Rated: K+
Word count: 2,261
Chapter 9
- It's not that I can't live without you, it's that I don't even want to try -
How? He didn't understand. Maybe it had been the light? It had been rather dark on the rooftop, what with the moon as the only source of light. So had his eyes been playing tricks on him? But he had seen it – or rather, hadn't seen. Kaito was certain that he hadn't seen Shinichi's belly.
So the reason that the detective always wore the bandages, fedora, and tuxedo was because he really was invisible? That would explain how he could get the gems back in their rightful place without being seen. Now the whole story Nakamori-keibu had told him about how he found out the Sunset Diamond was the target of that heist a few days ago made perfect sense. If Shinichi really was invisible…
Speaking of the Sunset Diamond heist… Was it Shinichi who had saved him? Is that why Kaito hadn't seen anyone? The invisible detective had pushed him away in time only to end up with a bullet in his side.
"Kaito?" The question was asked so hesitantly that his eyes shot up towards the owner of the voice. Aoko was looking at him, eyes filled with concern. Letting his gaze travel around the classroom, Kaito noticed that everyone was gloomily eating their lunch, talking quietly or not talking at all. "Is something wrong?"
The magician shook his head and turned to look out of the window, not caring that he probably had a melancholic look on his face. He still felt Aoko's gaze on him along with a few others, namely a blonde detective and a red-headed witch. "Everyone's worried, you know?" his childhood friend said softly.
He didn't look at her, even when he heard Akako rise from her seat and walk over. "Kuroba-kun." she said, but he didn't answer, wishing that everyone would just leave him alone. A sigh escaped the witch's mouth and a second later, she grabbed Kaito by his collar and dragged him out of the classroom.
"Oi! Let me go, Akako!" The red-head was relentless and didn't release him. She dragged him through the hallways until they reached an empty classroom. Akako shoved him inside and Kaito was just able to stay on his feet. "What is this all about?"
"What is going on with you?" she asked, her voice taking on a stern tone as if she was a teacher or a mother scolding a child. She crossed her arms in front of her chest and glared at him. "Nakamori-san is worried, Hakuba-kun is worried. Hell, the whole class is worried about you!" Her voice rose slightly.
Kaito looked away. "So?"
Akako raised her eyebrows. "What? No teasing? 'Are you worried about me as well, Akako-chan? Awww~' is what you're supposed to say!" she yelled, using an irritable, high-pitched, and childish voice when she imitated Kaito. The magician said nothing. "This isn't like you. You're supposed to be the cheerful, pranking idiot who disrupts class because he's bored! So now I want to know why. What happened that made you act like this?" Her voice toned down to a normal speaking level as she regained her composure.
He sighed. "It's n-"
"Don't you dare say it's nothing," she cut him off. "Tell me the truth."
The magician looked at her, assessing his choices. He knew he wouldn't be able to just walk away. If he didn't give Akako a logical reason, he'd be stuck here even if classes started again.
"I don't know." Kaito said eventually. "I don't know what happened and that's what I'm trying to find out." He leaned back against the wall and let his head bang against it hard enough to spark a jolt of pain.
"Do you need my help?" He looked at her, eyes half-lidded with disbelief and boredom.
"I would ask you to, but I don't really have time nor do I feel like returning the favor in whatever way you want me to." Akako's eyes lowered, a sadness visible in them that Kaito had never seen in her eyes before. He didn't really understand why the witch suddenly had this almost sorrowful look, but it disappeared just as quickly as it had come.
"Act normal again. Stop worrying Nakamori-san and the rest." She said, head turning to the side to avoid his gaze. "That's your payment."
Kaito contemplated that for a bit. He really didn't feel like putting on the mask of the magician and prankster Kuroba Kaito; he just wanted to be left alone for now, but maybe Akako's help would give him an idea as to what to do. "Fine." he muttered.
The witch nodded and smiled slightly. "Alright, tell me then."
What should he say? Hey Akako, I've been meeting up with this guy after my heists and well, he's invisible. Yeah, weird, huh? I found out after I tried to treat him when he was injured. Like that would make sense…
"Akako…" he started, still not knowing exactly what he wanted to say. "Do…. Is there a spell...that would make someone invisible?"
The witch raised an eyebrow at him. She thought for a bit, probably mentally searching through her inventory of spells, before shaking her head. "There are none, at least none that can be performed nowadays. One of the ingredients necessary for the spell is mammoth bone, but unless you steal one from a museum, it won't work."
"Then do ghost exist?" he asked, waiting hopefully for the answer.
Akako's auburn eyes pierced right through him, filled with confusion and calculation. "I'm a witch, not a medium; I wouldn't know. Why? What is it that you saw, Kuroba-kun?"
Shoulders drooped at the reply and a minute was spent in silence as the magician tried to figure out what to say. "I…met someone. But…he's invisible." He felt Akako's gaze on him and prepared for laughter, because, really, that sounded like he was as crazy as people sometimes said he was.
"Then how do you know he really exists?"
"Because we talked and he was injured!" Kaito shouted before realization dawned on him. "Wait, you believe me? You're not going to laugh?" He blinked when she raised her eyebrows at him, as though she thought it would be obvious why she wasn't.
"Well, first of all, I know Lucifer is real. Second, I'm a witch, and third, I've been through so many things that I would be stupid if I didn't believe in the possibility of you talking to an invisible man." She shrugged.
"I-I guess…" Kaito mumbled.
"So he really exists. Then why are you so sad? Do you want me to try and make him visible again?" Kaito shook his head. What did he want? He wanted answers. Shinichi had been a mystery for long enough. He wanted to know what happened, why he was invisible, where he was right now, everything.
"I want to find him." Kaito whispered. In the silence of the classroom, despite how soft he spoke, the witch heard him. He felt the sun on his back and thought of azure eyes meeting his indigo ones as he ran through the rain on the riverbank, or that time when he had been in the cinema.
So, that was you, Shinichi? You're the lonely spirit.
"I think I can help you with that, Kuroba-kun." Kaito's head shot up at the sound of the witch's voice, not even aware that he'd lowered it. She smiled softly at him, something he'd never seen on her face before, and for some reason it made his heart warm. The afternoon sun bathed her in a warm light and made her hair shine the most beautiful red. Her eyes burned like fire and her skin was a shade of porcelain that made it look like she would break if you touched her. He couldn't understand why she had to use spells to get the attention she wanted.
"Why don't you come by tonight? Bring something that belongs to your invisible princess and I'll see what I can do." Kaito blushed at the words and told her again and again that Shinichi was a guy as they walked back to class, but the damn witch just kept a smug smile on her face.
"About time you came, Kuroba-kun." Akako said as she opened the door for the magician. He walked inside cautiously since the witch's mansion was slightly—just slightly—scary. With the dark furniture and decorations—he wasn't even going to start on the dust and the spider webs he had seen hanging from the ceiling—it couldn't look any more like a haunted mansion.
It wasn't that he was afraid of that kind of mansions, he always walked through fun houses while laughing at everything that scared Aoko, but this being the witch's house, he couldn't help but feel nervous. He followed the redhead towards what seemed to be a living room. The only light burning in the place was a fire in the hearth. A pair of red silk armchairs and a couch sat around a small coffee table. The witch walked around them and stopped in front of the fireplace, where she grabbed some things from the space on top of the stone furniture.
This let Kaito take a closer look around the room. It was two stories tall, with two bookcases on either side of the fireplace reaching almost entirely to the top. As he walked around the coach to sit on it he let his hand trail over the back, across the gold-painted metal that held the whole piece of furniture together.
"So," the witch started, walking towards the couch to sit on it. "What do you have for me?" She gestured for Kaito to take a seat next to her. The magician complied, albeit a bit hesitantly. A puff of smoke covered his hands and when it disappeared only a few seconds later, he held a white jacket—KID's jacket. Eyebrows raised as she registered the blood on them, silently asking him to explain.
"Oh, don't look at me like that. I don't have anything else that belongs to him." Kaito said, a bit irritated. The witch smirked a bit, taking the jacket from the teen. She took the bowl she'd taken from atop the fire place and put it in her lap. With her long nails she scratched bits of the dried up blood off of the jacket and into the bowl.
"That should be enough." Akako muttered after a few scrapes, more to herself than to Kaito. The magician decided to stay silent and just let her do her job without interrupting. The jacket was returned to him and he unconsciously put it away as the witch's actions caught most of his attention. She lit a match and put it in the bowl, making sure that everything was burning. Kaito took a closer look at the contents of the bowl. It looked like some kind of tribute for a ritual. There was a small branch from something that smelled like pepper, a feather of a dove, a sharp tooth of some kind of animal, and a slimy substance that held everything together.
It must have been some kind of combustible liquid because in no time, everything in the bowl had been burned to ashes without much fire at all. White smoke curled up from the blackened bowl. Carefully, Akako put her hand on top of it, sealing off almost all the smoke excluding the occasional whiff that escaped between her fingers. She closed her eyes and took a deep breath.
Minutes passed and the silence almost killed Kaito. He knew better than to be impatient when it came to the witch, but seriously, did she have to be that slow? Moments like these gave him a moment to think about the woman's power. He'd always been curious how she would see things. What were her visions like? How would they feel? What would it be like to see KID in danger or get shot without being able to do anything, only to wake up and realize it was just a bad dream?
"He's in a building. A huge building," Akako said suddenly, forcing Kaito to move in a little closer in order to hear her better as she slurred slightly. "He's on a couch. It's a beige-brownish color and-" She stopped, taking a breath as the vision continued. A frown appeared on her forehead and it was starting to worry Kaito slightly. "He's surrounded by bookshelves."
Auburn eyes opened quickly, taking in their surroundings as if waking from a terrible and disorientating dream. She turned her head towards him and said hurriedly, "You should find him quickly." The urgency in her voice was clear and it made the worry in the magician's chest grow exponentially. "You said he was hurt, right? I didn't see any details, but I know he's in a lot of pain." Kaito nodded and stood up.
Stopping just in front of the door he turned around. "Thanks, Akako." He said, before taking off. He had to find Shinichi!
He didn't notice the eyes filling with tears that she could not let escape. Taking a deep breath, she lightly slapped her cheeks a few times to recompose herself. As she stood up to clean the bowl and throw its contents away, she couldn't help but whisper, "Be quick or you're going to lose the one person you love the most… Kaito…"
"Save Kudo Shinichi from the stars."
Hey, so yeah I didn't really like this chapter actually :/ too little details -.- either way I hope you guys liked it ^^
As always a big thanks to Moku-chan for beta-reading!
Also thanks to everyone who reviewed; treasure family, CrescentMoonTenshi, mochiusagi, ILoveFanfiction-AnimeAdik, Sirastar, Eye for an Eye, Sakura240, twilightserius, Clams-and-Rainbows and killuanatsume.
Answers to guests:
Eye for an Eye: I know that feeling Xd Here is the next chapter! Hope you like it ^^
