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

Part 58 : I fell for someone.

Mr. Nakata looked much better than he had the night before. After an uneasy sleep, a five-kilometer jog, and a hot shower, he seemed to have regained some of his lost composure. Nakata Keiko, on the other hand, wasn't as fortunate. Her face was pale, her lips even paler, and she could barely walk without the support of her husband.

"So, great detective, are you finally going to tell us who orchestrated this murder?" Miss Tanaka remained calm, while Miss Sato, who had lost her composure the previous night, seemed to have regained her usual rationality.

"I don't believe what you're saying! There's no way the killer is one of us. Maybe it was just a random bomber who planted explosives at the venue. There's no premeditation here! We've been high school friends for over ten years, staying in constant touch. Our friendship has never faltered!" Miss Sato exclaimed, clearly distressed.

"Sato, you should let them finish." Mr. Takahashi, who had just woken up, ambled down the hill in flip-flops from the meeting point they had agreed on earlier. It was then that Kudo realized they had been held in a warehouse not far from the Ginza shopping district, near a railway construction site. Apart from workers, the area was usually deserted.

"Haha, now you're siding with the police?" Miss Sato sneered.

"Sato... are we really friends?"

That single sentence brought a heavy silence over the group.

Inspector Megure cleared his throat, signaling Kudo to begin his deduction. "This was not a random bombing, but a premeditated act. From the moment the seven of you entered, the fate of the four victims was sealed. The first step happened the moment you put on your helmets."

"Wait—I'm the one who suggested that!" Mr. Nakata frowned. "But I swear, I didn't kill anyone."

"No one's accusing you," Kudo replied. "But from the moment you all entered the changing room, the helmets labeled 10 through 16 were placed at heights that corresponded to most of your heights, so you could easily see them and pick them. You've all said you're long-time friends, and this event was clearly designed to rekindle your high school nostalgia. It's not surprising that you'd choose helmets matching your old roll numbers. After all, this was supposed to be a game, and at the start, most of you didn't know people would die. So, picking the numbers didn't seem that significant. But, given that this was a reunion, wasn't it more fitting to choose numbers you used in school?"

Kudo continued, "Normally, the lenses should have a slight prescription of around -1 diopters, as Miss Kobayashi explained, to help players solve puzzles more easily in the dark. But this is where the killer manipulated the victims."

"You mean... someone tampered with our lenses?" Mr. Nakata asked, his gaze slowly turning to Miss Kobayashi.

"Exactly," Kudo nodded.

"W-Why are you looking at me like that?" Kobayashi Sugina stammered, visibly agitated. "It wasn't me!"

"But you were the one who handed us the helmets. Who knows what you might have done in the process?" Miss Sato accused.

"There's... there's no evidence!" Sugina protested. "Kudo-san, you're saying the killer tampered with the lenses, but I don't have any magic powers! How could I possibly make those victims pick the wrong answers? Maybe... maybe they were just too stupid or careless."

Her vehement denial made Kuroba frown slightly.

"Let's not jump to conclusions just yet," Kudo said, a faint smile playing on his lips. "Allow me to explain how the killer performed this 'magic'—how they turned the victims into puppets, bending them to their will."