Disclaimer: I do not own Detective Conan/Case Closed.

Pairing: KaitoxShinichi

Chapter Rating: T

Collection Summary: No matter where or what they are, their lives are always entwined. KaiShin stories in fantasy settings.

Chapter Summary: A promising lead in the investigation of Toichi's murder takes Kaito and Shinichi to the home of the secretive Ebon Mages.

Chasing Shadows

[Castle Verse]

Part 6

"It's you," Shinichi gasped in surprise.

The girl looked at him quizzically. "Were you expecting someone else?"

Shinichi opened his mouth then shut it again. This girl, he reflected, was one strange child.

"I assume this means that you wished for us to meet you here," Kaito said, kneeling down to be at eye level with the child both to put her at ease and to allow himself the opportunity to study her more closely. "So tell me, what do you want from us?"

Rather than answering, the girl moved to stand before the praying statue and tilted her head back to gaze up at its glimmering blue splendor.

"This," she said, voice soft and reverent that belied her earlier brusqueness. "Is the Lady. She is the founder of our Order of mages, the mother of all the people who came to live within the walls of her city. She was the last true priestess from the time when men still turned to the gods for help, and the gods still saw fit to share their wisdom and their powers with those they deemed worthy. I am sure you feel the power here. It is an ancient magic none have been able to recreate that cleanses all who enter this chamber of any malicious magic placed upon their persons. Merely walking into this chamber will rid you of any curse you are afflicted with.

"They say the Lady came here during a time when mages were being persecuted. She established this city to protect mages who were driven from their homes and to teach young mages how to use their powers wisely and well. She sought to create a quiet paradise where she and those like her would be able to live in peace.

"The winters up in these mountains are harsh though, and the terrain was always rugged. It was unsuited to growing crops. So the Lady prayed, and the gods gave unto her the gift of the Ebon Cherry, a fruit that will thrive here in Ebon as long as the Lady's blessing remains. That is why this shrine, for all its great magic, is open even to outsiders such as yourselves. It is because the Lady ordained that all must be given access to her blessing if Ebon itself wishes to remain blessed."

"That's some very impressive magic," Kaito murmured.

The little girl inclined her head. "Indeed it is. But that holy power is not all that the Lady is known for."

She ran a small hand along the edge of the statue's pedestal then turned again to face them, face grim. "You see, the Lady lived for a hundred and twenty years, and all the legends say that she never aged. She remained a young woman in her twenties for almost a century. And when she finally passed away, they say, it was a choice she made for she felt that she had fulfilled her duties in this life and wished to move on. The first people of Ebon—her original followers—saw her long life and lasting youth as a sign of her holy status and sought only to live as she had taught them, trusting in the gods to give them the peace they sought. But as the stories about her spread, others came claiming to be interested in her teachings when what they truly wanted was her power. Soon, what once was a place where people came to seek peace and learning became tainted by greed and the lust for powers beyond that which humans are meant to have."

"Why are you telling us this?" Shinichi asked quietly.

"You asked me what I wanted from you. The truth is, if you are who I believe you are, then you need my help just as much as I need yours," the girl replied, looking from him to Kaito. "So you see, I am here to bargain. Provided, of course, that you are truly the mage of Clover Castle."

Kaito and Shinichi traded glances. Neither of them was quite sure what to make of this strange little girl who spoke and acted like someone at least twice her age. She seemed to be quite knowledgeable, and she was a local. So if they could trust her then she would be an invaluable resource. But it was also possible that she was acting on someone else's behalf to draw them into a trap—trick them into revealing that they were not who they claimed to be.

"Miss, I am afraid you put us in a difficult position," Kaito said at last. "You appear to know a great deal, but we know very little."

The girl's lips quirked into a wry smile. "You do not know if you can trust me." She sounded amused rather than offended. "I understand. Perhaps this will help you make your decision."

Sitting down, she pulled off her left boot and sock then held her foot out for them to see. There, apparently tattooed in dark blue ink in a circle around her ankle, was a series of magical runes. Kaito knelt to study the runes for a long moment then sat back on his heels, face unreadable.

"You are a prisoner here," he stated more than asked.

The child's eyes were solemn pools aglow in the shrine's soft light. "I am. I have come to the shrine many times hoping the Lady's blessing would free me, but, as this spell causes me no harm—merely keeping me in the city, her blessing has no affect on it." The girl put her sock and boot back on and stood, face grim. "And as I am sure you could tell, this imprisonment spell cannot be removed by anyone except the mage who placed it."

"Which is why you need my help," Kaito concluded.

"So you admit that you are a Kuroba."

Kaito offered the girl a lopsided grin. "Kuroba Kaito, at your service."

"Can you prove to me that that is who you are?"

"If you insist," Kaito said with a shrug. "Sit."

The girl sat down on the floor. A look of surprise crossed her face before it disappeared behind her calm façade again, and she stood up. "Very well then. I assume you are here to find something? Magicians not from the Order never come here unless they're looking for something. So here is what I propose. If you help me break this spell keeping me in Ebon and take me down out of the mountains with you when you leave, I will help you find whatever it is you came to find."

-0-

"So what do you think?" Kaito asked Shinichi later as they finished their self-guided tour of the Crest. They had parted from the little girl, Shiho, when their fifteen minutes at the shrine was up with a promise to give her their answer later that evening (she had provided them with instructions on how to pass her their decision).

"I think we can trust her," Shinichi said after a long moment's thought.

"We still don't know who she is though."

"No," he agreed. "But it's a fact that she's a prisoner here."

"A criminal, perhaps?"

"Who is allowed to wander the city? Besides, it wouldn't make any sense to use magic to keep a criminal in your city. It'd make more sense to use magic to keep them out."

"True. I must say though, there's something rather creepy about that girl."

"I'm not saying that she's not hiding things from us," Shinichi said quietly. "But I don't believe that she means us any harm. In fact, I have the feeling that she will want to tell us her story one day. Once she knows yours."

Kaito smirked. "Women's intuition?"

Shinichi scowled at him. "Don't be stupid. Call it a librarian's intuition about the flow of stories."

"My, my, starting to sound a little mystical there, Love. This place getting to you?"

"Maybe," Shinichi admitted with a sigh. "It's just, well, they have an amazing thing here that should remind people of all the good that there can be. But it's like it's almost inevitable that such places be surrounded by people who don't care about the beauty of it, only how they can use it or benefit from it. They strip away the truth of its beauty and turn it into a mere tool for a self serving populace. I just don't understand. It's such a waste."

Kaito sighed. "True, but most people are more inclined to envy than appreciation. It is unfortunate, but there it is. Just try to remember that there are people out there who do appreciate too."

Having agreed that they would be taking Shiho up on her offer, they left the garden to meet up with Ethan for dinner. Afterward, they followed Shiho's directions to a plaza surrounded by glowing fountains and centered on an enormous tree. The place was filled with young couples, so the two of them fit right in.

There were tables set up near the base of the great tree where couples went to purchase brightly colored ribbons stitched with letters and signs representing different prayers and blessings. Different tables catered to different types of couples ranging all the way from newly acquainted to happily married.

Shiho had instructed them to go to the newly weds' table and get one blue ribbon and one white ribbon. The blue ribbons all had the same sign stitched on them, but the white ribbons were plain. All the couples who took a white ribbon wrote something on them. Shiho had told them what to write on theirs.

Ai.

She hadn't explained what it was supposed to mean. It might mean nothing though, considering it was simply their signal to her that they had accepted her offer.

"Hoping for a girl, are we?" the woman who took their ribbons to tie it to the tree asked with a kindly smile. She misinterpreted Shinichi's blank look of incomprehension. "Oh, I just assumed it was a girl's name. I'm sorry if I was mistaken."

Shinichi and Kaito both realized exactly what the white ribbon must mean at the same time. Shinichi blushed crimson. Even Kaito felt a momentary embarrassment, faced as he was by the kind woman's earnest well wishes. But he rallied quickly and smiled at the woman.

"Either would be fine, really."

"Of course." She gave his hand a motherly pat then waved the ribbons. "That is what the safe delivery is for. Just let me get these on the blessing tree for you." With that, she turned and bustled off to one of the limber youths in charge of actually trying the ribbons on the branches. Said youth scampered up the trunk and into the branches with the speed and agility of a squirrel.

"Did she just say…" Shinichi started.

"She did," Kaito confirmed.

There was along and ever so slightly awkward silence which the magician eventually broke with a cough (that sounded ever so slightly amused).

"I suppose it's a sensible choice of signs. After all, she wants to be safely delivered out of her current circumstances."

"How will she know we've given our answer?" Shinichi asked, relieved for the change of topic.

"I'm guessing she's got a scanning spell prepared beforehand and tailored to search for the exact combination of ribbons and writing she told us to use. It's clear she's had magical training. Quite a lot of it too, if I'm not mistaken."

"She's rather young though, isn't she?"

"Well," Kaito said slowly, looking thoughtful. "Ordinarily, yes. But people with particularly strong magical gifts have to begin training young if they aren't going to be a danger to themselves and everyone around them. Dad started me on my lessons when I was three. Although he made everything into a game, so I didn't realize what he'd done until a lot later." A warm smile tugged at his lips at the memories. That smile though was tinged with the sadness of loss.

Shinichi reached out instinctively to grasp his hand, trying to offer what comfort he could. He had very little recollection of his own parents, but he knew how close Kaito had been to his father. He cast around for a potential distraction.

"Look over there," he said, catching sight of a growing crowd on the other side of the plaza. "It looks like they're setting up for some kind of game. Do you want to go watch?"

Kaito followed his gaze and smiled, knowing that Shinichi was trying to help him get his mind off of the past and those things they couldn't change. "Forget watching. Let's join them. If those are the prizes on the table over there, it'll certainly be worth it."

-To be Continued-