Disclaimer: We don't own DCMK

Rating: T

Genre: Fantasy/Romance

Pairings: Established KaitoxShinichi

Chapters: 1/15

Summary: The first winter vacation of Shinichi's college career promises to be the most memorable yet. Why? Well, he's spending it in another world. [Sequel to "Moon Over Eventide"]

A.N: I've decided to start posting this now because I just finished cross-posting "Moon Over Eventide", the prequel, on AO3, and I wanted to address the issues that made the end of that story feel melancholy (since I like happy endings and didn't mean for that one to feel sad). The timing also seemed poetic since the holidays are coming :) I have most of this drafted already, so I mainly need to edit. Updates will alternate with "A Curse Marked Fate".

Moon on the Snow

1: Vacation in Another World

"So where exactly are we going?" asked one Hakuba Saguru. Seated at the very back of the van (because he'd drawn the short straw), he was squished with all the luggage and, therefore, not in a very charitable mood. His disposition had not been improved by the fact that none of his so-called friends had bothered to enlighten him as to where exactly they were going. Worse yet, they all seemed to know.

Seated in the row of chairs in front of him, Hattori Heiji let out a huff that sounded more annoyed than Hakuba felt was warranted by his reasonable question. "We already told ya. We're going to Kuroba's parents' vacation house. Jeez. Haven't you been listening at all?"

"I have. And you have not answered my question. Where is this vacation house? As far as I am aware, if we keep driving down this road, we're going to end up by the sea, but Kuroba had us pack ski equipment."

"Can't you just wait and see like the rest of us?"

"I would prefer to have my questions answered."

"Well I already told you everything I know."

"You are lying to me."

"What? I am not! That's just—argh! Why would I ever wanna tell you anything anyway?"

Up front in the passenger seat next to the driver, Shinichi groaned, wishing he had brought earplugs.

"How much longer is this going to take?" he asked, glancing at the driver's side of the car where his boyfriend (he blushed at the thought) was gripping the steering wheel with one hand while idly petting the fur capa (a strange little creature that resembled nothing so much as a furry hat) curled up on the raised island between their chairs with the other. That was not Shinichi's idea of safe driving, but he kept that thought to himself because one, he knew Kaito wouldn't do anything that would put their lives in danger, and two, he knew that, should anything go wrong, Kaito was actually a demon (referred to as such by the fearful humans of the past and not because he or his kind were any more hellish than any other species in the world) with powerful magic and other superhuman abilities. It was still a little difficult for the ever logical detective to wrap his mind around this fact, but, after not only having flown with the magician but also visited the magical world he hailed from a few months back, it was impossible to deny the truth of it. In fact, it was that visit all those weeks ago that had landed them where they were now.

A few weeks ago, near the beginning of their first semester, Kazuha and several others had been kidnapped by denizens of Kaito's world bent on finding a powerful artifact known only as the Source. Long story short, she had been rescued by Kaito and Shinichi, and, while recuperating at the Kurobas' castle, she had met a demoness named Aoko who had invited her over for winter vacation.

One thing had led to another. And now here they were. Kaito, Shinichi, Hattori, Hakuba, and Kazuha were all on their way to one of the Kurobas' vacation homes.

In Makai.

Not that Hakuba knew this.

Shinichi had been of the opinion that they should tell the blonde the whole story before the trip, but Kaito had said no. He had claimed that the British detective, being the unimaginative stickler for facts that he was, would not believe them without a mountain of proof. And so it would make more sense just to bring him along so that the proof would inevitably surround and suffocate him until he had no choice but to cave in to the existence of other worlds and demons and magic and all that when the issue came up—if the issue came up. It wasn't, after all, strictly necessary for it to do so.

Shinichi was pretty sure Kaito just wanted to have some fun at the blonde's expense. But arguing with Kaito was pretty pointless, especially when he was scheming.

If Kaito wanted something, Kaito got it.

"I'm surprised Miss Kazuha can sleep through their racket," Kaito remarked, cruising down the highway like this was where they were supposed to be.

"She's used to it," Shinichi replied. "So are you going to take us over yet or not? I don't know how much longer I can listen to this without kicking something."

Kaito laughed. "No worries. This place will be perfect."

As those words left his mouth, the world outside the windows began to grow hazy.

"Is that fog?" Hattori wondered, breaking off from his verbal jousting with Hakuba to look out the window. "It kind of looks green."

"Yes," Hakuba muttered. "It may be poisonous. You should turn off the outside air circulation."

Kaito ignored them.

The fog grew thicker and brighter. And, incidentally, more green, although now it carried hints of blue. In no time at all, it was as though they were driving through a haze of turquoise steam. The road ahead was impossible to see, and the path behind was just as lost beneath the radiance.

"We should pull aside," Hakuba said, growing alarmed when the tires bounced, sending a sharp jolt through the car.

"We're almost there," Kaito replied, gaze fixed on the turquoise wash ahead of him. What he was looking at, none of his passengers could see.

Well, none except Shinichi.

The detective's eyes widened. There was a forest beyond the light. He could see the trees. They were flat like projections on a misty screen. He could also see a large house.

With an abruptness that had the two detectives in the back marveling, the fog cleared, and their van was trundling down a packed, dirt road. The air was now crystal clear. Not even one wisp of fog remained.

Hattori's jaw dropped. "What in the world…?"

For once, Hakuba was in perfect agreement with his friend. "What just happened?"

"We're here~," Kaito announced, guiding the van up the curving dirt road until they came to a stop in front of the house. It was a large, western style villa. It sat amidst snow-frosted trees and sweeping swaths of pure, untouched snow. "Welcome to Clover House."

He opened his door and hopped out, completely ignoring the two flabbergasted detectives in the back seats. He made to circle around the car and open Shinichi's door, but the detective had already let himself out, the fur capa cradled in one arm. Shinichi noted with interest that, though the snowdrifts to either side of the road were deep, the road itself and the circle of open ground before the villa where they had parked were bone dry.

"Hey there!" a female voice called out as the villa's front door opened. Out came a girl with messy, dark brown hair and an excited smile. "You guys got here later than we expected. Did you meet any trouble on the road?"

"Nah. We just took the scenic route," Kaito replied. "The others are still in the car. I'll leave them to you. I want to show Shinichi around before lunch."

"All right. I'll have someone take your things up to your rooms for you."

"Great. Thanks Aoko." That said, Kaito looped an arm through Shinichi's and began leading him away. The smaller boy hesitated a moment to cast a concerned glance back towards the car, but he knew Aoko was a kindhearted demon. He just hoped Hakuba and Hattori didn't give her any trouble.

Back in the van, the two detectives in question were gaping out each of the van's windows in astounded confusion. First of all, they were both sure that they had been driving down the highway towards the sea. They had not at any point driven uphill—at least not that either of them could remember. So how had they ended up here?

The white peaks against the sky all around them and the crisp coldness of the air suggested that they were in a valley of some kind high in the mountains. There were trees, so the altitude wasn't too high, but they were still considerably above sea level.

"It must have been during the fog," Hakuba muttered. "It made it difficult to see, so that must have been when we turned off the road and drove up into the mountains." Never mind that the car had never tilted enough to suggest that they were traversing a mountainside. Not to mention the fog hadn't been around that long. But what other explanation was there?

"What was that fog anyway?" Hattori wondered, echoing his friend's thoughts. "It was definitely green. That can't have been normal."

"We should count our blessings that we did not crash."

"I guess. Still, I didn't think there were any vacation houses like this by Tokyo."

"It's not by Tokyo," a new voice piped up. The boys turned to see that Kazuha had woken up. Having slept through most of the trip, she was bright-eyed and ready for the beginning of a true adventure. "Anyway, I see Aoko. I think she's coming to show us around."

As the girl predicted, the van door slid open and Aoko poked her head inside.

"Wow, so this is what these carriages look like on the inside. I always wondered," was the first thing the demon said as she looked around at the seats and the steering wheel. Then she met Kazuha's gaze and laughed. "I'm so glad to see you again! How have you been?"

"I've been great," Kazuha assured her just as enthusiastically. "It's really cool of you to invite me and my friends over. We really appreciate it. I just hope they don't cause you any trouble."

"What's that supposed to mean?" Hattori grumbled. "You talk like we're little kids."

"No. But you guys do have a tendency to poke your noses into other people's business. For once in your lives, try to remember we're guests here and just, you know, have fun. That's what winter vacation is all about, right? And this is a once in a lifetime opportunity!'

The two boys looked at each other again, both wondering why the girl would describe a ski trip in the mountains as a once in a lifetime opportunity. Sure, they didn't do it every year, but it wasn't so rare or difficult a trip that they couldn't if they really wanted to.

"Hurry up, you two."

The three humans clambered out of the van. Hakuba, being the last one out, gave the door handle a tug. There was a soft clunk, then the mechanisms inside the automatic door kicked in. Turning away from the closing door, he was slightly startled to find the brunette, Aoko, staring at him with wide, interested eyes.

"Can I help you?" he asked hesitantly. Was there something on his face? But no, she seemed more interested in the vehicle behind him. Come to think of it, hadn't she called the van a carriage just now? What had she meant by that? Surely she couldn't have never seen a van before.

And was it just him or did this girl look an awful lot like Mouri Ran?

Oblivious to his confusion, the girl laughed. "Oh, no. I've just never seen one of these doors work before."

"I suppose automatic doors are still considerably less popular than the manual sort," he ventured, though he wasn't at all sure that that was true. "They're most common on vans and other large vehicles with sliding doors."

"I see." For some reason, the rather basic information elicited a beaming smile from the girl. "That's very interesting. I don't get why Kaito doesn't want one of these instead of that bike with a motor he blabbed about in his last letter to me. I mean, that one's no different from riding a fast horse. But this one keeps off the elements without any extra work on your part."

Hakuba opened his mouth then shut it again. Everything the girl had said made perfect sense, but her phrasing was most peculiar. Had she been talking about a motorcycle? And why did Kuroba need to send letters to someone who lived a mere hour's drive away from the city?

"Excuse me, Miss Aoko, but are you perhaps Kuroba's sister?"

The girl stared at him for a moment then burst out laughing. "No way! I'm from the House of the Whispering Wood. Oh, I mean, my family name is Nakamori."

"Ah, I see. So you are a friend of his then."

"Yep. Known him since I was little."

"So did Kuroba invite any other old friends on this trip?" the blonde inquired, curiosity piqued. Kuroba had never told them about his history. In fact, the only thing Hakuba knew about the man was that his father was a stage magician. Considering how close Shinichi was clearly getting to the magician, as Shinichi's friend, Hakuba felt he had a responsibility to check up on said magician's background. No, he wasn't being nosy like Kazuha had forbad them from being. He was just being a responsible friend.

Aoko shrugged. "He didn't exactly invite me, per se. I'm here because it's my job. I'll be managing the staff of the villa for the next six months or so as training."

"You mean you're working?" Hakuba couldn't hide his surprise. "For Kuroba?"

"Yep. My family's served his for centuries in one way or another—mostly in security, but I've decided I want to try a few different things before I choose where to go in the future. This is going to be my first time managing the staff for an entire estate. It's kind of making me nervous." She looked down, blushing faintly. "So, um, if there's anything you guys need, feel free to let me know. All right?"

"We will," he said even as his mind continued to process all the information she had inadvertently given him.

"Oh, wait!" Aoko exclaimed suddenly, making Hakuba jump. She ran around to the back of the van where Hattori had just set the last of their luggage down on the ground. "You don't have to do that," she said. "Just leave your stuff here. I'll have someone bring everything to your rooms."

"Nah, it's fine," Hattori assured her. "There's not much stuff, so it's easy to carry. No need to bother anyone with it. Just show us the way, and we'll carry everything ourselves."

Aoko hesitated, looking from one human's smiling face to the next. Before their arrival, she had received strict instructions from Kaito that they were to behave as human as possible while their guests were here. That included staying in their human forms in front of said guests and using only the magic that was necessary. So she had planned to invite the humans inside so they wouldn't see the luggage being sent up to their rooms magically. That would have been fast and easy for everyone.

On the other hand, she could understand not wanting to inconvenience people. Such chivalry should be encouraged, she decided.

So she smiled and directed them into the villa.

X

"And this is our room," Kaito said, spreading his arms out in a grandiose gesture that sent sparkling lights spinning around the room to alight upon the curtains and the small, decorative Christmas tree in the corner. Shinichi's gaze, however, was on the massive window that occupied the entirety of one wall. Through it, he could look down the pristine, white slopes to a lake where it lay still and deep, filled to the brim with reflected sky. It was a breathtaking view.

"You can see it even better from the roof, but we should unpack before we go up there."

Shinichi nodded, moving to let the fur capa hop from his arms to the bed, where it promptly curled up on a pillow. "So are you going to tell me where we are now?"

This mountain range is about a four hour flight north of Castle Moon. Dad found this place when he was looking for somewhere quiet to finish one of his projects undisturbed. It's a fair distance from any real settlements, and there isn't much in the way of natural magical resources around, so it doesn't attract much attention. Basically, you couldn't find a better spot for a retreat."

"So there isn't anything dangerous we need to look out for?" Shinichi asked just to be sure.

Kaito shrugged. "Not that I can think of."

"That's good then. So will your parents be joining us?"

Kaito heaved an exaggerated sigh. "Unfortunately. I told them they didn't have to, but they insisted. They'll only be here for the last few days though, so we've got plenty of time to do whatever we want before then."

A crisp, silvery chime suddenly sounded out of the air, making Shinichi jump.

Kaito only grinned. "Sounds like lunch is ready."

TBC