Disclaimer: Detective Conan and Magic Kaito are owned by Aoyama Gosho. I don't make money from writing this fanfiction. The story contains spoiler for Detective Conan and Magic Kaito. Also there are quotes from manga, anime, wiki and other sources.
Clair de Lune
Chapter IX: A London Symphony Part II
Day 1
After 12 hours and 35 minutes of flight, they finally arrived at Heathrow airport in London.
Shinichi looked at his phone. "My mother is waiting for us."
"Let's go then, Shin-chan," Kaito said. He couldn't wait to meet Shinichi's mother. He knew that she was famous actress who retired after marrying Kudo Yusaku. Shinichi really shouldn't tell him that his mother starred in production about Sakamoto Ryouma.
Shinichi looked at him with one eyebrow raised.
He ignored Shinichi's questioning look.
On their way out, he spotted a flower shop. "Wait here," he said and entered the shop.
"Can I help you?" the florist asked.
"I want one dozen red rose," he replied in prefect English.
"Please wait for a moment," the florist replied.
A few minutes later and the bouquet were ready.
"Thanks," he said and paid for the flower.
"For your mother," he told Shinichi. "What? Do you want rose too?"
"Hmph."
He smirked. Shinichi was easy to rile up if he knew what button to press.
"That's Kaa-san," Shinichi said.
The beautiful woman who waved her hand madly at them was rather hard to miss.
"Shin-chan!" and she gave Shinichi a bear hug.
"Kaa-san! Let go of me!" Shinichi protested.
She let go of her son. But before that, she planted a big kiss on Shinichi's cheek.
"Urgh!" Shinichi wiped his cheek. He was too adorable for his own good.
"You must be Kaito-kun."
"I'm Kuroba Kaito," he introduced himself. "It's always a pleasure to meet a lovely lady like you." And he gave the bouquet of red rose to her.
"Kudo Yukiko. Just call me Yukiko-san," Yukiko said, giggling. "You are so sweet."
"Flirt," Shinichi muttered in a low voice.
"But shouldn't you give these rose to Shinichi?" she asked.
"Only blue rose for my favourite person in the world," he replied smoothly.
Yukiko giggled again. "You don't change at all."
"It's nice to know that he's a shameless flatterer ever since he was a child," Shinichi said sarcastically.
Kaito blinked. What did he miss?
"We've met before, Kaito-kun," Yukiko clarified. "You gave me a single red rose at that time."
Shinichi snorted.
"I studied with Toichi-Sensei," she said again.
Ah. Kaito remembered now. That pretty lady who got mad because Kaito called her obasan instead of onesan. That was Shinichi's mother? And she was a student of his father? Why did Shinichi never tell him about this? That was not fair.
Yukiko clapped her hand. "Well' let's go then," she said. "I got your favourite, Shin-chan."
"Really?" Shinichi brightened.
She nodded.
"Yes!"
Shinichi's favourite turned out to be white Jaguar that Yukiko rent for their transportation in London.
"Here!" she tossed the key.
Shinichi caught it easily.
"The address is Number 12, Argyll Road, Kensington." Yukiko said. "See you there later, Shin-chan, Kaito-kun!"
And she left with their luggage by cab.
"Come on!" Shinichi said eagerly. He looked really happy. Well, Kaito didn't blame him. Shinichi was trapped in a child body with all the restrictions that came with it.
He sat in the passenger seat while Shinichi sat in driver seat.
"Jaguar F-Type R AWD Convertible," Shinichi explained. "Powered by Jaguar's 5.0 V8 550PS supercharged engine with 680Nm of torque. Acceleration is 0-60mph in 3.9 seconds. And top speed is 186mph."
Shinichi really knew this thing.
"Our first destination is Sherlock Holmes Museum," Shinichi muttered. He turned on the satnav and stared at the screen intently. "There."
Shinichi chattered on their way to the museum and Kaito let him. He was content to see Shinichi like this. Kaito never interacted with teenage Shinichi before and now he planned to enjoy the moment while it last.
"Are you alright?" Shinichi asked.
"Yes," he replied.
"You're never this quiet before." Shinichi muttered.
"That's because I'm thinking about how much I want to drag you to the nearest bed and have my way with you," he replied.
"If you don't stop talking like that when I'm driving, rest assured that every Kid's target from now on will be surrounded by the freshest fish Tsukiji Market can offer." Shinichi threatened.
What a vindictive guy. Then again, where was the fun if Shinichi didn't give him any challenge?
"Already I have to conform to my wife's whims." He said cheekily. They lapsed into a comfortable silence, before it occurred to Kaito about Yukiko's earlier statement. "My father was your mother's teacher?"
"She learned arts of disguise from him," Shinichi replied.
He looked at Shinichi. "And what about you?"
"I know the theory," Shinichi replied, "but I never made those masks by myself."
They finally arrived at Sherlock Holmes Museum. Any Sherlock Holmes pilgrimage should start with a visit to Baker Street. Kaito thought it was funny that the famous 221b Baker Street address was actually located between 237 and 241 Baker Street.
Shinichi was like a child in his favourite toy shop.
They had lunch at Sherlock Holmes pub. The Sherlock Holmes pub is a traditional English pub serving pints and pub food. But the pub had another replica of Holmes' study, as well as a huge amount of memorabilia, including Dr Watson's old service revolver and a collection of television and film stills.
"This is the place where Holmes tracked down Francis Hay Moulton in The Noble Bachelors." Shinichi told him.
"I don't need to know that," he said dryly.
Shinichi glared at him.
The next destination was Regent Park and Madame Tussaud's. The latter was his idea. If he let Shinichi, their holiday in London would be nothing but homage to Holmes. So half the places in their itinerary was Kaito's idea and the other half was Shinichi's idea.
Shinichi was more interested in Chamber of Horror though.
After that, they returned to the house that Yukiko had rent for their stay in London.
"We're back!" Shinichi called.
Yukiko was bustling in the kitchen. He went to see if he could help her.
"We're going to have afternoon tea," she announced. She had prepared tea, scones, lemon pie and chocolate cake. "Shin-chan said that your favourite food is chocolate," Yukiko said. "He also said that you're allergic to fish so don't worry, we won't eat fish here."
Shinichi told his mother that? He was so sweet.
"Help me with this, Kaito-kun." Yukiko said.
Shinichi was reading a book when he and Yukiko returned to the living room.
"Detective Samonji?"
"It's one of my favourite," Shinichi said. The teen didn't forget to bring his detective books with him to London.
At least Kaito knew this one because he had read it.
"Who is the murderer?" he asked even though he already guessed the identity of the murdered. He only wanted Shinichi to clarify his theory.
"It's Rikuda," Shinichi replied instantly and began rattling the evidence.
The smug and mischievous expression Shinichi had on his face was actually Kaito's favourite. It might be weird, but Kaito liked that smug and victorious expression the most. The other teen was sitting on the armchair with one leg crossed and one hand on his chin. He was also smirking and looking mischievous now.
Kaito itched to take this picture of Shinichi.
His phone pinged, indicating new message from unknown number with attachment.
He opened it and saw the very picture of Shinichi.
Yukiko grinned at him. It seemed that he had found an ally.
His phone pinged again. This time it was a new message.
I want those pictures you secretly took. He read the message.
OK. He hit send.
Yukiko grinned again.
After afternoon tea, Yukiko sent them to their room.
There were two bedrooms in the second floor.
"Which room do you want?" Kaito asked, looking for his luggage. Where was it?
"Kaito," Shinichi called.
"What?"
Shinichi pointed at their luggage which was put in the same room. Kudo Yukiko truly didn't do anything half heartedly.
"I'll move my luggage then," he said. He was about to do so when Shinichi stopped him. "Shin-chan?" he questioned.
"I don't really care," Shinichi muttered. The tips of his ears were red.
"Aw, Shin-chan," he smirked.
"But no funny business," Shinichi said sternly.
"Funny business?" he echoed. "What funny business? Would you care to explain that to me in great detail?" he asked, neatly sidestepping the Union Jack pillow that came flying at his head.
"You're incorrigible," Shinichi muttered in an exasperated tone.
Kaito smirked and pulled the other teen closer. They were of the same height now. He tangled his fingers through Shinichi's hair, and leaned in to kiss him. Shinichi kissed him back enthusiastically.
Then he noticed something.
"Shin-chan! You're burning!" he said.
Shinichi was also sweating a lot now.
"Get out!" Shinichi ordered.
"What?"
"Get out of here!" Shinichi barked. "And don't come in before I call you."
"But-"
Shinichi's hard glare stopped his protest though. Reluctantly, he left the bedroom and waited outside. He could hear a muffled groan. Was Shinichi alright? He knew what was happening now but he was worried for Shinichi.
The door opened after a long wait and eleven year old Shinichi walked out. He looked perfectly fine now. The sign of fever was gone.
"The time is up," Shinichi said in a depreciating tone.
He stretched out his hand and curled it around the back of Shinichi's head, pulling Shinichi forward to press his forehead to him. Shinichi sucked in a breath and stared at him with wide eyes.
"You're always Shinichi," he said.
"I know," Shinichi replied.
Day 2
Yukiko surprised them the next morning. "I'm going back to Los Angeles." She said during breakfast.
"I thought that you're going to stay in London with us," Shinichi said, frowning.
"I don't want to become the third wheel," Yukiko said, smiling.
"Kaa-san!"
"Don't worry," Yukiko said. "I'll come back next week to join you guys to Switzerland."
At first, they were only going to visit London. But while at it, Shinichi decided that they had go to Reichenbach Falls too.
"See you next week, Shin-chan!" Yukiko kissed her son.
Kaito thought half the reason why Yukiko was overly affectionate with Shinichi was because she knew that he disliked it.
"Kaito-kun, take care of Shin-chan, alright."
"Oy! I can take care of myself." Shinichi protested.
Yukiko ignored her son. "Here is my credit card." She said.
Kaito stared blankly at the black credit card. Was she serious?
"If you want something, anything it is, ask your boyfriend," Yukiko said again. "Bye, Shin-chan!"
"I can't believe this!" Shinichi grumbled.
"Your mother is very eccentric." He muttered. She got a bubbly personality too which was the opposite of her son. Shinichi was always too serious.
Shinichi sighed. "That's a very nice word to describe her."
"So, where are we going today?"
"British Museum and Saint Barts." Shinichi replied readily.
This time it was Kaito who drove the car.
They went to British Museum first. While an icon of London, the museum was often visited by Holmes for his research. The world-famous British Museum exhibited the works of man from prehistoric to modern times, from around the world. Highlights included the Rosetta Stone, the Parthenon sculptures and the mummies in the Ancient Egypt collection.
As for Saint Barts, it wasn't really a tourism place but Shinichi wanted to see the hospital because Holmes and Watson had their fictional meeting for the first time at there. Saint Barts also became the place where Holmes jumped to his fake death in the newest Holmes TV drama from BBC.
Kaito lamented the fact that he now knew everything there was to know about Sherlock Holmes because he dated the biggest Holmes fan boy in the world. It was the minus point of having eidetic memory.
Day 3
When Kaito woke up the next day, Shinichi was already awake and staring at his phone. This was new because Shinichi wasn't a morning person.
"What is it?" he asked sleepily.
"Ran called me," Shinichi replied.
"What did she want?" he asked.
"She has arranged a meeting with Minerva Glass."
"Minerva Glass?" Kaito asked in surprise. "Isn't she the number one tennis player in the world?"
"Yes," Shinichi replied.
Kaito remembered about the case that Shinichi told him before.
"Apparently, she and Ran still exchange emails. When Ran told her that I'm in London for holiday, she said that she's going to take me to Wimbledon Tour. We're going to meet her after breakfast."
Shinichi really knew a lot of people from the cases he had.
"We must get ready now." He offered.
"Yeah," Shinichi said.
They went out for breakfast.
"That's Minerva," Shinichi said. "And her younger brother, Apollo Glass."
"Conan-kun!" the kid said loudly.
Shinichi waved his hand.
They exchanged greetings.
"This is Kaito-niichan," Shinichi said. "He's on holiday in London too."
"I'm Kuroba Kaito, it' a pleasure to meet you." Kaito said and produced red rose out from thin air for her."For the Queen of the Court," he said. "And for you," he turned to Apollo Glass and showed his empty hand. He closed his palm and opened it again. This time, he had a handful of chocolate candies.
"Wow!" the kid said. "Thanks."
"So, you're a magician."Minerva said, impressed.
"I am, my Lady," he replied and winked at her.
She flushed red.
Shinichi cleared his throat.
"Oh, sorry." Minerva said. "Let's go then. My car is waiting outside."
She took them to Wimbledon Lawn Tennis Museum. Treasures from the first championship in 1877 to the most recent were on the display, including equipment, clothing and mementos belonging to the greatest players to set foot on Centre Court. She also took them on tour which included Centre Court, No. 1 Court, the Picnic Terraces, Millennium Building and Water Gardens.
They spent about three hours there before they returned to London. Minerva dropped them back and even treated them lunch.
"If you come to Tokyo, do call me and I shall show you Tokyo's hospitality." He said smoothly, the corner of his mouth tilting into a charming smile.
"I might take your offer," she replied slyly.
Kaito smirked at her.
After lunch, Minerva and her brother took their leave.
"Tell Ran I say hello," Minerva said.
"I will," Shinichi replied, smiling.
"Bye Kaito-niichan, bye Conan-kun." Apollo said.
Shinichi waited until they disappeared from his sight. "She lived in Japan before," he said dryly. "And she has crush on her ex coach, Ares Ashley," Shinichi added.
Really. He wasn't blind to those facts.
"So, that's how you do it." Shinichi said thoughtfully after a moment of consideration. "You practices with those unsuspecting girls."
"Practice makes perfect," he quipped. He knew that Shinichi would catch the fact.
Shinichi sighed in exasperation.
"Let's watch football game," he suggested.
Shinichi brightened at the idea.
Day 4
Their fourth day in London, they went to Natural History Museum. The museum's biggest draw was undoubtedly the Dinosaur gallery. The museum showpiece was a 26 meters diplodocus skeleton in the grand central hall. There was also a crowd pleasing animated model of a Tyrannosaurus Rex which roared and smelled authentically unpleasant.
"Look!" Shinichi said. "They got a life size model of a blue whale!"
"Stop saying that word!" he hissed.
Shinichi was so mean. He knew that Kaito was deathly afraid of fish. Why must he remind Kaito of that creature?
"Whale is a mammal," Shinichi said as matter of fact.
He glared at Shinichi.
Shinichi wisely changed the topic.
The next destination was Science Museum which traced the history of inventions from the first steam train to the battered command module from the Apollo 10 space mission. Seven floors of exhibition space covered computing, medicine, photography, chemistry and physics.
Day 5
Today was their fifth days in London. They were going to see Westminster Abbey, Big Ben and Parliament. Shinichi had visited Big Ben and House of Parliament before but it was the first time for Kaito.
After that, they went to Alton Towers. The theme park was famous for its roller coaster.
Kaito tried all the roller coaster there.
"That was really fun!" Kaito exclaimed happily.
Unfortunately, being in his eleven years old body meant that the ride was limited for him because of the height regulation.
Day 6
"What is it for today?" Kaito asked.
"HMS Belfast and Tower of London," he replied.
They went out for breakfast first. Each day, they had breakfast at different restaurant. While he could cook if he wanted to, he was too lazy to do it. He was used to toast and takeaway before. But with Haibara, he was forced to help her with cooking and baking or else there would be no food for him.
HMS Belfast was a museum ship, originally a Royal Navy light cruiser, permanently moored in London on the River Thames and operated by the imperial war museum. Meanwhile, Tower of London was a historic castled located on the north bank of the River Thames in Central London.
They ended the day with dinner cruise.
Shinichi eyed the other passengers. There were children on the cruise but they came with their parents. He noted that most of the guests were couples who wanted to enjoy romantic dinner with riverside views. Besides that, the cruise also included trip to the sky on the London Eye to see the city from 135 meters up.
"Are we dating?" he heard himself blurt out.
"Are we dating?" Kaito repeated, and his voice sounded laced with amusement.
Shinichi wasn't sure if that had been the right or wrong thing to say to him. "You heard me," he said, annoyed.
"How can you ask me if we're dating?" Kaito said. "We're married."
"Of course," he said sarcastically. "How could I forget that?"
Kaito smirked at him.
Day 7
Sherlock Holmes's most famous case, the Hound of Baskervilles, was set on the foggy Dartmoor. There were lots of legend surrounding a black hound on the moor and one of them involved local squire, Richard Cabell. Cabell had an evil reputation and legend had it that when he died in the 1670s, black dogs breathing fire raced across Dartmoor, howling.
They went to places relevant to the story.
"I'm hungry," Kaito muttered.
"We can have dinner at the inn," he offered. So far, the other teen had teased him about Holmes, but that was it.
They stayed at the inn for one night before returning to London the next day.
Day 8
The long drive from Dartmoor to London was quite tiring, so they didn't do anything for the rest of the day. After dinner which was a takeaway order from the nearest restaurant, they retreated to bed. While he was busy reading his Sherlock Holmes novel, Kaito was busy with his laptop. Yes, Kaito brought his Mac along. The other teen looked very serious that he became curious as to what Kaito was doing. Was he planning his heist?
He took a peek from Kaito's shoulder and frowned. "Isn't that a game code?"
"Yes," Kaito replied and turned to give him a brief kiss. "I create mobile game apps."
"What?" he asked in surprise.
"Where do you think I get the money to fund my project?" Kaito asked.
"Err…" Now he felt stupid. Those smoke bombs, electronics devices and the things Kaito used were expensive and in total, those must cost quite a fortune. But all this time, he always assumed that Kaito got the money from his mother. Kuroba Toichi was world renowned magician so he must left a small fortune for his family.
"While she does help, my mother isn't as generous as your mother with her shopping spree." Kaito continued.
That was so true. His mother loved to shop for him. His USD 66,000 Patek Phillipe Annual Calendar 5146/1G was only one of the many expensive things his mother bought for him.
"It was only for fun at the first," Kaito said again.
"And what game did you make?"
Kaito mentioned three names which were in the list of the most popular mobile game apps on the App Store on iTunes as well as Google Play store in Japan. He knew that top-grossing games were all free downloads that convinced people to pay real money for in-game boosts.
"Just how much money do you make from these?" he blurted out in astonishment.
"That's for me to know and for my wife to find out," Kaito replied, smirking.
Kaito always said outrageous things like that whenever he didn't want to answer with the truth. But this time, it was his fault. He shouldn't ask about sensitive thing such as money.
"Don't worry dearest, I can guarantee that you'll have a very comfortable life," Kaito continued. His smirk widened.
"You're delirious," he said flatly.
"I'm in earnest about it and yet my wife doubts me." Kaito chided him, eyes wide with mock solemnity. A corner of his mouth quirked upwards and Shinichi rolled his eyes.
Kaito closed the lid of his Mac and turned to him.
"I thought you're busy with your game?"
"I'm done. After all that work, it's time to play, isn't so, Shin-chan?" Kaito said, his voice low and intimate.
And Kaito gave him a long passionate kiss.
There was no use arguing with that silver tongue.
"You really have your way with words," he said breathlessly and pulled Kaito down with him onto the bed.
Author's Note:
Hi everyone! Thanks for reading and please review.
I don't want to write another holiday fic ever again. It was so difficult to write this chapter.
