-Hikaru

Hello, everyone. First, I apologize for the sudden long hiatus. I was involved in a car accident and was hospitalized for about 5 months. After that, I was just really busy and being hectic with my full-time job and basically my life itself that I was literally tired everyday. It lead me to a semi-depression mode which took about three months to recover. Although I still consider myself not officially recovered and back to my old, energetic self, I think I can start updating this story again. To be honest though, I haven't really touched up on the story the entire time I was busy and whatnot so there are some settings/plots that I may have forgotten. Hopefully, I will remember them now that I have continued with the story but I cannot promise anything.

I thank everyone who have read and still left a review or added to their favorites even though the last update was well...more over a year ago.

Once again, I apologize for taking too long to update. For those who were patient enough, I hope you enjoy this new chapter and the upcoming ones in the future.

Warning: Aoko fans should...take caution.

Chapter 6: Encounter

Kuroba Kaito is a guy most females would fall for.

He has good looks. Give him any sports name and he will perform it almost perfectly (except for ice skating for some reason). He is also multi-talented. From cooking to making small gadgets. Additionally, he is multilingual because of able to speak in at least 5 different languages. Based on purely by rumors, that is. Art and music are also fairly easy subjects for him. He hardly has any known weaknesses. Except for maybe fish (even the name of it). He is great in personality, too. Always with a friendly, outgoing smile. Generally social and has a good heart to care sincerely about others. He is rarely seen angry, thus, why some people view of him as a "clown". He may be somewhat perverted but most people (mainly females) ignore that fact because of his looks and personality. Moreover, his IQ is something what most people would find unbelievable at first. An IQ of 400. Something no one has –ever– come up within his generation.

In short, Kuroba Kaito is indeed an all-around good person.

Nakamori Aoko has been friends with this Kuroba Kaito since childhood.

They grew up together since they practically lived right next to each other. They played and hanged out all the time together when they were kids. They went to the same elementary, middle, and now high school. They've been together for so long that Aoko was very confident that there was nothing she did not know about her next door neighbor and childhood friend.

(Kaito has been acting a bit strange recently.)

She thought for the past few weeks, however. He seems constantly dazed out during class. Periodically, she finds him sleeping head down on his desk the entire day. Of course, the teachers do almost nothing to punish him, afraid what he would say back to them (A few, unfortunate teachers were a victim of this and learned very quickly not to mess with him ever again). Some would beg Aoko for help since she seems to be the only one Kaito sincerely listens and obeys (though reluctantly) in the entire school. Although at times it can be tiresome, Aoko likes it when people ask for help from her. It felt good to know that others view her as someone dependable. Someone they can rely on. Additionally, because she has the reputation of being Kaito's childhood friend, the entire school came to view her as Kaito's "babysitter". Thus, because of that, she believes that she have the responsibility to watch over Kaito's actions.

Aoko also had pride and confidence that the bond between her and Kaito is never-ending. But at the same time, she hopes that eventually Kaito will propose to her, making one step above the current relationship. She thinks Kaito has not done so yet because they are young and still in school. Aoko even admits that she is still not ready yet. However, she has no doubt that Kaito is aware of her feelings and that he is simply waiting like a gentleman for the right time to come.

She blindly believes that some day Kaito will make his move and when he does, she will gladly accept it. They will get married with many children (although too much would be rather troublesome). Her father will be beside her (hopefully by that time he will discontinue chasing after KID) and maybe watch the kids for them while they go out on an occasional date. She believed that they will live happily ever after like a fairy tail she once admired and that nothing will change or interrupt their destiny.

Not until...Kaito's recent behaviors.

At the end of a school day, since both of them were not active in any clubs, they usually walked home together. Kaito will first drop off Aoko to her house and then head to his. Aoko would watch his back as he heads home from the window of her house. There were times Kaito would leave with a couple of his friends (perhaps to stop by the game center or some other place) and Aoko too with her friend, Meguko. But Aoko knew that Kaito would come home before six even on those days, which was a sign for her to go to his house and invite him for dinner or a short walk around the neighborhood. If Aoko asked to go someplace with her, Kaito usually agreed (while teasing her at the same time). This was almost a routine and something the other students are used to seeing.

Many people of Ekota call them the "Ekota Couple" because they were almost always together. In fact, because of this "naming" and rumors that they are together, Aoko recently noticed that there are less girls surrounding Kaito. It is almost an unspoken rule that Kaito already belongs to Aoko and they are frequently teased about it by other students. Although sometimes embarrassed about being teased, Aoko is happy that there are no other girls confessing to Kaito. Sure, she has no doubt that whoever comes up, Kaito would choose her in the end. But still it nevertheless worries her when she sees other female students talking to Kaito. Thus, whenever the last bell rings, Aoko is usually the first one to walk up to Kaito so she can tell him to get ready to leave. Additionally, it was to prevent other female students from approaching him to ask him out or something else. Aoko was not sure whether Kaito knew of her intentions but he usually follows after her without saying a word. She thinks of this as words being unnecessary between them since they are so close.

However, recently, no matter how much Aoko invite him out for a shopping spree or a weekly gathering among close friends, Kaito would decline her offer and leave quickly as soon as the last bell goes off at school. He has started returning home later than usual. There were days he never returned back home that night. Aoko first thought he was perhaps just busy hanging out with his other friends (those who Aoko is not fully close with).

But upon questioning them, she found out that Kaito hasn't been hanging out with them recently either. Growing suspicious and scared that he might be involved in some dangerous activities, Aoko questioned him while trying to hide that she has been questioning and sneaking around his surroundings to gather information. However, no matter countless times Aoko begs for an answer, Kaito just shrugs it off and swiftly changes the subject as though to avoid it. Becoming more suspicious at the fact that her childhood friend is hiding something from her, she attempts numerous tactics to make Kaito confess. From bribery to trick questions. However, he cleverly dodges every attempt, making Aoko more desperate. As a last resort, she tried the "crying" technique, which usually works since she knew one of Kaito's hidden weaknesses were tears of a female because of his feminist side. At first, the tactic looked like it seemed to work since as soon as tears started to build up in Aoko's eyes, his eyes started to sway. It was obvious that he was feeling awkward and uncomfortable seeing the tears. However, as Aoko was ready to make one more step into making the tears overflow from her eyes, the last bell for the day rang and as soon as Kaito heard it, he was already gone before she could stop him.

Aoko stomped the ground in frustration. She became more determined to make Kaito spill out his secret but nothing seems to be working at the moment.

"I wonder what Kaito is thinking." She spoke to herself sadly. "If he has any problems, he should know that I'm always there for him."

As she gathered her stuff in her bag ready to leave, she heard an unfamiliar ring tone coming within from Kaito's now empty desk.

"?" She titled her head as she walked closer. Reaching inside the desk, she pulled out a cellphone. It was Kaito's. He must have forgotten it. The ringing have already stopped but from the display on top, she could read that there was an unread message.

"Could it be from his friends?"

Aoko hesitated for a second whether to look or not. The ringtone was something unfamiliar and unusual for Kaito to use. It was the theme of Sherlock Holmes. As far as she could recall, Kaito wasn't really into mystery novels and such. Of course, he may have known the character since one of their classmates, Hakuba Saguru, attended class with a cosplay of said Sherlock Holmes character once. However, from Kaito's rather unpleasant attitude towards Hakuba, it was sort of unimaginable for Kaito to use a ringtone that may remind him of his rival.

"Just a peek. I'm sure Kaito won't get mad." Aoko convinced herself and flipped open the cellphone.

On the screen was the usual "You have one unread mail" message. Aoko clicked on the button to open the message and widen her eyes in surprise.

"Sender: Kudoh Shinichi

Date: xx/xx/xxxx xx:xx

Subject: Where are you?

Message: Hey, idiot. I've been waiting for 5 min. already.

Hurry up."

"Kudoh…Shin…ichi?" Aoko gasped. Kudoh Shinichi. A person even Aoko, who is rather slow about celebrity news, is fully aware of. The famous Detective of the East. The Savior of the Tokyo Police Department. She had heard many stories of him since she often visited the police station to deliver lunch or dinner for her father. He was the second most talked individual amongst police personals (number one being Phantom Thief KID). He is also popular amongst people of the same generation. Ekota High was no exception. Every time a newspaper article about him cracking another unsolved, cold case came up, the entire class would erupt with conversations of topics about him. Some people would question Aoko whether she had met the famous detective at the department or not. Aoko would simply answer with a no since the department where her father works at was far different from where Kudoh Shinichi usually frequents in. The only people who seem rather uninterested in the conversations were Kaito and Koizumi Akako, a beautiful classmate of them. In fact, Aoko remembered when Kaito expressed a general dislike towards the famous detective despite some classmates' protest. According to him, Kudoh Shinichi was just another "wannabe" detective like Hakuba Saguru and that he would stand no chance against KID.

So why? How is Kudoh Shinichi connected with Kaito? Are they friends? Since when?

"But Kudo-kun is a detective. …Could Kaito be involved in some case? Is that why he's always leaving early? Is that why he is hiding something from me?"

"AOKO!"

Aoko flinched in surprise, almost dropping the phone. Across the room was Kaito. He had a suspicious look on his face, eyes on the cellphone in Aoko's hand.

"K-Kai…"

"What the hell were you doing with my phone?" He asked as he approached and held out his hand.

"I…um, well, I heard a ringtone and was wondering where it was coming from and…I heard it from your desk so I checked it and found your cellphone and…" She muttered, her face going red realizing what she had done. With trembling hands, she gave back his phone. "I…I was worried about you, Kaito. I-I thought you were in some trouble and…I just thought I could you know…help and…"

"But that doesn't mean you can look into a person's phone without permission." He said almost coldly. He checked his mail and read the same message Aoko had seen. "Oh darn it. That impatient detective can't even wait for 5 min."

Aoko gathered up the courage to ask what was bothering her. "Kaito…are you friends with…Kudo-kun?"

She saw Kaito sway his eyes uncomfortably. "…Yeah."

"I see…" She looked down at the floor. Why was he hiding it? "A-Are you involved in some case or something?"

"Huh?" Kaito raised his eyebrows.

"Stop hiding it, Kaito!" Aoko almost yelled. "I-is it serious? Is that why you can't tell me? Don't worry. I'm good at keeping secrets! You can tell me anything, Kaito!"

"Hey, calm down." He placed a hand on her shoulders. "It's nothing, alright? We're just…friends. For now."

"What do you mean by 'for now'?"

"Nothing." Kaito smiled. It was a smile Aoko was used to seeing. A friendly smile. But at the same time, it felt as though he was trying to forbid her from asking more questions. "Anyway, I gotta go. I just came back to get my phone cause I forgot it. You just head straight home, okay? Be careful and remember not to talk to strangers. See ya'!"

"Kaito!" Aoko called him as he was about to leave. Kaito stopped but did not look back at her. "Kaito…what has happened to you? You're not…the Kaito I know anymore. You're starting to be a different person. Kaito, what's wrong? If you have any problems, you can always talk to me. Aoko will always be here for you. So please don't go away, Kaito. Stay by Aoko's side, Kaito."

There was a moment of silence. Kaito remained stiff at the door.

"…I'm sorry, Aoko." He said in soft tone. "But I cannot return your feelings."

"Eh? What do you mea-" But before Aoko can finish, Kaito ran out the door. "KAITO!" She stumbled on her knees in despair. Tears started continuously flowing from her eyes.

"Why, Kaito? Why are you doing this to Aoko? …I don't know what you're thinking anymore. Why?"

/\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\

Kudoh Shinichi was sitting on a bench in a park located between the city of Beika and Ekota. He had just received a call from the idiot phantom that he was heading here and would arrive in a minute or so. Shinichi debated whether he should text back that he was going to leave since he has been waiting for almost ten minutes already. Despite his cool and calm looks, Kudoh Shinichi was a very impatient person. He would not bother waiting more than five minutes and would leave with a simple "bye" if the opposite person were to run late.

But he decided not since the phantom thief sounded rather desperate (and almost sounded like he was about to cry) when saying over the phone that the detective should just patiently wait.

"Heck no." Shinichi said to himself. Now if there was a case involved, the detective would gladly and actually hold still patiently. If it was necessary to bring an end to the case then Shinichi would do anything for it. But, once again, being an impatient man, there are certain limits for him to simply wait.

(Maybe I'll just leave.) He thought to himself again. Poor Kaito.

He was about to stand up when a large shadow came up on him, blocking the bright rays from the sun. The detective lifted his head in an instant, alarmed by the sudden stranger. A man, about two heads taller, was standing in front of him with a smile (a huge fake one even) on his face. He had dark, midnight black hair tied behind his neck. He was dressed in mainly dark clothes, even in a hot weather such as today. If it weren't for that fact that he had approached without any presence, Shinichi would have mistakenly thought of him as some random stranger, perhaps asking for some directions or something.

(I didn't even hear any footsteps from him.) A sweat trickled down Shinichi's neck, but he remained calm as though to hide his surprise. (Who the hell is this guy?)

"Hello there." The man spoke. Surprisingly, he had a low but normal voice. But the words were in French. Shinichi was able to understand it since French was one of the languages he was skillful in. But he remained silent, unsure how to respond.

"…I'd thought I should formally introduce myself since we will be seeing each other quite frequently in the near future." The man continued, never taking his eyes off Shinichi as he spoke. Shinichi could feel that he was slowly being examined and did his best not to make any sudden movements that may provoke him. One thing that made him more nervous was the large scar that went across the man's left eye. It wasn't a normal scar some average person would get. It was the sort of scar that one would get from battles and such. "Hmmm. I see that you look quite different than when I saw you through a picture."

At this moment, Shinichi decided to simply walk away and pretend he did not comprehend a word the man said. This man is certainly from the other side. Shinichi figured it'd be dangerous to be alone with this mysterious man. Although, this man does not seem stupid enough to do weird things out in the open, one cannot just simply let his guard down. In fact, Shinichi considers himself to be rather strict and cold around strangers.

"Excuse me," He began in Japanese, like an ordinary student who has just met a foreign tourist. "Are you lost? I'm sorry. I don't understand a word you just said. If you keep walking straight this way and turn to your right then there's a police station so maybe you can ask them for directions. But I have to go. Hope you find your way."

Shinichi turned to leave, at the same time still not letting his guard down.

"Here I thought French was one of your specialties. Or are you simply trying to avoid me, Kudoh Shinichi?"

The man spoke again, this time in Japanese, making Shinichi involuntarily turn his head back to the stranger.

"Who are you?" Shinichi narrowed his eyes, making no effort to hide his surprise and cautiousness. He figured it was useless to hide anything from this man. "How do you know me?"

"My, aren't you aware of your own rumors?" The man chuckled. "You're almost a celebrity in our world! The Great Detective of Japan. The Cunning Joker. The Modern Sherlock Holmes. …And to an exceptional few, Celestial Blue." He snickered when Shinichi flinched by that name.

"I see..." Shinichi gritted his teeth. "So you're one of them."

"Not really. I was hired to search and capture you. The name is Cain, by the way. It's a name I go through ever since I gave up my real one. I'm quite fond of it."

"I assume the name fits you, huh?"

"Quite." The man, Cain, made a playful smile.

Shinichi took one step back. He was confident that his physical ability was top notch. But he wasn't sure whether it would be enough to escape from this man. "Cain, huh? You're quite a celebrity yourself, too. I recognize your name from the INTERPOL's 'Top Most Wanted' list. Looks like you did some pretty bad stuff."

Cain shrugged his shoulders. "It was necessary for my survival."

"So I guess you're going to capture me?"

"Not quite yet. I told you. I just stopped by to introduce myself. I also wanted to personally meet the famous Celestial Blue."

"So you know about it?" Shinichi asked as his eyes slowly searched around for something that could be used as a weapon. It was really unfortunate and a bad timing that he had left his watch tranquilizer at Agasa's to be placed for maintenance. Although he was not sure whether it would work on this man, it was better than facing him with bare hands.

"I've only heard a handful of stories." Cain obviously noticed Shinichi's fret since his smile got wider and Shinichi could see the fierce fire in his eyes. "Celestial Blue. Known to be the key to unlocking the secrets of…what was it? Ah, yes, the mysterious Big Jewel, Pandora. But from the way you say it, there seems to be more to it than just a 'key", I assume. Quite frankly, I find this whole immortality thing ridiculous and load of bullcrap."

"So why the hell are you taking this job then?"

Cain thought for a while and shrugged once again. "Bored, perhaps? I guess I'll get going. Don't want to scare you any further, do I?"

"Who said I was scared?"

The tall man chuckled. "Now, now. No need to act tough in front of me. I can sense your fear. It's useless hiding it from me. Ah, it looks like the 'bird' has arrived. Au revoir, my dear target."

Within a few seconds, the man was already gone from Shinichi's sight. He let go a sigh of relief and collapsed on the bench as though he had used up all of his strength. His heart was beating so loud that he was afraid someone else could hear it.

(So I guess they're making their move now.) He thought as he wiped off the sweat on his forehead.

(Perhaps it's time I prepare myself.)

/\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\

Shiho was in her room in the basement of Agasa Household. She was in front of the computer, a cup (or a beaker more likely) of coffee at her side. Having a bad feeling about the recent dreams Shinichi had been experiencing, she was using her spare time researching as much as she can about the mysterious jewel, Pandora.

"But there's not much information." She bit the tip of her thumb as she stared at the blue screen.

She has surfed and hacked into many different sites (even some heavily guarded governmental pages) to gain access on information regarding the jewel. But even from those sites she was not able to gather much successful and useful information. She even searched for information regarding the Celestial Blue, but found out that this was more of a harder task since there were only a handful of sites regarding the keyword. Most of them were only general (if not, fake or uncertain) information.

"Kudo-kun, what can I do to help you?"

"If you're willing to, I can give you some advice."

"!" Shiho quickly turned around to find Kudoh Yusaku, Shinichi's father, standing at the entrance door. Professor Agasa was standing behind him with a worried look.

"Kudoh…Yuusaku." Shiho muttered in surprise.

"Nice to meet you, Shiho-kun." Yuusaku smiled. "I assume that you want some information regarding Celestial Blue?"

/\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\

-Hikaru

What. A. Cliffhanger.

Once again, I must suffer you all with a horrible cliffhanger. My apologies. It was becoming a bit too long so I had to cut it out. OTL

I'll be grateful if you just ignore any grammar or spelling mistakes, too. D:

Once again, I apologize to every Aoko fans. She will be…in a sense, worse later on in the upcoming chapters. I will try my best to not make it look she's a really bad person but it depends on how the story goes. I apologize again. D:

Oh, and yes, Cain. What a really overused name. OTL

But I'm a real sucker for horrible namings so I just used the first name that came up to my mind. I hope to develop his character more as the story goes on.

Although I cannot promise anything, I will try my best to update as frequently as possible.

Thank you so much for reading. And I hope to see you again next chapter!