The Puppeteer

Chapter 1

"Mystery"

Disclaimer: I do not own Detective Conan. The events mentioned here are purely fictional, any similar incidents and names are purely coincidental.

Warning: This is a VERY dark fiction with mature themes. Rated M for gore, violence, insanity, psychological horror and sexual references. The characters are OOC as well, since it's a dark fiction. However, I don't think they're capable of doing such deeds going to be mentioned in this fic, much more so that I've only written it for entertainment and as a practise for writing psychological horror. I do NOT condone such behaviour, deeds and characteristic traits I had written.

It is NOT for the faint heart. You have been warned.


It has been 7 years.

7 years since Mitsuhiko had been with the rest of the Detective Boys. He wasn't much of a good detective back then as a child, but with a mind of a developing 14 year old boy, he was picking up the traits of a novice sleuth from Conan.

Nevertheless, for 7 full years, the Detective Boys had been encountering murder after murder, with Conan eventually solving the case. His deductions were flawless, earning admiration from everyone, including Mitsuhiko himself. As envious as he was, he couldn't help but try to emulate from the "perfect" boy, picking up his traits. He wanted to be just like him. Sure he couldn't replicate the boy's wholesome facial features, but for the very least, mimic his intelligence. The very talents of such acute detective skills Conan has naturally was what Mitsuhiko covet the most. It is the very trait that made all the girls, Ayumi and Ai included, to be charmed by his ingenuousness.

So Mitsuhiko tried. He tried his hardest. But first, to pick up Conan's method of deciphering the cases, Mitsuhiko knew he had to observe his moves. Very cautiously.

That is, who would've known an ambitious motive could've had a deadly outcome?


At first, Mitsuhiko began observing Conan for the first 5 years, nothing much caught his eye. He was still struggling to have a grasp on how to be a great detective.

Yet, shortly after Ran's death, Mitsuhiko had noticed something different about Conan's behaviour. He would've just brushed it off, but there were certain odd and disturbing instances that made Mitsuhiko felt uneasy.

First off, it was the way Conan stared at Ai. True, Mitsuhiko couldn't possibly deny that Ai grew up to become a fine lady. Though 14 years old, she was becoming well-developed. She may have been an adorable child years before, but now, she was gorgeous beyond imagination. It would've been not a surprise if Conan were to stare in awe of her beauty like certain boys in their school, but it was different altogether. Conan would give her a stare, the kind that was awfully silent yet predatory. His eyes never sparkled at the sight of her, but instead, Conan's blue cerulean irises would dim, as if darkness has enveloped around him. Yet in the void of his eyes, there was a massive amount of tense mourning, coupled with an aura of complex uncontrolled need for power. Mitsuhiko could feel the overbearing pressure whenever Conan would be near Ai. However, Ai didn't seem to notice any of it.

Next was Conan's lack of raw enthusiasm to solve cases. While Conan still was eager to be on crime scenes and actively participated in investigation, Mitsuhiko couldn't help but to point out that there was a lack of drive. That sort of motivation to serve justice was totally absent, unlike before.

Maybe it was because Ran's unsolved "murder" case was the root of this? Mitsuhiko recalled, Ran apparently died due to eating a seemingly raw puffer fish - an exotic food delicacy. Apparently, a pufferfish contained tetrodotoxin, so when eaten raw, it can cause death when consumed. They did get the cook, who was deemed careless to handle the fish, heavily fined and jailed for manslaughter. Now, that could've been a case closed, right? What was interesting is that instead of finding tetrodotoxin, they found none! There were certain evidences where it could've been a murder, but since there was no way to pinpoint a culprit, it was filed under the drawers of "unfortunate freak accidents". Till then, that was the only case Conan failed to solve.

Since then, Mitsuhiko could only conclude that something inside Conan snapped. The drive to solve cases was not for justice, but for the mere exploitation of human drama and prosecuting people in their miseries. Of which, Mitsuhiko came to his third and most unnerving observation - Conan's gestures.

It was during cases, whenever a scream is heard, Conan no longer gets startled or even bother rushing to the scene. He would heave, like he had been waiting for it to happen. Even those moments when he investigates, his concentration was no longer visible, he treated it like a hide-and-seek game with the evidences found in the crime scene. The seriousness in his face that he used to have has been replaced by a much casual one, even sometimes, Conan would hum softly to himself. After the deduction show Conan would put up, the usual routine of the murderer confessing would inevitably occur. In those moments, Mitsuhiko noticed Conan's eyes dancing with joy, feeding onto the miserable confession. His occasional smirks was still there, but it was no longer due to the pride of uncovering the truth - it was when the people affected would be at the utmost pain. Then it will be gone, flickered back to a serious glance, the display of sadism seemingly not existing in the first place. The change in Conan's demeanor was as fast as lightning, that no one, except for Mitsuhiko has seemed to notice it. Conan seemed to be delving into darkness, a path of no return.

There was a tiny bit that didn't fit into the puzzle, but Mitsuhiko couldn't put a finger on it. Hell, he was already pretty much irked by the observations he has of Conan. The level of curiosity was boiling within his soul, he just had to figure out what the hell is going on.

But Mitsuhiko wasn't warned, for curiosity made him bite the forbidden apple of knowledge and sins without a second thought.


"Mitsuhiko, I'm really scared right now, I really regret pushing ya' all in staying in this haunted house overnight," Genta whispered, shivering.

"I'm kinda scared too. Especially with Conan missing while a man spying on us is lurking about. We can't rely on anyone else either, Ai-chan decided not to come," Ayumi whined as well, gripping onto Mitsuhiko. Not that Mitsuhiko minded having a cute girl to rely on him. Ayumi usually seeked Conan's protection, that's for sure.

Their light watches were getting dim, using it all too much for the night. The place sure was dark, so they had to shine on the floor to actually see where they were going.

The trio halted at the sight of a seemingly black goo puddling on the floor infront of them.

Drip...Drip...Drip...

"Oi, Mitsuhiko, please tell me that's a water tap..." Genta asked, a little too loudly. Genta knew that it wasn't water, but the idea horrified him.

The trio were now shaking profusely, like their bodies were dealing with an earthquake. Together, they held up the only light source they had in order to see where the blood was coming from. Their eyes became rounder when the light shone forward, there stood their friend, his clothes bathed in red.

In his hand, Conan gripping the suspected culprit's head by the hair. The liquid oozing out from the exposed neck continuously dropped, its dripping sound resonating through the silence.

"Yo, shounen tantei-dan," Conan said casually, giving them a smile.


A/N: Okay, that's a wrap.