#detective conan fanfic

[your-average-genshin-enjoyer]

Hello! 💕

Can I request the Detective Conan fluffy headcanons about Fluff relationship with their shy!female!reader for Shinichi Kudo, Kaito Kuroba/Kaito Kid and Heiji Hattori (separately)? Hint#1: She knows Conan is Shinichi Kudo. Hint#2: She knows Kaito Kid is Kaito Kuroba and she helps him in Kaito Kid situations. Please??

- D c m k boys headcanons

with Shy!Fem!reader -

CHARACTERS: Kudo Shinichi, Hattori Heiji and Kuroba Kaito x reader (separately)

WARNINGS: May be OOC(out of character), can be sort of off topic, could have a little spoilers for Detective Conan/Magic Kaito.

A/n: Sorry if this was not really that good TvT I never really written headcanons in the past so this is sort of my first attempt at it, also I might've write shy in a not really accurate way so, sorry if I do write it like that qwq

- S h i n i c h i K u d o -

- He sometimes was the one who do the talking for you if you two we're in public, he knows you talk just fine, but he'll do it when he sees/figure out you we're not feeling like talking at the moment, whether as Conan or Shinichi.

- He likes it when you hold his hand/sleeve when you're nervous, since in his perspective, it shows that you trust him enough to come to him for reassurance. But if he's in Conan form, most of the time he's the one who initiate the hand holding first, bcs of the height difference you two have. And also bcs sometimes you're too shy to ask if you can hold his hand.

- If he was back to Shinichi for a certain time, and he was not busy at the moment, he wants to smother you with hugs and cuddles. But he'll be debating with himself on whether to do it or not since he doesn't want to make you uncomfortable. Either way it always ends with you two snuggling up in his house, or reading a book together in his library, basking in each other's presence.

- When he knows what is your favorite subject, he'll bring that up almost any time so that he can see you rambling abt it. He loves how passionate and free you look when speaking abt it. When you realize you just rambled for a while to him, and you start spilling apologies after apologies, he'll sometime respond to it with something like

"Hey, it's fine relax. I already rambled about cases and Sherlock Holmes to you all the time, so we're even here."

-When you and Shinichi go out, and have an argument like how you kept insisting on paying the bill, he already knows how to win/end the argument right away. But he sometime stretch it up so that it'll go for a while, since he likes to see you all flustered, struggling to come up with an argument against his point.

- H e i j i H a t t o r i -

- Similar to Shinichi, Heiji will also do the talking for you. Though he will ask you if you want him to do the talking or not since he doesn't want to assume things.

- He knows Osaka like the back of his hand, and combined by the things he learn abt you overtime, he will be the perfect person to go to if you're bored. He knows your preferences on places, like how you prefer places that are less crowded, and he is more than happy to take you out to refresh with his motorcycle when he's free.

- When he has a Kendo tournament, he never forgets to ask you if you want to go see it. And if you agree to his idea, he will wave towards your direction if he wins the tournament, which sometime gets some people looking at your directions, making it a happy yet awkward situation.

- He buys you a matching hat like the one he wears, and whenever you get too embarrassed to face him, you have a habit of pulling the hat down to cover your face and spilling apologies to him. And bcs of this, he also has a habit of pulling the hat away, and then flicking your forehead(not too hard) while telling you something like

"You idiot, You've done nothing wrong here, so no need to be all embarrassed about it, okay?"

- This is pretty random, but I feel like if you we're being all blushy and flustered because of him, he'll also boop your nose or ruffle your hair to snap you out of your flustered trance, another reason he did it is because he just can't resist how adorable you're being.

- K a i t o K u r o b a -

- Will tease/flirt with you unpredictably, but won't go overboard with it. He just think it's adorable when you're caught off guard, all flustered and struggling to come up with an answer.

- He sometime does this thing where he shows you a magic trick, and when you're all impressed and flabbergasted, he revealed the trick behind it. The tricks he use are often pretty simple so he'll tease you by saying you're dumb for not figuring it out, so that he can see your little flushed face.

- If you do something out of your usual shy character in the relationship, like kissing him out of the blue, or hugging him without asking, he will say something like

"Oh? Is my dear Y/n chan started getting bolder recently?~"

And will never stop teasing you abt it for the whole day. But deep down, he's actually melting from how cute your attempts on giving him affection is.

- When you asked him if you can help with his Kaito Kid business, he won't allow you to help him when he's in action, since he doesn't want to drag you to danger. Usually you'll help with something less dangerous like preparing his costume and things behind the scenes, or taking care of him if he's injured.

- You two have a soft-serious moment when you we're tending to his wounds, you're worried for his condition and usually lightly scolds him for his reckless actions. But he always manage to remove the seriousness in the air by pecking you at the lips so that's you'll get flustered, or just messing with you in general.

[taliya-writes]

Tag Game: First Ten Lines

Rules: share the first lines of ten of your most recent fanfics and tag ten people. If you have written less than ten, don’t be shy and share anyway.

@deducingcircumference tagged me on this, so here I am. Uh, honestly, lately my top first line would be my thesis, but that's boring and no one wants to read that, so I needed to do a bit of dumpster diving into my folders to see what were my latest WIPs since everyone knows I have a figurative billion of them.

Crossing Universes - ORV x DCMK, posted

[The time limit for the first game is over.]

Untitled - FKBU x DCMK, WIP

Inspector Kanbe Daisuke glanced around at the somewhat-organized chaos that was happening all around him with a furrowed brow.

Insider - DCMK, WIP

Finding out had been a complete accident.

Refusal to Kneel - DCMK, WIP

His perp was someone with a narcissistic personality. 

Commanding Officer - FMA, WIP

“Edward Elric.”

Stealing and Healing Hearts - DCMK, WIP

The headline on the newspaper that morning was different from any other headline ever written.

Here Be Dragons - DCMK, WIP

There had been whispers, rumors, of the National Police Agency obtaining some sort of “secret weapon.”

Wraith - DCMK, WIP

Twenty-one-year-old Kudou Shinichi had never seen eyes so dead in the face of a living person.

Untitled - MDZS, WIP

Fuck, I knew it’d be bad, but I didn’t think it’d be this bad… though in all honestly, I wish I was dead.

Untitled - SVSSS x MDZS, WIP

The arid heat and sulfurous scent of magma and the shrill, breathy notes of a dizi greeted his return to consciousness. 

As far as who to tag going forwards, @thrushsong-kvaris, @villklovn, @ota-chan, @tangentiallly, @artistfingers, and @privateeye-cj, any one of you want to give this a shot? No pressure to do it, though! :)

[kingtry]

Kudo's Madness

Author: Virgola Rating: General Audiences Fandom: 名探偵コナン | Detective Conan | Case Closed, Magic Kaito Relationships: Kuroba Kaito | Kaitou Kid/Suzuki Sonoko, Haibara Ai | Miyano Shiho/Kudou Shinichi | Edogawa Conan, Hondou Eisuke/Mouri Ran Series: Part 3 of Morally Gray Shinichi Language: English Stats: 1 Chapter (Completed)

Summary:

Kudo's madness seems to have spread among all their acquaintances. Among moonlight thieves, former mad scientists, immortal women, revived criminals, former international spies, brilliant inventors and a bunch of teenage wannabe detectives, the Kudo seem to finally be in the company of their own kind. The line between criminals and detectives has never been so thin, on the other hand, everyone is crazy here.

Or

Our favorite characters live all together. Chaos. That's it.

Autor: Virgola Clasificación: Audiencias generales Fandom: 名探偵コナン | Detective Conan | Case Closed, Magic Kaito Relaciones: Kuroba Kaito | Kaitou Kid/Suzuki Sonoko, Haibara Ai | Miyano Shiho/Kudou Shinichi | Edogawa Conan, Hondou Eisuke/Mouri Ran Series: Parte 3 de Morally Gray Shinichi Idioma: Inglés Estado: 1 Capítulo (Terminada)

Resumen:

La locura de Kudo parece haberse extendido entre todos sus conocidos. Entre ladrones de luz de luna, ex científicos locos, mujeres inmortales, criminales revividos, ex espías internacionales, inventores brillantes y un grupo de aspirantes a detectives adolescentes, los Kudo parecen estar finalmente en compañía de los de su propia especie. La línea entre delincuentes y detectives nunca ha sido tan delgada; por otro lado, aquí todo el mundo está loco.

O

Nuestros personajes favoritos viven todos juntos. Caos. Eso es todo.

Divisores de  cafekitsune

[sdentii]

Hello :)

[nsfandomdump]

Okay okay I know the shippers are grieving KaiShin right now BUT

May I offer you platonic/familial KaiShin?

Just think. They may not know it in canon yet, but Shinichi is technically Kaito's only relative who hasn't fucked off and abandoned him

Like at this point Shinichi/Conan probably gives more shits about Kaito/KID than both of Kaito's parents

Imagine the fanfic potential

Them finding out they're related

Kaito half glad and half weirded out that he has another relative who's actually here

Shinichi being baffled at Kaito's fucked family situation

Maybe even Shinichi going off on his dad for seemingly letting Toichi's son believe he's dead

Maybe even Kaito going off on his dad for, well, everything at this point

The drama

Imagine

[pinktie]

You guys like this meme, don't ya?

Well, guess what!?

I made a fic based on this.

Credit goes to all of your ideas.

[mysterious-light]

DMCK Vol.0 Kaishin rambling ✨

So after a whole day of walking around Tropical Land to learn how to flirt and plan a date, Kaito was the guy who captured Shinichi's heart!? He was the guy Shinichi thought was the coolest!!???

⛲Because of Kaito, Shinichi thought the fountain was the most romantic place⛲ but ended up never going with Ran on that night...Kaito ended up showing him a more romantic location - on the rooftop with fireworks 😭~~~

I want to see Shinichi describe this cool guy to KID leading to some... drama...some anger and jealousy from KID~~~

✨Kaito is the effortless romantic and Shinichi falls for it hard but gets shy and annoyed because he couldn't think of or initiate those cheesy lines and date plans.... Shinichi then realises he likes to be in the receiving end....

Them always meeting on a full moon in vol.0...🌕

🧥Also Kaito wearing the same outfit as Shinichi during black star. He probably saw Shinichi run away in embarrassment and couldn't get him out of his mind...to the point he walks around the street wearing the same outfit hoping to see Shinichi again....

Why is it that when Kaito wears it, it feels more masculine? Probably just the art style from that early episode but still----

Is vol.0 considered the prologue? The PROLOGUE IS KAISHIN???

[kidconsky]

There was a moment when I really thought about stopping talking about kaishin and pretending it never existed but I can't... I JUST CAN'T DO IT!!!

This ship is part of me and I live in a toxic relationship with this addictive drug, I love their development as a whole and how they complement each other so well. I don't care what Gosho invented in this 27th film, I fell in love with the initial premise of this relationship and nothing will change for me. NOTHING!

I love the fanarts, the fanfics, the way the fandom makes fun of each other and stays together even with all these latest events, damn Kaishin is just THAT GOOD???? SO UNIQUE??? I'M GOING COMPLETELY CRAZY AS I THINK AND RETHINK ABOUT IT!!!

[justheblueberry]

handbinding of A Study in Scarlette by kittebasu

There are people who want to live forever, and then there is Shinichi, who just wants to live a little longer than this.

this bind has been in my head since i first read the fic like, three years ago. i dreamed up so many ideas for it, for so long, and now it's finally done! the typeset was actually done in early 2022, back when i was still using google docs, but it went through a few iterations because i was just. so. fiddly. with every aspect of this book. it needed to be perfect (as close to perfect as i, an amateur bookbinder out of my depth, can get) and it had to be absolutely over the top, to reflect the insane amount of love and care that the author put into the fic itself.

the first time i read this fic, i barely knew what detective conan was, much less all of the intricate plot details; i was just along for the ride, but by the end i was completely invested. i went back and watched through the anime as well as a few movies (it took me six months) and then read the fic again. and then a few more times. kaishin and the world of dcmk has utterly gripped me. it's 100% this fic's fault and i love it so, so, much.

i went through a few iterations of visual designs and i'm really happy with the little details i managed to squeeze in.

the entire color scheme is based around red, because 1) it's a murder mystery, 2) for scarlette shinamoto (and the title of the fic as well as the original holmes novel it references), and 3) the irony of "lady red" actually being red. the secret fourth reason is that i think red/gold is a super sexy color combo.

i sewed the textblock with red thread to reference holmes' "scarlet thread of murder".

another detail i love is the five yen coin bookmark, it was one of my first ideas and it turned out even better than i thought.

i wanted the endpapers to evoke a sense of the white marbled floor of the ballroom, with the glow-in-the-dark kaitou kid caricature being the luminol on the floor, and the little pops of red looks like blood that's been mixed in. i lucked out in that the other side of the endpaper was like a lavender-purpley color, i like to think of it as a little wink wink nudge to the color of the actual Lady Red.

the chapter pages got a few reworkings, but i'm happy with the illustrations i ended up doing for each of them. the chapter titles are one of my favorite things about the fic, each one has so much meaning packed into it and flows so beautifully, and i wanted to put as much care into making them pop as possible.

the cover was a linocut carving i designed and carved, which i then printed onto the bookcloth, and ironed on htv on top.

i also threw in a couple of my drawings of my favorite scenes.

this is getting way too long, so i'll end it here. i'll have a separate post detailing the process every step of the way, if anyone wants to take a closer look. this fic is kind of directly responsible for getting me into fanbinding, so it's safe to say it altered the course of my life. i now spend way too much time (and money) looking at book stuff.

kittebasu, if, somehow, you see this and would like an author copy, i would be honored to make one and ship it to you; i would be overjoyed to gift you with any art i have the ability to make, because the fics you wrote have irreversibly altered my brain chemistry, and being able to give back in any capacity would be a dream. (thank you.)

a few postscripts:

i am not selling any copies of this fic. partially because i believe in the gift economy of fandom as well as firmly keeping fanbinding a hobby that will stay unmonetized, but also because it took me months (years, if we are counting when i first finished the typeset) to finish this and i do not have the strength.

however, if you are also a fan of this fic and would like a copy, i honestly, fervently, encourage you to give fanbinding a try! renegade publishing and its discord server are an absolutely wonderful and free resource. i knew nothing about bookbinding and had zero materials when i first started, but i've learned so much thanks to the lovely people there. if you're still apprehensive about getting started, i'd be willing to share my typeset of this fic as well as answer any questions about the making of this book if you DM me.

[bakathief]

Title: Shades of Tourmaline

Fandom: Detective Conan | Magic Kaito

Author: @cleflink

Artist: @bakathief

Pairing: Kaishin preslash

Word count: 13580

Rating: G

A/N: We have been working on this collab for THREE YEARS folks. And now it's finally here! We have loved creating this world together and we very much hope that you will all enjoy as well! :)

Summary:

There was a human in Kaito's forest.

[risingmoonyue]

In the end, it was a quiet morning when it all happened. The dew was still sitting gently outside, and the sun was just beginning to rise. Shinichi and Ran were in some small resort in the woods, quietly taking in the stillness of the sunrise while Kogoro slept inside.

"...hey, Conan-kun?" Shinichi looked up at Ran, who was glancing at him hesitantly. She was beautiful, coated in the first rays of the morning. He would never get tired of looking at her. "Let's say for a minute... Someone like- like Shinichi, was hiding something, and even though I confronted him about it, multiple times, he kept hiding it... Why do you think he would do that?"

But he would get tired of her unique ability to consistently take him off guard.

He stopped breathing for a minute. His heart raced. Ran was suspecting him again, but... Rather than directly confronting him, as she had all the times before, she was asking for his reasoning without directly acknowledging him.

His heart ached. Ran; dear, kind Ran who just wanted to know why he kept pushing her away. Why he couldn't stay, but couldn't ever leave. Why he could never bring himself to be honest with her. Why he left her once and came back so unbelievably unrecognizable to almost everyone.

Ran, who was possibly the most patient being on Earth.

Ran, who Shinichi sometimes privately thought was the closest thing to an Earth-born angel.

Ran, who Shinichi was deeply, completely and utterly, hopelessly in love with.

He wanted to tell her so very badly. The need to say something that always burned at a low simmer in his gut roared to life once again, making him feel almost lightheaded. Perhaps he couldn't - wouldn't - do so directly, but maybe...

He thought for a minute, contemplating his next words. He shouldn't. Haibara and the Professor would kill him, but. It's been so long, and in the end, Shinichi is so very weak for Ran.

If he hadn't been stopped before, he would have told her way back when this started, and several times over in the coming months.

Indeed, if Ran asked anything of him, no matter how much he put up a token complaint, he tried his level best to fulfill it. Even what she didn't ask for directly, he tried to give her. Despite that, true and honest answers about himself were one thing he has been unable to do give her recently, much to both of their dismays. First by outside interference, then by his own fear and paranoia.

But... In this gentle morning, where everything was gently illuminated by the rising sun, could he perhaps give her the slightest bit? Could he ease some of the fire burning him alive?

Shinichi loved Ran more than he feared death itself, and feared her death more than any torture he could possibly imagine. The thought of speaking about everything aloud, into her ears where anyone could see or where something might get out... It paralyzed him.

But this was all phrased as an innocent question. A simple thought experiment, a hypothetical, early in the morning in a small resort isolated from the rest of the world.

A simple question a big sister is asking her little brother in a moment of quiet contemplation.

If this was the way she was asking, then...

"... I dunno, Ran-neechan. But maybe it's something he's not allowed to tell and he's super scared, or it's something reaaaaally big and mean, and he's trying to keep everyone safe!" Ran looked at him, a terribly sad and understanding look in her eyes. It hurt to look at, so he looked out towards the sunrise again, letting the reflection off his glasses hide his eyes. "Or! Maybe he's hiding, or even protecting other people too! He's never here, and never wants to be noticed, right??"

Silence. A deep breath - in for four, hold for seven, out for eight. He thinks she's using the same breathing pattern.

She exhales slowly, her breath wobbling a little. He didn't look at her. In the end, it's all in her court.

"... I see. Thank you, Conan-kun. That's a interesting idea."

It was quiet for a while longer, and as the sunrise reached its last rays, he tentatively asked, "Ran-neechan?"

He heard her clothes rustle as she looked at him.

"Will you..." He paused. "If. If my idea is right, and Shinichi-niichan comes back later - for good - and wants to apologize and tell you everything... Will you listen to him?"

A breath. Two. Three. The sunrise has ended, and thus begins a new day.

He felt a hand gently lay itself on his head.

He looks at her. She's smiling gently, the same smile that tells him it will be okay, and it will always be so.

The one that gives him life every morning, that feuls every breath he breathes.

The one that is so uniquely Ran.

"Of course, Conan-kun. I'll be sure to listen carefully when that time comes."

Shinichi stares with wide eyes, almost unbelieving. A wave of relief crashes down on him, as some long hidden tension finally leaves him, rendering him unable to hold himself up anymore as he slouches into Ran.

No, he thinks. No matter how mad Haibara and Hakase get at him later, he won't regret this one bit.

He smiles up at her, his eyes watering as he stares into his own personal sun, the star his very life and being orbits around.

"Thank you, Ran."

[shinischis]

"Favourite"

"What brings you here?" Shinichi's question is simple and short as he steps further onto the roof and sits beside KID. He has his suspicions on why the thief had randomly decided to just come onto the roof of the agency, but he wanted to see what KID would say.

"I just wanted to see my favourite detective" KID's grin is as sweet as honey, but it doesn't make Shinichi fully relax yet, and he just glances over to find the thief playing with a 5 yen coin, making it disappear and reappear with a flick of his wrist, and it's one of the few things that Shinichi just can't seem to figure out how KID does them.

“Since when was I your favourite?” Shinichi muttered after a moment, looking away from the thief, fiddling with the straps of his shoes in stead. KID hums, he's pretending to think, Shinichi knows he's just acting, but doesn't say anything about it, deciding to watch and go along with whatever the thief had in mind for now.

“Since day one. I'm loyal to my Meitanteis” KID says with a nod to himself, as if looking proud and confident at what he admitted, and it makes Shinichi scoff, moving his fingers to play with the top of his socks peeking above his shoes.

“Just how many detectives do you like?” Shinichi asks, not because he's curious or anything, he could care any less about who KID likes and hates, but he just wants to make some sort of conversation.

“Just you, Tantei-kun. This other guy I know is pretty annoying” KID answers, and Shinichi glances up and notices KID's smile, it's nice to see, it doesn't look like that grin he puts on during his heists, maybe it's genuine, but Shinichi could never be too sure, especially when it's around KID because who knows what's an illusion and what's real. “Am I your favourite thief?”

“No” Shinichi answers immediately with no hesitation, he doesn't want to give KID the reactions he wants, not in a million years.

[kingtry]

Hats and Glasses

Author: XNicoWritesX Rating: Teen And Up Audiences Fandom: Detective Conan Relationships: Hakuba Saguru/Kudou Shinichi | Edogawa Conan/Kuroba Kaito | Kaitou Kid Series: Part 1 of Nico's Polyam Shipping Days Language: English Stats: 1 Chapter (Completed)

Summary:

Everyone has a tattoo of something their soulmate often wears. Kaito has two: a deerstalker and a pair of glasses.

Autor: XNicoWritesX Clasificación: Audiencias adolescentes y mayores Fandom: Detective Conan Relaciones: Hakuba Saguru/Kudou Shinichi | Edogawa Conan/Kuroba Kaito | Kaitou Kid Series: Parte 1 de Nico's Polyam Shipping Days Idioma: Inglés Estado: 1 Capítulo (Terminada)

Resumen:

Todos tienen un tatuaje de algo que su alma gemela usa a menudo. Kaito tiene dos: un cervadora y un par de anteojos.

Divisores de  cafekitsune

[indelibleme]

Chapters: 1/7 

Fandom: Detective Conan                Rating: T

Relationships: Kudou Shinichi/Kuroba Kaito

Summary: Celebrities don’t interest Kudo Shinichi. He comes from a family of celebrities; in fact, he is a minor celebrity himself. But the one living next door seems to get into one too many shenanigans for his peace of mind. Which really wouldn’t be an issue, if the latest one didn’t happen to involve a dead body.

Or, in which Kaito goes from being darling of the entertainment media to scourge of the internet in no time at all, hounded by paparazzi, only to find solace in the utter indifference of his neighbour… until he gets involved in a murder.

...

Finally, here is chapter 1 of my fic for this year’s @kaishinbigbang 2024!!

The art from which this fic was inspired by was made by the wonderful artist @bakathief!! Please check it out HERE! Go show it some love!!

...

(Excerpt under the cut)

...

Kaito tried to protest—

“Hold on, you’ve got this wrong! I didn’t even know he was dead until you told me just now! Hey, hey—stop, it’s not me!”

—but they didn’t deter them at all. Kaito breathed in desperately, panic creeping into his voice as he looked around for help. Murder? Arrested? He didn’t need to know what the percentage of acquittals were in their country to guess the outcome! And for the police to make an arrest, for there to be evidence backing this up—

“Matsuoka-keibu? What’s going on?”

Kaito’s head snapped up at that voice. Turning the curb from where the patrol car was parked, like a beacon of light piercing through stormy clouds, was none other than Kudo Shinichi.

[heyshinichiran]

"Mou, Shinichi. I already married you. No need to flatter me, silly."

She giggled and he couldn't stop staring at her. He can hardly even believe at what's in front of him. To him, she's the most ethereal thing to ever exist, especially in that long, white, silky dress.

[case-almost-closed]

Next door, if you need me

Akai Shuichi x fem!reader Words: 1.8K Warnings: Maybe a bit OOC? I don't know

You looked sceptically over at the professor. "Are you sure about this? You want me to do this?" He laughed and patted you on the shoulder, hoping to calm your nerves. "I really can't go right now, I need to observe my experiment."

"And Ai-chan-"

"-isn't here," Agasa interrupted you, vigorously pushing the pot into your hand. "Please, do this for me. Okiya-san is terribly ill and I'd be a horrible neighbour if I didn't check on him."

You looked down at the pot in your hands in despair. "But I can't do that! I can't talk to strangers! You know that very well." Agasa, however, just shook his head, put his hands on your shoulders and pushed you out of his door.

"It'll do you good, believe me. You'll thank me!" Appalled, you wheeled round to protest, but the professor slammed the door in your face, leaving you standing outside his door with a pot of stew.

With a heavy sigh, you turned round and looked over to the house next to the professor's. The Kudo family used to live there, but you hadn't seen them for some time.

Instead, as Agasa had told you, a temporary resident had apparently moved in, a certain Okiya Subaru.

You didn't know who the man was, nor had you ever seen him, but it seemed to be the professor's plan to introduce you to each other.

You had actually only gone over to Agasa to make sure that the old man hadn't blown himself up yet, but he had promptly involved you in a conversation about the new neighbour, who seemed to be seriously ill, handed you the keys and asked you to look after this Okiya. And obviously your protests had not been successful.

Scowling, you stood in front of the huge entrance and wondered if you could just ring the bell, leave the stew in front of the door and run away, but you had the feeling you were being watched.

You quickly turned your head to the side to look towards Agasa's house, only to catch a curtain being pulled back out of the corner of your eye. You snorted. Coward.

You glanced back at the huge mansion in front of you, trying to swallow the lump in your throat and cheer yourself up at the same time. "What's the worst that could happen," you muttered quietly, taking a deep breath. "You just ring the bell, hand the guy his stew and leave. Simple as that." You exhaled. "You can do this. I can manage that. I can do this. I can do this."

You squinted your eyes as hard as you could and pressed the bell.

You silently prayed that he would simply open the door. Otherwise you would have to use the key Agasa had given you and enter the house and that really wasn't very high on the list of things you would like to do.

Although it wasn't one, it really would have seemed to you like a break-in, so you held still, hoping he wasn't too ill to get up.

After two minutes, when no one had opened the door, you began to rummage for your keys with shaky hands, when all at once the door swung aside and the occupant emerged.

Okiya was taller than you had expected and slim, but not gawky. His hair was an unusually light brown or dark blonde and the glasses on his face had rounded lenses that matched the shape of his mask. "Yes?"

You realised you were staring and felt the heat rising in your face. "Um… I… Are you Okyia-san?" He tilted his head, and although you couldn't see it because of the mask, you were pretty sure he was smiling. "That's me, how can I help?"

Somewhat awkwardly and embarrassed, you lifted the pot in your hand. "Erm, the professor sent me to help you recover faster. He would have come himself, but he has to keep his … er eye on his experiment. That's why I'm here, so … um … here."

You held the pot out to him, but he didn't seem to bother taking it. Instead, he bowed his head slightly and opened the door a little wider. "Thank you. Would you mind bringing the pot inside? I'm not too ill to stand, but I'd hate to see the contents of the pot end up on the floor just because I've lost my strength."

You were sure you were bright red by now. "Sure. Gladly." Your voice was no more than a soft squeak, but you swallowed your doubts and entered the house after Okiya stepped aside to let you in. "I don't think I caught your name," he said as he ushered you down the corridor, a little slower than he probably usually walked, and by now at the latest you must have been red in the face as shame spread through you and you hurried to say your name.

He tilted his head thoughtfully before he seemed to smile again, judging by the laugh lines around his eyes. "A beautiful name."

Under no circumstances did you expect a compliment when you entered the kitchen, causing the pot to slip out of your hands in shock. However, as you had been about to put it down on the table anyway, it wasn't damaged and the contents didn't spill over the edge, but a loud clatter echoed through the room, making you wince.

"Sorry," you mumbled and, slightly ashamed, pushed the pot back onto the cooker, only to realise that the contents had already cooled down. You took a deep breath, silently cursing the professor, before turning with a small smile to Okiya, who was watching you from the doorway.

"The stew seems to have gone cold. If you want to eat it now, I can warm it up quickly." Slowly, he pushed himself away from the doorframe and stepped towards you, only to stop less than half a metre in front of you and look down at you. "I'm sure you have better things to do."

You hunched your shoulders and looked anywhere but at his face, let alone his eyes. "It's really no trouble now, and I thought, while I'm here… Unless you want me to leave?"

You looked up at him questioningly and once again he seemed to smile under the mask. "It would be a pleasure if you would keep me company. However, I don't want you to catch anything."

Feeling the heat rising in your face again, you turned to the cooker and switched it on. "That's really no trouble at all. Besides, the house is pretty big and you must have a lot to do, so I can at least relieve a sick person of this small task."

Okiya hummed softly and left the room, only to return a few moments later with two steaming teacups. "I know you'll only be here for a short time and it's not the best situation to keep you company in my circumstances, but I don't want to be a bad host."

He sat down at the kitchen table and indicated the seat opposite him. "Please, sit down." For the first time since the professor had thrown you out of his house, a real, broad smile crept onto your face and after a quick glance at the stew, you gladly accepted his invitation.

In the end, the visit, which you had thought would last a maximum of five minutes, lasted almost two hours. You had a relaxed and lively conversation with Okiya and were delighted to realise that he was an excellent conversationalist who had something to contribute on almost every topic.

Admittedly, he had been a little taciturn at first, but just like you, he seemed to have warmed up over time. After the tea was finished and both he and you had eaten the stew after he had insisted, surprisingly it had been really edible, you had hesitated to leave.

Actually, you had already overstayed your welcome, but Okiya didn't seem to mind your presence, as his only concern had been to infect you. After you had assured him that you would be fine, he had asked you to play a game of chess and although this was not exactly your strongest area, you had agreed.

He had won hands down, but it seemed to you that he had helped you sweep one of his pieces off the board more than once, with a smile on his face. You didn't care, because you'd still had fun.

However, it was now late and you still had to go to an event at work and, in order not to go there in the dark, a colleague would take you home, you had to leave. Okiya had offered to drive you, but you had declined. He was ill and the only place he belonged was his bed.

"Actually, you shouldn't have stayed out of bed so long because of me," you scolded quietly, but it seemed to amuse him more than anything else. "It was more interesting this way." You snorted, but glanced to the side as you put your shoes on so he wouldn't see your red face. "I have to go now. It was nice to make your acquaintance."

Okiya inclined his head. "Likewise." You smiled tightly and turned away before you could think of something to say. "And Okiya-san?"

He opened the door again, which he had already started to close, to look at you curiously. "If there's a problem or something…" Once again, you didn't look at him, but focussed on a pebble in front of your feet. "I'll be next door if you need me."

Okiya pulled the mask down slightly to smile at you before pushing it back up. "I'll keep that in mind." With that, he closed the door. You looked at the door for a few moments before a smile spread across your lips. You gave the building one last glance before turning away and walking down the street with a light bounce in your step.

~~*~~

Shuichi watched from the window as she walked down the street, clearly with more vigour and joy than when she had walked up to the house, and smiled slightly to himself.

Instantly, he whisked it from his own lips and stepped away from the window pane. Fool, he scolded himself. You can't allow yourself, in your position, to care about people.

On somewhat shaky legs, something else that bothered him, he walked back into the kitchen to tidy up, he had insisted on doing it alone, when his gaze fell on the kitchen table and his frown softened. Their cups were still there, facing each other, the handles almost touching and once again a small, barely noticeable smile crept onto his lips as he stepped up and took her cup in his hand.

It was still warm.

Shuichi's gaze flitted to his own cup and he picked it up as well, holding it against her cup. It looked right to see the two of them next to each other.

Lost in thought, he walked over to the sink and put the cups in, but hesitated before opening the tap and a momentary thought occurred to him. He smiled.

Because maybe, just maybe, he could allow himself to care after all.