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

Part 71: My Detective Nature

Damn it! Damn it!"

As Kuroba Kaito finally forced his eyes open, his head felt like it was about to explode. He strained his neck to look up, seeing his hands bound against the wall. A flurry of curses flashed through his mind.

It wasn't exactly a sneak attack. After all, Kudo Shinichi had directly pulled out Conan's watch. That damned detective! He had used the same trick he once tried on Mouri Kogoro, but now on Kuroba Kaito himself!

Fortunately, Meitantei hadn't consulted Tequila on how to handle it, or else Kuroba Kaito would never have been able to escape after a shot of that sedative. No matter how well the trap was set, it couldn't outsmart Kaito Kid's skillful hands. With a loud clunk, he rotated his stiff wrists.

"I'll make sure to pay him back later... But what exactly is Meitantei planning by delaying me like this?" He patted his pockets, realizing his playing card gun and other gadgets were gone.

Kuroba Kaito's eyes narrowed, and he growled, "Meitantei! What the hell are you trying to do?!"

He bolted out of the mechanical room. Beyond the soundproof door, red lights flashed and alarms blared, throwing the entire building into lockdown. Kuroba Kaito covered his ears from the noise.

"What now? What have you done with my identity, Kudo Shinichi?!"

There was no time to waste. He had to find Kudo and Haibara Ai and get out of this cursed place immediately!

Beep, beep, beep—

Aside from the alarms, the basement was eerily silent. If not for the incessant red lights, it would seem like Kuroba Kaito was entirely alone in this cold, steel underground operating room. Only the wind, whispering like ghosts, echoed through the eerie space.

Kuroba 's senses sharpened. Moving silently, he scanned the room, taking mental notes of every structure, machine, and exit. He passed by a series of decrepit and abandoned rooms—some of them radiology labs—before he finally spotted his destination: a single light shining in the dark.

"Meitantei!!!" Kuroba Kaito rushed forward and flung open the door to the operating room. On the metallic bed under the glaring round surgical lamp lay a figure—sideways, motionless.

"Kudo Shinichi!" Kuroba shouted, but several figures dressed in surgical gowns stepped out from the darkness.

Their faces were obscured, masked in shadow. Kuroba Kaito tried to push them away, but they overpowered him. One of them brandished a scalpel, and he shouted, "Stop! What do you think you're doing?!"

He thought they would ignore him, but to his surprise, one of them said, "You have two choices: he stays, or you do."

Without hesitation, Kuroba rushed forward, yelling, "Kudo! Is that you!" He pushed the figure on the bed—but what he saw stunned him.

It was his own self.

It was his own face staring back at him.

Thud—

Kuroba Kaito's eyes flew open again. This time, he found himself strapped to the operating table, staring up at blinding lights in circles above him. His heart raced as he shut his eyes, flashes of fiery orbs spinning in his mind.

No—this was SPIDER's signature tactic.

Clap, clap, clap— The sound of crisp applause echoed in the empty room. Kuroba Kaito's eyes snapped open again, only to see SPIDER's face looming over him, grinning like a monstrous specter.

"Welcome to your nightmare, Kuroba Kaito."

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