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Shinichi let his fingers trail down the cover of one worn book, before dismissing it an continuing his search. Shelves lined with many antique books spread before him, but his goal was specific - to see if there were any old books on Sherlock Holmes that had eluded his father's immense reach. If there was one thing Shinichi had inherited from his father, it was his love of books, and he was always searching for a new addition to the Kudo library, just like his father.

And if the books were about Sherlock Holmes, the greatest detective to ever live, then that was even better.

The famed detective had lived so long ago, and yet he'd been able to solve cases that would have baffled the police today, even with all the modern advancements. Certainly a worthy goal to aspire to - if Shinichi could be anyone, he'd choose Holmes.

--you already are--

And if any of the books would help him in his goal to catch Kaitou Kid, all the better.

Shinichi sighed. It looked like nothing - figuratively - new was here, so he'd just have to go home for now. But just as he was turning to dismiss the books, a gold-gilded title caught his eye, and he headed for the glint of those letters, halfway hidden in the very back corner of the shelves.

"Diary...?" He murmured, pulling the thin volume from its resting place. It was indeed a journal, of probably a little over a century ago. He flipped the book open idly - scrawling script in Roman letters filled each page.

Shinichi frowned slightly - it wasn't English. "Je l'aime", one of the sentences read.

--that's his handwriting--

French, then. Shinichi's French wasn't all that good - he'd taken the course in high school for it, due to already being fluent in English - but with his dictionary at home, he should be able to read it.

The question was - whose journal was this? How had it come to be in this little shop, being sold for a few bare yen? He flipped back to the front, scanning the first page's inscription.

And felt his mouth go dry when he saw the words "Propriété d'Arsène Lupin" scrawled in the same writing.

That wasn't possible - the famous thief's journal ending up here, in Japan? There was no way - it had to be a fake, a fanciful tale of someone's idea of the thief's life.

Still...it might be a good read, a story pulled from the famous thief who had been Holmes' rival for years...

--and I never did know what happened by then I had already--

Snapping the book closed, Shinichi headed for the checkout. He would start trying to decipher the book tonight, for he had a Kid heist to attend in a few hours.

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