Chapter Thirty-Four:

TRUST

CONAN POV

"You did what?!" yelled Haibara as she stared at him, her eyes noticeably fluctuating between narrowed in anger and widening in shock, "How stupid can you be! How do you even know she will keep her side of the deal?! This is vermouth we are talking about!"

"I know Ai, I know, but I didn't have much of a choice. If we get this drug, it could cure both of us and possibly even Hakuba and Kuroba. This wasn't a chance I could pass up and I don't believe you would have either."

Ai glared at him, her gaze strong enough to make one think she was going stare them into combustion, yet finally her gaze faltered and she sighed.

"Alright, I admit that of any of them, I would trust Vermouth the most, but that doesn't mean I do trust her, that only means I would trust her more than Gin or the others! Which isn't saying much considering I don't trust them at all!"

"I get it, I get it", Conan said again as he held up his hands in surrender, "But it's worth a try, right?"

"I suppose", she muttered, crossing her arms over her chest. She still wasn't happy at all with Kudo, but she couldn't fully blame him for taking the deal. Like he said, she wasn't sure she could have said no either, had she been the one the deal was offered to.

Behind the two arguing adults turned kids, were Hattori, Kaito, and Hakuba who were watching with mixed feelings. They all wanted the chance to turn back to normal, Hattori for the sake of Kudo, but was the risk worth it?

"I already made the deal, so all of you had better stop pouting", he said turning to glare weakly at his friends, "This is our chance and I won't back out now."

"I just hope you know what you're doing", muttered Ai as she headed down to the lab and slammed the door behind her.

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It was late that night after Hattori had left for home, when Conan heard a soft tapping sound coming from his window. He was still up, being as it was that he usually reads a couple chapters of Arthur Conan Doyle's Sherlock Holmes series. Slowly make his way to his window, he was surprised to see one of Kid's doves there. Opening the seal so that the dove could come in, he took the small note attached to its leg before gently rubbing the birds feathers and letting it back outside.

Tantei-Kun,

The moonlight is extremely enchanting tonight. Care to join me?

Kid

Conan shook his head with a small smile as he placed the note in his pocket and grabbed a light jacket before heading up to the roof through his attic, his book placed lovingly on his bed to continue reading later.

Opening the small crawlspace, he made his way to the roof door and pulled himself up and out. He paused when he noticed the sight before him. Kid laid on his back, his hands beneath his head, his eyes closed wearing the white suit he hadn't worn in a long time. It was only after blinking and rubbing his eyes that the image switched to a white cat, sitting there staring up at the moon before turning to look at him, its indigo eyes sparkling under the light of the moon.

"Enchanting, huh?" Conan whispered to himself with a smile as he stepped forward, sitting beside the magician. Hakuba was on Kaitos other side, watching the small detective settle down before also making himself comfortable to enjoy the peace of the night life.

"I can understand your love for the moon" commented Shinichi as he looked as the gorgeous orb shining above him.

"It's breathtaking isn't it?" asked Kaito with a sad smile.

"Why did you ask me out here?" Conan finally asked when the silence later became too much to bear.

"I…" the thief paused and took a deep breath before turning to look at him, "I want to tell you the truth."

Conan and Hakuba both stared at him in surprise.

"Why the sudden change in heart?" Shinichi asked, truly curious.

"When I heard you today…you said you were taking such a crazy deal because it offered not only you and Haibara-chan a chance to be cured, but me and Hakuba also. I thought…I thought that I could finally trust you, maybe."

Conan could see the hesitance and fear in the thief's eyes, but he smiled kindly before gently patting his friends soft, furry back in reassurance.

"I have already given you my word, Kaito-Kun, I won't betray you and I will hold all judgment against you until I hear your complete story."

"Me too", whispered Hakuba as he turned to the thief, the boy who had become more like a brother to him, than even a friend.

"Thanks guys", Kaito said with a shaky breath, his ears drooping.

He turned to the moon and began his story. A story about a boy and his dad, the greatest magical duo the world had ever seen. He talked about his father, a great look of pride and love and respect taking over his facial expressions. He had no masks as he told his tail. He told of a stage accident and the grief of a boy and his mother. He spoke of several years passing before he found out the secret his father and mother had hid from him and how, in order to draw out his fathers' murderers, he seized the cape and monocle and became Kid, the moonlight magician thief. He then told them of a mysterious jewel that the organization known as MKO are searching for, a jewel that may possibly hold the secret of immortality.

The other two listened in silence as the teen spoke. They did not comment and they did not even move an inch. The boy beside them was in a trance like state and they were not about to disrupt the spell, for fear of losing the chance to hear his story.

When the tail finally came to an end, they all just sat there in stunned silence, the moonlight shining above them and the small, quiet whimpers of a cat being the only sound to break the surreal information they had just been given.

"S-sorry" the cat whispered, tears running down his cheeks into his fur.

"Sorry for what?" Hakuba asked placing his hand gently on Conan's so that the other boy could hear the question as well.

"I…", he stopped and shook his head, staring at the moon as though it would sweep in and save him from his embarrassment of crying in front of the teen detectives.

"You know", muttered Shinichi, glancing at the grief stricken thief, "it's okay to cry. We all know how strong you are, but you are also human. You have feelings. Nobody expects you to be a robot and live the perfect unemotional existence."

Kaito heard his words and couldn't help the choked sob that escaped him. His face would probably beet red if he were human, but he couldn't help not wanting to show such emotion in front of his friends. In fact, he hardly ever showed any true emotions. Why did it have to be now that he broke down? It wasn't like the story had ever changed since the day his dad had died. So why did it affect him so badly now, saying it out loud?

"You remember what you told me when Baaya died?" asked Hakuba.

Kaito turned to look at his friend, his mind blank.

"You told me I was your brother and that I wasn't alone. It made me so happy, Kaito. I…I think it's my turn to reassure you. You are never alone. I am here for you, Shinichi-Kun is here for you. You're my brother Kaito", he said with a shy grin as his face turned red, "If you will have me?"

Kaito stared at the teen for a moment in surprise before a soft, gentle smile struck his face, making the other two blink in awe at the sight. The magician had smiled many times before, but never like that. Never so…striking. The moonlight only made his appearance that much more captivating as it gave him an almost unearthly glow.

"Thank you", Kaito replied sincerely.

The two could only nod as they were taken in by the deep purple coloring of his eyes. Truly, Kaito was a magical person in more ways than one.

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CONAN POV

The following day, Conan found a package in the mail addressed to him with no name of the sender. He opened it cautiously and was only half surprised when an envelope fell out of the bubble wrap.

He opened it and his eyes widened when he realized what he was looking at. That woman had kept her end of the bargain. She had sent him the APTX formula along with what looked to be additional research about chemical reactions and unknown chemical experimentation in the past. He rushed down to the laboratory where Haibara was and slammed the door against the wall as he burst inside, startling the hard working Ai who was debating an idea with Akako (when did she get her?) and Agasa.

"Ai!" he shouted, a huge grin splitting his face, making her raise an eyebrow at him.

However when he gave her the papers and she began reading over it, even her expression changed to one of excitement.

"This is it Kudo-Kun", she said with wide eyes, "I…I think I can make it with this."

He stared at her and she stared back, both completely flabbergasted by the news. He didn't mind it at all when she suddenly shoved him out of the lab, locking her and her compatriots inside for a long week of research and experimentation.

"Do you think she can really do it?" asked Kaito when Conan had joined him and Hakuba for lunch, "Do you think she can cure us?"

"If anyone can do it" Conan said determinedly, "It would be Ai."

"I trust you", smiled Kaito, "Let us hope our trust is not fools bet."

"Whether it is or not", Conan remarked, "It will have always been worth a try."

Kaito, Hakuba, and Conan could only wait for the moment their fears were either confirmed or relieved. They just hoped, it wouldn't be too long before they could return to their original forms permanently.