More Than A Gemstone (Kaishin)

The Balance of Magic

There was a long silence between these two. It didn't take all too long until Shinichi became a little fidgety.
"I keep thinking... I'm not saying it isn't good that Hope is, well, not inbetween the living anymore. But... how would we ever contain Pandora again if Hope was the only thing that could cure his curses?"
Kaito tensed. Well thanks for cutting at that topic, he had tried not thinking about it the last couple of days.
If there was to be an accident... the person it was most likely going to hit was Kaito himself, and he hated thinking about this risk. Indigo eyes fell onto Pandora, sitting on the ground very close to the television, eyes sparkling with joy.
"I would rather not think about it just yet."

***

Kaito stood up, stretching his arms.
He shambled from his bedroom to the bathroom, checked his reflection. All good. Kaito brushed his teeth, then hopped into the shower to wake himself up. Then went back to his bedroom to put on some proper clothes.

He hopped down the stairs, ready to make some breakfast for Pandora and himself, and then some bento for him to take along to school.
"G'morning, Pandora... Food?" he called into the living room, only to receive no answer. Not that Pandora would verbally reply anyway, but at least he would have heard him rolling over on the couch to get up.
"Pandora? Are you still sleeping? Get up, you know you can't make yourself food later without me reading the labels for you."
Kaito sighed and put down his chopsticks, then walked into the living room.
"Didn't you hear-"
Kaito trailed off, looking around with a surprised expression.
"...me."

Goddammit where was this boy now again. It was way too early for him to be out and about- not that he ever was. Kaito had ALWAYS woken Pandora up. There was never an instance where Pandora was up before Kaito was beyond the first day and the cereal incident. Maybe he wanted to visit his favorite sleuth? But Pandora usually let him know when he was out, and his explorations also usually only happened when Kaito was out himself.
'Shinichi is Pandora with you? He isn't home'
He didn't expect an answer just yet, he knew Shinichi liked sleeping in and was hard to get out of bed when he had just woken up.

...not that he had watched that happen as Kaitou KID.

And the blanket wasn't made either. Kaito waltzed over to the sofa and gingerly picked it up to fold it- only for something to fall out and clatter to the ground. Kaito jumped a little, startled.
"Is that-?!"
Putting the blanket back down, he bent over to pick it up.

That was... a gemstone.

His eyes grew wide. Kaito would recognize that gemstone anywhere.
"That is... Pandora... but... but how...?"
He turned it, holding it against the window. Of course there was no red shimmering through, but undeniably, that was the same gemstone that had been buried inside Pandora's chest.
And... it was a clean cut. Not blood. No bits of flesh. So... it hadn't been removed by force.
Kaito's gaze lowered onto the blanket and couch. There was... a shirt. And boxers. And he was pretty dang sure that was what Pandora had worn yesterday before he had gone to bed.

"I don't think anybody would come for Pandora besides Hope himself..." Kaito thought out loud to himself, "The BO doesn't even know Pandora is a human... and why take the boy but not the gemstone, the actual thing responsible for immortality... and then leave said gemstone here. Plus Pandora's clothes."

So... if Pandora was gone, but his gem was still here... his clothes were still here... the bed wasn't made... at the crack of dawn... then what the hell was going on?

I can't believe I'm saying this but I'll have to ask Akako...

Kaito sighed. What a fucking start to his day.
"Hey Akako. Is there any possible way Pandora could have just... vanished? And left his gemstone?"
There was pure silence on the other end of the line.
"...define... 'vanished'."
"Well he is gone, his gem is still here same with his clothes and he hasn't made his bed which is very unusual for him."
"What do you mean 'his gem is still here'?"
Kaito rolled his eyes. Why didn't she just listen to what he was saying?
"I said what I said. A loose gemstone, exactly the one Pandora has had in his chest and yes I'm sure about it, right here on the couch."

Akako took once again a couple seconds to respond. Well, what a surprise. Although... not really. She had somewhat hoped this would happen.
"You're not going to like the answer, Kuroba. Magic always finds a way to... balance itself. To put a curse on someone, you need to sacrifice something yourself. To save a life... you need to diminish your own. And Pandora... as godly as he is, considering ancient magic... needs a counter."
Kaito's face went grim. He was praying she wasn't telling him what he thought she was.
"Elaborate."
"Now that Hope has perished... there is no counter for Pandora anymore. Thus he... ceased to exist. As all magic does if managed to be broken."
"What do you mean he ceased to exist, how is that even possible?! How can he just up and vanish?!"
"I don't think he quite vanished, Kuroba. I believe the gemstone attached to him... absorbed him. This is nothing bad, I assure you. There will be a time when... he will be reborn. But... so will Hope. They are two halves of the same coin, one cannot exist without the other. How long this will take... I do not know. Millenia, possibly. We might not even be alive at this point."

Kaito sat down on the couch, knees giving in.
"So at the end... the real magic is all within this gemstone itself. And... it will become our Pandora again, one day?"
"Correct. But it will recreate the both of them. Pandora... and Hope."
"...thanks, Akako. See you later."
He hung up before Akako could utter another word, staring down at the gemstone with something akin to disgust within his eyes.
Not only has this gemstone taken his father from him, but now a boy he had come to love as a younger brother. How long was it going to take until Pandora was reborn? How many days? Months? Maybe even years? How much magic do you need to intake to create two gods?

Kaito's needs began to wobble; he slid down onto the couch. Again. It had happened again. Again something he had loved so dearly was taken from him, and that by the same fucking thing. He wanted to scream, cry, throw something, but he couldn't. His body wouldn't obey him.
Kaito sat there, staring at the gemstone, unmoving. There was a frustration gnawing at him, a rage. He could see it all over again. The blood of Division 1, the mayhem of Pandora's bacterial influence, the insanity that Hope bestowed onto people. Kaito wanted to throw up. He couldn't get it out of his head anymore.

If he traced it back... all of that was this stupid gem's fault.
All he had to do was just... break it.

And yet... there was a chance he could get Pandora back one day.

But if this gem was no more, there would be no more suffering. No more curses.

No one would have to die again for this stupid piece of shit.

Kaito's grip tightened, he could feel the adrenaline rushing through his veins.

Just break it. It'll be all over. You've already lost Pandora, Akako told you he won't be reborn for years to come

"...I-I... I-I promised..." Kaito choked out, the lump in his throat making it hard to breathe. A sob made its way past Kaito's lips.

He promised he wouldn't hurt Pandora.

He also promised he would destroy Pandora.