Nayru's Note: Okay, so Ran's birthday is officially unknown, and apparently there's something crucial tied to it, since Gosho couldn't reveal it to us in one of his interviews. I'm going to stick to the Live Action Drama version and consider her being a Libra, born on October 1st, since it fits for what I'm up to.

I've also read someone saying on one of the forums somewhere: 'In Movie 1 she said that both she and Shinichi got the lucky color red for the month May. But Taurus and Libra are both under control of Venus. So in some horoscopes of daily magazines they have the same lucky colors.' That seems plausible with me.

P.S. If you don't care about 'horoscope nonsense,' just skip over the text that's written in bold. The chapter should still work on its own without it.

~4 Idiots In A Closet~
Chapter 13: Zodiac signs

Shinichi woke up to the sound of snoring, running water and clinkering dishes.

With a yawn, he rubbed his face and pushed himself up, trying to asses the situation. Kuroba's room… right. He couldn't recall how he got here, but crucial bits of the party weren't entirely lost on him. He remembered most of the chaos… or at least he thought that he did.

It wasn't much of a surprise - although the disappointment was there - that he didn't manage to keep his teenage appearance, despite drinking like a sailor the night before. Well, he couldn't say that he didn't try. Now he had a massive headache and general 'feeling like shit' to deal with, but at least he was still alive. One had to suffer in the name of research sometimes, he supposed.

And, okay… The snoring part was coming from Hattori, who lay next to him, still sleeping like the dead. Kuroba and Hakuba were nowhere to be seen.

Without putting much thought into it, Shinichi hopped down from the bed - eugh, getting into a vertical position definitely wasn't helping with the headache - and while trying to wrap himself with his now-over-sized shirt more properly so that it wouldn't get tangled in his feet as he walked, made his way towards the kitchen.

"Good morning, Kudo-kun. … Or good noon, I suppose."

Hakuba was the one to greet him. The other, clinkering noises were coming from the blond, since he was currently washing the dishes. … Wow, the whole place was a mess.

"Hey…" Conan immediately coughed, because, damn, he's never heard his voice being so raspy before. "Wow, now I sound like a proper alcoholic." Thank God Ran wasn't seeing or hearing him like this.

"All the more reason to be happy that you didn't wake up when Kuroba's mother was here," Saguru admitted with a sigh. "Would you like anything to drink?"

"Anything that doesn't have alcohol in it," Shinichi murmured as he climbed on one of the chairs and took a seat by the table. And then it hit him. "Wait, what? Kuroba's mother was here?"

"It was supposed to be a surprise visit. I was the only one awake when she… stumbled upon us." There was some kind of unspoken meaning behind those words, and Conan wasn't sure if he was supposed to ask, or… "It took me quite a bit of convincing to do that all three of us weren't Kuroba's boyfriends."

Shinichi blinked. "Dear Lord." The puzzle pieces were coming together, making him press a hand into his face. "We were all sleeping in the same bed, weren't we…"

"That's how she found us," Hakuba admitted with a calm that honestly made him wonder.

"Dear Lord," Conan repeated, for good measure. "Was I already… like this?"

"Yes."

He wanted to say 'Dear Lord' for the third time, but he ended up planting his face into the table, instead. Conan honestly wondered how Hakuba managed to explain that part, more than anything else. "… Where are they now?"

"Kuroba's mother dragged him out for dinner. She wanted all of us to join them, but I declined and insisted that it was better to leave you and Hattori asleep," Saguru explained while finally leaving the dishes alone and handing Shinichi a glass of water. "Tea will be ready in a moment."

"Thanks." Conan appreciated both. "And bless you, Hakuba, for damage control."

"Well, someone had to do it," Saguru sighed and took a seat next to him, pouring himself a glass of water, as well. "And I had the questionable pleasure of waking up first…"

Ha, ha… "How bad was it? I mean… I don't know what kind of person Kuroba's mother is…"

"She was delighted."

"She was… what?"

Hakuba rested his chin in his hand, giving Shinichi a tired look. "The whole Kuroba household is crazy. Why are we even surprised?"

Conan wasn't sure what to think anymore. "You mean to tell me that Kuroba's mother came back to a partially destroyed house and a plastered son with three other guys in his bed - with one of them being a seven-year-old - and she was… happy?"

Hakuba shrugged. "Like I said, why are we even surprised?"

Shinichi couldn't help but wonder how his mother would react, if she ever found him being in a similar situation. And if their mothers were anything alike, Kuroba must have been having the time of his life somewhere out there right now… Oh, boy.

"I take it it would be wise to bail out of here before they come back," was the obvious conclusion.

"Probably," Hakuba agreed. "Unless you feel like interacting with a crazy friend's mother in your current predicament," he added. "You and Hattori are free to leave, I don't mind staying behind to lessen the mess a bit. Supposedly Jii-san is supposed to come over later on, to help with the cleaning up."

Meaning that Hakuba wouldn't be left with everything all on his own. The offer was definitely tempting, but… Shinichi gaze the blond a teasing look. "Hmm… You're not planning to make us leave so that you can sneak around and go where I think you want to go, are you?"

That made Hakuba go still, and Conan knew he hit the nail on the head.

"I knew it."

It was kind of amusing to see Saguru's composure go fly out the window in a matter of seconds. "I-I wouldn't. That's…"

"You were so thinking about it," Shinichi's smirk only grew.

Hakuba made a face, trying not to look embarrassed. "Alright, maybe I was wondering about it," he admitted, averting his gaze. "But I still wouldn't invade his privacy like that."

Kaito wasn't home and they had the means to access Kid's 'secret hideout' - as Heiji liked to call it - now that they knew where it was. That was probably one of the things Kuroba didn't foresee to blow up when he invited them over for the party. Well, they had Aoko to thank for that.

"We could go there now," Shinichi teased further.

"… No."

"Are you sure?"

"You and Kuroba both," Saguru gave him a half-defeated, half-annoyed look. "Are impossible and a horrible tease, sometimes."

"I can kind of see where he's coming from."

Hakuba wasn't easy to derail, but once you knew which buttons to push, magic happened. It was sort of amusing, really. It was honestly no wonder Kaito enjoyed to tease him so much.

"Do you want that tea or not?"

Change of topic, huh? Or more like blackmail attempt, considering. Well, the teasing was fun while it lasted.

"Yeah, if you don't mind making it," Shinichi spoke as he shifted and hopped down from the chair. "Kuroba wouldn't mind me taking a shower here, would he? Changing back always takes a toll on my body, and I could definitely use one…"

Hakuba blinked at him, and then stood up to follow along. "I don't think he'd mind, no… I can get you a fresh towel."

His child clothes should have still been in the closet, where they left them when he changed, right?

"Man, dat was one hell of a party," Hattori concluded as they washed their teeth in the bathroom.

It already managed to get dark, when they got back to the agency. They both got scolded by Ran and Kazuha and bombarded with all kinds of questions regarding where the hell they have been till this late, but thankfully, they managed to lie themselves out of the situation, somehow.

"Your birthday's next in line," Shinichi commented with little amusement. "Any plans for payback yet?"

"Are ya talking 'alcohol'?" The Osakan detective gave him a deadpan look, toothbrush hanging from his mouth. "Because if yer talking 'alcohol,' I'm goin' ta judge you."

"Have some mercy," Conan wanted to puke. "Hearing the word alone still makes me cringe."

"Good, then. Suffer with me," Hattori spat into the sink. "And I dunno… I could invite ya guys over to Osaka. We could show da guys that okonomiyaki restaurant we've been ta before."

"Hmm… That actually sounds like a plan."

Once they rinsed their mouths and washed their faces, they left the bathroom, already prepared for more scolding coming their way. Surprisingly, the girls were sitting in front of the laptop and giggling about something, practically paying no attention to them.

"What'cha giggling about?"

Kazuha jumped at Heiji's voice, and Conan swore her face was going all red when she tried to backpedal from the site they were currently on. Ran only giggled more.

"Kazuha-chan and I found this silly site today," Ran explained in her flustered friend's stead. "You type in two people's birthdays, or just their zodiac signs, and it shows you their love compatibility." She chuckled, turning a little red herself. "We found it fun, so we started playing around with it a bit."

"Haa?" Heiji clearly didn't follow.

Oh, boy… Just trust the girls to find all the embarrassing things and believe in this kind of stuff to begin with. But Ran always liked fortune telling and other, superficial things of that sort, so as long as they had fun with it… It seemed to get their minds off of further scolding attempts, so Shinichi wasn't about to complain.

And, of course, this meant that Kazuha was probably checking hers and Heiji's signs earlier, hence the whole awkward blushing. Sometimes Conan wondered if Hattori was honestly this dense not to catch those hints, or if he was outright ignoring them on purpose.

"Wait, any two signs?" The Osakan teen asked, suddenly intrigued.

"That's right." Ran nodded.

Hattori seemed to thoughtfully count something on his fingers, before he grinned. "I have two dates for ya to check, then. Twenty first of June and twenty ninth of August."

"Hee? Whose are those?" Kazuha asked, confused.

"Ah, just these two friends of mine dat I'm curious about!" The dark-skinned detective chirped, grinning in amusement. "They've been beating around da bush in regards ta one another since a while now, so it got me wondering what kinda helpless case they are!"

Conan snorted, pressing his hands to his mouth to control himself. Hattori didn't just go there. He wanted to see what a stupid love site told about Kaito and Hakuba.

"Ya have friends like that?" The girl with the pony tail asked, suddenly intrigued as well. "Do we know them?"

"Nah, I don't think ya do."

"Alright then, let's see…" Ran started typing on the keyboard. "The first is a Gemini, and the other one is a Virgo."

"Oh, yeah?" Heiji grinned harder. "What does it say?"

"When Gemini and Virgo come together in a love affair—"

That was where Hattori snorted, trying not to fall over in laughter.

"—it's crucial to the survival of the relationship that they take time to learn about one another's approach to life and love — and remember that both partners' attitudes are worth understanding," Ran read out loud what the site showed. "Gemini is symbolized by the Twins; they can see both sides of a story, they tend to vacillate between two courses of action and sometimes they can seem as if they have a split personality."

"Huh, wow," Heiji commented in slight awe this time, and Shinichi thought the same, because considering Kaito and Kid, that was kind of spot-on.

"This relationship is greatly strengthened when steady Virgo provides one Twin with a steady emotional anchor while allowing the other Twin to flit about at will. Virgo may be a bit too serious and demanding for Gemini, especially if this occurs early in the relationship before Gemini has fully committed. If Virgo just gives it time, things will smooth out."

"Ya hear that?" Hattori nudged him with an elbow to get his attention. "Sounds like someone's being high-maintenance. Poor Hakuba."

"You're not feeling sorry for him in the least, are you?" Shinichi gave the Osakan a half-lidded, amused look.

"Virgo and Gemini's approaches to life are seemingly so different that mutual acceptance can be hard ta come by — especially since Virgo tends ta be so critical and exacting," Kazuha picked up the reading where Ran left off. "Gemini strains against Virgo's ultra-practical stance in da world, and Virgo tires quickly of Gemini's flighty ways. They do have much to teach one another, however. Virgo can help Gemini ta be more involved in life and ta see da depth of ideas rather than simply the surface. Gemini can help bring fun and excitement into Virgo's life."

All things considered… That kind of fit to both of them, too. Who wrote this stuff?

"Both Signs are ruled by the Planet Mercury (Communication). Gemini represents the masculine aspect of Mercury, Virgo the feminine - Heiji laughed, again - (Mercury itself is androgynous). Virgo wants a dependable partner and therefore uses the penchant for clear communication toward forming the perfect relationship. Gemini is more intellectually focused than Virgo but does have a gift in relating to others," Ran read out and left the next part to Kazuha again.

"Virgo is an Earth Sign and Gemini is an Air Sign. Virgo is practical, direct and precise. Virgo asks, 'How will this help me achieve my goals in life?' while Gemini, who moves through life relying on their mind, doesn't waste time focusing on where they're headed, but rather simply goes where their mind leads. Virgo's fussy, critical nature and Gemini's aloof detachment and capriciousness can cause trouble fer both partners. Virgo must understand that Gemini's flirtatious nature does not affect their feelings regarding da relationship, and Gemini must help ta foster that understanding through words and deeds."

"Hey, da flirting part is so true…" Hattori spoke in slight awe again.

"Virgo and Gemini are both Mutable Signs. Both are quite flexible; both are able to adapt to change at a moment's notice. Both can be somewhat wishy-washy, however, Gemini due to their incessant intellectual ruminations and Virgo due to their penchant for analysis rather than action."

"What's da best aspect of the Gemini-Virgo relationship? The security they can give each other — once Virgo allows Gemini to commit willingly to da relationship. As long as they communicate with each other and use their Mercury powers effectively, theirs will be a gratifying relationship!"

And with that, Kazuha ended the article. "So, who's da lucky pair? Any names ya can give us, at least?"

"I told ya, ya don't know 'em!" Heiji growled, still amused. "But man, this site is kinda freaking me out. How does it know all these things?"

"People wouldn't read it if it didn't work, would they? And come on, share some of the good stuff!" The Osakan girl wasn't giving up. "Which one's da girl?"

Both Heiji and Conan looked at one another.

"The Virgo's da girl," Hattori concluded with an amused snort. "Definitely."

Everyone was already in bed when Conan came back downstairs to get a bottle of water. Heiji and him tried not to drink too much of anything in front of the girls, to avoid any possible suspicions, and he was so thirsty, he felt like he was about to die.

Once he managed to retrieve a bottle of the life-saving liquid, and was ready to go back upstairs, his attention suddenly got caught by the abandoned laptop standing on Kogoro's desk. … Ugh.

Damn his curiosity, in the worst of times. Why was his brain doing this to him? Shinichi didn't even believe in this kind of crap… But a little peek wouldn't hurt, would it? And this was mostly all for fun, anyway. Besides, everyone was about to be asleep - if they weren't already - so nobody was about to notice that he'd be gone for a couple of more minutes.

"I can't believe I'm doing this…"

Shinichi murmured to himself as he took a seat and turned on the evil, electronic device. He didn't want to look at it as a 'love' compatibility, though, he was simply curious what the site would tell him in regards how well their relationship was supposed to work as far as being friends went.

Right. He was simply being curious and this didn't mean anything.

Letting his chin rest on his hand, Shinichi gave the screen before him a bored, totally uninterested look - he needed to keep up appearances, even before himself, with this - as he typed in his and Kaito's signs on the Site of Great Evil.

Well, here went nothing.

When Taurus and Gemini come together in a love affair - yeah, reading that alone made him feel stupid for even getting the sole idea of doing this - they must both take the time to learn what the dynamics of the relationship are and how they can best get along. They both have much to offer one another and much to learn in this relationship, but it will take a bit of adjustment and effort on both sides. Gemini's Symbol is the Twins; this Sign can often be of two minds about things. If possessive Taurus is able to let go and give one Twin the relationship security and intimacy it wants while allowing the other Twin its freedom, things will go well between these two.

So, basically… It was a bad move, to mix up Kaito and Kid? He kind of wondered how that worked for the thief.

Taurus may want too much for Gemini's taste early in the relationship, but Gemini can become dependable and steady — Taurus must simply be patient. Taurus's sedate, practical approach to life differs greatly from Gemini's more light, intellectual approach. This can be a difficult dynamic, since Gemini may see Taurus as a bit dull while Taurus may see Gemini as flighty and lacking in substance. They have much to teach one another, however: Taurus can help Gemini become more deeply involved in life; Gemini can help Taurus add variety, fun and excitement to their life.

Well, Kaito definitely added a lot of fun and excitement to his life - and not just his - so he honestly couldn't argue with that one. And Hattori was right, this kind of sounded like Kuroba was supposed to be wary of getting involved in a serious relationship in general, and needed some careful approaching with that. … Considering his tendency to flirt, it was somewhat hard to imagine, really.

Then again, he never gave off the impression of being serious about it, as far as Shinichi could tell… And he didn't go along with Heiji's order during the King's Game, so maybe he simply had his lines drawn elsewhere.

Taurus is ruled by the Planet Venus (Love) - love, seriously? - and Gemini is ruled by the Planet Mercury (Communication). Since both of these Planets are close to the Sun, they're always in the same neighborhood even though they're very different. Venus is all about physical pleasures, romance and sensuality. Mercury has both masculine and feminine energy, and Gemini takes on whichever energy best serves at any given moment.

That… could have been interpreted in a lot of ways, and currently, Shinichi kind of hated what his brain was making him think about. He was blaming the 'pleasures, romance and sensuality' part on that one. It kind of fit, though, considering how much Kaito - well, Kid - was fond of cross-dressing… No, his brain wasn't going there.

Taurus is just looking for a dependable, sensual partner, so Gemini's brilliance may be lost on the Bull. This may be trouble, since Geminis often feel like their quick wits are the most important thing about themselves. The good thing is, Gemini is smart enough to learn to be the romantic, sensual partner that Taurus craves.

… He wanted out of this site. Why was he still reading this?

Taurus is an Earth Sign and Gemini is an Air Sign. Gemini makes decisions based on intellect (and whim), while Taurus is more practical. Taurus asks, 'How will this help me achieve my goals in life?' while Gemini goes with the moment, never feeling too pressured to stick to a set plan. If Taurus gives in to those Bullish possessive feelings—

Possessive? Was he, really? … Okay, looking back on his relations with Ran and… Eisuke, or even with Kid in the picture, he kind of was. The stupid site was right.

—Or if Gemini is aloof and detached (as they often are), this relationship may suffer. Both Signs must strive to stay open and flexible in order to make this union work. Though Gemini seems unpredictable - oh, bloody site, it didn't even know the half of it - Taurus can learn to understand that although Gemini may flirt, the relationship is still important to them. And though Taurus seems overly stubborn, Gemini must use their flexibility to bend to their partner's will on occasion.

And there it went, with the flirting part again.

Taurus is a Fixed Sign and Gemini is a Mutable Sign. Taurus tends to focus on one thing, person, idea at a time, while Gemini moves from one thing (or person) to the next according to impulse. Taurus must provide Gemini with ample independence and breathing space — and try to learn Gemini's lesson, that versatility is sometimes better than a Fixed determination to do things one's own way.

What's the best aspect of the Taurus-Gemini relationship? The security the two can give each other once Taurus allows Gemini to offer that security freely. As long as both partners communicate with each other, theirs will be a stable and happy relationship.

Huh. High-maintenance, indeed. Well, as silly as this site was, it sort of helped him with setting up a more thorough psychological profile for Kaito… kind of. Conan wondered how much of any of this he could actually trust.

So, he could go back upstairs now, or… Hattori was a Leo, wasn't he? Shinichi had the feeling that they would be the worst pair in existence, if it ever worked that way.

Oh, how surprised he was. The first paragraph was already enough to convince him otherwise.

When Taurus and Leo come together in a love affair, they can be a great couple because they know how to stroke one another's egos and love to have their own stroked! They have similar needs: Taurus needs plenty of affection, to be loved and cherished, while Leo likes compliments and wants to be adored and admired. They're both extremely loyal and possessive lovers. Since they have such similar desires, they can generally provide for one another's needs quite well.

Ha, ha… Well, they wouldn't be such good friends if their signs didn't work well on whatever basis, he supposed.

These two Signs both love status and possessions. They prize physical comfort and luxury; Leo is often flamboyant about attentions and gift-giving, which will greatly please Taurus, who loves the most traditional forms of courtship. Though they can work together quite well, it's not all roses between these two; both Signs are very stubborn and must work hard to understand and accept one another.

Stubborn, they definitely were. Both of them.

Taurus is ruled by the Planet Venus (Love and Money) and Leo is ruled by the Sun (Self). The Sun radiates warmth and light; Leo indeed radiates this kind of energy and enthusiasm. Venus is about love, beauty and luxury. This combination of masculine and feminine energy helps these two Signs admire and sustain one another. As a matter of fact, Venus is never more than 48 degrees from the Sun, so they belong close together! - Wow, some of these descriptions were so bad. - The Sun represents life and Venus represents love; as long as they are careful to understand each other, their combination is a positive one.

Taurus is an Earth Sign and Leo is a Fire Sign. They are both ambitious but in quite different ways. Leo longs for fame and fortune, while Taurus strives for security and stability in life and love. Since both these Signs expect to be the boss, they may tend to battle for domination.

Domination, huh? How many times did Hattori strive to prove which one of them was the better detective again?

During arguments, Taurus abhors conceding a point, seeing it as acceptance of domination — unless they see that it's the practical course. Their battles can be fierce and epic, but as long as both of them can be reassured that the relationship is important to their partner, things will go more smoothly.

Taurus and Leo are both Fixed Signs. This means they're both stubborn; once they make up their minds about something, it takes a lot to get them to change it. That's why their arguments can get so intense — both of them truly believe they're right and that theirs is the only right way to look at an issue! They also both tend to shy away from—

"Conan-kun?"

—Holy crap! Shinichi almost fell down from the chair when Ran's sudden voice startled him beyond all reason. He wanted to kick the stupid laptop shut when she approached him, but ended up flailing, instead.

"R-Ran-neechan…" He tried to make his voice sound carefree and child-like, not freaked out as he was. "Y-You're not in bed… Did you have trouble falling sleep?"

"I was about to ask you that," she pointed out, somewhat weary. But the weariness turned into amusement when she took a look at the screen. "Were you reading about the signs?" Ran giggled, and Shinichi knew he was caught red-handed. "Would you like to see what ours say?"

Oh. Oh, crap… He forgot to come up with a birthday for 'Conan' in the meantime, despite reminding himself of it during the party. Quick. He needed to come up with something quick—

"Your birthday… is the same as Shinichi's, right?"

The boy blinked at her, trying not to… Huh? —Wait, what? "Ah, um… How did you…"

"I overheard you talking about it once," she smiled at him. "During that time when we went to see one of those fancy, treasure eggs, remember?"

All alarms went of in Shinichi's head, and he honestly wondered if he was not getting the signs right and she really didn't find that suspicious - because how could she not? … But wait, that was still before Kid saved his ass by appearing before her as 'Shinichi' at the agency.

If he started denying the date and try to explain that it was a mistake, wouldn't that just make the whole picture even more suspicious now?

Crap.

"Come here." Conan let out a startled sound as Ran lifted him up from the chair and took a seat herself, letting him down on his lap. Oh, man… She was serious about them reading about their signs together…

With a few clicks, a new article was spread before them.

"When Taurus and Libra come together in a love affair, it can be the unification of two halves of a whole. These two Signs are thought of as being karmically linked. They're both looking for security in a relationship and they share a love of art, poetry and culture. This relationship may start slowly as, on the surface, they might have few common interests. However, once they understand one another they may learn they have much more in common than was first apparent."

Shinichi was trying to focus on Ran's soft voice and on what she was actually reading out loud rather than on how hot his face felt and how fast his heart was currently beating. The girl practically hugging him like this and keeping him close to her chest while reading about love-related things definitely wasn't doing good things to his brain.

Sometimes, he honestly wondered. While he could understand that she might have been simply curious about 'Shinichi's' sign and hers while taking 'Conan' in for the ride, she was somewhat dubious in her actions, every now and then. It was times like these that made him wonder that, maybe, deep down, she actually knew the truth - just like she knew back at the time when he got shot - but was simply waiting for him to tell her on his own. … Again.

"They both love to woo and be wooed; courtship is a necessary part of any romantic relationship for them, and since they both have this need, they fit well together. Taurus appreciates Libra's charm; if stubborn Taurus doesn't get their way, diplomatic Libra is able to smooth things over and keep the peace. Libra appreciates the luxuries that sensual Taurus provides them. They also have much to teach one another: Libra can help Taurus see the different sides of a situation, and Taurus can help Libra overcome their notorious indecision."

Or maybe he was over-thinking it, and she was simply seeing him as the seven-year-old he was supposed to appear as, and there were no ulterior motives behind her actions or words. … He honestly couldn't tell right now.

Shinichi closed his eyes, trying to relax. There wasn't much he could do about it at the moment, he figured… He just hoped that the stupid site wouldn't make him blush himself to death and then make Ran question it once they were at the end of the page and ready to go back upstairs.

The first thing Kaito did, when he finally came back to his room, was hopelessly fall flat on the bed with a long, suffering sigh.

His mother overdid it. She overdid it by a long shot. He was so glad that this day was over, and he might have been a horrible, bad son, but he was also sort of glad that his mom was planning to return to Las Vegas tomorrow.

She should have warned him about her return, at least. Surprises were fun sometimes and all, but he whole situation couldn't have possibly ended up more embarrassing than it did. And that whole speech… He wasn't in kindergarten, Dear God.

He crooked his head to the side, taking a lazy look at his desk. There was still that SD card that he got from Shinichi, which needed some inspecting to do. He figured now was a good time as any.

Once Kaito got up and approached his desk, however, he's also found something else that wasn't there before. Another gift… with a note attached to it?

Don't drink it all at once.
P.S. If you haven't figured it out yet,
the Adderall bottle is stuffed with harmless candy.
You can eat it.
—S.H.

Hakuba, that nut. Oh, how proud he needed to be of having the same initials as Sherlock Holmes, Kaito could only imagine.

The extra gift from his classmate turned out to be a good brand of powdered chocolate. Well, he clearly knew the fastest way to his heart by now, Kaito thought to himself in silent amusement. Now he had something proper to drink in Shinichi's mug, while checking out that card of his. A quick trip to the kitchen was in order.

Kaito couldn't help but smile as the words on the mug changed from 'Do you believe in magic' to 'Now you do' as soon as he poured some hot milk into it. His new friends were honestly becoming too thoughtful of him, and he wasn't sure how to feel about that.

Well, he could be accepting and simply enjoy the ride.

Kuroba inserted the card into his laptop, and his whole being stilled when he discovered what was on it.

There were three, single images, but each of them could have been practically of gold value to him. Some scanned, old photos, showing Shinichi's mother, along with… Kaito's dad. Ones he's never seen before. The first two were similar, and the last one also had a third person with them - the actress, Sharon Vineyard. They were all smiling and seemed like they were having fun.

The magician noticed that his vision got a little blurry all of a sudden, and he couldn't help but chuckle, somewhat amused by the fact that Shin-chan managed to strike him 'right in the feels' with a gift he didn't expect to get.

Reaching for his mug and sipping on the hot chocolate - good stuff, indeed - he realized that there was also another, single note laying a little further away on the desk, too. This one was red, with some neat handwriting on it.

Tell the other Magician to fly over to my place whenever he feels like discussing the details of our deal.
He knows where I live, right?

It wasn't signed, but the message itself made it pretty obvious who it was from. Yeah, they were definitely one hell of a weird team. But he was too tired to worry about Akako's - likely messed up - ideas at the moment. She wasn't about to kidnap Hakuba, steal his virginity and make him a mindless slave or whatever, so the whole affair could probably wait another day or two.

Wait, they had school tomorrow…

With a sigh, Kaito stood up, took the pink, fluffy handcuffs that he got from Heiji and looped them together with the dream-catcher-thingy from Akako. As he hanged the contraption on the wall, next to his bed, he concluded that he was bound to have all kinds of sexy dreams now. No other options were valid!

With Aoko's fish pillow in hand - it was okay… as long as he didn't look at it, it was okay, he just needed to be careful - he was ready to call it a night. … Well, almost.

[You guys made it back home alright?]

[No dead bodies along the way. Can you
believe it?]

[Where is my Shin-chan and what have
you done to him?
I just got a whole speech about the birds
and the bees from my mother.
Both the guy/girl and guy/guy version.
She just wouldn't stop.
Kill me, please.]

[Wow. Phantom Lady educating the great
Kaitou Kid. The mental images.
Didn't the fact that there was a 7-year-old
in your bed worry her more?]

[Don't even get me started on that.]

[Just between you and me, though.
Your butt does make a rather comfy pillow.]

[I can't believe you just went there!
Do you remember anything from the
bathroom?]

[… The bathroom?]

[I'll take that as a no. Good for you.]

[What happened in the bathroom?]

[Keep your sanity and never ask again.]

[You're trying to pull my leg, aren't you.]

[Okay, hint. I said that if you were a girl,
I'd hold your hair for you, but alas,
I couldn't do much to help.
If you're not getting the reference, then
you're too young to be drinking, anyway.]

[… I was puking?]

[Like a cat.
P.S. No, okay, I'm just messing with you:)]

[SO, about those cards and that ass-kicking
of yours...]

[AH YES, and about that apartment
'investigations' of yours…
With a bruised behind, my stealth capability
will decrease by 20%!
Just saying… It's up to you, Shin-chan.]

[You're a horrible person.]

[Aren't we both?;)]

—t.b.c.

Nayru's Note: Yes, I was shamelessly copy-pasting parts of this chapter out of an astrology site. Sue me.

If you want the full versions, just go on astrology/com and see it for yourself. I figured the chapter would have been too long if I included the whole descriptions, and I have a feeling I added too much of those, anyway.

Again, thanks to Sin-Shira for the gift ideas that finally managed to get revealed more properly! :)