#but Inspector Nakamori costume was just better

[ohrival1412]

still thinking that Kaito should have let her wear that outfit

[tarotcana]

Rewritten Justice - Continued

Author: Me. Length: 1311 words Fandom: Magic Kaito Characters: Nakamori Aoko, Kuroba Kaito, Hakuba Saguru. Rating/Triggers: T for Teen. Triggers are wounds, needles, etc. Chapters: 1 / 2 Summary: “Please… Make it a fair fight.” A rewrite of Chapter 36 in the Magic Kaito manga. KID genuinely did pass out on top of Aoko, instead of faking it and switching places with her. Aoko and Hakuba are looking after Kaito now the threat has been taken care of.

A/N: ( Written because a lot of people asked for me to continue it. I honestly think the original was pretty done-and-dusted, but I didn’t mind writing a small continuation for those who wanted to make sure our favourite thief was okay. ) ( Written at 2am so hopefully it gives you closure more than anything. )

Fanfiction.net / AO3

Aoko wasn’t very good with needles. Especially not red-hot, surgical needles that were supposed to stitch sutures into skin.

Fortunately, Aoko wasn’t the one holding the needle as it carefully threaded through the edges of the cleaned wound embellished on KID’s chest. Instead, she simply watched a trained professional do his job, squeezing the patient’s hand gently in reassurance at every twitch and light hiss he made in his pained slumber. Even if needles made her uneasy, there was something about watching the doctor’s professionalism that kept her quiet, instead of feeling the urge to argue about the knowledge of KID’s identity.

It’s only when the doctor has finished his job does she get up from her seat, brows knitting together to prove her seriousness regarding the earlier conversation. The doctor’s face is written with fatigue, sighing before she can even pipe up.

“If a word about KID’s appearance gets out—”

“He won’t tell anyone, Aoko-san.” Hakuba interrupts before she can finish, startling Aoko when his hand rests on her shoulder. “I know you’re worried, but I hired him for a good reason. We should focus on getting KID back home now.” Aoko sighs in response, Hakuba thanking and waving the doctor away as her eyes fall on the thief’s face. He’s fine, she reminds herself, moving to gently scoop him up into her arms. There isn’t a chance that Aoko will let anyone else touch him unless necessary, her distrust refusing in case someone decides arrest him immediately without giving him a fairer fight.

--

An hour passes before they manage to make it back to Kaito’s house, Aoko propping the exhausted boy upon the bed like one would do a hospital patient. It’s a thick blanket of silence that covers the room, only interrupted by the shallow breaths that rise and fall under the bed sheets. He’s safe, she reminds herself again, beads of tears beginning to prick at her eyes. A moment passes, two, before she turns, pushing Hakuba out the door of Kaito’s bedroom, the door shutting behind them with a click.

“Aoko-san—”

“Hakuba-kun, you can’t be here. Now that you know who KID is, I can’t let you be here.” Her hands are firm on his shoulder blades, her forehead leaning heavily against his back. “You can’t… You can’t use this against him. It’s not fair.”

“Aoko-san, I know that—”

“Hakuba-kun, it’s not fair!” She shouts, regretting her impulsiveness. Her fingers twist the back of his jacket, Aoko using the tight grip to keep her anchored to the spot. It’s the weight of all this information that she can’t handle, the lies he told and the ‘errands’ he made crashing around her like debris from a falling building. Knowledge of who her worst enemy was cuts her like glass, shards of knowing how he mocked her in and out of costume embedded into her skin. How he mocked her father and turned him into a laughing stock, all while managing to sit at their dinner table without a hint of remorse. This knowledge alone should have stopped her from helping him.

Yet here she is, defending him, trembling behind the one person who had helped her. All because, despite Kaito’s lies and actions, she found herself wanting to keep him safe. Fool’s hope in her heart that maybe, just maybe, he had a reason for becoming the person she despised the most. “Please… Make it a fair fight.”

Against her desperate cries, Hakuba’s voice is calm. “… Aoko-san.” He begins, though Aoko’s fingers tighten their grip. Had he already heard these pleas a thousand times, or did he pity her? They shared the same ideology that arresting KID while injured and unable to run away wasn’t right, but what would happen now that he knew where he lived? This place was without a doubt riddled with all the evidence he needed to put him behind bars. The questions she was scared to voice aloud are answered in a collected tone, though it’s clear he’s trying to calm her down. “When I catch KID, I want it to be because I outwitted him in his own game. I won’t use this against him.”

“Promise?”

“I promise. Even if you don’t believe me right now.” The jacket she’s expertly balled her fists into is shrugged off his shoulders, Hakuba turning to wrap it around her as some form of shock blanket. “I’m going to leave now so I can tell your father that you’re safe. I’ll also tell him that KID somehow managed to escape when we had left his hospital bed for five minutes.” His words are lost to the overwhelming feeling of sudden comfort, appreciated more than the option of a hug. She wasn’t sure how well she could hold back the tears that already threatened to move past her eyes if she had any physical contact. “Look after him. He needs you right now.”

“… Thank you, Hakuba-kun.”

--

A violent tug on her hand was her punishment for falling asleep before her patient had woken up. Somehow, she had managed to fall sleep by Kaito’s bedside, drowsy eyes looking up at the frightened teen who was trying to yank his hand away from her’s.

“Aoko! How did you— I can explain--”

“Kaito, please stop.” A hand is placed firmly onto his shoulder, Aoko using all her weight to push him back down onto the bed. Emotional exhaustion had already set in, a deep breath forced inwards as she pushes a hand through her already-messy hair to help her think—  To understand his thought process of what may’ve happened between his collapse and how he ended up in bed. “You can explain later. I’m not going to ask you to explain while you’re in pain.”

Kaito wheezes his apology, “I’m sorry—”, squirming slightly against the pressure weighed on his shoulder. Despite this, Aoko doesn’t move, not until he settles. Only then does she release him, helping herself up to stand.

“… Thank you for apologising. Please just rest.” Warmth lights up her tired smile, although it’s clear she’s more relieved than anything else. “You can tell me everything once you’re feeling better.” Her mind swims an ocean of questions, paper boats of doubt floating alongside her. It’s only the relief that he’s not dead that stops her wave of thoughts, replacing it with desperate reassurances that he’s okay. He may not be without pain, but he’s not in a critical condition where she could lose him.

… Remembering the detective, her fingers tug the jacket given to her more snugly around her. Aoko takes solace in the comfort the temporary shock blanket provides, taking a deep breath to clear her thoughts. She’ll have to thank him properly for this. Without him, there’s no doubt Kaito would be worse off. There’s a chance she wouldn’t have even made it past her Dad…

“Is that Hakuba’s?” Kaito finally asks, eyes wild with confusion. As she swum in her own thoughts and doubts, he remained unaware of anything that happened after he had collapsed in costume. She could live with waiting a little bit longer for her answers, if it meant he could be safe and happy again. However, that doesn’t stop her from offering him a small smile, laced with a hint of smugness.

“You owe both me and Hakuba-kun. We’re the ones who got you out of that situation without being arrested by Tou-san.” Confusion is still written on Kaito’s face, though it’s clear he’s not too pleased that Hakuba helped. A thief, being indebted to his biggest detective rival? That’s unheard of. Against all odds, she uses this small moment of Kaito’s despair to feel prideful, grinning as she moves to leave the rooms he can rest.

“Not bad for a mediocre detective and a third-rate inspector’s daughter, huh?”