For Your Eyes Only

Summary: Kaito gets a phone message from an unknown number. Piqued, he replies, and forms a surprising connection. Pre- KaiShin.

Romance

Rating: T, slight references to mature content

Disclaimer: Do not own, and all locations and occurrences are fictional.

I had withdrawn in forest, and my song
Was swallowed up in leaves that blew alway;
And to the forest edge you came one day

-Excerpt from A Dream Pang by Robert Frost

Chapter 1: A song swallowed up in leaves

It was a jingle that caught his attention first. He wandered around his table, pushing aside the haphazard piles of papers and stationery. Ah, there it is. He fished up his phone from the skinny little gap between the wall and the back of the table. How troublesome, he wondered how it ended up in such an unlikely location. He swiped at the screen with a thumb and frowned. It was from an unknown number.

We need to talk. I'm so sorry, but I don't think things can go on like this anymore. I've been gone for too long and we keep dancing around each other like this. Please, please answer me.

His eyebrows went up. What a careless sender. Punching in the wrong number for such a private message… Well, he could have some fun before telling the truth. He mentally rubbed his hands with glee.

That can't be true! I've been waiting for you all this while! Please don't give up on us so quickly, I'll do anything, I swear! (If you buy me a diamond ring, a vacation to the Bahamas and maybe a pony. Hey, we're all materialistic souls.)

The reply came almost instantaneously.

What the? Who the fuck are you?

Aww, you found out so quickly! Well, why are you still standing around staring at your phone? Resend your message to the right person this time, go buy flowers and chocolates, and prepare for them to be smashed into your face. The clock is ticking~

Er- okay. I'll deal with you later. Thanks.

Kaito quirked an eyebrow humourously, feeling particularly whole affair was odd, but curiously interesting. He flipped his phone shut, flung it carelessly onto his desk (where it bounced off the wall with a clack and fell back down the gap between the wall and the desk), then stretched, and fell back onto the bed. He was asleep in the matter of seconds.

Kaito looked around, bored. He had been waiting for Aoko and Hakuba, but he had arrived twenty minutes earlier because of unusually smooth traffic (There was a traffic light that kept turning red that Kaito was absolutely sure had no purpose. Everyone complained about it but no one wanted to report it, as usual.), and now he didn't have anything to do, except stand around awkwardly. He considered plaguing Aoko or Hakuba with random messages, then grinned mischievously. He had a better idea.

Hey, so what happened with your talk? Did your girlfriend dump you?

He sent it, then frowned in consternation. The other person might not read the message until it was too late. Even worse, he might ignore the message. The thought lit an indignant fire under Kaito. No one ignored him! He resolved to send creative messages every hour until the other person replied. Or every half an hour?

A jingle sounded and he grinned. Luckily, the poor person had been spared.

It's none of your business. And she's not my girlfriend, not that it's any of your business.

I see, so it went badly, huh. My sympathies. What did you get her? I really like that Death by Chocolate cake from Ekoda's cafe, Mad Tea Party. It's really to die for. I would definitely agree if someone proposed to me with that cake. Mm. Yum.

My cream puffs are just fine! That café has the longest queues ever; unless you go early in the morning when they have just opened for the day. And what do you think you're doing, randomly revealing things about yourself to strangers? Haven't you heard about safety? What if I was a kidnapper or a robber, trying to learn about your routines before striking? Honestly, stop being so careless. I can't believe you just randomly decided to message a random person.

Well, you replied… Alright, let's introduce ourselves! I'm Cam Gain the First, and I don't have a girlfriend. There, you know me now. You don't want to be rude and leave me hanging, do you? Do you?

Cam Gain the First? That's how you want to play it? Fine… I'm a Deceit Vet and shut up about the whole girlfriend business already.

There, so we aren't strangers anymore! And my my, how clever~ But you know, what makes you think I'm not the one who's trying to pull one over you? I could be a vengeful ghost of a girl who is out to haunt every miserable bastard of a boyfriend who dares to break up with his girlfriend by cellphone messages. And you could be my next victim. :D

… You're so ridiculous. Firstly, you've been using masculine pronouns ever since you texted me. Unless that's some outlandish conspiracy theory to wind me up, which I honestly wouldn't be surprised at, coming from you. Secondly, the existence of ghosts is completely illogical. Thirdly, I just give up the point about the girlfriend, I'm tired of typing it. Actually, I just admit defeat here, why are we having this conversation?

Because I'm bored.

Go hunting for unicorns. That should be in your line of interest, isn't it? Strange, illogical and fantastic things.

Oooh, touché. What about your lines of interest? What are they, being target practice for cream puff projectiles? Breaking girls' hearts? Maybe nagging at little children about stranger danger?

How about attempting to strangle someone psychically through a telecommunication device? How's that for you?

9 points for creativity! No bonus points for using an extra pretentious word, sorry. But illogical. Tsk, tsk, I thought you're supposed to be the sane one here? There's not enough space for the two of us, buddy.

That's a sane reaction to you.

The cellphone was seized out of Kaito's hands. He made a wild flail for it, but was confronted with Aoko's furious face and Hakuba's coolly curious one. "Kaito, we were calling for you! How long do you plan on keeping us waiting?" Aoko did a strange little dance involving a lot of arms waving and rhythmic feet stomping, scowling at Kaito. Kaito watched in avid fascination.

He blinked slightly, then recovered. Sliding an arm around Aoko to push her along, he made a puff of smoke appear, then quickly swapped the phone with a rose while she was startled. "Hey, I was the one waiting here while you took your time to arrive," he complained. "Where's the sympathy for me?" He sniffed dramatically. "I was sad. And alone. Surrounded by the rushing crowd-"

"You were most certainly not sad," Hakuba refuted with a half-smile. Kaito slid him a narrowed eye glance. While Hakuba seemed to have mellowed down on the KID accusations front over the years, content to give him curiously suspicious, but non-hostile glances once in a while, Kaito couldn't relax around him quite yet. He was too sharp for Kaito to really let his guard down around him. Still, Kaito didn't quite find him as unbearable as he did when he still harassed Kaito about his suspicions. "You were smiling at your phone as you typed." He clarified. "A friend, probably?"

"Oooh." Aoko leant forwards, peering curiously at his phone as if she could somehow psychically read the content of the messages and the identity of his mysterious sender. "Who is it, Kaito? A classmate?"

"I don't know," he shrugged. An even more bewildered look came over both of their faces, although Aoko's was tempered with irritation and Hakuba's curiousity. "Let's just go, go! We're going to be late for our reservations, aren't we?" He redirected the conversation, wondering why he wasn't more concerned about the identity of his mysterious correspondent.

I think you'd be telepathic.

I'm sorry? What bizarre epiphany did you just have?

Your superpower! If you had a superpower, you'd definitely be a telepathic. :D Or maybe precognition. Then again you might already have it. Your freaky way of knowing when my classes are… Are you sure you're not a secret superhero?

It is most certainly not a superpower. Your underdeveloped brain might not be able to comprehend this, but it's something called 'deduction'. You admitted yourself that you don't use your phone often, and your messages usually start in the early morning, with a one hour absence for lessons, before you contact me again during the break, and again after the lesson stops. After which, you presumably arrive at home, get distracted and forget about me until the next day. And the cycle continues.

Oh, I see, you were waiting for me huh? Well, never let it be said that I neglect my audience! ;D I won't keep you waiting anymore~ Message me anytime, I promise I'll reply!

Wait, I don't even- I'm sorry, did you just sent the message to the right person? Please dial 110 to send your entry to the worst pick-up line contest.

So cold… You hurt my tender feelings, you know? But if you were telepathic, you'd already know that of course~

But I'm not telepathic, so I don't know where you're going with this. Telepathy would be useful though. Urgh, people I know are so complicated.

You don't know what you're talking about! Flying is the best thing ever. And people never do say what they really think and feel. Most of people don't even know what they want. Ah well, life isn't meant to be easy that way~

That is… surprisingly profound, coming from you. I might reconsider my earlier opinion of you having no brains after all. And I shudder to think what some people would do with an ability like telepathy.

You're finally realizing my awesome! Praise me more! :D And no worries, I completely trust you won't spill my secrets. You'd definitely use the Force for good!

Thanks for believing that I won't misuse a fictional, nonexistent ability…

Letting you know I'll always be on your side~ ;D

"You've been on your phone a lot lately," Aoko observed. Her eyes sparkled with interest, and she whipped around and grabbed Kaito forcefully by the shoulders, stopping him short. Kaito squeaked and tried not to fall over. "Is it a girlfriend?" She grinned, moving her face even closer to Kaito's. Kaito tried to scramble away, but Aoko had backed him into a wall. "It must be right? You do those weird little expressions when you message her. Like you're trying not to smile."

Kaito fought the urge to check the mirror instinctively. He did that? He resolved to stiffen his face unnaturally next time. Or put on his Poker Face. Whichever was more effective in fending off suspicions from too observant best friends. Shit, was she taking lessons from Hakuba? He knew the jerk would be trouble for him even when he wasn't around to perpetrate it. "Now-" He tried to sink downwards to get away from her, but it only granted him six more inches of space. "Tell me. Who's the unlucky girl?"

Kaito coughed and forced a blush. "Why, Aoko," He placed his hand on her shoulder, fluttering his fingers delicately. He batted his eyelashes, and lowered them shyly. "I didn't think you thought of me like that, but if you're jealous, I'm sure I can make an exception for you-" He dodged just in time and stared in horror. The metal frame they were leaning against now boasted a deep crater, the size of one Nakamori Aoko's shopping tote.

"And here I was being considerate!" Aoko snarled, pointing an accusatory finger at Kaito. Shoppers slowed down their pace to stare. Mothers hustled their children by.

"How is menacing me being considerate?" Kaito edged away, keeping a good distance from Aoko and her tote. He also kept an eye on her hands in case she made a lunge for anything else. Over the years, Aoko's ability to turn ordinary objects into dangerous weapons of destruction had only increased. He could only despair as he imagined her in the KID Task Force. Still, things weren't quite at the critical stage yet. He didn't think she had brought any f-f-f-finny things. He hoped.

She paused and thought briefly. He relaxed. Good, just keep her distracted, he chanted mentally. "Well, if you'd just say then I wouldn't get mad," Aoko said sulkily. Kaito gaped slightly- who was the one being threatened? She continued, "I'm just curious, you know? I won't tease or anything. It's great if you're interested in someone." She stared up at him expectantly.

Kaito melted like butter on a hot day. That devious girl! She knew that he had a soft spot for that look! He relented, "It's not a girl." He amended quickly, catching Aoko's widening eyes, "It's not like that! Er- Actually, can we put this off for another day?" A deep frown marred Aoko's features. He raised his hands up quickly, trying to exude as much innocence as he could. She looked unconvinced. He tried to channel the spirit of a kicked-and-abandoned puppy. Damn it, this was definitely Hakuba's fault. He was going to need to enter the Witness Protection Program to save his reputation after Kaito was done with him the next time he returned from London. He held back a cackle. Seeing Aoko's suspicious look deepen, he quickly dampened his vengeful aura with thoughts of puppies and kittens.

Unexpectedly, she said, "Fine," and turned around to walk off in the direction of the shops. He gawked unattractively for a few seconds, before sprinting to catch up. He stared at her unobtrusively from the corner of his eye. It was an unusual day when Aoko let go of something she was truly curious in.

"But you're telling me someday, okay?" She spun around and held out a pinky with a glare that could frighten grown men into submission.

Kaito valiantly held out. He had been subjected to many ferocious glares in his time after all, including the other Nakamori who probably taught this one in front of him everything and more on how to intimidate people into cowering at her feet. "Alright, alright… Jeez, pinky swears? You're still doing childish things like that? No wonder you don't have a boyfriend, Aoko…" He winced at the answering bellow, but hooked his pinky finger around her slender one.

He mentally apologized to Aoko. It was a rather small and inconsequential secret to keep, especially compared to the KID revelation he wasn't sure how he'd ever tell Aoko, if ever- but somehow he had wanted to keep the mysterious writer as his only, like a child hugging a delicious secret.

Tokyo Bomb Case diffused by College Detective! The bombing scare involved many locations in Tokyo, but only the initial bomb in Ekoda Shopping Mall was set off, thanks to the quick wits of Beika's resident college detective, Kudou Shinichi…

"Look," Kaito called, "We're in the news!" He kicked Aoko's chair and flashed the phone screen at her.

"Don't do that!" Aoko threw a bit of eraser at him which he masterfully dodged, before leaning over curiously. "Oh yeah! Dad was worried about that last night, but I told him we were fine. The bomb was on a different level from us anyway, and they managed to get everyone away in time." She rocked on her chair, eyes wide. The chair legs squeaked in protest as she tilted precariously. "But that guy who solved it really is awesome, isn't he? I can't believe we're the same age as he is!"

He tore his eyes away from the photograph. Kudou looked tired and slightly haggard. It was grainy, but Kaito thought he could almost see the stress lines between his brows. He shrugged and answered flippantly, "He probably had a ton of help working on it. Look at him; he looks like he'd be carried away if there was a strong breeze."

Aoko frowned and pelted another eraser bit at him. He ducked and it hit Sakai behind him who looked up from his book in bewilderment. Kaito and Aoko instantly began a heated debate about abortion. Sakai turned back to his book, a puzzled frown affixed on his face. "Don't be mean! He's done a lot of work for the police. My father isn't in the same department as he is, but he says there are a lot of good reports coming from Department 1 about Kudou." Aoko raised an eyebrow quizzically. "Makes you wonder how he has time for work and study, huh? Maybe he doesn't sleep." She laughed easily, turning back to her papers.

Kaito laughed absently too, but his eyes lingered over the photograph thoughtfully.

Wow that was a close shave! Did you hear about the Ekoda bombing?

What about it?

My friends and I were there on that day! Thankfully, no one was hurt :D

What! Oh God… Did you hear if anyone was injured? I'm so sorry.

I think everyone was evacuated in time. And why are you sorry, you aren't the bomber. Are you?

Don't be ridiculous. And I'm just sorry the whole thing happened, that's all. The bomb should have been found earlier.

As Shakespeare said, shit happens. Life goes on~

What? I've never heard of that quotation from him before.

Neither have I. But he could have said it~ In any case, don't worry. Even so, I definitely won't let things get too bad. I have people I want to protect too.

I don't want to know. Psh, yeah right. How can you? These nutcases are armed.

I have my ways~ Believe me :D

Heh, I didn't think you were that kind of people after all. Those kinds of people who say a lot of mysterious and cool things, like they're acting in a movie.

I always thought I was the star of the show! You shouldn't underestimate me~

Like the secret superhero you keep saying I am? Are you trying to draw attention off you and onto me?

Why now, I thought you knew me better. I never reject any kind of attention.

As long as that attention doesn't come from being a terrible fashion victim.

Don't worry about that, my style is so much better! I'll never wear spandex, I promise.

Kaito took off his silk top hat slowly in the car. He huffed slightly- another night passed by with no sign of Pandora. He exchanged cursory greetings and evaluations of the heist with Jii, and Jii lavished on him the customary fussing and worries. But both of them know that however much Jii tried to convince Kaito not to, he wouldn't stop being KID, any more than Nakamori would suddenly have a change of heart and start lauding KID on national television.

Kaito shuddered from tip to toe. He decided to think of something more pleasing. A curious spark lit in him.

Hey, what do you think of Kaitou KID?

He's a thief. What else?

Kaito pouted. That wasn't very fun at all! Or flattering for his ego.

But he's so special, isn't he? He still hasn't been caught for more than 3 years! And he's an awesome magician. Not quite as awesome as me, but what can you expect?

I see humility isn't to be expected from you at least. And I'm not sure it's good to praise a criminal for getting away from the police! Just whose side are you on?

KID's of course. I'm his greatest fan. And everyone loves him!

I can think of a few people who will disagree rather strongly…

My opinion is the most important here! Mine!

Alright, alright, if you insist. Why bother asking anyone if you think you're the only one who matters?

I'm spreading my ideology, that's what! Are you a believer? :D

Pft, no way. Good luck with that. It's late, you should rest. Good night.

You better not be doing more work again! You should rest too. Too much work and no play makes Jack a dull boy~

I'm already very boring, according to a friend, so I don't think I can get much worse. Thanks anyway.

GO TO SLEEP!

NO, Captain Capslock. It's just 12 AM. I have work to do. Good night.

Kaito frowned nastily at the reply. Dismissing him when he was merely being concerned for that guy's health, the nerve! It was outrageous, it was.

He flopped over on the bed and flung the phone blindly onto the desk. (Without opening his eyes, he knew that the phone fell down that irritating gap. He'd fix it when he became un-lazy enough to remember to.) He determinedly pressed his face into his comfortable pillow and tried to sleep.

At 12:38 AM, he stormed over to the desk, wrestled out the phone, and jabbed at the keys with clumsy fingers.

GO TO SLEEP ALREADY!

At 12:40 AM, his phone jingled.

YOU WOKE ME UP, YOU BASTARD. YOU GO TO SLEEP.

Smiling smugly, he rolled back onto the bed. By 12:44 AM, he had fallen back asleep.

I had a strange dream today.

It set off Kaito's alarms. Usually, it pleased him when his mystery correspondent started a conversation between them, as Kaito was normally the one to first start the exchange. However, something about this just seemed ominous. He continued reading. The traffic splintered around him, like a river coursing over a fallen stone.

Actually, I've been having them for a while. It usually comes when I have a particularly bad case- when I come too late to save a victim, or something like that. It doesn't happen a lot, but when it does, I dream about it sometimes. This time, it was about drowning.

Kaito paled. He didn't particularly like to hear anything that was possibly related to his only horrors. He steeled himself and read on. This was a cry for help, it was. And he wasn't going to look the other way.

Popular belief dictates that drowning is peaceful. I have no illusions. Drowning is messy, painful and takes much longer than people imagine. And I drown and drown until I wake up gasping. I don't even remember when the dreams begun.

It's fitting, isn't it? I always knew I'm not the kind of person who's going to die peacefully in my sleep. I don't

Kaito's brows furrowed. The message stopped there. Worry spiked in his gut, like a sharp blade slowly slicing him open. Surely he didn't do anything rash- He punched in a reply rapidly.

Hey, are you there? Reply now!

He waited, his heart in his throat. A familiar jingle.

Sorry, I was a bit shaken up and wasn't thinking clearly. Ignore that.

He snorted. Not a chance.

I thought you respected me more than that. 'Ignore me', pft, who would?

The next message took a while. It's not that I believe it in the day time. But at night, after a bad case…

I see. I can't pretend to know how it's like. But please, please promise me you'll get help if it gets more than you can handle.

Kaito waited again. A grumble and some dirty looks from the faceless crowd bumping by him reminded him to move over to the side, where he'd be less of a hindrance to traffic. Somehow, it seemed as though he'd been waiting a lot ever since he start talking to this mysterious person, he mused.

The phone jingled. He snapped it open, eyes moving jerkily over the printed words, then relaxed. Good. He'd promised.

… You believe me?

Why wouldn't I?

Time stretched hugely over the ticks of his watch. Kaito leant against the grey, pockmarked concrete patiently, eyes on the bloody skyline. He wondered idly if his writer was watching the sunset too.

…Thanks.

"You're doing it again," Aoko nodded at his phone. "Staring at it like it'd give birth."

He made a face. What would a phone's children look like? And who'd dare to impregnate his phone? How would a phone get pregnant anyway? He started to snicker.

"What is it?" Aoko stared at him untrustingly.

"Phone sex," he choked out.

"Urgh, grade school humour," Aoko muttered disgustedly. She started a conversation with Hakuba pointedly, leaving Kaito to laugh himself silly.

And then Hakuba just had to ruin his fun, because he was a jerk like that.

"He was probably waiting for a message from his friend," Hakuba said calmly, with a sip of his tea. "The one he's been talking with. The first recorded conversation we witnessed was 3 months, 23 days, 3 hours, 14 minutes and 43.06 seconds ago, approximately. It is surprising that you have maintained such a lasting relationship with someone, and yet we haven't seen hide or hair of the person yet." He observed with a clinical eye.

Kaito fought not to twitch. Be nice, for the sake of your chocolate fudge cake, Kaito told himself sternly. If you insulted him too much, Aoko might get mad and try to decapitate both of them with a dessert knife and they'd be thrown out of the restaurant and won't get their food. Mm, chocolate fudge cake. He wondered if he should add a triple tier brownie to his order.

Aoko blanched and tried to bash herself unconscious headfirst against the table. "Oh my God, you're not having phone sex with your girlfriend, are you? You did not just think of having phone sex while sitting at a table with me!"

Kaito was appalled. Hakuba looked nauseous. "I was not! I was thinking of- er, never mind... But I'd never think of having phone sex with him around," Kaito jabbed a thumb at Hakuba, who was turning alarmingly green. "Urgh- Just turns off the mood."

"Good," Hakuba managed. "Can we stop talking about this now? I never want to think about Kuroba and sex in the same sentence ever." Hakuba shivered.

Kaito grumbled, stirring his drink moodily in quick circles. The ice clacked noisily. "No one was thinking of it before stupid Aoko said it. Besides, I told you it's not a girl!"

Aoko blinked at him. "Oh, my bad. So, a boyfriend?"

"NO."

Hakuba stared at him distrustfully. "Have you ever-"

Kaito uttered a short scream and tried to scratch his eyes out. "NEVER."

Hakuba looked relieved.

"It's just a friend." He said quickly, before anyone else could interrupt him and make strange assumptions.

Aoko and Hakuba looked enlightened. "You should have said so first then," she said reproachfully.

When did I have the chance to?Kaito thought hysterically.

"So, who is it?" Aoko clucked her tongue like an overprotective mother hen. "When will we meet him?"

Why am I getting strange vibes from this, Kaito wondered suspiciously. He shrugged nonchalantly, "Ah, about that…" He explained.

"Wait, you've known him for so long, but you still don't know who he is?" Aoko exclaimed disbelievingly, eyes huge.

Hakuba looked thoughtful. "I could help you find out," he offered. "Something like this is no challenge for me really." He preened subtly.

Kaito felt a prickle of irritation. Hakuba was infringing on his spotlight! He tried to deflate him. "If I really wanted to know, I'd find out on my own," he scoffed, affecting an air of mystery. He was pleased at Aoko's gape. "Right now, isn't it more interesting if I don't know?"

"Not really," Hakuba looked unimpressed. That bastard. He was probably the kind of person who liked reading spoilers for shows, instead of just watching it to the end like a decent human being. No appreciation for a good surprise, really.

"That's right, you should be more careful," Aoko's brows were knitted together in a crease of worry. "What if it's a creepy stalker?"

Kaito and Hakuba snorted. "I'd be more worried for the stalker than Kuroba." Hakuba muttered, downing his tea with a prissy pinky finger stuck out. "The stalker won't know what'll hit him." Kaito scowled at Hakuba.

"Stop talking about him like that," he ordered, pointing his striped straw at them gravely. "He's not a stalker or a crazy or- Oooh! Dessert!" He was instantly distracted, as the aromatic chocolate dish was placed in front of him. He dug in with fervor. Ah, my first and greatest love, he exalted delightedly. Finally, fate has brought us together! Once together, we shall never be parted-

Aoko snorted at him, but he could see the tiniest beginnings of a grin on her and Hakuba's faces. He pulled a face at Hakuba, then went back to enjoying his dessert. Maybe he'd order a triple tier brownie after all. Two servings of it, even. One each for him and Aoko and none for Hakuba, just because. He nodded and did just that.

He wasn't pedantic to the point of that jerk Hakuba, but the date of that message was imprinted in his mind. Maybe because he kept reading it over and over, as if he was mining for hidden meaning.

It was a Tuesday, 3rd June, 11:54 AM.

(He should have known, that guy knew his schedule so well, he wouldn't have sent a message during Kaito's class if he didn't want Kaito to be late in reading it-)

I'll be leaving for a while. I don't know when I'll be back, but I won't be using my phone. Thanks for all this time.

Kaito felt his heart stop. He took in a shuddering breath, then took off running.

(Where are you going, Aoko yelled. Break is ending in 15 minutes! He ignored this, his heartbeat thrumming like a hummingbird's wings in his ears.)

He reached the post office with 7 minutes to spare (44 minutes late). He registered for a post box, blindly filling in the required forms. Finally, he received his post box number. The staff stared at him oddly, but served him with a carefully polite smile. He didn't care (-didn't have time), leaning back in his chair and punching in a reply.

…You're not getting off so easily! I demand letters!

He hesitated, seesawing precariously between a decision, then typed, Why are you going?

I told someone about it. After talking, we made arrangements with my parents. They think travelling will make me feel better and feel less confused. I don't know, but I've been thinking about it more and more, so I told them I'd go. I'm sorry…

Kaito was typing his reply when another message came in.

You don't think I'm running away, do you?

Sure, but sometimes we all need time to find ourselves again. As long as you come back once you're found.

To me, Kaito thought, and was surprised at himself.

Okay.

And that was the last word he had from his writer until a post card arrived on the third day in the morning and Kaito scrambled over his cereal and grabbed the postcard from his surprised mother. Thanks, he told her with a mouthful of cereal, and he looked hard at the magnificent city lights on the front of the postcard, before flipping it over. He stared entranced at the words.

So this is his handwriting, he thought.

His mother yelled at him for talking with his mouth full, but her eyes softened as she saw the first truly bright smile emerge from her boy in the past three days.

AN: Ah… [/laughs] It sounded better in my head. I hope it wasn't too confusing who was saying what line.

This is a two-shot I think. I'll take my time to write this. Thank you very much! C: