-FIRSTS-

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

Warning: KaiShin relationship.

A/N: Another late update and it seems like I should have not ended Kaito's misery so early but I want them together again~


First Mission

Kaito refrained from pacing the whole interior of the apartment. He knew there were cameras almost everywhere, monitoring his own actions, and he really did not want to reveal the truth just yet. For the past week, he was kept indoors and away from pretty much everything, though he did have access to the niceties offered by the apartment building which funnily enough has a gym and indoor swimming pool at the basement floor. The news shown on the TV was obviously faked, or at least heavily censored. Same with the Internet access. He was not able to find his phone and knew that calling for his doves to deliver messages would be showing his hand. With nothing better to do, he tried reading the books on the shelves, only to find they were mostly about military history or weapons design. Kaito wondered what Rum was trying to hint at him. The few times he tested out the apartment's facilities found himself tailed between equipment stations and even spied upon as he did laps in the pool. Thankfully, they had the decency to stop their stalking once he entered the changing rooms, a small breath of relief.

On the verge of becoming crazier than usual, his 'babysitter' finally arrived. A young girl in her teens attached herself to Kaito's arms and dragged him out of the house. Kaito tried to strike up conversation but the girl only shook her head and touched her throat. It burned Kaito to know what happened to someone that looked so sweet but then he reminded himself she must be like the girl Rum had picked up before to be his apprentice. Holding back the scowl, Kaito let the girl pull him out of the apartment building and into the late afternoon sun.

Street lights were just starting to flicker when they entered the shopping district. The girl had finally let Kaito go and trailed after him. He took to window shopping, stopping randomly at the stores to browse at the items on sale. Though he had stayed longer inside a particular bookstore, having recognised the sign in front and the poster stating 'New Mystery Releases'. He hoped to bump into Shinichi somewhat accidentally then pretending to have passing recognition. But before anything could happen, the girl tugged at Kaito and began pulling him towards the parking lot out in the back of the shopping district.

"What's the hurry?" He demanded even though he knew she could not reply.

A black sedan parked in the middle of the relatively empty parking lot. The rear doors opened automatically once they were in view. Quirking a curious brow, Kaito approached the car with caution. The girl was impatient for the slow approached and ran ahead, peeking through the door, before jumping back out and running to the passenger doors on the other side of the vehicle.

Carefully, Kaito approached with hesitant steps. Rum's inviting smile and a wave of his hand had Kaito on full alert.

"Come now. There's no need to fear your own uncle."

Kaito was surprised to see Rum sat alone inside the car. Still, he sat down next to Rum and greeted accordingly. The car immediately started the moment Kaito pulled shut the doors. They were soon cruising along backstreets and alleyways, finally emerging on the nearest freeway.

"It's good to see you up and active." Rum handed over an envelop and a large cardboard box. "You'll need these for the evening."

"What's this?" Kaito asked before opening the box. The envelop in his hands was thin and lacking in any sort of identifying logos. There was no address on the front, nor any writings on the back.

"An invitation to a party for tonight that you'll be participating. Look inside the box first."

Kaito set the envelope aside before opening the box. Inside was a manila folder and a set of suit with matching tie. He picked up the manila envelope and took out the content. Inside was a dossier sheet on a two particular individuals. The first had a rather detailed biography and the second contained a large mug shot and brief information.

"What am I supposed to do?" It was clear that Rum wanted Kaito to impersonate the person on the first sheet. Though the purpose was elusive to him.

"You are to impersonate him, and get close to the target who is also the host for tonight's event and also the owner of the house the party is hosted in. There is a safe somewhere inside the house. Find the location and break into it. Take a copy of its content but don't take it out of the house." Rum handed over a miniature camera. "Leave once you have everything and take care not to leave evidence."

The car stopped in front of a hotel, definitely not the place for the party.

"Room 1001" Rum handed over a keycard. "You can get ready there. Another car will be waiting for you to take you to the party." The automatic doors opened and Kaito took this as a sign to leave. He was handed another paper bag, peering inside revealed a pair of leather shoes. "It's a relatively simple mission to start off from after your recovery. Take care out there Verte."

Kaito did not bother to respond and exited out of the vehicle with purpose. It would not do to show his nervousness and anxiety at this point in time.

'At least I should be glad it was a simple breaking-and-entering with a side of espionage. I'm hoping Rum would not push me to do something immoral.' However, for the sake of his current cover, Kaito knew he would have followed through anyways. Even if this cover was only known to himself only. He really needed to figure out a way to inform Shinichi of this recent development.

The typical hotel room was suspiciously well stocked with makeup of every kind and even several jars of different latax for sculpting. Kaito took a careful look at each of the jars and boxes, taking note of its seal. Although they were all new, the seal somehow proving they have not been opened, but it still made Kaito weary of using it even knowing there is a need for all the makeup products. He haphazardly threw the box, paper bag, and folder onto the cleanly made bed without a care for the work. His first order of business was to check for bugs. Once found, if he destroyed it, even Rum could not fault him for his paranoia and alertness seeing as he was in a rather public setting.

Thankfully, there were none. He even checked the power sockets just in case. Glancing over at the clock, it was nearing six and any night time parties would most likely start very soon. Not wanting to give Rum any reasons for doubting him of the possibility of returned memories, Kaito quickly changed and disguised himself as the person on the dossier. A relatively easy task. The only problem was the voice. He carefully read through the information, where it actually has a handwritten note at the bottom telling him to turn on the TV. Not having any other choice, he turned it on to show the hotel's promotional video with a narrative voice over.

"Well, well, well." He tested out the voice to match the one he was hearing. This deliberate choice from Rum is certainly unnerving.

Out in the front of the hotel, another black sedan waited. The driver immediately appearing when he spotted Kaito at the entrance. Nodding in thanks, he took a seat as they drove off to the location of the party.

If Kaito were to put a description to the house, it would be ostentatious. Large white structure in the midst of a lush green garden decorated with topiaries and sculptures, the circular driveway forced cars to drive around the delicately sculpted fountain before coming to a stop at the set of white steps. The minute Kaito exited, he was approached by what looked like the doorman and requested for his invite. Not pausing, he handed over the invite and entered the too-white domains.

The inside was opulent, more so than the parties he attended as KID. Women wore the jewelry to display their wealth, men showed of their beauty off to their friends. It was not a party Kaito would have willingly attended, even as KID, which was why KID normally makes quick in-and-out heists at such events.

His eyes made a quick survey of the room's interior along in a single glance, noting each guest and trying to identify his target. It was quite a surprise when his eyes landed on a familiar cut of suit. The straight-laced back with the narrow waist that caused the jacket to flair out ever so slightly was so noticeable that it stood out like a beacon for Kaito. He debated what he could do, knowing that there were Rum's people inside the room with him and it would not bode well if he were to suddenly to approach his detective.

Creating an accidental reveal seems to be quite acceptable in this situation and Kaito went about socialising with some of the guests before accidentally bumping into Shinichi and managing to spectacularly spill his glass of cocktail, untasted, onto the very nice suit. Kaito would have to make it up to Shinichi afterwards.

"I'm terribly sorr-..." Kaito comedically widened his eyes before exclaiming in a rather surprised fashion. "It's you!"

"Excuse me? I don't believe we've...met?" There was hesitation that Kaito assumes to be passing recognition. He was quite proud that his detective could recognise him under this disguise. Though to be honest, his detective always managed to pick him out of the crowd regardless of what face he was wearing (or what clothes he was wearing. Perhaps he should try not wearing anything, though that would cause public nuisance).

"Of course. Of course. You won't recognise me like this." He nodded sagely. Someone at the edge of the room was trying to catch his attention inconspicuously and Kaito knew that particular someone was Rum's underling. Not wanting to raise any further alarms. He extracted a promise from Shinichi.

"Look, don't go anywhere ok? An hour. Meet me at the entrance." Kaito insisted with a rather soft voice so not to be overheard by the surrounding guests. He took Shinichi's hands into his grip and giving it a rather firm squeeze. "Promise me ok? One hour!"

He nodded and walked away without a goodbye. To the untrained eye, it looked like the pair were mere acquaintance greeting each other. Though Kaito hoped Shinichi had caught his small clue.

"You're cutting it quite close." A rather curvy female attached herself onto Kaito's forearm. He could feel several pairs of eyes already glaring into his back. The voice was a rather familiar one.

"Really Auntie? Aren't you a bit much for me in this face?" Kaito pointed at his current face. Ther person he is currently disguising was one of a rising businessman. Not one to garner any attention from famous actress. Though he could not hint at that seeing as he was supposed to not know about Vermouth. Instead, he hoped she was mistaking the phrase for age instead of occupation.

"No one is too young or inconsequential for me." She batted her eyelids. "And? Why did you approach him?" There was suspicion in her voice.

"Come on, he looks exactly like me. You can't really fault me for assuming that he's my partner now can you?" Kaito reasoned. It sounded weak but at the same time, he figured it would be the most likely reason an amnesiac person would make. "Besides, he had those eyes. The ones I keep seeing…"

"Oh? So you do remember?" A small smile formed on her face. "That's quite a good turn of events."

Admitting the truth to Vermouth is dangerous, hence he avoided the topic in most cases. However, his action demands some sort of explanation. "I don't remember. But I do remember asking for someone with blue eyes when I was in recovery."

Kaito was thankful once more for Lady Luck when he saw his target. It would not take long to retrieve the relevant information from the man.

"Now, if you'll excuse me. I better do as Uncle asked me. Otherwise, who knows what happens." He shrugged, lifting the woman's hand to his lips. He was internally disgusted at the need to act chivalrous towards her but it was needed to keep his cover.

"Little Dove, don't lose your colour now." She whispered into his ears before letting go and sauntering off to, most likely, harass his detective. Kaito saw how her eyes continuously strayed back to where Shinichi was last seen standing.

The chatting and the shoulder-rubbing, alongside a little sucking up, with his target went off without a hitch. They talked about current affairs, the economy, the apparent state of things in Japan. All inane topics for Kaito but at least he had enough passing knowledge to con his way through the conversation. It took nearly thirty minutes for his target to divulge in the purpose of the party, something to do with a celebration of a new business contract coinciding with his wedding anniversary. Kaito was extremely tempted to drug the man into his submission but he refrained. The man just kept on talking and talking, without signs of stopping. Thankfully, his aide came to drag the man away back to the study to finalise the contract or something. Kaito skillfully tailed behind the pair, knowing there was a high possibility of the safe being in the same location.

He did not bother to eavesdrop into the conversation, thinking that it would be another boring exchange of legal mumbo jumbo. Instead, he took the time to slinker in the shadows to check for hidden safes. However a particular phrase caught his attention.

"Well? Is it stored inside the safe?" His target asked. Kaito figured he must mean a copy of the contract.

"Of course. I made sure to lock the upstairs room on my way out. And double checked whether there were anyone in the nearby guest rooms just in case they saw me."

"Are you sure you placed it in the correct safe?" The man seemed too suspicious for his liking. And by the phrase of sentence, it looked like there were more than one safe inside the house.

"Yes, it's the one in the Green Room."

"Good. At least you're better than my last aide. He was colourblind and mixed up the safes. The Green is for business. The Red is for others."

The stress on the final word made Kaito curious. Seeing as Rum clearly instructed for Kaito to take photos of the contents, he figured he must mean the Green safe. But the Red safe, that warrants an investigation as well. Who knows, Kaito might be lucky and find something useful.

Exiting the room after the pair, Kaito made his journey stealthily upstairs. He remembered hearing about being able to use the guest rooms on the East Wing if they felt unwell during the party, so Kaito guessed the Green Room would be somewhere on the East Wing. Amazingly, it did not take long for Kaito to locate the room for there as a rather ornate door, decorated with ivy engravings at the end of the East Wing.

"And here I thought it would be painted green." Kaito mused, taking out the lock pick from his pocket. Mere seconds and the door opened without a sound. The inside was laid with a plush carpet and filled with various sorts of wooden furniture. There was a large desk immediately visible from the doorway but Kaito chose to circle round the walls just in case the interior of the room was boobytrapped. He ran a hand across the flat surface of the wall, checking for irregularities for it was common to hide a safe in a wall. Not finding anything worth noting, he next moved to inspect the rather large self portrait at the back of the room. To his surprise, there were no hidden latches. Pondering, his eyes landed on the large wooden table. Running the hand across the surface revealed no hidden compartment, though he noted the bottom drawer was rather deep. Opening said drawer saw that the interior was smaller than the outside. Smirking, Kaito made careful work of prying the inner bottom of the drawer to reveal a rather small safe painted in a stunning emerald green, not something Kaito had expected.

"Well, all the less work then." There really was no need for any safe cracking equipment for his first try on the code, the owner's wedding anniversary, was actually correct.

The contents were all document in nature, many contracts in fact, and Kaito took out his small camera that came with his disguise. He also made a note to memorise the contents just in case.

"Alright. Work's done." Returning everything back to it's rightful position, he glanced at a nearby clock. He still had time to spare for a quick look at the location of the Red safe. "No time like the present." Kaito figured that, from their conversation, the Red safe must be inside the same room as well for a colourblind person to mistaken it when given the exact direction of its location. "And given how easy it was to mistaken a safe, I'm thinking it should be somewhere around here as well…"

Kaito walked around the table, taking note of the heavy legs and rather ornate backing. It was then he realised the back panel was rather thick. Tapping on the wooden structure revealed it was not wood at all. Rather it gave off a metallic sound. Smirking, Kaito felt along the seams but frowned when nothing stood out. He crawled underneath the table and found a hidden access panel painted red on the side where the drawers were. Kaito tried the same code again on the electronic lock, which did manage to unlock the safe. The door automatically slide downwards to reveal a shallow compartment that held jewels and several vials of things. Kaito took one out and crawled away from the table. The liquid was shimmering with a slight reddish tinge. Although it would be too noticeable to take the whole vial, Kaito unscrewed the top and took out a handkerchief to dabble some of the liquid before placing the cloth inside a plastic seal bag. Pocketing the chemical sample, he replaced the vial and, out of habit, took the jewel to the nearest window to peer through to the moon. As expected, there was no doublet but it did shine a pretty light.

After ensuring he left no evidence inside the room, Kaito made a quiet exit. He bade the host a quick farewell before heading towards the main entrance, where Shinichi stood leaning against a nearby pillar.

"Thank goodness you came!" Kaito nearly pounced on Shinichi in happiness. Instead, he took Shinichi's hands and held it to his chest. "I thought…"

"Will you explain now?" There was irritation in his voice.

"All in good time. All in good time." Kaito glanced over at the parked sedan he came in, the driver was still in his seat though he was just beginning to nod off. "Now come on. Let's head back to the apartment."

Kaito did not wait for a reply but instead pulled Shinichi along to the parked car. He rapped on the driver side window, startling the man.

"We're heading back now." He demanded.

"But Verte-sama! He's...you're not supposed to bring anyone!"

"What do you mean? " Kaito enforced. "He's supposed to be with me."

"Sir! Rum-sama said…" The driver glanced over at Shinichi. Kaito felt the tensing of muscles at the mention of Rum.

"Can't you even recognise your superior? It's Blanche, my partner!" Kaito glared at the man, who gulped in fear of feeling his wrath.

They were at a standstill for a long time, until Kaito decided to give the man a way out.

"Look, call him if you must. But I just found my partner so I'm going to bring him back. Is that clear?" Kaito turned away from the driver, walking them towards the small cluster of trees in the back before smiling at Shinichi with slight embarrassment. "Sorry about that. Really, you'd think they would recognise you on face alone…"

"What do you mean?" There was still signs of hesitation, as though Shinichi could not commit himself to recognising Kaito as himself. Kaito felt Shinichi trying to inch away from him and would have done so if not for Kaito's grip on his wrist. The fear was evident in his detective's eyes. Not that he blamed Shinichi, seeing as he was doing quite a good job at pretending to have amnesia. If he could fool Shinichi, that means he had other people fooled into buying the act.

"Please tell me you remember…" Kaito pleaded, complete with watery eyes. "I mean, I know they told me there was a chance that you won't. But still…" Kaito was extremely tempted to use this opportunity to tell Shinichi about the truth and about his plan. But he could never be too sure whether someone was listening in on them.

"Look, if you don't start explaining yoursel-" Before Shinichi could finish his sentence, the driver interrupted them with a cough.

"Verte-sama, Rum-sama said I can only take you to the hotel. Not the apartment. There were concerns that...your guest may be tracked."

"Fine." It was not the ideal situation, and more than likely Rum had already sent someone over to the hotel room to bug it. "Hotel it is. But rest assure I will have words later on." He tried to act menacing, something he felt would be well within his character. After all, he was quite annoyed.

Tugging at Shinichi once more, who seemed oddly obedient, Kaito pushed Shinichi to sit in the further seat before taking the seat himself. As soon as the car was in motion, Kaito tore off his latex mask.

"I'm so glad I found you. When I was told there was very little chance we could find you...I just…"

"What happened?" There was disbelief in his voice. Shinichi reached out to caress his cheeks, a gesture he savoured and leaned into. He mimicked the same gesture, letting his thumb trail across the supple flesh and carefully massage the slightly darken skin underneath the blue eyes.

"You're here. You're safe. That's all you need to know." Kaito whispered before giving the driver seat a directed look. Shinichi caught on and remained silent, letting Kaito do the talking. Or in all honesty, it was more like spinning a tale laced with as much information and truth as he could. It was a specialty of his after all. "When I woke up, you weren't there and I thought…" He shook his head, taking a hold of Shinichi's hand instead. "I was told, our mission was a failure and we were both lost. But then, they picked me up and made sure I could not harm myself or others. They were unsure as to our state of mind seeing as we were supposedly being experimented on."

"Experimented?" There was a hint of distress in the blue eyes. Kaito winced, it might be the wrong words to use. Shinichi would think he was being experimented on.

"That was what I've been told." Kaito glanced out of the window, they were nearing the hotel he had been using. "It took me some time to recover, and I've only been cleared for action today. Well, at least it was an easy one. And a lucky one at that." He looked expectantly into Shinichi's eyes. "After all, I found you when everyone told me you were lost forever."

The moment the car pulled into a stop, Kaito quickly opened the door and exited, pulling Shinichi in his wake. His still obedient detective was weary more so than ever as he eyed the hotel lobby critically.

"We're going to the 10th floor." Kaito commented inside the elevator as the generic background music did not provide any relief in tension. "Seeing as Uncle did not want our apartment compromised." Kaito glanced up discretely at the security camera at the corner of the elevator, he was sure someone was watching their interactions. It would not do to want to pull his hesitant detective into some much needed skinship.

The rest of their journey remained in tense silence, Kaito did not doubt it was because of Shinichi's paranoia that had his detective remaining mute. Even when they entered into the relative safety of the hotel suite, neither relaxed. Kaito began his sweep over the room, ensuring they have some semblance of security and privacy. Even with his thorough search, Kaito did not want to risk having his cover blown.

"Well? It's not really home but I guess you should still make yourself comfortable." He motioned towards the bed, offering it as a seat as he pulled up a chair. The frown on his detective's face suggested that Shinichi had hoped Kaito to be sitting closer. But without actually being able to confirm the types of bugs inside the room, and having no access to a scrambler, Kaito would not risk it.

"So tell me, what do you remember?" Shinichi broke the tension. "If I'm supposedly to have forgotten something."

"Well, I'm not really sure how to start. I've been told we've been working for Uncle, or perhaps I should say Rum, for the past few years. He took the pair of us in when my father having supposedly died in a deliberate accident…" Kaito began relating the story Rum and fed him, all the while watching Shinichi. The more Kaito conversed, the deeper the frown. There were even traces of fear hidden deep within the sapphire blues, something akin of having lost something dear.

"Well? Did it ring any bells for you?" Kaito finally said as he went over to the kettle and bring water to the boil. The amount of distrust in everything within the suite was high, not wanting to accidentally drug himself or his detective, Kaito opted for plain old boiled water. At least it would have been impossible to contaminate the water system within such a short period of time.

Shinichi's jaws locked itself as he walked closer towards Kaito. Hands reached up to force them to make eye contact. Kaito relished in the feeling of warm hands on the sides of his face and neck.

"Tell me this, do you believe any of it?" Shinichi's eyes searched his own, not blinking in the slightest as it tries to take in all the visual information Kaito presented.

Kaito, having near complete control over all his facial muscles and because of his skills as a masterful actor, can now convey the hidden messages he so desired to give voice.

"Yes." He answered with a confident tone even as the tell-tale miniscule signs shown through his physiology told a different story.

Relief soon flooded sapphire eyes and Shinichi began to sink down into the carpeted floor.

"Shinichi?!" Alarmed, Kaito reached out to steady his detective. "Are you alright?"

"Thank goodness. You're...you. You're fine." The soft whispers to Kaito was the evidence he needed to confirm for sure his detective has received the hidden message. "You're actually alive."

"Of course I am." Kaito gently smoothed over the stubborn tuft of hair, which sprang back up immediately much to Kaito's amusement. "Were you told otherwise?"

"When I couldn't find you anywhere, you didn't contact me. I had...I didn't know what to do then."

Now that Kaito could be physically near his detective without raising too much suspicion, Kaito noticed the change in his detective's physique, where there had been a definite loss of weight and the lack of sleep. Kaito wanted to frown and chastise Shinichi for the lack of concern on his health but instead resorted to a rather angry huff, which can be interpreted in many ways.

"You should have more faith in me." Kaito pulled his detective in for a closer hug, letting his hand do a little bit of exploration. Kaito felt Shinichi's warm breath on his neck as his detective nuzzled in closer.

Their intimate moment was quickly interrupted with a succinct knock on the door. Breaking out of the loose hold, Kaito looked through the peephole and saw Rum standing in the corridors by himself with a rather stern look on his face. It was hard to read Rum through the blurry glass, though Kaito knew the man was quite displeased with the current turn of events. It must be grating to have his detective suddenly appear in a supposedly safe mission area.

"Uncle." Kaito greeted with some degree of enthusiasm and happiness. The happiness was at least a genuine emotion if everything else was not.

"Verte." Kaito suppressed the wince to a pained smile. Rum's voice was too stern, too cold, and held nothing to the faked familiarity it had before. Somehow, Kaito felt Rum might be suspecting his truthfulness on not remembering.

"I found him, my partner!" He tries to act like a giddy child, pulling Rum into the room. When his detective laid eyes on Rum, he immediately stiffened. "See? And you told me he would be lost!"

"Yes." Rum's gaze was cold and calculating when it glanced over his detective before resting onto Kaito. "Are you sure you're alright? Nothing out of the ordinary?"

"No. Why? Were you expecting…" He left the question floating, letting Rum interpret his words however he pleased.

"No. I had hope not." This was at least heartfelt. Kaito felt Rum wanted to use him as leverage against Shinichi, wanting to recruit both of them once more. He tried it, in what seems like an eternity ago, and now, Rum has a rather valuable piece, Kaito himself, to hold hostage against Shinichi. "Would you mind stepping out for a minute? I'd like a word with...Blanche."

"But…" Kaito looked between the pair, fear coursing through his veins when his mind assumed the worst. It was no feat of imagination to conjure up images in his mind where Rum would point a gun to Shinichi's temple as he threatened him to join his cause.

"It's fine." Shinichi nodded with confidence. "I'll be fine."

Kaito looked towards Rum who narrowed his eyes in response. Another threatening gesture.

"Alright. I'll...just...head down to the cafe or something…" Kaito reluctantly relented and nod, giving the pair of men a hesitant look before shutting himself away from the hotel room.

Outside, he was startled by Vermouth who had been leaning against the wall next to the doorway. It took much effort to calm his beating heart.

"Nice to see the pair of turtledoves are finally reunited." Her voice held none of the condescending tone. There was a sense of hopefulness in the timbre.

"It was by pure luck that I found him. If Uncle had not asked me for the mission, I would have never come across him." He shrugged, there was very little need for him to show he was confused by the current conversation. "So in a way, I owe it all to Uncle."

"You're still calling him that?" She frowned, hands reaching out to stroke Kaito's face. "There's no need to hide between us now is there?"

Kaito leaned backwards after the briefest touch. "I don't know what you mean." He lied with a straight face. There was always reason to hide things away from the slippery woman. She and her Boss, whomever they may be whether it is the one from darkness or one from light, is dangerous no matter how Kaito looks at the situation.

"Play the game like this if you want. But it might not be beneficial for both our sides." She crossed her arms with the intent of ending the conversation right there.

Kaito let her have the last word and headed for the elevators. He will do as he said, take the elevator down to the lounge and stay there until Rum comes or calls for him, whichever came first. But that was not to say he would not be able to listen in. During his time being trapped in the apartment, he was able to salvage some bits and pieces around the assigned apartment and cobble together a crude form of listening bugs. It required some work to procure himself several mobile phones, mostly pickpocketed from several unsuspecting passerby, which he vowed to return them to their rightful owners after this deed. After all, he only needed the phones to act as transmitting beacons for the time being.

The static came heavily as he settled into the soft lounge chairs and ordered a cup of hot chocolate. His attention was diverted between keeping an eye on his surrounding and the sounds coming through the wired headphones he nicked from the lost-and-found of the hotel as he passed the counter.

"Why?" Shinichi's voice came through loudly. It made sense seeing as Kaito attached the bug directly onto his suit.

"It was an open opportunity for me. So why not? I feel you'd do the same in my shoes. I gave him meaning and memories, more than what any amnesiac could hope for."

"You're keeping him under surveillance and as hostage. I don't see you as a charitable samaritan."

"Kuroba-kun, though I should actually call him Verte, is a useful resource. I managed to mold him into someone better than he was before."

"Why you!"

There was a loud scuffle, rubbing of cloth and somehow a loud thud then a click.

"Ah-ah. I wouldn't do that Kudo-tantei." Rum most likely was threatening Shinichi at gunpoint. "It might be wise to remember who has the upper hand in this situation."

"What do you want? With Kaito, with me?" The sound of hesitation was clear even through the static.

"Nothing much. I'm low on people so Kuroba-kun is a nice catch. You, however, you're valuable. I could use a man like you on my team. Or…" The silence felt sinister to the point that Kaito could feel it. He gulped, unwilling to think of the various horrid things Rum may ask of his detective. "You, I can use as a peace offering…"

"But you'll release Kaito." Kaito hated the self-sacrificing nature of his detective. Hated the fact that Shinichi would put Kaito's life before his own. He wanted nothing more than to run back into the hotel room and knock some sense into his detective.

"Maybe, maybe not. It really depends on your cooperations. I might be willing to negotiate if you hand over a certain Key first. As a show of goodwill."

"There's nothing good with how you're trying to blackmail me now instead of holding Kaito hostage." There's a slight tremor in Shinichi's voice and Kaito was not sure if it was out of fear or anger.

"Think of this as an incentive for you to do your job Kudo-tantei." Another rustling of fabric and Kaito tensed once more. "Contact me when you've decided."

The resounding click of the door shutting alerted Kaito to put away his home-made gadgets and hide them. He took a rather large gulp of the now cold chocolate drink and acted as though he had been entertained by the pianist for the whole time. Kaito had even managed to snag a nearby entertainment magazine showcasing upcoming movies. He made a mental note to see one or two of them with his detective once this whole mess was over.

"Have you been in here the whole time?" Rum took the closest empty seat. Kaito spied, from the corner of his eye, how Vermouth sauntered towards the back of the room and took up a guard position.

"There's no where else to go and I don't really feel like leaving especially since...well...since I found the owner of those eyes that kept coming to mind…" Kaito acted nervously, glancing between his drink on the table, the magazine in his hand, and the pianist who started playing once more.

"You and him were close." He nodded sagely. "Ever since the pair of you were in my care, you've never left each other's side. It's a wonder you managed to function properly in the past few weeks without him."

"I think he was...with me in a sense. I somehow always saw his eyes…" Kaito thought back to when he first woke up, how he would unconsciously seek out his detective even without the memories. It was clear how much his detective had meant, that memories pales in comparison to his detective's presence.

"It's good to hear then." He patted Kaito on the shoulder. "A good partner is hard to find."

"Yea…" Staring at his half finished cup, he glanced shyly at Rum, like a child asking for more. "Is he...can he...come back with me?"

"I'm afraid that might not be the best idea right now. Who knows who is watching him. I don't want to risk the pair of you and even he agreed."

"Oh." Kaito was sure his detective did not want to leave his side especially with how Rum had threatened Shinichi with Kaito. There must be some way he could keep in touch with his detective.

"I'm sure we could welcome him back in once everything is settled." The way Rum sounded satisfied was not comforting. It was as though he was sure everything would go his way and Kaito hated that. "Go on, spend the rest of the evening with him. The driver will wait for you here at the hotel until you're ready to leave." Rum motioned Kaito towards the door and he knew a dismissal when he sees it.

"Then...alright." Kaito nodded, giving the lounge one last glance before heading back up.

The moment Kaito entered the room, he was greeted with an overturned chair and side table along with a pacing Shinichi who seemed to be giving his utmost attention to wearing a hole in the carpet.

"You'll fall through to the lower floor if you keep it up." Kaito joked, pulling the chair to upright position. His words must have triggered something as Shinichi strode purposefully towards him and wrapped his arms around in a tight hug. "Um…"

"Don't. Please don't." There was a slight trembled in his voice. "Stay. Don't go, not yet."

"I'm here." He whispered softly, stroking on the midnight locks. "We have the whole night." He hoped this was enough of a indicate to his detective that he is currently implementing a plan.

"I'd give the whole world just for you." Shinichi replied in an equally soft whisper. Kaito tensed at the words. "Anything, just don't leave."

"What did Uncle say." Shinichi stiffened in his arms once more. Kaito regretted the words but without actually knowing whether there was someone just outside the door with some sort of gadget that can listen into their conversation, he had to keep in character.

"That I should...give up."

"You won't be you if you did." It was a simple fact. That and because Kaito did not want Shinichi to hand over the Key. A dangerous implement like that should not fall into Rum's hands, or any hands for that matter.

"But I could lose you."

"You'll find me. You always do." Kaito had full confidence that his detective would be able to find him should the worst came to be. Though he also had equal amounts of confidence that his plan would succeed. After all, it only required Kaito to stay and look for the weak link, or even that single piece of information that could bring the Organisation down.

"Too much trust." The shaking of the head tickled Kaito's nose and he could not help but sneeze.

It seemed to be the thing that snapped the tension away as the pair began to laugh uncontrollably in each other's arms. Kaito committed the sound to his mind, knowing full well it would be some time before he could see his detective again.

Together, they staggered towards the bed, each stripping out of their stifling jacket and suit ensemble before snuggling up underneath the thick duvet blanket. Shinichi used Kaito as a pillow, laying his head above the heart. The steady breathing from his detective lured Kaito into an easy sleep.

With the parting words of "Stay Safe", Kaito gently pecked Shinichi's cheeks before leaving the hotel room that chilly morning. They were both reluctant to let go of the entwined hands but they had roles they had to play. Before Kaito walked away, he gave Shinichi a final hug, slipping the plastic bag of evidence into the convenient pocket. He felt something had slipped into his own pant pockets.

"You too. Don't lose the Clover." Kaito had to frown at the blatant clue, Shinichi must have slipped something important. He doubted it was the KID monocle, though that was useful in itself with the various upgrades the Professor added, but his money would be placed on a transceiver of sorts.

"I won't. Promise me you'll take care of yourself." Kaito knew he was prolonging the goodbye but he wanted to spend as much time as possible in his detective's presence.

"You too. Now go. Before…" The words 'they suspect' left hanging in the air. Kaito thinks that Shinichi somehow deduced what he wanted to do.

"We'll see each other soon." With a final wave, Kaito hurriedly walked down the corridor and resisted the urge to turn back his head. He could feel the intense worry radiating from his detective in waves of heated gaze. Closing his eyes, Kaito took a deep breath to regain composure, reconstructing the mask he had to wear.

-TBC-