Backseat Serenade

by The Sand Assassin

Three times Kudou Shinichi arrests Kuroba Kaito, and one time Kaitou KID breaks Shinichi out of jail. Kaishin / ShinKai.

Title: Backseat Serenade

Summary: Three time Kudou Shinichi arrests Kuroba Kaito, and one time Kaitou KID breaks Shinichi out of jail. Kaishin / ShinKai.

A/N: This story is unbeated, but special thanks for Addy01 who took a look at some parts of the original script to tell me it wasn't completely bollocks, and whom recently suggested I should pick this story up to finish it.

The idea of this story comes from a prompt I give a few months back to Poirot Cafe, and I wanted to take a crack on it myself.

I started on this monster back in late March – early April, then let it stew for a few weeks before picking it up again to finish it for Shinichi's birthday in early-May. That clearly didn't happen as I was flooded with school work for preparation for my exams. Again, I wrote on it anew for Kaito's birthday in the middle of June, but that's around the time I'd completely lost my nerve to write anything and so the story fell into a dusty corner of my harddrive. I'm finally done after months of aggravation and there's a clear change of writing styles as I got more and more descriptive, and a lot of the dialogue has been rewritten to keep the story more serious and less childish as well as screening out the worst difference in writing styles to make it flow better.

I hope the story is finally up to your expectations, dear readers, and please do post a comment or a review as to what you think. It would mean the world to me.

Please enjoy!

...

You take me over

I throw you up against the wall

We've seen it all before

But this one's different

It's deliberate

.

You send me reeling

Callin' out to you for more

The value of this moment lives in metaphor

Yeah, through it all

.

Backseat serenade

Little hand grenade

Oh, aren't you sick of sleeping alone?

We're salty on a summer day

Kiss the pain away

To your radio

.

Backseat Serenade, by All Time Low

…

I

The wet, desolate streets of the city rested in silence as the starry black sky wept over it. The water in the portholes shimmered by the glow of the bright, yellow street lamps. The small, green trees on the roadside swayed as the strong breeze hit them.

Above a faded zebra crossing, a traffic light frantically changed colours seeming rather like a disco light. A watchman snored comfortably on his dark brown stool under the protection of his shops' roof. Huge giant buildings stood beside the street, quiet as though taken over by an army of libraries. Some windows gave out white and yellow lights, but the others were pitch black.

Walking at night has always been the pursuit of the lost, the lonely, the deviant and dispossessed. On a Friday night, however, the city was filled with party-goers and the drunk.

Shinichi checked his clock. It blinked 4.30 am at him. Maybe just the drunk then. He lifted the collar of his shirt up, hoping to get some refuge from the drizzle. Droplets of rain pitter-pattered as it hit the roof adjacent to him. He stifled a sigh, a hand coming up to loosen his tie, only to remember that he had lost it somewhere hours prior.

'How had it come to this', he wondered loudly as he staggered down an abandoned street. The stink of alcohol clung to him where someone had accidently dosed him with a sweet red-cocktail earlier. The streetlights blinked half-heartedly above him.

It had all started with an ambush. Sonoko, in her blush ¥656,165 Oscar Del La Renta Organza dress with red flower embroiders, had somehow managed to persuade Ran to infiltrate his house while he was at work. His childhood friend – and ex-love interest – had stood there in a simple, yet elegant, dark-blue ¥12000 Shoshana and a gentle smile. He had been powerless to decline her when all she did was to be worried for him.

That was how he had found himself in bars after bars. Drinking over-priced beer and yelling himself hoarse trying to hold a conversation in a room throbbing with loud music.

The club scene was not his thing. He cherished sitting in the library reading, or holding intelligent conversations with a friend. He scarcely ventured into a club – more often than not due to a crime. Shady deals were made in clubs and it was difficult for him to concentrate on having fun when he saw misconducts in the corner of his eyes.

The sound of a hiss made him stop in his track. His head snapped in the direction automatically. It came from a creek between two buildings. The buzz from the alcohol subsided as adrenaline spiked through him. Had someone been hurt? Before he could utter the command to his feet, he was already half across the street. The shadows embraced him as he slipped into the chill alley.

It took him several moments before his eyes adjusted to the dark. Another hiss echoed between the walls. He ventured further in. Slipping passed a corner, he saw a single light in the distance. It moved every few seconds, as though whoever was holding it could not stay still. It was directed towards a wall.

The hissing persisted.

Shinichi continued forwards, a call already forming on his lips. It died a second later, as the sight finally clicked in his head. The deduction was made factual a second later, as the wall came into view. A large drawing of a local politician as a pig blinked at him. The red paint glistening. The unfinished scribbling read 'Oba is a'.

The air shifted around Shinichi, giving him a three millisecond warning before a hand collided with his back. He dropped, air leaving his lungs as his head smacked into the concrete. A low groan escaped his lips with the last of his breath as pain laced through him, whitening his sight for a moment.

"Get out of here Kono," a voice hooted – close that it could only be his assailant.

A swearing came in the direction of the tagger. Rustling of cloth and metal told him that Kono packed his things. This was followed a second later by the echo of running steps as he disappeared around a corner.

Shinichi's assailant sighed softly before crouching next to his victim. Warm hands ghosted over Shinichi's hand, before two warm fingers pressed against the pulse on his wrist.

The detective took his chance – finally getting his breath back, and the street had stopped spinning – to grab the assaulter's arm, using the leverage to flip them over and press the face into the concrete. He wrenched the assailant's arms back and snapped on a pair of handcuffs.

He winced mentally.

They were not his issued police-cuffs. He had been sworn off taking anything with him whenever he went out with Ran and Sonoko. However, considering how many times a crime occurred in his vicinity, Sonoko had supplied him with 'fun-cuffs' as she liked to call them. In case he required to use them for other purposes. This particular pair had pink fringes.

Shinichi's thoughts were cut short when his captive shifted underneath him. He pressed a knee into his back to keep him still. Pain still throbbing in the back of his neck from the previous assault. He would have one hell of hangover in the morning.

"Stay down."

He stilled – for it was definitely a male. "Do you always wear handcuffs on you? 'cause, that's kinky." He moved his hands tryingly, fingers bending to brush against the pink fur.

Shinichi's eyes followed the motion. Lips tinning as he mentally cursed at Sonoko. He hated his friends.

"Can I ask? Are you done for today, or still looking for a playmate?" The voice came out with a silken purr, making Shinichi flush at the implication.

The detective recoiled as the suggestion flashed across his mind, moving his weight off the criminal.

"That's not it," he stuttered, before taking control over his facial expression with a deep inhale. He patted his jacket for his phone, fully committed to calling this in. If his assailant had attacked him, who knows how many others he had assaulted? This man had knocked him down one-handed, and Shinichi did not trust that those handcuffs could hold him for long.

His pocket proved empty of his mobile - he must have lost it earlier. He swore softly, and looked around. They were all alone in the empty alley. Not even the lights from the blinking street lamps reached them. He glanced down at the body on the ground and mentally reviewed the pros and cons of searching his pockets to see if the felon possessed one.

With another miserable sigh – for this was definitely not Shinichi's impression of what a 'fun night out' was supposed to be, he felt abandoned by his friends who had gone who-knows-where – and crouched next to him. He reached under him and started to pat his pockets.

The criminal made an approving sound as he squirmed in the direction of Shinichi's probing hands. "Why, aren't you just of the kinky sorts? Not my usual position, but I'm game –"

"Shut up," Shinichi bit out, his face flushing darkly in embarrassing. ''And stay still would you? I'm just trying to find your phone.'' His fingers brushed against something hard and plastic, a second later he fished up the phone and leaned back on his heels with a relieved sigh.

The captive had fallen still at Shinichi's withdrawal. He turned his head towards Shinichi - all he could see was dark hair and a glittering eye in the shadows – to peer up at the detective. ''Oy, give that back. What makes you think you can just steal my stuff? Thief!''

Shinichi blinked at the accusation. ''I'm not going to –'' he pinched the bridge of his nose. ''I'll give it back in a second.'' He flipped the phone open and stared at the password message that popped up. It could be anything from three letters to thirteen. ''What's the password?''

The man snorted, there was a tone of steel as he spoke. ''Like I'm going to tell you that.''

Shinichi scowled in response. ''Listen, I've had a really long day. I just want to go home and sleep. So tell me the password so I can call the police and we'll never cross paths again, sounds good?''

There was a pause, before the felon spoke. ''How is that supposed to sound appealing to me? It means I'll go to jail and not get laid. I'll meet you halfway with one out of two,'' he suggested, his voice deepening with a soft and playful tone, however there was hint of danger lurking beneath and the detective got the distinct feeling that the adversary would not go without a fight.

Shinichi dropped the phone, it crunched as it connected with the asphalt. He blinked down, heart beating a pace faster than he would admit, he wondered for a second whether the man was serious or if he was simply messing with him in order to lower his guard. He shook his head a second later, he had definitely been drinking too much if his grip on his mind was so loose.

''That better not be my phone.''

Ignoring him, Shinichi picked up the object. A spider web stretched across the screen. He tried turning it on. No luck. He swore silently. Those iPhones these days were useless.

''I'll buy you a new one.''

He got a growl in response. ''That's my phone. You can't just go around breaking other people's property. That's a felony! Maybe you belong in jail, not me.''

Shinichi snorted. ''I'm not the one who assaulted a police officer.''

The man froze, the one visible eye blinked into the darkness - presumably trying to peer up at Shinichi better. He licked his lips. ''A police officer you say?''

The detective gave a silent nod in reply. Though, technically he was an assistant investigator, however the felon did not need to know that.

"Well, shit."

Shinichi hummed, a smile twitched on his lips. "That's an understatement." He leaned forward and grabbed the man's shoulder before easing him up. "Now, because of certain misfortunate events, it seems I'll have to escort you to the closest station."

The man did not resist at being helped up – he must have been tired of lying on the ground. Shinichi sympathised.

For the first time that night he got a better look at the man as he turned around. Though the shadows made it difficult to see him clearly, he could tell he was young - most probably in his early twenties. Even if he could not see much of his eyes and face, he looked familiar somehow.

The man in the handcuffs did not protest - to Shinichi's surprise - as he grabbed his arm and started to push him towards the exit. He kept throwing Shinichi glances as they fell into a quiet pace.

The detective was vaguely surprised to say the least – though he had not known him for more than five minutes, it somehow felt out of character. Every tensed muscles in the man's body indicated a strong fight of flight response, and his previous blow proved him to be quite a strong and formidable opponent. Every action had pointed in the direction of the possibility of a struggle to being arrested, however he did not seemed inclined to do anything else but cast glances at the detective with glittering eyes and a stoic expression that hid something darker prowling within.

Shinichi swallowed, feeling oddly nervous as the silence persisted for another block, before a large shadow came out from nowhere to block their escape. A large hand fell hard on his captive's shoulder, who cried out in surprise.

Shinichi took a step away, a foot coming up to kick the would-be-assailant, before he recognized the face. He stumbled in surprise as the large form of Nakamori Ginzo frowned at them. Black rings circled his eyes. He looked tired as though he had been on a stakeout all night. The rumbled suit was evidence enough to conclude his observation.

''Kaito, where the hell did you go.'' A second later he seemed to notice the presence of Shinichi, and he straightened with a baffled expression. ''Kudou-kun?''

Shinichi blinked, looking back and forward between - Kaito was it? - and Nakamori. He spouted out a little louder than meant to; ''You know him?'' at the exact same time Kaito cried with a grin; ''look inspector, I made a new friend."

Nakamori blinked, eyes darting between the two. Kaito looked rugged, hair in all direction, and an imprint of concrete on his chin. A few rubbles still clung to his chin. Despite his appearance, he was grinning, clearly enjoying himself with a healthy flush to his cheeks. In contrast, Shinichi looked ready to keel over at any minute. Though his hair looked to be its usual meticulous self - had anything ever been able to mess it up? Nakamor wondered silently - his clothing was wrinkled and a large pool of something red and probably sticky covered his shirt.

Ignoring Kaito, as he looked just fine to him, Nakamori turned to Shinichi. ''What are you doing here Kudou-kun?''

"I was on my way home," Shinichi started, feeling tired. He glanced in the direction of Kaito, whom seemed to have suddenly brighten up. The lights overhead illuminated Kaito's face, and Shinichi was once more struck by how familiar he looked.

Eyes peered at him through the dark fringes of his hair – the colour unidentifiable in the soft glow from the artificial light. There was an odd lightness to his eyes, and a small curve to his lips, as if there were something terribly funny only he was privy to. Something odd spread in Shinichi's stomach at the sight. There was something indecently alluring in the way Kaito was observing him. Something he could not name in his still inebriated state.

Forcing his eyes away he concentrated on Nakamori to hurriedly finish up his tale. ''When I thought I heard someone in pain and followed the sound, and caught the sight of someone tagging when Kaito assaulted me.''

Nakamori grunted, two fingers coming up to pinch the bridge of his nose. ''I'm sorry about this, Kudou-kun. We've been trying locate a gang who has been selling fake graffiti-art. We were on a sting with an informant as bait when Kaito just took off,'' he scowled darkly at the mentioned boy who only shrugged noncommittal. ''I hope you can just forget this all happened.''

Shinichi felt a headache brewing. So he had ruined a sting? Damn. Just the thing he needed to finish off the day. ''If it means I can go home and sleep, sure.''

Nakamori gave a short appreciated nod.

Shinichi gave a last glance at Kaito. He wondered who it was, he was clearly not police or else he would have said something earlier in the alleyway. That left either an informant or consultant, however Shinichi decided he did not need to know. Not with a headache throbbing and a bed calling for him. He mumbled a goodnight and moved to turn away, only to be stopped by a hand gripping his arm. A warm tingle spread under his clothed arm from where his assailant was grasping him.

Turning, he was surprised to see Kaito grinning at him. His eyes gleamed in amusement, and Shinichi had to swallow a lump. Precisely who was this man who seemed to enjoy this cat and mouse gameplay? As though they were standing on a board of chess with a wager of something precious the detective was not aware of. Shinichi blinked in bewilderment, where the comparison had accumulated from he did not know and blamed his inebriated state.

Kaito lifted an arm, holding something up between the detective and himself.

Shinichi's eyes flickered to glance at the item. His face flushed marginally as he recognized his handcuffs. When had Kaito gotten out of them?

''Thought you might want these back, inspector Kudou,'' his grin sharpened with an unspoken challenge, however there were something more grave lurking in his eyes with an unreadable emotion.

Not wanting to analyse the situation any further, he reached up to the snag the cuffs away. He stuttered out a 'thank you', before retreating down the street. Kaito's familiar, glittering eyes followed him down another block.

...

II

"Ten-fifteen, eleven-forty-two, eleven-forty-eight."

The static from the radio filled the otherwise silent car. Assistant inspector Kudou Shinichi eyed it cautiously. Exactly how had he ended up in this situation again? Do not take him wrong, he loved his job. Most of the time. The days he would solve a particularly hard crime or help save a life, or solve a decade old case. Then there were the days were he reconsidered his choice of employment. Somehow – and he honestly had no clue how – he had been manhandled into taking over one of Yumi's patrol shifts. She and Hanada had ran off to who-knows-where. Shinichi had not wanted to know the details.

Police patrols simply were not his most favourite past time activity. Sighing, he reached out to pick up the radio. "Ten-nine."

The static persisted before the voice repeated. "Ten-fifteen, eleven-forty-two, eleven-forty-eight."

Ten-fifteen, civilian disturbance, eleven-forty-two, no ambulance required and eleven-forty-eight requesting transportation.

Shinichi clicked on the speaker. "Ten-sixty-nine." He waited a beat, before continuing, "ten-twenty."

The answer came immediately. "Haido Park, west entrance."

Glancing out of the window, noticing he was only five minutes away and most likely the closest patrol. He clicked on the speaker once more to speak, however the words died on his lips. What exactly was the correct code? He squinted down, positive he had memorized all the codes previously, nevertheless his mind remained blank of the answer.

Grimacing he clicked it anew. "Roger, on my way. ETA, 5 min." He threw the speaker onto the adjacent seat and clenched his fingers around the wheel.

Normally, he would have had a partner; however, Miike had snuck out with an apology as she was to meet up with Chiba for a two-hour luncheon. Good for them, Shinichi had thought initially and let her go gladly with a promise to cover up any suspicion. They would make a good couple.

Perhaps he should not have taken the call, but a lack of reply would be suspicious.

Arriving at the entrance to the park, he manoeuvred his car into an unoccupied spot. Climbing out, the air was filled with the murmur of yapping dogs, bird songs, a baby wailing in the distance and the squabble of teenagers. The entrance of the park was announced with a large metal gate reading 'Haido Park'. Bouts of ivy climbed the poles. Sprouts of several flowers nearly blooming covered the fences and marked out a yellow-brick road – the only safe passage through the park lest you accidently stumble across dog poop or the pre-ritual of mating teenagers.

Stepping into the road with the sun shining down at him and heating his chin, he immediately heard the sound of angry yelling. Turning in the direction, further into the park by one of the fountains of a naked baby with a trumpet, stood a gaggle of people. A man with a green jacket stood in the middle of the fountain, clothes clinging to his body and hair flat from the water. He was waving a hand and yelling angrily.

"I demand retribution!"

By the fountain stood a guard clad in blue. He looked to be moving nervously as though unsure as what to do while trying to calm down the civilian. What appeared to be the green-jacket man's girlfriend fluttered uncertainly while pleading for him to climb out of the cold water.

Further away, another person stood protective above a cluster of small children. He wore a brown-tattered top-hat. Just behind his leg, a black haired girl was wailing. As Shinichi watched, a white dove seated itself upon her shoulder. Instead of increasing the crying, the girl started to giggle instead as it cooed and rub its feathery head against her chin.

The detective pinched the bridge of his nose at recognized the mess to be one of trouble. Once again he reconsidering his choice of employment. If only he had not let Miike go on her date, at least the he would have had backup and not having to deal with this alone. Glancing around, and desperately hoping for another clue that the scene he had been called from was in another direction and not included that – that madness (however he should describe it). No luck. With another miserable sigh, he started briskly towards the commotion.

The guard spotted him immediately, his face brightening up in relief as he noticed Shinichi's badge. He was grey-haired and in his late forties "Thank god," he mumbled and stepped away, motioning Shinichi to take his spot. "I honestly wasn't sure what to do."

The man in the fountain stopped his bawling and turned his scowl from the children to the newcomer. His breath came out in angry puffs as he regarded him. "Well?" he hissed, the anger in his face draining as a smug expression replaced it. "Go on then, arrest him."

Shinichi lifted an eyebrow. Something about the man told him that he was an unpleasant brute. Auburn hair, dark eyes and his nose long but slightly crooked, as if it had been broken and left to its imperfections. He crossed his arms.

"Pardon? I'm here for a civilian disturbance, not to make an arrest unless I seem it fit. Would anyone care to bring me up to speed with the situation?"

The man flushed with anger. He took two steps in Shinichi's direction and held a finger up threateningly. Just as he opened his mouth to respond, a child spoke out. Her voice loud and shrilling in the otherwise mute park.

"He's a big meany!"

The detective turned towards the speaker. It was one of the children hiding behind the top-hatted man. She had a blue ribbon in her light-brown hair. One of her hands were pointed in the direction of fountain-man (which he had been dutifully named in Shinichi's head for the lack of knowing what else to call him). The said man turned to snarl at the child, who yelped and clutched the fabric of her protector's sleeve.

Shinichi's eyes travelled up automatically to regard him, only to come with a stop as he recognized him. It was Kaito. Nakamori's friend from that night a few weeks prior. The morning sun bathed his skin in a soft white light. From underneath the shadows of his hat his eyes glittered with an unreadable expression. Though his face seemed blank and empty of emotions, there was something fierce and protective in the tension of his shoulder. Like a lioness protecting her cubs.

He wore a white shirt and a dark-brown vest. Blotches of paint covered one side of the shirt. A single white feather lay crumbled on top of his shoulder. From within a pocket was a hastily discarded multi-coloured scarf. A street magician?

"Inspector-san?"

Shinichi blinked and turned towards the guard's probing gaze. Someone had spoken while he had been distracted. He shook his head in disappointment of being side-tracked on the job. Now was not the time to be checking out the supposed-adversary.

"Sorry, please repeat," he nodded gratefully at the older man with an apologetic tone.

Just then, the green-jacket man – whom had started to climb out of the fountain – slipped on something and went pummelling back into the water.

The subsequent splash hit Shinichi square in the face.

This was definitely not his day.

…

"So you pushed him into the fountain?"

"Yes," Kuroba Kaito said, not remotely apologetic as he smiled brightly at the detective. "Need another handkerchief?"

Shinichi waved away the offered cloth – bright green this time. He had already borrowed two, a blue and a yellow one, to dry himself off. Asai Ikeda had finally managed to climb out, however had declined any cloth to dry himself off. Shinichi suspected he was trying to get sick simply so he could sue the magician.

A headache throbbed behind his eyes painfully. Shinichi checked his clock. It read 11.34 am. Only six more hours before he was done with his shift. Wonderful.

The previous event had gone as following. Every Saturday morning, Kuroba Katio held a magic show for the local kids. Asai Ikeda and his girlfriend, Arima Juri, had been hit by – what had been described as a – sinister balloon filled with paint. There had been a scuffle and several verbal assaults, before Asai had been shoved into the fountain.

Shinichi looked at the surrounding area. According to witness reports, the scuffle had happened by the trees, several metres away. The leftover paint from the balloon was splattered in a direction leading away from the fountain. Then how exactly had Asai gotten from point A to point B? The only logical solution was –

"So it wasn't accidental."

"Of course not," Kaito scoffed at the indignity of the very idea. "I purposely pushed him into the fountain." He pocketed the rest of his handkerchiefs.

"Hah!" Asai took a step forward to wave a finger into Shinichi's personal space. "I told you he was a felon. Arrest him immediately."

The detective eyed the finger with a scowl, not appreciating the breech of his privacy. Kaito seemed to pick up on the matter as his eyes narrowed darkly within the shadows of his hat. Instead of starting another brawl, Shinichi resolved to take a step back.

"You do realize," Shinichi continued, ignoring Asai's exclaim. "That one can consider that an assault? You can go to jail for this."

The magician gave a noncommittal shrug as though it did not matter, there was a certain tension in the clenched jaw that indicating a more serious personality underneath the light-hearted and carelessness for the gravity of the predicament he was in. Shinichi got the distinct feeling that he was putting on a show, perhaps to calm down the children?

"He asked for it."

Asai face darkened with anger. His lips curled upwards in revulsion. "The fuck did I ask for it? I didn't ask for it, inspector-san. He's lying!" This time a fist was waved in Shinichi's direction.

The detective gave a silent sigh, wanting to rub his forehead to lessen the throbbing headache. "Please, Asai-san. You have already given your statement. Why don't you take a seat with your girlfriend?" He nodded towards Arima who stood rather awkwardly next to the older guard. She gave a thin smile as they turned to regard her.

Asai twitched in displeasure, however he did not – thankfully – argue with a direct order and turned with another scowl and finger waved in Shinichi's direction.

"A lively fellow, isn't he?" Kaito hummed conversationally. A grin stretched across his lips as the detective turned to him once more.

Shinichi huffed in response. "Do you have a habit of assaulting people? Or is my very appearance a bad influence somehow?" He eyed the man carefully.

Kaito seemed more the agile type, less the type to actively beat people up for sport. From what he had understood of the situation, Asai had made threatening moves towards the children. Kaito had simply stepped in to protect them. That, however, did not explain how they had somehow moved half-across the park to end up by the fountain. Such a distance could not be explained away with self-defence so easily.

The magician had the audacity to look brazen. "I guess we are just drawn to each other."

Shinichi raised an eyebrow at the cheesy line and wondered if Kaito been just as an awful flirt back all those weeks ago, and his inebriated state had simply made the detective more compliant. "Really now, does that honestly work?"

Kaito pursed his lips, mirth danced in his eyes. "Honestly? Not really."

"Good, because that was just dreadful."

Kaito laughed, the sound sending Shinichi's heart to skip two beats in surprise. The magician face had brighten up from its previously guarded expression. Somehow they no longer seemed to be an officer and lawbreaker, simply two friends having a laugh at the park. It was utterly disorientating how Kaito seemed to not simply break every wall Shinichi had – he walked right through them as though they did not exist at all. Why did he feel so familiar?

Shinichi shook his head in order to settle his thoughts. "Exactly why did you decide it was a good idea to shove Asai-san into the fountain?"

Kaito inched closer. His eyes flashed with something unreadable as his grin vanished.

The detective felt his throat go dry as an ill-omened feeling spread in his stomach. Not once had he seen him look grave. Whichever reason the magician had, it had to be an applicable one.

Kaito licked his lips slowly, swallowed once and looked directly into Shinichi's eyes. He vaguely noticed the colour of his eyes – they were an interesting shade of indigo as the shadows of the hat danced across them. His heart fluttered as the magician opened his mouth to reveal his secret – the secret that could possibly redeem him. Shinichi could sense he was not a bad person, not if he willingly entertained children in his spare time. There had to be a reason Nakamori had not arrested him that night.

Instead, what came out of Kaito's mouth was not what Shinichi had expected.

"I didn't bring my water gun."

The detective face-palmed mentally. His eyes grew vacate as the gears in his mind tried desperately to keep track of where this conversation had gone. He had not really heard what he thought he had, surely? Perhaps Kaito had spoken to someone else. A quick check of the area showed that they were still alone in their small corner. Neither were the kids close enough to hear the soft spoken words.

Glancing back, Kaito looked expectant at Shinichi. A grin curled on his lips and his eyes glittered in anticipation and mirth. Underneath the amusement, there were something that echoed true about his words. Somehow, for whatever reason, the magician had shoved a man into a fountain because he did not have a water gun available for use.

Shinichi was not sure whether he found that endearing or wanted to squat him in the face. What was the police code for mental unstable individuals again?

"Why?" was the most intelligent thing that escaped Shinichi's mouth.

Kaito's grin flashed as he grabbed the detective's shoulders, an emotion flickered across the magician's face he could only describe as giddiness. "The paint, inspector-san, the paint."

"The paint," he repeated in disbelief, hoping that it would make any more sense coming from his own mouth. It did not.

The magician only nodded more eagerly. "Exactly!" He let go off Shinichi and took a few steps back in order to throw his arms out as he gave his explanation. Which involved sock puppets. A white with green polka dots and a blue with yellow dots and as they popped into existence the children cheered and cooed with the excitement, and Shinichi realized the magician was doing so for the sake of his audience's peace of mind.

"Asai-san was wavering on and on about getting rid of the paint. The only way to do so is with water. My own special component." He gave a playful wink that struck with familiarity in Shinichi's mind for some reason. "So I, as ever the gentleman I am, pushed him into the water." The last sentence was emphasized as he rolled up one of the socks and threw it into the fountain.

Shinichi felt rather flabbergasted in confusion over the whole ordeal. Though the magician seemed to enjoy his show, it felt rather forced to him and he could not exactly put his finger on the wrongness. He got no time to debate on the observation.

Asai snarled in anger. A moment later he tackled the magician. The next couple of seconds were filled with exploding smoke and paint balloons. The children cheered even louder, and Arima looked to be suffering and mourning her choice of date-partners.

Shinichi regretted getting up that morning. A thought that only heightened as a balloon filled with multi-coloured paint splashed across his chest.

Only five and a half hour until his shift ended.

…

"What kind of candy do you like?"

The leather seat squeaked as the owner of the voice moved to lean his head on Shinichi's seat. Breath ghosted over the junction between his shoulder and neck. An involuntary shiver went down his spine. Shinichi flickered his eyes to the rear window to regard the person sitting in the backseat.

A white grin flashed as his car-companion noticed he had caught the detective's attention. Kuroba Kaito's left chin was dotted with yellow and pink paint. Most of his right arm was covered in blue. His hat had been lost somewhere behind them in the park. Its loss made it possibly to regard the man properly for the first time.

A mop of chocolate coloured hair framed a handsome face. Indigo eyes smouldered through the fringes, never once leaving Shinichi's face from the rear-view window. Once again he was struck with familiarity – and not because they looked so alike. Had they possibly met somewhere before? If so, why could he not remember?

He ignored the question. "Exactly who are you, Kuroba Kaito?"

The answering hum came too close to his ear for his liking. "Kuroba Kaito, magician extraordinaire."

Shinichi resisted rolling his eyes. "I already gathered as much."

"Why don't I tell a little about myself then, inspector-san," the grin was audible and the tone spiked with mirth. "I live in Ekoda, I used to date Nakamori-Keibu's daughter Aoko" – that certainly explained how they were acquainted Shinichi thought, ignoring the flutter of his heart – "I did a major in aeromechanic engineering. I like long walks on the beach, except for the finny-things–"

"Aeromechanic?" he prompted in surprise. That was definitely not something he had been expecting. A flicker in the direction of the rear- view mirror showed an amused expression adorning Kaito's face.

"What? It's useful in magic. I'm going to be the greatest flight-dynamic magician in the world," the magician bragged. His voice was laced with pride and wistfulness. "Even greater than Dynamo."

Shinichi felt his curiosity peaked. Kaito was no fool, especially not if he managed to major in aeromechanic engineering. Though the detective did not have much fondness for magicians in general – they all played by fooling the senses. It was the detective's job to find the cracks in the illusions. He had never in his life been able to enjoy a magic show – simply because his mind always tracked the cracks. The only one who had ever been able to best him was the moonlight magician Kaitou KID. For him, the thief's heists were the ideal magic shows. He had to actively look for them and so he could enjoy them better.

"He is the British flying magician is he not?"

Kaito sat up abruptly, when he spoke his voice was filled with uncontained glee and anticipation at the prospect of the detective being a fan. "You know of him? I never thought detectives would care for lowly street magicians."

Shinichi tried not to flush – the reason why lay far beyond his comprehension. "Research," he coughed.

The grin was still audible in Kaito's voice as he asked with unhidden curiosity. Something unnamed also laced the tone. "For Kaitou KID?"

This time, Shinichi failed to keep his blush down. His eyes were strained on the road in front of him. "No," he stuttered, hoping he sounded more sternly than he thought. "I've caught countless magicians I'll have you know. Hoshikawa Dogo, apprentice – and murderer – of Masakage-sama. Miyoshi Mako who murdered her sensei Tsukumo Motoyasu. Just to mention some," he added tersely. "And I'm damn well going to catch Kaitou KID one day too. Put him in the one place he belong just like all the rest of them. Prison."

Kaito inflated in the backseat. There was a soft 'thump' as he sat back properly on his seat. When Shinichi finally gained enough courage to glance in the mirror, he was met with the sight of a pale looking magician. His face was devoid of emotions. There were something distressing and disappointing that read in the way his shoulders hunched together and the clenching of his jaw as though he was battling against the urge to flee.

The detective knitted his eyebrows together in puzzlement. Had he said something wrong?

"Kuroba-san?" he prodded gently, his heart fluttering in his chest at seeing the upset magician. When no response came, he sighed softly. Perhaps, as a fellow magician, Kaito supported KID? His stomach dropped suddenly as realization hit. Here they were, with Kaito in the back seat, on their way to the police precinct. Perhaps Kaito had thought he included him in the equation?

"I didn't mean you," he spluttered feeblemindedly. "I'm not going to throw you in jail. I just needed an excuse to get out of that madness. We just taking a trip to the station to write a report, remember?" He tried a reassuring smile, however it most likely came out as a grimace. "I meant criminals, not magicians."

Kaito's expression was unreadable as he regarded the detective. There were something cold and hard as steel in his eyes. A few seconds felt like eternity, before he finally smiled – showing all his teeth. It did not reach his eyes. "Naturally." He turned his head away, and Shinichi sighed.

Only four and a half hours more until the shift was over.

A pregnant silent settled over the car once more, only broken by the static from the police radio and the soft humming of k-pop from the radio that Yumi played on repeat – he had not figured out how to turn it off as of yet.

The detective focused fully on the driving. They were still twenty minutes away from the closest police station. The street milled with locals, visitors and tourists lurking around looking for a place to dine for lunch or maybe just some shelter from the warming sun. There were several Yoshinoya and CoCo Ichiban restaurants scattered across the motorway on their right, and Shinichi stomach growled with hunger as the smell of cooked food drifted into the car. From the crack of the window, they heard the murmur of voices from the busy crowd and one or two cars honking in the distance.

"Hey! That old lady just got mugged."

Shinichi clamped the breaks, the sudden stop had the inhabitants of the car jolting forwards. The car behind him honked angrily. Ignoring it, Shinichi turned in his seat to locate the problem. Kaito had moved from his seat to press his face against the window – revealing a rather large splotch of purple mixed with green paint on his back and part of his neck. His eyes followed the direction of Kaito's gaze.

An elderly woman lay on her stomach. A youth sprinted away from the scene, shoving a couple away as he ran. A yellow purse were clutched under his arm.

Swearing, Shinichi's hand went to unbuckle the car-belt. He vaguely registered a door slamming shut. His fingers clawed at the door, before pushing it open. He strode out, only to have to jump back as a car drove by.

The owner of the car behind him honked angrily again, reminding him that he had stopped in the middle of a busy street.

Raking a hand through his hair, he went over the situation mentally. It would be too late to run after the culprit – he would be long gone by now. But at least he could help the elderly woman issuing a theft report. Hopefully she had seen him and could identify the perpetrator. First thing first, he needed to get his car off the road. He could not block it for much longer. Thankfully, there was an open spot within eyesight.

Decision made, the detective climbed back into the car. He manoeuvred the vehicle into the vacant spot and turned his eyes to the rear mirror – to thank Kaito for his warning.

He froze, sucking in a sharp breath. He turned in his seat, neck snapping from the sudden whiplash.

The backseat was empty.

Damn. In his distraction, Kaito had taken his shot to vacate the premises. Curling his fingers, Shinichi swore loudly. He had let down his walls, somewhat trusting the magician. He had never shown any disposition for escape and had willingly seated himself in the car. Lulled Shinichi into a sense of trust before betraying him.

Hurt laced through the detective. Kaito might have been a criminal of whatever sorts, but he had liked the man. He was honest, and had a wicked sense of humour. If he had not been the arresting officer, they might have been able to be friends. Or so Shinichi had been led to believe. Stupid, stupid. Being manipulated by a 'criminal' was a rookie mistake. Nothing could excuse his actions. He could lose his job over this.

He should have driven Kaito to the police station while he had the chance.

A knuckle knocked on the window, startling Shinichi from his panicked line of thoughts. Blinking, his eyes darted to the window. Worried, indigo eyes peered at him from the passengers-seat's window – all tension evaporated as though their previous conversation had never occurred.

Shinichi exhaled sharply in surprise, his eyes growing large as he stared at Kaito. Silently, he reached out to open the door.

An elderly woman stood next to the magician, a gash bled from her forehead. She clutched a yellow purse in her hands.

The detective gaped, his thinking capacity reduced to none-existence as he tried to make sense of the situation.

"You alright, Kudou-Keiji?" Kaito sounded out of breath. His hair stood in all directions, the white shirt was wrinkled with grey spots where someone had grabbed it with dirty fingertips. His lips curled downwards in concern and nervousness as the silence continued. His shoulders tensed marginally.

Kaito opened his mouth to say something, however the elderly women spoke up. Her voice far calmer than Shinichi would have thought. Her voice was spiked with amused irritation.

"Not that I don't enjoy your staring contest. But would you be as kind as to get me to the local medical-centre? I really need to have this wound examined. Why not do my theft report at the same time? Kill two birds with one stone and all that."

Shinichi nodded silently, not trusting his voice. He silently withdrew every bad word he had thought about Kaito, guilt lazing through him at the realization that he had jumped to conclusion without considering all the facts – and for mentally calling him a criminal. He had never acted anything but honourable.

Shinichi kept his eyes locked at the magician as he climbed back into the backseat in the rear-window.

Exactly who was Kuroba Kaito?

…

Almost an hour had passed before everything was sorted out, and they were once more driving towards the police station. In the backseat, Kaito slumbered. His mouth half open and some spit had accumulated in the corners of his lips.

It was not remotely endearing, Shinichi told himself sternly.

Kaito jolted suddenly, eyes flipping open as his eyes darted back and forward. For a second, panic flashed across his face, before landing on Shinichi's reflection in the rear-mirror. Shinichi could clearly see when comprehension of the situation settled in on the magician's face.

The detective felt guilty for leaving him in the car. "Nightmare?"

The magician's lips curled upwards, devoid of humour. "Something like that." He stretched, a loud yawn escaping his lips.

Shinichi's eyes dipped down automatically to trace the glimpse of skin. A second later he tore his gaze away to concentrate on the road. It had definitely been an interesting morning. He truly could not wrap his head around who Kuroba Kaito was. He was unpredictable. Something which sent a thrill through Shinichi. Very few people in his life could completely baffle him. He had encountered so many criminals that they had all slid into a slop of the exact same beings. Forming relations were hard when he was constantly looking for misdemeanour.

"You have had every chance to escape. Why didn't you?"

Amusement flashed in Kaito's eyes as he leaned forward. His lips stretched into a familiar grin. The grin he had worn the day they had first met. The one that conveyed there was a joke only he was privy to.

"You caught me fair and square, inspector-san," he purred, the sound sounding as though it was spoken directly into Shinichi's ear. "Would be dishonest of me to escape your clutches."

Another shiver went down Shinichi's spine. His heart fluttered in surprise as something warm spread through his chest. He could definitely not argue with that logic. If only a certain phantom thief would live by the same philosophy.

Kaito's eyes glittered in amusement all the way down to the precinct.

…

III

"We really need to stop meeting like this," Shinichi pinched the bridge of his nose. The sound of an alarm wailed in the background.

By his feet, Kuroba Kaito sat larcenously. He gave a small yawn before peering up at the detective. A grin curled his lips as mischief danced in his eyes. "How else could I get you to come out and play? A normal meeting would be so boring anyway."

Shinichi resisted the urge to roll his eyes. "You're lucky I was the one who picked up the call." He eyed the situation carefully. The previous 'arrests' had been easy to clear up, Kaito had simply tried protecting someone. But this? This could not be easily covered up. Not that he wanted to, that would mean breaking a law. He just simply did not wish to see Kaito incarcerated.

Giving up, Shinichi rubbed his forehead. Why had he gotten so attached to a person he barely knew? And an eccentric magician with no self-preservation at that. The thought of arresting Kaito left a sour feeling in his stomach. He glanced in the direction of the red-bricked house and cleared his throat.

"Why did you decide breaking into a house was a good idea?"

By his feet, Kaito shifted in what he assumed was unease; however, he looked quite relieved to see the detective and had brighten up since he spotted him instead of a number of unfamiliar police officers. "The entire thing is Aoko's fault, I swear. She asked me to get a few papers from her office and I didn't have time to get to it before now. But that Ahoko gave me the wrong password for the alarm, and now I can't get in contact with her." He waved a phone that was clutched in his right hand.

Relief spread through Shinichi's insides. At least Kaito was not a thief. If they could contact this Aoko and clear things up, then Kaito would go free. That was, if he was not lying. ''Alright, that's good. Where is your friend right now?"

''In England. With her boyfriend.''

The throbbing headache increased. ''You are going to be the death of me, you know that?" He glanced around. If no one could verify Kaito's words, then he had no other choice but to bring him down to the station.

Kaito lifted himself up from the ground. A large smile was stretched across his face as though nothing was wrong and his eyes shone with something Shinichi could only describe as giddiness. "That's a really annoying sound. How much electricity does that alarm use you do think? Aoko is going to kill me for the bill. I'll just go turn it off."

Shinichi grabbed his arm before he could leave, Kaito fell still as he inhaled sharply. Indigo eyes turned around to gaze at Shinichi with an unreadable expression. Something flickered across his face too fast for Shinichi to comprehend, leaving his mouth feeling a little dry.

"Do you," he cleared his voice, "know the code?" He tried not sounding hopeful. If Kaito knew it, then they could turn this down immediately and there would be no need to escort him down to the precinct.

Kaito's grin flashed and the detective got a vague feeling he was laughing at him. "Nope. But I know how to disable an alarm."

Shinichi tried desperately not to face-palm. "That's breaking and entering, Kuroba. I'll pretend I didn't hear that."

The magician's lips shot forward in a mock pout that looked both childish and somehow oddly charming at the same time and made the detective's heart flutter.

"If you knew how to disable an alarm, how did you trip it in the first place?" Shinichi mused loudly in curiosity to ignore the offbeat warmth spreading in his chest.

A surprising blush crept across Kaito's face. His eyes flickered away to stare at something above Shinichi's head. He muttered something darkly under his breath.

The detective blinked in bewilderment, pondering Kaito's reaction to his teasing words. If he had not known better, he could have sworn the magician was embarrassed at being caught red-handed as though he had made a fumbling mistake.

He shook his head to disperse the thought. That would mean Kaito was a burglar as well as an assaulting brute. He could not believe something like that about Kaito. He seemed a truthful person that genuinely cared about others, as previous actions had conveyed. He was not a lowly criminal, Shinichi was sure of it.

He sighed. "Come on then. I have to escort you down to the precincts until we can sort this out. I promise not to write a report."

Kaito cocked his head, his eyes searching Shinichi carefully with an unreadable expression, before a smile bloomed on his face. "Thanks inspector-san."

Shinichi coughed in embarrassed. His heart fluttered on its own again as it was prone to do in the magician's presence. Kaito's smiles were strangely endearing. "You don't have to call me with honorifics, Kuroba. I'm not actually an investigator yet, just an assistant."

The magician beamed, something soft flickered across his eyes as his face brightened in happiness. "Will do Shinichi."

A flush crept from Shinichi collar to tint his cheeks a cherry pink at Kaito's familiarity, as though they had been friends for long time. He opened his mouth to protest at the assumption, but closed his mouth a second later. He decided he did not mind, he had been calling the magician 'Kaito' in his head from the start.

"Shot-gun!" Kaito suddenly called with a buoyant grin and was already climbing into the front seat before Shinichi could blink.

He raked a hand through his hair and simply shook his head, deciding to just let it go. He turned and followed. Kaito's eyes glittered in anticipation as Shinichi took his seat, clearly expecting a rebuke.

"Put your seatbelt on," was all Shinichi had to say on the matter. The answering smile was worth bending the protocols. It was not as though he was arresting him.

…

"You know that night we met in the ally?"

Shinichi nodded, eyes flickering towards his car-companion. "I said I was sorry. I'll pay you for the phone –"

"That's not what I meant," Kaito hummed. He shifted his upper body to address the detective better. A smile twitched in his lips and his eyes shone with playfulness, and Shinichi suddenly got a foreboding feeling. "Those handcuffs –"

"No," Shinichi interjected briskly. His cheeks flushed a dark maroon. He did not want to think about that evening. He had been entirely too intoxicated at the time. "We are not talking about that."

The magician opened his mouth to argue, however he was interrupted as the radio let out a string of incomprehensible static. Kaito brightened up, and with a mischievous quirk to his lip, he reached out to pluck the receiver up.

Shinichi reached out and slapped his hand, feeling rather silly the second he did as though they had both reverted back to childhood. "Don't you dare," he groused darkly. "I'm driving you to the precinct, and nothing more."

Kaito pouted again, and once more, he got the distinctive feeling he was talking to a child or an energetic puppy. He honestly could not pin point exactly who and what drove Kaito to do what the magician did. One minute grave and serious, the next charming and spirited. "But Shinichi. A maiden could be in trouble and in the need of our assistance –"

"No," he settled his gaze back on the road. Still confused over the mysterious ordeal clouding his passenger. They barely knew each other, but still he had the distinct feeling that Kaito knew something he did not, and his bubbly personality was just a front for his true emotions. As though if he were anything else, people would look too closely. The observation made Shinichi's heart ache with sympathy as he had gone through something similar in his two years of being Edogawa Conan. He wanted to ask, however he did not feel he had any right to Kaito's tale.

"I'm not your babysitter," he settled to say instead, unsure how to react to Kaito's odd behaviour. "Police work is perilously –" he flickered his eyes in the direction of the magician as he started on his lecture, only to see that Kaito had grabbed the receiver once more. The detective considered hitting the breaks, but swallowed the instinct.

"Kaito," he growled in warning, getting a foreshadowing feeling in the pit of his stomach.

The magician turned his head to look at the detective with eyes dancing with pleasant surprise, and Shinichi realized it had been the first time he had used his first name and kept down at the flush from the magician's reaction over such a small thing.

It was why he did not comment further as Kaito spoke into the radio despite the break of protocol, and the chiding he knew he would receive from his superiors. Kaito was definitely being a bad influence on him. He shook his head in bewilderment at the realization that he for some reason trusted the magician and long since stopped looking for cracks in Kaito's façade for misdemeanours.

Kaito finally finished his radio call and turned back to the detective with a quivering smile as he fidgeted in a way that could only be described as 'nervously'. "There has been some disturbance by a housing complex by the docs, we are the closest. Let us take a look, I promise to behave."

Shinichi eyed him carefully.

…

The block of apartments were a part of the shabbier neighbourhoods in Beika. The tatty, red paint was peeling off the walls. A few windows were broken where someone had smashed it with rocks from the outside.

A single street light flickered overhead.

"Nice apartment," Kaito hummed conversationally, his voice light with an undefinable emotion as he sat up to peer closer at the building. Shinichi thought it might have been of anticipation. "I bet 1000 ¥ that this is about drugs and hookers."

Shinichi shot him an annoyed look. "Betting is illegal. We – you are not breaking another law today."

Kaito's grin flashed in the dim light as he turned to regard the detective, his eyes a pool of indigo and swimming with an unnamed emotion. "But it's fine tomorrow?"

The detective supressed the twitching urge to roll his eyes in exasperation. "Just be quiet and stay in the car, Kuroba."

Kaito blinked, his brows knitting together as displeasure etched itself into his face. "That is not what we agreed on."

"I said I would take you. I never said you could accompany me in. Now stay," he climbed out of the car, shut the door and locked the vehicle before Kaito could protest. Thankfully police issued car has a deadbolt lock to keep criminals from escaping. He simply felt guilty for letting himself be manipulated into bringing the magician with him. He would not put him in any harm's way.

As he left, he could feel eyes drill into his back, and hear the magician call after him: "locking children in cars is illegal."

…

The first thing that waves towards him as he entered the hallway was the thick odour of smoke and dirt. Every step created a puff of dust in its wake. He supressed the urge to cover his mouth. The call had been of a disturbance from an apartment on the second floor – of loud arguments and banging on the walls.

Shinichi sighed, if he had taken Kaito's bet, he would have surely lost. He wondered for a few second as to how he had gotten into this predicament – a seventeen-year-old detective, then a seven-year-old taking down an international crime organization, top scores from the university, junior investigator before he turned twenty-one and now answering domestic abuse calls.

"I suppose police work isn't always excitement," he mumbled to himself as he knocked on the door to apartment 64.

Nothing happened for a long moment, no noise from the inside and he started wondering if he had received the wrong address. The door eventually cracked open and he could only see the whiteness of an eye from the crack.

"What do you want?" a hoarse voice asked, clearly male and with a quiver of nervousness.

The hair in the back of Shinichi's neck stood and he got a foreboding feeling that something was wrong. He narrowed his eyes, trying to get a better view of the room, however the body obscured everything. He forced a calm and polite smile.

"Someone called in a disturbance. Everything alright, sir?"

The door slammed in his face and he could hear the cluttering of a chain as the culprit bolted the door. The inspector sighed – so much for politeness. He grabbed after the police radio on his belt to report the situation. There was a creak from the floor behind him and did not have the time to turn as something hard and metallic– from how it sang through the air – hit him in the back.

The light flickered off, sending him tumbling into darkness.

…

The pain throbbed in the back of his head and his mouth tasted of iron. Shinichi repressed the urge to groan lest he alerted his assailants of his return to consciousness. His mind was scattered into a disarray of contradicting thoughts as he wondered how he had gotten into this predicament, all the while wondering how he had not spotted the rhino in the tutu behind him earlier (logically he knew he had never seen the attacker, and a rhino could not possibly have had access to the floor).

There was a loud noise next to him and he could not subdue the subsequent flinch.

Thankfully, no one payed him any attention and the rapid talking of voices drifted in and out of comprehension.

"What are we going to do, man?" said a voice he vaguely recognized as the man who had opened the door." The cops are onto us. We are dead!"

There was the sharp sound from flesh against flesh and Shinichi deduced that someone had slapped him.

"Calm yourself down," hissed a sharp, feminine voice in reply. "You are no help to anyone."

Shinichi opened his eyes slightly and he peered through his eyelashes. He was in a small bedroom. He tried to move his arms, but unsurprisingly discovered he was tied to a chair. It was an uncomfortable chair at that, and the wood poked him in the shoulder.

He tried glancing around the small space in the search for tools to guide him in an escape without alerting his captures. He could vaguely see the blurry contour of a wardrobe and a bed. The same time he saw the body, his nose started to itch with the sweet fragrance he associated with a pre-decomposing corpse.

He did not let himself focus on the fact he was sharing a small bedroom with a deceased and he let his eyes drift back to the movements outside the half-opened door – there was a time and a place for everything.

Shinichi barely got the glimpse of a man in his mid-twenties; hair cropped short and sporting a two-day stubble on his chin. His eyes were wide and frighten. Either the death had been accidental, or the unidentified woman was the mastermind.

The detective's stomach dropped when he remembered he had not arrived to the facility alone, and he prayed to gods he barely believed in, that the kidnappers had not checked his car. Most of all he prayed that the body in the bed did not belong to Kuroba Kaito. With a hammering heart, he threw caution in the wind as he strained his neck to get a better look at the bed. He had to know.

It was a man in his mid-twenties, long dark hair and a round face.

Relief flooded through him and he exhaled sharply. Kaito was safe – for now. He felt like a fool and berated himself for his earlier rash decisions. Why had he let himself be manipulated by the magician into taking him with him so easily? His job was too dangerous for a civilian. He should not have brought him with him. However, there were something alluring with Kaito's dry wit and buoyant grins that made his heart flutter, and Shinichi somehow felt as though no bad could befall them as long as they were together.

He had been secretly starting to consider the magician a friend despite the unlucky and peculiar circumstances they kept encountering each other. But now? When he got out, he would apologise profoundly for putting Kaito in harm's way and cut whatever friendship that had been blossoming between them. There was not any discussion of if, he had to escape. Two lives were at stake.

Locking Kaito in the car had felt satisfying at the time, but now he regretted the action as the magician was a sitting duck. If he was harmed, the detective would never forgive himself, and the mere thought sent a cold shiver down his spine in fear.

"Let us just kill the copper and get out of dodge," sneered a female voice as the door was slammed open and a tall woman entered. She had a sharp face with a smudge of blood on her cheek. Eyes wide and hair tied up in an untidy bun. There was a hint of redness around her eyes, indicating a history of substance abuse.

In her right hand she was clutching a 9mm handgun.

Shinichi tensed, all pretence of unconsciousness gone and adrenaline flooded his system. His eyes flickered across the room and his fingers curled into the knot of rope binding his hands looking for weak points.

"Wait, hang on! Shana –"

As the man's face surfaced in the doorway, Shana slammed her fist into his jaw and he stumbled backwards with a painful cry.

"Shut it, you moron. You just revealed my identity," she hissed venomously, her gaze never flinching from Shinichi. Her eyes shone dark with rage, and the detective felt his stomach drop – Shana was clearly an unstable and dangerous individual.

"I'm sorry," came the answering gasp from the other room in a muffle as the man must have covered his mouth.

"You don't have to do this," Shinichi finally spoke with a soft, placating tone. He let himself look defenceless and friendly, all the while cursing his bad luck. Had he really survived the Apotoxin 4869, two years of hiding as a child, being shot and kidnapped multiple times from dangerous individuals and poked and prodded by Haibara only to die here by a crazed drug addict? It felt like a rather disappointing and anticlimactic ending.

The only response he got was the click from the gun as she removed the safety.

Shinichi clenched his jaw, eyes glued on the finger. If he was lucky he could topple the chair just in time for the bullet to miss its target. It would only save his life for a few more moments, hopefully that would be all he needed – and if he failed, at least he had bought Kaito some extra, precious seconds.

His fingers worked desperately against the tied knot. "You really don't want to do this," he tried again in order to buy him some time. "If you kill one of their own, the police will never stop hunting you."

That provoked a feral grin from Shana, and for a moment, she resembled a sick dog. Her teeth bared and her voice rose a few vocals: "I don't care," and pulled the trigger.

The moment he saw the tension in her arm, the detective threw his weight against the armchair and the momentum sent him hurling to the ground. His fingers and left hand was squeezed between the chair and the floor and the pain erupted in an electric jolt. The skin teared and he felt the moistness of blood through the pain filled haze.

Above him started the bangs and sizzling from bullets being rabidly shot and in the middle there was a gasp and the sound of glass breaking. Shinichi squeezed his eyes shut, ready for the feeling of bullets penetrating his body.

The pain never came and the noise from the gun ended abruptly as something heavy hit the ground. Someone screamed hoarsely from another room. There were was a long silence, before heavy breathing reached the detective and a second later he felt shaking fingers graze his face and shoulder.

"Shit," mumbled a quivering voice.

Shinichi's eyes fluttered open in surprise, his heart hammering as the adrenaline kick still soared through his veins with the remainder that he was not dead. That once again he had somehow survived a perilous situation.

"Thank god," breathed the voice in relief as warm fingers pressed against Shinichi's jaw. Another hand traced his body searchingly and the motion send a not entirely unpleasant shiver down the detective's spine.

"Stay with me, okay? Don't go into the damn tunnel," the familiar voice groused out, but there was a clear tremble of panic laced in the tone.

Understanding jolted through Shinichi as he realized the owner of the voice thought he had been shot. He turned his head to gaze up at the concerned expression of Kuroba Kaito, and the last of his tension drained out from the relief that his friend was safe and sound.

Kaito's hair was a more mess than usual, and his cheeks were covered with red blotches from either exercise or anxiety. His indigo eyes were more intense than usual – the detective forgot how to breathe for a full moment as their eyes met.

Shinichi opened his mouth to let him know he was unharmed, when the words died on his lips as the picture finally clicked odd in his mind. Exactly how had Kaito escaped the police car – a vehicle whose whole purpose was to keep people locked in? There was no movement from within the apartment indicating that someone with access to a key had released him.

Then how?

The detective's eyes finally rested on a familiar white object – the trademark, manufactured card gun wielded by only one individual, and the breath in his throat hitched in shock. His body tensed at the sudden revelation that met him.

Kuroba Kaito was none other than the elusive phantom thief, Kaitou KID.

Betrayal stung painfully in his chest and he flinched away from the probing hands. Had the thief just been messing with him all this time? It certainly explained the glances and mysterious smiles cast in the direction of the detective whenever the magician thought he was not looking. Shinichi's stomach churned at the thought that he had been misled and tricked since the start. He had started to genuinely care for the lying prick. Heists was one thing, fair game and they were both trying to outmatch each other. But this? This was treachery.

Kaito tried following the movement, but froze when Shinichi growled in warning.

"Don't touch me."

There was a crestfallen flicker in Kaito's eyes before his face smoothed out to betray nothing. He leaned back on his heels and tension made his shoulders quiver. With a slick movement, the cardgun disappeared from view a second later.

Shinichi managed to tear his arm from the bindings and he cradled his hand as he sat up. A soft curse escaped his lips as the limb throbbed painfully. He hoped he had not broken anything in the fall.

"Shinichi," Kaito – or KID or Kuroba or whatever he was supposed to call him now – started with a concerned voice as he spotted the blood-covered hand, however Shinichi cut him short with a sharp bark void with humour.

"I think you lost the right to address me as such, Kuroba," he hissed the name, wondering if it really was his true name or if even Nakamori Ginzo had been deceived.

Kaito twitched, and the unhappy frown shown through the cracks of his mask as his hands fluttered out to reach for the detective, only to wilt halfway and fall back into his lap. "Can I –"

"No," he growled, however this time the thief did not let it dissuade him as he continued.

" – at least be allowed to explain myself?"

"No," Shinichi repeated and stood on wobbling feet. He glanced around and noticed bullet holes and cards scattered across the wall. The lone window behind him was broken and the glass lay scattered across the floor. Leaning against the doorframe was Shana; she was fast asleep where Kaito had knocked her out – the unnamed man lay unconscious beyond his reach of sight.

Shinichi glanced down where the thief was still kneeling on the floor. There was a disarray of feelings flickering in his eyes – relief that the detective was not dying, hurt and a few he could not interpret. His stomach twisted painfully as all he could see was Kaito and that the image had not been switched out with that of the phantom thief.

He forced himself to look away and clenched his jaw in anger and confusion. His thoughts were too scattered and muddled with pain and shock to take in the situation. How had he not noticed that Kuroba Kaito and Kaitou KID was the same individual? He had been blind sighted by a friendly smile and smothering eyes.

"Get out," he gritted between his teeth, the correct action would be to arrest him here and now as he had vowed to do. However, that would mean he would have to spend another minute with the deceiving thief, and a part of him still ached with the thought of seeing Kaito behind bars despite the feeling of betrayal burning in his stomach. What sort of game had the thief been playing with him?

Kaito stood slowly, his arms raised to show he meant no harm and a crease curled on his forehead. "Are you –"

"You saved my life. We are even. Leave before I change my mind."

They stood staring at each other for only a second, but it felt like it lasted an eternity as pain flickered through Kaito's face. His lips quivered with an emotion he could not comprehend, before he dropped his head and drifted out the room with quick steps.

Just as he passed Shinichi, his hand brushed against Shinichi's arm and the detective flinched away as though he had been burned. As the door clicked behind him, he started searching for his police radio and collecting the deck of cards, all the while ignoring the painful gnawing in his stomach and the twist in his heart that was somehow even worse than the pain from his bleeding hand.

…

+1

Everything felt hazy, as though it came from a disconnected world. Or a television. The colours smutched together into unidentifiable blobs whenever he tried to focus on something. His mouth felt as though someone had filled it with moisture-sucking cotton.

Shinichi groaned softly, a hand coming up to palm his left eye. He winced as pain laced through him from the contact, and he turned his head to scramble over the reeling of the bed he was laying across. His stomach convulsed as he dry-heaved.

After a full minute he sunk back against the bed. It felt hard underneath him, sharp angles digging into his shoulder blade. He reached out for his blanket, however his fingertips brushed only against chipped fabric. This was definitely not his bed.

Shinichi forced his eyes to open. They reluctantly followed the order, his left eye less willing than the other. His vision was not as compliant as only blotches of white haze was visible. Pain started to trickle through him from the strain, and he let his eyelids fall shut. Reaching up, he brushed his fingertips searchingly around his left eye. It felt swollen, each careful touch bringing forth a tingle of pain. It did nothing to relieve his headache.

Have I been in a fight? Shinichi mused silently. Was that why he felt as though someone had driven over him with a truck, twice? He rummaged through his memories, however they were filled with nothing but a white haziness. The last thing he could remember was Ran laughing at something someone said.

The throbbing of a headache led him to let go of the image. He could think about it later, he just wanted to succumb to sweet oblivion for a while. With that in mind, he could feel his body starting to relax and darkness and numbness creep into his mind.

Shinichi exhaled deeply, forcing himself to focus on the feeling.

He would have eventually fallen asleep, had it not been for the sound of creaking and metal against metal. There was a soft swoosh before ice-cold late-winter air sighed across the room. Shinichi shivered under his blanket as the coldness embraced him.

Something heavy collided with his stomach a second later, and he was forced to rid himself off every ounce of air he possessed.

Shinichi shot out of bed in half panic. His fingers probing his skin to look for any marks or stickiness that indicated that he was bleeding. However, when no excruciating pain laced through him – other than a swimming head – he relaxed to sink back upon the surface he had been laying on. He was still gulping for air, trying to calm down his erratic heart. For a second there, he had been sure Gin was still at large and had located him.

"Oh good, you are awake," an entirely too cheerful voice said. It echoed across the bare walls. Though the voice sounded perfectly joyful, there was a spark of uncertainty and worry laced through it, as though the speaker had winced at Shinichi's reaction.

The detective forced himself to focus on his surroundings. It was dark, the only light illuminating the room came from the window. Nevertheless, he could see well enough to identify the grey colour of the walls. The room looked to be about 6x9 meters long, and only big enough to house the small bed Shinichi was sitting on and an iron-coloured toilet. The door adjacent to him seemed to be thick; cemented or laced with metal. Probably both. There were no visible doorknob to open the door with, only a hatch which could be used to observe whomever occupied the room.

It's a judas door, sudden realization flooded through him as the image finally clicked. His next reaction was to swear soundly. He was in a jail cell. Hopefully in a police precinct and nowhere else more dangerous.

His heart throbbed in his throat at the thought, and he curled his fingers tightly where they lay on his lap. First thing first, he needed to recover the memory as to how he had gotten into this predicament. He had clearly been in a fight and Ran had been there. His body tensed. Where was Ran? He looked around, however he was still alone in the small cell.

Did that mean she was alright? That whoever had gotten him had not caught her as well? Assuming it was not the police of course. No, think rationally Shinichi. Always assume the worst. He rummaged through his inventory. He still had his shoes and tie on. No one had removed his wristwatch. Alright, that was good. He could work with that if he needed to break out.

Shinichi stood, his feet wobbled marginally under him but kept his weight. He stepped towards the door to inspect it, hoping to find a clue as to which scenario where true. It was then that he realized his fatal mistake. He had somehow forgotten that he was not alone; someone had been watching him. He had simply overlooked it after panicking and finding no trace of anyone else in the room with him.

Ducking, he pushed himself against the nearest wall. He flickered up the lid on his watch and held it up to his face as he searched the premises once more.

Something shimmered in the window, and his eyes snapped in the direction to follow the movement. It was a small window, barely large enough for someone slim to slither through. Though there were no glass window attached to it, he could tell it had been recently removed. Had that been the sound he had heard earlier?

As he observed the window, a head popped into the space. A familiar flop of hair hidden underneath a white top hat. Half the face was covered in shadows, except for the monocle covering the left eye. It seemed to reflect non-existing light with a playful gleam.

There were something odd with the sight, something missing, and it took Shinichi a few seconds before he realized what was wrong. The usually tell-tale grin was missing.

"Are you alright, Shinichi?"

The detective forced himself to relax as the intruder was identified as non-threat. His grip on his watch lessened and he eventually dropped his arm a few moments later. Dumbfounded confusion must have shown on his face, because Kaitou KID – no Kaito – expressed worry with a soft inhale.

"I thought so. I knew you would be disoriented and confused at waking up in an unfamiliar situation such as this. But rest assure, Kaitou KID is to the rescue – "

Shinichi scrambled up from the floor, his feet kicking something that hit a wall with a soft 'thump'. Though he had been surprised at seeing Kaito, and relieved at seeing a friendly face despite the anger he felt towards the thief for his earlier deceit, his worst fears had been exposed. He had been caught by someone if it ventured Kaito's involvement – after all their last meeting had not parted them as friends. The questions of 'how long had he been here' and 'who had captured him' swam around his head. However, there were only one question that mattered above them all. And his voice came out shaken and hastily as he voiced it.

"Is Ran alright? Please tell me Ran is safe."

The smile dropped from Kaito's face as alarm spread across his features. He inhaled sharply as he opened his mouth to respond, however Shinichi beat him to it.

The detective's stomach had dropped at seeing the magician's alarmed expression. Thoughts of worst-case scenarios filled his head. Had Ran been killed? Was she in a similar cell like him somewhere he could not reach her? It was all his fault, why could he not remember anything? Bile rose in his throat as his stomach convulsed in fear.

His feet wobbled underneath him, and he let them collapse a second later as his weight felt impossible to hold. He vaguely heard Kaito saying something in the distance, however the words did not register beyond the sound. Shinichi could live with a lot of things, losing Ran was not one of them. He had not spent two years as Conan to lose Ran now. It was his job to keep her safe from everything, no matter what. And now he had failed?

He gulped for air, his lunges seeming to malfunction for the time being. He told himself to think rational, he needed to escape first then he could break down. Nevertheless, the sensible part of him could not make itself coherent in the jumble of panicked emotions tumbling around.

Shinichi flinched away as the door suddenly opened with a creak. He rolled to the side to make himself a small target as possible – hoping against everything that Kaito had been sensible enough to hide – and held up his arm to point his wristwatch towards the intruder. This was his one chance to escape.

Light flooded in through the gap, effectively blinding him. The caricature of a person stepped into the doorway and relief flooded through the detective. It was only one person, he could definitely stop one. He sprang the contraption on his watch, letting the needle free.

To Shinichi's horror, his adversary seemed to have predicted the shot as the person evaded it smoothly. All the while swearing soundly.

"Geezus, Shinichi. Calm down will you? You could poke someone's eye out with those needless of yours."

Shinichi blinked in confusion, his mouth opening to gawk incomprehensible as his eyes finally got used to the bright light.

Kaito stood in the doorway, the hat and monocle missing. He looked edgy and worried, ready to flee or fight, depending on the situation. He changed the weight from his left to his right foot as he stepped into the room. He eyed the detective carefully, his arms spread out with the palms up to show he meant no harm.

"Everything is alright," the magician spoke softly as though talking to a frightened animal. His expression looked guarded, still unsure if his words were registering. "Ran is safe. I promise. No one is hurt."

Slowly, the tension in Shinichi's body drained. His grip on the watch dropped – it was useless now. He had a thick lump in the back of his throat, and his eyes darted towards the window to make sure someone was not trying to trick him. KID's image was no longer hovering in the window.

He sat up, and turned towards Kaito once more. "Ran is alright?"

Kaito stopped his approach and crouched down to be on the same level as the detective. His lips twitched upwards, whether it was in sadness or a more elated one he could not tell. "Yeah. She's alright. You should see the other guy."

Once again, confusion must have showed on Shinichi's face, as the magician looked worried once more. "You don't remember what happened?"

The detective shook his head slowly, the action making his previously forgotten headache throb with vengeance. He had no clue. He could not remember what had happened, nor where he was. The fact that Kaito had simply walked into the front door should worry him more than it did. Instead, he felt utterly relieved. A part of him wanted to reach out and envelop him in an embrace – like a clingy octopus, despite the still feeling of hurt lacing his heart.

Kaito raked a hand through his hair, making the strands stand in every direction in defiance to gravity. He moved to pick up something and held it in the direction of the detective.

Shinichi's eyes snapped down to the object in bewilderment. It was a stuffed animal. An orange teddy bear wearing a red tie. Staring, he took it carefully. Unsure what the action meant. Only a second later did he realize that it must have been the item the magician had thrown at him in his slumber. He looked up, meeting Kaito's eyes in confusion.

"It's a gift," Kaito motion with his hands, trying to make Shinichi hold it properly and not as though it would bite him. When that did not help, he sighed deeply. "You were out hanging out with your friends when some creepers got handsy. A fight sprang out. Ran won by the way," his lips twitched as mirth flashed in his eyes. "Though, they ambushed you on the way home. Seems like one of the creep was the son of that corrupted politician Oba Yujiro. You got knocked out with a spanner," the humour vanished from his eyes as he searched Shinichi's expression. Something dark and unnameable lurked in his eyes.

The detective frowned, the memory coming back in flashes. That definitely explained the throbbing headache. He motioned for Kaito to go on.

"Well. Mouri-chan and Suzuki-san called the police after subduing them. Great work by the way, getting rescued by girls," the magician grinned, however the mirth did not reach his eyes. "They however, accused you of starting the fight. And being out cold you couldn't really come to your defence. So the Ekoda police had no choice but to incarcerate you."

Shinichi dropped his head. Great, he thought quietly. I'm never going out on Ran and Sonoko's girls night out again. He looked back at Kaito, who was watching him with an unreadable expression. The detective frowned in confusion.

"And why exactly are you here?"

The magician's lips twitched upwards. "What? You are not happy to see me? Words hurt Shinichi."

He pursed his lips, resisting the urge to roll his eyes as though they had fallen back into old habits. "You know what I meant."

Kaito hummed and rocked back on the balls of his feet. "Heard about it on the police-scanner. I was worried about you."

Shinichi opened his mouth to complain about him breaking more laws, however he closed his mouth a second later as the magician's words sank in. Though they barely knew each other – every conversation they have had had been a part of a deceit. First as the international jewel thief Kaitou 1412, and later as Kuroba Kaito. A part of Shinichi still trusted – and liked – Kaito regardless of the lies and the sour feeling in his stomach. It was entirely too easy to fall into the temptation going back to their previous easy-going relationship.

He swallowed thickly. Despite the bad blood between them, he had been glad Kaito had decided to look for him. Who knows what Shinichi would have done, he had already been half panicked upon waking up in an unfamiliar environment – locked inside a small cell. His mind had gone directly towards his days hiding against the Black Organisation in his half coherent state. Being told about his situation when he woke up was exactly what he needed to hear, he could not deny that. He still woke up in a cold-sweat needing to make sure he was still Kudou Shinichi and that he was in fact alone in his house.

Reaching out, he grasped Kaito's shoulder. He was tired of the feeling of betrayal and anger every time the magician crossed his thoughts. The thief stilled underneath his touch. "Thank you, Kaito. I mean it."

The magician searched his eyes for a long moment, his indigo eyes flickered with emotions of relief and something darker, more wistful. "It was the least I could do," he breathed out eventually, his voice low and serious as he leaned into the detective's touch.

Shinichi let his arm trail off his shoulder after lingering only for a moment. He opened his mouth, wanting to ask if their fragile friendship had only been a rouse from the thief's side, however the words died on his lips. He was too afraid of the answer he would receive. He wondered again if every word, every smile, every playful banter or flirting had only been imaginary from his side. The thought stung in his chest at the realization he did not really know who Kaito was – not really. He only ever saw whatever mask the thief wanted to show him.

Brushing of fingers along his chin made him startle from his thoughts. The fingertips set aflame sparkles in its wake and his treacherous heart fluttered in surprise at the intense and fond expression on Kaito's face.

"Is it odd," he breathed out, voice barely audible as though he had no intention of voicing his thoughts, "That I think you are still beautiful even like this?"

Shinichi felt his stomach clench in weary aggravation – imagining he knew what a dreadful picture he was, eye swollen and most likely dirty. He had noticed and seen how the thief hid behind his masks whenever they were together, as though he held them tightly to his chest lest he lost control. And the detective was tired of Kaito trying too hard to be something he was not.

He turned his away from the touch. "Don't say things you don't mean."

Kaito's hand faltered, before it dropped to his lap. A flicker of uncertainty and pain flashed across his face as disappointment hung over him as a heavy gloom. He opened his mouth to respond, however Shinichi could see the clear 'I always speak my mind´ that would follow and interrupted before he could.

He would not sit and listen to more lies, and spoke the only words that could truly describe his feelings. "I see you."

The magician suddenly recoiled as though his words had scorched him. His lip quivered as his eyes flickered across the room before settling on the beaten form of the detective. There was an unreadable expression swimming in his eyes that made Shinichi's heart both ache and flutter simultaneously. He tried to smile, but for once, there were no mirth or cheerfulness, rather he looked tired as though his own masks were too heavy to bear.

"That obvious?"

A ghost of a smile flickered across Shinichi's face as he could not repress the urge to respond with a; "Only to me." His hand suddenly itched to reach out and touch Kaito, as though the image of the more severe and open but real magician was only an optical illusion that would seize to exist in a moment. Deep down he hoped he was suffering from a concussion at the uncharacteristic and odd impulses.

He was still angry with disappointment, however he understood Kaito's need for self-perseverance. Befriending his critics in order to learn their weak points and earn the small chance for them to look the other way if he was ever caught was a risky but shrewd plan. The thief had simply made lemon juice out of a bad situation.

A frown etched across his face as a thought jolted through the detective's mind. Had their previous meetings been fortuitous? Or had the thief planned it all from the start. Ice cold flooded through his veins at the possibility of being manipulated so thoroughly, was Kaito still playing him by acting compassionate like this?

Shinichi opened his mouth to ask, however all that stumbled out of his mouth was; "Did you follow me?"

Kaito blinked, his mouth opening for a second as he cocked his head as confusion flashed across his face in surprise. His lips suddenly quirked up in shadow of a smile as he responded with a low voice. "Honestly? I thought you were shadowing me. Was making me all fluttering and nervous and acting weird. I was afraid you had discovered my identity and was simply bidding your time waiting for me to make a mistake."

The detective gaped, the surprise making his heart flutter. "You thought –" he clammed his teeth together to keep from fumbling. He had never realized Kaito had imagined a different scenario where Shinichi was the puppeteer over their encounters, and a relieved and ironic laughter escaped his lips as he felt a hundred times lighter.

"So it's only been a sheer coincidence from the start?

Kaito let a grin curl on his lips as he looked to be lighter also, and Shinichi had not realized how tensed the magician had been in their previous meetings before now. His heart fluttered again at the prospect that the thief might have had thought Shinichi being arrested was a rouse to draw him out. It would certainly been a cunning plan on the police's side.

The question remained, why had Kaito not turned a hundred and eighty degrees and fled since their first encounter? The detective's heart sped up again and he felt his mouth drying with both the need to voice his confusion and the indecision of not wanting to hear the answer.

"Maybe I was right," when Shinichi looked confused, Kaito elaborated. "That we are drawn to each other," he finished with a shadow of his usual flirtatious smile and a lightens to his eyes the detective had never seen before. It made his inside melt in affection as he realized how beautiful the magician was.

He lowered his eyes to break the spell; however, his heart would not stop fluttering. He recognized how often his heart disobeyed him whenever he was in the thief's presence, and that there had been a valid reason for that. He might have – accidentally – fallen in love. First with the elusive Kaitou KID and later now with the brilliant Kuroba Kaito. If that was not a recipe for disaster, nothing else was.

The sudden realization of his feelings did not come as a sudden jolt, simply a fact of truth like the sun always going down or the eternal phases of the moon across the sky. It had been there all along, he merely had needed to put a name to the phenomena – or in this case, his feelings.

"Shinichi?" there was a tone of vulnerability and uncertainty in Kaito's voice, and Shinichi glanced back at him in curiosity. The magician was biting his lips and his fingers were playing with the fabric of his shirt. He opened and closed his mouth a few times before he rushed out the words, as though he was afraid Shinichi would interrupt.

The detective was hit again with the realization, that even if he recognized his feelings towards Kaito, nothing had changed, and the magician had not been transformed into a rose-tinted, beautifying and earth-shattering image. It was still the old Kaito, striking in himself with the dark bags from lack of sleep underneath his eyes, and how his hair was both flat from wearing the top-hat and messy as it defied gravity.

"Back then in the apartment, I just wanted to say I never tried deceiving you. It's unclear what feelings you have towards me, but I truly care about you and appreciate the fragile friendship blossoming between us," he took a sharp inhale in order to have enough breath to finish, "I never meant for any of this to happen –"

The detective stopped him before he could continue rambling, and he could not help for the fond smile twitching on his lips. "I forgive you, it's fully understandable honestly. Of course it's logically that you would not reveal your identity to a stranger when I could easily put you in handcuffs."

Mischief flashed across Kaito's eyes for a second but he did not voice his thoughts as Shinichi glared in warning.

The light died from the magician's eyes a second later as something flickered in his eyes. His voice was low and void of emotions as he spoke. "And now?" He held his wrists up in the direction of the detective as his muscles tensed with a need to fight or flight. The subsequent laughter was hollow and void of humour. "We are already at the police station –"

Shinichi grabbed his wrist, only to lower them back into Kaito's lap. His eyes flashed as a coldness churned in his stomach at the thought of the thief experience waking up confused in a cell. It was not something he wished for him.

The problem still stood, Kaito was an international phantom thief and Shinichi was a police officer. It was his job to arrest him, but every part of him filled with pain at the idea – if only there was a valid reason for all of this. Just one good motive and he would have an excuse to not follow through. Feelings or otherwise would not stop him from doing what was right. It would not be fair for either them if Shinichi's mind was clouded where it mattered the most.

He refused to be the novel cliché fool for love, losing all his integrity to pursue a romantic relationship – if he even had the chance for that.

"Kaito," his voice was grave as he finally spoke. "I need to know why you resorted to thievery."

Tension drained out of the magician, and he nodded once as he opened his mouth to respond. There was honesty written across his face, and hope, and Shinichi realized there and then as relief flooded through him that he had been right all along.

There was a reason for Kaito's actions, and a good one. He had not mistaken the magician's drive and personality from the start. He was compassionate with a need to protect those he cared for. A smile twisted on his lips.

"Not here," he glanced in the direction of the cell door, surprised that no one had stumbled over them yet. "You need to go."

Kaito blinked as though he too had forgotten the predicament they were in, his eyes flickered towards the celldoor and his lips thinned with an emotion Shinichi could not comprehend. He stood abruptly, his jacket flopping around him smoothly from the motion. He peered down at the detective, and suddenly a familiar grin grew on his face as he held out his hand.

Shinichi eyed the offered hand carefully with incomprehensibleness. It took him a few seconds before he understood and he shook his head in exasperation. "I can't leave."

Kaito's smile only widened, not remotely dissuaded. "Sure you can. I'm stealing you away, so you have no choice in the matter."

He resisted the urge to roll his eyes, however his heart still fluttered as the spoken words were said with wistfulness and for a second he imagined the magician had a different intention of his statement in mind. He lowered his eyes lest the emotion in them betraying him.

"Just go, I'll be fine –"

"But I won't be."

Shinichi looked up in surprise again at the frustration in the thief's tone of voice, before shaking his head once more in fond exasperation – wondering what thoughts were swimming in Kaito's head. "I'll be out in a few hours."

"Not soon enough."

Before Shinichi could react, Kaito had already grabbed his hand and yanked him up before manhandling him out the door. The teddy bear feel from his lap forgotten about, and he barely got the glimpse of the stuffed animal suddenly appearing on the bed as the door shut close behind them. The detective tried to resist, the situation feeling ridiculous to him. Would it be possible he was the first 'criminal' or 'maiden' in the world refusing the rescue of his night in white?

"Kaito," he protested half-heartedly, secretly relieved for leaving the confinement of the cell. If he was to leave now, he would get in even more trouble with the Ekoda police – regardless if he was guilty or not from the crime he had been incarcerated for. One simply did not walk out of a police station without discharge paper.

Before he knew it, they were already by the reception. Shinichi's heart hammered in his chest, clearly ready for them to be caught and thrown right back – and why had Kaito decided to walk right out the front exit?

The magician offered the receptionist a flirtatious smile – she looked to be in her early fifty, plum and a pair of glasses framing sparkly, hazel eyes, and she chortled response.

"All well, Kuroba-kun? Did you find your boyfriend?"

Kaito's smile grew impossibly large as a hint of the old buoyancy flickered across his face and he leaned against the table to give her a better look of the detective. He raised their clasped hands – Shinichi had not realized they were intertwined before now, and felt baffled by the entire situation.

He opened his mouth to stutter, but closed it just as quickly as he realized he was out of debt. He shot a glance in the direction of the magician, but Kaito did not indulge him in his confusion.

"I sure did, Inugami-san. Mind if I take him home with me?"

Inugami grinned impishly and fixed her glasses as she regarded Shinichi closer. He must have passed her inspection, as she nodded a few second later. "He's a cute one, better take good care of this one," she winked playfully, before turning around to pick up a document. "Alright, I got the discharge papers here. You boys have fun today."

Kaito's smile brightened in gratitude with a "Thank you" and "Say hi to Tora-chan from me" as he escorted the detective out.

The fresh air hit Shinichi in the face, but rather than feeling cold it was refreshing and smelled of freedom. He inhaled sharply and closed his eyes as it washed over him. He had not been in confinement for long and so had not noticed how much he had missed the freedom of movement. He rolled his shoulder in order to release the kink in his shoulder.

He opened his eyes again a few second later and turned his head to watch the magician, his eyes burning with curiosity, wondering if Kaito had bailed him out long before checking up on him. His eyebrows creased in confusion and opened his mouth to ask, however the magician must have read the query in his expression as he spoke before he could.

"After last time – I wasn't sure if you'd appreciate the knowledge of my involvement in getting you free. I called inspector Nakamori, and he vouched for you. They were going to release you either way," Katio's voice was subdued and guarded as he regarded the detective carefully.

Shinichi felt his heart flutter again at the consideration in Kaito's action. He felt bad for being the reason the magician was tip-toing around him. Guilt laced through him and he regretted not letting Kaito explain himself all those weeks ago when he first discovered his true identity. However, another part of him knew he would not have been as easily forgiving back then.

"I – Thank you," he lowered his eyes, his cheeks flushing by their own accord as he remembered the receptionist thinking they were a couple. He withdrew his hand from the magician quickly. Why did Kaito have to be so thoughtful and selfish? He had only discovered his feelings for the moonlight magician not long ago, and he was certainly not making it easy for Shinichi to get over him. A relationship between the two was doomed to fail.

"Hey, Shinichi –"

The detective looked up again, suddenly noticing how close the other was. He hoped the dim light was hiding his flushed expression. Kaito's eyes were intense and filled with an unnamed emotion as he regarded the detective, his lips quirked upwards, however Shinichi could tell they were not from mischief or laughter as they usually were. Instead his smile portrayed a softness and vulnerability he would never identified as belonging on the magician's face.

"Now that the air has cleared between us, I want to be truly honest with you. No more lies," the intensity and passionate look made Shinichi's mouth dry, and he could only nod as the thief reached out to brush the tips of his finger against his jaw.

The sparks that followed the shy fingers produced a small gasp from the detective's lips in surprise. This was too much – he had the urge to both lean into the soft embrace and escape to gather his thoughts. He did not do either of those things, instead he froze like a deer in headlights.

Kaito seemed nervous now, portrayed in how he licked his lips. However, there was a certain resolve in his stance, a wistful and soft shine in his eyes that told Shinichi that he had no intention of backing down before he spoke his mind.

"This is a long overdue confession, and probably coming like a rather abrupt declaration to you. But – no more lies. I like you, a lot. I never realized how brilliant you were before we started these random encounters," his lips quirked up in humour and his eyes danced, "I've been acting out of character and like a fool in order to impress you. I love it when your lips twitch when you try hiding your amusement," a finger suddenly brushed against Shinichi lips as Kaito breathed out the last word.

"I love how your flush creeps up from your collar whenever I manage to rattle you –"

Shinichi's heart was fluttering too wildly in his chest, like there was a thousand butterflies slamming against his ribcage trying to escape. His head swam with the impossible thought that Kaito might like him back and he had forgotten how to breathe for a few moments. It was an unfeasible idea, clearly something out of his imagination.

He could not bear it any longer, and he captured Kaito's hands in his own. The Magician stilled in his grip, panic and uncertainty flashed across his eyes, however there were still a tint of hope and wistfulness underneath.

Shinichi opened his mouth. He did not know what to say, so instead they stood still for a full minute only staring at each other. Part of the detective's heart ached with the need to reciprocate, to open his heart like Kaito had. But he knew – he knew this was a bad idea. They were on the opposite sides of the law. By simply not turning Kaito in to the police, Shinichi would be considered an accomplice. Regardless of whether or not the thievery was out of a just cause.

"I – Kaito," he stuttered out, conflicting emotion churning through him. Far too much had happened today, but all the trouble evaporated as he stared into the open, hopeful expression of the man who just busted him out of jail – there was a vulnerability there as though the magician was expecting to leave crestfallen.

Shinichi was terrible with words in situations that required strong emotions, and he did not know how to correctly formulate what he wanted to convey. In the end, he settled with a soft spoken declaration and his eyes swam with everything he wanted to express.

"You are the Bonny to my Clyde."

He could see the moment his words sank in on the Kaito's face. A mixture of delight, affection, hope and guilt flickered across his face as he realized the true meaning of the detective's words – that he had no intention of turning the thief in regardless of what happened. His eyes lowered and he peered almost shyly from underneath his eyelashes.

"To think I managed to turn a highly astute detective into a criminal –"

Shinichi's eyes narrowed and he opened his mouth to both complain about how Kaito ruined a perfect moment, and to disagree with the statement, but the magician continued before he could.

"Let's crash and burn together, baby."

Kaito moved forward swiftly to press their lips together, and Shinichi completely forgot to protest against being called a 'baby'. The magician's swift fingers curled in the nap of his neck, sending a warm shiver through him. There was a soft tongue prodding against his lips and he spread his lips in welcome as the sweet and spicy scent of Kaito washed over him.

They had a rocky road in front of them, but at least they had each other.