𝐁𝐚𝐭𝐭𝐥𝐞 𝐒𝐜𝐚𝐫𝐬

file 040 | crossing blades and misty reveals

After listening to Kogoro's terribly wrong deductions, Suzume and Heiji were able to figure out who the real culprit was.

"Only those who do archery would say that," Heiji said.

"It's almost like the song, 'Donguri Koro Koro'," Suzume heard Ayumi comment.

Suzume's eyes widened and she rushed to where her bag was, pulling out her copy of the puzzle image along with a map of Kyoto's streets. She laid them flat on the table as Heiji took a seat next to her.

"Maybe the puzzle refers to the streets of Kyoto," she said to him. "First are the roads that run east to west. The fifth row stands for Gojyou Avenue, the fourth row is Shinjyou Avenue, and in between the third and second row, which means between 2nd and 3rd Avenue, is Oike Avenue. And to prove it..."

"Donguri Koro Koro?" Heiji murmured before gasping.

"Next are the roads going from north to south. The violet, which is in the song 'Haru no Ogawa', is part of Ogawa Avenue. The Tengu, or 'Crow-billed Tengu', is represented in Karasuma Avenue." She couldn't help but twitch at the name. "And for Mt. Fuji, the character 'fu' is 'tomi'. So it's Tominokoji Avenue."

"What's the chicken for? The loach has something to do with 'Yana gawa nabe', so it must represent Yanaginobanba Avenue."

"The chicken is...Nishinotouin Avenue! The character in chicken is similar to the character for west."

"Well, that's pretty hard," he commented. "Then what does this one mean?"

Unbeknownst to the pair of detectives, Enkai was walking by and took a moment to observe them with a knowing smile before continuing on his way.

"For the cicada, there's an 'abura semi', which relates to Aburanokoji Avenue. The Tengu represents Karasuma Avenue," Suzume said.

"And if the goldfish has something to do with goldfish food 'fu', it represents Fuyachou Avenue," Heiji said.

"Then if you connect violet and Mt. Fuji for their similar coloring, the chicken and loach, the cicada and goldfish, and both tengu's together in a line..."

"King," Heiji said. "Why is it a king?"

Suzume looked back at the puzzle. "It's a dot!" She made a similar mark on the map based on the symbols positioning. "Isn't it like this? Tama can also be read as gyoku, or jewels."

"This place is..."

"Bukko Temple."

~ — — — ~

They both took off to where the temple was, though they had to make a stop when Heiji had to catch his breath. He still hadn't recovered from his injuries the night before. They took their break at the Rokkaku Building, sitting on one of the benches in the courtyard. Suzume handed him one of the drinks she bought from the vending machine, holding another for herself.

"How do you feel now?" she asked him.

"I feel better," he said, opening the can.

She sat next to him on the bench. "Eight years ago, I think the temple you snuck into was Sanno Temple," she said.

He spat out the drink he took. "How do you know that?!"

"When you were admiring the sakura blossoms before the kids came up to us, I figured it out," she told him. "Also, there was a latticed window you talked about."

"That's right." He reached into his pocket and pulled out his pouch. "I picked up this crystal ball under the sakura tree."

She grimaced. "I hate to dampen your spirits, but that crystal ball wasn't dropped by your first love."