Chapter 35 — Batman Under the Moonlight

"Are you going to talk or not?"

Fujino slammed the photo in front of Numabuchi Kiichiro, pressing the wooden sword against his forehead as he growled, "Do you know these two people or not?"

"I... I don't know them..."

Upon hearing this, Fujino's eyes narrowed. "Start counting backward from one thousand, subtracting seven each time!"

He raised the wooden sword and tapped it hard against Numabuchi's forehead.

"993... ahhh!"

Screams of agony echoed through the forest.

Each time Numabuchi passed out from the pain, Fujino would throw another bucket of cold water over him, forcefully jolting him back to consciousness.

"I'm telling you, you'd better come clean."

As he spoke, Fujino pressed the wooden sword against Numabuchi's chest. "Otherwise... this pain will only continue."

"I don't know!"

Even though he'd killed quite a few people before, Numabuchi couldn't stop the tears of frustration rolling down his cheeks.

This man had been interrogating him from the start, forcing him to confess whether or not he had killed the man and woman in the photograph.

If he said he didn't know, he would get beaten, and he'd be forced to start counting down from one thousand by sevens.

And the most absurd part was, no matter how badly he was beaten, not a single bruise or injury would be left behind.

Whenever he passed out from the pain, Fujino would just dump another bucket of cold water on him, waking him up, and starting the whole process over again.

Not even prisons used such cruel torture methods!

"You don't know?"

Fujino frowned and shoved the photo right in Numabuchi's face again. "Do you or don't you know the people in this picture? Did you kill them or not?"

"I didn't... I didn't!"

Numabuchi sobbed, "I've never even been to Tokyo! Please... just let me go!"

Fujino rubbed his chin thoughtfully.

After all that torture, this guy still hadn't confessed to anything.

Usually, there were two possible explanations for this.

One, the guy's will was unbelievably strong, and he was just stubbornly refusing to talk.

Two... maybe he didn't know anything.

Did I get the wrong guy? Fujino wondered silently.

But then he raised the wooden sword and gave him another round anyway.

Midnight…

The man's shrill, inhuman screams echoed through the forest from dusk till dawn—like a murder of crows, broken and intermittent, but never stopping.

"Looks like he doesn't know anything," Fujino finally muttered, putting the wooden sword away, and glancing at the collapsed Numabuchi with a twitch at the corner of his mouth. "Damn it... did I get the wrong guy?"

Between the two possibilities, Fujino still preferred the first one.

But with the interrogation method, he'd used tonight... even a trained spy probably wouldn't have been able to hold out.

It did seem like he'd tortured the wrong man.

Still... the guy had killed people before—no telling how many families had been destroyed because of him.

"Let's just call tonight's punishment... interest on his debt to the innocent lives he's taken..."

Fujino murmured, his gaze lifting to the full moon overhead, thoughts churning in his heart.

———

The next morning, Numabuchi Kiichiro—who had been on the police's most-wanted list—was found tied up outside the Kyoto Police Headquarters.

When they discovered him, he had been trussed up with red rope in an elaborate kinbaku tie, soaked in the crotch, muttering incoherently:

"Batman... Batman... it wasn't me... please, let me go..."

The police had no idea who or what this "Batman" was supposed to be, or what "It wasn't me" was referring to.

All they knew was that a serial killer had been delivered straight to their doorstep. Headquarters would probably give them a big reward for this.

Well—regardless of the details, the result was good.

That very day, Fujino took the Shinkansen back to Kyoto.

As for why he had interrogated Numabuchi dressed as Batman... well, Fujino thought, I already attracted enough attention defusing that bomb on the train.

And now, if he took down a fugitive wanted by the Black Organization...

The tall tree catches the wind.

This was a principle Fujino understood very well.

———

At that very moment, in a traditional Kyoto courtyard—

"I knew it... I knew I wouldn't have recognized the wrong person..."

The brown-haired girl from before sat by the wooden veranda of a tatami room, staring at a newspaper with the headline:

[Shinkansen Bomb Scare! High School Detective Heroically Defuses Bomb, Saving Entire Train of Passengers!]

Her expression was visibly excited.

But after a few moments, she suddenly frowned.

"I finally come to Kyoto... and you don't even bother to come see me... My beloved... have you forgotten our promise from back then?"

She spoke with deep emotion, puffing her cheeks out like a pouting wife, her whole demeanor dripping with resentment.

Had he forgotten?

Watching the red maple leaves drift down outside, her gaze grew distant and hazy.

The newspaper in her hands slowly crumpled, and it almost felt like a dark, ominous aura of resentment was rising behind her.

———

Meanwhile, in Beika Town, at the Mouri residence—

"Achoo!"

Fujino suddenly sneezed violently, nearly spraying out the miso soup he'd been drinking.

"Oi! Kid!"

Across the table, Mouri Kogorou bellowed, "Don't go sneezing all over the food while we're eating!"

"Sorry..."

Fujino lowered his head apologetically, looking thoroughly embarrassed.

"Senpai... are you catching a cold?"

Ran didn't blame Fujino—instead, she looked at him with the gentle concern one might show a stray cat. "It's flu season now, with the autumn and winter transition..."

"Maybe I caught a chill last night..."

Fujino muttered.

Thinking back to last night's "Batman" incident under the moonlight, he recalled that some of the water had splashed onto him...

Was he really about to catch a cold?

And hadn't he just recovered from one recently?

"Fujino, you're kinda weak, aren't you?"

From the side, Conan—having just finished a bowl of rice—shot Fujino a dead-fish-eyed glance.

After last night's events, Conan's impression of Fujino had shifted slightly.

At least... he didn't find the guy quite as annoying anymore.

But still... why the hell was this guy eating at Ran's house?!

Suddenly, Conan felt a long-lost sense of crisis creeping up.

"I've told you before, call me 'Big Brother Fujino.'"

Fujino ruffled Conan's hair meaningfully.

And Dog Head wasn't just some random nickname.

No—petting Conan's hair did feel exactly like petting a Shiba Inu.

"Y-yes... Big... Bro-Gogo!"

Conan's mouth twitched uncontrollably.

But for the sake of not blowing his cover, he endured!

One day... I'll make this guy pay me back, with interest...!

———

At the door of the Mouri residence, Fujino bowed slightly to Ran. "Thank you so much for the meal... I must have troubled you."

"It's no trouble at all!"

Ran waved her hand cheerfully. "It's just cooking an extra portion anyway. If it's convenient for you, you're welcome to come by for dinner every night!"

"Ahem..."

Fujino coughed lightly, feeling slightly awkward under the almost physically tangible glare of a certain vinegar-breathing detective. "That might not be very appropriate..."

"What's inappropriate about it, Fujino Daichi?!"

At that moment, Kogorou suddenly chimed in from the living room, holding a beer bottle, half drunk, face flushed.

He slurred, "This is your home too! You can come anytime you want! Not just dinner—come for breakfast too...!"

(End of Chapter)