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Outlaw Hearts

4: The Dance

The petals of the rose were a deep, velvet red, flawless and elegant under the sunlight. Shinichi turned it slowly over and over in his hands, noting that the thorns had been removed. He had found it lying on his windowsill that morning. He didn't have to think very hard to guess who had left it there. He wasn't sure whether he should be disturbed that the thief had snuck into his room some time during the night or disappointed that he'd missed a chance to talk to Kaito again.

"Where did that come from?"

Jerking around in surprise, he saw Ran standing in the doorway. He blushed and dropped the flower onto the desk in front of him like it was a hot coal.

"I just found it," he said hurriedly.

"Really?" Wandering over to the desk, she picked up the bloom in question. Its thorn-less state indicated that it wasn't wild. "Where?"

Shinichi stammered out some half coherent answer that she could tell immediately was a lie. He never had been good at lying. Had he actually bought the rose himself then? It didn't seem very likely. The only things Shinichi ever bought for himself were books. Sometimes she was sure he'd buy books instead of food if it weren't for the fact that he had to eat (a fact which he occasionally had to be reminded of when he got his hands on something particularly interesting to read or when they got more complex cases). A gift for someone else then? But he wasn't handling it like it was a gift. And, well, she knew from experience that books were also his first choice of gifts to give.

"So who gave it to you?" she asked, cutting off his continued attempt to ramble out an explanation. Shinichi turned even redder at her question as a brief look of panic flashed across his face before he replaced it with a forced laugh.

"I already told you, I just found it. I guess someone must have dropped it."

"In your room?" she prodded, eyebrows rising.

Shinichi opened his mouth then closed it again. He was saved from having to come up with something else to say however by Hattori's sudden arrival.

"Hurry up you two!" he exclaimed. "The Suzukis sent a carriage for us. The driver says it's pretty far so we gotta leave now or we'll be late. Oh, and don't forget to pack everything. I think we're getting rooms there too for the next few days. We can get new rooms at the inn over there."

X

The Suzuki family was one of the wealthiest on the grasslands, owning almost a third of all the land around Ekoda County with assets scattered throughout the rest of the grasslands to places as far away as Beika. It was the only daughter of the head of the family who had invited the Beika Detectives to the encroaching party. According to Ran, she had met the girl in question while Shinichi had been away when she had stumbled across a gang trying to kidnap her. Ran had put a stop to that with a few well placed kicks and punches and she and the girl, Sonoko, had become fast friends. It seemed a lot of things had happened while Shinichi had been away.

"Oh Ran!" the petit girl exclaimed when she greeted them as they got off the carriage. "I'm glad you guys made it. Come on, introduce me to your friends."

Ran smiled and waved at her two companions like someone introducing sights to a tourist. "You've already met Heiji, right? And this is Shinichi. He's the other person I work with that I told you about."

"The one that was missing?"

Ran nodded. "He just got back about a week and a half ago."

"I heard about that. Everyone was saying how it was incredible that he actually managed to survive in the Oasis so long."

Shinichi listened to the two chatter on about him like he wasn't there. It was kind of awkward. A glance at Heiji showed that his friend was feeling it too. Green eyes met his before they rolled heavenward as though asking for patience.

Finally Ran brought up the subject of the party's venue and Sonoko clapped her hands together as her eyes gleamed. "Oh it's going to be awesome! We just built this place. In fact, why don't you all come with me. I'll get someone to take your things inside for you and then I can give you the grand tour before the rest of the guests arrive."

The party was being held both in honor of Sonoko Suzuki's eighteenth birthday and to mark the grand opening of a vacation resort they had only just finished constructing on the banks of Lake Pearl, the largest lake within fifty miles of the Oasis. Sitting opposite the lake from Pearl Town, the complex sprawled like a village all in itself. For the celebration they had invited guests from all over the County and beyond, from nobles to famous craftsmen to scholars to merchants and various competition winners. It was exactly the kind of fluttery social function that Shinichi hated. They were always long, dull as anything, and on top of all that everyone always seemed so superficial to him as they vied with one another to make the best connections and impress their peers. He knew fundamentally that connections were important, but somehow that just made the things more irritating. He hated feeling like everyone was making small talk and being nice just because it could be useful in the future to have done so.

But it was rude to turn down invitations to such events, especially when they were offered by the hosts themselves, and he didn't want to be rude. He supposed he would enjoy the things more if he liked to do things like dance. But since he didn't, he had found himself a seat off to the side with a cup of coffee and a plate of assorted foods that had been forced on him by Ran and Heiji. Admittedly the food was pretty good, but he had no idea how they expected him to finish the heap of stuff they'd seen fit to pile on his plate. On the other hand, it gave him a great excuse for staying put.

Ran had been asked to dance by a well-mannered young man who turned out to be a doctor. She seemed to be having fun. Heiji too had disappeared, apparently having spotted a girl he said he'd met on the train.

Shinichi went back to picking at his plate as he kept one eye on the rest of the party. More and more people were beginning to gravitate to the dance floor as the musicians who had been invited to perform launched into a waltz.

The center of attention however was on the man who'd arrived late and his brunette partner dressed in her sweeping, wine red dress. They swept about the dance floor with the easy elegance of the truly talented and no one in the room had been able to take their eyes off them since they'd stepped out on the floor. The grace and energy in their steps reminded everyone present of why dancing was an art form. And the couple obviously knew they were good, Shinichi thought. You could see it in the way they held themselves and he occasional pause to pose for their audience.

Something nudged at his knee and Shinichi jumped in his seat. Leaning back, he looked under the table to see a pair of round, black eyes peering up at him from above a lolling tongue. The dog snuffled and whined, its furry face full of hope. Shinichi smiled and scratched it behind the ears. Glancing around to make sure no one was watching, he took what was left of the roasted ham on his plate and passed it down to his new acquaintance. It scarfed the offering in one happy go and wagged its tail so vigorously that its whole body shook.

"Looks like you enjoyed it more than I did," he said quietly, giving the dog a final pat on the head before nudging it off of where it had sat down on his feet. "Go on, I'm going to go and get some fresh air before Ran decides I have to dance or something."

X

Indigo eyes watched the detective make his way outside to stand by the veranda railing, watching the way the moonlight fell in soft folds around his slender frame. From this angle he could just see one brilliant, blue eye gazing out across the moonlit lake beyond to the tiny scattering of lights that marked out Pearl Town. It was those beautiful blue eyes that had caught his attention on the train—so bright and full of thoughts. Admittedly, then he hadn't thought much beyond the fact that he liked those eyes. He'd never had much interest in detectives and their kind. Their black and white worlds didn't interest him, though their collective skepticism was always good for a laugh. They were, however, decent fellows for the most part in their own way, and he didn't like seeing decent people get themselves killed. So he'd rescued the boy.

He had originally intended to return the boy to his friends and leave it at that, but he had been curious. So he'd brought the boy to one of the many hideouts he'd found over the years instead on a whim. All he'd wanted was to learn a bit more about the person behind those eyes. He hadn't intended to tell the boy as much as he had, and he certainly hadn't expected that they might grow to be friends, but they had. It had been a pleasant surprise (or at least it had for him. He got the distinct impression that Shinichi found the whole thing either confusing or disturbing or both). He'd found himself not wanting to let the detective go.

When those eyes looked at him, he felt as though it was really him they were looking at. Not the Phantom or any of the many faces he had crafted for himself over the years but just Kaito and however much or little of those faces was really a part of that. He couldn't remember the last time someone had been able to look at him like that.

Unexpected or not, he knew himself well enough to know when he liked something—or rather someone in this case.

He'd never had much self restraint when it came to things he wanted, but he'd realized after that first kiss that maybe Shinichi wasn't on the same page as he was. He'd been almost sure the other felt something for him, but it seemed he'd moved a little too fast. Not wanting to scare the detective, he'd backed off, but he fully intended to make Shinichi his one day.

How coincidental that he should find the detective now when he was so close to getting his time back. It had to be fate.

X

The night air was cold and sharp but refreshing. Closing his eyes, Shinichi inhaled deeply, filling his lungs with the scent of green things and water. The main building of the resort had been built almost right up against the edge of the lake. It gave anyone who ventured out onto the veranda an unparalleled view across the lake's dark waters.

"Would you like some company?" a smooth voice asked from behind him. "You seem rather lonely over here all by yourself."

Shinichi glanced around to see the male half of the dance stars from earlier standing a few steps behind him, a glass of wine in one hand.

"I appreciate the thought," he replied with a shrug, "but I'm fine the way I am. I like the peace and quiet."

The stranger's lips quirked into an amused smile that seemed oddly familiar. "Indeed. Then may I intrude upon your peace and quiet? The view from this spot you've found is truly spectacular."

"It's not exactly my place to dictate who can stand here and who can't."

The stranger chuckled. "Perhaps not, but it would be rude of me to force my company on an unwilling soul."

"Well, I don't mind if you want to stand here too,"

"Good." The stranger stepped up to lean on the railing beside him, taking a sip from his glass. "The moon sure is beautiful tonight. They chose a good location for building this place. Though I must admit that I have always found the moon to be much brighter when you look at it from the Oasis."

Shinichi's brows furrowed as he watched the man out of the corner of his eyes. There was something in that voice…those words… And now that he was seeing the other's profile, there was definitely something familiar about him. In fact, the longer he looked, the more it almost seemed as though it was… Wait, was it possible? They had said he was a master of disguises. The hair was smooth and neatly groomed as well as being a shade too light, and there were subtle differences in his features, but the look in those eyes as they gazed out onto the still waters of the lake…

He started in surprised realization. "Kai—"

The magician held up a hand to cut him off. "Shh, not so loud. What do you think the disguise is for?"

"But what are you doing here?"

Now the young man's smile shifted a fraction, growing sharper and more defined—more real, and suddenly the face was the one Shinichi remembered and he could see how the thief had applied hints of shadows and lights to distract the eyes of others from his real features. They were anything but obvious, just little things here and there, but the effect they had together was astounding. Straightening from where he had been leaning on the railing, he set his glass down on its wide, wooden top and stepped closer to Shinichi, leaning in until their noses were almost touching. "Didn't I tell you I'd be seeing you again?"

Shinichi could feel the heat rising in his face as he leaned back as best he could, pinned as he was between the thief and the rails (if he leaned back much further he'd fall into the lake). That fluttery, nervous yet anticipatory feeling he'd almost forgotten about but which had become all too familiar the last time he'd been in the thief's company raced through him.

"But how did you get in?" he asked quickly as he fought to get his expression under control.

"As a matter of fact, I'm on the guest list." He stepped back and swept into a deep bow. "My name is Kuro Taoki, renowned musician of Ekoda County. It is a pleasure to make your acquaintance."

Shinichi blinked. He'd heard that name before. "Wait… Taoki… As in the guy they're calling the rising star of the Ekoda music world?"

"Ah, so you've heard of me. I am honored."

"So that's been you the whole time?"

The thief winked. "That's right. I have to do something when I'm not working, right?"

With the thief no longer leaning over him, Shinichi breathed a sigh of relief and went back to studying his face. "So are you working now?"

"Does it matter?"

"Yes."

"Then no, I am not." He quirked an eyebrow at the detective. "Satisfied?"

Shinichi huffed and turned back to face the lake. "I just didn't feel like working today."

"Really?" Even without turning to look, he could hear the smirk in the thief's voice. "And here I thought you'd be happy I came to see you."

"Why would I be happy about that?" he retorted, though he could feel the heat rising in his face again. Because he really was kind of glad. He had missed the magician's company even though he knew he shouldn't. It was stupid to get attached to an outlaw, even one who seemed decent.

Instead of answering, Kaito asked a question of his own. "Would you like to go riding?"

Shinichi blinked, thoughts abruptly derailed. "Riding?"

The thief chuckled. "Well, I certainly didn't come on foot. My horse is in the resort stables. There's quite a good stretch of open land out back. Miles and miles of nothing but grass and gentle hills. So? How about it?"

"I…guess I wouldn't mind," Shinichi heard his mouth say even though he hadn't been on a horse since he'd broken his arm falling off one four years ago.

"Excellent!" Kaito beamed.

A strong arm draped itself around his shoulders and steered him back inside and through the party still rolling on and outside again through the main doors. In no time at all they had reached the stables and Shinichi was being introduced to a rather noble looking steed with a pale gray coat that gleamed almost silver as Kaito led it out under the moonlight.

"There has to be something wrong with me," Shinichi said later as they sped across the open, grassy plane with the wind whipping into their faces and the moon painting everything around them in shades of pearl and silver.

"And why would you say that?" Kaito asked, sounding honestly puzzled. "Is it the wind? It is a bit strong tonight. Would you like to head back?"

"No, no, it's not that… It's just…I'm glad you came." The last words were muttered into the back of the thief's coat but his keen hearing caught them anyway and they made him smile a softer smile to himself where no one could see.

"For what it's worth," he replied, his own voice carried back to Shinichi by the wind rushing past them, "I missed you too."

TBC