Post-Story Chapter: Introduction to Aoko
A/N: Thanks to everyone who's read and reviewed thus-far~! This chapter, Shinichi meets Aoko. Next chapter is a different little set of events, and after that we should be able to see how the parents arrive on scene. ;)
Shinichi showed up at Kaito's house at eight in the morning on a Sunday. As grumbly and generally non-pulsed as he was for having to wake up so early on the weekend, he could still appreciate the sight of Kaito when his Soulmate opened his front door. Kaito was dressed in a pair of dark skinny-jeans and a dark purple short-sleeved button-up shirt. Once he was done staring like an idiot, Kaito waiting patiently with raised eyebrows and a smug smirk on his face, Shinichi realized that this was only the second time he'd ever seen Kaito wearing a short-sleeved shirt. Upon closer inspection, he also noted that his Soul Mark was exposed, no make-up or bandages obstructing it from view.
Catching his line of sight, Kaito clarified: "It's alright, we aren't going anywhere public, and like I've told you before, Aoko already knows what my Soul Mark says, so hiding it wouldn't do any good." Kaito stepped off his front porch, closing the door behind him, and began to stroll towards his front gate. Shinichi followed suite.
"If we're not going out in public though, where are we going?"
Kaito didn't respond, instead leading them through the front yard, a short way down the sidewalk, and up to the front door of the Nakamori residence next-door. Kaito didn't even bother to knock, swinging the front door open and announcing loudly to the house at large: "Aoko, I'm here for breakfast and I brought someone with me!" Shinichi paused at the front of the house, surprised by the casual way Kaito barged into the home as if it were his own. When Kaito, noticing that his Soulmate had lagged behind, turned and motioned his detective in with the wave of his hand, Shinichi reluctantly removed his outdoor shoes and took one of the extra pairs of house slippers, murmuring a polite sentence of greeting to no-one in particular as he stepped fully into the house.
A girl looking startlingly similar to Ran emerged from a room down the hall. She was drying her hands with a flour-spotted dish-cloth, which lead Shinichi to believe that she'd just come from the kitchen.
The girl looked like she was going to give a happy greeting until she spotted Shinichi. Her brow twitched in anger and she reached into a near-by closet, pulling out a mop. Shinichi cringed and prepared to dodge, but to his surprise, the inspector's daughter swung at Kaito instead, the magician easily flipping out of her way.
"BaKaito! Why didn't you tell me you were bringing someone over for breakfast?! Now I'll have to re-evaluate the portion sizes!" She huffed as her best friend sprung sideways to avoid another swipe of the mop, cackling as he went and ducking into another room, peering at her from around the doorframe.
"What? I thought you'd want to meet him!"
"Meet who?" Aoko mumbled while Shinichi, looking dumbfounded, added in a "you didn't know I was coming?!"
Aoko turned and faced Shinichi, holding the mop behind her as if to hide it, though Shinichi could still clearly see it where the head of it was sticking out from behind her back, positioned next-to and behind her like a second head with grey, dingy hair.
"I'm sorry you had to see that!" She bowed politely, the mop tilting with her. "My name is Nakamori Aoko, it's nice to meet you! That idiot Kaito didn't tell me he was bringing anyone over, but I'm sure I made enough food for everyone to get a decent portion anyway. Well, he didn't say he was coming over either, but I pretty much expect him every day at this point, so I tend to make extra, and, if anything, I can take some of his breakfast and give it to you."
"Aoko, nooo~!" Kaito whined, but was promptly ignored by his best friend as she continued with the conversation at hand.
"So you're a friend of Kaito's?" She asked, tilting her head in gentle inquiry.
Shinichi nodded and bowed, preparing to introduce himself. He opened his mouth, about to give his name, when he heard it come forth not in his own voice, but instead in ever-so-slightly British-accented Japanese.
"Kudo Shinichi," the tenor commented in surprise as Hakuba Saguru appeared from within the kitchen, just as Aoko had moments before. "I'm surprised to see you here. An interesting turn of events." Kaito came back in the room at that moment, striding over to stand next to Shinichi, crossing his arms, glaring at Hakuba, and overall acting very pouty. Hakuba also came closer, stepping up next to Aoko and draping his arm gently around her waist. Kaito glared harder and Shinichi wondered for a moment if Hakuba could feel the heat being generated from Kaito's fervent gaze. If he could, he didn't let it show. The blond merely smirked. "I certainly wasn't expecting you to befriend him when you called me the other day asking for his contact information. You'll be joining us for breakfast?"
"When did you-?" Kaito began, wondering when it was Shinichi had spoken to Hakuba, but he cut himself off, realizing that Shinichi must have figured out where he lived somehow that morning he called an ambulance to the Kuroba residence.
"C'mon you guys, we can talk while we eat. The food I just made will get cold!" Aoko began towards the kitchen which allowed an open view to the dining room. "You guys go on ahead and sit down while I re-serve the food into an extra portion. What would you like to drink, Kudo-kun?" She asked, turning to him expectantly.
"Water is fine, thank you," Shinichi instantly said, not wanting to trouble her, but Kaito rolled his eyes.
"Relax, Shin-chan, she doesn't mind!" Aoko would have glared at her best friend, but as it was she was too busy gaping at the nickname he referred to Shinichi by. Kaito pretended not to see her stunned reaction. "He'll have coffee. Black." He made a face. "Yeah, I know, gross, but to each his own, I suppose."
Aoko stared for a bit longer before shaking her head and turning to pour a second cup of coffee from an already brewed pot, Hakuba regarding Kaito and Shinichi carefully from where he sat across form them at the table. Kaito pointedly ignored him too, and Shinichi wondered for a moment if Kaito was actually unobservant, or if he just thought things would work out best for him if he pretended to notice less than he actually saw. If he had to place a bet, he'd guess the latter.
"Your dad gonna be joining us?" Kaito asked casually, attempting to change the subject.
Aoko shook her head and huffed, sending him a pointed look. "No, because somebody sent out a new heist notice last night. Dad's at the office still trying to figure it out."
Kaito grinned at her. "Oh, KID sent another notice? I didn't know." Aoko whispered something under her breath that sounded suspiciously like "of course you didn't" while Kaito turned to look at Hakuba. "If there's a new note, then why are you here? Shouldn't you be off solving it too?"
"Knowing that Nakamori-keibu would be busy today, I figured I should come over for a visit. I wouldn't let my Soulmate eat breakfast alone unless I truly had to," Hakuba commented, smiling in Aoko's direction as she rolled her eyes at him, blushing all the same.
"Did today have to be the day you decided to prioritize Aoko over catching KID? And you probably knew I'd be here too, so she wouldn't have been alone..." Kaito muttered. This statement led Shinichi to deduce that he'd sent the notice last night specifically for the purpose of making sure Hakuba wouldn't be having breakfast with them, a plan which had ultimately backfired. Hakuba's returning smirk also lead him to believe that Hakuba might have known Kaito was trying to get rid of him and had specifically ensured to come to breakfast for the purpose of seeing what the magician had planned. The way they danced around each other almost made Shinichi jealous, but he quickly dismissed the thought by reminding himself that he'd be able to play any number of games with Kaito for the rest of his life, and he was sure Kaito would be more than willing to oblige. His Soulmate seemed the type to enjoy puzzles as much as he did, after all.
Hakuba didn't verbally respond to Kaito's indignation, instead rising from the table to help his apparent Soulmate carry their meals to the table once she'd finished proportioning them. Shinichi wasn't surprised to see that Nakamori Aoko was about as good of a cook as her look-alike, a small bowl of well-prepared white rice with a sunny-side egg draped over the top, a bowl of tofu-soup, and a small plate of cut vegetables being set in front of each of them. She also placed a fresh cup of black coffee before Shinichi and a cup of orange juice in front of Kaito while Hakuba set a cup of lightly-creamed coffee in front of himself and a cup of tea in front of what Shinichi figured was Aoko's place setting. Noting that Hakuba was also drinking coffee and knowing that the inspector's daughter hadn't had to go out of her way to make Shinichi's because she'd already prepared some for the half-Brit, Shinichi relaxed and gratefully took his cup, taking several long sips from it.
Hakuba poked at his egg. "Vegetarian again, hmm?" Hakuba sent a largely neutral look Kaito's way, which Kaito responded to by sticking out his tongue.
"What? You'd prefer sausage, London-no-tantei? Have you ever seen a documentary about how they make that stuff?" Kaito pointed his chopsticks at Hakuba, a gesture which Shinichi thought was both rude and somehow almost friendly. Shinichi had a feeling that Kaito was a bit rude to Aoko and Hakuba only because he knew them and got along with them, and neither of them seemed to mind Kaito's antics, though Hakuba's brow twitched every once in a while. "Just be glad I eat eggs! They're not fertilized, after all, so at least eggs weren't containing anything living at any point."
"You always make vegetarian meals, Nakamori-san?" Shinichi asked, looking to Aoko.
She shrugged. "I guess, for the most part, I do. Unless I know Kaito won't be here or he's done something to annoy me, and I have no problem cutting his portions if he's being rude either." She glared at Kaito in something that looked like anger, but that Shinichi was starting to feel was actually fond exasperation. Kaito rolled his eyes and, looking at his food now, Shinichi noted that Kaito really did have smaller portions than the rest of them, likely because Aoko actually had subsidized Shinichi's own portions with Kaito's, and she knew that if the magician was still hungry afterwards he could eat back at his own house next-door.
"How rude, Aoko, not making enough food for your guests," Kaito teased.
"You're the one who didn't tell me you'd be brining-!"
Kaito ignored her again. "It's alright though! Shin-chan will share with me, won't you?" Kaito poked at a piece of tofu in Shinichi's soup, and an idea struck the detective. He reached out and moved the bowl before Kaito could reach his food and Kaito's eyes widened. He looked at Shinichi, and Shinichi stared back, smirking. Kaito burst out laughing. Shinichi huffed fondly and picked out a few cubes of tofu to place in Kaito's bowl even as the magician was still laughing and trying to hide his smirk behind his glass of orange juice.
"Okay, really, who are you?" Aoko asked suddenly, looking between the two of them, making them pause. "I mean, I'm familiar with your work, Hakuba talks about you all the time. The Detective of the East, right? But how do you, a famous detective, know Kaito? Did you guys meet at, you know, at night, or..." She trailed off, looking at Kaito, but he refused to either confirm nor deny. Shinichi figured she was asking if they met at a heist, and that she knew about KID. She'd probably been convinced by her Soulmate that her best friend was the Kaitou KID some time ago, and she must have made peace with it at least somewhat, but Kaito still refused to straight-out admit to being an internationally wanted thief, possibly because Hakuba was still trying to catch him during heists.
Shinichi waited, figuring it would be best if Kaito explained what they were to each other and decided on the cover story for how they met, but when Kaito didn't respond to Aoko's questions, pointedly eating his breakfast and ignoring the rest of the people at the table, Shinichi realized he might be on his own in this case.
Aoko repeated herself. "Kudo-kun, how do you know Kaito? Because you guys act... Weird..." She was no doubt wondering how a total stranger she'd never met before could be on a first-name basis with her best friend, teasing him and getting along with him as if they'd known each other for years. Kaito had a limited number of people he interacted with on such a friendly basis, and it usually took quite a long time to build that kind of relationship with the guarded magician.
The idea that Shinichi was her friend's Soulmate never even occurred to her since, obviously, she didn't hold out any hope for Kaito ever getting along with his Soulmate, considering what his Soul Mark said.
Shinichi fidgeted under her gaze. "Um, y-yes, Kaito and I met at... At a... At a heist?" He worded it as a question, looking over at Kaito.
Kaito shrugged nonchalantly. "Yup. You know how I'm a KID fan, Aoko. I was at that heist last weekend, trying to catch a glimpse of KID's magic."
"Sure, that's what you were doing there," Hakuba commented sarcastically, but Aoko elbowed him lightly to shut him up, still trying to gather information on what was going on between her best friend and the detective known as Kudo Shinichi.
"…. Does this have anything to do with why you were in the hospital?" Aoko asked quietly, and Kaito tensed, sending her a questioning look. "Your mom called me, Kaito, after she got a call from the hospital. She also told me when you got released, but you didn't come home for four days after you got out. Why didn't you let me take care of you? I know you don't like it when I ask a bunch of questions and pry," her voice had been steadily getting quieter, and she was barely audible at this point, "but Kaito, where were you?"
Kaito was tense underneath his relaxed posture, and Shinichi reached a hand under the table to clasp Kaito's left one soothingly. Kaito glanced over at him. "I was with Shinichi. He took care of me, so there was really no need for you to be worried. I just... got a little hurt last Saturday night is all."
"And Kudo-kun got you to a hospital," Hakuba filled in, looking to Shinichi.
Shinichi nodded. "Yeah. And I just kinda stayed with him once he was in the hospital, and offered to take care of him afterwards. I guess it didn't occur to me that there were other people who would have wanted to know how he was and who would've been better qualified to care for him."
Kaito rolled his eyes. "To be fair, that's because I wanted to go with you, so I didn't mention that Aoko could take care of me. Besides, Aoko's done enough for me as it is. It's your turn to take care of me now." He winked at Shinichi, squeezing his hand more tightly under the table, making the detective blush.
"Well, you still should have talked to me," Aoko insisted, not pushing for more information, knowing that Kaito would only give it when he was ready. She looked at Shinichi. "And thanks for taking care of my idiot. He's like a brother to me, so it means a lot that you took it upon yourself to look after him, even though he's a stranger to you."
Shinichi frowned. "No, no, don't thank me. It's actually my fault he got hurt, so the least I could do was help him out for a few days." Kaito peered at his Soulmate from out the corner of his eye, wanting to refute, but ultimately remaining silent.
Aoko frowned. "How was it your fault?" She asked, and that was the question Kaito had really been dreading.
"It wasn't," Kaito quickly interrupted. "He thinks it's his fault, but it really wasn't, it was mine. At least, my stay in the hospital was my fault."
"No, I really was-" Shinichi began, but stopped when Kaito stared intently at him, as if daring him to go on.
"I don't understand," Aoko admitted. "Kaito, I know you like to dance around the truth, but can you just tell me what's up for once?" Kaito didn't speak, in part because he wasn't especially comfortable having this conversation with Hakuba present, but have it he would, regardless, because Hakuba had already begun to piece things together.
"I think I know what happened, more or less," Hakuba cut in, leaning back and folding his hands on the table in a slightly snobbish, I-know-everything pose. He looked at Aoko. "They're Soulmates."
Aoko's eyes widened and she looked between them, noting for the first time the way they leaned slightly towards each other, just like her and Hakuba tended to do, close enough that their shoulders were touching, as if pulled together by magnets.
"What? But, but Kaito's..." She trailed off, pointedly keeping her eyes locked onto Shinichi's. She knew that Kaito hated it when people stared at his Soul Mark, so she'd long ago taken to pointedly avoiding looking at it, and in return he'd stopped feeling the need to cover it up around her.
Hakuba, as well, knew that Kaito didn't like people looking at, but he knew what it said, had known for quite some time, and he often looked at it. He was just very discreet about it so the magician wouldn't usually notice, so while Aoko hadn't seen the new additions to Kaito's skin, Hakuba had.
"I've deduced that you two did, in fact, meet at last week's heist, and the meeting didn't go well, for obvious reasons." At this Shinichi couldn't help but glance down at Kaito's glowing mark, remembering the words written there, Kaito stiffening slightly in response, but otherwise not reacting. "Afterwards, Kudo-kun regretted the way things went, perhaps you even realized that Kuroba-kun was in trouble, and you called me to frantically ask for his address and phone number. Is that correct?"
Kaito didn't answer, but Shinichi nodded. "I knew he was in trouble because my Soul Mark was fading. It fades whenever he's depressed or badly injured." Kaito looked surprised to hear that.
"It does?"
Hakuba nodded. "Yes, I've heard that Soul Marks do that. I've also seen my fair share of grey marks, as a detective." Upon seeing Aoko's questioning gaze, he clarified "marks which have turned grey because the Soulmate who spoke its words died."
"I didn't know they did that," Kaito admitted.
"That's because you've always avoided reading and talking about Soul Marks like the plague," Aoko murmured, and Kaito couldn't find it in himself to refute the claim.
"Have you seen it... You know, go grey and stuff before?" Kaito asked, looking at Shinichi. "I've never seen my mark do that. Though, to be fair, I do keep it hidden most of the time, so I probably wouldn't have noticed if it had..."
Shinichi shrugged. "It's not as if I'm prone to depression or near-death experiences. I guess there are a couple of times your mark might have dimmed, but for the most part I've had a happy and healthy life." Shinichi forced himself to hold Kaito's gaze, even though he wanted to look away. "And yes, I've seen my mark go dark before. Eight years ago."
Kaito was the one who looked away. "Oh." He slumped back in his chair a bit, avoiding meeting the gaze of the others in the room.
"So," Hakuba continued, bringing them back on topic, "you called me when you realized he was in danger, went to his house, and called for an ambulance. You two talked it out afterwards, I assume, and have worked out your differences?"
Shinichi nodded. "There are still things we can improve upon, but yeah, that pretty much sums it up."
"But how did Kaito get hurt?" Aoko asked, looking to her Soulmate. "You never said."
"Aoko," Kaito spoke up, standing. He motioned to the door. "We should talk about this in private." He stepped out of the room without waiting to see if she'd follow, knowing that she would. She looked at her own Soulmate once more before following her best friend out of the room.
"…. What do you think he'll tell her?" Shinichi wondered aloud. Hakuba regarded him for a moment, calculating, and Shinichi wondered if the half-Brit was of the opinion that Shinichi should be able to figure the answer to that out himself by now.
"He'll tell her the truth. Gently, probably. Aoko and I both know Kaito-kun wouldn't try to kill himself over this, so she'll believe him when he says he only wanted to get rid of the mark and took it too far." That was the first time Shinichi'd heard him call Kaito by his first name. Did he only do that when Kaito wasn't around to hear? "You know that too, don't you?"
"Know what?" Shinichi asked, confused.
"You know that he wasn't trying to kill himself," Hakuba clarified.
Shinichi quickly nodded. "Yeah, yes, I do. I know that. I was worried about it, for a bit, but he doesn't strike me as that kind of person, so it didn't take much for me to figure out that he hadn't actually been attempting suicide. I like to think that maybe he didn't even consider it..."
"I doubt he did," Hakuba agreed. "I just wanted to make sure you knew. Because if you don't actually want to be with Kuroba-kun, it's best you break it off now."
Shinichi started, looking confused and a bit horrified. "What?"
Hakuba sighed. "I understand, as a detective, that it must be hard for you to have an internationally wanted criminal as your Soulmate. Your first words suggest that you've felt that conflicting loyalty between Soul-Bond and your duty as a detective at least once. If you're only staying with Kaito now because you're scared something bad will happen to him if you leave, if you're afraid he won't be able to get over it or that he'll kill himself, then I believe it would be best for you to end it now, for both of your sakes. Before he gets too attached. I don't want to see him hurt, and I know that, in the long run, if you're not fully committed to your relationship, you'll only end up hurting him worse by pretending."
Shinichi considered his words carefully. "Hakuba-kun," he began slowly. "I appreciate what you're trying to do, but I assure you, I'm not in a relationship with him because of anything other than the reason that I love him." Hakuba continued to regard him unblinkingly, showing no emotion any-which-way. "When I first met him I was caught off-guard and I reacted worse than poorly, but I've wanted to meet my Soulmate for a really long time. I adore the Soul Mark he gave me, and I've known for years that I'd love him when I met him. I forgot, for a minute, when we first met, but it didn't take me long to remember all the times I was feeling down, and looking at my own Soul Mark cheered me up. Actually talking to him and getting to know him has made him all the more incredible to me, and I wouldn't give him up for anything. I want to be with him, and I want to make him happy, too. I promise." He promised, because Shinichi got the feeling that if he hurt Kaito again, Hakuba would murder him in his sleep and make it look like an accident somehow, if the calculating look Hakuba was leveling at him was anything to go by.
Hakuba had been leaning up over the table, staring at him intently, but now he relaxed, leaning back and sighing softly. "Alright, Kudo-kun. But keep in mind that, for all intents and purposes, Kuroba-kun is practically my brother-in-law, crazy as he is and regardless of the fact that he and Aoko aren't actually related by blood, so I'll be watching you closely. Treat him well." He paused. "Maybe not too well, but... I think you understand." Shinichi nodded.
The two detectives sat in silence for a few minutes after that, finishing their breakfast and coffees. After what felt like a very long time, Kaito and Aoko returned, Aoko still rubbing at her red, puffy eyes, clearly having been crying, Kaito rubbing soothingly at her back.
Hakuba stood and hugged his Soulmate. She returned the embrace briefly before pushing him away.
"I'm fine, I'm fine!" She insisted. "We talked it all out."
Aoko turned to Shinichi and Shinichi tried not to cringe. Despite the fact that Kaito had previously encouraged him to feel free to dodge Aoko's attacks, Shinichi felt that, at this moment, if Aoko decided to extract some justice on him with a mop, he wouldn't try to dodge or block it. He would deserve it.
"Kaito clearly really, really likes you, so I won't do all the things I think should be done to you." Shinichi relaxed slightly, a shiver running down his spine as he wondered what things she thought he deserved. Before he could blink, a mop was colliding with the side of his head, sending him sprawling onto the floor for the second time in so many days.
"Aokoooo-!" Kaito whined, instantly springing to help Shinichi up. "I thought we talked about this!"
Aoko huffed. "Oh, that isn't half of what I think he deserves," she defended. "And he didn't grow up seeing how that stupid mark affected you!"
Kaito looked like he was going to start an argument with her over it, but Shinichi quickly interrupted, finally managing to scramble onto his feet as his head spun, clutching Kaito and the table to right himself. "It's alright, it's okay, I totally deserved that. My own best friend did something similar when she found out about what I said, so honestly, it's fine. She didn't hit quite so hard, but I think you have more of a right to be angry than she did, so it's really okay." And wow could the inspector's daughter pack a punch! Or a swing, given the circumstances.
Aoko nodded while Kaito grumbled and conceded the argument, helping Shinichi sit back in his chair and rest until his head could stop spinning. "And keep in mind that I'll do much, much worse to you if you ever hurt Kaito again!" She promised, brandishing the mop and pointing it at him like an accusatory finger. "I mean it! You better not forget his birthday or your anniversaries or anything! I know how forgetful you detectives can be!"
Hakuba looked a bit scandalized. "What? I never forget anything! I keep time to the millisecond, I'm always aware of what day it is and the significance of the date."
"But you forget about our scheduled dates!"
"That's only when a case comes up. It's not because I forget..." Hakuba began to defend himself, but gave up on the attempt when Aoko glared at him. "Ah, yes, well, the point remains, Kudo-kun," he looked at Shinichi, "that you should take care to remember all the important things, and to keep Kuroba-kun happy."
Shinichi nodded enthusiastically, making the blurriness which had just begun to clear from his vision return and a headache spring up.
Kaito rolled his eyes. "You guys," he reprimanded, "you're so over-protective." Aoko went to argue, but Kaito ploughed on. "You act like I'm not perfectly capable of castrating somebody on my own."
The room fell silent, Hakuba and Aoko pausing to consider this before nodding and shrugging as they agreed. "I suppose that's a fair point."
Shinichi buried his face in his hands, and Kaito frowned, worrying for a second that maybe they'd taken it too far, but then he realized that Shinichi was laughing, albeit a bit exasperatedly, and he relaxed, chuckling along.
And Shinichi thought 'Oh GOD, what have I gotten myself into?!' But, listening to the mirthful, pure, angelic-sounding laugh of Kaito above him assured him that, whatever the mess he was now in, Kaito was no-doubt worth it.
A/N: This ended up being about the same length as the last chapter somehow. Essentially: Longer than I'd expected. Haha. Oh well, I hope you enjoyed it. If you did, maybe drop me a review? I do oh so love my lovely reviews. ;D