Disclaimer: I don't own DCMK

Sky Colored Eyes

6: Lies in Lies

"You're designing a birdbath for monitoring garden health?" Shinichi tried but couldn't keep all the incredulity out of his voice.

"Exactly!" Even through the phone, Professor Agasa's enthusiasm was palpable. "It was Ai's suggestion."

"It was?" That was even more befuddling than the professor's announcement of his latest plans.

"Well, actually she suggested a birdbath," the old man corrected himself. "But it's a good idea, don't you think?"

"It's…interesting, certainly," Shinichi mumbled, glad Agasa couldn't see his face. It wasn't that it was a bad idea. It was just…well, a medical birdbath scanner? Really? It would have made more sense to him if the professor had said birdbath sprinklers. "But why did Haibara suggest you make a birdbath? It doesn't seem like the kind of thing she would come up with for no reason."

There was a pause on the other side of the line as Agasa scratched his head. "I don't know. She did mention that the front yard's been a bit bare since the fire."

"But then why not new bushes or flowers?"

"It's different?" the professor guessed. "It'll stand out more."

"Haibara doesn't like standing out." Shinichi understood the feeling all too well. He didn't like to stand out anymore either. It was too…exposing. It made him nervous and jumpy.

Unaware of the young detective's somber thoughts, Professor Agasa laughed. "Well, sometimes ideas just come to us all. That's what ideas do. Happens to me all the time. But you can ask her about it yourself this Thursday when you come for dinner if you'd like. We're having grilled salmon."

"Um, about that…"

"Would you prefer something else?"

"Oh, no, no, it's not that. It's just I'm working with the police on a series of armed robberies. We're setting up a trap for them. If everything goes as planned, they should strike this Thursday night. So I'm probably not going to be able to make it for dinner. I'm really sorry I didn't mention it sooner."

"Ah well, it's okay. We can have dinner on Friday instead. What do you think?"

"That would be great. Thanks Professor."

"No problem. So you're okay with the salmon?"

"Yes, of course. See you on Friday."

"Take care of yourself."

The dinner with the professor and Ai wasn't the only thing he would be unable to go to, Shinichi thought as the call ended. The Kaitou KID heist was also on Thursday night. That had led Shinichi to double check to make sure the heist location was a good distance from the jewelry store they would be using for the sting. It would have made the whole thing unnecessarily complicated if they had to deal with stampedes of KID fans and the robbers at the same time.

At least it gave him a good, solid reason to give to Hakuba regarding why he had decided to turn down the blond detective's invitation to attend the heist.

Speaking of people he needed to give answers to, he had an appointment to meet Chishima Sai before school to talk about his brother's odd behavior.

X

Sitting under a tree near the gates to Ekoda High, Shinichi nursed his usual thermos of coffee and watched the people and cars passing on the streets. He had arrived with half an hour to spare before classes would begin. There were now only ten minutes left. He'd almost nodded off several times already, but he'd managed to stave off the drowsiness by analyzing the passersby. He knew that if he let himself doze off, he'd never make it to class. He'd gotten back to his apartment from the Beika police station so late the previous night that he had decided it was easier to just get some extra work done and forgo sleeping. Now he was questioning the wisdom of his decision. Sure, it meant he wouldn't oversleep, but he had set himself up to spend the rest of the school day battling against his eyelids. The world before his eyes swam with streaks of neon and ultraviolet dots.

"Kudo-san?"

Shinichi's head jerked up and he yelped as the back of his skull connected with the trunk of the tree he was using as a backrest. Eyes watering from the pain, he looked up to find Hakuba standing in front of him. When had the blonde arrived? He hadn't seen him coming at all.

The British detective looked concerned. "Are you all right? You…don't look so well." His gaze lingered on the dark circles under Shinichi's eyes.

Shinichi rubbed at the back of his head, wondering if he really looked that out of it. "No, really, I'm fine. I just didn't get much sleep."

"And yet you appear to have been sitting here for quite some time."

"I'm supposed to meet someone." Blue eyes made a quick sweep of the area before returning to the blonde. Students were now pouring past them in an almost constant stream but there was still no sign of Chishima. "Or I was…"

"When was this meeting supposed to take place?"

"We just agreed to meet before class."

"You have a minute left then—two if you run." Hakuba hesitated a moment before continuing. "If you don't mind my asking, who were you supposed to meet?"

"He said his name was Chishima Sai," Shinichi explained. "He told me that his brother has been acting strange, and he wanted to ask me for some advice."

"Chishima Sai?" Blond eyebrows rose. "Are you sure?"

"That's what he told me. Why?"

"Is he about this tall?" Hakuba held his hand up to indicate. "Short hair like bristles, brown eyes, and currently on the school track team?"

"It sounds like him."

"But that Chishima-san has no brother—here or otherwise. As far as I am aware, he is an only child. Although if this sibling attended a different school then there is a slight possibility that I could be mistaken." His tone, however, conveyed his doubts on such a possibility.

Shinichi stared at the other detective. If it had been Hattori, he would have asked if the other was joking, but though he couldn't say he knew Hakuba all that well yet, he didn't think the blonde was that kind of person. "Could it be a different person with the same name?"

"That is highly unlikely. There are other Chishimas, but only one Sai."

"But why would he lie to me?"

"A prank perhaps? Or a dare."

Shinichi thought back to that struggling smile the teen he'd met had been wearing. Those nervous twitches and anxious eyes… No, they had been real. He'd bet his Holmes collection on it.

"Is Chishima-san the kind of person who would prefer to ask for advice like he was talking about someone else?"

"You mean the 'I have a friend' approach?"

"Yes."

Hakuba thought for a moment then shrugged. "I don't know. I have spoken with him a few times, but only in passing. He always struck me as a straightforward kind of fellow. We are out of time, by the way. Unless we start running, we are going to be late."

Frowning, Shinichi got to his feet and picked up his backpack. He took one last look around for Chishima before reluctantly following Hakuba through the gates. "Do you know where I might be able to find him?"

"I can take you to his class at lunch."

"I would appreciate it. Thank you."

The blonde chuckled. "I must admit I am curious as well."

X

They arrived at their classroom to see a crowd of students gathered around the door, clogging the threshold. Some were classmates of theirs but others were spectators attracted by whatever was inside. Remembering the fruits from his second day, Shinichi was a little surprised when he wove his way through the crowd to see that the room beyond was empty. Literally. All the chairs and desks were missing. But instead of feeling open, it felt—oppressive.

It was that sense that drew his eyes upward. Shinichi could feel his own mouth opening to form a silent 'o'. So that was where the furniture had gone.

Their entire classroom had been transported from the floor to the ceiling as though gravity had decided to flip itself over. Neat rows of desks all had their legs firmly planted on the ceiling with no ropes or wires anywhere to be seen. And there, seated in one of those chairs, was Kuroba Kaito. Like the furniture, the magician seemed to have migrated into a different gravitational field. Even his short hair should have shown some sign that he was upside down, but not a single strand was hanging towards the floor. His clothes too were in perfect order. In fact, he had his hands folded behind his head and his feet kicked up on his desk, the very picture of the relaxed teenager.

Looking at him made Shinichi feel like he was the one who was upside down. It was more than a little disorienting.

Spotting Shinichi, Kaito waved. "Hey Shinichi. What're you doing up there?"

"…Shouldn't I be asking you that?"

"Kuroba-kun!" a new voice barked from the doorway, heralding the arrival of their teacher. Pushing past the crowd of gawking students, she planted her hands on her hips and glared up at the magician. "Get everything down right now!"

"What're you talking about, Sensei? You guys are the ones up there."

The woman sighed. "Kuroba-kun, please get everything down. Class should have started three minutes ago. Or do you really want to force all your classmates to sit on the floor today?"

The magician considered the question before heaving a melodramatic sigh of his own. "I suppose you make a good point." He snapped his fingers.

Several people screamed and leapt back from the door as every piece of furniture on the ceiling suddenly began to fall. However, instead of crashing to the floor in a horrendous roar of smashing wood, the desks rotated as they fell to set down almost gently on the classroom floor. And Kaito remained seated in his own desk the entire way down, the picture of perfect indifference.

There was a breath of stunned silence before the entire hall full of students burst into applause. Grinning, Kaito hopped up out of his seat and swept into a deep, showman's bow. There didn't appear to be any wires anywhere.

Shinichi found himself studying his desk as he approached it. He ran his fingers along the edges and tapped on the surface then the back and the seat. Everything seemed normal, but obviously there had to be a contraption somewhere.

"You won't find anything~," Kaito's voice sang out into his ear, making him jump. "I am a master."

"Why do you do things like this?"

Kaito raised an eyebrow. "What do you mean?"

"Like the desks just now and the fruits the other time, I mean. It must take you a lot of time. It seems like a lot of trouble to go to for a school prank."

The magician chuckled. "Well, if you want to put it that way, I guess it would seem troublesome. But you see, there is more to a plan brought to fruition than the end result. It wouldn't be any fun if it was too easy. Besides," he added as an afterthought, "it's good practice for when I become a professional magician."

"It looks to me like you could already be one if you wanted to."

"Why thank you." Snapping his fingers, he produced a yellow rose in a puff of equally yellow smoke and presented it to Shinichi with a grin. "A token of thanks for your kind words."

Unsure how he was supposed to react to this new development, Shinichi gingerly accepted the flower, half expecting it to explode or spew water at him. It did neither. He gave the stem a light pinch just to be sure. There was still no reaction.

"It's good to know not all detectives are boring, long-nosed wet blankets with no appreciation for art," Kaito continued, sending a pointed look past Shinichi to where Hakuba was just setting his notebook on his desk.

The blonde scoffed. "There is no art in trickery."

"There is no art without it," the magician retorted before turning back to Shinichi. "You see what I mean? No understanding at all. If novelists and painters and all the other artists out there limited themselves only to dry facts and conventions then we would never have had any of the great works out there. In fact, even those mystery books you're so fond of rely on a degree of deception in order to make themselves interesting. Isn't that right, Shinichi?"

"Um…" Caught like a deer in headlights, Shinichi tried to think of something nice and neutral to say. He might somewhat agree with Kaito's views on art, but he didn't want to sound like he was condoning the magician's rather…unflattering description of his fellow detective. Hattori always complained that Hakuba was too uptight, but Shinichi didn't think he was all that bad. Shinichi was rescued from his dilemma, however, by Aoko's arrival.

"Oh not that again," the inspector's daughter said, hands planted firmly on her hips. "It's not Saguru's fault if he isn't very creative."

Off to the side where she couldn't see him, Hakuba looked somewhat put out by Aoko's comment.

"Why do you always take his side?" Kaito complained.

"I'm not taking sides."

"Are too."

Now forgotten, Shinichi slid into his desk. He almost immediately had to duck as Kaito used his desk as a springboard to escape the mop Aoko had whipped out of what appeared to be nowhere. And so began another normal day at Ekoda High.

X

"Kudo-san, if you're ready, we can head over to Chishima-san's classroom now."

Shinichi hurried to pack away his things then followed Hakuba out of the room. Halfway to the door, he turned around quickly to scan the room. For a moment there, he could have sworn he felt eyes on him, but when he looked everyone seemed to be engaged in their own little lunchtime rituals. Shaking off the sensation (what could it matter anyway? There were only students around after all, so it really didn't matter who was watching him. He needed to work on shaking this paranoia—or at least curb the urge to jump and put his back to a wall every time he felt someone looking at him), he picked up his pace to catch up to his fellow detective.

They arrived in the designated classroom to find that half the students had already left to go get lunch. Hakuba stopped a passing student.

"Excuse me. We're looking for Chishima Sai. Is he here?"

"Chishima-kun?" the girl repeated. "He's not here today. I think he's sick."

"Sick?" Shinichi repeated, surprised. "But I saw him just a few days ago. He seemed fine then."

The girl shrugged then gave the two detectives a curious once over. "What did you need him for?"

"We just wanted to talk to him," Shinichi explained. "He was supposed to meet me this morning, but he never showed up."

"That's not like him. Although I guess since he's sick, maybe it's not that strange."

"Do you know him well then?" Hakuba asked.

"I'm not sure if anyone really knows him well. He doesn't like to talk about himself much, and I've never heard him mention his family. But he's a nice guy. He always seems cheerful and never gets into arguments or anything. I guess he's just very private."

Hakuba nodded. "I see. So you haven't noticed anything strange about his behavior lately?"

"What?" The girl frowned at him. "What are you talking about? He's not in trouble is he?" Her expression morphed into one of worry.

"Oh, no, we were just curious," Shinichi assured her, hoping he was right though his instincts were screaming that there was more to all this than someone with a cold. "Just one more question. Do you know how we might be able to reach him?"

X

Back in their classroom, Kaito leaned back in his seat as he chewed on a rice ball from his lunch. He was itching to know why Shinichi had gone off with Hakuba right as lunch began, but Aoko had intercepted him before he could follow them to yell at him about some minor prank he'd pulled on her earlier during class. By the time he had defused her wrath, there was already no point in going after the detectives. Oh well, it couldn't be helped.

Speaking of detectives, there was still no news on Tantei-kun.

He didn't understand it. All of the brat's acquaintances seemed to believe he was fine. And yet the boy himself seemed to have disappeared off the face of the planet. Kaito debated the possibility that the little detective might have been abducted. It might even have been such an elaborate abduction that his friends and acquaintances thought he was okay. But if that were the case, the boy should still be around. He was smart, and Kaito was confident that the boy would have at least tried to get some word to his friends of his trouble. The Haibara girl acted like she was in contact with him, and she was definitely intelligent. If Tantei-kun were in danger, he would surely have sent her a sign.

But if he was not in danger, where was he? Hiding? But what reason did he have to hide? Besides, for a child his age, even one so intelligent, the best place to hide and still be able to act would be right where he had been—with the Mouris.

It was frustrating, the thief mused, eating another rice ball. He prided himself on being well informed. This was a very big hole in his information. And it needed filling. The problem was, how?

His surveillance of the Agasa household had given him more information about Shinichi than Tantei-kun. He'd learned the newly returned detective needed to be reminded to eat regularly and that he apparently needed some kind of medication that the little girl of the house brought to him once a week. So it seemed maybe his guess that the detective had been sick could be true. He knew that Shinichi was scheduled to have dinner with the old professor and Haibara Ai every other Thursday when possible. He'd also found out that the Haibara girl thought Shinichi should go spend some time with the Shounan Tantei, but the high school detective continued to refuse the offer. Maybe he didn't like children? That didn't feel like the right answer. Unfortunately, he couldn't get Shinichi's side of the conversations by reading the little girl's lips while she was on the phone.

Come to think of it, hadn't he heard somewhere that Shinichi and Tantei-kun were supposed to be related? They certainly shared a remarkable resemblance. There was a thought. Maybe he should be digging for answers through his new classmate. He couldn't bring it up as Kaito though. Hell, KID had no reason to speak to Shinichi either. They'd only met the once, and unless Shinichi started attending heists again, showing up to chat with him as KID would only raise unnecessary questions—especially if a certain blond detective were to get wind of it.

That meant he had to try and get Kudo to attend a heist.

He laughed out loud, earning himself a few strange looks from his classmates who discreetly began to edge away from him. It was the first time he'd ever met a detective with apparently no interest in putting his alter ego behind bars—and he had to find a way to convince the boy to attend a heist. Go figure.

TBC