"It's a bit of a hassle..." Fujino frowned.
Getting approached by mature women? This was definitely a first for him.
"Excuse me, what do you want with him?" Akemi Miyano, who had just walked up holding Ai Haibara's hand, asked the two mature women.
"Nothing…" The older woman glanced at Akemi, feeling somewhat inferior, and then gave up on Fujino as her target.
"Fujino!" Just as the women left, Kogoro Mouri hurried over. "Did you see a ring anywhere?"
"Is this the ring?" Fujino paused, reached into his pocket, and pulled out the ring from his personal space, handing it to Mouri. "Ai found it under the lounge chair you were sitting on. I thought it might belong to you, so I held onto it."
"That's it!" Mouri looked excited. "You've really helped me out, Fujino! I'll treat you to lunch later!"
"It's nothing." Fujino glanced at his shirt, then consulted Akemi and Ai about heading back to the hotel to change before lunch.
"Hey! Are you Detective Mouri?" As they were about to return to the hotel, Fujino turned to see Mouri chatting with two young girls, his face showing a less-than-serious expression.
Fujino sighed. Mouri was being Mouri again.
Sure, Eri Kisaki might be older, but she was still beautiful. How could those young girls compare? With someone like Eri at home, why was Mouri still out flirting with others?
Fujino finally understood why Ran's plans always failed... They'd get a glimmer of hope, only to be dashed immediately. If he were Eri, he wouldn't come back to put up with it either.
…
In the lobby of the Queen Hotel, Fujino and the group descended the stairs after changing into casual clothes. They spotted Mouri still chatting and laughing with the two girls.
"He's hopeless," Fujino muttered.
"Hey, Fujino!" Mouri noticed him and waved him over.
"Fujino?" The two girls turned toward him. "Could you be the high school detective, Fujino?"
"Hello," Fujino greeted them. "Do you know me?"
"Of course! We're your detective fans!"
The girls were quite attractive. One had a mature vibe, wearing a swimsuit similar to Akemi's, but in pink. The other was youthful and lively, wearing an orange jacket over denim shorts with a black bikini top underneath.
"Are you friends with Detective Mouri?" the younger girl asked curiously.
"Of course!" Mouri laughed. "Fujino lives right across from me. We're practically best friends, despite the age gap..."
"That's enough, Dad!" Ran suddenly stood up from her seat, clearly displeased. This vacation was supposed to help her parents reconcile, but her dad was still flirting in front of her mom!
Through Mouri's introduction, Fujino learned that the youthful girl was named Harumi Matsuzaki, while the more mature one was named Kiwako Toda, both university students.
Then, Mouri and Eri started bickering again.
"Hey, you old pervert!" Suddenly, a dark-skinned man walked over, patting Mouri on the shoulder. "Aren't you too old to be hitting on young women?"
"Huh?" Mouri looked stunned.
The man turned to another man in a blue shirt behind him. "Yahiko, why aren't you mad? Your sister and fiancée are being hit on by this guy!"
"It's no big deal," Yahiko said calmly. "Besides, this man seems kind of famous."
"Famous? Him?" The dark-skinned man shot Mouri a disdainful look. Mouri, with his pervy expression, didn't look like anyone important.
Fujino silently agreed. In fact, most people would think the same.
If it were him, he would have already punched Mouri by now.
After the misunderstanding was cleared up, Fujino learned that the two men were also university students and companions of Harumi and Kiwako. Yahiko Matsuzaki was Harumi's older brother, and Kiwako was his fiancée. The dark-skinned man, who had clashed with Mouri, was named Kunio Kawazu.
At the group's invitation, Fujino, Mouri, and the others headed to a nearby restaurant called *Big Wave* for lunch. Since Mouri had promised to treat Fujino earlier, it was a perfect opportunity.
They ordered a large spread of food. Fujino didn't spend a penny, enjoying a free lunch.
During the meal, Fujino learned that the group were all part of their university's diving club, and that Kiwako and Yahiko were getting married next week.
"Diving must be pretty difficult, right?" Fujino asked, sipping his iced tea.
"Definitely!" Harumi nodded. "My brother can't even swim, so joining the diving club was a real struggle for him."
"If he can't swim, why join the diving club?" Fujino asked, puzzled.
"That's because of me," Kiwako laughed. "Yahiko has always been afraid of water. I wanted him to join the club to learn how to swim, but he still hasn't managed to."
"Let's not talk about that," Yahiko scratched his head, embarrassed. "I'm just not cut out for swimming, no matter how hard I try."
"Talent is important, but hard work matters too," Mouri chimed in. "Take me and Fujino, for example. We didn't become great detectives just because of natural talent. It's also thanks to our relentless effort."
"You mean relentless drinking and flirting with young women?" Eri quipped.
"What do you know about being a detective, you lawyer?" Mouri shot back, then dragged Fujino into the argument. "Isn't that right, Fujino?"
Fujino: "..."
Please don't drag me into your fights!
"Alright, you two, stop arguing," Ran quickly intervened, seeing Fujino's discomfort. She began to talk about Kiwako and Yahiko's childhood friendship to change the subject.
Mouri and Eri continued to bicker, even handing the soon-to-be-wed couple their respective business cards. They offered Mouri's card for investigating infidelity and Eri's for handling divorce cases.
This left Fujino, Conan, Ai, and Akemi speechless. Most people would be furious by now!
But something felt off to Fujino. This random encounter felt oddly familiar. Was there going to be another murder case?
Fujino shot a wary glance at Conan.
Conan, feeling Fujino's stare, became uneasy. "Why is Fujino looking at me like that again? Did I do something wrong?"
Remembering their last dangerous adventure at the ski resort, Conan shuddered.
"By the way, Yahiko, where's your childhood friend?" Kunio, noticing the tension, tried to change the subject again.
"Oh, you mean Ayashi," Yahiko said, looking around. "After we finished diving this morning, he went to do some snorkeling nearby. He hasn't come back yet."
"Snorkeling? What's that?"
Mouri Kogoro, who had just finished arguing with Eri Kisaki and took a big gulp of beer, seemed a bit puzzled.
Ai Haibara, the resident science whiz, explained, "It's probably a type of short-duration diving where you don't use an oxygen tank, just a diving mask. It helps train your lung capacity."
"You seem to know a lot, little girl," Harumi Matsuzaki smiled and asked Ai, "Are you interested in diving too?"
"I just saw it on TV," Ai shook her head and quietly picked up a piece of vegetable.
Conan frowned upon hearing this, feeling like the line sounded familiar. He looked at Ai in surprise, only to receive a nonchalant look in response, as if saying, "You're allowed to use that excuse, why can't I?"
Meanwhile, Fujino frowned after hearing that one person hadn't returned and seemed to be missing. He scanned the people sitting at the table.
The Mouri family, himself, Miyano Akemi, and Ai Haibara could basically be ruled out. After all, Conan's Law of Death perfectly excluded those around the elementary school detective.
That left the four people they had just met. It was another classic four-choice scenario. He wondered who the murderer would be this time.
But why hadn't the system issued a mission yet...
Did he have to wait until the body was discovered?
Or maybe there wouldn't be a murder. Maybe he was overthinking it.
"Hey, Harumi, could you go to the room and get me a towel?" Takako Toda suddenly stood up and winked at Harumi.
"Takako, you're not thinking of..." Masahiko Matsuzaki, sitting next to her, hadn't finished speaking when Takako picked up the diving goggles from the chair behind her. "I want to go for a swim in the ocean right now."
"You've had a bit too much to drink. Are you sure it's okay to go diving like this?" Harumi worried. "Don't rush it today. You can go tomorrow too."
"It's fine, I haven't had that much," Takako picked up her fins. "Besides, I'm just going snorkeling."
"So, Harumi, please!" With that, Takako ran towards the sea.
"Ms. Toda is in such a hurry," Fujino observed Takako's departing figure, his eyes narrowing.
Masahiko nodded and glanced at Takako. "Takako is acting a bit strange today."
"Oh, brother, you really don't understand your own wife," Harumi laughed. "That's just how Takako is."
"Is that so?" Fujino looked at Takako, who was already in the water.
Normally, the missing person, Hiroshi, would be the victim this time. If not the victim, then the murderer. Takako went diving, so she should find the body, right?
"You seem worried about that woman," Ai, who was standing beside him, noticed Fujino's expression and asked, "Did you find something?"
"No," Fujino shook his head. "I just feel like something's not right."
"Not right?" Ai tilted her head.
......
Ten minutes later.
"Hey, you're all here!" Kunio Kawazu, who had left with Takako earlier, returned with a man's arm slung over his shoulder.
That man was Hiroshi Ito, also a member of the diving club.
"He's not dead?" Fujino pondered upon seeing Hiroshi's return.
If Hiroshi wasn't the victim, then Takako, who went diving, could she be the victim?
No way, right? It shouldn't be dangerous to go diving alone.
"By the way, Masahiko, where's your wife?" Hiroshi looked around and asked Masahiko when he didn't see Takako.
"Takako went diving."
"Look, she's over there." Before Masahiko could finish, his sister Harumi, who had just fetched the towel, pointed to the beach not far away. "She's even waving at us."
"Waving?" Fujino frowned.
How could she wave while swimming?
Feeling something was amiss, he activated the zoom function of his visual enhancement glasses and looked in the direction Harumi was pointing.
Through the magnified vision of his glasses, he saw Takako struggling in the water. She was clearly drowning.
Great, even on vacation, there's a murder.
The elementary school detective was truly terrifying.
(End of Chapter)