2. Your character has betrayed mine in a particularly hurtful or embarrassing way.
Kaito poked his head out of the kitchen.
“Oi, Aoko, the curry is almost….” The teen blinked and looked around the empty room. He could have sworn she had just been in there…
“Aoko?”
He did a quick check of the other rooms before returning to the kitchen, arms folded across his chest. This was strange. Aoko wasn’t normally the type to start an impromptu game of hide and seek, and he would have noticed if she had left. She wasn’t answering when he called her name, either.
Maybe… upstairs?
Kaito glanced through the main room at the staircase. There really shouldn’t be any reason for her to go up there. After all, the only things up there were his room, a bathroom, and the rec room…. and one other.
I have a bad feeling about this….
Slowly, he walked over to the stairs.
“Aoko, you up there?”
Still no response.
With a sigh, he began to climb up. When he reached the top, he scanned the room, At first, nothing really seemed out of place, but…..
The magician froze.
His father’s painting was turned to the Kid side. He cautiously walked up to it and placed his hand on the frame, hoping, praying that he had just been careless for once and it didn’t mean anything.
A light push and it swung open slowly. He went down the few steps into the hidden room, his hopes disappearing as the door closed behind him.
Aoko was standing in front of the closet, white top hat in one hand whose arm limply hung to the side, while the other had Kid’s monocle resting in the center of her palm.
“Kaito…. what is this?”
A million excuses flew through the magicians head as he opened his mouth, but they all vanished when she turned towards him and he saw that, though tears were starting to fall down her face, she still had a hopeful look in her eyes. She might believe him, if he did come up with a good enough reason, but…
He didn’t want to lie to her any more.
“That’s….” he averted his eyes, “that’s my costume. Or, maybe Kid’s costume would be more appropriate…”
Aoko’s eyes widened and she tightened her hold on his hat and eyepiece, before relaxing it and setting both items on the table, lowering her head as she did so.
“I….see….”
Silence fell. Neither of the teens moved. Kaito was beginning to wonder if he had made the right choice. Aoko had been the one who defended him the most when her father and Hakuba accused him of being the thief, after all. And Kid was the one person she hated most…
A pair of handcuffs falling on his wrists interrupted his thoughts. He looked up at her, mouth falling open slightly in surprise.
“Please….” she said, wrapping her hands around his. She still wasn’t looking him in the eye, but she did raise her head slightly. “I’m going to call my father, so please, turn yourself in.”
Aoko...
He didn’t move as she stood up and began to pull out her cell phone, instead just staring at the metal restraints.
“…Did you plan this?” Kaito held up his wrists, trying to make her finally look at him. “I know you don’t normally carry these around with you.”
The other looked at the cuffs, a guilty look flashing over the sadness.
“I… wanted to prove once and for all that you weren’t Kid. But after Dad and Hakuba both have said he’s you… I didn’t want to come unprepared in case…. you really were….”
“But you’re still going to turn me in, before I can even say why?”
Aoko’s thumb paused over the call button. She did meet his eyes this time, and he could see new tears were forming.
“At this point…. I don’t even know if I would believe you if you told me why.” She pressed down, and the phone started ringing.
A stab went through Kaito’s heart at the words. He supposed he deserved it, after having deceived her for so long, but it still hurt to hear.
He let it ring a couple of times before his face fell into an expressionless mask. The magician easily undid the handcuffs and stood. Aoko watched him warily as he reached out behind her, taking one of the smoke bombs in his hand.
“I’m sorry, Aoko. I should have told you sooner.” He crushed it in his hand, releasing the gas. “But I can’t go to the police just yet. Kid still has something he needs to do.”
“K-Kaito? What…are..you..” Her eyelids drooped and caught her as she fell, the phone dropping to the floor. Kaito stared sadly as he gently lowered her to the ground. Then, he picked up the phone.
The ringing stopped.
Moonlight Archive 