"I'll repeat it for you one more time, pay close attention!"
"After coming out of Shin-Osaka Station, take a bus heading towards the Asahi direction, and you'll reach the Central Sports Arena."
In the restroom, Hattori Heiji sat on the toilet lid, talking to Conan on the phone, with a smug expression on his face. "Once you're at the sports arena, just ask anyone where Hattori Heiji's competition venue is, and you'll find your way here."
"Got it, got it," Conan, on the other end of the phone, replied with a disinterested tone. "Come on, I'm not really an elementary school student. There's no need to repeat yourself so many times."
"Sorry, sorry. It's just that you look like an elementary school student, and I didn't realize..." Hattori Heiji apologized. "The main reason is that I can't come to pick you up for this competition."
"No problem, in situations like this, you can contact Uncle Mouri. If I'm discovered by Ran or Uncle Mouri, it'll be troublesome."
Conan, on the phone, rolled his eyes. "By the way, watching your competition is just a side thing. The main reason is that I want to eat the luxurious cuisine we missed out on last time and the time before that..."
"This guy is really indifferent..."
"Are you sure we'll make it on time? Your competition starts at 2 PM, right?" Conan expressed doubt about their chances. "Our Shinkansen(bullet train) just left, and even if we take a bus transfer, it's going to be tough..."
"Don't worry. Even if you can't make it to the semifinals, you'll definitely make it to the finals." Hattori Heiji chuckled. "You guys have to make sure you arrive smoothly..."
Before he could finish speaking, something hit the back of Hattori Heiji's head, causing him sudden pain.
"Ka... Kazu...!?"
Turning around with his phone in hand, Hattori Heiji saw a face peeking out from the restroom door, and he couldn't help but shout.
"Heiji!" Kazuha, leaning against the door, had a look of disdain in her eyes. "What are you hiding in here for?"
"This is a question I should be asking you, right?!" Hattori pushed the door open and looked at Kazuha, shouting, "Do you know where this is? It's the men's restroom!!!"
"Huh? Is this the men's restroom?"
Kazuha saw Hattori Heiji's outburst but showed no signs of panic. Instead, she looked disdainful and said, "I thought this was a place specially prepared for the timid souls who want to escape just before the competition starts..."
"It's a tactic, a tactic!" Hattori waved his hand. "Do you understand tactics? Besides, in the previous match, even without me, we would have won. My only real opponent is that guy, so I need to conserve my energy for the match!"
"Are you talking about the one who looks a lot like Kudo?"
"Yes, it's Soshi Okita from Kyoto Senshin High School!"
Hattori Heiji pointed to the scar behind his right ear. "Last year during the match, I was hit by Soshi's fifth-degree strike, which injured the back of my ear. This year, it's my turn to pay him back!"
"You're quite cunning," Kazuha said with a hint of contempt.
"Geez! I'm not a sore loser! It's just that at the time, I accidentally got scratched while avoiding his strike, which led to excessive bleeding and forced the doctor to stop the match."
Hattori Heiji was not satisfied. "And that guy was slacking off too, he didn't participate in the previous matches but went to the sports arena to sleep. We're even."
"Then you'll definitely win today because you have your lucky charm, right?" Kazuha encouraged him with a smile.
"Oh, about that... Actually, Dad mentioned that Officer Senichi is coming back for a training exchange today. I was discussing that with Dad all morning and accidentally forgot to bring the lucky charm you gave me."
Hattori clasped his hands together apologetically. "I was just too eager to know what Officer Senichi would say at the meeting, and I forgot about the lucky charm."
"Oh, really? Then I'll let Auntie Shizuka know, and she can make a judgment."
Hearing Hattori Heiji's explanation, Kazuha turned away in anger. "Let Auntie Shizuka give you some proper education. Clean up your act and stop being so sly."
"Huh... Is my mom here too?" Hattori Heiji panicked upon hearing Kazuha's words. "Wait, Kazuha..."
However, Hattori Heiji's submission didn't stop Kazuha in her tracks. She snorted and continued walking away.
"You're a big idiot!! Have you had enough yet?!"
Suddenly, a loud shout echoed, and Kazuha angrily turned her head, giving Hattori Heiji an unfriendly glare. "Who are you calling a big idiot?"
"No, no... I didn't say that." Hattori Heiji waved his hands repeatedly and then looked behind him at the source of the voice.
Behind him, there was a man grabbing another man's collar angrily, scolding, "What kind of joke is this?! Making excuses about being too drunk to participate in the competition!?"
"Well... what else could I do? The company I was supposed to go to work for suddenly went bankrupt. My future looks bleak..."
The man sitting on the ground with slightly tousled hair had a drunken appearance. "How can you not drown your sorrows in alcohol..."
"You jerk!!" A man with a crew cut scolded, "You should consider the situation before doing anything. We're about to compete, for heaven's sake, Tarumi!!"
"Well, well... Omotani, don't be so angry..." A chubby guy with glasses beside them tried to console, "We still have over an hour before the competition starts. Let's figure something out during that time..."
"That's all we can do now. Tarumi, use this time to think it through," a man with a long face chimed in. "Don't disappoint the juniors who came here to support us."
"Kotegawa is right, so reflect on it properly!"
Omotani impatiently told the chubby guy beside him, "Let's go, Doguchi, don't bother with that jerk!"
"Heh... Does it even matter if that kind of thing gets exposed?"
Just as everyone was about to leave, Tarumi, sitting on the ground, sneered and spoke up.
His words seemed to cast a spell as everyone immediately stopped in their tracks, turned their heads, and gave Tarumi unfriendly looks.
"What are you saying, you jerk?!" Omotani, with a quick temper, immediately berated him.
"Heh, I've already hit rock bottom. I'm not like you winners who are about to graduate and join your dream companies," the man named Tarumi smiled maliciously, provoking Omotani's anger.
"It seems like you're really drunk; you've started talking nonsense."
At that moment, a man with a square face approached with a serious expression. "It looks like you don't need to participate. With your condition, you might embarrass us all. I'll find a third-year student to replace you."
"Hmph, Captain Hakamada, you're quite impressive!" Tarumi leaned against the wall and mocked. "You stole my girlfriend and still have the audacity to face me!"
"Don't act like I've done something terrible, as if I snatched your girlfriend away," the man named Hakamada said indifferently. "She left you of her own accord. It has nothing to do with me."
"Don't make it sound so noble!" Tarumi shouted and punched the nearby wall.
"You don't need to worry about the competition. Winning it should no longer be your concern at this point."
Hakamada gave Tarumi a brief glance, turned around, and walked away. "What you need to do is reflect on how you've become a disgrace, and figure out your future as a fallen man."
"You jerk!!"
As Hakamada walked away with the others, Tarumi's anger nearly made him grind his teeth. "One day, I'll definitely kill you, you bastard..."
"Heiji, hurry up! Why are you standing there?!"
Seeing the menacing expression on the others' faces, Heiji, who had been somewhat distracted, was pushed by Kazuha to run towards the competition venue. "Hurry, the competition is about to start, and it's your turn soon!"
"I know, stop pushing me."
With Kazuha's interruption, Hattori Heiji immediately snapped back to attention and followed her toward the venue.
When the two arrived at the venue, they happened to witness a participant from Kaihou Academy scoring a point by striking his opponent's waist with a bamboo sword. Their spirits lifted as they joined the cheering crowd.
"Next up, both captains, please prepare to enter the arena!"
With the referee's announcement, the final battle of this competition was about to begin, and the participant stepping onto the stage was none other than Hattori Heiji.
"Hey! We can't find that guy Tarumi anywhere! We've searched the entire sports arena!" Omotani, with a short temper, shouted loudly, immediately drawing the attention of Hattori Heiji, who was warming up nearby.
"Could he have left? After all, we already eliminated him from the list of participants earlier."
"There's no choice; that guy got wasted. We should still try to find him," Hakamada looked at the worried faces of the others, including Doguchi, and said, "If something happens, it could be troublesome..."
"I understand," Kotegawa nodded and led the others as they headed out of the competition area.
"Hey! What are you spacing out for?" Kazuha suddenly appeared behind Hattori Heiji, looking displeased as she pushed him towards the arena. "Hurry up and get the tickets for the semifinals!"
With Hattori's skills, there was no pressure except for Soshi. He easily defeated his opponent. After his match, he noticed that among the group of people who had gone to find Tarumi, only Doguchi returned to the arena, talking to their captain, Hakamada.
"Tarumi... was killed?" Hakamada's face showed a shocked expression upon hearing Doguchi's words, not understanding how things had taken such a turn when they were merely looking for someone.
"While it's not confirmed yet whether Tarumi is dead, we found him covered in blood when we found him..." Doguchi was also in a state of panic.
"Hey! Where is he?!"
Hearing the conversation between the two, Hattori Heiji approached directly and immediately began asking questions without introducing himself.
"Huh?"
"Who are you!?"
Seeing the unfamiliar person approaching, Hakamada and Doguchi looked bewildered, wondering why a stranger had suddenly approached them.
"Don't worry about that now; I'll explain later. I'm asking you, where is he?!" Hattori Heiji's inner sense of unease intensified, and he couldn't afford to explain himself right away.
With Hattori Heiji's stern tone, Hakamada and Doguchi eventually decided to go and find out for themselves. So the three of them rushed together and arrived at the storage room for sports equipment.
However, when the three of them arrived in haste, the dimly lit storage room was just as usual, filled with various sports equipment.
"What's this? There's absolutely no sign of a blood-soaked corpse anywhere," Hattori Heiji sighed in relief as he looked around the storage room, which appeared as usual.
"I just found the arena and saw you and those two rushing to the storage room right after the match. Didn't expect something like this to happen?" At that moment, a male voice came from behind the three. "I smell the scent of a case."
"This voice..." Hattori Heiji turned his head to see the owner of the voice, showing a somewhat unsurprised expression. "Just as I thought, Officer Senichi!"
"Oh, Heiji, it's been a while," Senichi smiled and waved.
"I did hear that you were coming to Osaka, but weren't you supposed to be at the conference?" Hattori Heiji was a bit puzzled. "Why are you here?"
"Didn't Heizo-san tell you? The conference only goes on in the morning, and the afternoon is free time," Senichi smiled and said, "I heard you were participating in a kendo competition here, so I came over."
However, he had still arrived a bit late. The training conference had been running for a while, and the journey from where he had eaten to here was quite far. Even if he had driven, he had only just arrived, and it seemed that a case had already occurred.
"I see, so now the three of us are together. Conan is on his way here by Shinkansen(bullet train)," Hattori said with a smile.
However, while the two were engaged in conversation, Doguchi, still looking perplexed and bewildered, entered the storage room.
"How is this possible... we clearly saw Tarumi covered in blood, leaning on this high jump box," Doguchi said, his face a mix of confusion and doubt.
Hattori Heiji, too, couldn't afford to exchange pleasantries with Senichi anymore. He entered the room, inspected it carefully, and ultimately found nothing except for a dummy lying beside the high jump box.
"Hey, look at this, isn't that a dummy? Could it be that you mistook the dummy for Tarumi?" Hattori Heiji pointed at the dummy in his hands with suspicion.
"It's impossible! Even though the room is dimly lit, we can still tell the difference between a dummy and a real person!" Doguchi refuted, looking frustrated.
Just then, Omotani, who had called the police, arrived with some police officers.
"The ambulance says it will arrive in thirty minutes!" Another person, Kotegawa, reported this news shortly after.
After Doguchi explained, they learned about the news of Tarumi's disappearing body.
"What? Tarumi is missing?"
"He disappeared?"
The two panicked individuals who had called the police and the doctor exchanged bewildered glances and were momentarily at a loss for words.
"We haven't been fooled by that guy Tarumi, have we?"
After pondering for a moment with his hand on his chin, Hakamada angrily said, "Find Tarumi that little brat. If I find out he played us for a joke, I'll make sure he regrets it!!"
As it seemed like they heard Hakamada's angry outburst, two female employees in the uniform of the sports arena approached from the side. "Um... Are you the participants from Shinnai University here for the kendo competition?"
"Yes..." Hakamada nodded in response. "Is there something wrong?"
"Just now, there was a call from a guy named Tarumi with a strange voice... He said to inform the Shinnai University students in the storage room to go to the bathhouse near the district swimming pool..."
"That darn prankster!!"
"I'm going to give him a piece of my mind!!"
The group of people, infuriated at having been played, rushed towards the bathhouse. However, Hattori did not immediately follow them. Instead, he gave a meaningful look to Officer Senichi and said, "So, Officer Senichi, maybe you should tell me what you found inside?"
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