Detective Conan: The Road To Hell

Little Detectives

They're little. They're detectives.

Honestly, if you didn't get this one, I am concerned for your health.
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Ishiwatari was the first on the list of people the kids had to visit, him being the least likely to be the criminal (both Shinichi and Heiji knew the kids would be too excited to wait for Kazuha or Ran).

Genta knocked, and a muffled "Come in" sounded through the door. The Detective Boys walked in, each greeting Ishiwatari with an "excuse us" as they entered.

They found him sitting on his bed, a deck of cards in his hands. Even as he rose from his seat, the cards flew from one hand to the other. The kids watched in fascination as he cut the deck, shuffled, and made the cards disappear into thin air.

"It's you kids. Here, have a seat." He motioned to the bed. As they sat, he took up a seat in an armchair nearby. "What can I do for you?"

"We have a few questions. About Mina-obasan and Kakei-ojisan."

At the mention of his friends' names, his face fell, and Ishiwatari felt a mixture of relief and nausea at the line of questioning. One of them really did it, he thought as a lump formed in his throat. The small hope that an outsider had come and killed his old friend was banished, and reality came crashing down. The murderer was either Akagi's barren, bitter wife or his manipulated, forgotten coworker.

"Playing detective, then?" he sighed. "Ask away."

The kids exchanged a look of guilt. "Maybe we shouldn't ask him," whispered Ayumi. "I think asking him would make him sadder."

"But we have to," Mitsuhiko whispered back, just as distraught. "Shinichi-san and Heiji-san need our help."

Genta, oblivious to the other kids' conversation, frowned at Ishiwatari. "Can you tell us about them? Or are we being mean?"

Ishiwatari shook his head. "No, it's not a bother. I simply didn't think either of them would ever have the real intent of killing Akagi. Sure, he was twisted in his own way, but he was a good guy at heart. He went sour at the end, but I never saw him do anything to hurt Mina-chan or Kakei directly." He took another deep breath. "I suppose I never thought anyone would have enough hatred for him to actually murder him."

Mitsuhiko opened his mouth, but it was Genta who pressed for more information. "What makes you say that?"

Ishiwatari shrugged. "It was a joke, most of the time. Anything that went wrong we'd blame it on Akagi. We all said at one point or another that we were going to kill him, but--" he stopped, searched the floor. "We never meant anything by it," he finished eventually.

Mitsuhiko let the silence hang in the air for half a moment. "Did you notice anything strange before Akagi-san died?"

Ishiwatari almost smiled. "An old drinking buddy of mine picked up a bunch of kids, one of which acts far too mature for her age and another that goes home with a life threatening cold. Hattori Heiji, Akagi's favorite high school detective, just so happens to be on the scene and Kudou Shinichi, the boy rumored to be dead, appears and helps solve the case." A mirthless smirk. "Strange is a relative term, boy."

It took Mitsuhiko a moment to find the words. "Did either Mina-obasan or Kakei-ojisan do anything weird? Like something that was different from before?"

Ishiwatari shrugged again, but a thoughtful frown soon came upon his face. "It wasn't odd, per se, but I guess it was a little out of character. Mina-chan told us she was going to take a bath before we left to search for Akagi. She's a confident and eccentric girl, that's for sure, so it wasn't necessarily odd if she wanted to bathe while we were milling around the area. But she used to make a point of saving the first bath of the night for Akagi. It was something of etiquette her parents taught her when she was young. She told us about it after a couple of drinks and a game of truth or dare.