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 chapter will start with a warning. If you're in an area you shouldn't laugh, you might want to reconsider reading it now, because this chapter starts with a bit of it ;)Further in the chapter you'll get to read about a proper 'Gosho Boys' meeting.

So I ended up with another writing-frenzy instead of doing what I was supposed to… Figures x) Unfortunately after this there will be a pause again – sorry xD I promise to update as soon as I can ;)

Sele-chan – I wouldn't call the meeting a disaster : It wasn't what our detectives expected, but none the less Kaito had fun xD And while it may have not been fun for the others, it makes the next meeting more probable. Well I do intend to show also other reasons why Kai-chan has issues with trusting and prefers to work solo. I hope you'll like this chapter just as much :D

Mists – I'm glad you liked it x) You have no idea how much I laughed myself writing it xD

Kameo1 – I'm happy I managed to bring laughter to you x) I also believe Hattori would be more sensitive to stuff like that, especially since he started caring more about the culprits he pins down. And he is the most 'normal' teenager out of them ;)

SilverSapphire34523 – I'm glad to hear that ;) It's always nice to know what you guys liked best :D

JarayZ – You have no idea how much I've laughed writing it all xD That was probably the hardest thing writing that chapter xD Glad you like Chikage so much~ Especially for you I'll get a bit more of her xD

So without further delay…

Please enjoy and review! :)


Chapter 13: Playing with the fox


Hakuba heard Kuroba's shouting from the inside of his house as he approached, as well as clatter of various items being knocked over by people running around. Not thinking much he rushed inside, shoving the doors open. Shout on his lips was held back as he saw a glimpse of the magician in a short sleeved shirt and shorts. It was only a moment before the white smoke erupted, but he was sure he saw bandages covering his limbs, as well as fading bruises and a few band-aid on his face and KID's card-gun in his hand. The other person in the room was a dark violet-haired woman Hakuba never saw before. She was holding in her hand, just outside of Kuroba's reach a floppy, skin-colored item – most probably a mask.

"I'm gonna start calling you Yarouba…" Kuroba huffed with annoyance before the smoke cleared "You live in a barn, that you don't know how to knock? What the hell are you doing here anyway?"

As most of it dissipated Hakuba saw Kaito was wearing a pink, womanly bathrobe long enough to cover his limbs. There were no signs of facial injury or the card-gun either and he was clearly mad at the detective before him. The woman beside him was having a hard time holding back a chuckle, watching the scene. Hakuba cleared his throat and lowered his gaze ashamed a bit.

"I'm sorry, I've heard you shouting and thought…" He started his apology, but was cut off.

"Oh really..? And what makes you think I can't handle myself?" Kaito huffed annoyed and turned his back on him, heading towards the stairs "Get lost, I'm busy."

"Kuroba I wante-"

"Kai-chan! Wait a minute! We haven't –" They started simultaneously cutting each other off.

But Kaito plucked his ears with his fingers and sang loudly "Tralala~! Not listening~!"

He went into his room shutting the door behind him. The woman winced at the sound and sighed turning her attention to the detective. She smiled at him cheerfully.

"Hum… And who might you be? Hakuba…" she pat her lips and gasped just as the Brit wanted to answer her "Oh, I know~! You must be Hakuba Saguru-chan, right? The detective who claims my Kai-chan is Kaitou KID~. He is right you know, pink really does suit you~." She chirped cheerfully, clearly not worried about Kaito being a suspect.

Hakuba coughed surprised by her words "Why, yes I am. You're quite right. And who might you be?" He asked reaching for his hand-mirror, as her last statement managed to get through his initial shock. His hair were bright pink – obviously… He didn't even want to wonder why Kuroba had a pink dye ready while wearing only shorts and a shirt.

"Oh~ My name is Kuroba Chikage, I'm Kai-chan's mother~ But mouu… Kai-chan is so cruel to me, I tell you~! He doesn't listen to a word I tell him~! I have no idea where I went wrong!"

'Being absent for most of the time might be part of the problem…' Hakuba laughed dryly looking at the whining woman before him. He wondered if she was even aware what her son was doing during some moonlit nights. Probably she did. He cleared his throat to get her attention.

"Um, it's nice to meet you. I'm sorry for barging in like that. I –" Hakuba could now clearly see where Kuroba had the habit of cutting him off from.

"Oh don't worry about it Ru-chan~" She waved the matter off, back to her cheerful self "I'm happy to see my Kai-chan has a caring friend like you~"

He was slightly perplexed by the name she called him and by the praise she gave him "Um… Thank you..?"

"You're quite welcome~ Not tell me Ru-chan, did you have any special reason to come here today, or did you just want to hang out with my naughty boy~?"

Her pattern of speech was very disturbing for the Brit, who wasn't sure how to respond to it "Um… well I wanted to ask Kuroba to come with me and have a talk with my friends, he met the other -"

She cut in again "Oh is that so~? I'm afraid that might be a problem…" She pat her lips and moved towards the stairs "Best check then, if he's still home… You see I didn't want him to leave, so he might have escaped by now~." She chirped happily climbing the stairs, clearly not worried at all about the possibility.

Hakuba only opened his mouth, but decided to not comment her words and just closed it again. Craziness and excessive cheerfulness must be a family thing for the Kurobas.

The woman knocked on her son's door and opened it. Hakuba took only a short peek inside noticing how neat it was. The only thing out off the ordinary was a large KID poster hanged on a wall. She sighed locking the door again, throwing him an apologetic smile.

"I'm afraid we're out of luck…"


In the mean time Conan and Heiji were waiting on the other side of the road, where they had a good view of the building. The shouts from Kuroba's house and Hakuba barging in it alarmed them, but as the other detective didn't call to them for help, they decided to stay put. Seeing the Brit close the door by himself calmed them and they started chatting wondering, if he had any chance to bring out the magician. They both doubt it.

A few moments later Hattori noticed a dove ascending towards them and landing on Conan's head. It was holding a folded piece of paper in its beak. The Osakan blinked at it surprised and the bird blinked back at him cocking its head slightly. It cooed softly, dropping the note. Conan caught it and waved at the dove to spook it off. It clearly didn't like being treated like that, as it peaked his hand. Heiji chuckled at the sight.

"Oi! Help me get it off instead of laughing like an idiot…" Shinichi was clearly not amused by his friend cheerfulness.

Hattori snorted, holding back a laugh "Sure, I'll help a child in distress, attacked by a vicious monster."

Conan threw him an annoyed glare as Heiji reached slowly towards the dove to grab it and take it off. The bird cooed angrily flapping its wings and peaking his hands. It strongly clenched its claws around Conan's hair, causing the boy to hiss and shake his head. That enraged the dove even further as it started to peak the boys head and hit it several times with its wings. The situation was hilarious from Heiji's point of view, but the peaks actually hurt, so he felt pity over his friend and didn't laugh. They decided to leave it alone for a while and unfolded the note.

*I'm busy right now, but I guess you'll be as persistent as Hakuba is,
seeing that you came all the way here and all...
If you still insist to see me, we can meet at the river around noon.
I'm sure that yarou will know where.

Kuroba K.

P.S. Try not to bother Aya-chan too much – her bladder might not be able to hold too much stress…
If you know what I mean ;)*

Conan's eyes widened and Heiji started laughing madly.

"That's not funny Hattori!" He growled at his friend and moved away a few steps feeling that the laughter annoyed the bird on his head "Quit it!"

"Sorry" He apologized whipping off a tear "So how do feel to be a nest for the next…" He checked his watch and snorted "Three hours, or so? I think I prefer a dye…" He chuckled again.

"Ha…ha… very funny." Conan was clearly not amused and started walking towards the house, learning the hard way not to make any sudden movements "Come on, I'm gonna try and make him to take it off…"

Heiji followed his friend, keeping a few steps space between them to not upset the dove, which seemed to have dozed off, clearly feeling comfortable where it was. He knocked on the door and they waited for it to be opened.

They didn't expect to see a woman with short violet hair to open them. She looked at them with a puzzled expression before it bloomed with cheerful smile.

"Oh~? More guests? How nice~!" She stared for a moment at the small boy and chirped happily "Oh~! You must be Conan-chan, they call 'the KID-killer', right~? And you…" She moved her gaze at Hattori and stayed silent for a moment, before smiling again "I'm afraid I have no idea who you are~."

Not that it was expected for a random woman from Tokyo to know him, but none the less stating it in this way made Heiji flinch a bit in annoyance. Hattori smiled forcefully and responded in less amused way than he intended to.

"I'm Hattori Heiji, nice to meet you."

"Hm… Hattori Heiji, you say?" They saw a spark of recognition in her eyes, or so they thought "Sorry~ Still doesn't ring a bell~."

They heard Hakuba chuckle, barely holding in his laughter. Conan snorted as well, annoying Heiji even further. He grind his teeth.

"Doesn't matter. We wanted to talk with Kuroba-kun, so he could take back his dove, mind if we come inside?"

"Oh, I don't mind~" She opened the door wider letting them inside "But I'm afraid Kai-chan isn't in. Seems he jumped out of the window to escape me~"

Her chirping voice so didn't match her words it was disturbing. Hakuba sighed heavily saving his fellow detectives from distress they clearly were in.

"This is Kuroba Chikage, Kuroba's mother. And it seems he did indeed leave somehow… Is it his dove?" He threw a stare at the napping bird, noting the resemblance to its master's behavior.

Conan's eyes widened as he heard the introduction and his gaze started examining the woman before him. He recalled KID tipping him, that his mother was Phantom Lady. Heiji threw his friend a puzzled look and responded for him.

"Yeah, seems he send it with a note and we can't make it to get off." He moved his gaze at the woman "Maybe you could help us?"

She hummed and leaned closer to the dove and gently scratched it's head. The bird cooed clearly pleased with the caress. Chikage smiled cheerfully and shook her head.

"I'm afraid not~ Aya-chan is rather stubborn, so if she doesn't want to get off best leave her be, until Kai-chan takes her off. I'm sure you can bear with it Co-chan~"

Shinichi laughed dryly. Cheerful chirping wasn't what he expected from a kaitou who's trade-mark was fear. Maybe KID just pulled his leg back then? She clapped her hands happily.

"So, do you boys want something to drink~?"

"Nah thanks, we'll be on our way. We don't want to disturb you." Hattori smiled at the sheepishly, not able to stay mad at this crazy woman.

"Oh, don't worry about it Hei-chan~! You boys don't bother me one bit~. I'm always happy to meet and have a chat with Kai-chan's friends~."

"It's nice of you to say so, but none the less we should leave. Thank you for your hospitality." Hakuba cut in smoothly before Hattori managed to answer.

"Alright then~ But do come back later and bring Kai-chan with you, ok~?"

"Sure, we'll try." Hattori chuckled and they left the building saying their goodbyes.


Once outside Hakuba threw a puzzled look at the dozing dove on Conan's head.

"Mind if I ask, what's the problem with the bird?"

Hattori snorted and Shinichi threw him another annoyed stare before answering "It doesn't want to get off and KID warned us in his note that it will empty it's blabber, if we try to force it…"

The Brit gasped and closed his mouth, deciding not to add to Kudo's torment. Heiji chuckled again focusing his gaze at Hakuba's hair.

"I see Kuroba-kun wasn't happy with your visit?"

The ex-blonde sighed heavily "Clearly… So did the note say anything more?"

Conan joined him with a sigh "Yeah, he said he would meet us at noon, near a river. He claimed you know where exactly." He turned his gaze to his chuckling friend "Quit it Hattori… He already got both of us. Which means, you're next." The child grinned grimly.

That worked as Heiji grimaced realizing the truth behind Kudo's words and stopped laughing. Hakuba smirked seeing his reaction and nod his head.

"Well, if he put it that way there is a place I think he might have meant. But I propose we head back to my house for now. I'll gladly get rid of the dye and I believe you'd rather not walk around with a bird nesting your hair."

"Good idea…" Conan agreed easily.


And so they did as they planned. The dye was easily erased with the first formula this time. While they were trying to pass time the dove became anxious again. Despite Kudo's worries they decided to feed it and it calmed it down. Besides that they chatted for most of the time. It didn't surprise any of them that despite Kaito was supposed to ran thru the window the detectives didn't notice him, after all he was Kaitou KID, so they didn't wonder too much about it. At some point Conan asked Hakuba.

"Are you sure she was his mother?"

"Well not really. She's rarely home and that was the first time I met her. But I had no reason to doubt it, since Kuroba didn't mind her presence at his house. I can ask later Aoko about her if you want. Why?"

"I just imagined her differently." Conan sighed and continued his thought "What about his father?"

Hakuba was silent for a moment, not really sure if he wanted them to inform them about this part of Kuroba's life. Eventually he sighed, figuring it didn't matter and answered "Dead. Died in an accident around ten years ago, during a show."

The boy's eyebrow raised slightly "A show? Was he a performer of some kind?"

"Yes. His name was Kuroba Toichi. They say he was one of the best magician's in his time."

"A marvelous magician deceased ten years ago, you say? Doesn't sound like a coincidence to me." Hattori cut in with his remark.

"Yeah, but it's somehow difficult to believe KID would die in a simple accident. At least if he was as good as the one we know." Conan added his doubts.

Hakuba sighed crossing arms on his chest with a thoughtful expression on his face "I've heard Kuroba claiming his father was a lot more skilled of a magician than he is. Aside from that, from what I've read there was a few heists after his death, so it was never confirmed that he was KID."

Kudo patted his chin "Wouldn't be surprised, if his mother preformed those to cover it up."

"That crazy lady we met just now?" Hattori threw a puzzled look at his friend.

Conan gave a nod "Aa… KID tipped me once that his mom was Phantom Lady. Would have never guessed seeing her…"

"What? You're sure about it?" Hakuba was shocked hearing this news.

"Who's Phantom Lady?" Hattori wasn't amused being clearly the only person left outside the conversation.

"Well, he could have just joked about it, or something." Conan shrugged and turned to his friend "Phantom Lady was a kaitou that retired soon after the first KID's appearance. From what I've found out her trade-mark was scaring people to unconsciousness. At some point she was used, by some people who wanted to earn selling fakes of what she stole."

"Whaa? That chirping lady back there was a fear-kaitou? Hard to believe…" Hattori grimaced shaking his head.

"Yeah, but she could have changed after all this time. It's been around twenty years since she retired. Or it could have been an act she showed us. It sure would explain why Kuroba is so good with what he does, despite his age. Being a son of two kaitous and all…" Conan shrugged pointing his deduction out.

Hattori smirked "He must have had an interesting childhood I imagine…"

"I doubt it…" Hakuba stated with a grim voice "His father died when he was eight and from what I've heard that's when his mother left him to his neighbor's care…"

"Whaa? Why would she..?" The Osakan was shocked hearing this statement.

Hakuba lowered his gaze and answered with a quiet voice "Hard to say. She probably couldn't handle her loss…"

They went silent, each of them wondering about the thief's life. Conan clenched his teeth. Ayumi, Mitsuhiko and Genta, as well as the rest of his classmates, were eight right now. He couldn't help but wonder how would they handle a situation like that. He didn't want to think about it. The atmosphere was grim and only the soft cooing from the dove warmed it a bit.

They went out half an hour early to reach the place long before the meeting. They wondered what Kuroba might have prepared for them. They decided against preparing a trap for him themselves, as they thought it wouldn't be wise in their situation. For the whole way there Heiji was anxiously looking behind his shoulder, worried when KID will pop-out at them.


They expected Kaito to suddenly appear out of nowhere or approaching them in disguise at least. Seeing him just walking towards them casually, with his hands in his pockets surprised them. When he reached them, he showed an unamused smile and spoke with matching voice.

"Yo… So what do you want from me?"

"Could you first take off your dove?" Conan's face was deadpan as he pointed the bird sleeping on his head.

That caused the magician to smirk and let out a snort "Aww~ But she looks so happy there~ I'd hate to wake her up…"

"I'm not amused… Take her off. Now." A vein plopped on Conan's forehead as he struggled not to yell at the thief before him. The dove woke up with the motion and cooed surprised.

"You sure are scary Chibi. Aww~ And look, you woke her up… how cruel can you be? Alright, alright, calm down." He raised his hands seeing another vein plop out and he snapped his fingers.

A small puff of smoke covered the child's head before he managed to jerk away. Kaito crossed his arms on his chest and crooked his head smiling.

"I knew green would suit you~"

Heiji held back a chuckle not willing to pull thief's attention to himself and Hakuba sighed taking out a mirror out of his pocket. Conan's eyebrow twitched, but he didn't take the offered mirror. He drove a hand through his hair to smoothen them back to his cowlick, hoping the dye meant, that the bird didn't leave any 'surprises' on his head.

"Alright, you had your fun. Happy now?" The wide grin was enough for an answer "Good, can we talk now seriously?"

"Oh sorry, not my style~. Thought your blonde friend here told you that already…" Kaito shrugged stuffing his hands back into his pockets "But hey, can't really stop you from giving it a try~." He grinned again.

Conan pinched his nose bridge "Why don't I just strangle you instead."

The magician chuckled "No idea~ I don't know even what you want to talk to me about, Chibi."

"Oi, quit it. You know we want to help you, so listen us out at least." Hattori cut in seeing his friends murderous intentions rise.

Kaito moved his gaze towards him and narrowed his eyes, smirking at the still-un-pranked teen "Oh~? Care to tell me what you guys want to help me with? And it's heartwarming, considering we met only yesterday."

"Stop with the act KID. You know too well what we're talking about…" Conan sighed glaring at the thief.

The magician sighed heavily "Yeah… I feared this yarou would share his delusions with you. You see, I'm only a fan. Probably KID's biggest fan, who happened to be a magician, but nothing more. Want me to start explaining why it's impossible for me to be him now or later?"

Hakuba clenched his teeth, but clearly wasn't going to say anything, leaving the talk to his fellow detectives. Shinichi smirked only and suddenly raised his arm, flipping up his watch cover, making a movement like he would shoot the needle from it. Out of reflex Kaito dodged the none existent needle. As he regained his balance with glint of annoyance in his eyes Conan chuckled.

"Nice reflex there. Care to explain why are you wary of my watch?"

Kaito huffed and rolled his eyes "You're a creepy one, 'KID-killer'-chan. Really wonder why I rather watch out for anything you do, since you claim I'm your target? A tip here… I don't wanna end up being killed~"

The boy sighed, seeing he won't accomplish much trying to make him admit anything "We don't have any proof only because we're not trying to catch you, you damn thief. But sometimes you do get sloppy…" He took out of his pocket a small item covered in cloth.

He threw it at Kuroba, who caught it easily and unwrapped it with interest. He blinked a couple of times not showing in any other way his surprise to see a broken monocle, stained with dried blood. He gently ran his finger on its surface.

Conan tucked his hands in his pockets carefully watching every movement Kaito made "I never showed it to the police, nor did I ran any tests on it."

The magician examined his gift for a moment longer in silence. Kaito wondered if he should show them a little trust. Now he still could deny it with ease and destroy the evidence. But could he really convince them he was not KID? He doubt it. He turned the broken monocle in his hand. He remembered having it shot off from his face so long ago and decided, a gift like that was worth a reward. He looked back at the shrunken detective, with a blank expression. Who knew? Maybe the gamble would pay off? He spoke carefully.

"I'm sure KID would be grateful to you for it." With a snap of his fingers he flipped the monocle high into the air and focused his gaze on the child before him "But it still doesn't answer why do you think he needs your help."

Without looking at the falling object he caught the monocle with two fingers. But as the detectives noticed now it wasn't broken anymore. Waiting for an answer Kaito crooked his head, turning the item in his fingers, so sunlight would shine brightly in the smooth glass.

Conan swallowed acknowledging it was the most the teen would do to admit he might be KID. Not that they needed him to admit anything. He saw his eyes were bleached out of any hints of amusement as the thief was carefully judging him. He clearly was interested and that was all they wanted.

"Because he's being assaulted on his heists, usually shot at and any proof about it is being altered or concealed." Kudo stated wondering, if the magician would show any reaction to it.

Kaito smirked "Oh~?" He flipped the monocle into the air again and kept silent until he caught it again "I doubt it would trouble a criminal, that somebody messes with police files. So you think he's in danger, because he's being assaulted?" His voice carried a hint of amusement.

Hattori snorted not sure what the teen was talking about "That would be rather obvious…"

"Hum… I'll ask it from a different angle then… As a fan only concerned for his idol, of course." He smirked at them "How many times has he been shot at?" He focused his attention to the shining item between his fingers.

Hattori huffed annoyed "We told you already the files are being altered, we can't –"

"Let me rephrase that again then." Kaito cut in, without showing any interest in the conversation, focused on playing with the monocle in his fingers "How many have you confirmed, with your limited capabilities?"

Conan and Hattori frowned wondering what the thief was getting at, so it was Hakuba who answered "We confirmed it happened about twenty now, but we're not –"

"Twenty? Quite many if you ask me…" Kaito cut in again and flipped the monocle into the air again, he continued this time not waiting for it to fall "And how many shooters were there usually?" The object he caught wasn't a monocle, but a shiny bullet.

Shinichi gasped finally understanding his train of thought, Hattori turned at his friend, still not sure what to think about it, but understanding something was off.

Hakuba just frowned and answered without any hesitation this time "Lately it's been only one."

"Sounds to me that somebody is bored. Or incredibly stupid." He flipped the bullet and chuckled with amusement "I mean how many times can you shoot a guy to finally understand, that it won't work?" He caught the monocle, but it was again the broken one, only cleaned from any traces of blood. He smirked at his shocked detectives "Doesn't sound to me like he is in much danger, or is in need of help."

"But if they are not trying to kill him… What is their goal?" Hakuba asked in awe.

Kuroba shrugged his arms and spoke with a hint of irritation "How should I know? I'm only a teenage fan." He smirked playing with the monocle he received, spinning it between his fingers, clearly showing that he wouldn't give them anymore tips and was not willing to answer any more questions.

While his detectives were wondering about what he told them, Kaito flipped the monocle into the air again, catching a pencil in his fingers. He kept on tossing the object into the air each time catching a different one – a shiny stone, a coin, a marble, a small comb, tweezers and other small items like that. The monocle didn't appear anymore. He knew his tricks and the way he was ignoring their questions irked the other boys, who were still eyeing him, but that made it more amusing for him. Kaito was idly wondering, if their deductive brains could find an answer to the question that has bothered him for so long now.


At some point he noticed two small girls watching him with sparkling eyes. Kaito smiled softly and winked at them encouraging the children to approach him. When they did he caught the falling object closing it in his palm this time. He leaned towards his viewers covering his closed hand with the other one.

"Three, two, one!" he counted in English and with a small puff of smoke he opened his hand.

The girls gasped delighted seeing a white dove, flapping his wings in the magician's grasp. He moved his hand closer so they could pat the bird. It cooed gently, clearly happy with the treatment. The girls were laughing cheerfully and Kaito's grin widened.

"Ojou-chans~… would you like to see another trick?" He sang at them softly catching their attention.

The girls nodded their heads fast in their excitement, taking their hands from the dove. There was another small puff of smoke, that covered the bird and when it dissipated the animal was replaced with two white flowers held in his hand. The girls clapped their hands, but Kaito stopped them holding up his finger of his free hand. He gently tapped petals of each flower causing a small eruption of confetti and a tiny plushie dove fell from each, hanging on them attached by a chain. He gave the flowers to the girls who started squealing with delight and ran away towards their parents to show them what they received. Kaito straightened watching them with a cheerful grin. His expression changed fast into annoyance, as he felt three detectives eyeing him with intensively.

"What?" He asked turning to the pint-sized detective, who was now standing next to him.

Conan shook his head smiling at the magician "Nothing, that was just nice of you…"

"Don't even think I'll give you a flower. You're too creepy…" 'and evil' his eyes added "I'm sure it would wilt fast, if I did." He explained smirking.

The child showed an unimpressed expression and Heiji started laughing, bringing the magicians attention to his still-unpranked-self. Kaito looked around, focusing his sight for a brief moment on small flowers growing in the grass and grinned in a way that usually made his classmates shiver.

"Hm… I wonder…" He murmured quietly and a smoke covered the Osakan cutting off his laugh.

When the cover dissipated Kaito was standing behind Hakuba, so he would have him between himself and the dark skinned teen. He watched his work with satisfaction nodding at it.

"I knew it~"

The cheerful expression on magician's and shocked on the two detectives' faces only made Hattori more anxious.

"What did you do this time?" He growled annoyed touching his hair "Huh..?"

There was some kind of stiff layer on them. Hakuba passed him his hand-mirror, so he could see himself. Whatever Kaito used on him made his hair sparkling with daisies neatly tucked between them. Heiji opened his mouth wanting to comment this, but closed it again. Instead he turned his annoyed look at the magician, who started laughing openly, pointing a finger at him, barely holding his anger.

"Get. This. Off. Me!"

"Aww~ But it suits you so well~ I know~! I should take a picture and send it to your friend!" He took out of his pocket a phone, that looked awfully like Heiji's phone.

Conan laughed dryly seeing his friend chasing the thief around Hakuba, who tried hard to stop both of them, or at least get out.


The smile faded of Shinichi's face, as he started pondering again over what Kuroba told them. His eyes were following the laughing teen and he wondered, if he would answer, if they managed to find the right question. Or maybe he would be willing to tell them more, if they managed to answer his puzzle. But it was also possible he didn't know it himself. The only problem was that he left them with too little data. They deduced that people targeting him were most likely after the same item that the thief was looking for. And most probably neither of them knew what exactly it was. Thus the heists and the constant rejections of the most expensive gems in the world. Considering KID didn't have any ulterior motive, he probably had only a hint of an idea what he was looking for and had to examine the jewel closely to determine, if it was the correct one.

They spoke loud enough for him to hear their deductions, but he didn't show any expression to acknowledge any of their conclusions and only continued with his antics. Clearly he didn't want them to know what he was after, or maybe figured that they didn't need to know? Grimly Kudo had to agree that for this puzzle they probably didn't. And only their curiosity was bringing up the question. So all that mattered was that KID and the other party were after the same object. Considering those guys didn't want to kill him, meant that they probably needed him. But why shoot him at all then? They could just watch from afar and wait… Shinichi gasped and smirked as a few more puzzles fell in place when he connected everything he and other detectives deduced.

"They had to show themselves to him at some point. Why?" He asked loud enough for all three teens to hear him.

Kaito shoot him a surprised gaze and Hattori stopped chasing him. The other two detectives averted their gazes at the magician, who crooked his head and raised an eyebrow, showing he didn't understand what Kudo meant by that. Conan tucked his hands into his pockets and calmly explained, carefully watching the thief.

"The people who target KID. They had to meet with him for some reason, at some point, despite not willing to work together. Most probably they had to tell him something. So now they can't hide again, or he might think that they found what they were looking for, or are not interested in it anymore. That might cause KID to stop his heists. And for some reason they want him to keep looking. Am I right? What did they tell you?"

KID's Poker Face went solid, without any cracks, not showing even a hint of emotions, neither on his face nor in his eyes. Kaito buried himself deep in thought recalling once again the mysterious phone call he picked up on the street after one of his random heists, way back when he didn't know yet what he was looking for. He didn't find it too strange much back then only because of the gravity of what the voice told him. Only after some time he started questioning how did they know he was there. And why did they want his attention. 'Blue Birthday' heist was the first one he was shot at and he nearly died back then. Was it a coincidence it was then when he learned what and why he was looking for? Back then he was still naïve and excited to finally find his purpose. But he wasn't anymore… He knew he had exceptional luck. But he learned not to believe in coincidences too much. He figured himself that for some reason they wanted him to hear the explanation. But he never managed to answer why. Could Tantei-kun be right? Why would they want him to search for Pandora? He turned the question around. Why didn't they find Pandora themselves during those eight years, when there was no KID to bother them? He knew they had enough power and resources to be able to… In the end the number of possible gems that could hold it was finite and not that great. There had to be something more to it… Was he himself somehow important to finding the jewel?

Suddenly Hakuba's shout brought him back to the present. He grinned challenging at his detectives several feet under him, as he was balancing on a wire, spread between two buildings. He felt waves of pain flowing through his body, as adrenaline was leaving his system. He hummed showing amusement he didn't feel, recalling what happened. He was careful not to show how dizzy he was feeling. He cursed silently his habit to let his body work by itself, while he was busy thinking. Clearly also he felt too much at ease around those guys…


Kaito always found it easiest to think while he was moving. It came in handy usually as he couldn't afford to stand still during a heist and it allowed him to be more flexible with multi-tasking. Unfortunately it wasn't always perfect, as he could react only to things he programmed himself to or was familiar with. That meant that he wouldn't run nor hide, if he didn't feel threatened. And that he might not show any restrain when he did. So without noticing it himself, after his consciousness buried itself he sighed tucking his hands in his pockets. He smirked at other teens and shrugged like he would be ignoring the question again. He turned his back on them and started walking towards the city, leaving his detectives.

Hakuba called to him, but as he didn't respond and ignored him they decided to follow him. He didn't seem to mind their presence or notice it at all. Hattori noticed with a whisper how silent the thief was now. The Brit was shocked when he pointed it out. Kuroba didn't make any sound at all. The Osakan tried to mimic him, but failed. He could be quiet, but his clothes, or rubble he stepped on made slight noises. Shinichi focused more on his movement, seeing how precise and focused it was. Just like on the first heist of the fatal series. He smirked wondering where the thief was leading them, or if he was even aware that he was. They all were thinking the same thing and so they followed him silently. At some point they heard him cluck and a moment later he bumped with somebody. He apologized sheepishly to an annoyed man and turned into the next alley. Once there, with a tired huff, he pulled out a gun from his pocket and started taking out the bullets. That shocked Hattori who spoke startled.

"Oi! What the hell? Where did you get that?"

As he reached to him the thief seemed to take notice of the detective for the first time during their travel and everything afterwards turned into a blur, as he started moving faster than they thought he could. The gun vanished, just like that, without any smoke or other distraction and KID swirled towards Hattori hooking his elbow with detective's. With the momentum they turned around forcefully towards the other teen. As Hakuba was in his way, he pushed him away with his foot and used the energy of the kick to move his lower body upwards. He unlocked his elbow with Hattori and with centrifugal force he allowed his body to ascend a bit, before gravity reclaimed back it's rights. He placed then his hand on the Osakan's shoulder, just in time for him to support all his body weight on it. For a slight moment, when he was facing the other teen upside-down, he showed him a predatory grin, with his eyes showing nothing, but complete focus. As the move continued he flipped over Heiji, just like he did the other day over the bench, and landed on a fire escape of an adjacent building. Once there he immediately sprang towards a wire spread between buildings and grabbed it. Using the momentum again he turned over it and landed on it with his feet, ready to run.

"Kuroba! Snap out of it!" Hakuba let out a loud shout.

Balancing on the line Kaito stopped suddenly, relaxing his muscles. He tucked his hands into his pockets and grinned challenging at them, as if nothing unusual happened.

The most fascinating thing about this astonishing, rapid show of skill was, that not for one moment he moved his right arm and just barely used his left leg.


So seems our detectives managed to finally scratch the edge of the true problem at hand. Wonder how Kaito will try to shake them off now?

Yeah, I could go on, but the chapter is already long, so I thought why not leave it with a little cliffy and update faster, since I'll be too busy to write anything more during the week? ;)

Hope you enjoyed it.

See you next chapter *bow* ;)