i am just a student? in Conan world

"Strange behavior?" 

The gift shop manager thought for a moment, then recalled, "If we're talking strange, Saori seemed scared starting about a week ago." 

"Scared?" 

Hattori Heiji's eyes lit up. 

He'd thought this case would be a hassle, but just asking the shop's oba-san had already turned up something… 

Suppressing his excitement, he eagerly pressed, "Was someone threatening her?" 

"Well…" 

The manager glanced at Hattori. 

She wasn't too sure about this dark-skinned kid. 

But since that clean-cut criminal consultant was here, this guy probably wasn't bad, right? 

She didn't know what a "criminal consultant" was exactly, but it sounded like someone from the police. 

After a brief hesitation, she explained, "Every year during our island's Dugong Festival, we randomly give out three Dugong Arrows to visitors. Last year, Saori got one, but she lost it about a week ago. She was worried the mermaid would punish her for it…" 

"Dugong Arrows?" 

The group exchanged surprised looks. 

"Must be some kind of island souvenir, right?" 

Fujino chimed in, having done his homework. "They say it's a magical arrow. If you hold it, you'll supposedly live forever…" 

"How do you know so much?" 

Hattori and Conan turned to Fujino, curious. 

"It's just basic knowledge, isn't it?" 

Fujino shot Hattori an exasperated look. "Didn't you guys look into the island before coming here?" 

"Well…" 

Hattori's face darkened. 

His focus had been on finding the client—booking the hotel, calling Kudo Shinichi, and getting hyped up all night. 

As for researching island legends? Yeah, he hadn't really bothered. 

Who could've guessed the client would get kidnapped and tied up with some mermaid nonsense? 

"Officer Fujino's right," the manager nodded, backing him up. "The 'Dugong Arrow' is a unique talisman on our island, said to grant eternal life. All the tourists here today are after it…" 

Ran and Kazuha, wide-eyed, blurted, "So, Saori-san didn't get kidnapped by a mermaid because she lost the talisman, did she?!" 

"Come on, you two, don't let your imaginations run wild," Hattori said. "If that arrow was that powerful, everyone who got one would've been kidnapped by now. It's probably just a coincidence." 

He couldn't see any real link between losing the arrow and the kidnapping, and he wasn't one to buy into creepy legends. 

Sure, Kudo Shinichi turning into Conan was wild, but he still believed in Keigaku (Detective Science). 

"It's definitely not a coincidence." 

A woman with a black mushroom haircut and a black sweater emerged from the shop's backroom, her voice low as she addressed the group. "The Dugong Arrow is tied with strands of hair from Meisama, who gained immortality by eating mermaid flesh. Those strands give the arrow the power to grant eternal life to ordinary people…" 

"Eternal life?!" 

Ran and Kazuha froze, their eyes sparkling. 

Immortality, eternal youth—pretty tempting for any girl. 

Sure, it was probably nonsense… 

But if it was free, they'd totally give it a shot. 

What if it worked? 

Of course, if they knew Conan was living proof of "de-aging," who knows how they'd react. 

"But if you lose the Dugong Arrow, you'll face retribution… She was definitely taken by the mermaid." 

The mushroom-haired woman glanced at the group, then left the shop without another word. 

"What a weird person…" 

Hattori squinted at her retreating, melancholic figure. 

"She's Saori's childhood friend, Kuroe Naoko," the manager sighed. "She works here too, but ever since Saori's kidnapping, she's been acting all strange and cryptic." 

"I see…" 

Conan, deep in thought, gave Kuroe Naoko a suspicious look before turning to Fujino. "She mentioned Meisama… Fujino-niisan, you wouldn't happen to know what that is too, would you?" 

"Yeah, I looked into that too," Fujino said, pausing to think. "Meisama is probably the island's shaman. They say she ate mermaid flesh and gained eternal life. No one knows how old she is…" 

"This officer knows a lot about our island," the manager said, glancing at Fujino. "She's right. Meisama is the high priestess of our festival—the great-grandmother of the Shimabukuro family. Some say she's 180, maybe even over 200 years old… Honestly, no one on the island knows her exact age." 

She added, "If you're curious about Meisama, you could visit the shrine hosting the festival. Shimabukuro Kimie, who lives with Meisama, is another childhood friend of Saori's. She might have some clues." 

"Ugh…" 

Hattori sighed, feeling the case getting more complicated. 

He'd hoped they'd get answers here, but now they had to trek to a shrine… 

The Shimabukuro family's shrine was called Beikoku Shrine. 

Honestly, the name "Beikoku" made Fujino a bit uneasy. 

The shrine sat on a hilltop. Stone steps led up to a torii gate, revealing a spacious courtyard with a wooden shrine at its center. 

It was hard to tell what deity the shrine was dedicated to. 

A stone path stretched from the torii to the shrine's entrance, flanked by a few early visitors preparing for the evening festival. 

At the shrine's entrance stood a woman in a red-and-white miko outfit, her soft black hair half-tied, cascading down. She idly tapped a ceremonial staff on her shoulder, looking bored, lost in thought. 

"Kimie-san?" 

Fujino, leading the group, recognized her and called out. 

"Detective Fujino?" 

Shimabukuro Kimie turned, surprised. "What are you doing here?" 

"You know each other?" 

Hattori shot Fujino a suspicious look. 

Last time, that woman with the impressive figure recognized Fujino right away. 

Now this cute miko did too… 

Why did every pretty girl they met seem to know Fujino?! 

"Yeah," Fujino said, not denying it. "She and Monkyo Saori came to Tokyo to hire me." 

He didn't get why Hattori was giving him that look. 

He wasn't a mind reader—how could he know what the guy was thinking? 

But knowing Hattori, it probably wasn't anything good. 

"Um…" 

Shimabukuro Kimie cut in. "Any news on Saori? I haven't heard from the Keishicho since we got back from Tokyo…" 

"Not yet. We're doing our best, but we haven't found much…" 

Fujino glanced at her. 

The red-lined skirt, white outer layer—it had a certain charm. 

Miko outfits were honestly pretty stunning. 

Maybe he'd get one for Haibara to cosplay someday? 

Or Ooka Momiji… Hmm, miko outfits did accentuate certain features. He could already picture an… unhealthy scene. 

On Ran, it'd look great too. 

Fujino shook his head, tossing out the weird thoughts. 

"How could this happen…" 

Shimabukuro Kimie's pale face fell, a hint of sadness in her eyes. 

She'd planned to kill Monkyo Saori herself after a dentist visit, to avenge her mother. But before she could act, Saori was snatched by some random guy. 

With Saori gone, her murder plan fell apart. She'd intended to kill Saori, hide her in a warehouse, impersonate her to commit a murder, then burn the warehouse to mimic the method used to kill her mother years ago. 

The plan failed, but she hadn't given up. For days, she'd been brainstorming a new way to pull it off without getting caught, but nothing clicked… 

If only that dark-skinned guy had kidnapped the other two as well. 

Then she wouldn't have to take revenge herself. 

"Miss Shimabukuro," Hattori said, not noticing her expression, just curious. "I heard Monkyo Saori was kidnapped in Tokyo when she hired Fujino. You were there, right?" 

"Huh? Yeah…" 

Shimabukuro Kimie snapped out of it. "And you are…?" 

"I'm Hattori Heiji, a detec—" 

"That high school detective, Hattori Heiji?" 

Hattori's cool introduction got mangled by his accent, sounding like "zhengdan" (steamed egg) to her. 

But Shimabukuro Kimie didn't care about the slip. Her focus was on the two detectives before her. 

She'd heard from Saori about hiring multiple detectives, but she didn't expect this one to show up on the island. 

Saori hadn't mentioned him responding… 

"Ahem!" 

Mouri Kogoro, spotting the pretty young woman, cleared his throat to grab her attention. "I'm also a detective. Mouri Kogoro, at your service!" 

"Another detective?!" 

Shimabukuro Kimie gasped. "The Sleeping Detective?" 

"That's me!" 

Mouri beamed, thrilled she knew him. "Are you a fan of my work, miss?" 

Shimabukuro Kimie: "…" 

This was bad! 

One detective, two detectives, three detectives?! 

Just how many "steamed eggs" did Saori hire behind her back?! 

Her head spun, her face flushing, her brain practically overheating… 

Instinctively, she panicked. 

As a potential murderer—even if she hadn't killed yet—facing detectives triggered a primal fear. 

But then she realized… she hadn't killed anyone. Why panic? 

Saori's disappearance wasn't her doing. 

Still, she had to watch her words. Saying too much could make her a suspect. 

Calming herself, Shimabukuro Kimie forced a faint smile, absently tapping her staff on her shoulder. "I never imagined I'd meet three… detectives today. I'm so lucky. I've only read about you in the papers… With all three of you here, Saori's sure to be found soon, right?" 

"Well…" 

Mouri faltered, at a loss. 

"Miss Shimabukuro," Conan stepped in, steering things back on track. "Can you tell us about Saori's kidnapping? What happened, and did you see the kidnapper's face? Maybe Uncle Mouri or Nii-san can spot something new." 

"It was four days ago," Shimabukuro Kimie said, shaking her head regretfully. "I went with Saori to the dentist, then we got a call from Detective Fujino. We took the Shinkansen to Tokyo, but when we were about to head back, she was kidnapped… I already told the police this." 

She glanced at Hattori. "The guy appeared out of nowhere and took Saori. I didn't see his face clearly—it was too dark. Darker than your skin, honestly. Couldn't make out any features." 

Hattori: "…" 

Okay, that was kinda polite, so it stung less. 

But… darker than me? 

Damn it, Conan, why'd you have to ask that?! 

"Alright, Black Chicken!" 

Kazuha giggled, teasing Hattori, then turned to Shimabukuro Kimie, curious. "Miss Shimabukuro, is it true your great-grandmother is over 200 years old?!" 

"200?" 

Shimabukuro Kimie looked at the curious girl. 

She could tell this girl—and the one with… horns on her head?—weren't detectives, just tagging along. 

Her nerves eased a bit. 

This question wasn't new; she'd heard it so much her ears were numb. Lowering her staff, she sighed, "My great-grandmother isn't 200. She's only 130 this year. You can check the registry if you want. People make too big a deal out of it." 

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