Chapter 4: Revealed
Here's the not-so-long-awaited chapter 4!
Again, thank you SO MUCH for all of the reviews! Love you guys.
Again, please R&R!
I do not own Meitantei Conan.
"What's her name, Kaito?" He nudged him in the side.
"W-what? I-I don't know what you're talking about!" Kaito turned his back on them, babyishly crossing his arms.
"Well, I'll just have to start guessing…is her name…Kiyoko? Midori? Ami? …." It continued on like this for a while, Shinichi and Hattori getting really into it (Haibara and Agasa Hakase had moved to the next room to examine some blueprints to wait out the time), before Kaito finally exploded. "FINE! HER NAME IS AOKO, OKAY? NAKAMORI AOKO! And though, no, she is not unattractive, and yes, we have been good friends for a while, she is also a total pain! She's the one member of the anti-Kaitou Kid rallies (except for her dad, that is) and she likes to chase me with mops! And even worse…FISH!"
The two detectives blinked at Kaito for a minute before bursting into laughter.
"A mop? And fish? Man, what's your problem with fish, anyway? Haha, you're really quite interesting, you know!" Clutching his chest, Hattori collapsed back onto the couch.
Shinichi, however, had a maniacal glint in his eye. He looked thrilled, as if he'd just been told that Sherlock Holmes was not, in fact, a fictional character, but was a man, still alive, who was impressed by his work on a case… With a smirk, Shinichi said, "I see now. Nakamori, huh? Does Nakamori-keibu realize that his daughter's best friend and long-time crush is Kaitou Kid?"
Kaito's face blanched. He sputtered, unable to get out anything coherent.
"Haha! I'll take that as a negative!"
"Are you serious?" Hattori looked from one man to the other (well, quasi-man). "That's hysterical!"
"Well, then…I guess I have more to hang over your head than I realized. Guess revealing your identity would have more consequences than just landing you in jail…"
"You jerk. That's how you repay me for opening up, you…"
Shinichi felt an odd wave of compassion for the thief. He'd never disliked Kaitou Kid. Honestly, he was always thrilled whenever he sent out a heist notice. Chasing him had always proven to be a great challenge, and those times more recently when they'd worked together, he'd started to realize…the guy liked to mess around, but he seemed trustworthy. Before he'd realized it, he'd almost started to consider him a friend. And not just because he was one of the few people who realized his true identity.
Shinichi crouched down and put an arm on Kaito's shoulder. "Oi. You know I was just playing around. Look, Kaito…I know the situation sucks, but we have to work together to figure out the best thing to do. I'll need your help, too…if Kuroba Kaito disappears out of the blue, there will trouble for you, right? Looks like I'll have to play you-at least occasionally. Then, you could come stay with me as my cousin or something, and you'll get to see Aoko and your parents and everyone…"
Kaito stiffened a little, slightly shocked at the man's consideration of his situation. "Oh…thanks, Kudou…but…"
"Hm?"
"Well, you don't have to worry about my family. My mom's abroad. She's been traveling for a while now."
Shinichi raised his eyebrow. "Oh?" Another weird similarity, he thought to himself. "And your dad?"
At this Kaito stiffened again. Should he tell them? He was normally so good at keeping up his poker face, but everything was upside-down right now…and if Kudou was indeed going to cover for him, he needed to know. "My dad…was killed. Eight years ago…by the black organization."
Silence shot through the house. Shinichi and Hattori glanced at each other before allowing their eyes to rest on the thief's back.
"My dad was the original Kaitou Kid. He committed a lot of minor crimes in order to stop truly evil organizations and crimes the law alone couldn't prevent. He was also a brilliant magician, and made great use of his skills in his heists. The black organization is a perfect example of the kind of trash he worked to get rid of."
Surprised and fascinated, the detectives nodded, holding onto his every word.
"They tried to recruit him to help them find a special jewel, the Pandora gem, which is said to have the power to grant immortality…He refused to help him and the bastards…they killed him! That-that was when I decided to take his place…to find the jewel before they do. I'm going to find it and destroy it! I won't allow them to gain its power. I won't let them get their hands on what my father died for!"
The two detectives were speechless. They had no idea the thief had motivations like this… "So, all this time, when you've returned jewels, saying, 'This isn't the jewel I'm looking for…'" Shinichi began, slowly.
"Yes, it's as you're thinking, Tantei-san. I have been orchestrating these public heists partly in hopes to draw out the organization. Even if it's been eight years since that night, they haven't forgotten my father…I was hoping to gain leads through my heists. At the same time, the reason I have been targeting precious stones, and returning them, is because I am only searching for the Pandora gem to destroy. I don't care about petty thievery."
Once he had started spilling his secrets, the secrets he normally kept so tightly locked in his heart, he couldn't stop. Here he was, telling everything to these genius detectives who were normally hot on his tail to arrest him. But here, like this, telling them his story left him with a huge sense of relief. His burden shifted, as if he were no longer holding it on his own.
"We'll get them, Kaito." Kaito and Hattori turned to look at Shinichi, who was looking at the ground, his fists clenched. "I promise you that we'll get them. They've hurt so many people, affected so many lives…but we're going to get them...together. Do you hear me?" An unusual fire was burning in his eyes.
Hattori then put in "Well, now I understand the whole Kaitou Kid thing. The organization's bound to be searching for you, though. We certainly can't pull any heists anytime too soon…but maybe, after a little break, we can test the waters and see if they show themselves. If not, we can continue your search for the Pandora."
At his words, Kaito smiled. "Man oh man… I never would have believed it if I'd heard the two famous high school detectives would be cheering me on to pull a heist…" He shook his head back and forth, as if trying to wake up.
"Aho! We understand now that they aren't really heists, what you pull. More like big magic shows. And of course, you play tricks on the policeman, but you'd never hurt them. Especially when the one who wants your head is AOKO-chan's daddy!" Hattori laughed a little before continuing. "And besides. It wouldn't be YOU pulling the heists." Grinning widely, and starting to whistle, he walked up next to Shinichi and slapped his knee.
Shinichi stared at him for a second, first looking shocked, but then the shock turned to thoughtfulness.
"What? What's going on? Can someone please explain what kind of a parallel universe we are in?" Kaito was looking back and forth between the other two, totally at a loss. Was it just him, or were they both seriously considering the idea of KUDOU SHINICHI, famous high school detective and protector of law and order, taking up the role of Kaitou Kid in his place? Just so that they could continue the work he had started? No way…
"However you look at it, we need to get rid of that gem. I'll look into it myself, and Hattori, you ask your father…oh…" Remembering Hattori's form, he paused. "Well, you could use the bow-tie to ask your father, maybe. We'll worry about the details later. Anyway, we'll put it on hold for now, but it might be that Kaitou Kid is our key to defeating the organization."
"Are you serious, Kudou? You're not just pulling my leg, but you really want to help me?"
Shinichi shrugged. "It isn't just for you. We've had no true leads on the organization for so long, I'm ready to take a more active role…one that doesn't peak with my sneaking through ventilation pipes with Hattori before landing him in a shrunken body…" Guilt again washed over his face, at which point Hattori shook his head, lightly slapping his arm.
"Don't be so negative. We're going to beat those bastards and everything will right itself. Got it?"
"Yeah." Shinichi smirked at him.
"Well, it's been grand, but this little thief needs to get some beauty sleep," Kaito yawned. "Especially if I have to take lessons on being a mr. perfect meitantei starting tomorrow…"
"Haha, whatever." Shinichi waved him off. "Why don't we go next door to sleep at my house? We have tons of spare bedrooms, and I actually have my own clothes there. Not that I don't appreciate this lovely outfit!" Shinichi waved jokingly at Kaito's mock-hurt expression.
"Fine. I will do preliminary research on the new drug by the time you three come back tomorrow morning." They jumped, having forgotten about Haibara still being in the vicinity.
"And I'll get to work on new sets of the items I made for Shinichi," Agasa-hakase added. "See you guys tomorrow."
With a wave, the three younger guys walked out into the dark night.
Hope you enjoyed it! I'll try to get onto the next chapter when I have time. Busy with shool, you know. Let me know what you think of the way the story's going! Again, I have ideas, but I'm really just writing on the fly, seeing where the story takes me, so let me know if you have any comments/ ideas!
Thanks! Till next time. Mata ne!
