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

Pairing: KaitoxShinichi

Lure

Chapter 53 - Nothing Like Firsthand Experience

Agasa reviewed his slides one more time then nodded in satisfaction and set about shutting down his computer. He had been asked to deliver a series of three presentations on robotics at a local university. It wouldn't be for another week, but he wanted to have everything ready because he was thinking about practicing on the children when they came to visit in a few days. He was sure they'd find it interesting. He'd even prepared a riddle for them as a fun introduction.

Smiling to himself, he stood, stretched, and headed out into the kitchen with a mind to making himself a nice cup of tea.

Or maybe he should make a cup of hot chocolate. Mmmm, hot chocolate.

With his thoughts filled with warm, chocolaty goodness, the elderly inventor only realized that there were people at the kitchen table when he was passing by and heard a cheerful greeting.

"Good evening there, Professor. I hope you're doing well?"

Not having expected to be addressed—let alone by a male voice when the only other person who should have been in the house was a little girl—Agasa jumped three feet in the air and whirled around.

"Kaitou KID!" he squeaked in shock.

"That's me," the man at the table agreed.

Not entirely sure how to respond to this, Agasa hesitated then resumed his walk into the kitchen. "Would either of you like hot chocolate?"

KID—or rather Kuroba, Agasa reminded himself (though it still felt odd to him to be in possession of such knowledge. Seeing how much happier Shinichi had been lately though, Agasa couldn't help but feel fond of the strange young man, even if he was a thief)—perked up instantly at the mention of hot chocolate. "That would be great, thanks."

Ai rolled her eyes, but she expressed her desire for a mug as well. This struck Agasa as a good sign. He'd been afraid she was going to point out that he'd already had dessert that day. Maybe this meant she'd even let him get away with adding marshmallows!

As a very pleased Agasa set about making the hot chocolate, Kaito turned back to Ai.

"So what do you think of my theory?" he asked.

"It's obviously plausible," the little scientist said with a shrug. "But I'm sure there are many other possibilities as well. I would need samples to analyze to draw an actual conclusion."

"So are you in then?"

"Excuse me, but what are you two talking about?" asked the inventor, curiosity piqued.

The thief and the scientist traded looks before the former launched into an explanation. When he had finished, the hot chocolate was ready, and Agasa carried two of the mugs over to his surrogate niece and his guest.

"I think you should go," Agasa said seriously, worry creeping into his voice. "It could just be something simple like someone with a really poor sense of humor, but…"

"Around Kudo-kun, chances are high it's something more serious," Ai supplied.

Agasa winced visibly. "I just think that it might be good for him and Hattori-kun to have a little more help, especially since it sounds like the police don't currently believe they have cause to get involved. Although I can't see how they could think that."

"From what I heard, the police didn't think it was serious. Remember that, at the outset, it was vandalism being done to an old, empty house in the middle of nowhere," Kaito commented, lips quirking into a wry grin. "Not exactly the crime of the century. Then you add all the talk about ghosts and demon beasts, and it starts to sound like a bad prank."

"I suppose," the old man said with a sigh. "At least no one's been hurt."

"Yet," Ai said darkly. "You said something happened while you were on the phone with Kudo-kun?"

Kaito's expression grew grim. "It sounded like a late night intruder or something of the sort. Tantei-kun didn't say much about it before he hung up so he could run off and check it out. I half expect his next call to be to tell me they've found a body or something."

There was a collective wince around the table. They all knew just how common such occurrences were around one Kudo Shinichi.

"Of course, I'll count it good news if he's able to call," the thief added under his breath. It wouldn't be the first time that someone up to no good went after the lines of communication. He would. "Anyway," he added in a louder voice. "I'm thinking of heading up there to see what's going on for myself. Whatever the case, an extra pair of eyes and hands couldn't hurt."

"I'll go with you," Ai decided then glanced at Agasa. "Unless you need me? I know you wanted to create some tangible examples for your presentation."

"I can handle it," the old man assured her. "You two go help Shinichi. I'll sleep better too, knowing you're there to watch each other's backs. This whole business sounds too much like the start of a horror movie."

Kaito laughed at that. "You know, I said the same thing to Shin-chan when he told me about it. Anyway, I'm glad you're on board with this since I do have a request for you."

Professor Agasa blinked. "For me?"

"Well~, I was hoping I could borrow your car," Kaito told him, grinning toothily. "And your face."

-0-

There was a team of Taiko drummers pounding away at the inside of his skull.

Shinichi bit back a groan of pain as he shifted and immediately felt an even sharper pain lance through his head. He stopped moving instantly and just tried to breathe. Once the pain had dulled into something more bearable, he turned his attention to his surroundings. He didn't dare try to open his eyes yet, sure it would stimulate his headache, but he could feel that he was lying on something soft that felt very much like a bed. He'd heard the springs in the mattress creak when he'd shifted earlier. He was probably in his guest room—which made perfect sense, so why did he feel like he was supposed to be somewhere else?

He heard a door open and the sound of quiet, careful footsteps. They came up to his bed, and someone was leaning over him, checking his temperature.

With an immense effort, Shinichi forced his eyes to open. The light in the room, though dim, did indeed send another stab of pain through his head right through his eyeballs, but when the sparks died down, he could just make out Ichimiya Asami's half relieved, half worried smile.

"Kudo-kun! I'm really glad you're away," she said. "Would you like some water? The others were all really thirsty when they woke up. I brought painkillers too, if you need them."

Shinichi blinked slowly, mind still feeling sluggish and disoriented. "Uh, water would be nice… How long have I been out?"

"Several hours. It's just past six now."

"And…the others?"

"Both still in bed as well. Though they woke earlier than you did."

"What happened?"

Asami pursed her lips as she thought. Her hands were quick and sure as they poured a glass of water and added a dash of lemon and soda. She offered the finished concoction to Shinichi. "What do you remember?"

Shinichi took several small sips to help clear his mouth and throat. The bubbles from the dash of soda stung a bit, but they also made his tongue feel like it was coming back to life. "I…remember going to check out the other side of the sealed door," he said slowly. "I know we didn't find anyone there. But while Heiji was documenting the scene, I thought I saw someone in an adjoining hall, so…I followed him, her, it—whatever. Whoever or whatever it was, it knew its way around really well. I had no idea where we were when I finally caught up to it. But then I smelled this…this acrid odor like something was burning, and I saw…I saw…"

Shinichi trailed off. Unable to bring himself to say that he had seen the shadowy, wolfish beast, he elected instead to focus on the things that he was more sure about.

"That smoke must have had something mixed into it. It was more…I guess I'd call it potent than normal smoke. I couldn't breathe, and it immediately started making me feel dizzy. I think I passed out then. Just before I did though, I thought I heard someone else coughing. Did your husband or Heiji run into the same problem?"

Asami sighed. "Well, if you mean the problem with the smoke that knocked you out, I think Hattori-kun might have blundered into it shortly after you did and gotten a good whiff. He was passed out too by the time Yuu finally caught up to you. He would have been faster if he didn't insist on lugging that hunting rifle around." The artist grimaced, shaking her head at her husband's antics. "I told him it wouldn't be any help, but he just wanted to buy it. Said it was the most logical tool to use against a big, vicious animal. He's a terrible shot, but he was sure the sound alone would make any animal run. I think he suspected at least some of the sightings were because someone got a really big dog and trained it to scare people or something. Anyhow, he tripped over you two and hit his head. Knocked himself out cold. Landed on top of you too. His rifle left a pretty big bump on the back of your head."

"So…all three of us were unconscious?" Shinichi asked.

"When I found you, yes," said Asami. "I didn't think leaving you where you were was a good idea. So I asked if some of Yamato-san's men would help move you here. They always come early, and apparently one of them knows some basic first aid because accidents are pretty common in their line of work. He assured me that none of you have concussions."

"Did you see anything strange in the area?" Shinichi asked, struggling to sit up.

Asami moved hastily to stack some pillows up behind him so that he could relax against them and remain upright.

That done, she stood back, shamefaced. "I'm afraid I wasn't paying much attention… It was horrible. When I saw the three of you sprawled out on the ground like that, and Yuu with a trickle of blood actually winding its way down the side of his face…!" She shuddered, pulling her arms closer to herself. "For a moment, I thought… I was afraid that…" The woman stopped, took a deep breath as she collected herself, and started over again. "I checked his pulse right away of course, made sure he was alive. Then I checked you and Hattori-san and noticed no one was really badly hurt. But still, that first moment… I keep seeing it when I close my eyes, and I'm afraid I'm going to continue seeing it for the rest of my life. In all honesty, it didn't even occur to me to look around until after you three were all moved to beds. Then, well, I couldn't quite bring myself to go back alone, and I didn't know who it would be safe to bring with me."

"You have nothing to be ashamed of," Shinichi said seriously. "It's better to be safe than sorry. We were the ones who should have been more cautious."

Asami managed a weak smile at that. "Thank you. And I'm sorry."

That made Shinichi start in confusion. "What for?"

"We never expected things to actually get dangerous," the woman explained. "You shouldn't have gotten hurt. Looking back, there were things we could have done—should have done—that we didn't. Like installing cameras. We told ourselves it didn't make sense to install cameras that would just have to be removed during renovations, but we could still have put up a few. We haven't taken this situation as seriously as we should have."

"There's no point beating yourself up over things that can't be changed," Shinichi told her. "You did what you thought was necessary at the time, and that's all anyone can ask. If you feel you made a mistake then learn from it and do better next time."

Asami was silent for a long moment before she nodded. "You're right. And thank you again." She flashed him a smile then. "You're very wise for one so young."

Embarrassed, Shinichi looked down into his glass. "I know what it's like to make mistakes."

Asami nodded and picked up the water pitcher. "Here, let me refill your glass."

"Thanks." Shinichi took another long, slow sip. "You said Hattori and Yuu-san are both all right?"

"Yes. Though Yuu's rather embarrassed about how he went out," Asami added, chuckling. "And Hattori-san wants to hold a group meeting. I suggested we have it over breakfast at seven."

"That sounds like a good idea," Shinichi agreed.

Asami nodded and moved towards the door. "I'll go let the others know you're awake then."

Shinichi reached for the bottle of painkillers that Asami had set on the nightstand once the woman had gone and took two. Then he sank back into the pillows with a sigh, praying that they'd kick in soon. It was difficult to think through the ache in his head. One good thing had come of this whole fiasco though, he thought. Thanks to what had happened, they knew that the culprit—or one of the culprits—had been in the house overnight. He could also now hazard a guess about the monster sightings, although he wasn't sure how he was going to confirm or disprove his theory.

He was still pondering this conundrum when he felt a vibration and realized that his phone was still in his pocket. He shifted about until he could retrieve it then answered the call.

"Hello?"

"Good morning~!" sang a familiar voice. "I'm surprised you're awake."

"Then why did you call?" the detective asked dryly.

Kaito chuckled. "Well, I thought you'd prefer being woken up to being caught by surprise."

Not particularly enlightened, Shinichi frowned. "What do you mean? Surprised by what?"

"By us, of course. We'll be there by seven. Seven thirty at the latest."

Shinichi's jaw dropped. "…What?"

-To Be Continued-