The Journal of Conan Edogawa

Sorry for the super late update! I've been having some major writer's block! I'm not very good at coming up with good crimes and stuff like that so there are probably a lot of flaws in my writing! I'm very sorry!

Thanks for sticking with me and for reading JCE! It's amazing because when I wrote the first chapter, I was really nervous because I didn't think that I would be able to write something that could be considered deep and psychological. I'm usually more random when I'm writing! Anyway, I wasn't expected people to actually like what I have written so I was surprised when it got so many views and people asking for more! Even more surprising is that JCE is my most popular fanfic! It's all thanks to you guys that I have gotten this far and I hope to continue writing more!

I don't own Detective Conan!

Chapter 14: Humiliating

The next day, Ran and Conan accompanied Kogorou to the movie set where they were greeted by a tall woman in a grey business suit. She had dark brown hair and matching eyes. She was tall and had a sense of authority about her. She gave them a small smile, making her seem less strict but still dignified. "My name is Masa Yamada. I'm Melody's assistant while she is here in Japan. Melody is busy at the moment so please allow me to show you around."

The three followed Masa as she showed them around the set and dressing room areas. She made sure to introduce them to the security so that they wouldn't be confused with trespassing fans. She ended the tour in the break room. There were small sandwiches and cookies set out on a long table in the back to the room. Near the table, Melody was talking with a small girl around Conan's (apparent) age. The girl had blonde hair and blue eyes and looked very much like Melody.

Ran watched as Conan went closer to them but didn't say anything. Instead, he just stood there patiently, as if waiting until they were done. "I wonder what Shinichi is up to?"

Melody and the girl finally noticed Conan. The girl smiled shyly at him as Melody introduced her. "This is my costar, Anna Mason. She's playing the part of my long-lost sister. She's not very good at Japanese though."

Ran wasn't at all surprised when Conan started talking to Anna in English. "My name is Conan. It is very nice to meet you." Melody, Anna, and Masa were all surprised at the boy's fluent English. Ran had no idea what Conan said but the girl seemed extremely excited.

"Hello, Conan! Are you here to catch the bad guy trying to hurt Melody?" Anna asked. Conan nodded.

"Yes. I am here with the famous detective, Kogorou Mouri. I just help out but we'll catch the bad guy!"

Anna overjoyed smile turned mischievous. "I know something that might help but I won't tell you unless you do something for me first!"

Conan sighed. He wasn't sure if the girl was bluffing or not but the only way to find out was by doing whatever she wanted. "Alright. What do I need to do?"

Ran felt a little bit uneasy by Anna's smile. She may not know what the two were saying but it seemed like the little girl was planning something troublesome. "She's only a kid! How bad can it really be!?"

Apparently, really bad…at least for Conan. "You have to play with me! And not just any game! You have to play dress-up!" Anna giggled. Even Ran suppressed a laugh when she saw Conan's face. She understood the word "dress-up" and figured out what was going on.

Conan looked around the room. Masa and Melody were busy talking to Kogorou and had forgotten all about the kids. He turned his gaze to Ran, desperation in his eyes. Ran smiled encouragingly.

"Go ahead and play with your new friend!" Ran felt slightly bad for pressuring Shinichi like that but she figured that Anna might have a good reason for asking Conan to play dress-up. Besides, Anna looked really excited at the prospect. The poor girl probably didn't have anyone to play with since she couldn't speak a lot of Japanese and there weren't a lot of kids on set anyway. Ran felt bad for her. Shinichi could just suck it up!

Conan turned back to Anna. "Do you really know something?" Anna nodded. "Do we have to play dress-up?" Another nod. "Fine. But no make-up and no pictures! And I'll only play for 10 minutes."

Anna broke out into a huge smile. "Sounds fair! Come on!" She pulled Conan after her to what was obviously her dressing room. Ran followed behind. Just because Shinichi was forced into this doesn't mean that she wouldn't watch! Not to mention she didn't want Shinichi to be alone with another girl, even if the girl was just a kid!

The dressing room was small and there was a single life size mirror against one of the walls. Across from the mirror was a tall metal bar with held various clothes. The clothes were separated down the middle. On one side were numerous princess costumes and frilly dresses while the other side of the bar held clothes that were cute but kind of normal. Anna looked at Ran and pointed towards the princess dresses. Ran understood and picked out a random outfit from that side and handed it to the small girl.

"I think that this will look very cute on you!" Anna said as she held a sparkly pink dress up to Conan. Ran saw the slight blush cross his face as he grabbed the dress and walked behind a curtained corner of the room.

A couple minutes later, Conan stepped out in the girly outfit. Ran noticed that he wasn't smiling at all but Anna didn't seem to care. She gave the shrunken teen some instructions and he obeyed grudgingly. He spun around, did curtsies, and even let Anna put a tiara on his head. After what seemed like forever, Anna finally let him go.

"This was the most humiliating thing I've ever done! Why did Ran have to watch too!? If she ever found out who I really was, I'd never be able to face her ever again!" Conan hoped that what Anna knew was worth it!

Time Skip

Another ten minutes later, Ran and Conan were walking back to the break room together. Conan seemed in a slightly better mood after Anna told him something but Conan's cheeks remained red with embarrassment. Ran remembered how proud Shinichi used to be and how he would have never done something like that. He seemed like a completely different person when he was Conan.

"I've got to go to the bathroom! I'll see you later, Ran-neechan!" Conan ran off suddenly, not even giving Ran time to process what he just said. Ran noticed that the bathroom also happened to be in the same direction as Melody's dressing room.

When Ran got back to the break room, everyone was in a state of panic. Inspector Megure and some other officers were there questioning some security guards. Ran went up to her father and asked what happened.

"One of the light technicians ate one of the sandwiches and collapsed. Apparently, that sandwich was poisoned."

"That's terrible! Is he going to be alright!?" Ran asked.

Kogorou nodded. "It seems like it but he won't be able to speak for a while. The problem is that the sandwich was meant for Melody."

"How do you know?" A small voice asked. Ran looked down and saw Conan standing right next to her. She hadn't even noticed him come into the room!

"Because the sandwich was a turkey sandwich with mustard on it! It had a toothpick with an olive on it as well. That just happens to be Melody's favorite type of sandwich! It was the only one like that on this whole table so Melody was sure to take that one!" Kogorou explained before realizing who he was talking to. "Quit being nosy!" He ordered as he brought his fist down on Conan's head.

"Maybe you shouldn't pick on kids!" Ran reprimanded. "Conan was just wondering!" Kogorou just grumbled.

Conan looked up at Ran. She didn't usually stand up for him when Kogorou did that. In fact, Conan was usually the one who was scolded. Conan looked around and saw Melody crying nearby. Masa was trying her best to comfort her. He inched closer to the snack table and looked it over. He confirmed that Kogorou was right about there being no more sandwiches like that. He took a deep breath before saying something out loud.

"Ah le le!? They don't have anything I like!"

"What are you talking about now!?" Kogorou demanded. Conan continued.

"I was hungry and wanted something to eat but I don't like the stuff here! That's very mean of the caterers to forget something for me!"

"But the caterers don't know what you like! Why would they make something special for you?" Megure asked.

"They made something special for Melody! They made a sandwich just for her!"

"Are you stupid!?" Kogorou chimed in. "Even the caterers wouldn't make just one sandwich for one person! They would make more in case other people wanted some too!" Kogorou's eyes grew wide with realization. Ran marveled at how Conan was able to lead her father on without being too obvious.

"Maybe the sandwich wasn't there in the first place! It must have been made separately! Which means…that it wasn't meant for Melody in the first place!" Everyone just stared at him in disbelief. "The light technician was probably given the sandwich by someone who owed him! They poisoned him so that they wouldn't have to pay!"

Ran noticed a slight movement in the corner of her eye. Without turning her head, she shifted her gaze to Conan and saw him holding his wristwatch to his eye. He pressed one of the side buttons and something thin shot out…right towards her father! A moment later, Kogorou was swaying around before his back hit the wall right next to the table. He slid down into his normal position as the Sleeping Kogorou. Ran looked around for Conan but didn't see any sign of him except for the table cloth moving as if someone had brushed it.

"At least that is how it looks." Kogorou said. Ran noticed for the first time in a while that her father wasn't moving his mouth. "Yesterday, Miss Jones told me that poison ivy had been snuck into her dressing room. It's obvious that someone who works on the set must be after Melody for some reason. The security on set is very tight, especially for the dressing rooms. This is probably to keep fans from sneaking in and disturbing the actors. Am I correct?" Melody nodded.

"Melody also told me that a car had tried to run her over in her hotel's parking lot. While anybody could've found out her hotel, it would've been very difficult to find out her room number. Yet, she got threatening phone calls straight to her room."

Megure interrupted. "Couldn't anyone on the staff have found out where she was staying?"

"Yes but celebrities tend not to tell even staff what room they are in. Only the people who work extremely close to them know. Isn't that right, Miss Jones?"

"Yes, it is. I have a lot of fans, even in Japan. I don't want where I'm staying to be public so I only tell those who need to know."

Kogorou continued. "And who have you told?"

"Only my manager, Anna, and Masa."

"Who's Anna?" Megure asked. Conan popped out from under the table.

"Anna is Melody's costar! She's the same age as me!" Conan went back underneath the table.

"Send one of your officers to get her immediately!" Kogorou instructed. Megure did as the sleeping sleuth told him.

A few moments later, an officer came in with the small blonde girl. "Could you tell us what you know about the case?" Megure asked her. Anna just blinked at him nervously.

"I'm afraid Anna doesn't know a lot of Japanese. I usually end up translating for her." Melody replied before repeating the inspector's question in English.

"I was in Melody's dressing room a couple of days ago. I was there to practice some scenes with her. When Melody went to the bathroom, I decided to play hide and seek. I hid behind some of her costumes. While I was hiding, I saw someone dress in black come in and put some flowers on the counter. The flowers were really pretty but they made my eyes water. I'm allergic to pollen. I left the room as soon as they were gone." Melody translated Anna's response.

"That doesn't tell us anything!" Megure commented.

Kogorou continued on. "Usually not but Anna noticed something about the culprit as they were leaving."

"They wore a small brown hat!" The girl exclaimed as if just remembering.

"But it wasn't really a brown hat that Anna saw. It was long brown hair pulled into a bun. Anna only thought that it was a hat because her allergies made it hard for her to see. The only person with brown hair long enough and was close enough to Melody to be able to pull off all of these crimes was none other than Masa Yamada."

Everyone turned their attention to the accused woman. "Are you kidding!? Where's your proof!?"

"That sandwich wasn't there when we first arrived. Because there was a big chance that someone else would take it if it was on the table, you left the sandwich in Melody's dressing room. What you didn't count on was one of the light technicians coming into the dressing room looking for Melody. When he didn't find her, he noticed the sandwich on the counter and decided that it was probably okay to eat it. However, eating isn't allowed in the dressing rooms because crumbs could get on the costumes. So he took the sandwich to the break room."

"How does that prove that I did it!?" Masa demanded. "Any staff member could've left her a sandwich!"

"But how did they know what she liked? Only those close enough could've known exactly what she would've eaten. Besides, it's still on your hand."

"What are you talking about!?" Masa asked, horrified.

"The poison. You've been using your left hand to comfort Melody but you're actually right-handed, aren't you? The poison is still on your right-hand since you didn't have a chance to wash it yet. You had to make sure Melody would eat it first because if the sandwich got stale before she had a chance to eat it, the sandwich would end up being thrown away. You didn't want to waste any time so you figured that you could wash your hands after Melody went into her dressing room. But the light technician was faster and with all the commotion, slipping away would have only made you suspicious."

Masa's eyes were filled with tears. "I didn't want to hurt anyone! I only wanted Melody to quit the movie!" Everyone looked at her, bewildered.

"But why would you do that? Why me?" Melody asked.

"Because my sister was the original star. But then she got into a car accident and died. The movie production was canceled but then they announced that you would be replacing her! You two had costarred in a few movies before but you always seemed to outshine her! She was always just a supporting character and to have her first main role stolen by someone like you…I couldn't stand it! It was like her hard work was all for nothing!"

Melody just blinked. "I remember your sister. She was an amazing actress and I looked up to her. She actually taught me a lot about acting and brought out my best. I wasn't going to take this role but I heard what had happened and decided to do it, in her memory."

Masa cried even more at Melody's words. "I'm so sorry! I'm sorry!" Megure handcuffed her and took her away.

Conan came back out from under the table and ran up to Ran, who was also crying. "Are you okay, Ran-neechan?" Conan asked. Ran noticed that his expression was almost sad and grown-up. She knew that it wasn't Conan asking but Shinichi.

"I'm fine. I just feel like this whole thing could've been avoided if only they had talked about it from the beginning." Ran shook her head clear and smiled. "How about we leave Dad behind and get some ice cream? I'm sure he's still thinking about the case."

Conan nodded and let Ran grab his hand. Before they got out of the room, Anna stopped them.

"Thanks for your help! I had tons of fun today!" Anna blushed. "Make sure you watch the movie when it comes out!" She gave Conan a quick kiss on the cheek before running off, giggling.

"On second thought, how about we skip the ice cream and go straight home!" Ran said coldly, letting go of Conan's hand.

"Why is she mad!?" Conan thought. He just couldn't understand what Ran was thinking, no matter how hard he tried.

Time Skip

That night, Ran was in her room trying to study. Her mind kept turning back over the events of the day. Conan must have put her father to sleep with his watch. She would've wondered where he was even able to get something like that but she figured that Agasa probably made it. Still, she wondered how Conan was able to make her father talk. She felt like the answer was there but she couldn't quite figure it out. Her thoughts were interrupted by her phone ringing.

"Hello?"

"Hey, Ran! What's up!?" Shinichi's voice asked.

"The bow tie!" Ran remembered. She had completely forgotten how she had found Conan's bow tie that one day. "Nothing much. Dad just got back from a case. It was actually kind of sad but at least nobody died."

"That's good. Anything else interesting happen?" Shinichi asked. He was sure that she would say no but ended up surprised.

"Yep! Conan made a new friend today! They played for a little bit! You should've seen it! A little girl actually got him to wear a dress!" She laughed at the memory. She knew that Shinichi probably wanted to forget all about it but she felt like she deserved to tease him a little!

Shinichi paused, unsure of what to say. "I bet that was funny. Poor kid. It must've been embarrassing."

"Is Shinichi actually opening up!?" Ran thought. Even though it wasn't directly, Shinichi just admitted to being embarrassed! "It was pretty funny but I guess I do feel a little bad for him. It takes someone really brave to do something embarrassing, especially when it's against their nature!"

On the other end, Conan blushed. He didn't think that he was brave but Ran's words still made him feel a little better. "I have to go now but I'll call you soon! Bye Ran!" He hung up and grabbed his journal.

Entry #14

I solved the case with the American woman. Normally, it'd be no big deal but Ran has been giving me the silent treatment since we got home! Shouldn't I be the one who's mad!? I had to play dress-up! It was so humiliating! I'm a famous detective! I shouldn't have to stoop so low as wearing a sparkly pink princess dress! How far must I fall before this is all over!? The worst part was that Ran was there! I almost died from all the stuff Anna made me do! I was so grateful when her 10 minutes were up!

When I called Ran, I just wanted to make sure that she was okay. She just had to bring up the whole dress-up thing! At least she thought it was funny…Still, she made me feel a little better when she said that Conan was brave. I'm a little sad that she only thinks that about Conan and not Shinichi. But that's the way it is. I can't be Shinichi Kudou and Conan Edogawa at the same time. If only it was that easy. I wish I didn't have to call Ran just to talk to her as myself. I can't afford to open up to her. Ran is more important to me than how I feel. That doesn't mean it wouldn't be nice though.

That's it for now! It's not my best chapter but I promise that the next few chapters will be better! If you have any ideas at all, please let me know! I'm thinking about a chapter where Conan/Shinichi ends up being jealous! I just think that it would be pretty interesting but I'm not sure. Thanks for reading! Sorry again for the late update! Don't forget to review! (Also, if you really like my writing but want something a little more light-hearted, check out "Kaitou Kid's Apprentice"! It was my very first fanfic and is still ongoing! It's more Kaitou KID than Shinichi but it has its moments! There's also "That Little Traitor" which is just a one-shot with Conan and Heiji!)