Chikage noticed a lot of drastic changes in her home after Inspector Nakamori has been destinated to the main police headquarters in tokyo.
No, it's not about the house. She wouldn't mind if the house gets completely redecorated. It's about Kaito. Her son. Her home. The one she comes home to.
Back then, whenever she comes back to Japan, even without notice, the house would be sparkly clean. Well maybe a few clutter here and there on Kaito's bed, but that's about it. The kitchen would be full in stock of different variety of foods. There would be fruits, snacks, raw ingredients, everything. Trays would be filled with eggs that have faces with marks of different colors. The refrigerator door would have a blank Kaitou Kid magnetic note pad and a metal pen attached to it. There would be notes written on some blue and pink sticky papers that came from another note pad that obviously couldn't be his possession. She remembers the words on the notes from her previous homecoming as "These stuff will expire on the 7th. Eat it before it does. Don't wanna see you skinnier than you already are. By the way, check your cupboard for a surprise :)"
She remembers checking the cupboard back then and seeing a piece of paper with the words "a surprise :)" written on it. She remembers chuckling at the young girl's silly humor.
Then she remembers the time Kaito told her about it. She remembers the conversation well.
"Mom, have you heard the news from the inspector?" Her son spoke through the phone.
Taking onto account that Chikage considers herself the queen of gossip, she's quite curious about the news Kaito was talking about.
"Afraid I haven't. What's the news?" There was a short silence, and she could swear that she heard her son give out a sigh.
"Oh, that so?" there was an abrupt change in his tone.
She remained silent and let her son continue.
"They're moving. To Tokyo. The urban part of Tokyo, I mean." He gave out a chortle.
She couldn't believe that they didn't inform her about this.
"Oh, and in case you're wondering why you're not informed," Kaito continued, "It's because they asked me to let it on."
It doesn't take a genius to know how much this impacts her son. Heck, not even her maternal instinct was used. Anyone who could hear the tone of his voice could say that he's very much affected. Being plain sad would be a big understatement.
The family had gotten a special place in her heart too. Since Kaito's retirement as Kid, Ginzo Nakamori has more than proven himself worthy of promotion by leading other investigations concerning robbery, tackling issues on big corporations tied with alleged corruption or illegal businesses of politicians and businessmen, reopening rushed or unsolved cases of all sorts and solving all of them(with some help coming from her daughter, to all regards). In short, the inspector worked his ass off not because he wanted a raise, but to try and pump himself with the same excitement as he does each time Kid announces a heist. Though he was never satistied and he never relived the same feeling of satisfaction even though he never really caught Kaitou Kid.
Kaito mentioned how much Aoko changed too, as he doesn't need to inform her mother of Nakamori's activities. They were always on the news. He told her that she must probably have been stressed because her father seldom comes home early, if not at all because of how much he occupies himself with work. Aoko did pretty much the same, or at least attempted to. She occupied her time and energy by burying herself with school work, running errands, or earning money through part time jobs. It wasn't that her father's wage wasn't enough. She just wanted to do something to distracts herself of what's really happening out there. Countered it by doing something productive and practical. What's not practical, in Kaito's opinion, was that she never seemed to relax at all. She never had time for entertainment. She seemed like she was always busy doing something else. Was this how she felt about Kaito's sudden disappearances and ridiculously heavy and tight-in-terms-of-time activities? In which Kaito barely hung out with her at all, if it's not because of a heist, or because he needs information from her to execute one. Now, he probably feels terrible, having to experience the same damn thing by ending what caused his behavior in the first place.
Now, Chikage thought, her son didn't inherit her talkativeness. Rather, her son developed the opposite. Though they were as close as shirt to skin, she couldn't recall Kaito ever coming to her for emotional comfort; or even just to tell her about how he feels. Just like her husband, her son knew how to place a mask and keep it. She might be dubbed as the Phantom of Twenty Faces, her son has a wall of a thousand masks. It completely overshadowed her name, if she were to say so.
Still, no matter how tough her son tried to act, she could see right through his face comepletely covered in masks—through the phone, nonetheless. Nobody could fool her. Not even her own son.
As mentioned, Kaito never seeked emotional comfort from anyone but his deceased father. So it really surprised his mother when he finally decided to do so. To let his words of freedom roam. She could never forget how it went, not for the rest of her life.
"Delighted to hear that he got promoted, but sorry to hear that our friends are distanced away from us." She said solemnly.
"Yeah. Especially since uncle had to bring my heart away with him. I thought she became distant enough—speaking emotionally per sé, but physical distance is a whole new level. All the more so with the knowledge that a trip from here to there would probably take about 5 hours." She heard him grunt. About a couple of times, if she remembers correctly.
"So, with the line: 'brought your heart with him.' Took you long to admit." Chikage let out a chuckle. Normally, her son would dismiss the idea of him liking her whenever she mentions it, however, this one rare time, he decided to indirectly say so himself.
"It doesn't matter now anyway. It's already a losing game, and this only made it worse. I know I should be happy that their status is higher now, but I just couldn't bring myself to like it because they're leaving." His voice started to crack. "Heck, I wasn't even able to tell her that I'm Kaitou Kid because it happened all too fast! I was planning on asking her out after admitting everything, but she just announced that they're leaving only a day before their departure. Seems like the inspector asked her to tell us a week before she actually decided to speak. I was dumbfounded and outright shocked." He slowed down, then he started to choke. "Mom, I'm so in love with her and now I'm here, broken and depressed because I couldn't do anything. It would be borderline selfish to try and get them to stay here when a whole new better life awaits them at their new place. I'm so broken. I don't know how to handle this, I don't know what to do. Mom, I'm outright devastated." It hurt her a lot to hear her son crying like a child over the phone. Her shoulders felt heavy knowing that she can't just come over and hug him. The idea of Kaito acting like this never crossed her mind. Seemed to her like he was cut deeply enough for him to lose focus and not think straight. This wasn't like Kaito at all.
He heard. He knew. He understood. But he just couldn't quite bring himself to accept.
Acceptance was the hardest part of it. And it just crossed his mind that this was probably how Aoko's going to react if he ever told her that he's Kaitou Kid. Torn between being happy and being sad. He's happy for them, but he pities himself. He couldn't face the mirror since then because he knows he wouldn't be able to stand his appearance with horrible looks of unkept everything.
Chikage thought that after Kaitou Kid finishes his mission, her son would have one less problem (A/N: Sing it, Ariana Grande!) to worry about. Now her son has gotten a whole lot more miserable in his current state: incredibly devastated.
She knows what it feels like to lose someone. But her case was different. She was well quite contented as her husband already warned her of the dangers and possible situations wherein he might risk his life; in which is what happened. But she was prepared. Her husband prepared her because he always thought about her feelings first. She had nothing left to say to him. Not a single secret, so she had no regrets when he died.
Kaito's case was an entire world different. He wasn't prepared. Heck, he didn't even expect it at all. As mentioned earlier, shocked would be a big understatement.
Her son was devastated. No proverbs from her could lift his heart off the ground, even if it's just a millimeter so.
She was torn between coming home to comfort him and giving him the space he needs and deserves. So instead, she just came back to Japan but not at their house.
And after 4 months, she gathered the courage to talk to her son face to face. But when she went home, nobody was home.
Trash were cluttered everywhere. It almost filled the entire floor with dirt and garbage.
There was nothing on the fridge. Items on the counter are either already rotten or way past its expiry date.
He wasn't starving himself, was he?
His bedsheets and pillowcases weren't changed for at least 5 months now, based on what she observed.
His clothes were scattered across the house. She was welcomed to a party of insects held inside their bathroom by several layers of thick spider web. Of course, dirty clothes were lying on the floor as well.
Dust has piled up everywhere.
As the light of the house, Chikage couldn't leave the house as she entered it.
She cleaned every inch of the house from top to bottom.
In the midst of sweeping, she picked up and unraveled one of many crumpled up pieces of paper.
He was writing a letter.
"Hey Aoko.
How are you? It was hard for me to explain to the mop that its favorite person is away. Haha, just kidding. Anyway, I"
That was what was written. Unfinished with a bunch of scribbles atop.
She began uraveling the others.
"Yo, Ahoko.
I really"
"Hey. Yo, it's Kaito. So,"
"Hey there. How's the Tokyo life? I heard there's a lot of guys there who prefer girls like you. Hope you're as cool as we are here. Everyone misses you and I'm"
All of them are incomplete. Some of them are deliberately left alone, some are scribbled, some have blurry ink marks.
Regarding the last situation, either he's writing in the bathroom, writing outside and it rained, or the water came from his very own body. Sweat or tears, but she thinks it's the latter.
Poor, poor child.
Then she looked out the window and saw the Nakamoris' old house across their own.
There was nobody home at the moment.
She went out, and didn't see a name plate on the house. It wasn't being sold, and she thinks it has already been sold as it's been half a year since they moved out.
Ya. Half a year and her son's still miserable.
Then a thought struck her.
She rung her son.
"Hello, Kaito? Just a question."
"Yeah? Gonna ask me where I am because I'm not at home?" She wasn't sure how her son knew she's at home, but she wasn't going to ask how he did.
"No. Just going to ask if you've met the people that bought their house and moved in it."
No, that wasn't what her question really was. But she took the chance to try and pry the answer out of her real question without arousing suspicion from Kaito. She wasn't sure if this was going to work as she knows that her son wasn't stupid. But it's worth a try anyway.
"Huh? No. I didn't see anyone move in after them, so I don't know their names or whatever they might be."
She was satisfied that she got her answer. Until Kaito filled in details.
"I think they just bought this house to make it a holiday home. I only see the lights on when it's a holiday."
Chikage just became more curious upon hearing so. But since she has no time to waste, and since it's a holiday tomorrow, she needs to drop the call.
"Oh, okay. I was thinking of sending my greetings since it would be impolite not to send a greeting. By the way, I cleaned the house. You can come home now."
"Don't worry, Mom. I come home everyday. I know you're thinking how I knew you're home. I saw the lights on last night and I saw your silhouette cleaning the house so you didn't need to tell me that you cleaned the it. I'm not a mind reader, don't worry. Bye Mom, love you."
"I love you too, Kaito."
Now, she's convinced that his son isn't in his right mind. He isn't himself. What she thought right away probably didn't even cross him mind in the last 6 months.
That they probably didn't even sell the house.
And right now, during the night, she awaits the arrival of someone with a face possibly familiar.
She waited and waited, until the clock struck 6. That's when she saw a light open from the old Nakamori residence.
She went out, and waited outside. She had to wait three hours before the person finally came outside.
And as she expected, it's someone so familiar, yet not at the same time.
It's Aoko, yet it's not Aoko.
It's Aoko with long, wavy, ash grey hair, in wine red lipstick, pale mauve contact lenses, along with overly thick mascara. She's wearing a tank top and shorts complemented by a silver necklace, digital watch, and gold chain earrings.
She totally looks like a stranger. Nothing like her old self. She looks like a different person yet she recognized her ar first glance.
She looks surprised to see Chikage waiting outside.
"Oh. Hello there, Chikage-san. It's been long." She coughed a little afterwards. Seems like she has a cold. Her voice was rough and hoarse and she talked very slowly.
Perhaps she's just nervous.
"Yup. Great to see you again, Aoko-chan. You look real mature now. I'm kind of shocked, actually. I didn't expect you'd change a lot." She replied.
"Ah, no, no. I just stopped by to check on the house. I actually have a ball to attend later this evening. I hope that explains my appearance tonight. The event is formal. Hehe. They're having a party at the old headquarters and my dad is invited so I just tagged along. It's the perfect opportunity to come back here too."
"I consider coming back here as a break from Tokyo. Ekoda is much more peaceful."
Chikage smiled at her. "I must say you look stunning. I'm surprised to know that you didn't sell the house."
Aoko let out a soft chuckle. "Oh, my dad thought of that at first. But I just couldn't stand the thought of selling it. It's where I grew up, after all. So I convinced my dad not to sell it and just give it to me. He said we needed money to buy a new house there so instead, I proposed that I would just work part time jobs to help pay for the bills. In exchange, he'll officially register my name as the owner of the house after I graduate. He already has a home in Tokyo, after all."
Chikage was amazed by her. She's hardworking and independent. At such a young age, she was able to bargain what could be a big part of her future.
"So while I'm still a student, I pay quarter of the house bills with the money I get on part time jobs. The rest, I save for the future of this house. I come back every so often to paint the rooms when I have both the time and money to buy the paint." Aoko let her inside the empty house to show her the painted sections of the house. Indeed, it was quite messy, because newspapers with drips of paint are scattered everywhere, but for everything else, it's very neatly done.
Aoko glanced at her watch and jumped at the time. "Oh goodness, I'm late! Sorry for taking too much of your time with my blabbering, Chikage-san. I really need to go now. See you next time." Aoko waved as she sprinted outside and got inside a taxi.
It really lifted her feelings upon seeing that Aoko is doing fine.
She didn't tell her son anything so as she didn't bring Kaito up while conversing with Aoko.
She knew and she understood that both parties need space in the meantime.
Kaito doesn't know that the house still belongs to the Nakamoris.
Aoko maintains the house every so often and mentioned that it will be named after her when she graduates.
It could only mean one thing.
She will come back.
Maybe when she's old enough, maybe when she earns enough money, maybe when her job is stable. There wasn't a foreordained time. But one thing's for certain.
She will, and she will come back.
She could sense the love in between the miles that separates unofficial lovers.
Only time can tell what happens to these two.
A/N: Hey there! Can anyone please, PLEASE help me get my old story back? Anyone who can remember, even if it's vague, please PM me. Thanks a bunch!
DETAILS
Story uploaded on January 28, 2015, at exactly 9:00 PM (8:00 GMT)
Story name: Aoko's Diary
[ffn net] URL: [ffn net/s/11004832/1/
(Links are disabled, I'm sorry)
Series: Magic Kaito/まじっく快斗
Words: 3,593
Genre: Romance/General
Rated: T
Summary: This diary contains every special moment that she felt. This contains their story. How they first met up to where they are now. Oneshot (Long oneshot)