Jiangxia Tongzhi was startled. He casually ordered the mermaid not to appear in front of anyone except the target.
Then he followed the direction of the scream.
After just a couple of steps, he realized the sound came from the direction of the cliff.
...Those two didn't fall off, right?
Jiangxia sighed faintly. He thought things had escalated too quickly for Hattori Heiji to go off-script and start poking around people's graves like in the original world line.
But now, it seemed fate was really committed to its bit.
...
At the edge of the cliff, Hattori Heiji and Toyama Kazuha had just finished a mutual rescue attempt — which, in classic Detective Conan fashion, ended with both of them falling off.
Luckily, a slanted tree was growing out of the cliffside.
As they fell, Hattori Heiji managed to grab the trunk with one hand. With the other, he clutched at Kazuha, and now both of them dangled precariously from the branches in an extremely cinematic way.
The innocent tree, which had been peacefully photosynthesizing here for years, was bearing a burden it shouldn't have for its age. It groaned loudly, clearly nearing its limit.
The ominous creaking made both of their hearts sink. Kazuha, clinging below, looked past Heiji and saw the branches bending more and more, like they were one dramatic violin note away from snapping.
She immediately realized that maybe, just maybe, one person the tree could handle. But two? Not likely.
Tears welling up, Kazuha shouted, "Let go!!"
But Hattori Heiji, clutching her like a stubborn crane game prize, turned his head away, pretending not to hear.
Kazuha sighed and muttered, "If only I'd pulled that arrow earlier…"
Heiji, arm muscles on fire, gritted his teeth. "You're seriously thinking about superstition right now?! Even if that arrow really could keep people young, it sure can't stop you from falling to your death."
"No," Kazuha had other ideas. "…If I had that arrow, I'd stab you with it right now. Then you'd have to let go."
Inspired by her own violent plan, she pinched Heiji. Hard.
Heiji: "???"
Ambushed by his own teammate, he was momentarily too stunned by the betrayal to feel the pain. But the moment gave him clarity — he realized exactly what Kazuha was trying to do and warned, "Don't mess around!"
In Heiji's mind, Kazuha wasn't trying to take him down with her — she was trying to force him to let her go for his sake. So if he wanted her to stop with the kamikaze tactics, he had to convince her it wouldn't work.
"If you try to force me," he threatened, "I'll jump with you. Got it?!"
Kazuha froze. Then her pale face flushed bright red. "...You idiot. That's just one more death."
Heiji, thinking his point had landed, gave a self-satisfied nod. "Then hang on!"
Kazuha stared up at him in a daze. Knowing Heiji's personality, if he said something like that, he probably really would follow
through.
She suddenly felt moved. Her eyes welled up again, but this time with emotion. Grabbing Heiji tighter, she shouted, "Then let's die together!"
Jiangxia, who had just popped his head over the cliff edge: "…"
There was a moment of silence.
"…Are you two seriously Romeo-and-Juliet-ing it right now?" he asked.
Heiji: "!"
Kazuha: "!!!"
Heiji looked up and, for the first time in his life, was genuinely thrilled to see Jiangxia.
Kazuha also looked up and saw him. Her face lit up like she'd just seen a long-lost cousin. "Jiangxia!! HELP!!!"
Rescue mode: engaged.
What neither of them could see — due to being way too into their you jump, I jump moment — was that several ghostly strands of puppet clay appeared out of nowhere and wound themselves tightly around the trunk. Reinforced with just a dash of menace, the trunk, which had been moments away from giving up on life, suddenly stiffened and held strong.
Jiangxia remembered from the setting that Hattori Heiji had a higher combat stat than Ran Mouri. And since Heiji was a kendo guy, that meant some serious arm strength.
In other words, as long as the tree didn't betray him, he should be fine.
And if Heiji did end up slipping, well… worst case, Jiangxia could send in the Tengu. Hopefully it wouldn't come to that. He preferred minimal ghostwork during daylight hours.
The broken tree the two of them dangled from was a fair distance from the top.
Jiangxia politely tested the cliff edge.
A few pebbles rolled down — and below, Heiji and Kazuha immediately screamed in terror. Heiji yelled up, "Don't you dare come down here!!"
Jiangxia backed off and adjusted his plan. "Okay, hold on! I'll find something to pull you up."
The dangling duo let out a huge sigh of relief and nodded like bobbleheads. What they feared most was Jiangxia trying to climb down and turning them into a human ladder. That would be dangerous for him — and very, very bad for the tree.
Now that Heiji saw Jiangxia was helping in a logical way, he was about to give an approving nod…
…but just then, a terrified scream rang out from above.
"HELP!!!"
It came from behind Jiangxia, and the voice sounded like someone charging straight at him.
Even before he turned, Jiangxia knew who it was — Naoko. She'd seen the mermaid.
The dugong arrow Naoko had gotten earlier had broken. And she'd already witnessed Ebihara's body hanging around the waterfall.
So now, when a creepy, smiling mermaid popped up in the forest, her immediate conclusion was: the arrow's broken, and the mermaid's come to kill me next — just like she killed Toshimi before!
Naoko ran in pure panic, like a headless chicken, and the mermaid chased her like a ghost playing tag. Eventually, she was forced into an unfamiliar part of the island — right near Jiangxia.
Blinded by terror, Naoko suddenly spotted someone standing ahead, half-hidden by tall weeds.
The person's back was turned, but she recognized him immediately — that famous high school detective who'd just arrived on the island!
"Help! The mermaid's going to kill me!!" Naoko screamed, sprinting toward Jiangxia like he was a life raft.
And if he didn't help? Well, as the saying goes — you don't need to outrun the monster, just outrun your teammate…
Down on the tree branch, Heiji and Kazuha looked up in horror.
Jiangxia turned in confusion, only to be met with a shrieking Naoko barreling toward him at full speed.
"Stop! Behind me is—" he began.
But before he could finish, Naoko — driven by primal survival instinct — zoomed right past him.
She didn't even get a chance to feel relief.
Because the moment she passed Jiangxia…
…her foot hit nothing.
*Goal #1: Top 200 fanfics published within the last 31 - 90 days by POWER STONES.
Progress: 28/60(approx) for 10 BONUS CHAPTERS
Goal #2: One BONUS CHAPTER per review for the first 10 REVIEWS.
Progress:2/10*