[Solo] Family business

[Blade Kuroda]

It had taken some time, but Shun was once again able to ride his own bike. Granted, he had to be extra careful about it, but he did have a sort of work around. People couldn't really see his eyes while he had his helmet on after all. But it was only one thing that kind of returned to normal for him. He got his badge back, but things around the Police Department still felt a bit off. There were still some odd stares he would get now and then.

He may have been proven innocent, but he was still tarnished, in a way. The hitman and the hunter had both done a pretty good job of ensuring it. They weren't the ones he could fully blame, however.

He didn't know what the deal with the hunter was, but the human involved had been sent by Kaitou without a shadow of a doubt. Someone had wanted to send him a message.

After parking his bike in its usual spot, having finished a round of errands, he closed his left eye and removed his helmet. Once the eye patch was back in place, he grabbed the rest of his things, then started to make his way to the stairs. Behind him, he heard some footsteps. He didn't think too much of it, but he began to glance over his shoulder anyway. When he did, he came to an abrupt halt as he saw who it was. It was an older man; one whose features resembled his own.

"Shun. So nice to see you again."  

[Blade Kuroda]

Shun gritted his teeth as he stared down at the older man, looking him over carefully. Kaitou's posture was relatively relaxed, which honestly made him more on edge if anything.

"What are you doing here?" he asked lowly.

"What? Can't a man just want to visit to see his son?"

"I doubt that is all there is to it."

Carefully, he looked around to see if anyone else was nearby. He didn't spot any others though. For the time being, it appeared they were alone here. Still, he wouldn't put it past him to bring a few lackeys. And just because he didn't see them, it didn't mean they still couldn't be lurking somewhere out of his field of vision. Meanwhile, Kaitou just sort of smiled and shrugged.

"Why don't we head upstairs to your apartment to talk?"

"I do not think so. What do you want?"

The older Kuroda let out a wistful sigh before shaking his head slowly. When he began speaking again, it was no longer in English, 「I am here to make you an offer.」  

[Blade Kuroda]

「You recently tried to have me framed for murdering the Chief of Police here. Do you really expect me to want anything from you?」 Shun uttered back. He had half a mind to just walk away right now.

「I know we have been at odds for... awhile now,」 Kaitou started, dismissing the younger Kuroda's comment, 「But I was trying to show you something. You saw how quickly others were in attempting to drag your name down into the mud, yes? I was merely trying to free you so that you might be able to be set back onto the right path.」

There was a small point there. A lot of people had been rather quick to believe he really was the one who had done all those things, even those who should have known better. But that wasn't nearly enough, 「Go take your bullshit back to New York. I do not want to deal with you.」

「Ah. Hear me out. Things never should have gone down the way they did. Do you know how rare it is for both a father and his son to possess magical capabilities? We could have had it all, but you decided to turn your back on us. I want to give you a chance to fix this transgression. Come back into the family business. Work with me, not against me.」  

[Blade Kuroda]

It was then that Shun recalled that the man before him was and wasn't his father. While he effectively was the same person, this was not the same man that he had grown up with. The other version of himself, that he had replaced, had different experiences with Kaitou than he had. Judging some of the speech here, some things were similar. Also apparently this version of his father had magic. That, in itself, was rather troubling. He had no idea what he might be capable of, which made him extra dangerous right now.

「I somehow doubt that is really why you are here.」

Kaitou shrugged as he began to walk closer to Shun. The younger Kuroda stood his ground, though he began to grow a little more tense as the other approached him.

「What do you think I'm here for then?」  

[Blade Kuroda]

Shun slowly shook his head at him, 「Not sure. All I know is that I want you to leave me out of it. I cannot be bought off like your lackeys. 」

「Why though? There really isn't anything here for you. If anything, you're just growing soft--」

"I am not, so just ******** off already," Shun hissed in English. Tired of dealing with him, he reached out to push his father back and away from him. Though, his hands only ended up going through the man as if he wasn't actually there. A split second later, the image of him faded. With his good eye wide now, he began to look around quickly.

「I suppose I shouldn't be surprised by this. You were always a disappointment」 Kaitou sighed. The voice came from elsewhere. Shun saw him standing further off, 「You're partially right, though. I'm not just here to try and recruit you, but I thought I'd give you one more chance, as my son.」

The detective had dropped his bag and was now in a defensive stance as he watched him carefully.

"Could not have just sent someone else?" Shun uttered.

"Shun. You know how it goes. If you want something done right, it's best to do it yourself," the voice said, coming from somewhere behind him.

He turned sharply, just in time to see his father stepping out from behind around a corner; a suppressed handgun in his hand, pointing at him. Immediately, he began to move, but there was no avoiding this. He heard four sharp hisses as he felt the impacts into his torso. With a gasp, he staggered back a few paces, into a shadow. Without really thinking, he vanished.

Shun didn't get too far. He wasn't actually really sure where he was. The alley besides the apartment? Elsewhere? It didn't really matter. His legs gave out from under him as he stumbled onto the concrete. It hurt to breathe. Strength rapidly waned from his body.

He weakly attempted to push himself back up so that he could maybe find some help. It was no use. There was no helping him now. This was it.

There's really not anything after death, you know.

Sonny's words echoed in his mind as he felt the darkness set in.