-Love of Four-

Disclaimer: The works of Detective Conan and Magic Kaito belongs to Gosho Aoyama-sensei.

Warning: KaiShin relationship.

A/N: Seeing as I've had a few reviews wanting a sequel to Study in Romance, here's what I've knocked up for now. It's a bit outside of the box and well...yea...I think I must have hit my head accidentally sometime these few months for me to come up with something so absurd. Anyways, if you haven't read Study in Romance, I do suggest you to read it seeing as it's actually related (I had to reread it myself to ensure continuity so hopefully not too many plot holes...for now).

Recap: Shinichi was (un)fortunately forced to wear a little black dress and put on a female persona to accompany his mother to a function, which happened to have received a supposed KID heist notice. Upon attendance, Shinichi was lucky enough to see a certain magician outside of the white suit performing. One thing led to another, which had Kaito attracted to the female persona, Irie Shiina, and after some ups and downs, Kaito realised Irie Shiina was actually Kudo Shinichi. With both of their parents nosying around the business, they ended up confessing (?) inside a water closet.

Now onto the sequel! Enjoy~

01: Dream come true?

Shinichi's groggy brain slowly registered the lukewarm temperature of sunlight shining from his window. The warmth was comforting, complementary to the waft of coffee from nearby. However, rather than making grabby motion towards the source of smell, Shinichi choose to indulge himself by snuggling back into the depth of his covers.

There were soft giggles from beside him as a light weight bounced on the end of the bed, though Shinichi's mind still paid it no heed as it tries to find its way back into the dreamscape. Only, the stiffled giggles was soon accompanied by a quick snap and immediately, Shinichi's mind finally began its struggle out of the land of sleep. Blinking at the dull light, he glanced around half expecting his mother's cheerful grin and the mischievous shine in her eyes, only to be brought the sight of two rather strange appearances.

On the end of the bed sat one grade school version of himself, though if Shinichi's mind was working at full speed, he would immediately notice that this grade school version had a pair of overly large glasses perched on the nose, reflecting the little sunlight with a small gleam. To the side of the bed stood a pair of long, slim, legs. Shinichi let his eyes trail upwards, past the equally slim waist and the small bust to the angelic porcelain face and midnight locks of hair framing a pair of bright sapphire eyes much akin to his own.

"I must be dreaming…" Shinichi muttered to himself, trying to dig himself back into the blankets. "Yes, it must be a dream. There's no way other than a dream for both of them and myself to appear all at the same time."

"Really Shinichi-niichan?" The voice sound rather disappointed. It was accompanied by a rather loud slurp of liquid. "Surely you can do better than that."

"Now, now Conan. You remember how we were when we're half awake." Admonished a feminine voice. "It's already a miracle that Shinichi hasn't freaked out yet. So him assuming we're part of a dream makes perfect sense."

"Of course Shiina-neechan!" The child voice was entirely too happy, too gleeful.

"Who gave him sugar…" Shinichi moaned, abandoning all thoughts of sleep and prepared himself to face with this possible dream. He struggled out of the warm blanket and sat up, leaning against the headboard. Off to the side, Shiina held out a cup of coffee, which Shinichi took gratefully. "This is a dream right?"

"No such luck Shinichi." Shiina shook her head, taking another sip. Conan giggled gleefully from the end, swinging his short legs as he enjoyed his morning cup. "What was the last thing you remember?"

Shinichi scrunched up his brows, thinking back to yesterday night.

"There was that dinner with Kaito…"

Shinichi sat opposite Kaito at a rather fancy restaurant downtown, one that a normal high-school student would not be able to afford though thanks to his own parent's meddling and Kaito's own mother, they secured a nice dinner at their expense. He suspects it was their way of them giving their blessings.

"I wouldn't have thought they would arrange for us to eat here. I feel a little underdressed…" Kaito looked down at his shirt and vest combo. Shinichi would not say the magician was underdressed seeing as his ensembled had drawn many eyes during their short trek between the entrance and the table, including Shinichi's own who had been trying hard to to appear to be staring intently at the magician's figure.

"It's their fault for not telling us beforehand." Shinichi looked down at his own clothes, not exactly casual seeing as he was in a button up shirt and had a jacket, but he was in his jeans and sneakers which was not something for a high-class venue such as the one they were in.

"At least you have the excuse of being a celebrity so you can almost go anywhere dressed in any way you wish. Me? I'm just a normal high-school student with a penchant for pranking."

"I wouldn't say that…" Shinichi muttered, earning a quizzical gaze. Shinichi only shook his head, "you're more than a prankster aren't you? You're a magician."

"Oh." There was something strange in Kaito's voice and Shinichi knew what it was. The magician was probably expecting Shinichi to start accusing him of being KID (and no doubt Kaito had a speech well prepared about how he could not be KID), but Shinichi knew better than to say such things in public.

"You practically live and breath in magic." Shinichi added, to dispel other strange thoughts from forming. "Just now, you tried to charm our waitress with a rose, and on our way here you performed for the children in the park."

"Were you jealous?" Kaito asked, "were you expecting a flower of your own?" Immediately, a puff of smoke appeared with a bright red rose held between the thumb and forefingers. Kaito offered it to Shinichi, but he refused to take the stem. With a small pout, Kaito settled on tucking the rose behind Shinich's ear. "Know that only you deserve this flower and no one else."

Shinichi blushed, ducking his head down and hoping Kaito had not seen how red his face had become. But from the amused glint in the indigo eyes, Shinichi knew the magician noticed. Not wanting to be subjected to further teasing, Shinichi hastily changed the subject with a cough.

"What…" Shinichi hesitated on how to phrase his question, it was something that had been lurking around in his mind ever since Kaito had professed his feelings all those months back in that tiled bathroom floor. "What...attracted you. To...me. I mean, you knew Shiina first and…"

Shinichi left the question hang in the air, not once did he make eye contact as he stated the question.

"You know what, it's stupid. You don't have to answer." Shinichi's own insecurities were eating at his mind. On the one hand, he really wanted to know, but on the other, Shinichi dreaded at being compared to the magician's version of himself, of Irie Shiina.

"Well, it's true that I met Irie Shiina first," Kaito started. Shinichi can feel the intense gaze landing on him. However, Shinichi was adamant not to look up, he did not want to see the nostalgic gaze in Kaito's eyes, or the fondness as the magician recalls the short moments he had with Irie Shiina. "And I was first physically drawn towards her when I saw her at the party. I mean, she looked rather...stunning in that black dress, and the way her eyes shone as she swept her gaze around the hall, it was alluring…"

Shinichi bit his lower lips, eyes focused on the white plate in front of him. He knew it was a bad idea to ask.

"But that's the physical aspect and physical characteristics is not everything that makes up a person." Kaito reached over to lift Shinichi by his chin. Deep indigo stared straight into Shinichi. "I then noticed the heart, mind, and soul of the person that had been presented in front of me. That quick mind and the burning curiosity at wanting to know. The sparks of wisdom that was portrayed, and the kindness hidden in the heart. Those were what finally ensnared my heart. Not the physical part, but the mental part."

Shinichi remembered the conversation clearly, how Kaito had tried to stress that he was attracted to Shinichi as a person and not the persona he had be portraying. Yet, he also remember feeling that although those words were supposed to be comforting, he kept comparing the various versions of himself. Shinichi knew KID, at one point, had been attracted to the mind of Edogawa Conan, whom he called as his critic, his Tantei-kun. The same sort of possessiveness what was shown when Kaito called Irie Shiina as His Lady. But Shinichi only remained purely 'Shinichi' and no one else. It was as though Kaito had deliberately cut himself away and avoid the attachment. It had made Shinichi felt out-of-sorts, that even though Shinichi felt intensely for the magician, the same could not be said for the magician.

"And? What else do you remember?" Shiina prompted, snapping Shinichi from his memories.

Shinichi tries to think back to the night. They only walked partway together seeing as there was school the next day. Though Kaito had insisted on accompanying Shinichi on the train station but Shinichi had adamantly refused. In the end, they parted way at the intersection that, on the one hand led to the train station, on the other led to the residential streets. Shinichi remembered the chaste kiss on the corner of his lips and a rather reluctant goodbye from the magician. Neither had wanted to turn away and it was Shinichi who took the first steps towards the station, all the while feeling Kaito's gaze on his back.

Unfortunately, as with all outings he had, this one was soon interrupted with the discovery of a body not long after. Shinichi was thankful that at least Kaito was no where in sight, he did not want the magician to bare witness to another crime, let alone a body. Calling up the authorities and solving the murder as quick as he can (which turned out to be a crime of passion where the boyfriend though his girlfriend was cheating on him with their best friend but in reality they were planning a secret party) he was driven to the local police station to finish off the paperwork. Even though the writing took some time, Shinichi managed to leave the station within an hour, with plenty of time to catch the last train.

"There was that walk between the police station and the train station. And, I think, there was a fortune teller?"

"You there," a hand bid Shinichi from between two buildings. Shinichi had not noticed the small table that had been set up so close to the building's walls. The person behind the table waved at Shinichi once more, "you seemed troubled."

Shinichi did not want to pay the person any mind. He had noticed the transparent globe set in the middle of the table and suspects this supposed fortune-teller to be a fraud, wanting to make some quick money off him.

"Sorry, not interested." He declared with the intention of walking away.

"Are you sure?" The voice, clearly feminine, begged to be heard and had spun its magic around Shinichi causing him to pause once more. "I can see how the red strings are tangling up around you, how they are strangling you at the same time. Don't you want to untie them?"

"Look, I need to leave and catch the train. Find your mark somewhere else." It was forceful and impolite but Shinichi knew he needed to declare the intention.

"Three of a kind, all alike but not at all similar. Three facets of a gem." Her voice was just above a whisper yet it seemed to Shinichi that she might as well be shouting for his attention. "All facing a singular shadow with certain expectations. A white shadow in darkness that can only be in the presence of a single gem."

Shinichi frowned. Could it be that this person knew of his association with a certain thief. Not wanting to risk things, and needing to find out the person's intention, he took a step towards the table. "What do you want?"

"For you to sit down." A hand gestured at the short stool. "Sit, and allow me to read you. You have such strange strings attached to you that it's intriguing…"

Cautiously, Shinichi sat on the wooden stool. His eyes never left the shadowed face behind the red cowl.

"Look in here with me." The pale hand waved over the crystal ball. Mist began to form from the base of the globe, slowly clouding the once-transparent space. "Let us delve deep and answer your doubts and queries. Let us shed light in darkness and give darkness to light."

Nothing the person was saying makes sense, yet it compelled Shinichi to listen.

"I see a short figure, intelligent and bright. Another tall figure, an alluring sight. Then there's you in the middle, stuck between the two. The chains that binds the three of you together is becoming entangled with a frail red string that has been pulled taut to one end. The string itself, leads up to the shining moon, casting shadows to all three figures. As the shadows wavered, it merged and becomes distorted. You, stuck in the middle, become lost between the mix of shadows and the bright moon dulls it shine…"

"What are you saying." The words echoed with Shinichi's previous insecurities, that Kaito, the Moonlight Magician, was only interested in a certain aspect of him and not Shinichi as a person.

"That ultimately, it will be you who will bring on darkness." The head lifted and all Shinichi could see was a pair of bright red eyes.

"Darkness…" The word brought about another fear. Although the Black Organisation is all but gone, there were still parts of Shinichi that believed there are still agents out there aiming for his blood. Darkness is often associated with Black and he hoped he had not made Kaito into a target because of their association.

"However, I can offer you a simple solution." She waved a hand in front of Shinichi. "Untangle the knots, strengthen the string and turn it into the chain. Link yourself with the moon and cast white shadows instead."

Shinichi's mind came up blank after that. He could not remember how he returned home let alone fall asleep back in his own bed.

"Well, let me clear up a few things then…" Shiina sat on the side of the bed. She stuck a finger and pointed at Shinichi. "You fell asleep by yourself sometime around midnight." She then gestured between herself and Conan. "I woke up first, spotted you and Conan and had a short-circuit before deciding I, and most likely we, need coffee before we try and figure anything out. Conan was the second to wake, taking his time. Then you."

"If you two only woke up, or dare I say existed, from when the sun came up, how did you know when I fell asleep?"

"Apparently," Conan's all too cheerful voice popped up. He crawled his way from the end of the bed to sit on Shinichi's lap, "we retain your, or our, memory. But we're more distinct in our personality."

"So that's why you're more childish than when I was Conan." Shinichi muttered aloud. He had wondered why Conan acted more like an eight year-old.

"I am supposed to be a child you know. Not like, a teenager stuck in a child's body. Though I'm guessing we'll still share the same sort of luck." By which he must mean their continual stumbling across crimes and body. "And I know I'll react more like you would when you were Conan. But with Shiina-neechan? I'm not too sure…"

"We'll probably have to wait to find out though I think it would be like how you, or we, acted during that one time in the bookstore. We can never be too sure seeing as you and I are more alike than you and Conan."

The talk was making Shinichi's head spin and he could feel a low grade headache forming.

"Go take a shower and clean up. It'll help clear your mind." Shiina stood, taking the now empty coffee cup from Shinichi's hands. "Conan, go grab a change of clothes for Shinichi before you come help in the kitchens."

"Yes Shiina-neechan!" He answered all too enthusiastically before turning to Shinichi and immediately tugging on the blanket. "Come on Shinichi-niichan! Hurry up!"

"Right. Clean up, breakfast, then school. And I'll also have to sort out the situation with you two…" Shinichi knew freaking out now is useless and the best course of action was try and minimize the damage then figure out how to reverse the situation. "Need to call Beika Elementary to sort out your schooling, and Teitan High to see whether I can have Irie Shiina transfer in…" He muttered as he entered the tiled room. His mind was already trying to work out the logistics to this illogical and slightly out-of-this-world situation he had been dumped with.

-TBC-