Summary: Ken was Nanami's old friend. Kerberos was Nanami's present archenemy. But, were they still enemies now Meiosei no longer existed?

Warning: OOcness, err… hints of shonen ai on next chapters? Hehe

Disclaimer: The characters contained here in are not mine. No money is being made from this fiction, which is presented for entertainment purposes only.

This is my first fanfiction, ever. So please bear with me, will ya? *winkwink*

Happy reading! ^^

I called his name.

He stopped dead on his track before he turned, looking at me with those eerily alluring golden eyes. His head was tilted to his side in silent question.

"I..." for a moment, I wondered whether he was worth my pride. For me to beg for him to stay.

Then yes, I found he was worth it. He was worth much more.

I called him once again. This time I did not hesitate. I did not doubt. I knew what I wanted. And right now, all I wanted was for him to stay. Here, with me.

"Come." I extended my hand toward him, "please..."

I hoped—I wished for him to take my hand.

He looked at me—at my hand. For once, he let his emotion showed. There, in those golden eyes of his, I saw hope.

For fleeting seconds, I was sure he would take my hand.

But then, he hesitated. He hesitated and looked back at the man I knew he had come to see as his father.

He froze, his face turned so sad it made me wonder what made him—a boy who was too calm, too composed for his age—looked that way.

I followed his gaze.

That was when I knew I was losing him.

That man, he did not say anything. He did not need to. His face said all he did not say. The resignation on his eyes... It was like he had expected he would be betrayed.

I could feel my heart clenched.

And if it could affect me this much, I could imagine how it affected him.

He stayed in his place, looking at me, a small smile on his face, apologetic.

"I'm sorry..." was all he said before he turned back on me and ran toward that man. Not looking back at me, not even once.

Nanami jolted awake, silently screaming someone's name. Someone he should have forgotten years ago, yet he could not.

For a moment, he could only sit on his bed, with eyed; his heart was beating too fast. He closed his eyes, trying to calm his erratic breathing.

"Damn..." running a hand through his hair—frustrated, Nanami cursed under his breath.

From all the dreams, why should it be that one?

From all the time, why now? When he—the object of his dream—was so close?

He sighed.

Deep down, he knew the reason why he dreamt that moment now was because he was so close.

Ken L. B.

His friend.

No, my ex-friend... He reminded himself harshly, there was no Ken—a boy with strange golden eyes—anymore... Now there was only Kerberos, the guard of Meiosei…

Nanami could not concentrate.

He was stranded in no-man Island, with a bunch of strangers— all except one—with no communications to the outside world. And as if it was not bad enough, one of those strangers had just chosen last night to kill someone, making the weight of a murder burden him even more. And unless he wanted to get killed in his sleep, he should catch the murderer as soon as possible.

Ken—no, Kerberos of Meiosei.

It seemed all Nanami could think of nowadays was him.

Of course, it was just because he was sure that cunning man was the man behind the scene if this murder.

"How many times should I tell you, I'm not the one behind this?"

"Speak of the devil," Nanami mumbled, more to himself than anything, "and he shall appear."

If Kerberos heard Nanami's sarcastic comment, he did not show it. Instead, he only smiled. That annoying—according to Nanami—arrogant smile that he always wore.

"And you expect me to trust you, just like that?" Nanami glared at his arch-rival.

"Of course not," Kerberos said, golden eyes lit up with amusement; though Nanami failed to see what was so funny about their situation. "Come, detective, and I'll show you."

Nanami's eyes widened both in shock and disbelief, "you mean you know who the murderer is already?"

Kerberos shrugged his shoulders, nonchalant. "It's quite clear, really. I'm sure you'd see it too if only you weren't so adamant on thinking about my part in this."

Eyeing the man carefully, Nanami said. "How am I supposed to think otherwise? You're a part of Meiosei. One of their highest echelon, nonetheless."

"And Meiosei's dispersed." Kerberos pointed out calmly.

For fleeting seconds, Nanami felt sympathy for the man. For, even though they had lost their role model almost at the same time, he still had Dan Detective Club and Dan Detective School, while this man... he had nothing.

"I don't need your pity, detective." Kerberos spat, his voice and eyes were icy cold.

Nanami suppressed the shiver at those piercing gaze, instead he said, trying to be as nonchalant as possible. "Sympathy is not the same as pity..."

Kerberos looked at him, scrutinizing, as if he was looking for something on those eyes. Nanami should suppress his urge to fidget.

"Whatever." Was all Kerberos said eventually, turning away. Nanami almost breathed a sigh of relief, before he remembered it was his enemy in front of him.

"So, you still want to come?" Kerberos asked over his shoulder.

Nanami blinked, not understanding. When Kerberos' words fully sank in, he had to jog to catch up with the man.

Nanami could not believe there would come a time where he would admit that Kerberos—his arch-rival—was right. Yet, here he was, doing exactly what Kerberos had told him, quite happily nonetheless.

"You're right." Nanami said, awed; as Kerberos gave him the evidence that not only told him who the murderer was, but also the fact that his archrival was, for once, innocent.

"I told you so." Even without looking at the other man, Nanami was sure Kerberos was wearing his usual smug smile. Smirk that usually made him want to punch the other right in the face. But right now, he was willing to let it aside.

"What do we do now?" Nanami asked. Now that Kerberos had been [roved innocent, he thought he could trust the other, though only a little bit. Having him as an ally—no, not a friend; they were not close enough to be one—was better than facing this alone.

Kerberos shrugged. "Up to you. You're the detective here."

Nanami was only silent, weighing whether to tell the other or to just silently watch for the murderer.

In the end, he chose to tell the truth was the best course.

Once the murderer was revealed, all of them agreed that they would take shift to guard the said murderer.

When it was Kerberos' shift, Nanami found Kerberos eye the murderer strangely, as if he was contemplating whether to hypnotize the man or not.

Nanami's eyes narrowed. "Don't even think about it." he said in his best threatening voice.

Kerberos blinked, "sorry, old habits die hard."

Nanami merely eyed Kerberos, his suspicion rising once again. "He's not your client, is he?"

"I wouldn't help you if he was." Kerberos pointed out.

True, Nanami mused. But still..

And Nanami decided it was best not to let Kerberos' guard to convict alone. It was better safe than sorry after all.

After days of being isolated with strangers and his arch rival, even Hongo's sarcastic comment could not dampen his mood: h;Nanami sat down beside Kerberos, making him comfortable on the rocky ground. Kerberos raised an eyebrow at that.

"What?" Nanami snapped, glaring daggers at him. Kerberos only grinned slightly, amused.

"Nothing, detective." Kerberos shook his head. Seeing the detective cringe, his smile grew even widened. "It's very nice of you to accompany me, detective." He said in false sweet voice.

Nanami groaned, slapping his forehead in desperation. It was going to be a long night, he just knew it.

Nanami never thought that he would be this happy to see Hongo, of all people. But then again strange thing had happened, he thought. Like the fact he had—no matter how brief it was—worked together with his arch rival. And as strange as it seemed, the arrangement had worked wonderfully well.

"Nanami-san~!" Nanami was brought out of his musing by someone calling him.

He looked at the source of the voice, before he grinned as he saw Kyu ran towards him, arms flailing as energetic as always, Ryu and Megumi at each of his side. His grin could only get wider at that sight.

His grin never wavering, he jogged towards the four of them. He had not realized how much he missed them until now. "Hongo! My hero!" he said in his falsetto voice, swooning closer to the taller man. Hands clasped, he batted his eyelashes rapidly.

Hongo's eyes twitched. "It's nice to see you as eccentric as always." He commented sarcastically.

After days of being isolated with strangers and his arch rival, even Hongo's sarcastic comment could not dampen his mood; his trademark grin was firmly on place. "Don't be shy, Hongo dear." He cooed, which made the other man's eye twitch once again, more violently this time. "I know you love me too." He continued, winking at his fellow company.

"Nanami." His name came out a threatening growl, but he was too happy to get rid of this island, so he only laughed good-naturedly.

They bantered for another moment—which ended with Hongo screaming threats all the way—before Nanami went back to show where they were.

"But seriously though, you must have the worst luck, ever, I mean, a case on your holiday?" Hongo said, snorting.

"Oh, shut up!" Nanami grumbled, punching the taller man on his shoulder. "You won't believe me whom I met, though." He said. At Hongo's raised eyebrow, Nanami continued. "I met Kerberos."

"Kerberos?" Ryu asked, his attention was now fully on Nanami.

Hongo's eyes narrowed, as he said spitefully. "He didn't try anything funny, did he?"

"No, don't worry." Nanami waved his hand dismissively towards Hongo. "Actually, he helped me to catch the murderer."

"WHAT?"

At four pairs of demanding eyes, Nanami had no other options but to tell his fellow detectives how he had suspected Kerberos as the murderer. And Kerberos, in proving that he was innocent, had solved the case.

Ryu bit his lower lip. "I need to talk to him." Was all he said before he ran to find Kerberos.

"Ryu!" Kyu was about to run after his blue haired friend when Hongo stopped him, shaking his head.

"He's too dangerous." Hongo reasoned.

"All the more reason I shouldn't let Ryu meet him alone!" Kyu argued, staring at his mentor, daring.

"Na-ah, just leave it to me, 'kay?" Nanami said—before they could continue their arguments for further more; smiling reassuringly at the boy. Truth be told, Kyu did not look convinced, but Nanami had gone after Ryu before he could protest.

Nanami was cursing Kerberos to the deepest recess of hell and back again for causing him so much trouble when he heard someone talking. He knew that voice. It was Ryu's.

He stopped dead on his track. Crouching, he moved close towards the source of the voices, trying to be as silent as possible, which was quite easy for him—despite his usual loud nature. He did earn his position as the headmaster after all.

"What is it you want to talk about, my prince?" Kerberos asked, his polite smile was on his lips.

Ryu frowned, "I'm no longer your prince, as Meiosei doesn't exist anymore!"

Kerberos did not reply right away.

"It seems there's a little misunderstanding here. You're a prince, that's not because you are the next in line for the position of the Leader of Meiosei. You're a prince, because King Hades loved you so and he demanded for you to be treated with utmost respect." he pointed out calmly, not even flinching.

For a brief moment, Nanami felt respect for his rival, seeing as he could talk about both Meiosei and the late King Hades—both were touchy subjects, he was sure—without losing his cool. Even now, Nanami could hardly talk about Detective Dan without being melancholic.

Kerberos was truly a great actor. Then again, he would not be his arch-rival otherwise.

"Whatever." Ryu finally said, sighing. He knew there was no ways to change the black haired man's mind. "I don't come here to argue about that."

"What is it about then?" Kerberos queried politely, showing barest hint of curiosity.

Ryu fidgeted, biting his lower lips nervously. "I.. Well, I just want to thank you." He said in a rush, his pale cheeks turning into rosy pink.

"A thank you?" even Kerberos could not hide his surprise. "For what, if I may ask?"

"My father." Ryu mumbled, looking down at his shoes. "I.. It was you who freed him, right? So.. yeah..." he shrugged, clearly uncomfortable but determined to get it all done.

"I see." Kerberos responded, nodding his head in understanding. "You need not to thank me though. It was King Hades, your grandfather's last wish. I only did as I was told after all."

"But still, I want to thank you." Ryu insisted. "Beside.." he trailed off. Stating to get nervous all over again, he chewed on his lips.

"Beside?" Kerberos prompted, polite as always.

"I.. I want to thank you for something else." Ryu started. Kerberos waited patiently for him to continue, and continued he did. ".. Thank you for.. staying with my grandpa."

"Ah." Understanding dawned on Kerberos. For a moment, only for this once, he let his guard down. His face looked gentle.

Lost in reminiscence, Nanami thought.

"You don't need to, really. It was my decision to stay. I... I wanted to stay with him." Kerberos voice was so soft it was like he was talking about something sacred in his life. Perhaps, he was.

"All the reason for me to thank you." Ryu said, looking up at Kerberos earnestly. "It was despair that made him be the person he was. And if you hadn't stayed, if you had betrayed him, he would've gone even further."

Kerberos was only silent before he said. "It was a win-win solution." He shrugged, for once being casual. "I would've gone mad, had I not stayed."

Silence ensued; everyone was busy with his own thoughts.

It was not too long before Ryu looked up at Kerberos, opening his mouth as if he was about to say something, only to shut it again without saying anything. This happened several times, and each time Kerberos waited for the teen to say what was on his mind; but his waiting was in vain.

"… Let's get back to the boat. The others must be wondering about us." Was what Ryu said in the end, his shoulders slumped in defeat. At that moment, he looked like he hated himself very much.

Kerberos did not say anything, but he put his hand on Ryu's shoulder—albeit only briefly; as if to give the boy a reassurance. Ryu looked up, puzzled yet hoping.

Kerberos smiled at him. "Don't worry."

For a moment, Ryu could only stand there, speechless. It had been quite sometime since the last time he had been the receiving end of such affectionate gesture. And could it be not, it made him smile.

The gesture reminded him of his grandfather.

Several emotions flickered on his usual calm face, before it settled onto one: determination.

"Kerberos!"

Kerberos stopped on his track, looking at Ryu over his shoulder questioningly. "Yes?"

Ryu spluttered incoherently. He could feel his confidence slipping away under those piercing gaze. But before he could consider chickening out, he rushed, "come with me!"

-To Be Continued-

OMG! I finally posted something! Thank Goodness! xD

Ah, and this fic is dedicated for my sister, Blissaster. Haha, thanks for the entire waiting sis!

Finally,

Review, pweasee? Hehe xD