Don't own Detective Conan or Magic Kaito
Lost at Sea
When the real cure to the apotoxin was created, nearly a year after the day he was shrunk, it felt like someone had put the world on fast forward. Suddenly he was an adult again, suddenly he was talking directly with the FBI, suddenly the Black Organization was being taken down as Bourbon, Vermouth and Kir switched sides or revealed their true allegiances. Suddenly the Black Organization was gone, Ano Kata detained and all of their pillars removed to leave anyone who got out floundering.
The first thing Shinichi did, with the Organization gone and his body back, was sit down Ran and tell her everything.
This, as one might expect, did not end well.
"I appreciate your honesty," Haibara told him blandly as she handed him another ice pack.
He gave her a smile that was more of a grimace. "You might be the only one," he told her, before hissing as he tried to keep the ice pack on his shoulder in place while pressing the new one to his rapidly-forming black eye and swelling cheek. Honestly, he thought he deserved the slap, and even Sonoko punching him in the face.
Considering that Sera knew or at least heavily suspected his condition, he thought the body throw was a bit overboard.
Akai walked in, no longer having to hide as Okiya Subaru, and looked at him lying on the couch. "There's a girl with a ponytail at the gate yelling at you to let her in."
Kazuha.
Shinichi groaned but rolled onto his feet and started moving to answer. "Sure," he said absently. "I still have a functioning arm. Might as well get this over with now."
Akai and Haibara frowned at him but knew arguing would be futile.
Maybe if he was punished enough it would make up for the tears he saw in Ran's eyes.
Ran was avoiding him.
Shinichi saw this coming from a mile away.
It hurt nonetheless.
Sonoko snubbing him in response was as inevitable as the tide. They had barely considered each other friends for years, their only connection being Ran, and with that gone, it had been expected.
Sera was avoiding him too, but if they walked past each other she might slow enough to shoot him a grin. He had a feeling he knew what this sudden radio silence was about, and it had to do with the looks she and Ran would share. He wished the best for them, though he doubted Sera would need it as she would never screw up as much as he had.
He tried to go back to school, but it was as awkward as parts of everyday life were now, especially as he still shared all of his classes with Ran. So he completed all of the makeup work that was assigned to him, spent a few weeks holed up in his library, and sat his exams early. He graduated within two months of his return.
He only left his house for cases and Kid heists these days, as far as his friends knew. They'd never believed him before when he told them he was doing random things in different towns, and he doubted they would suddenly believe him now, so he didn't bother wasting his breath.
And returning to his wandering was like jumping into a hot bath after weeks of nursing sore muscles. He went to cat cafes and beaches, festivals and casinos, back to following his own whims and reveling in the utter joy that came with that. Traveling and sharing experiences with others was fun, but controlling the pace of the adventure kept Shinichi from losing his mind, and it looked like he could never do both at the same time.
The only other thing that brought him joy outside of the occasional call to solve a crime (which were becoming fewer and fewer because Akai had decided to stick around and there were now four notorious detectives in Beika, three of which were good) and his weekend adventures was attending Kid heists.
Nakamori didn't take his presence well, at all. With Conan he could easily take most of the credit, and Conan didn't have an official case success rate like Shinichi did. The other detective he saw at the heists, Hakuba, was equally displeased by his attendance, though he seemed to like him well enough in a non-professional setting.
But Shinichi didn't go to heists for them.
Kid appeared to revel in Shinichi's return to adult form, and Shinichi in turn gave as good as he got; jumping over traps, keeping pace with the Moonlight Magician, running until his lungs were burning pleasantly and his legs were shaking from the adrenaline. He sometimes wondered just how in sync his mind was with the thief's.
He wondered this more when he was sitting on the roof after a heist one night, looking down at the city lights, and heard the flap of fabric in the wind next to him. He swung his legs a little from where they hung over the edge. "Hey Kid," he greeted.
"Meitantei," he received back, and he hummed a little at the moniker. It was only silent for another moment before he heard a throat clear. "Could you move more onto the roof?"
"Afraid I'll fall?" he teased, but withdrew his legs and settled with his body on the roof and his back against the raised lip of the edge. When he was comfortable he heard Kid's dress shoes step onto the roof as well.
"It wouldn't be the first time," the thief teased back. "At least this time it wouldn't be on purpose."
Shinichi laughed at that and tilted his head to see Kid standing just out of arm's reach from him before turning back to examining the night sky. The light from the city hid the stars from view, and Shinichi felt a pang of longing. Maybe his next trip will be out to the country. "Take it easy, Kid," he said lazily to the air. "The heist's over; you're out of bounds."
There was another pause, as if Kid was trying to figure out Shinichi's sincerity, before he heard a huff and the sound of dress shoes stepping closer to him. When glanced at him again Kid had settled onto the ledge, facing inwards, his leg inches away from Shinichi and his hand nearly brushing Shinichi's hair. Shinichi hummed a little before turning back to the sky and following a blinking light with his eyes. Was it a satellite or a plane, he wondered.
"What are you thinking about, Meitantei?" Kid asked, and Shinichi blinked as the light moved behind a cloud and disappeared from view.
"Where I'm going to go next," he answered. Maybe hiking; the last time he'd gone hiking he'd still been Conan. Maybe Agasa could find a way to invite him along on the Detective Boys' next field trip.
Kid was silent for a moment. "What do you mean?" The question was sharp, and Shinichi tilted his head a little to see the light glinting off of Kid's monocle obscuring most of his visage.
"I'm thinking about where I'm going next," Shinichi repeated. "Maybe hiking, I haven't seen the stars in a while." He frowned a little. "It's still too cold to go on a cruise and enjoy myself."
Kid let out a breath that almost sounded relieved and turned away for a second. He had soft smile on his face. "I see. I thought…"
Shinichi stared at him, parsed the words, and let out his own sigh. "You thought I was leaving." He turned his attention to his own feet, at the shoes Agasa remade to fit his adult self now and watched them drag against the rooftop idly. "I've considered it," he confessed and the hand that had settled next to his head twitched slightly.
"Why?" Kid asked, and there was a hollow ring to the words that made Shinichi curl up a little more tightly to try and conserve his remaining body heat.
"Why stick around when you aren't wanted?" he asked back. Why remain in one place when inaction can fill you with agony, he thought. "I decided years ago that I'd be gone the moment I wasn't needed anymore."
The gloved hand by his head moved, and Shinichi started a little as he felt fingers run through his hair and gently, insistently turn his face toward Kid's. The thief was as inscrutable as ever as he looked at Shinichi and firmly said, "Then I guess you're never leaving."
Those words felt like a shock to his system, and his breath hitched as heat bloomed in his chest and spread up to his face. Luckily Kid had turned away to look at the city behind them, and Shinichi prayed he didn't see the blush on Shinichi's cheeks or the tears obscuring his vision.
It was only because Kid was the one to say it that the words felt like a comfort and not like a death warrant.
Shinichi was working in a casino as a favor for one of his acquaintances in the Yakuza and talking through the round when he heard an enraged, "Bakaito! What are you doing in a casino?!"
He turned to politely tell the person they appeared to have the wrong person after a quick glance at his players gave him nothing but confusion – only to yelp and jump away from the mop he found swinging at him. He started dodging away from his table.
The girl – who looked astoundingly like Ran – followed. "Aoko can't believe you! You told Aoko you wouldn't step in here until we were twenty!"
"Miss, I think you have the wrong person," Shinichi entreated, only to flinch for his watch when she swung at him again.
"Don't talk like that! Aoko recognized your voice!"
Of all of the frightening non-criminals Shinichi actually knew, he honestly hadn't expected someone random to be the one to kill him. He'd had his money on Sonoko, truth be told. When his next backpedal caused him to run into something solid he covered his head and waited for the pain.
A few seconds passed before he cracked an eye open and saw that security had arrived and two men currently each had a hand on one of her arms. "Is there a reason you're attacking one of my employees, miss?" A voice called out, and Shinichi turned to see Jozu, his acquaintance, striding forward with a tight frown on his face.
Well, he thought an hour later as the young woman – Nakamori Aoko, daughter of the inspector, of all people – took him to get coffee as an apology for assaulting him, he certainly couldn't complain about the day being boring.
It was two heists later that Nakamori waved him over, and Shinichi felt dread creep like ivy up his spine. His obeyed the beckon and politely ignored how his smile was little more than gritted teeth.
"Kudo," the man said. It sounded like a curse. But there was an undertone of satisfaction also there, and it made Shinichi wary.
He nodded back nonetheless. "Nakamori-keibu. Can I help you with something?" He cocked his head as the inspector wordlessly gestured to his side, where Hakuba had been standing.
"I'm afraid to say that you are no longer necessary nor wanted for these heists, Kudo-kun," the blond detective said, and it felt like a knife had worked its way into his body.
Shinichi took a deep breath and tried to hide the pain that ricocheted through him. Not needed. "May I ask why?" he requested, and the other teen gave an assenting sound.
"We have reason to believe that the Kaito Kid's natural face greatly resembles yours. If you attend a heist, there's a decent chance that he could knock you out and disguise as you without any need for a face mask, rendering our efforts to check personnel before heists to be fruitless. You have become, I'm afraid to say, a liability."
Shinichi nodded. "I see." Not wanted. He swallowed and tried to regain his composure. "I'll entrust this to you then." He didn't see a point in arguing, he knew that Nakamori wasn't the type that would stand for any disrespect. If he acted on his own Nakamori could very well have him arrested and detained for obstruction.
Hakuba nodded back. "I'm glad you understand, Kudo-kun. Rest assured that we'll see he gets brought to justice."
Shinichi's sure he made some kind of understanding sound, and he had to have physically walked away, but he couldn't remember anything between that moment and Haibara tugging on his hand. "Kudo-kun?"
He jolted violently and suddenly the sounds of the crowd hit him. He had returned to where the audience was standing – and why did he do that, he wondered hysterically – and Haibara was watching him with well-hidden concern. "Are you alright?" She asked.
No, he wanted to say. No, I feel like I've lost everything now. Instead he shrugged and quirked a small smile at her. "I will be," he said, and she looked like she was willing to trust him on that.
"So you're going to watch the show this time?" she asked, and he shrugged again.
"Something like that," he told her, before gently releasing her hand to ruffle her hair and make her shoot him a venomous glare.
Shinichi had often likened his situation to a boat that had been tied to port by various ropes, with the ropes all being things that kept him in Japan. Three of them, finishing his education, being old enough, and taking down the organization, had broken a few months ago, along with one of the largest ones: Ran needing him.
Slowly, after that, the other ties snapped one by one. Division One didn't need him anymore, not with all of the detectives running around. The FBI didn't need him now that the Organization was gone, Hattori didn't need him – he had to assume, seeing as he hadn't heard from the other detective in weeks because Kazuha was so angry with him on Ran's behalf she got mad at Hattori for talking to him. The Detective Boys didn't even know him, and Agasa had Haibara. Haibara had Agasa, the Detective Boys, and Akai to keep her safe now.
All that had been left, the only thing he had tying him to Japan, had been Kid. His heists, his riddles, the chase. Simply Kid. It had been the strongest tie he'd had in the end. And now it was gone.
He felt lost at sea, Shinichi realized, staring blankly ahead as the people around him starting counting down to when the heist would begin. All of his ropes were gone, but he was just…drifting away.
It felt awful.
Thanks for reading and please review.
