-Love of Four-
Disclaimer: The works of Detective Conan and Magic Kaito belongs to Gosho Aoyama-sensei.
Warning: KaiShin relationship.
A/N: I am not dead. This fic is not dead. Only I really didn't have time to even upload it.
04: Raising Awareness
Kaito frowned at the reply he received from Shinichi. A highly unusual message that had him tapping the phone unconsciously against the hardwood table inside the kitchen.
"Something came up?" He nudged at the detective, placing his phone screen side up as his hands busied with breakfast.
It was not until he finished eating when the reply came, another thing that was out of character.
"Just busy."
Two words was enough to ring alarm bells. Could it be Shinichi saw something he should not have and had to go into hiding hence the evasive replies? Or maybe someone was threatening or blackmailing Shinichi? Even worst, could Shinichi be held hostage and whoever was replying this was someone else entirely? Kaito knew he should have walked Shinichi home last night and not listened to the logic his detective had presented. Biting onto his lips, Kaito internally debated whether to skip school today and track his detective down. But before he could come to any decision, his doorbell rang along with a shout.
"KAITO! WAKE UP!" Aoko's loud voice was most likely waking up the whole neighbourhood.
"I am awake." He sedately opened the front door, gesturing his childhood friend into the threshold as he walked back up to his room to grab his school things.
"Huh. You're early."
"Well, I do that every so often." Kaito woke up early because of a particularly vivid dream involving his detective and chocolate and the pool. It had taken a very long and very cold shower to cool him down.
"Have you had breakfast then?"
"Of course, why else would I have been in the kitchens?" Kaito replied cheekily with a grin. The stunned look on Aoko's face was always interesting for Kaito, though recently the flushed face of Shinichi had taken a higher ranking than the current sight.
"You...cook…?" She sounded disbelieving, it was as though the thought of cooking and Kaito should not belong together. Kaito did not take this as an insult.
"Come on, it isn't really surprising you know." He learned how to cook basic meals and breakfast, consisting of toast and eggs. "I do know how to bake so it's only logical that I know how to cook."
"But you never cook, you said the last time you tried to make yakisoba, you burnt the whole thing, set the pan on fire, and ruined the kitchen ceiling with soot." Aoko waited by the gates for Kaito to lock up.
"Technically, the yakisoba exploded." Kaito was not sure how it happened, it just did and Kaito had left the mystery alone. Maybe he could have his detective solve it sometime.
"Right, exploded. As if that's any more normal." She sighed in exasperation.
Their journey to school was quickly filled up with quips and jabs on either side, allowing Kaito to forget the uneasy feeling he had been having the whole morning. Up until lunch when Koizumi Akako approached Kaito's desk with a swagger in her steps.
"I see you're still quite happy." She commented with a tilt of her head. "Though I suppose anyone would be in your position. So much joy to be had."
"What on Earth are you talking about?" Kaito turned away from his semi-argument with Aoko. "What position am I supposed to be in?"
"Why, have you not made contact yet? I thought your love was stronger than that." She acted surprised but there was a calculating gleam in her eyes. "Anyways, holidays are coming up," the change in topic was abrupt, which had Kaito scratching his head, "have you planned anything special?"
"None beside spending quality time away from you." He nearly hissed out but was mindful they had company and settled for a bland tone.
"I see, so you'll be spending time with your loved ones." The conspiratorial glint returned, this time with more force. "Oh, and a word of warning, do make your decisions wisely or you won't like the consequences. I hear a broken heart often leads to broken minds. You wouldn't want that to happen now would you?"
The bell promptly rang, as though timing it perfectly so the witch could have the final words. She sauntered elegantly back to her seats, with her trailing troupe of male followers, whilst Kaito only slumped into his seat and settled for pulling his phone out discreetly. He typed in a few words just to alleviate the boredom as the teacher recapped on their previous lesson.
"What did you have for lunch? Did you even have lunch today?" Kaito knew how Shinichi would often forget to prepare his lunch or even buy lunch from the cafeteria in favour for a few more minutes sleep and playing soccer for a bit longer on the field. It was a habit Kaito found by chance during a conversation about the types of sports they play. While Kaito could not condone the habit, he himself having the same tendency to skip a meal in favour of perfecting a trick, Kaito made sure to remind Shinichi to eat whenever he could. It helped that Teitan lunch hour is half an hour later than Ekoda High.
The reply came almost immediately, as though anticipating Kaito's message.
"Sandwich from the store. Forgot to pack lunch this morning."
Seeing the message made Kaito suddenly want to giggle for no reason. He could just picture how Shinichi would stumble down the stairs, take a quick look at the nearest clock before realising he was running late. Then proceeded to run through his morning routine and dash out the door with half a piece of bread sticking out of his mouth and a partially done shoelace.
"Kuroba-kun," the teacher called out loud, likely having spotted Kaito daydreaming with a swooning face.
"Yes ma'am?" He stood up, taking a quick glance at the blackboard to figure out the type of answers he needed to give.
After what seemed like an eternity of silence, the teacher gulped and asked Kaito to step up and finish off the question on the board. Not many teachers dared to do that as they fear what up-close-and-personal exposure to one Kuroba Kaito could do to their wardrobe and ultimately their professional standing (though the latter would only occure after prologed exposure as demonstrated by the homeroom teacher last year who had to take Kaito's class for a full academic year. It resulted in the woman having mental breakdowns daily and finally quit being a teacher. Kaito is still sending her daily get-well cards and weekly apologies for causing such a mess. Last he heard she had become better and was looking for a generic desk job. Kaito made a mental note to order a bouquet of flowers to be sent anonymously to her new workplace as congratulations on recovery, even if he was the initial cause of said illness).
His quick work of the problem on the board brought relief to the teacher, to which Kaito could not help but leave a last grin (teeth included) at the teacher that caused a bout of shivering throughout the rest of the student populace. Kaito secretly thinks the class was praying for the safety of their teacher at the point.
When school finally ended, Kaito wasted no time to pack up his things. Aoko was fast approaching him by the desk but before she was even within talking distance, Kaito had everything in his bag and was ready to leave.
"Ah, Aoko. Sorry, in a bit of a hurry this afternoon. You go on home yourself ok? Or...heaven forbid me saying, have Hakuba walk with you." He gave a jaunty wave amidst Aoko's spluttering as he walked out the door. Pulling out his mobile he typed a quick message to Shinichi to inform him he might be dropping by. Although his detective had turned down their date, it did not mean Kaito could not escort his detective to whatever the location he needed to be. That and because of the constant nagging feeling he had at his heart that something was very wrong with the current situation.
Seeing as Ekoda High ended half an hour earlier than Teitan, it gave Kaito enough time to hop on the train. On the way, he remembered to stop by a coffee place and picked up a takeaway cup of coffee for his detective (no sugar, cream, with a dash of honey) and a steamy hot mocha (with extra chocolate, hazelnut syrup and cream) for himself. He stood outside, leaning on the concrete pillar sipping on his drink, waiting patiently and gaining quite a bit of attention himself.
When his detective looked beyond surprise when he spotted Kaito. The widening of his eyes making his sapphire blues gave him a more innocent look than it was ever possible.
"Ka-Kaito!" He stuttered out the moment he saw Kaito, "wha-what are you doing here? Don't you have school?"
"I texted you half an hour ago, told you I'd be stopping by." Kaito offered the cup, which Shinichi accepted with a small blush, a soft thanks and a dip of his head. "I thought I'd walk you at least partway to where you needed to be."
"There's...there's really no need to trouble yourself. It's...you have a long journey. Um…" Shinichi looked overly nervous as he glanced about. "I...think I have a bit of time for now. Um...why don't we walk a bit, maybe have a bite or something? Then...I'll walk you to the train station so you can go back to Ekoda at a reasonable time?"
"Oh Shinichi!" Kaito pounced on his detective, "so considerate of you!" Then subsequently gave a rather playful and overly dramatic smooch on the cheeks. The small tint of blush from earlier grew in its intensity.
"Ba-baka!" Shinichi pushed at Kaito, who immediately backed away. "I just don't want you to come all the way over for no reason…" He muttered softly, burying his words into the rim of the cup.
"It's never 'no reason' when you're here." Kaito admitted truthfully with a hint of shyness. Despite his dramatic displays of affection, Kaito still did not know how to act properly around Shinichi. He knew he could not treat Shinichi like a partner in the normal sense. For one, Shinichi was male and normal partners are generally of the opposite gender. Second, Kaito knew Shinichi is strong both in the mind and physically. After all, his detective had to be or else how could he stomach all the grisly crime and chase after criminals. Third, and possibly most important of all, Kaito valued Shinichi both as a partner and a person. Shinichi was loyal and forgiving, empathetic and loving, kind and caring, Kaito could go on forever to list Shinichi's qualities but all in all, Shinichi held a special place in Kaito's heart.
"-aito?" Shinichi waved a hand in front of him. "Are you alright? You looked a bit out of it for a while? Maybe you should head back early…"
"No, no. I'm fine. And I can't waste this opportunity to spend more time with you." Kaito walked closer, "now, where should we go?"
They left the school's proximity and headed at a random direction, or as random as Shinichi could insist. It seems his detective had somewhere in mind, somewhere far away from the hustle and bustle of the shopping area if Kaito's observations were correct. His detective was leading them to another part of the town, more secluded and quiet. Though Kaito did not complain but rather basked in the comfortable silent companionship as they viewed their surroundings.
-TBC-