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 7

They received Shiho's answer early the following morning in the form of a gift basket delivered straight to their hotel room. Kaito thanked the deliveryman then carried the rather large, ribbon-bedecked basket to the table in their room. Shinichi, who was still wrapped up in a cocoon of blankets, murmured something incoherent.

"You should really come look at this," the magician said. "I mean, whoa, the girl knows how to send a gift."

There was a sleepy mumble from under the mound of blankets on the bed, but otherwise no one stirred. Kaito quirked an eyebrow at the lack of a response. Rounding the table, he leaned over the bed and began peeling away the blankets. The action elicited an incoherent murmur of protest as Shinichi tried to burrow back under the warm, fluffy blankets and pillows only to be thwarted.

Pouting, he opened his eyes to blink grumpily up at the man leaning over him. This didn't have the desired effect as Kaito only chuckled.

Catching Shinichi's chin with one hand, Kaito leaned down and pressed their lips together in a soft, lingering kiss, slipping his tongue past his beloved's petal soft lips to explore the sweet cavern beyond. Tongues met and danced. He could all but feel Shinichi melting under him as the younger boy's eyes fluttered shut, and he let out a sound that Kaito could only describe as a contented purr.

It was with great reluctance that Kaito pulled away again. "It's time to get up, Love. We have work to do. You wouldn't want to leave our young lady friend in suspense, would you? For all we know, we're supposed to be meeting her for breakfast."

Shinichi sighed but allowed his boss to pull him into a sitting position.

"Looks like a lot of fruits to me," he observed, covering a yawn. "I think that's pretty normal for gift baskets."

"You say that because you can't see the chocolates and cookies under the fruit," Kaito countered, returning to the basket. "And every item has its own little card. I'm assuming they're some kind of code since there's no other message."

Shinichi, who had begun nodding off again, perked up visibly at the mention of a code (something Kaito noted with great amusement. His beloved did love his puzzles). If there was one thing Shinichi couldn't say no to, it was a good puzzle.

Wrapping one of the blankets around himself to preserve his modesty, Shinichi scooted to the edge of the bed so that he could get a better look at the items Kaito was removing from the gift basket and laying out across the table. As the magician had said, each item in the basket had its own little card explaining said item's significance for a couple expecting their first child. Shinichi blushed at that and shifted where he sat. Come to think of it, they'd never told Shiho that he wasn't actually Kaito's wife—that he wasn't really a girl at all. He wasn't sure whether that made the whole situation more or less embarrassing. After all, she was going to find out sooner or later if they succeeded in taking her away with them. But he supposed they would have to cross that bridge when they came to it. There really was nothing he could do about it now.

So Shinichi turned his attention fully to the little info cards. At a glance, there was nothing remarkable or remotely message-like about them, but he noted upon second glance that every card had one, two or three little pink star on it. Some decorated corners while others adorned letters. His first thought was that they were indicating different words or letters, but that didn't seem to yield anything that made sense. Grouping the cards by number of stars didn't result in anything meaningful either.

"It could be something hidden in the meaning of each item," Kaito mused. "Or perhaps something to do with where in the city each product came from."

As Kaito set about checking the origin place of each product and checking it against what they knew of the city's layout to see if they might indicate a specific area or form some kind of pattern, Shinichi picked up the now empty basket with its ornate ribbons. The basket itself was a nicely woven but unremarkable piece. The ribbons, on the other hand, were all sprinkled with stars. Intrigued, he untied the ribbons, noting that there was one pink, one white, and one red ribbon. The pink ribbon matched the pink of the stars on the cards. Furthermore, the width of the ribbons also matched the width of the small, square cards.

"Kai, I think I have it!" he exclaimed, excited. "The stars match up!"

Kaito moved to sit on the bed beside him, and Shinichi held up the pink ribbon and the card that had come with the chocolate-covered cherries. The card had a little pink star in its upper left corner and another slightly above the lower right corner. When Shinichi held it up next to the end of the ribbon, Kaito could see that there were two stars there as well spaced and positioned exactly so that, if overlaid, the stars on the card and the ribbon would overlap perfectly.

He whistled and turned to brush his lips across Shinichi's cheek. "Good eye there. Let's see if they all correspond."

Together, they stretched the pink ribbon across the table then started comparing the remaining cards to the stars scattered along its length. There was indeed a stretch of ribbon for every card in the basket. Once they had finished, reading the first letter on each card gave them the name "Ebon Dusk".

"The name does ring a bell," Kaito mused, frowning.

"It does?" Shinichi asked, startled. He was pretty sure he hadn't heard the name before himself.

"I'm sure I saw a shop with that name while we were out our first day here."

"Okay." Shinichi knew better than to doubt his magician's memory. But though they had a place, they still needed a time. Although he supposed it was possible that the girl would just know when they showed up. He mulled that possibility over as he picked up the white ribbon. This ribbon also had a sprinkling of stars, but the pattern was much more repetitive.

On a whim, Shinichi shuffled through the cards again, comparing them to the star pattern on the white ribbon. He found three that matched.

"It says 'One' over and over again," he announced, pleased. "That must be the time."

"So one o'clock, presumably in the afternoon, at Ebon Dusk." Kaito grinned. "Well, I'm sure we can manage that. And that gives us all morning free."

"Shouldn't we go make sure we know where this Ebon Dusk place is?" asked Shinichi. "It might be good to find out what kind of establishment it is too."

But Kaito waved away his concerns. "I remembered where I saw it. It was one of the shops near where you bought that book of music. It was one of those little places where you can listen to live music while you enjoy a snack and something to drink. Pretty relaxed place, if I recall. Probably not much in the way of real food though, so we should grab lunch beforehand."

-0-

The Ebon Dusk music and dessert parlor was a surprisingly homey kind of place filled with a variety of large and small sofas and armchairs, poufs, thick carpets, and small coffee tables. The majority of their space was devoted to the circular stage in the middle of the room upon which a piano stood gleaming black and white beneath its own private spotlight. A man was seated there already when Kaito and Shinichi arrived, and the notes pouring out from beneath his fingers were enough to take Shinichi's breath away.

Enraptured by the music, Shinichi barely paid any attention as Kaito ushered him through the couches and cushions until they found an open loveseat near one corner of the room where a small, magical flame danced in a stone bowl as a sort of makeshift fireplace. Kaito ordered them two milkshakes from the menu and settled down to survey their fellow patrons.

The parlor was popular, it seemed, with all sorts, but mostly couples, many of whom had young children or even pets with them. The family friendly atmosphere made it so that he thought nothing of it when a dark-haired girl trotted over to perch on the end of the couch he was sharing with Shinichi.

It wasn't until the current song ended and the pianist stood to take a bow that the little girl looked up at him, and Kaito realized that this was Shiho. She had either dyed or spelled her hair black, making her look like someone else entirely.

"I will need to know what it is you wish to find," she said without preamble under the cover of the applause.

Kaito smiled. "I figured as much. I am looking for two things. The first is any information this place might have on a magical gemstone called Pandora. The second is information on any and all mages who might have been interested in this gem."

"Pandora," the girl murmured in surprise. "I have not heard that name in a long time."

Kaito felt a surge of excitement, and it was only with a great effort of will and a stern reminder to himself that his emotions were being monitored that he wrestled the emotion back under control. Fortunately, a new group of musicians had taken the stage and struck up a more energetic number. Though really, how long ago could "a long time" be for a girl so young? The way Shiho spoke, it sounded like she was an adult and not a child yet to reach the double digits.

"So you have heard of it."

"Yes, though I have always been told that it was mere legend. Very few mages here believe in its existence."

"Then there are some who believe though," Shinichi murmured, gaze fixed on the musicians.

"I believe there were," the girl said slowly, looking thoughtful. "That should not be difficult information for me to find for you."

"And the gem?" Kaito asked.

"Have you had your interview with the Order yet?"

"It's tomorrow," Shinichi replied. Ethan had caught them just before they'd left the hotel to tell them that they would be bringing their selection of gemstones to the Order right after breakfast the following morning.

Shiho's lips quirked into a small, wry smile. "Then it seems we are all in luck. All trade interviews are held in the Order headquarters."

Kaito raised an eyebrow at that. "How is that fortunate?"

"It is fortunate because that is also where the Order's archives are located. And I know the guards who will be on duty there tomorrow. If you do as I say, you will be able to look through those archives for yourselves."

She went on to detail how exactly it was they—or rather Shinichi, as the person had to be a non-mage—would be able to gain access to the archives. They paused in their conversation only to wave over a passing waiter and order a round of ice creams. It was a remarkably simple plan, but that was good, Shinichi decided, because simple plans were generally more likely to succeed.

Before they parted ways, however, Shiho slipped a small envelope to Kaito.

"For my request," was all she said about it before she hopped off the sofa and disappeared in amongst the other parlor patrons.

Though they were both incredibly curious as to what might lie inside the unmarked envelope, they knew better than to examine its contents now. So Kaito slipped into an inside pocket of his coat and ordered a round of coffees to wash down the ice creams with. The musicians changed again. Next to take the stage was a young woman with a lap harp. The silvery notes of her instrument filled the parlor, wrapping its patrons in a tranquil haze of pure, sweet song.

Smiling, Kaito scooted closer to Shinichi and slid an arm around the librarian's slim waist. He was gratified when Shinichi leaned into his embrace, letting his head rest on Kaito's shoulder. They stayed like that, simply enjoying each other's company, until the last notes of the harp faded into silence and the entire parlor burst into wild applause.

"Shall we go then?" asked Kaito.

Shinichi's breath left him in a quiet sigh, but he nodded. "All right. I guess we should do some planning so that I know what to look for tomorrow."

Kaito laughed softly. "We will, don't worry. But first, I heard one of the cherry orchards is open today. We can plan after we go pick some."

-0-

"They really are unique fruits," Shinichi marveled as h gazed at their basket of plump, lustrously dark purple cherries. Not only were they rich in flavor but they were beautiful too. "We should probably eat them quickly though. It would be a waste for them to go bad."

"True. I'm going to try preserving a few though," said Kaito. "I want to see if there's any way to make them grow back home."

"I would have thought someone would have tried that already."

"They probably have, but I doubt everyone who tried had as many spells at their disposal as I do."

That was probably true too, Shinichi mused. Being the Clover Castle librarian, he was fully aware of just how extensive the Kurobas' collection of spell books was. There were dozens of books in that collection that dealt with plants from all across multiple lands. If there was a way to make Ebon cherries grow outside of their homeland, they'd find it.

"So what did Miss Shiho give you?" he asked.

"Let's see…" Kaito slid the contents of the envelope out onto the table. "There appears to be a map, a schedule, and…huh, if I had to guess, these are spells."

He held up a pair of thin, silver rings that would have resembled simple bracelets if not for the shimmer in the air they each encircled. It was as though there was some kind of film within each ring.

Kaito looked over the sparse notes Shiho had provided then held one of the rings up to the light for a closer look. Eventually, he shook his head, though it was in amazement rather than bafflement.

"That is some truly incredible work," he said. "I've never seen anything like it."

"Well?" Shinichi asked impatiently. "What is it?"

"It's a way around our surveillance problem. From what I can tell, they're like recordings of the same kind of information our tokens track, only these recordings can be applied as a mask to our tokens so that they become what our watchers receive from us. Each of these is one night's worth of information on someone—presumably someone who isn't currently being watched. It's too bad she only gave us two, but I guess we'll only need them for completing our end of the bargain if she's able to find us all the information she promised."

"That's probably for the best," Shinichi noted. "We're more likely to be able to actually find something this way. I'm a little worried about how we're going to sneak her out of the city though. And what are we supposed to tell Ethan?"

Kaito frowned, spinning the silver spell ring through his fingers. "Well, her little schedule here asks us to act on the fifth night after our interview, so we have a few days to think about it. But, if all else fails, I should be able to transport us a good distance away with magic as long as we can get outside the city's magical barriers. The problem with that is that spells like that leave traces that can be tracked for several days after they're used."

"And I'd say getting out of the city's the hardest part," Shinichi said dryly.

The magician shrugged. "Well, Miss Shiho's pretty small. We could always hide her in our luggage."

"…Wouldn't it make more sense to turn her into a small animal?"

"Maybe, maybe not. It depends on how powerful her magic is. The more innate magic someone has, the harder it is to use magic to change them into something else. Judging from these spell rings, she's definitely an accomplished mage."

"Oh. Well… I guess the luggage idea would work for the short term to get out of the city if we time it right, but it's not practical for the long term."

"I agree with you there. But like I said, we have some time to think about it."

-To be Continued-