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

Part 62: No more jealous, Meitantei. __Aoko

The crowd outside the venue was packed, barely leaving any space. With only five minutes until the exhibition opened, Kudo Shinichi felt a twitch in his eye and considered turning around to leave. Just as he was lost in thought, a ticket appeared in front of him, Hattori having snagged it with lightning speed.

"Kudo—where are you trying to go? Think about it, isn't this the perfect learning opportunity for you? Forget those romantic dramas on TV or the hot-blooded youth comics at my house. Those might not be too helpful for you."

"Are you telling me you brought me here on purpose?"

"As if!" Hattori retorted. "I thought it was the same exhibition as last time... Wait—oh, sorry, my mistake. It's a different floor. Or... should we head downstairs to check it out?"

Kudo snatched the ticket from his hand with a sigh. "Since you already bought it, we might as well go in. But won't we look a bit out of place—just the two of us here? Also... why are there so many other guys in a place like this?!"

"Totally normal, right? I actually know a few guys who, because their girlfriends are into this kind of stuff, have watched or read some of it themselves. Plus, most BL content is created from a female perspective, so some people even use it to guess their girlfriend's interests and type," Hattori shrugged, but hesitated before breaking into an awkward grin.

Should he tell Kudo Shinichi now? Maybe give him a heads-up first? He clenched two pamphlets the staff handed him, detailing the themes of each section and a map of the venue. Hattori was tempted to see Kudo squirm with embarrassment or awkwardness. But, nah, better to let Kudo figure it out himself. Ha! It'd be hilarious. Wait... does that make me a bad friend?

Whatever.

Hattori stuffed the pamphlet meant for Kudo into his own bag and pointed randomly. "How about we check out that area? Looks like spin-offs of some sports manga."

Kudo took a step back as a group of high school girls rushed in, all wearing white T-shirts printed with large designs. When the doors to the venue opened, it was as if they'd heard the starting whistle of a race, sprinting into the exhibition hall. Their shirts flapped as they ran, making it hard to see the designs clearly, though Kudo caught a glimpse of two men locked in a kiss.

He backed up a few steps, bumping into another girl. She glanced at him, clutching a stack of comics as if protecting her territory.

Kudo inhaled deeply, apologizing repeatedly. He hoped he had made the right decision in coming here.

"There are so many people," Kudo muttered. It was also Hattori's first time at an event like this. He casually picked up a comic, only to shove it back onto the shelf as if shocked. Kudo, suspicious, reached for it... and froze. The cover depicted a vampire count pressing a half-naked boy against the wall of a cellar, his pale face close to the boy's throat, fangs grazing his cheekbone. Scattered clothing and a bloodstained tie littered the floor.

Kudo returned the book to the shelf, speechless. "My gosh... Maybe we shouldn't randomly pick things up."

"Yeah... maybe the open display over there would be safer? The covers look... more normal," Hattori suggested, still recovering.

"Those are sealed novels," Kudo replied dryly.

"Wait, do you two also like Vampire Knight? (Manga ヴァンパイア騎士)" A girl wearing a pink cap and sportswear turned to them, her curiosity piqued. "Sorry, I just saw you two guys here and got a little curious. Helping your girlfriends grab some merch?"

"Uh, yeah, sort of. But I'm not too familiar with this section—just here to have a look around," Hattori answered smoothly. The girl nodded, then turned to Kudo.