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

Side Story 5: you're out of options

Unfair.

Anger simmered within Momoe as she furiously chewed on the straw, draining her second box of konjac jelly in one strong, relentless sip, until only air remained and she released it with an annoyed huff.

Kudo Shinichi walked at the very back of the line, balancing several small kids' backpacks and carrying the rice balls meant for lunch. He watched as Momoe, who had been at the front of the group, slowed down as she drank, eventually trailing back to where he was.

"What's wrong, Momoe?" he asked, tightening the straps on his shoulders to adjust the weight. Up ahead, a few older boys in the group paused and offered to help him carry some of the load.

Although he could have declined, Kudo thought about it and divided the forty or so rice balls evenly among them. Once they had gone on ahead, Kudo turned to find Momoe had plopped her bag down on the ground and begun to cry.

"Jerks! They're all jerks!" she shouted, taking Kudo by surprise. Not sure what to say, he guessed she was just too tired to keep hiking and asked gently, "Are you just too tired to keep climbing?"

"No... They took my Daddy away!" Her declaration left Kudo without a clue as to how to respond. "He's my Daddy! Not their Onii-san or anything!" She fumed.

"Why do they get to take him from me?"

Kudo turned his gaze up toward the front of the group, where the faint silhouette of someone disappeared into the greenery of the treetops. Their laughter echoed through the valley, and Kuroba Kaito's laugh in particular couldn't be ignored.

Naturally, Kaito was great with kids—after all, he was more interested in keeping the children entertained, Kudo had chosen to stay at the back of the line, letting Kaito chat with the younger teachers.

So, Kudo gently took her hand and encouraged her, "How about we try catching up to Daddy?"

"No way. He ignored me. So I'll ignore him too. Hmph!"

...This kid... Who does she even take after? Kudo thought, slightly exasperated. Since she wasn't his biological daughter, there were some things Kudo couldn't say, no matter how often she called him "Dad" and "Daddy," affectionately switching between the two. There were things he wanted to tell her but couldn't.

And, in a way... didn't you steal Kaito from me?

He crouched down, looking Momoe in the eyes. "Well, think of it this way: your mother asked him to come along so he could help share the burden of work with the kindergarten teachers, right? If he's able to keep the kids focused and climbing happily, then he's just doing what your mother asked him to."

That seemed logical enough to Momoe.

Kids were still kids, after all; hide a favorite toy, and soon they'll find new friends, get new assignments at school, and soon enough, they'd forget.

"Alright then," Kudo said, "let's go find Daddy."

Momoe nodded, hoisted her bag, and took Kudo's hand. As they walked, she asked, "Hey,Dad, how did you meet Daddy? Mom met Father at a karate tournament in Tokyo, and they even have a photo of their first meeting in our living room."

"Oh, really? As for me... well, I met him under the moonlight... on a night when the sky was dark, and the full moon was high. He came down in front of me so quietly, landing on the rooftop of the Beika Hotel."

Absent-mindedly, Kudo touched his chest, where the warmth of a ring box in his breast pocket reminded him of that moment. "Well, I'd seen him before then... but that was the first time I knew who he really was."