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

Pairing: KaitoxShinichi

Heroes and Villains: Blue Moon Island

[Superpower Verse]

Part 23

"I have to admit," said Shinichi. "When you said we'd be participating in a fashion show, this was not what I imagined."

Kaito looked amused. "I assume you're not talking about the dressing up."

Shinichi rolled his eyes. "Obviously not. I know you wouldn't miss an opportunity to make me wear weird clothes."

Kaito chuckled. "Now, now, no need to be rude. Besides, you look lovely."

He took a step back and let his gaze wander up and down Shinichi's person to illustrate his point.

The detective blushed under his intense scrutiny and tugged self-consciously at the costume he was wearing. It was loose and flowy and actually quite comfortable, but it was also a rainbow of eye-jarringly bright colors.

"I feel like a tropical bird," he grumbled. Though in all honesty, he wasn't all that bothered by the outfit. It was too colorful, sure, but it was otherwise decent and well suited to the island's warm weather (which was a pleasant surprise considering the track record regarding costumes Kaito liked to bestow on him). "What I meant though was that I was expecting something a little more straight forward."

"You mean without the dancing?" Kaito stated more than asked.

Shinichi grimaced. "Yeah. I have to be honest, I would have preferred not to be surprised on that front."

"Don't worry about it. You'll do fine," Kaito assured him. "You did well during practice."

Shinichi leveled him with an incredulous look. "I tripped and fell off the stage during practice. You had to catch me."

"It only happened once though," Kaito reasoned. "Besides, it was entertaining, which is the point."

Shinichi pouted, realized what he was doing and stopped. "I always thought the point of a fashion show was to showcase clothes."

"And we will be," Kaito replied cheerfully. "We're just doing it in a more relaxed way. Remember, this shop does custom costumes for performances, parties, festivals, themed events and the like. I believe the goal here is more to show off the wide range of cool and unique designs the designer is capable of rather than trying to sell any particular outfit. And of course to throw a good party."

"Why are you the only one whose outfit doesn't look like you were at ground zero of a paint factory explosion?" Shinichi asked, eyeing his partner's black and silver suit. He would admit—privately—that the magician looked very dashing. The huge feather plume in his hat didn't look nearly as silly as it should. His outfit even came with a monocle, though Shinichi wouldn't put it past Kaito to have suggested that particular addition himself. All in all, he looked sort of like an aristocratic pirate—which was rather fitting, Shinichi mused, and certainly just as outlandish as all the other costumes. But all those other costumes were about as colorful as it was possible to be while Kaito's outfit was monochromatic.

"Well~, the master of the show must stand out," Kaito replied, producing a cane with a flick of his wrist to flourish before making it disappear again.

"Why are you the master of the show anyway? Shouldn't it be the lady who actually designed the outfits?"

"It would have been, but she's a smart lady. When she recognized yours truly, she realized she'd been given a golden opportunity and asked me to enhance her show." Kaito's smug grin grew serious then. "It's lucky for us too, all considered. Let's just keep our fingers crossed that Miss Tomoko accepts the invitation."

"If she doesn't then we'll just have to try my original plan. You know, talk to her. Maybe ask Alvita-san to come along and help. It shouldn't be that difficult."

"Maybe," Kaito said grimly. "But you know, some people change when they discover they've got such great power wrapped around their fingers, so to speak. She loves these stories. Perhaps she will be enamored with the idea of bringing even more of them to light and life. Or she may wish to create her own stories and breathe life into them. The temptation to make all that you dream a place you love should be into reality is terrifying and alluring."

Shinichi winced. "I, well…yeah. I don't think she'd be like that, but I wouldn't want to test it I suppose. It'd be natural for someone who likes telling stories so much not to want to try it out at least a little."

"Exactly. And it's too easy for something to go wrong. You don't need to mean harm to cause it. It would be better for everyone if we just switch out the rings during my magic show."

A knock at the dressing room door heralded Satou's appearance in an outfit in brilliant shades of red and gold that made her look like a warrior priestess in service to some kind of phoenix goddess.

"Everyone's ready," she declared. "How about you two?"

"We're ready too," Kaito replied. "That's a very striking look for you, by the way."

"Thanks." She grinned at him. "You don't look half bad yourself."

"We should take a group photo later and send it to everyone back home," Kaito agreed. "I'm sure Takagi-san would appreciate the souvenir."

Satou turned a little pink at the mention of her boyfriend. "I…suppose it wouldn't hurt."

-0-

"And a round of applause for out lovely Miss Tomoko and her incredible work!"

Cheers of agreement and applause rang through the building.

"How did you do that?" Tomoko asked under cover of the noise, her own voice full of wonder. She was staring at her own hands—hands which had, under Kaito's "tutelage", just conjured a beautiful tree of white and silver which had sprouted, grown, bloomed then dissolved in sparkling light.

"Magic, of course," Kaito replied with a cheeky grin. "You clearly have a knack for it."

Tomoko laughed. "Right. Thanks then. That was fun."

"Good. That's the most important part of magic," Kaito told her with all sincerity.

-0-

"You got it?"

"Of course." Kaito flicked his wrist, and a small, sparkling ring spun up into the air. He caught it again and made it disappear. "Did you doubt me?"

Shinichi snorted. "I wouldn't dare."

That earned him a smirk. "Very wise."

-0-

"It's strange," Shinichi said later as he and Kaito sat together on an extra large beach towel spread on a small, extremely secluded beach. How Kaito had found the place, Shinichi had no idea, especially since it was a huge pain to get to, but he appreciated the effort. After the mayhem that was the fashion show and party hybrid, Shinichi welcomed the peace and quiet of being utterly alone with only Kaito for company (Satou and Dr. Francis had decided to take the ghost ship hiking tour and so were taking the chance to catch some sleep). He leaned back against Kaito's strong, solid chest and let out a contented sigh.

Kaito's arms tightened around his waist as the magician hummed curiously. "What's strange?"

"I was just thinking that this island feels sort of magical," the detective explained. "Then I remembered everything that's happened, and, well…"

"You realized it was too true," Kaito supplied. "And not in the way you were thinking."

"Yeah." Shinichi gazed out over the tranquil sea. Here beneath the sunset glow, it was a shimmering sheet of gold and orange. A pair of gulls flew by overhead, their cries punctuating the soft whispers of the waves.

"What do you think is going to happen with all those island myths that came to life?" he asked eventually.

Kaito sighed. "Well, they'll probably go on being there."

They fell silent as they both mulled over the implications of that.

"It's kind of a scary thought," Shinichi said. "But I guess it could have been worse."

"That's certainly true," Kaito agreed with a chuckle. Then he smirked. "Hey, maybe we should try to find our way back to that lovely mountain establishment. We had lots of fun there."

Shinichi blushed bright red. "I don't think places like that are ones you can get to more than once—at least not for a long time."

Kaito heaved an exaggerated sigh. "You might be right about that. Shame. I'd like to end our vacation on a high note."

He raised an eyebrow when Shinichi shifted, turning around so that he was now straddling Kaito's lap. With his knees on either side of Kaito's hips, Shinichi slid his arms around the taller man's neck and pulled him into a long, soft kiss. When they parted, he was pleased to see that Kaito looked a little bit dazed.

Shinichi smiled. "We don't need a magical restaurant."

Kaito blinked then smiled back, warm and broad. "You're right."

And he kissed Shinichi again. This kiss was deep and full of passion, and it sent tingles of pleasure all the way to the tips of Shinichi's fingers and toes. Then Kaito's calloused hands were sliding up underneath his shirt, and he moaned softly, melting under their caress.

Much later, as the two of them walked along the beach back towards the Blue Moon Rose beneath a crystal clear sky all aglitter with stars, Shinichi reflected that this and moments like it were still what he was sure that he would remember best about this trip. It was ironic yet somehow infinitely fitting. They had found and acquired a shard of Pandora, discovered one entirely new species and the evolution of another, and visited a variety of supernatural establishments, but the time they spent together was still and always would be more special than all of that combined.

"You know, I just realized something," he said suddenly.

Kaito glanced over at him. "Yeah?"

"That first fortune I got," Shinichi explained. "The one about an answer being a childhood love. It must have been refering to our investigation."

"And Miss Tomoko's childhood love of this island's myths," Kaito said, nodding. "Makes sense." Then he laughed. "So we had the answer all along. Go figure."

-End of Chapter-

Note: Yay! I'm surprised I was able to finish this arc so quickly. Though, looking back, I think I maybe should have switched a few things around. Anyhow, I hope you enjoyed it. I do plan to write more in this universe, but I'll probably switch to a different one first as I already have something in mind.