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Outlaw Hearts

6: The Hope

"All misses," Kaito muttered to himself as he crossed off three more names from his mental list of gemstones.

"Aoko," he called as he picked up his pace, coming up to the edge of one of the many fires scattered around the campsite. His customary smile slipped back onto his face as she stood to greet him. "So do you have it?"

"We were only able to get the necessary information for four of the stones you wanted," she replied, pulling a tightly rolled scroll out of her satchel and handing it to him. "We're still working on the rest."

"Well, that should be enough to be getting along with," he replied, undoing the twine keeping the scroll shut and skimming over its contents. "Thank you."

"Is…something wrong?"

"Not that I am aware of. Why do you ask?"

"You seem to be in a lot more of a hurry these days is all," she observed.

"Well, there's only two pieces left. You can't blame me for being a bit excited."

"No, I guess not," she agreed. "But I think it's more than that." She paused again to watch him for a reaction but he only grinned and laughed.

"I need to check a few things," he announced, letting the scroll snap shut. "Have a good evening, ladies."

"I don't get it," Keiko piped up as she watched Kaito's retreating back. "He's usually so laid back. Now he schedules four heists in two weeks? It's crazy! And he gave back the last couple stones just like that."

"He does that a lot though," Aoko countered. "You know he only asks for something in return if he really thinks we need it. He doesn't like the idea of us relying on something like that."

"Yeah, but he didn't even send notes with them, and he always sends notes."

"I think it might have something to do with that detective he was talking about before. You know, the one he was with those three months he was away," she said, resuming her seat by the small fire. "I saw them together several times while we were at the Lake Pearl resort."

"Really?" the other girl leaned forward eagerly. "Do you think maybe he's finally fallen in love?"

The last member of their little campfire ring choked and spat out the mouthful of water she'd been drinking. "How did you even come up with that?"

Keiko blinked back at her, nonplussed. "It's just the only thing I could think of that might make him want to hurry. You know, if he can't get his time back, he'll have to watch the rest of us grow old and pass on into the afterlife without him. So it seems to me the best reason for wanting to hurry would be if there's someone he wouldn't want to lose. Not just someone he cares for like he cares about us, but someone he really loves."

"That's ridiculous," the other girl scoffed.

"Oh come on Suzuna," Keiko huffed. "What's so ridiculous about that?"

"It just is."

"I don't know…" Aoko said slowly. "Maybe it isn't. After all, I'm pretty sure he had us go to the Suzuki place to see him."

There was a long moment of silence as the other two digested this.

"I don't like it," Suzuna stated, her eyes narrowing. "It's probably a trap."

"I don't think so." Aoko fiddled with the hem of her shirt as she thought. Truth be told she still wasn't all that comfortable with the idea either, but she also knew Kaito was just about impossible to fool. He could read most people like open books. "They both looked…I don't know how to describe it exactly, but they both seemed really happy whenever I saw them."

"Ugh, I can't believe you two." Rolling her eyes in exasperation, Suzuna got to her feet and picked up her plate. "I'm outta here."

Aoko watched the other girl make her way towards the main campfire with a slight frown. "She seems to be in a rather foul mood today."

"I think she's just jealous," Keiko replied with a shrug. "She used to have that look whenever she saw you too."

"Me?" Aoko repeated in surprise. "Really?"

"Yeah."

"But why?"

"Well, we all know you and Kaito have known each other for practically forever, your parents being old companions of his and all. He talks to you and your dad more than any of the rest of us, and you're always the one he chooses to go with him when he needs a partner to do something. Like with this whole resort venture."

"I guess…" She cast a thoughtful look in the direction in which Suzuna had gone. "I knew she had a crush on him, I'm pretty sure that's why she stayed after we rescued her from the Oasis, but I thought she got over it when she and Kenji got together. Did they have a fight?"

"Not that I know of. But it must be hard for her to swallow having a stranger show up out of nowhere and catch Kaito's attention just like that when she tried for years without being noticed."

"That's not true. Kaito noticed, he just didn't want to encourage her."

"I know, and I think she does too. I'm pretty sure that just ticks her off more." The pig-tailed girl let out a quiet sigh. "It's kind of hard sometimes, you know, being out here all the time away from people. I mean, it's exciting too, but sometimes I just kind of wish that life could be normal for a while. I know I shouldn't be saying this…but sometimes I feel like… I don't know, lonely, I guess, when I'm in town and I know that I can't tell anyone who I really am—what I really do."

"Are you…thinking about leaving?" Aoko asked hesitantly, feeling a sudden wave of anxiety. It wasn't that no one ever left. People came and went every now and then. Some of them had to retire, some of them just got tired. Now that she thought about it, it was the ones like her whose families were here who tended to stay. But she had known Keiko for almost seven years now. And there weren't all that many of them her own age. She didn't really want to have to say goodbye.

"I guess I do think about it sometimes," Keiko admitted, twirling a lock of hair between her fingers. "But don't worry," she added with a knowing smile. "It won't be anytime soon. Maybe if I meet someone in one of the towns that I really like. Besides, Kaito's getting so close to actually completing his quest. I'd still be slaving away for that tyrant of an uncle if he hadn't helped me out. I'd like to be able to do something worthwhile for him too. I'd miss you all way too much if I left now anyway."

Aoko smiled at that, feeling both happy and more than a little relieved. "I'm glad to know you like us, but are you saying you'll miss us less if you left a few years later?"

Keiko laughed. "You never know. Maybe we'll have a big fight and you'll never want to see me again."

"That'll never happen," she replied firmly. They both shared a laugh at that.

"Haven't you ever thought of finding someone and settling down though?" Keiko asked, deciding it was time for a lighter mood.

Her friend's eyes darkened a shade however as she looked away. "It…did cross my mind once, I guess, but after that whole thing two years ago…"

"Oh, I'm sorry," Keiko apologized, her expression guilt-stricken. "I didn't mean to bring up bad memories."

"No, it's all right. It was a misjudgment on my part."

"No it wasn't! Don't even think that. It was that jerk's fault for being so stupid. If he really cared about you, he should have at least let you explain."

"Maybe…"

"There's no maybe about it. Now stop talking like that. So tell me what you did at Lake Pearl. It sounds like you weren't with Kaito much. So what happened? Did you meet anyone interesting?"

Happy enough with the change of topic, Aoko launched into a description of the Suzukis' new project.

Later, as she was headed back to her tent to sleep, she caught sight of Kaito sitting up on one of the rocky ledges looking out across the Oasis. He always did seem to like high places. Thinking back, her earliest memories were all of looking up at him—looking up at him when he'd given her a flower when she'd still been a child, looking up at him as he swung up into the saddle before giving her father some last instructions and riding off somewhere, looking up at him as he pulled her around a makeshift dance floor in an attempt to teach her how to dance… But most of the time it was like now, looking up at him as he sat or stood somewhere, gazing up at the night sky with that expression that no one could read.

At moments like those he always seemed…too far away, was the best way she could think of to describe it. He was the director of the play that was their lives, the one who could see everything, but he wasn't part of the cast. He knew things they didn't, and none of them had ever been able to fathom his thoughts.

She wondered sometimes if it was lonely up there.

Yet she had never been able to bring herself to approach him when he was like this. It never felt right. And she knew that if she tried she would find only that same, cheerful grin she met every other time, nothing more and nothing less.

Shaking her head to herself, she resumed the journey to her tent.

If he really had found someone who could step into that world of his, then she wished him the best of luck.

X

"Shinichi, stop moping and eat your sandwich before it gets cold!"

"I am not moping," the detective in question retorted, sounding slightly offended. "And sandwiches taste practically the same whether they're hot or cold."

Ran rolled her eyes. "You only say that because you never eat them fast enough to know the difference. Now eat."

Shinichi huffed a little but obeyed. On the other side of the table, Heiji snickered into his mug. Eating with that disgruntled pout on his face, his friend looked like a child who'd been ordered to finish his veggies. And standing over him with her arms folded, Ran looked every bit the irate mother. His laughter earned him a glare from the blue-eyed detective and a kick under the table, but it was worth it.

Ran was right though, he reflected as he watched Shinichi slowly nibbling away at his sandwich at a speed that suggested it would take him a little over a year to finish it. Shinichi had been acting a little odd lately. Less focused. He always seemed to have something else on his mind. He'd also gone back to spending long hours reading, which would have been more of a return to normalcy than anything else if it hadn't been for the way he sometimes spent several minutes staring at the same page like he wasn't seeing it at all.

Maybe he was bored, Heiji thought. After all, there hadn't been much to challenge any of them in the thinking department lately. Most of the jobs they'd been handling recently revolved around simple problem solving, everything from faulty irrigation lines to disappearing animals. The most interesting had to be the one man who's cow had discovered a way to open the pasture gate in order to go eat the vegetables in the neighboring farm. And that said a lot about what they had been doing lately. While some of the incidents were funny, they weren't exactly what one would call thought provoking.

Well, if boredom was the problem, he had a pretty good solution now. It had arrived via messenger only that morning.

Heiji cleared his throat, drawing his two companions' attention towards him. "I heard the Phantom's next heist is going to be pretty near here. You two think you're up for another shot at catching him?"

To his surprise, it was Ran who answered him. "Another one? He's sure getting active. Didn't he just take two stones over in one of the western border towns?"

"Yep. It's starting to make the sheriff pretty antsy."

"But didn't he give them both back?" Shinichi asked.

Something about his tone made Heiji frown. "Well, yeah, but you never know when he might change his mind. Anyway, his next target's currently on display in a gallery in the next town over from here. The place is sponsored by a lot of the local nobility, so Lady Suzuki asked if we'd lend 'em a hand."

"Would that local nobility include that Hakuba fellow from last time?" Ran asked a touch dubiously. "Because if it's going to be like that…"

"Unfortunately, it does, but the place isn't owned by the family or anything, so I doubt it would be a repeat of last time. From what I've heard, this time the operation's being organized entirely by proper law enforcement."

"Sounds to me like they have it covered then," Shinichi muttered, taking another halfhearted bite of his sandwich.

"Come on, aren't you the least bit interested?" the dark-skinned detective asked. "I thought you'd be jumping at the chance to do something different."

Shinichi blinked. "I…guess."

"He does seem like one strange thief," Ran mused. "The more we hear about the things he does, the more it feels like he's just doing it because he can."

Heiji grimaced. "Criminals like that are the worst. Like they've got nothing better to do than make the rest of us waste time and resources going after them because they're bored."

"If that's what you think it is, why don't you just not go?" Shinichi snapped, shooting him a narrow-eyed look that had the other scratching his head in confusion.

"What's up with you? Are you actually saying you think we shouldn't try to stop him?" he asked uncertainly, staring at his friend like he'd sprouted a third eye.

"N—no, I was just saying that maybe he has a good reason for doing what he's doing. It's not really fair to assume he's just trying to waste other people's time."

"Shinichi, he's an outlaw. You know, someone who doesn't have any regard for the law and considers himself above it. People like him do things however they like no matter what other people might think. They take things when they want and do as they like. They don't need good reasons. To them, 'because they feel like it' is usually reason enough. That's why we stop people like them. They don't care about anyone but themselves."

"KID's not like that," Shinichi objected.

"And how would you know that?"

"I just—I mean…" Shinichi trailed off, realizing there was nothing he could say. Technically, he wasn't supposed to have even met Kaito. "It was just a thought…"

Heiji was still frowning at him, but thankfully he let the subject drop. "So anyway, I've already arranged our transportation. We'll head over tomorrow morning."

"I'm going to miss this place," Ran sighed, turning to look towards the lake. "But I guess we have been here for a while."

"We can always come back some time," Shinichi replied, following the direction of her gaze as his own eyes grew distant with memories.

"That's true…" Ran paused a moment before her tone grew teasing. "You know, I noticed Mister Taoki hasn't been around lately," she commented, watching Shinichi's face closely. On the other side of the table, Heiji rolled his eyes. Apparently she hadn't given up on that ridiculous notion of hers.

"He—went home."

Ran nodded slowly. Was it her imagination or had Shinichi's shoulders sagged just a little when he'd said that? No, it most certainly was not her imagination. Neither was the wistful look that had crept into his eyes. Heiji might think she was barking up the wrong tree, but she was pretty sure that she was the right one in this case. She just wished her friend had chosen someone they could be a little more sure about seeing again to fall in love with. As things were, she wasn't sure if she should be happy for him or concerned.

X

The art gallery in question was dedicated primarily to the display of jewelry and other hand crafted, three dimensional pieces. According to Sonoko, the pendant being targeted that night had been crafted by one of the best jewelers of the area (apparently the one from whom she herself obtained most of her jewelry). The pendant however was one of the jeweler's first works and was on display because its maker refused to sell it. As one of the gallery sponsors, Sonoko had declared that she too would be attending the heist. Although closer questioning revealed that what she really wanted was a look at the thief.

"I heard he's supposed to be really handsome," she told Ran, giggling as she shifted in her carriage seat.

"But no one knows exactly what he looks like," the other girl pointed out. Out of the corner of her eye she saw Shinichi turn to look out the carriage window. Was he blushing? That was odd. She wondered what he was thinking about.

"That just makes it more exciting!" Sonoko replied, wagging her finger at her friend.

"If you say so…"

They arrived at the gallery with several hours to spare which they spent being given a tour by the lady. Everywhere they went, they could see guards being briefed or examining the various entrances. They weren't particularly happy to see they had visitors, but, recognizing Lady Sonoko, they refrained from commenting. They also ran into Lord Hakuba and another noble, both of whom were assisting the officers in securing the premises.

Trailing along at the back of the group, Shinichi only barely heard what was being said, caught up as he was in his own thoughts. He was feeling a great deal more nervous than he would care to admit to anyone, himself included. The thing was that even though he wanted to see Kaito again, he hadn't expected their next meeting to be at one of the magician thief's heists. He didn't know how he was supposed to react to that. It was an unsettling reminder of exactly who Kaito was.

He still couldn't approve of the fact that the man was a thief. But at the same time he knew that Kaito did indeed have good reasons at least in regards to certain stones. As long as it was for that, Shinichi would wish him luck with no reservations whatsoever. But for everything else…

In the end, he slipped away from the others as they were setting up. A quick examination of the building and current security had him making his way up to the third floor where he debated with himself for a moment before climbing out of the west window and onto the stretch of roof outside. There weren't any trees close enough to be easily used as ladders up there, but the roof opposite was one story lower whereas the one outside the east window was one higher. He was surprised they hadn't thought to post guards on the east window, but he supposed most people would assume you'd have to be crazy to try and jump that distance onto a slanted surface. Still, he would bet anything that Kaito wouldn't bat an eye at doing just that.

As the sun sank into the western horizon, he settled down to wait, wondering idly what everyone else was doing.

X

"Are you waiting for me?" a voice whispered into his ear.

Shinichi started violently and he might have fallen over the edge of the roof if it hadn't been for the arms that had made their way around him at the same time the voice had spoken. The shock passed quickly however as he recognized both the voice and the feel of the body pressed against his back. He relaxed into the embrace, turning his head to the side so that he could see the magician's face.

"Maybe."

"Only maybe?" Kaito cast him a mock wounded look.

Shinichi turned away to hide a smile. It was ridiculous, he reflected, how easily everything he had been worrying about just seemed to melt away at the mere sound of Kaito's voice. "So are you coming or going?"

In answer, Kaito lifted one hand, closed it, then opened it to reveal the small, gold pendant with its ruby heart.

"Is it one of yours?"

"Nope. Mine are all blue stones. This one's red." As though to illustrate just how little he cared about the jewel in question, he flipped the pendant to Shinichi who caught it reflexively. "Give it back for me, will you?"

"Why did you come if you already knew it wasn't the stone you wanted and you don't want anything for it?"

"To see you."

"…That's all?"

"Why do you always think there has to be something else?"

Shinichi blinked. "I just… It just seems like a lot of trouble to go to just to…well, essentially, say hello."

Kaito turned to burry his nose in the smaller boy's hair. "I don't think so."

They stayed like that for a while, content for now simply to be in each other's company again. When the silence finally broke, it was to the sound of a shout from somewhere downstairs.

"I guess they've finally noticed it's gone," Kaito mused before letting out a disappointed sigh though he made no move to let go of his companion yet. "It seems our time tonight must now come to an end. I don't suppose you'd consider coming with me?"

"I—I don't know." A couple months ago Shinichi would have scoffed at the mere idea, but now… Part of him wanted to, but to do so would be to abandon everything else, and he wasn't sure he was ready to do that.

Indigo eyes softened. "I can wait. Although if you take too long I might decide to just steal you away one day," he added, tone growing teasing.

Shinichi snorted, though secretly he thought he might not mind. "You better hurry. It won't take Heiji and Ran long to think of looking up here."

X

It had been decided that they would be heading back to Beika on the morrow. It had, Ran had declared, been far too long since they had been home. It was about time to head back. With that in mind, the three of them had split up to stock up on supplies for the journey. Shinichi had been assigned the job of locating and securing transportation. From what he'd been able to find out, they could get a ride from the postal carriages for most of the journey. Once they were out of Ekoda however they would have to do some hiking before they could take a train the rest of the way.

The idea of going home was…not quite as enticing as it usually was, he thought to himself as he started walking back towards the inn. If anything it was kind of depressing. On the other hand, it wasn't like he couldn't come back.

He was rudely yanked out of his thoughts by a sudden outcry from right behind him.

"You!" A hand closed around his wrist like a vice and he found himself being spun around to come face to face with one Hakuba Saguru's glaring eyes. "You're his accomplice, aren't you?"

Shinichi looked back at him with a blank expression. "What? What are you talking about?"

"Don't play dumb with me," the blonde snapped, his grip tightening. "One of the guards reported seeing you with KID last night shortly after the pendant was found missing where you made no move to prevent his escape."

"They must have seen someone else," Shinichi snapped, wrenching his arm out of the other's grasp with an inward grimace. He was probably going to have bruises.

"You had the targeted pendant," the blonde accused, eyes narrowed.

"I was returning it," Shinichi countered.

"And how did you get it?"

The detective fought the urge to roll his eyes. "He gave it to me when I caught up to him. Said he didn't want it. I hear it's not the first time he's done something like that."

"But why did he give it to you?" the other man persisted.

"Because I was there?" Shinichi suggested. "Like I said, I happened to catch up to him."

"How did you know where he would be if you were not working for him?"

"Lucky guess."

"Yet I recall that you left rather quickly last night."

"I was tired. Is that a crime?"

Brown eyes narrowed. "If you really have nothing to hide, then you won't mind coming with me to see the sheriff."

TBC