ch1: what would you give

a deal is struck and a price is reluctantly agreed upon.

note: yeah ik it says kaishin is the main pairing, but it's a ways off... but honestly, i'd never get anyone to read this if i just listed shinichi and akako!

Witches aren't the most sane people in the world. They habitually turn people into toads, curse them with warts, brew potions by the light of a full moon. All sorts of nasty things, or so I'm told.

And yet, here I am. Parked in a deserted alleyway in the middle of night, windows rolled down, waiting for a witch to show up. (Well, one witch in particular.) It's things like this that make me question my supposed intelligence. I can't be all that smart if I'm willing to dabble in mystical voodoo stuff despite repeated warnings not to.

A tap on the windshield pulls me from my thoughts.

There's a woman leaning on the car door, long red hair swirling around her slender figure. Her eyes are impassive, her smile is sharp, her posture screams I'm-dangerous-and-you-better-watch-your-step. "Good evening, Mr. Kudo." She pulls open the door and slides in gracefully.

"Good evening, Lady Akako," I reply politely. "I'm glad you agreed to meet me."

"It's rather hard to avoid what was always fated to happen." I can feel the frown tugging at my lips. I'm not quite sure what to make of that, honestly. "Moving on," she continues smoothly. "Your reason for contacting me is of some urgency, is it not?"

"Well, it's not exactly urgent…"

"I don't have all night Mr. Kudo." Impatience creeps into her voice. "Are we doing this or not?"

"I… Sorry, yes. Please do."

"You fully understand the price?"

"My soul," I quip. At her unimpressed look, I just shrug. "Amnesia, right? I won't remember what happened the first time around and neither will anyone else. Except you, since you did the spell."

Akako sighs. "You seem to have misunderstood, Mr. Kudo. Those are merely the rules pertaining to the nature of the spell. After all, forgetting is hardly a price in your situation." She smiles in my direction, slow and threatening. Immediately I feel cold inside. "My price is this: in exchange for my services, I will take away what first made you a detective."

Feeling numb, I stammer out, "Y-you… you can't be serious?"

"You must pay a price equal to what you are receiving. This is equal."

"You said you weren't taking my soul."

"I said no such thing."

After a few moments of silence, I ask quietly, "If I do this… I'll be happier?"

Softly, she replies, "Yes."

"Do it."

1. shinichi genuinely respects akako, but he fears her too. mostly bc of that respect, and bc of kaito's tall tales.

2. akako isn't actually evil. she just likes causing chaos as much as kaito does. and she has a different sort of magic at her disposal, hence the results are very different. kaito doesn't see it that way most of the time. but he has forgiven her for trying to kill him. they're friends now.

3. shinichi believes that being a detective is at the heart of who he is. he's not wrong, but in this case, he's also not quite right.