Chapter 249: Misunderstanding?
Amuro Tooru noticed that Akikawa Kyousuke began to show a clear expression of surprise on his face when they talked about Yuya Kazami.
Especially after hearing the news that Yuya Kazami had been shot, his expression turned utterly horrified.
"I had no idea something like this happened!"
Akikawa Kyousuke exclaimed.
'Still pretending.'
Amuro Tooru scoffed internally.
Akikawa Kyousuke's behavior—acting innocent despite clearly knowing what he had done—made Amuro feel even more disgusted.
---
"Akikawa-kun, please stop acting.
If you really didn't know, then how did your phone end up at the Ebina city service area?
Are you going to tell me that someone snatched your phone and left it at the service area, coincidentally at the same place where the officer investigating you was shot?"
Amuro Tooru expressed his point bluntly.
The signal from Akikawa Kyousuke's phone had disappeared on the day Yuya Kazami was killed, and its last location was near where Kazami had been shot.
With these two pieces of evidence, Akikawa Kyousuke couldn't clear his connection to the case.
---
"You've already discovered that the police installed tracking software on your phone, haven't you?
You hid your phone with an accomplice in Chianti, then borrowed a knife to kill someone and used Chianti's accomplice to eliminate the criminal detective tailing you."
Amuro Tooru then voiced what he hated most.
He noticed that Akikawa Kyousuke's expression began to visibly tense, and his words gradually became stuttered.
---
"No, how… How could this have happened?!"
Amuro Tooru thought that Akikawa Kyousuke was panicking because he had exposed what he had done.
But he didn't expect Akikawa Kyousuke's next words to leave him momentarily stunned.
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"I didn't know… that it would kill that detective."
"I had prepared a significant amount of hydrogen sulfide gas. The woman accomplice who killed my mother was not only poisoned but also seriously injured."
"I thought the detective could catch her."
Akikawa Kyousuke's face paled, and his lips trembled.
He seemed genuinely regretful, realizing only later that his actions had resulted in the death of an innocent officer.
---
Akikawa Kyousuke's words struck Amuro Tooru like lightning.
He had never considered this perspective from beginning to end.
Did Akikawa Kyousuke not give his phone to Vermouth to eliminate Yuya Kazami?
Instead, was it to kill Vermouth, leaving the final task to Yuya Kazami?
---
'Are you kidding me?!'
Then, Amuro Tooru heard Akikawa Kyousuke continue:
---
"That organization killed my mother. I believe they deserved to die."
"But that detective didn't even know me, never did anything excessive to me, and I had no reason to harm him."
"Besides, as you said, Mr. Amuro, I was aware the detective was following me."
"So if I killed him, wouldn't it only increase suspicion against me?"
"This would be of no benefit to me!"
---
As Akikawa Kyousuke spoke, his face still showed panic and lingering regret.
At the same time, there was a childishness in his words that couldn't be ignored.
Even after admitting what he had done in disguise, he maintained the image of an artist with a very young mental age.
---
But Akikawa Kyousuke's appearance at that moment didn't make Amuro Tooru feel like he was still acting.
Instead, it gave Amuro the impression that Kyousuke had been consistent from the beginning, without using an artist's mask to hide distorted views as Amuro had imagined.
---
As Akikawa Kyousuke had said earlier, he couldn't accept Kaitou Kid's criminal behavior or the waste of police resources caused by Kaitou Kid.
Therefore, the artist before him had never considered killing Yuya Kazami, let alone thinking of murder as a trivial matter.
---
Only...
Because Yuya Kazami's skill was too weak,
When faced with Vermouth, who was not only poisoned but also injured, he failed to capture her and was instead killed by her.
---
"Besides, I didn't know that woman had a gun."
"She didn't use it at all when we were at the hot spring hotel."
"If I had known, I wouldn't have given her my phone."
"I truly didn't know… that it would kill that detective!"
---
Amuro Tooru stared at Akikawa Kyousuke, who still seemed nervous in front of him, explaining himself repeatedly.
He felt as though his mind was in a trance for a moment.
Akikawa Kyousuke seemed like a child whose pet had broken a dish at home, worried about being misunderstood by the adults,
so he tried his best to prove his innocence and explain that he had done nothing wrong.
---
'Could it be that I made a mistake in my judgment?'
'Does Akikawa Kyousuke genuinely hate the person who killed his mother, instead of being a twisted character trying to get rid of everyone in his way as I imagined?'
'What he said earlier, about disapproving of Kaitou Kid's behavior, was also true.'
'Was all this because of my misjudgment? I mistook him for someone with a twisted personality and always thought he was lying?!'
---
Amuro Tooru's thoughts grew increasingly confused.
There was no doubt that Vermouth's skills as an agent far surpassed those of Yuya Kazami.
But Akikawa Kyousuke had no way of knowing this.
---
Throughout these days of contact, Amuro Tooru could see that Akikawa Kyousuke's physical condition was poor.
From the way he ate during lunch and his mentions of being unable to eat much due to poor health,
Amuro Tooru knew that any healthy adult male would likely be stronger than Akikawa Kyousuke.
---
And yet, Akikawa Kyousuke had managed to injure Vermouth and Chianti.
He must have assumed that Vermouth, who was already poisoned by hydrogen sulfide at the time, wasn't very strong.
Thus, Akikawa Kyousuke believed that Yuya Kazami, who was prepared in advance and in good condition, could naturally capture Vermouth.
---
Amuro Tooru carefully considered Akikawa Kyousuke's words and found nothing to refute them.
A feeling of panic gradually rose in Amuro Tooru's heart.
He suddenly realized that he might have misunderstood Akikawa Kyousuke.
---
He hadn't understood that Kyousuke's mother had been killed by the organization and that, in the end, Kyousuke could only use his frail body to fight against them alone.
Amuro Tooru's hand, which had been gripping Akikawa Kyousuke's shoulder, gradually loosened and then fell to his side.
---
"I'm sorry. It seems my judgment was too hasty."
Amuro Tooru lowered his head toward Akikawa Kyousuke and spoke softly.
"I'm sorry. I shouldn't have handed my phone to that woman so hastily."
---
Akikawa Kyousuke also apologized to Amuro Tooru.
However, Amuro Tooru, who had bowed his head, didn't notice it.
At that moment, Akikawa Kyousuke's deep blue eyes narrowed slightly, and a faint smile played on the corners of his lips.
(End of Chapter)