Chapter One - Top Hat Cosplayer

Coffee was truly the best smelling thing in the world.

That's what Aoko Nakamori believed as she sat in one her most favorite coffee shops - the Blue Birthday Café. Though it was a relatively new store, with several chains in the Tokyo area, she still found comfort in its soft aromas of coffee and cinnamon rolls. Though, she favored the former smell over the latter.

Currently, she was taking a break in the small confines of the guest area with her friends sprawled around the table. Work had just finished for all of them and they had each agreed to meet back at the shop when each of their shifts ended at their respective jobs. Everyone had gathered there already, but Aoko knew there was someone missing.

"Where's Heiji?" the girl asked, curling her hands around her pumpkin latte. "I thought he'd be here already."

The boy across from her frowned as he rubbed his chin and adjusted the bow tie on his suit. "Dunno," he yawned, "but I heard that work has been particularly bad for him ever since he landed the wrong suspect in jail."

"Mm, yeah," the girl to Aoko's right murmured, glancing wistfully at the empty seat on her left. "Heiji took a pretty harsh blow from that case. I was so afraid that he'd fall into a depression if he continued working but…it seems he's doin' better now."

"Aw, isn't that cute," the boy teased. "Kazuha's worried for her boyfriend!"

Instantly, the girl puffed out her cheeks. "He's not my boyfriend!" she snapped before eyeing him and the third girl - Ran - that was sitting at the table. "Besides, Shinichi, it's not like you're one ta talk."

Taking the hint, Shinichi's eyes widened and he crossed his arms to hide his panic. "And what does that mean?"

"Exactly that, ya love-struck idiot!"

Aoko gave an amused glance to Ran. The girl returned it with confusion clear in her eyes, having been lost in a daydream only seconds before. "What?" the other brunette inquired. "Is there something on my face?"

"No, Ran, you're fine," Shinichi turned from Kazuha to smile reassuringly at her before he frowned. "Except, there is something right there on the corner of your lips."

The boy leaned forward and dabbed a napkin on the edge of Ran's mouth. The girl looked at him with wide eyes before her cheeks flushed pink. Kazuha rolled her eyes and leaned closer to Aoko. "They're like little lovebirds, aren't they?"

"They sort of resemble you and Heiji," she remarked bravely.

Kazuha scowled and playfully shook her fist at the brown-haired girl. "Not even."

Aoko grinned. It was always fun to mock Kazuha about her crush on the dark-skinned man. Even if the girl instantly denied it, Aoko knew that the girl had harbored affection for him since they were children. After all, everyone in their friend circle was familiar with Kazuha's childhood story of being locked in a basement together with Heiji.

And, although they were less willing to admit it, Ran and Shinichi also shared their own sort of childhood story. Aoko herself was quite familiar with Ran's tales of Shinichi's efforts to drag her into trouble and was often jealous of the two's relationship. Though they didn't seem to know it themselves, the two were quite fond of the other, even going so far as to express cute displays of affection (even if they always laughed it off as "love for a brother/sister"; even Aoko knew better than that).

However, even if she knew her friends and appreciated all the humorous lovey-dovey moments they shared with each other, Aoko couldn't help but feel envious of their tightly-knit relationships. It felt awkward being the odd one out in their little group of five, and she sometimes couldn't help but wish for a childhood friend of her own to love. But, even if she hoped and dreamed for something so romantic, the fact of the matter was that it was too late for such a thing. She was twenty-six now. There was no possible way to find a childhood friend as it stood. And so, she lingered upon the thought of an adulthood love. Not as romantic as Kazuha or Ran had it, but Aoko supposed it was fine enough with her.

"Oi, Heiji!"

Within moments after finishing her conversation with Kazuha, Heiji stumbled into the coffee shop. The man, having heard his friend's shout, perked up in her direction. With a stiff nod of his head, he proceeded to walk to their table and took a seat beside the girl. Aoko curiously noted that the bags under his eyes had grown darker since she last saw him.

"Yo," the boy waved a hand before turning to a waitress. "Mind if I order a vanilla frappuccino?"

"I'll bring it to you within a few minutes," the girl blushed and earned herself a hard glare from Kazuha.

"Thanks," Heiji muttered before turning to the group. "So, what are ya guys talkin' about?"

"Nothin'!" Kazuha intervened before Shinichi or Ran could open their mouths. "Nothin' too important! How about ya? Ya look very tired today!"

"Some lame ol' customer accused me of bein' a con artist," he grumbled. "Doesn't help that he used my last case against me."

Shinichi frowned and took a sip from his pumpkin latte. "Some folks just won't let that go. They should just accept that everybody makes mistakes and move on already!"

"Amen to that."

They continued to drink in silence, each enjoying their own choice in coffee. Aoko personally enjoyed the smell better than the taste, but that didn't stop her from gulping down her latte with ravenous thirst. Her friends regarded her with odd stares before they continued with their own drinks, enjoying the beverages with small mouthfuls. Even Heiji joined in as soon as the waitress gave him his drink, enjoying the refreshment along with Kazuha's annoyed stares.

It was at this moment that Aoko spotted the man in white.

She didn't know how he caught her eye five seats away, but all she knew was that his outfit was perhaps one of the most bizarre thing she had ever seen. At first, Aoko would've presumed that he was a businessman due to his blue-collared shirt and his white suit that overlapped with it, but she was completely thrown off by his other and yet rather eccentric accessories. The man was attired with not only a suit and shirt, but also a top hat and a silver monocle that sat on his right eye. A long cape draped over the chair but seemed to flicker in and out of sight.

The first thought she had was: oh my god, he's some kind of cosplayer.

Of course, that didn't seem very reasonable. Even as she thought of it, there was no way she could match that peculiar outfit to any of the comic books or manga she had read before. What's more, she couldn't remember any action hero owning a cape that flickered in and out of existence. Aoko watched the clothing with fascination, wondering how such a simple trick was carried out. Along with her love of the supernatural and superstitions, Aoko had always been a fan of magic. Magicians often caught her eye for their deceiving tricks and she was often pleased to watch the many illusions they produced. It was the closest thing she had gotten to the supernatural, after all.

Plus, on the other hand, it was more odd on how no one even noticed the strangely-dressed man. Even though his attire clearly clashed with the more modern day t-shirts and jeans, no one paid him or his table any heed. Hell, no waitress even stopped to take his order, completely ignoring him despite the fact that he clearly didn't have any coffee right in front of him.

Aoko's mind quickly tried to calculate an explanation but, before she could make any attempt to explain the strange phenomenon, the man turned to her.

Indigo eyes met sapphire ones.

She paused, her mouth slipping open. He frowned at her and stood up. Aoko watched as the man walked out the door, skirting around a teenage couple as they passed him by. She noticed how they, too, completely ignored his presence and furrowed her eyebrows. What…just happened?

Evidently, Ran had noticed her confusion. "What's wrong, Aoko?"

"I thought...I just…Maybe it was…He was…I don't even…"

Kazuha's face brightened at the mention of a ''he". With a mischievous look gracing her lips, the girl leaned forward. "Oh! Ya saw a cute boy, didn't ya?"

She shook her head. "No, I saw a strange guy. He was dressed in all white, minus the shirt. It looked like he was some sort of cosplayer."

Shinichi leaned forward with mild interest. "So, who was he cosplaying as?"

"I don't know. Some guy with a cape, a top hat, and a monocle."

Heiji scoffed at the idea. "What kind of ridiculous outfit is that?"

"Maybe he works at some sort of comic convention?" Ran tilted her head to the side. "I've heard they come up with new cosplay designs all the time."

"Doubt it," Aoko sighed. "He looked like some bizarre businessman. And, when he looked at me, it seemed like he was being really serious about something."

"He looked at you?" Ran's eyes widened before she, too, shared Kazuha's mischievous look.

"Only briefly," she said in swift dismissal, "and then he got up and left. Didn't you see him leave just a few seconds ago?"

All four of her friends shook their heads, muttering about how they would havenoticed if some strange man had appeared. Kazuha's expression switched from one of cat-like curiosity to one of concern. "Did ya get enough sleep last night?" she asked. "Or are ya over-working your shift as a police officer?"

"Neither," she retorted firmly. "Are you sure you didn't see him? He was as plain as day."

Shinichi rubbed his forehead. "Trust me, if we all say we didn't see him than we didn't. I didn't even see him and you should take my word for it because I, for one, am very adept at observing my surroundings."

The brown-haired girl beside him sighed before turning to Aoko. "He's preening himself again."

"Like a peacock."

They both burst into laughter. Shinichi quickly inquired upon their conversation but the girls blocked him out with more giggles. Kazuha and Heiji watched them quietly before joining in with small fits of their own, completely confusing the brown-haired detective across from them. He prodded them all with puzzled inquiries before finally giving up and began to sulk as they all laughed even harder.

And, not long after, the topic of the man in white was swiftly forgotten about.


After the meeting with her friends, they all agreed to return to their individual homes before the hour grew dark. Ran and Shinichi waved goodbye to the group before they departed to their own apartment complex. Heiji bade his own farewell to Kazuha and Aoko to continue his shift at the agency and then, soon after, Kazuha left Aoko to return to her own house.

"See you tomorrow!" the Osaka girl told Aoko as she slipped into her car.

Aoko echoed the words with a grin. "See you tomorrow."

The engine hummed to life and Kazuha waved at her. "Bye!"

"Goodbye!"

With a growl, the car pulled out of the parking lot and prowled slowly onto the streets. Aoko watched as her friend cautiously glanced both ways before pulling out into the lanes of traffic. When the girl's vehicle disappeared from view, she turned to her purse and fished out her keys. Once she found the desired object, she spun around to face her own car; a rose-red truck that carried with it hints of history. Dents and scratches marked its flank, but they were too small to be noticed outright. She almost fancied the tiny marks, appreciating the weathered look it gave her car.

Pulling the door open, she took a step in and settled herself on the comfy leather seats. Plugging her keys into the ignition, she turned them and provoked the car to life. With an idle hum, the vehicle obliged as it allowed itself to be guided out of the parking lot slot and into the lanes that separated them. Aoko felt a bit pleased as she managed to slide into traffic without the use of a blaring siren. Police cars were okay-looking, but the noisy blue-and-red lights they carried were unexplainably annoying. Even if it was a warning sign for people to pull over, she still didn't appreciate the noise that ground itself into her ears.

She pushed down on the gas pedal and followed behind the second lane of cars, idle fingers landing upon the radio knob that controlled her radio stations. She pushed it and, instantaneously, the music of her favorite station blared from her speakers. Loud notes of what seemed to be rock music pushed at her ear drums. Giving a grimace, the girl reached over and adjusted the volume so that the station was playing in softer tones.

Briefly, she glanced at the rearview window…

...And saw the face of the white-cloaked man glancing back at her.

Brain muddled with shock, Aoko clutched at the steering wheel to prevent her car from serving into a potentially catastrophic car accident. With quick intakes of breath to prevent herself from suffering from the results of her fright, the girl glanced back to check if he was still there.

An empty seat met her startled gaze.

Her eyebrows furrowed and she rubbed at her temple with her left hand. "Oh dear god," she muttered. "It's a ghost, isn't it? An actual ghost has come to haunt me."

But, even if she was entertained with the idea of making contact with the paranormal, her brain refused to believe her words. The conscious reasoning inside of her sharply offered that ghosts were not real and that it was likely a hallucination from the stress of her job. The other, more fantasy-prone, side of her protested and begged for her to call for the illusion once again. But a second glance behind her convinced her otherwise. There was no man cloaked in white in the passenger's seat. She was just tired, that was all.

Giving a sigh, Aoko pulled her car onto the main lane and continued her drive home.

She did not see him again for the entire ride back.


By the time she reached her house, the sky had become tainted with traces of red and purple. A cool chill had settled in the air, leaving her shivering as she escaped from the warmth of car and onto the concrete driveway that snaked to her doorstep. With a shudder, she approached her door with hurried steps and pulled out her jangling keys to quickly unlock the structure. Hurriedly pushing at the doorknob, she managed to slip inside and shut the door before the cold could snap at her skin much longer.

Depositing her keys into the little bowl beside her coat rack, Aoko made her way towards the living room. The warmth occupying the room there wrapped around her and erased the goosebumps on her arms. With a sigh, she sat down and grabbed at the magazine she had left sitting around earlier.

She glanced at the title, smiling warmly. It read: Experiences With the Other Side of Death. It was a simple article, one recounting the many tales of haunted houses and other ghost-inhibited areas, but it was one of her favorites. She had owned it for a total of five years, having toted it from her college years to the current day with as much care as she could give it. Of course, the pages were still worn and a few stains marked the glossy paper, but it was still very readable.

Aoko started on one of her favorite stories, a tale regarding a boy's experience of a poltergeist in his house. The tale began rather creepily, with randomly moved objects and a sickly sweet voice, before ending on a bittersweet note. The boy, having found that a girl nearly his age had been murdered within the house he and his parents lived in, identified the killer and brought him to justice. The poltergeist then left a message detailing her gratefulness and left for the other side, having fulfilled her mission of being avenged and telling her parents how much she missed them.

Tears pricked at the woman's eyes as she finished the story. No matter how many times she read it, the tale was still a heart-wrenching one. Setting the magazine back down, she tried to regain her composure. With a few deep breaths, she took a quick glance out the window and noticed the sun had already descended from the sky.

Thunk.

Something hit the floor, releasing a soft but very noticeable sound. With sudden alertness, the girl stood up and abandoned her magazine on the living room table. "Who's there?" she asked.

No one answered. But that was to be expected. Who else would answer such a rhetorical question when breaking into someone's home?

With a frown, she slowly approached the hallway that led to both the bathroom and her own sleeping quarters. The brown-haired girl peered down into the dark depths of her room. Warily, she flicked on the light switch, expecting someone to be standing on the other side.

Instead, she was met with the sight of a fallen mop.

She let out a small sigh, picking the object back up and placing it back into its leaning position against the wall. When the object stayed in place, she gave it a glare. "I almost thought it was a ghost," she whispered - mostly to herself. "But there's no way my house can be haunted. I've been living here for two years now and nothing's happened out of the ordinary."

Not that her heart cared. The organ was racing in her chest, excited by the possibility of having contact with a poltergeist. Though she admit that the falling mop had scared her, the notion of meeting a paranormal entity enthralled her way too much to care.

Still, the thought of a possible burglar breaking in lingered in her mind. Eyes hardening, the girl grabbed at the mop beside her and approached her bathroom door. She'd put it back in its place again later because safety always proceeded before perfection.

She eased the door open carefully but was not jumped by any robbers. Her gaze swept the room warily for any disturbances. However, as the bathroom appeared to be as pristine as it was before, she moved on to her own room.

Nothing was moved there either. Her bed was still messy, bedsheets tossed in the same exact position as she remembered them. Her family portrait was kept in place and the jewelry she had left carelessly beside it was still present. Aoko searched the room carefully before she stepped forward to snatch a can of pepper spray from her drawer.

It didn't hurt to be safe, after all.

The girl exited and slowly shifted towards the kitchen. A quick glance and she moved onto the living room. However, upon finding that both places were exactly as she had left them, and that none of her jewels had been taken, she reluctantly returned to the end of the hallway and repositioned the mop back into its proper place.

Her guard dropped, she slipped into her bathroom and placed the pepper spray on the counter that sat underneath her mirror. Aoko removed her clothes from her body and took a step into her shower, turning the knob to turn onto warm. Though she was met with an initial blast of cold, the warmth appearing short after her kept her satisfied. She combed her hands through her wet hair and relaxed as the spray settled over her back.


When she finally removed herself from the shower and stepped back into the hallway, she was met with the faintest scent of cinnamon. Curious, - as she did not remember lighting any candles regarding the smell - she approached the kitchen. And, as she did, the scent got stronger.

However, upon entering the area, she quickly realized that there were no candles or items to explain the sweet aroma. With some amount of confusion, she turned her eyes to the only out-of-place item in the room. It was a glossy book-like object but thin in shape. A bolded title of Experiences with the Other Side lingered on the front page, making her heart beat faster as her eyes re-read the words.

Someone had moved her magazine…and it hadn't been her.


AN: Eight pages later and here we are. Probably my first multiple-chaptered story for this fandom and, if you can't tell, I really adore all the characters in it. I'll try to keep them as in-character as possible but I can't guarantee that the growth that applies to some characters (such as the level of maturity and caution exercised during his timeframe as Conan) will make its appearance due to the plot being different. Kaito is not Kid (as in, the actual thief), everyone is older and around their 26-27's, they all have jobs according to their lives in the anime/manga and many other things. None of the main characters are together yet and, of course, there's some supernatural stuff in here.

…And, that's about it. Well, anyways, this is only the introduction chapter so I'll probably work on getting the other chapters to be longer in length. Expect more in the future (once Chemistry stops being a pain, that is).

Ciao!