I don't recall who requested this story, but this is for all the wonderful Mer!Shin Au art on the Kaishin discord server. The story should have been up about 2 weeks ago, however I got distracted with an exam and addiction to overwatch. I hope you enjoy the story.

Summary: Kaito never expected to find Pandora hanging around the neck of a merman. Kaito x Shinichi. Merman!Shinichi

This story is unbeated. I'm sorry for any grammar mistakes as English is not my native language.

(as a side note… I spent almost 2 hours trying to come up with a title. Titles are evil. Special thanks to everyone trying to help me find something appropriate)

…

Castle of Glass

Take me down to the river bend

Take me down to the fighting end

Wash the poison from off my skin

Show me how to be whole again

.

Fly me up on a silver wing

Past the black where the sirens sing

Warm me up in a nova's glow

And drop me down to the dream below

.

'Cause I'm only a crack in this castle of glass

Hardly anything there for you to see

For you to see

Linking park

...

It was only a short fall to the balcony from the roof, and Kaito landed on the stone surface with quiet steps. He only spent a second to pick the lock with practiced fingers as he let himself into the corridor. The walls were covered with red-wallpaper that looked expensive, and paintings and portraits of dead, famous painters littered the space. A surveillance camera moved in the upper left corner facing away from him.

Kaito reached up to the camera and snagged the wiring. He hooked them up to a small machine he fished out from his pocket – it would show the feed on a time loop. He had done this so many times before that it was effortless as he hid the small machine in case anyone would walk by.

He was not wearing his usual white-pristine Kaitou KID outfit – he could not afford being recognized or noticed as he slowly found his way down the corridors. His ears picked up some noises in the distance, however they were not an immediate threat.

He eventually came to a metal door hidden behind some curtains – he did not hesitate as he procured a keycard he had stolen long ago as he accessed the door. It opened silently for him a moment later and he stepped into the room.

Every time entered the lounge, his breath was taken from him in awe. It was a spatial room, with expensive looking furniture that faced the walls. Some round tables were situated next to them for refreshment or snacks. There were no expensive wallpaper or paintings in the room – neither were it a library nor did it contain any safes. The room was illuminated in shades of blue that made it look almost magical: the lights came from the aquarium that surrounded the walls from floor to ceiling – form underneath him and on top of him.

If he was claustrophobic, he might have felt unease at being surrounded by gallons of water, as though he was standing in a submarine made of glass.

Colourful sea-corals and weed lay scattered across the bottom, making it seem more like a magical dream then reality. For a moment, his heart ceased to beat as he saw a movement in the corner of his eyes – no matter how many times he had been in the room, he always felt a moment of panic from his ichthyophobia.

Turning around, the first thing he saw was the light shimmering off blue-scales – although it seemed more translucent than that of a fish. He followed the tail up as scales slowly shifted from blue to an almost light colour that resembled human skin. The tail suddenly convulsed in a fluent and agile movement as a familiar face appeared.

Eyes bluer than the ocean peered at the intruder with open curiosity, and dark hair fluttered from the silent stream of the water. He looked mostly human except for two features: he did not have a nose, rather two slit openings that movement as he breathed. The second was his ears that looked longer than normal and had a serrated form.

Moving forwards, Kaito put his palm against the glass in greeting, letting his lips curl upwards in fondness as the creature mimicked his action. He flashed back to the terror he had felt first time he had broken into the mansion. He had heard rumours of a magical gem in the owner's possession, and he had gone to investigate the claims before sending out a heist note.

He had found a gemstone alright – it hang on a silver-chain around the merman's neck. It had not taken him more than a moment to realize that sending a heist-note had been out of the question. If the world knew mermaids were real, they would put him in a less lovelier surroundings – a science lab perhaps, to be dissected.

The very thought sent a shiver of a different kind of fear down his spine. He had visited the mansion several times over the last few months – the first period in a hassle of confused terror trying to figure out exactly what he was dealing with. However the merman had never shown a flicker of danger, only kindness towards the thief – for a sea-creature, the merman was tolerable.

"Hello Shinichi," Kaito murmured with a smile, and the merman responded by moving his lips upwards in the closest he could get to a pleasant smile with the amount of razer sharp teeth he owned.

"How's your day been? Sorry its been a while since I visited," he continued, letting his hand fall away slowly from the glass. He felt his heart beat against his ribcage in a mixture of affection and strangulated fear he had managed to disregard.

Shinichi's eyes followed his movements as reply, and his face curled into a painfully sad expression, that made Kaito's stomach drop in guilt.

"That bad, huh?"

He did not know the merman's history – the lack of verbal communication being a hindrance, and the fact that he couldn't write or read. Even the name 'Shinichi' Kaito had simple given him – they had spent a long few weeks agreeing on something to call him. Perhaps Shinichi was his real name, or maybe it was the closest Kaito had found that pronounced it correctly.

He had so many questions to ask him – how had he been caught, why was he here – and most important, was he happy? He doubted it, no free creature would be happy living in the confinement of a prison – no matter how gilded it was.

Kaito had no idea how to even release Shinichi, the only opening he had discovered was a small hatch in a room above that only served to feed the merman – perhaps the cage had been built around Shinichi. Or maybe he had tried to free himself by jumping out of the aquarium and they had made precautions to assure that he would not be able to retry.

Sometimes, the thief wanted to ask if the merman would rather die than to be in the cage – find freedom in death.

He shook the idea away, did not want to linger on the morbid thoughts that entered his mind late at night. He could not imagine having his freedom taken to such a degree – to never be able to feel the sunlight on his cheeks again. Even human prisons were more humane than the strict confine of Shinichi's aquarium.

There was also the issue with the gemstone around his neck that forced Kaito to visit more often than was safe. Every cell in his body told him it was the magical stone, Pandora. It was apparent in the way light seemed broken as it shone through the crystal – and how the hair in the back of his neck stood whenever it was close.

He had no way to get to it: even if Shinichi understood his need to have it, the hatch did not seem large enough to transfer it to his keep. However, if the collar was gone, then the owner would know someone had been there and take it out on the merman. His only real choice would be to break the glass and flood the chamber.

Kaito did not know much about mermaids, and that option could be lethal to Shinichi if did not have any water: and even if he could transfer him with a truck. What kind of water could he survive in? Fresh water, salt water, pressure or a specific temperature like most aquarium fish?

A knock on the glass forced the thief to break free from the spiralling thoughts, and he met Shinichi's eyes in surprise. There was a soft worry in the creases of his eyes where he had clearly been able to tell what Kaito had been thinking.

"I'm alright," he replied to the unasked question, and he leaned his forehead against the glass. God, he wished his heart would stop hammering in his chest with such affection and desire to reach out and touch Shinichi's cheeks.

He forced himself to turn around and break the eye contact as he reached into his back and fished up a book. He flashed the cover to the merman, and Shinichi seemed to almost glow with joy as he moved. The filtered light shimmered off him, making him look more divine in the glowing water.

Kaito could not keep the grin of his face, "yeah, I thought you'd like it."

He did not spare a moment as he shoved one of the closest chairs against the glass as he settled down in the plushies. Their reading sessions had started quite on accident while Kaito was trying to find a name for the merman, that in the end he had brought with him a '101 names to call your kid'-book. Shinichi had seemed to enjoy listening to the thief's voice, and Kaito had been unable to look away from the attentive expression, knowing that everything he said was absorbed.

So he had started bringing with him all kinds of books to read to the mermaid – he had quickly discovered to his dismay that Shinichi favoured detective stories like Sherlock Holmes and Detective Samonji. Although he kept complaining, he did not mind reading it, not with the happily content expression on Shinichi's features.

If nothing more, Kaito knew with an absolute certainty, that his visits were the only enjoyable part of the merman's life.

Shinichi settled to float next to the armchair as he listened to Kaito:

I find it recorded in my notebook that it was a bleak and windy day towards the end of March in the year 1892. Holmes had received a telegram while we sat at our lunch, and he had scribbled a reply. He made no remark, but the matter remained in his thoughts, for he stood in front of the fire afterwards with a thoughtful face, smoking his pipe, and casting an occasional glance at the message. Suddenly he turned upon me with a mischievous twinkle in his eyes.

"I suppose, Watson, we must look upon you as a man of letters," said he. "how would you define the word 'grotesque'?"

"Strange – remarkable," I suggested.

He shook his head at my definition.

"There is surely something more than that," said he: "some underlying suggestion of the tragic and the terrible. If you cast your mind back to some of the narratives with which you have afflicted a long-suffering public, you will recognize how often the grotesque has deepened into the criminal –"

"Tell me young man –"

Kaito recoiled so hard he dropped the book in surprise. It skated a meter away till it hit the glass. In the corner of his eyes, he saw movements as Shinichi flinched away from the glass with a tight expression – apparently the merman hadn't noticed anyone entering the room either. They had both been too absorbed in the book.

"Going off the definition from our dear Conan Doyle: who is the most grotesque in the room? You, the criminal, or the creature?"

Kaito stood to stand protectively in front of Shinichi as his gaze finally fell on an old man standing by the door. He had long white hair down to his back, a pair of triangular glasses on his nose and leaned heavily against his cane. Covering his sides, stood two menacing-looking bodyguards.

"You must be Iwata Keizo-san," the thief finally spoke, hoping his voice did not tremble as his insides did. He should have been more careful – his lucky streak the past few weeks shouldn't have let him take down this guard to this regard. He had been acting foolish lately – it was only a matter of time before he got caught.

He only wished he'd had a solution before –

Behind him, Shinichi let out a gurgling hiss that vibrated throughout the aquarium. Iwata only raised an eyebrow, clearly still waiting for an answer.

"He's not grotesque," he almost growled in defence. "He's beautiful –" Kaito might not like fish, but it was an undeniable truth. Shinichi was gorgeous, and the thief couldn't stop thinking about him whenever they were apart. He could gladly have spent his life sitting in the lounge, reading books to Shinichi. Some would say it sounded like a boring existence – especially for someone like Kaito who loved the thrill of excitement. However the merman had changed his opinions on a lot of things.

"If anyone's the grotesque criminal, it's you for imprisoning him."

"Don't be childish," Iwata replied with what could only be described with a roll of his eyes. "Its not a him, but an it."

Kaito clenched his jaw, wanting to come to Shinichi's defence unsure where he should even start. "You can't just keep him in a cage like this. Its inhumane –"

"Watch your tongue, thief. You are the one trespassing on private property," the old man's voice boomed with an alarming threat that sent an unpleasant shiver down Kaito's spine. "I'm not doing anything illegal. Sea-creatures have no rights; they are just pretty pets."

The thief felt an increasing urge to hit Iwata hard enough to break his fragile nose. He knew he was breaking and entering, however he doubted they would call the police – lest Shinichi was discovered by the public.

"If you leave right now and never return, I'll let your presence slide for now," the old man promised, however there was a gleaming in his eyes that Kaito did not like.

He glanced back at the merman once, noticed Shinichi's worried and pained expression, and decided there and then there was no chance in hell that he would leave him in the clutches of a rich, eccentric madman. He had the suspicious feeling that if he left, he would never see the merman ever again.

"I think I like it just where I am, but thanks for the offer. The view is too pretty to leave behind," he replied with an impish expression curling on the tip of his lips.

Keizo's eyes twitched in aggravation, and he levelled his guards with a look that clearly meant for them to capture the thief. They did not hesitate to approach him, and Kaito spun into action as he sidestepped the first guard with a zig-zag movement that sent a waver of confusion in the man's face as he suddenly collided with the glass. On the other side, Shinichi hissed threateningly as teeth suddenly looked sharper and deadlier than ever.

Kaito almost felt bad for the man as he recoiled with instinctive fear before tripping on his own feet. The thief did not have time to regard the amusing scene for long as someone grabbed his biceps into a tightly grip. He barely managed to swallow his grimace as he twisted out of grasp and placed a pair of handcuffs around his wrist while pick-pocketing the gun in his holster.

He moved backwards as far as he could as the guard approached like an angry bull. Swallowing thickly, he cocked the gun and levelled it towards him – he did not like guns, however it was a necessary evil at this current movement.

"Don't move or I'll shoot."

Both guards froze in their tracks, and their eyes automatically went to the form of their employer. The former calmness on Keizo's face was all but vanish as it was replaced with a fury that made him look a decade or two younger. Whoever the gentleman had been in his youth, he had been a dangerous man.

"That's enough of your antics," Keizo swallowed his anger and forced himself to look calm. However Kaito knew that he currently had the advantage. if he missed a shot, the bullets could hit the glass aquarium and drown them all – the reason why no one had pulled a gun on him as they entered the room.

"I'll give you a last chance to leave, and I'll make it worth your time. We both know you wont dare to shoot; so name your price for leaving."

Kaito had now backed towards the entrance, not daring to get close to the guards in case they tried to manhandle the gun from his grip. His eyes flickered from Keizo to Shinichi hovering with a pinched anxiety clearly forming his features. The thief could not know for certain how much the merman understood of the situation, but he seemed uneased nonetheless.

"Release your so-called pet to the wild?" he tried with a cocky smile, hiding how his legs were threatening to start to quiver at any current msoment.

The old man did not look impressed as he raised an eyebrow. "How about five million dollars to buy a gallon of goldish to flush down the toilet whenever you feel a need to free anything."

Kaito could not keep his heart from skipping a beat at the thought of owning any kind of fish, however he swallowed down his unease at the very thought. His attention darted back to the merman. "How about the gem around his neck?"

Keizo stiffened at the request, and he turned to look at his most prized possession before turning back to the thief. "Why take a gemstone you are just going to sell? How about 15 million?"

His stomach dropped a little at the numbers thrown at him. At the greed glowing in the old man's eyes, he could tell he could easily afford the slum of money simply to get Kaito gone from his property. "What makes you think I won't go to the press with this information once I'm gone?"

Keizo snorted in reply, "even if they would believe such an insane notion, I could just bribe someone to make the story disappear." He gave the thief a long, hard scrutinizing look as patience drained from his voice. "What do you say thief, do we have a deal?"

Kaito ignored him as his eyes were locked on Shinichi behind the aquarium. It was an impossible situation; he could probably barter for the gem from the impression that Keizo wanted him gone. But to what prize? Could he really leave the merman to his prison for the sake of revenge and fulfilling his mission? He had not done so when they had met months ago, and he was certainly not going to do so now. He knew with a certainty, that if he left, they would never see each other again.

Leaving Shinichi to his imprisoned faith was inhumane – and Kaitou KID was supposed to bring joy, not grief and unfairness. He had never been selfish when it came to good people. He tightened his grip around the gun with a sharp exhale as an idea formed in his mind. The merman placed a hand against the glass and his head seemed to nod with the current of the water as though he understood the thief's reluctance.

Forcing his jitters down, he let a grin spread across his lips. "Nah, I don't think so," before pulling the trigger. The echo sounded louder than it should in the small room, and the glass surface crunched ugly. Spider webs stretched across the glass, but did not break.

Keizo suddenly roared with fury, "you fool. What are you waiting for, get him." The guards followed the orders as they dashed forwards, forcing Kaito to step backwards as quick as he could as he pulled the trigger again and again. He had miscalculated the force needing to break the glass, and he kept shooting till the barrel clicked and he was captured by the guards and forced to his knees.

His heart hammered in his chest like a rabbit on the run with the feeling of failure pressing on his shoulders. He had failed in his attempt to flood the chamber and free Shinichi – and the failure felt acrid on his tongue. What had he been thinking? For a moment he had thought he had seen the desire in the merman's eyes – the want to no longer be imprisoned for the rest of his life no matter the cost.

The wooden handle on a cane under his chin forced him to lift his head as he stared back at the enraged gaze meeting his. Saliva had formed in the corners of Keizo's mouth, however his eyes glittered with victory. "You should have taken my deal while you had the chance. I don't know what tomfoolery is going through your head. But if you have a death wish, I'm more than glad to fulfil your wish. Take him outside boys."

Kaito tried to struggle, however the grip on his shoulder didn't not ease for a moment as he was dragged to his feet – was the guards made of nothing but muscles? "You wont get away with this," he hissed in reply, all the while feeling his stomach churn with fear. He had majorly screwed up, and it could cost him his very life – and for the sake of a sea-creature nonetheless. In the back of his mind, he wanted to almost laugh hysterically at the thought. He had known that the sea would be his death somehow, just not like this.

"I already have my dear," the old man had calmed down now the evidence of his victory was clear. He calmly fished up a handkerchief from his pocket and started to clean the corners of his lips for moisture. The metal door opened to lead the group out.

The vibrating sound of flesh against glass made them stop in their tracks as all eyes turned to fixate on the merman on the other side of the room. Shinichi's expression was twisted into too many emotions to properly comprehend – fear, anger and desperation twirled around each other like dancing waves as he lifted his fists to slam against the webbed glass over and over again. The crack spread from each forceful slam as water started to sprinkle through the fractures.

"No," Keizo practically roared as he dropped the cane. It scattered across the floor, but made less noise then the hit against the glass. "Stop it –"

Shinichi did not seem to care as he threw every spent-up anger against the barrier with an expression that showed only his determination. Kaito couldn't breathe at the display as his hammering heart betrayed his fear – and admiration. The grip around his biceps loosened, however he did not try to shrug them off him.

"Shinichi," he mumbled under his breath – wondering if the merman was doing this to save him, or to be finally be free. It was the last thought that entered his mind as the glass suddenly exploded and a tsunami of water rushed over the land-walkers.

Kaito lost his bearing as he was thrown backwards. All air he'd had in his lungs was wretched away as something heavy collided into him, and he gulped down a pocket of water automatically. The water was biting cold against his skin, and he felt caught in a cocoon of velvet soft pressure. His trek in the water stopped abruptly as he was thrown against a wall hard enough to see stars.

He coughed up the water as his chest stretched to inhale as much oxygen as he could in one go. His hair was plastered against his temple and eyes, barely letting him see anything through the fringes. He wiped his hair with a grimace. Looking around, he noticed he had travelled several corridors down from the room, and the water was still covering up to his waist where he was sitting.

He only realized that the weight on his chest was not from the water when something squirmed in his lap. On instinct, he reached out to wrap his arms around the twisting creature to calm them down. His fingertips grazed across the slippery skin, and something rasped gently against his fingers more tingly then painful. He almost expected something slimy like holding a fish, however it wasn't the case.

Something gripped at his arms, and he was met with the familiar sight of impossibly-blue eyes peering up at him. Worry reflected in his expression as he gazed up at the thief, and he parted his lips to utter a gurgled sound that didn't resemble any words Kaito knew.

"Shinichi," he muttered in shock as his head caught with his eyes at the sudden realization he was actually touching the merman – and he didn't feel a flicker of fear from their approximation. Instead his heart fluttered wildly as though a stream of electric-lava burned wherever they were touching skin to skin.

He had to swallow thickly to not cry in relief that the merman was alive and well – and that his desperate last idea had worked for the moment.

"Kai –," Shinichi suddenly rasped out, his lips forming awkwardly around the foreign sound," –to."

Warmth flooded through his chest, and he leaned his forehead against the merman's head with almost a sob in relief. "Yeah, that's my name. Kaito, you got it," he mumbled in a rush as he his hands mapped the nap of Shinichi's neck. His hair was velvet soft, and he did not quell the sudden impulse to stroke his finger tips through the hair. The merman didn't seem to mind as he leaned against the touch.

Shinichi clung to him just as much as the thief did to him. A foreign but pleasant scent tickled his nose – he had almost expected the merman to smell of fish. Instead he had the fresh scent of the ocean despite his long imprisonment. As though his longingness for freedom clung to him even in his orifices. There was also a sweetness, like flowers, and bitterness that tasted like the first cup of coffee in the morning. Kaito wanted to burrow his nose in the skin and never let go.

"Kai-to," the merman's voice was steadier this time, more sure of itself as he the name escaped his lips in a rush. He squirmed in the grip holding him, and the gels on his neck flapped open in distress.

Only then did the thief snap out of the cocoon of want and desires that he had not let himself feel for months – this unreal attraction to something inhuman that he could not swallow down no matter how hard he tried. He had always abhorred everything that had t do with creatures living in the water, but now his heart fluttered warmly with emotions he refused to acknowledge. He eased his pressure on Shinichi and the merman slid out of his lap to fall into the water. Unfortunately, it had already receded and now barely covered his cheek. The long tail flopped once in worry, and he could see Shinichi's eyes glittering with sad wistfulness.

Kaito's stomach dropped in worry. "How long can you survive on land?"

Shinichi parted his lips to reply, but only a gurgle escaped his throat. His eyebrows twitched slightly in a frown, before shaking his head – effectively ruining the thief's futile hope that the answer would be 'forever'.

"Shit," he mumbled before raking a hand through his hair. The splashing of water and calls in the distance had them jumping in their skin as they remembered they were not alone. Slowly, the thief got to his feet as he glanced around carefully, however they were alone for the moment. The tranquillity would not last forever – they needed to get out.

He refused to let Shinichi stay behind, he had not gone through all this effort to leave him behind now. With a grunt, he crouched down next to the merman. "Take a deep breath… or water," he gave a crooked smile, before putting one arm around Shinichi's waist, the other one went under what seemed proportionally to be the arse. A shiver raked down his skin as his finger grasped at the tiny scales covering his lower bottom. Being close to a merman was a completely bizarre experience, and he pushed it in the back of his mind to panic over at a later date.

Shinichi must have understood his intentions as his arms clutched around Kaito's neck. With an inhale of breath, the thief stood, lifting the mermaid up in a bridal-carriage. For a moment, the world rushed around him as he staggered from the weight – he was a lot heavier than he looked, and the tail was shifting his balance.

The arms around his shoulders clamped slightly, followed by a breathed call of his name. "Kaito."

For a moment, his heart fluttered again from the precious way the merman spoke his name. It seemed to be the only word he was able to say, and that fact flattered him more than he could explain. Shinichi did not have to say anything else for the thief to be able to understand what he wanted, and he shook his head a moment later.

"No, I'm not leaving you behind," he refused, he was not leaving Shinichi behind to be a science experiment. He had made a mental promise to save him, and that's what he was doing. He started to walk slowly down he corridor, and Shinichi did not say anything further as he rested his head against his chest with a bubbled noise that seemed to vibrate through his chest. Kaito could only describe it as adorable.

"We are getting out of here," he promised out loud, "no matter what."

Shinichi made another chirping sound in reply that could only be described as an understanding of his words, and he reached up to stroke a finger down Kaito's cheek. The light, hesitant, butterfly-touch sent electricity in its wake, and Kaito barely managed to supress a noise from the sudden touch. As he gazed down at the merman in his arms, he wondered if perhaps he was not the only one who had been obsessed with the desire to be close.

By the time Kaito reached the back door, he was already out of breath and his energy had started to drain as the adrenaline ebbed. He almost tripped as his feet shuffled across a piece of broken pottery. He only tightened his grip on Shinichi, refusing to let go. He was not entirely sure how they would get out, or what they should do about the merman's conditions. He certainly did not have a large enough aquarium at home, and neither were they anywhere close to a shore. He couldn't simply stuff him in a bathtub either.

At best, they had a few hours to figure it out – that was about the time a whale could stay on land without drying on.

"Kaito," Shinichi hissed in his arms and Kaito half turned around as he noticed the familiar form of Keizo.

The old man was a mess: his white hair was tangled with leaves, his clothing tattered and wet as it clung against his body unattractive, and a trickle of blood seeped from a wound on his forehead where he had collided into something. In his hand he was clutching a gun.

"Where the fuck do you think you are going – " Kaito was mildly surprised at the swearing from the older gentleman, but now it seemed like he had thrown away any pretence of being mild-mannered. "You have ruined everything. I can't let you leave with the creature. It belongs to me."

"He doesn't belong to anyone," the thief growled with possessive anger as he tightened his grasp around the merman who didn't even squirm at the sudden pressure. "Just give up, your mansion is in a mishap, you don't have any bodyguards to do your bidding –"

His words died on his lips as Keizo cocked his gun slowly and deliberate. "Don't underestimate the elderly, young man. I was a sea-captain in my youth – a pirate if you like," his eyes both looked angry and greedily at the merman, and Shinichi shrunk in Kaito's arms ever so slightly. "That's how I found the creature – it was trying to lure my ship to a rocky coast for the gem I found."

He pointed at the jewellery around the merman's throat, and Katio's eyes darted to it in fascination. Had Shinichi known it was magical and tried to keep it out of the hands of greedy humans? The implication was fascinating and worth investigating later if they both survived it.

"But I outsmarted the creatures, you see? Caught one of them and hung the gemstone around its neck to parade its failure of getting it," the old man smiled with more teeth then was comforting, and Shinichi hissed threateningly.

Despite the danger, Kaito was guiltily pleased that his of curiosity what had happened to the merman had been answered – and he wondered briefly exactly how old Shinichi was – but he shook the idea away a moment later. He could not afford distractions.

"if you shoot me, you might hit him," he swallowed slowly, trying to buy time as his eyes darted around to search for a way out of the situation.

Keizo's expression didn't change, and his hand was steady as the gun did not waver, "I don't care. I'll take the creature and you out before I go." His finger twitched at the trigger as a shiver raked down Kaito's spine in despair.

He dropped the merman and dodged out of the way of the stray bullet just in time, the sound of Shinichi hitting the ground was sickening to his ears that made his stomach twist in guilt, however there were no sound of noise that indicated he had been hit. It eased his conscience slightly. He grabbed his cardgun from his jacket, and threw a smoke bomb that obscured Keizo's view. Thankfully, Kaito remembered his exact position as he shot into the smoke.

There sound of metal against metal made him sigh in relief as the unmistakable sound of metal cluttering across the floor echoed in the hallway – followed by another heated swear from the old man. Throwing a sleep pellet this time as far as he could, he swooped forward to cradle Shinichi in his arms again.

"I'm sorry," he mumbled in apology to the merman as he whisked him away. He got a soft smile in reply as the merman wrapped his arms around his neck again and nuzzled against his cheek. it made the thief blush as something vibrated pleasantly inside of him.

With renewed energy fuelled by adrenaline he left the compound to run across the garden towards the trees in the distance. His heart hammered in his chest, if he could just get to the safety of the forest, he was sure they could make it – as long as no one noticed them. The merman must have sensed his unease, because he neither moved nor made a noise as his eyes were strained to the human's face as though he was trying to remember every facial expression he made. His tail seemed to almost glitter where the artificial lights from the house reflected off his scales, and if Kaito had the time to stop and look, he would have been awed by its beauty.

He stumbled before he even heard the noise as pain jolted through his shoulder. With a panted gasp he swayed, but managed to keep running without losing any speed. In his arms, Shinichi started to squirm with a gurgled noise, but Kaito only tightened his grasp to keep from dropping him.

"Please don't move," he more whimpered than said, and the merman froze immediately with worried eyes. Only then did the thief noticed the splatter of blood on his cheek, he almost panicked at the sight – had the merman been shot?

Bullets pebbled up a patch of grass by his foot, that sent his thought scrambling as he went into daze with the need to get to safety. For a moment his surrounding blurred as the world started to move around him alarmingly. If he could open his mouth, he would have yelled for it to stop.

The world stopped moving abruptly, and he found himself laying in the tall grass staring up at the night-sky through the ruffling of leaves. His chest felt heavy as he struggled to inhale pockets of fresh air. There was a pain in his shoulder that kept switching from smouldering pleasantly to blinding agony at every heave of his chest.

"We – we made it," his voice was a bare whisper through his teeth. He had not imagined he would have made it to the treelines – in fact, he did not even remember how they got there. He parted his lips to say 'I'll just get my breath back and we'll be on our way' however the only thing that escaped his throat was an undistinguishable gurgle.

Cold fingers mapped his cheeks as Shinichi's face hovered in the fringes of his eyesight. In the light of the fullmoon above, he seemed to almost glow like something magical. Kaito could not read his facial features as the face was covered in shadows.

A tight pressure in his chest made him cough violently, and it sent a spike of pain through his inside that even tingled in his toes. "We-we have to keep – keep going," he finally managed to hiss through cluttering teeth – he couldn't make them stop shivering from coldness. He struggled to sit up, however did not get far before Shinichi pushed him down with more force than necessary as the thief collapsed immediately with a groan.

One of his hands grabbed his shoulder, and he put pressure on the wound with a grimace. Immediately his fingers were soaked with crimson. With vivid clarity he remembered he had been shot – for a moment there his head had been too hazy and scrambled with confusion. He pinched his eyes closed with a deep noise in disbelief – he had screwed up after all. Everything else had gone exactly to plan – and then he had gone and gotten himself shot.

If they didn't move, they would sooner or later be found by the guards searching the forest – or they would die. Whichever came first. With a panic movement he started to pat his pockets hoping to find his mobile phone so he could call Jii-chan. It was all in desperate vain as he knew he never brought his phone or ID when breaking in lest they could use it to track down his identity if he was ever caught.

"Kaito," Shinichi's soft voice broke through the haze of panic and made him focus on the merman's face. He moved his hand to reach Shinichi's chin, but he lacked the energy to reach that far. Instead, Shinichi grabbed his hand. For a moment, the warmth in his chest chased away the pain.

"I'm – I – sorry," he forced out with regret showing in his eyes. He wanted to say more, however his tongue did not comply with his wishes as another wave of excruciating pain shuddered through him and sent red and black splotches of colours drifting across his eyes. He could no longer feel his toes.

Shinichi only shook his head slowly and a small smile curled on his lips – despite the lack of verbal communication, Kaito could understand the merman's thoughts with clarity. He did not blame the thief, rather he was grateful for being allowed to die in freedom – who knew how many decades he had been imprisoned?

When Shinichi let go of his hand, Kaito barely managed to keep the disappointed noise from escaping his lips. Instead, he watched as the merman sat up and started to play with the lock of his collar. His fingers grasped around awkwardly for a moment from being unused to using his hands and from not being able to see it. After a moment, the jewellery dropped into his lap.

Shinichi lifted up the gem and hovered it above the thief's face. For a moment, he couldn't breathe as it started to glow softly where the light of the fullmoon reflected off the surface of the stone. It filled his vision with red light.

"P-Pandora," he gasped out in a mixture of fear, awe and relief. He had been correct after all. The merman had known about the gem all along – perhaps the mermaids had been the guardians of Pandora or something? He didn't dare to speculate – not with his thoughts scattered to the winds.

He more felt then saw Shinichi nod as the gem moved to hover over his wound instead. The merman wore a pinched expression in thought – and it didn't take the thief long to realize that not even he knew exactly how it worked.

"Kaito," he gurgled in despair, and once again the thief's heart thrummed with warmth from the spoken syllable of his name. For a moment, he wanted to say 'its alright' at the fact he was slowly dying, until he realized, that the fact he got shot meant that the merman would too. It sent another shiver of guilt raking through him that mixed with the pain.

He coughed again, harder this time, and he felt a splatter of blood trickling down his chin in response. Everything swam in his eyes as though he was peering at everything through glass. He winced when something suddenly drilled into his wound, and the pain whitened his eyes as a strangled groan escaped his lips.

Shinichi suddenly hissed as the pressure disappeared a moment later. A face hovered above Kaito's face with remorse – and only a moment later did he realized the merman had tried to force the gem into him as though it would make a difference. If he could, he would have laughed at the idea. The only thing he managed to do was twitching his lips upwards in amusement.

"T-Thanks for t-trying," he gasped out after a moment with endearment at the frustrated expression of his companion. They both felt just as helpless at the situation; being unable to do anything to save the other – and a magical gem that seemed to be useless.

"If I die –" he swallowed thickly, purposely not saying 'when'. He did not have the courage to speak it out loud. " – will you des-destroy Pandora?"

Shinichi's eyes widened slightly in shock, before nodding slowly to indicate his understanding. It was the least they could do – make sure no one ever got their hands on the gemstone. Feeling relieved at knowing, despite everything, that he had finally gotten his revenge on Snake for assassinating his father, Kaito let his eyes drift close as drowsiness started to weight down on his body. The pain started to ebb away, and he felt his thoughts started to drift almost comfortable.

He felt Shinichi move against him as a forehead leaned against his, however he could not find the will or power to open his eyes to gaze at the merman again. He wanted to say that he just needed a little rest – that he would stay as long as he could so that his companion wouldn't be alone. He wanted to express his admiration, and apologize for screwing up so majorly, however he could not find his tongue.

Kaito regretted many things in his life, however he could not find himself to remember any of them as the smell of the sea filled his nostrils and the soft puffs of Shinichi's breath ghosting across his chin made him drift off. His shoulder seemed to only burn now – and for a moment he thought perhaps he had miscalculated and his wound had only been a graze after all. After a quick nap he would be alright to keep going.

Something soft suddenly brushed against his lips, and almost on autopilot he parted his lips to swallow the shy kiss. The only reply was the breathy puff of his name that made his heart beat for a second longer just for Shinichi.

The quiet coldness that had settled in his body and dimmed the pain suddenly started to burn away as something blindingly hot and red spread from his lips and made his eyelids glow red. He gasped as the warmth surged through his body and glowing up his insides. Something hot and wet hit his chin – and only a moment later did he realize Shinichi was crying.

He wanted to reach out and comfort the merman, however he was immobilized as he bent his back to accompany the light inside of him. The sound of the waves filled his ears and the smell of the ocean increased till it was tickling his nose. A quiet scream parted his lips, and he felt a movement next to him as Shinichi moved away.

The sensation was both painful and not at the same times as he felt as though every nerve in his body was scorching. He managed to open his eyes slightly and they immediately focused on the gem laying on his chest. It was glowing like a heartbeat in line with the burning within him, and if his eyes weren't playing tricks on him, it seemed as though the light was seeping into him through the wound. With a grimace, he blindingly reached out for something to grab.

Shinichi reached out to hold his hand between his palm – however the magician could not see the merman through the redness that covered his whole line of sight. With a last sight he collapsed on the ground as the light suddenly disappeared and his eyes shut close as darkness threatened to consume him. His thoughts scattered into pieces.

His last thoughts before he lost conscious was simply: 'I hope I wake up.'

…

The end, until next time,

-Cesela