Akikawa Kyousuke stood in the hallway leading to Hotta Yoshitoki's personal lounge, observing the situation inside the room from a distance.
When he realized that the gun and pillbox were no longer on the table in the room, he knew that Takao Ohga had once again dug his own grave.
"Takao Ohga wanted to protect himself when his mobility was compromised, so he did everything he could to isolate himself from the medicine and gun."
"But by doing so, he couldn't accuse me of injecting him with morphine and naloxone."
"Takao Ohga seems to still be clinging to luck, thinking he hasn't been identified as the killer."
"He thinks he can get away with pretending to be the victim."
"But that would be underestimating the skills of the detectives."
Akikawa Kyousuke could tell at a glance what Takao Ohga had done during his absence and what was running through his mind at that moment.
"However, despite being injected with so much morphine and naloxone, he still had the strength to hide the gun and pillbox. Mr. Ohga's physique is clearly better than that of an average person."
Akikawa Kyousuke mused to himself.
"Speaking of which, I wonder if he's noticed that the paraffin has disappeared from his hands."
Akikawa Kyousuke looked at Takao Ohga lying on the floor and couldn't help but form a slight smirk at the corner of his mouth.
---
Just as Takao Ohga was cursing Akikawa Kyousuke in his heart for ruining his plan, he suddenly felt his line of sight blocked.
Struggling to turn his head, he saw the elementary school student he had seen during dinner the previous evening, Sera Masumi, crouching beside him, staring directly at him.
Just as Takao Ohga was trying to figure out what was going on, the elementary school student next to him suddenly began removing his clothing.
After a moment, Conan's artificial voice echoed in the room.
"Ah, hey, that's so weird~!"
"Mr. Ohga's arm looks injured~!"
Takao Ohga was stunned upon hearing this.
At first, he thought the elementary school kids beside him were just causing trouble.
But now, he realized the other party had long since determined that there were needle marks on his body.
In other words, the detectives had already deduced that he was showing symptoms of withdrawal!
Everyone followed Conan's pointing finger and indeed saw a needle mark in the crook of Takao Ohga's elbow.
Sera Masumi stepped forward, gently pressing the area around Takao Ohga's elbow, and after observing carefully, she remarked:
"This is fresh, which means Takao Ohga had an intravenous injection not too long ago."
"With this, the cause of Mr. Ohga's current condition becomes clear."
Sera Masumi then turned her gaze to the two used vials on the room's floor, which had previously contained morphine and naloxone. She explained to everyone:
"First of all, Mr. Ohga's current state must be severe withdrawal symptoms caused by the simultaneous use of morphine and naloxone."
When Takao Ohga heard this, he sighed internally, marveling at the depth of Sera Masumi's knowledge. At the same time, a glimmer of hope sparked within him.
Maybe he could claim that someone else had injected him with morphine and naloxone without having to say anything himself.
However, Sera Masumi's next words made Takao Ohga's heart stop.
"I've confirmed that Takao Ohga arranged a meeting with Mr. Akikawa in Hotta Yoshitoki's personal lounge at one o'clock."
"So, to ensure that Mr. Akikawa wouldn't arrive early and find no one in the room, Mr. Ohga must have come to the lounge in advance to prepare."
"It was likely during this time that Mr. Ohga experienced withdrawal symptoms."
"So, he decided to inject himself with morphine."
"Perhaps he made an error and injected too much morphine, making it unbearable for him."
"Then he decided to inject naloxone to counteract the morphine overdose and block its effects."
"Ultimately, this overdose of naloxone caused severe withdrawal symptoms."
"If my assumption is correct, there should be another needle mark on Mr. Ohga's body."
"Unlike morphine, naloxone doesn't require intravenous administration."
"We should focus on finding a site suitable for intramuscular injection—such as the gluteus maximus or the deltoid muscle in the upper arm."
Sera's words felt like a thunderbolt to Takao Ohga.
The detective had only been in the room for a few minutes, but could they really deduce that he intended to target Akikawa Kyousuke?
They even speculated that he had arrived early at Hotta Yoshitoki's lounge to prepare.
If that were the case, Sera's previous reasoning was terrifyingly precise.
Still, the subsequent reasoning was slightly off the mark—completely missing the truth!
Takao Ohga felt Sera's deduction was utterly absurd.
For her theory to hold water, she would have to prove that the pillbox containing the morphine was connected to him.
And that was impossible.
Moreover, he had to prevent that from happening.
---
Upon hearing this, the officers from the Metropolitan Police Department began inspecting Takao Ohga's body.
Soon, they discovered another needle mark on the upper part of his arm.
At that moment, Takao Ohga could no longer hold it in.
"What kind of garbage reasoning is this?! Don't assume the morphine is mine just because you see it!"
"Wasn't it found in Hotta's lounge? What does that have to do with me?!"
Takao Ohga shouted furiously.
"Oh, so Mr. Ohga disagrees with my reasoning?"
"Then let me ask you this—if you didn't inject yourself with morphine and naloxone, Mr. Ohga, how do you explain your current state?"
Sera Masumi looked at Takao Ohga, smiling faintly.
"..."
Sera's question instantly silenced Takao Ohga.
He realized he couldn't respond to her question at all.
He truly wanted to shout the truth—that he had locked the door to keep Akikawa Kyousuke out, only for that lunatic to inject him with large doses of morphine and naloxone, torturing him.
However, he couldn't do that.
After Akikawa Kyousuke left, he was left with only two options.
Either leave the gun and pillbox on the table, waiting for the police and detectives to find him and judge him as a murderer.
Or hide the gun and medicine and do his best to pretend to be just a victim.
With all witnesses dead and no fingerprints on the gun or medicine to incriminate him, there was still room to maneuver.
While it seemed like there were two choices, there was, in reality, only one.
To escape blame, Takao Ohga had no choice but to pick the latter.
But after making that choice, another problem arose—he had no way to accuse Akikawa Kyousuke of what he had done.
From the perspective of the "victim," he couldn't have known there were a gun and medicine in Hotta Yoshitoki's room, where the "real murderer" was.
Thus, the notion that Akikawa Kyousuke had tortured him became non-existent.
If he revealed the truth, it would amount to admitting the medicine was connected to him.
---
"Why is that lunatic so fearless?!"
"Doesn't he worry I'll expose everything he did to me?!"
The frustration of knowing he had been wronged but being unable to explain made Takao Ohga so enraged he felt suffocated.
He screamed internally, cursing Akikawa Kyousuke as a madman.
And he deeply regretted the decision he made earlier that morning, which had sealed his irreversible fate.
(End of Chapter)