Accomplice__ Kudo Shinichi x Kaitou Kid, Kaito Kid x Kudo Shinichi

Part 51 : I will win you back

[Sonoko! Give me back my phone!] Ran pleaded, losing count of how many times she had repeated this request.

[You don't understand, Ran. The devil's in the details. If this plan is going to work, we need all the information we can get. Sure, you're the one who brought up the breakup, but you have to understand how you two even got to this point.]

Sonoko Suzuki explained patiently, [Your messages are really... brief. It feels like you're the only one sending messages.]

[Ran, you know how busy Shinichi is with cases every day... I don't want to bother him.]

[No, that won't do, Ran! Look, this is the problem! You can't let him get used to this; you have to make him realize that he can't live without you...]

[But we're not a couple anymore.]

Sonoko cut Ran off, [Do you still like Kudo Shinichi?]

[Yes...] Ran replied softly.

[Then you need to cultivate those feelings and create more opportunities to be together!] Sonoko insisted.

[Surprise him now and then, make sure you're on his mind. After all, you're the one who broke up with him, so you need to show him that you still care. The breakup was just taking a step back, giving him space and time to come after you. Didn't you ask if he could come watch your competition performance today? That's a great start. Even if you've broken up, it's okay. Every relationship has its ups and downs. Look at me and Makoto, there was a time when my mom... haha, sorry, Ran, I got carried away talking about myself. Back to you. Trust me, Ran, you need to spend more time with him, and you need to be more involved in his cases. Don't just be the Mouri Ran who tags along behind Uncle Mouri taking care of 'Conan.' Don't just wait on the sidelines anymore.]

[Sonoko...] Ran nodded hesitantly.

[What exactly should I do?]

[It's simple. Your first step is to make sure he, Kudo Shinichi, attends your public match. He needs to see for himself what an amazing girl he's missing out on.]

—------------------

Kuroba Kaito blinked, and even Kudo Shinichi seemed slightly out of his element.

The white suit was gone, replaced by a navy blue one, the shade of a warship, with a dark gray shirt underneath. It accentuated Kuroba's lean, sharp figure, but it made Kudo frown.

[Why does it look like you're wearing something that doesn't suit you? It's... off.]

[I can't exactly go out in white, can I?] Kuroba replied, feeling his hand tremble slightly as he gripped the edge of the sink. He took a deep breath, staring at his reflection.

[Kid, everything's going to be fine.]

KurobaKaito smiled. How could Kudo see through him so easily?

As long as he didn't think about that stormy night, everything would be as it always was. Things could never go back to the way they were, but at least on the surface, nothing had changed. They still went to school together, still solved cases together, but the ease of that night was lost.

Luckily, the cases, the work, even Nakajima dragging him out to play basketball after skipping classes, all these things perfectly distracted Kuroba Kaito.

He was like a spinning top, never daring to stop.

And Kudo Shinichi wasn't faring much better.

Three ruined cups of coffee, three broken ties, three snapped stirring sticks in the same morning—Kudo Shinichi's hands were typing on the computer, his ears tuned to the international news channel, a rice pancake dangling from his mouth. He was terrified that the moment he stopped, his gaze would drift to Kuroba Kaito beside himself, and his thoughts would automatically return to that stormy night.