Blink: The Tenth Muse

[Sherlock Lupin 41]

In the blink of an eye, the Detective of the East's life entered the grey zone.

CHAPTER 1:

Kudou Yuusaku watched as his wife and daughter faced off inside their library, slightly amused. This would prove to be a very interesting ordeal.

"What?" Kudou Yukiko was in absolute shock. Her daughter—her own flesh and blood—had just destroyed one of her many dreams. Why? What had she done wrong as a mother? Sure she was the one who had suggested the lessons in the first place, but that did mean her daughter had to outright reject her budding career!

"I don't want to be a child actress," six year old Kudou Shinmi looked up from the rather thick book she was reading and said with words with finality, "or even an actress when I get older, for that matter."

"B-but why not?" Yukiko whined. "My agent said you could be very successful! And it's a lot of fun too! You get to become different people and wear fun costumes, and—!"

"I want to be a detective, Kaa-chan," Shinmi said, "like Sherlock Holmes."

"A detective?" Yukiko looked back at Yuusaku, her eyes blaming him. It was his fault though; he would admit that. Yuusaku was the one who, instead of reading fairy tales to their daughter at her designated bed time, read Ellery Queen, Sherlock Holmes, and the even occasional Arsene Lupin novel to her.

"Un," the young girl nodded. "I want to catch all kinds of criminals. I can be like Holmes, and Kaito can be my Watson." Her eyes became determined, "We can go against thieves like Kaitou KID just like Sholmes went against Lupin." She scoffed at her mother before continuing, "And the acting class I'm in right now is so boring. All the other students are terrible actors, and I can see through their disguises easily."

Yukiko gaped at her daughter while Yuusaku chuckled, deciding to join the conversation.

"Shinmi."

"Yes, Tou-chan?"

"Aside from being a master of observation, analytical reasoning, and deduction, do you know what else Sherlock Holmes was?" He watched as the gears turned inside his small daughter's brain, looking for the information he wanted. He masked his smirk easily when he saw his daughter frown up at him.

"Sherlock Holmes is also a master of disguise," she replied bitingly. "I get what you're saying, Tou-chan, but couldn't I learn the art of disguise from someone else?"

Yukiko's eyes sparkled with glee, "I know just the person…"

~:~

"Why are we doing this, Kaito?" Seven year old Kudou Shinmi gave her cousin a curious glance as they traded drawstring bags, each holding a separate pair of clothes.

"Because," Kaito said, emptying the contents of his bag on his bedroom floor, "Tou-chan's testing your disguise skills, and I'm the only person you can easily disguise yourself as!"

"But why are you being me?" Shinmi rectified her question, "Couldn't you just pretend to be a random boy?"

"It's more fun this way; I get to dress up too!" Kaito explained, "If I pretend to be you, and you pretend to be me, it'll make it harder to notice, Shin-chan!"

"Don't call me that," she commanded.

"But I like calling Shin-chan Shin-chan!" Kaito attempted to pounce on his older cousin, but she jumped out of the way, heading for the door. Kaito sat up on the carpeted floor, confused. "Where are you going, Shin-chan?"

"Kai, I love you, but you're not going to see me change," Shinmi said and left her cousin in his bedroom looking terribly confused.

~:~

"You got the part, Shin-chan!" Yukiko squealed with delight as she twirled her daughter around in the air.

"Put me down right now!" Shinmi shrieked. When she got her release, she glared at her uncle, "You tricked me!"

Shinmi was with her parents, aunt, and uncle inside her family's living room. Her mother had just received a call from her agent, claiming to be a bearer of good news, but all Shinmi saw was a damper in her plans.

"I have no idea what you're talking about," Toichi's eyes twinkled with mischief as he innocently replied to his niece.

"After I pretended to be Kaito, you made me pretend to be that Kaiyo girl, and you filmed me and gave it Kaa-san!" Shinmi accused, pointing her finger at the adult. "It was really for an audition, wasn't it?"

"I don't know~" Toichi leaned back in his chair, smug satisfaction hiding behind an immaculate Poker Face.

Shinmi stuck her tongue out at him, "Well, I'm not doing—!"

"Shin-chan, are you gonna be in a movie?" Kaito came into the room, holding one of his father's doves. He was grinning excitedly, "That's really cool!"

"I'm not, Kaito," she said, stubbornly crossing her arms.

Kaito frowned, "Why not? You're really good at acting!"

"Well, I can't be an actress and a detective!" she said as if it were obvious, the 'duh' in her voice flowing out like a rain gutter after an April shower. "You can still be a magician and my Watson, but I don't think I can do both."

"Well, I bet youcould, Shin-chan!" Kaito nodded, completely sure of his words. "Will you try?"

"Kaito…" Shinmi frowned. Kaito was making this harder than it was supposed to be. On the one hand, she really wanted to be a detective with nothing standing in her way, but on the other hand, she didn't like disappointing Kaito. And maybe being forced to stay in character would help with her disguise skills?

She sighed, "Fine, Kaito, I'll do it. But if it messes up my detective work, I'm quitting, okay?"

~:~

"Kaito, why are we doing this?" Fourteen year old Kudou Shinmi asked she buttoned the top buttons of her white dress shirt. She slid on her black jacket and gave one last glance into the backstage mirror, straightening her red bow tie with one hand and holding the cell phone she was listening to in the other. She turned to face Kaito. Shaking her head, she leaned forward and straightened his tie which was adorably skewed.

"Why shouldn't we be doing this?" Kaito asked in return. He put on his own jacket, "We're awesome, so we should show off our awesomeness!"

"Let it never be said that you're a logical person," Shinmi replied dryly. She went back to the phone, and her voice changed slightly, "Yes, Keibu, I'm still here. Go to the bedroom. You said it was a Western styled house, did you not?"

"Gods forbid," Kaito grinned cheekily and patted down hidden pockets in his jacket.

"Filp over the mattress, there should be a blood stain there," Shinmi said into the phone, "The murder weapon should also be strapped there with the waterproof athletic tape." She then spoke to Kaito, "Seriously though, why did I agree to this?" Shinmi asked. "We've only ever done this in your living room!"

"And we've totally rocked my living room!" Kaito said, "I don't get why you're worried."

"If anyone finds out who I am, I lose one of the most important parts of my life to the press," she said. "I really don't want that." She then went back to the phone, "Yes, you're welcome Megure-keibu, and no, I'm not telling you who I am." She flipped the phone shut and set it down on the table.

"I'm flattered," Kaito wiggled his eyebrows, and Shinmi snorted. "You're using a fake name," he pointed out. "No one's going to suspect that the mystery-loving actress Kudou Shinmi puts on magic shows with her cousin in her spare time."

"And despite that name, I'll probably be recognized," she frowned, "and that's the last thing I want. I don't need to get a second disguise." She then looked around the vicinity, eyes searching for something. When she found nothing, she frowned. "Where are Sheri and Adler?" She looked at her cousin, "Kaito, I've told you a million times, they are not like the doves you use for magic shows!"

"I didn't take them!" Kaito said, "I know better than that!"

"Really? Because I don't think that you do!" she shot back. "I'm already nervous enough without having to look for two doves that are a lot smarter than they look."

As if on cue, two doves came flying towards them. One was an Oriental Turtle dove, Adler, and the other one was a White-Winged Collared dove, Sheri. The two landed on Shinmi's shoulders as if they had never left.

"Please keep your birds in check," A woman wearing a headset walked over to them, "You'll be on in five minutes."

"Right, thanks," Kaito nodded to her, "We'll be ready." He then looked to his cousin, "Shinmi, I believe you are forgetting one of Tou-san's and Ba-chan's greatest lessons."

"I know, I know," she took a deep breath and let it out with a sigh. She then set a soft smile onto her face, "The illustrious Poker Face and Muse's Mask."

"Exactly~" Kaito wore a grin. "'Sometimes a trick may fail, but you mustn't bring it to the audience's attention. Always keep your cards hidden and always keep a good poker face,

"'Sometimes a line may be forgotten, but you mustn't let it be known to the audience,'" she spoke the words of her mother, "'Adopt the ways of Thalia and Melpomene and wear a mask that fits the stage'," Shinmi finished with a grin. "Okay, I'm done with being nervous."

"Good," Kaito nudged her lightly, "I almost got worried for a second."

"Almost?" Shinmi faked her hurt, pouting. "So mean, Kaito…"

Kaito rolled his eyes, "You've got the blood of Japan's greatest actress flowing through your veins. You could have been faking."

"I am nothing like my mother!" She hit his shoulder playfully, a mock glare on her face.

"You always say that line she told you," Kaito pointed out. "And you're one of our rising stars anyway. You're already filming a movie for that drama you're in, aren't you? Isn't it also in its second year?"

"Not the time or the place," Shinmi said, "and isn't that the pot calling the kettle black?"

"By the way, was it the butler?" Kaito asked with a grin.

"The nanny, actually," Shinmi said as she set Sheri and Adler on perches, "Now, both of you two need to stay put during the show, but you can watch from here. Adler, keep an eye on Sheri."

Adler cooed to show his understanding of his mission

"I find it amusing that you named a female dove after Sherlock Holmes and a male dove after Irene Adler," Kaito said. "They must have some messed up gender identities."

"Which is why I call them Sheri and Adler," Shinmi replied.

They listened to their act being announced with identical grins.

"And now, our newest act!"

"Sometimes a trick may fail, but you mustn't bring it to the audience's attention," Kaito began, and he straightened out his sleeve. "Always keep your cards hidden."

"Two promising young magicians!"

"Sometimes a line may be forgotten, but you mustn't let it be known to the audience," Shinmi repeated her mother's words as she flattened out any bumps in her hidden pockets, "Adopt the ways of Thalia and Melpomene."

"Presenting Kuroba Kaito and Kuroba Keiko!"

"Always keep a good poker face…," Kaito started.

"… and wear a mask that fits the stage," Shinmi finished.

CHAPTER 2:

"What do you mean you're not going to school?" Ran asked, "Shinichi, you miss a lot of school already! At this rate, you're going to miss all of the testing for high school!"

"I know I miss a lot of school Ran, you don't have to tell me," Shinmi rolled her eyes. "And Ran? It's August. Testing doesn't start until the spring semester," Shinmi replied in her 'male voice' as she sat in the back of a car. She was heading to a studio for the filming of the drama she was currently in cast as the heroine. She looked over the script as she spoke, "Don't worry about it so much, Ran. We're both going to go to Teitan High, and it'll be just fine."

"You always say that it's going to fine, that it's going to be okay, but…" She trailed off. "I'm worried."

"Don't be," Shinmi said. "I'm fine, really. I'll be back in school soon enough."

"You know what?" Ran's voice sounded annoyed, "Sonoko keeps saying that you're a hopeless mystery otaku, and I'm starting to believe her!"

Shinmi winced at the click that met her ears. She then sighed, "Well, it's for the best. 'Shinichi' might not even be going to Teitan High if we're already filming for the third running year," She flipped to the front cover of the script.

A Study in Beika-chou:

The Case Book of Honma Shinsho

"And on top of all this, a movie covering their break after graduation?" Shinmi groaned and dropped on her side, lying across the seats of the car. "I bet Occhan's laughing at me in his grave…"

~:~ONE YEAR LATER~:~

Shinmi leaned in close to a boy with dark, curly hair and thick, black horn-rimmed glasses. An arm was on his desk, and she propped her face up on her hand, her chin resting delicately. She moved a hand towards his tie, and he immediately grabbed it, eyes narrowed. She laughed lightly, a smirk curling onto her lips, "Why are you always so suspicious, Shinsho-kun?"

The curly haired boy deadpanned, "Should I answer that chronologically or alphabetically?"

"Surprise me," she challenged, her smirk growing.

To the side of them, a boy with light brown hair rolled his eyes at their behavior, "You two..."

They both looked to him, faces depicting the innocence of angels, "Yes?"

He shook his head with an annoyed frown, "Never mind."

There was a pregnant pause as the three waited.

"… and cut!" The three turned to the director, "That's all we have for today." The people around them rushed about the set, moving things and giving instructions.

Shinmi pushed off from the desk and leaned on one of the corners. She looked to the boy in the desk, "Minoru, did you hear we're going to see the trailers at the end of the week?"

"I'm excited," he grinned, leaning back into the desk. "I did some pretty cool stuff during shooting. Do you think they're going to use parts from the scene on top of the building?"

"You mean the one where you and I practically kiss?" Shinmi asked. "Oh, I'm sure they will. Anything to help the hype of the series. Irene Adler only appeared in A Scandal in Bohemia, but she and Sherlock are seen as practically married." She rolled her eyes, "Shinsho might as well have given Airi a promise ring."

"I heard that it's going to be getting a lot of hype anyway," the boy with brown hair came over. He smirked, "How popular do you think we're going to get?"

"You sound excited, Hisao," Minoru said sarcastically.

"Oh, I'm bursting from the seams with excitement," he said dryly. "Everyone gets to see how much I got to patch you up like a doting nurse."

"You usually watch me writhe in pain before helping me in the show though," Minoru said thoughtfully.

"And Hisao and I argue about which one of us should help you." Shinmi added.

"Like you said, Airi practically has a ring on her finger," Hisao pointed out. "She should be willing to help her beloved."

"Well, Watsune and Shinsho might as well be married," Shinmi argued. "Sherlock and Watson had one of those bromances where it was leaning heavily on the 'actually homosexual' side."

"Are you calling my character gay?" Hisao asked blatantly.

Minoru blinked, "Actually, I think it would be Shinsho who would make all the advances. Jun's supposed to get a girlfriend later on in the series, and Shinsho drives her away, so I guess that could have something to do with it."

Shinmi shook her head, "I am not debating about whether or not Sherlock Holmes was secretly in love with John Watson."

"You brought it up though," Hisao reminded her.

"For the record, I said bromance leaning towards homosexuality," Shinmi clarified. "I didn't say he actually was gay.

"You implied it though," Minoru said.

She pushed off the desk, "I'm getting out of this uniform and away from this conversation."

"Me too," Hisao said. He looked to Minoru, "Coming?"

"Sure," Minoru slipped out of his desk. He went to Hisao and latched onto him, "How about you carry me, Hisa-chan~?"

"How about no?" the slightly taller teen suggested. He took a step forward, and the weight of the other boy set in, not letting him get that far.

"Drag me then," Minoru said childishly.

Shinmi cracked a smile, laughing to herself.

Hisao turned to the brunette, "You think this is funny?"

"I won't confirm or deny that statement," she said cryptically.

"Oh, be quiet, Hisa-chan, you know you love me," Minoru said.

"Only in your dreams." Hisao forced Minoru to let go, and the shorter teen found his butt connected to the ground.

"I'll meet you there~!" Minoru grinned cheekily from his spot on the ground. He then remembered something, "Do you guys read the manga for this show?"

"Minoru, we all read the manga for the show," Hisao reminded him. "Remember, the mangaka said that they wanted kids who were fans of it to play the main characters."

"Whatever, so you guys saw who the character based off of Arsène Lupin is, right?" Minoru asked. "He's just like Kaitou KID!"

"Except he wears black and read, is a high school student, and he's doing heists just because he's some rich kid with too much time on his hands," Shinmi said. "Kaitou KID wears white and blue and has to be at least as old as my parents. I don't think he has a motive though, so they're alike in that respect."

"Yeah, KID's been going for the most random gems," Hisao said. "Now he says that he's going to steal a clock tower."

"I'm sure he didn't mean the whole clock tower, just the hands or something," Minoru corrected with an eye roll, "There's no way that he could steal a whole clock tower."

"Right," Shinmi agreed mockingly, "because stealing two clock hands bigger than your person is totally possible." She added an afterthought, "Even if he could, I doubt KID would get away with it."

Minoru looked up at her, "What, you think you could stop him?"

"Shinmi-san, you may be on a drama about detectives," Hisao said, "but there's no way you could go up against real criminals."

Shinmi frowned to herself as Minoru got up off the ground, and the three walked off the set together.

Later, when she was walking to her car, she dialed a number, "Megure-keibu?"

"Who is this and how did you get this number?" Megure's voice rang clearly through the phone, "This is the number that's been sending anonymous tips to us. Who are you?"

"It's Kudou Yuusaku's daughter, Shinmi," she said quickly. "You gave me this number after we met on the plane to New York this past spring, remember?"

"…Yes, I do. So, it's been a child sending in all those alerts and clues?" The inspector was shocked.

"Yeah, sorry to be tricking the police force this whole time, but it was much easier for me to have you tell me the scenarios."

"I understand that," Megure allotted, "but how did you know when someone would die?"

Shinmi frowned lightly, "I seem to…" she coughed slightly, "run into them a lot, dead bodies. I'm always on the scene on the scene before you are, but I have to leave because it's not good for people to think I'm surrounded in death."

"I see…" Megure said slowly. "What did you want to speak with me about? Someone didn't die, did they?"

"No!"Shinmi said quickly, "I do have a favor to ask of you though…"

~:~

Kaito sat in his bedroom, holding a white top hat in his hands, "Tou-chan…" He looked up at the picture of his father dressed in KID's suit. He walked up to the painting and pushed his fingers against it, watching it swivel to a picture of his father at one of his magic shows. "… I'll find that gem, and I'll destroy it. I promise."

~:~

"Thanks for letting me do this, Megure-keibu" Shinmi said as she stepped into the helicopter, a laptop inside the messenger bag she was carrying. "I really appreciate it."

"Right, Shinmi-kun," Megure stepped in after her. "You said your parents know about this, didn't you? I don't want your parents getting mad at me when they find out I let you onto this helicopter."

Never mind the higher ups. It had taken Megure a lot of persuading to allow him and Shinmi replace two of the usual air patrol officers. When he had come up to them asking to allow it to happen, they had demanded to know who he was taking with him. When he had said that he wanted to take a fifteen year old girl on a helicopter with him, Megure had gotten more than a few strange looks. They eventually agreed though when he explained that it was the same person that had been helping them over the last few months, despite their surprise at who the person was.

"Of course they do," she assured the inspector with a smile. "I've been in a helicopter before with my parents anyway, so I don't think they're going to worry too much about me."

Megure looked to Shinmi a while after the helicopter began its journey. She was looking out at the slowly darkening sky. "So, Shinmi-kun, why the sudden interest in thieves? Are you actually considering joining the force when you get older?"

She smiled at him sweetly before turning back to the window, "I guess you can say that I want to prove a point."

~:~

Kaito looked into the mirror in the cop car he was borrowing. "Twenty minutes left…" He pulled the mask over his face, "I'm single, twenty-seven years old, and my name is…" a quick glance at the id next to him, "Sensui Yoichi." He put the officer's hat on, "Right, almost show time." He stepped out of the vehicle with his top hat and suit, casting a last look to the tied up man in the back seat, "I'll be borrowing you for tonight. I do hope that you don't mind to much~"

He maneuvered past initial security easily, and he easily masked the grin on his face as he got closer and closer to his target destination. He was stopped once, and he easily explained that he had found KID's suit and top hat and was supposed to bring it to Inspector Nakamori

"Yes, we were notified about you, but before you go to the inspector, let me see your police ID."

"Yes, sir," Kaito handed over the piece of identification to the higher ranking officer.

"So, what is your name, age, and date of birth," the man briefly looked at the ID before sending a penetrating gaze Kaito's way.

Kaito answered without hesitation, "Sensui Yoichi, aged twenty-seven and born on June second."

"Alright, you can proceed to meet with Inspector Nakamori at once," the officer offered the ID back.

"Yes, sir," Kaito saluted. Right when he reached for it though, the officer swiped it out of his hands.

"One last thing… what's your ID number?"

Kaito paused briefly as the number came to his mind. He saluted, rattling it off, "Six—two—eight—six—zero—five," a brief pause, "five—two—four—eight—one—zero."

"Eh?" The officer gawked in surprise.

Kaito's eyes widened, This isn't good…

"Ka-Kaitou KID!"

Kaito sprinted off, and the chase began. As he ran away, a voice inside his head berated him for remembering the ID number. What kind of cop actually remembered their ID number?

Chapters 3: http://www.fanfiction.net/s/8148002/3/

Chapter 4: http://www.fanfiction.net/s/8148002/4/

Chapter 5: http://www.fanfiction.net/s/8148002/5/

Chapter 6: http://www.fanfiction.net/s/8148002/6/

Chapter 7: http://www.fanfiction.net/s/8148002/7/

I update once every two weeks at the least! If you can, please leave me a review on site as I check there more often than here.