A/N:Hey, there, my fellow readers! Am I glad to update again! Now I'm going to feature a group of characters I hate (along with most of the DC fanbase)...in other words, the Scrappies of Detective Conan. Yep, in other words...the Detective Boys. They have a part to play, too! Even the Cutie Mark Crusaders are better!

Chapter 6: Preparations for the Heist

It was a nice, warm sunny day in the town of Beika. All the kids were outside playing on this day. This was the most special time of the day for elementary schoolers, seeing as it was recess! Most children were eager to be with their friends, talk about the latest video games they had played, or play a game of tag. However, there were a group of kids who had a different subject on their mind than that.

A girl with brown hair that was held in place with a headband stood there, eagerly chattering away with her classmates about everything from toys to My Little Pony to even detective shows.

"Did you see the latest episode, Ayumi-chan?" One of her classmates gushed. "I swear, those ponies are so adorable!"

Ayumi grinned. "Yep! I've got all the episodes on DVD!"

The girls gaped. "Really? How did you get your hands on them? I'm so envious!" One exclaimed.

Two boys approached the group of girls then, who froze upon seeing the boys.

"AHHHH, COOTIES!"

Everyone except Ayumi raced off and left her alone with the boys. However. these two boys happened to be Ayumi's best friends, Genta Kojima and Mitsuhiko Tsubaraya, so she wasn't scared of them at all. Genta was a pudgy boy with dark hair and round eyes. Everyone picked on him due to his weight but Ayumi.

Mitsuhiko was a skinny boy with freckles. "Hey there, Ayumi-chan! How's it going finding people who want to join the Detective Boys?"

Ayumi hung her head sadly. "No one really wants to join. Oh, if only we had someone like Kudou Shinichi-san with us!" She sighed dreamily.

"Yeah, did you see him on TV last night? He's going to help out at the KID heist in a few days!" Mitsuhiko exclaimed excitedly.

"He's so cute!" Ayumi gushed, her face red as she thought about the detective she really looked up to and admired.

"Come on, he's too old for you! I'll bet he already has a girl!" Genta dissuaded.

Ayumi shook her head. "Wouldn't it be nice if we could find someone as bright as him to join our club?"

Genta nodded his head in approval. "Yeah, but then he'd be really arrogant and he'd be bossing us all around!"

"Nah, I bet being with a kid who's really smart would be lots of fun, right, Ayumi-chan?" Mitsuhiko said. He really idolized that boy who solved mysteries. If only he could be as smart, brave, and intelligent as he was, maybe some of the kids in his class would be able to approach him more often and actually befriend him. A lot of times, they just assumed he was a geek who thought too much of himself and left him alone.

Much to his surprise, he had actually met someone who really didn't care about him or his interests. Ayumi Yoshida was quite a nice girl and he had a considerably large crush on her. So when she had asked him to form a detective club with her, of course he had accepted.

"You have your head in the clouds again, Mitsuhiko-kun. It would be fun if he were our age, but that's not likely, right?" Ayumi said sadly. The other two stood up and smiled at Ayumi.

"Come on, someone's probably waiting for us to help them, right?" Genta said. "Let's go find a case!"

Unfortunately, their results were a little...lacking. The closest thing they got to a case was a mysterious note on the ground, and even that went nowhere, as it turned out to be simply a note written by Kobayashi-sensei. The three intrepid adventurers' efforts turned out to be in vain.

"Dang. I bet it'd be really cool to be famous." Ayumi moaned.

"Are you sure about that?" A new voice asked from behind them. The three kids spun around to see a tall teenager standing there. He had spiky brown hair and cobalt-blue eyes that were full of interest.

"Are you...KUDOU SHINICHI-SAN!?" Ayumi yelped.

The boy covered his ears. "Shhh! Keep it down, okay? I'm trying to lie low!" He hissed.

"Are you capturing a sneaky criminal? We can help! We're the Detective Boys!" Genta exclaimed.

"We solve any case we take on!" Mitsuhiko added.

"Oi, oi, you guys have to go to school. You are still children." Shinichi pointed out.

"Shinichi-nii-chan, that's not fair. I want to accompany you on your mission!" Ayumi moaned.

Mission? Are these kids serious? They're nuts. Ah, well. May as well put up with the little brats for a while.

"All right, you can come with me once school is over. I'll show you around town. But you have to swear that you won't cause trouble, okay?"

"YAY!" The threesome cheered.

I've got a bad feeling about this. Since when did I, the great detective, become a baby-sitter? Maybe they'll get bored with it after a while.

For the rest of the day, Sumiko Kobayashi wondered why three of her pupils seemed to be more energetic than usual today and completed their work with such ease. They had never acted like this before, and to tell the truth, it both stunned and confused her. Had something good happened to them out on the playground?

However, they were being awfully talkative today, so it didn't matter whether or not something good had happened. They had to be quiet, so she had to discipline them. It was only proper to, after all.

"Yoshida-san, Tsubaraya-san, and Kojima-san, please stop talking and pay attention." She scolded.

"Haiiiii..." The kids droned in reluctance.

Before the end of the school day approached, she came towards the three rambunctious children. "Did something good happen today, you three?"

"Yep! Shinichi-nii-san has let us help him on a case!" Ayumi chirped.

"Who is this Shinichi-nii-san?"

"He's that high-school detective, Sensei!" They replied in unison. "Kudo Shinichi!"

Sumiko gaped visibly. "You know, I used to have him in my class when he was little. He was such a good student, but he was quite mouthy and mischievous, too. He read all the mystery books in the library in one year. He was practically a genius. He and his cousin would often come into class arguing on which detective was better. I wonder where his cousin is now."

"You did?" Ayumi said, unable to believe that her idol could have ever been as small as she was. How on earth did that happen, anyway? If all adults were once kids, why were they so mean to kids like her, then?

Sumiko smiled broadly then. "Tell Kudou-kun his old sensei is still thinking of him, okay?"

"Wow, was he always into mysteries, Sensei?" Mitsuhiko asked.

"Oh my, yes. He is the son of a famous mystery novelist. Sometimes he even read his novels while he was supposed to be doing his schoolwork!" She said.

The bell rang then.

"Well, I think I'll take you out the door. Who will be here to escort you home?"

"We promised to meet Shinichi-onii-san after school!" Ayumi said.

"Well, he can't take you home now, can he? He has other responsibilities-" Her eyes widened as she saw her former student in the flesh, standing in the door. He was taller, his hair was longer and he definitely looked more mature. But he still had that sense of innocence about him. He was talking to a girl with brown hair at the moment, but then he turned to see the three kids and his eyes lit up upon seeing Sumiko.

"Aa, Kobayashi-sensei. It's been a while, hasn't it?"

She smiled. "Indeed it has, Meitantei-san."

Shinichi smirked. "I'm seventeen now, Kobayashi-sensei. Can you believe it?"

"Who's that with you? Is that Ran-chan?"

The girl stopped and she studied Sumiko for a moment and then her eyes lit up as well. "Kobayashi-sensei, it's good to see you again!"

Shinichi froze upon seeing the terrible trio staring at him with expectant eyes. Clearly, they wanted to go with him now. Oh, darn. I was supposed to go see that crazy inspector again. Ah, well. Anyone is better than that guy. Even these annoying kids have their perks.

He sighed as he reluctantly led the little brats out of class. "Be sure to call your parents first, all right?"

"I don't think they would have any reason to doubt your words, Shinichi. You're doing the right thing. Are you babysitting those kids?"

Shinichi winced. "Nah, they want to be detectives. I'm only gonna guide them around a bit. I have plans for this weekend. It is Friday, and KID said his heist would be on Sunday."

"Have a little fun instead of fooling around with musty old papers! But, Shinichi, can you bring me with you to the heist?"

Shinichi raised an eyebrow. "Of course, but Sonoko has to stay behind."

"No, she wants to come and she will, Shinichi."

Like she won't cause trouble there. I don't believe Ran at all on that note. I can't disagree with Ran. She's the one person I care about more than anything.

"Ran, I need to ask you something. Do you...have anything you want to tell me? W-What I mean is...do you like anybody?"

Ran paused. "Yeah, I have somebody. Why do you ask?"

Shinichi's heart sunk in his chest then and there. "Well, I uh, wanted to say this to you now. I, um...really want to solve a case and have you watch me!"

"No thanks. Seeing all the fans swooning at your feet is enough for me. How many girls are you going to flirt with this time?" Ran scoffed.

"Only one. There's only one girl I like."

"Who is that?" Ran asked, her heart pounding in her chest.

"It's simple. I really like you-"

"Is she your girlfriend, Shinichi-onii-san? Go ahead and ask her out!" The fat boy said.

"You guys stop saying things like that!" Shinichi snapped, but his face gave away his emotions.

"Then why is your face red?" Mitsuhiko quipped.

"S-Shut up!" He yelled.

"Shinichi, don't be mean to little kids who don't know any better. Do you really...like me? I'm sure you mean as a friend, right?"

"Y-Yeah, that's what I meant. Forget I said anything at all." Damn, those stupid kids ruined it.

Shinichi, is it possible that he...Shinichi really feels the same? Don't be silly.

"So, first let's stop at my house-"

His phone rang then. "Hello?"

"Is this Kudou Shinichi-san?" A gruff voice asked from the other end.

Shinichi jumped.

Oh no, it's the nightmare inspector! Act cool! "Ah, yes, it is."

"We need you over here, pronto! KID left us another message! Get your $$ over here."

"W-Wait, I'm a little busy-"

"Come over here now or else I hire someone else."

"All right. I'll be over soon." Shinichi said as he closed his phone.

"Who was that?" Ran asked.

"Inspector Crazy. He wants me to help him with another KID note. Kids, go home."

Ran stared after Shinichi in bewilderment. "Well, should I go home to greet Otousan?"

"Some friend!" Mitsuhiko huffed.

"He's so cool!" Ayumi gushed.

"Fangirl." Both Genta and Mitsuhiko exclaimed.

Kaito was exhausted from another night of trying to get things ready for the heist, so he barely paid attention to his childhood friend Aoko until she was walking home with him.

"I met a guy who looked like you the other day, Kaito."

Kaito froze like a deer caught in the headlights. "What?"

"You heard me. He said he was your cousin. He often gets mistaken for you a lot. His name was Kudo Shinichi-"

"What? Where was this?" Kaito demanded, nearly throttling poor Aoko. "Where is he?"

"I met him on the train a few days ago. I don't know where he went." Aoko admitted.

Kaito dropped Aoko then. "Is there any way I can contact him?"

Aoko's eyes lit up. "I think he's helping out at the heist."

So, the detective is going to play the role of the hero, huh? Well, then...everything's going as planned.

"Do you think I can call him? What's his phone number?" Kaito asked again.

"Hang on. I'll call Dad first." Aoko said.

"Huh. That's odd. He's not answering his cell phone."

Suddenly, her phone rang again, abruptly cutting off whatever remark Kaito was about to make.

"Hello, Otousan? Ah, Kaito wants to speak to you. He wants to know the detective's phone number. The one who's helping you out. Okay, here it is. Tousan, be sure to catch KID for me!"

She handed Kaito a note, on which was printed a phone number. Kaito took out his and dialed the number. The phone rang a few times.

"Hello, who is this?"

"Meitantei-san, do you recognize this voice? It's been a long time, hasn't it?"

He heard the phone drop and then Shinichi came back on the line. "Is it really you, Kaito?"

"Yes, it is. I'm so glad I can hear your voice again, cousin."

Shinichi laughed. "I take it you've heard of my career as a detective."

"Yes. So, how are Aunt Yukiko and Uncle Yusaku?"

"The same. Tousan's still flirting with women, and Kaasan is still getting mad at him. How's Chikage-oba-san?"

"She's doing well. She really misses you, Shinichi. I heard you're going to the heist."

"Yes. I didn't really want to, but Inspector Crazy dragged me into it."

"Oh, don't mind him. He's always like that." Kaito assured.

Please, Shinichi. Don't follow in my footsteps.

"I have to go now, Kaito. He wants me to help him now. See you!"

Shinichi, you can't get dragged into my world.

Somewhere in an alley, a person was running. A young woman hurried down the street, desperate to outrun her pursuer. But she couldn't. The man appeared. He was tall, with dark hair, and in his hands, he held a butcher knife.

"Well, lady, it's been fun, it's time for you to go up to heaven.." He licked his lips.

"No, I don't want to!"

"I'm sorry. You've pleased me enough!" The man stabbed the woman right in the chest. Ignoring her screams of protest, he stabbed her again in the arm, and then a few more times. She was dead.

He decided to have some more fun with her. Time to teach the girl a lesson. Women were such disgusting things. That was why, he thought as he grabbed his butcher knife, they had to be put in their place.

A few hours later, a passer-by noticed the stench coming from the alley and investigated. The police were called immediately.

Inspector Megure tried hard to keep from puking as he studied the corpse. This was one of the most brutal murders he had ever seen.

"This is horrible, Inspector." Takagi said, looking a little green himself. "Who would do something this depraved?"

Megure said quietly, "Only a human being is capable of such depravity, Takagi. Animals don't kill for fun."

The body was that of a young woman between the age of twenty-five to thirty-two. She had been stabbed, beaten upside the head, and lashed before her death. Afterward, she had been raped and then vivisected and left to rot in the alley.

"This makes the second victim of dismembering! We've got a serial killer on our hands, men."