Chapter 2: A Joker, An Ace, and Snake Eyes

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"Well meant are the wounds a friend inflicts, but profuse are the kisses of an enemy."

- Bible: Hebrew, Proverbs 27:6

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"Don't hurt her!" Kid's words snapped Ran out of her resolution. The thief pushed her behind him slightly, still leaving too many openings. His hands were clearly shaking when he walked in front of her and held them out at his sides. "I- I'm sorry! It's my fault! Please- Please don't hurt her!"

It wasn't so much as the pleading and fear that Kid was emitting that left her at a loss, but his voice was far lower than it had been when he was speaking to her earlier. It had resembled Shinichi's then, if not lighter on some of his inflections. Now it was a deep bass of someone who just hit puberty and wasn't ready for the change in pitch.

The man in the black suit seemed to shrug slightly before transferring the gun from head height to chest. "It's not like it was me. I have enough idiots to worry about and I don't want to go starting a riot. Try anything funny though and you're both dead."

The threat was very real. Ran had been in these types of situations before, and always she was clam in the face of danger. Now though, Kid was with her. An internationally wanted thief was at her side and he was bleeding because of what these people were capable of. It made her thoughts wander to Conan and she prayed that he was all right.

"Get in the hall with the rest of them." The man ordered her and the Kid. He kicked out his foot at the man she had knocked unconscious with a snort.

Kid went first, making sure to keep himself in front of the gun, though it wasn't obvious with they way he was stumbling over his own feet, at the same time trying keep hold of her arm as Ran attempted to pull away from him. He was a great actor. The hand he had clamped around her wrist was still and guiding, while he keep fidgeting around with his other one, making sure the man in black thought that they were scared. Ran wasn't good at pretending so she stayed quiet and followed their lead, much to her discomfort.

"Ran!"

Sonoko's voice shouted across the room as they entered, making her tense up at the sudden noise. She wasn't the only one who noticed the strange expression that mingle with Sonoko's relief when she walked in with Kid on her arm.

Two other people in the room, besides Sonoko, expressed something more than warmth when they saw her. One she had expected. Conan's sharp eyes stared back at her from where he was sitting next to her father, a deep bruise already forming on his face where he must have been struck. The calculating expression that seemed so natural on Shinichi, focused on her escort without leaving him.

The other person who had reacted to their entrance was a blond boy she knew she had met before, even spoken too, but with how many people she come across on cases and how much Shinichi had tried to drill into her head the names of every famous character from any descent mystery, she wasn't surprised that his name didn't come to her now. Unlike Conan, the blond seemed to twitch, surprise there instead of concern, though she wasn't sure because she quickly broke eye contact with him.

Instead of going over to her father and Conan, who were seated in the middle of the room, Ran took a spot near the front, at the first opportunity presented to her. Sonoko was up there, but so were some house servants and police officers she had never seen before. Kid hesitated a moment before falling heavily to the floor and nearly glaring at her from under his cap.

"You had to sit by the police officers, didn't you?"

"You should be glad. I was being nice." Ran didn't face him but she knew he could hear her. "Conan-kun probably knows it's you, so I thought I'd stay over here."

Kid seemed to be evaluating her before she heard a soft laugh that could have been her imagination. "No, you just want me away from him so that he has less of a chance of getting himself in trouble. I admire that."

Ran didn't know what to say, and was glad when Sonoko slid behind her.

"Ran-"

"Shut up! Everyone!"

The small mumbles of fear and confusion that were moving through the rather large group all came to a halt as the man who had brought her and Kid into the room shot a bullet off into the ceiling. She felt Sonoko's hand grip the back of her shirt.

"You don't have to do that! We can hear you just fine!"

Ran was dazed for a moment when an unknown female voice shouted at the man. Whoever the girl yelling was, she was close, maybe a few feet behind her and to her right since Ran had picked a nice stop to the side where she was close to the wall.

A breeze blew Ran's hair and she looked over to see that Kid had moved from his docile sitting position to a crouch, seeming prepared to dash across the room. She thought he had to be crazy to move around like that with his injuries.

Ran heard the click of the gun as the man pointed it into the crowd. It wasn't hard to see the girl, as she was next to the blond Ran had spotted earlier and several people around them had backed away when she had shouted.

"This isn't a game, little girl. I shoot you and you die. You'll find I'm not a very nice person if you do one more thing to get me angry."

Ran watched as the girl crossed her arms, long brown hair just a few shades lighter than her own, helping the other stand out against the older males around her. There was defiance in her posture but she made no move to speak again.

The man kept his gun aimed in the girl's direction as he spoke clearly to one of his subordinates. "Is this everyone?"

"We're still searching. The house is really big, Sir. It's going to take some time."

"I have a bunch of cops - albeit half-assed ones - and over twenty hostages, and you want me to wait while all of the Tokyo Metro gets here?" The man laughed, though Ran found no humor in it. "No. Let's make this easy." The leader made his way into the crowd, people parting before him as he went narrowed in on the brazen girl. Several things happened at once when he got close, only one of which Ran clearly saw since she was a part of it.

Kid tried to run for the gunman, only for Ran to grab hold of his sleave, making him trip and land painfully on the ground behind them, unintentionally bumping into Sonoko. Ran didn't know why she stopped him but she knew that if she let him go, he would die.

The second thing that happened was the blond who hadn't left the girl's side when the others around her had, stood up and blocked the man from coming any closer.

"You're not touching her."

The teenage boy and much larger man had a staring contest while Ran continued to fight with Kid, who was trying to get out of her hold. She struggled to get his other arm behind his back, so that he wouldn't draw any more attention to their part of the room. Kid resisted all the more but froze when he heard the blond boy speak.

"Move it boy." The leader raise his gun. "Or die."

"I said you're not touching her." The blond didn't move. Ran's thoughts were in a three way tug of war between trying to remember who he was, attempting to keep the world's most elusive criminal in her control, and in shock of the whole situation and how it had come about.

"I could kill you right here an take the girl anyway. I'm sure a lot of people wouldn't like that and your actions would send most of the police officers here to the grave with you, but I'll be generous this one time. I won't touch her." The leader roughly shoved the teen's shoulder, giving him the angle to wrap his forearm around the boy's neck tight enough to choke him. "You're not a girl, but you should be fine."

"Let him go!" The girl stood up from their shadow. "You wanted me, right?" She pulled on the man's sleave and there was an audible click from the gun as he placed the cold metal against the blond's head, at his temple under his hair.

"Shut up and sit down or I'll kill him."

The girl started at the gunman angrily, tears clear but not escaping her eyes. Ran felt bad for her. She could only imagine that she'd be acting the same way if she was in that possiton.

"Let go of me," Kid growled low under his breath so no one would hear. Ran was sure Sonoko did though, because the girl turned away from the scrimmage to face them.

"I can't. If I let you go you'll either get that boy shot or yourself killed. I'm not an idiot."

"Kudo-kun?" Sonoko asked, looking between the two of them. Ran shook her head. At the last second she bit back on her words without telling her best friend that it was Kid. There were other people around them and it was possible she'd be overheard. Why she felt a need to protect him, she didn't know, but seeing the way these people who were after him were acting, she didn't care. He couldn't be worse than they were.

"Kid! I know you're here somewhere still! You're either hiding or somewhere in this room, but if you don't come out now, I'm going to kill this boy!" The blond seemed more worried about breathing than he did the firearm ready to take his life. The man in black noticed this and loosened his hold with a cruel grin as the boy started to choke out stifled breaths.

"And what if he's not here or escaped and you're too stupid to have noticed?" The girl was at it again and Ran wished she'd be quiet to keep herself safe.

"Then you're all going to die here, since I'd have no use for you. I'm sure, even if it takes a few of your deaths, Kid will return if he's already left. If not, I'll just have fun with all of you and see how many I can go through before the police arrive."

There was a disgruntled noise from a man near the girl. He wasn't at her side but he'd been drawing in closer and closer since Ran had been watching. Unlike the other two, Inspector Nakamori she did recognize.

"The police that can actually accomplish something I mean." His eyes narrowed in on the man and he shoved the gun harder into the blond's head, forcing him further into his hold. "Now, as I was saying, if Kid is here I'd like him to come out in- lets say five minutes. IF YOU DON'T!" he shouted, addressing Kid since he didn't know if the thief was still hiding somewhere in the house. "You know I'll keep my word!"

"Please, let me go," Kid struggled some more under her hold but Ran couldn't do it. She couldn't let this... teenage boy, he had to be, die. She couldn't.

"Four minutes!"

Ran watched as Kid tensed, prepared to fight her. Her attention though, was more drawn to the blond. He was tall and so had to bend his knees slightly to stay in a somewhat comfortable possiton as the man held him. The teen had his hands gripping the man's arm in order to help this precarious balance, but it didn't seem as if he was fighting against him. His hands were taunt enough that the material from the man's coat was shifting in place every time they moved. He was feeling him out. Ran shook her head. The blond had noticed that there wasn't a way to get out of the hold in time to avoid the gunshot.

But he could get out of the hold.

She was thinking so she hadn't noticed Conan until he was right in front of her. Ran almost screamed, holding in the noise in the split second it took for her brain tell her there wasn't any danger. Unfortunately, her sudden terror had her raising her hands in a defensive position, leaving Kid able run off at his chance for freedom.

"Wait," she called out as loud as she dared, but it was too late. Conan was confused at what was going on but watched Kid's fleeing form with her as the thief stuck the gunman from behind, sharply hitting the arm the man was holding the weapon in.

The sound of the shot rang through the room, missing the blond by a few inches as he slid to the ground, using the shock to get away from the man. Kid wasn't so lucky, as the man instinctively took the arm that Kid had knocked and elbowed the thief in the face. Kid stumbled back, tripping on one of the people on the ground before falling over.

"Who the hell did that?" The man in black turned all his anger towards the Kid, picking him up roughly by the collar of his shirt. Kid was too stunned to move and hung limply in the man's hold. The blow had knocked the thief's cap sideways in a liberal fashion, making thief look like a teenage delinquent. "Don't you think you can get away with that!"

"Stop it!" Ran didn't know what she was doing and wished she could take back her words. But it was too late now. She stood up and went over to them, ignoring Conan's eyes, and careful not to move to quickly and be considered a threat. She stopped a few feet away. "He's with me! I'm sorry he ran into you but please don't hurt him."

"If everyone here wants to be heroic, you're all going to die." The man let go of Kid, the thief not having his senses back and slamming his head into the ground. Ran watched him closely where a dark bruise was already forming around his right eye. He blinked them open a few times and Ran stepped back. His wounded eye was completely red on the inside, as if he were a demon. Ran had seen it before, in karate, and knew that it was blood leaking in from the injury. Kid wouldn't be able to see, or appear normal, for at least a week.

"Are you alright?" Ran bent down next to him, watching the blond closely out of the corner of her eye as he stared at them and rubbed his throat from a crouched position nearby.

Kid didn't answer her question, only put a hand to his eye and wince in pain. She knew that blow must have given him one of the worse headaches he was ever likely to have along with the bruising.

"All these kids throwing themselves at me." The man laughed. "I'm a little disappointed it wasn't any of the police officers. Just shows how much 'justice' is worth in the real world."

Kid started to growl but Ran placed a hand on his stomach, making him drawn back and stop the noise.

"I guess I may be rushing things. The police force shouldn't get here until morning, seeing as it's not unusual for them to lose contact with devision two." The man sneered at all of them. "That doesn't mean I want to sit her quietly and let Kid have his time to act." The man pointed his gun at Ran, Kid, and then the blond and the female. "You will come will me. I'll use you as hostages if anything goes wrong and I won't have to worry about anyone trying to get me from behind." The man glared down at Kid but the thief still had his eyes closed and was trying to fight off the pain.

"Ran." Shinichi's - no, Conan's - quiet voice reached her ears. He must have followed her.

"Don't worry Conan-kun, I'll be fine." They looked at one another and she felt bad. Conan was worried, and not about himself. It wasn't the first time she'd seen that look on his face. It clearly spoke of hurt but she couldn't tell where it came from.

Ran stood up, helping Kid get to his feet and feeling him sway authentically. The blond stood and shoved the other girl back to the floor, turning on the leader.

"I told you, you aren't touching her. I'm fine with you taking me but she stays."

The man gave in quicker than he had before. "Fine, the less of you to watch, the better. If she misbehaves out here though, my men will be forced - heh, take pleasure, in killing her."

"But Hakuba-kun-" The girl's protests were cut off when Inspector Nakamori took her wrist and forced her to the ground next to him, wrapping on arm protectively around her. Hakuba. That was his name. Ran had been distracted by his foreign features and had forgotten that he hadn't had a foreign name. The teen nodded to the Inspector and more memories of him started to come to her. They'd been at a mansion together, and he'd been after the Kid.

The man in black made them walk in front of him, keeping a closer watch on Hakuba than on her and Kid. She could see how the blond seemed the greater threat, what with Kid swaying dangerously whenever he stepped forward with his right foot. Ran could guess that his balanced was still knocked off so she held onto him arm, feeling his fingers brush against her wrist as added enforcement.

"Ran, don't go!" Sonoko called out to her loudly and she couldn't help but turn to her friend. Ran didn't know why, but she wasn't scared. It worried her more to be leaving Sonoko and Conan than it did to be dragged off with the evil-eyed man.

Kid moved his hand from her arm to rest on her shoulder, giving Sonoko a look that she couldn't see, as they were led out of the room. Sonoko didn't try to come after them, so he must have reassured her, even with his discolored eye. When Kid turned back to her as they entered the hallway, she saw that he had his injured eye closed. He smiled at her when he noticed her looking.

Hakuba was trying to look at them as well, curiosity high, before the armed man shoved him roughly in the back.

"Make goo-goo eyes at each other on your own time. I won't have any fooling around now. This isn't three strikes and your out anymore. They won't see you die so I have no problem killing you."

None of them said anything after that and Hakuba remained a few steps ahead of the other two, so he couldn't be accused of fraternizing with them again. The man grabbed the blond at one point, after they'd gone nearly half the length of the house, and indicated that they should go into one of the rooms.

The space in question was obviously a guest bedroom, considering the smell of both dust and cleanser that hung in the air. They stood in the center while the man got in and locked the door behind them. In front of the group was a bed, sheets in order and the color of soft cream. The walls were decorated with a slightly darker hue and held painting of flowers and mountains. If Ran's thoughts weren't on other things she might have admired the calm setting that went so well with a soft white desk and large vanity mirror.

"Now, you" The man lashed out at Hakuba before any of them saw it coming, striking him the the head with the gun. Hakuba had turned to face him when he spoke, so it hit him solidly in the forehead. The blond crouched over, raising a hand to the wound and Ran saw blood run between his fingers. "Don't you dare think you can ever tell me what to do. One word," the gunman threatened, raising the barrel, "and I have no problem having two captives."

Ran was swift enough this time to predict Kid's movements. He changed from groggy to steel the moment Hakuba was hit, attempting to get himself between them and the gunman. Ran held onto his arm tightly, having to shove her heels into the rug to keep the thief from acting so impulsively.

Hakuba took his hand away, wiping the red onto his pants that were dark enough to hide the stain, and standing back up to stare back at his assailant with reproaching eyes. The man's rancid smile had her wanting to reach out and pull the blond back as well as Kid. They were both being idiots, trying to attack a man that could kill them in a heartbeat.

"Get over there," the man said, swinging the barrel of the gun at the closet in the room, "and don't you dare move an inch. Like I said, I don't care how many hostage I have. If at least one of you is left alive, I'll be happy. You know, I don't even need one of you." Ran heard at the hammer on the gun was pulled back, closing her eyes for a moment as she did was she was told, not having to drag Kid along this time, as he came willingly.

When they were at the closet, Kid ignored all logic again and sat on the floor, leaning forward and holding his hand up to his hurt eye. The man in black nodded at his action, stating to them that sitting was acceptable as he walked over to the window on the opposite side of the room, cell phone in hand.

Kid was still holding onto one of Ran's hands so she found it easier to sit next to him than bend over. Hakuba took a spot on her other side, though he leaned forward off the closet doors so that he'd be able to watch Kid.

"Hello," they heard the rough voice of the man as he spoke into a phone. "I'd like to speak with one of your higher ups. Get them on the line now, or a lot of people are going to start dieing."

Ransome. The man was going to demand money for their release, even though he'd already said he'd kill as many people as he wanted to in order to draw Kid out. The man made it so he couldn't lose. He'd kill as many people as he wanted, hopefully getting Kid in the process. The police could do nothing about the lives that were already lost and pay the man and his goons to set the rest of them free.

There wasn't many people who could stop it from happening either.

Shinichi. She wanted him with her so badly. She didn't notice when she started squeezing Kid's hand until he had to shake her off.

"Oh, sorry." She left go when he pulled away, thinking she was happy to be free of him after feeling sorry that she'd hurt him.

"It's fine, Mouri-san." Besides flexing his fingers, he seemed okay. Ran knew she had a strong grip and she didn't think Kid was one to show that she'd been bothering him unless it hurt.

Ran was used to Kid being moonlight and magic, not weak and human and bleeding. It was such a stark difference that she wasn't sure how to react around him.

"Kid-san, you better shape up or you'll lose some of your fans."

Hakuba's sudden words distracted her and she only saw Kid seat himself properly out of the corner of her eye. When she turned back he was grinning without a hint of the frailty that had been there before.

"So Hakuba-san, that means I'd be losing your support?"

"I'm no fan of yours, I'm a fan of living. I can't see how to do that without your help."

Some agreement was going on between the two that Ran wasn't made part of.

Kid laughed. "This makes it easier anyway. He was smart to split us up, since you should never keep all your eggs in one basket-"

"Unless one of the eggs is Kaitou Kid. Now he doesn't have any help from his men if we chose- excuse me, if you choose to strike him."

So Hakuba had known that the teen next to her was Kid. Ran couldn't tell how this was possible, considering the boy looked more like Shinichi than he did the thief. Suddenly she wasn't upset about hurting his hand anymore. Kid should know better than to run around her looking like him.

"I've been thinking on it for a while," Kid leaned over Ran, ignoring her as he spoke to the blond. Ran didn't like that one bit, so she pushed him forward and herself back more so that the thief wouldn't be in her face. Her shoulder hit against the closet, making the door rattle against its frame.

The world went dark and Ran wondered briefly if she had died and hadn't seen it coming.

"I told you don't fool around with me. Next time I'll aim." Those words and the sound of unsteady breathing entered into the darkness around her. Red came next as Kid pulled himself away from her, apparently having protected her once again. Ran didn't know what to think of that. She'd always been the strong one. She had always protected those around her that couldn't protect themselves. The roles were reversed now and the two boys around her had taken charge of the situation. Relief and fear flooded her like they never had before. The bullet hole less than a foot above her head helped the emotions along. The next thing she knew she had Kid's shirt clutched in her shaking hands. "Shinichi". Help.

"Mouri-san-" Kid put his hands on her wrists before deciding that prying her off was a bad idea, instead he wrapped his arms around her, hugging her. Shinichi. He wasn't him. This boy wasn't him. But did it matter?

Ran felt herself hurt at the thought. Of course it mattered, but she couldn't deny that this boy and Shinichi were similar, not only in looks but in strength. She was aware that Kid was a criminal. He- was a bad person, right? So why did she feel so safe with him?

One down to earth thought kept coming back to her while these questions fogged her brain so the fear couldn't take over. Kid felt wet. His body against hers was very cold and damp, almost as if he had gone into a lake on a chilly day and the temperature didn't let him dry off completely.

While she had welcomed his hug, since she had initiated it, his head resting by her neck felt too personal. She could even feel his breathing tickling her hair in a slow rhythm. Almost as if he were resting.

"Um, Ki-" Ran stopped herself before she said anymore. Kid let her got when he released his shirt and it didn't seem like there was anything wrong with him other than the worry that was floating in his gaze. He looked like a beaten dog with the black eye and Ran almost wished he was hugging her again so she wouldn't have to see it. So that should could be comforted by the thought that someone strong was protecting her.

Hakuba was staring at her as if she were crazy, and it wasn't hard to imagine why. She'd just made an internationally wanted criminal hug her. Ran shook her head, getting back to the thoughts at hand. Worry crept up even when she tried to force it away.

Now that Kid was sitting once again, Ran turned him towards her, lifting up his shirt to see the bandages completely soaked in his blood.

"You've been bleeding out this whole time..." She put the shirt down. "We need to get you to a hospital."

"No." The thief's words were hard but his vision seemed to be swimming. Ran didn't know how much blood a person had to lose to pass out, but she was sure he was getting close to that limit.

"Kami, when the hell did that happen!" Hakuba hissed out, only whispering his words at the last second due to shock.

"It's nothing." Kid may have been grinning at them, but the glassy look in his eyes ruined the illusion. Kid shook his head to try and clear it. "I'm fine. We have to worry about getting everyone out of here."

"Not with you in that condition." Hakuba put a hand up to his mouth as he thought, similar to how Shinichi would. As dire as their situation was, it made Ran smile.

The man snapping the phone shut made them fall into a lack position to try and show vulnerability. It was done completely without thought by all three, not that Kid had to try.

"Now I have to deal with you brats. Don't worry, I have plans for you." The man raised his gun at her and Ran tried hard not to flinch. He moved the weapon in a slow arch back and forth between all of them. "I'm going to kill one of you, to show those idiots that call themselves law enforcement that that can't mess around with me." He let the gun rest on Hakuba. "Should it be the one who fought against me," he said as he took the gun in one final motion, Ran feeling herself sweat even if her expression hid the fear, "The girl who did the same thing..." The gun rested on Kid. "Or the idiot who thought he could get me while my back was turned." The revolver stayed focused on Kid as the man pulled back the hammer on the gun.

Ran couldn't help what she did next.

She stood up, startling all of them, and stood in front of Kid so that he couldn't be shot. He'd gotten away with protecting her once, she wasn't going to let him get away with it again. Criminal or not, right now Ran had the strength to fight back and he didn't. She owed him. It wasn't just her life he'd saved, he'd rescued Conan's too. Ran was willing to pay back her debt. She'd be prepared from the moment that the man had first drawn the gun on them in the bathroom, though she hadn't known it then.

"Ran."

The voice broke apart her determination. It was a dirty trick and she'd realized it only after Kid had gotten up and pushed her behind him. She had though Shinichi was there. Hatred flared up but was dispelled the minute that he turned and smiled at her. "I asked you earlier to trust me."

It- It wasn't Shinichi's voice. He may have called her by her first name, like Shinichi would, but that wasn't his voice. Almost, but something was off. They looked alike, could they sound alike? Had Kid, whoever he was, really just spoken to her?

Ran couldn't even nod. She was too numb. Everything was pushing her farther than she was able to handle. So the boy, bleeding his life out in front of her, put a hand on her shoulder until she was sitting on the ground next to the blond again. She didn't know what Hakuba thought of everything that was going on between them. She didn't know what to think. In any case, she couldn't take her eyes off of Kid and his grin in order to find out.

"Heh. How sweet."

Ran heard the sound of the gunshot before she was ready for it- Kid hadn't even had the time to stand up straight.

She closed her eyes.