Kind of a continuation from the last chapter. I know some of you were hoping for a different kind of "sequel", but I feel like the movies do the whole Kid taunting Conan with his Shinichi disguise really well. My muse is opposed to messing with that ... for now.

In Which There Are Triplets

Hakuba was confused. Very confused. The station was packed with people, but that did nothing to disguise the fact that there were three Kuroba Kaitos standing with him on the platform. Three.

Now, Hakuba Saguru was not prone to hysterics or hallucinations. He told himself that there had to be a rational explanation for why he was seeing three Kurobas. So he examined them closely. All three were wearing jeans and button-down shirts. All three were also talking on the phone; however, there were slight differences. Kuroba One's hair was slightly scruffier, Kuroba Two had a distinct tuft of hair that stuck up at the back, and there was a girl with long brown hair beside him. Nakamori? Hakuba shook his head and focussed on Kuroba number three. This Kuroba's hair was longer than the other two and had been pulled back with a band; there was a sheathed shinai strapped to his back.

Three teenagers talking on a phone. Three very identical faces. Three very separate bodies.

Hakuba blinked and rubbed his eyes. The three Kurobas were still there.

"What in the world?" he muttered.

It was like a nightmare. A terrifying, horrible nightmare. Either some twisted mitosis was going on or Kuroba had placed disguises on people to mess with him (which, when Hakuba thought about it, was the most likely scenario). So, Hakuba did what any detective would: he marched over there and tried to rip off the disguises to find the real Kuroba.

Kuroba Two had been the closest. This Kuroba was not impressed when Hakuba snuck up on him and pinched his cheeks ("WHAT THE HELL? HAKUBA-SAN? WHAT IS WRONG WITH YOU?"). Even worse, the long-haired brunette had got rather feisty and kicked Hakuba in the face. It turned out she had not been Nakamori. Instead, Hakuba had just had an informal introduction with Mouri Ran's foot. Connections were formed in Hakuba's (slightly dazed) brain and he put two and two together. Mouri Ran, guy who looked like Kuroba. Damn.

"You're Kudo Shinichi," Hakuba said, sitting up from the ground and staring at the teen.

"Obviously," Kudo said with a frown. "Who did you think I was?"

The answer to this question was soon made apparent. The little scuffle on the platform had brought the other two Kurobas over to investigate. Hakuba noticed that Kuroba One was grinning like he had just won the jackpot at pachinko; Kuroba Three looked mildly concerned and even asked him if he was okay.

Kudo's mouth dropped open as he stared at the two boys who looked just like him. Mouri-san also looked confused (though a little bit dreamy-eyed as well, if that blush was anything to go by). It seemed that she was not opposed to Kuroba triplets. Or maybe just Kudo triplets.

Meanwhile, Hakuba got to his feet with as much dignity as he could muster. His jaw was still throbbing from where Mouri-san had kicked him, and his cheeks were a bit pink. Despite his lingering embarrassment, he explained his mistake and apologised for his behaviour. Then he threw a glare at Kuroba One (because there was no doubt that was the real Kuroba), only to discover that his classmate had vanished. Typical. That damned prankster never stuck around to take responsibility for the trouble he caused. Though, as Hakuba had to reluctantly admit, it had been his own choice to pinch Kudo's cheeks. Inspector Nakamori's brash idiocy was clearly contagious. That was the only explanation for Hakuba's lapse in decorum.

"Um, is there something I'm missing?"

It was Kuroba Three. Apparently, his name was Okita, and he was the star kendo player from Kyoto High. The Kansai-ben suddenly made sense.

Hakuba just sighed and placed his palm against his forehead. What was the probability? This had to be a scientific paradox. There was no way that three people could look so identical, not be related at all, yet somehow all be at the same place at the same time. Either that or the universe had decided it was Hate on Hakuba Saguru Day.

Next time, he thought he would just ignore the mystery of the multiple Kurobas. That was one case best left unsolved.

OMAKE

Kaitou Kid grinned as he exited the Kyoto mansion. He could still hear the party guests trying to recover from the heist that had just taken place, intermingled with shouts from the police. Not that they would ever find him. His disguise was perfect.

"Thank you, Okita-san," Kid said, tucking the priceless jewel inside his pocket.

Look-alikes really did come in handy.