...And there was not much satisfaction to be had with that, unfortunately. Shinichi becomes a cat rather than a little boy when taking the poison. This changes... surprisingly little, actually.
Curiosity Made The Cat is a Case Closed Alternate Universe fanfic by sylph_feather, and can be read here
or here. It starts with a simple premise: what if the apotoxin turned Shinichi into a cat instead of a little boy? From there, shenanigans ensue, secret identities abound, and not an opportunity is wasted to make cat puns.
Tropes Appearing in Curiosity Made The Cat:
- Abandoned Pet in a Box: Mitsuhiko and Genta’s introduction.
- Achievements in Ignorance: Kogoro decides that the cure for a cat’s sickness is catnip, because it’s like drugs to cats, and drugs = medicine. It actually turns out to be a temporary cure for the poison, which Professor Agasa has been working on to no avail until then. The catnip is the basis for the next batch of temporary cures.
- Animals Fear Neutering: Justified, as Shinichi is perfectly capable of understanding human speech and injuries carry over when he transforms.Shinichi: H… how about you hold off on that, Ran. He’s… such a pretty cat! The castration scars would keep him from uh, entering beauty contests?
- Artistic License – Pharmacology: At least canon gives a plausible sounding excuse for Shinichi turning into a child, but here, the drug makes Shinichi a cat for no discernible reason except perhaps Rule of Funny. Gin and Vodka don’t appear to have a clue that this was even possible, given their reaction to that cat in the bullet train bombing case. Possibly subverted, as chapter one of the side story titled “fluff bits” suggests that the original purpose of the poison may have been to introduce foreign DNA into the bloodstream to cause a reaction, leading to death, but this has not yet been confirmed. It’s possible it will fairly soon, with Haibara’s introduction.
- Bakeneko and Nekomata: Shinichi’s excuse to Ran.
- Big Brother Instinct: Since Shinichi is a young adult cat and the detective boys are kittens (and conveniently orphans), he ends up somewhere between here and Promoted to Parent. It’s enough to distract Shinichi from his post-Moonlight Sonata depression. He’s awfully Tsundere about it, but it’s clear that he genuinely cares for them. He even takes Agasa’s advice and grooms them, since they don’t have parents to do that.
- Bruce Wayne Held Hostage: A more benign example. In chapter 54, Kaitou Kid recognizes Conan as one of Catastrophe’s (see friend of masked self) and decides to grab him in order to get Catastrophe’s attention. He doesn’t have any ill intentions, only wanting to face off against Catastrophe, but Conan is pretty pissed about the situation.
- Cherry Blossoms: Ran takes Shinichi to see the cherry blossoms in chapter 26 to try to heal his bad luck curse. They get lost and solve a murder; needless to say, Shinichi’s luck is unchanged.
- Contemplating Your Hands: In a rather unique example, Shinichi is both high and understandably delighted to have hands again. Hattori calls him out on this, and Shinichi makes an excuse about mixing cold medicines that he shouldn’t have.
- Decomposite Character: Jimmy shows up sometimes when the case requires a human child; he appears to be a perfectly ordinary seven year old with the name of Shinichi’s dub counterpart. His narrative role is the same as the detective boys when the kittens wouldn’t have the same effect.
- Free-Range Pets: Shinichi is the prime example, but he also teaches the detective boys and his cat gang how to sneak around.
- Friend of Masked Self: A rather interesting example; when Kaitou Kid asks Catastrophe about Conan.Kaitou Kid: Who are you? The cat— I heard it yowling. Where is it?Catastrophe: He’s fine. He’s one of mine. I trained him to bring you here.
- High on Catnip: Very, very much so.
- I Have My Ways: Shinichi’s response when Hattori asks how he got his phone number.
- Incredibly Lame Pun: Shinichi makes several of these the first time he’s high, and many of the later chapters have punny names. Also, Catastrophe.
- Insistent Terminology: They’re not a cat gang, Hattori, they’re— business partners.
- Improbable Antidote: Catnip. Shinichi turning himself back into a human in order to keep himself from dying of the coffee he drank also qualifies, as it’s not a conventional solution, but it still works.
- Live Mink Coat: How Shinichi tends to travel with Ran.It was more convenient to be able to see at relative eye level, it got him around without needing to dodge careless people’s feet, and it ensured that he’d keep his energy considering cats weren’t creatures known for any sort of stamina.
- Maybe Magic, Maybe Mundane: Invoked by Shinichi in chapter ten, when he decides he wants to keep plausible deniability, but later averted as he’s forced to speak and make more blatant references to his nature as a spirit.
- Mushroom Samba: On the effects of Catnip. It starts with swirling colors, and escalates to Shinichi clawing at the walls because they won’t tell him what they saw. Hilariously, he’s high for a while every time he transforms.
- My Instincts Are Showing: Played for Laughs, although Shinichi is unamused.
- Painful Transformation: Shinichi turning from cat to human, or back again.
- Popular with Furries: In universe example, with Catastrophe. It’s treated with surprising humor and grace. The author makes a lot of jokes about this.
- Pragmatic Adaptation: Some cases are heavily modified or even cut because they simply wouldn’t work with cats, and entire sections are skipped because of the sheer volume of canon. The author laments the former in the notes.
- Rescue Introduction: Ayumi. Later, Haibara.
- Secret-Keeper: Agasa, Shinichi’s parents, and Hattori.
- Shown Their Work: Particularly regarding cats, but also bakeneko and drugs.
- Sliding Scale of Anthropomorphism: Shinichi takes a long slide down this one for the longer version of the temporary antidote.
- Sure, Let's Go with That: Why Shinichi decides on his bakeneko cover story. He’s not particularly superstitious, but Ran is, and it’s easier to let her believe that than the truth.
- Yaoi Fangirl: Sonoko. She openly admits to writing Kid/Catastrophe fanfiction, sometimes with a self-insert thrown in.
