A/N:It's time for another update of this story! I mean, I think it's about time I updated, isn't it? I now have 50 alerts on this story. 50 freaking alerts is a lot if you know what I mean.
Chapter 10 Inquiries
Shinichi flinched as he stared at the phone he was talking on. A certain Inspector was yelling at him for failing to capture the said phantom thief. Shinichi didn't know why, but for some reason, he couldn't bring himself to shoot the thief. What had come over him then, anyway? A criminal was a criminal, and KID was no different from any other one he'd ever arrested, so why the hesitation?
Nakamori's voice snapped him out of his thoughts. "Kudou, listen to me when I'm talking, dammit! You've spaced out for too long! Tell me, WHY did you fail to catch KID?" Nakamori boomed.
Shinichi jumped briefly at all the...colorful language he was using. "Oi, oi, Nakamori-keibu, I can explain. I don't know why I hesitated...I just froze up."
"So, you just froze up, huh? I saw you speak to him. Are you in cahoots with him?" Nakamori said suspiciously.
"No, but on the other hand, I learned that he methodically steals jewels. He doesn't just randomly steal them. I talked to him, but I couldn't understand some of what he said. I got some hints from him, though," Shinichi said, smirking broadly. How would the persnickety inspector react to this bait?
Much to his surprise, the old man chuckled broadly.
"Well done, kid. You're a pretty good detective. I didn't have any clue as to why KID was stealing jewels at all. I didn't even think he had any motives behind it. I'm beginning to like you."
"So does that mean you'll overlook me allowing him to escape?" Shinichi teased.
"Ha, ha, ha, ha...NO, of course not. You said KID talked to you for a few moments. What did you two talk about?"
Shinichi frowned as he recalled the brief but interesting conversation he'd had with the phantom thief shortly before he had flown away. "He said he's searching for something and he dropped the jewel."
Nakamori sounded fascinated. "Go on."
"I didn't find out who he is, but I believe that he may be extremely young. He's definitely not an adult."
"Interesting...so, do you think we should examine all the teenagers in this area?" Nakamori said, grinning on the other end, though Shinichi couldn't see it.
Shinichi smirked upon hearing this. He was really starting to like this ojisan, though his rants about KID were very, very annoying. However, the idea of getting to track down an elusive phantom thief and trap him like a mouse in a cage was, while very exciting, somehow he disagreed with this notion.
A part of him wanted the thief to go free...for some strange reason, he felt compelled to voice these thoughts, but he suppressed them.
Nakamori seemed pleased. "I look forward to working with you again in the future, Kudou-kun. By the way, next time-don't lose your aim!"
Shinichi sighed as he put down the phone. "Well, at least that's over with. Now, how should I deal with that other problem-those murders that Megure-keibu wanted me to work on, wait a second, I feel like I'm forgetting something."
He turned to his calendar, and his eyes widened at the date. "Oh, crap, my music test is tomorrow! I know I'm going to do badly!" He sighed and put his head in his hands. "Now what?"
It was a peaceful Monday morning in Ekota High School-actually, no that was a lie. The whole school was abuzz with the latest events on the KID heist that happened the day before. Now Kudo Shinichi had become the focus of the school. Everyone in Ekota knew his name as a result of his actions in the heist.
Everyone spent so much time talking about KID and Shinichi's confrontation that eventually the teachers grew exasperated and had to actually order their students to be quiet multiple times before everyone gradually calmed down, secretly wishing they were as cool as those two.
"What did you think of KID, Aoko?" Keiko, Aoko's closest friend asked, peering at said brunette, who looked visibly irritated, and gulped. Had she gone on her friend's bad side? It was a known fact that Aoko was one of the only KID haters in the school, and everyone knew it.
Aoko's face was beet-red in anger and she stomped her foot on the ground. "I'm sick of hearing all this blind praise for that-for...that...villain! He's causing chaos in the world and stealing! How can you guys even support a guy like that?"
"Someone's just jealous of the fact that Kudou Shinichi didn't pay attention to her," Koizumi Akako said suavely. She turned her purple eyes to Kaito, who was fast asleep, drooling all over his test paper. "Hey, wake up, Thief-san," She hissed.
Instantly, Kaito shot up in horror and backed away from her. "Oh, it's just you, Koizumi."
Akako smirked. "So, how was the meitantei? Was he as powerful as I suspected?" She whispered.
A serious look came on his face then. "Baka, I can't fight my own cousin."
Aoko blinked upon seeing her childhood friend looking serious...it just didn't fit him. She waved her hand in front of his face. "Kaito-kun, is the world ending?"
"Hah, what the heck does that mean, Bakoko?" Kaito replied before disappearing and reappearing next to her. "Nice, bright white panties...where'd you buy them at?"
"KAITO, YOU PERVERT!" Aoko screeched before bopping him on the head.
"What, are you scared of me now or something?" Kaito taunted.
"You're just jealous that your cousin is fighting KID and you aren't, bakaito!" Aoko cried, causing everyone to gasp.
Everyone stared at him for a few moments.
"No way...you're related to the Kudo Shinichi?"
"That's why you look so much alike!"
"Is he single? He's cute!"
"Can we meet him? Bring him here!"
Kaito flinched. "Uh, no...I'm sorry. I'm not in contact with him very much."
Everyone grew sad.
"But, I'm sure he'd be interested in going out with a few girls!" He said suavely.
A few girls got nosebleeds, while others blushed deeply. Even a few guys looked genuinely excited.
"He's rather cute," One of his male classmates said, which caused half of the girls to look at him in amusement.
"Now's not the time to come out!"
"My, what naughty young ladies we have here!" Kaito joked.
"You're the epitome of innocence, Kaito?" Aoko said sarcastically. "Since when?"
"Since just five minutes ago!" Kaito exclaimed. "So, how about it? Would you call me a master magician?"
"I'd call you a drama queen," A new voice said. Kaito froze upon seeing a familiar blond boy glaring at him.
"Oh, look, if it isn't Mister Malfoy!" Kaito mocked. A few students tittered.
"Hello, there, Kuroba!" Hakuba Saguru said, pouting. "That dumb kid beat me to that thief!"
"Oh, are you jealous of my cousin?" Kaito taunted.
"He's related to you, Kuroba? That doesn't make any sense! You don't act related at all!"
Kaito imitated his cousin's voice then. "Barou..."
"Kaito, how can you do that?" Aoko cried, amazed at the fact that her friend hadn't told her about this talent.
He stared at her like a deer caught in the headlights. "Hah, bakoko, didn't I tell you already that I taught myself how to imitate my voices to impress my cousin when I was younger?!"
"Is that the truth, Kaito-kun? Tell me, was your cousin always as cute as he is today, or did he have help in order to become like that?" A girl gushed.
A/N:IMO, Shinichi is very, very...cute. Anyone else agree?
"How did you two first meet?" Another gushed. "Was it a fateful meeting between two star-crossed lovers-?"
"No, knock it off with the cheesy expressions! We were only six years old when we first met-I remember it well. Kaasan promised to introduce me to a new friend, and we met each other then.
"Kai-chan, come here, come and meet your Uncle Yusaku," His mother held Kaito by the hand as he walked him towards a grinning black-haired man with blue eyes. Kaito found himself both fascinated and scared of the new person.
"It's okay, Kai-kun. Here's your cousin, Kudou Shinichi-kun. You two be nice to each other."
Kaito saw a small brown-haired boy with spiky hair peer out from behind his mother's leg before turning away, his nose buried in a book.
"Shin-chan, you stop reading and come say hello to your cousin!" A blond woman exclaimed before taking the book from Shinichi's hands and turning him to meet Kaito. His blue eyes were full of boredom.
"Okaasama, can we go home now? I'm bored and I wanna read what happens next in the book," The boy whined.
"No, this is your cousin, Kuroba Kaito-kun. You two have never met before, right?" Yukiko said, urging her six-year old son to come out and study the new foe.
Kaito waved at his cousin, who blinked before he yawned.
"You're boring," Shinichi said.
Kaito stuck his tongue out at the future detective. "You're mean, and short!"
A vein pulsed on Shinichi's head. "Well, I'm not skinny! I eat fish to be more lean-"
"Don't mention fish! It's the worst thing that's ever walked on the earth!" Kaito cried.
"Don't you mean swam in the ocean, idiot?" Shinichi snarled, coming closer to his cousin, as they circled each other like hounds.
Kaito hissed as he stared down his enemy before they started to punch each other. Both were immediately pulled away from each other by their mothers and scolded. The next time they met, things became a little better.
They were still fighting until the fourth time they had met, when Shinichi had hugged Kaito after a fight between Kaito's parents had broken out and he had been scared, so he ran away and hid somewhere. Shinichi had found him crying and simply hugged him, telling him that they would always have each other.
That had rescued Kaito out of his depression and caused him to bond with his unruly cousin. From then on, they were inseparable. They always hung out together after school, always helped each other with their homework, and always talked to each other (unless they fought, which became less frequent the closer they became.) So, more or less, Kaito told them a few anecdotes of how he and Shinichi had befriended each other and how their relationship had become so strong that they seemed more like best friends than cousins.
"Are you sure you aren't...you know?" One girl snickered.
Kaito's eyes turned wide. "No, you sicko. We're related. What's wrong with you?"