Ladies and gentlemen! I humbly welcome you to the twenty-ninth chapter of this story!
As per usual I offer sincere thanks to both my partner and NobodyInParticular123456 for doing awesome work with beta-reading this!
This chapter is much better thanks to you guys~!
But, without further ado...
Please enjoy and review!
The late Friday afternoon saw the sun setting, casting a warm glow at the houses in Ekoda. Despite the somnolent atmosphere ruling over the neighborhood, one household was filled with upbeat music, playing from strategically placed speakers, while its sole occupant kept himself busy cleaning the house. The doves freely flying around the building didn't really make his job any easier, but they were a welcome distraction from the anxiety gripping his heart. Kaito tried to keep up the good mood he had built up during the week, but the looming prospect of the upcoming weekend and the forced transformation was effectively crushing it.
Despite a disastrously bad start, the remainder of the week unfolded for Kaito relatively well. With no planned heists, and a need to take a break from his daily training routine, he found himself with a lot of extra time on his hands. This allowed him to not only spend a lot of quality time with his doves and finally get some proper rest, but also to wrap up a few loose ends. For one, he finally picked up Saguru's clothes from the dry cleaners and bought replacements for the socks and underwear he was forced to borrow last Sunday. More importantly though, he managed to attend to the gem he had stolen during his last heist. He took extra care to remove any potential evidence which he or Conan might have left on it, and examined it against the moonlight. Unsurprisingly, it showed no signs of containing Pandora, so he mailed it to the police station. While he would have enjoyed slipping it into the Nakamoris' household to mess with Ginzo a little, he couldn't bring himself to do it. Aoko was still avoiding him both at school and outside, so he didn't really want to cause her more grief by disturbing her space.
To keep himself in high spirits, Kaito gleefully continued with his anti-rumor-daily-pranks mission, as well as devising new ways to mess with Saguru during his bento box pseudo-heists.
Although he was initially reluctant, Kaito had eventually managed to convince himself to take Saguru up on his offer and steal lunches off him. While the whole idea of receiving food from the guy felt incredibly awkward, on the other hand, he knew that it would be a significant help. Skipping preparing his lunch in the morning meant that Kaito had more time to take proper care of his doves and also himself. That combined with just how delicious the food actually was made the offer just too hard to pass.
To make those pseudo-heists more bearable on his pride, Kaito made sure to prepare elaborate pranks for his thefts. But no matter what he did, the smug bastard seemed all too pleased with himself. It simply drove Kaito crazy and made him question whether he shouldn't just stop stealing the food. Despite that, he was still kind of grateful, so he made sure to leave the cleaned box, with a rose inside, somewhere Saguru's baaya would find.
Kaito huffed with satisfaction as he lifted up a box and carried it out of Chikage's bedroom. In addition to cleaning the house, he was also sweeping it for any potential evidence. While he did intend to return the next day, he couldn't really be sure that Saguru wouldn't do something to prevent him. Which would mean that the old lady, who took care of the guy, would be coming over to take care of Kaito's doves. And she would have free reign to snoop around the house unchecked. While Saguru might have been already fully aware that Kaito was KID, so far he didn't have any tangible evidence to prove it. Kaito very much liked and intended to keep it that way.
He was about to close the bedroom door when he noticed a dove making itself comfortable on the bed. With a fond smile on his lips, he set the box down in the hallway and walked back in, closing the door behind him to prevent other trespassing birds from slipping through.
"Aya-chan~ You know that you're not allowed here~" he chided her fondly while carefully scanning the room for any other stragglers but not noticing any.
The dove didn't appear too bothered by the scolding, puffing her feathers and closing her eyes, evidently preparing for sleep. Kaito chuckled, gently scooping her up in her hands and pulling her against his chest. Aya wiggled a little bit in his hold but settled quickly and seemed quite content to be cuddled against her master. Gently caressing her feathers to help her soundly fall asleep, Kaito glanced through the window. It was getting late, but thankfully he had only his own room to go through before he would be done. With one last glance around the bedroom to check for any other doves, he stepped into the hallway and closed the door behind him. Cradling Aya, he carried her to the aviary and placed her comfortably inside her little nest. She complained sleepily but soon settled in, tucking her head underneath her wing and dozing back off. Another dove seized Kaito's momentary distraction as an opportunity to land on his shoulder and rub against his neck. He glanced at it but since this one looked just cuddly instead of sleepy, he petted it fondly and carried it with him to continue his chores.
Despite what one might expect, Kaito kept his room rather organized and tidy at all times. But although he kept all of the obvious evidence safely locked away inside of the hidden room, there were some papers that could raise some eyebrows stuffed in between various stacks on his desk.
Sorting through the pile, Kaito smirked with disdain at the poorly prepared, and now creased, prescription given to him by Saguru this week. His first reaction was to destroy it and pretend like it never existed, but it's not like he could've actually burned it in the classroom, and in his own palm no less. So instead, he had skillfully switched it for a piece of flash paper to create the flashy display of a fireball erupting in his hand. When he finally got the chance to get rid of the damned prescription, he had already calmed down and decided to keep it instead. After all, one never knew when he might want to forge Saguru's handwriting to teach the guy a lesson~
Kaito chuckled to himself as he dropped the prescription inside his little box along with a few other papers, then stretched a little. Now the only thing left to do was to stow the box away inside the hidden room and… His smile dropped when his gaze drifted towards a white sheet covering Toichi's painting. He should probably remove that as well…
After discovering the truth from Chikage, Kaito just couldn't stand Toichi's image constantly staring at him. In order to be able to sleep in his own bed, he did something he had never dared to even consider. He covered it up. Even now, it still felt very much like betrayal, but it was the only thing he could think of. He sat there for a few minutes, irrationally fearing that he would see disappointment in the painting's eyes once he uncovered it, before finally getting a grip over himself and walking over to take the sheet off.
Unsurprisingly, the painting looked the same as it always had, but it wasn't much of a consolation to Kaito. His gaze dropped to the ground, feeling disappointed, although he wasn't sure whether it was at himself or someone else. Without looking at the painting, he opened the secret passage and picked up the box to store it in the KID room. Having done that, he made sure to secure the mechanism locking the entrance, but after doing so, he didn't remove his hand from the frame. The familiar feeling under his fingertips burned painfully, but at the same time he missed it dearly. How many times in the past had he stood here like this, seeking guidance and solace from this dead man? The worst part was that he couldn't help but wish for the same comfort right now.
He didn't want to go to Saguru. He felt scared with the fear that didn't care for reason. He feared what might happen as well as what he knew that would happen. But he had no choice and had to somehow muster the courage and go.
With pursed lips, Kaito looked up in the eyes of the man, who he knew apparently nothing about, and offered him a weak smile. "I'll be off now. Bye." With that, he turned away and left the room to lock away his doves before leaving the house for the night. Hopefully only one night.
The sky had already turned dark when a lone motorcycle slowly approached the dark, heavy gates, decorated by a flowery pattern, guarding the impressive Hakuba manor. Even among the rich buildings in the neighborhood, this one stood out with its western-styled design, emphasized by the raw, red bricks, decorating the exterior. Without dismounting his vehicle or lifting the reflective visor, the driver turned to look at the manor, as if he was unsure of what his next step should be. Because the truth was that Kaito would have felt a lot better if he had parked a few blocks away and snuck in. Scaled the fence under the cover of the night, took his time to scour the area, and chose the best point of entry. Then, with the advantage and safety of the element of surprise and a mask covering his face, would he face Saguru. Their talk would be shadowed by the awareness that at any given moment Kaito could leave, just melt into the darkness, as if he was never there to begin with. And when he did that, it wouldn't look like an escape, but simply a choice to move on to wherever he wanted to be. Because KID was like that and could not be chained. Unlike Kuroba Kaito, who accepted an invitation to the lion's— or rather dragon's den. Feeling all too vulnerable and exposed in his civilian clothes with only his poker face to hide behind.
He pursed his lips, finally dismounting the bike to press the button on the intercom. As soon as he did, the gate creaked under its own weight and started opening, making Kaito aware of the cameras that must have been watching him this whole time. Without wasting any more time, he pulled the motorcycle inside and left it by the already parked car. He slowly took his gloves off and then his helmet. Unconsciously, he ran a hand through his hair, spiking it up before attaching the headgear to his small bag and pulling out the hanger with the dry-cleaned clothes along with the boxes with underwear and socks in a plastic bag from the small compartment underneath the seat. He made sure to pack as little as possible to show that he had no intention of staying longer than strictly necessary.
As Kaito gathered his things, the entrance door opened behind him. Thankfully, Saguru stayed there, casually leaning over the door frame and not saying anything, until Kaito walked over. The sight of his hair, still glittering from the earlier prank Kaito pulled on him, did provide some amusement, but it was ruined the moment Saguru opened his mouth.
"Welcome, Kuroba-kun, I'm glad to see you came."
"Tsk, it's not like you gave me much choice," Kaito grumbled as he walked over.
Despite how much time had passed, he still didn't feel comfortable being adressed by Toichi's family name. It made him feel like an impostor, who only ever pretended to be the person he always believed that he was.
"Now, now, don't be like that," Saguru chastised him with mirrith dancing in his eyes, stepping inside to make room for Kaito. "You know as well as I do just how stubborn you can be. And I am doing this only out of concern for you."
"Yeah, yeah, the kindness of your heart is truly astounding…" Kaito mocked with an eyeroll and offered him the hanger along with the plastic bag. "I'm returning this as promised."
Saguru looked a little taken aback as he instinctively reached to take the items. "Ah, thank you, but it's not necessary for you to return these. Elliot-hakase had to destroy your clothes, so I had hoped you'd keep these as replacements."
"I don't need your clothes, thanks," Kaito grumbled through his teeth, releasing the hanger, and forcing Saguru to catch it.
The guy sighed heavily, watching Kaito switch his shoes for slippers and smirked. "Like I said, stubborn~ Anyway, feel free to leave your helmet on the rack, if you please," he offered and started slowly walking down the hall.
Kaito glared at him, ignoring the request and leaned down to set aside his shoes. If it was up to him, he would prefer to keep all of his things on himself throughout his stay here, just in case he wanted to make a hasty getaway. For that reason alone, he had packed spare footwear in his bag.
"So? What was so important that it couldn't wait until tomorrow?" Kaito asked instead and followed him.
"Like I said before, I simply wanted to go through all the details to hopefully avoid any confusion tomorrow," Saguru explained patiently, seemingly unbothered by Kaito's rudeness. "But why don't you first make yourself comfortable in your room? Meet me in the dining room once you're ready, so that we can talk over dinner?"
Kaito glanced at him, smirked, and reached into his bag. "Sorry, sorry, I'm afraid that I'll pass. I've gotten enough food from you already~ By the way…" He threw a red bento box for Saguru to catch. "Didn't anybody tell you that veggies are good for you~? I'd expect better from somebody who keeps nagging me about my feeding habits."
Since none of the previous tricks seemed to affect Saguru, today Kaito had stolen both of the bento boxes, switching the red one for a similar one but filled with glitter bombs. The prank, however, did little to phase the guy, so despite initially intending to return him his lunch, Kaito kept it for himself to eat for an early dinner. When he finally opened it, he was surprised to find out that Saguru's lunch had not only very little and overcooked greens in it, but also that the layer of rice was very thin, seemingly only serving to cover a meaty stew.
Saguru's eyes widened as he had barely enough time to turn and try to catch the box, fumbling with it before he managed to press it against his chest with his one free hand. A small relieved huff escaped his lips when he managed not to drop any of the carried items, and he looked back at Kaito, who was standing beside him with a mocking grin. Saguru smirked back at him.
"Well, I'm sorry if it wasn't to your liking. In the future please make sure to try and tell me in advance if you want more food," he mocked him with a falsely apologetic tone
Kaito knew that he fully deserved that one, but still felt the jab of shame for having pointed out that he basically relied on Saguru for his meals. Once again he questioned whether the convenience of having it prepared for him was really worth it.
Unable to see through Kaito's poker face, Saguru continued his tirade. "However, there is no need for you to worry about my diet. Dracos are obligate carnivores, so unfortunately vegetables aren't all that great for me."
That was… Well, it was both a useless and interesting, if a little unsettling, detail. But it confused Kaito why Saguru decided to share it at all.
"I'll keep that in mind," he mumbled just to say anything.
Saguru hummed with that insufferable smile of his and turned to walk down the hall, leading Kaito behind him and looking down at the box in his hand. "Should I expect this one to be booby-trapped as well?"
Kaito grinned. "Ah, who knows~?" It wasn't, but there was no reason not to mess with the guy a little. "Why don't you open it and check~?"
Saguru snorted and shook his head. "I think that I'd rather not," he turned to look at Kaito. "Now, if you don't mind, I'll go grab a bite for myself, so please, do make yourself comfortable and meet me in the study when you see fit. I believe that you know the way?"
So he did know that Kaito had his doves surveil the place? Not that it mattered too much, so he just shrugged. "I'll manage to find it."
"Perfect. I'll see you then," Saguru replied with a smile and walked away towards the kitchen, leaving Kaito to his own devices.
Kaito knew that he should feel relieved to be given free reign but he couldn't shake the anxiety coiling in his gut. As he turned to walk down the hallway, he heard the voices of both baaya and the doctor greeting Saguru from inside the kitchen. For a moment, Kaito was tempted to turn back and eavesdrop on them for a little while, but he decided against it and just continued walking. It was very unlikely that they would talk about anything he wasn't meant to hear, and while it would be kind of fun to mess with Saguru a little more, trying to avoid detection would only stress Kaito out further.
While he walked through the corridor, he noticed that the mansion seemed eerily quiet. As if there was no one there besides him and the three people in the kitchen. Considering their plans for tomorrow, it wasn't perhaps surprising at all that Saguru might have wanted other humans to stay away. But this was the Superintendent General's home, wasn't it?
He knew that most people would feel on edge while walking through deserted and dimly lit hallways, but for him, feeling like there was no one watching him was comforting. Kaito figured that there was no point in worrying too much right now so he decided to try and enjoy this unexpected free reign as long as it lasted. With that in mind, he stuffed hands in his pockets and walked towards his assigned room, quietly humming a catchy tune that was stuck in his head.
I did initially intend to cover the whole conversation in his chapter but I feel like it turned out just fine and hope that you won't mind too much~
If you liked the chapter or have anything to say about it please do consider leaving a comment - reading them makes my day, so I would greatly appreciate it! :D
Hope to see you next chapter *bows*