Ha, I really don't know what caused this. (Or if I've going to even finish it.) It was probably an overdose of Bleach fan fiction (because I've recently gotten addicted to it – all the characters are so awesomesauce).

So… things you've got to know for this fic to make sense: Kaito is Kid, but didn't know that Conan was Shinichi; Shinichi returned ~2 years ago.

Also, I tossed in a Sekaiichi Hatsukoi reference. Because I can. Cheers to you if you catch it. (But it's fairly obvious if you've seen/read the series.)

So… I guess now, just enjoy! – Luna

Finders, Keepers

Kaito knew he was popular.

Well, maybe he, Kuroba Kaito,wasn't popular. The Kaitou Kid was popular, to be more precise.

He liked being well known for his... er... exploits. It was always fun to see his face on the news or in the newspaper, along with headlines and captions like "Kaitou Kid's next heist?!" and "He does it again!" He found it interesting to walk past high school girls fangirling over him, squealing over how handsome and how gentlemanly Kid was and having no clue that the man himself was standing behind them, smirking.

He also found Kid paraphernalia rather amusing as well. Whenever Kaito saw someone with a Kid key chain dangling off their wallet or a girl bouncing along in an "I Heart Kid" t-shirt, he indulged in a small, knowing smile.

So when Kaito was browsing through the mystery section of Marimo Books – he was looking for a birthday present for Hakuba (because why else would he be in the mystery section?) – and spotted a red cell phone lying by his shoe, adorned with a delicate Kid cell phone strap and a soccer ball charm, he grinned, stooping to pick it up. Clearly its owner was a fan of him, and that was enough of a reason to get it back to them. Now if he could get their name…

Turning the phone over in his hand, he found no identification whatsoever. Kaito sighed and flipped it open, only to be met with a screen demanding a passcode. He frowned.

"I wonder whose phone this is," he mused, glancing up and down the aisle and finding himself alone. Obviously the owner hadn't dropped it within the last ten minutes Kaito had been in the area, otherwise he would've noticed them...

"Hm." Kaito was about to go turn it in to the counter when it gave a sharp buzz and Kaito looked down to find it vibrating violently, displaying the name "Mouri Ran" as the caller.

Mouri Ran? The name sounded vaguely familiar. Hm... Kaito shrugged and answered the call. "Hello, beautiful~!" he sang, waiting for a response.

There was a short pause, and then a flat male voice asked, "Has anyone called, other than me?"

"Hmm? I was expecting a Ran-chan to be on the other end," Kaito commented, mildly surprised. "But no, nobody else has called. You're the very first."

"Thank God," groaned the voice. "People might've starting thinking I hit my head somewhere and dislodged my brain. Anyway, this is the owner of the phone. I'm assuming you're some random guy who found it?"

"Mmhm," Kaito confirmed, running a finger down the row of spines. "That's me."

"Okay. Where are you?"

"Marimo Books," answered Kaito, tipping a book out from where it was wedged. "Hey, this is one of those Night Baron books, isn't it?" he muttered absently to himself, flipping it over to read the synopsis. "Does Hakuba read these?"

"Night Baron?" asked the man on the other end, and Kaito started, having forgotten he was still talking to him.

"Oh, sorry. I'm trying to buy a book for a friend of mine," Kaito explained awkwardly, sliding the book back into place as he moved along.

"Really? Are you trying to get a mystery?"

"Yes, my friend's a detective. His birthday is coming up." Kaito momentarily wondered why he was telling a perfect stranger about Hakuba of all people.

"A detective? Is that so?" The other's voice held a note of interest.

"Yep, that's so." Kaito sighed as he flipped open the cover of another mystery. This was so not his forte. After all, he was a phantom thief and thus a criminal, so stories where criminals were caught and "brought to justice" were not exactly his thing. "I don't know what kind of mystery makes a detective happy. Their minds are all twisted." He paused for a second. "This one's especially."

A dry chuckle reached his ears. "Twisted minds, huh? I'd say we just have strong senses of justice."

Kaito almost missed the "we."

"'We'?" he questioned, setting down the book. "Does that mean you're a detective…" Kaito hesitated for a second, wondering how to address the phone's owner. "…Ran-kun?"

"I'm not Ran," the man corrected, sounding borderline amused and borderline aggravated. "Think about it. I'm obviously not calling you from my own cell phone, since you're using it right now. So therefore I'm not Ran. I'm just using her phone."

"Oh." Kaito smirked a little. "Definitely a detective… Ran-kun."

"I just told you not to call me that," muttered the voice. "Anyway, if you're trying to find a book for a detective, I'd suggest anything by Shinmei Kaori. You know, like the Detective Samonji series. They're pretty good, in my opinion."

"Shinmei Kaori?" Kaito paced up and down the aisle a few times before locating the author's section. He tugged a volume out from its spot and peered down at it quizzically. Flipping a few pages, he skimmed it with a raised eyebrow. "Yes, this seems... wait a second, isn't that…?"

The passage that had caught Kaito's eye involved one of Samonji's assistants, a bespectacled know-it-all kid.

His lips drew into a slight smile. Kind of like tantei-kun...

Kaito's eyes adopted a faraway cast, his hands going slack around both the phone and the book. How many years had it been, again? Two? He hadn't seen tantei-kun since the kid had gone missing – when Kaito had subtly investigated the manner, it seemed that the boy had just up and left, apparently leaving for the States with his parents.

Kaito hadn't been sure as to how he should accept the news. For one, he was devastated that his favorite critic was no longer around to pose a suitable threat, and for another, he wasn't buying that up-and-leaving story. Edogawa Conan had too many friends for that.

And, well, deep inside, in some hidden-away vault that Kaito didn't like opening... he was hurt.

He hadn't gotten any kind of goodbye. Not a single word.

And it stung.

Kaito had thought that he and tantei-kun were at least more than rivals, more than acquaintances. Didn't rescuing him as he was tossed out of an airship mean anything? Didn't tantei-kun remember Kaito helping him out on that train? How they'd always had each other's back?

After all that, didn't Kaito deserve some kind of explanation?

Someone cleared his throat, and Kaito jerked. "Uh, hey, are you still there?"

Accidentally dropping the book he was holding, Kaito stammered, "Er – I – I'm fine, sorry. I was just distracted for a second. I'm sure my friend will like the book. Thanks for the help." He snatched up the book, snapped it shut, and began trudging over to the counter to pay. "So… what should I do with your phone?"

The man on the other end of the line heaved a breath. "Let's see… right now, you're still at the bookstore… Well, we could meet at the café near there. Is that okay?"

"Mmhm," replied Kaito, stepping into line.

"I'll see you in twenty minutes, if that's okay?"

"Sure." Kaito set the book down on the counter, reaching for his wallet to pay.

"Good. See you then." The line clicked off, and Kaito closed the phone, sliding it into his pocket. It certainly wasn't the right time to be reminiscing about tantei-kun.

He had to return the phone, after all.

This was originally going to be a oneshot about Kaito discovering that Shinichi has a Kid cell phone strap, but then it turned into... whatever this is. So nope, I'm not sure where this is going after the first two chapters. But it's not a super compelling idea anyway, so I doubt I'll get much feedback on this.

On a completely unrelated note: I was rereading The Scarlet Pimpernel for absolutely no reason, and the thought occurred to me that Kid is kind of like the Scarlet Pimpernel. Y'know, good at disguising, elusive, etc.

Yeah. I have no idea why I just mentioned that.

Anyway, drop me a review if you're interested in some kind of continuation! If I get enough support, I'll try to continue, I guess. *shrug* - Luna