justonetruth | (no subject)

"He's the guy who used to give Mum lessons in disguises," Conan said, refraining from commenting on the fact that Ran clearly had no idea where he was. "Got a son about our age."

He taught Yukiko how to disguise? Jeez, that explains a lot.

"...Kaito Kuroba, right?"

Hey, give him a few minutes. It can't be that hard to find a dining room the size of-- aha! There it is. Ran holds the door open for both of them, eyeing the tables. He still hasn't quite gotten used to the sheer amount of food that's usually in here.

"That's the one," Conan said, frowning. "I'd almost forgotten."

He's impressed both at the scale of the room and the sheer quantity of food on offer. "... you're sure there aren't a couple of hundred people here?" he asked, trying to mentally calculate just how many people they were catering for.

"If there are, they're hiding," Ran said, deadpan, and made a beeline for the plates. A joke about whether Conan would need a stool was dropped in favour of continuing their conversation. "Or maybe they haven't shown up yet." It wasn't like many people had gone home yet, after all, and people kept coming in.

"So if he's Kuroba Toichi-san's son, he probably knows some disguising stuff himself, right?" Well, so far it all fit with what Kid-Shinichi had said...

"Much like these alternates you keep mentioning?" Conan said, going tip-toe to see what was on the table. "... haven't shown up yet." That wasn't ominous at all.

"It's a possibility. But remember, Toichi-san died when Kuroba wasn't much older than I look now."

...Definitely fit. What was the best way to say this?

"...What do you think of Kuroba Kaito being The Kid?"

"..." Where had that come from? "I haven't heard anything about the guy in years. I don't know if I'd even recognise him now."

"Well, I kind of got the Kid version of you to tell me his story..." Ran started, and then launched into the explanation of The Kid's origins on that world. The suspicious men in black looking for a jewel that granted immortality, Toichi being assassinated, and that world's Shinichi finding out about it and deciding to take up his father's mantle (weird as that still was to think about).

He did his best to gloss over the parts with that Shinichi being half-brothers with Kaito, and Conan being another half-brother -- partly because he was still uncomfortable with that part, and partly because he barely expected Shinichi to believe him as it was. As he talked, he kept filling up his plate until he had a decent-sized meal, and waiting for Conan to finish doing the same.

Ran should know better than to expect anything so unimportant as food to get a showing when mysteries came up. Conan's frowning hard as he listens, though his thoughts are not necessarily running along the same lines as Ran's.

"Interesting," he says at last. "So that's what you mean by alternates."

Rolling his eyes, Ran reached over Conan's head and snagged some food for his friend's plate. "I was thinking that since you didn't become The Kid, it might be Kuroba," he pointed out. "Since he is his son. But it's not like we have any proof, and the other Kuroba I met was pretty closed-lipped."

"It's obvious," Conan agreed. "Obvious enough that it might be assumed to be too obvious -- but we need more facts." He smirked at that. "Good. Wouldn't want this to be boring."

"If we even remember it when we go back," Ran muttered, heading over to a nearby table and flopping down in the chair.

Conan followed him, frowning. "What do you mean by that?"

"One of the yous said he knows three people who've gone home and come back, and all of them said they didn't remember this place when they were at home." Ran stared broodingly into his gyudon as if it could explain how the mansion worked. "We don't know if it happens to everyone, though."

Conan frowned. This was -- decidedly sinister. "So not only has Hattori been trapped here for months without anyone realising this fact, but potentially once people do get home, they've got no memory of being here?"

Apparently, Conan has magical Hattori-summoning powers, because that's her now, walking through the doors of the dining hall. Food, however, comes before chatting, and she just waves before grabbing a plate.

It is such a relief to see Heiji looking like she should that Conan is prepared to neglect his food a moment to wave back. "Heiji-neechan!"

"Pretty much," Ran said. He broke his chopsticks apart and started to dig into his food. "And they might have gotten to go home because they knew about other worlds already. Except we're not sure about that part either."

He sounded exasperated, and rightfully so. They weren't really sure about anything to do with the mansion.

Food located and claimed, she headed over to the table. A nod at Ran (and what was she going to call him? 'Neechan' didn't work...) before turning her attention to the shortest member of the group.

"Which Kudo are you?"

Ran forgot to mention that the Hattori-san here knew rather than suspected Conan's true identity.

Cue coughing fit as food goes down the wrong way.

Well, it wasn't really that he forgot to mention it so much as he thought it would be... selectively entertaining?

Ran cheerfully thumped Conan on the back to keep him from choking. "Don't worry, she isn't our Hattori," he added helpfully.

"So, he's yer Kudo?"

Oh yeah, entertaining is right. Not often you get that sort of reaction from the detective.

Conan gave Ran and Hattori a baleful look, reaching for a glass of water. "Now you tell me," he grumbled once the possibility of asphyxiation had passed, covering disappointment with complaint. "I am, though if he keeps this up who knows for how much longer."

Ran just grinned, totally unashamed, and tucked into his food. He couldn't wait to see how this conversation was going to go.

"Ya might want ta keep him. He's th' only male neechan here."