Frightful Addiction - Magic Kaito

11. Bloody Offer

1026 Words excluding (A/N)~ I no own MK/DC~

Written November 21 2021
Posted December 16 2021

Kaito eyed Shinichi with confusion, the sleuth's words had completely caught him off guard "You want to be my friend?" He repeated incredulously. That was not something he'd ever expected the other to say.

Shinichi nodded, feeling determined "That's exactly what I said" It'd come out a bit awkward, but he'd managed to at least say it.

The magician frowned, feeling conflicted. He didn't dislike the sleuth, in truth he was rather fond of him, especially after seeing the other work so hard to help him. Shinichi was both a good and very intelligent person, someone that Kaito could actually see himself befriending. If circumstances were different that is "I don't think that would be a good idea" He wouldn't be able to just disappear if he befriended the sleuth.

"It's a great idea" Shinichi countered "We make a good team, and having someone 'in the know' around can be a great relief" Not having to hide his identity from absolutely everyone when he'd been Conan had helped ease the burden a bit. Shinichi smirked "Plus having you around will make things interesting if your social media accounts are anything to tell by"

Kaito couldn't help but grimace at the mention of his social media accounts, he was often mentioned by his classmates "I'm thinking of moving away, somewhere far away from people" He didn't want to face anyone, not after what he'd done. Pretending to be mostly oblivious about Saguru's death would be hard. He wasn't sure if he'd be able to lie about it in person, especially not to Aoko.

Azure narrowed "That won't help anything, it'll only make you miserable" The magician was a very social person.

"It would be a suitable punishment" Kaito sighed, shoulders slumping. He knew that proper jail would never be an option for someone, something like himself. Despite knowing that Saguru would have most likely forgiven him considering the circumstances, he still couldn't stop himself from feeling guilty.

Shinichi eyed Kaito, recognizing the guilt and self loathing in the other's gaze "Running wouldn't fix anything" The magician needed a purpose, or else he was very likely to just leave and never come back "Since you feel like you need to pay, maybe you can do that by just hanging around me" Shinichi let out a tired sigh, looking away from Kaito "I come across crime all the time, you could pay for your perceived crime by helping me help others" He turned his gaze back towards Kaito "Don't you think that doing that would be a better way to make amends? Especially since Hakuba-kun was a detective as well?"

Kaito grit his teeth, looking away. Shinichi was right, he could do a lot of good if he helped the other... But... "I cant..."

The sleuth's gaze softened, Kaito had sounded so conflicted "What can't you do?" He'd seen a small tremble go through the other's frame.

"I can't face my friend, she was really close to Hakuba" Kaito shivered at the thought of seeing her tears, of having to face her every day "She called me, crying about his death" Kaito didn't care if he was viewed as a coward, he's already hurt those close to him enough. He wouldn't be able to handle it if he caused Aoko any more pain.

"I see..." It was concerning, Kaito didn't want to return to his loved ones. Ai's words rand even more worrisome in his head "You can stay here, travelling from Edoka every day would be a bit of a pain anyways"

Kaito blinked, looking at the sleuth in shock "I thought my stay here was supposed to only be temporary"

Shinichi offered a small shrug "I had thought that you'd eventually want to go home after you got better" The thought of Kaito wanting the opposite hadn't really crossed his mind until recently "There's plenty of room here, and when you're confident enough, we can actually get you situated into one of the guest rooms instead of the bathroom"

Not being locked up at night... Kaito wasn't sure if he was mentally ready for that yet. Being in the cell gave him a weird sort of comfort. An extra assurance that he couldn't hurt anyone "What about school? If I'm still in Japan, I'll be expected to go..."

"And your friend goes to the same school" Shinichi finished for him. That would negate having Kaito live here... "You're good with computers right?" At Kaito's wary nod, Shinichi continued "Have yourself transferred to online classes" He paused, online classes... He'd be able to do a lot with the extra time that would give "And could you do the same for me?" He offered a sheepish smile "I could get so much done if I took online courses" Now that he thought about it, he should have done so sooner with how much class he's been missing.

Kaito took a quick gulp of blood "I could do that, but won't your parents be upset?"

Shinichi snorted "I don't care, it's not like they're around enough to notice the change anyways" If his schooling mattered to them, they'd have put in effort to make sure that he actually went to school.

"Ah... Okay..." So he would be staying here instead of going back home, that was a bit of a relief. He suddenly frowned "I'll need to get a few things if I'm staying here"

Seeing Kaito's unease, Shinichi responded "I could get what you need if you don't want to go back there"

"I have doves..."

"If they're your doves, then they should be well trained, they can stay here too" Untrained birds on the other hand? Nope, not happening.

Tainted indigos softened with relief "They're well trained and very polite, Tsuki is the youngest but she's perfectly house trained" Kaito paused at the thought of his doves "Actually, I think I'll release them all except for Tsuki, Tsuki's the only one that can't survive on her own outside" He'd made sure that they'd be able to survive if anything happened to him because of Kid.

"Right" Shinichi trusted the other to know what he was doing regarding the doves. Releasing pets into the wild was considered cruel, but Kaito's doves were probably more intelligent than the average bird.

Me: So Kaito is scared to face Aoko, so he's staying with Shinichi~

Comment? ^-^

 I was so sleepy as I wrote this... Like eyes watery and heavy headed sort of sleepiness. I don't nap though... except for the first few days after my wisdom teeth were removed, I think ibuprofen makes me drowsy, probably. 

I rarely take it unless my head hurts enough for my eyes to water. Having a low resistance to pain meds is useful?