Ke Xue: Shinichi and I are childhood friends.

"So, the karuta just now was Toyama-san's masterpiece?" Yuya's mouth twitched slightly.

Yuanshan Heye bowed his head and apologized.

Mao Lilan sighed and said, "It turns out that I am too weak to be a practice opponent."

Yuya smiled slightly when he heard this: "It's okay, Conan and I brought back a very reliable helper."

The two of them showed puzzled expressions.

Youye said loudly, "Auntie, please come in." Then he moved aside to make room.

As the words fell, a very young and beautiful woman wearing a kimono walked in.

When Toyama Kazuha saw this person, she was stunned: "Heiji's mother?!"

Hattori Shizuka held a folding fan in her hand and said with a smile, "I rushed over immediately after hearing what Heiji said."

"Huh? Why?" Yuanshan Heye was very surprised.

Hattori Shizuka walked into the room. Perhaps it was the powerful and noble aura she carried, that made Maori Ran quickly give up her seat and stand aside. The three little ones also lowered their heads, carefully looking at this aunt who looked like an older sister but was actually Hattori Heiji's mother.

Hattori Shizuka knelt down, each movement graceful. She spoke slowly, "I'm here to help Kazuha. Aren't we supposed to be doing some karuta training? I'll be your opponent."

"That's true, but..." Toyama Kazuha hesitated. She had never heard that Heiji's mother knew karuta.

Hattori Shizuka began to clear the karuta cards from the tatami, saying, "After all, I'm the former queen... Of course, my abilities may have declined."

"Former queen?" Toyama Kazuha and Mouri Ran were stunned when they heard this title.

Hattori Shizuka said seriously, "Because Heiji asked me to do that, I will teach you all my skills. However, due to time constraints, the training will be very strict."

"Even so, are you prepared for this?"

Mao Lilan swallowed her saliva. Enlightenment...isn't it too serious?

But Toyama Heye sat upright opposite Hattori Shizuka, straightened his back, and said loudly: "I'm ready!"

Hattori Shizuka nodded with satisfaction: "Let's get started without further delay."

Here, Yuya came to Miyano Shiho and found that she was alone, so he asked, "Where is Miraiko-senpai?"

Miyano Shiho replied, "She was injured, and the analysis results of the karuta are out, so I let her go back and rest."

Yuya nodded slightly and looked at the laptop on the table. It showed a person's information with a photo next to it. It was the man in Ooka Momiji's ID box.

"Who is this person?" Youye asked.

Miyano Shiho zoomed in a little so she could see the text more clearly: "See for yourself."

Yuya leaned over and read out the name on it: "Nagoro Shikao, the president of the Nagoro Association, disappeared mysteriously five years ago and his whereabouts have never been found..."

This photo of Nagoro Shikao is in Ooka Momiji's ID box and seems to be well preserved. Is there any relationship between these two people?

Yuya tapped the table for a moment, then decided to put the question aside for now and asked, "What are the results of the karuta analysis?"

Miyano Shiho nodded. "I analyzed the bloodstains on the karuta and found that some of them were from blood splattered on the ground, but some of them were mixed in by someone smearing blood afterwards."

The computer screen was filled with photos of the karuta cards in Yajima's room. The bloodstains on the right karuta card were very deep, but the bloodstains on the left karuta card had obvious signs of friction and the color was much lighter.

"Then, can you tell which karuta card Mr. Yajima is holding?"

"can."

Miyano Shiho clicked the mouse a few times and enlarged one of the karuta cards. On the card was the 32nd song of Hyakunin Isshu, the card of Harumichi Reju—

The mountain stream splashes and flows under the red autumn maple leaves.

There is no intention to block the flow of water, it is still like a dam.

Yuya frowned slightly, took out his phone and found the karuta card that came with the explosion warning letter. It read:

A deer is walking on red leaves, wandering alone in the deep mountains.

The birds are chirping non-stop, this is the saddest moment of autumn.

Miyano Shiho glanced at Yuya's phone and said, "This waka poem is the fifth one in the Hyakunin Isshu series, by Dr. Sarumaru."

“Is there any connection between these two songs?”

Miyano Shiho shrugged. "I'm not sure about that. After all, I don't know much about karuta or waka."

"From what I can tell, the only two waka poems contain the word 'red leaves'."

"Momiji?" Yuya pinched his chin. Could it be that he had something to do with Ooka Momiji?

After all, we have to start by investigating the relationship between Ooka Momiji and Nagoro Shikao.

Thinking of this, Yuya took out his cell phone and sent a message to Hattori Heiji, asking him to ask Ooka Momiji for information about Nagoro Shikao.

Every word of the conversation between the two entered Hattori Shizuka's ears. When she heard Nagoro Shikao and the two waka poems, she couldn't help but be distracted. This distraction gave Toyama Kazuha an opportunity. She immediately took action to take away the waka card.

However, Toyama Kazuha was still no match for Hattori Shizuka at this time. Even if she was distracted, it did not mean that her mind was not on the karuta. She even took the karuta away first.

Yuanshan Heye suddenly fell to the ground with his hands and knees prostrated. "How amazing! There's absolutely no chance for me to take advantage of you."

Hattori Shizuka smiled slightly: "Go on."

Toyama Kazuha sat up, patted her cheeks hard, cheered herself up again, and focused her eyes on the karuta in front of her.

after a while.

Hattori Shizuka looked at the last karuta in front of Kazuha and nodded slightly: "Kazuha, your overall performance in this round was quite stable, but your handling of the last few cards was not good enough."

"When fighting against a very strong opponent, you must never let your guard down..." Hattori Shizuka's lecture made Toyama Kazuha even more frustrated.

She was originally very confident in herself, especially because she had just gained a lot of confidence from practicing with Ran Mouri, but when she faced Shizuka Hattori, she was completely crushed.

Could it be that I have no talent for karuta?

Seeing Toyama Kazuha's depressed look, Hattori Shizuka wondered if she had gone too far. However, she had already said that this training would be particularly strict. According to Kazuha's personality...

As expected, Toyama Kazuha recovered after a short moment of frustration and started to arrange the karuta again: "One more line!"

A smile flashed across Hattori Shizuka's face, but she didn't say anything. She just quietly put away the karuta cards.

At the same time, in front of Ooka's house.

Hattori Heiji saw Yuya's message, and just as he was about to knock on the door and go in, footsteps slowly approached.

Hattori Heiji glanced back, a smile on his face: "I guessed you would come, Inspector Ayanokouji."