SailorStar9: With Chapter 199 uploaded, we hit Chapter 200 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 200: The Surprise That Leads to Tragedy

Time passes...

Takigawa Mai was returning home one night when she sensed something was not right within her apartment. Grabbing the golf club she had placed by the door as a defensive weapon, she snuck into her darkened unit. Suddenly, a dark shadow appeared in front of her and she hit the intruder with the club.

In the corridor...

"That chameleon sure was cute." Ayumi remarked, the Detective Boys were heading back after visiting Professor Agasa's herpetologist friend.

"It's quite late, isn't it?" Mitsuhiko noticed the dark sky.

"It's already eight." Conan took a look at his wristwatch. "That came from downstairs." the group heard the horrified scream. "What happened?" he hammered his fist on the door. "Are you all right?"

"It's Yusuke..." a tearing Takigawa whispered, opening the door.

Letting Professor Agasa catch the stunned woman, Conan hurried into the apartment to see Tsuda Yusuke lying on the living room floor with a head wound with Totsuka Riko sobbing over his body.

"I killed him..." Takigawa wept.

After Megure's team was called in...

"Let me make sure I've got this straight." Sato clarified. "When Mai-san came home from work around eight tonight, she saw someone moving around in her apartment which should be empty. Thinking she was being robbed, she grabbed the golf club she kept for self-defense. However, the person is actually her boyfriend, Yusuke-san, who appeared out of the darkness to surprise her with a party."

"It's my fault." Totsuka wept. "I'm the one who suggested we throw a surprise party for Mai's birthday."

"All three of you were close childhood friend." Sato added.

"Yusuke and I have always been mischievous." Totsuka admitted. "We got in trouble with honor student Mai all the time for pulling pranks."

"I checked the third floor hallway security camera footage." Takagi referred to his tablet. "It's exactly as they described."

"No one's at fault." Sato concluded. "It was an unfortunate accident."

"Don't you think it's weird, though?" Conan pointed out. "Normally, you wouldn't keep a golf club in an umbrella stand."

"Mai had just started living on her own." Totsuka explained. "She was really paranoid about security."

"So, you decided to throw a surprise party for someone like that?" Conan mused.

"We wanted to cheer her up." Totsuka insisted. "Mai's been having trouble at her new job. She seemed really down."

"What is it?" Professor Agasa saw Conan ran to look out of the window.

"I was wondering why they chose this spot." Conan stated. "Isn't this the only spot where Mai-san would be able to see anyone on way home? This is the place where you were hiding, right? If you wanted to surprise her, why did you hide by the window where you'd be easily spotted?"

"So, I could see Mai coming home." Totsuka replied.

"Did you loosen the light bulb as part of your surprise, too?" Conan questioned.

"I admit I took it too far." Totsuka confessed. "It was meant for the surprise. I didn't mean any harm."

"These are the victim's belongings." Sato noted as she and Takagi gave Yusuke's bagged belongings a look-over. "There are a lot of calls here from Mai-san." she opened the call history.

"There are a lot of calls from Riko-san recently, too." Takagi pointed out. "He only received calls from Riko-san today."

"It was for the party." Totsuka insisted. "I called him a bunch of times."

"What's this?" Genta spotted a shopping bag behind the plasma TV.

"That's pepper spray." Sato recognized the bottle.

"Mai-san, why didn't you use that spray?" Conan thought to ask.

"Pepper spray can make someone back off, but its relatively harmless." Totsuka snorted.

"It's not a weapon designed to hurt others." Sato agreed. "It's just for self-defense."

"You need to get near someone to use it, too." Totsuka reminded. "When you're really in trouble, a long-reach and highly-damaging weapon like..."

"So, you recommended Mai-san to use a golf club?" Conan guessed.

"A handkerchief?" Ayumi spotted a discarded handkerchief near the shopping bag. "Is this blood?" she pulled the handkerchief from the floor.

"It's mine." Totsuka claimed the handkerchief.

"That's Yusuke-san's blood, isn't it?" Sato frowned.

"Why is your lipstick on it, too?" Takagi asked.

"From some other time I used it." Totsuka replied.

"Detective Takagi, do you have lipstick around your mouth?" Conan suddenly asked, already guessing what had happened.

"Is that what happened?" Sato realized. "At first glance, Yusuke-san's death seems like an unfortunate accident. But all of this was set up by Riko-san who planned this surprise party. You made sure Mai-san would see you on her way home. You loosened the light bulb so the light wouldn't turn on. You also encouraged Mai-san to switch to using a highly-damaging gold club for self-defense, all so Mai-san would mistake Yusuke-san for a burglar and hurt him."

"It's too many of a coincidence." Takagi agreed.

"Riko would never do that." Takigawa protested. "She has no motive."

"This is Yusuke's blood and your lipstick on this handkerchief." Sato claimed Totsuka's handkerchief as evidence.

"I was trying to stop the bleeding." Totsuka replied.

"You would've held it against his head." Sato reasoned. "Only the victim's mouth had been wiped. Why did you only wipe the victim's mouth and what was your lipstick doing there? You were kissing, weren't you? In the darkness, as you waited for Mai-san. When the lights turned on, you noticed your own lipstick on Yusuke-san's lips, so you rushed to wipe his lips clean. You and Yusuke-san were dating, all without Mai-san's knowledge."

"Riko, how could you make me kill Yusuke over that?" Takigawa whispered.

"I just wanted Yusuke to be seriously injured so you'd break up." Totsuka insisted. "I really didn't think he'd die."

"What are you glaring at?" Professor Agasa noticed Conan's look.

"I gonna pee." Genta panicked. "Where are the bathroom lights?" he looked at the light switch and accidentally turned off the living room lights. "I can't see the switches. Where are they?"

"I'll do it." Takigawa offered.

"I can't see anything." Ayumi whined.

"Hold still for a second." Conan advised. "You'll be fine. Your eyes will get used to the darkness." a second later, he realized he came to the wrong conclusion. Scanning around the room once the lights came back on, he noticed the out-of-place Russian doll on the top of the shelf. Focusing on the doll, he then discerned it was a baby monitor. At that moment, everything fell into place.

Out in the corridor after Totsuka and Takigawa were taken into custody...

"Where's Conan?" Genta noticed Conan was not with them.

"He was reviewing Yusuke-san's phone and the security camera footage at Agasa-san's request." Takagi replied.

"He's playing with fire in my apartment." Takigawa gaped, watching the footage transferred to her phone. "Open the door."

After entering the apartment and switching on the lights...

"I knew it." Conan grinned, blowing out the candle on the birthday cake. "I wanted to confirm something." he told Takigawa. "Now we know exactly what happened. Isn't that right, Professor?"

"That's right." Professor Agasa stepped forward to play his role. "Though we believed Mai-san was Riko-san's pitiful puppet manipulated into killing her own boyfriend, she's actually the true culprit who was manipulating everyone involved. Mai-san knew what Riko-san was planning and pretended to be tricked so she could kill Yusuke-san. It was also probably Mai-san who led us to discover the handkerchief used to wipe Yusuke-san's mouth so we'd realize what Riko-san did. A handkerchief couldn't happen to fall out of that pocket. Riko-san was on her guard. Only Mai-san who had been by her side the whole time had the opportunity to take it."

"I really didn't know anything." Takigawa protested.

"Why didn't you call Yusuke-san when you entered the apartment?" Conan questioned. "You thought there was a burglar inside. You said you've always called Yusuke-san when you felt anxious. Tonight, when you should've be more anxious than ever, you didn't call him, when normally you would've kept him on the line. Furthermore, check the security camera footage. Don't you think there's something strange about the way Mai-san walked down the hallway?"

"It's slight, but she appears to be touching the wall as she walks." Sato pointed out.

"If you zoom in on Mai-san's face as she entered the apartment, you'll understand why." Conan stated.

"She's closing her eyes?" Sato blinked, seeing Takigawa's side profile.

"She's adjusting her eyes to the darkness." Mitsuhiko realized.

"But why?" Genta wondered.

"So, she could accurately strike Yusuke-san in the head with the golf club in the dark right after that." Conan revealed.

"So, you knew everything." Sato turned to Takigawa.

"That's just conjecture." Takigawa reasoned. "Not evidence. If you're so sure I did it, show me the evidence."

"You already shown us the evidence through your own actions, Mai-san." Conan remarked. "Don't you find it strange? When Conan-kun went missing earlier..."

"How was Mai-san the only one who knew that?" Sato agreed.

"This is the answer." Conan pointed to the Russian doll.

"Is this a camera?" Sato peered closer.

"It's probably a baby monitor." Conan added. "The type that detects movement and sends video to your phone. It's also an infrared camera that takes clear video even in the darkness. Mai-san probably used it to determine what was happening inside, including where Yusuke-san was hiding and where he'd come from."

"Looks like I lost." Takigawa admitted.

"You knew about Yusuke and me?" Totsuka gasped.

"Of course I did." Takigawa snorted. "The three of us had been together since we were kids. I knew you two better than anyone. It's all your fault. I trusted you two more than anyone."

One week before the present case...

Makoto had been married to Kairi, her co-worker from a previous job, for almost six years.

Then, one fine afternoon, Usagi walked into Makoto's restaurant for lunch.

"A ring around your neck?" the pig-tailed blonde instantly noticed the wedding ring Makoto wore as a necklace. "Are you married?"

"I am married." the Jovian Senshi replied. "So?"

"Why..." Usagi seethed. "Why are you happily married before me?"

"Forget it." Makoto turned to return to the kitchen after serving up Usagi's set lunch. "I can't deal with you anymore."

"I haven't been able to get married and I'm still waiting for my Prince Charming." Usagi viciously cut up her fried cod. "But Makoto was able to find happiness. Wait..." she caught sight of someone rush up to Makoto and grab her hands. "That must be her husband. He's pretty hot, too. I'm so mad! All I have to do is steal him from her." she giggled.

After the restaurant closed for the day, Usagi wasted no time in going up to the man with Makoto earlier. "Excuse me." she hung onto the man's arm. "Can I talk to you for a moment?"

A week later...

"This will give me complete victory." a dressed-up Usagi was checking her makeup in the bathroom of a love hotel. "I wonder how Makoto would react when she finds out about this situation. It's girls like me who will laugh in the end."

"Usako, hurry up and come over here." Usagi's lover shouted from the bedroom. "Let's have some fun together."

"You want me so much, don't' you?" Usagi giggled, exiting the bathroom in a sensual pose. "Hold on a second."

"You're slow." Usagi's unnamed lover chided as Usagi pounced on him in bed. "You're good at playing hard to get."

"It's best to save the best for last." Usagi chuckled and reached over to the side table to turn off the lamp. "You really are the best." the naked blonde snuggled in her lover's arms. "I really think we're destined to be together. Looks like someone's fell asleep." she smirked, hearing her lover's snores. "Looks like this would be a little too harsh for Makoto. I should tell her what happened. I'm such a nice person." that decided, she rang Makoto's number.

"Who is this?" Makoto picked up the call.

"Are you serious?" Usagi laughed. "This is Usagi."

"Why are you calling me?" Makoto asked.

"You're a little cold." Usagi whined.

"I don't have time to deal with you." Makoto retorted. "I'm hanging up."

"Don't say that." Usagi bristled. "I mean you won't be saying that after you hear this. I have big news. I'm at a love hotel with your husband right now. I stole your husband."

"What?" Makoto was flabbergasted.

"Your husband is sleeping in my arms right now." Usagi bragged. "I took all your happiness away from you."

"Usagi, what are you talking about?" Makoto was confused. "Are you mistaken? About my husband, we're on vacation right now, and we're out of the country."

"What?" Usagi exclaimed. "That can't be...! Who are you?" she demanded her suddenly awoken lover. "You're not Makoto's husband? So, you're telling the guy who was holding her hands in the restaurant that day is not your husband?" she turned back to the call.

"That..." Makoto sighed. "He was one of our junior servers who had a massive crush on me. Don't tell me you thought that was my husband and you..."

"That can't be..." Usagi was too shocked by the revelation. "Wait..." she wailed, hearing the dial tone. "If he's not your husband, I have no interest."

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