Chapter 134
Usuha Izuki sighed about running into acquaintances even here, then walked in without hesitation.
What was there to fear? He was here to grind suspicion values, and the other person might not even see him—the weather was too cold, so he wore a plain black windbreaker outside that covered most of his flashy outfit, with only the front view revealing the mess of things underneath.
After entering the bar, he headed straight for his target, Police Superintendent Kitami's son, Kitami Hitoshi, completely ignoring that acquaintance.
Kitami Hitoshi looked decent, appearing like a distinguished talent, as if he were some elite. It was hard to tell he had done so many depraved things.
He sat in a corner, lazily drinking, looking very bored.
Which made sense—having done all sorts of illegal things during his student days, his threshold had been raised. Now only being able to legally drink a bit, it was indeed hard to get excited.
Usuha Izuki didn't bother with pretenses. He ordered a drink and directly took his glass to sit in the empty seat next to Kitami Hitoshi.
Bar table-sharing was common, so Kitami Hitoshi didn't think much of it and casually looked up.
Then his eyes were dazzled by the pile of jangling miscellaneous decorations visible through the gap in Usuha Izuki's open windbreaker.
Kitami Hitoshi: "............"
He was somewhat speechless, yet secretly pleased.
Heh, kids like this could only seek thrills through unconventional dressing.
He had long passed that stage. Now, aside from murder, nothing could excite him anymore.
Sigh... boring.
Kitami Hitoshi couldn't help sighing.
Japanese indoor heating was quite good, plus with many people around, Usuha Izuki felt hot as soon as he entered. After sitting for a while, he took off his outer coat and asked Kitami Hitoshi beside him: "What's fun about bars?"
This came out of nowhere, but Kitami Hitoshi actually responded with a sense of superiority: "Nothing much, not really fun."
Usuha Izuki sighed: "Japan is so boring. Foreign countries are more exciting."
Kitami Hitoshi paused, finally becoming slightly more serious: "How are foreign countries exciting?"
"Stay at a hotel and encounter bombs, serial killers everywhere, gunshots on the streets—no one knows if they'll be next to die."
Usuha Izuki glanced at him: "You probably wouldn't understand that feeling."
Kitami Hitoshi was unconvinced.
He indeed hadn't been abroad, partly because it wasn't as easy to clean up incidents as domestically, partly because he felt foreign countries were just so-so—what couldn't he do domestically?
Though he hadn't personally killed anyone, he had personally planned it!
Now every month, he would plan a murder performance, even creating online registration—wasn't this better than just being a bystander?
Kitami Hitoshi wanted to brag a bit, but being a Tokyo University graduate with brains, he restrained himself.
Sigh, only being able to brag to those in the know was getting boring, but it was safe! He wasn't stupid enough to casually tell people "I plan murders."
So he could only reluctantly agree, even making very police-like statements: "That is exciting, but it shows Japan's high safety level."
"Not that high, just fewer gun murders." Usuha Izuki's criticism was merciless. "But I've seen the news—there are more varieties of death methods than abroad... I really enjoy watching them do fake locked-room murders and false alibis. Much more interesting than abroad."
This tone had a high-and-mighty feeling of appreciating mortal struggles, very much to Kitami Hitoshi's taste.
"Did you just return from abroad?" he asked.
"I'm sort of a returnee." Usuha Izuki smiled. "So if I say something wrong, please bear with me."
"..." Kitami Hitoshi nodded, his attitude relaxing more, habitually being polite. "Your Japanese is quite good, just some word choices are strange. Since you're a returnee, that's understandable. Are you here to study?"
"Hm? Not really. I'm here to have fun. A friend has some interesting things here and called me to participate."
Usuha Izuki took a sip of his drink and frowned, pushing it away.
Kitami Hitoshi asked suspiciously: "If you don't like drinking, why come to a bar?"
"Precisely because I don't like drinking, I haven't been to bars much, let alone Japanese bars. Came to see." Usuha Izuki said matter-of-factly. "It's so clean here. Foreign ones all smell like... uh, things that aren't quite legal in Japan."
Kitami Hitoshi immediately understood—just marijuana and such, things he'd grown tired of: "Police come here often, so no one dares do that."
He'd also been brought here by seniors. Now his senior liked coming here after work, forcing him to endure boredom sitting here.
Speaking of which, Kitami Hitoshi's senior came over, bringing someone with him.
"Kitami! Let me introduce you—this is my friend, Date Wataru, currently working at a local police station... Though with his ability, being transferred to the Metropolitan Police is just a matter of time, haha."
Kitami Hitoshi quickly put on his professional smile, standing to greet his senior and his senior's friend: "I'm Kitami Hitoshi, pleased to meet you."
Strangely, that Date Wataru wasn't looking at him, but at the person who'd just been talking to him.
His senior nudged him, and Date Wataru finally reacted: "Ah, pleased to meet you."
His senior, observant, knew what Date Wataru was focusing on and asked curiously: "Is this your friend?"
Kitami Hitoshi shook his head: "Just met... Is he Date-senpai's friend?"
Usuha Izuki smiled: "I've encountered Officer Date solving cases at crime scenes before. Didn't expect to meet again."
"Yes." Date Wataru laughed heartily. "May I have the honor of knowing your name now?"
Usuha Izuki said decisively: "Call me Conan."
Date Wataru: "..."
His senior immediately decided: "Haha, since you're all acquainted, want to have a drink together?"
"No thanks, I don't like drinking." Usuha Izuki stood up, not putting on his coat but just draping it over his arm. "You chat. I'll go first."
Date Wataru had no suitable excuse and couldn't stop this strange guy, only watching him leave with a frown.
Since their last meeting, quite some time had passed. The bar lighting was dim—if not for that daily wear + haori style, he wouldn't have recognized this as that famous detective Conan.
Just looking at that smiling face, he only felt somewhat familiar and couldn't immediately place him, but combined with that outfit, it was truly memorable!
This person coming to a bar without drinking—did he have ulterior motives?
His senior also sensed something wrong and directly asked Kitami Hitoshi: "What's that person's situation? Why come to a bar if he doesn't drink?"
Kitami Hitoshi answered: "He said he came to experience domestic bars."
"Ah? A foreigner? No wonder he didn't use honorifics just now..." His senior muttered, then asked Date Wataru, "Date, is that person problematic?"
"...A bit problematic."
Date Wataru frowned: "The case I met him at last time... he was with yakuza people then, possibly also yakuza."
Kitami Hitoshi's eyes lit up.
He'd originally worried when he discovered that guy knew police, relieved he hadn't said anything careless, but unexpectedly he was yakuza...
Speaking of which, though he played around quite a bit, he'd never really contacted yakuza, worried they were crude and didn't understand rules or his value, potentially disrupting game rules in ways he couldn't clean up.
But that "Conan" just now... Heh, obviously a fake name. Was he from Britain? Anyway, he seemed like a smart person.
Hmph, a smart person, yakuza-related, returned from abroad, good-looking—manipulating such a person would be much more interesting than those ordinary salarymen.
Kitami Hitoshi felt somewhat excited.
His monthly murder games, though he found them endlessly entertaining, always killed idiots. It was time for variety.
How wonderful it would be to see that face splattered with blood—what expression would he show?
Too bad he left quickly. If only there could be another meeting...
Because of this accident, Date Wataru clearly had no mood to continue drinking. Without company, his senior felt the same. The three quickly left the bar and bid farewell.
Kitami Hitoshi walked toward where he'd parked, unexpectedly discovering that the guy who'd left earlier was buying drinks at a vending machine on the road.
He approached: "Um... Conan-kun?"
Usuha Izuki, who'd been deliberately waiting here, glanced at him with feigned casualness, smiling sarcastically: "If it isn't Officer? Your senior probably already told you to stay away from me, right?"
Kitami Hitoshi performed well, smiling awkwardly: "No one introduces themselves with 'By the way, I'm a police officer.'"
"So? What do you want?" Usuha Izuki took out his purchased drink and opened it for a sip.
"Well, senpai said you seem to be yakuza... is this true?"
Usuha Izuki snorted without responding, but not refuting already explained everything.
Kitami Hitoshi approached: "Don't be like that. Didn't we chat well earlier? Besides, seniors more or less have some yakuza acquaintances. As long as it doesn't violate principles, knowing more people benefits everyone. Japan is a lawful society—without evidence, I can't do anything!"
What he described did exist. In Japan, yakuza were legal, so unless the relationship was too close or involved assisting crimes, simply getting information from them or giving money was a gray area everyone tacitly allowed.
"State your purpose directly."
Kitami Hitoshi hesitated: "Actually, I want to solve a case. People always think I'm inferior to my father, so I desperately want to make a name for myself by solving a big case, but I have too little information. If you're yakuza, I'd like to ask you to help gather relevant information... I think you might be interested. I can pay you, or whatever you want, as long as it doesn't violate police principles."
Usuha Izuki became genuinely interested: "What case?"
"Do you know about murder performances? There's a website that regularly updates murder performances, supposedly you can even register to participate on-site..." Kitami Hitoshi said. "Have you heard of it?"
Usuha Izuki: "No, but it sounds interesting. Tell me more."
[This is the website he created!] Usuha Izuki complained internally. [What nerve!]
As soon as he saw the person, he noticed the [Murder Website Founder] tag that [Universal Navigation] marked above his head, which is why he could cater to his interests during conversation.
System sighed: [If someone didn't know his true nature, they might be deceived. After all, who would think a high official's son with a bright future, an active police officer, would run a murder website?]
Usuha Izuki also said: [Plus he found a good excuse, only saying he wanted to investigate this case, leaving no handle, playing victim, knowing how to appeal to interests, not forgetting to emphasize he couldn't violate police principles in cooperating with me... From any angle, he just looks like an eager young man with flexible thinking and no prejudice against yakuza. Someone else might really think he's decent, that having good police relations has no downside, and agree.]
System asked: [So what do you plan to do?]
[What to do? This is easy to handle.]
System: [...?]
After exchanging contact information with Kitami Hitoshi and agreeing he'd help investigate this murder website, they parted. Usuha Izuki immediately called Amuro Toru.
"I might have found his weakness."
Amuro Toru: "...? So fast, what weakness?"
He didn't quite believe it. How long had it been? He'd only given the materials to Usuha Izuki today! Getting a handle on first meeting? Was the other party so careless?!
"This kid runs a murder website." Usuha Izuki said. "Called 'Strawberry Night.' I'll send you the website—you investigate it."
Amuro Toru: "...??? Real or fake?"
This exciting?! Murder was completely different from his previous crimes!
Usuha Izuki was displeased: "Don't you know my eye for people?! Even Gin bows to me, and Vodka says except for finding undercover agents, my judgment is very trustworthy! Though I think I'm quite accurate at finding undercover agents too!"
Amuro Toru remained unmoved: "First tell me how you discovered this, why he would tell you about it."
"He mentioned this website, saying he was investigating it, but based on my observation, he's definitely the one running it."
"..."
Amuro Toru didn't know whether to believe it, but considering what Kitami Hitoshi had done before, it didn't seem that unbelievable.
At least mentioning such a website meant Kitami Hitoshi definitely had some connection to it... investigating wouldn't hurt.
Amuro Toru hung up with complex feelings, then logged into that webpage, watched the bloody violent videos inside, and became furious.
Damn it, if what Usuha Izuki said was true and this website was really run by Kitami Hitoshi... should he really use this as leverage to threaten Police Superintendent Kitami into cooperating with the organization?!
Couldn't this father-son pair be brought to justice?!
But if he succeeded in this matter, he might get a codename faster. The harm caused by the organization versus murder activities that would definitely be suspended once they knew we were aware and used it as leverage—which side...
The Japanese Public Security undercover fell into conflict.
But within days, he didn't need to struggle anymore.
The Metropolitan Police discovered a corpse that 'Strawberry Night' hadn't properly disposed of and formally opened an investigation.
This day also happened to be Samukawa Shinryu's first day working at Criminal Investigation Division One.