History Recap / TheKindaichiCaseFilesHeadlessSamuraiMurderCase

"Headless Samurai Murder Case" is the nineth case in the File Series of ''Manga/TheKindaichiCaseFiles''.

** Upon Kenmochi being accosted by his wife, who has found out that her husband spent the past several days ''skipping'' work instead of ''for'' work since Kenmochi didn't take on Shino's initial request via a job-related procedure (and his rant against her just a moment ago without noticing that [[RightBehindMe she was right behind him all along]] doesn't help, if anything), Kenmochi tries futilely to justify himself, before dragging Kindaichi, who is just about to leave the scene with Miyuki, back into the topic to be his [[TheScapegoat fall guy]].

* ScrewThisImOuttaHere: After the case is wrapped up, Hayato, who no longer acts with ObfuscatingInsanity, decides to leave Kuchinashi with Tamaki and elope with her.

* SmallRoleBigImpact: As Kindaichi's private dialogue with the village physician indicates, Kindaichi surmises that the village physician, despite having no direct role in the case, nonetheless might have helped to keep the story in motion, back when Ryuunosuke and Seimaru were newly born, by not interfering with Shino's action that caused them to be SwitchedAtBirth due to the facts that 1) the physician was a medical student in the hospital where both Shino and Ayako delivered their respective offspring, 2) the physician shares the same surname as the general who was killed four centuries ago, and 3) the families of both the deceased general line and the Tatsumi clan have been enemies for generations. It also overlaps with ForWantOfANail (and possibly UnwittingInstigatorOfDoom as well, given the deaths from this case that ended with Shino dead and Ryuunosuke becoming an accidental SelfMadeOrphan).

* BreakTheHaughty: Ryunosuke Tatsumi is the first son of Tatsumi Clan, one of the most influential clan in Hida region. He gives a very hard time to Kindaichi and the others due to how selfish, arrogant, and bad-tempered he is, thinking that he should've been the one inheriting the clan's legacy instead of Seimaru, his stepbrother he despises. At the end of the case, everything he knew comes crashing down: He's actually not the legitimate son of Tatsumi clan, instead [[LukeIAmYourFather he's the biological son of the stepmother he also despises and the family's newest servant]], his younger brother stops his mental retardation facade and reveals to the entire family that the reason said brother does it is because Ryunosuke poisoned his drink, and his real mother dies from the same trick he used on his younger brother just because he doesn't want her to have any share in Tatsumi family's wealth, not knowing that she would've given up her rights to it anyway. He can only cry when the consequences of his action unfold.

** Earlier in the arc, Ryuunosuke grabs it and aims at a stepbrother of his following an argument between them, only for his stepmother to wrest it out of his hands. After Kindaichi learns of the clogged status of the rifle following the family butler's death, this bit of information helps him to identify the actual culprit, because Ryuunosuke is one of the few members in the Tatsumi family without such knowledge.

* ObfuscatingInsanity: Years ago, Hayato found out Ryuunosuke tried to poison him so he'd be named their father's inheritor, so Hayato spent months pretending the failed poisoning had mentally traumatized him out of fear Ryuunosuke would try something again. Hayato reveals the truth after Shino drinks the poisoned tea Ryuunosuke uses to get rid of her, and ''just'' after [[LukeIAmYourFather Ryuunosuke learns Shino has been his birth mother all along]]. The only other person who knew Hayato was faking was Tamaki, one of their family's maids and Hayato's girlfriend.

* SelfMadeOrphan: An accidental one. One of the suspects in "The Headless Samurai" [[TamperingWithFoodAndDrink slips a poison on his stepmother's tea]], but she turns out to be his real mother.

After Kenmochi receives a letter from Shino Tatsumi, a childhood friend of his, he enlists the help of Kindaichi. Kindaichi, Miyuki, and Kenmochi travel to a remote village named Kuchinashi, where Shino lives in the wealthy Tatsumi household. While they stay in the house as guests, a case of serial murders unfolds...

* TownWithADarkSecret: The local legend of Kuchinashi has a dark history dating back four centuries, back when a general arrived in the village to seek refuge. He tried to drive away the then-chief of the village out, only for his soldiers to kill and decapitate him before he could do so. His subordinates offered his head to the village chief as a sign of goodwill and settled down in the village, only to be found dead a year later under strange circumstances, and with the same headless result as their dead general. Believing that the spirit of the dead general was behind their deaths, the villagers enacted a shrine and statues with the same number of the dead villagers in an attempt to appease him -- the statues were also made headless to further illustrate the attempt of appeasement. Even the ''name'' "Kuchinashi" hints at this legend, as it derives from "kubinashi" ("headless" in Japanese). As everyone in Kuchinashi is a descendant of the soldiers who had killed the general, talking about the legend is considered taboo -- Kenmochi manages to learn of it only through the village physician, who discloses the details reluctantly only after Kindaichi and Miyuki are missing (they're kidnapped at the time) and Kenmochi is desperate to find them for fear that they might be the next victims.

* WhyDidItHaveToBeSnakes: After the family butler dies, Kenmochi believes him to be the culprit in this case, as the existing evidence points to a small opening in the window of the locked treasure room where the first murder took place and said butler having been revealed posthumously to have been a former acrobat-turned acrobatics teacher with a small body frame, only for Kindaichi to refute him with some other bits of evidence indicating that said butler had a severe fear of acrophobia after suffering an acrobatics-related accident that caused him to quit his occupation as an acrobat, which would have prevented him to utilize the treasure room window even if he could do it.

* SchoolyardBullyAllGrownUp: As Shino reveals, [[RichBitch Ayako]] [[AlphaBitch Tatsumi]] bullied and tormented her in their adult years as much as she did back when they were teenage schoolmates, once Shino became a family servant in the Tatsumi clan, right up until Ayako herself died.

* YourMom: Played with in a dialogue between Hayato and Kindaichi after the case is wrapped up. It's [[InvertedTrope inverted]] when Hayato pokes fun at [[RichBitch his]] [[AlphaBitch own]] [[SchoolyardBullyAllGrownUp mother]] as well as [[{{Jerkass}} Ryuunosuke]], whereas Kindaichi does a [[Downplayed downplayed]] version of this in his assessment of them.[[note]] That being said, only Hayato laughs from his statement, as everyone else who hears him at the time finds it too awkward to laugh about it.[[/note]]

* ScrewThisImOuttaHere: After the case is wrapped up, Hayato, who no longer acts with ObfuscatingInsanity, decides to leave Kuchinashi with Tamaki and elope.

* WhyDidItHaveToBeSnakes: After the family butler dies, Kenmochi believes him to be the culprit in this case, as the existing evidence points to a small opening in the window of the locked treasure room where the first murder took place and said butler having been revealed posthumously to have been a former acrobat-turned acrobatics teacher with a small body frame, only for Kindaichi to refute him with some other bits of evidence indicating that said butler had a severe fear of acrophobia after suffering an acrobatics-related accident that caused him to quit his occupation as an acrobat, which would have prevented him to utilize the treasure room window even if he could do it.

** When the family butler tries to use it on the actual culprit at one point, only to find out too late that he's been OutGambitted, as the rifle ends up backfiring and killing him.
** Earlier in the arc, Ryuunosuke grabs it and aims at a stepbrother of his, only for his stepmother to wrest it out of his hands. After Kindaichi learns of the clogged status of the rifle, this bit of information helps him to pinpoint the exact candidate as the actual culprit, because Ryuunosuke is one of the few members in the Tatsumi family without such knowledge.

** Another part of the shocking revelation near the case's end is that the family butler, who arrived two years ago, is actually Ryuunosuke's biological father, who abandoned Shino after getting her [[TeenPregnancy pregnant]] following a one-night stand with her. According to Shino, he showed up with the sole intent of blackmailing her, before agreeing to Shino's proposal, in the hope of getting a share of the Tatsumi estate once Ryuunosuke takes over the Tatsumi family wealth.
* ObfuscatingInsanity: Years ago, Hayato found out Ryuunosuke tried to poison him so he'd be named their father's inheritor, so Hayato spent months pretending the failed poisoning had mentally traumatized him out of fear Ryuunosuke would try something again. Hayato reveals the truth after Shino drinks the poisoned tea Ryuunosuke used to get rid of her, and ''just'' after he Ryuunosuke learned Shino was his birth mother. The only other person who knew Hayato was faking was Tamaki, one of their family's maids and Hayato's girlfriend.

* LukeIAmYourFather: Part of the shocking revelation that Kindaichi reveals as the case nears its end is that Ryuunosuke is the biological son of his "stepmother", who admits to having him and Seimaru SwitchedAtBirth soon afterwards.

* AlphaBitch: As Shino narrates, Ayako Tatsumi, the previous matriarch of the Tatsumi family, was a bullying RichBitch with a GirlPosse who tormented her when they were classmates back when they were 15. [[SchoolBullyAllGrownUp Her hostility towards Shino persisted well into their adult years, once Shino became a house servant, as she tormented Shino right up until she died.]]

* BreakTheHaughty: Ryunosuke Tatsumi is the first son of Tatsumi Clan, one of the most influential clan in Hida region. He gives a very hard time to Kindaichi and the others due to how selfish, arrogant, and bad-tempered he is, thinking that he should've been the one inheriting the clan's legacy instead of Seimaru, his stepbrother he despises. At the end of the case, everything he knew comes crashing down: He's actually not the legitimate son of Tatsumi clan, instead he's the biological son of the stepmother he also despises and the family's newest servant, his younger brother stops his mental retardation facade and reveals to the entire family that the reason said brother does it is because Ryunosuke poisoned his drink, and his real mother dies from the same trick he used on his younger brother just because he doesn't want her to have any share in Tatsumi family's wealth, not knowing that she would've given up her rights to it anyway. He can only cry when the consequences of his action unfold.

** The first victim is decapitated, though Kindaichi expresses belief late in the arc that he was killed via impalement before being beheaded.

* SwitchedAtBirth: Ryuunosuke and a stepbrother of his were swapped soon after their births, with his "stepmother" being the one doing so, in an attempt to allow him to live a better life. This leads to a shocking revelation near the end of the case arc when it's revealed that [[LukeIAmYourFather his "stepmother" turns out to have been his biological mother all along]].

* HoistByHisOwnPetard: The rifle that hangs on the wall of the Tatsumi living room turns out to have been clogged with lead, after a burglar broke into the house and tried to use it years ago. The knowledge, or lack thereof, turns out to be a ChekhovsGun in this case, as the family butler tries to use it on the actual culprit at one point, only to find out too late that he's been OutGambitted, as the rifle ends up backfiring and killing him.

** The first victim is decapitated, though Kindaichi believes that he was killed via impalement before being beheaded.

* WhyDidItHaveToBeSnakes: After the family butler dies, Kenmochi believes him to be the culprit in this case, as the existing evidence points to a small opening in the window of the locked treasure room where the first murder took place and said butler having been revealed posthumously to have been a former acrobat teacher with a small body frame, only for Kindaichi to refute him with some other bits of evidence indicating that said butler had a severe fear of acrophobia, which would have prevented him to utilize the treasure room window even if he could do it.

* TownWithADarkSecret: The local legend of Kuchinashi has a dark history dating back four centuries, back when a general arrived in the village to seek refuge. He tried to drive away the then-chief of the village out, only for his soldiers to kill and decapitate him before he could do so. His subordinates offered his head to the village chief as a sign of goodwill and settled down in the village, only to be found dead a year later under strange circumstances, and with the same headless result as their dead general. Believing that the spirit of the dead general was behind their deaths, the villagers enacted a shrine and statues with the same number of the dead villagers in an attempt to appease him -- the statues were also made headless to further illustrate the attempt of appeasement. Even the ''name'' "Kuchinashi" hints at this legend, as it derives from "kubinashi" ("headless" in Japanese). As everyone in Kuchinashi is a descendant of the soldiers who had killed the general, talking about the legend is considered taboo -- Kenmochi manages to learn of it only through the village physician, who discloses the details reluctantly only after Kindaichi and Miyuki are missing (they're kidnapped at the time) and Kenmochi is desperate to find them for fear that they might be the next victims.

* SelfMadeOrphan: An accidental one. One of the suspects in "The Headless Samurai" [[TamperingWithFoodAndDrink slips a poison on his stepmother's tea]], but she turns out to be his real mother.

* ObfuscatingInsanity: Years ago, Hayato found out Ryuunosuke tried to poison him so he'd be named their father's inheritor, so Hayato spent months pretending the failed poisoning had mentally traumatized him out of fear Ryuunosuke would try something again. Hayato reveals the truth after Shino drinks the poisoned tea Ryuunosuke used to get rid of her, and ''just'' after he Ryuunosuke learned Shino was his birth mother. The only other person who knew Hayato was faking was Tamaki, one of their family's maids and Hayato's girlfriend.

!!Tropes include: