Chapter Twenty
Will
Kaito stretched- still not as much as he'd like to- as the final bell rang. Classes had been easy, even though Teitan ran a slightly more advanced curriculum than Ekoda High. He'd breezed through class, though, mainly listening to Shinichi mutter under his breath as he went through the problems himself. He hadn't bothered to tell the detective to shut up, knowing that unlike Kaito, he hadn't been to high school since tenth grade and was probably feeling not a bit behind his classmates.
"Kudo-kun? Can I, ummm… can I talk to you?"
It took Kaito, who had been zoning out slightly, a moment to realize that by "Kudo-kun" Hondo meant him. He smiled in a friendly fashion at the uncertain student as he turned to face him. Shinichi had a calculating look on his face as he drifted into Kaito's line of sight as he looked over Hondo, but he nodded.
"We need to tell him something," he said softly. Kaito nodded, which Hondo took as a confirmation aimed at him. He paused, so Kaito strode past him, nodding at him to follow, deciding to make for the roof. It was the end of the day, students were all going home, and Ran had karate practice so he'd be walking home alone anyway- aside from his doppelganger's spirit. He hadn't been back to the Mori Detective Agency, so he hadn't seen the ghosts of his father or any of the others since they vanished, and wasn't sure if he could summon them in Shinichi's body- and if Shinichi could, he didn't seem inclined to.
Automatically, he made for the roof, something which made Shinichi sigh pronouncedly. Hondo didn't seem to notice- well, after all, he didn't know Kudo Shinichi that well. As he'd suspected, it was completely empty, offering only a view of the sunset over Tokyo (the sun set early this time of year) and of students swarming out of the gates. Kaito leaned on the railing, looking down, wondering what kind of attitude he should be taking to this conversation. Shinichi, remaining in his line of sight and floating four stories above the homebound students, looked irritated and not a little jealous, but Kaito felt that these were not emotions that he'd want to show to Hondo.
"How…?" was the first thing Hondo tentatively said. Kaito didn't look back at him, still unsure of how he should feel about this guy- the one he'd heard comforting Mori Ran when Kudo Shinichi couldn't. "I thought you were stuck…"
"Something… changed," Shinichi said carefully, nodding at Hondo, and Kaito repeated after him. "Suffice it to say that I'm back, but I may not stay. Things are difficult just now, not just with Ran… and I don't want to make things harder on her. We sorted things out, but…"
"But if you're around her too much, she might notice that you still have feelings for her?" Hondo said shrewdly. Kaito glanced back at that, guessing that it probably wouldn't be amiss to look completely shocked there. Then he relaxed a little.
"She'd feel guilty, and I don't want that," he said. "She deserves to be happy, and I hurt her too much for that… and as long as this lasts, I'd probably only keep on hurting her. I don't want that for her."
"You're a really good guy," Hondo said softly. Kaito smiled wryly.
"No, that's you," he corrected quietly. "You were there for her when I wasn't. You looked after her. Thank you."
Hondo flushed violently. "I-I…"
"I can't say I'm not jealous," Kaito continued, walking over to the red-faced boy. "You managed to do for her what I always wanted to. You'd just better keep doing it, all right? If you ever hurt her like I did…" he put a hand on Hondo's shoulder for a moment as he passed him. "I'll kick you into the next century."
He left quickly, not looking up at Shinichi. Part of him was impressed at how cool Shinichi was able to be towards the guy that he was essentially handing the woman he loved over to. Part of him wondered if he could manage that, if he had to face whoever would take his place in Aoko's life.
Still, he couldn't help feeling the same as Shinichi about it. Aoko's happiness was too important to him. So long as she found happiness again…
"I think we need to check out you old files and compare them with my notes," Shinichi said abruptly. "You said you knew of a number of building affiliated with Them, right? That's where we need to strike. The main problem, I guess, is getting at them, although I suppose you're more than capable of breaking into your own house?"
"Just watch me," Kaito replied, recognizing Shinichi's talk of plans for what it was. They had decided to take a route along the banks of the Teimuzu back to the Kudo mansion, counting on it being empty enough that nobody would notice Kaito talking to himself- Shinichi had been able to talk to him without opening his physical mouth, but Kaito didn't have a handle on how that worked. It might have been because his soul showed up separately from his body. "The main problem for me, I guess, is being so near Kaasan… if I see her, if I see her grieving…" he trailed off slightly. He could already feel the urge to go to his mother, to speak to her now that he could, to comfort her however he could. How strong would it be, back in his own house?
"That's why we'll do it your way, late at night," Shinichi mused. "Unless she's not sleeping at night, grieving can alter people's schedules… can you remember what she was like when your Tousan died?"
"Not really," Kaito admitted with a sigh. "I was just a kid, I was so wrapped up in my own grief and confusion… I spent a lot of time in my room, just messing around with some of his old magic tools, cards and paper flowers and doves… All I remember of her in that time is that she was always wearing black and sad and just brought my meals up to me… Not that I always ate them… I don't know when or if she was eating or sleeping herself…" Shinichi nodded slightly. He knew how uninvolved Kaito's mother was with his life, both legal and illegal, as if Kuroba Toichi's death had put an emotional distance between them as solid as the physical distance between himself and his parents. Because of his night job and his fear of loss, Kaito kept everyone at a distance, even those he should have held close…
Shinichi knew that feeling all too well.
To distract both of them from these dark thoughts, he summoned Akai and Toichi, who appeared next to him an instant later. Kaito glanced up at them in surprise.
"Kaito, how are you doing?" Toichi instantly said, evidently concerned. Shinichi felt a little guilty for not letting him be around more, but frankly the whole situation was so embarrassing and confusing that he'd wanted to keep it down to himself and Kaito a bit. The grin on Kaito's face when he saw his father did not assuage that guilty feeling.
"Getting the hang of the body," he said airily. "I know it looks the same, but you would not believe how inflexible this guy is- and such stiff vocal chords!"
"Forgive me for not devoting my life to Olympian gymnastics and deception," Shinichi said, eyerolling. Akai just watched them wordlessly. He didn't tend to waste words, so he was evidently waiting for them to dispense with the idiocy and get down to business.
"Holmes used disguises, too," Kaito pointed out with an evil grin. "Surely a tantei-otaku such as yourself would know that?"
"I'm a fan of Holmes, but I don't want to be his clone or anything," Shinichi grumbled. Kaito laughed.
"That makes you significantly less sad than Hakuba," he chuckled. "Anyway, I guess we should try it tonight… Tousan, you said you were stalking Kaasan and I after your death…"
"Stalking is such a negative term," Toichi commented. "Just go with watching. At all times," he added in exaggeratedly ominous tones. "Try what?"
"I need to break into our house to get at some of our Syndicate files," Kaito supplied. "I can't remember everything in them, and Shinichi needs some locations… how are you going to explain how you got this information?"
"If I tell certain police contacts not to ask, they won't," Shinichi said shortly, "and claiming to be "Conan's" mystery source ought to get us in with the FBI. For now, getting the info is a priority."
"Hmmm… I'd watch your timing," Toichi said carefully. "Minami… she didn't sleep well grieving for me and I doubt she'd doing better grieving for you. I'm sure she'll stay within a close orbit of the tea leaves, though, so if you're quiet you might be able to get in and out without seeing her…"
"We probably shouldn't remove the files," Shinichi mused. "If anyone found the room, and noticed…"
"You couldn't hand them over anyway, they've got notes that are very distinctly mine all over them," Kaito snorted. "I'll just take a flash camera, take some pictures of what we need and rewrite it later without Kid notes."
"I'm sure Jodie especially will take anything that would help bring them down," Akai said dryly. "Especially if you can get her near Vermouth…"
"We'll see what we can do, eh?" Kaito commented, clamming up as they moved back into the streets. Shinichi resumed discussing tactics for striking Syndicate bases with Akai, but Kaito just let his mind wander while he made his way back to the Kudo mansion…
"Kudo?!"
Shinichi glanced over sharply at the source of the voice, a look of mingled exasperation and horror on his face. "Oh, no… Hattori!"
Kaito worked at not looking freaked as the dark-skinned tantei wandered over to them, waving. "Hey, what's up?" he greeted as he got near. "What th' hell happened? How come yer still full-size? Did ya get the real cure?"
"Um… yeah, guess I did," Kaito said, the presence of a skilled detective (Shinichi didn't really count in his current state, and anyway Kaito knew him too well for him to be just a detective) making him nervous. "Though… well, I'm not sure what happened. It's all weird."
"Yer tellin' me," Hattori snorted. "Speakin' a' weird- what's this I hear 'bout you an' Mori decidin' ta stay in the Friend Zone?"
"What's he doing here?" Shinichi said, nonplussed. Then he smacked himself on the spectral forehead. "Girl communication network. He and Kazuha are going out now, of course she'd tell him… just say it's for the best, he'd see through me anyway but maybe since it's you we'll have better luck."
"It's for the best," Kaito said, beginning to walk again as Hattori fell into step with him. "Is Kazuha-san with you?"
"Yeah, she's havin' girl talk with Mori," Heiji sighed. "I was surprised when she said Conan'd gone back ta America and wonderin' about goin' ta Hakase's ta find out what's goin' on… Then I run inta you here! Weird or what? So come on," he said, abruptly changing subject. "Don' bullshit me, I know how in love you an' Mori were, ya didn't have ta be a detective ta see it… what th' hell happened?"
"What the hell indeed…" Shinichi sighed. Heiji tipped his head slightly, as if listening to something on the edge of hearing, and then there was a little flicker in the detective's emerald eyes as he mentally shook himself. Shinichi wondered how the fellow detective could almost hear the dead- maybe it was his lifelong proximity to them, maybe it was simply a far weaker strain of whatever Shinichi had that allowed him to contact and control them. He certainly seemed to run into bodies as much as he did…
"We…" Kaito began, wondering how to continue, but was saved having to when a scream split the air.
"Tarumi!" A woman was shrieking. "Oh Kami, somebody call an ambulance!"
Both detectives' heads whipped around at the screaming, Kaito following a split second later, Akai heading for the source, and all but Hattori spotted the oddly-dressed woman who dropped out of the sky and into the crowd forming around a small café.
Hattori sprinted over, Kaito close on his heels, and they pushed through the crowd to where a man had collapsed out of a booth, face and neck swollen and an unhealthy purple colour as a Ganguro girl knelt next to him, sobbing and calling to him. Shinichi floated up a little to scan his eyes over the scene; sandwich with a couple of bites out of it sitting on his plate, phone on the table, half-drunk soft drink, flashy and upset girlfriend, Shinigami standing over his shoulder. A moment later, his soul sat out of his body.
"Plehhh!" the ghost gasped, as if trying to spit out something nasty. "What was in that sandwich…?"
"Whatever it was killed you," Shinichi said, floating in front of him. He glanced up at the Shinigami.
"I'll be back for him," the blue-haired woman sighed, rolling her eyes and vanishing. Shinichi returned to Kaito, the confused ghost in tow.
"This is murder," he muttered. "She would have been able to take his soul away if it wasn't. And given that a Shinigami was ready to come for him before his death, then this was planned beforehand. This isn't just murder… it's premeditated."
Kaito nodded slightly, paling, as Hattori declared the man dead and asked him to call the police.
"Showtime, Kaito," Toichi said as his son speed-dialled the police. "Kudo-kun…"
"You're about to solved a murder, Kaito," Shinichi said, unable to keep an excited smirk off of his face. "Just follow my lead."
Hand's all good again, I just needed to rest it a while, but that's why this chapter's nearly late… still, thank heavens. I was going crazy XD I've written a billion things in notebooks that I need to type up now…
Well, they haven't found Pandora yet, have they, Dragon's Hitokiri? Kaito always breaks the universe XD Glad you like!
Ai WANTS to find out why she saw flying objects, myvampirepuppy, but whether or not she will…
Calm the mob, StargateNerd, the hand has healed! Your fangirl squeal can't break the sound barrier, I already shattered it! XDXD I think if you google it you can find the dates and times… get on that, subbers! I hope your laptop's okay!
That sounds like the making of a cracky oneshot, nataeiy1 *plunnies go rabid* nooooooooo… XD You're welcome ;) Heiji doesn't need to worry… I'm making him a touch more mature and sensitive as a result of the relationship, so I'm sure he isn't capable of screwing up to this degree anymore. Maybe. Possibly. Hopefully XDXDXD
Heiji wouldn't be the detective that he is if he doesn't notice something, Phantom-Akiko… Yep, looks like a Kid overload coming up, and I can't WAIT! :)
I'll see you there, Marie Ravenclaw! ;) and no need, the hand's better so I haven't murdered my classmate… just pulled an extraordinarily evil prank on him… he wasn't present for an exam, but he texted to ask what the question were like when it was over. So I called him back… then handed the phone to my teacher XDXDXD Revenge is sweet :) It would be really suspicious of Shinichi was just mooning about his house, so y'know…
It feels much better, thanks, teldra :) and yeah, they have NO idea… XDXDXD
I'm certain that Eisuke's more than he appears, HaibaraDaiFan, too bad he doesn't appear more… and what classmate? The desk beside me has been mysteriously empty for several days… XDXD
Yep, kaitoushinichi, I saw it… and squealed so much that bats flew into my window… XDXD Yes, Heiji and Kazuha are together by this point, and yes, Eisuke noticed… Shinichi getting his body back? Who knows? (Well, me XD)
Do you really think anything less than eternal damnation could ever make Kaito behave, bloddy raptor? Although fish may do that. Kaito's lucky that Shinichi doesn't know about this… yet… XDXD
I'll bet good money that they're messing with us, tanteigirl69, and it'll turn out to be a dream sequence/Shinichi's paranoid imaginings… Kaito cares about Shinichi more than he knows XDXDXD
Cliffhangers FTW, Ivan's Kitsune XDXD
I think they've a lot to learn from each other, AmaryMei… and they've both got a lot of shit to go through right now, but at least they each have a close friend at hand XD Heiji even noticed that Shinichi was Conan, no way he won't notice something up here… don't worry, I got the classmate back :D (see Marie Ravenclaw's reply XD)
Glad you like 'em all, Cat, and I intend to exploit Kazuha and Heiji's presence to the full… XDXD
He doesn't need to pretend for Eisuke at least, Simply Anonymous, but Heiji is another matter… Kaito is a good actor, and so's Shinichi, so I wonder…?
Don't worry, NekoEddo, I like to hear people's wonderings, if only to crush them/tease them with ambiguous replies XDXD Remember that, for the most part, I like happy endings, but sometimes I give myself over to angst…
I do not own or claim to own Meitantei Conan/Case Closed. If I did, I would be luxuriating in my royalties, not writing fanfic in the back of old maths jotters instead of doing homework. -_-