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Sky Colored Eyes

36: Of Dinner and Birdbaths

Poker Face, Poker Face, Kaito reminded himself. The two words repeated over and over until they became a mantra in his head. It seemed he had inadvertently stumbled upon one of the best tests of his Poker Face there could be. Next time he needed to practice, all he had to do was catch Shinichi in the kitchen. It was taking all his years of training to keep the goofy grin off his face. And to not laugh.

Shinichi was making him dinner~. Granted, it was a coincidence. After receiving that call from Shinichi, he'd decided it would be easier to talk face to face and dropped by the detective's apartment. He'd arrived to find Shinichi in the midst of preparing dinner. And that was how he'd ended up being invited to stay for the meal.

He allowed himself a fond smile as he propped his chin on his hand, watching Shinichi putter about the small kitchen. There was just something incredibly amusing about the sight.

His mother cooked like an abstract painter. She handled her tools with the speed and familiarity of an expert, and she added and changed ingredients as the mood took her, allowing her own innate sense for the way her materials mixed with and enhanced each other to guide her.

Shinichi on the other hand, cooked like a chemist: slow, careful, and precise. He double checked every step of the process with the recipe he'd printed and set on the counter. A tiny furrow of concentration was etched between his brows. It was clear he didn't want to make any mistakes.

Kaito thought it was adorable. It also made him want to laugh really hard, but he didn't want to get thrown out, especially considering how hungry he was.

Oblivious to his guest's internal struggle, Shinichi frowned at the recipe in its clear, plastic folder. He'd found it online, so he wasn't a hundred percent sure if it would turn out okay, but it had had good reviews and several nice pictures, so he'd decided to give it the benefit of the doubt.

"So you said that Higuzashi called you," said the magician seated at the empty dining table (with a cup of hot chocolate, can't forget the hot chocolate). "What did he want?"

"Actually he said he called you first, but you didn't answer your phone so he called me instead. Where were you anyway? The phones were your idea. The least you could do is answer when you're called."

"I was returning a lost dog to her owner," Kaito replied with a wave. "So what did he want?"

"He wanted to discuss our vision for the shop. I told him about our plans, and he said it sounded like a fun project."

Kaito perked up. "So will he take on our case?"

"If we're willing to accept his terms then yes. He said he'd email us his offer and a quote of his fee. The package we ended up at includes the design of the website, setting up the necessary links and systems for conducting business transactions with customers, and possibly some initial work on some social media sites to help us get started on marketing. It would be a one-time package. Though if we like his work, we have been informed that we can choose to extend it and actually hire him to maintain the social media pages for us. I told him we weren't sure about the whole social sites thing, but he said he'd leave it on the table until we're absolutely sure."

"I see. I'll check out the offer at Luminous Lairs tomorrow then. But what about him? How'd he sound?"

Shinichi shrugged, gently stirring the contents of his pot. "Professional. He stayed on topic the whole time, and only asked about things that related to the project. He did have questions about our mercantile experiences, but I think he wanted to make sure we were serious about going through with the project."

"Well, no one wants to put work into a sinking ship."

"So we're supposed to look over the offer and give him an answer by the end of the week. If we agree, he would also like us to include photographs that could be used for the website. The more we give him to choose from, the better the end result will be. Or so he told me."

"Did he say photographs of what?"

"Our products, our shop front—if we have one, people interacting with our products, puzzles being completed, us—pretty much anything that we think could possibly be related."

"Hmm, well that should be fun."

Shinichi snorted. "Somehow, I knew you were going to say that."

Kaito smirked. "You know me well, my dear detective."

"Hardly." Turning off the stove, Shinichi went to pull two large plates from the cupboards. Setting them on the counter, he started ladling food onto each plate. "Were you really returning a lost dog, or were you pulling my leg?"

"I really was returning a dog," the magician insisted. "Incidentally, do you remember what you said to me after our meeting with the antiques dealer and Ryuga Takashi? About feeling like the guy might have been trying to see you through the disguise?"

"I…yes, I remember. But I thought we decided that I was just being paranoid."

"Well, it is still the more likely of reasons, but get this. Kogane left his apartment in the middle of the night in a great hurry the very same day we visited him. The same day that Nuisance introduced us all to the guy with our real names. If we're right, and he is a member of the cult, it's not impossible that he might feel the need to tell his buddies that he'd been talking to detectives."

"So you think that it's possible that Ryuga-san got tipped off, and that is why he kept looking at me. Because he really did have a reason to suspect that I might be, uh, me."

"Yep. Of course, this is all just speculation. I just wanted to let you know in case you see any more in it than I did. And I thought it would help for us all to remember to keep our guards up. These people really can be anywhere."

"And you got all this information from returning a lost dog," Shinichi mused, raising one eyebrow.

"Well I am amazing."

Shinichi laughed. Untying his blue apron from around his waist, he folded it over the handlebar across the top of the oven.

"You don't have to eat it if it tastes bad," he said, bearing the plates to the table and setting them down.

"I'm sure anything you make will be delicious," the magician declared, brimming with sincerity.

"Sorry to disappoint you then, but I'm seriously not that great a cook. I just do what the recipes say, and usually things turn out okay as long as it's not too fancy."

"Trust me, considering the messes I make in the kitchen, anything you do would be a miracle in comparison."

"If you're as terrible as you claim then that's not much of a recommendation either, is it?"

It was the magician's turn to laugh. "I guess it's not. But this does smell good, although I must admit that I can't tell by looking what exactly it's supposed to be. If you were going for fried rice, I'm afraid it came out a little damp."

Shinichi blushed. "No, it wasn't supposed to be fried rice. It's a rice dish I found online when I was researching simple, healthy recipes. I'm going to Professor Agasa's for dinner on Thursday. I wanted to bring a dish to share. I usually just buy something on the way, but I thought I'd try making something this time."

"And this is your practice run, eh?"

"Something like that."

"Then never fear! I may not be an expert cook, but I am an expert on the part that really matters—the way it tastes when it goes down the hatch!"

"I'll await your opinion then." His tone was light, but Kaito could detect a hint of nervous anticipation in the boy's expression as he seated himself on the other side of the table.

Kaito hid a smile. Pretending not to notice the anxious blue eyes following his every move, he picked up the spoon Shinichi had placed by his plate and began to eat. As the seconds ticked by, the detective's anxiety grew gradually more visible. He began to shift in his seat, poking at his own dish but not moving to actually take a bite. Kaito let him stew for a few moments longer before finally taking pity on the boy.

"It's good," he said.

Shinichi scrutinized his face, frowning. "You're not just saying that, are you?"

"Oh come now. Would I lie to you?"

"…I think you would."

Kaito laughed, not particularly perturbed by the slight to his honesty. All considered, he knew he was anything but honest. "Well, I really meant it. This is pretty good. Not exactly restaurant level stuff, but I would recommend it to a friend, so you have nothing to worry about."

Shinichi relaxed almost imperceptibly and finally began digging into his own meal. Those tomatoes he'd gotten really had been good, he mused, chewing thoughtfully. He'd heard that good tomatoes made all the difference in some dishes. He was learning that it was true.

"So do you like to cook?" Kaito asked.

Pulling his thoughts back to the present, Shinichi shrugged. "Not really—or I didn't used to anyway. But it's a good skill to have, so I've been trying to teach myself how. It's trial and error most of the time. I think I'm starting to get the hang of it though."

"So you're starting to enjoy it then?"

"I guess so, yeah. There's something nice, about being able to put raw materials together and actually see them transform into something edible." It was also a productive way to take his mind off things.

"Cooking is another form of art," the magician agreed. "Quite a magical one at that, if you ask me. The power to create delicious things that can give people strength, happiness, and health. Now that's a kind of magic worth learning."

"How come you don't cook well then? I would've thought you'd be good at it. I mean, you do great in chem, and this isn't really much different. You follow the instructions and let the reactions take their course."

"Er, well, that's where things get complicated for me," Kaito admitted. "Recipes are great and all, but when I see them, I always just have this urge to improve them. Make them mine and all that. It's boring just to follow the instructions all the time. So I add stuff that I know will make it awesome, and….yeah. It tends to turn out that it wasn't all that awesome after all. Maybe more like anti-awesome. That's why Mom only lets me help with the real simple tasks when I'm in her kitchen. Usually, I just get to cut things up."

"That sounds kind of frightening coming from you."

Kaito blinked. "Why? I am a master of the cutting board!"

"…I'm sure you are. By the way, Ai mentioned that, well, she said I should invite you over to eat with us on Thursday. If you're busy, that's fine too. You don't have to go. But Haibara rarely ever extends these kinds of offers, so I thought maybe you'd like to come with me."

Kaito blinked then blinked again. Had Shinichi just asked him to go to dinner at Professor Agasa's with him? Could this be considered some kind of date? Looking at Shinichi's expression, he knew that all Shinichi was thinking about was the simple matter of inviting a friend over to the house of another friend and hoping that they would get along and not bite each other's heads off. But that didn't mean Kaito couldn't make it into something more.

He beamed. "I'd love to come. Dinner on Thursday, right?"

Shinichi nodded.

"Right then. In that case, we could meet here and head over by motorcycle. It would be more direct than taking the trains, though traffic could be bad depending on the time. So I guess the train could be the better choice unless we plan to head out real early."

"If we go early, we can stop by my old house first."

Kaito paused mid speculation. "Your old house?"

Shinichi nodded. "I talked to those store owners I mentioned before. I managed to get quite a large number of books and puzzle games for discounted prices. I didn't want to bring them all here since I don't like clutter, so I decided to store them at the house. We can look everything over and start taking those pictures that Higuzashi wants."

"That's a good idea. We'll head straight over after school and just work on that and any homework we have for a few hours before going next door for the potluck. By the by, should I bring something to share too?"

"It probably won't be necessary, though you can if you want to."

"I'll bring dessert then."

"Only if it's low carb. Otherwise you'll just be tormenting Professor Agasa."

Kaito laughed. "I'll keep that in mind."

X

Kaito looked up—and up at the rather large, western-style house and whistled. He'd seen it before, naturally, but he wasn't about to let on. So he gaped and shook his head in amazement. "And you used to live here by yourself? Man, you must've been cleaning all day every day seven days a week!"

"It's not quite that bad," Shinichi said, opening the door and toeing off his shoes. "As long as you keep things organized and clean up after yourself, all you really have to do is give the place a quick dusting every week or so. It's only when you let things pile up that it gets nasty."

"Is that why you're such a neat freak?"

"I'm not a neat freak," the detective objected. "I just like things to be organized because it makes them easier to find. Can you imagine how hard it would be to find information from old cases if you had to go digging through some disorganized heap every time you needed the information? The needle in the haystack would be easier to find. At least there wouldn't be any reading involved in that."

"I'm happy with my organized mess, thanks."

"There's no such thing as an organized mess."

"We shall have to agree to disagree on that one, my dear detective." Breezing into the living room, Kaito stopped to examine the many framed photos that had been placed atop the mantelpiece and hung on the walls. It seemed someone in the Kudo family had a penchant for documenting daily life through the camera lens. Looking from left to right then center, he could practically see Shinichi growing up. Yet despite the excessively documented childhood years, there were almost no photos of Shinichi as a teenager.

"Hey Shinichi, where's the rest of it?"

Emerging from the kitchen with two mugs in hand, Shinichi gave him a confused look. "The rest of what?"

"The photos. This place has got everything from your baby pictures—you were a cute baby, by the way—all the way to your middle school graduation, but there's nothing after that. Or did your parents get new hobbies by then?"

"Get new…? Oh, no, I only wish they'd find new hobbies. It's just that's about when they moved to America. I think it was sometime while I was in middle school. They couldn't really continue stalking me with the camera after that, being in a different country and all."

"I see. I didn't know you wore glasses though. Do you wear contacts now or something? Strange I never noticed."

Shinichi looked at him blankly. "What?"

Raising a hand, the magician pointed out several photos in the middle of the mosaic. These showed a seven year old Shinichi wearing glasses. Shinichi flinched. When the hell had his parents added those? Those were pictures they'd taken of him while he'd been Conan! How could they just stick them on the wall without telling him?

Why did they even want those on the wall?

"That's not really me," he said hastily when he realized that Kaito was still looking at him. "Those are pictures of my—my cousin. You know, the one you were asking about."

"Edogawa Conan?"

"Yeah. Mom took him on a few trips with her while she was visiting Japan during his stay at the Mouris, and she took photos."

Which, Kaito mused, the woman had deemed more important to add to the family album than pictures of her now fully grown son.

There had to be a story there. But before he could say anything more, Shinichi had hauled a cardboard box out from behind the couch and, with great effort, heaved it onto the table. The table in question trembled under the added weight.

"These are the books I got," Shinichi explained, blue eyes all but sparkling. "Do you want to take a look?"

And Kaito just couldn't say no in the face of that adorably excited smile that Shinichi rarely ever displayed. It was that expression that the detective reserved only for his beloved books, and damned but Kaito refused to feel jealous of a bunch of books.

"So how do you want to take these pictures?"

X

"That's an…interesting yard."

Shinichi followed his companion's gaze to the barren, burnt out patch of earth that used to be Professor Agasa's front yard. It hadn't gotten any greener since last he'd laid eyes on it, though the weeds appeared to be making a bid for possession of the place, creeping in from the less crispy, outer edges of the yard. The yard was, however, sporting a new feature of the manmade variety.

It was a birdbath. It stood in the very middle of the burnt patch. The basin was perched atop a collection of rather artistically twisted shapes that vaguely resembled fern leaves. White as marble, it stuck out like a sore thumb in the midst of the desolation.

"The professor burned out most of his yard a while back," Shinichi explained. "That structure in the middle should be the birdbath he's been designing."

"He burned out his entire yard?" the magician exclaimed. "What was he doing?"

"I'm not sure. Haibara just said that one of his inventions went off. If I had to guess, I'd say it probably exploded."

"You say that like it happens everyday."

"Not every day exactly. Just…a lot of days."

Kaito whistled. "And here I thought my house was dangerous." Pushing open the gate, he held it open and bowed, grinning. "After you."

Rolling his eyes, Shinichi stepped past him. As he started up the path to the door, he thought he heard a faint, spluttering hiss. It sounded a little bit like the sound sprinklers made just before they came on, he thought.

A hand fell on his shoulder, holding him back. "Did you see that?"

Confused, he glanced around at the desolate yard then back at Kaito. "See what?"

The magician's gaze was fixed off to the side. Following it, Shinichi found himself once again looking at the birdbath.

Which was looking back?

Two narrow, slanted holes had opened in the birdbath right beneath the water basin. They gleamed with some kind of lens that caught and reflected the evening sunlight. It made the birdbath look like it had a pair of glowing eyes.

"Well that looks a bit—"" He never got to finish.

A third panel had just opened beneath the slanted eye lenses. This one didn't have a lens in it though. This one had a nozzle.

Reacting without thinking, Kaito wrapped his arms around Shinichi and leapt to the side. A thin, concentrated jet of water blasted through the spot where they'd been standing, leaving a wet streak across the pavement. The birdbath didn't stop there though. There was a whir and a rumble and the thing had rotated again, aimed, and fired.

Both boys ducked. The cold, white stream of water smashed into the bars of the gate behind them, making the entire structure rattle like it was trying to leap from its hinges.

Kaito performed a neat flip over a lower jet of water then spun to the side to avoid another blast to the shoulder. "Why the hell is it shooting at us?!"

"I don't know!" Shinichi yelped as his right foot was abruptly drenched in icy liquid. His shoe filled instantly with water and his socks grew thick and heavy, clinging in sodden folds to his skin. It was cold, and the sensation was disgusting, but more than anything he did not want that jet of water hitting the covered pot he held securely in his arms. One blast and all his hard work would be totally ruined! His shoulder bumped against the wall of the house and he froze. He'd backed himself into a corner. And he could see the birdbath lining up for its next shot. Cursing, he pulled the pot close against his chest and turned around, shielding his burden from the assault he knew was coming with his own back.

He gritted his teeth and braced himself. Then it was on him. It was cold and powerful like a small waterfall that had decided that gravity was where the human was. The cold liquid pounded hard into the middle of his back. Water sprayed everywhere. His clothes were soaked in an instant. His hair plastered itself to his head. Water dripped down his neck and slithered down his arms and legs. Large, icy droplets flew past him, over his shoulders and past his damp locks to splash against the wall and pool on the parched ground. But tucked safely in the arms of its determined protector, the pot survived miraculously dry.

A little girl came running out of the house. "Turn it off!" she barked, clearly addressing the magician still engaged in his game of touch and go with the birdbath. "Twist that leaf on the right!"

Kaito ducked and wove around the next watery barrage. Fetching up right next to the ferocious birdbath, he grabbed the leaf in question.

"What are you waiting for?" the little girl demanded.

"I know, I know." Kaito twisted the leaf. There was a long, high-pitched hiss like steam finally escaping from the pot, then the nozzle retreated behind its panel and the eye lenses darkened into dormancy.

"Shinichi!" Hurrying over to the detective's side, Kaito moved to help him up out of his hunched over crouch. "Are you okay?"

"I'm fine, I'm fine," Shinichi assured him. "Just cold and squelchy and feeling kind of gross with water in my shoes."

"You're sure you're okay?"

"It's just water," the detective grumbled. "I'd like some dry clothes though. At least the pot made it through."

Kaito looked at the dripping wet detective then down at the spotless pot cradled in the boy's embrace. "Wow, you saved it. Great job."

"Don't mock me," Shinichi huffed. "Do you know how much food we would have wasted if all that water got into the pot?"

"Guess that would have been a drag," the magician agreed. "I have to say, your friend has some odd ideas about birdbaths."

Shinichi only grunted. Pushing the pot into Kaito's startled hands, he started back out the gate. "You go on ahead. I'm going to go back and change."

X

"You can put that down there," Ai instructed. "Then you can help me set the table."

"Yes ma'am~." He grinned at the flat stare the little girl awarded him. She certainly was the most serious child he'd ever laid eyes on.

Following the girl into the kitchen, he spotted the dove on the windowsill immediately. He ignored it. The dove, true to her training, ignored him as well. Or she did until he passed too close to the window, at which point she spread her wings and darted away.

"By the way, thanks for inviting me to dinner," he said.

Ai handed him a stack of plates before heading over to collect chopsticks from one of the drawers. "Why are you thanking me? Kudo-kun invited you."

"Well yeah, technically speaking. But he said it was your idea."

The little girl only shrugged. "I suppose it was."

"So was there some reason you wanted to see me?"

Ai shot him a sidelong look. "I just wanted to get to know you better."

"Really? I'm flattered."

"Don't be. It's only prudent."

Kaito arched an eyebrow. That acid tone made the girl sound thrice her age. "So does that mean I should be insulted instead?"

"Don't be stupid."

"I'll take that as a no then."

"Hn."

The little scientists watched out of the corner of her eye as the magician helped her carry the food out of the kitchen and set the table. She had to stop him from juggling the dishes. He probably wouldn't have dropped anything, but she didn't want to have to deal with it if he did.

That cheery grin made her feel just this side of uneasy. It wasn't that it was unnatural—far from it. She might even venture to say that she had never seen a more open, honest grin before. And yet she couldn't see behind it. But of course that was only to be expected, she mused, considering who he was.

How did he manage it, she wondered. How could anyone be so open and sincere yet so completely unreadable at the same time? Even now, with the organization gone, she had a hard time just living this new life. At least twice a day, she would find herself looking back—wondering. The old fear and anxiety would spring up unbidden and without warning, and she would have to pull herself together with an effort and remind herself of what her life had become. What her life was now.

Yet here was a man who was still living two lives. Someone who, as far as she could tell, was living both those identities to the fullest, and yet not once had she seen his masks falter. In some ways, she thought, she envied him.

Well Kudo-kun, you certainly do attract the weird ones.

When Shinichi returned, it was to be greeted at the door by the professor himself.

"Shinichi-kun! Ai said you met the new birdbath."

"We met all right," Shinichi grumbled. "I thought you were working on designing a birdbath for monitoring garden health. What part of a healthy garden involves blasting visitors with water?"

The old inventor laughed sheepishly. "Well, I was going to try and have it scan the yard for weeds and insects and any plant illnesses that might need to be dealt with. But it was getting a bit complicated, so I thought, well, it could be a sprinkler system birdbath instead."

"Okay, sprinkler birdbath I understand. Where do the two little eyes and high pressure water blasts come in?"

"Somewhere along the line, he decided it could become a form of security," Haibara's bored voice intoned from the other side of the doorway. "It was supposed to detect intruders and encourage them to leave."

"I'll bet it's great at that," said Kaito, coming up behind the girl.

The professor rubbed the back of his neck, laughing a little. It seemed he couldn't quite make up his mind if he should be happy about the comment or not. "I'm still working on fine tuning the program."

Ai cleared her throat. "I would recommend we continue this conversation inside. The food is going to get cold."

TBC

A.N: To anyone it affects, have a happy July 4th! ^_^