i am just a student? in Conan world

"I see..." 

Shizuka Hiratsuka nodded, turned around, and walked toward the little girl, Yui, who was munching on a sandwich nearby. 

After some coaxing, despite the little girl's apparent reluctance, she allowed Fujino to apply the ointment. 

"That should do it," Fujino said as he packed away the frostbite cream and closed the first aid kit. 

Shizuka Hiratsuka gazed thoughtfully at Fujino's medical kit. After a moment of silence, she spoke: "This child's family... Could it be that they..." 

"We can't be sure of anything just yet," Fujino interrupted. "It's also possible that she just suffered a severe injury... maybe." 

As he spoke, Fujino glanced at Yui's hand, his eyes narrowing slightly. "What concerns me more is her hand." 

"Her hand?" Shizuka turned to look at Yui's hand. "What's wrong with it?" 

"Avulsion fracture," Fujino explained. "It's a type of fracture caused by a strong contraction of the arm muscles or violent pulling, which results in the bone near the tendons being torn apart." 

"This condition is common in areas near joints. While it may not cause intense pain, it does affect the arm's daily movements. Her elbow shows a noticeable inward bend. I noticed the abnormality in her arm and discovered this issue." 

Shizuka frowned. "So, could she have been..." 

"It's too early to jump to conclusions," Fujino interrupted. "It's also possible she fell during some physical activity. We can't say for certain yet." 

... 

Not long after, Wataru Takagi arrived at the scene. He glanced at the little girl sitting in Fujino's car and then asked Fujino, "Detective Fujino, is this the girl you mentioned?" 

"That's right," Fujino confirmed, handing a bloodstained backpack to Takagi. "We just found a bloody handprint on her bag." 

"Judging by the amount of blood, the victim must have been seriously injured. It's highly likely that..." 

Takagi took the bag and asked, "Is there anything that could identify the girl?" 

"Not for now," Shizuka interjected, shaking her head. "She's too young to speak clearly. She doesn't remember her home address, and she can't even articulate her own name." 

Takagi frowned. "And you are...?" 

"Shizuka Hiratsuka," she introduced herself. "A guidance counselor at Teitan High School." 

"Fujino's teacher?" Takagi nodded in understanding but continued to frown. "With no identification on her and her inability to provide her name, finding her family won't be easy." 

"But it's not impossible," Fujino said after a pause. "It will just require a lot of police resources to investigate. Her arm shows signs of an avulsion fracture. If we assign officers to search nearby hospitals, we might find some leads." 

Takagi quickly caught on and nodded heavily. 

... 

Though solving cases isn't his specialty, the advantage of a dispersed patrol network soon yielded results for Takagi. 

It turned out Yui had indeed received treatment at a nearby hospital, but the name and address used for registration were fake. 

However, a nurse at the hospital managed to provide the child's real name and home address: **Yuzuho Tominaga**. 

---

### Afternoon 

After obtaining the address, Fujino immediately brought Shizuka to the Tominaga household. 

Standing at the doorway, Fujino observed the house carefully. 

The Tominaga residence was a single-story wooden structure with walls painted white. This type of house was typically rented out for a low price, indicating that the family's financial situation wasn't very good. 

"I'm home!" 

Yuzuho Tominaga shouted energetically as she pushed open the door. 

Fujino followed her inside. 

The first thing he saw was garbage bags carelessly piled in the entryway. The room was in complete disarray, far beyond what could be described as mere untidiness. 

Amid the mess, Fujino's sharp senses detected a distinct, pungent odor beneath the smell of garbage. 

Realizing what it was, he immediately placed his hands on the girl's shoulders, stopping her from going any further. 

That smell was one he despised most—**the smell of blood**. 

"What's wrong, Fujino?" Shizuka asked in surprise as she approached. 

"Take the child to a room next door. She's too young—don't let her go in," Fujino instructed sternly without turning around. 

Shizuka was momentarily taken aback by his serious tone but quickly understood why. 

Lowering her head, she led Yuzuho Tominaga to a nearby room to wait. 

... 

Following the source of the smell, Fujino navigated through the garbage-filled hallway to the even filthier kitchen. 

The kitchen was strewn with trash bags. Near the window of the kitchen counter lay a woman with brown hair, collapsed in a pool of blood. 

The woman's white T-shirt was soaked in blood, and her body bore multiple horrific stab wounds. 

Fujino crouched down and touched the woman's skin, feeling a chilling coldness. 

"She's already dead," Fujino muttered, glancing around the room. 

Next to the corpse was a green stool with a frog design. On the stool were tiny, bloody footprints. 

This woman was most likely the little girl's mother... 

"Did she send her out before she died?" Fujino murmured. 

Fujino's expression gradually turned icy.

He took a deep breath, the stench of blood assaulting his senses.

Then, pulling out a pair of white gloves from his pocket, he put them on and began examining the woman's corpse.

The woman had multiple wounds—so many fatal injuries that even Fujino couldn't determine which was the definitive cause of death. Most likely, she had died from internal bleeding caused by a sharp object piercing her vital organs.

Standing up, Fujino activated his "Hawk Eye Vision."

As soon as it was activated, the world around him transformed into a gray-and-white expanse.

Detective Hawk Eye mode was now engaged.

The woman's corpse appeared in high-contrast detail, and a series of footprints materialized around the scene. 

Fujino immediately noticed a highlighted piece of evidence: a baby bottle, still filled with milk, lying nearby.

Suddenly, a wave of realization swept through his mind.

If that's the case…

He quickly scanned the surroundings, and in an instant, he discovered a faint glow beneath the woman's body.

"I see now…" Fujino muttered, flipping the corpse over. Beneath her was a hidden storage compartment embedded into the floor.

Opening the compartment door, he found a baby lying quietly inside.

Fujino gently picked up the infant.

But almost immediately, he noticed something unusual.

Based on the woman's estimated time of death, at least ten hours had passed. 

This meant the baby had been inside the storage compartment for over ten hours.

The compartment was poorly ventilated, and the oxygen would have been consumed gradually, causing the temperature to rise.

Judging by the baby's symptoms, it appeared to be suffering from heatstroke.

With his Hawk Eye Vision, Fujino could see the faint glow representing the child's life force dimming steadily.

He placed the baby on the floor and began performing CPR.

Despite using every resuscitation technique he knew—and even activating his "White Angel" professional bonus—he couldn't stop the life force from fading.

"Damn it…" Fujino cursed, glaring at the baby, whose face was flushed red.

Then, as if struck by a thought, he quickly pulled out a vial of liquid from his inventory.

**[Shennong Elixir: A traditional Chinese herbal liquid with a slightly bitter taste. Contains nothing but pure herbs. A single-use item that rapidly heals injuries, with recovery speed proportional to the severity of the damage.]**

"Let's hope this works…" Fujino gritted his teeth, broke the vial open, and poured the liquid into the baby's mouth.

The room fell silent for a moment—until a loud wail shattered the stillness.

Only then did Fujino breathe a sigh of relief.

"Fujino, what on earth is going on here?"

Takagi arrived just then, his eyes wide as he took in the scene in the kitchen.

"There's been a murder," Fujino replied, cradling the baby and handing it to Takagi. "Take the child to the hospital immediately."

Takagi quickly snapped into action, taking the baby and rushing out the door.

Fujino stayed behind, his Hawk Eye Vision active, narrowing his gaze as he continued collecting evidence.

---

Inside the kitchen, Fujino examined the glowing footprints on the floor. Using Hawk Eye Vision and his deductive reasoning skills, he began reconstructing the events of the crime.

The smaller footprints extended from a tiny window into the house, leading from the kitchen to a room in the hallway.

Pushing open the door, Fujino found a small bedroom. In the center of the room lay an unmade bed.

The window was a small sliding type. When Fujino tried to open it, it stopped halfway—it couldn't open any further.

This type of window was designed only for ventilation and lighting, just large enough for a child to squeeze through.

The small footprints led back into the bedroom, then followed slightly larger footprints toward the kitchen.

The larger footprints originated from another room.

When Fujino opened the door to that room, he found a slightly messy traditional Japanese-style room. The baby's crib, however, was unusually tidy.

The futon on the floor was also unmade, and next to it was an opened can of baby formula.

The footprints began at the futon, extended to the hallway, and ended at the front door.

By the shoe cabinet near the door, a bloodstained handkerchief lay discarded.

At the door, a second set of footprints appeared. These were different in size and led chaotically toward the kitchen.

The door's internal chain lock had been broken, but the lock mechanism itself was intact, suggesting the crime was committed by someone the victim knew.

Returning to the kitchen, Fujino stared at the woman's corpse, mentally piecing together the scene of the crime.

Late at night, while feeding her baby, the woman's killer—someone she knew—arrived and knocked on her door. 

When she opened it to check, the killer attacked her through the gap, wounding her arm as she instinctively tried to defend herself.

Bleeding, she used the handkerchief by the shoe cabinet to staunch the wound. Realizing the danger, she decided to flee with the two children.

She reassured the older child, sending them back to grab a backpack, while she returned to the Japanese-style room to retrieve the baby.

But before she could escape, the killer forced their way inside.

Cornered, the woman and the children were driven into the kitchen, hoping to escape through the small window.

The window, however, was too small for anyone but the older child to climb through.

She likely instructed the child to crawl out and seek help, using a cryptic phrase to explain. "The red-roofed convenience store" was probably the destination she had in mind.

The panda-printed backpack must have been handled during this chaotic escape.

After sending the older child through the window, she tried to find a way out herself. But the killer closed in.

In desperation, she hid the baby in the storage compartment under the floor and used her body to shield it…

---

"Hey! Who the hell are you?!"

A man's voice rang out suddenly.

Fujino turned to see a blond man, shirtless and wearing shorts, holding a bloodstained knife. His body was smeared with dried blood.

"Hey, I'm talking to you! What are you doing in someone else's house?!"

The man's eyes were vacant, bloodshot, and filled with madness. Drool dripped from the corner of his mouth as he shouted.

"You must be the one who killed her," Fujino said coldly.

"Shut up… Get out of my way! I have to catch the butterflies!" the man babbled incoherently.

He raised the knife high and charged at Fujino…

(End of Chapter)