Chapter Text
Kudo Shinichi is a dependable person who relies on logic and reasoning. A detective who has solved every case he’s ever come across and arrested the criminal attached to them.
—
The aftermath of taking down the Black Organization had Shinichi on a high. He was finally free of the facade, free of the lies, he can finally go back to his normal life… Is what he thought before being informed by Shiho that it’ll take at least a few more months before she can make the perfect antidote. And then comes the part where he’d have to either keep it a secret he’s Conan or share the truth with everyone he holds dear.
He chooses to be honest. Sure, everyone understood why he lied the way he did, but God, Ran’s face when he admitted it. The realization of Kogoro that he wasn’t the one solving cases, the hurt expressions of countless others.
Shinichi had done his best to try and give them space, to give them time to adapt and understand his situation as he tried to fit back into society. Catching up with school and settling documents with the FBI and National Police in the meantime to prove his capability to get into college without having to retake his missing years. And eventually, he’d started talking with them again. Hattori had no problem in doing so, having already known his identity, along with Sera who knows that he had been poisoned like her mother. Division One also started to reach out to him and ask for his help on cases again.
It’s going great, except for his friendship with Sonoko and Ran. They talk, it’d be hard not to. But the lingering tension in the air made Shinichi’s throat clamp up. It was awkward, Ran had treated him as her little brother for nearly a year. Then he turns out to be the same person she’d been in love with?
They’d broken up, of course. Sonoko had been distraught about it before turning her nose up and saying that Ran deserved better than some detective who couldn’t even trust his closest friends.
Sonoko’s words stung, but held true.
He had been at a loss then, having no clue what to do. It’d been their plan to go to the same university together. But maybe, it’s better if he didn’t. The pained glances from Ran have been enough of a sign, he doesn’t know how he’ll handle it if they go to the same school.
His parents hooked him up with an apartment, far from Beika, and far from the University of Tokyo. Far from the crime scenes that plague his thoughts and memories. Far from Ran and everyone else that knew his existence.
Shiho had judged him for it. Uttering the words “Running won’t do you any good, Kudo-kun.” As he packed his stuff, saying his final goodbyes to her, the professor, and the kids.
The apartment was big, as expected from the Kudo family, but the silence of the place hit him as soon as his parents left to travel the world yet again. The empty space spoke to him, soothing his heart as the quiet drove him insane. Shinichi relied on the case files Inspector Megure would send him to look over and his online coursework, staying indoors and shying away from the spotlight he had once loved.
The experience of being poisoned, stalked, and hunted down stuck with him. He had tried to go back to solving cases as he used to, but was overwhelmed by the shutters and flashes of cameras.
And that was the final hit, really. There was no way Kudo Shinichi could ever be normal again. Gone was the Shinichi who would shine from the attention, who would have dove head first into dangerous cases, who would have gone with Ran to university and married her.
The making of Edogawa Conan had ruined him, Kudo Shinichi will never be the same again.
—
Kudo Shinichi is not the type of person to let a criminal in his home.
—
The sound of shattered glass breaking and hitting the floor alerted Shinichi from his desk, pulling one of the drawers open to slip his fingers around a revolver he had privately requested.
Ducking down to keep himself hidden, he slowly manoeuvred his way out of the office and towards the noise. Gun safely held in his hand and ready to shoot at any given moment. Shinichi leaned his head against the wall, turning his head slightly to observe the scene before him.
It took him a second of realization before letting go of the gun and stepping closer to a white suited thief, drenched in way too much blood for it to be just from the glass shards. Shinichi surveyed the other’s injuries. Bruising on his torso, possibly broken ribs, and a gunshot wound on the side of his stomach. The bullet remains intact inside, not having gone through fully.
Shinichi could not waste any more time, so he rushed to the bottom of his kitchen cabinet and fished out a fully stocked first aid kit. Hopefully, his knowledge will be enough to stabilize the dumb thief.
—
Kuroba Kaito is an aspiring magician who takes after his father in more ways than one. He moonlights as Kaitou KID, a highly wanted thief who has never failed a heist.
—
Kaito wakes up, wincing in pain as he takes note of his surroundings. He’d been laid on the coach, bandaged and stripped down to his boxers. Where the hell is he?
All he remembers is being shot by an officer who was too quiet for their own good and crashing into what seemed to be an empty apartment. But seeing as he’s miraculously bandaged up and not dead, someone lives here. Someone adept enough to make sure he’s alive.
His ear picks up the sound of footsteps coming from the other corridor, his eyes shutting immediately as he concentrates on his breathing to seem natural. The noise gets louder as the steps come to a stop in front of him.
“I know you’re awake, KID.” A familiar voice speaks to him. A voice that seems to be a few pitches deeper than he last heard it.
“Tantei-kun?”
—
Kuroba Kaito is not one to break into a detective’s house. Actually he is, but not this time.
—
“You’ve gone back to normal then, haven’t you?” Kaito says, wincing as Shinichi dabs a cotton ball on his injury.
“Quite.” The detective replied easily enough, but Kaito took note of the way his body stiffened. Grinning internally, he continued to push.
“So why is a famed detective in the middle of nowhere?”
Shinchi paused and looked up from his position, seeing the glint of mischief in KID’s eyes. Maybe he should have just let the police handle him. “We’re literally in Tokyo.”
“You don’t go to university with your friends,” How the hell does he know that? “-you don’t make headline news for solving crimes anymore, and you’re on the outskirts of Tokyo.”
“And that makes it the middle of nowhere?”
“For Kudo Shinichi? Yes.” KID smirks at the twitch his eyebrow made.
“Tell me then,” Shinichi applied more pressure than needed to the wound, smiling as KID flinched. “What is Kaito KID doing stealing random gems when he’s already found pandora?”
The amused expression on the thief’s face fell immediately, the atmosphere so quiet you can hear if a pin dropped.
KID’s gaze turned dark, the gleam in his eyes gone. “How do you know that?”
“Why should I tell you?” Shinichi looked up at the thief with practiced doe-eyes from his time as Conan.
“Touche.”
Shinichi was glad the thief had finally shut up, putting away the tweezers and cotton to pull out a new set of bandages. He let his hands work, wrapping it around KID’s torso to cover the wound. Kaito could do nothing but stay in his position, his eyes following the slim fingers that trail across his chest, the brief warmth of another body touching his own.
Shinichi tied a knot and pulled on it, ensuring it was tight before standing up. “You can stay as needed, but once you’re fine. I want you out.”
KID pouted, his brows furrowing as he crossed his arms. “So mean.”
The night passed, and by the time the sun rose. Any trace that a thief had broken into his house had disappeared.
—
[ Sonoko ]
Sonoko: Image_Attached; Ran and Sera cuddled together on a picnic blanket.
Sonoko: Your ex-wife has found another.
Shinichi: Huh.
Shinichi: I’m happy for her and Sera, I’m glad it wasn’t someone else.
Sonoko: Can you at least be a little jealous?
Shinichi: We broke up, what right do I have?
Sonoko: So lame.
[ Heiji ]
Heiji: Where did ’ya decide to go if not Todai then?
Shinichi: Somewhere far and private.
Heiji: Can’t ya just say where you’re hiding off to?
Shinichi: Soon.
[ Ran ]
Ran: Hey Shinichi!
Ran: Are you free any time soon?
Ran: I have news to tell you!
Shinichi: Is this about Sera? Because Sonoko beat you to it.
Ran: WHAT. SHE TOLD YOU ALREADY?
Ran: Damn Sonoko…
Shinichi: You know how she is.
Ran: Yeah…
Ran: Are you… okay with it?
Shinichi: You and Sera? Why wouldn’t I be?
Shinichi: I’m happy for you, Ran.
Shinichi: And I’m glad it’s Sera.
Ran: Thanks Shinichi
Ran: But do you have any free time still?
Ran: You’re still one of my best friends. I wanna hang out with you again. Sonoko does too.
Shinichi: I’ll check.
Ran: Promise you’ll update us when you are.
Shinchi: I promise.
[ Shiho ]
Shiho: How’s the hole you’ve decided to hide in?
Shinichi: Fantastic. It’s amazing here.
Shiho: And the truth is?
Shinichi: It’s quiet and secure. I just need time.
Shiho: Do you really?
Shinichi: I just need space to adjust. I’m not running.
Shiho: … I’ll take your word for it.
Shiho: I’m here if you need me.
Shinichi: I know.
—
Shinichi looks through his phone once more and sets it on silent mode, shutting it off and casting it aside somewhere to be picked up again in a few days. Too many messages from his friends, out of genuine concern or pity, he’s not too sure— but too many regardless. It reminds him of what he’s missing out on, of what he’s lost. He could be the one on the picnic blanket with Ran, he could be the one taking a picture of her and Sera, he could be hanging out with Heiji solving cases.
Shinichi is jealous and mourns what he has never experienced and never will. He is forever confined in the walls he’s chosen to trap himself in.
His laptop dings as a notification pops up, taking his attention full force. Inspector Megure sent him another email with images and a file attached, a new homicide. Shinichi takes a sip of his neglected cold coffee before opening the file, deciding that this will give him at least an hour of distraction.
—
Kaito watches the detective brew coffee, scroll through his phone and type, before shutting it off and throwing the phone in a random direction. He then watches as the detective spends a couple minutes of just… nothing. His Tantei-kun, arguably his best critic and rival, is looking at the ceiling of his room as if he’s gonna find some sort of answer there.
The wind brushes by his body and he shivers from the cold, the moon is out and he should really head back to his shared dorm. Or at least back to one of his secret hideouts. But he can’t shake off the curiosity. The one that’s been burning deep within his mind ever since he noticed a group of friends seemingly lacking a certain someone.
The mystery of one Kudo Shinichi.
—
Kuroba Kaito and Kudo Shinichi are haunted by the lies they’ve built up.