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

Pairings: eventually Kaito x Shinichi

WARNINGS: Eventual shounan ai (boy/boy pairing), you have been warned

Dark Side Chances

By V. Shalyr

File 7

Impressions

Marline glanced from the paper in her hands back up to the young man seated across the desk from her. He was tall and lean, quite handsome too with sharply defined features and a smile that she had a feeling she wouldn't be able to forget in a hurry. It was the kind of smile that could break hearts, though he seemed too nice of a young man to take advantage of it.

"Can you tell me why you want to be a journalist? It looks like you've never done this kind of work before."

"To be honest," and the look he gave her was fairly brimming with earnestness, "I've always thought that it's important for people to know what's going on in the world. I think that we need to understand others in order to be better people, and sometimes, I feel like there isn't enough of that in journalism these days."

He paused then added with a half sheepish, half mischievous grin, "And I must admit that I kind of like being close to the action, and this seemed like a great way to do that."

Marline had to smile a bit at that. "That certainly has a certain draw to it, doesn't it?"

The man laughed, a pleasant kind of laugh that made her want to laugh along. There was just something about him that Marline was finding it impossible not to like.

"Well," she said finally when the interview was over, closing the folder he had given her of his credentials and relevant portfolio, "it was great meeting you. We'll let you know in a few days what we decide."

"Thank you, and I do hope you have a wonderful afternoon."

Getting to his feet, he swept her a polite bow, offered one last smile that she was pretty sure she would remember for the rest of her life, and excused himself from the small conference room. She watched as he returned to the chairs in the front lounge where a little girl sat reading while she waited for him—what had he said again? That he was her legal guardian since her parents had recently passed away and he'd agreed to take her in, their families having been close friends? Marline's brow furrowed. Now that she really sat back and thought about it, the story felt just a little odd.

The two exchanged some quiet words and the girl stood, dropping her book back into a backpack and slinging it over her slim shoulders. Once the bag was settled, the two made their way from the office. For a moment, the child turned to look back at her and her gaze met a piercing blue stare that seemed almost too sharp for someone so young. Then the tinted, glass doors swung shut and the pair were gone.

Marline blinked and shook her head once hard, trying to rid herself of the strange feeling that had come over her at that scrutinizing gaze.

Or maybe the pair weren't so odd after all. They both just had that slightly off feeling about them that made them fit neatly together in just the right way.

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Classroom

Nina had never seen anyone make sitting through class look so painful. Of course, she'd never been a huge fan of listening to the teacher talk herself, but the new student's expression seemed borderline tortured. Or maybe it would have been better described as extreme boredom?

When lunch time came, Nina stood up and walked over to the new student and smiled, holding out her hand.

"Hi! My name's Nina. It's nice to meet you."

The girl—Erika, she had introduced herself as earlier—started as though her mind had been elsewhere. She blinked at the hand for a moment while her thoughts scrambled back to the present classroom and she took it. "Hi."

She didn't sound all that enthusiastic, but Nina sat down in an empty chair next to her anyway. Her family had just moved here last year and she knew how hard it could be to be the new kid at school. "So you just moved here? How do you like it so far?"

Erika hesitated. "I guess it's okay."

"My family's pretty new around here too," Nina admitted. "We live next to the park. I didn't really like it at first, but I like it a lot now. There are a lot of places to go and things to do."

Erika fiddled with her lunch, looking oddly uncomfortable. "We live closer to downtown."

Nina waited to see if she would say any more, but she didn't. Maybe the other girl just wasn't that talkative. That was all right though. Nina didn't give up that easily. It was an important quality for someone who wanted to make new friends in a new place.

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Afterschool

Conan took the helmet Kaito handed him with relief, scrambling onto the back of the motorcycle.

"That bad?" Kaito asked, looking amused as he started the engine and pulled out of the school parking lot. Out on the road these days seemed to be one of the only places where they could talk with complete freedom.

"I can't believe I agreed to go back," Conan grumbled. But he'd agreed that it would have looked odd for him to be home-schooled on top of all the other odd quirks their characters appeared to have. "And I don't understand why everyone keeps on trying to talk to me."

This earned him a chuckle from the magician. "You're one of the only people I know who would complain about people trying to be friends."

"That seems a bit unfair coming from someone who just smiles and keeps everyone at arm's distance."

"Hey, I welcome attention! That's where information really comes from, you know."

"...It's shocking how few people know what a sneaky, manipulative person you are."

"And proud of it. Now, what do you say we treat ourselves to our first meal out in our new place of residence?"

"You sure?"

Kaito hummed. "It's good for us to be seen a little. We are supposed to be new around here after all. And we still have to go grocery shopping if we want anything homemade."

"We'd better go grocery shopping after we eat then," Conan muttered, freeing one hand to swipe at the loose strands of hair that threatened to get into his eyes. "There's no way I'm eating out everyday dressed like this."

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Amateurs

They decided to start things off slowly. Instead of trying to get a detective's license, they went to social events and made a point of mingling with the right people and being at the right places at the right times. Kaito called it networking; Conan thought of it as a sneaky way of influencing people so they ended up thinking what you wanted them to. Whatever he thought, however, it worked.

They had picked a district with some distance from the ones familiar with Mouri Kogoro and Kaito—or rather Keigo for their purposes—had landed a job as a journalist. For such an incredibly nosy person, Kaito was incredibly good at hiding it behind simple curiosity and subtle, prodding questions. And with both his and Conan's considerable knowledge of crime put together, they quickly earned a reputation among the police for being some of the only really reliable and sensible journalists to be found.

He may have been an "amateur", but he handled himself like a professional and that was all that mattered. It only took some nudging and a good number of case reports for the police to start calling him in instead of waiting for him to turn up.

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Hints

"Maybe you should think about becoming a detective."

Kaito offered the inspector a sheepish smile, though inside he was caught between laughter and dismay. Talk about something he'd never thought to hear anyone say to him. And yet this was what they had been working towards, wasn't it?

"I don't know, inspector. Do you really think I could do it?"

Sometimes, Keigo's lack of his own rather overwhelming confidence was frustrating, but Kaito prided himself on being able to stay in character at all times. He could feel Conan's gaze on them, tinged with more than a hint of anxiety and excitement. Things were finally moving in the right direction, and it was an added bonus that it was someone else who had brought up the idea of detective work.

One step at a time.

That way, there was no reason for any of their enemies to get suspicious.

The inspector clapped him heartily on the shoulder. "Most certainly. To be honest, you've been more helpful on a lot of our cases than most of the detectives we've worked with. I think there would be real career opportunities for you in that field if you were interested."

Keigo contemplated his notebook. "I've never thought about it before. But you know, I think that maybe I'd like to try it."

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Flash

Conan had to stop himself from cringing as the numerous cameras went off, their bright lights flashing in his eyes. It wasn't that he wasn't used to being photographed. As Shinichi, his face had appeared in the papers all the time. But that was one thing that being Conan had turned completely upside down.

Don't be noticed.

Just how long had that concept featured so prominently in his life? Certainly long enough to leave a lasting impression. It didn't matter that he and Kaito were both in disguise. It didn't stop that little, nagging voice in the back of his head that couldn't help but wonder if one of Them was looking at them right now and seeing past all their carefully constructed deceptions.

Don't underestimate Them. Their ears and eyes are everywhere.

And people wondered why he was so paranoid these days.

A hand landed on his shoulder and he glanced up into Kaito's masked face. The disguised thief was giving his charge a reassuring smile, a perfectly ordinary look for a young man trying to ease a child's spotlight jitters. Behind that mask, however, Conan could glimpse his sincerity and a hint of warning.

Relax, the look said. This is what we wanted. We're one step closer.

And Conan did relax, sticking close to the thief and studying the reporters carefully as Kaito spoke with them, artfully avoiding the bulk of their questions without seeming to be rude or evasive. He had asked for this after all, and Kaito was right. This time, they weren't in disguise because they wanted to be discreet. These disguises had been designed to be noticed.

No one would get hurt. He would make sure of it. And this time, he wasn't alone.

TBC...

AN: On a side note, there's a new KaiShin story by Alaena F.D. that I found rather funny called "A Problem of Shapes", for anyone who's interested.

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