Detective Conan: Death Note

"The culprit is Ms. Shinobu Yuchi."

Closing the notebook in his hand, Hayashi Yoshiki repeated himself.

Everyone turned to look at him.

But Hayashi Yoshiki's eyes were only on Isao Sawaguri, on the trigger finger that could pull at any second.

"It's Shinobu Yuchi."

He said it again.

His tone was calm and firm—but his expression… carried a kind of indescribable weight.

Amuro Tōru's face immediately changed.

He had made a mistake in judgment. That meant his actions earlier had forced the Boss to step up and identify the true killer himself...

Amuro's violet-gray pupils trembled as he watched Hayashi Yoshiki, eyes locked on the armed man, his expression tense but unwavering.

Isao Sawaguri froze in place, halting his imminent move to fire.

But doubt clouded his expression as he demanded answers:

"What do you mean? How could she be the killer? She was the second person to visit my sister's room. When Mitsui, the 'rat' went in afterward, my sister was still alive!"

No longer under the gun's aim, Mitsui Tamami exhaled in relief—only for Shinobu Yuchi's face to twist in terror.

But Hayashi Yoshiki, as if already resolved, spoke without hesitation:

"Let's go back to the messages Ms. Miku left on SNS."

"The second person who came was the fox, spouting all kinds of unreasonable demands..."

"...and she just wouldn't leave."

"While the 'fox' was making unreasonable requests," continued Hayashi Yoshiki,

"the 'rat'—Ms. Mitsui—suddenly showed up as well. So Ms. Miku had no choice but to ask Ms. Shinobu Yuchi to hide in the bathroom while she found a way to get rid of Ms. Mitsui."

"Of course, to avoid suspicion from two pairs of slippers by the entrance, she must've also asked Shinobu Yuchi to take her slippers inside."

"But at the time, Ms. Shinobu Yuchi didn't take her own wet slippers—just out from a bath. Instead, she mistakenly grabbed Miku's pair and brought them into the bathroom. That's why Ms. Mitsui got confused and ended up wearing the wrong pair."

"Everything makes sense from there."

"After Ms. Mitsui left, Ms. Shinobu Yuchi killed Ms. Miku and staged it as a suicide. She then used her phone to send a message that lured you, Mr. Isao Sawaguri, to break the window and enter. During the confusion, she escaped through the broken window to the adjacent room and blended in with the crowd."

Isao Sawaguri immediately turned his gun toward Shinobu Yuchi.

The bucktoothed middle-aged woman let out a terrified scream.

Sera Masumi frowned.

The complexity of the scene kept her from jumping in earlier, but she understood well now:

Hayashi Yoshiki was acting out of helplessness.

There was no way to resolve the situation without bloodshed. To protect the innocent and those around him, he had to let Isao Sawaguri fall deeper into despair, let him kill in front of them all—and then take his own life.

It was the classic Trolley Problem, its weight crushing down.

Ran looked at Hayashi Yoshiki with deep concern.

"Why do you say it was me!?" shouted Shinobu Yuchi, panicked.

"Anyone could've—!"

"When Ms. Miku desperately tried to escape the bathroom, she grabbed the bath mat with bloody hands," said Hayashi Yoshiki calmly.

"Two very clear bloody handprints were left. But one of them… only had the palm and fingertips. The middle of the fingers didn't print. That means—she was holding something in her hand at the time."

As Shinobu Yuchi protested, Hayashi Yoshiki cut in without hesitation.

"The proof is in your signed book."

"As a published author myself," he continued, "I've noticed that due to different printing methods, the edge of a book—what we call the fore-edge—is sometimes smooth and sometimes jagged.

All three signed books were first editions. So why were the edges on yours, Ms. Shinobu Yuchi, so perfectly smooth while the others weren't? It's because you sanded yours down—probably to remove bloodstains."

"And I noticed the cover of your book... had some unnatural signs. You probably had to buy a new copy to replace the blood-soaked one, didn't you?"

Hayashi Yoshiki had made up his mind.

There was no room left for mercy.

Shinobu Yuchi stood frozen, mouth open.

Then, with a defeated expression, she lowered her head.

"Yes… it's true."

"It was you... You monster!" Zakuri shouted.

"Why the hell did you kill her!?"

"She deserved to die!" came Shinobu Yuchi's furious reply.

Isao Sawaguri, armed with a gun and a detonator, actually recoiled from her intensity.

Shinobu Yuchi finally revealed her reason.

She and Miku Sawaguri had once been close friends. They had collaborated on a book that ended up being published under Miku's name—and it became a hit.

At first, Shinobu Yuchi was happy for her friend.

But when she submitted her own work later, an editor told her,

"Your writing is good, but we only need one Miku Sawaguri. If you don't mind, would you consider becoming her ghostwriter?"

That's when Shinobu Yuchi realized Miku had been mimicking her style all along, presenting it as her own.

During the hot spring trip, Shinobu Yuchi asked her to stop—or at least acknowledge their co-authorship—but Miku refused, saying it would disgrace her Naoki Prize honor.

And so, everything had led to this moment.

"Sawaguri-san!"

Seeing Isao Sawaguri's pained expression, Hayashi Yoshiki stepped forward, trying to stop him.

"Please, don't make another mistake."

"I understand how you feel."

"But no one will gain anything from more death."

Placing a hand over his heart, he extended the other toward Isao Sawaguri, his face filled with uncharacteristic sincerity.

"The truth is out. The law will punish Ms. Shinobu Yuchi."

"If you stop now, everything can still be saved. I believe Miku wouldn't want her brother to become a murderer."

"That's right!" Ran added urgently.

"It's not too late, Sawaguri-san!"

Everyone tensed: Natsuki, Sera, Amuro, Mōri—all waited for what would happen next.

"Sawaguri-san—"

BANG!

A gunshot rang out.

Shinobu Yuchi collapsed, a bullet hole in her forehead.

Hayashi Yoshiki's expression froze.

His pupils shrank.

He watched helplessly as the lifeless body dropped like a sack of dry straw—just one step away from him.

Thud.

The sound of the body falling echoed in everyone's chest.

He stared at the two corpses.

Even when the police arrived to take them away, Hayashi Yoshiki didn't move.

The case, witnessed by so many, was quickly closed.

At the precinct:

"I swear your 'incident magnet' aura is getting worse. This time it happened right in your office!" said Inspector Megure.

"It's not like I wanted it to happen, Inspector!" groaned Mōri Kogorō.

"Seriously..."

Megure turned to Hayashi Yoshiki:

"How's the kid doing?"

"Hard to say," Mōri replied.

"He seemed okay on the ride here. But..."

"Let's hope he's not overthinking it."

Elsewhere, Hayashi Yoshiki stood before a vending machine.

"Want something to drink? It's on me."

He smiled at Ran and Sera.

"Yoshiki-nii, are you really okay?"

"Of course I am." He smiled gently.

Sera remained silent. Ran frowned with concern.

Before she could speak, Amuro Tōru and Natsuki approached.

"Sorry, Boss," Amuro said.

"What are you saying now, Amuro-san?"

"If I hadn't guessed wrong, maybe that wouldn't have happened..."

"Don't be silly," Hayashi Yoshiki said softly.

"This outcome couldn't be helped. Honestly, it was probably the best one."

"If Sawaguri had triggered the bomb, everyone would've died."

"So between two impossible options, we took the lesser evil."

"Want some coffee? I think this vending machine's pretty well-stocked."

He took out some coins.

Amuro frowned.

Then, Ran reached out and held Hayashi Yoshiki's face, speaking gently:

"Please don't smile like that anymore, Yoshiki-nii."

"Someone as kind as you... there's no way you could smile like nothing happened after all this. So stop putting on that expression just to make us feel better."

Hayashi Yoshiki didn't answer. He just stared at her.

"She's right." Natsuki chimed in.

"Still, you weren't wrong. It really was the best ending we could hope for."

The case reminded her of her own past. She had once planned revenge too—but Hayashi Yoshiki stopped her.

Unlike Sawaguri, she'd been saved.

"I understand. Don't worry... I'm not that fragile."

Hayashi Yoshiki smiled faintly, pressing the coffee button.

"Then no drinks for you all."

"Hey!"

"C'mon, I thought bestselling authors were rich!" Sera joked, baring her teeth.

"Too late. You didn't answer earlier." He chuckled.

"Then let me treat you," said Amuro, pulling out his wallet.

"Of course, I'll sneak it into the agency's expenses later."

"Don't sound like you're used to that!"

Amuro only smiled.

Ran, watching him, felt a little more at ease. But deep down, she still wasn't convinced.

She knew—she needed to find a way to help him.