Disclaimer: "Detective Conan" belongs to Gosho Aoyama, and "Bishoujo Senshi Sailor Moon" belongs to Naoko Takeuchi.

This is an alternative story to my other fanfic "Encounter in Venice" and one of the possibilities of what could have happened if Ai had taken the antidote before Shinichi brought down the Organization.

Thanks a lot to my friends and betas Rae (Astarael00) and SN1987a and the Aicoholics on LiveJournal, without whom I would never have started this fic.

FS

g.

Ghost at Twilight

(edited version)

g.

A kiss can…

A kiss can mingle souls if it's done well—or at least that's what the French once believed when they coined the passionate kiss "soul kiss". And though you would have defined a kiss as a voluntary exchange of sebum, body salts, and armies of bacterias via mouth a few hours ago, you're all for the French way of describing it now. Before Seiya, kisses were moderately pleasant, sometimes highly entertaining to a certain degree whether they were enjoyed for their own sake or—as they usually were in Gin's case—as a prelude to more intimate activities. Incompatible couples can deceive themselves into believing that chemistry is immaterial to a committed, serious relationship—in fact, no other species is as skilled in the art of self-deception as the humans, who can will themselves to hate what they love and to love what they hate if they deem it necessary. To survive in a society which attempts to dictate whom you should love and how you should love, hypocrisy is a useful skill.

It takes only one single experience for the illusion to collapse, however. The life-changing incident could be a kiss or just a single touch from a person who seems to have been specially created for you, and afterwards nothing will be the same again. Like a gourmet cook who has finally found the right ingredients for the perfect dinner menu, you instinctively know that you will never be able to make do with an alternative again after knowing the ingredients you need.

Now that you're in their shoes, you can suddenly sympathize with all the literary and non-literary couples that have brought doom upon themselves and others when they, foolishly giving in to their irresistible, unwavering, self-destructive attraction, gravitated towards each other at the speed of comets zooming towards the sun. Tristan and Isolde, Lancelot and Guinevere, Heloise and Abelard… No doubt their lives would have been easier and happier if they had never met the lover who would bring about their downfall—but wouldn't that have been the greatest tragedy of all? In your case, Kakyuu's spirit is still lingering on in this apartment like a ghost no exorcist can ever lay to rest. And maybe Seiya would leave you immediately if you told him about the accident which destroyed the girl he loved so much that he ran away from home for her sake. But the dead can't talk and you feel very much alive—strong and energetic and determined enough to protect another secret for your entire lifetime.

Therefore you've left the refuge of the bathroom to face his brothers again after throwing on your dress, which has shrunk after being dried and ironed but fits you now perfectly. You've resolved to do your utmost to get along with your partner's family, his friends, and even his employers and colleagues. In a long-time relationship, compromises and concessions are inevitable.

"It's taken her long to get dressed!" Yaten-san, who is nursing his injured foot on the sofa, graces you with a curl of his lips although he still refuses to address you directly.

"Not as long as it takes you to trim your brows," Seiya reminds him.

"I see you've lost interest in verbal conversation since last night," Shortie observes, eying you with another disparaging smile. "But you can at least tell her about the Hollywood remakes—especially since you're going to reprise your roles in both of them unless Taiki and you swap roles with each other."

But he hasn't even made up his mind to accept the roles yet—Seiya refuses with a distinct lack of interest in the matter before helping Taiki-san divide the masses of roses, which his brothers have left on the carpet, into different vases and even buckets. He is going to inform you about them later, tomorrow or tonight after dinner.

"The sooner you tell her about it the better," Taiki-san adds with the expression of a player about to deal the trump card, "If she can't deal with the love scenes, you two need to agree on how far you're allowed to go without endangering your relationship."

"A real actor doesn't let his girlfriend decide over what he will do for a role," Yaten-san asserts. "If the movie needs an explicit love scene, he will do an explicit love scene! Those scenes don't mean anything to us, anyway. You do them and get over them when they're finished." Turning to you for the first time after your diplomatic gaffe, he cheerily adds, "In Seiya's case it could be a problem, though. He works like a crazed fanatic on the set, especially when he needs to distract himself from the blues caused by his 'Odango'! I can already see him fall in love with the female lead just for the role."

"Don't be silly!" Seiya hurls a bouquet of yellow roses at his oldest brother, who catches it with the air of a long-suffering wife accustomed to catching all the items her husband throws at her. "If I ever agree to do such a scene, I'll just bring it behind me as fast as possible!"

The honeymoon phase is clearly over. And as reality sets in, you realize with a sense of dread that your perfect man doesn't only have irritating brothers, flirtatious beautiful colleagues, a demanding and possessive agent, and throngs of fanatical lovelorn admirers but also a most unfortunate passion for acting, which will be difficult to reconcile with your idea of exclusivity and commitment. Ideally, you should mime the supportive girlfriend and declare that you don't mind steamy love scenes with gorgeous (and probably adoring film partners) in the least: I trust you. You can simulate all the things that happened between us last night with other women as long as you stay 'professional', whatever that means! I'm not going to watch all your rehearsals like a jealous pet! And we two are going to be really cool about this and crack jokes about these scenes afterwards before you move on to the next movie and the next love scene…

Unsurprisingly, you can't bring yourself to put on an act. Surprisingly, Seiya has picked up your tension like an exquisitely sensitive instrument and reacts without delay.

"I don't really have to do any love scenes," he remarks. "I wouldn't be the first actor who puts such clauses into his contracts: no love scenes, no nudity, no kissing whatsoever!" He proceeds to distract you by informing you of the Hollywood remakes, in which Three Lights, who have grown up bilingual, are going to reprise the roles they played in their first two live actions, one of which was Detective Boy Holmes and the other The Red Ninja. All the love scenes for his roles can be removed because they are redundant, he claims. And he doesn't even know whether he will accept the roles since he doesn't like the new scripts and doesn't want to spend most of his time abroad on the set when he could just stay here.

Although his move has backfired, Taiki-san displays no sign of annoyance or disappointment. One could almost believe that he was only oblivious or ruthlessly blunt and that the triumphant look you spotted in his eyes just a few minutes ago had less to do with schadenfreude and more to do with his purely intellectual joy at having anticipated the complication and brought up the issue in such an elegant manner.

"Well, then," he says after Seiya and you have briefly discussed the advantages and disadvantages of a long-distance relationship and concluded that you two have to look for another solution if he accepts the roles. "I think they'll let us change the scripts like they did when we filmed the live action series. But I wouldn't reject the offer if I were you since opportunity doesn't knock twice!"

Sometimes it does, Seiya retorts with a wink at you, which earns him another exasperated sigh from Yaten Kou.

"This has become too dumb for my taste!" Shortie flips his ponytail and, ignoring his injured foot, saunters gracefully towards the corridor. "I'll be upstairs to weep for the days when your brain still worked! Are you going to our rehearsal today or would you rather spend the whole day staring at her?"

"I wish I could do that! But Shiho must return to Kudo to say goodbye to him before he goes to Osaka, so she only has time after six. We're going to meet up afterwards for dinner."

Shortie's and Stick's thoughts have become so tangible that they might as well have been printed in bold neon-red letters on their foreheads: That's a fine girlfriend you have—you two have been with each other for a few hours and she would rather spend the day with another man!

To their credit, both of them spare you another drama and only slip into their shoes in silence. Returning your slippers to Seiya to put on your sandals, you wonder whether you're the same woman who used to straighten her dress and check her hair every other minute to make sure that her appearance is in order. You may be dishevelled but you feel gloriously beautiful, almost as stunning as the sunset last night. Shortie and Stick may bully you as much as they like if it makes them happy!

Through the window of the living room you can see that the sky has become overcast again. And while the rain doesn't come down in torrents, it's too heavy for you to go out without a raincoat. Seiya, who has just helped you into your cardigan and put on his jacket as well, suggests that you two walk on foot. "We only need an umbrella for you," he remarks and brightens up when his gaze falls on the parasol in the umbrella stand. "It's a bit small. But since the wind has dropped, this makeshift umbrella will do!"

"No, it won't!" Yaten-san, who has instantly shaken off his apathetic air, has lunged forward to prevent Seiya from taking the parasol and is now guarding the umbrella stand with the attitude of a white wolf who hasn't been supplied with a prey for too long. His voice is so low that your mind needs a few seconds to piece together what he has hissed: "I can't believe that you'd ever give it to another woman!"

Your stranger, who has run out of patience at last, regards his oldest brother with a long gaze, which can be translated as, "Move aside!" while Yaten Kou's scowl can be interpreted as, "Only over my dead body!"

"It's just a parasol, Yaten!" Seiya reasons although his eyes are flashing with anger and his voice has taken on the icy equanimity you can hear in Kudo's voice before Kudo goes to pieces. "It wasn't even her favourite parasol to begin with, and I'm sure she would give it to Shiho if she were here!"

"Maybe," Shortie coolly counters. "But she'd never have given you to her! Shall we pretend that she is still alive and kick your girlfriend out after giving her an umbrella? Or shall we let her go home without an umbrella instead? The rain will most probably do her good—because then she will have to get changed again when she comes home to her pathetic sleuth!"

No sooner did Yaten-san finish his sentence than he is smashed against the wall, hitting his back against the lowest hook. Contrary to your expectations, he doesn't even try to retaliate but only gets up and readjusts his suit with a melancholy smile before he catches the parasol Seiya flings at him with the nonchalance of a person who has anticipated Seiya's reaction.

"Just add this to her memorabilia and shut up for once!" Seiya snaps; and you jump at the sound of his voice, which conveys the extent of his fury all too well. "You can even burn anything which belonged to her and collect the ashes if you want! I'm not going to turn my apartment into a shrine! You're free to stay away if you can't deal with it! If you miss her so much that you can't live, just lock yourself up in your apartment and die!"

To your surprise, Yaten Kou's eyes well up with tears; and he suddenly looks so vulnerable that your frustration with him evaporates away. Simulating all of Seiya's possible reactions in your head, you wonder for a moment whether you should intervene. But since you're the last person whose help Yaten-san wants and you don't know how to react, you stand rooted to the spot, hoping that both Seiya and Yaten-san will calm down before the situation worsens.

"You can have my umbrella," Taiki-san suggests, places a hand on your upper back and another hand on your elbow, and gently ushers you out of the apartment towards the stairs. "When two brothers quarrel, the third rejoices!" he announces and raises his voice at Seiya, who is staring after him and you with a puzzling expression of fear and fatigue, "Don't worry, I've only abducted our guest to show her the roof terrace. We'll come back later, after you two have finished killing each other!"

g.