SailorStar9: With Chapter 166 uploaded, I present Chapter 167 of this fic. (Sighs) Guys and girls, is it too hard for you to leave a review, instead of just putting this fic up on your favorited list and story alerts?

Disclaimers: I do not own Sailor Moon or Detective Conan, I only own this plotline and the pairing.

Pairing: Established!Furuya Rei/Mizuno Ami

Chapter 167: The Antique Tray Can't Be Hidden, Part One

Time passes...

"You're going to make a fortune off an antique dish?" Conan echoed, after Professor Agasa informed him of his latest decision. "Have you forgotten your painful experience with the Persian rug?"

"That's why I had an appraiser look at it this time." Professor Agasa replied. "He called to let me know he has my results, so I'm on my way to get them now."

"So, where'd you get the dish?" Conan asked.

"I've taken you kids before to my uncle Agasa Kurisuke's villa." Professor Agasa reminded. "I found a wooden board in the back of a shelf when I went to hide the toys for the treasure hunt. Since the handwriting was so nice, I brought it home and put it on display. Just the other day, I realized it wasn't a board but a flat box with a sliding lid. I found an antique dish inside."

"So, why'd you call me here?" Conan deathpanned.

"I'm the one who invited you over." Haibara corrected. "I'd like you to do something about her." she looked out of the window. "That tomboy Sera Masumi who's watching us from behind the gate as we speak. So, why is she watching this house?'

"It's not the house." Conan gulped. "It's probably you."

"Why would she be watching me?" Haibara demanded.

"Actually..." Conan started.

"She suspects I've been turned into a child by that drug, just like you?" Haibara exclaimed. "How could you expose our secret like that?"

"Sera's got keen senses." Conan stammered. "She asked Ran and Sonoko if they knew any mature kids besides me. They told her you fit that description."

Suddenly the doorbell rang.

"Make her leave." Haibara demanded.

"Subaru-san." Conan answered the door, surprised to see Subaru.

"I received a bunch of cherries from a junior of mine, so I came to share." Subaru smiled.

"More importantly, did you see anyone at the gate?" Conan asked.

"There was a girl wearing a motorcycle helmet." Subaru replied, stepping aside to reveal Sera.

"By the way, Professor." Subaru started. "How did the appraisal of that antique go?"

"I was just on my way to get the results." Professor Agasa answered. "He said he'd show me something interesting he's appraising while I'm there. Are you familiar with Chinese black lacquer trays?"

"You mean like the tray that appeared on the appraisal TV show the other day?" Conan blinked. "I think it was worth 100 million yen."

"Apparently three people saw that program and realized they had similar trays at home and asked him to appraise them." Professor Agasa supplied. "Surprisingly, all three trays have exactly the same crane design on them."

"Does that mean that out of the three trays, two of them are fake?" Subaru guessed.

"Exactly." Professor Agasa nodded. "He said the real tray would be worth several tens of millions of yen. He invited me to come watch him explain the difference."

"In that case, would it be all right if I accompanied you to this appraiser's house?" Subaru suggested.

"That's fine." Professor Agasa blinked.

"I think I'll pass." Sera remarked. "I'll watch the house for you along with the girl."

"I'm going with the Professor." Haibara cut in.

"Then, maybe I'll go." Sera changed her tune.

At the Nishitsu residence...

"Excuse me, Nishitsu-san." Agasa called out. "It's Agasa, here for my appointment. Maybe his hearing aid is acting up again." he mused, when there was no response. "I'll go get him." he informed the others. "Nishitsu-san." he found the unconscious appraiser slumped face-down on his room." What happened? Who did this to you?" he knelt down and was shocked to see Nishitsu bleeding from the side of his head.

"This... is the real tray..." Nishitsu groaned, reaching out to the tray in front of him and leaving a bloody trail with his finger on the back of the tray.

"Nishitsu-san, wait here." Professor Agasa hurried out. "I'll be right back."

"Haibara, call an ambulance and the police." Conan instructed after Professor Agasa informed them what had happened and he, Subaru and Sera dashed to the crime scene. "What's this?" he gasped. "It's no use." he shook his head after feeling for a pulse. "He's dead."

"Conan-kun, I don't see a tray anywhere." Sera noted.

"You're making quite a lot of noise." Chono Kinji stated, arriving with Tojima Motoyuki and Sakamaki Suzue.

After Megure's team was called in...

"He lost a lot of blood from his head." Ami reported. "The cause of death is most likely to be aortic injury due to this stab wound on his back inflicted by a pointed bladed object." she gestured to the gaping wound on Nishitsu's back. "The murder weapon is most likely to that spear over there." she turned to the bloodied spear in the room.

"The culprit's fingerprints weren't on it, but there's blood on the tip of the blade." Takagi added. "There are also marks on the metal base that were made when it was used to strike something. Judging by the fact that the victim Nishitsu-san was still alive when Agasa-san first came to this room around 2pm today: after knocking down the victim with the spear, the culprit probably hid inside a wardrobe since Agasa-san arrived. After Agasa-san left the room to call the ambulance and police, using the spear they used to knock him down, they finished him by stabbing him in the back."

"Agasa-san, what are you doing here?" Megure inquired.

"I asked Nishitsu-san to appraise an old dish for me." Professor Agasa replied. "I came to hear the results."

"Why would someone kill an antique art appraiser?" Megure wondered.

"Probably because of the black lacquer tray." Subaru supplied. "Apparently, he was asked to appraise one worth several tens of millions of yen. Agasa-san said the tray was in front of the victim as he was bleeding from his head and barely breathing in this room, but that tray is no longer there. Perhaps, that's what the culprit was after."

"If that black lacquer tray is in that box over there..." Megure turned to the three boxes. "Seriously?" he gawked, opening all three boxes to find the three trays inside.

"He happened to receive three requests to appraise trays with the same pattern at the same time." Conan explained.

"A similar black lacquer tray was appraised at 100 million yen on an appraisal TV show." Haibara commented.

"The victim said he's explain the difference between the real tray and the fakes to us and the three clients who hired him to appraise them." Sera added. "It's natural to think there's a culprit who killed the appraiser and put the real tray in their own box in order to get their hands on that fortune among you three." she turned to Tojima, Chono and Sakamaki.

"Then, one at a time, why don't you tell us your name, profession, and what were you doing where around 2pm when the murder took place?" Megure requested.

SailorStar9: Any OOC-ness is regretted. *Sighs* Don't you just hate plot bunnies sometimes? Read and review.