Disclaimer: I do not own Detective Conan/Case Closed.

Pairing: Eventual KaitoxShinichi

Rating: T

Genre: Romance/Supernatural

Warning: None

Summary: The Phantom Carnival is where the bizarre and unexpected can be found. Owned and run by the Phantom KID, it is also the home to some very unusual people—some of whom are not quite human.

A Phantom's Carnival

The Beginning: Meeting

Shinichi woke up that morning with a bad feeling in his gut. It was a twisting kind of feeling that just bordered on nauseating. His first thought was that he must be sick. But the feeling faded as he went about his morning ablutions, so he thought no more about it.

Downing a large cup of coffee, he grabbed his jacket and headed out the door at a run. He wasn't exactly late yet, but he would be soon if he didn't hurry. If he was late again, Ran was going to kill him, best friend or not.

Today was the day that he had promised he would accompany her to Tropical Land, a local amusement park, as a way of celebrating her latest victory in the high school karate regional championships. Their other friend, Suzuki Sonoko, had originally said that she would be coming too, but she had canceled on them because of some family function she had to attend.

"I'm surprised," Ran told him later as they sat on the bus that would take them to the amusement park. "I was sure you'd be late."

Shinichi rolled his eyes. "Gee, thanks."

The girl laughed and settled back in her seat. It was as Shinichi shifted to do the same that he felt it.

A chill raced up his spine. The hair on the back of his neck prickled.

Someone was watching him. He was sure of it.

Cautious, he turned his head slightly in an attempt to see who it was. The problem was that he had chosen the window seat. This made it rather difficult for him to see the rest of the bus's occupants without being overly obvious about it. The fact that his seat was near the front of the bus only made things worse.

Frustrated and feeling inexplicably on edge, he tried not to fidget and wished the bus would hurry up.

"You know, we're really lucky," Ran said, oblivious to her friend's unease. "Tropical Land is hosting a special event this weekend."

"A special event?" Shinichi repeated distractedly, only half listening.

"Yeah. Have you ever heard of the Full Moon Performance Troupe?"

"Huh? Oh, uh, that was the traveling performance troupe that does that carnival people have been raving about, right?"

"The Phantom Carnival," Ran elaborated. "Well, Tropical Land is hosting them this weekend. Isn't it amazing? I've always wanted to see one of their performances! Everyone says they're incredible. Sonoko's been to two of them already. She says all the performers are incredible. They're so amazing, in fact, that a lot of people say they have to have supernatural powers!"

Shinichi snorted in disbelief, but Ran ignored him.

"And get this," she continued. "The master of the troupe, who's also the star of their show, is a magician who's only in his teens! Isn't that cool? He's around our age, and he's already the leader of such a famous group."

Shinichi frowned. "Wait a moment. I thought the troupe was formed eighteen years ago. How can the leader be our age?"

"Oh. Well, I think Sonoko said his father was the founder."

"So he inherited the position," Shinichi concluded. "In that case, it's not really all that surprising that he's our age. You don't have to do anything spectacular to inherit something."

Ran shot him a dirty look. "What are you trying to say?"

"What? Oh, uh, nothing," he said quickly. He had been thinking that it would be best not to expect too much (things rarely lived up to the hype people made about them), but he knew Ran wouldn't appreciate the comment.

The bus rolled to a stop, and the doors opened. Shinichi stood with the other passengers. As he did so, a sudden wave of vertigo hit him. The world rocked. He gasped and reached out blindly to grab the back of his seat. He nearly fell sideways back onto it. But the moment passed as quickly as it had come, leaving him feeling just a bit lightheaded.

"Shinichi?" Ran was looking at him strangely. "Is something wrong?"

He straightened up hurriedly. "No, no. I…I'm fine. I just lost my balance for a moment."

Ran didn't look entirely convinced, but she made no further comments as they filed off the bus. Shinichi glanced back at the passengers disembarking behind them. He could still feel that gaze on him, but who was it coming from?

He didn't have much time to contemplate as Ran was already dragging him to the ticket booths. They bought their tickets and were allowed into the park.

Once inside, Shinichi immediately began to wish he had had a good excuse not to come. The place was crowded! No, it was packed full like a can of sardines! There were people everywhere they turned, many of them groups of families with screaming, laughing, crying, arguing, insisting kids. There was an almost constant roar in the background as their voices blended in with the mechanical voices of the rides and then blurred together and grew into a sound that was all its own.

"Where would you like to go first?" Ran asked him.

"How about here?"

The voice that spoke was an unfamiliar one. Definitely female, it was rich and smooth and velvety, and it set alarms ringing in Shinichi's head. Ran, however, didn't notice. She simply turned to see a young woman sitting at a small booth.

The booth was covered in many gauzy drapes, forming a sort of dark, tent-like space where a table had been set. Behind the table was the woman who had spoken to them. She was young, probably only a year or so older than Ran herself. Her hair was a deep, glossy crimson, and her features were every bit the chiseled beauty you'd expect when you heard a voice like that. She looked at them with ruby colored eyes over a crystal ball.

"Are you a fortune teller?" Ran asked—rather unnecessarily, in Shinichi's opinion. The booth didn't look like it could be for anything else.

"Indeed I am," the redheaded woman purred. It was definitely a purr. "If you and your friend would have a seat, I am sure I could help you shed some light on the, ah, mysteries of your life. Those problems you'd like to solve and the questions you'd like answered. Maybe how to deal with certain people or what to expect from others?"

"Shinichi, let's try it," Ran said. Not waiting for him to answer, she pulled him over and pushed him down onto one of the chairs before the table upon which the crystal ball glowed pearly and dark. Ran herself took the seat across from the fortuneteller.

"My name is Koizumi Akako," the woman said with a small, secretive smile. "But you may call me Lady Akako."

Shinichi suppressed the urge to roll his eyes.

"So tell me, which of you would like to go first?"

"I will," Ran volunteered. "So, um, how does this work?"

"Please place your hands here on either side of the crystal," the fortuneteller instructed.

Ran did as she was told. She was surprised to find that the crystal ball was warm to the touch. She'd expected it to be chilly.

"Ah, I see. So your name is Ran."

The girl started in surprise. Shinichi did too. How in the world had the redhead known that? Ran wasn't wearing a nametag or anything. Had he said her name in front of the fortuneteller? No, he hadn't, though Ran had said his.

"How did you know my name?" Ran asked, clearly impressed.

The redhead only smiled. "It was a simple matter, really. But enough of that. Why don't you tell me what you would like to know?"

"Well… I was…wondering about my parents. You see, they've been separated for a while. And last time they met, they… Well, they had a big argument, and my mom was saying something about divorce… I was wondering if there was anything I could do."

"I see." The redhead's expression grew solemn as she turned her gaze to the depths of her crystal. "I can assure you that things are unlikely to go that far. However, you would do best to be content with the way things are. Pushing too hard would only make the unlikely more likely."

"Oh." Ran looked as though she wasn't sure if she should be happy or upset. "Hey Shinichi, why don't you ask something?"

"I don't have anything I want to ask," he replied. He'd never put much store in fortunetelling. Nor was he the kind of person who found dabbling in it fun.

"Oh?" The redhead turned her piercing, ruby gaze on him, her smile never wavering. "Is that so."

He shifted uncomfortably under her stare.

"Well," the fortuneteller murmured. "I suppose that cannot be helped. I will tell you this, however. A great change is waiting for you. Be cautious."

Not entirely sure how he was supposed to respond to that, Shinichi just nodded. "I'll keep that in mind."

The fortuneteller nodded and turned her attention back to Ran. The two girls talked a bit longer, though Shinichi wasn't sure what they talked about since he'd stopped listening. There was that feeling again.

He turned, scanning the faces of the passing crowds. Again, however, he found nothing.

"—ichi! Shinichi!"

Jerking around, he found Ran staring down at him with an exasperated expression on her face. "Huh?"

"I said we should hurry up if we want to get to any of the rides before we head over to watch the show."

"O—oh, right. Sure."

"What's the matter with you today?" the brunette demanded as they headed for one of the park's many roller coasters. "It's like you're miles away! If you didn't want to come, you should have just said so."

"It's not that! Really. I just… I'm sorry. It won't happen again."

Ran had serious doubts that her friend could keep a promise like that, but she could see that he was trying. So she let it go.

Ruby eyes watched the two as they left. When they had gone, the redheaded fortuneteller picked up a cell phone and dialed.

"I found him," she murmured into the receiver, lips curling once more into her trademark secretive smile. "I think you're going to be most surprised when you see him. Yes, I know. Of course. Just one more thing." Her smile faded as ruby eyes darkened. "They're here too."

-0-

With the carnival in town, the amusement park was even more crowded than usual. Booths had been set up around almost every corner. Many were carnival games while others were more specialized such as the fortuneteller's booth. Still more were selling trinkets. Because of all the new attractions, the lines for the rides weren't as long as they might otherwise have been. Shinichi couldn't decide if this was a good thing or not. On the one hand, they didn't have to wait forever in line. On the other hand, he was beginning to think that he really might be ill after all. One moment, everything would be fine, but the next his vision would blur and the earth beneath his feet would heave. It felt like vertigo, but it wasn't responding to his movements. And it wasn't just the strange and sudden losses of balance. There were hot and cold flashes too. Each was as brief as the dizzy spells, but, as the day progressed, they were growing more frequent. Speeding through loops and sudden drops on roaring roller coasters wasn't helping in the least. They were making it difficult for him to concentrate on anything, forget having any fun. Trouping from ride to ride was beginning to feel like some form of slow torture.

Fortunately, Ran had declared that they should begin making their way to the plaza where the Full Moon Troupe would be putting on their show. Shinichi cheered inwardly at the reprieve.

Everyone else at the park seemed to have had the same idea. Almost everyone was migrating in the same direction. The closer they got to the plaza, the denser the crowds became. The denser the crowds became, the slower everyone moved.

They were almost at their destination when Shinichi spotted them.

There were two men in the crowd behind him and Ran that he recognized. They had been on the bus with them, he realized. Both were dressed in long, black trench coats with equally black hats pulled low over their faces. The taller of the two had a mane of silver hair that rather stood out against his dark attire. The shorter one was quite stout, and his eyes were hidden behind a pair of sunglasses.

The sight of them sent an alarm through Shinichi's head. They felt—wrong. He couldn't explain it. Then the taller one's eyes met his.

A cold shock shot through him.

Those eyes. They were cruel, cold eyes, and they had looked directly at him with something that seemed almost like recognition. But why? Shinichi had never seen either man before. So why did he see recognition in the tall one's face?

He couldn't begin to guess what they wanted, but he knew two things. One, those men were dangerous. Those were the eyes of a killer. And two, the men were following them. Now that he knew who he was looking for, he could remember catching glimpses of the two throughout the day. He hadn't gotten a clear look before now, but he could remember flickers of their faces and the tail ends of their coats all caught out of the corners of his eyes. Whoever they were, they were good at tailing someone while remaining hidden. He had only seen them now because the tightly packed crowds made it impossible for anyone to move at anything greater than a snail's pace.

What could they want with him? Or was it Ran they were following? Well, there was one way to find out.

"Ran, would you mind going ahead without me? I need to go to the restroom. I'll come find you when I'm done." Before Ran could reply, Shinichi ducked and slipped behind a cotton candy cart, using the crowd as cover. Right behind the cart was a tiny alley between two buildings. It was a dead end, but Shinichi hadn't actually planned to go anywhere. From his new hiding spot, he peered back out at the masses, searching for that mane of silver hair. Where—

"Looking for me?"

Shinichi whirled around. There, standing behind him, was the very man he had been looking for. How had he gotten there? It was a dead end! And Shinichi had been standing at the mouth of the alley. The guy hadn't been there when Shinichi had arrived, and the teen was very sure that the man hadn't passed by him. So how? The alley didn't have any doors or windows in it!

Keeping his confusion behind a neutral expression as best he could, he demanded, "Why are you following me?"

The stranger didn't even bat an eye. "You'll know soon enough."

If that didn't sound ominous, Shinichi didn't know what did. At least the guy wasn't after Ran. That was good to know. Now how was he going to get out of here without turning his back on the man with the silver hair?

What was that sound? A growl? It sounded like a very large animal growling.

And it was coming from right behind him.

He couldn't help it. He looked.

The next few moments were a bit of a blur to Shinichi. Everything seemed to happen at once.

He caught a glimpse of a large, hairy beast that looked like a wolf but had to be a dog (right? It couldn't be a wolf. Wolves didn't appear in amusement parks!) just as it leapt. At the same time, another wave of vertigo hit him harder than any of the times before. He stumbled and ended up on his knees. Something soared over his head, and he thought it was the wolf, except yet another presence blasted by him at almost exactly the same time. His ears filled with the sound of snarls and shouts, but by then it all sounded like it was coming from a great distance away. Much closer was a strange, erratic buzzing and a slow, deep fire that was climbing up from the pit of his stomach and spreading all the way to the tips of his fingers and toes.

He couldn't breathe. At that point he couldn't have cared less what all the noise and the commotion going on around and over him was about. He couldn't spare the energy to worry about it.

What the hell was happening to him?

If any of the passersby had bothered to look around the empty cotton candy cart into the alley behind it, they would have seen a strange sight indeed.

The first strange thing would have been the whirl of claws and fur that was three very large wolves rolling around on the ground. The two leaner ones were both snapping and clawing at the third, which was fighting back just as ferociously. Though it was outnumbered, the third wolf was the largest and stockiest of the three, and it was using every ounce of its superior size and weight to its advantage.

The second strange sight a passerby would have seen was a black-haired teen lying curled up on the ground, apparently only half conscious, his face twisted in pain. But this particular sight was probably the most normal of the lot.

The third strange thing would have been the fog. There was no fog anywhere else, and it was the middle of a sunny day. Yet there was a definite whiteness in the air that was growing thicker by the second. And in the heart of that whiteness were the shadows of two men. The farther one was the man with the silver hair and killer eyes, though neither of these features were now visible. The other figure was leaner, and it appeared to be standing over the boy on the ground. A white cape fluttered in the fog, making the newcomer blend in.

"You."

"Me," the newcomer agreed. "You're in my territory right now. I'm sure you're aware of what that means."

There was a grunt. "I don't need you to tell me that."

"In that case, I'm sure you can see yourselves out. Oh, and take your little pup with you while you're at it."

There was a moment of silence. "Celebrate while you can. We'll deal with your lot soon enough."

By now, the wolves had broken apart and were circling each other, lips pulled back to bare their teeth and growls rumbling low in their throats. But as though at some unspoken signal, the stocky one turned and loped up the alley. It vanished into the fog. For the briefest of instances, there were three shadows in the whiteness. Then there was only one. Then the fog too faded, leaving behind only a young man dressed in casual clothes. Oddly enough, there was no sign of a cape anywhere.

"Whew," the stranger remarked, apparently to the pair of wolves still in the alley. "That was a little too close. Our new friend here seems to have some dreadful timing. We better get him somewhere less public quickly if we don't want anyone to see the change."

Another minute and the alley was completely deserted.

-TBC-

Note: I was originally going to stick this in my Different Suns collection, but I decided not to because it felt too different. Thanks for reading. ^_^