A Blanket for Protection and Warmth
Inspector Nakamori was not a complete idiot. He never would have made it to the rank of 'Inspector' if he had been. But he knew he wasn't quite as good as, say Kudo Shin'ichi. So he relied on his other talents, stubbornness, purpose, integrity, to make up for it.
But even he knew when he was being played for a sap.
After having chased the illusive Kid for almost over 20 years now, ordinary criminals seemed... boring. They lacked the mental thrill of the chase, the plotting, the planning and the strategies. And of course, there was the cardinal rule of the Kid.
No one gets hurt.
With the Kid, it was like a game. There were certain rules and patterns it followed. The notes and warnings he sent out were a giant 'Tag! You're it!' sign. Then there was the plotting on how to stop him long enough to catch him. This, of course, never seemed to work, which led to the chase. The Kid would eventually disappear and the prize would somehow re-appear. Then he and his men would re-group, come up with new ways to catch him and wait for the next note. It was fun, in a strange way. But no one ever got hurt, except for thru their own stupidity. Even the property damage was always minimal.
It was more dangerous to ticket cars than it was to try to catch the thief.
They had been able to capture copy-cats, people who admired the Kid for his skills and wished to take some of that reputation for their own, because they ignored that cardinal rule.
But lately, the game had been changing, becoming more dangerous. An element had been added, one that he hadn't seen since right before the Kid vanished the first time.
A third party had made their presence known. And it wasn't a very welcome party.
The Kid's playing had shifted to accommodate it. Where as in the past he would take his time to play with them, occasionally even taunt them or ask how their families were. Now the heists were in and out. Quick, efficient, and with the minimum amount of contact.
The arrival of the occasional bullet striking the place where the Kid had been before set everyone on edge. Somewhere along the line, the Kid had picked up some very dangerous enemies. Ones who didn't just want him behind bars, but wanted him -dead-.
As a policeman, this concerned him deeply. As the thief's primary opponent, this pissed him off. HE was the only one allowed to capture the Kid.
His men had taken it upon themselves to attempt to get the 3rd party as well. Who ever they were, they were much much worse than the Kid was.
Tonight's caper had brought everything to a head. The prize in question wasn't even worth all that much money, it had more historical value than monetary. And even then, it wasn't worth much. But a heist was a heist, and another chance to catch the Kid.
The Kid had been in and out of the building before they were even aware that he was there. His laughter as he prepared to glide away had been the only thing that had alerted them to his presence. For a moment, it was almost like old times.
Then they showed up on a nearby rooftop. There were shouts, something about 'warnings', giving them the stone and the Kid's father. He had just gotten to the roof when the sound of a bullet slicing thru the air echoed and the Kid dodged, taking to the air.
His men split up, some to catch the Kid, others to stop the sniper. Predictably, the Kid vanished into the night sky. How it was possible to disappear into the darkness while wearing something -that- bright of a white was still a mystery. Although the bank of clouds covering the sky in preparation for rain might have had something to do with it.
Pot shots were taken at some of his men. It was probably done to try and draw the Kid back, and it worked. Smoke bombs went off where the people had been hiding. His men, well trained in catching the thief, knew what that meant.
Dog pile on the bandit.
Surprisingly, it worked better on the gangsters than it did on the Kid. Except for one punk who took offence to being grabbed and pushed back.
Knocking of his men over the edge of the building. The local buildings weren't the tallest in the city, but they were tall enough that someone would have a chance to wave good bye before splatting on the ground.
Only the flying Kid interfered, diving down to grab the man in tenuous grip and manuvering them over a nearby smaller building. The Kid was obviously straining, the flight was erratic and Nakamori expected the glider to break at any second. For the first time, he had actually found himself cheering the Kid on.
No one gets hurt.
Except for this time.
The Kid safely dropped the officer in time for a large gust of wind to catch the glider's sail. As they watched, the thief flipped and tumbled head over heels across the rooftop before crashing over the edge of the building and disappearing from sight.
Normally, that would have been where the chase ended. However, this time the little voice in the back of his head suggested that he follow the thief. Most people would probably ignore the little voice in the back of their head and consider themselves crazy, but this was the same voice in the back of his head that let him know if someone was following him, or if something in a case didn't match up. He liked to think of it as his cops intuition. So he told his men to finish arresting the people they had caught and went to follow the thief.
The Kid was still alive, but definitely injured. He found small pieces of glider on the sidewalk below the rooftop the thief had disappeared off of, and a few drops of a dark liquid that could have been either blood or oil. He would have bet on the former. Not even the Kid would walk away from a crash like that unscathed.
A glimpse of white out of the corner of his eye caught his attention, and he turned in time to see the kid limp around the corner. With mixed caution and triumph, he had trailed the Kid to a local subway line, where the Kid got on a train.
Fortunately for Nakamori, he recognised the train line. It was the same one he took when he went home via the train instead of by car. The Inspector attempted to get into the car, but ran out of time and ended up in the car behind. Both cars were virtually empty, it being late at night. He crouched down and tried to pretend to be invisible, all the while watching his opponent.
The Phantom Thief struck him as being very old, for some reason. He moved like an old man, someone who was older than their years. Not at all like the usual cocky appearance that he usually had. Nakamori supposed that being dropped off a large building would do that to someone.
The train ride wasn't all that long, and the Kid appeared to fall asleep. The Inspector took the opportunity to sneak forward and try to open the door that separated the 2 cars. The Kid's damnable luck held, and the door was stubbornly stuck. It was infuriating to be so close to capturing his objective, and yet so far.
They came to a familiar stop, and the Kid rose, walking out of the car. Nakamori quickly followed, and attempted to grab him before he could leave the terminal. Once again, the thief had the greatest luck. A horde of drunk merry makers got in his way, preventing him from getting close to the Kid.
He finally got out of the terminal just in time to see a flash of white disappear around the corner. Feeling like something out of 'Alice in Wonderland', he gave chase. Only discover what he had seen was a stray cat, going for it's nightly walk.
Resisting the urge to growl or punt the cat into lower earth orbit, he turned around, looking for any sign of the Kid.
On a stray bit of luck, this time in his favour, he spot the Kid making his way down the street, several blocks over. The phantom thief turned a corner, disappearing again.
Nakamori gave a sharp cry of victory and ran after. He stopped as he recognised the street they were on.
It was the street he lived on.
He stopped attempting to follow the Kid and sprinted for his house, a feeling of foreboding in his gut.
Most creatures, be they human or animal will usually unconsciously return to the place they feel safest at when injured. A part of him had hoped the Kid would lead him back to his lair. But people, especially when injured and hunted, also had a habit of acting irrationally and doing things they normally wouldn't do.
He also knew Aoko was home, most likely asleep by now.
No one gets hurt.
The Kid was injured.
Had the rules changed?
The front door was locked when he rushed up, and he quickly unlocked it, falling into stealth mode as he did so, his gun in his hand.
The house was quiet, peaceful.
Except for the sounds of Aoko shouting at someone in the bathroom. Well, now he knew where the Kid was.
He wasn't sure if he should be proud of his daughter for pinning the thief, or if he should be furious. Aoko was now right between him and the Kid. The Kid couldn't leave with her there, but despite her probable best intentions, he couldn't just barge in and nab the Kid while he could use her as a shield.
But he could keep an eye on her. Nakamori quietly snuck up the stairs as they talked, and was about to peek in the bathroom door when he heard something that made him freeze.
"Did you know I'm planning my retirement from being a thief?"
His daughter summed his feelings perfectly. "You can't retire yet, Dad hasn't caught you!"
The thief? Retire? That was impossible! It wasn't just the fact that he hadn't caught the Kid, but the principal of the thing! He'd been chasing the Kid as a rookie cop, the thief had become a mainstay in his life. To imagine not having the Kid to chase, a goal to pursue, was almost impossible!
"Would you like see why?"
Nakamori blinked. Why? That was a rather funny question. He risked a peek around the door, just in time to see the Kid make a small rock materialise from thin air, tonight's treasure.
Aoko didn't seem all that impressed by it. He couldn't blame her. It wasn't even as if the rock was all that expensive either, it had to be one of the Kid's cheaper thefts.
He watched in tense silence as his daughter 'helped' with a magic trick, his gun in hand, ready to strike at the first false move. The Kid made no strange movements, just placing the rock in his daughter's hand and placing a handkerchief on top. There was a small chant to the count of three, then the handkerchief came off.
As a magic trick, it was rather disappointing. At least until he saw what the Kid had pulled from the heart of the rock.
This stone glowed.
That wasn't a normal stone. If he didn't know better, he'd say it was magical. And from the look on the thief's face, it wasn't glowing because of the Kid's so called magical abilities.
The Kid's face turned melancholy as he made a comment that turned Nakamori's world on his ear.
"They killed my father for it." He said, a depth of sadness in his voice.
Spirits above and below, his Father.
Both his heart and the world seemed to twist and stretch, then pop back into place like an elastic band.
Things suddenly made sense. The Kid's 8 year long disappearance, his sudden re-appearance, the changes in the strategy. It all made sense.
He had just been too caught up in the chase to notice it.
No body gets hurt. No wonder.
Nakamori leaned against the wall, sliding down until he was sitting on the floor. He listened silently as his daughter and the thief continued to talk, and became numb when Aoko started to cry. The Kid consoled her, showing more insight and depth than he had ever given the thief for.
It hurt. It hurt to know that he was the cause of his daughter crying. Anger made him see red for a minute. It was all the Kaito Kid's fault. If the thief wasn't running around, he would have to spend all his time chasing him! It wasn't his fault he wasn't here for his daughter!
Aoko's choked laughter brought a splash of logic to his anger fuzzed brain. Yes, yes it was his fault. Even when the Kid wasn't around, he still didn't spend all that much time with her. He and his daughter hardly knew each other any more, much less talked.
Hell, even the Kid knew more about his daughter than he did!
He barely had enough time to scramble to his bedroom door as Aoko suddenly walked out of the bathroom, the broom clasped in one hand, a tired yet rare peaceful expression on her face. At that moment, she looked so much like her mother, it hurt.
Less than a minute later, she came back, one of her throw pillows tucked under an arm. He waited as she fussed over the thief in the bathtub. Their conversation was short, then Aoko walked back out, heading to the dining room down stairs. He listened as she paused, then headed towards her room and climbed in her bed.
He could hear her breathing slow down and knew she was asleep. There was no noise from the bathroom.
No one gets hurt.
How many people had he hurt inadvertently in his pursuit of the Kid? What else had he missed?
Nakamori suddenly felt very old. Every game had an end, and it was time to end this one. Probably past time. The Kid seemed to be ready, almost happy to. And maybe it was time for him to stop too.
There was more to life than Kid the Phantom. He'd signed on to the police force originally to stop crime and help make a difference. It was probably past time for him to return to that.
With a sigh, he rose and headed for the closet and pulled out a blanket. The Phantom Thief had saved the life of one of his men tonight. One night's safe haven was a small price to pay in return.
He slunk quietly walked into the bathroom, carrying the bundle of fabric in one hand. He paused beside the bathtub, looking down at the slumbering form within it.
It was often said that people looked younger while they slept. And he knew now, on an intellectual level, that the Kid he had been chasing as of late was not the same person that he had chased 20 years ago. But it was still rather jarring to see this Kid, see the small differences that set him apart from the orginal Kid and have it rubbed in his face.
He never was going to catch the Kid. Because the Kid he had been chasing had been dead for 8 years now. He'd been chasing a ghost. An illusive phantom.
And it was time to put this particular ghost to rest.
With a practiced flick of his wrist, he opened the blanket and threw it over the body of the person who had been his adversary for the past few years. As he watched the blanket drape it's self over the Kid's still form, he felt a particular sense of relief, almost like freedom. He had finally caught the Kid. Even if it was for the first and last time.
The Kid stirred, his eyes opening halfway, and blurrily focusing on him. He looked exhausted, yet not surprised to see him. He'd probably known at least part of the time that he was there. Or not. It was hard to tell.
"Inspector-?"
He adopted his normal gruff attitude, scowling and crossing his arms. "Are you really retiring?" He demanded.
Kid nodded a few times, then grimaced, realising that wasn't a good idea. "I'll make you a deal, Inspector." He sat up a little straighter in the tub, but continued to lean on it for support. "If you use the men you caught today to uncover the rest of their organization and I'll make sure you never see hat nor cape of the Kid again."
He studied the boy for a moment. The Kid was sincere, he could tell that much. "What about the monocle?" He asked, unable to resist the jibe.
The boy gingerly touched the glass that covered the side of his face. "I think I'll keep that." He smiled fondly. "It's my good luck charm."
"Aa." He nodded. It was most likely the Kid's fathers, one last gift from the dead. They stared at each other for a moment, the Inspectors face dark and scowling, the thief's face tired yet smiling. Finally Nakamori cleared his throat and motioned toward the blanket.
"This is just for tonight." He growled. "Because you saved my man's life. I want you out of here before daybreak. Without anyone seeing you."
"Not a-" The Kid yawned. "-problem. G'night, Inspector." He curled back up into the tub, pulling the blanket a little higher to cover part of his face as he fell asleep.
Nakamori grunted in reply, then turned leave. He paused for a moment, looking back at the Kid's slumbering form. Except for the faint outline of the top hat hidden in the shadows, the outline under the blankets, the Kid could have been anyone.
Been anyone's son.
With a small click, a vital fact that he had been missing finally snapped into place.
The Kid wasn't just some Phantom Thief. The Kid was human as well.
No one gets hurt.
Because everyone needs to be protected sometimes too.
Fin.
Um... yeah. Rather disjointed IMHO. Is /hard/ to get into Nakamori's head, he's so thick skulled!
Why a bathtub?
1: It was going to rain soon, and he needed a place to rest, at least until the rain stopped. So he climbed into the first open window he saw. Not his fault it just happened to the Nakamori's house... ^^;;
2: Would you really expect to find the Kid hiding in a bathtub? I think not.
3: The voices just really really liked the mental picture of the Kid asleep in a bathtub. Had that mental pic looooong before we found the fanart that started all this.
4: Why not?! *rolls with laughter*
'Sympathy for the Devil'
This comes from Greek mytho, the story of Persephone whom Hades had kidnapped and dragged down to the Underworld. Toward the end of the story, she ends up eating some seeds of a Pomegranate and is rather surprised at the rush of sympathy for Hades, stuck in the underworld and ends up staying with him half of each year, eventually learning to love her dark husband.
The story was orginally going to be called 'Bathtubs, Blankets and Cake', but 'Sympathy for the Devil' kinda fell in there and stuck.
Primiarly because this ended up being about both the Nakamori seeing the Kid for the first time as a human instead of a faceless deamon that haunts them.
I know there's a Rolling Stones/Mick Jagger song out there of the same name, but I'm going off of what I remember from school. #^^#
Inspector Nakamori was not a complete idiot. He never would have made it to the rank of 'Inspector' if he had been. But he knew he wasn't quite as good as, say Kudo Shin'ichi. So he relied on his other talents, stubbornness, purpose, integrity, to make up for it.
But even he knew when he was being played for a sap.
After having chased the illusive Kid for almost over 20 years now, ordinary criminals seemed... boring. They lacked the mental thrill of the chase, the plotting, the planning and the strategies. And of course, there was the cardinal rule of the Kid.
No one gets hurt.
With the Kid, it was like a game. There were certain rules and patterns it followed. The notes and warnings he sent out were a giant 'Tag! You're it!' sign. Then there was the plotting on how to stop him long enough to catch him. This, of course, never seemed to work, which led to the chase. The Kid would eventually disappear and the prize would somehow re-appear. Then he and his men would re-group, come up with new ways to catch him and wait for the next note. It was fun, in a strange way. But no one ever got hurt, except for thru their own stupidity. Even the property damage was always minimal.
It was more dangerous to ticket cars than it was to try to catch the thief.
They had been able to capture copy-cats, people who admired the Kid for his skills and wished to take some of that reputation for their own, because they ignored that cardinal rule.
But lately, the game had been changing, becoming more dangerous. An element had been added, one that he hadn't seen since right before the Kid vanished the first time.
A third party had made their presence known. And it wasn't a very welcome party.
The Kid's playing had shifted to accommodate it. Where as in the past he would take his time to play with them, occasionally even taunt them or ask how their families were. Now the heists were in and out. Quick, efficient, and with the minimum amount of contact.
The arrival of the occasional bullet striking the place where the Kid had been before set everyone on edge. Somewhere along the line, the Kid had picked up some very dangerous enemies. Ones who didn't just want him behind bars, but wanted him -dead-.
As a policeman, this concerned him deeply. As the thief's primary opponent, this pissed him off. HE was the only one allowed to capture the Kid.
His men had taken it upon themselves to attempt to get the 3rd party as well. Who ever they were, they were much much worse than the Kid was.
Tonight's caper had brought everything to a head. The prize in question wasn't even worth all that much money, it had more historical value than monetary. And even then, it wasn't worth much. But a heist was a heist, and another chance to catch the Kid.
The Kid had been in and out of the building before they were even aware that he was there. His laughter as he prepared to glide away had been the only thing that had alerted them to his presence. For a moment, it was almost like old times.
Then they showed up on a nearby rooftop. There were shouts, something about 'warnings', giving them the stone and the Kid's father. He had just gotten to the roof when the sound of a bullet slicing thru the air echoed and the Kid dodged, taking to the air.
His men split up, some to catch the Kid, others to stop the sniper. Predictably, the Kid vanished into the night sky. How it was possible to disappear into the darkness while wearing something -that- bright of a white was still a mystery. Although the bank of clouds covering the sky in preparation for rain might have had something to do with it.
Pot shots were taken at some of his men. It was probably done to try and draw the Kid back, and it worked. Smoke bombs went off where the people had been hiding. His men, well trained in catching the thief, knew what that meant.
Dog pile on the bandit.
Surprisingly, it worked better on the gangsters than it did on the Kid. Except for one punk who took offence to being grabbed and pushed back.
Knocking of his men over the edge of the building. The local buildings weren't the tallest in the city, but they were tall enough that someone would have a chance to wave good bye before splatting on the ground.
Only the flying Kid interfered, diving down to grab the man in tenuous grip and manuvering them over a nearby smaller building. The Kid was obviously straining, the flight was erratic and Nakamori expected the glider to break at any second. For the first time, he had actually found himself cheering the Kid on.
No one gets hurt.
Except for this time.
The Kid safely dropped the officer in time for a large gust of wind to catch the glider's sail. As they watched, the thief flipped and tumbled head over heels across the rooftop before crashing over the edge of the building and disappearing from sight.
Normally, that would have been where the chase ended. However, this time the little voice in the back of his head suggested that he follow the thief. Most people would probably ignore the little voice in the back of their head and consider themselves crazy, but this was the same voice in the back of his head that let him know if someone was following him, or if something in a case didn't match up. He liked to think of it as his cops intuition. So he told his men to finish arresting the people they had caught and went to follow the thief.
The Kid was still alive, but definitely injured. He found small pieces of glider on the sidewalk below the rooftop the thief had disappeared off of, and a few drops of a dark liquid that could have been either blood or oil. He would have bet on the former. Not even the Kid would walk away from a crash like that unscathed.
A glimpse of white out of the corner of his eye caught his attention, and he turned in time to see the kid limp around the corner. With mixed caution and triumph, he had trailed the Kid to a local subway line, where the Kid got on a train.
Fortunately for Nakamori, he recognised the train line. It was the same one he took when he went home via the train instead of by car. The Inspector attempted to get into the car, but ran out of time and ended up in the car behind. Both cars were virtually empty, it being late at night. He crouched down and tried to pretend to be invisible, all the while watching his opponent.
The Phantom Thief struck him as being very old, for some reason. He moved like an old man, someone who was older than their years. Not at all like the usual cocky appearance that he usually had. Nakamori supposed that being dropped off a large building would do that to someone.
The train ride wasn't all that long, and the Kid appeared to fall asleep. The Inspector took the opportunity to sneak forward and try to open the door that separated the 2 cars. The Kid's damnable luck held, and the door was stubbornly stuck. It was infuriating to be so close to capturing his objective, and yet so far.
They came to a familiar stop, and the Kid rose, walking out of the car. Nakamori quickly followed, and attempted to grab him before he could leave the terminal. Once again, the thief had the greatest luck. A horde of drunk merry makers got in his way, preventing him from getting close to the Kid.
He finally got out of the terminal just in time to see a flash of white disappear around the corner. Feeling like something out of 'Alice in Wonderland', he gave chase. Only discover what he had seen was a stray cat, going for it's nightly walk.
Resisting the urge to growl or punt the cat into lower earth orbit, he turned around, looking for any sign of the Kid.
On a stray bit of luck, this time in his favour, he spot the Kid making his way down the street, several blocks over. The phantom thief turned a corner, disappearing again.
Nakamori gave a sharp cry of victory and ran after. He stopped as he recognised the street they were on.
It was the street he lived on.
He stopped attempting to follow the Kid and sprinted for his house, a feeling of foreboding in his gut.
Most creatures, be they human or animal will usually unconsciously return to the place they feel safest at when injured. A part of him had hoped the Kid would lead him back to his lair. But people, especially when injured and hunted, also had a habit of acting irrationally and doing things they normally wouldn't do.
He also knew Aoko was home, most likely asleep by now.
No one gets hurt.
The Kid was injured.
Had the rules changed?
The front door was locked when he rushed up, and he quickly unlocked it, falling into stealth mode as he did so, his gun in his hand.
The house was quiet, peaceful.
Except for the sounds of Aoko shouting at someone in the bathroom. Well, now he knew where the Kid was.
He wasn't sure if he should be proud of his daughter for pinning the thief, or if he should be furious. Aoko was now right between him and the Kid. The Kid couldn't leave with her there, but despite her probable best intentions, he couldn't just barge in and nab the Kid while he could use her as a shield.
But he could keep an eye on her. Nakamori quietly snuck up the stairs as they talked, and was about to peek in the bathroom door when he heard something that made him freeze.
"Did you know I'm planning my retirement from being a thief?"
His daughter summed his feelings perfectly. "You can't retire yet, Dad hasn't caught you!"
The thief? Retire? That was impossible! It wasn't just the fact that he hadn't caught the Kid, but the principal of the thing! He'd been chasing the Kid as a rookie cop, the thief had become a mainstay in his life. To imagine not having the Kid to chase, a goal to pursue, was almost impossible!
"Would you like see why?"
Nakamori blinked. Why? That was a rather funny question. He risked a peek around the door, just in time to see the Kid make a small rock materialise from thin air, tonight's treasure.
Aoko didn't seem all that impressed by it. He couldn't blame her. It wasn't even as if the rock was all that expensive either, it had to be one of the Kid's cheaper thefts.
He watched in tense silence as his daughter 'helped' with a magic trick, his gun in hand, ready to strike at the first false move. The Kid made no strange movements, just placing the rock in his daughter's hand and placing a handkerchief on top. There was a small chant to the count of three, then the handkerchief came off.
As a magic trick, it was rather disappointing. At least until he saw what the Kid had pulled from the heart of the rock.
This stone glowed.
That wasn't a normal stone. If he didn't know better, he'd say it was magical. And from the look on the thief's face, it wasn't glowing because of the Kid's so called magical abilities.
The Kid's face turned melancholy as he made a comment that turned Nakamori's world on his ear.
"They killed my father for it." He said, a depth of sadness in his voice.
Spirits above and below, his Father.
Both his heart and the world seemed to twist and stretch, then pop back into place like an elastic band.
Things suddenly made sense. The Kid's 8 year long disappearance, his sudden re-appearance, the changes in the strategy. It all made sense.
He had just been too caught up in the chase to notice it.
No body gets hurt. No wonder.
Nakamori leaned against the wall, sliding down until he was sitting on the floor. He listened silently as his daughter and the thief continued to talk, and became numb when Aoko started to cry. The Kid consoled her, showing more insight and depth than he had ever given the thief for.
It hurt. It hurt to know that he was the cause of his daughter crying. Anger made him see red for a minute. It was all the Kaito Kid's fault. If the thief wasn't running around, he would have to spend all his time chasing him! It wasn't his fault he wasn't here for his daughter!
Aoko's choked laughter brought a splash of logic to his anger fuzzed brain. Yes, yes it was his fault. Even when the Kid wasn't around, he still didn't spend all that much time with her. He and his daughter hardly knew each other any more, much less talked.
Hell, even the Kid knew more about his daughter than he did!
He barely had enough time to scramble to his bedroom door as Aoko suddenly walked out of the bathroom, the broom clasped in one hand, a tired yet rare peaceful expression on her face. At that moment, she looked so much like her mother, it hurt.
Less than a minute later, she came back, one of her throw pillows tucked under an arm. He waited as she fussed over the thief in the bathtub. Their conversation was short, then Aoko walked back out, heading to the dining room down stairs. He listened as she paused, then headed towards her room and climbed in her bed.
He could hear her breathing slow down and knew she was asleep. There was no noise from the bathroom.
No one gets hurt.
How many people had he hurt inadvertently in his pursuit of the Kid? What else had he missed?
Nakamori suddenly felt very old. Every game had an end, and it was time to end this one. Probably past time. The Kid seemed to be ready, almost happy to. And maybe it was time for him to stop too.
There was more to life than Kid the Phantom. He'd signed on to the police force originally to stop crime and help make a difference. It was probably past time for him to return to that.
With a sigh, he rose and headed for the closet and pulled out a blanket. The Phantom Thief had saved the life of one of his men tonight. One night's safe haven was a small price to pay in return.
He slunk quietly walked into the bathroom, carrying the bundle of fabric in one hand. He paused beside the bathtub, looking down at the slumbering form within it.
It was often said that people looked younger while they slept. And he knew now, on an intellectual level, that the Kid he had been chasing as of late was not the same person that he had chased 20 years ago. But it was still rather jarring to see this Kid, see the small differences that set him apart from the orginal Kid and have it rubbed in his face.
He never was going to catch the Kid. Because the Kid he had been chasing had been dead for 8 years now. He'd been chasing a ghost. An illusive phantom.
And it was time to put this particular ghost to rest.
With a practiced flick of his wrist, he opened the blanket and threw it over the body of the person who had been his adversary for the past few years. As he watched the blanket drape it's self over the Kid's still form, he felt a particular sense of relief, almost like freedom. He had finally caught the Kid. Even if it was for the first and last time.
The Kid stirred, his eyes opening halfway, and blurrily focusing on him. He looked exhausted, yet not surprised to see him. He'd probably known at least part of the time that he was there. Or not. It was hard to tell.
"Inspector-?"
He adopted his normal gruff attitude, scowling and crossing his arms. "Are you really retiring?" He demanded.
Kid nodded a few times, then grimaced, realising that wasn't a good idea. "I'll make you a deal, Inspector." He sat up a little straighter in the tub, but continued to lean on it for support. "If you use the men you caught today to uncover the rest of their organization and I'll make sure you never see hat nor cape of the Kid again."
He studied the boy for a moment. The Kid was sincere, he could tell that much. "What about the monocle?" He asked, unable to resist the jibe.
The boy gingerly touched the glass that covered the side of his face. "I think I'll keep that." He smiled fondly. "It's my good luck charm."
"Aa." He nodded. It was most likely the Kid's fathers, one last gift from the dead. They stared at each other for a moment, the Inspectors face dark and scowling, the thief's face tired yet smiling. Finally Nakamori cleared his throat and motioned toward the blanket.
"This is just for tonight." He growled. "Because you saved my man's life. I want you out of here before daybreak. Without anyone seeing you."
"Not a-" The Kid yawned. "-problem. G'night, Inspector." He curled back up into the tub, pulling the blanket a little higher to cover part of his face as he fell asleep.
Nakamori grunted in reply, then turned leave. He paused for a moment, looking back at the Kid's slumbering form. Except for the faint outline of the top hat hidden in the shadows, the outline under the blankets, the Kid could have been anyone.
Been anyone's son.
With a small click, a vital fact that he had been missing finally snapped into place.
The Kid wasn't just some Phantom Thief. The Kid was human as well.
No one gets hurt.
Because everyone needs to be protected sometimes too.
Fin.
Um... yeah. Rather disjointed IMHO. Is /hard/ to get into Nakamori's head, he's so thick skulled!
Why a bathtub?
1: It was going to rain soon, and he needed a place to rest, at least until the rain stopped. So he climbed into the first open window he saw. Not his fault it just happened to the Nakamori's house... ^^;;
2: Would you really expect to find the Kid hiding in a bathtub? I think not.
3: The voices just really really liked the mental picture of the Kid asleep in a bathtub. Had that mental pic looooong before we found the fanart that started all this.
4: Why not?! *rolls with laughter*
'Sympathy for the Devil'
This comes from Greek mytho, the story of Persephone whom Hades had kidnapped and dragged down to the Underworld. Toward the end of the story, she ends up eating some seeds of a Pomegranate and is rather surprised at the rush of sympathy for Hades, stuck in the underworld and ends up staying with him half of each year, eventually learning to love her dark husband.
The story was orginally going to be called 'Bathtubs, Blankets and Cake', but 'Sympathy for the Devil' kinda fell in there and stuck.
Primiarly because this ended up being about both the Nakamori seeing the Kid for the first time as a human instead of a faceless deamon that haunts them.
I know there's a Rolling Stones/Mick Jagger song out there of the same name, but I'm going off of what I remember from school. #^^#
