A/N: This is a First-Words Soulmate/Mark AU, but I promise it's quite different from the number of others out there. This story was written mostly for my own enjoyment, but I'm posting it in case I'm not the only one out there who likes sappy and kinda cliché whatevers. ^^

Setting: Shinichi no shrink-e-ded in this story at any point; past or present, at least. Shinichi and Kaito are about seventeen and/or eighteen.

Pairing: ShinKai (or KaiShin, but I think of Shinichi as the slightly more Seme-type). Romance really isn't my thing, but this ONE pairing I'm actually kinda fond of (for some reason) so, having said that, this is my first romance-centric story EVER. Just so you're aware. I'm sorry in advance for, erm... Everything?

Warnings: Rated T. Mentions of self-harm/violence, Shonen-ai, (NO Yaoi or sex, the worst it gets to is a little non-descript kissing and references), possible OOC-ness, especially due to effects the AU has had on character pasts... Yup, I think that's about it.

Disclaimer: I own nothing. Except maybe some interesting add-ons to the whole Soulmate thing that I haven't seen elsewhere and that I made up. I expanded on how Soul Marks work past what I've read in other stories before. Also, the Cover Art was made by me: A higher quality version of it can be found on my DeviantArt (Username: 3DPhantom).

Chapter One: Spoken Words

Kaito's mother and father had been firm believers in Soul Marks, just as most people were. They themselves had experienced first-hand the power of Soul Marks when they met. The day that Kaito was born though, they suddenly weren't so sure.

When Chikage held her child in her arms for the first time, she cried. Because she was overjoyed by the birth of her precious son, yes, but also in sadness. She could tell by the look on her husband's face that he too was experiencing the same conflicting emotions that she was.

There, tattooed on their son's tiny left forearm, in a spot easily visible for all to see, were the first words his Soulmate would ever speak to him:

"What? NO! I don't want YOU as my Soulmate!"

Growing up, Kaito's parents had refused to read his marks for him, and often made him wear long-sleeved shirts, provided the weather outside wasn't too stiflingly hot. They wanted to wait as long as possible before allowing their son to know what the words said, and they hated it more than anything when strangers would comment on the words. Kaito knew, even before he could read, that there must be something wrong with the words. What could be flawed in words written with such beautiful cursive and in such a stunning, vivid blue? He had no idea. He couldn't imagine the words were anything but perfect...

Kaito had asked his father on many occasions to tell him what the words said, but his father's response was always the same. With a sad smile he would say "You'll have to learn how to read them yourself, Kaito."

So, he did.

The day Kaito had finally deciphered the marks on his arm, he cried for hours. His parents were there to sooth him, telling him things like "You never know, Kaito, maybe they won't really mean it," or "Maybe it'll all work out in the end, just wait and see," and when both of these failed they would try a "You can always find someone else to love, there are plenty of great people in the world, it doesn't have to be your Soulmate you end up with."

His parents had homeschooled Kaito, agreeing not to send him to school until after he was old enough to read his own marks and understand what they meant and how people reacted to them. They sheltered him from the world for as long as possible, but eventually, he had to be allowed to go to regular school.

Growing up, Kaito faced the same dilemma on multiple occasions. At school, usually when he changed out for gym class, and at restaurants, or out and about, at grocery stores... Sometimes people would realize that he was hiding his Soul Mark. He would receive comments, sometimes even scoldings from teachers and older people, where people would say things like "It's very rude to your Soulmate to cover up your mark!" Sometimes there was even a "How dare you show such disrespect to the ancient power of Soul Marks?! Covering your marks up is sinful!"

At first Kaito would cry, and show them his marks, just to get them to stop yelling at him. Once the adult saw the marks they would instantly fall silent, and their eyes would fill with such pity. Kaito really hated that. He hated it even more when kids at school would tease him for covering it up, pull the bandages he used to hide the prettily-scrawled words off his arm, and then would laugh at him and ask such brazen questions as "What's so wrong with you that even your own Soulmate won't want you?"

After that, Kaito stopped showing his marks to anyone, regardless of the teasing or scolding he got. To deal with the results of keeping them hidden was much easier, to him, then showing them, and besides, if he kept them hidden, then he himself didn't have to look at them as often. It was bad enough when he was at home, taking a bath or getting ready for bed. Sometimes he would lay in bed for hours, reading the softly glowing blue words over and over again, wondering if there really was something so wrong with him that even his own Soulmate would know at the site of him that they didn't want him. Was he ugly? Most people seemed to think he was cute, but that could always change in the future... What if he was going to grow up to be a bad person?

Eventually Kaito decided that, no, it wouldn't be his fault! His Soulmate must be the one with the problem, even if they had such pretty blue eyes and elegant handwriting! His Soulmate must be a horrible person, if they knew they didn't want him after having barely just met him! Kaito came to the conclusion that when he met his Soulmate, they'd be an ugly, horrible human being, and he wouldn't want them either! Thinking that helped him get through life, one day at a time.

Sometimes his thoughts still regressed to the question of 'what if they're prefect and I really am the one who's not worthy of them?' After his father died, especially, it was hard to believe that the fates weren't punishing him for one reason or another... But he would ultimately shove such thoughts back into the deepest, darkest recesses of his mind. He'd throw on his Poker Face and pretend that he was perfect, and he told everyone he met that he was perfect, too, because it was the only way he could manage to get through it all. If his Soulmate was going to hate him, then he was committed to hating his Soulmate too, as the horrible person they no doubt would be!

But that wasn't the way things ended up being at all.

He knew that night, standing on a rooftop, his white cape billowing out behind him as it was caught in the winds of Autumn, that he really was the one at fault. Somehow, now, it all made sense.

He'd read every article on Kudo Shinichi there was to read (a lot of articles, honestly) because if a new detective was planning to make an appearance at his heist, he wanted to make sure he had all the facts he could possibly have. All of the facts... Except what Kudo Shinichi's Soul Mark was. The detective's mark was, apparently, located high on his right hip, and so no pictures had ever been taken of it. The detective had admitted once that he adored his mark though, and he couldn't wait to meet whomever would say those words to him. Kaito had scowled just a little bit bitterly at that because, truthfully, he was jealous, but the more he read about the detective the more he liked him, with his quick wit and snarky humor and apparent sense of justice, so by the end of his research into Kudo Shinichi he was glad that the detective would have a nice Soulmate, even if Kaito himself was doomed to be Soul-Bound to some inconsiderate jerk.

Kaito was only vaguely surprised when Kudo Shinichi managed to catch up to him on the roof, having avoided his traps and decoded his message in time. Based on his research, Kaito had already come to the conclusion that this Kudo Shinichi guy was likely going to be quite a challenging opponent.

Kaito turned around, having been standing at the edge of the roof, about to jump off. KID faced the detective and smirked, giving him a moment to finish catching his breath before speaking. "It's a pleasure to make your acquaintance. I've heard many great things about you~!" He sing-songed the last bit.

Shinichi's eyes widened and he froze. A moment later, his features twisted in a way that made Kaito very confused.

And then came the words that he'd been dreading to hear most of his life.

"What? NO! I don't want YOU as my Soulmate!" The twisted look on his face, Kaito realized, was disgust. With the words came an unfamiliar burning on Kaito's skin, right where the mark was, a sign Kaito had been told meant that his Soulmate had, indeed, just spoken the words of his Soul Mark to him. He was told that, for most people, the tingling, burning sensation was supposed to invoke great pleasure. It invoked a great many things in Kaito: He was ashamed to admit that hearing Shinichi speak at all sent shivers of pleasure up and down his spine, but simultaneously he was in pain, knowing that the words which had just been spoken were anything but loving and kind. He'd just been rejected by his own Soulmate. It felt horrible! It felt…. It felt like his soul was breaking….

Kaito was stiff and still for a moment, trying to reign in his emotions, surprised and horrified. Because, really? The Great Detective of the East, the Modern Sherlock Holmes, a true hero who had saved numerous lives and whom Kaito had begun to admire over the course of his research on him, was the Soulmate whose words had haunted him all his life?

Kaito let out a bitter, tight laugh, trying to sound relaxed but utterly failing. "Oh, so it's you, is it?" He'd wanted there to be animosity and spite in his voice, but instead there was only a sad longing and weariness. He hummed. "You know, I've been preparing to hear those words for most of my life, but somehow... I don't think I was ready for this." He forced a tight smirk onto his face.

"You... You're a criminal!" Shinichi said, looking weak at the knees. "How could I feel love for a criminal? I'm a detective!" He was clearly still stunned.

Kaito nodded absently. "Yes, and I suppose it does rather make sense now. I'd always wondered... All the same, I think perhaps it'd be best if we go our separate ways. I don't much feel like playing games anymore tonight." He tossed the jewel he'd just finished stealing and checking under the moonlight Shinichi's way. The detective fumbled with it, caught off-guard, the dark blue sapphire settling in his hands.

KID turned, facing back out into the open air and twinkling city lights below them. He looked back over his shoulder at Shinichi, who was still staring at him with wide blue eyes, his left hand absent-mindedly going down to brush his own Soul Mark above his right hip. "You needn't worry," Kaito assured him, his right eye gleaming at Shinichi from behind his monocle. "I have no intention of pursuing a relationship with someone who doesn't want me." Again, he'd intended for the words to be biting and venomous, but he found himself choking them out instead. He didn't notice Shinichi's slight flinch. "If you'd like, we'll never have to see each other again." With that, he was off, a white specter flying briskly through the night skies. 'Fleeing,' Shinichi realized as the glider sped far too quickly away. KID's velocity could even be deemed reckless and entirely unsafe, but nevertheless he managed not to crash, disappearing moments later as he rounded a building in the distance.

Shinichi stood there for a while longer, one hand still holding the sapphire and the other over his Soul Mark. After a while he frowned, still angered by the fact that his Soulmate was a criminal, and stormed off the roof.

Try as he might, he couldn't get the sight of KID's tight, sad smirk out of his mind. Couldn't forget the look of pain and horror that had seized the thief immediately following Shinichi's first words to him, the look quickly having smoothed away into forced laughter and smiles. And he would never be able to forget the immense, pleasurable tingling that had coursed outward from his Soul Mark at KID's first words to him, the sensation haunting him and sending phantom shivers through his body well into the night.