Disclaimer: I do not own Detective Conan/Case Closed.
Pairing: KaitoxShinichi
Chapter Rating: T
Collection Summary: No matter where or what they are, their lives are always entwined. KaiShin stories in fantasy settings.
Chapter Summary: A promising lead in the investigation of Toichi's murder takes Kaito and Shinichi to the home of the secretive Ebon Mages.
Chasing Shadows
[Castle Verse]
Part 4
"I've been analyzing the spells on these monitoring tokens," Kaito explained, rolling one of those aforementioned tokens between two fingers before giving it a flick. It rose into the air, turning end over end and winking silver every time one of its two faces caught a beam of sunlight seeping in from between the window curtains. He caught it again upon its descent and made it dance across his fingers. "They're quite good. I'll give them credit for that. After activation, they attune themselves to the person they're given to within the first ten minutes of being in their presence. That's how they know if you try to pass your token off to someone else."
"Does that mean they make a new token for every visitor?"
"I doubt it. Judging from the spell structure, they must have some kind of deactivation and reset spell."
"Can you figure out what those are and reset it?" Shinichi asked, curious.
"With a little work, I probably could," the magician replied with his usual careless confidence. "But, if they really do have someone monitoring the feedback from these tokens twenty four seven then doing that would certainly trigger an alarm."
"Seems like no matter what we do, we'd trigger an alarm," Shinichi noted, frowning. Perhaps they were looking at this the wrong way. "Can you track down where the tokens are being monitored from?"
Kaito blinked. "I guess distracting the watchers would be one way to get around their monitoring for a while, but it would only work if there aren't too many of them. Though I'll see about tracking them down just in case it comes to that. In the meantime, I had something a little simpler in mind."
"And that would be?"
"With a little more work, I think I'll be able to magically transfer the focus of a token from one person to another and back without triggering any alarms. Of course the real problem comes after that. The key is to make sure that the impressions they read from us make sense even when they overlap for a while."
"Why not just transfer the focus to a member of the hotel staff?" Shinichi asked. "They'd be easy to find for when you need to transfer it back, and their emotional patterns wouldn't overlap with anyone who has a token."
"That's true, but these tokens also track our locations pretty closely. I checked, and our watchers should be able to narrow our locations down to specific rooms in this building. A staff member would visit areas of the hotel where we have no business going. And if we pass the focus to anyone who goes outside to where there are lots of witnesses, we run the risk of them noticing that the person they're tracking isn't actually one of us. We felt them actually watching us earlier after all. I'm sure they have eyes and ears everywhere. It makes the most sense for us to shift the focus of my token to you while I go check things out."
Shinichi frowned. "So…maybe if we attend a performance of some kind then," he suggested after some thought. "If we were both focused on watching the same show, our emotions would naturally be similar as we both follow the story. And obviously we'd be in the same space."
"Maybe," Kaito said. "But only to a degree. It's pretty unusual for two people to react to every part of a show the same way. What one person feels is a tear jerker, another person might find annoying. And that's not even taking into consideration the fact that there'd be loads of witnesses as to whether we were both really there."
"I doubt most people would remember too many strangers' faces from a dark performance hall, but I see what you mean about the reactions," Shinichi conceded. "But then what were you thinking?"
"Look at these." Kaito waved a hand. Two multicolored dioramas of textured light ribbons materialized above them, and he nudged Shinichi until the librarian uncurled and shifted to look up at them. "What do you think?"
"They're…pretty, I guess," Shinichi hazarded, confused. "What are they exactly?"
Kaito chuckled. "These represent the feedback our two tokens have been sending to our watchers. Sans location anyway."
"Oh." Shinichi blinked then squinted up at the glowing traceries. They were certainly complicated, but he supposed that that was no surprise. Human emotions were like that. "Do the Ebon Mages get their feedback as abstract art too?"
Kaito laughed. "I have no idea. This was just how I chose to make the information readable. You can feel an echo of the relevant emotions if you touch these diagrams. Otherwise, the colors, textures, size, shapes, and so on and so forth represent our mental states from yesterday morning until just now. Notice anything interesting?"
Shinichi looked the two diagrams over carefully before lifting a hand to point at certain stretches of the elaborate patterns. "This section and this section seem to be the same on both diagrams. Though I'm not sure about the patterns right there. They're a little complicated."
"This ought to make it easier." Kaito waved a finger like it was a conductor's baton, and the two diagrams overlapped themselves. "But you're right. Those parts do mirror each other. Here's the timeline." He snapped his fingers, and a series o time stamps wrote themselves out in luminous, white numbers above the combined diagrams.
"So that would have been last night and…this…morning…" Shinichi trailed off slowly as understanding dawned and a bright red blush crept up into his face and down his neck. "But—! That—you mean—!"
"Yes?" Kaito prompted, tone exhibiting nothing but a mild curiosity.
Groaning, Shinichi grabbed a pillow and tried to smother himself with it.
"Oi, stop that," Kaito admonished, tugging the pillow out of his hands and placing it back where it had been against the headboard. "What's the matter? This is supposed to be good news."
"Good news?" Shinichi echoed, incredulous. "You just told me that they know we were—I mean, you know…!" He waved a hand to indicate the both of them and their room. He was not amused when Kaito started to laugh. Annoyed (and still blushing), he rolled onto his side facing away from Kaito and tried to pretend that this was all a bad dream.
It was a minute or two before Kaito's laughter died down. Then he had shifted to wrap an arm around Shinichi's waist from behind, tugging him back just a little so that his back was pressed against Kaito's chest.
"Now, now, it's nothing to be embarrassed about. I'm sure they'd have been more suspicious if we weren't enjoying our alone time together," he said. "We are supposed to be a newly wed couple after all."
"Not helpful," Shinichi grumbled.
"I guarantee that all they know is that we were, ah, having fun—and of course that we're in love," Kaito offered, pulling Shinichi a little closer. "They couldn't—and can't—see or hear anything. No details. It's not like they were outside our door or anything like that."
Shinichi sighed but relented and relaxed in Kaito's hold. "It's no wonder they don't get many visitors. Most people wouldn't want to visit somewhere so unwelcoming even if it was more easily accessible."
Kaito chuckled. "Well, it's their loss. Though I suppose they don't realize what they're missing by isolating themselves from other peoples."
Shinichi hummed in agreement before a sudden realization made him stiffen again.
"And how exactly did you plan to take advantage of your discovery?" he asked suspiciously.
"I haven't decided yet," Kaito replied, but Shinichi knew better than to relax.
"You better not be thinking about making me stay here and—do things," he warned.
Kaito snickered. "I won't say I didn't consider it. But the emotions wouldn't match. It's just like how true love's kiss isn't just any old kiss. People attach very different emotions to what might otherwise be considered similar types of experiences based on who they're with—or not with, as the case may be."
That made sense, Shinichi mused. "Well, there have to be other couples around here. Maybe you could pass the focus of both our tokens to another couple for a night. Then I could help you explore the off limits parts of the city. We'd cover more ground more quickly if we both went."
"That's one possibility," Kaito agreed, sounding thoughtful. "But it would be risky. Our stand-ins would have to be a couple residing in this hotel who aren't already being monitored. They'd preferably be in a room near ours in case anyone checks, and we'd have to be able to guarantee that they won't go wandering out for some late night festival event."
Shinichi grimaced. "That doesn't seem likely, does it?"
He felt Kaito shrug. "I won't rule it out as an option, but I will say it seems improbable."
It was Shinichi's turn to laugh.
-0-
One of the perks of having a magician for a lover was that he could clean everything up with the snap of his fingers even better than most could manage via conventional means. This did not, however, mean that Shinichi was going to skip making use of the hotel's surprisingly nice bathroom. Showers were a luxury Shinichi very much enjoyed enjoying. And since they were technically on vacation, he felt no compunctions about staying a few minutes longer than strictly necessary in the reveling in the hot water.
"I was about to leave without you," Kaito informed him when he emerged from the bathroom in a waft of steam.
"I don't understand why we have to go anywhere this early if we're on holiday," Shinichi replied.
Kaito laughed. "How else are we supposed to see all the sights?" He ran his gaze up and down Shinichi's body, checking his disguise and generally appreciating the view. Satisfied that all was in order, he opened the door and bowed. "Ladies first."
Shinichi rolled his eyes but stepped through the door nonetheless.
The second day of the festival was much like the first—which, Kaito observed somewhat uncharitably—said a lot about Ebon. But Shinichi didn't mind. Since they'd already seen most of the major sights, they could relax and actually enjoy things like lunch at The Heart of Ebon Cherry, a classy local restaurant that offered a special, full course meal where every dish from the appetizer to the entre and the dessert and beverage used Ebon cherries in some way. A staff member at the hotel had told Shinichi that the Cherry Heart had the best coffee in town, and Kaito was always up for trying out new foods. So they both spent a good hour and a half just savoring each dish as it was placed before them and watching a group of young women in pink and black robes dancing beneath the cherry trees just below the restaurant's elegant balcony.
Shinichi could have wiled away the entire rest of the day there just sipping coffee and listening to the violinist who had begun to play after the dancing girls left, but Kaito had other ideas.
"We ought to bring some souvenirs back for the Oyumis," he said, leading Shinichi towards the many bustling festival stalls.
"We got them Ebon cherry desserts," Shinichi pointed out.
"Well yeah, but that's for them to eat. I think we should bring them some more ornamental things. Unique trinkets and decorations and stuff like that that they could add to their inventory. If we choose well, they might ask us to do more curating for them in the future."
"Which is important because…?"
"These identities have made for great covers. I'd like to maintain them."
So they spent the afternoon browsing through handmade jewelry, painted crockery, silverware, fur-lined hats, and a range of other random knickknacks for brightening up a home with.
This latest batch of purchases, however, had quite a lot of bulk. And so Kaito had to arrange for them to get some help getting everything back to their hotel.
"It'd only take one spell," he muttered to Shinichi as he wrote the delivery address for yet another shop. "Honestly, if they're not going to allow mages into their city, they might as well have a few of their own out here to help people out. It'd save everyone a whole lot of time and effort."
Shinichi hummed an absentminded agreement because his gaze had been caught by a girl who had just ducked into an alley. She had been very young to be wandering the streets alone. Odder still, he could have sworn she'd been studying him the way a scientist studies a specimen before she'd walked into that alley.
On an impulse, he stepped away from Kaito and chased after the girl, though he did so at a light walk that he hoped wouldn't draw too much attention.
Entering the alley that the child had entered, he found that it was a dead end. The only thing there was a stretch of cobbled street and whitewashed walls on all sides.
Yet there was no sign of the little girl.
Puzzled, Shinichi turned around to leave only to find the girl from before standing behind him.
"What do you want?" she demanded.
He blinked at her. "I—I'm sorry. What?"
"You followed me here," she said impatiently. "What do you want?"
"O—oh." Thrown off by the child's strange behavior, Shinichi flailed about for something to say. "I was just wondering if you needed any help. Since you aren't with your parents."
She cocked her head to one side and gave him a long, considering look that made the hair on the back of his neck stand on end. Eventually, she put on a childish smile that fit on her face about as well as a fish in a doghouse. "I got separated from my mom, but it's all right. I know how to get home by myself. But thank you for asking."
Shinichi blinked again. "Oh. Er, okay. That's good then."
"Are you from outside the city?"
"I am," he replied, surprised by the sudden change in topic. "Why do you ask?"
The girl shrugged. "Not a lot of people come from outside the city. Where are you from?"
"A place a long, long way to the south of here."
"Does that mean you're a merchant?"
"Well, I'm working for a merchant," he agreed. "Though I also wanted to see your city. It's very beautiful."
For some reason, this earned him a quizzical stare. "Is it?" It was an odd response, but fortunately the girl didn't wait for an answer. "How long are you staying?"
"I'm not sure yet. A few more days at the least."
"You should visit the Crest. I'm sure you'll enjoy it."
"Oh. Uh, thank you. I will."
The girl nodded. "I'll be going then. Have a good day." That said, she turned and left without a backward glance, leaving a very confused Shinichi behind.
-To be Continued-
