This chapter is jam-packed full of cool stuff. You get the surprising outcome of the party, the identity of the banshee, and the beginning of a new segment of Minami's life! Nah, just kidding. She's just setting the framework now. Oh, and I changed the description a bit; see if you can spot it!
Chapter Six
"Megure-keibu," Sera said, tapping him on the shoulder.
"What is it?" asked Megure irritably.
"I've solved the mystery!" said Sera matter-of-factly.
"Really, Sera-kun?" asked Megure, forgetting his anger instantly.
"Yeah! Minami-chan and I figured it out. How about we explain it to you?"
"That was fast…" muttered Kogoro.
"Well you're the one who was busy talking with the women instead of paying attention," said the banshee.
"Anyways," said Sera, interrupting before Kogoro could retort, "this case was an accident."
"An accident?" asked Megure in surprise. "Are you forgetting the guy had an AXE through the head?"
"No, I'm not," said Sera. "The victim did die from brain trauma, but it wasn't murder."
"Fine, then," said Megure. "Where did the axe come from if it was an accident?"
"That's where it gets weird!" Minami piped up. "Nobody here knew the victim, and yet he was murdered. The reason he was here in the first place was because…" She was suddenly interrupted by Megure's phone ringing.
"Megure here," he said, answering. "Is that true, Takagi-kun? All right, then." He hung up and told Sera and Minami, "The victim had a high blood-alcohol content, which would make sense he came from outside since alcohol wasn't served tonight.
"Yes, Inspector!" said Minami. "The victim was on his way home from a night of drinking when he found the outer wall to the maze. He climbed over the wall, but fell face first onto the axe a robot was holding. He managed to stumble down the path before dying."
"Is there any proof of this?" asked Megure.
"Sonoko-neesan, you were taking roll of everyone who went in right?" Minami asked.
"Yeah!" said Sonoko.
"Was Kita-san on it?"
"Uh," she flipped through the book, "no, he wasn't."
Sera finished, "which means that the victim did not come in through the entrance. However, the most conclusive proof is the fact that the robot up ahead is missing its axe. The arm is warped, indicating something fell on it.
"Go check it out!" Megure commanded some officers. They raced off before returning to confirm the evidence.
"How terrible!" Ran commented. "This is why you shouldn't drink, Dad!" she exclaimed, rounding on Kogoro.
"Hey, what did I do?" he asked fearfully. Ran rolled her eyes and didn't respond.
After the incident, the partygoers soon dispersed, leaving Ran, Sonoko, Sera, Agasa, and the kids to clean up. The banshee also assisted, although she still hadn't removed her makeup.
"Those robots were scary!" Ayumi said, picking up trash.
"No kidding!" said Genta. "I wish Kamen Yaiba had come with us!"
"Kamen Yaiba only defeats real monsters," Mitsuhiko reminded.
"Where's Ai-chan?" asked Ayumi. "I haven't seen her for a while."
"I don't know," said Mitsuhiko, looking around. "It's not like Haibara-san to go missing like this. Maybe we should go look for her."
"How about we go find her, then?" asked Minami, polishing a newly cleaned tabletop. She dropped her rag and, grinning, walked over to the banshee, accompanied by the three kids. "I have to admit, I didn't really recognize you at first, obaachan."
The banshee looked around and glared at her. "What did you say?" she asked evilly.
"I said you had a good disguise, onessan," said Minami, backtracking at once. "How about you take off that disguise and quit worrying these three?"
"How long?" asked the banshee, ripping off the mask to reveal Haibara's face. The kids jumped in surprise.
"Since you backtalked occhan earlier. Only you would say something like that."
"Did you grow up or something, Ai-chan?" asked Ayumi.
"She looks beautiful," Mitsuhiko muttered to himself. Genta elbowed him in the stomach.
"It's called an exoskeleton," said Haibara. She put her hands to the neck and opened up a hidden compartment, where her child-sized body was fully shown operating the controls. She reached up and pulled a gadget out of her mouth. "The voice-changing braces came in handy, though. All you have to do is put them in and you can talk in whatever voice you want." She offered it to Minami, but Minami took a step back for obvious reasons. "Your loss," said Haibara silkily, hopping down out of the suit.
"By the way, Ai-chan, what was the mystery?" asked Minami. Haibara glared at her before saying, "I don't know. Hakase kept saying something about an 'old friend' coming up to take care of it."
"Maybe it's a treasure map!" Genta exclaimed.
"That we would be awesome!" said Mitsuhiko.
"HEY!" said Ran suddenly, barging into their conversation. "There's still work to do and you all promised to help. Ai-chan, Hakase needs you to take the robot suit back next door." She walked away, her hair swishing from side to side.
"What's wrong with her?"asked Minami as the kids went back to picking up trash.
"She was hoping that having a party like this in your old house would make you come back," said Haibara. "After all, she's too scared of ghosts and monsters to want to do something like this on her own."
"So it was Hakase's idea?"
"Pretty much. Ran-san only went along with it when I suggested that it might bring you back. Kudo Shinichi I mean."
"I know what you mean," said Minami. "You mind if I give the suit a test run?"
"Go ahead," said Haibara, smirking.
The suit was much more difficult to manage than Minami had realized. After a lot of failures, she finally managed to lumber back outside. Up in the suit, it was almost like she was an adult again. If she wore a mask with her adult face and used the new voice changer, no one would be the wiser. Shinichi Kudo might be able to make an early appearance. However, she discarded the idea almost immediately. She knew that Ran would see through her almost immediately, and she didn't want to make Ran sad or, even worse, mad. Plus, she doubted Agasa would allow it.
"Oh, good," said Agasa when Minami lumbered awkwardly through the door. "If you'll just put that in the closet, you can help me with putting up all these extension cords." Agasa took up a robot of a pirate with a missing leg and dragged it away.
"Hakase?" asked Minami, walking into the room.
"Hmmm?" asked Agasa.
"Would it be possible for me to keep the suit for a little while? It's just that I have so much power in this thing! I could make an entirely new life as a woman! I might even be able to be myself again, at least for a night."
"I…suppose that might be possible," said Agasa, thinking about it. "It would be nice to give the thing a test run. Ai-kun doesn't like it much, but I'm sure you will be able to handle it responsibly. How about this: we'll start a three day trial run. I think I can manufacture a pretty good latex mask similar to the one I made Ai-kun depicting what you might look like in ten years."
"Not as Kudo Shinichi, then?" asked Minami.
"No," said Agasa. "That would cause too many problems. A three day visit by Kudo Sakura, however, would be a different story. Come by in a few days and I'll have everything done by then."
"What about the voice changer?" asked Minami.
"That's not a problem either," said Agasa. "I've been experimenting with your old bowtie and come up with something truly unique. The new voice changer disguises itself as clear retainers, with the mechanism itself on the roof of the mouth. You control the voice wirelessly via a remote. Of course, it's fully compatible with all your other gadgets."
"So that's what Haibara had," said Minami.
"And you always say I invent junk," said Agasa proudly.
XXX
The next day, Agasa, Haibara, and Minami ironed out the details. To make the 'visit' seem realistic, Minami would be granted use of the suit for one week. Haibara would feign an illness so she could take Minami's place. Agasa had contacted a friend of his to make the mask, which was allegedly coming out pretty nicely.
The week before Day One, Minami took the suit to Beika Park for practice, including jogging, running around, and practicing soccer skills, closely watched by Agasa. Minami felt invincible in the lightweight suit. The metal frame was covered in a lightweight plastic to create the body exterior. Over the plastic was a latex layer the color of human skin. Under most scrutiny, it would appear entirely realistic, with just enough give in the plastic to mimic human tissue. It was attached to the underlying frame in the same locations where human bones normally approached the skin. The suit was electrically powered to make warm water flow between the layers, giving the illusion that the skin was warm from body heat. It was truly an engineering marvel.
'This is great!' thought Minami, running around and emulating karate moves she'd seen Ran doing. On top of everything else, the suit's strength was easily above that of any normal human. Minami demonstrated it by kicking a soccer ball around with the same amount of force as her Power-Kick Shoes. Minami grinned to herself as she easily balanced on one leg and performed a cartwheel. She was really starting to get the hang of this suit.
The night before Day One, Agasa gave Minami some final advice. "You're not only are you establishing an identity; you're testing out the suit. Every day, come back here and I'll run a diagnostic on it. If you ever run into any trouble, get away and call me at once. Make up an excuse to disappear and I'll bring you back here. Ai-kun will be you during the day, but at night you'll go back to the Detective Agency as yourself. Here's your mask; be careful not to tear it up; I've only got two more. Got it?"
"Sure Hakase!" said Minami.
"Then I hope you enjoy yourself, Shinichi," said Agasa, patting her on the shoulder.
A suit like the one I described should be feasible in real life, but don't hold me to it. But this is Conan, so if they can do ridiculous stunts in the movies, then I can come up with something cool like this.
Next up, I switch gears a bit. The focus is no longer on Ayumi, but on Ran and Sera. What's going to happen now?