Joan and Conan walked through the festival, watching closely as the reddish-orange glow of the festival vibrated with life. The characters 'Ten' and 'Ka' had already been shown, and even as they walked, Conan cried, "Look! Look!" And Ran turned around to see the last character, 'Ichi', light up the fake mountain in the heart of the festival grounds.

"Did you know, Conan," Ran commented, "that the Tenkaichi Festival lights the three characters representing the three mountains - Ten, Ka, and Ichi - to wish for good harvests for the year?"

"Like the Daimonji Bonfire ceremony in Kyoto?" Joan inquired, speaking Conan's mind. "Interesting."

"It's not half bad, to stay at an Inn and go to a festival," Mouri commented, glancing around at the different attractions with mild interest. Joan was equally interested, if only to get a taste of Japanese culture drawn from Aoyama himself.

"He's right," Joan agreed, acting like a child to help keep up an image. "This place is so pretty during the festival!"

"I'm glad!" Ran smiled. "You always seem so serious, but I guess all you needed was a chance to be, right?"

"Yeah!" Joan agreed, though behind the mask she was a bit disgruntled.

'Serious'? Geez. I'm not that depressing.

It helped, however, that she was gripping a very pink, very bunny-like balloon that Conan had pushed onto her at the nearest opportunity. Ran thought that this was very cute and had instantly taken a photo, and Joan made a mental note to have a copy for later... just in case she needed to bribe/blackmail Conan or the other Detective Boys.

Just then, she recalled where they were, and turned around automatically to see a man in a beige jacket run over to Ran.

"Ah, excuse me," he began, sweat dripping down his face, "Can you take a few pictures for me?"

"Yes, okay," Ran agreed, taking the instant camera from his hand.

"Can you take a picture of me with the 'Ichi' character in the background? Thank you."

"You ready?" Ran asked, eye in the viewfinder. "I'll take it now."

Joan blinked, then ran up to him, getting the balloon in the picture but only a bit.

"Mister?" she asked, pointing to the little yellow camera in Ran's hands. "What's that?"

"Oh, that's my camera," he explained. "It takes pictures."

"Cool!"

As she walked back and Ran agreed to take more pictures, Conan's eyes narrowed. He continued to stare as the man, Sasai Norikazu, chatted idly about his job as an author and his friend, a semi-famous author named Imatake Satoru.

"What's wrong, Conan-kun?" Joan inquired, still in her child-voice. "Is there something on my face?"

He blinked and looked away. A few moments later, Ran's phone made a shutter sound as she took a picture.

"Ahh! Ran-neechan, give that to me!" Conan cried, attempting to snatch away the phone.

"No!" Ran giggled. "I'm going to keep this forever! I'll send it to Shinichi, and Sonoko..." she giggled again as Conan gave up.

More seriously, he asked Joan, "Why did you interrupt that photo?"

"I'm suspicious," Joan admitted, hoping it would be enough for a detective brain like Kudo. "Why would he wear such a thick jacket in this weather? Why was he running before? Why does he want so many pictures, and why ask us?" she recited. "It's all very curious, and while it isn't exactly the best thing to suspect people, I'm nervous."

"Right," Conan nodded. "I was wondering about the jacket, too, actually, but..." He shrugged. "I'd like to think there isn't a case here."

"It seems you're out of luck," Joan said grimly, as Inspector Yokomizo tapped Sasai on the shoulder.

"I have something to ask you concerning Imatake Satoru," he stated, showing his police identification.

"Did something happen to him?" Sasai inquired.

"He was murdered." Yokomizo said simply, as Sasai faked absolute shock.

"The weapon was a gun," Yokomizo began. "Time of murder was about 8:00, perhaps a few minutes afterwards. The criminal is a man who ran from the scene not long ago."

Kogoro coughed. "I see."

"And who are you?" Yokomizo inquired.

"I am detective Mouri-" He was cut off.

"Oh! I read about you in the newspapers! You're that detective that's been making a sensation recently!" Yokomizo exclaimed. "No wonder I recognized you!"

Not like he solves the cases, Conan thought. I do, for the most part... he paused.

Then, with a formidable frown, he stared at Joan, who was innocently poking her balloon.

She's always leading me to the solution, though. It's curious... sometimes, like with that treasure map, she's barely helpful until she's needed, but sometimes she sees everything in advance, as if...

as if she's done it all before. Like she's holding a script and sticking to it.

He frowned. Like today, when she interrupted that picture... what was that for, really? Did she seriously spot all those hints in such a short time?

"What's this bubbly stuff on his cheek?" Joan asked, right at that moment, as Mouri investigated.

"Hey, that's right, this is toothpaste," Mouri murmured, sniffing it. "hmm..."

"He must of been pretty relaxed," Joan mentioned, "to brush his teeth up until the moment he was killed."

"So, an insider's job," Yokomizo muttered. "And that can only mean... Sasai!"

The man paused before saying calmly, "that's ridiculous, officer. I was at the festival. I even have pictures to prove it. Here," he said, handing the man the instant camera. "Develop these pictures and see."

The two older detectives stood around the table, observing the pictures around the table.

Conan wandered the room, glancing about while occasionally staring at Joan. He shook off the eerie feeling he was getting from her and kept looking around, listening in to the conversation over the table.

"I don't get it," Yokomizo groaned, shaking his head. "Which part of all this is the alibi?"

"Oh, here," Ran said, taking the picture with Joan's balloon in it. "This is the first one I took. The balloon is in it, too. We met Sasai as the 'Ichi' character was being lit."

"Hm." Yokomizo pondered. "Although that character is only lit past 8:40..." he frowned. "If you ran, you could get there in forty minutes."

Just then, Kogoro inquired, "How long is the first character lit from 8:00?"

"Only up to around 8:25, I think..." Yokomizo replied.

Kogoro silently showed them a picture that very clearly showed Sasai standing in front of the lit-up 'Ten' character.

There was a short discussion, and after a short while Joan started paying attention again as Kogoro asked, "How did you know that Sasai was at the festival, by the way?"

"Oh, the man at the front of the building remembered him. Apparently he kept asking for the time."

"Yes," Sasai agreed. "I lost my watch, and I didn't want to miss the start of the festival."

Joan tugged Conan's sleeve and pointed at Sasai's wrist, which was lighter in a ring around it, as if someone had been tanning with a wristwatch on.

His eyes narrowed, but just then, Ran took another picture.

"Ran-Neechan! Stop doing that!" Conan complained, trying to grab the phone she was holding.

"No!" she said firmly, before giggling uncontrollably.

They heard the sound of frantic steps as they came up the staircase, and a man's voice called, "Imatake Sensei!"

"His body's already been moved," Yokomizo disclosed to the panicked man. "Who are you?"

"I'm Yamada, from the Gekkan Bungei Jidai," he explained quickly. "I got a call from the police and immediately got here, but Imatake-Sensei is already..."

"Bungei Jidai is Imatake's..." Kogoro began.

"Yes, he was writing Kenyu Densetsu." Sasai interrupted. "Oh yes, I remember that Imatake said that his story was due soon, but that he hadn't finished it yet."

"But the deadline is tomorrow!" Yamada cried desperately. "This is terrible! Even if we ask someone now it won't be done on time and we can't just summon someone who can write like Imatake-sensei..."

"I guess it can't be helped," Sasai said benevolently, walking over to his suitcase and pulling out a pile of papers. "Here."

Yamada took it with a bewildered look on his face.

"Imatake was asking me to show it to him, so I brought it with me today," Sasai continued.

"Yes, the editorial department will definitely accept this," Yamada said gleefully. "Could you please consider writing for Bungei Jidai from now on?" he begged.

"I don't know, I have a job right now..." Sasai began. "But... sure, alright. For the late Imatake's sake."

Joan tugged Conan's sleeve noticeably as they watched the nervous man thank Sasai and run off with the Prologue of the novel. There was a mutual decision between them and they paused to think of what to do.

"I wonder why he wore that jacket the whole time," Joan murmured, as she checked the pictures on the table.

Conan laughed in an almost creepy manner before grinning at Joan.

"You know the answer already, don't you?" he inquired with a hint of annoyance. "Just tell me already."

"Alright," Joan grinned, "but I get to keep those pictures of us today."

Conan moaned internally as he ground 'okay' through clenched teeth.

Joan giggled. "Good luck, 'great detective'. You'll need it if you try to oppose me."

They had settled quickly on having Conan already prepped behind the chair they had planned Kogoro to land on. Joan hid in the corner and carefully aimed for Kogoro's neck, hoping honestly that she didn't mess it up.

She wanted the chance to do it once, though.

eyes narrowing she aligned the reticle and pushed the button, and in a split second the sleeping medicine got in and Kogoro stumbled back into a chair. She set him in a pose and organized the photos as Conan began to deduce his result. In a moment's notice, she decided to walk off to the side, where she could hold her balloon without interrupting the deduction.

"The man who shot Imatake-sensei was you, Sasai Norikazu!"

"Wait a moment!" he cried, annoyed. "You said yourself my alibi was perfect!"

"A simple bit of manipulation," Kogoro, in-the-newspapers detective, said, though it was actually Conan speaking through his bowtie, "to make you relax and forget yourself, to allow me to observe you in a weaker state of mind."

"From the second I saw the body I knew it had to be someone he knew, someone he was comfortable with."

"Your evidence?" Sasai inquired, still acting relaxed as he could, but clearly shaken. "How many times do I have to tell you? I have the pictures as my alibi."

"Imatake had toothpaste over his mouth," Conan continued, ignoring him. "Therefore, he was brushing his teeth when he was shot."

"So what?" Sasai shrugged. "That doesn't prove anything. Everyone brushes their teeth."

"True," Kogoro admitted, "but not many people would let in a stranger with a toothbrush in their mouth."

There was a silence where Sasai merely frowned.

"And another thing. The condition of this room," Conan continued in Kogoro's voice. "The criminal ran away right after the gun was fired. He wouldn't have time to mess up this room like this without Imatake noticing. It was messed up on purpose to make it look like a robbery."

"But I still have an alibi," Sasai announced, pointing at the pictures laid strategically in front of Kogoro.

"Taken legitimately," Conan confirmed. "A full year ago, at the previous festival, going undeveloped until today. A camera you have been saving for this occasion." he smirked in Joan's vision. "You even wore the same jacket to make sure that the pictures matched."

"Do you have any proof that the pictures were taken in the past?" he inquired, laughing nervously.

"There is proof," Conan continued.

"Oh! I see it!" Joan cried, hopping in and looking over the table. "Officer Yokomizo, look at this! Look at his wrists!"

Yokomizo dashed forwards and looked at them in order, checking each, and slowly came to a realization.

"Sasai!" he shouted, grabbing the man's wrist. "Do you have an explanation for the tanned wrist in the photo you used as your alibi?!"

"I lost detective," Sasai squeaked helplessly, causing Yokomizo to let go of him reluctantly.

"One year ago I was determined to kill Imatake," Sasai confessed, as Joan went to join Conan under the table. "in order to be the top writer in the world of literature."

He glared at the floor. "My work was supposed to be published by Bungei Jidai. But the editorial department switched to Imatake at the last moment," he seethed. "It was because Imatake was more well-known. To me, that novel was something I put my entire writing life into. But that... GUY took it away from me! He was practically ridiculing me!"

"So you killed him for that," Yokomizo reasoned.

"That's right," Sasai confirmed. "I killed him."

As Yokomizo lead him away, Sasai paused, and said, "Mouri Ran-san. That piece I showed you was one that Imatake and I worked on together when we wrote together. I guess no-one will believe me now..."

Joan pulled a Cheshire grin as Conan tried to get out of joining them in the arcade.

"C'mon Conan-kun!" Ayumi begged. "Please!"

"But..." Conan turned around and was faced with Joan.

"Uh..."

"Oh, Conan-kun, how rude!" She said evilly. "Don't you want to join us?" She pulled out her phone.

"Uh, uh yeah!" He said nervously, running inside.

"How did you do that, Joan?" Mitsuhiko asked curiously.

"Yeah!" Genta added. "He wouldn't even listen to me!"

Joan grinned. "It was... Sasai*."

She smiled at the inside joke and walked inside the arcade.

A/N: In Japanese, "Sasai' means 'trivial'. That was the joke.

I'm sorry for the long period of time between now and the last time I updated - I've been... busy. (Aka I don't want to admit that writer's block has me. BAD.)

This has officially become one of my least favourite cases. It took watching the episode at least ten times to get it right.