There was a vase of flowers on his desk.
Kaito stared at the flowers, brilliant red roses that had to have been bought just that morning. No one ever left him gifts, so their presence was more than a little surprise.
"Miyano-sensei?" Kaito waved to attract her attention, drawing her way from the chemistry exam she was grading. She glanced up and hummed in question, righting her glasses as they slipped down her nose.
"What is it, Kuroba-sensei? I'm busy," she said, distractedly turning back to her papers.
Kaito would have crossed his arms and huffed at her, but she was frightening and would probably poison him or turn his skin blue. She'd done it once before for a much smaller slight than that. "Do you know who left the flowers?"
"They were here before the teacher's meeting." Her eyes turned a shade flinty, lips tightening in anger. Kaito took a step back and pasted on an apologetic smile.
"Yes, and thank you for watching my class. I won't ever be late again," Kaito promised, holding back the urge to flee. Something about Miyano made him much more nervous than anyone he'd ever met. "About the flowers..."
"A deliveryman from the Yamanaka flower shop. He didn't leave a note?" She actually leaned over the stack of books between their desks, reaching out to tug at one of the roses.
"No note," Kaito answered, discreetly edging the vase out of her reach. "Maybe I have an admirer?"
"Unlikely." She smirked at him, plucking a rose out of the vase. "An admirer would have left a note."
"I guess," Kaito agreed, shoulders dropping at the thought. No one ever gave him flowers. He gave out so many, so casually, to anyone who looked like they needed cheered up, but he'd never received any before. It was only a little disappointing, he reflected.
"Kuroba!"
His shoulders fell even more. Hakuba was even more militant now than Kaito remembered.
"Yes, Hakuba?"
"Head teacher," Hakuba shot back. He stopped in front of Kaito's desk, looming over Kudou's empty desk with a scowl and waving a pocket watch in one hand. "Did you happen to forget the time as well as my title, Kuroba?"
"No, head teacher," he snapped. Hakuba wasn't mollified. Kaito hadn't expected him to be. "My train was late this morning. I won't be late again."
"See to it. Miyano-sensei has better uses for her time than to spend it doing your duties as well as her own." Hakuba strode off without another look back. It meant he missed Kaito stick his tongue out at his back in a pique of childish anger.
Miyano coughed, a soft laugh she'd tried to disguise but Kaito knew better. He smiled at her, rolling his eyes as he sat down at his desk.
"Would you believe I went to high school with that prick and that this is him mellowed out?" He picked up the vase and sat it over his books, until it was at the edge of Kudou's desk.
"You'd think he'd be used to your unreliability," Miyano commented, tapping her watch meaningfully. "After all, your next class starts in two minutes and it takes three to get there."
Kaito groaned but grabbed his books and took off at a trot. "Don't steal any more of my flowers!"
-X-
There was a vase of flowers on his desk.
Shinichi dropped his books on his desk, frowning as he touched the roses. His mother was the only person he knew that would send him flowers, and she usually preferred to send the strangest and most exotic looking species she could to taunt him about her globetrotting.
"Who left me flowers?" He looked across the desk. Miyano was scribbling across a student's chemistry exam, leaving vibrant red comments across the entire page. Apparently, someone was going to be taking remedial classes after school. Shinichi tamped down the sudden well of pity for the unknown student. No one wanted to take remedial classes with Miyano.
"Flowers?" Her head lifted, enough that he could see the recognition in her eyes and the sudden slanted smile. "Maybe an admirer?"
"Admirer?" He'd received tons of gifts from fans, back when he was in the papers as a high school detective. When he'd moved into teaching higher level mathematics instead of opening his own private office, the admirers had tapered off. "Why would I have an admirer?"
"Maybe they admire you?" Miyano rolled her eyes. "Why would you expect me to know that? Honestly, Kudou, I don't see the appeal myself."
"No one asked you, Haibara." He stressed her nick-name. She scowled at him, all good-humor leeched out of her face.
"I wouldn't worry about it, Kudou. I doubt any admirer would endure such callous treatment, even if only second-hand." She waved a dismissive hand at her watch. "Don't you have club duties this hour?"
It was five minutes to the hour. And he did have a junior detective's club to preside over. He straightened the vase of flowers, running a finger over the velvet-soft petals.
"Don't steal my flowers, Ai-chan."
"I'd hurry, Conan-kun." She tapped her watch meaningfully, bringing her red pen up to touch the blunt end to her chin. "Or you'll be late."
She was going to write the incorrect answers in his teacher's edition. She was cruel that way.
-X-
Kaito collapsed in his chair, trying to catch his breath and slow his racing heart. He'd have to confiscate the keys to the sports club equipment shed from one of the other teachers before any enterprising students tried to test-fly their homemade ornithopter without supervision. It was hard enough to talk Namikaze out of needing to guard it from saboteurs.
"Is that your disaster in the sports shed?"
Kaito's head snapped up, a snarl on his lips that died into an indifferent smile as Kudou approached him. He was wearing a navy blue track suit, covered in grass stains and dark with sweat, and a hideously attractive scowl. Seriously, Kaito had dirty thoughts about being pinned between that scowl and a wall. If Kudou ever smiled at him, he'd probably be too attractive for any mortal to stand and Kaito would go into heart failure.
"Well? Is that your mess or not?"
"It's an ornithopter." Kaito pushed himself upright, smile shaky on the edges with exhaustion. "For Physics Club."
"It's blocking the area for the ball cages. You need to move it." Kudou didn't even look tired, despite how hard he must have been practicing with the soccer team.
"No can do. I need to keep it someplace where I can lock it up and keep the only keys. Last I saw, Namikaze-kun was trying to convince Niwa-kun and Takayama-chan they could pilot it themselves by launching from the roof." Kaito shook his head and shrugged. If they thought they'd get enough lift, even having the two lightest members helping Namikaze power it, it definitely wouldn't make it farther than a glide to the soccer field.
"I can't leave sports equipment outside to be stolen." Kudou crossed his arms and tapped his foot expectantly. "So you need to move that behemoth."
"Just roll your carts into the locker room. I'll be here early tomorrow to finish setting up for launch, so I'll move your stuff back after." Kaito offered his most charming smile, one that had pried pastries, cookies, and candy bars from all the women in his neighborhood since he was five.
If Kudou was affected, he didn't show it. His scowl actually got darker and he dropped his arms to his side, leaning forward threateningly. Kaito's eyes traced the line of his throat, jaw flexing as he swallowed back something Kaito was sure would be mean-spirited. He remembered himself in time to not flinch in surprise when Kudou thrust a finger into his face and snarled.
"If you won't move it, then I will."
"You can't-" Kaito started, but Kudou cut him off.
"If you think for one minute that-"
A cell phone started chiming, something upbeat and electric and not at all what Kaito would expect Kudou to like.
Kudou drew out his phone and turned on his heel, the dark look he sent over his shoulder faded as he answered the phone. He was out of the office before Kaito could hear any of his conversation.
Sure enough, when Kaito gathered his supplies and left for the day, the ornithopter was sitting outside of the shed, the door behind it obviously locked tight.
He grabbed the wings and pinned them to the side, disengaging them slightly from the main body to better maneuver it. He wheeled it into the boys locker room, hoping that no one would get to the school before him tomorrow and destroy the thing.
-X-
Shinichi slumped onto the bottom row of bleachers, covering his yawn with one hand and holding his coffee upright with the other. He was at school way too early, so much so that Hakuba was the only other person in the office. He'd learned his lesson on his second day of work, when Hakuba had arrived exactly on time and more alert and aware than humanly possible and started nattering on and on about this regulation and that student's attitude.
There was absolutely no reason to subject himself to that when he'd barely even had a mouthful of coffee between waking and arriving at the school.
But he was awake enough to hear the thunderous crash and subsequent shouting.
He pushed himself upright and slugged back as much of his coffee as he could before abandoning his cup and taking off towards the sounds of chaos.
It definitely fit that description. Kuroba's ornithopter laid in several pieces, both wings detached and crumpled and the main body broken into three chunks. Amidst all the broken and shattered pieces were three first year students he recognized, mostly from seeing them in front of Hakuba's desk and making apologies.
Namikaze, Niwa and Takayama all looked worse for wear. None of them appeared to be injured seriously, but he doubted any of them escaped without a concussion.
"Are you three alright?" he asked, picking his way through the wreckage and up to Takayama. She was laying on her side, hair in disarray and dirt on her face, and she seemed to be cradling her arm. She met his eyes with a watery smile and let him help her sit upright.
"I think I dislocated my shoulder," she confessed, blinking back tears. Shinichi grimaced and nodded, taking hold of her uninjured arm and guiding her out of the mess and to the bench.
"You're going to be alright. I'm going to get the boys and we'll all go to the nurse's office. We'll have to call your parents and let them know about this. Senju-san will insist on a hospital visit for all of you." He brushed some of the dirt off her chin and pulled the bow out of her hair, offering the red ribbon back to her with a nod.
"We didn't mean to wreck it, Kudou-sensei. It was an accident."
"I believe you," Shinichi said, looking back at the two boys. Both of them were sitting in the middle of the wreck, heads bent together and ashamed looks on their faces. He knew guilt when he saw it.
"Namikaze-kun, Niwa-kun, are either of you hurt?" Shinichi approached the two boys, studying them critically as he did so. Namikaze had a bit of blood at his mouth, possibly a bitten lip or cheek from the impact, and several scrapes on his arms and chin. Niwa looked a little dazed, a probable concussion then, and the same amount of scrapes and bruises as his co-conspirators.
"Not too bad, sensei." Namikaze groaned as he climbed to his feet, wobbling in place before he steadied. Shinichi helped Niwa upright when the boy seemed to struggle getting his feet under himself.
"That's good, but we're still going to see Senju-san. She is not going to be impressed with this stunt. And I'm sure Kuroba-sensei is going to be incredibly disappointed with all of you." Shinichi let Niwa lean into him as the made their way to the bleachers to collect Takayama.
-X-
There would be time later, he knew, to be upset and angry, but right now all he could feel was horrible, breathtaking relief and the stinging bite of guilt. Kaito stopped outside the door to Senju's office, listening to his students laugh and Kudou scold them in the quiet lulls. He clenched his eyes shut and took a shuddering breath, burying down his fear in favor of his anger.
He opened the door and stepped inside, all of the laughter suddenly cutting off as his students caught sight of him. Takayama had one arm in a sling, her sweet face scratched up and bruised. Niwa was laying down on the bed to her right, bandages tapped to his chin and an icepack on his head. Namikaze was the least injured, but his eye was blackening and his forearms were completely covered under a layer of bandages.
"Kuroba-sensei," Namikaze muttered, the guilt and fear on his face plain. "I take full responsibility for everything."
"It wasn't just his fault. We all contributed," Takayama protested, reaching out with her good arm and touching Namikaze's wrist. She glanced over at Niwa and nodded. "Daisuke-kun and I went along with Minato-kun. We didn't disagree with him."
"But it was my idea," Namikaze said, squaring his shoulders and pulling away from Takayama. "I found the ornithopter and I was the one who insisted we could actually fly it from the roof."
"But-" Takayama started again, but Kaito held up his hand and they all fell silent.
"I would like for you to tell me precisely what you did after you found the ornithopter," Kaito said, glancing at Kudou and pulling one of the visitor's chairs over to sit beside him. "But first, I have a few questions for Kudou-sensei."
"Of course, Kuroba-sensei," Kudou said.
"Has Senju-san notified Hakuba-san or their parents yet?"
"She's discussing their injuries with him right now. Then they will be contacting their parents. And then I believe all three of them will be escorted to the hospital for a check up to be absolutely certain there are no further issues." Kudou held his eyes, something faint and dark in them that unsettled Kaito. It couldn't have been guilt. Possibly some fear or anger, maybe even disapproval because it was clearly Kaito's own fault for this debacle.
If he'd been insistent with Kudou, if he'd laid out his concerns reasonably, Kudou wouldn't have dismissed his request outright. Or at the least, would have helped Kaito find an alternative location to house his project. Instead of behaving like a professional, he teased and prodded and was generally unreasonable so that Kudou was completely justified for refusing his request.
"That's good to know, Kudou-sensei." Kaito looked away and took in his students' shamed faces. His shoulders fell forward. "Would you please ask Miyano-sensei to cover my homeroom and the other first year teachers to rotate watching my classes? I need to handle this situation fully."
"Of course," Kudou agreed, moving to his feet and giving the kids one last, long look that had the three of them squirming. Kudou reached out, hand hanging in the air awkwardly between them, and clasped Kaito's shoulder once. "We'll handle everything, Kuroba-sensei."
"Thank you." Kaito tracked him as he left the office and found himself wishing Kudou had stayed. Someone needed to be the adult in this situation, and Kaito was mildly panicked that it would fall to him. But his students obviously saw him as the adult he appeared and not the childish brat he knew he still was. "Now. I would like Namikaze-kun to tell me exactly what he did when he came to the school this morning, then Takayama-chan, and then Niwa-kun."
Namikaze nodded, took a deep breath, and started.
-X-
He would have time later to find out what was going to happen to Kuroba and his students. He could force back his nerves until then.
"Why are you helping out?" Miyano asked, frowning as Shinichi dug through Kuroba's desk with a grim smile. "You don't even like Kuroba."
"I never said I didn't like him," Shinichi said, finally uncovering Kuroba's lesson plans and homework assignments. Physics had enough higher math in it, he thought he could reasonably manage. It wasn't like he needed to do it for longer than one day, anyway.
"But still, you're being terribly charitable to someone you only tolerate." Miyano tapped a finger on the cover of Kuroba's lesson plan book. "Don't you have a few classes of your own today?"
"My higher level students have projects, so I'm assigning a free day to collaborate and use the school's resources to complete them. I have two classes that I need to be present for, and both Mizuno-san and Takamine-san have agreed to stand in for me." Shinichi gripped the stack of papers tightly, shoulders hunching up as he avoided Miyano's eyes.
"Exactly. You're being very charitable." Miyano gave up trying to meet his eyes and sat at her desk with a sigh. "But if you're going to do it anyway, I won't stop you."
"Thanks." Shinichi glanced around the room, deliberately avoiding the corner of the room where Hakuba and Senju were still in conference. While Senju wore her expressions freely, the concern and certainty on her face evident even from across the room, Hakuba's face was blank. But the man would shoot short steady glances towards Kuroba's desk that worried Shinichi.
"He fought hard to even get permission to construct that aircraft. He was to pilot it himself with some older classmen in his Physics Club, students who have pilots licenses for small planes and planning to be commercial pilots. I don't know how he found the students or even knew about their abilities. I don't think one of them even had a pilots license before he proposed the project." Miyano stopped and was staring at the flowers between his desk and Kuroba's. "He made several promises to Hakuba and Hashirama-san."
And Hashirama was entering the room, face as expressive as Hakuba's. The principal scanned the room as he walked past the teachers' desks, meeting Shinichi's eyes and narrowing slightly. Shinichi pulled away from the man's stare, turning his back on the far corner of the room and settling Kuroba's papers more comfortably in the crook of his arm.
"I could attend your detective club duties this afternoon," Miyano volunteered before he could leave. "It'll be pleasant to see the Shounen Tantei again."
"Thank you," Shinichi said, hoping she heard the sheer wealth of gratitude in his voice.
She hummed in response, just loud enough to carry over the whispering that broke out in the room as Senju suddenly and loudly protested something. Shinichi kept moving, needing to get to the classroom ahead of time to prepare, dread biting at his heels the entire walk.
-X-
Kaito had only been to the principal's office twice in his entire career at the school. The first time, he'd just accepted his teaching position and the principal was familiarizing him with the workings within the school before turning him over to Hakuba. The second time had been when he made a promise that there would be no complications with his ornithopter.
Now, he was being escorted to the office by Hakuba and Senju, both of their faces set in sympathetic expressions. If even Hakuba was feeling sorry for him, he knew nothing good was to come of this visit.
Hashirama's office was immaculately clean and decorated with an earthy tone, vibrant plants in the corners of the room and shades of greens and browns on the furniture. The desk was positioned so that the afternoon light would stream in from behind it, casting the man behind the desk in a halo of light while hiding his face in shadows.
Kaito had approved of the entire set up, from the decorations to the atmosphere. It reminded him of the strategic choices of generals and emperors, who bared their backs to the sun and dared to be brought low for it.
There was only one chair in front of his desk, leaving Hakuba and Senju to stand on either side of him as he sat down. Another strategic choice to remind him of his situation.
"We are considering your resignation," Hashirama said.
Kaito clenched his hands and fought not to drop his eyes.
"While it is clear that you are not at fault for the students' choices, you had made several assurances to myself and others that precisely this incident would not occur. None of the students' families are willing to place blame upon the school, considering their own disciplinary records and the students' obvious penances." Hashirama paused and sighed, his shoulders dropping and the lines of his posture shifting to defeat. "But the fact remains that an incident has occurred and you made a promise at the beginning to be held accountable."
"I understand," Kaito said, proud that his voice didn't shake in the slightest. "I will have my personal belongings removed and a formal letter delivered as soon as possible."
"Thank you for being respectful, Kuroba-san. I regret that it has come to this." Hashirama stood, prompting Kaito to do the same, and extended his hand. "Please use us as a reference for any future positions. Be assured that you will receive fair representation."
"Thank you, Hashirama-san." Kaito clasped the man's hand, smiling when Hashirama tightened his grip to make it look less obviously like Kaito's hand was shaking. "It has been an honor."
"Good luck, Kuroba-san." Hashirama released him and nodded to Kaito's left, where Hakuba was hovering silently.
Kaito turned to him and offered him the most sincere smile he could when it felt like his life was falling apart. Hakuba didn't say anything or move an inch until Kaito started towards the door.
"I'll help you get what you can. You can leave the rest and I'll bring it to your apartment," Hakuba offered.
"Thanks." Kaito bumped his shoulder into Hakuba's.
"Is there anything I could do for you, Kuroba-kun?" Senju asked as she passed them and opened the office door. She'd been the first true offer of friendship he'd had, despite the fact that they'd had an ill-fated first meeting. She'd set his broken leg, helped him to the hospital, and bitched and complained about repayment until he'd given her lottery tickets and she'd cleaned house.
Apparently, she had nothing but bad and worse luck until he started vetting her tickets for her.
"You could let me know if anything else happens with my- with the kids," Kaito said, correcting himself at the last moment. He couldn't use a phrase like 'my students' if he wanted to accept his situation.
"Of course," Senju agreed, brushing her blonde hair out of her face with a wide grin. "Just don't be a stranger. You're good luck, kid."
"And you need all of that you can get," Kaito agreed, and even if his chest was still tight, if there was an ache that threatened to crush him, he could still laugh.
-X-
Shinichi had been in the nurse's office pretty regularly for only having started working for the school at the beginning of the year. Senju Tsunade was always ready to evaluate his knees and give him some warning if his shoulder seemed to be getting weaker. It kept him from running to the hospital every time his bullet wound ached and his knees collapsed.
Unlike his previous visits, Senju was slumped at her desk, elbows on the desk and head bent low. The three kids were gone, having been escorted to the hospital when their parents picked them up. He hadn't expected to find either the kids or Kuroba still in the office, but he'd hoped that maybe Kuroba would have dropped in on Senju to get an update if one was available.
"Senju-san? Are you busy?" he asked, closing the office door behind himself.
Senju jumped, rocking in her chair and pushing her bangs out of her face. "Kudou-kun? No, come in. I'm not busy."
"Have you heard anything about the kids?" He stopped by her desk, leaning against the wall next to it and setting his stack of papers on an adjacent bed.
"Takayama's parents are keeping her home for a few days, but Niwa and Namikaze will both be at school tomorrow. They have classroom responsibilities for three months as punishment, as well as any additional tasks the first year teachers would like completed." She smiled lightly at him, but none of that explained the unhappy set to her shoulders and the absolute misery in her eyes.
"Something else happened," Shinichi said, frowning as she dropped her eyes and nodded.
"Kuroba's resigned."
"Hashirama fired him?" Shinichi asked, the first lick of anger sharpening his voice. Senju was already shaking her head, leaning back in her chair with a sigh.
"Kuroba wasn't going to get permission to build or fly his stupid thing unless he promised unauthorized students wouldn't be allowed on it. He had some volunteers and told Hashirama that if anything happened, he'd take full responsibility and end his position." Senju's jaw clenched, a muscle twitching in her cheek as she swallowed back whatever she planned to say next. "Hashirama just reminded him of his promise. Kuroba only needs to send in his formal resignation. He's already left."
"Excuse me," Shinichi muttered, grabbing the papers and taking off at a quick stride.
"I'll send you his address!" Senju called out to his back. "Just in case."
"Thank you!"
-X-
Kaito buried his face in his hands, scrubbing at his eyes once hard. Sitting alone in his apartment surrounded by his teaching supplies and the vase of red roses, all the pain he'd buried under his smile in Hashirama's office spilled over and drew wet lines down his face. No one else was there. No one would offer platitudes for something that was his own damn fault.
He'd fallen into school life so much easier than he'd thought he'd would. His father had been the world's greatest magician, but Kaito hadn't wanted to wash the last of the man away by stealing his title. Teaching physics and the sciences had been unlike any of the futures he'd dreamed for himself, accepting it as a temporary thing with the hopes of doing stage performances on the side.
But he'd thrown himself into teaching with abandon, finding it far more rewarding than the few times he'd pranced across the stage in full costume. His magic tricks added an edge to his lessons that the students seemed to thrive on, especially when he promised to teach them as part of their practical application lessons.
The ornithopter was just one more step in that direction. He'd thought about doing a hang-gliding demonstration, but when his mother proposed doing something that the students could build instead... He'd never seen students work so hard for anything before, and it felt incredible to give them that chance. He'd halfway expected Namikaze to come up with some harebrained plan to fly the thing during its construction, so there was some small justification in being proven right.
The polite knocking on his door roused him from his sulking. Just because he didn't currently have a job didn't mean that he could lay around and feel sorry for himself.
"One moment please," he called out, scrubbing his face vigorously and slapping his cheeks a few times to flush them red. He opened the front door and stilled, because of all the people he expected to see, Kudou wasn't one of them.
"You quit," Kudou accused, panting gently, face flushed and the most monstrous scowl to date on his face.
"Not yet," Kaito said back, caught wrong-footed and blinking as Kudou gave up on manners and just barged in between Kaito and the door frame. "Technically, no, but essentially, yes, I guess."
"You didn't even try to defend yourself!" Kudou's lack of manners apparently didn't extend beyond home invasion, because he stood in the middle of the entry way and glared, not backing away. Kaito had to close his door and press back against it to feel like there was any space between them at all. "Senju said you made a promise and Hashirama reminded you. That was a stupid promise."
"It was a necessary promise," Kaito defended, clenching his hands together. "Of course students were going to try to fly it! I never would have received approval to build it if there wasn't any real leverage. I knew what I was doing."
"Did your students know?" Kudou asked, and he was looming, suddenly seeming taller and angrier and he would have been a nightmare on the police force. The fact that his students seemed well adjusted spoke for how tight a lid he must have kept on his behavior, because if Kaito ever got this look from one of his teachers, he wasn't sure he'd ever even think about breaking polite etiquette never mind the rules. "Did you tell them what would happen to you if they stepped out of line?"
"No," Kaito admitted, stomach turning uncomfortably. If they'd had known, they might not have acted, but it hadn't seemed fair to tell them. He'd believed in them, and sometimes people made mistakes. They didn't need to feel guilty about the things he chose to take responsibility for.
"Then it wasn't fair to them. They love you. All three of them accepted the school's punishments and their parents passed on their apologies, to you, Hakuba and Hashirama each. And when they finally get back to school, they'll know instantly that it was their fault you left." Kudou stared him down, lips tightening to a near bloodless color. Only his eyes were bright, now, since it seemed his fury had washed the color off his face.
"I made a promise because I believed in them. They're good kids who make mistakes, sometimes. I didn't tell them because I wanted them to be those kids. If I told them not to do something or I'll get fired, that's just leverage for their behavior. They'd lose all respect for me because I'd start bargaining or threatening. And then something like that loses all meaning. They need consequences. And so do I." Kaito had leaned forward while he was defending himself, chin raised and shoulders back and Kudou's face was closer than it'd ever been in their entire acquaintanceship.
"They still needed to know. If they don't know all the facts, they make bad decisions. They make mistakes. When they shouldn't have had to, if the people they trusted were honest." It was the lowest blow yet, something that twisted his heart, dropped his stomach and flushed his face with anger.
"If I was able to lock the damn thing up, then I doubt it would have happened at all." Kaito crossed his arms and felt slightly triumphant when Kudou flinched and his shoulders dropped.
"Exactly. Part of this was my fault, too. That's why you should have fought against it." Kudou sighed and brought one hand up to card through his hair. "I wasn't being professional when I refused to help you, and because of my actions, you weren't able to keep your word."
"It wasn't your fault," Kaito objected. The triumph faded away to unease and guilt. He hadn't meant that, really. "I didn't ask like a colleague should. I was inappropriate."
"If that was inappropriate, then what I did was as well." Kudou shuffled in place, suddenly looking nervous and uncertain, eyes glancing around them uncomfortably.
He must have just realized how rude he was being, Kaito thought, the guilt soothed at Kudou's admission and obvious discomfort. "I apologize, then."
"I apologize, as well," Kudou said, nodding. "Would you reconsider accepting your termination if I went to Hashirama and explained my own part?"
Kaito bit his lip to hold in the fierce yes he wanted to shout. "It wasn't really your fault, you know. I could have tried to bar the locker room better than what I did."
"It would have been locked in an inaccessible location if I hadn't been rude. Hashirama would understand that you'd done your best. Everyone makes mistakes, sometimes. What matters is if they learn from them." Kudou hesitated then offered his hand.
Kaito considered him carefully, ignoring how much better that small, hopeful smile looked than even Kudou's breathtaking scowl. He thought about how miserable he'd been just before Kudou butted in, and how he'd had no idea what to do with his life if he couldn't teach. And he still might not get Hashirama to reconsider, but it would have been some protest, some defense that he'd been human and not careless with student safety.
"Yeah," Kaito agreed, reaching out to take Kudou's hand and clasp it tightly.
-X-
Shinichi buried his face in his hands, scrubbing at his face hard. The brilliant red blush wasn't deterred in the slightest and Miyano kept laughing at him.
"I can't believe you thought they were your flowers," she said, cheerful in the face of his humiliation and Kaito's triumphant return to their teaching staff.
"They were on my desk," Shinichi hissed back, raising his eyes to glare at her. She pulled her hand away from her face so her could see the full extent of her devious smile.
"Kuroba moved them off his desk so I couldn't sabotage them. I can't help what conclusions you leap to, Conan-chan." She smirked at him, turning her head to smile at the even larger vase of flowers on Kaito's desk, this time a bouquet of bright yellow daffodils with a cheery note, congratulating him on his return. The Yamanaka Shop delivery man apologized for not leaving the note for the previous day's flowers when he'd dropped off the new bouquet, apparently sent from Kaito's mother to express her pride in his two year teaching anniversary.
"You acted like they were mine!" Shinichi jumped as hands descended on his shoulders from behind, looking up to see Kaito's face looming over his with an incandescent smile.
"If you'd like, you can have these!" Kaito sang out, reaching over Shinichi's shoulder to snap up one of the daffodils and placing it behind Shinichi's ear with one quick motion. But it wasn't fast enough for Shinichi to miss the soft pads of Kaito's fingers brushing over his cheek or the way Kaito's eyes had darkened, turning hungry and warm, before melting back into that cheery smile.
Miyano just laughed at him, a gloating expression on her face that meant she hadn't missed anything.
