Hi guys, I'm really sorry for being late. And I'm sorry too for all the grammar error that will surely be found as I haven't reread this chapter yet…
Thanks for views, fav, follows and reviews for all those past week.
And so, without further ado, here's the next chapter~
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Words count: 2,456
Rate: T
Warning: typo(s), grammar error(s), possibly OOC, alternate timeline, chara(s) death, possible BL/shonen-ai
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Disclaimer :
Detective Conan and Magic Kaito fully belong to Aoyama Gosho
This story belong to reiei
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Now, let the story begins…
o.O.O.o.o.O.O.o
Chapter 9
- 9th Scar –
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Just like another normal day, Kaito visits Shinichi who's still hospitalized yet again. The difference is that this day he comes to the hospital before his working shift instead of coming after he's done with his work like usual. And another difference is that this day the ward where Shinichi should be treated in – with all the patient robe and bandaged injuries – is empty.
"Shin?" he peeks to the bathroom near the hospital bed, wondering if the detective was there, but none. "Shinichi?" he says lauder while pacing back and forth in that not too big ward. But there's only silence. It's just gust of autumn wind that heed to his call.
Not again, he thought.
He sees the things he brought here yesterday for Shinichi is still left untouched. The detective's black phone is laying on the bedside table, beside a basket of oranges from Takagi-san. The white blanket atop the bed seems messy, clearly haven't been tidied, which means Shinichi didn't go out with the hospital staff helps. Did Shinichi run away? But, why? Why now, while he can be discharged in another week?
Panicking, he runs out of the ward and intercepts the first nurse he can get to ask for Shinichi's whereabouts. And unfortunately the nurse doesn't know the detective might be, she doesn't even know that Shinichi has left the hospital without word. Resisting the urge to grumble, Kaito left the nurse after making sure that she will tell Kaito when Shinichi has come back.
"Tsk, each and every time," he murmured in annoyance. His left hand ruffles his already wild hair while his right hand busy scrolling down his phone contact list.
"Good morning," greets the other end of the phone line, "What is it, Kuroba-kun?"
"Shiratori-san? Do you know where Shinichi is?" the ex-thief asks bluntly. Yea, he save Shiratori-san's number since that last case, just in case if something like this ever happen again.
"Kudo-kun? Isn't he in the hospital?" Shiratori-san asks confused, making Kaito huff heavy sighs in disappointment.
"Yes, he should be in the hospital. But I've just visited his ward and it's empty. I think he ran away…"
Kaito can't see the detective's face but he can totally imagine he's knitting his eyebrows. Shiratori-san doesn't say anything for a moment, and Kaito almost thinks he'd been hanged up when the detective voice can be heard again from the other line of the phone.
"Ah, today is that day, isn't it? He must be there right now."
"That?" now it's Kaito's turn to frown. What's 'that'?, he thought. "What do you mean he must be 'there', Shiratori-san? Can you explain it to me?"
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Upon receiveing Shinichi's (possible) whereabouts, Kaito doesn't waste even a second to dash to said place. He's still grumbling, wondering what could be more important than takes a rest and gets better, and why the detective goes off to who-know-where without telling him, again, even with what had happened in that last case.
The street he passed feels unfamiliar to him. That cloudy sky doesn't help his worry either. He knows that Shinichi is not a child who needs to be protected, he's a professional detective with many experiences since long ago. Maybe it's his past trauma that makes him so possessive with his now few close people.
When he's greeted by rows of tombstones and raindrops, he froze. He really doesn't think that Shinichi will run here of all places. Why is Shinichi – no, that's wrong question. Who is here?
He walks in the trails between rows of neatly carved names near in own resting place, while his eyes busy searching for the detective. The murky sky above makes the place gloomier, but when he has finally found Shinichi the aura surrounding him is much gloomier.
He stands a few steps behind Shinichi, umbrella on hand, while eyeing the tombstone in front of Shinichi curiously.
'Mouri Ran'
Oh.
Kaito didn't really know the girl, but he'd disguised himself as her couple of times before and from that he knows just how important she was to Shinichi. Maybe it's the same as Aoko to him, even though he would never tell that childhood friend of his that he had loved her back then. He doesn't know what Shinichi's relationship with that 'Mouri Ran' was, but whatever it was, it had to be severed by death.
When he remembers about Aoko and Hakuba, he doesn't know whether separated by death will hurt more rather than have your loved one forgot everything about you – and married to somebody else – or not.
The rain pours heavier, so he forces his legs to move closer to the crouching detective, tilting his umbrella so it shields them both. Shinichi looks up. No tears there, but the gaping hole left by her death can be seen clearly in those pair of melancholic eyes that are not shining as bright as usual.
"I'm surprised you can find me here," Shinichi said half-joking. Kaito pretends he doesn't hear his slightly trembling voice and just shrugs.
"You made me worry you know, again."
Shinichi just chuckles slightly. He sends his last smile to the grave in front of him before he stand up and then he walks away, making Kaito hurriedly follows his step.
"How do you know I'm here?" Shinichi asks, a bit curious.
"Shiratori-san," he replies shortly, "Sorry if I'm bothering you, but it's your fault for going somewhere without a word you know."
Shinichi smirks as he apologize lowly, fortunately he doesn't seems annoyed by his sudden intrusion.
"You've met her before right? Ran."
Kaito nods slowly, he doesn't think that Shinichi will be the one to bring that topic first, and he also doesn't know how to respond to this conversation.
"Yea, I've fooled you a few times by disguising as Mouri-san," he says, trying to sound as normal as he can with tad bit playfulness.
"Maybe something's wrong with your memory, I've clearly revealed your disguise, Kaito," Shinichi denies.
They bickers for a while, sometime they laugh off their own stupidity back then, before silence falls down on them again, making the sound of the pouring rain their only company.
"I'm sorry for your loss, really," this time Kaito's the one who breaks the silence. "I've felt it too."
Kaito sees Shinichi is nodding slightly from the corner of his eyes, his smile curls up in that bitter smile again. "I don't deserve your condolence. I'd been failed to protect her, you know, it was my fault. Because of me a girl that kind has to pass away so early…"
Kaito knows, beneath that calm voice and straight gaze, that young man who walks alongside him is bearing pain. His eyes set on long, long ahead, cut though the downpour, back to where it all began. He's remembering his past, back to the same day, 8 years ago.
That time, Shinichi who had his body back was fighting Gin with the FBI and the Police, and when he'd almost been shoot by Vermouth, Ran jumped out to shield him. Cliché, he knows. But that's what was happened. What Shinichi remembers next is a pool of red, coming from Ran's body. He doesn't remember it clearly, but the people that was there and witness the entire accident saw the normally calm boy was going berserk as if he was possessed.
He got some serious injuries after that – which made him hospitalized for more than a week – and when he woke up, Ran was already gone.
"I'm sure that she, Mouri-san, doesn't want you to blame yourself over her death, Shin."
"…yeah, of course. She's stupid like that," he force a laugh, a painful laugh.
'Baka Shinichi! Don't be reckless! What if this time you'll really be dead?! Ah… But this is my time to go, don't follow after me soon, ok, Shinichi? And don't wait for me, too. Just live your life to the fullest, ok, Shinichi?'
"…you're so selfish, Ran, you left me without even giving me the chance to wait for you," Shinichi mumbles with choked voice, a tear makes it way down his still bruising cheek. But only that one tear, that's how he express his hurtfulness, for now.
Kaito just accept it in silence. Eight years. It's been 8 years and it still as painful as it was 8 years ago. Don't they say that it will heal in time? Or maybe, they're the one who unfold their pain, again and again, so that it won't fade within time, because that pain is the only connection between them and their loved ones.
"Have you ever thought what if your loved one, who you thought had died, is still alive?" Kaito asks out of the blue. Shinichi gives him confused stare, eyebrows knitted, trying to assume where this sudden conversation will be heading.
"I've experienced it before," Kaito doesn't know why he's sharing the topic that he'd tried to burry deep within him over the past few weeks. But surely, it's not to be pitied nor does to say that he'd suffer more than Shinichi. He just thinks that if, maybe, he shares his story then it will change Shinichi's point of view about all that have happened to him, somehow. So he continues his story, even if Shinichi sill gives him that confused stares.
"All this time, I thought she'd died, and I blame myself over it. But she's still alive, you know. She's still alive and well, she has grown into an elegant young lady. And she's married, haha, she's pregnant with her first child. But she doesn't remember me anymore."
Shinichi's gaze changes, understanding lit in his eyes. Kaito is waiting, whether Shinichi will says something or even tells him to stop, but the detective just stares at him in silence, as if allowing him to continue this story.
"Her family and friends don't want her to remember about me anymore. I'm keep telling myself that 'well, at least she's happy' or 'at least she's still alive', but with erasing me from her memory also mean that the childhood friend that I once know has gone. She's a part of my life, but I'm not a part of hers. Not anymore and will never be…"
"Is that the reason why you drunk yourself hard that other time?"
Kaito just laugh, he know that it sounded bland, but he can't pretend anymore.
Shinichi snorts lowly, somehow more relaxed now, "Such a cruel world, isn't it?"
"Aa."
The rest of their walk spent in comfortable silence, as they enjoy the rush of raindrops and occasionally strong wind, threatening to fly their umbrella away, and maybe, their memories away.
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Shinichi's discharged 4 days later, 2 days faster than the estimation, and the young detective goes straight to work the exact next day. Kaito drop his previous daily routine of visiting the hospital, and now, it's Shinichi who's visiting Kaito nearly once every 3 days in his workplace. Sometime he comes for his morning cup of black coffee or when he's run out of coffee bean at home. And sometime he comes in his lunch break for another cup of black coffee after spending unholy hours solving cases or doing his report.
Sometime, when the detective comes when Kaito's working, then the magician will try to make him drinks all kind of coffee – latte, cappuccino, frappe – which he self proclaimed tastier than his usual black coffee. And just as many times Kaito urges him to drink those coffees, that many times he also claimed that he still likes black coffee better. And he even threaten Kaito that he won't come back again if he keeps on doing that, he still has that coffee shop near the HQ after all.
Autumn pass by so quickly, and now it's already winter. These early weeks aren't that cold, it hasn't even snowing here in Beika yet. However, the winter wind is cold enough to freeze those who dare to go out in thin clothes to the bone.
In December's first weekend, they both have their day off in the same day, and so they decided to go shopping for clothes and so on, seeing as Kaito's clothes are mostly borrowed from Shinichi's wardrobe, and because Kaito insist that they have to go have fun in their day off or else Shinichi will quickly goes bald.
"Just tell me you don't want to go by yourself, Kaito," Shinichi teases.
"Oh, I'm found out? Of course! I don't want to miss my opportunity to spend the weekend with you, Shin-chan!" Kaito counters, he even added additional wink in the end of his sentence which gives Shinichi goosebumps right away.
And so, with the 'help' from some magic tricks to pranks the detective and involuntary threats to throw out his stock of coffee beans if he doesn't want to company him shopping, they decided to spend the day off by go shopping.
Now they're in the middle of a heated argument about a pink shirt which Kaito says 'suits you a lot, Shin!' which of course Shinichi refuses. When they finally walk away from that store, announcement is heard from the public speaker that requests all visitors to keep calm and get out of the building as soon as possible.
That announcement clearly makes the visitors confused, some of them run out of the buildings for all their worth, while the others stand restlessly, wondering what was happening. It all become clear a minute later when an explosion happened, followed by deafening ring of fire alarm. Scream. People scatter. And in a heartbeat chaos ensues inside the christmas decorated shopping centre.
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To Be Continued
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Okay, so, I don't like being late and since I think I won't make it to update 2 chapters a week while new semester is already started and I have my own story to update now, I apologize but I'll update once a week from now on, hopefully together with Tell Me Your Lies (just in case anybody here read that too, haha), on Saturday or Sunday.
So, see you guys next week :D