Hello Everybody! Welcome to the next chapter of Moonlight Reflections. This chapter was written pretty much entirely by me this time around as Mist is still very busy with school. Nonetheless thanks to both her and the beautiful Lizzy Aka BloodiedCoreOfHope for the help betaing!

Oh of special note: Happy 20TH(Anime says he was born in 97) birthday to Saguru Hakuba! This chapter HEAVILY features him though I'm not sure if it was by coincidence or not XD Nonetheless Happy Birthday! For those reading this post update: This was chapter was first posted/published on 29th Aug 2017.

Thanks again to all the readers/reviewers! We really appreciate your feedback. it keeps us motivated. :) 50 followers and 3,000 views! I am not worthy T_T

Disclaimer: I do not own the characters. Except Takano. He is ALL mine ;) (Just ask Lizzy) All else belong to Gosho! Please support his work!

All that said ENJOY!

~^.v.^~

"Are you sure you want to go to class today, Bocchama? You just got back from a rather long trip." Baaya glanced sideways at Saguru's dishevelled form. He could tell she knew that he was disturbed by something from the tone of her voice.

He waved her off. "Thank you for your concern, but I'm sure I'll be know I've lived on far less sleep than this. Besides, I'm rather eager to get back to class." He smiled politely at her. In truth, his mind was rather preoccupied at the moment.

Baaya shook her head in reluctant acceptance."If that is what you wish." She stopped the car in front of Ekoda High, where the last of the students were trickling in before the first bell.

"Thank you, Baaya. I will see you after school." Stepping out of the car, he bowed politely to her. He watched as she drove away, though if he was being honest he could indeed feel the wave of of exhaustion threatening to overwhelm him. Still, he would fight through it.

Taking a quick look at his pocket watch, he took off for class. As he drew closer to the room, in the back of his mind, a strange alarm was going off. He could feel the strange magical signature from before growing ever nearer, if only faintly. He chose to ignore it, though it practically began screaming at him as he entered his classroom. He was a bit surprised to see its source; Akako Koizumi.

Everyone's eyes became fixed on him as he entered the room, including the cool gaze of the aforementioned beauty. She narrowed her eyes at him as he entered, causing his cheeks to gain a crimson hue. He had always known of her bewitching magic, having had picked up on her magical signature the first time he met her, but that didn't make it any easier to resist her. She wore her magic like a perfume, a sweet, alluring fragrance that caused men to fall at her feet. All save for one Kaito Kuroba who, for unknown reasons, seemed to be immune to the effect.

He had a theory about that. Still, that was neither here nor there. Now was not the time to reflect on such things. If anything, he was finding himself overwhelmed by the strange mixture of magics radiating off the beauty. The usual seductive magic was there, but there was something else too. Two something elses in fact. They were faint... Almost unnoticeable but they were there nonetheless. How curious indeed.

Composing himself, he turned his gaze away from her and moved to his seat. A few of his classmates came up to him briefly to chat with him about his trip, but none knew he was lying through his teeth about it. He could still feel Koizumi's distractingly cold gaze upon him, tingling along his spine, even as he overheard one of his classmates, Ichiro Takano was it? Loudly saying something that perked his interest a great deal: a heist which had seemingly taken place a few days ago in his absence.

"He sure is taking his time with this one! Apparently they're saying he still hasn't returned what he stole that night, even though there's rumors that the great 'Kid Killer' was there somewhere at the heist. Maybe the little brat's losing his touch," Takano ranted, making wide gestures with his arms to keep his friends interested.

Saguru shook his head in disbelief at this. In his mind, he pictured the too-smart elementary schooler who he had bumped into on a couple of occasions now. Under most circumstances, he would be skeptical, and might even have laughed at an elementary schooler facing off against his would be rival, but there was something truly strange about that Edogawa kid. Something that made Saguru a bit… wary.

His intelligence was far beyond that of a regular child, rivaling even his own and that of several other detective's. He nearly groaned aloud as a picture of that loud mouthed Osakan popped unbidden into his head. He had to admit that next to himself, the kid had the greatest track record for running into and matching wits with the aggravating thief.

"Oh, I wouldn't be too certain of that." Akako purred from the background, causing everyone, including Saguru, to turn and face her. "If anything, I'd say the two of them are in cahoots with one another." She spoke with her usual haughty, knowing air, though there was an undercurrent of something else in her voice. Was that...anger?

Saguru flinched, unsure what to make of that comment. He could tell that she was being serious by her tone, but still the very idea of it seemed wrong. A detective, even one as young and impressionable as Edogawa, working together with a thief? Absurd! Then again, thinking back on it, he himself had been caught off guard by the thief on occasion, especially when some rather shady characters began to show their faces at his heists.

Apparently Aoko seemed to agree with him for whatever reason, despite the fact that the murmurs around her were automatically agreeing with Akako. "I don't think that's possible, Akako-chan." Aoko broke in.

Akako raised an eyebrow at her. Saguru could practically feel the heat radiating off her. He questioned the sudden shift in atmosphere, unsure what had brought it on. "Oh? And why might that be, Nakamori-san?"

Aoko stood tall, despite the sudden glares of boys around her. No matter how many times he saw it, he was still amazed at the power of Koizumi's magical pull. She practically had the whole class under her thumb, it was one of those things that never ceased to disturb him.

"The KID Killer's too smart for the likes of that idiot! He probably just had to leave to go home to bed or... Something." Aoko replied, determined not to give any ground despite the uncertainty in her voice. "I don't know why that jerk KID hasn't given the shield back yet, but I'm sure there's a reason for it!"

"Sounds to me like you're trying to defend them both, Nakamori-san." Akako commented with an icy voice. She locked gazes briefly with Aoko, challenging her with a look that spoke of something akin to jealousy.

Aoko's cheeks tinted a bit as Akako said this, and Saguru found himself thinking back to the incident where he had misjudged KID again when he had jumped into a pit after Aoko to save her, as opposed to escaping scot free. He could tell something in Aoko's attitude towards KID had changed after that. He remained uncertain of if she had figured out the truth or not, but he had seen the looks she had given Kaito not long afterwards.

Speaking of Kaito...He gave a contemplative look at the empty seat ahead of him. Class had indeed started, the teacher choosing to ignore the usual chatter and just continue teaching regardless. Yet, Kaito was still conspicuously absent. While choosing to skip class was not entirely unusual for the prankster, if the heist truly had been held a few days ago, then why had he not returned?

It could be that he was just sick but, if that was the case then Aoko looked far too relaxed. He had observed the two enough to see that Aoko cared quite a bit for the prankster magician. If he were sick she would most likely be tense with worry, wanting to go home and help the poor fool. Still, despite the earlier outburst, she showed no outward signs of tension, instead humming to herself as she settled into taking notes.

No. There was another reason behind this, he was certain of it. He could feel the nagging sensation in his back of his mind; the seed of suspicion eating away at his thoughts even as he did his best to concentrate on the moment at hand. Somehow, what had happened at the heist and Kaito's suspicious absence were connected.

Could it be that he had been injured at the heist and therefore was taking more time to return than usual? Saguru quickly shook his head at this thought. Unlikely, unless the injury was rather grave. After all, during the previous incident with Aoko, he had returned the very next school day, looking none the worse for wear, despite his reportedly taking some sort of blow for her. Aoko had even mentioned going on a motorcycle ride with him shortly afterwards.

He frowned down at the paper below him, his pen trailing off as he mindlessly took notes. He could still feel that strange tug at the back of his mind that told him he was missing some rather crucial details. His eyes went in and out of focus. Maybe Baaya was right and he should have taken the day off. The exhaustion was really starting to get to him.

Then again… He couldn't deny that something strange was going on here. He felt a small fire light inside himself as he thought this, but there was something else too. A small voice in the back of his head that sounded a lot like KID's reminded him that there was more to it than that. That there were pieces missing and that it was 'his job to figure it out'.

His resolve wavered a bit as he glanced over at Kaito's empty desk. There was still something disquieting about his absence. He was loath to admit that the magician actually added an air of excitement and energy to an otherwise boring class period. Still, Saguru could feel the itch of curiosity slowly growing inside him. Unfortunately, he would have to wait until lunch to confront Aoko.

~^.v.^~

Aoko could feel Hakuba staring at her from behind for almost the entirety of their first class period. Although... She had also noticed him gazing at Kaito's seat with a mixture of expressions as well.

She didn't have to be a detective like him to know exactly what was on his mind. After all, hadn't she just predicted what his reaction would be the day before? She could honestly see why Kaito was always so reluctant to hang out with him. No doubt Hakuba was waiting until lunch to confront her for information, which gave her a bit of free time to think over her response.

Still, she refused to let herself get too wound up over it. After all, she knew very well where Kaito was, right? He had left her that note and everything… She found a slight trickle of doubt seeping into the back of her mind, but quickly subdued it by throwing herself into her school work.

The first four hours of class went by seamlessly; entirely without incident. It really was a strange feeling; not having the annoying prankster around to flip her skirt at every opportunity. The rest of the class had taken notice of his absence as well, though some still remained tense as if waiting for him to pop out of a corner at any given moment

Aoko had to admit that even though she knew he wasn't going to be around for a while, she half expected him to jump scare her too. By now it was ingrained in her instincts to keep an eye out for her friend, and do everything in her power to pay him back for his pranks. Just the day before his disappearance they had had their usual dance around the classroom with a mop.

Having been friends with Kaito for years now, it was hard not to pick up on a few of his quirks. Her "poker face" wasn't nearly as refined as Kaito's. After all, she tended to wear her heart on her sleeve most days, but even she knew she had to keep her cool while dealing with Saguru Hakuba, the heart-throb of the female populace at Ekoda High.

It was with a straight laced expression that she went to lunch, intimately aware of the person following behind her. As expected, Hakuba pulled her aside in the hallway putting a hand gently on her shoulder. "Aoko-san, a word please?"

Aoko gave him her best smile, blushing somewhat under his strong grip. "Sure. Ummm, here or…"

"In private if we could." He replied, ignoring the students whispering around them.

Aoko heard some snippets of the conversations, something about "If the cat's away...". She decided to ignore it ,knowing that rumors had their way of spreading around this school like wildfire. Still, if she was interpreting them correctly, then they were wrong on all accounts. She had no feelings for either Kaito, or Hakuba...right?

She followed Hakuba up to the roof of the school, which was, unsurprisingly, empty. She leaned against the fence, waiting for Hakuba to explain his reasoning for bringing her up here to talk, and watched as he gazed about, looking as if he was expecting someone to pop out of nowhere. Aoko noticed that he was staring at something...a bird? She also noted some movement out of the corner of her eye, some sort of odd shadow, though it quickly disappeared from view.

Hakuba turned back to face her. "Is something the matter, Aoko-san?"

Aoko shook her head. "N-nothing. So what is it you wanted to talk about, Hakuba-kun?" She bit her lip, hiding the shivering sensation she got from the shadow she had just saw. For some reason it reminded her of the crow from before. "Is it about Kaito?"

She felt a bit of pride at the shocked look on Hakuba's face when she said this. Score one for detective Aoko! Though the excitement didn't last long, as Hakuba's expression quickly became serious.

"Yes actually…" He paused.

Aoko crossed her arms. Wait for it…

"Do you happen to know why Kuroba-kun is absent today?" Hakuba looked at her carefully, a gentle expression on his face. .

Aoko balled her hands into fists. Coming from anyone else, the question may be simple enough, but she knew that there was an air of suspicion hidden in the blond detective's question. She had stood as moderator between Kaito and Hakuba's squabbles enough to know his stance on anything Kaito related. Unfortunately, she had expected this from him.

If Kaito were here, it was most likely he would have come back with some sort of overly sarcastic quip like; "None of your business", or maybe; "Do I look like I keep track of people?", or possibly; "What's that got to do with me?". She could practically picture the annoyed look on his face.

Yet, Kaito wasn't here, and Aoko was most certainly not him, so she decided to just give him a mostly straight answer, followed by her own question. "Yes, I do. Why? Are you worried about him, Hakuba-kun? I didn't know you cared that much about him..." She tilted her head curiously.

Hakuba paused, obviously caught off-guard. Aoko kind of wished Kaito was here just so he could see the look on his face. She admired Hakuba, but sometimes he was just a bit too overzealous. It kind of irritated her when he consistently called Kaito out on being something he wasn't… A small voice in the back of her head reminded her that she wasn't so sure of that, but she quickly shooed it away.

Hakuba cleared his throat quickly, regaining composure. "You could say that. It would seem I missed some things while I was gone."

Aoko took note that he didn't directly mention the heist, but she caught the implication nonetheless. She also didn't miss the slight blush on Hakuba's cheeks. Huh...so he did care for Kaito somewhat. Well, that was unexpected. That or she had just embarrassed him with such implications.

Aoko giggled a bit, despite herself. "To answer your question before you ask it: Kaito just got kidnapped a couple of days ago by his mom. I'm not sure when he will be back, but he did say in his note he would call at some point to let me know how things are going."

Hakuba gave her a curious look. "He left you a note?" It was funny that of all things, that was the thing he picked up on.

Aoko raised an eyebrow back at him, confused by his odd reaction. "Didn't I just say that? Kaito's mom is rather spontaneous. He didn't have the time to say goodbye face to face, so he left me a note."

Hakuba rested a hand on his chin looking every part the detective that he was. "Hmm. If it's alright, Aoko-san, may I see the note?"

Aoko looked at him skeptically before reaching into her bag to retrieve Kaito's note. In truth, she hadn't had the heart to let go of it since receiving it. "Alright, I guess. Though I don't know what you want with my personal note." She slowly handed it over not seeing any harm in letting him read it. True, it was kind of personal, but Hakuba wasn't the type to make fun of such things. It couldn't hurt to let him look at it.

"Thank you, Aoko-san." He took it from her careful not to rip or bend any of the edges.

Aoko watched as Hakuba's eyes lit it up with something unidentifiable as he read through the note in his hand. She noticed him suppress a gasp at something, though he quickly hid any emotions behind his eyes, scanning the contents of the note over and over. He furrowed his brow as if deep in thought about something, before shaking his head and mumbling under his breath. Finally, he handed the note back to her. "Thank you, Aoko-san. I really must apologize for imposing on your time and personal space like this."

Aoko shook her head and shrugged. "It's no big deal. I can't blame you for being curious, right? I can understand that much. Besides, Kaito has done far worse…"

Hakuba nodded at this, and they both turned as there was a five minute warning bell. "I see. Well, I suppose I have taken enough of your time away from you. Although... if I may ask one last question, Aoko-san?"

Aoko turned around just as she was about to head through the roof door. "What's that, Hakuba-kun?"

Hakuba gained the same serious expression from before. "Did your father mention anything odd about the heist the other night?"

This time Aoko found herself caught off guard by the question. She paused, standing there in the doorway and trying to compose her thoughts. She wasn't sure why he waited until last to ask her that question, but now that she thought about it, her father had mentioned something. "I shouldn't really talk about this, but since you work with the task force…" Aoko paused unsure if she should continue.

Well there wasn't much harm in giving him the truth. "Dad said there was some sort of other criminal activity that night. Apparently there was someone else present at the heist, and he had guns on him. Dad didn't really tell me much, though he did say KID got away unharmed." Technically he hadn't really said any of that officially, more like swore his head off about it while ranting, and Aoko had overheard him. It wasn't an uncommon thing when it came to his job.

She noticed Hakuba had been given pause at this, and wondered briefly if she had said too much, but he quickly flashed her a smile. "Thank you, Aoko-san. I appreciate your honesty and your help."

Aoko shrugged, blushing again. Her, helpful? Somehow she doubted that. She turned and rushed the rest of the way to class, her lunch long since forgotten.

~^.v.^~

Saguru lingered there momentarily, thinking through all the information he had just received. 'Most intriguing.' He mused silently.

His mind was rushing with thoughts of the heist he had failed to attend, but there was something else flooding his thoughts as well. The letter that Kaito had left for Aoko. More specifically, what was tied to that letter.

It was just about as faint as it could be, but nonetheless it was there. One of the same magical signatures that Akako was carrying earlier. Though, this one was much more fresh. If Kuroba was truly the one who wrote that note...that left some very intriguing insinuations. Ones that he would have to follow up later after school if at all possible.

Hmm, it may be a good idea to bring Watson along for this venture. If what Aoko had mentioned was true, it was possible there may be a bit of a blood trail left. If there were any trail at all, that was. KID wasn't the type to overlook such details.

There was a spike of adrenaline as Saguru began to think through his next course of action. He may not have been at the heist, but that didn't mean he couldn't follow up on it. If things went as planned, he may just find the answers he was seeking. Slowly turning to return to class, he spoke in a hushed tone. "Just you wait, KID. You can't hide forever."

~^.v.^~

Elsewhere, back at his father's hidden room, Kaito felt a wave of cold rush over him. What was this feeling just now? He had felt such a cold instinct take over him before, he just couldn't remember where...Every inch of his body was telling him to run for the hills, and run fast.

He nearly jumped out of his skin when a voice echoed from behind him. "Find anything yet?"

He turned around after catching his breath and glared at the figure behind him. "Geez, Tantei-kun, a little warning next time?"

"Sorry," Shinichi said, though Kaito could see from his face that he was more amused than apologetic. "So...did you find them yet?"

Kaito sighed in exasperation. "No, but it's not as simple a task as you think it is. Information… Especially secrets like this, wouldn't be just left out in the open for just anyone to find. It's got to be hidden here somewhere." He glared, irritated, at the notes spread across the floor. There was tons of magic show related memorabilia scattered about, mixed with blueprints and details for various designs, but nothing resembling notes on kitsune based magic.

"You're father was pretty thorough at what he did. There has to be notes for every kind of trick you can imagine here. I can kind of see where you get it from." Shinichi stated plainly, pointing at the various scattered documents.

"That's my Oyajii for you," Kaito murmured with a sparkle in his eye. "He was the best of the best. Though, I really do wish he would have organized this stuff a bit better." Kaito grumbled.

"I can't say my dad's much better," stated Shinichi, catching Kaito a bit off guard. "He keeps most of his files on a computer database for a reason. You should really see our library back home."

Kaito chuckled at this. "The great author Yusaku Kudo is an unorganized slob? That's a bit of a surprise to hear. That explains why he's always on the run from his editors."

Shinichi rolled his eyes at the comment. "Actually, I'm pretty sure there's a different reason for that, but that's besides the point. Any idea where these notes are supposed to be? I could help you look for them, you know."

Kaito shook his head. "If I knew that we probably would have already found them…" he sighed, before he was interrupted by a buzzing from his phone. He glanced at it and immediately frowned.

"What is it?" Shinichi said craning his neck to try and get a look at the screen.

Kaito pressed a couple of buttons, swiftly hiding his phone away from prying eyes. "We need to get out of here."

Shinichi stared at him, confused. "Why? What's going on? Who was that?"

Kaito shook his head and quickly began shoving things into a backpack. He would have to keep searching for the notes later. He kept silent, his senses on high alert. Of course he would have to pick just this time to return. Just perfect.

Shinichi forced himself in front of the not-so-teenage magician, who was avoiding looking at anything other than the bag he was packing.. "Kaito?"

Kaito ignored him and continued to pack things, throwing in the essentials into his endless pockets. His thoughts were preoccupied with escape plans upon escape plans, and he could feel the adrenaline growing by the minute. Ever since changing forms, his "flight" response had grown stronger.

A sharp burst of of pain, and he curled in on himself, his animal instincts taking over. He could feel himself transforming back into his 'natural' form despite how hard he tried to resist it. He heard Shinichi calling his name, but was unable to say anything as slowly, he regressed back into a fox.

"Kaito!" He heard Shinichi's small voice again, and he let out a whimper, collapsing on the floor.

When he came back to himself, he found himself swimming in his childish clothes again, panting. Slowly, however, he was gently pulled from his clothes and wrapped in tiny arms. "Geez, you idiot! You nearly gave me a heart attack…" Kaito looked up into Shinichi's concerned eyes. While they were in his house, he had left the ridiculous glasses off and he could see the brilliant blue orbs quite clearly.

"Sorry…" Kaito managed, though his head was spinning from pain by this point.

Shinichi sighed and began to stroke Kaito's fur. To his surprise Kaito found himself relaxing somewhat under his touch. "Just relax for a minute. Whatever you're worrying about, it doesn't matter if we leave right now. We have time. Alright?"

There was a somewhat soothing quality in Shinichi's young voice, and Kaito was unsure if he realized that there seemed to be some sort of magical quality to it as well. He could feel himself slowly relaxing even further as Shinichi continued to stroke him; his instincts to run settling themselves into calm peace.

Finally, he closed his eyes. When he opened them, he was back to his child form with no pain whatsoever this time. Kaito sighed, sitting up. "Thanks...Honestly, I don't know what came over me there."

Shinichi paused a moment, looking contemplative. "If I had to guess...your animal instincts took over and triggered a fight or flight response." Kaito took note that Shinichi failed to mention what had brought about said response. Though, he did see Shinichi looking at him curiously obviously still wanting to know about that.

Sighing he slipped back into his clothes and took out his phone. He saw that he had a text message from Aoko as well as the video feed he had seen earlier on from his spy dove, showing her and Hakuba alone together. "Hakuba-kun's been asking about you." The message read. This time, Kaito did his best to fall back on his poker face.

He quickly sent back a message, grateful that the detective in the room had decided to back off. "Ugh, DO NOT let him bother you. I'll be sure to take care of him later. I'm a bit busy atm. Will talk later." He hit "send" and waited a moment for a response, eyeing Shinichi who was busying himself with looking around where he had stored the shield.

It didn't take long before his phone pinged again with a reply. "Bakaito! Don't be rude. He was just concerned about you, after all!" Kaito snorted at this, but kept reading. "I'm a bit worried about you, too. You left rather suddenly. Are you sure everything's alright? I know you said your mom surprised you, but it was still a little odd..."

Kaito paused at this, unsure how to react. Aoko was worried about him?He texted her back quickly, while Shinichi fiddled around with something in the background. "I'm doing just fine." Lies. "It really was out of the blue, but I'm already getting to spend time with some interesting people from the past." Half-truths. "I really need to be going...I'll call you soon, ok?" Empty promises. "Ja ne!" Painful goodbyes that left his heart feeling empty.

There was a solitary ping as her reply came back. "Come back soon, you got it?" He felt like replying with his usual cheek, but decided against it in the end.

Just then, there was a creaking noise that made his ears twitch, followed by the sound of gears turning. Kaito whirred around to see Shinichi holding the shield with a surprised look on his face, staring at a slowly opening trap door in the side of the wall. Huh… he'd never seen that one before. It was small, about the size of a bread box, but he could see with his enhanced vision something inside.

Moving swiftly over towards Shinichi, he reached in and pulled out the contents. His eyes widened "This...this is...!" He ran his finger over the fine leather edging and read the title to himself in disbelief. "Toichi Kuroba's Journal."

They'd found it… or more specifically Shinichi had found it. Kaito would have pouted in most situations at the universe's insinuation that the detective was somehow cleverer than him, but right now he was too wrapped up in the realisation that he was holding the most sacred treasure he had ever held. "This is it!" he cried in excitement.

He smiled his most genuine, brightest smile before grabbing Shinichi up in as big a hug as he could muster given his current small stature. Finally, they had a place to begin! And none too soon as it turned out; Kaito's phone pinged with another alert from his spy dove. It seemed Hakuba was on the move again.

Releasing Shinichi from his death hug, he continued to grin at him. "Well, Tantei-kun, we should be going. Time is of the essence, as they say. I have a quick phone call to make first, but in the meantime… Thank you. Thank you so much." Poker face be damned, he could feel his cheeks alight with warmth. Finally, real progress! With these he could better figure out his current "problem" at least that's what he assumed. Even without that however this was a piece of his father's past he had yet to uncover. A true treasure indeed.

"You're welcome. I just did what I thought you'd do in a situation like this," Shinichi stated evenly, though Kaito could see his cheeks coloring as well.

Kaito shook his head. "Au contraire, my dear detective. I believe you just found a solution using that deductive brain of yours. Much as I hate to admit, it probably would have taken me some time to find the same solution.

Kaito danced around the room, his tail swishing back and forth excitedly as hugged the book to his chest. Then he remembered he still had to give Hakuba a call to chew him out before he and Shinichi left for new hiding places. "I'll be back, Shinichi, just let me make a quick phone call." he paused as he went over into a quiet dark corner where he could talk to Hakuba without interference.

"Time to make sure a certain Brit keeps his big nose where it belongs," he mumbled slightly evilly to himself, and quickly dialed his number.

~^.v.^~

Saguru had just finished visiting the scene of the heist. Surprisingly, or perhaps unsurprisingly, there was little new information there. What he did manage to find was a trail that lead him to a nearby building where he projected KID had landed at some point after the heist in his haste to escape.

What's more, he found a rather sizable amount of that magic that had been attached to the letter, confirming what he had already suspected: KID's magic was released here. It lingered even now, though identifying it was an entirely different matter.

Saguru paused, contemplating the energy once more. It was blurred...like some sort of weird ripple. Probably illusory magic, if he had to guess. It would make the most sense given the user. He had long suspected that KID's tricks weren't entirely human in nature. There was something… too perfect about them.

Saguru found himself questioning why this magic had taken so long to appear though. As far as he recalled from previous heists, it was never quite...this strong. As if something had been released here. Something different than what he had encountered before. It just made no sense.

Before he could think too hard on it's significance, his phone began to buzz with an irritating song. He'd recognize that sugary sweet obnoxious ringtone anywhere. "Kuroba."

He grinned despite himself, and picked up the phone. "Hello Kuroba-kun. Enjoying your time away?" He revelled at the growl he managed to elicit from the other end of the line, though there was something strange about it. It almost sounded like an animal's growl.

"Hakuba-kun! What exactly do you think you're doing pestering Aoko, you jerk! I swear, I'm gone for just a couple of days and suddenly the whole world implodes! Can't you think of anything better to do than throw around suspicions while I'm gone?" The angry voice of Kuroba barked at him from the other end of the line.

"I see Aoko's been talking to you about me behind my back. I'm unsure if I should be flattered or insulted." Saguru's voice was smooth as silk, though there was something slightly intimidating about the way Kaito was speaking. He felt as though he was cornered by some sort of wild dog. An odd sensation...but he brushed it off.

"You would take it that way…" Kuroba growled again. "Stay away from Aoko. Got it? Now, I've got to get back to enjoying my time on vacation far away from pesky detectives. I won't be in contact range for a while so don't try. Though if I hear you've been bothering Aoko again, you can expect me to find a way to get back a heck of a lot sooner, and there will be repercussions, understand?" Saguru rolled his eyes at the overprotective reaction of his classmate, though he respected the seriousness in Kaito's voice.

He thought quickly on some of the prank's Kaito was known to pull on people who pissed him off. He shuttered a bit. Truth be told, he didn't want to be on the end of one of the magician's nastier pranks. "Understood," was all he replied. He gritted his teeth and grinned.

Well he hadn't brought that up yet.

"Oh, and Hakuba-kun..." Perhaps he spoke too soon, he was sure he knew what Kaito was going to say next. Sure enough… "I'M NOT KID! So you can stop your silly investigating and focus on more important matters like I don't know… Almost anything else? Your obsession is kind of ridiculous. Seriously. Get a hobby."

With that, he heard a distinctive click as Kaito hung up on him. Saguru sighed to himself placing his phone in his pocket before he heard a distinct *ping* and a text message went through. In it was a picture of Kaito in a pair of swim trunks on a beach somewhere in what looked like America, California, or Hawaii, if he had to venture a guess. Of course photos could be modified, but that was beside the point.

There was also a message that read; "If you find yourself tempted to track my location, go right ahead, but we both know that won't work out in your favor. Aloha! and good riddance from Hawaii."

Letting out another sigh, he put his phone back into his pocket. Honestly. Even from afar, Kuroba was impossible to deal with without egging him on. He decided to put off his investigation on Kuroba's whereabouts until later. It was unlikely he was still home now, at the very least.

He decided instead to look into this other strange investigation. There was one other lead he had in regards to the magical phenomena, and he knew just whom he had to see about it.

Leaving the trace remains of the magic behind, he treaded off in the direction of Akako's home he knew lay on the outskirts of town. At the same time,, the two magical presences in question took off in a very different direction.

Woo that was a monster of a chapter (Just under 6,000 words) I hope you all enjoyed. If you have any comments/concerns want to let us know what you think please leave a review.

BONUS Omake: A little extra that the lovely Lizzy brought up:

Shinichi paused a moment, looking contemplative. "If I had to guess...your animal instincts took over and triggered a fight or flight response."

Kaito gave him a skeptical look. Really? That was the best explanation the detective could come up with? "Well, no s***, Sherlock! Tell me something I don't know."

Shinichi puffed up his chest and stuck out his tongue at Kaito."You mean like how to tell a good joke?"

Kaito gasped. "I'll have you know I'm the funniest character on this show!"

Shinichi smirked. "So you admit you're the comic relief, then."

The thief clutched his heart. "You wound me, Tantei-kun!"

Shinichi rolled his eyes even as the curtain fell before him.

Bonus Bonus Omake! ~^.v.^~

Conan: *ads appear on screen*"Meitantei conan to koran no sponsors no teikyo desu, opurishimasta!"

Kid:*bows*"See you, next illusion!"

Both: *glare at each other in recording room*"Oi! This is my show!"

*Screen goes black*(scuffles and breaking sounds)