-FIRSTS-

Disclaimer: The works of Detective Conan and Magic Kaito belongs to Gosho Aoyama-sensei.

Warning: KaiShin relationship.

A/N: I somehow think I have a knack for writing femme fatale type characters...I wonder why


First Negotiations

Kaito stood at the bar counter once more, in his bartender disguise, only this time Shinichi was sequestered somewhere safe instead of making himself a blatant target at the counter. The weight of the single piece of paper in his vest pocket was heavier than any gem he ever held. Tonight, he was supposed to hand over the contact information to this Yuri woman and Kaito was reluctant. Even disguised, Shinichi, his adorable detective, was able to attract people. He could not be sure whether that was a good thing or a bad thing.

"I have heard," Yuri approached the counter without Kaito knowing. That was, in itself, distressing. Kaito was not even able to detect when she entered the bar. He had a feeling she only made herself known, made all the gestures of entering last time, to put people off guard. This made her more dangerous than a possible love rival. "You were looking for me?"

"Not myself specifically ma'am." He placed his overly courteous mask back on. "But a certain regular at the bar wishes for me to pass on his interests."

"Oh? And here I thought he was more interested in the not-so-fair gender." She leaned onto the counter, showing off her assets at the same time. For propriety's sake, Kaito averted his eyes. "Glad to know I'm not losing my touch." Her amusement at Kaito's apparent embarrassment glittered in her eyes. "So, what is it that you were tasked with?" She batted her eyes slowly, leaving them at half-mast as she cocked her head slightly to the side. Kaito did not doubt she was trying to seduce him as well, possibly hoping that he would say more than told to.

He took the singular piece of folded paper from his pockets, placed it onto the counter and pushed it over. She did not take it until Kaito's hands were behind the counter once more, picking up the glass and began pulling bottles from the shelf behind.

"Now isn't this interesting." She commented as Kaito turned back towards her. "This number is different than the one I've been given last time."

"I wouldn't know ma'am, just passing on the message for a good customer." Kaito tries to sound apologetic as he pushed over a cup of clear liquid. "Your order ma'am, Gin Tonic."

"So nice of you to remember." She smiled alluringly, lips parted just a fraction as she made motions for the cup. "Quite a good memory you have there. And quite a young age to be standing behind the counter."

"I was told I have a talent for memory." He nodded in appreciation for the compliment.

"Then could your memory tell me a bit more about this regular customer of yours?" She leaned on the palm while the other hand traced around the rim of the cup. "He's been coming here for a long time?"

"For as long as I can remember ma'am."

"Hm…" She cocked her head just a fraction to consider his words. Kaito made sure not to give anything out that was out of character, not that he would in any case. "What's he like then?"

"Excuse me?" Startled, Kaito was not sure where of the woman's objective for such a line of question.

"I have eyes you know. Though I can certainly see the reason why…" Her eyes roamed up and down Kaito's torso, at least the part she could see from the other side of the counter. "There's definitely a certain appeal to you."

"Ma..'am?" Kaito acts flustered. He knew his detective had been checking him out during his last stay at the bar counter, so it was not really a surprise. What was surprising was how the woman who had been so keen on flirting and seducing his detective had noticed the attention Shinichi paid to him.

"I'm sure you've both spend some quality time together. I've heard on the streets that he had been seen leaving with you late at night." Her suggestive tone left nothing to the imagination. "So, what's he like? Seeing as he wasn't repulsed at me during the short time we spent together, I don't see the harm in trying something new with the two of you."

"Ma'am!" He tries to sound scandalous but in fact, Kaito was nearly disgusted at her suggestion. Never would he share his detective with anyone, especially with this woman.

"Now now, I've seen how you've looked at me." Her conclusions were completely off track but Kaito let her assume. It was better than trying to correct her anyways. "You paid so much attention to me and neglected the poor boy. I'm sure it's because you were tired of him, which is why you've given me your number instead of his." She waved the sheet of paper in front. "This number, if I remember correctly, is registered to you. I've done my own research you know."

Kaito hoped that whatever research she did, it was not thorough enough. He made enough precautions and have meticulously set up the two character fronts for their disguise, but if someone like Shinichi or his father were looking too deeply into the history of their disguise, they might be able to see the flaws. No matter how much attention Kaito pays to the disguise, the pair of Kudo detectives would always manage to see something.

"He's...reluctant to leave such a quick means of contact with you and has asked to use my phone for the duration instead." Kaito quickly made up the story, there was no use in trying to deny relations any longer. Sometimes, Kaito could not believe how perceptive woman could be with these things. "It's really nothing as you're suggesting ma'am."

"Oh stop with the 'ma'am', I don't mind you calling me Casablanca." She reached out to pull Kaito over the counter by his tie. Kaito held back the urge to throw down the smoke bomb, it would not do to react violently. "Though I don't mind hearing any nicknames from a beauty like yourself." She whispered close to his ear. "Neither do I mind having to wait until you've finished your shift to continue our conversation in a more private setting."

"Miss, please." Kaito pushed back, thankful that she finally let go of his tie. He straightened himself out, brushing along the creased fabric.

"You're really shy for someone so open." She chuckled and reached over and up once more, this time her hands landed on his cheeks. Kaito was glad that his mask was so real, even to the touch, that she would not feel anything different than normal skin.

No sooner than the words left her mouth, Shinichi emerged from the room behind the counter. He had been listening to the conversation all along and her last act seems to be the final straw.

"Excuse me. But seeing as I was the one who wanted to speak with you, maybe we could talk between ourselves?" Shinichi stood close to Kaito, hand wrapped around the waist in a possessive hold. He managed to somehow glue their bodies together, hip against hip. Kaito could actually feel the tension of the muscles behind the thin film of clothing.

"Stop it, please. I'm on duty here." Kaito acted the shy and docile, quite the opposite of his usual character. He pushed at the hand around his waist, moving a few centimeters away from the warm body trying to encase him. But the hand only tightened and pulled Kaito back against Shinichi.

"My, my. Aren't you a jealous one." The woman chuckled, hiding her mouth behind her hands, before reaching out for her drink. "Though I suppose I wouldn't mind some alone time with you." She batted her eyes towards Shinichi, paying only a glance at Kaito. This time, it was Kaito who acted like a jealous lover.

"You're not going with her alone would you?" Kaito turned to face Shinichi properly, holding onto the front of Shinichi's shirt tightly in his fist.

"Only for a while." The gentleness in Shinichi's voice made Kaito question how much of this is an act and how much is genuine.

"Don't leave? " He tries to not sound needy but it turned out otherwise. Shinichi's mouth tensed for a while. "At least don't leave the bar? I'll be off soon and then we can go with her, together, if needed." Kaito hoped his veiled words would go through to his detective. He had a bad feeling if Shinichi were to leave with the woman alone, and it had nothing to do with being jealous.

"You know, we can always find a dark corner in this bar, it's not as though anyone would notice. Not with the types of businesses it conducts on a usual basis." She waved towards a corner of the bar set with a table and two chairs. "This way, you can keep an eye on one-another. I don't mind."

Kaito finds it hard to believe her words, that she wasn't out to try and seduce one or both of them to bed. However, they really needed to talk to her.

"You'll be ok with that?" Shinichi asked, hands smoothing out the wig that served as Kaito's hair for the moment. He tries to make it as realistic as possible but Shinichi looked to be holding back a grimace when he touched the artificial strands of hair.

"As long as I can see you from here." He admitted before pulling Shinichi down for a chaste kiss. "Don't be seduced."

Shinichi laughed out loud this time before returning the same chaste kiss on the edge of Kaito's mouth and headed towards the direction the woman had gestured.

"So cute." She commented before leaving her seat with the drink.

Kaito watched with hawk-like eyes once more at the exchange between the pair. He was thankful today was a slow business day, that there were not many patrons visiting the bar. There was a small group by the pool table, and a pair to one of the side tables.

Shinichi did not bother to be a gentleman to pull out a chair for the woman, he sat down promptly facing the bar with his back towards the wall. It was the safest place he could be and gives him the best vantage point of the bar's interior.

"You're impatient." She set down her cup to pull out the chair. "Or were you just desperate to go back to your lover?"

"I have a proposition." Shinichi ignored her attempts at idle chit-chat and delved straight to his request. "I'll be willing to take up your request if you can do me a favour." He pulled out the same sheet of paper he was handed the other day and pushed it over. Her eyes widened slightly when she saw it was the same blank cheque.

"You wouldn't accept our payments then?" Pocketing the cheque in between her breast, she leaned against the table. "What is it you desire then?"

"You remember the person who interrupted our negotiations?" Though calling it a negotiation was stretching the term. It felt more like Shinichi was being threatened by the woman that night.

"Of course. How could I forget someone so rude. He and his underlings lack manners." She dared to reach out and playfully twirl one of the loose strands of Shinichi's wig. He so wanted to pull away but forced himself to sit through it in hopes of gaining that favour. She smiled, predatorily, as she leaned further in so that her face was just inches away.

"I want to know everything about that person." He stated as he stared straight into her brown doe eyes.

"You're thinking to betraying your lover then?" She joked, hands now moved away from the hair and onto the cheeks, slowly tracing nonsensical patterns on the skin in a feather-light touch. "I can think of a better match for you." She brushed against his temple, hooking the strands of hair to his ear.

Shinichi chanced a glance in Kaito's direction, who seemed to not only be fuming but also on the brink of bursting from anger.

"Excuse me." Shinichi decided he did not want Kaito to storm over to the table, he pushed away the hand and moved his chair back to the point where the wooden back was directly against the wall.

"You're really devoted to your lover aren't you?"

Shinichi did not even deigned her question to warrant an answer, instead plowed on with his negotiations. "I'll be willing to give you the information on the two names if you can give me all the information you can gather about that person and his group, its members, association, and operation."

"That's quite a steep price." She finally took hint and sat back a fraction giving the impression she was backing away from the negotiations. But her next words suggested otherwise, "surely you'll be willing to compensate for my efforts? Looking into a single person's history and their associations takes a lot of time."

"I'll be willing to pay. Name your price." Shinichi hoped that whatever price, they would be able to pay. Information was always costs a lot of money and under-table dealings were doubly so.

"I'm not so strapped for cash that I needed you to offer me that." She seems to have read his mind. "What I want, in terms of payment, is information. And possibly the company of yourself, and maybe your lover. I do love surrounding myself with nice things and there's nothing nicer in these parts than the two of you."

Scandalous, Shinichi abruptly stood up. "Miss, don't think you're the only one we can approach." Kaito seemed to react the same time, with his hands reaching towards a certain location behind the counter. From his vantage point, Shinichi could see a silver glint hinting the card gun had been drawn from its hidden location.

"Maybe, but I am the only one with enough connection to quickly find what you're looking for." Her smile turned feral. "I know you're not who you say you are, and neither is that lover of yours. But I'm willing to overlook that."

Tensing and gritting his teeth, Shinichi sat back down but Kaito remained vigilant. His eyes were piercing at their direction.

"What is it you want then?" Resigning, Shinichi has to admit that the woman really did have a vast information network, to find out that their character were just a front. "In return for your silence, and your cooperation, what do you want?"

"Information. That's the only currency I deal with. I would also like to hire the two of you for a little bit of something of course. Just to accompany me to a party." She batted her eyes with a small smile on her lips.

"Wouldn't your lover be jealous?" Shinichi could not help but point out. He already knew she was in a relationship of sorts with the yakuza boss.

"Oh, we have a deal." She replied as though betrayal was something trivial. "We're allowed to look for someone else, involve ourselves with them. Though the other side will have to be allowed with the same freedom." She reached out again, intent on stroking his cheeks, but Shinichi leaned back just a fraction that the tips of her fingers barely touched his skin. She chuckled at his actions and leaned back into her seat. "Well? What do you say? Do we have a deal?"

Shinichi glanced between the woman and Kaito, who was rubbing a tumbler glass with so much force that Shinichi thought it would crack and break.

"I'll offer you this." He passed over a normal USB stick. "As a show of trust, I'll hand over the information that you wanted right now. Provided that you'll uphold your end of the bargain."

She laughed, drawing curious eyes from the scant patrons. But they only spared a brief moment towards the sudden sound before turning back to their own conversations.

"Either you trust me a lot, or you're really bad at negotiations." Her laughter died down to a small chuckle. Shinichi was about to rebuttal her statement and retract the USB. His hands was just about to pull back with the USB when she covered his hands with her own. "I like you. You're cute and interesting. You and your lover both. I'll have great pleasure in fulfilling your request then." She removed Shinichi's hands from the USB and took the small plastic stick, placing it into her pocket. Rising up elegantly and she gave a jaunty wave at Kaito's direction, leaving the bar as silently as she came in.

Kaito took the opportunity and walked over to where Shinichi sat, still with his hand on top of the table. Kaito's eyes narrowed slightly at the stunned face on his detective.

"Love?" He rested his own hand on top of Shinichi's, immediately bringing his detective from the trance-like state.

"It's nothing...but I think she ok-ed my request…" Shinichi looked back at his own hands before grimacing. "I think...she just...um…"

"Best not to think about it." Kaito closed his hands tighter, nearly engulfing his detective's coarser hands in his slim ones. "Come on." He tugged his detective back up and pulled him back towards the room Shinichi had been hiding in just moments before. Kaito really hated when people become more than attracted to his beloved.

-TBC-