Disclaimer: I do not own Detective Conan/Case Closed.

Lyrical Spices

Cocoa

[Song Inspiration: Bring Me the Night by Sam Tsui ]

"Uh, Kaito, what is that?" Aoko asked, leaning across the library table to stare at her friend's open notebook. They were supposed to be studying for an exam, but that did not look anything like any material from their class. Hell, it didn't look like any material from their university. Whatever it was, it looked extremely complicated, and the whole thing just screamed 'I'm up to no good'. Or at least it did to Aoko, who knew Kuroba Kaito well enough to understand that anything he paid that much attention to had to be hazardous to somebody. Though no doubt he would call it entertainment.

"Don't worry," Kaito said without looking up from his lists of calculations. "You'll find out what it is next week."

Aoko wondered if she should skip the class she had with Kaito next week. Honestly, they were in university now, and Kaito was still pulling pranks. She'd hoped he'd grow out of it. But he hadn't. Instead, his pranks had grown more elaborate.

"Well, I'm going to go now. I'm meeting Saguru for dinner."

"Ah. You have my condolences."

Aoko rolled her eyes. She had long since given up on scolding Kaito for making derogatory comments about her boyfriend.

Kaito waited until he was sure that Aoko was gone before shutting his notebook and packing his things. It had taken her longer to leave than he'd expected. Whistling to himself, he left the library. He had an art gallery to scope out.

The sky outside was already beginning to darken.

Kaito smirked to himself. He always felt more alive at night. He was in his element after dark. That mysterious world of shadows and phantoms was his domain, and in it he was unstoppable.

His next heist was going to be at the Mizuki Art Gallery. A new jewelry exhibit was scheduled to open there soon, and there was at least one gem in the collection that he had been itching to get a hold of for a while now.

Well, he called it his next heist, but it would be more accurate to call it his next official heist. He had originally planned to wait until afterward to play another of his little games with his Tantei-kun, but that would mean waiting at least another three weeks before he could see his little detective again. The exhibit he was targeting wasn't even going to open for another week, and then there was the fine tuning for his plans and the full moon to wait for.

He didn't want to wait that long.

When had he started measuring his days by his encounters with Tantei-kun? It was ridiculous, really. They weren't really doing anything particularly out of the ordinary. They were only entertaining themselves with some friendly competition. And yet, even when all they were doing was stargazing over cups of hot coco, Kaito always found himself feeling more—alive? Content? Exhilarated? It was all of that and more.

When he was with his little detective, he knew that this was the person he wanted to be with. The person who could understand him and accept him for all his many quirks and faults. And someone he was more than happy to accept in return—to hold and protect and dance with and whisper little secrets to: of life and dreams and shadows and love…

Love.

That was it, wasn't it? He was in love.

How odd.

He hadn't planned for that to happen. In fact, after he'd admitted that he and Aoko weren't going to work out, he'd planned to wait on the search for a romantic interest until after he'd found and destroyed Pandora.

And yet, here he was, writing a new notice that the police would never see. And to a detective! Life sure could be full of surprises. But he supposed it was just like that with Tantei-kun. Things never went exactly as planned around the little detective—except sometimes they did. After all, constant unpredictability would be a form of predictability.

He signed off the note with a doodle whose grin was mirrored on the thief's own face.

"I'll be seeing you soon."

-0-

It was a gradual change. It was so gradual that Shinichi didn't even notice it until it had already settled in to stay.

He found himself constantly looking for notices throughout his day. They could appear anywhere at any time, he knew. It was almost like a game. He'd found KID notices everywhere from under his pillow to between the pages of the book he was reading. Every time he discovered one of KID's private invitations waiting for him, Shinichi found his heart beat quickening. If he was in school, he would quicly tuck the note away for safekeeping and spend the rest of the day jiggling in his seat, desperate for the bell to just ring already. If he was out or at home, he'd find the nearest secluded space where he could solve the note in peace. Some notes were harder than others, but they all had their own little logical twists and turns that were the hallmark of good riddles.

Once he'd figured out the time and place, he would find himself counting down the days—hours, minutes…

Those private invitations and midnight meetings were the first things he had really, honestly looked forward to in a long, long time. And he lived his days hoping that the next one would come soon.

"What's been going on?"

Shinichi blinked owlishly at Haibara Ai. The two of them were sitting on a park bench while the rest of the Shounan Tantei ran around playing tag. Seriously, those three might have gotten taller over the last few years, but they were still very much children at heart. But maybe that was a good thing.

"What do you mean?" Shinichi asked a little distractedly. There had been a notice tucked into the pocket of his jacket. It was a particularly difficult one, and he'd been thinking about it all day. Despite that, he was only about halfway through solving it.

"You seem different lately," the shrunken scientist replied, giving him that deadpan stare that always slightly creeped him out. It made him feel like he was a bug under a microscope—or maybe a mouse about to be dissected.

He gulped. "What are you talking about? I haven't been doing anything different."

Haibara pulled a small notebook out of her backpack (all five of their backpacks were here at the bench since none of them had bothered to head home first after school let out). She opened it to a page somewhere near the middle. "On the first day of summer vacation, Ayumi, Mitsuhiko, and Genta went to find you at the Mouri Detective Agency only to hear from Ran that you had left right after breakfast. You had told her that you would be meeting with them, and therefore she was understandably confused that they were looking for you. They all, however, assumed that you had missed each other on the way. All four were distracted shortly afterward by the arrival of Suzuki Sonoko and forgot all about you and your disappearing act. Over the course of our summer vacation, you asked Professor Agasa to cover for you nine times because you had, and I quote, some stuff to do. Each time, you returned to your own house for the night somewhere between one and two in the morning. However, how you actually got into your house was unclear on these occasions as you never appeared at the front door."

Shinichi stared at the little scientist, mildly horrified. Was she spying on him? At least it seemed she'd never seen KID entering or leaving the Kudo Manor. That would have been rather hard to explain. Doubly so if she'd noticed how long the thief had stayed. Conversations over hot chocolate often lasted well into the night.

Haibara wasn't done yet.

"These incidents have become less frequent since classes have resumed. However, last Friday, you called Professor Agasa and asked him to tell the Mouris that you would be staying over for the night and the following weekend. When he asked, you told him that you were going on an investigation with Hattori Heiji. However, I have confirmed that Hattori-kun was completely unaware of this. In fact, as far as I was able to find out, no one has any idea where you were."

Shinichi paled and tried not to fidget. The truth was that KID had taken him camping. They'd gone to a remote cabin in the mountains where, according to the thief, he used to go to practice when he first started hang gliding.

"So?"

"Huh?"

"Where were you?"

"I was just dealing with a personal thing," he said defensively. "Why are you recording everything I do anyway? It's a bit creepy."

She smirked. "It's only natural that I take notes. If I'm going to create a proper antidote, I need to study my subject."

Shinichi gulped and edged away from her. "Well I'm pretty sure it wouldn't help you with the antidote to know where I was."

The little scientist made a quiet "hn" sound but didn't comment. She wasn't, however, about to let the issue go. She would find out what was going on one way or another.

-0-

Night had fallen. Finally.

At the Mouri Detective Agency, a door cracked open. One blue eye peered out to make sure that the coast was clear. Then a small figure slipped out of the room and padded silently but quickly to the front door. Moments later, the same small shadow was bounding down the stairs outside. Moonlight flashed silver off of round lenses as the little figure reached the street.

Then one Edogawa Conan—or rather, Kudo Shinichi—was running up the street, headed for the bus stop. If he was quick, he should be just in time to catch the last bus.

He arrived just in time to bound into the bus just as the doors closed. The driver gave him an odd look, probably wondering what a child was doing out so late by himself, but, fortunately, the man decided not to question him.

Sitting by the window, he looked out at the night. The city was a black canvas spangled with lit windows and street lights.

But Shinichi's eyes were drawn even higher to the moon. It was still a crescent. Like a white grin in the sky. Or a grin in the shadow of a top hat.

Smiling a little despite himself, he pulled the folded notice out of his pocket and read it over again. He was sure he had the time and place right. The rest he would have to confirm when he saw the site.

Elsewhere in the city, a glider sailed swift and silent through the darkness.

The night was a catalyst for imagination. But, for them, it was also a time that could melt away the boundaries between imagination and reality, allowing them to step across the border and bring their dreams to life.

-End of Chapter-