Chapter 33: Gin and Hikaru Nara Acting Simultaneously

The exchange zone between Teitan University and Nanyo University.

Gin, dressed in his customary black trench coat, moved according to the results of his prior investigation. Although the name Masami Hirota meant nothing to him, the fact that the Organization had tasked him with confirming it meant he had put some effort into researching the man.

Masami Hirota: a professor at Nanyo University in Shizuoka Prefecture. Due to his disagreeable personality, he had been sent to Teitan University for an exchange program, and the temporary courses he held there were unpopular with the students. His relationship with Akemi Miyano did not seem particularly close—at least, not to the extent of entrusting her with critical information. Furthermore, Gin had uncovered no record of communication between Akemi and Hirota after the latter arrived in Beika—not a single email or phone call. They appeared to be nothing more than distant acquaintances who had lost touch.

"Faculty apartments..."

Gin looked up at the building before him. According to his intel, Hirota stayed in these faculty apartments during his exchange lectures, and his current schedule was free of classes. It was certain that Hirota was resting in his room at this very moment. To avoid interfering with his scheduled plans for the evening, Gin intended to resolve this troublesome matter this afternoon. Once and for all.

***

Inside a room in the faculty apartments.

Masami Hirota sat alone, doing nothing, as if waiting for someone. If one were to look closely at this professor sent from Nanyo University, they would notice a tactical harness hidden beneath his clothes, stocked with an assortment of weapons. Any one of them could easily take a life. How could a university professor be so heavily armed and dangerous?

The answer was simple: he couldn't. The man in the room was not Masami Hirota at all.

It was the urban legend, Nara Hikaru, disguised as Hirota using the techniques taught to him by Kaito Kid! Having spent only a few days training under the legendary Great Blade Buyo of the Kanto Mountains, he had mastered nearly all the skills taught to him, including the art of disguise he had noted from the phantom thief. After returning to his base and practicing alone, it was not miraculous for him to have achieved a rudimentary level of proficiency in a single day.

After visiting Professor Agasa’s laboratory and confirming Haibara Ai's condition, he had been called aside by Haibara and Conan, who informed him of the situation regarding Hirota. That was when he formulated the plan to replace Hirota and wait for Gin’s strike. This was Nara Hikaru’s "luring the snake out of its hole!"

Using the real Hirota as bait would risk alerting the enemy or endangering an innocent life, but by masquerading as him, those problems vanished. With the acquisition of the disguise technique, Nara Hikaru had filled his final gap. He did not believe Gin possessed the ability to see through a disguise taught by Kaito Kid just by glancing at his back, nor did he believe Gin would be able to walk away unscathed after confronting him inside the apartment!

*Tap, tap, tap.*

Nara Hikaru’s ears twitched slightly. His extraordinary hearing allowed him to perceive every movement within the faculty apartments. He could hear it clearly: someone was walking down the hallway on this floor, and it seemed they were heading straight for him.

***

*Tap, tap, tap.*

Gin walked down the hallway, making no effort to mask his footsteps. University professors had irregular schedules and could return to their rooms at any time; the sound of an extra pair of footsteps was unlikely to draw Hirota’s attention. Besides, even if it did, so what? In the end, he was just an ordinary professor from Nanyo University. This was the sixth floor—could Hirota possibly have set a trap to kill him? Or did the man have the guts and capability to jump from the sixth floor to save his own life before being caught?

*Hmph*, impossible. Absolutely impossible. Gin knew well that such a cowardly man lacked the nerve and fortitude.

He walked step by step, his gaze fixed on the room number ahead. The next moment, he placed his hand on the doorknob. He didn't need a key; Gin produced a piece of wire, aimed it at the keyhole, and gave it a light twist. With a *click*, the door swung open.

***

*Click.*

The door opened. From the moment the footsteps had stopped outside, Nara Hikaru knew the intruder would use such methods to pick the lock. His guess had been correct. He stood up, keeping his back to the door, and spoke.

"You've arrived."

The visitor who had just opened the door halted. He looked at the back of the man he believed to be Masami Hirota with suspicion, his mind racing. The Hirota before him seemed off, as if he were a completely different person. But since he was here, he had to finish the job.

*Swish.*

A small blade flashed. Wanting to avoid making too much noise, he stepped toward the posturing Nara Hikaru, intending to kill him in one blow and settle the dispute once and for all!

***

Gin had opened the door only to be greeted by a figure standing with its back to him. He heard the man speak in an eerie tone: "You've arrived."

Gin paused, his gaze narrowing as he fixed it on the back of the figure. A look of impatience crossed his face. A dagger slid from his sleeve into his grip. He strode toward the man, and then, he struck!

***

*Thud!*

Nara Hikaru caught the attacker’s arm with one hand. Faced with such sudden, overwhelming force, the attacker gasped in pain, losing their grip on the small blade. It clattered to the floor.

"You thought you could kill me with just a small knife?" Nara Hikaru said in a low voice. "Your confidence is perhaps a bit too blind."

He looked at the face of the attacker, and his mood soured. The reason was simple: he didn't recognize who this person was at all, and the bone structure didn't look feminine. In other words, this was just some fool who had come to kill Masami Hirota and had coincidentally run into him instead!

"You... who are you?!" the attacker asked, horrified. The person in front of him looked like Masami Hirota, but neither his voice nor his physique matched. Only the face and the silhouette were identical. What kind of monster was this?

***

"Vermouth! What kind of trick are you playing on me now!"

Gin’s form moved like a bolt of black lightning. Without a shred of chivalry, he slammed the head of the man in front of him onto the table. The tip of his dagger pierced the "head" of Masami Hirota—no, it pierced the boundary between the mask and the skin, tearing the face of Masami Hirota right off on the spot!

Golden hair cascaded out instantly. Vermouth turned her head, her expression even more astonished than Gin’s, and she asked, "It’s not me playing tricks on you, it’s me who should be asking you... why are you the one who came? Don't you have a mission to complete?"