Here it is. The FINAL chapter of this series. After so long, this series is finally finished! I owe a HUGE thank you to Don't-touch-my-son's for reading through this for me and helping me make sure everything made sense!
Shinichi didn't know what to do. After he'd allowed Kaito and Aoko say goodbye to their fathers, there had been silence between them until Aoko had abruptly left. Kaito had waited a little longer before wobbling away with his cane. Shinichi had called his name, but the magician hadn't looked back at him. He simply kept walking as he nearly whispered, "I need some time alone."
It was only a few minutes later that his parents had come back to return him to the hospital. His mother had hugged him and told him she was proud of him. His father had simply squeezed his shoulder.
That had been almost two weeks ago. Saguru and Heiji had come to visit him the next day. Shinichi had reluctantly revealed his secret to them, both because he knew that keeping them out of it would only make things worse if Kaito told them, and because the two would be far away for the next month. Heiji was headed back to Osaka, while Saguru was headed back to London by request of both his parents.
At least this way Shinichi could pretend that they weren't visiting because of the distance. He resolutely ignored the part of his brain that pointed out they weren't calling or texting him either.
Shinichi couldn't forget the way they'd left even if he'd tried. Saguru had been pale and his voice had been shaking slightly as he'd said he needed to think things over. Heiji had remained jumpy and the blue eyed teen hadn't missed the way his eyes had continued moving around the room and kept his distance.
He'd been allowed to go back home yesterday and had spent his entire time home in the library, busying himself with reading every new book he could get his hand on. His parents were worried, but thankfully hadn't said anything about it. Shinichi wasn't sure he could handle it if they did.
This was exactly what he was afraid of. Once they found out the truth, they left. Just like everyone else. Feeling his eyes burn, the blue eyed teen closed the book he was reading and put his head in his hands. He'd hoped…after everything they'd done for him…after everything they'd been through…he'd hoped maybe they could get over this as well.
Feeling a hand on his shoulder, he looked up at his mother and asked softly, "They're…not coming back, are they?"
"Give them a little more time Shin-chan." Shinichi nodded, but he already knew that if they hadn't come back yet, chances were they wouldn't.
Heiji stared at the door. It had been two and half weeks since they'd had that bombshell dropped on them. Two and half weeks since he'd learned that something he'd believed to be a myth was real. Two and half weeks since he'd seen with his own eyes that ghosts were real.
He'd gone to every temple in Osaka, talked to every priest, and spent the rest of the time reflecting on this information. And after two and half weeks, he'd decided he needed to talk to Shinichi again. But now that he was here, he was having a hard time knocking.
"Damnit Heiji, what are ya scared of? All ya have ta do is knock." Squeezing his eyes shut, the Osakan slammed his palms to his cheeks before quickly knocking, not giving himself a chance to chicken out. Swallowing, he listened as footsteps came closer and had to force himself to remain where he was.
It was only when he was on the receiving end of Kudo Yuusaku's impassive face that Heiji wondered if this was a good idea. He didn't even get a chance to open his mouth before the elder Kudo moved aside and said, "Shinichi is in the library."
Stepping inside, Heiji took another deep breath and nodded. "Thank ya." Slowly removing his shoes, the dark skinned teen steeled his nerves and made his way towards the massive library.
The first thing he noticed when he entered was the massive pile of books that surrounded the armchair he'd come to know as Shinichi's space. The next were the crutches, and finally the little tuff of hair that was Shinichi's eternal cowlick. Making his way towards the couch that sat parallel to the armchair, the Osakan sat where he could observe his friend as Shinichi read.
He felt guilt well up at the sight. Shinichi had dark bags under his eyes, and he was thinner than when Heiji had last seen him. His skin seemed pasty, and if he looked closer he could see the redness and puffiness that were telltale signs he'd been crying. He should have come by earlier. Or at least texted him. Something. Damnit, he knew – they all knew – that Shinichi didn't take people leaving well. Yet they'd done just that. Left him with nothing for coming upon three weeks now. He probably thought they hated him.
And after he'd finally worked up the courage to let them know the last secret he'd been keeping.
What kind of friends were they?
Heiji tried to smile when Shinichi finally finished what he was reading and noticed him. "Hey."
Shinichi swallowed and the Osakan felt his stomach knot up at the way his friend's hands trembled as they gripped the book tightly. "H-Hi."
The silence stretched and became awkward as Shinichi kept his eyes on the ground and Heiji tried to think of what to say. "So…ghosts?" He felt like slapping himself when Shinichi flinched slightly and nodded. Rubbing the back of his head, the dark skinned teen continued. "Guess it makes sense. Da way ya hate us touchin' ya. Da reason ya knew 'bout dat guy dyin' at da party when we met ya. Da way ya knew dat guy wasn't dead when we got dere." He trailed off slightly and laced his fingers together before deciding to go ahead and lay everything on the table.
"After ya told us, I – honestly – I didn' know what ta think. After gettin' back ta Osaka, I talked ta some priests. I thought…I thought I could understand ya more by askin', but dey didn' tell me anythin' I didn' already know. I kinda…well, I never really believed in da supernatural, ya know? But…dere was always somethin' dat made me wonder. Like…sometimes it'd be like dere was…somethin' around dat I couldn' explain. Guess I was also tryin' ta figure out if dat meant anythin'."
Heiji took a breath and looked up at his friend. Shinichi was watching him, as though trying to figure out what he was saying. The Osakan swallowed nervously before bowing. "Sorry. I should a let ya explain. I shouldn' have run out like dat." Raising his head, he hoped the blue eyed teen could see how sorry he was. He held out his hand. "I'm willin' ta listen dis time."
He waited as Shinichi looked from his face to his hand before slowly and hesitantly reaching out to grip his hand. Heiji smiled and gripped it firmly. "Are…Are we still friends?"
The Osakan stood up and knelt down right in front of Shinichi, forcing the older male to look at him. "I never stopped bein' yer friend," He said seriously. "I can't promise I'll get everythin' right off da bat, but even if I don' understand everythin', I'm willin' ta try if ya let me."
Heiji grinned and ruffled Shinichi's hair as the older teen started crying as he finally smiled.
Saguru checked his phone once more before pushing open the Kudo manor's gate and making his way towards the door. He'd sent Shinichi a message a week ago – after he'd finally managed to escape his mother long enough to do so – and told him he'd be arriving in Japan and wanted to see him, however he still hadn't received a response.
He honestly hadn't had too much time to dwell on what he'd been told, between his mother's instance he be examined by her personal physician and then her desire to keep him on lockdown until she deemed him fit. She'd even taken his phone, computer, and assorted electronics hostage to ensure he stayed in the house and rested. All that resulted in was him combing through their extensive library for anything he could find relating to the supernatural. He wasn't very impressed by their lack of anything sustainable relating to the subject.
As much as the subject unnerved him now that he knew ghosts indeed existed, he was s detective and refused to draw any conclusions until he had all the facts. The quickest way to do so was to ask Shinichi directly. He'd be more help – and more reliable – than dusty old books that may or may not contain the information he sought.
Knocking three times, Saguru stepped back and waited. Checking his pocket watch once more, he snapped it shut and put it away when he heard the door open. He bowed slightly to Yukiko. "I apologize for taking so long to visit. May I please speak with Shinichi-kun?"
The elder woman nodded and stepped aside. "Shin-chan and Heiji-kun are in the library."
Saguru lifted an eyebrow. "Hattori-kun is here?" While he wasn't too surprised the Osakan visited, he was surprised the darker teen had beat him to the punch so to say.
"He's been here for a few days now." Yukiko smiled softly. "He was originally only planning on staying for a day or two, but once he saw Shin-chan he decided to stay longer. Thanks to that Shin-chan's actually eaten something and willingly gone to sleep." Saguru smiled slightly. If Heiji had one good quality, it was that he cared deeply about his friends and always made sure they were getting enough food and rest.
Slipping off his shoes, the blond nodded to the woman and made his way inside. Knocking on the doorframe, he waited until the two occupants turned in his direction before entering. "Kudo-kun, Hattori-kun."
"Aren't ya supposed ta be in London?" Heiji asked. Saguru didn't miss the way he put one hand on Shinichi's shoulder, or the way the blue eyed male kept his eyes directed at the ground.
"I sent Kudo-kun a message last week telling him I would be returning and that I wished to speak with him." Turning to Shinichi, he asked, "Did you not receive it?"
"I…haven't checked." Saguru supposed he couldn't blame him. He was probably terrified of their reactions to what he'd told them.
The blond nodded and made his way in front of Shinichi. "I must apologize to you Kudo-kun. Both for leaving so suddenly after you trusted us with your secret as well as not contacting you earlier. I had every intention of doing so, however my mother had confiscated my phone along with all other electronics almost as soon as I had landed. It is not a good excuse, I understand, however I hope you understand that it was not because of you or anything you said or did."
"You…you're not…mad?"
Saguru shook his head and took a seat on the couch facing Shinichi. "I am in no way upset with or at you. I apologize if it seemed that way to you." Threading his fingers together, the blond figured it was better to go ahead and get this out of the way. "I will admit I was shocked when you told us. I have never once believed ghosts to exist, and was unprepared to be proven otherwise." Shinichi's eyes returned to the ground. "I have no base knowledge on this subject and as such have no idea how I should react. I was hoping you could provide me with more information so I am able to better understand."
"Ya seem ta be takin' dis well," Heiji commented.
"While this has been a surprise, I have not found any way that my life has truly changed. It's not as through suddenly learning ghosts exist will change my way of living. Kudo-kun has already told us that we have no reason to fear them, and I see no reason to doubt him when he has more knowledge on this subject than I do."
Saguru sighed and looked down. "I will admit that I haven't had adequate time to process this, as I haven't had much time to myself, so I assume at least part of my acceptance is coming from that. However I have no intention of letting this ruin a good friendship." He smiled at Shinichi. "So while I can't say that I will ever fully understand this, or fully grasp the magnitude of this part of your life, I can promise you that I will never stop being your friend because of it."
Shinichi seemed to slump in relief, smiling happily and nodding in acceptance. "You don't have to tell me everything at once, or even right now, but when you feel up to it I would very much like to know more. Do you think that would be alright?"
Saguru held out his hand, hoping to convey that he was serious and didn't mind sharing in this part of Shinichi's life. He smiled when his friend took his hand. It was the second time he'd grasped it, and this time he took note of the calluses that were there, the smoothness that showed used lotion, and the paleness that was leftover from his continuous use of gloves over the years. He'd known Shinichi for a little over two years now, and he was still learning new things about his friend. Saguru figured he'd still be learning new things about the older teen years down the road.
Shinichi was happy that Heiji and Saguru hadn't left him. He was surprised that they were willing to try and understand what he saw, and relieved that they still considered him a friend.
But it had been over a month and Kaito still hadn't messaged him or stopped by.
As happy as he was that Heiji and Saguru were there, he still wished the magician would come back. Kaito was a large part in getting him to open up. It was always Kaito who initiated everything, or planned out all their trips and ways he'd get Shinichi to smile. It was always Kaito who was the first to accept what Shinichi told them.
Yet now he was nowhere to be seen. Shinichi knew he had taken the elder Kuroba's death hard, but it was getting hard to keep telling himself that Kaito wasn't talking to him for that reason as opposed to because he thought Shinichi was creepy or didn't want to be his friend.
Shinichi was beginning to wonder if he'd ever see Kaito again when Heiji and Saguru literally dragged the magician into his library. The blue eyed teen had never seen his friend so down. He wanted to ask if Kaito was alright, but bit his lip. What if Kaito said it was Shinichi's fault?
"Tell 'im what ya told us," Heiji said as the silence started to drag on, nudging Kaito's shoulder.
The magician winched and kept his eyes on the ground. "Aoko…blames tou-san for her fathers death." Shinichi could hear the raw pain in his voice. "She…she said it was his fault he was there. That…that because tou-san was KID…that she lost the last of her family. That it's because of tou-san that she's all alone."
"That's the reason he hasn't been in contact with us or come over yet," Saguru said, putting a hand on Shinichi's shoulder. "It's not because he's not your friend or hates you."
Kaito's head snapped up at that, a horrified look on his face. "I could never hate you Shin-chan." Tears appeared in the magician's eyes. "You let me say goodbye to tou-san. I will never be able to repay you for that." He shook his head. "I just…I wanted to be alone for a while. I didn't want to come over when I was still a mess, because I didn't want you or anyone to worry. I thought I'd make you feel worse by doing that."
"I…I thought…"
"Shinichi." Kaito got on his knees in front of the blue eyed teen and grasped his arms, forcing Shinichi to look at him, "You will always be my friend. I thought I made that clear. There is nothing you could do or say that would change that. It doesn't matter to me if you can see ghosts. It's honestly not that surprising, considering I know an actual witch."
"Koizumi-san. We've…met."
Kaito reeled back. "Y-You've met her?"
Shinichi shook his head. "It…It's a long s-story. Are…Are you alright though? With…everything?"
Kaito took a deep, shaky, breath and nodded slowly. "I'm…still coming to terms with the fact tou-san is…isn't coming back. It…It hurts that Aoko blames tou-san. I don't…I don't know if she'll ever forgive him. I might…I might have to live with the fact that she…won't be in my life anymore." Kaito wiped the tears from his eyes. "Aoko and her dad…they were like family. I didn't…I didn't just lose one family member. I lost three."
Shinichi bit his lip, not sure if he should tell the magician this or not. He hadn't told Heiji or Saguru either, unsure how they'd react. They'd all been accepting about the ghosts, but he wasn't sure if this would be pushing it or not.
"Shin-chan?"
Swallowing, Shinichi kept his eyes trained on the ground. "I'm…I'm sorry."
"Sorry about what? What's the matter?"
"I...I knew…someone was…going to die that night. I'm…I'm not as sad…as I should be…that it was…who it was."
Kaito's grip on his arms tightened. "What do you mean?"
"I…It wasn't…supposed to…be your dad." He couldn't look the magician in the eyes.
"Shinichi," Kaito's voice was shaking. "What are you talking about? Are you saying my father wasn't supposed to die that night?"
The blue eyed teen could feel the tears begin to fall as he shook his head. "It…It was supposed to be you. All of you." He squeezed his eyes shut. "I'd just…woken up. I couldn't…I tried…I thought…When I heard…I was happy…because it wasn't…it wasn't you. I'm sorry."
He could feel Kaito's hands shaking. For a long moment, nobody said anything or even moved. Finally, the magician let go and Shinichi thought he would leave again, but was surprised when instead he felt two arms wrap around him. Kaito's tears began soaking into Shinichi's shirt as he hugged the blue eyed teen. "You didn't kill him Shin-chan. If it wasn't for you, I might have lost him a long time ago. You said you tried. That's all that matters. You tried."
"I mean no offence to your father," Saguru said softly, "But if I were in your shoes I would have been happy it wasn't you as well."
Shinichi grasped Kaito's shirt and buried his face into the younger male's shoulder as he cried. "I'm sorry."
"Don't apologize," Kaito whispered. "You have nothing to be sorry for. Just…just promise me you won't ever keep anything from me. From us. No more secrets."
Shinichi nodded, not looking up. "No more secrets."
Okay, so I will admit that I'm not the fondest of Kaito's part. I feel it's kind of rushed and not well thought out, but I couldn't really think of a better way to write it. And I don't think I made it very clear, but Saguru actually came a few days after Heiji. Not the same day.
Thank you all very much for sticking with me through this and to all the people who have reviewed. I'm very grateful to you all and sincerely hope you enjoyed reading this as much as I enjoyed writing it. Thank you all, and happy Holidays to all who celebrate it.
I think the main reason I found the motivation/inspiration to finish this story was all the reviews I received throughout this series. There was so much support and so many good ideas and going back and reading them all helped me get over my Writers Block. So once again, I want to thank everyone who took the time to review on even one chapter of this series. I am eternally grateful to all of you, and only hope that you all found some semblance of joy reading this, even if it was only from one part, or one chapter.
Thank you very much, and Happy Holidays.
Until next time,
~Akirafanatic