Ladies and gentlemen! I humbly welcome you to the seventeenth chapter of this story!
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Despite what Ginzo had thought KID had not left the museum grounds. In fact, he didn't even leave the Main Gallery building. Instead he had crumpled himself on a decorative ledge above the, now empty, pedestal. He hid himself behind a white screen, which he installed the day before and made the ledge look shallower than it really was.

He wasn't happy with this heist, as he missed the opportunity to show off before a large crowd but he feared that if he did show up there would be a shooting. And when bullets flew in a crowd there always was a risk of innocent victims.

While he was tempted to leave the building in a disguise he figured that there always was a chance that someone would recognize him and out him to his enemies. Which is why he decided that it would be better if he stayed motionless in a tiny, crumpled space. For hours. With only his thoughts to distract him and keep him away until everyone left.

Just brilliant…

Especially when it led him to worrying whether or not the Tiny Death Magnet would actually listen to his advice and stay out of trouble… Worst was that he never managed to spot Conan around the Main Gallery which now was driving him crazy. There was no way the twerp would lay low, was there..? Maybe Kaito should rethink his strategy and actually go looking for him..?

Just to make sure..?

…

And then suddenly he wasn't on the ledge anymore. He rolled off it and started running towards the door before he really registered what he had heard.

Gunshots. Two of them.

He would think later of the how's and why's, what mattered now was to keep Aoko's father and his men away from it. As he reached it, he grabbed the door handle and swirled around using the momentum. For a brief second he saw Ginzo yelling at him and trying to run after him. Too late. Kaito slammed the door and activated the electromagnet in the frame he had prepared for the heist. It wouldn't hold them in for long, they would leave the gallery through the huge windows. But they would waste time first on the door and that was enough. Had to be.

Don't think. Act and react. He scolded himself and spun around to take in the scene. Notice the people, where they were running away from in panic and see the two figures who didn't fit in the picture. A boy with sparks coming from his shoe (Kaito's feet started moving towards him the moment he laid his eyes on him) and a larger one. Male, falling down onto the ground with a black and white sphere still hovering above his head. Both near each other, half hidden behind a statue. On the open stretch which leads to the cliff.

The perfect shooting range…

Kaito didn't shout a warning, nor make any other sound. He couldn't waste his breath that could slow him down. Instead, he grabbed a remote and pressed all the buttons on it.

The boy (bespeckled, with an all too familiar cowlick) twitched, startled as he saw sparks suddenly shooting from the ground just a few meters to his right quickly accompanied by streams of smoke shooting towards the sky. He must have noticed the movement because in the last second he turned facing Kaito.

"Hey-!" he started but didn't get to finish as the white blur all but slammed into him, grabbing him into a whirlwind as Kaito rapidly spun in place, using the collision to change his direction without the loss of momentum.

A bullet dug itself in the ground right where he was supposed to have stepped if he hadn't.

"Hold your breath…" Kaito gasped out in between pants, not wasting energy for unnecessary words and jumped into the wall of sparks and smoke.

He didn't see anything, could hear nearly nothing above the hiss and squeak of the police gas mask covering his face, mixed with the hiss of the smoke and spark ejectors, and occasional shots fired in his general direction. He knew that once the shooters saw him, they would follow him instead of risking clashing with the police if they didn't need to. He just needed to escape and lure them away.

He made sure to spin every now and then, making it impossible to predict where he was and forcing the smoke to swirl around, confusing any and all onlookers. He had to rely purely on instinct to tell him when he would have to jump to fall over the cliff while avoiding hitting the stone railing. But he knew that luck wasn't on his side this time. The wind was dispersing his cover faster than he could move. Soon he - they would be wide open for a shot. He had to keep moving erratically, ignore the squirming weight under his arm that was pushing him off balance and reach the fall.

The smoke was already gone but the sparks burned afterimages in his eyes rendering him nearly blind.

It didn't matter.

He needed only a few more steps before the jump. Suddenly a sharp pain cut through his right calf. He extended an arm and barrel wheeled using the momentum. Jumped over the railing and grinned like a maniac under his mask at the shady figures running towards him right before all he could see was rock and moss covering it as he was falling down. Dangerously close.

He spun around and deployed his glider. A violent gust of wind yanked him up, threatening to throw him back at the rocky wall. He somehow managed to turn to the side, avoiding the treacherous gust and falling forward, in between the trees while the first bullets started chasing them again. Suddenly there was a crack. Kaito wasn't sure if they hit a branch or whether it was a lucky shot that finally reached them. Whatever it was, one of the supporting beams broke and they rolled falling into the foliage. In the last moment Kaito wrapped his arms around Conan, trying to shield him from the impact.

Fortunately the fall wasn't too high but it still pushed the wind out of his lungs as his back hit the ground.

After a few shaky breaths, he finally remembered to release his death grip over Conan allowing the boy to roll over next to him. He was panting just as hard. Kaito closed his eyes trying to disperse the afterimages the sparklers left in his vision, rethinking his future use of them. He reached to his face and tore off the gas mask that was making it hard for him to breathe and took a deep breath full of fresh air. He let his hands fall limply to the ground, only to tightly clench his fists as he felt tremors shaking his limbs.

His mind started filing through what had just occurred and all the possible what ifs. But he couldn't allow it now. There would be time later for it, now he still needed all his focus. They still weren't safe. But at the same time he had to catch his breath. He needed a distraction.

"Great job keeping a low profile, Meitantei~" he said with a chuckle, without opening his eyes or turning his head.

Conan spun to look at him with fury. "What the h..! What happened there?!" he demanded.

Kaito opened his eyes and turned his head to look at him with a grin. "I saved your life. You're welcome by the way~"

"Ha?!" Conan exclaimed, disbelieving and threw his hand pointing roughly where they came from. "I saved your life, you idiot! We could see you in the corners of the windows when the flashlight illuminated you! The guy knew where you hid and was about to kill you!"

Kaito hummed in a dismissing tone. He hadn't taken that into account but would be damned if he admitted it. Instead he got up to his feet and... Poker face, poker face. He turned to look at his tiny critic.

"While this was a very nice chat, I believe that you should be leaving now," he said in what he hoped was enough neutral tone to fool the detective, as he struggled to hide the pain throbbing in his calf.

There was no way he could run anymore.

Conan's jaw clicked as he was about to say something, then closed his mouth and tried again. "What are you on now about?"

Kaito rolled his eyes and started taking off his white suit, revealing black ones underneath. He was probably like a lantern with it on while in the dark forest. "I'm afraid our flight was a tad bit too short and we will be having company all too soon-" he started explaining but was rudely interrupted.

"I'm asking what the hell do you mean by 'you'? What are you plotting?"

Kaito grabbed the few necessary things from his pockets and stuffed his clothes inside a foldable duffle bag, handling it to Conan roughly. "There's a road about 600 meters away further down that way," he pointed in a general direction he remembered from the maps he studied before the heist. "Once you reach it, turn left and you should reach a small shrine. You should be able to hide there and call someone to pick you up."

Intuitively, Conan grabbed the offered bag but continued to argue. "I'm not going anywhere without you. We're going to-"

"You have at most only one ball left in your belt and one dart in your watch. You'll only weigh me down. Instead I want you to take this bag and don't let them get it. I'm going to lure them away and leave them in the dust. That's what I do best after all~" he added with a shameless grin.

On the inside he prayed for Conan to take the bait. The guy wouldn't leave a mystery and danger behind unless he had a mission and a promise of explanation. On top of that, he was making a big gamble leaving potential evidence in the hands of his adversary. But he didn't have the time, or a better idea, that could convince the guy. In the end, it was a problem for future Kaito to deal with. For now it was more important to get rid of Conan and wrap the injury before he had started feeling dizzy.

Conan pursed his lips, wrapped in an internal struggle. Despite how resourceful he was, he had to be aware just how helpless he would be if more than two, or tops three, people came.

"Tick-tock, Tantei-kun~" Kaito sing-sanged as he heard a branch break in the distance, while keeping his steady gaze at the boy before him.

Conan looked up to glare at him but he matched it with an easy-going smile, as if he had not a care in the world. Finally, the boy turned his gaze away with a sharp "Tsk," as he pulled the bag over his back. "You better not die and explain all of this later," he warned with a growl.

Kaito flashed him a grin and replied cheerfully with a chuckle "Of course~"

Thankfully Conan didn't argue further and settled for one last glare before running off in the pointed direction. Without waiting any longer, Kaito spun around on his uninjured leg behind a tree and dropped to the ground, pulling out a handkerchief to stop the bleeding. He tried not to think of the multiple sounds before him of his enemies closing in on him, as he took stock of what he had left.

Two smoke bombs, one sleeping gas bomb and one flash granade. Far less than he had hoped but it had to be enough. He would make it enough.

He got up on his feet and hid behind a tree, staring into the darkness. He had to wait for the right moment if he wanted to pull it off. Nobody knew that he couldn't run. He could do it.

He was pleased with Conan - barely hearing him moving through the foliage behind him, further and further away. And then he saw movement before him. Without waiting any longer he threw one of the smoke bombs, so it would land a little to the right of his target. Somebody shot a gun and three more followed, missing where Kaito was completely, but he retaliated by throwing a flash grenade towards where they aimed and dropped to the ground, hiding behind the foliage.

He tried to remain motionless and as quiet as possible, barely breathing, even when someone stepped far too close to where he was hiding. More shots were fired, way too close for comfort.

"Get back here, KID!" the man yelled with anger. "You can't escape us forever!"

In the background trees wailed above them and he felt a particularly strong gust from above, adding to the overall dread, but he dismissed it. More focused on the fact that if anyone looked towards him it could very well spell his end.

As it turned out he should have paid more attention to the wind. Because it wasn't just a wind at all, as it became evident when threatening yells turned into screams of pure terror and the gloomy night turned brighter than day.

Still motionless on the ground, Kaito was unable to breathe as he stared at a wall of fire just a few steps before him. He saw silhouettes of people against the inferno, scrambling about. Running for their lives. And above it all, above the roar of flames, the screams and shots, he heard the most dreaded sound for him. The flap of leathery wings, too close above him.

He felt dizzy and slowly the scene around him seemed to fade and morph into another one.

The flames now were everywhere around him, scalding his skin. All he could hear was people screaming in panic, trampling around him and the wailing of burning wood. He choked on smoke, as it filled his too small lungs, making it hard to breathe. He tried shielding his face with his tiny hands from the raging heat. His eyes were filled with tears from all the debris and smoke. Somebody tried to grab him but he pulled away. He had to find his dad. His dad was still there - in the heart of the inferno! He raised his gaze and lost his breath from the sheer terror that filled his heart. Because in the midst of the raging red and orange flames he saw a shadow of huge wings spreading around a long, spiked neck and enormous head. Its jaws opened, revealing rows of sharp teeth hiding pure white flames glowing within the monster's mouth. And then it let out a breath, spilling the heat over where Kaito's father was.

Next thing he knew branches were breaking on his face and sides as he sped through the forest and then through the clouds. He didn't know where he was going, he wasn't even able to think. He barely saw anything before him and only kept moving forward, unaware even of the blood dripping from his leg, staining the grass and leaves below.

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