Chapter Seven:

Adrift

KID POV

Kaito woke up, his head hurt and his body felt stiff and sore. He attempted to move, but something was constricting his movements. He struggled, not liking the feeling of something holding him down. He didn't want to be captured, he needed to be free! He needed to get…get free!

"Kaito!" a voice yelled, cutting through his panic.

Kaito calmed, he knew that voice. Where did he know it from? Christie Edogawa? No, not exactly right…Shinara Kudo. That's right… meitantei…tantei-chan…Shin-chan.

"Shin-chan", he whispered.

A relived sigh could be heard above him as he opened his eyes. The sunlight hurt but he blinked a few times as a figure went in front of him, blocking out the bright light.

"About time you woke up, idiot thief", muttered Hakuba fondly.

Kaito smiled as he glanced up at Shinara who was staring back down at him.

"Are you okay?" he whispered.

Everything about the plane had come rushing back to him as he glanced around for the girl he had been trying to save. As though reading his mind, the child in question appeared, smiling.

"Hey", he said weakly, "You are okay."

The little girl nodded as tears welled up in her eyes. He grinned as he reached up and pulled her to him. The child ducked her head under his arm, relieved that he was awake again. She had felt so scared alone. She could still remember his words on the plane when they had crashed.

"Don't worry, I have you. I won't let you go. I will keep you safe. I got you."

"I will…keep you safe", she whispered to him.

He blinked before recognition crossed his features and he nodded smiling as he leaned back against Shinara and closed his eyes for a moment.

"Thank you, sweetie", he said.

"Kaito", Shinara whispered as she brushed her hand through his silky, moist hair, "Kaito."

He smiled up at her as she leaned over, clutching him to her in a desperate hold. He realized how badly he must had frightened her.

"I'm sorry dove", he whispered with a tired smile, "I didn't mean to scare you."

Shinara just laughed as tears rolled down her cheeks. Hakuba, Aoko, and Harley all watched with their own smiles as the two lovers were reunited.

On the other side of the raft, Naoki Osamu watched with interest. He could see all three of the detectives, as well as the Kid were close to one another. He wondered, not first the first time, what their backstories were.

"You know I am curious", he finally said, tired of only guess work, "How did you all meet?"

"What do you mean?" asked Hakuba, his eyes narrowing.

Something about that Osamu had been bothering Hakuba for a while now. His asking questions only made him more suspicious. Glancing at Harley, he noticed she too looked rather wary of the stranger.

Osamu noticed their suspicion and quickly changed tactics.

"Ah, I was just wondering because three famous detectives together doesn't usually happen. I apologize if the question seems rude as I am sure such a story is personal."

Hakuba sighed. He supposed that was a fair question. He noticed the other survivors were also watching them with curiosity.

"Well since it will pass the time", smiled Shinara, "I suppose I could begin."

Osamu stared at the girl. There was something about her that made her more dangerous and more aware, then the other two detectives. Without a doubt, the male detective, Hakuba, was a watchful one, but Kudo seemed to see everything and react almost natural, making her suspicions or stories, hard to see through.

"I met Hattori-Chan on a case I was working on with my Uncle Mouri and his son Ran and my cousin Christie Edogawa."

"Christie Edogawa", Osamu whispered, "Oh yes, I remember now. Wasn't she a child detective who took on the Kaitou Kid quite often?"

"That's right", Shinara agreed.

"I met Hattori then and she and I kept in contact while I was in America working on a case for the FBI. Christie was here living with Mouri until I returned from my case. Christies parents had died when she was a child so when I returned with my parents, they took her to live with them in America."

"I see", Osamu nodded.

He noticed Hakuba still watching him. He also noticed the one called Kaito, no doubt Kaitou Kid, also watching him with a curious glance.

"Yup, I met Kudo-Chan there and she and I worked together occasionally and it was through her that I met Kaito-Kun. However I met Hakuba-Kun on a case where a bunch of different detectives had been requested to attend."

"That was also where I met Hakuba-kun", replied Shinara with a nod, "Of course I met him at a Kid heist as well."

"Fascinating", spat Jun with sarcasm.

"So how did you meet Kaito-Kun?" asked Naoki.

Shinara glanced down at Kaito who smiled up at her.

"Actually, I attended a Kaitou Kid heist not long after my return to Japan and while there, I ran into Kid's number one fan, Kaito. He and his friend Aoko over there, invited Harley and I to a café for coffee and that was how I met the soon to be love of my life."

"Aw, such sweet words", Kaito laughed.

Shinara blushed as she smiled down at him and leaned over, kissing his cheek. She was so happy to see him awake.

Naoki watched the tender display of emotion and scoffed. There had to be something else. Something he was missing.

"How did you know Kaito-kun?" he asked Hakuba and Aoko.

"I don't see how this is any of your business", muttered Hakuba, "but he was my high school classmate. Aoko as well."

"I grew up with Kaito", added Aoko with a smile towards her friend who smiled back.

"I want to know everything about Harley-chan", said Rubio as he leaned forward, trying to get closer to her.

"Me to!" yelled Santo, also leaning close to her.

Harley just blinked and then laughed, pushing them back so that they feel onto the side of the raft.

"You silly kids", she grinned.

Naoki wanted to know more, but he supposed he had better wait. He didn't want them suspecting him before had even begun his investigation and it was easy to see they already did.

DCDCDCDCDCDC

Kaito sat up. His head hurt pretty bad, but he felt better than he had. Sides, it wasn't the first concussion he had ever had and it probably wouldn't be his last. Looking around the raft at the strangers Shinara had filled him on the names of, he noticed that they were all starting to look rather red. The shirt they had dressed Kaito in was luckily keeping the sun from burning him too badly, but he knew they all would be like roast soon if they didn't cool down or find some shade of some kind. Looking out over the water though, he knew that was unlikely to be had anytime soon.

"How long has it been since we have had any food or water?" he asked Hakuba.

Saguru looked up from his book that he had pulled out of his backpack and shrugged.

"I think about…maybe a day or so."

"Hmm", hummed Kaito as he looked down at the water. He paled when he thought about the fish down there, but it was the only thing they might be able to eat. The very thought made him sick.

"Anyone feel like f-fishing?" he stuttered out.

The others looked interested at the idea, but he noticed Hakuba, Shinara, Aoko, and Hattori all staring at him with some akin to disbelief.

"You are actually suggesting fishing?" whispered Aoko.

"It is either that or we starve", he replied flatly as he looked at the small child who was now sleeping in his lap, a jacket covering her so she didn't get overly burnt. "Sides, she needs to eat something soon."

"I agree", stated Jun, "We need food and drinking water. I don't suppose any of you have water?"

"I have one full bottle", stated Hakuba as he pulled the warm bottle of liquid from his bag, "but we will have to share this for a while. A sip only if desperately needed."

The others nodded.

"So who is going fishing?" Naoki asked.

He grew curious when he noticed the thief grow pale. Shinara also noticed and smiled at him as he placed her arms around his neck in a comforting manner.

"I will go", Hakuba decided as he stood up and began undressing so that he was only in his pants.

"I can go to", shouted Rubio.

"Me to!" Santo called, the two teens quickly undressing like Hakuba had done.

"I guess I can too", replied Hattori.

The three boys stared at her as she pulled off her shirt and pants. Shinara and Kaito gaped and Aoko just gave her a flat look as the two teenage boys practically drooled.

"Why are you wearing a bikini under your clothes?" asked Hakuba when he looked closer at the undergarments.

"We were going to Puerto Rico. Seriously, the first thing I wanted to do was go to the beach. So why not wear the bikini now?"

The others didn't have a reply to that as she tied up her hair. Tsukiko also stood up and began taking off her shirt and shorts. She didn't have a bathing suit on, but she didn't care. It was like the same thing as a bikini anyways, it showed the same stuff.

"I can go to, I used to fish all the time with my father as a kid. He loved scuba diving and snorkeling."

"Alright, that gives us five. Wish us luck", Hakuba replied with a quick kiss on Aoko's cheek before diving into the ocean water. The other four followed his lead and vanished beneath the blue surface.

"Do you think they will actually catch anything with just their bare hands?" asked Shinara.

"Probably note", muttered Kaito as he peered into the water. He felt mixed feelings about all of this. He wanted them to catch some fish and yet…he really, really didn't want them too.

"It will be okay", whispered Shinara as she nuzzled his ear and gently licked the outer shell.

He shivered in pleasure at her flirting as he grinned back at her over his shoulder and snuggled into her embrace, the child in his arms still sleeping soundly.

"Do you think her mother is still alive?" she asked looking down at the girl.

"I don't know", he whispered, "when she wakes, I will ask her some questions, but right now…it is probably best she sleep through as much of this as possible."

Shinara nodded in agreement as Hakuba and the other four broke the surface, all coughing.

"Any luck?" asked Aoko as she leaned over the side of the raft.

"Not really. Could you hand us our shirts? We are going to try to make a net by tying up the end of it. Hopefully then we can catch at least one per shirt."

"That's not a bad idea", commented Kaito as he quickly began typing them up before handing them over. Hakuba handed each person in the water their shirts as they all took a deep breath and dove back under again.

"He is actually quite smart, that English Japanese mutt", remarked Naoki from where he sat.

"He isn't a mutt", replied Kaito, not liking the man at all. Something about him just rubbed Kaito the wrong way, though he couldn't put his finger on why exactly. "He is a detective and a very good one in both England and in Japan. Show him respect."

Shinara and Aoko gaped at Kaito. He rarely defended Hakuba. If anything, most of the time he made fun of the detective more than anyone else. Shinara noticed how tense he seemed watching the university history major though and she couldn't exactly blame him. There was something about him that she didn't trust and she knew Hakuba and Hattori felt the same. It was almost like he was watching them, not just occasionally, but more like studying them. He especially seemed interested in Kaito.

"Pardon my rudeness", Naoki said quickly but politely, "I meant no offense. I merely was making an observation."

Kaito didn't reply, but he did give a short nod showing he heard him out. He turned back to Shinara and kissed her neck, watching the man out of the corner of his eye. He whispered into her ear as he did so, making sure no one could tell he was speaking to the female detective.

"I don't trust him", he said only to her.

She nodded as she bent down and kissed his forehead and down to earlobe, "I know", she whispered as she nuzzled him affectionately.

Naoki watched the two interact with one another in a flirting manner. He had a feeling he had put himself on the radar of both the thief and the detectives already. They were pretty sharp, he would give them that, but he would find his proof. Even if it meant sticking as close to them as he possibly could for as long as he could.

He would have his story.

Hakuba and the others broke surface again, smiling as they held up their shirts eagerly.

"We got fish", he laughed.

"How are we going to cook it?" asked Aoko as she helped her boyfriend and the others into the boat with Naoki's help.

"Anyone for sushi?" Hakuba smiled and Kaito gagged as he leaned over the side of the boat and puked.

The rest of the day he refused to eat a thing as he stubbornly crossed his arms and kept his back turned to the horrible finny things the others were chowing down on.

"You need to eat something", Shinara stated in concern.

"I do have a couple of granola bars", commented Hakuba as he pulled out one of the chocolate chip flavored ones and passed it to Shinara who gave it to Kaito.

Kaito took it and glanced back at Hakuba who gave him a smirk. Kaito merely scowled as he opened it and began chewing. He didn't forgive Hakuba for teasing him with the fish, but he supposed the guy wasn't too terrible. He did have chocolate for him, after all.

Hakuba and Shinara shared a knowing smile as she nestled into Kaitos arms and closed her eyes. The sky overhead darkening as the sun began to set.

AUTHORS NOTE*

I am so, so, so sorry it has taken such a long time for me to update this sequel. I am currently working on both Bloody Rose and Moonlight Dove right now, so it takes a lot to juggle three.

I really hope you enjoyed this update! More to come when I can!