Disclaimer: I don't own DCMK

Sky Colored Eyes

40: Echoes

It was late evening. The police were still cleaning up the department store and questioning the staff members and the visitors and the passersby and the—well, you get the picture. The number of people they needed to get testimonies from was enormous. It was going to take all night. And so Shinichi, much to Kaito's surprise, had decided to go to sleep.

They were, he'd pointed out, in a hotel after all. There was a clean bed. Two in fact. And Shinichi, though he hated admitting it, was feeling the strain of their hectic morning. Not wanting to push himself into another seizure, he had decided that he needed to get at least a couple hours of rest.

Left to his own devices, Kaito took up residence by the balcony window, keeping one eye on the activity across the street and the other on his sleeping companion. His own mind was wide awake, but though he might have expected himself to feel restless at this sudden lull in the day, he wasn't. In fact, he felt strangely at peace.

Shinichi had taken the whole confrontation much more easily than he had expected. It was both surprising and encouraging.

And it had been freeing too, he mused, to finally tell his own story to someone. It wasn't just the sharing either. It was the fact that he had, of his own volition, chosen to share for no greater reason than the desire to do so.

In contrast to Shinichi's calm acceptance of his story, Kaito found himself unsettled by the detective's tale. Sure, he had guessed at some of it, and he'd known from the beginning that it had to be a pretty crazy story. After all, people didn't just get younger every day. If they did, Kaito himself wouldn't be hunting down a gem that granted eternal life. No, it wasn't the age reduction part of the story that bothered him. It was everything else.

He'd noticed long ago that Tantei-kun tripped over way more than his fair share of trouble. It was hard not to notice, and the thief himself had teased him about it on occasion. But it wasn't until he'd heard the whole story from Shinichi that it had really struck him just how close to disaster the boy had come.

Propping his elbow on the table, Kaito dropped his chin into his palm, indigo eyes going distant.

Shinichi could have—should have, even—died that night in Tropical Land. It was only dumb luck that he had been among the zero point some percent of victims that the poison didn't just kill (according to the detective himself). And had he learned his lesson? No. Or at least not that Kaito could see. The boy was still throwing himself after criminals head first. As Conan, he'd been forced to drag along adults like Mouri Kogoro (with his formidable judo skills) if he wanted to get anything done, but that hadn't stopped the little detective from running off on his own whenever a thought about a possible clue or whatnot popped into his head. And what about that time he'd run into those alleys after the jewelry store robber? If Kaito hadn't been passing by, he shuddered to think what the front page news the following day would have been.

"You know what?" he said, turning to face the sleeping figure on the bed. "You're actually pretty damned lucky you haven't gotten yourself killed yet. That must be why your luck stinks the rest of the time. You've used it all up staying alive."

There was no answer.

Not that Kaito was expecting one. Shinichi really could sleep like a rock.

Rising from his chair, the thief padded over to the side of the bed. He looked down into the detective's slumbering face. Sleep had softened the boy's features, sweeping away the stress lines and smoothing away the frowns. The muted light seeping through the gauzy curtains added to the atmosphere, painting the room in soft, hazy veils of light and shadow. It settled over the blankets and threaded through black hair. Under its ethereal touch, It almost looked as though the detective had a halo.

Kaito laughed silently. Reaching down, he gently brushed the boy's bangs away from his face.

He didn't know whether to say the detective was brave or stupid to actually go to sleep with a newly revealed criminal in the room. Did he have no sense of self preservation? Didn't he realize how vulnerable he was leaving himself? Even if the criminal in question wasn't known to kill, most people would be more cautious.

Of course, maybe it wasn't bravery or stupidity. It was possible that Shinichi felt comfortable enough to sleep because he trusted his companion, thief or not.

Kaito's lips quirked up at the corners. It would be nice to think that was the case.

He wanted Shinichi to trust him.

He wanted to be the one Shinichi came to for help—to be someone Shinichi not only could but would rely on. He wanted to be the knight who would protect Shinichi from the shadows that still haunted his eyes and show him the brilliance of the dawn. He wanted to be the one who understood.

But he couldn't say it. Not yet.

X

Blue eyes opened slowly to a room flooded with the warm oranges and rich yellows of sunset. For a long moment, Shinichi simply looked at the sun-painted wall, mind in a comfortable haze like the last vestiges of a pleasant dream. He couldn't remember the last time he'd slept so well. The thought was enough to distract him from the unfamiliar color of the wall.

Where was he again? His brows furrowed slightly in confusion, but he was too comfortable to panic. Instead, he flipped leisurely back through his memories.

Oh, right. He'd gone to meet the journalist. The whole thing had turned out to be a trap (as they'd expected). Then he'd spoken to—

A phone rang. He recognized his own ring tone. The sound was coming from the nightstand between the hotel room's two beds.

He rolled over, intending to pick it up, but another hand beat him to it. The other hand plucked his phone off the table right before his eyes before his own voice answered it.

"Hello? Oh, Takagi-keiji. Yes, yes it was," his voice said. "I took care of the explosives. Yes, I know. It's a long story. I'll come down to the station to give you my statement. Oh, actually, I would like that very much. Right, right. I'll be there."

And the call ended.

The speaker set Shinichi's phone back down on the nightstand and turned to give the detective lying on the bed a toothy grin. "Well then, Sleeping Beauty, it seems it's your turn to get grilled. You feeling up to it? If you're not, I could probably go in your stead."

"…" Shinichi gave the magician a deadpan stare before levering himself into a sitting position. "That would be a crime," he grumbled.

Kaito pulled on a mock hurt expression. "I was just trying to help out a friend. How is that a crime?"

Shinichi snorted. "I appreciate the thought, but legality is not determined by motive. And really, I'm fine. Actually, I feel a lot better than I have in a while," he added more to himself than to Kaito. He slipped his shoes back on and stood. Turning, he smiled at Kaito. It was a genuine, open smile, and it made Kaito's breath hitch for a moment, though Shinichi didn't notice. "I'm ready. Let's go see what the police have found."

"They don't know I was there," Kaito pointed out. "And I would prefer to keep it that way."

"I'll tell them I ran into you on my way to dispose of the explosives. They know you're working on the case with me, so it shouldn't be too much trouble to get them to let you in too."

Kaito chuckled. "Well, in that case, how could I say no?"

"Just—please don't cause any trouble."

"I give you my solemn word as a phantom thief, I will not cause any unnecessary trouble while we are at the police station."

"That…sounded kind of wrong."

"Tsk, tsk, we're wasting time here, my dear detective. We can come back here and sort the rest out later if you want. Oh, and here, put these on. They're some spare clothes I picked up while you were sleeping. Can't have you walking around in a nice hotel all sooty."

Shinichi sighed at the delay but obliged. It was a little awkward changing with Kaito watching him the whole time. Blushing, he finally turned to the magician and snapped, "Do you mind?"

"Mind what?"

"Just turn around or something!"

Kaito laughed. "Oh, don't mind me. So they fit, right?"

"Very well," the detective grumbled. He wondered briefly if he wanted to know how Kaito knew all his measurements. He decided to chalk it up to the magician thief having had lots of practice analyzing people for disguise purposes and leave it at that.

"So what did you tell them I wanted to do?" he asked as he folded up his sooty garments. He didn't have anything to carry them with, but seeing as it was already quite late in the day, it meant Kaito must have the room for the night. He could come back later to pick up anything he had to leave behind.

"Apparently the two culprits are awake. Takagi-keiji asked if you'd like to be present during the interrogation. You said yes."

"You mean you said yes," the detective retorted, though there wasn't any heat to it. After all, Kaito hadn't actually said anything that Shinichi wouldn't have said had it really been him on the phone.

"Yep. Anyway, they're going to start without us. But, if we hurry, we should be able to make it for part of the conversation."

X

Kaito kept a close eye on Shinichi as they left the hotel and headed for the police station. He wasn't sure what he'd been expecting exactly, but it was still a bit surreal how the boy could go straight back into the case like they'd never had their little interlude. Still, it was good to know that the new knowledge wasn't going to cause any huge changes to the way Shinichi behaved around him. At the same time, it made him wonder if the detective had really digested the information or if he was just putting off thinking about it. It was hard to tell. Both options were plausible. Either way, it was easy to see that the case took precedence above all else in Shinichi's mind.

Kaito had thought to park his motorcycle nearby, so they ended up riding the motorcycle instead of walking all the way or calling a taxi.

When they arrived at the station, it was to find a rather grim atmosphere.

"Kudo-kun," Satou-keiji greeted as they came in. Then her gaze landed on Kaito and her eyes narrowed. "And you are?"

"Kuroba Kaito, at your service," he replied with a deep bow and a charming smile. "I'm Shinichi's friend from school. I've been helping him in his investigations recently."

"I ran into him on my way here," Shinichi hurried to explain. "When he heard what had happened, he said he'd like to tag along."

"I see. I remember now. You were there when we brought Hasagawa-san in after her escape." Satou gave the magician another long look before dismissing his presence as unimportant. "They're in the interrogation room right now. Although it's starting to look like we're not going to get anything from either of them."

"What have they said?" Shinichi asked, trailing after the policewoman.

She snorted. "Not much. The janitor has been completely unresponsive to our questions. Instead, he keeps talking to someone called Jackie. I'm not even sure he notices any of us are around. He hasn't looked directly at anyone. We're planning to call in a psychiatrist to speak with him tomorrow. Two officers just left to take him to the hospital."

"Do you have any idea who this Jackie is?"

"From the man's conversations with himself, he or she appears to be someone he feels he has to prove himself to. Chiba-keiji is looking into it."

"What about the woman?"

"Her name is Izuma Yukari. She's been working at that restaurant for only three months or so, though she's had similar positions before. In fact, some years ago, she used to be the private chef for a very wealthy family. But she left their services when she lost her daughter. She couldn't stand living where the memories were anymore."

"She lost her daughter?" Kaito asked, curious.

"Yes. The girl was only four years old. She was kidnapped. Long story short, the poor girl was abducted. With the help of her employers, Izuma hired a detective to track down the men and hopefully her daughter. But though they did catch the kidnappers, it was already too late for the girl." Satou's lips thinned as her shoulders tensed and her jaw set. "The police working on the case then found out afterward that those bastards had been planning to kidnap the daughter of the family Izuma-san was working for, but they realized they'd gotten the wrong girl shortly after they ran off with her. Deciding a chef's daughter wasn't worth trying to ransom, they killed her and dumped her body in the river. That was why they just disappeared without a word after the kidnapping instead of making any contact for demands."

Neither teen said anything. It was a pretty dreadful thing for anyone to have to go through. Shinichi could only imagine how terrible it must have been for the woman. As if it wasn't bad enough that she had lost her daughter, she had to endure the knowledge that her daughter's life had been thrown away by men who deemed it worthless just because her family wasn't rich. It was a cruel and pointless twist of fate.

"And that's not all," Satou continued. "Her husband died in a car accident less than a year after that. The man driving the car that hit him was a con artist. He'd been uncovered by a detective working with someone he'd defrauded, but the conman escaped while they were waiting for the police to come collect him."

"I guess that explains why she doesn't like detectives," Shinichi murmured.

"But enough to want to murder you just because you are one?" Kaito cut in, incredulity thick in his voice. "And take off half the building's top while she was at it? I don't buy it."

"We're pretty sure there has to be someone behind her—their—actions, but she won't tell us. Maybe you'll have more luck. Here we are," the officer announced, opening the door to the interrogation room.

Inside, the woman who had just that morning served Shinichi coffee and pastries like any other member of any other restaurant staff might sat on one side of the bare interrogation table. Across from her sat Takagi-keiji. The male officer was looking a bit flustered and uncertain.

"But surely you had a reason?" he asked, probably not for the firs time. "I mean, you're not denying that you participated in the attempt to blow up the restaurant."

The woman shrugged. "There's no point in making denials."

"But why? Why did you do it?"

"Why do you care what my reasons were?" she shot back.

"I…well, I just…want to understand…"

A loud snort was his only response.

"Do you really want to take full responsibility for what happened when it wasn't really your idea?" Shinichi asked.

The woman's gaze snapped over to the group by the interrogation room door. Recognition dawned on her face when she spotted him, and she sneered. "Naïve little brat. You act all high and mighty, but you can't do anything, can you? You think you can make things better? That you're fixing the world or some other pompous drivel like that. But it's all just an illusion. You can't make anything better. You can't save the dead, and you can't stop them from dying. So what good are you? None, that's what. So don't go around presuming you can tell me how I should or shouldn't want to be."

The two police officers traded meaningful glances as this was the most the woman had said to anyone since her arrival. Maybe they were getting somewhere.

Sadly, after her little outburst, Izuma Yukari went right back into a sullen silence.

Back out in the observation room where he'd been watching the proceedings, Shiratori shook his head. "I swear, those two are certifiable. If only we could find some clue as to who put them up to it. Clearly neither of them is the mastermind type."

"Clearly," Kaito agreed. He hadn't been allowed into the interrogation room itself, so he had watched the little spate of conversation from behind the tinted glass with Shiratori-keiji. "So the question is how and why."

The officer gave him a look with raised eyebrows. "Don't you mean who?"

Kaito returned the look with his Poker Face grin. "If we knew how and why, we'd know who."

X

"Ready to go home, Shinichi?"

The detective looked up as Kaito approached and nodded. A long breath left him in an exhale that could have sunk ships. "I guess we might as well. We can sort out everything we've learned and try to piece them together tomorrow when everyone's had some time to rest and really absorb everything."

"Good plan." Kaito made a mental note to swing by the hotel later to pick up their things. "Be prepared. I'm sure Aoko's going to blow out our eardrums when she hears about this."

Shinichi winced. He could imagine it all too well. He called out a farewell to the police officers before following Kaito back out onto the street.

"So what did you think?" he asked once the station doors had shut behind them.

"Other than that those two were both total nutcases? I'd say it's safe to assume they're both related to the cult. They show all the signs."

"Yeah…"

"Problem? Did you notice something else?"

"Oh, no, it's not that. I just… It's just that I've always believed that finding and revealing the truth can help people—that it can, if not give them peace, at least help them on the way to finding it."

"But now you see people like Izuma-san, and you don't know if it's true or not that truth can save souls."

Shinichi paused, mulling over Kaito's words, then nodded, gaze distant.

He would never stop believing that truth was important. There were just times when he had to wonder if people like that woman might have a point too. It was true that, more often than not, all he could do was point out the culprit. Doing so wouldn't bring back the dead. It couldn't. It couldn't even stop the victims who weren't gone yet from dying. Only luck and emergency medical skills could do that, and those only worked a handful of times in the cases he'd run into.

Perhaps it really was a delusion, to believe that detective work could actually fix the world somehow. He'd solved hundreds of cases, but there were always more. People didn't seem to be learning their lessons, and the same mistakes were being made in a variety of inventive but essentially identical ways. There were even times when people had been upset at him for revealing that someone they cared about had, in fact, been the killer.

He supposed the problem was that, no matter what turn things took, someone always got the short end of the stick. Was it even possible for everyone to find happiness at the same time? He suspected that, if he were to pose the question, most would say it was impossible.

On the other hand, if both paths had their problems, he would choose the truth over a pleasant lie, he decided. All considered, the first step to solving any problem was to understand it. False information, no matter how comforting, couldn't help you do that. He'd learned that much at least from his own experiences.

"I still believe it's true," he said aloud.

Kaito arched an eyebrow at the renewed confidence in the detective's voice and face. A fond smile pulled at the corners of his lips. He reached over and ruffled the detective's hair, ignoring the shorter teen's exasperated protest. "That's good then. You wouldn't be you if you stopped believing in the fundamental value of truth. And for the record, I believe in it too."

"You?" Shinichi couldn't hide his shock at the claim.

The magician chuckled. "I suppose it sounds a bit strange coming from me. But if you think about it, you'll see that you have to understand the value of truth before you can determine when, where, how, and to whom it should be revealed."

"…I feel kind of sad that I understood that."

"What? Why?"

Shinichi sighed, but Kaito was interested to note that he was smiling. It was a small and slightly rueful smile, but it was still enough to chase away the doubts that had been behind those blue eyes a moment ago. "Would you like to stay for dinner?"

Kaito beamed and slung an arm over Shinichi's shoulders. "I'd love to."

TBC

A.N: Updates for this story are going to be slow for a while because I looked at my original plans for it and decided there's a lot I need to change. Please bear with me. ^.^ Slow but not stopped! Anyhow, I'll put up more of my other stories in the meantime. I wish you all a merry Christmas and a happy New Year!