Disclaimer: I own nothing and no one

Unfortunately I have been less than inspired lately

Hopefully this bit is the start of my recovery

Choice

The hand came out of nowhere. Grabbing Hakuba's arm and yanking him into the dark alley before he could react. He recovered quickly though, years of self-defense training coming into play as he tried to throw the other, only to have his attacker slip out of his hands like smoke. Not to be deterred, the blond shifted into a more favorable stance only to pause at the sight of the young man in front of him.

"Kuroba," he hissed. "What the bloody hell?!" It was unlike Saguru to speak so vulgarly. But, the magician had taken a good decade off his life with that stunt. All detectives of his caliber made enemies, and that was without taking his Father into account. There were a number of criminals out there who were willing to do him harm just to cause the Chief of police pain.

"Hey," Kaito greeted. The magician didn't look quite himself. Features taunt, clothes a darker shade than the other was accustomed to seeing him wear in either of his lives. Shifting uncomfortably Kaito let out his breath in an audible hiss, deciding to bite the metaphorical bullet. No pun intended. "I need a favor," he said lowly.

In truth, Kaito would have given a great deal to avoid this meeting. However, he had no other choice. He needed help, badly, and sadly he wasn't exactly flush for options. Even Kudo was out of town. The shrunken detective wouldn't be back for another week and by then it would be too late.

Part of the detective was tempted to tell the other to take a hike; the other part of him knew how out of character Kuroba was acting. Yes, he could leave. But Saguru had the sinking feeling that if he did so, he would regret it. "What is it?" he asked.

"Dig the bullet out of my shoulder."

For a moment the blond just stared. He could not have heard that correctly. The next he was striding over to the magician, nearly ripping the smaller boy's shirt off his body revealing blood soaked bandages. Paler than usual hands hovered over the roughly bandaged would, almost afraid to touch.

This was no scratch. Even though Kaito had been fortunate in that the small piece of lead had not torn through anything vital, if it had been a through and through the brunette could have easily bled to death before he had been able to seek help.

Hakuba's jaw clenched, only his knowledge of the magician's condition preventing him from shaking Kaito so hard the other's teeth rattled. Just what had that idiot been thinking?! Saguru was no slouch at first aid but something like this required a doctor. A real doctor. "We need to get you to a hospital," he reached into his pocket to pull out his cell phone only to have the object vanish from his hand.

"No."

"Kaito-kun."

"I said no tantei." A pair of unusually serious indigo eyes met Hakuba's before looking away. "I'd be dead by first morning's light." It was the truth. Kaito had no doubt Snake and the Black Organization were scouring the city for the Kaitou Kid at this very moment. They knew full well he had been hit.

A look of uncertainty crossed Hakuba's face. He knew the other teen wouldn't lie, not about something like this. Still, he could not help but hesitate briefly before hardening his resolve. "All right," he agreed reaching out to grasp Kaito's good arm. "But you are going to tell me everything," and he did mean everything.

As for Kaito, he could only close his eyes. "As you wish," he had known what price the detective would demand for his aid. But truly, there was no other choice.

FoGFoGFoGFoGFoG

Hope you liked it and please review

My muses need your help