A/N:I'm gonna reread TNK completely, so I can get everything accurate. I look forward to having Shinichi working with "The Nightmare Inspector" again. Also, there is no Conan in this, sorry, this is an AU work of its own, however, he does mention having dreams of an alternate reality (the canon work) where that happens. Oh, and the murderer subplot is gonna be either revised or cut, as I had no idea where to take it. I will try to work murder cases into it, however my OCs suck, so if anyone can give me something to work with, that would be helpful. Mysteries, fight scenes, and romance are my weakest point.

Anyhow, thanks for the review, Akrim! This story is dedicated to my friend KilluaNatsume!

Rewriting the second chapter of TNK. Idk if I'll completely stick to the original story or if I'll go to the new idea completely.

Chapter Two Kaitou Kid's Challenge


A certain meitantei was fast asleep in his classroom at school, much to a certain brunette's dismay.

"Shinichi, wake up!" She cried, shaking him.

The brunette did not respond. He was still in his world of dreams.

"Did he fall asleep again?" Sonoko Suzuki asked her best friend, Ran, who nodded.

"He must have had a hard case last night or something. He stays up all night on those things." Ran muttered.

"I wonder what made him want to start solving cases in the first place. That's all boring stuff to me." Sonoko sighed, putting her head in her hands and looking at the slumbering meitantei.

"Sonoko-chan, Shinichi likes doing it, so maybe you should support him. I don't understand why you dislike him so much." Ran remarked.

Sonoko's face flushed. "I-It's not like I dislike him or anything, I just think that maybe...maybe, he should get his head out of his cases and pay attention to a girl who likes him!"

"Excuse me, girls, but why are we chatting like this in class?" The music teacher said sharply, rapping their desks.

Both girls flinched.

"Sorry, Sensei, we'll get back to work! It's just that Shinichi fell asleep." Ran muttered.

The teacher sighed. "I know Kudo-kun is a detective and all, but his schoolwork matters, too. Doesn't he take care of his health?"

"He's cute sleeping like that," Another girl said.

"Very well, then, Mouri-san, please awaken Kudo-kun. He cannot have a failing mark in this class any longer, it will not look good for his career." The teacher said, sighing.

Having a celebrity for a student was troubling. The boy wasn't arrogant and full of himself, he was just so self-absorbed in his own things that he couldn't really pay attention to anything else. It sort of troubled her, but she supposed since he was a genius and all, he probably could handle himself.

"Make sure he awakens soon, Mouri-san." She reminded Ran, who had fallen back into conversation with the chatterbox Sonoko and some Shinichi Kudo fangirls, who'd whispered about how cute the detective was.

'Shinichi...wake up.' Ran thought worriedly, shaking her best friend.

Meanwhile, Shinichi was dreaming about the past.


"Ne, Shinichi, when we're grown-ups, are you gonna attend my magic shows?" A nine year old Kaito Kuroba asked his cousin, Kudo Shinichi, who frowned slightly at the question.

His cousin put his hands over his chin as if in thought.

Kaito knew he was mimicking how Sherlock Holmes acted on those old British movies Shinichi would sometimes watch on television, sometimes his cousin would make him watch those boring old dramas. Kaito would much rather watch a magic show on television.

"Etou...probably! As long as I'm not too busy solving murders and catching criminals!" Shinichi exclaimed, laughing slightly as well.

"Bakanichi, you know you'll never be a real-life detective." Kaito mocked lightly. Of course, he respected his cousin's dreams, he just knew the harsh reality of the world around him more than the introverted bookworm did. Shinichi was too kind and naive. He believed in people even when they let him down.

He never wanted Shinichi to see him like that.

"I will so be a famous detective!" Shinichi yelped, scrambling off his chair.

"Will not!" Kaito jeered.

"Will too!" Shinichi cried. "I'll be much cooler than you, and I'll have a cool car and lots of fan girls! No one will even know of your existence, Bakaito!"

That nickname originated with Shinichi and Aoko picked it up from being around him a couple of times. Not that she really remembered him, of course, as Shinichi came to stay at odd intervals over the summer.

"The girls don't even like you in school. They think you're a nerd." Kaito replied cheerfully before popping out some flowers and twirling them around like a baton. He held them near Shinichi's face and sprayed him with water. The young boy blinked for a few moments, and then he glared at his cousin before attempting to lunge at him.

"You barou, knock it off!" Shinichi cried as he dove at his cousin, who dodged.

"You'll have to try and catch me first." Kaito taunted.


"Shinichi! Shinichi!"

"Huh?"

Blue eyes flew open as the detective yawned and stretched, shooting up in his chair-in time to see that Ran was glaring at him.

"Did I fall asleep again?" He muttered.

The annoyed look Ran shot him was enough to prove his point.

He probably shouldn't have been asleep, but a tough case Megure-Keibu had sent him had kept him up until around three in the morning last night. He had managed to put all the pieces of the puzzle together, but he had dozed off halfway through, woke up and then tried again.

Ran sent a cross look his way.

She was sitting a few seats away from where he was, so she could be very annoying in this class. Shinichi rolled his eyes and propped his head up on the desk with his right hand in order to try and prevent himself from falling back asleep. The teacher, however, was less than pleased, judging by her cross expression.

It was in Shinichi's least favorite class of all, music, that he had to fall asleep in. Though he enjoyed listening to music, Shinichi Kudou did have one weakness: he was tone-deaf.

He could not sing to save his life and even when he had tried as a kid, Kaito made fun of him and called him a crow.

Also, Shinichi could not really stand the fact that sometimes, the teacher forced them to sing out loud. That had been a constant staple in junior high and elementary, and he had always gotten a bad grade there.

The music teacher frowned at her less-than-average pupil. She knew he was a famous detective and a really good soccer player, he got lots of good grades in other subjects-in fact, he was more or less an overachiever-so why was he not good in this one?

She decided to ask him herself. "Kudou-kun, why must you fall asleep in my class? Is my class that dull to you?"

Shinichi yawned loudly, before scratching his head, "No, it was just due to something that kept me up all night long, Sensei."

One of the boys beside him chuckled. "I bet that isn't what she said-"

Shinichi silenced him with a cold glare. "Barou, it wasn't that at all!"

"Please calm down, Kudou-san." The teacher chided, staring at him as though he were a horrible, horrible, villain, even when he had only fallen asleep. How bad was it to fall asleep in this class, anyway? He hated music, and the teacher, and the subject. Therefore, it was only natural that he would fall asleep, wasn't it?

He sighed melodramatically and half of the girls in the classroom stared at him and giggled slightly.

He winked at one sitting near him, and she blushed deeply before looking away. Shinichi sweat-dropped a little bit. The fans he had sometimes got out of hand. They would wait outside his classroom for him, ask for autographs, and sometimes even ask for help with cases. A few of them had proposed and sent him cookies, cakes, and other stuff before, but of course Shinichi returned all of it.

He only had one girl on his mind, and she was right there. He glanced over at Ran momentarily before turning his attention back to his boring schoolwork. 'Might as well attempt to do something while I'm here,' He thought, then his thoughts went back to the girls.

'Am I a bit of a flirt or something? Heh...well, I am a famous detective, after all. It only makes sense that I'd have a bunch of fans. I wonder if Kaito knows about me being a detective...'

His thoughts went back to his cousin, and he stared out the window, wondering inwardly what Kaito was doing and whether he still thought about him.

There was no denying that the two of them were separated from one another, in name, in lifestyle, and in personality, even.

The only things that really connected them were their looks, their feelings about people, their friendship, and the fact that they both were cousins related by blood, and they would always act alike no matter what they thought of it.

"Kaito..." He mumbled under his breath. He was glad that school was almost out.

Of course, at times like this, usually Megure-keibu would call him on his cell phone and request that he solve some sort of case, but there had been nothing like that so far-


Suddenly, he felt his phone vibrating.

Shinichi's eyes widened. He couldn't let himself be caught with a cell phone. "Sensei? Can I use the restroom?"

He noticed Ran flash him a suspicious stare. It seemed that she knew he was lying.

She knew him pretty well, or well enough to know that he wouldn't tell lies unless it was absolutely necessary.

He stopped to consider that for a second. Would he ever lie to Ran for any reason at all? No, of course he wouldn't...though, sometimes he had strange feelings in the pit of his stomach...deja vu...

Sometimes, he would have dreams about another universe that was very similar to his own.

Something odd had happened to him in that universe.

He had been turned into a little kid and had apparently lived with Ran for a while and...it was such a bizarre dream...Kaito wasn't related to him at all, and there was a strange blond-haired girl there as well...he frowned as he tried to remember it before shrugging his shoulders and walking out of the classroom.

"No point in remembering weird dreams like that," Shinichi muttered.

He darted into the bathroom, thankful for the fact that there were no cameras in the boys' bathroom, went into a stall and closed the door.

He immediately answered the call.

"Hello?" He whispered, glancing around to make sure that no one was eavesdropping. The less likely he was being watched or spied on by fan-girls, the better.

"Ah, Kudo-kun! I was just trying to reach you, but you wouldn't answer."

Shinichi smiled upon hearing Megure-keibu's voice. Now this was something he actually liked today.

He would get a break from class thanks to someone dying. It was a very morbid thought and he knew that, but he was used to people dropping dead around him.

He smirked as he replied,"I'm in school right now, and I saw my phone vibrating, so I had to make an excuse and sneak to the bathroom where they don't have cameras. I don't want people overhearing, so that's why I'm whispering."

"Oh, I see! You are too smart for your own good, Kudo-kun! Sometimes you sound like a criminal in training! Anyway, we just found quite a grisly scene here in a restaurant. Two people have been murdered. A man and a woman have been poisoned, and then hacked to pieces. It's quite a gruesome scene. Some of my men aren't used to seeing such grim scenes. They're hiding right now, the little cowards."

Shinichi snickered slightly.

He heard footsteps outside his stall, and froze.

"Is this stall taken?" A male voice asked.

"Yes..." Shinichi said.

"Fine, I'll use the other one. Don't flirt with your girlfriend in here, you idiot." The male voice scolded, before slamming another stall door shut with a loud bang. Shinichi winced visibly.

"Well, that was weird. Someone thought I was flirting with a girl here," Shinichi said. "So, when do you want me over?"

"As soon as possible, Kudo-kun, tell your teacher it's because of a case. They'll understand."

Shinichi sighed. "All right. I'll see you later, Megure-keibu."


Megure stared at the phone in his hands and sighed.

That young detective could be quite handy at times, but at the same time, he could be quite a handful.

Sometimes he wondered what exactly went on in that brilliant, intelligent mind of his. However, the boy was quite a valuable asset to solving the mysteries that seemed to baffle the police force. He was very used to him, however.


"He's just like his father," He muttered, remembering how Kudo Yusaku had skipped school to go solve cases, too. "A chip off the old block, huh?"

Kuroba Kaito yawned out loud in his school.

Aoko Nakamori, his childhood friend, and secret crush, glared at him. "Bakaito, why are you yawning in school? You're not supposed to stay up late! What were you doing last night, anyway?"

'I was out doing my usual night job, stealing jewels as the thief KID, Bakoko. What else would I have been doing? Dying my hair a new color? Selling Kudou Shinichi fan posters? Not like my cousin would ever believe I would do that,' Kaito thought before deciding to humor her with a half-truth.

"I was...busy preparing a new magic trick yesterday." Kaito stated.

"It took you...all night, to do it? Geez, Kaito, you really put that much effort into making tricks?" Aoko scoffed skeptically. Obviously, she didn't buy his little lie. Well, he couldn't actually tell her the truth, could he?

Obviously, that would not be a good idea. The last thing he wanted to have happen was to cause Aoko to get mixed up in his business as Kaitou Kid. He wanted to protect her and not cause her harm in any possible way. Plus, her anti-KID nature would resurface and just that thought made Kaito shudder.

"By the way, Kaito, you seem awfully serious today. Is it because...of today's date?" Aoko asked.

Kaito nodded solemnly. "Yes...it's today... it's the anniversary of the day Shinichi and I parted from each other. It wasn't exactly in the best way, either."

"Please don't leave, Kaito!" Shinichi begged, clutching the nine-year old's arm desperately, as if trying to hold onto him forever. He didn't want to lose Kaito, too. He'd already lost his uncle, for God's sake.

"I don't want to leave, either. I have no choice." Kaito said, tears flowing down his face as he hugged Shinichi back.

"But, you can't-"

Shinichi was cut off by his Aunt Chikage, who hugged him and smiled sadly before taking Kaito by the hand and walking away. "No, you can't leave, Kaito! You promised to stay by my side, itoko!"

Kaito shot a sad glance in his direction. "I know, itoko...I know, but I'll always be with you."

"How? You're never going to see me again!" Shinichi cried. "Please, don't go!"

"I'm sorry," Kaito whispered, and then they were gone. He heard the sound of their car pull out of their driveway. Shinichi stood watching them go, tears coming down his face.

"Kaito!" He screamed. His mother held him as he sobbed.

Kaito smiled sadly. He hoped Shinichi had gotten over his departure.

Judging from Shinichi's expression on the article yesterday, it seemed like his cousin had fulfilled his dreams, after all.

Now, the question remained: would Shinichi ever come after him as Kaitou Kid?

A smirk crossed up his face. Nothing more interesting than the master meitantei taking on his own cousin, and not even knowing it.


"Who's KID, Ran?" Shinichi asked.

"KID is a famous Kaitou, or phantom thief! I can't believe you've never heard of him, Shinichi!" Ran exclaimed.

"A phantom thief, eh...?" Shinichi trailed off.

'Why does that remind me of Kaito? Nah, Kaito would never do that stuff,' He whispered to himself.