Here's chapter 3.
Shinichi stared at the body on the bed. While it looked different with all the wires and tubes attached, he was sure it was his body.
And he wasn't inside it.
Hesitantly touching the body's chest, he watched his hand slide through it. Pulling it back out, he repeated the motion a few times to make sure he wasn't dreaming. Eyes blankly watching the body, Shinichi ran through a mental checklist.
His body was on the bed.
He was next to his body.
His hand went through his body.
Gaze flickering down for a moment, he stared at the space between the floor and the bottom of his feet. He was floating.
The nurse who'd been in there earlier hadn't been able to see him.
He was a ghost, which meant he was dead.
Hearing the whirling and beeping of the machines around him, he watched as the body's chest moved up and down slightly. His body was still alive, but he wasn't inside of it.
Before he could continue contemplating his situation, the door opened once more and his parents quietly walked in. Shinichi felt bad when he saw the tears in both their eyes. He wanted to let them know that this wasn't his fault. That he hadn't done this to himself. He didn't want to make them hurt anymore. He didn't want to make them worry again.
Neither of his parents said a word. His father put a hand on his body's knee while his mother smoothed down his hair and kissed his forehead. Watching her grasp his hand, he blinked and waved his hand in front of her face.
Even though she was touching his skin, she couldn't see him. Which meant that only happened when his soul was in his body.
"Kaa-san…tou-san…" Shinichi didn't understand. He'd thought he was being sent back to his body. Pausing, he stared down at his body. If this was how others felt when he twisted their words, he understood why they didn't like talking to him. He was sure whoever had sent him back was laughing at him right now.
"Shinichi," It was Yuusaku who surprisingly broke the silence, his voice no more than a soft whisper. "I'm sorry. We tried everything we could think of to help you, but in the end I think we just made it worse." The blue eyed teen felt his heart clench as he watched his father bow his head and tears fall. "Please, don't give up yet. You're so much stronger than even we realized. Please, come back to us. Give us one more chance to make things right."
"I'm trying tou-san," Shinichi answered, though he knew his father couldn't hear him. "I never wanted to leave. I know you and kaa-san were trying your best. This isn't your fault. I'll find a way back."
The family lapsed back into silence for a while, the only sound being that of the machines that were keeping Shinichi's body alive and breathing. The floating teen frowned and crossed his arms as he contemplated what to do.
He was pretty sure the being he'd talked to had told him he wouldn't die. He'd specifically been told that he'd been between life and death, which meant technically he wasn't dead. So logically, there had to be a way back to his body.
Now all he had to do was find it.
Looking up when the door opened again, Shinichi's heart sank at the sight of Kaito. The magician looked horrible. His natural bedhead was even worse than usual, and there were dark bags under his eyes. His friend lacked any of his usual cheer and quietly shuffled into the room, not even attempting a smile as he greeted Shinichi's parents.
He'd known his friends would be upset, but he never expected it to affect them this badly. Feeling guilt well up, he let his gaze fall to the floor. Kaito must have cared about him more than he originally thought.
Moving around the bed – which was weird because his feet weren't actually touching the ground so it was more like he was gliding forward rather than walking – he came to a stop next to the magician. Hesitating, he slowly reached out and put his hand on Kaito's, ignoring the way his went partly through the indigo eyed teen's.
Swallowing, he opened his mouth and closed it again. Taking a deep breath – which was more habit than necessity now that he was a ghost – he whispered, "I'm sorry."
He jerked back in surprise when Kaito's head snapped up and turned towards him, eyes wide. "S-Shin-chan?" His voice was a quiet, wavering, whisper that was slightly hoarse. The Kudo couple turned questioningly towards the magician, eyes scanning towards where Kaito was looking.
"Kaito?" Yukiko asked questioningly.
Shinichi moved to the side, shoulders drooping slightly when Kaito's eyes didn't follow. So they still couldn't see him. Yet somehow the magician had heard him. Raising a hand, the blue eyed teen looked from it to Kaito and back again. Was it because he'd spoken while in contact with his friend?
"I…" The indigo eyed teen shook his head and turned to the two, "I must be hallucinating. I thought…I thought I heard Shin-chan's voice just now."
Shinichi saw his father's eyes change as he scanned the room and smiled a bit. Leave it to the elder Kudo male to catch on and understand. If he could communicate by coming into contact with others, he could explain to his parents what was going on. With their resources, maybe they could find something that might help him.
"Maybe you should go home for today," Yukiko suggested gently. "You haven't been getting enough sleep lately." The magician hesitated, eyes roaming the room once more, before reluctantly nodding. His eyes lingered on the body in the bed for a few moments before he turned and left, giving the couple a silent goodbye.
It was quiet for a while before Yuusaku asked softly. "Shinichi?"
Going over to his parents, he reached out and put one hand through his father's hand and the other through his mother's. "I'm here tou-san."
The writer stiffed a little in surprise while the actress pulled both her hands to her mouth to quiet her startled sobs. "Shin-chan."
Putting his hand back through his mother's to make sure she heard him as well, Shinichi answered the question he knew they both wanted to ask. "I'm…pretty sure I'm not dead."
Yuusaku shook his head and asked, "What happened Shinichi?"
Hesitating slightly, he tried to explain. "I…don't really know. When I went downstairs, Kuroba had a black cloud forming around him." He'd explained a little about the black clouds to his parent's years ago before the incident. "Similar to the ones I saw around his father a few times." His father frowned while his mother gazed worriedly at the door.
"Is it still…" His mother trailed off, half standing as though she were going to stop him.
"It was gone today." Both relaxed slightly. "When I saw it, I thought I was still dreaming. I wanted to…make it disappear."
"That's why you were reaching out towards him," The writer summarized.
"Once I touched it…I blacked out. I thought I was dead, but…"
"But?" His mother gently prompted, wiping her eyes.
Frowning as he tried to maintain contact, he said, "I can only speak to you if I maintain contact with your hand. Please stop waving your arms around." The actress sniffed and rested one hand on top of her husbands while the other continued to wipe her tears away. Sighing, he wondered how he could explain what had happened. "I was on the edge of life and death…or, that's what I was told."
He shivered slightly as he remembered the feeling of that void and the voice reverberating inside him. "Oh Shin-chan…" His mother looked like she wanted nothing more than to pull him into a hug. His heart constricted painfully as he realized there was a chance he'd never get to hug her again. Swallowing, he pushed those feelings away and concentrated on getting as much information to his parents as he could.
"I don't…I don't know if what happened was normal. The…being…that spoke to me gave me the impression that I'd been brought there for a reason. It told me I'd been running from my destiny, or fate, and that it was time to face it." Taking a breath, he clenched his hands to keep them from shaking. "It told me why."
"Why what?" Yuusaku asked, leaning forward slightly.
Shinichi was quiet for a few moments before he answered softly. "Why I have these…abilities." He didn't want to call them powers, yet calling them a blessing, or gift didn't set well with him either. He would have said curse, but he didn't want to offend the being he'd talked to unless it changed its mind about letting him stay. He gave his parents a short explanation of what he'd been told, elaborating when they asked.
When he was finished, Yukiko smiled sadly. "Shin-chan, we knew you would turn out to be a wonderful detective ever since you were a baby." The blue eyed teen blinked in surprise. As though sensing it, the retired actress shook her head in amusement. "Yuu-kun had a bad habit of running from his editors and giving them clues as to where he was."
The writer grinned. "It gave them more excitement."
"It gave them heart attacks is what it did. When you were just a baby I took you around as we all looked for him, following the clues he gave." Smile turning fond, she said, "I don't know if it was coincidence or not, but you were the one who helped point me in the right direction and solve his riddle." She looked up and Shinichi moved so she was looking at him. "As you got older, your love and talent for solving mysteries only grew."
"I don't know if you were old enough to remember," Yuusaku cut in, "But I would leave riddles scattered around the house for you." He smiled as he remembered. "Yukiko made me promise to not make them too hard, but when you were five you marched up to me and put the riddles on my desk and demanded I take you seriously."
Yukiko let out a small laugh, and Shinichi smiled, glad to see his parents happy again. "You were so cute, glaring up at him with your arms folded over your chest."
The blue eyed teen was more than happy to listen quietly as the two recounted memories of him solving mysteries, pouring over mystery books and trying to solve them before the book ended, and driving the police up the wall as he pointed out both mistakes they were making or running around the crime scenes when he wasn't supposed to.
Their memories were interrupted by a knock on the door. Turning, Shinichi blinked in surprise at the young woman standing in the doorway. She had long, dark red hair and scarlet eyes. She was wearing a school uniform that the teen recognized as Edoka high's – the same school Kaito and Saguru went to.
"I apologize for the interruption," She said, gliding into the room and closing the door behind her. "My name is Koizumi Akako." Shinichi was startled when she looked right as where he was hovering. "Kudo Shinichi, I presume?" She smiled, though the blue eyed teen wasn't comforted by it in the least. "I've been sent to help you control your powers."
Just so you all know, I was 100% ready to kill Shinichi and end it there. But then of fucking course the story does a big fuck you to my ideas and goes in a completely different direction. So I guess you're stuck with me for a while longer. And remember how I skipped over Akako before? Yeah, she didn't like that and forced her way into this story. Don't forget to let me know what you thought! (Seriously, it's the reviews I get that not only keep me motivated to write this, but also give me some ideas as to where to go. I literally go back and re-read all your reviews when I get stuck or start to lose motivation.)