Episodes 690 and 691.

Two days after the visit of the Kudos, when I received a knock at the door late in the afternoon. I look up from where I had been reading and walk calmly to the door. I opened it to see Conan staring up at me with those big blue eyes of his, panting slightly. Did he run here? I step aside as he skips in.

"Alone today Conan-kun?"

He hurriedly pulled off his shoes.

"Need to find Yusaku-san's case files. Ran-neechan found a case similar to one he dropped ten years ago."

I blinked at the rushed explanation. A case that the great Yusaku-san dropped, as in couldn't solve? Impossible. After meeting the man myself I had seen his intelligence. He had to have dropped it for a reason. Conan sped off toward the study and I went to the bathroom. I will let him handle it. I hadn't had the need to put on the choker today and I had left my wig in the bathroom. I suppose Mouri Ran might come over later to get the files, so I guess I should make myself presentable.

I was styling the wig how I wanted, brushing each strand carefully when I heard foot steps down the hallway.

"You just want to see Subaru-kun naked don't you?"

"Well, that too."

I freeze in horror. No, they are here already? Mouri Ran, and it sounds like Sonoko too. I reach instinctively for the choker and paw at the marble sink. I look down and fear chills in my stomach. I left my choker in the bedroom. I didn't think I would use it today. They were right outside too.

I was trapped.

Crap crap crap! What do I do? My disguise is about to be exposed. My eyes land on my toothbrush. My hands scrabbled for the toothpaste and toothbrush quickly, not caring if I made noise. It wouldn't be strange if I couldn't talk with a toothbrush in my mouth.

"Hmm, Conan-kun?"

I squeeze tooth paste onto the brush and shove it into my mouth, flick the hairbrush up into my sleeve, and start brushing as hard as I could to create the illusion I had been doing this for awhile, only for my brain to catch up with me. That voice sure sounded familiar.

"So this is where you were?"

I hear the door open, and was far too relieved I made it in time to actually care about the girls seeing me brushing my teeth, again. I turned and was greeted with a far greater surprise.

Masumi stared at me, hand on the doorknob.

I freeze and stand up straight, slipping my left hand instinctively into my pocket to hide the fact I was left handed and to feign casualness. Questions burning in my mind. What the heck was she doing here? She was in America with Mother wasn't she? Despite feeling panicked, it is nice to see her again. I see a split second of nostalgia and recognition, followed by suspicion in her eyes. Crap she is already deducing my identity isn't she? She is definitely not the dullest tool in the shed, and could easily deduce who I am if I am not careful. I fought so hard to keep my face neutral, something I had become quite proficient at.

Out of the corner of my eye I see Ran and Sonoko step into view.

"Ah, Subaru-san. I believe Conan-kun is here…"

She trailed off, hoping I would fill in the blanks. How was I supposed to answer without giving myself away? Masumi would definitely recognize my voice, and even the two other girls could put together the fact my voice sounded different. I point earnestly toward the study, making noises that I hoped sounded like Subaru's.

"Oh, do you mean he is in the study?"

Thank goodness she got the message. I nodded earnestly.

"Then we will head over there. Sorry for bothering you."

She started to walk off dragging Sonoko behind her. Masumi stayed for a few seconds longer, staring at me, before Ran called her away. I ignored her and turned back to brushing my teeth. I couldn't exactly tell her to go away. I heard her shut the door slowly, as if she couldn't stop staring at me. I waited until I heard the door click before I glance to the side, to make sure she was surely gone before letting the comb fall out of my sleeve back into my hand and let out a minute sigh of relief. Holy crap that was way too close for my liking. Thank goodness I had the ingenuity to think of brushing my teeth.

I smile fondly at the door. Masumi, you have grown so much since the last time I saw you. I can tell just by looking at you that you have become quite the detective. You have that look in your eyes. I couldn't be prouder of my little sister.

I escaped the bathroom and made my way to my room. I secured my choker thankfully, taking refuge in the voice of Okiya for once. That was close, and I am never walking around the house without it on my person ever again. I take a deep breath, preparing myself. I have to fool Masumi, which is going to be harder than fooling Jodie and Camel because she knew my habits, knew me from a far more personal level. It is going to be very difficult, but I think I can do it.

I walk out and to the kitchen to see Boya coming the other way, from the library,carrying a folder in his hands.

"You going to help Subaru-san?"

I was interested, but more interested in being an observer then a participant, especially with Masumi here.

"I will leave this to you and the girls, unless you need my help?"

He smirked in answer. I will take that as a no. We both approached the kitchen to hear the girls discussing something. Conan was ahead of me, and when he was within earshot of the kitchen he stopped right outside the door.

"What is it Boya?"

I stepped forward and heard Sonoko exclaiming.

"Don't tell me, Shinchi brought home a woman and is having an affair?"

What? I glance down to see Conan seemed very interested in his shoes, and his ears seemed to be bright pink. I knelt down next to him, hiding a grin.

"What? Is that in Shinichi's character?"

His head snapped up in indignation.

"No, Sonoko always overreacts. He would never do that sort of thing."

I had to cover my mouth to keep from laughing. The look on his face was completely priceless. Although, an affair? I wasn't aware in my investigations that Kudo Shinichi had any sort of girlfriend or lover. Then again, I hadn't asked people because of course I hadn't been getting any useful answers. Conan took a deep breath and shook his head. Oh yeah, I might as well ask Conan about Masumi.

"So who is that third girl, besides Sonoko and Mouri Ran?"

He glanced up at me.

"That's Sera-san. She is a high school detective that just moved into Ran-neechan's school. She has made some pretty good deductions in the past."

His eyes sparkle, and I am guessing that he was the one who actually finished, or got to the answer faster than her. Sera huh? I guess she took Mom's last name then. He added as an afterthought.

"Remember, she was at the case that I got kidnapped."

Wait…was she the biker that used her bike to tackle the assailant? I almost face palm. I see she is just as violent as ever. He sighed and walked toward the door.

"Well anyway, I will deal with it, unless you want to step in."

He walked forward into the kitchen and asked innocently.

"What were you all talking about?"

"Adult talk brat. Don't worry about it."

They set out a cellphone and Conan withdrew a picture from the case files. They set them on the counter.

"It is really similar. The bloody death character anyway."

"So you are saying the murderer from ten years ago has reappeared?"

"Then it is a serial murderer?"

Bloody death character? A murderer? If a murderer paints a death character next to his victims as an M.O, that is one sick murderer. Although ten years? Could it be a copycat? That is a long time without activity. Masumi continued.

"Yeah, when I searched the internet the pictures from that ten year old case were not posted. So it is no mistake this was done by the same person."

So no copycat then. I glance over to Conan to see what he thought about this. He was uncharacteristically stiff, fingers clenching into the counter as he stared at the pictures. What was wrong with him? I suppose this is personal to him. I still don't think Yusaku would have just thrown in the towel, especially from one sadistic and terror causing murderer such as this one. It must be bothering him that his father couldn't solve it.

"Hey Conan-kun, did Shinichi say why his dad gave up on this case?"

He turned toward the girls.

"Yusaku-san swore that he wouldn't appear again."

I narrowed my eyes. That was a pretty big claim. He must have really been sure. Masumi gasped.

"Really? Kudo Yusaku said that?"

Conan nodded, holding up the picture.

"Yeah. The murderer who made this death character will never appear again is what he said. At least that is what Shinichi-niisan said."

Mouri Ran spoke up.

"Yes, I also remember when Shinichi showed me that picture, he told me that. Furthermore the man's palm and fingers had blood on them, but not the fingertip so he didn't write the character. Why wasn't it a murder, Shinichi was complaining."

Masumi hummed and took the picture out of the Boya's hands, examining it.

"Even if it wasn't murder, there was someone there before the blood dried. Also, we found the bloody character that had been left at the scene."

Sonoko asked.

"Wasn't the ten year old case an accident or something?"

"Yeah you are right."

"An accident?"

"Here, there are more details in this folder."

Conan handed them to Masumi, and she started reading the files. So he knew her and her abilities then, and trying to hide behind her. Interesting. Although, this is Masumi. She probably knows the Boya's abilities. She probably won't take any of it either. I bet they work well together.

"…He left a bouquet of flowers as an offering."

"You are right, there are flowers in this picture. Although, it looks like they weren't left in a bunch, but were scattered around."

"Probably the one who left the character kicked it."

"But if he was murdered, he might have been pushed from behind and fatally injured that way. Then the murderer wrote the character with the oozing blood, but when the boy left the flowers he said there was no character."

Also, there would have been no way predict if falling on the fishbowl would have actually killed him. So that is a dead end.

"What so that means, right after the principal died, the culprit hid as the boy came. They waited until he left before he went back to write the character."

The three girls all pondered for a moment before Sonoko burst out.

"What if the boy wrote it?"

The other girls looked at her in alarm. Oi, do they teach that character to kindergarteners? There is no way he did it. Well, if it was Conan, I wouldn't doubt it, but there is no way a normal five year old could have done it.

"You know, when he left the flowers. He is a priest's son; maybe he was mourning the dead."

"He is only five years old. He can't write kanji yet can he?"

Conan, who had been calmly observing their discussion, interrupted.

"Ran-neechan, how did the man this morning die? If there are similarities with the ten year old case, it might be easier to catch the culprit."

Ah, that is a good question. We know about the previous case, but what besides the character connects this case to that one. Ran hummed thoughtfully.

"Similarities huh? There was a cigarette, not flowers."

"Oh that thing in the picture is a cigarette?"

"Yeah but it was bloody."

A bloody cigarette?

"The time of death was around eleven pm. The corpse was leaning against a vending machine and inside the bin was a new can of sake. Something happened to cause his death after he bought the sake. He must have been there all night because the vending machine closes around eleven."

"The character was written in blood beside him right? Was he stabbed or something?"

"Blood was coming out of his mouth. The man seemed to be an alcoholic, so at first I thought the varices had ruptured and he had vomited up blood. At least that is what I thought before I saw the character next to him."

Look they both are getting so excited at the prospect of this mystery, and trying to fit all the pieces together. It is almost adorable. Well, maybe I can butt in and try to solve this mystery. From what I have heard it is very intriguing. I step lightly into the kitchen.

"So the two common points of these cases are the similar bloody 'death' character, and at first glance they do not seem like murder cases, right?"

Geez, I can feel Masumi's curious stare. I force down a shudder as I reach for the file, pulling out the newspaper clipping I saw Masumi take out before, wanting to see for myself.

"According to this newspaper clipping, while heading toward the park, the boy noticed the bloody death character after trying to wake the corpse. More than likely, this is a picture after it was moved. When the boy found the corpse, it was already there, but was covered by the body so he didn't see it."

I glance over at Masumi to see her watching me. Crap, I have to act so much Okiya it is going to hurt me.

"Sorry for the intrusion."

Conan decided to pipe up in my defense.

"Ah, Subaru-san is a Holmes fan, and likes giving deductions."

Masumi made a pondering noise, still looking at me suspiciously. Luckily, Sonoko decided to speak up.

"Come to think of it, his coworkers were trying to rouse him this morning too."

"Maybe the corpse was moved a bit."

Thank goodness for distractions. Conan asked innocently, although I know at least two people here know just how 'innocently' he asks questions.

"Why don't we ask the police officers? Takagi Keiji was dispatched to deal with it this morning after you called it in right Ran-neechan?"

That is actually a good idea. We don't know a lot about the current case, so we can't compare it to the old one. Mouri Ran hurriedly pulled out her phone and immediately called the man. After a few rings, she jumped a little.

"Ah, Takagi Keiji. Yes, this is Mouri Ran. I was calling about the corpse I called in this morning. Can you give us more details about it?"

There was a split second pause before you could clearly hear a man on the other end speaking. Both of the other girls leaned in to hear it. I stand back, figuring if they found out anything they would tell us. Ran waited a few seconds before asking in surprise.

"Wait, classified as a robbery? Not a homicide case?"

So not a murder then. And the other one wasn't either. Masumi disagreed, grabbing the phone and speaking loudly into the receiver. I see she is just as boisterous as she used to be, maybe a tad bit too aggressive. Although, that is her style, and I can't ask her to change.

She dropped the phone, glancing apologetically at us.

"He hung up on me."

I asked quietly.

"What else did you learn?"

She answered dutifully, and I had a flashback to our deduction quizzes over meals.

"It was considered a robbery case by Megure Keibu, and he died by having his varices burst due to cirrhosis as I suspected."

Ran put her hand to her chin.

"Isn't that strange though? Megure Keibu was at the case ten years ago, so it is weird he doesn't think it is a serial murder case."

Masumi suggested.

"Maybe the police know who the culprit is and they are keeping it a secret?"

Sonoko gasped.

"Don't tell me it is the basic plot in movies where the criminal is the son of some powerful person and although it is aggravating they can't do anything about it?"

Mouri Ran shook her head slightly.

"No, I don't think Yusaku-san would leave the case because of something like that."

It seems like we are stuck. We are out of theories at this point, and just treading water to keep this mystery alive. So what can we do? I find it would be awfully insulting if we had to consult Yusaku-san himself. He would probably laugh at us, and give us some cryptic answer to make it harder if I had to take a guess. That is off the table, not even a last resort.

Wait a moment. This is my chance. I could possibly get Kudo Shinichi to expose himself. As far as I know, the only person who can contact him, Mouri Ran, and him are in the same room. First though, I should expose the web of lies that Mouri Ran weaved last time she was here in this house. Let's just see how Mouri Ran and Edogawa Conan react to this.

"Then, how about we ask him? That mystery loving classmate of yours, Kinichi-kun?"

I see Ran tense in surprise, stuttering in her haste to cover for it, and I notice that Conan looked at me in confusion out of the corner of my eye. Masumi blurted out.

"What are you talking about? If you are going to talk about a case to anybody, it should be Kudo Shinichi right? Since he is the high school detective and your boyfriend."

Boyfriend? Oh how interesting. I see how both Conan and Mouri Ran jump at the word. So the talks of the affairs earlier were about him cheating on Mouri Ran then. Boya, aren't you living with her right now? I bit my lip to hide a grin. My my, how scandalous Boya. I wish I could tease him about it. Masumi continued.

"He's on a case, and not living here right now."

I decide to push the discussion a little further, playing innocent.

"Oh, so that high school detective is the owner of this house then?"

Masumi gave me a strange look.

"You have been living here but didn't know that?"

I shrugged slightly.

"Yes, Shinichi-kun, who lived here, was a useless high school student, at least that is what Ran-san said."

There was something else I wanted to see their reactions to. I take a deep breath and continue.

"There is a rumor going around that high school detective, Kudo Shinichi, has lost his life and mysteriously disappeared while investigating a case."

The girls look at each other in confusion, while Conan bristled slightly. I could tell how tense he was without even looking at him. Why though? Why is he afraid right now? Could it be he didn't want to worry Mouri Ran? Possibly. I know I wouldn't want Akemi to worry about me when I was on dangerous missions so I mostly didn't tell her about them.

"Eh, there is a rumor like that?"

I confirm.

"Yes, That is why I thought that the Shinichi-kun you all mentioned was a different person altogether."

Masumi scoffed.

"How could he be dead? I worked on two cases with him. Well both cases were on the phone."

Masumi has worked with him? Not only as Conan but Shinichi too? How interesting. She probably has his identity figured out.

"Right Conan-kun?"

Conan covered it with obviously nervous laughter and affirmation, but I could tell he was rattled. He is usually so calm. It was just like Yusaku-san said. He pursues the truth relentlessly but can't handle it well when the truth is focused on him. I will loosen up a little, and decide to find something else out.

"So who is Kinichi-kun?"

Why did Mouri Ran lie?

"Oh that's because Shinichi told me not to tell you a lot about him, so I…sorry."

If I remember correctly, the day she told me about 'Kinichi', was only a couple of days after I had asked Conan about the whereabouts of Kudo Shinichi. He didn't tell her specifically to lie, but he did try to keep the information flow to me censored. Trying to cover your tracks Boya?

"Still, why is there a rumor about Shinichi-kun being dead?"

"That's because he always insist on keeping his involvement a secret. It seems he is secretly pursuing some culprit in some case."

Sonoko asked in annoyance.

"Seriously, is he trying to infiltrate the enemy territory like a ninja?"

Ninja? Wait a moment, why did that…? Oh! This case that we were discussing. If the boy set down his round candy that I saw in that picture as an offering…and this case if it was a robbery which means the round things were yen coins. I smirked inwardly. I figured it out, and a quick glance shot toward the Boya showed me that for once, I had come to the conclusion first. He was too focused the conversation that he missed the hint.

"So why don't we call him right now? I also want to hear his deductions."

Conan jerked to attention and I see a look of terror cross over his face. I breathed in a silent sigh of anticipation. Is this it? My chance? I watched the Boya carefully out of the corner of my eye.

"I already texted him the case details this evening."

He relaxed, and immediately stiffened ramrod straight again when Masumi mentioned.

"But the police changed it to a robbery case. You haven't told him that right?"

"Yeah, that is true."

Sonoko interrupted with a mischievous grin.

"Besides, Ran and Shinichi need to have a heart to heart talk, and while she is at it, she can respond to his confession."

Wait, I am missing a whole piece of the puzzle. Kudo Shinichi has confessed his love to her? When? While he is in his current body? No, she doesn't act like she knows who he is. So maybe over the phone? Meanwhile Conan has turned a bright shade of crimson, so it must be true. I have actually never seen him so flustered before. It was a stark difference from the Boya that confronts calmly Gin without batting an eyelash. He immediately exclaimed loudly, and very childishly, which instantly brought my guard up.

"I'm going to go to the toilet."

He sprinted off through the house, almost wiping out on the turn as his slippers slid on the floor. Oh, running away are you? Well that is not suspicious in the slightest. No matter. I will follow you in a minute. I need to pass a message first. I cannot be the one to explain the solution to the case. Masumi would get very suspicious. Better let 'Kudo Shinichi' solve this one. Besides, he needs some time to hide so I should probably stall a little. I interrupt the girls about to type in the number.

"Ah, if you are going to call him, can you pass a message on to him from me?"

The three girls looked at me expectantly. I said slowly, so they could remember.

"Tell him that he is a ninja like Kirigakure Saizou."

He can make the connections after that. Ran nodded and started to type in the number as I glided out of the kitchen. Now then Boya, where did you go? I went first to the downstairs bathroom. There was no one inside. Why would he not go to the closest one? I glanced upstairs. There was a second one upstairs, and it would be a better hiding place. Using my agent reflexes, I creep silently up the staircase and pad across the carpet. I am almost shaking in anticipation. This is it. I can't screw this up. He is unsettled right now; this is probably the best chance I have to get that crucial last piece of evidence I need. There, the bathroom, and the light is on.

I sidle up to the door, about to eavesdrop when I pause. No, if I get too close, he will sense me. I back off slightly. What to do. There is a corner right there that I could hide behind; I can wait until he comes out.

I slip easily into the hallway, peeking around the wall every few seconds. He has to leave eventually. Suddenly I heard a voice coming from the bathroom.

"I see, I got the truth of the case. Right now, go back to the scene of this morning's crime."

The door blew open and Conan stepped out, bowtie attached to the phone as he spoke into it. The voice coming out though wasn't his normal voice. It was the sound of a teenage boy. He exclaimed hurriedly.

"If my deductions are correct, everything should fall into place."

He sprinted off downstairs, back to the kitchen. I see, so that is how it is. I smirked. Finally, my piece of proof I needed I finally had.

Kudo Shinichi was Edogawa Conan.

I leaned back against the wall with a sigh. Boya, why couldn't you have just told me? Surely he trusts me enough with Haibara's life to allow me to know about his own identity. He knows I trust him explicitly as well. Why did he not want me to know?

The same reason no one can know about me, or Kir. The more people that know of Kudo Shinichi's existence as a child, the more likely they will find out and kill everyone involved with him. He probably had that bowtie made just for the purpose of calling Mouri Ran, to calm her fears. He has completely disappeared to everyone else, hiding from the organization by pretending to live the life of an elementary school student. God Boya. The more I look into your life, the more I feel sorry for you.

I shook my head. No, I can't feel sorry for him. He isn't an agent, but he is a detective. He is investigating them because he has an obligation to find out the truth and to bring them to justice. It is why he is a detective, and why I am an agent. We both knew what we signed up for when we chose our occupations.

Besides, I don't know the circumstances behind his or Haibara's shrinking. It could be voluntary. Although, this means that Kudo Shinichi probably ran into the organization at some point.I shake my head. I can't focus on all the bad things. This means that both Edogawa Conan and Kudo Shinichi are safe, at least for the moment, and I should probably get back.

I walk into the kitchen to see him trying to explain the bowtie accessory on his phone. Careless Boya.

"Anyway, if we go to the crime scene we can verify his deductions right? Should we go?"

I walk forward easily. I wonder how he will react, when I tell him I know. I bend down so that I was eye level with him. He seemed to sense that something was wrong as he tensed, looking back at me with a worried expression on his face.

"Right? High school detective, Kudo Shinichi-kun."

He let out a small gasp, a look of pure fear freezes on his face. I grin at him, my expression telling him all that he needs to know.

I won this competition Boya. It is my victory.

Because that is what this has been a competition between us. He would try his hardest to hide the evidence and I would try my hardest to find it. Now though, I have ensnared the last part I needed to win the game.

His eyes asked a lot of questions, but there were obvious ones.

How? Will you tell?

That was probably why he was so frightened. I know I cannot confront him about his identity yet, at least not here. Not with Mouri Ran and Sonoko here in the kitchen at least. They don't know, and if the Boya is running from the organization, it needs to stay that way. I completed my sentence.

"Told you to do that right?"

He blinked in surprise and finally relaxed. No Boya, you are keeping my secret. It would be very rude of me to disclose yours. He is probably second guessing on if I know or not, but if that will give him some peace of mind, I don't care.

"Yeah, let's go."

Sonoko and Ran hurried out of the room, followed by Masumi.

"Come on Conan-kun you have Kudo-kun's deductions after all."

He glanced at her before looking back up at me.

"Right."

Instantly his gaze sharpened, and it felt like he was looking at me under a microscope. He was silently gauging me, on what the right course of action to deal with me would be. He shouldn't; I am not the enemy here. I understand his paranoia. One more person knew who he was. I am unaware the numbers of the people that did know his identity, but it can't be a lot. Less than five I am guessing. I gave him a Subaru smile as he jogged out of the room, his eyes never leaving me. He wasn't the only one. Masumi was staring at me too, but I ignored her. I turned to give him a look.

Don't worry. Your secret is safe with me.

I don't want him to stress out about this, but I believe he should be fine. I just hope Bourbon doesn't find out as well.

I watch as Kudo Shinichi ran outside with my little sister, as I decided to stay in the house. I smirked. Well then, this has been quite the insightful evening. I learned more about Kudo Shinichi in the past hour then I ever did scraping around on my own.

Boya, you continue to amaze me. That was the hardest investigation I have had to do in a long time, minus the organization one. That took a whole lot of energy for one truth. I smirk as I head over to the cabinet. This calls for a celebration. The day that I not only beat him in a deduction competition, but I finally discovered the secret behind the Boya's intelligence and his mysterious nature. I solved the case that had been plaguing me for the past few months. figured out the enigma that was Edogawa Conan.

I poured a glass of Bourbon and raised it with a chuckle.

"Case Closed, Kudo Shinichi."