Bloody Rose

Soul Searching

Chapter Forty:

Soul Searching

"I. Am. Bored." Ground out Kaito as he flopped back against his bed.

Shinichi, from where he was sitting at the desk, merely sighed as he lowered his chin to rest on his arms.

"You know...we could try maybe...practicing?"

Kaito sat up and stared at the detective.

"Practicing what?"

"Controlling your ability. I doubt you want it ruling over your life every day, right?"

"True", Kaito muttered, "I just don't..."

"What?"

"It's not...not something I am very fond of."

"That's because you keep seeing a psychopath's soul whose emotions are overwhelming your senses. Try looking into my soul."

Kaito was silent a moment before he nodded.

"I will try, but I don't know how well this will work."

He closed his eyes and tried to focus on Shinichi.

"..."

"..."

"..."

"Anything?" Shinichi finally asked.

"Nothing."

"Hmm...maybe you are overthinking it. Try just describing me in your mind. I will...I will talk to you about random things and you focus on my voice. Think about nothing, but me."

Describing Shinichi huh, thought Kaito as he reclosed his eyes. Shinichi Kudo. Conan Edogawa. Tantei-kun. Meitantei. Someone who loves a great mystery. Number one fan of Sherlock Holmes, besides Hakuba. Someone who has gone out of his way to help me. A friend. A comrade. A good guy. A guy with a sarcastic sense of humor. A guy who can match me evenly in wits. A guy...who would sacrifice anything for those he cares about. A...

Kaito stopped when his mind exploded with images. It was almost more than he could handle at one time and if Shinichi's sudden scream in his ear was anything to go by, it had also psychically dropped him. The images he was getting though...Ran Mouri. Images of his childhood best friend filtered in and out. He could see the many times the detective had tried to save people and was left with a bitter after taste, a taste of grief and...guilt. More images flashed. Images of a certain white phantom thief could be seen and emotions of...thrill, gratitude, and...was this emotion fear? Was the meitantei scared of him?

Another barrage of images had him letting out a strangled yell as his head nearly split in two. These images; they weren't from Shinichi. They were from...

A splash of cold water in his face snapped him out of the trance and blinked, coughing up the liquid as he stared at Shinichi who stood above him, his face lined with concern.

"Were you...were you trying to kill me?!" yelled Kaito as he sat up, his bed and clothing now soaked through.

"No, I was trying to save you. You fell to the bed with your eyes staring open and I knew it had worked, but then...then your entire body began shaking and you started screaming and ..." the detective stopped as he took a deep breath, "I didn't realize it was so hard on you to use your ability."

"As you said, practice makes perfect. I wasn't prepared enough for the mental images that came barreling into my head. It was a lot to handle and then..."

"Then?"

"Yours ended and...Aoko's began."

"Aoko Nakamori? She isn't even here though, how did you..."