Midnight Madness

Disclaimer: Detective Conan and Magic Kaito belongs to Aoyama Gosho. Persona Series belongs to ATLUS. The author owns none of the characters and places that appear in here.

Pairing: KaiShin, HakuAo

Rate: T

Genre: Supernatural, Fantasy, Adventure, Romance, Friendship

Note: English is not my native language, so I apologize for spelling and grammar errors. And you don't really need to know Persona Series and its characters to follow the story.

Summary: Kudo Shinichi moves out to Ekoda in the hope of a new beginning and everything would be different for him. But the changes that happened are nothing like what he had been expecting. Not necessarily bad changes at all, just…out of the ordinary.

Note: Thank you very much for those who have reviewed or favorite or followed this story so far. I'm so sorry for the long wait. Enjoy the new chapter. Please don't forget to review afterwards. Praise or constructive criticism are equally appreciated.

Chapter 4: Rhythm of Silence

By the time the four teenagers walked out of the café, the sun had inched towards the horizon, beginning to paint the sky with shades of orange, red, and purple beautifully. It was a nice view, yet it was tainted by the tragedy that just happened in the Gardenia Café.

As his azure blue eyes turned to look at his friends, Shinichi couldn't shake the memories of the attempted murder that had occurred not long ago. The victim was fine, unlike the cases he had run into before. However, the fact that he had once again dragged other people around him into an unfortunate experience was not fine at all.

'Maybe hang out with them was indeed a mistake,' he thought solemnly.

Hakuba Saguru was one of the famous high school detectives in Japan, therefore murder cases and the likes were normal occurrences to him. Although Shinichi doubted the blonde got into that much cases as he did on daily basis, judging by how much he called into the crime scene by the police instead of running into them. Still, he didn't feel that bad about involving him.

Nakamori Aoko and Kuroba Kaito, on the other hand, were normal high school students. Even though Aoko was the daughter of Nakamori-keibu, that didn't mean she was familiar with crime scenes. Shinichi didn't know about Kaito, but he seemed to be the type that wouldn't cause trouble to other people, let alone hurt them. Which meant the two of them shouldn't get involved in those kinds of things since they didn't deserve it.

"Kaito is so unreliable! Where was he when the case occurred?" Aoko complained to the messy-haired boy who stood beside her. "Leaving Aoko by herself like that…"

'Unreliable…? I'm unreliable too, aren't I…?'

Shinichi's mind went back to the one scene he didn't really think much about it at the time; when Hakuba chose to stay by Aoko's side and listened to the interrogation instead of join them. It was understatement if he said he wasn't surprised by the other detective's decision—maybe because those kinds of acts were something never really crossed Shinichi's mind.

From his encounter with the British detective a few times before when he was still Conan, he had always thought the blonde's gentlemanly attitude was a bit annoying and pretentious, especially when he got too close to Ran—though the real reason was because Shinichi (or Conan, at that time) was jealous. Now though, he understood, those characteristics were what made Hakuba Saguru different than him.

Hakuba was a bit arrogant and overconfident on his deduction skills; however he didn't neglect his companions and didn't blindly pursue the cases like what Shinichi did. He knew that the cases were important and needed to be solved quickly, but he also knew when and where to draw the line. Unlike Shinichi who went alone solving cases and unwittingly neglecting his friends—even his best friend—on the crime scene.

'There was no point in dwelling the mistakes I made in the past, wasn't there?'

No, there wasn't. Remembering those only made him felt more guilty. But at the same time they served him as a reminder not to make the same mistakes as before.

"I said I was sorry," he heard Kaito apologized once again.

The girl huffed. "Fine, Aoko will accept Kaito's apology if he gives her cherry cake."

"You just want to eat cherry cake, don't you?"

"What if Aoko says yes?"

"Eating that many cakes, I won't be surprise if you get fat."

"That's not possible! Aoko never gains weight!"

The girl sent her best friend an icy glare that seemed to be cold enough to freeze anything. Yet the messy-haired boy only tilted his head slightly before the corners of his mouth rose to form a smirk.

"Really…? I remember you told me you were dieting because you got some extra meat on your stomach."

Aoko blinked then her face was bright red. The memory suddenly came back to her that one time she said to him about her weight problem at school near the gym. She had thought that focusing on contracting her tummy muscles would help her predicament. It seemed to be working rather well, until suddenly Kaito made fun of her, saying that too bad it didn't go to her chest instead.

"W-well, that was because of meats, not cakes," she replied weakly, feeling a bit embarrassed.

"Meats, huh?"

"A-anyway, Aoko doesn't want to hear that from someone like Kaito, who he himself ate a lot of chocolate ice creams and cakes. Kaito could get diabetes or become an obese, couldn't he? Kudo-kun even said so." The brunette glanced toward Shinichi and realized that he was lost in thought. "Kudo-kun…?"

Shinichi looked up when he heard Aoko called his name. He blinked when noticed that not only Aoko, but Hakuba and Kaito also turned to look at him.

"What's wrong?" the dark-haired boy asked.

"What's wrong? Kudo-kun spaced out for a second there. Aoko should be the one asking him that," she pointed out with curiosity laced in her gentle tone.

"Ah, sorry… It's nothing. Just tired," he answered with a false smile formed on his face.

She blinked at him for a beat then smiled. "Oh! In that case we should get going then. It's been a long day anyway."

"Indeed," Hakuba said in agreement. "I'm also a bit tired myself."

The blonde turned to Aoko then walked with her in the front line.

"Lies."

Blue eyes widened in shock and his body instantly stiffened as he heard that word. It was being whispered quietly yet loud enough to be heard only by Shinichi. He glanced at the perpetrator.

Kaito was walking beside him with his right hand stuffed on his pocket while his left hand held one of Shinichi's shopping bags full of groceries. He looked around his surrounding nonchalantly as if he hadn't just said that word to the detective, as if he hadn't saw through the Heisei Holmes, as if he didn't notice Shinichi's gaze on him.

"Oh right!" Aoko cried out as she seemed to suddenly realize something. She turned around to look at him. "Where does Kudo-kun live? Sorry, Aoko forgot to ask him about it."

"Tsukishiro Apartment in block 2, Building B, Room 221," he replied.

"Oh! It's not that far from here."

"Aoko-san, I'm sorry, but I think I could go home by myself."

"Hah!?" She opened her mouth but then closed it again. A thoughtful look appeared on her face and then she frowned. "Kudo-kun didn't want us to come to his home?"

"No, it's not like that. I just don't want to inconvenience Aoko-san, Hakuba-san, and Kuroba-kun any more than this. The three of you have done enough for me already. Besides I already memorized the way to the apartment myself—as you said before, it's not that far away from here—so I think it would be fine."

"Kudo-san, I don't think it's a wise decision, considering the groceries you must carry," Hakuba interjected, gesturing to the shopping bags which each of them carried one in their hands.

It was true he couldn't carry the four shopping bags by himself. However, no matter how hard it would be for him to do, he had to do it by himself if he wanted to keep his friends out of trouble. Who knew what would happen if they stayed together any longer than this. They might be dragged into another murder case or kidnapping or something—unfortunate events were never picky after all. If he would just end up running into misfortune events, he really shouldn't get the others involve because they didn't deserve it, especially Aoko and Kaito.

Unfortunately, he didn't have any proof other than just a foreboding feeling that appeared in his heart. Furthermore, he didn't know if telling them about it would be the best solution.

"It's fine," Shinichi replied with a reassuring smile. "I'll manage."

The only girl in the group offered him a small rueful smile. "Aoko's sorry. Kudo-kun must be uncomfortable about the prospect we will come into his place, mustn't he? He just came yesterday so Aoko should be more considerate about his situation."

"Don't apologize, Aoko-san. It's fine, really."

"But Aoko's worried if Kudo-kun goes home alone. He's new in Ekoda after all. What if he gets lost?" she asked in concern tone. "At least please let Kaito accompanies Kudo-kun. He can help him carries the groceries too." She turned to the magician. "Kaito?"

"Roger," he replied with a mock salute.

Aoko smiled then gave the shopping bag in her hand to him while Hakuba did the same thing to Shinichi. The four teenagers bid goodbye. Kaito and Shinichi saw the brunette girl grasped the blonde's arm unexpectedly and dragged him away, heading toward the opposite direction the two boys were going to.

The main road was quite noisy and busy with full of the usual traffic. In contrast, the two boys walked side by side along the street in silence. The messy-haired teen beside him was uncharacteristically quiet. It made Shinichi briefly wondered what the other was thinking. To be honest, he had his own problem to think about. There was still Kaito's quiet remark—"Lies."—earlier that bothered him. It wasn't particularly pleasant to think about the cause of it, though.

All this times he had masked his lies carefully, had restrained his emotions from letting it show on his face, so no one would be able to tell, especially during when other people asked his quietness after a case being solved. But Kaito had made that remark to him. Which could only meant that the brunette boy had been paying close enough attention to his actions and behaviors—had observed him, a detective—to have detected the lies.

That conclusion was more than a little surprising and Shinichi wasn't sure what to do in this kind of situation in which he met someone who able to see through him so easily. Perhaps he had been a little bit underestimating his new friend after all. It was never good to judge a book by its cover, he had learned that the hard way anyway.

'Well, it didn't matter,' he thought, shutting his eyes for a moment.

"Kuroba-kun, can I ask you something?"

"You just did," Kaito replied cheekily.

Shinichi frowned, annoyed at the response he got. He was being serious here and yet the messy-haired boy said that instead. The magician let out a chuckle when he saw the detective's face before looked at him with an amused expression.

"Okay, okay… What is it?"

"Why did you say 'lies' to me? Are you accusing me for lying?"

Kaito raised one of his eyebrows when he heard that.

"I'm not accusing you anything since you did lied though. 'It's nothing. I'm just tired. I'll be fine sooner or later.' Those are just excuses people often use in order to make other people not worry about them and some convenient things to say when people are hiding something, when people are lying. Am I wrong?"

"Not really," he muttered, "I'm not lying, though."

'It wasn't really a lie if it was true a few moments ago.'

"Not gonna admit it, huh?"

'No,' Shinichi answered mentally while maintained a neutral expression on his face. He wouldn't just admit it, because he was naturally a stubborn person after all.

"Hmm… Then how about you tell me, why do you look so down?"

'Was I getting sloppy, or was he that good at reading people?'

He kept quiet for a second as he searched through his brain for something that could be use to change the subject. Anything would do as long as he was able to divert the other boy's attention from him. Because he was certain there was a high possibility that Kaito was going to pester him until he answered.

"Are you worried about me?" he asked in teasing tone.

They stopped walking on a street corner to wait for the light to change. Shinichi glanced up at the magician on his left who also turned to look at him.

"Of course I'm worried," Kaito replied honestly.

Shinichi stood in silence as he stared at Kaito, noticing that nothing in his expressions, posture, and tone of voice suggested that he was kidding. His response really caught him off guard. It never really crossed his mind that he would answer him so seriously like that. With his playful nature, he thought the indigo-eyed boy would give him mischievous or vague reply instead.

"Why…?" he asked in whispered tone.

"Why?" the messy-haired boy repeated in confusion. "You just wrapped up a case and pointed out the killer correctly and excellently. You should be satisfied at least, yet your face and your eyes looked sad instead, like someone who had just lost at their first round in a tournament. That's not what you call a normal reaction. I think Aoko and even Hakuba will be worried as well if they realized it."

There was a brief moment of somewhat awkward silence.

"By the way, Kudo, you're avoiding the question again. What happened? Did you make a mistake or something?"

Shinichi shifted his weight, not looking at him.

It really was a mistake. Not necessary a big one but pretty troublesome. He really should just keep quiet instead of asking questions just because he was a bit curious. He really should just go home by himself instead of letting Aoko decided Kaito escorted him. He really should just decline Aoko's invitation so none of these would ever happen. He really should just escape when he had a chance. He really should just—

"If it's that hard to explain then you don't need to explain it to me, you know. You can talk about it with Hakuba instead. I'm not that interested in detective work anyway," Kaito added.

"No, that's not it," the dark-haired detective replied as he shook his head, "I didn't make any mistakes. There isn't anything wrong with the case either."

As he finished talking, he didn't know why, but somehow he had a nagging thought that he had made another mistake. He didn't have any proves, but somehow he felt that the magician had already known the answer and had lured him into answering just for confirmation. Also, it was kind of unnerving, facing someone who not only didn't buy his lies, but also might be able to see through him easily.

"Ho…? But there is something bothering you, right?"

No reaction from Shinichi, which was as good as a yes.

"The silence occasionally tells us the right answer," the magician remarked.

The few passing cars stopped as the traffic light turned red and the two boys crossed the crosswalk with the rest of the pedestrians around them. Suddenly there was a hand around Shinichi's wrist. He looked up at the other questioningly, but the magician only smirked in return. A second later he was dragged along the street by him to some place. He followed his friend's steady pace as they kept running through the street, avoiding the other pedestrians easily.

"W-wait! Where are we going?" Shinichi asked in puzzlement.

"No need to worry about that!" Kaito replied with a grin.

"Somehow I'm beginning to worry after you said that."

"Come on, don't worry about it!"

"Kuroba-kun, wait a moment please!"

Even though Shinichi kept on protesting, he didn't make any attempt to shake Kaito off. His hand felt warm and there was a familiar aura around him that made Shinichi comfortable. That was strange. However he couldn't think much about it since there was a more pressing matter regarding where his classmate dragged him to. Not to mention that they were beginning to attract attention people around them, too much attention for his liking. Kaito didn't seem to notice though, or maybe just ignoring them just like he ignored Shinichi's protests.

Finally they went inside a small park in the far corner of the street. Unfortunately—or maybe fortunately, depending on your point of view—the place was devoid of people.

Kaito let go of Shinichi's hand as he made his way over to a bench, put the shopping bags down on it then plopped down on the one of the swings, moving back and forth nonchalantly. The dark-haired detective stayed quiet for a minute to catch his breath. It had been a while since last time he ran like that after returning to his original teenage-self. before approaching the other boy calmly.

"Aren't you too old to play in the playground?" Shinichi commented, crossing his arms over his chest while giving the magician a deadpan look.

"So what? There's no point in being grown up if you can't be childish sometimes," Kaito replied with a mischievous grin, "Besides, it's looked like you really need a break."

The detective let out a sigh—something that he realized he had done a lot today—then sat down on the other swing without another word, right after setting his groceries on the bench near the swing set.

.

.

.

Meanwhile in the other side of the shopping district, Hakuba and Aoko could be seen walking side by side, maneuvered leisurely through the bustling crowd. The blonde threw a side glance at the brunette girl who had her gaze looked ahead on the street but not really focused on anything.

Despite she was already looked way better than before, Hakuba still could see how her hands were still shaking sometimes, how her smile was a little bit strain than her usual carefree smile, or how her eyes were filled with a glimmer of sadness when she thought no one was looking. Obviously she was still bother by the case she had the unfortunate opportunity to encounter. And seeing her like this, he couldn't bring himself not to care and not to say anything.

"Is something the matter, Aoko-san?"

Aoko shook her head lightly. "No, it's nothing."

He really needed to distract her mind from coming back to the previous event. But how?

As he took a look at his surrounding, his brown eyes found an ice cream truck parked nearby, only about live meters from where they stood. He gave Aoko a pat on the shoulder and a smile, silently told her to wait for him here. She titled her head questioningly but nodded a second later. The blonde left then came back soon after bought a strawberry cone for her and a vanilla cone for himself.

"Here," he said as he held the strawberry cone to her.

A smile was printed on her pretty face almost immediately and her deep blue eyes seemed to shine under the sunlight. "Thank you, Hakuba-kun."

"You're welcome."

Aoko took a bit of her ice cream before looked up at the blonde. "Hakuba-kun. About earlier… Actually Aoko is just wondering about what Kaito and Kudo-kun are doing right now."

"You seem to be worried about Kudo-kun a lot. May I know why?"

The two teenagers resumed their walk on the sidewalk. The brunette was silent for a few minutes, trying to think of the best way to say what was going through her mind. While the blonde waited patiently as he ate his ice cream.

"It's just…," she said a bit hesitantly, "Aoko didn't know how or why, but somehow she had a feeling Kudo-kun didn't completely honest with himself. She believed him when he said he was tired. But at the same time she also felt that he had a lot of thoughts in mind which he didn't want us to know."

"Now that you mention it, he did seem to be having some trouble."

The girl nodded. "Something had to be done. That's why she asked Kaito to go with him. Not only because she wanted to make sure Kudo-kun didn't get lost, she also thought that maybe Kaito would be able to calm him down. Kaito is good at making people open up to him after all."

'He's also very good at making people want to run far away from him,' Hakuba added in his mind while refrained himself from saying it out loud.

"When Aoko saw Kudo-kun walked into the classroom for the first time, she noticed he looked uncomfortable and nervous. She thought maybe that was because he's new to Ekoda, just like Aoko back then when Aoko first moved into Ekoda with Tousan," Aoko continued.

"You weren't born here?"

"No. We moved in around nine years ago, when Aoko was still eight years old."

The girl beside him suddenly stopped walking. Hakuba stopped mid-step and turned to her. He raised his eyebrows when he saw a warm smile formed on her lips. He followed her line of sight and found Ekoda Clock Tower in the distance.

"Aoko still remembers, back then she felt so lonely because she didn't know anyone else, didn't have any friends, and Tousan was busy at work. But suddenly Kaito appeared. He extended his hand at her, giving her a blue rose and befriending her. He saved her from loneliness. So she decided that she wanted to extend her hand to Kudo-kun just like what Kaito did to her, wanted to be his friend. It seemed Aoko did it wrongly, though. She made a mistake."

"How so?" Hakuba asked in puzzlement.

Her gaze fell to the ground with a sad smile on her face. "She might be had gone too far, too intrusive with her overly friendly actions and unintentionally overwhelmed Kudo-kun with her excitement," she replied quietly.

The blonde put a hand on her shoulder. "Aoko-san, you did nothing wrong. I'm sure there is still the possibility of other good explanation to Kudo-kun's behavior. If he didn't like you, he would already say so from the beginning. Please, don't blame yourself."

It was a dull encouragement with no solid proof. Just something that was served to make other people feel better. However those lame words seemed to be enough for Nakamori Aoko, as suddenly she glanced up at him and gave him a tiny smile. Because sometimes no matter how lame those words were, sometimes they were needed to be said to reassure anxious hearts.

"Thank you, Hakuba-kun." She paused a moment to eat her ice cream before continued in happy tone, "Aoko decides she is still going to be Kudo-kun's friend and that was final. Hakuba-kun will be his friend too, won't he?"

Hakuba felt his own face soften into a smile. "Yes, Aoko-san."

"Hopefully Kaito could make Kudo-kun to open up to him as well."

"Speaking of Kuroba-kun, there's something that come to my mind."

"What about him?" She eyed him curiously.

"During our lunch at the café suddenly he got out of his seat to go to the bathroom, however the time he took for it was a bit too long. Even if he indeed got stomachache, it shouldn't take that long. Everything about the situation screamed suspicious. If we consider that everything he does, he has a reason for it, no matter how small it is, then there is a possibility that…"

Hakuba's voice trailed off when he noticed Aoko narrowed her deep blue eyes at him. Her smile disappeared and being replaced with a frown, clearly not liking where the conversation was going.

"Is it another Kaito is KID thing?" Aoko asked patiently.

"No," he lied. "I just thought that maybe he was planning something."

He didn't mean to lie to her; he just almost forgot that it was never a good thing to mention that theory in front of her. He had learned a long time ago that Nakamori Aoko wouldn't take his word about it seriously. She wouldn't believe in him and only thought it was just a baseless accusation he did. Though, at the same time, she never got angry at him nor blamed him about it. She was just too kind and too forgiving for her own good.

Come to think of it, Kaitou KID hadn't made any heist for a while, had he? Hakuba hoped—no matter how futile his hope in the end—this time he would be able to stop the phantom thief.

"Eh? Planning something? Like what?"

Aoko's voice pulled him back from his thoughts.

"I don't know, Aoko-san. Whatever it is, I have a feeling I won't like it."

"Oh, come on! Kaito isn't that bad… I think."

"You don't sound so sure yourself."

She let out a small huff. "Well… that's because sometimes he pisses Aoko off to no end."

"I think he pisses everyone off, Aoko-san."

"Ah! That's true," she replied with a nod.

They took a bite of their ice creams before continued their walk with lighter and good mood hanging around in the air between them. A few people on walks casted the two teens some quick glances but Hakuba ignored them meanwhile Aoko didn't seem to notice them. It wasn't an uncommon thing to happen anyway; with their good looks sometimes they seemed to be attracting attention.

The silence between them only lasted for a second as Aoko suddenly opened her mouth to start another topic of conversation. The blonde detective found a smile flitting across his face as he listened to her stories.

.

.

.

Silence enveloped the two teenagers sat on the swing set. There weren't any noises apart from the rustling of the leaves on the trees around the park and the sound of the vehicles on the streets. A public basketball court on the far corner of the park, which usually crowded with people and teenagers, right now was empty. So was the playground, where several equipment such as swing sets, seesaw, monkey bar, slide, jungle gym, and sandbox were located.

Playground wasn't Shinichi's usual place for thinking but the place was peaceful and the silence helped him gathering his thoughts. He stole a glance at Kaito in his right. The latter was still busy swinging back and forth idly, not once saying anything to him. Shinichi briefly wondered what he was thinking. It might be just him, but he had a feeling that the magician's unusual quietness was because he gave him some time to think and calm down.

It did work, actually. Not that he would admit it to him.

His gaze swept through the place for a moment when he suddenly felt a gaze directed at him. He turned to look, only to find a pair of indigo eyes looking back at him with concern. A smile was spreading across the boy's lips, a different smile from the smirk or grin Shinichi commonly saw on his face—it was soft and warm and seemed to see right through him.

"It seems you're more relaxed now," Kaito said. Relief could be heard clearly in his voice.

Shinichi simply looked away from him, unsure how to respond to that. Not to mention there was still the question from him earlier that he hadn't answered yet. It wasn't like that he didn't want to give any answers. It was just that… not only he had no idea how to respond to it; he also honestly didn't know how to bring it up again now, since unlike his prediction, Kaito didn't really push him to talk.

Lies wouldn't work on Kaito so there was only the truth. Even with the truth, that didn't mean he had to explain everything as well. Or…he could just continue to avoid talking about it for longer time than necessary, at least until the magician gave up.

'That sounds like a good idea actually.'

Yet, strangely, the thought didn't appear too appealing to him. Besides there was a possibility Kaito wouldn't give up on him. He didn't know whether he should be happy or not at the thought that there was a person who maybe wouldn't give up on him. But he did know that at least he needed to make his new friend understand the danger that lurking around him.

Decision made, Shinichi took a long deep breath then let it out in a sigh.

"You were right, Kuroba-kun. I lied," Shinichi admitted quietly, breaking the silence.

Kaito hummed in response. "So then, what is it that bothering you?"

"Actually there's something you should know," he began, looking at him with a sad smile, "There seems to be something wrong with my existence."

"Eh?"

"Something bad always happens everywhere I go. Whether it's a murder or robbery or bombing or kidnapping or hijacking or something else… Unfortunate events always follow me around like a puppy. It's not coincidence because it happens too many times to be called merely coincidence. It's inevitable. When one case ends, there is always another line up to replace it soon enough. It's a never-ending circle."

"Aren't you a bit exaggerating?"

"I don't think I'm exaggerating here." Shinichi dropped his gaze to the ground as an unpleasant memory crossed his mind for a second. "I don't even know how many times already I watched someone died in front of me while there was nothing I could do to stop it from happening. And I always end up dragging people around me into those unfortunate events, those dangerous situations."

"So what you're trying to say is that…you think you're a magnet of death?"

There was no answer, only the silent that spoke louder than words ever could.

"I had thought in Ekoda everything would be different for me. It was probably too much to hope for because murders still happened, people still committed crimes wherever I go, and dangers still lurked around me. Just like how today as well I still encountered a case, here in Ekoda," Shinichi continued, feeling guilty. "I'm sorry the three of you had to get involved."

"But you weren't the one who cause it to happen and you weren't the killer either. Not to mention, a lot of people choke to death in restaurants and other eating establishments," Kaito replied indifferently. There was no accusation in his voice as he was just stating the fact.

"I know. I can't say much about Hakuba-kun, but it's better if you and Aoko-san don't get involved in those kinds of things—those bad experiences—since you two don't deserve it."

Kaito narrowed his eyes at him. "Are you implying that we shouldn't be your friends?"

He shook his head. "I didn't say that, it's just…"

"It's just that you thought it's better if we don't get involved with you, right?" the magician interjected correctly with heavy emphasis, then sighed tiredly. "Seriously, not only you're suck at lying but you're an idiot too."

"Excuse me?"

"I said you're an idiot."

Shinichi blinked in surprise when he heard that. "Idiot? Me?" The corners of his mouth twitched and veins started popping on his forehead. "Personally the last person I could think of as an idiot, it would be me."

"They say the biggest idiots are the ones who don't realize they're idiots."

Kaito's reply was said in such conviction and certainty that made even Shinichi speechless. He glared daggers at the brunette who had the audacity to smirk at him in a way that could best be described as devilish. If he made any more retort it would only made him the idiot just like the other boy called him.

"You might be a genius, but how come you don't even realize it?" the magician wondered aloud in amazement. "Unhappiness is bound to exist anywhere; it's not your fault something unfortunate happened to other people."

Shinichi considered this for a moment.

"That's true, I suppose," he said at last. His gaze slid away from him when an uncomfortable tight feeling appeared in his chest. "But… The world doesn't work like that. Life doesn't work that way. Not everything worked out so neatly in real life. Humans still kill each other so much and crimes will still going around anywhere."

"Well, I'm not going to argue with the Heisei Holmes about that. There doesn't seem much point in denying it anyway. Nevertheless, the fact that someone can hate another person enough to want to kill them isn't your fault either. They're the one who decide to hate each other and it's their own responsibility when they decide murder is the best solution to their problems."

The magician studied him for a few moments before continued in a more serious tone, "Every human has murderous seed in their heart. It's not your fault and it's not a crime in itself since it comes naturally, however people who take their murderous intention into action—into a crime—are the ones who at fault. And I bet you've probably never even thought about it until now."

He didn't have any responses to that because it was true. He hated to admit it but Kaito's words made him sound really, really wise.

"More importantly… You've been blaming yourself non-stop, haven't you?"

Unease flickered across Shinichi's face when he heard that question. He remained quiet, but it was obvious he didn't deny it.

"Then listen to me: Kudo Shinichi, you're not the harbinger of death. So stop being stupid."

Shock was clearly written on his face. His blue eyes widened for a fraction of a second before returning to normal. He repeated the word silently in his mind.

Nobody ever said anything outright to him that he attracted deaths or that he might be the shinigami—the death god—himself, since everywhere he went there ended up being a case. But there were enough people who believed it and enough rumors going around him about it that made Shinichi started to believe it himself as well—despite detectives shouldn't have been believed in such things.

On the other hand, people who didn't believe the rumors also never said anything to him that it wasn't his fault or that he wasn't the cause for the bad thing that happened around him. They just assumed he understood it without they needed to say it to him—even his parents never gave him any input on the matter. It made his inside churn in bitter thoughts. Had everyone forgotten that he was a detective, not a mind reader?

The messy-haired teen slowly got to his feet and moved to stand in front of him. Suddenly he reached out to take Shinichi's right hand, palm up. He looked up at him questioningly when Kaito placed his own right hand on top of his hand.

"Three… Two… One…," he counted-down, then removed his hand.

Shinichi blinked in surprise when he realized there was something suddenly weighted on his hand, seemingly materialized from thin air. He stared at the pudding—orange-flavor pudding, to be exact—with the size as big as his fist before glanced back up at his friend.

"Pudding?" he asked in confusion.

"For dessert," Kaito replied as he stepped back, stuffing his hands on his pockets. "You didn't get any dessert for lunch today, so I thought pudding would do."

"You could just give it to me normally, you know."

"I'm a magician. What kind of magician am I if I just hand it to you like ordinary people do? Magicians have their own way to give things."

After a few moments of silence, finally a small smile formed on Shinichi's lips. Something deep within him felt like had been eased.

"By the way, there's a second example of your stupidity. Wanna hear it?"

The blue-eyed boy shrugged his shoulders with his smile was still firmly in place. "Go ahead."

"If you start avoiding us because you're worried about our safety or something, I'm sorry to inform you that you're just wasting your time because your plan won't work on us. Aoko is quite a persistent girl; you won't be able to get rid of her that easily. You'll have to try a lot harder than that. Besides, what kind of a person do you take me for?"

"I don't know. We barely knew each other."

"Exactly. That's why don't underestimate me. I can understand exactly what you're trying to do and why you're doing it, however that doesn't meant I'll just give up on befriending you," Kaito said with a grin before he turned around, completely missed the grateful look Shinichi sent at him. "It's chilly out here. Let's head back."

Shinichi looked at the other for a moment that walked back to the bench to pick up the two shopping bags full of groceries. Then he raised his eyes to the sunset sky. It was a brilliant scarlet as if the sky was stained by blood. He wasn't too fond with the color yet he didn't outright detest it. Closing his eyes, the detective enjoyed a gust of wind playing with his hair before opening them again. He got up, approaching the bench to take the other two of his shopping bags.

"Kuroba-kun," Shinichi called out without really thinking as they walked out of the park. He wasn't sure either what was it he actually wanted to tell him about. "Ano, that…"

Kaito raised one of his eyebrows questioningly. "What is it?"

"I… I am sorry for the trouble I caused today and… Thank you," he said awkwardly.

The magician pasted an innocent look on his face. "Hm? I only took my new friend to a park so he could rest there for a while since he said he was tired, right? There's no need to thank me for it because that's what friends do."

He couldn't help smiling a little when he heard that. "Still. Thank you, Kuroba-kun."

"You're welcome," the other replied with a grin. "Also… you don't have to be so formal, Shinichi. We're friend, aren't we? Just call me Kaito."

Shinichi blinked at the magician's familiar way of using his name then gave him a nod. "Ah, well… yes, Kaito-kun."

.

.

.

The dark-haired boy stopped in his track then looked up at the building in front of him. He rubbed his eyes in the hope of getting rid of his sleepiness. Then he stared, and stared long for a few seconds at the building with a disbelieved look on his face. No matter how long he saw at it, it didn't change. Fishing his phone from his pocket for the navigation app to make sure where exactly he was. He glanced back at the way he walked from and he was sure he didn't make any wrong turn. But then, how did he end up in here?

'It's…a castle? Somehow, before anyone knew it, the school building had transformed into a castle overnight?'

That seemed to be unlikely. Yet the evidence was in front of him.

There was a grand castle with sandstone bricks as walls in place of Ekoda High School building supposed to stand. It even had two tall towers looking towards the horizon and two small ones on its right and left side—all sporting reddish roof tiles. High yellow limestone walls surrounded the place instead of the normal fence. A small but elegant fountain and beautiful garden of roses grew where the school courtyard supposed to be.

'The castle's design… isn't it a bit looked like castle in Yokosuka?'

His gaze wandered to his surrounding and realized there was a huge crowd—consisting mostly students of Ekoda High. Considering the bewildered expression on their faces, he could conclude they were equally confused as him, which meant he wasn't the only one that ended up in this weird situation. The majority of them had a phone in their hands, taking some pictures of the castle and even doing some selfie.

In the far corner of the courtyard he could see some teachers stood with exasperated looks in their faces. That was when he realized that this castle was indeed the school building. Glad to know it, since he had thought he got lost somehow and worried he would be getting late to come to school.

Blue eyes found a mop of blonde hair among the crowd of students. After a moment Shinichi slowly walked over to the other detective with the thought that perhaps he could enlighten him about the condition of their school.

"Good morning, Hakuba-san," he greeted the British detective.

Hakuba turned to look at him then a small smile formed in his handsome face. "Good morning, Kudo-san."

"This is… Uh… What happened?"

"One of Kuroba-kun's pranks."

Shinichi blinked. 'Well, that's unexpected.'

"Apparently he thought it was a good idea to give the school building a new look (literally) for the new term this year, so the school wouldn't be looked too boring. I think he is actually the one who is bored though," Hakuba explained with an exasperated sigh. "Yesterday I kind of knew he was planning something, but unfortunately I didn't know what it was. Now though, we know it."

"Why he chose a castle?" he asked, because he wasn't sure what else he should ask in a situation like this. He had never gone to school to suddenly find a castle instead, after all.

"I had no idea. Aoko-san speculated it might have something to do with her comment of the movie they watched before the new term started. He got inspired or something… But who knows? Personally I think he just likes to create chaos and makes other people in troubles."

"So… he often does this kind of things?"

"Yes. And I'm afraid to inform you that this kind of things is normal around here."

Ah, that reminded him of the conversation he had with Hakuba yesterday. Didn't the blonde say something like 'normal is a relative thing in Ekoda'? Shinichi had tried to ask him what he meant by that, but the other refused to give him explanation, instead saying that he would understand it himself soon enough. He had never expected it to be this soon though.

'And the cause of it is Kuroba Kaito.'

It didn't quiet make senses—since Kaito was the one who wisely gave him good advice yesterday—however at the same time made a lot of senses—since Kaito was also a mischievous magician. Now that he thought about it, it was explaining a lot of things actually. Like the reason behind the students' and the teachers' reaction when they saw him the first time yesterday. They thought Shinichi was Kaito, and afraid that he would do some pranks on them.

The two detectives started walking into the castle—er, school building—together while the other students who mostly the first year students were still gaping at the sight before them.

Out of curiosity Shinichi touched the sandstone brick walls. Beneath his fingertips he felt the cold and rough texture of the brick wall. He brought his hand to his chin, wondering just how Kaito did it, disguising the whole school as a lavish castle. Out of the corner of his eye he saw Hakuba was doing the same as him.

'Kuroba-kun—no, Kaito-kun really put on amazing details just for a prank,' Shinichi thought as his blue eyes looked at his surrounding.

The interior of the building apparently had been renovated as well. It clearly didn't look the same as the day before, with the exception the structure of the building itself was still a bit the same.

The gold chandeliers could be seen hanging from the ceiling, replacing the normal lamps. Red carpet with gold lining covered the white marble floors. Each wooden doors of the school had transformed into different shape with elaborate carvings on them. There were beautiful paintings from various sizes being placed on the yellowish walls and big crystal vases overflowing with flowers adorning around the hallways. Even the stairs were looking way too much grander than usual.

"It's kind of like going back to the past in the medieval time," Hakuba commented.

"Or…getting into a virtual reality game," Shinichi added.

"Aoko-san maybe thinks it's kind of like being transported into a fairy tale book instead."

"Speaking of Aoko-san, I didn't see her anywhere. She came with you, didn't she?"

"Yes. But unfortunately she's busy running after Kuroba-kun at the moment."

"Running after…?"

The question was left unanswered when suddenly they heard a loud manly shriek from behind them. They looked over their shoulder and immediately found themselves in shock.

Not too far behind them stood a middle-aged man in a fancy king costume, completed with a red cape with white fur lining over his shoulders and a royal crown at the top of his head. What really threw them off was the man's face. He was the principal of Ekoda High School.

"Why did the principal…wear that…king costume…?" Shinichi asked a bit hesitantly.

"It was a part of his pranks, I think," the British detective replied dazedly. Then he frowned when he could feel that all hell was about to break loose at any moment.

The two detectives had barely gotten two steps into the hallway when suddenly they were engulfed in a white smoke that smelled like cherry. Both shrieked reflexively. The smoke dispatched as soon as it came and they found themselves no longer in their school uniform. Shinichi was in a hunter costume, completed with a large bow and arrows in a quiver at his back, and Hakuba was in a bard costume with a harp in his hands.

Shinichi looked at his new outfit with a foreboding feeling that this kind of things was another new thing he needed to get used to in Ekoda. Meanwhile Hakuba sighed and closed his eyes in the hope that when he opened it, the world would be a better place. It never worked yet never stopped him from doing so.

A second later, similar white smokes appeared in various places along the long hallway and classes, gauging cries of surprises from the students and teachers alike. When the smoke cleared away they all gasped simultaneously as they found themselves already wearing various costumes from knights in armors, warriors, princesses, princes, aristocrats, mages, even maids and butlers. The costumes were match with the environment they all currently in, castle.

"This is a new form of bullying," the dark-haired boy muttered quietly.

He heard a resigned sigh from the blonde detective.

"Unfortunately, yes. And not to mention it is worst than the normal bullying."

Shinichi couldn't help but agreed with him, because Kaito's targets not only the students but teacher as well—even the principal. Then again, despite the chaos and mayhem, a lot of the victims seemed to be enjoying it instead of feeling miserable. He also noticed some students which presumably from the drama club and photographer club doing some impromptu photo-shots right away. So maybe it wasn't completely a bad thing either.

As soon as the two detectives entered their classroom, they discovered that class 3-B, just like the other classrooms, had turned into an extremely fancy classroom. There were antique tables, antique chairs, ivory white curtains on the windows, old grandfather clock on the wall, and red carpet on the floor. Even the blackboard had a decorative golden frame round it.

"Bakaito!"

A familiar feminine voice could be heard shouting from the corridor, accompanied by thunderous steps and cries of the other students. A second later the door opened and Kaito flew in with Aoko rushing towards him at lightning speed. With a mop in her hands she tried to strike his head with a powerful blow, but the brown-haired boy evaded it easily.

"Bakaito! Cut it out already!" Aoko shouted as she spun her body around; the black maid costume couldn't hinder her movements. Then she swung her mop with all her strength at him again. "Didn't Aoko tell Kaito to behave!?"

The magician, who at the moment was wearing a wizard costume, suddenly crouched down to duck it in time. "Well, yeah… I said I won't do any pranks at the start of new term. But it's already the second day, so technically I don't break any promise, Ahoko!"

Aoko frowned at that because it was indeed true, but still…

"Well, at least turn everything back to normal!"

"Why? Can't you see that everyone enjoying it, Ahoko?"

"Then, at least Kaito could give Aoko another costume other than maid!"

Kaito stood up then tilted his head back and stared at the ceiling for several seconds. At last he said, "Why not? I think it's simply too suitable for you, though. Considering your hobby is carrying around a mop." There was a hint of a laugh in his voice.

"BAKAITO!"

In split seconds later Aoko launched another attack and Kaito took a step back to dodge it automatically. She swung back her mop at him who moved away then jumped to one of the tables to avoid getting hit. The fight continued as they were dashing, jumping, and leaping back all over the place with little regard to the other occupants of the room. On the other hand, their classmates didn't seem bothered by it and decided to just continue watching from the sidelines, out of the combat zone.

"Should we stop them?" Shinichi asked at the British detective, though he didn't know how to stop two energetic people like that.

"That won't be necessary," the blonde said calmly as he sat at his seat. "They always do it almost everyday and they'll stop the fight by themselves eventually. It's never a wise decision to get in their way after all."

'Another strange thing I need to get used to,' Shinichi thought to himself with a sigh.

To be continued…