With the exception of the plot and the original characters that are depicted in the story, the author makes absolutely no profit off of this work of fan fiction, and no copyright infringement is intended on the franchise of Detective Conan that rightfully belong to its owner Aoyama Gosho. Furthermore, I do not have any claim on the historical information that is depicted in this segment of the story. If there is need for corrections, please let me know.
Thank you so much for your patience with the publication of Paper Faces's sixth act! I could not have done without OnyxKatana's advice and creative suggestions. It has gotten very busy with Thanksgiving having passed and now another winter holiday is around the corner! Furthermore, I will be leaving for a trip to the Caribbean and will not be back until it is almost time for Christmas. I sincerely hope that everything will enjoy this early Christmas present! Have a safe and happy holiday!
From an early age, Shinichi had more in common with her father than anyone else in their small family. The two of them shared an insatiable love for Sherlock Holmes and keen intellect, though Kudo Yuusaku preferred to be known as a novelist despite multiple demonstrations of a Mycroftian tendency to solve a case before others; the latter became especially prominent when his daughter was old enough to take on her very first investigation, and he never got involved unless she could not solve it in time to save another intended victim.
But what the text message he had sent from the sandy beaches of Florida was something he had not even expected. According to an article in the New York Times, a cold case was being reopened that Yuusaku tried to solve eighteen years ago. Yes, the world famous writer had tried and ultimately (with great reluctance) surrendered the investigation to the local police because there was not enough evidence to point out a suspect, much less a murder weapon. Even with those little grey cells that thrummed through his impressive mind, Yusaku was still human. And there were times when even someone such as him could be stumped with a case that seemed so simple, yet the complexity of it went much deeper.
This case happened when Yuusaku had only just started out as a novelist, by participating in a writing contest much like his daughter had just done in the present day. Him and another finalist, Ushiromiya George, had been invited to a special party in their honor by the main sponsor of the competition; Sebastian Borja, the 48-year old head of an illustrious family that through the maternal line, were related to an Italo-Spanish noble clan whom radically change political and ecclesiastical affairs during the Italian Renaissance. The Borgia. To be more specific, Sebastian's ancestor hailed from Gioffre Borgia's bloodline, the youngest brother of Cesare and Lucrezia Borgia.
Sebastian Borja had been an avid lover of mysteries and even tried writing a novel himself in that particular genre, though never got a publishing offer. Instead, he opted to invest his funds in helping future generations blossom in the Japanese literary world via competitions and conferences, even setting up a writing magazine called The Quill. When he heard that there two finalists in his competition, he eagerly invited them to a gathering he would be hosting in the Kyoto countryside at his winter home. Sebastian wanted to host it at the ancestral home in Italy, but it was currently under renovations.
The party itself had been small; including the two writers and Sebastian himself, there were also his two sons and one daughter, all of them in their mid-twenties. Kudo Yukiko wanted to accompany her husband on the trip so as share the success that his first Night Baron entry had been finally recognized, but at the time she was not well due to being pregnant with Shinichi.
The event had been rather enjoyable, but by the time dinner had finished and Yuusaku had been escorted back to the hotel he was staying at, the legendary Kudo curse struck, possibly for the first time.
Around 8:30 in the evening, an hour after dinner concluded, Sebastian was found dead in his study by the head butler Manuel. A half-eaten apple laid on the ground, with an unpublished manuscript on the desk and a note on top of it.
It is done - The True Heir of the Borgia Family.
Manuel immediately called the local police afterwards. The winter home was examined and Sebastian's family were interrogated but nothing could be found despite all three of his children having motive to off their old man. Each of them wanted to have access to the family fortune, but Sebastian believed that none of them were worthy enough to it much less inherit his current title. So, before the writers arrived for dinner that evening, he proposed a compromise to them: If they can solve an epitaph he has recently created within a time limit at the upcoming family gathering in spring, then Sebastian will award the winner with the ancestral family ring, which bore the House of Borgia family crest from the Renaissance era.
Furthermore the crime scene could only be accessed by two keys that were carried by Manuel and the victim, with the windows could only be opened from the inside. Baring very little evidence, air-tight alibis, and contradictory conditions, the police concluded it to be closed due to circumstantial evidence, and the Borja case file had been shut to be forgotten in some dusty corner within the Kyoto Metropolitan Police department. Even when the budding writer tried to solve the cold case on his own, Yuusaku was unable to come up with any conclusions himself even with the file sitting in front of his dark-blue eyes.
After receiving the text message that even included a link to the article, Shinichi had called her father during her lunch break on the rooftop so as to ensure some privacy between them. Yuusaku told her about the backdrop and details of the event before he came to the current issue.
Now eighteen years after the tragic event, Kudo Yuusaku had been invited to speak at a writer's conference that was being sponsored by the Borja family as well as a dinner party dedicated to well-known mystery writers. Being a guest speaker for a few panels, he had be given tickets and extended the invitation to Shinichi. It had been a long time since the two of them had seen as themselves instead of distant relatives when the dark-haired sleuth had been Edogawa Agatha. However, Yusaku was aware that she had still not fully adjusted to life in Ekoda, and left the decision entirely to her.
However, he felt it would be a good change for Shinichi as the event would take place over her summer break. It would give her a chance to meet other mystery authors and possibly figure out a way to make her sudden passion an alternative career path, or at least another method to de-stress herself from constantly solving homicides on a daily basis. And while she was there, maybe Shinichi she could try her own hand at solving the Borja murder. If his daughter agreed to come to the writers' conference, Yuusaku would send her the tickets and information of the event, including a few more things that might help Shinichi with the Borja investigation.
Before ending the call, Yuusaku remembered something else to mention to Shinichi. He had gotten the email attachment she sent him a few days ago, and that he personally liked the manuscript she sent him. It was similar to Enid Blyton's Famous Five series, though a little too violent for a child to read despite just how realistic murder mysteries progressed. He did not know if it would win the competition she had submitted it to or not, but there was an editor from Nakajima Publishing Group who was interested in the manuscript, and also wished to meet Shinichi. Again, the decision was solely hers; she would have the right to pick a location, and time where she was comfortable meeting him.
The conversation then ended just as the bell rang, but it had given Shinichi a lot to think about, and she was almost zoned out during the next lesson. The class was World History, but it was rather easy for the Detective of the East due to her extensive reading and phenomenal memory. Today, the teacher was discussing the rubric for their end of semester projects and get partners selected via a lottery. Including the preparation of a detailed report on their assigned countries, they also had to bring visual aid related to it during their presentation before the last day of the semester. Shinichi had been so distracted by her own thoughts that she was nearly jerked back to reality by the sound of the teacher's voice.
"Kudo! Kuroba! You will be working together on..." She shuffled around in the bowl of slips before randomly pulling one out.
"France!"
Shinichi turned in her seat to look at the prankster, who had a hugely silly grin on his face. She did not know whether to be happy or sad about the fact that her partner was Kuroba Kaito, genius and prankster extraordinaire.
xPFx
"We are not adding Lupin to the presentation and that is final, Kuroba-san!"
"Yes, we are! He is an important part of France's history!"
An unladylike snort echoed across the empty billiards establishment as Shinichi glared at her project partner. "More like he's an important part in your twisted perspective."
"Oi! He's just as much of an integral component to France's pop culture history as Conan Doyle's Sherlock Holmes! Monkey Punch even created an anime that's last more than fifty years! Half of a century, Kudo-chan!" Kaito protested. The coffee-haired sleuth could feel her left eye twitching uncontrollably. "You're not seriously going to use that for the project, are you?"
"I think you would too if we'd gotten England to write a paper on instead of France! Especially since you're always talking about Sherlock Holmes so persistently with Hakuba-kun!"
"You don't have to say it like that, you know. And I don't talk about Sherlock Holmes that much." Shinichi deadpanned while Kaito stuck out his tongue at her.
"LIES!"
It almost seemed like a blessing in disguise that there was usually no business for the Blue Parrot on weekend evening, otherwise some of the customers would surely have complained to Jii about the two teenagers who were arguing from their seats at the bar. When school had finished for the day, Shinichi and Kaito decided to get together and outline their project before doing the research. However, the planning had soon escalated into a full scale squabble when the mischievous magician decided to include Arsene Lupin in their six-page report.
In Shinichi's opinion, she did not think it was necessary. Kaito strongly opposed the notion, and neither of them were willing to back down. At some point, their argument evolved into a study of the famous detective Sherlock Holmes versus the equally well-known thief Arsene Lupin.
"Look, I'm telling you that Lupin was better! Holmes admitted it himself!" Kaito exclaimed. Shinichi shook her head and showed him an article on her phone she just pulled up. "No, he didn't. Herlock Sholmes was the one who admitted it, and he is a character that Maurice Leblanc created as a transparent reference to Sherlock Holmes for his collection of short stories in 1908. Get your facts straight!"
"The point is that the Phantom Thief is always a step ahead of the Detective! Whether it's Holmes or Sholmes!" Kaito countered.
"But a good Detective can always catch the Thief, even if the Thief may initially seem be ahead of the Detective."
The teenage magician shot Shinichi an exasperated look. "Oh for the love of - Look at Kaitou KID! He's been outsmarting the entire police force for over a decade now!"
As soon as her partner mentioned Ekoda's local criminal, Shinichi's blue eyes dimmed ever so slightly and she fell silent, being reminded she was exiled from any future KID heists on Inspector Nakamori's orders. But while Kaito started to internally celebrate a supposed victory in this exhausting debate, his pleasure soon subsided to concern when Shinichi remained quiet for almost ten minutes. It did not take long for him to realize that something was wrong, and he was definitely not going to have Kudo-chan wear a frown when she was around him. It definitely wouldn't do at all!
Kaito pouted and leaned towards Shinichi with a pout on his face. "Kudo-chaaannnn! Why do you always turn so gloomy whenever you're with me? Am I that poor company? And here I thought we were best friends! Or pretty damn close." His exaggerated antics were enough to make Shinichi crack a watery smile in his direction before she threw a wadded paper ball in his direction, which the magician easily evaded.
"Shut up, Kuroba-san."
Although she had replied in a snarky tone of voice, Kaito took the half-hearted barb as permission to pull his seat closer to Shinichi and invade her personal space, consequences be damned at a later date. Maybe tomorrow. Or the next day, depending on Shinichi was feeling in class.
"Okay. Now, spill. What did you do to supposedly offend Aoko again?" Kaito asked, resting an elbow on the polished counter as he placed a hand under his chin. "I told you, you've got nothing to worry about! She may not look like it but Ahouko is the sweetest girl around here, and she'll forgive you if there is an apology offered on the table. Seriously."
Realizing that Kaito was not going to let the topic slide back to their joint project, Shinichi responded to his question though it came as an unintelligible mutter. Kaito raised an eyebrow at her. "I don't understand mumbles, Kudo-chan. A little bit louder, if you please."
The Detective of the East exhaled a deep breath and repeated what she just said. "What I was trying to say was that I did not make that Nakamori upset. It's her father whom I pissed off."
"And how, pray tell, did you manage to get into trouble with Inspector Nakamori, of all people? Last I heard was that he wanted to meet you for dinner sometime." The magician asked. He was surprised to be on the receiving end of a very dark glare from the blue-eyed girl.
He had no idea what he had said to deserve that. On realizing his cluelessness as to what was streaming through social media, Shinichi reduced the intensity of her annoyance and picked up her phone again. Exiting out of the screen she had been on a few minutes ago, she typed something in the search engine and pulled up a news article on the King's Favorite Heist before she silently handed it to Kaito.
His surprise increased as he skimmed through it, already familiar with the majority of the contents. After all he had firsthand experience about what happened on the particular night. He was about to hand the phone back to Shinichi until his gaze fell upon the last paragraph in the article.
As a result, Inspector Nakamori of Division Three has decided to ban famous detective Kudo Shinichi from further involvement with the capture of KID. Should she fail to comply with these orders and continue being a 'meddling twerp with no experience whatsoever', an arrest will be made for interfering with police affairs. "The only person who has the right to capture KID is me! Not some upstart who thinks she is a detective just because she solved a few cases." The veteran commented before he finished the interview.
Kaito's eyes widened to the size of dinner plates until he instinctively replaced his surprised expression with his Poker Face. The only clue he has leading to Meitantei-chan was now being banned from his performances? He knew that Inspector Nakamori had a firm belief that no one else has a right to capture the Phantom Thief. Yet...he was willing to take it this far? Why? What in the world was going on?!
Nonetheless he gathered his bearings, and looked up at Shinichi with a small smile. In a much softer voice he said, "Cheer up, Kudo-chan. It'll be okay. Inspector Nakamori is just venting out his frustration. I'm sure he didn't mean to say all of these things. Give him a few days to calm down and you'll be back on the heists."
If you asked him at this point, Kaito didn't know whether those words were for Shinichi's benefit or his own.
The coffee-haired girl blinked at him in surprise until she returned his smile with one of her own, though it teemed with subtle despondency. Shinichi shook her head. "Thank you, but I don't think that will happen Kuroba-san. I've met men like him before. When they put their mind on something, they make sure to keep it that way." She shrugged her shoulders. "Guess I will have to decline Aoko-chan's dinner invitation until I hear otherwise." The sleuth picked up her pencil and opened up her World History textbook. "Let's get some work done, okay?"
Kaito frowned. He wanted to dissuade that negative train of thought from Kudo-chan's mind but her body language made it clear: drop the subject. Just as he got out his own materials and began looking, a devious idea came to mind.
Inspector Nakamori believed that he was the only one worthy of catching what better way to reward a decade of such determination and commitment than with an unexpected visit from the Phantom Thief himself?
It looks KID will have a word with the good Inspector, but yet one wonders what exactly will their conversation entail? Could it possibly have something related to Shinichi being banned from any future heists? Time shall tell as will the next performance that KID will perform for his eager audience.
Please feel free to review or PM me with any questions, comments, or constructive criticism. Thanks to everyone who has favorited, reviewed, and added Paper Faces to their alert lists. I have also done a collab project with neonkoi, a unique crossover between Detective Conan and Miraculous Ladybug titled Imperfectly Purrfect. We would love to hear feedback on it!
I hope everyone has enjoyed the show and reached your expectations. See you next illusion. - (KID caricature)