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Moon on the Snow

3: Of Plans and Portents

Seated at the desk in the bedroom that she had converted into a temporary office, Aoko pored over the many timetables she had drawn up for the Clover House staff just one more time to make sure there were no errors. The task had, in her opinion, been made unnecessarily complicated by Kaito's insistence that they hide their true natures from their human guests. Many members of the staff were unused to maintaining human forms, so Aoko had to make sure that they could perform their duties out of sight of their guests. Those able to masquerade fulltime as humans had had to be trained in how to carry out certain tasks without the use of magic. Several of them found the whole charade to be lots of fun, which was technically a good thing except that Aoko was afraid it was leading them to take the act far less seriously than they ought. Quite a few of them seemed more intent on teasing the guests with hints of magic just to see how the humans would react. That had no doubt been why she had had to remove a gator box from one of the guest rooms that morning before Kaito had arrived.

She glanced over her shoulder at the scaly, ivory chest now situated in the corner of her room. Gator boxes were excellent for keeping safe your valuables, but they were notoriously fastidious. Woe be to anyone who forgot to keep his or her gator box clean.

She grimaced, shaking her head. Some jokes were just not funny. Setting a gator box on an unsuspecting person was just that sort of joke. Although she suspected that it was a joke one Kuroba Kaito would find very amusing. She never could understand his sense of humor. Still, she had to wonder how many of the magical mishaps she was sure would be cropping up over the next few days would be orchestrated by the Kuroba himself. Hide their true natures indeed. Ha! Like he hadn't brought them all here just to rub the magic in their faces.

But alas, whatever Kaito's true intentions were, his instructions had been clear, and so she had to make sure these timetables were reliable.

A soft knock at her door drew Aoko out of her thoughts.

"Come in," she called out, assuming it would be Keiko.

When the door opened, however, it was Shinichi who slipped into the room. He shut the door quietly behind himself before turning to meet Aoko's startled gaze.

He blushed, a hand rising to scratch at his cheek. "I'm sorry. If you're busy, I can come back later."

"What?" Aoko blinked then shook her head. "No, no, I'm not busy. Here, have a seat."

She glanced around, saw no other chairs, and cursed. Then she remembered that Shinichi knew exactly who she was and where they were. So she snapped her fingers, summoning a plushy red stool in a burst of crimson flames.

Shinichi sat down gingerly on the proffered chair and folded his hands on his lap. Aoko had to hide a smile. Sitting there, back straight and hands folded like that all proper like, the human looked the exact opposite of Kaito's wild, mischievous nature. But she supposed that was why she had liked this human when Kaito first introduced him to her.

He was calm, intelligent, and surprisingly accepting of their heritage and ways despite his own predisposition to skepticism regarding the supernatural. He didn't judge.

And he had a calming influence on Kaito—something Aoko wouldn't have thought possible if she hadn't witnessed it with her own eyes. Kaito placed a great deal of value upon what this human friend thought and said, and, in Aoko's eyes, the changes their time together had wrought upon her oldest friend were for the better.

"So," she started, remembering that Shinichi was still in the room with her and that he must have come for a reason. "Can I help you with anything?"

"Well, I just had a few things I needed to ask you," he said, glancing over at the papers strewn about her desk as though in search of inspiration.

"Go ahead," Aoko said encouragingly.

"I…was wondering if you were going to be here at Clover House the entire time we're here on our vacation."

"I will," Aoko replied, though she had been surprised by the question. "Why do you ask?"

Shinichi glanced back over his shoulder as though he expected the door behind him to open again at any moment. When it didn't, he relaxed and turned back to Aoko. "I was wondering… I mean, I was hoping that you might be able to tell me more about your world. Like the way things work. The structure of the Houses, their relationships with one another, and how the society is structured too."

Aoko blinked. "So…you want to learn about the way we are governed?"

"Yes, but not just that. I'd like to know more about your society as a whole. I've only been here twice. The first time was the party, and there was that weird lab we found and the chase through the root tunnels of the Millennial Tree. There wasn't much time then to get to know what life is like around here on normal days."

"well, that definitely wasn't normal," Aoko agreed with a snort.

Shinichi smiled a little wanly in return. "And this time we're going to be at this vacation house the whole time. Pretending to be in my world. So I probably won't see much of anything that really relates to your world."

"You could ask Kaito to take you to the town down in the foothills. They've got a lot of great restaurants and boutiques. He'd love to show you around."

Feeling a blush rising, Shinichi ducked his head. Cute, Aoko thought. "I'll ask him. But I was hoping to learn about everything in more detail. There's just so much about this world that I don't understand. But I have to start somewhere."

Aoko studied his face for a long moment then smiled. "I think I understand. I'll try to help you however I can. But you'll have to be more specific about what you want to know. I've never taught anyone before, and I honestly have no idea where to begin either."

Shinichi returned her smile with a grateful one of his own. "Well, Kaito's told me a little about the governing system you have with the Great Houses and the Middle and Lower Houses that seem to work for them, so I think that would be a good place to start."

X

Shinichi headed for Kaito's room the moment he left Aoko's study. He knew in that odd, sixth sense kind of way that he had begun to notice in himself that Kaito was already in his quarters. He also knew that Kaito was pacing and waiting for him.

He puzzled over how and why this knowledge had made its appearance in his head even as he opened the suite's door and greeted his boyfriend.

"You were with Aoko for a really long time, you know," Kaito informed him the moment Shinichi shut the door. He had seated himself at a small table by enormous window that the detective couldn't recall seeing earlier that day and was nursing a mug of hot chocolate. "You do realize that you can come to me if you need anything, right? I'm sure I'm more than capable of answering any questions you might have."

Shinichi hid a smile. "I know, and I thank you. But there are some things you can't help me with."

Kaito looked offended. "Like what?"

"Getting to know people like Aoko-san, for one," Shinichi replied, unfazed. He took the seat across from Kaito and accepted the mug of hot chocolate that the demon pulled from thin air and slid across to him. "You've spent the last few months getting to know my friends. I'm just doing the same."

"Oh." Kaito blinked then laughed. "I guess I should have thought of that. But really," he continued, expression growing serious. "If you do need anything, you know you just have to ask, right?"

Shinichi returned his earnest look with a soft smile, feeling a swell of warmth in his chest. "I know. So," he continued, changing the subject. "You said something about skiing tomorrow, right? Is there a resort near here?"

Kaito studied Shinichi's face for a moment longer. Satisfied that nothing was amiss, he conjured a bowl of marshmallows and sprinkled a handful onto his hot chocolate before offering Shinichi the bowl.

"I just figured we should make use of that ski equipment we brought while the weather is fair," he said. "There's no resort, but there are several excellent slopes on the other side of the lake. I'll send someone over to set up the ski lift in the morning so we can head out there after breakfast."

"Set up the ski lift?" Shinichi echoed, raising an eyebrow. "Is this another of those things you're having installed to trick Heiji and Saguru into thinking we're still in our world?"

Kaito shrugged. "Mostly, but not entirely. I'd fly you up, but I'm not flying anyone else. A ski lift is just the practical solution. Unless you think your friends would like to walk like most of my people do who don't have wings or steeds equipped for over-snow travel."

"And your people know how to set up lifts?" Shinichi asked, honestly curious. He had not seen a single piece of machinery in the Makai in either of his visits that hadn't come with their group like the car this time or the souvenirs Kaito had brought for his family and friends last time.

"Well, it won't have a motor," Kaito admitted. "We'll be running it on magic, but I sent home lots of pictures so everyone here would know what the outward appearance should be like. So as long as Long Nose One and Two don't poke those long noses into the operations booths, they shouldn't notice anything off."

"I see. You're certainly putting a lot of effort into this charade."

Kaito smirked. "Well, it's fun. And the staff is learning a lot."

Shinichi blinked. "Oh? How so?"

"You, Kazuha, Hattori and Hakuba are the first humans many of my staff here have ever seen. Aoko knows you and Miss Kazuha, but everyone else has been beside themselves with curiosity and questions. I've told them to try and keep things discreet, but I'm sure they'll start approaching you sooner or later. If they start to annoy you, just let me know and I'll deal with them. But I was kind of thinking that this would be a good experience for all of them—and you and your friends too. Like you said, I know your friends and your world. This won't be the last time you—or your friends—visit, I'm sure, so it's only right that my people learn more about you and you them. I'd like you all to be comfortable."

Despite his blasé attitude and penchant for mischief, Kaito could be quite thoughtful, Shinichi reflected. It was one of the things he loved about the magician. He paid attention to details, and he looked out for people, even if he didn't always do so in a way that those he looked after could appreciate.

And it was comforting in a way to learn that he and Kaito had been having similar thoughts.

The detective had spent a lot of time thinking since returning from his first venture into this strange and fantastical world. He had come home from their adventure with two realizations. The first was that, for better or worse, he really did love Kaito. The second was that he knew next to nothing about the world Kaito called home or the people the magician would one day be responsible for. He had begun to remedy this lack of knowledge during his first visit, but there had been too much to do at the time with the kidnappings and so forth to do much more than gain a basic impression.

Still, even that limited exposure had been enough to tell him that, though humans were known and acknowledged as distant relatives to demon kind, they were far from understood. Though most of the demons he had met at Kuroba Toichi's birthday party had treated him with a distant politeness, a few had been outright disdainful.

He had been prepared for that though, and it wasn't just because Kaito had warned him beforehand. No matter where you went, snobs would be snobs. In that regard, demons and humans were very much alike. There would always be those who judged others based on nothing but the way they looked, their social background or where they were from. Such people weren't worth wasting time on.

The chasm of uncertainties and misconceptions between the rest of Kaito's people and his own, on the other hand, was, he believed, not insurmountable. But he had a lot to learn before he could make any decisions on that front.

At times, the thought of the road before him felt almost overwhelmingly daunting. There were a million and one things to consider—factors he didn't even know yet and others he had no control over. But at those moments, he would take a deep breath and remind himself to take one step at a time.

The two finished their hot chocolates in a comfortable silence, neither very eager to bid this tranquil night farewell and go to bed. But eventually they reached the bottoms of their cups, and they knew that they had to turn in if they were going to get an early start on the morrow. Not that Shinichi particularly wanted to get up early on vacation, but he knew he had to make use of every hour he had. Besides, Kaito was sure to wake him up early. The magician always had plans.

It was that thought that reminded him of one important detail he should have noticed sooner.

"You never showed me my room," he said, looking across the small table and their two empty mugs at Kaito.

The demon looked so puzzled that Shinichi suffered a moment of confusion himself. "What are you talking about? I told you this was our room. The bed's plenty big enough to share."

Shinichi considered arguing, but he recognized a lost cause when he saw one. Besides, he reminded himself as the two of them tucked themselves in, it wasn't like this was the first time they had slept next to each other in one bed. They had done so last time they visited the Makai too, which, he supposed, was why Kaito hadn't bothered asking him for his opinion (well, okay, Kaito had probably deliberately chosen not to mention anything. It was Kaito after all. But Shinichi decided to pretend that it had been an honest mistake).

All around them, the world itself lay still and silent in the way only a world without traffic could be beneath a moon and stars so bright that they gilded all they touched in silver and pearl.

X

He was walking through a library. It was an enormous, labyrinthine library with endless halls of books and towering shelves whose heads were all but invisible in the reaches of the ceiling. At the center of that labyrinth of knowledge, however, was a large, circular space. A coffee shop.

It had a few round tables, each set with two or four wooden chairs. The circular counter at the heart of the shop was where the barista worked, taking orders and making coffee, filling the entire library with the delectable aromas of freshly brewed coffee.

Shinichi wasn't sure how he'd gotten here, but he was standing in front of the counter when the girl handed the last drink over to a faceless man who walked away before she turned to him.

He gasped, "Ran?"

"Oh, hey Shinichi. What can I get for you today?"

She asked him the question like it was the most natural question to ask—like he had been here every day and she had taken his order every day. But he had no idea where here was, and he knew Ran shouldn't be here. Yet…yet it seemed strangely fitting that she was.

"Here you go," she said, pushing a large mug of black coffee across the counter at him. "It's just the way you like it."

He smiled and thanked her. It wasn't until he had sat down at a table that he realized he had never actually given Ran his order.

That peculiar observation, however, was quickly replaced by curiosity as he found that the bare tabletop before him was no longer empty. There was now a spread of magazines on the table before him, though he not seen anyone bring them over. Stranger still, the covers of the magazines, though so blurred as to resemble abstract art, were moving. Colors shifted and swirled, seeming to form fleeting impressions of people and places, plants and animals, though the images always dissolved again into indecipherability an instant before they could be fully identified.

Fascinated, Shinichi reached out and picked up the magazine on the far right—

And he was sitting in a small boat drifting on the mirrored surface of a lake that stretched out in all directions as far as the eye could see.

"Shinichi?"

Starting at the sound of his name, Shinichi tore his gaze from the distant horizon and looked around to discover that he was not alone in the boat. Seated across from him was Hakuba Saguru. His friend didn't appear nearly as surprised to see Shinichi as Shinichi was to see him.

"Do you see it?" the blond asked.

Shinichi stared at him then around at the endless expanse of water and sky. "See what?"

Hakuba leaned forward, voice dropping into a whisper. "The faces," he hissed. "In the water."

Blue eyes automatically moved to peer over the sides of their boat. And indeed, there were faces in the water. They were near featureless, human faces with empty holes for eyes and slashes for mouths—more masks than faces, really. Some were laughing, others crying, some were scowling, others bored. They appeared just below the water's surface like bubbles rising up from the depths only to vanish at the surface and rise again in another spot.

More and more faces appeared, rising faster and faster and faster until they became a single, enormous, screaming face that rushed up from directly below their tiny vessel.

And with a watery roar, torrents of water erupted all about them, and out of the frothing, white spray came glass teapots the size of trucks that tipped their spouts towards the boat. From each spout came a waterfall, and Shinichi threw up his arms in a vain attempt to protect himself from the deluge—

Only he was back in the library café. Still off balance, he fell against his table and felt a slither of cold paper beneath his palm—

"All right, we got this!" Hattori Heiji declared, slapping Shinichi hard on the shoulder with a grin before he handed him a wooden stirring spoon twice as long as he was tall. "I'll start pouring in the ingredients, and you just start mixing. All right?"

"Uh, o…kay?" Shinichi looked down to find that he was standing on a giant table next to a metal mixing bowl that was every bit big enough to be a swimming pool. On the other side of the bowl, he saw Kazuha and Ran measuring out endless sheets of cookie paper on trays the size of ballroom floors.

Before Shinichi could process the oddness of this vision, Hattori was back, and he had brought with him a mound of the strangest ingredients Shinichi had ever seen. The human-sized fruits were the most normal. There were also rolls of pink cheese, blocks of dark blue chocolate the size of suitcases, huge fronds from unknown plants, and even a pair of blue eggs with scaly shells.

"And in they go!" the Osakan announced just as he whipped out a katana. In a series of silver flashes, he reduced all the ingredients into confetti and dumped them all into the waiting bowl.

"What're ya waiting for Shinichi?" Heiji demanded. "Start mixing! I'll go get the wet stuff next."

Though still confused, Shinichi picked up his oversized wooden spoon and began to do his best to stir the swimming pool of ingredients. It should have been impossible to do much more than shift the heaps about, but somehow, the mess seemed to be mixing all on its own into a colorful and sweet smelling blur. Then in went gallons of milk and honey, and the colorful mass became a smooth, aromatic batter.

"I think that's enough," the Osakan declared once the batter had thickened into dough and become an even, rosy pink with swirls of brown and gold and cream. "Time to roll 'em out!"

With a whoop and an astonishingly high leap, he landed feet first on the edge of the mixing bowl, causing it to flip impossibly up into the air. There, it performed a graceful cartwheel and dumped its load of dough back onto the counter to take its place. The bowl itself continued soaring up and up like a bird to vanish into the hazy lights overhead.

Shinichi was helping Ran roll a dough ball as tall as they were onto one of the cookie sheets when his foot landed too close to the curved edge of the counter, and he slipped—

To land again in his café chair. This time, he was more prepared, albeit just barely. In any case, he drew his arms in close to his body to avoid touching any more magazines by accident and stared at that spread of glossy covers. They were still as indistinct as ever, but he could catch fleeting impressions of glass teapots and watery curtains in the first magazine and small figures painting icing onto enormous cookies in the other.

Theories began to form in his mind.

Taking a deep breath, he braced himself and picked up a new magazine—

He was sitting on a stone bench in a small gazebo overlooking a rose garden in which a perfectly circular lake glittered like a second night sky. Stars twinkled both above and below, and, for a moment, he felt as though he was at the center of the universe with all of time and space stretched out vast and unfathomable around him. The sight of the roses brought him back to earth in a way, though their petals glimmered like pearls turned to silk.

Entranced by the sheer beauty of the landscape, it was a moment before Shinichi even noticed that he wasn't alone. There was a warm hand slightly larger than his own holding his on the bench beside him. He knew the feel of that hand, with its long, calloused fingers and firm but gentle grip. And so he wasn't at all surprised to look up and find that Kaito was seated next to him. What did surprise him was the sight of Kaito's night black wings, one of which, he now saw, was curled around him from behind to shield him from the crisp but gentle breeze. He smiled at the thoughtfulness of the gesture and allowed himself to lean into Kaito, resting his head on the demon's shoulder as they watched tiny faeries dancing over the gardens below in a comfortable silence.

It was a long moment before Kaito finally moved, turning to smile down into Shinichi's face just as Shinichi himself looked up.

Warm, indigo eyes met blue and held. Then Kaito was leaning in, and Shinichi found he couldn't move—not that he really wanted to.

The kiss was soft and sweet and far more real than the dream that Shinichi had begun thinking that this had to be. The surprise of it had him pulling away.

"What's wrong?" Kaito asked then paused in what Shinichi could only describe as confusion. Then the demon's indigo eyes sharpened. He studied Shinichi with an intensity that had Shinichi beginning to worry.

"Shinichi?" Kaito asked. Though he spoke normally, his voice was too loud in this soft world of rose gardens and clear night skies.

"What?" Shinichi asked back, just as puzzled.

"You're really here."

"Yes…?" What an odd turn this dream was taking. "What is it?"

"How did you get here?"

"What are you talking about?"

Kaito looked grim. "This is a problem. I'm going to wake you up now. Then we can talk."

"Wait, what—" Shinichi started to ask, but it was too late. Everything around him from the gazebo to the lake and the roses simply melted away like so much fog—

And he was looking up at the ceiling of the room he was sharing with Kaito with the fur capa nuzzled against his right cheek in a warm, furry and softly purring ball.


TBC

A.N: I'll be on vacation for a bit :D. I wish you all a Merry Christmas and a happy New Year!