Shu Kotegawa

**Shu Kotegawa** (小手川収こてがわしゅう, *Kotegawa Shū*) is a *kyūdō* student of Mayumi Nakamae.

## Physical description

Kotegawa has short black hair and dark eyes. He has a mole on his forehead and another next to his right eye.

## Personality

He is fairly cool-headed which makes him perfect for the *ochi* (last shooter in the group) position.

## Biography

### Invisible Blood Letter Murder Case

Kotegawa, Akane Saien, and Mikio Toban train at the Shingen Archery Dojo for the upcoming tournament; they are watched by Mayumi Nakamae, Ron Kamonohashi, Totomaru Isshiki, and Amamiya. Kotegawa draws first, then Saien and Toban. While Kotegawa and Saien effortlessly hit the target, Toban does not.

Ron, Amamiya, and especially Totomaru are impressed by their skills. Then, a cat, Nekomi, jumps in front of the targets, and Sabatora Nora runs into the dojo. He was hired by the Koike family to catch their runaway cat, and when he tries to go to the cat without the "signal," Nakamae stops him. The dojo prides itself for not having had any incidents or accidents since her grandfather's generation. Thus, Nakamae calls someone to give the signal before she allows Nora to enter. However, Nekomi runs out of the dojo first, and Nora hurries after her. After Kotegawa and Saien tell Amamiya, Ron, and Toto about Nora's notoriety, they and Toban resume their training.

The next day, Kotegawa is found dead in the dojo by Saien who came to clean at 7 a.m. An arrow pierced his vertebrae; he died of asphyxia due to the damage sometime between 10 p.m. and midnight. According to initial examinations, it is likely that the arrow was fired from a bow. There are no signs of a struggle and Kotegawa's smartphone was stolen. There is blood on Kotegawa's index finger as if he wanted to write something, but there is no message.

During interviews, Nakamae reveals that Kotegawa was set to be the *ochi* (last shooter in the group) at the upcoming tournament because there is a lot of pressure on the last archer. Kotegawa is fairly cool-headed and, thus, ideal for the position. According to her, there was no one who held a grudge against him.

Nakamae later confesses that she accidentally killed Kotegawa: After learning of her slump, he offered to help her. During one of their secret training sessions, he clapped his hands together before retrieving the arrows from the target area. Kotegawa, unfortunately, stood on Nakamae's left side when he made the signal, and because she has become deaf on her left ear, she did not hear him clap. When she realized that Kotegawa had gone to get the arrows, it was too late; she had already shot an arrow. Nakamae then put blood on his index finger to ensure people would think it was a murder, not an accident, to protect her pride.

## Skills and abilities

* **Archery skills:** Kotegawa is a skilled *kyūdō* archer. Ron notes that he draws his bows rather beautifully.

## Etymology

* The name "Shu" means "collection" (収).
* His surname "Kotegawa" means "gloves" (小手, *kote*) and "river, stream" (川, *kawa*/*gawa*).

## References

1. ↑ *Ron Kamonohashi: Deranged Detective* manga; Chapter 61, page 2
2. ↑ *Ron Kamonohashi: Deranged Detective* manga; Chapter 61, page 17
3. ↑ *Ron Kamonohashi: Deranged Detective* manga; Chapter 60, pages 7-15
4. ↑ *Ron Kamonohashi: Deranged Detective* manga; Chapter 60, page 17
5. ↑ *Ron Kamonohashi: Deranged Detective* manga; Chapter 60, pages 19-20
6. ↑ *Ron Kamonohashi: Deranged Detective* manga; Chapter 61, page 10
7. ↑ *Ron Kamonohashi: Deranged Detective* manga; Chapter 61, pages 2-5
8. ↑ *Ron Kamonohashi: Deranged Detective* manga; Chapter 61, pages 16-17
9. ↑ *Ron Kamonohashi: Deranged Detective* manga; Chapter 62, pages 4-17
10. ↑ *Ron Kamonohashi: Deranged Detective* manga; Chapter 60, page 8