File One: The Golden Apple of Discord
Conan leaned back in his seat at the airport lounge with a heavy sigh.
Of course his brother would be late, the young boy couldn't help but roll his eyes at the thought. The plane should have landed about an hour ago, yet there was not a single sign of its arrival. Briefly he wondered what could have caused his flight to get delayed, but soon realized that there was no point in it, since he already knew the answer.
Probably a murder, he thought, crossing his arms behind his head. Or a kidnapping. It could have been a hijacking, even...
The possibility of a homicide happening onboard was higher than anything else, though. Kudo Shinichi, the living corpse magnet, was in the plane after all.
A giant yawn caught the six-year-old by surprise, causing him to quickly cover his mouth with his tiny little hand, in an attempt to muffle the sound. Unsurprisingly, however, it turned out to be in vain, since the woman sitting beside him noticed right away.
"Are you sleepy, Co-chan?" Glancing at her watch, the woman raised an eyebrow in confusion. "Hmm... It's only five thirty. It's still early."
"I'm fine, Mom," replied the child with an annoyed tone. "I'm not tired."
She didn't seem convinced by his answer. "Are you sure about that?"
"Positive," he replied, not batting an eye. Yukiko looked as if she wanted to say something, but Conan beat her on it. "I'm going to buy a drink or something."
Without waiting for an answer, the kid hopped off his seat and walked away, pointedly ignoring his mother's concerned look. While he made his way through the people, the child couldn't help but yawn for the second time today, wiping a tear away from his eye as he did so.
Why am I here, anyway? he lamented inside his head, reaching to push some buttons in the vending machine. I should be at home with Dad at this very moment.
Clearly Conan had no desire to be there, and he would have been a very happy happy child if they had just let him bury his nose in a book and stay like that until nighttime. But no, of course not. Of course his mother would have other plans and would drag him with her to the airport to pick up his older brother and her friend, who were coming from Japan.
To make things worse, on top of that, she was planning to bring them all along to the theater. In hindsight, he should have seen that coming, but everything had happened so quickly that he didn't even have the chance to bring his prized copy of A Study in Scarlet with him.
Sighing for what it seemed like the eleventh time today, Conan opened the can of iced coffee he had just bought and sipped from it, slowly making his way back to his mother.
It didn't take him long to realize that the woman was not alone anymore. A pair of teenagers, a girl and a boy he recognized almost instantly, were standing at her side, talking amongst each other without noticing his presence yet.
"I have like fifty missed calls from Sonoko..." Conan could hear the girl complaining as he got closer. She was going through her phone while sighing, exasperated. "She's angry at me for turning off my phone… Seriously, did she want me to cause the plane to crash or something?"
"Actually, your phone can't cause the plane to crash." All three turned around at the young and bored voice coming from behind. "Unlike the presence of a certain someone, I'm sure."
If 'that certain someone' was any affected by that comment, he didn't get the chance to say anything, "Conan-kun!" because the girl ─ Mouri Ran ─ was quick to run over to him and to kneel in front of him, so that she could be at his eye level. "Oh, look at you!" She was smiling brightly at him. "You have grown a lot ever since I last saw you!"
"Do you really think so?" The boy ─ Kudo Shinichi, his older brother ─ snorted while standing beside his childhood friend, ruffling Conan's hair to his dismay. "I'd say he's still the same midget we all know and love."
"Leave me alone." Grumbling, he slapped his hand away before bringing his can close to his mouth. Before the coffee could even touch his lips, he felt it getting whisked away before he could do anything to prevent it.
He glared daggers at the older boy, who held the can far above his reach. "Hey, do you want to remain a shortie forever?" A teasing grin decorated Shinichi's face. "This stuff seriously stunts your growth."
Conan's eyes narrowed, dangerously. "We both know that is not true."
"Still, you shouldn't drink coffee, Conan-kun." He couldn't help but jump a little when Ran waved a finger at him, her tone stern. "It's not good for you."
There was little the young boy could do, other than to nod without compain and to ignore his urges to wipe his brother's amused smile off his face the teen drank from his coffee. It went without saying that it only made him burst out laughing, louder, even as they began to make their way towards the car.
But then, his laugh was cut short.
While any other day Conan would be immensely grateful at it, he couldn't. Instead, he watched his brother stopping in his tracks, spinning around to stare at the crowd of people behind them.
"Is something wrong?"
He didn't understand, either, why the teenager had jumped at the sound of his voice. His mouth opened to ask any further but, before he could do anything, Shinichi took his hand to steer him away from that place.
"Let's hurry before those two leave without us," he said quickly, before his little brother could open his mouth, referring to the two females chatting a long distance ahead.
And then Shinichi smiled. That would have been enough for Conan...
Hadn't it been such an obviously fake one.
"So, Conan, how have you been?" At some point of their silent, awfully long car ride, Shinichi inquired. There was a kind smile in his face directed at his younger brother who, far from mirroring it, just stared blankly back at him from his spot beside a slumbering, jet-lagged, Ran. "What is it like living in America?"
"Fine," he answered with a flat tone.
"It might have been tough… Suddenly moving to a different country on the other side of the world, with a completely new language." Despite that, he still tried. "Mom told me your English is mostly flawless, though."
Conan only offered him a non-committal hum in response.
"You haven't been causing trouble, have you?"
"I haven't. Unlike others."
Both Yukiko and Shinichi flinched at that response, unable to determine who he was referring to. The mother was the first one to recover, though, quickly focusing back on the road and pretending not to pay attention to the awkward one-sided conversation their children were having.
"S-So..." Shinichi let out a strained laugh, not finding it as easy as his mother. "You're starting elementary school in a few days, right?"
"Right."
"Are you looking forward to it?"
"Not quite."
At this point there was little Shinichi could do but to resign himself to direct his attention to the window, completely dropping all intention of having a conversation with the younger Kudo.
Conan's eyes never left his form, though. They just narrowed slightly.
The quietness didn't last long, however, since Ran woke up from her nap, loudly complaining to Shinichi because he hadn't bothered to wake her up earlier to sightsee the city as they drove.
They both fell into a heated argument. Some things never change, do they? Conan was barely surprised.
"The science of deduction is one which can only be acquired by long and patient study," Though he had made sure to ignore most of the conversation, Conan's ears perked when he heard that. "Yet life is not long enough for a mortal to master it, you see, my dear Watson."
"He didn't say that." The boy frowned. "Holmes-san didn't say 'my dear Watson' at the end of that quote. And you know that."
"Eh?" Ran was shocked, apparently. "Did you read Sherlock Holmes, Conan-kun?"
"I'm still reading A Study in Scarlet, though." He gave his mother a very dirty look. "And I would've finished it by now if it wasn't for someone I know."
"A-Ah…" Ran slowly backed away from the angry little child. "Is that so…?"
Yukiko, on the other hand, didn't seem to be fazed by it. "Give this a chance, Co-chan." Her smile widened with amusement when her youngest groaned at the nickname. "You might like it more than all that detective stuff your father and brother are so obsessed with."
Ah, she's at it again. Shinichi noticed a wicked glimmer in his mother's eyes. Trying to get Conan interested in anything but mysteries...
"Whatever." Conan sighed, tiredly, letting his head rest against the window. "It's not like I have any say on this, anyway."
The rest of the grown-ups in there continued talking, but the child paid no mind, absently gazing at the car passing by them, carrying a bright neon sign. Golden Apple. He huffed at the thought of being forced to watch a musical, of all kinds of plays that his mother could have possibly have dragged him to. I can't wait, he thought, sarcastically, eyes sliding close against the street lights.
Eventually, the subject of the conversation changed and the three found themselves talking, for some reason, about that serial killer that was on the loose. Ran was understandably tense, and let out a nervous laugh.
"I-I think we shouldn't talk about this in front of Conan-kun..."
"Huh? Ah, don't worry. That killer only targets young women," Shinichi tried to reassure his friend. Obviously, that didn't work too well since it only prompted her to flinch, violently. "Besides, with Dad around, I believe he's used to hearing much worse stuff than this. Isn't that right, Conan?"
The lack of reply didn't surprise Shinichi. Sighing exasperatedly, he let out a sigh and looked back to the road. Ran laughed awkwardly, turning to the child in question, only to freeze in her spot.
Conan was practically slumped against the window, breathing softly as he slept.
"He's asleep." Ran blinked in surprise.
Shinichi instantly craned his neck and looked over his shoulder to verify that, indeed, the youngest Kudo had somehow dozed off in such a short amount of time.
"He hasn't been sleeping well," Yukiko answered his unspoken question, eyes still trained on the road. "I found him at the library this morning when I woke up, burying his nose in a book. It wasn't the first time either." The woman then sighed. "I think that kid is making it a habit to sneak off at night and stay up to read until late."
His older brother didn't answer right away, silently giving the young boy a long stare. "How long has he been doing that?"
"About a week, I think."
As mother and son talked, Ran couldn't help the tender smile that blossomed in her face as she gazed at the young boy. Her maternal instincts didn't take long to kick in, prompting her to remove the coat she had previously used to cover herself in order to drape it over his slumbering form.
"Conan-kun looks so young like this." Ran didn't take her eyes off him.
"Of course he does." Shinichi raised an eyebrow at her. "He's six."
"I know that," she stressed out, exasperated. "But he's so mature and independent that sometimes I forget." Her gaze softened, something flashing behind her eyes and making her smile falter. "He used to be so sweet and innocent before..."
Neither Conan's mother nor brother said anything. Instead of that, the teenager just gave the child a last glance before looking back ahead, a concerned frown making its way in his features.
Conan...
"... nan... Conan..." The voice filtered through his unconscious mind, prompting him to groan softly, curling tighter around himself in a feeble attempt to retain his sleep. "Wa... up."
It all proved to be in vain, though, when Conan was suddenly woken up with the feeling of the ground moving, titling. He barely managed to unbuckle himself before he could drag himself to the other side of the car.
By the time his eyes opened, he had already pulled half of his small body out of the window, his arms supporting his way against the door as the car balanced on two wheels, rising at almost ninety degrees off the ground.
"Hey." His brother was sitting on the passenger window, grinning at him while holding a speechless Ran against his chest.
"Don't 'hey' me," Conan scowled. "You could've woken me before this."
"I tried. Really did."
"You have good reflexes, though, Co-chan!" He heard his mother speaking to him. "Just like your mother."
"Just don't blame me if you get another speeding ticket... for the fourth time this week."
Conan was infinitely grateful when the car went back on its four wheels, allowing him to slide back into his place again. Even after they had settled down, Ran was still shaken, wheezing loudly, her face white with horror after what she had just gone through.
"See, not bad." Shinichi had a bright smile on his face. His mother was giggling beside him.
Understandably, Ran snapped.
"ARE YOU ALL CRAZY?!"
And Conan could not agree more.
"What was all of this about, anyway?" The kid groaned, looking at his wristwatch as the car pulled up in front of the theater. "We're still one hour early, aren't we?"
"I promised we would meet the person who gave us the tickets," his mother explained with a smile, until she froze, eyes wide open with shock. "Co-chan?"
"What?"
"Do you know what time it is?"
"Ten past seven," he replied immediately. "Why?"
"Ah!" she suddenly screamed, startling the child. "So you knew about summer time!"
"Well, yeah." Conan shrugged. "Don't tell me you forgot about it, again?"
"You could've reminded me!"
"Yes, I could," he said, matter-of-factly. But didn't want to, was left unsaid.
Before Yukiko could whine about it some more, the sound of police sirens filled the air and, shortly after, a police officer knocked softly on her glass window. Conan wondered if she would get another speeding ticket but, of course, she was saved when an inspector she apparently knew very well covered for her.
She's so lucky sometimes. Conan sighed, slightly irritated, and glanced towards his brother's direction, fully expecting to see a similar expression plastered on his face. Except that wasn't the case.
The kid was puzzled beyond belief, noticing that Shinichi wasn't looking anywhere but the inspector's face. His eyes were wide open, like two big, round plates, and sweat was dripping from his chin while he trembled.
All the while, Yukiko was smiling at the man. "Thanks Radish." He had, after all, convinced the policeman that she was an undercover agent chasing after a dangerous criminal. "You saved me."
"No, no." The child was startled badly when Radish's voice changed into a high-pitched, female one. "You're thanking the wrong person."
If asked, Conan wouldn't be able to determine why, but that voice still sent chills down his back. Air froze momentarily in his lungs as he watched that strange person tearing a mask from her face, letting them see in its place a fair-skinned, blonde woman, who Conan didn't seem to recognize, yet prompted her mother to beam.
"Why don't you thank me, Sharon Vineyard?"
"Sharon!"
"Sharon... Who?" Conan muttered, more to himself than anyone else.
"She's a very famous actress," Ran explained to him, with such patience she would only have with a little child like he was. "She has worked alongside your mother several times."
Maybe that is why I don't have a clue of who this woman is. After all, he had always avoided any movies with his mother on it like the plague.
"Right, Shinichi...?" When she looked at the boy, however, he noticed how awfully shaken he looked. "Shinichi, are you okay? You're so pale."
"A-Ah, no." Only then Shinichi seemed to wake up from whatever stupor he had been in before. "I'm fine, Just got a bit sick after Mom's driving."
And then Shinichi's eyes met Sharon's.
Conan swore he saw the woman smirking faintly, in a disturbingly scary way.
Conan pinched his cheek in an attempt to wake himself up, yet it didn't help much. Wondering if he could last awake much longer, the kid sighed tiredly, cradling his head with an open palm, resigning himself to watch the actors dancing across the stage.
When Shinichi yawned loudly at his side, the kid realized he might not be the only one in his situation.
"You could at least try to look interested."
"You don't look like you are any better than me," Shinichi quickly replied, not even glancing at him. "I caught you nodding off just a few minutes ago."
"At least I'm not disturbing those that do enjoy this play by yawning like a sleep-deprived hippo. Rather loudly if I may say."
The teen gave his brother a long look. Is it normal for a six-year-old to be this sassy?
"Why don't you pay more attention?" Ran scolded him lightly, whispering in his ear.
"What's so exciting about this? It's just a comedic take on an old Greek myth."
"The Golden Apple," Conan added. "It's an adaptation of it, so things are bound to change from the original one… Might as well give it a try, I guess."
"Co-chan is right." Yukiko giggled beside Ran. "You will be surprised at that poor-looking aristocrat's true identity."
Conan wasn't sure what he was expecting, but seeing Paris suddenly growing wings and appearing in the mirror while claiming to be the archangel Michael was not one of them.
Did just an archangel appear in an adaptation of a Greek myth?
... So random.
His eyebrow raised at that, lamenting he had said this play was worth giving a chance as he blankly stared at the stage as smoke slowly started to cover his sight. Just as the child wondered if the Egyptian God Ra was about to make an appearance, or something, a laser sight caught his attention. It seemed to be pointing at the balcony.
Then there was a sound that shouldn't be there, that startled both Conan and Shinichi.
Was that... a gunshot?!
The angel was lifted from behind the mirror, his pristine white clothes stained with crimson, dripping down all the way to the floor. Something fell to the ground, making a sound that Conan's ears picked up easily, and it wasn't until the smoke cleared that they were able to see it.
It was a gun. Everyone screamed.
"Mom!" And of course, Shinichi took off running. "Take care of Ran and Conan!" was all he shouted over his shoulder, before disappearing.
"Wait, Shin-chan-!" Her son was gone from her sight before she could even finish her sentence. "That boy..."
"Eh?" She heard Ran's surprised voice. "Where did Conan-kun go?"
"What?!"
Meanwhile, Conan reached the stage, where people were already crowding around the fallen angel, who had already been lowered over the ground and tried to take a closer look. There were no other injuries besides the very obvious wound in his heart, he observed.
Figuring that he wouldn't get any other information from the body, the kid's eyes found themselves fixing on the tall mirror. He was standing right behind there, wasn't he? he thought, moving closer to it.
Curiously, he went around the object, his eyes wandering around and taking in every single, little detail. How did the killer manage to do it? He wondered, leisurely walking alongside the curtains, until he realized something. They are strangely twisted.
Gaze falling to the floor, he was pleasantly surprised to find a small, innocent white feather stuck on an iron trapdoor. Cement. He noted, while crouching beside it, that rather than an empty space, there was nothing under there.
There has to be a way to move it...
"Hey, Shinichi, let's return." Ran insisted while walking behind her childhood friend, Golden Apple's promotional pamphlet clutched against her chest. "I'm worried about Conan-kun. I haven't seen him since the murder… Do you think he-?"
"He's fine. That kid had always been like that." Shinichi waved a hand at her, disregarding her concern. "Besides, the killer is definitely one of those four actresses, and they are all with the police right now. There is no chance they would hurt him."
That didn't seem to completely convince the girl, yet Shinichi ignored it in favor of studying the mirror he was standing in front of. Looking down, he noticed a small trap door, and pulled his handkerchief out of his pocket to open it.
The door opened by itself before he could do anything, prompting the teen to fall back and make an ungraceful landing on his butt. Ran stepped back, shocked as well.
A small head popped out and stared blankly at the teenagers.
"Conan! Don't scare me like that!" Shinichi breathed out, still shaken by the surprise. "How did you get down there?"
"I snuck around." He replied with all honesty. "And figured out how to shift the floor to reveal this hole."
"But why would you do that, Conan-kun?" The girl walked closer and kneeled down close to him.
"The laser beam I saw before pointed at the terrace," he explained as he pulled himself up, and stood on the ground. "Mom has brought me there before and I can say for sure it's very hard to see the play, let alone shoot someone so accurately. Which means it was only a decoy."
The pair then watched, perplexed, as the child ran around the mirror and laid down in front of it. A tiny hand appeared from under the mirror and passed through the grid.
"If you were to lie down like this and then..." He made a gun gesture with his fingers. "... you shoot just like this while Heath-san is being raised from the trapdoor, you can shoot him in the heart."
Conan quickly stood up and went back to them. "The proof is that you can find blood, feathers, and the cartridge from the gun down there."
"That was amazing, Conan-kun!" Ran beamed. "You sound just like a detective."
"E-Eh?" The child blushed a bit. "I-I... No."
"What about the gun, then?" His brother asked, an amused smile caressing his lips . "Have you figured out how she made it so it fell from a high place?"
"No," he admitted with a frustrated sigh. "I haven't got a clue."
"You were so close, though." Much to his annoyance, Shinichi ruffled his hair as he grinned widely. "You did a splendid job, child detective."
"I'm telling you, I'm not a detective."
"Some call me a legendary Japanese actress, while others call me the wife of a world-renowned mystery writer. I call myself the lady detective with little gray cells... Night Baroness!"
Conan was suddenly blinded when the spotlight fell on Ran, Shinichi and him, by mistake. Suddenly realizing the error he had committed, the man behind the special effects moved the light to Yukiko, who smirked cockily and went to resume her deduction show.
"Hey." Conan turned to Shinichi, his voice laced with clear annoyance. "Did you really have to tell her all your deductions?"
"She wouldn't stop bothering me until I did." His brother smiled, apologetically. "Besides, Mom is already known as the Night Baroness. She has much more credibility than I, a simple high school student, could ever have."
"Still..."
We really don't need to make her ego bigger than it already is.
Even if he already had heard it from his older brother, Conan listened attentively as Yukiko explained the trick. When she finished, she looked at Rose straight in the eyes and accused her as the killer.
Proof was on her gloves ─ turning them inside out revealed a bloody handprint. She was forced to confess to the crime. Apparently, Rose had fallen in love with his role as Michael so she couldn't bear the thought of him quitting and having another actor taking on the mantle.
"He killed Michael, right when I finally told him I was in love with the Michael he was playing!" she screamed. "But God blessed me, anyway. When I dropped the armor, my dress was caught on the rail by coincidence, until I was saved."
And then she turned to Ran with a cold smile and told her in English.
"Thank you, Sweet Angel. You helped me do it."
Ran only stared at her, confused, as Rose laughed loudly and was taken away by the police. She didn't notice a little foot pressing on her dress until she tripped, painfully falling on her face.
Holding her nose, the woman looked up and froze upon the sight of a young boy. His eyes were hidden by his glasses, the light reflecting on them and rendering her unable to see his expression.
"After she selflessly risked her wellbeing to save you, you have absolutely no right to say such a thing." He raised his head, letting the murderer see icy cold eyes glaring hatefully back at her. "You are disgusting."
Rose could do nothing but give a shaky nod at the scary little boy, and stand up, legs trembling as she rushedly left the place, not daring to look up, fearing that she could encounter that terrifying gaze once more.
If Ran was an angel, she decided, this one was definitely a demon in the body of a child.
All the while, Shinichi could only stare.
This kid is scary.
A/N:
Published: 02-10-2020
Last edited: 12-27-2020
Based on Kudo Shinichi's New York Case.
