Conan's other self

"You, what are you talking about?"

Hattori Heiji was the first to come to his senses.

"You are a high school detective from the East, Kudo Shinichi! No one will laugh when you tell such a bad joke!"

He might just hope that Kudo Shinichi in front of him was joking, but the other person showed an even more confused expression.

"detective…"

Hattori Heiji was stunned.

Haibara Ai looked at Kudo Shinichi in silence, then bit her lip, subconsciously took out her cell phone and wanted to call Feng Yuan, and then realized that there was no signal here.

The person in front of her was just like Kudo in the blurry dream she had ten years later. She felt strange, even stranger than Kudo, but he seemed to have lost his memory after all...

Haibara Ai tried hard to figure out what was happening. Others around him also realized that there seemed to be something wrong with the confused Kudo Shinichi and he had lost his memory.

"Hey, little sister from the doctor's family," Hattori Heiji looked at Kudo Shinichi worriedly, and couldn't help but move closer to Haibara Ai again, bending down and lowering his voice, "Which Kudo is this?"

Normally, the difference between the two Kudos is not only whether they are wearing glasses, but also there are some subtle differences in tone and demeanor that Hattori Heiji, who is already familiar with Kudo, can tell.

But now Kudo seems to have lost his memory...

All the previous judgment methods are no longer useful.

So he wondered if Hui Yuan Ai, the developer of drugs and antidote, might have other ways of making judgments, so he came over to ask, but Hui Yuan Ai remained silent and did not respond to him immediately.

"But it should be Conan's Kudo, right?" Hattori Heiji said to himself, "After all, he was the one who caught the cold... I remember that the last few times Kudo transformed back, he seemed to have caught a cold..."

"Where did you get the cold medicine for him?" Hui Yuan Ai asked.

"The doctor went to get it," Hattori Heiji said. "I saw that he went to the basement, so he should have gotten it there..."

Hui Yuan Ai frowned and recalled.

When I was sorting out data on the innermost instrument, I seemed to have heard someone entering the office outside...

"The medicine was wrong..."

"ah?"

"That's not the cold medicine," Haihara Ai said, "it's the medicine that can make them turn back into their original high school students..."

"Hey, the doctor is too careless... Then this is Conan's Kudo..."

"Not necessarily," Haihara Ai shook his head. Not far away, Kudo Shinichi stood up with the help of Uncle Maori and Kazuha, "Kudo also carries an antidote with him, just in case... "

Although the conversation was full of Kudo, as the originator of this system of address, Hattori Heiji immediately understood that Haibara was referring to Maplehara's Kudo.

"This, that's it..." Hattori Heiji scratched his head, "But it's really strange. I don't know where the other Kudo went. He can't really change back to the same person——"

murderous look.

Hattori Heiji subconsciously stopped talking, looked down, and found Haibara Ai glaring at him with an unkind expression.

This sister is so scary...

This thought suddenly appeared in his mind, and Hattori Heiji immediately understood why Haibara Ai seemed to be angry, and his heart couldn't help but beat wildly.

"No, don't scare me," Hattori Heiji said, "How could there be such an unscientific thing..."

But it’s unscientific enough for one person to become two people...

No way…

Hattori Heiji, who had always been joking in the past and had never seriously thought about this issue, suddenly turned ugly. Even the fact that Kudo seemed to have lost his memory was temporarily forgotten.

Huihara Ai returned to silence.

Over there, because Xiaolan had been watching the amnesiac Kudo in a daze, Kazuha urged Hattori Heiji to go over and help.

"Heiji! Stop standing there! Come here and help!"

"Ah, it's coming, it's coming..."

"Excuse me," Kudo Shinichi asked Hattori Heiji, "can you lend me something to wear? I don't seem to be wearing anything..."

"Okay, okay! I'll lend you my change of clothes!"

"But why is your voice so hoarse..." Uncle Maoli asked.

"Just like Conan!"

Hearing He Ye's words, Xiao Lan came back to her senses, "Ah! That's right! We need to find Conan and Xiao Kong quickly!"

"Indeed, it will be troublesome when the sun goes down..."

"No, don't worry anymore..." Hattori Heiji said bravely.

"ah?"

"That...is like this..."

Hattori Heiji's brain began to work rapidly.

He didn't know what was going on with Kudo, or which Kudo was the one in front of him, but if there was nothing wrong with the other Kudo, appearing alone would definitely arouse suspicion about this Kudo's identity...

That Kudo must also understand this, so——

"They took the train back first!" Hattori Heiji said.

"W-What!?"

"Take the tram back?"

"Yes, yes...that's it! I completely forgot about what they told me before going to the village office! Conan said that letting the cold get worse would be bad, so Xiao Kong went back with him..."

"But didn't the people in the village say they saw the two of them walking into the forest?" Xiaolan questioned.

"They must have gone exploring into the forest to kill time while waiting for the train! Children are very curious..."

"But even if Conan returns to the detective agency, no one will be there?"

"Of course I'm going to Dr. Ali's house with me!"

"Then why didn't you tell me earlier?" He Ye said angrily.

"Didn't I say I forgot?"

"Anyway! There is no mobile phone signal here. If you want to confirm where those two brats are, you should go back to a hotel with a phone first!" Uncle Maori glanced at Kudo Shinichi, who looked confused, "Bring the one who has forgotten everything... This troublesome brat..."

Everyone agreed.

Hui Yuan Ai glanced into the woods and then followed.

It didn't take long for them to come here, so they returned to the hotel soon. Hattori Heiji lent the change of clothes he brought to Kudo Shinichi, and they fit him perfectly.

Xiaolan didn't seem to care about Kudo Shinichi, but was more concerned about the situation over Conan and Maplehara.

So Hattori Heiji pretended to call the doctor's house. The doctor on the other side of the phone naturally knew nothing about it. He talked alone and helped Xiaolan to deal with it.

After making the call, he came to Huihara Ai again.

"Hey, how long will the effect of the medicine last?"

"It can only last for twenty hours at most...maybe even shorter..." Haiyuan Ai whispered, "I haven't done any experiments..."

If she could experiment on herself, she would be able to estimate the duration of the drug's effect more accurately, and the antidote could be developed faster.

But this would definitely not avoid Kudo, who lived under the same roof, so she gave up the idea.

"Less than twenty hours," Hattori Heiji held his chin in his hands and thought for a moment, "Then we have to think of a way before then..."

Then he heard Uncle Maori complain: "Really, I originally wanted to use this little detective's reasoning to drink wine and have a good drink in the hot spring..."

"dad…"

"Then let's take Kudo to the scene of the incident?" Kazuha suggested, "Maybe he will remember something!"

"What are you talking about?" Hattori Heiji subconsciously retorted, and then he was stunned for a moment, "Wait, it seems to make sense..."

If Kudo can recover his memory, he can find a way to hide his identity...

They immediately went to the scene of the crime a year ago, the home of former village chief Hihara Takitoku.

This house has not been used since the incident a year ago, and the scene has been basically kept as it was when the incident occurred, in accordance with the requirements of the Hihara family's surviving son, Hihara Daiki.

Hihara Daiki was the child who called Kudo a liar in the village hall. His parents were killed in the incident.

It is worth mentioning that the village chief of Rihara has a cheerful personality and is very prestigious among the villagers. He has been the village chief for more than 20 years, so the villagers were very sad after the tragedy happened a year ago.

A group of them visited the crime scene accompanied by police officers.

There were relatively clear black footprints at the scene, which were left when the prisoner's shoes stepped on the blood stains left by the village chief's wife who was killed in the middle of the stairs, and then he walked around the room.

The footprints continued to the balcony, where the village chief fell to his death.

"So what was the murder weapon? What was stolen?"

"The knife that was used as the murder weapon was not found in the room. It is said that some gems and antiques are missing," the police officer replied to Uncle Maori. "What is left are the bloody footprints in the room and the same ones as in the room, from the back door to the cement The footprints going back and forth on the road..."

"Are these really the only footprints?" Hattori Heiji asked.

"Yes, it had been raining until the day before the incident, and the ground was very wet..."

"So, that is to say," Uncle Maori concluded, "it was a robbery and murder case in which the village chief and his wife were killed and then drove away with the murder weapon and stolen items!"

"Then what? Who did Kudo say the prisoner was?"

"Did he identify an innocent person as the murderer?"

"No, no, that..."

"It's suicide!" A young female voice came from the stairs. She passed by Haibara Ai and came to Kudo Shinichi, pointing at him, "This guy concluded that this incident was-"

"——The village chief Nihara forced his wife to commit suicide with him!"

She is Hikawa Moe, a classmate of Makoto Yada. Yada Makoto himself disappeared, and there was no news for half a year.

This made Hattori Heiji realize that there might be something wrong with the letter, and he couldn't help but think about it.

"The motive behind the suicide of the village chief is——"

Another woman came over from the stairs, "Because the doctor told him that he had cancer, he gave up on himself... The truth announced by Mr. Kudo a year ago is the problem..."

"Who are you?"

"I am a reporter from Toto Shimbun, Kawauchi Fumari." She is a middle-aged woman in her thirties. "I'm sorry... I came in without locking the door..."

"Then what? What's the problem you mentioned?"

"The doctor did say that he told the former village chief about the cancer the day before the incident, but the nurse at the hospital leaked the information the next day..."

"Um?"

"Although it is cancer, it is actually a benign tumor... It can be cured with just an operation. The former village chief was very happy after hearing this..."

"W-what did you say!?"

Hattori Heiji looked shocked.

Because this means that the motive for suicide is completely invalid.

He immediately turned around, grabbed the shoulders of Kudo Shinichi next to him, and couldn't help but ask: "Hey, Kudo! What is going on? Please explain to me!"

"I, I don't know...don't know anything..."

"Kudo..."

Only then did they understand why the people in the village had strong hatred and hostility towards Kudo Shinichi.

"It's really scary," Kazuya was a little worried. "If this is true, is the real criminal still at large?"

"People in the village say...it was the one hiding in the forest who did it..."

"Hey! I've heard about it just now!" Hattori Heiji looked at Hikawa Moe angrily, "What on earth is in that forest!?"

"It's a folklore spread in this place..."

Hikawa Moe was so frightened by Hattori Heiji's momentum that he forgot to respond. The police officer helped explain, "You must not look at it with your eyes if you encounter it in the forest...If you don't look away, you will be punished..."

"Becoming a prisoner of the Death God..."

As the police officer's somewhat deep voice fell, Xiaolan looked out the window with feeling. Haiyuan Ai was thoughtful, quietly watching the scenes in front of him, writing down all the clues he heard and saw.

Afterwards, they walked around the house again and learned the details of the crime. During this period, Kudo Shinichi also stayed alone in Yada Makoto's room for a while, as if he wanted to retrieve his memory.

Makoto Yata was adopted by the former village chief of Nihara after his father passed away three years ago, and he is the adopted son of this family.

He admires Kudo Shinichi very much. In the room, there are not only information about cases solved by Kudo Shinichi, but also a large poster of Kudo Shinichi.

After a while, without much success, they left the Hihara family.

However, there has been little progress in Kudo Shinichi's memory and case.

On the way back to the hotel, there were woods on one side of the road. Haibara Ai almost kept looking into the woods. She didn't look back until she heard the conversation between Xiao Lan and He Ye.

"I said He Ye..." Xiaolan was a little depressed.

"ah?"

"If...I said if..."

"Uh-huh…"

"The person I like that I have always wanted to see suddenly appears in front of me... but ends up losing his memory... What would you do if it were you, Kazuye?"

"My words will definitely make you cry!"

Without thinking, Heye said, "The joy of finally being reunited came up together with the sadness of being forgotten by him... If there is no such feeling, that person must not be someone he likes, but just an ordinary friend!"

"That's right..." Xiaolan looked a little sad.

"Ah, no no!"

Kazuye then remembered that Xiaolan's reaction was not what he had just said, and that she was obviously referring to the matter between her and Kudo Shinichi, so he quickly changed his words, "What I just said was something that a fool like me would do..."

"I don't feel anything..." Xiaolan looked at Kudo Shinichi who was walking in front, "I just feel that Shinichi is getting further and further away from me..."

"It's okay!" He Ye comforted, "As long as he gets his memory back, you can be the same as before!"

"Um…"

While talking, it suddenly started raining.

Since they didn't have an umbrella, they ran back to the hotel.

Hattori Heiji was just about to sit down in the hall and rest for a while when he noticed that Haibara Ai had borrowed an umbrella and walked outside.

"Hey! Where are you going?"

"Go for a walk outside."

"Huh? It's raining outside!"

Haibara Ai covered her mouth and yawned, then looked at Hattori Heiji with a look that looked like a fool, "Yeah, that's why I borrowed an umbrella."

"..."

"Then I'll go with you!" Heye said after hearing the commotion, "I rarely come to this kind of village!"

Xiaolan was in a very low mood and was distracted all the time. She seemed to need someone to accompany her. However, a primary school girl went out for a walk in the rain alone, which made her really uneasy.

and…

Although I have met her several times, I have never spoken to this cool little girl...

"No, I'll just take a walk around the area and be back soon," Haihara Ai refused, then paused, "Thank you."

Then he rejected Xiaolan's kindness, who then came back to his senses. Haiyuan Ai held up an umbrella and walked out of the hotel. After walking a little further, he stopped at the edge of the woods.

The sun had set and it was raining again, making the woods look particularly eerie.

It seemed like there were countless figures looking at me in the forest...

Hui Yuan Ai watched quietly for a while, then noticed someone getting under his umbrella.

"Sorry, I'm late."

Familiar voice, familiar tone, familiar figure...

Judging the identity of the person with the corner of his eye, Hui Yuan Ai pursed his lips and felt calm.

"How long are you going to let this lovely girl wait alone?"

"That's right, Haiyuan is the cutest...the cutest in the world."

"snort…"

Hui Yuarai snorted softly, then turned his head and looked over blankly.

The rain was not very heavy, or perhaps because he had just walked out of the forest, Fengyuan's body was not soaked, but his hair looked a little wet...

Feng Yuan was also wiping his hair with his hands.

For some reason, Hui Yuan Ai suddenly remembered the feeling when she used mineral water to help him style his hair in the car last time...

"It's great to see you here just after I came out," Fengyuan said. "I was still thinking about sneaking in quietly... But, Haiyuan, how did you know you were waiting for me here?"

"I'm not waiting for you here. I just have nothing to do. I came here to see the scenery."

Hui Yuan Ai retorted, then looked away, as if he had not said what he just said, and then explained, "I think that if it were you, even if it was inconvenient to show up directly for some reason, you would definitely find a way. Let us know what's going on over there..."

So you should wait for me here...

"Then how do you know that one over there isn't mine?"

"Kudo..." Haihara Ai shouted in a very low voice.

This was a sound she could make very skillfully, and only she and Kudo in front of her could hear it. And the one over there didn't react at all.

"I see... I rely on hearing to judge..."

"how about you?"

Haibara Ai then asked, "Since you said that, it means you know that Edogawa is with us. What is going on between you and him?"

"That's not Conan."

"Eh?" Hui Yuan Ai was stunned for a moment.

"It's not like he split off again," Fengyuan said. "In fact, he is not Kudo Shinichi at all."

"B-But—make up?"

"Probably plastic surgery..."

Haiyuan Ai had moved the umbrella towards him before, but Fengyuan simply took the umbrella and held it himself, then moved the umbrella back.

The umbrella is for adults, so there is no problem if two children squeeze together.

Feng Yuan explained to Hai Yuan Ai, and the scene at that time appeared in his mind——

"I asked, do you remember the road?" Fengyuan asked.

"I haven't been here for a whole year," Conan retorted, "How can I remember it so clearly?"

This is deep in the forest, and there are no obvious road signs. Even the villagers living nearby will have a hard time finding the cabin if they are not familiar with the woods.

"...Then you should let me lead the way."

"...I didn't tell you earlier."

"Your general direction is correct. I thought you wanted to take a look at other places..."

"Ahem, cough..."

Conan coughed twice more, "But you actually remember this kind of thing so clearly..."

"I'm not that sure, but I'm definitely better than you." Feng Yuan said unceremoniously, "Go this way."

After walking in the dark forest for a while, the small wooden house they had seen before appeared in front of them.

The door of the cabin was ajar. Fengyuan glanced to the side, and then followed Conan in.

There was just a table and a chair inside, with a small window above which only children could barely pass through. There was a walkie-talkie on the table.

As soon as Conan walked in, he asked: "Excuse me...is there anyone?"

Then he coughed violently again.

Feng Yuan frowned slightly.

Conan looks a little abnormal...

"Is it Kudo Shinichi?" A voice changed by a voice changer suddenly came from the intercom.

Conan picked up the walkie-talkie, bent over and coughed again.

Feng Yuan looked back, thought for a moment, and decided to stay put. The next moment, someone ran over and blocked the door of the cabin with wooden boards outside.

"Hello!"

Conan ran back quickly, but just as he hammered the door, his body curled up due to the sudden severe pain.

"Feng, Fengyuan, we have to find a way to get out..."

"It's easy to go out...just kick the door open. I'm still wearing foot-strengthening shoes. The problem now is..."

Maplehara helped Conan aside, and in order to facilitate his transformation, he directly asked him to sit on the floor, "Did you take the wrong medicine?"