Mikau: Hello everyone! Happy T—wait. No. Yes, it's Monday. My work schedule got screwed up a little this week because my family is getting a new back door, so I have no one to babysit my puppy children, so I'm working tomorrow instead. Which makes it a little impossible to post the new chapter at my regular Tuesday slot. So here you go. Happy Monday! Before we get started, I want to take a moment to truly thank all of my awesome reviewers. I got, like, five or six reviews the first hour after I posted on Friday, and that really made my day. You all rock. Thanks for your support, DragonAce1999, neonquincy1217, Orange04, Detectivewriters, Kimmiko T, Willysfeather, Bunnyz-chan, and Miss Emotion! Enjoy the chapter!
Disclaimer: If I owned it, the codenames would either flowers or figures from Greek mythology. But Kaito would probably still do the same amount of cross-dressing. He dresses as a girl a lot. Has anyone else noticed this?
…
Chapter Ten: Brotherly Love
After his long drawn-out strike, Kaito strutted back to the seating area wearing a smug grin. "How do you like me now, Masumi-chan?" He snorted haughtily. "Take that."
"I'll get you back next time," Sera retorted half-heartedly, still shaken by thoughts of the secret Saguru had just shared with her about how he had been a cutter. She was still wondering if her carelessness two weeks ago had tempted Saguru at all to return to harming himself instead of dealing with his problems.
Kaito raised an eyebrow slightly. "Where's your enthusiasm?" he teased, sitting to her left and stretching his arm out around the back of her uncomfortable, plastic bowling alley seat. "Has my epic strike shaken your confidence, Masumi-chan? That was a pretty awesome spare you scored before. You'll at least come in second," Kaito snickered with a cheerful grin.
"Let's not discount me entirely, shall we?" Saguru snorted, standing up to grab his ball and take his turn. "I'm only just a bit behind. I'll catch up in no time."
"Let's hope so," Kaito snorted. "I wouldn't want to embarrass you in front of the girl you're trying to impress."
Saguru rolled his eyes.
Kaito winked.
With a shake of his head, Saguru picked up his ball and approached the lane.
"So…" Kaito whispered, leaning in and invading Sera's personal space. "I'm jealous of you."
Masumi blinked rapidly, scooting back slightly so that she wouldn't be nose to nose with Kaito as she turned to face him. "Me? Why would you be jealous of me, Kai-chan?"
Kaito turned his attention towards Saguru who was doing some quick calculations and taking his shot. "He's known you, what? Two to three months? And he's already telling you that sort of stuff? Private stuff like that? I knew him for six months before I found out about any of that, and he didn't even tell me. I found out all on my own."
Sera shifted uncomfortably, not really knowing what to say. She hadn't asked for Saguru to open up to her like that. Well…okay. Technically she just had during their game of "ask me anything" when she'd asked him to tell her his deepest, darkest secret, but…he'd asked her first, darn it!
"I'm sorry, Kai-chan," she replied, feeling seven kinds of awkward. "I mean…I didn't…"
"And he thinks you're prettier than I am," Kaito continued in a nagging tone, making it sound as if this was an insult against his grandmother or something of that severity. "I'm a total double D knockout when I put on a dress—completely indistinguishable from an actual woman—and he thinks you're prettier than I am! He sees me in a dress all the time and doesn't bat an eye, but you can get away with dressing like a guy, and still…" Kaito sighed, hanging his head in defeat. "You don't even have any breasts, for crying out loud!"
Masumi frowned deeply, pursing her lips. "Like I keep saying, they're gonna pop out any day now! My mother has a huge rack, and I will too someday!"
Saguru, who had come back to the sitting area to retrieve his ball from the dispenser, caught most of their conversation seeing as they were having it at a rather elevated volume. He blushed as he cleared his throat and broke in, "If I may, Kaito, you're the uncontested winner if we're judging beauty on the world's standards, but the reason why I personally prefer her looks to yours is because, well, one, you're positively shameless. It's unsightly the amount of cleavage and thigh you expose, but, mainly…"
Saguru squirmed in embarrassment, looking away as he continued. "Masumi-san is more beautiful, in my opinion, because she has an inner beauty so bright that it shines through to the outside as well." Trying to keep his blush under control, he avoided looking at Sera and instead directed his gaze at Kaito. "Now, I thank you for breaking up the depressing atmosphere with your theatrics, Kuroba, but could you try to keep it down? I know there aren't any other customers, but I don't think the staff want to hear about your odd hobbies."
"Not a problem," Kaito chuckled, letting the subject drop. "It's my job to act as the comic relief. Speaking of comical, I can't believe you got another split. You suck, Haku-chan."
"Oh, shove off," Saguru grumbled.
"Hey, I bet you two pounds of glitter that you can't get a spare," Kaito tittered through a wide-mouthed, toothy grin.
"Two pounds of glitter?" Sera looked back and forth between the two boys in confusion.
Saguru pursed his lips. "…What color?"
"Guess." Kaito's mischievous smirk grew.
Saguru grimaced. "Hot pink?"
Kaito's smirk turned smug. "You get the spare, I don't use it. You don't get the spare, you take it next time. How's that sound?"
"What's all this about two pounds of glitter?" Masumi asked once more.
"Prince Charming over there is going to miss the split and find himself pranked, covered in two pounds of hot pink glitter," Kaito baited. "Isn't that right, Haku-chan?"
"Just you wait," Saguru seethed, grabbing his bowling ball and marching out to the lane.
"That's my boy," Kaito chuckled softly, elbowing Sera in the side. "Just watch. This is going to be impressive."
She smiled fondly, shaking her head at the magician. "You egged him on so that he'd play better?"
Kaito shrugged, feigning innocence.
She couldn't help but laugh. "You two really are like brothers, aren't you? You bug and pester the hell out of each other, but you guys really care, don't you?"
Kaito smiled as he watched the British detective furiously making calculations. "You could say that."
They sat in comfortable silence for a minute or two, waiting for Saguru to bowl, but at that time it became apparent that they'd probably better pick a new topic of conversation. This was going to take a looong time because Saguru was determined to get the split, therefore, he was going to be at the calculations for a good while still.
"Hey, Kai-chan?" Sera began hesitantly.
"Hm?" Kaito hummed in response, still looking at Saguru with his furrowed brow and intense gaze.
"So, earlier you mentioned dressing up like a woman, and I was just wondering…um…are you really a crossdresser, Kai-chan?" Sera held her breath, hoping that she hadn't said the wrong thing.
"Oh," Kaito chuckled nervously. "Uh…sort of, I guess. I mean…it kind of started out as something that I did from time to time just to prove that I could, but…now sometimes…you know. I sort of have to for…um…. Well, you know," Kaito laughed. He'd gotten a little careless. He'd been caught up in trying to make the evening go smoothly for Saguru, trying to make a fun, light-hearted environment, and he'd let something suspicious slip in front of the female detective.
She blinked cluelessly at him. "Why? Why do you 'have' to? Is it like…are you some kind of escort or something?"
Kaito nearly fell out of his chair. "No! No. Nothing like that." Kaito grimaced, racking his mind for a good excuse. And then it occurred to him that the truth, or some version of it, might be better than anything else he could come up with.
He smiled slyly and leaned in to whisper in her ear. "So, a couple months ago, I started doing undercover work for the FBI. Sometimes I have to put on a dress, but I look damn good in pretty much anything, so it's all good."
"You're an FBI agent?" Sera whispered loudly, eyes widening. "If you're working with the FBI here in Tokyo, then maybe you've heard of my brother!"
"I'm actually not an agent," Kaito admitted sheepishly. "I'm not really involved in much more than recon, actually, and I'm still new-ish, so…and I'm…more of a witness than anything. I mean…I've got handlers, so…" Kaito chewed on his lip nervously.
"Well…" Sera hummed thoughtfully, feeling a little frustrated that she hadn't really found a lead after all. She felt like she'd been working so hard for so many months with very little to show for it.
She didn't get a chance to ask any further questions, however, because just then Saguru finally finished his calculations and took the shot, sending the seven pin flying into the ten pin and knocking them both down.
"Yes! Eat that, Kuroba!" Saguru turned and laughed triumphantly.
"Nice. See? I knew you had it in you," Kaito chuckled as he slow clapped for his friend. He was kind of glad for the interruption too. He didn't need a jeet kune do practicing detective that he had made very, very angry as Kid to start asking him why exactly he was acting as a witness and going undercover for the FBI.
"That was awesome, Saguru-kun!" Masumi grinned and clapped along with Kaito. "I don't know that I could have done that. That was such a difficult shot."
"It's just a matter of force, coefficient of friction, angle of release, and…well. You know. Cool nerd stuff," Saguru chuckled proudly as he rubbed the back of his neck sheepishly. "Best of luck with your shot."
"Thanks!" She held her hand up for a high five as she passed on her way to pick up her own ball.
Saguru turned his gaze towards Kaito and shook his head. "I should have known you were just trying to get a rise out of me in order to get me fired up enough to make the shot just to spite you. You're truly devious, you know that?"
"Oh, I would have covered you in two pounds of hot pink glitter if you'd missed," Kaito snickered as Hakuba took a seat next to him. "After all, now that you're feeling better about your recent heartbreak, I'm finally allowed to be pissed at you."
Saguru frowned. "What did I do?" He couldn't remember anything particularly bad. Nothing really stuck out. They hadn't seen too terribly much of each other in past two or so months thanks to Saguru's infatuation with Masumi, so… "Oh." Saguru finally got it.
"Good," Kaito snorted. "It seems like you know what you did after all. So how are you going to make up your recent neglect to me?"
"What do you want?" Saguru inquired in a straightforward, businesslike manner.
Kaito stuck out his bottom lip in a pout. "Well an 'I missed you so much I could hardly stand it' for starters would be nice."
"I missed you so much I could hardly stand it," Saguru repeated obediently. "You know, I did see you from time to time over the past ten weeks. We do go to school together, and we did hang out occasionally."
Kaito frowned, his face plainly stating, "You are such an idiot. That's not the point at all."
Saguru had long ago become fluent in Kaito's various gestures and facial expressions, and so he sighed in response. "I am never going to understand women."
Kaito raised an eyebrow, not getting the connection.
"I consider you a subgroup," Saguru helpfully explained, a cheeky grin clinging to his lips.
"Keep talking and I'll tell Masumi-chan all about everything you've ever sworn me to secrecy about starting with the stuffed animal, moving right on through the underwear, and finishing up with that time you and I got buried alive together," Kaito reported with a straight face, eyes narrowed and dangerous.
"You were going to tell her about all of that anyway at the first girls' night sleepover you got invited to…. Except for the last one. You wouldn't dare risk implicating yourself." Saguru rolled his eyes dismissively.
"You're seriously underestimating how pissed am I at you." The intense glare failed to fade from Kaito's eyes.
Saguru blinked at this uncharacteristic response and then took a minute to actually study Kaito. "Kuroba… You're serious," he observed in surprise. "I'm sorry. Did something happen? What's wrong?"
Kaito looked away with a contemptuous shrug. He crossed his arms and sighed, letting a little bit of the frustration go with the breath. "A lot of stuff. But we didn't get to talk about it whenever you did spend time with me because you were too busy talking about her. I get it, the whole crazy in love thing, so…I didn't want to interrupt. It didn't ever seem like a good time to talk to you about the stuff that I wanted to talk about, so…"
"Kaito," Saguru called softly, hoping that his companion would see fit to open up now.
Meanwhile, Sera was trying to bowl as quietly as possible. This turned out to be a rather tough job because bowling was an inherently loud sport with the heavy ball coming down with a thud on the hard wood and then crashing into the pins with a smack like a thunder crack.
She wanted to give the boys plenty of time and space to have their private discussion because it seemed like they were talking about some pretty weighty topics. She'd waited a good couple minutes before actually throwing the ball, using the time to try to figure out what exactly Hakuba and Kaito had been thinking about and doing when they had been bowling.
After she took her shot, she watched the ball go all the way down the lane until it hit only three of the pins in the back, left corner. She then walked very, very slowly back to the area where Kaito and Saguru were having their heavy conversation and retrieved her ball as quickly and unobtrusively as possible.
It worked. They didn't seem to have noticed her. They were too wrapped up in what the other was saying and doing. She returned to the top of the lane to plan her next throw extensively, trying to respect the boys' privacy and give them plenty of room.
Back on the benches, Kaito was considering giving in to Saguru's pleading gaze. More than considering it, he knew he was going to give in. He was planning on it. The only question was really when would it be most dramatic and beneficial to Kaito?
With a faked sigh, Kaito turned back to Saguru and began, "Remember how I told you about how Tantei-kun and Kudo Shinichi are working on the same thugs that I am? Well, it seems that Tantei-kun has finally realized that too. About three months ago, he introduced me to the FBI members that are working on the case along with him. Two months ago I started working with them as an undercover witness. They're sorting out all of the legal stuff, so…after all this, I can go back to having a future again. I don't have to worry about rotting in prison, so…I wanted to tell you, but…"
"Kaito, that's wonderful!" Hakuba replied joyously, pulling Kaito into a quick hug. "Goodness! Kuroba, I'm so happy for you! This is going to be great, and now I don't have to worry about you quite so much, if you're working with experienced backup. Thank God. This is absolutely fantastic!"
Once Saguru came down from the high of learning that his best friend would not be taken away to prison for the rest of his life, he sobered up and frowned as he realized, "Kuroba, I really have been unavailable to you, haven't I?"
"A little." Kaito shrugged, trying not to make a big deal out of it for once. Well, if he were being completely honest, he'd have to admit that he knew that the more he downplayed it himself, the bigger fuss Saguru would make over it.
"No. Seriously, Kuroba, I haven't been there for you at all since I met Masumi-san, have I?" Saguru softly insisted, horrified at the thought that he had abandoned his best friend for a girl.
"It's not that big of a deal." Kaito raised his shoulders again, inwardly smiling because his target was on the hook. He made a mental note not to let it get too far, though. He didn't want to make his best friend feel too guilty because really he did understand Saguru's recent lapse in judgment.
"No, Kuroba, it really is," Saguru pressed, determined to do some kind of penance.
"Then make it up to me with chocolate," Kaito suggested, mostly over it. All he'd really wanted was an apology and Saguru's attention in the first place. "And don't do it again. Are we cool?"
"Chocolate." Saguru nodded. "Right. I'll order you some of the really good stuff from France. Will that suffice?"
Kaito's eyes widened. "Richart?"
"Absolutely." Saguru suppressed a chuckle. He could just see the absolute bliss in Kaito's eyes at the thought of designer chocolates.
Kaito let out a trill of glee. "Come back to bed, Darling! You're out of the doghouse!"
"As tempting as that sounds, I believe I'll refrain." Saguru shook his head at the ridiculousness that was his best friend. "And? What else did I miss?"
Kaito smiled sheepishly, a light blush showing on his cheeks that he didn't even attempt to control. "Well, I've decided that I can either sulk forever about Aoko or I can go out there and find myself someone to spend the rest of my non-incarcerated life with, so…I have an official new love interest."
Saguru raised an eyebrow. "Is this from the list of previously unofficial love interests?"
Kaito grinned widely.
The eyebrow shot up a little higher. "What's her name?"
Kaito shifted slightly in discomfort at the question. "Well…Haku-chan, do you remember that conversation we had a little over six months ago about how I'm not particularly picky about the biological sex of my intendeds?"
Saguru blinked, and his eyes widened. "Oh. Yes. So…. What's…his…name?"
"Kudo Shinichi." Kaito smiled softly.
…
Mikau: Yes. More on that next chapter. As previously discussed, there won't be too terribly much KaiShin here in the main fic (sorry KaiShin army). It's probably going to be just enough of Kaito insisting that he's next in line for Shinichi if things ever go south with Ran to make Sera give up and go for Hakuba instead. Come to think of it, I'm being super mean to Kaito in the main fic, ruining things with Aoko for him and then putting him in a one-sided rebound crush. Shoot. Um…but I will be doing a KaiShin side fic eventually with how Shinichi and Kaito started working together and how Kaito became an undercover witness for the FBI, and the side fic will definitely have lots of KaiShin goodness, but the main story will just have them hanging out and Kaito flirting and being obnoxious. So that's the plan as far as the pairings go. I've got my hands full in this fic with just Hakuba and Sera, so the KaiShin will have to go in a separate fic. I can't decide if I want to work on the side fic now or if I want to save it until later when Conan actually shows up around what's looking to be chapter twenty in my outline. Hmm. But anyway, I hope you enjoyed the chapter! Drop me a line if you have the time! Thanks in advance! See you guys Friday!