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Sky Colored Eyes

49: Murmur

"Kudo?" a loud, Kansai-accented voice exclaimed.

Kaito turned around to stare at the dark, irate face. He recognized the detective from Osaka who sometimes helped his Tantei-kun on heists, but he'd never interacted much with the loud, impulsive teen.

"Excuse me?" he asked, schooling his face into the picture of confusion.

Hattori, however, wasn't listening. "What happened ta keeping in touch?! I thought we went over this already! What happened to ya anyway? You look…different." The Osakan detective trailed off as he finally seemed to realize that the person standing in front of him wasn't quite the Shinichi he remembered. He stared at the spiky mess of hair. Kudo's hair had never looked like that even on the worst of days. He'd gotten taller too. And had his eyes always been that color? What about that expression of bemused incomprehension? Kudo looked like he'd never seen Hattori before…

Wait…

"Uh," Hattori started then paused. He coughed lightly. "You're…not Kudo, are ya?"

"Nope," Kaito agreed, hiding a smirk at the detective's rapidly growing embarrassment. "If it helps, I have been mistaken for Kudo Shinichi before—presuming that is the Kudo you're referring to. I assume you're a friend of his?"

"Well, yeah." Hattori laughed, scratching at the back of his head. "Really sorry about that. I just, uh, haven't seen him in a while. And you really look like you two could be related. You're not, are you?"

Kaito burst out laughing. "No, no, though I did check up on our family trees after I saw his picture in the papers a few years back. My name is Kuroba Kaito, soon to be the best magician in the world."

"A magician, huh?"

"Yep. And you are?"

"Ah, right. Sorry. Hattori Heiji."

Kaito affected an air of excitement. "You're that detective from Osaka?"

Hattori looked pleased. "That's right. So you've heard of me?"

"A classmate of mine goes on and on about what a hothead you are every time your name comes up in the news."

Hattori scowled. "What?"

"He's a detective too," Kaito continued, snickering on the inside while he kept his face cheerfully oblivious. "His name's Hakuba Saguru. I think he said you've met."

"That bastard," Hattori growled, eyebrows twitching. "Ya mean he's still going on about that?"

"He does tend to be pretty pigheaded once he's made up his mind," Kaito agreed amiably. "So was it true then? That you messed up the crime scene you two were working on?"

The Osakan spluttered. "I did not! I just thought the victim might still be alive. That jerk. Actin' like it's a crime ta wanna find out if there's anything ya might be able ta do for a dying man."

Kaito listened to the Osakan continue to rant about the blonde and his prim and proper ways, and Kaito thought that he might be able to get along with this particular detective. Well, just so long as he didn't interfere with Kaito's plans regarding Shinichi.

Speaking of Shinichi, why hadn't he come out yet?

As though in answer to his thoughts, the door leading back into the costume collection and dressing room portion of the shop burst open, and the blue-eyed boy he'd been thinking about was bodily thrown through it by a smirking Sonoko.

"We're all set!" she declared, eyes gleaming with the madness of art.

Both Hattori and Kaito stared: the former in shock and the latter in amused appreciation. Shinichi blushed under the weight of their gazes and glared back, daring them to say anything. Sonoko had bullied him into a dark blue version of Ran's peach blossom kimono (probably to show his and Ran's characters' role as siblings). The colors were muted, so the pattern wasn't obvious. What made Kaito and Hattori stare was the little hat perched on top of the detective's head. It too had a peach blossom attached to it.

"Don't laugh," Shinichi warned, cheeks flushing a shade darker.

Hattori looked like he was going to laugh anyway, but he was distracted as he looked from his friend to Kaito and back again. "Wait. You two know each other?"

"We're classmates," Shinichi explained. "We met when I started attending Ekoda High."

"Though apparently we knew each other as children," Kaito butted in. "Our parents say we played together once or twice when we were toddlers."

"And you're sure you're not related?"

"Absolutely."

"Ya have any relatives in Kyoto then?"

It was Kaito's turn to look puzzled. "No. Why?"

"Man, this is just crazy," the Osakan muttered to himself, apparently too lost in thoughts of the bizarre nature of the universe to hear the magician's question. "It's like there's someone clonin' ya or something."

Kaito turned to Shinichi. "What is he talking about?"

Shinichi sighed. "Just ignore him." He gave his outfit a self-conscious tug, fighting back a grimace before setting off up the stairs. He wondered if there was a plausible excuse for chucking the hat back down the stairs. "Let's just go so we can get this over with."

"Hey, wait!" Heiji exclaimed, whipping around. "Kudo. I wanted ta talk to ya!"

"Oi, we're on a tight schedule," Sonoko cut in before the Osakan could get another word out. "You can talk after we're done."

X

Kaito was honestly not sure how he was feeling right now. The idea of a story-themed photo shoot actually sounded fun to him. And the story Sonoko had concocted, while predictable in many ways, sounded solid enough. There would be plenty of room for dramatic moments and whatnot, and that was where the fun really lay. But Kaito wasn't sure he could play his part the way Sonoko wanted him to.

He had the strong impression that she was trying to set him up with Ran. It was in the way she spoke to them and the way she insisted on so many pictures of him embracing her or holding her hand or simply gazing adoringly at her from a distance like some idiot in a romantic drama.

He could do all that. It was easy for an actor of his caliber. But the problem was that the only person he really wanted to look at was Shinichi.

Whatever else she might be, Sonoko had an eye for clothes. She'd chosen just the right shade of blue to bring out the brilliant sapphire of Shinichi's eyes and the more delicate features he had inherited from his mother.

Fortunately, he had long honed the ability to hide his distraction, and Hattori's continued grumbling kept everyone else distracted.

"I don't see why I have to be the bad guy," the Osakan complained as he was ushered back in front of the camera.

"Don't think about it that way," Kazuha told him. "You're just being an overprotective father."

"That's the other thing. Why the hell am I the dad? Suzuki and I look nothing alike."

"I already told you, that's what the beard is for," Sonoko snapped.

"Making me wear a fake beard isn't going to hide the fact that we got nothing in common."

"Then we'll just say I take after my mom. Just shut up and go stand at the top of those stairs in front of the fake doors. You're supposed to be announcing a grand tournament. You, guards people, stand on either side of him and look intimidating. And let's lower the camera and angle it upward. That'll make the steps look taller."

With much shuffling and more instructions from Sonoko, the photo shoot continued.

Taking off the dark cloak that Sonoko had tossed over him for a scene where he was supposedly spying on the many entrants in the tournament, Shinichi sighed. He had a few minutes now to relax while Kaito and Ran were ushered over to the set in the corner where there was a low table in front of a folding screen. Upon the table sat a full set of fine china teacups and a willow-patterned teapot. He dropped the cloak by the door and sat down on the floor next to it, leaning his back against the wall. He felt drained even though all he had been doing was standing in different poses while Sonoko prattled at him. The heavy fabric of the kimono was hot, and the room, spacious though it was, was beginning to feel stuffy with all the students and the cameras and bright lights all meshing together to create a sweltering kind of chaos that weighed down on the mind.

Or maybe he was just plain old tired because he'd been forced to get up so early in the morning and then hadn't had much to drink. The last beverage he had consumed had been his morning pot of coffee. Maybe he was dehydrated.

Mind still wandering in lazy and slightly aimless circles, he found his eyes drifting to where Ran was pouring Kaito a cup of tea. Camera flashes went off around them, sparkling in the tea and flinging radiant flecks across the crockery. The two were smiling again, as per Sonoko's orders. But to Shinichi's tired mind, the scene suddenly looked a lot less staged and a lot more genuine.

Ran was smiling, a barely detectable blush dusted across her cheeks. That had to be real. Ran wasn't much of an actor. Then again, it was only natural that she would blush, considering the way Kaito was smiling at her.

Shinichi frowned slightly. Something in his stomach twisted, and he felt a little sick.

He tore his eyes away. There was a small table piled high with water bottles next to him. He snatched a bottle and twisted off the cap. The water was cold and a little stale, but it was the shock he needed to clear his mind.

Still though. Ran really had looked happy. Maybe Sonoko had had it right for once. That wouldn't be a bad thing. Ran was an honest girl, and Kaito was a good person even if he was a thief. He was trustworthy.

It could work, his inner Sonoko—and oh the horror of having an inner Sonoko—whispered in that conspiratorial way of hers that he knew and feared. It could, but… Something about that picture just…

He shook his head, downing the rest of his water in a few long gulps. Contrary to his hopes, the water didn't make him feel any better. If it wasn't dehydration though, he didn't know what it was. Unless, of course, it was just exhaustion warping his thoughts.

"What's the matter? You look pale."

Shinichi nearly jumped out of his skin. His empty water bottle slipped from his fingers, but a hand caught it before it could hit the floor. The detective looked up to find Kaito giving him a distinctly concerned look. For some reason, that look made Shinichi's stomach flip flop in a most disconcerting way, and he looked down again at the bottle in Kaito's hands.

"I'm just tired," he said, though he wasn't sure who he was trying to convince: Kaito or himself. "Could you throw that in the recycling bin for me?"

"No problem." Turning, Kaito lobbed the bottle all the way across the room and into the recycling bin in the corner opposite. He smirked and made a bow when several people clapped. Then he plopped himself down right next to Shinichi.

"It is pretty hot in here," he said, grabbing a water bottle for himself—or rather snapping his fingers at the water bottles, causing one to fly into his hand. "It's all the stage lights. Maybe you need another bottle?"

Shinichi glanced at the bottle being waved under his nose then shook his head. "Thanks, but no. I think I just need to sit a bit. And pray to every god in existence that Sonoko lets us out soon."

Kaito laughed. "There can't be that many scenes left. Besides, she's got a time limit. Probably why she's being such a slave driver."

"She's always a slave driver when she wants something."

"Well, she certainly gets things done."

Shinichi snorted. "That she does."

They sat there in companionable silence for several minutes as Hattori and the other 'aristocrats' posed for some pre-tournament celebration pictures and Sonoko's 'birthday' party pictures. Then it was time for the fight scenes.

"The only fun part," Hattori declared with no little amount of glee.

"You're the lord. You don't fight in the tournament," Sonoko informed him.

"What? But I'm hosting the damned thing!"

"Yes, to help your daughter find a husband. The father should not figure into the picture come game day. Idiot."

"Okay, fine. But I can play the extras. You don't have nearly enough guys fighting to make the shots look cool."

This argument seemed to work because Hattori was allowed to remove his fake beard and take up a sword. Kaito too was called in to be an extra. And since it would defeat the point of his role for him to be recognizably himself, he got the fake beard. Shinichi almost choked trying to swallow a laugh.

This time it was Ran who slid down the wall to sit next to him. Their shoulders almost bumped. She didn't seem to notice. He didn't notice either. What he did notice was the way her eyes stayed on Kaito throughout the entirety of the staged tournament.

"He's amazing," Ran murmured, awed. "It's like he really becomes whatever character he's playing."

"He likes performing," Shinichi replied, smiling a little at the drastic understatement. "He's having fun."

"That's good. I really am sorry that Sonoko dragged you all into this. But she put a lot of time and effort into this project, and, well, the class wanted it to work too. Everyone worked hard."

"Well, whatever happens, I'm sure you're all going to remember this project for the rest of your lives. That's how it's supposed to be with friends, right?"

"Yeah…" They fell silent again as the 'fighting' came to an end. Then Sonoko was waving at Ran.

The brunette stood up. "Looks like it's my turn again. You know, you could take a nap. I don't think anyone will mind. And Kaito-kun will worry less if you do."

Shinichi blinked up at her. "Huh?"

She smiled and patted him on the head. "I guess you don't see it. But that's just you being you, isn't it? Anyway, don't worry about it too much. These things take time. They can't be forced. We learned that the hard way, didn't we?"

"You've lost me…"

But by then Ran had already gone.

Kaito returned to reclaim his former seat, though his expression was one of bemusement.

"Hey Shin-chan," he said the moment the girl was out of earshot. "Did she seriously just pat you on the head?"

Shinichi blushed and ducked his head, scowling and looking, to Kaito's eye, simply adorable in his embarrassment.

"I guess it's an old habit from my…shorter days," he grumped.

Kaito laughed.

TBC