Chapter Text
Indefinite time in 2024
“Yes, yes, my father is alive, unless you are here to give me condolences, you can fuck off”
It was Kaito’s umpteenth person coming to congratulate him for his father’s resurrection. Kaito couldn’t tell them that he had known that his father was alive for one year now, because the news were still fresh to the rest of the world.
<< Toichi Kuroba is alive! He was fighting against Karasuma >> the news reported and the Kuroba’s house was swarmed by a procession of magicians’ fans and family friends. Which didn’t restrict a lot the entourage, since Chikage and Kaito had the ability to become everyone’s friend.
Kaito was a permanent resident of the Kudos, but now even Chikage and Toichi had to move from their family house to their friends’. However, no matter how big that manor was, with the full Kuroba and Kudo’s families plus Sharon and Shiho, the house was too crowded. That house wasn’t made to be inhabited by eight people and the overcrowding was felt by all residents.
Shinichi didn’t have a studio anymore, because it was always occupied by his father. Shiho’s lab was turned into a room for the Kuroba couple, forcing her to do her experiments by Dr. Agasa. Sharon and Kaito were each given a small guest room, while the Kudos just stayed in their original room as during Shinichi’s childhood.
The issue didn’t concern beds to sleep in, but rather common spaces. Cooking, eating, working, bathing, everything was a nightmare because that house was made for three people, not eight. Shiho almost resorted in going back to Dr. Agasa for some time, until the situation would calm down and the Kurobas would be able to go back to their own house. Kaito didn’t want to impose on Sonoko, but he was very close to going mad in that house.
The only one who were having fun were the adults, who took that misadventure as bonding time. Yukiko and Chikage would shower Sharon with affection and gifts, while Toichi and Yusaku spent time together solving intricate cases in the studio. Sharon was still on probation, an unofficial one, that is, but she didn’t seem to care that much about going out. Her time in prison had dulled her spirit and her friends were trying to make her go back to her past lively self.
One morning, however, Shinichi realized that their arrangement wasn’t tolerable anymore.
He was in the middle of his exam session, when he heard an explosion coming from the kitchen. He rushed with Kaito to see what had caused it and found Yukiko trying to pour water on the hob. An electric hob.
“Mom, stop!” Shinichi screamed, but it was too late and a blackout ensued.
The other adults rushed to the kitchen and instead of helping them with the mess, they started playing around throwing at each other flour and baking powder in the dark.
Kaito went to the command control unit and switched the current on after disconnecting the hob from the charge. What Shinichi saw when the lights came back was pure and utter chaos. The kitchen was tinted in white and it looked like a mess.
“Children, you are all children!” he screamed to the adults and ran to Kaito to complain “I can’t take it anymore, please kill me or kill them, there is no other outcome possible”
Kaito wanted to laugh, but he was exasperated too and was about to kick his own parents out. In the end Sharon helped them cleaning up the mess.
“I’m sorry, Yukiko and Chikage have always been… particular” the woman tried to explain, but Shinichi didn’t want to hear any excuse.
“Yes, I know my own mother, but it’s impossible to live like this” Shinichi replied upset.
“There is a way to improve the situation, though” Sharon said cryptic and Shinichi raised his head in curiosity “Tell me, Cool Guy, what happened to that dirty money that I gave you?”
Shinichi hadn’t exactly forgotten about those billions, but, once he had entrusted them to Sonoko, they had gone in the background of his priorities. Sonoko hadn’t even touched them, apart from trying to legalize them in some way through her company. Which was, yes, illegal and morally wrong, but money wouldn’t just disappear, they would just find a new owner otherwise.
“They are safe in the Suzuki’s vault” Shinichi answered.
“Uhm, and what would you think about starting using them to create a bigger place to live?” his godmother proposed. Knowing that Sonoko was handling that mess made her sigh in relief. She had met the Suzuki’s heir and she had found her much reliable. And perfect for Kaito, of course. She was a serious godmother, so she took seriously the goddaughters she had to approve.
“But this is just a temporary matter, right? My parents will go back to their own house, right?” Kaito interrupted, worried and hoping he was wrong.
Sharon grimaced and try to smile to reassure them, but it did the opposite. Fuck, their parents wanted to keep on living together. That was the worst outcome ever. Yes, Shinichi and Kaito could move out, but that was paradoxically their house before their parents’. No one wanted to leave it. Shinichi had lived there for longer than his parents, who were always around the world. And what if they just got tired one day and left the house? Wouldn’t that mean that Kaito and him moved out in vain? No, he wasn’t giving his house to his reckless childish parents.
“Well, if there is no other way… I guess we will have to enlarge this manor” Shinichi sighed and the decision was taken.
In less than a week, everyone in Beika knew that Shinichi Kudo wanted to renovate his house. Newspapers talked about it as sensational news and the detective couldn’t grasp why everyone was so interested in his private life. In university his criminology classmates kept asking him if it was true, while still nagging Kaito about Toichi. But at least Kaito could prank them if they pressed him too much, Shinichi didn’t have any retaliation method.
“Oh, Kudo-kun, I’ve heard you are moving. Do we need to shift patrols?” asked him Megure.
Wonderful, even the Metropolitan police, who normally didn’t follow gossip, was now interested in rumors that surrounded him. Which was, well, their job after all, since he was their responsibility. But Shinichi never hated being a celebrity as much as in that moment. At least he was still allowed to visit crime scenes. Actually, finding culprits was way easier, as they always panicked when they saw him coming. And with a bit of help from Shiho in scientific matters and some help from Kaito for theatrical needs, Shinichi’s job had never been so easy. Having allies was awesome.
In the end the Suzuki’s branches that specialized in architecture and house building were the ones who would carry out the demolition and reconstruction.
The problem was: how big would the new manor be?
It wasn’t a matter of money or space, because they could buy all the area near the house and still have way too much money left. Even Dr. Agasa agreed to leave them the area where his house was located. On the other hand, Shinichi wasn’t even the kind of person who relished in flaunting his money and living the rich life. He didn’t want to overdo, but he still wanted a comfortable house.
Ultimately, he decided to talk with his friends. At least to know who would like to have a guest room and who was interested in actually moving permanently in the manor.
After all, shared-house experiences were… interesting. Shinichi discovered that he liked living with his friends quite a lot. With Ran it had been a necessity, but with Kaito he had had so much fun. Having flatmates was usually a nightmare, but, since he would be the owner of the house, others would have to follow his rules. And his friends were smart people and not too arrogant.
He firstly went to Ran, the person who had welcomed him in their house when he was in need. Moreover she seemed like a down to earth person who could give him normal advice, unlike her best friend Sonoko “let’s make a skyscraper” Suzuki.
“Ran, hear me out” he blurted out abruptly one day and Ran just looked at him with boredom, used to his crazy outbursts “Your parents want to start a new life together, right? So you can technically move out, right?”
Ran lowered the psychology book she was reading and raised an eyebrow. She had a hunch about what this conversation was about.
“Why, Shinichi? Are you asking me to come live with you? So scandalous, let me call Shiho”
“Shiho knows” he rolled his eyes “And she invited Dr. Agasa as well, if you care so much”
“Well, we have already lived together once, after all. I’m not so opposed to the idea”
Shinichi grinned. He knew he could count on his best friend. He immediately started enumerating all the doubts he had about this project and Ran almost smacked his head on the table by how long the list was. How large should the house be? How many people for? How many rooms? How should they be divided? Which shape to give to the house? Should it have a garden? Which kind of special rooms to create? Should there be butlers and maids? Ran got fed up half down the road and kicked his chair, breaking one of its legs.
“Shinichi, keep calm and breath. One question at time. You could start by making a list of all the people interested in living in the manor and then start making up a sketch of which rooms to create. For example, I’m sure I’d love a dojo and a gym. And maybe a studio”
The detective nodded and wrote down all her suggestions. Shiho had already told him to include a lab, Kaito to create a secret hideout for Kid, his parents to make a heliport on the roof, moreover Yusaku wanted a studio with a library and Yukiko a personal bar, then Toichi asked for a room to practice his tricks and Chikage wanted a swimming pool and a sauna. All Shinichi wanted, though, was a soccer field. The house was to be massive, that was for sure.
Heiji and Kazuha loved the idea, but their life was in Osaka, so they would just visit like guests, same for Hakuba who didn’t like a lot the experience of a shared house. Sonoko, instead, was looking forward more than anything to go live together. Maybe just due to Kaito’s presence, but she seemed to genuinely enjoy the crazy Kuroba and Kudo adults. After all, she was as crazy as Yukiko and Chikage mixed together, that was for sure.
Shinichi jotted down every suggestion and tried to put them together
“I think we will need maids to keep such a big house” Shiho said, since she didn’t want to live in a wealthy but dirty house.
“No one would want to cook for everyone” Ran reasoned.
“I don’t care that much about the allocation, just separate my parents from yours” Kaito suggested with a shiver down his neck. Yes, indeed, it was a necessity for everyone’s well being.
“I think there should be extra rooms, you never know how many people could come at once” Chikage winked enigmatic.
Shinichi looked at Kaito to ensure that the woman was joking, but Kaito just stood still with fear in his eyes. Oh no, one of the rules of the house would be specifically “Chikage’s friends need to be accepted by everyone”. Because he was afraid of who she would bring home otherwise.
“Mh… Let’s see” Yusaku pondered, careful as usual to voice his own thoughts “Such a big house would be too much of a chaos. It would be better to divide it in different wings connected through corridors or open air bridges like in ancient castles. Clearly kitchens, living rooms and restrooms should be in every wing, Ça va sans dire”
By the end of all the suggestions, Shinichi decided to split the Kudo and Kuroba families in two different wings, as they were too dangerous together. He also added a theater room, a shooting range room and a gaming room, plus many spaces which had yet to found a purpose.
Once their ideas started to get a precise shape, they decided to start the demolition immediately. They weren’t those kind of people that thought twice about their projects. They employed such a massive number of builders that in less then one year the project was wrapped up.
Tokyo citizens went to sleep with the Kudo Manor in sight and they woke up with a Versailles sized villa in front of their eyes.
Shinichi liked to still call it a manor, though, as that name reminded him of what it had been. Shiho said that estate made more sense due to the presence of a massive garden behind the house and the others agreed with her. Estate it was. Although the citizens started calling it the Kudo castle, since Shinichi Kudo was considered as a noble.
Then a bunch of other things happened and everything was too fast to be registered in the detective’s mind. Yukiko kidnapping the detective boys from their neglecting parents, Eisuke moving in with Ran as her boyfriend, Jodie discovering about Vermouth… Too, too much to deal with.
Thankfully, Shinichi wasn’t alone anymore. He now had someone to confide with even in difficult situations.
He had a family.
Some time later
Hidemi had heard from Eisuke about the estate, but she had been too scared to visit, afraid of what, or who, could be found in that place. Now it was different. She was, officially, the Executive director of CIA, no one was above her, only the US president. She didn’t have someone to give account of her movements. If she wanted to go to Japan, no one could hinder her.
However, in front of the estate gates, all her certainties collapsed.
What if Sharon was really there? What would happen? They had met and fallen in love in the most toxic way possible, would they be able to make it work, even just as friends, in a safe environment? Would Sharon let her in after all this time? Too many questions crowded her mind and she was too terrified of the most likely answer.
Hidemi noticed that in front of the gates there were people with cameras and others with notebooks and pens, as if they were waiting for the residents to show up and give them an autograph.
“Are you here to meet the Kudos too?” someone behind her asked and she shook her head.
Seeing as there were only fans in front of the house, it was clear that the entrance for “special guests” was a different one. Damned Eisuke for never giving her the right instructions. She started walking down the perimeter of the gates and noticed that there was no one near the wall on the back, since it was too high and it was impossible to see the estate from there. It didn’t take much for the agent to understand that the hidden entrance was somewhere there. Still, where? There were certainly guarding measures for burglars or other criminals.
Hidemi sighed and called a number that she didn’t even remember having.
“Chikage-san, I’m by the back wall, could you please open the guests’ entrance?” she asked and then she immediately close the call, not to get a refusal or, worse, an acceptance, since that woman didn’t know when to stop chatting.
On her phone a gps position appeared and she followed the coordinates. She touched the bricks in a combination that reminded her a lot of that Harry Potter scene trying to get in Diagon Alley and a scanner appeared. The scanner first memorized her iris, then her whole face and, by the end, it asked for her fingerprints and a drop of blood. Indeed, the Kudos didn’t joke when it came to safety.
It was such a fun thought, because the front gates looked so friendly, making everyone believe that that house was easy to get into, while, in reality, the owners were paranoids. But genius in their paranoia.
Suddenly, once the scanning finished, the pavement below her opened and she free fell in what looked like an escalator.
“What-”
The escalator immediately started moving, but not vertically, instead, horizontally. She had probably passed over the wall, because the escalator starting rising and she went back to the surface once again. This time, in the inner part of the wall.
And like that, she was in the Kudo’s garden. If garden that forest could be called. Indeed, not a family friendly garden with flowers. The escalator didn’t open, but a robotic voice started talking.
“Scansion complete, Hidemi Hondo was authorized in entering the mansion with resident privileges. She can bring her devices with her if she wants” guns, it probably meant guns “To avoid crossing the garden on foot, press the house icon on the panel on the right”
Hidemi pressed the icon. She had all the time of her life for a visit in the backyard, now she wanted to see the house. The escalator sprinted forward and the agent had to put a hand on the panel to keep steady on her feet. After less than thirty seconds she arrived in the courtyard in the center of the four wings manor and the escalator finally opened.
Once she stepped out, she didn’t find Sharon as she was expecting, but children playing with the ball.
“Genta, Genta, pass here!” the high pitched boy was saying. If she wasn’t wrong, those were the Detective Boys and he was Mitsuhiko.
“No, I’m unmarked! Pass the ball!” the girl, Ayumi, replied.
Then behind those children a boy appeared stealing the ball from Genta.
“And like this, number seven, Shinichi Kudo, scores a goal!” Shinichi excitedly reported in the guise of a commentator.
“Do you like stealing candies from kids so much, Shinichi?” a girl rolled her eyes and Hidemi immediately recognized her. Sherry.
Shinichi rubbed his hand on the neck in embarrassment, giggling in response to the children’s huffing. Then he turned back and he noticed Hidemi. The detective immediately beamed and ran to hug her.
“Mizunashi, I mean, Hondo-san, we haven’t seen each other in years!” Shinichi corrected himself immediately, then he added “Literally”
Hidemi nodded and reciprocated the hug, disentangling herself quite fast. Then she shook Sherry’s hand firmly, seeing that the other girl was staring warily at her. For sure it hadn’t been Shiho Miyano the one that had granted her resident rights in the mansion.
“Please, call me Hidemi, everyone. You are Eisuke’s friends, after all” she gently replied.
“What are you doing here? I haven’t heard of you since the CIA purge. Wait, have you risked your position? Have something happened? Do you need my help?” Shinichi asked worried, shifting his weight from one foot to another due to tension.
“No, no, don’t worry, quite the contrary honestly” she waited to give some suspense, then she smiled “You are talking with the official head of the CIA. Except for the president, that is”
Shinichi gasped, then he started applauding and Shiho followed him. Even the children, even if they weren’t aware of what was going on, imitated the elders. Hidemi bowed and smiled to the children, who beamed in response and then went back playing with the ball.
“So, what are you doing here, Kir?” Shiho asked rudely as soon as the children were outside of the hearing field.
“I’m not here for work, Shiho-san” Hidemi used Shiho’s real name for courtesy, to make her understand that she wasn’t hostile “I’m here to see my ex lover”
Shiho and Shinichi looked at each other thinking the same thing: would Sharon want to meet the CIA agent? Hidemi didn’t even know that she was back to her original age, after all. Their age gap was of more or less twenty years, would it ever work between them? But they weren’t brave enough to voice their thoughts.
“She is in the North wing talking with Kaito, please follow me” Shinichi pointed at one of the four autonomous structures.
Hidemi followed the detective, while Shiho was just behind her, clearly not trusting her enough to leave her alone. Hidemi noticed, peeking around, that there were many maids cleaning or even bringing in aliments and full cooked food. The maintenance of that house had to cost a lot. Since when were they billionaires? Well, the Suzuki heir lived with them, so maybe that wealth stemmed from her.
As they got inside that wing of the manor, they went up a staircase that reminded her of disney movies. That was really a castle, as people like to call the manor. Shinichi stopped on the first floor and led her to a room which was clearly sound proofed, as no sound could be heard from outside. Shinichi silently opened the door and Hidemi didn’t hide the instinct to peek inside.
What she saw was the shoulders of a blond woman giving theater lessons to Chikage’s son, Kaito Kuroba.
“Inspector, I will need the documents for-” the boy was acting, using a strange pitch that didn’t even sound as his own, but the woman interrupted him.
“No, no, he wouldn’t move like that. Rather, try to…” the woman corrected and Hidemi gasped.
That wasn’t Sharon’s voice. That wasn’t even Sharon’s look! That woman was way older than the Sharon she had met and fallen in love with. She had wrinkles, her hair was less platinum and more blondish and her voice was much more mature. That was… that was Sharon’s Vineyard body, not Chris’ Vineyard.
Consciously, Hidemi knew that they were the same person, but her mind couldn’t grasp the fact and she started feeling dizzy, needing to lean on the door frame not to scrape her knees.
Her movement alerted the others of her presence and they shifted their attention to her. Hidemi swore she saw Sharon taking in a breath and paling. But she was already pale, so it may have been a trick of her mind.
“Kir” Sharon just said with an uninterested voice.
“Sharon” Kir replied and, unlike the other woman, with her tone she tried to convey all her bottled up emotions “I see that there is no trace of Chris in you anymore”
Sharon chuckled, her eyes distant and detached.
“Yes, Sherry does miracles”
Shiho, Kaito and Shinichi didn’t know what to do, because they felt they were intruding a very important moment between those two ex lovers. Kaito sprinted towards his friends in the most inconspicuous way possible. As no one was saying anything, Shinichi tried to break the tension clearing his voice.
“It looks like you should have an intimate talk between each other, we will just leave you alone”
“There is no need” / “Thank you, I appreciate it” the two women answered at the same time.
Sharon scowled at Hidemi, who, instead, just stuck her tongue out as a child.
The three outsiders giggled and stepped back, closing the door.
“Do you think that they will make up?” Kaito asked hopeful.
“Ten bucks they will make out” Shiho answered grinning.
“I’m not gonna bet lost money” Shinichi sighed.
That day the residents had dinner together. The place near Sharon was occupied by Hidemi Hondo, head of CIA and official girlfriend of Sharon Vineyard.
And they were holding hands. Obviously.
Hidemi stayed at the manor for some days, then she started going back and forward between America and Japan. She was too important to be dislocated in Japan, so she could only visit every so often.
Sharon’s mood had gotten better and she had even decided to go shopping on her own, instead of being forced by Chikage and Yukiko. Clearly with a wig on, not to look too suspicious.
Everything was going well for the residents, when one of Kid’s heists almost ended in tragedy.
The Organization wasn’t apparently the only group after Pandora and someone was afraid of Kid finding it, resolving in shooting to the wizard during one of his heists.
The Kudo Estate became pure chaos. Kaito couldn’t go to a hospital, but Shiho had foreseen similar outcomes and had adorned a room as a little clinic. Moreover, one of their maids was a nurse that had sworn secrecy over the family secrets and was very trusted by everyone. Shiho, as a doctor, and the maid, as a nurse, gave Kaito a surgery. The mood was tense and Chikage even cried, afraid of her baby’s life.
In the end the surgery was a success, but the close call distressed everyone. Thankfully Sonoko was out of the country, otherwise she would have probably passed out in shock. However, that day, something shifted inside Sharon, who decided it was time to have a serious talk that was long overdue.
One week after the accident, she gathered Shiho, Shinichi and Kaito in the living room and decided to tell them a truth that hadn’t even come out in the trials. A truth that was only hers and others could only imagine, but never have a proof to confirm it. Because every witness, apart from her, was dead.
“Let me tell you a story, my dear children”
And she began narrating.
“… And the alchemist tried all the combinations, until he finally found the right stones to melt together”
“So an alchemist is like a chemist, daddy?”
“You are so smart Sharon, that is exactly what an alchemist is!”
“And what did the alchemist create?”
“He created a stone more powerful than anything else. A stone that would shine red under the moonlight and that, if melted and ingested, it would give eternal youth to the user”
“Oh, it doesn’t sound so much fun”
The man laughed at his daughter’s words. Indeed, it wasn’t fun, at all. But his daughter had to know what their family specialized in, it was for her own good.
“You are so bright, Sharon! One day you are going to make your grandfather proud!”
That was a lie and Sharon knew it. Grandfather Renya never smiled at her and he was always grumpy. He preferred his shady friends to his pure granddaughter. She didn’t like him, at all.
“Does Grandpa want that stone, then? Is that what’s going to make him happy?”
“Yes and No. My father wants eternal youth. He doesn’t care about finding the original Pandora, to him even a chemical solution is fine. This is why he is looking for many talented scientists all over the world”
And, indeed, over the decades, her grandfather gathered scientists and criminals alike in the same place. What Sharon had thought would be a research center ended up being a criminal clique. Everyone looked shady and people started carrying along guns. Those scientists didn’t smile anymore and they looked like they were handcuffed to their job.
Sharon’s father disagreed with Renya’s ways and tried to shelter her from that world. He sent her to a theater school where she made many friends. Then she met Yukiko, which was so fun to hang with. But her father mysteriously died and Renya asked for her.
Sharon became Vermouth and her skills for acting were used to kill people, lure people out, seduce people. Renya remembered she was his granddaughter once a year at most. At least, the woman found out she had more autonomy than others in that organization.
Renya forced her to marry a man called Vineyard and like that she became Sharon Vineyard. The name Karasuma wasn’t linked to her anymore. She didn’t love her husband, but she would forever be grateful to him for lending her his surname.
Then something terribly happened in her late twenties.
A scientist made a compound in pills that acted like Pandora on mice and other mammals. Renya was ecstatic, but he didn’t want to endanger his life, so he asked his dear granddaughter to try it and ensure it wouldn’t kill the patient. She was basically a guinea pig.
The pills didn’t have the effect desired and she fell in coma for a month. In that time the scientist was killed for making an attempt on her life and, to Renya’s dismay, they discovered she had left no copy of the formula. The formula of those pills was lost forever.
Sharon one day woke up, not feeling any different. But, as year passed, everyone noticed something: her body wasn’t aging. She tried to use make up and masks, but Renya discovered it and found out the pills had worked. Sharon had achieved eternal youth. He immediately asked the Miyano couple to analyze her blood and recreate the magic potion, but, when they got too close to the solution, they refused to continue their research and they were killed.
Meanwhile Sharon met Toichi, then Chikage and Yusaku and, obviously, Shinichi and Kaito. By a joke of destiny, Toichi was looking for Pandora as well, but he didn’t want eternal youth, but to destroy the gem. From an ally, Toichi became a friend and Sharon spent the best moments of her life with her new friends. Sharon worked with her friends to find Pandora, but the Organization took notice.
Toichi “died” and new people were added to the Organization. Bourbon, Kir, Sherry, Rye, Scotch. All so young and with a tragic background. Sharon wanted to keep them out, but it was too late. Everyone feared her as Vermouth and they would never accept her help.
Then, one day in New York, she found an Angel and a Silver Bullet and she discovered that hope wasn’t lost.
Renya still hadn’t won.
The story hadn’t come as a shock to the listeners, as they already suspected a great part of it, but it made them pity even more the woman for her unfortunate upbringing. Had she been born in a different family, she could have had a happy life.
Shiho, in particular, could relate a lot with her for the first time in her life. She wasn’t so sure that she could continue putting on such a cold demeanor in Sharon’s presence, not when they were so similar. Then she realized that she had something to say as well.
“Sharon…” Shiho started and everyone looked at her “My parents actually arrived at the complete formula, this is how I was able to create an antidote for you so fast. The APTX should have worked as Pandora, but, as we all know, it didn’t. My parents left years of their research hidden away from the Organization and I was able to find it only via Shinichi”
“So, they risked their life for nothing?” Sharon frowned.
“They died for their ideals. I’m proud of being their daughter” Sharon replied fiercely and Sharon nodded, understanding what the scientist was saying. She was proud that her father had stood against Renya as well.
“Wait” Kaito interrupted “Is this what you meant in the middle of the Takedown when you told me you had finally understood what Pandora was?”
Shiho nodded. The revelation had been sudden and it was mostly due to the closeness with Kaito while looking for the Organization’s labs. She had connected those two worlds and she had gotten an answer.
“And why haven’t you told me during all this time?” Kaito screamed outraged.
Shiho just shrugged her shoulders with nonchalance and didn’t bother answering. Shinichi tried to calm Kaito down, while Sharon was looking at her godchildren amused. They were so endearing. And, yes, she had officially adopted Shiho as her goddaughter, after all, she was family now.
Sharon silently left the room, while Kaito was still shouting atrocities at Shiho, with the girl calmly sipping her tea with no worry at all.
Shinichi finally gave up in placating the other and sank in the couch. Looking at Shiho and Kaito from outside he though about how strange their group was. They were a detective, a murderer scientist and a thief, yet they worked so well together. Without them Shinichi would have never grown up. He suddenly felt moved and decided to hug them.
“Eh? Shin-chan, what are you doing? Shin-chan?” Kaito asked confused, then he decided that the reason wasn’t so important and he melted in the hug.
Shiho didn’t even bother pretending she wasn’t enjoying the hug and immediately reciprocated. At least Kaito had shut up.
Shinichi wanted to stay there forever. It was in that moment that he had an epiphany. He could stay like this forever. There was a way.
He pulled back excitedly under the confused stares of his lover and his best friend.
“Guys, I have a great idea” he proudly announced.
Shiho looked at him as if he had hurt his head as a baby. She was probably about to ask if his parents had dropped him or something, but Kaito was faster, enthusiastic as ever for surprises.
“What? What? I wanna know!”
Shinichi grinned and pointed at the three of them.
“Me, you, Shiho, let’s form an active detective unit!”
Kaito glanced at Shiho to see if she had any idea about what he was talking about, but the girl looked deep in thoughts. After a moment of silence she spoke up.
“You mean we should create a detective studio together? Like Kogoro?”
It made sense. They already occasionally worked together and they matched each other’s skills perfectly. Shiho was a perfect coroner and an excellent hacker, while Kaito could cover every single profession due to his brilliance. Once both Shinichi and Kaito got their criminology degree, the three of them would finally be able to act as professionals. But why was Shinichi so excited? They already did such stuff.
“No, no, I’m not talking about that” Shinichi explained impatient “I’m talking about becoming an active unit like FBI and CIA units, just, unaffiliated with any agency. I’m not talking about being mercenaries and washing agencies’ dirty clothes, as we would choose our own cases and take those that please us. It’s just that… I would love to take cases around the world and help people like we did against the Karasuma group”
Kaito thought it over. He wasn’t made for a stationary job. He was too hyperactive to sit on a desk. Yes, helping Shinichi as a detective was fun, but being an agent would be even more entertaining. If autonomy could really be ensured, then… it would be the perfect job for him.
Shiho pondered the option too. She had been a criminal, she didn’t suddenly feel as a law abiding citizen with a great sense of justice. She didn’t believe that once a criminal, always a criminal, but, in her case, she wasn’t so sure that this motto didn’t fit her. She wasn’t like Shinichi, hell, even Kaito, who was still committing crimes was way more lawful than her. Was her place really by their side? She wanted to be a stylist, after all, and that job was already hard enough. But hadn’t she already decided, years ago, that she would help Shinichi whatever he asked her to do?
In the end they both had an answer.
“Let’s do it.”
“I’m in.”
It’s useless to add that their unit was a success and every agency started competing for their attention. Shinichi’s allies sometimes had a precedence, but they also knew that he would always put the most dangerous and urgent cases first. Because, no matter how ethically ambiguous he had become, he was still a detective. And he believed in justice and protecting innocents.
After all, he wasn’t a criminal. He was just… morally gray.