So…not dead.

Hey guys, I'm back. I know it's been a long time since I last put out a Side Effects Include, and I apologize for that. If you want an excuse, basically it's a large combination of terrible writer's block and the fact that the longer I was away from writing, the harder it was to get back into it. I think anyone that does something creative will probably understand that. Once you put something down and walk away from it, and the longer you are away from it, the harder it is to pick back up again. But enough of my terrible excuses, let's move on.

As I stated before, if this fanfic is marked as incomplete, I do still plan on putting content out for it. I just can't make any promises when. I would recommend signing up for notifications on updates, then just checking your email periodically. And when I decide I'm done, I'll mark it as complete.

Last two things before we get to the next installment of Side Effects Include! First of all, a huge thank you to everyone that reads my work. I appreciate every one of you and you guys are the reason I keep writing. I know it's been a long time since I last put out a chapter, but I still get notifications of people favoriting my work and leaving reviews. Knowing that people are still reading my stuff and are patiently waiting for another chapter helped me continue writing. So thank you.

And finally. Please consider reviewing this chapter as well, and if you need help deciding what to put in your review, just tell me what your favorite part was. I know reviews aren't alway easy to write, I often have no idea what to say in a review, but even if you just say "Me entertained, thumbs up" I will love and cherish that review. Now enough of my useless chatter, on with the actual content!

I hope it was worth the wait.

Nervous…chocking feeling….pop quiz today…didn't study…sweating…

Floating….happy…bubbley…laughter…excited…

Boredom…tired…yawn...when is class over?...irritation…dull...so bored

Shinichi rested his head in his hands with a groan. He closed his eyes tightly until he saw stars on the back of his eyelids, but it did little to help.

A girl sitting in the desk to Shinichi's right leaned towards him, "Kudo-kun? Do you have an extra pencil I could borrow for today?" The girl's cheeks turned slightly pink as she spoke.

Nervous…affection…he's so cute…crush…butterflies…his beautiful blue eyes…

The detective tried to ignore the emotions and occasional stray thought he felt from the girl and focused instead on her question. "What did you say? Oh yes, of course. Here, you can keep it, I've got another one."

The blush on the girl's face darkened and she began stuttering her thanks, but Shinichi didn't hear a word she said. Her emotions and thoughts were practically screaming at him and he struggled to resist the urge to cover his ears.

HAPPY…SHINICHI'S PENCIL...SOARING…JOY…CAN'T BELIEVE HE…

Shinichi winced and massaged his temples. He nodded at the girl then turned his attention to the test that was just passed to him. He tried to focus on the word problem in front of him, but it was near impossible to concentrate with all of the distractions he felt from his classmates.

The answer is 42….satisfaction…pleased…

Shinichi glared at his paper. He was certain the stray thought he just heard was wrong, but he couldn't focus enough to figure out what the answer actually was. He glared at his test for a few minutes more before giving up. Shinichi turned his attention to Sohmei, one of the more studious students in his class. Shinichi focused on the back of Sohmei's head and pushed with his thoughts.

The answer….pleased….to easy….finished…not 42 like originally thought….satisfaction….

The detictive's brow wrinkled in concentration and he pushed a bit harder.

ANSWER IS 40…..40….ANSWER…IT'S 40….HAPPY….CAN'T WAIT TO GO HOME…HUNGRY….WONDER WHAT'S FOR DINNER TONIGHT…40…..DESIRE….SATISFACTION…ANTICIPATION…40…HUNGRY….40…

Shinichi pulled back from Sohmei's thoughts with a yelp. He laughed nervously when he realized the entire class was staring at him. He felt his face heat up and he turned his attention back to his test, doing his best to ignore the stares he could still feel as well as the bubble of thoughts he could hear in his head.

Maybe today Haibara finally found a cure, Shinichi thought to himself without much hope.

0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0

After an exhausting walk home with Ran and Sonoko, (Shinichi didn't have to be a mind reader to know what Sonoko was thinking, she always said exactly what was on her mind, but it was like listening to her in stereo,) Shinichi took a slight detour to the professor's house. Agasa answered the door and ushered Shinichi inside.

"I'm so glad you stopped by, I have a new device for you to try," the professor all but dragged the teen into his lab.

"Another device to stop me from reading your mind?" he tried his best to sound curious rather than skeptical.

Agasa was rummaging around his cluttered table.

Around here somewhere…hopeful…will work for sure this time...

"Ah here it is!" The professor turned around with what looked to be a helmet on his head. The base looked to be made from a colander, but that was all he could recognize. The rest was a mess of wires and tubing. The professor flipped some sort of switch on the side of the helmet and beamed proudly, "Now, what number am I thinking of?"

Shinichi sighed in disappointment, "You aren't thinking of a number."

Agasa's smile widened, "I knew it would work!"

The teen shook his head, "No that's not what I meant. I can still hear your thoughts, but you aren't thinking about a number. You're mostly thinking 'I bet it worked this time' and feeling satisfied."

"Oh," the professor removed the helmet.

Have to try again…disappointment…what went wrong this time?

Shinichi felt a new bubble of thought coming up the stairs and turned around in his seat expectantly. Haibara entered, took one look at the professor and his gadget, and picked up on the conversation without an explanation. "Professor, wouldn't it be more useful to Shinichi to create a device that stops him from reading all minds, rather than just the mind of the person using the device? After all, we can't give everyone in Tokyo one of your helmets."

The professor scratched his chin in thought, "I suppose you're right. Shinichi should be the one wearing the helmet, not me." Shinichi shot Haibara a filthy look. He did not want to wear one of those things. Haibara just smirked back.

Shinichi stood, "Well I should be going."

"But I thought you came over here to talk to Haibara about your little problem."

"I already know what she's going to say. She still hasn't made any progress on a cure, although she thinks she now understands why it is I'm able to read minds. Which, by the way Haibara, understanding how I'm able to read minds counts as progress as I'm sure it will help you fix it. Also Haibara, you should get go to bed early tonight. I do appreciate how hard you're working to find a way to fix this, but you don't need to exhaust yourself to do it. You don't have to be a mind reader to tell that you were working and didn't get much sleep last night."

"Kudo," Hiabara sounded mildly threatening.

"I know, I know. Me lecturing you on sleeping instead of working is hypocritical. But thank you for working so hard for me. And please stop feeling guilty, I know you wouldn't have given me the cure to the apotoxin if you had known mind reading would be one of the side effects."

"Kudo," Haibara called and waited for the detective to turn around, "Take care."

0-0-0-0-

Two weeks later, Haibara still hadn't found a cure. Shinichi was beginning to adjust to being a mind reader, but he still found it to be irritating. He always developed a headache when he was around a large amount of people, such as when he attended class.

During the two weeks he had been back, Division One had mercifully decided to refrain from calling him in for help on a case to give him time to adjust back to his life. He also was somehow able to avoid any murders, until today.

Honestly he should have seen the seen it coming. Two weeks without a case was probably a record for him, so it shouldn't have surprised him when he heard someone cry out "He's dead!" on his walk home from class.

He whipped out his cell phone and called the police, then set to work analyzing the scene. A crowd began to form, curious about the case. In the past he could easily tune them out and remain focused on the case, but the random thoughts he "heard" were near impossible to ignore.

Well, maybe I can save myself some time on questioning witnesses if I use this new ability, he thought. Instead of trying to ignore them, he turned his attention to the crowd and ran his eyes over them, opening himself to their thoughts. Instantly his mind became flooded.

Oh my god oh my god oh my god…nausea…can't believe he's dead…shock…

Wow can't believe I get to see Kudo Shinichi in action….hero-worship…this is so cool

Huh I've never seen a dead body before…curiosity…disgust…wonder what happened to the guy

The thoughts flooded through his head, so many that his headache increased in strength until he thought he might vomit from the pain. But he didn't hear anything useful. Once he was sure he had "listened" to everyone, he went back to ignoring their thoughts as much as his ability would allow. He couldn't turn it off fully, but it was like turning the volume on a radio from max to a low, dull roar.

Well he did learn one thing, the murderer wasn't here. So how could someone commit murder from a distance? The lack of blood or wounds ruled out gunshot. Maybe poison? Something that wouldn't have taken effect until it was fully absorbed in the system, which could take anywhere from 20 minutes to an hour. Okay, he had a working theory, now he just had to find evidence to support it and hopefully find something that pointed to the identity of the murderer. All while ignoring the thoughts he couldn't help but hear and his throbbing headache.

Well, he had dealt with worse. Better get to work, the sooner he finished the sooner he could get away from this crowd.

0-0-0-0-

Hours later the detective entered his home with an exhausted sigh. He toed off his shoes and trudged into the sitting room to collapse into the nearest chair. That case took way too long to solve. He simply could not focus with all of the stray thoughts in his head. The worst were the people that felt especially horrified by the murder and had strong emotions about it. Murders had stopped upsetting him long ago, but now that he could "hear" others' emotions and thoughts, he experienced that horror with them all over again.

Then there was the trip back to the station to fill out the necessary paper work. Police stations were always packed with people including the officers, civilians, suspects, witnesses, lawyers, cleaning crew, etcetera. So many people each with something different on their mind. It was almost unbearable.

But now that he was in the comfort of his own home it was so…quiet. He couldn't hear anything except for his own breathing and the gentle hum of his appliances. Well that was an easy fix, he picked up the remote and turned on his TV.

"Police report that they have solved Kaitou KID's latest heist note riddle," Shinichi perked up with interest, "the heist will be tomorrow evening and his target is the Sunset Ruby. We asked Nakamori-keibu, head of KID's task force, what strategy they will use in their attempts to capture KID this time. The inspector replied…"

Shinichi stopped listening. Maybe he should go to the heist? He had gone to plenty as Conan and had always enjoyed himself. It wasn't something he would ever admit to the thief, no need to inflate his ego anymore, but heists provided him with a safe challenge. How would it feel to attend a KID heist in his real body? Psychically it should be easier to keep up with the thief but that wasn't a guarantee that he could catch him. How would it feel to chase after KID now? He had to know.

Except, what about this new, unwanted ability of his? Wouldn't the ability to read minds give him an unfair advantage over KID? What if he "heard" something vital to KID's plan? If he caught KID with the help of his mind reading ability, he couldn't count it as a true victory. Worse, what if he found out KID's identity with his ability? Was that really how he wanted to obtain that information? The answer was no.

But you're a detective, aren't you? Does it matter how you obtain the information if it helps bring a criminal to justice?

The thought caused Shinichi to pause. Did it really matter how KID was caught if it meant bringing a criminal to justice? Was he letting his hubris cloud his judgement?

No, that's not it. You don't want the thief to be caught, and you're afraid with this ability, he will be.

If the last thought caused Shinichi to pause, but this one brought his brain to a full halt.

"That's crazy! Of course I want to catch that damn thief!" Shinichi yelled out loud. Once he realized he had spoken out loud to no one, he felt embarrassed. "I can't think about this anymore, I'm going to bed." He stubbornly ignored the fact that he had spoken out loud again. But before he laid down, he did send off a quick text to Ran.

0-0-0-0-

"Shinichi, over here!" Ran waved from the booth.

Shinichi spotted her and sat across from her booth in small cafe.

"I'm so glad you invited me out to lunch, I've been wanting to try this place for a while," Ran went on excitedly.

Excitement…hunger…what should I order…happy…the panini looks good…

Shinichi did his best to ignore her thoughts and focus on his friend in front of him, "Thanks for agreeing to come with me."

Ran nodded, "So let's hear it?"

Curiosity…

"Hear what?"

"Don't play dumb, you obviously wanted to talk to me about something. Why else would you have invited me out?"

Fondness…exasperation…

"Can't I just want to enjoy a day out with my best friend?" Shinichi feigned hurt.

Ran reached across and playfully punched his shoulder, maybe just a touch harder than she probably intended, "Of course you can. But usually you're buried in cases and I have to drag you out of your house to get you to go anywhere with me. So spill, what's up?"

Shinichi avoided her eye and pretended to study his menu, "I don't know what you're talking about. I just wanted to catch up with my best friend. We haven't seen too much of each other since I came back into town."

Ran frowned for a moment before shrugging, "Fine, don't tell me now. But I know something is bothering you and I'll get it out of you eventually."

The waitress came to take their order, then the two fell into comfortable small talk. Ran avoided anything related to his 2 year absence, knowing that Shinichi had already told her he couldn't answer any questions about it (although Shinichi could feel her curiosity), and Shinichi avoided talking about any cases or police work. Most would think that that would leave them without much to talk about, but they would be wrong. They were childhood friends, after all.

"So are you going to the KID heist tonight?"

Shinichi stalled by taking a bite of his food, "I'm not."

Surprise…

"Why not?"

"I've never been interested in thieves before. Why would I be now?"

Ran chewed her panini before answering, "True, but Conan really took a liking to KID heists. He told me that some of his ideas on how to face off against KID came directly from you, so I thought you had taken an interest to KID at least."

I miss Conan…sad…wonder if he got my last email…

Shinichi felt a twinge of guilt and brushed it off. I'll tell her the truth someday. But not today. "I have never had interest in common thieves."

"KID isn't exactly common," Ran pointed out cheekily.

Shinichi glared at her.

"Why don't you just tell me why you really aren't going?"

Shinichi sighed, but didn't answer.

"Oh, this is what's really bothering you, isn't it? The reason you wanted to meet with me in the first place."

Deep curiosity…

I might as well tell her, "I want to attend the heist. But I also don't want to. Because-because I'm afraid I'll actually catch him."

Ran's curiosity was so strong it almost felt like a physical force pressing against him, "Isn't that the point?"

"I'm not sure I actually want to catch him. I know what you're thinking (Literally, he thought to himself), I know he's a criminal. But he's more of a pest and a headache than an actual threat to anyone. He returns everything he's stolen, and he's never let anyone at his heists get hurt. In fact there's been times he's actually helped the police catch dangerous criminals and has protected others."

Oh, I get it…realization…surprise…But I need more information to be sure…

Shinichi frowned, Looks like Ran figured something out. Or at least, she thinks she did. "Look, I know it might seem strange, but I just can't see KID as a bad guy. The worst he could be charged for is trespassing, breaking and entering, and resisting arrest. Which, in retrospect, sounds kinda bad. But really, he's just a big prankster."

"A prankster that's breaking the law."

"That is correct."

"But you don't want to catch him."

"…Also correct."

Satisfaction…confirmation…I knew it…too bad the detective geek is too dense to realize it.

Shinichi hid another frown behind his coffee mug and resisted the urge to comment on Ran's thoughts. "You've got a strange look on your face. What are you thinking?"

Ran smiled and waved away his question, "Don't worry about it. But listen, you can still go to the heist. You don't have to actually catch KID. You can just enjoy his magic and figure out his tricks."

"I don't enjoy his magic"

Liar…

Shinichi bit his tongue to stop himself from arguing with the thought he just "heard" from Ran.

"I don't really care that you don't want to catch KID. I kind of agree with you, he's not exactly a dangerous criminal. And I don't care how often you help the police, you aren't actually a police officer. I think you forget that sometimes. It's not really your job to catch KID. But with how often you helped Conan, you obviously enjoyed the idea of the heists. I think you would enjoy seeing one first hand for yourself. You'll have fun, you should go. Participate in the heist as much as you want, even if you skip the part with the handcuffs at the end." Or maybe he would like to involve the handcuffs…

Shinichi was confused by that last thought, but resisted "pushing" into Ran's mind to find out more, wanting to respect Ran's privacy as much as he was able.

"I'll think about it. But I think I'll skip tonight's heist, at least."

0-0-0-0-

He didn't go to the heist that night. Or the next one the following month. Or the one after that. His talk with Ran had helped him come to terms with the fact that he didn't want to catch KID, but it did nothing to solve his mind reading problem. Even if he didn't want to catch the thief, he didn't want to find out his true identity by a cheat either.

Ideally that's something he would share with me himself.

Wait, what? He was surprised at the thought he just had. Taking a moment to analyze it, he realized it was true. He did want the thief to share his identity with him. Not to figure it out for himself using his skills as a detective, he wanted KID to share it with him.

Except KID didn't know Shinichi. The past they shared together was with Conan, and KID wasn't in on that little secret. Shinichi would have to rebuild their relationship from the ground up. And to do that, he would have to attend heists. Uh, this was giving him a headache. Why did he care so much anyway?

If only I could read my own head as well as I can currently read others, he thought to himself.

Maybe Ran was right, maybe he was a dense, detective geek.

0-0-0-0-0-0-0

Tonight marked the fourth heist he would skip since he had taken the antidote. But things had changed. Obviously a certain thief had noticed his absence and wasn't too happy about it. In tonight's heist note, hidden in the riddle, was a personal invitation to the detective himself. And just to make sure Shinichi saw the heist note, KID had left a copy on his nightstand table, signed with his signature KID doodle. He was sure that the note hadn't been there the night before when he laid down for bed, which meant KID had snuck it in while he was sleeping.

Hopefully I don't snore or drool or do something else equally embarrassing, Shinichi thought, once again wondering why he cared.

"I'm just going to have to disappoint him," he told himself, putting the note away in his nightstand drawer. "Hopefully Haibara figures out something soon."

He tried to keep busy that day, doing his best to avoid looking at the clock. The day passed slowly. He finished cleaning up from dinner and sat down to a calming cup of tea for the evening. Without looking at any clocks, his internal clock told him it was about time for the heist to start. He went to the library and tried to bury himself in a book. Once he realized he had read the same page 3 times without taking in a single word, he decided to give up and go to bed early.

0-0-0-0-

He woke up when he felt a gentle breeze on his face. He instantly was on high alert, but kept his eyes shut. He knew he hadn't left his window open or a fan on, which meant someone else was responsible for that breeze. The breeze felt cool and he could hear the gentle sounds of the wind outside, telling him the breeze was most likely from his bedroom window being opened. He listened for other sounds but heard none, but he knew intruders had to be nearby. How many were there? Was it some low ranking members of the Black Organization that had escaped capture and were now out for revenge? If the breeze was from his bedroom window to his right, most likely that's where the intruders were. Making up his mind, his eyes snapped open as he sprang up and over the left side of the bed, using it for cover as he raised his tranquilizer watch and took aim at the bedroom window.

He saw…nothing. Nobody there. Just his open window, the curtains gently moving in the breeze.

Don't forget your new sense, stupid detective! He opened up his mind and "listened."

Amusement..curiosity…excitement…

His eyes widened. So there was someone here! But if they weren't in front of him at the window, that meant they were-

"Behind you."

He wiped around, tranquilizer watch held ready, knowing he would be too slow.

A hand caught caught his wrist before he could properly aim, the other removing the watch in one fluid motion, "Ah, ah, ah, you won't be needing this. I'm just here to talk."

Shinichi was breathing fast with adrenaline, but he felt himself calm as he realized who his intruder was. Standing before him mostly obscured by shadow was Kaitou KID.

"Pull yourself together, detective. You look like a hot mess," KID teased as he adjusted Shinichi's pajama top. One shoulder had slipped down showing a lot of collar bone, and he was still breathing a little hard.

Affection…

Shinichi felt his cheeks burn. If he wasn't mistaken, the thief had just thought he looked cute.

"I wasn't exactly expecting company," he snapped back, embarrassed.

The feeling of affection only intensified.

"What are you doing here, anyway?" He deflected.

"A certain detective ignored my invitation. One I'm well aware you received," He held up the riddle card that Shinichi knew would no longer be in his nightstand drawer, "I wanted to know why."

"I don't have an interest in common thieves."

"I'm not exactly common," Kaito replied, cheekily.

Shinichi paused, "You were there that day I talked to Ran. You ease-dropped on our conversation!" He wracked his mind trying to remember who was there at the cafe that day. Was he the waitress? No, surely not. The man in the booth behind us?

"Yes and no detective. I was posing as the dishwasher in the back, and I slipped a listening device on the bottom of Ran's plate. I couldn't risk you seeing me and seeing right through my disguise, so I stayed in the back away from your sleuthing stare. I wanted to know if you planned on attending my heist that evening. Imagine my surprise when I heard you have no interest in actually catching me."

If there is a god, let them open a hole in the earth right now and swallow me up, Shinichi silently begged the heavens.

KID continued, "So after your talk with Ran I wasn't surprised to not see you at my heist. I figured you needed time to organize your thoughts. So I gave you time. But I thought after I personally invited you tonight, you might reconsider your planned absence. So I ask you again, why didn't you come tonight?"

"I…wanted to go to your heist. But I can't. At least not yet."

Curiosity…

"Why not?"

"…I can't tell you."

"So it's a secret? I thought you shrinking to a third grader and taking on a shadow organization nearly by yourself was enough of a secret for you. You have more?"

Disbelief…confusion..curiosity…

"Wait, you knew about Conan?" He felt gobsmacked.

"Of course, detective. Conan was just such an enigma, I had to know more about him. I'm a little lost on some of the finer details, mostly the how, but I think I got enough to paint most of the picture," KID tilted his head to the side, "I actually thought you already knew that."

He knows about Conan. Shit! But…I guess this is fine. He hasn't done anything with that information yet. I guess I'll just have to trust him with it. Not like I have much of a choice.

"So since I know about your recent repeat of the 3rd grade, why don't you tell me why you refuse to attend my heists?" It was phrased as a question but felt more like a command.

"You wouldn't believe me if I told you."

"Try me, I think you'll find me much more open minded than you might expect."

Shinichi hesitated. KID sat himself on Shinichi's bed and crossed his leg over his knee. He gestured as if to say, 'go on.'

What have I got to lose? "Ever since I returned to my real body as Kudo Shinichi, I can read minds. But I can't seem to control it very well. I can "hear" other people's thoughts whether I want to or not. I can't stop it or turn it off. I knew I would have an unfair advantage over you, and it felt like cheating. Plus, there's always the risk that I might get other information you don't want me to have."

KID paused, "Oh, is that all?"

"What do you mean is that all? Isn't that enough?"

KID shrugged, "I know I witch. You would be surprised at the things I've come to accept. Hey, read my mind now! What food am I thinking of?"

"You're unbelievable."

"The answer was pancakes. I could go for some pancakes right now. Have you got any pancake mix? How about this one, how would I like to top my pancakes?"

Shinichi groaned, "Would you take this a little more seriously? I would think you wouldn't want a detective to read your mind. I could figure out all of your secrets. I can't control it! Who cares about how you like to top your pancakes, I could figure out your identity! Is that really something you want a detective to know? And by the way, you want to top your pancakes with…"

Shinichi paused. He stared at KID.

Nothing. I can't "hear" anything from him, he thought in disbelief.

Except that wasn't exactly true. He could feel KID's emotions, flowing over him like a gentle wave coming onto the shore of a beach, but he couldn't actually "hear" his individual thoughts.

Since coming into his mind reading ability, he always "heard" a mixture of people's thoughts and emotions. It was always a little jumbled. Most people would expect mind reading to be like opening a book and reading a person's thoughts as one would read words on a page. But that wasn't the case.

It was more like a static filled radio, one that picked up signal from multiple stations at once. Most people were multitasking and were rarely thinking about one thing at a time. The average person walking down the street could be thinking about their destination, their planned route, what they planned to do once arriving, what they wanted for lunch that day, how they would reply to the email they received the other night, what they thought of last night's episode of that new TV show they started watching, and a dozen other thoughts.

This changed if a person was in deep concentration. The more a person concentrated, the more their thoughts were about the task they were concentrating on, and less about random other thoughts that passed through their head.

KID should be at least somewhat concentrating on his question to Shinichi, how he wanted to top his pancakes. It was probably a loose concentration, probably a few other thoughts rolling around in his mind, especially now that Shinichi had brought up the threat of figuring out his identity. But he couldn't "hear" anything. He could feel KID's emotions, a mixture of excitement and curiosity (which Shinichi was starting to think was his default). But otherwise, nothing.

Shinichi tried to "push" and get a better look inside KID head. The waves of KID's emotions were rolling over him, less a gentle roll on a beach and more like the choppiness of the ocean before a large storm. Still nothing. He "pushed" harder, feeling KID's emotions all around him, and suddenly he was drowning. KID's excitement, his curiosity, his wonder, his confusion, his concern. It was all around him, as if he had left the beach and fallen deep into the ocean. But still he couldn't "hear" anything.

"Detective," …concern…, "Detective!" …Concern… "Kudo!" …CONCERN…

Shinichi opened his eyes and realized he had fallen to his knees. KID was kneeling in front of him and was holding one of the detective's hands in both of his own.

"Sorry, I didn't except that to happen," Shinichi slowly stood, KID not letting go of Shinichi's hand and supporting Shinichi's elbow with his other hand.

"What exactly was that?" KID questioned, concern rolling off of him in gentle waves once again.

"I can't "hear" your thoughts. I can feel your emotions, but otherwise I can't "hear" anything. I should have at least a general idea what you're thinking about, but I don't. All I can feel is your concern and curiosity. By the way, you don't need to be concerned anymore. I'm fine now. I was…just surprised when I couldn't "hear" your thoughts that I tried to get a deeper read. Something I usually avoid doing to respect someone's privacy. But when I couldn't "hear" anything from you, I couldn't resist trying. I guess your emotions overwhelmed me for a moment there, sorry about that," He trailed off, embarrassed, "I couldn't "hear" anything though if it makes you feel better."

"So I'm immune to your ability?" KID questioned.

"As far as emotions go, no. But actual thoughts specifically? Yes. I have no idea why. You're the first person I've met since getting this ability that seems to be immune."

KID shrugged, his emotions reading as satisfied and content, "Not much of a surprise, honestly. Remember that witch I told you about? Her magic makes all men around her fall in love with her and become her personal slaves. But somehow I'm immune to that."

"There's no such thing as witches or magic," Shinichi objected.

"Sure, there's also no such thing as psychics or mind readers."

Shinichi frowned at the thief, "my ability has a perfectly logical, scientific explanation."

"Uh huh, and how do you explain your transformation from a teen to child?"

"It was because of an experimental drug that was force fed to me. It was supposed to kill me without leaving a trace of evidence, but the drug failed. As a side effect it instead shrank me, or de-aged me, or whatever. It was simply a drug that caused it. And it was the drug's antidote that returned me back to my original body but also gave me this new ability. It was just an unexpected side effect of the antidote, completely explained by science."

"Sure, detective, sure. That makes perfect sense. I believe you," the emotions coming off of him said otherwise, "Either way, it would seem I'm at least partially immune to your little ability. The finer workings of my plans are safe, as well as my secret identity. So really you have just lost your last excuse for not attending my heists. I fully expect your presence at the next one."

"Are you sure you want me to attend? Even if I can't specifically "hear" your thoughts I can still read your emotions. That's bound to give me somewhat of an advantage at your heists," Shinichi asked, feeling uncertain, his normal confidence wavering for a moment.

Affection…

Shinichi narrowed his eyes at KID, "Quit thinking I'm cute or I'll give you a new soccer ball shaped bruise."

KID didn't outwardly react but Shinichi could feel the surprise coming off of him followed by embarrassment. Then both feelings were replaced by acceptance, anticipation, and excitement once again. "I'll consider it a new challenge, beat the mind reader."

Shinichi laughed, "You're insane"

KID was still mostly in shadow, but he knew the thief was smiling, the excitement coming off of him feeling like bubbles popping on Shinichi's skin. "It's not like I have much to worry about. You don't want to catch me anyway, remember?"

Shinichi's laughter died as he felt his face burning with embarrassment, "I could always change my mind!"

KID laughed and Shinichi almost swayed with the amount of joy coming off of KID, feeling nearly drunk with it. He sat back on his bed and put his face in his hand's with a groan. "Just get out of my house, you stupid thief. I'm going back to bed."

"Fine, fine, but I do expect you to attend my next heist, detective. Oh, and could you do me a favor and return the jewel I placed in your pocket back to its rightful owner?"

Shinichi's head snapped up and he searched his pajama pant's pocket, finding inside the sapphire that was the target of tonight's heist. "When did you…," But he trailed off when he realized he was alone.

0-0-0-0-

So against his better judgement, roughly a month later he found himself at a Kaitou KID heist. Nakamori had at first thrown a fuss at having another "know-it-all teen detective wannabe" at his heist, but eventually just barked "stay out of the way" and left him alone.

Task force officers and museum staff rushed around, everyone busy with something or other. So many people, so many different minds. Their many thoughts and emotions jumbled becoming an almost indistinct roar, like the sounds of a busy restaurant. It was getting a little easier to control his ability, or at least ignore it.

Maybe my ability won't be as much of an advantage as I initially thought, Shinichi thought to himself. He smiled, pleased.

Excitement…affection…anticipation…

Shinichi startled and looked around. That emotion had a distinct KID feeling to it. Could it be him? Could he pick KID from the crowd simply by how his emotions felt? He had only had one interaction with the thief since gaining this new ability; surely that wasn't enough time.

"Nakamori-keibu! 30 seconds until KID's arrival!" A task force member called out.

Shinichi cursed to himself. He had allowed himself to get distracted and completely forgot to keep an eye on time. Hakuba would call it an amateur mistake, had he been there.

"Everyone in your places! There's no way KID will be able to get past our security this time!" Nakamori called out to his men.

All eyes turned to the jewel in the display case. Shinichi could hear the KID fans outside counting down, "10…9…8…"

Shinichi could feel KID's growing excitement and anticipation among the crowd, but he didn't try to use his ability to pinpoint its source. He doubted he would have been successful anyway considering how crowded the room was. Instead he scanned the area, trying to figure out how KID would make his entrance.

"6…5…4.." the crowd continued counting down.

"Having fun yet, tantei-kun?" A voice ghosted on his ear.

Shinichi gasped and wiped around just in time to see KID toss a smoke bomb down. How does he keep sneaking up on me like that? I can read mind's for goodness sake!

The smoke quickly cleared (Almost too quickly, he must have tampered with the room's ventilation) and revealed KID standing next to the now empty display case, the jewel held up in KID's right hand for all to see.

"Too easy, inspector. Too easy," KID taunted.

"KID!" Nakamori roared. His men, long use to working with the man on his task force and knowing what he would call out next, all jumped to dog pile the thief.

Shinichi took off at a run for the stairs, knowing that when the pile of officers cleared, KID wouldn't be there. He noticed an odd textured appearance on the floor tiles ahead, inconsistent to the tiles of the floor in front of him. He made a wide circle around them to avoid it, sure that it was a trap laid by KID. He thought about shouting out a warning to Nakamori's men about the floor, but kept silent and continued on his path to the stairs.

He reached the entrance to the stair well and began to climb as quickly as he was able. He couldn't help but marvel at how much faster and easier it was in the body of an 18 year old instead of an 8 year old. And when he noticed the trip wire on the step ahead of him, it was relatively easy to skip that step altogether and move on.

He reached the landing to the first flight of steps and began the turn to the next flight, only to find KID standing and waiting for him about halfway up, looking down at him with a confident grin.

"Congratulations on avoiding my glue floor and my glitter trip wire, Tantei-kun. Can you continue to keep up?" KID turned with a dramatic flourish of his cape and continued up the steps at a run.

Shinichi was quick to follow. Sometimes he lost site of KID as he jumped or dodged another trap, but he never fell far behind.

Shinichi finally made it to the top and burst through the door to the roof entrance.

"Well done making it to the top without setting off a single trap, detective," The voice was coming from in front of him. Directly in front of him was a large air conditioning unit that threw the area into shadow, but he could make out KID's cape gently blowing in the breeze.

"Thanks. Next thing I'm going to do is get that jewel back from you," Shinichi popped out an inflatable soccer ball, thankful the professor had adjusted Conan's belt to fit his adult body.

"How will you do that?"

"By beating you," Shinichi quickly pivoted, turning to face behind him, and kicked the ball at the shadowed area that was previously at his back.

KID twisted out of the way, seeming to appear from nowhere. He was missing his trademark cape. "Was it your new ability that helped you see through my dummy or your skills as a detective?"

Shinichi grinned, "I'm not telling you."

"Ooo, a man of mystery." Shinichi could feel a spike in KID's emotions and new the thief was about to do something. KID snapped his fingers and the cape on the KID dummy flew to KID and neatly landed on his shoulders, as if by magic.

Shinichi blinked, impressed despite himself. Obviously the cape was hooked to a wire from the dummy to KID himself, but that didn't explain how he got it to perfectly fit onto his shoulders.

Pride…happiness…satisfaction…confidence

"Let's see how confident you feel after you take a soccer ball to the face," Shinichi sent a flurry of the black and white balls at the thief, the balls barely having time to inflate before he sent them flying at the other man.

KID twisted and turned, occasionally shooting the balls with his card gun to deflate them, and threw down a smoke bomb. The smoke bomb set off a chain reaction and numerous smoke bombs began to go off all around Shinichi, enveloping the entire roof in smoke. Shinichi couldn't see a thing.

I won't let him sneak up behind me again, Shinichi quickly turned around and reached out with both hands, expecting to grab onto the thief, but his hands grabbed nothing but air.

"Wrong again, detective," came a voice from behind him.

He remained in front of me the whole time! I never should have turned around.

Shinichi felt the thief grab his arms and force them behind his back. KID bound his hands with what felt like a piece of cloth. "Do you enjoy role-playing, detective? How about a bit of role reversal? This time the thief has caught the detective!"

Shinichi could feel the humor coming off KID. The smoke was pretty much gone, no longer obscuring his vision. "Untie me, KID."

Shinichi felt KID quickly turn him around so that they were now facing each other. A hand was placed under his chin and tilted his head up so that they were looking each other in the eye, or at least his eyes to KIDs shadows and monocle. Shinichi grudgingly noticed that KID had about 4 inches on him. How is it nobody noticed that when he would disguise himself as me?

"Why would I untie you when I enjoy seeing you flustered? Maybe next I'll take advantage of you. Oh, someone is blushing! What's wrong, did that excite you?" KID teased.

"I am capable of murdering you and making it look like an accident," Shinichi threatened, his threat being undermined by his burning face.

KID outwardly merely smiled, but Shinichi could feel his laughter and affection coming off of him, feeling like the sun warming his skin.

"I think I've teased you enough for one night. We can call this KID 1 - Kudo 0, but don't let that discourage you from joining in future heists. There's always next time!" KID snapped his fingers and once again the two were enveloped in smoke.

When the smoke cleared Shinichi could just make out a speck of white as KID flew away on his glider. Shinichi felt a breeze on his arms and looked down to realize his original shirt and jacket were gone and he was now wearing a T-shirt that read on the front 'I heart KID', the heart holding the KID caricature inside it. Shinichi blinked. "How did he change my shirt without untying my hands?"

0-0-0-0-0-0

So began a new routine for Shinichi. Go to class, try to ignore the thoughts of his classmates. Solve any cases that came his way, sometimes with the help of his new ability and sometimes ignoring it as it was more a hinderance. Attend KID's heist and try to beat the thief, fail every time. Also, apparently Kaitou KID found him adorable or something. Aside from KID's default emotion, excitement, Shinichi always felt affection coming off of KID when the two were together. Why did the thief find him so cute? The man was truly strange.

"If you keep frowning like that you'll get premature wrinkles," Haibara scolded.

"Sorry, Haibara. I think I got lost in thought for a moment."

Haibara nodded accepting his apology and went back to her desk top. "Whatever it is has you seems to be really puzzling you. I can tell it's not a case, I've watched you solve enough by now to recognize that expression. This is something different. Is it about your mind reading?"

Shinichi shrugged, "Sort of."

"It's about something you've learned thanks to your ability," It wasn't a question.

Shinichi nodded, then shook his head, "It's kind of complicated. I don't feel like talking about it."

"You know aside from the professor I'm the only person that knows your secret. I'm probably the only person you can talk to. So you might as well talk to me while I feel like listening."

"That's not completely true," he grumbled.

Haibara rolled her eyes, "Right, the phantom thief. I completely forgot about him. Why you trust him as much as you do I will never understand. You said he seems to be immune to the thought reading part of your ability but not the emotion part? Too bad you don't know his identity, I would love to examine him and try to figure out why that is. But I guess he doesn't trust you as much with his secrets as you trust him with yours."

Shinichi glowered, but found he couldn't argue with her.

Maybe that was going to far…regret…no he needed to hear it…determination

Shinichi "pushed" Haibara's thoughts away, doing his best to ignore them.

Haibara shrugged, "So are you going to talk to me or not?"

Shinichi signed, "It's actually KID that I'm thinking emotions I'm reading off of him have been strange lately. I don't understand him."

"Strange how?"

Curiosity…

Shinichi remained silent for a moment, "His emotions just don't make sense for the situation."

"Fine, be vague. Not sure how much I can help, though," Haibara scratched her chin in thought. "Well, I suppose it could be because of the flaw in your ability."

"The flaw?" He asked.

"Well, you've explained to me how your ability works. You can't read every single thought, just surface thoughts, fragments. So say you were reading someone and wanted to know what their favorite color is. Unless they were specifically thinking about their favorite color, you wouldn't know. Because your ability doesn't go that deep to know every thought the person has ever had, just what they are currently thinking," Haibara explained.

"Thank god for that," Shinichi said with relief.

Haibara continued, "But in KID's case you get an even smaller fragment of the puzzle, just his emotions. And emotions paint even less of a picture than thoughts. For one thing in KID's case, you don't know why he is feeling those emotions. You can take a guess using context clues, but you don't really know. But more importantly, the emotions aren't specific. One emotion could be caused by a number of different things, changing the meaning."

"Like what?" He asked.

"Well, for example, let's say you feel love coming off of someone…"

Love is pretty similar to affection. Was it a coincidence she used it for her example? He wondered to himself.

"Love could mean a few different things. It could be how you feel about the activity you're currently doing, if you feel love for what you're doing. It could be how you feel about someone and could be platonic, or romantic. You can feel love for objects, or places, or memories. It's pretty broad."

Shinichi turned over the information. Maybe he was misinterpreting KID's feeling of affection. Maybe the thief wasn't thinking he was cute, but was actually thinking something else? What else could he be thinking, though?

He left the professor's house feeling like he had more questions than answers.

0-0-0-0-

It was about a week later that Shinichi's ability caused him to snap.

He was out shopping at a near by mall for a new book to read when he heard the familiar shout of "Oh my god, he's dead!"

He was still standing inside the book store, and the shout came from just outside the shop. A bookshelf was between him and the door, obscuring his view of anything or anyone outside, but he could feel all the people out there.

What was it about murder that drew so many people? He couldn't see how many people were crowded around the crime scene, but he could hear their thoughts and feel their emotions, the emotions almost feeling like minor electric shocks on his skin. And more people were joining them, drawn by curiosity.

Maybe he could have dealt with the large number of people. He had dealt with crowds before, after all, although not one that size. Maybe he could have dealt with the strong emotions coming from everyone, caused by the murder. He had after all solved quite a few murder cases while dealing with his new ability by this point, and murders tended to cause strong emotions. But both together? It was too much.

Horror…so much blood…

He's dead…anxiety…There's blood everywhere…

Fear…I'm going to vomit…

I can't believe this happened…horror…right out in public…feeling unsafe…

Still hidden behind the book case, no one else aware of him, Shinichi sank deeper and deeper into the ocean of thoughts around him. He was unable to stop himself from sinking, from drowning. He couldn't move. Couldn't scream. Could barely even breath. As he sank, he lost awareness of everything around him except the thoughts and feelings of the crowd.

0-0-0-0-

Kaito's POV

Kaito had been stealthily following the detective for some time now. His motive? To sneak a heist notice onto the detective's person. Preferably into his pocket, but Kaito would settle for inside messenger bag if he had too.

The problem was Kudo seemed to be hyper aware of being watched, so he had to follow from a greater distance than he normally would have, and he could only look at the detective for a few seconds before moving his gaze, or risk alerting the detective.

It was the ultimate challenge and he was having a blast.

So far he hadn't been successful but if it proved too much of a challenge, he could always slip it onto the detective's bed side table while the other was sleeping again. It was so much fun the last time, after all.

"Now which store has caught your interest?" Kaito was seated at a bench facing away from the detective. He appeared to be reading a newspaper, but actually had a small mirror hidden inside the pages. He watched the surface of the mirror and saw the detective head inside a book store. "I should have known. Could you be any more predictable?"

Instead of getting up to follow, Kaito remained seated. The book store wouldn't be crowded enough for him to hide among the people. His presence would be discovered immediately.

He wasn't wearing a disguise for this challenge. Rather than hide his presence, just like being watched, the detective seemed to be acutely aware when something was off about someone's appearance. Considering Kudo didn't know his real face, it was actually better camouflage to not disguise himself. Kaito did consider himself a master of disguise, but Kudo was annoyingly observant. He would probably see right through Kaito's disguise, and it would probably be an equally annoying tell that gave him away. Like he used the wrong type of mud on his shoes or something.

So he kept his distance, didn't watch for too long, and decided to forgo the disguise. And of course, patience. That would be the secret to his success, and how he would once again beat the mind reader. Kudo would probably make the cutest grumpy face when he found the heist notice.

"Oh my god, he's dead!"

Kaito whipped around in his seat and saw with horror that the shout had come from behind him, more specifically, directly in front of the book store. He could just see the body of a man laying on the ground with an awful amount of blood around him. Kaito's stomach seemed to do a back flip inside his abdomen. Soon his view of the murder scene was obscured by the growing crowd.

Well, nothing to do not but wait for Kudo to come running out and solve the murder.

He went back to his newspaper but kept an eye on the crowd in the mirror, waiting for the detective to come out.

His knee bounced up and down a few times, but he quickly forced himself to hold still and stop fidgeting. He tried to actually read the newspaper, but his eyes kept straying to the mirror. The crowd was still growing, and still no sign of the detective. What was taking him so long?

A little more waiting, and mall security finally arrived. They called the police, and then began to try to control the crowd. By that time the crowd had gotten pretty large, and they probably wouldn't have much luck controlling it until the police arrived to help. And still no sign of Kudo.

Something was wrong.

Kaito stood and put away his paper. He needed to find Kudo. He prepared himself and began to make his way to the crowd. He avoided the center where the body would be located, and instead stuck to the outside and followed it around until he found the store fronts. He edged along, making his way through the mass of people, until he had reached the entrance to the book store. No one paid him any attention as he slipped inside. He looked around and was quickly able to find his detective.

Kudo was standing facing the book shelf that stood between him and the store entrance. He stood perfectly still, the only movement being the slight rise and fall of his chest as he breathed. He gave no indication that he was aware of the crowd outside the store or Kaito standing at the end of the aisle.

Kaito hesitantly approached him, "Excuse me, aren't you that famous high school detective?"

No answer.

Kaito continued walking towards the other man, "Excuse me, Kudo-kun? Are you alright?"

Kudo still didn't respond. Kaito was now close enough to touch the detective. He put a hand on Kudo's shoulder and turned him to face him.

Kaito sharply inhaled.

Kudo's eyes were open, but they had a strangely blank appearance about them, as if he was in a trance.

No, that wasn't completely accurate. Kaito thought he could see traces on panic in Kudo's eyes. On closer inspection, his respiration rate seemed to be mildly elevated. Kaito took Kudo's wrist and felt his pulse, which also seemed to be mildly elevated.

"What is wrong with you?" Kudo didn't answer. Kaito waved a hand in front of Kudo's face, but he didn't even track the hand with his eyes. "It's like when you find someone sleep walking. Did you fall asleep? Kudo, wake up. Wake up!" He said a little more forcibly, but Kudo still didn't respond.

Unsure what else to do, Kaito searched the detective's pockets until he found his cell phone. But who could he call? Mouri-san?

He unlocked the phone using Kudo's thumb print and the phone immediately opened to Kudo's last text conversation. He was about to exit out of it and open the contacts list, but part of the conversation caught his eye.

'Sorry, still no progress finding a cure or way to prevent your new abilities, but I think I've made some more progress. Don't push yourself too hard.'

The message was from someone named Haibara Ai. Wasn't that the little girl that followed Kudo around when he was Conan? Kaito always suspected there was more to her than what appeared. And this message made it look like she knew about Kudo's abilities, and was even working on a way to undo them.

Kaito selected her number, hoping he wasn't wrong.

The phone rang twice before a child's voice answered, most likely female. "Kudo-kun, how can I help you?"

Kaito didn't immodestly respond, "This isn't Kudo."

Kaito heard a sharp intake of breath, "Who is this? What have you done to Kudo?"

"I haven't done anything to him. But something's wrong. I think he is in trouble."

The line was silent for a moment. "I won't ask again. Who is this?"

Kaito exhaled, not seeing any other choice, "It's Kaitou KID."

"…Prove it."

"I know about Kudo's recent mind reading ability."

Haibara thought it over and moved on, recovering quickly, "Where is Kudo-kun? You said something about him being in trouble?"

"He's here next to me, but something is wrong. It's like he's in a trance? Or he's dreaming and stuck in a nightmare? He's awake but completely unresponsive."

"What happened before he began acting that way?" She demanded.

"I'm not sure. I was observing him from a distance, planning on slipping a heist notice into his pocket. He disappeared into a book store and didn't come out for a while. Someone got murdered outside of the book store, and when he didn't come out to solve the murder, I knew something was wrong. I went to find him and I found him like this."

Haibara was silent while she thought. "Where is he now?"

"A book store. At the mall."

"Is there a large number of people there?"

"What does that have to do with anything?"

"The mass number of minds might be overwhelming him."

Kaito flashed back to the night he broke into Kudo's bedroom, and Kudo fell to his knees after trying to "push" his way into Kaito's thoughts, only for Kaito's feelings to overwhelm him. He thought about seeing Kudo at KID heists, seeing the detective occasionally pinch his temples as if his head hurt.

"But Kudo has attended my heists before and didn't seem to have much of a problem. Those are probably just as crowded as it is here."

Haibara thought before answering, "It's the murder. The mass number of people combined, all with negative thoughts associated with the murder, is probably overwhelming him."

Kaito studied the detective, the detective staring through him, unseeing.

"What do I need to do?"

After a pause for thought, Haibara answered, "Get him out of there. Get some distance between him and the crowd. Get as far away from them as you can. His ability doesn't have a very far range. I'm not actually sure how far his range is, but it can't be that far. Take him somewhere with as few people as possible. Once he can't "hear" the thoughts anymore, I think he should come out of it."

"Got it. I'll call you back when he's returned to normal." Kaito ended the call.

"Kudo-kun? Can you hear me? Would you follow me, please?" Kaito took Kudo's hand in his. Kudo didn't respond, but began walking when Kaito gently tugged on his hand, leading the detective.

Kaito led the detective to the back of the store and through a door marked "employees only." Nobody was around, all the employees were standing just inside the bookstore entrance also trying to see the murder scene. Kaito led Kudo past a tiny break room and through yet another door that he assumed would lead to an employee parking lot. He was right.

They were outside, at the back of the mall. In front of them was a small parking lot for employee cars as well as a bike rack. Nobody seemed to be around.

Was this far enough away? Could Kudo still hear the crowd's thoughts? Kaito turned around to face the detective, and saw that Kudo still wore the same blank expression on his face. "Kudo-kun, can you hear me?"

No responce.

Now what should he do? He wasn't sure where else he could take Kudo. If they continued walking, they would eventually reach a more crowded area again. Even if he tried to take Kudo home, they would first have to board public transportation, which was sure to just as crowded as the mall.

Kaito gave Kudo's hand a small tug and lead him to a small park. It was an area most likely used by employees on their break to relax. Kaito followed the path until the trees mostly obscured their view of the mall. They stopped under the shade of a large tree.

Kaito stood face to face with the detective. He placed his hands on Kudo's shoulders. He did his best to calm his emotions. "Kudo-kun, wake up. Wake up, Kudo."

Kaito focused on the other man, concentrating on Kudo and tried to think calming thoughts. "Please, Kudo, come back to me. Wake up."

Kaito pushed away any feelings of panic when Kudo still didn't respond. He calmed his emotions, and tried to push those feelings of calm to the other man. "Wake up, Shinichi. Please."

Suddenly Shinichi blinked, and when his eyes reopened, Kaito watched the awareness return to them.

"Who are you? Where am I? How did I get here?"

"Shinichi!" Kaito threw his arms around the detective and held him in relief.

0-0-0-0-

Shinichi might have stumbled from the intense feeling of raw emotion if it wasn't for the other person holding him. The feelings of happiness and relief were intense, but they weren't unpleasant. Instead of drowning in the sea of emotions, he felt like he was gently floating in them. But these emotions felt familiar.

"KID? What are you doing here?"

The other man chuckled and pulled away from the hug, "Saving my detectives, what else would I be doing?"

"I'm sorry, I still don't understand."

"Come on. I'll let you buy me some Ramen and I'll explain everything. Oh, but first I got a quick phone call to make. Please excuse me."

"Wait, is that my phone?"

0-0-0-0-

"So then I took you to that little park and just focused on thinking calming thoughts, and you eventually came out of your little trance thing," The other man finished explaining.

Shinichi stirred his bowl of ramen. He had barely touched it. Instead he looked up again at the man sitting across from him.

"Is something on my face? You keep looking at me," he asked.

Shinichi finally realized what was bothering him about the other man, "You aren't wearing a mask."

For just a moment, the spoon paused on the way to the other man's mouth. It was such a small hesitation, Shinichi wasn't even sure it really happened. He felt surprise mixed with the thief's emotions for a moment. Did he forget that he wasn't wearing a mask?

"Correct, detective, I am not. This is my real face. But it's not like I have to worry. You don't actually want to catch me, right?" The other teased.

Shinichi groaned, "You aren't going to let that one go for awhile, are you?"

"Nope!" He singed.

Shinichi rested his elbow on the table and put his head in his hand, studying the other man. He already knew that the other man was a little taller than him, but that wasn't where the differences between them ended. Really, how was the thief able to disguise himself as the detective without a mask and get away with it every time? Other people really weren't observant.

"You're staring again," said the thief.

"Sorry, it's just, how did you ever disguise yourself as me without a mask? Sure we look similar, but we aren't exactly identical," Shinichi asked.

"Hm? Well the perfect disguise isn't just about how you look. It's also about how you carry yourself, how you walk and talk, facial expressions, even the way you hold your utensils."

The thief suddenly shifted in his seat and resumed eating his ramen. Shinichi couldn't exactly identify what he was doing differently, but it was suddenly as if he was looking at a messy haired version of himself.

"I get it. Now stop, that's just creepy."

The other man flashed him a KID grin, ruining the impersonation. Then the grin faded. "So I feel like you are avoiding what happened at the mall earlier today. Don't you want to talk about it, Shinichi-kun?"

"Shinichi-kun, huh? Doesn't seem fair that you're already calling me by my given name and I don't even know yours," he was not pouting. And he was not avoiding the topic about the mall.

For a second time Shinichi felt surprise from the other man, then a quick flurry of emotions, most of them too quick for him to identify. But he seemed to have come to a decision.

"My name is Kuroba Kaito. Feel free to call me Kaito. Now stop avoiding the topic."

Shinichi exhaled deeply, "Alright, fine. I was avoiding it. It's just a little scary to think about, okay?" He unconsciously folded his arms across his chest. "I mean, all I wanted was to go out and buy a book, and look at what happened. Does this mean I need to be a shut in until Haibara finds a way to fix this?"

"Hey, hey, it's going to be alright. This just means you might have to change your routine a little bit until…Haibara finds a cure you said?"

Shinichi waved away his question, "It's a long story, and one that isn't really my right to tell. Let's just say she's a scientist that can heavily relate to Conan."

"I see."

"But what do you mean, change my routine?"

"Well, you could keep your errands to less populated places, or during times when they aren't likely to be so populated. You could also order online more. And if you can't do any of that, use the buddy system! Have someone with you that can pull you out of your trance if the worst case scenario happens," he suggested.

"Those aren't bad suggestions, except for the last one. My buddy would have to be someone that knows of my situation so that they would know what was happening and what to do if I were to go into another trance. And that's a very short list of people. The professor is a great friend of mine, one I absolutely trust, but he isn't exactly reliable. Haibara is busy trying to find a way to stop my ability, and I'm not sure she would be capable of thinking calming thoughts in a situation like that anyway," Shinichi explained.

"Don't forget about me," Kaito suggested.

"You, Kuroba-kun?"

"Call me Kaito," came the automatic reply, "And why not?"

"Well obviously you are capable, as you demonstrated today, but is that something you want to do in your free time?"

Kaito shrugged, "Why not? What are friends for?"

Shinichi felt his heart skip a beat. KID thought of them as friends? It really wasn't that surprising when he thought about it. They were at least pretty friendly at heists, and had helped each other numerous times in the past. So why did it make him feel warm inside?

"Alright, so you're my buddy and you accompany me when I have to go out to populated places. How do I contact you?"

"Easy, tantei-kun, check your contacts in your phone!"

Shinichi let out a laugh, "Of course you added yourself to my contacts. So somehow in one day, I've learned your face, your name, and I have a way to contact you"

"Guess that means I trust you," he smiled.

Shinichi was appalled to feel his face heat up, "E-eat your ramen before it gets cold."

0-0-0-0-

Shinichi stared at the name written in his contacts of his phone. It read "Kaito" with an emoji of a dove, top hat, and a pink heart next to the name. The top hat was of course black, but KID couldn't control that.

His finger hovered over the "call" button, but he didn't press it. He sighed and put his phone in his pocket.

He didn't need to bother the thief. Kaito probably had better things to do than accompany Shinichi to the grocery store. He would be quick. Just a couple items to restock the fridge.

He felt his pride rear its head. He should be able to go to a grocery store without supervision, right? He wasn't a child anymore. Conan was behind him, he was free to act as an adult again. Mind made up, he made sure his wallet and keys were in his pocket and walked out the door, being sure to lock it behind him.

The walk to the nearby grocery store was uneventful, with just the occasional stray thought from people passing by. The grocery store was mildly crowded, but nowhere near as crowded as the mall was. And the occasional thought that he "heard" from others were neutral thoughts. Nothing as overwhelming as the thoughts of the people at the crime scene at the mall.

See? I can do this on my own, he thought to himself, feeling satisfied. He started down the aisles occasionally grabbing something for his basket.

Excitement…happiness…

OMG, is that?…excitement…

I can't believe she's here!…excitement…

Shinichi looked up from the produce he had been inspecting. Those didn't sound like neutral thoughts.

He looked around himself and noticed a small group of people that seemed to be crowding around a woman. Was she like a celebrity or something?

"Miko, look! It's Sasaki Yui!" He overheard a girl tell her friend.

"The fashion voutuber? I just watched her video on lip gloss last night! I didn't know she shopped here," the other woman, presumably Miko, replied.

"She has like almost a million subscribers! Last night's lip gloss video got 10k views within just an hour. Should we approach her for an autograph? It looks like everyone else is."

Shinichi decided to ignore them and go back to his produce. He should probably finish up quickly and leave before the crowd got too excited. He was almost done anyway.

Excitement…nervousness…autograph

Envy…wish I was as pretty as her…excitement

Lust…she's so hot…excitement

His focus kept slipping on the produce in front of him. Just grab one and go. Put it in your basket and head for the check out.

It was like he was treading water, trying to keep his head above the surface. If he stopped treading water, he would sink into the ocean again.

"There you are. I was looking for you," someone said behind him. He felt a warm hand take his.

He turned to his right and there was Kaito.

Excitement…autograph

Kaito gave his hand a firm squeeze, drawing his attention back to the other man.

"Focus on me. Don't look away," Kaito instructed. He was looking Shinichi in the eye. Shinichi returned the eye contact. "Feel my emotions."

Shinichi looking deep into Kaito's eyes and opened himself to Kaito's emotions.

Calm…affection…calm…worry…calm…affection…calm

He didn't "push" like the first time in his bedroom when he tried to read KID's thoughts. He just let Kaito's emotions run over him, like the steady stream of water during a shower.

"Are you okay?" Kaito asked.

Shinichi nodded before answering, "I am, thanks. Let's go."

They walked to the check out, opting for the self check out to avoid any more people. Shinichi realized he was still holding Kaito's hand and released it, feeling slightly embarrassed. He quickly paid for his items.

They headed for the exit together. As they walked through the exit, Shinichi felt Kaito take his hand again. He looked at Kaito questioningly.

"I think physical contact might help keep you grounded," he said with a wink.

Shinichi wasn't sure he believed him, but didn't pull his hand away. Who knows, maybe it did help. Besides, he found that he didn't mind holding Kaito's hand.

0-0-0-0-

Shinichi picked up his keys and walked towards his door.

"Going somewhere, Kudo?"

"Ahh! Haibara, you scared me," Shinichi said while clutching his chest.

"Where are you going?" She asked innocently. She was sitting casually on the armchair facing him.

"I'm almost out of coffee. I thought I would get some more," he replied, trying not to feel guilty.

"Without your buddy? Tsk, tsk, tantei-kun. Haven't you learned?"

"Ahhh!" Shinichi whipped around, facing the door again. Kaito was leaning against the wall, looking relaxed and as if he had been there the entire time. Which wasn't true. Shinichi had just been facing that door and he wasn't there. "Stop doing that! Is there anyone else here that I should know about?"

"Just us," Kaito replied sounding cheerful, but Shinichi was surprised to feel a small amount of anger coming from the other man.

"Why don't you have a seat, Kudo-kun?" Haibara said dripping with sweetness.

"Is this some kind of intervention or something?" Shinichi asked, taking a step away from them both, then forcing himself to take that step back again.

"An intervention? But that would imply that your behavior has been wrong or potentially harmful to yourself. Can you think of any behavior you've been engaging in that is wrong or potentially harmful to yourself?" He flashed a grin that looked razor sharp.

"I'm going to guess it's me going out without my buddy," Shinichi replied, trying to sound exasperated instead of nervous.

"Good guess, detective," Haibara replied.

"Look, it's not a big deal. I just wanted some coffee. Just a quick trip to the store. I can't run into a famous voutuber every day, right?"

"With your black luck? If not a minor internet celebrity, probably a murder. Or something. That's not the point. You're taking an unnecessary risk," said Kaito.

"You were lucky that Kuroba-kun had his dove's watching you, or who knows what would have happened with your last trip out," Haibara added.

Worry…anger…good thing Kuroba is a bit of a stalker…worry

"Look, I know you're just worried about me, but I'll be fine. I just want some coffee. You both don't understand. I'm not Conan anymore! I got my real body back, and yet I still need a baby-sitter. Do you know how humiliating that is?"

GUILT…

"Oh god, Haibara, I'm sorry. I didn't mean…" he said.

"It's fine, Kudo. I know you didn't mean it," Haibara replied. She hopped down from the armchair and walked towards the door. "Do what you want. You're an adult, you can make your own decisions. Just ignore your friends that care about you."

She walked out the door. Shinichi winced when the door slammed behind her.

Shinichi turned to Kaito, pleading for him to understand, "I didn't mean it that way. I just wanted to get some coffee, by myself. I wanted to know that I could do it."

Kaito stepped away from the wall he had been leaning against. He reached out as if to touch Shinichi, but put his hand back down. "I know you didn't mean to hurt Haibara, and I'm sure she knows that too. And I can understand your need for independence. But Shinichi, you don't understand what it was like finding you in that bookstore!"

He continued, "It was like you were in a trance. You weren't aware of anything around you. I was able to lead you to a second location. Quite easily! You didn't resist at all. It wouldn't have looked strange to anyone observing. And you don't remember any of it! You're missing like 20 minutes of memory. Do you realize how serious your situation is? I know you're craving your independence, and I know you've managed on your own with this mind reading thing for a few months now, but you have been really lucky so far. I don't want to see your luck fail you."

Kaito took the last step to Shinichi and touched his elbow. Shinichi could feel concern radiating off of him. Maybe he had a point about the physical contact thing.

"Please Shinichi, just be patient for a little longer. This isn't like being Conan. I'm not baby-sitting you, I'm watching your back. You aren't hiding as a grade schooler. You aren't lying about who you are."

Shinichi exhaled, "You're right, I'm sorry. I promise I won't try to go out without my buddy anymore." Shinichi gave Kaito an encouraging smile.

"Good."

Affection…

0-0-0-0-

After that day, Shinichi would contact Kaito whenever he had to leave the house. Or sometimes Kaito would just show up and drag Shinichi out somewhere that he wanted to go. It seemed only fair since Kaito accompanied him everywhere without complaint.

He did feel a little guilty every time they ran into a murder together; the thief was obviously bothered by the deaths. Fortunately, Shinichi didn't have much trouble solving the murders they ran into. They hadn't run into one in a place anywhere near as crowded as the mall yet, so his ability wasn't hindering him. And just as before, sometimes the ability to read minds helped him solve the murder faster, sometimes it was something he had to tune out to properly find the killer.

But there was one more major difference to Shinichi's routine. He couldn't remember ever being so motivated to both find the murderer to bring the victim to justice, and to solve the crime as quickly as able. The difference was Kaito. The deaths really seemed to bother him. The thief would try to keep his emotions as calm as possible for Shinichi's sake, but he couldn't fully hide how the murders effected him. The only reason Kaito was around so much murder because of him. Nobody attracted as much death as he did. He couldn't bear to be responsible for Kaito's depressive mood any longer than necessary.

"That's why the real murderer wasn't actually Nakamura-san as the you might be inclined to believe. The evidence points to Suzuki-san instead!" Shinichi pointed at Suzuki like a fencer pointing his sword in challenge.

Gah, Kudo-kun is so cool…admiration…crush

Disgust…can't believe Suzuki would…horror

Shinichi's eyes shined bright with anger, "You set it up so that Nakamura-san would take the fall. But you were sloppy, and I found more than enough evidence to prove it was you all along, Suzuki. Case closed."

A police officer stepped up to cuff the protesting Suzuki, and some of the people in the small crowd began to applaud.

So cool…admiration…envy…excitement…

Shinichi looked around confused. Why were they applauding as if this was some kind of show? Couldn't they see someone was dead?

He scanned the small crowd and found Kaito. He made a bee line immediately to him. For some reason the thief had a strange look on his face, and his emotions felt all jumbled and unclear.

The thief cleared his throat before speaking, "Well that was a bit…theatrical. I see your time as Conan didn't make you completely lose your flair for dramatics, tantei-kun."

Shinichi felt his face flush, "I wasn't being dramatic! I was upset someone thought they had the right to take someone else's life. Although, I guess my emotions may have gotten away from me, and I may have gotten a little carried away." He trailed off, feeling a little embarrassed.

"No, don't worry about it. It was actually kind of cool," Kaito reassured him, "Alsoalittlehot."

Shinichi blinked in confusion, "Sorry, I didn't catch that last bit. Could you repeat that?"

"I said it's getting hot. How about some ice cream?"

"Oh uh, yeah sure, I could go for some ice cream," Shinichi answered.

"Great, let's go," Kaito practically skipped down the side walk, Shinichi following behind him.

Kaito was humming happily and had a cheerful grin on his face, but the emotions Shinichi felt coming off of him painted a different mood.

He's still bothered by the murder, Shinichi thought to himself.

Shinichi reached out and took Kaito's hand in his own.

He didn't put much thought into it; one minute he wasn't holding Kaito's hand, and the next he was. Kaito always seemed be reaching for his hand recently, maybe he was just picking up some of Kaito's habits.

He was instantly rewarded for his impulsive decision by Kaito's change of emotions. Kaito didn't outwardly react, he was still humming some little tune, but his emotions had defiantly brightened. Shinichi felt them gently coming off of Kaito and brushing him. It felt like feathers brushing his skin.

Surprise…Joy…Excitement…Curiosity…

Kaito's mood was definitely improved, and his default emotions seemed to be back. Including…

Affection…

0-0-0-0-

One of the biggest benefits to Shinichi's new ability was the occasional opportunity to prevent crimes. He had the ability to read minds, so he occasionally "heard" plans to perform tasks that were less than legal. He mostly prevented shop lifting and petty theft, but today he was going to prevent a murder.

It wasn't going to be easy preventing a murder that hadn't yet happened. He couldn't make accusations without evidence, and he couldn't use his mind reading abilities as his proof. Luckily, the motive seemed to be a misunderstanding, as so many of them unfortunately were. He just had to clear up the misunderstanding, and he could prevent it! But how?

Anger…she's been so secretive lately…hurt…I bet she's cheating on me…Rage…knife

Excitement…his surprise birthday party is next week!…Regret…Soon I won't have to hide anything from him anymore…

Shinichi eyed the couple, racking his brain for ideas. How would he prove to the man that his girlfriend wasn't cheating on him? He had to think fast. The man's emotions were getting increasingly more angry by the minute, and was already contemplating the knife he was carrying with him. Luckily Shinichi wasn't alone. Maybe his companion could help him figure this out.

"Kaito, I need your help."

"What's up, Shinichi? Are you starting to feel overwhelmed by everyone's thoughts?"

He shook his head and discreetly gestured to the couple, "See that couple over there? I believe that man is going to stab his girlfriend with the knife he has on him. He believes his girlfriend is being secretive around him because she's cheating on him, but she's actually planning a surprise birthday party for him next week."

Kaito nodded in understanding, "Leave it to me."

Kaito stood from the park bench that had been resting on and snapped his fingers. A small smoke bomb went off and when it cleared he was wearing a traditional black magician's top hat and a short, black cape. He called out, his voice carrying quite a distance, "Kaito, the amazing, juggling, park magician makes his appearance!"

Suddenly three small juggling balls were flying through the air. A few children that were playing near by ran over to Kaito to watch. "Wow mister! You're really good at that," one of the girls said excitedly.

"Hey, I thought you said you were a magician, but you aren't doing any magic. You're just juggling! You aren't a magician, you're a clown," a boy accused Kaito.

"Are you sure about that?" Kaito asked. He dropped his left hand, juggling the three balls with just his right. He flicked his left wrist and three doves flew out of his sleeve. The doves began flying and weaving around the balls being juggled. The children gasped and giggled, watching the doves. While the doves were flying around, Shinichi noticed a fourth dove fly out of Kaito's jacket from behind his back. The fourth dove flew unnoticed to the children. Shinichi couldn't see what it was doing, but he didn't have to wonder for long. The dove flew back to Kaito and flew back up his jacket. A moment later Kaito twisted his left wrist and began juggling with both hands again, but this time among the three juggling balls was what looked like an enamel pin depicting a cartoon cat. It obviously came from one of the children.

"Hey! That's my Neko pin!" One of the kids called out.

"Cool! How did he get it? I never saw him move," said another kid.

"Magic, of course," Kaito answered cheekily.

Kaito began to walk the path, still juggling. As he would pass other people, he would take items from them to add to his juggling stack. Sometimes he used his doves, sometimes he used sleight of hand tricks, sometimes a combination of both, until he was juggling dozens of items. Everyone he passed applauded in delight.

Kaito finally made it to the couple Shinichi was concerned about. The couple had stopped walking to watch. The girlfriend seemed excited, the boyfriend was still angry, but less so as Kaito's juggling distracted him from his thoughts. Shinichi didn't see how (he would blame the fact that he was too far away), but somehow Kaito managed to get the girlfriend's planner from her and into his juggling stack.

The planner appeared to be a poor choice of juggling item. It flipped open in the air, making it unstable. Kaito grabbed for it, but it slipped from his grip. Or at least, that's how it appeared. Shinichi knew the Kaitou KID would never do something so clumsy.

"Oops, you dropped one," the boyfriend said. He bent and picked up the open planner.

"Ah! Don't look," the girlfriend quickly grabbed the planner, "Uh, sorry honey. I guess I can be a little protective of my planner, but I would be lost without it."

Nervous…Did he see?…Mild anxiety…

Shock…Relief…Guilt…She's been planning a surprise party for me?…

"Thank you, everyone! But I should return your items before I dropped anymore of them," Kaito called out, tossing all of the items high into the air. He crossed his arms over his chest, then spread them wide in a T pose. Dozens of doves flew from his sleeves and each grabbed an item from mid-air before it hit the ground. The doves flew to the people in the park and returned each item to the appropriate person.

Kaito walked back to Shinichi, and gave him a confidant smile, "One murder successfully prevented."

The smile was contagious and Shinichi couldn't help but return it, "Thanks for the help. I'm not sure how I would have stopped him from hurting her if you hadn't been here."

"No thanks necessarily, tantei-kun. I was happy to help."

They both turned to exit the park. This time, both reached for the other's hand at the same time and walked home together with their fingers intertwined.

0-0-0-0-

Shinichi glanced at the "Walk" symbol, then looked up and down the street. The street was empty expect for a single car that was a good distance down the road. It was quiet inside his head, just his own thoughts present, and Kaito's emotions brushing against his skin.

"Is this where we cross?" Kaito asked.

"Hang on, let me pull up the directions on my phone. What was the name of the cafe again?"

"It's called Just the Cherry on Top, supposedly the home of the best chocolate layer cake, but I think I'll be the judge of that. Thanks again for coming with me."

"It's the least I can do after you've accompanied me everywhere these past few months," Shinichi answered while consulting the Maps app on his phone. He looked up, "We cross here, then its 3 blocks up."

"Perfect! Let's hurry and cross. We still have the "Walk" symbol." Kaito reached back and grabbed Shinichi's wrist, leading them both across the street.

Shinichi glared at the car that was now a lot closer. Something wasn't right, "Kaito, that car."

Kaito glanced at it, distracted, "Hm? We still have the "Walk" symbol. We have the right of way; they'll stop."

They continued walking. They had completely crossed one lane and began to cross the second one. Just a few more steps and they would be in the car's path. And it as still so eerily quiet.

Wait, quiet?

He should be able to "hear" the driver's thoughts by now, but all he was getting was radio silence. Was it possible there was a second person like Kaito, someone whose thoughts he couldn't "hear"? He glanced at the driver through the windshield. The sun glared on the glass, obscuring his vision. He squinted, trying to see the driver. The car continued moving forward and suddenly he could see the driver.

He was unconscious! He must have had a had a heart attack. Either way, the driver was not in control and that vehicle wasn't going to stop.

He didn't think, he just moved on instinct. He called out a warning to Kaito and shoved him from behind. Kaito grunted and fell, but he was out of the path of the car. Good.

Shinichi knew the car was about to hit him. No time to get out of the way. He just had to make sure he went over the car rather than under it. That was his best chance of survival.

The car hit him. It hurt, but he felt himself going over it. Good.

He rolled off the car and felt his head smack the pavement. Bad.

The last thing he heard before losing consciousness was someone yelling his name.

0-0-0-0-

Kaito's POV

At first Kaito had been angry at Shinichi. Angry at the detective for pushing him out of the way, putting himself in danger by doing so. Didn't that idiot detective realize who he was hanging out with? He was the Kaitou KID! KID knows how to take a fall, he wouldn't have hit his head.

But after the ambulance had brought Shinichi to the hospital, the anger had quickly given way to sorrow. Shinichi's injuries were mostly just a few bumps and bruises, but that head injury had been nasty. The nurses had reported that Shinichi was in a head trauma induced coma.

Shinichi's doctor was confident that he would wake up soon and make a speedy recovery, but Kaito couldn't help but worry anyway. His detective had been unconscious for 3 days and wasn't showing signs of waking up anytime soon. Kaito felt tears well up in his eyes again.

"Every time I think I've cried until I'm empty of tears, more come out. See what you're doing to me detective? You better wake up soon, or we are going to need a raft to survive this flood," Kaito told the comatose detective.

A nurse entered, "Don't cry Kuroba-kun, Kudo-kun will wake up soon."

"Thank you for the encouraging words," Kaito flicked his wrist and presented the caring nurse with a yellow rose, but his heart wasn't in it.

The nurse gave him a sweet smile and took the rose, then checked Shinichi's vitals and made a couple of notes in his chart, "Continue talking to him. Many experts agree that comatose patients can hear people talking to them. It may help him find his way back to consciousness."

Kaito smiled back, though his was a little forced, "Thanks for the advice. I will."

"I'm all done checking on him, but I'll be back in a few hours for my next set of my rounds. So until then, I'll leave you alone with him," the nurse left.

Kaito sat in silence for a few minutes before finally speaking, "Always got to be the hero, don't you? But…I guess that's just one of the many things I love about you. It's pretty funny, it's it? I've been hanging out with a mind reader for months, you can literally feel my emotions, but yet you don't seem to know I'm in love with you. Or maybe you actually do, and you're ignoring my feelings as a polite rejection? No, you're someone that values the truth. If you knew, you would tell me and reject me in person, you wouldn't hide it. So I guess you're just really dense, haha. For someone so smart, you can be so dumb. But honestly, it's kind of cute. I guess I've really fallen hard. Part of me wants to to tell you how I feel, but the other part wants to see how long it takes for you to figure it out. Besides, I think you're starting to fall for me too, but I don't think you've realized it yet. It's really adorable though."

Kaito fell into silence again before coming to a decision, "Either that nurse was right and you can hear me, or you can't hear a thing I'm saying and I'll just consider this practice. So I'll just say it…I love you, Shinichi. I love you. So please, wake up soon."

Kaito wasn't sure when he had taken Shinichi's hand, but he felt Shinichi's fingers move. Kaito shot up in his seat, knocking over his chair, "Shinichi? Hey, that's it. Wake up. Come on." When he didn't get another response he pressed the button to call the nurse.

A moment later a different nurse entered, "Yes?"

Kaito turned and pointed at Shinichi, "He just moved, he moved his fingers."

The nurse smiled, "That's great news. I'll go and get his doctor."

She left to get the doctor. When she returned, Shinichi's doctor was with her.

"Kuroba-kun, nurse Nigima-san tells me that Kudo-kun moved his fingers," the doctor addressed him.

Kaito nodded, "He did, I know he did. Although, he hasn't moved again."

The doctor nodded. The nurse began taking Shinichi's vitals while the doctor checked his chart. The doctor addressed Kaito again, "Small movements in comatose patients don't always mean a patient is close to waking, but I don't believe that to be the case with Kudo-kun. I think he is showing signs of waking up."

"Do you know when he will wake up?" Kaito asked hopeful.

The doctor shook his head, "I'm afraid I can't predict that. But if I had to guess, I would say sometime within the next 24-48 hours."

Kaito felt hope swell within him. The doctor made a few more notes in Shinichi's chart and left.

The nurse addressed Kaito before leaving, "You should go home and get some rest. Visiting hours will be over soon anyway. Besides, you heard the doctor, it will probably be another 24-48 hours before he wakes up."

Kaito stood to leave, "I'll be back tomorrow."

The nurse nodded, "I know you will."

She left. Kaito moved to follow, then paused. He turned back to Shinichi's bed, bent down and kissed Shinichi on the forehead.

0-0-0-0-

Kaito's POV

Kaito did return the next day. He took up his spot in the chair next to Shinichi's bed and talked to the comatose detective. He talked about anything and everything, not even really sure what he was saying. He just knew that Shinichi responded when he talked to him yesterday, even if it was just a finger twitch, so he was going to keep talking. All through his one-sided conversation, he held Shinichi's hand, occasionally brushing his thumb across the other's knuckles.

Eventually he felt his eyelids growing heavy. "Hey tantei-kun, not that I don't love talking to you, but would you mind if I took a break? I think I just need a quick nap, 30 minutes tops. Can I use part of your bed? Don't hog it all to yourself, I'm just going to lay my head down for a moment."

Kaito laid down his head on the bed and closed his eyes.

He felt like his eyes had only been closed a moment when something woke him. He sat up and blinked a few times, before looking at Shinichi. Shinichi was moving! He was squeezing his eyes shut and wrinkling his brow, occasionally turning his head from side to side.

"Shinichi…" Before he could say anything else, the door flew open. Shinichi's doctor and two nurses entered.

One of the nurses spoke to the doctor, "The monitoring devices show that he's waking."

"Make sure his SPO2 stays above 96%," the doctor directed.

A nurse took Kaito by the elbow and pulled him towards the door, "Come on, Kuroba-kun. Give them room to work. I promise you can come back once he's awake and has had a full examination."

"But…" Kaito tried to protest, but the nurse was still pulling him to the door. She gently pushed him into the hallway. Before she shut the door, Kaito saw Shinichi finally open his eyes.

0-0-0-0-

Shinichi picked at his bland hospital food, debating with himself if he wanted to start with the dry spaghetti or the wilted salad. He had been awake from approximately 8 hours. The doctor had examined him and given him a clean bill of health. He was told he could go home as soon as he completely finished his lunch, with strict instructions to return tomorrow to start his physical therapy.

He was fortunate that he had been comatose less than a week, so he didn't have to do anything extreme like learn to walk again. But his muscles were weak, and he was instructed he would need to do physical therapy twice a week for a month before he no longer felt his muscle weakness.

A knock on his door pulled him from his thoughts. A nurse poked her head into room, "Kudo-kun, I've got a guest here to visit if you're feeling up to it."

Shinichi smiled, already knowing who was there. He could feel the visitors thoughts, "Of course. Please let him it."

It was Kaito, of course. Kaito spoke, "Good morning, sleeping beauty. Look who finally decided to wake up."

Worry…relief…happiness…worry…

"Geez, Kaito. I only just woke up and you're already teasing me?" Shinichi joked.

"I'm not showing you any sympathy, consider it part of your punishment for being an idiot. This is also part of your punishment," Kaito snatched Shinichi's pudding cup from his lunch tray.

"Hey, I was saving that for last!" Shinichi protested.

Kaito hummed as he sat down and pulled the foil lid off the cup, "Well it's mine now. Maybe next time you'll think twice before being an idiot."

Shinichi did not pout, "You just want an excuse to steal my pudding cup."

Kaito smirked and lifted a spoonful of pudding, "I'm a thief, I don't need an excuse. If I want it, I take it." He took a bite, and made an exaggerated moan of appreciation.

Shinichi didn't pout even harder, "I wasn't being an idiot, I was saving your life."

"Do you really think the Kaitou KID couldn't have handled a car? I would have also gone over the hood, but I wouldn't have rolled off it and hit my head."

"Well I didn't exactly think it through! I was just acting on instinct," Shinichi counted.

"Your instincts are supposed to lead to self preservation, not throwing yourself in front of cars!" Kaito shot back.

"Well I guess my instincts are to protect you!"

Both fell into silence. Kaito's emotions were a complex tangle and Shinichi felt mildly embarrassed by his outburst. Kaito's emotions eventually settled on affection, as was usual when around the detective.

"Thank you for saving me," Kaito spoke softly.

Shinichi nodded in acceptance, "I'm sorry I got injured and worried you."

Kaito held out a spoonful of pudding to Shinichi, "Here, you can have the last bite of pudding."

Shinichi leaned towards Kaito and accepted the spoonful of pudding.

Affection…

'I need to tell him,' Shinichi thought to himself, 'But not here. Not in the hospital. I'll tell him as soon as I get home.'

They fell into a comfortable conversation as Shinichi finished the rest of his lunch.

0-0-0-0-

Shinichi sat on the bench in his back yard, looking up at the moon. He had been home from the hospital for about 7-8 hours. It felt good to shower and change into a fresh set of clothes. It felt even better to curl up in his favorite spot in the library and immerse himself in a book for a couple hours. It wasn't really the book itself that made him feel good, it was returning to a familiar routine that gave him comfort.

Now he found himself doing something unfamiliar, sitting outside in his backyard, alone, in the dark, just turning over his thoughts. His attention kept returning to the moon, reminding him of a certain moonlit magician. And speak of the devil…

"How long are you going to stand in the shadows watching me?" He called out to a particularly dark corner of the backyard farthest from him.

Kaito stepped out of the dark, "I don't know, how long are you going to stay out here?"

"Not sure," Shinichi answered honestly.

"Then I guess I might as well sit next to you," Kaito replied.

Shinichi made room for Kaito next to him on the bench.

"I thought we discussed you not being an idiot anymore?"

Shinichi sighed, "What did I do this time?"

"You just got out of the hospital and now you're trying to catch a cold," Kaito took off his jacket and draped it around Shinichi's shoulders.

Shinichi gratefully pulled the jacket tighter around himself, only just now realizing that he had been a little cold. "Thanks, but shouldn't you be back home by now? The last train to Ekoda had to have left already."

"About 30 minutes ago, actually," he shrugged, "but before I could board, I found myself thinking of you. You just got out of the hospital and you live alone. If something happened, nobody would be around to help you. I know you're capable of taking care of yourself, most of the time at least, and I know that the Professor and Haibara-chan are next door, but I couldn't help but worry. I knew I wouldn't feel better unless I came to check on you myself."

"And your plan for missing the last train? I have a feeling you weren't planning on making your presence known to me, although how you thought you could hide from a mind reader is beyond me."

Kaito shrugged, "I'm still not clear on how far your range extends. I was just going to crash in one of your spare bedrooms after you went to bed."

Shinichi nodded, "I had a feeling you would. I actually already put fresh linens on the bed in the room next to mine."

Kaito laughed, "You know me so well, detective."

Shinichi shifted but didn't answer.

"So what are you doing out here anyway?"

He didn't immediately answer, "Thinking about you, actually."

He could feel that he had surprised the thief, "Only good things I hope."

"Kaito, I've been such an idiot," he let his frustration out, "All this time, all this time! For months now, and I only just now realized."

"You've lost me, Shinichi," Kaito rested his hand on Shinichi's shoulder, leaning forward to see Shinichi's face better while sitting next to him.

Curiosity…affection…

"That. That's what I mean," he said.

"I still don't…"

"You love me! All this time, you've been in love with me. And somehow I didn't notice. I literally can feel your emotions, I've felt your love for me for months now, and I never realized. I misinterpreted your emotions and thought you just felt that I was cute, like a puppy or something."

"Too be fair, you are pretty cute," he answered sounding casual, but Shinichi could feel that he was nervous.

"Don't try to help me, I was an idiot. I can't believe I didn't notice. Ran is right, I am a dense, detective geek. I felt your love for me everyday, and I didn't notice."

"Don't be so hard on yourself," Kaito's emotions were currently projecting an intense sadness, "You probably didn't notice because you don't feel the same way."

Shinichi groaned, "No Kaito, that's probably the worst part. I do love you, and I just now realized it!"

He didn't notice Kaito perk up, or the shift in his emotions.

"I mean, it's one thing to be able to literally feel your emotions and not realize you were in love with me. I think it's entirely worse to not realize my own feelings. I've loved you for months, and I didn't know. I feel emotions from other people, and I hear their thoughts, but I don't even know what's going on with myself."

He turned to look at his companion and found Kaito smiling at him.

"What are you smiling about?" Shinichi asked.

"You just said you love me too," Kaito answered.

Shinichi felt the blush rising on his face and turned away to hide it, "Oh, I guess I did."

Kaito scooted closer on the bench and turned Shinichi back to face him.

"I love you, Shinichi," he leaned in and gave Shinichi a tender kiss.

He felt Kaito's emotions, his love, spreading through him.

"Wow," Shinichi said as they parted.

Kaito chuckled, "I'll take that as a compliment."

Shinichi felt his face burn again, "It was just a little intense. Getting kissed while feeling your emotions. It was intense, but really good."

Kaito smiled and took Shinichi's hand, "I'm glad. Let's get inside. It's getting late, and you did just get out of the hospital. I can't allow you to catch a cold on my watch."

They stood together and headed inside, then upstairs. They both stopped in front of Shinichi's bedroom door, the guest bedroom Shinichi had prepared right next to it. Kaito leaned forward and kissed Shinichi. "Sweet dreams," he said softly before entering his guest room, gently closing the door behind him.

Shinichi climbed into bed, pleased to find that he could still feel Kaito's emotions from the room next to him. He drifted off feeling Kaito's love all around him, like a warm blanket wrapped around him.

0-0-0-0-

Kaito and Shinichi officially started dating the next day. Shinichi suspected that some of their previous outings had actually been dates, but they weren't counting those. A few months later Haibara found a partial cure to his abilities. She had developed a capsule pill that would stop his mind reading abilities, but she hadn't yet found anything that would stop his empath abilities.

Shinichi was still grateful, the partial cure still gave him a lot of relief. He found it much easier to ignore the emotions of strangers rather than both the thoughts and emotions combined, and he rarely felt overwhelmed while out in public since taking the partial cure. He still wanted a full cure, but it was no longer as high of a priority for him. He made his feelings clear to Haibara and told her to take a break and stop pushing herself so hard. He knew Haibara still felt some guilt over his situation, but he also knew that much of that guilt had been relieved over the partial development of the cure.

He did still want a full cure. He was invading people's privacy after all, even if it was unwilling. Especially Kaito's privacy, him being the person he spent the most time with. And it seemed that he was able to feel Kaito's emotions stronger than he could others, possibly because of the bond they shared. And the touching. Kaito's theory about physical contact seemed to hold true, and Kaito always seemed to be touching him, often holding his hand, kissing him, or snuggling with him on the couch. Kaito told him he didn't mind Shinichi feeling his emotions, but Shinichi still thought Kaito's privacy was important and hoped Haibara was able to find a complete cure soon.

But he would enjoy it while he was still able. Feeling Kaito's default emotions on his skin, his excitement, his curiosity, and of course…

Love…

End

That's it guys, hope you enjoyed it.

Let's discuss an idea I've been tossing around for some time. First, I'm thinking about going back and touching up previous chapters of Side Effects Include. As my readers have no doubt noticed, I have grown and improved as a writer, and I feel like I've come a long way. I think some of the earlier chapters of SEI would benefit from me going back and touching them up. The problem is, my earlier stuff makes me cringe so hard. I know the first chapter in particular was particularly full of cringe. I shudder when I think of Shinichi's OOC moment (one of many) when he used many euphemisms for masturbation in his conversation with Haibara. So before I make any promises to take this little project on, would that be something that anyone is even interested in? Let me know, and maybe that will be what I work on next.

Second thing, I'm thinking about also putting up my work on AO3. I probably won't actually do it unless I go back and touch up the earlier chapters though. To be clear, I'm not going to stop working on this site and move exclusively to AO3, I still love this site as a platform. But I know some people prefer AO3, and it would also spread out my work for more Shinichi/Kaito fans to find. But I don't know, it's just something I'm thinking about.

Last thing, let me take a moment to actually discuss this chapter itself. I'm sure everyone noticed a lack of any of the other supporting characters from Detective Conan/Magic Kaito. There's a few good reasons for that. Probably the biggest reason was because I didn't feel like including them. Simple, right? Supporting characters would distract the romance focus of the content, and I was eager to get to the meat and potatoes of the chapter. The other two reasons was because I just don't think I'm very good at writing characters that aren't Shinichi or Kaito (at least I hope I'm good at writing them), and because dammit this chapter was long enough if I added another characters it would be another 5 pages minimum. This chapter is already just under 20k words. Is that a record for me? I feel like that's a record. I almost wrote a novella you guys.

Other things to mention from the chapter itself. What is a semi-colon? How do you properly use a semi-colon? I don't think anyone actually knows so I'm going to use it however I want. Am I using it wrong? Probably. Do I care? Nah. And commas. Man, I love commas. I noticed while editing that I had written an entire paragraph with just one long sentence and many comas. I need to chill out of the comas. And who says you can't start a sentence with 'And' or 'But'? Is there going to be a part two of this? No, it's complete. I know I left it open with Shinichi only having a partial cure to his abilities, but it's finished. I think that's everything I wanted to talk about.

Thanks for reading. You're all awesome.