Disclaimer: I don't own MK or DC, or any other manga/anime to be exact. I just like to let my imagination run loose :D

Ladies and gentlemen! I humbly welcome you to the next chapter of this story.

This time I intend to provide you – my dear readers - with action and some laughter – I sincerely hope you like it.

Side note: So, as you guys probably noticed watching the anime – KID doesn't always write his notices in riddles and I will be referring to it in this chapter (and by the way I wanted to apologize in advance – I would make a very poor kaitou since I suck at writing riddles xD bear with me please ;) ).

Kameo1 – I always look forward to reading your reviews, I'm glad you like reading my story so much and I hope I won't disappoint you with this chapter :)

Anonymous – Well it's not like I can answer that, now can I..? :D Gonna come back to you later… ;)

LLL – Thank you for your kind words :) Keeps my spirit high to read it :D

So without further delay…

Please enjoy and review! :)


Chapter 5: Conversations with the Moon


Kaito was trying to focus on planning his next heist when the memory of what Akako told him started haunting him again. He didn't like the sinister premonition/prophecy or whatever he should call that odd riddle. And the most annoying part was that it could mean anything. Literally. 'Going against the natural order' could as well be a reference to his heists. He was going against the law by performing them but there was no way he was going to quit. Kaito growled annoyed and shoved away the plans laying on the desk before him. He put on his tracksuit and went for a jog to clear his mind.

He should focus on this whole thing from another angle. The riddle didn't specify in particular anything that was supposed to trigger it. But maybe it did? It would mean that… What? Absent-mindedly he jumped on the car mask that nearly ran him over. He continued his jog speeding up as somebody ran after him trying to stop him and soon lost the chase. All without noticing anything happened, too focused on his thoughts. Maybe the trigger would be doing something new? "That would make sense." He muttered to himself.

Rest of the riddle was more obvious to him. He remembered Akako referring to one of his detective's as a demon, so he would go stick that for now. Their triumph would then mean getting some evidence against him or unmasking him. Not that he would be happy about it, but it wasn't anything he couldn't deal with either. He could rule out the possibility of catching him due to the next part. He muttered disgruntled making a spin stealing back a wallet from a pickpocket and placing it back in its owners pocket still too focused on his breath and the premonition to notice it. The identity of dove and crows were clear for him. The problem were the falling and feasting parts which meant a very bad thing he didn't intend to dwell on. He could only hope that it wouldn't end up as anything permanent.

Well anyway no point in worrying now about the possible outcome, right? He would have to just deal with it if it came (Yep – going with a 'if' and not a 'when'). As he concluded he'd only have to refrain himself from 'going against the natural order of things' more than he usually does and nothing of the sinister stuff would happen anyway. Sooo what… no miracles? Well as long as Suzuki Jirokichi didn't send him another challenge it should be easy enough. Without the old guy KID didn't have even any opportunity to shine like that anyway. Not that he broke any actual laws with them… They were just tricks in the end – no real harm done to any laws of physics and such. Too bad he had nobody to argue with about it. He was sure he would win.

After coming to that conclusion he felt better and returned home, took a shower and continued with his plans without any interrupting thoughts. Kaito was only grimly hoping that his last private show for the sniper could bear a fruit he hoped for.


I dream of the dance and gaze with sparkling eye at the Moon's I wish to hold,
But the rat stole the melody.
So here I stand alone in silence without touching a soul,
Until I hide the treasure in my palm.
Kaitou KID (doddle)

Conan frowned over the new heist note he found in a newspaper. KID has gone and made it a riddle this time again. The detective wondered if it was his way of luring 'his favorite critic' to show up on his heist. To think that he didn't come to the last one to make a favor for the thief. Oh well whatever – not that Conan could complain as he did enjoy solving his riddles. Hattori huffed annoyed looking at the notice.

"I hope he won't be trying to pull me to his 'dance' again...'" he grimaced "One humiliation like that is enough for me. Guys at the club have been laughing about it for days about that I tell you…"

The not-child detective blinked gazing at his friend and mumbled "That's it... Hattori! What was the melody he played at that heist?"

"Huh?" Osakan blinked focusing back on present and frowned "Hum… no idea, I'm not into music like that to be honest. Wanna go to the station to check it in the report?"

As the smaller boy nod his head they both stood up and announced to their friends their departure. The girls were not pleased with them so before going to the station they had to walk them to the mall and promise to meet with them there later.

As they entered the station they had easily gained permission to meet with Nakamori-keibu who with his KID Task Force were currently busy solving the heist notice. Detectives entered the briefing room and listened quietly looking at the talking man standing before a white-board with the riddle written down on it and a few notes describing it.

"So summarizing all that was said…" roared the restless keibu sparing just a glance to the boys "KID will hit somewhere between 23 and 1 o'clock as this covers the hour of the rat. We still have to figure the day he'll come. The reference to not touching a soul relates most likely to the method he'll use, so we believe he will not knock-out anybody in order to impersonate them. The 'moon' mentioned in the note is written with capital letter which means it is some part of the name of his target. Officers Yamada and Ichiru are now researching all the recent and close-future objects with a word 'moon' in the name. So does anybody have any additional thoughts on this topic?"

Heiji was impressed with how much the police managed to solve themselves but he had to admit it shouldn't surprise him as they had a long time to practice and get used to solving riddles like that. Conan jabbed him with his elbow so he cleared his throat getting everybody's attention.

"Well actually I think we have a guess on the day part. KID makes a reference to a dance and music twice. Does the report of the heist I last attended say what melody he played back then? He did call our fight a 'dance' back then…" he admitted embarrassed and unpleased to remind about his failure "Moreover as I remember back then it was somewhere around midnight as the music stopped, so the odds are 'the rat stolen the melody' is a reference to that exact time."

"To answer your question, the music KID used that time was an energetic remix of Vivaldi's 'Spring' and the accurate time was 23:47:52,03." stated a familiar and arrogant voice which Hattori hoped to never hear again "If I'm not mistaken." It didn't sound like owner of the voice had any doubts for his memory and the blond detective stood up from his chair not so far away and looked straight at other two boys "Astonishing deduction might I add... Did you make it yourself Hattori-kun?" he added with a smirk throwing a glance at Conan.

Heiji only growled irritated so Hakuba continued "So you also expect that KID will make his heist at mentioned time on the start of calendar spring? Which is two days from now, on the 20'th March." Not waiting for an answer Hakuba turned his gaze to Nakamori "Moreover keibu, I believe his target will be the Moon's Eye much as literally said in the notice. As I researched it will be on display at Tadaru Art Museum, shown to the public from 21'st March. Seems KID wants to be the first to place his 'gaze with his sparkling eye' at the jewel before the public. I still have trouble thou with the 'I stand alone in silence' and 'sparkling eye' part..." he frowned and looked at the other two detectives "Any thoughts on that?"

"Maybe he'll come dressed up as a mine..? They are always silent…" A young officer proposed "What..? I mean it's KID... so it is possible, right?"

Somebody coughed hiding his laugh as most gave the speaker flat looks. Nakamori just face-palmed.

"What..? It's KID after all…" the man mumbled blushing by the reactions he received and focused his gaze on the floor hoping the earth would split and burry him.


Kaito was at that time in the middle of bullet-dodge training. He was listening to the transmission from the station, provided to him thanks to a bug he planted on Nakamori-keibu. He started laughing hard and was hit by a few rubber bullets he failed to dodge, when he heard the distressed voice and his explanation. It hurt him but it was still worth it. He started considering organizing a mime-fan gathering for the heist and visualized everybody's faces at that site. He got hit by another few bullets. Oh god it hurt so bad... but still worth it.


Heiji grunted as he got up to his feet after tripping when he heard the officer's explanation "Yeah, well… It could also mean that he intends to spook everybody out of the room with his target, or he will displace it to another location before actually stealing it. 'Sparkling eye' might imply to usage of bright light before achieving his goal." He shrugged "If we put that all together I wouldn't be surprised if he's planning on making an fireworks show inside the room…"

"Nonsense… That would be dangerous and we all know very well his 'no one gets hurt' policy. But the rest of your deduction does sound reasonable…" Hakuba admitted holding his chin.

Keibu was writing down on the white board the ideas (excluding the mime-theory) and spoke after he finished "Right men. Now we should focus on how are we going to stop him from achieving his goal. Hoping that this time we won't receive any idiotic requests from the owner…" Nakamori grumbled throwing a glance at Hattori.

Conan and Hakuba smirked as the dark skinned detective slightly blushed and lowered his gaze. It wasn't like that time was his idea but he still didn't feel good with his failure and he wondered it will ever be forgotten.

Another officer stood up holding his arm up for attention.

"Well… considering KID might want to move the jewel before actually acquiring it we might want to move it ourselves at last minute to another, random location? We know that he often finishes preparing his tricks while we're already there but even he can't be capable of fixing all of the rooms in the museum… Right..?" he asked uncertainly.

"Not a good idea… It would allow him to intercept his target while we're trying to move it." Somebody else argued.

"Well not really if he intends to 'not touch a soul' he wouldn't. and if the carrier was to make a decision on where to go by himself on the last second it could work."

"Or…" all felt a slight shiver as they heard the voice of 'mime-idea' officer "We could make the target roam the area by itself. Like in the 'Blush Mermaid' case, remember? But this time instead of a locked animal we could use a bird! Hakuba-kun owns a well-trained hawk, doesn't he? So KID wouldn't be able to hide it behind a plate like he did with a turtle. And he might consider the bird to be a 'soul' so actual intercepting the target from it would be difficult." The man spoke fast, afraid somebody might interrupt him and he really wanted to redeem himself.

Gathered officers murmured with one and other. That was a crazy idea, definitely out-off the box but… Not so stupid either… Probably.

Hakuba sighed heavily and stated with a straight face "I can't agree to that. I have no doubts that KID could actually train his doves to hunt down my hawk and afterwards I would have to deal with my pet's trauma. I don't want it to be afraid of his natural prey or doubt his ability as a predator."


Kaito managed to recover from his laugh-attack and continued with his training without fail. He smiled at the idea of moving his target. He enjoyed hide-and-seek games. The hawk idea surprised him, but not as much as Hakuba's rejection and explanation to it.

His mind instantly delivered him with an image of an aghast hawk desperately flapping his wings, running away for his life from a couple of mischievous doves closing in on it. Next he saw a of traumatized rainbow-colored hawk being comforted by an equally rainbow-colored detective. He burst into laughter and got hit a couple of times again - 'Ouch! Not in the face!'. He hastily exited the target area. He snorted wiping a tear from the corner of his eye. Kaito never though Hakuba was capable of making him laugh so hard on his own accord. Well… he clearly underestimated his classmate – that's for sure.

Still lightly laughing he undressed and started applying the anti-bruise ointment on his sore spots. It's been long since he was shot during this training. But still worth the laugh he had. Honestly speaking the picture he had was not impossible. He already was equipping his birds with colorful smoke-bombs so they could protect themselves from wild predators, so it was doable. He'd happily put a plan like that into action, but a dove hunting down a hawk would admittedly be 'going against natural order', so not this time. Anyway he should consider doing it sometime in the future.


The meeting lasted about two hours more during which the men made a few more suggestions on what the thief might be planning and how they could prevent him. Conan noticed that Hakuba seemed content only listening, speaking only when addressed personally. He frowned and after the meeting he approached him followed by Hattori.

"Hakuba-nichian, do you intend to attend the heist?" the boy chirped at the blonde who looked at him with puzzled expression.

"No, I'm afraid I might be busy on that night. But I do hope to read a report from it later on." He smiled softly to the child.

"Oh?" a passing officer spoke, as he overheard what was said "You'll miss it again Hakuba-kun? It will be, what? Fifth time now? You better stop slacking off or we will catch him without you." The man laughed cheerfully.

Hakuba smirked slightly amused "Well if you do I'll have to congratulate you on it then. I wish you luck."

"Haha, yeah we will need lots of it. Well too bad. Good luck with your studies." The officer waved him goodbye and left.

Conan looked puzzled at the blonde detective and started walking beside him "Nee? What did he mean by that? I've heard you were still at high school."

"Well yes, you've heard right." He answered opening the doors to the station heading out "Lately I've been trying to study KID and cases he was involved with. I'm trying to understand him and his actions and regretfully he doesn't provide me with sufficient answers himself." He explained and after a slight pause he added eyeing the boy "I believe there is more to him than meets the eye."

Hattori narrowed his eyes at the blonde detective's back "You have something specific in mind?"

Hakuba shrugged and looked back at him "Quite everything I must say. Starting from the most obvious question 'why does he steal'. Although he does seem to enjoy the thrill I highly doubt it's his sole reason. There are also some other… things around him that intrigue me but I'm afraid there is something I must attend to at the moment and I don't have time for this discussion." He smiled apologetically.

They stopped by a car so detectives said their goodbyes and seen him drive off.

"Wonder what he meant, eh?" Hattori mumbled heading towards the mall they left the girls at.

"I could make a guess. I'm more wondering on if he dug up any connections with me. I would hate to have to explain my situation to another teenage detective." Conan winced looking at his friend who laughed at the matter.


It wouldn't be easy to get inside the museum without a disguise, so Kaito came a few hours early, before the place was locked for visitors. He was glad to know that this time he would get to have some fun with Tantei-kun and Tantei-han again. This time he'd even get to see how they cooperate with one and other. Too bad Tantei-san was skipping… AGAIN! Kaito huffed annoyed turning off his monitor. Could he be serious when he said that he lost interest in catching him? Kaito grimaced while making last preparations for his today's tricks. It would be somewhat nice to have somebody who could understand him, but he knew how dangerous it could turn out. And he didn't want to risk anybody's safety. His own was enough of a sacrifice.

Despite the late hour the crowd gathered outside was impatiently waiting for the thief to show up. As the time grew near to the established hour the cheers grew louder until the area around the building was filled with music. Violin concert of classical Vivaldi's "Spring" flown from the speakers hidden around it. It was two minutes before the heist when people noticed white doves flying towards the museum from various directions. When there was only a few seconds left they all gathered flapping their wings on one spot above the building. Then they suddenly scattered as the music went silent when the clock hit 23:47 leaving a white-cladded figure floating in the air as the lights in the museum were shut down. The crowd yelled wildly as their idol was cowered in white smoke and disappeared a few moments later.

The atmosphere inside was tense when everybody gathered heard the music outside. Hattori twitched hearing the familiar tones. All eyes were focused on a bulletproof case holding the thief's target for tonight. They argued before on using a steel one instead but in the end they had to agree that it was important to actually see when the target will be gone without opening the box. In the end the idea of moving the target was rejected as the authorities of the museum didn't want to allow it. All were now listening through the police radio on the comments of what was going on outside. The detectives couldn't help but to grin on the beautiful show KID prepared for his fans this time.

"Stay sharp, he's already here." Nakamori's voice restored everybody back to their present duties as they started to look around suspiciously.

When the blackout occurred they all heard a loud-pitched sound preventing anybody from doing anything besides locking their ears. One by one sparklers were light in the room filling it with their gentle shine. When the sound ceased they noticed KID standing in silence on the glass case. He bowed gracefully at his audience and smiled with his crocodile grin, showing the gathered officers the Moon's Eye in his hand. He closed it briefly and the gem was gone. Then hell broke loose as the officers jumped at him encouraged by their keibu's orders. They all heard in the background fireworks being shot in the air as the thief started running.

And so the chase was on. Detectives broke from the group predicting the most probable escape route the kaitou might choose and surprised him a couple of times. Finally panting heavily only the tree of them ended up in a room in basement. And although KID was looking washed-out he was still smiling, clearly happy with the outcome.

"Give… give it back KID… we caught you…" Conan managed to say gasping.

The thief made a puzzled look and moved his gaze first to his wrists and then looked around confused. He smiled again at his pursuers shrugging his arms as he finished his inspection.

"I'm afraid you are wrong. I can hardly feel caught." He raised his free arms "See? Nothing here and no bars around me either."

"Oi, what are you playing at." Hattori sounded a bit annoyed by thief's behavior, raising a pipe he grabbed on the way "You have nowhere to run so just admit it and give back the jewel."

The short chat was enough for the kaitou to recover his breath as he spread his arms in regret "Well I'm afraid I can't give it back just yet. And I can assure you that I do have a couple of exits at hand…"

KID's eyes widened a bit as he saw Conan launch a ball from his belt. He calculated fast his possible choices. As he couldn't predict the exact angle the ball would fly everything was a gamble. If he dodged to the side he could be hit by it as it would be bouncing from behind. Which would hurt him more. He could try and dodge that as well but there was also Tantei-han with a metal pipe in his hand. By any means he couldn't afford being hit by that. He decided to stand his ground and crossed his arms before his face bracing for impact, it would hurt but he would still be able to run afterwards.

He heard a *boing* sound of a bouncing ball but didn't feel any pain. KID opened his eyes, he didn't remember closing and saw Hattori's back before him. Tantei-han was breathing heavily and was holding his pipe low gazing at Tantei-kun.

"Huh?" a shocked expression left KID's lips before he could stop it.

"What the hell Kudo?!" Heiji shouted at his friend ignoring the startled thief behind his back.

Conan gaped at him with open mouth "That was my question… What do you think you're doing Hattori?" he asked with a sigh.

'Well… this was unexpected…' KID tilled his head with a smile 'Maybe I should leave them..? Nah… It's too precious. Wish I had pop-corn… Should I eat pop-corn in a moment like this?' he wondered and shrugged mentally still listening to the quarrel going on between his detectives 'Hm… probably doesn't matter, Tantei-kun already knows I'm no gentleman anyway, so it's a good guess Tantei-han does too. Too bad I don't have any then~.' He sighed and focused his full attention back to the two boys.

"Hattori…" Conan pressed his nose bridge clearly annoyed "He is a criminal. Our job is to retrieve what he has stolen."

"But he saved our lives." Hattori grimaced "I know what our job is, but you shouldn't go around shooting balls at him like that."

"It's not like he'll die from it…" Conan turned his gaze away a bit embarrassed.

"Well… you know – those hellish balls hurt like a lot on impact." Kaito cut in starting to feel awkward not receiving any attention while in full KID attire.

Both detectives turned at him clearly shocked that he was still there. He grinned at them in return and waved his hand. All turned at the door when they heard rushed footsteps from that direction.

"I think you should…" Hattori turned to now empty spot where the thief was standing a moment ago "… leave? Heh…" he smirked but dropped the smile as he moved his gaze back to Kudo. Riiight…


Heiji never thought he'll have a fierce argue like that with his best friend over a thief. Afterwards he left Conan under a police officer's care and went out to clear his mind. He wasn't even sure what to think of it all to begin with. He felt in dept to KID and he never thought Kudo would attack him. Sure he understood the need to reclaim the jewel but… Not looking where he was going he bumped into somebody. The woman let out a slight squeak and nearly fell over. He caught her hand to help her stabilize herself. She smiled at him nicely.

"Thank you." She spoke with a pleasant, soft voice.

"Nah, don't mention it, I wasn't looking where I was going and –" he started wanting to leave her and continue his stroll but she cut him off smoothly.

"Oh, I didn't mean that…" she giggled "I meant, back at the heist." She added quietly narrowing her eyes as her face was split with a wide KID-like grin "You're a real life-saver…"

"KID -!" Heiji gasped, but the thief cut him off again.

"Hush… or would you like to be trampled by my fans? Call me 'Hana-chan' for now."

"Uhm… sure…" he mumbled staring at the person before him from head to toe visually astonished.

The thief was wearing loose, neutral pants and a short, opened jacket with a tight shirt, with a wide neckline showing enough to definitely identify a female chest. 'Hana' chuckled as the detective was staring at her/him and crooked hers/his hip placing a hand on it in an inviting manner.

"Oh~? So you like what you see~?" KID winked at the detective and started walking away from the crowd waving his hips.

Heiji averted his gaze from the female body abashed by his own behavior and followed "No, I just… ugh, you're a male or a female?"

The thief chuckled again and answered with a mysterious, amused tone "Who knows~…"

Heiji gave her/him a flat look regaining his composure "I think you're a guy…"

"Oh? And why is that Tantei-han~?"

"If I'm to call you 'Hana-chan' you call me by my name too…" he mumbled.

"Ok Hei-chan~!" KID winked clearly having the time of his life.

Heiji gave another flat look again "You're pushing it…" he sighed and continued "I had enough clues to figure you're a guy. And it's disturbing to see you dressed like this…" KID chuckled at his reactions, Heiji added a bit distressed "You didn't come here to tease me, right?"

Thief ceased laughing and shook his head with a smile "Nah, like I said – I wanted to thank you. Didn't expect you to save me back there."

"What are you talking about KI…Hana? You saved us before, risking your life. I just spared you a bump. I still owe you." He said with a soft smile.

KID laughed as they entered an alley and he took out of his pocket the Moon's Eye admiring it under the moonlight. Detective looked at it a bit disturbed. He nearly forgot that the person beside him was a thief who just completed a heist.

"You don't owe me anything. I was just in the area when I saw two of my favorite critics packing themselves into trouble. Was feeling generous so I tagged along and lend you a hand. Best don't count on it in the future and be careful."

"So it was really only a chance meeting? You weren't… you know, like stalking us or something?" Heiji asked with perplexed voice carefully watching thief's expression.

KID gave him an annoyed stare and threw the jewel at him "I consider myself a rather busy person. And you guys are not that interesting out off my heists. I know everything I want about you. And I wouldn't want to get involved in any murder you guys seem to trip over every not and then. It's disturbing how often it happens around you guys…"

"Riiight…" Heiji grimaced and looked at the jewel in his hand "Why did you give it back to me now? Back then you said, that you can't do it yet."

KID shrugged "Didn't feel like giving it back then, but I don't need it anymore."

Detective gave him a flat look and thief laughed cheerfully again. Heiji sighed stashing the jewel in his pocket and smiled sheepishly.

"You know… I could give you a tour if you ever came and visit Osaka…"

KID gave him a surprised look and laughed again stashing his hands in his pockets "Detective! Are you inviting an internationally wanted thief to actually come and steal at your hometown?"

Heiji snorted "I meant a casual visit, you know for rest and fun?"

"And I said I'm a busy person. I don't usually travel unless for work. And my job is fun, especially thanks for the amusement you guys provide." He answered with a wide smile.

Detective sighed "Whatever… There is no stopping you anyway if there would be anything you wanted to steal. So I might add a tour to it."

"Very considerate of you. I'll think about it." He promised with a warm smile.

"You do that." Heiji replied with a smile and added a bit more serious "By the way, you don't happen to know, who were these guys we were following back then, do you?"

KID gave him a flat look "You're kiddin' me, right? You were tailing them without any idea who they were?" as Heiji laughed slightly embarrassed the thief sighed "You're hopeless… And you're a detective, didn't you try to investigate it afterwards at least?"

"Well I live in Osaka and had to return there soon after we parted. Came back only recently and I am trying to investigate it right now, aren't I?"

"Yeah, but Chibi-Shin does live here…" the thief smiled slyly.

"Huh?! You know about Kudo? How?" Heiji was confused.

KID shrugged "I did say I know everything about you guys I wanted to know, didn't I? It would make me rather lousy at what I do if I couldn't discover a secret like that. Wasn't much of a challenge anyway… But know how to keep a secret, so don't worry."

"Alright…" Heiji mumbled "Anyway, so do you know who those guys were...?"

"I might…" he started and clucked looking at the entrance of the alley they were standing in.

"Heiji!" Osakan turned around hearing Kazuha's voice and saw her enter the alley they were in followed by Ran and Conan "Why did come here and who is this?"

"This –" Heiji started confused and distressed a bit as he was cut off by a male's voice with a strong foreign accent.

"The name's Shirohato Kai, nice to meet you~" the detective nearly snapped his neck turning to the clearly now male person beside him smiling politely at his friends "Sorry for kidnapping Heiji-kun. I met him at a case a while ago and wanted to chat a bit over this and that. It was a bit crowded back there so we moved here."

KID noticed Conan looking at him suspiciously as he introduced himself but it was Kazuha who spoke first.

"Um… no harm done. Nice to meet you, my name is Toyama Kazuha and this is Mouri Ran and Conan-kun." The girls bowed their heads slightly in a polite matter

Shrunken detective gave him an unimpressed stare "Nee, Kai-kun are you a fan of KID?"

"Nah, wouldn't call myself that Chibi." He smiled slightly seeing an annoyed vein plop on the child's head and he shrugged "I just find the heist enjoyable and visit them whenever I'm in the area."

"Oh yeah, where are you from if I may ask? You sound foreign…" Ran asked with interest.

"That obvious, huh? Well I guess my accent isn't perfect. I moved with my parents to France and been living there a while now…"

As the thief was talking with the girls Conan took Heiji to the side and whispered to him accusingly "It's him, right?"

Hattori gave a quiet sheepish smile "Heh… yeah, but he already returned me the jewel so let him be, alright?"

Conan sighed and looked at KID laughing with the girls from a joke he made and waved the matter off "Yeah ok, but tell me about it later." Heiji gave him a nod so they joined the casual conversation.

Walking beside two detectives didn't seem to stress out Kai in the slightest who chatted with the group cheerfully taking them to the bus station. Detectives were impressed on how detailed the description of his 'home town' Ecrins was. He actually even invited them to visit him someday to the girls delight and Conan couldn't help to wonder if the thief could pull it off… He figured with a smirk that he probably could. Kai bid them farewells as they reached the bus stop and left them disappearing into the night. Only after that Heiji remembered that he was left with the Moon's Eye in his pocket he had to return.


It was a nice night for Kaito. Smiling he was actually wondering if he heard lately of any interesting jewels in Osaka. He's going to have to ask Ji-chan to investigate on that. In a good mood he was heading home, as he looked to the side and thought about another detective who once again failed to show up on his event. It wouldn't hurt and make a slight detour to check up on him, right? Wondering if Tantei-san was still awake he changed direction he was headed to.


Lights were still light in Saguru's room. The audition on the radio on the heist has ended long ago and it was turned off now. The room was silent as Hakuba was trying and failing to not think about the thief and concentrate on another case which files he was trying to read. Was KID safe? There were no reports on him leaving the site. There were also no reports on gunshots, but considering how rarely there were any and the fireworks show it would be surprising if there were any. Detective's thoughts wandered on how often lately KID was using loud tricks. Was he trying to hide the fact he was being shot at? Why? Did he intend to avoid the panic it might cause or didn't he want the police involved? But they could help him… Or maybe… The police was somehow involved?

It was then when he heard a soft knock on his window. Uncertain if he heard right he stood up and approached it. After a few steps he froze staring at Kaitou KID in full attire standing on his windowsill with the window wide open. The thief smiled at him politely and tipped his hat.

"Good evening. Mind if I come in? I am aware it is rather late…" he asked with a soft perplexed voice.

The detective stared for a moment in silence at the shadowed man clothed in white standing before him. He has nearly forgotten the adrenaline rush this site gave him each time. He gulped trying to gain control over his fastening breathing and heartbeat. Eventually he cleared his throat and spoke with a startled voice.

"Good evening" Hakuba shook his head to recover quickly and spoke more calmly afterwards "Not at all, please come in."

KID tipped his hat and stepped inside smiling with his usual all-knowing smirk plastered on his face.

Hakuba narrowed his eyes and spoke with a slight tease "I'm rather shocked you asked for permission. You don't strike me as a person who hesitates before doing anything he pleases."

"None the less I usually do prefer to announce my visit." KID replied politely as his grin widened.

The detective chuckled "Yes, I suppose you do. Would you like some tea?"

"No thank you. I don't intend to stay long."

Absent-mindedly Hakuba noticed how different KID's pattern of speech was from Kuroba's. No wonder the thief was often seen as a gentleman even when he met with royalty.

"Alright. Do you mind telling me in that case to what do I owe the pleasure?"

"But of course. I was wondering why lately the events I hold lack your presence. I hope that it isn't caused by something bad?" he asked with a concerned voice.

Hakuba raised his eyebrow "You miss my presence? That is rather odd for a thief to miss a detective."

KID shrugged "I enjoy the challenge my critics provide me, therefore I am rather disappointed when some of them are not present. And also in the end I am no mere thief." He smiled wickedly "But speaking about odd things… As a detective shouldn't you be trying to catch me, instead of offering me tea?"

"I don't see you anymore as a mere criminal and I don't wish to see you behind bars." He chuckled "Furthermore I believe that even if you somehow got caught it would turn out impossible to contain you. Just like catching a wind."

KID smiled amused by the complement and tipped his hat. As the thief didn't seem to be willing to say anything Hakuba continued narrowing his eyes.

"You fascinate me. Criminal helping others, refraining himself from doing any purely evil deeds. Despite all odds upholding his 'no one gets hurt' policy… Although unfortunately that rule doesn't seem to apply to you yourself, now does it? I know that from time to time you do get hurt."

KID let out a soft chuckle and spoke with a tone usually reserved for lecturing children "My dear Tantei-san… You should know that it is impossible to hurt a phantom. So there is no point in trying to count me in this rule, now is there?"

"Yes, that is true." Hakuba confirmed easily "You can't hurt a phantom, but you can hurt the person behind his mask."

The thief clucked and smiled softly tilting his head "My, my Tantei-san, you surprise me."

The detective frowned taken-aback "Aren't you going to deny it?"

KID shock his head slowly still smiling "I do not tend to lie or deny the truth, although it may seem sometimes like that."

Hakuba stayed silent for a moment as KID was watching him with interest.

Finally he gasped and whispered in awe "So that's how it is… It's all just the same riddle..? You are currently not the person under the mask because you are a phantom..?" KID grinned at him confirming "A nameless kaitou who somebody else gave a name... And how long do you intend to stay like this?" He asked not expecting an answer.

"As long as I don't finish my job." KID replied simply, instead of his usual 'Figure it out yourself.'

"And then?"

KID shrugged "There is no need for a phantom that has achieved his goal."

Hakuba nod his head and sighed staring earnestly into thief's violet eyes in silence before saying what was on his mind the whole time "I'd like to help you."

KID raised his eyebrows and crocked his head "Oh~? Tantei-san~… I didn't know you were thinking of switching to the other side of the law~…" he was clearly amused by the idea.

"That's not what I meant…" The detective was annoyed by thief's assumptions "I know there is more going on in the sidelines. You are being targeted on your heists and you are being shot at. I know also that you tend to help the police without taking any credit for it. I know you won't tell me anything about it even if I asked you…" KID smiled at him confirming this "But even so, I want to help. More than I want to know the truth I don't want you dead." He stressed his last sentence.

KID stood silent for a moment thinking before he responded with a sincere tone "I'm flattered Tantei-san, really I am." And then he spoke with a lighter, a bit teasing tone "But in the end I am a thief and nothing more. Don't you think it would be strange for a detective to help a criminal? It would be…" there was a slight pause as KID's smile faded a bit, his eyes widened slightly, as he finished with a blank voice "… 'going against the natural order'." He echoed the words of Akako's premonition in awe. Thief backed out a bit looking at the detective. Could that be it?

"KID? Is something wrong?" Hakuba asked worried.

A reassuring smile showed on kaitou's returned poker face as he shook his head slowly "No Tantei-san, I just remembered something unpleasant. Sorry to make you worry." He said with a warm voice and shrugged "I am afraid I'll have to leave now. It's getting late and it's time for all good kaitou to retire for the night." He tipped his hat and jumped on the windowsill.

"Wait!" Hakuba spoke urgently afraid he wouldn't get the chance to meet the thief like that anymore "Will I see you again?"

KID turned his head and smiled softly "You will. If you will come to my heist, that it. Good night." And without waiting for response he jumped out blending into the night.

"Good night…" the detective responded quietly with regret to the silent night.


Wow… it turned out to be the longest chapter ever xD Funny thing as you know what you want to write about but can't find the right words and you end up with writing more than you intended to xD Took me longer to write because of this, but I hope you can forgive me ;)

Aww… poor Haku-chan doesn't know what happened and he was doing so well… *sob, sob* I must be a really cruel person to torment them so much xD

Annonymus – So – seems you got roughly the same conclusion as Kaito :D I can now admit I had a laugh because of it when I read your review :D

Site note on a name mentioned by KID: Shirohato - Shiro no hato - white dove ;)

Now I have to think hard on what to present you in the next chapter… xD Probably gonna be lot's of inner thoughts ;)


See you next chapter *bow* ;)