When Suzume was ten years old, her parents decided to put a skylight in the ceiling of the library. She never asked for the reasoning behind it because she enjoyed being able to stare up at the skylight and watch the stars through it whenever she couldn't sleep and decided to hunker down in the library for the sleepless night.
It brought her immense comfort that she could never understand, and maybe she didn't want to understand why she felt that way. Maybe it was just a mystery that needed to remain unsolved, which was an irregularity in Suzume's life as a teenage detective.
On this night, however, she found that the skylight had another unique use: it allowed Kaito Kid inside her house without much trouble. Something she is just now finding out as she stands across the room from the Phantom Thief with wide eyes, book clutched in her hands. Thankfully, she hadn't changed into her pajamas yet.
"What are you doing here?" she asked him with a frown once she got over her shock.
He pouted at her playfully, slouching in her father's desk chair. "Can I not visit my favorite detective?" he asked.
"I thought that would be Saguru," she said as she moved to stand in front of the desk, setting down the book and crossing her arms. "He's attended more of your heists than me after all."
He let out a loud groan. "He's no fun!" he whined like a child, crossing his arms with an actual pout.
Her lips twitched up into a smile as she shook her head. "Do you always act like a child, or am I just special?" she asked, saying the last bit sarcastically.
She could tell if her sarcasm just went over his head or if he was ignoring it as he looked like he was trying to figure out how to answer her question.
"Both?" he answered, sounding unsure.
She tilted her head and glanced over her shoulder. "You should be glad Hikaru isn't here," she mentioned, earning his attention. "If he knew you were here, you'd probably get shot."
"He has a gun?"
"He has multiple guns throughout this house," she corrected with a happy smile, taking joy in the full-body shiver he experiences. "He's a little paranoid like that."
Note to self: don't piss off her housemate, he noted to himself miserably, not entirely looking to get shot any time soon. "And yet, you're still talking to me," he pointed out.
She shrugged. "You broke into my house," she reminded him. "I wanted to know why. If I broke into your house, wouldn't you want to know why?"
"I suppose," he sighed. "It's nothing interesting, I can assure you."
"Nothing more interesting than you knocking out Kogoro-san at a service station and leaving him in the bathroom?"
He laughed awkwardly at the reminder of their recent encounter. "More like something I overheard and want to confirm for myself," he clarified.
She raised an eyebrow. "Confirm what?"
"A little birdy mentioned that you and that best friend of yours are in a relationship," he said.
"And why would that make you curious?"
He was silent for a moment. "Dunno," he eventually answered, surprising her. "Just wanted to know, I guess."
She stared at him for a moment before remembering something she had thought about a while ago. "I don't think the Black Star was our first meeting," she mentioned.
He perked up at that. "Oh? Do tell."
"Remember that clock tower heist a year ago?" she asked, earning a nod from him. "Remember the bottom corners of the tarp getting shot?"
His jaw dropped and he pointed an accusing finger at her. "That was you?!"
She laughed and he grinned, finding that he liked that sound very much. He may just have a new favorite sound.
"That was me!" she confirmed, pointing at herself. "I didn't realize that it was you until shortly after the Black Star!"
He let out a happy laugh. "I was wondering who would be bold enough to do that," he said.
So, she's the "demon of light," huh? His grin widened the smallest bit. She may have already struck me down, but not in the way Akako meant it...
~ — — — ~
"What's got you in a good mood?" Sonoko asked curiously as they ate their lunch.
Suzume froze as she was about to take a bite out of her apple, making a questioning noise from her throat.
Ran smiled at her girlfriend fondly. "Sonoko has a point," she agreed. "You seem pretty happy for someone who is easily bored at school."
The Kudo chuckled nervously as she slowly lowered her apple. "Do I really seem like that?" she asked.
Both Ran and Sonoko nodded with serious expressions on their faces.
"You really do," Sonoko said.
"It's adorable and weird at the same time," Ran said.
"It is, isn't it?"
"So why are you so happy?"
Suzume smiled, looking down at her desk. "Just had a nice conversation," she said vaguely, not wanting to tell them about her conversation with Kaito Kid that lasted through the night, the two trying to get to know each other a little better than before. If Suzume was going to be an effective Kid Killer, she needed to be on good terms with the Phantom Thief himself.
On his end, Kid just wanted to see why he was so fascinated with the Detective of the East. Other than Hakuba and maybe Akako, no one has easily been able to match wits with him with his tricks during his heists. Besides, Suzume has a little bit of an advantage with her having Sky Flames and him with Mist Flames.
He could tell she already had a Mist, but it didn't stop him from seeking her out, watching her house occasionally during the night, and stalking her Instagram account.
(She mainly posted about her friends and family, not to mention the various motivational and mystery quotes. He may have done a really deep dive into her account, going back to her very first post. Jii wasn't all that impressed with him.)
Her phone let out a ding and she pulled it out, smiling at the text she received.
From: Magician Kid
Message:
Have a good day, Sky!!!
Yeah, she definitely will now that she is with her friends and with that message.
~ — — — ~
He was lying down on his bed in his temporary apartment, his arm over his face as the fan attached to the ceiling spun slowly. He and other agents were pursuing leads about a member of the organization possibly making moves in Japan, specifically Beika. His stomach had twisted awfully when he heard the city name for the first time during the meeting before shipping out to Japan.
His partner was currently trying to integrate into a high school as a new English teacher, not knowing that the school she was going to was Suzume's.
He sighed slowly, lowering his arm, and letting it lay by his side as he stared up at the ceiling with a blank face. In contrast, his heart seemed to beat harder the more he thought about how close he was to seeing Suzume again.
It's been a year since I last saw her. It had been brief with us not even exchanging words face-to-face, but I at least managed to get her a secure number that we could communicate on without having to worry about anyone trying to tap it. Even then, our communications have been sparse. We only contact each other when something big happens.
I call and message her to congratulate her on solving cases, to warn her about possible dangers I heard rumors about happening in Japan, and just to check on her well-being for my sanity. She calls and messages asking how I'm doing, and to rant about what has happened in her life after our previous chat. Sometimes, she even just calls and asks to listen to my breathing.
When she makes calls like those, I know that she's just finished an emotionally draining case and just needed some reassurance from someone. Her parents weren't around her that often from what she told me, and she didn't want to bother any of her high school friends. I have a sneaking suspicion she calls another person or two to listen to their breathing as well, but as long as she is comforted by them, I can't find it in myself to mind.
He turned his head, looking at the guitar case that rested against the wall. Even after getting burned, he still liked to use it to carry his rifle. The moonlight filtering through the closed blinds hit the case and seemed to illuminate it.
I do sometimes wonder about him, though. If he's doing okay. If he still hates me for his best friend's death. Nonetheless, when I try not to think about them, I think about them even more. We were closer than operatives should have been, especially those two with each other. We spent more nights awake in the living room of our shared apartment just taking in each other's presence, trying to reassure ourselves that we were all still there.
That was a consequence of being a NOC in a criminal organization, I suppose. Even if we never outright said it, we all had an idea that we weren't really who we said we were. That was fine since we seemed to have a synergy that continued to exist even with his endless nagging and trying to pick a fight with me. I honestly found it endearing and adorable, and I'm sure our roommate felt the same as me.
Bourbon and Scotch and Rye. We were a trio and most operatives in the organization were shocked at how well we worked together. Despite Bourbon always trying to pick a fight, we were a good unit. And I suppose I can admit that we were closer than the others originally thought. I hadn't been in relationships with men before, so they were my firsts in that regard.
Bourbon was quick to snap but also the first to know when something was wrong, Scotch being a close second. I was and still am clueless about the emotions of others sometimes, and it does bite me in the ass. More times than I'd like to admit.
However, even when I was with them, my mind would still drift back to that seven-year-old girl that I met on the beach, a girl with a brilliant mind and the drive to use it to help others. During my time in the organization, I had to hold myself back from looking for her, to see how she was doing. I didn't because I didn't want to give the organization any kind of leverage over me and because I wanted to keep her safe.
It was hilarious whenever I thought about it then. I had only met Kudo Suzume once, and yet I wanted to protect her, even at the cost of my life.
My partners, I could tell that they knew something was going on with me whenever I thought of her. I said nothing about it, only showing them her name once before the topic was dropped. I did see a small flicker of recognition in their eyes and felt myself settle. I wasn't the only one trying to protect her.
He felt the urge to lift his left arm and stare at his wrist, right where the bruise from the accordion strap had been at their first meeting, his lips forming a smile unconsciously as he remembered a happier time when he didn't feel like he held the weight of the world on his shoulders.
Even though I never made mention of her again, Scotch and Bourbon would tell stories of a bright thirteen-year-old who often found herself stumbling on crime scenes wherever she went. They would laugh as they recalled her complaints about it, usually after a glass of alcohol in their systems.
During these times, I felt a warmth I only had felt around Suzume during those few hours on the beach. These two, though, have known her for more than a day. They spoke as if they had known her for years, and for all I knew, they might have. I didn't dwell on it for too long as it was none of my business.
He squeezed his eyes shut, images of Scotch's dead body now stuck in his head. This always happened when he tried to reminisce about the few good times he had with his two partners, only to be reminded of one's dead body after committing suicide and the other's horrified turned vengeful facial expressions.
Before he fully disappeared, he had heard that Bourbon—no, Furuya Rei—had entered a Flame-induced rage over Scotch's death. He had been wracked with guilt for months after that, only feeling a slight reprieve from it when he saw Suzume in New York a year ago. Remaining in contact with her helped him recover slightly, but he knew he would never recover completely. He was far too broken from ruining the lives of his two partners.
He just prayed to whatever deity was out there that the same wouldn't happen to Suzume. He didn't know what he would do with himself if she ever died because she was associated with him.
Fun Facts —
— Yeah, I don't know why I turned the second half of this chapter into a self-reflection of Shuichi's relationships with Bourbon and Scotch and their shared connection with Suzume. It just happened and I went with it.
— Also, the posting of these chapters is a birthday present to myself since I turned nineteen yesterday.