"KID!" was roared behind Kaito as he turns around the corner. He laughs, and pauses just long enough to give Inspector Nakamori who was completely covered in pink bubble gum a taunting salute, before he runs straight for the stairs that would lead to the roof.

His tricks—pranks—had gone off without a hitch, Hakubastard wasn't here, he had managed to steal the gem successfully, and it was a weekend so he'd be able to sleep in after this! Really, the only thing that would make his night better was if this gem turns out to be Pandora.

He reaches the roof, and he strides confidently into the open space. Here, he can distantly hear the screams of his fans below, and Kaito just smiles a bit more widely. The helicopter hadn't spotted him yet, so he holds up the gem to the light of the full moon.

As always, he holds his breath, and releases a tiny disappointed sigh as the gem simply sparkles, no red gem inside it. Not Pandora then.

He turns to lean on the fence, and nearly gets a heart attack when he catches sight of something moving on the opposite roof. He stills, and it shifts again, this time, catching the light of the moon.

It was just a black cloth, tied to a vent.

Kaito loosens his grip on his card-gun, laughing under his breath at himself. That's right, he knows another thing that makes his heist, actually every heist from now on, better.

Snake was gone, under the custody of the police, and the Crows were finally facing justice. He didn't understand the full details, or how it happened, but he did know the one that made it possible.

Meitantei-kun.

At the thought of the teen, Kaito couldn't help the frown as he leaned back on the fence of the roof. Since the return of Kudo Shinichi in his proper body, he had prepared his heist in advance, determined to make it the grandest heist yet. He was nearly vibrating with excitement as he anticipated the days, and who could blame him?

Conan was a great critic, always ready with a smart remark and with that damned soccer ball of his. But Conan was still a kid. He was still someone who was supervised by an adult, thus eliminating immediate actions against him. And while Kaito admittedly uses that to his advantage from time to time, he was looking forward to the full grown Kudo Shinichi.

So he devoted his all to the heist, planning many tricks to amaze the critic. He had it all planned out, deciding to forego targeting him (as it had been proven that Conan was a more appreciative critic when he wasn't being humiliated by it), and leading a merry chase that would end at the rooftop.

But Meitantei-kun hadn't come.

Kaito thinks he understands, when the newspapers were suddenly completely devoted to the return of the Detective of the East after his work undercover to bring down the Black Organization. (He does feel a bit miffed that details about his heist was pushed back to the back folds of the paper. He feels a great deal of sympathy for old man Jirokichi for the number of times Conan had stolen the spotlight.)

So he waits.

He restrains himself from going directly to his house, or stalk—observing him from afar. He does allow his doves to stay, though a great deal of that was because Tama kept going back on her own volition. Kaito would have been worried, except Kudo clearly remembered the dove from the Memories Egg heist, and didn't even try to attach a tracking device on her. Consequently, some of his other doves got curious about this human that looked a great deal like their owner, and was clearly loved by one of their own. So from time to time, other doves would visit as well.

Kaito nearly had a heart attack the first time they did that, though. His doves were well-trained, and obedient only to him, not even tricked by food coming from strangers. So to find some of the flock by Kudo's house, by a detective's house who clearly knows they were KID's doves, he could be forgiven for allowing his Poker Face to drop. He couldn't go over himself, as Meitantei-kun was extremely sensitive to being observed, so he waits, heart in his throat and expecting the police to break down his door at any time.

When they come home, and thoroughly checked for any tracking device, Kaito allows the strange interaction to happen. As long as his doves return in prime condition, he would respect the detective's privacy. This time. (Though he was considering attaching a note to remind Meitantei-kun to refrain from feeding them too much. Some of his doves were considerably heavier, especially Tama. That does not bode well for future tricks.)

And so he waits again.

But after five heists missed, Kaito was getting impatient. He simply wanted to thank the detective for God's sake! Conan had enjoyed KID's heists hadn't he? So why not come now?

He hated acting like a detective. Eww.

His first impulse was to visit the detective, but he immediately discards the idea. He didn't feel like facing the little girl that monitors the detective's health. Not to mention, after his last break-in, the FBI guy who was still staying with Kudo had practically barricaded the house with his constant patrols. And while they were allies after that fiasco on the Bell Tree Express, it was simply with Kudo as the medium.

Kaito pockets the jewel, lightly jumping on top of the fence before free-falling and activating his glider. He heads back towards one of his safe houses, only slightly hesitating as he spies the Kudo manor in the distance. Surely he could afford to be more patient?

After all, the last time he wasn't. . .