I'm back for a bit to put this up, just to keep myself in the flow while I work on the Multi-Chaptered Monstrosity.
This is not a happy story. There is a fair amount of violence and negative imagery. Additionally, these sections are not in chronological order.
s: 18 Words. Keeping skeletons in a closet doesn't make sense, Shinichi insists, because bodies don't stay on hangers very well. Kaito tells him he doesn't really mind - his things usually end up scattered around his room, anyway.
1. Ceruse
Shinichi eyed the brightly lit museum's display area slowly, unimpressed.
"This place is a mess. Your cape is ruined," the detective pointed out in the silence.
Kaito glanced at him from the center of the room with a brief expression of surprise.
"Tantei-kun! When did you get here?" he questioned happily, pivoting to fully face the other brunet.
Shinichi didn't offer an answer and Kaito didn't seem to mind, apparently too busy fiddling with the object grasped firmly in his hands to care.
"Why do you still have that? I don't see the rest of it in this room," Shinichi wondered aloud while carefully stepping around the piles and puddles of filth spotting the waxed floor.
Kaito hummed lightly in response before lifting the object towards his forehead in mock salute, "What, you've never wished for an extra arm before?"
"Only living ones," the detective replied distractedly, eyes trained expertly on his feet.
Kaito laughed at that. He returned his attention to the appendage, eventually working a large watch free from the stiffening wrist.
"Gotcha! You know, Sena-san was one of my favorites. Very persistent, only a couple of years older than us, just turned twenty-one I think... The watch looks new, it must have been a birthday gift. You think it will look good on the shelf?" He asked himself more than Shinichi, discarding the arm with the flick of his hand in favor of fully examining the new object.
Shinichi eventually reached the thief, shoes mostly free of blood. He barely spared the watch a glance, more interested in lifting the thief's cape between two fingers.
"This isn't going to be easy to wash..." the detective mumbled.
"We'll put it right next to Hana-san's earrings. What do you say, Shinichi? It'll look good," Kaito decided firmly.
Shinichi dropped the soiled cape with a soft hum.
2. Legendary
Kaito poked at the detective's cheek with a sharp grin, "You've always been too controlling, Tantei-kun. Taking charge of situations, making your oh-so-confident deductions. You'll never have quite as many followers as I do, though," he boasted teasingly.
Shinichi silently agreed. The magician had a point, he admitted to himself. Even if Kaito's 'followers' had changed in the past few years, morphing from cheering crowds and excitable task force officers to heavily guarded crime-scenes and weary, solemn Special Assault Team members armed to the teeth with guns, Kaito did still have more fans than Shinichi ever would.
3. Ink
"You're in the paper again, Kaito."
The magician stopped arranging the vase of roses to look at his roommate across the kitchen table.
"Oh, am I? Did they get any decent pictures this time?" He strode cheerily to Shinchi's side, feet barely making a sound against the linoleum.
Shinichi quietly handed the paper over and reached for his mug to cradle it between pale fingers.
Kaito took the offered object but hummed and tsked, disappointed, "Not a single shot, huh?"
Shinichi sipped his coffee slowly before gently setting the mug down while the magician continued scanning the article.
"You don't give them much to work with, Kaito. They can't print pictures of the scenes you leave behind, the public wouldn't like that," he pointed out evenly. Too much blood. Not even the most desperate reporter would try.
Kaito pursed his lips in a half pout, lightly tossing the paper away in favor of slinging an arm over the detective's neck. He leaned on the other teen teasingly, "You're always so logical. Logical Shinichi. Smart Tantei-kun. Let's go to the park today, okay? I want to watch the birds."
Shinchi inclined his head in assent.
4. Dismissal
"Something's wrong, Kudo. What's goin' on with you lately?"
"Nothing, Heiji. What's going on with you?"
The question was bland and automatic rather than teasing.
"Is this about- about Ran...? Kudo, you've changed. She wouldn't like that... She wouldn't like this."
Shinichi let his lips downturn slightly before looking at the Osakan, propping his chin in his hand.
"Are you sure, Hattori?"
The Western detective hesitated, confused.
"...Sure about what, Kudo?"
Shinichi didn't reply, instead lifting his head and digging through his wallet for enough money to cover his tab. He set the bills on the restaurant table before leaving. Hattori watched him go with a tight frown.
5. Femur
"How many stories do you think someone could survive falling from?" Kaito wondered curiously, gazing over the railing.
Shinichi didn't reply, instead sliding his hands into his pockets while leaning his back against the cold metal next to the thief.
"You know, I don't think I've ever seen someone's legs do that before... Do you have you phone, Tantei-kun?"
Shinichi handed his phone over wordlessly, tilting his head to eye the stars patiently.
His phone let out a mechanical 'click' as Kaito snapped a picture.
"Don't drop my phone, Kaito," he warned softly.
The magician scoffed, "I'm not nearly that clumsy. Hey, do we have any empty frames at the apartment?"
6. Forty
"When did you stop caring, Kudo-kun?"
Shinichi tilted his head slightly at Haibara's question.
Murder mysteries were his father's preferred bedtime stories, film noir his mother's favorite cinematic style to watch.
His first dead body at 7.
His thirty-first by 13.
Shinichi grew up confident, raised by famous parents, a genius in his own right. Skilled with a violin, excellent soccer player, obedient student, a smart teen unfortunately cursed with a kind of bad luck that drew dead bodies to his person like a magnet.
On his 14th birthday there was an incident involving a subway line by the platform where he was waiting to board. A lot of people died, the result of purposeful tampering by a very ill individual. Also, Shinichi's thirty-third through forty-ninth bodies.
Haibara asked the same question again. He frowned at the blond in confusion.
Stop caring?
Had Shinichi ever started?
7. Revenge
Ran was in an accident when she and Shinichi were just barely out of high school, right near the beginning of summer break. He heard from Megure-keibu that a few days after he'd last heard from the famed Sleeping Detective, Kogoro's car was found at the bottom of a cliff in the countryside hours away from Beika. The news reported it as a tragedy – Family of Three Killed in Car Accident, Famed Detective Dead – but Shinichi knew. Eri had no reason to be in the car that day and although Kogoro Mouri's monthly planner indicated a case an hour from the location where the car was found, when Shinichi tried to follow up on it he only found an empty, neglected summer home at the address listed.
Empty houses don't send letters requesting assistance with cases.
Cars don't simply drive through railings during sunny, clear weather and – surprisingly – sober drivers.
Shinichi knew, but he didn't tell.
8. Crutch
Kaito turned to his mother for support up until the day he found her scattered messily throughout their kitchen the evening before his eighteenth birthday.
9. Decay
"Do you think the Organization will be upset?"
Shinichi turned his head slightly to glance at the magician sitting in the seat next to him.
"... About what, Kaito?"
The other brunet thought for a few seconds, idly tracing the lid of the ivory box in his lap.
"About ruining their plans. About getting even."
Shinichi considered the other teen for a brief moment, quickly sliding his eyes back to the road. Their car glided easily along the secluded stretch of pavement for several minutes before he spoke softly, "Kaito, they're all dead. I don't think they can care anymore."
Kaito mulled this over before shooting his companion a grin, "Yeah, I suppose you're right."
He rattled the box in his lap with a happy sigh.
"I guess that means Snake won't miss his fingers, either, huh Tantei-kun?"
10. Evidence
Hakuba Saguru couldn't accuse Kaito Kuroba of being Kaitou KID anymore for the simple fact that he now spent his time in an Ekoda treatment center under constant care, the unfortunate victim of a stray bullet to his temple during a heist just weeks before the fall of an enormous crime syndicate known by the public as the Black Organization. Police reports indicated a belief that the teen detective's injury was caused by a member associated with the crime ring, but the investigation reached an impasse when every suspect turned up dead in a research facility a few cities away.
Hakuba survived, but the doctors doubted he would ever open his eyes on his own again.
11. Curfew
"Police departments across the city are preparing to secure the area around tonight's Kaitou KID heist location in anticipation of another violent crime spree. Today marks the second year of the elusive thief's bloody rampage resulting in multiple deaths, injuries, and countless missing items. Records indicate the first appearance of a 'Phantom Thief 1412' occurring over two decades ago, his career spanning ten years before heists abruptly stopped. The thief returned several years later and resumed his gem-stealing activities for fourteen months before his actions turned violent approximately two years ago. Countless attempts have since been made to capture the thief to little success. Veteran Tokyo inspector Shozo Hasokawa has been placed in charge of the Kaitou KID Task Force following the disappearance of Ginzo Nakamori, a fellow Tokyo inspector who spent many years attempting to arrest the thief. Nakamori's whereabouts are still currently unknown nearly a month after his reported disappearance. Investigators remain unsure whether or not the incident is related to KID and are welcoming any and all tips from the public. As a reminder, there is currently a city-wide curfew in place until further notice. Please return home in a timely manner this evening and remain indoors until it has been lifted. Police will be patrolling the streets carefully until the morning looking for any signs of illegal activity. Please do not hesitate to contact law enforcement if you require assistance. Next, we have an analyst joining our show to discuss the motives of Kaitou KID and his apparent, abrupt change from peaceful performer to violent criminal..."
12. Impure
Shinichi stopped being Conan some months after he turned seventeen and acquired a permanent cure with the help of Kaito, who had come across a member of the Organization carrying Apoptoxin on his person during a heist. Haibara and Agasa easily engineered a cure after that and the ensuing fallout proved surprisingly underwhelming. Life returned to normal – simply, oddly, disappointingly – quickly. A year and a half as a teen in a child's body and no glaring repercussions. Kaito liked to tease him about it, claiming his own astounding good luck must have rubbed off on the detective.
A year and multiple dead friends and family members later, Kaito and Shinichi agreed to move into an apartment located somewhere between Ekoda and Beika.
How the two formed their companionable relationship couldn't quite be told in one way, happening gradually and sporadically over the years. Shinichi sometimes liked to stare at corpses – calm reflections, simple and quiet – while Kaito didn't mind supplying him with new ones – his performances were more thrilling when he didn't have to worry about injuries.
13. Proud
"Tantei-kun, we should go on a trip."
Shinichi eyed the magician listlessly.
"To... where, Kaito?"
The other brunet only shrugged, rolling his eyes upwards in thought while continuing to twirl the white hat in his hands.
"Dunno. Where do your parents usually go?"
Shinichi hadn't spoken to his parents in years, since he stopped working for Megure-keibu and decided not to attend university following the Mouri's incident. He cut all ties and covered his tracks well enough to remain undetected all these months.
"They talked about France a lot..." he ventured after several beats.
"Mm, that sounds fun. We should go soon. I haven't done a show there in a long time," the thief seemed to perk up, happily pointing out, "My parents met at the Eiffel Tower, did I ever tell you that? I bet they would be excited for us to visit there again..." He stood up with a grin, declaring "It's decided. We're going to France."
Shinichi easily caught the top hat tossed his way, watching silently as Kaito retreated to his laptop to order plane tickets.
14. Apricot
Shinichi realized he often came across as overconfident, self-assured, perhaps even stuck up with a long reputation as stoic teen detective. However, as he stared at the bloated victim being hoisted out of the river, Shinichi realized: he didn't have the tough core people thought he did. Instead, it felt like someone had reached deep inside to take and take, until the only thing Shinichi could find was blank impassivity. Megure-keibu's team worked quickly around the body, flitting from one point to the other while Shinichi eyed the scene blandly, thinking about how he'd forgotten to water the plants this morning and how Kaito would be upset if the petals were allowed to wilt.
15. Contortion
Aoko didn't see Kaito for several months following Chikage's funeral. Her father couldn't tell her where he'd gone, or why, or when he would be back, because all the older detective knew was that the Kuroba house had been sold and Kaito was not enrolled in any nearby universities.
After she turned nineteen she spotted him by chance one day, messy hair near unmistakable, while he stood on the sidewalk outside his old house. Her feet stalled their movements a few yards away when she caught a glimpse of his face.
His teeth looked bleach-white in the sunlight, lips parted into an easy grin, eyes firmly focused on a spotless window.
His gaze eventually slid over to her, hollow and lacking recognition, before he strode past her with a light bounce in his step.
Aoko didn't recognize his face.
16. Vision
The dream woke her just past three in the morning, light whispers threading through her long red hair. Akako fingered the covers with feathery brushes while she listened to the static noise of her room grow stronger until she could no longer distinguish the voices.
She considered the images of red and white, played with the notion of dismissing them as simple colors, but was ultimately unable to convince herself that she'd seen anything other than a bloody suit and sharp teeth in her mind that night.
17. Eternity
"Do you want to live forever, Kaito?"
Shinichi swiped a cloth under the sink's faucet, ringing it out and shutting the flow off before turning to the kitchen table.
"Forever? Mm... No? Maybe? Do you think it would be fun?"
The detective pondered the question while he began to scrub at the soiled wood. "It might get boring after awhile..." he decided after some deliberation.
Kaito nodded at his words agreeably, "Valid point. Then I don't think I'd like it, either."
Shinichi watched him hold that night's gem to the window and gaze at it calmly.
"Kaito... Remember what I told you about wiping your things off before setting them on the furniture?" he waved the red-streaked cloth lightly as if to prove his point, prompting the magician to brush a hand behind his head sheepishly.
"Ha, sorry! I forgot... Say, where should I put this one? It's a little bigger than all the others, so maybe towards the back of the case...?"
18. Paradise
Other residents assumed the two were university students and eventually referred to them as "the one with a near-permanent smile" and "that quiet and pensive young man" when said teens weren't present to hear the gossip. Roommates, or perhaps brothers due to their resemblance, and pleasant enough as neighbors. They never made as much noise as previous college-aged tenants earning them quick approval from the small building's other inhabitants.
Shinichi and Kaito lived like this with ease. Close to those who once knew them, moving through the streets while blending in enough to remain unseen for the most part, sometimes earning double-takes but never being confronted.
Just two now-twenty-year-olds, getting by in Japan through some means – neighbors assumed part-time jobs, but Kaito's swift sleight of hand skills proved to be the real source – while living uncomplicated daily lives.
Shinichi picked up a discarded playing card from their living room floor, setting it on the kitchen table for Kaito to find later. The magician had fallen into the habit of leaving his possessions haphazardly around the quaint apartment, and Shinichi had to wonder when Kaito would let his habits cause enough of a slip up during a heist to result in his arrest.
If he got caught. When he got caught. His mind juggled the two words endlessly.
Shinichi gazed at the card a moment longer before retreating to the couch. He stared at his faint reflection in the blank television screen while midday sounds filtered through the open apartment windows. Kaito would be home soon, promising the detective a surprise over the phone nearly an hour ago. Shinichi privately hoped it wasn't another souvenir. They were running out of room to display things.