A/N: First of all, please excuse the terrible title. I meant it to be a reference to the saying "No news is good news" but it didn't really work out as well as I wanted it to...

Second, I would like to credit heavy inspiration for this one-shot to a scene from midnightkiss56's Broken Family. (Awesome story by the way, you should totally check it out!) I did not acquire permission from midnightkiss56 because I thought this story was sufficiently independent from the chapter I based it on, but I hope he/she doesn't mind! (If you've read Broken Family and some of the lines from my story seem familiar, that might be why.)

Finally, I just wanted to say that this is my first fic EVER! I'm a bit sensitive too, so while constructive criticism is certainly welcomed, please try to be nice :)

Hope you enjoy!

"Kaito…"

"Yo, Aoko," Kaito replied, forcing a smile as he turned to face the owner of the voice that had interrupted his daily routine of regret. "What's up?"

"Do you— Can I talk to you for a moment?" Aoko asked quietly.

Kaito noted her downcast expression and the presence of the rest of their teammates. He had an idea of where this conversation was heading, and he didn't like it, but he decided to humor her for once. "Sure," he shrugged.

"W-well, you see… We've been thinking about a… change of scenery for a bit." Aoko paused, glancing at her childhood friend as she wiped away the tears glinting in her eyes. Kaito didn't respond. His expression was unreadable in the shadows that had suddenly encroached upon the normally bright atmosphere of the room. "Haru has some research for us to do in England," Aoko continued hesitantly, "a-and we could— it would be a great chance to meet and train with—"

"MI6 won't cooperate with us," Kaito scoffed, his voice flat and apathetic. "We've already got Hakuba, and they know we're trying to recruit more of their agents." Aoko stopped, her expression dimming even more. Behind her, Ai shifted suddenly, her stormy eyes crystallizing into a cold mask.

"You— we don't know that, Kaito," Aoko replied softly, drawing closer. She reached out a hand to touch his cheek, but he flinched so violently that she settled it on his shoulder instead. "Maybe they'll change their minds." He snorted disbelievingly but otherwise remained silent. She pressed on. "It would be kind of like a side mission… We could take time off, if you want to, a-and visit places— I'm sure Hakuba-kun would be willing to—"

"I'm not going."

Nobody seemed particularly surprised at the abrupt interjection; Ran, her eyes red, tearfully looked down at her feet, while Aoko just gazed sadly at her stubborn boyfriend. Unsure of how he was supposed to react, Hattori stuffed his hands into his pockets and awkwardly cleared his throat. Next to him, Kazuha swiped at her eyes and sniffled quietly. Ai's stare remained unwavering.

Sensing Aoko's reluctance to argue any further, Sonoko stepped forward, fingers clutching at her hips with fiery resolve… and a touch of anxiety. "What do you mean you're not going?" she demanded.

Kaito frowned a little. He hadn't necessarily meant to be so blunt, but he had heard enough of their strained late-night conversations to know that Haru wanted to station them in England for more than just "a little while."

"We're not leaving anyone behind," Sonoko continued.

"You are," Kaito snapped, and suddenly his chin was up and his spine was straight and he was standing face-to-face with her, eyes flashing. "You're leaving Shinichi behind. Traveling to England while he still needs us is not an option. We work as a team, and Shinichi is part of that team." His eyes narrowed into self-righteous slits of fury. "Maybe you haven't quite realized that yet, Suzuki-san."

Sonoko looked like she'd been slapped. The air in the room was completely sucked out in a silent collective gasp, and Aoko's shocked "KAITO!" lingered in the still emptiness.

Kaito immediately felt guilt gnawing at his conscience. Sonoko had been transferred to their team only seven months ago, but she was capable, if sometimes annoying, and learned quickly. He shouldn't have snarked about her relatively new membership and little experience, and he hadn't really meant to say it— it had just slipped out— but he firmly pushed away the familiar regret pooling in his stomach, because all he could think about right now was the light in Shinichi's eyes as he chattered animatedly about his fervent wish to visit London someday.

"K-Kaito-kun…" Sonoko stuttered, eyes wide.

He looked away. "I'm not leaving him behind," he said in a low voice.

"Shinichi-kun… wouldn't have wanted us to fight," Sonoko finally responded.

He wouldn't have wanted us to fight.

Wouldn't. Have.

Past tense.

It was like she'd pulled the pin of a grenade.

"How can you say it like that?" Kaito exploded. "Like he's already dead?"

She met his accusing gaze with the shattered grief she had been trying so hard to hold back. Her mouth opened mindlessly to form a response, but he cut her off. "He's not dead," he insisted, voice rising uncontrollably.

"And how would you know?" Sonoko yelled back. "He could have died three months ago, he could be dying right now, and none of us could possibly know!"

"He's not dead, damn it!" Kaito shouted. He squeezed his eyes shut, ignoring the dryness in his throat and the emotion burning at the edges of his vision. "You weren't there," he continued, his voice suddenly low and hoarse. "You didn't hear them beating him up."

He heard the vicious kicking and the cries of agony, the snapping of bones and the faint splatter of blood on concrete.

"You didn't see…"

He saw darkness and confusion, he saw dripping crimson and glinting silver.

"You didn't…"

"Kaito!" Shinichi shouted as he burst through the door, pistol at the ready.

Kaito winced. "Shhh," he mumbled, struggling upright. He'd ducked into an empty conference room a few doors down from the rendezvous point because there wasn't anybody else there yet. The mission had already been screwed up in a million different ways at once, anyway, and there was no need to add another complication.

"Are you alright?" Shinichi asked, lowering both his voice and his gun as he hurried to Kaito's side.

"Been drugged… Can't move… very well…" he half-slurred.

Shinichi cursed. Shouting and banging doors from somewhere close by made both of them flinch. "Come on," Shinichi said, tucking his gun into the waistband of his pants and draping Kaito's arm over his shoulders.

"Not going to… make it…" Kaito croaked. His head was starting to spin crazily.

"Of course you're going to make it," Shinichi replied firmly. "Now shut up and move your feet."

"Shinichi… No time…"

Shinichi glanced at the door, his gaze darkening as he reached the same conclusion that Kaito had. "Don't worry," he said, trying to keep his voice light. He dragged Kaito beneath the long conference table and carefully positioned him behind the chair and table legs. "Just be quiet and wait until the others get here."

"What about… you?" Kaito tried to get up, but Shinichi easily pushed him back down.

"Don't worry," Shinichi repeated. He gave Kaito one last reassuring smile and backed out from underneath the table.

Kaito watched him worriedly, his futile attempts at movement dying in his heavy, tired muscles. Shinichi pulled out his gun and half-crouched near the door, putting his left hand on his earpiece as he started to whisper urgently. "Ran, Hattori, if you're listening…"

The door flew open, nearly hitting Shinichi in the face. He jumped backwards, caught off guard, as five armed men in dark clothing swarmed into the room. One of them, a heavyset man with thick, bushy eyebrows, snatched Shinichi's pistol out of his hand and knocked him to the ground. "Where's the other one?" he barked, pressing the barrel of his own gun into Shinichi's forehead.

"Who?" Shinichi smirked. The man grabbed him by the collar of his shirt and hauled him upright. Kaito couldn't hold back a slight gasp as the man clocked Shinichi in the face. The impact made a sickening crunch, and Shinichi's head jerked backwards.

"Where is he?" the man repeated.

Shinichi closed his eyes as blood began to flow from his clearly broken nose. A bitter smile twisted his face, and Kaito shook his head, knowing what he was about to do but unable to stop him. "He's somewhere safe… where he won't have to see your ugly face ever again," Shinichi responded. His eyes opened, challenging the man with his electrifying stare.

The man scowled and tossed Shinichi back on the floor. "Looks like we'll have to do this the hard way," he growled, pulling a sharp, wicked-looking knife from his belt.

Kaito desperately wanted to get out from under the damned table and stop the man, but his limbs were uncooperative and numb. He lay there, utterly useless, as tears silently dripped down his cheeks. The horrible sounds— Shinichi's head impacting against the wall, the knives carving into Shinichi's flesh, Shinichi's groans and suppressed screams—how was it that nobody heard them? — seemed endless. And every time Kaito felt himself nearing the line of broken-beyond-repair, Shinichi locked eyes with him and pulled him back— because how could he deny that penetrating stare? Even as Shinichi's gaze progressively dulled with pain, the sharp reprimand was still there, and Kaito knew that even without the paralyzing effects of whatever drug was in his system, that look alone was enough to keep him in place.

He blacked out, at some point long past the limit of 'enough,' and the next thing he knew, hands were helping him up and worried voices were questioning him, but all he could see was the blood (too much of it) drying on the walls and the floors and Shinichi was gone.

He saw it and he heard it, every miserable day and every wretched night, because his best friend was beaten to within an inch of his life and kidnapped right in front of him and he couldn't do a single thing to stop it. He choked, unable to breathe, and he opened his eyes to a freezing trail of tears cutting into his cheek and the speechless faces of his teammates around him.

Kaito had always avoided talking about what had happened that night, and, looking around at the horror in his friends' eyes, he briefly wondered how much he had said out loud. His gaze drifted to the side until it landed on Ran.

Shinichi's girlfriend.

His sweet, patient, killer karate-champion girlfriend.

The stricken expression on her face pierced straight through Kaito's heart, and he looked away after a moment to keep himself from falling apart completely. "He's not dead," Kaito repeated in a whisper, trying to reassure both Ran and himself. "I- I would know if… I know he's not—" He blinked away fresh tears and glanced back at Sonoko, his face hardening. "I'm not leaving him," he continued in a stronger voice. "I'm not giving up."

Sonoko watched, brows furrowed and lips parted slightly, as Kaito turned and walked away, his fists clenched defiantly at his sides. She understood. She understood that Kaito didn't want to leave, and that he wanted to resume the failed mission, even if he had to go against orders, because he blamed himself for his best friend's capture, and he wouldn't—couldn't— rest until he rescued Shinichi, got him back alive and safe. Sonoko reached out her hand to catch him, to say something, anything— but he was already gone, the door slamming shut behind him.

Her hand dropped back to her side uselessly, and she turned back to her remaining teammates with undeniable emptiness hollowing out her chest. Ran had collapsed, sobbing brokenly and gasping for air, while Kazuha crouched beside her, hugging her and patting her back soothingly. Aoko stared through the door, her gaze distant and despairing; Hattori sagged against the wall, a dark, haunted look in his eyes. Ai had managed to maintain her composure, but her troubled gaze and trembling fingers betrayed her true emotions.

Sonoko's cell phone buzzed in her pocket, startling her from her bleak thoughts. She pulled the phone out of her pocket to discover a new email from Haru waiting for her. As she started to open it, however, her eyes were drawn to her home screen background. It was a picture she'd taken four months ago, on Aoko's birthday, as her team— her friends, her family— posed on the bank of a shallow, nameless river. Shinichi was standing in the middle, one arm around Kaito and the other around Ran, a sunny grin lighting up his features.

Sonoko fell to her knees, her phone clattering to the ground, as tears stung her eyes for the hundredth time. "Stupid self-sacrificing idiot," she mumbled as she stared at the image frozen in time, hoping that Kaito was right, that Shinichi really was alive.

That they'd truly see him again.