Scar Akai

Scar Akai is a disguise used by Bourbon and Vermouth to impersonate Shuichi Akai to ensure that the real Akai is dead by judging the reactions of Akai's sister and close friends.

Background
Bourbon didn't initially believe Shuichi Akai was dead, so he came up with a plan to disguise as Akai to uncover the truth. He would approach Akai's close friends and colleagues and observe their reactions to him in order to see if Akai was dead. Bourbon asked Vermouth for her disguise assistance, and also made a promise to Vermouth, perhaps in exchange for her help. The boss approved their plan out of an abundance of caution, but Vermouth and Bourbon failed to tell Gin and the other members about it. In order to maximize the chances of success, Bourbon targeted Akai's friends when they were alone and in crowded public places so they could not retaliate and Bourbon could disappear easily. Bourbon first used the disguise to approach Jodie Starling at Teito Bank, then Andre Camel at Beika Department Store, and finally Masumi Sera in front of Mouri Detective Agency. These encounters convinced Bourbon that Akai was really dead.

When Bourbon and Vermouth uncovered a video of Shiho Miyano that showed she was going to be on the Bell Tree Express, they decided that Vermouth, who could impersonate Akai's voice, would don the disguise and use it to trick Masumi Sera so they could get her out of the way and intimidate Shiho into fleeing to part of the train were Bourbon lay in wait. Yukiko Kudo saw through Vermouth's disguise and challenged her to a "game of wits" in passing. Vermouth eventually ripped off the disguise when Yukiko confronted her directly.

Teito Bank Heist (Manga: 677-679, Anime: 563-564)
In his debut appearance, Jodie Starling encountered a man on the street in the Beika district who looks exactly like Shuichi Akai, but with a huge burn scar on the side of his face. She chased after him while calling out to him, but he turned down an alley without responding. James Black, not aware of the mysterious man's appearance, stopped Jodie from following after Scar Akai. Jodie assumes she saw a lookalike and, still upset, visits Teito bank. The bank is then hijacked by robbers who round up everyone. Jodie discovers that Scar Akai is sitting next to her. She tries to talk to him, saying his name, but he doesn't acknowledge that he even heard her. She assumes he has amnesia and cannot speak. The robbers then order everyone's eyes and hands to be taped up.

As the bank heist progresses, Jodie is knocked out and Conan and the Detective Boys design and execute a ploy to trick the bank robbers and rescue the hostages they plan on blowing up. In the confusion, Conan is grabbed and about to be killed by one of the vengeful robbers. Scar Akai rescues Conan by shooting the robber in the shoulder. Scar Akai vanishes after the case, Conan never being aware of his presence, although it is later discovered that Scar Akai was caught on tape by reporters. Jodie, reluctant to believe that this man was Shuichi, doesn't tell James Black or Camel about the meeting. ===Beika Department Store bomb threat case (Manga: 700-704, Anime: 578-581)=== Conan learns about the existence of Scar Akai from the Detective Boys who had recognized him from the Teito Bank heist. Conan is shocked by the news. In the meanwhile, Jodie has tracked down the maker of the hat Scar Akai has worn to the Beika Department Store and she questions the sales clerks if someone matching Scar Akai's description had bought a hat recently. While Andre Camel is in the bathroom, he sees Scar Akai pass behind him. Camel rushes from the bathroom, but Scar Akai is nowhere to be seen.

Scar Akai, along with Subaru Okiya and Conan, is then trapped on one of the department store floors by a bomber demanding to find the sender of thirteen red shirts. Meanwhile the Black Organization has heard that someone who looks like Akai appeared at the department store. Gin and Vodka park outside the department store with the snipers Chianti and Korn to wait for Scar Akai. Gin holds a gun to Kir's head explaining that if Akai is alive, he will kill her.

Back on the bombed floor, Subaru Okiya sees Scar Akai in the crowd and ducks away before Scar Akai could spot him. Jodie finds out Scar Akai is trapped on the floor from someone's video phone. Conan tranquilizes Kogoro Mouri to begin his deduction show just as Kogoro receives a text message containing a mostly complete solution to the case. Wanting to know who else deduced the solution, Conan and Ran trace the text to a man who reveals Scar Akai had "found his phone" and must have sent it. Conan is astonished and anxiously attempts to catch up to Scar Akai, but Conan is stopped by Jodie and Camel who tell him they also saw Scar Akai. Andre reveals the Black Organization are waiting outside with a sniper. Jodie rushes after Scar Akai to stop him from being killed, but is prevented from reaching him by Okiya who knocks her over.

Scar Akai leaves the store and walks into Chianti's scope. She informs Gin who also sees Scar Akai. Before Gin can order Chianti to shoot, Vermouth appears and speaks with Gin about a plan that she received the boss's authorization for. Scar Akai spots Chianti and smirks at her. She loses her aim and Scar Akai disappears into the rushing crowd which Conan had stirred up. Gin lowers his gun from Kir's head and decides to drop the assassination, commenting how Bourbon always likes to do what he pleases. ===Encounter at Mouri Detective Agency (Manga: 801, Anime: 675)=== While Masumi Sera is walking with Ran and Sonoko back to the Mouri Detective Agency, she spots Scar Akai in a crowd. She chases after him, but he slips out of sight. Ran asks Sera what happened, and Sera replies she thought she saw someone she knew, but then mentally adds there is no way that is possible. Hidden out of sight around a corner, Scar Akai watches Sera talk to Ran silently.

Bell Tree Express Arc (Manga: 818-824, Anime: 701-704)
Scar Akai appears on the Bell Train that the Conan and his friends have boarded. When Haibara passes him by, she senses the Black Organization vibe from him.

Later, as Scar Akai walks in the hall, he passes by a mysterious woman who had been seen with Subaru Okiya earlier, and she says something to Scar Akai as he passes. Right after that, Masumi Sera finally comes face-to-face with Scar Akai. She demands to know who he is. Scar Akai says, "You haven't changed at all, Masumi," He lifts his face up so Sera gets a clear look. Startled, Sera utters, "Shuu-nii" (-nii is the honorific used to address older brothers). She then begins to ask Scar Akai the reason why he was there, since she heard that Shuichi Akai died. Before she can say anything else, Scar Akai knocks her out with a stun gun, commenting that Sera's response was the one he hoped for. Scar Akai then mails Bourbon that he had "removed the obstacle, so the rest should go as planned" and grins. Scar Akai then goes to check the passenger list while the attendant was away, but he is spotted with the list when the attendant returns. Scar Akai gives the excuse that he thought he saw an old acquaintance on the train. He looks back at the attendant's chair, where he had placed a smoke canister hidden in the shadows beneath it. Afterwards, Scar Akai goes to the mysterious woman's cabin and throws her suitcase out of the window. As it flies out, the woman enters the room and reveals herself to be Yukiko Kudo. Scar Akai then rips off his mask, revealing himself to be Vermouth. Yukiko had seen through Vermouth's disguise and challenged her in passing to a secret "battle of wits" where Vermouth would truly give up on Shiho forever if Conan outsmarted Vermouth on the train.

Later, when Amuro confronts the person he believes to be Shiho Miyano, he explains to her that he has been disguising as Scar Akai to judge the reactions from people close to Akai to determine whether he's dead or not. This one time though, Vermouth disguised in place of him on Bell Tree Express because she could speak in Akai's voice.

Appellations
Law enforcement=
 * -|Black Organization=
 * -|Others=

Hints that Scar Akai is a Black Organization imposter and not the real Akai

 * For the former theory, please see Scar Akai is Bourbon Theory

Scar Akai is a disguise used by Vermouth and Tooru Amuro (Bourbon) to impersonate the real Shuichi Akai. Bourbon used the disguise at the Teito Bank, the Beika Department Store, and outside Mouri Detective Agency. Vermouth used the disguise aboard the Bell Tree Express.
 * Scar Akai is right handed, not left handed like Akai. Scar Akai used his right hand to fire a handgun, to hold his umbrella and to hand back a cellphone.
 * When Gin called Kir in the "Thirteen Red Shirts" case, he held a gun to her head the entire time. After Gin observes Scar Akai, he gives the order for Chianti to leave, and he lowers the gun from Kir's head. The lowering of the gun is concession on Gin's part that he knows or strongly suspects Scar Akai isn't the real Akai and thus is not proof Kir is a traitor. Gin also expresses displeasure with Bourbon directly following this incident.
 * Scar Akai's "amnesiac behavior" was contradictory and implied he was part of the Black Organization. If Scar Akai was the real Akai and had his memory, Akai would absolutely not wander around in the open since it puts Hidemi (Kir) at risk with no gains to be made from doing so. The Black Organization's actions in the "Thirteen Red Shirts" case demonstrate the danger. If Akai does not have his memory, then it is plausible Akai would walk around in the open without knowing the danger he is in, however Scar Akai's actions strongly suggested his memory was intact. He seems to be stalking the FBI by appearing before them: something he would not do if he had lost all of his memory. Further emphasizing the point, Akai also apparently left a warning message to Jodie on her drink coaster during the events of the thirteen red shirts case. If perhaps Scar Akai recognized the FBI a little and felt comfortable enough to leave Jodie a message, it is strange that he would not speak to the FBI agents since Scar Akai was clearly capable of speaking. Scar Akai also appeared to recognize Chianti.
 * The timing of the appearance of Scar Akai suggested he was a Black Organization member. Because the fire obscured the body of the man who was supposed to be Akai, only three groups knew Akai was dead, Conan and his allies, the FBI, and the Black Organization. Neither Conan's allies or the FBI would want to have someone disguise as Akai and risk having Hidemi Hondou rejected and killed by the Organization after all the work they did to reintroduce her. Meanwhile Bourbon didn't believe Akai is dead and didn't trust Kir, so he has a motive to concoct a plan to try to determine if the real Akai was alive regardless of Kir's wellbeing.
 * Scar Akai only targeted or only appeared in front of people who were close to Akai and might have helped fake his death. This was so Scar Akai could gauge from these people's reactions to the scarred Akai disguise whether they know the real Akai survived. The FBI agents Scar Akai has appeared in front of, Jodie and Camel, were known to be close to Akai and thus would be considered likely compatriots if Akai needed help faking his death. Masumi Sera was Akai's sister. Given the circumstances of Akai's death, Bourbon must also suspect Kir is a spy and was in on the plan. In light of this, it makes sense that Scar Akai would know Kogoro's cellphone number; Kogoro texted Kir after the Ding Dong Dash case, and Bourbon got Kogoro's number from Kir's cellphone which was left in Gin's Porsche when the FBI mistakenly intercepted her. Amuro later directly targeted Kogoro by becoming his apprentice.
 * Scar Akai appeared in highly public places, which would put civilians at risk if someone tried to attack him. In the Beika department store bombing case, the Black Organization had set up snipers aiming into a crowd of people hoping to get who they mistakenly thought was Akai. The real Akai would have avoided trying to meet the FBI in locations where the Black Organization might threaten civilians.
 * When Bourbon was the one disguise, Scar Akai avoided speaking in front of anyone who would know Akai's real voice. Jodie assumed he lost his voice at first, but it was later proven that Scar Akai was capable of speaking when he returned a phone. This suggested that the one is the Scar Akai disguise could not imitate voices. Only when Vermouth was the one disguising did Scar Akai speak in Akai's voice.
 * In the Beika department store case, Scar Akai demonstrated he was good at deduction like Bourbon had been described. His red shirts case solution wasn't as complete as Okiya's and Conan's deductions, but he may not have had access to the internet and therefore info on the snowy mountains case with his "borrowed" phone.

Name origin
"Scar Akai" is a popular fan created nickname used to distinguish this character from Shuichi Akai in discussion.

Trivia

 * The anime version of the Teito bank heist case created a minor error by showing Scar Akai's scar and the skin where the duct tape over his eyes had formerly been. Removing the tape should have tore the mask over Scar Akai's face at the time. In the manga, Scar Akai's face is drawn much more ambiguously; the gun and the shadow of the hat Scar Akai is wearing hide the scar and the part of his face where the tape had been removed.
 * In episode 579, as Andre Camel recalls the image of Scar Akai, the burn mark is on the wrong side of his face. Andre's memory is backwards because he saw Scar Akai in a mirror.