Written January 27 2020
Posted on Wattpad February 9 2020
Posted here February 18 2020

So this was it? A laugh escaped Kid's lips, the traces of hysteria barely notable behind the pained sound. He squirmed a bit, the chilled concrete felt amazing against the heated skin of his cheek. Now if only he wasn't laying in his own vomit. Another full body spasm hit him, causing his limbs to twitch and jerk without his permission. Another pained whine, as a fresh taste hit his mouth. Blood, he'd bitten either his tongue or lips, he wasn't sure. At least it tasted better than vomit.

Kid curled up as best he could with the tremors running through his body. God why couldn't he just die already?! He shouldn't have forced himself to vomit after being fed that stupid drug, at least then his death would have been quicker! How was he supposed to know that the drug had already started to metabolize by the time he'd thrown up?

He should have listened to Shinichi instead of chasing after some of the runaway Crows. He gagged, struggling to breathe before choking up a large, thick glob of blood. Glazed indigos closed as he wheezed for air, chest heaving with difficulty. Kid coughed, blood splattering out with a disgusting splat, another cough, and another, and another until the whole alleyway was filled with the sound of blood splattering. The drug was obviously affecting his lungs, was he slowly drowning in his own blood? His body shuddered a few more times before unconsciousness finally took him from the pain.

Shinichi panicked at the sight of Kid, heart stuttering as his blood went cold "Kid!" His breath hitched as he knelt next to the thief, not caring that he was kneeling in both blood and vomit. Clothes could be replaced, Kid couldn't. Azure quickly scanned over the other, sucking in a breath when he'd spotted half of a certain pill that he was horribly familiar with. Grabbing the writhing thief's wrist, he found a pulse, a dangerously fast and strong pulse, but a pulse nonetheless.

He dug through his own pockets, snagging the temporary antidote that he'd been given in case the current one wore off too soon. Shinichi then tilted Kid's head to clear out all the blood buildup, Azures watered, this better work. He couldn't allow Kid to die like this.

Getting Kid to actually take the pill had been hard due to the other's unconscious thrashing, but he'd managed to do it. The blood had slicked Kid's throat enough that the sleuth was confident that it would hit the stomach, especially since he'd massaged the other's throat.

Moments later Kid's thrashing morphed into a series of full on seizures, tears fell down the sleuth's face as he looked away. Kid would be fine, seizures were survivable. He had to be fine. He'd move Kid once the seizures were done, Ai would give him a bunch of antidotes until she made the cure. The APTX 4869 formula was thankfully on a USB stick in his pocket.

When the seizing ended, Shinichi gently scooped up the thief, ignoring the new scent of urine that was mixing with the already rank vomit and blood smell. Normally he'd make fun of Kid if the other pissed his pants, but the situation took away the humour in his eyes. Seizures involved involuntary muscle contractions, so urination wasn't odd. He let out a shaky breath as he pulled out his phone, doing his best to ignore Kid's unconscious wet coughs, at least that meant that his airflow would be cleared better.

"Kudo-kun, it's not good" Ai breathed as she looked over Kaito's results, she then gave the magician a pitying glance "It would have been a lot better if he hadn't tried to expel the drug" She stated.

Conan sucked in a breath, his own antidote had worn off a little while ago "Why would him being dead be any better?!" He winced at how his voice raised "As long as he's alive we can find a way to fix him"

Ai shook her head "That's not what I meant" She handed him the papers "He would have shrunk like us" Her gaze narrowed "But since he only took a partial dose..." Her voice trailed off, she was fond of the friendly thief.

"Some of his organs are shrinking instead" Conan finished, his voice dripping with horror as he read the papers. He clenched his fists, crinkling the papers. Just how much pain had Kaito been in before he'd fainted?

"Yes" She stated, meeting his gaze "And we both know that a teen wouldn't be able to survive long with a child's insides" There would be countless complications and a lot of pain "He'll need to be observed 24/7 until the cure is fully synthesized" She bit her lip "The temporary antidote will have to be administered every time his organs finish shrinking. If it's taken too soon, it might hinder the change"

Conan paled, that meant that Kaito would be forced to endure countless organ shifts "He'll bleed out" Even shrinking for a bit would strain Kaito's organs enough to cause bleeding.

"Call in favours from the FBI" Ai took the papers back "They wouldn't have been able to take down the BO without your help" She glanced at the magician "Kuroba-kun helped a lot too" If they were worth anything as law enforcement, they'd help acquire enough blood.

The tiny sleuth nodded, still pale "I'll do that" He pulled out his phone "Then I'll call Hakuba" The London detective and magician were close friends. His grip tightened around his phone, the blond deserved to know, just in case Kaito's body gave out before he got the proper cure. The temporary cure's length shortened with every use after all. Hopefully Kaito wouldn't become immune before the permanent cure was made.

Ai's gaze softened in understanding "That would be a wise choice" Goodbyes were painful, but it was even worse if you weren't able to say goodbye "It's all up to Kuroba-kun's endurance if he's to survive or not" Kaito was strong, he was Kid after all, but even Kid was human. Humans had limits.