Disclaimer: Detective Conan is not mine. This fanfic is a translation.
Enjoy Reading!
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"Police headquarters calling all units, police headquarters calling all units!"
"At 10:35, traffic control at the first scene, Suwa Heights, has been lifted. Meanwhile, traffic control at the second scene, the Asai Villa district plaza, remains in effect…"
"As for areas outside the traffic control perimeter, suspicious individuals and vehicles are being questioned. That concludes the report!"
Listening to the broadcast from the television, Ritsu frowned deeply. Could that nightmare he had have been a prophetic dream?
"Hey! Macallan, what are you spacing out for? Time to pull out."
"Oh? It's confirmed, he's dead?"
"Dead as can be."
Casting one last look at the footage on the TV, Ritsu had no choice but to leave with Chianti. A faint sense of unease lingered in his heart, making him uncomfortable. He had already warned Kenji, he should have seen the letter, right?
As long as he didn't take off the protective suit, even being in close proximity to a bomb, his chances of survival would be very high.
----
At the same time,
Seeing that the countdown on the bomb's display had stopped, Kenji, who was in charge of the second scene, let out a sigh of relief. Just as he was about to remove the unbearably heavy protective suit, the contents of that letter suddenly surfaced in his mind.
'Under no circumstances are you to remove your protective suit.'
Ah… why did he suddenly think of Ritsu's warning? He had originally planned to take it off and have a smoke, guess that wasn't happening now.
Moving his bulky body, he crouched in front of the bomb. First, he removed the photo-triggered detonator and replaced it with a phototube, then connected the mercury switch to the white wiring, and then…
Ring, ring.
The officer standing behind him with a blast shield looked at the ringing phone in his hand and quickly said, "Hagiwara-taicho, it's Matsuda-taicho calling!"
"Bring it here."
Holding the phone in one hand, Kenji said impatiently, "Jin, what is it?"
"Kenji! What are you still dawdling up there for? Hurry up and dismantle that thing already!" complained Jinpei, who had already arrived downstairs at the second scene.
"Hey, could you not shout like that? The timer's already stopped. Did you finish your side?"
"Yeah. After opening it, I realized it was a pretty simple device. A bomb like that—"
Lowering his voice, Kenji mimicked Jinpei's tone, "Only takes three minutes to deal with, right? Am I correct?"
Having his own line stolen, Jinpei clicked his tongue in annoyance and adjusted the black sunglasses on his nose. "How's your side going?"
"Finishing this in three minutes seems unlikely. The assembly is simple enough, but there are a lot of traps inside. I'd say this is probably where the culprit put their main focus."
"Forget that, are you wearing your protective suit right now?" Jinpei asked,
"Haha, I was actually thinking about taking it off to smoke," Kenji said, pausing deliberately before smiling. "Do you know whose letter I received?"
"Huh? Whose? Your sister's?"
"His."
Jinpei froze for a moment, immediately understanding who "he" referred to. Frowning, he asked, "What does his letter have to do with whether you're wearing the suit?"
"Because the letter only had one sentence, telling me not to remove the protective suit under any circumstances. So I've been obediently—"
Beep.
His words were abruptly cut off. When Kenji saw the bomb's display start counting down again, only six seconds remaining, he immediately turned around and shouted at the top of his lungs.
"Everyone, get out! Run! What are you standing there for?! The bomb's countdown has started again!!!"
On the other end of the phone, Jinpei froze in place. Panic surged through him as he shouted into the phone, "Kenji? Hey! Kenji, answer me!"
What answered him was not Kenji's voice but the sound of an explosion from the residential building above.
"Kenji…"
The phone slipped from his hand, crashing onto the concrete, its screen shattered by the impact. Jinpei rushed toward the building like a madman, only to be stopped by firefighters stationed below.
"Let me in! My friend is still inside! Let me in!"
Always calm during work, the thread that anchored his composure finally snapped.
When it comes to someone important, staying calm is impossible.
'Kenji just said he was still wearing the protective suit, right? If he was wearing it, it should be able to withstand the blast!'
Jinpei grabbed a firefighter by the collar and shouted, "If you see someone in a protective suit, bring him to me immediately! I'm counting on you!"
The firefighter nodded hurriedly. "I will!"
After more than an hour, the firefighting operation finally came to an end.
And… not a single officer at the second scene had died. Only those closest to the explosion suffered varying degrees of injury.
Captain Hagiwara, who had been closest to the blast, survived thanks to the protective suit. He suffered extensive burns on both arms and a mild concussion. But the most painful outcome for him was that when his protective helmet shattered, it cut his right eye.
The doctors said there was no chance of restoring his vision and that the eye would have to be surgically removed.
Even so, it was already a very good outcome. At the very least, Jinpei could accept it. As long as he was alive, nothing else mattered.
Looking at Kenji lying unconscious in the hospital bed, Jinpei clenched his fists tightly.
The bastard who toyed with the police like puppets… must not be forgiven. He had to be caught and made to face justice.
----
A blue-and-white Dodge Viper sped down the road. Half an hour earlier, Ritsu had told Chianti to turn on the car radio. Every station was reporting on the bomb threat incidents across Tokyo.
When he heard that the bomb had detonated, Ritsu struggled to keep his emotions in check. He feared Kenji might not have received his letter. Given his personality, he definitely wasn't as cautious as Jinpei.
But when the reporter's excited voice announced that "not a single officer has been killed," Ritsu finally relaxed, letting out a long breath.
"What's wrong?" Chianti asked.
Turning his head slightly, Ritsu curled his lips into a faint smile and murmured, "What a pity."
Chianti was puzzled, but after thinking it over, she assumed Macallan meant it was a pity the culprit's explosion hadn't taken any police lives.
However, Ritsu's "pity" referred to Kenji failing to dismantle the bomb.
The passing scenery blurred his vision. Thinking about how his friends risked their lives to defuse bombs and become heroes while he pulled the trigger.
How ironic.
----
About five hours later, Kenji woke up.
Seeing the three people sitting by his bedside with worried expressions, he smiled faintly.
"Kenji, are you still feeling unwell?"
Seeing everyone so concerned, Kenji slowly shook his head and said in a hoarse voice, "He saved me."
If not for that letter stopping him from removing the protective suit, November 7th would have become the day of his death.
"Jinpei already told us, it was Ritsu who sent you that letter, right?"
"Yeah."
"Please keep this matter confidential. Ritsu's current ID is… a bit special."
"Hiro, you know what's going on?" Jinpei asked, looking dissatisfied.
Hiro gave a wry smile. "I've already applied to join the National Police Agency. That's all I can tell you. But with that much, you should be able to guess something, right?"
"Tch, what's so great about that…"
Jinpei clicked his tongue and muttered awkwardly, "If you see him… tell that guy I kind of miss him."
"Pfft—"
"Hahahahaha—"
"Shut up! What are you laughing at?!"
Kenji, lying in bed, really wanted to laugh, but knew his injuries wouldn't allow it. His pale face instead flushed red from holding it in.
'Not "kind of miss", it should be "really miss," right? This stubborn guy… I even saw you secretly hugging that group photo of the six of us and crying.'
Looking at the three people in front of him, Kenji slowly turned his head toward the window.
'Ritsu-ya… you must be watching all of this from somewhere.'
'At least allow me to say this in my heart.'
'Thank you.'
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[Author's Note: November 7th is no longer Hagiwara Kenji's death anniversary!]