-FIRSTS-
Disclaimer: The works of Detective Conan and Magic Kaito belongs to Gosho Aoyama-sensei.
Warning: KaiShin relationship.
A/N: I had wanted to do weekly update but my muses aren't cooperating. Hopefully I'll be able to update earlier the coming week.
First Threat
Kaito stretched, relinquishing in the feeling of complete maneuverability without the stinging pull of skin. His injuries have recovered nicely, though it did leave behind scars. After spending a full morning in lectures, he needed the exercise and fresh air. The lecturers and tutors had been extremely understanding and had actually questioned Kaito as to why he was on campus today. Kaito secretly thought his detective might have something to do with that. Thinking of which, he could use the extra exercise to pick up his detective. Taking out his mobile phone, he opened his latest app creation. His very own detective tracker. His detective's blinking icon showed him to be at the police station, possibly wrapping up a case. Without much to do, and seeing as it would only be a short walk, Kaito decided to take a stroll down the pedestrian path rather than catching the bus.
The station was buzzing with activity when he approached the front desk to register himself. Even though most of the officers here knew his face by association, rules must be followed (despite how much it irked him). The process was quick and he was then directed towards a conference room and temporary headquarters set up by TMPD and FBI for the joint operation. As predicted, Shinichi was in the midst of the people gathered there. What was not so expected was the degree of frantic activities. Kaito approached his detective carefully, mindful of actually creating some noise so as to not startle him (his thief instincts were telling him to keep it quiet but he ignored this part of the brain).
"Kaito! What are you doing here?" Surprised, Shinichi dropped the papers he had been holding on to the floor. He made a quick scramble to pick them up and to hide his embarrassment from his sudden bout of clumsiness.
"I was hoping to pick you up to go on a date but you seem busy." Kaito helped gather the few runaway sheets by his feet. When he handed them over, he noticed the nice mottling of pink on Shinichi's cheeks.
"Go on Kudo-kun." Jodie waved the detective away, "you're still young and should enjoy life rather than stuck here with us."
"But the case..." Shinichi protested against Kaito's pull.
"Thanks!" Kaito called backwards with a jaunty wave. His detective struggled in his grip, possibly hoping to escape. Once they were outside of the station, and some distance away, Kaito finally let go of the wrist and turned to face Shinichi. "Now, what had you so focused that you wanted to spend the day, and possibly night, at the station?"
The detective bit his bottom lips, teeth slightly showing, but his hesitance only made Kaito more concerned rather than invoking curiosity. What seemed like waiting for an eternity out in the wide open is really mere seconds when Shinichi finally spoke up, after a full body sigh.
"Of the three snipers of that heist night, one was killed in action. We managed to capture Korn and Chianti but Korn was taken out during transportation and Chianti was reported to be missing from our custody as of this morning." Shinichi looked forlornly at the passing pedestrians. "No one could figure out how she could have escaped. And now, after spending so much effort and sacrificing so much, we have nothing to show for it."
"As frustrating as that is, you need to let it go. Not all our plans or intentions can come to pass." Kaito was drawing on his experience as KID, who has yet to find Pandora and has to face disappointment time and again. He placed a comforting arm around Shinichi, drawing his detective into a hug. "Now put that behind you and turn off that brain of yours for the rest of the afternoon. I bet you haven't even ate a single bite of food since you woke up." Kaito chided the sheepish Shinichi. "And here I thought you started to look after yourself a bit better. What would you do without me?"
"Probably starving in the library back at the Mansion." Shinichi shrugged, letting Kaito take the lead.
They decided to lunch at an out-of-the-way cafe tucked away at some random corner of the city. It served a wide range of food, some not even Kaito had heard of. They selected things that sounded appealing and enjoyed the meal immensely. Though, that only lasted until the shatter of glass beside them. Kaito noticed the small hole that suddenly appeared as the glass rained down upon them.
"Kaito." Shinichi shouted and Kaito could easily hear the unvoiced request for cover. Kaito quickly located the smoke pallet and threw it down. Smoke immediately enveloped the shop. And if the earlier glass shatter did not cause mass panic, the smoke definitely did the job. The occupants screamed and shouted but Shinichi's voice rang in the midst of chaos. "Everyone, please stay calm and drop to the floor. Cover your heads and move away from the windows."
Kaito saw shadows shuffling away from their seats, towards the kitchen area. He heard Shinichi speaking in hushed tones on his phone, alerting the police of the incident.
"They'll be here in 10 minute." He stated, eyes locked on the window and the falling bits of shattered glass. The two had taken refuge behind the fixed seats. Smoke from Kaito's previously released smoke bomb still lingered in the air, visibility still low. Kaito guessed that the snipers would not risk a shot unless their objective was just to shoot at anyone inside the restaurant instead of a particular target, though he felt that would not be the case.
When the police arrived with the SWAT team, they combed the surrounding buildings. The forensics dug up the bullet embedded into the table, which Shinichi asked for a look. It looked to be the standard .223 Remington round though instead of the copper-like sheen, this one was in plain silver with the numbers '42' engraved on it. Shinichi scowled furiously as he stomped out the back door. Kaito followed behind, hot on his tail, in case Shinichi did something stupid that he might regret later.
Shinichi was quick to whip out his phone and with a few deliberate jabs, he connected to the person he wished to vent his frustrations on.
"What on Earth are you planning!" He all but shouted into his mobile. "I thought we had some type of agreement!"
"We did, my lovely Bullet. That was why I missed." The seductive voice on the other end did not sound regretful. In the background, Shinichi could hear the sound of traffic and police sirens. He knew she was near.
"You were shooting in a public area! We agreed not to have confrontations that could pose a problem to civilians! You agreed. Why else do you think I'm taking the time to plan for the final showdown." Frustrated, he slammed his hand on a nearby brick wall, not caring about the sudden onslaught of pain radiating up his arms.
"Ah, but I'm not the one being impatient. You see, the other end is moving and they want you and him. Regardless of obstructions. You'd do well to act soon dearest Bullet. And tell your little dove to schedule a heist else they'll do something drastic again." The call shut with a definitive click, leaving Shinichi fuming. Kaito approached his detective carefully, aware that even the slightest sound may set him off. Slowly and gently, he cradled Shinichi's hand to inspect it for damage. Shinichi nearly flinched at the touch, but settled for tensing his hand.
With care normally reserved for tending to his injured birds, Kaito applied enough pressure at the muscles and tendons, ears primed to hear any hisses or wince. He was satisfied that Shinichi's sudden outburst did not cause any harm. He felt his detective's breathing slow down, indicating that whatever anger and frustration he felt earlier was subsiding.
"Sorry Kaito." Shinichi felt the need to apologise for his unsightly display.
"I've never seen you lose your cool before. You want to talk?" Kaito hoped his detective would but he had a tendency to avoid subjects that could potentially cause distress to those he cared about. But even if Shinichi would not say a word, Kaito has ways of making him.
"..." True to his speculations, his detective chose to remain silent. Kaito heaved a sigh.
"You shouldn't let her anger you. We've kind of been expecting something drastic to happen to follow up with that heist." Kaito still sensed no reaction from his detective. He decided to change tactics. "That bullet was meant for you wasn't it." It was not so much a question but a statement. The fact that Shinichi tensed under his hold told him that he too came up with the same conclusion. "She takes a bullet with your name on quite literally."
Kaito managed to catch a glimpse of the bullet while looking over Shinichi's shoulder. He recognized the engraved number.
"47 is the atomic number for silver. It's her nickname for you. What do they want?" Frowning when his detective did not say anything, Kaito continued to speculate. "They wanted to take you out of the picture don't they?"
Shinichi bit his lower lips, a sign that Kaito guessed correctly.
"This is a warning isn't it. Telling you to either join them or stop hindering them." Shinichi turned his head away, not wanting to look at the pained expression. Kaito forcefully grab hold of Shinichi's shoulders, forcing his detective to look at him. "Tell me you did not have some harebrained plan that puts you undercover and in the midst of a lion's den."
"There's not that many choices. We need someone on the inside to coordinate everything."
"Did you forget that Gin is after your head?!" Kaito shook his detective, hoping to also shake some sense into him. "If you're planning to do that, I'll be following my own plan to draw them out."
"NO!" Shinichi's gaze quickly snapped onto Kaito's. "I don't want you to risk yourself!"
"KID has to make an appearance sooner or later. All I need to do is make some minor adjustments and I'll be able to blend into their organisation. It's more logical and practical for a thief to join them than a detective."
"No Kaito, they'll...they'll..." Shinichi stuttered. His fears overriding his eloquence.
"They'll probably have me doing all sorts of unimaginable things, stealing gems is just the least of them. Information, condemning evidence, lives..." Kaito supplied, knowing full well of the atrocities the Organization could inflict. "I won't have you doing this. You don't need a criminal record with your name, especially if you wanted to be a private investigator. KID's name, on the other hand, already has a record. A pretty thick file the last time I checked."
"Kaito, that's your father's legacy. You shouldn't taint it that way." Shaking his head, Shinichi tries to reason with his magician-thief.
"He'd understand if it's to protect the one I cherished the most. He would have done the same."
"I'll...I'll think of something. Just don't do anything rash. By all means hold a heist but don't do anything else. I promise I won't try to needle my way into their lair as long as you won't do the same." Shinichi pleaded. He did not wish to see Kaito tainted by the Organization's horrendous acts.
"Good. Now, we should head back in." Kaito smiled, guiding his detective back through the doors. He was glad his detective did not decide to go through with his plan.
The police had concluded this incident to be a deliberate hit on Shinichi and it was only through his insistence that Megure didn't set up guards around him. The detective had argued it would be a waste of the otherwise tight resource. The elder officer and surrogate uncle was reluctant to agree but had told Shinichi to at least check in with someone at the office so that they know nothing had happened to their little brother. Shinichi resented the name but no matter the protest, it still stuck. He agreed on the condition that he would be informed if they found anything, regardless of danger level. It left everyone in a staring contest, which Kaito help to determine the tie-breaker, a simple game of rock-paper-scissors. Winner gets their wish. In the end, Megure won and told Shinichi that although he was against letting Shinichi know everything, he knew the importance of being informed, however, he reserve the right to put guards on his back when the situation becomes too dangerous.
Kaito was happy that there would be someone watching the detective's back when he would be on field working. But that still meant there are now 2 sources of threat against his detective. Something must be done.
-TBC-
