"We were looking at the Hinamatsuri dolls. Ikumi-san, look at this one! It's so pretty!" Ayumi said, pressing her hands against the glass display case.
"It really is..."
The group gathered around, their conversation drifting back to the intricate craftsmanship of the Girl's Day dolls.
Tsuneo stood nearby, shifting the weight of the shopping bags in his hands. His eyes scanned the street, searching for a decent place to grab a bite to eat.
"I heard you've been looking at houses?" Conan asked, tilting his head back to look at the older man.
"I'm looking for something with a larger yard. There are plenty of vacancies in Beika-cho; I can afford to take my time and find the right spot."
When it came to real estate, Tsuneo wasn't particularly worried about the price. If he fell short, he figured he could just squeeze some extra funds out of that overworked Public Security agent he knew.
As for whether a 'good' house was hard to find?
In a place like Beika-cho, it didn't matter. New vacancies opened up every single day—usually under grim circumstances.
"I remember there's an empty estate for sale near the Professor's house, isn't there?" Ai chimed in from the side.
She recalled the family name was Kitagawa. Word had it that something unfortunate had happened to the owners, and they were now using an agent to sell the property. Though the yard had been neglected for quite some time, the house itself was quite nice and had ample parking space.
"Someone died there. Buying a haunted house isn't exactly ideal, is it?"
Tsuneo had indeed seen the listing for that property recently. In fact, he and Conan were the ones who had personally seen the former owner off to the afterlife.
"Heh... as if you actually care about things like that," Conan muttered with a dry laugh, casting a side-eye at the Repairman. Mrs. Kitagawa was so kind to you, and now you're acting picky about her house.
"We'll talk about the house later. Right now, we should focus on eating!"
"In that case, it has to be eel on rice!" Genta declared, jumping into the conversation.
Whenever these two foodies got together, the menu was essentially decided.
"No problem. My treat!" Tsuneo said, giving Genta's round, rice-ball-shaped head a playful pat.
As they walked, Ayumi still seemed fixated on the dolls they had passed.
"Don't you already have a really beautiful set at home?" Genta asked, sounding genuinely confused.
"Hey, don't tell me you've forgotten? You were the one who broke the hand and neck off Ayumi's Emperor doll last year," Mitsuhiko reminded him. Seeing Ayumi's expression darken with disappointment, he quickly covered Genta's mouth.
"Oh... right. I'm sorry, Ayumi..." Genta rubbed the back of his head, finally remembering his blunder. He began to wonder just how much that doll in the window cost...
"Couldn't it be fixed if you sent it to a professional?" Ai asked curiously.
"Well, yes," Mitsuhiko explained. "But when it was sent for repairs, the craftsman accidentally cut himself. Blood got all over the doll's face. He managed to clean it up and fix it eventually, but then..."
"Pippi, the dog from the house next door, suddenly barged in just as Ayumi got home and snatched the doll away in its teeth!"
"The paint the craftsman used to hide the bloodstains peeled off too!"
"Between the blood-smeared face and the matted, messy hair... that doll was basically unwatchable after that..."
It was easy to see why the image of a dog carrying a blood-stained, mangled doll would be traumatizing. At the very least, Mitsuhiko's face was pale just describing it.
"Hey, hey... that's enough..." Conan sighed, feeling exasperated. They were making it sound like the plot of a low-budget horror flick.
"So much happened? That doll sounds like it was cursed," Genta said, a look of genuine fear creeping onto his face.
Tsuneo stroked his chin. He had seen plenty of dolls like that in horror movies. Usually, they'd wait for the lights to go out before slowly turning their heads, flashing a grotesque grin, and whispering about sealing someone's soul inside their porcelain bodies.
Heh...
"After that, Ayumi's father didn't want those dolls bringing any more unknown misfortune into the house, so he had them all boxed up and stored away," Mitsuhiko added with a nod.
"You should pay a little more attention to the person you're talking about," Ikumi reminded them with a gentle smile.
Ai also looked at Mitsuhiko and Genta with a look of utter disbelief.
"Those dolls aren't cursed at all! Pippi... Pippi just wanted everyone to see that the doll was fixed as soon as possible."
"It was just an accident that the head... that the head got bitten off..." Ayumi lowered her head, her voice trembling. In the next second, she actually burst into tears.
"Wait, what?!"
Mitsuhiko and Genta panicked instantly, scrambling to apologize. They were so distressed that they failed to notice Ayumi was 'crying' without a single drop of actual water falling from her eyes.
"That child is quite lucky," Ikumi said with a chuckle. Even at such a young age, she was surrounded by reliable—if slightly clumsy—companions.
"Heh heh..." Tsuneo let out a small laugh. Though to be fair, that kid gets kidnapped more often than most people change their socks...
"Just kidding!" Ayumi chirped, pulling her hands away from her face to reveal a beaming smile.
It turned out that Pippi's owner had asked a friend to give Ayumi a Hinamatsuri set that they no longer needed—a full, seven-tier masterpiece!
"They said that as long as I can arrange all the dolls correctly, they'll give the whole set to me!" Ayumi cheered happily.
Over the past few days, she had memorized every single placement by heart. However, she still needed a bit of muscle to help her move everything...
After lunch, Tsuneo and Ikumi safely dropped the children off at the entrance of a large apartment complex. This was where the family who was gifting the dolls lived.
"Where to next?"
Tsuneo tossed the shopping bags into the car and turned to the beautiful detective standing beside him.
"Next is the Metropolitan Police Department," Ikumi said, rubbing her temples. There was still a case that required her to help finalize a statement.
"I'll drop you off there first. I have to head over to Ekoda after that," Tsuneo said, glancing up at the apartment building one last time. He wondered what kind of incident would inevitably unfold inside those walls today...
Nearly an hour later, the Repairman found himself navigating the streets of Ekoda.
The chime of a windbell rang out as he entered. The meeting spot was the same as always: Jii-chan's billiard bar.
Indeed, he had come here today to meet a certain Phantom Thief.
"Did you send out another heist notice?" Tsuneo asked, recalling something he had skimmed in the newspaper either today or yesterday.
"No, you're likely thinking of this," Jii-chan replied, opening a magazine and sliding it across the counter.
"The Miracle of the Sea."
"The Suzuki Museum."
The man featured in the article was Suzuki Jirokichi, the advisor of the Suzuki Financial Group. He viewed the Phantom Thief as his eternal rival. In Tsuneo's eyes, the old man was basically the president of Kaito's anti-fan club.
This time, the challenge hadn't come from Kaito. Instead, it was a blatant provocation from Jirokichi himself.
"The opponent is the advisor to the Suzuki Group. His financial resources are vast, and there's no telling what level of security he's arranged. It's likely a literal 'heavenly net,'" Jii-chan said, shaking his head.
"Heh, I bet a certain pint-sized bloodhound will be at the scene too," Tsuneo said with a grin. If the Suzuki family was involved, Conan was bound to pop up out of nowhere.
"Can't you just make a dog leash and keep him tied up at home?" Kaito asked, looking thoroughly exasperated. That little detective was a constant thorn in his side.
"You have any idea how thick that chain would have to be? You paying for it?" Tsuneo countered, closing the magazine and holding out his hand.
In a way, this was just another chapter in the strange, fated rivalry between those two cousins.
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