The diminutive intruder crept through the halls of the incredibly vast Kudou mansion, taking care not to let any sign of her flashlight show through the windows.
Most believed that the mansion was merely dark and quiet, each member of the Kudou family – celebrities, of a sort – away from home. Reportedly, Yusaku Kudou was somewhere in the United States, working on his latest book. His wife, Yukiko, was either at his side, or busy with whatever film projects had filtered her way. As for Shinichi, their son, the 'high school detective' who'd been aiding the police in solving crimes and developing fame in his own right... well, the boy had to be off working on all kinds of tough cases, right?
Would everything have been easier for her had she never known the truth? Being an innocent – as much as she could fit that description while working for the Organization, anyway – rather than living a life trapped both within a child's body, and an increasingly precarious web of lies meant to hide her and Shinichi from the Organization... if the mystery freak didn't set the entire mess falling apart around them.
Ai knew her paranoia was utterly justified. Someone always kept watch on the house, though she could never be sure whether the watchers were the good guys, or not. She shuddered. Gin wouldn't be here in person unless he was sure, but... the man had to have his suspicions.
The Organization was out there, patiently waiting. She could always detect that 'presence' at the edge of her senses, that taint of darkness she'd never be able to escape.
She snorted a laugh, resting a hand upon one of the ornately-carved wooden panels lining the hall. Even if she considered the many additional players and twists in the game, the goals always distilled to two major points – hope that she invented a cure for the blasted apotoxin, and that Kudou was somehow able to bring about the end of the Organization, before Gin or an associate managed to find them. A race, as always.
Their predicament would only worsen, no matter how optimistic she or Kudou pretended to be.
She decided to change the subject, if only for a moment. Those concerns were always on her mind, coloring her every action or reaction. Kudou knew the reasons why, Ai was sure; she had more or less grown up as a member of the Organization, was well aware of their secrets, the true intensity of their evil. The Black Organization had ties to practically everything...
The flashlight beam illuminated yet another picture of Shinichi as a child, as she passed, and Ai again wondered how in the world Ran could miss noticing that the only difference between "Conan-kun" and younger Shinichi was a pair of glasses, particularly with all the pictures the Kudous kept, attached to practically every wall.
At least Shinichi had been able to live some semblance of a normal childhood – or as close to such a thing one could have had, with Yusaku and Yukiko Kudou as his parents. Hell, Ai was surprised that the eccentric couple hadn't given their son a name beginning with "Yu."
Her own family had more or less been resigned to moving from cheap house to cheap house. That – and their involvement with the Organization – had all but dashed her hopes of growing up in the same manner as many of the other girls she'd met.
Perhaps if she had experienced that fabled innocent childhood, she would have a better idea how to behave around Ayumi, Mitsuhiko and Genta. Then again, maybe she wouldn't have made the same choices... or followed the path that eventually led to her creating that stupid toxin.
Akemi. She'd managed, somehow...
Ai forced her thoughts onto a different track, attempting once more to imagine the kind of childhood Ran must have endured. Kogorou barely seemed like a parent at all... unless Ran were threatened or injured. Then, he'd do anything to see her safe and recovered.
Ugh. Change the subject, again. Honestly, her mind was mired in a mental rut. No matter how many times she attempted to avoid it, she would quickly return to the same topics. She definitely needed some sort of new inspiration and things to do, much less think about, but what might suffice?
The professor had nodded off while working on yet another odd invention; she'd abandoned all hope of trying to guess what the things were before he at least finished them. Agasa had quite the imagination, assuredly.
Kudou, meanwhile, was off in the countryside, somewhere, with Ran and Kogorou – no doubt thoroughly engrossed in some sort of mystery or murder investigation by now.
She had to smile at that thought. Little boy or not, cases found Kudou just as easily as they did 'the great Sleeping Kogorou.'
Of course, given how she was essentially required to remain near him, she often found herself as hopelessly involved as he.
That was one of the reasons Ai had chosen to sneak about the Kudou mansion. The observational and deductive reasoning skills she'd developed in her lifetime as 'Sherry' translated nicely for use on the cases she encountered with Kudou and the Detective Boys – Organization members were chosen from or groomed to be the best in their fields, including scientists or technicians.
Her abilities had certainly improved, as had the Detective Boys', though she wasn't about to consider herself anywhere near Kudou or Hattori's levels.
Chances were, she would never reach that level, lacking the intense dedication to it the two detectives shared, the urges that drove them to solve every mystery. Considering their predicament, however, if improving herself gave her – them – even a minute hint of an edge against Gin and the Organization...
The best training came from actual experience. Yes, there were no shortages of cases, even for the Detective Boys, but she wanted to be able to approach a mystery without a time limit... or the danger.
Kudou himself hadn't had the luxury of always being able to participate in actual cases as a child, or so he claimed. He'd spent a lot of time reading mystery books – his father's works, the Sherlock Holmes stories, whatever else he could find within his father's vast library, or the public libraries – and watching the same kind of material on television.
For a moment, Ai wondered whether Yukiko had ever taken a starring role in a mystery, then dismissed the thought. Yukiko was married to Yusaku, after all.
And really, what better place to find good detective literature than Yusaku's personal library?
She was far too used to witnessing the cases in person, of taking an active role, that she had some slight difficulty in summoning the patience to 'watch' the plot unfold in print... even scenes the detective wouldn't normally see, such as whatever the guilty parties were doing while the investigation proceeded.
Literary license, sure. It was easier – and less boring, from certain viewpoints – to show events transpiring apart from the investigators, rather than focus on the detective and force him or her to explain absolutely everything at the end.
Well, it still felt odd.
It comforted her to know that not every culprit in a mystery began their criminal career as dark or evil. Even a complete innocent could be manipulated into incredible chains of sinister plots far beyond their control.
Others... were like her. She wasn't anywhere near whatever status Gin and people like him occupied, though Ai allowed herself no illusions as to her own lack of innocence. Whatever her eventual fate happened to be... maybe, possibly... she deserved it.
She paused, closing her eyes, and allowed herself the luxury of another quiet snort before continuing onward, into the library.
There were factors complicating her plan, of course. Her child's body could safely carry only a few books, at best – and two or three books were easier to hide, anyway. As much as she trusted the professor and Kudou to stay away from her room and whatever small amount of possessions Ai had obtained in her 'new life,' either of them could still inadvertently find a stack of books.
Then, Kudou would deduce what she'd been attempting to do, and probably never let her hear the end of it.
Computer files, she could lock behind multiple passwords and other interweaved... complications, with enough clues in place for Kudou to gain access to the data if the need arose.
Ai sighed. Enough of that.
Another issue was that she simply didn't know what to read; she didn't want to spend time copying the names of several books, then check each title online for possible reviews – or worse, ask Kudou – leaving her with the alternative of pulling books at random. Most of the choices had been tolerable, with the exception of one or two that she'd found painful to read. The old, American pulp-fiction-type detectives were something of an acquired taste, she'd decided. Though, imagining Kudou or Heiji as that sort of detective had provided a moment's bemusement...
Stopping to carefully replace the pair of novels she'd borrowed, this round, Ai began the task of picking another pair at random – her choice further limited by the fact that she couldn't reach the higher shelves without the large, rolling stairs, which she dared not move.
Not that that was necessary, for the time being. Yusaku's library was indeed quite huge, even for an adult, and it would take her years to read everything lined on the bottom few shelves.
She had no intention of remaining a child that long, let alone being Haibara Ai.
As she picked one of the long sections of shelves and scanned the titles, her eyes started to glaze – but that was normal, and she always resorted to choosing whatever she hoped wouldn't be a dry and intimidating read, based upon the title or the thickness of the book.
What she hadn't expected, however, was finding herself in an different section of the library when the 'haze' cleared. Huh?
Yusaku's impressive library featured what Shinichi termed the 'international section,' where the older Kudou kept the majority of his imported, untranslated books. Ai couldn't discern from sight alone whether or not Yusaku had managed to collect 'research material' from every country, every language – not even Shinichi knew the answer to that question – though, based upon what scant few languages she recognized, it was easy to assume he had.
Ai froze, a curious sense of... something flashing through her. Resonance? The impression hadn't exhibited any of the taint she felt when another member of the Organization was close, but... for a moment, she'd truly believed she was at peace, at one with the wind and the solitary, clear chime that had originated from... wait.
Why in the world was she hearing chimes and wind?
An ethereal, childish giggle wafted through the air, invoking further impressions of the wind.
Above you, a voice breezed, almost lazily. To the left.
One of the books pulsed with a faint blue glow.
Okay... The rational, analytical part of her mind that had served her well enough throughout her life, had decided to back away, clearly not feeling up to the task of explaining what she was experiencing... or thought she was.
Hallucinations just didn't feature this level of clarity... she hoped. But then, why would she be hallucinating? She was in fairly decent health, and not under the influence of anything save her own damned toxin.
Certainly the apotoxin causing her to see and hear things that weren't there was possible – except she would manifest a few other obvious symptoms before treading close to delirium.
Ai supposed Yukiko could, in theory, have set up a practical joke, complete with special effects. But, what would be the point? Everyone knew better than to try pulling that sort of stunt with her!
The giggle chimed again, once more finding resonance somewhere within her. How could special effects simulate that, she wondered?
Oh, hell, she thought, warily extending a hand toward the book.
No reaction.
Well, time for the second test. She touched her index finger to the book's spine, quickly pulling her hand back.
Nothing. The thing was glowing, yet it still felt the same as any of the other books in the library.
Okay, fine. She eased the book from the shelf carefully, slowly, as though it were an active time-bomb.
No change, again.
Ai sighed. Whatever joke, pain or humiliation was about to be inflicted upon her, evidently wanted her to open the book, first.
She studied it, rotating it in her hands. An ornate tome, featuring unusually elaborate gold-leaf embossing over a time-worn royal-red suede cover. What appeared to be representations of a lion's head, directly underneath the sun and moon, decorated the front. "The Book of... ku... Clow?" she spoke the title aloud, attempting to parse the words.
Her eyes narrowed. The cover's illustrations were reminding her very much of those supposed mystical and arcane magical symbols she'd seen on occasion.
Besides, the book hadn't stopped glowing.
Magic. As far as she was concerned, the word was either a catch-all term used to 'explain' extraordinary circumstances or displays of would-be power... or misdirection and other stage-magician tricks, including Kaitou Kid's numerous attempts to fool everyone.
Thank goodness Ayumi held no interest in those goofy 'magical girl' shows...
The ethereal voice offered her a new giggle, as though it were commenting on that particular thought.
"You really do want me to open this thing, don't you?" Ai spoke flatly, directing her question to the air... which, predictably, didn't reply. She cast a futile glance around the dark, large room, on the off-chance she might spot someone watching – or worse, filming her.
...Nobody. Of course.
Fine! she mentally groused. Firming her resolve, Ai grasped the cover of the book and, in the same motion, flipped it open, reflexively flinching in anticipation of whatever might spring toward her from either the book, or the shadows.
She slowly opened her eyes. At least it's stopped glowing.
It had, at that. But there had been no surprise appearances from anyone congratulating her for falling so readily into their trap, or any explosions.
Just... cards?
Save for a handful of true pages near the front, the book was hollow, a rectangular inset hiding what appeared at first glance to be a deck of tarot cards.
Not yet disgusted enough to push the book back into its place upon the shelf, Ai slid the top card off the deck and aimed her flashlight at the face of the card.
The illustration depicted a woman of avian features, feathered wings cloaked about herself. Below her, at the card's edge, lay two English words in bold print. "'The Windy'...?" she repeated, an urge to speak the name causing her to act well before Ai realized what she was doing.
The card reacted. It suddenly flared to life with the same blue light she had seen, although this time the glow burned far more brightly. She shut her eyes, almost dropping the card in the process.
Wind began to swirl around her. Within seconds, she found herself inside the eye of a compact whirlwind, inexplicable gale-force winds that somehow, didn't seem to be bothering much of the section of the library in which she stood, except...
The cards! she realized with a start. Indeed, the whirlwind was tearing all the cards, one by one, free from their inset – and flinging them in every possible direction; Ai boggled when she saw the newly-created projectiles passing through the walls, ceiling and floor, rather than being stopped.
What Yusaku would think about the cards, books or whatever being strewn everywhere by a miniature hurricane, she didn't know, and mentally kicked herself for letting her mind stray to such a foolish thought.
The wind suddenly intensified again, enough to begin pulling books from the shelves. Ai could barely see through the dust swirling about her, any longer – not that the storm gave her any chance to move or escape.
She spun at the sound of something large passing through the air behind her. That proved to be a mistake, as she immediately felt something strike her at the base of her skull.
"Heeeey! Oi! Wake up!"
Huh? Ai pushed herself up, dazedly wondering why she would be lying, face-down, over a box-like...
Her hand found the object. Memory returned. Oh. Right. The so-called 'Book of Clow.'
She rubbed the back of her neck. Okay, she must have been knocked out, and collapsed over the book.
Ai's gaze strayed to her flashlight, resting on the floor a foot or two away. I can't have been out that long, if it's still shining relatively bright. But... what happened?
...a whirlwind, engulfing her and darting the supposedly magical cards to who knew where...
"Oi! Y'mind takin' your hand off the Book?" a muffled voice groused.
Now, the thing was talking to her? She jerked her hand back, as though the book had instantly become unbearably hot.
As she watched in stunned silence, the back of a plush orange teddy bear's head emerged from the cover of the book.
No, she corrected, grabbing her flashlight and turning a spotlight upon the 'creature.' More of the toy's body cleared the cover – a stuffed lion with rounded ears and a long tail that ended in a large white tuft, the sort of toy Ayumi would likely love. Oh, and it had those ridiculous thin felt wings, too.
Okay. Quickly – she needed to think. She did not believe in magic. In this day and age, there was always a trick. Anyone could debunk the illusions and misdirections if they were looking in the right places and paid attention to the clues. Kudou did it all the time!
She wasn't hallucinating. Everything that had happened was... was too complex, too elaborate to be a practical joke. Who would go to those lengths just to play a prank on her?
The Organization wouldn't bother, normally, even for the sake of scaring her or sending her a message. They preferred to be in control, as much as possible... and that often translated into simple plans, executed with nothing less than emotionless, mechanical precision. This 'magic' nonsense had left too many details to chance.
She hadn't felt that particular sense this evening, either.
"Konyanyachiwa!" Ai started; at some point during her musing, the little stuffed lion-thing had turned around – the light illuminating it almost from below, causing it to very nearly appear sinister and ominous – and the creature was patiently watching her with tiny, beady black eyes, smiling innocently.
I'm imagining a stuffed animal talking to me. In an Osakan dialect, no less.
"Man, I feel great! Nothin' like a really long nap t'help you recover your strength!"
Ai cocked an eyebrow. "And let your muscles atrophy?" she asked, despite herself. Assuming the little thing had muscles...
Her only response was an odd stare. She watched as the toy's attention turned to the book... which was once more enveloped within a soft, blue glow, and rose into the air.
Ai reflexively winced when the book opened and its pages ever so slowly turned. How would the toy react if the inset was empty when that final page turned?
"...where are the Cards?"
Somehow, there was a fierce intensity present in the beady eyes that she hadn't expected. "Uh, th-there was this giggling," she lamely blurted. Here she was, ex-member of the Black Organization, seeing and chancing death almost on a daily basis... and cowed by a tiny toy. "Then, the book was glowing, and when I opened it and saw the cards, and read the words on that 'Windy' card – a whirlwind formed and sent them flying."
The toy chuckled, setting her slightly at ease. "Oh, is that all? Well—" It paused, and suddenly, the intensity was back. "No! Do you realize the severity of what you've done? Those cards represent a tremendously powerful magic, second only to that of the great Clow Reed, himself! You've effectively loosed them upon the world!" In a smaller voice, it added, "An' I was supposed t'be watching them, too..."
She rocked backward onto her rear. That the toy's dialect had momentarily slipped during its rant, she filed away for later thought. It just didn't seem as important at present.
As if she had any clue what to consider.
'True' magic was the fantasy of an infinite amount of storytellers. Right? Truth and knowledge were perhaps the ultimate power – and, as Kudou had proven on so many occasions, everything could be explained.
She'd seen a television program, a few months ago, that attempted to prove children and some older people could be manipulated into believing even simple technology was an example of magic.
What technology might produce the strange turn of events she had experienced this evening?
The dull gleam of an object lying upon the floor caught her attention. Ai narrowed her eyes, straining to see it in the dim light.
It was one of the cards. She snatched the accursed card and raised it closer to her face. No, not just any card... the apparent cause of all the nonsense!
The Windy card.
"Here," she offered it to the toy. The stuffed animal could take it, for all she cared.
"One Card? That's great," it said, nonplussed. "But unless you've got all the rest of th' Cards in your pocket, we've still got a problem."
She shook her head. "We? No. You. You go find your cards, or whatever. I'm leaving." To emphasize her point, Ai climbed to her feet. "Oh, and make sure everything's clean and you lock the doors before you go."
The little orange monster was almost instantly face-to-face with her. "Hold it! You've got a responsibility! You're the one who released the Cards, so you're the one who must retrieve them!"
Ai nearly quailed at that, but tried to keep her edge, allowing a flash of annoyance to pass through her azure eyes before closing them. "Forget it."
"O Key of Clow, Key to the Seal, come forth!
This one... will be entered into the ancient Contract..."
That, she definitely hadn't expected to hear. Contract!? What the—
Her eyes shot open, a move that Ai immediately chose to regret, as the golden light radiating from the large, arcane magic circle beneath them momentarily blinded her.
Was it her imagination, or did she actually feel something trying to root her in place?
Ai grit her teeth in frustration, She wasn't quite the type to bolt, no matter the circumstance, even stupid little toys blaming her for scattering a bunch of cards and threatening to tie her to who knew what sort of magical 'contract!'
She could finally almost see something small spinning wildly in the air between her and the stuffed jerk, her sight beginning to adjust to the light. That 'key' it had just mentioned, Ai guessed.
"O Key of Clow," repeated the toy. "Key to the Seal. This child, this girl..."
Again, its gaze met hers. "What's your name?"
"I'm going to kill you."
"...That won't work," the toy admonished, though Ai took some comfort in the way it had hesitated. "I need your name. The Contract has begun, so the only way we're gonna leave is t'finish it."
"Then, I really am going to kill you."
"Your name."
Several seconds passed before Ai ultimately relented. "All right," she growled. "Ai. Haibara Ai." Not that you've told me YOUR name.
"...Right. This girl, Ai, seeks a Contract with you, to become the Card Captor. Key of Clow, please... grant her your Power!"
The Key stopped spinning, its ornate head aimed directly toward her heart. Somehow, she could sense... was that disappointment?
The toy sighed. "Your true name. The Master believed very much in honesty; he claimed that magic would never be true t'you, if you weren't true t'yourself."
Wonderful. Well, it did make sense. Maybe. "Shiho," she muttered at last. "It's Shiho." Idiot! her mind screamed as she spoke. Who knew whether or not anyone had hidden cameras or bugs anywhere in Kudou's mansion?
Fortunately, the library featured no windows... nobody watching the mansion from afar would notice the lightshow. If she had any luck, the 'magic' prevented other people from eavesdropping or noticing what she was doing...
"...This girl, Shiho, seeks a Contract with you, to become the Card Captor. Key of Clow, please... grant her your Power!"
The Key was once again in motion. This time, Ai sensed that it had approved.
"RELEASE!"
With apologies to Aoyama Gosho, CLAMP, and... well, everyone else. :)
The idea for this story originated while I read the improfanfic Blossoms In the Spring, a crossover between CCS and Street Fighter Alpha/Zero, based upon an idea by The Eternal Lost Lurker (who I believe is now known as Mythril Moth). I'd recalled that Lurker had written one or more Detective Conan stories, and of course that thought somehow evolved into wondering what would happen if one of the Conan characters became the Captor...
This story can basically be considered a one-shot and complete, though I'm not going to mark it as Complete, yet... as I'm still debating adding one or two scenes to the end. I'm probably not going to do much else with it, however, so if anyone would like to continue it, or create their own version, feel free to do so. But do send me a link to your story, so I can read it. :)