https://archiveofourown.org/works/44049432/chapters/110755500
Hello @ennael-artreblog! I'm your (very late) Secret Santa! Have some Shinichi and Kaito friendship... with a hint of kidnapping! Unfortunately, this is only the first chapter, but the second one will be up on Ao3 when I finish it. @dcmksecretsanta
There were a lot of things in this world that Kudo Shinichi wasnβt fond of, in fact it felt like he found new things to dislike every consecutive year heβd been alive. That was a whole six years, which meant heβd found a lot of unpleasant things. The most recent thing heβd found to hate: clothes shopping with mom.
Book shopping with dad was fun, he was allowed to sit in the quiet corners of the book shop and read to his heartβs content until his dad found what he was looking for and called to leave. Often he even was allowed to buy one of his own books! When his mom had called him to go clothes shopping with her, heβd assumed it would be a similar experience. He was very wrong. Clothes shopping meant being constantly fussed over, changing outfits so many times it was making him dizzy, and having opinions on things that he really didnβt need to have an opinion on.
So that was why heβd made a run for it.
Yeah, they were technically shopping for new clothes for him so heβd have enough good ones for when school started again, but his mom could do that without him. She knew which sizes fit him, she knew what stuff he didnβt like, he didnβt see why he had to be here. Hence why heβd slipped away the moment his mom took her eyes off him.
He looked around the unfamiliar store, ducking and weaving around various displays to get as far away from his mom as possible. Heβd go back to her eventually, just in a bit, when she was done shopping.
βShin-chan! Shin-chan where did you go?!β His motherβs voice floated through the store. It appeared his escape had been discovered. The distinctive click of his momβs high heels on the tile approached, and Shinichi searched for a hiding place. Right next to him was one of those circular racks, with long dresses all hanging in a wall of fabric. There had to be some empty space in the middle, right? It couldnβt be solid. Hiding spot located.
He pushed his way into the mass of dresses, and while heβd been expecting some space in the middle, he hadnβt been expecting as much as there was, and he certainly wasnβt expecting it to already be occupied. He fell into the space, and subsequently onto the person already inside.
The small space made it hard, but after a moment of struggling, Shinichi managed to pull himself off the other boy. He rubbed his elbow where it had gotten bruised in the struggle, and looked up to glare at the cause of the injury.
It was⦠it was like looking in a mirror.
Another boy, just about his age, with brown hair the same dark shade as Shinichiβs, blue eyes just the same shape as Shinichiβs, and an expression pulled into the exact same face of surprise as Shinichiβs. Really, the only difference between them was that Shinichiβs parents would never let him out of the house with hair that messy. They were even wearing the same color clothes, even the other boy was wearing a hoodie instead of a suit jacket.
βWoahβ¦β The boy breathed, tilting his head to the side. Shinichi felt compelled to keep up the mirror illusion, and followed suit. βCool!β the boy grinned, an expression Shinichi had seen in photos of himself time and time again. They even had the same voice.
βShhh! Sheβll hear you!β Shinichi shushed the other boy, quickly checking to make sure his mom hadnβt gotten close enough to hear their scuffle.
βWhat, you hiding from your mom or something?β The boy asked, tilting his head to the other side. Shinichi glared at him, refusing to mimic him this time.
βMaybe.β He shrugged.
βAh donβt be defensive about it! Thatβs what Iβm doing too!β The boy grinned again and braced himself against the metal supports, swinging himself into a more comfortable looking position.
βHmm.β Shinichi hummed in acknowledgement.
βAnyway, who are you? Are you wearing a disguise? Iβve never met anyone who looks so much like me before!β The boy reached forward, and pulled at one of Shinichiβs cheeks painfully until he knocked the hand away.
βNo, Iβm not disguised. I just look like this, if either of us are in disguise itβs you.β Shinichi frowned, rubbing his cheek.
βI donβt think Iβm in disguise.β The boy pulled on his own cheek. βNope, just me.β He shrugged. βSo whatβs your name then, mirror me?β
Β βWhy should I tell you?β Shinichi snapped at him, though by now he was paying more attention to the sounds outside their fabric cocoon than the ones within.
βFine, I guess Iβll go first then. Iβm Kuroba Kaito, itβs nice to meet you, mirror me!β The other boy- Kuroba-kun- grinned much wider than before, becoming almost cheshire. That matched with the new unhinged glint in his eyes, creating a look that activated Shinichiβs fight or flight on sight. He could safely say heβd never made that face in his whole life, and was frankly terrified to know that his face could even do that.
βDonβt- donβt call me βmirror meβ. I donβt like it.β Shinichi managed.
βThen tell me your name, and I wonβt have to.β Kuroba-kun shrugged, that terrifying look in his eyes fading.
βItβs Shinichi, Kudo Shinichi.β Shinichi said, still shaking off Kuroba-kunβs look.
βNice. So, Shinichi-kun-β
βKudo-kun.β Shinichi corrected.
βNah. You can call me Kaito anyway. So Shinichi-β Kuroba-kun continued even as Shinichi glared holes through his head, βYou wanna go to the arcade next door? I would have gone there first except that my mom would have expected that, and itβs more fun with more people anyway.β
Shinichi listened carefully, noting the click of his momβs heels fading into the distance. He considered his options. Option number one, he could leave the clothing rack and the creepy mirror boy and go back to shopping with his mom. Option number two, he could stay here and hope Kuroba-kun would leave. Option number three, he could follow Kuroba-kun to the arcade. Option number four, he could try his luck hiding somewhere elseβ¦ alone.
Hm. Kuroba-kun may not have made what Shinichi would call the best first impression, but he was interesting regardless. Plus, there was absolutely no way he was going back to shopping.
βFine. Iβll go to the arcade with you.β Shinichi nodded, and Kuroba-kun lit up.
βReally? Great! Oh youβre gonna love this!β
βWeβve gotta be quiet when leaving, or else weβll be caught!β Shinichi hissed, silencing his companion.
βRight, right. Gotta be sneaky.β Kuroba-kun grinned that terrible grin of his again, and slipped out of the dress rack, making absolutely no noise as he did so. Shinichi blinked after him, and tried to do the same, wincing as the plastic hangers clacked together and fabrics rubbed against each other. How had he done that?
He was barely clear of the dresses when Kuroba-kun grabbed him by the hand and started dragging him through the shop, winding his way with a sort of speed and precision that told Shinichi that heβd absolutely done this before.
βWell, what do you think? Cool huh?β Kuroba-kun said once theyβd made it to the arcade heβd been talking about.
βItβs veryβ¦ bright.β Shinichi commented. It really was. Bright, and loud. Full of yelling and flashing lights. Not exactly his idea of fun.
βYou donβt like it.β Kuroba-kun pouted, and Shinichi rolled his eyes at the display. Dramatic brat, he wasnβt nearly that upset.
βThatβs fine, the arcade is only fun if weβre both having fun anyway.β Kuroba-kun shrugged, his faux distress gone in an instant. βWhere do you wanna go instead?β
Was he asking Shinichiβs opinion? He hadnβt expected him to be soβ¦ accommodating.
βUh, I think thereβs a bookstore nearby. We could go there.β Shinichi suggested. Maybe actually going book shopping would redeem this trip.
βBooks?β Kuroba-kun tilted his head. βI guess that could be fun. Alright, where to?β
βThis way!β Shinichi grinned at him, suddenly excited for the first time since meeting this strange mirror.
The book store was a few blocks away, and Shinichi took off at a quicker pace than heβd meant, leaving Kuroba-kun behind in a matter of moments. He made to slow down, but was startled as the boy in question suddenly ran up ahead of him, a copy of Shinichiβs own laughter tumbling from his lips. Shinichi smirked, and ran after him, finding the same laughter bubbling up in him as well.
By the time the two actually made it to the bookstore, they were both winded and Shinichiβs hair looked about as messed up as Kuroba-kunβs did, a fact he was quick to point out- and laugh at- when they finally stopped. Shinichi huffed, and did his best to pat it down as they entered the shop, only to look to his left and see Kuroba-kun doing the exact same thing, making himself a complete copy of Shinichi.
βWhyβ¦ why?β Shinichi asked, seeing Kuroba-kun mess with his hair in such a way heβd even managed to copy his callick.
βBecause itβs funny. We kinda look like twins this way, huh?β Kuroba-kun struck a pose, and Shinichi was hit with a wave of vertigo. This was starting to feel like an out of body experience. Heβd read about a few of those, maybe thatβs what he should look for today, books on how to deal with situations like this.
βWe already looked like twins, this is just making it worse.β Shinichi rolled his eyes.
βBetter, I think you mean!β Kuroba-kun grinned. βAnyway, what sort of thing did you wanna look for?β
βI uh, I usually go for mystery novels, or science books.β Shinichi shrugged.
βI havenβt read a whole lot of mystery stuff, is it any fun?β Kuroba-kun asked, sounding genuinely curious, and not at all like he recognized the tragedy that had just fallen from his lips. Hearing Shinichiβs own voice say that he hadnβt read much mystery was like a shot to the heart.
βWhat? Please tell me youβve at least read Sherlock Holmes!β He said, incredulous.
βI could tell you that, but then Iβd be lying.β Kuroba-kun had the nerve to shrug, as if it wasnβt a big deal.
βI know what books weβre going to find.β Shinichi nodded solemnly, grabbing Kuroba-kun by the wrist and dragging him over to the mystery section. To his credit, he didnβt resist. Good.
It took Shinichi mere seconds to find βA Study In Scarletβ which he promptly shoved into Kuroba-kunβs hands. He blinked for a second, before flipping the cover open. He flipped through the pages, one after another, faster than even Shinichi could read it.
βAre you actually reading it? Or are you just skimming?β Shinichi frowned at him.
βIβm reading properly! Itβs pretty interesting too, even,β Kuroba-kun smiled, and snapped the book shut. βThat Watson guy is my favorite character so far. Itβs a bit wordy, but I could get through it.β
βHmm, alright then.β Shinichi nodded, as long as he got it.
βYou really care about this book huh?β Kuroba-kun traced the picture on the front cover.
βWell, βSign of Fourβ is my favorite one in the series, butβ¦ yeah.β Shinichi blinked at him, selecting the book in question from the shelf. Kuroba-kun nodded decisively.
βIt's cool you like it so much, I like magic tricks a whole lot since my dad is a magician. Itβs always nice to meet someone who cares a whole lot about something.β He grinned at him.
βMy dad writes mystery books, kinda like these ones,β Shinichi said, returning βSign of Fourβ to the shelf. βSir Arthur Conan Doyle will always be cooler though.β He nodded to punctuate his point.
Kuroba-kun froze, his amicable air evaporating as his gaze slid away from Shinichi, and onto something further down the aisle. Shinichi blinked at him, before turning his head to see what had made his new friend tense like that. At the mouth of the mystery section stood two men, books held up to their faces as if they were reading, but he could see their eyes firmly trained on him and Kuroba-kun. One of their books was even upside down.
Kuroba-kun grabbed his hand as the two men seemed to notice the fact that they had been discovered. Shinichi noticed he was shaking, and gripped back tightly. This didnβt look good.
βRun?β He whispered. Kuroba-kun gulped and nodded. They turned to do just that, only to see that a third man had circled around the back. They were trapped.
Kuroba-kun squeezed his hand harder and harder as the three approached, an uncharacteristic scowl on his face that Shinichi was sure he mirrored perfectly. He had a really bad feeling about this.
βHey, kids, which one aβ ya is Kudo Shinichi?β The largest of the three men said, stepping forward. His brow was creased, and his eyes kept darting between the two of them. Oh. They were here for Shinichi. His parents had warned him about this, it was the entire reason he was told not to wander off. Whoops.
Kuroba-kun looked at Shinichi, then back at the man, and Shinichi could almost see the gears turning in his head. He was glad one of them had a plan.
βItβsβ¦ um. Both of us?β Kuroba-kun finally offered, and Shinichi resisted the urge to groan. So much for a plan.
βBothβ¦ of you?β the man said, confused.
βYep. Both of us.β Kuroba-kun said. Shinichi had no idea where he was getting this confidence from.
βIβ¦ whatever. Just grab both of them.β The man sighed, and the other two closed in.
Shinichi tried to mimic one of those karate forms Ran had been practicing recently, but he knew there wasnβt really anything he could do as one of the guys grabbed the back of his jacket and hoisted him into the air, tearing him away from Kuroba-kun.
He heard Kuroba-kun squeak as he was also lifted, and twisted to see the big man cover his face in a white cloth, before his friend went limp. Shinichi tried to scream to alert someone to what was happening, even if he was pretty sure the only other person in the store was the ancient shopkeeper, but he didnβt even have a chance as the same cloth was forced over his face this time.
He didnβt even have time to regret ditching shopping with his mom before everything went black.
