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

Pairing: KaitoxShinichi

In Other Shoes

Chapter 4 - The Magician

Word of the new magician performing at the Iroyamura Center for the Performing Arts had spread throughout the town by the end of the week. Shinichi first heard about Kuroba Kaito's show from his new coworkers.

"My boyfriend and I went to the show last night," Shizuka, another college student working at the café for the summer like Shinichi, told them all as they were preparing to open for the day. "It was incredible! I mean, I've been to magic shows before, but I've never seen anything like what Kuroba-san did. You guys have got to go see the show too."

"What kind of magic does he do?" Erika had asked, clearly intrigued.

Shizuka, however, had laughed. "It won't be any fun if I tell you. But I'll say this. Kuroba-san's just as amazing a storyteller as he is a magician."

"It does sound like quite the experience," Erika said with a wistful sigh. "I'm not sure if I'll be able to get tickets though. Every time I pass by the Arts Center, the sign says the day's tickets are all sold out."

Shinichi hesitated a moment then cleared his throat. "Um, if you'd like, my mom actually got us two tickets for the show tomorrow night. But she told me she got a call from an old friend so she'll be going to meet them tomorrow instead. So if you would like our extra ticket, you're welcome to have it."

Erika smiled. "Really? I'd like that. But are you sure there isn't someone else you'd like to go with? A young man, perhaps?"

Shinichi blushed. "What? No, of course not. I—I mean, I only just got here. I don't really know anyone."

"That's true." Erika and Shizuka traded speculative glances that set alarms ringing in Shinichi's head.

"You know," Shizuka began. "I have a cousin in town I think you might get along with. He's about your age. He's studying to be an architect. Loves to talk about old buildings and historical sites, but, as long as you don't mind that sort of thing, he can be very sweet. I can introduce you sometime."

Shinichi was saved from having to answer by the arrival of the morning's first guests—which was good because he honestly had no idea what to say. Silently, he prayed that the girls would forget about the whole conversation. He wondered ruefully if he should have lied and said he had a boyfriend back home. But he dismissed the thought. Not only was it too late, he doubted he could have delivered such a lie convincingly. Besides, the lie would no doubt get back to his mother sooner or later, and he really did not want to be giving her any more weird ideas like how dating might be a good way to get his mind off things or something else equally ridiculous. Sometimes his mother could be every bit as bad as Sonoko.

To make sure they had time to forget about him and any matchmaking schemes they might be hatching, Shinichi slipped up the back stairs to the apartment above the café the moment his shift ended. There, he changed quickly into one of the more nondescript outfits his mother had prepared for him and left again. His mother had gone out that morning to do some shopping, and he wanted to be gone before she returned lest he end up being forced to spend the rest of the day trying on new clothes.

He spent a pleasant half hour wandering around the town until he found the local bookstore. It was a small but very well kept shop with a surprisingly diverse collection. Delighted by his find, he spent another blissful hour browsing through books. Eventually, he left the shop with a half dozen new novels, a new friend in the form of the bookstore's owner, and directions to a nearby park that was supposed to be an excellent place for some quiet reading.

The park was everything that he had been promised, and he whiled away the remainder of the afternoon under the shade of softly whispering trees, lost in the tales spun between the pages of the novels he had procured just that day. Lost in their alluring pages, he barely noticed the growing commotion on the other side of the park. It was the sudden explosion of cheers and applause that finally dragged his attention back to the world around him.

There just on the other side of the grassy lawn at the heart of the park was a growing crowd of children accompanied by their chaperons. The focus of their attention and the cause of their delight was a familiar young man with a wild mess of dark hair and an easy grin. Even as Shinichi looked up, he was pulling a seemingly endless string of colorful scarves out of thin air and transforming them into flowers and birds and showers of candy to the amazement of his audience. This must have been the finale of the show for the magician swept into a deep bow to yet more applause.

"And if you're interested, I'll be performing at the Iroyamura Center for the Performing Arts all summer," the young man declared. With the show over, many of the onlookers crowded around to ask the performer questions or congratulate him in person.

Realizing that the sun was beginning to set, Shinichi tucked his books back into their bag and rose to begin heading home. He was not expecting to be accosted at the park entrance by the same young magician who had been plying his arts on the park kids just minutes ago.

"Sorry if I'm mistaken, but you're Fujimine Shinko, right? From Miyako's Maid Café?" the magician asked, offering Shinichi the most charming smile the detective had ever been on the receiving end of and a bright yellow rose.

Not sure how to respond to either gesture, Shinichi took the rose on autopilot.

"Um, yes, I do work at Miyako's," he said hesitantly, keeping his gaze lowered as his mind raced. This man… There was just no other possibility. There might be a handful of other people out there who could pass for Shinichi's brother, but surely there couldn't be more than one who was also a skilled magician. This had to be Kaitou KID. For the sake of his own sanity and their status quo, Shinichi could not allow the thief to recognize him.

Being a master of impersonation though, the thief had exceptional observation skills, especially when it came to people and their personalities, quirks, and behavior patterns. Knowing all that, Shinichi knew better than to believe that he could avoid discovery should the thief become suspicious. Best to avoid contact as much as possible.

"I'm sorry," he said. "But I really do have to be getting back."

"Allow me to walk you back then," KID replied, falling into step beside him.

"Really, you don't have to trouble yourself on my account. You have a show tonight, don't you? I'm sure you have a lot to prepare."

KID only grinned. "I thank you for your concern, but I insist. It's too late for a young lady to be walking through town by herself. Besides, I was hoping to have the chance to talk to you. This has to be fate."

Shinichi blushed. That was not the response he'd expected to hear. At the same time, he had to wonder what KID was up to. Was it possible that the thief had figured out who he was? But if he had, surely he'd be keeping his distance. So then why?

"I just realized I forgot to introduce myself," KID said, breaking Shinichi from his thoughts. "The name's Kuroba Kaito, but you can just call me Kaito."

"O—oh." Shinichi blanched. The Kaitou KID had just given him his name! Okay, so Shinichi had already known his name, seeing as everyone at the café had been talking about the magician and his incredible performances, but still… He felt like he'd walked into the Twilight Zone. "You can call me Shinko, I guess," he added for lack of anything else to say. Though it took him an effort not to stumble over his new name. If the thief noticed anything strange, however, he chose not to comment.

"This really is a beautiful town," he said instead.

"It is," Shinichi agreed. "There are a lot more people than I expected, but it's still peaceful."

KID—er, Kaito—chuckled. "I had the same feeling when I first got here." He tilted his head back to let his gaze trace the contours of the mountains overlooking the town. "I guess you're not from around here either then."

Shinichi could have kicked himself. He had to be more careful with hat he said. On the other hand, he hadn't made a secret out of where he was from with anyone at the café so it probably wasn't a big deal.

"I'm just here for the summer," he explained, repeating the story he'd given his coworkers. "Miyako-san's a friend of my mom's, and she said she needed extra help. Since Mom wanted to get out of the city for a while, we decided we could kill two birds with one stone."

"Sounds like our moms had the same idea," Kaito said with a laugh. "We also wanted a change of scenery. And since she was friends with the owners of the Center for Performing Arts and they were looking to book some new acts, here we are."

They continued making small talk all the way back to Miyako's. Kaito was incredibly easy to talk to, Shinichi noted. Somehow, he wasn't surprised. And though he knew he was telling the thief more than he should, he couldn't help but feel a little sorry when their destination came into view and it came time to say farewell.

"Thank you for walking with me," he said, bowing politely to the thief.

Kaito flashed him a smile that made Shinichi's stomach do something strange and fluttery. "It was my pleasure."

-To be Continued-