Note* Aishiteru means I love you in Japanese ~ just so you know ;)

Chapter Twenty:

Aishiteru

HAKUBA POV

Hakuba paced outside the hospital. He had called Chikage-san first. Luckily she had taken the news rather calmly and said she would be up as soon as she could get away from work. Next, he had called Aoko. Like he had expected, Aoko did not take the news calmly in any sort of way. In fact she was downright angry. He was now waiting for their arrival while Shinichi remained with Kaito in the ICU.

A taxi pulling up to the curb caught his attention and he watched with a nervous swallow as Kuroba-san, Nakamori-san, and Aoko all stepped out, each spotting him and moving towards him as though something were chasing them out.

"How is he?" asked Chikage right away.

"Is he still alive, because I swear I will kill him!" yelled Aoko.

Nakamori didn't say anything, but he clearly looked like he wanted to have a private word with Saguru as soon as he could. He had no doubt that the older man was going to chew him for "bringing Kaito into his case" when Kaito isn't even a detective. He knew this would be the more likely reaction, but if it meant getting them here to support Kaito, he suspected he could survive the confrontation. Kaito would just owe him one, he thought with a smug smirk as he walked inside, leading them to the ICU where Kaito was laying under the watchful eye of Shinichi.

"Ah, good morning Inspector Nakamori", he greeted the man.

Nakamori nodded to Kudo in acknowledgement as he followed Chikage and his daughter into the room. Shinichi had never seen Aoko or Kaito's mother before, but he unconsciously began making comparisons between Aoko and Ran and Kaito and his mother.

"K-Kaito", whispered Aoko as the tears began streaming down her face.

When she had heard Kaito was in the hospital while helping with one of Hakuba-kun's cases, she had thought maybe he had broken a leg or an arm or something. She never would have expected…this.

Chikage reached out for her son, feeling his clammy skin. She could see the red in his cheeks showing the fever. It stood out horribly against the paleness of his skin. She noticed the bandages wrapped around his hands and upper body. Just what had happened?

"He didn't try too…" exclaimed Aoko also seeing the wrist bandages for the first time.

"Of course not!" snapped Hakuba, the bite in his voice startling everyone.

He hadn't meant to get so angry, but how could they even think Kaito would do something like try to take his own life!

"But he…"

"He was kidnapped during the case", explained Shinichi, "the ropes he was bound with had cut deeply into his skin. If you draw up the blanket, you will notice his ankles are bandaged the same way."

Aoko hesitated a moment, glancing at Hakuba who seemed to be refusing to look at anyone anymore as he slowly lifted the blanket up. Sure enough, his feet were bandaged the same way. She noticed the bandages higher up on his legs. Laying the blanket down again, she grabbed he edge of the top of it and pulled it down, gasping when she got a look at the bruises and bandages covering his upper body.

"How horrible", she muttered.

Inspector Nakamori had seen it before, so he wasn't surprised, but it felt different seeing it on someone he cared about. He held Aoko in his arms as she looked away, her cries muffled against his shirt. He noticed Chikage had kept a neutral expression the entire time, but her eyes showed her fury. She was mad at who did this to her son and rightfully so.

"Will you tell me the story?" she finally asked turning to Shinichi and Hakuba, "Will you tell me how my son helped you with this case?"

"Of course. Follow me if you wish to know."

Everyone followed, leaving only Hakuba alone with Kaito. He stepped towards the bed, staring at the white bandages tented red around his wrists.

"I'm sorry that I didn't find you sooner", he whispered.

CONAN POV

"So they have the guy under arrest?"

"That's right. The court case is being held this weekend. If Kaito was well enough, he would be expected to go, but considering his condition, he has been excused from the case aside from photographic evidence taken of his body to show in court."

"I see" Chikage said. She didn't say anything more.

"I will be attending that court hearing on Kaito's behalf", stated Shinichi, "Inspector Nakamori, I can see the wheels turning in your mind already. Would you like to come with me?"

"Please, if you wouldn't mind."

"Of course not", replied Shinichi, "That was why I offered."

"Why" asked Aoko all at once.

"Why what?" asked Shinichi turning to the girl who reminded him so much of Ran. His eyes softened when he took in her tear streaked face.

"Why did he do that to Kaito and those kids?! Why would anyone do something like that?!"

Shinichi shared a glance with the girl's father, but the inspector was also watching him, waiting to hear the reason behind the kidnappings.

"As much as I would like to say there was a truly good reason for the evil acts that the man committed, I am afraid there really isn't. According to the kidnapper it was for fun. When we looked into the man's history, we found that as a child he had been abused and neglected by his own parents, often not allowed to play with other children and was locked away in a small closet. While I feel for the man, I can't condone his actions. He strictly wanted to have a childhood and he thought the best way to do so, was to kidnap children and play games with them. Games that to him, was fun, while to them, the games were life threatening. He took on the position of a school principal in order to be around the children and find who he thought would make the best playmates for himself."

"P-Playmates", Aoko muttered looking sick.

"Right. Seems that where he lived before in another city, the same sort of thing occurred. However they didn't have the proper evidence to convict the man. He had killed seven children there. Here, he killed four. Luckily, while I am upset that Kaito was taken, it allowed the children to be with someone who would keep them safe. It was thanks to Kuroba-kun that they are alive now."

"Kaito", Aoko whispered as the tears began to flow more heavily, "All this…for a little fun."

"I am sorry that you had to see him like this, but we thought it best not to hide it. He…"

"No, I am glad you called us", replied Chikage, "We needed to see him like this or I swear I would have hunted you both down. I want to be here for my son."

"Me too", whispered Aoko.

Inspector Nakamori also nodded and Shinichi smiled. Seems Kaitou Kid has quite the family behind him after all. He did wonder though…where was Kid's dad? The thought had crossed his mind that perhaps his father had been the original Kaitou Kid, but if that was the case, were the rumors about the first Kid dying, real? The more he watched the family react around Kaito, the more he assumed they were. He wondered if that perhaps was one of the reasons that Kaito had become Kid in the first place.

AOKO POV

Aoko walked into the darkened room of the ICU. The others were getting lunch, but Aoko had said she would stay with Kaito for a while. No one argued with her. The boy in the bed still didn't look like the Kaito Kuroba she knew and loved. Her Kaito was always so troublesome, always playing tricks and laughing. He was someone so full of life and mystery that she couldn't comprehend anything less than that when thinking of him.

"Kaito", she whispered as she took his hand in hers, "I'm sorry I yelled as soon as I heard about you. I'm sorry I thought that you had…" she stopped and looked once again at the bandages around his wrists. What had she been thinking! She thought to herself.

"I'm so, so, sorry that I didn't call or text you more to find out what was going on. I just figured you were messing around again and that…"

A gentle squeeze of her hand startled her out of her thoughts. She looked down and noticed the hand she was holding was clutching hers a little more tightly than it had been before. Looking into his face, she was shocked to see two narrowed indigo eyes watching her.

"A-Aoko", the whispered voice said.

It was so quiet and so raspy she almost hadn't heard it, but she clearly saw it on his lips.

"Welcome back, Kaito", she whispered as she leaned forward, pressing her forehead to his as she looked down into his eyes. The intensity of his gaze froze her before they slowly slipped closed again.

"Sleep Kaito", she whispered with a smile, "I will be here when you wake."

She bent down and placed a small, gentle kiss on his cheek.

"I'm not going anywhere anytime soon. I love you…Kaito."

In that small dark room, one teenage girl admitted her love in the silence of the ICU. Only time will tell if the one she loves might one day say it back?

AUTHOR NOTE:

I love Aoko so much! She is just too cute! Please Review and let me know your thoughts?!