"Ran, what are you going to dress up as?" Sonoko brought her full set of makeup tools for the masquerade, excited as ever. "I'm a makeup expert, I can do any look—kappa, monsters, you name it."
"You'd better help Dad first. As for me, I don't really feel like going to the masquerade."
"Why not? Masquerades are supposed to be fun!" Sonoko still hadn't figured out why Ran didn't want to go.
It was fear. Ran's biggest fear was unscientific monsters and ghosts. A masquerade filled with those? Of course she'd be scared.
"Do mine first, make me something cool—something fitting for my great detective status," Mouri said.
Ran planned to check the result first. If it didn't look scary, she'd go. But stage makeup and the actual event were two different things. Makeup alone might not be frightening, but once inside with lights and decorations building the atmosphere, even something simple could turn creepy.
Ran was still too young. Seeing her father's vampire look, she found it not scary at all, so she decided to join.
Mouri's makeup was just a little powder, fake fangs, and fake ears—not scary at all. But others weren't going to keep it so mild.
"Ran, hurry up. If the two of us go all out, we'll definitely be the center of attention at the party. That way, we can reel in some hot guys." Sonoko wasn't going to let even a masquerade go by without fishing for men.
She and Ran dressed up as shrine maidens, a fairly simple look.
Meanwhile, Conan spent the whole afternoon at the professor's house, arguing with the Detective Boys about costumes. In the end, they chose characters from Kamen Yaiba. Conan was exhausted. If he could just delete his account and reroll his life, he'd do it instantly. But he couldn't, so he had to keep dealing with these kids.
When he returned to the Mouri house, Conan realized his suffering wasn't over. The whole Mouri family was planning to attend the party too. "Ran-neechan, you guys got an invitation too?"
"Conan, you know about the party as well?"
"Yeah, the professor's going too."
"Great! The more the merrier," Ran said happily.
Sonoko, on the other hand, wasn't thrilled. Too many acquaintances meant fewer chances to hook new guys. If it was full of familiar faces, that would be boring.
"So, Conan, what are you guys dressing up as?"
"Ayumi and Mitsuhiko decided on Kamen Yaiba," Conan replied.
"Kamen Yaiba, huh? Do your best!" Ran encouraged them unconditionally. She always supported the kids' enthusiasm for events like this.
"What about you, Ran-neechan? What's your costume going to be?"
Conan's mind instantly filled with thoughts of uniform temptation—Ran transformed into something incredibly sexy. Heh, heh… his pervy thoughts ran wild.
"Conan? Conan?" Ran had no idea her boyfriend was actually the little brat in front of her—a child's body with an adult's thoughts, which sometimes meant inappropriate ideas.
"This little pervert is definitely imagining something weird again." Sonoko, as always, could read Conan like a book. "Ran, don't bother with this pervy kid. Our shrine maiden outfits are going to blow everyone away."
Shrine maidens, huh? Conan's thoughts ran wild again.
The party was scheduled for the evening two days later, with everyone gathering at the docks. Until then, everyone was busy settling their costumes. The Detective Boys took it seriously, dragging Conan along to practice their moves.
The Kamen Yaiba poses were way too much for Conan. Way too embarrassing. Back in elementary school, he already disliked Kamen Yaiba. To him, that was stuff for kindergartners. Making someone with a high schooler's brain perform those cheesy kids' moves—Conan just couldn't handle it.
"Conan, you're hopeless. Your hand's gotta be higher! Kamen Yaiba's moves need power," Mitsuhiko scolded, acting like the instructor. He was the only one with a full set of Kamen Yaiba tapes at home. "Again!"
"Oh!" Every kid had a hero dream. Genta and Ayumi shouted with energy, "Transform! Kamen Yaiba!"
Conan, though, had dead-fish eyes the whole time, weighed down by shame. Haibara, on the other hand, did the poses flawlessly, though her expression never changed—calm as if life and death meant nothing.
"Hey, Haibara, don't you feel embarrassed doing this?" Conan nearly wanted to die from shame.
"No. It feels kind of fun," Haibara said as she kept posing.
Tch. This girl's way of thinking was just impossible for him to get.
"Conan, it's still your turn. Do it ten times by yourself." Mitsuhiko frowned. "If your moves aren't right, how can we call ourselves Kamen Yaiba?"
Hey, hey, you're not Kamen Yaiba to begin with! You brats are way off. No matter how much you practice, you'll never become real Kamen Yaiba!
"By the way, Haibara, will your adoptive parents be coming?"
"Yeah. And my foster mother won't even tell me what she's dressing up as. She's being all mysterious, said she wants to give me a scare."
Watching her talk, Conan could tell Haibara was slowly getting used to having family. Maybe the professor was right. A complete family really was good for her. At the very least, she was much brighter now.
Haibara herself probably hadn't noticed, but Conan had. She used to give off constant unease, like she wanted to vanish any second. That fear was gone now. Haibara was acting more and more like a normal girl. The tightness in her face had eased, and she wasn't as cold and distant anymore.
"Alright, let's stop here for today. Let's go to the professor's place and check out the costumes he made for us," Mitsuhiko finally said, satisfied. "We need to keep up our energy for tomorrow too."
The professor really had it rough. He hadn't even decided on his own costume yet, but he still made props for the kids. And he wasn't about to disappoint them. In just twenty hours, he managed to finish several uniforms—working himself half to death.
"Professor, professor!"
But Professor Agasa had dozed off on the couch.
"Keep it down, everyone. He's resting. I know where your costumes are," Haibara whispered, leading them quietly to the workshop.
The professor's basement was a lab, but the workshop was in the garage.
"Whoa!" The professor's craftsmanship was as good as ever. The costumes fit perfectly, with details exactly like the ones on TV.
"They really look like actual Kamen Yaiba," Mitsuhiko said in awe.
But when they put them on, Genta's big belly gave him away. There had never been a Kamen Yaiba with a gut like that. He looked like a total fake.
"You're here!" The professor had woken up after all.
"Professor, go back to rest," Haibara said with concern.
But Agasa didn't mind. "By the way, I've already decided what I'll be tomorrow."
"Professor, what will you dress up as?"
He tugged at his lab coat proudly and said, "I'll go as myself—Professor Agasa, genius inventor! Hahaha~~"
…
They never expected him to be so vain. But honestly, the lab coat fit perfectly. It even worked for Halloween. Where there are mad scientists, there are scientists too.
With that, everyone's roles were set. All that was left was to look forward to the masquerade.