Disclaimer: I do not own Detective Conan/Case Closed.
Pairing: KaitoxShinichi
Heroes and Villains: Blue Moon Island
[Superpower Verse]
Part 11
Considering its small size and limited population, Blue Moon Island had only one newspaper which, in true island fashion, had been named the Blue Moon Times.
The newspaper was headquartered in a relatively small, two-story property sandwiched between a massive beach gear store and an old family restaurant.
The lobby of the newspaper office was small and extremely cramped. Aside from the receptionist's desk, the staff had managed to cram an overstuffed sofa, two shelves packed full of reading materials, a small coffee table, and a plethora of potted plants of varying sizes and breeds into a space meant for half that much stuff (if even that). The enormous print of the same ghost ship picture that served as the cover of the island legends book they had bought looming over it all from the only really clear stretch of wall didn't help, although it did alter the ambience of the place from homely and cramped to a poor attempt at artistic mess. The muted coloring of the ship print clashed horribly with the brightly colored plants, and the pastel seashell couch looked like it had been carted in from a different dimension entirely.
On the other hand, the people all seemed open and cheerful the way they had found most Blue Moon Island people to be, and that made the otherwise uncomfortable setting rather less oppressive.
"You're Kuroba Kaito and Kudo Shinichi, right?" the receptionist asked the moment they stepped through the door and well before either of them had even begun to open their mouths.
"Marna said she had an appointment with you this morning at nine."
"That would be us, yes," Kaito agreed with an amiable smile. "Is she here?"
"Oh, she is, she is," the receptionist assured him. "But she's in a meeting right now. She should be done in a few minutes. You two can just wait on the couch there. Would you like something to drink? There's a water machine behind my desk here. Or I could go get you a coffee or tea from the rec room."
Shinichi brightened immediately at the offer of coffee. "I'd like coffee if it isn't too difficult. Just black. No sugar or cream."
Kaito made a disgusted face where Shinichi couldn't see it, miming exaggerated gagging motions, and the receptionist hurried away in an attempt to hide her laughter.
She returned a few minutes later with a cup of hot, black coffee for Shinichi and a slightly sweet tea for Kaito which wasn't what the magician would have picked but which was certainly better than black coffee.
"So, um, since you have some time, could I ask you two a few questions?" the receptionist asked, settling back down behind her desk again but watching them with the bright, hopeful eyes of one who longed for magic and monsters.
"There's no harm in asking," Kaito told her. "But we may not answer."
She laughed. "That's fair. It's just, you two are, like, the first real Milky Way agents I've ever met! What's it like?"
"Like?" Shinichi echoed, wondering just where in the world to begin to answer such a broad and complicated question.
"Well, yeah. Do you go hunt down super villains like those superheroes in cartoons and things? A friend of mine developed powers, and suddenly he was all like trying to put together a costume and running off to fight crime. But then he got himself arrested because he blew up a park bench when he tried to stop a bag snatcher. They didn't keep him long. He just got a warning since he meant well—and put him to work rebuilding the bench. But he tells me it's all the rage in a lot of places to just throw on costumes and do that sort of thing when you find you have a power."
"It does happen quite a lot," Shinichi admitted, casting Kaito a sidelong look. "It tends to cause more trouble than it solves. So our agency is actually more about not doing that. We do help find and stop people using superpowers to commit crimes, but we do so by working with the police. And it's only a small part of what we do. Otherwise, we do a lot of outreach to help educate people about superpowers: what they are, what they can do, what they can't do, and the history."
The receptionist blinked. "Really? That's…not what I expected."
"Not many people do," Kaito said, chuckling. "There are actually a lot of misconceptions about superpowers and the people who have them."
"A lot of jealousy and prejudice too," Shinichi added, expression growing somber. "Especially in and around the younger generations."
The receptionist thought about this a moment then nodded, understanding settling in her eyes. "I can see that. Probably goes both ways. I know that friend I told you about acted like he'd been given a divine appointment or something. Got really bigheaded until his brother decked him one and told him to get off his high horse. Being arrested helped too."
Shinichi knew the type. They were pretty much always trouble—how much trouble depending on how quickly it took them to learn that having a superpower didn't make them somehow superior to the rest of the human race.
"So what else do you guys do?" the receptionist asked.
"A lot," Kaito assured her. "We're always looking for new ways to be productive. There are a lot of ways that superpowers can help improve things as long as people are responsible about it."
"That makes sense," she said, nodding. "But you're a detective right?" she went on, turning her gaze to Shinichi. "That means you catch bad guys."
"It means I investigate things," the detective corrected her. "Sometimes that involves catching bad guys, but sometimes it doesn't. I mostly look into it when people report strange phenomena and cases."
"And you?" she asked, looking to Kaito.
"I help him," Kaito replied. "Among other things."
"Oh yeah. Stage magic, right? I think I've heard of you."
"You are correct."
"So, like, do you use your powers to do shows? Oh wait, I shouldn't ask you that, should I? Magicians aren't supposed to tell people how they do things."
Kaito laughed. "That would be correct. Just between us though, a truly spectacular performance requires many different skills."
-0-
Marna turned out to be a very energetic, very tan woman in her thirties with a bright grin and inquisitive eyes that, Shinichi was sure, saw more than most. She greeted both him and Kaito by name and ushered them into her tiny office on the building's second floor.
The room was just big enough for Marna's computer desk, three chairs, and a wall of filing cabinets. Every inch of wall space had been entirely papered over with photographs of island life in full swing. On the desk next to the computer sat a series of seashell sculptures of turtles of varying sizes, some wearing sunglasses and jaunty hats.
"So I heard that you two wanted to learn more about the sunken ship and the treasure that was dredged up," she said, cutting straight to the chase. "Now, I'd be more than happy to share what I know, but I have to ask, are you investigating because you suspect there is danger?"
Shinichi blinked then took a moment to think through his answer before replying. "To be honest, we're mostly just curious. If there is trouble, we haven't seen it yet."
"I see. I'm glad to hear that. But I would also like to ask that you let me know if that changes."
"We will," the detective promised. "That's why we're looking into it. To make sure there's no actual danger."
Marna smiled. "Good. I'm sure that will put a lot of people's minds at ease."
"Have people been worried?" Kaito asked. "From what we've seen, most of the island seems to be treating the treasure and the ship and everything as kind of an attraction."
The journalist chuckled. "There has certainly been a lot of that. People on this island have always loved folktales and legends. And it's clear they aren't the only ones. Business has been booming since the treasure was unveiled and people started flooding in from all over for a glimpse of the ghost ship. But there have been some incidents too that have led some people to truly believe that the treasure is cursed."
"We heard up at the museum that a thief who tried to steal some of the treasure died of a heart attack before he could even leave the building," Shinichi said.
"Yes." Marna's expression grew serious. "That isn't an exaggeration. For the most part, people have been telling one another that ill fortune will only befall those with ill intentions because of that, but sales in good luck charms to island residents have skyrocketed since the appearance of the ghost ship. So has visits to local leaders of various faiths. I have also learned that quite a lot of people have stopped visiting the Half Moon Cove side of the island after dark."
Shinichi had to admit that he was surprised. "I didn't realize there were so many people taking the curse idea so seriously."
Marna shrugged. "I'd say it's natural. It's one thing to tell ghost stories. It's another to actually see a ghost ship. That is why I would also like an explanation, if you find one."
"We'll do our best," he replied. "To do that though, we were hoping that we would be able to speak to the diving students who first found the treasure. Would you be able to tell us who they were and how to contact them?"
Marna looked a little rueful at that. "I can tell you what we talked about, but I'm afraid you won't be able to speak to them yourselves even if I gave you their names. They were also here only for vacation, and I know for a fact that they've already left the island."
Shinichi nodded, disappointed but not particularly surprised. "In that case, can you tell us what they said about making the discovery? We read the account in the paper, but it would be helpful to know if there was anything that wasn't included in the article."
"All right. Let me see." Marna settled back in her seat, gaze growing distant as she thought. "Most of what they said was in the article, but there were a few details that I left out because neither of them was sure, and their recollections didn't always agree. The main one would probably be the reason they went into those underwater caves at all."
"I did wonder about that," Kaito said. "It would have been a very dangerous thing to do even for experienced divers. I would have expected people who were just learning to be more cautious."
"Well, according to them, they initially entered the caves chasing after someone or something. It was strange. When they talked about it, they weren't very clear, and they kept changing their minds. Sometimes they said they saw a light. Sometimes they say they saw another diver. One claimed they saw and were following an actual mermaid. At one point, they even said that they heard a voice calling to them, but then they decided that they hadn't because neither of them could remember what that voice had actually said. In fact, the only thing they could agree on about why they entered those caves was that they'd felt drawn to the place."
Kaito and Shinichi traded looks. That particular piece of news was ominous, but they would reserve their judgment for now.
"Do you know if either of them had superpowers?" asked Kaito.
Marna looked surprised. "I…didn't think to ask."
"What about the ghost ship?" asked Shinichi. "They were also the ones who saw it first, right? Were they drawn to the cove as well?"
"Oh that. No, they weren't," the journalist replied. "They actually went up to the cliffs overlooking the cove because someone told them a ghost ship could sometimes be seen there. They were interested and wanted to try their luck. They never expected to actually see it, but they did."
"Wait, someone told them it would be there?" Kaito leaned forward. "Who?"
"Another student in the diving class, I think," said Marna. "I may not be putting this quite right though. Like I said, strange tales and ghost stories have always been common on this island. That includes plenty about ghost ships. I don't actually know if they just heard one of those many stories and decided on their own that it was about the cove."
"It's still a mighty big coincidence," said Kaito. "If someone was going to start a ghost ship hoax, the first step would be to find someone to 'see' it for them."
"That's true," Marna agreed. "How bout this? I know the people who organize those diving classes. If you promise not to share the information around and to tell me what you learn, I'll see about getting you a list of the students who were in that class."
The boys agreed readily.
"Just one more question for now," Shinichi said. "Who would you say has gained the most from the ghost ship appearances?"
Marna let out a snort of laughter. "Just about everyone with a business on the island that relies on tourists. And that's just about everyone."
-0-
"Well that was certainly interesting," Kaito remarked later as they wandered down the street, searching for somewhere nice to have lunch. "I do believe that the chances that there is a shard of Pandora involved has gone up."
"Because the divers were lured in?"
"Pretty much." Though his tone was jovial, Kaito's eyes were grim. "Pandora wants to be used. That's why its pieces can't stay lost and why locking them up somewhere won't solve the problem of their existence. Sooner or later, they'll reach someone they resonate with. And then they'll start warping the world based on that resonance."
Shinichi sighed. "At least we know it most likely still on the island. That's something."
"True. We can be thankful for that at least and hope that Miss Marna gets us that list of students soon."
"Do you really think they'd be involved?"
"Couldn't say. But the possibility can't be discounted. Their story, however indirectly, led to the ghost ship's first known appearance. If any of them turn out to own businesses or have some connection that netted them a piece of the treasure…"
He let the suggestion hang as they both pondered the implications.
It seemed they had found a more definite direction for their investigations, but it was also beginning to feel like there might actually be trouble brewing. They could be wrong though. Shinichi dearly hoped they were wrong because he was growing very fond of this friendly, relaxed island.
"Here!" Kaito said suddenly, pointing at a brightly colored ice cream parlor. "This is that place with the extraordinary sundaes! We should eat here."
"But we haven't had lunch yet," Shinichi protested. "We should do that then come back here for dessert."
"Nope. Look. They have waffle sandwiches too. That's lunch material. Come on. I see an open table. We better snag it before someone else does."
Before he knew what was happening, Shinichi was already being herded into the parlor and across the bright pink and yellow floors to an equally plush pink booth with a strawberry ice cream-patterned tabletop.
Then a grinning magician dropped a pair of laminated menus down on the table in front of him and said the magic words.
"They also offer freshly ground coffee."
-To Be Continued-
