MK fic: The Longest Night [WIP]
Title: The Longest Night
Scene Title: Cont.
Progress: WIP
"I will be starting now, young master," Jii-chan's voice said, sounding more strained than before. At his master's silence, he continued, "Please forgive me."
Almost immediately afterward, her hand was squeezed--not in a painful way but tight enough that Aoko could feel tremors running up his arm into hers. There was no sound except for Jii-chan's careful movement, but she could still tell one thing that made all her previous thoughts about Kaitou Kid shatter before her in one fell swoop.
Kaitou Kid was afraid. Kaitou Kid, the phantom who had eluded the police so artfully it appeared inhuman, was no phantom at all.
He was very much a normal person--
She winced a bit as the hand holding hers tightened for a moment before loosening again. It was only that small thing that made her realize that there was noise. The old man and thief were talking to each other as the work progressed--as if she wasn't in the room.
"Just a few more centimeters," the old man said reassuringly to the shaking--Aoko could feel the shivering even at his finger tips--young man.
Kid just let out a strained, breathy laugh. "I think you've--already... said that--" A pained noise escaped, and Aoko unconsciously brought her other hand to cup his along with the opposite hand.
He relaxed his hand as much as he was able as a thanks--
Only to clutch her hand tighter as he made a yelp-like noise--probably a bitten-back scream. Aoko winced at the hold her hand was in but bit her lower lip to keep herself from saying anything angry. Instead, she waited a moment before asking, "Can't you go faster, Jii-san?"
In a strained voice, the old man answered, "It's too close to the organs. If I were to move too fast and my hand slips--"
An almost choked hissing sound was now coming from Kid. He was probably trying to keep from instinctively going into a panic or shock by regulating his breathing--through his teeth. But there's onyl so much one person could take, Aoko knew. Even if they were the infamous Kaitou Kid.
The first actual cry of pain that escaped the thief was punctuated by his arm jerking sideways as if to move itself to where the pain was to shield it from anymore damage.Aoko wrestled it back to her lap, where it remained, though with shocks and tremors running up along lean muscle.
"Young master, you must remain still--" Jii-chan all but commanded in a nervous and stressed voice.
Kid managed to choke out through whatever pain he felt, "Can't...I--God--stop... just stop."
And there was a deafening pause in which the girl knew the old man had obeyed the shouted command. Aoko sat still, almost afraid to breathe as the thief panted for precious air. She could feel his hand begin to relax a bit, though his muscles were now to the point that they shuddenered nonstop.
Again, the choking sound came before Kid whispered in an anguished voice, "This... isn't going to work... is it?"
"Young master--" Jii-chan began quietly.
"Just my... luck," the thief continued in a way that made even Aoko actually pity him. "So damn close... Jii, we were so close."
The old man didn't say anything, and Aoko could practically see him bowing his head in defeat.
The girl tightened her hold on the thief's hand, nails biting into the flesh under the clothe. "You're giving up like that?"
No reply.
She clenched her teeth together before blindly turning her head to face the thief. "Are you really Kaitou Kid? The Kaitou Kid my father always told me about would never give up so quickly--"
"Ojousan..." Kid interrupted coldly in a manner than clammed Aoko up. "If you'd like to be the one with a bullet in the gut, having to remove said bullet by nearly ameteur hands like this--then for the love of God take my place."
A heavy silence fell between them. "Jii-san," Aoko said firmly, "you should know better than to listen to the patient--"
"Oi--" Kid objected while Aoko continued on, freeing one hand to feel for the discarded jacket, which she then tucked under her arm as she shifted herself to where she was positioned behind the thief's head. "You get that thing out of him and patch him up--"
"Aoko!" Kid shouted but the girl ignored him.
He was scared, she knew.
He definitely didn't want to die, but he didn't want that sort of pain, either.
"Do it, Jii-san!" she shouted before pulling at the jacket under her arm and across Kid's mouth. To secure it before the thief could object any further, she put a knee on top of the jacket on either side of his head.
How do you make a phantom thief take his medicine? Aoko thought to herself with morbid humor as she decidedly ignored everything that occurred afterward. Gag him with his own jacket.
At some point, she realized that the thief had gone quiet and stopped moving. She clutched his hand just a bit tighter than she meant to for a long while before she heard a sound.
Ting.
Jii sighed in a manner that suggested he never wanted to go through such an ordeal again before quietly saying, "He's lost a great deal of blood, Nakamori-san... but I believe he will survive."
If Aoko felt any relief from this analysis, it certainly wasn't ever because she'd gotten worried. What an ordeal she had to go through just because the stupid thief couldn't take the pain on his own!
... and if her eyes were moist underneath the blindfold... well... it was still a very humid evening, after all.
Everything hurt.
he wanted to double over. he wanted to throw up--he wanted to just be put out of his misery.
... but Nakamori Aoko wouldn't let him.
"Oh, you're awake," was the first thing he heard when he opened his eyes.
He almost feigned drifting off again. The feeling a cool hand against his forehead made him pause to look up at the owner. Aoko had her own hand to her forehead, her tongue poking at her inner cheek as she measure temperature.
It was... cute, he decided with a small amount of confusion.
"Ah," Aoko said, catching his attention again. "You're fever's gone. Jii-san will be happy to hear this when he comes back--"
Even with the weak Poker Face he had now, his eyes only widened slightly in realiztion. Jii had left him... with Aoko?
Alone?
A flick at the crown of his head made him jerk, hands flying to his head to discover--bandages?
"Stupid thief~" Aoko drawled in a manner she might have used on his civilian persona. "Not only did you have a hole in your gut--you had a severe concussion! You could have died just from falling asleep!"
He... had never felt more lost.
"Ao--" he tried to say but luckily, nothing came out. He cleared his throat and tried again, "N-Nakamori-chan--"
A bit of a frown crossed the girl's face. "Oh, so he's nice now that I'm not telling Jii-san to ignore your whining."
He mimicked her frown. Whining? Not so much as begging to just be left alone. On the other hand, he thought sourly to himself as he looked away from Aoko, she had a point about his behavior. But damn, he was hardly able to remember what he even said.
... and when'd Jii and Aoko get so friendly with each other?
Come to think of it--
"Why are you still here?" he asked in a curious manner as he studied his childhood friend out of the corner of his eye. Aoko was definitely not happy with the question. He explained weakly, "Shouldn't you have gone home once the surgery was over?"
Another flick at the head--this time his forehead. "Idiot," the girl said huffily, "I didn't know the way home from here and Jii-san wouldn't budge from your side until I made him get some food for us--"
"Us?" he asked with dawning dread.
]
"Well, we didn't know if you would wake up!" Aoko exclaimed hotly. "Jii-san was in such a state when he was patching you up and realized you were concussed! That poor old man treats you like a son and I couldn't just wander the city to find the way home when he was like that!"
He stared at her with masked disbelief.
Nakamori Aoko... make excuses to explain why she was sitting next to a recovering Kaitou Kid?
... there was no way she couldn't realize!
He reached up to his head again, feeling alone the bandages until the heel of his hand hit metal. He was still wearing the monocle.
He sighed, lowering his hand again
Still... how could she miss the resemblence? Even if the room was kind of dim...
He mentally shook himself and looked up at Aoko with a weak smile. "Aa... I'll have to apologize to Jii-chan when he gets back then," he said quietly before realizing something. "Na, Nakamori-chan? How long was I out for?"
The girl eyed him sternly, arms crossing. "Five days."
He choked. "You haven't been home for five days?" he asked with more than a little worry. "Don't you have school--no, wait... summer vacation--but still, if the inspector's daughter is missing after a heist--"
"It's fine," Aoko broke in calmly. "Jii-san let me use his cellphone to tell my dad I was staying at my friend Keiko's place for a while."
He inwardly gave a small, cynical laugh at that. The inspector's daughter lying to her father like that...
He forced himself to relax but winced when he felt a pulling at his stomach. He slightly lifted the blanket laying on top of him to see bandages wrapping his torso. A bit of a relief in his mind, but of course, he'd only just begun the healing process.
"You're not allowed to sit up on your own, you know." Aoko's hand snatched the blanket from his weaker hand to pull it up to his chin and then tuck it snuggly under him. She was especially good at the tucking part, he thought wryly as he tried to wriggle his arms out--a task that was way more difficult than it should have been. "You could pull your stitches out if you try and I think you've put Jii-san in through enough for now."
He mentally sweatdropped at that. Somehow, Aoko being a part of all of this was making it seem very bad on his end...
This couldn't end well.
Why'd he get her involved?
The sound of a door opening and closing brightened up his mood. "Jii-chan!" he called, voice still no where near enough to get anywhere beyond a normal volume. "Quick! I'm being mother-henned--ouch!"
"Idiot..." Aoko muttered.
Jii placed several bags on the floor beside his charge's futon before cheerfully saying, "It is good to see you awake and in fair shape, young master. But Nakamori-san has been very helpful with taking care of you. Especially during your fever--"
"I didn't say anything, did I?" the thief asked seriously, eyes narrowed in a manner he knew Jii would read as worry and maybe fear.
The old man waved off the question. "Nothing of importance, I assure y--"
"Oh, that's right," Aoko interrupted thoghtfully before looking to the two men. "Who's Pandora?"
The young male gave the older one a withering look. Jii merely turned to unpack the bags of groceries. "Nothing of importance, Jii-chan," he said, mimicking the older man's voice.
Jii began to sweat nervously, muttering something that sounded along the lines of, "Missed that particular night-terror..."
The thief sighed heavily, managing to get a hand out from under the blanket and bringing it to his head again. "Nakamori-chan... do you know the Greek legend of Pandora or her box?"
Aoko blinked at him for a moment before hesitantly shaking her head.
"I suggest taking a lesson from it," he said quietly with a neutral tone. "And the lesson is this: curiosity about the unknown can only bring disaster on those that seek answers." He paused before smirking. "Curiosity killed the cat, so they say."
There was a long pause.
"... you're just saying that to keep your secrets!" Aoko accused.
He snickered. "Of course I am!" he agreed cheerfully. "I'm a kaitou--a phantom thief. I survive and thrive because of my secrets. You, Nakamori-chan, have seen more of my secrets in these last few days than anyone has in over 18 years. But that doesn't mean I'll share everything with you."
She was still technically the enemy... even if he hated to think of her in such a way.
Scene Title: Cont.
Progress: WIP
"I will be starting now, young master," Jii-chan's voice said, sounding more strained than before. At his master's silence, he continued, "Please forgive me."
Almost immediately afterward, her hand was squeezed--not in a painful way but tight enough that Aoko could feel tremors running up his arm into hers. There was no sound except for Jii-chan's careful movement, but she could still tell one thing that made all her previous thoughts about Kaitou Kid shatter before her in one fell swoop.
Kaitou Kid was afraid. Kaitou Kid, the phantom who had eluded the police so artfully it appeared inhuman, was no phantom at all.
He was very much a normal person--
She winced a bit as the hand holding hers tightened for a moment before loosening again. It was only that small thing that made her realize that there was noise. The old man and thief were talking to each other as the work progressed--as if she wasn't in the room.
"Just a few more centimeters," the old man said reassuringly to the shaking--Aoko could feel the shivering even at his finger tips--young man.
Kid just let out a strained, breathy laugh. "I think you've--already... said that--" A pained noise escaped, and Aoko unconsciously brought her other hand to cup his along with the opposite hand.
He relaxed his hand as much as he was able as a thanks--
Only to clutch her hand tighter as he made a yelp-like noise--probably a bitten-back scream. Aoko winced at the hold her hand was in but bit her lower lip to keep herself from saying anything angry. Instead, she waited a moment before asking, "Can't you go faster, Jii-san?"
In a strained voice, the old man answered, "It's too close to the organs. If I were to move too fast and my hand slips--"
An almost choked hissing sound was now coming from Kid. He was probably trying to keep from instinctively going into a panic or shock by regulating his breathing--through his teeth. But there's onyl so much one person could take, Aoko knew. Even if they were the infamous Kaitou Kid.
The first actual cry of pain that escaped the thief was punctuated by his arm jerking sideways as if to move itself to where the pain was to shield it from anymore damage.Aoko wrestled it back to her lap, where it remained, though with shocks and tremors running up along lean muscle.
"Young master, you must remain still--" Jii-chan all but commanded in a nervous and stressed voice.
Kid managed to choke out through whatever pain he felt, "Can't...I--God--stop... just stop."
And there was a deafening pause in which the girl knew the old man had obeyed the shouted command. Aoko sat still, almost afraid to breathe as the thief panted for precious air. She could feel his hand begin to relax a bit, though his muscles were now to the point that they shuddenered nonstop.
Again, the choking sound came before Kid whispered in an anguished voice, "This... isn't going to work... is it?"
"Young master--" Jii-chan began quietly.
"Just my... luck," the thief continued in a way that made even Aoko actually pity him. "So damn close... Jii, we were so close."
The old man didn't say anything, and Aoko could practically see him bowing his head in defeat.
The girl tightened her hold on the thief's hand, nails biting into the flesh under the clothe. "You're giving up like that?"
No reply.
She clenched her teeth together before blindly turning her head to face the thief. "Are you really Kaitou Kid? The Kaitou Kid my father always told me about would never give up so quickly--"
"Ojousan..." Kid interrupted coldly in a manner than clammed Aoko up. "If you'd like to be the one with a bullet in the gut, having to remove said bullet by nearly ameteur hands like this--then for the love of God take my place."
A heavy silence fell between them. "Jii-san," Aoko said firmly, "you should know better than to listen to the patient--"
"Oi--" Kid objected while Aoko continued on, freeing one hand to feel for the discarded jacket, which she then tucked under her arm as she shifted herself to where she was positioned behind the thief's head. "You get that thing out of him and patch him up--"
"Aoko!" Kid shouted but the girl ignored him.
He was scared, she knew.
He definitely didn't want to die, but he didn't want that sort of pain, either.
"Do it, Jii-san!" she shouted before pulling at the jacket under her arm and across Kid's mouth. To secure it before the thief could object any further, she put a knee on top of the jacket on either side of his head.
How do you make a phantom thief take his medicine? Aoko thought to herself with morbid humor as she decidedly ignored everything that occurred afterward. Gag him with his own jacket.
At some point, she realized that the thief had gone quiet and stopped moving. She clutched his hand just a bit tighter than she meant to for a long while before she heard a sound.
Ting.
Jii sighed in a manner that suggested he never wanted to go through such an ordeal again before quietly saying, "He's lost a great deal of blood, Nakamori-san... but I believe he will survive."
If Aoko felt any relief from this analysis, it certainly wasn't ever because she'd gotten worried. What an ordeal she had to go through just because the stupid thief couldn't take the pain on his own!
... and if her eyes were moist underneath the blindfold... well... it was still a very humid evening, after all.
Everything hurt.
he wanted to double over. he wanted to throw up--he wanted to just be put out of his misery.
... but Nakamori Aoko wouldn't let him.
"Oh, you're awake," was the first thing he heard when he opened his eyes.
He almost feigned drifting off again. The feeling a cool hand against his forehead made him pause to look up at the owner. Aoko had her own hand to her forehead, her tongue poking at her inner cheek as she measure temperature.
It was... cute, he decided with a small amount of confusion.
"Ah," Aoko said, catching his attention again. "You're fever's gone. Jii-san will be happy to hear this when he comes back--"
Even with the weak Poker Face he had now, his eyes only widened slightly in realiztion. Jii had left him... with Aoko?
Alone?
A flick at the crown of his head made him jerk, hands flying to his head to discover--bandages?
"Stupid thief~" Aoko drawled in a manner she might have used on his civilian persona. "Not only did you have a hole in your gut--you had a severe concussion! You could have died just from falling asleep!"
He... had never felt more lost.
"Ao--" he tried to say but luckily, nothing came out. He cleared his throat and tried again, "N-Nakamori-chan--"
A bit of a frown crossed the girl's face. "Oh, so he's nice now that I'm not telling Jii-san to ignore your whining."
He mimicked her frown. Whining? Not so much as begging to just be left alone. On the other hand, he thought sourly to himself as he looked away from Aoko, she had a point about his behavior. But damn, he was hardly able to remember what he even said.
... and when'd Jii and Aoko get so friendly with each other?
Come to think of it--
"Why are you still here?" he asked in a curious manner as he studied his childhood friend out of the corner of his eye. Aoko was definitely not happy with the question. He explained weakly, "Shouldn't you have gone home once the surgery was over?"
Another flick at the head--this time his forehead. "Idiot," the girl said huffily, "I didn't know the way home from here and Jii-san wouldn't budge from your side until I made him get some food for us--"
"Us?" he asked with dawning dread.
]
"Well, we didn't know if you would wake up!" Aoko exclaimed hotly. "Jii-san was in such a state when he was patching you up and realized you were concussed! That poor old man treats you like a son and I couldn't just wander the city to find the way home when he was like that!"
He stared at her with masked disbelief.
Nakamori Aoko... make excuses to explain why she was sitting next to a recovering Kaitou Kid?
... there was no way she couldn't realize!
He reached up to his head again, feeling alone the bandages until the heel of his hand hit metal. He was still wearing the monocle.
He sighed, lowering his hand again
Still... how could she miss the resemblence? Even if the room was kind of dim...
He mentally shook himself and looked up at Aoko with a weak smile. "Aa... I'll have to apologize to Jii-chan when he gets back then," he said quietly before realizing something. "Na, Nakamori-chan? How long was I out for?"
The girl eyed him sternly, arms crossing. "Five days."
He choked. "You haven't been home for five days?" he asked with more than a little worry. "Don't you have school--no, wait... summer vacation--but still, if the inspector's daughter is missing after a heist--"
"It's fine," Aoko broke in calmly. "Jii-san let me use his cellphone to tell my dad I was staying at my friend Keiko's place for a while."
He inwardly gave a small, cynical laugh at that. The inspector's daughter lying to her father like that...
He forced himself to relax but winced when he felt a pulling at his stomach. He slightly lifted the blanket laying on top of him to see bandages wrapping his torso. A bit of a relief in his mind, but of course, he'd only just begun the healing process.
"You're not allowed to sit up on your own, you know." Aoko's hand snatched the blanket from his weaker hand to pull it up to his chin and then tuck it snuggly under him. She was especially good at the tucking part, he thought wryly as he tried to wriggle his arms out--a task that was way more difficult than it should have been. "You could pull your stitches out if you try and I think you've put Jii-san in through enough for now."
He mentally sweatdropped at that. Somehow, Aoko being a part of all of this was making it seem very bad on his end...
This couldn't end well.
Why'd he get her involved?
The sound of a door opening and closing brightened up his mood. "Jii-chan!" he called, voice still no where near enough to get anywhere beyond a normal volume. "Quick! I'm being mother-henned--ouch!"
"Idiot..." Aoko muttered.
Jii placed several bags on the floor beside his charge's futon before cheerfully saying, "It is good to see you awake and in fair shape, young master. But Nakamori-san has been very helpful with taking care of you. Especially during your fever--"
"I didn't say anything, did I?" the thief asked seriously, eyes narrowed in a manner he knew Jii would read as worry and maybe fear.
The old man waved off the question. "Nothing of importance, I assure y--"
"Oh, that's right," Aoko interrupted thoghtfully before looking to the two men. "Who's Pandora?"
The young male gave the older one a withering look. Jii merely turned to unpack the bags of groceries. "Nothing of importance, Jii-chan," he said, mimicking the older man's voice.
Jii began to sweat nervously, muttering something that sounded along the lines of, "Missed that particular night-terror..."
The thief sighed heavily, managing to get a hand out from under the blanket and bringing it to his head again. "Nakamori-chan... do you know the Greek legend of Pandora or her box?"
Aoko blinked at him for a moment before hesitantly shaking her head.
"I suggest taking a lesson from it," he said quietly with a neutral tone. "And the lesson is this: curiosity about the unknown can only bring disaster on those that seek answers." He paused before smirking. "Curiosity killed the cat, so they say."
There was a long pause.
"... you're just saying that to keep your secrets!" Aoko accused.
He snickered. "Of course I am!" he agreed cheerfully. "I'm a kaitou--a phantom thief. I survive and thrive because of my secrets. You, Nakamori-chan, have seen more of my secrets in these last few days than anyone has in over 18 years. But that doesn't mean I'll share everything with you."
She was still technically the enemy... even if he hated to think of her in such a way.