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

Pairing: KaitoxShinichi

Heroes and Villains: Blue Moon Island

[Superpower Verse]

Part 19

They decided to order room service for dinner. Like all the food they'd had so far at the Blue Moon Rose, it was delicious. They ended up making love again after that before Kaito ran them a bubble bath—during which they had had an encore.

"You sure are insatiable today," Kaito observed with a smirk as he stroked a hand down Shinichi's back under the warm water to cup the curve of his behind. "I like it."

Shinichi blushed. "Says the pervert who stripped me naked while I slept."

Kaito chuckled. "Guilty as charged~. But, in my defense, you clearly didn't mind." He gently rubbed a finger teasingly over Shinichi's over stimulated entrance as he spoke—just to make his point, of course. He could remember all too vividly how that delightful little hole had been wrapped tight around him just a few minutes ago. His smirk only grew when Shinichi's breath hitched.

"It's all your fault," Shinichi grumbled, tucking his head more firmly under Kaito's chin. Before he'd met Kaito, he hadn't spent much time thinking about romance in general, let alone the intimacy that resulted from it. He really hadn't seen the appeal. The many cases he'd worked involving broken relationships hadn't helped.

Then Kaito had come along and turned his world upside down—in a good way. Or, well, a mostly good but sometimes rather crazy way. Now there were times (like just now) when he found himself craving Kaito's touch so deeply that it ached.

Kaito, who had waited several seconds then realized that Shinichi wasn't going to elaborate, shrugged and chuckled, smoothing a hand down the length of Shinichi's body before letting it rest on the small of the detective's back. "I'll take that as a compliment."

"…You would."

"Well, isn't it?"

"…" Shinichi realized that there was no good way for him to answer that question and decided it was time to change the subject. "So why were you gone so long earlier anyway? Did something happen?"

"Oh that. It was just Satou-san asking if I could do her a favor. She'll be here tomorrow evening with the specialist for the Crackling Beast. She asked me to see about booking rooms for them since the online registration portals all say that they're booked full."

"I asked around, and while true the Blue Moon Rose hasn't got any spare rooms, the receptionist girl mentioned that the lady who runs the specialty clothing shop occasionally allows travelers to rent the rooms above her shop. I went to see the lady, and we had a talk. I impressed her with my suave personality and rich knowledge of the arts and fashion. So she's letting my friends stay. Though she also wants us, along with the guests who'll be using her space, to help out with her upcoming fashion show."

"…And you said yes to this, didn't you?"

"Of course. She's been running shorthanded because of a spate of bad luck, and I couldn't well say no when she'll be helping us out just as much. Anyway, I'm sure it'll be fun. A nice memory to add to those we've already collected for this vacation. That, and we may get to see more of the jewelry on the island this way. Maybe we'll get lucky and Pandora will come to us."

"You remember that we're scheduled to go home in just a few more days, right?"

"The show's the evening before the day we leave. Though if we haven't found the Pandora shard by then, we'll have to extend our stay."

"Are you hoping that happens?" the detective asked.

The question elicited a quiet laugh. "Let's just say I wouldn't be overly disappointed if that happened. But really," he went on, tilting his head to smile down at his partner as he let both his hands drift lightly up and down Shinichi's sides before coming to rest on his hips. "The best thing about being here is getting to spend so much time together with you. And I get to take you home with me, so there's no loss either way."

Embarrassed but pleased nonetheless, Shinichi hid his blush against the crook of Kaito's neck.

-0-

"I noticed you were reading that book of island legends again," Kaito remarked later as they were once more cuddled together in bed. "Was there anything in particular you were hoping to find?"

"Not really," Shinichi admitted. "I just thought I'd go through the stories in more detail to see if there are any that we might need to warn people about."

"So dangers that these materializing myths might pose."

"Yeah."

"Anything yet?"

"Nothing that stands out—discounting Owl Rock anyway. I guess we're lucky and most of the legends on this island aren't the vindictive or murderous type. There are a very large number of ghost stories, but they're all kind of like that one the museum guide told about the old lady who owned that house and her beau."

"In other words, this island's ghosts linger for love, not out of some need for retribution or thirst for blood."

"For the most part, yes."

"That's good then. It still makes me wonder though. With how much everyone says people here love legends, why are all the ones we've seen from this book? Surely it couldn't actually be a comprehensive collection."

Shinichi thought about that. "Maybe it's because we wouldn't recognize something we see as an island legend if we haven't seen it in the book. The assumption that the book is the key then is flawed because we don't have all the stories or all the facts. It could also be that Alvita chose the island's most popular stories, and they are the ones being realized precisely because they are the most popular and therefore the most pervasive."

"You know, that raises an interesting question," Kaito observed. "Old legends pretty much inevitably come in numerous versions. I wonder how Alvita-san chose which to write up."

"Choosing the most popular makes the most sense," Shinichi pointed out.

"You think so?"

"Well, wouldn't it?"

Kaito hummed. "In a way. But if it were up to me, I'd choose the most interesting or most dramatic. Sometimes a rarer version of an old legend may be the more original or the more detailed and thus the more worth retelling."

"I suppose those would be reasonable options as well," Shinichi conceded. "Did she say anything about it in her book?"

"That's a good question. There was a preface, but I was more focused on the stories."

"Well you might as well look now then," Shinichi decided. "Or we're just going to keep wondering about it all night."

Laughing, Kaito sat up and reached over to flip on the lamp and pluck the book in question from the nightstand. "Shall I read this out loud?"

Shinichi rolled over to lie flat on his back, eyes still closed. "Sure."

Secretly, Shinichi had always enjoyed listening to Kaito read out loud. As both an accomplished actor and a skilled storyteller, the magician was—unsurprisingly—also an excellent reader. He always seemed to know just what kinds of tones to use to bring out the feeling behind the words in a natural yet captivating way.

Kaito finished reading the preface then glanced down at his beloved to find the boy smiling faintly, eyes closed and breathing even. He quirked an eyebrow at the sight.

"You haven't fallen asleep on me, have you?" he asked—quietly though just in case this turned out to be the case.

"No I haven't," Shinichi replied, cracking open one brilliant blue eye to peer up at him quizzically. "That childhood friend she mentioned there at the end. The one who got her interested in the island legends to begin with. Did she give a name?"

Kaito skimmed over the last few paragraphs again then shook his head. "No. But I think there's a dedication. I'll check there."

Paper rustled then stilled.

Silence. It was, however, a musing silence. One in which new currents could be felt on the rise. Turning. Shifting with and like thought.

"Well, well, well," Kaito said into that sudden, anticipatory swell of silence. "Tomoko. A familiar name indeed."

Now Shinichi's eyes opened in mixed surprise and sudden speculation. "Tomoko as in the tour guide at the museum?"

"Presumably they are one and the same. Apparently, the versions of these island legends focused on in this book are Miss Tomoko's favorites from her own childhood. They were passed on to her from her grandmother, and then she passed them on to her friends at school. Those included Alvita-san."

"Do you think she might have received a piece of the treasure?"

"There's an easy way to find out."

'There is?"

Kaito looked amused. "Of course. It's called a telephone. We do, after all, have Alvita-san's number. We'll just call her in the morning before we head back up to the museum."

-0-

Alvita greeted their early morning call with about as much grace as could be expected when cold called at half past six in the morning. Frankly, she was much politer than Shinichi would have felt inclined to be in her shoes (granted, in her shoes, he wouldn't have been very coherent. He was never at his best in the early morning, especially not before he'd gotten at least a cup or two of coffee. In fact, the only reason Shinichi was up already himself was because a certain magician had woken up horny. Shinichi blushed at the memories of a hot mouth suckling on the sensitive skin of his inner thighs and hastily forced himself to focus on the phone call—which he'd made before he'd looked at the clock and realized just what time it was. And of course at that point there'd been no point in hanging up to call back later).

"You want to know about Tomoko?" she repeated, clearly puzzled.

"We saw her mentioned in your dedication," Shinichi explained. "And we remembered that our tour guide when we visited the museum had the same name. So we were wondering if they were the same person."

"Oh. Well, yes, actually. They are. She took the job at the museum because she loves telling stories."

Shinichi felt a spike of excitement. "Did she get a piece of the treasure?"

"No."

"I see." Well, Shinichi thought, there went that idea. He was about to thank the author for her time, but she spoke again before he could.

"She was there when they dredged it up though."

Shinichi paused. "She was?"

"She wasn't the only one," the author replied, and Shinichi thought he could just about hear her shrugging. "There were quite a lot of spectators. But only those directly involved in the process and setting up the exhibit received pieces."

"That does make sense. Well, thank you for your help."

"So any luck?" Kaito asked as he emerged from the bathroom in a waft of steam. He had a towel slung around his waist as he used another to dry his hair.

Catching himself staring at the magician's very well-toned abs, Shinichi blushed and hastily looked away. "Sort of. Tomoko-san wasn't a recipient of any of the treasure, but she was present when they dredged it up."

"I see," Kaito said thoughtfully. "And we know she enjoys sharing myths. She's definitely a potential source for all the stories that have been coming to life. She could be telling more stories than we thought while in the vicinity of the treasure exhibit or she could have come into possession of a piece of treasure without Alvita-san's knowledge."

Shinichi's brows furrowed in a frown. "Are you suggesting she stole it?"

Kaito shrugged. "You must admit, it's not outside the realm of possibility. But it's not the only option either."

As he spoke, he let his gaze trail over Shinichi's form where he still lay amidst their tangled sheets. Unlike the detective, Kaito had no problems with openly ogling his lover. If anything, he was tempted to peel away the obscuring sheets for a better view.

"What other options are you thinking about?" Shinichi asked curiously, turning to look up at Kaito. In doing so, he managed to tilt his head in just the right way to expose a particularly prominent hickey that Kaito had left just above his collar bones. A small, self-satisfied smirk tugged at the corners of Kaito's lips as he recalled making that mark and the sweet little noises Shinichi had made while he did so. This inevitably led to thoughts of the way Shinichi tasted and the warm softness of his skin.

"Kaito?" Shinichi prompted when the magician didn't answer.

"Yes?" the magician responded, distracted.

Slightly baffled by his partner's distraction, Shinichi clarified. "You said something about options."

"Oh, that. I just mean that we should keep an open mind. We can start by asking Miss Tomoko about her interactions with the treasure. We may learn something from her experience on the day it was brought up, so on and so forth. Anyway, you may want to hurry up and get ready. I told the staff we'd be down for breakfast by seven."

Shinichi groaned audibly. "Why do we have to go so early?"

Kaito only laughed. "We both saw those crowds the other day. If we want any time to speak with Tomoko-san in private, we're going to need to beat the rush."

"…We could ask if we could speak to her after she gets off work," Shinichi argued.

"You forget, Satou-san will be arriving this afternoon. Now come on. We're already taking longer than we needed to because you refused to shower with me."

"If I showered with you, we'd end up taking twice as long," Shinichi replied dryly. Realizing there was no point putting it off any longer though, he sat up and slid off the bed, trying his valiant best to ignore the eyes he could feel traveling up and down his body. A flush climbed into his cheeks despite his best efforts.

"Stop staring and get dressed," he snapped, grabbing a fresh change of clothes and hastening into the bathroom.

Kaito blinked at the closed bathroom door then snickered. Shinichi was simply adorable when he was flustered.

-To Be Continued-