Disclaimer: I do not own Detective Conan/Case Closed.

Pairing: KaitoxShinichi


The Dragon's Curse

Chapter 2 - The Dragon's Shadow

Kaito frowned slightly at his bedroom ceiling. He was home, but he couldn't remember how he'd gotten back. In fact, he couldn't remember anything after reaching the roof at the end of his heist. And that didn't make sense because his memory had always been perfect.

He closed his eyes and tried to think back, but no matter how hard he concentrated, all he got was, well, nothing. Although he did have vague recollections of a dream he'd had about kissing Shinichi. It had been a pleasant dream (and, he had to admit, not the first he'd ever had on the subject), but it didn't solve his problem.

Sitting up, he looked around his room. Everything was in place. He was even in his pajamas. Could he have dreamed his heist? Nah, that was ridiculous. But he checked the date on his phone anyway. Nope, the heist had indeed been last night.

Still puzzled but figuring he had better get to school, Kaito hurried through his morning ablutions, grabbed his school uniform and bag, and was out the door mere minutes later.

Missing memories aside, he was feeling pretty amazing. He was wide awake. He felt strong and alive and just…like he was buzzing with electricity and all the possibilities in the world were dancing at his fingertips.

Of course, he always felt a little like this, but today, the feeling was so much more intense.

Arriving at his lecture hall, Kaito spotted Aoko and remembered that she should have been at the party too. Perfect. He wove his way down the pew and claimed the seat beside her.

"Hey Ahoko! Did you go to the KID heist last night?"

"I did," she agreed, tone flat.

"And?"

"KID got away, but Kudo-kun brought the jewel back."

"Oh." Odd. Aoko's tone was flat, distracted, almost uncaring. He'd expected shouting and rants about how his alter ego was an evil, conceited jerk that her father was so going to catch one of these days.

"Are you feeling okay?"

The inspector's daughter looked up and blinked, and it looked to Kaito like she'd only just noticed him. Then she sighed and shivered.

"It's just creepy, you know?"

"Huh? What's creepy?" She couldn't be talking about his heist. There had been absolutely nothing creepy about it. Right? All he'd done this time was tie everyone up in massive spider webs.

"You mean you didn't know?"

"Know what?"

Aoko sighed. "Don't you pay attention to anything in the news that isn't about that stupid thief?"

"I do," he said defensively. "But I didn't have time to watch the news this morning."

Aoko seemed to accept this as she continued to explain. "Apparently, two girls were attacked last night after the heist. They were leaving the party when, well, the thing is, no one really knows what happened. They were found in the alley behind the building, unconscious. They didn't have any physical injuries or anything, but they wouldn't wake up. They're in the hospital now being checked for poison."

Kaito felt a sudden chill. "You mean they're dead?"

"Huh? No, no. They just won't wake up. Since there aren't any outside injuries, the doctors were wondering if they might have been drugged."

"But they're going to live, right?"

Finally, Aoko smiled. "Yeah."

"That's good."

"Definitely. But, well, it's creepy."

Kaito supposed he could understand. He didn't find it creepy, but he was upset that people had been hurt right outside his heist building, and he hadn't noticed a thing. Although considering the blank in his memory, maybe he had noticed and had simply forgotten?

He was going to have to go back and take a look around that building.

-0-

"Something's bothering you."

Shinichi looked up from his coffee to blink at Ran. She had dragged him to a café that morning since neither of them had morning classes today. She did this quite regularly, claiming she needed to make sure he ate a proper breakfast every now and then. Shinichi appreciated the thought, although he was still firmly of the opinion that coffee and toast was perfectly fine breakfast material.

These mornings reminded him of being Conan again and living at the Mouri agency like a real family. It was nice… Something he hadn't experienced much of in his first childhood. His parents were just not the home kind of people.

"Did something happen at the heist?" Ran prodded when he was slow to respond.

Shinichi blushed. "N—no. I was just…thinking."

Ran's eyes narrowed. "You promised you'd tell me when things happened from now on," she said warningly.

The detective squirmed in his seat, mind flashing back to the feel of lips on his. For a fleeting moment, he wondered if he should tell Ran about what had happened. Maybe she could help him figure out the strange mixture of feelings bubbling inside him. But he just couldn't bring himself to voice any of it yet.

"I was just wondering a few things," he said finally, looking down. "KID was acting a little strange yesterday, and I was just wondering why." There. That wasn't a lie.

"Oh." Ran didn't look entirely satisfied, but she did back off a little. "Well, KID's always been a little strange, right?"

"I…guess so."

"Did you hear about the attack on those girls?"

"Yeah."

"Any idea what happened?"

"No. But we should know more once the hospital figures out what's going on with the victims."

"I hope they'll be all right."

Shinichi nodded. That case was bothering him too. But there really wasn't anything he could do about it with the little information they had. For all anyone knew, those girls had just caught some strange new illness.

Even so, maybe he should go take a look at the scene for himself after class.

Anything to get his mind off that kiss.

-0-

It was an alley like any other. If there was anything unusual about it, it was that it was a little narrower than the average alley in this area. Standing just outside the back doors of the building where the party had taken place, Shinichi looked up and down the length of the alley. The yellow tape put up by the police to keep people away was still there, though the officers had long since determined that there was nothing else for them to find. Shinichi had to admit that he agreed.

The thing that made even less sense about the attack, if attack it had been, was that the attacker had had no discernable motive. The girls hadn't been robbed. Nor had they had any known enemies who'd want to hurt them.

"Find anything?"

Shinichi nearly jumped out of his skin. He whirled around so fast that he nearly fell. A strong hand caught his arm and pulled him back upright. He found himself face to face with a man dressed in dark clothes with sandy hair and sunglasses. He'd never seen this man before, but he recognized that voice and that tone and that aura of absolute confidence.

"KID?" he gasped. "What are you doing here?"

The thief smirked. "Same thing you are, I believe. You haven't answered my question."

"O—oh. I…haven't found anything."

"I see. Well, don't let me distract you."

Easier said than done, Shinichi thought a bit grumpily. It was impossible to concentrate with Kaitou KID standing there behind him, watching is every move. It was a good thing he'd already finished most of his examination of the scene. He could feel the weight of the thief's gaze, and it was making the hairs on the back of his neck stand on end. Finally, he couldn't take it anymore. Straightening, he wheeled around to face the thief.

"Why did you do it?" he demanded, crossing his arms defensively.

KID's expression didn't even twitch. "Do what?"

Shinichi flushed. "You know, that!"

"Uh, Tantei-kun, you realize that even I can't read minds. You know what, let's move this discussion elsewhere, This is hardly the place for a good conversation."

"…What?" Shinichi blinked, taken aback by the sudden turn of events. The next thing he knew, he was being steered out of the alley and down the street to a coffee shop on the corner. And suddenly he was sitting at a table across from the Kaitou KID.

Was he dreaming? It would still be strange even if it was a dream.

It was KID who broke the silence. "So, what exactly did you want to ask me about?"

Shinichi frowned down into his coffee. Awkward as the situation was, the only person who could really answer his question was sitting right there. If he let the opportunity pass him by then he would have only himself to blame. So, taking a deep breath, he glanced around to make sure no one was nearby then leaned forward and lowered his voice.

"The…the k—kiss. And what you said before you left." He sat back again, watching the thief expectantly.

Unbeknownst to him, KID was experiencing his own moment of shock. Did Tantei-kun really just say what he thought he'd said? Did that mean that dream he'd had about kissing the detective hadn't been a dream after all? And what could he have said before he'd left? Damn, why couldn't he remember any of this?

His mind raced furiously. He'd known for a while now that he was somewhat attracted to Kudo Shinichi. He'd noticed shortly after he'd realized that he had to let Aoko go. That had taken him some time to accept. He had cared deeply for her, and, for a while, he'd been sure that they'd be together one day—just as soon as he completed his mission and could hang up his cape for good. Of course, then he'd realized that life wasn't going to be that simple. KID wasn't a part of him that was going to disappear even if he retired, and he wasn't even sure he could ever give up the persona even if he did complete all his goals. KID had become too much a part of who he was—a part of him that connected him to his father. He couldn't afford to get into a relationship with someone who could only accept half of who he was. It wouldn't be fair to her or him. So he had forced himself to let go.

It was about that time that Shinichi had "returned". Kaito had staged a heist as soon as he'd heard the news. Maybe it was sentimental of him, but he'd wanted to congratulate the detective in person because the fact that such battles could be won was something worth celebrating. It was good to know that justice really could prevail against all the odds. And he'd wanted to commemorate the occasion. Besides, what kind of gentleman would he be if he didn't congratulate one of his erstwhile fans on such a momentous occasion?

So he'd gone all out for the show that night, and, when he and Shinichi had been alone on the roof at the end as he'd planned, he had kissed the detective's hand and congratulated him just as the fireworks went off. Shinichi had blushed, and KID had found himself thinking how cute that look on his face had been. And he'd felt a surge of pleasure at the thought that it was him who'd put that adorable flush on the detective's face.

That had been when he'd started taking notice of the fact that he might feel something more than fondness for Shinichi, but he had never intended to act on it. For one, he'd assumed that Shinichi was going to end up dating that Mouri girl. And for another, it had looked like the Aoko situation all over again. After all, Shinichi was a detective. Besides, it had only been a mild crush, nothing serious.

Things hadn't gone as he'd planned though. Tantei-kun always had been one of the few who could surprise him. The first surprise had been that Shinichi and that Mouri girl hadn't gotten together. The two appeared to have settled into something of a sibling relationship. The second surprise was the way Shinichi looked now. He didn't appear to be angry at all, only confused and maybe even a little flustered.

Did this mean that the detective might actually be open to the idea of a relationship? This was certainly food for thought.

"Well?" Shinichi asked. "What do you have to say for yourself?"

"I'm not sure what you expect me to say," the thief replied after a moment's consideration, opting for a serious tone.

"I want the truth," the detective said instantly. Not surprising, really, but it was a tall order considering KID couldn't actually remember the event in question. On the other hand, he wasn't about to let this chance slip by him. But how best to approach this?

With a flick of his wrist, the thief produced a red rose which he offered to Shinichi. "It wasn't a joke. You don't have to believe me if you don't want to, but that's the truth."

He was rewarded by a slight widening of Shinichi's eyes and a barely audible intake of breath. "I…" Shinichi started then stopped, clearly lost for words.

KID smiled. "Don't worry. I don't expect an answer right away. Just promise me you'll think about it."

Shinichi hesitated for a moment but eventually took the rose. It was a silent agreement to give the matter some thought. KID cheered inwardly. Talk about good luck. Obviously he'd done something right last night.


-To Be Continued-