First time writing in the Case Closed fandom and I hope readers will enjoy the AU. It's set within a larger pokemon AU, though you don't need to know anything about that to enjoy this; all you really need to know is no-one is in Japan. I will admit straight up to being infinitely more familiar with the English version, and have opted to use/mix said names with some characters for in-universe reasons that'll be explained as the story goes on. If you don't like that, then please, please don't read.
"That one!" Conan chirped as he pointed to the game just out of his reach. Of all the horrors of being just shy of three feet tall, the law about the placement of pre-owned items up out of the grabbing range of small children when possible had to suck the most. He knew the reason why it was a law made complete sense, and it was the first thing he remembered being taught. Not that he could have been taught anything else. Not when no-one in the Islands wanted a repeat of last century's 'Tashigum Vs The Government' case, which, if his memory served correctly, had been rather nasty and stretched out a good five years before they'd finally ruled in the favour of the Tashigum estate.
A good thing too, if one asked the shrunken detective, even though he never left the house without some kind of psychic shielding up. Though the law hadn't stopped the accidental traumatisation of young psychometrics, it had made it far less likely to accidentally happen to those who didn't have the best grasp of shielding in general.
He, on the other hand, knew how to throw up a heavy shield in a split second, and practically lived with low-level shielding daily. It'd been drilled into him and he'd thrived because of it.
Though, that did nothing to mitigate how unfair it was right now! Was he being Dramatic in his own mind? Yes. Did he care? No.
"Are you sure?" Ran asked as she plucked said game off the shelf and blue eyes followed it.
Conan grinned, wide and innocent. She didn't know - couldn't know.
"Uh-huh! It's got Kamen Yaiba on it-" That and it was a simple fighting game where the player ran around as Kamen Yaiba and beat up invading aliens. There was an option to do it as a trainer, of course, but he'd watched Mitch play it at school and thought the route a little too easy and boring.
Then again, they'd designed it with actual six-year-olds in mind. It was, though, arguably better than some pure pokemon trainer games targeted at the age bracket.
"Here, then," Ran offered it over to the shrunken detective. "You want to hold it and pay for it yourself?"
"Uhn!" He nodded with a grin- until bare fingers touched the box and he nearly dropped it in shock. Eyes widened and harsher shields slammed into place, but he'd already gotten a sense of its history from that brief contact. Pre-owned and very much loved with a touch of sadness about it, as if it'd been parted with reluctantly. And now Ran was looking at him worriedly. Oops. "Um- you should hold it."
"Ah! I'm sorry. I didn't mean-" And just like that, the game was out of his hands and Conan breathed a little easier.
"It's ok," he said with a weak, sheepish smile, as if the lie he was a touch-amplified telepath didn't kill him inside. But, really, it wasn't as if he could've gone up to Ran and claimed to be a rare type of psychic just like Shinichi was. Yeah, that would have gone over really well and end up blowing his fake identity. No thanks. "Really. I didn't even get in anyone's head this time!"
"Really? Well. I guess that means we'll get ice-cream after, ok?"
"Okay!" Conan said as he tightened his grip on Ran's hand. As long as it meant they got out of here before he touched something else, or Justice's Truth forbid, someone else or even a pokemon, he'd take all the coffee flavoured ice cream he could milk this for…
… which ended up a single scoop waffle cone. But it was glorious and the first legitimate caffeine hit in weeks. He'd take his victory where he could.
-/-/-/-
"Conan! Are you tuning me out again?"
"Huh?" Conan blinked away from the screen of the game to see Ran standing next to him, arms crossed with the start of a Look on her face. He wilted, just a fraction and gripped the controller tighter, though fingers never stopped tapping the attack action button. 'Y', in this case. "Sorry, I didn't mean to."
Judging from her sigh and shall head shake, that'd only partially mollified his childhood friend. "Your parents. I was asking if you missed them?"
"No?" Conan said with a small blink even as he hit the pause button on the game. It wouldn't do to lose his streak because he'd gotten distracted from the strategy he'd had going.
"Really?" Ran asked and Conan pulled back at the heat in that Look. He had a feeling where this was going and it was better to let Ran have her say than interrupt. He'd learned that lesson a long time ago. "As soon as they got out of the hospital, they went overseas with only a phone-call to let you know. Aren't you lonely?"
Conan turned back to his now unpaused game with a slight shrug. How could he be when he had everything he wanted with him? Ran, her father, the pokemon they had. Sure, he missed a great many things about being a teenager, including people not dismissing him or treating him like a sack of flour, and what few friends he'd had, yet he also didn't miss being the butt of Kuroba's pranks or switcheroo's. Nor did he miss Kuroba and Sonoko's fanpersoning over that reborn Phantom Thief, KID. A Phantom Thief was still criminal in the end, and he wasn't jealous he didn't have one.
He would, eventually, though not as Conan. Shinichi was a Detective Heir and they always had one, yet still- that none of the Phantom Clans had 'claimed' Shinichi was worrying, even if his father had said to give it time. That, he could -would- do when they likely thought him too young or whatever their weird honour code said. But as Conan he didn't like it. Not one bit.
As Shinichi he hated it.
Though, claimed by a Phantom Clan or not, he really could have done without knowing about Kuroba's dramatic week of moping. Moping over, of all things, the loss of his favoured pranking target -outside the Hakuba Heir- when Shinichi had 'gone undercover for Detective Things'. "Not really. I've got you and Mycroft and the other pokemon-"
"Conan..."
"It's true though," he shot back indignantly. "Even if she has to stay in her pokeball most of the time!"
For two perfectly reasonable and logical reasons: One was Ran wasn't that big of a fan of ghost-types, and the other because of school rules; never mind he knew many of the older students flaunted that rule outside practical lessons and the Clan children (mostly the heirs) had made it a game to get them caught. But it was a minor sacrifice and easier than explaining why he knew how to actually train a ghost-type. Not even 'I saw it on tv' would cut it, not when Agasa'd implied Conan's parents owned none.
"A pokemon's not a substitute..." Ran said hesitantly and unhappily with the answer.
"Of course she is!" He said childishly, shoulders hunched a little as he turned back to the game to continue his win streak. "And I've got you!"
"Look, kid," Richard said, nose still deep in the Beikoda Weekend Times (likely the Yoko Okino special). "You're no dummy; I wouldn't want to live without me either, but you're gonna have to go back to your real parents at some point."
"Awww..." Conan pouted, gaze firmly on the screen as he racked his mind for anything to say to get them off the topic, that surprise surprise, given how slow it'd been the last two weeks outside the few Dead Bodies he'd tripped over, had come up yet again. Maybe he could bring up wanting to go to one of the indoor training areas and 'get to know Mycroft' some more. Though, he had a feeling that'd just result in him feeding her more berries than any actual training again.
He must have been thinking too long though -or zoned out, because Richard's voice cut into his thoughts. "-surprise lined up for Conan?"
"Yeah," Ran said brightly enough that Conan turned away from his game yet again to stare at her.
"Huh?" Surprise? What surprise? He thought going to get the game yesterday afternoon had been a surprise enough? "What do you mean?"
"Look, if you're not interested in living with your real parents," Richard started and Conan didn't miss the emphasis on 'real parents'. "Maybe we should start shopping around for a good orphanage that'd take you in."
"No!" Conan waved his hands in front of his face to underline the denial. Justice, they couldn't be serious! "I'll have Dr. Agasa call them-"
The ding of the doorbell cut him off, as did Ran's 'coming' as she hurried over. The same with Richard leaning in with perhaps the most deadpan of expressions Conan had ever seen on the man. "Ok kid, don't think I'm not onto you."
Conan mentally rolled his eyes as Richard meandered over to the door. Sure the man was; he couldn't think his way out of a paper bag if it had air holes. Couldn't they just let him play video games?! This was one of the few he was good at!
"You must be Ran. I'm Fanny Edogawa," a woman's voice, a touch sweet, said, and Conan hastily paused the game while still looking like he was playing it. He doubted it was anything major, but Edogawa wasn't a common family name on the Islands or even up in the Seviis. He wasn't sure if it was in Yamatai though, and 'Fanny' had a faint accent that hinted at a continental ancestry. The same with her given name, though that seemed more Eselian than Yamatan. "We spoke yesterday."
"Conan, come quick, your surprise is here!"
"Eeh?" Conan knew his head whipped around at the excitement in Ran's voice, even as he jumped off the chair and came around the desk. The first thing that caught his attention about the visitor was the slight tint to her glasses. It was the kind of tint that denoted sunglasses, or glasses designed to throw off the shade of her blue eyes. Possible Darkened...? No. The green vested, black -shiny, his mind automatically supplied- greninja behind her was an assistance monster that hinted she was possibly a psychic; a rich one if she had a shiny. It wasn't even acting when he smiled curiously at them all. "What is it?"
Ran beamed brightly. "Your mother's here for you, Conan!"
"Eh?!" Say what?! Conan stared wide-eyed and disbelieving at the sweetly smiling, portly woman dressed in a purple shirt and orange cravat with hints of pokemon fur -purugly, maril and castform- and a 'belt with three, generic red-white pokeballs with enough wear-and-tear to suggest she occasionally street-battled in some form. "W-what?"
"Look how much you've grown!" The woman gushed and Conan blinked up at her. "Why, you're so big I hardly recognise you," Fanny continued, and the hairs on the back of Conan's neck prickled as an unwanted telepathic presence brushed his mind. Shields slammed up a split second later and Conan backed up a step. Not that deterred the approach of the woman, who looked- hurt and disappointed, as if she hadn't just tried to invade his mind. "Aww, come here, dear. Mummy'd like a big hug."
What? Conan took a half step back again, fingers itching for a dial on shoes he wasn't wearing. This woman wasn't much taller than Ran, but he-
He blinked, and the woman had him in a gigantic bear hug that -was close enough to smell the sea on her, to know the lilac pants were synthetic and tailored, as was the jacket in her arms. Her shoes were feraligatr leather- and all but pinned him against her. Not good. Not what he wanted-!
Adrenaline surged as he shoved back and startled her enough that he could break free and jump back a few steps.
"Get back! Who are you?!" He yelled, putting as much indignation into his voice as possible hoping that maybe if he created a good distraction, he could probably make it to where Conan's pokebelt hung next to Shinichi's-
"Conan? What's wrong?" Ran asked, and Conan's head whipped around to stare at her as betrayal flashed through his eyes. No no no- Yet as he opened his mouth to declare 'Fanny' a fake, the telepathic touch returned, this time less a touch and more a heavy, hard knock against his shields.
Shit. That was a warning if ever there was one against that idea. He also abandoned the idea of grabbing a pokeball, if only because this woman was a telepath. He could hold against a mental assault no problem, and Richard's shields weren't half bad, but Ran… She didn't have that kind of training and her medicham was in its friendball in her room-
Tiny hands fisted in helpless fury and nails bit into skin. Damn it-
"Yeah, kid," said adult spoke up and Conan wanted to scream, yet all that came out was a strangled and choked 'huh?!'. "If it was your father I'd understand-"
Conan opened his mouth again, but Fanny, if that was even her name, cut him off, voice calm and soothing as any mother's would be. No. As any woman's when trying to keep control of a situation that could very easily spiral out of control and- eyes slid to where Wattson's 'ball hung, but another brush-knock against his shields reminded him of his situation. "It's okay. I kind of expected this to happen- I've changed a lot since the accident."
His breath hitched and something cold and unwanted landed in his gut. Fake or not, she knew the lie- and the greninja's stance had subtly changed in how it was now paying a great deal of attention to Ran (no, no, no-) and how Richard didn't notice was beyond Conan, but maybe the man had been taken in by the fact his 'mother' was rich. Damn it-
No. 'Fanny' had to be in their minds already and if she could get into them without Richard knowing at least, then just how powerful of a telepath was he dealing with here?
"I've put on a great deal of weight," Fanny continued with a sad smile as she looked -stared/glared and maybe he was reading too much into this- no, he wasn't- down at Conan before she held out a business card to Richard with another fake, sweet smile.
Definitely in their minds! I'm going to need to get something to protect them-
"Call anytime. I know Conan's grown quite fond of you and I'd like this transition to go as smoothly as possible."
He didn't miss the subtle emphasis on the words and that thing in his stomach now seemed as heavy as steel and cold as ice. If he didn't play along as she wanted, she'd likely hurt Ran and Richard. No, from the way the greninja stood, she planned on it, and that wasn't counting the damage that could be done in other ways.
"I'll get my stuff," Conan said, not quite sure how he managed the cheer though he didn't protest when his 'mother' only took his -Conan's- pokebelt. This was his 'mother' after all- Wait. No. For all Mycroft was his, she had been legally registered to-
"Ah-! That's registered to Dr. Agasa because I couldn't get a hold of you in time!" He said in some last-ditch attempt to leave the pokemon with the Moore's, only to wilt under the woman's genial -fake- smile.
"Not to worry, I've already taken care of the paperwork."
"Oh." Conan whispered as he allowed his 'mother' to take his hand while they gathered the rest of his belongings. There went his last conceivable avenue of escape and he didn't have a leg to stand on, period, for taking Shinichi's pokemon with him. Not only would Ran not allow it, neither would Richard, and the woman most certainly wouldn't.
And asking to hold Mycroft's 'ball would likely earn his shield another telepathic knock, or maybe end up in Ran having her mind- no. Better to play along, play the child, possibly be a brat if he could, and wait until the woman didn't have hostages before he confronted her.
At the very least, he didn't have much to pack and the single time his mother allowed him away from her, it was briefly to get his spare school uniforms and Jimmy's phone wasn't in them. It was in the already packed coat and Ran had already handed over Conan's to the woman, who'd put it in his bag. If he survived this, he was either buying an Escape Rope, or asking for a teleporter. Both, if he could swing it.
And then they were out the door and down the steps -greninja following via the wall, and only just before they stepped out into the cold snowy winter streets was the monster recalled, the 'ball clipped back to the belt with an ease that screamed 'Professional Trainer'. Conan mentally cursed, even as he breathed a little easier, but he didn't dare try to pull away as he was led -dragged, complete with childish, bratty pout- out into the cold and over to a waiting car that was the smaller, two-seater with little back seat kind that screamed Sevii Islands design- "Awww. Why the boot?"
"There isn't enough room for both you and the bags in the front, dear," Fanny said as she loaded the bag, his school bag and pokebelt with attached 'ball into the boot before shutting it. The sound seemed so final, but he wasn't given a chance to protest as he was tugged to the passenger side and bundled into the car.
"I'll miss you, Conan. Call when you get home, ok?" Ran said, and Conan offered her what he hoped was a bright smile.
"I'll try to, I promise!" Yet as chirped as the words were, the promise tasted sour, bitter and like ashen soap. Oh, he didn't doubt he'd call her, but it would probably be as a puppet in his own body. He had to sleep at some point after all, and the common, public perception of telepathy didn't cover everything a skilled telepath could do. And that was assuming she was just a telepath.
Ran nodded, a picture of innocence, and Conan wished he could have said more, done more. Wished he could be sure that the karate champion was actually herself and not some puppet. "Ok! Have a safe trip home!"
If he'd thought the boot's closure was final, it was nothing compared to the slam the car door seemed to make. Fear tugged his heart, and he scrambled up onto his knees, one hand braced against the cold of the glass. It did nothing to allay his fears when he realised he couldn't hear what they said, and without power, he couldn't get the window down. All he could do was look on with worried eyes, knowing that if he tried to get out, the woman would know and it'd put Ran and Richard at risk.
He couldn't do that. Not now, not ever, and when Ran waved at him, all he could do was wave sadly back, only slumping down when the driver's door opened, and while Fanny put her seatbelt on, Conan didn't. He wasn't sure the seatbelt hadn't been tampered with, but given the car didn't have child-locks, it probably had been and he couldn't take that chance. Not if he wanted to escape and get to the nearest 'centre and trigger a recall of Mycroft's 'ball into the Storage System. Though, that he didn't put the seatbelt on didn't seem to deter the woman as they drove off. Small mercies, that.
Only once it seemed they were a safe distance away from the Moore Detective Agency, did he whirl on her, eyes blazing and narrowed. "All right, lady. Who are you?"
"What do you mean? I'm your mother," Fanny said, eyes never leaving the road. "Come now, Conan, show some respect."
Conan tensed at the deeper, darker tone, but when nothing came of it – no mental knocks, at least- he glared up at his kidnapper, conviction ringing in his voice. "You're not my mother. My mother is-"
"Vivian Kudō, stage name Yukiko?" The shrunken boy froze, eyes wide, and Fanny's smile seemed all the more sinister and foreboding. Conan swallowed as the sinking feeling he'd just fallen into a trap tickled his mind. "Yes, I know all about your dear mother."
"Oh really?" He tried in his best know-it-all bratty tone. If nothing else, the kids in his class had been perfect teachers for that. "Kudo's a common name in the Islands!"
Kudō, on the other hand, was the main branch of an Eastern Detective Clan.
"At the age of 19, she was considered to be the most beautiful actress in the country, and was winning all kinds of prestigious acting awards when she met a young novelist by the name of Yūsaku Kudō. The two fell in love and were married. She then immediately retired and disappeared from the public eye."
"And?" Conan pressed, if only to keep the growing fear at bay.
"They moved aboard and Yūsaku Kudō became a famous mystery writer," Fanny said, and Conan wondered if this was her natural voice now. Something dark and sinister. "The young couple only had one child." Conan didn't miss the way Fanny's eyes narrowed as they pulled up at a crosswalk. "A son, who still lives in this country. Isn't that right, Shinichi, or should I say, Jimmy?"
Fanny's smile was cold and from the way it curved after a second, Conan knew he'd blanched white. She knew who he was, knew his mother's actual name, knew his private nickname and likely knew a great more she wasn't telling him. He'd walked into the trap willingly, and now he thought about it, the black greninja should have tipped him off. The woman had to be working with those men in black, who'd figured out the poison hadn't worked.
Fanny was someone sent in to clean up the mess, but he couldn't allow it-
The cold steel of a gun settled between his eyes. "Don't even think about it."
"You wouldn't-" Blue eyes widened as terror sunk its claws into his mind. "I'm just-"
Her smile wasn't nice. "Why don't you just sit back and relax and let mummy take you somewhere special, dear. This won't hurt a bit, I promise."
He could have laughed. Instead, he surged forward, knocked the gun from her hand into the back seat and then shoved his foot onto the accelerator. The car shot forward several metres before he slammed on the brake. The sudden halt saw Fanny face plant into the steering wheel, and Conan took that chance, threw open the door and bolted out as fast as he possibly could onto the street and used the chaos of cars, people, and pokemon to hide while he gained precious, precious distance. Distantly, he heard Fanny's shriek of anger, but he ignored it as he buried himself in his anti-kidnap-with-no-pokemon training and vanished into the first alley he could.
He didn't stop until he was at least three turns away from the road and by then he was breathing heavily and cursing his tiny body. Even the first touch of the ice-cold bricks had him yelp, but he ignored it the second time. It was a welcome reminder he was alive, and this wasn't some dying dream. Yet, it still could be if he wasn't careful and he couldn't afford not to be any more.
Not when he was certain it was that case he'd solved at a karaoke bar where he'd used his legal name to solve it. That had to have been what tipped the men in black off to the fact he, Shinichi 'Jimmy' Kudo was still alive.
At least Magnum wouldn't work without him around, but that didn't mean he liked leaving the Rotomi behind, least of all because both it and the limited edition casing had been a birthday gift from his parents.
Damnit. I even told the Inspector not to use my name. I should have known better... Gods of the Islands, what have I done...
"Ah..." Got himself into a mess he now had to get himself out of. He couldn't go back to the Agency without putting both Ran and Richard in danger and that wasn't something he could condone, now or ever. But, he couldn't stay here, either. He needed to either get home to his secondary laptop, or get to Beikoda's main Pokemon Centre, and recall Mycroft into the System, then pull her out.
Then he'd start on her training for real once he was holed up with Agasa while he waited for the danger to pass. He'd have to insist on wearing the 'belt at all times and on a child his size, the size of a pokeball stood out. Not the best plan in the world, but, well. He'd start that fire when he got to it, and at any rate, the longer he was out in this weather, the less clear his thinking would become, and he risked more than just a cold if he was without a monster for protection.
Ice gods protect me, Conan thought as he trudged on through the falling snow and passed a pinap-nosed snowman, eyes alert and peeled for any wild ice-types that might have penetrated this far into the central city. As low as the chance was, running across them without even a literal baby ghost to defend himself wasn't on his to-do-list, ever.
He should have kicked up a fuss and demanded to hold Mycroft's pokeball. At least then he'd feel safer-
Eerie laughter drifted on the wind. Faint, but there was no mistaking it. Not when he distinctly remembered it from one of the first memories of the rare times his parents were completely serious, telling him to be silent, to be brave for them. To be silent as eerie, eerie laughter rang out through the small ski camp.
He remembered his mother heading out, back straight with her ninetales and houndoom at her side, while his father stayed with him, hand over his mouth, carbink floating in front of them.
Shinichi -Conan- swallowed and shoved back the memory. Now was not the time and his parents weren't here to protect him from this.
From the hunting ice-witch. Froslass. The stuff of an Island winter nightmare and-
"Damn it!" He couldn't afford to let memory grab him now, not when he didn't know where the froslass was, or how close it could be. It could be right behind him (please no, he didn't want to end up like that-), it could be two kilometres away, but everyone knew the laugh carried for at least that distance.
Someone, be it human or not, would die (or end up maimed) and Conan refused to be that soul.
He broke into a run and didn't look back.
-/-/-/-
"What, he got away?" A man's voice rumbled in the darkness of the room, a touch displeased and annoyed.
"Yes, it was carelessness on my part," Fanny said, and through the phone, the man could hear the faint chime of the woman's chimecho in the background. Likely pulling itself out from wherever she'd hidden the creature. "But there's no mistake about it- this little boy is definitely Shinichi 'Jimmy' Kudō."
"I see," the man said with an amused chuckle as he relaxed back into the chair, tophat shadowing his face even further. "The poison must have reversed the aging process somehow."
"So it would seem. He did try and distract with the Kudo verse Kudō, though."
"To be expected of an Heir," the man said, a touch of a snort in his voice. "Yet, as fascinating this is, we need to find him before he goes to the police. We don't want this to get messy or the Clans involved."
He didn't have to see it to know Fanny had nodded. Clan involvement was to be avoided at all costs. "Where would he go?"
"Don't worry." A cool smile graced his face. "I've got a good idea of where he's headed..."