Surprise Thirty-Five: Forgetful Findings?

It took another three days, but Kaito was recovered enough to care for himself. Ran stayed the entire time so Shinichi could go back to class making sure the magician didn't try to do anything too rash. On the morning of the fourth day, Shinichi was delighted to see Kaito standing up with ease and juggling a few colorful balls.

"I'm glad you're better," he went over to hug Kaito. "I was getting worried that you wouldn't recover. Thank goodness Takagi-keiji came and saw you!"

Kaito laughed. "Yeah, we sure owe him." Suddenly, his phone chimed. Confused, he picked it up from the desk and read the message. His eyes sparkled as he grinned. "Well, you better be getting to school!" He ushered Shinichi out of the house and returned upstairs to get ready. It was going to be a fun day.

But Shinichi was unaware of what was in store, so he shrugged off what happened and began walking to school. "Nakamori-san!" He called out to Aoko when seeing her a short distance ahead. "You're back! Have you recovered from that head injury?"

Aoko turned, and her eyes widened when seeing Shinichi. She ran up and hugged him, tears falling down her cheeks. "Thank you so much, Kudou-kun. I heard from my dad that you tried to find who attacked me but nothing was there. I greatly appreciate you trying so hard." She deeply bowed to him.

Shinichi accepted the thanks and continued walking before noticing Aoko stood still on the sidewalk. "Is something wrong, Nakamori-san?"

"Um, how is Kaito doing? I haven't heard anything for a few days." She sounded as if she had been worrying more about him than herself while at the hospital.

Shinichi gave a reassuring smile. "He's loads better since that doctor from headquarters came to look at him. He was walking around the house this morning and juggling."

Aoko wiped away tears. "That's good; I knew he could do it." They made their way to school and enjoyed classes that day. About halfway home, Shinichi remembered Kaito's odd behavior. "Oh yeah, I think Kaito had mentioned something that was going to happen. See you tomorrow, Nakamori-san!"

Aoko waved farewell, and Shinichi ran back to the house to find three individuals waiting for him in the living room. "Welcome home!" they exclaimed happily.

Shinichi sighed. "Why am I not surprised? Are you finished filming that drama already, Kaa-san? It hasn't been that long."

Yukiko giggled. "Of course; I made it perfect!" She frowned. "But Kai-chan told me some bad things have been happening."

Yusaku nodded in agreement. "Yes, I heard that as well. Care to explain?" He gestured to the couch.

Shinichi plopped in a seat and told them everything…or so he thought. He told of the cruise ship serial murder, Kaito's unsuccessful heist, and his classmate's attack but felt something was missing. He didn't tell of the article he read or the student's identity since he knew how they'd react, but there was something else.

Yukiko looked to her husband sadly. "Yu-chan, I knew they should have come to America with us!"

Yusaku put a hand to his chin. "No, that may have turned out worse. This killer could have made his or her way to America and caused a huge ruckus."

Yukiko turned her gaze back to her son, who was deep in thought. "But what can we do, Yu-chan?" she whispered. "After what happened…"

Yusaku shook his head. "All we can really do is stay here for a little while until things calm down and hope it will stay like that."

The Kudou home was rather lively until late that evening. "I should be going to bed," Shinichi yawned, "or else I may not last through classes tomorrow."

"I'm going too!" Detective and magician went upstairs, and the Kudou parents lowered their voices to discuss serious matters.

"So Shin-shin, are you ready for this weekend?" Kaito looked up and paled when seeing Shinichi with a horrorstruck expression. "Oi, what's wrong? Does it have to do with the case, or is it something else?"

Shinichi's voice came as a faint whisper. "We haven't told my parents that, have we?"

Kaito grinned. "That's right, we haven't! So we can approach any way we want~" His eyes sparkled seductively.

Shinichi deeply blushed as he realized what Kaito meant. "No way. I would prefer it to be simple enough so they don't faint or worse."

Kaito quirked an eyebrow but said nothing more of the matter, for Shinichi's phone was ringing. "Who would be calling this late at night?"

Shinichi's eyes widened when seeing the number. "Hello?"

"Ano, Kudou-kun, did you hear about what happened this afternoon?" It was Takagi, and he sounded scared about something.

"No, I haven't. Can you fill me in?" Now he was concerned.

Takagi hesitated. "Well, you see…your mother was attacked by you-know-who."

Shinichi felt his mouth go dry. "So that story was true then? She really did escape?"

Takagi agreed. "She did, but she doesn't realize that she has a tracker placed on her. We know exactly where she is and are planning an ambush." He paused. "In case she's planning something we can't stop, I suggest you be careful and keep your guard up, okay?"

Shinichi felt immense relief wash over him. "Thanks, Takagi-keiji; I'll be careful." He hung up and climbed into bed. "Apparently, Kaa-san had a bit of a confrontation with her."

Kaito gasped. "She did? Why didn't she tell us?"

Shinichi closed his eyes and smiled. "She was probably worried I'd go and get myself injured again when there was really no need to. The police are tracking her right now and making a plan to catch her."

Kaito took a moment to bend down and stroke Shinichi's hair. "Now you can stop worrying about her and get some sleep; I can tell you haven't for the past few days." He stood back up and noticed the small white box from before sitting on the nightstand. "You said this was for when I recovered, right? Can I open it?"

Shinichi chuckled softly. "Yeah, call it a late birthday present from me."

Kaito opened it and felt tears begin to form. "Shin-shin…you got these chocolates just for me?" He practically fell on top of Shinichi in an embrace. "Thank you so much; I know you most likely spent time away from solving that case from school to get this. Speaking of that, can you tell me more about it—like who was attacked?"

Shinichi's eyes popped open as he flinched. It would not be good news, that's for sure. "Kaito…it was Aoko that was attacked. She's better now, but I'm a little worried."

Deciding it was best to not panic about Aoko, Kaito hummed in confusion. "What do you mean, Shin-shin? Shouldn't you be happy that she's recovered?"

Shinichi turned away from Kaito. "It's not the best time to talk about this; we should be sleeping." He purposely slowed down his breathing to make it seem like he was asleep when he was actually worrying about the ones around him.

Kaito fell for the trick and began to make his way downstairs, pausing at the sound of hushed voices. He peered over the railing and saw Yukiko and Yusaku sitting on the couch with pale faces.

"Was it right to do that, Yu-chan?"

"I'm not…" He paused and turned around. "Oh, you're still up, Kaito. Do you need something?"

Kaito nervously sat beside the Kudou parents. "I'm worried about Shinichi. I feel like he's hiding something about the recent attack. He told me who it was and that they recovered, but he said he's worried about something and won't tell me."

Yusaku frowned. "Is he asleep yet? If not, I'd like to talk to him."

Kaito shrugged. "I can't be sure. He's probably not knowing how he is in this kind of situation; he'll be up all night again."

Yusaku nodded. "I'll go speak with him." Making his wife stay with Kaito, he slowly ascended the stairs and paused by Shinichi's door. His son may have been close to sleep, but they needed to talk. "Shinichi, I can tell you're faking."

Shinichi sat up and yawned. "What's up, Tou-san? Did Kaito come to you about something?"

So his son could still think clearly when fatigued. Yusaku hid a smirk as he sat at the edge of the bed. "He did, but that's not what I want to talk to you about. It's probably an awkward subject for you right now, but…I couldn't help but notice you seemed a lot closer to Kaito than before. Did something happen between the two of you?"

Shinichi blushed. "Yeah, you could say that." This was going to be awkward.

Yusaku smiled. "You're dating, aren't you? That's the only explanation."

Shinichi shyly agreed. "He asked me a few days ago when he was still recovering, and I couldn't say no…because I love him. I could tell he loves me too, so I said yes. Um, can you make sure Kaa-san doesn't tell the whole world about it?"

Yusaku laughed. "I'll keep an eye on her. For now though, it would be best if you slept since you have classes, and I know you don't want to miss them." He ruffled Shinichi's hair and gave a thumbs-up to Kaito before going upstairs to work on his manuscript.

Yukiko and Kaito stayed up talking for another hour before going to bed. Yusaku wrote the next three chapters of his book, only stopping because it was three in the morning. He stood up and stretched for a moment and went back to Shinichi's doorway to see if he was asleep.

"Shinichi?" he whispered.

No answer. Yusaku studied Shinichi's breathing for a moment, coming to a conclusion that he had just fallen asleep. He quietly made his way into bed, unaware that Shinichi was in the midst of a nightmare.

Shinichi had dozed off in the library while researching when he felt someone lifting him up. Figuring it was Kaito, he continued to sleep until he heard the sound of a familiar car engine—one only a Porsche would make. His eyes popped open, and he looked outside to see his home on fire.

A deep, menacing voice chuckled. "So you're awake, Tantei. This is the result of your mistake. This is why you don't get others involved in your personal problems."

A scream came from inside the house, startling Shinichi awake.

"Kuso…" Shinichi clutched his head as he gasped for breath. He could tell he was shaking and sweating, but he felt surprised that he didn't scream or wake anyone for that matter. He looked to the alarm clock and saw it was three-thirty, meaning he only got about half an hour of sleep. His instincts told him to wake Kaito and calm down but at the same time were screaming at him to leave so no one gets hurt.

But they still know where they all are, he told himself, so leaving wouldn't help anything either, would it? He cursed again and lied down with his hands behind his head. His thoughts raced for a while until they began to slow down as lethargy increased. He knew he wouldn't be able to stay awake, so his eyes slid shut as he fell into a deep sleep. However, he was only asleep for twenty minutes or so due to Kaito and Yusaku waking him.

"Come on, Shin-shin; you need to get ready!" Kaito shook him while Yusaku stood in the doorway. He had a feeling that Shinichi didn't sleep as much as he thought.

Shinichi groaned and sat up, rubbing his eyes. "It's time already?" He moved his hands to his side, revealing darkened and bloodshot eyes.

Yusaku's eyebrows furrowed. "So I was right then. How much sleep did you get last night, Shinichi? To me, it looks like a very slim amount."

Shinichi's mind was foggy and took a moment to process the question. "Half an hour?" he mumbled. "Had a nightmare and couldn't go back to sleep."

Kaito's expression saddened. "Can't you stay home if you're that tired? I don't think your professors would mind. Yusaku-kun, what do you think?" He turned to the elder detective.

Yusaku sighed and pinched the bridge of his nose. "He has to stay home for at least the first half of class today; he wouldn't last otherwise. I would honestly prefer if you stayed home all day today, Shinichi, but I know you really like that professor."

Surprisingly, Shinichi nodded and collapsed back on his pillow. He knew he was tired and didn't feel like arguing over it. As he was slowly lulled to sleep, he could feel Kaito gently placing the blanket over him and whisper something in his ear that comforted him.

"Let's hope he can sleep well," Kaito told Yusaku.

And so the detective did. He slept so soundly and deeply that the others didn't want to wake him at lunchtime to get ready for class.

Yukiko giggled. "It's so cute when he's sleeping so well!"

Kaito agreed with a grin. "It's a good thing too; I was worried that he wouldn't sleep much, but I guess you guys being here makes him feel more at ease." He failed to suppress a yawn. "Speaking of which, I'm pretty tired myself. I'll be back in a little while." With a small wave, he made his way to the guest bed and was out in minutes.

Yukiko looked to her husband and ruffled his hair. "You look tired too, Yu-chan…were you up late writing again? Come on; we can talk for a little bit too."

Yusaku knew his wife would be dangerous to be around if she napped but couldn't say no to a nap himself. They went to the master bedroom and lied down together.

"Yu-chan, do you feel bad about doing that?" Yukiko whispered, a look of concern in her eyes. "I don't think it was right."

Yusaku thought of his son and how he could only sleep well when those around him were happy. "Yes, Yukiko, I feel it was right; there was no other way to do it and get the same result."

When Shinichi finally awoke late that afternoon, he was surprised by the silence in the home. But his first concern was figuring out what time it was, for the sun was too far west for it to only be noon. He stared at the alarm clock in shock. "Two…? But they…" He shook his head with a huff. "I guess I was sleeping well enough for them to think I should stay home all day." He swung out of bed and decided to investigate this odd silence.

"Kaito?" Shinichi quietly opened the guest bedroom door and couldn't help but smile. The magician had been asleep and snoring and was just waking up at the sound of his name.

"Shin-shin, is something wrong?" Kaito sat up and rubbed his eyes. "You sound worried about something."

Shinichi waved it off and sat beside his boyfriend. "It's nothing; I was just wondering where everyone was since it was so quiet. Speaking of which, why didn't you wake me a few hours ago to go to class?"

Kaito snickered and ruffled Shinichi's hair. "Because I knew you needed the sleep! Even your dad agreed that it would be best for you to stay home all day, after all." He paused. "How do you feel after sleeping? Do you think you can get back to a normal sleep schedule?"

Shinichi let out a frustrated sigh. "To be honest, I'm not really sure…"

Kaito's eyebrows furrowed. "What do you mean, Shin-shin? Can you tell me what's bothering you? You know I hate it when you don't."

Shinichi rested his head on Kaito's shoulder and closed his eyes. "I'm worried, Kaito. My parents suddenly come back and get attacked by someone who has supposedly been tracked since she escaped prison. Don't you see something wrong with that story? Besides, they're probably after you too. They murdered your brother after holding him captive for ten years and attacked Aoko. They're cornering us—cornering me into surrendering my life."

Kaito wrapped an arm around Shinichi's waist. "Shin-shin, don't ever think you'll have to face them without me; after all, my dad was killed by them, and I want revenge as much as you do. I'll always stay at your side…even in the afterlife."

Author's Note: Awww, so kawaii! The Kudou parents know of their son dating Kaito, and I even included a cute line from Kaito at the end~! Anyway, I really thank you guys for enjoying the story and supporting it so much; I'm surprised we have so many followers/favorites! I know this story isn't the best since I can probably do better if I spend more time on it, but you all have been loving it anyway. Speaking of which, I am really enjoying these new projects a lot. Preventing the Truth is going to be the type of story that only appeals to those interested in serial murders that are based on riddles, and I'll Be There for You is going to be a supernatural story with lots of little cute parts sneaked in (like this one!). I will only be uploading this story until the end of May when it's "finished," and then I'll upload Preventing the Truth starting in August since I'll be back from my dad's by then. Again, thanks for the support! If you want a short summary of these upcoming projects, you can view them on my profile page along with their current word counts!