Ladies and gentlemen! I humbly welcome you to the eighteenth chapter of this story!
Please enjoy and review!

Kaito didn't know how much time had passed while he continued flying through the thick clouds. The first thing that he really became aware of was how lightheaded he felt. Meanwhile the clouds around him grew thinner, he turned his head and saw stars drawing nearer by the second. Only that they weren't stars but rather lights brightening the monstrous city underneath. It seemed like with each blink he could see more details, while a harsh wind tugged on his whiskers and combed his hair. It actually felt nice, he realized as he numbly tried to focus on the gradually changing sight before him. The arteries of the concrete jungle were filled with moving dots from which he eventually distinguished individual cars and then even people. For a few seconds he stared dumbfounded at the scenery, with the seemingly moving pinkish lights of what could only be Tokyo Tower grabbing his whole attention, before his consciousness finally kicked in and made two critical connections.

First was that he just flew nearly 100 km in what couldn't have been long if there were so many people loitering in the streets. And second, arguably more important, was that he was falling. At this speed he would crash into the pavement like a sack of rocks in no time. He dismissed the first observation and started flailing his body, trying to start flying again or at least slow down his descent. Finally he managed to whip his tail in a painfully rapid strike and shot back up into the sky.

If anyone would have seen him, they would have undoubtedly been captivated by the sight. The artificial light was refracting inside of his scales, making their surface seem transparent, at the same time enriching the pristine white underneath with an unworldly, pearly gloss. With the pitch black sky above, the raising dragon looked like an ethereal ray of moonlight on its way back to the heavens.

Regrettably, however, nobody seemed to stop in their tracks to even glance up and life just continued moving on. Meanwhile Kaito glanced down and after noticing the growing distance from the streets below, he allowed himself a relieved sigh. With the crisis temporarily averted, he closed his eyes and tried to calm down both his breathing as well as his movement. He still had no idea how exactly he was able to fly but as he realized now that power was not infinite and was fading fast. While he wasn't sure how to preserve it, he was pretty certain that overwexing himself was not the way to go.

However, trying to calm down had him recalling why he ended up in the sky in the first place. Feverishly, he whipped his head around, trying to spot the ominous fire breathing shadow, but with the terror squzzing his heart in a cold grip his vision has gotten blurry and he could barely see anything. His body rolled around him, like a ribbon slithering behind a dancing ballerina. It might have looked dazzling but in reality the erratic movement threatened to throw him off balance and once again towards the ground below.

To prevent himself from falling into panic again he shut his eyes and coiled his body, freezing all movement, while holding in a breath until his lungs started hurting. He pushed all thoughts away, focusing solely on the air currents around him instead. The wind was still strong but not as harsh as when he was falling. It felt as if it was enveloping him in a gentle embrace. He felt his rapid heartbeat slowing down but at the same time he noticed that he was starting to feel the fatigue catching up to him. He took a deep breath and opened his eyes and started carefully moving his body as it seemed easier to stay afloat that way.

Kaito turned his head slightly to the side, making himself fly in a wide circle, as if he was attempting to create a halo above a particularly high skyscraper, while in reality trying to look around. This time, however, he wasn't scanning the sky. He figured grimly that if the dragon was anywhere near, he would have already been caught. On the other hand, if he didn't find anywhere to land soon, he would crash and he wasn't very keen on checking whether his scales could protect him from such impact. Or what would happen after. So instead, he focused on looking for other landmarks on the ground below him to figure out where exactly he was.

However, it was hard for him to see anything. The dizzying sea of lights beneath reflected in his eyes, making them sparkling like purest sapphires and worsening his already blurry vision. Most of what he could pick out was a shining and reflective mass, with very few discernible details. He turned longingly to look at the large dark patch, spreading to the right of the pinkish tower. The Tokyo Bay.

At this point, he was very tempted to test whether the legends saying that he was an aquatic creature were true. The thing was that if they weren't, he would simply drown. He was too awkward with this body to hope to be able to swim. But even if the stories were true, he was still at the risk of drowning, as he expected that he would turn back into a human as soon as he passed out.

In essence he just couldn't risk it, so regrettably he looked away to search for another option.

Although time wasn't working to his advantage he just couldn't figure out what to do. With how tired he was he found it hard to focus. From what he saw, he was above the center of the huge city and while ideally he would have wanted to leave its borders to land there, he wasn't sure if he could fly that far. He wondered about picking one of the larger parks to land in but he couldn't remember whether he had anything incriminating on his person before he turned. If somebody found him while he was out and discovered he was KID it could spell a disaster.

Disheartened, he decided to choose a direction that didn't cross the bay, in case he fell and see how far he could make it, in hopes of reaching at least a less populated area. With that in mind, he turned away from the Tokyo Tower and started flying away towards the least bright area he saw. Soon enough the skyscrapers below him started getting smaller and eventually were replaced with residential houses. The area felt somewhat familiar but at this point he was too tired to know or even care why. He just kept going.

He didn't even notice that he was losing aptitude until he nicked a chimney with his tail.

The impact shocked him out of his half-dazed state and without thinking, he turned his head around to see what happened. This had his body taking a sharp turn and colliding with a tree. He tried to turn his head back forward and whipped his tail hard to get out of this predicament but he didn't notice that his foot got entangled in the branches. The wood screeched and bent but he didn't have enough strength left to break free, so he was pulled back towards the tree. He hit the bark with his side and whatever was the force keeping him in the air faded away. His full weight multiplied by the collision was enough to break the branches, along with part of the tree and Kaito fell tumbling to the ground. All he could do was close his eyes and try to curl up as his body barreled into the shrubbery, effectively crushing it.

He remained curled up on the ground for a few moments just breathing, before he noticed that he wasn't moving anymore. With that realization, he let out a relieved sigh and tried to relax his cramped muscles a little, sinking into the grass and mess of branches underneath him. All he wanted was to just get a little break. Was that too much to ask? As he laid there, trying to compose himself, he started actually taking in the sounds around him over the thumping noise of his frantically beating heart. And from what it seemed he couldn't stay where he was. A dog was barking in the distance, undoubtedly agitated by all the commotion Kaito made with his crash landing. And the undignified shriek he might or might not have made during it. Not that he would admit it.

But all the thoughts about the dog, or his own dignity, flew out of the window when he opened his eyes. A few steps in front of him stood a human figure. Staring right where he was. A woman, with bushy hair, in pinkish pajamas and a broom in her hands, he observed but he didn't really register it because of a sharp pain in his leg that suddenly ripped a pained cry from his lips. Surprised after seeing the woman, Kaito jerked backwards into the mess of leaves and branches behind him, subsequently shoving a sharp stick into the gash in his leg, reopening the gunshot wound.

He shut his eyes trying to endure the sharp pain that had the unexpected soberizing effect on his mind. That had him remembering that for whatever reason, people apparently couldn't see dragons. For the past week, he had been screening all news he could find for any sightings of him and Saguru as they flew all throughout Tokyo or their near collision with an airplane. All he found was a small article about abnormal wind activity during the time on a blog for supernatural maniacs. The comment section was filled with dispute whether restless spirits, extraterrestrial or natural phenomena were actually responsible. Not one person mentioned dragons even in passing.

This led Kaito to believe that while in this form he was invisible the results of his actions weren't. Meaning that as long as he was careful he was safe. Even when in such close proximity.

He took a deep breath and carefully moved his leg forward, hoping to dislodge his leg without causing too much disturbance. He opened his eyes to inspect his injury but froze. Because although the woman didn't move, she was now all but piercing him with her gaze. The broom she was holding previously was laying right next to her, with her hands covering her mouth, her bright blue eyes wide with shock. What's worse, Kaito realized that he knew her all too well. It was none other than Aoko. Out of all the backyards, he had crash landed in one that belonged to the Nakamoris. Lady Luck must have really had a thing against him tonight.

Kaito swallowed thickly and moved his head to the side, clinging to the tiny hope that maybe, just maybe something else scared her and she wasn't actually seeing him. The hope was crushed as her pupils moved, flawlessly following his movement. He froze, barely allowing himself to breathe as his mind scrambled for a solution. He knew that this stalemate wouldn't last long. Eventually she would come to her senses and scream, drawing the attention of the neighbors and he didn't even want to start thinking what a mob could do to him.

Immediately, he knew exactly how to prevent it. He should knock her out before she had the chance to do anything, then drag her inside the house and flee. Even if she wouldn't attribute the meeting to her imagination, it was doubtful anyone would believe her that she actually saw a dragon and he would be safe. But since he didn't have any sleeping gas with him, he would have to strike her in the attempt to knock her out. And that was what kept him from moving even an inch. Because there was no way he could force himself to hurt her even in his human body where he knew his own strength and had full control over his limbs. With how he was now there was no telling how badly he could injure her.

But he couldn't think of anything else. The tall, wooden fence around him, on top of which he strolled so many times to annoy the heck out of Aoko, was now an impenetrable barrier for him. Surprisingly enough, he was smaller than he had expected. As he stood on all fours, his head was on roughly the same level as Aoko's and although he could probably reach the top of the fence if he stood on his hind legs, he wasn't sure if he would be able to pull himself up. And even if he could, the wooden planks would most likely break under his weight, making even more of a commotion. The only other way out of the backyard was through the house. But Aoko was standing frozen right in front of the door, effectively blocking his path.

The stalemate was broken before he could come with a decision, but not by either of them.

"Aoko-chan! What happened there?" questioned an elderly male voice from behind the fence on their right. "Do you need any help?"

As Aoko lowered her hands from her mouth to respond, all Kaito could do was to shut his eyes and brace for the inevitable.

"It's alright, Tanaka-ojisan! A branch broke off the maple tree, sorry for the noise! Please go back to sleep, Aoko will take care of the mess with her dad tomorrow!"

Confused, Kaito opened his eyes and saw that she was still staring at him, with her hands held together over her chest. She was still seeing him but decided to lie for him?

"Oh… Alright then…" the elderly man's voice sounded doubtful but thankfully he didn't seem to want to press the issue. "Good night Aoko-chan!"

"Good night Tanaka-ojisan!" she replied and took a careful step towards Kaito, causing him to pull his head back. "It's alright," she whispered softly and slowly reached out with her hand towards him. "Aoko won't hurt you, don't be scared…"

He flared his nostrils, as he let out an annoyed huff, as he tried to calm down his racing heart. As if he was scared. He was just surprised, thank you very much… She smiled with amusement seeing his reaction and moved closer, finally brushing her fingertips over the scales covering his nose bridge. At first, he froze but then, as she inched closer and moved her hand even so slowly towards his hairline, he sighed and lowered his head, making it easier for her to pet him. As awkward as the thought of being petted was, he didn't want to upset her. Excited with his reaction, she moved closer and touched his cheek with her other hand, while combing his mane with her fingers.

"Wow~! No one is going to believe Aoko~!" she whispered with glee in her tone. "Where on Earth did you come from..?" she wondered as Kaito snorted with amusement.

Not sure how his voice would sound he decided to remain quiet and only chidded her in the privacy of his mind. Because really, she should know better than to start petting a creature that could easily maul her. Sure, he would never hurt her and was grateful that she didn't rat him out but it was still reckless. However, it was nice to see her so happy. And her touch did feel nice and soothing…

While she was happily whispering away, he slowly swept his tail, pushing the branches away from his legs. He kept himself from making any noise as the stick was pulled from his wound. Curiously, Aoko tried to look over there but he leaned his head to gently brush her face, distracting her while covering his injury with his tail before laying down on the ground. The panic-induced adrenaline had already left his system and he was feeling exhausted. He knew that he should be leaving now but figured that he could spare a few more minutes to rest and amuse Aoko a little more. He probably owed her as much anyway.

Aoko went down on her knees along with him and sat on her heels, still touching his scales and hair. As he tried to lower his head to the ground, she gently grabbed him by the jaw and guided him to lay on her lap. He allowed her that and released an amused huff as his scales brushed her tights. She would have probably beaten him up to a pulp from embarrassment if she knew that this was him.

As it was, she wrapped one hand under his snout, holding his head from slipping from her lap and continued gently caressing his hair and horns with the other. Not that he laid his head with its full weight. Judging by the size of her palms, it didn't seem like his head was much larger than usual but he still wasn't sure how heavy it was, so he kept it partially suspended over her legs.

"You must be tired. Don't worry, Aoko will keep you safe. You can sleep…" she whispered softly.

He would like that but sadly, he couldn't afford it. Even if somehow he didn't turn into his human form he just couldn't stay. Eventually Ginzo would return and he doubted that the man would be as welcoming to a huge, strange creature in his backyard as his daughter was. Kaito had to leave before that happened.

Besides, Jii was probably worried sick for him, so he had to at least give the old man a call as soon as possible.

He figured that in a few minutes he would get up and walk over to the fence. Then he would attempt to get over it. Knowing Aoko, she would then stop him and instead guide him to leave through her house. Afterwards, all he had to do was-

Suddenly all his thoughts came to a screeching halt as Aoko's wandering fingertips reached his whisker. His whole body twitched and she retracted her hand. He blinked with surprise, realizing that it didn't hurt, in fact it felt nice. Curious, he turned to the side, to make it seem like he just wanted to change position and laid his head back on her lap, observing her with a half lidded eye. She took it as the invitation it was and carefully wrapped her fingers around his whisker again and gently moved them along its length.

Kaito couldn't help a content sigh escaping his lips, as all of his muscles relaxed completely. It felt as if his mind melted into a happy puddle, effectively blocking any and all thoughts from it. She giggled softly as his head laid with full weight on her lap and his consciousness slowly drifted away. He thought he heard her gasp quietly and whisper his name before the world all but melted into blissful darkness.

Well… so that happened xD

Anyway, as some of you might have noticed I have edited the first chapter of this story. My beta reader has been telling me to do that for a while now. They pointed out that my style has improved since the first chapter and that I should edit it. Eventually I caved in and rewrote the whole thing xD That being said, I'm pretty happy with how it turned out.
I didn't make any changes story wise - it's just an upgrade to style, so it's not necessary for you to read it again. I might give the same treatment to other chapters (especially that I don't really like how some of them turned out) but time will tell.

I really hope that you won't hold it against me. My main reason for writing fanfics is to improve on my language skills and writing style, and I believe that this will help me.

But that will be all for today~ If you liked the chapter or have anything to say about it please do consider leaving a comment - reading them makes my day, so I would greatly appreciate it! :D

Hope to see you next chapter *bows*