Heya !
Time to enter another story : )
So this one is the sequel of "Unexpected Alliances". Some references will be made to the first story so you'd better read it first : )
To introduce this a bit, the story will happen four years later and will be quite more MK-centred, so expect it to flirt a bit with supernatural thingies : ) It'll be manga-based, even for the latest chapters, I just allowed myself a few changes for this story :
- Spider will be seen as Canon
- The Volley comet is going to pass pretty soon (so four years after, not 6 months)
- Hakuba, being born at the end of the summer should have been the youngest... Wells it's always a bit hard to estimate as our heroes are sometimes 16 sometimes 17... I couldn't see him as such so I made him the oldest, born the year before the others (making Heiji the youngest).
- After all what happened, and the time that passed, I modified the way the boys call each other : it was due to evolve after all they went through together so don't be surprised : )
I'm not really familiar with MK centred fics, so I hope those ideas I had were a bit original and that they haven't been overused before xD
SUMMARY : Four years after "Unexpected Alliances", the four boys are now beginning their peaceful lives as adults. But with the Volley comet coming soon, the Organization Kaito is facing is more and more aggressive and he needs their help... Will they be able to get out of this fight unscathed?
CHARACTERS : Centered on the Gosho Boys of course :D
PAIRINGS : Canon
WARNINGS : T for Violence and languages. Be cautious of spoilers on MK also, I'll be using the latest chapters. This fic will have some pretty dark moments, though they'll only be "moments", but you've been warned.
Ok, this chapter is to be read as an introduction.
As there's a time gap, there were of course a lot of changes in our boys' life and I had to present it first before going to the action.
So mainly chitchat in there, with a lot of information, sorry if that's perhaps too much but that's needed : )
And I'll be posting a second chapter today so you'll have a bit more action : )
Chap 1 : Active life
The man had a smirk when he opened the door, hearing the faint snoring coming from one of the blue couches in the middle of the room. He came closer, letting the mail he just fetched on small table near the couches, and snorted when he noticed in the faint light that the pillow under the dark-skinned man's head was slightly wet, clearly due to the drool coming from the sleeper's mouth.
Approaching his lips to the other's ear, he suddenly yelled : " O HA YOOO !"
Green eyes snapped open, and a not really happy Osakan rolled down the couch as he jumped with surprise, groaning as his elbow hit the floor first, luckily cushioned by the fluffy carpet.
"- What the… ! " He swore, sitting up with difficulty, nursing his elbow as he looked around, his eyes noticing a certain Tokyoite trying really hard not to burst in laughter, though he didn't manage pretty long to refrain from it and his voice soon echoed in the room.
"- Crap, Shinichi, that's no fun…" He glared at his friend before getting up with a yawn and rubbing his eyes to get rid of the last traces of sleepiness in them.
"- Sorry, Heiji… it was just… " The brown-haired detective answered with a shrug, doing his best to catch his breath as he was holding his ribs. "Oh, well, it's 10 a.m., it's time to get up ! And when will you stop sleeping on that couch ?
- It's not that uncomfortable… " The Osakan pointed out as he sat on it, flatly looking at his friend opening the curtains, raising a hand to protect his eyes of the sudden light.
"- Your own bed would still be better… When will you solve that stupid quarrel with Kazuha… ? It's been what, a month already ?" Shinichi sighed, turning back to his friend. "Hey, what happened to your face ?!
- Tss, it's that stupid baldie… " The green-eyed detective grumbled, touching his bruised chin with the tip of his fingers.
"- The one you were supposed to tail ?" The azure-eyed man wondered, heading to the small kitchen to fetch some ice.
"- Yea… He an' his friend started mistreatin' some waitress in that bar, I couldn' stand it… His wife was right, he's sneaky little perv'… I'm glad I could get some good pictures, she'll be able ta get rid o' that guy with that…
- Still… Work on you discretion, Heiji… Being a detective isn't only about brute force, unless you want to get punched in the face on every case…" He gently scolded, throwing him the ice pack, and crashing in the couch in front of him.
"- Thanks… An' they can hit me, I'll just have ta sue those bastards : one o' the only advantages bein' still underage is that violence on a minor will cost them a lot…
- … Try to remember it ends beginning of next month…" The Tokyoite concluded with irony after he rolled his eyes in his mind. "Ok, Saguru should be arriving soon, try at least to look presentable…" He advised after a glimpse at his watch.
"- Why that ? No need ta get pampered fer a friend, we've known each other fer long enough ta avoid that…
- Friend AND associate. We can't have him worry about what we do of his money, with you sleeping until 10 a.m., above all in the office…
- AND after solvin' a case… Did my share." The Osakan pointed out, putting his ice pack on the table to get up and quickly wash his face in the bathroom's sink.
He looked quite more awake as he came back in the room, just seconds before the bell ran and a smiling Shinichi opened the door on a drenched Hakuba.
"- Ah, look at you, Hakuba-sensei…" He pitied, looking at his fellow detective and his drenched clothes. "Heiji, could you… ?
- Yea, got that…" The Osakan answered, going back to the room he just left to fetch a towel.
"- Come in, Saguru !
- Thank you…" The blond-haired man said when the Tokyoite helped him out of his coat. "I'm afraid to state that the weather doesn't change much compared to what I left in England… " He faintly smiled as he settled in one of the couch.
"- It's just you being unlucky, the weather was perfectly fine until yesterday…
- Here !" Heiji warned as he threw the towel to the half brit, before settling in the couch in front of him and grabbing his ice pack to put it back on his face.
Hakuba nodded a thanks as he catched the towel it and started to dry his hair.
"- So, I believe congratulations are in order?" Shinichi smiled as he sat near Heiji, taking the mails to look through them as they talked.
"- Yup, 'grats, Saguru.
- Maa, it was a formality, of course…" The brown-eyed detective shrugged, trying to look detached, thought there was a faint blush on his clear skin.
"- Still, being a doctor at 21 is an achievement, when I see you started at 17…
- Well, I still have to go through two years of internship but these can be done in Japan. Unlike the studying that had to be in England, I preferred to follow what my parents had advised on that specific mater.
- Ordered ya mean…" The Osakan wanted to precise, perfectly aware of the fact the half brit didn't really have any choice, his parent having forced him to have a "serious" diploma before going back to his investigations, so he'd have a back-up solution if he couldn't make a living from the detective's work.
"- At least, it will have some use for my occupation… And for my co-workers it seems. What happened to you this time ?" Saguru asked, eyeing the bruise taking half Heiji's jaw, luckily a bit hidden by his tanned skin.
"- Long story…" He answered with embarrassment, rubbing the back of his head.
"- Try not to destroy that office's reputation before I even start to work in it, Baito-kun…" The blond-haired observed with a flat look.
"- Hey ! I paid my share, we're all equal here !
- Well, Saguru's right, as long as you're underage, you can't be an associate…" Shinichi added when he grabbed the next letter with a smirk, knowing that, despite his straight face, the half brit was joking.
"- Stop it… I don' want ta hear that from the true Baito-kun, with that job ya took on the weekends…
- Just lending a hand to Teitan's soccer team, can't help if they decided to pay me for that !
- Ah, is it hard to settle down ?" Hakuba observed, wondering if that second job was a need for Kudô to look after his daily bills.
"- Nah, we got some clients thanks ta our reputation as high school detectives but…
- … It's clearly slower in summer… And it's only been three months since we really started, we had to wait for my 21rst birthday before really opening the place as you weren't in…" Shinichi concluded, remembering that day, May the 4rth, when he walked in the office with Heiji to officially declare the place open for business, with one of his biggest smile, so glad he'd been able to have his own place, with the help of his friends, without using each other's parents' help, just by themselves.
"- I'll be lending you a hand until September, we can think about some way to advertise in the meanwhile…
- We could ask some advices ta our pro in communication... " Heiji grinned, having a thought about the last of the four boys, Kaito. " Got any news from him by the way ?
- Not since his wedding in June… But didn't he plan to come back this week ?
- Do you think they arrested him ?" Shinichi proposed, with a small smirk. "Having a one-month honeymoon in Vegas sounds great but I'm not sure the locals would be absolutely fan of his tricks with playing cards, making them appear and disappear from thin air…"
The two others snickered, imagining some wide-shouldered vigils trying to catch Kaito, to discover he could be as impalpable as thin air if he didn't want to be caught...
"- He was supposed to be reasonable…" The blond-haired man pointed out. "He is, after all, travelling with Aoko-kun, she has the temper to calm him down.
- Haha, ya sure ? She could be worse than him now she learned most o' his tricks ta assist him in his shows an'… his spectacles o' another kind…
- Nice way to put it, Heiji… Wow ! "
A rain of confetti covered the three detectives when Shinichi opened the last envelope, having a small cry of surprise when it suddenly popped in his hands once he tore the paper.
"- May I assume he's back ?" Hakuba guessed, rising a curious brow as he saw the Tokyoite was holding a card, so similar to the many he saw into Nakamouri's hands. As the other nodded, he tried to get rid of the multicoloured paper stuck in his hair with a bored look. "Tsk, he'll never grow up...
- Isn' that part o' his role as the "Kid" ? " The Osakan smirked, more amused by that new trick announcing their friends' was back than annoyed. "So, what's his new target ? ... Shin-i-chi ! " He called after a few moment, seeing his friend was focused on the little card in his hands, waving his hand in front of his eyes.
"- ... Sorry, I was solving the riddle. He'll be targeting the Nezu museum, tonight at 1 a.m. and his goal will be an emerald apparently... Let me check..." The azure-eyed took out his phone and had a quick look on his favourite website for fresh news. "Yes, the Dragon Eye.
- Ya could have left us some ta solve..." Heiji pouted, disappointed his friend found the answer of the enigma in such a short delay.
"- If you want, I'll let you start first to chase him at the heist..." Kudô proposed with a small smile of apology.
"- It will be the occasion to see if the wedding softened him..." The half brit said with a smirk.
"- Let's work separately then ! We'll see who gets him first... " The dark-skinned concluded with a childish smile, excited at the idea of having an old good contest with his fellow detectives and the Thief.
"- Want to drop home for dinner before the heist, both of you ?" Shinichi proposed, getting up to fetch the vacuum cleaner.
"- Sure, it's been a long time I haven't seen Ran-kun. Is she still studying law ?
- Yea, it's the summer break right now for her but she's still following her degree. She seems to have made his mind for law counselling studies, you'll be able to talk about that with her tonight. You'll be coming too, Heiji ?
- Yup, o' course, I'm always up fer a good meal, Ran's quite more skilled fer cookin' than me an' my instant noodles...
- Take your bag them, you'll stay in the guests' bedroom, it's stupid for you to sleep here when we got enough room for you in the apartment... Got somewhere to crash tonight, Saguru ?
- Yes, I will be staying at my father's for the moment, time for me to find a hospital for my internship and a place to live by it. Did something happen with Kazuha-kun, Heiji-kun ?" The blond-haired asked, guessing it was the most plausible cause for him to sleep in the office.
The already dark-skinned man's face darkened even more, showing he wasn't really eager to speak about it.
"- Haha, let's say everything hasn't been smooth in Heiji's couple recently...
- Shinichi…" The Osakan growled with annoyance.
"- Wouldn't it be time for you to grow up a bit ?
- I don' want ta hear that from ya, Saguru... " He snapped back with a bored glare. "I bet ya're still a single-kun...
- ... Yes, indeed, between my studies and the few cases I can come across from time to time, my days are already filled enough... Having a girlfriend wasn't an option. But that comment was quite unneeded... "The half-brit observed with a flat look at his friend.
"- … Sorry, last month has been a bit hard fer me…" The Osakan apologized, feeling he had just been lashing some bottled feelings at the blond-haired, when he had nothing to do with it. "Let's stop with that depressin' subject... So ya said ya've been investigatin' a bit ? What kind o' case did ya solve in the UK ?
- Ah, well, my most famous this year was..."
o.O.o
All the boys around the table were already regretting to have eaten that much when they were supposed to be running after a certain Thief only two hours later but, well, Ran's cooking skills were already excellent before, and four more years only accentuated her talent.
Enjoying the remaining heat of this summer day - despite that rainfall in the morning, the weather had been smiling on them for the evening, they were half dozing on the apartment's small terrace when the bell rang and Ran got up to go at the door.
"- Heiji, it's for you..." She said as she came back and shrugged at the dark-skinned detective's curious expression at her words.
"- ...OK." He said, getting up, not wondering long what it could be about, as there would have been only one reason for someone to ask for him at the Kudôs' door, at that reason had the most beautiful green eyes he had never met, though they were shadowed by a kind of sadness at the moment, as she was waiting for him in the entrance.
"- Kazuha." The Osakan greeted, doing his best to keep a straight face despite the act seeing her triggered a whirl of feelings, where love and regret were the centre.
"- Hi, Heiji.
- Ran warned ya I was coming ?
- She invited me for dinner in fact... But I didn't want ta disturb ya so I waited a bit before coming..." The girl felt the need to justify, noticing the indecipherable face of the one, even after their many quarrels, she still loved. Her look fell on his bruised chin, causing a faint concerned frown to appear on her face. "Are ya alright ?
- Just a scratch, nothing ta worry about..." Heiji answered with a shrug, with a little pinch of guilt when he saw she was worrying at the sight of his slightly blue face. "An' you ?
- I finally found a job, I'll be giving Aikido lessons for children starting mid-August in a school near our apartment...
- I'm glad fer ya, it was want ya wanted ta do... So ya'll be stayin' around ? I thought ya may... have wanted ta come back ta Osaka, as ya felt pretty isolated here..." He commented, knowing that the Osakan woman had it hard to leave her beloved hometown, leaving behind her her former life to follow him in his associate detectives' project.
"- It'll be easier with a job. And I've got Ran. And... I didn't give up hope, Heiji..." The green-eyed girl finally admitted, locking hopeful eyes with her detective's. "Ya didn't need ta leave, I want ya by my side... Come back home, Heiji.
- Didn' we discuss about that already, Kazuha ?" The Osakan reminded her, allowing, for the first time since they started to discuss, a sad expression on his face. "I keep hurting ya, more deeply each time, an' I'm hurtin' myself in the process... We aren' goin' anywhere like this..."
The girl shook her head as she dared to take the dark-skinned man's hand, looking with shining eyes at the scar she did to him, when they almost fell from that cliff four years ago. She knew they'd been hurting each other quite a lot recently but... "But our relationship was so strong…
- 'was' is perhaps the word, Kazuha..." Heiji pointed out, his voice barely above a whisper.
The Osakan girl raised her head and the detective could see her eyes were turning into that deep green shade she had when she was on the verge of crying. He slightly squeezed her hand, trying to display a soothing smile, once again noticing with bitterness he was hurting her. "Let me think about it then, ok… ?"
Unable to speak, the girl nodded before turning to go out. His heart hurting, Heiji looked at her back when she left the apartment, noticing with a pained smirk they didn't even raise their voice anymore when they quarrelled, regretting the time when they used to yell at each other, when at least, they were being honest with their feelings. With a sigh, he closed the door.
He didn't want to hurt her anymore, and that was the only way he could have thought of, but apparently, seeing how Kazuha was, even one month later, his "great idea" wasn't that great after all. And that was with a heavy sigh he settled once again around the table, barely noticing Shinichi's and Ran's compassionate expressions.
Saguru also felt sorry for the Osakan : they didn't start as the best buddies but their relation improved a lot through the years so seeing him depressed, at the opposite of his usual temper, wasn't something he'd want to see.
Feeling the need to change the subject, he took out his pocket watch, to notice it was late enough to start to head to the heist location.
"- It will be soon time to leave, gentlemen... " He announced with a smile, trying to cheer them up. "Let's try to catch that frivolous mistress of ours to lighten our moods."