BWDC:SDDK Chapter 44: The Masked Yaiba of Revenge
Osamu Honda's expression shifted in a way that was visible to the naked eye.
Even Inspector Megure could see it clearly.
Inspector Megure immediately shot a look at Wataru Takagi. Takagi nodded in understanding and signaled to the other officers.
According to their usual routine, when Osamu Honda started to crack, it meant he was about to surrender. They could prepare for the arrest in advance.
"Honda... why did you do such a thing?"
Madoka Saotome, the president of the Tokusatsu Fan Club, asked sadly.
"We are all fans of Masked Yaiba. We promised to keep this fan club going for a lifetime."
"Why would you deliberately plan something like this?"
Hearing Madoka Saotome's question, Yasuyuki Tsutsumi also instinctively turned his gaze toward Osamu Honda and spoke with righteous indignation.
"Honda, you've always prided yourself on being like Masked Yaiba."
"Why do this? Would Masked Yaiba ever kill his own friend?"
At those words, Osamu Honda seemed to be triggered.
He looked up, glaring furiously at his former friend, and roared, "Of course Masked Yaiba wouldn't kill his friend! But, what if..."
"What if that so-called friend was the enemy who killed Masked Yaiba's family? Would Masked Yaiba really not seek revenge?!"
Honda's eyes terrified Yasuyuki Tsutsumi and Madoka Saotome.
The surrounding Tokusatsu fans also instinctively backed away, leaving only Ren Ichimonji standing still.
"...Even though it's not explicitly stated on TV,"
"Masked Yaiba has a younger sister who was killed by the Shocker organization. The reason he fights Shocker isn't just because they modified his body, but also to avenge his sister!"
"Just like me!"
"That guy was the culprit who killed my younger brother! What's wrong with me designing a plan to kill him? If it were the real Masked Yaiba, he would have done the same!"
Honda's voice grew increasingly agitated.
He finally began to recount the origins of his revenge.
Osamu Honda had a younger brother.
Once, he had a brother.
He was a child about the same age as Conan and the others, but much smarter and cuter than the members of the Junior Detective League. Their only commonality was one thing:
A love for the Tokusatsu show, Masked Yaiba.
To that end, the brother had even used his own allowance to buy a limited-edition Masked Yaiba cardboard cutout.
However, on his way home with the cutout, an uninvited guest appeared.
That intruder, riding a Masked Yaiba-style locust motorcycle, sped by and snatched the cutout away.
Because of his love for Masked Yaiba, Honda's brother recklessly chased after the motorcycle, wanting to get his stolen cutout back. Unfortunately, tragedy struck.
As the boy chased the bike around a corner, a truck happened to be driving by.
A traffic accident occurred, and Osamu Honda's brother lost his life.
Honda had been searching for the owner of that motorcycle and the whereabouts of the cutout ever since, hoping for revenge.
Then, he found it on Katsuji Mifune, who had once been his friend.
"That bastard even showed off that limited-edition Masked Yaiba cutout to me!"
"He even said his brother gave it to him... but we've been classmates for years, how could I not know if he had a brother? He clearly stole it..."
Honda's voice was filled with grief.
"What right do you have to say I'm not worthy of being a Masked Yaiba fan?"
"If Masked Yaiba were in this situation, wouldn't he avenge his own family?"
The surrounding officers looked at each other; some quietly placed their hands on the batons at their waists.
Given the current trend, a physical confrontation with law enforcement was highly likely.
They had to be prepared.
Inspector Megure frowned as he watched Honda, whose emotions seemed to be spiraling out of control.
He instinctively wanted to pull Ren Ichimonji back.
However, Ren Ichimonji stepped forward at that moment, stopping only when he was directly in front of Osamu Honda.
He spoke calmly.
"The moment you put others in danger for the sake of your revenge, it became impossible for you to be Masked Yaiba."
Ren Ichimonji's voice made Honda freeze.
What did that mean... why?
Honda instinctively looked toward Katsuji Mifune's body.
Ren Ichimonji merely sighed and continued.
"It's a simple situation, isn't it?"
"Katsuji Mifune's mental state was clearly abnormal; he was too extreme in his actions."
"For a limited Masked Yaiba cutout, he was capable of committing a drive-by robbery against a small child."
"To play this scene with you, he was able to maintain the facade of a fallout in front of many friends for such a long time."
"To make the performance more dramatic, he even added many lines for himself—"
"I'm asking you, why would you equip a madman who does things to such extremes with a gun loaded with live ammunition?"
Ren Ichimonji gave him a disapproving look.
"What if, caught up in the atmosphere, he shouted 'The end of Masked Yaiba is here' and then casually shot Yasuyuki Tsutsumi—who was playing Masked Yaiba—with the handgun he thought contained blanks just to enhance the mood?"
"The Mobile Police character you played naturally wears a bulletproof vest, so you used the excuse of wearing a high-quality vest for the performance."
"But what about Yasuyuki Tsutsumi? You didn't give him any warning or protective measures. His Tokusatsu costume obviously isn't bulletproof. What if he had been shot, injured, or even died because of the scene you staged?"
"Who would his family seek revenge against then?"
Osamu Honda said nothing.
He wanted revenge, but he wanted it under the condition that he wouldn't be caught as a murderer.
It wasn't worth destroying his own life for a piece of scum who deserved to die.
To that end, he chose a slightly risky method of murder—
That is the psychology of a revenger.
But it is absolutely not the psychology of Masked Yaiba.
He claimed to be Masked Yaiba simply because he felt the character was also a revenger. He resonated with that image, leading to this delusion.
But could the Osamu Honda who did such a thing truly become Masked Yaiba?
Honda already had the answer in his heart.
The madman who called himself Masked Yaiba suddenly lost all his strength and slumped to the ground.
Ren Ichimonji stood before him, looking down from above.
--- Revenge for the purpose of murder might be complicated in other universes.
But it wasn't so in the world of Conan.
The gun-modifying expert Osamu Honda only needed to wait for a dark and windy night, enter the alley Katsuji Mifune frequently used, and shoot him dead right there.
After that, he'd just never return to the scene and act as if nothing happened.
Nothing would have come of it.
In Japan, the probability of a case being closed as an "unnatural death" because the cause or the real culprit couldn't be found is as high as 80%.
Honda killed for revenge, yet he feared that 20% possibility of the crime being solved and facing justice.
Wanting to keep oneself out of trouble in such a matter is a normal human thought, but doing so on the premise of putting others in crisis while still claiming to be a hero is going a bit too far.
"It's over, Osamu Honda,"
Batman said in a low voice.
At the same time, the system light screen suddenly popped up a page.
[Low-difficulty Public Security Mission complete!]
[20 points reward has arrived, please check!]
[Assisted Commissioner Gordon in solving a thorny problem, 10 points reward has been issued!]
End of Chapter
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