The Magic Show
By the time Xia Yu had heard Matsuda Jinpei's description, she'd already been thoroughly shaken — because the man he described sounded far, far too much like Aether.
Flustered, she hadn't given him a straight answer. She'd only said that yes, she had an older brother, but he had gone missing years ago; the person who saved him wasn't necessarily him — maybe she and that rescuer simply happened to look alike.
That was what she'd told Matsuda Jinpei. But back home, lying in bed and replaying the features he'd described over and over in her mind, she grew more and more certain that the person he'd met was Aether.
But how could that possibly be true?!
Never mind whether Aether even existed in the gacha pool — Xia Yu knew perfectly well whether she'd pulled him or not. And three years ago, before she had even appeared in this world? What on earth was going on?
She turned the question over and over and got nowhere. Finally, Xia Yu sat bolt upright in bed. There was one person she could ask.
Paimon answered with all the guilt of a child caught with her hand in the cookie jar. "Traveler, don't ask Paimon... Paimon doesn't really know what's going on either. Maybe it's just... you know, a coincidence! They just happen to look alike, that's all!"
She stammered her way through it, her voice shrinking smaller and smaller by the word — and then she suddenly blurted, loud and emphatic: "But one thing Paimon is SURE of — the only mission agent in this world is you, Traveler!"
Then what's the deal with Matsuda? And that person who saved him — what about him?
Paimon had no answer. She hemmed and hawed, and finally settled on: "O-okay, fine! Paimon will try asking the 111 System for you. Though, um, no promises on when the reply comes back, okay? Normally, since it's just us doing missions in this world, we're on our own — other systems aren't supposed to help. It's only because this is a special case that Paimon is willing to ask on your behalf! You'd better be super grateful, you know~"
Since Paimon had agreed to help, Xia Yu decided against pressing her any further. Mm. Thanks, emergency food.
"Hey!"
A week later, the venue of the magic show.
"There are a lot of people here today, so you all stick close to me and Professor Agasa — no wandering off. If anything happens, find one of the adults nearby: me, the Professor, Sonoko, or Ran. And absolutely, under no circumstances are you to just walk off without saying a word, okay~?" Xia Yu delivered this lecture with care while they waited to enter.
"Yes—" the children chorused obediently.
Watching them nod along so dutifully, Xia Yu still couldn't quite shake her unease. But with five adults keeping watch, surely nothing would go wrong... probably.
The group produced their tickets, let the staff check them, and filed into the audience seats. Reaching the front row, they found their assigned places and settled the Detective Boys into the middle: from left to right, Mouri Kogoro, Mouri Ran, Sonoko, Conan, Haibara, Mitsuhiko, Ayumi, Genta, Xia Yu, and Professor Agasa — the Mouri father and daughter, Sonoko, Xia Yu, and the Professor anchoring both ends so the kids were safely corralled between them.
The show began soon after.
On stage, Lyney and Lynette first introduced themselves to thunderous applause — a pair of siblings, the elder brother Lyney and the younger sister Lynette.
Sonoko seized Ran's hand in excitement. "Ran, look — they're brother and sister! No wonder they look so much alike. And the brother is gorgeous. He's got this whole dashing, romantic vibe going on."
Ran nodded in agreement. "Mm, and his sister is adorable too. Look, she's even wearing cat-ear accessories."
(Cat ears don't really fit the Conan world's setting, so Lynette's cat ears have been retconned into decorative hair ornaments.)
Mouri Kogoro, spotting such a lovely magician's assistant, straightened up in his seat and perked up considerably to watch the show — though the majority of his attention was trained squarely on the assistant herself.
On stage, the two performed a run of classic acts in turn: card tricks, quick-change illusions, the doves.
The audience lapped it all up, applauding at regular intervals to show their appreciation.
All except one small boy in the front row. He sat with his chin propped on one hand, regarding the stage with an expression of profound boredom — a stark contrast to the delighted faces of the children beside him.
Conan glanced at the excitement on Sonoko's and Ran's faces, baffled. What was so great about a run-of-the-mill magic show? Ran had seen acts like these before, hadn't she? Why was she this worked up?
And whenever the performance hit a trick he found remotely interesting, he couldn't stop himself from turning to Haibara and explaining exactly how it was done — until Haibara's forehead was lined with dark veins.
Xia Yu was seated too far away to catch every word, but she could just barely make out Conan's murmured commentary. Her fists clenched involuntarily.
That insufferable little brat — he was not cute in the slightest right now. If only the distance weren't so great and her arm could actually reach, she would absolutely have bonked him on the head and shut him up.
At that moment, someone in the seats behind the audience shared Xia Yu's feelings exactly: Nakamori Aoko, who had been invited to the magic show by her childhood friend, Kuroba Kaito.
Aoko had been genuinely pleased when Kaito asked her along. But as the show went on, Kaito kept picking apart every trick under his breath while he watched, and her enjoyment steadily curdled.
Finally she could bear it no longer and whipped her head around to glare at him, her voice rising slightly. "Do you not like this show or something? If you don't like it, why did you even invite me!?"
Kaito blinked at her furious expression, the picture of innocence. "I-I never said I didn't like it. It's just — you know I do magic too, so when I watch someone else perform, I can't help breaking it down a little. If it bothers you, Aoko, I'll stop. See? Quiet as a mouse."
Only after extracting this promise was Aoko satisfied. "That's better."
Close call, Kaito thought. Good thing I didn't tell her the truth, or she'd have been even angrier.
In fact, the reason Kaito had come to this show at all was word that the new magician from Country F was making a name for himself, and he'd wanted to see what the man's performances were actually like. Showing up to a magic show alone felt a little odd, though, so he'd invited Aoko along.
And so far, his verdict was: nothing special. Just a parade of standard, well-worn tricks. Bored out of his mind, he'd started lecturing Aoko on the methods — and when she made it clear she didn't want to hear it, he'd shut his mouth. Now all he could do was wait and see whether today's grand finale could live up to his expectations.
"Well? Good show, isn't it?"
Meanwhile, having watched for roughly the same stretch of time, Kaeya turned to Amuro Toru in the next seat with a smile.
"It is good," Amuro conceded — and then leaned slightly toward the little girl sitting beside Kaeya before continuing in a low voice. "But bringing a child that young to the site of a transaction — aren't you afraid she'll notice something and let it slip?"