Authours notes:
Hello. I am so happy to finally be writing this again. I am so sorry for the unannounced leave of absence... I wasn't expecting it... I sometimes get in this thing where I'm just existing... and when I came out of it I was focused on Inktober and then I was inspired to write but all my attention got dragged into my original stories... and I've been anxious about coming back to this for some reason...
Thank you to those of you who commented... and who messaged me to make sure I was okay.

This is not the most exciting chapter to come back to, but I hope you enjoy it none the less.

The Lycanthropy of a Shrunken Detective

Chapter Twenty-Two

Corbin Ingolf found himself seated at a fancy dinner table. As discreetly as he could, he admired the setting. This was a treat and a very strange setting for a meeting with a young boy. He grimaced realizing how weird and uncouth the whole thing seemed. He was sitting in a private dining area in a Japanese style restaurant warm colors and soft lighting. He'd come to the meeting place, told the waiter that he was there to meet with the Edogawa party as he was told to do and promptly led into this room. It was posh, and he felt grossly underdressed in his dusty old tweed jacket, but seeing as the waiting staff had been the only ones he'd seen so far he didn't feel too self-conscious yet.

The boy who only told him to call him Kudo had yet to show. Nervously, Corbin began to play with his napkin. Placing it in his lap and soothing all the wrinkles out. He sat up straight, anxious about what to expect because ever since running into the little wolf he'd been racked with anxiety.

It was no secret that the history of his people was complex but what the child was claiming-

His thoughts halted as a blond haired woman strolled in a stony look on her face. She looked somewhat familiar but he couldn't place why. "Hallo." He stood, too shocked at her presence to do much else as he held out his hand to shake and then remembered where he was and gave a slight bow as he pulled his hand back. The confused motions had the woman pause, the stern gaze she'd been giving him almost completely overtaken with surprise and a soft amusement.

"Hello." She giggled before holding out her hand. A tension that Corbin hadn't noticed leaving his shoulders as he took her hand and she shook it firmly smiling. "I was worried, so I told Conan to hold back for a moment."

Corbin blinked then recalled that that was what the children had called the boy. Kudo was probably his last name. "Oh, of course. Are you…" He didn't want to make any assumptions, the woman was beautiful and he wasn't sure of her age.

"Kudo Yukiko. His mother!" She beamed.

"Ingolf Corbin." He intoned, remembering at least to introduce himself in the Eastern style of last name first.

"You know, so much has been happening lately- we just can't be too careful-

"That's enough."

Jumping slightly in surprise at the board sounding voice Corbin looked down to see the tired looking boy standing next to her. "OH!" The woman exclaimed. "Shin-chan! I told you to wait for my signal!"

"I could hear the whole thing- you didn't even try to intimidate him, and you're already mixing up names and admitting your relation to me."

"Well, we were going to do all that anyway. I don't see the problem." She pouted.

The small boy apparently holding many names sighed pinching the bridge of his nose skewing his oversized glasses just slightly in the process.

Confused the man just stood there waiting for the two to stop bickering and at least bring him into the conversation. It didn't take long as the boy seemed to wave his mother off in a slightly disrespectful manner. "Fine fine." Then he turned his serious and too old for his age eyes onto the German. "You said you could help?"

"Well," The man said. "I am born with the wolf in my blood. So I believe so."

The woman squealed slightly as she moved to sit, energy just radiating off of her. "A real-life werewolf! How exciting!" He felt a shocked smile pull at his lips. The woman's enthusiasm slightly contagious and a bit of a relief. It was rare for him to talk about such things outside the community. Such an open and positive response as odd as it was was reassuring.

"Mo~om!" The child whined and despite the strangeness in the two's relationship, he could tell that they truly were mother and son and that despite the slightly disconcerting behavior between them there was love.

"Well, that is a fair term." He said gaining their attention as the child settled into the chair across from him. "Now… I've heard the old tell's of the bitten…" Corbin hesitated. "I was under the impression that such things no longer happened."

The small child looked surprised. "What do you mean?"

Shifting uncomfortably and biting his lip Corbin amended. "Well, I heard rummer of it happening in America maybe thirty years ago, but as per our laws the bitten was initiated into the family of the one who bit them- and the one who bit them was young and unstable. Otherwise, he would have been severally punished."

"Wait so you can turn someone if you bite them?"

Corbin sighed. "Normally this is not done. Only if initiates into the family wish to undergo such things. Usually only requested by those who marry into the family. Still, it is rare, and there's no guaranty that it will take- or that the bitten won't suffer negatively. So normally it just isn't done. We are born not made. This is my first time meeting a bitten."

The child put a hand to his chin looking deep in thought. "So you are born… like this?" He asked voice hesitant and his shoulders dropped slightly. "So you probably wouldn't know if there was a cure… for the bitten I mean."

It shouldn't have surprised the man. Of course, a cure would be the child's first thought. "I know this must seem like a curse." The child snorted but he pressed on. "We could show you how to control your instincts- make it less overwhelming."

The child's eyes were shadowed and the mother looked worried as she bit her lip. "Things are a bit more complicated than new instincts." The boy whispered.

Yukiko sighed. "My son has a pre-existing… ailment that… does not mix well with these new developments."

"Oh?" Corbin was curious. It wouldn't be surprising if the child was weak in heart. That didn't make sense though, he could sense that the wolf was strong in the boy. If he'd survived long enough for the wolf to have taken root- through at least one full moon- then the boy must be faring better, not worse. As the wolf spirit took care of its own. Though he'd only heard stories of such things.

"I don't know how much I should tell you." The too-serious eyes of the child before him looked up at him catching his full attention. "I don't know how much I can keep from you though." He looked away irritation clear in his features then a weary weight seemed to fall on him. "I don't know you… but I don't want to put you in danger…"

Corbin felt one of his brows raze in curiosity and doubt. "We are strangers." He acknowledged. "I understand being hesitant in sharing personal information but… there may be text of our history I may be able to look into. I can not promise anything, but I can look into a cure if you would like."

The child's eyes shown as he nodded. The mother smiled softly. "And while we're at it we can become more aquatinted." She said. "What is it you do for a living?"

"I am a travel journalist at the moment."

With that, the conversation dissolved into something a bit more normal between Corbin and Yukiko. Conan or Kudo, on the other hand, was mostly quiet eyes glazed slightly as he stared at nothing, but the twitch of his hand and the quick responses he gave when asked direct questions made it clear that he was listening. Corbin told them of his family and Yukiko told him small things about her son. He was surprised to hear that the child was such a promising detective.

"Hey." The young wolf's voice piped up after a while, cutting off Yukiko before she could go into another story.

"Yes, Shin-chan."

The boy's brow twitched at her honey intoned voice and he ignored her focusing those intensely intelligent eyes on Corbin. There was a tense silence as the boy seemed to be saying something without words while simultaneously gauging the man before him. It sent a slight shiver down the old wolfs spine. Quite suddenly the tenseness left the boy and he slumped slightly with a sigh. "The full moon is in just four day's…"

Corbin nodded. "Yes."

"Is… there any way… do you have any suggestions?"

Feeling tears prickle at his eyes for the boy's predicament the man said. "I know of a family nearby. I'm sure they would be willing to take you in.." Corbin's voice died as he watched the boy vehemently shake his head.

"I can't- I can't get that close, not to a group. Not on the full moon. I… want to do this on my own."

He watched the boy's head sink down, his dark bangs hiding his eyes. "You realize that lone wolves seek out others. They seek a pack. If you do this alone…"

"I can't-!" The boy slammed his tiny fist on the table before he took a calming breath. "My friends and family can help." Conan said looking up and Corbin was surprised to see the burning in the young one's eyes.

Voice shaking slightly, and hesitant, Corbin gave in. "Well… if you are so determined…"

Authours Notes:
Next chapter Hattori is back and if I don't get stuck on the set up of how Kudo's going to spend his full moon the heist should be starting... I can't promise weekly updates like before... but there should be at least one before the new year...

(Words used 1585. Date posted November 5th, 2018)