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

Pairing: KaitoxShinichi

Heroes and Villains: Blue Moon Island

[Superpower Verse]

Part 17

"Oh hey, aren't you two the guys who caught the Crackling Beast?"

"Oh, well, I guess we are," Shinichi admitted.

The young man behind the Blue Moon Island Ocean Institute's front desk beamed, all but vibrating in his seat.

"I read all about it in the paper this morning," he enthused. "I'm Willard by the way. I heard you two actually managed to rescue a whole family from getting drowned on top of everything else. It sounded epic! A real life monster battle. It's too bad no one got any footage of it. But at least we got pictures of the beast itself. I used to think it was just a myth for scaring little kids with like the boogieman."

Kaito and Shinichi followed the guy's enthusiastically gesticulating hand to where a very large photo of the Crackling Beast was indeed posted on the wall of the institute's lobby. Next to it was a sign reading "Coming soon!" in huge, bold letters.

"Are they moving the beast here?" Shinichi asked, surprised.

"Yep. Didn't you hear?"

"We didn't really hang around much after the incident," Kaito replied. "Had stuff to take care of and all that."

"Ah, yeah. It must have been tiring, huh? Well, apparently someone from the Milky Way Agency contacted my boss and they worked it out. The agency's going to fly us in an expert in marine biology to examine the beast and determine what we need to know to be able to take care of it. Then they'll help us move it here and set up a nice habitat for it."

"It sounds like a big project," Shinichi noted.

"Oh, it is," Willard agreed without hesitation. "And everyone here's totally flipping out. Nothing this big and exciting has happened for us, in, well, ever really. We're actually getting to study a brand new ocean life form native to our island! It's a once in a lifetime kind of opportunity and we're all hoping we get to be a part of it."

"I wish you luck then," Shinichi told him. The boy's energy was certainly inspirational. And that light in his eyes of wonder and the soul just itching to uncover new secrets was something Shinichi could most definitely relate to.

"You two will probably get a part in the Crackling Beast exhibit too once it's ready to be opened to visitors," Willard added. "So before you leave today, would you mind if we took your pictures? They'd go on the information plaques."

Shinichi wasn't sure how he felt about going down in the island's history as the people who discovered the first real, live Crackling Beast. The situation was made all the weirder by the fact that he was almost certain that the sea creature had been conjured into existence only recently by Pandora and the thoughts of someone on this island.

Willard looked so eager though that neither agent had the heart to say no to his harmless request.

Having secured promises for pictures, Willard took it upon himself to show them around the institute. The building served half as an aquarium, half as a lab, and overall as an educational facility all based on the local reefs and related ecosystems.

Before they knew it, Willard was giving them a crash course in the development and maintenance of natural coral reefs, the ecosystems that developed around those reefs, and how to ensure that they stayed balanced and healthy. This included how to harvest Blue Moon Coral without damaging the ecosystem as well as how to see the signs that something needed to be fixed.

He also turned out to know a lot about the origins of the coral's color. And when Shinichi said a lot, he meant that Willard knew not only the scientific composition of the coral but also the two dozen folktales, legends and myths that all claimed to explain the coral's unique shades and supposed mystical powers.

By the time they finally left the coral reef exhibit, both Kaito and Shinichi could honestly say that they now knew more about coral than they had thought there was to know about coral.

"So, speaking of mythical beasts like the Crackling Beast, we heard there was a display here about similar creatures?" Shinichi ventured. "I think it was medallions from that sunken ship."

"Oh right," Willard said. "Those are being displayed in the Myths of the Reefs exhibit. One of them does actually depict the Crackling Beast. But I'm not sure if it's a very good likeness. You should come see it though."

That said, he led the way into an exhibit that was mostly large murals with long, detailed plaques telling various ocean myths.

At the very center of the exhibition room was a long, rectangular frame. Inside the frame was a row of circular, gold medallions fixed against a dark, velvet backdrop. Every medallion was a beautifully sculpted piece of jewelry depicting an unusual creature in a dramatic pose.

There was a great sea serpent dragging an old sailing ship down into the frothing waves. Next to it, a dragon roared from the heart of a raging tempest. Then there was a kraken embroiled in a fierce, undersea battle against a whale and a writhing, spiky mass that might have been a Crackling Beast or some other multi-headed, semi serpentine monster. On another medallion, a whale-like creature the size of a mountain was en route to swallowing a sailing ship whole. In fact, the only golden disc that didn't portray some sort of monster wreaking havoc depicted a mermaid singing. Except then Shinichi took a closer look and noticed that there were tiny figures jumping out of a ship in the distance behind her. Not just a mermaid then but a siren luring sailors to a watery grave.

"These are beautifully made and all," Shinichi said slowly, "but it kind of seems like carrying one out to an ocean voyage would be, I don't know, asking for trouble."

Kaito chortled. "You're not usually the superstitious sort. Though I have to say, I see what you mean. You couldn't pay me to carry one of these around."

"It's funny you guys should say that," their guide told them. "I was talking to one of the guys that helped fish up the treasure, and he swears what was left of the ship looked like it had been torn into by some huge monster with enormous, razor sharp teeth! He said he wouldn't be at all surprised if it was sunk by a sea serpent!"

The agents traded looks. Shinichi really, really hoped that these medallions were not housing a Pandora shard. The last thing they needed was a sea serpent to spontaneously spawn in the waters around the island.

Catching Shinichi's eye, Kaito tilted his head ever so slightly in Willard's direction and quirked an eyebrow. Understanding the silent message, Shinichi began asking their guide about some of the other stories being depicted in the exhibit, subtly drawing the man away from the treasure display.

With Willard distracted, Kaito pulled out his phone and pretended to be taking pictures of the medallions. In reality, he was positioning himself so that none of the security cameras would catch footage of the way one of his hands slipped right through the glass to tap each sea monster's bejeweled eyes. The entire process took less than a minute. Then he stood back for a final, panoramic shot of the display before pocketing his phone and moving to rejoin Shinichi and Willard.

They left after allowing Willard to take the promised photos of them for the up and coming Crackling Beast exhibit.

"Any luck?" asked Shinichi.

Kaito shook his head. "Afraid not. It's starting to look more and more like it's got to be in the museum."

Shinichi sighed. "Well, after Alvita-san, the museum does seem like the most plausible source of island myths coming true. The tour guide there certainly enjoyed telling stories."

"True. But she only told stories about the museum and the treasures in it. I can't see any of the guides having a reason to talk about places like Owl Rock. It wasn't even mentioned in the exhibit on famous local sites."

"Huh. That's true. But still, there's got to be something we're missing, and I feel like it's there."

Kaito smiled. "Well, you've always had good instincts about these things. To the museum it is then. We'll head up there first thing in the morning. And now that we have that settled, I say we deserve to treat ourselves to some good old R and R."

Shinichi cast his partner a sidelong look. "I'm surprised you're not, well, in more of a hurry about this. Aren't you worried?"

Kaito shrugged. "We're making progress. If someone comes running, screaming about giant sea serpents, we'll pick up the pace, but I refuse to spend our entire vacation working if we don't have to. Besides, I just endured an aquatic life exhibition, so I say I've earned a treat." With a smirk, he tugged hard on Shinichi's hand just as the detective shifted his weight in mid step, causing the smaller agent to lose his balance. Caught unprepared, Shinichi ended up falling into Kaito's waiting arms. Said arms immediately closed around him, and Kaito breathed low into his ear. "I have just the treat in mind."

Blushing, Shinichi wiggled out of the taller man's grasp and straightened out his clothes. "Honestly, you have a one track mind sometimes."

Kaito looked offended. "Excuse me. My mind doesn't run on tracks. Never has, never will."

Shinichi rolled his eyes, but he was smiling. In truth, he'd always admired Kaito's ability to enjoy the moment while never losing sight of his goals. It was a skill Shinichi knew he lacked, but Kaito never tired of trying to teach him, and Shinichi would never stop trying to learn.

"Well, actually, I did make us a reservation," he said, not looking at Kaito. "We could head over there now. We're a bit early, but the weather's nice, and the area is supposed to be really nice…"

Kaito blinked then smiled. So that was what Shinichi had been up to. He'd noticed the detective slipping out of the room while he'd been brushing his teeth. Catching Shinichi's hand, he brought it up to his lips and brushed a kiss across the back of his knuckles. "Sounds perfect. Shall I call us a car?"

Shinichi turned a fetching shade of pink but didn't pull away. "We can walk. The place isn't that far from here."

"Even better."

-To Be Continued-