Disclaimer: I do not own Detective Conan/Case Closed.
Pairing: KaitoxShinichi
Chapter Rating: M
Collection Summary: No matter where or what they are, their lives are always entwined. KaiShin stories in fantasy settings.
Chapter Summary: A promising lead in the investigation of Toichi's murder takes Kaito and Shinichi to the home of the secretive Ebon Mages.
Chasing Shadows
[Castle Verse]
Part 9
"I can't say I'm not disappointed," Kaito said later when they were both back in their hotel room. "But it's not a complete miss. We have new leads. Both the books that came up in your search and the two people who borrowed them are worth looking into. Really, I'm glad we found anything at all."
"We can start by looking for those books near home. For all we know, they might be hiding in that last donation of books we got that I haven't finished cataloging yet. We can also ask around. If some of them are collectable books, there are collectors we could talk to."
"And of course those names. Jin, right? Jin and Chris. I'll ask Shiho about them when I go help her with her problem. Once we know who we might be dealing with, we can get out of here, regroup, and plan our next step."
"That won't be for another few days though, right? Do you think we should try to get in contact with Shiho ourselves before that?"
Kaito considered the suggestion then shook his head. "She's much more familiar with Ebon than we are. She knows how to get around things and so on and so forth. If we tried, we might trigger something without meaning to. We'll wait until she comes to us."
"But then…what. We still have a few days and the festival's about over. What are we supposed to do?"
"Didn't Ethan tell you? The mages didn't buy everything, so we have a few stones we can shop around in the jewelers' market. I have my eye on a few myself. In fact, I'm going to go see Ethan about them right now."
"Should I come with you?"
Smiling, Kaito leaned down to steal a kiss from his librarian before drawing away and shaking his head. "No. Just stay here and relax. It's been a long day."
When Kaito returned from his talk with Ethan with a small, padded pouch containing a pair of moonstones and a ruby, he found Shinichi fast asleep. Smiling softly, he stowed his acquisitions away into a hidden pocket sewn into his coat then changed into lighter clothes more suited to sleeping in and slipped into bed next to his slumbering love. He gathered Shinichi against his chest, tucking the smaller boy's head under his chin, and closed his eyes, content that, though they might not have found their answers, they had found solid clues and done so safely. But they weren't at the end of this particular expedition yet. Best to get some rest while they could.
-0-
They spent most of the better part of the following days at the jewelers' market, which was situated in a section of the city that they had not formerly been allowed into. They managed to sell every last gem they had brought and acquired a few interesting pieces themselves to bring back to the Oyumi family.
Shinichi was almost surprised when the evening for carrying out Shiho's request arrived. It seemed both as though they had been in Ebon forever and for no time at all. But here they were, and the best plan they had for actually getting the girl out of the city was still Kaito's idea of sneaking her out in their luggage. The magician had even prepared a secret compartment in a trunk they had purchased for transporting some of their purchases. The major flaw in this plan, however, was that it would mean having to hide the girl for an entire day and a night before they were scheduled to leave at the end of their allotted week.
"That just doesn't seem like it's going to work," Shinichi said, frowning.
"It's a last resort," Kaito replied, mirroring his frown. "I'm going to talk it over in detail with her tonight, but I think the better course of action would be for her to get herself out of the city once we get that imprisonment spell off of her. Then she can meet up with us once we leave."
"That would be better," Shinichi agreed. "It will also be easier for her to get out of the city before they notice her spell's been broken. But do you think she could survive outside the city walls until our caravan leaves?"
With their numerous purchases, the three Oyumi representatives had made arrangements to leave with a trading caravan consisting of several other merchant groups who were departing Ebon at the same time. They had lucked out in their timing as, with the conclusion of the festival, the number of traders who had been in the city and who were now heading out was considerably higher than it would usually have been, meaning a good sized traveling party with plenty of guards that was likely to scare off any potential bandits well before there was any trouble. This caravan was one that most bandits with any brains would think twice before attacking.
"We'll see. Miss Shiho strikes me as the kind of girl who wouldn't have approached us without her own plans ready. I just hope she found us some useful information."
"I guess." Shinichi watched in mild concern from his seat on the edge of their bed as Kaito donned a set of nondescript native Ebon garments complete with hat and gloves against the chill of the mountain night. "I don't understand why I can't go with you."
"You can't go because the spells Miss Shiho gave us won't work right if there's no one with the tokens," Kaito explained patiently. "It'll alter the signals sent by each token to match whatever memories she used to create each masking spell. Think of it like adding a colored lens in front of a white light to change its color. But you can't change the light's color if there's no light. So I'm going to activate these two masking spells Miss Shiho gave us—one for you and one for me—then shift the focus of my token to you. That way our watchers will get two different sets of emotional readings from our room like two of us are here doing something normal."
"Then why don't you just shift the focus of both our tokens to someone else here at the hotel?" Shinichi asked stubbornly. "You'd get the same effect, and I'd be able to go with you. I could keep watch while you and Miss Shiho deal with the mage who put that spell on her."
Kaito only shook his head. "If all goes smoothly, we should be in and out too quickly to need a lookout. Besides, the larger the group, the easier it is to get caught. And if you're the focus, we don't have to worry about a spot check uncovering the fact that we're not in our room."
Shinichi let out a frustrated breath as he looked down at his hands where they were clenched into fists on his knees. "I know, but…"
"Stop worrying." Covering the distance to the bed in two quick strides, Kaito caught Shinichi's chin in one hand and forced the younger boy to look at him. "I'll be fine. So, let's see… I know. Just sit here and think about all the fun we had at that party by the vineyards. You remember that, don't you?" he teased and smirked when he saw the hot blush rising in Shinichi's cheeks. "I see you do."
"I'm more surprised you do," Shinichi grumbled. After all, though they had both been drunk, which was what had led to those particular events in the first place, Kaito had partaken of far more of the spirits that night than Shinichi had because he, unlike Shinichi, had always been good at holding his liquor. It just so happened that the neighboring vineyard's new special brew had been much more potent than anything anyone at the birthday celebration had ever expected. For Shinichi, who had never actually seen Kaito drunk before, the experience had been…enlightening and memorable for many reasons, not the least of which was his discovery that a drunk Kaito was not only a very horny Kaito but also a decidedly wicked Kaito whose natural inclination towards mischief and teasing kicked into overdrive.
"Oh I never forget anything we do together," Kaito declared cheerfully. "Naturally that includes the things we do in bed," he added with a smirk. "Now be a good dear and just think about all the wonderful little games we played that night. I'm sure that will keep you entertained. And I'll be back before you know it."
Shinichi nearly choked on thin air as the magic-laced suggestion hit him.
"That's a dirty trick!" he spluttered, blush darkening.
Kaito only laughed, dropping a quick kiss on his lips. "I never claimed to play fair. Besides, it's for your own good. Better than worrying yourself sick. I'll make it up to you when I get back."
And the magician was gone.
With a groan, Shinichi flopped over onto the bed and covered his face with his hands. His mind flooded with memories—a jumble of sensations and images all tangled together and washed in the fuzzy haze of fermented spirits. Thoughts of being bound and blindfolded, lying helpless on his magician's bed wondering and waiting for what was to come. The (somewhat mortifying) thrill of anticipation when Kaito finally touched him. The pleasure and frustration as the magician's skilled hands and tongue teased his sensitive body mercilessly until he was shamelessly begging Kaito to take him. He'd gotten what he'd asked for and then some. And that had only been the beginning.
Shinichi's face burned at the memories.
He'd been too inebriated at the time to care, but afterward he'd been deeply grateful that Kaito had placed soundproofing spells around their quarters. But those spells hadn't been able to help him hide the obvious limp that that long and very…intense night had left him with for days afterward.
Shinichi's blush deepened as he realized with a start that he was aroused. Mortified, he grabbed a pillow and tried to smother himself with it.
Why had he ever gotten involved with that stupid magician? The man was crazy! Not to mention a pervert. And his sense of humor was obviously broken.
Shinichi spent a moment trying to catalogue all of Kaito's faults in an attempt to stave off that growing desire, but neither his body nor his thoughts wanted to cooperate.
It was rather difficult to be mad at Kaito when all he could think of was the feel of Kaito's calloused hands on his skin. He could remember all too well the feeling of Kaito's cock stretching and filling him, of Kaito's desire as it pulsed inside him, hot and thick and demanding. And of the pleasure of feeling Kaito come inside him, filling him with his magician's essence.
Shinichi moaned.
He wanted it—all of it. And he wanted it now. But Kaito wasn't here.
He whimpered and squirmed, eventually ending up curled around a pillow, panting and shuddering under the phantom caress of memories so vivid that they burned.
-0-
Free of all surveillance for the first time since arriving in Ebon, Kaito glided through the deepening darkness of late evening quick, silent, and unnoticed by all. Part of him wanted to take advantage of this sudden freedom to delve deeper into the secrets of this strange, cold city, but he refrained. In the future, maybe they would have to return and do just that, but, for today, he had a more urgent task to complete.
Following Shiho's directions took him quickly out of the 'public' sectors of Ebon and into areas that looked both more extravagant and more forbidding. His path ended outside a fancy mansion surrounded by gardens turned spooky by nightfall. There, he found a small figure wrapped in a dark cloak waiting for him.
"You know, for a prisoner, you sure get around," he whispered to her as he joined her in an alcove behind a screen of bushes.
Shiho let out an equally quiet snort. "They know I can't get out of the city. So as long as I report for my assignments, they don't care where I go."
Kaito wanted very much to ask the girl what exactly her assignments were and why she was a prisoner, but he knew that now wasn't the time. And he trusted Shinichi's instincts. If Shinichi said the girl was all right then Kaito would give her the benefit of the doubt until and unless she did something to earn his wrath. Still, she just felt strange to him. Not like a child at all.
"So what next?" he asked. "Is your keeper in this mansion behind us?"
"He is," the girl replied. "But he has guests right now. We have to wait until they leave."
"Any idea how long that'll be?"
"It shouldn't be more than half an hour."
"So…what, we just sit here until then?"
"Yes." She cracked a smile at Kaito's incredulous look. "Don't worry. I expect we can put the time to some use. I have some information for you. Though I am afraid it is not as much information as you would like."
Kaito's interest was caught instantly. "Let's hear it then. We can compare notes."
The girl made a noise that might have been a laugh. "First, there are no mages currently in Ebon with an interest in this gem of yours. Though they are interested in the promises of eternal life, as I told you before, they are pursuing this interest through…other channels. As I said, people here don't put much store in Pandora's legend. But there were a small handful of mages that did some years back."
"Was there a Chris or Gin among them?"
Shiho quirked an eyebrow at that. "As a matter of fact, yes. How did you know?"
"They borrowed all the books related to Pandora from your library," he replied with a grimace. "And apparently they haven't returned them."
"Then I'm afraid those books are gone. All five mages studying the Pandora legend left Ebon overnight some twelve years ago."
"Twelve years?" Kaito echoed, startled. The library logs Shinichi had seen hadn't said when the books were checked out. He hadn't expected it to have been such a long time ago. On the other hand, that meant the whole lot would not have been inside Ebon during the magicians' conference where his father was murdered, making them all suspects.
"Twelve years," Shiho confirmed. "You may also be interested to know that, unlike most Ebon Mages, they were all frequent travelers. They did not often go out together—from what I've heard, most of them didn't like one another very much, but they did spend time together. And some people believe that they were all part of a larger group that stretched beyond our walls. It was around when this suspicion about them was leveled that they left the city. The Order does not approve of anyone with split allegiances. They left just before they were to be questioned."
"Very suspicious."
"Indeed. I was able to acquire some information on their backgrounds and skills as well as some copies of some of their travel reports from while they were here—although you must keep in mind that those were the reports they turned in. There is no guarantee that they were truthful."
"I understand. That's more than I had hoped for," he replied with all honesty. "Thank you."
The girl shrugged. "A bargain is a bargain."
Their conversation came to an abrupt halt as they both heard the sound of boots on gravel. Peering out of their hiding place, they saw a group of robed men and women emerge from the mansion's arched gates. The party was illuminated by magical lights that floated above their heads. Together, still murmuring amongst themselves, they made their way down the street.
"It's time to go," Shiho said once the group had disappeared from sight. But rather than heading for the gate, she led Kaito in the opposite direction. The magician observed with approval that she was nearly as skilled at stealth as he was. Add that to her apparent skills with magic, some of which was quite different from the magic that he knew if her spell rings were anything to go by, then she could become an excellent resource if she eventually settled down in his lands. Provided, of course, that she was trustworthy.
They made it onto the mansion grounds by climbing over a part of the garden wall that was festooned with vines. There were protective spells there, but nothing Kaito couldn't have slipped through while half asleep. Shiho too had come prepared, and soon they were slinking right up to the mansion itself.
"I would recommend a glamour," Shiho murmured as they came to a small door probably meant for servants.
Kaito took a moment to check the glamour magic he had set to keep anyone from getting a good look at his features then nodded. "Done. Do we knock?"
"Check first if it's locked. His housekeeper sometimes forgets. Unfortunately, if it is, we will have to lock. The protective spells on the house are more sensitive than the ones on the walls. It would take too long to deal with them properly and not set off more alarms. You can tell the servant who answers that we're here with a message for the master."
"I can manage that," Kaito said with a grin. "But if it's a lack of witnesses we want, I have a better solution." He jiggled the door handle. It was locked. Instead of knocking, however, he produced a lock pick and, well, dealt with it. The door had two separate locks. Both clicked open within the minute.
Shiho was impressed, but she only nodded. "Since he just had a meeting, he will be in his study. Just follow me."
The mansion was mostly dark but for a scattering of covered lanterns probably meant to help anyone making their way to a restroom or down to the kitchen in the middle of the night for a midnight snack. The ground was covered in deep, soft carpets, and Kaito was glad that Shiho had reminded him to magic his books clean before setting foot inside. There were tapestries and paintings on almost every wall and the occasional, ornate statue.
The little girl led the way through the mansion with the sure swiftness of someone who knew exactly where she was going.
The mansion had three labyrinthine floors. It was to the far western corner of the highest level that Shiho led them. They saw the light under the door all the way from the end of the hall. At that point, they paused. They assured themselves that neither of them could hear or sense any others stirring in the mansion.
"So, before we do this, there are a few things we need to iron out," Kaito murmured. "You asked me for my help because my particular gift gives me the power to force your keeper to remove his spell. But he will know what has happened. I can order him not to think too much about it, but the effects will wear off."
"I thought of that," Shiho murmured. "I considered a memory erasure—"
"But he'd notice the gap eventually unless he's a total dolt."
"I realized that," the girl replied dryly. "Which is why I made this."
She produced a tiny jewel and held it up. It glittered from within with its own eerie, blue green light.
"I developed this when I developed the masking spells," she said with a certain level of well-deserved pride. "I call it a Walk-In Dream."
Kaito arched an eyebrow. "Sounds interesting. What's it do?"
"It begins by putting the subject to sleep, but he will wake at a preset cue," she explained. "In this case, it will be when we open the door. However, he will feel as though he is dreaming, and, to him, we will take on the guises of specific characters. The first to walk through the door will appear to him to be his old teacher. I found the man's picture in the records. I would like you to take on this role. The second to enter will appear to be another student he studied with. I will take on that role."
Kaito grinned. "Ah, I see. So we could pretend that he was being tested on the imprisonment spell. We left the room to test if it was working. Now we're back so he can show me that he also knows how to take it off."
Shiho blinked then nodded. "That sounds reasonable. Once we are done, I will close the Walk-In Dream, and he will fall asleep again."
Plans made, they ghosted up to the mage's office door. Kaito traced a circle on the wood. The area within his circle shimmered, and suddenly it was as though he was looking through a window at a study lined with bookshelves. A very old mage was seated inside at an enormous desk piled high with documents, files, and books. Mage lights glowed in every corner of the room.
"He's reading at his desk," Kaito whispered. "Now should be a good time."
Shiho nodded and closed her fist around the blue green jewel she was using to carry her spell. She closed her eyes and began chanting under her breath. The jewel's inner light grew brighter for a fleeting second then winked out.
Inside the office, the old mage yawned once, twice, then slumped over his open book.
Kaito opened the study door.
"It worked," he announced, and the old mage jerked up in his seat, blinking blearily at Kaito.
"M—Master!" he exclaimed, rising hastily to his feet and looking equal parts pleased and confused. "Uh, what worked?"
"The imprisonment spell, obviously," Kaito said impatiently. "The one you're being tested on."
"O—oh. Uh, so it worked?"
"Yes. Excellent job, my young pupil. Now see if you can remove it. Not much point in mastering this kind of spell if you don't also master how to take it off."
"Of course." The man hurried around his desk, stumbling a little as though he couldn't quite control his limbs properly. But he eventually ended up next to Shiho, who obligingly pulled off her sock and shoe and presented him with her foot.
"Right, um, let me see," the man muttered as he peered at the runes around her ankle. "Ah, right. I should remember… I think it was…" Raising both hands, he began chanting and making intricate hand gestures over the rune-encircled foot. The runes began to glow as he chanted. Then, one by one, they faded into nothing.
He turned to Kaito with an almost puppy-like hopefulness that was so at odds with his old, wrinkled face that it took every ounce Kaito's legendary self control not to laugh.
"Well done," he said instead. "The last part of today's exams will be a written explanation of the theory behind the spell you just cast. I want it on my desk by this evening."
"I'll get to it right away Sir." The old mage returned to his seat like an obedient student and began searching for a blank piece of parchment. That was when he once again quite suddenly slumped forward over his desk and began to snore."
"Well that was easy," Kaito mused, looking down at the slumbering mage. "You might not have needed my powers really. Any convincing actor would do."
"But your power made it a guarantee," Shiho replied before looking up to meet his gaze straight on. "Thank you. I will never forget this debt."
Kaito smiled but shrugged. "Don't mention it. You did help us find some information we needed. Really though, we're not out of the woods yet. I assume these people are still going to notice sooner or later that you're gone. Our caravan is leaving in two days. If they don't notice before that, you could sneak out in our luggage. But if they do…"
"They will. I plan to leave the city tonight."
"And then what? Try to get down the mountain on your own? It won't be easy."
Shiho lowered her head. "I know, but I…"
"Then find somewhere good to hide until our caravan leaves. Then you can either follow us or meet up with us, whichever you think will work better. Between the three of us, we should be able to find some way to get you all the way out of Ebon reach. In fact, I was going to offer you a place at my castle, if you're interested."
"I…what?" The girl sounded startled for the first time since he'd met her.
Kaito laughed. "We'll talk more about it later. For now, you should get going." And Kaito had to get back and soothe his Shin-chan's ruffled feathers before Shinichi decided to ask the kitchens to make them salmon for dinner every day for the next month. He shuddered at that thought. Shinichi was typically very tolerant of the magician's shenanigans, but, when he got really upset, meals at the castle would inevitably take on a seafood theme.
-To be Continued-
