Chapter 44: Heisei Holmes in Ancestral grounds part 2. Aka, Night's Ownership.

I really want to call this chapter Night's Ownership, but since it's continuing from where Shinichi left off, I need to call it this instead.

Haha, sorry guys change of plans. I'd been called into work for two weeks straight, so instead of spending Monday and Tuesday writing this chapter as usual, I was working. So we're getting a shorter, DC based chapter instead of the longer Vongola/DC one you were all expecting. Sorry about that. Concerning timelines, we're still on the same day, so even though Gokudera mentioned that Shinichi was in America yesterday, 'yesterday' hasn't happened yet.

"Ah, Kai, don't be like that…I'm glad you are here"

"As am I" Shinichi and Kaito look up to see who had spoken. Well, only one person had that voice, but it was still surprising. A quick look around the park showed everyone leaving the area rather quickly, as if scared. But no one was looking in their direction. What was making them leave? It was rare for people to leave the park looking like that after all. Shinichi takes a good look around and finds them to be the only people left, and the only people not looking afraid for their lives. Children were crying, women were shivering and men were getting defensive. But what was the cause?

He looks to Kaito and finds the Magician has a similar expression on. The Poker Face was on to hide his confusion, but it was there in his posture. He was scared through relation rather than cause; he was scared because everyone else was, not because he was affected. Both Flame users look at Bermuda as the baby stops floating, sitting between the pair and sighs. "This is why I hate dealing with the public."

"What do you mean by that Bermuda?" asks Shinichi, looking down to the side at the baby.

"I'm afraid that I shall not be able to accompany you on the next assessment Shinichi. I would force biased result which are of no use to me or you." The Arcobaleno explains, even if it didn't really make sense to the pair.

Shinichi (used to having to figure out half of what Bermuda was actually saying) nods and rummages around in a pocket of his. Kaito is surprised by a sudden weight on his shoulder since he had still been people watching. Looking down at his shoulder, it's to be rewarded with a close up view of a cowlick. Shinichi was leaning against him, sucking on a lollipop with his eyes closed.

"Give me a moment. I'll get off soon" he mumbles, words slightly unclear due to the object in his mouth. Kaito smiles softly and can't resist patting Shinichi on the head. The detective grumbles in return but is too tired to bother. Plus Kaito did what he wanted anyway, there was nothing he could do to stop him. Kaito kind of felt sorry for Shinichi; He'd just watched a women get killed but he was already walking onwards. Which was a good thing Kaito supposed, but he was sure that Shinichi remained in the past more often than the detective let on.

Bermuda squeezes out of the gap, having been squashed by Shinichi's movement and goes to sit on Kaito's lap instead. A move the magician is very surprised by.

"To think that you two are actually part of the Night" Bermuda mumbles, barely audible. It was both easy and hard to believe that these two belonged in the dark. Looking at them now, it was impossible. Kaito especially seemed far too happy-go-lucky to be part of the dark, his smile never left a clue, nor did his eyes… most of the time. Yet when he became KID, Hunter or during specific topics, he changed, almost completely. Bermuda had never met anyone as Bi-polar as Kaito could be at times, from light to dark in a blink. And it was truly in a blink for his eyes were the first thing to change. He couldn't control the gleam in his eyes as well as the rest of his body, making them the very first crack in the Poker Face.

Similar was true of Shinichi, yet it was his inwards personality- who he truly was, rather than who he seemed on the outside- that made Shinichi's connection to the dark less believable. For a start, he was a detective, and most believed that to mean that he was as far in the light as one could get. Which was true in a sense, he was the Star after all: One extremely bright light in a sea of darkness. Shinichi walked the fine line between the two and with the recent turn of events, he now had one foot clearly in each area. Before, Detective Shinichi was always in the light, finding murders and kidnappers and thieves to protect the innocent. But this new mafia life meant blood was going to be on his hands- it already was. However right down deep, Shinichi had always been slightly in the dark- he was willing to do a lot for the cause of justice. If it meant saving someone, he didn't mind harming the other party as long as no deaths occurred. He had done it almost daily in his masquerade as Conan, using drugs and darts of all things to solve cases. What normal teen thought of using sleeping drugs like that? (Although that did pose the question of what normal adult supplied these things? Bermuda would have to check this 'Agasa-hakase' out.) What teen was not afraid to use a gun, or kick hard objects to stop the escaping criminal?

Whilst Bermuda was wondering about the picture the two made, he should have been thinking about how bizarre a picture the three of them were making. Still in disguise, all the public would see as they ran past was a woman in a white dress, a male leaning against her, seemingly asleep, and a baby in questionable attire sat on her lap. Yes London could be weird, but not that far.

"So Bermuda, are you going to tell me why these people are running away as if they've seen the Grim Reaper walk past?" asks Kaito, watching as yet another crying kid is dragged away by a frantic mother.

Bermuda looks up at Kaito, yet his eyes are still obscured by the brim of the top hat and the bandages over his eyes. "I am guessing that you do not feel my presence?" states Bermuda calmly, already knowing the answer to his question. The answer was obvious in the way the pair were acting around him.

Kaito's brows furrow slightly, eyes scan the park before he looks back at the baby in his lap. "No, you don't feel anything like you did last time we met" Kaito replies truthfully. Last time he had been scared, although not as scared as everyone else was. He could move his body whereas the others could barely breathe, even though their Flames were far more honed than his were. Sure if you were to have Kaito and Tsuna faced with a gun, then Kaito could handle that fear better than Tsuna could (assuming the gun was not being held by Reborn since Tsuna was used to that by now). But place Flame Pressure on them both and Tsuna could handle it better. So Tsuna should have handled the Vindice's presence better than Kaito did… but he didn't.

"To put it simply, Our Flame types are more compatible." Answers Bermuda.

(How cruel fate was to him. The presence of Night Flames comforts him for a moment, warming him against the theoretical cold of the room. It's kind of like Tsuna's Flame in the way Shinichi recognises it, feels some connection to it. Some very weird feeling of belonging or home. He has no clue why he feels so, but then again he had no idea why he felt like that around Tsuna either. These Flames were so weird some times.)

These boys were the Moon and Star living in the Night of the world. The Night was all about Revenge and vengeance, and so were these boys. It was their need for revenge that provided control over these Flames. The Flames of the Sky were never fuelled by Revenge and so the affect that the Vindice had on users of these 7 Flames was greater. Kaito and Shinichi's Flames were closer to Bermuda's own and as a result, they never were as 'pressured' by the presence of the Mafia Jailers.

("Resolve

Determination

Resolution"

The pair repeat this litany to themselves, as the others go silent again.

Closing their eyes, they look internally for answers.

My resolve? That would be to destroy the Black organisation. That's the reason I am here, and my goal for the future.

Shinichi grips the Ore harder, bringing it closer to his chest.

My resolve? My resolve has changed very recently- not majorly, but it's moved a step onwards. A month ago it was to find Pandora. Up until two days ago, it was to protect Pandora from my father's murderers. Pandora is safe; in the care of the two best people I know. Me and Shinichi. Those men can look for eternity and never find Pandora. But now, it's the next part of our plan. So from today onwards my resolve is to stop an organisation that wants immortality- is willing to kill for it- and make sure that they never harm anyone again.)

Deep in their hearts both men wanted Revenge for what was done to them, for the loss of their Father, for the loss of their normal life. Revenge for the position of running their respective Organisations had placed them in. Revenge for the threat the Organisations placed on their important people. Revenge for all the bad things these Organisations had done. Revenge for harming people. Revenge.

Tsuna was their Sky, their Dawn, Noon and Dusk. But at this moment in time, Bermuda was their Night. Night was something Tsuna could never become, he just wasn't the right type of person; he had the wrong personality.

"No matter how much I try, it is hard to turn off my Flame completely. So even as low as it will go, normal, un-trained humans can still feel my intimidating presence. That is why they are running. We Vindice inflict fear first and foremost, it's a good way to instil obedience in the rest of the Mafia without even lifting a finger. Our presence is both worse and easier on those who have trained their Flames, such as Decimo. It's harder because they can feel our Flames more acutely than the public since they know what to look for. However they also have an easier time since they can force our Flames to ease off by pressing back with their own."

Kaito takes a few seconds to digest this information first before deciding to just let it slide. Bermuda reaches up and plucks a feather off of his cape. Soon blooming into a sparkling Star Flame, Bermuda starts drawing in the air. Slowly, line by line an image is drawn.

"Memorise this Kaito. It's a map to the location of the next assessment." Bermuda instructs. Kaito nods, slightly bewildered by the use of his first name instead of his last. "Shinichi, eyes stay shut. The next assessment will drain them more than usual so don't start until you think they are ready" Shinichi nods, head still resting on Kaito's shoulder. Kaito turns back to the map, watching the streets of London being laid out before him. "Kaito, I will allow you to watch and assist Shinichi, but only to protect. You are not to interfere with this assessment. Do you understand?"

"Well it depends on what the assessment is, but you don't need to ask me to protect Shin-chan. I'd do that anyway; we watch each other's backs." Replies Kaito, serious but with a smile still on his face.

Bermuda stands and turns around to face the pair. "Now that we know the capability of the Spark better, we can proceed onto Assessment 2. There are two stages to this assessment. The first will be to make a list of what weapons each person has in their possession. You cannot fight back nor protect if you do not know what the enemy has up their sleeve. Secondly is to decide which one of those people walking past is about to kill." Kaito can feel Shinichi tense up against him. He was worried that he would fail once again. "This time it shall be easier. I've chosen a different target. Unlike last time the killer shall definitely walk past you. You don't have to go and find them based upon the Spark." Shinichi is still tense, but relaxes slightly, ever so slightly more reassured that he wouldn't fail.

Kaito, though, wasn't too sure about this. What if Shinichi did fail? He wasn't doubting Shinichi of course, but still, a Phantom Thief and a Magician considered every 'What If' and planned around them. In this case the question was what would happen to Shinichi if he failed to save two people in one day? These near misses affected Shinichi far more than the usual fare of murders he came across. Usually the body was already dead and there was no way for Shinichi to have known and stopped the murder. But with his new powers, there was that chance. As a result Shinichi was being tougher on himself, berating himself mentally for his failures. None of this was good on his mental state. He wondered whether Shinichi would have been better off without these Flames of his.

"This is where you are allowed to help Moon. You are not to help Star decide on this list, nor who the killer is until the Spark goes off- which will be after the person walks past and is out of sight. At this point in time, you are allowed to go searching for them and are allowed to help prevent the waste of life" Bermuda hisses that part out, just as against killing as Shinichi is. Kaito hums in agreement to these conditions. He wanted to help Shinichi grow stronger- if this is what Shinichi wanted then he would help in any way he can. It was the whole reason he wanted to get there before Mukuro had done. Mukuro would have limited Shinichi, stopped his growth due to personal prejudice against the Vindice. But not Kaito. He would be here, watching silently, keeping an eye on the errant Detective, on his Favourite Critic, on his Partner. Shinichi didn't know the meaning of self-limitation. He had always had limits placed on him. It used to be Conan's body and the dealings of a Child and a child's body. Adults, especially Ran, didn't let children do dangerous things, his own body could only lift so much, could only reach so high. But in a teenage, almost adult, body, no one was going to limit him. Shinichi would put himself in harm's way, work himself into oblivion if no one watched him. So Kaito would. He'd stop Shinichi, help him, not let the man take the burden all alone. He knew from personal experience how hard that was, but even he had had Jii to help him with certain KID heists.

"Oi Kai" says Shinichi, holding his hand out. Kaito stares at it. When Shinichi doesn't get a response, he curls his fingers in and flicks them out a few times in an asking gesture. Kaito laughs (a girl's laugh of course, got to stay in character, and indeed he'd been using a woman's voice the whole time) and clicks his fingers. Hearing the click, Shinichi holds the palm out flat once more. However what gets placed in his hand is not what he wanted- it was another lollipop. How Kaito had gotten it from his inner jacket pocket without him noticing Shinichi didn't know. Nor did he really want to know- he wanted to allow Kaito some secrets and tricks after all.

"What? I'm not Reborn who has an endless supply of espresso you know. Nor do I have Leon with me. I'm sure Leon's the one providing all of the coffee. You're going to have to make do with that for now." Shinichi sighs, really wanting a coffee right now. Standing up, he exchanges the old stick for the new lollipop and turns to Kaito.

"C'mon then, let's get going." He says, stretching slightly. "It's going to be dark soon, and we don't want to stay at the Assessment site for too long after dark, if it's a place like I think it's going to be."

"I'll be watching" says Bermuda. Shinichi can tell when he's gone due to the sudden flare of Night Flames.

Kaito giggles a very girlish laugh and hooks his arm into Shinichi's, having no shame what-so-ever. As soon as Bermuda had left people had begun to flock back into the park, so the disguise had needed to come back full force. "Let's go hunny. There's this great Night Club, I know of". Shinichi allows the clinging, once again knowing there was nothing he could do to stop Kaito. "Oh, silly, you nearly forgot these. Geez, what would you do without me?" Shinichi had no clue what Kaito was going on about it, positive that he hadn't forgotten anything. He feels something brush against his face and hair, quickly realising they were sunglasses. Kaito had given them to him to disguise the fact that his eyes were closed. Shinichi truly hated this temporary blindness that he had. But just as the time his Spark reacted was slowly increasing, the length of time this temporary blindness affected him was decreasing. He hadn't drained his Flame this time, so the effects weren't that bad.

They walked for around 20 minutes, Kaito chattering away the whole time about fashion or gossip, or whatever else girlfriends were supposed to talk about. However just as Shinichi was starting to feel the atmosphere around them change, Kaito lets go. Things had gotten quieter, there were less people on the streets. More litter laid on the ground, there was the clinking of glass bottles. Shinichi guesses that they are close to their destination now. As he breaths in, he gets a mouthful of stage smoke, signalling Kaito changing disguises once again. As they turn the corner, Kaito slaps him on the back and says in a voice slightly deeper than normal.

"So Crystal and Katie start having this bitch fight outside the bar right. I'm telling you man, the claws were out. And I'd never seen something so hot before. I mean they practically ripped each other's clothes off. Caused a right fucking scene alrigh'. When the Fed's came, we all split man, I gotta keep my record clean or else my old lady'll go apeshit on me. But dude, it was a rocking party, you should'a come."

This confirmed Shinichi's suspicions of where they were, so he slings his hands in his pockets, adds a slight swagger to his gait and laughs loudly as if he hasn't a care in the world. Kaito keeps on talking big, allowing Shinichi to concentrate on what he needed to do. They walk into a shop and buy a few cans of beer before going and sitting on a wall just outside. Shinichi had no intention of drinking the beer, it was all just for show. He was on an assessment after all.

"So what's with these assessments?" asks Kaito in a whisper when no one is nearby.

"It's just to check and see how far I've come in the past 8 days. It gives the both of us a better idea of where we need to go next. Plus it's nice to be out of the Vendicare and seeing normal people once again. You get bored of dealing with prisoners every day." Kaito nods and pretends to take a gulp of the beer before continuing with his 'lad's banter'. Shinichi didn't even have to say anything since Kaito played his cool guy's part for him. He takes the sunglasses off and opens his eyes, confirming his suspicions that they were in the more dangerous part of town. "Alright, here we go. Star Observation."

Knife in back pocket

Brass Knuckles in jacket pockets, already on hands.

A mobile phone… no he's holding it wrong… oh a Taser, that's new.

Obviously a Gang due to shared red belts. All carry same .50 calibre guns too.

Metal plated gloves

Steel toes boots

Knife in handbag

Vial in top jacket pocket, syringe in same pocket. It smells like… not any of the common drugs…

When Shinichi gets up and starts running, Kaito is sure to follow behind.

"Oh shit, we're late. She's going to murder me" says Shinichi, using the same tone as Kaito's cool guy impression.

"Haha, your woman got you on a tight leash?" Kaito asks, still in character as two boys from a local gang.

They run towards the guy Shinichi's got an eye on. Just as Shinichi goes past he takes a deep breath in, trying to get a better scent from whatever was in the man's pocket.

[To Kaito]

Make him trip

Trained as he is, Kaito doesn't react to Shinichi's Flame messages, plus he's more used to them than any of the others anyway. Reaching into a pocket he grabs a marble and flicks it under the man's foot. The guy treads on it and falls sideways, straight into Shinichi.

"Hey watch it bastard" says Shinichi, placing his hands on the man's chest to push him off. Kaito sees the Flame circle as clear as day and walks over too.

"You'd better apologise to my mate here." He growls, attempting to look intimidating, calling on his Storm Flame and Gokudera's short temper and delinquent-ness. The man rights himself, but Kaito pushes the man off balance once more, sending the target stumbling backwards. "I said apologise!"

The target raises his hands in the air when Kaito reaches to his jacket for the Card Gun. Of course the target misinterprets the gesture and assumes that Kaito is about to pull a real gun on him. "Woah, woah man, no need to pull anything out. I'm sorry. Let's just walk away right. No need to bring weapons into this." Kaito huffs and drops his hand. The target sighs and turns before running off. Kaito runs off into a different alleyway and climbs up to the roof, keeping an eye on the man Shinichi had targeted.

Midway through the conversation, Shinichi feels his pocket grow heavier. He steps behind Kaito, using the thief's body to block the target' view of him. He opens the vial and takes a careful sniff of it. His Star Flames immediately bring up the name of it. Ricin: fatal, especially if inhaled or injected, less so if ingested. Less than 2 milligrams can kill an adult male.

Oh Shit.

Bermuda is immediately by his side, removing the vial from his grip and making it disappear. "Silly Star. You should know better than to go around sniffing drugs. One of my men's gotten the killer, you picked the right man. So I'd call this Assessment 2: Passed."

"Shinichi" shouts Kaito, jumping off of a near by roof to land next to him. "What's going on? The Vindice just picked that guy up. Shin-chan?" he asks when he get's no response. "Shin-chan?"

"He's been poisoned, idiot. He's going into shock. Jager" scolds Bermuda, floating in the air to be around the height of their shoulders. Said Vindice Officer quickly arrives at the scene. "We've got to take Shinichi to Trident Shamal quickly."

"Why? Don't you guys have a healer?" asks Kaito, holding Shinichi up.

"No we do not. It is not possible for our bodies to be affected by poison." Kaito doesn't quite get the reference since he doesn't know about the Vindice, but Shinichi understands.

"A very slight orange tint" Shinichi rasps, leaving heavily into Kaito as his vision starts to blur.

"What?" asks Kaito. He drags Shinichi forwards and into the vortex that Jager has created. When they exit, it's to a dark house and Kaito nearly trips over the couch.

"The liquid… it has a very slight orange tint to it and was rather viscous for a poison. Makes sense considering what it's produced from." Kaito lays Shinichi down on the couch, listening to the detective mumble to himself. "I'll remember that next time."

"I'm going to find Shamal" says Kaito, standing up.

"No need" says a voice from behind them. "It's not like I wouldn't notice the presence of Vindice in my house." Kaito spins around to find a man leaning against the wall. He recognised the man from pictures in files. Gokudera's teacher and friend.

"Please, Shinichi's been poisoned, you've got to help him" asks Kaito, running forwards to drag the man closer to Shinichi.

"Hn, don't treat men" Shamal scoffs. However he quickly shuts his mouth when a chain tip comes close to his jugular. "But I suppose this one time won't hurt. He kneels by Shinichi and shines a light into his eyes. "Oi, kid, do you know what you've been poisoned with?"

"Yeah, I breathed in Ricin" whispers Shinichi, staring almost through Shamal.

"Hmm. You know I only treat illnesses right, not poisons" the Doctor says, looking backwards and up at Kaito.

"But you're a Doctor, surely you can treat this. If it's common enough to be found on the streets of London then surely it's got a cure." Argues Kaito straight back.

Shamal wonders why Kaito had said London when they are now in Italy, but ignores it. "Well the only known cures are for when it's ingested since it's less fatal. I'll see what I can do though" Shamal reaches into a pocket and brings out a case of pills. Taking one out, it cracks and a mosquito flies out. It hovers over to Shinichi's arm and injects him with his virus. Shamal checks the vital signs and sighs before taking out a different mosquito. After a few more attempts he sits back on his heels, a look of confusion on his face. "That should have worked. It's like something's stopping it. Is there anything I should know about?" Shamal asks Kaito this question instead of Shinichi, but it's still Shinichi who answers.

"A-apo-tox-in. I'm going to… to…" Kaito gasps, and runs forwards to stand over Shinichi. Since Shinichi was currently staring at the ceiling, Kaito leans over to see Shinichi's face.

"You don't mean that do you? Shit, what about the work Verde. Spanner and Shoichi did? Didn't that stop it?" Shinichi shakes his head.

"Oh well, we'll try someone different then since you can't seem to heal him. Maybe you should stop calling yourself a Doctor and stick to Assassin" remarks Bermuda. Jager walks over to Shinichi and picks him up. "Jager, I'm taking Kaito over to LA. We'll meet you there tomorrow."

"What? Why can't I come?" shouts Kaito, grabbing Shinichi's arm.

"Because this man likes his privacy and I respect that." Before Kaito could argue back, both are gone in a Vortex of Night Flames.

"What are the Vindice doing here? I'm sure I haven't done anything bad enough to warrant a visitation" Shinichi recognises that voice. It's Verde's voice.

"I'm not here on business. I'm here for personal reasons. This man's been poisoned by Ricin. Doctor Shamal's mosquitoes seemed to be counteracted by whatever you used to offset the poison already in Shinichi. I need you to fix him before he dies from the Ricin." Explains Jager coldly and quickly, always straight to the point.

"Ahh yes, Vongola's Detective. An intriguing case that was too. You're lucky, I have a little bit of spare time before my next experiment begins, my test subject is still unconscious. So how did he take the Ricin?" asks Verde, jumping up onto the table where Shinichi now lay.

"Inhaled it through the nose. Here's the vial if you want it" Jager places the vial on the table and backs off to give Verde some room.

Verde never asked questions like why Jager wanted Shinichi of all people alive. He just got on with it. None of that kind of thing interested him anyway. He only cared for the scientific aspects. And Shinichi Kudo was one hell of a scientific experiment.

Sorry the chapter is so short, but like I said I haven't had the time to write it and it's too early to write anymore (aka 2am). Hope this will tide you all over until next week.

Phantom Hitman 1412

First published 01 August 2012