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A Curse Marked Fate

31: Seedling

"She's fundraising for them?" Kaito didn't even bother trying to keep the incredulity out of his voice. "Guess she really doesn't care who connects her to them. She's not even bothering to hide her tracks!"

On the other end of the line, Shinichi snorted. "Why should she? It's not like it's common knowledge that the Foundation is making Curse Mark amulets. Most people would laugh us out of the house for even suggesting such a thing was possible."

"Yeah, you're right." Kaito let his breath hiss out between his teeth, earning wary looks from some of the other Ekoda High students he passed on his way to his first class of the day. "It's a solid connection though. We can't complain about that."

"No, we can't," the boy on the other end of the line agreed.

The tone in his voice, however, made Kaito's eyebrows rise.

"Why aren't you more excited about this?" he asked bluntly. "We have your connection. We have a hypothesis on the type of curse. And we have tickets to the fundraiser where we'll be able to get a damned good look at her and some of her associates."

"It's not that simple," Shinichi sighed.

Kaito echoed his sigh with an exasperated one of his own. "Why do people keep telling me that?"

That got a light laugh from Shinichi. "Probably because most things in the world are complicated."

"I disagree. I say most things in the world are simple. It's people who make them more complicated than they have to be."

"Well, maybe," Shinichi conceded. "For some things. But others really are that complicated. And I'd say this is one of those. We don't know if Kurata or Matsuhara still have the amulets. If they've already disposed of them then there goes the evidence of our hypothesis. And even if we did find the amulets, there'd be no way to prove they're being used to coerce a divorce and a marriage. The amulet's magic has already been used. It would just be an ornament at this point. It would be our word against theirs that it once carried a spell, let alone one derived from a curse."

Kaito frowned. "Depending on how much time has elapsed since the amulet was used, there may be ways to determine if it once carried a spell."

"But not what spell or whether the spell performed as it was meant to," Shinichi countered. "Or at least that's what I've read."

Hearing the questioning note in the younger boy's voice, Kaito sighed. "It's true, especially for single-use amulets like these curse ones seem to be. But if you're not hoping they'll have the amulets on them, what are you looking for?"

There was a brief silence from Shinichi's end of the line followed by a resigned huff. "I'm not sure."

It was, Kaito thought, quite incredible just how much frustration that too-young voice could pack into just three little words.

"Something might come to mind when we see them for ourselves," Shinichi continued, clearly thinking out loud. "What about a detection spell? I know some Sky Mages can detect magic. Could you use a detection spell to find out if they're being influenced by Curse Mark magic?"

"Curse Mark magic is still magic, even if it does have properties we can't decipher or measure, so technically you can. But remember. Most people carry some magical objects about their persons, and most people use magic every day. A typical detection spell would tell us if there's magic on them but not what that magic is. That's why they're mostly used for monitoring the activation of magic. For details, you'd have to use specialized equipment like what we have at the Institute, and I doubt you could get either Matsuhara or Kurata to agree to an exam like that."

"I guess that was too much to hope for… Well, maybe there'll be other signs that will at least confirm for us that their behavior is being influenced. Until we have some actual proof of that, even if it isn't proof we can bring to a court, we're only hypothesizing. But there will also be representatives from the Foundation there. We should be able to learn something useful from them, especially if we can catch any of them talking to Kurata-san."

Kaito affected an air of astonishment. "My, my, are you actually suggesting we spy on the woman? How naughty of you."

Shinichi spluttered, and Kaito could all but hear him blushing. Unable to resist, he laughed.

"Oh whatever," the detective huffed. "So did you want the extra ticket or not? You never actually said."

"Of course I do," Kaito said promptly. "I'd never miss a chance to go somewhere with my cute little Tantei-kun."

The spluttering this time was much louder.

"Don't say things like that! It's weird. You'll give people the wrong idea."

Kaito debated asking Shinichi what idea he was referring to and why he thought it would be wrong, but the younger boy barreled on before he could do so by saying that Ran was calling for him and offering Kaito a hasty goodbye. The magician eyed his now quiet phone for a long moment after Shinichi had hung up before pocketing the device with a sigh.

Perhaps he should try being more direct.

"Where have you been?!"

It was a mark of how preoccupied he was that the nearly didn't manage to dodge the book bag flying for his head. Fortunately, his reflexes were excellent, and so he ducked just fast enough so that it only ruffled the hair on top of his head. Once he was certain the hefty bag wasn't on its way back for a second attempt to brain him, he straightened and scowled at the fuming girl who had been wielding it.

"Jeez Ahoko, you're turning into a real barbarian, you know that?"

She scowled. "Don't change the subject!"

"There was a subject?" he wondered aloud, performing an exaggerated double take and widening his eyes in affected astonishment.

"I was asking you where you've been," Aoko huffed, dropping her book bag on an empty desk (of which there were plenty in their immediate vicinity because their classmates had all retreated to other corners of the classroom lest they be caught in the crossfire) and crossing her arms. "You said you were going to come over Saturday night to help me figure out what I was doing wrong with my magic class project, but you never showed up! I tried calling you, and you wouldn't even pick up. Then you ignored all my messages! I got worried—heaven help me. I should've known better. But I thought maybe you'd gotten yourself into a Sky Cycle accident or something, so I went over to your place. And that's when I learn you'd just ditched me and went to go stay over at a friend's house. You left me to struggle with that project you promised you'd work with me on so you could go have fun!"

And there was real hurt in the brunette's eyes now that made Kaito's insides twist with guilt. He really had forgotten about meeting up with Aoko.

"I'm sorry," he said. "I was getting some project tips from a professor friend of Co-chan's—he's got a great collection of reference books for people who want to invent magical gadgets, and I ended up staying over. I know I should have called. There's no excuse for forgetting, and I really am sorry. If you still need help, we can work on it today. Any time you like."

Aoko blinked, studied his earnest face, then sighed. "That won't be necessary. Your mom gave me some pointers. She was really nice about it. And the advice she gave me was really helpful."

"So you forgive me?"

Now, finally, the girl smiled. "I forgive you. I probably should have gone to your mom in the first place. I mean, she's the one who actually uses Earth Magic. All you could have done was spout theories at me."

"You say that like I've never been helpful."

"I didn't mean it like that. You are helpful. I…probably wouldn't have passed last year's magic final without your help." Unfolding her arms, Aoko sank into a chair. The motion signaled to the rest of their classmates that it was safe now to settle into their own seats. "But I can't keep relying on you. I just realized that."

Kaito's eyebrows drew together, and he lowered himself slowly into his chair, never taking his eyes off of Aoko's face. "What are you talking about? You know I don't mind lending you a hand. That's what friends are for."

Aoko's face softened, and she smiled. "I know. I'm not saying otherwise. All I meant was, well… Things can't stay the same forever, right? That's just how life is."

Kaito's frown deepened. "That's unusually gloomy of you."

Aoko rolled her eyes. "I'm not trying to be gloomy. I was just, you know, thinking about the future and what we want out of it—like whether I really want to follow Dad's footsteps or if I only thought about it because it's what I know. We have to start thinking about it sometime. Or at least I do. I guess you already know what you want. But, well, we only have one more year of high school after this one."

Kaito considered this. "Well, just so long as you're not depressing yourself over it then. Time's too precious to waste on being gloomy."

Aoko laughed. "That's true."

All the talk of futures and dreams brought Shinichi back to the forefront of Kaito's thoughts. And it made him wonder. Here was Aoko, who was getting ready to start dreaming of great things, and here was himself, who had known since he was six exactly what he wanted to be when he grew up. But then there was Shinichi, who seemed determined to think only of putting one foot ahead of the other as he worked his way towards whatever Fate had laid out for him.

Three such different paths, yet only three among millions. Millions of threads all tangled together in an inexplicable design.

Giving himself a shake to dislodge the peculiar thoughts bouncing about in his head, Kaito turned his focus back on the here and now.

His Shinichi wanted a way to prove that the Matsuharas' problems were magical at their roots. And Kaito thought he might just have the way to do it.

Leaving Aoko, Hakuba, Keiko and several of their other classmates at Umeko's Ice Cream Parlor after class, Kaito took himself off to Clover Institute.

He saw a big man in a black suit and a thin, dark-haired lady in a white dress standing just outside the Institute doors, neither moving on or making a move to enter.

"Excuse me!" he called out as he approached. "Do you two need some help?"

The two strangers turned towards him, and Kaito felt his internal alert go off. The two looked pleasant enough, with ordinary smiles that didn't reach their eyes, but those eyes… He didn't like those eyes.

"Ah, no, but thank you," the woman said politely. "Sorry if we were in your way. Come on, Dear." She took her companion by the arm, nodded to Kaito, and turned to walk away.

Kaito watched the two go with a frown. It wasn't until they had disappeared from sight that he headed inside and up to find his dad.

He located Kuroba Toichi in one of the viewing rooms as he'd expected. What he hadn't expected was to see the miniature red maple in its elegant pot sitting in the center of the ring of glass panels.

The maple had changed visibly since Kaito had last seen it just a few days ago, he noted with interest. Its trunk and delicate branches were no longer burnished gold in color but a rich, earthy red. The leaves, on the other hand, still looked like gold foil cut into the shape of maple leaves.

"Is that the same tree you showed me back in your office?" Kaito asked, leaning forward until his nose was nearly touching one glass panel as he studied the potted plant beyond.

"Indeed it is," Toichi replied. "And you'll note that our amulet is indeed having an effect. The coloring is going, although I must confess myself surprised that it is leaving the trunk and branches before the leaves. That is most suggestive. The amulet's influence on the growth spell, however, is rather more minimal."

"So…what does that mean?"

"No idea."

Kaito made a face at that, and his father laughed.

"If you'd like, I can share with you the twenty one theories I've formulated," he offered, eyes twinkling.

"I'll pass," Kaito said flatly. "What matters is that it's working."

"Well, yes, there is that. But I wouldn't test it on anything important just yet," the older mage added, expression growing serious. "I'll let you know if and when that changes."

Kaito rolled his eyes. "I know, I know. Jeez. You don't have to keep telling me. I had something else in mind—a test for these amulets that involves curse magic but won't cause any harm one way or another."

"Oh?" Intrigued, Toichi turned his full attention to his son. "Let's hear it then."

Kaito watched his father's eyebrows rise as he outlined his plan until they disappeared completely under the older Sky Mage's bangs.

"I see," the man murmured when Kaito had finished. Then his lips curved into a mischievous smirk. "I do believe that that would be a very interesting experiment indeed."

Kaito perked up. "So you'll help?"

"Naturally. I must admit, it would be satisfying after the runaround that lot gave me."

Kaito quirked an eyebrow at that. "What do you mean?"

"Ah, I suppose I hadn't told you yet. Well, after we talked about the Foundation, I made a few inquiries and reached out to them as one researcher to another. I mentioned that I too have been searching for a way to improve the lives of those born with Curse Marks, and I asked if they would be interested in cooperating with the Institute to our mutual benefit and the benefit of those we are trying to help."

"And?" Kaito prompted.

"I was told—very politely, mind you—to mind my own business," Toichi replied. "I made a few more overtures to various members of their administration. They hemmed and hawed a bit. Deferred me from one representative to the next. Then they suddenly accuse me of plotting to steal their research and told me to back off if I didn't want them to take legal actions against the Institute."

Kaito blinked. "…Wow, that's a bit extreme."

"To put it mildly," his father agreed, tone dry. "In any case, I'm going to need some more information if we're going to make your plan work."

TBC

A.N: Hope you had a good Halloween. Just a heads up that I'm really busy right now, though I'll do my best to keep updating on schedule. Have a great week!