109: Chapter 109: Kaito Kid's Cross-dressing Fetish

Inside the ballroom.

"Kid, how did you end up like this?"

Mouri Kogoro stared at Conan, whose head was swollen almost to the size of a pig's.

"Did that Phantom Thief 1412 guy get a hold of you?"

"Hahaha..."

Conan forced a childish laugh. "I just took a little tumble earlier."

Simultaneously, his eyes kept darting towards Fujino nearby.

Despite the 'ordeal', he had obtained the secret to seeing through Kaito Kid's disguises from Fujino.

Just you wait, Kaito Kid!

I, Conan, will definitely catch you, and then I'll kick your butt hard with my cute little sneakers to avenge the torment Fujino inflicted on me today!

"Fujino-senpai, are you saying Kaito Kid disguised himself as my father and infiltrated this ship?"

Nearby, Sonoko Suzuki asked Fujino, astonished.

"How could this happen..."

Hearing this, Suzuki Tomoko couldn't help but feel a shiver of fear.

To think Kaito Kid had been so close, and she hadn't recognized her own husband was an imposter...

"That's correct."

Fujino nodded. "I felt Chairman Suzuki was acting strangely earlier, so I followed him... Turns out it really was Kaito Kid."

"Then Fujino-senpai must have confronted him, right?"

Sonoko glanced at the wooden sword slung across Fujino's back and asked excitedly,

"Well? Did you catch him?"

"No."

Fujino shook his head regretfully. "Although I managed to grab his leg, he escaped ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠using a smoke bomb and the 'Golden Cicada Sheds Its Skin' trick..."

"Eh?"

Sonoko's mouth twitched. "Fujino-senpai, are you saying... Kid... took off his pants to escape from you?"

"He did indeed leave behind only a pair of trousers. I've already handed them over to the police."

Sonoko: "..."

Vaguely, an image formed in her mind: Kaito Kid, disguised as her father, fleeing down a corridor in his underwear...

Strangely, her image of Kaito Kid as an elegant gentleman began to crumble.

"It's not Phantom Thief 1412, it's Kaito Kid! Please get it right!"

Just then, a man's voice interjected gruffly.

Everyone turned to see Nakamori Ginzo, the Mouri Kogoro lookalike, lecturing Mouri ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠Kogoro.

Before leaving, Nakamori Ginzo didn't forget to pat Fujino's shoulder encouragingly, saying earnestly,

"Fujino-kun, next time you find any clues about Kid, remember to tell me."

Fujino nodded in response. "Will do."

"Damn it, Fujino-kun, who the hell was that guy?"

Knowing the man wasn't friendly, Mouri Kogoro hadn't confronted him directly.

After Nakamori Ginzo left, suspecting Fujino might know him, Kogoro leaned in and whispered.

"His name is Nakamori Ginzo. He's an Inspector in the MPD's Second Investigation Division, specializing in Kaito Kid cases. He's been chasing Kid for over ten years now."

"Chasing Kaito Kid for over ten years and still hasn't caught him?"

Hearing this, Mouri Kogoro smirked.

Some Inspector. Looks like a bungler to me.

Chasing Kid for over a decade without success, yet he dares lecture me, the famous detective Mouri Kogoro?

Mouri Kogoro grumbled internally, then turned back to Suzuki Tomoko.

"But, Suzuki-fujin... with over five hundred people wearing potential genuine pearls tonight... you must tell Fujino-kun and me which one is real, right? Otherwise, how can we possibly protect it?"

Suzuki Tomoko gave Mouri Kogoro a meaningful look, then glanced at Fujino, took a deep breath, and said softly,

"Although Mouri-san and Fujino-kun are both knights protecting our family heirloom, the Black Star, I still cannot reveal its exact location. After all, we don't know who that thief might be disguised as..."

She paused, then added,

"However, I can offer a hint. I have entrusted the Black Star to the person most suited for it."

"Most suited?"

Mouri Kogoro still looked confused. "If it's 'most suited,' that would imply a woman, wouldn't it...?"

"Who knows?"

Suzuki Tomoko smiled lightly. "Speaking of suitability, Mouri-san, you are quite suited as well."

"This is really confusing."

Mouri Kogoro scratched his head, completely clueless.

Fujino watched Uncle Mouri's bumbling act with deadpan eyes.

Has Uncle Mouri really reached this level of social ineptitude?

Acting like this could make the client doubt his professionalism.

"Uncle Mouri,"

Fujino interjected smoothly, "since none of us know which pearl is the real Black Star, wouldn't it be simpler to just eliminate the source of the problem?"

"Exactly!"

Mouri Kogoro, seizing the opportunity to save face, nodded confidently, a misplaced sense of certainty on his face.

"If we don't know, Kaito Kid probably doesn't know either! As long as the two of us team up and catch Kaito Kid, the Black Star will be safe!"

Just then, Conan, who had been scanning the room using the method Fujino taught him, suddenly realized Ran was missing and asked with genuine concern,

"Where did Ran-neechan go?"

"Ran probably got lost. She has a terrible sense of direction, after all,"

Sonoko Suzuki stated knowingly, fully aware of her best friend's directional challenges.

Although Ran seemed intelligent and did well academically, her memory, apparently, wasn't the best.

Not only directionally challenged, but she also tended to forget things easily.

"Sorry for having a bad sense of direction!"

Just then, Ran returned, a slight, mysterious blush on her cheeks.

Fujino observed the newly returned Ran, his brow furrowing slightly.

This Ran... should be Kaito Kid in disguise, right?

She doesn't quite look like it...

Pondering, Fujino reactivated the Vision Enhancement Glasses he had switched back to earlier and began scrutinizing Ran closely.

After all, mistaking her identity could lead to an awkward ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠confrontation later.

Instantly, he noticed subtle discrepancies.

Yes, this Ran was definitely not the real Ran.

It wasn't an issue with the disguise itself, but the measurements were off.

Honestly, without the Vision Enhancement Glasses and the aid of his past life memories, he would never have suspected this Ran was an imposter.

Having confirmed the 'Ran' before him was fake, Fujino couldn't help but feel a strange sense of bemusement.

Seriously, this guy's impersonation was too convincing.

Height, voice, walking posture – all correct. The overall demeanor felt convincingly feminine.

Kid's disguise skills are truly formidable.

Especially his knack for impersonating girls, which seemed particularly polished.

Still, compared to Asai Narumi (Pisco's disguise), he was slightly lacking.

But speaking of which, why does this guy always like disguising himself as girls...?

Apparently, to achieve greater authenticity, he frequently 'studies' in the girls' locker room.

Could it be... this guy has some weird cross-dressing fetish?