Disclaimer: I do not own Detective Conan/Case Closed (though the other elements of this story are mine:)

Pairing(s): Kaito x Shinichi, Heiji x Kazuha

WARNINGS: Shounan ai (boy/boy pairing), you have been warned

Resurrected in Flames

By V. Shalyr

Chapter 2

"Do you think we can trust them?"

"Somehow, it's funny that you're asking me that," Kaito chuckled, but his humor died almost as quickly as it had come. "Judging by the fact that they were rather anxiously discussing whether or not we had any connection to the Guard I told you about, I'd say we at least don't have to worry about them being connected to the authorities. Whether or not that means we can trust them, I don't know."

Nursing the bowl of hot porridge in his hands, Shinichi thought for a moment. "I don't think we have a choice but to risk it. We just don't know enough about what's going on. If things go wrong, you can get us out of here, right?"

"Of course."

The detective nodded slowly. "So how do you think we should broach the subject?"

"Well," Kaito drawled, indicating Shinichi's appearances with a wave of his hand, "you and who you are would probably be a nice, shocking start."

Sure enough, the moment Shinichi walked into the kitchen looking like himself again and with his empty bowl in hand, both of its original occupants froze. Takagi gaped, the utensils he'd been about to arrange on the table clattering unheeded to the floor. The knuckles of Satou's hand on the stewpot ladle turned white from the sudden tightness of her grip.

"You—but you—!"

Satou cut her partner off sharply, "Who are you?"

Shinichi cringed. He wasn't accustomed to being spoken to like this by the two detectives. "I'm sorry, we haven't been properly introduced. I'm—"

"Kudou Shinichi," Takagi interrupted, his voice strained.

"Er, yeah."

"But that's impossible," Satou retorted. "He's dead. We all saw it. He was executed only a few days ago."

.

Toichi mingled casually amidst the crowd gathered at a safe distance to watch the clean up crews busy at the now destroyed factory. It looked like his timing had been perfect and no one had been hurt. He was more concerned about the Pandora spills. The fire hadn't been quite intense enough to burn off all of it as he had hoped and heaven only knew what trouble that could cause. The powerful substance seemed to have a life of its own, the reason why extended exposure to it tended to mess with people's minds.

There was no telling what the magic might have done.

Slipping through the bystanders, Toichi made a careful circuit of the premises, making sure that none of the Guards stationed around the area got a good look at him. A flash of white lab coat told him that the Four had sent some of their scientists to the site as well, which for once might have been a good thing. If the magic started to run wild, the authorities would suffer just as much as the commoners. Still, when it came to magical competence—and, admittedly, most other things—Toichi trusted only himself.

On first glance, it seemed that everything had gone smoothly after all. But he couldn't shake the feeling that something had happened. Even if none of them could see it, something had changed.

Up ahead, the thief spotted a familiar brown ponytail and paused. So there were members of the Counter Guard here too. What had her name been? Toyama Kazuha, that was it. The young woman stood on the edge of the crowd, her face turned towards the ruins and her eyes troubled. It almost looked as though she was searching for something or someone. Among the rebel group known as the Counter Guard, she was probably the only person Toichi would even consider approaching now and he briefly considered going over to ask her what she was looking for, but changed his mind when he spotted the green-eyed young man heading towards her. The last time Toichi had met Hattori Heiji, he'd been sorely tempted to give the boy a sound tongue lashing and leave him in the hands of the Guard who'd been about to drag him away. He hadn't because Toichi prided himself on his self control, but that seemed to be wearing thin these days and he didn't want to end up causing a scene. The young man put a comforting hand on Kazuha's shoulder and murmured something to which she shook her head, biting her lip and turning away. Soon, the two had vanished amongst the crowd.

Toichi returned to his examination of the clean up crews, his heart giving a slight pang when he remembered the only other member of the Counter Guard that he had been willing to trust and trusted him in return. If he hadn't been severely injured then, he might have been able to pull the boy out of there before the execution, but Fate hadn't decided to be kind. Then again, Fate had been pretty cruel all around for too many years now. Kudou Shinichi was just another failure on his part now to add to his list right alongside Chikage and their son.

Another regret and another reason to use everything he had at his disposal to destroy the regime.

A slightly bitter smile twitched the corners of his lips before he banished it and turned his back on the ruins, small fires still breaking out here and there amongst the collapsed machinery. He needed to find out exactly what had happened here after he'd set off his explosives and he knew where he could go to get that information if he hurried.

A little more than a block away, Toyama Kazuha chewed worriedly at her bottom lip, casting another glance back over her shoulder towards the destruction site.

"Hey, you okay?" Heiji asked, concerned. "Is it…?"

He trailed off uneasily and Kazuha managed a slight smile, shaking her head. He didn't like to talk about her visions no matter how helpful they had been in the past, didn't like to be reminded about her past. She knew what the regime had done to her angered him and it warmed her to know how much he cared, but it also worried her sometimes. She couldn't help but wonder if he'd ever be able to really accept that part of her. She'd wanted to ask him about it once or twice not long after he'd first rescued her but never quite worked up the courage. For now, if he was happy just ignoring that she was one of the few people with the ability to wield Pandora, she'd let it slide.

"It's not a vision, just a feeling." Which was the truth, if not the whole truth. She hadn't had any visions recently. No, the visions had come months ago, but Shinichi had been the only one she had told about them. Because she'd known they would be important for him to know. And at his request, she had kept quiet—would keep quiet until the right time. It was just that she'd been so sure they would be there.

"Damn magician," Heiji muttered darkly as another patrol car sped past them on the street, headed towards the factory district.

"I thought you'd be happy that he got rid of another factory."

"Yeah, but I'll bet he took some of the stuff with him before he blew it up."

"It's his way of fighting them."

He snorted. "He might be fighting them too, but using that death potion to do it makes him just like them."

Kazuha sighed and shivered. Moments later, a warm jacket was draped over her shoulders and she looked up into her companion's face, the darkness in his expression softened again by anxiety. When he noticed her watching, he quickly looked away.

"Er, you seemed cold. Come on, let's head back."

.

Kaito had to admit that even for them, the story they had to tell with his weird dreams and their abrupt world change sounded pretty unbelievable. Which was why the fact that neither detective had any trouble believing them really brought home that they weren't at home—well, they weren't detectives in this world anymore, but still. At least that wasn't to say they weren't suitably amazed.

"This is incredible," Satou mused—technically, it was Takagi Miwako here, but neither young man was used to that seeing as the Takagi Wataru in their world hadn't yet scraped up the courage to ask Satou to marry him. "It must have been the explosion at the factory that caused it. Spills of magic water can cause some pretty crazy accidents."

"About that," Kaito said, perched in the chair beside Shinichi at the kitchen table, "can you please explain what this whole "magic water" business is about?"

Their hosts exchanged worried looks.

"Well," Takagi started, rubbing uncomfortably at the back of his neck, "in this world, we have this substance that the government calls Pandora, though it has a lot of other names too. To put it simply, it's a poison. Most people who come in contact with it suffer from symptoms of illness or die. But for some people… I guess you could say they're compatible, and for them, Pandora grants supernatural powers."

Thief and detective listened with curiosity and growing unease as their hosts explained how the four people who apparently ran this entire empire had discovered Pandora and designed a way to mass produce it. Apparently, being "compatible" meant just four people could conquer the world.

"Fortunately and unfortunately, people who can use Pandora are rare, and people who can control its full power are even rarer."

"Unfortunately?"

"After awhile, magic water can start to erode the user's mind. It drives people crazy and crazy people can end up doing crazy things." Satou clenched and unclenched her fists in her lap. "And usually, it's everyone else who ends up getting hurt until the Four sees fit to deal with them."

"But if that's true, why haven't they gone mad?" Shinichi asked.

Takagi shrugged. "Maybe they're just strong enough to deal with the consequences. It's hard to say since KID's the only other wielder we know who can control it as well as they can and uses it so extensively. Or maybe they are mad and we just haven't seen them really lose it yet."

Indigo and sapphire eyes stared across the table in shock.

Kaito recovered first and asked with only a hint of curiosity, "KID? Bit of an odd name."

"Bit of an odd man too. I believe Kudou Yuusaku was the one who gave him that name, but it's hard to say."

"My father," Shinichi said, frowning. "Do you know where he is now?"

Takagi shook his head. "Neither he nor his wife have been seen for quite some time. We're… We're not sure what happened to them."

"So who is this KID anyway?" Kaito persisted, not willing to drop the subject just yet. "You say he uses Pandora. He's not with these four emperors or anything, is he?"

"Of course not," Satou replied, sounding almost offended at the suggestion. "He's done more than anyone against the empire."

"Though no one really knows why or what exactly he's after," Takagi added.

Shinichi could feel Kaito relax just a fraction. He had to admit to feeling rather relieved himself.

Kaito tapped a finger thoughtfully against the tabletop. "I'm guessing this Pandora stuff will be our best bet for getting home then."

Hesitating for only a moment, Takagi nodded. "I think you might be able to use it, but getting a hold of enough to provide the kind of power you'll probably need won't be easy."

Kaito smirked. "You can just let us worry about the details. I assure you I'm very good at getting what I want."

It didn't matter that he had no idea how this Pandora was supposed to work. He would find a way. All that mattered was getting them out of there before anything could happen to his detective.

.

One of the amazing things about human beings was that despite the turmoil and the tragedies that fate made of their world, they could still somehow continue to live on. And as the day drew closer to noon, Shinichi could see the streets beyond the bookshop windows gradually filling with people. Though most of them moved quickly about their business and conversed in hushed voices, he could nonetheless spot a smile here and there, even if it was one of relief more often than it was one of joy.

"If we pay our taxes and stay out of the way of the officials, things are usually pretty quiet," Takagi said, noticing the direction of his gaze. Placing a couple books onto the shelves to fill an empty spot left over from business the day before, he got down from the ladder and gestured towards the passers-by. "The real problems come if you can't afford the tributes that the officials demand or if you run afoul of the Guard. And of course, children who are compatible with Pandora…" He paused then shook his head as though to rid himself of a particularly unpleasant thought. "People who are compatible are either taken away by the Guard or killed. They say it's for everyone's safety, but most of us know it's only a way to stop people from rebelling. A lot of families have been broken up because of that."

Shinichi nodded, returning to the books he'd volunteered to help him sort. "How long has it been?"

"Let's see. The Four have been in power for about a decade or so." The furrow in the older man's brow smoothed out abruptly and he gave Shinichi an apologetic look. "You must be curious. I'm sorry that we can't risk you walking about outside right now."

"I know, you don't need to apologize. Actually, I'm more worried about Kaito."

The house felt far too quiet with the magician having gone out with Satou. Shinichi would really have preferred to go with them, but he knew better than to insist. Right now wasn't the time.

"I'm sure your friend will be fine. Miwako won't let anything happen to either of them. As soon as she's shown your friend the way and he's had a look around, they'll be right back. And then you said your friend would be able to sneak you two in and get you home." Takagi's smile broadened, lighting up his face. "To be honest, I'm really glad I got the chance to meet you. Maybe it's wrong of me seeing as how dangerous it is for you to be here, but it's good to know that there's a world out there where Kudou-san is still alive."

Shinichi smiled weakly. Yes, he supposed he could see how that would be comforting from some angles. But that didn't change how it felt to know that in some worlds out there, you were dead. He'd always found it hard to be an optimistic person.

For the most part, the bookshop didn't see a lot of customers. An occasional man or woman would walk through the door throughout the day, but they almost always seemed too agitated or worn to browse for long. Several people seemed to drop by simply to talk with Takagi and they'd exchange news on the goings on about the city before the strangers were again on their way. Whenever people did come into the store, Shinichi would duck behind the counter and just listen to what was said, filing the information away in case they needed it later. And the books, there weren't all that many with anything useful as far as historical accounts were concerned, but you could still find clues here and there. One book in particular caught his interest and he tucked it away to read later. If he was correct then it may have been written by his father no more than a year or two ago.

This world certainly was not a happy place and he couldn't help but wonder how Kaito was feeling about it all. Magic for the world renowned magician thief had always been, first and foremost, about amazing people, about making them wonder and hope and believe. This place, the regime that ran it, all went against what Kaito had always thought magic to represent.

It was late into the afternoon before the two finally returned. Kaito's expression was unreadable and few words were exchanged as the four ate a hasty dinner and Takagi returned to make sure the shop ran as usual.

"Is there anything else you need?" Miwako asked, frowning. Neither of her guests carried any weapons or means of self protection that she could see and they never had explained quite how Kuroba would be able to get them past the government laboratory's high security. Though perhaps it was better that she didn't know.

"You've done more than enough," Shinichi assured her, pulling on his newly washed jacket. "Thank you, both of you. Hopefully, we'll see you in a couple hours."

"No need to wait up for us though," Kaito added, pulling up the hood of a sweater he'd borrowed from Takagi. "This could take awhile."

And if they didn't return… Well, it was probably best that Takagi and his wife forget they'd ever met them.

Miwako bit her lip uneasily but gave a curt nod in reply. "Good luck then."

.

It was amazing how quickly the streets cleared out as soon as night had fallen. Someone might as well have sounded a siren, except that no one had and the silence was more eerie than anything else. Kaito surveyed the deserted walkways with a soundless sigh. This could make things a bit trickier, especially since it wasn't just him he had to sneak into the building. He would have disguised them better except he didn't have the materials he needed to do so. They would have to make do.

"Remember," he murmured, taking Shinichi's hand and starting down the street, keeping to the shadows of the buildings. "We're just a couple of people on their way home for the day."

Shinichi squeezed his hand lightly to let him know he understood, keeping his head low to hide his face.

They had only just made it to the end of the street before the bookshop when they heard the first group on patrol. Kaito debated for only a moment before pulling them both into the dark entryway of a small apartment building. It seemed better to not risk being seen at all when they could help it.

The men and women who passed by them were dressed mostly in black and red. They wore some light armor and all but one of them carried weapons of one kind or another. The only empty handed Guard had much more red in his costume than the others, and there seemed almost to be a taint of red in his brown eyes as well when the moonlight struck his face at just the right angle.

Shinichi shivered. That man had to be one of these new so-called magic users.

As soon as the group was out of earshot, Kaito once again started them on their way, walking quickly. They still had such a long way to go and so little time.

The closer they came to the center of the city, the more patrols they ran into until finally, Kaito steered them into an alley, switched into his KID regalia, and helped Shinichi onto the roof.

"Is that really a good idea?" the detective couldn't help but ask, concerned. He'd never been so conscious of just how white those clothes were. After all, they'd been designed by two men who both greatly enjoyed showing off.

"It'll be easier if we need to make a quick get away. And besides, it seems the KID in this world is quite a threat. I doubt ordinary patrols would dare try to fight him without first calling for backup."

Shinichi made an unhappy sound in his throat at that picture, but refrained from further protests. They didn't exactly have a lot of options here.

Then again, perhaps he should have worked harder to persuade Kaito to go with a different costume. Perhaps then they wouldn't have caught the attention of a certain other thief.

.

"Dear me, looks like I've accidentally come across something interesting tonight."

Shinichi froze. Beside him he could feel Kaito tense, though being the master actor that he was, none of this showed in the thief's movements as he casually turned to face the source of that familiar, slightly mocking voice. A voice he was accustomed to hearing from his own mouth rather than someone else's.

In the darkness of the night, the white fabric of the other's clothes made him look like a ghost, and Kaito wondered fleetingly if that was how he looked as well to anyone who might have chanced to see him. Most probably, because the person who stood before them could have been his reflection, the top hat, the cape, the monocle with its dangling clover charm—all of it apparently identical to his own outfit. Which, of course, could only mean one thing.

"Kaitou KID, I assume?" Kaito said, his voice equally light, giving nothing away. It was almost eerie, Shinichi thought, how similar they sounded—not so much their voices perhaps but their tones.

The other magician swept him a short bow. "Indeed, and who might you be? I'm afraid that I don't take well to imposters."

Shinichi could feel Kaito drawing himself up, greatly offended by this insinuation against his authenticity. He'd always been fiercely protective of his Kaitou KID reputation and did not at all appreciate being called a fake.

"Well actually, I'd be the one accusing you of impersonation except that I suppose it would be rude of me, this being technically your world and not mine. On the other hand, it is apparently your fault that I'm here in the first place so you've only got yourself to blame."

Behind his monocle, the other KID frowned just a little. "Not your world?"

Kaito reached up absently to tug at the brim of his white top hat. "You see, someone caused a huge Pandora spill last night. Let's just say that I was surprised to discover that parallel worlds do exist after all. We all just learn new things every day don't we, Kuroba-san?"

It was a testament to how well Shinichi knew Kaito that he could say with absolute certainty that the other KID was reeling from utter and complete shock. He could read it in the way his expression went abruptly blank in the same way Kaito's did when he was upset. For several seconds, silence reigned on the rooftop.

Taking the opportunity, Shinichi coughed and stepped out from behind Kaito. "May I interrupt for a moment?"

Slightly widened eyes stared at him in disbelief and their owner actually took a step back this time. "Kudou Shinichi? But how?" Thoughts raced behind those eyes and then abruptly, everything clicked into place. "You're telling me that you two are the Kudou Shinichi and Kaitou KID from another world?"

Well, that was certainly a whole lot more believable than Kudou Shinichi coming back from the dead. He knew Pandora could do some incredible things, but resurrecting the dead was not one of them.

Though if what they claimed was true, and Toichi found himself believing that it was, this entire situation was pretty much his fault.

"I think we need to talk."

"We'd like to, but we're on a bit of a tight schedule." Shinichi took a deep breath, his gaze never leaving the other magician's face. Somehow, he was starting to think that whoever this thief was, it wasn't Kaito. Yet at the same time, he felt like they could trust him, a good thing too all considered they may need his help when it came to using this—and he couldn't believe he was saying this—magic. "Can it wait?"

The other KID gestured towards the smooth dome of the laboratory building. "If you're looking for the Pandora crystals, they've been moved. And at any rate, you'd need a much purer crystal than the ones they had to provide enough power to send you home. I assume that's why you're here"

"I see." Shinichi sighed. He couldn't help but feel a bit disappointed even though he had honestly not expected it to be that easy. "Well then, in that case…"

The three of them made it down into a deserted alley without incident. Kaito still felt a little wary of the other, but his counterpart seemed not to notice or perhaps not to mind. No doubt his thoughts were churning with other things like detectives that ought to have been dead. Still, the tension returned with a vengeance when the three at last found themselves standing in a sparsely furnished apartment tucked away in a part of town that appeared to have lost most of its streetlights.

In the almost entirely empty living room, the two thieves stood facing one another once more, neither of them speaking. Shinichi looked from one to the other then back again, trying to read the thoughts hidden behind their shadowed faces. Then hesitantly, having both concluded at about the same time that they had already come too far to back down, they reached up and carefully removed the hat and monocle that they usually used to obscure their features and identities.

And the stunned realization dawned on Shinichi that he'd been right and this world's Kaitou KID was not Kuroba Kaito.

Kaito had been expecting—well, himself. But when the hat and monocle were removed, the face that stared back at him belonged to someone else entirely, someone he had thought he would never see again during his lifetime.

"Tou-san?"

TBC…

.