N/A: This is the next chapter guys! We made it to chapter two! Oh my gosh! I have been contemplating what to do about the first official chapter of it. You all have this person for this chapter, so be sure to check out their stories.

kibaxkaori: This was a really good start. I think a spin-off - maybe prequel - detailing Conan and Kaito's meeting right after that heist would be good, though. It sounded kind of rushed when you summarized it. I like how you have Kaito openly impersonating Shinichi; I don't see many authors do that. I also like fanfics that consider how "Shinichi" is dealing with his high school classwork issues, too. It makes sense that it would be something he worries about. Great work! Can't wait to read more. XD

Be sure to enjoy yourselves now. It's show time!

Chapter 1

All His Fault

Two Months Earlier

It was supposed to be a heist just like any other. Conan had always seen heists as a release of frustration, a way to just let out all his pent up anger and all of his negative emotions through misplaced aggression. Mainly by aiming it all at a certain phantom thief.

What he hadn't expected was to be in a situation like this.

Just like usual, KID had shown up and taunted the police as he snatched the gem from its display case. Before he had ran off, he had filled the room with smoke and had made a dash for the large double doors that led to his escape route. It hadn't been very hard to keep up with the thief, at least for Conan. Most of the task force was captured in the numerous traps that were laid about for them to fall into. By the time they reached the staircase, only twenty or so members were left, including Conan himself.

That was the first oddity. KID never let any of the Kaitou KID Task Force survive his traps and there were even less of them than usual. And when the thief had dashed out of the room, he had been slower than usual. Was KID losing his touch?

Conan only found himself scoffing at the thought. KID never lost his touch, so that only left a few options. A.) KID was going easy on the Task Force for once. B.) Something was distracting KID enough that he not only set very few traps, but also slowed his pace enough that both he and Nakamori-keibu had been able to keep up with the thief very easily.

Most likely option B, Conan found himself thinking. He faintly remembered the look on KID's face when he had dropped off the display case. The thief's eyebrow had creased slightly and his mouth had twitched in a suppressed grimace. He had also been favoring his right side in such a discrete way, that the child had almost missed it. Was the thief wounded?

He didn't humor the thought very much before the sight of the door to the rooftop came into view. He almost stopped when he noticed something very wrong. The door was still open slightly ajar, giving away a vague view of the buildings across the street. KID never left the door open, not if he wanted the Task Force to catch up faster since the door being closed would at least slow them down long enough for him to jump.

Something must have gone wrong.

With a sudden uneasy feeling (the kind he only got when he knew something really bad was about to happen), Shinichi found himself running even faster and ignored the shouts of disbelief from the Task Force. When he finally reached the exit, Shinichi slammed his little body for all it was worth against the door, making it swing wide open.

With a deafening BAM!, the door collided with the wall and gained the attention of said phantom thief.

Along with the three or four gunmen who were holding him at gun point.

Conan froze.

Completely black outfits.

Fedoras.

Murderous aura.

Cold eyes.

Black Organization.

The leader, or at least he looked like it, only grinned when he saw the 'child'. His grin had the sharpness that KID always lacked, the dangerous edge that seemed to pass smug satisfaction and entered the territory of a real criminal. He was someone who wouldn't hesitate to kill a little boy.

The next moment his smile disappeared as the Task Force appeared behind the pseudo-child. He obviously hadn't planned to fight the Task Force tonight, especially when they outnumbered his men by five to one. He knew he already lost this fight.

Apparently, his men knew as well. With only one hand signal from the mustached man, they all fled. The Task Force, who were still trying to process the scene, could only stare as the men disappeared around the corner and out of sight.

"WHAT THE HELL'S GOING ON HERE?!"

The air seemed to shake at the force of Nakamori-keibu's voice. Conan almost fell over at the volume and he was pretty sure the ringing in is ears wouldn't be going anywhere any time soon. This man was as bad as Hattori and Kogorou with that big mouth of his.

Putting aside his irritation for his curiosity, Conan also looked at the thief with the same expecting gaze as the other keiji who were surrounding him. He also wanted to know what Black Organization members were doing up here and why they were holding the man at gunpoint.

However, just one look at the thief's face made him swallow his words.

The man's face was set into a stony expressionless mask. He looked like a statue with how still he was and the only thing reminding Conan that he was alive was the almost undetectable rise and fall of his chest, though it too went close to going unnoticed. His body was in a defensive position, with half of his body turned away towards the edge of the roof. What the thief said, however, made something in Conan's stomach flip unpleasantly.

In a tone that seemed to come very close to glacial, KID addressed Nakamori-keibu.

"You don't have to worry about anything, Keibu. This doesn't concern you or the police," he said in an almost flippant manner. He sounded as if he hadn't almost been shot to death by a bunch of assassins! Just the mere thought made a shiver go down the shrunken detectives spine.

He came very close to flinching when KID turned his gaze to him. His indigo eyes looked with cerulean and Shinichi couldn't bring himself to look away.

"Don't get involved."

Huh?

Shinichi only just registered that the words had been meant for him when the thief suddenly dived off the building. Don't get involved. The thief had spoken directly to him. He didn't speak the words very loudly, he had only spoken in such a soft whisper that the teen was surprised he had even heard it at all.

Suddenly, something caught his eye, something that was very wrong. He turned his gaze towards the sky and let out an involuntary gasp. The thief was gliding away just as he always did, but there was one thing off about him. The man had a vaguely pained expression on his face, as if it was hurting him to use the glider in the first place.

Without even waiting for the Task Force or bothering to listen to Nakamori's enraged shouts about stupid thieves and questionable activities, Shinichi bolted for the stairs. If there was one thing Shinichi couldn't stand, it was missing puzzle pieces. KID somehow fit into the picture involving his mysterious enemy and obviously wasn't on their side.

Was KID an ex-member, like Haibara, who somehow managed to escape before he could be killed? Most likely not, but the thought wasn't completely ridiculous. How far back did the history between KID and the BO go? The Detective of the East had to find out. KID's life was at stake.

Once he reached the bottom of the stairs he took off down the hallway and towards the exit. He gained a few curious looks but decided to ignore them in favor of bursting out the door and grabbing his skateboard. Making sure to turn it up to full speed, Conan took off down the street in the direction of KID's glider.

Ever since the confrontation on the roof, the look in KID's eyes refused to leave him alone. His face had been completely blank, but his eyes had been pleading. He had sincerely not wanted any of them involved. He wanted them to stay out of the battle to spare their lives. Especially Conan's and Nakamori's.

He had to find out why.

Shinichi barely registered when he had chased the thief out of Beika city limits. After a little while longer, they entered the district of Ekoda. Was this where the thief lived? It wasn't even really that far away.

It was an effort to not lose sight of KID as he followed him through the streets until they reached a normal looking two story building. It didn't really stand out all that much and had a small, but well-kept rose garden in the front. This was where the thief lived and the lack of vehicle or any lights on in the house meant that he probably lived alone.

For some reason, Shinichi found that the thought of the thief living alone make him frown.

Shinichi watched as KID landed on the balcony of the house and slipped in silently through a sliding door that most likely lead to a bedroom. At the sight, the detective ducked low and ran towards the window on the side of the front door. It was pitch black inside until a sudden light almost made the teen hide. The light was coming from upstairs and was faint enough to hint that the door to the hall was partially opened, allowing the light to flood the hallway.

As quietly as possible, Conan slid the window open (why was it even unlocked?) and rose his body through the seal to the indoor floor. Now the trickiest part; getting upstairs and to the thief's room unnoticed.

He wasn't sure if he should've been relieved or concerned when he succeeded ten minutes later.

When he found the door that was emitting the light, he found himself pausing. Was he really sure he wanted to find out what was really going on here? What if it as a different organization than the BO? What if they were even more dangerous?

But then another thought struck him.

What would happen if he turned around and left, right now? What would happen to KID? If it was the BO or another group like them, what would happen to KID's loved ones? He was bound to have people he cared about in his civilian persona, right?

Would they kill KID?

Would they force KID to work for them?

The second thought caused something vile to churn Conan's stomach violently. He didn't even want to think of KID being forced to kill anyone or steal and not be allowed to return. And what about all the good that KID did for the Task Force that no one ever noticed? The shooters he took out, drug smugglers he stopped, assassins he helped arrest? No one would ever know. And KID would either make all of it moot with the bad things he was forced into or take everything to the grave with him because he refused to cooperate.

Working up the quickly vanishing courage that was left in his heart, Conan moved to peek in the door -

- and stumbled over his own feet.

With a soft thump the child stumbled into the door, grasping at the door handle to keep himself up. He could feel the shame burning his ears as he tried to not look up. But, he also knew what he came here for and slowly raised his head.

And promptly stopped breathing.

In front of him was not a man, but a teenager. His face was free from the interfering glass and metal of the monocle showing an open and innocent looking face that was free of it's usual smug grin. His jacket had been removed, leaving only his blue button up shirt and red tie. The top hat was also missing, allowing messy brown locks to stick out in almost every direction.

Those same indigo eyes (widened with surprise, disbelief, and fear) once again stared into tanzanite from a face that looked very much like his own. The expression was so out of place on the usually calm and collected thief that Conan had almost laughed. And he probably would have if it hadn't been for the flash of red that caught his attention.

This time, his heart froze.

A hole was ripped through KID's sleeve that was about the size of a normal bullet. It had torn through the shirt and had embedded itself into the thief's shoulder, which explained the red that was quickly staining the boy's silken shirt.

Quickly going into an anaylistic haze, Conan quickly straightened himself upright and pushed away from the door. Ignoring the startled sound that the other teen made, he crossed the room and knelt beside him. The bullet hadn't been very big and also hadn't gone in very far. He let out a sigh of relief at the find. At least he could have Haibara remove it later, but right now, he needed to focus on stopping the bleeding.

He looked up into eyes that resembled a startled cat, pupils dilated and almost sharp looking while also analyzing. Not once had the other boy said anything, but he had obviously been watching, probably for his first chance to flee right back out the window. It sent a slight pang straight to Shinichi's heart to see such an expression on a kid his own age. How long had he been in danger that he had began to not trust anyone around him?

Instead of voicing his thoughts, however, he simply shook his head and took the disinfectant from the boy's hands. His expression of mistrust instantly turned into a look of startled confusion and curiosity (he even tilted his head like a puppy, for crying out loud!) and Conan had avert his eyes from the oddly cute sight. Was this what he looked like when he did the same thing to Ran?

To try and distract himself and resist looking back up, he focused on putting the disinfectant on a cotton ball and dabbing it against the wound. The injured boy didn't make a sound as the cleaning alcohol stung at his already burning shoulder, but his entire body tensed. Just how often did he get shot that he barely even made a noise anymore?

Conan didn't really think he was ready for the answer.

Busying himself with helping securely wrapping the wound, he blocked out any other thoughts. After he was done cleaning it, he grabbed the gauze and cotton from the medical kit that lay open next to KID's side. Did KID keep it in his room in case he really needed one? How many did he have? Shinichi shook the thought out of his head before he could have too much time to dwell on it.

Carefully, he raised the cotton to the wound and pressed it firmly against the teen's shoulder. This time, a grimace made its way onto the boy's face, the only sign of pain he had made since he had left on the glider. Trying to finish quickly, Conan brought the gauze wrapping in his hand up and made short but firm work at wrapping it securely around the cotton and keeping it in place on top of the bullet wound. When he was sure it wouldn't fall apart, the detective finally pulled back with a sigh.

However, his relief was short lived because the next second he was swept up into two thin but strong arms and lifted off the floor.

"O-Oi, KID!" he stuttered. The thief didn't show any signs of having heard him and instead chose to stand up and pull the smaller teen to his chest. Wasn't he hurting his shoulder by doing this? Conan tried to struggle out of the vice hold, but eventually gave up and went slack in defeat.

Just as quickly he was picked up, he was dropped back down on top of the desk that was on the adjacent wall to his bed. The bigger teen leaned forward and seemed to examine Conan's face closely, much to the smaller boy's discomfort, but pulled away and went back to the medical kit and also brought it over. Sitting it next to the boy, he pulled out a disinfectant wipe and gently took hold of Shinichi's chin, causing an uneasy feeling that almost made him squirm in discomfort. Why wasn't the thief saying anything?

Ignoring the reaction of the child in front of him, KID brought the wipe up and gently rubbed it against his cheek. A light sting told Shinichi that he probably had a scrape or a cut on his face that must have caught the kaitou's attention. Was he trying to return the favor for his shoulder?

KID let go of Conan's face as he rummaged through the kit one more time. He pulled back with a triumphant grin and turned back to the boy on the desktop. In his hands was a single band-aid, a tube of neosporin, and a cotton swap. However, the teen remained silent as he worked on the injury his little detective had most likely received at the heist.

Not even ten seconds later the cut was cleaned and bandaged. Conan was slightly stunned at the speed, but had to remind himself that he was dealing with a magician. He had to be fast of he didn't want people to know how he did his tricks.

"Why?"

At the sound of the foreign voice, Shinichi's head snapped up. KID was once again looking at him with the puzzled puppy look. His voice was no longer disguised, revealing a voice much like his own. Just how similar was KID to himself? The thief already looked similar to him and could impersonate him without any problems, but even his voice was similar to his own! Even if it was slightly higher.

He had to remind himself that the thief had asked him a question.

"What...," was his oh so intelligent reply.

The thief gave an exaggerated sigh and took a few steps back to plop down on his bed. He looked curious, yet irritated, much like a cat who couldn't reach the fish inside the fish tank.

"Why did you help me, Kudou-kun?"

Shinichi's brain committed suicide.

"W-W-W-Wha-?"

KID gave another sigh, though this one was more in defeat than anything else. He turned his gaze back up to Shinichi and asked once again, "Why did you help me?"

Shinichi could only give him a look that said that he thought the teen was stupid. "Why do you think I did, barou?" KID blinked, stunned at the harmless insult and blatant admission without any denial. He never thought that Kudou wouldn't try to deny it. How did the teen even survive this long if he caved in so easily?

"I helped because I wanted to. It's as simple as that, you stupid thief."

KID was doing a very good impersonation of an owl. However, he knew he couldn't keep up with a detective's way of thinking. Normal detectives were one thing, but detectives like Kudou and Hakuba were on a completely different level.

"Now would you answer my question?" the detective inquired.

KID could only nod dumbly in response. Is this why the detective had originally shown up?

"What is your relationship with the Black Organization?"

KID froze.

Tantei-kun knew about them? Had he had a run in with them before? He looked at the detective in a new light as he took in his current form. Had the detective been shrunk because of something that happened with the Crows?

It only made since when he thought about it. He had known who Edogawa Conan really was, but he never thought that the detective nerd had gotten himself into such a dire situation with their mutual enemy.

He almost felt like banging his head against the wall until he put himself in a coma.

"Well, Meitantei, what do you think my ties with them are?" he found himself saying. Answer a question with a question and you will get to know your opponent better. Or just really end up ticking them off.

Shinichi gave a huff and looked a little peeved, but not overly so, like he had expected the thief to ask that. He looked into KID's eyes and decided to tell the thief his theories.

"My first thought was that you were possibly an ex-member," a snort of amusement from the magician, "but you are the exact opposite from what they do, so I quickly ruled that out. However, it is highly likely that you are at odds with them because of the first KID." At those words, the thief gave a start before quickly deflating. He should have known better than to engage in a game of wits with the Detective of the East. He wasn't called the Heisei Holmes for nothing, after all and any argument he made would probably be invalid to the theories or clues that the older teen had put together.

He gave a short laugh as he fell backwards onto his bed with a wumph. Without saying another word, he raised his good arm and pointed to the portrait attached to his wall.

Shinichi followed the finger and almost smacked himself for missing it. Beside the thief's bed was a giant portrait of a man holding a top hat in his hand while a dove and confetti burst from within. He had a kind smile and his eyes were alight with laughter. He also looked a lot like an older version of the teen in front of him. A jolt went through him as realization struck him like a thunderbolt.

"You're father."

A short nod was his only answer.

The Black Organization had killed KID's dad. That was why the thief wouldn't take any help Conan had offered him in the past even though the thief risked his neck for him multiple times.

"They say that it was a stage accident." The sudden words made Shinichi snap his eyes back to the teen. He was sitting up again with and looking at the portrait with a haunted look on his face, as if his mind was seeing something else entirely. "They say that Oyaji had made a mistake, a miscalculation with one of his tricks that caused the explosion." Tears were beginning to build in the boy's eyes. The realization that hit him this time made him almost see red. The Organization had killed KID's father in front of him. It was like they were rubbing it in his family's face that no one would ever figure out who did it.

A sob broke him out of his dark thoughts. When he looked up, KID was holding a hand to his mouth as if he had just pictured the entire scene all over again and was trying really hard not to puke. Maybe he had.

In a split second, Shinichi jumped down from his perch on the desk and was pulling himself up onto the bed. Without a second thought, he wrapped his arms as tightly as he could around the thief's torso as he pulled the larger teen into a hug. The boy froze for a moment before the dam broke, both the physical one and the emotional one. He returned the hug as tightly as he could, ignoring the flare in his shoulder, as he cried into Shinichi's hair. His body was wracked over and over again with his sobs, but he tried to remain as quiet as he could. Shinichi let him squeeze his body as he felt the tears wet his hair.

After who even knew how long later, the thief slowly calmed down. His sobs had passed, but the occasional hiccup still made him jerk every now and then. His hold had relaxed. but he he hadn't let go of the small body pressed up against his own. He was almost stalk still before suddenly falling back onto the bed, dragging the detective with him. Pulling away and trying not to flinch when his body protested, Shinichi looked at KID's face.

His face was relaxed and open and hr looked like a great weight had been lifted off of his shoulders. His eyes were mostly closed in a sleepy look, but Shinichi could still see the puffiness and tracks that ran down his face from the tears. He looked like he might fall asleep any second.

"Oi, Oi. Don't fall asleep yet."

KID's eyes opened a little wider, though they still had a hazy look to them. How long had KID gone without sleep? Keeping up with school while also planning and performing heists must be taxing on a still growing body that wasn't used to the strain. KID had been performing heists for a year, but it must still get tiring.

Wiggling himself out of the thief's loose hold, Shinichi took hold of KID's good arm and gave a gentle pull. He still had to get the bullet out of KID's other shoulder. Almost as if in a trance, the boy followed his lead and got up off of the bed. He seemed to sway slightly on his feet, but continued to hold his ground.

"C'mon, you need to get changed so that I can take you to see someone about that bullet."

KID looked at him in confusion for a moment before a look of understanding dawned on his face. The thief reached into his pocket and pulled out a smoke bomb. One puff of pink smoke later, the thief was wearing a white t-shirt with a black hoodie and black pants. He gave Shinichi a nod and walked toward the hallway, ready to leave.

Once they were outside, Shinichi made sure to hold the bigger teens hand so that anyone who saw them out this late would believe that KID was just a teen walking home with his younger brother or something. He didn't want the thief to go to jail for kidnapping after all (or anything else for that matter).

The thought almost made him stumble over his own feet. He actually didn't want KID o go to jail! He didn't even know his name! That thought also made him realize that he was going to need a name for Haibara before she blew KID's brains out in his sleep.

"Oi, KID?" The thief made a sound of acknowledgement as he seemed to scanned the streets. Even half asleep, he wouldn't let his defenses drop. "I'm going to have to give my friend a name if you don't want to get shot again." The words flew out of his mouth before he could stop them. He cursed himself mentally as he tried to think of a better way to word it.

He didn't get the chance before the sound of laughter erupted from the silent magician. He almost stopped walking as he balked at the kaitou's light laughter. It almost sounded like bells, if one could say that about a boy without it sounding girly. It was real and genuine and Shinichi had a feeling that he was some of the few who had heard it.

Once his laughter died down, the teen looked at the shrunken detective with tears of mirth in his eyes. It looked far better than when he had looked so upset earlier. Shinichi found himself smiling as well.

"Nice to meet you, Kudou Shinichi-kun. My name is Kuroba Kaito."

His tone was as soft as his eyes and held all of the gratitude that he felt towards his new-found ally. He didn't have to fight alone anymore.

The rest of the walk to the train station was spent exchanging information about each other. Shinichi was a month older than Kaito and apparently their parents knew each other for quite some time.

During the ride, Shinichi was surprised with how many creepers he had to fend off after Kaito fell asleep. Did the thief have some kind of unknown seduction ability or something? By the time they arrived in Beika again, Shinichi came to the conclusion that he would never let the younger teen ride the train alone ever again.

Ever.

To Be Continued...

So how was it? Too much? Too little? I slipped a small ConKID moment in there because it's really funny to imagine Shinichi as the dominant partner even with his current situation. Please also remember that this is a friendship story though and that there will be no pairings. (Although I am thinking of a ConKID story.)

I'm considering bringing in Hakuba next chapter or maybe the one after. Do any of you have any ideas about how his intro should happen? Should he help Hattori (wouldn't that be a laugh) or should he and Kaito already be friends and he helps Shinichi fend Heiji off?

Next chapter Shinichi and Kaito go to Shinichi's school to pick up some homework. Heiji decides to tag along since he thinks it might be a trap. Things get awkward when everyone fauns over 'Shinichi' and his little cousin. Heiji only gets even more angry at all the attention that Kaito is getting. 'Conan' finds that he has to protect Kaito again when several students try to gets handsy.

See you guys next chapter as the mayhem continues!