Delinquent Dearest

Disclaimer: If it were April Fools, I'd say that DCMK is mine. Sadly, it is not, so I can't even claim pretend ownership through said joke. Alas, I do not own.

When she got the phone call, Kuroba Shiori dropped her plate of green eggs and ham on the floor.

An hour later, the mother of one found herself walking down the all the too-familiar-path of Ekoda Elementary, winding through two right turns before arriving at the Principal's office. After rapping on the door twice politely, the door swung open to reveal a stone-faced bald man dressed in a suit two decades out-of-date. A small dark-haired boy was sitting behind the desk, kicking his legs nonchalantly in the air while the teacher - a nervous-looking woman who Shiori recognized from the parent-teacher meeting two weeks ago - was wringing a handkerchief anxiously in the corner.

"Kuroba-san, please, have a seat." The principal (What was his name again? Something like Nezumi Otearai, Shiori recalled dimly) shuffled to the side and gestured to a chair next to the boy.

"Thank you." Shiori took her place beside her son. The boy didn't stop whistling, but his shoulders tensed for a fraction of an inch as her eyes swept over his dirt-smeared cheeks. His hair seemed to be in more of a disarray than when he left the house that morning.

"I'm sorry that we couldn't discuss the incident over the phone, Kuroba-san. But we thought it best for the boy to tell you what happened in his own words." Otearai sank into his seat across the table. He folded his hands carefully under his chin, eyes narrowed as they zeroed in on the boy. The boy stared right back, almost tauntingly so as the corner of his lips drew upward.

"Kaito?" Shiori turned toward her son with a frown.

"Hakuba deserved it." The dark-haired boy said easily, untangling a piece of what appeared to be - pink confetti? (Shiori could feel the dread stirring in her stomach) caught in his bangs.

"What do you mean -"

"Did you mean to say," Otearai interrupted roughly, his voice wobbling from trying to suppress (and failing miserably) the volume. "That Hakuba Saguru deserved to have all his hair dyed blue?"

Kaito stared right back at the man's quivering jowls.

"Yes."

"The Hakuba-kun deserves to have his hair dyed blue and a clown's nose super-glued to his forehead?"

"Yeah."

Otearai's cheeks were reddening. "And that he also deserved to be shoved onto the podium during the middle of the morning assembly, wearing nothing but his underpants?"

There was a pause. Then, as brightly as if someone had turned on a lightbulb, Kaito grinned. "Well, he is always going on about how famous his father is. I imagine that he would want to follow in his father's footsteps."

"NONSENSE!" Otearai thundered, thumping his fist against the table. Lunging from his chair, his many chins trembling with anger as Otearai got right into boy's face, the man jabbed one thick finger millimetres from the boy's eyes. Kaito didn't flinch. "You did it - I don't know how and I don't know why - I saw that cloud of pink smoke - you were laughing -"

"So did everyone else!" the boy protested, but his voice was quickly drowned out as Otearai thundered on.

"- I don't care where that pink smoke come from but it was you - you and your magic tricks! Think it was funny, did you, humiliating a Hakuba? You little -" the man's hand closed in on the boy.

"Otearai-san!" Shiori shouted, wrapping one arm protectively around Kaito and yanking him backwards. Horrified, the teacher leaped from the corner and wrangled the red-faced man back into his seat.

"HE DID IT! It couldn't have been anyone else -"

"Otearai-san," Shiori said coldly. "Do you have any evidence incriminating my son?"

The man, obviously unprepared for such a question, stumbled back into his chair with a dull plop, the lids of his eyes drew back in surprise. Then, realizing how foolish he must've appeared, he coughed loudly, adjusting his tie with one hand, and swept one daggered glare toward the boy.

"Well - obviously Kaito-kun used some sort of magic trick -"

"So no one actually saw him in the act?" Shiori pressed on impatiently.

"Well, no."

"So as far as you know, my son didn't do it -"

"OF COURSE HE DID!" Otearai exploded once more, forgetting his place and shot up from the chair, drawing up to his full height. Which, burdened by the excess girth of middle age, the intimidation was somewhat lessened by an uncanny resemblance to the Pillsbury dough boy. Jabbing a finger right at the boy's unwavering eyes, he shouted, "Who else in the school is doing coin tricks and pulling rabbits from hats all the time? It's you, Kuroba Kaito! Just admit it! You think it was all for a laugh, did you? Think that we're just going to let you off the hook for playing your little practical joke on a Hakuba? Think again -"

"Oh, I see, so it's the child whose parents donates the most money to school that gets justice, is it?" Feeling her temper flare, Shiori pushed off from her chair, all 5-foot-5 of rage of her towering before the balding man.

"Don't give me that - you know as well as I do that the brat is guilty-"

"Innocent until proven otherwise, Otearai! Or perhaps your memory is fading as easily as your hair? "

There was a shocked pause. "That's neither here or there -"

"I -"

The voice was so small, but so familiar that both parties fell silent at once, panting. Kaito had drawn his hands into his lap. With a knot in her throat Shiori noticed that her son's face had paled. The boy was looking down at his lap. He looked uncertain... vulnerable, almost. Otearai's face lit up with glee with once.

"What is it, boy?"

"I... I..."

"You did it." A glistening goblet of spit quivered excitedly on the man's lip. "You pulled the pranks on Hakuba, didn't you, boy?"

With a quiet sigh, Kaito hugged his arms to himself, averting their eyes. Shiori felt her heart wrench. "Kaito - " she called out.

"Say it already!" Otearai snapped.

"I... I think..."

Shiori clenched her fists, feeling the cold sweat seep through her palms.

"Kaito -"

"I think -" And suddenly - as brightly as if it had never gone out, the Cheshire grin was right back on the boy's face. Absolute mischief sparkling in his blue, blue eyes as he looked right at the balding man, Kaito beamed. "I think I can see your nose hair, Otearai-san."

---

"So, are you going to tell me or do I have to fish it out of you?"

It was late afternoon when they came out of the school, the double doors clanging shut behind in their wake. The last vestiges of daylight bathed everything in a warm orange glow. In the distant, younger children clamoured on the playground, their shoes crunching merrily on the pebbled soil. Shiori peered down at her son, who suddenly became very interested in his shoelaces, his head conveniently coiled away from her gaze.

"Kaito."

"Hmm...urg...hm."

Shiori let a moment of silence pass them by. Then, in a voice so quiet it was almost swept away by the autumn breeze, the boy whispered,

"No one makes my Aoko cry."

Shiori blinked, slightly taken back at the way the boy's shoulders had stiffened, almost defiantly, at the words, the determined glint at the corner of his eyes. Opening her mouth, searching for the right words in her head even as she was doing so, Shiori was about to formulate a reply when footsteps echoed sharply on the road behind them. A flurry of dark brown hair passed by - and in the next moment it threw itself at the boy, topping both of them onto the ground.

"Kaito!"

"Oomph... God, Aoko - what are you trying to do? Kill me?"

The mess of dark brown locks raised itself from the crook of the boy's neck, revealing two red cheeks and blue eyes that still looked a little pink. With a hiccup, the girl leaned back from the boy, clutching and pawing at his face and arms worriedly.

"Oh my God, I can't believe what you did to Hakuba-kun - what did the principal say? You didn't get into too much trouble, did you? Keiko said that Otearai-san was livid and that you might get expelled because Hakuba-kun's has an uncle or on the school board or something – oh, Kaito, it's all my fault, I'm so sorry…" The girl blubbered, half of the words merging into one big slur as her voice thickened with tears once more.

"It's nothing. No, I didn't get expelled. That old toad can't prove anything against me – sheesh, I'm the one who got into trouble and you're crying?" Catching Shiori's eyes, who had a rather amused expression on her face, Kaito scowled. Taking the hint, Shiori raised an eyebrow, lips curling into a knowing smirk. Resisting the urge to giggle, Shiori raised one finger and slid it across her throat, rolling her eyes before taking her leave, stealing stealthily down the stony steps and left her son with his best friend.

"Stupid – idiot– Kaito – You shouldn't have - it's all my fault…"

"I'm fine, Aoko. It's all right… don't cry, c'mon," Kaito said softly, feeling his cheeks heat up as the girl buried her head into the crook of his neck. He could feel the front of his sweater dampening. "Aoko, c'mon – Hakuba got what he deserved, don't… don't cry over that jerk."

"Idiot!" Red-eyed, Aoko drew back and punched the boy on the arm. "I'm crying because of you!"

"Me?"

"You!"

"Me." He repeated, incredulous.

"Yes, you!" Drying her tear-streaked cheeks with the back of her sleeve, Aoko gave the boy's chest another thump. "Who know what Otearai-san could've done to you? You could've gotten suspended… or even ex-expelled…"

The possibility hadn't even crossed his mind (but then again, consequences of that nature rarely did), but now it hung, tense and heavy in the air. Silence lapsed between them. Aoko looked down at her lap.

"I don't… I don't want you to get kicked out of school. Then you'd have to move... move away from me."

From a distance, there was a sudden burst of high-pitched laughter as a boy, failing to catch his prey in a game of tag, ran smack into a pole.

"I'm not going anywhere," Kaito said lightly.

"Hm." The girl sniffed. "Good."

They sat like that a while. Then, suddenly realizing how close they were facing each other, Aoko hastily pushed away from the boy and scrambled to her feet. She was still sniffing. Kaito watched his best friend wiping the last of the tears from her cheeks with the back of her sleeve. Aoko looked up; their eyes met. Feeling an unexplained heat spread from his cheeks, Kaito quickly looked away.

"You won't get in trouble at home, will you?" Aoko asked tentatively.

"I can handle it," Kaito said, making his voice as nonchalant as possible. His father would understand the motive behind his prank, as for his mother, well... he still had a lot of explanation to do.

"Aoko?"

"Hm?" the girl sniffed.

"The fish market isn't open on Tuesdays... right?"

A/N: Wow, it's been awhile since I've last updated, isn't it? I apologize for not getting back to all the lovely people who had reviewed my stories. Life is hectic right now, so please excuse the penguin for lagging on her updates. Rest assured that every review is read and very much appreciated!

And this was originally meant to be a Valentine fic. But hey, Feb 16. can be just as romantic as Feb. 14! ^^

Happy Reading~!