The Bead Seen Once More
Beneath the stage, Xia Xi's mouth gave a twitch. She had already been startled enough when Alhaitham of all people turned out to be the show's lucky audience member — and then, unbelievably, it was from overhearing Haibara and Conan's conversation that she finally learned what he had been up to lately. No wonder she hadn't caught hide nor hair of him for so long. He had gone and infiltrated the Organization without telling her so much as a word.
As Alhaitham made his way back, Amuro Tooru regarded him with open curiosity. "Bordeaux, what was all that with the magic trick? I didn't expect you to actually play along."
In the hours they had spent together, Amuro had come to understand Bordeaux's temperament at least a little. He had fully expected a man so averse to hassle to refuse the stage outright — yet not only had he agreed, he had even cooperated with the performance.
Alhaitham treated it as a matter of no consequence. "Refusing would only have drawn more attention. Besides, it was a bit of simple cooperation — hardly any trouble at all."
On stage, when magician Lyney opened the box and found no one inside, he feigned wide-eyed astonishment, groping dramatically around the empty interior before shutting the door — and then all was still.
Moments later, the magician's assistant Lynette returned to the stage. She reopened the box, only to discover that the magician himself — the man who had stepped inside just before — had vanished as well.
Then a single beam of light swept up to the highest point of the stage. Everyone looked up, and there stood Lyney, the very magician who had just disappeared. Applause broke out across the audience below.
Just then, the unexpected happened. As Lyney readied himself to bow for the finale, his footing gave way; his body swayed once, twice — and, to the crowd's cries of alarm, he toppled from on high.
Ran and Sonoko were already surging up out of their seats, desperate to rush the stage and save him, when the falling figure vanished in midair. In its place, countless flower petals scattered on the wind, swirling and drifting down over the audience seats — and the hall erupted into even wilder applause.
"Huh? That last one was actually pretty interesting. How did he do it?" Kuroba Kaito had been nursing a flicker of disappointment as the final trick unfolded, but this surprise follow-up rekindled his interest at once, and he resolved to work out exactly what sleight of hand lay behind the magician's last act.
And with that, the magic show came to an end.
With the performance over, Xia Xi's party made to leave — though before they could, the children had to be taken to the restroom first. They had drunk far too much water before the show and, absorbed in the performance, had felt nothing of it; the moment it ended, the kids could no longer hold it in.
On the way to the restroom, the group chattered away in high spirits about the magic they had just witnessed — everyone except Conan, who remained sunk in the disappointment of a lead on the Black Organization slipping right through his fingers.
But when they reached the restroom, they found it, of all things, packed with people.
"Honestly," Mouri Kogoro grumbled, "I told you brats to go easy on the water, and not one of you listened."
Genta shot him a look of pure disdain. "Uncle Mouri, you drank a whole lot of beer before we came too! Bet you gotta go just as bad right now, huh?"
Hit squarely on the truth, Kogoro cuffed him lightly on the head. "Quit yapping already!"
Just then, Xia Xi spoke up. "I know a restroom that's for staff only. It should be a lot less crowded over there — let's try that one."
The group agreed, and together they set off in the direction she pointed. Sure enough, when they arrived, there was hardly anyone around.
Genta, desperate by now, charged straight in — and with a resounding thump, collided with a little girl just stepping out, sending them both sprawling to the floor.
Professor Agasa hurried over to help Genta up. Meanwhile, Xia Xi noticed that the girl he had bowled over was none other than Klee, and she rushed forward to help her to her feet as well.
Good grief, what kind of luck is this? Xia Xi sighed inwardly. Of all the people he could have crashed into...
The moment Genta was back on his feet, he apologized at once to the little girl he had knocked down, while Mitsuhiko and Ayumi crowded around to ask if she was hurt.
"Klee, huh? That's a really cute name," Mitsuhiko said, blushing faintly as he listened to her introduce herself.
And it isn't just the name that's cute, Mitsuhiko thought. She herself is adorable too.
"Mm-hm! Klee came to see the show with big brother Kaeya. Did you all come with big sis Xia Xi too?"
Only then did everyone realize that the person who had given Xia Xi the tickets to the magic show was none other than the "big brother Kaeya" Klee kept mentioning, and they couldn't help marveling at the coincidence of running into her here.
(Lyney had handed the tickets over to Kaeya, and Kaeya, in turn, had passed the front-row seats to Xia Xi, keeping the seats a few rows back for himself and Bourbon's group.)
"Ah! It's getting late — big brother Kaeya is still outside waiting for Klee! Klee has to go find him now. If you're ever free, you can come with big sis Xia Xi to play with Klee. Bye-bye!" With that, Klee skipped off, backpack bouncing, and left the group behind.
Sonoko and Ran watched her go, sighing over how they'd love to have a daughter that adorable someday.
Hearing them, Conan felt heat rise to his face entirely against his will, his mind already drifting into imagining what a daughter of Ran's might look like — an expression that promptly earned him a contemptuous glance from Haibara.
But the little interlude did its work, and Conan finally managed to shake off the gloom of earlier — just in time to notice something lying in the corner where Klee had fallen. He walked over and picked it up: a fluffy white plush toy. Guessing that Klee must have dropped it just now, he told Ran he'd be right back and hurried out to return it to her.
Outside, Conan spotted Klee almost immediately. She was holding the hand of a richly dressed man — Conan guessed this had to be the "big brother Kaeya" she had mentioned, the very person who had given Xia Xi the tickets that let them all come see the show.
He called out her name. Klee turned at the sound, and recognizing a friend of big sis Xia Xi's from just before, she let go of Kaeya's hand and ran over to Conan, who held out the plush toy to her.
"Ah! It's Dodoco! Klee almost lost Dodoco! Thank you, Conan!" Clutching the toy to her chest, Klee beamed her thanks up at him.
Conan scratched his head, feeling a touch sheepish.
By then, Kaeya had come over as well, and he crouched down to Klee's height. "My, my. How careless of you, Klee — you nearly went and lost the friend your mother made for you."
Klee hung her head and poked her fingertips together. "Klee will be careful from now on, big brother Kaeya! Klee will never, ever lose Dodoco again!"
Kaeya gently ruffled her hair. "Big brother believes you."
Watching Klee and her "big brother Kaeya" talk, Conan felt a flicker of surprise. Who'd have thought a man who looked this untrustworthy at first glance would have so much patience with a little kid.
Having thanked Conan once more on Klee's behalf, Kaeya took her hand and made to leave.
As Conan watched Klee's retreating back, he suddenly noticed a familiar red bead hanging from her backpack, and his eyes went wide with shock. One glance aside confirmed it: Kaeya wore a bead at his waist as well — only his was blue.
And just as he moved to step forward and ask about them, he saw something that stunned him far more: a familiar figure standing a short distance away, waiting for Kaeya and Klee — the lucky audience member from earlier, the very man Haibara had said had joined the Organization only recently.
People carrying beads like that are connected to the Organization?! Are they Black Organization members themselves? No — that can't be it. Haibara said she'd never seen beads like those inside the Organization, so they must not be Organization people. Then... are they in league with the Black Organization?
That said, one thing had to be admitted: after dark, Amuro Tooru's complexion made for an excellent disguise. The man had been standing right there near Alhaitham, in a spot only slightly more dimly lit, yet Conan had never registered his presence at all — his attention had gone to Alhaitham alone.