This chapter contains somewhat school-related murder/violence. If you prefer not to read that portion, you can use Ctrl+f to skip ahead to "They stayed" (do not include the quotation marks) and that will take you past it.

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Please let me know if you have any concerns or questions, and always let me know if you ever feel additional warnings should be included in any of my works.

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Case 21 – The Karate Competition Murder

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Kaito didn't usually need to see police cars surrounding a building to know something was wrong, but he supposed there was something to be said for the certainty it gave. And he supposed this because it kept him from worrying too much over the fact that Shinichi was inside that surrounded building. Shinichi and Sonoko had gone to watch Ran compete at a karate tournament with Kaito coming to meet them there since he hadn't been able to make it back to Beika in time for the start of the first match. He had spent the night in Ekoda at his mother's house after picking her up at the airport the day before, and Shinichi had stayed behind so as not to miss school (he'd certainly done enough of that during high school after all, so it had become an impossible feat to convince him to skip classes for anything short of murder). It was a collection of small things that had added up to this – Shinichi in the middle of some trouble and Kaito stuck on the perimeter, wondering what had happened.

He watched, searching for a good way inside as officers stopped people walking by while others guarded each entrance to the arena. It only took him one stealthy circuit around the building to decide on his path. Then he slipped inside with practiced ease and blended into the nervous milling crowd of competitors and spectators that he found there.

He spotted Ran and Sonoko a few minutes later and his heart dropped. Ran was hunched against Sonoko's shoulder, small sobs shaking her body, and Sonoko kept her arms around her in firm support though tears were spilling from her eyes as well. Kaito pushed through the crowd to get to them.

"Hey, are you guys okay?" he asked. Is Shinichi okay?

"Kaito-kun…" Ran managed, lifting her head from Sonoko's shoulder.

"We're okay," Sonoko supplied, rubbing at her cheeks with one hand. The other kept hold of Ran.

"What's going on?"

"Matsutani-kun's been murdered," Ran said, forcing her tears back though her voice still shook.

Kaito's face drew closed – blank, hiding his emotions out of instinct. He didn't know Matsutani personally, but he knew enough to put a face to the name, and he knew he'd been in Ran's, Sonoko's, and Shinichi's class in high school. He threw a quick glance around the huge space and easily spotted the one area the police were blocking off that was not an exit – most likely where the murder had taken place, where the victim still was, and where Shinichi was sure to be.

"We're okay," Sonoko repeated purposefully, watching him.

Kaito glanced back at her with a grateful look and gave a quick nod before disappearing into the crowd again. He slipped unseen past the officers blocking the hallway that led back to the locker rooms and ran silently for the open door near the end of the hall. Sure enough, Shinichi was there, crouched down beside a thin boy lying beside the lockers in a half-assembled karate uniform.

Kaito stopped in the doorway. Shinichi was looking over the body with intense focus though he kept a careful distance so as not to disturb the scene, but it only took him a handful of seconds to register the feeling of someone watching him. He glanced over his shoulder and started slightly when he saw someone standing there.

"Kaito…" He stood but did not step away from the body.

"Are you okay?"

"You shouldn't be in here." His voice was calm. Controlled, Kaito decided. There was none of the fond exasperation that often snuck into his tone when Kaito started bending rules, but there was no anger either. He was just stating a fact. But he did not meet Kaito's eyes. "Megure-keibu and the forensics team are on their way," he added when Kaito didn't move.

Kaito gave a casual shrug, glossing over the slight unease that was taking up residence in the pit of his stomach. "I was never here," he said, the words light without being joking. When Shinichi glanced up again Kaito was gone, having hidden himself well and thoroughly nearby, determined beyond conscious reason to keep an eye on Shinichi. Something… wasn't quite right.

For a few extra moments after Kaito had gone, Shinichi just stood, looking at nothing – at the empty doorway, at the hallway beyond – before turning back to the body on the floor. He paced a slow circle of the scene, stepping carefully, and paused beside one particular locker, leaning closer with his hands in his pockets to inspect a streak of blood that was about the right height to match the cut on Matsutani's forehead. His fists flexed in his pockets as he saw it play out in his mind – a shadowy figure standing in for the murderer, Matsutani's head being slammed into the metal, leaving him dazed and unable to defend himself as the killer strangled him, holding on until Matsutani's weak, unfocused struggles stopped. Holding on until Matsutani stopped breathing. Until Matsutani's heart stopped beating. Until Matsutani would never wake up again.

Shinichi's body was strung tight with resistance to the urge to hit something. He backed away from the scene and leaned against the doorjamb of the locker room, his eyes closed and his arms crossed, quiet and still. He stayed that way, just thinking through the facts, until Megure and the forensics team arrived.

Shinichi greeted them, his voice casual as he filled them in on what he knew so far, and securing a pair of gloves for himself while photos were taken of the scene. After a more thorough examination was done, they loaded the body onto a gurney and took it away through a back exit, and Shinichi and Megure headed out into the gym.

Kaito followed, silent and unnoticed, and blended himself seamlessly back into the crowd, positioning himself strategically to avoid people he knew so that he could keep his full attention on Shinichi. Megure called everyone to attention and the murmurs became hushed as he asked for everyone's cooperation. Then Shinichi moved from the inspector's side and into the crowd, picking through the people methodically and speaking with a few before calling just four of them over, away from the rest. He lined them up by the wall and he and Megure stood in front of them in a tactic Kaito was certain was meant to make them nervous as Shinichi started talking through the situation. Kaito edged closer and came within earshot just in time to hear Shinichi name the killer.

"Itagaki-kun's your guy, Inspector," he said, his voice tight but subdued. Three of the people by the wall turned in unison to look at the young man in question whose face was slowly turning red.

"What the hell are you saying, Kudou?" he demanded. "You accusing me of something?"

"You murdered Matsutani-kun," Shinichi said.

"Th-That's ridiculous!" Itagaki shouted back. He seemed unaware of the tears forming in his eyes.

"You have a motive," Shinichi replied. "Your alibi's shaky at best and we found the gloves–"

"Shut up!"

Itagaki lunged forward but the woman standing beside him at the wall reached out reflexively to stop him. She only had a hold on him for a second before he tore out of her grasp, but it was more than enough time for Shinichi and Megure to brace themselves. When he surged forward, they grabbed his arms and forced him to the floor on his stomach. Megure locked a pair of handcuffs onto his wrists and he and Shinichi dragged Itagaki back onto his feet.

Kaito did not move at all during the small struggle. He knew Itagaki, shaken and unarmed as he was, wouldn't have been able to harm anyone with so many trained officers around. He kept his eyes locked on Shinichi instead, his gaze sharp and analytical. Shinichi was so calm through the entire thing it was almost eerie. Kaito had seen Shinichi face armed gunmen and snipers without flinching – hell, on occasion Kaito himself had been on the other end of the gun Shinichi was staring down – but this was different. This felt wrong.

Shinichi didn't say anything and didn't follow as Megure directed Itagaki forward with a hand on his back, a few of the other officers falling into step with them as he led Itagaki out of the building. The gym was practically echoing with the low murmurs of the people left behind, but no one seemed to want to move, not even the three still standing by the wall, and Shinichi least of all. Then Ran broke free of the shaken crowd and went up to Shinichi, placing a comforting hand on his arm.

"Are you okay?" she asked, her voice still thick with tears.

"Yeah, of course I am."

The lie, Kaito noted, was fluid. Natural, like he'd become very used to telling that exact lie to that exact person.

"But… But it was Itagaki-kun," Ran said softly, her voice wavering just a little.

"Sorry, Ran," Shinichi said, pulling his arm free of her grasp. "I need to wrap some things up with the forensics team." He turned from her before she could get another word out and retreated back down the hallway toward the locker room where no one was allowed to follow. Ran was left standing alone apart from the crowd as fresh tears spilled onto her cheeks.

For a moment, Kaito was torn between going after Shinichi and trying to help Ran, who he felt had been rather unfairly abandoned, but before he could make a decision Sonoko was there, holding Ran's shoulders and leading her over to the bleachers to sit down. He hesitated just a moment more but he knew Ran was in good hands so he vanished again, sneaking back down the hallway to where Shinichi was speaking with a police officer. Just a few minutes later, Shinichi left out the back exit that was opened for him and closed behind him by another officer who was rather resolutely standing her ground in front of it. Kaito sighed quietly and doubled back to leave through a more easily accessible exit.

He found Shinichi walking down a sidewalk away from the arena and ran to catch up, coming up beside him. "Hey…"

"Hey," Shinichi said. "Sorry about earlier."

Kaito's head tilted slightly. "Sorry about what?"

Shinichi shook his head. "Never mind."

"Hey–" Kaito stepped a little quicker to get in front of Shinichi and stopped him with a hand on his chest. "You've got a hell of a poker face when you want to, you know that?" he said in a low voice.

A quick blink was the only outward reaction he received. "I don't want to talk about this here," he said, his voice still level, still exuding that forced, worked-at calm that put Kaito on edge. "I just want to go home."

"…Okay," Kaito conceded. He fell back into step beside him and walked with him in silence back to the Kudou manor. Shinichi opened the door and let Kaito in ahead of him before following him in and shutting it firmly. He turned but couldn't seem to manage much more than that, so he pressed his back to the solid wood and slid down it slowly, his legs folding up in front of him as he reached the floor. Kaito was suddenly there, kneeling in front of him with his hands on Shinichi's knees, watching him with fear-wide eyes.

"Shinichi…?"

Shinichi drew in a slow, shuddering breath. It was the only answer he could manage.

"Come on." The words were gentle, but the pull on his wrists was insistent, and somehow he was being guided toward the couch in the next room where the bright sunlight outside was turned dusty by the edges of the heavy curtains drawn closed in front of the windows.

Kaito pulled Shinichi down with him onto the couch, tucking him to his side, his arms a still and steady pressure around him. "…You knew them both, didn't you," he said quietly.

Shinichi closed his eyes and was quiet for a while, trying to determine if this was something he felt he could talk about. "Matsutani-kun sat right in front of me at school," he eventually said. The words were hesitant, but his voice was steady so he went on. "He'd been in my class since grade school. And Itagaki-kun… He was on the soccer team. We got along really well."

He felt Kaito's hold on him tighten and thought it would be just for a moment, but he didn't ease up and Shinichi didn't mind.

"You should really let the police take some of these cases now and then," he said, and it was almost a whisper. Almost to himself.

Shinichi shook his head. "I wanted to do it – for Matsutani-kun. But I didn't think–" He cut himself off with a shuddering exhale that he didn't expect. Like he couldn't bear the air in his lungs and had to get it out.

"You know," Kaito said softly. "It's okay to feel it. Someone died. I don't care how often it happens; it changes everything, every time."

"I know."

"This is going to sound kind of messed up, but I'm really glad you know." He turned his face and muttered against the side of Shinichi's head, "You were scaring the hell out of me back there. I could tell there was something wrong but… you were acting like you didn't care. Like everything was fine. I mean geez, is this how you feel when I'm KID?"

Shinichi laughed and Kaito felt some knot of tension he hadn't realized was there ease loose in his chest. He pressed a kiss into Shinichi's hair.

"No, I don't think it's quite the same," Shinichi said, and they both knew he was jumping on the subject change for a moment of escape. Of relief. "I don't know if it's because I knew your poker face before I knew you or if it's because I've seen it so often… Maybe it's that I know it's necessary, but for whatever reason it doesn't bother me. When it's important I can see through it. Like you saw through mine today." He said this with a steady confidence that was so Shinichi that Kaito couldn't help but smile.

"…Besides," he added, and he suddenly sounded uncertain again, the contrast staggering. Like he wasn't sure if he really wanted to say what he was about to say, but that first word was enough that he couldn't stop. "Besides," he said again, picking up momentum. "I've seen real emotion on your face – in your eyes – that was so much more terrifying. Just… raw hate and fear so intense it hurt and I just… That's what scares me."

Kaito's hand found Shinichi's and closed around it. He almost spoke but he caught himself – stopped himself because he knew he couldn't do it without going back behind his mask and Shinichi deserved better than that. Instead, he placed another kiss on the top of Shinichi's head and held onto him, the firm pressure of his fingers, just a little too tight, acting as the apology he couldn't bring himself to voice.

They stayed there in silence for a long while, just holding on to each other and taking comfort in that as they worked through their own thoughts until Kaito finally suggested they stay in and make something for dinner together. As he headed for the kitchen, Shinichi following slowly after, he added over his shoulder, "And I'm staying the night, by the way. Just so you know."

Shinichi smiled just a little and headed after Kaito into the kitchen. "I'm surprised you bothered to mention it," he said, leaning against the doorway to watch as Kaito moved through the room, leaving every single cabinet open in his wake.

"Well, I didn't want to startle you since I don't plan on crashing on the couch this time."

Shinichi blinked mutely at the off-hand comment, not quite sure what to make of it. They'd shared a bed twice before and it was never really a big deal, but both times it had been Shinichi's idea, and Kaito had been injured. Kaito seemed to have strange rules about when to respect people's space that Shinichi wasn't sure he understood, but not sneaking into bed with Shinichi seemed to be one of them.

Kaito just kept talking. "So what should we make?" he said, moving to the middle of the kitchen to survey his work. "…We might have to hit a grocery store."

"What do you want to make?" Shinichi asked, brushing off the earlier comment. Kaito would do as he liked regardless – no sense worrying about it now. He went to the kitchen table and sat down.

Kaito moved back over to the counter and leaned against it, his arms loosely crossed. One hand moved thoughtfully up to his chin. "Well… Actually I've never been all that good at cooking. About the only thing I can make is lemon pie, but I guess that's not really dinner per se–" He cut off, slightly startled when Shinichi, unable to stop himself, started laughing – slow at first but then folding with it, his forehead resting on his arm on the tabletop. "…I missed something," Kaito said.

Shinichi shook his head and it looked like an effort but he gathered himself up and sat back in the chair again. "No, sorry, I just… I just really like lemon pie," he said, his voice breaking slightly with the clinging remnants of laughter, his eyes wet.

Kaito rolled his eyes fondly. "Why am I not surprised."

"And you know what else?" Shinichi added, still leaning with one elbow on the table. "I'm actually really good with chocolate. I've never tried to make any kind of chocolate pie before, but I bet I could."

Kaito grinned. "That's it; we're having pie for dinner."

"What? Kaito, we are not having–" He cut off with a yelp as Kaito, somehow behind his chair now, lifted him out of it and started pushing him toward the door.

"Yes we are. Pie for dinner. It's therapeutic. Now let's go; you have nothing to cook with around here. Pies don't make themselves you know," he said wisely and Shinichi was laughing again as he allowed himself to be herded out of the house and down the street to a grocery store.

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Midnight found the two sitting in the kitchen, two partially eaten pies on the table between them and an unholy mess on every counter in the room. Kaito had produced a deck of cards and was doing card tricks as Shinichi watched intently, trying to figure them out. It was warm and peaceful and Kaito's hands flew through the motions of each trick fast enough that Shinichi didn't have time to feel guilty about feeling as good as he did after everything that had happened. And somehow, everything was okay.

When they finally did clean up and move upstairs to Shinichi's bed, Kaito pulled him close, his arms firm around him, and Shinichi relaxed into the warmth. He felt safe, more so than he had in a long, long time, and all his fears, his insecurities and worries, were pushed so far out of mind that he never saw the nightmares coming.

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He was running, hard and fast and with everything he had but those hands still caught him. So many hands caught him and dragged him down and held him so that he couldn't break free no matter how much he fought. He caught a glimpse of a familiar scar as one reached out to grab a fistful of his hair, but it was instantly forgotten because then Gin was there, leering over him, one small, innocent-looking pill held lightly between two fingers. Shinichi's head was wrenched back and as he let out a startled cry Gin shoved the pill into his mouth. A rush of water was dumped over his face and he choked and spluttered as it filled his mouth and nose, but then a hand was there, tight over his face, and he couldn't breathe.

Confused and desperate in his want for air, Shinichi swallowed, but none of the hands holding him released him and his vision darkened behind a watery film of tears. Just before the blackness could close around him completely, a jarring pulse of pain rocketed through his body – that same pulse he'd learned to fear above any other pain–

Shinichi jerked up, wrenching himself free from hands that didn't exist with a harsh gasp. He clenched shaking fists into the blanket in his lap and consciously took in a slower, softer breath, but while the pain and fear had faded quickly, the feeling of helplessness had not. It was the feeling that, after all this time, really nothing had changed. It was being able to solve murders but not stop them. It was Aso Seiji killing himself all over again.

Kaito had woken instantly when Shinichi did. The card gun, which was never anywhere out of easy reach, was in his hand in almost the same moment and he threw a quick glance around the room, searching for threats before focusing in on Shinichi. He was sitting up, pale and shivering, and Kaito set the gun aside before shifting over to sit behind him, slipping his arms around him in a firm embrace. Shinichi resisted at first with a reflexive jerk, but Kaito did not let go. He just whispered his name, soft and insistent, and Shinichi froze for a moment before relaxing back against Kaito's chest and covering his face with a shaking hand.

After just a few moments, Kaito reached up and gently guided his hand back down away from his face. "It helps to see where you are," he said, his chin resting lightly on Shinichi's shoulder. "If you close your eyes it will just stick with you." Shinichi only nodded, staring down at their hands, linked together in a jumble over his stomach. "Do you want me to turn on the light–?"

"Don't you dare move," Shinichi said and Kaito smiled, just a little smug.

"I can do that." He wriggled a little farther down against the pillows, gathering Shinichi up so that his head was tucked against Kaito's neck, Kaito's arms still tight around him. He could feel the tension in Shinichi's body slowly easing away. "You're all right," he murmured. Shinichi gave a small hum of agreement, his eyes closed, and Kaito passed light fingers across his forehead, ruffling his bangs with a small smile. What am I gonna do with you?

He felt more than heard the quiet mumble against his shoulder and shifted a little but he still couldn't quite see Shinichi's face. "Hm?"

"…love you, Kaito," Shinichi murmured.

Kaito blushed and he blinked a few times before a smile broke over his face, and he had to hold himself back from laughing so that he wouldn't disturb Shinichi who seemed to have already fallen back into a quiet sleep. He ducked his head a little to press a kiss into Shinichi's hair.

"I love you, Shinichi."