Eventually, Darkness Always Leads to Light
--
Again. It happened again. Every time was the same. No matter how hard he tried, the just followed him everywhere. He was tired of seeing them everywhere, but they never stopped coming. Corpses-those dead, lifeless bodies. Murders and murderers with their pathetic sob stories. It never stopped and sometimes seemed like it never would. However, he often wished that something could distract him, just give him a break from all the horror, all the lifeless faces of the victims, and the inescapable stench of death.
That was when the other had appeared. The Moonlit Magician who was always bathed in white. No victims. No death. No mourning families. Just a challenge. A challenge from someone on the same intellectual playing field as him. From someone who also hated death. From a surprisingly honorable thief.
Conan Edogawa…no. Shinichi Kudo had finally found exactly what he was looking for in Kaitou Kid. The thrill of a challenge without the horrid tint of murder.
--
"Phantom thiefs are artists who creatively steal their targets, but detectives don't amount to anything more than critics who look at the remains and try to find faults."
It was the night after Conan had prevented Kaitou Kid from stealing the true Black Star, and the shrunken boy was still thinking about what had happened. The thief who had boasted so much about his talent had given up so easily; he hadn't even tried to attack or run away with the jewel. And the words he said that first night they met never ceased to echo throughout the corners of Conan's mind. The phantom thief infuriated the miniature detective, and Conan was determined to prove than annoying thief wrong.
Suddenly, the bespectacled boy realized what was happening. It hadn't been easy to decipher the clues in that note; in fact, it had actually been challenging. Whoever had written was clever, intelligent, even brilliant. Obviously, Kaitou Kid had written the note. Conan had a rival. Finally, his reprieve from death had appeared.
The next day at school, the latest Kaitou Kid heist was the talk of the elementary school, mostly because it had been Conan who had outwitted the famous thief. Throughout the course of the day, his friends refused to talk about anything else, and the shrunken detective quickly tired of it. However as the bell rang and Conan went to meet up with Ran, Ayumi shouted at him from across the school yard, "Conan, you never told us what you thought of Kaitou Kid or how cool he is."
"Yeah I guess he's cool," the boy shouted back. "But that doesn't change the fact that I'm going to catch him one day."
--
The thrill of the chase was what always pulled him back to Kid's heists. After all, the thief always taunted the shrunken detective whenever the chance presented itself. It infuriated Conan, knowing Kid would do everything he could to taunt and tease him at every heist, only to escape into the night and vanish without a trace.
However, as annoying as that was, Conan knew he wouldn't give up those nights of chasing Kaitou Kid for anything in the world. After all, the miniature detective was quite determined to catch the thief and find out exactly who was behind the mask, to discover who was on the same intellectual playing field as himself. Even if he was no longer sure he would actually give the thief to the police.
--
"Back again, eh Tantei-kun?" Kaitou smirked at the annoyed seven-year-old standing in front of him. It was just too much fun to tease the shrunken detective, even if it was a bit dangerous at times. Sort of like now, when he was the target of a certain watch-shaped tranquilizer gun.
"I'm usually at your heists, Kid," Conan growled. "Lack of a grown body hasn't ever stopped me before."
"True, very true, Tantei-kun," Kaitou replied raising his hands in mock defeat. "Though, I am curious as to how you managed to get into see an R-rated play with that body."
"It doesn't matter," Conan replied, blush rising to his face as he remembered having to hide under Professor Agasa's coat for a very long time. "Hand over the jewel."
Grinning widely, the thief merely shrugged and tossed the jewel over to the small boy. Before disappearing in a puff of smoke, he said, "Take it, Tantei-kun. After all, it's already served it's true purpose."
Growling as he caught the jewel, Conan wondered why he ever even considered not turning the thief in to the police. After all, catching him would definitely wipe that annoying smirk off of Kaitou Kid's face. However, looking down at the gem, the detective knew why he didn't was the phantom thief in jail. Without Kaitou Kid, this pure battle of intelligence and wits would be forever gone.
--
It wasn't as though Conan hadn't tried to track down Kaitou Kid outside their heists, he just didn't have enough to work with. After all, the only personal information Conan had on Kid was approximate age, approximate height, definite nationality, odd personality quirks, and a few special skills. He was never able to get the exact height, because Kaitou Kid didn't exactly stand still waiting to get measured by a ruler. Conan couldn't know his exact appearance, because whenever they met, Kid's true features were either masked by a disguise or slightly hidden by the darkness. Additionally, the shrunken detective had no way of knowing if he actually knew the thief's real voice. If Kaitou Kid could change his voice without a voice changer in the blink of an eye, who's to say that he wasn't using a fake voice whenever they met. Nevertheless, Conan still wanted to try.
Unfortunately, the black-haired boy sometimes felt like giving up. Because, even if Conan always foiled all of the phantom thief's carefully laid plans; he still managed to escape without fail, especially when escape seemed impossible. Just as the miniature detective was going to change strategy from trying to capture Kid to merely prevent his thievery, something happened, and his tactics stayed the same. Although it was quite obvious that someone so good at hiding would never be found, the thrill Conan got from trying would never be something he could give up so easily.
--
"What's wrong with you, Tantei-kun?" Kaitou Kid asked confused. For once, the phantom thief was not joking, taunting, or smirking. On the contrary, he seemed a bit apprehensive. "You're not trying very hard today. Are you feeling alright?"
"Perfectly fine," Conan sighed wearily. "Just give me the diamond and disappear like you always do." The apprehension on the thief's face quickly slid into blatant worry. Studying him more closely, Kid noticed that there seemed to be a darkness surrounding the boy that no light could permeate. Frowning deeply, the white-garbed magician marched straight toward Conan and actually slapped him across the face.
"Fine," Kaitou Kid growled softly. "Don't try. But if you're not going to honor me with a proper challenge, then just go home, and don't return to face me ever again. A magician always appreciates a good rival but never accepts one absorbed in darkness." Then, the thief disappeared in a puff of pink smoke leaving behind two things. One- the jewel. Two- A note telling Conan that it was up to him whether or not the gem was either a good-bye gift or an invitation to the next challenge.
--
It had started to get really, really bad, already to the point that Conan was questioning his sanity. It was one thing for the small boy to accept that he no longer loved Ran. After two years in his shrunken form, Conan had started to see the Karate girl as nothing more than an elder sister. However, his body was definitely starting to betray him, reacting the way it used to around Ran around someone else instead. Yes, it was definitely betrayal. Why else would his heart flutter sporadically and his cheeks flush whenever he saw or thought about Kaitou Kid?
Once the thief began noticing these little betrayals (as Conan had dubbed them), Kid became even more annoying than ever, always pointing out the slightest tinge in the young boy's cheeks. Even when there was no redness at all present, one little tease or mention was the only thing it took to light them on fire once again.
--
"Why hello Tantei-Kun," Kaitou Kid called from across the rooftop. "And how are you doing on this beautiful night?"
"Fine," Conan answered panting, having just run up about fifteen flights of stairs after the thief. The police were still stuck in the elevators; Kid had rigged them before so that his pursuers would be trapped unless they used the stairs. Anyway, both males noticed that a certain annoyed growl, usually present in the small boy's tone, was oddly absent.
"Hmm, this is most definitely a night to remember," the thief replied, smirk growing even wider than it had been before. "Tantei-kun, not angry with me even after I teased him about his little crush oh me."
"I do not have a crush on you," Conan shouted, obviously sounding furious at the insinuation. However, just like all the times before, his body betrayed him and lit his cheeks up quite brightly.
"Sure you don't," Kid commented mockingly. "But y'know, you're cute when you blush, Tantei-kun." And with that said, Kaitou Kid, just like all the times before, vanished into the night.
--
Then, one day, two years after it all started, everything changed. Something irreversible happened, something Conan thought impossible. And even though he saw it with his own eyes, the black-haired boy still wasn't sure he could believe it.
It had happened during the night of a particular heist. Conan had cut off all of Kid's escape routes and disabled his parachute. The phantom thief had been completely outsmarted and outwitted. However, the bespectacled detective wasn't doing what one would expect. Instead of shooting Kaitou Kid with the tranquilizer dart and finding out his identity, Conan was actually toying with the idea of just letting the thief go free. After all, it wasn't as though the cocky magician had actually attempted to steal anything. This appearance just happened to be nothing more than another April Fool's joke.
Right as Conan was opening his mouth to tell Kid to go free, things completely derailed. Some stranger in a psychopathic frenzy suddenly came out onto the rooftop of the thirty story building where Kid and Conan were. Both boys instantly recognized the man. He had been on the news for being admitted to a mental institution for attempting suicide after finding out his daughter was in love with Kaitou Kid. Seconds after arriving on the rooftop, the man pulled out a gun and shot at the thief.
Seemingly in slow motion, Conan turned his head and saw Kid's expression frozen in shock along with a growing crimson stain on the with suit only inches from the heart. The fact that the bullet had missed any vital pings, such as the heart, gave Conan a slight bit of comfort, but that moment was very short-lived. While the wound was not life-threatening, the momentum had knocked the thief off-balance. Following through with his original intentions, the madman rushed to push Kid off the building. Quickly, Conan aimed and fired his tranquilizer dart, effectively knocking out the psychopath, but he was too late. Kaitou Kid was already falling 300 feet to his death.
Even though it was pretty much physically impossible for any human to survive a straight 300 ft drop to the hard concrete ground, Conan just couldn't accept that Kaitou Kid was dead. He just couldn't believe it. To the shrunken detective, it just wasn't allowed for the mysterious thief, the one person who had given him a respite from death, to die. Unfortunately, after a month of no trace, no leads, no hints, and not even the slightest clue that he was still alive, Conan had to accept the cold, hard truth that Kaitou Kid was dead. While it was true that no body had been found, the small boy knew all too well how easy it was for certain people to hide deaths. So, the absence of a corpse caused absolutely no comfort.
After this acceptance, Conan just couldn't find the will to really live anymore. If the only thing consistent in his life was being surrounded by death, he wasn't all too sure that he wanted to live his live for much longer. His depression wasn't obvious at first, but that changed very quickly. When Conan stopped following Kogorou to any of his cases, Ran became mighty worried. Genta, Ayumi, and Mitsuhiko just about fell apart when Conan gave them his Detective Boys badge and told them to find someone else to play with. But the biggest shock came for Ai and Professor Agasa when they found out that Conan was no longer interested in finding a cure.
Sometime later, the eighteen-turned-eight-year-old was just walking home when he hear a voice. Not just any voice- one filled with laughter, one he had heart many times before, one that made his heart flutter. One he thought he would never hear again. Turning around as quickly as he could, Conan searched for the owner of the voice. At its source, he saw a young man whose face was nearly identical to his own (had he been his proper age) and a girl who looked oddly like Ran.
"Kaitou. . ." was the only part of the thief's name that Conan had been able to choke out. Hope was welling up inside of his inside of his small body and made it difficult to speak properly. However, his spoken word had caused both people to stop and turn around.
"Oh wow," the girl squealed in an excited tone. "He's so cute. Kaitou, he looks just like you when you were little. What's his name? How do you know him?"
Chuckling nervously, Kaitou picked up Conan like one would younger brother and said, "Aoko, this is Conan Edogawa. Conan, this is my childhood friend, Aoko Nakamori. Anyway, Aoko, this little guy is the one who always got in the paper for beating Kaitou Kid. As I'm a huge Kid fan, I wanted to meet the little guy, and when we met, we just hit it off. Now, we just hang out from time to time. Isn't that right, Tantei-kun?"
And just like that, it was confirmed. Kaitou Kid really was alive, and Conan instantly felt all the despair and the choking presence of death start to filter away. Since relief was making it hard to speak as well, Conan merely nodded in affirmation to the thief's story.
"How nice," Aoko said with a bright smile. "Well, I guess I'll leave you two alone then. Bye Kaitou! See you at school tomorrow."
"Bye Aoko!" Kaitou called back, waving while watching his friend get further and further away. Out of the blue, Kaitou felt small arms wrap around his neck and a soft wetness on his shoulder. Looking down, he saw Conan crying silently. See, the flood of hope, happiness, and relief had been too much for the young boy's body to hold in, and as a result, he started crying.
Smiling faintly at this new situation, the teenager noticed that some people had started giving them weird looks. Sighing, Kaitou began heading towards a park near his home that was almost always deserted. Once there, he sat down on a bench and continued holding Conan until he stopped crying.
"Why?" This was the first thing out of Conan's mouth and also as much as Kaitou expected. "Why didn't you tell me? I thought you were dead."
"I'm so sorry," Kaitou said, hugging the small boy in his arms even closer. "I wanted to tell you, really I did, but I didn't have any safe way to tell you Tantei-kun. I could send out another notice, and I just couldn't walk up to your front door and ask to see you. That would look suspicious and draw attention to me I just couldn't deal with right now. I was going to tell you once it was mostly safe."
After saying this and seeing Conan's pain-ridden face, Kaitou knew he had to say more. Sighing, he said, "I'm going to tell you everything, OK? So, don't interrupt me and just listen until I'm done, alright?" Conan nodded.
"For starters, I'm Kaitou Kuroba. Toichi Kuroba, my father, was the very first Kaitou Kid. He was looking for a dangerous, legendary gem called Pandora that was also being sought by a certain criminal organization. Anyway, my father was killed since they were tired of him getting in their way. A couple years ago, I found all this out and decided to become Kaitou Kid to finish my father's work. Now that my goal has been reached, I decided to stop being Kaitou Kid. Even that April Fool's heist was just to tell you I was done with thievery.
See, I finally managed to find and steal the jewel I'd been looking for the last two years. That's why I was rougher with you on that last real heist. Sorry about that. Anyway, the criminal organization was actively searching for me more than ever before, because they knew I had it. So, it was safer to let them just think I died after that. When that man pushed me off the building, I go lucky and managed to grab onto a window ledge with my right hand. From there, I pulled myself up into the building, contacted a close friend of the family who knows my secret, and got a ride home along with some first aid from him. Then, I just went back to my normal life, waiting until the FBI finally acted on my anonymous tips and captured the organization. Now though, I don't really have to wait to go to you, because you found me Shinichi."
"Yeah," the younger boy said softly. "I did, didn't I?"
After that, the two boys just sat on that bench in the empty park. They didn't rally talk, only sat there, together. When they saw the sun setting, both boys knew it was time to go home, but neither wanted to leave the other's company yet. However, neither on them wished to voice their feeling on the matter, and that didn't get them very far. Fortunately, Kaitou mad an executive decision that Shinichi would spend the night at his house. When the shrunken boy voiced his worries about showing up unannounced, the other said everything would be just fine.
As Kaitou expected, his mother was oddly over-accommodating, instantly warming up to her new house-guest. Accepting her hospitality without a fuss, Shinichi allowed himself to be crooned over, until he remembered that he needed to call Ran. At which point, he mentioned this, and a phone was placed in his small hand only seconds later. As he spoke to "Ran-nee-chan", Shinichi noted that she was being a lot more understanding and a lot less angry about the situation than he thought she'd be. (Later on, he would find out that Ran had been so overjoyed at Conan sounding more alive than he had in a very long time. So, she didn't really care where he was, as long as he was happy again.)
After they had been fed, cleaned up, and sent to bed, Shinichi found himself lying awake for hours on end. His thoughts were currently completely occupied by the person lying in bed with him. See, Kaitou's mother suggested they sleep in Kaitou's room together, since she didn't want "Little Conan" to get nightmares. As Shinichi appeared no more than eight, it would have looked very weird if they objected. So, Shinichi and Kaitou had consented to sleep together. Either way, it is quite hard to get to sleep when the person who causes ones heartbeat to speed up exponentially and butterflies to flit around in one's stomach is lying no more than several inches away.
Sighing, Shinichi rolled over to lie facing Kaitou, which turned out not to be the best idea in the world. One look at Kaitou's peaceful sleeping face, and his own was brightly lit, blush spreading like wildfire. Impulsively, Shinichi pressed his lips against Kaitou's. They were soft like silk and sweet like ice cream. Smiling as he pulled away, Shinichi whispered, "I think I'm in love with you."
"That's good," Kaitou whispered back, opening his eyes and startling the other current occupant of his bed. "Because I know I'm in love with you." Gasping, Shinichi turned, if possible, even redder when Kaitou kissed him gently yet passionately. The kiss took the breath away from his small, shrunken body.
"But what - about - the fact -" Shinichi gasped out between pants. "That I'm in an eight-year-old body? We can't escape that fact."
"True, but only your body is eight," Kaitou replied with a wide smile. "Your mind and heart are still the same from before you were poisoned, at least for the most part. I love you, Shinichi, and I'll wait ten years for you to grow up again if I have to. So it doesn't matter." With that said, Kaitou pulled Shinichi closer and started cuddling with him. After kissing his love on the forehead, the former phantom thief went back to sleep. And as Shinichi lay there in Kaitou's arms, finally staring to feel sleepy, he really thought, for the first time, that being stuck in this tiny body really didn't matter and wasn't ruining his life. Even if he had to stay Conan forever, he had at least one person he wouldn't have to pretend. If he never returned to his normal self, he had someone he loved, someone who would always wait for him and accept whatever happened. And even if the darkness of death never ceased in attempting to devour him, he would always have his light, his love, his life. As long as he had Kaitou, Conan could handle anything. As long as Kaitou was there, Conan's life would forever be complete, and that, more than anything else, made Conan that happiest he'd ever been in his life.
A/N: Thank you for taking time to read my fan fiction. This is my second Kaitou x Conan / Shinichi fan fiction. Personally, I think this one is a bit better than the last, but that's just me. I love reviewers, but I do have a request. I would really love for someone to seriously critique my work. It doesn't have to stop at constructive criticism. I'd love for someone to really pick apart my work and tell me every little thing they hated, what needs to be improved, and what parts of my writing they liked best. Believe me when I say I love all reviews, and it's really nice to know people appreciate my work. However, I'm a far cry from being perfect, and there's always room to improve. Also, if I can get better, I can give better fan fiction to my readers. Anyway, thanks again for reading this fan fiction and hopefully you seriously considered my request.