Shizuka Hattori pretended to be just another walk-in client. After delivering the lines she'd practiced, she gave a polite bow.
She didn't realize that both Amuro Tooru and Jiangxia had already seen through her disguise. Nor did she catch the brief, confused glance they exchanged as she lowered her head.
As Heiji Hattori's mother, Shizuka had always been curious about this "Jiangxia" her son and husband frequently mentioned. Her son spoke of him like he was some kind of cryptid, while her husband sang his praises, and Kazuha Toyama seemed to think well of him too.
These wildly conflicting reviews naturally piqued her interest. So, she casually rearranged her trip to Tokyo.
She was originally due to arrive the next day for her friend's son's wedding.
But now? She had come a day early—with the intent of personally meeting Jiangxia. She wanted to assess his skills, observe his personality, and figure out whether her son, husband, or future daughter-in-law was wearing colored glasses.
…
To pull this off, Shizuka carefully disguised herself. She spoke in an impressively authentic Tokyo dialect and left out the "Hattori" in her name, introducing herself simply as "Ikenami"—a surname that wouldn't raise any flags connecting her to Heiji.
She also claimed she'd injured her hand while cooking, using a band-aid to hide the faint ring mark on her left ring finger—pretending to be permanently single. This was both to conceal her identity as "Heiji Hattori's mother" and to quietly test Jiangxia's deductive skills.
This was her first time visiting this agency. Heiji, too, had never seen Jiangxia at work in a detective office.
So Shizuka had no idea what the agency's usual setup was like. She found it completely reasonable when Amuro Tooru, upon hearing she wanted to see Jiangxia, called him over without hesitation. In her mind, it was either good customer service or perhaps the boss had seen her outfit and suspected she was a wealthy client, discreetly offering VIP treatment.
She had been treated this way more than once before.
In short, Shizuka had no clue her identity had been completely seen through.
Jiangxia watched the auntie—already thoroughly exposed, yet still dutifully roleplaying—performing with such diligence. He had no choice but to go along with it and play his part.
As Jiangxia entered, Amuro Tooru stood and offered him the seat opposite Shizuka.
He then conspicuously didn't leave. Instead, he busied himself pretending to make tea, using the excuse to linger in the office. He was curious why Shizuka had come.
…
Shizuka Hattori sat down gracefully. After exchanging some pleasantries, she got to the point.
She pulled a carefully preserved old photo from her handbag, placed it on the table, and turned it to face Jiangxia.
Jiangxia leaned in for a look. It was a kendo club group photo. The kids looked young—probably not even in high school yet. In the middle stood a thick-browed boy, proudly holding a trophy, beaming. Six other members stood around him.
"I'd like you to help me find the one in the middle," Shizuka said, her slender fingertip hovering above the trophy-holder. "His name is Shiro Shibata." After a pause, she added, "This was taken in our second year of junior high—so, about thirty years ago. His face and build may have changed a lot."
Jiangxia nodded, asking the standard intake questions while pretending to take the case seriously.
Nearby, Amuro Tooru slowed down his movements, deliberately reducing any noise so he could catch every word.
Not because he was especially nosy about the private affairs of a police bigwig's wife. As an intelligence agent, he just felt it was his job to stay alert to anything fishy.
He listened closely and began to speculate: Shiro Shibata, huh… definitely a man's name. Maybe Mrs. Hattori wasn't just here because she heard of Jiangxia from Heiji, but rather because of Jiangxia's own growing detective rep?
That would actually make more sense. After all, based on Heiji's awkward behavior outside the agency last time, it was obvious that while he knew Jiangxia, they weren't particularly close. Besides, that age—still clinging to the last shreds of rebellion—wasn't exactly known for confiding in their parents.
Which meant there was a real chance Shizuka didn't even know Heiji had ever met Jiangxia. To her, Jiangxia might just be some unknown detective based in Tokyo.
And in that case, why not report to the police or hire a local Osaka investigator?
Instead, she specifically came to Tokyo. Hid her real name. Even covered her ring finger with a band-aid to hide the tan line from her wedding ring.
Very, very interesting.
Amuro Tooru sipped his tea, quite entertained.
Then he looked down at the rim of the cup and blinked in surprise.
…Wait, this tea was meant for the guest.
He froze, then quietly put the cup aside and brewed a fresh one.
It had been a while since he'd worked in his own agency. He was out of practice.
Come to think of it, wasn't this kind of task supposed to fall to Jiangxia, the employee? Why was he, the boss, the one handling chores?
He glanced at Shizuka Hattori, now happily chatting with Jiangxia, then recalled how tight-lipped she'd been before Jiangxia arrived.
He sighed inwardly. These days, even bosses don't get basic human rights.
…
"A while ago, I accidentally lost the medal I won in the junior high summer cup kendo tournament. That photo is the only keepsake I had left from that time."
"Before I graduated, I mistakenly left it inside a book I'd borrowed from Mr. Shibata. Used it as a bookmark, totally forgot it was there."
"By the time I remembered, he'd already moved away, and we lost contact." Shizuka lowered her head a little, wearing a look of mild regret. "So I hope you can help me find him and retrieve that photo."
Nearby, Amuro Tooru's interest sharpened again. He came up with a fresh theory:
Maybe Mrs. Hattori wasn't really looking for the photo.
Maybe she just wanted to find her first love.
—Tracking down old flames from decades past was actually a booming business for Tokyo detectives. Right after looking for lost pets or catching cheating spouses.
*Goal #1: Top 200 fanfics published within the last 31 - 90 days by POWER STONES.
Progress: 29/60(approx) for 10 BONUS CHAPTERS
Goal #2: One BONUS CHAPTER per review for the first 10 REVIEWS.
Progress:2/10*