatient wing, Ran was waving at him.

Hayashi Yoshiki quickly walked over. Together with Ran, he saw Hattori Heiji sitting up in bed, a bandage wrapped around his head. Surrounding him were Toyama Kazuha, Conan, Shiratori Ninzaburo, and Detective Otaki from the Osaka Police Department.

"Why is it so lively in here?"

Hayashi Yoshiki couldn't help but smile as he spoke.

"Why is this guy here too?"

Hattori Heiji looked a little surprised.

"You were the one taking care of me when I was hospitalized in Osaka. Of course I had to come see you when I heard you'd been injured."

As Hayashi Yoshiki spoke, he set the fruit basket he'd brought on the bedside table and began asking what had happened.

He had heard about the thieves' gang called "Genjibotaru" from Odagiri Toshio that day—it was the same name used in the movie Crossroads in the Labyrinth.

However, Hayashi Yoshiki hadn't gotten involved directly. He had waited until he heard that Hattori Heiji had been injured before rushing to Kyoto.

"We were at a teahouse when our companion, Mr. Shozo Sakura, was murdered in the storage room."

"After the investigation led nowhere, Kazuha and I headed back. But we were ambushed by someone wearing an old man's mask on the way..."

As Hattori Heiji spoke, a look of frustration crossed his face.

The attacker had been riding a motorcycle and had fired arrows at them from behind. To protect Kazuha, Heiji had driven into the woods and fought the attacker—but the opponent had used tricks and cheap shots to win. After knocking him down, the masked man seemed intent on searching his body.

"Wanted to take something from you?"

"That's just my guess. Actually, my partner and I... well, we were ambushed once before during the investigation."

Heiji still couldn't figure out what of his might be valuable to thieves.

But Hayashi Yoshiki remembered.

When Heiji was a child, he encountered his first love in Kyoto. He'd woken up in a temple to the sound of a song, and when he looked around, he saw a little girl in a yukata playing with a ball and singing a Kyoto folk song. But a gust of wind blew through, and suddenly, the girl vanished.

Heiji had chased after her, only to find an exquisite glass bead on the ground. Believing it to be a keepsake from the girl, he held onto it.

But that bead was actually a hair ornament that had fallen from the forehead of a Buddha statue during a temple robbery led by the "Genjibotaru" gang. Later, Heiji told this story in a magazine and even showed the bead—hoping to find his "first love."

That's how he ended up being targeted.

"Then it's possible that the person wearing the old man's Noh mask... is your first love, Hattori-kun."

"Haa!?"

Heiji's face immediately darkened.

"What did you just say!?"

"I heard the murdered antique dealer, Shozo Sakura, was actually a member of the Genji Botan group. The police found evidence in his residence."

At that moment, Shiratori Ninzaburo opened a notebook and began asking detailed questions.

Seeing Heiji animated again, Hayashi Yoshiki felt relieved. With a smile, he took an orange from the fruit basket.

After peeling it open, he handed a slice to Conan.

"Thanks."

Conan was just about to eat it when something occurred to him. His eyes flattened into dead-fish mode as he stared at Hayashi Yoshiki.

"You're using me to test if the orange is sour again, aren't you?"

"I'm glad you've grown up, Conan."

"Wha..."

Conan was speechless but still put the slice in his mouth.

The overwhelming sourness nearly contorted his face, but he managed to hold his expression and looked at Hayashi Yoshiki with a fake smile.

"It's very sweet."

"Is that so? Then you can have this one too."

Hayashi Yoshiki paused, then smiled and gave Conan the rest of the orange.

"Huh?"

Conan blinked, a bit surprised.

"Don't make it sound like I only give you sour oranges."

Hayashi Yoshiki smiled again, picked up another orange, peeled it, and tried a slice himself. It had just the right balance of sweet and sour.

He shared it with Ran.

"Thank you, Brother Yoshiki."

The girl smiled brightly.

Watching the two of them laughing and chatting, Conan looked at the sour orange in his hand and finally understood the meaning of helplessness—after what Hayashi Yoshiki just said, how could he now claim it was sour?

So he turned away to eat it, grimacing in pain.

"This orange is so sweet," said Ran, smiling.

"Yeah. Whenever I visit a hospital, sweet oranges always taste a bit different."

"Is the fruit basket for me? Can I have one?"

"I'll give this to you, Hattori-nii."

Hearing Heiji yelling from the bed, Conan quickly handed him the half-eaten orange.

Without thinking, Heiji popped it into his mouth.

The next second, his entire face scrunched up.

"Wha—! How could you do this to an injured man!?"

"What's wrong?"

Hayashi Yoshiki turned, feigning innocence.

"..."

Realizing the truth, Heiji knew he couldn't blame Yoshiki. So he turned to Conan with hollow eyes and a stiff smile.

"You little...!"

Just then, a nurse entered to take his temperature.

Following behind her was a man in a gray suit, his slicked-back hair sharp and clean. It was Inspector Ayanokouji from the Kyoto Police Department.

He was known for carrying a chipmunk in the pocket of his jacket.

"You seem to be in good spirits," said Ayanokouji to Heiji.

"Inspector, where's the dagger the killer used?"

"Sent to forensics."

"Let me know the result as soon as possible. If the evidence isn't enough, I can still offer the wound on my shoulder. And the murderer's motorcycle—where is it?"

"It was a stolen vehicle. Untraceable."

As he answered, Ayanokouji took out a strange-looking painting from inside his coat.

It resembled a cabinet, with odd symbols painted in some of the drawers.

"Also... do you know anything about this painting? It was among Mr. Sakura's belongings—hidden inside the Yoshitsune Chronicle."

Everyone turned their attention to the painting.

Hayashi Yoshiki stepped forward.

"May I take a look, Inspector?"

"The famous detective from Tokyo, said to be absurdly fast at solving cases... go ahead."

Ayanokouji handed over the painting.

Yoshiki studied it carefully, then asked:

"Is there any kind of cipher or reference code that could help solve it?"

"None."

"Then I'd guess the painting is a clue pointing to a location... but without any sort of code to guide us, I'm stumped too."

"You're that confident?"

"About 70%."

"Alright. I'll keep it in mind."

Though Ayanokouji could be arrogant, he was surprisingly cooperative with Hayashi Yoshiki.

He took the painting back and added:

"If I come across anything relevant later... I'll be sure to ask you again."