A/N: Well, I've been a lazy ass lately and then my computer died – thankfully, I was able to save everything! – and yeah… Sorry for the inexcusably late chapter. n( _ _ )n

Today's Quote: "A star shone at the hour of our meeting." – J.R.R. Tolkien.

Disclaimer: I do not own Magic Kaito or Detective Conan in any way or form.

Warning(s): OOCness, magic, AU, …I can't think of anything else. Oh. Overworking. And lots of sighs. XD

Chapter Eleven

School had been let out, much to the relief of the students. They all rushed out, grabbing their things and heading out with their groups of friends. Kaito, Aoko, and Hakuba headed out together, as well. They walked in a relatively comfortable silence; the only thing different from usual was the concerned eyes Aoko was sending the two of them. Kaito leaned closer to Hakuba, whispering to him. "You know, Aoko told me the other day that she thinks you're hiding something from her."

Hakuba choked on air, face straining to keep composure as he let out a small cough into his hand. "…Is that so?"

Kaito sent him a cheeky grin, imitating his British accent, "That is so."

The blonde scowled at his friend as the other laughed and Aoko was quick to jump to help out her boyfriend. "Bakaito! What'd you say to Saguru?!" She bellowed, eyes narrowed. Kaito gave another laugh, stepping lightly away from her. "What makes you think I said anything?" His face was the personification of innocence.

She didn't buy it for one minute. She knew Kaito too well already.

"Don't lie!" She yelled, indignant. "Those tricks won't work on me any more than they work on anyone that knows you!" Her fist was clenched in determination, wild hair blowing around her face. Nakamori Aoko was surely a force of nature to be reckoned with.

They both paused in their bickering as a phone rang and they turned to Hakuba as he took out his cellphone. "Excuse me for moment." He said before walking off a bit to answer it. Kaito and Aoko watched as his face went from neutral to a slightly stressed face, eyebrows crinkled a bit.

"…Who do you think it is?" Aoko asked, curious.

"I'm not sure." Her companion lied smoothly.

Bright blue eyes met violet indigo, "…Right..."

There was a short bout of hushed silence before Hakuba clicked his phone shut. "That was work. I have to go, there's been another incident." He sighed, sending an apologetic to the two. Aoko looked disappointed for a moment before brightening. "That okay! Be safe, okay?" She said before grabbing Kaito's arm. "We'll just be at the park, if you need us~!" She cheered before beginning to drag a protesting Kaito behind her to said park.

Hakuba stared after them before heading into a nearby crevice between buildings. A short burst of green light went unnoticed, followed by the sound of wings, and a hawk flew off in a general direction.

ooOOoo

Shinichi let out a tired sigh, staring down at the three mages he had just downed. He wiped away sweat from his forehead, feeling exhausted. Heiji was quick to come to his side as he tipped precariously to the side, quickly catching him. "Kudou…," He growled, "I think you should rest. You're using up too much magic."

Shinichi let out a breathy chuckle, "Can't, Hattori. They said we're working too slowly; you know what happens if they get angry…," He raised his brows pointedly, but didn't move from his slump into Heiji's side, too tired. The familiar scowled, shifting him into a more comfortable position. "That doesn't mean you should be careless!"

His ears tilted forward, aggression in his stance and tone, small fangs prominent in his mouth, "You could disappear, aho!"

Shinichi only clicked his tongue in irritation, straightening out and brushing off Heiji's worried hands. "…That's fine with me."

Heiji was just about to bark out another insult when he was interrupted by a childish voice, "Ah, Shinichi-niichan!" Both started in shock, whipping around to see three familiar children. The mage was the first of the two to recover, face erasing all traces of weakness. "Ayumi-chan, Mitsuhiko, Genta…What are you doing here?" He questioned. They were at the back of an abandoned warehouse, having just taken down the magical encirclement.

"Haibara-san said that you were over here." Mitsuhiko said, lifting up the familiar device around his neck with a smile.

"I see. Thanks for watching over them, Haibara." Shinichi intoned, face softening in fondness. "It's not a problem, boss." Ayumi giggled at the device's bland words before turning back to the teens. "Are you gathering magic again, Shinichi-niichan, Heiji-niichan?" It was kind of obvious, what with the three prone figures against the wall in the background. However, the blue-eyed teen nodded.

"We were just wrapping up, though." Heiji interrupted with a smirk, ignoring the spiteful glare Shinichi flashed in his direction, about to protest, but wasn't able to as Heiji continued, "How about you guys go to the park together?"

"Heiji! You–!"

"Yeah~! Do you want to come, Shinichi-niichan?" His face flinched from its angry glare into one of awkward submission; the change made Heiji give a smug grin. "Er…Um…I actually have work to d–" "I'll take care of it! I'll go find Moroboshi, or something!" "Hei–!" "Go on, Kudou! Go on and have some fun!" He pushed Shinichi gently towards the kids, who immediately latched onto his hands, beginning to pull him towards their destination happily. He protested weakly, looking nervous.

"Ah, Hattori…guys…," His barrier jacket vanished in a burst of blue as they neared more people.

"See ya, Kudou! Have fun~!"

ooOOoo

"So, where do you all want to go?" Shinichi asked with a sigh, now in his Conan form. The children crowded around him, parroting gleefully about a project they had done in school that day.

"Let's go to the park!" Ayumi suggested and Genta echoed with a loud agreement, mentioning something about one-on-one soccer with Mitsuhiko for last time. Shinichi smiled, "Okay."

They walked in a content hum of meaningless chatter, talking about anything to everything. No one noticed as Shinichi dragged a bit farther behind, breathing shallower than usual and footsteps somewhat imprecise. His face, however, was calm and warm as he watched his small friends from behind, letting his muscles loosen. Maybe Hattori was right when he said I should take a break, he thought to himself as he nearly stumbled before catching his footing.

The park came into sight and he spotted a bench near the entrance that he could rest on once they got there. They quickly got to aforementioned park and Ayumi ran over to the swing set while Genta and Mitsuhiko took a ball out of one of their bags and headed over to the large, grassy, area – away from the trees and far enough from the street and sidewalk to kick without restrain.

The child-sized teen lifted himself onto the bench with little effort, leaning back and letting out another sigh, weary eyes taking in his surroundings. Suddenly, a familiar face obscured his view of the rest of the world, startling him, and cerulean blue met violet-hued blue. "You know, sighing is bad for the soul~!" The other teen hummed, pulling back and taking a seat next to Shinichi on the bench.

There was a short stiff moment before the tinier relaxed, relieved as he did a quick scan of the area. Good, no blond in sight. He saw the girl from before sitting on a swing next to Ayumi, striking up a conversation with the younger. He swallowed thickly, peering at Kaito from the corner of his eye, glasses glinting in the fading sunlight.

"…You're from before…," Shinichi mumbled, not sure what to say, feeling oddly nervous.

Kaito flashed him a grin, "Yup! Sorry about Hakuba, by the way! He's suspicious of everyone!" He gave a laugh and Shinichi found a smile curling at his lips, unbidden. Kaito caught it. "Ah, there it is! You look much better with a smile than that serious face from before!" He poked the not-child's cheek happily. Immediately, Shinichi's smile turned into a scowl as he batted at the hand, turning his face away to hide the flush working up his neck, "D-Don't touch me, ba'aro!"

Why am I blushing?!

Kaito laughed at the insult, not bothered in the bit. "So, you're a mage, too, huh?" The subject was changed in the blink of an eye. Shinichi glanced back at him for a minute, still scowling, and assessed the situation. It didn't feel like a trap…

"Yeah." He answered shortly, taking in the reaction.

The other on the bench seemed ecstatic at the information, brightening like the sun, even as the real one continued its journey down into the horizon, sky glowing red and oranges, fading into the dark indigo of night. "Awesome! You're so young, too! Once you're older, you'll be able to do all types of things – Hakuba told me if your magic awakens before the age of ten, it's likely that you'll be very powerful~! You're about six, right?" He beamed, leaning towards the shorter in excitement.

Shinichi, in turn, leaned back a bit as the other came too close for comfort. "I'm seven." He retorted, feeling insulted since Kaito probably thought he was younger due to his height in this form.

"Oh, I see! Sorry~!"

Shinichi twitched, faced with such unending smiles and cheer. It was unusual, but it wasn't exactly…bad.

Suddenly he remembered that he was the one who should be apologizing for what he'd done last time and his mood sobered. There was a brief moment of silence before Shinichi forced it out past his lips. "…Sorry. For before, I mean. Your hands okay, right?" He grumbled like a sulking child, carefully avoiding Kaito's gaze.

Said boy stared in surprise for a second before placing a gentle hand on Shinichi's shoulder, turning him to face him. For the second time that night, their eyes met. "Hey, it's okay. My hand is fine, too." Shinichi was frozen before he suddenly pulled out of the grasp, scooting further away, and turning with a huff.

"T-That's good."

Kaito let out a chuckle at the boy's expense, retracting his hand to his side. "Those are your friends, right?" The conversation was continued.

"…"

"Over there is my friend Aoko. She's always been there for me, as long as I can remember. Don't let her frail appearance fool you – she's a violent woman~! But, that's what makes her so likable, I guess. The jerk you met the other day is Hakuba Saguru. He's a detective and a mage like you. He's not actually a bad person, but when you first meet him, he gives off the impression 'stick in the mud'." Kaito explained, laughing.

"…"

"You don't have to be nervous around Hakuba, either. He won't do anything to you besides interrogate you to death." Kaito leaned back into the bench, looking up into the dimming sky.

"…Those three are Ayumi, Mitsuhiko, and Genta. They can't really relate to me, but they all know I'm a mage." Shinichi finally broke his silence, gesturing his chin to the three. Kaito's attention focused on him, "Are you close?"

A dry chuckle, "Yeah, we are. When we first met, it was complete chaos, though. …It's strange to think back on it. They'd been so young then…,"

Shinichi's gaze was off in the distance, glazed over in memories as his face softened. Kaito watched him, mesmerized as his oversized glasses glinted and his eyes glimmered in the faint light, face reflecting much world weariness, all childishness gone from his posture.

"…You act more like an old man than a child." Kaito noted, breaking the moment as he turned his face back to the sky, puzzlement hidden under his pokerface.

"O-Oi!" Shinichi snapped out of his reverie, looking indignant as he scowled at the teen.

Kaito let out another laugh, "Ha, sorry, sorry. It was too much to resist!" He continued to stifle his chuckles in his hand and, after a while, Shinichi let out a small laugh, as well. "You're a real piece of work, you know that?" He commented to Kaito, smirking up at him.

"Oh, I know~! The best piece of work ever~!" Kaito preened.

"Moron…,"

"But, you know you love me~! –Oh, by the way, we've never formally introduced ourselves, have we?" And just like that, the subject changed. The two didn't notice that the sun had just fully descended beyond the horizon, stars waiting to come out. The first one brightened in the sky as the moon shone down upon the two.

"No, we haven't." Shinichi blinked before offering his small hand. "Edogawa Conan, nice to meet you."

Instead of taking his hand, Kaito stood up, doing an exaggerated bow. "Kuroba Kaito, magician extraordinaire, at your service! A pleasure to meet you, Edogawa Conan!" He straightened, but not before poofing a flower into existence and placing it in Shinichi's outstretched palm and curling the hand around it himself after a moment of Shinichi surprised staring. The rose was a deep blue, almost mirroring the color of his own orbs.

"Anyways, Conan-kun, I should go. It's getting late." Kaito said, looking over to Aoko who was still waiting for him on the swing set. Shinichi blinked before nodding, placing the flower carefully into the inner pocket of his jacket. "Yeah, we should be getting home, too." He stood off the bench, waving his hand as he shouted, "Ayumi-chan! Genta! Mitsuhiko! We should head home now!"

The kids looked over to him with pouts but started towards him either way, albeit lazily. Aoko also made her way over to Kaito, Ayumi by her side. It seemed like the two had hit it off well enough. Shinichi took a step forward to his small charges before he halted, feeling something stutter inside him, like a flame flickering in and out inconsistently.

He let out a strangled gasp as he tilted towards the ground, Kaito looking over immediately as he felt something fluctuate beside him. He hurried over as Shinichi placed a hand over his heart before falling over, getting caught in two warm arms. The world seemed to tip and bend and all sounds went unheard.

Blue met violet indigo for the third time that night before everything blurred than faded into oblivion.

Review Replies:

To: KidfishxD – It's okay, I understand! ^^ And yup~! I love HeiKazu! They're so cute! 3 and really? I'm glad! I was worried that it was too easy to figure out. XD I feel like I suck at making riddles and it took me a while to figure out something that sounded Lucifer-riddle-esque. –laughs– And yup, they will~! Here's the – supremely late – update. ^^;;;

To: icarusdg – Ohmygosh;shi fjgnidhfg! I-I'm really honored to have you reading this! I absolutely adore your stories and having you read this – reviewing it! 8O – is just so-so- amazing! 8DDD and here's their next meeting! ^^ Thank you for the review! 3

To: Shara Raizel – Thank you; it was fun writing that part, too. ^^ And yup. XD My sister mentioned something about it and it sparked a big, fat, idea in my mind that couldn't be quelled. I plan on writing quite a bit moer about that in future chapters. :) Here's the next chapter. ^^

To: RoseAngel16 (both in one) – Thank you! Here's their next meeting! ^^ Here's the supremely late update! Also, thank you for reviewing once more, since that's what actually got me off my lazy ass to write this chapter. XD Thanks for you reviews! 3

To: MagicMilkbone – Yeah, she doesn't. I can't blame her, either; truthfully, I don't think I'd let the dude into my house. XD;; And yes, Akako! And I can't help but have her appear in every one of my stories and to have a decently large part. I love her character too much~! And I'm glad. Like I said in an earlier response, I had a hard time coming up with something Lucifer-riddle-esque. XD And bingo~! And will do~! 8DD

-Thank you for everyone still reading this story, as my updates are getting even worse. ;;;