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

Pairing: KaitoxShinichi

Chapter Rating: Mildly M-ish for extremely brief implications of sex

Collection Summary: In an infinite number of universes, they still always manage to find each other. A KaiShin supernatural and sci-fi collection. (This is the supernatural/science fiction counterpart to the Different Suns fantasy AU collection)

Chapter Summary: For agents Kaito and Shinichi of the Milky Way Agency of superpowered individuals, ghost ships and cursed treasure are nothing new. Or are they?


Heroes and Villains: Blue Moon Island

[Superpower Verse]

Part 7

It really was a shame, Kaito thought, that asking just how exactly the museum's security had been overhauled would probably be a bad idea. Besides, such tactlessness really wasn't his style.

The problem was that, in order to check whether any of the gems in that startlingly large selection was a shard of Pandora in disguise, he would have to be able to lay his hands on them. And somehow he didn't think that touching the treasures was going to be part of any of the museum's visitors packages.

Just a cursory look, however, told him that the glass around the display was extremely thick, and he would bet there were pressure sensors under the artifacts that would alert security should the weight upon them change. He could also count half a dozen cameras without even trying. Of course, none of these things was much of a challenge for the former Kaitou KID. If there had only been one object to check, he might even have been able to sidle up to the case,, shield his hands from the cameras by positioning his body just so, reconfigure the glass with his powers, and just reach in to tap the jewel then put everything back again with no one the wiser.

The real obstacle here came two fold. The first was the sheer number of gems, any one of which could potentially be Pandora (just as none of them may be as well). The second was the people. This chamber was, after all, the museum's main event room. Its event schedule was posted on the door, and one look at it told Kaito that there was precious little time throughout the day that the room would not be in use.

If it wasn't being shown to tour groups, it was the venue for a daily storytelling hour for kids. There were also several hours booked at different times on different days for different artist groups and classes to come in and draw or study the pieces. They even had a bakery staff team that had asked for and apparently received a slot of time to come in and check just how like the treasures their latest baked goods appeared. They were trying to bake tasty, edible pirate treasure for the island's Festival of Arts which would be held the day after tomorrow.

Considering it packed schedule, the only time during which the room was not being used for one event or another was the times when the staff would be cleaning it and the security would be checking the systems over. There was literally going to be no down time in that room until well after the festival was over.'

"I could always, you know, send a note," Kaito suggested as he and Shinichi looked over the insanely packed schedule on the room door. "You know, make it official."

"No," Shinichi said firmly. "What would Satou-san say?"

"She'd fly in to watch."

Okay, that might actually be true, Shinichi had to admit to himself. And Satou probably wouldn't even be the only one. KID still had plenty of fans despite being mostly retired (granted, everyone at Milky Way knew that he hadn't so much retired as moved his shows onto the daylight stage and his other…activities into more official channels, but everyone else in the world didn't know that and still often speculated about his current whereabouts as they eagerly anticipated his next appearance. There had been a few, thanks to a handful of Kaitou KID impersonators. After all, the real KID was not going to let an imposter tarnish his name, so he made it a point of dealing with imposters personally, usually to the great discomfort of said imposters, all of whom ended up deeply regretting even thinking of using the KID name).

"That's not the point," the detective insisted. "We don't want to make this more complicated than it has to be. It's not like the shard, if there is one, has been doing anything."

"Uh, hello, ghost ship. Remember?"

"Other than that, I mean. So it's been harmless so far. We just need to take our time and make sure we have the right pieces. If we're sure then we can have a sit down with the Museum's management team. I'm sure they wouldn't want a Pandora shard in their collection either if they knew the kind of trouble it could cause."

"Not if they're sane," Kaito said dryly. "Which they may not be."

"We can cross that bridge if we come to it," Shinichi replied.

The tour ended, predictably, at the gift shop. As they had somewhat come to expect, the place was stocked with ghost-ship themed paraphernalia. There was also an entire stand dedicated to the book of island legends that they had picked up back at Hidden Treasures.

Kaito shook his head at the sight of that dramatic, ghostly cover. "I have to say, all this hype is really getting me curious. I totally need to see this thing for myself."

"Well, that is the plan," said Shinichi. "Is there anything you wanted to prepare before the ghost ship tour?"

Seeing as the aforementioned hiking tour would be going well into the night, the two Milky Way agents opted to head back to the Blue Moon Rose for a brief nap. They would head to The Landing later that evening and have dinner at the restaurant there before joining their tour.

Kaito had gone downstairs to get them some water bottles for the hike, and Shinichi was sorting through their clothes for ones suitable for night hiking when something white fluttered to the floor. Puzzled, he set aside the light jacket he'd just shaken out (one of Kaito's) and bent over to pick it up. It was a small slip of paper.

It was a fortune cookie paper, he realized. More specifically, it was Kaito's fortune cookie paper.

Curiosity igniting, Shinichi unfolded the paper and read it.

Slowly, a flush crept up the detective's neck and into his face.

He nearly jumped out of his skin when arms slid around his waist from behind.

"I see you found my fortune," an all too familiar voice remarked with a chuckle. "I'd say it was more than accurate." Kaito's voice dropped into a low, dark purr that made Shinichi shudder and his heart skip a beat. "We certainly had a very passionate night. Not to mention morning. Wouldn't you agree?"

Heat flared in Shinichi's cheeks. He could remember all too vividly the feel of a hot mouth on his and calloused hands gripping his hips, keeping him in place as Kaito moved inside him—

Shinichi hastily shoved the memories into the back of his mind as he wiggled out of Kaito's grasp.

"W—we should go," he squeaked, still blushing. With that, he fled from the room, leaving an extremely amused Kaito to gather up their equipment and follow.

-0-

The Landing turned out to be a plateau partway up a different portion of the mountain from the museum. It was host to a large restaurant of the same name that boasted breathtaking views through its many large windows as well as from its sprawling patio. Inside, the place had a small stage and a constant rotation of live performances by local artists.

Kaito and Shinichi spent a pleasant evening watching the performances as they had a simple dinner of fish and chips and salad accompanied by tall glasses of brightly colored fruit juices.

The last show—a pair of dancers wielding long, fire lit torches—had just wound down when a man in a leather jacket and hiking boots stepped up onto the stage and announced that everyone who was going on that night's ghost ship tour should get ready and meet outside the front door in ten minutes.

When the agents got to the meeting, they saw that more than half the group was comprised of young couples, all of whom looked strangely excited at the idea of seeing real ghosts. There was also an older woman with a notebook who, it turned out, was there to collect information for a book on repetitive paranormal phenomena. There was also a man who loudly declared that there was no such thing as ghosts, and he would prove that the ship was just a hoax. No one paid him any attention.

Their guide checked all their names off of the list on his phone then outlined the route that they would be taking.

"If any of you get lost, just stay put and light this signal lantern that I'm about to hand you. We'll see the light and come pick you up. Really though, the trail is a pretty easy one to follow, so I don't anticipate anyone actually getting lost. It's more important to keep away from the outer edges of the trail. The cliffs beyond can be quite steep, and we really don't want you falling off."

He went over a couple other safety measures and guidelines before pronouncing that it was time to go.

Shinichi felt a certain level of trepidation as they set off along the trail. It wasn't exactly the darkness or terrain that bothered him though so much as the opportunities those things afforded anyone with ill intentions. He had always had an unfortunate affinity for being in the vicinity when crimes in general and murders in particular were being plotted and executed, and a mountain hike after nightfall was, he feared, a perfect stage for such things. Add to that the plethora of weird things that seemed to be going on around the island and he couldn't help but feel on edge.

Contrary to his fears, however, the hike proceeded smoothly.

Despite the sheer cliff ledges that their guide had warned them about, the trail was not a terribly difficult one. It was decently wide and contained only a handful of steeper stretches, and the footing for the entire length of it was solid. This made it easy to enjoy the crisp, clear night air and star-spangled night sky.

They stopped twice to rest before they reached the highest point of the trail. The first stop gave them a spectacular view of the island's main settlement. It was a spread of shining windows and lanterns like jewels scattered over the landscape. The second stop afforded them an equally breathtaking view of the open sea, which lay almost eerily still tonight. Its dark waters seemed to glimmer ever so faintly with reflected light from the moon and stars. The barest whisper of sluggish waves caused those flecks of iridescence to dance, hinting at secrets hidden in the fathomless depths beneath.

It was no surprise that they spent nearly twenty minutes at both stops so that everyone could take their fill of pictures.

"When I get home, I'm going to paint these," one of the female hikers told the guide when he peered over her shoulder at the sixty odd images she'd already collected. "They take my breath away! I just have to make something out of them."

"I'd like to see what you do with them," he said in earnest interest. "My cousin helps run some of the artist events at the Blue Moon Historical Museum. You should talk to her. Show her your work. She might let you show some of your pieces in the galleries."

"I'd love that." The girl beamed. "How should I get in touch with her?"

"Oh, just go to the museum and ask for Tomoko. She's usually there. Tell her that I sent you. That should help."

"Thank you."

For his part, Kaito was collecting quite an album of dramatic nightscapes and pirate pretentions, amused all the while.

But it was the last stop that truly stole all their breaths away.

They were standing on the cliff that was the highest point of this hiking trail. From their vantage point, they could gaze down into the infamous Half Moon Cove—a deep, semicircular bay cupped between wings of island rock. The moonlight here seemed to catch more brightly on the crests of the ocean's waves, and they all watched in wonder as that silvered light danced—so bright and sharp one moment only to fade into a thin, dark translucence in the next.

It was mesmerizing, but it was only a herald of a greater wonder to come, for there, sailing silent as the ghost they said it was over water that had gone deathly still, was the ghost ship of Blue Moon Island. It glided in utter silence, smooth and undisturbed by the undulations of the water or the weight of the astonished gazes being beamed down upon its empty decks.

One moment, it looked just like an old pirate ship in shades of luminous white. But then it would flicker to become a silver flame of roughly the same shape. But that form too would waver and become the solid, phantom ship again. Its passage left ripples of silver and foam on the dark surface of the bay—tracing flowers and nonsensical lines of grace and beauty and wondering upon the water to be carried away by the next rush and retreat of the waves.

Arrayed on the ridge overlooking the ghost chip's silent dance through Half Moon Cove, the tourists could only stare in drop-jawed wonder, transfixed by something more than merely an unusual sight.

There was a chill to the ship and an otherworldliness to its glow and its ever shifting definitions of its own shape. It called to the eye and mesmerized. Once you looked straight at it, you no longer wished to look away.

"Oh my god," someone breathed, putting voice to the sentiment echoing through all their thoughts. "It's real…!"


-To Be Continued-