"Kaitou Kid, stop pretending."
Kurosawa Hoshino's voice echoed through the room.
"Kaitou Kid?"
After Hamano Toshiya had been revealed to be someone in disguise, they weren't surprised that Dojima Katsuki might also be disguised. But they couldn't believe it was actually Kaitou Kid.
"I'm not!" Dojima Katsuki spread his hands, and two small balls fell to the floor.
Bang, bang—two sounds, and the room was instantly filled with smoke.
Dojima Katsuki had already noted the balcony's position. As the smoke spread, he covered his mouth and nose and rushed toward it.
"Goodbye!"
Through the smoke, Dojima Katsuki (Kaito Kuroba) heard Kurosawa Hoshino's voice by his ear. Then he felt a sharp pain in his rear—he'd been kicked hard—and he crashed through the glass, tumbling off the balcony in a sorry state.
"Damn it—" Kaito Kuroba cursed inwardly. Like an agile cat, he flipped in midair and landed safely on the snow.
The next second, he heard a whistling sound from above. He looked up and saw Hamano Toshiya jumping down after him, seemingly using him as a cushion.
"Don't—ah!" Kaito Kuroba let out a scream as the falling Hamano Toshiya kicked him in the shoulder, sending him rolling several meters across the snow like a ball.
"Thanks."
Hamano Toshiya (Vermouth)—who didn't know Kaitou Kid was her teacher's son—said that and dashed toward the nearby woods, disappearing into the night in moments.
"N-no problem—hiss~" Kaito Kuroba wasn't actually being polite. He said those words through gritted teeth, clutching his shoulder as he got up and ran in the opposite direction from Vermouth.
On the balcony, Kurosawa Hoshino glanced left, then right, and mentally commented, The senior disciple is still the better one—the junior disciple can only be a cushion.
By then, the smoke in the room had cleared, and everyone was feeling much better—enough to speak.
"Where did those two go?" Kogoro Mouri gasped for air.
Kurosawa Hoshino shrugged. "They jumped off the balcony and ran into the forest on either side. Uncle Mouri, do you want to chase them?"
"I'm not going." Kogoro Mouri walked over and looked at the footprints extending in two directions on the snow below. He shook his head.
Kurosawa Hoshino looked at the system panel that popped up. His Source Points had increased. He was now 4 points away from his third superpower.
Just then, at the room's doorway, Arata Yoshinori—who hadn't gotten a response downstairs—appeared with the real Hamano Toshiya, whom he'd freed from the wine cellar.
"What happened?" Arata Yoshinori looked at everyone, confused.
Hearing that, everyone stared at the two of them without blinking, their eyes full of suspicion, which made them step back.
"Why are you staring at us like that?" Arata Yoshinori asked warily.
Hamano Toshiya's face turned pale. Thinking of being tied up in the wine cellar, unable to move, he felt a wave of fear.
Conan said quietly, "Mr. Arata, Mr. Hamano, please pull at your faces. We want to see if you're disguised as someone else."
Arata Yoshinori: "..."
Hamano Toshiya: "6"
Under so many watchful eyes, the two had no choice but to tug at their facial skin, proving they weren't disguised. The atmosphere improved a little after that.
Kogoro Mouri went over to Tanaka Kikue and said, "Miss Tanaka, let me help you with that arm."
Ran and Sonoko moved closer, ready to help.
"Sigh—" Kuroda Naoko sighed. Even though Tanaka Kikue had done something wrong, at least for now she had one arm she couldn't move and no weapons on her, so the danger level was greatly reduced. She didn't mind showing some concern.
"What happened to Miss Tanaka?" Arata Yoshinori and Hamano Toshiya had no idea what had happened here and asked curiously.
The quiet Sukiyo Hiro came over to them and quietly explained the situation.
After hearing it, their eyes went wide. Hamano Toshiya especially felt cold sweat break out on his back. At the same time, he felt lucky for the person who had tied him up and disguised themselves as him. Otherwise, if it had been him, he felt sure he'd have been strangled to death.
"Hamano Toshiya!" Tanaka Kikue stared at him and called out coldly.
"I'm—I'm sorry!" Hamano Toshiya fell to his knees and kowtowed in apology. "Miss Tanaka, I'm truly very sorry. I didn't mean to say those things about your grandfather back then. I was just running my mouth, joking around. I'm really very sorry."
Kurosawa Hoshino shook his head and thought, This is what it looks like when an early internet troll gets confronted offline.
Late at night.
In the room assigned to him at the villa, Kurosawa Hoshino lay in bed playing on his phone.
He didn't know how much time had passed when the door made a soft click.
"Hm?" Kurosawa Hoshino heard the sound and quickly turned off his phone screen, pretending to be asleep.
With a creak, the door slowly opened. A dark figure walked in quietly and closed the door behind them. The figure came to the bedside and looked down at the sleeping Kurosawa Hoshino.
Time passed.
One minute later, the motionless figure turned around, as if about to leave.
Suddenly, Kurosawa Hoshino's voice rang out. "Sonoko, why are you here instead of sleeping?"
Instantly, the figure stiffened. After a moment, she turned around—it was indeed Sonoko, her cheeks flushed, her eyes darting around.
"I just couldn't sleep and wanted to hang out with you, so I came to see if you were asleep."
"Heh. You weren't planning to sneak into my bed, were you? I've read about situations like this in novels more times than I can count."
Kurosawa Hoshino said confidently.
"Sneak into your bed?" The door opened, and Ran poked her head in, looking at the two of them strangely.
Sonoko's face grew even redder. "Hoshino, I already said I just came to check if you were asleep. Honestly, stop imagining things."
"..."
Honestly, Kurosawa Hoshino hadn't expected Sonoko to be telling the truth. Otherwise, she wouldn't have had Ran waiting outside.
"No—I—" Kurosawa Hoshino opened his mouth but couldn't manage a complete sentence. He waved his hand helplessly, then wrapped himself in the blanket and turned over, his back to them.
Click—Ran turned on the room light and said cheerfully, "Hoshino, let's chat for a bit. Don't go to sleep so early, okay?"
"I'm sleepy," Kurosawa Hoshino said without turning his head.
Meanwhile, in the hallway not far from the door.
Conan was on his knees, tears welling up in his eyes, staring fixedly at the just-closed door. He cried out inwardly, Ran—no—how can you go into Kurosawa's room in the middle of the night—this can't happen—
No, I have to go listen. If it's really that kind of thing, I absolutely have to tell Uncle Mouri. I can't let that happen.
Conan struggled to his feet, lightened his steps, and quickly made his way to the door of Kurosawa Hoshino's room. He pressed his ear against the door, listening to the sounds inside.
——
"Hiss~"
"Why is Sonoko's voice in there too?"