White Knight

Pairing: Kaito x Shinichi

Rated T, although may be borderline M, for suggestive scenes and language.

Sequel to Shaking Red, but can stand alone. The original multi-chapter version, Black Jurisdiction, has already been deleted because I thought it lacked detail and was waaaaay too fast-paced.

Summary: Kaito hates those moments when he realizes he is helpless to do anything but sit by Shinichi's bedside and hope he wakes up. KaiShin.

Kaito's eyes abruptly flew open. He sat up with a sharp gasp, his heart slamming fearfully against his ribcage as the last remnants of his dream faded from his vision, and were replaced by the familiar surroundings of his and Shinichi's bedroom at the Kudou mansion. The back of his neck was damp with cool sweat, making his hair stick to it unpleasantly. It took a few seconds for the magician to calm down enough to assure himself that it had only been a dream, no matter how real it had seemed. He ran a frustrated hand through his bangs.

He flinched as a surge of imaginary fire blazed up in front of him, the details of his nightmare standing out starkly against his mind - Shinichi, tackling Snake into a building, losing his life in the ensuing explosion that blasted the warehouse to pieces - and had to bite down on his lip to muffle the involuntary sob that rose unbidden in his throat. He flopped back down on the bed, fighting back the tears that were beginning to blur his vision. When he turned his head, his wide eyes were caught by a half-lidded, sleepy blue gaze staring at him from Shinichi's face.

"What's wrong, Kaito?" Shinichi slurred, his voice thick with drowsiness. An arm snuck out from the covers and pulled the magician close to him so he could bury his face into Kaito's chest. Kaito managed to pull up a small smile at the cuteness of his boyfriend's action. He wrapped an arm around Shinichi and crushed their bodies together under the covers. Shinichi made an unintelligible noise as Kaito's chin came to a rest against his head, the magician's nose firmly planted into the brown field of Shinichi's hair. He drew in a lungful of Shinichi's comforting coffee-and-paper scent.

"…Just a nightmare," Kaito mumbled quietly, squeezing his boyfriend tightly. "You… you… you died." He didn't realize he was shaking until he felt Shinichi's hand snake up to rub slow circles into his back. He felt Shinichi's head shift a little as the soft, dark-brown locks slid past his nose. Shinichi's warm lips kissed his collarbone comfortingly.

"It's alright, Kaito," the detective whispered against his skin, his hand continuing to move soothingly against Kaito's back. "It was only a nightmare."

"I know, but…" Kaito choked on his own words as his helplessness, his despair over his inability to save his boyfriend from the explosion, crashed over him again. He whimpered and tightened his grip on Shinichi's body. It was just a stupid dream, but gods, he couldn't get it out of his mind! "Just… just let me hold you like this for a bit," he said, his voice sounding strangled.

The detective was silent as Kaito reassured himself that Shinichi's death had only been a figment of his imagination. Kaito's fingers trailed down the curve of his spine, taking a small detour to slip under Shinichi's night shirt and stroke gently against heated skin. Shinichi was not a ghost, apparition, phantom, or spirit. He was a living, breathing human being with warm flesh and blood, whose kisses always left Kaito flushed and breathing as though he had just run a marathon. He wasn't dead. Kaito's sigh of relief echoed through the dark room.

"Go back to sleep, Kaito," Shinichi said, his calm voice and magic hand beginning to lull Kaito back to sleep. The magician blinked drowsily.

"Mm, Shinichi?" he mumbled, so quietly that the equally sleepy detective nearly missed it.

"Yes, Kaito?"

"…Don't ever leave me."

Shinichi paused momentarily with his ministrations. He smiled against Kaito's exposed skin and curled up tightly against him. "I won't," he said, dragging the magician into a heated kiss. Kaito pressed into him eagerly, his hand wrapping around the base of Shinichi's skull so the detective couldn't pull away.

A soft moan emitted from Shinichi's mouth as Kaito pulled away. When Kaito leaned forward to latch on to the detective's neck, Shinichi said breathlessly, "Kaito, we should be sleeping-"

"Can't sleep anymore," said Kaito, rolling them over so Shinichi was underneath him. "Let's just indulge ourselves now."

"But I have work tomorrow-" Shinichi's protests were cut off as Kaito divested him of his shirt, and from there he knew nothing else but the darkness of the room and Kaito's warm weight settling on top of him.

Kaitou Kid's next target was the Dragon's Eye, a brilliant jewel that sparkled in a myriad of colors when held up to the light. If one examined it closely, the jewel seemed to swirl on the inside with a mystifying opalescence, rather like the myth of a dragon's eyes shining with pearly iridescence. It was big, shiny, and worth millions - a gem practically tailor-made for a thief like Kaitou Kid. The week it was announced to be on display at the owner's home, a Kaitou Kid calling card magically appeared on the owner's desk the next morning.

When the fire star falls silent

The enigmatic phantom prince shall arrive

Chasing after a legendary landscape.

-Kaitou Kid (caricature)

The owner, a rich business man named Tocchi Kohaku, had immediately called the Ekoda police and informed them of Kid's latest notice. Nakamori Ginzou quickly figured out the heist notice because it wasn't too difficult this time: 'fire star' referred to Tuesday, 'falls silent' meant at midnight when Tuesday was officially over, and 'legendary landscape' had to refer to the Dragon's Eye. The second line was obvious - who else would the thief refer to as an 'enigmatic phantom prince' except himself? Egotistical son of a bitch.

As Tuesday night rolled around, Kaito was getting prepared to launch his heist. Shinichi had already gone ahead to Tocchi's home to do his own scouting of the man's place, sniffing out every possible escape route that Kid could use to make his getaway. Kaito grinned, recalling their short, amused exchange of words before parting:

"Catch me if you can, Meitantei Shinichi."

Shinichi had smirked back at him, and replied, "Escape me if you can, Kaitou Kid-san." Then he had left.

Kaito pulled his hat low over his eyes so the top half of his face was enshrouded in shadows. With Shinichi at the heist, tonight was bound to be a thrilling and challenging experience for the phantom thief. Luckily Hakuba was out of the country for a case in London, so he and Shinichi could enjoy their own game of cat and mouse, just between the two of them (the police were just ants on the sidelines - none of them were any real threat to him, not even Nakamori-keibu, for all his bullheadedness).

He crouched in the shadow of a nearby building, examining the place of his heist with a critical eye. The police were gathered at the entrance, listening raptly to an enthusiastic Nakamori-keibu.

"Alright, men! Tonight, we will finally arrest that damn thief!" the inspector roared, pumping his fist into the air. "You have all been handpicked by me and given my personal mark of trust. Kid is not among you. Now, protect the Dragon's Eye and give Kid a run for his money!"

The echoing cheers of the Kaitou Kid Task Force made Kaito grin. Nakamori-keibu never changed.

The heist was a success. Kaito laughed gleefully as he led the police on a wild goose chase through the mansion, sending a dummy flying out the window of the top floor for them to go after. He wanted to have some time for just him and Shinichi, who he had lost track of a while back.

He took a few steps down the hall in the direction he knew the door to the rooftop was, but paused when a familiar voice spoke up behind him, "Going somewhere, Kid?"

Shinichi stepped into view from around the corner, pinning Kaito with a sharp blue gaze. Kaito smiled at him indulgently.

"Why, no, Meitantei." Kid's trademark grin crawled over his face. "I was merely taking a stroll in the moonlight."

Shinichi snorted softly. "You're not going anywhere," he said, walking towards the phantom thief. He held out his hand expectantly. "Hand over the jewel you stole, Kid." He stopped a few feet away.

Kaito tipped the brim of his hat over his eyes so that only the tip of his nose and the stretch of his Kid grin could be seen. "You'll have to catch me first, Meitantei~!" he sang, taking off down the hallway. Rapid footsteps behind him indicated that Shinichi had wasted no time coming after him. The game was on.

Laughing, he sprinted across the last stretch of corridor to the gray door leading to the roof. He yanked the door open and jumped up the stairs, two at a time. The door being smashed into the wall sounded behind him. Shinichi was close. He briefly snuck a glance to where Shinichi was leaping over the stairs with his long legs, a light sheen of sweat beading on his neck and forehead. Kaito had to refrain from running back down the stairs so he could tackle his boyfriend. No, their confrontation would take place on the roof, where they would be out of the public eye.

At last, flushed, panting, but with eyes alight with excitement, both Kaito and Shinichi made it to the roof. Shinichi crossed the last meters of distance between them with quick strides, coming nose to nose with the thief. Kaito's breath momentarily hitched at their close proximity, wanting nothing more than to lean forward and kiss the detective senseless. Shinichi's narrow blue eyes carried a gleam of… something (maybe hunger, maybe amusement) that thrilled him down to the core.

"You can't escape from me, Kaitou Kid," Shinichi murmured, his coffee-laden breath washing over Kaito's face. Kaito gulped audibly. Shinichi was so close, blue eyes burning with amusement, almost pressing himself against Kaito's body. Oh god. Shinichi took a step forward so that his leg cut between Kaito's legs, his thigh pressing just-barely against the curve of Kaito's groin. Kaito almost went cross-eyed. He pressed his lips together. If that wasn't a blatant invitation to kiss the detective, Kaito would eat his cape.

The Dragon's Eye jewel completely slipped his mind as he grabbed Shinichi's shoulders and smashed their lips together. Nobody was around to see them, anyway.

The heat was intense; Shinichi's mouth was hot, inviting, and slick against his. It was wonderful - Kaito's mind was filled with a pleasant sort of fog as Shinichi sighed into the kiss and wrapped his arms around Kaito's neck. Under the moonlight, they were no longer a thief and a detective; they were Kuroba Kaito and Kudou Shinichi, the lovers. Shinichi's leg nudged against Kaito's sensitive spot, making him release a light moan.

When they parted, Kaito was inordinately pleased to note Shinichi's lightly disheveled state, completely with lips swollen from kissing and a dazed glaze coloring his brilliant blue eyes a shade darker. He was infinitely glad that he had been shot down by Snake all those months ago. If that hadn't happened, he never would have met Shinichi, and he never would have known the joy and the thrill that came with their relationship. He smiled at his boyfriend, and pressed a kiss to his cheek. Shinichi's cheeks tinged pink. He opened his mouth to say something…

…and abruptly slumped in Kaito's arms, motionless.

Panic exploded in Kaito's mind. "Shinichi? Shinichi! Hey, wake up! Shinichi! Shinichi!" he yelled, shaking the unresponsive detective. Fear invaded him, turning his insides icy. He was about to hoist Shinichi up so he could carry him to a more secluded place, but froze when his gloves met something warm and slick. Trembling, he brought his hand up to his face. It was stained red.

He quickly turned the detective around so he could examine his back. There, to the left of his spine, was a neat little hole where blood was quickly blossoming outward, staining the detective's suit a horrible crimson color. Oh god, Shinichi had been shot. Oh no, no, no. This couldn't be happening. Not to Shinichi, his brilliant detective and lovely boyfriend. Kaito's mind went into overdrive and, uncaring that he was still clad in his Kaitou Kid costume, utilized his hang glider to soar to the nearest hospital in record time. He didn't notice when the Dragon's Eye slipped out of his pocket and fell to the ground below, where it would later be recovered by a baffled police officer.

He barely remembered to change out of his suit and into more casual clothes before he rushed through the doors, shouting that he needed a doctor fast because Shinichi had been shot. Shinichi was quickly taken from him, placed on to a gurney, and hooked up to the proper medical equipment (including an oxygen mask). A team of nurses wheeled him into the emergency room. Before he went in, one of the surgeons told Kaito to patiently wait outside for the results. "We will do our best to save him," he said.

As the doors closed and the red light overhead blinked on, Kaito could only pace restlessly across the floor. Don't leave me, Shinichi, he pleaded silently. You said you wouldn't. A world without Shinichi in it to brighten up his life - Kaito didn't think he would be able to handle it. The detective was as integral to the central core of "Kuroba Kaito" as his magic tricks, even though Kaito had only known Shinichi for about a year. If Shinichi died… Kaito shook his head furiously and picked up the pace. No, he had to be positive. Shinichi would be okay. He would live.

The hours dragged by, torturously slow. Kaito was unbelievably antsy. After an hour of continuous pacing, Kaito had flopped onto a bench and absently began to run through some of his basic tricks. Anyone who went by would see cards, coins, and rings appearing, disappearing, being juggled, and pulled out of all sorts of strange places. It kept Kaito's hands occupied as he waited for news of Shinichi's surgery.

"Mister, are you okay?" Kaito was startled out of his thoughts when a child's voice sounded next to him. He turned to look down at the little girl standing to his right, peering up at him with childish innocence. "You look really sad."

Kaito tried to force a smile on his face, but the thought of Shinichi lying on the operating table in the emergency room, possibly close to death or dying, prevented any hint of a grin or smile from showing itself on his face. "That's very perceptive of you, ojou-chan," he said softly, popping a white rose out of his fist and handing it to her. The little girl squealed in delight. "You see, my friend got badly injured and they're trying to fix him up right now."

"Oh." The little girl stared at him. She patted his knee in an attempt to comfort him. "I think your friend will be okay. He's strong, right?" She grinned at him, fiddling with the white rose in her hands.

Kaito looked surprised. "Yeah," he admitted, a genuine smile finally surfacing on his face without a struggle. "He is."

The little girl beamed. "You're smiling!" she pointed out, giggling delightedly.

Kaito didn't quite understand how it was possible that the young child could cheer him up so much, but he was glad she came and talked to him. The dark cloud of depression that had been hovering over his head the past few hours had mostly dissipated. "Thanks, ojou-chan. What's your name?" he asked.

"I'm Ayumi!" the little girl declared. A semi-guilty look crossed her face, and she shuffled her feet. "Well, me and my friends snuck out of our houses so we could visit a classmate of ours. Don't tell anyone, okay?"

"I won't. It's nice to meet you, Ayumi-chan. My name is Kuroba Kaito, magician extraordinaire," said Kaito, standing from his seat and bowing to her.

The little girl stared at him, starry-eyed. "You're a magician?" she asked excitedly. "You can do magic tricks, too?"

"But of course," Kaito said smoothly. He couldn't help the grin that broke over his face as Ayumi sat on the bench and gave him her complete attention. Well, a couple tricks wouldn't hurt. Shinichi was still in the emergency room, after all.

But before he could start his impromptu show for the grade schooler, the red emergency light blinked off. "Sorry, ojou-chan! Maybe another time," he said hastily, rushing over to the doors of the ICU. A tired surgeon emerged from the doors, wiping the sweat from his brow. "Doctor! How is he?" Kaito asked, skidding to a stop in front of him.

"You're… the one who came in with the patient?" asked the surgeon.

"Yes, that's me."

Kaito almost sagged in relief as the surgeon smiled at him and said, "The operation was a success. It was very lucky that he got brought in so quickly - he hadn't lost enough blood to need a blood transfusion. He was also incredibly lucky that the bullet hadn't gone any lower, otherwise it would have hit his heart. His vitals have been stabilized, and right now he should be sleeping off the anesthesia. He should wake up within the next couple of days."

"Thank god," Kaito breathed, slumping against the wall. Shinichi was alive. He hadn't left him. He lifted his head and met the surgeon's eyes. "Can I… see him?"

"Not yet," said the surgeon. "He's being wheeled to a room at the moment. You can visit him later - I highly suggest that you go home and get some much-needed sleep."

Or I can just sneak in disguised as a nurse, Kaito thought. He was feeling exhausted though; between the heist, Shinichi getting shot, and his anxiety over Shinichi's surgery, he didn't get a wink of sleep.

"Is your friend okay, Kaito-niichan?" Ayumi's voice piped up behind him.

Kaito flashed her a brilliant grin. "You were right, ojou-chan. He made it through the surgery," he said gleefully, kneeling so that they were eye-level.

Ayumi clapped her hands together happily. "Yay!" she cheered. "See, I told you your friend would be fine!" She skipped merrily back down the hallway, waving once to Kaito. She met up with two boys who looked to be the same age as her, and the three left the hospital.

Kaito headed towards the bathroom, intending to change into some nondescript clothing so he could blend in easier. He would find out where Shinichi's room was, and sneak in once all the doctors and nurses left. Shinichi might need his rest, but surely he would recover faster with his boyfriend there to support him.

He found Shinichi's room in no time. There were two nurses currently inside the room, make some last minute checks on Shinichi's stability and the condition of the medical equipment hooked up to him. From his position, Kaito could faintly hear the steady beep of the heart monitor through the half-open door. Shinichi's heart rate was slow and rhythmic, an indication that he was alive, and just sleeping. Kaito was glad.

The nurses finished checking on Shinichi and finally left. Kaito made sure he was out of sight before they walked out of the room, carrying their clipboards. They disappeared around the corner of the hallway, presumably to tend to the next patient. Kaito made a tiny distraction away from the door to Shinichi's room, drawing people's attention to the small, pink puff of smoke that mysteriously poofed in and out of existence for five seconds. While they were distracted, Kaito quickly slipped into the room and closed the door.

He approached the bed, staring sadly down at the pale, prone form of his detective boyfriend. He moved the only chair in the room over to Shinichi's bedside and sat in it, taking the detective's right hand in his own.

"Wake up soon, Shinichi," Kaito whispered, his eyelids drooping as he finally gave in to the exhaustion claiming his body. He was asleep before his head hit the cover.

An hour later one of the nurses came in to check on the newest patient again. She was startled by a young man sleeping at the patient's side, tightly grasping the patient's hand in a show of support. It was long past visiting hours, but she didn't have the heart to wake him. The poor man looked like he could use a decent sleep. He must have been up all night worrying about his friend (or boyfriend, it seemed). The nurse checked on the patient quickly, and then left to fetch a spare blanket. If the young man was going to sleep here, she might as well make sure he was warm.

Kaito woke up in the afternoon. He stretched, wincing at the soreness in his back from sleeping in a sitting position for seven hours straight. He blinked as a blanket fluttered to the floor behind the chair. Someone must have put it on him while he was asleep, he mused.

Shinichi hadn't woken up yet. Kaito sighed. He gripped the detective's hand between his own again, and started to talk to the unresponsive man, "Hey, Shinichi. It's me. I must have been pretty out of it yesterday to wake up this late, huh?" He let out a tiny, tired laugh. "I'm sorry, Shinichi. You probably got shot last night because of me. I bet it was that bastard Snake, who still thinks I'm Kuroba Toichi even though he murdered my father thirteen years ago." He brushed the back of Shinichi's hand with his lips. "Please wake up soon, Shinichi. I love you."

Kaito's stomach chose to complain about its emptiness right then. He scratched the back of his head sheepishly, even though he knew Shinichi couldn't see him. He could just imagine the detective's eyes rolling at him. "Yeah, yeah, I know. I'll get something to eat right now," he said aloud to the image of Shinichi in his head. Kaito leaned over and kissed Shinichi on the forehead before he left in search of food.

News of Shinichi's hospitalization spread like wildfire. Ran was the first visitor after Kaito. She came bearing a get-well card and a pack of dark chocolates. She placed them on the table beside his hospital bed.

"How is he, Kaito?" she asked quietly, smoothing back her friend's hair.

Kaito sighed heavily from his seat in the chair. "He's fine, but… he hasn't woken up at all," he grumbled. "I thought I felt his fingers twitch once, but he's been still as a rock since then."

"I'm sure he'll be awake soon," said Ran. "He's stubborn like that."

"I hope you're right." Because Kaito wanted to kiss the detective senseless soon, and scold him for scaring him like that.

"Give me a call once he's up, okay?" Ran said, walking out the door. She had to go to class.

"Will do," Kaito replied. The door slid shut behind the young woman, leaving him alone with Shinichi. He stroked the warm skin on the back of Shinichi's hand with his thumb. Kaito wasn't known for being the most patient person in the world, so it was little more than frustrating that he had to wait for Shinichi to awaken. And he couldn't do anything about it. It was these kinds of moments that he hated, because he was helpless to do anything except sit here by Shinichi's bedside and hope he woke up.

"You'll come back to me, won't you, Shinichi?" Kaito whispered, gazing down at his boyfriend. There was only the continuous, steady beep of the heart monitor as an answer.

Hattori Heiji was second. He finished his last case and dropped everything else to rush to the hospital where Shinichi was staying. He hadn't even bothered to inform anyone; he just up and left, taking the train to Tokyo from the New Osaka station.

Kaito had classes to attend that day, so he hadn't been there when Heiji arrived. The dark-skinned Japanese detective stood quietly by the hospital bed, looking solemnly down at his friend. Kudou shouldn't be this pale - he shouldn't look so frail, so silent and blank as a white slate. The Kudou he knew was sarcastic, witty, and smart; and most importantly awake and alive, putting his intelligent mind into action, to solve seemingly impossible murder cases. He shouldn't be unconscious and lying in a hospital bed, like a doll.

He leaned over so that his shadow fell over Kudou's slack face, and spoke, "I know ya're in there, Kudou. I don't know if ya can hear me, but I'll pretend ya can, so listen up. Ya can't die here, ya understand me? Japan's got too many damn homicide cases for me to take on by myself, so ya better hurry and wake up, ya idiot. Ya don't want to keep making yer boyfriend pine after ya, right?" He paused and leaned back. He stuffed his hands into his pockets. Turning towards the window, he continued, "Ya're my rival, ya know. It'd be too boring without ya. Wake up soon, Kudou. I miss solving cases with ya."

Kaito entered several minutes later, and Heiji was nowhere to be seen.

"Oh, my poor Shin-chan!" Kudou Yukiko wailed, throwing her arms around her unconscious son (though she was careful not to dislodge any of the wires hooked up to him). It was hard to see him lying there among the white sheets, dead to the world. Her brilliant son, her only baby - shot, and practically comatose.

Kaito knew he probably looked terrible to the average passerby: messy hair, faint shadows under his eyes from staying up late to be by Shinichi's side. He was frustrated. The doctor had said Shinichi should've woken up within two or three days. It had been nearly a week. Something must be preventing his boyfriend from waking up, but Kaito didn't know what.

Shinichi's parents were among the last to visit him, seeing as they had to come here from their home in America. They would have come earlier, but Yuusaku had had to fight his editors over extending his deadline for his next novel because he needed to visit his injured son in Japan. The editors hadn't been happy at all. But Yuusaku had managed.

Kaito could feel Shinichi's father studying him with sharp eyes from his spot at the doorway, and he had to suppress the urge to shiver. He thought Shinichi had one of the most intense soul-searching glances he'd ever seen, but his boyfriend had nothing on his father. One look from Kudou Yuusaku and he felt utterly naked, as if his whole life, secrets and all, had just been lain down for all to see. He quickly glanced at Shinichi's mother. She looked very familiar, as if he had met her a long time ago and just didn't remember. But when? When could he possibly have met the bubbly former actress? This was the first time since he officially entered into a relationship with Shinichi that he met the detective's parents, so…

Yuusaku cleared his throat quietly. "So, Kaito-kun, was it?" he asked. The magician nodded mutely. "You must be Toichi's boy."

Kaito's gaze snapped towards the famous author in surprise. "You knew my dad?" he questioned.

Yuusaku nodded, his lips quirking in an enigmatic smile. "Kuroba Toichi, the famous magician who died thirteen years ago. Or, perhaps I should say, he was murdered," he said. Kaito barely flinched. "He was Yukiko's disguise mentor."

My dad taught Shinichi's mom? Kaito wondered, bewildered. Is that why she's so familiar?

Yukiko released her son and turned to face Kaito. "Do you remember me, Kaito-kun?" she asked, clapping her hands together. "You were so cute! Your father looked over an essay I wrote, and you popped up next to me with a rose!" She giggled. "I do, however, recall that at the time you didn't know better and called me 'a pretty oba-san'." She gave him the evil eye.

The memory swerved to the forefront of Kaito's mind in incredible, crystal-clear clarity. His dad and a much-younger Kudou Yukiko sitting together at a table, discussing something. He snuck around behind the pretty lady's chair, making sure she didn't notice him. Then he saw his chance and stepped forward, popping out a red rose from thin air like his dad showed him. "Here you go!" he said cheerfully to the lady. "I think you're a really pretty oba-san." His father had lightly scolded him for interrupting, but he had been happy that the lady seemed impressed with him - until he saw the dark aura Yukiko was emitting.

"You know… it's not nice to call people 'oba-san'," she said, a tick mark pulsing on her head. "It's onee-san, got it? Do I look that old to you?" Kaito had just been confused back then (what do you expect? He had only been seven…).

The twenty-two year-old magician laughed nervously, raising his hands in a placating manner. "Yes, I remember you now, Yukiko-san," he said. "You look young as ever."

"Why, thank you!" Yukiko said, swaying from side to side with her hands on her cheeks. "You're such a darling, Kaito-kun!"

Yuusaku coughed lightly to direct their attention back to him. "Anyways, Kaito-kun, I would like to hear from you how Shinichi got injured," he said.

Kaito sagged in his chair. "It was during a Kaitou Kid heist," he said, hunching over with his forearms resting on his thighs. "We were on the roof of the mansion because Shinichi told me he usually escaped via hang glider, and I wanted to see Kid up close because I'm a huge fan of his. We were having, ah… a moment-" Oh god, was it supposed to be this embarrassing to tell Shinichi's parents that they had been having an intense make-out session? "-and Shinichi got shot when he was about to tell me something. I don't know who fired the shot or why, but at that moment, I was so afraid that Shinichi was going to die that I rushed to this hospital. Because he was shot so close to his heart." He never wanted to feel that spike of terror ever again. Kaito had an idea of who would dare to hurt his Shinichi, though. It had to have been that bastard Snake. Kaito was his target, not Shinichi!

"I see." Yuusaku looked thoughtful. The half-amused glint in his eyes made Kaito think that the novelist had completely seen through his little word-play, reaching into him for the bare facts (including the fact that he was Kaitou Kid, not a mere fan). Damn, Shinichi's father was sharp! Well, like father, like son, he supposed. Yuusaku leaned against the door frame, pinning Kaito with a disconcerting gaze. "Tell me, Kaito-kun. What are your honest feelings towards Shinichi?" he asked.

Kaito was baffled by the question. Why would Shinichi's dad ask him something like that? Well, if he wanted honest answers, Kaito would bare his soul to him if he needed to. He took a deep breath. "I love him," he said simply, but firmly.

Sometimes the most straight-forward answer was the best one. Three little words that spelled out everything - his raw love for the detective, his attraction, his fear that he would lose Shinichi and be forced to live in a world where the detective no longer existed except in picture, name, and memory. He stared at Yuusaku unflinchingly, daring the man to try and prove him wrong.

Yuusaku merely chuckled. "Let's go, Yukiko," he said. "Shinichi's in good hands."

Kaito stared at the man's retreating back, his mouth falling open. That was it? Shinichi's dad had been testing to see how deeply his true feelings for Shinichi ran? He shivered at the thought of what might have happened if Yuusaku hadn't thought he was being totally sincere. Kudou Yuusaku may be a famous mystery novelist, but he was also a father, and no self-respecting father wouldn't at least display some measure of protectiveness for his child (or children). Good thing he really did love that stubborn, soccer-crazy, Holmes-loving, violin-playing, case-solving college detective. Shinichi was too appealing for his own good.

"Shinichi, your dad is pretty scary," he muttered, directing his attention to the unconscious detective on the bed.

Maybe it was just a trick of light, but for a moment Kaito could have sworn that Shinichi had smiled.

"Eh? No way," exclaimed Yukiko, fixing her husband with a flabbergasted stare. "Kaito-kun is Kaitou Kid?"

Yuusaku nodded. "As Kaitou Kid, he must have made a few dangerous enemies in his lifetime," he said. "But during that heist, Shinichi was the one who was shot. Now why is that? If Kaitou Kid was their target, he's the one who should've been shot at. Judging by the location of Shinichi's wound, I'd say it was deliberate. Someone was trying to kill him."

"No!" Yukiko's hands flew up to her mouth in horror.

"That's right. Kaito-kun isn't their target - Shinichi is," Yuusaku said grimly.

"But… but what can we do, Yuusaku?" said Yukiko, grabbing on to her husband's arm. "Our baby's in danger!"

"I have a plan, but… you absolutely cannot tell Kaito-kun about it," said Yuusaku firmly. "It's going to be difficult for him."

"Yes, of course," replied Yukiko, a serious expression falling over her face.

"Then here is what we are going to do…"

A dark figure scurried down the hallway, taking care to avoid the nurses walking in and out of patients' rooms. The person finally spied the name plate with 'Kudou Shinichi' on it hung on the wall next to the door. A victorious grin crept up the person's face.

The figure looked around quickly, making sure no one was around to see him entering Kudou's room. Then the person quickly slipped inside, closing the door with nary a sound.

The beep of the heart monitor and the slow, quiet breaths of the unconscious detective met his ears as he crossed over to the bed. The person looked down at the man's still form for a moment, his expression unreadable. Then, the lines of his face split into a maniacal grin that was further accentuated by the insane glint in his eyes.

From one of his pockets, he whipped out a lighter. He flicked the top open, exposing the detective's face to the light of the golden flame.

"Goodbye… Kudou Shinichi," the person whispered, setting the edge of the hospital blanket on fire. He also lit the curtains hiding the window, before dashing out of the room. This time, there was no way he didn't succeed in offing the bothersome detective. His failure on the roof had stung him badly. But this time… this time for sure-!

As the alarms began to blare and the detective's window lit up brilliantly with a shower of red and yellow flames, the person stood outside and laughed, long, deep, and loud.

Kaito stared numbly at the newspaper, his eyes frozen in place by the title splashed across the front cover: Mysterious Fire Breaks Out in Famous Detective's Room at Beika General Hospital!

Beika General Hospital. That's where Shinichi was. His eyes slowly dragged down the page, growing wider and more panicked with every word he read. His blood turned icy as a sharp stab of fear pierced his chest. Uncaring that he was currently in the middle of a class discussion, he quickly packed up his bags and sprinted out the door, ignoring the shouts of the student-teacher behind him. He had to go. He had to know if Shinichi was okay.

There were police cars everywhere when he arrived at the hospital, panting. His eyes spotted the chubby form of Megure-keibu, who he had been introduced to a while back when he had accompanied Shinichi on a case. The inspector was wearing a grim, but rather relieved face as he spoke to the tall, young officer at his side. Kaito instantly matched name to face: Takagi Wataru, one of the youngest members of the Tokyo Metropolitan Police's Division One. He was a pretty friendly guy, if not a bit humble. He was currently married to Satou Miwako (well, actually she was Takagi Miwako now), and they had one son.

"Megure-keibu!" he greeted, striding over to them. The rotund inspector turned, recognizing the young man approaching him.

"Oh, Kuroba-kun," he said. The worry must have shown on Kaito's face, because Megure clapped a beefy hand on his shoulder and continued, "Don't worry, Kudou-kun wasn't in the room when the fire broke out. All we've found are the charred remains of a cleverly-made dummy."

A rush of relief drummed through Kaito's veins, and he nearly sank to the ground. "Thank god," he breathed, closing his eyes. Shinichi hadn't been killed. He was still alive. "Where is he? I want to see him."

Alarms began to ring in his head when the inspector's eyes became shuttered at his question. Megure heaved a great sigh, his hand slipping from Kaito's shoulder. "The thing is, Kuroba-kun…" he began, "…we don't know where Kudou-kun is."

The world dropped out from beneath Kaito's feet. He had to struggle to maintain his Poker Face, although he was sure that it was already starting to crack and shatter into little pieces. Shinichi was missing. He wasn't dead, he had disappeared. Or maybe someone had taken him somewhere. What Kaito didn't understand was why - Shinichi hadn't woken up yet, so there wouldn't be any point in kidnapping him. And of course, Shinichi wouldn't be able to get very far by himself because of his comatose state for the past week…

It was at times like these that Kaito wished he was more of a detective. He leaned heavily against the police car, tilting his head towards the sky.

Where are you, Shinichi? he asked silently, his gaze involuntarily darting towards the broken window of the charred hospital room. Where did you go?

Weeks rolled by, and Shinichi hadn't returned. A depressed mood had befallen Kaito ever since, and it wasn't hard to notice that he had been more withdrawn lately. He still pulled pranks and caused general mischief, but students and faculty alike agreed that it lacked his usual flair.

His friends could tell that he was hurting inside, but he had chosen to keep it to himself. For once Aoko found herself wishing that the old Kaito would come back. They were long past the days of skirt-flipping and mop-chasing, but the cheerful aspiring magician she'd known since childhood was infinitely more preferable to this fake Kaito, who was trying his best to hold himself together in the absence of his beloved boyfriend. Sometimes she would catch him staring forlornly off into space, although it would always vanish and be replaced by a grin whenever someone approached him. She wished she could blame Kaito's boyfriend, but it wasn't his fault. Shinichi-kun still hadn't woken up when the fire happened.

One thing she had noticed, though, was the lack of Kid heists in the past several weeks. Even her father had gotten a bit antsy over it - because Kid usually didn't leave such large gaps between his heists. Rumors were flying around, speculating that something might have happened last time that no one was aware of. Maybe Kid had gotten injured. Maybe he was retiring (and several screams of disbelief accompanied that thought when it had been spoken in hushed whispers between students). Maybe he was waiting for the perfect opportunity. No one really knew.

Her eyes caught sight of Kaito prancing down the hallway, raining confetti in his wake. The horribly bright (too bright) grin that the young man was sporting did nothing to alleviate the cloud of depression hanging over his head. It was painful to watch Kaito act like this. He tried so hard to conceal the darkness looming in his heart, but she could see through him plain as day. Whenever he smiled nowadays, it never reached his eyes. Those indigo depths were always burning, always brimming with something dark and unfathomable. She hoped that Shinichi-kun would make an appearance soon, otherwise Kaito was going to burn himself out.

Three days later, when she came home from class, she discovered a note left on the table by her father. What he had scribbled down in a hurry had her heart leaping into her throat, a familiar pulse of rage rising up within her.

Kaitou Kid had finally returned.

She didn't know whether to be frustrated or relieved.

Kaito knew that he couldn't let Shinichi's absence affect him forever. And if he let his Kaitou Kid persona stay out of the spotlight too long, people might start to get suspicious. It was time to bring the elusive phantom thief back to the stage. With luck, Snake would come sniffing around again (and he'd show the bastard a thing or two for daring to hurt his Shinichi!). Maybe Shinichi would catch wind of it and surprise him by showing up. If only that wasn't just wishful thinking.

The target of tonight's heist was the Black Comet, a large sapphire with a glossy indigo sheen that was said to glow in the dark on the night of the full moon. The sapphire was an unusually dark color, such that it would appear black unless shown under extremely bright light. The sapphire was part of an expensive brooch that was inlaid with smaller sapphires around the Black Comet. Snaking silver lines branched out down the length of the brooch, accompanied by an extremely thin red spider web pattern that could only be seen if held up to the light. It was quite an appealing target for Kid, although his thoughts revolved more around how the brooch might look pinned to Shinichi's suit jacket. He would probably blush, stammer incoherently for a few seconds, and then mutter something about how Kaito shouldn't go around stealing jewelry to give to him. Kaito felt his cheeks heat up as he imagined the apologetic kiss he would give to the disgruntled detective, the impromptu make-out session afterwards, and everything that happened after that. He shook his head fiercely. Focus, Kaito! He wasn't Kuroba Kaito at the moment, he was Kaitou Kid. His hormones could wait (and really, they shouldn't be this bad. He was twenty-two, for god's sake).

The clock tower in the distance struck nine. It was time. He cleared his throat.

"Ladies and gentlemen!" he boomed, standing on the edge of the roof above the public crowd. He spread his arms out wide as wild cheers floated up to him from the crowd of Kid fans. "Welcome… to the greatest show of your life!" The crowd roared their approval, either pumping theirs fists into the air or waving about those flashy "I Love Kid" signs adorned with copies of his signature doodle. Somehow, Kaito didn't feel as happy as he should have when faced by a mass gathering of fans, all rooting him on. It felt empty knowing that Shinichi wasn't there. Well, even if that thought depressed him, it wouldn't deter Kaitou Kid. He would pull off a successful heist, as usual.

Pale pink, blue, and green smoke billowed up around him, the shriek and pop of modified flares filling his ears. He quickly donned a black cloak and lowered himself over the side of the building with a bit of fishing line, silently sliding open the window he had unlocked earlier to let himself back into the museum. He landed with nary a sound, his ears cocked for security guards. There were none. With a victorious grin, he turned to gently shut the window. The collective sigh of awe from his beloved audience at the sight of his modified flares was cut off with a tiny click.

A swish of his hand had him in the guise of a museum security guard in less than a second. Adjusting the cap so that the visor hung low over his eyes, Kaito quietly stepped out of the room. The Black Comet was waiting for him.

The click of his heels against the museum's floor was the only thing he could hear besides Nakamori's faint bellowing and the answering calls of his men. He swiftly made his way to the room the police were guarding. He had already seen the defense mechanism set up to prevent him from stealing the jewel earlier, and as long as he played his cards right, Nakamori-keibu would open the case for him. His Kid smirk emerged briefly, but vanished before anyone could see it.

"Why haven't you found him yet?" Nakamori-keibu yelled, shaking his fist at a rapidly-backpedaling officer.

"H-he's a master of disguise, keibu," stammered the officer. "And there're too many people in the crowd outside to check!"

Nakamori-keibu cursed creatively, clenching his hands into tight fists. "Damn you, Kid! Show yourself! Tonight's the night I'll finally catch you and haul your sorry ass to prison!" he hollered.

Not tonight, Nakamori-keibu, thought Kaito. I can't allow myself to be caught, especially when Shinichi isn't around. Thinking about the missing detective again sent another pang through his chest. He forced it down. Now wasn't a good time to be spacing out about potential situations Shinichi could have gotten himself into (even though he was, or at least had been, comatose at the time of his disappearance).

He discreetly pressed a button on the remote hidden in his pocket, sending a signal to Jii. The old man's task was to cause a blackout in the museum so Kaito would have the chance to trick the inspector and the police officers into opening the jewel's glass display for him. And it worked like a charm.

The instant the lights went out, he slipped between the panicking officers and quickly stuck a specially-made paper to the case. He smoothed out the creases to make sure nobody would suspect anything. He stepped back into position just before the lights flickered back on. Kaito took a deep breath. Time to put his acting skills to work.

"Keibu!" he shouted, sounding panicked. He pointed a shaky finger at the glass case. "The - the Black Comet's gone!"

"What?" Nakamori-keibu shouted, rushing over to the case. He stared at it, wide-eyed. "But that's impossible! The case can't be opened without my fingerprint and the passcode. How did Kid get it out of there?" Just as Kaito predicted, the inspector opened the glass case to check whether Kid had actually hidden the jewel somewhere on the stand. He blinked in surprise as the Black Comet gleamed back at him. "What the-?"

"Thanks for opening the case for me, Nakamori-keibu!" Kaito sang, snatching the brooch from its cushion before the inspector had a chance to react.

"K-Kaitou Kid!" Nakamori-keibu yelled, realizing that he'd been tricked by the phantom thief. He motioned furiously to his men, "After him!" Kaito fled the scene after releasing an explosion of confetti and silly string on the unsuspecting officers. He chuckled to himself. They would have quite a time trying to get themselves out of the doorway. The confetti and silly string were only the first part of the traps he had set up. He almost felt sorry for the officers. Almost.

Once Kaito successfully made it back to the rooftop, he held the brooch up to the bright light of the moon, watching as the red spider webs made themselves visible to his eye. A very faint glow surrounded the brooch, seeming to center its light on the shiny sapphire. Then slowly, a second red gem made itself known inside the pearl.

Kaito's eyes widened almost comically. He stared at the sapphire on the brooch, unwilling to believe his own eyes. The Black Comet was Pandora? All this time, all these years - shedding blood, sweat, and tears for this stupid thing - and he'd finally found it? He slowly lowered it, a dark look crossing his face. "Hahaha…" he laughed weakly, feeling something rise up and choke in his throat. What irony, the brooch he had admired for its design and color, the jewel he'd wanted to steal just so he could give it to Shinichi - it was Pandora, the one gem he had vowed to destroy. Kaito felt like collapsing.

It was a shame he had to destroy this thing. It was quite beautiful, and looked ridiculously expensive, to boot. Kaito set it on the floor and pulled out his card gun. He was going to break this thing to pieces so Snake and his organization could never use it to further their evil goals. He took aim at the jewel glinting at him innocently from the floor. He fired.

To his shock, his card just bounced off the jewel. His card was sharp enough to embed itself into solid walls. But it didn't even scratch Pandora. He scowled down at the brooch, tucking his card gun back into one of his numerous pockets. Destroying Pandora was going to be a lot harder than he expected. Sighing, he picked the brooch up and slipped it into one of his pockets. He would have to destroy it some other way once he got home.

His senses suddenly screamed at him. He instinctively leaped to the side, barely managing to dodge a bullet that whizzed by where his head had just been. Kaito's eyes narrowed, his mouth instantly curling into a snarl. It was Snake.

The assassin had a triumphant grin carved into his face. He kept his gun trained on Kaito's body, his finger resting on the trigger.

"You have it, don't you?" he said. "You have Pandora."

"And if I do?" Kaito asked calmly, slowly straightening himself. His muscles were tensed, his hands itching to throw down a smoke or flash bomb so he could momentarily escape from Snake's vision. But while he had great reflexes and high dexterity, he couldn't beat the speed of a bullet. If he tried anything funny right now, he'd be shot full of holes and Snake could just take the brooch from his corpse. He liked living, thank you very much. And he needed to be here to greet Shinichi when he finally returned from who-knows-where.

"Keep those hands where I can see them!" Snake barked. Kaito raised his hands, displaying that he had nothing on his palms. "Good. Now drop the brooch on the floor. If you try to do anything, your head eats lead, got it?" Snake waved the gun threateningly.

Keeping one hand raised, Kaito reached into his jacket. He slipped a smokescreen bomb and one of his modified sleeping gas devices up his sleeve before he brought the brooch out. He let it drop to the floor with a clatter.

"Now kick it over here," said Snake.

Kaito complied. And just as Snake bent to pick it up, he let his devices drop from his sleeve. Then he threw himself out of the way, slapping a gas mask over his face. Snake's outraged yell dwindled as he inhaled the sleeping gas. There was a distinct noise as the assassin's gun fell to the ground, along with the thud of an unconscious body. Kaito waited until the gas and smoke cleared out before sitting up, detaching the mask from his face. He walked over to the brooch and picked it up again.

"This thing is more trouble than it's worth," he grumbled, sliding it into his jacket pocket.

Just then Nakamori-keibu and his troop of police officers burst onto the roof, the inspector bellowing Kid's name. "Oh, hello, Nakamori-keibu," said Kaito. He nudged at the body at his feet. "You should arrest this man on the charge of both attempted murder and actual murder. He's very dangerous."

Kaito had to restrain a smirk as Nakamori-keibu only managed a mix between a flabbergasted look and his usual irritated face. "K-Kid!" he spluttered, his face turning red with indignation. He practically had steam blowing out of his ears, and he was clenching his fists rather tightly. "Arrest both of them!" he yelled at his men, who swarmed forward like a dark tidal wave. Kaito turned and leaped off the rooftop to escape the charging officers, his glider snapping open to allow him to swoop over the rooftops. The loud screams and cheers accompanying his departure put him in a slightly better mood. Now if only Shinichi would return and Pandora could shatter into millions of fragments, then his life would be complete.

Five days later, Kaito was sitting despondently at the desk in the Kudou library. "This is impossible," he groaned, allowing his head to drop onto the surface with a thunk. He glared balefully at the innocent-looking brooch sitting just a few inches from his face. He had tried everything and anything in the attempt to destroy Pandora - be it fire, acid, hot water, knives, hammers, ice picks, drills, and everything under the sun he could possibly think of - and Pandora was completely unaffected. Not only that, but the brooch remained intact as well (and it baffled Kaito as to why). He briefly entertained the idea of mailing it to the States and asking them to destroy it with an atomic bomb. He snorted. Asking that was probably akin to asking them to waste one of their precious nuclear weapons just to get rid of some jewel that could supposedly make people immortal with the tears it shed during the reign of the Volley Comet. In other words, the story seemed like utter bullshit. Figures.

Kaito suddenly went very still as his ears picked up a noise in the house. His head shot up so fast, he made himself disoriented for a second. He listened attentively. There it was again: the sound of footsteps. His eyes narrowed. He could only think of four people other than him who were allowed to come into this house, and these footsteps matched none of them. They were too heavy.

Someone had broken into his and Shinichi's home. Kaito was rightly furious. He'd bombard the intruder so hard, they wouldn't know what hit them. It would greatly amuse him to see the person running out of the door screaming bloody murder. It would take his mind off Pandora for now. Right then, Kuroba Kaito Prankster Mode: ON!

Well, fuck. He'd underestimated the intruder's persistence, although he did find out that the intruder was looking for Shinichi, and had mistaken Kaito for him. That was nothing new, people mixed up him and Shinichi all the time.

Kaito inhaled sharply through his nose as he tried to stem the bleeding from the bullet wound in his shoulder. His fingers were shaking, he noticed. The warm, red liquid slipping and sliding over his fingers reminded him too much of that night, when Shinichi had been shot during his heist.

"I've found you, Kudou Shinichi!" the madman yelled, bursting into the room where Kaito was. Kaito's eyes widened. Shit! "You may have escaped me the last two times, but this time I'm going to make sure you stay dead!" The man leveled a gun at him, grinning maniacally all the way.

Kaito laughed derisively. "Sorry to burst your bubble, but I'm not Shinichi," he said, staggering to his feet. His blood made a wet splatter as a few drops of it hit the floor. He grimaced. That was going to be hell to clean up later. He looked the infuriated man straight in the eye and said, "I'm Kaito, the second resident of this home. You've got the wrong person, intruder-san. Shinichi isn't, and hasn't been, here."

"You think that will fool me?" the man spat, firing a bullet that sliced off a few of Kaito's hairs and made a hole in the wall behind him.

"I expect you to believe it because it's true," said Kaito, whipping out his card gun with his uninjured arm. But the other man was faster, and while two bullets knocked the card gun from his hand, one bullet sank into Kaito's leg. He bit down hard on his lip in order not to cry out in pain, and he sank to the wooden floor grasping his thigh.

The intruder tossed his gun to the side and lunged, his beefy hands locking around Kaito's throat. The magician gasped as his air flow was suddenly cut off by the pressure squeezing around his neck. He fought back desperately, kicking, thrashing, bucking, and doing everything he could to throw the man off of him, but to no avail. The intruder was larger and physically stronger than him. In his injured state, Kaito didn't have much strength left to fight him off. His vision began to waver at the edges. Crap, that wasn't a good sign…

"You know," someone drawled from the doorway, "I would really appreciate it if you stopped strangling my boyfriend, Saika-san." The intruder stiffened. Kaito coughed as the pressure around his neck lessened considerably, allowing him to greedily gulp down lungfuls of much-needed oxygen. His indigo eyes fluttered open (when had he closed them?), beholding the person standing just a few meters away.

Kudou Shinichi, the Heisei Holmes of Japan, was leaning against the doorway with his hands stuffed in his pants pockets, a lazy smirk falling over his face like a veil. It was the most beautiful sight Kaito had ever seen.

Saika's face contorted in confusion. He twisted to look back down at Kaito, who he'd been choking to death a moment ago, then he looked back at Shinichi. He released Kaito quickly, as if the magician burned him. Kaito rolled over and hacked into the floorboards, wincing when he jostled his bullet wounds. That went well. But Shinichi was back. Shinichi was back. He was awake and alive and definitely not being held hostage somewhere dank and gloomy. He was here. He had saved Kaito at the last minute from a rather untimely death. Kaito looked up, almost feeling like crying because of the sheer happiness that erupted within him. When this was all over, he was going to kiss the hell out of the stupid detective for making him worry so much.

Saika stepped towards Shinichi with the intent to attack, his eyes gleaming darkly. Shinichi sighed, straightening himself so he was no longer leaning against the door frame. "I wouldn't do that if I were you, Saika-san," he said. "The police have this place surrounded."

"I don't care! I'll kill you, Kudou Shinichi!" the man raved, spittle flying from his mouth. "How dare you make my sister into a murderer! You're going to pay for that!"

"Well, if you insist…" Shinichi said, shrugging his shoulders. He clapped once and moved aside. A swarm of police officers led by Megure Juuzou rushed into the room, startling Saika badly. He was tackled to the floor and handcuffed in a flash, thanks to both Takagi Wataru and his wife.

"No, let me go!" the man howled, thrashing. "I have to kill him. He defiled my sister's name-"

"Your sister murdered her best friend because she thought you were having an affair with her," said Shinichi, looking at the man from where he stood. "You guys were siblings, but you had an incestuous relationship with each other. You couldn't believe your sister would murder her best friend, so you resolved to come and kill me, the one who landed her in jail. You tried to off me three times, and failed all three times. I'm sure you'll be happy to keep your sister company in prison."

"Damn you, Kudou Shinichi," Saika growled, slumping in defeat. He allowed himself to be taken away by the police officers.

"Megure-keibu, please call an ambulance," said Shinichi, addressing the portly inspector. "Kaito needs medical attention."

"Right away," said Megure, nodding.

Shinichi crossed the room with brisk strides, kneeling down where Kaito had collapsed against the wall. Kaito's indigo eyes locked on to his, and for a moment neither of them spoke. Then Kaito seized his tie and tugged him down into a fierce kiss, which evolved into an impromptu make-out session involving a lot of tongue. Megure and the officers pointedly looked away, to give the two their privacy.

"I've missed you, Shinichi," said Kaito breathlessly when they parted, flushed and breathing harder than usual. He clung to the familiar warm body with his uninjured arm, his face falling to Shinichi's chest. The steady, strong thrum of the detective's heartbeat assured Kaito that no, he wasn't dreaming, and Shinichi really was kneeling in front of him.

The detective wrapped his arms around his injured boyfriend, mindful of Kaito's wounds, and murmured into his ear, "I've missed you too, Kaito."

Kaito smiled. He suddenly felt exhausted; all the time he'd spent worrying about Shinichi, protecting himself from Snake and Saika, keeping up his cheerful façade everyday so his classmates didn't worry so much, his desperation over destroying Pandora - everything caught up to him all at once and he could only fade away, lulled into unconsciousness by the comforting drum of his boyfriend's heart and the strong arms holding him, keeping him safe.

Kaito woke up a week later. His eyes blinked open, registering the white hospital ceiling above him. A warm hand was firmly gripping his. The beep of the heart monitor sounded on his right, and on the left he heard the shuffle of paper pages. He turned his head slightly, his gaze landing on Shinichi sitting in a chair, reading a Sherlock Holmes novel with one hand. His throat felt terribly dry; he tried to greet his boyfriend, but all that came out was a garbled croak.

Shinichi's eyes instantly snapped over to him, widening in delighted surprise. "Kaito, you're awake!" he said, closing his book. "How are you feeling?"

Kaito wanted to say 'like shit', but his throat refused to cooperate with him. Shinichi seemed to understand though, because he got up saying, "Hold on, I'll get you some water." Kaito nodded weakly.

Shinichi returned a cup of water, which he helped Kaito drink. The liquid felt refreshingly cool against his parched throat, and he sighed. "That's better," he said, when Shinichi took the cup away.

Shinichi smiled. "That's good," he said, putting the cup in the only spot of empty space on the stand next to the hospital bed. The stand was overflowing with colorful flower bouquets, chocolates, various sweets, and get-well-soon cards from his friends, family, and university classmates. Somehow Kaito wasn't surprised. But even if he didn't get anything, he would've been happy to simply receive Shinichi's affections.

Shinichi reclined in the hospital chair, clasping Kaito's hand between his own. "Now that you're awake, I assume you want to know where I've been for the past few months, right?" he asked.

"Yeah," said Kaito. "You had me worried sick, Shinichi."

"Sorry about that, I wasn't expecting my parents to pull a move a like that," said Shinichi with a sheepish laugh.

"Your parents?" Kaito gave him a befuddled look.

Shinichi nodded. "You see, when they came to visit me at the hospital and met you, my dad figured out that you were Kaitou Kid almost instantly. The fact that I was shot just above the heart made him think that it was deliberate and I was the real target, not you. So they secretly had me moved to a hospital in America and replaced me with a dummy so they could lure out the person who was trying to kill me. They weren't expecting him to set fire to my hospital room though, so they had to think of something else. I woke up about two weeks after that, and I was recovering in the hospital. We found out that the newspaper had announced that I hadn't died in that fire, so we were sure that Saika-san was going to be looking for me again. He decided to lay low for a while though. Then he found out where the Kudou residence was located, and he spent a few days observing it to see if I was there or not. He saw you and thought that you were me, so he decided to act. By that time I had fully recovered and was on my way back to Japan, so I called Megure-keibu the moment I landed and we headed over. You know the rest," he explained.

Kaito sank into his pillows. "I'm so glad you're not dead," he said. "But man, your dad is crazy."

Shinichi laughed. "Well, he is a detective," he said. "Can't expect anything else." He leaned over and kissed Kaito gently, the latter making a noise of appreciation in his throat. He pulled back, smoothing back Kaito's wild hair with his hand. "Get some rest, okay? I have to tell some people that you finally woke up." He got up to leave.

Kaito tugged on his hand to prevent him from leaving. "You can do that later," he said, pulling Shinichi back to him. "For now I'd just like to stay here with you, just the two of us."

Shinichi looked mildly surprised, but he agreed. "Okay. I love you, Kaito," he murmured, bringing their lips back together.

"I love you too, Shinichi," Kaito replied, succumbing. The resulting kiss was soft and sweet; a meeting between two young men whose love for each other was stronger and purer than anything else on Earth.

SHORT OMAKE: The Fate of Pandora

"By the way, Shinichi, I need you to help me destroy Pandora. The stupid thing just won't break."

"Don't worry, I already took care of that."

"What? How?"

"I sent it to my dad and asked him to have someone drop it into an active volcano."

"A volcano? You're kidding me."

"I'm not."

"Well, shit."

Wow. Just… wow. Holy shit. I wrote a one-shot that is over 11,000 words long. Insanity. Seriously. Wow. I can't believe I wrote this. 25 pages long. Wow. Do I sound like a broken record now? Well, damn…

In case you got lost:

keibu - inspector

kaitou - phantom thief

meitantei - great detective

ojou-chan - little girl/little princess

niichan/niisan - older brother

obasan - old lady/aunt

oneesan - older sister

MangaFreak15