The first normal chapter.
Hope you enjoy it.

Chapter 1: Familiar

It was supposed to be a normal date.

Ran and I were supposed to be together, we would have some fun at Tropical Land, sure a case might turn up and interrupt for an hour or two but we could go right back to enjoying ourselves after, and then I'd finally tell her how I feel and...

Of course that didn't happen.

I followed someone and they caught me, they gave me some kind of drug and- Now it's just dark.

Am I dead?

I feel around in the darkness, it's a surprisingly tight space. And there's a gentle feeling of movement…

I'm in the trunk of a car?

Must be a pretty big car by the feel of it, I'm barely taking up any trunk space. What kind of car would have a trunk this big? I suppose I should think about that later and focus on getting out for now.

It had to be those men in black I saw back at the park, the poison didn't kill me so they're taking me to somewhere less public to finish me off and hide the body.

I've heard about people escaping situations like this by kicking out one of the car's tail lights then waving out the hole to get the attention of other drivers. I try to kick where the tail lights should be but I can't even make a dent.

I'm not going to be able to get out that way. Better look for the internal lock mechanism, most cars these days are required to have one so people don't get locked in trunks. Though there's still the issue of what might happen if I do manage to open the trunk… Whoever tossed me in here would know right away, and it's dangerous to jump from a moving car.

It's also pretty quiet besides the low sounds of the car's engine, it doesn't sound like there are other cars around, at least not many others. We're definitely not on a main street, if I jump out even if I don't get injured in the process there aren't likely to be many witnesses to discourage those guys from just grabbing me and shoving me in the trunk again.

Keep trying to escape or wait hoping that they aren't planning to kill me for some reason- the chance is low at best but…

The car stopped and just like that the chances of escaping drop to nearly zero.

Let's hope I can talk my way out of this. Or maybe I should pretend I'm still unconscious to buy time. Even if they tried to poison me, they left me alive so far, there is a chance there's been a change of plans and they want me alive. If they think I'm not awake then they might talk about their plans or leave me alone somewhere more escapable.

I close my eyes and lay down, trying to make myself appear to still be unconscious.

It feels like it's a while before the trunk opens and I'm lifted up and thrown over someone's shoulder with a grunt. He doesn't feel like he could be the stocky one I followed earlier, it must be his long haired accomplice but I'm not sure his shoulders would feel quite this wide, perhaps this is someone else they've met up with at this location, it's possible it's more than just the two of them in this criminal group.

He walks a short distance from the car then stops, there's a shift then a creak of a door opening, he goes through and shuts the door. He opened the door himself, hmm… wooden floor now, only one set of footsteps. My abductor is alone, well that makes things easier, but I still shouldn't do anything yet, this is someone who can just casually abduct someone. Furthermore this is someone that can lift a 16 year old without any notable change to their breathing or gait, I don't think I can deal with them if I take the direct approach.

Hallway, turn, stairs, turn, door; I try to remember the layout as he walks with me. It'll be useful to know what direction I need to go when I manage to get the opportunity to escape.

Finally I'm laid on a bed, it's a comfortable one, not at all the kind of bed you'd expect for a hostage or prisoner. Perhaps it's the result have having not planned to be doing a kidnapping and not having a bed besides their personal bed prepared, or perhaps they need something from me before they kill me so they want to make me comfortable so I'll be more likely to cooperate.

My abductor walks away and leaves the room, closing the door behind him. I wait to hear the footsteps walking away before I open my eyes and…

This is my bedroom…

How did…? What's happening?

I glance around more, this is definitely my bedroom at home. Why would they take me here? How would they take me here? Sure nearly everyone in my family is famous and it's not exactly a secret that we live here but… even if they knew enough to take me here they shouldn't know that mom and dad are out of the country right now without having done some more serious research.

Is this their way of telling me 'we know who you are and we don't care'...?

I look at the clock, it's almost midnight. How long was I unconscious?

… I hope Ran got home okay, I hope she's not too worried… I'll have to apologize tomorrow, if I can get out of this mess.

I get out of the bed trying to be as quiet as I can.

That's odd.

My line of sight is lower than usual. Why is my line of sight lower than usual?

My clothes feel baggy too.

Suddenly no longer caring to move stealthily, I rush to a mirror and am greeted by an impossible sight.

I'm… a child? How can that be possible? That poison maybe, but why would it turn me into a child, wasn't it supposed to kill me?

That aside for now, even if this is my own home, if that guy is still here I should get out of here before they find out I'm awake. Something weird is going on here and I need to make sure I'm alive long enough to figure it out.

I leave the room, walk down stairs, and just as I'm passing the library I hear a familiar voice.

"So you were faking after all, how annoying, I didn't have to carry you at all, you could have walked."

Whose voice was that? I know I'd heard it before, but it wasn't either of the men in black from tropical land… no this wasn't a voice I'd just heard today, it's one I hear often… who?

I turn to look at the speaker and can't believe my eyes, that face… That's my face.

"I'm sure you must be very confused, I get it, I would be too in your position," he said calmly.

"Who are you?" I ask warily.

"I'm you from the future. I'm Kudo Shinichi."

Despite saying something ridiculous he spoke with the most serious tone.

Me from the future, does he really think I'll believe that? Something like time travel would be impossible- well… so would turning into a child, so maybe my definition of impossible needs some work. Or maybe this is all some elaborate dream while I lay on my deathbed after being forced to drink that poison.

I start to open my mouth to ask how that's possible but he silences me with a gesture and continues to speak.

"I can't tell you everything, but I can tell you that the poison you were given..." he glances at his watch, "last night -is called Apotoxin4869, it normally kills people and makes the body disappear, leaving only a pile of clothes behind but there's a rare side effect that happens to less than 1% of people given the poison… that's what you're experiencing now. Your body will be staying like that unless you're able to be cured, I promise I'll do something about that so in exchange even if you don't believe I'm you from the future I need you to turn a blind eye and let me be 'Kudo Shinichi' right now."

"Wh- No. You aren't Kudo Shinichi, I can't just let some stranger impersonate-"

"Just…. Hear me out for a moment okay?"

I give an annoyed nod and he keeps speaking.

"Those guys are part of a massive criminal organization, and while the higher ups know what's really going on, if the pawns find out Kudo Shinichi is alive after they tried to kill him- well they'll want him dead." He does that cliqued finger across the neck gesture, "They'll want you dead."

"Is that a threat? … but in that case aren't you in more danger than me by pretending to be me?"

"... I was getting to that," he clears his throat, "The world needs to think that Kudo Shinichi is dead, but… you don't want Ran to think that too, right?"

"No but…"

"There are a few different ways that you could go about that but you have me here and that makes it a lot easier, so here's how this is going to work, whether you trust me or not, I'm Kudo Shinichi and at the moment I'm working on a big case that's very hush hush so I need to stay out of the public eye. I won't be attending school for the time being, and any cases I happen to run into and solve I won't publicly take credit for. And you- are a child that's involved in the big case I'm looking into," he tosses me a pair of glasses and an ID card.

I glanced at the ID, and the picture looked like me at 6 but wearing glasses, and there were signs of wear and tear on the tag itself. A surprisingly realistic forgery, if I didn't know better I would think it's real. I didn't recognize the name though, "Edogawa Conan…?"

Is that…A name made by combining the names of two well known mystery authors. Conan from Arthur Conan Doyle, and Edogawa from Edogawa Ranpo? If a real kid had a name like this then their parents would have to be serious mystery otaku, probably worse than me.

"Exactly, that's your new name, also I've already got you enrolled in primary school for appearances."

"Wha- but how did you know this would-"

That means not only did he arrange the appropriate legal documents before I was even shrunk but he also found the time to fabricate school records needed to transfer and enroll an non-existent child into an existing school. If he had that much time why didn't he just prevent this from happening to me in the first place?

"Again, I'm you from the future, man it's like you're not even listening… Anyway, Edogawa Conan is part of the big case I'm working on- you're a child endangered by the organization relocated here and left in my care for safety. Your mother is American, your father is Japanese, they've been kidnapped by the organization for skills they possess and I'm working with the FBI to help track them down… or something along those lines should be good enough. You're a child so you'll be able to get by with just saying you don't know or don't understand when people ask any hard questions, and I should be able to get by with just 'it's part of a confidential case' but even so it's good to make sure we've got the story straight just in case."

"Get our story straight- I haven't even agreed to work with you yet."

"You don't have much of a choice, kid. You'll be hard pressed to find evidence that I'm not Kudo Shinichi, and if you go around talking about the organization and saying you've shrunk, well- it's your funeral. You're better off playing along."

I hate to admit it but he's right.

If I'm really stuck like this because of the actions of a massive criminal organization then it really would be for the best to keep a low profile, and for better or worse this guy seems to know what he's doing. I'll have to see if I run his finger prints on dad's computer and see if I can figure out who he really is, and even if I can't, maybe I can catch him slipping up while I'm playing along.

Worst case scenario he's a member of the organization and is going through all this to keep tabs on me casually because they want data on why their poison failed. Best case scenario… well it's unlikely but I guess the best case is he's telling the truth and he'll actually take care of this situation.

"So play along," Out of the corner of my eyes I see the imposter counting down on his fingers, he reaches one and the door of the entrance opens.

Ran.

I start to speak up but then the imposter saunters over, "Ran! Hey sorry about just leaving you at Tropical Land, the case I ran into turned out to be a really big one, so I'm going to have to stay off the radar for a while… it's going to be a dangerous one, so I need you to pretend you haven't seen me."

Ran was quick to retort, "Shinichi if it's dangerous you should just not do it."

"Ran… you know me, I can't just leave a case unsolved. It's not even about the mystery this time, I don't want anyone else getting hurt. I have to do this."

"Then… let me help you with it. I can protect you." She places a hand on her chest pleading earnestly.

"Thank you for the offer but, I'd rather you protect him." Suddenly the imposter crouches down and places his hands on my shoulders causing Ran to notice my presence for the first time. He smoothly continues talking, "This is Conan, I can't really tell you the details, but he's involved with the case. This kid is in just as much danger as I am but, he's a kid, he can't protect himself, so I'd really appreciate it if you could look after him whenever I'm not around… I can even pay you for it, like… a babysitter. Would that be okay?"

Man, this guy just keeps talking if you let him doesn't he? Does he just love the sound of his own voice or what?

"I don't need a babysitter," I calmly objected.

"Yeah you do, you're six."

"I think I could take care of him every now and then," She replied, but her tone became somewhat sad, "Are you... expecting to not be around a lot?"

He looked almost hesitant to respond, "I'm going to try to be around as much as I can but… this is a really big case, I'm not even going to be able to go to school for a while."

"What if you end up needing to repeat the year…?"

He chuckles a bit, "Ah… it wouldn't be too surprising, but it'll be worth it if I can take care of this sooner rather than later… I do hope I don't have to start calling you Ran-senpai though..."

She frowned a bit.

The fake me suddenly pivoted the conversation and scooped down to pick me up, "Anyway, I should be getting this kid to bed, it's waaay past his bedtime."

I squirm a bit, uncomfortable with the sudden realization that this is probably something that will be happening to me often from this point on. At this size I really won't be able to do much to stop anyone from picking me up or carrying me around, anyone even moderately athletic could probably throw me far enough that it could cause injuries. I'd be nearly helpless if anyone wanted to hurt or kidnap me. I'll have to be careful while I'm like this.

Actually… How long will I be like this?

Come to think of it, didn't the imposter say he'd 'do something about it' in regards to me needing a cure to go back to normal? I'll have to remember to ask about that later. Even if I can't fully trust him he at least claims to know more about what's going on than I do, I should at least try to get some information out of him aside from what he just monologues on his own.

Suddenly my thoughts were interrupted when Ran's phone started ringing. She picked it up quickly.

"Dad? Eh, a case this late? Yeah… Sure I'll be back in just a bit…" She hangs up and looks back at 'Shinichi', "I've gotta go… but I'll see you around right?"

"Yeah, even if I'm hiding from the world don't worry, this isn't the last you'll see of me. I promise." Something about his tone of voice struck me as being nostalgic. "Go help your dad… and if you ever need help with a case or anything just call me, okay? No matter the time."

"Alright, see you later, Shinichi."

"Bye Ran" I say almost reflexively.

"Oi, call her 'Ran-neechan'," The fake shinichi scolded before looking back at Ran, "Yeah, see you later."

With a wave Ran turned and left. As soon as the door had closed behind her, the fake me let out a sigh though it was hard to tell if he was annoyed or relieved.

"You need to start taking this seriously, you're a kid so act like one, got it?" He said as he started walking towards the stairs with me still in his arms.

I roll my eyes, "Sure thing, Shinichi-niichan."

I feel him flinch.

"In public is fine, but don't call me that when we're alone."

"Why not, faker?"

"Just…. Don't do it. Okay?"

He sounds pretty serious about this.

"What am I supposed to call you then?"

"I know it's your name, but please just call me Shinichi… anyway you really should sleep. You've been through a lot today."

"I still have questions to ask you-"

He cut me off, "I'll answer them in the morning."

With that he set me down on the floor of my bedroom.

"Wait… where are you planning to sleep?" The only other bed in the house is my parents, somehow it feels odd imagining someone with my face sleeping there.

"Don't worry about it, I still have some stuff to do tonight."

After that vague statement he shot down any attempt I made at questioning him and before long I had given up and hoped he was being honest when he said he'd answer questions in the morning.