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.

My, my~ it seems like I have managed to confuse my dear readers with the last chapter..? Wonder what are your thoughts going to be after this one? *evil grin* But do not fear – all will turn crystal clear in the end…

To hold the tension and build it a bit more I will present you – my dear readers - the detective's point of view for this chapter as well. Although this time I promise to add in some action.

Oh my~ Thank you all so much for all the reviews~! And so many of 'em too~! I was so hyped after them it was hard for me to stop writing and actually take care of my duties xD At the beginning this chapter was supposed to look a bit different, but after what I've read I decided to keep the tension for a bit longer. And personally I'm very happy with the outcome – I really hope you'll like it just as much!

Sele-chan – wow, that one surprised me. I honestly don't know Spanish – but thank gods we have google translate xD Anyway – I'm flattered that you read my story. I'm very glad you managed to understand Kaito's feelings this well, as it is a proof for me that I didn't screw this up xD

madelita – I really enjoy reading the full story reviews, as I get to see a comment written from a wider view :D I'm happy to hear you liked so much my portrait of those characters :D I've never written before any fanfics, afraid I might get it wrong. So opinions like that really light up my mood.

Kameo1 – Well I guessed that even Hattori knows when to hold his mouth shut and the info Hakuba gave them was quite shocking. But don't worry – we'll get to the 'tearing each other apart' later on xD

Mists – That was a lot of reviews I have to say ;) Not that I didn't enjoy reading them~ Thank you for taking your time to read it all and write in respond~

Lady Paper - Haha – you flatter me too much xD But I'm still glad you liked it~

Bah... pulling an all-nighter is not good for me at all... Hope I didn't mess this all up too much xD *holds fingers crossed*

So without further delay…

Please enjoy and review! :)


Chapter 8: The impending darkness


On Monday Hakuba came to class to inform his teacher that he will be gone for some time, as he was going to visit his family in England. He was an excellent student, so there wasn't much problem with that. Some of his classmates were exited for him. Aoko was sad and said she is going to miss him. She tried to make Kaito say his goodbyes to their friend, but he only smirked at this and threw Hakuba a mocking stare. And that was the only expression he's shown to the detective.

Saguru felt anxious looking through a window on the plane. There was something making him feel uneasy. This was ridiculous but he was afraid that if he left something would go horribly wrong. But he had no other choice. As Kudo said – that was probably the best way. There wasn't any guaranties that thanks to his departure Kuroba would start acting like he usually did, but there was a chance. And they had to take it.


Soon after that the police received a heist notice informing about multiple thefts the thief was planning on preforming during the next four weeks. That was new and Conan wondered dryly if there was any connection to Hakuba's departure. Did KID really wanted to get rid of the Brit that bad, that now he was going to celebrate on his achievement? Well hard to say. It sure felt like it. But it was also true that there weren't any potential targets for him in the area before. Now as Hanami (the cherry blossom festival) was finally over the galleries and museums wanted to get back their attention. And having KID visit them was the best road to popularity. He sighed heavily. It was really ridiculous that people used a criminal like that.

There were going to be three galleries and one museum trying to get the thief's attention. The suspicious thing was that the new exhibit presentations were a week apart from each other. Was it possible that the owners just agreed to it in order to "share" KID? Yeah… that was most probable. Even he couldn't be in a two, let alone four places at a time and probably none of them wanted to be picked last by the thief himself, as it would show to the public which events were more important to him. Shinichi wondered dryly how they choose the schedule and snorted imagining the serious businessmen pulling straws.

After school that day he called Hattori to check if his friend also found out about the notice. He did and was now busy making arrangements to attend all off them. It was a pain for him, since his teachers didn't like him very much, he couldn't take a break for that long in order to be present in Tokyo for the whole time, so he would have to be riding the train there and back each weekend. Shinichi tried to convince his friend that it wasn't necessary for him to be at each one, but Hattori was stubborn and it was nearly impossible to make him change his mind once he was set on something. And he was mad at the thief, that he neglected coming to Osaka, when their gallery prepared such a nice bait for him. Conan could recognize a lost cause when he saw it, so he simply informed his guardians that they are going to have a guest for the next four weekends. Needless to say Kogoro was not happy about it, unlike Ran who was looking forward to it. Shinichi texted Hattori to remind his friend to bring Kazuha with him, or they wouldn't be probably able to get his childhood friend off their backs.


Only the nagging memory of Hakuba claiming that KID was somehow acting differently, indicated that those heists might have something off about them. At the first they thought, that maybe it was just their imagination provoked by their talks with the blond. But as soon as Conan and Heiji saw the white clad figure, they somehow knew he might be right, but couldn't place their fingers on it back then. Only after the heist it hit them. For the whole event he didn't say one word. Didn't taunt nor responded to Nakamori shouts. But he was quiet during the 'Moon's Eye' heist also, so why the uneasy feeling this time? It was because this time there was no laughter either. Moreover he wasn't moving in his cheerful-chaotic way either. Didn't do any unnecessary motions or tricks. He was precise, fast and serious. They did manage to corner him at some point, but even then he didn't respond to them. He just disappeared and they couldn't find him after he did.

After the heist was over they started their investigation keeping in mind Hakuba's claim about the shooters. It took them a while, but eventually they found a few debris in a nearby alley, they identified as parts of KID's glider. They broke into the building and found bullet holes inside and on the rooftop. And there were a lot of them. It didn't take them long to recreate what must have happened there. Fortunately they didn't find any blood traces, but that didn't necessary mean anything.

They reported their findings to the police and that started a case of an unknown shootings, not related to KID.

Detectives regretted that Hakuba was away and wasn't able to check on KID's civilian persona, to make sure he was fine. They were considering breaking their promise to Hakuba to figure out the thief's identity to pay him a visit themselves. But finally they decided against it, figuring they would have the chance to see him in a week anyway. They would go to him only if he didn't appear. Also in the end they didn't inform the Brit of what they found. They didn't want to alarm him just yet, afraid he would want to come back if he knew.

They argued some afterwards. Heiji wanted to go alone on the next heist. He was claiming, that it would be easier for him to get KID and make him talk, if they were to meet alone. Shinichi wouldn't admit it, but it somewhat hurt him to think, that the thief might be hesitant to talk to them because of him. Eventually that feeling of guilt made him agree to the idea.


The second heist was a surprise to everybody present. At the start KID wittily switched this night's prize with the last one. But afterwards it was all wrong again. He was never supposed to be violent. And back there he shot his trade-mark card gun at them. A few officers were bleeding afterwards. It wasn't anything more than a few cuts, but still… He also used some slippery substance in places that made people fall painfully and hurt themselves somewhat.

This time Heiji managed to somehow tackle the thief and get a grab on him. KID was slippery and surprisingly strong, but the detective knew how to place his hold, so it was impossible to get free. Even so the thief refused to speak a single word. During their 'dance' on the cheerful heist, that seemed to have happened years ago, Heiji had the opportunity to look his opponent in the eyes. The sparkling mischief and laughter locked in them annoyed him back then, but now there wasn't any of it inside. Now the violet in his eyes was frozen, gleaming with anger and determination. KID was struggling so hard, that at some point Heiji heard the other teen's joints crack dangerously. Shocked he slightly loosen his grip on him and the thief managed to drop something. The sleeping gas knocked out cold the Osakan and when he came to the heist was long over.

Heiji cursed under his breath and started his investigation. He exhaled heavily when an officer discovered the first bullet hole inside the gallery the heist was held. In the end they found a few more. Although it did explain why the thief decided to shoot at them and cause some minor injuries, it sure didn't answer any other questions. Why didn't he speak at all? Why did he let people hurt themselves? Why did he have that predatory look and behavior?


During the third heist both detectives were chasing the thief along with a few officers up the stairs. The steps were covered with something that made them slippery for everybody except KID, so he had a large advantage over them. After a few stories he suddenly he threw behind a ball that started becoming larger as it flew and eventually it bloke the path for adults. Due to his small frame Conan managed to get across the trap and continue his pursuit. On the other side steps were no longer slippery and the boy could run faster. By the time he heard that the rest managed to get through it they were a few stories higher. As he took another turn, panting hard, he nearly bumped with the hidden thief. Before Conan could regain his balance KID grabbed him roughly by the collar and pulled up so he could face him. His violet eyes were gleaming with something sinister. The child heard a menacing growl leaving his throat, as he took a step towards the edge between stairs.

"I thought I was clear enough. Don't dare to follow me!" His voice was hoarse and fierce, and before Conan could respond he threw him down through the empty space between stairs.

The boy's eyes widened with shock and a quiet, disbelieving "Huh?" left his lips, before it turned into a scream of terror, as he was descending fast without any protection. Then he was a suddenly hit with a large force from a side, by another body. A moment later he was rolling over the floor entangled with somebody else, who was holding him strongly. When he regained his full awareness, he heard shocked voices of people surrounding him. Hattori, who was still holding him in his arms with an iron grip, was breathing heavily.

"Oi… you ok?" he managed to ask between breaths.

"Yyeah… Thanks…" the boy answered still shocked by what just happened.

Somebody, probably some officer, who Shinichi couldn't identify at the moment clucked with annoyance "Somebody get them out of this. We have to disentangle them to see if they're fine." The ordering voice could only belong to Nakamori-keibu.

"What happened… Did KID really just…?" asked a startled voice in the background.

"Stop with the chit-chat and get to work!" Nakamori roared with his fierce voice forcing his subordinates to obey.

It was only then when Conan noticed that he was entangled with his friend by a dark wire. With his shaking hands he grabbed it and pulled it. It was an slightly elastic rope. He noticed one end of it attached to himself. Squirming, he turned around a bit and noticed that it was tied around him creating a harness. He exhaled with relief and closed his eyes. He didn't notice when, but the thief secured Conan's safety. KID didn't throw him to his demise.

Hattori sighed in relief as he saw his friend's inspection results. He barely held his body from trembling from shock, fear, anger, relief, confusion and many other feelings he couldn't name, that rushed through his mind in the past few moments. He wanted to laugh to let out all the tension, but as he opened his mouth he saw the other end of the rope falling down the staircase after an officer pulled it lightly. He swallowed hard feeling an icy chill through his body.

By the time the officers managed to set them free and they picked themselves up, the thief was long gone. When detectives managed to reach the roof it was filled with the police. They were mad at them for ruining any possible clues that might have explained KID's behavior. Heiji actually snapped at some of them and the boys were kicked out from there.

Not having any other choice they searched the building, so they were in the area to hear what Nakamori told a few of his officers in a quiet conversation.

"As for now… We have to consider that KID may no longer be a non-violent criminal…" the statement was followed by heavy silence of disbelieve.

"Isn't it… too fast..? He did use a rope…" some faint voice broke out of the silence.

"We will see. There is a heist in a week. I prefer we are prepared for it." Nakamori answered with a heavy voice and swallowed hard. It clearly wasn't easy for him either.


„There is something wrong with his eyes Hattori. I don't know, maybe it wasn't him… I can't… I refuse to believe he would be acting like that. Something is definitely off here."

"I've seen it too... Maybe he's being controled somehow, or somebody is trying to besmirch him? Make him a shooting target for the police?"

"I don't know what to think anymore… He is trying to keep everybody safe. And I doubt that he would, if it wasn't him..." Conan rubbed his face "Maybe we're doing it the wrong way? Maybe we should go after those guys hunting him, rather than himself? If he can somehow manage to do a heist and locate them we should be able to also. But…"

"That would be dangerous since we don't know who we're dealing with, or how many to expect." Heiji finished with a grim voice focusing his gaze at the road before him.

Conan just gave a slight nod to that.

They were walking slowly towards the agency. It was dark and cold, and the girls will probably scold them for being so late, but they couldn't care for it right now. Silence didn't last long before it was broken by Heiji's sigh.

"I just don't get it. Why does he refuse to talk? I thought you told me he used to be quite chatty? He sure was after the 'Moon's Eye'. Bah… Maybe we should phone that Brit after all?" Conan could easily tell from his tone that his friend wasn't happy with the option, but was at a loss.

He would want to smirk at it, if only the situation wasn't so dire. So he only sighed and shook his head slowly.

"Don't think we should tell him too much. You know how he cares for the guy. Odds are he'll freak when we tell him everything and will just rush back. And if KID as civil-persona is like he described him then bugging him will only make him more twitchy and…"

"Aggressive…" Heiji helped him to find the right word.

"Yeah…" He sighed "I'm still not used to the idea of him being like that. Anyway what I fear the most is that, if he gets less stable, than he is now, he might make a mistake with those guys, who are targeting him. You've seen the shooting area after the first heist. It wasn't from just one or two people… Guess there is no other choice, I should have done this before... I'll contact as Shinichi Megure-keibu and get his interest on those guys."


It was Friday afternoon before the last heist when Conan noticed his phone ringing. It appeared that Hattori won't be coming because all trains towards Tokyo were canceled. Apparently there was a minor accident and for safety reasons it was decided that there will be some minor renovations made on the line. Heiji tried to get a plane or bus ticket but all seats were already taken. He had a bad feeling about the upcoming heist and since he couldn't stop Shinichi from going alone, he made him promise he would be extra careful and go after KID instead of searching for his hunters.

Ran was supposed to walk Conan to the heist area, but she had to leave and didn't come back before he had to go, so he went alone. Actually he was glad with the outcome because he preferred her to be away if the things would get out of hand. He was nearly there when his phone rang. He raised his eyebrow seeing it was from Kogoro.

"Moshi, moshi?"

"Oi kiddo, come back home, now." The man's voice was hoarse with hints of distress.

Conan frowned and stopped "What happened?" he demanded, forgetting about his childish manner to uphold.

"I don't have time to talk with you brat! Ran is at a hospital struggling for her life! Get back here, now!" Kogoro snapped at him, but hearing those words made Shinichi's heart stop for a brief moment.

"Where is she?! I'm not going home, I have to be there!" Shinichi shouted taking out his skateboard.

"You bra-… Whatever, do what you want. She's at Kariya Toyota General Hospital." After saying that he disconnected.

Conan cursed under his breath and started the engine putting it on its highest speed.


To say Kudo was angry was an understatement. He was furious. KID was lucky he wasn't anywhere in sight, because the boy wasn't sure if he wouldn't kill him on the spot. And then he would have to hide the body, so he wouldn't spend his life in prison for a gruesome murder. Ran was indeed in the hospital 'Kogoro' told her she was supposed to be. Only that she wasn't dying or anything like that. She was found near it unconscious, apparently knocked-out with sleeping gas. With an annoyed huff he shoved out his phone and dialed his friend's number to let out some steam.

"Oi Kudo! So what's going on there? Did you manage to reach KID? He didn't hurt you right?"

"I didn't get to the heist at all…" Conan growled through his clenched teeth.

"Huh? Why not, what's happened?"

"The bastard gave me a heart attack and made me believe Ran was dying. I'm gonna kill him Hattori…" he exhaled slowly trying to hold his rage.

"Oi, oi… calm down. Listen. I'm gonna come tomorrow, alright? The 'renovations' are supposed to be done by then, so just –" he didn't manage to finish as the boy's roar cut him off.

"I'm gonna murder him Hattori! First I'm gonna squeeze his identity out of Hakuba, if I have to. And then I'll catch this bastard, tie him up and give him the longest soccer ball-in-the-face session ever! And I'm not gonna stop until I'm satisfied and until I'll kick him back to his senses. Oh he's gonna regret it bad I tell you. And then he's gonna explain everything to us. In detail. I'm not gonna let him slip out any tiny bit of information. I'm…" Shinichi in his rage didn't notice till now how quiet the other side of the line has become, he calmed down a bit and asked with a less angry, confused voice "Hattori? You still there?"

„… Yeah…" the startled voice of his friend made the boy frown "I think… You might not be able to do all you want… Just listen to this…"

There was a static before Shinichi could clearly hear what the voice on the radio was saying **"-epet. The whole area is being evacuated. The explosion on the rooftop was a major one. Debris flew far away from ground zero. As far as for now nobody has seen any signs that KID's got away. We don't have any causalities reports yet. We will keep you informed, for now – back at the studio.*" there was a slight pause and another voice started talking "Thanks Chito-san. We have with us here at the studio an explosive material specialist. Shiro-san could you give us your thoughts on what has happened there? *" there was a rough chuckle and yet another voice spoke "*Well it does seem clear that the crazy thief finally over-done it with his trick. At least he's went down with a blast!-"** there was a loud thud over the phone as Hattori slammed the radio turning it off with a hard hit.

Only a quiet whisper managed to leave the startled detective child's lips "KID…"


I know you guys love cliffis like this x]

All right, all right – don't kill me pls ;) I promise to give some background information next chapter – so look forward to it :D

And as the prophecy has been fulfilled I'd love to read how you guys understand it now – if you want me to I can give a full explanation to it at the end of next chapter in notes.

The clock has stopped once, yet it starts to tick again…

*tick tock tick tock…*

*evil laughter* See you next chapter *bow* ;)