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Everything was perfect: balloons check, cake check, cameras ready to catch Shinichi’s reaction check. Now all that was missing was Shinichi himself but he wasn’t due to arrive for a few more minutes. Kaito was nervous, well excited but also nervous. He knew Shinichi had a big day yesterday with his case and that he would likely not be up to Kaito’s antics but he wouldn’t be mad… Kaito hoped.
“Kaito, calm down,” Tou-san chuckled, he seemed to enjoy watching Kaito flail around, checking to make sure everything was just so.
Kaito stared at Tou-san before sighing and deflating into the couch. Kaito hated waiting for anything, too energetic for being calm. He glanced at the clock, five fifty two. Eight more minutes, maybe thirty if Shinichi got distracted but he would have texted by now. Shinichi was very good about making sure Kaito knew of any changes to their plans, likely because the last time he forgot, Kaito dyed everything he owned pink and Shinichi had to buy a new wardrobe.
Another glance at the clock and it was now after six and there was no sign of Shinichi, no call or text either. It took great resolve to not barge out the door to hunt down his detective. His nosy and forgetful detective. Kaito growled, getting up only to be blocked by Tou-san, “Patience is a virtue.”
“Not one I have,” Kaito hissed, he was mad and every second that ticked by made it worse. Shinichi promised that he would be on time if not early, if only to make up for their last meet up where he was late by almost three hours. What could make Shinichi forget? Was he really that tired that he was still sleeping? That was possible but unlikely, did the station call Shinichi in for more questioning? If that was the case then he would have called . So if it wasn’t sleep and not the station then what on earth is keeping him?! Kaito’s stomach dropped, he could think of all the things that Shinichi was bound to get into and none of it was pretty. Shinichi was a trouble magnet through and through.
Kaito started at the wall, it was now after six thirty, even Tou-san was starting to look worried. Kaito grabbed his phone and quickly dialed Shinichi’s number, straight to voicemail. That did not lessen the anxiety in Kaito’s stomach. Why was his phone off? “I’m so dyeing all his stuff again,” Kaito growled, getting an amused chuckle in response.
“I’m sure he is fine, let’s get the cake in the fridge,” Tou-san smiled but Kaito could see the worry, Shinichi was like his second son, just like Kaito was Yusaku’s. Their families might as well have been one with how close they all were.
Kaito nodded, standing up slowly, trying in vain to bleed some of the worry from his own body. With the task of getting the cake put away done, Kaito also cleaned up some of the mess in the kitchen that they had decided could wait till after Shinichi arrived. Once Kaito was finished, he looked at the clock again, seven forty.
Kaito met Tou-san’s eyes and got a nod. Kaito left the room quickly enough, running to his room to gather his things before bolting back down the stairs. Tou-san was ready with the car keys and they headed out. It would be a bit of a drive to Shinichi’s place but it would be well worth it if Shinichi was simply sleeping in bed, safe .
---
Arriving at the house gave them all the answers they needed without even going inside. It was dark, no one was home. Kaito unlocked the door quickly enough and stepped inside. He scanned around for anything amiss and saw nothing. Slipping off his shoes, he stalked into the living room, finding nothing and went to the next. Tou-san was checking the second floor. Once Kaito reached the kitchen, he found a clue. There was a calendar with today circled, Ran Tropical Land. That irked Kaito, if Shinchi forgot, so help him! He stormed out of the kitchen and slammed the door to the house, not bothering to stop when Tou-san called after him. Kaito took off running. He knew the route Shinichi would have taken to the theme park. Tracing his steps would be easy.
Kaito got about half way there, stopping to catch his breath. He managed to run out his anger and now was just hurt. He worked so hard to make today special, Shinichi always forgot his own birthday and yet he always, always did something nice and thoughtful for Kaito. Kaito just wanted to return the favor.
He sighed, running his hands through his rats nest of hair before looking around him. He spotted something off, an alley just a bit ahead of him was closed off with police tape and an officer was standing by. Kaito walked over, glancing at the scene before spotting someone familiar. “Mouri-Keibu!” He called, the man grumbled something and looked up at Kaito.
“Kuroba-san, what’s got you in the area?”
“Looking for Shinichi,” Kaito saw a lot of blood in the alleyway and a… jacket. It was Shinichi’s jacket… Kaito’s blood ran cold. He surveyed the area quickly, seeing a large amount of blood, hopefully not all Shinichi’s otherwise he would not be in all that great of shape.
Mouri-keibu walked over, towering over Kaito, “Shinichi-kun is missing?”
“Y-yea,” Kaito nodded, his system was distracted by the officer taking photos of the scene, “He was supposed to be at my place for six and he never showed. His phone is off too so I can’t get a hold of him…”
“Hmm, that’s concerning. Ran told me she had planned to spend the day at Tropical Land with him. She stated that she would be late getting home so I haven’t heard from her either.” Mouri-keibu stated flatly, it made Kaito’s hair stand on end, something was wrong, very very wrong but Kaito didn’t know what ! Was it this whole situation or was it something else. Kaito was inclined to believe it was the situation because Mouri-keibu, although not a huge fan of his, had always been an upstanding person. Guiding Shinichi through the proper procedure of things, helping him learn how to become the best detective he could be. Sure Yusaku was here for Shinichi too but with him traveling, Mouri-keibu was a more… stable? Yeah stable mentor for him. Shinichi always gushed about how he was learning so much from working with Megure-keibu and Mouri-keibu both so Kaito had come to be fairly comfortable with them both.
“Can… or rather, would you be willing to call Mouri-san? I just want to make sure Shinichi is okay.”
Mouri-keibu raised an eyebrow at the question, “You should have her number, right?”
“Yes? We aren’t exactly speaking at the moment. Last time I saw Mouri-san, we got into a huge argument about Shinichi and we haven’t made up yet. I’m worried she won’t take my call,” Small lie but the fact that Mouri and Kaito did not get along was nothing new. They have butted heads for years. Kaito being more willing to go along with whatever Shinichi was doing, be it solving murders or just reading mystery novels. Whereas Mouri wanted Shinichi to get out and meet people, to do new things and experience life. Kaito had no issues with that but what he had an issue with was the fact that Mouri degraded Shinichi’s earnest dreams of becoming a detective.
She always voiced all the issues with the profession, making sure that Shinichi knew and understood that was why she had a broken family. Kaito always thought she was laying it on thick but Shinichi couldn’t be persuaded. Shinichi liked Mouri, gave excuse after excuse, saying things like, “Ran just wants to make sure I know what I’m in for,” and “Her father works so much that it broke their family.” Like those were any excuse for her behavior but Kaito couldn’t win and it wasn’t worth fighting Shinichi about. He had a crush and until Mouri proved to him that she wasn’t as sweet as she acted to be, Kaito would just have to wait and pick up the pieces.
Speaking of which, he really hoped Shinichi wasn’t in pieces…
Mouri-keibu sighed, getting Kaito out of the anxiety fest that was his head at the moment, “I’ll call her but I don’t expect her to answer since the two should still be at the park.” Mouri-keibu walked away for a moment, phone next to his ear as he listened. Kaito could just make out the sound of an answering machine before Mouri-keibu looked back at him, “No luck, the park closes in an hour so if I hear from her I’ll call you.”
Kaito brightened at the idea. “Do you need my number?”
“No, I got it from Shinichi-kun in case there was ever an emergency, your family is his immediate contact.”
“Oh… well I’m glad he thought of that,” Kaito bowed and gave the sight one last look before realizing there was a trail of blood into the back alleyway. It wasn’t taped off. That struck Kaito as odd, there was no way they didn’t notice it. Maybe there was something off here after all. “Thank you Mouri-keibu, I guess I better get back to my searching just in case.” Kaito bowed again before leaving the area, he walked a block before doubling back by way of alley. He needed to see where that blood trail led but he needed to also not get caught snooping either. It was surprising that there was no officer posted on the other side of the closed off alleyway, raising more alarms in Kaito’s head.
Either Mouri-keibu was having an off day or something was up. The trail of blood was clear as day, well at least to him, the sun might have set some time ago but there was enough light from the surrounding areas to illuminate the streaks of blood. Kaito glanced around before studying them. They headed away from the street, deeper into the dark alleyways. Kaito pulled out a flashlight, ready to use it when it got too dark to see as he picked his way along the trail of blood.
Kaito’s skin crawled as he tracked, his stomach in tight knots. This was not his chosen profession and if it wasn’t for the fact that he had a sinking feeling that Shinichi needed him, he would have booked it away and gotten help from someone more accustomed to this. Several buildings away from where the officers were, the trail ended. It was like the body had been picked up and moved. Kaito scanned the area for anything amiss. There was a large dumpster, some metal drums and bags of trash. Kaito grimaced, Shinichi could be anywhere or worse, could have been carried off. Kaito resigned himself to searching through the trash before a sound caught his attention.
He doesn’t dare be hopeful but something just moved . Kaito listened harder, hearing the vague sound of something rubbing against something and raced over to the sound. Metal barrels it is, Kaito opened one and a horrifying wave of flies flooded from inside. Kaito slammed down the lid, it was nothing more than rotting food. The next one's lid was ajar, giving him hope that there would be a less nasty surprise. Lifting the lid up, Kaito peered inside and his heart sank. Shinichi’s clothes were in a small bundle, too small for his body and a rat sat happily perched on top, chewing away at the fabric. Kaito shooed the rat and grabbed at the clothes, hoping beyond hope that he wasn’t about to find a severed body part.
He didn’t expect the bundle to be as heavy as it was or for it to moan. Clothes don’t… just… moan…?
Kaito pulled the shirt back before his brain just stopped. He couldn’t process what he was seeing because it was too fantastic to be real. If he didn’t know any better, he would say he was looking at Shinichi, only several years younger than he should have been. Kaito carefully pulled him out of the barrel before laying him on the ground to look him over better. He held his flashlight with his teeth as he removed the blood soaked clothes, gasping at what he saw underneath.
Any doubt that this wasn’t Shinichi vanished, he was covered in darkening bruises where it looked like he had been beaten with a pipe or a bat, his left hand was smashed, though how badly remained to be seen. Shinichi had a deep laceration on his forehead that was still sluggishly bleeding and what appeared to be a few stab wounds along with a tear in his side. Kaito pulled the shirt down, it was more than he could process at the moment.
Kaito pulled his phone out before calling Tou-san, the call connected on the first ring, “Kaito, have you calmed down now?”
“I found him,” Kaito didn’t bother hiding the distress in his voice, he needed Tou-san and he needed to get Shinichi help.
“Where are you?”
---
Kaito stood in the shadows of the alley, waiting for Tou-san to arrive. Shinichi had yet to stir in his arms but thankfully, he was still breathing. Kaito looked down at the bundle and wondered what the hell happened to do this to him, why did he shrink, who attacked him, and most importantly, what possible reason could there have been for this?
There was also the nagging thought Mouri was possibly being in danger but Kaito highly doubted that, she was a force to be reckoned with and not someone to take lightly. She had the fighting prowess of a killing machine that just happened to act and look cute. Then there was the other nagging thought of, if they were together, why didn’t she help him!? Shinichi might have taken some self-defense classes but he was by no means on Mouri’s level. Hell, Shinichi couldn’t even win against Kaito with a hand tied behind his back.
His head thumped against the wall as he looked skyward, his thoughts spiraling endlessly with questions that he couldn’t get answers to till Shinichi woke. “Kaito,” Tou-san’s voice echoed down the alley. Kaito snapped to look at him, relief flooding his system as he briskly walked over. “Where is Shinichi?”
“Yeah… I’ll explain in the car,” There was no way on earth that Kaito was just going to state that he was a kid where anyone could hear him. Tou-san raised an eyebrow but seemed to understand, leading Kaito back to the car. Once inside and moving, Kaito pulled back the cover to his bundle, revealing Shinichi’s head. He heard his father take a sharp breath but said nothing. “I don’t know how or why, but this is him.” Tou-san nodded.
“I have no reason to question your judgment. It’s not like it’s the weirdest thing you have seen either.”
“Currently the most worrisome,” Kaito muttered, pulling Shinichi flush against him, mindful of his wounds, “He needs help now, if all the blood I saw in the alleyways was his, he is low, and someone stabbed him, several times.”
“So, quick drive home then. I’ll call Chikage, and she will get the supplies ready.”
“Kaa-san is working, though,” Kaito muttered.
“This is a family emergency,” Tou-san smiled. It wasn’t warm, but it was comforting. If there was one person that Kaito lost his cool around, it was Shinichi and anything Shinichi-related. No matter how many times Tou-san or Kaa-san scolded him for dropping his poker face, Kaito just couldn’t do it, Shinichi got mad at him for it.
“I’m sorry…”
“No need to be. You two are close, it’s only natural to be upset.”
The rest of the drive was completed in silence, Kaito was both thankful and yet not. It meant his head had time to work itself up more but it also gave him time to try and calm down too. He didn’t calm down much, but his head was clearer by the time he got home, having pushed aside all extraneous thoughts, ready to focus on Shinichi and Shinichi alone.
Kaa-san opened the door for them as they rushed inside, “How is he?”
“B-breathing? Beyond that, after realizing just how injured he was, I called Tou-san. I knew Shinichi needed help sooner rather than later. I also thought, given the state he is in, home was a better idea to really look into the damage.” Kaito exploded, his nerves were getting the better of him. He cringed when he finished, Kaa-san’s gaze was steady with a raised eyebrow. Clearly, she didn’t approve, unlike his father, of his lack of poker face.
“Kaito…” She started.
“No! Not now, lecture later, Shinichi first.” Kaito pushed past her into the living room to see that it had been cleared of furniture and a plastic sheet laid out with a metal table covered with a white sheet in the center. Kaito rested Shinichi down on the cold table before slowly stripping him down. He swallowed hard as he found three different bullet wounds to join the stab wounds. It was a wonder how Shinichi was still breathing.
Kaa-san took a deep breath behind him as the last of the clothing came away. Shinichi was more black and blue than not and if Kaito counted right, had eight stab wounds. Who in their right mind would do this to him?! All Shinichi did was help people, so why did he have to suffer such a beating? Kaa-san began to wipe away the grim and blood, cleaning carefully around the open wounds. “I got the medical bag. Go find the suture kit, we will need to close up these stab wounds while making sure the bullets went through and possibly that head wound. I need to get a better look at it.” Kaito nodded, making his way over to the oversized black duffle bag. It took a moment to find the right kit in the bag as they had every kind of medical preparation possible inside. Once back at Shinichi’s side, Kaito opened the bag, everything laid out in order of need. Kaito ran over to the kitchen to scrub up, wanting to make sure he didn’t cause an infection himself, before rushing back and donning gloves.
“Are you sure you can do this?” Kaa-san asked softly, “You are clearly a wreck.”
“I didn’t go through all that training to wimp out when Shinichi needs me the most,” Kaito hissed. He knew Kaa-san meant well, but Kaito wasn’t ready to be questioned. She nodded and continued to clean up Shinichi. Kaito sterilized the first stab wound before slowly and as gently as possible, working to stitch up the wound. His nerves settled quickly enough as he worked. It concerned Kaito that Shinichi didn’t stir at the constant poking and pulling of the already tender skin.
Kaa-san looked over the wounds, double-checking Kaito’s work before making a noise of frustration, “One of these bullet wounds didn’t go through.”
Kaito paused his work to look more closely at the wound in question. “I don’t… I don’t really… I will do that last, it’s not bleeding to bad so I will dig out out once everything else is dealt with.”
“That’s a good move and the best choice given the situation,” Kaa-san sighed before she finished cleaning the wound. Kaito nodded and returned to his knitting of flesh.
Time lost all meaning as Kaito worked, closing wound after wound. After further examination, the head wound did in fact need to be stitched closed. Then Kaito moved his attention to Shinichi’s messed up left hand. He felt for broken bones and to his relief, there were none. His hand was merely stomped on. Kaito could even make out the shoe print on the skin. It sickened him but they cleaned up the torn skin before bandaging up Shinichi’s various wounds. With him finally clean and treated, Kaito stretched. His back ached by the time he was done, but it was worth it. Now they just had to give Shinichi fluids to bring up his blood pressure, some antibiotics and pain meds. Kaito cracked his back again before Tou-san took over and carried Shinichi out of the room. He must have prepared the guest room, well, Kaito knew where he was sleeping. Glancing at the clock, it was just past one am and Kaito was done, his brain was fried and he needed to rest. Too much stress for no reward.
Kaa-san gave Shinichi the necessary medications before he was tucked into bed as Kaito walked into the room, a blanket wrapped around him and got an amused look from his mother, “Why am I not surprised?” Kaito felt his cheeks heat up but said nothing, grabbing a chair and sitting down next to Shinichi. He wanted to be there when Shinichi woke up. Another chuckle and Kaito was left alone, the door clicking shut.
Kaito sighed, crumpling onto the side of the bed as he looked at Shinichi’s sleeping form, an IV hooked into him, slowly dripping. Kaito sighed, relieved that Shinichi should be on the mend, aside from the obvious issue of him being small. Kaito yawned, blinking a few more times before his eyes slid shut.