Chapter 113: The Murder of Shinichi Kudo in Progress
Yusaku Kudo remained silent, simply staring at his son through the iron bars.
In the Detective Conan universe, Yusaku Kudo was Shinichi's father, but he wasn't a primary character. His role was more akin to an "Out-of-Bounds" entity. On the surface, he was a famous mystery novelist, but he was a grandmaster of firearms, a pilot for cars, planes, helicopters, and speedboats, and an expert in medicine, psychology, criminology, electronics, and bomb disposal. Every vacation to Hawaii was a masterclass for Shinichi.
His deductive powers were legendary; while living in America, he could package his wife, Yukiko, as a world-famous detective simply by reading daily newspapers and feeding her the deductions. This wasn't a plot hole; in his youth, Yusaku was the Metropolitan Police's top consultant and the original arch-rival of the first Kaito Kid.
One could say that while Shinichi was the protagonist of the current version, Yusaku was the mature, perfect protagonist of the previous generation who had successfully retired.
Seeing Shinichi's refusal to speak, Yusaku began to observe. He noted the uncoordinated movements, the labored breathing, and the slight, involuntary facial twitches of pain hidden behind a calm facade. His medical knowledge pinpointed the issue instantly.
"Shinichi. What's wrong with your heart? Are you in pain?"
Shinichi fell silent. He knew lying was pointless before his father.
"I asked Inspector Megure to let me see the basement," Yusaku continued. "The modifications were absurd. However, the craftsmanship of those bombs is not the style I taught you. I also visited the docks; that explosion wasn't your style either. Remember the criminology I taught you? You can draw a psychological profile from the traces left at a scene. That lawless, reckless flair... that isn't you."
"You never taught me that," Shinichi couldn't help but interject.
Yusaku shrugged slightly. "I forgot. It's the latest criminal psychology from America. I was going to teach you on our next Hawaii trip. But apparently, if you insist on taking the fall for someone else, I'll have to teach your mother instead."
Yusaku leaned in, his gaze serious. "Son, regardless of what happened, I am your father. I believe in you, and you should believe in your family. Don't keep things bottled up alone..."
The gentle tone and the emphasis on family were direct strikes at Shinichi's psychological armor. Yusaku remained rational; these words were genuine, but they were also a tactic to open Shinichi's heart and solve the crisis quickly.
Shinichi's lips trembled, but before he could speak, footsteps echoed in the detention center. Ran Mouri rushed in. Yusaku looked surprised but said nothing. Shinichi, seeing his childhood friend, panicked:
"Ran! Why are you here?"
"I asked Sonoko to help me get in," Ran said, breathless and tearful. "Shinichi, I woke up to find you were arrested! What is happening?"
Shinichi quickly deduced that Sonoko, as the heiress of the Suzuki Corporation, could easily arrange a visit with a single phone call. Looking at Ran's panicked state, he wavered for a moment before steadying himself.
"Ran, don't worry. And Dad, you too—don't ask. I'm doing something only I can do, and something I must do. It'll be over soon."
"Shinichi, how can I not worry? You're in jail!"
Yusaku sighed. He had been close to breaking Shinichi's defenses, but Ran's arrival had made the boy double down on his stubbornness. He prepared to try a different conversational approach, but the words died in his throat.
His pupils shrank.
A pitch-black hand, manifesting with supernatural eeriness, slowly emerged from behind Shinichi. It swept upward and delivered a massive, resounding slap to the back of Shinichi's head, face-planting him onto the floor.
A low, gloomy voice rang out:
"Tsk, tsk, tsk. So twisted. Truly an immature brat. Beika Town doesn't welcome riddlers. Speak human, or you'll disappoint those who trust you. With this low-EQ, 'bear-child' attitude where you can't even communicate clearly, how do you expect to gather criminal associates and create brilliance? How will you become the Emperor of Crime at the apex of Beika? Fine, I'll demonstrate personally..."
Under the shocked eyes of Yusaku and Ran, the non-human black silhouette stepped out from behind Shinichi. He walked straight through the iron bars as if they were mist and warmly grasped Yusaku's hand.
"Hello, Shinichi's Papa. I am the second personality gestated from Shinichi's inner darkness—also his Stand. Nice to meet you. Your son is going through a rebellious phase; don't mind him, I'll educate him properly. Oh, here's my business card..."
Yusaku, wearing a look of total bewilderment, took the card:
[Moriarty] Title: [Emperor of Crime of Beika Town] [Shinichi Kudo's Dark Personality & Stand] Business: Planning, implementation, and consulting for any form of criminal activity. Office: Temporarily residing in the depths of Shinichi Kudo's heart. Contact: Shinichi Kudo's phone number...
The black silhouette patted Yusaku's shoulder enthusiastically.
"I'm his second personality, but to avoid confusion, let's keep our relationships separate. He calls you Dad; I'll call you Big Brother. Brother Kudo, I've long known of your greatness. I'm thinking of starting a business lately—any interest in cooperating to overthrow the Japanese government and build a criminal empire? Don't worry, I have a plan. With my 'potent' skills and your legendary wisdom, we'll start by stealing a hundred nukes from the US. The Japanese regime is just a clay dog; conquering the world will be a breeze..."
Yusaku took a sharp breath. The more he listened to this silhouette, the more absurdly terrifying it became.
"Alright, that's enough for now. Think it over, Brother Kudo. Call me when you're free!"
The silhouette turned to Ran.
"Hi, Ran-chan. Ignore that unromantic block of wood, Shinichi. Let me show you a magic trick..."
He approached her naturally and waved his empty hands. Then, he reached behind Ran's neck. When he pulled his hand back, he was miraculously holding a heavy, metallic object.
"Shinichi is in jail now. As a normal girl, it's unsafe for you to be out alone. Take this M72 LAW portable rocket launcher and ammunition for self-defense. Oh, is this enough? Do you need other calibers? Just tell me. Shinichi is stingy, but I'm generous. Once I get those nukes, I'll give you a few to play with..."
Ran stared blankly at the rocket launcher in her arms, her eyes darting between the weapon and the black silhouette. Finally, her brain reconnected.
"AHHH! A GHOST!!!"
Shinichi scrambled up from the floor, shouting: "Moriarty! Get back here! This is our game, don't involve others!"
The silhouette shrugged. "Tsk. Troublesome brat. Fine. Since you're the protagonist, I'll give you some face in front of others."
The silhouette stepped back through the bars and vanished behind Shinichi.
Moments later, Inspector Megure rushed in with his men. He froze at the sight of Ran holding a military-grade rocket launcher, unable to comprehend how it got there.
Chaos ensued. They checked the surveillance tapes, and the existence of the "Black Silhouette" was laid bare before everyone. At Yusaku's insistence, Megure suppressed the supernatural report for the moment—willing to give his "Old Brother" a chance to get the truth from Shinichi.
The situation returned to a tense standoff. Yusaku and Ran stared at Shinichi through the bars.
Shinichi finally seemed to have reached a realization—or perhaps a state of despair. He began to narrate the sequence of events: the mysterious Moriarty, the world-line changes caused by the die, the Organization's assassins, and the birth of the Stands.
Yusaku's nerves were pulled taut. To a commoner, "world-line change" was just a story. To a master of deduction like Yusaku, it was a terrifying possibility. Between the theories of [Stands have always existed and I didn't know] and [Stands were birthed by a recent world-line shift], Yusaku leaned toward the latter—it had an eyewitness in Shinichi.
"So... by confessing, you intend to lock Moriarty in prison. You want the crime to reach its end. You think this is something only you can do."
Through his familiarity with his son, Yusaku saw the true intent. He remembered the feeling when the silhouette appeared—the "Absolute Evil" presence that had paralyzed their bodies.
Yusaku realized something else. "No... not just imprisonment. Your heart is damaged from the fight with the assassin. You have no intention of seeking treatment. Shinichi... are you planning to die in this prison to take Moriarty with you?"
Shinichi returned to silence. There was nothing more to say.
Yusaku started to speak but stopped. If this were anyone else, he would praise it as a noble act of justice. But this was his son. He wanted to tell him not to do it, that they would find another way.
But Yusaku understood Moriarty's game. If Shinichi intended a "sinless murder" to end the darkness, Moriarty would use every means to make him waver, to make him compromise... to make him live.
In this game, family and love were merely accomplices used by Evil.
"Shinichi, no... you can't..." Ran's face was pained. Before she could say more, Yusaku stopped her.
"Don't use emotional outbursts as a solution. We still have time. We'll get a doctor to diagnose Shinichi first, then see how to handle this..."
Yusaku sensed that Ran's presence only made Shinichi more stubborn and defensive. He muttered to himself that "youthful crushes" were troublesome; he should have taught Shinichi how to date back in Hawaii.
After they left, Shinichi lay on his bed in silence. A whisper echoed in his ear:
"Brat. Your mood dropped after seeing your old man and your sweetheart. Why is that?"
Shinichi waited a long time before answering. "Moriarty... I'm realizing that crime isn't easy. I tried to hide my intent, and my father saw right through it. I wanted to be resolute in murdering you, but seeing them... I wavered. I look back at the criminals I've caught and realized how incredible they were—to hide so well, to act so firmly..."
The gloomy voice laughed. "Of course. Being a competent 'Xiao Hei' in this world isn't as simple as you thought. So, Mr. Great Detective... has your mind changed?"
Shinichi lowered his eyes. The constant heart pain made focus difficult, but at the edge of that pain, a cold, blade-like killing intent rose.
"No," Shinichi said, his voice turning cold. "I am even more determined to kill you."
"Excellent. Keep that attitude. I love watching you become a qualified criminal, even if I'm your target. But I must tell you: in this world, crime is never simple. When you step into the darkness, you'll find that family, love, friendship, law, and even your 'peers' will become your obstacles..."
"Your parents won't give up. Ran won't. Even Megure and the Japanese government, the Organization, and I... we won't let you die so easily."
"But none of them know... what it means for this world if you lose this game and walk out of this prison."
Shinichi fell silent. After a long time, he whispered:
"It sounds like a very difficult murder. But perhaps only a crime of this magnitude is worth my attempt. Moriarty... our game continues. I won't give up."
"Then let us see."
End of Chapter
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