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

Pairing: KaitoxShinichi

When the Fox Comes Calling

Chapter 3 - His Trickster Knight

Something was very, very wrong—and that wasn't even counting the silver fox hybrid hovering over him with that decidedly perverted leer or the fact that he had been kidnapped on his way to the latest Kaitou KID heist.

That flush that Shinichi had assumed was from his anger at his captor's lewd comments wasn't going away. Instead, it was growing and seemed to be spreading through his body like lava flowing through his veins—slow but inexorable. It wasn't just the heat though. There was this feeling…a growing restlessness and discomfort in his own skin—a craving for something he'd never had and couldn't put into words…

The heat was creeping now into his thoughts too, jumbling them. He wondered why he was having such difficulty breathing. He could hear his own heart beating like a quick and erratic drum in his chest.

"Ah, it looks like it's starting. Let's see. Took about ten minutes to kick in."

Even Sylva's voice is distant now. Distant and unimportant. The scratching of a pen on paper made even less sense than those pointless, nonsensical words. All that mattered was this growing sensation inside him—this burning need for…for… He couldn't finish the thought as his head spun.

Sylva was still talking, but Shinichi had stopped paying attention. He was focused inward, struggling against the sensations thrumming through his body and the odd fog in his mind that didn't want to let him string his thoughts together properly. With a horrified kind of detachment, he realized that, disregarding the unusual disorientation, he recognized these sensations. His body was going into heat.

But this was wrong, he thought dazedly. This was too early. It wasn't the right time.

Well, the tiny corner of his mind that was still able to formulate coherent thoughts observed, at least he now had a pretty good idea of what kind of drug he had been dosed with. But whether that knowledge was a good thing or not, he didn't currently have the mental capacity to decide. On the one hand, it probably meant he wasn't going to die. Yet. Sylva and Scarlet's conversation suggested that this might change in the future if he didn't find a way to get out of here and away from these unsavory people. But on the other hand, death might very well be preferable to becoming a—a test subject for mind-addling, heat-inducing drugs.

His heart was racing now, and it wasn't all because of the drug. Nor was it all the very reasonable fear at what was happening to him. It was also anger and frustration at his own helplessness and the carelessness that had landed him in this situation to begin with. If only he could think—! There had to be a way out of here. There just had to be. Except he still couldn't move, and Sylva was leaning over him again, predatory eyes aglow with an almost feral light. And Shinichi couldn't look away.

The world was spinning. A claw-tipped finger traced a line of fire over the jut of his hip bone, and he gasped and would have jerked away had he been able. Fangs flashed in the play of lights and shadows that were beginning to swim before his eyes.

He squeezed them shut. There was nothing he could do. The cold horror of that thought was nearly enough to break through the haze still dragging at his thoughts, but only nearly. The rest of his mind seemed to be sinking. His whole body seemed to be buzzing—he was both wonderfully and uncomfortably warm. He whimpered, breathing coming in shallow gasps.

A loud bang just outside the door snapped Shinichi's thoughts temporarily back into some semblance of clarity. It was at least enough for him to realize that Sylva had drawn away from him. This discovery sent a wave of relief crashing through him even as his body protested the loss of the other's presence—of his scent that promised the very pleasure Shinichi's body was telling him he wanted—needed.

Struggling between the instincts and desires of his own body and the rational part of his mind that knew this was all wrong, wrong, wrong, Shinichi could only watch as the fox stalked over to the door. Through it, the explosions and now shrilling alarm was being punctuated by shouts and the sounds of pounding feet.

"What's going on out there?" he demanded, wrenching open the door. "Some people are trying to have a little fun."

"It's the lab!" a panicked voice replied. "There was a malfunction in the equipment! We're having trouble shutting it off!"

Another explosion rocked through the building.

"Idiots!" With a snarl, Sylva stormed from the room, but not before casting Shinichi another look.

"Don't worry, little bunny, this won't take long," the silver fox promised with a toothy smirk. "I'll be right back to take care of you." That said, he bounded out of the room.

The hubbub outside receded. Left alone in the sudden stillness, Shinichi found that his arms and legs were finally responding. He still felt weak as wet noodles, but at least he could move a little, and he'd be damned if he just lay here and waited for Sylva to come back.

Shinichi was getting out of here or he was going to die trying.

Mind made up, he levered himself laboriously into a sitting position and slid his feet over the edge of the examination bed. He tried to stand only to sit right back down again when the world around him lurched. His knees felt like jelly. And his wrists were still secured to the bed frame. He had to free his hands first.

But how? His sluggish mind writhed in frustration, and again, he felt like he could barely breathe.

The door opened again.

Fear shot up his spine, and he looked up, dreading that he would see Sylva back again to finish what he'd started. But though the man in the doorway was indeed a fox hybrid, it wasn't Sylva.

This fox hybrid was dressed in an impeccably white suit and top hat with an equally white cape. His hair, ears, and tail were white to match his suit, though it was generally agreed that white was not his natural color. He was also wearing a monocle over one eye.

Shinichi stared. Had he started hallucinating? He blinked several times, but the apparition remained.

"Kaitou KID?" he asked hesitantly, still not really believing his eyes.

For once, the thief didn't smile. And it was the grimness of his expression that finally convinced Shinichi that he was real and not a figment of his imagination.

"We don't have much time," the thief told him. He crossed the room to Shinichi's side in two quick strides. A moment later, Shinichi found that his hands were free. "They'll be done with my distractions in fifteen minutes or so. Here, Put this coat on." KID pulled a long coat out of nowhere and handed it to Shinichi. The detective remained sitting where he was with the coat in hand, not sure whether he should try pulling it over the hospital gown or if he should take the gown off first. The latter made more sense, but the thought of KID seeing him naked made him blush to the roots.

"Here, let me help," KID said, apparently misinterpreting Shinichi's hesitation. The thief tugged Shinichi to his feet and solved his dilemma about the gown by simply throwing the coat over Shinichi's shoulders, gown and all, and helping him pull his uncooperative arms through the sleeves.

"Why are you here?" Shinichi managed to ask as the thief buttoned his coat for him. Under normal circumstances, he'd have been horribly embarrassed to have anyone, let alone the Kaitou KID, buttoning his coat for him like he was a child, but the drugs in his system were making it difficult to even stand up. He knew he wouldn't be able to manage buttons.

"To rescue you of course," KID quipped, flashing one of his infamous heart-melting grins and, for a moment, looking much more like the KID that Shinichi was used to seeing on heists.

"But how—"

"Hush. Like I said, we don't have time. We can talk later. Can you walk?"

That was a good question. Determined, Shinichi took a step towards the door—and nearly fell flat on his face as the world around him spun. KID caught him before he hit the ground.

"Guess I'll have to carry you," the thief murmured, more to himself than to Shinichi.

The next thing Shinichi knew, KID had scooped him up into his arms, and they were off.

Shinichi's heart was racing now for an entirely un-drug-related reason that was not helping either his thought processes or the tingling, thrumming sensations running through his body.

Shinichi really didn't remember much about what happened after that. All he could recall later was the sound of shouting, crashing, things exploding, and the familiar scent of wood smoke and roses that always made him think of moonlit nights and a wicked grin that he couldn't help but love.

-0-

The night air was cool and clear with a bite to it that Kaito welcomed because it distracted him from the warm bundle in his arms. Not being distracted was very important right now for a variety of reasons beginning with the fact that he had just stolen aforementioned bundle from what he was sure was a group of people he did not want to get to know and ending with the fact that he and his charge were currently several hundred feet in the air. The wind was good tonight, but his glider hadn't exactly been meant for two. It could manage (though it helped that his passenger wasn't particularly heavy—though that worried Kaito a little too. The detective really should be eating more and working less), but one wrong move and they just might end up crashing. That wouldn't do any favors for either his pristine, gentleman thief image or his chances at finally getting his detective to go out with him.

A low chuckle escaped him at the thought as he turned their flight towards the Kudo Manor. Yeah, a daring rescue wouldn't have half the impact if it ended in a crash.

Somewhere in the distance, he heard police sirens, but they were too far away to have anything to do with him at the moment. More likely, they were responding to the smoke pouring out of the building he and Shinichi had just left. Thoughts of the police reminded him that he had inadvertently left Nakamori and his task force—not to mention all his adoring fans—hanging. It would be the first time ever that Kaitou KID hadn't shown up for a heist he'd announced. He felt a moment of guilt at that. He hated disappointing his fans. But some things were just too important to ignore.

Things like an unconscious Kudo Shinichi being dragged into a nondescript van and driven away by suspicious characters.

Indigo eyes hardened at the memory.

Kuroba Kaito, known to most of the world as the infamous Kaitou KID, had known for a long time now that he had more than friendly feelings for Kudo Shinichi, his most challenging—and most delightful—rival. It had begun as a simple interest in a mind as quick and sharp as his own on a night at the Ekoda Clock Tower. That first encounter had piqued Kaito's interest, but it was only when the following heist had come and gone without any sign of his new rival's reappearance that he had decided to look the detective up. He had begun experimenting with ways to get Shinichi to attend more of his heists. After all, Kaito had been getting bored with the police and that uptight blond nuisance, and he hadn't been about to let this potentially entertaining new playmate get away.

What had started as simple curiosity and a desire for a real challenge had, however, grown very rapidly into an obsession.

Shinichi had turned out to be everything Kaito had hoped he would be and then some. He was smart and quick on his feet both literally and figuratively—a true challenge to Kaito's own considerable intellect. But he was more than that.

He was someone Kaito could really, truly respect. He was the kind of person who truly cared and who could look beyond the surface of things, and he didn't judge the worth of others. For all that he had seen and still saw the worst of mankind on a daily basis, Shinichi somehow still managed to believe in the goodness of people and their ability to change for the better. He valued all life, not just the lives of the people he liked, and he was willing to put his own wellbeing on the line to protect even those that most people would say didn't deserve it. That kind of dedication wasn't something you saw every day, and Kaito admired him for it even though he also wished Shinichi would take his own safety more seriously. Helping people was all well and good, but you couldn't help anyone if you were dead.

Kaito had started keeping closer tabs on Shinichi outside of his heists after the boy had landed himself in the hospital—again—after a particularly unpleasant case involving an insane serial killer who had deluded himself into believing that he could bring his deceased family back to life through some kind of occult ritual that required child sacrifices. Honestly, the awful—and stupid—things people would believe and do when they were desperate was just crazy! But anyway, the point was that Kaito hadn't liked the idea of his most interesting critic accidentally getting himself killed, and so he had decided to help ensure that such a thing didn't happen. Of course, he couldn't watch Shinichi himself all the time, but he had trained a few doves to help him stalk—er, look out for—the detective. And a good thing too! Kaito had nipped over more than a few times by now to, ah, make sure things didn't get out of hand.

Not that Shinichi knew this. Though it was for Shinichi's own good, Kaito didn't think the rabbit hybrid would take too kindly to learning that he was being spied on.

Over time though, he had found himself watching Shinichi less as a precaution and a method of studying his best rival and more because, well, he enjoyed watching Shinichi. It was funny how the boy could be such a sharp detective yet so adorably out of touch with regular, everyday things like the latest most popular band. Normally composed, he could nevertheless bubble like an excited five year old when he got a new book or when his favorite soccer team won a game. His peculiar combination of oblivious innocence and wisdom beyond his years was intriguing, and it certainly didn't hurt that he was just so fun to tease.

He also had the most beautiful eyes and a very cute blush.

He liked Shinichi's scent too—like spring with a hint of spice. It sang to him of honey and fire and the thrill of the race.

Kaito began to suspect that he might be beginning to develop more than friendly feelings towards the detective when he found himself scrutinizing everyone Shinichi interacted with on a daily basis and evaluating their relationships with his detective (and feeling gleeful when he had determined that Shinichi was still single—had never been in a romantic relationship, in fact). He began daydreaming about sweeping Shinichi away from his overload of work to a romantic vacation—just the two of them. Those daydreams rapidly multiplied and expanded to include rather less innocent fantasies.

Those same fantasies were haunting him now and making it extremely difficult to concentrate.

That honey and spice undertone was growing exponentially stronger, mixed in with another scent that was uniquely Shinichi that was making Kaito's pulse quicken. But that didn't make sense. He knew the schedule of Shinichi's cycle by heart (no, Shinichi never told him. So how did he find out? Well, let's just say that the skills of a phantom thief are good for more than just stealing jewels. And yes, he knows that's a bit creepy, but he would like to point out that he wouldn't be the first person to seek out such information about a desired mate. He just has more resources than most. He also knew that Shinichi typically holed up at home when in heat with several strong sleeping pills and a mountain of novels), and this was three whole weeks early.

He forced himself to focus on his concern over the wrongness and not on anything else as he flew. It was in fact a serious concern. While there were certainly aphrodisiacs out there that could affect hybrids (although different ones worked differently on different types of hybrids), none could actually induce heats. There were two that would induce what had come to be termed as false heats where a hybrid felt all the typical bodily reactions but could not conceive that had come out of failed experiments done by a lab worried about low birth rates, but both of those drugs had been made illegal everywhere because they had been found to be extremely dangerous to the recipient. Thankfully, they were both extremely difficult and expensive to make and the punishment for even trying to make them was extremely heavy in every country, so those who might otherwise have tried to make criminal use of them typically steered clear. But if one of those drugs was what Shinichi had been dosed with…

Kaito cursed himself for not having grabbed some samples from that lab before he'd set fire to it. But it was too late for that now.

Could whatever it was be flushed out of Shinichi's system if the rabbit hybrid drank a lot of water? It was the only idea Kaito could come up with at the moment that seemed remotely like it could work.

Landing in the Kudo Manor's back garden, Kaito carefully set Shinichi on his feet. He realized instantly though that the younger boy wasn't going to be able to walk. Whatever he had been drugged with also seemed to be messing with not only his balance but his thought processes. The glazed, unfocused look in his eyes were worrying Kaito even more than he'd already been. Fortunately—or maybe unfortunately considering what it was doing to Kaito's sanity—it was rather easy to get Shinichi to lean on him. Indeed, Shinichi seemed quite happy to attach himself to Kaito like a limpet.

By the time Kaito finally managed to unlock the backdoor and maneuver them both inside, Shinichi was half wrapped around him with one leg wrapped around Kaito's hip and his arms around Kaito's neck, pulling him close as the rabbit hybrid buried his nose in the crook of Kaito's neck, panting softly and making unintelligible little mewling noises that were sending all the wrong (right?) signals to Kaito's brain.

Kaito grit his teeth. Part of him wanted to give in to his instincts and all his fantasies and just kiss Shinichi already. To carry Shinichi off to bed and make love to him all night long. He had wanted it for years now. Dreamed of ten thousand ways to make it happen. None of which had anything to do with where he was now.

Kaito's resolve firmed.

He was not going to take advantage of Shinichi's drugged condition. After all, it wasn't just Shinichi's body he wanted. Kaito wanted the detective's heart too. If he took the first now, he would never get the second, and that was by far the more important of the two.

"Okay," he said out loud to help himself stay grounded. "Let's get you something to drink."

-To be Continued-