Accomplice__ Kudo Shinichi x Kaitou Kid, Kaito Kid x Kudo Shinichi

Part 57: Get out of here alive,with him

After Kuroba Kaito left, Ran approached Kudo Shinichi.

"Huh? Where did Kuroba go?"
"He's off doing what he needs to do." Kudo blinked, using a tone even he wasn't sure about.

"What?" Ran still didn't understand. She had finally found some time to be alone with Shinichi and didn't want to let this moment slip away. "Shinichi... I... I..."

At that moment, familiar loud voices returned from a distance. This time it was Mr. Takahashi, seemingly in a heated argument with Miss Sato.

"It's not about what questions they asked. What really matters is who orchestrated this awful prank. And... Takahashi, stop bringing up Kuroda. I'm tired, angry, and upset! My patience is gone!" Miss Sato said while holding her side as she walked out of the restroom, with Ran following behind her.

"Officer, how long is this interrogation going to take? I'm exhausted, and I have a sonogram appointment at the OB-GYN (obstetrician-gynecologist) tomorrow morning. I haven't even told my parents or my mother in-laws about what happened today." Miss Sato was worn out, and Inspector Megure nodded, giving her a way out after taking some contact information. He let everyone leave for now.

Inspector Megure sighed. With suspects all harboring their own secrets and mixed feelings toward one another, it would take time to sort through everything.

"Kudo, what do you think? We can't let this case drag on for too long. Plus... if what you said about the explosives coming from that Hyakushi Box designer is true, the higher-ups are keeping a close watch on this case."

"Don't worry. I have a rough idea of how this  murder scheme was carried out. But before I can confirm anything, I need to do some more searching. Inspector, could you notify everyone to return..." Kudo checked his watch. It was already past 2 a.m. He calculated the time. "Around 7 a.m.?"

"So, you've identified the killer?" Inspector Megure asked for clarification.

"Yes, but I need to find some crucial evidence first. I've left that task to Kid."

When everyone had left, the police and forensics team gradually withdrew. Kudo Shinichi saw the opportunity and slipped past the yellow caution tape, sneaking into the escape room container.

With a flashlight clenched between his teeth, he was unfazed by the gory crime scene, focusing only on finding the evidence and clues he needed.

"KID was right about this light filter... it works." The world looked completely different through the various colored filters—most notably, standing at the entrance of the second stage, Kudo smirked. "Just as I thought."

The view through the filters revealed something unseen to the naked eye. The left door had an extra number on the wall, while the right door was missing one. This completely flipped the correct answer.

Kudo had figured out why the first victim, Number 12, had been eliminated in the first round. He had an idea why the second victim, Number 13, was also eliminated, and now, he finally had a theory about why Number 10, Kuroda, had been taken out like that.

If his deductions were correct, there was still one more explosive that hadn't been activated.

Kudo began scouring every inch of the container. Although the police had already taken all the intact helmets, leaving him unable to verify the lenses' distortions, his investigation was still having some results.

But the greatest flaw of the Meitantei was that, when deeply immersed in solving a puzzle, he entered his "zone," losing awareness of everything else around him, including danger.

This fatal flaw hadn't changed even when Gin had poisoned him, shrinking him into Conan. Not even in Conan's body, when facing all kinds of peril, had he managed to shake off this bad habit.