Hamano Toshiya (Vermouth) followed Tanaka Kikue away from the group to the staircase landing and asked quietly, "Miss Tanaka, is something wrong?"
"It's like this—it's already so late, and the Escape King still hasn't shown up. He's probably not coming. He's our group leader, and everything tonight was arranged by him. Since he hasn't arrived, we'll have to choose someone else."
"Then why tell me?"
"I mainly wanted to use you to help choose an acting leader, someone to boil the bathwater, and someone for the entertainment segment."
"Who are the candidates?"
Hamano Toshiya was slightly interested.
"Acting leader: Miss Kuroda. I'll handle boiling the bathwater tonight. The one performing the entertainment segment will be Mr. Dojima. When the time comes, just go along with those three names."
Tanaka Kikue smiled, looking harmless.
Hamano Toshiya nodded. "Sure. How do you plan to do it?"
"I'll prepare some slips of paper in advance, with a circle, a triangle, and a cross drawn on the backs—each corresponding to one of the three roles I just mentioned. I'll write names on the papers, then have someone blindfolded hold them. I'll give that person a pen that doesn't write, and have them draw marks on the backs themselves—but the results will all be pre-arranged by me. What do you think?"
"Works for me."
Hamano Toshiya agreed, and the two walked back toward the group.
Coincidentally, Arata Yoshinori was just bringing up the same topic—two people hadn't arrived, one of them the group leader, so they needed to choose a new one.
"I have an idea—"
Tanaka Kikue stepped forward and explained the game. Those not in on it thought it was just a game of chance.
Hamano Toshiya added, "Then I'll use this game to perform a magic trick. No matter which paper has a mark, I'll be able to guess the name underneath. Now, I need someone to help draw the marks. Who's willing?"
"I'll do it." Sonoko raised her hand happily.
"Great." Hamano Toshiya handed her a long handkerchief and smiled. "Sonoko, please use this to cover your eyes."
"Mm-hm."
Sonoko covered her eyes and tied the ends of the handkerchief behind her head.
A short while later, Tanaka Kikue brought over seven slips of paper with names written on them, along with a pen that couldn't write.
Hamano Toshiya said, "Sonoko, please make three marks on these seven papers—a circle, a triangle, and a cross. Everyone else, step back a bit. No peeking."
Hearing the last part, the others stepped back a few paces.
Sonoko obediently did as told and finished quickly. "Now what?"
"You can take off the handkerchief and place the papers on the table one by one. Then I'll guess whose names are on the marked papers."
"Is that even possible?"
Sonoko doubted it, but removed the handkerchief and placed the seven papers on the table.
The others gathered around the table, waiting for Hamano Toshiya to continue.
"First, the circle represents the group leader—Miss Kuroda, that's you."
"Really?" Kuroda Naoko didn't believe it. She walked over and picked up the paper with the circle mark. Flipping it over, she was surprised. "Mr. Hamano, how did you do that?"
"Secret. Next, the triangle mark—Miss Tanaka, you're in charge of boiling the bathwater."
Tanaka Kikue stepped forward and picked up the paper. She put on a displeased expression. "So it really is me."
With that, she turned and left the living room to go boil the bathwater outside.
Hamano Toshiya continued, "Performing the entertainment segment—Mr. Dojima."
Dojima Katsuki reached out and picked up the last marked paper. He flipped it over and raised an eyebrow. "Mr. Hamano, it looks like your name is on this one."
"Huh, really?" Sonoko and Ran leaned in to look.
"Me?"
Hamano Toshiya was taken aback. He took the paper and examined it carefully, confirming there was no mistake. He frowned. "So it really is me."
"Mr. Hamano, then the entertainment segment is up to you. I'm going to the wine cellar to get some wine." Arata Yoshinori said, then left the living room as well.
Hamano Toshiya narrowed his eyes. He finally sensed something was off. Tanaka Kikue hadn't just approached him randomly—everything had been planned.
"Interesting." He thought that, but on his face appeared a troubled smile. "I can't believe my performance failed. All right, I'm going back to my room upstairs to think about what to perform tonight."
With that, he left directly and headed upstairs.
"Even though Mr. Hamano messed up at the end, the first two guesses were correct. Hoshino, what do you think the trick was?" Sonoko asked Kurosawa Hoshino.
"Simpleton~"
Kurosawa Hoshino tapped her forehead and said flatly, "He never touched the props the whole time. Either he saw the names while you were drawing the marks, or he already knew in advance which names you'd mark."
"How could he know in advance?" Sonoko rubbed her forehead and said unhappily, "Are you suspecting I was in cahoots with Mr. Hamano?"
"Whoever wrote the names is the accomplice."
Just as Kurosawa Hoshino finished speaking, a woman's scream came from upstairs.
"Ah—!"
Everyone still in the living room was startled. The scream continued, so they didn't dare linger and all ran upstairs together.
Soon, they reached the room where the scream had come from. It was Hamano Toshiya's room.
At that moment, Hamano Toshiya was touching his neck, his sharp eyes fixed on Tanaka Kikue, who was on the floor clutching her arm and screaming.
"Miss Tanaka? What are you doing here?" Kogoro Mouri was confused. "Didn't you go outside to boil the bathwater?"
Was the original story like this? Kurosawa Hoshino wondered. The most memorable part of this episode was Kaitou Kid's appearance at the end, but a scene this explosive—he couldn't possibly have forgotten it.
So he activated "Scene Replay" to see what had actually happened.
Then, in his vision:
Hamano Toshiya opened the door and walked into the room. A pair of hands suddenly reached out from behind, holding a thin cord, and pulled it tight around his neck. Hamano Toshiya showed no panic. He grabbed one of the wrists holding the cord, then used his waist strength to bend and throw the person behind him onto the floor.
Seeing it was Tanaka Kikue, Hamano Toshiya didn't hold back. He grabbed one of her arms—
Crack.
He twisted it and broke it. Then, unhurriedly, he touched the strangulation marks on his neck, staring expressionlessly at the screaming Tanaka Kikue.
"Hm?"
Kurosawa Hoshino paused the vision and stared hard at Hamano Toshiya's neck. He noticed a layer of skin had broken there, but there was no blood.
"Fake skin? A mask? Kaito Kuroba? No, he's not this ruthless. He wouldn't break someone's arm right off the bat."
His thoughts raced. Soon he thought of Tomoaki Araide, whom they'd met on the way to school yesterday, and of what Sonoko had said in front of him. Suddenly it clicked. So it was you, Vermouth. I knew I didn't remember any gay guy in this episode—