Mikau: Hi all! Thanks for coming back to read once again, and thanks to everyone who reviewed last chapter too: athieisademon, Syrus07, Cyanide Flowers, Canadian, and Aniki-xvi! Thank you so much for your support! I really appreciate it, and I'm so glad that this fic has been as popular as it has been. I like this chapter a lot, and I hope you do too. On a side note, if you're interested in having a say in what I do next, there's a poll on my profile page. I think I'm going to leave it up until the first of June. Enjoy the chapter!

Disclaimer: If I owned it, I would have tried to make volume four of Magic Kaito more like the first three and less like Detective Conan. I realize that a lot of the chapters were Conan extras and bonuses, but, to me, the stories in volume four just don't have the same kind of light-hearted charm the ones from the first three volumes did. The art also starts tending towards Conan in volume four. Aoko starts looking more and more like Ran, and Kaito turns into Shinichi at several points. It just makes me sad, you know? I still love it, but…I loved it how it used to be.

….

Fabricated Friendships

The first day back at school was stressful—a rather Herculean task—but it wasn't because of the school work itself. Remembering names, faces, and even the layout of the school building was the hard part.

He'd gotten hold of the class roster and memorized everyone's name based on the new seating chart. Then, when he walked into the classroom that first day, he did his best to put the faces and names together. His memory was quite sharp, and he memorized a good three quarters of them before first period. Roll call helped immensely, and Saguru had everyone's name down before the end of the day.

His classmates were quite friendly. A good deal of them came up and asked how he was feeling, but he didn't seem to be very close to anyone in particular. He had studied the messages on the class get well soon card right along with the seating chart in order to discern with whom he might be close, and not one of the notes had been very personal—well, with the exception of Nakamori Aoko's and Kaito's.

Nakamori Aoko's had read, "You'll get that sneak-thief next time, Hakuba-kun! Feel better!" and Kaito's had said, "Take care of yourself, Hakuba, so that you can get back to chasing Kid soon. I'm sure he misses his favorite detective."

Perhaps his close friends were in another class? There hadn't been any cards, but…

He waited for lunch break to see who would approach. Saguru would be able to identify his group of friends then.

As his classmates began to group together and set up shop around the classroom to eat, Saguru got out his lunch and started eating by himself.

Perhaps his friends really were in a different class? If so, one or two of them should be along to collect him soon, right? Maybe they didn't know he was back yet? He hadn't told anyone, but he hadn't really known whom to tell.

He looked up whenever someone came close to his desk, but they always walked past him.

No one stopped to invite him to eat.

Obviously he was going to have to go find his friends himself, but how was he going to do that when he didn't even know who his friends were?

Suddenly, a bright idea struck him, and he pulled out his phone, turning it on and scrolling through the menu until he reached the phonebook icon.

He didn't know why he hadn't thought of it before; it was so logical, so simple. Once he had his friends' names, he could always look up their homerooms and go find them that way.

The phonebook opened, and Saguru blinked—once and then twice more.

He frowned and tried to come up with an explanation for what he was seeing.

"Hey, Kuroba! Come sit with us!" one of the soccer players called out as the purple-eyed Adonis entered the room.

Kaito laughed and waved to several people before making his way to his desk to collect his lunch. "Thanks, but no thanks. I promised Aoko I'd eat with her today."

There was a roar of suggestive noises, hoots and hollers, from the peanut gallery.

Kaito turned and stopped when he spotted Saguru. "Something wrong with your phone?" The god-like brunette blinked, coming over to take a look. "You're looking at it like it bit you. Did it get damaged in the accident?"

"Uh…n-no…it's just…it's fine. It works," Saguru mumbled, casting his eyes down into his bentou.

"Hey, why are you eating in the classroom today? Don't you usually go up to the roof?" Kuroba blinked those magnificent eyes, and it made Saguru's heart hurt to look at them.

"I…I don't know…I just…" He had no answer, but at least this was a start. Perhaps his friends met on the roof to eat. "I was just on my way there now."

"I didn't mean that you had to go," Kaito replied, forcing the detective to sit back down. "Stay here. I think it's good that you're trying to be around people more. I mean, don't you get lonely eating up there by yourself all the time?"

Saguru blinked. He ate by himself? "Y-Yes. I suppose I'm very lonely since I seem to be on my own most of the time. Maybe that's why I throw myself into my work solving murders and chasing thieves. I'm sure it takes my mind off of things and gives my life purpose," he muttered, staring down at the shrimp that was staring back at him.

Kaito stared at the blonde too, feeling incredibly uncomfortable. "Uh…well…if you want, you can come eat with Aoko and me. As long as you don't act like an obnoxious creep, that is."

Saguru blinked and looked up into his beloved's face.

Kuroba smiled softly down at him.

"Th-Thank you. I promise not to act like a weirdo," Hakuba swore, packing up his lunch and preparing to follow wherever the other teen led.

"You always act like a weirdo," Kaito chuckled, rolling his eyes.

"It took you long enough," Aoko snapped when she saw Kaito open the door to the roof. "Aoko was waiting!"

"Stopped to pick up a straggler." Kuroba shrugged, stepping out of the way so that Hakuba was visible.

"Hey there, Hakuba-kun! So glad you could join us!" the enthusiastic girl sang when she caught sight of him.

"H-Hello…Nakamori-san," Saguru guessed and prayed he'd gotten it right. They didn't seem to be close, so 'Nakamori-san' was a safe bet. In fact, since he didn't seem to have friends, everyone would probably be last name plus san. "I hope it's okay if I join you two."

The inspector's daughter blinked. "Uh…no problem."

Blast. He'd blundered. What was it then? Aoko-san? Nakamori-chan?

"Oh! Aoko forgot her chopsticks!" the bushy-haired girl announced. "Be right back!"

Saguru sighed. "What do I usually call her?"

Kaito blinked. "Uh…Aoko-kun."

Hakuba's brow furrowed. "Why in the world would I call her Aoko-kun? Nakamori-san would make more sense."

Kuroba raised an eyebrow in suspicion. "Like I'd know."

"Do you know whom I could talk to that would?" the detective muttered, quite tired of this farce.

"You'd know that better than I would, Hakuba," Kaito replied, shifting uneasily.

"But I don't," Saguru sighed, opening his lunch and beginning to eat again. "I don't know anything, and I'm weary of pretending that I do. This façade is draining to keep up."

"You…have amnesia…" Kaito gasped.

Saguru shrugged, picking up the shrimp and considering biting its little head off. He set the shrimp back down.

"What do you remember, Hakuba?" his classmate breathed.

"Everything since waking up in the hospital…nothing before that, but Baaya's given me a pretty precise rundown of my work and home life. I met my father the other day, but we don't seem to have much of a relationship. My mother is still in England. She called to check up on me, but I could tell that we don't interact much either. I have Baaya, though. We're very close, and just having her, more than makes up for the absence of my parents.

"I don't know much about my school life, but I memorized the floor plans, our classmates' names, and the seating chart. I'm quickly learning that I don't have friends, though. Tell me, Kuroba, was I a disagreeable person? Is that why people don't like me? Was I rude or mean or something like that? Is that why people avoid me?"

"No! No, Hakuba, it's nothing like that," Kaito assured, the Brit's sob story tugging at his heartstrings. "You're just quiet and shy, so it's hard for people to approach and get to know you. You do have friends, though," he lied.

"I do?" Saguru blinked. His day brightened a little. "Who are my friends?"

"Well, first of all, I'm your friend," Kaito announced, quickly making up backstories to go with Hakuba's friendships. "We didn't get along so well when you first transferred because you had a crush on Aoko, but as soon as that went away, we became friends. We like to tease and pester each other, and sometimes we face off intellectually since you're almost my mental equal."

"Do we ever play chess?" Saguru inquired, thinking of his marble chessboard.

"Sometimes. We're pretty evenly matched." Kaito shrugged. "You're also friends with Aoko. She's Nakamori-keibu's daughter. He's in charge of the Kaitou Kid taskforce that you work with. She hates Kid, so you two get along pretty well, but you don't like her anymore," the magician stressed, reasoning, 'Why not clear up some misunderstandings while constructing a social network for the guy?'

"You don't have to keep saying that, Kuroba," Saguru chuckled. "I know that I don't like…Aoko-kun anymore, and you should know that too. I know perfectly well of whom I am enamored."

Kaito blinked. "Oh. You do? Good. Another one of your friends is Aoko's friend Momoi Keiko. You call her Keiko-san. She's a huge fan of Kid, so she always comes up to you and asks about how heists went. She also manages the KidxDetective Hakuba fan club and fan site. You should see some of the fanfics she writes. Simply torrid."

Saguru blushed profusely.

"And last, but not least, is Koizumi Akako. You call her Koizumi-san. She's…unique. She used to be worse, but her personality has improved with time and exposure to me. Don't look at her directly. Most guys' brains turn to goo when they do that. You've got a very fine brain, so don't go wasting it."

"U-Understood," Saguru nodded, getting out a pen and paper to take notes.

"One more thing," Kaito remembered another issue that he should probably take the time to clear up. "I'm Kid's biggest fan—something you're obviously not happy about. In fact, you've even gone so far as to accuse me of being Kid several times, but every time my innocence has been proven. Just something to keep in mind if you start getting suspicious of me again. We've already danced this tango a couple times, and I don't want to do it again."

"I…I understand," Saguru replied, making a note that read, "Kuroba =/= Kid."

"Good. That's about it then. Just ask if you have any questions. I'll tell the others about your situation for you," Kaito chuckled with a wink.

"Thank you, Kuroba," Hakuba responded with a smile. But then a thought came to him. "But…if I have all of these friends, why do I eat my lunch alone?"

Kaito blinked. Oh. Hmm. "You like eating by yourself. At least…you used to. You hardly ever come when I invite you. I think it's an intellectual thing. You usually sit up on the roof and meditate or contemplate or something. I think you like your peace and quiet."

"Oh." Saguru nodded. "That is congruent with the information I've been able to gather about myself thus far…. But…" He looked down at his mobile. "I don't have anyone's number in my phone besides yours, Baaya's, and the police. Why don't I have my friends' numbers?"

Kaito blinked. Good question. "You don't really use that thing a whole lot. It's mostly for work, and you really don't need it for socializing, since you see us every day. You probably only have mine since you stalk me."

Saguru's face went fire engine red. "Y-You know that I stalk you?"

"It's a little obvious." Kaito shrugged with a fond chuckle. "Don't worry about it."

….

(^.^)b-b- "Mikau approved."

Mikau: They're finger guns. Looking back at my crab from last chapter, it really looks nothing like a crab. Maybe a cute little Martian thing, but not a crab. Anyway, I had a meeting with my Sensei today about my translations of Magic Kaito, and I really didn't have any questions about phrasing or sound effects, so I asked her why the heck Hakuba calls Aoko, "Aoko-kun". Usually older men call younger people by their first/last name plus "kun," or a boss will refer to his/her subordinates using "kun," but it makes no sense to me why Hakuba would use "kun" with Aoko. Sensei said that he's being kind of snooty and pretentious, exerting his authority and showing off his higher status. I thought, "Oh. Okay. Yeah, that fits with his personality." He was a total snob at first. He really only started to mellow out in volume four. I think his ego got taken down a notch or two after the handcuffing himself to Kaito/Akako heist incident. Anyway, hope you liked the chapter, and have a nice day. Thanks for reading!