A New Opponent

Warnings: My first fic ever. Randomness without purpose or plot.

Notes: I just thought this would be funny.

Disclaimer: I do not own Detective Conan.

Kid couldn't believe how easy this was. The police had been ever so dimwitted today, and he had manipulated them to his every desire. Inspector Nakamori was probably steaming and cursing right now, although Kid didn't seem to have as much satisfaction from it as he usually would. It just wasn't a challenge without Hakuba or tantei-kun around.

Speaking of which, where was the brat?

Hakuba was no surprise; he was currently in London, but the little detective would usually do almost anything to make it to a heist. So why hadn't he come? Had he been held up by something, maybe another murder case? Kid stared at the large gem in his hands. Oh well, at least he had the jewel. He was about to hold it up to the moonlight when he heard a clicking sound behind him.

He quickly turned around, expecting to see tantei-kun with one of his special gadgets, but he instead found himself looking at another midget. She was about the same age as tantei-kun, with light brown hair styled in a wavy bob cut. Kid vaguely registered in his mind that he had seen her once before; she was one of tantei-kun's little friends. She was frowning, her face solemn and serious, and her eyes held a hard glare that made Kid feel as if she could see right through him. Although that in itself was scary enough, he was much more worried about the object she had in her hands.

She was holding a painted black, polished handgun. The barrel of the gun was pointed at him, the girl's finger delicately perched on the trigger. Now, Kid had quite a bit of experience, and he could easily tell the difference between a fake and a real gun.

And he certainly wasn't looking at a fake.

His poker face slipped, and he looked at the girl with wide eyes. Did she know what she had in her hands? That thing was deadly! How did she get that thing past museum security? No wait, scratch that. How did a seven year old girl get a gun in the first place?!

He quickly fixed his poker face. Trying to use a confident voice, he said, "Why hello, little girl. Beautiful night, isn't it?"

"I'm not here for small talk," the girl said, her voice melodious and yet threatening at the same time, and it sent shivers down his spine. She had a strange aura about her, something that made her seem very unchildlike. "I'm here to keep you from getting away."

"Oh, you mean with this?" Kid said, holding the gem up a little bit higher, although he performed the motion slowly and carefully, for he feared that if he made sudden movement, the girl would pull the trigger. "Rest assured, this will be returned in good time."

"That's not what I'm concerned about," she said. "I'm here to exterminate the Organization's little white, flying pest."

"Exterminate?" he asked, trying to keep the fear out of his voice. He wasn't sure if he had succeeded in doing so.

"Yes," she said. "The Organization has been after you for quite some time. You've been a hindrance to our mission, and as long as you are alive, we won't be able to find the thing we seek."

"Wait a minute," Kid protested. "What about tantei-kun? What would he think?"

"Oh, you mean Edogawa-kun?" she said. "He doesn't need to know about this."

"What?" Kid said, sure that the girl could now hear the shock in his voice. "Isn't he your friend?"

"Friend?" the girl repeated, with what Kid assumed was the closet thing she had to a laugh. "He was only a pawn in the plan. I merely used him to get closer to the people around him."

"So you're going to kill me?" Kid asked.

"To sum it up, yes," the girl said.

"Fine, but can I at least know something?"

"Like what?"

"What is this Organization?"

The girl smirked menacingly. "It's just a criminal organization. The members dress in black trenchcoats and hats."

Kid's eyes widened. "Snake," he gasped, more to himself than to the girl. Was she bluffing? It couldn't be, she knew too much. But what connection would Snake possibly have with a little girl?

"Don't blame me for this," said the girl, her finger flicking over the trigger, as if just to taunt him. "If anyone, you should blame yourself. You should never have started this little charade in the first place."

But Kid wasn't one to give up so easily. He had one more trick up his sleeve. Slowly, his hand inched towards his pocket...

"Don't try your luck. Move one more muscle, and you'll be dead before you can reach that smoke bomb in your pocket," the girl said, causing Kid to freeze.

Scratch that. He was now officially out of tricks. There was no other way out of this. Making amends in his brain, he closed his eyes and waited.

He heard the trigger click and the shot boom.

He waited for a while, for his brain to black out or for pain to start surging through him, but nothing happened. After a while of feeling nothing, he gained the courage to peek open one of his eyes, and looking down, he saw the girl, holding the gun, with purplish-blue flowers coming out of the end of the gun barrel. He took a look at the girl's face, and saw that her lips were set in an evilly satisfied grin.

"W-what the..." he started.

"Columbines," she said, pulling the flowers out.

"But...gun..."

"It looks real because it is," the girl said, answering his unasked question. "It's just been modified slightly."

"How did..."

"I'll just make sure this gets back to its rightful owner." The girl held up the gem that Kid was sure he had just held a moment ago. Looking at his hand, he saw that it was still there. He looked between the two identical jewels in utter confusion. "The one you're holding is fake," she said upon seeing his reaction. "Although it looks quite real, I made it from a special combination of chemical compounds. You can tell it's different by the initials I made on the bottom." Kid turned the jewel over and saw the English letters A.H. lightly carved into it. Why hadn't he noticed that before? "It's absolutely worthless," she continued.

"When..."

"I swapped them a bit before you snatched it," the girl explained. "Well, it's been nice, Kid, but I really must be going now. I'll send your regards to Edogawa-kun."

"But..."

"Bye bye," she said as she turned and walked away. As she did so, she threw the bundle of columbines up into the air. Kid watched the bundle fall to the ground, and when he looked back up, the girl was gone.

Kid stared in absolute shock for a long time. When he finally got a hold of himself, he looked down at the flowers on the ground. Slowly, he bent down and cautiously picked them up. Staring at them, he tried to remember what he knew about flowers. Columbines, he recalled, were used to represent "resolved to win". Symbolically, it was challenge to him.

Suddenly, Kid noticed something about the bundle. Attached to the stem of one of the flowers was a white notecard with something written on it. He grabbed the card, and with a quick pull, it was freed from the stem. He held the card up and started to read:

Dear Kaitou Kid,

I'm having a bit of trouble and I couldn't make it to the heist. However, so that you wouldn't get bored, I sent a replacement.

I'm not sure exactly what she had planned, but judging by the things she brought with her, you're probably feeling like you're ready to shit yourself right about now. I want to make it clear now not to blame me; it was all her idea and I had nothing to do with it. And also, don't worry about whatever she said to you. None of it was real, it was all just to scare you.

Don't worry about her trying to catch you. She has specific instructions that the only person who is allowed to do that is me. Her only purpose was to keep you from getting the jewel. If she has done so, then she has probably already returned it and gone home. You can keep the fake if you want, but you won't get much out of it. Also, understand that the columbines are a message from me.

-Edogawa Conan

P.S. If I ever need another replacement, I just might send her again.

More Notes:

-The idea came to me after watching an episode 190 clip on Youtube, the one where she points the gun at Conan. Somebody commented on the video, "Imagine if Haibara cornered him (Kid) at a heist and used THAT gun on him? I wonder what he'd feel?" Thus, this story was born.