A/N: I've been told by a person in Japan that he lived off of other's garbage for a while, since they in Japan are so notorious and packs everything in small bags; plastic in one, paper in one, food in one, and they threw away things that were working perfectly fine. (He was a non-Japanese, but it's an odd thing to hear)

Warnings:
Strange English, OOCness,

Uploaded: 2013-07-02
Chapter rating: K+
Words: 3,700

Chap. 8
Home is Where the Heart is

Dark swore as he saw the magic of his own feather on a roof not far from him, but he wouldn't have enough time to get to it and take it before the magician died without using magic.
'I'm sorry, Daisuke,' he thought to his host, knowing that it would hurt him.
'Don't worry about me,' the teenager answered, knowing that the other thief must be in pain as he was holding into the feather. Dark's wings glowed in a shady blue and with a single beat he had travelled more than half the way. With only two beats he was there and landed on the roof to run up to the magician, but before he reached the other the magic turned white, causing Dark's eyes to widen, feeling that it would now injure him if he was hit by any of the moving vines. He threw himself to the side, out of range of the magic and stared shocked as it curled around the white-clad thief, forming a rose bud before it was pulled into the feather.

Kaito was certain that he was going to die from the magic when it suddenly disappeared and he gasped for air as he wobbled a bit, but was able to keep upright, until his knees gave way despite his efforts and he hit the gravel-covered roof sitting while staring at the now white feather.
"What are you?" Dark's voice asked from behind him, making Kaito look back, but as he opened his mouth to respond he crashed completely to the roof, feeling his body refuse to work. The other thief's black sneakers came into view of his eyes as he walked up to him and Kaito looked up at the other, seeing his curious and discontent expression.

"Wah?" he asked as if it was completely normal for him to lie on rooftops.
"You're alive," Dark sat down with his legs crossed and studied the feather in the magician's hand, unable to sense it, despite being so close to it. Carefully he reached out and held a hand over it, feeling that the magic was unstable, flowing like a wild river instead of a calm pond; it seemed to almost crash into itself, only to avoid the collision in the last moment and continued it's wild dance inside the feather, but what baffled Dark the most was the fact that it wasn't his own magic anymore. "That feather contained a lot of power. In case someone else showed up," the purple-haired man informed and touched the magician's hand, hearing him wince at the action, "you got burnt when you 'tamed' it; something that is impossible for a human, so what are you? Your home can't be nearby since I can't feel it, but I should be able to feel your active magic…" The thief trailed off while Kaito felt how he regained the muscles on his face and was able to spit out a few rocks from the gravel that had made their way into his mouth when he fell.

"Now it all makes sense," the white-clad teenager mused and took back the other's attention, "you're more like Pandora than Akako. You just said that magic is impossible for a human, meaning that you can't be human yourself. And unlike Pandora you can actually change your entire appearance between two people: your host and you, which is why you don't care about protecting your identity while performing heists, and which is why Dark's appearance always is the same."
"I really don't like you; you're too clever for your own good, but my question still remains; what are you?" the purple-haired man sighed a bit defeated and smiled a bit.
"I'm human-,"
"You can't be, not entirely, and you don't even carry anything magical on you," Dark interrupted and cautiously grabbed into the stem of the feather, feeling the magic prick his fingers as if it wanted to go back to its new owner; the magic was just as uncontrollable as the magician that had tamed it.
"I'm human," the magician stated once again, and began to worry; had the relic changed something? "at least I think so. I don't remember being born, but I have two human parents, even though I'm not from around, but I have experience with magic that for some reason doesn't work on me. Akako's love spells for one, and most of her tries to control my mind."
"That's not what I meant," Dark tilted his head and placed his hand on his chest, "I have two human parents too, but I'm not human. My home is chained and sealed with strong magic, in the hands of him, so I can't feel it. If I could I would sacrifice myself and drag that white devil back to the place we came from, and you have to be something different, not completely human."
"You and your enemy are from the same place."
"Yes, we're two sides of a coin. His name is Krad and he has white wings. He does not care for his host and uses magic relentlessly even though it hurts him. I have seen him retreat only when his hosts came inches to death."

Dark warily slipped off the white glove, seeing that the thief's skin had been coloured to a glistering black.
"Are you in any pain?" he wondered and saw how KID blinked for a few times, feeling his own body.
"Not really, should I?"
"I have no idea," Dark muttered and took a closer look, seeing that thin, white lines were beginning to slowly overrun the black skin, "but there's definitely something off about you." The young man held the feather in front of himself, knowing that the magician could see it, "my magic is black, purple or blue, depending on the strength of it, and the only ones that have this kind of white magic are the Hikaris, so you're one of them and are the lucky second-born, that has been hidden from the world. From what I've heard the last Hikari's parents are dead, but I still wonder about that accident; I think that the white monster that he's battling every day might've murdered them with his own body. It's not very common among the Hikaris that the monster in their bloodline gets angry and kills them, since fewer descendants means fewer possible hosts for him."

"So Hikari is a host to a monster with white magic?" Kaito asked and felt how a pricking sensation came over his arms as he regained the feeling in them.
"Yes, and if you're only working for him he will destroy you, unless he knows, no matter what you do for him, so if you are working for Krad you have to tell me, because I'm the only one who can battle him," Dark's voice was worried as he spoke and the magician could understand why; if someone malicious found a way to gain more strength they would use it to hurt others.

"I'm not working for Hikari," he stated with certainty and made the other sigh.
"You can't know th-,"
"Yes," Kaito interrupted, "I can know that. There's a reason for me knowing that; a reason I'm not willing to tell you, but it's the same reason I'm famous all over the world without you having heard a single whisper about me.
"Okay, then you should know Pandora's goals, and if Pandora is working for someone else, and how would you know that Pandora isn't lying to you?" Dark tried, but Kaito only gave him an annoyed stare.
"I've known Pandora since a while back-,"
"And yet he's holding someone hostage."
"It's complicated, but I never used the word 'hostage'; you did. I just said that he has someone I care about," Kaito grinned as he moved his toes and then flew up from the ground, grabbing the feather and remembered that he'd felt pain every single time that he'd given feathers to Pandora, so now that the magic wasn't hurting him anymore Pandora ought to be able to take it.

In a puff of smoke he vanished and entered the hospital in the form of a nurse, but as he checked the medical chart of a long-time coma patient furthest away from the window Dark entered through the same window, making him squeak femininely, hoping that the other wasn't able to feel the magic from the feather now that it wasn't his own and since he wasn't able to feel any active magic from Kaito.

"Dark-san!" he gasped happily and saw how the thief's annoyed expression vanished as it was replaced by a conceited smile, unaware that the other thief's host was sighing at his antics.
"Good evening, have you seen a person enter this room from this window recently?"
"No, only you," the magician held the chart to his chest, hiding his non-existent bosom and placed the feather in the patient's bed, but when he saw that the thief was about to walk up to him Kaito met him halfway, hoping that the other wouldn't sense the magic.

"Dark-san, is there anything I can do for you?" he asked timidly.
"No, you've been more than helpful," the man answered and leaned forward, giving Kaito a quick kiss on his cheek, gently as a butterfly before he pulled away.
"Dark-san," Kaito forced himself to blush a bit as if he was happy with the kiss, even though he rather would've hit the other unconscious with the chart that he was holding. With a smirk Dark went out the window and Kaito saw how he flew around outside, sometimes landing on the edge of a windowsill and looked inside.
"Idiot," he muttered annoyed and brushed his cheek on his sleeve, knowing that there would be a sorry thief the next heist; wings and glue never was a good combination, especially not the purple slime that had to be removed with alcohol. The protective fat on Dark's feathers would get destroyed if he wasn't able to remove it with magic.

Kaito walked into his boyfriend's room in disguise and saw that there were multiple people there taking Shinichi's pulse and made sure that he was okay. With a smile he saw that the detective sent him a happy glance and Kaito began to rearrange sheets in a cupboard while eavesdropping on the nurse that told his boyfriend that he could call them if he needed something. Kaito smiled politely at her as she left and then turned to his boyfriend with a grin once they were alone.
"Hi, how are you?" he wondered as he sat down on the soft bed and caressed a few hairs out of the detective's face, feeling his heart pound happily in his chest; Shinichi waking up was a step in the right direction.
"Confused, but happy. We're brothers?" Shinichi wondered and Kaito could hear all of the other questions that his tone encompassed.
"Yea, let's just say that a lot of things have happened," the thief began as he pulled out the feather and explained everything that had occurred and irritated told him how Dark had dared to kiss him while Pandora absorbed the power.

Kaito happily greeted his 'brother' during the evening the next day and gave him a warm hug before turning to the nurse that had brought him there.
"How is he? Healthy?"
"We're still running tests on him," the woman in the doorway informed, "unfortunately we haven't discovered why he went into a coma, so we want too keep him here for a while."
"Okay," Kaito nodded and began to lay up strategies for the near future; he needed to get a cheap apartment where they could stay, because he didn't want his recovering boyfriend and a weak Pandora sleeping on the ground. The food expenses would double, but they could make it work with the pay he got from the restaurant. He would get the pay check from the gallery the next week, and by his calculations for how many days he'd worked by then he'd receive an amount that would be enough for rent, as long as he didn't need to put in some kind of large safety deposit. And after that there would be the medical bill to pay; maybe they could just vanish without a trace.
"Can you make an educated guess? A week or more?"

"One to two weeks. He's free to leave the hospital as long as he stays on the grounds. We want to supervise him in case he goes into a coma again," she informed and got a happy nod from the thief.
"Thank you, it'll be good to see him up and about," he grinned and watched as she left.
"I thought I'd see you sooner," Shinichi smiled as Kaito sat down and took his hand.
"Hey, I have work you know," the magician smiled and tried to look a bit offended, "I just came from the museum, and there isn't really that much to do. It's too much work for one person, but too little for two, so I have time to research artworks during my breaks and I have found the common thing that most of the artworks that Dark steals have." The detective raised his eyebrows in interest and listened intently. "I had to dig a bit deeper into the artworks' history, but most of the works that he targets are from before the Cultural Revolution and are made by the Hikaris, who were artists, but that information is pretty useless now that you are awake, since we only have to go to a museum and let Pandora find something to munch on."

"True, but we'll manage. That's what we do…" Shinichi sighed deeply and smiled a bit relieved, forcing away the slight depression that he'd been having after wondering if he would ever see his parents or friends again.
"To tell the truth, I thought that you would freak out a bit about being transported to another world," Kaito pouted at the fact that he'd been wrong.
"You're looking at a person that has died, been revived with a magical jewel, turned to a child and back, and has a voice in their head. How much do you think that the world can surprise me?" Shinichi grinned amused and enjoyed that he could caress the other's hand with his thumb; at least he wasn't away from his beloved.
"Now that you mention it…"

"But I've been thinking since yesterday," the detective continued, "I think it would be good if you went and distracted Dark as KID, since you said that he can feel active magic, but not all the time. Can he feel Pandora?"
"I don't think so. If he could he'd probably have entered your room last night, since he was flying around outside for a while, but he might need a closer proximity to you. It might also be because we're from a different world since I can get burnt by his magic without dying. I think that it would be good if you and Pandora went around and found different artworks, researched them and then struck one location at the time while I distracted him in a different part of town. We can use the headset to communicate, and if he senses what you are doing I'll send you a warning so that you can get out. We also need to convince Dark to help us with the relic, because I can't find any references to it, and he knows things, but Pandora have to get stronger before that, and I'll mess with him and try to convince him to help until that time."
"Sounds like a plan," Shinichi smiled with a nod and looked out to the setting sun, "how about a tour outside before you have to leave?"
"Sure," Kaito smiled lovingly and helped his boyfriend up, realising how weak the detective had grown while not being able to move.

With a tired sigh Kaito sat down on the other side of a park bench and glanced to the old lady that was feeding some pigeons and turned his gaze to the sky. He had been looking around for apartments, and there were a lot cheap ones, for obvious reasons since most of them were in bad neighbourhoods, but he didn't want to expose his weak and a bit self-destructive boyfriend to those areas; it would just end up with history repeating itself and Shinichi getting hurt all over again, so he continued looking. He had found a few areas with good neighbourhoods and a good or decent rent, unfortunately the apartments were smaller than any place he'd ever seen before, and he'd seen some tiny apartments. One of the best that he'd discovered was one where they'd be lucky if they got enough room to put a bed in, but then they'd have to sit on the bed to cook or do anything, not to mention that their KID-stuff would be fully visible on the bed or underneath it.

"You look troubled, young man," the old lady chuckled and made Kaito look towards her, seeing her throw a few grains to the pigeons before her.
"Yea, I'm looking for an apartment, so I'm thinking about the different options," the thief smiled and then felt a strange tinge from the elderly as she smiled towards the birds.
"I've heard whispers about you," she continued with a small chuckle and made Kaito raise an eyebrow, suddenly very cautious of her and grew more and more uncertain as she continued, "yes, the strongest are talking about you, and they are saying that the white winged one is coming back, because of you. You appeared out of nowhere, waking many as you arrived, and then that magician, KID, showed up." The woman laughed heartedly as she turned her kind, green eyes towards the thief, seeing him stare at her with an unreadable expression, but she was beautiful; like the perfect grandmother with a flawless, yet wrinkled skin and short wavy, pearl-white hair. "I've never been one to believe in coincidences," the old lady smiled as she reached out a hand and made the magician pull away a bit from her, but still let her touch his cheek, "no, you're definitely not from around. You're so different from anything I've ever met before."

"I'm sorry, I don't know what you are talking about," Kaito tried and got up from the bench to get away from the woman that was making the hair on his neck rise.
"Of course you don't," the old lady chuckled and continued to feed the pigeons as Kaito hesitated.
"Say… Who are you?" he wondered as he stole a quick glance around, seeing that there were only a few others in the park, but he'd taken a late lunch so that was expected.
"Viride De Cataracta," the old lady smiled, "it's a pleasure to meet you, stranger."
"The same, Viride-san, but I have to go or I'll be late for work," Kaito backed away from her, hearing her say a goodbye and continued to feed the birds without giving him a second glance. With a quick pace he passed the large fountain and made his way out of the park, deciding to come back later to speak again when he had his gear in case she was Dark in disguise.

For a few days he walked past the park whenever he had the chance, but the old lady didn't show up. With a disappointed sigh he sat down on the same bench and looked to the sunny sky; another lunch without luck had gone by, but he had finally found a good-enough apartment. The building was a bit run-down and the place would be demolished the very next year so there were only a few, odd tenants left that hadn't cared to find a new place yet, but Kaito doubted that he and Shinichi would stay for an entire year; it wasn't a thought that he wanted to think, but it was still there, simmering just underneath the surface. What if they were stuck in that world and never would be able to get back?

He'd spoken with the kind, grey-haired, middle-age man that was in charge of the apartments, and had been told that he could do whatever he wanted to the place since it would be taken down anyway. It was a cheap and large place and the previous tenant had left a couch, a table and a few trinkets, so Kaito had only bought a bed since they had utensils in the backpacks. He'd flown over the city during the night, and seen old tables that were standing by the burnable garbage container; it was a surprise to him how much stuff in good condition people threw away. Knowing that no one would miss the tables he had taken them and created a fake wall with them and wallpaper in the apartment, where the KID-equipment now was hidden.

Kaito walked up to the fountain and sat down on the edge to look at the glistening water, thinking about the old lady while counting the pennies he could see at the bottom. Absentmindedly he let his eyes wander over the sunny park, filled with more people than he'd seen before in it, but he quickly discovered that it was a few classes from an elementary school that were having some kind of mini-game-competition on the lawn. He ate his lunch in the park and then left it, but as he threw a glance back he saw a small plaque beside the fountain. Reading the name of the marble piece his eyes widened and he couldn't help but to stare at the small statue of an old lady feeding pigeons at the base of the fountain.

"Viride De Cataracta
To honour Satou Aiko, dead at 64, who loved pigeons and took care of homeless children, fed them, gave them clothes and educated them, five of her students hand-carved the fountain of sacrifice for six years before it was placed in the park. The original inscription from 1631 read: 'You will be missed, dear Mother of All.'"

Alternative to the old lady that I almost went with:

"Yea, I'm looking for an apartment, so I'm thinking about the different options," the thief smiled and then felt a pang of recognition wash over him as the old lady looked at him with dark, purple-red eyes, "Akako?"
"Oh?" the old lady laughed the same kind of creepy laugh as he'd heard lots of times in the classroom, removing any doubts in his mind that it wasn't her, "I haven't been called Akako for a very long time. Do I know you?"
"No, but I know you; Akako Koizumi, witch."
"Not anymore, young man. It was so many years ago that you could call me a witch. I fell in love with a young man, you see, and I cried a tear," the old lady Akako smiled.
"But you still have the knowledge," Kaito exclaimed excitedly and made the former witch raise her eyebrows, "you have to help me get home. I'm not from this world, and the Akako I know goes to my class. So can you please help me."
"It will cost," the familiar sentence that Kaito had heard multiple times before left the witch's mouth and made him snort.
"What do you want?"

Answer to guest review: ElizabethBathog
I'm happy that you like it, and I hope that I won't destroy the characters too much! XD

Answer to guest review: mya
I don't know. I'm just having a hard time concentrating on what to write and how to formulate sentences ^^