Disclaimer: everything belongs to their rightful owners.

(i suck at writing mysteries gosho-sensei how do you even)

Rain had started to fall heavily by the time the police made their appearance to the Tsuchida manor and the air outside was cold, as if mourning for the loss of the second son. The inspector that arrived was a large man wearing a hat and a stern look that immediately turned into a smile at the sight of Kudo who greeted the police upon arrival. Akashi assumed that the inspector was the acquaintance in the Tokyo Metropolitan Police Department that she had mentioned before, judging by the friendliness in their interaction.

After a quick summary of the happenings that lead to the discovery of Yukito's body on the way up, the police carried out their investigation of the crime scene, collecting the evidence that had already been found by Kudo earlier. The inspector – a man who Kudo addressed as Inspector Megure – offered his condolences to the two siblings and proceeded to question them and Yamagishi about their whereabouts during the murder.

"So, to confirm," Megure started, flipping the mental notes he took from the interview with the suspects. "During the first murder, Rika-san was sleeping in her room, Takeshi-san was driving home, and Yamagishi-san was having a discussion with the other staff. During the second murder, both Rika-san and Takeshi-san were sleeping while Yamagishi-san you were..."

"Preparing to go to sleep, inspector." The aged head butler answered quietly. "I was climbing into bed when I heard the commotion from Akashi-sama and Kudo-sama."

"And then you ran downstairs to check?"

"Yes."

"Takeshi-san, you were awoken by the commotion?"

The man nodded. "Yes. I rushed down, following the source of the noise to the first floor, and nearly bumped into Yamagishi-san who was about to switch on the lights."

"And Rika-san, you too were awoken by the commotion?"

She nodded, swallowing before answering. "I— I heard footsteps and shouting so I was worried..."

"You were the last to arrive?"

"Yes..."

"Can any of you think of any reason someone would want to kill both Tsuchida-san and Yukito-san?"

Megure only received shakes of the head from the three, causing him to sigh.

Akashi's gaze trailed over to the three current suspects from the police who were doing their job, observing their reactions when Kudo approached the inspector and mentioned that the skin under the victim's nails could be the killer's. Nothing in particular stood out, not a shred of shock or fear at the presence of physical evidence. Takeshi offered a momentary look of anticipation but that was it. The other two showed no change in demeanor – Rika still trying to hold back her sobs and Yamagishi still a little too sad to even say a word.

He wondered how the killer could stay calm even with the knowledge that there was evidence that could lead the police to them. Shouldn't they be at least afraid of getting caught? Even after the effort of wiping off fingerprints from the first killing, they became sloppy and didn't remove the skin from under Yukito's fingernails. Although the interruption from him and Kudo was unexpected, there still should have been time for them to remove the evidence. But they didn't.

"Inspector Megure."

Kudo's voice interrupted his thoughts and his eyes directed their gaze towards the female who stood beside the inspector with hands over her chest. The posture she held made her seem gallant, although there was hint of solemnness in her eyes that made him wonder.

"Instead of waiting for the DNA test results, I'd rather if we ended things right here, right now."

Inspector Megure whipped his head towards Kudo and with widened eyes, loudly exclaimed, "Have you figured out who the killer is, Kudo-kun?"

Takeshi, Rika and Yamagishi seemed surprised. The two siblings glanced at each other while their butler merely kept his eyes on the female detective that moved away from them, towards the spotlight.

Kudo nodded and turned back to the three suspects and Megure. It was like she was searching for confirmation, although it was clear she was already sure of her verdict. However, there wasn't a look of triumph on her face. It was stern, just as it had been ever since they chased the killer. Her lips were pursed into a fine line and her eyes seemed to glare straight at the inspector, filled with conviction. Akashi wondered why the smirk she had on the previous case wasn't present.

"Although it took Yukito-san's murder, I'm certain of who the killer is."

Anticipation was building up in the air and there were quiet murmurs between the three suspects who looked at each other questioningly.

"Who is it?" It was Megure who asked. "Who is the killer, Kudo-kun?"

"Let's not get impatient, inspector. Allow me to explain how the murders were committed." Kudo shifted her posture as her head tilted to one side. "First, for Tsuchida-san's murder, the killer injected the potassium cyanide into the bottle of wine from the cellar through the cork using a syringe and brought the wine to Tsuchida-san's room. They knocked on his door and told him that they wanted to celebrate the group's 10th anniversary with the bottle of wine. Tsuchida-san invited them inside and poured the two of them a glass of wine but only Tsuchida-san had the chance to drink the wine, which led to his death."

"Wait," Takeshi interrupted. "How do you know father poured the wine for both of them?"

"According to the police, the volume of wine remaining in the bottle indicated two glasses worth of wine had been poured." The female detective stated, glancing at Megure who nodded in confirmation. "I doubt that Tsuchida-san was able to pour himself another glass after ingesting poison from the first glass.

After Tsuchida-san died, the killer quickly wiped off their fingerprints off the wine bottle and glasses before escaping. The reason why the killer didn't wear gloves to the crime scene was probably to not raise any suspicion from Tsuchida-san."

"That would mean you have no proof." Takeshi interjected.

"True," she admitted. "There is no proof of who the killer is from the first murder. It's clean, however the first murder would suggest that the killer was someone who could invite Tsuchida-san for a celebratory drink without seeming suspicious. Which would mean either you, Takeshi-san, or Rika-san. Considering his position, it would be rather unlikely for Yamagishi-san to do so."

Akashi noticed how Takeshi crossed his arms over his chest as he glared at Kudo, clearly not appreciating the fact she was insinuating that he was an obvious suspect. There wasn't much a reaction from Rika, however, who only watch quietly as Kudo continued to unravel her reasoning.

"For the second murder," she proceeded. "The killer had to change their method to kill Yukito-san as he had his guard up. Instead of giving him poisoned wine, they chose to directly inject the poison at his neck when there was an opening. However, Yukito struggled during the attack and in the few moments before he succumbed to the poison, he managed to scratch the killer and left behind undeniable physical evidence which the killer didn't remove. Of course, like I said, we could just wait for DNA test results to come back from the lab, but I doubt that you'd be around by then. Right,"

Her statement was directed to the three who stood by the door, confusion in their eyes except for the one who understood what she was saying. She turned to face the three, however her eyes were fixed upon the one who she was convinced, who she knew was responsible for the two deaths that had occurred. There was a pause, and she allowed the name of the killer to roll off her tongue.

"Tsuchida Rika-san?"

Hushed gasps escaped the two men who stood by the accused and Akashi could only stare at her in shock. She was the last person he expected to be the killer and for a short moment, he felt that there was a mistake in Kudo's reasoning.

"Ridiculous."

It was Takeshi who objected, understandably non-accepting of the revelation by Kudo. He stood protectively in front of his sister, his eyebrows furrowed as he glared deeply at the younger female detective. Although he seemed vexed, he managed to keep his voice and body controlled.

"Rika would never do such a thing. And this skin under the fingernails you're talking about could have not come from her. You have nothing to prove that it did without the test results."

Rika was silent behind Takeshi, not even taking the effort to defend herself. She kept an empty gaze on the carpeted floor of her deceased brother's room while her hands were now neatly held together in front of her. Her thumb was rubbing against her hand, however nothing else indicated how she was feeling at the moment.

"Yukito-san scratched his killer, which would mean there would be scratch marks on them." Kudo calmly responded. "Rika-san, would you mind holding up your hair for me?"

Takeshi quizzically looked at Kudo before turning his head towards Rika, gauging her blank expression that hardly explained anything to him. The man then returned his gaze to Kudo, demanding the purpose of her request. Kudo ignored him, however, and once again requested Rika to hold her hair up.

The woman was silent for a moment, before she closed her eyes in acceptance and gathered her long hair that flowed down her shoulders to expose her neck. On her fair skin near her nape, there were reddish marks which could only be fresh scratch marks from another person.

Disbelief took over Takeshi's features and he could only stare at Rika, who calmly allowed her hair to drop over her shoulders once more. He seemed crestfallen and his eyes seemed to be silently asking Rika why.

Rika took no notice of her brother's heartbroken expression and proceeded to smile at Kudo, though it was hardly a smile of joy nor malice. It was empty, with perhaps a hint of relief hidden behind it.

"When did you notice?"

"When you pretended to have come with Takeshi-san and Yamagishi-san to check on the ruckus me and Akashi made, I noticed you were very much more disheveled and short of breath than the two. Since you had been desperately running away from us, it was to be expected." She shrugged. "It was at that moment too that I noticed the scratch marks on your neck, though you were quick to hide it with your hair."

"I see," she chuckled. "You really are observant."

"But why?" Yamagishi spoke up. "Why did you kill the master and Yukito-sama?"

"It's because of the doctor that committed suicide, am I right?"

Rika glanced at Kudo and nodded. The woman raised her shoulders and once again chuckled.

"That's correct." She affirmed. "I killed father and Yukito-niisan because of him."

"You killed the both of them just because some doctor committed suicide?"

Takeshi couldn't help but raise his voice, but it was more of incredulity rather than rage. He just couldn't comprehend why his own sister would murder her own flesh and blood over a doctor who just worked at one of their hospitals. The man's body trembled slightly as he questioned his sister and his voice quivered along as well.

"He wasn't just some doctor!" It was Rika's turn to raise her voice. "Teruaki-san and I were lovers! We even planned to get married. Father knew about that, so he decided to get rid of him by pushing him into committing suicide!"

"Father did what?"

The eldest Tsuchida staggered back on his feet, the amount of inconceivable information he was receiving at the moment was overwhelming. Yamagishi too seemed shocked, but Takeshi seemed to have been hit harder.

"He accidentally told me about it one night when he was drunk. About how he threatened Teruaki-san and constantly criticized him for no reason. He cut his salary and he even involved Yukito-niisan in his whole farce by telling him to injure Teruaki-san and make it look like an accident. After the accident, Teruaki-san couldn't perform his best anymore and he fell into despair..." Rika took a deep breath and smiled wryly. "All because he was from a middle-class background and father deemed him unfit to be a part of this godforsaken family."

It was a classic tale of the high-end CEO unable to accept a middle-class man as his in-law, however with a more tragic twist. It was surprising for Akashi, to hear that a man he had a kind image of was capable of such heartless conduct. But then again, he supposed it ran in the rich society. His father was the same after all.

"What they did what unforgivable, but so is what you did." Kudo uttered, her voice remained stern. "That's why, you have to live. You have to live and atone for what you have done. I'm sure that is what Teruaki-san would want you to do."

Rika's eyes widened, then she smiled. It was a sad smile, one with a hint of acceptance. Tears welled up in her eyes once more before they rolled down her cheeks. She nodded when Megure placed a hand on her back and gently asked her to come to the station with him, sending an apologetic look to her brother before stepping out from the room.

Akashi watched as the inspector escorted Rika out. It was strange seeing someone he knew – someone he was close with – taken away by the police. There was a tug in his chest which he determined as sorrow but decided not to dwell on it. It was, after all, a waste of time. However, he was curious of the change in Kudo's expression – how it softened to an expression akin of sadness.

He approached her, inquiring the question that ran in his head.

"How did you know she planned to kill herself?"

Kudo glanced at him and offered a thoughtful hum.

"She deliberately left the skin under Yukito-san's fingernail, even though she could have removed it. I suspected she planned on killing herself after the police left so that even if they determined she was the killer by DNA, they couldn't arrest her. Also," she offered a shrug. "She... probably wanted to join Teruaki-san."

He didn't query how she reached to the conclusion. It was rather easy to deduce that it was a reason in Rika's decision to take her life after the murders. Losing the love of her life and discovering that her own father and brother played a part in the whole scenario, it was enough reason.

"Then," Akashi inquired again. "Why didn't you let her do so? Why did you decide to solve the case and get her arrested?"

He wondered if it was because of the need she felt to solve cases. He figured how much she loved standing in the spotlight when she deducted the killer from the previous case they were involved in, but he wondered if that was the reason that she decided to solve the case immediately without waiting for the DNA test results to return from the lab.

"There was a case I worked on a few months back in Tsukikage Island." She started to tell, her eyes trailing away as she recalled the case from the depths of her memories. "Three people were murdered and every time a murder was committed, the moonlight sonata would be played on a tape. It was a peculiar case. I solved the case, of course. The evidence was there, the solution was clear. But as a result, the killer died. She – he killed himself in a fire."

He could see the regret reflected in her eyes as she uttered her words, the grip on her arms that crossed over her chest tightened slightly. He didn't comprehend the significance of her story. It seemed like any other case that ended with a tragedy – a tragedy that no one would mourn. So, he waited. He waited for her to continue.

"Which is why I decided to solve the case here and have Rika-san arrested. Though I couldn't prevent the suicide then, I can now. Although she's a killer, that doesn't mean I should let her take her own life. That makes me no different than a murderer."

There was self-blame in her tone which Akashi couldn't help but notice. He wondered if there were other cases which haunted her, other cases which shaped her to who she was today. He also wondered, if Rika had wanted to be caught for her father's murder, if she wanted to be stopped before she killed her own brother thus why she requested him to call for Kudo. A part of him strongly favoured that theory.

The rain kept pouring heavily and Akashi offered to send Kudo home, to which she accepted. By the main entrance outside, they waited for his limousine to arrive, Kudo stating that she wanted to feel the fresh air outside. Droplets of rain splattered across the stone surface of the steps at the main entrance, dampening the material of the teens' clothes. The dampness felt comforting against their skin, however.

The two waited patiently in silence in the rain, just watching as the heavens continued to grieve for the happenings of that night.

There will be future references here and there to actual happenings in the DC series (like the Moonlight Sonata case) but it will be written as if it happened to 'Kudo' instead of 'Conan' (since this is set in an AU where APTX4869 & the BO doesn't happen w).

Thanks for reading!