AN:
I've been away from the fandom and I'm back again. Who knows when
I'll move away once more? But that's okay. There are still other Kid
fans out there besides me after all. !O Sometimes
#76- The Truth
Word Count: 1016
Sometimes things happened.
"Sir! It's five minutes after appointed time!" A young officer of the task force reported with a sharp salute. Three dozen pairs of eyes shifted to where the emerald necklace still laid, undisturbed and unmoved within the display case. No one had approached it, there wasn't even a power out attempt to reach it.
It was then that it finally sank in for Nakamori keibu, Kaitou Kid was a no show for this heist. Five minutes was too much for even time discrepancy.
"We beat him!" A cheer erupted throughout the hall following that foolish announcement. This was the first time in their history that a piece was protected without even an attempt. The celebration was canned by an angry shout from the inspector, "FOOLS! Be on alert! He may just be late!"
But an hour later, they all decided that Kid really wasn't going to appear. The necklace was safeguarded, nothing was stolen, and when Nakamori announced it was time to go, there was a round of habitual rooting. However, this time it wasn't heartfelt like all those past times, and none of the task force believed they gained a victory. In fact, Nakamori was probably not the only one to wonder what happened.
Or sometimes things went wrong.
The breezes of mid autumn blew soft and gentle across the keibu's face as he trudged on home. As if to follow his series of bad luck, his car broke down and his nearest colleague could only drop him off two blocks from his home. So the tired inspector resorted to a fatigued tread homewards.
The rest of the task force were likely seeking their individual beds by now. It was, after all, the wrong side of midnight already and the night did not get any younger. And to imagine that the notice had specified for 10:47 PM.
A playful rustling of leaves yellowed by streetlight reminded him of the empty feeling tonight. The steady northeastern winds would have made the perfect hang gliding weather too had Kid but shown, and it still made no sense that the thief hadn't. Kid not showing up for an announced heist was equivalent to sashimi being served cooked, it just didn't happen.
Three houses down and in sight of his own, he saw that Aoko's bedroom window was opened. Her lights were on. In the background was the silhouette of the girl, and on that window sill sat a white top hat. That was when he realized, something was very wrong.
Then sometimes things exploded.
"AOKO!!!"
When he barged into her room, the scene was not what he had expected. As expected, Kaitou Kid was there with Aoko although the inspector was hard pressed to say whether it was better or worse than he thought. His daughter was safe from Kid, which he now realized was always the case, even despite how hard his daughter was crying.
"Dad!" Two pairs of bright blue eyes turned to his enraged figure. His daughter's, reddened and puffy from tears, filled up with apprehensive surprise as she watched him. As to the other pair, there wasn't even a monocle to hide them as they looked back in resignation.
"Hi, Nakamori keibu," the figure in white first broke the silence from where he was sprawled on Aoko's bed.
Part of Kid's face was bandaged, but at this close proximity and without the monocle and top hat, no amount of bandages could hide that identity.
This was, without doubt, Kuroba Kaito, the boy Aoko grew up with. Nakamori had trusted this boy too, and even foolishly included the boy into his plans with hopes to pit a magician against magic thief. Now he was about to apprehend his daughter's best friend. He felt something burn inside him.
Yet sometimes things cooled down.
Aoko was a solid wall between him and the bed. Their shouts were loud enough to shake the room.
"Dad, you can't arrest Kaito! I won't let you!"
"He's Kaitou Kid! You know I've been chasing him for years! It's my job arrest him!"
He tried to get past his daughter to the figure on the bed, but protective hands pulled him back as soon he was near. When had his little girl gotten so strong? "Dad, I can't let you take him! Kaito's injured!"
It was only after Aoko pointed it out that he noticed that Kaitou Kid really was wounded, and not just a few bandages here and there. There was a copious amount of blood which soaked the boy's clothing, and even more bandages were swathed around his figure. Kid's silk suit was no longer in its pristine condition with those huge blotches of rusty maroon covering its sides.
Oh yes, that was why Kid never made the heist, the thief was busy dying on his daughter's bed.
"Aoko... it's alright. I expected this when-" The rage within the inspector died a little when he heard the soft voice interrupted by weak coughs. "-I came here."
That didn't sound like Kaitou Kid. Despite the same voice, despite the stained white suit, the cut away blue shirt, and the red tie dangling awkwardly, the monocle and top hat were off; this was Kuroba Kaito speaking.
"And why did you come here?"
As if sensing the change in him, his daughter released his arm so he could slowly approach the bed. Internally, Nakamori reviewed what he knew of Kaitou Kid, and he came to the truth that he refused to realize all along. This boy was obviously not the same man he had been chasing eight years ago. The first Kaitou Kid was gone, and this new substitute, although more annoying and more active than his predecessor, had not committed anything that was seriously offending. This one was a mischievous trickster more than a real criminal.
Someone had tried killing this trickster.
"Just what happened out there tonight?"
Kaito looked hesitant, but as if coming to a decision, he told his story.
Perhaps the inspector was not exactly calm, but his anger faded enough for him to listen. He would reason with them too, for Aoko's and Kaito's sake. He always had liked the boy, perhaps even when he was Kid.
And sometimes, just sometimes, things turn out alright.
