A/N: Its Misty-chan once more! :) I wrote this chapter as well. Thanks for all the reviews, favorites, and follows last time! I'm so glad you guys are enjoying it so far! :D
As always, a HUGE thanks to LadyS for helping me write this chapter! *hearts*
Well, hope you all enjoy!
A/N 2: Shadow here welcoming you all once again to another lovely chapter of Moonlight Reflections. In this chapter we explore the concept of "familiars" something that my co-writer introduced me to, and I agreed would make a wonderful addition to this tale. I hope you all enjoy it as much as I did.
As always remember to support the official works :)
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Kaito glanced over at Shinichi, who was once again in a state of shock. He himself had been surprised at first, but it was kind of just all rolling over him now. After all that had happened, he had kind of been expecting some absurd explanation for why he was a kitsune. At this moment, he was more worried about Shinichi. It had to be incredibly hard to believe that there was no such thing as magic your whole life, then, in the matter of two days, not only discover magic does indeed exist, but also find out you're actually a wizard.
Shinichi was starting to almost look sick. Maybe he should have held off going to Akako's a little longer. Though, he really hadn't expected this to happen. Kaito sighed inwardly, feeling a bit guilty, even though he knew that none of this was completely his fault. It had just kind of happened. With Tantei-kun just happening to show up at the heist where he was apparently destined to turn into a kitsune. Luck really hadn't been on his side that night.
Akako, Kaito noticed, had a rather satisfied grin on her face. She was obviously enjoying this, that cruel woman.
He scooted a bit closer to Shinichi, bending down to try and catch his gaze. "Hey, Shinichi, look at me."
The shrunken detective blinked, turning his gaze towards Kaito's. They stared at each other for a moment, before Kaito spoke again.
"This doesn't change anything, got it? It's just new information." He kept his voice steady. Hopefully he could bring Shinichi back to Earth and help him process all this. It was a lot to take in, and if there was any way he could help Shinichi through this, Kaito would do it.
"Kuroba, I know. I'm fine." Alright, obviously that hadn't been what Shinichi had wanted to hear. So much for Kaito's sentimental thoughts. Maybe it would be best to just give him some space for a bit and let him process. He seemed to work a bit better off comforting himself than letting others comfort him.
Kaito shifted back to where he had been sitting before on the couch.
"Now that you've had a little bit to process what I just said, I must say there's more. I can't tell at this moment what type of magic you have, shrunken teenager." Akako became serious again, crossing one leg over the other as she leaned back with a stony expression. "But there are some other things I'd like to discuss, a few of them mere theories."
Kaito raised a brow. It was actually a bit strange to hear Akako talking as if she were a scientist. Well, she was doing an experiment of kinds, he guessed. Though, that only made it seem a bit weird that magic seemed to work like science in quite a few ways. Then again, real magic was a mystery to Kaito. He hadn't had enough experiences with it to understand it, even just a little bit.
On that note, he couldn't help but feel a sense of dread. He knew that Shinichi wasn't going to handle any more big, life-shaking revelations at this moment. As much as Kaito didn't understand magic, Shinichi understood it even less. He had, after all, never encountered it before now.
"The first thing is directed towards this shrunken teenager," Akako told them, breaking Kaito from his thoughts. Her eyes were narrowed, and she seemed to be giving Shinichi a thorough examination.
Kaito cringed. He couldn't say he hadn't expected that, but he had really been hoping that it wouldn't take that direction. He looked over to Shinichi, whom was looking even more sick than he had been before. He was biting his lip, and it looked as if he were doing it hard enough that it might actually be bleeding.
"This is more of a question than a revelation, really," Akako started. "You have a spell on you blocking your powers. I don't know what the circumstances are but your powers are already weakening the spell holding them captive. It's best to get the spell removed by another magic user as soon as possible, because otherwise it will burst and your powers will go completely out of control. So, I would like to ask if you want me to do that for you."
Shinichi sucked in a breath, releasing his lip. He seemed to think over it for a moment, before turning to Kaito, looking incredibly unsure.
Kaito thought on it himself. It was certainly risky business to let Akako remove a spell from you. Yet, they'd already taken some risks with her. And he wasn't seeing much of a reason for her to lie about this.
He nodded to Shinichi, confirming what he thought on the matter. Shinichi returned his gaze to Akako, hesitating before giving his reply.
"Fine. I'll accept your offer."
"Wise choice," Akako responded. "We'll do that after I tell you the rest of what I have for you to know."
Kaito prepared himself. He had an odd feeling that this one would apply to him as well. Probably because of the way she was gazing at him as if he were a newly discovered species. Which, he kind of was.
"Due to some similarities in your blood, as well as your appearances, I've decided that you two-" Akako took a dramatic pause there, the amused grin coming back onto her face. "Are connected. In fact, I'd say that, Kuroba, you're this shrunken teenager's familiar."
Kaito… actually wasn't exactly sure how to take that. It seemed like it should be incredibly important and life rattling, that he and Shinichi would have such a deep connection as master and familiar, but somehow it really didn't seem like anything had changed at all. He and Shinichi were still two people just getting to know each other, albeit through a very odd situation.
Shinichi, on the other hand, looked a bit confused.
Akako sighed. "I'm guessing you haven't heard much about familiars. Honestly, how can a magic user be so uneducated?" She griped, giving Shinichi a very disappointed look. "A familiar is a creature that serves a person who wields magic. It helps them with magic spells and such. They usually have a rather deep connection.
"Here, I'll give you an example." She then snapped her fingers. Almost instantly there was a loud, annoyed chattering sound, and a small, red-eyed blackbird came fluttering into the room, landing on Akako's shoulder.
Kaito watched as Shinichi stared at it, appearing a bit perplexed. "A… blackbird?"
"Not just any blackbird, shrunken teenager. This is a shapeshifting demon. Go on, show them what you can do," she said proudly, nudging the bird with a single, red fingernail. The bird shifted, working it's legs. Another second later, there was no longer a blackbird on Akako's shoulder. Instead, there was a coal black lizard with a long tail, eyes still terrifyingly red.
Shinichi blanched. The lizard merely fixed its gaze on him, glaring through its narrowed beady eyes. It then stuck out its tongue at him, turning and scampering down Akako's shoulder afterwards. Suddenly, there was the sound of beating wings, and a large black eagle swooped out from behind her.
Kaito watched it flap away, tipping his head a bit. He had to admit, he completely thought that was cool. He was a kitsune, right? Maybe he could figure out how to do some awesome shape shifting routine like that.
Akako blew a kiss to her familiar as it left, then turned her attention back towards Shinichi. "You got that?"
The shrunken detective gave a tiny nod, still staring wide-eyed at Akako's shoulder, where the demon had been perched a mere minute ago.
"Good."
Kaito wondered just how much more Shinichi could take. He really hoped the shrunken detective wouldn't pass out again. That would turn this already bad situation even worse than it already was. They had already accepted help from a witch of whom Kaito didn't trust in the least. There was surely going to be some sort of payment. And he knew he was most likely going to be the one asked to make the payment. Of course he wouldn't, if he could help it.
"Now, this means a few things," Akako said, her gaze flickering between Kaito and Shinichi. "But, I want payment for the information I've given you so far before I give you any more."
Ah, there it was. Just as Kaito had been expecting. Now, what the payment was going to be, he wasn't sure. She could ask for quite a few things. Most of them having to do with making Kaito her slave. Did they really want to continue any farther?
"Kuroba-kun." Akako's scarlet gaze landed directly on him. Kaito couldn't help the chill that crawled up his spine. This wasn't going to end well.
"I want you to kiss me. Affectionately."
Kaito blanched. Akako really wanted him to kiss her, in this body? Was she crazy? Well, yeah, she was quite a bit insane, but still! She was pretty much asking for a child to kiss her! Kaito quickly fixed his poker face after those thoughts raced through his head. He wasn't going to let Akako think that bugged him in any way.
"Don't worry." Her gaze flickered briefly to Shinichi, who had done a double take, and was now just looking plain shocked. "I have my dignity. I won't make Kuroba-kun kiss a teenager in the body he's in right now."
She snapped her fingers, and once more, her familiar fluttered into the room. It landed next to her, looking quite huffy. It let out an annoyed whistling noise, shifting its legs.
Suddenly, they were both perfectly silent, staring intently at each other. Kaito shifted uncomfortably, watching as the Akako and the eagle's expressions changed. It was like they were conversing, but Kaito couldn't be sure they were.
In the end, the eagle made a sound that resembled a sigh, and shrugged. It then lifted its wings lazily, closing its scarlet eyes slowly. In a flash of bright red light, Akako had the body of a young girl.
Kaito stared blankly at her, tilting his head a bit. Well, that had been a bit unexpected. Also he had to kiss Akako now, huh? Oh dear Kamisama…
"So, you ready to kiss me Kuroba-kun? Remember, affectionately." Akako hopped off the couch onto two spindly legs, her outfit much too big on her tiny body. Thank goodness it managed to stay on her.
She walked towards him, wrapping her arms around his neck. "Come now, don't be shy. It's only a kiss, right?"
Kaito could feel the vile rise in the back of his throat. Akako's lips were now inches from his, and could he really do this? He glanced back at Shinichi, who was staring at them with eyes the size of saucers. Kaito mouthed "help" to him, hoping Shinichi would have some sort of plan. The shrunken detective gave him an unsure shrug, pursing his lips. Kaito rolled his eyes at him. He couldn't be any less helpful.
"Kuroba-kun, look at me~," Akako insisted, putting a single hand onto the his cheek and directing his head towards her. "That's better."
Kaito gulped, sweat-dropping. His poker face fell as she frowned at him, pulling his face so close their lips were practically touching. "Make the first move, come on," she whispered so softly that he could barely hear her, even with how close they were.
Well, there was no getting out of this one, huh? It was now or never.
Kaito pulled his head back a little, then dove his head down, his lips making contact with Akako's. There were multiple thoughts going through his head as her hand moved to the back of his head, fingers burrowing into his hair as she held his head close.
Her lips were soft, yet hungry. He knew she wanted him to kiss her passionately, and wouldn't give them the information they needed unless he did. So, he did it as best he could, just keeping in mind that this kiss meant nothing. He didn't have any feelings for this woman, and this was only payment. Yet, it didn't change the fact that it was just so… weird.
It felt like forever before she finally released his head. They both took quite a few deep breaths as soon as they were apart from each other. Kaito fell back onto the couch, right next to Shinichi. He could feel Shinichi's hand fall onto his shoulder, though didn't really register it. Oh damn, he'd really just kissed Akako. It was like one of his worst nightmares come to life.
"That was perfect, Kuroba-kun! And just how I had imagined it," Akako said as soon as she had caught her breath, suddenly back in her teenage form. Kaito sent a glare over to her, loathing how pleased she looked. He was never going to kiss her again.
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Conan was more than overwhelmed at this point. Also, was it weird that Akako and Kaito kissing had been the most shocking part of their whole visit here? Him being a wizard coming in a close second. He wasn't exactly sure if he wanted to hear any more.
"Alright, let's discuss what you two being wizard and familiar means, shall we?"
Conan thought for a second on just letting Kaito listen to this part and spacing out during it, but decided against it. Despite how he was unsure if he could take any more, he did need to find out what all of what they had just learned meant.
"First of all, I'd say you two have a stronger connection than most, meaning that if you learn to use your powers together, supporting each other, you could do some amazing things," Akako explained. "Just like how I turned into a child relying on the power of Draven, here." She motioned to the eagle still perched on the armrest next to her. It seemed to have dozed off, eyes closed as it breathed steadily.
"This also means that you have an unspoken and unwritten agreement with each other. All magic users and familiars have it. This agreement is that you shall always be there for the other, to support the other when he or she needs it. You will stick by each other's side until one of you, or both of you, are dead. And I've heard that some with incredibly deep connections find out how to stick with each other after death. Of course, there are familiars and wizards that break this agreement. But, their magic often ends up punishing them in some way afterwards.
Akako paused before continuing."Then there's Shinichi's magic type. I can't be exactly sure, but he has some very old bloodlines in him. In fact, he could be my cousin, if we share the same ancient bloodlines. However, it's extremely hard to tell from just a single blood sample," Akako informed them, yawning a bit as if she found this whole thing boring. Conan, on the other hand, was now wishing he hadn't chosen to listen. He wasn't only a wizard, he was a wizard from an ancient bloodline? What the hell?
"Any theories on why I turned into a mirrored version of Conan when he touched me at the heist?" Kaito piped up, sounding slightly hopeful.
"Yes, in fact, I do. And, I was just about to get to that, mind you," Akako sent him a glare, then returned back to her serious expression, stroking her familiar's feathers gently. "I'm guessing it has something to do with the leaking of Shinichi's magic, and that it was partially induced by the shield. I'm guessing that since Kuroba-kun's magic was fully released, it resonated with your leaking magic. After a while, the two magic types fully resonated, and Kuroba-kun was turned into a child, just as his wizard master had been.
"Solving this is going to be a little more tricky. I'd say that it's going to take the shrunken teenager releasing and strengthening his magic to help Kuroba-kun turn back. That, or he's going to have to turn back into a teenager himself before Kuroba-kun can. Getting him back into the body of a teenager is going to be a little more tricky, as even I have no idea what type of curse your under, much less who cast it."
Conan raised a brow. He honestly didn't have any idea as to why Akako thought his shrinking was caused by a curse. Then again, it was kind of a curse. Of science. He wondered briefly how Haibara would react to all this.
"Now I'll explain this magic block of your's. At least my theories on it, anyway." Conan perked a bit. He was indeed very curious on this matter, and he did want to know why he had had his magic hidden from him this whole time. Not that Akako could really explain that to him… but maybe what she had to say would give him some theories of his own.
"It's a fairly powerful block, and an old one that you've likely had most of, if not your whole life. I'd think that your parents went to a fairly powerful magic user to get it put on you. I really don't know the exact reason, but I'm guessing it was because they wanted you to live a life as a mundane human being instead of living under the guise of a normal human being and having to control his powers. That's just my guess, anyway."
Conan furrowed his brow, thinking. What she had said made sense. At this point he really couldn't come up with much of a theory. And boy did he have some talking to do when he got ahold of his parents again. They were going to explain this to him, no matter what he had to do to get them to talk.
Akako suddenly got up, her eagle-demon-thing jerking awake and flapping. It then transformed into a small bird, resembling a pitch black robin, and fluttered up to perch on Akako's shoulder. "Since that's all done and over with, shrunken teenager, why don't we get that block removed?"
Conan bit his lip. This was the part he was least excited for.
He got up off the couch, ignoring the look Kaito was giving him. The shrunken magician obviously wanted him to turn back. He wasn't going to, however. He'd committed to this, and he'd prefer to be closer to helping Kaito get his teenage form back rather than further.
"Oh, and Kuroba-kun, I expect payment for this bit as well," Akako called back as they walked out of the room.
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Akako lead Conan to one of the many rooms where she did spell work. It was one of the more comfortable ones with a bed. She found it easier to work on people when they were comfortable. Also this room had the ingredients for a potion she could use to sedate the shrunken teenager if need be.
She did find this boy interesting, for a few very obvious reasons. One of those reasons being just how well he seemed to get along with Kuroba, even though according to Kuroba they had supposedly just met. The little bit of magic that had leaked through the shrunken teenager's seal was already resonating at a high level with Kuroba's newly released magic.
Usually familiars and magic users only resonated on low levels until they had been together for at least a year, growing to know and have a deeper connection with each other. Yet these two were already connected on such a deep level, and Akako had to wonder why.
Then there was the magic block. Which had obviously been on Kuroba as well, but for some reason only Kuroba's had broken upon contact with the shield. She was guessing it had to do with the shrunken teenager's magic type. Yet, not knowing what his magic type was, it was all a mystery to her.
"Lay on the bed over at the end of the room while I prepare what I need for the procedure," Akako told the shrunken teenager, pointing to the bed that was against the wall. He gave her a wary look before going and sitting on it, watching carefully as she went over to her potion ingredient shelf.
Akako studied her ingredients for a second. She might as well go ahead and sedate him, as it wouldn't do him any harm and this procedure carried in levels of painfulness. It would also keep his magic at bay once it was released, keeping it from going out of control until the potion wore off.
She then got to work making the preparations, ignoring how the shrunken teenager was keeping a careful eye on her every step she made.
"Alright, drink this, and then we can get started." Akako handed the shrunken detective a vial containing the sedation potion. He gazed at it suspiciously, eyes narrowing. "It's not poison, so just drink it already, will you?"
Still looking quite doubtful, he carefully took a sip of it, swallowing it slowly. He stared at it another moment before throwing the whole thing back, seeming to decide that it wasn't dangerous.
In another moment, the sedation took effect, and the shrunken teenager swayed a little. Akako walked away before he fell to the bed, sleeping, going to prepare another potion she'd need to make it easier to remove the magic.
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Kaito jiggled his leg, waiting impatiently. He was starting to regret that they had agreed to this. Akako better not doing anything more than remove the spell from Shinichi, or she was good as dead. They were getting out of here as soon as this was over. Then he would take Shinichi home and let him rest after another life shaking experience for him. Kaito himself needed to rest a bit as well.
It was a little over an hour before Akako came back, looking pleased. "The procedure was a success. Your master's block has been removed, though he probably won't be completely… himself for a bit."
She gave a little wave, and her familiar, Draven, walked into the room. He was in the form of a large wolf, Shinichi draped over his back. The shrunken detective looked to be out cold, his eyes closed and his chest rising and falling peacefully.
"We had to sedate him so he wouldn't feel any pain," Akako explained when she noticed the glare Kaito was shooting at her. She sighed when Kaito kept glaring daggers at her, crossing his arms angrily over his chest. "He'll wake up in thirty minutes, don't worry. I didn't give him anything really strong."
"And how do you expect me to carry him all the way home?" Kaito questioned, getting up off the couch and removing Shinichi from Draven's back.
"I didn't. I thought you two would want to stay here for a little, as the shrunken teenager's going to need some training to handle his magic and-"
Kaito cut her off, shifting Shinichi so the shrunken detective was on his back. "We aren't staying here, thank you," he told her icilly. "You've done quite enough. I'll take my chances carrying Shinichi home."
Akako huffed, and appeared to be about to say something more, but was interrupted this time by her familiar. The black wolf gave a small whine, gazing up at her. Again, it seemed as if they were communicating. Finally, Akako spoke aloud to her familiar, seeming fed up. "Fine! You're much too nice, I'm telling you. Now get out of my sight."
The familiar made a snorting sound, then walked up to Kaito, nudging him with his nose. Kaito looked down confusedly, furrowing his brow at the shapeshifting demon. Draven rolled his eyes at him, at least that was what it looked like, then indicated with his head towards Shinichi. He then motioned towards his back.
Kaito made an 'o' with his mouth, blinking at the demon. He had half a heart to feel distrustful, then shook it away. From what Akako had said at the end, it didn't seem like the demon had any ill intentions.
He placed Shinichi carefully back on the deep black wolf's back. The wolf shifted under the shrunken detective's weight, making sure that he was in a position that he wouldn't easily fall. Draven then waited, gazing at Kaito.
With one last glance at Akako, who refused to even take a glance at any of them, Kaito turned to leave. He walked ahead, leading the way. Fortunately he knew some back alleys that they could take to get to his house.
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Conan blinked groggily. His head hurt like hell, and everything just looked fuzzy. He studied the room he was in as his vision slowly cleared, rubbing his aching head. It was Kaito's room, for sure. There was even that giant picture of a magician hanging on the wall.
The shrunken detective got up off the bed, swaying as he regretted getting up so quickly. He swore under his breath.
He walked over to the picture, studying it as he ignored the pencil that was floating lazily next to him, trembling every now and then. He thought he recognized this person. Maybe he had seen him in the newspapers somewhere… Oh, yes! Kuroba Toichi, the magician that had died in that fire all those years ago, due to an accident with his magic trick. Conan remembered reading it in the newspaper when he was around ten, as he'd always been trying to find cases in the newspaper, even as a young child.
Now that he thought about it… Kaito and the magician shared the same surname. Could that mean… Suddenly it all connected in Conan's mind and his eyes widened. So this was Kaito's father. This must be the original Kid. Conan clenched his fist a little, putting his hand on the picture, feeling an overwhelming bundle of emotions.
Suddenly, there was a cranking sound, and Conan felt the picture shift. He tried to move out of the way of whatever was happening, but he was too late. The picture quickly flipped around, pushing Conan into who-knows-where. Suddenly, he was falling into a black hole, or something like that.
The next thing he knew was he had landed in what looked to be some sort of… garage. There was a single car, despite all the space it had. The only thing that made him think it might not be a garage was that there weren't doors of any kind. There was a small radio next to him, which when he pressed the play button, only made a static sound.
Conan gazed around curiously, taking in every detail, from the cupboards to the mess in the far corner. It was definitely an interesting place, and, on that note, how the heck did he get out of here?
He walked over to the cabinet, opening it. Inside was a Kaitou Kid suit, hung neatly on hangers, with the hat being placed on a hat stand. There was only one place he could be.
"So this is Kid's lair…" he mused to himself, giving a low whistle. He had found the place that none ever had, and many hoped to discover.
"I knew it was only a matter of time before you found this place." Conan whipped around as Kaito's voice sounded behind him, the pencil, which seemed to have followed him into the lair, shooting towards the magician, who dodged it. "Whoa, there Tantei-kun, careful with those newfound powers of yours."
Conan glowered. "It's your fault for startling me, Kaito."
"Well, at least you aren't freaking out about having magic," the magician commented, walking up to stand beside him.
"Yeah…" Conan glanced over to the pencil now stuck in the wall. Well, he had magic now. Uncontrollable magic at that. Somehow, he just couldn't find it in him to be all that shocked. He'd experienced so much magic and such in the past two days that he was kind of over the shock stage.
"So, do you like it? It's nice, right?" Pride tinted Kaito's voice as he gazed around the room, hands in pockets. His tail was wagging a bit, though there was something a bit forlorn in his eyes.
Conan smiled, giving a hum of agreement. "Though, I am wondering, just how do we get out of here?"
"There's a trapdoor in the far corner. It leads to the outside," Kaito informed, gaze abruptly growing distant. Conan furrowed his brow, noticing how the shrunken magician was staring at the wall, eyes a little pained. He tipped his head to the side, wondering what he was thinking about. He then shrugged. It probably wasn't something he needed to know at this moment, anyway. Kaito would probably tell him in time, when he was ready.
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A/N: Thanks for reading, and this author (like most others) loves reviews of any kind! :3