Here's chapter 11! Enjoy!

Chapter 11

Shinichi was showing up at the Kuroba home more and more often as her parents returned, and Kaito sure wasn't complaining. Every time he saw Shinichi, he felt a burst of happiness, and that alone would carry him through the day. He loved teasing her, how she'd glare at him sometimes, and how she'd blush at others. He was almost positive that she was in love with him, but she just wouldn't admit it and he was starting to get pissed off.

And then the visits stopped completely. She didn't call, didn't tell him where she was or why she stopped coming, so he decided to check things out, make sure she hadn't gotten into any trouble. After all, she'd stumbled across murders and corpses at every corner while they'd gone around town together, mainly shopping to stock up the Kudo's house. Yukiko and Yusaku had both proven useless in the respect, so they'd sent their daughter out on the shopping missions. (Kaito had just tagged along.)

So there he was, in front of the Kudo mansion, his jaw slack in disbelief, as he watched the Baka kiss Shinichi! He had a hold of her face between his hands, and his eyes were squeezed shut in desperation. But that didn't make Kaito as mad as the look on Shinichi's face! She had a look of complete panic, her eyes open and wide, and she was trying to push the Baka away, but she wasn't as strong as him.

Kaito's instincts screamed at him to run over and punch the stupid Osakan in the face for kissing his Shin-chan, but then he reconsidered. Would Shinichi want me to do that? She was so independent that maybe she doesn't want my help. And maybe she likes Baka Hattori and is just pretending to struggle? Who knows with this girl?

Of course, all these thoughts were chased out of his mind when Hattori finally pulled away, eagerly awaiting her response, and the first thing she did was scream, "Bastard! Get away from me! Ugh!" Hattori's face fell, and Kaito could see—through his glee, but just barely—that Shinichi was starting to feel guilty again. Damn you, Baka! You're trapping her! There's no way that she could tell you how she feels if you guilt-trip her!

Kaito wanted with all of his being to march over and tell Hattori exactly what he was thinking, but decided to trust Shinichi. If she really loves me, she'll turn him down. She'll tell him how she really feels.

Shinichi calmed down, and Kaito could practically see the lies coming out of her mouth, the apologies for pushing him away and that she didn't mean it, but then she stopped. Instead, she folded her arms across her chest, and said, "I'm sorry, Hattori, but I don't love you the way you love me. I'll probably never love you the way you love me, and there's nothing in the world that could change that." The look on Hattori's face made her soften her tense pose and she laid a hand on his shoulder comfortingly, which he bitterly pushed off. She continued, softer, making Kaito strain to hear her, "I'm sorry that I've mislead you through this past while. I thought that maybe if I tried, I could love you the way you love me. But I can't, and I don't think I can handle hurting you like that anymore. I…I just can't deal with that. So please, stop loving me like that. Go back to Kazuha and make her happy, love her more than me."

Hattori looked like he wanted to say something to her, to hurt her, but he stopped himself. "Fine. I'm sorry, too. I didn't want ta hurt ya," he said, lowering his gaze and softening his voice. "I was so wrapped up in myself that I ignored the facts, the evidence, which is the worst thing a detective could do and I'm ashamed of it." Shinichi smiled slightly, and pulled Hattori into a hug that made Kaito burn with jealousy.

"Friends?" she asked, and Hattori nodded, squeezing her tightly against him for a second before releasing her. Kaito decided this was the time to burst in and make it known that she was his Shin-chan! (Of course, neither of the two that he was proclaiming this to knew it, but that would change if it was the last thing Kaito did!)

"Okay, okay!" he said, hopping over the Kudo's gates. Shinichi looked at him in surprise, which made him smile slightly (he loved surprising her) but the look on the Baka's face was priceless! Obviously, he wasn't as completely over Shinichi as he'd thought.

"Just so you know, if you ever kiss my Shin-chan again, I'll hunt you down and dye your hair pink!" Hattori looked surprised, and then amused. He was obviously going to ask Kaito some ridiculous question that would make the threat some joke, when Kaito spoke first. Just one word.

"Permanently."

This made the Osakan detective reconsider his words. He looked back at Shinichi, who looked amused, and gulped. "Alright. Point made." And then he registered the rest of the thief's words. "Wait, 'yer Shin-chan'? What does that mean? Kudo?" He turned to Shinichi, falling back into his habit of using her last name again (making Kaito very smug and happy) who just sighed, rolled her eyes, and kicked Kaito's shin. Really hard.

"Oww! Shin-chan! What was that for?" Kaito yelped, hoping around on one foot, trying to make his throbbing shin feel better. Shinichi was smiling smugly, and Hattori was looking very confused.

Kaito finally just pouted as he stood next to her, wrapping his arm around her waist. She sent him a look that said, 'get your hands off of me or die a painful death. Scratch that. Just die.' Which was very impressive, seeing as it scared the hell outta Kaito. Hattori laughed, looking much less confused as he realized that Kaito was simply an idiot. Well, at least that what he thought Kaito was.

Kaito gave up on Shinichi, turning to Hattori and saying, "Now that you're broken up, Shin-chan is mine and you can't take her away. So go away!" Kaito glared, and then turned his face away, his nose in the air arrogantly, and gestured for Hattori to leave. "Shoo, shoo, you're not wanted here!" This earned Kaito a kick to his shin, (the same one) and a glare from Shinichi, but he saw something in her beautiful blue eyes. It wasn't irritation, or anger, it was tender, and kind, and something else…something that he hadn't exactly expected. Well, he'd hoped, that was for sure, but he hadn't actually thought it would happen. Shinichi was so cold-hearted, right? She couldn't so easily? Could she? Because the thing he saw in her eyes was definitely something he'd suspected impossible.

Love.

Now, Kaito knew that there was a definite possibility that he was imagining it, that the kick to his shin had gone to his head and made him delusional, or that he was so desperate for it that he'd simply mistaken whatever it really was for love. And yet, when he looked again, there it was. And although there wasn't a lot of it, it was still there.

Now this kind of revelation would've made a normal person happy, and they'd probably do something like try to court her, make that love grow, or to run away as fast as they could to get away from it. Some people might kiss her, others might give her a bouquet of roses and a dinner date. But none of these people were Kaito.

So, instead of being normal, Kaito did the first thing that came to him.

He tackled her.

Simple as that. He jumped at her, wrapping his arms and legs around her, making her fall to the ground, and rubbing his cheek against her neck, saying happily, "I knew you liked me! I love you so much! I'm never letting you go again, Shin-chan! Never!" Of course, anyone who had a brain (let me rephrase: anyone who had common sense plus a brain) would know how Shinichi would react.

Kaito was immediately thrown off, and had a foot pressed against his throat, currently cutting of his air supply. "Are you crazy?" Shinichi asked incredulously, and the only response that Kaito could give was a wide grin. They stayed in that position for a minute before Shinichi sighed and took her foot away, holding a hand out to him. Slightly dazed, although he made sure to not show it, he took it and stood. He brushed off his jeans nonchalantly as Hattori looked at them in amazement.

"The two of ya are insane, ya know that?" he asked, and Kaito grinned, about to reply that they were, through and through, when Shinichi beat him to it.

"Definitely. Now, how about we go inside, and have lunch or something. I'm starved." Hattori practically ran to the front door of the mansion at the mere mention of food, and told the other two to follow. Kaito looked at him in surprise.

"Fast recovery," he noted, impressed. Shinichi just sighed heavily, shaking her head.

"No, just really good at hiding his pain. Terrible liar, that's for sure, but when he tries really hard, he can make sure that you don't know he's hurt until he tells you it himself. Stubborn goat." She looked at the Osakan with a soft smile, and Kaito immediately reacted.

"No! No looking at him like that! I'm the only guy you can look at!" he exclaimed and she sent him a look that said, 'oh really?' but then she smiled.

"Whatever. You're not my boyfriend yet, and if I have anything to say about it, you won't be for a very long time. Plus, I'm not into overly-jealous guys. Not my type." Kaito felt incredibly sad, but then he noticed something in her words.

"Yet? Did you say 'yet'? Woo! I've gotta chance after all! I love you, Shinichi!" He would've hugged her again, but the look in her eyes suggested something worse than death, so he restrained himself. She gave him a satisfactory nod and continued on. They walked in silence, and Kaito finally gathered enough courage to hold out his hand for her to take. She looked at it for a moment before shrugging and taking it. Kaito was hurt by this indifference until he looked into her eyes and saw that she was really happy.

"Oi, Kudo!" Hattori yelled from the kitchen. "Where's the soy sauce?"

There was a beat of silence between Kaito and Shinichi, before they burst out laughing and entered the kitchen, their hands still connected. This was going to be the most interesting and best thing of Kaito's life, that was for sure. He was going to make it that way, or else. After all, what was someone like Kaito supposed to do with a boring life?

sorry if its a little rushed in places, but i was starting to get annoyed with Heiji being stupid, and Shinichi being stupid, and Kaito being ignored, so yeah. sorry. Anyways, please review! and i promise, this is NOT the last chapter. if you think it is, then i'm sorry but you're insane! because who doesn't love a good epilogue or two? so just be patient, and i promise the next chapter will be updated soon! thanks for reading and please review!