Chapter 66: Kid, Want to Take a Bath Together?

After Masakazu returned from Gin, he was covered in the heavy smell of cigarette smoke. The moment Momiji saw him, she covered her nose.

"I'll go take a shower first," Masakazu said.

Momiji held the newspaper and said to Ai on the sofa, "The Suzuki Group's 60th-anniversary celebration is coming up soon. What kind of evening gown do you want to wear, Ai?"

"Normal clothes will be fine," Ai replied.

She felt extremely uncomfortable wearing those flashy, elaborate outfits.

Momiji nodded and said, "I'll pick one out for you when the time comes."

Then, lowering her gaze back to the newspaper, she muttered softly, "Kaitou Kid is going to target the Suzuki Group's 'Dark Star'? What an attention-seeking phantom thief. It would be utterly humiliating if the Suzuki Group's jewel were to be stolen."

Momiji compared the *Justice Daily* with the *Tokyo News*.

"Why does the *Justice Daily* report on so many dark and sinister matters, yet there's never any news about Kaitou Kid?"

Ai took a bite of an apple.

Probably because Masakazu wasn't in cahoots with Kaitou Kid.

Upstairs.

Masakazu stood at the bathroom door holding his pajamas and asked Curaçao, "Do you want to come in with me? If I happen to be attacked while taking a bath, you'll be able to protect me."

"Alright."

Without a moment's hesitation, Curaçao opened the bathroom door and gestured for Masakazu to go in first.

Masakazu's eyelid twitched.

"Never mind, I'd rather wash up by myself."

As soon as Masakazu stepped inside, he immediately locked the bathroom door. Hearing the click of the lock from outside, Curaçao curled her lips in disappointment.

After filling the bathtub with water, Masakazu hadn't even had time to take off his clothes when a white figure slipped through the bathroom window, barging right in and locking eyes with him.

Masakazu released his hand from his belt.

He looked at the sudden white apparition, then glanced back at the water in the bathtub.

With a puzzled tone, he asked, "Want to take a bath together?"

"Sure."

"Huh!?"

Right after letting that word slip, Kaito wished he could tear his mouth apart.

What kind of terrible response was that? How could he casually accept someone's invitation like that?!

Masakazu fell silent.

He hadn't expected that after blurting out such nonsense in a daze, Kid would actually agree. This was going to be remarkably awkward to wrap up.

"Uh, haha, I was just joking with you," Kid said with an awkward laugh.

Carefully watching Masakazu, Kid added, "You didn't take that seriously, did you?"

"Of course not," Masakazu shook his head.

Kid pulled down the brim of his hat and said to Masakazu, "I originally wanted to slip in quietly without a sound, but I didn't expect to run right into you taking a bath. This is quite a tricky situation."

He let out a sigh.

With an elegant bow toward Masakazu, he said, "Until we meet again," and instantly vaulted backward out of the window.

Watching Kid leave, Masakazu lazily swiped his hand through the bathwater, then calmly proceeded with his shower as if nothing had happened.

"Ah!"

A commotion erupted outside, accompanied by the sharp crack of gunfire. Following a miserable shriek, Curaçao dragged the white phantom thief by the collar and knocked on Masakazu's bathroom door.

Once he finished his shower, Masakazu walked out wearing his pajamas.

He glanced at the unconscious Kid, then looked at Curaçao with a completely earnest expression.

"In the future, when I take a bath, I am still very much going to need your protection."

Curaçao remained expressionless, enduring like a block of ancient, unmelting ice. Nothing Masakazu ever said could stir the slightest ripple in her emotions.

Momiji walked up with Ai, full of curiosity.

"That outfit looks an awful lot like Kaitou Kid," Momiji observed.

As for why she didn't outright say that he *was* Kaitou Kid: she compared the newspaper's description of the phantom thief with the unconscious Kid dangling in Curaçao's grasp, and somehow, the two didn't quite match up.

"Could this be an impostor?" Momiji wondered aloud.

Kaitou Kid couldn't possibly be captured this easily, could he? The Tokyo police had seemingly poured an immense amount of effort into catching Kaitou Kid, yet they always came up empty-handed. Surely the police weren't less competent than Masakazu's personal security detail, right?

"Who knows," Masakazu shook his head. "I've never heard of Kaitou Kid having a fetish for peeping at men taking baths."

Momiji eyed Masakazu, her pupils rolling as she grew secretly curious about whether Kid had managed to see him completely naked.

"Wake him up and ask why he came to my house," Masakazu instructed Curaçao.

Curaçao nodded. She removed Kid's hat and glasses, pressed an obscure pressure point, and brought him back to consciousness with a sharp cry of agony.

When Ai caught sight of Kid's face, her mind went blank.

Kudo Shinichi!?!

How on earth did this guy manage to revert to his original body?

And why would he disguise himself as Kaitou Kid and sneak into Masakazu's place? Could it be that he had grown suspicious of Masakazu's ties to the Organization?

"That face of yours looks a lot like Kudo Shinichi," Masakazu remarked.

Kid gritted his teeth.

He tried to twitch his body to resist, but Curaçao held him down with crushing, unyielding force. He never imagined he would stumble and fall so hard right here.

Masakazu's security measures far exceeded his expectations. Not only were there a dozen security guards equipped with all sorts of gear patrolling outside, but there was also this terrifyingly formidable woman.

Was this guy really *that* afraid of dying?

Twitching the corners of his mouth into a smile, he blurted out, "That's right, I am Kudo Shinichi!"

Then, he launched into a desperate fabrication: "I noticed that you frequently commit murders yet never leave behind any evidence, which is why I disguised myself as Kaitou Kid specifically to investigate you!"

Masakazu nodded.

He murmured softly, "No wonder Ran said Kudo Shinichi was working on a very dangerous case. So he was investigating me all along."

Kid froze for a second, then nodded frantically. "Yes, exactly, exactly!"

"Throw him into the sea," Masakazu commanded.

Prying into things you shouldn't, and then confessing to it with such casual confidence—if someone like you doesn't get dumped in the ocean, who will?

Kid's pupils constricted. As Curaçao hoisted him up onto her shoulder, he began to thrash around wildly. "No! Wait! I'm not Kudo Shinichi!"

"Actually, I really am Kaitou Kid! I'm not Kudo Shinichi!"

Masakazu crooked his finger, and Curaçao hauled Kid right back.

With a mournful expression, Kid pleaded, "To tell you the truth, I just wanted to come over and see what outfit you're planning to wear to the Suzuki Group's 60th-anniversary celebration. I was planning to impersonate you that day so I could steal the Suzuki Group's jewel."

He had originally figured that Masakazu's identity would make it easy to mingle with the Suzuki Group's guests. Plus, seeing that he was always followed by two women and a child—none of whom looked remotely combat-ready—swapping places with him quietly should have been a breeze.

Who could have guessed he'd get captured like this?

"Is that so?" Masakazu nodded.

Then he turned to Curaçao and said, "You let Kid get all the way to me. I'm docking your pay."

Curaçao remained completely unfazed.

*Fat chance,* she thought. *I don't even get paid.*

"Throw him in the sea," Masakazu repeated.

"Wait!?"

Panicking, Kid shouted, "Why are we back to throwing me in the sea!?"