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Thugs, who had mistaken him for Shinichi, attacked Kaito. The thugs, ironically, had also suspected Shinichi to be the real identity of Kaitou KID.

Conan stops the attack and tries to coax information out of Kaito, who for all he knows is a regular civilian. However, Conan is sent reeling as he finds the tables constantly turned on him due to him unknowingly underestimating the great Kaitou KID.

Ch. 1 Kaito meets Conan

There was something wrong.

There was something seriously wrong.

It was dark. Where was he? Oh his eyes are closed no wonder it was dark. Were those voices? Who's voice is that? Kaito struggled as he tried to crack open his heavy eyelids, only to drop them shut again as he felt a sharp pain in the back of his head. Had he been attacked? Is that why he could barely move? Goddamit who was talking to him?

Kaito snapped his eyes open and then immediately regretted it as the bright hospital lights assaulted his recovering brain. Groaning in discomfort, he forced himself to blink several more times to get himself used to the lights.

The boy groggily forced himself to sit up, but was met with a sharp pain in his head again. Well, at least it seemed his hands were in working order, he noted faintly as he examined his hands. Kaito slowly looked around the room as he tried to assess his situation.

Hospital bed, bandaged head, no other injuries other than minor scratches on hands, elbows, and knees. He assumed that those minor scratches were probably from falling on the ground or something. Kaito inwardly panicked as he tried to remember what had happened to him. It didn't seem like he was restrained in any way, and he didn't see anyone else in the room, so it probably didn't happen during one of his heists.

But what had happened? If not at a heist, why was some random unassuming high school kid like him injured in this way? He winced as he touched his head to check it. He took a couple deep breaths to calm down and think back. He started to remember that some random man had tried to attack him, but Kaito had dodged the initial blow. However, another person had suddenly shown up out of the shadows and tried to hit him as well. Kaito had reflexively dodged a blow to the face but had lost his balance and fallen over.

Being on the ground, he vaguely remembered a whooshing sound, a high-pitched yell, and a sharp pain in his head before he heard his attackers running away.

Kaito frowned. That was probably where he had lost consciousness.

His attackers had probably tried to finish him off when Kaito had fallen, but they had been distracted by a voice, and had missed giving him a fatal blow.

He guessed some random passerby had discovered the attack scene and had yelled in surprise, scaring off the thugs. But that voice that had yelled… it was familiar.

Where had he heard it before?

Kaito then remembered that he thought he had heard voices before he fully regained consciousness, but found no one was in the room with him. He jumped a little as he heard a knock, and looked over at the door to see that a nurse had come in.

"Oh you're awake. I'm so glad! Let me call the doctor so we can get you checked up okay?" she said, while Kaito just nodded numbly. "I'll be right back."

After getting checked by the doctor, and determining his injuries to be minor enough for him to be released within the day, Kaito blinked as a familiar looking police officer came into his hospital room, flashing his badge. Well, at least he was familiar to him as KID. "Kaito" the regular high school kid did not know this man.

"Hi. Sorry to bother you even though you've just woken up. However, if you're up to it, I'd like to ask you a few questions regarding your attackers." The officer asked apologetically. "They're still on the run so we want to know if you've seen their faces, or if you know them."

Kaito blinked as he silently inspected the officer, whom he knew to be Takagi, an officer in the homicide division. Since Kaito was not even close to dead, this was strange, and it put him on edge. "No, I didn't get to see their faces. They came out of nowhere." He answered slowly, "They're still out there? Have they attacked anyone else?"

"Ah, that's too bad." Takagi sighed, slumping his shoulders. "And no from what I know those two haven't managed to attack anyone else."

"But I do remember someone yelling before I got hit and lost consciousness." Kaito added on, "It was kind of a high pitched yell. I think someone found us and that's why those attackers ran away." He then frowned as he locked eyes with the nervous looking officer, "Were there only two? I couldn't tell how many there were. I thought there was only one at first so the second one caught me off guard. I blacked out soon after, so I don't really know the details."

Officer Takagi smiled nervously at the teenager who had an uncanny resemblance to the high school detective his superiors, and the strange boy Conan, put so much trust in. However, Conan, who was the one that had stopped the attack, had vehemently denied this teen to be the detective. Although the way the teen seemed to be calmly inspecting him was starting to make Takagi start to have his doubts about Conan's claims.

Takagi started as the teenager narrowed his eyes for a split second before he closed them and slowly laid back down on the hospital bed.

"Officer." Kaito muttered without opening his eyes, "Thank you for your service. And sorry I cannot be of much help."

"Ah, alright. No worries take care." Takagi said, startled at the strange reaction. Had the teen caught his bluff? Gosh darn Conan and his bad ideas! He knew he shouldn't have listened to the strange boy's 'request' to weasel information out of this strange Kudo look-alike.

Kaito, on the other hand, didn't know how to feel about this. He had realized from his short conversation with Officer Takagi that the high-pitched yell he had heard before blacking out was familiar because it was the little detective's voice. The boy probably asked Takagi to use his position as a police officer to try and get information out of him about the attack. However, considering Takagi is from a different division and was probably not assigned to this case, Takagi wasn't here on official business. From what Kaito knew about the man's personality, he probably would not be doing something this shifty if he didn't already know the thugs had been detained. Kaito's conviction that Takagi had lied about the men not being caught was further cemented by the fact that the man had mentioned with such certainty the number of his attackers.

What worried Kaito was why Conan didn't approach him directly at the hospital. It wouldn't have been strange to come talk to him, since Conan had been the one to save him after all. Another thing that bothered him was why the pipsqueak was so concerned over a failed mugging that ended up with the attackers detained and the victim only slightly injured. This should be a closed case.

Unless… it might not be. And if for some reason the shrunken detective could not disclose the reason to the police meant the stakes were potentially very high.

Kaito sighed again, knowing what he had to do. Saying Tantei-kun was intelligent was an understatement, but the kid was also a moron when it came to his sense of self-preservation. Even if Kaito managed to shake himself free of the kid, the boy would go back to the scene of the attack, alone, to find clues.

He suspected that Conan was afraid that this was an attack targeting Kudo, and that Kaito had been mistakenly targeted due to this looks.

However, for Kaito, being KID added another reason as to why Kaito wanted to find out more about this case. What if he had been found out? If this was a targeted attack, what if it was really for him and not for Kudo? That would be a whole other can of worms.

What had Conan seen that made the boy suspect so much that this was no regular mugging? He had to see for himself what had put the boy on such high alert.

After being discharged from the hospital (like a normal human being, and not escaping like he would have liked to. With pipsqueak probably lurking around, he couldn't do anything that… "professional"), Kaito retraced his steps and went directly back to the scene of the attack. He knew Tantei-kun probably followed him there, but he paid no heed.

Kaito silently surveyed the alleyway with his sharp eyes, taking in everything in view. He carefully maneuvered his way through the narrow alleyway, crouching down and looking around potential hiding places. He then also looked up and around for good measure, checking the walls and windows for anything out of place or strange. He blinked as he noticed something, before he heard the faint scuffle of feet behind him. Kaito stood quietly, pretending not the notice.

It was probably just Tantei-kun who had decided to finally present himself, or an accomplice of the thugs that had come back to pick up evidence or finish him off.

His musings were answered, however, with one simple greeting.

"Hey nii-chan. What are you doing?"

Kaito turned around quickly to face the owner of the fake, sugary voice he knew all too well. Although the teen was feigning surprise so as to give no clues that he had already read Conan coming here, Kaito would be lying to himself if he denied being a little rattled. Knowing he would have to face the detective as himself, and actually finally "meeting" for the first time were two different things. It was a lot more unnerving than he had expected.

"Oh, a kid." Kaito muttered, after recovering from his 'surprise'. "Did you need something?"

"I asked." Conan repeated with that sugary voice again, "What are you doing?"

Kaito blinked, pretending to be troubled by the strange child. "I was looking for something. Sorry if I surprised you. Am I trespassing on your parent's property or something?"

"Ah, no." Conan answered, taken aback at the apologetic attitude of the teen. "I heard someone was attacked here earlier today by some scary people, so I got suspicious when I saw you poking around here all quiet by yourself."

"Oh, I see. Sorry again for scaring you then." Kaito replied, smiling reassuringly, "I'm actually the one that got attacked, so I'm here to see if those people left any clues behind as to why they did that to me." Kaito frowned, confused, "I don't know them after all, and I'm just some random teenager."

"But nii-chan, aren't you scared you'll get attacked again?" Conan pressed. Goddamn the kid was persistent.

"Not really, I think the police may have caught them by now. Although I never got to meet them, I think there was a witness when I got attacked, and that's who saved me." Kaito replied, shrugging. "That witness will probably be sure to provide the police with enough details to catch the thugs." He then frowned at the boy in front of him. "but the better question is, aren't you scared? A little kid like you shouldn't be hanging around attack scenes like this."

"But… wait. Don't you know who I am?" Conan asked, feigning hurt; his voice cracking a little at the end. "Nii-chan? Have you forgotten me?"

Kaito jolted back, startled. He could play this game. "No… should I know you?"

Conan blinked, before he shook his head, pretending to clear his head. "I… sorry nii-chan. You just look exactly like a relative of mine, so I thought you were him."

"Oh. Sorry to disappoint you then." Kaito frowned, "Do you not see your relative that often?"

"huh?" Conan blinked.

"I mean, considering you're mistaking a completely different person like me as him, you must not know him that well." Kaito pointed out.

"That's true. I don't get to see him much. We talk a lot though." Conan replied, not missing a beat. "Sometimes I wonder if it is even him I am talking to over the phone. He may be dead for all I know."

Covering your bases I see. Kaito thought. But I'm not playing into your traps. "Well let's hope not!" he replied, smiling tiredly. "I've got to go now. It's getting late, I'm tired, and it seems like there were no clues left here." He stated simply, and turned around and started walking away, leaving Tantei-kun gaping in his wake.

"Nii-chan wait! Don't leave me here!"

"What, lost your way?"

"Yes! Don't leave me here. To be honest, I came all the way here without really looking where I was going because I thought you were my relative! Please help me get home!"

"Call someone then. Don't you have a phone?"

"But I don't know where I am."

"There's a police station right there." Kaito answered, refusing to dance. "They'll help you out."

He was about to start walking away again when his phone started buzzing. Deciding it was a waste of time to try and get Conan out of earshot, Kaito didn't hesitate to grab his phone and answer it right away. "Hello?"

"Kaito-kun!"

"OW!" Kaito flinched, jerking his phone away from his ear. Inspector Nakamori had an impressive volume as usual. He just wished he'd refrain from doing that on the phone. "Calm down old man! What did I do now?"

"What did you do? You got into trouble again that's what! I heard from a colleague that you got attacked by some thugs in an alleyway and got hospitalized. Are you okay? You haven't escaped from the hospital have you?"

"I'm fine. The injuries were minor, and no, I got discharged from the hospital and left normally." Kaito muttered, eyeing the small detective beside him who was pretending not to be interested in the conversation. "By the way, have you heard any details about those thugs that attacked me?"

"Well, apparently during the interrogation, the thugs admitted to being hired by someone to take out either Kaitou KID or a teenage detective named Shinichi Kudo."

Kaito froze, taking in the strange information, before choking out a response, "What?" He trembled a little, and composed himself before he continued speaking, "OR or AND? And… how do I fit in? I'm neither."

"Well that's the strange part. About you, apparently they mistook you for the Kudo boy, but as for their employers, apparently they suspect the Kudo boy to be KID. However, they're not sure, so they wanted at least one dead. They haven't been able to find Kudo so they were going to take out KID first but, they found you and decided to act on it."

"What?" Kaito felt like a broken record, not sure if he should feel relieved, incredulous, or terrified. "They think they're one and the same? That's ridiculous."

"Yes, but that's the intel your potential murderers acted upon, so we can't laugh about it. Either way, we need to find the Kudo boy to warn him about this."

"Are they… did they say anything more about their employers?" Kaito pressed, trying to stay focused despite the terrible news. The increasing intensity of the stare Tantei-kun was giving him from nearby really wasn't helping things. Perhaps the boy sensed they were talking about him.

"No they said they only received instructions indirectly, through phones and e-mails, all of which they couldn't trace. They said they only took the job because the money was good."

Kaito paled. Which one was it? Which person were these people after? Was their main target the detective or the thief? Depending on which, this attack held a whole different meaning. Either way, he had to get old man Nakamori uninvolved. The time was not yet right… for either meaning.

"Well hopefully those two thugs that attacked me stay safe in jail at the very least. You never know, their employers may come back to silence them. They sound like insane conspiracy theorists after all."

"You think so?"

"Well of course. I mean, a homicide detective being a phantom thief? Not in a million years!" Kaito laughed, knowing that by now, Conan wasn't even trying to hide his curiosity. "Besides, who out there would want to kill either of them? There may be unhinged individuals, but surely no serious threatening people. That's crazy."

He saw out of the corner of his eye Conan paling at what he had said. Kaito then dodged the boy's attempt at grabbing his phone away from him before he stated a cheery goodbye to Nakamori and hung up the phone.

"So" Kaito said, smiling down at the slightly panicked looking boy, "I'm going home." He stated simply and tried to walk off before he was predictably tackled by the squirt.

"Please!" Conan yelled desperately, clinging on to the teen's legs, "What was that call about? Please let me know. It might concern someone…I…know."

Kaito pretended to consider it, even though he had never intended to leave the detective hanging without telling him anything. Kaito wasn't stupid. Who knows what the pipsqueak would end up doing to force the info out of him?

"Well, do you know somewhere we can talk in private?" He whispered, crouching down so he could be at eye-level with the boy. "I just heard something crazy from a police officer that I know, but it's so crazy I don't want anyone else hearing it and getting the wrong idea." He added on, "Really. Promise it will stay between you and me. Got it?"

Conan nodded, looking relieved, determined, and concerned at the same time. "I know a place" he said, "It's a bit of a walk from here though. Do you have time?"

"Yes." Kaito replied, smiling. Conan was undoubtedly taking this chance to lead him into a potential trap. This little bastard was ruthless after all. Kaito was kind of glad this 'child' only came to some of his heists.

Conan, on the other hand, was still very confused about the teen that he was currently leading to Agasa's house. This boy, so far, has presented himself to be harmless, and just an unfortunate look alike of his older self. However, this boy was also obviously very sharp. He had somehow seen through Takagi's lies, and the fact that the teen got a personal phone call from a police officer informing him about details regarding his attackers peaked his interest as well.

It didn't seem like the teen was heavily involved with the police, but knew someone personally that was high ranking enough to get recent info about a case they were not directly assigned to. Besides, Conan would have known if there was a teenage Kudo look alike heavily involved with the police.

Not only that, the teen had realized that there was more to this case, and had come back to the scene of the crime to look for clues. However, he had refused to question Conan, who had come as an 'easy' source of information about Kudo, and had also practically told his police officer 'friend' that there is not much more to the case. The teen's actions were strange.

He had also tried to get rid of Conan as soon as possible, and almost managed to do so, but had suddenly changed his mind and was now allowing Conan to lead him to a place where presumably, no one else could hear them talk, just to inform a child about something the teen had dismissed as an 'insane conspiracy theory'.

At this point, Conan was feeling slightly played, and wondered if maybe he should take him somewhere else. Somewhere more open and less risky. Well, less risky for Conan and scarier for the teen, if, the boy was anyone shady.

The more he thought about it, the worse of an idea it seemed to introduce this weird teen to one of his bases of operations.

Instead, the pair ended up standing in front of Poirot, the café underneath the Mouri detective agency. Here, he know the teen would have a much harder time trying anything funny if he was involved with the Black organization at all. Or if he were some other shady character, he would have a harder time escaping without leaving any clues. What Conan did not expect was…

"No." Kaito stated, frowning as he looked at the café. "This is a very public place. Under a famous detective agency, of all places!" Kaito added, shaking his head. "Worst place to discuss crazy things that shouldn't be overheard, don't you think? As I said, I don't want anyone hearing us and getting the wrong idea."

"But" Conan was about to retort, before they were interrupted by a female yelling.

"Shinichi?!"

Conan flinched as he heard Ran yell from down the street. She was running over with Sonoko in tow, looking angry and happy at the same time. Conan noticed, however, that the teen he had been with was not paying her any heed and was still looking down at Conan as if their conversation had not been interrupted at all. Well, if the teen had no connection to Shinichi Kudo, then their conversation, for all he was concerned, really hadn't been disrupted at all.

"Well? Are we going to change places, or should I go home? It was really something stupid after all." Kaito muttered impatiently, still frowning at Conan, who now seemed a bit distracted by the Mouri girl.

Although Kaito knew the girl was yelling at him, he wasn't going to respond to her until she was really in his face, because, Kaito wasn't supposed to know this 'Shinichi' after all.

"Shinichi! Why are you ignoring me?!" An angry Ran yelled, finally getting right into a bewildered and slightly scared looking Kaito's face.

"Who? What?" Kaito stuttered, stumbling back.

"Are you trying to deny knowing me?" Ran asked, looking hurt. "You think that wearing a hat counts as a disguise? Do you realize how worried I've been all this time you were gone?" she continued, unable to stop herself, "And now you have the nerve to show up unannounced, and say 'who?!'"

Conan jumped in front of Kaito, pushing his childhood friend away in order to get her out of the other teen's face. "Ran-neechan! You've got this all wrong! This isn't Shinichi-niichan!" he yelled, waving his hands around. "This guy really doesn't know who you are! You're scaring him!"

Ran stumbled back, shocked at the claims of her young housemate, and blinked as she looked again at her 'not' childhood friend. Conan was usually right about things, and that would explain the standoffish attitude of the teen in front of her but… he looked so… "Is this true? You're not…Shinichi?"

"No" Kaito replied, relieved to be able to finally get a word in. "Sorry to disappoint you, but I don't know who you are talking about."

"Wait, but then, what are you doing here with that kid?" Sonoko demanded, stepping forward and trying to hide her now sorely embarrassed friend. "This is too coincidental!" She hmphed.

Kaito sighed, his day really was not going well. Figures the longer he hung out with Tantei-kun, the scarier his day would become. Not only was he now being confronted with someone who could destroy concrete with her bare hands, he was also being yelled at by a Suzuki. Since chances of a private conversation with the mini detective seemed to have gone out of the window, Kaito decided it was high time to leave once and for all; detective after his tail or not.

"Well this boy here got lost following me because he thought I was someone else. After he confronted me and realized he got the wrong person, I attended him back home." Kaito realized his slip-up just as he finished saying it.

"Niichan, I never said this was my home." Conan was quick to bite.

Kaito didn't miss a beat. "Isn't it though? Aren't you the boy from the Mouri detective agency? You're in the papers sometimes."

"If you knew who I was, why didn't you say so earlier?" Conan pressed.

"I wasn't sure until you led me here."

"Wait, didn't you just say the brat here was lost?" Sonoko interrupted, frowning. "Then why do you claim he was the one that led you here? You're making no sense."

"I meant he claimed to be lost and we were looking for any place that seemed familiar to him. Then we ended up here and I realized he wasn't actually lost." Kaito replied, frowning as well. "I mean, come on why don't you ask the kid here why he brought me here? I'm the one in the dark at this point you know."

Conan panicked as all eyes looked to him. Goddamit this teen lied smoothly like it was no tomorrow! Plus he lied like he knew Conan couldn't spill the truth! "Well I…" he was really at a loss for words. Did this strange teen win? Was he going to have to let him go before having a chance to speak to him privately? He needed to keep a connection, at the very least. "I was curious." Conan managed, deciding to keep things simple. "I was curious about the guys that attacked you earlier today, nii-chan!"

Kaito started, shocked that Conan would come at him from that facet. It was such a weak link, it was pretty much up to Kaito if he would take the bait or not.

"You got attacked?" Ran asked, looking apologetic, "Sorry I…yelled at you like that on top of all of that."

"Don't be sorry. It's not your fault I was attacked, and there was no way you could have known." Kaito replied, waving off the concern while simultaneously weighing his options. "The attackers are already caught as well." Kaito then sighed, making up his mind as he peered at the nervous looking boy's face again. "and this boy here was the one that stopped the attackers and saved me, so I guess I owe him one." The teen then crouched down to face the boy head on again. It was a gamble, but this connection was a long time coming anyway.
"Here, lend me your phone. I'll send myself a message from there so you'll know how to contact me."

Conan's face lit up in relief, before he happily handed him a cell phone. Kaito took it, thankful that it was autumn and therefore he had an excuse to be wearing gloves while touching this little sleuth's phone. He quickly typed out a message and sent it to himself. "I contained my phone number in the message as well, so call me if that's better for you." Kaito informed the boy as he handed the phone back. Hopefully, now, the boy would not go to drastic measures to get more information out of him.

"Thanks nii-chan." Conan just replied, looking surprised and a little confused at his luck. "I'll be sure to contact you."

"Right" Kaito answered, and smiled gently at him before ruffling the boy's hair and standing up. "Talk to you later, and take care, all of you." He added on, smiling at the other two girls before walking away with a casual wave of his hand.

Conan was…bewildered. Had he just been outsmarted and then shown mercy? What the hell was that guy?! And to top it all off, it turned out that the teen had known this entire time that Conan had been the one to have found the teen being attacked. Which meant… he had known Conan had been lying from the moment they met each other in that alleyway? Dear god this teen was turning out to be way slippier than Conan would have ever imagined.

"Hey brat!" Conan was snapped out of his mini shock as Sonoko yelled into his ear.

"Wha-what?" He grumbled, nursing his ringing ears.

"Are you…okay?" She asked in a rare display of concern. "You just look shocked. Is all."

"Well he…he…" Conan stuttered uncharacteristically, still honestly reeling from the realization "he outsmarted me!" he burst out despite himself. And then turned bright red as he realized he had said this out loud.

That outburst earned him peals of laughter from Sonoko and a chuckle from Ran, making Conan flush deeper in his shame.

"That's what you get for messing with adults!" Sonoko yelled, still laughing, "you sound like you can't believe someone way older than you outsmarted a brat like you!"

"Come now Sonoko, don't laugh so much" Ran added, though unable to contain her own giggles at the cute outburst from the usually composed Conan. "Come on, I'll treat you to cake from Poirot. Maybe you'll feel better that way."

"No it's oka-" Conan didn't get to voice his protest, however, as Sonoko grabbed him by the arm and dragged him inside the café.

"Come on, you'll have to tell us about the detective geek look alike!"

- ch 2. preview

As they settled down at the café, Conan grimaced as, predictably, Amuro came ambling towards them to 'make small talk'.

"So I heard Conan-kun got outsmarted by someone. Is this true?" the man asked as he brought over their drinks.