-Convoluted Mess-
Disclaimer: The works of Detective Conan and Magic Kaito belongs to Gosho Aoyama-sensei.
A/N: Written for Poirot Cafe Prompt Exchange. It wasn't what I actually submitted so seeing it didn't fit in so much with the prompt. Go read "Is It A Date" for the actual piece. I just feel like posting it here so...enjoy~?
Prompt:
Sonoko finally gets a date with Kaitou KID. It...wasn't what she expected.
"Ran, you cannot believe this!" Sonoko slammed a printout onto the Kudo's dinning table. "Look, look!"
Ran carefully read the article. Shinichi, out of pure curiosity peered over her shoulders on the pretense of drinking coffee nearby.
To the Honorable Lady,
A private showing if you will. Upon the magic carpet on the night of the full moon. The glass and veil shall be lifted. I await you at the Magic Lantern.
Thank you for your kind support.
K1412.
Ran, gobsmacked, stared at the black and white with jaws hanging. Sonoko, taking pity at the girl, decided to explain.
"I entered this lucky draw, on the KID fansite. The winner would have an evening with our favourite phantom thief." She swooned and squealed. "And this came in my email today!"
Ran, for some odd reason, felt this to be a hoax.
"How do you know it's the real KID that agreed?" She tries to dissuade her friend.
"I'd know KID from anywhere."
Ran looked at Shinichi for support, only to find he had disappeared. Sighing, she realised how useless man (and in her case, husband) can sometimes be.
"You shouldn't trust this. It's probably a trap. You know, for young rich heiresses like yourself?"
"Nonsense Ran. Just because you have Mr Right, you let yourself stop believing in fairytale endings. Oh, KID, my white knight, finally coming for me."
Ran sighed again, realising it would be impossible to break the girl out of this particular phase.
"Oh, what should I wear? Pastel colours compliment white so well, but what shade? The Magic Lantern is a high class restaurant so, cocktail or ballgown?" Sonoko kept rambling a long list of clothing that Ran tuned out halfway through the list.
"Sonoko. Maybe you should calm down a bit. You know, think it over?"
"Ran, this is a once in a lifetime opportunity to meet KID. I've asked your husband since high school to catch him for me and he hasn't succeeded even once. This is my best chance."
"Fine." Ran resigned to the argument, knowing it to be impossible now. "Then at least reassure me that you won't be going alone. Tell me that Kyogoku-san would be going with you."
"Of course not!"
"Sonoko..." she resisted the urge to slam her head onto the table, "this is serious."
"So am I Ran."
Their argument continued well into the night, and Sonoko was forced to leave by a timely phone call. That night, Ran turned to Shinichi in the library to ask for his input, or if possible his assistance.
"You know KID right? Can you confirm it for me?"
"Ran, as I've told you been, there's something called plausible deniability. As long as you don't ask me forthright, perhaps under a hypothetical question, then I'll be able to answer."
"Fine. If you were KID, would you do something like this?"
"Not unless I was hoping to find something, but otherwise, no."
"Then an imposter?"
"If I were an imposter...still no. But that's just me."
"Shin-i-chi." She tried to be menacing but it was difficult now that he seemed immune to it.
"Ran, let Sonoko have her fun." And apparently, that was the end of conversation for him.
Which was why he found himself being towed by Ran on the appointed night, in a disguise, towards the Magic Lantern.
"And you think this is a good idea because...?"
Besides him were Ran and apparently she told Aoko who told Akako.
"For Sonoko's safety." Ran's eyes were trained onto the seat at the center of the room where the young Suzuki was sitting, all doled up in the nicest finery. Her pale blue dress matched the sapphire necklace. She had very little makeup on and had her hair done professionally. There was also a small smile on her face as she waited patiently for her date to arrive.
At the first sound of the delightful twinkle of the bell by the door, Sonoko's gaze zoomed onto the entrance. She saw the white gloves, then white dress shoes, and finally the white sleeves. The amount of white brought a glee to her girlish heart. Sonoko was already halfway out of her seat but she was disappointed as the head of blond hair showed up. Gracefully, she slumped back into her seat and proceeded to wait again. It wasn't long until she found her enthusiasm and joy at being able to meet with KID.
"Saguru?!" Akako was the first to exclaimed, albeit softly so not to ruin the overall atmosphere, lips licking at the sight of a perfect fitting suit. Hakuba glanced around but had not noticed (or as Shinichi suspected, pretended not to notice) the group sitting in the dark corner. Ran turned around to address the witch.
"Did you know he was coming here?"
"No, he hasn't said anything in our last date. Might be meeting with someone..." Akako's eyes were drawn to the two sitter by the wall.
"Go." Ran sighed, knowing that the girl would not be able to concentrate at their self-assigned task. Akako nodded in appreciation and walked as quickly as she could, while still being graceful, towards the sitting detective. It seems the detective wasn't surprised to see her emerging from out of nowhere.
There was an imperceptible nod at Shinichi's direction, which was returned in kind. Ran looked suspiciously between the two detective.
"Did you know?"
"Of course not Ran. But he wouldn't be much of a detective if he could not spot a bunch of people spying within the proximity." He casually lifted the wine glass to his lips.
"Then you won't mind me joining would you? Now that Koizumi-chan has left." Kuroba appeared suddenly at the previously vacated seat.
"Kaito!" Aoko exclaimed.
"You know Aoko, I was wondering why you blew me off on our date but here I find you spying on Hakuba and Suzuki-chan with Ran-chan."
"Kuroba-kun, could you maybe use your skills to check with Hakuba-kun to see if he knew anything about KID showing up here tonight?"
"Oh, I wouldn't want to disturb that particular pair. Koizumi-chan is scary when someone interrupts their date. Dead or alive." This statement made both males shiver.
They waited patiently for the phantom to arrive, none more in anticipation than Sonoko. Shinichi was sure that if possible, the girl would be vibrating.
Few minutes later, the lights in the restaurant died. The only light was from the candle in the center of each table. Sonoko's face instantly brightened.
"I'm terribly sorry ma'am, but it seems we're having an electrical failure." The waiter bowed low in apology to Sonoko before moving onto the next table to give similar apologies. Sonoko sighed in her seat. Across the room, the two pairs of look-alike whispered between themselves; girls between each other and boys between themselves.
"When would that annoying thief arrive! It's way past moonrise. Not to mention it's not gentleman-like to leave a girl waiting!"
"That's why I've been telling her it was a hoax to kidnap her. But would she listen? No. Saying it must have been her beloved KID-sama who sent out the email, that he must have chosen her to be his only confident." Ran continued to mutter and rant.
"But doesn't Sonoko-san already have a boyfriend? I thought they were going steady?"
"...And I told her to bring Kyogoku-san with her, but she still won't listen! It's really bad since I couldn't reach Kyogoku-san to warn him of this recent development..."
Pulling Kaito aside and away from the whispering girls, Shinichi whispered into his ear.
"And this isn't your doing is it?"
"Why would you even think that? Even I can't plan for a power failure. Though I could probably induce one if there were a need. But no, this isn't my doing. Besides, I want to see if it could really be pulled off. I have everything in place already. Though Hakuba being here was kind of a last minute thing, a bit grating on my nerves as well..."
"You lured Hakuba here didn't you?" Shinichi glanced over at the pair, only to see them losing themselves into their own world. "As a distraction. Though can't say it's working so well for everyone."
"Ok, that's it." Aoko suddenly exclaimed out of the blue. "Aoko can't take this anymore. Sonoko-san shouldn't be allowed to wait like this. Kaito, you're going in!"
"I'm What?!" Both men were suddenly shocked.
"Aoko knows you always have a KID costume on you. Go out there and pretend to be that annoying thief and make her feel like a princess!"
"Nakamori-san, am I hearing what I think you're saying?"
"Aoko, you can't be serious."
"Of course Aoko is serious. It's obvious the email was fake. So not to make Sonoko-san feel bad, we're going to stage our own date for her!"
"Wait a moment, what happened to trying to stop her from being conned or whatever it was you think was to be the outcome of this little encounter." Shinichi tried to remind them why they came here in the first place.
"It's called being proactive Shinichi. If the fake KID saw another KID sitting with his catch, he would instantly back away. It's actually a brilliant plan." Ran looked at Kaito critically, "besides, Kuroba-kun has the right build for it. And so do you Shinichi only you don't know a single magic trick to save your life."
Shinichi wasn't sure if that was a compliment or insult.
"Well Kaito? Get a moving!" Aoko all but pushed Kaito out of his seat and away from the fern hiding their table.
"Eep!" Kaito quickly scrambled from the floor and back to his seat. "Ahoko! What do you think will happen if Suzuki-chan found out I wasn't KID? She's supposed to be a huge fan! I'm probably going to end up murdered in my sleep!"
"Don't worry, Aoko is sure Kudo-kun would solve your murder. Besides, you could always say Ran-chan asked you to come. Is that ok with you Ran-chan?"
"Sure. Anything to stop the kidnapper." She nodded in consent.
Shinichi gave Kaito a pat on the back. "This is your mess. You fix it."
"Are you that cruel to leave this humble magician to the wild?" Kaito received a glare from the girls.
"Well Kuroba-kun, even Shinichi agreed with our plan. You should just follow us, we know what is best for mending a broken fantasy."
"If I suffer, so would the rest of you!" In a puff of smoke, Kaito disappeared from the table. They thought he was approaching Sonoko's table but he was nowhere to be seen.
"That Bakaito. Leaving at such a critical time!" Aoko proceeded to take out her phone and walked away, ready to scold her boyfriend away from prying ears. Some words were just not meant to be heard.
"Ok then, Shinichi you're up." Ran gave him a pointed look.
"What do you expect me to do? Walk up and proclaim to her that I'm KID? I don't think she's that ignorant and fall for it." He sighed. Why was Ran so adamant in this. "Look, since we're here, why not just enjoy the evening and just watch over the events instead of participating?"
"No." She rummaged around her bag and pulled out a blow pipe.
"Ran, I'm sure you know that I'm a detective right?" Shinichi pinched the bridge of his nose, trying to push back the headache forming. This was getting out of hand.
"I'm not going to let my best friend to be kidnapped. Better that I do it and make sure she's safe than leave her to perverts." She aimed and fired, it hit her mark and Sonoko slumped over the table, barely avoided knocking the candle over.
"Ran!" Shinichi rushed over to check for further injuries.
"At least this way, we'll know she's safe." Ran nodded. She looked expectantly at Shinichi. "Well?"
"What?"
"Carry her. You're not expecting me to do it right?"
He groaned. This was not on his to-do list today. In fact, none of this was supposed to happen. He blames this all on Kuroba. Paying for both tables and reassuring the maitre'd that they were her friends, he followed Ran out of the restaurant with the unconscious heiress in his hold.
'And my week had started so well...'
-Few days ago-
Shinichi was going through an old case, seeking input from the magician's point of view. Everything was starting to make sense then his office door opened.
"Kudo-san, I need your help." There was desperation in the martial artist's voice.
"Kyogoku-san, please sit down first." He gestured towards the seats opposite his desk. Kaito promptly moved the notes and papers away and magicked several cups as Shinichi prepared the pot of tea.
"Is something the matter with Sonoko?" At least that was what Shinichi assumed to be the problem. "Blackmail, abduction, or stolen goods?"
"No, it's none of those things." He sighed got the cup. "You've been her friend for a long time. Is she always like this?"
Shinichi looked on in confusion. "By this you mean...?"
"Her obsession with the thief."
Confusion made way for recognition before turning into a grimace. He looked at the magician-thief in question, who returned the glare with a grin.
"Kaitou KID announced a heist I presume?"
"Yes. And...I've always thought it was a schoolgirl phase but...well I had hoped."
"Kyogoku-san, despite how Sonoko acts, she's enamored with you." Shinichi could not believe he was playing the relationship counsellor. Then again, out of the whole group of friends, he was the only one married so it should count him as a successful case.
"I know!" Kuroba piped up from his seat. "I have a brilliant idea!"
"Oh no." Shinichi could already feel the phantom of a headache forming.
"If we could merge her vision together with the person she loves, she'll only see you the next time KID comes up in the conversation. This way, you won't have to worry."
"Kuroba, do you know how absurd this sounds?"
"Oh course not! It's perfect!" Kuroba nodded to himself. Shinichi could see Kyogoku agreeing to this.
Shinichi decided the best action would be letting them stumble and fall. He would not be a willing participant in this and he certainly would not want to risk the wrath of an obsessive fan.
"And here's what we'll do..."
Shinichi left the two to plot and returned to his case, hoping that it won't end with the police.
-Present Time-
Inside the taxi, Shinichi fired off a quick message.
"Your plan is not working. I'm returning home with Ran and Sonoko. You're on your own."
He waited patiently, thankful he was sitting up front rather than at the back with the girls. The reply was emoji filled.
"What do you mean return home?! He's on his way!"
"Shinichi, who are you texting?" Ran inquired.
"Kuroba." For once, he decided to be honest. "He's not happy we left."
"Well, it was his fault for not helping out."
"Look, Ran, maybe this is not the best of idea..."
"Nonsense. All we need now is to decorate the basement to look like a warehouse then have Sonoko learn the lesson of never trusting a stranger."
"This is getting out of hand." Shinichi muttered. Fingers once again on the phone screen to send off another message.
"You stage a rescue from my basement then."
"NO! It was supposed to be a romantic dinner! He was going to pop the question! At least that's what was discussed."
"Brief me about it! Don't expect me to listen to your plotting." Really, there was no helping it. The one time the magician decides to meddle in someone's love life is the one time where everything would go wrong.
"How long are we holding her? We might want to buy food and whatnots."
"Hmm...maybe until tomorrow afternoon. Oh, and can you get Kuroba-kun on the phone?"
"Ran...please tell me you're not planning to have him become a real criminal."
"No, I'll need him to pretend to be Kyogoku-san to be pretending to be KID to be pretending to be an officer to come rescue Sonoko."
"What type of convoluted mess is that?"
"Well, I couldn't get in contact with Kyogoku-san, so he's the best choice."
They exited with the unconscious Sonoko. Shinichi struggled against the weight as he navigated his own house.
"Can't we leave her somewhere on the ground floor. I remember we have a spare room..."
"Shinichi." The look Ran gave halted any complaints he may have and he obediently walked down the steps, following Ran. "Set her down here." Ran pointed at the abandoned, and dusty, sofa in the corner. She took out a coil of rope.
"Ran! What do you think you're doing with that?"
"Tying her up. She's supposed to be kidnapped."
"Ugh..." Sonoko was waking up, eyes just beginning to flutter open.
"Quick! Blindfold!" Ran whispered. Shinichi searched his own pockets and found a handkerchief. He handed it over for a makeshift blindfold.
"Who? What?"
Coughing, Ran pitched her voice lower.
"Be quiet and we won't hurt you."
Shinichi was dearly hoping this would not come back to bite them in the behind.
"Kyaaaa!"
In a fit of panic, and to save their own hearing, they scrambled around for a gag. Sonoko struggled and refused to stay still. In the end, Shinichi handed Ran a roll of duct tape. Ran mumbled an apology, not heard by Sonoko, then taped her up. They left the heiress, remembering to turn on the heater and leave her with a blanket, before convening in the dinning room.
"What now Ran?"
"You have called Kuroba-kun right?"
"I still think it's better to stop this while we can..." Even though his mouth was complaining, his hands typed out the message, which was received and replied telling then he'll be here within the hour.
When the situation was explained to the magician, who arrived with Aoko, the two were left speechless.
"Look, Ran-chan, I might be talented but pretending to be someone who is pretending to be someone else who is supposed to be another person pretending to be someone else is somewhat difficult for even the best actor in the world."
"One too many." Shinichi muttered into the cup, earning a glare from the magician.
"My point is, won't it be easier just to find her boyfriend then have him stage the rescue?"
"If I could, I would. But this does not cure Sonoko of her obsession. She needs to realise the only person for her is Kyogoku-san."
"At least this we agree on..."
Both Aoko and Shinichi nodded in consent.
"Then what we need is...?" Aoko pointed out they are currently lacking in the idea department.
"KID..." Ran was the one to admit they need the thief to pull this off. Maybe it wasn't such a good idea after all.
"Why don't we just...I don't know, drug her again then put her back home? Leave a short message by her bedside saying KID rescued her? Then pretend nothing happened?" Shinichi reluctantly offered them. "And then when Sonoko comes over the next day, I'll just accept the case, try to find out what happened but then ultimately realised it was KID staging this all along to make her realise the dangers in the world."
"No!" "Yes!"
The former exclamation of absolute horror from the magician whereas the two girls accepted his proposal. This of course meant Kaito earned twin pair of hardened gaze.
"How could you tarnish KID's name?"
"He's just a thief Kaito. He's done worst."
"Unless you can come up with better Kuroba, we'll have to find someway to deliver her back to freedom. I'm not going to be holding her in my basement."
"We'll just have to find her boyfriend then! Make a romantic rescue then she'll forget everything."
"Or you could tell me what you guys are plotting..." Standing by the door frame was an angry Sonoko. She had ropes on one hand and a roll of duct tape in another. "I'm guessing this was all your idea Kuroba-kun? Shinichi-kun?"
"What? I had no hand in this. I'm innocent!" Shinichi tried to scrambled away and out the backdoor but was blocked by a bodyguard. Kaito, knowing when to give up, put his hands up to surrender.
"Ok, I admit, this was all Kudo's fault."
"What?! Kuroba! How is this my fault? You're the one who's mental enough to concoct the idea. And Ran! This is because of you too!"
"Sorry Shinichi, better for only you to suffer than have the rest of us." Ran apologised. Walking to where Sonoko stood. "I'll leave Shinichi in your care for now. I'll stay with 'tou-san." She left the house with a resounding close of the front door.
"You're supposed to be my wife!" Shinichi shouted as he struggled.
"Uh...we should be going as well..." Aoko dragged Kaito away from the fuming woman. Leaving the captured detective with the bodyguard.
"Well Shinichi-kun?"
"Fine. I'll tell you everything." The bodyguard let go off him. "Go settle in the library. I'll grab us drinks. I sure would need it." He reached for the liquor cabinet and randomly took a bottle.
Sonoko followed his instruction and left the dinning room.
"Well Kyogoku-san, this is all up to you now." He muttered. The bodyguard nodded then left in the library's direction.
Back in the library, Sonoko decided to make herself comfortable, settling down in the chaise lounge to the side. She was in part furious that her best friend decided to kidnap her but she understood why Ran did so. If they were in a reversed position, she would have done the same. But really, Sonoko knew she would not have been in any danger. It was after all KID and he has a strict no-harm policy.
But this does not mean her friends could get off so easily. Sonoko snickered. Oh, what fun she could have. Pity the detective has the sense of mind to come clean, she could really do for an extra pair of hands for the her next shopping trip.
A knock on the door snapped her out of her daydream. A steady and firm set of steps walked towards her. She could recognise this rhythm anywhere.
"Makoto-san?" She whipped her head back towards where the footsteps stopped. "Weren't you supposed to be at a competition?"
"I'm sorry for lying to you Sonoko-san. I hadn't wanted to but I was hoping for a surprise." He got down on one knee. "This was supposed to happen in a restaurant but things did not work out as planned." Taking the fabric on his left shoulder, he ripped his costume off. Underneath the nondescript black uniform of the bodyguards, he was wearing a full white suit complete with blue shirt and red tie. He was missing the monocle and top hat but Sonoko raked in the vision.
"Yes, yes, yes!" She said enthusiastically, without waiting for him to ask the question. "A million times over, yes!"
"But I haven't..." There was nervous fidgeting as he took the velvet box from his pockets and presented the simple metallic band.
"You don't have to say anything!" She bent down to kiss her fiance. "You must have tried to ask for that detective geek's help. Otherwise, who would come up with such a sappy plan?"
Outside, far away from the Kudo Mansion, a particular brunette sneezed and nearly tripped on his own feet.
"Well? Put it on. I can't wait to show the others!" Offering her hand towards the karate master, she urged him. Gently, he took her hands a slipped the band on the delicate fingers.
Sonoko admire the light glistening off the metal under the soft yellow light. It might not be the white knight of her dreams but this was definitely the Prince Charming of her life. Maybe her mother had the right notion after all, either snag a man through their stomachs or hook them in with jealousy. That sudden email really helped hasten her plans, else she would have to wait until the actual KID heist.
Although all good things come to those who wait, Sonoko is the type to cut the wait and lunge at the sweetness.
-END-
A/N: If you're wondering why I had to include Hakuba, it was to draw Akako away. And why did Ran tell Aoko? Because she needed a second opinion and Akako just happened to be beside her so she too was curious. Anyways, a little bit extra.
-OMAKE-
Up on the rooftop, two figures both alike in stature stood at a face off. One casually leaning on the wall next to the stairwell entrance, the other had his back facing the moon.
"So let me get this straight. A few weeks ago, you saw Suzuki-jou staring at engagement rings during your return trip from the station."
"Correct."
"You concluded by the look on her face that she wanted things to progress..."
"Again, correct."
"You somehow managed to ask for an audience with her mother..."
"Under the pretense that I had a problem with Ran that I couldn't go to anyone."
"And started planting seeds and ideas into the woman's mind by asking why does Ran always try to compare you..."
"A bit of reverse engineering, but it did sound as though I was jealous."
"You then went to accidentally bump into Suzuki-jou and she spilled her problems to you, to which you suggested her to talk to her mother..."
"That was the plan. And as I hoped, her mother did give the suggestions I planted."
"Then I announced my heist, giving Suzuki-jou the idea to start her own plan..."
"Not what I intended but that was what she came up with. Though I have to say, it really is in her character."
"Then a week later, Kyogoku-san came into your office, again spilling his problems to you..."
"But you being there is not what I had originally planned. Somehow we always managed to ruin each other's best laid plans."
"Then came that idea; the sudden winning, the dinner, and everything that followed."
"Although, it still fell into the original objective. Still, I think they would have preferred a more private setting."
"When Suzuki-jou received the email, told her best friend, and that threw a wrench into both our plans..."
"Just goes to show, the woman in our lives can bend everything to their views."
"Then came her idea and everything spiraled out of control."
"But it worked out in the end. A bit awkward but it achieved the final aim."
"You know, Meitantei, you're really scary sometimes." KID changed out of his uniform white and into some casual slacks. "Remind me never to get on your bad side."
Shinichi pushed off from the wall. "We better get going, the girls are expecting us and Sonoko must be turn impatient to tell everyone the news. We're already late as it is."