Convergence
A/N: I am officially insane. One of the most random, oddest ideas just came to my head, and I wanted to write this – a Detective Conan and Inception crossover. Basically, I'm combining my two current obsessions. This is also my first crossover.
I do write slash/shounen-ai/yaoi and straight romance, but I don't believe I'll have any pairings, even canon ones, in this story, because it would complicate an already complicated plot. Although subtext is lovely...
Disclaimer: I do not own Detective Conan/Case Closed, or Magic Kaito, either. I do not own Inception. They are owned by Gosho Aoyoma and Christopher Nolan respectively.
Well, on to the story!
Chapter 1: Genesis.
It was a quite an impromptu meeting, yet somehow official nonetheless. Shinichi had the feeling that he was being tested by Jodie, or maybe that was only paranoia speaking. But she had come up to him, and briefly mentioned the case she was working on.
"Hey, Cool Kid, how're you doing? Just thought I'd drop by," the blonde woman chattered, voice in a sing-song tone. Dutifully, she adjusted her dark rimmed glasses. Conan took the opportunity to observe a file tucked under an arm, stuffed with papers.
"Nice to see you, Jodie-sensei," Conan greeted, looking up from one of the new mystery books he had recently purchased. Inwardly, he frowned at the distraction – it had taken weeks to scrape together enough allowance money to buy something of his own. Children received a frighteningly meager amount of yen, if they did so at all. If he had asked Ran to buy books for him, she would refuse, insisting that his book choices were too mature, and shouldn't he pick something more suited for kids his age?
The dark haired boy glanced at the FBI agent's file once again, curiosity shining in his blue eyes. "Do you have a case for Oji-san? 'Cause if you do, you probably should come by later, since he's out right now, on a case." That was what Mouri Kogoro had said, Shinichi snorted to himself, but everyone who knew him even the slightest bit would immediately know that he was either at the nearest bar or mahjong parlor. But he would get his comeuppance later, for when he came home, reeking of alcohol and wallet empty, Ran would be waiting for him.
Jodie shrugged - another one of her American gestures again. "That's O.K., it's not urgent, and it's something we can handle." Shinichi wondered to be suspicious about her faith his detective skills, but dismissed it.
She withdrew the folder and opened it up, shuffling with several papers as she searched for which ones to pull out. Finally, she took one out, and began reading off of it. Conan's ears perked up, listening intently. "Murakimi Shichiro, age 48, currently resides in Tokyo, Japan. CEO of Byakko Industries, major stock holder, wealthy corporate businessman. He is suspected of conducting illegal deals, conspiracy, bribery, and possibly other charges." She finished off the sentence with a flourish, hand sweeping sideways dramatically. "We – well, the FBI, I mean – swear he's crooked, but we have no proof, no warrant, and no authorization whatsoever. We believe that he may also be in contact with a certain criminal organization."
At this, Conan directed his full complete attention to the woman's words, book lying forgotten on the couch. "The Black Syndicate, you mean? You guys think that he's involved with those crooks?" The damn crooks that shrank me, he added to himself angrily. Realizing something, he questioned, "So why are you telling me this, anyways?"
Jodie grinned widely, white teeth flashing at him. "Just keep an eye on him. You, Mouri-chan, and Mouri-san are going to a party on Sunday, are you not? Murakimi-san is going to be there."
A party – wait, now he remembered! There was going to be a social gathering of sorts, which included celebrities, business people, or any kind of famous citizens in general. Mouri Kogoro was invited, being a renowned detective that Shinichi had made him. Stupid old man, he thought, taking all the credit even though I've been doing all the work for him.
"How come the FBI can't go there?" he speculated out loud.
"I told you, Cool Kid, no authorization and no proof. We can't just party crash without a reason, and we're not even supposed to be in Japan, period." She winked at him playfully. "Don't worry; I don't think he would do something dangerous in public, in front of all those people. Plus, you're a smart kid, and I know you won't do anything stupid."
"I know," Conan agreed wholeheartedly – he was no fool, and it felt good to not be treated like a child, for once. "But I don't know about telling Oji-san about this. He might let something slip."
The blonde woman shrugged for a second time again. "Well, your choice. Be careful, however, if anything happens. And good luck." She bid him goodbye, telling him to give her regards to Ran.
As Shinichi watched her retreating back, he couldn't help but wonder – for not the last time – what the hell he had gotten himself into.
-x-x-x-x-x-
"I'm sure you have an idea why I've invited you here," Dominic Cobb began, comfortably seated in on an armchair.
"It's quite obvious," Eames interrupted, "because here we are in a bloody expensive hotel with all of our lovely co-workers, so of course there's a job that has to be done." He tipped his chair half way backwards carelessly, the legs wobbling upwards in the air.
Cobb rolled his eyes, exasperated by the Brit's disruption, but still retained his brisk, business-like front. "Yes, Eames is correct. Saito's invited us to come to Japan for an extraction." He tilted his head in Arthur's direction, indicating several papers that the man was holding. "Arthur has already gathered some information."
Arthur nodded stiffly, and said in a bland voice, "Shichiro Murakimi, our mark, is the head of Byakko Industries, one of the leading companies in Japan. Mr. Saito wants to enlist our help in extracting information that can threaten Mr. Murakimi's career. Mr. Murakimi's status in the business world is rapidly escalating, but at a suspicious rate."
Ariadne raised a tentative hand, which Cobb acknowledged. "It's extraction, right? Not inception."
"No, it's not," the extractor confirmed, and Ariadne sighed in relief. She was sure that she wasn't the only one glad – they all had experienced nightmares after the Fischer job. She shivered as she remembered waking up for weeks on end, sweating and terrified for her life.
Yusuf shuffled one of the pillows that he was reclining on, and said, "This is something we can handle. How're we going to do this, then?"
"We'll go over the full plan later," Cobb informed him. "But for now, just the basic outline."
He gestured to Arthur, who summarized concisely, "Mr. Murakimi is going to attend a meeting of famous figures in two days, at a hotel. The party starts from 4:00 in the evening to 8:00 at night. We have to make sure to wrap up the job in enough time, but not take him away too early on to have his disappearance noticed. Dom has suggested around 6 or 7 o'clock.
"Mr. Saito has also found a way to let us in – Mr. Yusuf and Ariadne will wait in a hotel room, while Mr. Eames, Dom, and myself will accompany Mr. Saito. We three will attend the party, pretending to be workers from Mr. Saito's company. We have to find a way to corner him in a hotel room, making sure that he has an excuse for leaving so that nobody would be suspicious of his sudden departure. Mr. Saito can take care of that, perhaps suggesting the other man to conduct a business deal with him."
"Is that all, darling?" Eames drawled lazily, glancing at Arthur.
"That is all," Arthur replied. "I believe that this will not be too difficult. There are no unnecessary complications."
How wrong he was.
-x-x-x-x-x-
"Be careful, Kudou-kun," the blonde haired girl cautioned warningly. "You know how dangerous they are."
Conan nodded. His eyes were serious, blue pupils darkened with worry. "I know, Haibara. I won't ask you to come along if you don't want to."
The other child hesitated for a second, before answering, "I-I don't know." Her voice trailed off as she paused for a couple of seconds, thinking. She was…frightened, but of course she didn't want to admit that out loud. It was one thing to suddenly run into something Black Organization related, to be forced to face the threat head-on, but this time, they could avoid the hazard all together.
But Shiho knew Shinichi, and he was the type of person who did not turn down this sort of opportunity. He would fight, risking his own life, risking everything that he loved, and trusted himself enough to believe that he would pull through the entire ordeal alive. He believed he wouldn't lose anything on the way to victory; he wanted to solve the case, and be away with it forever after he was through with it.
But Shiho wasn't the same person as Shinichi, and never could be.
"I don't expect you to eagerly go to the party, guns blazing," Conan said, eyebrows raised wryly, a trace of humor underlining his words. "But remember, Haibara," he continued, his voice softening, "don't keep running away."
Those were the words he told her once, words that let her know that they were friends, that they could trust each other – and that she would actually survive. Those were the words that gave her courage then and courage now.
And as usual, she acted as her regular smug self. Smirking, she taunted, "'Guns blazing'? What is that supposed to mean? Are you still upset that I didn't put an end to your miserable life when I pointed that toy gun at you?"
"Oi, oi, oi," the dark haired seven-year-old growled.
Their conversation continued its cycle, returning to its customary tirade.
Shinichi wasn't overly astonished when he caught her dress shopping with Agasa – for the party.
Shiho wasn't the same person as Shinichi, and never could be. But Shinichi was Shinichi, and there was nobody else in the world like him.
-x-x-x-x-x-
The wild haired teenager quickly perused the newspaper, messy curls of hair falling forward as he leaned over his desk. His eyes skimmed over several passages before moving on to other columns. Where was it, where was it?
Suddenly, he came upon an article. Recognizing the heading, he stopped turning the pages, and scrutinized the section. He held it upwards with ink-stained hands, squinting in the lamp light.
Hmm, that might work. But it was a bit abrupt, wasn't it? The notice would be sent on the night before. Ah well, perhaps he would simplify his riddle for the police, to make their jobs easier.
A name caught his attention, and he grinned widely. Never mind, then, he didn't need to. The guest Mouri Kogoro would be there, but that wasn't the point. The person accompanying said detective was who he was focused on.
The point was that his little tantei-kun would be there, to resume their game of cat and mouse.
That night, a letter was mysteriously handed to a police officer. The envelope was delivered promptly to Inspector Nakamori, who led a certain taskforce, organized solely to capture a singular burglar. Its contents, however, was enough to infuriate the poor inspector, reducing him to an animal frothing at the mouth and gnashing his teeth. It read:
Salutation, my long-time acquaintances,
On Sol's Day, at the imperial building, I will steal the scarlet woman from the blue tree's path.
~Kaitou Kid.
Unbeknownst to Kaitou Kid, he had further convoluted the chain of circumstances.
-x-x-x-x-x-
A/N: Whoa, this is really old. (Oh shit - I don't even know the answer to Kid's riddle. Well, I remember a bit, but...) Might as well just get this out there, though. And...well, I don't even know if I'm going to continue this.
So what do you guys think? Hmm?