Ugh. I feel so deprived now. My email is full of story alerts that I have yet to read. I can't seem to be able to find the time to properly sit down to type what I've already written on paper. I'm being forced to write why I need morals for Ethics & Values class. The chemistry pavillon was set ablaze, forcing all chemistry classes to be stopped until this week (no laboratory classes for those who have though). We set up a surprise party for our mom's 50th birthday, requiring us to put effort in both the preparations as well as keeping her out of the loop (which we were successful—she didn't even notice that our keyboard was only made of piled books covered with a blanket XD—we had to bring the keyboard for performances). Our relatives from Oklahoma came and will be leaving soon so we went to quite a few excursions to make their stay worthwhile. I'm also taking review for all my past math in order to get me back to the level I was in before I ignored the subject in favor of others. And, while geology is a really interesting subject, economics isn't really something I can be truly intrigued with outside of how it would relate to my major. And, I'm rambling when I should be doing my homework...

Aside from those I mentioned above and my various responsibilities in my family and school, nothing else could warrant me an excuse from posting my updates. I gave a warning previously but I didn't expect to become this busy. I hope you can forgive me.

As such, I cannot clearly predict when I can post the next chapters. The issue doesn't lie with writer's block or anything of the sort. It's more of real life getting in the way. I'm sure you can all understand the importance of prioritizing.

I may have mentioned this previously but I probably should say it again: I WILL NOT ABANDON THIS STORY OR AMAZING GRACE. I enjoy writing both stories. Really. Imagining and writing scenes for both are possibly the only things keeping me sane throughout the fast pace that things are going.

One good thing coming out of this would be the fact that my muse is overcompensating my lack of fanfiction sustenance (LOL XD) by providing it herself. This is pretty much how both stories came into being as they are so you should expect more interesting things to go on.

Now, I should stop dawdling and leave you to read. I daresay that certain people may find this chapter intriguing...It seems I haven't had enough of embarrassing dear Kai-chan...-giggles-

Dedication: To tenten32158, for her wonderful reviews. To Shadow's Rage, for all the help she provides (well, you're having fun XD). To nataeiy1, for beta-ing. To Madame of All Manga, for being patient and actually giving me long replies. To Cheshire XIII, because…blah XD -shot-

Disclaimer: All characters and elements belong to Gosho Aoyama-sama. A very belated happy birthday to him and Kaito! -throws confetti-

Warning: Implied things included. Nothing graphical…but this story is rated T for a reason.

Pertinent Information:

Matured red blood cells live for about 100-120 days before they die and are broken down some time after so the components (i.e. iron) can be reused in the body.
The radial artery is the main is the main blood vessel that carries oxygenated blood in the forearm. It has branches in the forearm, one of which has a palpable pulse.
Kansai is part of the Western region of Japan and the Osaka prefecture is part of it.

Moonlit Blood
By Milky Étoile
Chapter Six

"What the...?"

"Oh, right. Permanent link."

"You're here and that is all you can say? What happened to you?"

"Just a small mishap. Nothing to worry about."

"How can your current state be 'nothing to worry about'?"

"Because I'll be fine in a few. Give me a moment or two to recover."

"You are sufficiently out of your mind."

"Isn't that putting the situation too literally?"

"And you said I was hopeless?"

"Ah, yes, I do recall saying that. I'm not catching your drift at the moment though."

"I'm not having this conversation with you. I'll give you a transfer."

"Are you going to do it just so you can get another from me?"

"I don't need to answer questions that you present when you're in this state. If you don't send a message in five, I'll look—"

"Don't. I'm safe and I'd rather not have to deal with your presence in here, of all places."

"I think I know the place. I don't really care. You're clearly not safe."

"I am. Don't worry too much."

"I cannot help it, as you know."

"And I'm thankful for that, truly. But I'll be fine."

Kaito really wasn't sure what he ought to be worried about: Conan, for suddenly collapsing, or himself, for being put in his current position, in which the melic's face was literally in his lap. The earlier…incident didn't aid him in any way.

Resolving that it was more important to do something about the unconscious pseudo-child, he carefully lifted Conan into his arms. He then shoved the blankets aside with his foot and set him on his bed. Absent-mindedly, he removed the detective's slippers and tucked him under the blanket. He moved the tray to the floor, adding to the few items scattered there. He turned back to the melic to look for any indication of his condition, and found that he didn't have to enhance his sight to see properly in his darkened room. It was probably due to the stabilizing effect of the bond, now that Conan wasn't holding it back. He wasn't even having any problems with any of his characteristics.

He frowned. What could have happened to Conan? He wasn't feverish when Kaito laid a hand on his forehead to check. He wasn't even breathing hard anymore. He looked as if he just fell asleep so suddenly and so deeply since he didn't wake when shaken. Could he have some sort of disease that caused that kind of reaction?

Kaito considered the possibility that he could be cursed. Didn't Koizumi make some sort of voodoo doll for him before just to force him to comply with her whims? That experience was beyond unnerving and quite painful. In fact, the pain he felt then was only second to the ones he felt for the releasing of the seal—

His indigo eyes widened. If he felt that as the one who had his traits sealed, could the melic have gone through it as well for being the one who cast the spell for it?

It was possible. And that could have been the reason for his loss of consciousness. A child's body would have a lower tolerance for pain.

He noticed a faint prickling coursing through his body. It didn't hurt at the moment, but the feeling was growing. Before he could pinpoint the source though, it disappeared abruptly. Then, he heard a groan. He immediately leaned over the melic.

"Tantei-kun?" he queried as the detective stirred. "Are you all right?"

Slowly, Conan opened his eyes. After glimpsing the other's openly-worried expression, he shut his eyes again and attempted to sit.

"You shouldn't—" Kaito's protest died on his lips at Conan's glare. He settled for assisting him with getting up, moving the pillows so they could be leaned on as well. When the melic was comfortably settled in a sitting position on his bed, he thought to ask, "What just happened?"

Conan's expression revealed nothing but a bit of weariness. "Just tired," he muttered and turned away.

"Tired people don't clutch their head and chest in pain before losing consciousness," Kaito countered in a deadpanned tone that earned him a flinch from the other. "Were you feeling the pain too?"

The detective whipped his head towards him abruptly. "How did you—" He stopped in mid-sentence and appeared appalled that he said that much. He let out a groan and buried his face into his hands with an uttered curse.

Kaito didn't feel any satisfaction from being right. "Tantei-kun?" He wasn't sure if he should ask if he was still feeling hurt—the pseudo-child's slightly-labored breathing was a telltale sign already. Hesitantly, he put a palm on his back to offer some marginal comfort. He succeeded only in making the melic tense beneath his hand. So, he reluctantly pulled back his arm.

Conan sighed and looked at him through his parted fingers. "I might as well tell you." His voice was muffled by his palms so he removed them from his face. "The bond passes negative sensations from the vampire to the melic. Pain is the most prevalent that is transferred."

Alarmed at that effect of the bond, Kaito exclaimed, "You feel all my pain? I thought—what?" He paused when the other slapped his forehead.

"You only guessed that I'm feeling the consequences of releasing the seal." He groaned and buried his face into his hands again. "This damn bond is screwing with my mind…"

It was Kaito's turn to narrow his eyes. "You weren't even planning on telling me that?" The detective visibly winced at his sharp tone. "How do I prevent that from being passed onto you?" he demanded. The bond sounded like it was a great limit to his privacy, but he was more concerned that it caused Tantei-kun harm.

"You can't," Conan mumbled while rubbing at his eyes.

"You're lying," Kaito accused with a glare.

Conan looked up to him sharply and returned his gaze evenly. "What makes you say that?"

"I can tell," he replied. His voice was firm, even when he was only bluffing.

It was a testament to the melic's exhaustion that he broke their staring contest and slumped back into the pillows behind him with his eyes shut. "It's unnecessary information. You don't need to wonder about things like those." It was admittance, albeit an unwilling one.

Kaito scowled in irritation. "It isn't unnecessary when you're affected to that extent."

Obviously, Conan was getting annoyed too with his persistence. "What is important now is that you get your traits in control—" he opened his eyes to glower at him, "—which you are not doing at the moment."

"But that isn't—"

"It is vital that you do this as fast as you can." There was a flash of what seemed to be anger in the detective's blue eyes that vanished as quickly as it appeared. "Do you really want to put people around you in danger?"

Kaito frowned. "No, but if you don't tell me now, you'll feel the pain again when—"

He was stopped by another wave of pain. Unlike the previous ones that affected only parts of his body, this one covered everything—it was like his whole being was getting stabbed with a thousand metal, red-hot pokers as sharp as injection needles. The feeling was far more intense than the other ones.

When the pain disappeared abruptly, he was left on the carpeted floor panting.

"Would you be able to master your characteristics while feeling that kind of pain?"

He sat up and looked at the detective. Conan was sweating profusely and breathing hard, but his gaze was still as penetrating as ever.

Kaito considered the question. Truthfully, he knew he probably wouldn't be able to. Normally, he could ignore the feeling while doing whatever task he was supposed to do. Now, however, the degree of the pain was too great to be disregarded.

"If you were to learn how to prevent the pain or any other feeling from being passed onto me now, you wouldn't be able to do what you must," Conan explained as he leaned back against the pillows. "As you are too stubborn for your own good, I will tell you what you wish to know, but only after you learn to control your characteristics to a constant, laudable extent. So, if you want to take back the burden that is yours, you better hurry."

The magician still thought the whole thing unfair but he could do little about it. So, he said with a determined air, "Lift the stabilizing effect of the bond...now."

Kaito managed to convert all his pent-up stress, frustration and, not to mention, embarrassment into determination for his difficult endeavor of commanding almost all of the traits he was supposed to have as—he could finally, at least, think of himself—a vampire.

So, approximately a mere fifteen minutes later, he found himself grinning smugly at the astonished and impressed Conan, who had been carefully monitoring his progress via (according to the detective) their link.

"…only a bit of pull left…" the pseudo-child was muttering to himself with a disbelieving shake of his head. "Even Saguru took a couple of hours to gain this level of control, even if only temporarily."

Predictably, Kaito felt like preening for that. He probably would have done so if he wasn't the owner of an excellent poker face. He estimated that he was now back to being above Hakuba after the past week damaged his almost-perfect record of being the better person…

He was sure that if the melic really had the ability to read his mind, he would roll his eyes at him for his silly attitude. The magician consolidated himself by telling himself that competitiveness was a healthy trait to have, even if it went beyond normal boundaries. There was just something about the blond that rubbed him the wrong way, really.

Bringing his mind back to the present, he became clearly aware of how tentative his control was. He was sure that, by now, the other was beginning to feel greater fluctuations that resulted from the resistance of the inherent traits to limiting. Apparently, that wasn't enough to deter Conan's new respect for him.

"According to 'Kaa-san, Toichi-jisan took about thirty minutes to accomplish what you have now." He leaned back and let a surge of his magic pass through their link to stabilize the consequence of his comment to the other's control. It was probably due to his mention of the phantom thief's predecessor. "However, you will need to get used to doing this constantly, if you wish to continue living the life you are leading now. So, it would probably best to take a leave from your classes temporarily to completely acclimate to these changes. In fact, knowing your mother, Chikage-basan might be making arrangements for it now."

Kaito was brought out of his stupor at the mention of 'taking leave from classes'. As evidence to his normalcy, despite his own (and others') allegations, he was gleeful at the prospect of skipping school, much like any typical student that wasn't a nerd would be. But the suggestion to do so for the sake of becoming used to his unusual characteristics implied that, even with his great progress, he would be a fool to believe that he could let himself think that he could easily gain power over them. While he was quite miffed that the detective might be undermining his ability to go against the standards, he knew to trust Conan to be able to measure what he would be able to do, regardless of his dubious knowledge of their link and everything else supernatural. He figured that he could just prove himself capable of surpassing the melic's expectations, like he had just done.

The silence that encompassed them as Kaito pondered the situation and Conan rested was neither awkward nor comfortable. Considering that they were usually on opposite sides and trying to outsmart the other at every opportunity, it could be seen as almost pleasant, if either of them paid mind to it.

Unfortunately, the quiet didn't last long enough.

Kaito let out a gasp when he felt his heart thump heavily in his chest. He became only slightly aware of how his pulse was quickening as he gained an odd feeling in his head. It was almost as if he was experiencing a migraine and light-headedness at the same time—though, strangely, it didn't hurt. He tried to push aside the sensation but found that he couldn't. He was overwhelmed by the pumping of blood in his veins in a much accelerated pace combined with the sudden sharpening of his senses as he lost the faltering control he held on them.

He could clearly hear the beating of someone else's heart. He could almost smell the blood that was regulated by that vital organ, even when it was beneath layers of skin. That heartbeat was weaker than his and the breathing that came along with it was labored. He thought—he knew—he could easily overpower whoever was the owner of that pathetic heart with his great strength. He knew he could pin down that person effortlessly beneath him. He could bend over that person before they could react. He would see the exciting fear clearly flashing in his prey's eyes before he would sink his teeth into smooth skin and soon taste that delicious, glorious, sweet red liquid—

"Snap out of it, you idiot!"

Kaito found himself forced to return to reality and freeze in his spot. He had to clear his mind of the strange trance that had consumed him. It was almost similar to what he had experienced previously, during his Awakening, only at a greater scale. In the part of him that remained somewhat logical, he assumed that the melic-vampire link had stabilized what he recognized as bloodlust. He was slightly assured that the release of that trait hadn't involved any pain that would've been passed onto—

His previously darkened indigo eyes widened when he felt warm air tickling his nape. It was after an unconscious shiver and gasp that he realized the position he was in.

He was pinning Conan against his bed's headboard with his hands on the boy's wrists and his knees trapping the other's short legs on the mattress. What was more shocking was that he was currently leaning over him with his lips parted only less than half a centimeter away from the melic's neck.

Horrified greatly for the nth time since the day started, Kaito was only a blur when he dashed to the farthest place he could possibly get from the other in his locked bedroom. In his mortification, he almost failed to notice the detective rubbing a hand against the spot Kaito had ghosted over with his lips only a moment before. When Conan groaned in what appeared to be defeat and took away his hand from his neck, the magician felt his dignity drop a few more notches at what he saw.

There was a distinct red imprint that was clearly caused by a bite to the slightly tanned skin. It wasn't bleeding—which he couldn't completely determine to be a good thing, much to his chagrin—but the mark was sure to stay on the melic's neck for quite a while. It was what most would consider a hickey.

This caused him to consider locking himself up somewhere else again, but before he could act on it, the detective discouraged him from any attempts.

"Don't even think of getting out now, when your final distinctive trait is supposed to be released at any time. Need I remind you that your mother is just in her room and would be vulnerable to any unintentional attack you make while under the complete influence of bloodlust?" He compounded the seriousness of the situation with a somber expression and a gesture to the imprint on his neck. "Do you want to do this to her with sharp fangs?"

Kaito paled at the thought of injuring or, even—heaven forbid—killing her while under that trance. While he was assured that the melic would prevent him from doing either, he was deeply struck by the reality and extent he could hurt someone unsuspecting.

Kudou had repeatedly stressed this before but it was only sinking in now…

"Look," Conan started, drawing Kaito's attention to him. "You're not the first one who reacted this way to the release of bloodlust. And I understand just how it can consume a vampire so I don't begrudge you for it. What remains now is for you to drop the issue. This is likely to happen some other time in the future—your biting due to bloodlust." He watched the blush cover Kaito's features with an amused visage. "Really, you're supposed to bite me to take your sustenance before your body decides to unleash your bloodlust fully."

He took that as the perfect opportunity for a distraction from that rather embarrassing act (accepting he was a vampire was one thing—having to do something so intimate because of being such was a different one altogether). "Does that mean bloodlust isn't actually constant?"

Conan obviously picked up on his avoidance of the topic, if the smirk on his features was to be the indication. He let it slide for the moment though. "To be specific, it's the level of bloodlust that varies. The Treatise explains it in more detail, but, basically, bloodlust is caused by the release of certain hormones that are only present in vampires. Those hormones, much like others, are constantly in the bloodstream. The rate of the release of those hormones is inversely proportional to the rate of breakdown of red blood cells."

Kaito blinked. He didn't entirely understand the implications of that (the 'breakdown of red blood cells'—he only knew they died…or something) but he ventured, "So, the longer I go without…drinking, the greater the bloodlust?" When the detective nodded, he fixed him with a deadpanned expression with a matching tone. "Why didn't you just say so in the first place?"

The melic turned away with crossed arms and a slightly petulant look. "Well, excuse me if I hang out with scientists…"

The magician decided to return the earlier favor and refrained from commenting. "What about the—um—fangs?" At the inquiring glance he received, he elaborated his question, "Are they directly related to bloodlust too?"

Conan shook his head. "Not when you learn to retract them at will. When you gain full control over that, along with your other traits, only a high level of bloodlust can mess with the balance you establish with them." He stared pointedly at the other with his sharp blue eyes. "I hope this knowledge makes you avoid neglecting what you must do, embarrassing as it may be to you."

Kaito idly wondered why his poker face only worked half the time he was with this certain detective. It was probably because of that damned bond. "Well—"

He was stopped by a sudden ache, concentrated on his teeth, more specifically, his fangs. Thankfully, it didn't hurt much. It was almost like his fangs were being pulled out. Not that it wasn't painful, but the feeling was nothing compared to the previous ones.

"I think I'll let you keep your toothache." Conan looked content to lean back into the rearranged pillows behind him. "I'm sure you can ignore it in favor of learning to hide your fangs."

At the mention of those teeth, Kaito cautiously felt for them with his tongue. It was rather surreal for him, he found, to be able to feel the unusual sharpness of those teeth. The lingering pain kept him aware of how real it was though. Incredibly intrigued now, he tentatively poked one of them with a finger—and winced when he managed to nick the digit. The tooth was sharper than a knife!

His eyes were drawn to his bleeding index finger. He was stunned when a red glow suddenly came out of the wound. He didn't even blink when the small gash closed in a manner akin to that of a closing zipper, except with red sparks included. It wasn't long until the only trace of the wound left was the line of blood that ran down to the base of his finger.

He hadn't even realized that he was staring at the red liquid until a short arm blocked it from his view. Dazed still for a reason he couldn't fathom, he looked towards the sighing melic.

"You really are an idiot." The detective's voice held a resigned tinge to it. "You're shortening the already-short time you have before you have to feed again…so you might as well partake now."

That took Kaito out of his weird stupor. "What?"

Conan rolled his eyes at him and raised his wrist to Kaito's face. "Just drink now before your bloodlust resurfaces earlier than expected. At least, this way, you won't be attacking your mother if she somehow got even just a paper cut."

Kaito mustered enough of his aggravation to glare at the pseudo-child. That wasn't fair, bringing in his mom to force him to do something. He understood why he needed to do it…but did Conan have to make it appear almost like some sort of hostage situation in some twisted way?

The detective leveled him with a fiercer glower, making Kaito almost forget how pained he probably still was. "Just. Do. It. Now." He punctuated the command by putting his wrist near the other's lips.

The magician prevented himself from recoiling at the limb thrust to him. He considered doing what Conan was asking—well, ordering, really—him to do. He didn't have much of a choice in the matter.

So, he slowly took the offered arm and held it awkwardly with his two hands. He turned to Conan, at a loss for what exactly he was supposed to do.

The melic let out a sigh at the uncertain glance he received. "Just bite the skin directly above the radial artery bra—" He coughed at the blank look on Kaito's face. "I mean, where you feel my pulse. You know enough to do that, right?"

Kaito almost scowled at him for the implied insult. Did the detective expect him to memorize human anatomy down to the specific veins?

Pushing aside his irritation, he looked for the pulse on the other's wrist with two fingers. When he found it, out of habit, he began counting. He realized that the rate was inconsistent and slow for a child's. He looked back at the melic, who appeared bored and stared somewhere outside the window. Kaito turned back to the wrist, somewhat worried. Wouldn't his biting into the flesh hurt the detective?

As if sensing his dilemma, Conan said, "To a melic, a vampire's bite is nothing more than an injected needle meant to draw blood." He continued to gaze outside as he continued, "It would heal almost instantly with what would be poisonous to most—the vampire's saliva." When Kaito remained unmoving, he turned to him with a blank expression. "Other vampires have done what you are about to do before, as Saguru can attest. Do you really think I would die from a single bite?"

Kaito had to admit—with the many dangerous situations the detective got himself in, he was still alive. And, with the magic that the teen now knew the pseudo-child possessed, he almost thought Conan could probably be immortal or something. It wouldn't be too far of a stretch.

But another part of his mind protested that he would still be hurting his rival, even if only a bit. Wasn't it his policy that no one was supposed to be hurt?

Another voice reasoned that he wasn't in a heist so he shouldn't worry about that.

Yet another commented that it was a moot point anyway, since most of the pain he felt earlier had already been passed onto the melic. Didn't that already count as hurting?

The (seemingly) older teen wanted to hit his head on something hard again. He was really going crazy with all the madness, if his internal arguments with himself were to be an indication.

Pushing everything to the back of his mind, he sunk his teeth into the melic's wrist without preamble and, instinctively, began to suck.

There was only one word to describe the act: intoxicating.

With every sip of the red liquid, he felt empowered. With every metallic taste of the blood, he felt more and more like he could do anything he wished. The strength he was gaining was so invigorating! And, it wasn't just the power—there was pleasure too. It was enthralling and captivating. There was nothing that could match the feeling with anything in the world. It was almost like a sexual release, except it had a much greater degree of gratification. In the back of his mind, he wondered just how blissful it would be to experience this kind of pleasure coupled with the sexual act.

"That's enough."

Abruptly, it all stopped. But the feeling still lingered in his whole being. It was like there were sparks coursing through his body, leaving him more content than he ever was.

Then, he felt a trickle of blood touch his lips. It was enough to bring some coherence to his pleasure-addled mind. He looked at the thin wrist he still held and the bleeding marks on it. His eyes followed the length of the arm until they met another set of orbs. He stared intently at the carefully blank expression on the melic's features for a whole moment before bringing the wrist to his lips once more without breaking his gaze. Instead of biting as he had done previously, he slid his tongue on the wounded skin. He continued to lick the wrist, even when the blood was no longer coming out of the holes formed by his teeth. He only stopped when the arm was drawn back forcefully. He then gave the detective a petulant pout.

Conan rolled his eyes at him and pulled out a handkerchief from a pocket. He then proceeded to wipe the wrist that was wet with Kaito's saliva. "You didn't have to lick my wrist that much. It will heal completely in a moment." He finished wiping and tucked the cloth away from where he pulled it. "I suppose I should thank you for speeding up the process." He raised his arm again and showed the vampire that the holes were closing up.

The sight of that cleared Kaito's head a bit more. "Healing properties?" he asked, a bit dreamily. His body was still warm with the bliss he experienced.

The melic shook his head. "Sort of, but only for melics." He sighed once more at the glazed look on Kaito's features. There was no use getting him to learn to sheath his fangs when he was high on blood. Conan almost let out a snort. Only vampires could get high on blood, more specifically, on melic blood. It was so much like alcohol or sugar for them that it was considered a special treat for those who had no contact with melics who were willing to share their blood. And, nowadays, it was rare to find agreeable melics…

Conan snapped himself out of his musings and started the arduous task of getting Kaito into bed while he was inebriated. Thankfully, the other had enough sense to carry his own weight and only needed to be guided to the bed, where he promptly fell onto heavily. His eyes closed even before his head hit the pillow.

The detective pulled the blanket from under Kaito without moving him (he had enough practice and magic really helped). With a roll of his eyes at the goofy grin on the vampire's face, he tucked him in and adjusted the blanket when Kaito moved to lie on his side, facing the window. Conan shook his head in a mix of exasperation and resignation. Sometimes, he really had to wonder why he went as far as to take care of the ones he fed. Maybe it was because of his blood that was keeping them alive?

Well, there was no use pondering over something so inconsequential now. He needed to ensure everything would be prepared for the next day.

And he really needed to get proper rest before other people get on his case.

The next day found Kaito staring at himself in the mirror of the upstairs bathroom. He had been trying to retract his fangs for more than half an hour now, since he had woken up by nicking himself accidentally on a lip with one of his sharp fangs. So far, he had only managed to pull them back by about a centimeter. He messed up his hair in frustration. This was almost harder than trying to control his other traits simultaneously! At least, with that, he already had an idea how to do it from the advice Conan had given previously.

He had contemplated asking the melic about it earlier but, due to many things (pride and embarrassment part of them), he hadn't felt inclined to do so. Besides, he didn't even know where the detective was now. For all he knew, Conan could be back at the Mouri residence already.

Then again, he had promised Chikage that he would take her to Mystique. And Conan wasn't the type to break a promise, even when Kaito still had one trait to learn to control.

His thoughts strayed to the previous night. He recalled what happened, mostly, but everything was somewhat fuzzy from the point that he bit the melic. He only recalled feeling extremely invigorated.

He scratched the back of his head. He couldn't even remember when he'd gotten into his bed. He shrugged. Maybe he'd remember the headache he has disappears. For the moment, he concentrated on pulling back the fangs and, after a minute, managed to make no progress at all. He let out a groan of frustration. What was he doing wrong?

"What you should do is to imagine your fangs becoming like they were before."

Kaito almost jumped when he heard that familiar voice come from behind him. He whirled to see Conan close the door and walk towards the shower stall with a yawn. Feeling quite offended, especially when he only had a flimsy towel cover his private parts, he hotly demanded, "How—what are you doing here?"

Conan spared him a sleepy glance before stepping inside the stall. "You were taking too long. Chikage-basan wants to head out around ten and it's already nine-thirty." With that, he pulled the dark blue shower curtain close. "Trying to pull back your fangs literally will get you nowhere. You will have to morph them to take the same shape they had before. That entails using your imagination and will."

The magician heard the rustling of clothes from behind the curtain, indicating that the melic was taking them off. It made him recall the more embarrassing parts of the previous day. A deep blush made its way to his face right at the same time that he heard the shower running. Did that detective really have no sense of modesty?

Seeing as he couldn't drive the pseudo-child out without witnessing the other naked, Kaito fled to his room, shutting the doors he passed through loudly. Once he was sure that his bedroom door was locked with the numerous mechanisms he had built into it, he hurriedly got himself into a pair of grey cargo pants and a white printed shirt with a brown vest over it. After running a hand through his still-wet hair, he decided to forget about the earlier incident and tried to follow Conan's instructions.

It didn't even take him a minute. It aggravated the teen even more. Why did that damn melic have to be always right?

When Kaito went down to join his mother for breakfast, Conan was already dressed and seated in the same seat he was in the previous day, sipping coffee. The vampire winced at the sight of the bitter beverage being drunk black.

"Ohayou, Kaito!" Chikage came into the dining room with a plate loaded with bacon and eggs. "I heard from Shinichi-kun here that you've managed to learn to control your characteristics already—faster than your father was able to!" She set the plate down in the middle of the table and promptly hugged her son. "I'm so proud of you!"

Kaito was able to prevent another blush from creeping onto his face when she started to rub her cheek against his while rattling on about how glad she was. It was touching, really, but it was more embarrassing than anything, especially when Conan didn't even bother to hide his amused smirk.

"'Kaa-san!" Trying to get himself loose from Chikage's grip seemed impossible as he didn't want to use his enhanced strength. "I get it already! Let me go!"

That, apparently, was all it took for her to release her hold on him. She smiled at him and attempted to fix his messy hair before he swatted her hands away. Her expression didn't change as she ordered him to eat quickly so they could head out already. Grumbling his agreement, he sat in his assigned seat and dug in.

It was mostly a peaceful breakfast, with only Chikage and Conan making small talk (Kaito still felt miffed). However, they were interrupted when the doorbell suddenly rang.

Taking it as a chance to regain some of his dignity, he mumbled, "I'll get it," before making his way to the front door. It couldn't be Aoko—she already had her own key to the house since she came by so often. He scratched the back of his head before opening the door with a mustered-up grin. "Good morning! What can I do for you?"

He certainly didn't expect a faintly-familiar female who was about his age with a build similar to Aoko's, except with toned arm muscles visible due to her sleeveless, pale yellow turtleneck. Her beige shorts showed off her slender legs and black rubber shoes. She had a slight tan and a heart-shaped face that was framed with reddish-brown hair pulled up into a high ponytail with a scarlet red ribbon. Her eyes were large and her irises were of sea green in color. When she spoke, her speech carried a distinctive accent that came from Kansai.

"Good mornin'!" she greeted with a polite bow. "Sorry ta bother you, but is Edogawa Conan here?"

He was quite confused how she could have known about the miniature detective's presence in his household but he didn't show it. Instead, he was about to reply when Conan himself came so suddenly from behind him, almost making him jump in surprise.

"Kazuha?" Conan addressed the girl with a frown. "What are you doing here?"

To be continued…

I feel so evil. I can't help myself from putting in cliffhangers every single time…and I don't really know why XD It's just too fitting XP

If you're going to ask about Kazuha…I was seriously surprised that she appeared too. I mean, I had a bit of a warning when my muse got the idea to include her so suddenly for a certain purpose. But that didn't come to me until I started writing this chapter three weeks ago. But…she just fit herself into the plot. I couldn't do anything about it XD

I'm also doing what most other authors are doing, in terms of making the accent evident in speech. I hope you don't mind. I barely showed that in this chapter. It would be more obvious in the next one n.n

On another note, it's not supposed to be KaiShin yet at this point but I couldn't help but put in clear hints. Though I'm sure you are all aware that this is going into that direction, I felt that those needed to be included to move the plot along even just a bit. Teehee.

Nyaha. The 'class leave' came to me at the spur of the moment. My muse wouldn't let go of the idea once she had her hands on it, much like with Kazuha. Besides, I needed a catalyst...-hint-

The next chapter is already in the works. I just need the time to finish it, tweak some things and find the time to type it. Parents are forbidding much computer use at home so I have to resort to renting at internet cafes and using up my free internet time in the library. Hopefully, you'd be able to read it soon enough.

Excuse me while I freak out at the amount of reviews, favorites and alerts this story has now.

…okay, done freaking out. This is honestly astounding. I never expected this much feedback when I decided to post this story! Thanks to all of you! Now, onto review replies! I don't recall replying…so I'll just put in everything here since I lack time…

fan girl 666, I know, I'm sorry. I'm just mean with cliffies XD
Thank you, A Smiling Cat, and, yes, poor Kaito XD This chapter should have revealed what happened to Conan.
Oho, Renkin-chan, wasn't that fun? XD I know I'm evil, Cheshire XIII made me admit it already (-sticks out tongue-).
Shingo-sama, if my alerts are to be trusted, you have been keeping yourself busy. Your drabble series is LONG!
Yes, your puppy is nice, just anie6142, but do watch him XD I am still unsure whether I will be changing the rating or now. You will find out soon enough, I suppose…
Lol, I still owe you a long reply, Madame of all Manga. No, I don't know if it's subbed yet, as I may have mentioned to you previously. I only read spoilers XP Really, I don't mind your rambling. Have you decided whether to take that food science course yet?
Dear meow556, you posed an interesting question. KaiShin or ShinKai? Oho~ we shall see!
I am curious with your theory, MsBenzedrine, so, if you have time, perhaps you can tell me through a private message? XD I felt sorry for Kaito too, but I was more amused after writing that scene 8D
I assure you, Mysteryfan17, I will not drop either story.
I'm glad you find it intriguing, kuroange1! Nyaha…
Well, it has been revealed, simply anonymous, but if it wasn't clear, then, yes, he has. Thank you for your review! I was glad to hear that I did okay…but I still don't trust myself much 8P
Osm face, Cheshire XIII XD Glad you squee'd. I so want to see his face too XDDDDDDDDDDDDD
Ginshi-chan, I don't feel neglected, really. I'm glad you took the time to review this too now. I'm glad you love the story!
Hope you don't go and bite someone else to drink their blood, Kairi's-twin. You might get into trouble XD If you've read the chapters beyond the first one, you would already know what a melic is n.n

Shadow's Rage, characters going at it…wat. MON! Be patient, dear. I already told you what I was considering for those parts, didn't I? XDDD Aren't you having fun 8D

I recently sent my reply to your long review, tenten32158. I really thank you for your critique. I'm really touched! It's something to look forward to.

Wow…so many o.O I feel…I don't know anymore. I'm just overwhelmed. THANK YOU!

For those waiting for the sixth chapter of Amazing Grace, I have yet to finish typing it. I think I can have it up by next week. Well, I hope. Life is getting really busy…-sighs-

I look forward to your reviews! See you next time then!

Posted on June 25, 2010.

Edited chapter posted on June 29, 2010, beta by nataeiy1.