A real-Okiya theory that barely reasons itself

[b-okiya]

I've been thinking for a long time about the possibility of a real Okiya Subaru being existent. It is not that I have come up with a new super-discovery (nor that I want to add a new mysterious character to the already-crowded package XD); it is just that there are certain points that keep popping ahead of me, which I personally consider as potentially hidden clues. If they did not support the theory, then I would rather go with the choice that they do really leave unsolved, but minorly harmful, spots in the series. So, I am just writing my opinions here based on speculations; no more no less.
Yeah, I am bad at introductions, so I guess it is better if I start talking about the main points:
1) Okiya had been living in an apartment for a nonspecific period of time before it got burnt. In his first appearance, precisely in chapter 624 page 5, the kid said in his diaries that he used to see Okiya watering the flowers every day, which could certainly mean that this was a routine not a new finding. Moreover, we used to neglect the time factor when it comes to periods between arcs, so any attempt to precisely determine how much time has passed from the clash series until Okiya's appearance is going to be pointless, thus, one cannot be sure that Akai has been disguising as Okiya for a long time based on the time between those arcs. Finally, if we assume that Okiya was a new comer to the residence, that had to be mentioned in the investigations by the neighbors. At least that is what Gosho usually does. So, I can safely say that there is a good chance he was a kind of old resident.
2) It would be more illogical if this turned out to be a manually created face. We used to see the disguises being copied from real persons, which is more rational.
3) Conan's line about Yukiko's disguising abilities "she is good at doing disguises of those close to her" is a very suspicious line. Firstly, it is apparent that Conan meant by "close to her" the copied persons not those who get disguised. This was also proved by 2 lines; the first was his reply for Yusaku when he said that Conan should be Grateful to his mother because she was acting as Yusaku at that moment in the ceremony to let him help Conan, to which Conan replied by "close to her" meaning Yusaku's face that she was wearing. The second was his following line about his disguise of Haibara in the past (which really made lots of theories about deeper relationships between Yukiko and Haibara's family, though I would like to spare that for another time).
Secondly, I think that Conan's line is a double-misleading thread. Yusaku meant the compliment for his wife Yukiko because he is close to her, and this is the first misleading one. Conan then thought about Haibara's disguise made for him (which most of the people started making speculations of), and this is the second misleading one (and maybe the one Gosho used to distract the fans).
However, I think that the probably meant disguise there was the Okiya-Akai one itself. And from the previous points, we can suppose that the copied person (because it is unlikely to be created out of nowhere) does exist. Who is that person? A person who happens to be living there in that very apartment AND has a specific relation to Yukiko. Why did they choose him to copy? Because his house was very perfect for Akai's next job (remember Haibara's very important sentence during Okiya's first appearance: "I pass by the apartment a lot on my way home"). What is his relationship with Yukiko? Does not matter; a relative or a friend of her.
4) Last point (though it may seem irrational): The anime version of his first appearance, specifically episode 510, showed Okiya in a background watering the flowers. He held the water pipe with his right hand, so that might be indicating for the real (old) Okiya. I know it can be irrelevant (either because it is in the anime only or because even left-handed people sometimes hold items with the right hand), but I just cannot exclude it.

Conclusion of the theory: there is a person named Okiya whom Yukiko (and maybe Conan) knows well. He used to live near Kudo's house. When they thought about the disguise plan, they chose to copy him and get him into protection (elsewhere) because his house was the best for watching Haibara (which is one of the main aspects of the plan). After they had done, a fire accident occurred. He (Akai) moved to Shinichi's house.
Finally; what would he add if he existed? what would his role be?
I do not know. Maybe nothing.

You might see this silly. But anyways, the title does say that it is more of a speculation.
I am sorry, I may not be able to discuss here because I rarely find time to log in. You are, of course, welcome to share your opinions here.

[ThatLee4]

Finally. Someone else who feels the Okiya Akai situation is not fully finished. But let's see what Gosho does next

[SilverBullet-sama]

1) Okiya had been living in an apartment for a nonspecific period of time before it got burnt. In his first appearance, precisely in chapter 624 page 5, the kid said in his diaries that he used to see Okiya watering the flowers every day, which could certainly mean that this was a routine not a new finding. Moreover, we used to neglect the time factor when it comes to periods between arcs, so any attempt to precisely determine how much time has passed from the clash series until Okiya's appearance is going to be pointless, thus, one cannot be sure that Akai has been disguising as Okiya for a long time based on the time between those arcs. Finally, if we assume that Okiya was a new comer to the residence, that had to be mentioned in the investigations by the neighbors. At least that is what Gosho usually does. So, I can safely say that there is a good chance he was a kind of old resident.

Whether one week has passed, or a decade, nothing in chapter 622 is mentioned. In Chapter 622, the police read the last few entries of the diary, and not everything. Assuming Okiya is a newcomer, and Kaito-kun mentioned it somewhere, we wouldn't know and police did not look into it. Also, Kaito-kun did not say Okiya keeps watering the plants. One point to note: Police did not suspect the residents at first, it was DBs who said it must be one of those residents.

2) It would be more illogical if this turned out to be a manually created face. We used to see the disguises being copied from real persons, which is more rational.

Disguise being manual is not illogical. Maybe this suits Akai's face better? And even if this disguise is copied from someone, what are the odds that this someone has the same physical appearance (weight/height) as Akai? It can also be copied from someone who lives 1000s of Km away and can be an insignificant character.

3) Conan's line about Yukiko's disguising abilities "she is good at doing disguises of those close to her" is a very suspicious line. Firstly, it is apparent that Conan meant by "close to her" the copied persons not those who get disguised. This was also proved by his following line about his disguise of Haibara in the past (which really made lots of theories about deeper relationships between Yukiko and Haibara's family, though I would like to spare that for another time).
Secondly, I think that Conan's line is a double-misleading thread. Yusaku meant the compliment for his wife Yukiko because he is close to her, and this is the first misleading one. Conan then thought about Haibara's disguise made for him (which most of the people started making speculations of), and this is the second misleading one (and maybe the one Gosho used to distract the fans).
However, I think that the probably meant disguise there was the Okiya-Akai one itself. And from the previous points, we can suppose that the copied person (because it is unlikely to be created out of nowhere) does exist. Who is that person? A person who happens to be living there in that very apartment AND has a specific relation to Yukiko. Why did they choose him to copy? Because his house was very perfect for Akai's next job (remember Haibara's very important sentence during Okiya's first appearance: "I pass by the apartment a lot on my way home"). What is his relationship with Yukiko? Does not matter; a relative or a friend of her.

Yukiko did the Okiya disguise for Yuusaku. It was perfect. Why? Because Yukiko has been seeing Okiya a lot recently (She is even infatuated by him, lol).

4) Last point (though it may seem irrational): The anime version of his first appearance, specifically episode 510, showed Okiya in a background watering the flowers. He held the water pipe with his right hand, so that might be indicating for the real (old) Okiya. I know it can be irrelevant (either because it is in the anime only or because even left-handed people sometimes hold items with the right hand), but I just cannot exclude it.

Such flashback is not part of the manga series (Chapters 622-623-624) and is thus totally irrelevant.
Okiya has been seen using his right hand many times in the manga, and a theory about Akai being ambidextrous is already posted on the Forum. Either way, each time Akai/Okiya was seen using his right hand, it is usually a manageable task. Example: Chapter 812.

All in all, maybe your theory is right, but we can never confirm it with what we have right now. Hope my input was helpful.

[David mason]

2) It would be more illogical if this turned out to be a manually created face. We used to see the disguises being copied from real persons, which is more rational.

I thought that given that okiya looks similar enough to akai, a wig and glasses are the only props needed for the disguise. When ran kicked him in the jaw it was clear that he wasn't wearing any mask

[Nemomon]

This is a good theory, and I can see only one odd thing in it. When Okiya came to Kudo's house, Shinichi told Ran that she has to lie about him to Okiya. If this whole plan was made with Conan's involvement, he wouldn't need to tell Ran to lie about him. Especially if he knew who the real Okiya is, and therefore that the current Okiya is just an imposter that he willingly created to spy Haibara.

[unclesporkums]

Well, that answer from Gosho pretty much solidified it.

[[red]]

Or maybe the real Okiya is dead, and there's no way of him appearing in the flesh. But even then, it sounds like a long shot ...

[Startold]

The idea itself is interesting, but Gosho did imply that Okiya as not a real person in SDB 80+:

Q78: I want a real Subaru Okiya to appear, one that isn't Shuuichi Akai in disguise, Yuusaku Kudou in disguise, or anyone at all in disguise. Is that an impossible request?
A: I guess it is...