By now, Conan had already grabbed Ran's hand and was pulling her toward the exit. He had decided to expose the thief's disguise somewhere secluded.
What he didn't know was that an eagle had also picked up the scent left on the mask and was following it.
Realizing his disguise had been seen through, Kaito knew he couldn't make any reckless moves.
If it had only been the little detective, escaping would have been easy. After all, he was disguised as Ran.
Already having a trick in mind, Kaito remained perfectly calm. When Conan led him into the engine room, he even played dumb.
"Conan, this is the engine room. Do you really think Kaito Kid would hide in a place like this?"
Conan didn't expose him immediately.
Instead, he casually began kicking his soccer ball. As he was about to reveal the truth, the heavy iron door to the engine room was pushed open.
Conan's heart skipped a beat.
'Lupin?!'
He instinctively became alert.
After all, he had encountered Lupin before. Unlike the gentleman thief standing before him, Lupin wasn't someone who avoided hurting people.
He carried firearms.
Then—
A sharp eagle's cry echoed through the room.
Conan immediately relaxed.
It was the British exchange student who fancied himself Sherlock Holmes, Hakuba.
With a smile, Conan turned back toward the fake Ran standing before him.
"Were you the one who made those black pearl bombs, Ran-neechan?"
Kaito frowned.
He hadn't expected Hakuba to find him too.
'Still... High school boys are usually pretty innocent, right? If I just strip off these clothes while wearing a girl's face... I should be able to escape.'
Standing on the elevated walkway above them, Hakuba looked down.
Even he was surprised to see Kaito disguised as a woman. He certainly hadn't expected Kaito Kid to choose a female disguise.
As for the bespectacled little boy below...
'Tokyo really is full of interesting people.'
Resting a hand against his chin, he thought to himself that if it weren't for school, he'd almost want to move to Tokyo permanently.
"Tell me something, Kaito Kid."
Hakuba pulled out his pocket watch, preparing to note the time.
"Do you know where Arsène Lupin is?"
"I'll let you go on one condition. You tell me where he is."
Seeing there was no longer any point in pretending to be Ran, Kaito straightened up, returning to his full height.
With Ran's face wearing an utterly mischievous grin, he folded his hands behind his head.
"Heh, how would I know? My guess is he figured today wasn't the right occasion to show himself and ran off early."
Hakuba looked slightly disappointed.
Still, the trip to Tokyo hadn't been wasted. Capturing Kaito Kid would be a major accomplishment in its own right.
"So..."
Kaito spread his hands helplessly.
"The two of you are really planning to gang up on me? Fine, I'll give up the pearl today. Just pass a message on to Tomoko-san."
"Tell her... I'm sorry I ruined her party."
Carefully wrapping the Black Star in a handkerchief, Kaito suddenly dashed toward Conan.
Knowing the two intended to arrest him, he flashed an impish grin before pulling open the front of his clothes.
"Oh, right! I almost forgot. I borrowed these clothes from that girl. Do you think it's really okay to leave her sleeping all alone in a lifeboat?
It's pretty cold tonight."
"...?"
Conan and Hakuba both froze.
'Wait... Don't tell me...'
Instantly, the two imagined the same horrifying scene, Ran lying unconscious inside a lifeboat without any clothes on.
Hakuba recovered first. Stuffing his pocket watch away, his handsome face instantly turned bright red.
"Kaito Kid... I'll let you go this time!"
"H-Hakuba! Wait!"
Conan immediately panicked.
He couldn't exactly tell Hakuba that he was Shinichi and could handle something like this himself. Without another word, he bolted out the door, grabbing a tablecloth on the way.
He absolutely had to find Ran before Hakuba did.
Watching the two detectives disappear, Kaito effortlessly removed his disguise.
'Just as I expected. Pure-hearted boys are so easy to fool. Now... Time to head for the deck and escape with my hang glider.'
He pulled down the brim of his baseball cap and cheerfully headed toward the upper deck. Grinning to himself, he muttered,
"Messing with two detectives at once is pretty entertaining. But that little four-eyes... What exactly is he?
If he's really just an elementary school kid... that's terrifying. His IQ must be over a thousand."
"Enjoy teasing people that much? Then let me tease you for a change."
"..."
The smug smile instantly disappeared from Kaito's face.
The moment he climbed onto the small platform above the deck, he saw Lupin calmly standing there.
One hand firmly gripping the white hang glider Kaito had hidden in advance.
'No way... He was waiting here?! Did he use that tracking button to follow me all the way to where I hid my glider?
That's unbelievably underhanded.'
Deciding to stall for time, Kaito forced an awkward smile.
"Lupin-san, aren't you cold? That kimono doesn't exactly look warm."
Looking at him through the black silk ribbon covering his eyes, Ritsu merely smiled without answering.
He reached inside his kimono, tore off something attached to the lining, and tossed it in his hand. Even without seeing his eyes, Kaito somehow felt as though the man was mocking him.
'Good grief... He lined the inside of his kimono with disposable heat packs? What a ridiculous amount of preparation...'
"How much did your hang glider cost?"
Kaito tilted his head, confused by the sudden question. Still, he answered honestly.
"One million yen. You want one too? If you let me go this time, I'll order one for—H-Hey! What are you doing?!"
Smiling as warmly as ever, Ritsu pulled a small concealed dagger from his waist.
Then, right before Kaito's disbelieving eyes, he calmly slashed several large cuts straight through the one-million-yen custom-made hang glider.
Kaito immediately clutched both sides of his face.
He looked exactly like the figure in The Scream.
Never in his wildest dreams had he imagined Lupin would go this far.
'How am I supposed to escape now?!'
Turning around, he stared at the dark sea below. There were still about twenty minutes before the ship reached Tokyo.
'If I push myself... I can probably swim that far.'
"..."
Gritting his teeth, Kaito tossed down a flashbang then leaped straight into the sea. Honestly, being surrounded by fish sounded preferable to staying with Lupin.
Splash!
A massive column of water erupted into the air.
'Zero points.'
Even Ritsu hadn't expected Kaito to jump overboard without hesitation.
Thinking back, he remembered realizing years ago that the boy who resembled Shinichi at the shopping mall had actually been Kaito.
He also remembered something else.
Kaito's greatest fear... was fish.
Quickly making his way toward the jet skis, Ritsu climbed onto one whose keys he had discreetly stolen beforehand and sped off after Kaito.
Hearing the sound of an approaching watercraft, Kaito looked up while desperately swimming. His face lit up with joy.
'I'm saved!'
Then he saw who was riding it. His expression collapsed instantly.
"Kuroba-kun..."
Ritsu smiled pleasantly.
"Do you really enjoy swimming that much?"
The veins on Kaito's forehead bulged.
"Why don't you join me and find out!"
Ignoring the outburst, Ritsu decided to tease him a little. After all, this kid caused endless headaches for the officers of the Second Investigative Division.
Pointing behind Kaito, he kindly said, "There are a few fish swimming toward you."
The moment those devilish words reached his ears, Kaito completely lost his composure.
"Fish?! WHERE?!"
"Hey, you—!"
Splash!
That was the sound of one exceptionally skilled swimmer bursting out of the water, grabbing hold of someone's kimono, and dragging him into the sea along with him.
The next instant,
Someone finally experienced firsthand just how freezing the waters of Tokyo Bay were at the end of January.