FORGET ME NOT
Warning: slight angst. Female!Shin'ichi. Grammar errors.
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Chapter 1
Kuroba Kaito, also known internationally as KID the Phantom Thief, stood staring at the big mansion, addressed as 1st block, number 22B, Beika city. A nameplate with the name Kudo written on it was placed on the right side of the huge iron gates. It wouldn't be a problem for him to climb over it without any sound or to pick its lock in three seconds without ringing any alarms. He was a professional—which is what brought him here today.
His girlfriend of two years, Kudo Shin'ichi hadn't called him at all for over two weeks. He knew that she was supposed to be back to her original form by now, by the help of Haibara's antidote. He hadn't been asking anyone's permission to come here, but he was sure something was wrong when he hadn't received any words from Shin'ichi and Haibara had said nothing but, "You shouldn't come if you value your own feelings." It made him confused.
The antidote was supposed to be working, but Haibara had mentioned to him that it had 75% chance that it wouldn't work and kill her. If it doesn't—which is usually the case, since Shin'ichi was always lucky if it comes down to surviving—then she would suffer the 25% side-effects. The problem is that Haibara doesn't know what the side-effect was because she had never tried them on human beings before.
Kaito and Shin'ichi met in a heist—literally. Shin'ichi was a cute little girl back then—also literally. They moved slowly. They became rivals, then became somewhat friendly rivals because they know they respected each other, then on one point when she almost lost her life, he decided that he liked her too much to let her die, so he had saved her life. From that point on, their relationship somewhat mellowed and before he knew it, Kaito realized he had fallen for her. After spending a few days weighing the pros and cons, he confessed to her, but she didn't accept him that easily—that cheeky detective—but after a sneaky manipulation, she agreed on one date; then another, and another, and before she knew it, they were already progressed on their first kiss.
She was involved with the big criminal organization and had been trying to destroy them since. Kaito had been helping her here and there because the organization was the one who had killed his father. She had one close call with the one called Gin before he intervened and saved her—but not without casualties. Kaito suffered multiple broken ribs and one broken leg, and had been suffered in a coma ever since.
He hadn't been able to see his Meitantei-chan because of it. He had just woken up two weeks ago and tried to contact his Meitantei-chan only for Haibara to pick it up for him. She first said that she was in a deep sleep after swallowing the antidote, but she would be fine and would woke up in two days, giving her body a chance to recreate and regenerate themselves. After two days, he called again, and Haibara picked it up again. She said his Meitantei-chan was okay, but she would have to examine her further before giving him any information. After a week, he grew impatient and he called again. Haibara sighed and said, "She's okay. She's healthy and all, but I suggest you not to call again." He grew confused and asked what she meant. She said that it's best for them not to meet each other again. She said that it would burden Shin'ichi's physical and mental health that was still healing. Kaito agreed to it and decided to give it two more weeks, but Haibara still not saying anything other than telling him not to see Shin'ichi for his own good, so here he was.
He drew a deep breath. He knew there was something happening to his Meitantei-chan but if Haibara wouldn't let him know, then he was going to see it himself.
He easily passed through the gate and the alarms and he lifted himself through one of the opened windows by the second floor—the window he knew all too well, his Meitantei-chan's room. From the looks of it, it was certain that someone has been living there for some weeks. He opened the door leading to the corridor without a sound, as silent as a cat.
There are people downstairs—more than three. He silently made himself one with the shadows as he eavesdropped on the conversation.
"There is no way it was happening." That was his Meitantei-chan's voice—as beautiful as ever. He supposed he was worried for nothing after all. His Meitantei-chan is fi—"How in world could I be turn into a six-year-old child without me remember about it?" Kaito's eyes widened. What?
"That's why we're here, Shin-chan," That voice is her mother's. "We have proof that it's happening. Not just your friends, we were there when you were shrunken."
"I was there too," That was Haibara. "Didn't you find it strange that I, a mere grade-schooler, tending to your health and examining your condition ever since you woke up?"
There was a pause before another familiar voice perked up, "that's right, Kudo! This is no prank whatsoever! This science-neechan here was just like you—she was actually an 18 year old scientist that worked with the organization you fought, but she betrayed them and has been helping you instead! She also took an antidote to shrunk herself down and mislead the organization into thinking that she's dead." It was Hattori, he sounded so desperate. "Please, Kudo, why won't you remember?"
There was a pause here. "No, I…" It was Shin'ichi again. "I really don't remember any of this. Let's assume that you were telling the truth here—then, where is the organization now?"
"You fought against them s few weeks ago," that was her father's voice—as calm as ever. "It was a very war-like scene. You barely made it out alive. Many people died and one of your friends was…" He paused here and Kaito gulped—he wondered if that man knew he was here. "He was suffered in a coma—luckily he survived." Kaito believed he was talking about him.
"There is some evidence of that war time if you want to see—please believe us, Kudo."
There was a pause before there was an annoyed sigh, "Rather than being like this, this is getting us nowhere. What do you actually remember when you woke up?" Haibara's voice asked instead.
A pause. "I remember walking with Ran in the amusement park." Kaito frowned—the starting point of this whole mess. "I also remember following some suspicious men in black…"
"That was the members of the organization, Shin-chan," his mother intervened. "What else do you remember? Do you remember swallowing the poison?"
A pause. "I… I was sure I was dead that time—I can remember the searing heat, but then everything is blurry."
There was a heavy pause right here, "I think it's safe to conclude that our Shin'ichi is having amnesia, isn't it?" Haibara asked.
"Yes, I suppose so." Shin'ichi's father's voice reluctantly agreed. "Do whatever you can, Haibara-san. I trust her to you."
"Daddy?" Even without seeing her expression, he could hear the desperation, fear, confusion in Shin'ichi's voice, making his heart clench—making him wanted to barge in and hold her tightly in his arms and never let go.
Yuusaku's voice was calm but tight and caring, with a hint of fear in it. "Don't worry, Shin'ichi. Your mother and I will be here until you can remember." Kaito had heard enough. He left as soundless as he came.
Shin'ichi did not remember the time when she was shrunken; that meant she wouldn't remember the time they first met, let alone the time that they had spent together that whole two years. Her brain had locked away those two years memories spent. This wasn't the same detective he had met—perhaps she was still the same person, he still loved her, with all his heart. But Shin'ichi wouldn't remember.
Now he understood why Haibara had forbid him to come. It was for his own good—his heart wasn't able to take the reality that Shin'ichi had never met him. His face was still neutral to most people, showing nothing but cold passiveness, but he was the only one who can hear his heart breaking.
Poker face, Kaito. No matter what, don't forget the poker face.
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Chapter 2
The emptiness was there. She was trying to ignore it, but it was obvious that she couldn't. She could feel it whenever she turned around, expecting to see someone with her, but found nobody there. She could feel it whenever she woke up, expecting someone's strong and warm arms around her but found none. She could feel it whenever she glanced over her shoulder, expecting—hoping—to see someone, but found no one meeting her expectations. She realized it whenever she unconsciously cooked for two only to remember that she was supposed to eat all of it—as if someone else should be eating her cooking instead of her—and she ended up packing the leftovers for lunch. She felt it when her hand moving on its own accord, wanting to feel someone's warmth, only to found freezing autumn air. She felt it when she was reading inside her library, expecting—waiting even—for someone to suddenly burst in and enveloped her in warmth that she longed, only to be disappointed when nothing happened after she finished her book. Most importantly, she knows the feeling whenever she replaced the water for the red roses sitting inside the vase in her bedroom. She knows that the roses are important for her—that's why she took care of them carefully. But for the life of her she doesn't know who made her feel like this.
She felt it whenever she saw the moon—something would nag at the back of her head, nudging her to remember, but she didn't know what. She also felt it whenever she saw roses and pigeons—they reminded her of someone, but she didn't know who. It was supposed to be someone with very beautiful eyes, but with sharpness, depths, and calculating gaze that nobody had, like someone trapped forever in a game of chess. But she can't—for the life of her—remember what color it was. It frustrated her; made her want to bang her head to the nearest wall. She had heard that second impact would trigger memories back to the amnesiacs. But she held herself—she didn't want to take risks—what if she lost more memories than what she had lost? It would be miserable. She had seen the looks in Hattori's eyes when he heard her first words upon seeing him, "Who are you?"
"Shin'ichi? Shin'ichi." The detective looked up to see her childhood friend, Ran. "Are you okay? You spaced out for about five minutes now."
Shin'ichi smiled faintly and shook her head, "Just trying to remember, Ran. Don't worry."
Ran frowned in big-sisterly way. "You shouldn't push yourself too hard, Shin'ichi. It was because of that you became like this now, aren't you?"
Shin'ichi sighed, "I wouldn't know, would I? Seeing that I don't remember a thing that happened in the last two years." She snapped unconsciously in calm frustration. Then remembering who she was talking to, she quickly apologized. "Sorry, I shouldn't have snapped."
Ran sighed then smiled motherly, "Me too—I shouldn't have brought it up. Let's just go home, okay? You need to rest." Shin'ichi certainly wouldn't object to the idea of a good rest.
They turned around a corner and her eyes caught a glimmer of diamonds on the shop's window case. Her feet stopped moving on its own and she stared at the glimmering stones. Somehow, they reminded her of someone—just like when she saw the moon or roses, or doves—especially that indigo-colored stone on the black velvet.
"Shin'ichi? What are you doing?" She felt Ran by her side, but she didn't look up. "Do you want to enter the shop?" She asked.
"No, it's just that…" She paused as she eyed the indigo-colored stone. "Hey, Ran. What's the first word came up to you when I mention moon, roses, doves, and diamonds?" She asked suddenly.
Ran barked up an amused laugh, "Why, it's Kaitou KID, off course! Everyone knows that!"
The name rang bells inside her head and she looked up at her friend, "Kaitou KID?"
"Well, yes. In fact, Sonoko is his biggest fan. Why do you want to know though?" She asked. "You're never usually interested in thieves since you're a murder detective."
"The term is homicide, Ran," Shin'ichi patiently corrected while her eyes reverted back to the jewel.
Ran shrugged good-naturedly, "I wouldn't know, would I? I'm not a detective geek like you." She giggled before asking again, "So what makes you interested in Kaitou KID?"
Shin'ichi shrugged lazily, her eyes never strayed from the glittering indigo stone. "It's just reminded me of something," she muttered quietly. The indigo color wasn't the exact match of what she had in mind, but it was somewhat close and she could almost imagine someone's eyes—that's it! Indigo eyes! Their eyes are indigo! "Indigo eyes…" she muttered inaudibly.
"Hey, you mean Kaitou KID could be linked to your missing memory?" Suddenly Ran asked.
Shin'ichi looked up at her friend and she shrugged in confusion, "I don't really know. It just popped out, you know."
"Then we could try going to his heist!" She suddenly beamed enthusiastically, grabbing her hands. A small and confused 'eh?' escaped her lips as Shin'ichi sweat dropped. "Sonoko's uncle would try luring Kaitou KID again two weeks from now—I'm sure Sonoko would let you in if I ask her! Come on!" She grabbed her hand and led her away. The confused Shin'ichi just let herself be dragged by her over-enthusiastic friend.
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She dreamt of that man again—the man in white with the moon on his back. She can't see his face clearly, because he was wearing a monocle and shadowed by the moon and his white top hat. She tried to reach for him, but suddenly the man sprouted a pair of white wings from his back and flew away—away from her reach. She still tried to reach him—she leaned over to touch him, but she slipped, and she fell, fell, fell to the bottomless darkness…
She had been having this dream for three days straight and dreamt of the same man every time she went to sleep. She was dying of curiosity and frustration of not knowing who the man was and how he looked like. She was sure she knew him before she lost her memories. That's why she was dreaming about him. But why—for heaven's sake—couldn't she remember his face?
She threw her face back to the pillow in frustration. She wanted nothing more than back to bed and sleep until tomorrow. Shin'ichi knew what this feeling is; yearning, longing. The question was, for what. She didn't know and she hated not knowing things—it frustrated her.
The bell rang and she groaned, she could already guess who that was. "Shin-chan! Ran is here!" See? She groaned again and tried to bury her face on to the pillow.
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Chapter 3
"Now, if you keep sulking, you're not going to attract Kaitou KID." Ran giggled at her own joke.
The frown on her face deepened at her friend's attempted joke. "I don't care about him anyways," she snapped and pause for a heartbeat before adding, "and I'm not sulking!"
Shin'ichi and Ran were now inside the building where the heist was going to take place in a few hours. Ran had forced her to wear something nice and girly so that she'd attract the thief's attention and threatened her with a punch of her bare fist to her bedroom wall. Shin'ichi then had bargained that if Ran was going to put her in a girly dress anyway, she wanted them to be simple. So now there she was, with a pale blue dress with snowdrops patterns on the bottom and a black ribbon around her waist, and she was barely able to refuse the high-heel and insisting on wearing flat shoes. Shin'ichi had reasoned that if she were going to talk to the thief, she had to chase him first, and she absolutely cannot walk—let alone run—on high-heels.
"Sure, sure, Shin'ichi. Whatever you say," Ran grinned. "You know, you could take a closer look if you're really curious. We're here because we're invited by Sonoko and his uncle, after all."
Shin'ichi sighed reluctantly. Something told her that she won't like the mustached policeman who was barking orders around to his men. "Won't that man be mad, though?"
Ran titled her head as hummed a confused 'huh?' before she took one look at the man she pointed at. "Oh, Inspector Nakamori is always like that to everyone. Between you and me, I think he's just jealous because you're a detective and therefore stood a better chance at capturing Kaitou KID more than him." Ran whispered to her conspiratorially. Then she titled her head confusedly at her, "But how do you know about that? I thought you lost your memories?"
Shin'ichi shrugged, "I don't really remember, per se. I just get this feeling that if we barged in he was going to yell at us."
Ran smiled and clapped her hands, "I see! I knew this trip is a good way for you to remember! You're starting to remember bit by bit. It means you must have worked with him some time in the past two years." She started to pull her towards the opened area of the heist room to the inspector.
"Wa—wait, Ran, what are you doing?" Shin'ichi tried to pull her hand back, but she hadn't actually healed enough to have enough power to do so—and Ran's grip was always more powerful than hers.
"Don't worry, Shin'ichi. I'll talk to him and explain to him your circumstances—I'm sure he'll understand." When Shin'ichi showed a skeptical face, Ran insisted and pulled out her ace card against her, "Just trust me! Don't you trust me?"
Shin'ichi was always weak against that card and she sighed as she let herself be dragged along, "Off course I trust you." She answered weakly before averting her eyes from her and muttering inaudibly, "Who else should I trust?"
Ran dragged her to Nakamori, "Inspector! We're here!" She exclaimed loudly.
Nakamori snapped his glare at them, "Ah, it's the detective brat and her friends again, huh? You civilians shouldn't be here; this is police territory!" He yelled at Ran before fixing his glare at Shin'ichi. "And you're not even supposed to be out of hospital yet! Sick people should rest; not running around chasing thieves!"
Shin'ichi's eyebrows shot up at the concerned nagging the inspector gave her that she could only managed a clever 'eh'.
Ran turned to the inspector, "Inspector Nakamori, please. She is here for her own sake. We thought that being here is good for her condition. At least let her in. She's not going to run around like this—aren't you?" Ran suddenly looked at her and Shin'ichi had no choice but the nod. "See? We're not going to be in your way, whatsoever! I promise!" Ran said.
Nakamori leveled his gaze at them both before snorting and waved his hand, "Fine. Just this once, Kudo, because you're healing! Next time, I'm not going to be so lenient and I'm going to escort you home with police car, got it?" Shin'ichi just mutely nodded and then off to wherever Ran dragged her to.
"Sonoko-chan!" Ran called and waved to get her attention.
"Ran-chan!" Sonoko giddily waved towards her and spotted Shin'ichi by her side. "And the detective geek. I don't believe I'd ever said this, but it's good to have you back, Shin'ichi." Sonoko said with a cheeky smirk.
Shin'ichi smiled crookedly, "I don't believe I'd said this either, but it's nice to see you again, Sonoko; though you are the last person in my list to meet."
Sonoko clicked her tongue. "I see even amnesia doesn't change your sarcastic tendencies. I don't know whether it's good or not to have you unchanged."
Ran smiled warmly and gave both her friends a bear-hug. "You don't know how happy I am listening to your bantering back and forth after all this time! I'm so happy!" Sonoko and Shin'ichi both blushed seeing Ran's reactions.
Sonoko just shook her head and responded with, "Geez Ran. You're so sensitive," while Shin'ichi felt like she wanted to cover her face with something.
"Please, don't be noisy. The heist is going to take place in three minutes and twenty seconds." A cold voice interrupted them and Sonoko glared at the blond haired man who was staring at an antique golden pocket watch in his hand. Shin'ichi felt he looked familiar; but then again, everything here looked vaguely familiar. Does this mean that she had come here before? This situation felt too familiar that she couldn't help looking around back and forth.
"Hakuba-san. Would you please stay out of our heart-warming reunion and keep your thoughts to yourself? Shin'ichi's just got back from whatever case she was on for two years and it was apparently so dangerous that she is now an amnesiac. I know you're a great detective and all, but it would be nice if you keep your insensitive comments away from our delicate Shin'ichi!"
"I'm not delicate." Shin'ichi murmured, but was ignored. So the blond man was a detective after all and his name is Hakuba. Had she meet him before? She felt like she had, but she wasn't sure because he didn't have the same reaction people did when meeting her.
"Shin'ichi? As in Kudou Shin'ichi?" The blond man looked up from his watch and watched Shin'ichi closely. "The missing detective who was lately talked about for bringing down an international criminal organization together with Kaitou KID?"
Shin'ichi's eyes widened while Ran panicked. "Shut your mouth, detective! She is not ready for that much information yet!"
Sonoko glared up at the blond man, "Stay away from Shin'ichi, you ass!" While Shin'ichi was grateful that both her childhood friends were still wildly overprotective of her, she really wanted to know more. Her parents and the very familiar little girl and Osakan boy she didn't remember also said so.
"About that," Shin'ichi started. The three heads looked to her way. "Can you tell me more about that?" Now she was sure that it wasn't a lie or a made-up story.
Ran's face paled, "Shin'ichi, no—you shouldn't know too much at so little time! Remember your blood pressure!"
"But, Ran, this is the perfect way to remember—" Shin'ichi was cut off as the lights suddenly turned off and everything goes black.
They heard inspector Nakamori was yelling for something that sounds like masks and Shin'ichi heard a sound of gas. She instinctively held her breath when the blond detective that Shin'ichi now known as Hakuba started, "Hold your breath! It's his infamous sleeping gas!" As he said that, Shin'ichi heard the sound of two bodies falling behind her. She concluded it was Sonoko and Ran.
Shin'ichi tried to hold her breath as much as she could, covering her mouth and nose with handkerchief, before a spotlight at the centre of the ceiling turned on. Under the piercing light in the darkness, there stood the man in her dreams on a pedestal where the gem is supposed to be; the man in white. Except, he was wearing a gas mask. He bowed theatrically and spoke—probably with speakers because his voice is coming from everywhere. "Good evening, Ladies and Gentlemen! Let us begin the show tonight!"
As he said that, his gas mask disappeared as the gas accumulated in the room suddenly goes up and shifting into various shapes around him—and just like magic, the gas first changed colours (first pink, then orange, then yellow, then green, and the last blue) before crystalized into small blue twinkling stones. He spread his hands dramatically and the small stones thrown across the whole room everywhere and they burst into nothing upon touches.
Shin'ichi had long since abandoned her handkerchief and was gaping in awe at the man in white while the crowd outside the building had gone crazy and chanting his name. "KID! KID! KID! KID!"
"Enough of this!" Nakamori bellowed. "Get him, men!"
The whole police unit who had stood frozen the entire show suddenly moves again, yelling a battle cry. But before they even got close to the thief, they suddenly found themselves unable to move and frozen on the spot. As one by one of the police fell onto the polished floor, Nakamori bellowed furiously as he too struggled to move, "What have you done to us, KID?!"
"Inspector, don't you know? The stones I had just thrown weren't just for show. They contain chemicals that reacted with human body upon loud noises above 100 decibels. You will all be frozen like that for around an hour—don't worry, it won't harm you and the chemicals will be out of your system in 24 hours without harm. In the meantime, you should rest, Inspector." KID smirked haughtily as the inspector yelled profanities loudly in anger upon the fact that he couldn't move.
KID swiped the pedestal he was standing on and suddenly a black velvet box contained blue jewelled necklace was in his palm. "I've got Sapphire Minx in my hand now, thanks to you, Inspector. Perhaps for now on, you'll learn to be a bit quieter." Inspector Nakamori could only curse the thief in white while KID chuckled mischievously and turned towards Shin'ichi and Hakuba, the only two who could move.
"Ah, Tantei-san. I was wondering if you'll make it tonight." KID addressed Hakuba by her side.
"Yes, well. Even though I'm sure you did something so that my plane was delayed, I was able to hop on another airway and landed here on time. You really shouldn't play with public transportation, KID. You're already charged with thieving and breaking and entering someone's property. We really shouldn't add 'terrorism' as one of the charge you will be on." Hakuba retorted haughtily.
"And what makes you so sure I'm going to get charged? You can't charge me with anything when you can't even touch the fabric of my cape, Tante-san. You have to try better than that. And the way you say it make it sound like you care about me, too. I'm touched."
At the same time Hakuba got KID's attention, Shin'ichi knelt by her friends' side and instinctively checked their pulse and bodies for any injuries. As when she concluded that her friends weren't injured, KID addressed her.
"They are just sleeping, Meitantei-chan. They will wake up in an hour." Shin'ichi looked up to the thief, standing just a few feet before them. She just gazed at the man in white—drinking everything about him in. She was finally meeting the man in her dreams and he looked just the same. She wanted to see more. Shin'ichi wondered if his eyes were indigo.
"You're not supposed to come here." KID continued when Shin'ichi didn't answer, his voice tight. Hakuba raised an eyebrow at that but he ignored him. "You're supposed to be resting. You were injured."
Shin'ichi sighed, "Everybody always said that. I'm not injured anymore, you know."
"But there are side effects." KID retorted.
Shin'ichi flinched clearly at that answer and averted her gaze before she looked at him curiously. "Tell me," She started. "Have we met before?"
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Author's Note:
Another story, another plot. I think this would be done in 5 or 6 chapters. The idea for this story is rather simple and I think there are tons of "side-effect story plots" scattered around this fandom, so I hope you can love this story as much as I do.
There hasn't been any continuation on Magic Mirror yet, as I have so many projects I have to tend too. I will try to get on with Magic Mirror as soon as I can. Some of you have suggested to introduce Haibara as the miracle-worker, and I think that is a splendid idea. I hope some inspirations will come to me soon.
Thank you for reading this story and some feedback are appreciated. See you in the next chapter.