Chapter 1

"The Immortal Gem, huh?" Kaito Kid contemplated as he sat in his precarious position above the now empty show case. Something in him was hoping it was the gem he was looking for, but he kept those thoughts in the back of his head at the moment; he had better things to think about. He turned the gem over in his gloved hands half enjoying the beauty, and half enjoying the hilarity of the guards throwing fits below him completely oblivious to the black clad magician almost directly above their heads. He'd change back into his normal white clothes once he was done admiring the jewel and giving his audience the usual escape. They displayed their priceless item in such a silly way he almost laughed when he saw the obvious trap his adversary set up. It was a gaudy room built next to the main museum. It was rounded and had a large glass roof open to the stars giving the room a milky glow from the moonlight despite the interior lights bordered around the ceiling.

Part of the glass roof was retractable showing how ritzy the owner of the museum piece really was, and that was the obvious trap. There was another slightly less obvious rout that he could take in and out of the showcase room. A very simple access to the catwalk and roof of the museum that barely anyone could see; he assumed it gave the custodians an easy way to replace the lights in the show room without much risk. It was a small entryway that Kaito happily stumbled upon in an overly decorated hallway on the second floor of the museum that was hidden well enough from any museum goers. He snuck in and found the convenient pathway that no one used as often as the roof access to get to the catwalk. He found out why when he and his friend were touring the museum a few days ago. The overcomplicated way to get to the other building was unnecessary, so they built a small ladder up to the catwalk in the actual show room instead and closed off the little pathway.

It was one of the less complicated ways out, but one thing was keeping him from moving to look over the pretty gem he now had concealed in his shirt safely. He silently glared at the little pest with glasses finding every move Kaito made in the room. He hadn't taken into account that the kid was going to be there. He self consciously kicked himself for not including the brat's interferences in his plans. He always ended up being in just the right place to catch Kaito and innocently point him out. He smiled to himself a bit thinking that it was just the universe picking on him. The kid was like his very own personal shadow. The irony was irritating since he was supposed to be the shadow. It also bugged him how accurate the kid's movements were as he traced the imaginary lines of Kaito's movements. He was getting dangerously close to the end of the maze Kaito set up for any actual observers. Conan looked around seeming to hit a blockade. Oh good! Kaito thought as he took off towards his escape route.

"Did you see that?" He heard Conan shout obviously pointing to wear Kaito disappeared from. Kaito almost growled in Conan's direction, but decided against it and kept going until he reached outside the show room and took the route to the roof. He sighed quietly at the sound of rushed footsteps heading the wrong way. He took advantage of the few quiet seconds he had and looked at the gem soaked in moonlight. He sighed not seeing any red glow and at the interruption of hearing one set of footsteps calmly heading up the route he just came from. He assumed it was the bratty detective and put concealed the gem. He stayed in his position patiently waiting for the little detective to come to the roof.

Something suddenly felt off in the air; that someone was tailing him with murderous intent and it wasn't the police type. He didn't reveal himself like he intended to and hopped off the glass roof using the side to slow his fall. He landed clumsier than intended with a soft thump on the grass. That was enough to get someone moving and Kaito took off into the woods for cover.

"This guy is a little too fast." Kaito said feeling panic push itself up from his chest. One gun shot missed him by an inch and the bullet parked itself in a tree trunk by his head. He spun around in a panicked attempt to get into hiding and see the face of the nut that shot at him. All he could see was a shadow blurring to his right. "I agree with the kid. I hate guns!" he breathed getting distance between him and the shadow perusing him. He heard the police scramble to the area of the gunshot and Kaito hoped the shadow was distracted by keeping himself concealed from the eyes of the self proclaimed justice league. He heard Nakemouri yell his name in the usual way he did, but that didn't lighten the mood like it usually did. Someone seemed bent on killing him and he wasn't going to show off any time soon. The footsteps were coming from any and every direction, but in front of him and the closets set of footsteps send a chill screaming down his spine. Snake was the first person to come to mind, but it didn't feel right. Who the heck is trying to kill him? Another shot was heard, Kaito was forced to the ground face first, but picked himself up cursing his clumsy moment and rushed away happy to hear the threatening set of footsteps back away. He self consciously rubbed the back of his neck shrugging of the weird stabbing feeling he felt when he hit the dirt. He paused for a moment relishing the fact that he wasn't too out of breath and listened for the cops' footsteps, they were paused obviously at a brick wall in their tracking of the amazing Kaito Kid. He rushed to the station he knew was nearby and looked to see if there was anyone outside. No one.

Something was wrong, the weird feeling of the atmosphere being off was stronger than before, and he peaked in the doorway. The place was completely empty. A cold shiver ran down his spine again; he was hoping to warn somebody about the psycho with a gun running rampant in the woods between here and the museum. He reached for the gem and almost panicked when he couldn't find it, but his fingers gripped the cold, smooth surfaces of the priceless item and he took it out to look at the pretty thing for just a while longer before putting it in the station. He stopped and looked at the gem with such shock he felt the color melt from his face. It was ruby red and glistening in the milky glow of the moon making it look like crystallized blood. He didn't like that look at all. It suddenly reflected lights from behind him; flashing red and blue. He spun around and raced to the area. He reached the edges of a group of police and shot up a tree using branches as leaping bars and footholds as soon as he found a safe vantage point. He saw a body bag being zipped up to be loaded into the ambulance. Many of the men were taking their hats off in respect. Kaito's heart dropped; he never wanted anyone hurt and regretted having the psycho leave his tail; he might have been able to save whoever was killed if he kept the killer's eyes on him. He lowered his eyes and bowed his head for a moment until he started hearing strange things coming from the police.

"He was so young." one shook his head

"Who would have thought?" another mused. Kaito was a little confused; was the victim a rookie? He heard a familiar voice and hoped to get some answers from his self proclaimed enemy as he talked to another officer.

"Kaito's a teenager." Kaito almost slapped himself upside the forehead. When did he figure that out? This could be trouble. He shook his head and kept listening. Nakemouri seemed distraught, sad and almost torn as he looked at the body bag now being loaded into the ambulance. Must've been someone that meant a lot to the guy, Kaito thought to himself.

"How am I going to tell her?" Nakemouri wasn't asking anyone in particular, he was almost in tears; Kaito cocked his head curiously "How am I going to tell Aoko she's never going to see her best friend again?" Kaito almost fell out of the tree, his knuckles were white and his whole body went rigid. What did he just say? His eyes went to the body bag then back at Nakemouri. He heard that wrong right? Nakemouri rarely ever referred to Kaito as Aoko's best friend before; maybe it was a friend in the police? It must be; Kaito was far from a body bag, and he was pretty sure this wasn't a dream.

"Where's Kaito Kid?" Kaito smirked at hearing a rational voice for once. The speckled brat named Conan was walking up with his hands in his pockets with his girlfriend and Detective Mouri beside him. Nakemouri looked at them with sad eyes which made Kaito nervous. He silently gestured towards the ambulance where all three of the newcomers paled. Conan looked the worse. Mouri stuttered a bit before asking.

"You sure it's Kaito?" Nakemouri nodded grimly and pulled out an evidence bag with a gem inside. Kaito was freaking out internally as he heard the fact that he was in the body bag, but saw the evidence that he wasn't. The gem he stole was resting in his pocket and he could have sworn he was breathing and felt a heartbeat.

"If you don't believe it have a look." Nakemouri said darkly, Mouri shakily went up to the body bag and unzipped it far enough to see the face as soon as it was moved. Conan was right behind him, unnoticed by Mouri or his girlfriend who was sobbing quietly in her hands. She never could stand seeing death. Kaito felt sick as the bag was slowly opened and he saw his own face staring back at him with lifeless grayed-over eyes. There was a hole right in the corpse's neck where he'd been shot right through. Conan fumbled back in horror and Kaito did the same despite the distance and flopped on the ground with a muffled thud that no one seemed to notice besides Conan. He turned and looked around with wide eyes, but didn't spot Kaito. The kid looked as pale and sick as Kaito felt.

"Conan!" Ran rushed over to the stunned kid and forced him to look at her. Conan stuttered

"H-He, he's-" Ran hugged him and shut her eyes practically burying her face in the kid's shoulder's. Kaito figured what was going on in her head. He did look a lot like Conan's real self, Shinichi. The two were forced out of the area by her father and some other policemen. The fact that Kaito looks a lot like Shinichi probably scares her more than the fact that the body was dead. Kaito shivered.