Disclaimer: I don't own DCMK

Illusions of the Sun

11: Horizons

He knew he wasn't thinking straight, but he couldn't seem to care. All he could feel was a cold, hot rage at everything—the things he hadn't been able to control, the things that couldn't be changed, and the things that he could imagine which were probably the worst of all.

Right now he wasn't seeing the leader of the treasure hunters who had the misfortune to be right before him, or even the faces from his past, but all of them and the faces he did not yet know.

"You," he snarled, indigo eyes blazing with an inhuman light. "I am going to make you regret that you were ever born."

The man made to run, abandoning both his weapon and his men, but the ground before his feet shifted and cracked and he tripped, landing face first on the hard earth. Terror had him scrambling to get back to his feet but the ground itself seemed to have decided to act against him. It shifted and slid wherever he touched it so that all he managed to do was turn over onto his back. From there he had an unobstructed view of the teenager looking down at him from a few yards away.

"So you want treasure, do you?" As he spoke, Kaito's gaze flickered to the treasure chest which obediently rose into the air. It sailed to however over the leader who redoubled his efforts to flee with little success.

"Why are you running? Isn't this what you wanted?"

The man whimpered in terror. "N—no, wait, sta—stay away—" He broke off in a strangled scream of pain as the chest dropped onto his right hand much harder than its size and weight should have allowed. There was a sickening, dull crunch as blood seeped out from beneath the wood to creep across the earth.

Shinichi blanched, turning his head away.

The ropes securing his hands had all but dissolved in the power surge. Using his hands, he levered himself up, ignoring the pain that shot through his right arm and side. The air was so thick with energy that it seemed to actually have weight. It felt as though he was trying to walk against a strong current.

The magician stiffened as his ears caught the sound of movement from behind. He turned quickly, eyes narrowing only to widen again as he saw who it was. The sight of those familiar, blue eyes sent a shock through him, momentarily dispelling the haze of anger that had been the only thing he could think about. He reached out automatically to catch the oracle as he half ran into half fell against him. His eyes fell immediately to where his hand encountered something warm and wet.

It was blood. Shinichi's blood. The rage welled up again and the air hummed and cracked, but he was distracted as a hand gripped the front of his shirt.

"Stop it," Shinichi pleaded, staring into the magician's face. The anguish he saw there made his throat feel dry and his stomach feel like it was full of lead. "Don't do this. This isn't who you are. Please Kai… I don't want you to change because of me, of this—of anything."

Indigo eyes blinked slowly and finally came to focus on his face. And it seemed as though they were really seeing him again for the first time since this whole fiasco had begun back in the city they now called home. "Shi—Shinichi, I…"

The oracle smiled faintly, relieved. "We made a promise, remember? Everything is going to be okay…"

He did remember. Of course he remembered. But him remembering and the rest of the world going along with it were two entirely different things. If it weren't, they wouldn't be here now.

"You have to believe it, Kai," the oracle insisted. "No matter what happens, no matter what other people think, we have to believe it, because we're the only ones who can."

X

When the backup arrived, it was to find a barren, broken island, a handful of teenagers with varying degrees of injuries, and the treasure hunters scared witless and babbling about demons. Hattori, who was the only person who was both conscious and willing to talk (and make sense), gave them the story as they marched the treasure hunters away and inspected both boats to be loaded onto their much larger ship. Then the teens were taken to the ship's doctor who set about patching them up before he set off to deal with the prisoners' injuries.

Left alone for the time being, Heiji sat on a chair between the beds where Hakuba and Ran had been placed. There was another empty one across the ways which he was supposed to be resting in, but right now he couldn't make himself close his eyes, let alone sleep. He couldn't think either though—didn't know what he was supposed to be thinking really. So here he was, staring blankly at each of his friends in turn, his mind feeling like a jumbled blank (as little sense as that made).

Every now and then he'd sneak a look at the last bed in the room where the last two members of their little party were curled up together. He could see that Kaito was awake, but the magician hadn't said a word since—since whatever it was had stopped except to ask the doctor about Shinichi's injury. He wouldn't let go of the other either. Like someone hanging on to an anchor, Heiji thought. Shinichi himself was fast asleep, though it seemed to the dark-skinned detective that he seemed to have shifted closer to his companion at some point since the last time he'd dared look at them (dared because it felt a little like he was intruding. They looked like they needed some time alone). He hoped they would be all right.

And he hoped that when everything was over they didn't think that this was just what the world was like.

It was Shiho who found the little, rosewood chest with its fresh bloodstains and otherwise unmarked surface. She picked it up and made her way quickly to the other side of the small island where she tossed it into the sea. It hit the surf with a splash and sank like a stone, leaving no trace behind that it had ever been.

X

It felt strange to be back at school again, Ran thought. As though everything that had happened had only been a dream. Or maybe like she was dreaming now, although she hoped that wasn't the case.

"There's a dance next Friday," Sonoko announced as she came bustling up to them. "I'm part of the organizing committee, so of course you're all coming."

"How come you never say please?" Hattori asked, shaking his head at her from where he was half slumped in his seat. "It wouldn't kill you to be polite now and then."

"No point wasting manners on people who don't have them," the girl shot back, shoving a flyer into his face. "Besides, you should be thanking me."

"What?" he spluttered. "Why?"

"Because this is a great opportunity for you to finally ask Kazuha out before the semester ends, of course," she answered smugly. "It's going to be fairytale themed so it's perfect for people like you."

"…People like me?" he repeated. "What's that supposed to mean?"

Sonoko rolled her eyes. "Aren't you a detective? Figure it out." Deciding she was tired of talking to him, she turned her attention to the rest of the people scattered around her as yet unclaimed seat. She paused, counting heads. "Hey, where's Shinichi? And Ran, what happened to your arm?"

They all fell abruptly silent and she frowned. "What's going on with you all?"

"It's nothing serious," Ran replied.

"And Shinichi?"

"He's in the hospital," she said quietly, casting a sidelong look at Kaito. "There was…an accident over the weekend. It's why we've been absent the last couple days."

"Oh." Sonoko took another long look around at her friends. She could tell from their faces that they weren't telling her everything, but that was all right. With the kinds of trouble she'd seen them get into before, she probably didn't want to know. She didn't, however, like the gloomy atmosphere. "Well, you can give him a flyer then," she declared, shoving two of said flyers into Kaito's hands. "If either of you need help finding dates, just let me know. Or if you want to come together, that's fine too," she added as an afterthought before turning back to Ran. "Anyway, Aoko was supposed to arrange for the food, and she wanted me to ask you if you'd be willing to help with some of that."

Kaito tuned out the rest of the conversation. Shinichi had been in the hospital since they had gotten back. They had had to remove the bullet since it hadn't gone cleanly through but the doctors all assured them that it wasn't serious. They just wanted him to stay a few days to be sure. Kaito would have rather stayed with him than come to school, but the oracle insisted that he go to class and his mother had agreed. She wasn't particularly happy with them, but when all was said and done she was just glad they were home. So here he was, wandering the streets with his hands in his pockets as he meandered his way from the school campus towards the hospital.

Shiho had informed them that all of his and Shinichi's 'special' information had been wiped from the government database. So that at least was a weight off his chest. But what really bothered him now was the memory of his own behavior. It made him feel a little sick just to think about it.

The sparkle of sunlight drew his gaze to the open doors of a nearby shop. It looked like some kind of jewelry and ornament store. A young woman had set up a table right outside it with what a sign proclaimed her some special, new pieces currently on promotion.

He drifted over for a closer look. Large, padded trays had been set out on the table, each lined neatly with trinkets of varying shapes and colors. They were all rather shiny.

"Good afternoon," the girl behind the table said brightly. "Are you looking for something in particular?"

"Not really," he replied, gently picking up a small, rose-shaped pendant. The rose was both his mother and his father's favorite flower.

"That's one of my favorites," the girl told him, smiling. "You're supposed to give it to the person you love."

That was interesting. He didn't know there were particular people you were supposed to give these types of things to.

"What does it do?" he asked curiously.

She blinked at him in confusion. "Do?"

"You did say you are supposed to give it to someone you love. Does it do something for them?"

"Uh…I guess it tells them how you feel…?"

"And if they already know?"

"Um, it's just, you know, a gift. It's just the artist who designed these based all the designs off symbols related to love, so…"

"Ah, I see."

The young woman was left staring after the rather odd customer, wondering what in the world that had been about.

X

"I brought you your homework," he announced as he stepped into Shinichi's hospital room. He was rather amused at the relieved look that crossed the oracle's face.

"Oh good. You have no idea how bored I've been."

"Only you would find this stuff interesting," he replied, setting the folder down on the bedside table.

"Learning is supposed to be interesting."

"I suppose." Pulling up a chair, Kaito plopped down into it, dropping his backpack by his feet.

"What's that?" Shinichi asked curiously.

Kaito followed his gaze to where the corner of Sonoko's flyer was sticking out of his backpack. He pulled it out and handed it to the oracle who examined it with interest.

"So this is some kind of celebration?" he inquired.

"I'm not sure," Kaito admitted, leaning over to peer at the flyer as well. "I didn't actually look at this yet either. Although from what Sonoko was saying I gather you're supposed to attend these things in pairs."

Shinichi looked up from the flyer to study the magician's face through narrowed eyes. "Kaito…"

"What?" the magician asked, raising an eyebrow quizzically.

Shinichi's frown deepened. "Let it go. Everyone gets upset and everyone does things they regret."

"I guess now I know why Tou-san was always going on and on about how people like us need to know how to control our emotions." He laughed, the sound more than a little bitter. "It's not a nice thing to know about yourself, Shin-chan."

"But you can't change what's already happened. The important thing when we make mistakes is to learn and remember so that we don't make them again." He let out a quiet sigh, leaning back against the pillows piled behind him. "I'm sorry too. Sometimes I feel like the most important visions never make sense until it's too late to do anything about them."

Kaito finally cracked a more genuine smile. "That might not be a bad thing. What fun would life be if you always knew what was coming?"

Their eyes met, a silent agreement passing between them before Shinichi picked up the flyer again. "It doesn't say what occasion they're celebrating."

"Maybe they're not celebrating anything. It could just be something they do," Kaito reasoned. "You know, a high school thing."

The oracle considered this for a moment then nodded. "That's true. Let's go then."

"Are you sure? There's probably going to be a lot of people."

"But you'll be there," Shinichi pointed out, smiling faintly. And as long as Kaito was there, everything would be okay. No matter what happened in the future or how many times they had to pick themselves up out of the darkness, they would make it as long as they were together. Because they had made a promise, to themselves and to each other.

The magician's eyes softened then lit up as he remembered something. "I got you something on my way here."

Shinichi watched with curious eyes as Kaito fished a small, blue box out of his jacket pocket and handed it to him. The lid rose to reveal a small, glass pendant on a silver chain.

"It's very well made," he noted, holding it up to the light and watching the way the fog-tinted petals seemed to catch the beams and glow. It was fascinating how such brittle material could be made to look so soft. "Thank you."

The magician smiled. "The lady I got it from said it's supposed to be given to the person you love."

"Really? So then what does it do?"

Kaito laughed. "You know, I asked her the same thing."

TBC