Chapter 13: A Witch's Omen
Recently, Kogoro Mouri's life had become significantly more difficult.
After that one blurry photo was posted online, a new urban legend began to spread like wildfire through Tokyo. The hashtag #MagicalGirlUncle climbed relentlessly, even breaking into the top ten trending topics on social media for the day. Kogoro stared at the trending list on his phone, his finger trembling as a chill shot up his spine.
Some clever netizen had connected the photo to Kogoro's well-known "habit" of visiting the restroom before cracking a case, as well as his involvement in the kidnapping rescue. Thus, the "Legend of the Restroom Detective" was born: the story of a perverted detective who transformed in bathroom stalls to solve crimes.
"Sailor Mouri!"
Back at the precinct, Officers Sato and Takagi were huddled over a phone, desperately trying to stifle their laughter. "Look at this fanart," Sato said, pointing at the screen. "Someone photoshopped Mr. Mouri's face onto a magical girl's body, complete with a red-and-black, lace-trimmed dress."
"If Mr. Mouri saw this, he'd probably cough up blood," Takagi chuckled.
Just then, Officer Chiba sidled up to them, a conspiratorial look on his face. "Hey, have you guys heard? The younger officers have started staking out the restrooms at crime scenes, hoping to catch a glimpse of the legendary 'Magical Girl Uncle' in person."
"You're kidding, right?" Sato asked, her eyes wide.
"I swear," Chiba said. "Last week, four rookies spent an entire day taking turns watching the men's room."
All three of them burst out laughing. Inspector Megure happened to walk by, shooting them a stern glare. They immediately straightened up, pretending to be discussing case files.
In her room, Sonoko Suzuki was excitedly showing her phone to Ran.
"Ran, you have to see this! They've already made 'Magical Girl Uncle' memes!"
Sonoko scrolled through a series of ridiculous edited photos: a mustached man in a frilly dress striking classic magical girl poses.
"This is just absurd," Ran said, caught between laughter and disbelief. "How can anyone actually believe this stuff?"
"But," Sonoko said, her expression suddenly serious, "don't you think the figure in that blurry photo... looks a little bit like your dad?"
"What?"
"I mean, I know it's super blurry, but the silhouette..."
Ran snatched the phone, her eyes widening as she zoomed in on the picture. As grainy as it was, the figure's build did have a certain familiar, lanky shape. "No way..." she whispered, shaking her head in denial. "My dad couldn't possibly... this is ridiculous!"
"It's probably just a crazy coincidence," Sonoko conceded. "But you have to admit, it looks a lot like him."
Ran fell silent, a thoughtful frown on her face. Her father had been acting strangely lately. The constant trips to the restroom during cases, and more recently, he seemed to have developed an almost pathological fear of restrooms... She was genuinely starting to worry about his mental health.
Back at the Mouri Detective Agency, Kogoro stared at his phone, his face ashen.
"It's over, it's over, it's over..." he groaned. "My career is finished. Which damn brat is responsible for ruining my image like this?!"
Conan stood nearby, his expression complicated. "The photo is too blurry. No one will really know it's you."
"But people online are already starting to connect the dots!" Kogoro slammed his hand on the desk in despair. "And now, every time I go to a crime scene, I catch a few cops staring at the bathroom door!"
"Then stop transforming in bathrooms. Find somewhere else."
Kogoro nodded miserably. "I have to."
An opportunity arose with a complex bank robbery case that required his expertise. But when Kogoro realized he needed to use his "Eye of Truth," he faced an unprecedented dilemma: with everyone watching him, where was a safe place to transform?
His first attempt was the fitting room of a department store.
"Sir?" a sales clerk called, knocking on the door. "You've been in there for twenty minutes. Do you need any assistance?"
"N-No, I'm fine!" Kogoro yelped, hastily changing back the second he had the case figured out. When he emerged, his face flushed, the clerk gave him a strange, speculative look.
"Um," the clerk began hesitantly, having caught a glimpse of a frilly hem under the door. "Were you, by any chance, looking to purchase some of our womenswear? We have personal stylists who can help you find the right size..."
"NO, NO, I'M GOOD!" Kogoro practically fled the store, his face the color of a ripe tomato.
His second attempt was even more disastrous. He chose a dense patch of bushes in a public park. The moment he began the transformation, a man walking his dog spotted him. A flash of magical light erupted as Kogoro's suit began to dissolve into particles.
"PERVERT!" the man screamed. "There's a pervert in the bushes setting off flash bombs while changing into women's clothes!"
The transformation aborted, Kogoro sprinted from the scene at top speed.
[Non-Human Beings Chat Group]
Tom Cat: [Cat_is_Laughing_Hysterically.jpeg], [Cat_Rolling_its_Eyes.jpeg]
SpongeBob SquarePants: Oh, barnacles! Mr. Mouri is having the worst luck!
Eventually, Kogoro was forced to ask for help. At Dr. Agasa's house, he explained his predicament to Mitsuhiko and Haibara.
"So, you can't find a safe place to transform anymore?" Haibara asked, one eyebrow raised.
"Everyone is watching me! This stupid internet meme has ruined my life."
"I can help!" Mitsuhiko offered immediately.
Haibara thought for a moment. "It could work. Mitsuhiko can teleport you to a deserted location. You transform, solve the case, and then he brings you back."
"Is that safe?" Kogoro asked nervously.
Haibara glanced at him. "Safer than you are now."
And so, a strange new partnership was formed. During the next case, when Kogoro needed his "Eye of Truth," he made an excuse to slip away. Mitsuhiko was waiting for him around a corner.
"Ready, Mr. Mouri?"
Kogoro nodded. The next second, they vanished, reappearing inside a dusty, abandoned warehouse. "It's safe here. I'll keep watch outside."
Kogoro quickly transformed, the red and black magical girl outfit materializing in a flash of light. "Eye of Truth!" he commanded. The case details snapped into focus, and the killer's identity became clear. Once he was done, Mitsuhiko teleported him back near the crime scene.
"Thanks, Mitsuhiko."
"No problem," the boy smiled. "I'm glad I could help."
Neither of them noticed the tiny, almost imperceptible smudge of darkness that had appeared on Mitsuhiko's bright blue Soul Gem.
Ran and Sonoko's concerns, meanwhile, were heading in a completely different direction.
"Ran," Sonoko said one afternoon at a cafe, "don't you think your dad is acting... super sketchy lately?"
"What? I... I don't think so."
"Think about it," Sonoko said, ticking off points on her fingers. "He's suddenly all secretive, disappears for no reason, and sometimes when he comes back he looks exhausted but also weirdly giddy..."
"Well..." Ran started to waver.
"And the biggest thing," Sonoko leaned in conspiratorially, "yesterday, I saw your dad sneaking into an alley with that little elementary school kid, Mitsuhiko! And then they both just... vanished!"
"That doesn't make any sense..."
"I think," Sonoko declared, "we need to investigate."
For the next few days, Ran and Sonoko launched their own clumsy but enthusiastic surveillance operation, hiding behind newspapers and wearing ridiculous sunglasses. But every time, Kogoro managed to give them the slip, thanks to Mitsuhiko's teleportation.
"How did we lose him again?!" Sonoko grumbled, kicking a loose stone. "He was right here a second ago!"
Ran sighed, her face etched with worry. "Dad is being so strange. I'm really worried about him..."
While one Kyubey was observing this domestic comedy for its chat group livestream, the other Kyubeys were busy.
[Non-Human Beings Chat Group]
Tom Cat: [Cat_Shrugging_Helplessly.jpeg]
SpongeBob SquarePants: This is the best show ever! Ran is investigating her own dad, who is secretly transforming into a magical girl!
Back at the precinct, Inspector Megure reviewed the recent case files. "Strange," he mused. "Mouri hasn't been insisting on using the restroom lately, but his case-solving rate is still perfect..." He looked thoughtfully out the window. "I wonder what changed..."
Late night. A balcony on an unknown apartment building.
A middle-aged woman sat slumped in a corner, the silver-gray Soul Gem in her hand almost completely black. A Kyubey sat on the railing, watching her.
"I can't... change back..." the woman whimpered. "I... I only wanted..."
With a low moan, a tiny crack appeared on the surface of the pitch-black gem. There was no grand explosion, no storm of energy. The Soul Gem simply shattered, its metal frame snapping, and reformed into a small, dark object: a Grief Seed.
The woman's body went limp, like a puppet with its strings cut, her eyes vacant. The Grief Seed floated in the air, the space around it beginning to warp and twist as the fabric of reality was gently torn open.
Down on the street, a salaryman walking home late from work suddenly stopped. His eyes glazed over, and he began to walk, zombie-like, toward the encroaching black mist.
[Energy Harvested: 10 units.]
"Only 10 units, even from a transformation into a Witch?" the Kyubey on the railing noted. "More cross-referenced data on this world's lifeforms is required. Very well. Goodbye."
It leaped from the railing and vanished into the night.
At that same moment, a faint magical pulse washed over the city.
In their respective homes, Ai Haibara, Mitsuhiko Tsuburaya, and Kogoro Mouri all felt it.
"That feeling again..." Haibara murmured, frowning in her sleep.
Mitsuhiko rolled over in bed, instinctively touching his own Soul Gem. The tiny smudge of darkness on it seemed just a little bit deeper now.
At the agency, Kogoro, who had been cheering for a Yoko Okino special on TV, glanced toward the window for a second before turning back to his beer. "GO, YOKO-CHAN!"
None of them gave the weak magical signal a second thought. They had felt similar, fleeting pulses countless times over the past few weeks.
And in a forgotten corner of the city, a Witch's Labyrinth quietly expanded, swallowing its first unsuspecting victim.