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

When the Fox Comes Calling

Chapter 11 - Sense of Anticipation

It had been a week since the incident, and KID had been over twice more: once to discuss how Shinichi's meeting with the police had gone and once just to study together for their final exams (after addressing a few issues anyway).

"Your police friends make a very good point," Kaito had said after listening intently to Shinichi's account of his meeting with officers Satou and Takagi. "We caused those people some trouble, but I doubt it was enough to do anything more than slow them down. There's a more than passing chance that they'll come after you again. Even if you didn't know more about them than I'm sure they'd like, you're still a rare rabbit hybrid they apparently want experiment data on. I can't believe I didn't think of all this sooner."

The thief sounded seriously upset, and Shinichi couldn't help but feel a little touched even as he pointed out that, being a detective, he should have realized all that too. So really, the fox couldn't be blamed for the oversight.

"Besides," Shinichi added. "Nothing's happened yet, and I think I would have noticed if I was being stalked. I can usually sense that sort of thing."

He was especially adept at sensing ill intentions—something which had both led him to trouble and saved his life on numerous occasions already. Sonoko sometimes joked (or exclaimed with great exasperation) that the powers that be must have designed him with a crime radar, and it was no wonder that he'd ended up being a detective geek.

Kaito's concerns, however, remained undiminished.

"All that means is that they haven't decided to take that step yet," he pointed out. "If they have any brains at all, they'd have started by clearing out the building they were using now that it's been compromised. Then they'll need to select and secure a new base of operations and take stock of what information may have gotten out and to whom. Then they'd have a better idea of what kind of damage control they need."

"I suppose. Though that should also mean that they should realize they've missed the window of opportunity for stopping me from telling the police about them," Shinichi reasoned.

"But you're still an eye witness," the thief reminded him. "And a type of hybrid they want to experiment on. You need to be careful."

Shinichi grimaced. "I know. And I'll be careful. But I'm not the only rabbit hybrid in the city. I wish there was some way we could warn people…" His thoughts flashed to Ran. He really, really didn't want to tell her what had happened to him (it would only worry and upset her), but he had to warn her, especially since Sylva and Kuro had already seen and approached her before. On the other hand, he'd already told her after that first encounter that the two gave off bad vibes. She should know to be wary if she ever saw them again.

Better remind her though, just to be safe. He made a mental note to do just that.

"Have you given any thought to their suggestion?" Kaito asked.

Shinichi frowned, confused. "What suggestion?"

"That you find someone to stay with until this matter is resolved," the thief clarified.

"Oh that. I really don't think it's necessary," the rabbit hybrid replied. "I'll just stick to populated places and keep an eye out otherwise. Besides," he added. "I'd rather not drag anyone else into the line of fire."

His aspiring beau looked less than satisfied with this proclamation. Kaito strongly suspected that Shinichi was basing his decision mostly on his desire not to put anyone else in danger—which was admirable and just like his detective, but admirable was not the same as wise (or even right. Life was never that simple—more was the pity).

He wanted to offer to stay over, but he and Shinichi weren't supposed to have even met yet. So staying over would mean having to hide his very existence from everyone around Shinichi, both friends and enemies alike, and therefore his presence wouldn't serve as much of a deterrent. And while he could make some arguments for that being an excellent way to set an ambush, it would feel too much like using Shinichi for bait. That was something Kaito would like to avoid if at all possible. All considered, even one mistake would be one too many in a situation like that.

On the other hand, he simply couldn't wait around doing nothing. Things would change once he and Shinichi were 'officially introduced', but, until then, maybe he could arrange some other, additional security.

"How do you feel about birds?" he asked.

The question elicited a confused look from his detective. "They're fine…? Why do you ask?"

"I was just thinking about how to enhance your security."

The next time the thief dropped by, he arrived dressed like a landscaper and installed a pair of birdbaths, one in the manor's front yard and another in the back. Each birdbath came equipped with a very well hidden, rotating camera ("designed by yours truly") that Shinichi could monitor via a special program the thief installed on his phone.

The fox also brought three birdfeeders.

And several birds.

He introduced each bird in turn, though Shinichi promptly lost track of which was which.

"I'll have them keep a lookout for you," the fox informed him. "They'll work in shifts. If they see something suspicious, they'll warn you and notify me. If you have a really small window anywhere, I can fix it up so that they can open and close it. Otherwise, they'll knock on the windows, so you just have to make sure you pay attention. You can also ask them to carry messages to me. I'll show you how later."

"Your birds can do all that?" Shinichi was impressed.

Kaito looked smug. "They're the best of the best. I breed and train them myself. I sell occasionally to other magicians I trust will treat them well too."

"You must be really busy," Shinichi observed, half bemused and half amazed.

Kaito laughed. "If I don't keep busy, I get bored. And believe me, that's something to be avoided at all costs."

Shinichi took a moment to imagine what might happen if Kaito got bored and shuddered. It didn't take a genius to figure out that that would be a recipe for disaster—or at least for mass mayhem.

"So you said you were going to show me how to ask them to convey messages?" he asked.

Later, as he looked out his library window at the new birdbath in his backyard and the two doves exploring it, Shinichi thought that he was probably going to grow quite fond of bird watching. There was something uplifting about seeing the animals at play, and knowing that they were there because Kaito cared enough about him to want to protect him made him feel warm inside.

He was now counting down the days to the year end festivities that Sonoko had volunteered him for instead of dreading them like he had previously because they would allow him and Kaito to begin actually integrating their civilian lives together.

-0-

"Just one more exam to go!" Sonoko cheered as she slid into the booth at the ice cream parlor where Ran and Shinichi were already seated. "Then it's vacation time!"

"Speak for yourself. I still have two exams," Shinichi replied, digging a spoon into his vanilla ice cream. "And they're both tomorrow. So I'd appreciate if you make this quick. There are a few things I'd like to review while I still have the time."

Sonoko looked sly. "Oh ho, has the great detective been procrastinating on his studies? I seem to recall you were the one who was always saying that last minute cramming was pointless."

Shinichi rolled his eyes. "No, I haven't been procrastinating. And trying to cram last minute is pointless. But refreshing your memory on important points is just the prudent thing to do before an important exam."

The cat hybrid sniffed. "Whatever."

"You guys, come on," Ran cut in, waving a placating hand. "Let's just enjoy our break. We all have at least some studying we still need to do. I'd like to actually rest before I go back to mine."

"Yeah, I guess you have a point," Sonoko conceded. "Well, I mainly wanted to make sure you two got these."

She rummaged around in her bag before coming up with a pair of pamphlets. She handed one each to Ran and Shinichi.

"They're copies of the event schedule for the year end celebration," she explained. "If you turn to the map, I've marked out the locations of the refreshment stands you'll be working at. I also wrote down the times of your shifts."

"How thoughtful of you," Shinichi said dryly. He couldn't help but wonder how an event that Sonoko had first introduced as a year-end party had evolved so quickly into what was clearly a full blown festival.

Sonoko stuck her tongue out at him. "You should thank me. All volunteers get a dozen discount coupons they can use at the various refreshment and game stalls. There's going to be loads of delicious food and cool prizes. And that's not even all! You're also getting a complimentary raffle ticket and an invitation to our staff party at Club Indigo afterward. It's a sweet deal."

"If you say so."

"I do say so. And since it's going to be an awesome event, I'd appreciate it if you avoided finding any dead people there."

This comment earned her a glare from the detective. "Contrary to what you might believe, I don't go around looking for dead bodies."

"Considering how often you find them anyway, that might actually be worse," the cat observed.

Shinichi opened his mouth then shut it again as he realized that, loathed as he was to admit it, Sonoko might actually have a point. What was the world coming to?

Finding himself short an adequate comeback, Shinichi decided that a quiet retreat would be the path of least commotion and busied himself with his vanilla sundae.

Deciding that she'd won that round, the visibly smug Sonoko went back to detailing the upcoming festivities before moving on to some of the tentative plans she was making for their summer and assessing each plan's potential to serve as a springboard to new and better things. Or rather how they might most effectively be used to snag an epic college romance.

Shinichi thought idly that, if Sonoko put even half the energy she did into her hunt for the perfect romance into her class work, she'd be acing all her classes.

At present, Sonoko's summer activity ideas ranged across the board from simple, normal summer activities like going swimming at the beach to ridiculous activities like visiting a fortune teller to have their love fortunes told.

Shinichi made a face. "You can't be serious."

"You might scoff now, but I hear this lady's never wrong," Sonoko retorted.

Shinichi rolled his eyes. "That's not exactly evidence."

"It might be fun though," Ran said and blushed when Shinichi shot her an incredulous look. "I'm just saying, it's really more about the experience than if the fortune telling is accurate, right? It's like—going to a magic show. Even if you know it's more than likely all a trick, it's still fun to pretend for a while that it could be real. And maybe, sometimes, it is."

At her mention of magic shows, Shinichi's thoughts flashed to a white top hat and a wicked grin gleaming in the moonlight. And he thought again of Kaito's incredible story of spirits and wishes and magic, and he realized that this too was a point he couldn't in good conscience deny.

He thought ruefully that his world was looking stranger and stranger—and, by extension, more and more complicated—by the day. Despite that, he was, dare he say, excited to discover what was to come.

Speaking of what was coming… Shinichi pulled up a calendar in his mind and began calculating. He realized that, provided that whatever substance he'd been drugged with hadn't messed with his body's natural cycle, he was due to have his next heat in just two weeks (Did Kaito know? Did he want Kaito to know?). He should probably warn Kaito to avoid any awkward situations. They didn't need a repeat of last time.

Not that Shinichi would mind that exactly.

Okay, so maybe he would sort of, kind of, quite like to repeat what had happened last time, only with less in terms of mind-addling drugs, but he wasn't entirely sure if he was ready for that. On the one hand, they'd only been officially dating for a little over a week. On the other hand, they'd been dancing around each other for years (during which Shinichi had had more than a handful of certain…dreams about the fox—though he would die before admitting that embarrassing truth to anyone). And of course there had been the other morning…

He found himself remembering how the thief's hands had felt on his body. He remembered the ease with which Kaito had picked him up to carry him to bed. He remembered the way the fox's breath on the back of his neck had made his skin tingle, and he remembered the electric thrill that had jolted through his body when the thief's fingers had slid inside him—

Suppressing a violent shudder, Shinichi forced his thoughts back to the present (a task which was considerably more difficult than he would like to admit. He'd revisited that morning several times already in fragmented dreams, some of which hadn't stopped where reality had. He'd found himself both dreading and yearning for those dreams and the phantom promises they embodied. And he wondered. Did KID dream of that morning too?).

He would have to do some serious thinking on these feelings stirring inside him and what he was and wasn't ready for soon, but at a public eatery with Sonoko and Ran was not the time or place for it.

Before the three of them parted ways for the day, Shinichi pulled Ran aside and told her to be extra careful.

"I was talking with Satou and Takagi-keiji," he told her. "There's a criminal group actively searching for rabbit hybrids right now. We don't know what their goals are, but they've been confirmed to be behind some recent kidnappings."

He refrained from mentioning that said kidnapping had been his own. He reasoned that that particular detail wasn't nearly as important as the news that there had been kidnappings in general.

"I suspect those two we met at the restaurant before the KID heist, Sylva and Kuro, may have been related to this group. If you see them again, stay away from them and let me know. You should also contact me or the police if you notice anyone following you or if anyone suspicious approaches you."

Ran shivered, looking uneasy. "I will. I promise."

Shinichi nodded. "Also, if you know any other rabbit hybrids, it would help if you could warn them too."

"All right," she said before fixing him with a piercing stare. "You better take your own advice."

The detective tried not to look too guilty as he promised that he would.

On his way home, Shinichi found himself ducking into a convenience store and, after furtively checking that no one was looking in his direction, making his way to the part of the store devoted to healthcare products. When he got there, he pretended to be browsing the cold medications until the two other patrons in the aisle had left. Then he sidled over to stare in mixed embarrassment and trepidation at the surprisingly large selection of contraceptives.

Since he'd never even contemplated getting into a relationship before now, he'd never bothered acquiring such items. Now he was absolutely flummoxed by the variety of options. Not only was there a plethora of brands to pick from, but every product came in multiple variations (some for female hybrids, some for female halfers and some for male halfers). These in turn were categorized according to hybrid types. All the colorful labels were frankly dizzying to look at.

The last thing he wanted was to be seen by someone he knew buying contraceptive pills though, so he hastily skimmed over the shelves and snagged the first option for male halfers he saw sporting a brand he vaguely recognized as reputable. Then he realized that the bottle in his hands had a little cat silhouette drawn on it and switched it out for one with a rabbit.

Then, cheeks red with a blush that refused to be suppressed, he hurried through checkout and made a beeline for home.

Or at least that was the plan.

He only got three steps out the door before someone in the building behind him screamed.

Shinichi let out an involuntary groan of dismay, but he was already turning around and heading back into the store. Though he remembered to stuff his purchase into the deepest pocket on his person. As he sprinted for the scream, he mused that this was another reason he never procrastinated on his studies if he had a choice about it. Someone who could literally run into a crime at any time, anywhere, needed to be prepared for the possibility that any free time he planned could become considerably less free at the drop of a hat.

-To Be Continued-