Disclaimer: everything belongs to their rightful owners.

I haven't proofread anything so there might be sudden grammatical/sentence changes later on w
Since Hattori speaks with a Kansai dialect, I tried to make it distinct (but honestly how do you even show the Kansai dialect in English asdfghj)

A trip on a cruise ship would always have a romantic ring to it. The sound of the waves create tranquility while a cool ocean breeze brushes past. Under the stunning night sky, time is spent with a loved one or perhaps alone, a glass of wine held delicately. The sound of classical symphonies leaking out from the dining area adds elegancy to a simple but pampering trip.

A trip on a cruise ship definitely had a romantic ring to it.

Unless accompanied by a bloody body that followed the delivery of a threatening letter.

Kudo scrunched her nose when it caught a whiff of the metallic smell of blood that came from the immobile man in front of her. The night breeze kept the smell away most of the time, but it still remained. The suit he wore was soaked in red, however there wasn't at all a pool of blood under the body. The body was slumped against the railing of the open observation deck, however not in plain sight, but in the darkness of the shadows. Hidden just enough to hide the grotesque scene of the decapitated body.

The brunette carefully examined the body up close under the light of her phone's torchlight, checking to see if anything significant was left at the crime scene, however only the absence of the victim's head as well as the absence of his expensive Rolex watch stood out. There were scratch marks where the watch should have been – which indicated a struggle between the victim and his killer – and Kudo speculated that the watch was taken away by the killer once the victim was subdued, making her wonder if there was a monetary motive for the murder. Near the body, Kudo noticed that there were sticky remnants that formed the shape of a fairly large square on the shadowy floor. She wondered what could have been placed there and if it was by the killer, or by the crew.

"I asked the crew to seal off the observation deck and inform the police, although I doubt they would be able to come any time soon."

She directed her gaze to the younger redhead behind her who seemed to hold back any indication of horror on his features – at least, that's what he attempted to do.

"Thanks, Akashi." she uttered. "We have to keep this to ourselves for now. I don't want to cause an uproar among the guests."

"Of course."

Kudo stood up from her crouched position, a hand tucking the strands of hair that kept getting in her face due to the breeze.

"Where's Hattori?"

"He left to check around." He answered. "I asked the crew who were nearby, by the way. They hadn't heard or seen anything for the past few hours."

"That means he was killed somewhere else." She frowned. "Cutting off someone's head would cause considerable noise and effort. Not to mention the lack of blood here and that there might have been a struggle between Mochizuki-san and the killer."

Mochizuki Takuya, the chairman of the Mochizuki group and the host for the cruise that night. She recognized the suit and physique belonging to the man thus was positive about who he was. The fact that he disappeared a little more than an hour ago and the threatening letter he received backed her reasoning.

She recalled the phone call she received from her self-proclaimed rival, Hattori Heiji, in the morning, telling her about the letter a friend of his father received and the request to investigate it that came to him. Although she was experiencing caffeine deficiency at the time, she remembered becoming intrigued by the letter and agreeing to help find the sender. Overjoyed by her participation, Hattori extended the cruise invitation to her – which was happening on the same day – and told her that was where their investigation would take place. The cruise was to celebrate the company's 30th anniversary thus many guests – who were also suspects – would gather there.

Upon arrival, they were greeted by Mochizuki who then instructed his staff to guide them to their rooms. After asking around and confirming details with Mochizuki, they joined the other guests at the banquet held in the large ballroom while keeping watch on their client. It was at the banquet where they bumped into Akashi, who had come in his father's stead due to him being outside the country. Simple and general conversations were held until at one point, Kudo and Hattori realised they lost sight of Mochizuki. They searched for the man, along with Akashi, until they found him on the observation deck.

"Carrying his body would require quite the strength." Akashi commented, referring to Mochizuki's slightly large build. "The killer is most probably a man."

"I agree." She nodded. "But we can't rule out two women working together."

He hummed an agreement.

"The estimated time of death would be between 8-9pm, the time when the chairman disappeared to the time we discovered the body, am I correct?"

"That's correct, Watson." Kudo smirked at the younger male, earning a chuckle from him before they were interrupted.

"Oi, Kudo~"

Their attention was directed to a dark-skinned male – who Kudo acknowledged to be Hattori Heiji – approaching them, his phone in his hand with the flashlight turned on. His face was stern, mimicking the expressions of Kudo and Akashi, as he informed them that he couldn't find anything around the observation deck that would help them find the killer.

"Tha' murder weapon might already be deep in the water." Hattori said, crossing his arms just after a sneeze. "Anyways, our suspects are still tha' five we narrowed down ta before."

Prior to Mochizuki's disappearance, Kudo and Hattori managed to eliminate many suspects that were presented to them by the chairman himself and his many guests until they were left with only five based on probable motive.

"Who are they?" Akashi inquired as they left the observation deck and walked towards the ballroom.

"His wife, Mochizuki Kanae, his son, Mochizuki Satoru, his best friend who also is his business partner, Sakaguchi Mitsuru, his secretary, Nishiyama Ryoko and Yoshida Kunihiko, the general manager of the company." Kudo answered. "Kanae-san found out about Mochizuki-san having an affair and the mistress is Sakaguchi-san's wife. He too knows about the affair. Satoru-san would get beaten by his father for any slight mistake he made, Nishiyama-san would continuously receive verbal abuse from Mochizuki-san regarding her work and lastly, Yoshida-san was demoted for something he didn't do and although they found out the real guilty party, Mochizuki-san never apologized to him."

"I was surprised," Hattori exclaimed. "Who would've thought that my pop's friend was an asshole."

"People like that are quite common in the corporate world, unfortunately." Akashi shrugged.

Arriving at the ballroom, Kudo slowly cracked the ballroom door open and peaked through the slight opening, Hattori and Akashi imitating her actions. Through the opening, they searched for the five suspects in the room, examining if any one of them were missing. All five were present in the ballroom. Kanae, Satoru and Nishiyama were together, presumably discussing the absence of the chairman while Sakaguchi and Yoshida were speaking to guests on separate sides of the room.

"Anyway," Kudo slowly closed the ballroom door as she fixed her gaze the two males beside her. "We need to solve this case before this cruise ends or the killer could escape."

"That's correct," Hattori chirped. "Which is why I have a suggestion."

"A suggestion?"

"One of us will question tha' five suspects an' see if their alibi checks out while tha' other two will look around tha' ship to find where Mochizuki-san was decapitated. That's tha' fastest way ta solve tha' case."

"Alright then." Kudo shrugged. "I'll question the suspects while you search the ship with Akashi."

"What?" Hattori seemed taken aback by her words and shook his head as a sign of disagreement. "Why do I have to search tha' ship with this guy?"

"Well, Akashi is not familiar with questioning suspects, so he has to go with one of us to search the ship."

"Does it have ta be me?"

"Do you have a problem with me, Hattori-san?"

Akashi didn't seem the slightest bit offended, but it seemed that he wanted Hattori to think that he was, based on the look he sent him. Kudo held back a smile and prompted her rival – who only responded with a dry look – to answer the younger male's question.

"I don't have any problems with ya." He retorted. "Heck, I don't even know ya enough ta have problems. Which is why – since ya and Kudo are already 'friends' – she should go with ya instead."

"Fair enough." She shrugged, her hand removing itself from the handle of the door and moving to Akashi's side. "We'll let you know if we find anything."

"Got it."

The clock showed half an hour past nine, however, the lights in the halls were dimmed enough to make it hard to see. Kudo decided it was for energy conservation, as the ballroom was lit brightly at the moment. They continued down the hall until they arrived outside again, the cool night breeze greeting them the moment they stepped out.

"We should check the lower areas – the engine room and such." Kudo suggested. "The killer would have killed Mochizuki-san in a secluded area as to not be found."

"Most of the areas on this ship would be secluded during the possible time of death." Akashi said, dictating what he had remembered from a conversation with one of the crews. "The guests are all in the ballroom while the crew are only in their necessary stations."

"Even the movie theater and lounge?"

"Yes. I presume they would be quite secluded during the time."

Kudo rubbed the back of her neck and sighed.

"This would take longer than I thought…"

They had stopped walking by the railing at the forecastle and was accompanied by the sound of waves gently brushing against the ship. The atmosphere was calm and peaceful, unlike the situation they were in. Kudo wondered why someone would choose such a tranquil stage for such a brutal murder. Then again, she wondered why anyone would commit murder at all.

"I have a question, Kudo-san."

She removed her eyes from the dark waters and towards the redhead beside her. She could barely see him under the dim lighting of the ship and the moonlight, but she could make out the curiousity in his mismatched eyes that looked directly into hers. Perhaps it was because she was wearing flats instead of heels like during Ishikawa's party, he seemed taller than she remembered.

"If the killer decapitated Mochizuki-san in a secluded place, and that place is assumed to have large amounts of blood in it, wouldn't that mean the killer's clothing would have blood on it?"

She nodded, wondering where he was going with the question.

"Then, in the short time between 8-9pm, how did the killer kill Mochizuki-san, move his body to the observation deck, and change out of their bloody clothes?"

Kudo's eyes widened, acknowledging the point he made. She mentally reprimanded herself for missing such an important detail then proceeded to think of an explanation for the question asked. Mochizuki disappeared at 8pm and was found at 9pm. Indeed, it was humanly impossible to subdue, decapacitate and transfer Mochizuki, change into clean clothes then return to the party within an hour. As it is, decapacitating and transferring a body took time and effort, with the addition of having to ensure that one would remain unseen during the whole process.

"We'll have to wait for Hattori to tell us about the suspects' alibis." She stated. "Perhaps, there are among them who were absent from the party hall from 8-9pm, or maybe longer than that."

"Longer than that?"

"We noticed Mochizuki-san's disappearance at 8pm. The last time we noted his presence was at 7:40pm." Kudo waited for a nod from Akashi before continuing with her words, although she sensed he knew where she was going with it. "This means, at most, an additional 20 minutes can be added to the estimated time of death."

"I see," he nodded again. "That would allow more time for the killer."

"Exactly." She sighed. "Anyway, let's find the crime scene first. We can start building up a theory then."

After they searched the top floors, they headed down towards the bottom floor and decided to search the engine room first. Once they stepped down the steps towards the engine room, Kudo's nose scrunched again as the distinct smell of blood entered her nostrils. She wondered if it was a good thing that her nose had become keen enough to distinguish the smell of blood from the various other smells in the engine room; a so-called occupational hazard. Noting the presence of only one crew member in the engineers' workshop, Kudo went down the second flight of steps – which only had 4 steps – and followed her nose to a secluded area by the main turbo alternator, Akashi trailing behind her.

The large pools of blood as well as the spatter of red that decorated the machinery walls was proof enough that the secluded area was the scene of the crime. The smell of blood was extremely pungent with the mix of metal that even Kudo had to hold back the urge to gag. Akashi, on the other hand, seemed paler than she remembered he was. She assumed the last bit of composure he tried to maintain upon the discovery of the body had run out as he seemed like he could throw up at any moment. It wasn't surprising; he wasn't used to such sights as she was.

"I—," he paused, trying to breathe amongst the rancid smell of blood that drifted in the air. "I'm going to get some air."

Kudo responded with a nod as he climbed up the stairs then proceeded to examine the scene. She hoped to find any evidence to who the killer was, but blood was the only thing she could see. It wasn't until she switched on the torchlight on her phone for better view that she caught a gleam from the small space between the machinery. She bent closer to inspect and narrowed her eyes when she realised it was the missing Rolex. The discovery of the Rolex debunked her initial theory that it was taken by the killer after the struggle, also giving rise to another theory that murder was the only motive.

She snapped a picture of the Rolex – avoiding touching it to not defile the crime scene before the police could investigate – and the bloody crime scene on her phone and set a mental reminder to tell the police about it. After a final inspection, Kudo left the engine room to join Akashi in the hallway, eager to breathe in the fresh air awaiting her outside the engine room.

Hattori seemed a tad wearier when he joined them for a discussion by the ship's railings. When asked, he complained about how the suspects wouldn't cooperate with him for most of the questioning. It was only after some persuasion that they agreed to give testimony regarding their alibi.

"So?" Kudo crossed her arms as she kept her gaze on the tanned male. "What did you find out?"

"They all claim they were at tha' party tha' whole time," Hattori shrugged. "Of course, I asked tha' guests ta see if anyone of 'em can corroborate their alibi. Only tha' wife, Kanae-san, an' tha' son, Satoru-san, have solid alibis since they were together tha' whole time entertaining guests. No one remembered if they saw tha' other three. Well, I told 'em ta stay together in tha' lounge until I came back for tha' time being. Ya can see 'em from here."

The brunette responded with a thoughtful hum, registering the information that was given to her as she glanced at the suspects who were visible from the lounge's glass windows. That left only Sakaguchi, Nishiyama and Yoshida as viable suspects. Unless they found more evidence, it would be hard to determine who among the three was the killer they were searching for.

"What 'bout ya guys?" Hattori queried. "Did ya find where Mochizuki-san was killed?"

"Yes, it was by the main turbo alternator, in the shadows." Akashi chose to answer, his face still a little pale. "There was blood everywhere so there is no mistake."

"Also, Mochizuki-san's Rolex was there." The female added, displaying the pictures she took of the scene on her phone before offering it to Hattori. "It must have fell off his arm when he was struggling with the killer."

"Tha' killer didn't take it with 'im?"

"I'm assuming he didn't notice. He must've been engrossed with trying to move Mochizuki-san's body to the outdoor observation deck."

"Well, at least now we know how tha' killer did it."

"Already?" Akashi's eyes widened in mild surprise.

"Yeah," Hattori nodded. "It's really simple, ya know, considering the crime scene."

"It might take just a little over an hour but it's definitely possible." Kudo confirmed. "The problem is who…"

A cool breeze blew past them during their deliberation and Kudo felt her body shiver, Hattori sneezing just around the same time. Kudo regretted her decision to wear her mother's flared dress. Not only did it lack sleeves and only reached her knees, the georgette material hardly did anything to keep her warm. The ballroom wasn't as cold as the outside air, so she managed to endure the chills. However, the late-night ocean breeze was more than she could bare.

Just as she was about to suggest heading inside where it was warmer to continue their discussion, there was an added weight on her shoulders and in an instant, she felt warmer. By reflex, her hand raised to her shoulder to touch the jacket that had been placed over her before she directed a puzzled gaze towards the younger male who stood closely beside her.

"It's chilly outside." Akashi stated. "We should head inside before you catch a cold… like Hattori-san."

Hattori gave a pointed look at Akashi who added the jab after a brief pause. However, he said nothing and merely agreed to the redhead's suggestion.

As Kudo properly put on the coat she was offered, Akashi had walked off first towards the entrance that lead to the lounge where the suspects were. Just as she was about to follow him, Hattori slid an arm over her shoulders and leaned over closely to whisper in her ear.

"Hey, Kudo. Ya're really something arencha?" He teased with a sly grin. "It's not only tha' bro from the detective agency, ya also got that rich bro crushin' on ya."

"Huh?" She responded with a dry look. "What are you talking about, Hattori?"

"He's been watching ya since tha' time we met in tha' party. Also, he noticed that ya were cold an' gave ya his coat."

"It's called being a gentleman, idiot." She scoffed. "Anyway, let's head inside. It's cold."

Hattori cheekily chuckled and removed his arm from her shoulders. They then went inside to join Akashi before he wondered why they were taking their time.

Their entrance was greeted with cold stares from the five suspects who were kept away from the ballroom. Kanae and Satoru were seated together on the same couch while Nishiyama stood closely by them. Yoshida sat opposite the mother and son, Sakaguchi right beside him. On the table, there were four glasses of water and a plate of half-eaten fruits.

"Everyone, sorry for tha' wait." Hattori announced as the doors closed behind them. "I've said this just now, but we'd like ta conduct a body search on ya. There's a chance one of ya still has some kind of evidence on ya."

"Hold on a moment!" It was Kanae who spoke up. "I told you that Satoru and I have alibis, didn't I? Why do we have to go through the body search as well?"

"Besides, why aren't you questioning the other guests at the party?" Nishiyama joined in politely. "I'm sure there must be someone else who is capable of committing the crime other than us."

"Unfortunately, that's not tha' case." Hattori smirked. "I was able ta question the other guests before gathering ya'll an' they all have an alibi since they were with a companion at all times."

There was momentary whispering from the five in the room before Sakaguchi stood up and offered the teenagers a smile. It was a kind, welcoming smile. A contrast to the cold glare he gave when they walked in.

"Alright, we'll undergo the body search. We have nothing to hide after all."

"Then," Kudo gestured towards the two women in the room. "Kanae-san and Nishiyama-san, please come with me."

Kudo was finished with the body search of the two women and returned to the lounge. When she entered the lounge, only the two women, Satoru, Sakaguchi and Akashi were there. When she asked about the whereabouts of Hattori and Yoshida, Akashi informed her that they were still not finished and that nothing turned up from Satoru and Sakaguchi's body search.

She sighed. She had expected to end up empty-handed from the body search, but she had also hoped that the killer would slip and leave a piece of evidence on their body. If this went on, they wouldn't be able to identify the killer before the cruise came to an end. If that happened, the killer would definitely be able to dispose of any evidence that they had yet to discover.

"Since you found nothing on us, do you mind letting us go?" Kanae frowned. "I have guests I have to attend to."

Kudo couldn't help but raise a curious eyebrow.

"You're quite calm despite losing your husband."

"Of course, I have to stay calm!" She snapped. "If I don't do so, the company will suffer because of that. Besides, I'm not going to mourn a man who betrayed me."

"Are you referring to the affair?" The detective carefully asked.

"Of course, I am. What else do you think I'm referring to?"

"If I recall correctly, the affair was with Sakaguchi-san's wife, am I correct?"

It seemed that even Akashi couldn't hold back his interest as he joined in the conversation. He had held back from speaking the entire time – perhaps to honour the business relations the family had with his – but that didn't last long enough. Surprise mildly crossed Kanae's face before she chose to respond to his words.

"That's right," she huffed. "Mitsuru-san was surprised too when he found out, no?"

Sakaguchi cleared his throat and loosened his tie, his free hand a little tense as it fiddled with the watch that peeked from under his sleeve. He took his time to choose his words before setting his gaze upon the female detective after a brief glance towards Kanae.

"Yes," he confirmed. "I never thought that my best friend would betray me like that. We always had so much fun golfing together…"

"Golfing?" Kudo repeated without thought. Perhaps it was because the statement seemed out of place to her that she couldn't help herself.

"Yes," Sakaguchi titled his head to one side before reaching out to pull out his phone. "We always do so in our free time. See?"

He showed her a picture of him and Mochizuki. They wore polo shirts and were holding golf clubs in their left hands while their right hands were raised up to form a peace-sign. The two were grinning in the picture, displaying obvious happiness. It was obvious that it was before Sakaguchi knew about Mochizuki's affair with his own wife.

Kudo's eyes narrowed at the picture when she noticed that both men had Rolex watches on their wrists. Not only were they the same brand, but the colour and design were also identical. The similarity of the watches now raised suspicion within Kudo's brain and she asked the present four about it.

"Ah, I also have the same watch. Although, I'm not wearing it now." Satoru uttered. "Father gave it to all of us here on the company's 5th anniversary to celebrate."

"Were they all exactly the same?"

"Yes." The male nodded. "They're all exactly the same. Although, they're customised to have the names of the owner carved on the back."

It was as if a bolt of lightning had struck her. She recalled the untouched Rolex in the engine room and wondered whose name was carved on the metal surface of the accessory. The Rolex was the evidence she needed to find out the killer and she couldn't help but feel thrilled at this discovery.

"Anyway!" Kanae huffed again as she stomped towards the lounge's entrance. "I'm returning to the party. Satoru, Nishiyama, you too."

"Then, I'll stop by the washroom before I return to the party as well, if you don't mind." Sakaguchi uttered, standing up from the couch along with Satoru and Nishiyama. "If you'll excuse us."

Ignoring the requests to remain in the lounge, the four suspects left the area and disappeared into the hallway. Kudo frowned at this before she breathed out a sigh of defeat. They weren't the police, so they had no authority in holding them in the lounge. It was a miracle that they managed to convince the five suspects to listen to them so far. She wondered what Hattori told them for persuasion.

"What do you plan to do now, Kudo-san?"

Kudo turned to face Akashi who stepped closer towards her. It was then she was reminded that she still had his jacket over her, thus the comfortable warmth she had been enjoying since she entered the lounge. She wondered if she should return it to him, but decided to keep it on a little while longer.

"Well, Hattori's still not done with Yoshida-san's body search. We have to wait for him, but…"

"But?"

Kudo licked her lips before offering a smirk towards Akashi, a peculiar glint reflected in her cobalt eyes. She could feel her heart beat a little faster as she thought of her next course of action and she could feel the rush of blood through her veins. She was close to the goal and she couldn't wait to get there.

"I've something to check out in the engine room." She said. "Stay here until Hattori gets back and tell him to go there!"

She didn't give him a chance to reply as she quickly rushed off after a dismissive wave. She heard him call her name, but she knew he didn't give a chase. She appreciated that and hoped that he would join her in the engine room with Hattori soon, just so they could put an end to the mystery at hand.

Kudo stepped down the short flight of steps that led her towards the engine room, her footsteps echoing throughout the large space. She noticed the absence of the crew member in the engineer's workshop as she swiftly headed towards the second short flight of steps, wondering where he had gone to. She returned to the secluded area by the main turbo alternator and bent down to pick up the Rolex from the hidden space between the machinery with a handkerchief, the torchlight from her phone lighting up the area.

Keeping in mind the words Satoru had told her, Kudo flipped the Rolex around to view the back, where the carved name was said to be. Upon seeing the carved roman characters on the metal surface of the watch, Kudo's signature smirk spread across her features and she announced to herself in the privacy of her mind that the case was solved, that the who was finally revealed.

Immediately, she opened the contact list on her phone and scrolled down to Hattori's contact. She couldn't wait to tell her friend that she had found unshakable evidence to who the killer was. She couldn't wait for them to dramatically reveal the killer in front of the hundred guests that were gathered in the ballroom.

However, due to her excitement, Kudo failed to notice the shadow behind her that ominously raised a blunt object into the air, before vigorously swinging it down towards her.

Thanks for reading !