5. Words On Skin: Part 3 - Final.

Notes: Finally the final part of this entire series is being updated. Whoa I took a long time. Well, I hope you enjoy the final part of 'Words On Skin'.

Summary: 'Whatever is written on your skin appears on your soulmate's'. That is the unbreakable rule of the universe. When soulmates are few and far between and it is difficult for them to even meet, it is a strange rule but helpful sometimes as Kuroba Kaito finds out. Whilst writing random things on his arm, he is shocked - and mildly interested - when he receives a reply. Just who is this mysterious Shin?

X

The boy had indeed been 'Kai', Shinichi's annoying but also oddly endearing soulmate, though it was strange how tense he seemed the first few minutes of their meeting, as if he had committed a crime or something and expected Shinichi to suddenly bust out handcuffs and arrest him or something.

(Only later would he know how right he had been with that thought.)

However, they did end up being friends and even ended up spending so much time with each other that he had been on the receiving end of many raised eyebrows and suggestive grins from his friends. Shinichi would even go so far as to say that next to Ran and Hattori, Kaito was the one that knew him the best and it was a little weird, how Shinichi had only known the other boy for maybe a few months but felt as if he had known him for much longer than that time frame. Even so, from their first meeting up until that point, Shinichi had had a faint, odd feeling that there was still something about Kaito that he wasn't speaking, a rather big something as he soon found out, considering the fact that Kaito wasn't merely Kaitou KID's biggest fan, but Kaitou KID himself.

X

He found out about Kaito's biggest secret close to half a year after their first 'official' meeting during a period of time when he was so busy, he didn't even have time to differentiate between sugar or creamer for his coffee - not that it really affected him that much since he wasn't one to take anything with his coffee but still, it really went to show how buried he was in his work. Between school, case work and the KID heists that were increasing in frequency, he rarely even had time to himself. What was even stranger was that Kaito seemed as tired as he was, even though by all right the only thing he was doing lately seemed to be playing pranks on Nakamouri-keibu's daughter and Hakuba, the latter sported brightly coloured hair more and more frequently nowadays. Shinichi didn't pay that any mind at the time, too focused on surviving the onslaught his life seemed intent on pelting at him to take much notice of anything else.

(Disappointing of him, how even with all the clues laid out in front of him like some sort of buffet spread, he didn't even notice such an obvious thing.)

Kaito had dragged him out of the house on a sunny sunday, as he was wont to do and Shinichi had flinched upon coming face-to-face with the sun for the first time in days, as he was wont to do. There was a reason why he had been called a detective-otaku more than once in his life. When he had finally dragged his gaze from glaring hatefully at the sun, all the while a strange feeling tumbled around in his gut as he felt the part of his wrist where Kaito's fingers wrapped around start to feel hot, as if it was on fire, he realised just where Kaito was dragging the both of them for the day. Shiranami mansion, the site for KID's next heist, was set on an impossibly high hill and featured many things, including an overzealous mansion owner who wanted to get his nose in everything and enjoyed bragging about how the mansion had been handed down his family line for generations and how he himself was descended from a noble who lived in the edo period and had supposedly turned into a youkai to seek revenge on some people who had wronged him; the mansion owner's son, a most uncooperative 14 year old on the cusp of his rebellious period who found it very funny to interfere with the setup of security measures put in place specifically to - futilely - deter KID; and finally the owner's freaking dog of all things that barked like the devil himself and spent all of his time biting the ankles of everyone that passed by him. Shinichi found the whole situation absolutely preposterous and had been prepared to skip the heist in its entirety but Kaito on the other hand found it extremely amusing and - without a care for his thoughts - dragged him here. Since Shinichi was widely known as the only one who could contend against KID on equal footing after Edogawa Conan had entered witness protection in America post-takedown of a major underground criminal organization and Kaito himself was a remarkable magician - a fact that had caused Shinichi to feel as if he was missing something important before he brushed it off - as well as having been brought in to consult on the security multiple times, the officers there put up trace resistance against their entering of the heist location.

After the customary tugging of faces that Nakamouri-keibu insisted on, Shinichi stood rubbing his face in the middle of the courtyard where a sakura tree bloomed, scattering pastel pink petals every which way. Hmm, so this was the famous sakura tree that bloomed year-round even when other sakura trees were left barren under the assault of the seasons. Just as he was about to turn away, Shinichi caught the glimmer of a thin fishing line strung up between the branches, attached to some innocuous-looking, well-hidden black boxes that he honestly wouldn't have noticed if the string didn't happen to catch the light at the right angle to reflect into his eyes. Taking a quick look around, Shinichi braced a foot against the side of the trunk and scurried up the tree, nestling himself in the crook of a branch and picking up one of the boxes with a handkerchief.

It appeared to be the type of device that activated on impact and was hollow on the inside, and from what he could see out of the clear plastic film on the side, filled roughly three-quarters with a horrendously garish pink dye, placed just so so that the slightest tug on the string would dislodge the box from its spot. With a grin that eerily resembled KID's firmly planted on his face, he pulled the rest of the boxes from where they were jammed in place and rearranging them, knowing fully well that KID was one who knew where everything was down to the last centimetre. It was this meticulousness of his that allowed him to evade capture, but it was also the same meticulousness that would foil his plans, of that Shinichi was very sure.

X

As the timing of the heist drew near, the lively atmosphere was tamped down into a more serious one as the officers from KID's task force and a few others from different divisions got in place, solemn looks on their faces as they surveyed the surroundings alertly. Shinichi himself settled comfortably into a spot on the windowsill of a second floor hallway that overlooked the sakura tree, one down from the one that was opened just a sliver and served to effectively indicate KID's path to freedom and he made sure to obscure himself as best as he could in the shadows.

It was fairly evident when KID arrived, as that was also the time when the shouting started. Belatedly Shinichi wondered where Kaito had gone, seeing as the boy had vanished without a trace about forty-five minutes prior to the start of the heist. Shinichi shifted his position, melting into the shadows even further as the telltale stomps of pursuing officers trickled in from further down the hallway. A few seconds later, a burst of white exploded from around the corner as KID bolted down the stretch of the hallway, heading for the window as Shinichi had expected. A mad grin was on his face and he didn't seem to have noticed Shinichi in the gloomy darkness of the hallway. When Shinichi stepped out, a flash of shock streaked across KID's face before it smoothed out into his infamous Poker Face again and KID came to an abrupt halt in front of Shinichi, looking as unruffled and at ease as ever. Shinichi smirked and made a move as if to shoot a tranquilizer dart at KID and was satisfied to see him dart towards his pre-selected window, pushing it open and leaping out all in one smooth movement, landing in a crouch in the soft grass before he was off again in a burst of movement.

Shinichi jumped out after him, wincing at the impact and inwardly wondered how KID made it seem so easy as he chased after the phantom-like fleeing form. By now they had already left the other officers far behind and confused. When they passed by the tree, KID suddenly halted and Shinichi likewise skidded to a stop some five meters away, well aware of what KID was about to do. KID called out to him, voice smooth and mildly amused,

"Tantei-kun! Fancy seeing you here! I've got to go now so please enjoy this light… shower."

Shinichi made a show of being irritated, all the while laughing silently at what KID had coming up for him. KID's fingers twitched and as expected, the black boxes seemingly flew out of nowhere. However, contrary to expectations, the boxes didn't go straight towards Shinichi and instead towards KID himself, crashing heavily onto his body and exploding in a splatter of pink that dyed KID's skin the same colour. Shinichi would have laughed if he wasn't busy being stunned at the same colour inexplicably appearing on his own skin, a mark of soulmates.

But wait… if Kaito is my soulmate yet the dye that splashed on KID's skin appeared on mine, doesn't that mean that Kaito is…

And there went the rest of Shinichi's brain, and from what he could see out of the fog in his mind, KID - no, it was Kaito wasn't it - was in very much the same situation.

KID snapped out of it faster though and with a softly tender smile on his face that seemed drastically out of place, he turned back and drew closer to Shinichi, a puff of smoke leaving his face clean and him dressed in street clothes again, firmly cementing his identity as Kaito. Kaito put his mouth by Shinichi's ear, whispered a short phrase that left Shinichi blushing before planting a small kiss on Shinichi's lips and pulling away, turning to greet the officers that had finally appeared, convincingly playing the part of a person frustrated that he had been thwarted but also greatly admiring the one who thwarted him, as was expected of Kaito's assumed identity as KID's number one fan.

All the while, Shinichi stared at him dazedly, even as an officer asked him what happened, replying only with a faint, "He got away…" as he processed what Kaito whispered to him, an uncharacteristically shy smile appearing on his face as he sorted out what that strange feeling bubbling inside him earlier that morning and many times over the past few months had been.

"Well done tantei-kun, it seems you've figured out my identity. Then, as a reward… A kiss."

Shinichi was in love with the most annoying thief and the most flamboyant magician and he wouldn't have asked for anything else.

X

A/N: Wooo! It's finally done! This one's about 2000 words by my estimation. That's long for what was supposed to be a drabble part. It seems rather fitting though, the final chapter being the longest one yet. Well then, 'That Which Binds Us' is now officially complete but don't unfollow yet! I might just come back and update this once in a blue moon if inspiration ever strikes again.

Now then, remember to leave a review and favourite if it suits you! Thanks!

Have a nice day!

-SilvCyanide

(P.S. did anyone catch the Nurarihyon No Mago reference I snuck in there? Or both of the references I should say. One of them is really obscure and can only be recognised if you're really familiar with the manga and the Hundred Tales arc. The other is not as obscure and shouldn't be hard to guess. Let me know in a review if you know which or just PM me if you can't figure it out!)