Bad Moon Rising
Seventh year. (Part IV)
Five days later, Shinichi still felt numb while he ate his breakfast. The moya was full of students, talking, laughing and preparing for their school day. Some even studied or discussed excitedly about upcoming N.E.W.T's subjects and tests. But Shinichi didn't register any of it, he was deep in his own dark thoughts.
"-udō. Shinichi?", Ai asked impatiently.
"Hm?" He made a disinterested, unfriendly sound, but didn't look up from his plate. He took a bite from his breakfast. Even his toast tasted bleak.
"Take a look at this...", she held the newspaper up in front of his face and he glanced at it, still not very interested.
His eyes scanned the page. Wait- what? His heart jumped, then he let the toast fall from his hand and grabbed the newspaper in a hurry, to read it properly.
"What is it? Was it another attack from the shadows?", Heiji asked alarmed, but Shinichi ignored his friends.
For once, his reaction didn't have to do with crime or injustice. Ai in front him just smiled into her cup of green tea, as if she knew a secret, nobody else knew. Maybe she did. Shinichi didn't really care either way.
"I thought that would pick up your spirit...", she mumbled cryptic instead.
"What does that mean? Hey! Don't ignore me!", Heiji complained loudly.
Ai sighed, rolling her eyes.
"Don't always be so noisy! It's not about the shadows. Just let him be."
Heiji huffed.
"Fine, then I'm going over to Kazuha. See you guys later?", he asked moodily.
Ai didn't actually respond, she just sipped her tea. Shinichi just grunted and waved him off. Instead, he read the headline over and over again.
Apparently, there was a break-in into a well-known museum in Tokyo last night, a building that belonged to the Suzuki‘s.
However, the more interesting fact about the whole thing wasn't that something was stolen. No... Instead, two treasures were found along with a note.
The note was even printed over one whole site. Shinichi would recognize this handwriting everywhere... He smirked sardonically. He could feel his heart pounding in his chest so hard it hurt and he could feel it in his throat.
The realization of why he felt like that also came with another unpleasant feeling that almost drowned him... He gripped the paper so hard it crinkled under his fingers and his knuckles went white.
That was the moment Ran, Sera, Sonoko and her newest boyfriend Mokoto sat down at the table beside them.
"Yo. What's up?", Sera asked in her usual carefree manner and glanced around interested. Sonoko scoffed when she looked at him.
"Wow, does Kudō act like a normal human being again? His mood seems better. What happened, did someone die?", she drawled.
"Sonoko...", Ran mumbled chidingly and Ai snorted amused. Thankfully, she answered for him before Shinichi could throw her an unfriendly comment.
"Not this time. It's an article about one of your properties actually. A museum? Although there wasn't anything stolen. It's rather curious really..."
Sonoko's face lit up.
"Oh right, yeah. My parents already told me. Isn't that the weirdest thing ever? First, this guy breaks into our school of all places - Causing massive property damage and mischief throughout the whole school... Plays even tricks on teachers. And then this? What thief breaks into a highly guarded building like that, just to leave us treasures, instead of stealing some... My parents were very happy about it, though. Apparently, they were really valuable. My mother even plans to do an exhibition for them."
Shinichi made a displeased sound.
"They belong to humankind... He wanted to do the right thing, by giving them back. It's noble", he mumbled sourly, not looking at her.
"Wow, he even talks now...", Sonoko commented dryly and smirked. "Welcome back to the world, nerd. Also, did you just take side with a thief? That's definitely new. Did you hit your head or something?"
"Shut up...", Shinichi mumbled absent-mindedly feeling himself blush a bit, already reading the article again, but Sonoko just laughed heartily.
"Yeah, we missed you too... So, wanna hear what name this mysterious guy gave himself?", she asked around the table smirking, clearly seeking attention.
"What name?", Sera asked absently, while biting into an Onigiri she cheekily fished from Ran's plate, when she didn't look. When she did notice though, Ran just smiled lopsided at her, shaking her head. Sera winked at her.
"The moonlight magician. Cute, right?", Sonoko giggled and Sera smirked, snorting.
"It is. But I'm curious about this thief... That's really odd behaviour. I wonder what his motives are."
Ran beside her, elbowed her in her side.
"Mou~ you start to sound like Shinichi already."
Sera chuckled and scratched her head in a sheepish way.
"Ah. I can't help it... It is true though, don't you think?"
They kept discussing possible motives, while Sonoko kept talking gushingly about his appearance, sounding more and more like a fan girl. Beside Sonoko, Makoto ate his breakfast in silence, but he squeaked with the cutlery on his plate when he heard her comments. His eyes were on the plate in front of him, but there was a dark look on his face. And it sounded like he wanted to hack his eggs and salmon apart...
Everyone winced, even Shinichi, who only threw them a short look. Everyone, except Sonoko, who clearly didn't notice his jealousy and kept talking mindlessly.
Shinichi grimaced and sighed inwardly. Drama would follow like usual, but he already felt distant again, his thoughts reeling.
As he looked up again from the paper, he could see Aoko at another table, sitting beside Hakuba, who talked to her in a hushed voice.
Shinichi still had the image vividly in mind, as she sat at the same table on the first morning after Kaito had left the school...
Her eyes were rimmed red then, like she recently had cried, but she also had seemed deeply angry and had stared at the table, as if she wanted the food in front of her to catch fire. Shinichi knew exactly how she had felt that day.
Today she looked almost normal, but deep in thought. He still wasn't sure if he should talk to her about Kaito or not...
Shinichi then looked around the moya and scanned the room for a special person. When he finally spotted her, his face darkened and his insides grew cold.
He fixated Vineyard with a grim smirk, as he watched her pull absentmindedly on her blonde hair, while she sat at the teachers table. It was still slightly colored in different washed out colours and little pieces of gum were still stuck in it.
She seemed very irritated about that fact and it made Shinichi wish once more, he could have seen her actually stuck in gum. Apparently, it had taken other teachers, the whole night, to get her out of the gum that had exploded in her face.
But sadly, he had only heard about what had happened from the gossip train that went through the school the next day.
When Shinichi had snuck back into the school that early morning five days ago, nobody had noticed him in the ongoing chaos, since the whole school was up and about, the damage that had rattled the school and why, all the while the alarm bells were still ringing.
The teachers were either too busy with calming down students and keeping them in their houses or had other work to do, like cleaning up the damage of several activated magic traps in the hallways, classrooms and even the garden and the roof...
To his luck, not even his friends had noticed him being gone, since they thought he had been stuck at detention all night, before all hell broke loose.
The story that even made it into the Swift feather went as followed: For still mysterious reasons, an older guy, clad in a white yukata and kimono robe with a hood, who wore a white smiling mask, had broken into the school, claiming he came looking for a hidden treasure.
He hadn't found it, of course. Instead, he then had blown through the school like a tornado full of boyish tricks and traps, causing all kinds of chaos in the school, playing cat and mouse with teachers, on even them, he had played tricks.
Vineyard-sensei, who had encountered him first, was the only one who had a duel with him, before he had lured her into said gum trap.
Nobody was harmed in a serious way though. The whole ordeal had more like a prankster character, than being an actual threat, so what happened was seen more as exciting, than anything else.
Even the dragon spirit that had blown through the roof at the end of the night, was written off as the grand finale of a night full of mind tricks. Ironically, nobody believed it was real.
The only one who might knew the truth was Headmaster Agasa, but the amused glint in his eyes, as he talked in front of the student body in the moya the day after, told Shinichi everything he needed to know... Nobody would ever find out.
The only thing that was amiss in a way, was the fact that Kuroba Kaito officially had left the school over night before graduation. Headmaster Agasa explained it with a letter from the ministry, for Disapparating without a licence leaving him no choice but to expel him.
Apparently, he had left Aoko, Hakuba and even Akako a letter, telling them his goodbyes. Shinichi had overheard Akako talking about it at their table one morning. The news wasn't very shocking to most students though, it seemed, it was Kuroba after all. So in less than three days, everything went back to normal.
And now, this mysterious thief had appeared again... And only Shinichi knew who he really was and what he was after. With that thought, he then remembered, what he had wanted to do, since he had woken up today.
"Thanks Ai...", he mumbled softly at her across the table. She smiled at him in a very kind way, which was only reserved for him.
"No problem."
He finally stood up with determination and took the newspaper with him.
"Wait- Shinichi..." Ran hurried after him, but he didn't stop on his way to the library.
Unknown to the two, Ai looked after them and sighed resigned. Beside her, Sera did the same, as she looked after Ran, while Makoto and Sonoko had began to bicker about Sonoko's growing obsession with the white clad thief everyone talked about...
It was already very late at night when his two best friends plopped down across from him on the couch in the library and ripped Shinichi out of his thoughts. He nearly jumped up from his favourite seat in surprise and tiredly rubbed over his eyes. How late was it anyway? Was it already after midnight? He stretched his back and winced when something popped.
"What- what are you guys doing here?", he asked weary.
"We should ask you that...", Heiji replied sarcastically with a long meaningful look and picked up a book from his very high pile of books stacked up in front and around him.
Shinichi grimaced.
Heiji handed the book over to Ai and picked up another one, browsing through the pages in a fast way. He arched an eyebrow at him.
"What exactly are you researching this excessively?", he threw another look on the pile, reading some of the titles. "And why is almost every book about old legends, gems and stone lore?"
"Just to clarify. Excessive research and book piles aren't anything unusual for you. But you aren't studying for N.E.W.T's. At all. That's what worries me", Ai added flatly.
The look Ai gave him spoke volumes too. Shinichi knew she suspected or maybe even knew already what was going on, even though he hadn't told her anything.
Normally she did respect his privacy, but the look on her face now was deeply concerned. That meant, he probably had once again overdone it with his research. But he couldn't help it...
She leaned back into the plush seat behind her, crossing her arms. The fire was throwing her face into a slight shadow.
"You've been acting strange like this since last week, Kudō. Ever since... well. Ever since Kuroba has vanished over night and that mysterious thief broke into our school. You looked like you've seen a ghost that morning... Like you barely even slept. Then you were practically in a state of depression for days and now you're in full-on racoon mode."
"What? I'm not in a-", he scoffed, but she interrupted him in her usual flat, sarcastic way, raising a very judgy eyebrow.
"You look like a stray racoon, Kudō - all inclusive deep, dark eye bags and bloodshot eyes. Look... We don't want to pry. But something clearly happened. We just want to know what's going on with you", Ai said and Shinichi smiled wryly.
He sighed and snorted softly as he rather deflated into the cushion of the sofa. The truth was, she was right. He really was exhausted. He had been reading and thinking the whole day, no, every day, ever since and had stared into the fireplace for an eternity it seemed... Maybe it was time he told them what was weighing on him. At least... Parts of it.
Shinichi spelled a Muffliato charm around them, just to be sure and leaned forward on his knees. He took a deep breath and then he talked. And didn't stop talking, until he had told them everything he deemed necessary for them to know. He told them about the incident with Vineyard and Kaito, about her threatening Aoko and causing the accident, about overhearing them talk and the discussion he had with headmaster Agasa.
He maybe left out a few... personal things that had occurred. Like everything that happened that night, the dragon broke out. But well, they weren't important to anyone but him...
When he finished, he leaned back again and waited for their response.
"You think Vineyard-sensei is with the shadows!?", Heiji exclaimed and Shinichi grimaced. He made a hushing move with his hands and Heiji ducked his head. The three of them looked around the library suspiciously, but thankfully, nobody else seemed to be around at this late hour. Considering their topic though, it couldn't hurt to be extra careful.
"Yes... And like I said... I think they are after an ancient jewel called Pandora. The jewel is part of an old legend and the only stories I could find about it, circle around it being hidden under this temple, which is now our school. That's why she was stationed here at this school as a spy of some kind. I did some research on it... Apparently, it grants one eternal life. But it's also cursed."
I also went on a little adventure through the cave system under the school, encountered a few traps and almost died, found the Nexus, was witness to the awakening of an ancient dragon spirit and had to flee said cave with Kaito stupid Kuroba, so we wouldn‘t die, he added dryly in his mind. But who cares about the details, right? Sadly he couldn‘t say all of that out loud.
Ai, who had listened patiently until now, threw him a sarcastic smirk and looked at the pile.
"Some research..?", she asked dryly.
Shinichi huffed, a bit sheepish.
"Yeah, okay. Fine. Maybe I've read anything I could find about it for days now... But it makes sense. Think about it. Maybe that's finally the answer to what they were up to all these years... That's what they are after."
Ai snorted.
"When was the last time you even ate? Or drank something?", she asked instead.
Shinichi waved her off.
"Not important."
She sighed and shook her head.
Heiji's face darkened, while he too, stared into the fire now. The logs were giving off a warm glow, while the wood gave off short and sharp cracking noises due to the burning of small branches. The languid flames struggled to stay alive in a pile of coal that was laying in the back part of the fireplace.
"All this time, it was right under our noses. But... then... The incident in the first year with the Hidebehind...", he mumbled, deep in thought.
Shinichi nodded, grim.
"Yes, that was her. She wanted to get inside of Agasa's office. She needed the ground plans to find it."
"And your accident in the second year", Heiji went on. Shinichi nodded again.
"Also her. I'm sure of it. As was Nakamori-san's accident, like I said."
"Why would she target you though? Or Nakamori-san for that matter. And how does Kuroba fit into all of this?"
Shinichi looked into the flames again, weighing carefully what he could tell and what not. He didn't want to lie to his best friends. Nevertheless, this weren't his secrets to tell. In addition, it could potentially be dangerous for Kaito and his mother...
"Vineyard targeted Nakamori-san because of Ka- Kuroba. I think... Well, it's only a theory of course, but do you remember that first lesson of Nexus magic in our third year, Ai?"
She frowned and nodded.
"What about it?"
"Headmaster Agasa told everyone in class that day, the story about Kuroba's father, Toichi Kuroba. He was the Defense Against The Dark Arts teacher before Mōri-sensei. The headmaster mentioned that day, his father was killed..."
"You think it was them?", Heiji asked surprised.
Shinichi smirked sardonically and nodded.
"Not only that. I think, for some reason, Toichi Kuroba knew about this jewel. Maybe he found it by accident. Either way, the shadows thought, he knew something about its whereabouts. The important thing is... He died protecting his secret. I looked into it. My dad sent me articles about the incident. My parents even were friends with the Kuroba's for years. Until one day, Toichi Kuroba was abducted and tortured for days, before he finally turned up dead. It was a tragic mystery nobody could explain. It is still an unresolved murder case. I think, Vineyard targeted Kuroba, because she believed, Toichi Kuroba had told his son where he could find the jewel."
Both of his friends raised their eyebrows, leaning back, seemingly taken back.
"You're right, that does make sense. It also explains why she picked on him all these years. But why you though?"
"I'm not sure about that yet... But Nakamori-san was definitely targeted to put more pressure on Kuroba. And she almost succeeded too."
"Is that the reason he has vanished too now? Do you think they finally abducted him too?", Ai asked, almost worried, biting her lip. Shinichi knew she was thinking about what happened to her parents and her older sister.
For years now, Ai only knew bits and pieces about what really happened to them or even why they had to die. All she knew was, that the shadows were responsible and that headmaster Agasa took her in after they had died... He wasn't sure yet in what way Ai's parents were part of his theory about the jewel. But he would find out.
Shinichi shook his head.
"No... he... went into hiding."
Well, if you wanted to call it that, Shinichi added sarcastically in his mind, smiling without any humour. The outcome was the same though. Kaito had put himself in harms way to steer the attention away from his friends. Also, he had no reason to be here any longer. Shinichi quickly pushed down any sorrowful feelings that came with that thought.
Ai squinted at him and smirked, like a cat, looking at a canary. He knew, she had him now.
"And how do you know this exactly?"
Shinichi sighed and bit his lip.
"I might have... been with him when he left."
Both of them exchanged looks. Ai was about to say something, she clearly looked amused, while Heiji just looked puzzled. He could feel his ears warming.
"Ah... It's not like that- we had detention together that night, if you remember?", he added hastily and felt himself blush a bit too.
"Right... I'm not going to ask, since you seem reluctant to tell us more. But I believe you, if you say, you've been with him when he left. If the shadows really are after him though, it's the best thing he could have done, in my opinion. Now, Nakamori-san isn't interesting as a target anymore and its way safer for him and his mother, that's for sure. I hope they contact the ministry and ask the Aurors for help...", Ai thought aloud and Shinichi couldn't agree more. Even if he knew Kaito well enough now, to know, he definitely wouldn't ask for help.
"And last week? What about that break-in then? This moonlight thief guy is after the jewel too, right? He wrote so in his notice he left here. What if he works for them too?", Heiji contemplated and Shinichi shook his head.
The mention of Kaito's alter ego again left a hollow pang inside of him. He knew of course, that it wasn't Kaito that night as he was with him then. But Kaito mentioned a name throughout his years, which meant, he planned all of this long before and had help from this mysterious person, called Jii.
An assistant of some kind. Or a stepparent. Most likely, a near family friend he trusted. Probably an older person. The thief must have been him that night.
Causing a kind of diversionary manoeuvre for Vineyard, the teachers and the headmaster, while Kaito actually was with him, looking for the jewel.
Shinichi began to fumble mindlessly with the coin in his pocket. It was warm in his hand and gave off a soft, pleasant vibration. It did that, from time to time and Shinichi liked having it on him at all times.
It was Kaito's coin. Shinichi had later found it in his trouser pocket that night. He believed it was some kind of farewell gift for him. How else would it have ended up inside his trouser pocket? Kaito must have slipped it in there, while they were... Well.
Shinichi still refused to believe Kaito did just invite him on his little adventure with the dragon to just use him for his skills. Also he wouldn't have kisse-... Nothing he did or said, right before he left was needed in any way, if he had just wanted to use him. The coin proofed this too. It was real. The moment they had was real. His confession and feelings were real...
That was why the coin calmed him a bit whenever he felt turmoil now... It was a reminder for him. And the way Vineyard treated Kaito through the years, proofed that they were rivals of some kind.
The thought alone was absurd. No... Kaito would never work with the shadows. He hated them. And with good reason, if Shinichi was right.
He still didn't have all the puzzle pieces though yet... But of this he was sure; Somehow, Kaito must have found out about all of this and came to the ravens‘ nest with a mission. To not only avenge his father's death and solve his murder, but to find and destroy the one thing that caused it all... Pandora.
Shinichi wanted to take this a step further. Revenge wasn't the right way to do things in his opinion, but justice was. And now he had one more very good reason, to bring down the shadows once and for all.
"-udō? Shinichi!", Heiji waved a hand in front of him.
"Huh?"
"You spaced out again. You do that a lot lately, pal... Are you okay?"
Shinichi put on a strained smile.
"Yeah, of course. Sorry. The thief... is also after the jewel. But he doesn't work with the shadows."
Heiji hummed in thought.
"How are you so sure about all of this?"
Shinichi smiled wryly.
"I just know..."
"But-", Heiji tried.
Shinichi firmly shook his head.
"Please trust me on this. Vineyard works alone. As does the thief."
Heiji nodded thoughtfully.
"Alright. So we have two criminals after the same goal. One didn't get his chance to steal anything, since he was caught by several teachers and seen even by students. He threw a few glue bomb potions, caused a lot of mischief and just up and left again... But what about Vineyard? If she really is a shadow... She could kill you instantly if you confront her, Kudō. And I can tell, you already plan on doing so."
Shinichi opened his mouth, but Heiji cut him off.
"I know you well enough by now, so don‘t deny it. But we are still students. Shouldn't we involve the ministry instead, telling minister Megure and the Auror department, what we know?"
Shinichi smirked darkly.
"But that's the beauty of it, don't you see? She won't expect that, for one. She doesn't fully know yet, we know about her true identity and she doesn't know, I know, what she's after... And if I bait her with the jewel, she can't kill me right away, because her whole purpose for being here is finding this damn thing. She is ordered to find it, so killing me, would go against that order. She might even confess to me what she needs it for, believing she has the upper hand. After she exposed herself, we have proof and she will be forced to give up her position here. We can actually weaken the shadows with this move!"
Heiji seemed reluctant.
"It's still really risky... She could still attack you, after she realizes she is forced to leave and that her cover is blown."
"Even better...", Shinichi mumbled.
"Kudō, what the- are you out of your mind!?"
Heiji stared furiously at him. Shinichi stared right back. He had thought about this a lot these last few days.
"I want her to attack me. To be honest, I even want to duel her. But if it goes that far, I'll try to hide and dodge, so if it comes to a trial, I can be a witness to her acting out a crime- attacking a minor. It will only add to the other charges and hopefully she'll be put in Prison for a long time..."
Heiji's mouth twitched. He rubbed his neck uncomfortably.
"Remind me to never cross you, Kudō. You can be outright scary. Not as much as Ai, but still-" He shivered and Shinichi barked out a laugh.
"You have no idea...", he smirked smugly.
"I still don't like it. Aren't you saying anything about this? This is outright suicidal... Even you have to see this, Haibara", Heiji turned to Ai.
She had her arms still folded over her chest, looking at the ground, deep in seemingly dark thoughts. She then looked directly at Shinichi.
"Are you sure about this? She is really one of them?"
Shinichi and she shared a dead serious look.
"I would bet my life on it."
Her lips thinned into a hard line.
"Then she needs to pay... But we need a plan."
He nodded and smirked at them.
"Trust me. There is only one truth. And I will reveal it."
"I may am repeating myself... But are you really sure about this?", Ai asked rather sharp beside him. It must've been her nerves showing. He immediately felt guilty for putting her through this. But then... he knew she could take it.
He smirked confidently at her.
"I am."
She sighed.
"Okay. But please watch out for yourself, Shinichi."
He chuckled softly.
"That's what I have you for, don't I?", he jested.
She sighed again and rolled her eyes in a very tired way, trying very hard not to smile. He loved that expression on her.
"You are an idiot... But yes."
He laughed softly, then took her hand, catching her eyes for a serious look exchange.
"Don't worry. And please stay hidden until it is absolutely necessary."
She nodded grim.
They were both walking into the middle of the clearing like arranged, their footsteps crushing slightly on the frozen ground. Only the moonlight shone a silvery soft, light onto them, being a silent guest. It was midnight and the forest of a thousand faces around them was lit with dimly glowing flowers, but this time, the January night was frosty and a biting wind was blowing through the woods like a howling beast, welcoming them to an eerie showdown.
The bigger figure of them two threw back her black cloak hood from her head, revealing her golden locks.
"I must say... I didn't expect this, coming from you. On the other hand... You are your parents daughter", Vineyard said in a mocking tone. Her voice cut through the night and she had to pull back a strand of her hair behind her ear, because of a strong gust of wind.
Ai turned around to her, smirking coldly, also pulling back the hood of her red cloak. Her short cut hair too was billowing in the wind. She then drew her red coat around her body tighter, to keep warm from the unfriendly weather.
"And I wasn't sure you would even come."
"How could I not? Since you stated in your quite poignant message to me this morning 'you know'. So... You must also know what's at stake here."
Ai just looked flatly at her, holding her hard gaze.
"I do."
Vineyard stared her down.
"So? What do you want? Or do you really want to duel with me? You can't possibly think you'll win in a fight with me."
"First I want to know something else..."
The other woman smiled coldly in expectation.
"Why... did they have to die?", she asked.
Vineyard chuckled.
"I thought 'you knew'? What, were you bluffing in your message?"
"Humour me. I want to hear it from you... After all, you were there, were you not?", Ai asked sharply.
Vineyard scoffed.
"Oh honey. Don't blame me for your parent's mistakes. You really are still just a child, aren't you? So naive... Do you really still believe your parents were innocent?"
"What about my sister then?", she replied biting.
Vineyard clicked her tongue. She didn't sound nor looked regretful.
"Collateral damage I'd call it. But she wasn't innocent either. She was training to step in your parent's footsteps. She just... wasn't good enough. I take it, you are interested to take her place then in our ranks? I was watching you for years, you know... You have talent. Potential. It's still raw though. It just... needs a bit more shaping if you ask me."
Ai smiled back coldly.
"And what would I have to do to get in? Kill you? I'd volunteer in a heartbeat. No offence."
Vineyard chuckled.
"Of course, none taken. But no..." Her smile grew toxic.
"You know what I want, actually. Don't you... Ms. Miyano? Or should I say Shiho-chan? I once did call you that. You were still so small, back then. I even held you once at your parent's house. Do you remember that?"
A slight shift of uncertainty went through Ai, it made Vineyard smirk even more.
"You mean Pandora", she said instead.
Vineyard's eyes gleamed predatory in the night.
"Oh. So you really did do your research. I must say, I'm almost a little impressed. How about we make a deal then? You get me Pandora and I will get you in. You can even kill whomever you want. That's what you really want, isn't it? Revenge?"
"It is. But... Doesn't that mean- you want it for yourself? I thought... you were with them?", she asked puzzled.
Vineyard smiled nonchalantly, her face clearly closing up.
"That's enough for one day, little one. And after all... A secret makes a woman, a woman. Right?"
Vineyard put her hands in her pockets now; it looked like she wanted to turn around, the matter being a done deal for her.
Ai began to smirk.
"Right... But you see. I'm not", Ai grinned smug now and gripped her wand tightly, pointing it at Vineyard now.
It took Vineyard only a second to understand what was going on. With a fast flick of her own wand, she casted a revealing charm over Shinichi.
"... Huh? Aparecium- what- You!!"
"That's right, gotcha!", he smirked maliciously and made himself ready to duel.
"You little- Obliviate!", she called out in rage.
Shinichi just barely sprung out of the way at the last second and deflected the memory charm. Lying on the ground, he threw up a protection charm, which blocked another silent spell from her as if it was nothing. It cracked through the night like a whip. For a second, Shinichi was surprised at the strength of his own protection charm, but then he felt the coin in his trouser pocket getting hot. He frowned irritated for a second. Huh? What was that? He quickly got up.
"Everte Statum", she threw another curse at him. The fling curse would have thrown him right off his feet once again, if he hadn‘t quickly deflected it. He could feel the heavy blow right to his hand though, like a hard slap and ground his teeth.
"Expelliarmus!", he threw in her direction, as he ran aside, to dodge any more thrown curses. She flicked her wand, deflecting it easily and smirked darkly.
"Sectumsempra", she hissed.
"Oh no, you won't! Protego Horribilis!", Ran called out behind them in an angry voice and Vineyard was thrown back a little at the vehemence of more than one protection spell thrown back at her. Shinichi‘s own and Ran‘s combined.
Shinichi turned around surprised. One by one, his friends emerged from the woods onto the clearing, circling them. Sonoko behind Ran was holding up a flame in one of her hands, ready to throw it, while Makoto had one of his hands on the ground, ready to attack with one of his famous, vicious earth spells. Sera was coming up beside Ran, wand in hand, shielding her, looking more furious and serious than Shinichi had ever seen her.
Heiji on the other hand didn‘t waste any time and was throwing a body-binding spell at her, Vineyard hastily deflected, as she took an uncertain step back.
"Stupefy!", Heiji called out.
"Oh please... Stupid boy - Furnunculus!", Vineyard threw back the dark and nasty boils charm at him and Kazuha at his side blocked it, so that the curse hit a tree behind them instead.
"You committed a serious crime! You attacked minors. We all saw it", Kazuha yelled angrily at her and Vineyard made a sour face, slowly stepping back even more. She smirked darkly at Shinichi then.
"So it really is you... You are the boy from the prophecy. The silver arrow", she mumbled stunned, like she was rather talking to herself than to him.
Shinichi frowned.
"What?" Prophecy?
She just smirked enigmatic then, but didn't explain.
She stepped back slowly even more, holding her wand in front of her.
"You had a guardian angel today, Kudō. You and your little friends win... this time. But I won't forget this... We won't forget this, silver arrow", she called out threateningly into the night.
She then glanced coldly at Ai in the background, who was still a bit in hiding behind a tree, wand in hand. She looked terrified when Vineyard looked at her directly.
"And you... One day we will come for you too. Just wait, little one."
Then she disapparated with a soft snapping sound right before Shinichi could throw a charm at her, fuming.
Ran ran up to him.
"Shinichi, are you okay?"
He dusted himself off from frost and dirt and snorted.
"Yeah... What are you guys doing here?"
He looked around at all of his friends, before he stopped at Ai, at whom he threw a betrayed look, but she avoided looking at him directly. She just crossed her arms defiantly.
"You never said I'm not allowed to tell them too."
Shinichi scoffed amused and smiled, shaking his head.
"Ai..."
"We needed the backup. She is dangerous, your plan was outright suicidal, and you know it", she snapped.
Ran boxed his arm beside him. He winced.
"Ow... Ran...", he complained, rubbing his arm. Jeez, she really had a hard punch.
"She is right, you know!? You are an idiot. What if I hadn't saved you back there? What then, huh?"
He didn‘t dare to talk back or she would most likely punch him again, so he just laughed sheepishly, the tension from just now seeping out of him with every second.
"Yeah, yeah. Thanks guys...", he mumbled.
He looked out over the clearing, a smirk spreading over his face. They did it. Vineyard was gone. And he even had some more clues now. But the most important thing was, they had won against her, forcing her to leave. They finally had-
Some soft, some louder plopping sounds erupted through the air.
All around them on the clearing suddenly appeared grown up figures in robes. Official looking robes... Shinichi blinked, one of the men that had appeared before them, stepped right in front of him with determination. He had caramel coloured skin and sand blonde hair and even though he was way older than Shinichi, he had to admit, the guy was fairly attractive. The man smirked down at Shinichi, since he was at least a head taller than he was.
Shinichi smiled thinly at him, his lips a thin hard line. The emblem on the man's robe was from the ministry. His heart fluttered as the man held out his hand. Shinichi took it and felt the firm handshake as he shook his hand shortly.
"Tooru Amuro. Auror."
"Shinichi Kudō", he replied and gulped.
Amuro before him smirked amused.
"Well, Shinichi Kudō... Please come with me. Don't move, I'm going to take you with me, since that will be faster."
With that, he laid his hand on Shinichi's shoulder and for the second time, he disapparated along with someone else.
... and really started to hate disapparating. At least, along side apparition was hellish uncomfortable.
He stumbled back, once he had solid ground under his feet again and gagged a bit. He felt nausea again. God, he hated that. He really hoped the feeling would go away, once he would learn to apparate on his own next month.
"Minister... Headmaster-", Amuro called out in a nonchalant greeting behind Shinichi and he whirled around with wide eyes and paled a bit. They were standing in Headmaster Agasa‘s office. Why was the Minister here? Did they know about their plan beforehand? Or did something else happen?
Both Headmaster Agasa, as the minister of magic of Japan himself turned around to them, clear surprise on their faces. The minister was a stocky man with a mustache. He was wearing his usual beige trench coat and matching hat, which was, Shinichi knew already from countless pictures in the Swift Feather, one of his trademark features.
Shinichi gulped, before he bowed a little in respect.
"Minister Megure...", he mumbled. Shinichi winced, he probably still looked a bit rumpled from the fight.
"What are you doing here? What happened? Are you hurt?", Agasa asked confused, looking him worriedly up and down. So they don't know about Vineyard yet, Shinichi concluded. That means, something else must have happened, considering their serious faces just now...
He opened his mouth to explain, but the Auror in the room answered smoothly before he could, stepping in front of the two men.
"Well, I think, I can clarify that. I simply took him with me, after our surveillance mission 'rotten apple' came to a sudden end just now. The boy and his friends duelled the rotten apple outside of the school on their own. They forced her hand to break the law by deceiving her first, she then attacked him and his friends and she exposed her role as a shadow spy. If I may add, they handled everything quite efficient and satisfactory. We definitely can use this to our advantage, sir."
"They did what?", the headmaster exclaimed shocked, while the minister reacted almost the same way, looking surprised at Shinichi who grimaced a bit sheepish.
Well... If you put it like that, it did sound a bit dangerous, Shinichi thought dryly. Also, he was surprised to hear that the whole thing was apparently watched by the Auror who didn't intervene. Nevertheless, his pride swelled a bit at the praise.
Amuro nodded grim, looking at the minister directly.
"But Minister... she got away. We couldn't follow her after she disapparated or we would have to reveal ourselves. I'm sorry."
The minister's face darkened and he hummed in thought.
"Well... It was only a matter of time anyway. And we already anticipated she would be moved from her position after the end of this year. It's better to let her think she wasn't under surveillance. At least, now we have several witnesses and can finally put her on the wanted list officially. It will make it harder for her to move through the country undetected. Put up her picture on every damn lamp post if you have to..."
Amuro nodded.
"Understood."
"Also... Collect all of the kid's memories please. We will need them later. After that, please return to the headquarter... They probably are quite in distress still, after all. I will contact you after this meeting for further instructions. For now, thank you for your service and hard work Amuro-san."
"Of course, Minister. Agasa-san...", with that Amuro bowed to them both and turned around. Before he disapparated again, he smirked at Shinichi and winked, then with an almost inaudible soft pop, he was gone again. Shinichi blinked.
"Well... now to you. What's your name, young man?", the minister asked in his direction.
He gulped.
"Shinichi Kudō, minister."
The stocky man rubbed over his mustache, looking him up and down. Headmaster Agasa cleared his throat.
"This is the student I already told you about, Megure-san. Shinichi is a very bright student and somewhat a prodigy, if I may say so. I've known him since he was a little boy. His parents even were teachers at our school for a time", Agasa explained and smiled at Shinichi, who smiled back.
Minister Megure nodded, his face showing recognition.
"Hmm... Yeah. I remember now, I've already heard a lot about you from Agasa-san over the years... Shinichi Kudō. It's nice to finally meet you in person. I even read your name in the paper once or twice, solving small crimes on your summer vacations and now- you plotted to expose Vineyard and... successfully uncovered her position?"
Shinichi nodded.
"With the help of my friends. I first planned to take her on on my own, but that was a mistake... I- miscalculated. It won't happen again", he admitted guilty and a bit frustrated at himself.
"Can you tell me why you did something so dangerous in the first place?"
"Because I... wanted to weaken the shadows, sir. My ultimate goal is to take them down, once and for all", he replied matter-of-factly and held the minister's steady glance.
The minister's eyebrows rose. His lips curled in an amused smile.
"Well... then I'm sure, it won't be the last good thing I will hear about you. I also heard, you want to be an Auror. Is that true?"
Shinichi smirked.
"Yes sir. It is my dream."
Megure almost laughed.
"I'm looking forward to seeing your application letter on my desk then this summer. After you finish your exams first, of course", he said, "-if you are not too busy catching criminals and doing my Auror's work, that is", he jested.
Shinichi smirked even more and could feel himself blush a little.
"N-no sir. Thank you!"
"Please go back to your house now. I'm sure your friends are awaiting your return."
"Am I... not in trouble?", Shinichi asked hesitantly, looking between the two men.
Megure chuckled.
"No Kudō-kun. I can assure you, from a legal position, you are not. As aren't your friends. We have much bigger problems at our hands right now... If anything, I am thankful for your bravery and act of courage tonight, even if it was dangerous and like you said... miscalculated. But you will learn tactics in Auror training in autumn. You are still a student after all. We all make mistakes in the beginning so don't be too hard on you."
Shinichi grimaced and nodded.
"And like you just heard, with your move, you brought an on-going surveillance operation to a faster end. Luckily, at the same time, it gave us an advantage and gathered evidence. Ultimately, it weakened their position. You did good work."
"Thank you. Does that mean, you know about Pandora?", he asked.
Once again, the eyebrows of the minister and his headmaster went to their hairline.
"What do you know about Pandora?", Megure replied scrutinizing. His face darkened and his whole body tensed.
"Not much. The school library does only have limited information after all. But what I gathered so far is, that the shadows are probably after it, for it's said power to give one immortality. It is part of a legend about three treasures. Two of them turned up recently at the Suzuki museum in Tokyo."
It wasn't actually a lie, he told himself. He wouldn't give up any information about Kaito. But he still needed to make sure the ministry knew what they were dealing with.
Megure nodded grimly.
"Yes... We know about that. And so far, the two other treasures are under heavy protection at the Suzuki's museum. Ironically enough, the safest place for them is in publicity right now, at open display. The shadows don't like to operate openly, so they can't get to them for now."
Shinichi nodded.
"I agree. If you don't mind my input... I also don't think the moonlight magician is a threat. From what I gathered, he works alone and is actually a rival to the shadows."
Megure contemplated this.
"What else do you know, Kudō-kun? Is there something else you've... come across in your research?"
Shinichi bit his lip and shook his head. Guilt was a stone in his stomach.
"I'm sorry. That's all I have so far."
The minister nodded in understanding.
"That's quite alright. If you do come across some information, don't hold back to tell me directly though. Do you know how to produce a Patronus charm?"
"Yes, of course."
"Good. It's unsafe to send anything per letter these days. If you need help or want to share information, send me your Patronus... Would you show it's form to me, so I know it is yours?"
Shinichi took a breath and thought about what made him truly happy to produce the charm the right way. The memory didn't come easily though... It was late, he was tired and worn out and his thoughts reeled. But there was one thing... One moment. It was bittersweet now, but it would always stay in his mind as a fond memory, that had made him happy, even for just a few minutes.
Kaito‘s face flashed in his mind. Several moments they had shared together through the years. Countless conversations, smiles and smirks traded, the adventure they had fought through. Stopping at the last memory... the one when they had kissed.
Shinichi smiled anyway, even as his heart was heavy with longing and sorrow, as he flicked his wand and produced his Patronus. It was a silvery barn owl. It took a little flight around the room, before it vanished again in a sparkly silver rain of particles.
Megure smiled impressed at it, then at him.
"I‘m looking forward to work with you, Kudō-kun."
Shinichi smirked, pride swelling in his chest and determination filling his heart. He couldn‘t wait for autumn and the start of his training.
The news were spreading like fire through the school the next morning. Especially after the morning papers arrived, declaring the death of the current Headauror of Japan, Shuichi Akai. After Shinichi read the headline, he had a good idea why Minister Megure had met with Headmaster Agasa yesterday.
The shadows were rumoured to be responsible, but the new Headauror, Amuro Tooru, who was now smiling confidently from every Cover of the Swift Feather, was quoted to be sure, they had everything under control and the ministry wouldn‘t rest until they captured every single one of them.
The moya was buzzing like a bee house. At first Shinichi enjoyed it, even had basked in the attention (just a little bit, he told himself) at breakfast, while Ai had rolled her eyes at him in a very pointed way, sipping her tea.
If even one student considered coming her way, she gave them a withering glance, keeping people at distance. Heiji on the other hand was the same as him, it seemed. At one point, there were standing so many students around his table, Shinichi couldn‘t even see him anymore. Most of them were girls... It didn‘t take long and Kazuha was standing up, declaring very loudly, she wanted to eat in piece. It was fun.
By midday, though, it was already getting on his nerves.
After lunch, Shinichi tried to avoid most of the students. He just wanted to concentrate on studying for all of his seven N.E.W.T.‘s and was trying to keep to himself, instead of being picked apart by whole flocks of students who wanted to know how it had come to the fight with Vineyard, kept whispering and pointing at him wherever he went now.
It didn‘t help that it was a Saturday and students had way too much time on their hands apparently.
He fled up to a more secluded part of the library, not many students knew of. To his surprise he met one other student there, he hadn‘t expected to see. Hakuba Saguru was sitting on one of the old tables, overlooking the library from above like a hawk, seemingly in thought.
When he noticed him, Hakuba turned around and gave him a wanly smile.
"Hello Kudō-kun. Congratulations on uncovering a criminal in our school."
Shinichi smiled crookedly, shrugging a bit.
"Thanks. Hey... um- I can go. You look like you wanted to be left alone and I actually-"
"No, please. Come... sit down. I promise I won‘t ask any questions about Vineyard. Do you... maybe want to play a silent game of chess? It always helps to calm me down, whenever I need to think. And to be honest, you look like you need it."
The smile and look Hakuba gave him then was kind.
Huh. The only one who he had ever seen play chess with Hakuba had been... Well. Shinichi guessed, he wasn't the only one who missed Kuroba... He smiled thankfully and agreed.
Hours later, the atmosphere calmed down and people were retreating to their houses. Shinichi then wandered down with his books to his favourite seat in front of the fireplace. Finally, he felt like he could relax a bit.
He always had loved the library for obvious reasons, since it was stuffed full of the object‘s he loved the most... books. Libraries would also remind him of home, but in raven's nest, it simply had always been a serene and beautiful place too.
There were vines and green plants ranking and growing all over the numerous bookshelves and the room was also a home to butterflies, which were flying through the room occasionally.
Sometimes, when Shinichi looked up from his beloved reading, he would just watch them flying through the room, their little wings dancing through the dust particles visible in the sunlight streaming in from the big round windows above.
But today it had been a rainy and cloudy day. The weather matched his mood. Now Shinichi watched from his seat as the stormy wind blew through dark blue clouds and listened to the raindrops falling on the glass above, while the fireplaces cackled with fires already lit, to warm the big room.
He was still in his thoughts, when he heard footsteps behind him. He turned his head.
"Oh. It's you... Hello Aoko-kun. How are you?", he asked friendly.
She rubbed nervously over a scar on the skin of her wrist. The wounds were still healing and there were lighter patches of skin on her hands. On the right hand, she even still had bandages on. He silently wondered if they would ever really heal properly. He hoped so.
A small light blue butterfly came to sit on her bandaged hand, before it flew away again. She smiled a little, but it didn't reach her eyes. He felt the same.
"I know it‘s long overdue and I‘m sorry it took me so long. But I wanted to thank you... for exposing Vineyard. And for clearing Kaito‘s name back then", she said hesitantly.
Shinichi frowned a little. He laid his book aside.
"There is no need for that. I was just doing the right thing... She could have killed you."
"Still... Nobody else believed him, you know. Not even I did. And I am- was... his best friend. I feel guilty. I should have believed him."
Something of that rang true, but he didn't want her to feel bad.
He snorted softly to himself.
"I think, we both know, he did his best to build up a certain reputation", he said it with humour and it made her smile.
This time it sounded real when she laughed softly.
"Yeah. It made it harder to believe him...", she said and it sounded like she was trying to make him understand, why she had acted the way, she had towards Kaito.
"He sometimes liked to deceive, I think. But of one thing I'm absolutely sure, Aoko-kun... He never would have harmed you, in any way."
Tears welled up in her eyes then and she sniffed, quickly trying to wipe them away.
"Yeah, you're right. Thank you. Really...", she said again and the pain in her voice echoed in his own ribcage. He knew how she felt.
He wanted to comfort her, maybe even hug her, but they weren't really friends... Just two people who missed the same person. Even in different ways, but still... for a minute, it made them companions of some sort, at least. Shinichi had the feeling she knew that too.
"Did he...", she had to clear her throat, "-did he contact you?", she asked and looked out the window behind him. He looked at her surprised.
"No. Why? Did he contact you?"
He wanted to hit himself for sounding so hopeful, but she shook her head, her eyes far away and still very sad.
"My father tried to contact them, but they were just... gone. Their flat in Japan was empty. I think he and his mum left the country. I thought... if he would contact someone, it would have been you. I hoped... At least."
Her words warmed him in a way, he didn't want to think about too much.
"Why... would he contact me?", he asked anyway. He had to hear it from someone else. She threw him a smirk.
"You know why, Kudō-kun."
He played dumb and it made her uncertain. She frowned.
"I mean... you do, don't you?"
He shrugged, shaking his head and she looked surprised.
"Oh. Huh, I thought he at least, would have finally told you, before he left... but if he didn't, it's not my place to tell you. Then... I'm sorry. Forget what I said. Just... thank you, again. You are a good person."
With that, she left and Shinichi looked after her, smiling faintly. He wandered over to the big windowsill and looked out the window, touching the cool glass in front of him. He leaned his head against it and watched his breath fogging it up. His own reflection was loosing the smile again, becoming something sad.
Yes, in a way, Kaito had told me, Shinichi thought bitterly, I will never forget a kiss like that. So Kaito had even talked about him with Aoko? Of course they did, they were best friends... Did she tell Hakuba too? Did someone else know? Had everybody seen it, except him?
Shinichi almost was a bit angry with himself, for not seeing it sooner... how could he have been so blind? But did it really matter now? Kaito was gone. If his mother and he really had left the country, nobody could say, where they had gone or if they ever planned to come back. He put his hand inside his trouser pocket and pulled out the coin. He held it between his fingers, stroking softly over the silver surface.
All that was left of him were newspaper articles all around the magic world, about a mysterious moonlight thief in a white yukata and kimono robe with a hood, who wore a kitsune mask and stole jewels... Only to give them back afterwards.
Kaito had said goodbye that night and as he said, their paths were different ones. He had left, taken his secrets with him and literally had become someone else. Shinichi had his doubts he would ever see Kaito Kuroba again... The thought broke his heart.