Kaito Kid had been captured—
This news made Inspector Ginzo Nakamori ecstatic.
Although he was a bit bitter about not catching him personally, having his long-time nemesis finally fall into police hands felt like drinking a cold soda on a sweltering summer day—exhilarating.
"Hahaha! Take him away and lock him up! No—wait! I want to guard him myself!!"
He shook Hayashi Yoshiki's hand with tremendous energy, then marched out of the banquet hall triumphantly with Kaito Kid in custody.
Ran Mouri, who had been impersonated by Kaito Kid, was soon found unconscious in the restroom.
Sonoko Suzuki discovered her there, slumped over the toilet and still groggy when woken.
According to Ran, she had been waiting outside the restroom for Sonoko, but then suddenly fell asleep for no reason. She was shocked to hear that Kaito Kid had been caught.
"I'm sorry, Ran Mouri."
She was surprised by Hayashi Yoshiki's soft and apologetic tone.
"What's wrong, Yoshiki-kun?"
"I punched Kaito Kid while he was disguised as you… I was 100% sure at the time, but I still feel bad about it."
He lowered his eyes. His gentle tone and expression carried genuine remorse.
Ran Mouri, realizing this, quickly shook her head with a serious look.
"No, you shouldn't blame yourself, Yoshiki-kun! I totally understand—it was Kaito Kid, not me!"
"Of course! If Kid had succeeded in stealing the Star of the Dark Night while looking like me, I'd be the one who should feel guilty."
"So I should be thanking you, Hayashi Yoshiki!"
"That's right!" chimed in Kogoro Mouri. "Hey, you scared me there for a second, but you did great! Hahaha!"
He laughed heartily and patted Hayashi's shoulder.
After their warm exchange, Hayashi Yoshiki looked genuinely relieved.
"Then as an apology, I'll buy you ice cream sometime."
At that moment, Tomoko Suzuki, having calmed the banquet guests, came over.
Hayashi Yoshiki returned the Star of the Dark Night to her. She accepted it solemnly, her expression full of gratitude.
"Thanks to you, Mr. Lin, the banquet was a success. I'll make sure you receive a reward worthy of your effort."
"There are still five minutes until we dock at Tokyo Port."
"By the way, Sonoko, weren't you dying to know what Kaito Kid really looks like?"
Sonoko turned red and shouted, but Tomoko just smiled at her lovingly.
She was a doting mother, indeed.
But the curiosity about Kid's true identity was real, so with Tomoko Suzuki leading the way, everyone headed toward the room where he was supposedly detained.
The officer at the door didn't stop them—likely out of respect for Tomoko and Hayashi.
"We finally got Kaito Kid. Inspector Nakamori's obsessed—he even posted guards and is personally watching the door."
When they passed through the layers of security and entered the cabin...
Inspector Ginzo Nakamori was sound asleep, and Kaito Kid was gone.
"Gin-san! Gin-san!!!"
Officer Chaki rushed forward and shook him awake. Nakamori blinked sleepily.
"W-What's going on? Are we at port already?"
Nakamori shot upright.
Hayashi Yoshiki walked in and picked up a folded note left beside him.
I lost this time. I'll give up the Star of the Dark Night. But the next time we cross paths—just wait for the surprise I have planned!
"That's the kind of declaration a kid makes after losing?"
Hayashi Yoshiki chuckled lightly.
Honestly, he had expected Kaito Kid to escape after being handed over to the police. After all, that was his specialty.
Still, the note was interesting.
Since he was already thinking of visiting Akako Koizumi, perhaps it was time to drop in on Kaito Kuroba as well.
Hayashi had a particular interest in Kid's disguise techniques.
The Next Day – Ekoda High School, Class 2-B
Kaito Kuroba sat at his desk, blowing his nose into a tissue, completely out of it.
"Kaito, you catching a cold or something? You've been sneezing all day."
His childhood friend Aoko Nakamori poked him from the seat behind with her pen.
Kaito's eyes were slightly red. He sniffed.
"No idea. Maybe it's the seasonal change."
That's what he said, but he knew full well it was because of the seawater—he'd had to swim ashore after escaping from Nakamori's surveillance last night.
With multiple patrol boats and a police chopper circling the Sally Beth cruise ship, escape via hang glider was impossible.
Just thinking about the punch he'd taken still made his gut ache.
Even though he'd left a bold message behind, Kaito Kuroba had zero intention of seeing that guy again anytime soon.
"If it gets worse, go get some cold medicine from the nurse," Aoko advised.
"Yeah, maybe I will..."
As Kaito replied absentmindedly, the classroom door opened.
Their homeroom teacher peeked inside and looked directly at Kaito.
"Kuroba, someone's here to see you."
Huh? Grandpa Terai probably brought cold medicine, he thought, getting up.
But then the moment the teacher saw the visitor, her entire expression changed.
"Good morning, Kuroba-san."
Hayashi Yoshiki greeted him politely with a gentle smile.
"I brought you some cold medicine. Is your stomach still hurting?"
Cold medicine wasn't a big deal—but why the hell was he asking about stomach pain?!
Trying to maintain his poker face, he responded hesitantly.
"Th-Thank you. Yeah, I've been sneezing all day... But, uh, what do you mean, stomach pain?"
Hayashi Yoshiki responded with a calm smile and...
Kaito Kuroba suddenly winced, as a sharp pain shot through his abdomen.