A/N:I am so sick of idiots in this world. Anyone else agree? The people in my life are so annoying and I can't stand them. Well, that's why the Internet is so cool!
Chapter 7 The day before the heist
Kaito sat in his room, looking over his notes for the heist tomorrow. He knew tomorrow was going to be a very important day. It was the day his cousin would officially start to chase his alter ego, and to be honest, Kaito wasn't very enthused about it.
Yes, tomorrow he would face off against the master detective Kudou Shinichi, at once his greatest adversary, and his worst nightmare; partly because of their emotional bond that remained after all these years. He still hated the thought of hurting his cousin, but he had to toss aside his feelings and don the mask of KID.
If he showed any emotions, Kudou Shinichi might leap upon that, and what happened if he discovered that his cousin was Kaitou KID? He'd most likely never be able to forgive him, and Kaito didn't want to see that look on Shinichi's face; the same scowl that most of Nakamori's men sent him, which meant that apparently he was a bad person. Didn't they know that sometimes you had to transgress the law a little in order to make things right?
I look forward to challenging you and seeing all you have learned in our time apart, meitantei-san. But first I should meet him in person.
Was he really sure he wanted to, though? Shinichi was just as intelligent as he was, and that in itself could pose a problem. He usually had no problems fighting against Inspector Nakamori because of how stupid the latter was, and the fact that his officers weren't really that smart, either. But with someone as intelligent as Shinichi, he would probe to be quite a dangerous opponent.
Hakuba Saguru was too arrogant and a lot of times he overlooked crucial information in his investigation to track down Kaito. However, Kudou Shinichi would make little to no mistakes. That was how he was. He was a perfectionist, so even if he found a flaw in his reasoning, he would always go back and correct it. Kaito remembered how, as a child, he had been fascinated by Shinichi's correct predictions on what would happen whenever he would read detective novels.
He would always say that he assumed that this person was the culprit, and later on he would turn out to be right. For a few years, Kaito guessed that maybe his cousin had possessed some sort of magical ability that helped him do that, but later he had just figured out that the latter was just very astute and perceptive. Of course, Kaito was perceptive, but they were more perceptive in different areas. For example, Kaito was very good at deceiving an audience with his magic tricks.
Kudo, on the other hand, was better at deducing the truth. He hated to lie. Both of them used their intelligence to their advantage. Kaito knew now that Shinichi wanted to know the truth about who had killed Kaito's father. That made him proud. He was glad that Shinichi hadn't forgotten about him or his dad. They both had the same goal in mind, but they were both doing different things to achieve it.
While Kaito was double-crossing the law (and his cousin at the same time), Shinichi Kudo was unwittingly becoming the enemy of his dear cousin by upholding it. Kaito knew that if they met now, Shinichi might very well figure out that he was KID. If there was anyone who would suspect Kaito of being KID, it was probably Shinichi. Shinichi had by far one of the sharpest minds he'd ever met, and that was why he had to be very careful with him as an ally.
A KID grin slid onto his face. "We'll just have to see about that, won't we, Yuki?" He said to a dove beside him, who just cooed and sat on his shoulder. "You remember my cousin Shinichi, don't you? No, of course you wouldn't. You were only a small bird then."
Sometimes Shinichi had assisted him with his magic, but for the most part, he had taken part in his detective work more often than help him with his magic. He didn't take it as seriously as Kaito did. A logical detective didn't really have time for things like that, he had said. Of course, back then Kaito had highly doubted that Shinichi would ever achieve his dream of being a detective. Now was when the reality of that situation sunk in.
Unlike most people, Shinichi had actually fulfilled his dream. He had become a detective. Kaito had merely assumed that he was going through a period of fantasy in his life. He, on the other hand, simply KNEW that he was going to be a magician. He knew it was in his blood, and his dad had taught him everything he knew. Sure, Shinichi had tried to convince him into being a detective, but his heart just wasn't in it. Magic was where his heart belonged.
He loved being able to concoct a fable and deceive his audience. That was part of the fun of being a magician. His cousin, on the other hand, preferred cold, hard facts. "I wonder how you're doing with the new note I sent you, meitantei-san. Have you solved it already?" He wondered aloud.
Well, knowing his intelligent cousin, he probably already had.
I sure hope when we meet again that Shinichi doesn't bring any fish, otherwise...it'll be horrible. He shivered at the thought of those disgusting, horrible creatures. Why did it seem like he was the only person in the world who actually hated the little freaks? Everyone else laughed at him for it, but it was the truth. He hated them with every fiber of his being.
Suddenly, the door opened and Aoko walked in. Instantly, Kaito hid his notes for the heist in a drawer and then turned to face her.
"What are you hiding behind your back, Kaito?" She asked warily.
"N-Nothing," Kaito lied.
"I was just thinking. You said you were looking forward to seeing your cousin soon, right? So why don't we go see him?"
Kaito jumped back. "Uh, Shinichi? See him right now?" He stammered nervously.
"Yeah!" Aoko cried. "I managed to get his phone number, and he got yours."
Oh, crud. Not now.
"Aoko, I'm in the middle of a big prank I'm working on and I really don't want him to bother me," He lied.
"Why not, Kaito? You've been talking about him all this time! I thought for sure that you really wanted to see him!"
Yes, but not whenever I'm in the middle of a KID heist. He might suspect me, after all!
Of course, he didn't bother to dare utter those thoughts aloud. "Do you think he'll want to go to the heist?"
A glint came in Aoko's eyes then. "You know, I could convince him to become an anti-KID fan."
Kaito suddenly found himself fearing for his life. Nobody was as scary as Aoko in her anti-KID phase. "Uh, are you really sure you want to do that? There are a lot of things that could go wrong, you know."
"Like what, Kaito? You support KID, don't you see that he's just a disgusting thief?"
"No, maybe he's doing it for a noble aim," Kaito whined.
"You and your dumb magic tricks blind you, Kaito. I highly doubt you can understand the truth behind my proposition."
"O-Of course I understand, Aoko! It's just that sometimes the law is wrong and you have to transgress it a bit! That's probably what KID thinks!" Kaito said nervously.
"You're not making any sense, you dumb magician. I didn't expect it to make any sense to someone like you, anyway." She sighed.
Meanwhile, Shinichi was at his house, juggling his soccer ball. Whenever he was doing that, it was a good sign that he was either really happy or really ticked off. Soccer was a good way for him to collect his thoughts together.
What exactly was the meaning behind KID sending me that dumb note, anyway? I couldn't figure it out even if I wanted to. This is a pain.
He bounced a black-and-white soccer ball in the air and kicked it again with his knee. "Why can't I wrap my mind around what that crazy thief is thinking?"
He sighed as he held the KID note in his hand and looked at it while he was bouncing the note. Ran sometimes called him crazy for being able to multitask, but it came naturally to him to do such things. He'd had the worst day of his life.
Earlier, he had to sit and listen to that crazy Inspector yell and yell at him until his ears bled simply because Shinichi had admitted to him that he couldn't figure out anything about the case.
My ears are still sore from his yelling. Why's he so obsessed with KID, anyway?
However, Shinichi realized that he'd been forgetting someone important. A certain brunette was sitting in his bedroom, watching him juggle the ball with a bored look on her face.
"Shinichi, can we do something else besides watch you juggle a dumb ball?"
"Oi, oi, Ran, soccer is necessary. Even Holmes had to do some sports-"
"Enough about Holmes! That could be a good torture tactic for you to use against the criminals you arrest, but please don't use it on me, Shinichi!" Ran cried.
"Why do you hate Holmes so much?" Shinichi cried.
"I don't! It's just that you talk about him too much," Ran said.
"But he's great!" Shinichi said. Upon seeing Ran cast a desperate look at him, he sighed and dropped the subject.
"Can you figure out what KID means in his note?" Ran asked. "I'm sure someone as smart as you could figure it out."
"Oi, oi, I can't wrap my mind around it."
"Why don't you go back to playing soccer instead of solving these mysteries?" Ran pointed out.
Shinichi hated this topic. Why did she always have to dwell on this one topic? It was always about how he shouldn't be solving cases because somehow it always took cases away from her dad.
He dropped the soccer ball and stared at her. "Ran, I don't need to play soccer. I need to solve these crimes for humanity's sake. Your dad barely does anything as it is besides drink alcohol and fall asleep. That's why I hate seeing you in that environment. It's probably why you spend so much time here with me," He said.
"Shinichi, don't say things like that!" Ran scolded.
"I hate seeing you suffer like that, Ran." He said slowly. She was always with him as much as possible, just to avoid seeing her dad's face. "When are you going to realize that he's really not going to amount to anything unless he pulls himself together and stops drinking? I really hate to see your dad like that."
"Shinichi, why are you talking like this? This doesn't sound like you!" She cried. She tried to pull his gums out before he whacked her hand away.
"Please don't, Ran. You've done that to me enough times in the past, Ran." Shinichi said, wincing slightly.
"Then please stop bad-mouthing my dad." Ran said sharply. "He's doing a good job of raising me."
"No, he isn't, Ran. You've just had to grow up on your own, haven't you? Just like me...that's probably why we bonded, you know?" Shinichi said softly. "Believe me, I know how it feels. I've had to deal with it for the past three years. Though the one who would understand that more than anybody would be Kaito, wouldn't it?"
"I don't like it when you talk about Kaito, Shinichi. You always get so sad when you do. So please, cheer up."
"I can't! Not when that dumb Inspector practically yelled my eardrums out!"
"You seem really angry, Shinichi. Is that why you're bouncing that ball around so much?"
"Yup. That's also due to the fact that I can't figure out what this dumb thief is thinking!"
"Kaitou Kid's not dumb!"
"Sure, Sonoko. He must be one of the most logical, rational people in the world to come up with a note this confusing." Shinichi deadpanned. "As if stealing is a logical way for him to show how sane he is. Face it, Ran. He's insane."
Ran only sighed.
