Chapter 4: Magic

I don't want realism. I want magic! Yes, yes, magic. I try to give that to people. I do misrepresent things. I don't tell truths. I tell what ought to be truth.

-Tennessee Williams; said by his character Blanche DuBois, in A Streetcar Named Desire (1947)

"Wait a minute – Hakuba is supposed t' be in England?" Hattori asked, utter disbelief on his face. "We jes' saw 'im yesterday!"

"I know," Conan said calmly.

"Well, why didn't ya say so? That musta been the Kaitou Kid! We could've got 'im!"

"I had a…an appointment to him," Conan replied distractedly.

"Ya can't jes meet with international jewel thieves, Kudou! What's the matter wit' you?"

Awkwardly, Conan shifted his eyes away from Hattori's angry green-eyed stare. "Well…I wanted to take him down myself. If I got you and the police involved, he would have ran away in an instant."

"At leas' me, then. Dontcha' trust me?"

"I do," Conan responded hurriedly. "But he didn't have any ill intentions toward me – he doesn't allow anyone to get hurt, you know. We just talked and he challenged me to catch him on Monday."

"Kudou – are ya defendin' Kid?"

Conan didn't respond.

My tantei-kun – that's what Kid called me, Conan thought. His? His? His…

/

"Why are you here, Kid?"

Conan had gone to the same hill behind the Kudou house that night, to think. It was nice to be alone, for once. And then the thief had shown up. The detective had a very odd feeling of déjà vu.

"Pre-heist performance, of course."

"….Don't be stupid."

"A child is calling me stupid?"

"I'm not a child!" Conan exclaimed indignantly, bristling with anger.

"Well, unless I'm mistaken, you look like a seven year old little boy," Kid replied calmly, and probably sounding the most reasonably.

Conan sighed. It was so hard to get used to being treated a little kid, even after this long.

"I'm a smart as you," Conan responded, trying not to pout. "So don't treat me as any less."

It must have looked pretty pathetic for him to be declaring that.

The thief rolled his eyes. "Alright, tantei-sama. But this is my show, and I'm going to be on the spotlight." He pulled out a small rabbit costume – Conan-size. "Now, who's going to wear this?"

Gagging, Conan cast a horrified look at the magician. "…I'm calling the police."

"Ah, but you should have done that a long time ago," Kid declared proudly. "Because I have your cell phone right here." The white suited teenager held up the phone smugly.

There was an outraged yell. "Y-you…! You picked my pocket!"

"Only because I want a cooperative audience to perform to – the police are not accommodating, I'm afraid. Don't you believe in magic, tantei-kun?"

"Do you believe in magic?" Conan threw back.

For some reason, there was a sad smile on the magician's face. "Only of some kinds."

"Some kinds? Like the magic you use – sleight of hand, disguise, and so on?" Conan asked curiously.

"No," the thief murmured. "Those are merely tricks that give happiness for a single moment. My work can never create magic," he said simply, but ominously.

Yes, Kaito thought, because I basically seek vengeance. I seek vengeance in my own method, which may be daring and clever and humorous, but can never be magical. How can something as evil as revenge be magic? But I must…for my father….

"There is magic in truth," Kid said quietly. "Detectives find truths and use them to bring justice."

"There is only one truth," Conan muttered softly. There was always a truth, somewhere, even in the midst of lies. "But there is safety in secrets." But sometimes, one had to lie and pretend to protect the people close to them. Ignorance was bliss, but at a price of pain from the liar.

Bewildered, Kaito looked down at the child. "Why would you say that?"

"Because I have a feeling," Conan said, his eyes not meeting the thief's, "that you'd understand."

"How did you know," Kid asked out loud, almost to himself, "that I don't wear my hat and monocle by choice?"

"It is a choice, Kid," Conan said. "But it's one that had to be made."

No, it was no longer Conan speaking. Shinichi was. Shinichi had reemerged, breaking through the lies. It felt scary…Conan's mask had crumbled, and the pain was flooding in.

Both of them were silent for the rest of the time.

There was no playacting performed or poker faces worn that night, only the bitter truth and secrets.

/

The next night, Shinichi found himself waiting for the thief again.

The Kaitou Kid was his usual jeering self, unfortunately.

"How come you waited for me, tantei-kun?" the magician teased. "Did you really want to wear that bunny costume so much? I don't mind if you borrow it – you'll look so cute!"

Conan's jaw dropped open and he flushed a dark red. "Don't even think about it," he warned.

"Really?" Kid asked, leaning over Conan's neck, his warm breath on the boy.

Feeling flustered, the child stuttered. "St-tupid thief."

"A-le-le, tantei-kun! Don't be a stubborn child!"

"Shut up," Conan muttered through gritted teeth. But he was only half-listening to the thief; he was immersed in his thoughts.

Why was it that he felt so relaxed and at ease now? Was this how it felt to be warm and safe? No secrets, no hiding, no pretending, and no lying…he was open and vulnerable.

It was just…that the thief had been giving him this feeling – companionship, comradeship…friendship? No, something else…

Kaitou Kid somehow understood how he felt. The magician seemed to have experienced a pain, like he did – the thief was hiding secrets, like him. Both of them were…were…lonely.

"Why is it," Shinichi murmured out loud, "that I feel so comfortable right now?"

"What was that, tantei-kun?" Kid asked curiously, slipping a deck of cards he was messing with back in his pockets.

"It's nothing," Conan muttered. But inside, he smiled. And he thanked the thief for giving him small moments of happiness, however brief.

Kid, Shinichi thought to himself, you are magic. Even if it you don't show your true magic in front of others, you've shown it to me.

"Kid," Conan said abruptly. "I have to go now. I'll see you tomorrow, at the heist." The boy stood up, brushing grass off of his shorts.

"Wait, before you go." The thief turned to look at the child seriously. "There was something you said before. You called yourself 'No one important'."

Conan looked back at the thief warily. "What are you trying to say?"

"Tantei-kun, you are important." The Kaitou Kid gazed at the boy seriously, his violet eyes focused on the child. "Even if you don't think you are or if other people don't believe it – you are important."

Conan widened his blue eyes behind his oversized glasses. "I-I…" he stammered uncertainly, unable to find anything to say.

"Don't think little of yourself," the magician told him, "you are my greatest rival, after all."

Conan's dark hair fell over his forehead as he hung his head, hiding his eyes from the other. "Thank you," he whispered. "See you tomorrow."

And the detective walked off, leaving the thief alone on the hill to think about his rival.