The sparrow & the fox

With 25, 

Shinichi learned to regret many things. One of them was staying up way too late because of casework and falling asleep still in his clothes from the day before, on his desk, in their library at home, while reading case reports...

"Tap. Tap. Tap."

"Mrrr...", he made in his throat and it was more a very unhappy, irritated sound than actual words, really. Just a minute longer, he thought desperate. He kept his eyes shut tight and wished the sound away. But of course... it didn't go away.

"Tap. Tap. Tap."

Shinichi sighed frustrated, still very tired. He opened his eyes just slightly, which was his first mistake this day, since the bright morning light shone relentlessly into his eyes and he groaned, as it made his eyes hurt. He could already feel the beginning of a wonderful pounding headache in his brain.

Of course, it was an owl. And not just any owl... It was his own damn owl Sherlock. He frowned. He hadn't even noticed him being gone last night when he came home late. 

But then again, he always came home late.

"Tap. Tap. Tap."

"Mrrrr... Alright, alright. I'm coming. Urgh...", he groaned and sighed again, hating the world, early mornings and life in general just a bit, as he got up. He winced as he stretched his back and neck a bit, feeling every single of his joints. His neck was killing him. 

But it was his own damn fault, wasn't it? Maybe he should transform his desk into an otoman, next time...

As he opened the window, the moody git flew in with a gust of cold November wind and shook off his feathers in a very indignant way, after he landed right in the middle of his desk with an irritated screech, as if he was mouthing off at Shinichi for taking so damn long.

"Yeah, yeah. Stop complaining and give me the letter already...", Shinichi groaned and rubbed over his face and burning eyes. He grimaced. He just hoped there wouldn't be any dirty bird footprints on the reports later... 

When he impatiently tried to snatch the letter out of Sherlock's beak, the owl picked at his finger and let the letter fall unceremoniously onto the desk.

"Ouch, you damn little-", he let out a few colourful curses and threw his owl a heated, betrayed look as it flew away again, only to sit on it's usual place, high up on one of his many book shelves, ruffling and cleaning his feathers, very pointedly ignoring him.

Scoffing Shinichi shook his head. Whatever did he ever do to this damn bird, that it hated him this much? When he saw the seal on the letter though, his eyes widened and he froze in his movements.

He would recognize this seal anywhere. It was the red wax seal of the raven's nest. And the handwriting was his old headmaster's...

But as he wanted to open it, his old magic clock on the wall went off, telling him with a very upset cuckoos scream, he was already way too late for work again. 

It was one of his mother's many Christmas gifts, she had found while shopping overseas and thought it was hilarious. He had only unwillingly kept it, because it was as practical as it was ugly. 

With a swift absentminded movement of his hand the open letters and reports on his desk folded and packed themselves into his leather briefcase by the desk.

He quickly stuffed the unopened letter into his robe and went to make himself ready for the day.

A few minutes later, he apparated to the apparition point of the ministry, - an old, empty telephone booth, in the street in front of the entry to the ministry, - looking as good as new. 

Bless magic for helping him dress himself in a freshly ironed, smart three-piece suit in blue, white and grey. And bless black coffee even more, for helping him to look like a normal human being instead of an Inferius...

His favourite navy blue robe was billowing up behind him in another gust of unfriendly November wind, as he took a sip out of his coffee-to-go cup in his hand, striding down the busy street in a fast-paced stride.

The building that he walked so briskly at was tiny compared to the modern skyscrapers next to it. It certainly didn't look like much. An old lantern, two drink- and snack machines, a few bushy bamboo plants in pots and a red mailbox lined the small building. 

It also looked like the small Japanese store was almost sandwiched between the skyscrapers. It was shabby looking and rundown. The dark green, almost grey tiles and colouring of the Facade and of the roof were broken and in general barely held together by sheer will of luck, it seemed. 

It was also heavily glamoured and no muggle would ever guess it was one of the most important buildings in whole Japan - the Japanese ministry of magic itself.

For Shinichi though, it was simply where he spent most of his time... at work. Sometimes it felt like he lived there, instead of his parent‘s house in Beika, from which he had apparated just now.

Sometimes he even thought about selling it, because it was way too big for him alone, since his parents were always... somewhere else on the continent and had practically bestowed it upon him when he became old enough. But then he thought, he probably would miss the old library too much and so he kept it.

Like every day for the past eight years, he went through the shabby shop doors, now empty coffee-to-go cup in his hand. He bent shortly down to scratch Clover, the way too overweight white sleeping cat of the shop owner behind it's ears, before he went on to the buzzing, old vending machines in the back, near the counter.

Back when he was 17, fresh out of school and had entered the store for the first time, he had been amazed. It had been one of those moments in which he realized again how much he loved magic.

The store itself was tiny and inconspicuous. But if you looked around more closely, you would discover something fascinating in every corner. 

Whether mummified fairies in glass containers that giggled as soon as you turned your back on them, tiny cleaning paper-men who always found something to do, a collection of curious, magical clocks from all over the world that ticked particularly loudly, but told you everything except the actual time... 

The shop wasn't only the passage to the ministry though; it was also one of the entrances to the magical shopping street of Japan, Clocktower street.

In the back, there was a bookshelf with books that weren't particularly interesting, consisting mainly of cookbooks and magical household guides. On closer inspection, however, one stood directly in front of the entrance to Clocktower street. In miniature.

The spines of the books had small windows and roofs, as well as doors and between two particularly thick tomes, was the entrance to the alley, complete with paved floor, tiny lanterns and an alley guard. And above it all, the Clocktower loomed between the buildings.

The alley guard was a metallic, magical creature in the form of an old man with a hat. When you looked directly at him, he fixed his stern gaze on you and made his hinges squeak suspiciously.

"Password?", he would squawk, and if you told him the right one, he would nod unfriendly and you would be sucked into the alley.

Shinichi was almost glad to have taken another, far easier entrance to Clocktower street with his parents as an 11-year-old back then...

"Good Morning Headauror Kudō-sama", the shop owner greeted him overly respectful, like every day.

Shinichi smiled lopsided but tired at him and waved.

The green old, wrinkly house elf smiled back and bowed at him so deep his big floppy ears were touching the counter. Like every day, he was folding miniature Origami creatures, which became alive, once he was finished with them. 

This time, he almost crushed an unfinished crane under him because of his overly deep dipping bow.

"Morning Yamaguchi-san. You know, you don't need to call me -sama or by my full title every time. Kudō-san or even Shinichi is just fine. I already told you that."

"Yes, but Yamaguchi wants to, Headauror Kudō-sama. Yamaguchi is a free elf and its how he shows his respect and admiration for Headauror Kudō-sama who always treats him with respect too and greets him every day. Headauror Kudō-sama never forgets to greet him. Unlike other ministry workers... but Yamaguchi doesn't want to complain. He is happy and very proud to have this position."

Shinichi smiled, feeling sheepish.

"Well, if you want to... I guess its okay then. Were there any activities I need to know about?"

The old house elf shook his head so vehemently his ears flew from one ear to another flapping. His face became somewhat more serious then. 

Shinichi was sure the elf was a much more powerful creature than he let on or looked. He wasn't even sure how old he really was and thought it too impolite to ask. But the strong glamour on the house alone told him, how heavy the entry to the ministry really was guarded. Elf magic really was a thing of its own...

"No Headauror Kudō-sama, there isn't anything to report. Yamaguchi would have told Headauror Kudō-sama right away. He heard some whispers though; he heard there were some... activities going on in the city again."

Shinichi nodded grim.

"Yeah, that's true. I already know, but thanks for telling me. I trust you completely, Yamaguchi-san. If you hear or sense anything else of interest, please let me know immediately. You know my office and home are always open for you."

The elf bowed again, his nose and ears were touching the counter table even more this time.

"Yamaguchi is honoured. Of course, Headauror Kudō-sama."

Shinichi smiled and bowed too slightly.

"Have a good day, Yamaguchi-san."

With that, he pressed a button on the vending machine and waited for the can to pop out of it with a loud metallic clang. As soon as he touched the blue can and opened it with a hiss, the port key activated and transported him right into his office with a soft plop.

The oval office was practically just bookshelves, a desk and a fireplace. But Shinichi loved the dark wood, the many shelves lined with his books, different plants and little souvenirs from his parents' travels in between, the light Persian rugs and the old yellow English floor lamp in the corner, that patiently provided warm light on rainy days and the crackling sound of the wood in the fireplace after it was lit. One side of the office even had a round window, a luxury almost none of the other rooms in the building possessed, since most of the rooms were underground.

Like every day, a stack of documents already greeted him on his desk. He flung his coat
over his desk chair and laid down his leather briefcase.

With a wave of his hand, the less important, non-official documents sorted itself out of the stack and slid softly over to a floating pile at the ceiling in the corner of his office, where they acted as unwelcome room decoration until he would find the time to go through them...

Usually this happened much too late, because important cases, endless meetings and organizing work schedules of his employees got in the way, demanding more of his attention. 

Not to mention the inner politics of the ministry departments itself. Envy, resentment and gossip were his constant companions after all, mostly because he was so young and even if he was well liked and respected by most of his Aurors and colleagues, there still were a few that thought he hadn't earned his position the right way. 

But sometimes, he also avoided answering letters for other reasons...

For example, one of them, was Ran's and Sera's wedding invitation for the upcoming December, he still hadn't had the guts to answer, even though Sera was one of his best Aurors and he met her quite often for meetings and reports. Luckily though, she didn't seem to mind and didn't act as if she cared all that much.

Every time he saw Ran though, waving happily and giving autographs on one another Swift Feather Cover photo about the star of their Japanese National Quidditch team, he felt his gut twist a little and felt guilty for not yet answering.

He told himself though, he definitely would do it and soon, even if it meant, showing up alone and miserable. He really was sorry for not being a better friend over the years. 

It was just... sometimes he got lost in work. But she knew that, she knew him... Who knew that better than Ran, right?

He sighed and sat down to work. The black coffee-to-go cup on his desk had thankfully already refilled itself as he looked at the pile of workload on his desk with a resigned, flat look, before he started to open and read letters.

Being Head Auror also came with much bureaucracy. It wasn't as though Shinichi hadn't known that before. He watched Amuro-san do this job for years before the man suddenly decided to change his career and go back into the undercover field to work as an Hit wizard for the ministry again.

Shinichi had wanted to be an Auror so badly and after rigorous training and almost five years in the job, no one could deny that he had made his dream come true. After Amuro-san had told him and the minister his sudden plans two years ago and suggested Shinichi as his Successor given his high count of already solved cases (and earning him the quite unpleasant nickname Shinigami...), he had proudly accepted.

Trouble was, the reality wasn't exactly what he had imagined. The job was far from a bed of roses... It involved much more desk-time than he liked to do for one. It also came with long working hours, almost no time for friends and family anymore, let alone a relationship and the unwanted attention of the press... who kept following him around - even to his home - and was monitoring not only his work, but also his private life.

Irony was, he didn't exactly have a private life anymore... That didn't hold off the press from releasing stupid article after article about this exact matter non-stop though - Tabloids like "The modern Sherlock Holmes of Tokyo. Shinichi Kudō, the young saviour of the Japanese police and magic ministry alike, the great detective of the new age - Is he really still a Bachelor? Or is there a secret romance? Find out in our exclusive interview with our source-"

When he was younger, he had thought that catching dark wizards would be constantly exciting, maybe even fun. But after a few years, he had found those dark wizards to be oddly… disappointing. 

Sure, there was fieldwork at first, which he had loved in his early years, since it came with investigating and interviewing suspects, finding clues and working complicated spells, breaking curses and hexes or sometimes cursed objects.

But all too often, that was quickly done and solved. Most of the criminals who had come across Shinichi's desk and ended up at the end of his wand over the years were small fish. The great dark wizards he had imagined catching and even duelling were nowhere to be found and it was frustrating to no end...

For years now, the activity of the shadows had trickled down, until it had ended all together. It was almost as if they waited, lurking in the shadows, where they lived up to their name. For what exactly they were waiting, Shinichi never could find out and he hated it. It made no sense too. 

The few unimportant members they could catch and interrogate wouldn't break and rather went to Azkaban instead of giving up their leaders. And so he concentrated on other cases, solving the smaller problems and convictions at hand and decided to wait too... For the day, the shadows would finally resurface.

With his high number of successfully closed cases he easily could have had senior status by now, go back to other field work like Amuro-san or could have his own detective agency like Heiji in Osaka now, who had a bigger office than him and even a secretary to manage his affairs.

He could have done all sorts of things, but instead, at twenty-five years old, he was an experienced, but constantly tired and frustrated, Department Head of Magical Law Enforcement.

Shinichi sat there, every day, drank too much coffee and worked steadily through case after case and had politely refused any and all attempts by his friends to persuade him to slow down, step down or finally give up his 'obsession with the shadows'...

No, he would not do that. Especially as latest activities pointed to them finally coming back. Suspicious break-ins, vanished people, attacks and whispers in the underground told him to be vigilant...

He opened a letter from another Department Auror and felt a smile curl on his lips. Something else he had been doing to keep himself occupied was helping out in other Departments from time to time... Well, mostly one, to be honest. 

Auror Ginzo Nakamori in the Theft Division. His division was nominally devoted to magical fraud cases, but to Shinichi's knowledge, he spent most of his time and energy trying to capture 'the gentleman thief' for years now.

This time though, Nakamori had been the target of a highly suspicious attack on his life last week and thankfully survived, due to his sheer competence and a very good, specialised healer, apparently.

For some reason, it had felt personal to Shinichi and mostly, he had wanted to investigate Nakamori's 'accident' and his possible connections to any business lately, that could have involved and interested the shadows - anything that could have made him a target really... 

Instead... it had turned out to be a very entertaining riddle to solve for him, to help out Nakamori's men with yet another heist of the famous Moonlight Magician.

In the end, it didn't help the Division to catch the thief. Shinichi hadn't really expected them to, if he was honest. In his opinion, nobody would. 

He hadn't even seen the famous thief, since he had left the scene, before the actual heist had started. But according to Nakamori's letter in his hands, Shinichi had received a thank you note anyway from an anonymous sender and it was enclosed in a red envelope addressed to him personally... 

Nakamori described in the letter, that the envelope was apparently bewitched but harmless, since it had been tested for any dark curses or bad jinxes beforehand. If someone else had tried to open it though, the envelope scolded and screamed at them at length...

Shinichi smirked amused at that image and took the red envelope out of the small package Nakamori had sent with his letter. It weighed next to nothing and presented itself like a completely normal, red colored piece of paper in his hands. 

His heart still began to beat treacherously faster as he read the lines addressed to him, written on the other side of the envelope in an all to well known handwriting...

'To Head Auror Shinichi Kudō, who helped good old Nakamori out this time and made my heist so much more fun and interesting.'

At first, he simply wanted to open it. Instead, suddenly the letter folded itself into a tiny little red bird and flew onto his outstretched hand. Shinichi stared at it in wonder. 

It fluttered it's little, filigree paper wings and looked up at him with its eyeless head. In an unknown voice that sounded neither feminine nor masculine, it asked him: "'What does the moon say to the sun?" Then it flew away again, landing on his desk, a lifeless and simple paper bird again, but now, the envelope was open.

Shinichi blinked bewildered and intrigued.

"What does the moon say to the sun?", he repeated puzzled and frowned, the gears in his head already turning, "-where did I hear that before? I read that somewhere..." He felt a pleasant excited buzz running through him, all of the other casework suddenly forgotten, but his love for mysteries and riddles suddenly ignited like a flame again.

By closer inspection, there was also a single, dark blue rose petal in the envelope that fell out of it after he shook it and it landed softly onto his hand.

His heart made another leap, before a well-known emotion tugged at it too... He knew what the colour blue symbolized in roses since his sixth school year, when someone had gifted him a blue rose once...

But why... after all these years?

The meaning of the blue rose was unattainable love and a longing that could not be satisfied. He sighed unhappy at the thought of said person and stood up, when another train of thoughts came to him. 

The heist had been in France. French poems, French authors of poems with the word rose in their name.... Of course. It clicked and he rushed to his bookshelves to look for the book in his collection. But how would he have even known I even have this book..? Or was it just a coincidence?

It took him a while to find it - filtering through his hundreds of books - but when he did find it, he sank down onto the Persian rug on the floor and read the lines of the poem over and over again... until his cheeks felt warm from the deep blush, as the meaning behind the words seeped into his mind and his fingers started shaking slightly as they traced the words on the page, like he wanted to caress them.

He read...

What does the moon say to the sun, while they cross each other's path, you might wonder?

Tonight, the stars have my lips,
and the sun has my heart,
the moon says full of sorrow and mourning,
while the sun goes to sleep.

A star standing there whispers in wonder,
'You seem so in love'
The moon answered,
'Who said we are not?'

The star began to cry
'But don't you miss each other?
Never being able to be together
One fades as the other rises
It's love and fear forever.
Isn't a love like that cruel?'

The moon smiled wistfully
'That is true. It is cruel.
But it is written in the stars,
our love will never cease,
So we wait patiently,
for the day,
when we both can finally meet
and the sky will cry in red

Until that day, dear sun,
the moon whispered,
as he watched her sleep
know that I miss you,
Until then,
we will always rise
and rise again.
May we meet again,
Until then.

Isn't this... a love poem!?, Shinichi wondered, deep in thought, his cheeks still warm. Maybe it was a joke... He frowned and shook his head. No, cruelty isn't his style, Shinichi thought. But why now? This seemed too elaborate for a simple meaningless message. Was it another code? A message just for him? Maybe it had something to do with the shadows..? He read the lines again and recognized the feeling that overcame him then. It was melancholy... He sighed. He needed to clear his head; he wouldn't get anywhere if stupid feelings were clouding his judgement.

He stood up and carefully laid the open book aside onto his desk, took his violin off the wall where he hanged it last and started to play the piece Togetherless by Franz Gordon. It always helped to clear his mind.

When he was almost through it, he couldn't help but flinch when he heard a small sound behind him and immediately stopped, feeling caught. He hadn't even noticed someone entering his office, which spoke volumes for his concentration.

Surprisingly, it was Ai who was leaning in the doorframe to his office, one shoulder against the doorframe and her arms crossed over her chest. She was wearing a short, black leather jacket over a pretty Bordeaux blouse and black jeans. A thoughtful look was on her face, as she watched him. Like always when she listened to him play, he felt somewhat naked under her relentless scrutiny.

"Sometimes I get the feeling you're heartbroken and in an unrequited relationship with someone when I listen to you play. It's sad", she commented dryly.

He scoffed softly and threw her a lopsided, cynical smile while putting his violin back where it belonged. Well, she isn't that far off...

"Ai... Was there something you needed from me?", he asked absentmindedly, with his back turned to her.

She snorted.

"Hello Ai, how are you? It's good to see you. Come in, haven't seen you in a while. Oh, I'm fine, Shinichi, thanks for asking", she mimicked in a dry, sarcastic tone to rebuke him, like he deserved and Shinichi smirked amused at her. She smirked right back at him, although much more suave than him.

"How are you?", he tried to ask more friendly, while he carefully sorted the letters on his desk and picked up the book and paper bird, Ai eyed all too curiously as she came closer. He tried to ignore her intense stare and put them a bit aside.

"I just told you. Didn't you listen?", she replied, still a tad bit sarcastic as she walked over in front of his desk. He barked out a laugh and casually leaned back into his seat, smiling.

"Okay. So, what brings you here? Do you want tea or coffee?", he asked friendly, motioning for her to sit.

"No thanks", she shrugged nonchalantly, sitting down in front of him in one of his two armchairs, finally smiling a little.

"Just thought I might check up on you instead of reading tabloids after tabloids about what you are up to these days. I mean, not that I wouldn't read about you every week. And not just the one's with the gossip press... Although, I have to admit, they are always much more entertaining."

Shinichi groaned face palming.

"Why do you even read this junk?"

She giggled mercilessly.

"I not only read them, you know. I also give them exclusive Intel sometimes. Completely false of course, every time. But oh, so much fun. And they pay very well. 'The Sakura Boulevard' paid for at least half of my exclusive handbag collection this year alone."

She smirked smugly at him. An amused smile tugged at his lips as well before he scoffed, shaking his head.

"I should have known it was you... You are terrible."

She looked at her nails, completely nonchalant.

"Don't I know it... I still enjoy it though. Last time, they wrote an article about you secretly being a werewolf. I laughed for an hour after I read it. It was even better than the one's before about Moon Frogs and Blibbering Humdingers."

He coughed dryly, throwing her a passive, sardonic look. Oh yeah. He remembered that one with the werewolf very well. One of these vile reporters had even tried to break into his bedroom in Beika at midnight to apparently watch him turn, because of the full moon that night and almost gave him a heart attack while doing so.

Shinichi had hexed him stunned in seconds before he realized whom the guy actually was and then threatened him with a severe lawsuit, if anything about the incident would ever find its way onto paper, before he threw him out, fuming. The incident made him hate reporters even more...

Ai just smiled at him, as if she was reading his thoughts and seemed even more amused about it all.

He rolled his eyes.

"Remind me to write you sickly sweet thank you card this Christmas for that... So... What brings you really here?"

She shrugged, looking around his office and eyed his floating pile of letters at the ceiling in the corner, with a raised eyebrow. Now that he looked more closely at her, he noticed how pale she looked. She also had slight dark bags under her eyes, as if she hadn't slept very well. It wasn't like her to show up unannounced like this either.

"Call it concern for my stupid best friend. Like always", she then said absentmindedly.

He frowned, now a bit more alarmed.

"Concern... Why? Is everything alright? Did something happ-"

"Did you actually assist Nakamori-san in Paris with a Moonlight Magician heist last week? What was that about?", she asked instead, completely changing the subject. He frowned even more. Something was definitely up.

She then eyed the poem book and the red paper bird curiously again and he quickly shovelled them under open case files, feeling himself getting embarrassed.

"Well uh- yes. Actually. I happened to be in the area anyway and he was injured at the time. I investigated for any leads the shadows might left and why he somehow became a target to them. So I assisted with the heist note, the riddle and gave them a few tips... I didn't even see him or anything. So, yeah, barely."

He shrugged. For some reason irrational reason, he felt like his words sounded thin and untrue.

She hummed in thought and nodded. He couldn't exactly tell if she was concerned, just curious or simply amused. It was probably all of it.

"Interesting. Do you enjoy reading poetry these days? And... Origami?"

The corner of his mouth twitched amused. Sometimes he thought she would make a good interrogator instead of working in the Department of Mysteries.

"Umm- yes. I do, actually", he only half lied.

But he still held her gaze. 

She hummed again, watching him thoughtfully.

"You know, it's interesting... This red paper looks exactly like a special kind of magical paper they use in Great Britain."

Shinichi's eyes widened in surprise.

"They... do?"

She smirked.

"Yes. It's quite funny actually. They use it to reprimand the students, when they did something forbidden. They call it Howler."

"Uh... thanks, that's... interesting."

He trailed off, not willing to tell her how exactly he had gotten it.

Thankfully he was saved by Auror Takagi a few seconds later, who knocked fast against his door, before stumbling in, like usual... even if Shinichi already had told him countless times not to do that. This time, he was almost relieved though.

"I'm sorry to interrupt Kudō-san, but the case I was talking about yesterday-"

Shinichi stood up immediately, grabbing for his coat.

"Ah- Yes, yes- of course. I'm coming...", he trailed off and Auror Takagi nodded grim, before he took off again, as fast as he had come in.

"I'm sorry Ai-"

Shinichi grimaced and hoped he didn't seem too relieved that he had a valid reason to leave now. She sighed knowingly, almost resigned and made a wave with her hand before she stood up.

"It's alright. It was nice to see you again, Shinichi."

He smiled apologetic at her, feeling guilty again.

"Yeah... You too", he said and meant it. "We should-"

Another fire message appeared over their heads.

"Headauror Kudō-sama, I need a second opinion on the cursed tea cup case-"

She shook her head, smiling her private little smile at him.

"It's fine. Just go already."

He nodded at her before he took off, wand and coat already in hand.

"... Shinichi?"

He stopped on his way out and looked over his shoulder.

"Don't forget to answer Agasa-san's letter please. It's important."

He blinked. Oh. Right. The letter this morning. That's why she was coming to see him. So something did happen... Maybe he should-

"Kudō-san?", Takagi called after him from the hallway.

He grimaced.

"I'm coming, I'm coming", he mumbled, a bit irritated.

When he looked back, Ai had already disapparated. He sighed and turned to go as well. He told himself, he definitely would get to the bottom of this. But before that, he had work to do... like always.

Hours later, well after midnight, Shinichi entered his office with an exhausted sigh. He trudged into the room to collapse into his desk chair. That cursed teacup case had taken way too long to solve. 

He ran his hand over his face in exhaustion and closed his eyes for a moment, but it didn't help with his bone deep tiredness. As he shifted in his chair, something rustled in his cloak pocket and Shinichi remembered with sudden hot guilt that he still hadn't read Agasa's letter...

He quickly pulled it out, tore it open and finally read the letter inside. When he finished, he cursed softly under his breath and hurriedly got up to throw floo powder into his fireplace. Blue flames flared from the opening and hoisted up with a loud hiss.

"Headmaster Agasa's office at the Yatagarasu Nesuto school", he called out with authority and vehemence into the fireplace and quickly climbed through.

"Shinichi!", Agasa exclaimed in surprise as he stepped out of the fireplace and brushed the ashes from his shoulder in irritation. 

It was then that he almost stumbled over one of his old Headmaster's muggle machines, which he sometimes liked to spend his free time with and were littered across the floor like toys. When he had been younger, they had liked to disassemble the machines sometimes together. He then guiltily remembered how long it had been since he last visited him. 

"Agasa-san... I'm sorry for coming so late, I should have come sooner. I've only read your letter just now. What happened?", he asked anxiously, looking him up and down for any signs of visible injuries. 

He was immensely relieved to find none. His former headmaster motioned for him to sit down with the same aura of patience and warmth like in his old school days. The worry and sudden tenseness inside him eased up a bit, when he at least couldn't find anything visibly wrong with his old mentor.

With a wave of his hand, Agasa lit the fireplace behind them. The logs crackled loudly. As soon as Shinichi took a seat in the old green armchair, nostalgic memories came over him. But he hurriedly pushed them back into his mind. Now was not the time for that.

With much more calmness and composure than Shinichi would have expected, Agasa poured himself and Shinichi a cup of steaming hot jasmine tea from the looks and smell of it, which he pushed in front of Shinichi's nose, before he finally began to talk. He smiled as he noticed how tense Shinichi was.

"It's alright, my boy. I'm fine. Please don't worry. Ai-chan cared very well for me since. I already told her countless times, it's not so bad, but it took hours of discussions and convincing her to finally leave for work today... As you can see, I may be old, but I'm still not to be trifled with. This old oak won't go down without a fight and I'm still the Headmaster of this noble school. Now, I'm much more concerned about Koizumi-san. That's why I wrote you..."

He trailed off and coughed. Shinichi noticed a slight tremble in his right hand when he put his cup on his desk.

Shinichi narrowed his eyes.

"Please tell me exactly what happened. From the beginning. It would be even better if you could give me the memory to look at, for archive and report writing purpose... I'll do it myself, don't worry, so it'll be handled discreetly of course."

Agasa sighed.

"I would of course, but I fear it won't be of much use, I'm sorry. As I already wrote you in my letter... They were here last night. And my part was over fairly quickly. To my shame, I was paralyzed and cursed by that damn necklace, I stupidly touched, which initially was sent to Koizumi-san. Luckily, she didn't touch it. But I did, mostly to inspect it and as soon as I did, the curse activated and they must have entered later at night while I was in the hospital wing..."

"Where is this necklace now?", he asked tensely.

"Ai-chan has it contained in the department of Mysteries. She said, it's safest there, since it's impossible to destroy."

Shinichi shook his head, a bit irritated. Why hadn't Ai told him any of this when she had been at his office? He really needed to have a talk with her about keeping secrets. His old headmaster brought him out of his thoughts then.

"I'm sad to admit you were right all those years, Shinichi... The shadows are back."

Shinichi could feel his face become even grimmer. He nodded.

"I know. So they were really after Koizumi-san?"

"It seems so, yes."

"Where is she now? You should summon her. It's important to interview her as well. It's her memory I'll need then."

"That's why I wrote you. As I said... I'm deeply concerned. She isn't here anymore."

Shinichi almost jumped out of his seat, but barely held himself back. He bristled visibly, his eyes widening.

"You mean- they succeeded to abduct her!? Why didn't you tell me this right at the beginning? We should-"

"No, at least... I hope so... look for yourself."

Agasa pulled up a letter out of his desk and showed it to him. Shinichi immediately skimmed over it.

"It's definitely her handwriting. It was in her room this morning. She packed all her belongings and fled the premises over night. She obviously went into hiding. I can't blame her, she was terrified yesterday. I still don't know how they managed to get this far..."

Shinichi sighed and put it in the breast pocket of his cloak.

"Well, Vineyard lived here for years, didn't she?", he murmured absentmindedly and maybe a tad bit sarcastic.

Agasa hummed to himself.

"Yes, but I still believe she wasn't completely evil. She may be one of them, but as we both already discussed, she probably had her own reason's to be here and look for the stone. Do you think it was her again?"

Shinichi bit his lip in concentration and his hand held his chin, his thoughts running through his head a mile a minute. He could feel his headache again. But he had no time for that now.

"I'm not sure yet. Agasa-san, I have to ask again... do you really not know where the stone is?"

Their eyes crossed over the desk and Shinichi could feel how tired and exhausted the man in front of him was. He shook his head. 

"No... I swear it. I'm sorry, Shinichi. But I might know something else... It's about a prophecy. Two actually. And I think, it's time you know about them. In my opinion, this is the reason the shadows are after Koizumi-san. She has powerful seer abilities, you know, that's why I tried to protect her here and gave her the teacher position for our Divination class in the first place. The prophecies are actually from her."

"What prophecies?", he asked perplexed in an incredulous tone, eyes going wide.

Shinichi was still fuming silently when he apparated in front of the museum. He was alone, as expected, since it was still the middle of the night. Nobody but him would get the idea to go to a museum at night... Well, no one but him.

It wasn't even just a museum. It was more a museum located in the middle of an amusement park owned by the Suzuki's, called the Tropical land. Like so many things in Tokyo, Shinichi thought glumly and shook his head. Some families just had too much wealth. He was aware that he and his family were among the richest mage families in the country too, but the Suzuki's had their own way of handling it or better said, spending it like it was toilet paper...

Nonetheless, he was also grateful to the Suzuki's. They kept in this museum two of the most valuable magical treasures Japan had ever had... and did not even know it. Ever since Kaitou Kid had made his first appearance and broke into the museum, the exhibition around the two treasures had become enormously popular. Even Shinichi couldn't help but buy a ticket years ago to see them up close.

From that day on, he had made it a habit to come here at least once a year and visit the exhibition. After one too many visits, he had even received a pass from Sonoko for one of his birthdays, which allowed him to enter the building for free at any time, as often as he wanted, at any time of the day... It was the only time he had hugged Sonoko.

Sometimes at night when he got in one of his moods about a certain thief, he would just sit in front of the glass case to think, played with his coin, lost in thought and stroked the clover symbol on it.

But today he was here for a very different reason. He couldn't explain why, but his gut told him that something would happen soon. He sighed and rubbed his hurting temples and tired eyes.

Too much had happened in the last few days. Signs had been piling up and evidence had been appearing before him like pieces of a puzzle. Some of them, admittedly, didn't seem quite as legitimate as others.

"Prophecies. That's just stupid superstition. Like I have time for something like that", he scoffed silently under his breath and looked up at the moon, hands in his pockets. 

The moon...

For a moment, his grim face softened and he stopped in his walk. The prophecy that his old mentor had read to him just now was confusing at best... But he never liked deviation to begin with. There was just no logic behind it and too much chance and interpretation needed.

"There comes a day in the beginning of winter
when the prey kills its hunter
and the demon prince of light will fall

Shadows will rise and wreak havoc

A suspicious accident shall bring forth a rise in immortality though and a time of challenges awaits

The day the moon turns red,
and the sky cries blood
the comet of destiny will turn fate

When the moment comes that glass turns to silver arrows, three siblings shall bring the rise of nature and a world of darkness

The accused shall bring forth the fall of the eternal night, 
once air turns to fire, the young one and the accused 
shall cause an end to enemies and an age of anarchy
and only together will bring the beginning of a better future"

Shinichi was deep in thought about this so-called prophecy. When the celestial body is in the umbra of the earth and a total lunar eclipse occurs, the moon turns reddish, copper like and seems red. That was why such an eclipse was also called blood moon or copper moon. As far as he knew, such an event wouldn't occur until weeks from now though.

But why did he have such a strong foreboding feeling something was going to happen soon then? And why did Kaitou Kid send him this letter yesterday out of all days?

In his message there was also something mentioned about the moon. In fact, it was a poem about the sun and the moon... and about their love. But there was something specific about it that had been bothering Shinichi ever since he had read it.

So we wait patiently, for the day, when we both can finally meet and the sky will cry in red.... Red. Did that mean the blood moon? Was it talking about when he wanted to meet him in person? Or was it a hint that something would happen at the next date of the blood moon? And what did all this have to do with this darn prophecy?

Shinichi hadn't even known that Akako had this ability until just now... But if he was honest, they hadn't really been friends either. More like acquaintances, at best. He wondered if Kaito had known about Akako's prophecy. They had been friends at least, right?

What if he was here too?, he asked himself. Shinichi shook his head, as if to clear it from any unwanted distractions. No, he needed to get inside, make sure the treasure's were still safe and then he would need to write an extensively report for the attack and the intrusion to the school, the cursed necklace and Koizumi-san's disappearance. Maybe he could even assemble a search party for her... they needed to find her before the shadows did. 

He fished out his entering pass and went to get inside.

It was then, that he froze. As soon as he had entered the building, he instantly knew something was wrong. In the next second, he could hear someone upstairs. The hair on his neck stood up and his wand was in his hand immediately.

I can't believe it - They are actually here! I knew it! I can finally catch these bastards, right in act!

And then he ran. He knew he should have called for backup first. But this was his chance. If they disapparated with the treasures before he even got up there, they would vanish without a trace again. No, there was no time! He had to act now.

The first thing he saw when he ran up the stairs to the exhibition room was a body. It was in the middle of the aisle.

Shinichi gritted his teeth. He knew the man. It was one of the night guards and his glassy eyes stared blankly up at the ceiling. He was dead. Shinichi didn't need to cast a spell to know that an Avada Kedavra had killed him. In cold blood.

His grip on his wand tightened and he crept further down the corridor, deliberately quiet so as not to draw the shadows' attention to himself. Before he reached the double doors to the exhibition room, he applied a whispered Nexus spell that made him merge with his surroundings to remain undetected like a Chameleon.

"Kieru."

A glance through the slightly ajar doors confirmed his suspicions. He could see a tall,
broad-shouldered person in a hooded black cloak standing in front of the glass case. The shadow was trying in vain to get through the protective spells of the treasures and cursed loudly. 

Shinichi didn't know how they managed to deactivate the alarm in the first place, but it was obvious that not much was missing and the protective barrier would break any second now.

"Look who we have here...", a velvety, cool voice reached his ear and before he could turn around to the strange voice, startled, something had already hit him painfully on the head and he went down with a groan.

At first, everything went black before his eyes and he had the feeling of falling endlessly. He did not know how much time passed.

Something shattered. It sounded like glass. He could even feel the powerful shock wave and a few pieces of glass rained down on him. He must have been put on the floor near the display case.

He suppressed a painful hiss. His skull felt like it was about to be split in two. And he felt so hot... Why did he feel so strange? His heart was racing... Did he have a fever? But why? Had they poisoned him!?

"Finally... The moment is here. Take it, we need to leave now."

"What about Kudō?"

"We take him with us. Think about it. This is priceless. We can bring the boss Japan‘s Headauror and the treasures..."

Shinichi tried not to move so as not to let the shadows know too soon that he was already awake again. He could hear their footsteps crunching on the shattered glass near him. One of the men was laughing. Apparently, there were two of them. Shinichi had overlooked the second one... stupid, stupid mistake. He now regretted not having called for reinforcements... but it was too late for that now anyway. 

He opened his eyes a crack and could see them both facing away from him. One of them, the beefier one, was just grabbing the sword and pulling it out of the display case, while the other taller one of the two was just reaching for the small mirror. This is my only chance, flashed through Shinichi's mind.

In the next second, he apparated next to the shadow with the silvery long hair and snatched the hand mirror right away from him. Cold silver met fierce blue - for a second they even looked into each other's eyes, before the man's face turned into an angry grimace, as he understood what was happening.

"NO!!!", he screamed, as Shinichi smirked, despite breathing heavily, sweating and feeling like his body would topple over any minute now. The ground swayed dangerously, but his hand gripped the mirror tighter, yanked it towards him and then he disapparated.

He only hoped to arrive in one piece, for his concentration was badly shot. Instinctively he thought of the school and Headmaster Agasa.

His knees gave away. Breathing heavily, he landed on the gravelled asphalt of the stone pavement in front of the Torii to the school's entrance. Everything was spinning. He felt like his bones were melting. Unspeakable pain trembled through his body and he gasped in pain. 

He only almost suppressed a scream when he tried to stand up again and barely managed. He had to... He dragged himself on. One step... One more step... He was so hot. Everything hurt. Over the borders of the temple, he would be safe. Agasa would surely find him. Ai could... Everything went black again.

With the next step, he had reached the Torii... Then he tipped over in front and fell through.

---

When he woke up again, he felt like a damn bus had run over him. Twice. Every bone in his body hurt and he felt like he was still having a fever. He closed his eyes and groaned. Where was he? Was he lying outside on a street? How... What?

"Can I help you, boy? Looking for your parents maybe?", asked an older woman in british english with red curly hair above him. He blinked and scoffed up at her. Amused, irritated and confused at the same time he frowned at her.

"Huh?"

What the hell is she talking about? Weird... Where am I? Something is wrong. Her reaction. Baggy clothes. My voice... What's going on? And why do I feel so strange and weak?

"What are you talking about..? Boy? I'm not a-", he answered in Japanese, before he realized, she was speaking English and she most likely didn't understand Japanese. Why was she speaking English though?

He was lucky to have parents, who travelled all over the world with him in his summer vacations and often enough to Hawaii. He learned English back when he was a teenager... 

But he was a grownup now. A 25-year-old young man and the Headauror of Tokyo... 
So why would she- 

He then caught his own reflection in a shop window nearby when he sat abruptly up.

"What the-"

Shit... That's impossible, right? No matter how impossible it is, the truth is always- No, no, no... Oh god. Could it be that my body really shrunk!?

His breath caught in his throat and he swallowed his own spit. He raised his shaking hand to cover his mouth because of his coughing fit and realised with horror how small it had become...

No. Please no. What the hell-

The woman still looked at him funny. He couldn't blame her.

"I uh- no. Thanks. I- I'm fine", he said in English and tried to smile. He failed miserably.

"Uh... this may sound weird. But could you tell me where I am please?"

Her eyes widened.

"Oh dear... I knew something must have happened to you. You are in Diagon Alley darling." 

Now it was his turn to stare at her in shock. He gulped and tried to seem calm, although he was anything but.

I'm in London!? How the hell did I get here?

"Thank you, but I'm fine. Don't worry. I just got confused for a second. I stumbled and hit my head. But it's fine, haha. Just clumsy."

She still looked unconvinced.

"Really. Just go, please."

"Alright then...", she said frowning and seemingly unwilling, throwing him suspicious looks as she walked away.

He feverishly tried to remember what had happened. Then the memories hit him like a bludger and a headache began to pulsate behind his temples. He groaned and massaged them. Of course... The shadows. 

He remembered long, silvery hair and cold eyes. But they did something to him and then he had fallen through the Torii... The mirror. 

Frantically he searched his cloak pocket for the mirror he managed to take from them. Thankfully, it was still there, as was his wand. He was seemingly lying on it, as if he had fallen directly onto it. 

When he got the mirror out, he took a closer look at it. The small antique hand mirror made of old unpolished bronze, mother of pearl and dark wood was old and had age-related signs of use. The surface of the mirror reflected only moderately, but that was not surprising. 

Who knew how old it really was and how long it had not been polished? The mother-of-pearl back and the ornate wood showed a peacock in a garden, but that was a typical image for old Japan. 

Shinichi just hoped this ugly thing was actually worth risking his life for.... He made a face, but didn't recognize his reflection in the mirror... It was weird. He looked so much younger..? 

Out of nowhere, the surface of the mirror wafted and changed so suddenly that he almost dropped it in shock. He frowned.

What's that? A castle?

As quickly as it had appeared, the image of the castle disappeared again and Shinichi pocketed the mirror again, sighing. 

He grimaced and looked around, wondering what the hell he should do now. This was bad. Really, really bad.

"Shit..."