Started March 30th

Completed April 1st

We're getting close to the end. /cries

Chapter Twenty-One

Elation

Elation: (Noun) A feeling of great joy or pride; exultant gladness; high spirits.

x.X.x.X.x.X.x

There was no going back. The plan had been set in motion and everyone was wary of what would happen. I think Shinichi was suffering the most, worried that something would go wrong and cause someone to get hurt. On top of that, the 'Jou-chan had been coming around progressively more often, constantly conducting tests on him.

No matter what questions we asked, she would simply shake her head and claim that she didn't have enough information. It was putting me on edge. It was putting Shinichi on edge.

But finally—finally we got some good news. What I did next… It was unthinkingly. I hadn't really meant to but I still can't bring myself to regret it.

…I kissed him.

x.X.x.X.x.X.x

Over the past week, things around the Kudo household had been busy. Actually, things had been busy in many places all over the world. From the very instant that they had broken up the meeting with everyone who had been included in the plan, the first phase had been set into motion. Everyone had immediately zeroed in on the fact that time was of the essence and immediately began sweeping through their contacts, phoning them and getting them started on doing the same thing. Within a few short days, they had stretched a very prominent web to very major parts of the world. Already, the plan was looking as if it were on the right track.

As the intertwining threads of connection worked their magic, Shinichi, Kaito, Heiji, and Hakuba had started on the files of more isolated cities from around the world with Kaito's handy program being put to good use.

A week following the meeting, Shinichi dropped a stack of files to the far side of his desk before dropping his head wearily. "Well, South America has finally been taken care of. All of the members there have been weeded out." He turned a bleary-eyed gaze on the other three in various spots around the room.

Hakuba made a few more marks on a sheet before dropping it upon the stack beside him. "Just finished Asia. Considering their main base is centered in Japan, it's surprising that the other Asian countries aren't very corrupted."

Heiji groaned from his spot in the far corner, dropping his head into his hands when one of the many piles surrounding him slumped to the side, scattering some of its papers. "…Ya have ta remember though—" He scowled briefly at the mess before methodically cleaning it up. "Most of our contacts are based in Asia. You're just takin' care of what they can't get to."

Hakuba rolled his eyes before nodding. "I know."

Kaito stretched his arms with a brief yell. "Ugh! This is getting so boring! I'm not meant to sit still for this long!" He flailed his limbs briefly, knocking one of his piles over. Shinichi frowned at the mess that he made and gave him a pointed look. Holding his hands up in defeat, Kaito snapped his fingers, the pile righting itself with a poof of smoke. He gave Shinichi a cheeky smile before his face pinched in worry.

"You should take a break Shin-chan," he called. Shinichi blinked, pulling his hand away from where it had been absently rubbing at his shoulder. Then he scowled. "Stop calling me that," he complained distastefully. Ever since the magician had heard his mother cooing it a few days ago, he had taken to calling him in the same fashion. The messy-haired young man grinned in return. "No can do, Shin-chan!"

Shinichi rolled his eyes, carefully pulling himself from his seat and taking a moment to stretch his muscles. "I need to make some calls, anyway." With that, he pulled his phone out and punched in a few numbers, allowing his feet to absently take him from bookshelf to bookshelf in the study. He brushed his fingertips along the spines of various books, absently lamenting the fact that he hadn't had the time to curl up and immerse himself in a good mystery in a while.

He talked his way through the phone calls almost mechanically, thoughts being pulled a million different ways at a time. Finally, after a few hours of repeatedly dialing number after number, he snapped the phone shut and set it on the desk, eyes unknowingly searching out Kaito's. "Well," he murmured with a somewhat astonished tone. "The safe-houses have all been taken care of. They're all ready to go."

Kaito's gaze darkened as he snorted. "Well that's a surprise," he muttered darkly, turning back to the laptop and clacking away once more. Heiji sent a questioning look in Shinichi's direction who simply gave a one shouldered shrug and shook his head. Heiji really didn't have to know…

After a few more minutes, Kaito sat back with a sigh, previous dark countenance missing. He took a moment to stretch before making a few marks on the paper sitting beside him and then waving it in Shinichi's direction. "All done here." Kaito grinned wearily. Hakuba and Heiji offered their own sheets that they had finished a few minutes before.

Shinichi accepted the sheets from the three and returned to his desk. He hurriedly punched the names into the computer (specially encrypted by Kaito in order to keep any web-lurkers out), going over the list of stations and members and checking that each one was accounted for. He cross-referenced the names versus the list that Vermouth had provided. Every single one was there. They had found every single member lingering in informant positions around the world. He strangled the feeling of awe.

It was time to proceed to phase two.

He snatched his phone up with shaking hands, shutting his eyes for a moment to steady himself. Then he flipped it open, created a mass text message with the word "SEIZE" and punched send. Taking a quick steadying breath, he opened a new message with a single recipient. A single word was sent to Vermouth.

"CLEAR."

The phone was replaced in its spot upon the desk messily covered with stacks of files. Heiji stood from his area on the floor and dusted himself off almost absently as he made his way over. "So everythin's taken care of fer now?"

"For now," Shinichi affirmed with a nod, rubbing a shaky hand at the base of his neck. There was nothing like the adrenaline of a world-wide-secret-organization-take-down to put your nerves on edge. "The message will be sent down to the very last person… And the FBI have had the authorities in all other locations—," he swept his arm to indicate the files that they had been working on personally, "—on standby for the order to seize the suspects. They will automatically relay the message to them." Heiji nodded in understanding before scratching at his neck and glancing around the room.

"…Well, now what?" he asked sheepishly with a laugh.

Kaito shrugged. "Now, we rest. There's nothing we can do at this point in time, so we make up for the lost Z's and wait for a day or so for them to take care of their part." He grinned and then took a moment to give Shinichi a somewhat unreadable look. "But I'm sure the 'Jou-chan would want to run some tests before you pass out."

Shinichi furrowed his eyebrows as he stood, sending a nod in Heiji and Hakuba's direction. "Right," he murmured, pushing his way past them and silently making his way out of the room, Kaito following behind him. It had become something of a ritual for Kaito to be present for these tests. The magician claimed he was there for moral support, but… While he knew it was probably true to a degree, Shinichi suspected he wanted to be the first to know of any negative changes in his condition.

Kaito had become oddly protective of him over the past few weeks. Perhaps more so than Heiji. But oddly enough, Shinichi never felt remotely bothered by it. It was like it had come to be something natural. In fact, he would probably feel a bit nervous if Kaito had suddenly had something else to attend to during one of these affairs.

…Weird.

They walked into the room to find Haibara plugging in the equipment that had been regularly stored in the closet. She didn't even glance in their direction, turning it on and calibrating it, checking to make sure that it was working properly as usual. Shinichi crossed the threshold and climbed onto the bed, somewhat careful of his shoulder. He settled in against the headboard with a mild sigh, scratching idly at his cheek. Kaito settled in at the foot of the bed as per usual, resting his tense arms on his knees and leaning forward with an unbreakable Poker Face.

"So, what have the results looked like?" Kaito asked, ever to the point. Haibara took a moment to rest her eyes on his undisguised face, a carefully undecipherable expression on her face. They had never bothered to tell her of Kaitou KID's identity—KID had simply "disappeared", replaced by a cheeky young man that seemed to have the same knowledge and personality. She didn't ask any questions.

Her face was carefully blank as she regarded him for a moment, hand hovering idly above one of her various machines. Then, her eyes darted over to Kudo. "…How is the plan progressing? Did Mouri-san take care of the safe-houses?"

Kaito's expression, which had darkened at the obvious subject diversion (and not-so-subtle ignoring tactic), darkened even further at the mention of the egotistic detective. "Good thing for him that he did," the magician muttered cynically.

The woman-turned-girl raised an eyebrow at the curious reply and sent a questioning glance in Shinichi's direction. "Do I want to know?" she asked. It was more than a little strange that someone like Kaito, who was always annoyingly upbeat, was showing a bit of hostility.

Shinichi shook his head. "We just had a bit of… a falling out, if you will," he grumbled, eyes trailing over to the male sitting at his feet. The magician frowned at him and he shook his head. "Don't worry about it," he murmured to Kaito. "He has a right to feel like that."

Kaito frowned. That didn't mean he couldn't see things from Shinichi's view…

While most of the people he had invited to the meeting had immediately gotten to work, someone else obviously had other things on their mind. As soon as the crowd had thinned out leaving him by himself, Shinichi had risen from his seat and made to head to the study in order to start on his own portion of the work. As soon as he had made it into the hallway, however, he had been ambushed.

"What the hell is your problem?" Kogoro hissed, fists curled threateningly at his side. Shinichi paused in his stride, eyes trailing over the older detective's stance before settling on his livid expression. Kogoro obviously felt as if this wasn't over.

"I told you what happened, Ojisan—"

Before he could say anything further, Kogoro had crossed the space between them and grabbed him by the collar, roughly shoving him against the wall beside the door to the living room. "Your decision hurt Ran," the man growled, voice rumbling warningly in his throat. "You could have found another way. There's always another way. You could have found a way to let her know who Conan is. Or you could have simply stopped leading her on and told her that you were no longer interested." Mouri Kogoro was in no way stupid. He may let quite a few things pass him by, and he may not be the best of the best detectives, but he'd have to be blind to not see the nature of the relationship between his daughter and 'that detective brat'.

Shinichi's brows pinched together. "What—I—"

The older man almost sneered in his face. "I don't give a damn whether or not you still loved her. She has been wondering about you for over a year. Wondering if you were still alive, hurt, or in trouble. Most of the time, she would have to wait for you to contact her. Anytime you would show up, you wouldn't be able to stay for long, and then just disappear out of the blue.

"But you know what the worst of it is? This entire time, you've been right there. Right by her side, watching her suffering through the pain, and you just let her."

The young detective winced as Kogoro jolted him against the wall roughly, jarring his wounded shoulder. His pinched expression, however, was due to the effect of his words. It was true. He had watched all along, seen the signs of the pain that she was going through. He had known that it was best for him to simply cut himself off from her altogether. To rid her heart of Shinichi's existence. But he hadn't.

(Because he was selfish.)

Shinichi's blood was rushing through his ears, pounding through his system. He felt ill, like he would be sick in an instant if the man said anything further. The dim hallway around them faded from his consciousness.

That was why Shinichi knew that there was nothing he could say to Kogoro. Mouri had every right to feel murderous about what he had done to Ran. It was only natural. He had made a decision that had severely hurt Ran and he had known from the beginning that it would.

So when Kogoro had pulled back his arm, fingers curled into a well-practiced fist, Shinichi had simply bowed his head in resignation. The least he could do was give the man a free shot. When the pain didn't come, however, he slowly peeled open his eyes.

He looked up to find two new additions to their private little meeting. Kogoro was frozen, nose flaring angrily as he glared holes into Shinichi. Behind him stood Eri, arms wrapped professionally under his own to prevent him from completing his intended movement. Kaito stood at Mouri's side, hand wrapped around the older man's wrist just inches away from Shinichi's face.

A deadly silence sat upon the hallway, the four of them frozen as if in a portrait.

Kaito broke the spell first, tightening his grip as something dangerous flashed across his eyes. "I suggest you put your fist down and step back, Mouri-san. All information divulged today was because we found that the recipients could be trustworthy. It's more than a little disappointing when one of the trusted parties respond with violent gestures…" Kaito leaned forward, using a brute strength to force the older detective's hand to his side.

"I understand that you may be having trouble processing this sort of information, especially seeing as how it has affected your daughter. But it would be tasteful for you to take a moment to think of the matter from another's point of view. It would be delightful for you to realize that the divulgence of such information to anyone could get them killed." He gave the man a pointed look, telling the man firmly through his gaze—there were no other options. Not at the time. "Although your opinion doesn't much matter in this, you are entitled to your own thoughts and feelings. In the end, after looking at the matter from both sides, you can make your own personal decision on how you feel about it. You can decide you might understand his decisions or you can decide you hate his guts for what happened between him and Ran." Kaito was on a roll. The words were just spilling out of his mouth. He wasn't quite sure what he was saying at this point.

Just as Kogoro opened his mouth, Eri smacked a hand over it at the same time that Kaito held a hand up. Ran's mother gave the younger man an analytical look as he continued.

"However, I won't tolerate you laying a single hand on Shinichi," the magician hissed, lips twitching minutely from his Poker Face before snapping back into place. This time, he reached across to the hand that was pressing Shinichi against the wall, prying the fingers from the material of the younger detective's shirt. He almost threw the hand down.

"Now if you understand, why don't you get busy on your part? There are things that need to be done."

Kogoro looked as if he wanted to say something but grit his teeth when his wife jabbed him painfully in the back. He aimed a look back at her, scowling when she shook her head. She forcefully turned him on his heel and pushed him in the direction of the door. As he disappeared down the hallway, she turned a thoughtful look on Kaito before giving Shinichi an apologetic dip of the head.

"I apologize for that," she murmured, giving him a brief look. Shinichi nodded absently, rubbing soothing circles over his collar bone.

"Don't worry about it," he croaked. They had every right to be angry. He had expected something along similar lines. He knew that Eri, too, was mad, but she was withholding herself for the sake of the plans. The both of them knew that there were bigger things that needed to be taken care of. They could confront their personal problems when all of this was done with. She gave the two of them a sharp, tense nod and turned on her heel, disappearing after her husband.

Shinichi ran his fingers lightly over his shoulder with a pinched expression. Now that he thought about it, shouldn't he have been in more pain when Kogoro had shoved him…? Kaito caught the look and met his gaze. One side of his lips twitched down in a show of concern.

Haibara simply shook her head, not catching the looks being sent between the two males. She proceeded to run her tests, taking his blood pressure and other various measurements. After they had finished with measuring his brain activity, she tugged the cords suctioned to his temples off and set them aside, folding her arms across her chest.

"So how have you been feeling, Kudo?" She regarded him sharply, eyes critically watching for any signs of him glossing over the truth. They couldn't afford for him to be anything but completely honest. "Have you been experiencing any of the prior shock symptoms? Headaches? Nausea? Vertigo?"

He disregarded her vague expression of distrust and gave a vague wave of his hand. "I've had some headaches off and on from time to time. Not nearly as intense as before or long-lasting, but…" They both knew it needed to be mentioned.

Haibara moved closer. "Where? Where is the pain usually focused?" Shinichi gestured to his temples and responded, "It's usually a dull throbbing pain."

The small auburn-haired female leaned away with a mild sigh of relief. "That is a stress-induced headache—sometimes referred to as a tension headache." She pressed a hand to her own temples as if she were developing a similar condition. "It usually develops when you're under highly stressful conditions. Considering the situation that we're currently in, it's a perfectly normal development despite its frustrating nature."

This time she gestured to his shirt and Shinichi silently began to unbutton it. The two of them never noticed Kaito look away sharply, cheeks a vibrant red. Shinichi gingerly peeled the material away as Haibara watched meticulously, quietly clicking her tongue.

"It's a bit odd that you can have material over it so easily now…" She remarked thoughtfully, eyes zeroing in on the pristine white bandages underneath. Haibara took great care in unwrapping the bandages, pausing as soon as she took in the skin beneath. It was…

Unusual.

The girl furrowed her brows. The skin surrounding the wound was barely even bruised anymore, only the inch surrounding it a mild purplish green color. The wound itself, however, was even more baffling. Where the size of the gunshot had been a little over an inch in diameter, it had now shrunken to almost half that size, the stitches having long since dissolved.

"Kudo…" she murmured, looking up at him from beneath her fringe. "These wounds look like they've been healing for 2-3 months. It's been a little under a month." She pulled away, darting a glance at the strange phenomenon and then back up at the detective. "You're healing abnormally fast."

Shinichi frowned, trying to see the wound. It was at a rather uncomfortable angle, however, and he couldn't quite catch a glimpse of it…

Kaito cleared his throat, drawing the other two's attention. "I actually suspected something like that…" He rubbed absently at his cheek before turning his gaze onto the small scientist. "I've noticed that he seems to be requiring pain killers less and less. It was just like he was sailing through the progress of healing or something…" Haibara frowned, turning back to Shinichi. "Shouldn't you have noticed this while bathing or something?"

Kaito smacked his face into his hands to hide the fierce blush that erupted over his features. Sparing the magician but a quick glance of confusion, Shinichi shook his head. "I might see it in the mirror from time to time, but since it was on a daily basis, I didn't really notice the difference." Haibara nodded.

"Why is it healing so fast though?" Shinichi frowned, face crumpled in bemused concern.

"The Apotoxin?" Kaito burbled from between his fingers, unwilling to move his elbows from his knees.

Haibara ignored the strange behavior. "Most likely," she returned with a clouded gaze. She paused for a moment, thinking it over before her shoulders dropped slightly. "Well," she finally said, "either way, it doesn't cause any harm."

Kaito perked up, peeling his face from his hands. "What about the other condition? With the drug…" He asked quietly. He and Shinichi shared a look. What about Shinichi's deterioration? A piece of Kaito's mind whispered fearfully. How much longer do we have? When will he begin slipping away from me..?

The auburn-haired girl leaned away, expression undecipherable. She paused for a moment, biting the inside of her cheek. "…You don't have to worry about it."

"…What?" Shinichi gave her a sharp look.

"I never got the chance to tell you with all of the business you've been attending to, but… The last antidote that you took… that was almost the completed version. I've been double checking all of your blood work and test results to make sure over the past week, but… as it looks… It should last you for a few years."

Kaito and Shinichi both stared at her in a silent astonishment. She gave a quiet cough into a fist and turned her gaze to the wall. "Your body has stopped deteriorating and it won't until the antidote wears off and you change back into Conan. But like I said… You won't change back into Conan anytime soon. That gives me plenty of time to find the true antidote in the meantime… and you can return to your life."

"You mean…?" Shinichi choked on the words, every cell in his body vibrating with the implications. Haibara nodded softly at his floundering countenance. "Yes, Kudo…" She moved to the door and stepped out of the room, aiming a soft smile at him over her shoulder. "You can finally return to being Kudo Shinichi for good."

She shot the stunned magician a look, knowing that he'd take care of the rest. She still had things to do. It was time for her to get back to work.

As the door shut softly behind Haibara, Kaito slowly angled his head at Shinichi. "Shin-chan…?" He called in quiet awe. He scooted closer to the petrified detective, ducking his head to try to get a better look at his face. "…Shinichi…?" He reached to push back a stray lock of hair that had fallen in the quiet brunette's eyes.

Kaito's hand froze behind Shinichi's ear as the detective looked up.

His eyes were filled with tears.

"…So you mean…" His voice lilted awkwardly, but he continued. "…You mean I'm free? I don't have to become C-Conan anymore?" A tear finally bubbled over, running down his cheek.

Kaito felt his own eyes beginning to burn and he scoot even closer to Shinichi, cupping him firmly but gently with both hands by the jaw. Shinichi continued in a mildly hysterical haze. "I don't have to act as if I don't exist? I won't be treated as a child anymore? I—" He paused on a silent, heaving sob.

"…I'm not going to die?" he whispered.

Kaito could no longer take it. Seeing the confused elation bubbling up in tears before him, he simply couldn't help the rush of his feelings. He was no longer thinking, but simply acting on pure instinct. He leaned forward, pressing his lips softly against Shinichi's. He stayed there a moment, waiting until Shinichi froze before he pulled away.

"You're not going to die," he whispered back, mistaking the new shell-shocked expression that the young man was making for dawning realization. He wrapped the prone figure in his arms, pressing Shinichi's head to his chest. "We're going to finish your plan, and then you're going to live the rest of your life as Kudo Shinichi. You aren't going to have to worry about any of your previous worries ever again. You can go back to how everything was before."

Pulling away, Kaito tilted his head to the side softly, waiting for Shinichi to react. The detective, however, didn't move. Shinichi continued to stare at Kaito as if he were going into shock over the fantastic news.

Then Shinichi's eyes trailed down to Kaito's lips.

The elation was suddenly sucked away—it felt like he'd been dunked in ice water. He just kissed Shinichi. Now Shinichi knew. The detective was no longer stumbling over the news that Haibara had given them. No, now he had something different to ponder over. He could just hear the words reverberating through the young man's head.

Why did Kaito kiss him?

"Oh," Kaito murmured, pulling away abruptly. He briefly touched his mouth, darting a tongue out to wet his lips. Shinichi's eyes followed the movement. The magician almost flinched, instead reincorporating his Poker Face and standing up slowly. He didn't know why, but he felt like he couldn't say anything. Like he couldn't confess to the feelings that he had recently taken notice of.

(Because he was scared.)

It wasn't until he was in the doorway that he turned around and met Shinichi's eyes. "…I'll give you some time alone, then," he murmured, thankful to any deities above that his voice didn't crack. And Kaito left the room, shutting the door quietly behind him.

It looked like there was no going back to how everything was before.

Chapter Twenty-One

End

And the end somehow got more intense than I thought it would. Hahahaha.

Um… Don't kill me? Please?

Oh, oh! Question! How many of you looked down at your shoulder when it Shinichi mentioned he "couldn't quite see the wound"? I've edited this chapter maybe 4 times… and every single time I read that part, I try to look at my shoulder. I only realized it during the last editing session. Hahahaha.