Chapter 142
Shiratori Ninzaburo politely escorted Usuha Izuki out and closed the office door.
Convincing the attending physician became much easier after that. When he reopened the door, Shiratori Ninzaburo told Usuha Izuki they could see Fukasawa's sister.
It wasn't that Shiratori Ninzaburo was particularly eloquent, but the attending physician had observed their interaction and realized his speculation about a yakuza young master and his deputy might really be wrong.
The attending physician had asked: "He listens to you like that? Are you his superior?"
Shiratori Ninzaburo pondered: "No, but I'm from the career track. My rank is one level higher than his after graduation."
With the setup complete, seeing these two people's genuinely good attitudes and sincere faces... freed from the "Black Screen Aura's" radiation, the attending physician asked a few more questions about case-related matters. Finding no apparent flaws, he chose to cooperate.
However, once the door opened and he saw Usuha Izuki again, the attending physician's pace noticeably slowed. Shiratori Ninzaburo, who was explaining the current situation to Usuha Izuki, quickly positioned himself between them to separate them and change the topic.
"Speaking of which, Miss Fukasawa's condition—has there been no improvement?"
When discussing his professional specialty, the attending physician's attention clearly focused: "She... sigh, this child is really pitiful. You don't know—when she was first brought here, she went to the emergency room, covered in wounds all over her body..."
Shiratori Ninzaburo frowned: "How did that happen?"
"She did it to herself. She suffered abuse from her stepfather, so she cut off all the places on her body that her stepfather had touched." The attending physician's brow furrowed deeply. "She cut off her own breasts at the children's welfare facility, which is why she was sent to the emergency room. Her left wrist also has overlapping scars... This condition is called 'Wrist-Cutting Syndrome.'"
Shiratori's partner was confused: "What's 'Wrist-Cutting Syndrome'?"
"...It's a psychological illness. Unable to find meaning in living, unable to accept what happened to them, suspecting they're garbage while wanting to deny it, seeking proof they're human—so they cut their bodies repeatedly. Seeing blood flow makes them feel at peace, realizing they're human like everyone else. Something that doesn't need confirmation, yet she needs to cut her wrists to confirm it before calming down. Blood is like a sedative to her."
The attending physician said sympathetically: "Her constitution is special—her blood coagulates very quickly, which saved her life, but also led to her continuing to harm herself recklessly... Sigh, she once escaped and slowly shaved off parts of her buttocks and abdomen on the street... Her mental state has really reached its limit, so I don't recommend you stimulate her."
Usuha Izuki responded: "I see. Her stepfather harmed her while her mother was an accomplice, so Fukasawa killed his parents and burned the house, right? For them, that place truly couldn't be called home. His thinking is completely understandable."
The attending physician had been somewhat intimidated, but hearing Usuha Izuki's words, he couldn't help responding: "Exactly! Worse than beasts! Such a pitiful child! Last month when her brother died, I didn't know how to tell her. After she found out, her mental state became even more unstable—she even injured a nurse. Sigh..."
The partner muttered with a twitching mouth: "Even so, you can't kill people. Couldn't they report to police?"
Usuha Izuki's tone was very cold: "If reporting to police worked for such things, Japan's crime rate would drop by at least one-fifth."
Domestic violence had always had poor results when reported to police in East Asia.
Shiratori Ninzaburo coughed, not knowing how to smooth things over: "Well, this... simple moral concepts are very common, very normal, but..."
But why are you, a police officer, saying such things?! Have you forgotten your own identity?!
It's one thing for ordinary people to complain, but you're echoing "reporting to police is useless"! Are you waiting to be complained about when a police officer says such things?!
Shiratori Ninzaburo already trusted Samukawa Shinryu relatively well, but hearing his tone now, he couldn't help wondering if Samukawa Shinryu had been wronged by police and actually had no good feelings toward them...
The attending physician actually developed some fondness for Usuha Izuki because of this, feeling this person was more relatable than the other two business-like police officers. His attitude became less nervous: "Anyway, her brother is already dead. Given her mental state, I don't think her brother would have told her anything... If you could avoid disturbing her, please don't."
They were now standing at the hospital room door. Through the glass window, they could see inside.
No one was on the bed. A thin girl with very short hair, wearing a hospital gown, was huddled in the corner, looking quite withdrawn.
"Even if you talk to her, she might not respond, and there's a chance she'll scream and hurt someone." The attending physician sighed. "Just looking from here should be enough, right? Is there anything else you want to confirm?"
Just then, the girl in the room seemed to sense someone at the door. She slowly looked up toward the glass window.
Usuha Izuki quietly met her gaze.
The girl's pupils suddenly contracted. She abruptly stood up, rushed toward the door, and began pounding on it.
The attending physician was stunned: "Huh? This... you should leave. She doesn't look to be in good condition..."
How strange. Previously, when Fukasawa Yukari encountered strangers, she basically acted as if she hadn't seen them, immersed in her own world. What happened this time?
The attending physician's gaze couldn't help falling on Usuha Izuki, somewhat suspecting the variable was this person.
But that didn't seem right either. If she was stimulated by this person, shouldn't she retreat backward? Why was she rushing forward?
Seeing this situation like zombies, Shiratori Ninzaburo realized communication was indeed impossible. To avoid further stimulating this pitiful child, he quickly left: "Let's go, let's go. Samukawa, stop looking too!"
Usuha Izuki nodded at Fukasawa Yukari, who was staring at him from inside, then followed Shiratori Ninzaburo away from the hospital ward area.
Next, Shiratori Ninzaburo inquired about more details from the attending physician, though he didn't know much either. Asking about Miss Fukasawa's condition was fine, but asking about her brother's situation, whether he'd befriended bad people, whether he'd acted strangely—this touched his blind spots. He wasn't familiar with him!
The attending physician could at most provide answers like "When he was first released from prison, I don't know where he got the money, but he paid Miss Fukasawa's fees very readily."
Shiratori Ninzaburo checked the accounts and could confirm this amount didn't match Fukasawa's normal work salary—there was definitely additional substantial income.
His partner became anxious: "Weren't you curious where his money came from? Didn't you ask more questions?"
The attending physician adjusted his glasses: "That's not my responsibility. I only need to be responsible for my patient. If he couldn't pay, what would happen to Miss Fukasawa? Considering these things is your job as police."
"Asking too much about things you shouldn't know might get you silenced. The doctor made a rational choice." Usuha Izuki also defended the doctor. "When I was with the Mobile Investigation Unit, I encountered a case where someone cared about their neighbor and asked a few more questions. The neighbor suspected he knew something and went to kill him that night. In this environment, I recommend protecting yourself wisely."
System complained: [Who made this the Detective Conan world? The crime motives get more ridiculous than the last.]
[What I want to complain about more is why some people seem not very bright normally, but suddenly their IQ explodes once they kill someone. They instantly know how to clean crime scenes, forge evidence, create alibis.] Usuha Izuki also wanted to complain. [And the deceased too—suddenly becoming smart before death, immediately thinking up encrypted codes...]
The [Cipher Breaking] ability he'd exchanged for Samukawa Shinryu was entirely used for decoding these dying messages!
Though the attending physician was still somewhat cautious, he clearly had developed some fondness for Usuha Izuki.
In his view, this somewhat dangerous-looking police officer might have suffered various terrible treatment, so he was very dissatisfied with police, but didn't want others to experience the same, so he joined the police force trying to change them...
What was this called? This was called seeing something unpleasant and directly joining to change it through action instead of just complaining!
How much higher was this than the guy beside him who only knew how to complain about why they didn't report to police!
The attending physician agreed: "This officer is absolutely right."
Absolutely right my ass!
Shiratori Ninzaburo felt his blood pressure rising, but his upbringing prevented him from saying anything. He could only rub his forehead to calm down.
His partner asked speechlessly: "Encountering suspicious people and being too afraid to ask detailed questions is fine, but reporting to police shouldn't cause problems, right?"
Before the attending physician could speak, Usuha Izuki spoke first.
"Who knows?"
The dark-haired, red-eyed youth smiled mysteriously: "How can you guarantee there aren't their people inside the police? What if it involves some high official—reporting to police only gets it suppressed and treated as if nothing happened, which would be good. What if they silence you directly in worse cases? Will you die for him?"
His partner felt Samukawa Shinryu was deliberately opposing him and became somewhat annoyed: "Such situations are rare to begin with. Besides, with the case we're currently handling, how could it involve high-level people? It obviously involves some mentally abnormal people. Don't change the subject—I just think reporting about Fukasawa's suspicious behavior wouldn't have consequences."
"What if this case does involve high-level people?"
His partner declared emphatically: "Then I'll eat shit while doing a handstand!!!"
Shiratori Ninzaburo couldn't stop him in time and watched helplessly as his partner made a promise: "............"
—Don't be so impulsive! This is Samukawa Shinryu! How desperate are you to bet with him?! Does he look like someone who would bet on something he's not confident about?!
Oh no, will people mention me in the future as the partner of that guy who ate shit while doing a handstand...
Shiratori Ninzaburo's face twisted in pain.