Hi guys, here's the promised chapter xD
Thanks for all the view, fav and follow, and I'm sorry I haven't rechecked the grammar error, etc, should be bunch of error down there, please bear it and just let me know, so I can change it ^^
And sooo, without further ado, here we go~
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Words count: 2,569
Rate: T
Warning: typo(s), grammar error(s), possibly OOC, alternate timeline, 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 14
- 14th Leap –
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Kaito starts preparing everything he'll be needed aboard after that. Shinichi also helps him packing some of his belongings, and, with a little 'persuasion' from Kaito, even takes him to Hakuba residence to bid goodbye. Aoko's rage is not as bad as he'd expected her to be, he even gets some protesting stare from Hakuba – and honestly, he has expects him to be kind of happy with him far away from his new family. Kaito doesn't know where Akako lives; he just let her know through phone. Everything's going smoothly, and he only needs to wait for his departure day.
Or so he thinks until he find Shinichi fainted in the living room roughly a week before his departure.
"Shinichi!"
In shock, the plastic bag with his dinner inside that he'd just bought earlier slip out of his hand as he rushed to the unconscious man. The room's dark, from the pale reflection of the street light that goes in though the window he can sees Shinichi's bruised face and bandaged hands.
"Hei, Shin, wake up! Are you alright? What happen?" he pats at Shinichi's – not bruised one of course – cheek, trying to wake him up.
Shinichi's eyes are still closed, but at least he's still breathing. And then Kaito frowns, feeling something is wrong here. He shifts closer to the unconscious man, and sure enough he can smell something familiar. Alcohol. He let his eyes wander around and then sees many cans of beer on the table.
'Shinichi's drunk?' his frown deepens when he reached that conclusion. He's fully aware of the other man's dislike of alcohol. Not once he says that alcohol can make his brain grows dull, and even when he's out with his coworker, he won't drink more than two shots. Some cocktail with low percentage of alcohol, maybe, but he has never seen Shinichi gulps down this many cans of beer. Just what happened exactly?
"Oi Shinichi, wake up!" he shakes the detective's shoulders quite hard, feeling the need to know what happened, fast. Because this just feels like a déjà vu, but this time it's not himself who's drowning self in beer, it's Shinichi.
That seems to work, seeing Shinichi's eyelids slowly blinking open. He unconsciously lets out a relived sigh. Unfortunately that relief doesn't last long, because as Shinichi opens his eyes, instead of a pair of clear yet piercing sapphire orbs that he usually find, he's struck by murky blue orbs. Dark blue eyes that looks like seeing though him, ignoring his existence. Its gaze is so dejected, full of sorrow and regret yet it's also blank, as if there's nothing more he can do. Very unsuited to the Kudo Shinichi that he has knows.
"Shin!" half panicked from the looks he got, Kaito shakes his again, trying to make the detective comes back from whatever stupor he's in.
Shinichi blinks. Once. Twice. Slowly he move his gaze towards Kaito, but even if he's more focused now, that frustration face is still there.
"…Kaito? You're back?" he's supporting his body weight with his arms, trying to ignore his blurring sight.
"What happen, Shin? Why're you injured and–"
"I'm fine," the detective cuts in. Then he tries to stand up, which ends up swaying aside dangerously. If it's not for Kaito's supporting hand, then maybe he'll falls down because of the cans of beer that he accidentally steps on.
"Even kids know you're lying."
Shinichi just gives out a small smile, forced ones. He pulls in his arm from Kaito and staggers out of the room. "I'll be upstairs."
"Huh? You don't want to have dinner? I've bought it, you know, sushi from your favorite kiosk.
Shinichi shakes his head slowly, which he regrets immediately because that makes his headache worse. "I've eaten dinner earlier. You can help yourself with the sushi, Kaito, I'm sleepy."
"But–" Kaito left his sentence hanging and close his mouth, sighing heavily, giving up. He doesn't have the heart to force Shinichi while he's in that state, "Maybe taking a rest will make him better," he mumbles to himself.
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In the morning, in the middle of breakfast, he tries to ask Shinichi about what's really happened back then once again, but the detective keep avoiding it.
"I'm just tired. And lack of sleep."
Well, Kaito won't buy that.
"Usually when you're tired you refused to even drink any alcoholic drinks," he tries. "If you're really stressed out from your work, why don't you take a day off or two instead of ruining your body like that?"
Just as he finished his sentences, Shinichi showers him with his so-cold-and-piercing stare, making him shivers, even when he doesn't know which mine he just stepped on. After that Shinichi hurriedly finishs his breakfast and then go to work, leaving Kaito wondering just what exactly the detective's problem is.
And then at night, Shinichi comes home drunk, again. Unfortunately, before Kaito gets the chance to corner him, the detective run away to his room and lock himself in until morning. And he's off to work in the morning when Kaito's busy preparing breakfast, making Kaito clucks his tongue in annoyance.
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That night Shinichi doesn't come home.
'I won't come home, got stakeout mission. Don't wait for me,' is the email that he sends. At least he's still informing me, Kaito thinks. He only has 5 days left, and he still doesn't have a single clue regarding Shinichi's strange behavior.
And oh, ironically, the ex-thief now has to play detective to solve the mystery surrounding his best friend.
Truthfully, Kaito thinks that Shinichi's only using his work – or whatever crime he has to solve - as a mean to avoid him, but he's trying to convince himself that Shinichi won't be that immature. But haven't he come home drunk two days in a row even? He doesn't know anymore.
After ignoring all the mails that Kaito sends, Shinichi finally comes home two days later. Surprisingly, he comes home before even the break starts. Kaito has quit from the coffee shop where he was working in, and spend the remaining week packing and pacing inside the mansion, trying to figure out what's wrong with his host. Shinichi comes home in the morning, with face paler than ever. But far from sadness, his expression is full of tension and, maybe, suppressed anger.
"Shinichi? Is there something you forgot? You know I can bring it to you if you just phone me."
"Not that," then he go silent, seems like contemplating how far he should tell him the truth, "I've been told to leave early…"
Kaito's eyes widen, "You? Leave early?!"
Kaito almost can't believe his ears. That Kudo Shinichi, the Detective of the East, the Heisei Holmes, doing his job that bad he'd been sent home early? Okay, Kaito has it enough, there's something unbelievably wrong with Shinichi and he need to know what it is, now. "You really make me worried, Shin. Don't you think it's time for you to tell me what's wrong already?"
But Shinichi just pass him again without listening to a word from him. "This has nothing to do with you."
That last sentence makes Kaito's patience snaps. With one quick move he grabs at the detective's shoulder and push him so his back bumps with the wall, even when he can hear quite loud thudding sound, his guilt isn't more than his anger. He keeps both the detective arms beside his body and places him in front of the detective, making sure he won't be running away no more. His eyes meet Shinichi's, who seems surprised to be treated that way, but quickly reads just how serious Kaito is.
"You force me to spill all my problems to you, telling me that maybe telling you will make it easier for me even for a bit, but now you refuse me to do the same thing to you? Am I the only one here who thing that we're friend of an equal, friend that supports each other? Stupid me."
"…leave me alone, Kaito."
"Sure, gladly. You have three days if you want to change your mind."
Kaito walk away after that. The front door slammed close after him.
For a moment Shinichi just stood there, staring at the now closed door. Three days… he tries to rack his unusually slow brain to decipher Kaito's words. Three days…
"…oh, right, Kaito will leave in three days, huh. And after that I'll be alone again, huh."
Shinichi let the gravitation pull him under, letting himself falls to the cold floor. He wraps his arms around his bent knees and sinks his head in. His back still hurts from colliding earlier, as well as his wrist, where Kaito's hand has just grasped in. But he's more weighed down by his mind burden rather than his physical injuries.
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Kaito comes home just to find Shinichi trying to get his body to stand up by grabbing at nearest rack. Without thinking Kaito rushed to support the staggering man, even if at first he wants to ignore the detective until he apologize, truthfully, he can never let the detective to be on his own device. Kaito helps Shinichi goes into his room as he ask him whether he needs to call a doctor or not.
"No need to, I'm fine…"
"Sure, and I'm not an ex-thief," he says sarcastically.
"…sorry. I'm just hungry, maybe. Feels like it's been a long time since my last proper meal."
"…when was your last meal?"
"Uh, I don't know. I just remember that my last meal was a karaage."
"Don't tell me that karaage was our breakfast 3 days ago?!"
"Maybe– "
"You skip meals but let yourself get drunk? Well done, Kudo Shinichi. Can't you act anymore dumber?"
"Well, remembering that I've been sent home early from work, then I guess the answer is yes?"
"Oh God," Kaito pushes Shinichi to his bed ungracefully. "Now you stay here. And don't try to move, anywhere at all. And don't you sleep on me, understand?!"
"After being reprimanded at work, now at home too? Woah."
"Yep, because you're a bad boy, Shinichi-kun," Kaito says in his motherly voice while giving him a glare. Shinichi sighs, giving up. His stomach feels weird and the rooms looks like it spinning. He doesn't even have the energy to move, not to mention to voice his protest.
After making sure that Shinichi isn't going anywhere, Kaito left him alone in his room. Shinichi thinks he won't come back, especially after their earlier fight, but seems like he was wrong. Kaito's back not long after with a glass of water and a bowl of porridge. He keeps staring at Shinichi while he's eating which Shinichi deliberately ignores.
"Thanks for the food," he mumbles softly as he place his empty plate on the bedside table.
"You'd better be," Kaito answers curtly.
"I'm sorry for troubling you –"
"If you're really sorry then you'd better tell me what your problem is."
"I –"
Click.
Shinichi's eyes widen as he feels cold metal bar circling his right wrists, which seems like to be connected to the headboard as his attempt to yank his arms forward fails.
"What the hell is this, Kaito?!"
"Sorry but I won't have a 'no' for an answer."
"Don't joke with me!"
"Truthfully, it's been a long time since I become this serious."
Kaito is still sitting in the same position as before, side of his bed, maintaining a distance between them. It's true that Shinichi almost doesn't see the magician's hands move which cuffing his arms, but now Kaito looks more menacing than a few seconds before. Kaito's not angry; he's enraged, that Shinichi already know. But he doesn't have a meek personality either.
"Why do you care?"
"If you're fishing me with mockery, it won't work."
"I'm just frustrated with one of the suspect in a case I'm handling."
"Lying won't work either. There's something else making you frustrated."
"Playing detective now, eh, Mr. Ex Phantom Thief?"
"I'm just doing this as a friend. I want to help you, Shin, why won't you let me? I'm worried! You think I can leave you alone while you can't even take proper care of yourself like this?!"
"Sure, you can."
Shinichi can't look into Kaito's eyes, but he can feel the disappointment. He doesn't want to involve Kaito, because honestly what makes him feels frustrated is really just something stupid. A ghost from his past that he still can't forget, can't let go. He's just being stupid, and stubborn, he knows, but he doesn't know what to do anymore. He's been trying his best to 'heal', really, but his past is still there, plaguing him.
Before Shinichi can make other more sensible reason, he hears clatters of metals, and the cold weigh on his right wrist suddenly gone.
Kaito stands up, tossing the handcuff back to Shinichi blandly. "I think somebody like me don't even get the right to try and help you, huh," he laughs bitterly. "That's okay."
Shinichi stares at his back as Kaito turns back, watching him slowly walk away, and suddenly he feels cold. Kaito's leaving. He'll fly to who-know-where (Is it France? He doesn't remember it clearly) and he won't be there to brew him some coffee, to company him while he eats, won't be there to arguing over stupid matters anymore. Kaito won't be coming back. And he'll be left alone.
Even before his brain can catch up to his thought, his body moves first. He steps out of his bed, staggering before finally be able to grab Kaito's sleeves.
"Don't go…"
Kaito halts, then turns around facing Shinichi with a confused face. "Do you need something?"
"I'm sorry Kaito, I didn't mean to brush you off like that. I just – I don't know, I don't even know what's wrong with me. I–" he racks his brain to search for the word, which he fails. He stare at Kaito instead, with pleading yet silent eyes.
'You know what it feels to go through this, right?'
Kaito lets out a heavy sighs, then he sits down at the end of the bed. Shinichi lets go of his hand and sits down beside him, still maintaining the same distance as before.
"Go on. Just let out what you want me to know. I'll listen to you."
And Shinichi begins his story.
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to be continued
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I totally forgot there'll be handcuff involved here, hahaha. If you're confused right now, it's normal, next chapter will make it all clear XD
Don't worry, the story's finished already, I just need the time to translate it ^^
I hope the next chapter will be out next week, thanks for your patience with me :D