Brighter than Sunshine
Takes up second identity. Destroy the Organization. Return back to normal. That had always been their goal. But at some point when the plan fails and the fine line between magic and madness became a blur, Shinichi and Kaito were starting to realize the universe might be built... just to screw them over together. Literally.
NOTE: This is a somewhat a movie-verse canon-pairing fic, but filled with some bromance here and there. The summary, like always, didn't explain much, but I'll let the story explain the setting itself. You'll come back for the second chapter if it happens to interest you... I guess? *nervous laughter* And anyway, happy new year :')
Between cats and dogs, Kaito had to say he would prefer cats.
They were stealth, like him. Alluring, like him. And definitely sneaky and crafty and always up to mischief, like him. How great was that? Now that he thought about it, there were certainly plenty of similarities between him and a cat.
So maybe, his current situation wasn't as bad as he really thought it was. Except having to deal with fleas.
And on the even brighter side, at least he wasn't... transformed into a freaking pineapple or something worse.
The last thing Kaito, or more like Kaitou Kid, remembered was flying in his glider against the wind while trying to manoeuvre his way towards the forest beside the grand hotel he'd stolen the Mystical Enchantment sapphire from. It was stupid of him to try opposing to nature, but having a freakish brat loitering near his escape routes, whose power kick and soccer ball grandly defying gravity itself, Kaito realized there wasn't really a difference.
But Kaito had overestimated himself and underestimated the wind. Before he knew what was happening, the metal pole fixture of his glider snapped and he flew towards the direction of the hotel he was trying to escape from and crashed backwards into the darkness of the forest.
And that was it. That was what happened before he opened his eyes, realizing that everything around him, despite the shadowy tree branches and thick canopy, was clear, as if he had gained some un-human special night vision. Oh, and also how his hands and feet had suddenly grew un-human paw pads and that his ears could also tweak to a certain un-human angle.
Of course. BECAUSE HE WASN'T A HUMAN ANYMORE.
He was a cat.
Is this a nightmare? Please tell me it's a nightmare. Kaito stretched his body, before an unintentional purr suddenly came out from his mouth. The fur on his body instantly stood up like static and his claws automatically extended in alarm, sinking into the dirt under a tree.
Ok. Calm down. Calm the hell down, Kuroba Kaito. He sighed out loud, which came out as a soft "Meow", before he inwardly grunted at himself. He give his cat-form a once over, to at least know how he actually looked. He was sized as an average cat, probably one that lived around a year or so. His fur was silky white, the ends were sticking out and needed grooming. Kaito was skeptical with the breed type, until he unconsciously moved his tail and realized he didn't have one. Or more like it was too short and round for him to see. It was then realization dawned upon him.
Of all the cats he could be, he was a bobtail cat. The cat with the ridiculous ball of tail that looked closed to a rabbit. Seriously.
"Meow." He started scrubbing his paws over his head, flicking his ears and rubbing his eyes. Maybe it's all a dream. "Meow!" A bloody dream. Wake up. "Meow!" Kuroba Kaito. Wake up!
"Five more minutes, ... neechan."
Kaito froze.
He set his paws onto the ground and slowly shifted his head cautiously to his right, his ears perked up and alert. After being so frantic and intrigued by his new body, it didn't occur to him to actually look around his surrounding and find the clues that resulted in this mess.
The glider, white and glaringly obvious in contrast to the darkness, was lying against a tall tree. Bits of broken parts that Kaito recognized were littered around, but that wasn't part of his concern. With his form, the last thing he could do was to use the glider anyway.
"Five more minutes..."
He lifted his soft butt and pawed his way tentatively towards the voice.
His eyes widened at the two feet sticking out from behind the glider.
Kaito sprinted.
It was him. Kaitou Kid. His night identity, was lying on the ground with his hat toppled sideways and monocle gone from his face. His eyes were closed and somewhat unconscious.
His face.
His Kuroba Kaito face.
Why was his body there when he was... here?!
"Meow!" It must be all a dream! I just have to wake up and this nightmare will be over.
He gracefully pounced onto his own chest and started jumping up and down. His real form jerked a little, face crumpling with annoyance before it was gone and a soft snore ensued.
Desperate times calls for desperate measures. Unwillingly, Kaito exposed his claws and swung it right into his collarbone.
"Ow!" The human in the shape of Kuroba Kaito flung up from his lying position and wrapped a hand over the mark where Kaito had left behind with his useful sharp claws. "What the hell!" He exclaimed, unstably stumbling on his standing position.
No. It didn't work. Kaito was still looking one feet from the ground, its head raised and still staring at his supposed own body.
"Meow!" Who are you?! Why aren't I back in my body?
"And who are you?!" The human bellowed, eyes darting left and right before settling back to Kaito's cat form again, his angered features now masked with confusion and a mix of surprise. "What the.. Why can I hear a cat talk?"
"Meow!" You're in my goddamn body! Kaito hissed, his sharp teeth showing menacingly.
"Body?" The human looked down at himself before his eyes turned so wide that Kaito was afraid his true body's eyeballs would drop out. "I'm... Kaitou Kid? And you're Kaitou Kid?" He brushed a hand down his face and let out a shuddering breath. "How the hell did this happen? What about my own body?"
Besides the scent of mud, dead insects and the faint smell of perfume he used before this fateful heist, Kaito couldn't smell anything else. He wrinkled his damp cat nose. There shouldn't be anyone or anything else here.
Shit. My damn, darn luck. The human continuously glanced at his hand like he was looking at a gold bar. De-aging by ten years is already one big joke. And now body switching? How am I going to explain to Ran?
Kaito's cat ears perked up, his eyes staring straight into his own face. He was sure he didn't hear the words... but more like... telepathy? He decided to shelve the abilities he had with the bond of his own body and focused on the conversation.
"Meow." I don't think you have the rights to complain when you're not a cat now, Kudo Shinichi.
The human — or as mentioned — Kudo Shinichi, flinched. He quietly eyed down at Kaito, his brows slowly furrowed. "You- How do you know? I didn't say who I was- What do you know about me?" He spat.
"Meow." That isn't important. What's important is what do you remember before this shit happened?
Shinichi pinched the bridge of his nose, sincerely deep in thought. "The memories are foggy. I recalled I told Ran, as Edogawa Conan, that I was going to the toilet before chasing you into the forest with my skateboard because I knew your glider isn't going to work with the wind." All of the sudden, his shoulder tensed, posture straightened. "And I was right. I saw you crashing down. And... And towards me."
Kaito inadvertently purred.
"You crashed into me." Shinichi turned and glared down at Kaito accusingly. "And this happened."
"Meow." That doesn't explain why I am a cat.
"In actual fact, it explained nothing." Shinichi dully informed. "I would be glad to send this body to the hands of Inspector Nakamori, but I have no intention to be sitting in the cell in your place."
"Meow." I will claw your ass.
"This is your ass, by the way."
UGH. "Meow." We have to work this out. OK. Temporary truce. And take out the costume before you attract the attention from the helicopter that Inspector Nakamori is going to send in a minute or two.
It sure must be hella painful to listen in obedience to Kid as Shinichi scowled, grudgingly pulling out the sleeve of the muddy and dirtied white suit and tossed it to the ground, in a manner like it was infected by all these diseases in the world.
"Do you have a plan?" Shinichi muttered as he tugged out of the red tie and dump it with the coat before rolling up the sleeves of the pressed blue, button up shirt.
"Meow." I was expecting you, the Great Detective, to think of one.
"Rationally speaking, then," Last and not least, Shinichi carefully peeled the white gloves off his hands, a crook smile plastered on his face. "I supposed we can go back to your home or your secret lair or whatever it is and be you, pretending to be a righteous citizen among your family and friends. I'm in your true form after all."
His small cat nose twitched irritably in response. "Meow." No. You don't know who I am, much less act like me.
Shinichi sneered. "You sounded like you already have a plan, the Great Phantom Thief. Then why do you ask me?"
Kaito wasn't sure if he executed well enough, but he sure did as hell roll his eyes to the back of his cat head. "Meow." I overestimated you. Sorry.
On the exact cue, the moist air was suddenly tainted with heavy sweat and the scent of bitter coffee that Kaito remembered the hotel staff had supplied to the hard-working police officers guarding the now-stolen jewel. In the next split second, Kaito's ears turned to the direction behind him before he hastily jumped to Shinichi's chest and clawed his way up to his neck.
"What the heck!" Shinichi snapped, rubbing his chest sorely and glared at Kaito who was now resting elegantly on his shoulder; his size just a nice fit. "Mind you! That hurts like hell! And this is your body!"
"Meow." You're feeling the pain now, not me. Besides, we have trouble.
"I saw Kid's glider malfunctioned around here!" A faint shout was coming ahead, the sound of footsteps slapping against mud and dirt was getting louder and louder. "He should be there!"
"Ok." Shinichi growled and eyed down at his half-Kid costume before turning to see the darkness of the forest. There was no chance of safe escape. "Damn."
"Meow." Reach out for the left side of the belt and press the button that's underneath.
Shinichi was wise enough to not question anything and he did. In a flash, literally, the shirt Shinichi was wearing was no longer blue but black, including the pants that was supposed to stand out in the night. His white boots were gone too, being replaced by branded sports shoe that would be useful for running. It was only one step at a time, but Shinichi was starting to see the methods of Kaitou Kid's escape tactics.
After two seconds of rustling leaves and snapping of broken branches, a horde of policemen appeared before Shinichi and Kaito, their stance ready to pounce on whatever they were thinking of jumping on. But something made them stop, something like a sense of realization, or something similar to it, flashed across their eyes.
"Aren't you-!" Inspector Nakamori stood there, mouth wide in shock. A few policemen who stood closer to the Inspector shared the same reaction too.
Kid's face was undisguised and free from make up, a terrible mistake, but one that Kaito could easily make use too.
"Meow." You're Kudo Shinichi. Say it. Faster.
Shinichi flashed a dubious gaze over at the Kaito, who was showing no emotion other than it being... a cat. His form portrayed a much effective poker face than anything else Kaito could ever be.
"I'm Kudo Shinichi." Shinichi finally said, his words slow and clear. "A detective, as you should know since we've met before, Inspector Nakamori."
"Right," Inspector Nakamori glowered and gestured his squad to stand down before stepping closer to Shinich by himself. Without warning, his hands were on both side of his cheeks, squeezing the life out of him.
"Ow!" Shinichi winced. "Inspector-!"
Kaito snickered in his head.
"You're the real deal." Inspector Nakamori muttered before glancing at Shinichi's shoulder, one eyebrow raised at Kaito. It was impossible for anyone to know the true plight of the two of them, but to carry on the facade, Kaito purred and pretentiously licked his paw like how a nonchalant cat would do.
"Why do you have a cat?" the Inspector added suspiciously.
"Uh, it's my trusty partner." Shinichi mustered a smile while rubbing his painful and reddened cheeks. "His name is... Kitty."
"Meow." Seriously? You must be great with names. The sarcasm wasn't lacking, even in the tone of a cat.
Shinichi gritted his teeth while trying to keep up the nervous smile. It was true he wasn't great with names. That would explain why his alter-ego's name was Conan instead of a normal Japanese name like Takashi or something. Oh well.
"Kitty." Inspector Nakamori drawled, the interest in his eyes dying like a fire in a snowstorm. "Ok. Detective, how did you get here?"
"I was on a case nearby." He explained naturally, since this script of his had been used once or twice before. It was pretty easy. "And while I was coming over to see how the heist was going, I saw Kid's glider crashed and came over. But he had already escaped when I arrived. Sadly." Shinichi waved over at the broken glider, abandoned suit and tie. "He must have escaped on foot after his glider was damaged."
Inspector Nakamori clicked his tongue and pointed at the glider, his head turned to instruct his subordinates. "Team A stay behind to collect the evidence and send them back to the headquarters. The rest of you are coming with me."
"Yes sir!"
"Your involvement is no longer necessary. We'll comb the area ourselves, and with the help of the helicopters too; Kaitou Kid is our responsibility." Inspector Nakamori sneered and eyed Shinichi up and down before glancing warily at Kaito. "If you're so good at deduction, you should help the Mouri family to search for their lost kid."
Right... Edogawa Conan. Shinichi groaned silently in his head. Kaito's ears flickered, the pleas of the ever great Detective of the East were ringing in his mind loud and clear. "Yeah. I will." Shinichi added unnecessary.
As part of the Kaitou Kid Task force began picking up the broken pieces of the glider while the rest were off following Inspector Nakamori further into the woods, Shinichi slowly lurked in the shadows until he disappeared towards the direction of the hotel. As much as Kaito wished for Shinichi to hurry the hell up with his walking so that he could get out of the forest and as far and away from Inspector Nakamori, he really didn't have the position to do anything other than being a cat. And it seemed the detective had a lot in mind, from the way Kaito's head was echoing with incoherent mumbles that he couldn't understand.
"Meow." So here's the plan. You're Kudo Shinichi.
"I'm not Kudo Shinichi." The very Kudo Shinichi muttered back, his step continued to be slow.
"Meow." You're Kudo Shinichi. It's already been done. And your girlfriend is waiting, isn't she?
"I can't be Kudo Shinichi." Shinichi glunched and halted in his stroll, foot slowly and steadily dipping into the dry mud. "I'm supposed to be dead."
"Meow?" Based on the records I have about you, you're pretty much alive.
"It might be in your whatever records. But not theirs. And Ran... I-I don't know. She can't see me. It's better if she don't. I'm going to leave anyway." Shinichi turned and glanced at Kaito, his cheek brushing against the cat fur. It had been an uncomfortable, awkward contact, and so Kaito responded by jumping back to the ground and circled in his steps before setting his butt on the dirt, looking expectantly at the grouchy looking Shinichi.
"Meow." You're really in a shitty mess, aren't you?
"Yes. Very. To think that it couldn't have been worse, but the universe has gladly proved me wrong." Shinichi sighed and rubbed a hand down his face, eyes closed and deep in thought "I know we both have secrets. Your real identity is one, and my involvement in something you shouldn't care about is another. With our body like this, it's hard to compromise to anything."
Kaito was silent. Make it two secrets for him, actually; about his identity and his own involvement with something that he had no intention to let Shinichi butt in too.
There was only one person in Japan who knew about his identity and at the same time Kaito could trust; But even if Jii knew about this, what could he even do? He snapped his eyes cautiously at Shinichi and gave him a once over. He didn't dare to trust Shinichi fully as of yet, and he swore he would never forgive himself if Jii's identity and his relation with Kid was exposed. The old man should be retiring and spending his remaining time at his precious bar, not in the prison cell.
And Aoko... Kaito stood up on all fours again and circled in his little space, his eyes focusing on his bobtail on his back. That would be even impossible. She was the last person he wanted to know he was Kid, and this situation wouldn't help in any way. He stopped his futile, depressing and mindless walk and sat back on the ground, paw sinking into the dirt.
Wait- Akako! That witch might be able to undo the spell, or whatever that had happened to them! The only problem was today was just the start of his spring break, and he was pretty sure Akako's home or dungeon was from another dimension or something... But could he really rely on her to undo whatever that had happened? He wasn't sure if she would make use of this circumstances and do something weird to him again, judging from those times she'd often casted spells on him and once nearly tortured him.
Hakuba? No.
Nothing was good, Kaito realized pathetically. Despite it being his intention, he realized he didn't really have anyone he could really rely when he was in deep, damn, trouble.
"I do have a place to go in mind..." Shinichi suddenly spoke, breaking the awful quiet silence. "I have three homes, and one of them might be more helpful than the other two."
"Meow." Kaito looked up, eyes glittering in the darkness attentively. It's not the time to show off. And helpful? An ally you have?
"Yeah, but I think she has enough trouble to solve rather than entertaining our problems." Shinichi chortled dryly. "But maybe it'll work out."
"Meow...?" Why am I not convinced?
Shinichi ambled past Kaito as he headed towards the other side of the hotel, where the main road was. Kaito quickly followed.
"Well, let's just hope she's in a good mood today."