10:00 PM
Beika Town
Alley near the Mouri Detective Agency
Kurosawa Hoshino carried a bag of groceries, taking his usual shortcut home.
Today's the day Shinichi Kudo goes to the amusement park. He's probably already shrunk by now.
Finally... finally this day has arrived.
He picked up his pace.
Just as he was about to exit the alley, an image flashed through his mind: himself stepping out, an iron pipe slamming into the back of his head, collapsing to the ground, then more blows finishing him off.
Tch...
What did I do this time?
Three attempts. Three times this month. Every single one aiming to kill me. No wonder they call this Murder Town. I'd be dead already without my cheat.
Hoshino complained internally as the vision kept replaying, but his footsteps didn't falter. His hand moved subtly, pulling out the collapsible baton he always carried. He continued walking casually out of the alley toward the Mouri Detective Agency just ahead.
The next second—
Whoosh—
The sound of something cutting through air came from behind him.
Hoshino remained completely calm, sidestepping with practiced ease. The iron pipe meant for his head hit nothing but air.
"What—?!"
A surprised voice rang out. Hoshino didn't pause—while dodging, he spun around and slammed his baton into the attacker's face with a solid thud.
"Gah—!"
A scream tore through the night air as the man collapsed to the ground.
"Guess you do feel pain after all."
Hoshino stepped forward, kicked the man hard in the stomach, then sent the fallen iron pipe skittering away with another kick. He planted his foot on the man's bleeding face, pulled out his phone to call the police, and asked coldly:
"What's your reason this time?"
"You...!"
"Never mind. They picked up."
Hoshino pressed down harder, eliciting another scream from the man, then spoke into the phone with panicked urgency:
"Officer Sato! Come quick! I'm being attacked again! I'm so scared!"
"..."
A long silence stretched from the other end before Sato Miwako's voice came through, weary: "Hoshino. Are you actually scared? You didn't beat someone half to death again, did you? Give me the address. And stop... whatever you're doing to them. Let me handle this."
"Don't worry, Officer Sato. I know what I'm doing."
Hoshino pressed down harder. The man's face was practically deformed now, several teeth scattered on the pavement beside him.
Ten minutes later
A red Mazda RX-7 sped up and screeched to a halt in front of Hoshino. Sato Miwako stepped out, followed by her best friend, Miyamoto Yumi.
Both women took in the scene and inhaled sharply, utterly speechless at Hoshino's innocent expression.
They'd been having a late-night snack when the call came. This wasn't their first rodeo—it was the third time this month.
"Sigh..."
Sato Miwako sighed, shot Hoshino a glare, and walked over to the man now tied to a lamppost. Looking at his bloodied face and terrified eyes, she asked wearily:
"Tell me. Why did you attack Hoshino?"
"O-Officer... I didn't—"
"Camera." Hoshino pointed to a security camera mounted on a utility pole nearby. "Whether you attacked me or not, whether I was defending myself—it's all recorded."
The man fell silent. He lifted his head, stared at Hoshino with intense hatred, and spat through gritted teeth:
"It's your fault. All your fault. Kazumi rejected me because of you. So I was going to kill you."
"Ooh, juicy gossip!" Miyamoto Yumi's eyes sparkled, eagerly awaiting more.
Sato gently nudged her friend, signaling her to stop.
"What nonsense? I don't even know you."
Hoshino looked at the blood-streaked face, searching his memory for the name "Kazumi." A realization clicked. He raised an eyebrow:
"The Kazumi you mean... wouldn't happen to be Tsukamoto Kazumi, a third-year at Teitan High? So you're that senior who confessed to her last week and got rejected? What was your name again... Nitta... Takeya?"
"Nitta Takeya, you bastard! You can't even remember my name?!" Nitta trembled with rage.
"Hold on." Hoshino stroked his chin. "I'm not close with Tsukamoto-senpai at all. How could I possibly affect your confession?"
"Because that day on the field, when you walked by, Kazumi glanced at you and then said no! If it weren't for you, she definitely would've said yes! We've been in the same class for three years! We were close! She never would've rejected me if not for you!"
"..."
Hoshino, recalling his two previous incidents, asked quietly: "So you tried to kill me because Tsukamoto-senpai glanced at me as I passed by, and you thought your failed confession was my fault?"
"That's right!"
"Well then."
Hoshino shrugged at the two speechless policewomen.
The women exchanged a look, completely at a loss for words.
Sato Miwako rubbed her temples, staring at Hoshino, and said weakly:
"Hoshino, this is the third time. The first time we met, an old lady attacked you because you were in her way at the supermarket, stopping her from getting discount vegetables, so she wanted to kill you for revenge."
"Correct."
"The second time, you ran into a drunk on the street. You stepped aside to let him pass, and he thought you looked down on him, so he tried to kill you too."
"Mhm."
"And now..." She gave him a searching look. "Is there something about you that just... makes people want to murder you?"
"..."
Hoshino looked up at the night sky and said softly, "Officer Sato, do you think it's possible that... this is just what this city is like?"
"Impossible. Absolutely impossible." Sato gave a firm double denial.
"Heh."
Hoshino chuckled—a meaningful, hollow sound.
In this world, murder happened over bento box layouts, movie preferences, and umbrella placement. Being attacked three times in a month? Without his cheat, he'd have died three times over already.
Just then, a taxi pulled up.
It stopped in front of them, and three people stepped out: Mouri Kogoro, Ran, and a kid wearing glasses.
"Hey kid, you got attacked again?" Kogoro Mouri approached, surveyed the scene, and immediately launched into one of his "deductions."
"Alright, you all talk. We'll take him back to the station first." Sato Miwako cut off further discussion, hauled Nitta Takeya up, stuffed him into the car, and left with her partner.
The taxi drove away, leaving Hoshino alone with the new arrivals.
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