Mikau: Hey there everyone. Nice to see you again. As you've probably guessed from my week-long absence, I'm not doing so well. My workload is a little heavy right now (I have to read a 400 page scientific novel about altruism and evolution and a 300 page novel in Spanish while translating Magic Kaito, fifteen pages a day. Kaito's fairly easy, but the rest take sooo much time), and I'm feeling a little under the weather. America is making me sick because it doesn't want me here. It's definitely a sign that I should go back to Japan and see the Conan movie. Thanks so much to everyone who reviewed. You have no idea how much it means to me right now to have all of your support. I've been feeling so utterly crumby lately, and your kind words make me feel so much better. I'm honored to have reached one hundred reviews thanks to all of you. A heartfelt thank you to foreverandeveralone, Tsuna De Vongola Decimo, Aniki-xvi, DoodlingPlume, kakashikrazy256, hyemin2124, and Canadian who reviewed. Please enjoy.

Disclaimer: If I owned it, I never would have thought up Akako's Cobras of Cuteness. Yes, I made up that term myself, and I expect you all to call them that from now on. So, I was translating the chapter where Akako appears for the first time, and I was looking at the cobras on her outfit. They have facial expressions! And they're sooo cute! This from the girl with an insane phobia of snakes. Anyway, I love them. They're genius. I had never noticed that before, and it really made my day when I realized that the snakes glared and looked sad and got surprised. They're adorable.

Preparations for the Ball

"You came at just the right time!" Kaito exclaimed, pulling Saguru through the front door and up the stairs to his room.

Hakuba didn't even want to think about if he had come at the wrong time. He'd just come over to drop off the manga Kaito had forced him to borrow, only to find his friend in a skirt and high heels.

Worst of all, Kaito's normally flat chest was now quite curvaceous.

"Do these feel real? I think so, but I wanted a second opinion, and I wasn't about to ask my mom."

Suddenly Hakuba found himself with handfuls of what felt a little bit like very firm Jell-O. "How should I know?" he shrieked, pulling back.

"Haven't you ever—"

"—NO!" the detective squealed, face turning the shade of an eggplant. "A gentleman would never…!"

"But that's boring." Kaito rolled his eyes, going over to his closet and picking out some male clothing. He then proceeded to strip nude and then redress. "Who else would know? It's not like I can ask Aoko or Keiko. I don't really want to feel up the witch. I'd have heard about it if the guys at school had ever…hmm."

While the cross-dresser clothed himself and considered his options, Hakuba was trying not to pass out.

Kaito hadn't been wearing his usual boxers underneath the skirt, but a lacey pair of black panties. And then he'd taken them off.

Sure, Saguru had seen the magician change for gym, but usually the underwear stayed on. The detective had not been prepared for a free show.

"Ah! I'll ask Shin-chan. He'd know." Kaito was now fully dressed and forcing his guest to sit down on the bed.

"I hope you mean the big one," the blonde sighed, regaining some of his composure.

"Either or." The weirdo with no modesty shrugged, picking up the beginnings of a dress and some sewing equipment from his desk. "With the way Ran-san carries Tantei-kun around all of the time, he probably has a good idea of what a real set feels like."

"Kaito, what the hell are you up to?" Saguru sighed, trying to push all of the disturbing things he had witnessed in the last ten minutes from his mind.

The thief held up a newspaper article and smirked.

The European sleuth frowned and read.

Apparently the Sasaki Group had acquired a pricey choker made of several billion yen's worth of diamonds and sapphires. They were having a grand party to show it off on August twenty-eighth on the top floor of the Sasaki Building—an opulent ballroom with a ceiling made almost entirely of glass. At the end of the evening, there would be a beauty contest, and the winner would be allowed to wear the choker and have one request granted by the Sasaki Group.

Hakuba blinked. "You're going to enter a beauty contest?"

Kaito smiled coquettishly. "Yes. Why? Don't think I can win?"

"You'd win, if I were the judge." The detective rolled his eyes. "Got bored of the usual fare, Kaito? Decided to try something new? Play Cinderella for the night?"

"Exactly." The thief grinned impishly. "I have ulterior motives, but playing Cinderella is exactly what I'm going to be doing." He put his sewing down and retrieved the high heels he had been wearing before.

"Those are…" Saguru blinked, inspecting the shoes more closely. They'd just looked like see-through plastic before, but…

"Glass." The trickster grinned. "I'm still working on getting used to them, but I should be able to run and everything by next Tuesday."

"You really are a perfectionist, aren't you?" The blonde shook his head in disbelief.

"Yep," Kaito chuckled, going back to his needle and thread.

"So…that's your dress there that you're making?" Hakuba didn't know if he was allowed to pry.

"Mmhm. It's a little elaborate, but I wanted it to be attention-grabbing. I'm hemming right now. It's longer in back than in front, so it's a real pain, but I think it'll look really good once it's finished. It's my masterpiece. In fact, I'm confident I'll be able to make every man in that ballroom sit up and beg with this dress. Want to see the sketches?"

"I think I'll wait for the real thing. It'll be a surprise." The lovesick detective smiled at his intended. "So…you really think you'll be able to make every man there fall for you?"

"Of course," the self-assured thief boasted.

"Even me?" Saguru challenged.

"Do you fit the criteria for male?" the endearingly obnoxious teen snickered.

"Yes."

"Then I can make you fall for me," the kaitou decreed.

"Care to bet on that?" The detective knew he would lose, but it would be fun to witness Kaito going all-out. "Make me fall in love with you at the ball, and I'll do whatever you say for twenty-four hours."

"You're on." Kaito smirked, excited by the added challenge.

000

A few days later, a children's story book was delivered to Nakamori-keibu's house. An identical copy showed up at the Mouri Detective Agency, and a third book ended up in the mailbox at the Hakuba Estate.

Once upon a time, in a kingdom far, far away, there was a poor magician named Kaitou Kid. Kaitou thought himself to be very attractive, and most everyone else thought so as well. Unfortunately, the police and detectives only thought of Kaitou as a nuisance.

Kaitou saw an opportunity to prove how enchanting he was to everyone when King Sasaki announced that he would be throwing a ball and allowing the most beautiful girl there to wear his precious diamond and sapphire choker.

However, much to Kaitou's dismay, he did not receive an invitation to the party. Luckily, his fairy godmother rolled her eyes and said, "I'll get you an invite, so don't worry, Kiddo."

Kaitou went to the ball and danced with all of the officers. Even the White Prince fell in love with Kaitou, and everyone agreed that he should get to wear the necklace. Satisfied now that everyone recognized him for his beauty, Kaitou returned the necklace and went home. And he lived happily ever after.

The

End

Saguru rolled his eyes.

Conan laughed and began to make arrangements for Shinichi to attend.

Nakamori-keibu cursed and headed to his office.

This just had to happen on his day off, too.

"So what have we learned from this?" he asked his men after they'd had story time.

"Kid's good at drawing," one officer called out.

"Kid's in love with himself," another offered.

"Absolutely nothing we didn't already know," a third volunteered.

"We need to rent tuxedos," the new guy replied.

"Kid shouldn't be allowed to write children's stories?" a guy in the back said hesitantly.

The good inspector rolled his eyes.

o.o

(l=l)

Mikau: It's a surprised Cobra of Cuteness. So, I'm going to Acen! I was panicking after I got back from Japan because the registration deadline to have your badge shipped to you had already passed, but my sensei needs help at her booth, so I get a free badge, and everything worked out. I'm going to be wearing my yukata, my Japanese yuurei costume, and my Little Red Riding Hood costume. Not sure which one on what day yet. Also, I'm excited for the upcoming "Once Upon a Time" arc of Come to Taunt Me since it will further the romance part of our story. If you could take the time to send in some feedback, it would make me happy. Thanks for reading!