Chapter 21 Please enjoy

It's a little late but Happy Valentine's Day to everyone. This chapter is a treat…even though it will be serious and sad. Anyway, I hope you'll like it.

Yesterday, someone sent me a confession letter and chocolate but didn't sign their name. I'm still like blushing and dying right now. This is the first time someone told me they liked me. Okay, I better stop squealing like a little schoolgirl and let you continue your way and read this chapter. Still super happy today ^^

This chapter is probably going to be a bit shorter than I planned. I'm really busy these days. But our mid-winter break is coming up shortly so I'll update a lot during that time. Only one more day. Please bear with me.

Satou Miwako sighed loudly. Ever since this new case appeared out of the blue, she hasn't been able to relax. Every day, it was investigating and finding leads. She had forgotten the last time she was able to sit down for a nice night of karaoke with Yumi.

"Satou-san, here." She looked up tiredly at Takagi.

"What?" She asked blankly.

"Umm, your coffee, you asked for it, remember?" The man smiled nervously as he held up the Styrofoam cup.

"O-oh, right. Thanks Takagi-kun…" She took it quickly and brought it to her lips, hissing when it burnt her taste buds.

"S-satou-san! A-ano you okay?" The police detective stuttered as he watched his crush curse under her breath and stick her tongue out.

"I-I'm fine, just got a bad feeling." She smiled and put down her cup0 on the police car hood. Suddenly, she wasn't in the mood for a drink anymore.

"Anyway, Takagi-kun…how….do you feel about this case?" She asked absentmindedly.

"Saa….I wonder if standing guard here every day will help us catch the culprit?" He sighed and flipped through his report files. Every single day, it was the same. No intruders, no nothing. The mansion was on an abandoned street, so the people from the adjacent street couldn't have heard anything, unless the culprit was extremely loud. Forensic reports showed the same things too. Body after body are on each page. Everyone died in such a gruesome way. It made him sick. He jumped slightly when Satou's fist pounded into the car hood.

"S-satou-san…?" He began and frowned when the fist tightened. Lifting his head, the officer watched Satou carefully. Her face was twisted into something that spoke anger and maybe even fear.

"Unforgivable…" She hissed under her breath. True, the Kaitou Kid was annoying and a thief. But his heists were exquisite; they were filled with mischief and fun. It was hard for her to get away from the blood and murder scenes. Kaitou Kid's heists were like…a getaway…a treat. She didn't have to worry about people dropping dead out of nowhere or hearing the screams of terrified people. All she hears is the soft sound of Kid's mysterious laughter and Nakamori-keibu's…interesting vocabulary.

Even if she wouldn't admit it, Satou had a soft spot for thieves like Kid. Her crush had been the amazing Lupin the Third. They were both elegant thieves that make her wonder if they were criminals at all! Now, some bastard decides it's alright to hunt down the phantom thief and break him until he wasn't a phantom thief anymore. Until he was just a regular person. A missing person with amnesia.

"Satou-keiji, Takagi-keiji." The two looked up from their position and gasped in surprised when they saw Edogawa Conan wave at them with three teens walking behind him.

"C-conan-kun! What are you doing here?" Takagi exclaimed kneeling down before the boy.

"Heiji-niichan and Hakuba-niichan wanted to check out this case so I came with them!" He grinned and pointed to the other two detectives.

"Hattori-kun and…..aren't you Hakuba Saguru, that famous detective from England?" Satou raised an eyebrow; this kid was known to be Kid's moist devoted pursuer. Why would he be here? Unless….

"Yes I am, it's a pleasure to meet you Satou-san." He nodded politely, holding out his hand. Satou shook it with a nod in return.

"It's an honor to be acquaintances with Chief Hakuba's son." She replied with a wry smile and looked down at Conan.

"I'm sorry, Conan-kun, but this is a classified case. I'm afraid I can't let you boys in."

"Eeeh? But we can help! Please Satou-keiji!" He whined and Satou twitched slightly but held her ground.

"I'm sorry, we can't let you g-"

"Please!" She stopped mid-sentence to stare at the one that spoke up. She noticed Conan and the other two detectives tense and pale slightly. The one that spoke was the other teen. He was wearing Hattori's cap, pulled down to cover his eyes.

"And you are…?" The teen tensed and she frowned when he bit his lip.

"I-I'm….Kaito. I'm also here to help. Please…S-satou-keiji. You guys don't have any fresh leads, right? Maybe if you let us investigate we could find out more." His hands went around the rim of the cap and he pulled it down further. She narrowed her eyes and looked around. The other cops had already left. Megure-keibu had decided to lower the security today. Saying that Nakamori-keibu had called him about something. Since the culprit hasn't returned in more than a week. They decided to ease up the security for this one night. She and Takagi were the only officers on the radius for the next hour and a half until the next shift came. She sighed and began walking towards the mansion entrance, keys out. She put the keys in the hole and twisted before taking them back.

"Please hurry it up and solve the case already, I HATE stakeouts." She stated, the edges of her lips curled up slightly.

Kaito's eyes widen significantly. It was almost comical. The three high school detectives held similar expressions. But the magician cleared his throat and pulled his cap down even more.

"A-arigatou. I'm grateful. I promise we will solve this case soon." He muttered and caught Hakuba's eye. The British teen nodded and turned to Satou.

"Thank you very much, Satou-keiji. We'll be back in about an hour. Is it alright for you and Takagi-keiji to stay out here and keep watch?"

"Alright. But you four will owe me something." She frowned and slapped Kaito's shoulder teasingly, noticing how the teen tensed and almost yelped at the sudden contact.

"Don't worry Satou-keiji; I'll get oji-san to treat you and Takagi-keiji at Poirot's!" Conan grinned and then pulled at Kaito's sleeve jacket, motioning for him to get into the mansion.

Satou's eyes met with Kaito's and she gasped at the violet color. They looked somewhat familiar. That lilac glow….her eyes widened when she put the pieces together.

"Matte." She grabbed onto Kaito's arm and everyone froze. Conan looked up in surprise and his hand around Kaito's tightened. The latter looked down instead, and didn't lift his head. Heiji cursed under his breath, slowly readying himself in case he had to defend the thief. Hakuba's breathing hitched but he kept a calm face. Takagi looked at Satou in confusion before turning to Kaito, wondering what Satou saw in the teen.

Kaito silently gulped in fear. Had she figured him out? But Conan-kun said Satou didn't even know Kid that well. But Hakuba heard that she favored Lupin the third, so did she like gentlemen thieves in general? Her grip was firm and strong. He wouldn't be able to break out of it easily. He bit his lip and turned his head slightly, trying to appear as calm as he could. Satou was staring at him with a strange expression. She opened her mouth to say something but stopped and closed her mouth again. She looked away briefly before meeting his eyes again.

She gave the thief a half smile.

"Good luck, I...hope you find what you're looking for." She said quickly before turning around to her patrol car with Takagi in tow.

Kaito stood in silence before chuckling softly.

"I will, I promise."

"Come on, let's go." Hattori relaxed and pushed the other three towards the entrance.

"Hai, hai. I almost forgot that you were the hot-blooded Kansai detective of the West. Always so impatient." Hakuba sighed and put a hand on the knob. He looked up at Kaito with a frown. The cap was pulled down so that no one could see his eyes. His brunette bangs also helped shadow any expressions the thief was feeling. He wasn't wearing the fake glasses or the monocle. Only the cap stood in the way of proving that Kaitou Kid was indeed Kuroba Kaito.

"Kid, you sure you want to do this?" He asked after a short moment of silence, suddenly remember Heiji's words. The more time he spent with the thief, he found himself thinking, did he really want Kid returning to normal. He had no idea how much Kuroba (he was pretty sure Kid was Kuroba now, even if he didn't have solid proof) was hiding behind that goofy smile every single day. Kuroba without his masks on seemed….so different. Those laughs, pranks, grins…how much of those were genuine. Without his memories, Kuroba seemed less…lonely and fake. Sure, without his memories, he wasn't really the same. But most of those smiles were real. He was truly happy. Hakuba remembered tailing (protecting) and watching Kuroba talk to Mouri Ran and her friend on the way to Teitan. Those laughs and grins…they looked nothing like the ones he and Nakamori-san see every day. It made him wonder. Wonder how much Kuroba thought about him and Aoko. Even if Hakuba wasn't, isn't Aoko Kaito's friend? Why is he always giving her these fake laughs? When Kuroba smiled at him now, it seemed really warm and genuine. Maybe this was called being selfish but Hakuba really wanted Kuroba to smile at him and Aoko, truly smile at them. He just wanted, even if it's another few minutes; he wanted to see Kuroba smile sincerely.

"Aaa, I'll be fine."

"There will be no turning back after I open this door."

"I'm ready."

Hakuba bit his lip, his hand wrapped around the knob tightly. He smiled sadly, what was he doing? If Kuroba wants to do this, he was in no position to object.

He twisted the knob and the door opened.

Kaito took a deep breath he felt his limbs shaking like a leaf. A scent of the air form the mansion invaded his senses. It was filled with coppery odor that made him queasy. God he suddenly didn't feel so good.

"Kaito-niichan." He looked down; remember that Conan was still holding his hand. The boy was looking at him with concern in his azure eyes.

"I'm fine." He insisted in a firm voice, shaking his fear and nausea away.

"Can we stop crowdin' around da door and get in dis bastard of a place?" Heiji growled, obviously not liking the looks of the place. Kaito nodded weakly and began walking. Conan slowly slipped his fingers away from his hand, allowing him to explore, touching everything around him.

Kaito looked around, squinting slightly. The shades were drawn closed and the light from outside the door didn't make a big difference. The furniture was still here. The police hadn't found the time to remove them. Some were covered with sheets while others were left alone. He frowned when he stepped on a faded stain on the floor. It seemed familiar. He looked up and walked to an armchair, feeling the material slowly. There was a small smear on it. His headache was back and he winced.

"Okay, this is a good start." He muttered to himself and looked around. There was a coffee table a foot away from it. There was also a smear on it. He closed his eyes and thought back to his car ride here. That man drugged him again…but what happened after that? Think think think.

He felt himself come back into the land of consciousness. He was being moved, he was being carried somewhere, judging from the way he felt his body move up and down slowly. He opened his eyes slowly; the drugs were still in the process of wearing off. His vision was blurry and everything was dark. He looked up and saw that man's face. Their eyes met.

His awareness came back a second too late.

The man dropped him abruptly and he barely had enough time to prevent from smacking his head on the ground hard. He immediately tried to scramble to his feet and run. He swayed and stumbled as he tried to find his way through the mess of furniture. The stupid drug wouldn't leave him alone. They were in a house somewhere. He made a note memorize the address for later purposes and reach into his pocket for a sleeping gas bomb, wondering briefly if he would be able to hold his breath long enough until the smoke dissipates.

His bombs were gone.

"Nani?-Agh!" He began in confusion but yelped when the man stepped down on his cape, he fell, his face smacking painfully on the stone cold floor. The man grabbed him by his tie and pulled him up roughly.

"That hurts…" He tried to grin in between chokes and it came out as a half smile. The man scowled and the hand around the scarlet tie tightened. He cursed in his mind and lifted his hands underneath the tie and undid it quickly. The tie slipped off and he rolled over and kicked the man in the chest.

The man grunted and fell back slightly, he took this chance to get up and run towards the exit. Hopefully, he will be lucky and still be Tokyo. That way he can get home quickly and sleep the night and the next day away.

At least that was what he had planned to do.

"Whuph!" He yelled out as his legs ran into something and he tripped. His head wound scraped against the coffee table and it pounded painfully as the cut reopened. It took every piece of his poker face to stay quiet and clam instead of swearing colorful words that will make Nakamori proud. Not that the inspector would be glad to hear the thief curse better than him.

He pressed an arm on the bleeding wound and looked up to see what in the world would dare trip him at a time like this. His pant leg felt strangely damp.

There was a huge lump on the floor. The curtains were closed so the room was absolutely too dark to see what it was. The man got up and Kid tensed, ready to bolt away.

But the man was walking towards the door's direction. His heart froze, was the man planning on blocking the entrance? Breaking the lock? Anything to prevent him from leaving? But he frowned when the man reached out for the window instead of the door entrance. The man looked at him briefly and Kid flinched when he saw his face. The man was smiling, what for?

He pulled at the curtains.

Moonlight flowed into the room, bathing everything in a silver glow. Kid raised an eyebrow in confusion. The man was a killer and wanted to stay in the dark as much as possible. Why would he open the curtains and let others seem him? He looked down and froze.

That lump on the floor was now clear and easy to see. It wasn't a lump, it was a woman. A woman with long dark chestnut hair. She was staring at him with unblinking eyes. Why isn't she blinking? Suddenly a few loose strands of her hair fell away and covered those opened eyes. That's went he saw it.

The huge slash in her neck and the blood slowly dripping onto the floor, making a puddle around her head.

He gasped and backed away slowly, his wound brushed against the armchair besides the table, making his head pound even more. He sat there, frozen in shock, he wanted to look away, away from the woman's lifeless eyes, but he couldn't, the image was drilled into his mind and he couldn't forget it. He glanced down and trembled when he saw what got his pants leg so damp. Scarlet blood.

"Too bad isn't it? She was going to be one of your first friends here. But she decided to get mouthy and violent with me so she had to go." He shivered when the man's hot breath touched his neck. When the hell did he get behind him? In an instant, Kid moved to the side, slowly inching away from the man.

Friends? One of the first…He gasped and glared at the man, hoping that he wasn't trembling.

"There are more people here?" He hissed and the man only chuckled.

"Answer me!" The man froze and scowled. He grabbing onto the front of Kid's suit.

"YOU do not have the right to yell at me. You will die here anyways, so shut up and listen to me." He hissed and Kid growled, gathering all the saliva in his mouth spitting at the man's face.

"Fuck you." He was seething. The man's anger rivaled his own.

"Fine, suit yourself." He grinned and pulled him to his feet, dragging him away from the living room and towards the halls.

"Kaito-niichan." The thief opened his eyes with a loud intake of breath. Conan was kneeling down on the floor next to him, holding his arm in a tight grip. Hakuba and Heiji were crowded around him too, with expressions of concern. Well, Kaito could understand why. His arms were trembling and he could feel the sweat dripping down his face.

"Sorry…let's go somewhere else. There's nothing new here." He muttered and Conan frowned before putting a hand on his forehead. The hand was cool in comparison to his forehead, making him sigh at the soothing contact.

"Kaito-niichan, you're still sick, are you sure you want to continue? Too much stress on your mind isn't good for you. Forcing yourself to remember isn't either."

"I'm fine. This is my mess and I want to end it already." He turned and smiled at Conan sadly.

"It's the least I can do for now." He stood up and hid a grimace as his head throbbed.

The other three nodded and followed his lead.

The mansion had many rooms and Kaito didn't have the heart (or stomach) to examine all of them. In addition, Hakuba told him that most of the bodies were moved there after being killed so there was no use to go in them.

"Here." Hakuba took a deep breath as he pointed to the room down the hall on the third floor.

"Dat's the attic that they found ya in. Dat's the room where….most of the bodies were…" Heiji trailed off in silence but Kaito nodded anyways and headed for the door.

His hand wrapped around the door knob and he looked back at the three detectives uncertainly. They flashed him reassuring expressions. Conan tiptoed and wrapped him fingers around the knob too.

"Kaito-niichan? Are you ready?" He said in a serious voice that made Kaito wonder again if the child was really a child.

"Aaa." Conan nodded and the two twisted the knob and pushed open the door. The copper scent was even stronger than downstairs.

Kaito began taking deep breaths as the scent began making his stomach queasy again. He let go of Conan's hand and immediately entered the room. Instead of feeling around the furniture, he walked straight to the far wall. There weren't any blood stains or dents on it but he remembered it well. That first memory must have allowed him to access his other memories of this place because instantaneously he felt the real world slip away and found himself in his memories again.

"First lesson: TITLE," The man said in an eerily calm voice as Kid struggled for breath past the rough gloved hand wrapped around his throat.

"You will call me Snake-sama."

So that was the man's name, Kaito thought with a frown before returning to his memory.

"Get your fucking hands off me." He hissed in return, his voice hoarse by the difficulty of drawing a breath. Snake scowled and backhanded him nonchalantly and sparks danced in his vision. He tasted blood.

"Say it. Snake-sama, LORD Snake." He ordered, his voice beginning to show his impatience, one hand still wrapped around the thief's neck and holding him against the wall.

Instead, Kid tried to kick him: with reflexes faster than Kaito ever credited the man for, he caught his ankle and pulled him off his feet.

His back slammed against the ground hard enough to knock the already scant breath from his lungs and he choked around a gasp of pain as his head snapped against the polished wooden floor. The world swam, he could not have stood even if he had tried.

"Well, Kid?" Snake prompted in expectation.

"My lord," He growled in response.

"You can go to hell." He finished as he stared at the man's feet, faintly realizing he was wearing tall black boots.

He started to push himself back to his feet and Snake kicked him down again, he winced, realizing that the boots were steel-toed. The tip of it glanced off the side of his ribs hard enough that breathing became instant agony and he wondered if anything was broken. Another couple of those 'love-taps' would probably kill him. But why should he care? The man had already killed so many.

The thought of that and the many bodies that could be piling up in this very mansion gave him the energy to try to stand again despite the ache in his ribs and head, but the attempt was rewarded with another kick.

He fell back down with a curse. His vision was swimming a lot and his ribs were aching so much, he wondered if his lungs were going to burst. He closed his eyes, panting, lungs aching as he did so.

"Snake-sama," He whispered, still laying on the floor, unable to get the breath to speak louder.

"You happy now?" He hissed that last bit in rage, but could do nothing to back it up. The man looked amused and nodded.

"Almost."

Wow, I feel horrible now. So mean to Kaito-kun…. Yeah I wanted to write more, but I have to go catch up on homework. So bye for now. Please review if you can and if there is anything I need improvement on please tell me.

Also, does it seem too easy for Kaito to regain his memories this quickly? I want to slow it down but then the story wouldn't progress as much and it might see continuous. So is this okay with everyone?