Progress: First Stage: Capture- Finished. Second Stage- in Progress.
Warning: OCs, OOC-ness, AU and my shitty English.
Disclaim:…Duh.
A/N:…I believe I've turned everything in DC upside down and messed around with the characters too much…Too AU-ish and too OOC-ish ;-;. And thank everyone for reading and reviewing, favoriting and alerting this ^^.
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The 8th Night: The Things of The Past.
…
"…So basically, you want me to be more careful?" Shinichi asked, rubbing his chin as his fellow bosses nodded.
"We've got some evidence that Atsushi was behind the ambush," Hakuba replied, sipping at his tea and letting his golden eye sweep over the other occupants in the room.
Shinichi was sitting beside him and on the left side of the long table in the meeting room while Sherry was stirring her cup of tea and looking totally bored on the opposite side, Hattori was narrowing at something he read in the folder before him.
"That applies for you too, Sherry," Hakuba said after a while, getting the only girl's eyes on him.
"…Please drop that stupid name, Shiho is fine," she said blandly, finally stopping toying with her drink.
"The main targets should be you two," Hattori spoke up, green eyes looked up for a brief moment before they were on the file again, "Atsushi wants you for your wonderful poisons, Miyano. Then Kudo…"
Shinichi raised an eyebrow as the rest's eyes were on him, "What?"
"…What did you do to tick Atsushi off?" Shiho asked bemusedly and Shinichi shot her an equally amused glance back.
"What make you think I did something?"
"Well," Hattori stated, "The fact that he glares at you every time he sees you. Or the fact that you've been attacked three times and the assassins we caught always told us that they were hired by that man?"
Shinichi shook his head, "Nah, I didn't do anything. But I believe someone look like me did something to him."
Hakuba shot him a ridiculous look while Shiho blinked interestingly and Hattori looked at him with wide eyes.
"…You don't mean…" Hakuba asked.
"…Seriously? That pet of your surely has some guts to do something to him," Hattori continued.
"…Now how come I never meet 'that pet of your', Kudo-kun?" Shiho's eyebrow quirked up as she placed her chin on her curled up fist.
"You've seen him, actually. Though not in his real person," Shinichi smiled and Shiho's eyes widened.
"…Chris?" she asked, eyes twinkled with mirth when Shinichi nodded, smirking bemusedly; "I'd like to see him in person someday, Kudo-kun. To also thank him for the show back then too."
"You will," Shinichi nodded then he stretched his arms above his head, "And you guys call me here just to tell me that? To be more careful?"
Hakuba sighed, "Well, it's because we think there's a traitor in your men."
Immediately, blue eyes narrowed, "What do you mean?"
"Kudo-kun, the way the assassins used to get in my mansion was the one that only the four of us know," Shiho said, eyes narrowed slightly, "Unless one of you three helps Atsushi."
The three men's eyes were staring at her as if she had just said something utterly, absolutely ridiculous. The girl deadpanned back.
Hattori held his hands up, "C'mon, don't start getting suspicious of each other now," he said, frowning in disappointment, "Us three have been your allies for so long, Miyano, don't be so mean."
Hakuba nodded and Shinichi grumbled something under his breath, something along the line 'Devil's spawn.' Shiho sighed, "Sorry. Paranoid, I guess."
"..It's okay," Hakuba muttered, smiling slightly, "Back to the subject," he said, turning toward Shinichi, "You have any idea of who could be traitor?"
Shinichi frowned, leaning back in his seat and arms crossed at his chest, "…I don't know. But as far as I can tell, only Gin and Vermouth know about the secret passage as well."
"…Those two?" Hattori asked in surprise, "I can't really image them betray you, Kudo."
"Me too," Hakuba said and Shiho nodded in agreement.
"…Just saying. I never suspect them." Shinichi snorted, blue eyed looked out the window almost in a hazel, "After all they saved me years ago…"
"You idiot! Hurry up and run! You have so much talent, don't waste it by dying!" fire was everywhere and he was coughing his lungs off yet, his family was still inside the house, he couldn't just leave.
"…your mother too, if you die here, who will take care of her?" her smile was so sad and gentle, if only his house wasn't burning down, if his mother wasn't fainting, he would see how much pain the woman was in.
"…Kudo-kun," Shiho addressed quietly but it was enough to snap him out of his memory.
"Mh?" he turned to look at her with bored blue eyes and the girl's lips tightened in a thin line. He understood, he was making his companions worry, "Sorry. I'll be careful."
Hattori shrugged carelessly and Hakuba smiled at him, which made the corner of his lips quirk up.
"So, Hakuba, how your little girlfriend doing?" he finally asked and the rest noticed how the blond stiffened slightly.
"She's doing fine," he answered and Hattori piped in without missing a beat.
"Has she started any research?"
A mute nod and Shinichi's eyes dropped close while the dark-skinned boss groaned, Shiho merely looked down.
"…Stop her Hakuba. Or you know the consequence. She shouldn't know too much about us," Shinichi ordered quietly and the blond nodded just as quietly.
The entire room drowned in silence for a long moment before Hattori started again.
"…So," he spoke up, "Anyone's up for a nice meal with Kobe meat?"
…
In the dimly lit up room, one was grinning mischievously while the rest sweat dropped as they looked at each other nervously, waiting and waiting…
And finally.
"Full house~!" Kaito grinned brightly as he lay out his cards, making three of his opposites groaned in defeat while the others cheered loudly for the new guy.
"You must be cheating!" one of the men in the game huffed as Kaito gathered the cards and shuffled them up.
"Me?" the once waiter looked up innocently even though his eyes were glinting with mischief, "You must be joking! I'd never play that low~!"
He flashed him a victorious grin before dealing the cards out again.
"How come you're so good at this, Kaito-kun?" the one was standing behind him, the friendliest of them, Daichi asked with interest as his brown eyes stared at Kaito's cards intently.
"Practice, I guess," he replied with an easy grin, turning his head around slightly enough to see Daichi's dark blond locks swaying slightly.
"Yo! It ain't bad! Practice makes perfect! Bwahahaha!" the bulkiest of them, Mamoru with short black hair, laughed and slapped Kaito's back hard, making Kaito dive forward and his face nearly contact the table rather painfully.
"Don't treat Kai-chan so roughly, you beast~!" one of them chirped in, rubbing Kaito's back comfortingly and shooting Mamoru a glare, Kaito realized, the gangs' flamboyant member, Tamarou.
"But boss really chooses the best~," Tamarou, in his black jacket over a flowery pink button up shirt and his flaming red hair pulled into a small ponytail at his nape, continued merrily and offered Kaito a cup of green tea.
Kaito shot the man a 'thank you' look which he got a wink in respond. Grinning nervously, he returned his attention to the card game…who knew there's some one more flamboyant than him…?
Gulping down his drink, Kaito let his eyes look around to see the members were all laughing, joking among themselves so easily and it kind of reminded Kaito of a big and solidary family. His eyes softened, and they were all under Shinichi's influence…they accepted him so easily, treating him as if he had been one of them for life already.
"So," he spoke up, getting the entire gangs' attention to him, "What do you think about boss?"
The entire room then was drown in silence as everyone seemed to think hard about the question.
Finally, Tamarou snapped his fingers, the sound echoed in the dim lit room and startled the room's occupants.
When the rest's eyes were on him, Tamarou grinned before pushing Daichi out in front of him, "Our chief shall start~!" he announced cheerily while the dark blond haired man stuttered, flushing brightly.
Kaito's snicker and clapping continued before the rest burst into cheering.
"I…" Daichi stepped back nervously but Tamarou's hands on his shoulders stopped him from moving too much, "…Boss is a kind man!" the local chief burst out without really thinking before clasping his hands over his mouth.
Kaito blinked, that wasn't what he expected. Shinichi, kind man? Was he dreaming? And then the cold smirk flashed back into his mind and Kaito grimaced, yup, he was definitely dreaming.
"…Well," Tamarou tapped his lower lip in rhythm, "He's handsome, strict, dark and cold," the he hugged himself as the rest sweat dropped, "Totally my type~!"
Another member snorted at the man's display before speaking his opinion up, "He's cruel too. I remember seeing him shoot dead one member because he dared to defy boss' rules." Now, that was more like the Shinichi he knew, Kaito nodded to himself.
"But he's still kind!" Daichi defended the blue eyed boss, "He remembers our names!"
That got the entire gangs silent and Kaito blinked as he looked around. So, Shinichi remembered their names, what was the big deal about it? Kaito could already remember the entire gangs' names by then.
Then he contemplated again and finally saw 'the big deal'. Shinichi was an overall boss, the highest member, meaning there were hundreds men under his control and he remembered the lowest ranked members' names. And maybe that made the low members feel happy?
Mamoru's laughter finally broke the silence, "Yah! Boss' an awesome fighter too! He beat me at my own fight years ago!"
The oldest member, as far as Kaito could see, nodded in agreement as he sucked in a deep breath of his smoke, "He's cunning and much more intelligent than the old boss…"
Kaito blinked, "The old boss? Do you mean his father or someone like that?"
The old man shook his head, "No. Before the name Kudo, our family was called Rokutaro."
The local chief, Daichi grinned sheepishly as Kaito shot him a questioning look. He was a local chief, he should know something about this, right?
"…Well," I've only joined for like three years…I don't know much about the old boss…" and he inclined his head toward the oldest member, "Yamachi-san should know more than me, he has been in the Family for over twenty years after all."
The oldest member gave Kaito a bland look as the once waiter stared at him with a hopeful bright eyes, which made Yamachi sweat drop. The man sighed, "…The old boss was a licentious man. He chased after young and pretty girls and even boys."
The man sucked in another deep breath of his smoke, "…He destroyed the business that his father and grandfather had died for, making us lower member have to do lowly things like robbing and pickpocket for living…"
The man rubbed the bridge of his nose, "Those days were hell for us…But then, five years ago, Boss came, and a announce was delivered to us that he'd be the new boss."
Then the rest looked in awe as Yamachi's lips quirked up in a barest hint of smile, "…Some were against it because he wasn't in the family line but then, boss proved himself. In one year, he brought the business back to life and even better than before…And we are all willing to follow him."
"…I knew it…" Tamarou breathed out, eyes opened widely and everyone looked at him strangely. For a moment, he stood still and his body trembled.
"He's really my type~!" the flamboyant member exploded and Kaito sweat dropped while the others groaned as they were used to his outburst already.
"I see," Kaito nodded to himself. Geez, his curiosity was acting up again.
"Then Kuroba.," a member asked excitedly, "How did you end up becoming his pet?"
Kaito groaned and let his head fall down to make a loud 'thump' sound as it contacted the wooden surface, "Don't remind me…"
"Not pleasant?" Tamarou asked playfully, "Pain in the ass?"
Kaito's head snapped up to stare at the smirking man when he heard the others snicker.
"Huh?" he blinked and Tamarou laughed.
"I mean," the man wriggled his perfect manicured eyebrows, "No funny business?"
The gangs laughed out lout at this and even when Kaito was shooting the flamboyant member an annoyed look, his lips quirked up a bit bemusedly.
"Not everyone's a faggot like you, Tama-neechan~!" some member slapped Tamarou's ass playfully and the said member only got a wink in return.
"So?" Tamarou asked expectedly and Kaito let a slow grin tug at his lips.
"Well, if there was any funny business, he'd be the one limping."
Tamarou laughed while the rest roared with laughter, someone slapped Kaito's shoulder hard.
"You sure have some guts, Kai-chan~!" Tamarou grinned and repeatedly patted Kaito's head, much to the once waiter's annoyance. Then the flamboyant member raised an eyebrow suggestively, "Wanna try out with me?"
Kaito immediately edged away nervously, "No, thanks."
Again, the room erupted in laughter, saved for Tamarou, who was pouting childishly at Kaito's refusal.
It felt nice somehow, Kaito smiled to himself, how easily they accepted him.
A loud clapping sound startled him and Kaito looked up, as did the rest, at Tamarou, who was ginning from ear to ear mysteriously, his hands were still clasping together, meaning he was the one who wanted people's attention to him.
"Lemme tell you something," he began merrily, "I've seen boss naked." And he giggled in delight while the rest gasped.
"Then how come you're still here?" one member asked with a disbelieving expression on his face and Tamarou giggled again at the unspoken question, Then how the hell he hasn't killed you yet?
"Silly, silly boy," he sang happily and Kaito tried to ignore the weird feeling bubbled in his chest. It wasn't jealousy, Kaito was sure.
…But it was unfair! He himself had never really seen the boss naked!...completely naked anyways, and he stayed in the same room with the boss too! His hand flew up to process to rip his hair out.
And while he was busying screaming in frustration in his head, he completely missed the confused looks the other were sending him and the meaningful way Tamarou looked at him as if the flamboyant member knew something he didn't. Which might be true.
"…Kidding~!" Tamarou cheered again and Kaito froze…he was jealous over nothing?
"…But I did see him half-naked," the red-headed grinned as he raised an eyebrow at Kaito, who was shooting him an annoyed look.
Tamarou then looked up, his hands clasped together and a dreamy look made its way onto his face, "…It was around two months ago. He came here for business too and I was lucky enough to be his escort here," he sighed dreamily, "I saw him when he was getting into the hotspring…"
And his face turned serious, "Guess what I saw?"
"Six-packed body?" one member chirped loudly and Tamarou wagged his finger.
"No dear, he indeed has a body to die for but not that bulky."
"Tattoos?" Daichi raised his hand like a good student but again, Tamarou shook his head.
"…You know boss doesn't like tattoos, Dai-chan."
"Just tell us, Tama-neechan!" one member wailed mockingly, "You're torturing me with suspense!"
The red-headed member laughed before sighing.
"A scar…" he said, making the rest widened their eyes. Kaito's ones were probably the biggest. How come he had never seen any scar on the boss? The boss had even particularly naked one time in front of him!...Wait, let's forget that image, he didn't want to be spotted an erection right then…But the view was indeed nice…
He snapped out of his little fantasy just in time to see Tamarou turned the nearest member to him around then used his slender finger to tap the spot that was a few inches under his right shoulder, "Start from here…" his finger trailed slowly to the member's left hipbone, "…to here. That long."
…That long?
"Yup, that long," Tamarou nodded and Kaito grinned sheepishly, did he say that out loud.
"…But well, he's a mafia boss, he's bound to get one," Daichi spoke up, making the rest nod in agreement.
But even as the members chattered about the boss' scar excitedly among themselves, Kaito could still vaguely hear Tamarou mumble something like 'It looks odd…' and the once waiter made a mental note to ask the flamboyant member about it later.
"By the way, Kuroba!" a member, looking young enough and Kaito guessed he was the newest member, asked Kaito eagerly, "Do you have any tattoos?"
Kaito blinked before shaking his head, grinning, "Nah, I'm not interested in those."
The young member thumped his chest proudly, "I have one on my back! A dragon and it's really cool!" then he grinned, "I have one down there too~!"
Kaito sweat dropped while someone in the gangs whistled, "We don't need to see your junk!"
The young man's face burned up and Kaito snickered, "I'm just saying!" then he turned to Kaito expectedly.
"Wanna get one?" he took out a small box from his pocket and Kaito paled as he pulled out a small needle, "I'll make it quick! It won't hurt!"
Immediately, Kaito jumped off his seat but the member behind him was quicker as Kaito found himself being pinned down on the table, his shirt yanked up to revealed his back.
"No! Wait!" he cried, eyes widened at the sight of the young member put the needle on fire, "I don't want it!"
And in a swift movement, Kaito twisted his body around and then he was the one pinning the other down.
The entire gangs gasped loudly and stared at him, Kaito sweat dropped before attentively stepping back, looking around nervously.
For a moment, everything seemed to freeze until the gangs began to cheer and automatically formed a circle around him, Tamarou and Daichi quickly moved the table and chairs out of the way.
Then Kaito's eyes widened as the bulkiest member cackled madly, cracking his knuckles and staring at Kaito with excitement in his eyes.
"You're on!" Mamoru roared before lunging at Kaito, who jumped out of the way just in time.
"Bring it on, little guy! Face me like a man!" Mamoru yelled, turning around to glare at Kaito and everyone else cheered excitedly.
"W-w-what?" Kaito stepped back nervously as Mamoru prepared to launch at him again.
"Good luck, Kai-chan~!" Tamarou yelled, waving his handkerchief merrily, "Our best fighter has chosen you as his opposite~! Ohhh, it has been so long since the last time Mamo-chan found someone worth to fight with~!"
"Just a minute!" Kaito waved his arms frantically above his head, panic written across his face as Mamoru launched at him, "I don't wanna fight!"
"Too late, little guy!"
xxxxxX TBC Xxxxxx
The scene with Kaito and the gangs was inspired by Magic Kaito, the chapter that Kaito told the girl actress to just see people as pumpkins…can you see the preference here :3?...And well, I hate six-packed body…it looks scary to me v^^.