Main Pairing: Shinichi x Kaito (ShinKai/KaiShin)

Other/Side Pairings: Slight Shinichi x Ran, Heiji x Kazuha, slight Kaito x Aoko, implied Hakuba x Aoko, and Eisuke x Ran

Warnings: An extremely OOC Kaito, overly long, gaping plot holes, odd definition of "scrying," strange rules regarding magic, random and blatant title theft of a Linkin Park song… oh, and possible grammar mistakes/typos.

Note: This ended up kind of strange because I couldn't decide whether or not to use Japanese honorifics, as the AU is not Japanese but the series is. I ended up not doing so, and thus it says extremely odd things like "Sir Kudou" (as opposed to "Kudou-san").

Also, I couldn't think of a good-sounding name for Shinichi's order, which is why it's called the Verity Order. (As you may be able to guess, the knights in it are supposed to value truth above all else.) And the characters talk like how they always do – no awkward Old English involved.

AND ALSO (yes, there's more!) I included a lot of descriptions and whatnot, which is how this got somewhat overgrown. It has a noticeably slower pace than my writing usually does (I wanted to try a more slowly developing romance for once LOL), so if you don't like that sort of thing, I apologize greatly.

OTL. Please have mercy on this failure of an authoress.

Anyway, I think that's enough (way too much) background info. Hope you like it. - Luna

Castle of Glass

Kudou Shinichi wiped a faint whisper of sweat from his forehead as he raised narrowed, determined eyes up to the top of the next flight of stone steps. It was the middle of July, and being a knight, though generally an honorable position, was not the most desirable profession in the middle of July.

Not only did one have to encase oneself in a ridiculously heavy prison of metallic plates and leather bits that was hotter than any furnace, but one also had to attend the mandatory meetings for one's chosen order.

In Shinichi's case, this was quite unfortunate, as the gatherings for his order, the Verity Order, were held at the highest tower in the castle. Although the tower was fairly romantic and all that, the sweat and discomfort acquired while climbing the ten flights of stairs to reach it were most definitely not.

Shinichi paused in his trek, leaning heavily against the curved stone wall and colorfully cursing the founder of the Verity Order to a fiery death involving two potatoes and a block of wood.

"This is literally hell on earth, isn't it?" The voice came from behind Shinichi, and he, almost too irate to care, glanced back. The tan, sweat-laced face of his best friend greeted him from a few steps lower.

"Oh, hey, Hattori," Shinichi said, words riddled to pieces by the heat and the fatigue.

Hattori Heiji, another knight of the Verity Order, grinned wryly as he climbed a few more steps until he was level with Shinichi. "What, no 'hello' kiss, Kudou?"

"Not on your life," retorted Shinichi, rolling his eyes. "Anyway, I bet Hakuba's going to have your head for being late. You know how he is about time."

Hattori scowled as he resumed walking, Shinichi doing the same. "If I'm late, so are you."

"Hakuba likes me. You, on the other hand, do not have that privilege," Shinichi reminded him. Hattori only growled. It was well known that Hakuba Saguru, the head knight of the Verity Order, and Hattori Heiji did not get along well.

The two knights finally made it to the meeting room, a round stone rotunda furnished with tapestries embroidered with the Verity Order's emblem and a large wooden table ringed with high-backed chairs. Most of those chairs were occupied, leaving only a select few for Shinichi and Hattori.

"You're late, aren't you, Hattori?" Hakuba, seated at the head of the table, commented as Hattori, dark cheeks flushed bright red, sat down. Shinichi followed at a more leisurely pace, half-falling into a nearby chair with a loud clunk of armor.

"If I'm late, so is Kudou," Hattori all but snarled, eliciting a dark glare from Hakuba.

"I'm sure Sir Kudou is only late because you held him up," Hakuba announced, raising a smug eyebrow at the way Hattori looked ready to explode. Shinichi had to hold back a sigh. For all his bravery in battle and aptitude as a knight, Hakuba could be completely petty at times.

"As much as I would love to –" Hakuba inserted a small, triumphant cough here, smirking slightly, "– converse with Sir Hattori here, the reason for this meeting is not only because the Order is due to meet. We have come together to discuss the recent theft of Princess Ran's crown."

There was a ripple among the knights. Shinichi did not bother trying to participate in it. He, being the princess's personal favorite, had all the information he could possibly want on the event. A mysterious letter had been found on her nightstand two days before the crime had occurred, and the servants and the princess had simply brushed it off as a prank. However, as a precaution, they had locked it up in the king's storeroom, which was guarded by a legion of knights day and night.

Yet two days later, when Princess Ran had gone to personally check on her crown, she had discovered it to be missing. The only people to have gone into the storeroom during those two days had been Princess Ran and the king himself. There were no windows or doors other than the ones guarded.

It was truly a conundrum, as the crown was a priceless royal heirloom, made from magically lightened gold and inlaid with a treasure trove of jewels.

Hattori nudged Shinichi, bringing him back to the present. "Well, Kudou, care to share any of your insider's knowledge?"

"Huh?" Shinichi asked, confused by what the tanned knight was insinuating. "Insider's knowledge?"

Letting out a sigh, Hattori reclined as much as he could while incased in armor. "Everybody knows that Princess Ran likes you."

"Uh huh," agreed Shinichi, uncomprehending. "Your point being?"

"Like, likes you, as in wants-to-marry-you-and-make-you-king-of-the-entire -kingdom-of-Beika kind of likes you," Hattori pushed, rolling his eyes at his friend's denseness.

Shinichi laughed. "Oh no. Not at all. We're just good friends. And at any rate, I highly doubt that King Kogorou and Queen Eri would be willing for their daughter to marry a knight from the Verity Order. If they did permit her to marry a knight, he'd have to be the best of the best – like the head of… of the Gallantry Order or something."

Raising a dark eyebrow, Hattori regarded Shinichi dubiously. "I think that the king and queen wouldn't mind having you as their son. And don't sell yourself short, Kudou, you're the best knight in this Order, and I doubt there's anyone in any Order who could beat you at… at anything, come to think of it."

Frowning, Shinichi shrugged. "Well, even if the princess wanted to marry me, I don't think I'd want to marry her. Not because I dislike her," he quickly tacked on at the horrified expression on Hattori's face, "but because I'd probably die in battle and leave her alone. She'd just have to remarry. I'd still want to fight for Beika, even if I was king."

"Kudou, you're just too nice." Hattori shook his head almost disbelievingly, grinning widely. "Thank God I don't have any princesses yearning after me."

"Nope, you've just got Lady Kazuha," Shinichi countered, smirking at the way the other knight went pink at the mention of the pretty, ponytailed lady-in-waiting.

"Now look here…" Hattori started blusteringly, but was interrupted as Hakuba called for attention, pointedly clearing his throat in Hattori's direction.

"So now the Order is going to decide the best course of action in order to retrieve the crown," Hakuba informed. "The first thing we should probably do is unravel the mystery of how the crown was stolen and why it was."

"Isn't the why fairly obvious?" Hattori piped up.

Sending Hattori a look that made a blizzard look warm, Hakuba opened his mouth to give a snarky response, but Shinichi interfered.

"The how is fairly simple, too," he remarked, earning confused looks from his fellow knights. "The who is what I'm stuck on."

"What?" Hakuba stared at Shinichi, wide-eyed. "How?"

Glancing around at the other faces, all mirroring Hakuba's, Shinichi shrank back. "Er – well, I figured that somebody either disguised as the princess or the king and got into the storeroom and then walked right out of the castle. Maybe the person re-disguised as a random castle worker leaving to work the fields or something in order to not be questioned as he or she left."

"But that's –" Hattori began, but Hakuba cut him off.

"Who could do that?"

Lifting shoulders heavy with armor, Shinichi said, "I was thinking something along the lines of a sorcerer or magician who specializes in disguise magic, but I don't know of any – Hakuba, are you okay?"

For the blond knight had risen to his feet with a clang, looking slightly pale. "I can think of one who would probably do something like this, maybe to spite me."

"Huh? Who?" Shinichi wondered.

Hakuba turned eyes dressed in irritation towards him, though Shinichi could tell the irritation was not directed at him. "An old… er… acquaintance of mine from my childhood days. We lived in the same orphanage until I was adopted. He was always practicing magic from an old book that had been donated and he was good at it, too." A shadow crossed the already annoyed expression, and Hakuba rubbed his eyes with leather-covered fingers. "Unfortunately, he was the most maddening bastard to ever exist. We were pretty much rivals."

"Where is this person now?" Hattori asked, and for once Hakuba didn't take the chance to mock him.

"He lives in the Ekoda Forest, near the western part of Beika," Hakuba said, now massaging his nose bridge.

"Hold on… the western part of Beika… the Ekoda Forest…" Hattori said slowly, appearing to be piecing something together. Suddenly it seemed to come together in a flash as his eyes widened and he whipped around to stare at Hakuba. "Wait, you couldn't mean –"

"Are you referring to that infamously insane Magician Under the Moonlight? That magician?" Shinichi interjected, surprised. He hadn't expected Hakuba, the intensely righteous knight of the Verity Order, to have ever known the Magician Under the Moonlight.

The Magician had developed a reputation for being completely out of his mind or, in a more euphemistic way, quite eccentric. Shinichi himself had never laid eyes on him, but the rumors that the Magician performed a string of hijackings of jewels and returned them all within minutes had reached even him. The weirdest thing was that they were always performed at midnight, which is what earned the Magician his name.

The Magician also was known for his flock of trained doves and his oversized rose garden. Rumor had it that the doves were travelers who strayed too close to his home, and the red roses were formed from their blood. Needless to say, most people tried to stay away from his part of the forest.

Finally unclenching his nose, Hakuba nodded and sighed.

A thought suddenly occurred to Shinichi, and he asked, "Is he really good at disguising? I don't recall anything about him being good at that."

"He is," Hakuba confirmed. "He impersonated me as he stole apples far too often for me to forget. The orphanage's headmistress never could tell if it was me or him, so both of us usually got punished for his thefts."

"Oh," Hattori said, at a loss for words.

"What is his actual name, if you don't mind me asking?" Shinichi queried curiously.

Hesitating, Hakuba admitted, "Kuroba Kaito." He rose. "I'm going to go get permission from King Kogorou in order to get a warrant for that damn Magician's arrest. We march on the Ekoda Forest tomorrow morning at dawn."

"Shinichi!"

Shinichi, about to don his helmet over his cowlick-studded head, glanced around and finally looked to his rear. A beautiful girl, with long, rich brown hair partially tied back and clad in a silk dress, hurried up behind him.

The knight instantly dropped the helmet onto his bed and dropped into an uncomfortable, armor-hindered bow. "Princess," he greeted formally. "What brings you to my quarters?"

"Oh, stop it, Shinichi," the princess insisted, amused but still concerned. "I heard that Sir Hakuba got a warrant for the Magician Under the Moonlight's arrest. Are you going?"

"Excuse my impertinence, Princess, but why else would I be wearing battle armor at this hour?" Shinichi grinned, still managing to retain a semblance of sardonic respect that Ran frowned at. He picked up his helmet again, saluted her, and started out of the room.

"You better be careful, Shinichi. I've heard about that Magician. He's dangerous," Ran persisted, following him down the hallway. "You really need to be careful, you idiot!"

"Of course, Princess," Shinichi tossed absently over his shoulder.

"Kazuha gave me some anti-magic charms for you and Sir Hattori, you know. You should take them."

Shinichi stopped and looked back, taking the aforementioned charms, which appeared to be small bags on flimsy strings, from her slender hands. "Thank you, Princess," he thanked as he resumed his walking and she her following, "but I won't be dying anytime soon. You'd miss me too much, after all."

The dainty, high-heeled footsteps clattered to a stop. "You idiot Shinichi!" the princess yelled, though Shinichi could detect a blush in her tone. "Saying things like that! I was stupid to worry about you!" The footsteps jump-started as she fled.

Shinichi, having turned at her outburst, only watched as the tail of her dress disappeared around a bend in the corridor. Shaking his head regretfully, he restarted his stroll, putting on his helmet as he did so. "I'll never understand girls."

He finally made it to the front garden, where the rest of the Verity Order was gathered amongst the dew-clad grass and damp statues.

Hattori clapped Shinichi on the back as he joined the ranks. "Hey there, Kudou."

"Hey, Hattori," returned Shinichi. He selected one of the charms still in his grasp and extended it to the tanned knight, who gave Shinichi a bemused glance as he accepted it and deposited it around his neck.

"What's this?" he questioned as Shinichi did the same, tucking the bag underneath his breastplate.

"Precautions, or a gift from Lady Kazuha," answered Shinichi. Hattori rolled his eyes before both turned their attention to Hakuba, who stood at the front of the crowd explaining their course of action.

"We will all be leaving for the Magician Under the Moonlight's home in the Ekoda Forest, as previously stated," the head of the Verity Order was saying, "and I will present the Magician with the warrant. If he comes peacefully, there is no need to fight, but if he does attempt to resist, you are to do restrain him without injuring him unnecessarily. Understood?"

The knights nodded in agreement, murmuring confirmation, and Hakuba gave them all a last lingering look before he turned and mounted his horse. The rest of the Order followed on foot.

It was a two hour-long journey to the Magician's home, and Shinichi and Hattori passed the time by telling each other riddles and logic puzzles.

Shinichi was just about to delve into one involving blue and white hats and three sages when the knight in front of him halted, causing him to bang into the other's pauldron. Scowling as Hattori snickered, Shinichi barely heard Hakuba as he called, "We've arrived."

And indeed they had. At a distance in front of them, in the middle of an enormous clearing, loomed the illustrious home of the Magician – a large, two-story affair, surprisingly well kept and painted a vibrant blue.

Before its intricately carved chestnut door sprawled a massive rose garden – or something vaguely resembling it – comprised of gorgeous roses in every color and shade imaginable. The entire thing, house and garden, was encircled by a faded white picket fence, seeming out of place and dull against all the colors of the roses.

Shinichi could only gape at it. He had been so engrossed in the riddles that he hadn't realized they had walked into the Ekoda Forest long ago. The forest was slightly dark and already had a mystical feel to it, which was only heightened by the tall redwood trees that stood all around, their foliage shading out the sunlight. But the house and the garden were…

A snap to his left informed him that the knights had resumed walking, and Shinichi struggled to catch up with the thudding, fast pace.

Hakuba dismounted and opened the small door of the picket fence, weaving his way through the roses before reaching the door. Raising a hand tentatively, he paused for a moment before rapping hard on the door.

After a few moments suffused with bated breath and the nervous clink of armor plates, the door yawned open. It was impossible to see what whoever opened the door looked like, as he stayed concealed in the darkness of the house.

"Well, well, well, Hakuba, it's quite nice to see you again after so long," a voice, presumably belonging to the Magician Under the Moonlight, resonated from within the house. "And you brought friends, though I assume they're part of your order. Is it really true that they made you head of an Order? I always thought the royal family was a little off."

Shinichi decided that the Magician knew exactly what buttons to press in regards to Hakuba. Even from his position in front of the rose garden, he could hear the blond knight grinding his teeth in exasperation.

"Kuroba," Hakuba finally said through teeth firmly clamped shut, "I have a warrant for your arrest on the grounds that you stole the princess's crown. This is not a social visit."

"What a shame. I don't get too many visitors."

"I wonder why," spat Hakuba viciously.

"Hey now, no need to get all angry," the Magician exclaimed, though Shinichi could easily discern the notes of smug satisfaction littering his tone. At his side, Shinichi could also feel Hattori grinning.

"Even if he's a criminal, I kinda like this guy," the other knight whispered, and Shinichi had to stifle a smirk at that.

"I'll give you two options," Hakuba announced, and Shinichi could tell he was losing patience – fast. "You can come willingly or we can take you by force."

The Magician pondered the two ideas for a moment. "Neither sound too fun."

"Pick one and let's go with it," ground out Hakuba, and probably all of the knights could tell their leader was desperately hoping the Magician would choose the second just so he could smack him.

"I think I'll take that third option," the Magician finally decided, surprising all of the knights, including Hakuba.

"Which would be?" the blond inquired cautiously, hand suddenly resituating near the scabbard of his sword.

"This," the Magician replied, and suddenly, the entire Order began to collapse around Shinichi and Hattori. At the front door, Hakuba seemed to brace himself against the doorframe, eyes narrowing in a blend of annoyance and desperation, before he too succumbed to the Magician and fell with a sigh.

A gasp falling from his lips, Shinichi kneeled to examine one of the nearby knights, heart in his throat. He was intensely relieved when he discovered that the knight was in a deep sleep, breathing steady and eyes firmly closed. It was clearly the Magician's doing, and probably the effect of a sleeping spell.

"Hey, what the hell's going on?" Hattori half-shouted, obviously disturbed by the fallen knights.

"Don't worry, they're only sleeping," Shinichi hurriedly reassured, rising back to his feet so the two of them could face the Magician, who seemed to finally notice they were still standing.

"Oh, you two… You're much smarter than the others, huh? Wearing anti-magic charms when going to subdue a magician," he observed, still hidden in the shadows.

"Just a precaution," Shinichi countered. "Wouldn't want to get caught unawares, you know."

"I see," the Magician agreed. "Just give me a moment…"

"To do what?" Hattori asked, hand creeping towards the handle of his sword.

"Oh, you know, the charm," the Magician responded, and Shinichi realized what he meant a second too late. Before he could issue any sort of warning, the Magician had thrown a small, bladed object, aimed directly at the string of the charm around Hattori's neck. Probably fueled by magic, it lifted the string off of Hattori's collarbone and cut it within the span of a second. The charm clung to the edge of Hattori's breastplate for a moment before surrendering and dropping to the damp earthen floor with a soft thump.

Hattori gasped as it fell, and suddenly, his green eyes began to fall closed. "Ku – dou –" he managed.

"Don't give in, Hattori!" Shinichi commanded before, without warning, running straight for the Magician. He crossed the rose garden in seconds, reaching the still-obscured man, sword drawn and point drifting at his throat. His hand was buried in the folds of the man's shirt, having hoisted him out of the house and into the dappled sunlight.

He was surprised at what he saw, eyes widening behind the visor of his helmet. The Magician's face looked astonishingly like his own, though Shinichi's cheekbones were a whisper higher and the Magician's eyes were a few hues too indigo to be a perfect match. He was also young, probably only a bit younger than Shinichi, and his hair, a deep, dark brown, was messy, a bit spiky around the edges and wavy at other places.

A moment of silence passed, the only sound being Hattori struggling against the spell.

"My, my," the Magician got out, appearing to be recovering from shock. "However…"

Shinichi, suddenly feeling the slightest touch of metal against his neck, started and turned to see a small blade, probably the same type as the one that had disarmed Hattori, hanging suspended in the air by his neck. Atop it rested the string of his charm, ready to be sliced in two.

"It appears we're at a standstill, doesn't it," the Magician stated casually. Oddly… amicable.

"It would," affirmed Shinichi. Behind him, Hattori stammered another, "K-Ku-dou…"

"Ah, so you would be the esteemed Sir Kudou?"

"I would."

"It seems that you're a member of Hakuba's order."

"Yes, the Verity Order," Shinichi elaborated.

"You are here to arrest me."

"Indeed. Though we're only really here to reclaim the crown."

"Oh, you mean this?" the Magician asked, and before Shinichi could act, he snapped his fingers, and the glittering crown materialized in a shower of multicolored lights. It danced teasingly beside Shinichi's head.

"That would be the princess's crown, so yes."

"Ah." A thought seemed to occur within the Magician's mind, and he grinned. Dangerous. "I propose a deal, then."

"What… kind of deal?" Shinichi did not find the grin to be very trustworthy. His sword point advanced a millimeter closer to the Magician's throat.

The Magician gave a strained smile. "Now, now, Sir Kudou. I will return the crown to the storeroom as well as leaving these knights unscathed –" (Hattori made a choking sound, and Shinichi winced) "– since I have no further use for it."

"What do you want from us?" Shinichi demanded, seeing no downsides to the proposition.

"Give me a minute, Sir Kudou. In return, I ask only a small thing. In fact, it's so small that I don't think it's really anything –"

"What is it?" growled Shinichi, beginning to lose patience.

The Magician gave him a wounded look. "Please, have some patience. In return, I ask that you take the place of the crown."

It took Shinichi a full thirty seconds to comprehend exactly what the Magician meant. "You want… me? In replacement of a priceless crown?"

"I could kill all of these knights instead by replacing the sleeping spell with an instant death hex. Of course, you may be able kill me faster than I could switch them," the Magician said calmly. "May, of course. It's a gamble you'd have to be willing to take."

Shinichi was torn. Glancing to his side, he saw Hakuba's face, crinkled with panic even as he slept. Behind him, Hattori managed a, "Don't… do… it… K-K-Ku… dou…"

It was the deciding factor. Shinichi released the Magician, who dropped to his feet gracefully. "I see."

Sheathing his sword, Shinichi turned to Hattori, who was wide-eyed in desperation as he fought against the lure of the Magician's spell. "Tell everybody what happened."

"Ku… dou…"

"Tell Ran that… that I'm sorry. Tell her I'll come back eventually. Got it, Hattori? Tell her. Tell them. You… you have to." He was nearing the point of hysterics, but Shinichi managed to contain himself, swallowing heavily.

Hattori's eyes were wide and green as he muttered a last, "Ku – dou – no –"

Behind Shinichi, the Magician snapped, and Hattori, the knights, and the crown all dissipated into golden dust, the air around them squirming uneasily as they were teleported back to the castle.

Forcing down his stomach, Shinichi turned to face the Magician, who was regarding him with an unreadable expression. "So you're willing to sacrifice your own happiness and possibly the rest of your life for an order led by Hakuba of all people."

"It's not my life, anyway, it's just my damn happiness. And you wouldn't understand what being a knight's about anyway. Honor and glory and chivalry and… and verity," Shinichi retorted sourly as he yanked off his helmet and nearly threw it onto the ground, dropping down onto a patch of grass amidst the roses. At the moment he was feeling nothing by animosity for the Magician. "Why did you want me, anyway?"

The Magician kneeled beside him. "Some people spend their whole lives wanting to be happiness, Sir Kudou. And it's true that I wouldn't understand anything about being a knight, but what you just did had nothing to do with being a knight. It was… a… matter of the heart." He placed a faltering hand onto Shinichi's shoulder before quickly drawing it back. "I'll be inside. You can have the second floor to live on."

A minute later, Shinichi came upon the realization that the Magician had never answered his last question.

By the time Shinichi had finished murdering himself mentally (multiple times), it was a little past noon. With a yawn that cracked his jaw, he glanced about, remembering that he was sitting in the Magician's rose garden, still dressed in his armor. Underneath it, Lady Kazuha's charm collected his sweat, growing damp.

Because he was hungry (and it was sweltering), Shinichi gathered himself up, trying to retain as much dignity as possible as he strode over to the front door and opened it warily. But the appearance of the entry startled him. It was an impossibly spacious wood-paneled room, with high ceilings and a grand staircase near the far side. The sides of the entry were dotted with a multitude of doors, leading into rooms Shinichi could only guess were just as overly extravagant as the entry. A variety of mismatched chairs and ancient-looking chests were scattered around.

He gawped. There was no way that the rooms and the entryway all fit into that blue house he'd seen behind the rose garden.

One of the doors collapsed inward, and the Magician emerged, peering nervously around the entry. When his gaze landed on Shinichi, he started, wide-eyed for a second before stepping out of the room. Shinichi inattentively noticed how his slender hands woven together in an unconscious display of discomfort. "Uh, hi... I made some lunch. You can come have some if you'd like." His voice echoed around the wide lobby, slithering into Shinichi's ears and making both magician and knight cringe.

Shinichi, not exactly how to respond to such an amiable peace offering, gave an awkward sort of half-nod. The Magician replied with the same, turning and returning into what Shinichi guessed to be the kitchen. Still staring around the impossibly large foyer, Shinichi padded after him, the soles of his armored feet clanking metallically against the wood floors.

The room was airy, with ceilings the same height as those in the entry. To the right, a kitchen resided, lounging lazily by a brick fireplace. To the left, a table displaying an array of pastries and stews stood sturdily, accompanied by a group of matching chairs. Shinichi was surprised at the simplicity of the room in comparison with the extravagance of the entrance hall.

"You should take off your armor before you sit down. I don't know if the chairs can handle it," the Magician said, startling Shinichi.

"Ah, sure," Shinichi agreed, and he began to remove his armor. Unfortunately, it was quite difficult, considering the number of ridges and grooves on his gauntlets, and he floundered, tugging at the latches and ties with irritation and slightly embarrassment as he realized the Magician was staring at him.

The Magician cleared his throat. "Need some help?"

Blinking at the unexpected humanity, it took Shinichi a moment to return with a, "Would you? That would be quite… er… helpful."

"No problem," the Magician coughed, inching up to him and beginning to work away at the plates with nimble fingers, starting at the shoulder and working down. The knight restrained a blush upon noticing that the Magician had kneeled to take off the – er – lower armor and was now awkwardly close to… er…

The Magician abruptly backed off, taking a few steps back. Shinichi raised an eyebrow, spotting the loosely dusted pink adorning his cheeks.

"It's faster this way," explained the Magician, and Shinichi jumped as he realized his armor was now disassembling itself and dropping into a heap by his side.

"Oh… okay," Shinichi replied, at a slight loss for words. He was also annoyed upon realizing that he had worn light-colored linen underneath his armor, which was painfully see-through at varying spots due to the day's massive amount of sweating. The string of Lady Kazuha's charm was also uncomfortably damp and only another reminder of how he'd ended up in this completely ridiculous situation.

The Magician had already turned and advanced on the table, leaving Shinichi to scramble after him.

Shinichi sat down a second after the Magician did, noting that he had accidentally sat down exactly opposite of the other. He swallowed. This was certainly going to lead to some discomfiting moments. While his vehemence from earlier had faded, he was acutely aware of that he still harbored some sort of dark feelings for his host.

There was a pause as the Magician and the knight both stared down at the still steaming dishes lain out on the table. Shinichi took a quick peek up and made the momentary mistake of making eye contact. The Magician's indigo eyes seemed to be boring a hole through him. Shinichi quickly tore his gaze back and reached out to grab a small loaf of bread in a natural attempt to dispel the discomfort.

He took a small, cautious bite out of the smooth surface, expecting the worst. His eyes, which had been clenched tightly closed in preparation, snapped open at the surprisingly delicious flavor and unusually soft texture of the bread. Eyes shooting up to reconnect with the Magician's, Shinichi downright gawked as the Magician bit into a fig pastry.

The Magician looked up, meeting Shinichi's wide-eyed gaze with one startled and suffused with confusion.

"Something wrong? It's been a long time since I cooked for someone other than myself, so if it's not very good…" The Magician said after a few long seconds.

The knight jumped to defy him. "No, no, it's really good. That's why I was a little… er… taken aback," Shinichi quickly clarified, going pink. "I wasn't really expecting… you know." Throughout his stammering, his hand subconsciously crept behind his head to scrub at his moisture-hugged hair in an action of embarrassment.

The Magician watched him, seeming at a loss for words. Finally he calmly intoned, "…Oh. Well… that's good."

The rest of the meal was passed in a slightly (but only slightly) less awkward silence.

"So I can show you the second floor, where you can stay," the Magician said after lunch. Shinichi nodded wordlessly.

The two entered the entry, and Shinichi walked up the stairs behind his host. The second floor hall was much like the first floor entry, the only difference being that the hall was much narrower.

The Magician trotted up to the first door on the left. "This room is the only guest room, so it'll be yours." Twisting the artfully tarnished brass doorknob, he pushed open the elaborately carved door and motioned for Shinichi to follow him in. Shinichi complied.

The room itself was much like the kitchen; it was expansive with a breezy feel to it, though simply furnished with only a large bed draped in plain sheets, a vast two-door wardrobe, and an oak desk huddled up in one corner. To the side of the desk, a wide bay window was wedged into the wall, providing a view of the rose garden and the rest of the Ekoda Forest. There was a less exaggerated door by the bed, which Shinichi presumed led to some sort of a room with a bath tub.

"It's… nice," admitted Shinichi, breaking the stillness.

At his side, the Magician nodded. He hesitated for a moment before informing Shinichi, "The rest of these rooms are pretty much empty, so you may do whatever you please. Downstairs are my room, the kitchen, as you know, my personal laboratory, and then the other rooms have some books."

"Books?" The word instantly caught Shinichi's attention, and he turned to look at the Magician in the eye. He advanced a few steps. "What are they on?"

Looking a bit startled by Shinichi's sudden intensity, the Magician stuttered, "I've got some on history and some on potion brewing… maybe some on the plant life of this forest… But most of them are on magic theory and spells."

Magic, huh? "Could you take me there?" Shinichi asked, stepping even closer.

The Magician blushed, quickly moving back a few steps. He averted his eyes, causing Shinichi to raise an eyebrow but still pursue him. "Of course." He turned and began to lead Shinichi back down the steps and back to the many doors.

He slowed at the one beside the kitchen. "This is one of them." Gesturing at the one precisely across the lobby, the Magician added, "That one is also a library, and so is the one to its left." He swallowed before he queried, "Would… Would you mind… er… terribly… if I accompanied you?"

Somewhat shocked by the request, Shinichi watched the Magician. The other's eyes were studiously pressed to the floor, refusing to meet Shinichi's. Even with his face tipped down, Shinichi could see the pink locked in his cheeks.

Something that definitely wasn't pity yet was undistinguishable as anything else bloomed in Shinichi's chest. With a gentle smile unconsciously latched on his lips, he reached out and ruffled the Magician's surprisingly soft hair. "Sure, I don't mind," he agreed, feeling the Magician's head tense beneath his fingertips.

Shinichi calmly squashed down the red that threatened to rise in his cheeks as he strolled into the library, succeeded by the messy-haired brunet.

He also squashed down the feeling of confusion over the fact that his black feelings for the Magician had been forgotten in that short minute.

The words were swimming laps in Shinichi's head, splashing and disturbing his thoughts. He sat – or rather hunched – in one of the Magician's armchairs, a dusty tome slumped open across his lap. His eyes darted from one word to the next, simply inhaling and digesting all of them. Every now and again, his right hand, hovering unconsciously by the bottom corner of the book, would separate the cracked yellow pages and flip one, his eyes never stopping their journey from line to line.

The book was part of a family of nearly three hundred siblings, all crammed inside this room. The walls had been carved into cubbyholes, categorizing the books by subject and content. A good number of them had been extracted from their spots and arranged in stacks around the few armchairs. The Magician was curled up on another of those armchairs, neighbored by a few short towers of books. He appeared to be deeply engrossed in a book on common enchantments.

The volume Shinichi was reading was one he had particularly sought out – one on the art of scrying – for obvious reasons. He was desperate to contact the castle and check if everyone was okay and if the Magician had actually returned the crown.

Still, Shinichi remarked listlessly to himself as he kept reading, he had to admit that he had long since discovered how to conduct a basic scrying and was simply reading for the information. He had always been a bit interested in the complexities of magic, though he'd never showcased it. Though there were court and defense magicians, knights were held in much higher esteem, and thus Shinichi had never considered learning magic.

A quarter hour later, Shinichi decided it would be best to attempt the scrying. With a slightly remorseful exhale, he closed the book and placed it back down on top of a dusty copy of A Treatise on the Aeternus Enchantment. Noticing the stiffness in his joints and the ache in his neck for the first time, he approached the Magician, who looked up, startled at the sound of movement.

"Yes?" It was odd, Shinichi thought to himself, to hear a voice again after such a period of prolonged silence.

"Do you have any glasses for scrying?" Shinichi asked.

The Magician regarded him for a long moment before replying, "I believe I've got some in the trunk by the right of this room's door. Are you going to…?" He trailed off as Shinichi nodded seriously and started for the door.

Swinging the door open, he glanced about and located a worn chest that appeared to be made of long-dead driftwood. Kneeling by it, Shinichi lifted the top gingerly and reached in, fingers disrupting a colony of disgruntled papers and finally unearthed a round globe about the size of a swollen orange. He pulled it out and inspected it. As a scrying glass it would be more than sufficient, though his first instinct was to polish it off with his sleeve.

He returned to the library, feeling the Magician's gaze reattach to him the moment he stepped in. Shinichi hesitated for a second before sitting back down in his vacated armchair. Setting the glass ball in the groove between his legs, he reopened the book on scrying and flipped through the pages. It was a minute before he found the basic instructions for a communicative scrying again.

Still sensing the Magician watching him, Shinichi flicked his head up and cast him an irate glance, which he ignored quite openly. With a small sigh, Shinichi reread the directions for a third time.

Obtain a scrying glass. While many prefer to use liquids, the most effective form of scrying requires a glass sphere. Shinichi nodded, taking a short second to look down at the scrying glass sitting in his lap.

After obtaining the glass, it is necessary for skin contact in order to relay the mental communication. Touch the glass. Swallowing, Shinichi pressed his fingertips to the cool surface of the glass.

Now it is time to form a mental connection with your subject or place. For human scrying, it is best to try with somebody you know well and have a strong link to. You will need to call out to the person's conscience. If the connection is formed successfully, the person will be able to see you in his surroundings, possibly in a mirror or a reflection. If you are trying to connect with a place, you must simply picture the place as you last recall it. Shinichi closed the book and placed it back on top of the treatise.

Who should I try it with? Shinichi wondered. Hattori instantly sprang to mind.

Feeling vaguely awkward (though there wasn't much of a reason to), Shinichi thought, Hattori? Hattori, can you hear me?

Only silence returned. With a small growl, he thought, Hattori, I'm damn sure you're there at the castle. You have to hear me, you bastard.

Another silence. Feeling maddeningly helpless, he mentally shouted, Damn it all, Hattori! I know you can hear me!

A jolt of an odd, foreign, almost painful feeling suddenly coursed through him, buzzing from his head down his arm and congregating at his fingertips. Shinichi had to grit his teeth in order to keep from jerking his hand off of the scrying glass.

The clear glass clouded, suddenly painted with vivid, dark colors. Shinichi appeared to be looking up from one of the castle garden's ponds, up at one of the stone benches. Two figures were entwined while sitting on that bench.

"Wait a sec…" Shinichi said aloud, momentarily forgetting the strange feeling pooling at the ends of his fingers. Squinting, he suddenly broke into a grin as he realized the two people were Hattori Heiji and Lady Kazuha.

The sphere was growing warm, beginning to transmit sounds from the other end. Hattori's voice, unusually gentle in contrast with his usual brashness, grew louder inside the Magician's library, echoing slightly. "– it wasn't your fault, Kazuha. Kudou isn't stuck with that damn Magician because of your charm, really. It's because of it that the crown was returned safely."

"But now Sir Kudou is stuck with that awful Magician for forever because of the charm! Stuck with that – that hateful, thieving bastard!" sobbed Kazuha, her words choked by her mouthful of Hattori's shirt. (Shinichi pushed back the urge to look at the "awful" Magician's reaction.) "If I hadn't given it to him, both of you would've been knocked out with the rest of the order and just sent back home… and then the orders could've… could've came up with another plan…"

Hattori was patting her shoulder when he finally looked down at the pond and appeared to go through a series of violent spasms, almost knocking Kazuha off the bench with his sudden flailing.

Kazuha's eyes lifted to the knight's tan face. "Heiji? Is there something wrong?"

"Uh…" Hattori seemed to stall for a moment before saying, "I'm sure Princess Ran is broken up over Kudou's – er – situation. Now you need to be strong for her." Glancing at Shinichi's apparent image in the pond out of the corner of his eye, he gave her shoulder a last pat. "I sincerely doubt that anybody would blame you for what happened. I don't think Kudou would, at least."

"You really think so?" the lady-in-waiting sniffled, eyes large and glittering. She was undeniably beautiful at that moment in time, and Hattori seemed to freeze, holding back some sort of urge, as she rose to her feet. "Thank you, Heiji. Even though you're a complete idiot at times, you're really a good person." Gifting him with one last teary smile, she turned and walked off.

Watching her skirt float out of the edge of the glass, Shinichi remarked, "I see things have advanced with her."

"This is no time for that!" a red-faced Hattori sputtered, nearly diving into the pond. "How can you be… what are you doing? How are you in the pond…?"

"I'm testing out some magic that I read about in… er… well, it's nothing. I need to know about the situation at the castle."

Hattori blinked. "Er – well –" He looked over his shoulder. "Well, King Kogorou and Queen Eri are completely outraged…"

"Really? I always got the sense that they didn't like me," muttered Shinichi.

"The princess is shattered, and Hakuba is ready to murder anything that stops him from marching on that blasted Magician's place again." Hattori punctuated the sentence with a roll of his eyes. "That's one thing we can agree on."

"That's not what I meant," Shinichi interrupted. "Are all the knights safe?"

"What? Oh, yes. Of course. We're all ready to kill that damn Magician, though." Seeming to happen upon some sort of a realization, Hattori scanned the pond. "Hey, where is he?"

"About three feet away, listening to everything you say. Has the crown been returned?"

"Wait, what? Where is he? Did you say he's listening –"

"Hattori, has the princess's crown been returned?"

"Uh, yes…?"

Shinichi sat back, relieved. "That's good. You guys don't have to come for me, then. If everybody's okay and the crown's been returned –"

"What the hell are you saying, Kudou? Are you suggesting that you're okay being with that insane Magician for the rest of your natural life?" An expression of complete disbelief and fury masked Hattori's face. "Look, you don't need to sacrifice anything. We can all march on the Magician's place again –"

"No," snapped Shinichi. "He could kill all of you and retake the crown, and for what? One person's happiness?"

"He couldn't –"

"Yes he could," Shinichi countered, almost forgetting that the Magician was sitting close by. "Think. He couldn't just teleport the crown from the storeroom when he was stealing it, could he? But he could when he was returning it. He needs to have come into contact with his target only once before he can perform remote enchantments. He's come into contact with the entire Verity Order now, and possibly some of the castle occupants from when he was escaping with the crown. I refuse to lead so many people to their deaths just so I don't have to stay with somebody."

Shinichi stopped, chest heaving with effort.

Hattori was watching him keenly and continued to do so for a few heavy seconds. Finally he said in a slow voice, "Kudou… you do realize he could kill you at any time. The only thing standing between you and death is a charm on a string."

"I am aware of that," Shinichi answered calmly, free hand unconsciously reaching up to press against the string around his neck. He drew in a long breath before speaking with conviction he certainly didn't feel. "But he won't kill me. Don't come back for me."

His fingertips chose that point to fall away from the glass, remnants of that feeling humming excruciatingly through his arm. Shinichi watched, feeling quite drained, as the picture of Hattori's familiar, tanned face, drawn up in surprise, faded.

Shinichi exhaled. He stood on very shaky legs, gripping the arm of the armchair for support as he set down the scalding scrying glass down on top of the recently closed book on scrying. Was magic always this taxing?

Suddenly remembering the Magician's presence, he looked up and made eye contact. The Magician was sitting statue still, face void of expression except for a nearly unnoticeable glint in his indigo eyes.

"How do you know I won't kill you?" he questioned, sounding the tiniest bit hollow.

For a frightening second, Shinichi thought the Magician was going to kill him, right then and there, but he pulled on a weary smile anyway. "You're not that type. You're a… well, you're not... Oh, I don't know anymore." Bowing his head, he started to stagger out of the library.

The Magician's voice stopped him in the doorway. "You know what, Sir Kudou?"

"What?" Sleep was becoming quite alluring, and Shinichi fought to keep his eyes open. Just like Hattori had earlier that day, he thought sardonically to himself.

"I would…" A pause. "…be… grateful, if you would consider calling me Kaito. My name, after all, isn't Magician Under the Moonlight."

"Ka… Kaito?"

"That is how you pronounce it, correct." The Magician's voice held a tinge of sarcasm.

Shinichi, unsure of how to respond, was quiet for a minute. Finally, he responded, "If I call you Kaito, you have to call me Shinichi." The Magician – Kaito – started, as if to protest, and Shinichi felt the need to add, "None of my friends… I mean, nobody calls me Sir Kudou. It… doesn't feel natural."

There was quiet before Kaito agreed, "Okay. We have a deal."

"Got it… Kaito." Shinichi advanced a few paces before glancing back just in time to see Kaito crossing the room to pick up the book that was underneath the discarded book on scrying. What was that one on again… "A Treatise on the Aeternus Enchantment," right? Why is he reading it?

Shrugging and nearly holding his eyelids open, Shinichi left for his new room.

Eyelashes brushing against his skin, Shinichi frowned. Was it just him, or was his bed much more comfortable than usual…? He was…

He shot up, eyes widening as breaths tore off his lips. He was still wearing his linens from yesterday, and he was stuck to unfamiliar sheets. He was in the Magician's house. Or… Kaito's? He had some vague recollection of the Magician asking him to call him Kaito… and he had asked to be called Shinichi, despite that nobody but Ran called him that…

"Oh God," Shinichi groaned, rubbing his face as his abruptly head gave a massive pulse of pain that dwindled into small waves of agony. He reached up to cup his forehead and discovered that his head was completely soaked with sweat and his forehead was burning. He didn't remember doing anything that might cause something like this. He was growing more and more uncomfortable by the second, his headache increasing and sweat pouring off his skin.

A knock on his closed door made Shinichi flinch and look over at it. "Come in," he croaked, voice cracking as he massaged his head. The door opened, and Kaito stood in the doorway, head tilted in anxiety.

Shinichi took a second to appreciate how attractive – wait, what? – his host looked when rumpled and concerned before he collapsed back down onto his pillow. "Good morning," he got out between jagged breaths. What's happening to me?

There was the pattering of footsteps on wood, and Kaito stood over him, eyebrows slanted downward over disturbed indigo eyes. A cool hand descended down, landing on Shinichi's scorching forehead. Shinichi closed his eyes, enjoying the feeling before the Magician drew his hand back.

"I thought this might happen. Suddenly using large magic like scrying after only a few hours of study isn't good for your body. You're going to have to go through a period of sickness while your body changes to allow magic."

"What?" panted Shinichi.

An exhale. "Magic is a wild force that can be harnessed through imagination-based spells. It has to pass through your mind in order to be usable, though. Most minds are incapable of giving passage and some require many years of prepping before they can. However, yours is able to allow magic through with only a few hours of preparation. While that is quite extraordinary, the consequences of it are that your mind is a bit confused about the sudden magic and needs to rearrange into a position that's comfortable for both your sanity and the passage of magic. In order to do the rearranging, it's temporarily shut down, leaving the rest of your body unattended, which is causing it to mess up some of its functions and thus cause this illness."

"I didn't get any of that at all," Shinichi huffed. "Can you… do something? I feel really, really… hot." He expelled a hard burst of air from his lungs. "Would you mind taking off my shirt or… something?"

Kaito blushed violently – or at least Shinichi thought he did (it could've easily been a feverish illusion). He reached over timidly and pulled off Shinichi's shirt quickly, leaving him dressed in only pants, the charm, and sweat.

Hurriedly standing up, Kaito said, "I can get some ice and food, but it's probably best not to use any healing magic or potions on you. Introducing more magic to your body will probably make it worse."

Shinichi wheezed some sort of reply as Kaito exited the room.

A half hour later, Shinichi's eyelids had long since fallen shut, and his bare chest, glistening with sweat, rose and fell with shallow breaths. Hearing the sounds of someone entering the room, he pulled his eyes open and watched as Kaito walked in, levitating a tray of ice and bread, a small side table, and a chair behind him. He placed all of them at Shinichi's bedside before dropping down into the chair. "Feeling better?"

"Yep, I completely recovered in thirty minutes," Shinichi said, giving a pained smirk edged with somehow friendly derision.

"If you're well enough to be sarcastic, then you're certainly better," stated Kaito, rolling his eyes. He produced a towel out of nowhere and nestled some chips of ice into it before bundling it up and placing it on Shinichi's boiling forehead.

Shinichi let out an uncharacteristic mewl at the cool sensation. "Thank you for this," he suddenly thanked.

"It's honestly nothing," Kaito replied.

"You know, I really thought you were a hateful person, you know?" His voice sounded far away, somewhere away from his rational thoughts. For the life of him, he couldn't think of a reason he was telling Kaito this, but he wasn't in control of his lips anymore. "But you really aren't, are you? You're just lonely, aren't you?"

"Not anymore. I've got you, haven't I?" Kaito's response shocked Shinichi, somewhere far in his lost thoughts, but his lips only smiled. The motion made the towel of ice fall awry, landing by his ear.

"That right, you do. You have me now."

Reaching down, Kaito gently slipped his hand underneath the moist curtain of Shinichi's bangs to check his temperature. "You're not going up or down, so that's good. You should just rest now." Resituating the towel back on Shinichi's forehead, Kaito made to rise, but Shinichi caught his wrist.

"Stay with me," he commanded. In his feverish state, he saw Kaito's eyes widen. "Don't leave."

Kaito blushed pink, but he sat back down. "Okay."

Shinichi's eyes closed slowly. "Thank you."

The last thing he saw before he found himself in a dream was the indigo of Kaito's eyes, and the last thing he felt was the smooth skin of Kaito's palm against his.

Shinichi woke up during the late afternoon, if the long shadows painted across his floor were any indication. He sat up cautiously, the now-dry towel dropping down at his side. Most of the headache was gone, leaving only vestiges of discomfort. He was about to stand up when he realized he was holding something and something was pressed against his leg.

Glancing down, he was surprised to see that Kaito was slouched across his lap and that he was holding his hand tightly. The Magician was sleeping peacefully, face mostly relaxed and lips just the slightest bit parted.

Still, Shinichi could see the small downward pull of his eyebrows and the slight darkness beneath his eyes. His hair was more ruffled than usual, bearing testament to some kind of worry.

He was really quite attractive, Shinichi decided fondly to himself, placing his unoccupied hand on the other's head. A second later, Kaito stirred and moved, indigo eyes slowly opening.

"Good evening," Shinichi greeted serenely, hurriedly lifting his hand off of his head.

"You're awake?" wondered Kaito, the words slightly netted with sleepiness. He made to rub his eyes before realizing that one of his hands was being tightly clutched by Shinichi's. Eyes widening and stammering incoherently, the Magician appeared to fly backwards, gaping at Shinichi.

Shinichi hid a smirk as he slung his legs over the edge of the bed. "How many days has it been since I first got sick?" he queried.

The Magician stopped babbling, composing himself and wiping the blush off his face. "About two, I believe. You woke up a few times, but you just… er…" The blush returned, and Kaito turned away. "…said some weird things. That's all."

Weird things? Trying gauge what exactly Kaito meant by that, Shinichi stood up on legs quivering from underuse. "Well, I'm awake and much better now."

Kaito nodded, his back still facing Shinichi. "That's… good."

"It is, isn't it?" Shinichi strode up behind his lookalike and swung an arm over Kaito's shoulder, forcing him to face Shinichi. "Let's go get something to eat, okay?"

For some reason, Shinichi didn't particularly like it when the Magician refused to meet his gaze.

"Hey, what are you reading, Shinichi?"

Shinichi growled upon being disrupted in his reading. Closing the book, he set it down before leaning his head back, over the back of the armchair, in order to glare at Kaito. "I'm reading the same thing I was reading two minutes ago, Kaito. Is that really so surprising?"

The Magician laughed. "How should I answer that, exactly?"

It had been four months since Shinichi's arrival at the notorious Magician Under the Moonlight's home, and since then the two had come to be... Shinichi hesitated using the word "friends," as they felt closer than that, but he still shied away from using "brothers."

During those months, Shinichi had learned quite a lot about the Magician. The reason he stole the jewels – and the crown, in that case – was to find a legendary gem called Pandora, which was said to grant immortal life. According to Kaito, there were a lot of people after Pandora, none of whom had good intentions. He figured it was safer if he found Pandora before those people and kept it safe. Still, he was seen as a criminal and classified as insane.

In turn, Kaito had heard about Shinichi's past, how he had been from a line of knights of the Verity Order and had started training when he had been only six. Both of his parents had died only two years ago. He also heard stories about Hattori, Hakuba, Kazuha, and Ran. Shinichi still remembered Kaito's somewhat unusual reaction to the news of Shinichi's involvement with Ran.

"You're friends with the crown princess of Beika?!" Kaito had half-yelled when Shinichi had offhandedly mentioned Ran.

Taken aback, Shinichi had nodded. "Yes… we were close during our childhoods, and we still are – were." He had given a small chuckle, reminiscing. "A lot of people predict – predicted that we would eventually get married. I think some of them still do."

Kaito's expression had changed at that, morphing into an indifferent mask as he had muttered an "oh," very nonchalantly. "I see."

After that, Shinichi avoided the topic of Ran. After all, he didn't like it when Kaito was depressed.

The two of them also enjoyed practicing magic together, though, quite obviously, Kaito was much more proficient in that area. Occasionally they'd have duels, almost all of which were won by Kaito.

Shinichi smiled inwardly as Kaito tried to steal his book out of his grip. He had been quite startled by the Magician's childlike, outgoing personality, but over time he had come to find it normal.

He had long since abandoned wearing Lady Kazuha's charm.

"So you're reading… Theory of Imaginative Spells? That's pretty dry reading, Shinichi," Kaito commented, handing Shinichi back the book. "Why don't you choose something less… scientific?"

"If you think it's so horrid, why did you buy this book?" Shinichi countered, cracking the book back open to his spot. "You could've saved a bit of money for 'less scientific' material."

Kaito laughed, a sound that made Shinichi smile. "Yeah, well, maybe it was a gift. I'm going to start making lunch, if you care."

"Poppy seed bread would be appreciated," Shinichi called after the Magician's retreating back. Hearing a faint, "Okay, okay," Shinichi, still wearing a smile, turned his attention back to the book.

The chapter he was finishing up was on compressing space, which Shinichi guessed was how Kaito had managed to fit all of the huge rooms into the house. Physically it would be impossible, but with magic, it was completely feasible. He turned a page, passing casually over a few complicated diagrams.

The next chapter was called Qualities of Imagination Enchantments, and Shinichi debated skipping over it. He had flipped a few pages when the words impossible to alter captured his attention.

"Hm?" Shinichi bent closer, his eyebrows suddenly angling downward.

The consensus reached by most magical theorists today is that it is impossible to alter the qualities of a spell and replace them with another. This goes against the uniqueness of an imagination spell, a category which encompasses almost all spells. To alter an imagination spell is…

Shinichi stopped reading at that fell back against the armchair, stunned. If what he had just read was true, then all those months ago, Kaito would've been unable to change the sleeping spell to an instant death hex… the threat had been empty?

Maybe he was wrong, Shinichi forced himself. He might not've read this book.

Yet a voice was nagging him that it was impossible for the Magician to not have known this. It was a basic part of imagination spells, the only kind the Magician knew.

Stop it, Shinichi, Shinichi reprimanded himself, feeling his heart pounding a rhythm in his throat. If you start suspecting Kaito, then the relationship or whatever you've been building up with him is all for nothing.

In an attempt to calm down, Shinichi moved to the next chapter, Limitations of Imagination Spells, and began scanning it with eyes that weren't absorbing. Suddenly a few words struck him once more. He felt his heart plummet down, back into his chest, as he forced himself to read the paragraph carefully.

Imagination spells are extremely limited in that they are unable to change an organism's permanent state of being due to the fact that the human imagination, though strong, cannot change the flow of life through thought only. Sleep spells and illness hexes are possible as their effects are temporary, but it is impossible for a person to resurrect or kill anything through an enchantment alone. There is no known spell that results in the death of the subject.

It felt like time had stopped. Shinichi stared blankly down at the words. It is impossible for a person to resurrect or kill anything using any kind of enchantment. It's impossible for an instant death hex to exist.

The threat of killing everybody by changing the sleeping spell to an instant death hex… was a complete lie.

Kaito lied to me.

Shinichi was on his feet and storming into the kitchen before he knew what he was doing. Rage was bubbling up in his chest as he stopped at the dining table. Kaito looked up from where he was setting down a platter of poppy seed rolls, the amused, "What is it, Shinichi…?" melting right off his lips as his expression turned confused.

He reiterated it, this time seriously. "What is it, Shinichi?"

Shinichi only threw Theory of Imaginative Spells down onto the table, grabbing its corner and violently turning it to display the page on qualities of imagination spells to the person he had, minutes earlier, trusted his life with. "Care to explain?"

Indigo eyes read the indicated paragraph. There was a pause and a careful evasion of eye contact. "Is this about the… deal we made four months ago? I guess this must've been a mistake on my part." Kaito's voice was soft – but Shinichi could hear, almost see the shadows of guilt it cast.

Wordlessly, Shinichi flipped a few pages until he reached the part on an instant death hex being impossible. He pressed his index finger to the lines. "Did you make a mistake on that part, too?" His voice rose in volume. "Did you?"

Kaito slowly lifted his gaze, and Shinichi let out a rattling breath. "Kaito."

"We need to talk," Kaito stated.

"Like hell we do," Shinichi returned, words holding tightly suppressed anger. "You tricked me, for whatever reason, into throwing my life away. For nothing."

"Sit down," Kaito ordered, moving around the table and towards the door. "I'll explain, and…" He chopped the sentence in two and ate the second half as he exited the room.

Fuming, Shinichi sat down, glowering at the book. He almost wished he hadn't picked up that one. It would've almost been easier to not face the truth and live in blissful oblivion. "Knight of the Verity Order," he scoffed to himself.

Kaito's footsteps tapped into the room, and soon the Magician was seated across from Shinichi. He was holding a leather-bound volume, which he placed gently down on the table.

Skimming the title, Shinichi instantly recognized it. "A Treatise on the Aeternus Enchantment." His tone was accusatory. "You were reading this the first day I got here and did the scrying of the castle."

"Yes." Kaito nodded. He leaned back in his chair and then said the last thing Shinichi was expecting:

"Do you believe in love at first sight?"

"What?" Shinichi's first instinct was for his mind to go blank.

"Do you believe in love at first sight," repeated Kaito, moving to rest his elbows on the table.

"No. It's highly illogical that you could fall in love after only seeing someone," Shinichi replied, rage momentarily forgotten. But only momentarily, as he remembered he was angry and scowled at the Magician.

Kaito nodded. "Neither did I, which is why I cast the Aeternus enchantment on myself when I still lived in the orphanage with Hakuba."

"What is the Aeternus enchantment?" asked Shinichi with words stamped out in iron.

"It's a spell that gives you mental alarms when you meet the person you're to eternally love. The reason why I cast it on myself was because I thought I was destined to be with a girl named Aoko, but she wasn't in love with me in the least. I decided I wanted to know if and when I met the one I was meant to be with."

"What the hell has that got to do with me?" Shinichi demanded.

Blushing as he swallowed hard, Kaito answered, "The Aeternus enchantment began giving me alarms when I… when I met you."

Speechless, Shinichi could only stare at Kaito. It took him a dozen seconds to formulate a comprehensible sentence. "A-Are you saying that we're… that we're destined and fated to be together? We're eternally in love? Just because of… of some enchantment?"

"I didn't think that you would stay with me if you didn't have to. So… so that's why I lied that way. I knew you were going to figure it out eventually, but I still… I didn't want to let you go. I would apologize, but I'm not sorry."

"You… I don't…" Shinichi was having difficulty articulating.

"You should go, now that you've found out the truth." Kaito presented him with a firmly set jaw. "I trust you know where to go."

"But…" Shinichi stuttered helplessly, finding it difficult to take it all in.

Kaito's eyes were steady. "I'm now certain that the Aeternus I cast way back then was influenced by my imagination now. I… I fell in love with you at first sight, however illogical it may seem, and my imagination convinced the Aeternus that we were fated. That's why it went off." He looked down. "But we're not. I… you're free to return to your Princess Ran."

"But…" All anger had dissolved. Shinichi was now just completely confused.

"You should leave," suggested Kaito lowly, his eyes obscured by his bangs. "You really should leave. Go back to the castle and forget this ever happened."

"I…"

"Please." The word cracked as Kaito said it.

"I'm –"

"Go," Kaito insisted, and Shinichi suddenly found himself glowing golden as the air around him wriggled, preparing to teleport him.

"Kaito –" Shinichi started to protest, but the Magician looked up, staring at him with desperate indigo eyes.

That was the last thing he saw before he felt himself dissolving into dust.

Shinichi awoke to find himself lying on his back in the middle of the courtyard. The sky above him was blue and cheerful, a combination Shinichi frowned at.

"Kudou?" A familiar voice startled Shinichi, and he turned, realizing he was clad in his armor. It felt unusual and heavy to be wearing armor again.

Hattori was running towards him, with Kazuha and the rest of the Verity Order not behind him. "Kudou, oh my God, it is you!" He stopped short and yelled at Kazuha, "Get the Princess!"

"She's with Prince Hondou at the moment, you idiot!" Kazuha retorted, then turned back to Shinichi. "Sir Kudou, you're alive! You've returned!"

Struggling into a sitting position, Shinichi managed a jaded smile. His heart gave a pang. "Yes, I believe I have."

A feast was held that evening, filled with laughter and merrymaking. Shinichi had never realized how many people in the castle he influenced and was surprised at how many attended his return feast. Maids who he might've exchanged three words with, as well as lesser members of various other Orders, all bombarded him with questions, all of which he attempted to answer as briefly as possible.

King Kogorou was surprisingly teary at his return, saying something like "The damn brat… we've missed him so much!" and getting scolded by Queen Eri. Hattori refused to leave his side, Kazuha brought him a sample of every dish at the feast, Hakuba insisted on sitting beside him, and Ran, who had launched herself into his arms at first sight, kept stopping by to check on him.

Yet Shinichi felt something was missing, and it was irritating him. He kept subconsciously looking around, as if trying to find someone. This made Hattori ask him if he was all right and Ran to make even more visits.

Shinichi was biting into a dry, overcooked poppy seed roll when the answer came to him.

He was looking for Kaito.

This realization sent a sharp jolt of pain right as his heart, and Shinichi forced himself to swallow the bread.

"Kudou, are you all right?" Hattori asked for possibly the twentieth time in the last fifteen minutes, and Shinichi almost gave him another "yes, of course" before Hattori added, "And stop lying. You're not all right. What's wrong, Kudou?"

Shinichi turned to look into his friend's immensely concerned gaze and pasted on a smile. "It's nothing."

Time had certainly moved on, Shinichi noted to himself as he watched Hattori and Kazuha walking through the snow-blanketed castle garden hand-in-hand. It had been around a month since his return to the castle, and Shinichi was all too aware of the changes that had happened during his four-month absence.

Hattori and Kazuha had begun courting, something Shinichi found vastly amusing. Hakuba had finally brought his own lady to the castle, a pretty girl who looked vaguely like the princess. And Ran… Ran had moved on.

Shinichi had noticed the amount of time she spent with a prince from a neighboring kingdom, Prince Eisuke. He noticed how she had drifted away from him, and how Hattori's jokes of "you'll make a fine king, Kudou," had begun to stop.

It was endearing to see Ran with the somewhat klutzy yet lovable prince, and Shinichi wasn't jealous in the least, despite that he had the feeling most thought he was. He had never been in love with her, and he had always been in love with… with…

Deciding to finish his stroll through the garden rather than the thought, Shinichi rounded a bend and came across the scene of Ran and Eisuke locked in a very tight-looking embrace. Shinichi let out a reflexive cough, and the two jerked apart, both blushing bright red.

"This isn't – Shinichi! I can…" Ran stumbled over the words, and Eisuke attempted the same.

"It's okay, you two. I'm honestly happy for you. When will the wedding be?" Shinichi wondered.

The prince and princess exchanged bashful glances. "Soon, we hope," Eisuke answered.

Shinichi nodded. "Good – that's good," he commented, not sure of how he should act.

Frowning, Ran shot Eisuke a look, which he skillfully interpreted. "Well, I'll see you later, Ran," he said, turning to hurry through the garden.

Ran stole up to Shinichi, gripping his arm. "Shinichi, are you okay?"

Giving her an odd look, he replied, puzzled, "Of course. Why would I not be?"

Hesitating, Ran explained, "Most people thought we would get married eventually."

"And you did too, Princess?" Shinichi raised his eyebrows.

"Hey now, for a while I did fancy you," the princess admitted, slightly pink.

Shinichi laughed. "We never would've worked, Princess."

"Whatever! That's in the past now," Ran half-shouted, waving a delicate hand dismissively. "But anyway… everybody's been worried about you. You've been… different since you got back from the Magician's place. You don't talk as much, and you read about magic, of all things. You're always lost in thought, and you're always looking around like you're… like you're searching for something you desperately want." Her eyes narrowed. "Or somebody you desperately want."

Slanting the princess a look, Shinichi gave a small, choked laugh, briskly averting his gaze. "Well, you're much more perceptive than most people give you credit for."

"Shinichi, I am a girl. I can tell when somebody is in love." Ran paused. "You are in love."

"You're like a human Aeternus," Shinichi muttered, grinning mirthlessly.

"What did you just call me?"

"Nothing, Princess," coughed Shinichi, gently pulling his arm from Ran's grasp. "I'd best be going now."

As Shinichi started to leave, footsteps crunching in the snow, Ran called out, "Shinichi…"

He halted and waited.

"If you're in love with him… you need to go back."

"He's the one who told me to leave," retorted Shinichi.

"But if you love him, then you should've at least told him before you left!" Ran yelled, seemingly exasperated with his intense maleness. "Listen, Shinichi. Go back to the Magician's house, tell him how you feel, and if he rejects you, then you can come back here. If you don't go or if you don't stay when he accepts it, I swear I will banish you from Beika."

Shinichi turned, aghast at her threat. "You're really scary, you know that?"

The princess smiled girlishly. "Just a true romantic." Her expression darkened. "Now go."

"All right, all right! Explain to the rest of the castle for me," Shinichi quickly agreed. With a sharp burst of golden light, he cast a teleportation spell, watching as Ran's eyes widened.

"Wait, you can do magic?!" she shrieked, and that was the last thing he heard before he disintegrated.

When his eyes finally opened, the familiar sight of the Magician's entry nearly made Shinichi's heart break with happiness. He concentrated for a moment, disassembling his armor silently and propping the pieces up against the wall. He could smell something baking, and Shinichi smiled as he made his way into the kitchen.

The familiar face of the Magician, slouched in one of the kitchen chairs, was somehow soothing and word-shattering at the same time. Kaito didn't look up as Shinichi approached quietly.

Indigo finally met tanzanite when Shinichi stood a foot away from the table. Kaito's eyes grew wide. "Sh-Shinichi?" he asked in a shocked whisper.

"Kaito," Shinichi replied, and he couldn't restrain himself as he swept up the Magician in his arms and kissed him senseless. The Magician struggled, letting out an "mmph!" underneath Shinichi's attack before capitulating into the kiss.

When Shinichi finally pulled back, he admired how Kaito was flushed and breathing hard, blinking over and over again.

"Why are you here? What was that for?" he stammered, trying to free himself from Shinichi's grip, a feat that Shinichi did not let happen.

"I want you to know that I love you more than life, and I would like the honor of staying with you forever." Shinichi spoke calmly and quickly, his heartbeat speeding up. "If you would accept me, I promise I will love you to the best of my abilities. I will never get angry with you, I will hold you when you're scared, I will kiss away your tears. I will love you with all my heart." He paused. "What do you say?"

For the moment that Kaito was quiet, Shinichi felt his heart hammering in his ears, the thrumming of blood through his fingertips, and he tasted the last traces of Kaito on his tongue. He was hyperaware of the floor beneath his feet, the touch of air on his skin, the scent of baking bread emanating from the table...

And then Kaito grinned, nodded, and said, "That sounds perfect."

A smile was on Shinichi's face before he realized it. He leaned in and pressed a soft kiss to his Magician's lips. "It does, doesn't it?

That was just about the longest fan fic I've ever written, and it took me a ridiculously long time to write. You know how Semantics hasn't been updated in a while? That's because I was writing THIS failure.

Hm. I feel like this had potential at the beginning, but I ruined it with too much description and then a rushed ending. I have the feeling this would've made an excellent chapter fic, but no, I wanted to do a oneshot.

I wrote about half of it today, since I was like, "You know what? Let's finish it." But it was quite painful, so I tried to finish it quickly. And then by the end I was too sick of it to reread it and proofread, and now it's a huge fail. There are a ton of glaring plot holes, so let's please ignore them, all right? Kaito was also extremely OOC, even for me, so... uh...

Okay, well, hopefully you liked it. I'm currently so tired I can't think straight, so bye now. Off to take a Tylenol for my headache and sleep.

- Luna