Mission Sixteen: Poker Face

Never forget your Poker Face ─ those were the words his late father had left behind for him.

Concealing everything under a smile was the first for any showman that respected themselves, not to let anyone see the broad spectrum of emotions that lay beneath so that predicting their best move was impossible. A beautiful lie carefully crafted over the years, to the slimmest and most mundane detail, where nothing less than perfection was allowed. That was what made him, what had made him, the greatest magician to have ever lived.

As an interesting result KID had not expressly sought there was the ability to observe, and like so, he had come to learn that Poker Faces habitually presented themselves in many forms he hadn't been able to conceive before. From a seemingly affable man wearing a smile that was a little too polite to feel natural, to a sweet woman whose smile was surprisingly genuine but her eyes were… strange ─ an odd sort of glint that, for some reason, sent shivers down KID's spine.

The guest book he had borrowed had not been the first place he'd come across that name ─ the Forgers, he had read with a smirk crawling on Mr. Suzuki's borrowed face, a word that suited them all to the point of irony. Mother and father aside, the children appeared to fit incredibly well, much better than he would have believed.

He had known from the moment they both met on that one rooftop. The boy that called himself a detective, the arrogant smirk and the way the silver glimmer of the moon reflected in eyes that were far too sharp for the size of his body. Conan Forger, as he had introduced himself, had something rather interesting going on there.

And then… then there was the daughter.

As on cue, a pink little head popped up from around the corner, round green eyes sparkling as she peered over at him. KID pressed a hand to his forehead, his dear father's teachings crumbling into tiny little pieces just to lie there, next to the pile of dust his Poker Face had left behind.

Already? he wondered, eyeing the girl as she approached his hunched, panting form ─ which was a shame that someone would get to see him in such a vulgar, ungraceful state. I thought I had missed her… like the other ten times where I had also believed exactly the same thing.

Beneath the latex, he knew he was sweating, and the smile was just beginning to tip off. But the girl just stared back, so adorably that it was almost unsettling. Where were her parents, anyway? Maybe he should just bring them-

He shook that idea off his mind right away. For some reason, his gut told him that was a bad, no, terrible idea.

For the second time today ─ sorry, Dad ─ the magician sighed, and threw his head back. Which proved not to be the best thing to do either when he ended up hitting the wall he had been leaning against.

"Why are you chasing me?" KID asked in Ran Mouri's voice, absolutely defeated.

"Because you're the magic man," she answered, her eyes narrowing on him.

That'd be 'magician', he corrected her well within his mind. He thought of denying her allegation, but honestly? After spending the past fifteen minutes trying to lose her, and failing, he supposed even a four-year-old ─ was she even four? ─ would see the fault in his logic.

So he crossed his arms over his chest. "Then pray tell," he said, not bothering to hide his actual voice anymore. This girl did not even blink at the change, which was strange but valid, he guessed. "How did you know it was me?"

Her mouth opened, yet no sound came out. She finally blinked, twice, her smile reduced into smithereens in a matter of seconds. So it had been a lucky guess, huh? KID supposed he could work with that.

"In that case, then," he began, his lips curling into a smirk. "How are you going to convince anyone that I'm, in fact, who you believe I am?"

Little by little, her lips drew closer to each other until, with a click, her mouth was finally closed. She stood there, not making a single sound, and KID could not help the satisfaction from reaching his face ─ his smirk grew stronger, as though it was but his Poker Face building itself once more instead of the delight he couldn't hope to hide.

"It was a lovely talk, but I'm afraid I have to go," the thief said, beginning to turn. "There's a jewel in need of being stolen, and I'm running behind my schedule as it is."

"Wait."

But then she dropped her head. KID observed her hands, closed into little fists on each side of her body, and couldn't decide if it was a good or bad thing.

"What an admirable adversary," the girl murmured. "Anya concedes defeat."

KID stalled for a little longer with his reply. "Thank you?"

"That is why… From this moment on…" Her head snapped back up, her calculating eyes squinting in his form. "Anya will be your ally."

And so he stared at her in a deafening silence that not even his own thoughts could defeat.

When Conan had first learned of Anya's disappearance, he had not given it as much transcendence as he probably should have.

Of course, it wasn't like he had not cared at all. As any person with average levels of empathy and naivety, the realization had concerned him, but he had believed that it was only a matter of time before she popped up around a random corner with a radiant grin in her face and lots of stories in her lips. A sight that would inevitably crumble down to pieces the moment Loid set his gaze on her, and just like that, everything would be back to normal. Conan would then be free to keep ducking away from Ran's eyes and working on keeping what little of his sanity he had left.

But apparently, finding her would be significantly more complicated than that. Which, granted, should have been well within his expectations when the searching area was a luxurious ballroom so incredibly huge ─ that, if she had not somehow found a way out of it and was happily exploring the cruise interior as they spoke ─ but past this point, Conan had believed they had covered every little corner of it. Not to mention her hair was pink, how could they miss that?!

She just ran off, for no apparent reason for that. Though the probability of setting off on a journey to look for KID was increasing too rapidly for his comfort. Therefore, it stood to reason that the men's bathroom was the last likely place for her to be in, but Loid did not argue against it when he promptly headed inside, leaving a slightly flustered Yor to watch them from the outside.

They were out of ideas, though, so that was maybe why Loid followed right after him, calling, "Anya, are you in here?"

If she actually happened to be here, then it would have been for hiding purposes, making calling her out a moot point. Even so, Conan supposed that he could help, and promptly approached the first stall in the row. It didn't seem like it was locked, so he pushed it open, all the while knowing that there couldn't possibly be something-

Conan paused. And stared.

"Conan?" Loid said when he refused to speak, blinking slowly. "Did you find something?"

The boy tilted his head slightly, as if looking at it from a different angle would somehow make it make sense. "Kinda?" he ventured. "Not Anya, that's for sure."

And did not allow the spy a second to make sense of his words, instead heading inside to inspect his findings more closely. Someone had discarded their clothing, carelessly throwing their expensive tuxedo, now crumpled in a way that would give Henry Henderson a seizure. Glasses were there, too, as well as dress shoes, and sitting over it all was…

"A latex mask," Loid observed, crouching right next to him with a focused frown carved into his features. "Someone must have come in here to change their disguise."

"Doesn't that take an awful lot of time?" Yor questioned from the door ─ even now, she was a bit mortified to come into the man's room, Conan found it just as unbelievable as predictable somehow. "Taking out and putting on a disguise, I mean. Anyone who had been absent from the party for so long-"

"Kaito KID is known as a master of disguise." Conan simply watched Loid as he talked, observing the way his eyes narrowed and sharpened, and his expression hardened, an aura of professionalism that was, undeniably, a spy's. "For someone like him, it must have taken seconds."

For a second there, Conan realized that he was not looking at Loid anymore but Twilight. He wondered if this was the first time he had caught sight of it, raw and free of all those layers he usually put on top of it as though a thick mask.

Eventually, his curious gaze flickered away and back to the evidence. And as if a switch was turned on, Loid was back, an awkward smile drawing in his lips as he turned to Yor.

"Or so is what I've heard," Loid said. "One of my coworkers is a great fan of Kaito KID, and the other day he told me about a documentary about Kaito KID where-"

Suddenly, he wasn't talking anymore. And surely, Conan could not decide if it was Loid or Twilight anymore, staring at him with wide surprised eyes through the latex mask he'd stamped onto his face. Firmly enough to leave a mark despite the size of the hands that held it in place.

"Oh," Conan muttered, his blinks slow and bored again. "You're Shiro Suzuki-san now."

Shock soon came to pass, and even though the mask was obscuring most of his gestures, Conan could tell he was raising his eyebrows at him. Sadly, he had already seen it his fair share of times to be intimidating any longer ─ not that he remembered it ever being effective.

"Was that necessary?" Loid asked, blandly.

Conan seemed to consider it for a solid second. "Probably not," he said with a shrug.

He slowly took the latex away, allowing the spy's features to meet the world again. Loid did not bother him for an explanation, and instead, moved onto his next task. In which Conan should probably have joined him, instead of just watching while he raised the glasses closer to his eyes.

And suddenly, he caught himself wondering what he would see if he put them on. Just as Shinichi Kudo had turned into Conan Forger by putting on a pair of glasses, he wondered who Loid Forger would turn into.

He's the kind of person who can adapt to any role perfectly, no matter the mask he has to use.

I wouldn't have expected anything less of you, Agent Twilight.

"Say, Loid-san," Yor spoke up, tentatively peering inside. "Perhaps we should tell the organizers about this."

"That's right. Let me just finish checking in here."

Only Twilight's steps resounded throughout the bathroom in his search for the girl that he definitely wasn't about to find in there. Her hiding in some other stall when the source of all excitement was right here, in Conan's hands, was a truly stupid thought ─ but it was all they had right now.

So all along, KID has been pretending to be Chairman Suzuki.

Loid had returned right away, unsurprisingly empty-handed, and muttered something that was unfortunately drowned by his own thoughts. He made his best guess and joined his pretend parents out of the bathroom, making no further noise beyond his automated steps.

He changed his disguise at some point, that he could not quite recall but, now that he thought of it, sort of pointed towards the reason he should have seen it coming. The chairman himself had just walked out of his own company's party without drawing any attention. There was no way that hadn't been deliberate-

All of a sudden, not even his footsteps were there, and for a moment, neither Yor nor Loid realized he had lagged behind, unfocused eyes staring up ahead as a single thought surfaced through.

Anya disappeared around the same time.

Shaking himself out of his stupor and unsure of how long it had been, he hurried up to catch up with the falsely married couple. If he remembered correctly, he had last seen her sometime during Chairman Suzuki's speech, so it made sense if she saw him sneaking out and chased after him. That being said, how did she know?

What did Anya see in him to realize he was KID?

"Eh?!" Conan's head snapped up, startled at the loud and extremely familiar exclamation. Apparently they were talking with Sonoko now ─ and her mother, sure, but Sonoko ─ so it was truly unfortunate he hadn't taken the chance to run away while their backs were turned. "Kaito KID disguised himself as Papa to get on the ship?!"

Conan instinctively pushed his glasses closer to his face, as though he could hide from her eyes behind them. In such a state, though, Sonoko hardly seemed to acknowledge his presence, which worked perfectly for him. If she ended up recognizing his childhood face… Shinichi didn't know what would happen, and certainly didn't want to imagine it.

"We found his disguise in the bathroom," Loid explained, the epitome of calmness in comparison to the Suzuki heir right in front of him. "We have already informed the officers and they are currently checking it, but we believed it would be best to inform you as soon as possible."

A quick word of gratitude pushed past Tomoko Suzuki's lips, and just as she began to turn, Conan saw one Kogoro Mouri hurrying to catch up to her. That, and the frown painted on his face, made clear the tone of the conversation he was aiming to get with her.

He was leaning closer, whispering not to let anyone hear. Except for a certain pint-sized detective that seemed incapable of letting people have secrets of their own.

"But Suzuki-san, all five-hundred people are wearing black pearls, and all except one are imitations!"

Of course, if the weird kid were to step backwards and away from their parents, then it had to be a coincidence. He could not be that he was actively trying to get closer and peep into an adult's boring and private conversations.

There was just so little to feel lucky with his situation. And while Conan would rather die than admit to it, the fact that Shinichi would have never dreamt of using such a tactic remained true, regardless.

"I can't guard it unless I know which one is real."

"They all look alike, but they're still imitations. Close scrutiny could narrow it down a bit."

Conan peered over his shoulder, watching as she stroked the black pearl in her chest, gentle as though it were her newborn child. Which was only an expression, fortunately, because the world wasn't prepared for another Sonoko Suzuki crawling around just yet, but that was well besides the point.

Gloves, Conan observed. His gaze flickered back to the spy's hands, the same that had insisted on putting his pearl on the stead of those chubby, irritatingly uncoordinated tiny fingers. He's wearing them, too.

Is that a coincidence?

Being fair, he had been starting to doubt his own convictions for quite a while. If the possibility of getting their fingerprints everywhere had been such an enormous threat, wouldn't the spy have already taken it away from the equation? By suggesting gloves for the entire family, for example, under the pretense it was more elegant and sophisticated.

Now that he was allowed to think about it more calmly, it didn't make any sense. Twilight wouldn't take the risk if it existed. Therefore, he must have had another reason for not letting me touch it with my bare hands.

"Among them are dull and dreary ones such as mine," he heard her say, "and excessively shiny rubbish such as yours."

Mouri drew in a sharp breath. "But checking every person in this crowd would be…"

"Then I'll give you a special hint." From her voice alone, Conan could tell she was smirking. "The Black Star, the black pearl with a peacock-green luster that fascinated my grandfather sixty years ago, is with someone especially worthy of it."

Conan felt his eyes widen, his thoughts paralyzed for a moment far too brief to be considered. Slightly out of breath, he peered down, and as if responding to his muted call, the pearl in his chest twinkled like a proper star in the nightly sky.

In the lull of Mouri and Mrs. Suzuki's conversation, where only the boisterous laugh of a man who was oblivious of his own incompetence remained, Conan rejoined his pretend family, swift as though he had never been gone to begin with. With each concerned look Yor sent to her surroundings, another piece clicked in place, and by the time Loid's frown had deepened in his features, he found himself aweing at the picture all those little clues were painting for him.

He would have to scrub a little harder, however, if he wanted the truth to glimmer just as dazzlingly as one Black Star had, sixty long years ago.

"So?" Conan looked up just briefly enough to see Sonoko speaking to Yor, worry written on each corner of her face. "Still no sign of her?"

"I am afraid not," Yor admitted. "I wonder where she went…"

"You know, I wonder the same thing about my friend Ran. We got separated at some point during the search, and now I can't find her either."

She let out a long, heavy sigh, encouraging the boy to raise his head properly to look around and realize, for the first time, that there was absolutely no sign of the teenage girl in question. Weird, he thought, not quite feeling as relieved as he probably should, with her not being alone to, say, recognize him as her old childhood friend's miniaturized version.

Sonoko and Ran are thick as thieves. Inseparable for as long as he could remember, that being the reason as to why he had probably spent nearly as much of his time around the young heiress herself since his early years ─ which was also the reason why he should keep on ducking her head around her as well, especially around her, because he knew Sonoko would be nowhere as subtle as her friend would.

That was who Ran was, the glue that stuck the three of them together. With him going missing, it was clear as day that they would still latch together. A trio had suddenly become a duo overnight, and now Sonoko was all on her own. He couldn't see Ran doing that on her own free will.

Where did she go? he wondered, glancing around. Still no sign of her. Did she get lost? Now, that wouldn't be absolutely abnormal ─ she had gotten lost plenty of times as children, and somehow, it had always been up to Shinichi to find her in the end. No matter how bizarre the place where she ended up was, he would always encounter her without fail.

That didn't make it any less worrying. Will she be okay?

"I apologize for the inconvenience," Loid said. It was likely that he would offer to search for her as well, but did not get to it when Sonoko waved her hands in the air.

"Oh, no need," she said with a little laugh. "It's not your fault that Ran has no sense of direction whatsoever-"

"Who has no sense of direction?"

Sonoko may have flinched violently at the sudden voice joining their conversation, but that paled in comparison with the cat-like leap backwards that had Loid eyeing him as though he was a mystery he couldn't decide he wanted to solve.

"Oh, Ran! I didn't see you there!"

A mystery that could not seem to take his eyes away from the girl standing directly behind Sonoko, her eyebrow trembling ever so slightly. One that only seemed to grow a few shades of white paler when his wide, wide eyes trailed down, slowly and strangely fearful, until they met tiny fingers, curled around a handful of Ran's red dress.

At first, Loid failed to comprehend what that reaction was about, and after following his gaze, he still could not understand. What he did see, however, made him gasp ─ dissolved any question into nothingness as he recognized that one pink-haired little girl as-

"Anya!" he exclaimed, immediately making his way over to her. "Where have you been?!"

"Anya-san!" Yor was quick to follow, an honest smile on her lips. "We were so worried about you!"

Anya may not have responded verbally to her parents' obvious concern, but for Conan, the way she ducked her head, as though ashamed for her own actions, worked perfectly well.

"I heard her crying in the bathroom a while ago, so I followed the sound without thinking," Ran said, an awkward smile titling her lips upward. "And in the process, I got lost as well."

Conan wished he could be surprised, and judging by the raising eyebrows in Sonoko's face, he could tell he wasn't alone in this.

"Thank you so much," Loid said. Hadn't the boy known any better, he could have sworn that the relief coloring his tone was almost genuine. "Now, Anya, don't run off on your own again-"

He made it to reach for her hand, but a frown had taken over her features, as though disgusted by the mere idea. Before he, or Conan, by addition, could understand what was with this girl, she latched onto Ran's dress with both hands.

"Anya?" Loid muttered, kind of lost. When she didn't budge from his spot, he tried again, firmer this time, "Anya."

"Anya doesn't want to leave!"

Conan blinked, and dazedly wondered why his brain was struggling this much in making sense of this situation. And why, of all things, the only thing that caught his attention right now was the subtle shift in Ran's expression ─ a smile that had grown stiffer, even if she was desperate not to let it be seen. In order not to hurt this little girl's feelings, Shinichi would have guessed.

"Anya likes this neechan!" Anya argued, tugging from the red cloth. "Can't we stay? Please!"

Sonoko chuckled at the scene, the sound softer than what she usually sounded like. Conan was sure that, in his case, it sounded sharper ─ as though he was choking in air, which really, wouldn't be that out of this world. Because, at this point of time, he surely was wishing for something of such to happen, if it meant not having to spend a minute here, next to Sonoko, next to Ran, and… Anya here…

He pressed a hand to his forehead, feeling his soul escape in a heavy sigh.

Oh, great, he thought. I think I'm about to have a meltdown.

Anya glanced over in concern, and it took every bit of self-restraint not to scoff at her. Grateful he was for it, it had come all too late.

All that was left for him was to figure out how to survive the rest of the night.

Police Commissioner Chiaki's words had been moving, or well, Conan at the very least supposed they had been, because he had not heard a single one at all.

How could he, really? When she was right there, standing close enough to brush shoulders if only he was tall enough. His dear childhood friend, the one face he had both longed and dreaded to see one more time. She. Was. There.

And coincidentally, she oh-so happened to be the person his little sister had single-handedly declared her favorite person for the night, without even taking his feelings and rapidly declining sanity into consideration. Those that she couldn't possibly know about, at any rate, but still. Why Ran?!

For the eleventh time that night, Shinichi forced himself to take a deep breath. He could do this ─ just avoid looking in her direction and he would be safe. And she will be safe.

For her sake, he would have to keep his distance. That was what he had once decided, hadn't he? That one night where his childhood clothes had become his second skin, the downpour piercing through his galloping heart as that one police officer picked him up.

Shivering like a child lost in a world that was far too big for him, Shinichi had made his decision. So why was it so hard to step away and watch her smile from afar?

Why couldn't he stop trembling, as though the rain had never ceased to be?

A hand wrapped around his. It felt warm around his chilled fingertips, but so unbelievably tiny that brought him straight out of his inner musings and to Anya's big, emerald eyes. She was quiet, her lips pursed together.

In his confusion, he realized the shivering receded and disappeared completely.

What does she want? he wondered, noting for the first time that this was the first time she had separated from Ran since they had both met. And for some mysterious reason that surely would not be good enough to warrant this behavior, she was now clinging to him instead.

He blinked lazily, fragments of Chiaki's speech coming back to him in a disorganized mess. Sonoko was whispering something in Ran's ear, a strangely focused frown plastered all over her face, whereas Yor and Loid were also engaging in a conversation of their own ─ discrete, but making sure to keep their distance unlike those two girls from before. In moments like these, Conan wondered how they both managed to sell the idea of being married so well when they were like, well, this.

Ah, the passwords. Right, Police Commissioner Chiaki had mentioned something of the sort. But for us children, it would be pointless to-

Anya's stare intensified, now complete with a pout. Conan felt himself yielding with a sigh.

"Alright," he said, moving closer to her to whisper, "When I say 'Holmes', then you'll say…"

Her eyes twinkled. "Bondman!"

He ultimately decided against telling her that a password was only useful when nobody got to hear it. Shaking his head, a smile on his face betrayed him, as he said, "Should have seen that one coming-"

Yet, he didn't get to finish his sentence. At his next blink, Anya had disappeared again. Fortunately this time, he could still feel her clinging to his arm, as though he was the one in danger of sneaking off ─ on his own, it was highly likely that would be her greatest complaint if he were to commit such a great sin. Anya had not a single step from her spot, and rather, it was the light that had abandoned them.

Laughter resounded in the darkness, and a single beam of light spotlighted his figure. Dressed in pristine white clothes, he tugged his top hat, and a smug smirk drew itself into his features.

Which was abruptly interrupted by the unmistakable bang of a gun, and before he could even process just what Tomoko Suzuki was holding in her hands, the magician had dropped like a fly, crashing onto one of the tables and thus triggering a session of screaming and pure panic.

At his side, Anya remained quiet, her eyes trained at the gun ─ the freaking gun ─ the woman had in her. She analyzed it, then stared some more, before her gaze narrowed.

"No silencer," Conan heard her mutter, much to his disbelief. Here Sonoko was screaming at her mother, downright horrified, and this little girl sounded… disappointed?

Loid regarded his daughter for a moment, before his attention shifted back to the gun, his expression blank and his shoulders loose. Spy or not, it was kind of disturbing that this was it. Nothing he could call a reaction at the sight of a murder in front of his eyes ─ it wasn't his first time seeing death, surely, but all those times they'd stumbled across a body, Conan could've sworn he had seen some semblance of emotion.

"Impressive!" Yor sort of exclaimed, sort of whispered, clapping her hands together. "That was so well done."

Sonoko stared at her, her bewildered ─ likely traumatized ─ gaze falling on her without any changes. "Excuse me?!"

"Oh, but I thought…" Yor pressed her hands to her mouth. "I didn't see any blood, so I believed… I'm so sorry, I didn't mean to ruin the surprise."

Conan blinked twice before it finally dawned on him. Oh, that makes sense, he thought, and as he watched the magician sitting back up, a smile growing on his face at the round of applause that welcomed him back from his grand return from the jaws of death.

Kazumi Sanada was his name, hired by Tomoko Suzuki for a stupid skit that he could not believe he had given even a modicum of credibility. Laughing off the praise with false humility, he made his way to the stage, so that he could start with his presentation ─ a family-friendly, decidedly less bloody magic show.

Where had his life gone to, Conan soon found himself wondering, unable to pinpoint when the mood had shifted so dramatically. And being honest? He wasn't even sure if he actually preferred this, or the murder case that had almost landed in front of him.

Why does it always have to be card tricks? Conan's eyes leisurely traveled over from the magician to the cards scattered all over the floor. Some guy he had picked at random ─ or not so randomly, considering how these things usually worked ─ had accidentally dropped all of them. That was why he was on his knees right now, trying to collect all of them with the help of none other than Sonoko and, you guessed it, Ran herself. Of course, it has to be her.

If Conan took a step backwards to ensure that Loid stood directly in the girls' line of sight, then it was none's business than his own. No matter how hard the man in question peered down at him, staring as though he was entitled to an opinion.

"Thank you, ladies!" Conan heard the magician say, and tried not to roll his eyes. "Let me give you a card in return!"

How predictable. If he was planning on using the single oldest trick in the book, he could at least have tried a more creative approach instead of this basic, almost artificial exchange he had created. Yet that would require some effort, which clearly was beyond this cheap magician's limited abilities.

For a moment, he wondered if he was being a little unfair to this stranger, or if it was this whole situation with Ran and his own miniature self that had him on the edge. But then decided against it ─ he wasn't that mentally unstable, now was he?

Ran's hand inched closer to the cards. But first, he's going to tell her….

"Wait! First, let me use my x-ray eye to read your mind and predict your card!"

This is oh-so-surprising I can't get over myself, he droned, mentally. He couldn't believe he was actually counting the seconds until that phantom thief appeared, hopefully ending this… whatever this was supposed to be.

And let me guess, the card just happens to be the Ace of Hearts.

"The Ace of Hearts!"

Anya's eyes went wide, and could probably illuminate the stage better than the spotlight could ─ that, if she was looking at the magician. For some reason that he obviously had no clue about, her attention was on him. He presumed she wanted to share something with him, probably excited about such a mind-blowing display of magic she could not get her young head around ─ which did not actually happen just yet, for the record.

But whatever, it was fine ─ she was a child after all, and that should have been his target audience. For as long as he could keep his opinions to himself, he would let her enjoy this.

This is stupid. Once again, Ran's hand moved closer to the cards, and upon picking up to see what it was, her eyes widened dramatically with the shock she surely couldn't conceal. This time, he effectively rolled his eyes.

Obviously, the card she picked up is-

"As Caesar was with Cleopatra, I am already by your side. Kaito KID."

Conan's entire being had to stop in order to process that single phrase, and by the silence that ensued, it was crystal clear that no soul in this cruise ship had it any easier than him.

Sanada's smile vanished in the drop of a hat, whereas Sonoko's sparkled back to life ─ radiant with excitement as the world around them collapsed into an indecipherable panicked mush of whispering and shouted directives for the police that, suddenly, had sprung into action ─ determined to catch that elusive thief as their work demanded.

Bright blue eyes widened behind oversized glasses, his breath slipping away.

And that was the glimpse that the spy caught in the passing ─ a smirk carefully threading its way into that young face had Twilight, for less than a second, freezing in his stop to stare.

"Hey, Nakamori-kun!" Police Commissioner Chiaki stumbled on scene, and going by the tone of his voice, he was a mere hair's width away from shaking the inspector's shoulders in pure desperation. "Don't tell me it's already been stolen!"

Nakamori's mouth barely got to open in a muted reply when a snicker bubbled up the child's throat.

"No, he doesn't have it yet, nor has he escaped," Conan said, drawing their attention. "He's simply confusing us to make things work his way."

His smirk grew alongside their confusion, and Twilight could not get over the feeling that there was something unusual about him right now. Whether it was the deeper, smoother voice, or the sharp glimmer of something his gaze had acquired, he wasn't sure. But it triggered that primal instinct of every human being he could not ignore, the urge to observe him ─ to piece out what this was, this odd sensation that he was not watching a young boy who hasn't started school yet, but an older soul full of secrets and mysteries waiting to be discovered.

"Don't worry, we can catch him," the boy continued. "He's not a wizard. He's a human being who relies on tricks."

Chiaki and Nakamori exchanged a clueless glance. Loid took it as his cue to do something about it.

"Please forgive my son." He placed a hand on top of the kid's head, earning him a glare at his 'affectionate' way he mussed up his hair. Roughly as if making a point. "He likes playing detective."

They both deflated in perfect synchrony, though he suspected it had been involuntary and that none were completely conscious of what had brought it up. He didn't stay long enough for them to figure out, instead reaching for his son's wrist to, gently, pull him away.

"Don't bother them," was what he replied at the annoyed glower he was shot from beneath. I can't let him draw any more attention, he could not tell him.

But regardless, it worked wonders either way. Conan squinted his eyes for a moment, then huffed, quieting down. Much to his surprise, he found he wasn't quite dragging the boy along anymore, and rather, he was obediently following him. Mystified as he was about the change, he was mostly grateful, so he didn't risk asking about it.

"Should we confirm our passwords?" Yor asked him, nervously looking around, as though she could spot something amiss if she tried hard enough.

But Twilight had been a spy for simply too long to fool himself into accomplishing such a thing ─ not to say, Yor was a civilian. There was no way she could tear KID's disguise just by a glance.

"It would be advisable," Loid said, just to humor her.

Releasing his son so that he could confirm the password with his sister ─ for that was worth, anyway ─ Loid turned to Yor completely. His lips never got to form a single word, however, stripped off their chance of surviving by a loud explosion that came from nowhere.

Like so, chaos rose anew ─ black pearls of all sizes and varying quality were rolling all over the ground, exploding in small puffs of smoke. Screams filled the room as the collective panic settled in, people scrambling for a way out of what they perceived as a perilous situation.

"Stay close by," Loid said, raising his voice just above the roaring of a terrified crowd. "He's just trying to cause a commotion!"

Yor nodded, and went to crouch down next to her daughter, concern sculpting the finest details in her face. Anya sunk into the woman's embrace without a second thought, her eyes scrunched shut with a small whine ─ it was about time, Loid realized with a groan. Hopefully, it wouldn't last long, and once the thief made his appearance, the mass would calm down enough for Anya's face to recover a bit of color.

Suddenly, though, Conan turned away from the girl, his gaze falling somewhere far ahead. A scream led his eyes faster than instinct, towards where Tomoko Suzuki was on the floor, her daughter and her daughter's friend crouched nearby to, presumably, help her up.

"It's KID!" the woman was screaming. "He stole the Black Star!"

It had been a second, he could swear on it, but when Loid turned back around, it was to the sight of Yor comforting her daughter, her sickly pale face, and the realization that the Black Star had not been the only thing going missing in a blink of an eye.

All that Loid could do was sigh heavily. He was drained.

Despite every minor setback he had failed to anticipate, he still made it in time for the grand finale. Dormant within a hidden pocket he had sewn in the hem of his dress, rested the one and only Black Star, magnificent in all its dulled splendor, and it took every of his father's teachings to keep himself from grinning in silent victory.

For, as always, the heist had been a success in every sense in the word.

That being said, the night was young, and a performance was never finished until the magician had safely walked out of the stage. A notion that was particularly strong as that certain, bespectacled young boy dragged him around by the wrist, an excited little smile playing at his lips.

Kaito KID knew he shouldn't have allowed this under any circumstances, but the kid had done so quicker, before any rational thinking could strike. He had called Ran Mouri by her name, the way he addressed her demonstrated a strong sense of familiarity that KID had not seen coming.

Had his investigation not been thorough enough? Impossible, the kid should have turned up at some point. For him to be acting so naturally, going to her instead of his own parents at the belief that ─ he frowned ─ he might have figured out who Kaito KID was, they must have been close. A closer relationship that went beyond a casual first meeting tonight at the party.

It would be fine, however, even if he actually figured out his real identity. In fact, it would even make his escape plan easier. There was a phone right there, waiting for the right time to light up the way out of his predicament.

"This is the engine room, Conan-kun," KID said, his voice soft as Mouri's as he glanced around the room, in fake curiosity. Mouri would have no reason to worry or scan her surroundings in search of secondary escape routes. "Is Kaito KID really in here?"

For some reason, someone had left a soccer ball in here. Conan didn't seem to be interested in such trivialities, and immediately made his way over. He's a little kid alright, he barely kept himself from laughing in relief, seeing him happily juggling the ball instead of outright answering his question.

"Conan-kun?" he tried again, the silence just beginning to unnerve him. "Did you really figure out who KID is?"

"Of course I do." He was balancing the ball in his head now. "Didn't I just tell you, Ran-san?"

"Then how do you know?"

"The cards! If KID left a message in there, then he must've been in contact with them at least once."

KID pretended to gasp. "Kaito KID was that magician?!"

"Nope," he chirped. "If KID managed to steal the pearl without getting close to Suzuki-san, that'd make him more of a wizard rather than a clown."

"Isn't he a magician?"

"Same thing."

He had said it, too, with that adorably high pitched tone. KID wondered if that was what demons actually sounded like. At least this one isn't chasing me. Yet, his mind echoed back as if to tease him. The other one gave up because she couldn't prove it, and turned into, quote-unquote 'ally' ─ which simply meant keeping the secret in exchange for being allowed to watch him from close.

For this boy's case, though, there was something he could be sure of. He had the look of a depredator, keeping his sights on its prey with unrelenting willpower. But would that be enough?

"There's one other person who could've switched the cards."

The ball stopped bouncing around, remaining as a quiet spectator between his hands, and with that, his voice dropped about an octave. Along with the room's temperature probably, a shiver running down his spine at the chilly wind of change brushing past his cheeks.

"Yes, that person made them fall and pretended to pick them up, then removed the card and added the message." He dropped the ball, and held it into position with his feet ─ barely even moved, even, as though he had everything under control. "They hid it in their palm and pretended to pull it from the deck."

Conan Forger glanced over his shoulder, but a completely different person stared right into his soul.

"Right, Ran-san?" The smirk grew on the detective's young features. "Or should I say, Kaito KID-san!"

No amount of words would ever be enough to fight against that certainty glimmering behind those sharp eyes of his, yet his silence was far more telling. And like so, the boy took over ─ bit by bit and, with outstanding ease, he untangled his beautifully constructed ruse, his perfect plan shredded by the sheer power of logic until there was nothing else but dust, and a tight frown his Poker Face failed to cover up.

"Pearls are made of calcium carbonate and are highly reactive to acid."

Now, KID may not know a lot about the father, Loid Forger, and knew it was unwise to judge by appearances only. But the way he held himself and the artificially formal way he addressed others, including his own family, did give him the vibe of an overly strict man. The kind that would make sure his children excelled in school, even if it meant drowning them in books and general knowledge facts.

If he were to take that into consideration, maybe a six-year-old with an overly broad and complex vocabulary shouldn't be that disturbing. It helped KID to cope with the notion, if only marginally.

"Oil in the fingers would oxidize the surface and make it lose its luster. She'd never give such a delicate jewel to anyone else."

He knew it would be useless to fight, but he tried anyway, "But that's enough to-"

"Add her dull pearl to the equation and speculation becomes certainty. It would have been obvious once you saw her carefully handle her faded pearl with gloves."

And indeed, there was no actual way of escaping this. Old pearls fade in color over time, the boy had told him. The Black Star, which had been purchased sixty years ago, appearing breathtakingly flawless, was a truly ridiculous thought ─ just like the hope the thief kept deep within his heart, that he could somehow talk his way out of this.

He placed a finger to his chin. "But you see," he said, making Mouri smile. "The Black Star in the museum was all shiny-"

"Oh, so that's why you didn't take it, huh?" Conan replied with mild interest. "I supposed that was the case, seeing that you told her to bring the 'real one' and everything."

It… really was a losing battle, wasn't it? Ran's smile stiffened and decided there was only one path left to take.

"Here, if you suspect me that much," he said, adding a slight tinge of amusement, like that of someone who couldn't believe the absolutely bizarre situation they found herself in. Conan's eyes sharpened, watching him grab the phone. "I'll call a police officer to-"

Kaito KID never got to finish his sentence, as a ball came out of literally nowhere and promptly knocked the handset from his grasp.

"Ouch."

Hissing, he cradled his hand closer to his chest, eyeing as the handler swayed from one side to the other, hanging uselessly in the air. He made it to take it again and continue his plan where he had left off, but then-

"It hurt?" KID had to stop and glance back, disconcerted. "It did hurt, right?!"

What was with it, he wondered, even if he wasn't sure he wanted to know the reason why this boy ─ once so serious, so cunning and creepy beyond his years ─ was staring at him like that. Wide eyed, his face bright with… hope?

KID took a hesitant step backwards, closer to the wall.

"I mean," Conan cleared his voice. "I'm not going to let you blend with the police again, so you better cease and desist before you end up hurt." His eyes narrowed dangerously. "Seriously hurt."

In return, the phantom thief stared at his glowering tiny form, harder than ever before, for a full second. Then he made a choking sound, followed by a burst of laughter that had a little eyebrow trembling violently.

Conan did not say anything, though, and calmly walked away before KID could offer an apology ─ genuine or not. Wiping a few stray tears from his eyes, he watched with mild curiosity as he made his way up the stairs, and felt his confusion grow with each step he climbed and every second he said no word at all.

And so, the child stood in front of the door. He opened it, stuck his head outside, and screamed as loudly as his little lungs would allow him,

"Help! Kaito KID is-!"

KID didn't see why he had cut himself short, nor did he understand why he had stepped back, closing the door gently back up. The phone continued to sway, and the child made his way down the stairs ─ in his eyes, the look of satisfaction that the thief could not, for the life of him, explain.

There was a blur of black and red, and next thing he knew, he heard the clattering of something falling on the floor. Not for the first time, he felt himself begin to sweat under Mouri's mask.

He sucked in a sharp breath, fearful to look away from the fallen handset to the fingers ─ nails pointy as kitchen knives piercing through a phone receiver, completely battered beyond repair and obliterated from existence all together. Mere inches from his right ear.

Gathering the courage and fearfully raising his head, KID saw the red-tinted rage of a caring mother.

She drew back. KID did not dare to move a single muscle, nor was he valiant enough to even breathe close to her.

"What did you do to Conan-san?" she demanded in a soft growl.

"What did I…?"

He trailed down, risking a glance over her shoulder, and felt his heart sink at the sight of a child in the far-off corner of the room, cupping his face between his hands. In the silence, a sob stole a shudder out of him, and by the time he saw the woman's eyes narrowing even further, he knew that the destroyed phone had a greater chance at surviving than his Poker Face.

Not that he was sure what his chances of survival looked like.

And so she struck again. With a yelp, KID threw himself to the side, rolling on the floor to increase the distance between the two of them. Conan peered up with a hiccup, his eyes bright with everything but tears as he watched him stagger back to his feet.

"Okay, whatever, you can have it!" He yelled, hurling the damned pearl back to him. "You win!"

Conan grinned widely as he held it between his two hands, untainted by the dark glares sent by measly thieves jumping around the place for a chance to survive. Eventually, he made it to the door, and the woman followed dangerously close.

Peering out of the room, the boy heard Yor's screams echoing in the distance. For a moment far too brief to be considered relevant, he wondered if he had overdone it.

His thoughts dissolved into nothing as he glanced back at the pearl he had recovered, a gleaming testament of his hard-earned victory. A smile tugged at his lips as he slipped it back into his pocket and walked away, absently debating whether he should try to track Yor down or see if Loid was nearby.

Needless to say, what he encountered next was none of who he had expected. He found shouting, police officers talking about finding a girl on a lifeboat, and when he timidly peeked around the corner, his hand instinctively reached for his chest ─ as if he could somehow ease the ache in his tiny, fragile heart if only he tried hard enough.

There, propped against a wall, was Ran. She was dressed in red, with a note and a pink rose pinned to her chest, peacefully asleep. Her eyelashes fluttered, and for the briefest moment, Shinichi found himself wondering if it was possible to meet her again, even if only in the realm of dreams.

She stirred with a wide yawn, her gaze wandering about in sleepy confusion. As the remnants of her dream faded under the harsh light of reality, the girl found herself sighing, her head dropping with a dejected expression.

Little did she know how close he had been ─ so close, yet a million miles away from her reach all the same.

It had been a while since he had put on a uniform ─ that was probably what Conan would have said, had Teitan Elementary actually required one. A welcome change in a life that was bound to repeat the same canon events from a past life he tried not to forget about, that he supposed he should be eternally grateful for.

Yet, as he carefully and methodically buttoned up his shirt, he could not help but feel the twinge of familiarity that suddenly overcame him. He put on his jacket, repeating the process with gold-tinted buttons that refused to settle correctly, as if wanting to remind him that there was no need for him to hurry. That, even if it took him a second longer, that didn't mean the doorbell would start ringing and ringing until he hauled himself out of his home, already rolling his eyes at the glare he was going to get.

"Geez, Shinichi, what's taking you so long?!" she had screamed at him last time, loudly as proven by Agasa's playful commentary that same afternoon. "If you don't hurry, I'll leave you behind."

Leave behind, huh?

Shinichi stilled for a second, his hands grasping the air at the lack of a necktie to fix. He lifted his gaze, and staring back he found an elementary school student, looking specially small in those baggy clothes his father had bought for him.

My first day at school, Conan thought with a grim smile. Who would've guessed….

Golden accents everywhere, the soft feel of silk against his skin ─ if that wasn't a good enough hint of the hole he'd single-handedly drilled in the Westalis' Intelligence budget, then the logotype stitched to his chest definitely served as one. Attending an elite school, for the sake of some foreign country's covert mission, as if he didn't have enough on his plate as it was.

His eyes narrowed at the boy's childish face, and saw it taking a sharper turn that went well beyond his years.

Conan Forger, first grader at Eden Academy, the reflection introduced himself. And until the day this mirror could show who he truly was, this boy would remain his one and only truth. He would wear this mask of childish innocence, playing the role imposed upon him and wait, with a bated breath, for the moment he could finally be himself again.

A sigh escaped his lips before he could stop it. "I need a vacation already," he muttered, turning away ─ leaving his older, adolescent self behind, to wait for the day of his return.

But for now, he would simply step out of his room, mentally counting the days until the next school break, and predictably, the results were not very promising. Anya's little squeals of joy made it all the way from the living room, paired with Loid's serene commentary about things he couldn't quite decode but didn't really matter, at any rate.

"Good morning, Conan-san! Your uniform looks good on you!"

Yor's gaze found him the moment he stepped in and welcomed him into the living room with a warm smile he barely managed to reply to. He managed a small "Thanks," though, which she accepted whole-heartedly, even though he knew he could do much better than that.

He had to dribble around the little girl as she danced around, twirling as though she had a beautiful princess gown instead of her school uniform. Yor certainly found it adorable, and judging by the small smile the spy tried to hide as he moved around the kitchen, he wasn't so different at all. Maybe deep beneath that stoic and fake exterior this man had, as unbelievable as that sounded, a heart.

"Settle down, kids," Loid called in a tired sigh, slightly annoyed as though he could actually hear his thoughts. "Breakfast is ready."

Anya cheered, bouncing a little as she dashed past him and towards the table, and a stabilizing hand behind the back of his head saved both him from face planting and his pride from a slow, agonizing death.

Finally, Conan sat down, and his eyes were almost immediately drawn by the newspaper that someone, likely Loid, had set down in favor of fixing their breakfast. His hand twitched, then began to slide across as a serpent slithering closer to its prey, little fingers poised like fangs ready to-

Ready to be stopped short by a steaming plate of omurice suddenly placed in front of him, startling him into an abrupt cease and desist. Loid leveled him with a look that he obviously couldn't decode before moving to his seat. With the table ready and everyone sitting in their corresponding spot, the spy started to eat, not even glancing back at the discarded newspaper. What a waste, he thought with a raised eyebrow.

Without having anything else to do Conan, too, dug in ─ it was delicious, he could give him that, spooning in a little more food. Today marked the day when his torture began, and while the thought of bearing with the curse of a classroom filled with snobby, annoying children and a blackboard full of first grade-level arithmetic made him nauseous, he thought he could at least he could enjoy this. A nice breakfast and peace ─ a blissful silence he wouldn't mind staying in for the years to come if possible.

That being said, Conan glanced up, wasn't it a bit too silent? In doing so, the boy found Loid, his every attention on his food, his brow furrowed in deep thought. Rare as it was while he was still posing as a perfect easy-going husband almost twenty-four-seven, Conan did not find it all that strange.

Today was also a critical date for his mission, so the detective supposed it made sense for him to be this quiet. Deciding to let him be, the kid shrugged, and went back to the more pressing matters currently afflicting him ─ food, he thought, mentally calculating how much energy intake he would need to sort his situation today. Not enough, probably. It never would be.

That was, until he heard a heavy sigh, widely different from his own. Conan froze mid-bite, and Loid looked directly at him as he finally said,

"Don't ever do that again."

Conan, with his mouth full of food, simply stared at him in confusion. Yet, that did little to dissuade him, and in fact, it seemed to have the contrary effect.

"What you did last night at the heist was dangerous at best," Loid continued, his voice calm but firm. "You should have come to Yor-san or me when you deduced his identity instead of confronting him alone."

In an instant, all the gazes were on him, silent but judging. He swallowed in a large gulp before he could reply. "I figured it would be fine," he said quickly, a little too quickly perhaps. Conan didn't like that he sounded as though he had to defend himself. "From what I could learn from him, Kaito KID has never harmed-"

Loid's expression hardened. "He's a thief," Loid said, interrupting him. "And yet, you pulled him to a secluded place to tell him you knew who he was. What would you have done if Yor-san did not hear you?"

He shifted in his seat. "He'd probably have just gotten away."

"You don't know that," Loid retorted, sharply. "Criminals will do anything if it means getting away with their crimes. Next time, don't make it easier for them."

Mouth opening, Conan tried his hardest to conjure a decent comeback, but all the boy found himself doing was avoiding his gaze. Mostly by dropping it back to his plate, where it was safest ─ how stupid of him, he chastised himself, acting like he was on the other end of an interrogation when he was supposed to be the detective. Oh, how the mighty have fallen.

"Okay, okay," he said, irritation tinting his voice. "I got it already."

From his right, Conan heard Anya snickering. "Niichan got scolded," she teased, her grin wide despite the sharp glare he sent her in return.

But Loid shot her a look that effectively silenced her, if only barely. "Don't get me started, Anya," he said. It was ridiculous that Conan felt a little glad that he had shifted his focus on his pretend sister instead. "I happen to remember you've also wandered away. What if KID tricked you? It could have been you in that boat instead of that unlucky girl."

"KID can't disguise himself as children," Conan could not help but mutter under his breath.

Loid's eyes narrowed. "What was that?"

"Nothing," he replied quickly, turning back to his breakfast. And so did Anya, diligently resuming her own without risking a single glance back to where she knew her father was, watching both children with a stern look on his face.

Yor, who had been observing them in silence for a while, broke into a smile, however. Confusing as it was for Conan, even he could not deny how effective it was in warming him up just by looking at it.

"We were worried sick about you two," she said, softly but sincerely. "Please don't run off like that again."

In return, Anya and Conan shared a timid look before they both lowered their heads once more. "I'm sorry," they said in a synchronous mutter that had Yor giggling lightly under her hand.

Loid watched them for a moment longer, until a sigh later, he seemed to ease himself into dropping it altogether.

Soon, the tension dissipated into a more lively chatter Conan found himself more comfortable breathing in, and before long, it was forgotten at the face of the more exciting adventures to come ─ or so Anya had said, because she definitely had not the slightest idea of what school was really about. But well, she would find sooner or later on her own. He didn't see any harm in letting her live in a dream for a little longer.

Hopping out of her seat, Anya shot him a hesitant glance for long enough to keep him wondering. She skipped off to fetch her schoolbag, and from the moment she was gone and on, Conan had completely disregarded it.

The newspaper was still there, folded neatly in that same spot on the table, still calling out for him. This time, more decidedly, he reached for it.

"We have to go," Loid said, checking his watch. "Or we'll be late."

Conan nodded, tucking the newspaper under his arm as he dived to get his own bag, which nobody seemed to mind about. Making sure to lock the door behind them ─ because he was a man who apparently learned of his past mistakes, the boy mussed ─ Loid stepped out into the hallway to find that, predictably, Anya had already gone ahead, a dazzling grin plastered all over her gaze as she bounced around, her hand in Yor's as they made their way down the stairs.

But Conan did not follow, simply lingered there, standing awkwardly in front of him. Not understanding why, Loid raised a single eyebrow, and as if by reflex the boy looked away, his face strangely rosy in the morning's light coming from the windows.

"I didn't get to tell you before," he started, in a whisper, "but thank you. I had a lot of fun last night."

Something akin to surprise flickered across Loid's face, but with Conan staring so intently at the tip of his shoes, he missed it altogether. After a moment, the spy sighed and shook his head.

"We don't talk about last night," he said, though his voice was much softer than what it had been. Dare he say, sort of amused even.

They joined the rest of their group soon enough not to be questioned about it, and slowly, the four of them made their way down the bursting streets of Berlint together. The soft-spoken yet earnest words echoed with each step the spy took, leading his eyes to find, without looking for it, that strange boy that walked a little ahead, humming lightly under his breath as his eyes scanned through the entire page before flipping it over, eager to know what kind of new information or story was waiting for him next.

Observing him like that, Loid could not help but remember the look on Conan's face at that one time, when they finally made their way home after an exhausting night out. Just like now, he was smiling ─ that same satisfied smile, tugging at lips without his notice.

Despite everything, Loid found himself wondering if maybe, just maybe, it had been worth it in the end.

That was, of course, when Conan had to stop walking. Abruptly, his eyes wide as he stared back at the paper as if he could not exactly process what he was seeing.

"What is it, Conan-san?" Yor asked.

But got no reply, which prompted Anya to take matters into her own hands. She moved closer, and just like the boy before her, her eyes grew wide as plates.

"Niichan is in the newspaper!" Anya said, gasping.

Loid's brain stuttered for a second. Conan seemed to notice, gracefully shifting his body so that the spy could contemplate, much to his uncontainable horror, at those eyes that stared back at him, with as dulled intensity as Conan was looking at him right now. As though he was but a pest that did not understand the most simple things in life.

Grade-Schooler Protects Black Star!

Kaito KID Thwarted!

It was an article. And for some reason Conan Forger ─ an orphan young boy whose past he had forged by himself, who the world should not have had to hear about under any circumstances ─ was there. In a newspaper, for the whole country to see, to identify and investigate.

"W-When did you get this picture taken?" Loid managed to say, as if he was not feeling fainter the more he spoke, the more he thought. He was looking at the camera, he was posing. There's no way he didn't-

"Some guys asked to take my picture," Conan replied matter-of-factly. "I instinctively said yes."

That isn't something you instinctively agree to, he wanted to argue, his imminent fainting spell is an undeniable reality he wasn't hoping to prevent for much longer. He cradled a shaky hand to his forehead, forcing himself to calm down ─ because there shouldn't be much damage yet, he told himself. It wasn't on the front page, and normally, people forgot most newspaper articles in a matter of days before it blew over. Perhaps he should see about eliminating any remaining copies that hadn't been sold and…

His thoughts trailed down into silence. Conan was gazing down at that newspaper again, strongly as though he wanted to engrave that photograph into his retinas. Head tilted back, the boy looked up into the sky, his expression unreadable.

Loid did not comment on it, merely pushed his hat closer to his face and resumed walking ─ deciding that he may have committed a huge mistake.

"Well done, my brother." Conan glanced over to Anya to find her crossing her arms over her chest, a smirk slowly taking shape in her face. "But next time, Anya will do you one better."

He stared back, unblinking. "You just want to be in the newspaper too, don't you?"

"Nobody is getting to be in a newspaper," Loid broke in, his face contorted in a stern frown that showed that he was not yielding in that matter. "Not again."

"Is there a problem with it?" Yor asked, understandably confused. "I don't see any harm in getting acknowledged by your own successes."

"It's not good for them, they're still young," Loid replied right away, naturally enough for her not to spot the lie. "You'd be surprised to learn how deeply overexposure by the media can affect a child's mental health. It can lead to several developmental issues at large, or simply grow to be extremely arrogant adults nobody will want to interact with in the future."

It took Conan's brain a little longer to process that he should be offended about the allegation.

Yor's eyes widened. "Oh, my, that's terrible," she said. "It's a good thing you're this knowledgeable then, Loid-san."

"Well," Loid said, forcing his laugh to sound awkward. "It is part of my line of profession, after all."

"That being said, children whose lives are being overexposed by the media…" Conan glanced back up, watching in pure curiosity as Yor fell in a little thoughtful silence ─ her ruby red eyes falling to the tip of her feet as she pondered, deeply about something Conan had no clue about. "I think I know what you're talking about. Do you mean, like this boy named-?"

Unfortunately for Conan, however, he would never get to satiate his ever-growing curiosity. Instead of an answer, all he got was a surprised yelp from her, and soon they were all watching her turn around, her hands rising to her mouth in an apology.

"I'm so sorry!" She had bumped into someone else, but luckily, he was still standing and looking absolutely fine. "I wasn't looking where I… Wait, aren't you…?"

The teenager with the messy dark hair screamed loud enough for Anya to flinch, but surprisingly enough, peering up, she found nothing but a natural smile on his face.

"Do we know each other?" the boy asked, easy-going.

Anya had to place a hand to her head, however, throbbing by the incessant chain of incoherent thoughts that scrambled all over this person's mind palace. Confused, Anya watched her mother doubt her own perception of reality, tilting her head slightly as though she were trying to piece a mystery together just by looking at him.

The unknown boy smiled, but Anya knew he wasn't exactly finding this experience rewarding. She narrowed her eyes, wondering why.

That was when the teenager sneezed.

Yor's face scrunched up in concern. "Are you alright?" she asked, ever the gentle soul.

"Yes," he said, laughing a little. "It's just a cold."

Courtesy of that demon spawn at your feet and yourself, ma'am.

Anya had to blink at the mysterious nature of this stranger's thoughts. At her side, Conan yawned behind his hand, complaining something about mornings without caffeine or whatever ─ in the privacy of his own mind, that was.

The girl waved that away, knowing that there was a much more important secret waiting for her to unveil.

I barely walked out of that Queen Selizabeth alive, or swam actually, the teenager thought grimly. I'm glad I had some spare smoke bombs with it, because I'm sure this lady would've dived in after me if he saw me…

Yor smiled back, oblivious to the slight tremble in his hands.

Mothers are a force of nature, that is for sure.

"Kaito!" An auburn girl called for him, exasperated, from a few steps away. "What are you doing? We're running late!"

"Going, going!"

With a muttered apology, as genuine to her ears as the relieved note resounding in her head, Kaito spun around. Yor watched him join his friend at the traffic light, and when it flickered back to green, they both walked away, their thoughts fading as the distance increased.

A determined frown crawled into Anya's features and made it to follow after the duo.

"Anya," Loid called, seizing her arm. "School is that way."

Her head snapped back to him, her gaze desperate. "But Anya wants-!"

"Weren't you the one who said that wanted to go to school?"

"School can wait! Right now-"

"Come, we'll be late as well."

Even though he tried, Conan never did manage to build up an opinion regarding the scene he had just seen. So he just shook his head, deciding that it would be best to blindly follow along, before he had to be dragged like his sister before him. It didn't sound like fun.

That being said, Yor had to move yet. She was still gazing back, in the same direction as those teenagers had just disappeared from.

"Yor-san?" Conan called, causing her to blink back to reality. "What's wrong?"

"Oh, nothing much," she said right away. Conan raised a suspicious eyebrow. "But don't you think he looked like someone else?"

"Someone else?"

"Yes, like that renowned high school detective Shinichi Kudo-san." The boy perked up at that, not having seen this coming. "He looked a little like him."

Conan, too, glanced over his shoulder. Only that, come to this point, he had long disappeared in the multitude. "You think so?" he muttered, squinting his eyes as though he could see him if he tried hard enough. Even if he were to compare with the passing image in his memories, he failed horribly to see the resemblance.

In the distance, Anya was still screaming. Loid was getting flustered, only then noticing that he was drawing a bit more attention than a spy would be comfortable with.

Yor breathed out her nose and smiled. "Shall we go, too?"

He eyed the scene warily. "Not sure I want to."

He followed her regardless, walking in step with the woman as though second nature. Not knowing what awaited him for the hours to come, he resumed his way to school.

Hopefully this time around, there would be not a single, rotting body waiting to be found around the next corner.