The Eternal Lost Lurker
25th June 2005, 06:04 PM
"In haste, anger, or fear, we often do irrational things...things that make
no sense in retrospect, but at the time, seem perfectly logical and
justified.
"That was how the second most surreal night of my life began.
"My name? Well...that depends on who you ask..."
* * * * * * * * *
"...reknowned genius detective who is still in high school, often hailed as
the savior of the Japanese police. Missing for several months, officials are
now beginning to question whether or not Kudo Shinichi is still alive..."
"Heh."
In the shadow of an awning, he pulled a cigarette from a case, clenching it
between teeth which gleamed in the darkness.
"That punk, huh?"
Cold eyes scanned the streets as a match sparked to life, rising to ignite
the tobacco.
"Che...he wasn't that tough."
Taking a deep puff, he glanced toward the door of the building opposite,
exhaling a cloud of smoke into the chill night air.
"Dammit...what's taking that idiot so long?"
* * * * * * * * *
"To recap tonight's top story, Japanese officials are now beginning to
question whether or not famous high-school detective Kudo Shinichi is still
alive--"
"That's horrible!" a girl exclaimed from the sidewalk as they passed the
store. "Ran...I'm sorry..."
The tall, brown-haired girl smiled, but it didn't reach her eyes. "Sonoko,
don't worry about it. I know he's still alive. I just know it!"
"But the police--"
"Sonoko," Ran said, her smile tightening, "I know because my heart tells
me...and because a dead man can't call on the telephone..."
* * * * * * * * *
Cold, murderous eyes widened.
* * * * * * * * *
"Eh? Really? He calls...?"
"Mm. Once every week or two, usually. He doesn't want me to worry." Ran
snorted. "As if. As if I'd..."
A soft red light in the darkness ahead caught her attention. The two girls
watched as a cigarette butt drifted to the sidewalk, the tobacco still
emitting a bright, cherry glow.
"HEY! Throwing a cigarette butt on the ground is rude!" Ran shouted,
stepping forward to confront the culprit lurking in the shadows. "Come out
of there or I'll..."
A click silenced her. It was a click of the type not normally heard in
Japan...but an unmistakable one nevertheless.
She looked into a pair of the most cold, ruthless eyes she had ever seen,
and froze.
"Now, what is this you were saying about...Kudo Shinichi?" the tall,
black-clad man asked. The gun muzzle with the silencer pointed squarely at
her forehead chilled Ran almost as much as the man's eyes...
* * * * * * * * *
A small boy wandered down the dimly lit street, idly bouncing a soccer ball
between his knee and head. Ran was out late shopping with Sonoko, and
Kogoro, well...
Not that the idiot was useful for much of anything beyond a ventriloquist
dummy, anyway.
Still, between Ran's absence and his current statural handicap, that left
one truth which could not be ignored:
Edogawa Conan was viciously hungry.
So, he'd grabbed his pocket change and left the detective agency, feeling
the need for a little fresh air, some good food, and some exercise--which is
why he'd opted to bring his soccer ball along, as well as his power
sneakers--after all, it never hurt to be prepared.
As he walked, he reflected on the past week of his so-called life, a stormy
scowl that definitely did not belong on a child's face gathering as he
played back memories he'd much rather not have...
It had begun Monday, when the teacher chewed him out for being late to
class, and later for sleeping in class. He'd been sent home with a note, and
further scolded by Ran.
It's not as though it was HIS fault he'd been out until two in the morning
the previous night. Who knew it was going to take six hours to work around
the bumbling idiot and the incompetent police to solve that stupid murder?
Tuesday, Hattori had come to town to cheer for his favorite baseball team,
and dragged him and Ran along. The Osakajin had been particularly
irritating, and had rounded off a perfectly annoying day by swiping Conan's
voice modulator, hiding in the crowd at the stadium, and calling out to Ran
in Shinichi's voice.
Conan had kicked a souvenir baseball into his crotch for that one. Hattori
was just lucky he didn't crank his sneakers to full power--he knew it'd
upset and disappoint Kazuha if he did. Heh.
Wednesday, the Detective Boys had dragged him to some insipid Masked Yaiba
stunt show, during which a stage prop was rigged to kill one of the
performers. He'd solved the case, but made it home past curfew, and was
scolded again--though not as severely once he explained what had happened.
However, Kogoro had rumbled something about cheeky little brats trying to
pretend to be real detectives, and made several disparaging, drunken remarks
about "that Kudo upstart" which rattled around in Conan's head like pebbles
in a vacuum cleaner as he prepared for bed.
Thursday, some moron at school decided to play with his father's cigarette
lighter--right underneath the emergency sprinklers. He'd been thoroughly
soaked, and just barely got home and changed in time to avoid catching a
nasty cold.
And the previous day, Friday, he had been menaced by Mitsuhiko and Genta
after Ayumi tried to nag him into spending Saturday afternoon with her. Even
though he begged out of it, claiming to have errands to run for
"Ran-neechan", the two larger boys had been rather put out, and at Ayumi's
upset at his refusal, had only become more irate with him. The ensuing chase
and scuffle had been singularly humiliating.
The less said about Shinichi's weekly call to Ran, the better.
That, too, had been getting to him more than usual recently. Seeing Ran's
pain over his absence from her life always left him feeling raw, guilty, and
anguished. He knew he had been such an idiot before his change--such a jerk,
such a cad. He knew that now, because now, he would love nothing more than
to wrap his arms around Ran and...well, and be the man he was in heart and
mind, if not in body. To be deserving of her love, to show her how much he
cared...to really be there for her...to make up for all the pain he'd
caused, all the misery, all the tears...
But here he was, trapped in this small, scrawny shell, a child to the world
around him--to the woman he loved more than life itself...
*I should have told her THAT NIGHT,* he thought bitterly, fighting the tears
forming in his somber blue eyes.
As he stewed, Conan noticed a suspicious flash of light from the shadows...
* * * * * * * * *
"Sh-shinichi?" Ran gulped nervously.
"Yeah. You said he calls you. You must know where he is."
"I--no! I don't know! I ask but he'll never tell me! He just says he's on a
difficult case..."
"Yeah, I'll bet he is." The cold-eyed man smiled. It wasn't a kind smile at
all.
"Wh-what do you want with Shinichi?" Ran summoned the courage to ask.
"I don't see how that's any of your business."
Ran's fear of the man's gun--and his murderous eyes--kept her temper in
check. "Wh-what're you--are you going to kill me?"
The man with the gun raised an eyebrow. "Well now, that all depends."
"Depends?"
"On how useful you are to me," the man replied. His grin widened. With his
free hand, he placed another cigarette in his mouth. "You see, I might need
bait to lure Kudo out of hiding..."
He lit a match, holding it perilously close to Ran's nose...
* * * * * * * * *
The bright flash of fire in the shadows caught Conan's interest. He took a
step closer to the street, peering across...
....at the unmistakable visage of the man whose cold, murderous eyes haunted
his nightmares...and the girl whose beautiful face filled his days and
nights with longing and pain.
His eyes widened. Panic gripped his heart.
*GIN! And...he has RAN!*
Scowling, Conan bent down and adjusted his sneakers to full power, then
carefully took aim with the soccer ball.
*God, please do NOT let me miss...*
* * * * * * * * *
The cold-eyed man suddenly let out a yelp of pain as something collided with
his gun hand, hard and fast. The gun clattered to the pavement, and Ran
wasted no time kicking it as far away as she could.
The black-clad gunman clenched his hand in pain, cigarette falling from his
mouth. He looked at the wall--and the soccer ball embedded halfway in its
brick surface. His eyes widened. He turned...
"GIN!"
"Who's there?"
Ran and Sonoko both turned to face the source of that voice, across the
street. The flash of a streetlight reflected brilliantly off of a pair of
lenses. Dark brown hair, just visible in the dim lights, ruffled in the
night breeze. The diminuitive figure stepped forward...
"C-Conan-kun?!"
As the young boy entered the light, his eyes became visible. The rage in
them brought even the ruthless killer known as Gin short.
*What the--what's with this kid?!*
"Gin," the boy repeated, his voice grim and tight. "I finally have you. It
ends tonight."
"Wh-what're you talking about, kid?" Gin replied, voice regaining a bit of
his cockiness. "I've never seen you before in my life!" Inside, however, Gin
was as unnerved as he'd ever been. *How does this kid know who I am?!*
"Haven't you?" Conan smirked. "Oi, Ran! Don't just stand there!"
Ran blinked. "Eh?"
"GET HIM!"
"Ah...hai!" Remembering herself, Ran suddenly launched a vicious assault on
the black-clad man. Gin, unprepared for this, fell victim to the first kick,
barely ducked the punch that would have taken his head off, and countered
with a sweep that sent the girl sprawling. Sonoko, meanwhile, had recovered
her wits and run to pick up the discarded gun.
Gin smirked as he pulled a dagger from his coat. "Alright, girl, that's
enough out of you..."
"NO!" Conan snatched up a helmet that was strapped to a motorscooter parked
nearby and kicked it, sending it flying straight into Gin's face. Blood
fountained from his nose as he staggered, the knife clattering into the
shadows. Conan dashed across the street and kicked him in the shin. The
amplified force of the kick caused his leg to buckle with a sickening, sharp
*crack*, and he went down with a yell of pain.
Watching with detached horror and fascination, Ran began to wonder why the
noise had not attracted attention from the shops surrounding them.
"You little BASTARD!" Gin hissed, clutching at his nose, curling his wounded
leg protectively under him. "What the hell's your problem, kid?"
"You want to know what my problem is?" Conan asked, kneeling beside the
cold-eyed man. "Alright, I'll tell you. First, you were holding a gun on
Ran."
He kicked Gin in the ribs--only this time, he'd turned off his shoes'
enhanced abilities, so it was the normal kick of a seven-year-old boy.
"Second, all the lives you and your organisation have ruined and destroyed."
Kick.
"And third, MY LIFE FOR THE PAST EIGHT MONTHS HAS BEEN A LIVING HELL BECAUSE
OF YOU!" Another vicious kick, which caused something hard and metal to
clatter out of Gin's inner coat pocket. The object gleamed in the
streetlights, and Conan's smirk suddenly turned nasty.
"Oh? Is this what I think it is?" He picked up the case, opening it and
examining its contents.
"Conan-kun, what--?"
Conan ignored Ran, focusing his gaze on Gin. "APTX-4869."
Gin's eyes widened. "How the hell do you know about that?!"
"Oh, you don't remember? Let me refresh your memory. Eight months ago, near
the Tropical Land park. You used this. Do you remember who you used it on?"
Gin frowned. "That brat detective, Kudo."
"WHAT?! WHAT DID YOU DO TO SHINICHI, YOU BASTARD?!" Ran yelled, leaning down
and grabbing Gin by the collar.
"RAN! Enough!" Conan barked. Stunned, Ran dropped the black-clad felon.
Conan removed a red and white capsule from the case. "Yes...this is the
poison you forced into that boy detective. The untested, untraceable poison
developed by Miyano Shiho. Or as you call her, Sherry."
"How does a little punk like you know all that?" Gin demanded.
Conan kicked him again. "Shut up!" He leaned down and forced the pill into
the criminal's mouth, then took the water flask from the capsule case and
poured a liberal amount in. Gin, eyes wide, tried to spit it out, but
pressure to his throat by the boy forced him to swallow.
"You--you...do you know what you just did?!" Gin's eyes were wide with panic
and fear, his voice harsh and rasping with pain and terror.
"Yes," Conan replied calmly. "I do. But *you* don't. But you *will*."
"CONAN-KUN! What are you doing?!" Ran shrieked.
Conan glanced up at her, and she was taken aback by the look in his eyes.
Haunted, angry, wrathful...those were not the eyes of a child...! "Getting
even," he stated in the most cold, menacing voice Ran had ever heard.
"Conan-kun..."
Gin's entire body seized up with sudden, intense pain. *AAAH! My
bones...they're on fire...!* Wisps of steam began to rise from the
long-haired gunman as he clutched at his chest, the bleeding of his nose
long forgotten. *My heart...it feels like it's going to explode!* He looked
up at the calm, cold face looking down on him, doubling as his vision
blurred...black spots danced in his eyes in time with the pounding of his
heart...he tried to yell in rage, say anything at all, but all he could
manage was a strangled choke...
"ANIKI!" a voice bellowed. Another figure in black rushed up. A gun was
drawn, targetted on Ran.
"CHIKUSHOU! I forgot about Vodka!" Conan cursed.
"What the hell's going on here? Aniki!!"
"DROP IT!" Everyone except Gin turned to Sonoko, mildly surprised that the
vacuous teenager was holding Gin's discarded gun in a shaky grip, and
pointing it at Vodka. The thug seemed taken aback.
"Better do what she says. Besides, you've got other things to worry about,"
Conan smirked.
Vodka slowly laid his gun on the ground, then rushed over to his partner,
who was gasping and shaking on the ground, clutching at his chest and throat
in horror. "Aniki! What's--"
What happened next came as a surprise for three of the four onlookers. The
cold-eyed criminal suddenly began to collapse into his clothing, soon
disappearing completely within the folds of the black coat. A thinning cloud
of vapor shrouded the dark garment, like mist over a graveyard.
"He--he disappeared!" Ran shrieked.
"Not quite," Conan said, stepping forward. He pulled the lapel of the coat
back, and revealed a terrified child with wide eyes and long, straw-coloured
hair.
"Aniki?!" Vodka gasped.
Gin looked down at his hands, which had fallen out of the black gloves he
wore. "Wha--what happened--?" He looked up at the bespectacled child...and
his eyes widened further. "You...don't tell me...!"
Conan removed his glasses. "*I'M* Kudo Shinichi, you piece of shit, and I'd
say justice has been served."
"SHINICHI--!?"
Vodka swept the diminished form of Gin, black coat and all, up in his arms.
"You...Kudo...you'll pay for this! I swear it!" He began to run. Sonoko
tried to shoot him, but missed. Conan, cursing, picked up the forgotten
helmet, cranked up his sneakers...
....but it was no use. Vodka had turned the corner, and when the three of
them finally caught up, a black Porsche was roaring away into the night.
"Dammit!" Conan growled, slamming his fist against a nearby wall. "I let
them get away! I'm so STUPID!"
A hand touched his shoulder, and he looked up. A pair of large, wet eyes
shone down at him from a tear-streaked, frightened face.
"Shinichi...?"
The young detective slumped. "Ah, shit..."
* * * * * * * * *
"Fucking detective brat...!"
"Aniki...are you alright?"
"Do I *LOOK* alright, idiot?!" Gin's small hands fumbled in the pockets of
his now-enormous coat, searching for his phone. He pulled it out, beginning
to dial...then paused, frowning. "Dammit...Vodka, you're going to have to
make the call."
The square-jawed man frowned, then nodded, accepting the phone. Completing
the number, he pressed 'Send'. Beside him, the diminished Gin continued to
mutter various imprecations about Kudo Shinichi.
"Bastard...when I get hold of that little punk..."
//What is it, Gin?//
"This is Vodka. There's been a...small incident."
"Take your short jokes and shove them up your ass, along with my foot," Gin
seethed.
//Vodka? Where is Gin?//
"I'll KILL that goddamn son of a bitch!"
"He's here, but he's...not exactly in any shape to talk right now. I'm
bringing him to the safehouse."
"--fucking bathe in his bloody GUTS--!"
Gin's tirade abruptly ceased as Vodka slammed one rock-like fist over his
head, knocking him out cold.
//What the hell's going on?//
"I'll explain when I get there."
* * * * * * * * *
"Shinichi? Is it...really...?"
Conan glanced around, and his eyes fell on Sonoko. "Oi, Sonoko. The gun."
The blonde blinked. "Eh?"
"The gun! Give me the gun!"
Sonoko stared down at the cold steel in her hands, eyes widening suddenly.
It nearly fell from her hand onto the street.
Conan growled and marched over to her, practically ripping the weapon out of
her hand. He fished a handkerchief from his pocket and began carefully
wiping the gun, taking care not to touch any part of it with his own
fingers.
"Cona--iie, Shinichi..." Ran began again.
The young boy sighed, folding the handkerchief around the gun and slipping
it into his own pocket. "Yeah, Ran. It's me. All those times you suspected,
you were right. It wasn't easy staying a step ahead of you."
Ran's eyes narrowed. "Why? Why did you need to lie?"
Conan shot her an incredulous stare. "BAROU! Didn't you see what just
happened here? Don't you understand? I'M A TARGET! These guys aren't playing
games, Ran! They make the yakuza look like playground bullies! I had to let
the world think I was dead! I couldn't take ANY chances..." He sighed. "And
yet, there were some chances...I had to take." He looked up. "I had to call
you. I had to...I couldn't bear seeing you suffering and not being able
to..."
"And if you'd just told me the truth from the beginning..."
"I'd have put you in danger. The fewer people who knew, the better." He
chuckled. "Not that it matters now. I really stepped in it tonight. I can't
blame THAT fiasco on anyone but myself." He sighed, and looked at the two
girls. "We should get off the street. Sonoko, you're staying with us
tonight."
"H-hai..."
* * * * * * * * *
"Megure-keibu," began the forensics technician as he entered the inspector's
office.
Megure glanced up from the report he was filling out. "Ah, do you have the
workup on the evidence for the Kawazu case?"
"Hai." The tech placed a sheaf of papers on the desk, bowed, and withdrew.
The portly inspector stretched, yawning, and picked up the new documents,
idly thumbing through them. He paused for a moment, frowning; he had the
nagging feeling something was out of place. Something missing? Or something
that shouldn't be there...
Hunching over his desk, he began examining the document more closely. It was
a standard workup; a fingerprint list taken from an object which was a
crucial piece of evidence in a murder case. The object in question, a
photograph, had been handled by everyone connected to the case at one point
or another--himself (though he had worn gloves), the victim, the confessed
killer, the two other suspects who had been cleared, Mouri Kogorou, his
daughter Ran, even the precocious little tagalong, Conan-kun, who always
seemed to be around every time there was a murder investigation.
And that, presently, was what was disturbing him:
The name "Edogawa Conan" was NOT on the fingerprint list.
He briefly considered that maybe the child's fingerprints had simply been
wiped off by someone else handling the photograph, or that someone's prints
had overlapped his and obscured them--perhaps even his own gloves had wiped
them free. It was certainly not unheard of...
....but then his train of thought abruptly derailed as he noticed a name on
the list which did not belong.
KUDO SHINICHI
"Kudo...but he's..."
Megure's eyes narrowed, his mustache twitching as he frowned thoughtfully.
He pressed the intercom on his phone, and called for the forensics
technician to return.
"Hai, keibu-dono?" the harried man asked as he rushed into the room.
Megure sat forward, chin resting on his hands. "When you ran the fingerprint
analysis on the photograph, did you notice anything particularly unusual
about any of the prints?"
"Unusual?"
The inspector tapped the paperwork in front of him. "I see the name Kudo
Shinichi on here, but he wasn't at the crime scene--if you've been following
the news, you know nobody's seen him in months. Was there anything--"
"Ah!" The technician slapped his fist into his open palm. "Right...there was
a minor discrepancy in that the size of that set of fingerprints was
inconsistent with the age of the individual."
"Inconsistent?"
"Hai. It was odd...it could be explained by a very light touch, or something
pinching the fingers, but Kudo Shinichi-san's fingerprints were abnormally
small for an eighteen-year-old man. They were more consistent with the
prints of a preadolescent." He shrugged. "Given the age of the photograph,
though, it's not possible Kudo-san could have handled it as a child. I don't
entirely understand it, but...the prints matched in the database."
"And Edogawa Conan-kun? His prints were not found on the photograph?"
The technician frowned. "Not that I recall. I ran every set of prints
through the database twice. Standard procedure. His name didn't come up.
Either he didn't touch the photograph, or someone forgot to print him at the
scene."
"I see. Okay, thank you." As the technician bowed and left, Megure stroked
his chin, frowning.
*More consistent with the prints of a preadolescent...*
*The fingerprints of Edogawa Conan were not present on the photograph...*
*And Kudo-kun has been missing for months...*
Megure's eyes widened. "That...no, that's...ridiculous..."
But suddenly, he didn't seem to be able to shake the notion out of his
head...
* * * * * * * * *
The three of them trooped into the apartment on the third floor. "Tadaima,"
Ran called, removing her shoes, as behind her, Sonoko and Conan did
likewise. The small detective then carefully locked the door.
"Oi, Ran! Where've you been? It's really late! Do you think a man could get
some dinner around here?"
"Gomen ne, Otousan. I'll--"
"Order pizza," Conan commanded, his tone now all business as he marched into
the living room and fixed the older detective with a sharp gaze. "Use my
expense account. Order a few, and sodas too. Sonoko's here, and we're all
going to be up all night."
Kogoro stared at the boy, mouth agape like a fish. The stern impatience in
the sharp blue eyes--no longer hidden behind glass lenses--made the older
man ill at ease. "Oi, brat...what do you think you are, coming in and
barking orders like--"
"Just do it, and quickly," Conan snapped. "We have a problem, and there's a
lot to talk about. We're ALL in danger now."
Kogoro blinked. "Wha--Ran, what's going on? And you, boy, mind how you talk
to your elders..."
"Otousan, Sh--Conan's right. We have a BIG problem."
"Or a small one," Sonoko murmured, eyeing the younger boy, her usual
attitude beginning to return.
Kogoro looked at the three of them, expression unreadable. "What's going
on?"
"Better go ahead and take care of ordering those pizzas first," Ran
suggested. "I have a feeling it's gonna be a long night..."
* * * * * * * * *
Vermouth raised an eyebrow as Vodka walked in, carrying a small child in his
arms. A rather angry-looking child, who seemed to take exception to being
carried, and who was wrapped in what she recognised as Gin's coat.
"Where's Gin?" she asked. "And what's with the kid?"
"I *am* Gin," the boy hissed, wriggling free of Vodka's grasp and wrapping
the coat around his small frame. He winced as, upon making contact with the
floor, his ruined leg buckled, sending him sprawling. "DAMN that Kudo
brat...!"
Vermouth blinked. "Kudo..." Then, she laughed.
Gin stared at her. "What's *your* fucking problem?"
"Oh, this is rich. Kudo forced you to take APTX-4869, didn't he?"
The other two stared at her. "You *KNEW*?!"
"Of course I knew," Vermouth said lightly. "I've known for some time that
Kudo Shinichi was still alive...AND had a hunch what the...*unusual* effects
of the apotoxin are."
"And you didn't tell me this WHY?" Gin demanded hotly.
"Because you didn't need to know, and because I've been having fun toying
with him--and his Angel," she replied. "And besides, Kudo is our best lead
to finding Sherry." She smirked. "Who, incidentally, is also, unless I am
very much mistaken, a member of the height-impaired club."
Gin's eyes widened. "You mean she's--that traitorous bitch is--?"
"The same as you are now," Vermouth nodded, smiling.
"WHY DID YOU NEVER TELL US ANY OF THIS?" Gin roared--well, as best he could,
given his current size and voice.
"As I said...you didn't need to know. But that's rather a moot point now,
isn't it? So it's time to make a new plan, to deal with the traitor...AND a
certain cool guy." Suddenly, her smile grew much, much nastier. "But first,
I think it's time a very careless agent relearned a few old lessons..."
* * * * * * * * *
"Okay," Kogoro began as he hung up the phone, "Now, is anyone going to tell
me what happened tonight? And why we're all taking orders from the brat all
of a sudden?"
"Because the *brat*," Ran said archly, "is Shinichi."
Kogoro spat out the beer he had just drunk. "WHAT?!"
"It's true," Conan said, leaning against the wall. "I'm Kudo Shinichi."
Kogoro looked from Conan, to Ran, to Sonoko, and back. He then burst out
laughing. "Oh, that's hilarious! You almost had me going for a few minutes,
but you *know* I'm not stupid enough to fall for--"
"This is not a joke, or a lie, or a game," Conan said, his voice taking on
the rough, serious timbre that revealed how very much unchildlike he was.
"Ran was attacked tonight by the same men who did this to me. I stopped her
from being taken or hurt, and then--"
"And then he fed that man in black some kind of drug, and..." Ran swallowed.
"We saw him...change. All of us. We saw it. That man turned into a
kid...just like Co--Shinichi."
Kogoro stared, dumbstruck, at the three of them, eyes wide. "You--what
you're saying isn't--it can't be..."
"Eight months ago," Conan interrupted, "the day I went to Tropical Land with
Ran, I stepped into something bigger than I realised, and *this*--" he
gestured at his diminuitive body-- "is the price I paid. Edogawa Conan was
born that night, out of desperation. I didn't realise at the time just how
bad the situation really was...or that I'd be stuck like this for as long as
I have."
Kogoro frowned. "But--no, we've seen Kudo since then, remember, Ran? When
that Osaka boy showed up?"
"THAT was Hattori's fault," Conan said with a wry smirk. "Remember the first
time we met him? He gave me a glass of Chinese whiskey for my cold? It
changed me back...for a little while." He glanced at Ran. "Remember, I was
trying to get that bottle off the shelf later, and you stopped me?"
Ran nodded mutely.
"That's why. I thought drinking more of it would change me back for good. Or
at least longer than the first shot did. But it turns out, it was a one-time
deal." He winced. "I can still remember the hangover, too."
"And what about that other time we all saw you?"
"You mean that day? A 24-hour temporary cure...a certain acquaintance
concocted it for me, but it's dangerous to use it too much, and I've been
warned not to use it again unless it's absolutely necessary. It could kill
me."
Ran knelt beside him. "Shinichi..."
Kogoro leaned across the table and glared at the boy with narrowed eyes.
"Okay, so explain how your mother--CONAN'S mother--showed up looking for
you, if you're really Kudo."
"Edogawa Conan doesn't have a mother," Conan replied. "That woman *was* my
mother, though--Kudo Yukiko, in disguise. She IS an actress, remember?" He
chuckled. "She sure fooled me. Her and Tousan both...they took me for a real
ride, that day..."
The older detective sat back, crossing his arms. "You know," he said at
length, "Thinking about it, you DO *look* like Kudo." He paused. "But if you
really ARE Kudo--"
"He is, Otousan. I'm sure of it." Ran stepped up to the desk.
"I've...suspected, for a long time. I've noticed things...habits, the way he
acts sometimes, how he seems so much smarter than a normal kid. And there
were times...but every time I really began to believe it, something
happened--he showed up, or I got a phone call, or..." She glanced back at
Conan, uncertainly.
Conan solemnly removed his bow tie, fiddled with a dial behind the red silk,
and raised it to his mouth. "I'm really sorry about that, Ran," he
spoke--and the eyes of the others widened as Kudo Shinichi's voice came out.
"I had to do things I hated doing--lying to you, fooling you--to keep my
secret. I couldn't be found out..."
Kogoro suddenly stood up, marched over to Conan, and snatched the bowtie
away from him. "Give me that!" He glanced at the back of it, seeing the
dials there. "A voice disguiser?" He spoke into the tiny microphone.
"Testing, one, two..." His voice came out sounding like Shinichi, and he
blinked, tossing the device onto the table.
"Agasa-hakase's handiwork," Conan replied, once again with the voice of a
child--and yet not the voice of a child. "A few other things, too, like the
sneakers, the skateboard--because he knew I'd need them, since I can never
keep my nose out of a mystery."
Kogoro grunted. "True, you DO seem to get into everything..." He paused,
narrowing his eyes. "This voice changer...can it do other voices? Besides
that one? Like, for instance, mine?"
"Erk!"
Ran frowned. "Shinichi...I remember seeing you do something funny with your
watch one time..."
Conan began to sweat. "Er...ah..."
Kogoro reached down and picked Conan up by the collar. "Oi, runt. Anything
else you want to say while you're sharing secrets?"
The doorbell rang.
"Um...pizza's here?" Conan ventured, slipping into his 'cute-little-kid'
voice with a nervous chuckle.
* * * * * * * * *
While the others were distracted by the arrival of the pizza, Conan slipped
to the phone and made a call. "Agasa-hakase? Sorry to call so late. We've
had a little trouble tonight. Tell Haibara that I've got APTX-4869. Yeah,
you heard me. No, I'm fine. Uh...problem, though. Ran, Mouri-san, and Sonoko
all know about me now. And...aheh...so do Gin and Vodka. I know, I KNOW!
Yeah, I know she's gonna be pissed. Just tell her to get over here and get
this pill case from me as soon as she can. And tell her to be careful!"
After he hung up, he rejoined the others for dinner and further
explanations. There had been many tense moments, and some truly embarassing
ones. He'd been interrogated rather harshly about a number of
things--particularly after Sonoko had, in jest, snagged his watch and
wondered what kind of 'secret spy thing' it was. He'd tried to stop her from
messing around with it, but the inevitable had happened--she'd accidentally
shot herself with the microtranquiliser, and slumped face-first into her
slice of corn and tofu pizza. After seeing this, Kogoro had asked a very
pointed question about the 'great Sleeping Kogoro', which had been followed
by a fifteen-minute chase around the living room, and ended with a large,
painful lump on Conan's head. The disgruntled detective had then flopped
down in front of the television with a beer, the remote, and a volley of
glares aimed at the shrunken youth.
About an hour after Conan's call to Agasa's house, the bell once again rang.
Ran cautiously opened the door to find a small figure dressed in a hooded
lavender parka, hands jammed firmly in the pockets, face obscured by a
sterile mask and sunglasses. Her heart lurched. "Ano..."
A hand reached up slowly and tugged off the mask. "I need to see Kudo-kun."
Ran exhaled loudly. "Oh, it's Ai-chan. Come on in..."
The small girl pushed past her, shaking off her hood and removing her dark
glasses. She scowled as her eyes searched the room.
"Ran? Who was..."
Like lightning, the small girl shot across the room, stopping at the door to
the toilet, and...
*CRACK*
"Ai-chan!" Ran shouted, eyes wide.
A stunned Conan fell backwards onto the tile floor, clutching his red cheek.
"You IDIOT," Ai seethed. "You utter FOOL."
"Ne, Ai-chan..." Ran began, reproach in her tone. The younger girl's gaze
stopped her cold.
"Kudo-kun has put all of us in danger. Especially *me*. I don't appreciate
being put in even more danger by a thoughtless, idiotic act of someone who
doesn't think before he does STUPID THINGS!"
It was then that Ai's use of Conan's real name registered on Ran.
"Masaka...Ai-chan, are you...?"
"Like the idiot detective here? Yes."
"Haibara...gomen."
Both girls looked at Conan, who was getting to his feet. He looked down at
the ground. "I know, I screwed up. He...he was threatening Ran. And...I
guess that on top of everything else...it just got to me."
Ai sighed. "Well, what's done is done. So, give me the apotoxin."
Conan reached into his jacket and produced the pill case. Ai examined it,
nodding. "Right. There's five capsules missing out of eight. That means
other than you, Gin has poisoned four people with this."
"Three." At Ai's questioning glance, Conan smiled grimly. "The fourth...was
revenge."
Ai blinked...then stared, slack-jawed. "You didn't."
"I did."
"So when they got away..."
"Vodka had to carry Gin, yeah."
Ai then did something very out of character for her--she laughed out loud.
"Well, you're still an idiot, but you're an idiot with style." She then
paused, frowning. "Of course, this means that now they know what APTX-4869
*does*, so they'll know--"
Conan sighed. "Your 'disguise' is useless now. I'm sorry, Haibara."
Ai waved a hand dismissively. "I was never safe to begin with, even with
this. Too many people in the organisation knew me when I *was* this age,
remember? I told you that when we went through that whole thing with Pisco."
"Ah, right..." The small boy stuck his hands in his pockets, frowning. "So
what's our next move?"
"MY next move is to get back to the lab and see if I can make a cure, now
that I have the drug. YOURS is to make sure none of us die before then. Oh,
and..." She frowned. "It won't be easy, but try to track down the other
victims of this stupid thing." She tapped the pill case for emphasis. "There
may be other people out there like us--we need to find them and get them all
together. Right now, anyone who has taken APTX-4869 and lived is the most
valuable weapon we have against them."
Conan raised an eyebrow. "Do you have any idea how tall an order that is?
Finding little kids who aren't really kids here in Tokyo? Assuming they're
even all IN Tokyo?"
Ai met him with a cool stare. "You're the 'great detective', Kudo-kun.
Finding stray sheep is right up your alley." With that, she turned and left,
concealing her face with the hood, mask, and sunglasses once again.
Ran placed a hand on Conan's head and smiled down at him. "You can do it,
Shinichi. I know you can."
* * * * * * * * *
Elsewhere in Tokyo...
She sighed as she untied her pigtails, letting her hair fall free about her
shoulders. A routine nighttime ritual...except that seven months ago, it'd
never have been tied up in the first place.
"No...I can't start thinking about that again. Things are going too well
lately. I'm getting used to this life, and I have friends--good friends.
I'm...happy."
She WAS happy...right?
"Yeah. Happy."
"I'm glad to hear that."
Starting, she spun around--and relaxed, smiling. "Chichiue," she said.
He wagged a finger at her. "'Papa', remember? You're supposed to call me
'Papa' from now on. Cute little girls aren't that formal."
She rolled her eyes. "Hai, Papa." Picking up her brush, she turned back to
her vanity and sat, beginning to brush out her auburn locks. "So, how did it
go?"
Her father sighed. "Not well, I'm afraid. I've checked it as far as I can
without anyone getting suspicious, but..."
She nodded. "It's okay. I don't want to put you in danger. I don't think
they knew who I was, so it's best..." Frowning, she set down her brush and
turned to face him. "Maybe it's best if we just drop this whole thing."
"NO!" He bellowed, striding forward and putting his hands on her shoulders.
"I'm not going to forgive the bastards who did this to you! My precious
girl...you were halfway through college! Your future ahead of you--marriage,
family, everything..."
"And I *still* have a future, Chich--Papa." She patted his hands
comfortingly. "It's just going to be a little while longer, is all." She
sighed. "True, Ken-kun won't be part of it anymore. I can't expect him to
wait for me, even though I doubt this can be kept from him forever. And...I
do miss my friends." She sighed wistfully. "But I've got new friends now,
and...this life I'm living isn't so bad. You know how much I missed my high
school days, and now I can live them all over again..." She smiled, although
her eyes were damp. "It's going to be okay, Papa. I'll get through this. I'm
strong."
He crouched down in front of her, tears falling from his own eyes. "I know,
musume. You've always been stronger than me. It's just...I..."
"I know, Papa. I know." She stood and wrapped her arms around him--the
slender, small arms of a young, innocent girl--but not so young, not so
innocent.
Losing the baby had been the worst part of it.
But she was strong. She'd pulled through, and now she was going to overcome
everything. She was alive--she had her whole life ahead of her, and then
some. She had her friends, and she had her father. She had love all around
her, and that was more important than anything--more important than a cure,
and especially more important than revenge.
She could stand being eleven again. It wasn't such a bad age.
"Have you eaten, Papa?" At his headshake, she frowned. "Mou...come on, I'll
fix dinner."
"You don't have to--"
She quelled him with a stern look. "I'll fix dinner."
"Hai, hai."
As they walked down the hall toward the kitchen and dining room, the phone
rang. She picked it up. "Moshi-moshi, Mihama residence. Ah, Tomo-chan! Eh?
The English homework? Mou...isn't Yomi-san there with you? Why can't she
help--ah, I see." With an apologetic glance and a roll of her eyes at her
father, who grinned in reply, she sat down for what was sure to be a long
call...
(end part one)
----------------------------------------------------------------------------
----------------------
Author's notes and disclaimers:
This was NOT intended to turn into a crossover when I started out. The
crossover aspect just...happened. ^^;;
For those who have only experienced the dubbed version of Meitantei Conan
(ie, Funimation's "Case Closed"), a brief rundown on who is who (in case you
couldn't tell from context):
Kudo Shinichi: "Jimmy Kudo".
Mouri Ran: "Rachel Moore".
Mouri Kogoro: "Richard Moore".
Suzuki Sonoko: "Serena Sebastian".
Megure-keibu: "Inspector Meguire".
Ayumi, Genta, Mitsuhiko: "Amy", "George", and "Mitch".
Kudo Yukiko: "Vivian Kudo".
Hattori Heiji: "Harley Hartwell".
Others here who are introduced in the dub have the same name in both
versions (Conan, Agasa, Gin, Vodka).
Everyone else mentioned hasn't been introduced yet in the dub, so don't
worry about them for now. The only two that really matter are Haibara Ai and
Vermouth. Vermouth is, obviously, a very important high-up member of the
Black Organisation, and Haibara Ai is the Black Org scientist Miyano Shiho,
aka "Sherry", who created the APTX-4869...the drug that changed Shinichi
into Conan, and herself into Ai. If you want any more details than that,
feel free to look them up yourself :P
Also, regarding the forensics stuff: Before anyone comments, when a crime
such as murder occurs, everyone who is present on the scene is (or is
SUPPOSED to be) fingerprinted by investigators, so that any prints left
behind on the victim, the weapon, and any other pertinent evidence are
identified as either belonging to the victim, the suspect(s), witnesses, or
people who are otherwise uninvolved. Normally, this is used to find the
suspect, but since the cases Conan is involved with are almost always
solved--with a confession--on the scene, the investigators probably don't
bother with much beyond the formal paperwork, which may explain why nobody
has ever noticed that Kudo Shinichi's fingerprints always turn up where they
shouldn't, and Edogawa Conan's NEVER turn up. (Though realistically, the
database search should kick out two matches, which would trip ANY
investigator up, because two fingerprint matches shouldn't be possible, even
with identical fraternal twins.)
Any actual police forensics investigators on the FFML may feel free to
correct me. ^_^
Okay, disclaimers:
Meitantei Conan belongs to Aoyama Gosho, Shogakukan, Yomiuri Television, VIZ
Communications, and Funimation. Azumanga Daioh belongs to Azuma Kiyohiko,
Dengeki Comics, Genco, JC Staff, and ADV. No permission has been obtained
from any of the copyright holders for the use of characters and situations
from these series. This work of fiction is not for profit and not intended
to infringe on copyrighted intellectual property in any significant or
harmful way.
Whew...
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no sense in retrospect, but at the time, seem perfectly logical and
justified.
"That was how the second most surreal night of my life began.
"My name? Well...that depends on who you ask..."
* * * * * * * * *
"...reknowned genius detective who is still in high school, often hailed as
the savior of the Japanese police. Missing for several months, officials are
now beginning to question whether or not Kudo Shinichi is still alive..."
"Heh."
In the shadow of an awning, he pulled a cigarette from a case, clenching it
between teeth which gleamed in the darkness.
"That punk, huh?"
Cold eyes scanned the streets as a match sparked to life, rising to ignite
the tobacco.
"Che...he wasn't that tough."
Taking a deep puff, he glanced toward the door of the building opposite,
exhaling a cloud of smoke into the chill night air.
"Dammit...what's taking that idiot so long?"
* * * * * * * * *
"To recap tonight's top story, Japanese officials are now beginning to
question whether or not famous high-school detective Kudo Shinichi is still
alive--"
"That's horrible!" a girl exclaimed from the sidewalk as they passed the
store. "Ran...I'm sorry..."
The tall, brown-haired girl smiled, but it didn't reach her eyes. "Sonoko,
don't worry about it. I know he's still alive. I just know it!"
"But the police--"
"Sonoko," Ran said, her smile tightening, "I know because my heart tells
me...and because a dead man can't call on the telephone..."
* * * * * * * * *
Cold, murderous eyes widened.
* * * * * * * * *
"Eh? Really? He calls...?"
"Mm. Once every week or two, usually. He doesn't want me to worry." Ran
snorted. "As if. As if I'd..."
A soft red light in the darkness ahead caught her attention. The two girls
watched as a cigarette butt drifted to the sidewalk, the tobacco still
emitting a bright, cherry glow.
"HEY! Throwing a cigarette butt on the ground is rude!" Ran shouted,
stepping forward to confront the culprit lurking in the shadows. "Come out
of there or I'll..."
A click silenced her. It was a click of the type not normally heard in
Japan...but an unmistakable one nevertheless.
She looked into a pair of the most cold, ruthless eyes she had ever seen,
and froze.
"Now, what is this you were saying about...Kudo Shinichi?" the tall,
black-clad man asked. The gun muzzle with the silencer pointed squarely at
her forehead chilled Ran almost as much as the man's eyes...
* * * * * * * * *
A small boy wandered down the dimly lit street, idly bouncing a soccer ball
between his knee and head. Ran was out late shopping with Sonoko, and
Kogoro, well...
Not that the idiot was useful for much of anything beyond a ventriloquist
dummy, anyway.
Still, between Ran's absence and his current statural handicap, that left
one truth which could not be ignored:
Edogawa Conan was viciously hungry.
So, he'd grabbed his pocket change and left the detective agency, feeling
the need for a little fresh air, some good food, and some exercise--which is
why he'd opted to bring his soccer ball along, as well as his power
sneakers--after all, it never hurt to be prepared.
As he walked, he reflected on the past week of his so-called life, a stormy
scowl that definitely did not belong on a child's face gathering as he
played back memories he'd much rather not have...
It had begun Monday, when the teacher chewed him out for being late to
class, and later for sleeping in class. He'd been sent home with a note, and
further scolded by Ran.
It's not as though it was HIS fault he'd been out until two in the morning
the previous night. Who knew it was going to take six hours to work around
the bumbling idiot and the incompetent police to solve that stupid murder?
Tuesday, Hattori had come to town to cheer for his favorite baseball team,
and dragged him and Ran along. The Osakajin had been particularly
irritating, and had rounded off a perfectly annoying day by swiping Conan's
voice modulator, hiding in the crowd at the stadium, and calling out to Ran
in Shinichi's voice.
Conan had kicked a souvenir baseball into his crotch for that one. Hattori
was just lucky he didn't crank his sneakers to full power--he knew it'd
upset and disappoint Kazuha if he did. Heh.
Wednesday, the Detective Boys had dragged him to some insipid Masked Yaiba
stunt show, during which a stage prop was rigged to kill one of the
performers. He'd solved the case, but made it home past curfew, and was
scolded again--though not as severely once he explained what had happened.
However, Kogoro had rumbled something about cheeky little brats trying to
pretend to be real detectives, and made several disparaging, drunken remarks
about "that Kudo upstart" which rattled around in Conan's head like pebbles
in a vacuum cleaner as he prepared for bed.
Thursday, some moron at school decided to play with his father's cigarette
lighter--right underneath the emergency sprinklers. He'd been thoroughly
soaked, and just barely got home and changed in time to avoid catching a
nasty cold.
And the previous day, Friday, he had been menaced by Mitsuhiko and Genta
after Ayumi tried to nag him into spending Saturday afternoon with her. Even
though he begged out of it, claiming to have errands to run for
"Ran-neechan", the two larger boys had been rather put out, and at Ayumi's
upset at his refusal, had only become more irate with him. The ensuing chase
and scuffle had been singularly humiliating.
The less said about Shinichi's weekly call to Ran, the better.
That, too, had been getting to him more than usual recently. Seeing Ran's
pain over his absence from her life always left him feeling raw, guilty, and
anguished. He knew he had been such an idiot before his change--such a jerk,
such a cad. He knew that now, because now, he would love nothing more than
to wrap his arms around Ran and...well, and be the man he was in heart and
mind, if not in body. To be deserving of her love, to show her how much he
cared...to really be there for her...to make up for all the pain he'd
caused, all the misery, all the tears...
But here he was, trapped in this small, scrawny shell, a child to the world
around him--to the woman he loved more than life itself...
*I should have told her THAT NIGHT,* he thought bitterly, fighting the tears
forming in his somber blue eyes.
As he stewed, Conan noticed a suspicious flash of light from the shadows...
* * * * * * * * *
"Sh-shinichi?" Ran gulped nervously.
"Yeah. You said he calls you. You must know where he is."
"I--no! I don't know! I ask but he'll never tell me! He just says he's on a
difficult case..."
"Yeah, I'll bet he is." The cold-eyed man smiled. It wasn't a kind smile at
all.
"Wh-what do you want with Shinichi?" Ran summoned the courage to ask.
"I don't see how that's any of your business."
Ran's fear of the man's gun--and his murderous eyes--kept her temper in
check. "Wh-what're you--are you going to kill me?"
The man with the gun raised an eyebrow. "Well now, that all depends."
"Depends?"
"On how useful you are to me," the man replied. His grin widened. With his
free hand, he placed another cigarette in his mouth. "You see, I might need
bait to lure Kudo out of hiding..."
He lit a match, holding it perilously close to Ran's nose...
* * * * * * * * *
The bright flash of fire in the shadows caught Conan's interest. He took a
step closer to the street, peering across...
....at the unmistakable visage of the man whose cold, murderous eyes haunted
his nightmares...and the girl whose beautiful face filled his days and
nights with longing and pain.
His eyes widened. Panic gripped his heart.
*GIN! And...he has RAN!*
Scowling, Conan bent down and adjusted his sneakers to full power, then
carefully took aim with the soccer ball.
*God, please do NOT let me miss...*
* * * * * * * * *
The cold-eyed man suddenly let out a yelp of pain as something collided with
his gun hand, hard and fast. The gun clattered to the pavement, and Ran
wasted no time kicking it as far away as she could.
The black-clad gunman clenched his hand in pain, cigarette falling from his
mouth. He looked at the wall--and the soccer ball embedded halfway in its
brick surface. His eyes widened. He turned...
"GIN!"
"Who's there?"
Ran and Sonoko both turned to face the source of that voice, across the
street. The flash of a streetlight reflected brilliantly off of a pair of
lenses. Dark brown hair, just visible in the dim lights, ruffled in the
night breeze. The diminuitive figure stepped forward...
"C-Conan-kun?!"
As the young boy entered the light, his eyes became visible. The rage in
them brought even the ruthless killer known as Gin short.
*What the--what's with this kid?!*
"Gin," the boy repeated, his voice grim and tight. "I finally have you. It
ends tonight."
"Wh-what're you talking about, kid?" Gin replied, voice regaining a bit of
his cockiness. "I've never seen you before in my life!" Inside, however, Gin
was as unnerved as he'd ever been. *How does this kid know who I am?!*
"Haven't you?" Conan smirked. "Oi, Ran! Don't just stand there!"
Ran blinked. "Eh?"
"GET HIM!"
"Ah...hai!" Remembering herself, Ran suddenly launched a vicious assault on
the black-clad man. Gin, unprepared for this, fell victim to the first kick,
barely ducked the punch that would have taken his head off, and countered
with a sweep that sent the girl sprawling. Sonoko, meanwhile, had recovered
her wits and run to pick up the discarded gun.
Gin smirked as he pulled a dagger from his coat. "Alright, girl, that's
enough out of you..."
"NO!" Conan snatched up a helmet that was strapped to a motorscooter parked
nearby and kicked it, sending it flying straight into Gin's face. Blood
fountained from his nose as he staggered, the knife clattering into the
shadows. Conan dashed across the street and kicked him in the shin. The
amplified force of the kick caused his leg to buckle with a sickening, sharp
*crack*, and he went down with a yell of pain.
Watching with detached horror and fascination, Ran began to wonder why the
noise had not attracted attention from the shops surrounding them.
"You little BASTARD!" Gin hissed, clutching at his nose, curling his wounded
leg protectively under him. "What the hell's your problem, kid?"
"You want to know what my problem is?" Conan asked, kneeling beside the
cold-eyed man. "Alright, I'll tell you. First, you were holding a gun on
Ran."
He kicked Gin in the ribs--only this time, he'd turned off his shoes'
enhanced abilities, so it was the normal kick of a seven-year-old boy.
"Second, all the lives you and your organisation have ruined and destroyed."
Kick.
"And third, MY LIFE FOR THE PAST EIGHT MONTHS HAS BEEN A LIVING HELL BECAUSE
OF YOU!" Another vicious kick, which caused something hard and metal to
clatter out of Gin's inner coat pocket. The object gleamed in the
streetlights, and Conan's smirk suddenly turned nasty.
"Oh? Is this what I think it is?" He picked up the case, opening it and
examining its contents.
"Conan-kun, what--?"
Conan ignored Ran, focusing his gaze on Gin. "APTX-4869."
Gin's eyes widened. "How the hell do you know about that?!"
"Oh, you don't remember? Let me refresh your memory. Eight months ago, near
the Tropical Land park. You used this. Do you remember who you used it on?"
Gin frowned. "That brat detective, Kudo."
"WHAT?! WHAT DID YOU DO TO SHINICHI, YOU BASTARD?!" Ran yelled, leaning down
and grabbing Gin by the collar.
"RAN! Enough!" Conan barked. Stunned, Ran dropped the black-clad felon.
Conan removed a red and white capsule from the case. "Yes...this is the
poison you forced into that boy detective. The untested, untraceable poison
developed by Miyano Shiho. Or as you call her, Sherry."
"How does a little punk like you know all that?" Gin demanded.
Conan kicked him again. "Shut up!" He leaned down and forced the pill into
the criminal's mouth, then took the water flask from the capsule case and
poured a liberal amount in. Gin, eyes wide, tried to spit it out, but
pressure to his throat by the boy forced him to swallow.
"You--you...do you know what you just did?!" Gin's eyes were wide with panic
and fear, his voice harsh and rasping with pain and terror.
"Yes," Conan replied calmly. "I do. But *you* don't. But you *will*."
"CONAN-KUN! What are you doing?!" Ran shrieked.
Conan glanced up at her, and she was taken aback by the look in his eyes.
Haunted, angry, wrathful...those were not the eyes of a child...! "Getting
even," he stated in the most cold, menacing voice Ran had ever heard.
"Conan-kun..."
Gin's entire body seized up with sudden, intense pain. *AAAH! My
bones...they're on fire...!* Wisps of steam began to rise from the
long-haired gunman as he clutched at his chest, the bleeding of his nose
long forgotten. *My heart...it feels like it's going to explode!* He looked
up at the calm, cold face looking down on him, doubling as his vision
blurred...black spots danced in his eyes in time with the pounding of his
heart...he tried to yell in rage, say anything at all, but all he could
manage was a strangled choke...
"ANIKI!" a voice bellowed. Another figure in black rushed up. A gun was
drawn, targetted on Ran.
"CHIKUSHOU! I forgot about Vodka!" Conan cursed.
"What the hell's going on here? Aniki!!"
"DROP IT!" Everyone except Gin turned to Sonoko, mildly surprised that the
vacuous teenager was holding Gin's discarded gun in a shaky grip, and
pointing it at Vodka. The thug seemed taken aback.
"Better do what she says. Besides, you've got other things to worry about,"
Conan smirked.
Vodka slowly laid his gun on the ground, then rushed over to his partner,
who was gasping and shaking on the ground, clutching at his chest and throat
in horror. "Aniki! What's--"
What happened next came as a surprise for three of the four onlookers. The
cold-eyed criminal suddenly began to collapse into his clothing, soon
disappearing completely within the folds of the black coat. A thinning cloud
of vapor shrouded the dark garment, like mist over a graveyard.
"He--he disappeared!" Ran shrieked.
"Not quite," Conan said, stepping forward. He pulled the lapel of the coat
back, and revealed a terrified child with wide eyes and long, straw-coloured
hair.
"Aniki?!" Vodka gasped.
Gin looked down at his hands, which had fallen out of the black gloves he
wore. "Wha--what happened--?" He looked up at the bespectacled child...and
his eyes widened further. "You...don't tell me...!"
Conan removed his glasses. "*I'M* Kudo Shinichi, you piece of shit, and I'd
say justice has been served."
"SHINICHI--!?"
Vodka swept the diminished form of Gin, black coat and all, up in his arms.
"You...Kudo...you'll pay for this! I swear it!" He began to run. Sonoko
tried to shoot him, but missed. Conan, cursing, picked up the forgotten
helmet, cranked up his sneakers...
....but it was no use. Vodka had turned the corner, and when the three of
them finally caught up, a black Porsche was roaring away into the night.
"Dammit!" Conan growled, slamming his fist against a nearby wall. "I let
them get away! I'm so STUPID!"
A hand touched his shoulder, and he looked up. A pair of large, wet eyes
shone down at him from a tear-streaked, frightened face.
"Shinichi...?"
The young detective slumped. "Ah, shit..."
* * * * * * * * *
"Fucking detective brat...!"
"Aniki...are you alright?"
"Do I *LOOK* alright, idiot?!" Gin's small hands fumbled in the pockets of
his now-enormous coat, searching for his phone. He pulled it out, beginning
to dial...then paused, frowning. "Dammit...Vodka, you're going to have to
make the call."
The square-jawed man frowned, then nodded, accepting the phone. Completing
the number, he pressed 'Send'. Beside him, the diminished Gin continued to
mutter various imprecations about Kudo Shinichi.
"Bastard...when I get hold of that little punk..."
//What is it, Gin?//
"This is Vodka. There's been a...small incident."
"Take your short jokes and shove them up your ass, along with my foot," Gin
seethed.
//Vodka? Where is Gin?//
"I'll KILL that goddamn son of a bitch!"
"He's here, but he's...not exactly in any shape to talk right now. I'm
bringing him to the safehouse."
"--fucking bathe in his bloody GUTS--!"
Gin's tirade abruptly ceased as Vodka slammed one rock-like fist over his
head, knocking him out cold.
//What the hell's going on?//
"I'll explain when I get there."
* * * * * * * * *
"Shinichi? Is it...really...?"
Conan glanced around, and his eyes fell on Sonoko. "Oi, Sonoko. The gun."
The blonde blinked. "Eh?"
"The gun! Give me the gun!"
Sonoko stared down at the cold steel in her hands, eyes widening suddenly.
It nearly fell from her hand onto the street.
Conan growled and marched over to her, practically ripping the weapon out of
her hand. He fished a handkerchief from his pocket and began carefully
wiping the gun, taking care not to touch any part of it with his own
fingers.
"Cona--iie, Shinichi..." Ran began again.
The young boy sighed, folding the handkerchief around the gun and slipping
it into his own pocket. "Yeah, Ran. It's me. All those times you suspected,
you were right. It wasn't easy staying a step ahead of you."
Ran's eyes narrowed. "Why? Why did you need to lie?"
Conan shot her an incredulous stare. "BAROU! Didn't you see what just
happened here? Don't you understand? I'M A TARGET! These guys aren't playing
games, Ran! They make the yakuza look like playground bullies! I had to let
the world think I was dead! I couldn't take ANY chances..." He sighed. "And
yet, there were some chances...I had to take." He looked up. "I had to call
you. I had to...I couldn't bear seeing you suffering and not being able
to..."
"And if you'd just told me the truth from the beginning..."
"I'd have put you in danger. The fewer people who knew, the better." He
chuckled. "Not that it matters now. I really stepped in it tonight. I can't
blame THAT fiasco on anyone but myself." He sighed, and looked at the two
girls. "We should get off the street. Sonoko, you're staying with us
tonight."
"H-hai..."
* * * * * * * * *
"Megure-keibu," began the forensics technician as he entered the inspector's
office.
Megure glanced up from the report he was filling out. "Ah, do you have the
workup on the evidence for the Kawazu case?"
"Hai." The tech placed a sheaf of papers on the desk, bowed, and withdrew.
The portly inspector stretched, yawning, and picked up the new documents,
idly thumbing through them. He paused for a moment, frowning; he had the
nagging feeling something was out of place. Something missing? Or something
that shouldn't be there...
Hunching over his desk, he began examining the document more closely. It was
a standard workup; a fingerprint list taken from an object which was a
crucial piece of evidence in a murder case. The object in question, a
photograph, had been handled by everyone connected to the case at one point
or another--himself (though he had worn gloves), the victim, the confessed
killer, the two other suspects who had been cleared, Mouri Kogorou, his
daughter Ran, even the precocious little tagalong, Conan-kun, who always
seemed to be around every time there was a murder investigation.
And that, presently, was what was disturbing him:
The name "Edogawa Conan" was NOT on the fingerprint list.
He briefly considered that maybe the child's fingerprints had simply been
wiped off by someone else handling the photograph, or that someone's prints
had overlapped his and obscured them--perhaps even his own gloves had wiped
them free. It was certainly not unheard of...
....but then his train of thought abruptly derailed as he noticed a name on
the list which did not belong.
KUDO SHINICHI
"Kudo...but he's..."
Megure's eyes narrowed, his mustache twitching as he frowned thoughtfully.
He pressed the intercom on his phone, and called for the forensics
technician to return.
"Hai, keibu-dono?" the harried man asked as he rushed into the room.
Megure sat forward, chin resting on his hands. "When you ran the fingerprint
analysis on the photograph, did you notice anything particularly unusual
about any of the prints?"
"Unusual?"
The inspector tapped the paperwork in front of him. "I see the name Kudo
Shinichi on here, but he wasn't at the crime scene--if you've been following
the news, you know nobody's seen him in months. Was there anything--"
"Ah!" The technician slapped his fist into his open palm. "Right...there was
a minor discrepancy in that the size of that set of fingerprints was
inconsistent with the age of the individual."
"Inconsistent?"
"Hai. It was odd...it could be explained by a very light touch, or something
pinching the fingers, but Kudo Shinichi-san's fingerprints were abnormally
small for an eighteen-year-old man. They were more consistent with the
prints of a preadolescent." He shrugged. "Given the age of the photograph,
though, it's not possible Kudo-san could have handled it as a child. I don't
entirely understand it, but...the prints matched in the database."
"And Edogawa Conan-kun? His prints were not found on the photograph?"
The technician frowned. "Not that I recall. I ran every set of prints
through the database twice. Standard procedure. His name didn't come up.
Either he didn't touch the photograph, or someone forgot to print him at the
scene."
"I see. Okay, thank you." As the technician bowed and left, Megure stroked
his chin, frowning.
*More consistent with the prints of a preadolescent...*
*The fingerprints of Edogawa Conan were not present on the photograph...*
*And Kudo-kun has been missing for months...*
Megure's eyes widened. "That...no, that's...ridiculous..."
But suddenly, he didn't seem to be able to shake the notion out of his
head...
* * * * * * * * *
The three of them trooped into the apartment on the third floor. "Tadaima,"
Ran called, removing her shoes, as behind her, Sonoko and Conan did
likewise. The small detective then carefully locked the door.
"Oi, Ran! Where've you been? It's really late! Do you think a man could get
some dinner around here?"
"Gomen ne, Otousan. I'll--"
"Order pizza," Conan commanded, his tone now all business as he marched into
the living room and fixed the older detective with a sharp gaze. "Use my
expense account. Order a few, and sodas too. Sonoko's here, and we're all
going to be up all night."
Kogoro stared at the boy, mouth agape like a fish. The stern impatience in
the sharp blue eyes--no longer hidden behind glass lenses--made the older
man ill at ease. "Oi, brat...what do you think you are, coming in and
barking orders like--"
"Just do it, and quickly," Conan snapped. "We have a problem, and there's a
lot to talk about. We're ALL in danger now."
Kogoro blinked. "Wha--Ran, what's going on? And you, boy, mind how you talk
to your elders..."
"Otousan, Sh--Conan's right. We have a BIG problem."
"Or a small one," Sonoko murmured, eyeing the younger boy, her usual
attitude beginning to return.
Kogoro looked at the three of them, expression unreadable. "What's going
on?"
"Better go ahead and take care of ordering those pizzas first," Ran
suggested. "I have a feeling it's gonna be a long night..."
* * * * * * * * *
Vermouth raised an eyebrow as Vodka walked in, carrying a small child in his
arms. A rather angry-looking child, who seemed to take exception to being
carried, and who was wrapped in what she recognised as Gin's coat.
"Where's Gin?" she asked. "And what's with the kid?"
"I *am* Gin," the boy hissed, wriggling free of Vodka's grasp and wrapping
the coat around his small frame. He winced as, upon making contact with the
floor, his ruined leg buckled, sending him sprawling. "DAMN that Kudo
brat...!"
Vermouth blinked. "Kudo..." Then, she laughed.
Gin stared at her. "What's *your* fucking problem?"
"Oh, this is rich. Kudo forced you to take APTX-4869, didn't he?"
The other two stared at her. "You *KNEW*?!"
"Of course I knew," Vermouth said lightly. "I've known for some time that
Kudo Shinichi was still alive...AND had a hunch what the...*unusual* effects
of the apotoxin are."
"And you didn't tell me this WHY?" Gin demanded hotly.
"Because you didn't need to know, and because I've been having fun toying
with him--and his Angel," she replied. "And besides, Kudo is our best lead
to finding Sherry." She smirked. "Who, incidentally, is also, unless I am
very much mistaken, a member of the height-impaired club."
Gin's eyes widened. "You mean she's--that traitorous bitch is--?"
"The same as you are now," Vermouth nodded, smiling.
"WHY DID YOU NEVER TELL US ANY OF THIS?" Gin roared--well, as best he could,
given his current size and voice.
"As I said...you didn't need to know. But that's rather a moot point now,
isn't it? So it's time to make a new plan, to deal with the traitor...AND a
certain cool guy." Suddenly, her smile grew much, much nastier. "But first,
I think it's time a very careless agent relearned a few old lessons..."
* * * * * * * * *
"Okay," Kogoro began as he hung up the phone, "Now, is anyone going to tell
me what happened tonight? And why we're all taking orders from the brat all
of a sudden?"
"Because the *brat*," Ran said archly, "is Shinichi."
Kogoro spat out the beer he had just drunk. "WHAT?!"
"It's true," Conan said, leaning against the wall. "I'm Kudo Shinichi."
Kogoro looked from Conan, to Ran, to Sonoko, and back. He then burst out
laughing. "Oh, that's hilarious! You almost had me going for a few minutes,
but you *know* I'm not stupid enough to fall for--"
"This is not a joke, or a lie, or a game," Conan said, his voice taking on
the rough, serious timbre that revealed how very much unchildlike he was.
"Ran was attacked tonight by the same men who did this to me. I stopped her
from being taken or hurt, and then--"
"And then he fed that man in black some kind of drug, and..." Ran swallowed.
"We saw him...change. All of us. We saw it. That man turned into a
kid...just like Co--Shinichi."
Kogoro stared, dumbstruck, at the three of them, eyes wide. "You--what
you're saying isn't--it can't be..."
"Eight months ago," Conan interrupted, "the day I went to Tropical Land with
Ran, I stepped into something bigger than I realised, and *this*--" he
gestured at his diminuitive body-- "is the price I paid. Edogawa Conan was
born that night, out of desperation. I didn't realise at the time just how
bad the situation really was...or that I'd be stuck like this for as long as
I have."
Kogoro frowned. "But--no, we've seen Kudo since then, remember, Ran? When
that Osaka boy showed up?"
"THAT was Hattori's fault," Conan said with a wry smirk. "Remember the first
time we met him? He gave me a glass of Chinese whiskey for my cold? It
changed me back...for a little while." He glanced at Ran. "Remember, I was
trying to get that bottle off the shelf later, and you stopped me?"
Ran nodded mutely.
"That's why. I thought drinking more of it would change me back for good. Or
at least longer than the first shot did. But it turns out, it was a one-time
deal." He winced. "I can still remember the hangover, too."
"And what about that other time we all saw you?"
"You mean that day? A 24-hour temporary cure...a certain acquaintance
concocted it for me, but it's dangerous to use it too much, and I've been
warned not to use it again unless it's absolutely necessary. It could kill
me."
Ran knelt beside him. "Shinichi..."
Kogoro leaned across the table and glared at the boy with narrowed eyes.
"Okay, so explain how your mother--CONAN'S mother--showed up looking for
you, if you're really Kudo."
"Edogawa Conan doesn't have a mother," Conan replied. "That woman *was* my
mother, though--Kudo Yukiko, in disguise. She IS an actress, remember?" He
chuckled. "She sure fooled me. Her and Tousan both...they took me for a real
ride, that day..."
The older detective sat back, crossing his arms. "You know," he said at
length, "Thinking about it, you DO *look* like Kudo." He paused. "But if you
really ARE Kudo--"
"He is, Otousan. I'm sure of it." Ran stepped up to the desk.
"I've...suspected, for a long time. I've noticed things...habits, the way he
acts sometimes, how he seems so much smarter than a normal kid. And there
were times...but every time I really began to believe it, something
happened--he showed up, or I got a phone call, or..." She glanced back at
Conan, uncertainly.
Conan solemnly removed his bow tie, fiddled with a dial behind the red silk,
and raised it to his mouth. "I'm really sorry about that, Ran," he
spoke--and the eyes of the others widened as Kudo Shinichi's voice came out.
"I had to do things I hated doing--lying to you, fooling you--to keep my
secret. I couldn't be found out..."
Kogoro suddenly stood up, marched over to Conan, and snatched the bowtie
away from him. "Give me that!" He glanced at the back of it, seeing the
dials there. "A voice disguiser?" He spoke into the tiny microphone.
"Testing, one, two..." His voice came out sounding like Shinichi, and he
blinked, tossing the device onto the table.
"Agasa-hakase's handiwork," Conan replied, once again with the voice of a
child--and yet not the voice of a child. "A few other things, too, like the
sneakers, the skateboard--because he knew I'd need them, since I can never
keep my nose out of a mystery."
Kogoro grunted. "True, you DO seem to get into everything..." He paused,
narrowing his eyes. "This voice changer...can it do other voices? Besides
that one? Like, for instance, mine?"
"Erk!"
Ran frowned. "Shinichi...I remember seeing you do something funny with your
watch one time..."
Conan began to sweat. "Er...ah..."
Kogoro reached down and picked Conan up by the collar. "Oi, runt. Anything
else you want to say while you're sharing secrets?"
The doorbell rang.
"Um...pizza's here?" Conan ventured, slipping into his 'cute-little-kid'
voice with a nervous chuckle.
* * * * * * * * *
While the others were distracted by the arrival of the pizza, Conan slipped
to the phone and made a call. "Agasa-hakase? Sorry to call so late. We've
had a little trouble tonight. Tell Haibara that I've got APTX-4869. Yeah,
you heard me. No, I'm fine. Uh...problem, though. Ran, Mouri-san, and Sonoko
all know about me now. And...aheh...so do Gin and Vodka. I know, I KNOW!
Yeah, I know she's gonna be pissed. Just tell her to get over here and get
this pill case from me as soon as she can. And tell her to be careful!"
After he hung up, he rejoined the others for dinner and further
explanations. There had been many tense moments, and some truly embarassing
ones. He'd been interrogated rather harshly about a number of
things--particularly after Sonoko had, in jest, snagged his watch and
wondered what kind of 'secret spy thing' it was. He'd tried to stop her from
messing around with it, but the inevitable had happened--she'd accidentally
shot herself with the microtranquiliser, and slumped face-first into her
slice of corn and tofu pizza. After seeing this, Kogoro had asked a very
pointed question about the 'great Sleeping Kogoro', which had been followed
by a fifteen-minute chase around the living room, and ended with a large,
painful lump on Conan's head. The disgruntled detective had then flopped
down in front of the television with a beer, the remote, and a volley of
glares aimed at the shrunken youth.
About an hour after Conan's call to Agasa's house, the bell once again rang.
Ran cautiously opened the door to find a small figure dressed in a hooded
lavender parka, hands jammed firmly in the pockets, face obscured by a
sterile mask and sunglasses. Her heart lurched. "Ano..."
A hand reached up slowly and tugged off the mask. "I need to see Kudo-kun."
Ran exhaled loudly. "Oh, it's Ai-chan. Come on in..."
The small girl pushed past her, shaking off her hood and removing her dark
glasses. She scowled as her eyes searched the room.
"Ran? Who was..."
Like lightning, the small girl shot across the room, stopping at the door to
the toilet, and...
*CRACK*
"Ai-chan!" Ran shouted, eyes wide.
A stunned Conan fell backwards onto the tile floor, clutching his red cheek.
"You IDIOT," Ai seethed. "You utter FOOL."
"Ne, Ai-chan..." Ran began, reproach in her tone. The younger girl's gaze
stopped her cold.
"Kudo-kun has put all of us in danger. Especially *me*. I don't appreciate
being put in even more danger by a thoughtless, idiotic act of someone who
doesn't think before he does STUPID THINGS!"
It was then that Ai's use of Conan's real name registered on Ran.
"Masaka...Ai-chan, are you...?"
"Like the idiot detective here? Yes."
"Haibara...gomen."
Both girls looked at Conan, who was getting to his feet. He looked down at
the ground. "I know, I screwed up. He...he was threatening Ran. And...I
guess that on top of everything else...it just got to me."
Ai sighed. "Well, what's done is done. So, give me the apotoxin."
Conan reached into his jacket and produced the pill case. Ai examined it,
nodding. "Right. There's five capsules missing out of eight. That means
other than you, Gin has poisoned four people with this."
"Three." At Ai's questioning glance, Conan smiled grimly. "The fourth...was
revenge."
Ai blinked...then stared, slack-jawed. "You didn't."
"I did."
"So when they got away..."
"Vodka had to carry Gin, yeah."
Ai then did something very out of character for her--she laughed out loud.
"Well, you're still an idiot, but you're an idiot with style." She then
paused, frowning. "Of course, this means that now they know what APTX-4869
*does*, so they'll know--"
Conan sighed. "Your 'disguise' is useless now. I'm sorry, Haibara."
Ai waved a hand dismissively. "I was never safe to begin with, even with
this. Too many people in the organisation knew me when I *was* this age,
remember? I told you that when we went through that whole thing with Pisco."
"Ah, right..." The small boy stuck his hands in his pockets, frowning. "So
what's our next move?"
"MY next move is to get back to the lab and see if I can make a cure, now
that I have the drug. YOURS is to make sure none of us die before then. Oh,
and..." She frowned. "It won't be easy, but try to track down the other
victims of this stupid thing." She tapped the pill case for emphasis. "There
may be other people out there like us--we need to find them and get them all
together. Right now, anyone who has taken APTX-4869 and lived is the most
valuable weapon we have against them."
Conan raised an eyebrow. "Do you have any idea how tall an order that is?
Finding little kids who aren't really kids here in Tokyo? Assuming they're
even all IN Tokyo?"
Ai met him with a cool stare. "You're the 'great detective', Kudo-kun.
Finding stray sheep is right up your alley." With that, she turned and left,
concealing her face with the hood, mask, and sunglasses once again.
Ran placed a hand on Conan's head and smiled down at him. "You can do it,
Shinichi. I know you can."
* * * * * * * * *
Elsewhere in Tokyo...
She sighed as she untied her pigtails, letting her hair fall free about her
shoulders. A routine nighttime ritual...except that seven months ago, it'd
never have been tied up in the first place.
"No...I can't start thinking about that again. Things are going too well
lately. I'm getting used to this life, and I have friends--good friends.
I'm...happy."
She WAS happy...right?
"Yeah. Happy."
"I'm glad to hear that."
Starting, she spun around--and relaxed, smiling. "Chichiue," she said.
He wagged a finger at her. "'Papa', remember? You're supposed to call me
'Papa' from now on. Cute little girls aren't that formal."
She rolled her eyes. "Hai, Papa." Picking up her brush, she turned back to
her vanity and sat, beginning to brush out her auburn locks. "So, how did it
go?"
Her father sighed. "Not well, I'm afraid. I've checked it as far as I can
without anyone getting suspicious, but..."
She nodded. "It's okay. I don't want to put you in danger. I don't think
they knew who I was, so it's best..." Frowning, she set down her brush and
turned to face him. "Maybe it's best if we just drop this whole thing."
"NO!" He bellowed, striding forward and putting his hands on her shoulders.
"I'm not going to forgive the bastards who did this to you! My precious
girl...you were halfway through college! Your future ahead of you--marriage,
family, everything..."
"And I *still* have a future, Chich--Papa." She patted his hands
comfortingly. "It's just going to be a little while longer, is all." She
sighed. "True, Ken-kun won't be part of it anymore. I can't expect him to
wait for me, even though I doubt this can be kept from him forever. And...I
do miss my friends." She sighed wistfully. "But I've got new friends now,
and...this life I'm living isn't so bad. You know how much I missed my high
school days, and now I can live them all over again..." She smiled, although
her eyes were damp. "It's going to be okay, Papa. I'll get through this. I'm
strong."
He crouched down in front of her, tears falling from his own eyes. "I know,
musume. You've always been stronger than me. It's just...I..."
"I know, Papa. I know." She stood and wrapped her arms around him--the
slender, small arms of a young, innocent girl--but not so young, not so
innocent.
Losing the baby had been the worst part of it.
But she was strong. She'd pulled through, and now she was going to overcome
everything. She was alive--she had her whole life ahead of her, and then
some. She had her friends, and she had her father. She had love all around
her, and that was more important than anything--more important than a cure,
and especially more important than revenge.
She could stand being eleven again. It wasn't such a bad age.
"Have you eaten, Papa?" At his headshake, she frowned. "Mou...come on, I'll
fix dinner."
"You don't have to--"
She quelled him with a stern look. "I'll fix dinner."
"Hai, hai."
As they walked down the hall toward the kitchen and dining room, the phone
rang. She picked it up. "Moshi-moshi, Mihama residence. Ah, Tomo-chan! Eh?
The English homework? Mou...isn't Yomi-san there with you? Why can't she
help--ah, I see." With an apologetic glance and a roll of her eyes at her
father, who grinned in reply, she sat down for what was sure to be a long
call...
(end part one)
----------------------------------------------------------------------------
----------------------
Author's notes and disclaimers:
This was NOT intended to turn into a crossover when I started out. The
crossover aspect just...happened. ^^;;
For those who have only experienced the dubbed version of Meitantei Conan
(ie, Funimation's "Case Closed"), a brief rundown on who is who (in case you
couldn't tell from context):
Kudo Shinichi: "Jimmy Kudo".
Mouri Ran: "Rachel Moore".
Mouri Kogoro: "Richard Moore".
Suzuki Sonoko: "Serena Sebastian".
Megure-keibu: "Inspector Meguire".
Ayumi, Genta, Mitsuhiko: "Amy", "George", and "Mitch".
Kudo Yukiko: "Vivian Kudo".
Hattori Heiji: "Harley Hartwell".
Others here who are introduced in the dub have the same name in both
versions (Conan, Agasa, Gin, Vodka).
Everyone else mentioned hasn't been introduced yet in the dub, so don't
worry about them for now. The only two that really matter are Haibara Ai and
Vermouth. Vermouth is, obviously, a very important high-up member of the
Black Organisation, and Haibara Ai is the Black Org scientist Miyano Shiho,
aka "Sherry", who created the APTX-4869...the drug that changed Shinichi
into Conan, and herself into Ai. If you want any more details than that,
feel free to look them up yourself :P
Also, regarding the forensics stuff: Before anyone comments, when a crime
such as murder occurs, everyone who is present on the scene is (or is
SUPPOSED to be) fingerprinted by investigators, so that any prints left
behind on the victim, the weapon, and any other pertinent evidence are
identified as either belonging to the victim, the suspect(s), witnesses, or
people who are otherwise uninvolved. Normally, this is used to find the
suspect, but since the cases Conan is involved with are almost always
solved--with a confession--on the scene, the investigators probably don't
bother with much beyond the formal paperwork, which may explain why nobody
has ever noticed that Kudo Shinichi's fingerprints always turn up where they
shouldn't, and Edogawa Conan's NEVER turn up. (Though realistically, the
database search should kick out two matches, which would trip ANY
investigator up, because two fingerprint matches shouldn't be possible, even
with identical fraternal twins.)
Any actual police forensics investigators on the FFML may feel free to
correct me. ^_^
Okay, disclaimers:
Meitantei Conan belongs to Aoyama Gosho, Shogakukan, Yomiuri Television, VIZ
Communications, and Funimation. Azumanga Daioh belongs to Azuma Kiyohiko,
Dengeki Comics, Genco, JC Staff, and ADV. No permission has been obtained
from any of the copyright holders for the use of characters and situations
from these series. This work of fiction is not for profit and not intended
to infringe on copyrighted intellectual property in any significant or
harmful way.
Whew...
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