Disclaimer: We the authors do humbly profess that we do not actually own the series or its characters. We just borrow them. Frequently. And occasionally for nefarious purposes. Okay, usually for nefarious purposes.

This fic was born after the new Magic Kaito 1412 anime (2014-2015) decided to put the Purple Nail heist immediately after Nightmare. And then had both of the boys make much more questionable decisions than they did in the manga, the older TV specials or the Detective Conan version of the heist. There's a bit of a difference between how canon and fanon treats the characters, and the fanon versions of Shinichi and Kaito… they would not have taken that heist well. So we had to write it.

Kaito and Shinichi, being the pushy main characters that they are, demanded to have their own points of view on the two situations represented, so each chapter is divided equally between them.

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Missteps

Part 1

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Heists were always an exciting business, Kaito reflected idly as he watched the cheering crowd awaiting KID's imminent arrival. Especially when Suzuki Jirokichi was the instigator. The crazy old man had some good ideas on publicity and even some workable theories on how to catch him, he had to admit, but really, did he think that forcing the crowd outside the barrier would change the outcome tonight?

It was a simple matter to convince the crowd of fans to duck under the barrier of netting in hopes that KID would appear for them, really. Put up just yesterday as a temporary wall designed to keep him from using the hang glider to escape by air, the nets were practically worthless at keeping people in or out; all one needed to do to get out on foot was lift the net itself and walk through. It wasn't exactly KID-proof, that was for sure.

Though, he admitted to himself with a grin as the throng of fans crowded around the pedestal in the center of the square, nothing was really KID-proof, no matter what the police or detectives seemed to think.

Ah, and there was one of his favorites! Meitantei was here, struggling to get through the crowd of much taller bodies to get to the middle of the action. Wouldn't it be fun to really challenge the kid and see how good he actually was?

Kudou-or Conan, at this size, he supposed-was the only one that could really keep up with him, now that Hakuba was always gone. If the shrunken detective had understood the trick last night, the setup would've been changed for tonight, no matter how difficult it would've been for Kudou to convince Suzuki-san or Nakamori-keibu to alter it-and other than keeping the crowd out, it was obvious that nothing had really been changed. But if he could play with the detective's head a bit, really get him going…

It was nice, having to actually work for a win-a lot nicer than just waltzing in and plucking the jewel up like he so often did when the Task Force was left to its own devices, at least. It was hardly any fun when there was no challenge involved. And if he could make heists more challenging for the detective, too… maybe, just maybe, he'd get a real rival again.

In moments, he was behind Kudou, ensuring that the miniature detective couldn't see him by placing the card gun at the back of his head. If Kudou turned around-well, there wasn't a guarantee that he wouldn't assume that he was looking at a mask, but Kaito wasn't taking any chances. He hadn't brought any disguises tonight, taking refuge in his civilian identity's status as one of KID's biggest fans to disperse any suspicions toward him, and that meant that if Kudou got a look at his face, he was only protected by the merest shadow the black ball cap could provide-and this close, it wouldn't do much good, seeing as the detective was currently so short that unless Kaito wanted to be completely blind, he would have to let the detective see at least part of his face.

The distinctive click-clack of the card gun would hopefully be enough to get Kudou's attention, and keep him from doing anything rash. Admittedly, this was probably a bad idea, but it was KID. It wasn't like he was a serial killer or anything, and Kudou had chased him enough to know he didn't hurt anybody if he could help it. The card gun was really just an empty threat-but hopefully a significant enough one that Kudou would respect the intent behind it and not turn around.

Kudou's sudden tenseness wasn't really a surprise, but Kaito did give the other boy credit for relaxing somewhat once he'd realized who was behind him, and for continuing to face forward. It seemed the detective did have some respect for him, after all. Kaito wasn't really sure that Hakuba would've done the same… knowing the stuck-up Brit, he would've probably turned around the moment Kaito said something.

But that was neither here nor there, and the clock was ticking. KID had a deadline to meet and an adoring audience awaiting him. And while stealing a few precious seconds to dare Meitantei into doing his best was fun, Ran-chan was probably already looking for her charge.

Thurston's Principles were some of the best-known rules of magic, so it wasn't really a surprise when Kudou professed to knowing something of them already. But while he seemed to know the history behind them, Kaito wasn't certain that the detective knew the principles themselves, which were essential to his challenge.

Explaining them took only moments. "Never reveal your tricks" was first, because there was no magic in it if the audience knew how it was done. Second, "Never explain what was going to happen before performing the trick", because the audience won't be amazed without the element of surprise. And third, "Never repeat the same trick twice," because the audience will concentrate on finding the trick behind it instead of on the phenomenon of the magic itself.

And it was all worth it when Kudou finally got it. KID was going to be breaking Thurston's Third Principle tonight, and he fully expected Kudou to do his absolute best to catch him at it now that the detective knew he'd be pulling the same trick.

And if he didn't? Well, Kaito would be disappointed, but there would be plenty of other chances for Kudou to catch on and start living up to his nickname.

But Ran-chan was calling for her charge—Kaito's time with Kudou was up. He would have to hope that his little dare had worked, and that Kudou would actually be taking him up on it, because there was no possible way he could stick around long enough to observe—

Wait. Kaito grinned to himself as he tagged the little detective in front of him with a tiny listening device and then darted off into the crowd before "little Conan-kun's guardian" could notice him. Even if he couldn't stick around to watch Kudou attempt to deduce how KID would be taking the gem in person, the bug would at least let him listen to Kudou's theories and give him some warning if Meitantei did happen to figure it out.

It would never do to be caught, after all. And with detectives like Kudou around, a phantom thief couldn't be too careful.

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The sound of the crowd was almost deafening, and the press of bodies was suffocating, but in Shinichi's line of work, particularly with his experiences, one learned to pick some things out of any sensory overload, no matter how overwhelming. Even with every other person who passed jostling him, he immediately noticed the feeling of cold metal against the back of his skull. Even with everyone around him shouting and chanting, he could still hear the click of a gun's safety releasing as loudly as if it were amplified by a dozen speakers.

He was in public, surrounded on all sides by potential witnesses—even if most were preoccupied with seeing KID. And the gun was pointed at the back of his head—if the killer was after revenge, or was the kind of psychopath who looked for a reaction from victims, that gun would be between his eyes, so that the killer could see his expression when he went down. Never mind that there was a low likelihood of any disorganized killer actually managing to obtain a gun in Tokyo. And, most damning of all, he was the one being targeted.

All of it added up to one conclusion—it was the Black Organization.

So, they've finally found me, he thought, panic and resignation warring for dominance in his mind, even as he struggled to keep his face blank. It was the easiest way to keep himself calm.

He should've known it would happen—no, he should've been more careful. He'd solved too many cases, let himself be seen as Shinichi too many times and gone after Them too often. Ai was right, all along. He'd taken too many risks, and this was the result.

He just wished that he was actually the only one who would be paying. Months ago, before Tropical Land, he might've thought that was true… but now, he knew better. Agasa-hakase and the kids would mourn him. Ai would… well, at the very least, she'd use his death as an excuse to stop trusting people again. Heiji would probably get himself killed trying to avenge Shinichi, which would be a gigantic waste of the Great Detective of the West's talent, as far as he was concerned. And Ran…

Please don't let Ran find the body, he thought, with a sudden thrill of horror. She was somewhere in the crowd, probably not that far from him, and it was perfectly possible that she could—

His thoughts were abruptly cut off by a familiar, gloating voice, and the brief swell of relief at the fact that he was not about to be killed for remaining alive was quickly overcome by deep anger. Was KID seriously threatening him with the card gun? What did the insane magician think he was doing?

He'd really better not be thinking that his gun is non-lethal, Shinichi thought.

As a magician, KID should know his tools. And Shinichi, as a detective, did know murder weapons, including potential ones. Sure, KID hadn't yet used the card-gun to kill anyone, but that didn't mean it was impossible. Shinichi had seen how fast those cards went, cardboard or not. If KID actually shot him in the skull at this range, he'd die—and if KID hadn't thought about that, he wasn't half as smart as Shinichi thought he was.

But KID was blathering on about Thurston's Principles, so it seemed like he was just using the gun to ensure Shinichi wouldn't turn around while he talked. Most likely, this meant his face wasn't covered. So, wonderful, they were both vulnerable—except one of them was so because he hadn't bothered to put on his disguise, while the other one was so because he was being threatened with a projectile weapon.

And, for no better reason than to allow KID to goad him into looking more closely at the trick, as if Shinichi wasn't already going after the thief, guns blazing.

Ah. Bad choice of phrasing, there.

Because the last thing Shinichi really needed in his life, what with Haibara's raging paranoia and the actual encounters with members of the Black Org, was another reminder of how they could literally be anywhere, at any time. And how, by extension, he could be killed by them anywhere, at any time. He needed to thank KID for that. In fact, he thought he would start thanking him by catching his high-handed white-suited person and then leaking which jail he was in to the KID fangirls.

For the record, Shinichi was aware that he had vindictive tendencies. Under most circumstances, he tried to keep them under control. At that moment, though, he didn't particularly care to.

Worse criminals than KID existed, he knew—really, there were a lot of them. But none of them annoyed Shinichi quite like KID. There was something so galling about watching him prance around Tokyo like God's own larcenous gift to humanity, grinning like everything was okay just because he put the jewels back and made the fans happy.

And, at that particular moment, Shinichi was just incredibly pissed off that he would dare to do something like this. To hold a potentially deadly weapon to his head, and then act like Shinichi should only be angry about the verbal taunting, like the weapon didn't even matter.

Does he not get it? he wondered to himself as KID continued talking. Has no one ever done this to him? Surely the police have held him at gunpoint at least once by now!

No, he had to have the requisite intelligence and experience to be held responsible for his actions, Shinichi decided. Thus, Shinichi was going to hold him responsible for them. If he intended to threaten and goad Shinichi into action, Shinichi was going to act with all the ruthlessness of someone who had been called into action in such a manner.

Normally, he treated KID heists as contests. Contests in which he was willing to be somewhat ruthless in the process of winning, but contests nonetheless. But with this little stunt, added to his consistent grandstanding and taunting of hard-working police officers, KID had leapt from the "worthy opponent" category to the category of "criminal who must be caught."

This wasn't about pride, or proving which of them was more intelligent. This was about the fact that KID was a criminal, a strain on police resources and a current threat to Shinichi's person. Shinichi wouldn't allow him to run free another night.

That determination was only strengthened when KID dropped the gun, moved forward in a soft rustle of fabric, and then darted away, just as softly, to be lost in the crowd.

He didn't see or feel anything, but there was only one reason that KID could have possibly had for getting closer to him after all of that. He could have found the bug, if he'd had time to search, but Ran and Sonoko were only feet away and the heist was minutes from starting. Then again… where it was wasn't particularly important. KID was good enough to place the listening device someplace where it would work, and that was all he really needed.

If KID wanted to hear information, he'd hear it. He had no reason to count on it being accurate, though.

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