File One: The Golden Apple of Discord

Conan leaned back on his seat at the airport lounge with a heavy sigh.

Of course his brother would be late. The plane should have landed about an hour ago, yet there was no sign of its arrival. He briefly wondered what could have happened so that the flight got delayed, until he realized there was no point of it, as he already knew the answer.

Probably a murder. Or a kidnapping. Or a hijacking, even...

Most likely someone got killed, though. Shinichi, the living corpse magnet, was in the plane, after all.

A giant yawn caught the six year old by surprise causing him to quickly cover his mouth with his tiny little hand, in an attempt to muffle the sound.

Unsurprisingly, the woman sitting beside him noticed.

"Are you sleepy, Co-chan?" the woman glanced at her watch, feeling a bit confused. "Hmm... It's only five thirty, though... It's still early."

"I'm fine, Mom," replied the boy with an annoyed sigh. "I'm not tired."

She gave him a suspicious look. "Are you sure about that?"

"Positive," he replied, not batting an eye. Yukiko seemed to open her mouth to say something, but Conan beated her to it. "I'm going to buy a drink or something."

He hopped off his seat and walked away, avoiding his mother's worried look. As he made his way through the people, he could not help but wipe away a tear on the corner of his eye, which had made its way there when he had yawned a few moments before.

I should be at home with Dad at this very moment, he lamented over and over in his head.

Conan certainly didn't want to be here. He would have been a very happy child if they had just let him bury his nose in a book and stay there until nighttime. But no, of course not. Of course his mother would drag him with her to the airport.

And then, on top of that, she had told him she planned to bring him along to the theatre. He should've seen this coming, but everything had happened so quickly that he didn't even have the chance to bring his prized copy of A Study in Scarlet with him.

Finally, the child reached a vending machine, bought a can of coffee and drank from it as he made his way back to his mother.

The woman was not alone, though, Conan realized. Beside the woman stood two people; a girl and a boy he recognized almost instantly.

"I have like fifty missed calls from Sonoko," he could hear the girl complaining, as she went through the phone, before sighing a little bit. "And she's angry with me for turning off my phone... Did she really want me to cause the plane to crash or something?"

"Actually, your phone can't cause the plane to crash," they all turned around to face the child, as he walked closer with a bored expression on his face.

"Conan-kun!" Ran was quick to run over to him and kneel down so she could be at his eye level and smiled brightly at him. "You have grown a lot ever since I last saw you!"

"Do you really think so?" Shinichi walked closer and ruffled the kid's hair, prompting him to glare daggers at his older brother. "I looks like he's still the same midget we all know and love."

"Leave me alone," he slapped his hand away as he grumbled, tickled off, and brought his coffee close to his mouth to take another sip, only to get it whisked away before he could do anything about it.

"Hey, do you want to remain a shortie forever?" his brother held the can far above his reach, grinning down at the kid, teasingly. "This stuff seriously stunts your growth."

Conan narrowed his eyes. "We both know that is not true."

"Still," Ran waved a finger at him, her tone stern. "You shouldn't drink coffee. It's not good for you."

The little boy could do nothing but nod without any complain, and ignore the urge to wipe his brother's amused grin off his face as the teen drank from his coffee. At that, Shinichi only laughed louder as they all began to walk back towards the car.

His laugh suddenly stopped.

Conan raised an eyebrow as he watched his brother stop on his tracks for a second, quickly spinning around as he stared at the crowd of people..

"Is something wrong?"

The kid could only blink, confused, when the teenager jumped suddenly at the sound of his voice, and opened his mouth to ask again. Before he could do anything, Shinichi ruffled his hair and took his hand, much in his dismay, while he steered him away.

"Let's hurry before those two leave without us," he said, clearly referring to Ran and their mother, who chatted cheerfully a long distance ahead.

And then, he smiled. That would have been enough.

If it hadn't been so obviously fake.

"So, Conan, have you been?" at some point of the silent, long ride, Shinichi grinned at the kid, who sat at the back beside a slumbering, jet-lagged, Ran. "How is like living in America?"

"Fine," the child replied with a flat voice.

"It might have been tough, you know. Suddenly moving to a different country on the other side of the world, with a completely new language. Mom told me your English is mostly flawless, though."

Conan gave him a non-committal hum in response.

"You haven't been causing trouble, have you?"

The boy raised an eyebrow at him. "I haven't, unlike others."

Both Yukiko and Shinichi flinched at that, not quite knowing who he was referring to. The mother quickly recovered, focusing back at the road while pretending not to pay attention to the one-sided conversation her children where having.

"S-So," the detective let out a strained laugh. "You're starting elementary school in a few days, right?"

"Right."

"Are you looking forward it?"

"Not quite."

At this point, it seemed like the older brother got the message and gave up on having a conversation with the younger, resigning himself to direct his attention at the window.

Conan's eyes didn't leave his form though, just narrowed slightly.

The quietness was broken, though, when Ran spoke up, seemingly waking up from her nap. She then complained to Shinichi, given the fact that he hadn't bothered to wake her up earlier to sightsee the city as they drove.

And like so, they fell into a heated argument. Some things never change, do they?

"The science of deduction is one which can only be acquired by long and patient study," Conan's ears perked at that. "Yet life is not long enough for a mortal to master it, you see, my dear Watson."

"He didn't say that," the boy frowned at him. "Holmes-san didn't say 'my dear Watson' at the end of that quote."

"Eh? Did you read Sherlock Holmes, Conan-kun?" Ran turned to him, visually shocked.

He nodded at her. "I'm still reading A Study in Scarlet, though," he then gave his mother a very dark look. "And I would've finished it by now if it wasn't for someone I know."

"Ah, is that so...?" Ran mumbled, as she slowly backed away from the angry little child.

Yumiko didn't seem fazed at all, however. She seemed to be amused, even.

"Give this a chance, Co-chan," she smiled even wider when her youngest groaned at his nickname. "You might like it more than all that detective stuff your father and brother are so obsessed with."

Shinichi glanced at his mother, noticing that her eyes were shining, wickedly, and gulped.

Ah, she's at it again. Trying to get Conan interested on anything but mysteries.

"Whatever," Conan finally sighed tiredly, letting his head rest against the window. "Is not like I have any say on this."

The child watched as a car passed by them, carrying a neon sign that read 'Golden Apple', and almost sighed again at the thought of being forced to watch a musical, of all plays that he could have possibly be dragged to.

Somehow, the topic of the conversation shifted and the three were now talking about the serial killer that was on the loose.

Ran was tense.

"I-I think we shouldn't talk about this in front of Conan-kun," she laughed, nervously.

"Huh? Don't worry, the killer only targets young women," Shinichi commented, and the girl flinched at the thought that she could be targeted. "Besides, with Dad around I think he should be used to hear worse stuff than that. Right, Conan?"

There was no reply, and Shinichi wasn't surprised at the sightless, just sighed exasperatedly. Ran, on the other hand, turned to the child with an awkward smile on her face.

Then, she froze.

Conan was practically slumped against the window, breathing softly as he slept.

"He's asleep," Ran blinked, surprised.

Shinichi instantly craned his neck to look over his shoulder to see that, yes, the youngest Kudo had somehow dozed off in such a short amount of time.

"He hasn't been sleeping well," Yukiko commented, as she kept her eyes trained to the road. "Every morning I have been waking up to find him burying his nose on a book at the library. I think he sneaks off at night and stays up to read," she sighed. "Honestly, that kid..."

His older brother gave the young boy a long look before turning back to his mother. "How long has it been?"

"About a week, I think."

Meanwhile, Ran could not help but smile a little bit as she watched the young boy. It wasn't long until her maternal instincts kicked in and removed the coat she had been using to cover herself in order to drape it over his slumbering form.

"Conan-kun looks so young like this," Ran commented, not taking her eyes off him.

"Of course he does," Shinichi raised an eyebrow. "He's just six, after all."

"I know that, but he's so mature and independant that sometimes I forget," her eyes softened, yet her smile dropped slightly. "He used to be so sweet and innocent before..."

Neither Conan's mother or brother said anything in reply. The teen just choose to glance at the young boy once more before focusing back to the road, a concerned frown still fixed on his face.

Conan...

"... nan... Co... nan..." the voice filtered through his unconscious mind, prompting him to groan softly, curling tighter around himself in a feeble attempt to retain his sleep. "Wa... up."

It was in vain, though. Conan was woken up suddenly when the car began to shift, and it didn't even take a second for him to unbuckle himself and drag himself to the other side of the car.

By the time his eyes opened up, half of his small body had been pulled out of the window, his arms supporting his weight against the door as the car balanced on two wheels and turned at almost ninety degrees off the ground.

He could also see his brother sitting on the window as he held a speechless Ran against his chest. Shinichi noticed him and grinned at him.

"Hey."

"Don't 'hey' me," Conan scowled. "You could've woken me before this."

"I tried, I really did."

"You have good reflexes, though, Co-chan!" he heard him mother speaking to him. "Just like your mother."

"Just don't blame me if you get another speeding ticket... for the fourth time this week."

Soon, the car went back on his four wheels as it drove away. Even after they settled down, the girl was shaken. Conan watched as she breathed, heavily, with a look of complete terror plastered on her eyes.

"See, not bad," said Shinichi with a bright smile on his face, while his mother just giggled softly.

Like so, Ran snapped.

"ARE YOU ALL CRAZY?!"

And Conan could not agree more.

"What was all of this about, anyways?" the kid groaned, looking at his wrist watch as the car pulled up in front of the theatre. "We're still one hour early, aren't we?"

"I promised we would meet the person who gave us the tickets," the mother explained with a smile, until she froze, eyes opened in shock. "Co-chan?"

"What?"

"Do you know what time is it?"

"Ten past seven," he replied, immediately. "Why?"

"Ah!" she suddenly screamed, startling the child. "So you knew about summer time!"

"Well, yeah," Conan shrugged. "Don't tell me you forgot about it, again?"

"You could've remindered me!"

"Yes, I could," he said, matter of factly. But I didn't want to, was left unsaid.

Before Yukiko could whine about it some more, the sound of police sirens filled the air and, shortly ever after, a policeman knocked softly her glass window.

But, of course she was saved when a inspector she apparently knew very well covered for her. She's so lucky, sometimes, Conan sighed, tiredly, and glanced at his brother, expecting to see a similar expression plastered on his face. Except, that wasn't the case.

Shinichi wasn't looking anywhere but the inspector's face, eyes open like two big, round plates. Sweat dripped from his chin while he trembled, slightly. It didn't seem like he had noticed it, though.

What...? Conan blinked at him, confused.

After convincing the policeman that she was an undercover agent chasing after a dangerous criminal, Yukiko smiled at the man.

"Thanks Radish," she said. "You saved me."

"No, no," then, it was the kid's turn to jump when his voice changed into a higher-pitched, female one. "You're thanking the wrong person."

Conan had absolutely no idea of why, but that voice sent chills down his back, and for a moment he didn't think he could remember how to breathe properly.

This person then teared the mask from her face, letting them see on its place a fair skinned, blonde woman, which Conan didn't seem to recognize yet prompted her mother to beam.

"Why don't you thank me..." the woman smiled at Yukiko. "... Sharon Vineyard?"

"Sharon!"

"Sharon... Who?" Conan asked softly, more to himself than anyone else.

"She's a very famous actress," Ran explained to him, with that a patience she would only have with a little child like he was. "She has worked alongside your mother several times."

Maybe that is why I don't have a clue of who this woman is, he realized. After all, he had always avoided like the plague any movies with her on it.

"Right, Shinichi...?" when she looked at the boy, however, he noticed how shaken he looked. "Shinichi, are you okay? You're so pale."

"A-Ah, no," he then he seemed to wake up from whatever stupor he had been before. "I'm alright. I just think I got a bit sick after Mom's driving."

And then, Shinichi's eyes met Sharon's.

Conan swore he saw the woman smirking, slightly, in a disturbingly scary way.

Conan pinched his cheek in an attempt to wake himself up, yet it didn't help much. Sighing tiredly, he cradled his head with his open palm as he watched the actors dancing across the stage.

When Shinichi yawned loudly beside him, the kid realized he might not be the only one having a hard time staying awake.

"You could at least try to look interested," the child commented.

"You don't look like you are any better than me," Shinichi quickly replied. "I caught you nodding off a few minutes ago."

"At least I'm not disturbing those that do enjoy this play by yawning like a sleep-deprived hippo, rather loudly if I may say."

The teen gave his brother a long look. Is it normal for a six year-old to be this sassy?

"Why don't you pay more attention?" Ran scolded him lightly, whispering on his ear.

"What's exciting about this? It's just a comedic take on an old Greek myth."

"The Golden Apple," Conan nodded. "But this is an adaptation, so things are bound to change from the original. Might as well give a try."

"Co-chan is right," Yukiko giggled beside Ran. "You will be surprised at that poor-looking aristocrat's true identity."

Quite a plot twist, indeed, when Paris suddenly grew wings and appeared in the mirror, claiming to be the archangel Michael. Did just an archangel appear in an adaptation of a greek myth?

... So random.

Smoke soon covered the entire stage, making it possible to see a laser sight that seemed to be directed at the balcony.

Then, there was a sound that shouldn't be there, that startled both Conan and Shinichi.

Was that... a gunshot?!

And then the angel was lifted from behind the mirror, red blood dripping from his pure white clothes. Something fell on the ground, and it wasn't until the smoke cleared that they could see it; a gun.

Everyone screamed.

And of course, Shinichi took off running.

"Take care of Ran and Conan!" he told his mother before disappearing.

"Wait, Shin-chan!" he was gone before she could even finish. Then she sighed. "That boy..."

"Eh?" she heard Ran. "Where did Conan-kun go?"

"What?!"

Meanwhile, Conan went up the stage, where people were already crowding around the fallen angel, who had already been lowered to the ground. There were no other injuries beside the obvious wound on his heart.

The child glanced at the mirror, He was standing right behind there, wasn't he? and decided to take a look. He went behind the object and examined every single detail, looking for anything that would tell him what in the world did just happen.

He walked alongside the curtains and noticed that, for some reason, it was strangely twisted.

Then, when his gaze dropped to the ground, he found it. There was a small, innocent white feather, stuck on an iron trapdoor. From what he could see, however, it seemed like there was cement under it.

There has to be a way to move it...

"Hey, Shinichi, let's return," Ran insisted as she walked behind her childhood friend, clutching the papelet against her chest. "I'm worried about Conan-kun. I haven't seen him since the time of the murder... Do you think he-?"

"He's fine. That kid have always been like that," Shinichi replied even as he still looked around. "Besides the killer is definitely one of those three actresses, and they are with the police by now. There's no chance they would hurt him."

The teen then stopped in front of the mirror and looked down. There was a small flip door and pulled his handkerchief out from his pocket to open it.

Before he could do anything, however, the door suddenly opened by itself, prompting Shinichi to fall ungracefully on his butt. Ran stepped back, shocked as well.

Then, a small head popped out and stared blankly at the teenagers.

"Conan! Don't scare me like that," Shinichi breathed out. "How did you get down here?"

"I snuck around," he replied with all honesty. "And figured out how to shift the floor to reveal this hole."

"But why would you do that, Conan-kun?" Ran walked closer and kneeled down close to him.

"The laser beam I saw before pointed at the terrace," he explained as he pulled himself up, and stood on ground. "Mom has brought me there before and I can say for sure it's very hard to see the play, let alone shoot someone so accurately. Which means it was only a decoy."

The pair then watched, perplexed, as the child ran around the mirror and laid in front of it. A tiny hand appeared from under the mirror and passed through the grid.

"If you were to lie down like this and then..." he made a gun gesture with his fingers. "... you shoot just like this while Heath-san is being risen from the trap door, you certainly can shoot him on the heart."

Conan quickly stood up and went back to them. "The proof of is that you can find blood, feathers and the cartridge from the gun."

"That was amazing, Conan-kun!" Ran exclaimed. "You sound just like a detective."

"E-Eh?" the child blushed a bit. "I-I... No."

"What about the gun, then?" his brother asked. "Have you figured out how she made it so it fell from a high place?"

"No," he admitted with a sigh. "I haven't got a clue."

"You were so close, though," much to his annoyment, Shinichi ruffled his hair as he grinned. "You did a splendid job, child detective."

"I'm telling you, I'm not a detective."

"Some call me a legendary Japanese actress, while others call me the wife of a world-renowned mystery writer. I call myself the lady detective with little gray cells... Night Baroness!"

Conan was suddenly blinded when the spotlight fell on Ran, Shinichi and him, by mistake. Suddenly realizing the error he had committed, the man behind the special effects moved the light to Yukiko, who then smirked cockily.

"Hey," Conan turned to Shinichi, his voice laced with clear annoyment. "Why did you tell her all of your deductions?"

"She wouldn't stop bothering me until I did," he smiled, apologetically. "Besides, Mom is already known as the Night Banoness. She has much more credibility than I, a simple high school student, could ever have."

"Still..."

We really don't need to make her ego bigger than it already is...

Even if he already had heard it from his brother, Conan listened attentively as Yukiko explained the trick. When she finished, she looked at Rose and accused her as the killer.

Proof was on her gloves. Turning them inside out revealed a bloody handprint. It turned out she had fallen in love with his role as Michael and couldn't bear the thought of him quitting and having another actor taking on the mantle.

"He killed Michael, right when I finally told him I was in love with the Michael he was playing!" she screamed. "But God blessed me anyway. When I dropped the armor, my dress was caught on the rail by coincidence, until I was saved."

And then she turned to Ran with a cold smile, and told her in English.

"Thank you, Sweet Angel. You helped me do it."

Ran only stared at her, confused, as Rose laughed and began to walk away, taken by the police. She didn't notice a tiny little foot pressing on her dress until she tripped, painfully falling on her face.

Looking up, she saw a child. His eyes were hidden by his glasses, the light reflecting on them.

"After she selflessly risked her wellbeing to save you, you have absolutely no right to say such a thing," he raised his head, letting the murderer see icy cold eyes glaring hatefully back at her. "You are disgusting."

Rose could only look away, and shakily stood up, doing her best to ignore the little boy.

If Ran was an angel, she decided, this one was definitely a demon in the body of a child.

Shinichi could only stare.

This kid is scary.