Fandom: Detective Conan/Case Closed/Magic Kaitou
Disclaimer: They belong to Gosho Aoyama. I wish they were mine. o.o
Story Title: Collective Moments
Notes: I just had to.
Chapter Title: Encounters in the Dark: Calling
Chapter Summary: Aoko calls Kaito after nearly being killed at a Kid heist. Second in the series.
Chapter Quote: Her fingers still trembled from the shock of the night's events.
Alone in her room, Aoko picked up her phone and dialed a number. Her fingers still trembled from the shock of the night's events, and her face was pale against the sheets on her bed. Downstairs, she could hear her father pacing heavily around in the kitchen, busy ranting at how badly the chase had gone. Not only had the Phantom Thief escaped capture yet again, but he'd gotten caught in the midst of gunfire as well. Aoko's fingers clenched around the phone, and she shivered.
There was a buzz, and then a click. "Hello?" said Kaito, sounding sleepy.
"It's me," she said quietly.
"Ne, did something happen?" yawned Kaito. "It's too late to be calling."
The bitter sound of shattering glass replayed in Aoko's head, and she closed her eyes in a vain attempt to forget what had happened. But again, she could feel the scrape of shards tearing into her hands and the screams of people nearby as they scrambled to protect themselves. "I - I got shot at an hour ago." Aoko bit her lip. "The person barely missed."
"What?" burst Kaito, suddenly extremely awake. Through the phone, Aoko could hear something crash to the ground. "Who did that? What happened? Should I come over? Hold on, let me get ready -"
"No," said Aoko quickly. "I - I'm fine, you don't have -"
"You're not fine," said Kaito firmly. "I'm coming over right now."
"You can't," she said. "My father's not letting anyone in the house, least of all you. Besides, it's past midnight."
There was a strained pause over the phone before Kaito let out a sigh, his breath crackling into the receiver. "If you insist. But really, Aoko - I'll come by tomorrow, okay? But you have to tell me what happened."
She clutched the phone more tightly in her hands. "I was following Dad to Kid's heist, as usual. To support him. Dad, I mean - not Kid."
"That was dangerous."
"Obviously. But Kid doesn't normally get caught up in violence, so I wasn't expecting gunfire. It seems like he was caught by somebody else, and they shot at him."
There was no sound on the other end of the phone except for the faint rustle of breathing. "And the shooter missed, and nearly got you?" said Kaito softly.
"Yeah," whispered Aoko, curling up her body. The sheets were clutched tightly in her hands, damp with sweat. "If I hadn't ducked..."
"Shit," said Kaito. "I don't want to think about that. God. You didn't get injured?"
"I have a few scrapes on my hands. Not much more."
"Aoko," said Kaito quietly, "Kid's been getting wrapped up in some really delicate operations lately. Maybe it'd be best in the future if you didn't...you know, go out on those heists."
"I don't know. I'm scared. But I want to support my dad."
"You can't support him if you're - " Kaito stopped talking, his voice strained. "Please, Aoko. I can't stand the thought of you being in danger like that."
Aoko swallowed. Kaito, most of the time, was cheeky and perverted, flipping random girls' skirts and cracking obscene jokes in class. He was rarely like this, quiet and worried and so - so open. It was a rare moment when his mask of cheerfulness slipped and Aoko got to see the other side of her friend underneath. "I - I guess."
"I can't believe it," said Kaito angrily. "Why'd Kid get wrapped up into something stupid like that?"
"It's not his fault, necessarily," said Aoko. "I guess something went wrong, and he needed the police to actually protect him from harm."
"And he exploited them," continued Kaito sharply. "And he nearly got you killed."
Aoko opened her mouth to protest, but she realized that what Kaito was saying was true. And though it felt odd to want to defend Kaitou Kid, the image of the shock in his eyes, the moment when they both saw each other in the dark - she had felt something. A bond, almost, like they were friends. "I doubt he's going to apologize, if that's what you're going after."
"He'd better."
His voice crackled with electricity, and there was a soft beep that came from the phone. Aoko glanced at it. Her cell was running out of power. "Kaito, I have to go. My phone batteries are dying."
"I'm coming over tomorrow," said Kaito firmly. "You're not getting away from that."
Aoko smiled to herself. "Bye."
"Goodnight."
She clicked the phone closed and set it on the table. Outside, the moon had risen high into the night sky, and Aoko faltered a little as she looked at it. Perhaps, she thought quietly, Kaito was by his window too, and they were bathed in the same moonlight, gazing at the same stars. She opened her window, wanting more of the glow.
It was then that she noticed something barely clinging to her windowsill. Confused, she reached over. It was, strangely, a rose. There was a note attached to it, and she tilted it to the moon outside to illuminate the words upon it.
My apologies.
-Kaitou Kid
A/N: Nyarg. More to come soon - the next stories, hopefully, are Second and The Greatest Enemy. Both are crack. 8D Stay tuned! Reviews are greatly appreciated.