Shinichi flipped the chair around and sat down, putting his arms on it and leaning forward.

They were in Yueling's kitchen. Him, Yueling, Rixin, Jacob, and Subaru Okiya. The day prior he'd solved a case here, and Shen and Yueling had plans to report the body and the break-ins to the police within a couple of hours.

"So," Jacob said. "What you're saying is...that you're a mole within that Organization?"

"That is correct," Shinichi said. "I work for a woman named Elena Miyano, and have been as such for roughly seven or eight months now."

Rixin nodded. "I believe you."

Yueling and Jacob turned to him. "Huh?"

"Before he came here I already saw his name and face on the list of members," Rixin said. "When I was told that the person who was asking about me was 'some kid', I suspected it might be him."

"Okay, but why do you believe him?" Yueling asked.

Rixin sighed. "Okay, I guess there's no harm in saying this now. It was about a year and a half ago. I was trailing the President of a certain company. Me and my associates suspected he was engaged in some really scary corrupt dealings. So we followed him to an amusement park. A place called Tropical L-

"H-H-Hold up a minute!" Shinichi said, standing up. "You were there?!"

Rixin nodded. "Yes. Yes I was. I saw that guy take you from behind, hit you over the head, and then feed you something."

"Then why didn't you help me?! Surely you knew what they gave me couldn't have been anything good!"

"I thought you were already dead," Rixin said. "I figured that it was some kind of fast-acting poison they gave you, and I didn't want to risk anything. If I reported what I saw to the police, I'd most likely have to stay behind and be questioned. And if not, then the people who did that to you would know that some outside party had been present that night spying on them. So instead, I trailed those two guys as they were leaving. What were their names again?"

"Gin and Vodka," Shinichi said.

"Right. I wasn't able to follow them for very long, because they apparently managed to shake me pretty fast, but I learned enough to pick up their trail later. And that's how I managed to infiltrate the Organization."

Shinichi sat back down. "Well, I guess if you had stopped to helped me then the world would've known that I was still alive and had shrunk to the-

They all looked at him funny.

"Uh, never mind," he said. "In any case, I'm okay with the way things happened that night."

"I'm glad to hear that," Rixin said. "But please indulge us: why mustn't these files be leaked?"

"I myself am not entirely sure," Shinichi admitted. "But there's something called Nobutaro's Prophecy."

"A...prophecy?" Jacob repeated. "Like a religious thing?"

"Again, I'm not sure," Shinichi said. "But the prophecy says everything's going to play out a certain way. And tremendous amounts of effort have gone towards ensuring that even the most improbable articles of that prophecy have been fulfilled. Things large enough that you wouldn't think any one person could determine the outcome of such. If that prophecy gets derailed as a result of our actions, our best chance of defeating the Organization will fly out the window. Those files getting leaked could have that exact effect, or so Elena-san is worried."

He turned to Jacob. "Again, I'm sorry about your eye."

Jacob grinned. "Hey, don't worry about it. Whatever this guy here (he then pointed to Okiya) gave me healed them right up. Better than that, actually: I've got like 20/20 givsion now. And I'll bet that's not the only part of me that's been given a little upgrade. Probably won't need to see a doctor for another ten years."

"I shouldn't have to remind all of you," Okiya said, "that it's extremely important you don't breathe a word of this to anyone."

Rixin and Jacob nodded. "We won't."

And then Yueling stood up abruptly. "HEEEEEEEEEHHHH?!"

"Geez, don't shout like that!" Rixin said.

"What's wrong? Surely you didn't tell somebody?" Jacob asked.

"Worse!" she said, her face bright red. "Rixin, I posted your last will and testament video online!"

Rixin stood up. "What the heck?! Why would you do that?"

"I thought that burglar was going to kill me," she said. "You told me to upload the video and the link to the files if anything should happen to you, but I was in such a worried state of mind that I thought he'd kill me before then."

"Hey, what account did you post that on?" Shinichi asked.

"I didn't have a YoTube account before then," Yueling said. "I just made one for that purpose a couple of seconds before uploading the video."

Jacob breathed a sigh of relief. "In that case, it's possible that nobody's seen in yet. When was this?"

"Yesterday morning," Yueling said. "About an hour and a half after Rixin left to meet up with you."

"Then hurry up, go get your computer, and take it down!" Okiya said, uncharacteristically worrisome.

Yueling took out her computer and went to check out the video.

They huddled around the laptop and looked at it:

Zero views.

Yueling quickly deleted the video.

"And...done," Shinichi said. "Looks like my work here is done."

"Won't you guys stay for tea?" Yueling asked.

Jacob tapped on the table. "Well, I've had to reschedule my flight for later tonight, shell out a couple hundred extra for that, so yeah, I'm in."

"Count me out," Shinichi said. "I've got to get back to my friends. They think I stayed behind in the hotel room, but they should be finishing their sightseeing soon so I've got to get back before they do."

He got up and walked to the front door. He put his hand on the doorknob when-

"Wait a minute," Rixin said, walking up to him.

"Yes?"

"There's something I need to tell you, before you go," Rixin said, "considering that I probably won't see you again after this."

Shinichi took his hand off the doorknob and faced Rixin properly.

"You have been an inspiration to me," Rixin said. "It was your sacrifice that led me to risk my life. Even after I learned that you were still alive, I knew that you were risking your life daily for the greater cause. My hat off to you, if I was wearing one. You are a flower in this world."

Shinichi shook his head. "No sir, I'm just a guy who's doing what he was born to do. "

And with that, he opened the door and stepped out to meet the light's embrace, a grand exit for the young man who was a detective.

Opening

(Angel Night by Psy-S, an opening to City Hunter, performed here by Garnet Crow)

(To act decisively is a prerequisite to victory! Seize the day or die trying! Shiro-kun flips the tables at long last, and the Men in Black spring into action, breaking the long peace! Are we in for the fight of our lives? Perceiving the one and only truth! With the body of a child but the mind of an adult, my name is DETECTIVE CONAN!)

Irumine shon mashita ni mioroshi

Yoru wo nobotte ku ESCALATOR

Kooritsuita BIRU no tanima wo

HEADLIGHT no kawa ga nagareru

Saisho ni suki ni natta no wa koe

Sore kara senaka to totonoerareta yubisuki

Tokidoki damarigachi ni naru kuse

Dokoka e itte shimau kokoro to MELODY

ANGEL VOICE na wo yonde mimi sumasu ECHO

SHINING SMILE kaze ni chiru hanabira to KISS

ANGEL VOICE atarashii natsukashii ECHO

SHINING SMILE isogazu ni ari no mama KISS

Black Mass! Part One!

*beep beep*

*beep beep*

Da**it, Kanehiko thought.

"I'm sorry, the number you've reached is not available. Please leave a message."

He sighed, and:

"Oi, Yukichi, call me back, will ya? You can't hide from this forever, you know. I won't say that I'm not mad, but I'm willing to forgive you if you just come home. We can talk about this over a hot meal."

Putting the phone back in his pocket, he stepped inside.

"Torishima-san. We've been expecting you."

"Is it done?"

"Yes, your credit card account is frozen."

Kanehiko breathed a sigh of relief.

"Torishima-san, I don't know how to break this to you, but...quite a lot of debt has been accrued on your card. Whoever it was bought one luxury vehicle, they spent 160,000 yen at a strip club, purchased 20 bottles of expensive champagne, ate out twice at a five-star restaurant and booked a room in a top-notch hotel...on top of some smaller miscellaneous purchases."

Kanehiko nodded. "I understand."

"Might you any idea who was behind this?"

"Yes. It was my good-for-nothing son. I take full responsibility for this."

"As we would expect you to. I am sorry, but this sum amounts to over 30 million yen."

(Author's Note: $300,000 USD)

Taken back by that high figure, Kanehiko needed a second to catch his breath.

And then:

"Yes, yes. I will pay that back. Whatever it takes. Please just make sure that it won't be possible for my son to make any additional purchases in the future."

"We will, of course. Have a nice day, Torishima-san."

Kanehiko bowed politely and walked out, to face an uncertain and unwelcome future.

Scene Transition

*wheeze wheeze*

Ayumi patted Genta on the back. "Hang in there."

"What are you doing?" Mitsuhiko chided for the upteenth time. "Why's he on his hands and knees? He's looking straight down that way, right?"

"But my eyes are closed," Genta said.

This was a mistake, Dr. Agasa thought.

He'd shelled out a large sum for all of them to get a ride on the Ngong Ping 360, a sort of cable car that granted tourists a one-of-a-kind view of Lantau Island, which was also the location of the Hong Kong Disneyland (they would not be going there as it'd be too expensive). Not only that, but he even paid extra for them to ride in the "crystal cabin", which had a glass bottom.

Long Zhaoyi, age 44, their polyglot tour guide, chuckled. "Kind of a waste of money, huh?"

"Well, it's not like he can help it," the Professor said, swallowing his irritation.

Then Zhaoyi's eyes widened somewhat. "Hey, all of you, look over there! You see that?"

With the exception of Genta they all went up to the transparent wall to look.

It was a giant statue of Siddhartha Gautama, better known as "the Buddha". It was still pretty far off, but-

"Yup, we should be landing soon," Zhaoyi said.

He turned to the Professor. "So, where to next?"

"Um, I'm not sure," the Professor said. "Ai-kun researched Hong Kong for me and emailed some of her recommendations to my phone. Just give me a second."

"Ai-kun?" Zhaoyi repeated. "Oh, is that the name of your wife?"

"N-no, she's a girl who I've been taking care of," the Professor said.

That wouldn't be such an off description though, he thought with a deadpan look, reminded of how he'd been made to shed five pounds in the past month.

Well, that's the one good thing about this trip, he thought. Since she's not here, I get to eat like a king.

Then his eyes widened.

In Haibara's email he just now noticed that there was a "P.S." attached to it. It read:

"P.S. I know you'll want to totally pig out while in Hong Kong so I asked Ayumi-chan to keep an eye on you. Oh, and expect me to weigh you after you get back, to make sure you don't regain that dead weight we worked so hard to get rid of."

I guess not then, he thought dolefully.

He looked over the list and-

"Hmm? What's the Kowloon Walled City?"

"Oh, that?" Zhaoyi said. "Back in the day it was this huge megastructure of hundreds of houses and shops packed into one tiny space that tens of thousands of people lived in. There was nothing like it in the world. But it was demolished in the early 90s, so there's not a whole lot to see now. I don't think it'd be worth the travel time."

The Professor shrugged. "Alright then. I guess we can just...go back to the room for now."

"Huh? But I'm hungry," Genta said.

"Same," Mitsuhiko said. "All this walking builds up an appetite."

"Hey, what time is your show tonight?" Zhaoyi asked.

"Uh, 6:00," the Professor said. "But due to the fact that we won these tickets we get to show up an hour early for a behind the scenes tour."

"Oh that sounds like fun," Zhaoyi said. "Hey, listen, there's this really fantastic place to eat just two blocks from the hotel. They make the best dumplings. Fill them with quail meat, even."

"Alright, sounds good."

Shinichi should be just about done by now, the Professor thought. Surely.

Scene Transition

And sure enough, Conan was waiting for them when they returned to the room, playing a rom-com visual novel from the late 90s on a computer.

As soon as he heard them coming, he pressed Control+Alt+Delete and closed the laptop a few seconds later.

Then he jumped onto the bed, pulled the sheets over him, and pretended to be asleep.

The first thing Mitsuhiko did was walk across the room and put his hand on the laptop.

"How's it feel?" Ayumi asked.

"It's hot," Mitsuhiko said.

He pushed the button on the side and opened up the disk drive (it was old enough model a laptop that it still had one of those).

Conan got out of bed. "Dang it you guys, why do you have to ruin my fun?"

"Isn't material like this kind of like cheating on Nancy?" Genta said.

"Huuuuh?" Conan said. "It's not like that."

They all knew he was lying, of course. And he knew that they knew. At this point it was pretty much something that he was just obliged to say. Didn't want to be encouraging a bunch of 8 year olds to dabble in romantic relationships.

Then again, these eight year olds were rather exceptional, but still.

"So, did you guys have fun today?" Conan asked.

"Yeah!" Ayumi said, reaching into a small plastic bag. "I got this at a street shop! Isn't it cute?"

It was a plush goldfish with a stoic human expression on its face and a horn on its head.

"And I got this," Mitsuhiko said, taking the lid off a small rectangular box just big enough to fit two-

"Oh, those are called Baoding Balls, right?" Conan said.

"Yeah!" Mitsuhiko said. 'You spin them in your hand like this."

He gave a demonstration.

"...I hope you didn't pay good money for those," Conan said, "because to be honest those look like a huge waste of some minimum wage manufacturer's time."

"No, no," Mitsuhiko said. "They're good for your motor skills."

"Well, if I ever suffer a stroke then I'll be sure to ask you where under your bed you'll have thrown those and forgotten about them for ten years," he said.

Not funny, Mitsuhiko thought. You already had a seizure, didn't you, Conan?

Scene Transition

She pushed the door open and stepped inside.

The sober look on her mother's face was a bit unnerving; then again, Elena Miyano was a woman with a lot on her plate.

It felt wrong, almost. Just scheduling an appointment and showing up to a place like this, which was supposed to be a closely guarded secret, the headquarters of a group of people who devoted their lives to such an important cause, just to ask such a petty question.

No, Haibara thought. I scheduled this appointment. And the question is important. I needn't feel bad about this. I just have to make sure not to say anything too revealing on my end.

"Have a seat," Elena said.

Not sure whether Elena was speaking as a mother or as the head of the white organization, Haibara nonetheless had a seat facing Elena's desk, slightly disoriented by the light beaming in from the windows.

"What are you drinking?" Haibara asked.

"Coffee."

"Hmm? I would've pegged you for more of a tea person."

"Why? Because I'm British?"

Haibara wasn't sure how to answer, or why she asked that question in the first place.

"To what do I owe the pleasure of this visit?"

Haibara swallowed. "A-A while back, I..."

"Yes?"

"S-Somebody told me something. Information."

"Okay...?"

"It was on New Year's Day. Not this year, but last. You received a phone call then? About me?"

Elena thought about it for a second. "I did. It was what led to us finding out about your identity as Ai Haibara. But how did you know about that?"

"Who was that person? The one who called you."

"I don't know. He didn't give a name. He just called Line Zero and demanded to speak with me about my daughter. It was such an unusual and possibly alarming request that they patched him through to me. All I know was that the call was made from a sports stadium. The phone was thrown away shortly afterwards, after having been scrubbed of fingerprints."

Alright then, Haibara thought. It seems I was worrying over nothing.

"Who told you about that?" Elena asked. "I want to know."

It almost felt foolish now to Haibara: receiving confirmation about that one little thing, in exchange for putting herself in the compromising position that she was now in. She couldn't think of an answer, so...

"I'd prefer not to say."

"Now that's no fun at all. I talked, but you won't?"

"Can I go now?"

Elena sighed. "Well, you're the one who requested this appointment, so sure thing. It was nice talking to you again."

"Likewise."

Haibara got up and headed for the door when-

"Oh, and Shiho?"

Haibara stopped in her tracks and turned around.

Her mother smiled in such a warm fashion that would've taken her off guard, if not for having seen it during the recent vacation. Nonetheless, Elena's expression was still a lovely sight for sore eyes.

"You don't ever have to lie to me," Elena said. "Deep down, you know that we both want the same thing. You can tell me anything, at any time."

It was just about the strangest trigger, but Haibara's poker face just completely shattered. Her worsening internal conflict bubbled to the surface, escaping through her eyes.

Without saying another word she turned the doorknob and walked out of the room.

This visit was over.

Near one of the windows there was a potted plant. Elena stood up, walked over to it, and poured the rest of her coffee into its soil.

What's about to happen, she thought, the risk we're about to take with the lives of so many innocents...will Shiho forgive me?

Scene Transition

They took a taxi to a huge indoor stadium, where tonight's performance was scheduled to take place.

Within seconds they were greeted by a man speaking in Chinese.

Zhaoyi responded to the man in Chinese.

Then Zhaoyi turned to the tourists under his care. "This man is Mr. Li Zhuoshu, founder and manager of the Zodiac Circus. He says he is pleased to have you here today."

"Can he speak English?" Dr. Agasa asked.

Zhaoyi turned to Zhuoshu and asked the question. Then Zhuoshu responded.

"He can," Zhaoyi confirmed. "Why? Do any of you know English?"

"Me and Conan-kun are fluent enough," he said. "But that's okay."

"I see. Anyways, Mr. Li will be happy to let you all meet the men and women who do their hardest to put on this show that he hopes you'll all get to enjoy tonight."

Zhaoyi said something else to Zhuoshu, who then responded in kind.

"I can tag along too," Zhaoyi said.

Thank goodness, Conan thought.

Scene Transition

Zhuoshu said something in Chinese.

"And finally, this trailer is where the star of the show lives," Zhaoyi translated. "I'm sure you've all heard of Hangman Jing?"

"Hangman Jing," Ayumi repeated.

"Hangman Jing," Mitsuhiko repeated. "No, it doesn't sound familiar."

They shook their heads.

"He didn't perform in Tokyo," Zhaoyi explained, translating for Zhuoshu. "But you'll get the chance to see him in action tonight. His act is one-of-a-kind. There's nobody else like him on earth."

Zhuoshu, not waiting for Zhaoyi to finish, knocked on the door to the trailer. To the sound of women giggling, somebody angrily shouted something in response. Zhuoshu seemingly scolded the guy inside the trailer.

About a minute later, Jing Baosen (age 30) and four groupies emerged from the trailer.

Baosen said something.

"Hey now, surely these aren't those Japanese people who won that raffle?" Zhaoyi translated into Japanese.

"They are," Zhaoyi translated for Zhuoshu.

"Hmm, well, welcome to the circus then," he translated for Baosen. "I'm Hangman Jing, and tonight consider yourselves privileged because you'll be watching my 300th drop."

"Hmph, perhaps you should spend more time practicing and less time fooling around with girls," Zhaoyi translated for Fa Mingbi (age 33), a woman who was Baosen's manager.

"What's the matter, jealous that they're getting some of this and you're not?" Zhaoyi translated for Baosen, who raised his shirt and thumped his sick abs. "Correction, jealous that you're not getting some of this anymore."

"I think you should probably stop translating for them now," Dr. Agasa said to Zhaoyi.

"S-Sorry," Zhaoyi said. "But if they were speaking Japanese then you would've heard all that anyway, so..."

Baosen and Mingbi argued for a couple more seconds. Then Mingbi went her own way and Baosen retreated into his trailer alone, grumpy.

"I'm sorry you had to witness that," Zhaoyi translated for Zhuoshu. "But he really is the best performer we have. He's best doing his stunt since age 18 and the crowds have adored him ever since. We even have a nickname for him: The Prince."

"Pah, phooey," Zhaoyi translated for Wu Shangkun (age 24), a performer with slicked greased-up hair. "That guy's act is totally overrated. Now juggling sharp objects while pedaling for dear life, that's sexy. You know what they say: why have a motorcycle when you can have a unicycle?"

"Ah, I remember seeing him at the last show," Genta whispered to his young cohorts.

"I've literally never heard anybody say that," Zhaoyi translated for Mingbi.

"You still going on about that?" Zhaoyi translated for Zhuoshu. "With that kind of attitude you'll never be as popular as him, even if he were to die tomorrow. And put that cigarette out for goodness's sake. You know we don't allow that here."

Mumbling something under his breath, Shangkun began to walk away, throwing the cigarette in his mouth towards a public trash can and missing.

Sighing, Conan ran over, picked it up, and it in the trash where it belonged, fearing a fire hazard.

Scene Transition

The tour having ended, they took their seats inside the stadium, which was beginning to fill up with people.

"Now I just have to know," the Professor said. "Does one of you by any chance know what Jing-san's big act is?"

"Oh man, you're all in for a treat," Zhaoyi said. "Hangman Jing is the big finale wherever he performs. They erect a gallows for him, like what they used to do for executions. Then they cuff his hands behind his back and blindfold him, and they place a noose around his neck. Then they pull a lever and the trapdoor gives way beneath him. Just like an actual hanging."

"And you mean to tell me he survives that?!" the Professor exclaimed.

"But of course. The moment that the lever's pulled, he does an impressive flip and latches on to the top of the rope with his legs, so that he keeps himself from falling and snapping his neck. Then he wiggles his way down to the very bottom of the rope, several feet below the platform, and brings his hands in front of him."

"Hold up a minute," Conan said. "How on earth could he manage that? The only way would be to bring them up above his head, right? But isn't that impossible?"

"For a normal person, yes," Zhaoyi said. "But not for Jing. He was born with a condition that gives him a greater array of possible joint movements, including what I just described. So once his hands are free, he takes the blindfold and noose off, grabs on to the rope, and lets go with his legs, so that he's just holding on with his hands. That's like the big climax, if you will. He waves to the cheering crowds, and then lets go, falling into the safety of the net set up below."

"That sounds like a lot of work," the Professor said.

Zhaoyi nodded. "It is. A normal person would probably just die. I can scarcely imagine how he could safely practice something like that. But they do take some precautions: I hear he's contract bound to retain a certain muscle mass percentage, and to never exceed 126 pounds at any time. Additionally, he only performs the trick for a live audience twice a month. I've only gotten to see it once. But I've never forgotten it: Jing is the only man on earth who could've outright survived an old-fashioned hanging."

They'd probably just behead him then, Conan thought with a deadpan look.

"But is it actually that dangerous?" the Professor wondered.

"Oh yeah," Zhaoyi said. "He could die any time he does this stunt. On some level, the cynic in me believes that's the reason so many people turn out to places like this when he performs. They want to see if this time is his last."

"But couldn't that be said of the Chinese circus in general?" Conan said with a shrug. "Many of the acts here are dangerous. Not just Jing-san's."

And then, the lights dimmed. The show was beginning.

Scene Transition

The lights turned off on the three muscular men doing laps inside of hamster wheels, an act that was exactly as pointless as it may have sounded.

The guy over the loudspeaker said something in Chinese.

"This is the big finale," Zhaoyi translated.

"Alright!" Mitsuhiko said. "You mean we get to see Jing-san now?"

"Yeah," Zhaoyi said.

The stage lights shone upon a platform suspended well above the ground, where a gallows was set up. A skimpily dressed woman stood ready, with her hand on the lever that would drop the trap door.

Unfortunately, it seemed something was off. Jing Baosen was not there.

There began to emerge murmuring from the audience.

"I'm sure he'll be here in just a minute," Dr. Agasa said.

But one minute passed. Then two.

Finally, Conan got out of his seat and ran towards the exit. Having a good idea of what he was up to, the three Detective Boys got out of their seats and chased after him.

They went outside, circled around the building, and made it to Baosen's trailer, where Fa, Wu, and Li were standing at the door.

Li inserted a key and unlocked the door to the trailer. He swung it open and the three of them stepped inside.

Moments later-

"EEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE!"

At the sound of Mingbi's scream, Conan ran inside.

There lied Baosen on the floor, in a puddle of his own blood, lifeless.

Ending

(In the Storm of my Mind by Sayuri)

On that day they trekked to the mouth of the great river

Leading the procession, the elder donning black vestments

His wrinkled face, an old, sad story etched into its creases

With a thousand yard stare, he uttered the old utterances

"Take to heart, ye of few days, what you have witnessed!"

His words carried no weight as we played quietly in the back

The years passed, and our style of play grew more refined

Anywhere, anytime, you were the only company I needed

But watching you gasp for air was a sudden slap in the face

It was from then that I could hear the crescendo of the bells

Trapped in the storm of my mind none can hear me scream

I know our bodies shall be threshed at the foot of the altar

And our ashes sprinkled on the lips of the grinning demon

This happy dream is naught but the vapors of a dying flame

I want to cherish these moments always, but I am reminded

The strongest among us must yield to the turning of the hour

Its ticking, like nails on a chalkboard, like cascading thunder

The stroke of midnight shall do us apart, forever and ever.

Next Conan's Hint: Dental Floss