The Beast Within (Shinkai/Kaishin)

Dead... or not?

"Kudo! Kudo wake up!"

Shinichi opened his eyes, greeted by the all too familiar white ceiling of the hospital. His chest burned more than ever before, almost like hell itself.
"You are awake. Good."
Shinichi narrowed his eyes onto the teahaired girl next to him and finally showed a smile. Haibara.
"Haibara," he stated along his thoughts and she exhaled in relief.
"Be glad Agasa-hakase and I found you with the Shounen Tantei badge. You almost died."

Then it hit him and Shinichi's smile fell like the gunshot last night. Why wasn't he dead? Didn't KID shoot him? No, it wasn't KID. It couldn't have been KID, the phantom hadn't twitched a single muscle.
And yet, why was he here, sitting inside the too familiar hospital room with a healthy beating heart?
Haibara sighed and pulled him back into reality like that. She opened her phone and showed him a text from his own phone, sent short after the KID heist.

'Save me'

Shinichi turned slightly paler than he had been before.
"That wasn't me."
"I figured. Only thanks to that Agasa-hakase and I started searching for you."
"KID saved me," Shinichi muttered shocked and received a gauging glare from the unhappy chibi scientist next to him, "The same KID who bombed up an entire building just to kill you?"
Shinichi threw a sarcastic smile at her.
"You know he likes flashy exits."
"Moron."
"Likewise. Nevertheless, I'm sure it was KID. I got to know things... which aren't quite fortunate, however, they are relevant for his case."
Haibara shook her head in disapproval and sat down on a chair close by, judging eyes lasting upon her definitely not resting friend.
"You should recover instead of getting lost in your deductions again."
"And yet we both know it's necessary and important."
"I'm listening."
Shinichi exhaled relieved and started to review last night's events, from the explosion over the hunt within the forest to the meaningful minutes alone with KID until he had blacked out. For a while, none of them said anything while Haibara progressed the information and Shinichi tried to sort out his mind.

"KID suffers from memory loss but this isn't a normal case. Someone else has their hands in this game, I doubt KID would randomly target you because of a 'feeling' you are in his way towards his goal... because you kinda have always been."
Shinichi nodded to confirm her thoughts.
"That's what I thought, too. I am curious if he will take my offer... if he already spared my life..."
Shinichi fell back into his musings and Haibara stood up from her chair with her usual emotionless expression lasting upon him.
"I'm going to leave now. Take care, Kudo."
"Hm? O-oh yeah yeah."
"The Shounen Tantei will visit you later and Ran most likely, too. I thought I'd be generous enough to warn you."
"Ah... thanks."
Shinichi nodded to dismiss her and closed his eyes to keep on thinking about the entire case. He was sure curious what had happened to the KID. Unfortunately, without the KID at his side to gather data, things were going to become difficult.

After one and a half week Shinichi returned to his house with more or less relief. The same walls every fucking day was draining his life energy to an extent where he would prefer even Sonoko's company over being alone.
Shinichi opened the door to his house and stepped inside, sucking in a nostalgic breath. He needed a coffee. Badly.
The next KID heist was about to begin in two days and the detective was out of any energy. Why did KID change his pattern and attack without the moonlight around him? Shinichi wasn't quite pleased but he was stubborn enough to attend. He had to coax KID into another conversation.
Perhaps this time, the KID was going to follow him.

"Shinichi, one last encounter and you are going to die!" Agasa-hakase warned, eyes following the detective as he paced back and forth within his room. Shinichi hummed in response and hurriedly dressed himself, barely acknowledging the worried hakase.
"I know I know."
"Then why are you going?!" the old man protested and Shinichi sighed, pausing in his preparations.
"Do you really want an answer to that?"
"Shinichi you will die. I can't let that happen."
Shinichi rolled his eyes, a fond smile on his lips.
"I won't."
"How can you be sure of that?!"
"Simple."
Shinichi pulled over a mask, adjusting it with a few gentle tugs to fit his face.
"Because I won't be going as Kudo Shinichi."
Agasa silenced and blinked twice, staring at the exited detective. This wasn't a bad idea, he had to admit that.
"KID spared my life. If I show up as Kudo Shinichi on the next heist, KID will be in trouble."
"KID will be in trouble?!"
Agasa couldn't believe this boy. His life was on the line, an insane hunter played a cat and mouse game with him and used KID as his puppet and still Shinichi was more concerned for the phantom's wellbeing. Shinichi snickered and took on his jacket.
"What did you await? I'm a detective. We always put others before our own lives."
Sighing, Agasa sat down on a chair in Shinichi's room to continue watching him. This boy was going to be the death of him somewhen.

Indigo eyes observed the audience, moved from sweating policemen and a nervous keibu over to today's target. Thin lips formed into a wicked grin, a low chuckle vibrated in his throat. Shinichi was alive. Shinichi was here.
KID could feel it in his bones, his Meitantei was on the edge, sitting on needles, waiting for him and him alone. He had yet to figure out why he was so fascinated of this detective. Just the tiniest attempt to figure out anything about his past or Shinichi himself made him feel dizzy and sick to the bone.
But Kudo Shinichi seemed to know him, better than anyone else he had seen.

The way Shinichi had touched his face mixed together with the unbearable pain of his broken bones had been so exiting... KID wanted more of this. More encounters, more pain, more of Shinichi. The magician under the moonlight had spared his target's life just this one time... perhaps, things were different today.

A near death experience truly was exiting... wether it was KID or Shinichi who was going to die.