Exiting the thick forest, Shinichi arrives at an old two-storey abandoned mansion at the edge of a cliff with the sea at the back. He grips the pistol tightly and moves forth in cautious. No point hiding as they expected his arrival, he enters the mansion. He scans the surrounding when Gin steps out from a corner and points his gun at him, which Shinichi mimics the same action.

"You came."

Shinichi glares harder. "Where is he?"

Gin smirks. "Someone has an issue with that thief so I let them be. My issue is with you Kudo Shinichi." His smirk drops. "How are you alive after taking that poison?"

"I have my ways." Shinichi is slightly relieved that Gin did not notice the connection between him and Conan.

"Don't play with me. Or else..."

As if on cue, the sound of a gunshot echoes through the mansion, following by a familiar cry of agony.

Kai!

Chapter 15: Sacrifice

*Few minutes ago before Shinichi arrives*

Kaito tries to keep his anger within as the assassin walks into the room, a pistol in one of his hands.

"Kaito..." The magician turns to his mother's voice immediately, to see both Chikage and Jii regaining their consciousness. From their expressions, he knows that they instantly recognise the situation they are in.

"How frustrating it is that you always interfere with my job and slipped away with my target. You damn brat." Snake growls as he walk towards Kaito and grabs him by his hair. "But I finally got you this time."

Kaito smirks, hiding his discomfort of his hair being pulled. "Well, that just mean you lack the capability to catch a teenager like me, even though you are a so-called assassin. Isn't it?"

Snake grunts as he punches Kaito hard across the cheek. The magician winces inwardly as blood trails down at the corner of his lips. He steadies his breathing and smirks back again at the man before him, ignoring the aching that little gesture causes. "Ohh~ What's wrong? Have I offended you? You won't have my apology though."

"You...!" The assassin is about to retort when a buffy black-suited man walks in. Kaito instantly drops his smirk ad he recognises the man who Shinichi had mentioned before. Vodka.

"He's here."

At that, Snake turns to Kaito with a smug look. "Looks like you are really important to that detective brat, kind of unexpected for a thief like you."

Kaito can feel his heart beating fast against his ribcage. Shinichi is here for him, alone? And if Vodka is here, means that Gin is present too, which can only spell danger for the detective. Even death. "What is your motive?"

"What's wrong? Worried about your boyfriend? I bet he is though, so why don't you call out to him?" The moment the sentence ends, Snake shoots Kaito on the right thigh which causes the teen to cry out in agony.

"Kaito/Bocchama!" Both Chikage and Jii shout out in horror as blood oozes out from the wound, staining the wooden floor under him.

*Back to the present*

Kaito bites onto his lower lip and leans against the pillar he is cuffed to, trying to calm his breathing down as he glares at the man before him.

Two gunshots can be heard somewhere below them, that makes the magician's heart sinks at the possibility of Shinichi getting shot since the detective is not in his best condition. "Looks like Gin is having fun." Snake laughs as he points his gun at Kaito again, this time towards his head. "I won't let you die that fast, I rather want it to be slow and painful. Or maybe I can do it in front of that boyfriend of yours."

"I would rather have him alive."

"What-!" Before Snake and Vodka can react to the voice, a smokescreen bomb is tossed into the room blinding their visions. Two gunshots are fired, hitting Snake and Vodka on the back of their neck. The two BO members drops to the floor as they try to spot the shooter through the smoke before felling unconscious. What hits them seems to have tranquility effects.

Kaito holds onto his breath as he feels a hand fiddling with his cuff, and his hands are free in seconds. Kaito smirks as a hand caresses his face. "Looks like you used the equipments well."

"And you look horrible. Can you stand? I don't think the paralysis bullet can hold them for too long." Shinichi grabs one of the magician's arm and puts it over his shoulder.

Kaito cringes as he stands up with Shinichi's help. "What about..."

Shinichi leads him. "I have cut Chikage-san and Jii-san loose before coming for you. Come on, we better hurry before..." He is cut off by a shot that pierces through the smoke and hits him on the left shoulder. Causing the detective to yelp in pain.

"Shinichi!" Kaito holds onto his boyfriend but looses his balance due to his own injury as they both fell to the floor, with Shinichi on top of the magician. Kaito tears his sleeve off and ties it around the detective's shoulder.

They both look forth to see Gin appearing from the smoke with his gun pointing at them. "You and your cheap little tricks. Do you really think that you are going to get out of here alive?"

Previously when Shinichi heard the scream from Kaito, he fires a shot while throwing a small smokescreen bomb that the magician had made for him. He dodges a shot from Gin before the smoke shielded him from the man. The detective immediately runs up to the second level and dashes across the corridor towards a room where he heard voices coming from. Hiding against the wall, Shinichi saw Kaito being cuffed to a pillar with his right thigh is bleeding, by his side is Chikage and Jii.

He tossed another smokescreen bomb before shooting both Snake and Vodka, and sneaks quietly into the room to the direction where Chikage and Jii are sitting. Using a tiny blade that is heated up with a switch, Shinichi cuts the cuff. "Chikage-san, Jii-san, please head out first. The police will be arriving anytime soon, please them lead here. Leave Kaito to me." They nod and scramble out as Shinichi heads to Kaito.

Gin looks to Vodka and Snake who are unconscious on the floor, as he moves into the room with his pistol still aiming at Shinichi. "You damn brats..."

Kaito grips Shinichi and leaning close to the detective's ear. "Shinichi, I want you to believe in me."

Before Shinichi can question him, Kaito leaps forth and run towards Gin who shoots at him. The magician avoid it hitting him right at the head but it got his left shoulder instead. Shinichi watches in horror as Kaito tackles Gin and crash into the broken window, falling out of the mansion.

"KAITO!" Totally forgetting about the injury on his shoulder, Shinichi runs to the window and looks down to see the cliff with the raging sea waves hitting against the bottom.

Both Kaito and Gin are no where in sight.

"Kaito... Kai... Kai...KAIIIIIIII!"

"Kudo!" Shinichi can feel someone holding him back. "Kudo! Calm down! It's dangerous!"

"Let me go! Kai is...! Kaito is... is...!" Shinichi's body tenses and trembles real hard until he goes limp in Hattori's arms. The Osakan detective immediately panic, knowing that the Heisei Holmes has fainted from his seizure. He picks the light-weighted teen up and hurries outside.

.

.

.

Opening his eyes to meet a familiar ceiling, Shinichi groans at the bright light before feeling a hand on his forehead. "How are you feeling Kudo-kun?"

"Haibara...?" Shinichi turns to his right to see Haibara standing by his bedside, while removing her hand from his forehead. "What...happened...? Where is..." His eyes widen like he had realised something as he sits up and grabs the shrunken scientist by her shoulders. "Where is he?! Where's Kaito?!"

Haibara winces at the strong grip. "K-Kudo-kun! Calm down! I will tell you everything, just calm down." She pats him gently on his arms. Seeing the detective relaxing and releasing his grip, the scientist sits on the stool. "You have been unconscious for a week. I'm given permission to treat you here at Hakase's place rather than handling you to the hospital, since I am familiar with your condition. Snake and Vodka are both in jail now, Gin..." She looks up to see Shinichi's nuckles are white as he grips onto the blanket. "Gin's body is found at the bottom of cliff, impaled on one of the rocks..."

Shinichi remains quiet, clearly urging her to continue.

"Kuroba-kun is nowhere to be found."

TBC...

Erm... Not as long as I've planned and I'm late! So sorry!

What happened to Kaito?!