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


Heart of a Spell

Chapter 4 - Warnings

It had been a month since he had started working as Kaito's assistant, and Shinichi was finally beginning to settle in to his new life. Unplanned as his temporary career change had been, he had found that it wasn't as terrible as he had thought it would be.

He was, however, busier than he had ever been in his life. "I'm done!" he announced, setting the last dish down on the table in front of Jii.

The old man surveyed the spread of assorted dishes that Shinichi had prepared with a critical eye. "The presentation is good," he said before picking up a pair of chopsticks. "Now let's see how it tastes."

Shinichi waited a bit nervously as the old man began to sample bits of each dish. One month of cooking lessons and Shinichi had found that he actually kind of enjoyed the activity. There was something both calming and satisfying about being able to take raw ingredients and turn them into something edible. It was also a skill that was going to make living on his own much, much easier once he got back to his real life.

Jii set his chopsticks down and smiled at the young (undercover) detective. "You've gotten much better. Now we can move on to the more complex dishes."

Shinichi wondered if it was wrong of him to feel so delighted at the old man's words. He decided it wasn't. This new job might be only a temporary arrangement, but that didn't mean he shouldn't give it his all. For all intents and purposes right now, this was his real job. And he intended to give it the attention it deserved.

Doing so made him feel a little less guilty about being here under false pretenses. But he'd rather not think about that right now.

He had far too much he had to be doing to be worrying about it.

Take today, for instance.

It wasn't even lunch time yet, and he had already been down to the post office to retrieve and drop off mail, done the laundry, cleaned the library, replaced the wilting flowers in the sitting and dining rooms with fresh ones, cleaned those rooms, organized the latest batch of groceries, spoken to the gardener about a tree that needed trimming, and completed his first cooking test.

Now that all that was over, he had a brief breather as he and Jii ate the products of his test for lunch.

"Isn't Kaito going to eat with us?"

"Master Kaito will be lunching with the Suzuki family today," the old man replied, placing a slight emphasis on the title and giving Shinichi a pointed look.

Their quiet meal was interrupted rather suddenly by Kaito as he burst into the dining room. He had one arm in the sleeve of a blue and silver jacket and was in the process of pulling the garment the rest of the way on. "Hey, have either of you seen that lapel pin with the rose quartz cranes on it? It was a gift from the family. They'll be hoping to see me wearing it."

"I believe I last saw it in your workroom," Jii replied after a moment's thought. "I recall you said you were going to make it into a protective charm."

"I remember that. But it wasn't there."

"You also said it needed a bit of sun."

"Ah ha! That was it. The roof." Kaito snapped his fingers, and suddenly there was a bejeweled pin glittering in his hand. "I'll be on my way then. But first." He turned to Shinichi. "I need you to deliver these today." He pulled a cloth bag and a slip pf paper out of the air with a flourish and handed both to Shinichi. "Just work your way down the list. Give everything in the bag to each of these people when you reach them. It will refill itself with the next person's delivery each time you do. Just make sure you go down the list in order."

Shinichi nodded his understanding. The sorcerer flashed both his assistants a quick grin before vanishing in a puff of smoke.

X

"I will not be going with you," Jii said. "Do you think you can manage without me?"

Shinichi nodded. "I'm just making deliveries. If I get lost, I'll just ask someone."

Jii smiled and patted him on the shoulder. "You best be on your way then."

And here he was.

Shinichi wondered if this was supposed to be some kind of test to see if he was starting to get to know his way around like he should.

Turning up the path to the first house on his list, he found himself climbing up what appeared to be an endless series of steps between equally endless rows of trees. Their leafy boughs stretched over his head to form a golden green tunnel like the sort he had often seen in paintings. It was a beautiful sight and a peaceful walk, but if he didn't reach the house soon he wasn't going to be able to make all the deliveries today With that in mind, he picked up his pace. He jogged up the stairs for a while before the growing ache in his knees forced him back to a walk. Seriously, whoever lived at the top of these steps had to be a champion hiker. Or maybe there was a better way up for carriages or such like.

Preoccupied with imagining what kind of person would live in a house at the top of such a horribly long staircase, he almost didn't notice when the steps finally leveled out to become a flagstone path still meandering through that leafy green sun tunnel. Despite the fact that the steps had come to an end, he still couldn't see a house. There was only one way to walk though, so he couldn't have taken a wrong turn. Right?

Somewhat reassured by that thought, he trudged onward. Sunbeams painted dappled shadows across his path, and birds sang from hidden alcoves amidst the leaves. The path wound ever forward, apparently without end. After a while, his thoughts began to drift. He found himself marveling at the tranquility of the place. It seemed to take away all the little worries and uncertainties that had been cluttering his mind ever since he'd arrived in Ekoda. For the first time since he'd left home, he felt truly at peace.

Ahead of him, the trees parted and the path broadened out. And there stood a magnificent house beyond an open, arched gate hung with ivy. Shinichi took a moment to gaze upon the place with wonder before stepping through the gate.

Now he was standing in a sunbathed garden. Deep flower beds overflowed with color everywhere the eye could see. Swarms of butterflies danced amidst the blooms. And there, walking up the path towards him with a watering can in her hand, was a young woman with her hair tied back in a ponytail.

"Good afternoon," she said to him with a smile. "How may I help you?"

Shinichi gave the girl a polite bow. "My name is Kudo Shinichi. I have a delivery here for a Miss Toyama Kazuha from the sorcerer, Kuroba Kaito."

"Ah, I see." The girl's eyes lit up. "I was wondering when he would deliver it. I was expecting old Jii though. Are you his new assistant then?"

"I am," Shinichi said, trying to squash the twinge of unease at what he still felt was partially a lie. "Here." Reaching into the bag Kaito had given him, he felt around until his hand closed on something round and cold. His hand emerged from the bag holding a blue glass orb.

Kazuha smiled as she took the orb. It fit perfectly in her cupped hands. "Thank you. I was a little worried he wouldn't finish it in time. I need it for my client this afternoon." A strange, misty light swirled through the orb. The girl's smile widened. "Perfect. Kuroba always does an amazing job. Tell him I'll send my payment the usual way."

"I will."

"Would you like to come in for a cup of tea?"

"Ah, thank you, but I can't. I still have several deliveries to make."

"Oh, perhaps another time then."

Shinichi bowed and was about to leave, but he was stopped by a hand on his elbow.

"Wait."

Confused, he turned back to the young woman only to find her frowning at him. Had he done something wrong?

"Did you need something else?" he asked.

"It's not that. I…" Kazuha stepped back, hands going back to clasping the blue orb which was now flickering like it had been filled with blue fire. "You should be cautious. You have a difficult road ahead of you. You are in more danger than you realize. Your greatest ally will also be the cause of your greatest pain. You must trust your own judgment and stay true to what you believe. If you do then, at least, you will not have cause to regret."

Shinichi blinked, wondering what he was supposed to say in answer to that. It sounded like a warning of some kind. But where was it coming from?

Seeing that Kazuha was waiting for some kind of response, Shinichi nodded. "I will keep that in mind." It was the only thing he could think of to say. It seemed sufficient though, since the girl nodded and bid him farewell.

-0-

The deliveries went smoothly after that. None of the other houses were half as hard to reach as Toyama Kazuha's had been. Shinichi did take a wrong turn here and there, but over all he was quite pleased with himself. In a relatively short time, he had managed to gain a decent working knowledge of the layout of the city despite its immense size.

He was on his way to the second to last address on his list when a hand suddenly came down on his shoulder. He jumped and spun around, clutching more tightly onto his delivery bag on reflex, only to find himself looking into a familiar face.

"Hakuba," he gasped. "What are you—"

"Not here," the blond said, cutting him off. Taking Shinichi by the arm, he towed the confused detective-turned-sorcerer's-assistant into a narrow alley between a tailor's shop and a bakery. He didn't let go of Shinichi until they were well out of sight of the casual passerby.

Then he released Shinichi and turned to face him. "Well?"'

Shinichi raised an eyebrow at him. "Well what?"

"Haven't you found anything yet?" the blond elaborated impatiently.

Blue eyes narrowed slightly. "I turned in my report two days ago."

"There wasn't anything useful in it."

"Well there sin't anything else."

It was Hakuba's turn to frown. "Have you even been looking? It seems from your report like all you have been doing is housework."

Shinichi bristled. "You guys were the ones who said I had to apply to be Kaito's assistant. In case you didn't know, that includes cooking, cleaning, librarian work, making deliveries, and a whole lot more besides. So forgive me if I've been doing lots of housework!"

Hakuba looked taken aback for a moment before his expression smoothed. "I see. In that case, I suppose it cannot be helped. However, do not forget that you have a duty."

Shinichi resisted the urge to roll his eyes. Didn't Hakuba think he knew that? Sure, he was new to Ekoda, but he wasn't an amateur. It wasn't his fault if there was nothing to tell. It just meant that, most likely, the police had been barking up the wrong tree when they'd given him this assignment.

"Is there anything else?" he asked just to be polite. "If not, I still have two deliveries to make."

"That is all. For now."

Shinichi nodded and left.

-0-

When he got back to the house, he found Jii waiting for him by the front gate.

"Did your deliveries go well?" the old man asked.

Shinichi hoped he didn't look guilty as he nodded. "The first place took a long time to reach, but, other than that, everything was fine."

Jii chuckled. "Ah yes, Miss Toyama's house is bespelled so that only one with a tranquil mind can reach it—unless she gives permission otherwise, of course. Did she say anything to you while you were there?"

Shinichi blinked, recalling the girl's rather strange parting words to him. "Well… She did say some things, but I didn't really understand what she meant… I think she was telling me to be careful."

Jii nodded, expression thoughtful. "Did she tell you what you needed to be careful of?"

"Uh…not really. Why? Was it important?"

"It is a little hard to say. But Miss Toyama's fortunes are almost always accurate. She is the second most renowned fortuneteller in Ekoda. If she warned you to be careful then you had best follow her advice."

"O—oh." A strange chill raced up Shinichi's spine. He shook it off with an effort.

Jii seemed to sense his unease because he smiled and patted Shinichi reassuringly on the back. "Don't worry too much about it, Lad. The future isn't set in stone. Even the best fortunetellers can't say exactly what our futures hold."

"Right…" Somehow, Shinichi was not reassured. It was ridiculous. He'd never believed in fortunetelling. But for some reason, he couldn't shake the feeling that something wasn't right.


-TBC-