Disclaimer: I do not own Detective Conan/Case Closed.

Pairing: KaitoxShinichi

Chapter Rating: T

Collection Summary: In an infinite number of universes, they still always manage to find each other. A KaiShin supernatural and sci-fi collection. (This is the supernatural/science fiction counterpart to the Different Suns fantasy AU collection)

Chapter Summary: For agents Kaito and Shinichi of the Milky Way Agency of superpowered individuals, ghost ships and cursed treasure are nothing new. Or are they?

Heroes and Villains: Blue Moon Island

[Superpower Verse]

Part 2

With a plethora of recommended eateries to pick from, Kaito and Shinichi decided to start their Blue Moon Island vacation with lunch at Marina's, which was located quite some distance from their inn. They could, they agreed, save the closer and more easily accessed establishments for later in their trip when they were less inclined to spend their time on travel.

The restaurant turned out to be a large one situated next to a bustling plaza dedicated to handcrafted goods and local art. So after they had finished their scrumptious lunch, Kaito and Shinichi spent a good two hours wandering the vendors' tables and stalls and visiting the surrounding shops.

"I think I might buy this," Shinichi mused, peering at a miniature ship inside a glass bottle. The piece was very well made. The letters scrawled on its hand-illustrated label proclaimed it to be the Ghost Ship of Blue Moon Island.

"It's beautiful workmanship," Kaito agreed. "I was thinking about getting one of these for Aoko. What do you think?"

He held up a necklace of polished, coral beads of different colors, including blue and purple ones with a pearly sheen that was unlike any coral Shinichi had ever seen before.

"The blue and purple ones are a coral native to the waters around this island," Kaito explained, gesturing to an information plaque by the necklaces.

"They're certainly unique," Shinichi murmured, fingering one of the beads. "We should bring some back for Ran and Kazuha too. And Sonoko, I guess. She'll nag if I don't get her a souvenir."

Kaito snickered. "Might as well grab a few extra just in case then. Wouldn't want anyone to feel left out. And it looks like there's a batch discount."

They also bought a handful of Blue Moon coral key chains for those friends who would prefer such things to necklaces and a pretty little wood and coral jewelry box for Kaito's mother. They also picked up a variety of other little odds and ends ranging from a beautifully carved bookmark purportedly made from a piece of real driftwood to a whole collection of coral dice of varying shapes and sizes.

It was as they were browsing a stand of Blue Moon T-shirts that Shinichi spotted the odd, shabby little stall tucked away between a store selling handmade ceramic goods and the colorful local art gallery. Though the stall had a banner, the words on it had long faded into illegibility. The objects that he could see arrayed on its counter, however, were eclectic. A large proportion of the objects would probably be called rubbish by most. These included random stones of unremarkable colors and shapes like things you'd pick up on the side of the road, a length of frayed rope, a cracked hand mirror, an old cassette tape, a rusted disc of metal, and even a scattering of dead leaves and a dried starfish.

Mixed in amongst this tattered collection of odds and ends, however, were also a variety of much more eye-catching wares. These ranged from a bracelet of pearls and a seashell brooch to a silk scarf so blue it looked like a strip of cloudless sky and a tiny, exquisitely detailed coral statue of a mermaid with her hands clasped in silent prayer.

Even stranger than the stall's mismatched wares, however, was the way that, for the entire time that Shinichi had been studying the stall, not a single passerby had stopped to examine it. None of them had even glanced its way. It was almost as though none of them were aware that the place was even there.

"Hey Kai," he murmured, prodding the magician's arm. "Do you see that?"

Kaito lowered the ghost ship T-shirt he'd been examining to follow Shinichi's gaze. "What, that shabby stall no one's manning?"

Shinichi blinked. Kaito was right. There was no one inside the stall. How had he missed that?

Was the thing even an actual stall then? Maybe it was a… Okay, he didn't know what it could be. A lost and found stand? A public art installation of questionable taste? Some mysterious advertising gimmick?

Whatever it was, he couldn't seem to tear his eyes away from it—which reminded him again of the strange way no one else seemed the least bit interested in the place.

"Just give me a moment to pay for these, then we can go look," Kaito said. He folded up the half dozen T-shirts they'd picked and strode over to the beaming cashier. He returned a few minutes later with an additional purchase of an island-print tote that had tiny seashells sewn into its design.

"So does something seem off to you or did you see something you liked?" he asked as they made their way towards the peculiar, unmanned stall.

"It just seems strange to me," Shinichi said, nodding towards the passing crowds of tourists and natives alike. "I've been watching the place for the last several minutes, and I haven't seen anyone else even glance in its direction."

"That is a bit strange," Kaito agreed. "But to be fair, it's not a very attractive stall, and there's a whole lot of other stuff around here to gawk at—most of it considerably easier on the eyes."

Shinichi couldn't disagree and didn't try.

Together, they approached the shabby stall.

The collection on display did not look any less unusual from up close.

"Welcome," rasped a thin, dry voice.

Shinichi jumped backward in shock, crashing into Kaito, who had been right behind him. The magician's reflexes, however, kept them both from an unexpected fall. They both gaped at the little old lady who had, they were both equally sure, had not been there just a moment ago.

Nevertheless, she was there now, seated behind the counter and smiling at them from a tanned, wrinkled face partially hidden by a beaded shawl the same purple as Blue Moon coral.

Because Kaito was still holding his shoulders, Shinichi could feel the magician tense as he went on full alert. Shinichi knew exactly what he was thinking.

Did this woman have a superpower? She was a little older than was typical for those with superpowers since the advent of powers had only been a half century ago, and powers typically manifested before a person hit twenty, but there had been exceptions. The woman may also not be as old as she appeared. If she had a power, it could explain the way most people seemed oblivious to her and her stall's presence, but then she would have had to have chosen to let them see. And if that were the case then what did she want?

On the other hand, the old lady could be entirely innocent, and they were just too used to being paranoid. The old woman could just be an old woman who sold random things she found on the beach to make a living or something else equally innocuous.

Either way, there was only one logical thing to do.

Shinichi stepped forward. "Hi. Um, are these things for sale?"

"Of course," the old woman said. Her smile made her eyes crinkle into near invisibility. "Does something strike your fancy?"

"I'm not sure," he replied honestly. "Do you mind if we examine them?"

"Go ahead."

Shinichi started to pick up the cracked hand mirror then hesitated. The damage to the mirror looked like the sort caused by extreme force, not just a simple drop, which meant it might be associated with some pretty unpleasant emotions.

"That is the Eye of Destiny," the old lady informed him with a gap-toothed grin that, he thought wryly, was exactly the sort of grin you expected from strange, little old ladies running odd, shabby stalls in old folktales and urban myths. Look into it under the full moon and it will show you all your possible futures. And you can choose the one you like—for a price."

"But it's broken," Kaito pointed out, looking amused.

"Ah, but that is how it got its power," the old woman replied. "What once showed only one face of the world now shows many."

"I see." Kaito picked the mirror up and turned it over, examining it closely (and, Shinichi knew, checking its composition for signs of being Pandora). Eventually though, he set the mirror down again. "That's a fascinating tale, but I say I'd prefer to make my own future."

"Perhaps you would like this instead then," the old woman said, picking up the pearl bracelet and offering it to him.

The former jewel thief looked the pearls over and gave them an approving nod. "These are quality pearls."

"Indeed. But they are much, much more than that as well. Give it to the girl you love, and you will be together forever."

Kaito laughed and returned the bracelet to her. "Thank you for the offer, but I don't need a love charm."

"Perhaps that is just as well," the old woman said with a shrug.

He quirked an eyebrow at her. "What do you mean?"

"The love it brings, it can also take away," she explained. "Though your love will stay strong so long as your lady wears the bracelet, should the thread holding the pearls together ever break, so too will the love you share."

"Well that's ominous."

The old woman shrugged. "Such is the price of magic."

"Are all of these magic charms?" Shinichi asked.

"Of one sort or another," the old woman replied. "Simply tell me what you need, and I will find you that which is most suited to meet that need."

Enlightened, Shinichi cast a new eye over the collection. Its apparent randomness made a lot more sense now. If they were supposed to be charms, it made sense that they seemed to be all over the place.

He wondered idly if they should buy something to help the old woman out.

Magic charms were, he knew, just a myth even though there had been a huge resurgence in belief in (and business around) such charms since the appearance of superpowers. While the types of superpowers out there were many and varied, they had limits. None enabled the creation of objects that continued to have supernatural powers or properties once they had left the possession of their creators. Nor were many of the things such charms promised things that superpowers could do—but that was a very long and very academic issue that Shinichi wasn't inclined to go into right now.

The only thing in the world that he knew of that could bring magic charms and their like into existence was Pandora, but that too was likely an unnecessary concern here. Though he noted that Kaito was lightly running his fingers over every remotely jewel-like object in the collection to check them anyway. After spending years hunting for jewel fragments that could shape shift to camouflage themselves, Kaito knew better than to make assumptions. He must not have found anything though as he drew back and gave Shinichi a minute shake of the head.

"I can't think of anything I really need, but that marble is a beautiful color," Shinichi said, pointing to a glass marble about an inch in diameter. It was a little dusty, but he could still make out the beautiful turquoise that seemed to catch the sunlight and hold it in its depths so that it all but glowed. "How much are you asking for it?"

"Ah, the Finding Glass," she said with an approving nod. "It will point you in the direction of whatever you seek if you ask it, but it will do so only once. And, if you fail to locate that which it is leading you to within three days, you will lose something you have that is of comparable value. Are you sure it is what you want?"

Shinichi hesitated, but it wasn't because of the woman's claims about the marble's magical properties. Rather, he froze because he had picked up the marble, braced for whatever psychic impressions it might bring with it, but felt nothing. Absolutely nothing. Even when he actively focused on it, he found it gave him no impressions at all.

In all the years since his powers had awakened, he had never encountered a situation like this. Even brand new objects carried some lingering traces of where they had been and what kinds of people had handled them. Those impressions might be faint to the point of being negligible, but they were always there. Even objects Kaito reassembled for him gave off the lingering impression that they had once been something else.

What was going on?

"Shinichi?" Kaito asked, noticing his partner's sudden confusion. "Is something wrong?"

"What? Oh, uh, no, sorry. I was just—lost in thought," Shinichi said, letting his other hand rest on the counter so that it brushed the seashell brooch. Still nothing. And he couldn't feel anything from the stall either. "I'd like to buy the marble."

Kaito raised an eyebrow at that but didn't comment until they had left the stall behind with their purchases in hand.

"What was it?" he asked. "And don't tell me it was nothing. You only make that face when you notice something wrong."

Shinichi frowned. "I…I'm not really sure I'd call it wrong exactly. More just—strange. Nothing I touched back there contained any impressions. They were all just…blank. I've never felt that before."

Kaito mirrored his frown. "That is pretty strange. I'd have suggested the objects weren't real, but I can vouch that they were. Those pearls were damned good quality ones too. And that scarf was real silk."

Shinichi nodded slowly, filing the information away for later study. That was when he cast a glance back towards the shabby little stall—and didn't see it.

Jerking to a halt, he pivoted and stared. There was the ceramics shop, and there was the art gallery, but there was nothing between them—not even an alley. They clearly shared walls.

Kaito whistled. "Now that's something you don't see every day."

-To Be Continued-