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

Pairing: KaitoxShinichi

Chapter Rating: Mostly T in this part

Warnings: Mild hint of adult content in the short, italicized section

Collection Summary: No matter where or what they are, their lives are always entwined. KaiShin stories in fantasy settings.

Chapter Summary: Shinichi is the new detective at the magical crimes division and Kaito is the demon he's made a contract with to help him on his cases. It's only natural that life is weird.

A Demon's Love

[Demon Verse]

Part 1

Kudo Shinichi, twenty one years old, looked down at his new badge, a sense of pride swelling in his chest.

"You begin tomorrow," Inspector Megure told him, smiling kindly at the boy he'd watched grow up. "Welcome to the team."

"Thank you." Shinichi bowed before taking his leave, feeling like he was walking on air. Starting tomorrow, he would be a detective working with the magical crimes division of the city's police.

He had just stepped out of the station when a familiar voice greeted him. "I take it from that smile that everything went well?"

He frowned, looking up into a pair of indigo eyes. "Why do you keep showing up? The contract was that you're supposed to come when I call you."

The newcomer laughed, reaching out to ruffle Shinichi's hair. "Of course, but it doesn't say anything about me not coming when you don't call me."

Shinichi opened his mouth then shut it again. If he hadn't still been holding his new badge, he would have buried his face in his hands.

As a wizard, he had the power to bridge the wall between dimensions and summon beings from those dimensions into his own. These beings, known to most as demons, were entities of great power who could do things humans could only dream about. They had to take on physical shapes when they appeared on the material plain. Most preferred the shape of humans, and it could be almost impossible to tell the difference between a human and a demon in the shape of one unless it let you. Their physical bodies opperated the same way as whatever life form they were emulating, only with a few enhancements depending on their whims. Most demons developed an attachment to a particular form and appearance over time. Some had played such important roles over the course of history that their pictures were in the textbooks.

Wizards worked by making contracts with demons with a variety of abilities and knowledge.

This particular demon went by the name Kuroba Kaito. He was tall and wiry, with wild hair that always looked windswept and eyes a peculiar shade of indigo. The first time Shinichi had met him, he'd been stunned by the strange resemblance between their faces, but he'd gotten used to it by now. It helped that the more time he spent with Kaito the easier it got to spot the differences so that by now he forgot about the similarities more often than he remembered them.

Even now, Shinichi wasn't entirely sure how he'd ended up working with this particular demon.

Kuroba Kaito was famous for being an enigmatic demon with both an unparalleled knowledge of history and lore and unmatched skills in magic. He was also known for being very selective about the wizards he deigned to work with. And so Shinichi had been understandably surprised when Kaito had sought him out (on top of everything else, it was odd for a demon to be able to appear on the material plain without a wizard's powers). At the time Shinichi had been looking in vain for information about a particularly rare, magical herb someone had been using to knock out their competitors in a sports competition his university was participating in. Shinichi had already found the culprit, but no one knew how to counter the effects of the herb. No one but Kaito anyway.

The thing about demons, though, was that they never did anything for nothing, but what each wanted in payment differed from individual to individual. Some were as fond of gold and jewels as many humans were, others fancied certain foods, some demanded you answer riddles or play certain games, the list went on. Kaito, however, was different.

The contract he'd set forth and Shinichi had hesitantly agreed to set the method of payment to be negotiated depending on the information requested from him. That first time, all he'd asked was that Shinichi eat lunch with him.

Shinichi hadn't realized at the time that he had somehow signed away his privacy. Kaito came and went as he pleased, and their contract meant that he always knew where Shinichi was. On the bright side, the demon had proven to be good company. Even so, Shinichi would have appreciated it if the demon could learn how to respect his personal bubble.

"Hello~. Anyone in there?"

Blinking at the hand waving in front of his face, Shinichi blushed. "Sorry. I'm supposed to start tomorrow."

"Cool. I'll come with you."

"…"

-0-

He'd finally found Shinichi again.

He knew that most other demons thought he was a bit strange for developing such an attachment to a human, but he rather thought that he had found something they had all missed.

There was nothing quite like the feeling of being with someone you loved. The joy of seeing them smile, and the rich contentment of being able to hold them in your arms…

Most of his kind scorned the very idea of caring for others. They saw attachments as weaknesses. The problem was that, in their long existence, it was impossible not to develop attachments of some kind. Many became fixated on things like gold and jewels and other such frivolities. They argued that such things lasted, but from Kaito's point of view that was about all the stuff had going for it. Sure it was pretty and shiny and he collected them on occasion himself, but in the end it was just a rock or a hunk of metal. They couldn't hold conversations or make you laugh. They couldn't respond to your stories or return your affections. Yet those poor wretches doted on those lifeless rocks for centuries on end like human mothers over their children.

It was laughable, really, in an almost pitiable way.

For his part, he'd always found humans to be an entertaining species. They were always changing and coming up with new ideas. They were fun to mess with too. So he'd spent much of his time watching and playing with them.

And then he'd found Shinichi.

The first time they'd met, Shinichi had also been a detective. It didn't seem to matter how many lifetimes went by, his little detective always gravitated towards law enforcement. Anyhow, that night Kaito had happened to be present when a pair of robbers who'd murdered a merchant and his daughter decided to make a break from the police and Shinichi had instantly run after them. Curious to see how things would end, Kaito had followed. It turned out one of the robbers was a nervous man who didn't hold up well under pressure. He had suggested to his accomplice that maybe they should turn themselves in. The other robber hadn't liked that idea. He'd decided to tie up loose ends by killing off his partner in crime. He didn't succeed, however, as Shinichi had darted in and pushed the cowardly robber out of harm's way, getting a knife slash across the shoulder as he was at it. At that point the cowardly robber had completely flipped out, shoved his savior into a pile of empty crates, and ran. The crates tumbled down on top of Shinichi, leaving him in a daze and at the mercy of the second robber, who was now quite incensed.

And that probably would have been the end of the detective that life, but Kaito had decided to step in. He'd never liked cowards, and it really didn't strike him as fair that the detective was about to get killed because he'd tried to help one.

That, and he had been intrigued by the boy's actions. In Kaito's opinion, if the robbers had offed each other, it would have been everything they'd deserved. So why would anyone go to the bother of trying to help one? Chasing them down to bring them to justice, he understood, but they would've been slated for the hangman anyway.

To satisfy his curiosity, he'd trapped the angry robber in a binding spell, set up a trail of lights to lead the guards to him, and taken the half conscious detective back to his residence of the time.

It was the first time he'd actually made friends with a human. It was because of Shinichi that he'd decided he should try and actually get to know more of them. He'd found many a rewarding friendships after that. There had been a feisty little girl called Aoko among others, but Shinichi continued to be special. Yet it wasn't until he'd almost lost him that Kaito had realized just how important the detective had become to him.

To make a long story short, they had become lovers.

They had spent several happy years together before time and mortality had taken Shinichi away from him. He'd known it would happen, but he hadn't expected it to hurt as much as it had. The thought of never being able to look into those beautiful, blue eyes again for the rest of eternity had been utterly unbearable. So he'd gone to Akako, the demon fortune teller. In return for a favor, she had given her word to point him in the right direction to find his beloved each time the cycle of reincarnation turned. The actual finding would have to be done by him, but he didn't mind. It was more interesting that way.

Kind of like a treasure hunt.

The fourth time around he'd almost missed Shinichi, as his detective had been reborn as a girl that time. He had felt drawn to her, but having forgotten that humans didn't always reincarnate the same, he'd spent some time wondering if his dedication was really so easily swayed. Fortunately, he'd realized the truth just in time to rescue her from the two-faced bastard who'd been trying to seduce her. No wonder Akako had been sniggering when she gave him his directions that lifetime. They'd even gotten married that time. He still had both their rings (although he had to admit that he didn't entirely understand why such ceremonies were such a big deal for humans. As far as Kaito was concerned, you either were in love or you weren't. Having it officially declared didn't stop humans from falling out of love or having affairs, etc. Indeed, for many humans it just seemed to be one more thing to fight about or otherwise cause problems. But it had made Shinichi happy, so he decided it had its good points too). He made sure to be more alert after that.

He was rewarded when he found Shinichi much earlier the next time around. So he'd adjusted his apparent age and they'd grown up together. It wasn't until they were partway through university that he revealed what he was to Shinichi. That had certainly been fun. He smiled at the memory.

So many experiences, every one of them entirely unique and more precious than any gemstone could ever be. Of course, love had its own price. It never stopped hurting; those times when mortality took his Shinichi away from him, but that only meant that he had to cherish what time they did have. He wouldn't let a single moment go to waste.

-0-

Inspector Megure looked from Shinichi to his taller companion and back then blinked. "And who is this?" he asked, confused.

"Oh, uh, this is—"

"Kuroba Kaito," the stranger cut in, bowing. "You must be Megure."

Shinichi coughed, blushing faintly. "He's my—"

"Partner," Kaito interrupted again.

"What? I thought that was supposed to be me?" the dark-skinned officer standing nearby wondered aloud. He had just recently joined the force as well, and he was fairly sure he'd been told yesterday that he was going to be Shinichi's partner. He wasn't sure why his perfectly innocuous question got him a chilling stare from the indigo-eyed man. The look was gone as soon as it appeared, but it left him with the great desire to run away and hide. "Uh…"

"He's a demon," Shinichi hurried to explain. "We've worked together on a few cases—" He was cut off again.

"I'll be helping him."

The other officers watched in mixed confusion and amusement as Shinichi smacked a hand to his forehead and Kaito gave them all a sunny smile that nevertheless conveyed the message that any attempt to stop him from doing as he pleased would be a terrible idea. It certainly looked like life was going to be taking an interesting turn.

-0-

It didn't take long for the entire police division to realize how true that sentiment was.

They had worked both with and against demons before, but none of them had ever met a demon quite like Kuroba Kaito. He was a cheerful prankster with a wicked sense of humor and keen eyes that missed nothing. He was friendly and quick-witted, and by the end of the week he had won over just about every officer in the force, including the ones who usually distrusted demons. He didn't exhibit any of the disdain that most of his kind reserved for humans, and he actively took an interest in the goings on at the station. He wasn't above lending a helping hand in small matters that he could easily have dismissed as unworthy of his skills and knowledge (though in return they had to keep the station well stocked in hot chocolate, but that wasn't a big deal, and just about everyone liked chocolate anyway). All in all, everyone agreed that it was a stroke of luck that he'd decided to join them.

And he was always teasing Shinichi.

Like now. The young detective had been assigned a case regarding flesh-eating flowers that someone had been spreading in a local neighborhood. It being a very rare species, he had turned to Kaito for help figuring out how to track down and get rid of the seedlings. They had been able to uproot all the grown plants, but they kept popping up because the seeds spread far too easily.

"I can find them," Kaito had replied with an easy shrug before giving a sly smile. "But you know we demons never do anything for nothing."

"Fine. So what do you want?"

"How about a kiss?"

Shinichi gaped, momentarily lost for words. "What?! No!"

"Aw, come on. It's just one little kiss." Placing one hand on the back of Shinichi's chair, he leaned over the seated detective and watched the color deepen in the boy's face.

"Are you like this with everyone you've worked with?" he half squeaked as he leaned as far away from the demon as he could manage at the moment.

"Of course not." The fiend in question had the audacity to laugh before leaning down so that his mouth was right beside Shinichi's ear. "Just the one I love."

As Shinichi turned ten times redder than he'd already been, Kaito laughed and vanished. Oh Shinichi… It had been six lifetimes now, but it seemed he never changed. There were times every now and then when Kaito wished that, for once, Shinichi would remember, but humans were simply unable to retain memories from past lives. Besides, this way had its perks too, like being able to do things for the first time all over again.

The following day, all the man-eating seedlings appeared in a magically sealed box in the middle of the police station.

Hattori, who had witnessed the whole exchange the day before, couldn't resist asking Shinichi, "So does that mean ya gave 'im that kiss?"

Shinichi choked on his coffee. "No!" Although he hadn't been able to escape a peck on the cheek. That, however, was a piece of information he was keeping to himself.

-0-

It had been a raid on a gang that had been selling cursed items throughout the city. People with grudges, greedy heirs, the jealous, and more bought the curses for their own malicious plans and the number of mysterious deaths had spiked. It had taken a lot of hard work to track down the gang members and even more to locate their headquarters. Now the police were storming the building that was supposed to be a high-end restaurant but was in reality a nest of vipers.

Shinichi had been in the thick of the raid. Having seen firsthand the victims of several of those curses, he had been determined not to let a single member of the gang escape justice.

He'd always been much better at defensive spells than offensive ones because his desire to protect people rather outweighed his desire to cause harm, but he'd always been excellent at stunning spells. Armed with that, he'd managed to knock out quite a number of the criminals hiding out in the place. The battle was almost over when he reached one of the restaurant base's conference rooms and stumbled over one of the gang's bosses. He'd recognized the man and launched a paralyzing spell at the guy immediately. The man, however, brushed the spell aside like it was nothing but an annoying fly.

That was when Shinichi realized that this gang member was a demon.

Then a blast of black energy caught him square in the chest. His memories of what happened after that were muddled and full of holes.

He remembered hearing Hattori shouting his name.

He remembered the demon's cruel smile and the gleam of fangs.

And he remembered Kaito standing protectively over him, wreathed in crackling energy.

The next time he could form coherent thoughts, he was looking up at a hospital ceiling. According to the nurse who found him awake, he had three broken ribs, one broken arm, multiple fractures, and a twisted ankle—and that wasn't even including the bruises and lacerations.

"We got 'em all," Hattori told him when he visited later that day. "Well, all except that demon anyway. But Kuroba says the guy won't be able ta make another appearance on the material plain for at least a century or two."

Shinichi made to nod but stopped with a wince as pain lanced through him. "That's good."

"He was really worried about ya."

Blue eyes blinked then looked down. "He was?"

"Yeah. After he trounced that one that got ya, he stayed right beside you and wouldn't let 'nyone near ya 'til the paramedics got there. Even then they had ta let 'im on the ambulance—froze the wheels 'til they said yes. I've never seen 'im lookin' so serious."

"Oh. I…I see."

After Hattori had gone, Shinichi lay in his hospital bed, staring at the plain, white ceiling and thinking.

-0-

"Your knight has arrived! How are you feeling?"

Blushing slightly, Shinichi coughed. He supposed he could let the comment go this time, considering Kaito really had come to his rescue. "I'm feeling a lot better."

The demon beamed. "That's good to hear. So have the doctors told you when you can go yet?"

"They asked me to stay for one more day just so they can run a few last checkups. If everything goes well, I'll be discharged tomorrow morning."

"Perfect. I'll come pick you up."

The demon proceeded to give him an update on the goings on at the police station as he'd been doing throughout Shinichi's hospitalization. From there, he went on to little anecdotes about the things he'd seen around the city. It wasn't until the time for Shinichi's next examination approached that he reluctantly got up to leave.

Before he could, however, Shinichi stopped him with a hesitant, slightly shy call of his name.

"I…wanted to say thank you," he said, not quite meeting Kaito's eyes. "For saving my life."

He was expecting the demon to make a joke, but instead a warm hand squeezed his shoulder and he looked up to see a smile on Kaito's face—an actual smile, not one of his mad grins. It was warm and gentle and made Shinichi's insides squirm and a light blush creep into his cheeks.

"You don't have to thank me," Kaito said, firm and sincere. "I would never let anyone hurt you."

-0-

Things between him and Kaito had changed after that. Or rather Kaito was his usual teasing, cheerful self. It was Shinichi who had changed. It was a feeling in his chest.

Ever since he'd been released from the hospital, he had found himself unable to think of Kaito's actions towards him as mere meaningless teasing. He was starting to realize that the demon really did care about him, but he wasn't sure what kind of care it was. It was all so very confusing. It had been easier when he could dismiss it all as Kaito having fun. Now…now he had to stop and really think about his own feelings for Kaito.

Then the dreams started and it all got that much worse.

Heat. He's burning. But it isn't painful. In fact, it's quite pleasant.

A solid heat is pressing down on him—a body pressed flush against his own. There are hands too, wandering over his skin, making all his nerves tingle with desire.

A familiar grin flashes in the haze. A voice murmurs in his ear. He can't make out the words, but he knows that voice, and it makes his heart beat faster.

There is something else too—something inside him, touching him where no one had ever touched him before. And the already intense heat grows almost overwhelming.

"Kaito…" The name leaves his lips in a moan that is all pleasure—

Shinichi woke sweating and feeling far too hot for a winter night. When he shifted, he was horrified to discover that he would need to wash the sheets. Deep crimson crept across his face accompanied by memories of the dream he'd been having.

Why the hell was he having dreams about—about that?! And such vivid dreams too.

Groaning, he buried his face in his hands. It was all Kaito's fault. He'd never felt this way about anyone before. But did that mean he really was starting to like…?

That couldn't be it, could it? How was he supposed to know? He didn't have any experience in these sorts of things! Maybe it was just the demon's antics getting to him? After all, he'd also never been the focus of such attentions before either…

What was he supposed to do? The question continued to haunt him—as did those embarrassing dreams.

-0-

"Hey Shinichi, have you heard of the Treasure Chest?"

Shinichi turned from where he'd been pouring himself a cup of coffee, not surprised to see that Kaito had let himself into his apartment again. He was too used to it by now. "I know it's a restaurant. I think Hattori mentioned that he had Kazuha ate there a few times, but I've never been there. Why?"

"I paid it a visit the other day and the food was amazing. You should go with me some time—maybe today if you don't have any plans for lunch yet."

"All right."

Kaito paused and looked at him in surprise. "Really? Do you have a new case you need help with or something?"

Flushing, Shinichi turned away in a huff. He couldn't help but feel a little hurt by Kaito's automatic assumption. "No. But if you don't want to, I'm going to make a sandwich."

"Hold it." A hand caught his arm and pulled him back, spinning him around. "I wouldn't have brought up going if I didn't mean it." His serious expression morphed abruptly into a smirk. "Besides, this is the first time you've agreed to go on a date with me. No way I'm letting you back out of it now."

"H—hey, I said we could go eat together. I never said it was a date!"

"Too late~."

-0-

"Hey Kudo! Is it true?"

Looking up from his desk in the office, Shinichi gave Hattori a befuddled look. "Is what true?"

"I heard you 'nd Kuroba've started dating. Is it true?"

"What? No!"

"But I took Kazuha out ta dinner last night and we saw ya together in the Black Pearl. I'm sure even you know that place is fer couples. Then there was last week when Takagi 'nd Satou said they saw ya both at the movies. They say Kuroba had 'is arm 'round ya and everythin' and ya weren't complainin'. Several o' the other officers've reported seein' the two of ya out together at places ya usually only see couples at over the last few months as well. So what've ya got ta say to that?"

Shinichi flushed at each additional piece of information, wondering why he hadn't noticed all these colleagues who'd purportedly spotted him on his outings with Kaito before. Were they spying on him? They wouldn't do that, would they? Or maybe Kaito had planned for them to be seen. That was far more likely.

"Um, well, I—I mean, maybe we have been…going out a little. But it's not like real d—dates or anything. It's just, uh…" He trailed off under Hattori's amused stare. The other detective obviously wasn't buying a word of it. "All right, fine, I guess we…might sort of be going out… But it's just—it's not…"

Laughing, Hattori patted him on the shoulder. "Whatever you say. It was goin' ta happen eventually. Anyhow, we got a new case. This one's big. Should be fun."

-0-

The case was big all right, but it most definitely was not fun.

It had started out as an investigation of a group dealing in dangerous magical weapons. But the organization had been much larger and far reaching than any of them had anticipated. The more they worked on the case, the more crimes they unearthed. The list had grown to include blackmail, corporate espionage, assassination, and more. They were like a disease seeking to spread into all the corners of the city and take it over from the inside. The police didn't know what the groups overarching goals were (it could be wealth, power, or maybe something more specific), but they knew those goals couldn't be anything good when considering the methods being employed.

A raid on a warehouse of magical weapons had morphed into what might as well have been a war. They'd caught some of the members, chased others—been chased by yet more. And all only to find that they'd barely scratched the tip of the iceberg.

Three officers had been killed.

Their funerals were held together. Everyone in the force had come. So had their families and friends. Seeing them—the pain in their faces… The two little children clinging to the legs of the wife of one of the officers' were the worst, Shinichi thought. The sight of that small family and the mother trying to comfort her children while holding back her own grief would be burned into his memory for the rest of his life.

The funeral left Shinichi feeling somber and gray, like the world was a weight pressing down all around him. He kept wondering if there was something he could have done—some way he could have prevented the officers' deaths. If, if, if…

A hand landed on his shoulder. "Shinichi."

He had been wandering the city streets in a daze. At the touch and the sound of his name however, he looked up to find Kaito watching him with a look of understanding. "It's cold out. You shouldn't be walking around without a jacket."

Shinichi looked away. "I don't want to go home."

"I know just the place."

Ten minutes later, Shinichi found himself sitting in a private dining room in a restaurant situated at the top of one of the city's tallest buildings. Outside the city was awash in sunset colors. Kaito had ordered them drinks and they now sat before the floor to ceiling windows, gazing out towards the horizon.

He had no idea how long they sat there in companionable silence. All he knew was that the colors were bleeding back into the world. The skies were so beautiful it made his heart ache.

"Can I…ask you something?"

"Of course."

"Why do you care so much?"

"Hmm? About what?"

"Us." Shinichi waved a hand vaguely. "Humans. I know most demons think humans are an inferior species. And, well, I guess when you're around for as long as you guys are, I understand how our lives might seem insignificant. So why? Why do you spend so much of your time with us?" With me, he added to himself, not looking at the demon seated beside him.

Kaito shot him a sidelong look before turning back to the city laid out below them, a fond smile making its way onto his face. "I suppose it's because I learned a long time ago that the length of someone's life has little to do with how significant they are." Because a young detective with the most beautiful eyes he'd ever seen had taught him to value all life no matter who or what it belonged to. Because it wasn't about how long life was but what you did while you were living it. He had seen some humans change the world in more ways in their short handful of years than most demons did in their centuries (but he wouldn't have seen any of it if that one person hadn't opened his eyes). "Besides, you humans amuse me. Life can get a bit boring when you're immortal."

"Don't you have…you know, friends or," he hesitated. Demons probably didn't have relatives. "I mean, aren't there any demons you want to—to hang out with or something? Someone who'd always be there."

To his surprise, Kaito laughed. "Not at all. There are a few of us who meet up now and then, but we tend to drive each other nuts when we spend too much time together. We're a stubborn lot, you know. We want what we want, and we don't like to compromise. And that's not even considering the grudges! Believe me, there are good reasons we don't hold reunions. Having one would probably bring about the end of the world."

"…" Shinichi wondered if the demon was joking, but despite his lighthearted tone he still sounded like he meant it.

"So are you feeling better?"

He glanced at Kaito at the question then nodded slowly. A faint but genuine smile made its way onto his face. "Thank you."

"Any time."

-End of Chapter-