-FIRSTS-
Disclaimer: The works of Detective Conan and Magic Kaito belongs to Gosho Aoyama-sensei.
Warning: KaiShin relationship.
A/N: I think there's something wrong with my brain for coming up with this title for this chapter...
First Morning After
Kaito woke in the middle of the night when he felt uncharacteristically cold. His detective, who should be laying by his side, was missing. Placing a hand on where the detective should be, he felt only the cold sheets. This meant his detective had left the bed for some time already. Glancing over at the clock, it showed the time to be just after 3am. Kaito yawned then slipped on a coat, no point in getting a cold, to find the missing detective.
The bathroom came up empty so Kaito went to the library instead. True to his speculations, his detective was leaning back on the arm chair, sleeping upright, and would normally be extremely uncomfortable under any other circumstances. However, sleeping lying flat must be even more of a burden on his body. There was a bottle of pills on the desk with half a cup of water. Kaito clicked his teeth.
"Stupid detective." He whispered. If only Shinichi would wake him up, Kaito would gladly hold onto the detective until he fell asleep again. He moved to pick up his detective but even with the pill in his system, Shinichi still woke with the smallest touches.
"Kaito?" There was the slightest slurs in his voice.
"You'll catch a cold." Kaito carried Shinichi bridal style up the stairs. He grimaced at the lack of weight. "How many did you take?"
"Two." Shinichi leaned into his magician. "Haibara changed my meds, said the ones they prescribed to me don't even work because of what's in my system. That could be why the anesthetics and morphine wore out so quickly." He let out a small hiss when Kaito had to adjust his grip.
"Has it always been this bad at night?" This was the first time Kaito woke up to find Shinichi not in bed since the Baiting incident. He however had noticed his detective wincing and letting out voiceless hisses whenever he moved.
"Only when I suddenly leaned on it wrongly. Most of the time you had me in a hug so I didn't notice." The pain must be bothering Shinichi if he was admitting things so easily.
"Wake me up if you don't feel well. Bruised and fractured ribs aren't easy things to heal. They could permanently become damaged if not managed properly." Gently he laid his detective against the headboard. "I don't want you to follow in the footsteps of your idol any more than necessary."
"I'm not about..." Shinichi tried to get into a comfortable position. Kaito grabbed a few more cushions to support the back.
"I know Haibara-chan gave you something even stronger that you've been keeping in your drawers. And that's not because of recent events. I saw them a long time ago." Kaito stared at the bedside drawers. "They're not something that could be bought over the counter."
"..." He turned away, not wanting Kaito to read his emotions so easily. He didn't want to lie. The syringe in his drawer was a constant reminder of how bad things got, how even the usual concoction has very little effect on him. He blamed it on all the times he had been knocked unconscious to have developed a resistance and because of the APTX for messing up.
"And there's more in the bathroom, in the cabinet above the sink. In the study and in your parent's room. Care to elaborate?"
"..."
"Those are even dated farther back. I'm sure any effect they have would be lost but please, Shinichi, tell me you're not abusing."
"I'm not Kaito." There's no point hiding really. "It's because of all the accidents I keep bumping into and coming back to realise an injury. We figured it would be best to have something to stave off the pain until I could find treatment. I know better than that."
Kaito sighed in relief. At least his detective still had his head screwed on correctly.
"Just tell me, or tell someone next time. I don't want to see you frothing on the floor when I wake up." Kaito climbed back into the bed, sitting up to hold his detective.
"Kaito, you don't have to..." Shinichi protested.
"But I want to." He wrapped the blanket around them, arm on Shinichi's shoulders to urge the detective to lean in. "Sleep. You need it." He closed his eyes, hoping his detective would do the same.
Moments later, Kaito felt Shinichi's breath even out. The sign of deep slumber and Kaito drifted alongside, though not sleeping as deeply as he would normally so he would know when Shinichi did not feel well.
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Kaito woke with a stiff neck but had not dared to move during the night. Cautiously, he placed his palm over Shinichi's forehead to test for fever. Even though it has been some time already and they have both the doctor's clean bill of health and Haibara's approval, the detective still woke up to a slightly warmer than usual temperature. But they were told by the little scientist it wasn't something to be worried about.
"Morning Kaito." Shinichi didn't even open his eyes as he answered. Kaito figured he still wanted to sleep in. Seeing as neither had anything urgent that needed to attend to, they stayed in bed for another hour, drifting in and out of sleep, before actually leaving the bed.
"Sorry Kaito. You really shouldn't sleep like that just because of me." Shinichi winced at the loud crack when Kaito moved his head.
"I've slept under worst conditions. My body can easily cope." Kaito did some easy stretches, testing his movements and flexibility. He let out a satisfying sound when he felt all his joints were at its usual smoothness. "Besides, I want to sleep with you, not just beside you. And I mean it not just in the physical sense."
Shinich blushed and stuttered, thoughts incoherent as his magician claimed his intentions so bluntly.
"Are you still aching?" Kaito gently placed a hand on Shinichi's back. "Should I go find Haibara-chan?"
"She's a chemist, pharmacists, and I'm stretching it by saying she's an immunologist. Not a physiotherapist or chiropractor. I'll heal, though I know it'll be some time before I can pull what is generally known as the usual stunts. And with you here, I doubt I'll even be able to do much." Shinichi slipped on the offered shirt Kaito was holding just to prove his point.
"I know I'm probably being childish and overly anxious but..." Kaito wasn't sure how to put it into words. The fear, terror, and helplessness at seeing Shinichi suffering and sometimes whimpering at small actions is just frightening. "I'm afraid if you were left alone for a second, you'll suffer a relapse or something even worst."
"Kaito, that was because of the fever. I'm all better now. You have nothing to worry." Shinichi winced as he moved to grab his phone.
"That's not convincing at all..." Kaito muttered as they made their way down the silent corridors towards the kitchen.
The two boys were left to their own devices in the Kudo Manor as the Kudo elders had to fly out to do their touring for promotion, but had promised to come back the minute it was over (to which Shinichi told them that there really is no hurry and they could take their time like before but was quickly shot down). Chikage had been called out to help a friend in Paris (again) but told the boys she would return in a fortnight so they had better not get into trouble before then.
Breakfast would be simple, the usual western fare, as Kaito did not feel up to cooking anything too complicated. Under Haibara's strict insistence (order), Shinichi was not allowed any coffee anytime within 12 hours of when he took his medication. He was allowed weak tea during then and preferably nothing acidic because it had something to do with the chemical makeup of the medication that would have an adverse reaction. Neither was sure whether that was true or not, though Kaito suspects it had more to do with the girl wanting to break the detective out of his caffeine dependence, but they did not want to test out the theory. Usually, Shinichi would take the pills after breakfast, hence allowed for the coffee, but not this morning. The longing look on the detective's face told Kaito he might have regretted yester-night's action.
"Shinichi." He reminded, just in case.
"I know. Why did Haibara have to be so... so... evil."
"Do you really want to risk it?" Kaito placed a glass of milk in front of his detective before returning to the pan. "For all you know it might be true."
Shinichi sighed and took a gulp of the beverage. It could not be compared to the coffee, even juice would be better but Haibara had suggested milk, something to do with calcium levels and bone recovery. Shinichi's eyes lingered on his magician's back, and if he felt anything, Kaito didn't react. Instead, almost teasingly, he swayed his hips to the invisible music beat that only he could hear.
"What are you making?" Shinichi decided to ask for want of a distraction.
"Pancakes. And afterwards, if you're feeling up to it, we can go out together to grab some groceries."
Shinichi hummed, his magician willingly letting Shinichi out of the house? He must be up to something. "What are you planning?"
"Here I am, trying to relieve you of boredom but you're suspicious. Am I that untrustworthy?"
Shinichi had a bland look on his face, eyebrows raised as though to question Kaito back.
"Fine, it's because Sera-san waylaid me yesterday when I came back. She passed a message onto me regarding the whereabouts of Hondo. I'd thought you would want to check it out." Kaito laid down the two plates of food.
Shinichi's eyes sparkled, eagerly devouring the food. Kaito shook his head at his detective's sudden enthusiasm.
"Slow down. The placed won't go anywhere. Before you become too excited, let me just say that Sera-san had already checked the place over once and there are signs that the location is being abandoned so we don't have to worry about being found snooping."
"Hm..." Shinichi contemplated over his drink, waiting for Kaito to finish his meal. "Even if it's abandoned, there'll be traces. I'll be able to find something."
The confidence in his voice was not lost on Kaito, though he did have the skills to back up his claim. Even as his detective looked at him expectantly, Kaito still took his time to finish his food. He even made his washing up vindictively slow.
"You're doing this on purpose." Shinichi whispered with a pout in his face. "You're bullying me on purpose. Prolonging my torture."
"No," it was a definite lie and Shinichi knew it to be so though he let his magician continue just for the sake of it, "I just thought you'd like to keep everything clean." Kaito beamed a frighteningly bright smile to which Shinichi shook his head and moved slowly back upstairs to change as he waited for Kaito to finish with the cleaning up.
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They looked at the small rental apartment building, fully aware of their surroundings and ready to bolt at a moments notice. They lost their tails (Shinichi's bodyguards) two blocks back seeing as this is not something they wanted others to be involved in just yet. The building itself is as unremarkable as it can be with its two storey glory and rusty metallic steps. There was a small covered areas to the side where bicycles and motorcycles are stored for the residents, a communal outdoor letter box near the gate, and washing machines lined up outside the resident's homes.
"So, what's the apartment number?" Shinichi viewed the row of worn doorways. There were nameplates next to the doorbell but he doubt Hondo would be using his real name.
"Kondo, flat 101." Kaito pointed the doorway on the ground floor farthest from the gate.
"Not subtle are they?" Shinichi had his eyes trained on the exterior of the apartment, dependent on Kaito to keep watch of his back. He tested the doorknob, "locked. I thought you said Sera had been here?"
"That's what she told me." Kaito motioned Shinichi aside. Time for the master to get to work. "She could have asked for the keys from the caretaker's place." His head jerked over to the nearby house.
"Or someone may have replaced the lock after seeing someone other than Hondo opening it." A careful survey of the area revealed nothing of immediate concern. To be on the safe side, he checked for hidden cameras as Kaito sweeped for listening devices or motion sensors.
"All clean. Actually, it's too clean." Kaito had opened the door ajar to glance inside before opening it fully to let them in. "It doesn't look as though anyone has been living here."
The inside of the apartment was unfurnished. The small area by the doorway, that could be roughly translated as the kitchen with the sink and stove setup, a bathroom, and a living space separated by a set of sliding doors. The foyer had hard wooden floor adjoining the concrete from the corridors. The living space had tatami flooring and a ceiling light fixture, there was also a built in wardrobe space. It was the typical low rent apartment design.
"No, there are scruff marks." Shinichi was crouching on the floor at the doorway despite the stress it was placing on his legs. "By the slight wearing, possibly one or two persons had been using this place. Probably for stopovers." He walked over to the kitchen area, then peered into the bathroom, and finally waked into the living space where Kaito was standing. The ceiling was relatively low, and if Kaito stretched his arms to the fullest, his fingertips would have touched it.
"It's safe to say they have cleaned the placed out." Kaito looked at the freshly painted walls, too white and new compared to the rest of the apartment. Tentatively, he knocked on the nearby wall. "They've left the insulation behind. Makes sense seeing as they don't want anyone to overhear what was being said within these walls. These types of apartments are built cheaply so the walls are supposed to be thin." Kaito kept knocking until he hit a hollow area underneath the only window.
"Bingo." Shinichi smirked proudly at Kaito. "Looks like we can make a detective out of you."
"Oh the horror." Kaito mocked fear in his face when he turned back to face his detective. He felt around the hollow area for any sort of latch or seam to open.
"But you still don't think like the criminal you should be." Shinichi strolled towards the window, resting his hand on the sill. He ran it along the wooden surface, testing the strength, before coming to a place that gave under his pressure. Pushing down on the specific point, it sank into the wood and a panel popped out from the hollowed area Kaito identified earlier. "See?"
Kaito rolled his eyes as he carefully removed the panel, consisting a white piece of fibre board, away from its holding. "And what do we have here?"
"Seems like they've missed a spot." Shinichi took note of the single note hidden in the farthest corner. Anyone else other than Kaito would have missed it but the magician-thief's keen eyes noticed it right away. "Looks like I was wrong Mr Master Thief."
"It's Phantom Thief. Not your ordinary purse snatcher." Kaito reached in with gloved hands to extract the note. He turned it over before handing it to Shinichi's outstretched hands.
"As I thought." Shinichi looked grim, eyes narrowed and focused on the note with his mouth drawn tight into a line. "The CIA are sure cruel."
Kaito let out a puff of air. The note was a grainy photo printed on standard A4 paper cut to passport size.
"Isn't this Mizunashi Rena?"
"It's probably part of Hondo's initiation into The Organisation. Their family must be in real bad luck." Shaking his head, Shinichi moved to look into the wardrobe. "First the father bringing in the daughter, now the sister pulling in the brother."
"You mean this is a test for the kid? That's tough." Kaito leaned on the wall beside the window, keeping one eye on the outside and another on his detective.
Shinichi reached into the wardrobe, feeling for any other hidden compartments, which there were a few. But inside most of them were empty, though there was one with a few spare shell casings.
"Where to now?" Since there was not much to search inside the apartment, they left within an hour.
"I have a feeling..." whatever the detective may have said was abruptly cut off by a vibrating phone. Taking it out, it revealed another message.
"Is it from our Witch again?" Kaito peered over Shinichi's shoulders.
"Marco."
"I'm guessing you should reply with Polo? Or did she have the game the wrong way round?" Kaito offered, Shinichi looked at Kaito questioningly. "Well it's true, we're the blind ones here even if we know the events."
"Not unless they were looking for him. But seeing he had met up with one of their agents, I'm guessing they're looking for the liquor." Shinichi's fingers hesitated over the reply button, he considered writing a similarly cryptic message but ended with locking the phone.
"You have a suspicion where Mizunashi Rena is."
"A very iconic location." They turned to the direction of the bus stop. Kaito followed obediently behind. When the arrived at a crossing, their tails also returned.
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Their next, and final stop, for the day brought them to the docks again.
"What is it with criminals and warehouses, specifically the dock areas." Kaito complained as they walked through the maze of containers and buildings. Again loosing their tails around a block back. Kaito had to rethink the capabilities of the law enforcers if it is this easy to lose them. What type of security detail lets their protectee run around by themselves.
"Ease of body disposal?" Shinichi made a deliberate turn towards a particular area, passing through rows of containers.
"I thought you said water would only cause bloating and it's actually pretty easy to figure out time of death from drowning if you have the right data. How would that be easy disposal?" Even though it was a morbid topic, Kaito was still curious.
"More dramatic. I'm sure you've heard of the Yakuza stories, cement base with conscious victim thrown into the sea." The conversation came to an abrupt stop as they stood in front of a particular set of doors. The name plate on the side read 'Warehouse No. 12-54, World Tradings'
"How fortuitous." Kaito checked the place out, immediately locating the CCTV cameras and the alarm by the door. "Are you sure about this?"
"Yes. This location has been a favourite of theirs. They've conducted many events here, one of which I witnessed myself when her lights went out." Shinichi's face looked grim, there was also a trace of guilt on his face.
"But why would she hide here then?"
"It's easier to hide a tree in the forest. With the number of people walking about the docks, workers, technicians, your average strong hand, it's easy for her to leave and enter without people suspecting. Especially if she disguised herself accordingly." They walked around the building, noting any entry/exit points before coming to a stop again at the entrance. "I wonder if they have a gathering spot here."
"They'll be sure suspicious of us loitering around if that's the case." Kaito pointed up at the general direction of the cameras. "Want me to do something about it?"
After careful consideration, Shinichi nodded in consent. With a flick of his wrist and a flock of doves, Kaito announced all security features to have been disabled. The pair edged inside the dark warehouse, awareness flaring signals to flee the unknown but they pushed on.
"It's suspiciously spacious." Kaito whispered. "But there are signs of recent use."
"It's one of their coliseums, their execution spot," the tang of iron was thick in the air, "there were some complaints lodged about this place but the local PD has been told the smell was because of their trading goods. So there isn't anyone in the area complaining about it anymore."
"You think she's hiding here?" Kaito looked around the room as he followed his detective's lead. Crates were piled up high, leaving only a small path enough for two people to pass through at the same time. He could just make out the shadows of the overhanging flood lights with the limited lighting provided by the line of small windows near the roof. "If it is as you say, she would be dead by now, since this place is where they take care of their traitors."
"I'm hoping to find her alive here." Shinichi came to a stop at a clearing in the middle of the crates. The lighting and environment was dragging up some older memories, ones he wanted to forget but knows will haunt him forever.
"Shinichi?" Kaito found his detective staring at the same spot, as though the ground would rise up and reveal its secrets. Hesitantly, he touched Shinichi on the shoulders to bring him back to reality. "You ok? Not feeling too worn out are you?"
Shinichi smiled gratefully at Kaito, internally thanking him for his concern. "Let's go see if we can find her."
Purposefully, he went past two more stacks of towering crates then a deliberate turn and was suddenly held at gun point.
"Stop right there." A distinctly feminine voice whispered at their sides. Kaito froze mid step, barely in time to stop himself from crashing into Shinichi in front of him. Mizunashi Rena stepped away from the darkness of the shadows and into their line of sight, still with the gun pointing at Shinichi's forehead. "What are two teenagers doing trespassing a private warehouse?"
"What's a missing news anchor hiding in a criminal's slaughter house?" Shinichi rebutted, not minding how Mizunashi flinched at the term. His gaze was firm, staring her in the eyes.
The once-anchor scrutinized the two teen in front of her, cataloguing their posture and body language. "Are you by any chance related to Edogawa Conan?"
"My cousin." It seems to Shinichi that Conan made quite an impression on Mizunashi if she still remembered him after so long.
"And him?" She nodded at Kaito's direction.
"None to my knowledge." Shinichi turned to see Kaito shaking his head to confirm. He could pick out that the magician was hiding his mirth in reflected in the amethyst eyes.
Feeling they were telling the truth, Mizunashi let out the tension that had been building up. She flicked the safety of her gun and lowered the weapon.
"What do you boys want?" She led them farther back, walking between the small crack between two crates. The pair managed to just squeeze through the gap. The area they were led to was cordoned off by the towering crates, there was a sleeping bag and a travel bag set to the sides. An electric camping lamp was stationed at the corner, currently turned off to conserve what little battery it has. There were a few plastic bags, filled with dry food, and a row of water bottles.
"How long have you been hiding here?" From Shinichi's observations, it shouldn't be more than a month. Long term habitation in such conditions can cause paranoia and other mental consequences that could affect the plan they have.
"Not too long. The Organisation makes regular checks on all their holdings. They just checked this location early this week, that's why I moved here." She leaned on the crate impatiently, "you still haven't answered my question."
"I," Shinichi was reminded with a quiet cough from Kaito, "we have a proposition for you."
He outlined the plan to Mizunashi, telling her of her brother's arrival back into Japan and his involvement with the CIA.
"So they've recruited Ei-chan as well? I was hoping he could stay out of it." There was sadness in her voice.
"I'd like to think the CIA did not actively seek your brother, rather the other way round. He had been trying to look for you ever since you appeared on TV." Even though he was mad at the boy for dumping Ran, it still is disheartening to know what the boy had to do to earn his place and become useful. He was sure the boy must be regretting his decision now that he received his assignment.
"Supposing I agree to your plan. I need you to make sure Ei-chan can get out of this mess alive. Even if I don't make it."
"Please don't doubt our skills Ms Rena." Kaito had put on his KID persona for this confrontation. No point in becoming a wall decoration now that he involved himself. "We'll all make through this and have our own happily ever after."
"He's right." Shinichi nodded in agreement. "I for one do not plan on being six feet under any time soon."
Mizunashi looked at both boys with scrutiny, analyzing and we dissecting them with her eyes. It was tense moments until she deemed them trustworthy enough to consent to their plans. Shinichi held out a phone towards her.
"A burn phone. It's programmed to only receive calls from a certain number." He walked over to demonstrate its functions. "There's no caller display, no contact address book. Any number you call will be logged in a database elsewhere."
"Quite shrewd of you to gather numbers on all my contacts." There was a hint of smile beneath the words. Shinichi wasn't sure if this was made to tease or something else, he let it slide for now.
"To dial out, press 007# followed by phone number. It would be safer on all sides if I were the one to call you but if you really need to reach me, dial 26. It's a once only number but I can reset it once I confirmed "
"I see at least you took the precaution. I hope you are not really intending for me to be captured."
"We'll do what we can to get you out of this. However, we might not be hide or protect you. Would you mind if I contacted the FBI to help with this or would you be going back to the CIA?" There was only so much he could do as a civilian. However, his plan was to put her up with Okiya/Akai for safety's sake.
"It seems you have a plan so I shouldn't have a problem with it. You'll contact me once you have everything ironed out right?" She was given a nod by the detective, "then I trust you'll be able to find your way away from here. The less I'm seen the better."
It was a clear dismissal but with recent events, the pair would not blame her for the rudeness.
"That went well." Kaito was able to breath easier now that they were away from the warehouse. "You doing ok?" He placed a hand on his detective's shoulder when he saw the slight wobble in his steps.
"I'm fine, probably the tension just letting itself out." Shinichi allowed himself to lean into the touch as a show of weakness. Kaito graciously turned it into a hug.
"We should head back for the day. No point in running ourselves rugged." Kaito carefully led them back to the bus stop, weary of any one else, other than their assigned bodyguards, following them. "We have time." He reassured his detective.
"Not long enough." Shinichi heaved a heavy sigh.
"Shinichi, stop being pessimistic."
The bus trip was made in silence, their bodyguards were aware of their mood and gave them the space. Kaito was trying to snap his detective out of his contemplation, to stop the thoughts from spiraling downwards.
"Love," the cloudy blue eyes looked up towards him, Kaito winced at the listlessness and the lack of spark, "you need rest."
"Kaito..." He argued but was silenced with a finger on his lips.
"Bed rest. I'll accompany you." He laid a lewd gaze on Shinichi. Kaito knew it was inappropriate but short of a murder happening, there's really not much that could occupy his detective's mind enough to let him rest.
Shinichi playfully hit Kaito on the shoulders, attempting to look angered, but he was grateful his magician was this thoughtful.
"Not happening." It took a lot of effort for Shinichi to lay the matters aside for now. "You're taking the couch."
"Darling~ Don't be so mean~"
As they left the bus, Kaito pestered and prodded jokingly, knowing his detective did not mean what he said... he hoped. When they entered the Manor, Shinichi purposefully went into the bedroom and locked the doors. Kaito stared wide eyed from the bottom of the steps as he heard the distinct click of the lock.
"Aw Love." He whined from downstairs, not sure if his words carried to where his detective kept to himself. He decided to let Shinichi rest as he busied himself with dinner preparations. It wasn't often the detective would willingly rest but Kaito likes to think that with all his nagging (yes, he actually is aware of how annoying he is lately), he finally managed to get it through his detective's thick head that there are times that even Superman needs to rest and recoup. Smiling softly, he browsed through the ingredients in the fridge and started to plan for dinner.
-TBC-
