Side effects include

by LMeg9.20

Series of one shots with same plot. Haibara produces a cure & Shinichi returns to his rightful age, but it has some unexpected side effects. Each chapter will be a different side effect. Pairing is always KaiShin. Warning! Some chapters may include mature content.

11. Chapter 11

Hello everyone, I'm back again for another one. Thank you everyone for reading, favoriting, following, and reviewing.

When you are finished reading, please take a moment to tell me your favorite part in a review. Enjoy!

-0-0-0-0-0-

"Itsuki cheated! My team was beating him at football so he grabbed the ball with his hands and ran away. The teacher didn't notice so he didn't get in trouble. I hate Itsuki!" Shinichi cried out in anger and kicked the table.

Yukiko knelt down so she was eye level with her young son, "Shin-chan, no no no! I know you're upset but don't kick Mr Table," she gently scolded.

Shinichi cocked his head to the side in confusion, his anger forgotten, "Mr Table?"

Yukiko nodded, "Mr Table has feelings too, and you don't want to hurt his feelings. Mr Table is very, very young. But someday, when he gets really really old, he might come alive! And if he remembers you kicking him, he will chase you, catch you, and gobble you up," she emphasized the last point by tickling Shinichi's sides, causing him to shriek in laughter.

"Okay, okay! I won't kick Mr Table again! Stop tickling me," Shinichi yelled between giggles. Yukiko dropped her hands and Shinichi quickly scurried off before she changed her mind.

-0-0-0-0-0-

Conan watched from the shadows as numerous Black Organization members were led away in handcuffs by FBI agents and police officers. It would cause him trouble if he, a child, was found to be there. They didn't need to know how much he had helped with the coordination of the take down of the organization from behind the scenes.

He felt eyes on him and turned around, his hand ready at his belt to release a football. His shoes weren't powered up, but the first ball would be a distraction to buy him time to power his shoes.

His eyes landed on Kaitou KID. He stood some distance away, but slowly approached once Conan dropped his hand from his belt. "A night of victory and celebration, tantei-kun. All of your efforts have paid off."

Conan looked back over his shoulder and watched as more members led out of the building in handcuffs. The parade of criminals and law enforcement seemed endless. He knew the Black Org was large with numerous members, but seeing them all led out was still amazing. And this was only one of the numerous headquarters locations across Japan. He had chosen this location to assist and observe because he knew many top ranking members, including Gin and Vodka, would be present. Elsewhere, Jodie Starling was closing in on Karasuma Renya, the true leader of the organization. He had of course played a vital part in his location tracking and capture as well, and it was a difficult decision to not be there at Karasuma's capture. He knew Jodie would have allowed him to be present. But Gin and Vodka were the ones he saw in his nightmares. He had to be present to see them taken down.

Speak of the devil and the devil will appear. Vodka was led out between two FBI agents followed shortly by Gin between two other agents. Conan watched, transfixed. Gin and Vodka were both placed into separate squad cars. The doors closed, and then they were gone.

Conan stared at the last place he saw them and felt his knees grow weak. He felt a warm hand placed on his shoulder. He had completely forgotten about KID. It wasn't like him to let his guard down like that and miss someone getting close enough to touch him, but it was KID. There was something about the thief, something that told him he could drop his guard around him.

KID broke the silence between them, "I have a gift for you." He pulled from a hidden pocket a flash drive and dropped it into Conan's hand.

"What's this?" Conan asked, looking curiously at the drive.

"Information on the drug that shrank you; I believe you may find it useful in developing a cure for your present situation."

Conan sucked in a breath and turned wide eyes up to KID, "How?"

KID dramatically put the back of his hand to his forehead and turned his nose to the sky, "You wound me tantei-kun! I am a thief. Of course it would be no trouble for me to steal this information during the chaos happening inside."

"Why would you do that for me?"

KID dropped the dramatics, "You did me a favor, even if unintentionally. When you captured the crows, you also snared a certain serpent as well, one I've been interested in for a long time. So I am returning the favor."

"I don't know what to say. That had to have been incredibly dangerous, I can't believe you would do that."

KID crouched down on one knee to bring himself closer to Conan's eye level, "Find someone that can make a cure for you. Come back as Kudo Shinichi. And promise you'll continue to come to my heists."

Conan chuckled, "It's a promise. Just don't complain when I catch you."

"That's never going to happen, but I will enjoy the increased challenge nevertheless."

-0-0-0-0-0-

Conan stared down at the capsule pill in his palm. It was so small. If he closed his eyes, he wouldn't even notice the weight of it there, like it could float away and he wouldn't even notice.

He gently closed his fingers over it protectively.

"Have you finished all of your preparations on your end?"

He nodded, "Conan has gone to join his parents in America. Everything is in place for Shinichi to return."

Haibara nodded, "Then you can take the cure whenever you're ready. As a reminder, this is going to be different from the temporary cures you have taken in the past. It's going to put a lot more strain on your body. I'm still not sure of the full effects it will have on you."

Conan closed his eyes and finished for her, having heard it many times already, "I may have heart palpitations, ataxia, syncopal episodes, even death. I know. You have made me very aware of the risk."

"That's why you will take the cure here, in my lab, where I can monitor you."

"I know the plan, Haibara," he grumbled, feeling guilty. He wanted to take the cure in his home in private. If something went wrong, he didn't want Haibara to have to see it. He knew she would feel responsible. She already felt enough guilt, she didn't need more. But she wouldn't give him the cure unless he agreed to the monitoring.

"Are you ready?"

Conan nodded and took the robe she offered him. He left the room to change, and came back wearing it. It was much too large for him and he had to hold up the excess as he walked so he didn't trip.

Haibara went through the process of hooking him up to her EKG and pulse ox monitor. She took his blood pressure and temperature. She scribbled a couple notes on a clipboard, then told him she was ready. He swallowed the capsule and drank the water offered to him. Then he sat down to wait.

He wasn't waiting long before he felt the first pulse of pain. He gritted his teeth and clutched at his chest. The second pulse followed soon after. Then came the heat. He could see steam rising off of him while it felt like his bones were melting in his body. It was almost like when he took a temporary cure, except far worse. He began to pant.

"Your temperature is climbing too high, you're going to have a seizure at this rate," Haibara began throwing ice packs on him, dropping them across his shoulders and the back of his neck. They brought little relief.

The pain was constant now, and it was getting worse. It was like fire and electricity simultaneously traveling through his veins to every part of his body. His body was being pulled and stretched and he was sure it was going to snap in half at any moment. And if his body didn't break, he was sure his mind would, for surely this pain would drive him mad.

"Hang in there, Kudo. I think it's nearly finished," Haibara said.

Shinichi squinted one eye open, unaware he had closed them. His right hand clutched at his chest, trying to keep his racing heart from beating out of his chest. He held his left hand up in front of him. His vision went in and out of focus, but his hand was defiantly that of a young adult's. Despite the pain, he felt the corners of his lips rise in triumph.

Then everything went black.

-0-0-0-0-0-

"For the last time, Haibara, I'm fine."

"Kudo, your heart stopped. For 16 seconds," the child scientist glared at him.

"It started back up again before you could even use the defibrillator," he retorted in defense.

"You aren't going anywhere until I have run some thorough tests and I'm satisfied that your heart isn't going to stop the moment I take my eyes off of you," she said.

Shinichi sighed, knowing he might as well give up. She was going to get her way eventually, there was no point in continuing to fight. "Fine, fine. Let's get this over with." He pulled the robe tighter around himself and rubbed his arms for warmth.

"Let's start simple; what's your name?"

Shinichi resisted the urge to roll his eyes, understanding this was going to take longer than he originally hoped, "Kudo Shinichi. I'm 19 years old and I was born and raised in Japan. I'm a detective and for 3 years I spent my time as Conan due to the poison that was supposed to kill me. The last thing I remember is taking the antidote here in your lab. And I don't have any gaps in my memory."

Haibara gave him a warning look for his impatience, "Fine, let's skip a couple questions and assume you aren't suffering any amnesia or brain trauma. How do you currently feel?"

Shinichi took a moment to assess his body before answering, "Waxing and waning muscle spasms and body aches, fatigue, lethargy, all as you predicted."

She nodded and scribbled on her clipboard, "go ahead and stand up and walk to the other side of the room."

Shinichi got off the exam table and as soon as his bare feet hit the floor he shivered, "Can I change while I'm at it? Or at least put some socks on? It's cold in here."

"Go ahead, but don't put on a shirt just yet. I'm going to need to put the probes back on for your EKG," she said.

Once he had put on socks and pants, he returned to the lab still wearing the robe. Haibara did a few more tests including checking his reflexes and a few basic physical exercises. Then she hooked him up to her monitoring equipment.

"Your blood pressure is mildly elevated," she said.

Shinichi nodded and winced as another spasm of pain raked across his body.

"Your heart rate and wave form on the EKG are at least normal. You can put the robe back on now," she paused while he immediately pulled the robe back on his exposed torso, "Your temperature is surprisingly low. This might be the cause of your elevated blood pressure. The low temperature could be causing vasoconstriction, which is affecting your blood pressure."

Shinichi shivered, "wonderful. Should I be concerned?"

She shook her head, "This was one of my expected outcomes after you took the cure. You're having trouble regulating your body temperature. It's probably going to get worse before it gets better, but it will pass on its own. Just keep yourself warm in the mean time."

Shinichi nodded, "I can do that. So are you satisfied?"

"We are only about half way through my tests and I still want to keep you for an additional hour of observation. Now give me your arm, I'm going to draw a blood sample."

Shinichi groaned.

-0-0-0-0-0-

A few hours later, Shinichi finally entered his home with a sigh of relief. He toed off his shoes and immediately headed to his bedroom. He found his bedroom window open. Akai must have opened it to allow the room to air out before he left the manor for good. Since the Black Organization was gone, he no longer had need to hide out at the manor.

Shinichi closed the window and quickly changed into some pajamas before climbing into bed, thoroughly exhausted. He shivered and curled into the blankets. He should have turned on the heat, but in his exhausted state he hadn't thought about it. Now that he was already in bed, he couldn't find it in himself to get up again.

"It's so cold," he shivered.

"Then maybe you should have turned on the heat, silly tantei-kun," someone answered.

Shinichi looked over his shoulder in confusion at the man standing behind him, "KID? What are you doing here?"

The magician approached the bed, "I came to check on my favorite critic. A little dove told me you were taking the cure today."

Shinichi paused, not even bothering to get upset that the thief had been spying on him, "were you worried about me?"

"Of course I was. I heard your heart stopped briefly. As soon as I heard that, I had to check on you personally."

Shinichi was taken aback by his honesty and lack of teasing tone. His answer made Shinichi feel strange. He was too exhausted to analyze what the strange feelings might be, so instead he laid back in bed and curled on his side, his back to the thief. "Thank you for your concern. As you can see, I'm fine. But if you don't mind I'm too tired to entertain guests right now, including guests that are breaking and entering."

His teeth had started chattering. He pulled the blankets around him tighter, then yelped when he felt a sudden draft. He jerked to look over his shoulder and tried to grip the blankets tight. "What exactly are you doing?" He hissed through his chattering teeth.

KID was no longer in his normal white suit, but was now wearing a pair of pajamas. The pants had little Kaitou KID doodle designs on them. The thief was currently lifting up the blankets and climbing onto the bed. Shinichi couldn't see much of his face due to the darkness, but he could tell the thief was grinning like a mad man. "Scoot over, tantei-kun. Big spoon incoming to share body heat with you before you freeze to death," he answered while climbing under the covers.

"Don't you dare-oh my god you're so warm," Shinichi threw away his pride and scooted closer to the thief. He felt KID chuckle, his chest pressed against Shinichi's back. He wrapped an arm around Shinichi and the detective hummed in happiness at the warmth that surrounded him.

KID snickered full of mirth, "My my, someone sure is vocal in bed. Still want me to leave, tantei-kun?"

"Shut up and let me sleep, you stupid thief. I'll establish a temporary truce and not throw you in jail, for tonight at least."

"We both know you don't actually want to arrest me anyway," he could hear the grin in KID's voice.

Shinichi ignored him. His teeth had stopped chattering and his shivering had subsided. For the first time in hours, he felt warm and comfortable. He closed his eyes and was instantly asleep.

-0-0-0-0-0-

He woke slowly the next morning. KID was still spooning him and still had an arm around him. Shinichi would rather die than admit to the thief it was the best sleep he ever had.

He took stock of his body. The body aches and spasms had reduced to a dull, occasional ache, but his body still felt a little weak. He was very warm and comfortable, but he pretty sure his body temperature wouldn't have any more issues self regulating, even after if left the warmth of his blankets and his personal space heater.

Speaking of, he turned around to face his bed mate.

KID still seemed to be asleep. Shinichi looked at his face curiously. A few years ago, they shared a strong resemblance that made it possible for KID to disguise himself as Shinichi without use of a mask. But age and puberty had weakened that resemblance considerably. His shoulders also appeared broader than his own.

"Like what you see, tantei-kun?"

Suddenly two blue eyes, much darker than his own, were staring back at him.

His face flushed in embarrassment, "I was just curious."

"And here I thought you had already figured out what my face looked like?"

"I did, long ago. Your name too, actually. But I've never been able to see your face this close before, at least not in good lighting."

"My name as well? I shouldn't be surprised. You are after all my favorite critic," KID smiled, pleased.

Shinichi suddenly became aware that he was still lying in bed with KID, literally in his arms. He forced down the blush that was trying to color his face and made to get up. He had barely started to rise when the arm around his waist moved to his shoulder and applied gentle but firm pressure to push him back down, "What do you think you're doing?"

He frowned at the thief, "I'm getting up? I could use a cup of coffee."

"You aren't going anywhere. Need I remind you that your heart stopped for 16 seconds only 12 hours ago? Today you are staying in bed. You wait here, I'll bring you some breakfast."

The thief got up and left, presumably to find some breakfast. Shinichi stared after him in disbelief. He shook his head and laid back down. Kaitou KID serving him breakfast in bed? He didn't even want to know what Sonoko would do to him if she found out. How was this his life?

And what about them spooning last night? Well KID was always a bit strange. And he was just so cold, he had been in no position to refuse the shared body heat. It was probably better for his health that KID had spooned him. Didn't Haibara say that his low body temperature was probably causing his high blood pressure? He doubted it had been a life or death situation, Haibara wouldn't have let him leave her lab until his temperature had returned to normal otherwise. But if nothing else, it certainly hadn't been comfortable being so cold.

If he was being honest with himself, spooning with KID hadn't been awful. Actually it had been quite pleasant? Not just due to the warmth the thief's body heat provided, but it also just felt nice to be held in his arms.

Okay, he wasn't going to follow that thought line for the sake of his sanity.

He wasn't sure when, but at some point he had learned to trust KID. They had worked together on numerous occasions and the thief had saved his life multiple times. He was barely a criminal, his crimes mostly consisting of trespassing and breaking and entering considering the thief gave back everything he stole. He even had his strange honor and heist rules, including his famous 'nobody gets hurt at a heist' rule. Chasing the thief at a heist was exhilarating, don't get him wrong, but having KID as an ally during a case was something else entirely. He knew that somehow everything would turn out fine as long as KID was there. It wasn't just because of how well they worked together, but also because KID could do anything.

Okay so when he actually thought about it, maybe it wasn't so surprising that he hadn't hated spooning with KID.

"I'm back~" KID singed while entering, carrying a plate of scrambled eggs, toast, sliced fruit, and a cup of hot tea.

"I don't suppose you would get me a coffee if I asked?"

"Not a chance, it's not good for your heart," he speared a piece of egg and offered it to the detective, "now open wide."

Shinichi felt his face heat up and grabbed the fork, "I can do it myself, idiot."

KID laughed, "I know, but you're cute when you blush."

Shinichi finished his breakfast while KID entertained himself with some card tricks. When he was done he set the plate and cup on his night stand, only for KID to snap his fingers and make his dishes disappear. Most likely he would later find the dishes clean and put back in the cupboard.

Shinichi cleared his throat, "Thank you for breakfast, and also for helping me stay warm last night. I really appreciate it, KID"

"Call me by my name," the magician requested.

Shinichi swallowed, "Thank you, Kuroba."

He gave Shinichi a warm smile, "you're welcome, Kudo."

Shinichi refused to think about why that smile caused his stomach to do little flip flops. He quickly changed the subject, "So do you really expect me to stay in bed all day?"

The smile was gone and now he looked solemn. Shinichi was taken aback by how much real emotion Kuroba was showing him without hiding behind his poker face. "Kudo, when I heard that your heart had stopped after taking the cure…" He trailed off for a moment before he resumed speaking, "listen, I need to leave soon. I won't be able to keep an eye on you and make you stay in bed. I would love to superglue your bedroom door shut but what if something happens and the little scientist can't treat you? I'm going to leave some books here on your nightstand, along with a couple bottles of water. There's a couple bentos in your fridge. So please, just for today I want you promise me you will take it easy and stay in bed."

He was being so open and honest, Shinichi couldn't do anything other than nod, "Okay."

The smile was back on Kuroba's face and Shinichi couldn't help but feel relieved at its return. "Thank you, Shinichi."

-0-0-0-0-0-

An hour later Haibara had come over to check up on him. She brought with her some of her more portable equipment.

"When I text you earlier, I was surprised that you insisted I come to your house. Some of my lab equipment isn't very portable you know," she said.

Shinichi tried to sound nonchalant, "I just figured I should take it easy today, stay in bed."

Haibara froze before turning to him in shock, "What happened?"

"What do you mean? Wasn't it you who said my heart briefly stopped yesterday?"

"Kudo, in all the time I have known you, you always neglect your health. You constantly skipped meals if Ran wasn't around to feed Conan. You would leave wounds untreated for an alarming amount of time. You are reckless and practically throw yourself into danger pursuing criminals, which I don't need to remind you is how Conan happened in the first place."

"You have made your point, but maybe I'm trying to turn over a new leaf?" He offered weakly.

Haibara just arched an eyebrow, clearly not believing him.

"I may have promised a friend I would stay in bed today," he finally admitted.

"A friend? I thought you weren't going to tell anyone you were back for a couple of days, in case the cure had some strange side effects you needed to recover from."

"That was the plan-is the plan," he corrected himself, "and I didn't technically tell anyone. This person found out on their own."

"You took the cure barely more than 12 hours ago and you have been sleeping for most of that time. Who could possibly have found out in that short amount of time?"

Shinichi sighed, unable to avoid it any longer, "KID."

Haibara stared at him for a solid 10 seconds before speaking, "Kaitou KID is the 'friend' you promised to stay in bed for?"

"He was spying on us, probably one of the doves outside the professors house, and he was worried about me. He paid me a visit last night to check on me. And he made me promise I would stay in bed today."

"He got that promise out of you last night?"

"No, the promise was this morning."

Another pause, "This morning? So he stayed the night?"

Shinichi fought down the blush that was creeping up his face, "It's not that strange, he and I have worked together many times before. You know he's the one that got the final pieces you needed to create the cure. It's only natural that we would become friends?" He sounded a little uncertain at the end. Were they actually friends? Would KID consider him a friend? "It's not that unusual that KID would want to check on me. And either way, he is strangely protective of all of the detectives that chase after him."

He wasn't sure why he was getting defensive. But he did know he wasn't going to tell Haibara KID had spooned him all night. Or that he had enjoyed it.

Haibara exhaled and shook her head, "You know what? I'm going to stop questioning it. I should be thanking KID instead. He saved me a lot of time and a huge headache trying to convince you to stay in bed today."

"If you had asked, I would have done it."

"Would you have?" She challenged, "I had to twist your arm to get you to let me run some tests on you yesterday after your heart stopped."

"You're never going to let that heart thing go, are you?" Shinichi muttered.

Haibara looked murderous, "Give me your arm. I need another blood sample. Hold still or I might miss."

Shinichi gulped.

-0-0-0-0-0-

The next day Shinichi was released by Haibara to resume light activity. "That doesn't mean you can go running off chasing dangerous criminals. I still want you to take it easy and ease back into things slowly," Haibara warned.

That was fine, he immediately knew what he needed to do and it wouldn't go against Haibara's orders.

He pulled out his phone and made a call, "Hey Ran. Yeah, it's me. I have some news. I don't know how to say this, but I'm home. No, I'm not leaving again this time, I'm here to stay. Listen, are you available right now? Let's meet at Cafe Poirot. I'll see you soon."

A short time later, Shinichi entered the cafe, feeling nervous. Ran was already there of course since she lived just above the cafe. She rose from her seat and threw her arms around him.

"Shinichi! I can't believe you're really here."

He returned the hug and they both sat. Ran had already ordered him a coffee and a small lemon pastry, which he was grateful for. He took a sip of his coffee to wet his dry mouth.

"How have you been doing since Conan left?"

Ran smiled sadly, "I miss him terribly, but I'm happy he was finally able to go home. I know he enjoyed his time with me and dad, but I think he had been waiting to go home for a long time."

They spent a couple of minutes chatting about nothing important, Shinichi trying to ease them into the conversation, but he sensed it was time to move on to the point of this social visit.

"Ran, I'm going to tell you where I have been for the past three years."

She took a long breath, "Please take your time. I had a feeling this was going to come up, and something tells me this isn't going to be an easy conversation for you. Just know I'm here for you no matter what."

He smiled at her gratefully, "It started with Tropical Land, as you are aware. I witnessed two suspicious men doing something shady. I was listening to them and taking photos on my phone to hand to the police, but I messed up. Bad. One of the men had a partner, and he snuck up on me. He knocked me in the back of the head, and then he drugged me."

"He said the capsule was an untraceable poison that always killed. He fully intended to kill me. I should have died, and I think I almost did," he paused and noticed Ran looked a little teary-eyed and squeezed her hand from across the table, "But I didn't die. I later learned my survival was a less than 1% chance, but for once luck was on my side."

"But than you disappeared," said Ran, "to chase after those men that tried to kill you?"

"It's a little more complicated than that. I learned those men were a part of a large, dangerous crime syndicate. Have you been watching the news recently?"

Her eyes widened, "That Black Organization that's been on the news? That's who you're talking about?"

He nodded, "They believed I was dead. If they found out I wasn't, they would have tried to finish the job, and they would go through anyone that stood in their way to accomplish their goal. Not only was I in danger, but so were my friends and loved ones. Everyone I knew would have a target on their back if the Black Organization figured out I was still alive. I had to go into hiding and investigate them in secret. I had to disappear."

"There's more though. While the poison didn't kill me, it did cause some…unusual side effects that impeded my investigation. I'll circle back to that later. The more I learned about the Black Organization, the more dangerous I found them to be. They were a huge group that had infiltrated the police and the government. They pulled off their crimes perfectly leaving no evidence that could be tied back to them. They killed anyone that got in their way. Anyone that tried to investigate them would suddenly disappear. And since they never left evidence that could be tied back to them, it was hard to investigate "

Ran nodded, "I'm beginning to understand why you had to disappear, and why you were gone for such a long time."

"Yeah," he answered lamely. He licked his lips, not wanting to go on but knowing that he would have to. She deserved to know the truth.

It was Ran's turn to squeeze his hand in support, "I know there's more. Whatever it is, you can tell me. I promise I will always support you."

He exhaled and continued, "The poison didn't kill me, but it did something else instead. Something that forced me to go into hiding and slowed my investigation. It somehow…de-aged me. To about 10 years younger. Ran, I was Conan."

Ran smiled at him weakly as the tears began to fall. She shook her head, "I think a part of me has suspected that for a while, but it's still unbelievable to hear."

"Ran, I'm so sorry."

She took a napkin from the table and dabbed at her eyes, "For three years, all that time. I was so worried about you. I didn't know where you were, you barely ever called. I was so, so scared, and I felt like you abandoned me. And it turns out you were there the entire time. You could see how much I was hurting, but you never said anything. I understand now that you were just trying to keep me safe and you had great reasons for what you did, but you still hurt me."

Shinichi flinched, "I know. I'm sorry."

"Thank you for telling me, Shinichi. I need some time," she said.

He nodded, "Of course."

She got up from the table and left without a backward glance.

Shinichi continued to sit at the table in silence, staring at his half uneaten lemon pastry.

The business man seated two tables away from him folded up the newspaper he had been reading and stood up, walking to the exit. He passed Shinichi and paused but didn't turn around, "She'll come around soon and forgive you."

"I know. Thank you, Kuroba."

KID left.

-0-0-0-0-0-

It was twilight now as Shinichi walked home. He was sure KID wasn't following him anymore, so he was alone. He felt a little conflicted that KID had been present during his meeting with Ran. On the one hand, it was a private conversation, one that was deeply personal. But on the other hand, it had been comforting to have KID there, like he was silently supporting him.

He made the decision not to be upset about it. "Still, that stupid thief better not make a habit of stalking me."

He was pulled from his thoughts when he heard a thump thump thumping sound approaching him from up ahead. He looked up and saw a strange site.

He blinked. Was that a paper umbrella hopping towards him on one leg? He rubbed his eyes and looked again. It did indeed look like a paper umbrella hopping on one leg. It stood about about three feet tall from tip of umbrella to foot, and it had a single large eye and a long tongue dangling from its mouth. The umbrella didn't seem to be focused on Shinichi, but was just passing from the opposite direction.

It was finally even with Shinichi and he continued to stare at the umbrella in disbelief, turning his neck so his eyes could follow it. It's one eye flicked up to the detective and finally noticed that it was being watched. It gave a little jump of surprise, "Can you see me?"

Shinichi stared without answering, wondering if he was going insane.

"You can, can't you! Its so rare that I come across someone that can see me," said the umbrella.

Shinichi finally found his voice, "What are you?"

"What a rude question! The correct question should have been who are you," the umbrella scolded before it gave a mischievous smile, its tongue wagging, "I think I should teach you some manners. How about I make you my next meal?"

Suddenly the umbrella was leaping towards him, mouth wide and tongue dangling out. Shinichi yelped and started to run. He heard the umbrella laughing and leaping after him, but he didn't look back. From the sounds of it, he was quickly losing the umbrella, the umbrella having a difficult time keeping up by hopping on its one, short leg compared to Shinichi's longer stride.

He made it to the Kudo manor and slammed the door shut, leaning against it to catch his breath. Had that been real? It couldn't have been, right? Once his breathing had slowed he started to feel a little silly. He cautiously opened his door and peaked outside. No signs of an umbrella hoping around. Now he really felt silly. Maybe he should give Haibara a visit?

Mind made up, he walked next door to the professor's house.

"Shinichi-kun, what brings you here?" Professor Agasa asked after opening the door.

"Good afternoon professor, I'm here to see Haibara," he answered.

"Come in, come in. She's in her lab. Let me know if you need anything."

Shinichi made his way to Haibara's lab and knocked. She answered and led him inside, "Kudo-kun, what can I do for you? Is something wrong with the antidote?"

"I'm not sure," Shinichi answered honestly, "I think I may have just had a visual and audio hallucination."

Haibara paused, "That's not something I was expecting during my research on the cure. Could you tell me what happened? How much do you remember?"

"I remember everything. It felt so real. It still feels like it was real," he said. He explained to her everything that happened on his walk home in as much detail as possible. Haibara listened patiently.

After he finished Haibara remained thoughtful before answering, "I don't think you were hallucinating."

"That thing could not have been real," Shinichi argued.

"Have you ever heard of a Kasa-obake?" Haibara asked.

Shinichi looked confused at the sudden change in topic, "I haven't."

"I heard about them and things like them during my time at the Black Organization. The Black Organization had many different interests, but their prime interests was immortality. They investigated many different avenues, both scientific and mythical. Everything from rare mushrooms that only grow in the darkest parts of tropical rainforests, to eating the flesh of a mermaid. No legend was too small to investigate. Vampires, the fountain of youth, magical stones, the holy grail, Norse golden apples, they looked into all of them."

Shinichi suddenly felt chills run up his arms, "The apoptoxin, it didn't kill me but instead de-aged me."

Haibara nodded, "It's something I've thought about myself. I am the creator of the APTX 4869, but my poison is actually based off a different poison another scientist had already been working on."

"When I was brought into the organization, I wasn't told who this scientist was or what happened to them. I was given the information for the drug they had been working on and told to fix it. I wasn't sure what they were working on, but I found that the drug killed many people that took it without leaving a trace. So I perfected it and made its mortality rate 100%. Well, almost 100% unless you count present company."

They both shared a knowing smile. Haibara continued, "after I found out that the APTX 4869 didn't kill either of us but instead de-aged us, I wondered if that previous scientist had been searching for a drug for immortality, and maybe I had accidentally discovered it. I don't want to think what would have happened if Conan had been discovered by the organization. Most likely you would have been kidnapped and used as a lab rat while they tried to figure out how to replicate the apoptoxin's de-aging effects. Luckily Gin didn't hang around to make sure the poison killed you after he gave it to you."

Shinichi shivered, not wanting to think about how that could have easily been his future, "This is very interesting and more than a little disturbing, but I feel like we have gotten sidetracked. What does any of this have to do with my hallucinations that you think might have been real?"

"I think what you saw was a Kasa-obake. While the Black Organization was searching for immortality, they found many things that are believed to be myths. I had heard whispers that they had found people that could perform small feats of real magic. Nothing my department ever confirmed itself, but other members certainly seemed to believe in it. They confirmed that unicorns had at one point been real but are now extinct, obviously we couldn't confirm if their hair or blood causes grants immortality but it was confirmed the horn is just a horn without any magical properties. They also confirmed the existence of Kasa-obake, that umbrella thing you had seen, as well as other yokai."

"Wait, that's what that umbrella thing was? Yokai are real?"

"I can't confirm that all yokai are real. Yokai is a word used to describe many different types of spirits, and they can be broken down further into subclasses. Most people have heard of kappa and tengu, which are both types of yokai. For the record, the Black Organization does not have reason to believe tengu or kappa are real. The Kasa-obake belongs to the subclass Tsukumogami, which are confirmed to be real by the organization. Tsukumogami were formerly inanimate objects, and on their 100th birthday they gained sentience and came alive."

Shinichi asked, "So if these things are real, why don't more people talk about their antique furniture coming to life or umbrellas chasing them down the street?"

She answered, "From what I heard while at the organization, not many people can see yokai. I'm not sure why some people can see them and some can't, it wasn't my department so I don't know how much the organization found or theorized. Maybe you can suddenly see them because of a side effect of the cure I gave you, or maybe it's because your heart stopped and you came so close to death, making you closer to the spirit realm."

Shinichi sighed, "Is it always going to come back to my heart stopping?"

Haibara pinched the bridge of her nose in frustration, "I wish you would take that a little more seriously. Maybe if KID asked you would actually care a little more."

Shinichi felt his cheeks burn, "Leave that stupid thief out of this, of course I care."

"Well the good news is is I don't think you are hallucinating or going crazy. Unfortunately I don't have an answer how to stop you from seeing yokai or if its something that can be fixed."

"It's fine. The kasa-obake wasn't expecting me to be able to see it and only chased me once it realized that I could…or I guess it was after I accidentally offended it. I think if I simply ignore them and don't let them know I can see them, I should be fine. And if that doesn't work, next time I won't be taken by surprise and will kick a football at it."

Haibara nodded, "That's probably best."

-0-0-0-0-0-

Shinichi flopped onto the sofa in the library with a sigh. It had been a long day. It felt like his conversation with Ran had been days ago, then the instance with the kasa-obake had been thrown on top of it. Speaking of Ran…nope. No new messages on his phone. Not that he had expected any, she had asked for time and it hadn't even been a full day. He would need to be patient.

He suddenly jumped when he heard what sounded like someone singing, "I'll be your mirror/ Reflect what you are, in case you don't know/ I'll be the wind, the rain and the sunset/ The light on your door to show that you're home."

Shinichi's heart hammered in his chest. It sounded like the singing was coming from the library, the same room he was in. He didn't recognize the voice, and he couldn't see an intruder anywhere.

He moved slowly, trying not to draw attention to himself, and looked around, trying to find the source of the singing. His hand moved to his belt, ready to pop out an inflatable football. He was glad he had asked the professor to adjust it to fit his adult body. Hopefully his power-enhancing shoes would be next. He already had a pretty hard kick in his adult body, but a little extra power never hurt.

He followed the singing to the desk. It sounded like it was coming from inside one of the drawers. He cautiously opened it and peaked inside.

Inside the drawer was a gold plated antique hand mirror he had seen a couple of times inside the desk. It had simple but elegant decorations around the face that continued down the handle. It also had a small face at the top of the handle where it connected to the mirror, and the face was currently singing.

"When you think the night has seen your mind/ That inside you're twisted and unkind/ Let me stand to show that you are blind/ Please put down your hands/ 'Cause I see you."

Remembering his plan to ignore yokai, he tried to not look directly at the mirror and close the drawer.

"Hold it right there! Are you really going to close the door on my wonderful rendition of "I'll Be Your Mirror" by the Velvet Underground?" The mirror asked sounding insulted.

Alright plan B. If he couldn't ignore the yokai, he had to try to at least not insult it like he had the last one, "I apologize, I didn't recognize the song and was afraid I might be interrupting."

The mirror huffed, "Don't recognize the song? You kids just don't appreciate good music anymore. That song was from the 1960s, and your generation would do well to listen to some of the oldies on occasion."

"It sounded American. How do you expect me to know not just a song from the 60s, but an American one at that?" Shinichi asked.

"Are you arguing with me, boy? Hasn't anyone taught you its polite to respect your elders?!"

Shinichi winced and remembered plan B, "You're right, please forgive me. And your singing was beautiful. Please forgive me for interrupting."

The mirror sighed, "I suppose I can forgive you since you found your manners, young Kudo-kun."

Shinichi cocked his head to the side, "You know who I am?"

"Well of course I do," the mirror exploded, insulted all over again, "have I not been in this manor watching over its residence all this time? For over a century I have been in the Kudo family, passed to the next of kin as a cherished heirloom. I remember you, as a snot nosed brat, playing in your father's desk and touching my mirror with your grubby little fingers. Of course I know who you are."

"Of course, please excuse me ignorance," he apologized again.

The mirror settled down, "Well I suppose it's alright. I know you meant well, young Kudo-kun. Although I must admit, I don't remember you being able to see me or my kind before."

"Uh, yeah it's kinda new," he answered.

"I see. Well wonderful to finally meet you formally. You may call me Kagami-san," the mirror replied.

Shinichi dared not make a comment at the mirror's chosen name, "Pleasure to meet you."

The mirror seemed pleased, "Well you aren't such a bad kid after all, are you? Yusaku-san and Yukiko-san did an alright job raising you I suppose. Although they sure are gone an awful lot. And the apple doesn't fall far from the tree I suppose. I haven't seen you return in years. Leaving this poor, old mirror alone in this manor. How could you? I get bored too, did you think of that? How am I suppose to watch over the Kudo family if no Kudo family is ever home?" The mirror sounded grumpy again.

"Don't worry, I don't plan on going anywhere for a long time. Is there anything I can do to make it up to you? How about I take you out of this drawer let you look out the window, see the sky?" Shinichi offered.

"Well I suppose that would be nice. You could also set me in front of the TV on occasion, maybe put on an old movie," Kagami-san said.

"I can do that," Shinichi agreed.

"And take me with you on your next outings."

"I'm not sure about that one," said Shinichi.

"Don't deny me this, boy. I've lived with you mystery geeks long enough to appreciate a good case. I want to witness you bring about justice and solve murders."

Shinichi wasn't convinced, "I can't have you causing a ruckus."

"Cause a ruckus? Cause a ruckus?! You're probably the only person that can see or hear me in the whole Beika Tokyo ward!" Argued Kagami-san.

"I guess that's true. Fine, I'll bring you out on my next outing," Shinichi agreed.

-0-0-0-0-0-

Shinichi brought Kagami-san out the next time he left the house as promised, and of course he did indeed run into a murder. At first Shinichi wasn't sure what to do with the mirror. He wanted to watch him solve a murder, but he couldn't exactly go around with an antique mirror in his hand. The mirror would have to be satisfied with staying in his backpack and just listening, or so he thought.

"Young master, that man over there waited until your back was turned and then he threw something away in the trash can," Kagami-san shouted from his backpack.

How did he see that while inside my bag? Shinichi kept the question to himself, not wanting to look like he was talking to himself. He didn't head straight for the trash can, but pretended to check the nearby area first, slowly making his way to the trash can as if it was natural progression. In his peripheral vision he saw the man standing nearest the trash can looking more nervous the closer he got.

He peaked inside and felt a moment of triumph. This is the missing piece of evidence I need to solve this case.

"T-that's not mine!" The man near the trash can shouted out.

Amateur. Shinichi turned to the man feigning ignorance, "What's not yours, sir? Do you mean this small bottle half hidden under this crumbled piece of paper? I never said it was yours."

"Oh, right of course. You didn't say it was mine. Really, it could belong to anyone. And its just a small, empty bottle. Nothing strange about that. People throw bottles away all the time. Doesn't mean it had poison in it," the man laughed nervously.

This was possibly the dumbest murderer Shinichi had ever had. "Poison? Nobody has said anything about poison. Why would you bring it up?"

"B-but you said, I only thought, I didn't…curse you detective!" Suddenly the man was rushing at Shinichi.

There wasn't any time or space available to inflate a football. The officers that were also investigating the scene wouldn't get to him in time. He had never taken any karate or self defense lessons, he preferred kicking something at criminals instead of kicking them directly, but he had witnessed Ran do plenty of karate kicks at her tournaments. He raised his leg and performed a semi-decent turning kick straight to the rushing man's chest, knocking the wind out of him and staggering him. Ran would have been proud. As soon as she is ready to speak to me again, I should ask her for a couple of lessons.

A police officer picked up the man off the ground and handcuffed him. Shinichi dropped the ignorant act and frowned at the man. "You're the killer, and you used this bottle of poison to pull off your crime," he moved to detective mode detailing how the murder had happened and how he knew the man was the one case was so easy, he could have solved it in his sleep.

Once the man was taken away, some of the police officers approached him and clapped him on the back. "Good to see you back, Kudo." "Welcome back, long time no see." "Great job with that huge case on that huge organization you took down." "Stop by the station tomorrow to say hi, Megure-keibu would love to welcome you back himself."

The old Shinichi prior to his time spent as Conan would have soaked up the praise and attention, but now he only felt uncomfortable. How had he ever enjoyed this? Maybe it was maturity on his part, since he was now 3 years older.

He politely waved them off and they let him leave after he promised to drop by the station tomorrow, partially to fill out the appropriate paperwork for the case but mostly to say hi to everyone. I'll have to make sure I don't act familiar with the police officers that I had only met as Conan. He continued on the the grocery store, the original purpose for his outing today, and quickly headed home.

"That was marvelous! Simply marvelous! You must bring me along again," Kagami-san cheered in good spirits.

"Kagami-san, how were you able to see the man throw the bottle away in the trash from inside my bag?" Shinichi questioned.

"Simple, young master. As a mirror yokai, I can see through any nearby mirror or reflective surface as if it was part of me. I saw him throw away the bottle from his reflection in the nearby shop's window," the mirror answered.

"That's interesting. You can use any mirror or reflective surface?"

"Correct, as long as it is close enough to me. Pretty handy, eh? I was able to help you solve today's case! And that's not the only thing I can do you know, I have many talents, I'm sure I could be useful again in the future as well," said the mirror.

Shinichi didn't bother to point out that he would have eventually checked the trash can himself. While that was true, he wouldn't have gotten to the trash can as quickly as he had with Kagami-san's tip. If nothing else, the mirror had saved him some time, which was always valuable. And his ability could be useful in the future. At the very least, it didn't hinder him in any way to bring Kagami-san with him. He was easily portable fitting in either a small bag or even his pocket. Aside from his one outburst about the trash can, he remained quiet and didn't distract Shinichi, and he could apparently watch Shinichi solve the crime even from inside a bag.

Shinichi shrugged, "Sure, I can bring you along again."

-0-0-0-0-0-

Shinichi fell into a bit of a routine over the next few days, slowly easing himself back into his life.

He had unfortunately missed his opportunity to graduate high school on time with Ran and the rest of his class (he still remembered the bitter sweet feeling of attending the graduation as Conan, sitting in the audience with Kogoro and watching Ran and Sonoko accept their diplomas. He was happy he had been able to see her graduate, but he should have been with the rest of his class, not in the audience with the friends and family.)

Fortunately his school wasn't going to force him to register for high school and attend any classes. They were willing to let him complete some make up work and tests for his diploma. They estimated it would take 6-8 months. Considering he had missed 3 years, it could have been worse.

Between taking makeup classes and tests, the police would also call him for help with cases, or he would stumble on cases himself in his normal day-to-day life. He often took Kagami-kun with him, as promised. Occasionally the mirror would be useful helping to solve a murder, or at least speeding up the process. Otherwise the mirror was content to simply observe.

After nearly a week, Ran finally reached out to him. They met up and a few tears, many hugs, and multiple apologies were exchanged. Shinichi left the meeting feeling much lighter knowing his friendship with Ran was as strong as ever.

Later that evening Hattori called him, "Kudo, you bastard, why haven't you called me yet?"

Shinichi winced, "Sorry Hattori, I've been a little busy getting back into the routine of things."

"Yeah yeah, whatever. How've ya been? Adult life treating ya well?" Hattori asked.

Shinichi caught Hattori up on his life since his return. He left out his new ability to see yokai. He was sure Hattori would believe him, though he might take some convincing, but he didn't feel like getting into it right now. Besides, it didn't seem like that big of a deal anymore. Aside from the umbrella he had met once and Kagami-kun, he hadn't met any more yokai. He was sure he would probably have to tell him eventually. As a detective himself, Hattori was very observant and would no doubt notice Shinichi carrying around a hand mirror, even if he did keep it in his bag. To other curious eyes, he could explain it as a family heirloom that was used by his family as a good luck charm. Hattori would see right through him and know he was lying.

"So Kazuha said you and Nee-chan are talking again. When are you going to confess to her?" Hattori asked.

Shinichi felt his mouth go dry, "Hattori, it's not like that for me and Ran anymore. I don't feel that way about her anymore and I'm pretty sure she feels the same, especially now that she knows I was Conan. I can only think of her as my sister now."

Hattori sighed, "I was afraid you would say that, but I had hope. I just want ya ta be happy, Kudo. You deserve it after everything ya've been through."

Shinichi was touched, "Thank you, Hattori, but don't worry about me. I am happy."

"Well I suppose, but you need to find someone too. Ya don't want to spend your whole time solving cases until one day you're old and alone. Ya need someone to come home to at night," Hattori lectured.

For some reason, Shinichi's mind flashed back to that night KID kept him warm. He shook the thought away and returned to the conversation, "I'm only 19, Hattori. I'm not exactly an old maid. What about you and Kazuha? When are you going to make your feelings known to her?"

Hattori made a noise of protest, "I'll get around ta it, don't rush me."

Shinichi couldn't help but laugh.

-0-0-0-0-0-

It had been about 3 weeks since Shinichi had taken the cure, and his routine was much more solid and stable. So when he received a personal invitation to KID's next heist, he felt excitement and anticipation. He briefly wondered if the thief had been giving him time to recover before his next heist, then shook it away. He had a special sort of relationship with KID, but that didn't mean the thief scheduled his heists with Shinichi in mind.

He read the heist note and his forehead wrinkled in confusion. This heist note was much more challenging than KID's normal notes. On a hunch, he checked today's newspaper. As he suspected, there was a heist note in there as well. Nakamori-keibu would be furious when he found out someone leaked to the press. A quick glance confirmed his suspicions, his note was different from the one KID had given to the police.

He quickly put down the newspaper without reading the note. Most likely, the note in the paper that the police had received was much easier to solve than the one he had received. He wanted to solve his note first before reading the one in the paper. Otherwise if he solved the note in the paper first, he could use it to solve his personal note.

Shinichi smirked at the challenge. He sat back in his chair with a cup of coffee and got to work decoding the riddle.

It ended up taking two days for him to solve it. One of the first lines he had decoded was the date of the heist, which was to take place three days after he had received the challenge, so he knew he had time to solve it. Next had been the target and location. But there was one extra line in there that must have been just for him. KID alluded that he would share his secret with him if Shinichi could catch him alone. Now that he had solved his own riddle, he checked the newspaper and confirmed his theories. The heist note the police had received was a simpler version of his own, but it didn't contain anything about sharing secrets.

Shinichi's pulse quickened. Would KID really willingly tell him his secret? It was true the two had already shared a lot with each other. He already knew KID's real name and face, something he had known for a while, but now KID knew that he knew. He had also pretty much told the thief that he wasn't going to put him in jail. And KID knew everything about Conan and how that had happened. Was it really so special if KID shared his secret with him?

No, don't make light of it. It is special.

The heist was tomorrow, giving him plenty of time to prepare. He would need to catch up on some of his work tonight so that he could clear up his schedule for tomorrow night.

"Young Kudo-kun, have you seen the news on TV? There's going to be a Kaitou KID heist tomorrow. Are you attending? Shall we catch that rapscallion?" Kagami-kun called out.

Shinichi had temporarily forgotten about the mirror yokai during his excitement, "Sorry Kagami-kun, but I think you'll have to sit this one out. KID's heists involve a lot of physical exertion and that might not be the best place for you. I would hate for a KID task force officer to tackle me thinking I'm KID and accidentally shattering you."

The mirror seemed only mildly disappointed, "Very well. I suppose I can't expect you to bring me everywhere with you. Well I know the heists are often televised, just leave the TV on for me when you leave and I'll consider that good enough."

"Consider it done," Shinichi agreed.

-0-0-0-0-0-

"Ladies and Gentlemen!" KID's voice boomed out seeming to come from everywhere.

The lights went out leaving the art gallery in total darkness. Three spot lights flicked on one by one, illuminating the glass case that was covering KID's target. Standing atop the glass case was KID himself.

"Thank you for coming out tonight. I'm afraid I'm going to have to cut our meeting short, I'm a busy thief with places to be, you understand of course. I'll just be taking the jewel and be on my way," KID taunted.

"Like hell! I'm not letting you to take the jewel, KID!" Nakamori-keibu bellowed.

"But why not? It would be so easy. Here, watch," KID snapped his fingers and flock of his doves flew from his suit, carrying with them long, colorful scarves. The doves circles around their master and the jewel case, semi-obstructing both from view with the scarves. When they had stopped, KID was holding the jewel despite having never appeared to have moved from the top of the glass case.

Nakamori-keibu's face was red with anger, "You won't get away this time, KID. Get him!"

A few of the task force members tried throwing a net at the thief, but with a laugh the thief sprang out of the way landed some distance away, much father than a normal person would be able to help. Shinichi's bet was on wires that couldn't be seen in the low lighting.

KID threw a smoke bomb and disappeared. His running foot steps could be heard going up the stairs.

"He's heading for the roof, after him, men!" Nakamori-keibu shouted. He, along with his men, made a mad dash for the stairs.

Shinichi watched them go making no move to follow them. Once they were gone, he headed for a different set of stairs and hurried to climb them. Instead of taking them all the way up to the roof, he stopped on the forth floor and took the sky bridge to the building next door. He hurried through the hallways, picturing a mental map of the building in his head using the blueprints he borrowed, until he made it to his next destination, a second sky bridge. He took it to the next building and this time he went straight for the stairs and climbed for the roof.

He was breathing a little heavy by the time he had made it, but he wasn't as winded as he would have been if he still had to use Conan's short legs. He burst through the door and found KID waiting for him.

KID was holding the jewel up to the moon, his cape flapping madly in the wind, his back to Shinichi, face in profile. Shinichi was momentarily stunned, but quickly recovered.

"Meitantei-kun, I see you were able to figure out not only my heist note riddle, but also which roof top I would run to," KID said cheerfully.

"I appreciated the challenge. So I guess that one isn't what you're looking for?" He nodded at the jewel KID was holding.

"This? Nothing but a sparkly paper weight. You can have it back," he tossed the jewel to the detective, who easily caught it. "What do you know or suspect about why I steal?"

"I know you're looking for something, and you can only identify it by moonlight. I know you aren't stealing for personal gain. I think once you find what you are looking for, you aren't going to give it back, but I also know you must have a good reason for taking it," he paused to think before continuing, "After the Black Organization was taken down, you told me I had helped you by capturing a certain serpent as well. I think someone in the organization was also searching for the same thing you are, and you wanted to get it first. We already established you aren't doing this for personal gain, so you want to find what you are looking for to keep them from finding it, because that would be bad somehow. You were making your heists a public spectacle with the police involved to draw attention to the men, although you also just enjoyed the attention. This is proven by the fact that the men that were also chasing your target are gone and yet your heists still continue with the police presence."

KID snickered at Shinichi's last statement, "Anything else, detective?"

Shinichi hesitated before proceeding slowly, "One of the organizations primary goals was finding immortality. Somehow this gem you are looking for will have a legend or myth surrounding it that will speak of immortality. I will admit that's more a theory. I haven't done any research into jewels and legends of immortality or on legends surrounding your previous heist targets, so I'm unsure if one even exists."

KID was silent, then he gave Shinichi a bow, "You have truly outdone yourself this time, detective. I don't think you need me to share anything with you, you've already figured it all out. Nobody else has guessed even half of what you figured out, bravo."

Shinichi shook his head, "I know I'm missing something, and I would like to hear the full story from you."

"I suppose I owe it to you. I do already know all of your secrets. I no longer have any reason to hide it from you," KID slowly started to close the distance between them. As he got closer, he reached up and removed his hat and monocle.

"What are you doing?" Shinichi hissed, "What if someone sees you?"

Kuroba gave him a grin, "Don't worry. I've taken plenty of task force is chasing a dummy two rooftops over, and my doves are keeping an eye out for anyone that might get smart or lucky. I want to have this conversation with you as myself, Kuroba Kaito."

He was standing very close now, only about an arms length away. Shinichi noticed that the other man stood several inches taller than him. Seriously, how did nobody see through KID's Kudo disguise? He would blame it on age and puberty weakening the resemblance again.

"My father was the magician Kuroba Toichi, and he was amazing. When I was 8 years old, he mysteriously died during one of his magic shows. Everyone assumed he had made a mistake, but my father did not make mistakes. Still, I was young and I believed what I was told. That is until 8 years later when I accidentally found a secret room in my house, and inside the room was my dad's Kaitou KID workshop. I realized my dad was the original Kaitou KID. I also learned that my dad was approached by a shady organization that demanded he work for and steal for them. They were looking for something in particular and wanted him to find it. He refused, and tried to find it himself to keep it away from them. So they murdered him and made it look like an accident. Once I learned this, I had two goals: to catch my father's murderers and bring them to justice, and to find the jewel they were looking for before them and destroy it before they or anyone else could get their hands on it."

"And what is it you are looking for?" Shinichi questioned, unsure if Kuroba would actually answer.

He didn't hesitate, "They call it Pandora. It's said to be a gem hidden inside another gem, and the hidden gem can only be seen by the light of the moon. When the Volley Comet passes close to Earth, it's said to cry red tears. Whoever drinks those tears will become immortal, so the legend goes."

Shinichi nodded, turning over the information. His father was the original Kaitou KID and was murdered? That's what he had been missing. He now understood. To lose his father at such a young age, and to find out he had been murdered, he could see what drove Kuroba to take up the Kaitou KID mantle. His younger self, prior to Conan, saw things much more in black and white and wouldn't have understood. But he wasn't that person anymore. He now knew that many shades of grey existed.

"Maybe I can help in your search," he heard himself say.

Kuroba cocked his head to the side and squinted at Shinichi thoughtfully, "You would help a thief with his heists?"

Shinichi shook his head, "I'm not going to help with the heists themselves, I don't think you would want help anyway, or need it for that matter. But I can help narrow down your targets and where you might find them."

Kuroba flashed a sharp grin, "I won't say no to having your intellect working on my side."

Shinichi nodded, "We should exchange numbers."

Kuroba raised a hand to his cheek in mock surprise, "Was this all your ploy to get my phone number?"

Shinichi felt his face grow hot and he sputtered, momentarily thrown off after what had previously been a serious conversation.

Kuroba laughed, "Check your phone, detective. I think you'll find that my number is already there." He put his hat and monocle back on, "I think it's about time I finally made my escape. Thank you for listening to my secret."

"Who else knows besides me," he asked curiously.

Kuroba paused and looked back at the detective, "Aside from my assistant, only you, Shinichi. Only you."

Kuroba turned and ran for the edge of the roof, his cape flowing behind him. I jumped and was gone, his glider getting smaller and smaller in the distance.

-0-0-0-0-0-

"What do you need, Kudo?" Haibara asked.

Shinichi was seated in her lab the next day following the heist. He figured if he was going to help KID in his search, she might be a good place to start.

"I need some information. I remember you telling me about the Black Organization's search for immortality. Do you have any more information on jewels or gems that are suppose to grant immortally? Specifically one that the organization might have been searching for?" He asked.

She cocked an eyebrow, "Why exactly do you want to know?"

"I'm looking into something for a friend. I would rather not say more," he answered.

She fixed him with a look, "A friend. One that needs information on a jewel or gem? Forgive me for jumping to conclusions, I'm not a detective myself, but would this friend happen to be Kaitou KID?"

"I don't know what makes you think that," he gave her an innocent look that she no doubt saw right through.

She shook her head and let it go, "I'm afraid I'm going to have to disappoint you. I was aware of a department that was looking for some kind of gem or jewel that was rumored to grant immortality. I think they were a subdivision that used animal names instead of alcohol. But while I knew they existed, and what they were searching for, I'm afraid that's the extent of my knowledge."

Shinichi nodded, disappointed but not surprised, "It's aright. It was a long shot, but it would have been negligent of me not to ask."

He excused himself and made his way back home.

He got out his voice changing bow-tie and set it to his Conan voice, then he found his Conan phone that he had kept just in case. He made a call.

"Cool Kid, what can I do for you? I had heard you joined your family back in America," Jodie Starling questioned.

"I need a favor, Jodie-sensei," he answered through the voice changer.

"Considering how much you helped out with the take down of the Black Organization, I probably owe you several favors. What do you need?"

"That's why I'm calling, actually. I need access to the files we confiscated from the organization," he answered.

Jodie was quiet for a moment, "I don't know if I can do that, Cool Kid. I'm not sure I have the authorization to let you look at their files."

"I don't need access to all of it, just a very small portion, one the FBI would probably find insignificant."

More silence, then, "Tell me what you need and I'll see what I can do."

"I'm looking for information on a gem or jewel the organization was looking for. It probably has a strange legend surrounding it," he immediately answered, relieved.

"I'm not going to make any promises, but give me a couple days. IF I can send you anything, it will be in your email in a secure link. The link will expire within a few hours of being sent so keep an eye out for it."

"Thank you, Jodie-sensei," he said before hanging up.

-0-0-0-0-0-

A few days later, Jodie's email arrived in Conan's inbox. He clicked to open the link, but it was password protected. He sat back in his chair and frowned. Jodie hadn't mentioned anything about a password. He thought for a moment. He wasn't the most computer literate, his skills just being average and by no means hacker level, but this weblink looked like one that was made specifically for him as a one time use. That would mean the password would be one Jodie set up specifically for him.

Well if he was correct, there was really only one answer.

He typed in "Cool Kid."

Instantly the screen changed and was replaced with multiple files.

He sighed when he saw the page count on some of the files. This was going to take awhile. Jodie had also warned him that the link would expire within hours of being sent. He could read fast, but it was virtually impossible to sort through all of the information in such a short amount of time. He didn't want to download the information onto his computer in case someone hacked into his information. He was sure his cyber security was nowhere near comparable to the FBI's. He would just have to print all of it. He would destroy it all once he was finished with it.

He set the files to print, and then stood up from his computer. This was going to going to take awhile so he might as well walk to the nearest conbini and get himself a snack.

A short time later he exited the conbini, coffee jelly in hand, and began to walk back home. He paused when heard what sounded like ghostly groaning nearby. He looked around, feigning nonchalance as if he was just looking at his surroundings, and he saw it. Hanging from the corner of the roof was another tsukumogami, this one a paper lantern. It had a pale face and long, dark hair. It was also much larger than the average paper lantern, hanging nearly to the ground. Shinichi was careful to let his eyes slide over it without pause, as if he couldn't see it. The lantern yokai turned to him briefly, but quickly lost interest when it seemed satisfied that Shinichi couldn't see him.

Shinichi had to walk past it to get back home. It wouldn't be natural for him avoid it, so he would have to get pretty close to it. The lantern hadn't been there when he had first entered the conbini, he would have noticed it if it had, so it must be able to move around like the umbrella could. He hoped that now that it was there, it stayed until Shinichi was gone.

He walked closer and closer to the groaning lantern, keeping his face carefully neutral, his pace casual. He was close enough now that if he reached out a hand he would be able to touch it.

Don't move. Don't move. Don't move. He silently chanted as he got closer. Finally he had passed the lantern, his back was now to it as he continued walking.

"Ah, ah, achoo!" Suddenly the lantern sneezed.

Shinichi felt the force of it ruffle his hair. He couldn't stop himself from freezing. He barely surpassed a shudder of disgust, hoping the lantern hadn't just sprayed snot or spittle onto his back. He was aware of the lantern's eyes on him, probably suspicious that he had stopped walking after it had sneezed on him.

"Wow, what a strong breeze," he said as if he was talking to himself while he fixed his ruffled hair.

He continued walking home, squishing down the urge to run.

-0-0-0-0-0-

Once he was in the safety of the Kudo manor, he immediately made a beeline for the shower, scrubbing his hair and back three times to make sure he was clean of yokai boogers. Once he was satisfied, he stepped out and wrapped a towel around his wait.

"That was a longer shower than usual, young master. Is everything okay?"

Shinichi jumped and let out a yelp, turning to the bathroom mirror while making sure he was covered with the towel. "Kagami-san! What have I told you about using the bathroom mirror?"

He didn't wait for an answer and exited the bathroom. He made his way back to his bedroom and Kagami-san's voice answered him from the reflection in his bedroom window, "I really don't understand your concern, young Kudo. I am a tsukumogami, and as such I feel no feelings of attraction nor disgust at the human form. You affect me as much as I'm sure "naked" animals affect you."

"Yeah well "naked" animals don't talk back to me," Shinichi called out while changing in his closet, away from any reflections.

Kagami-san huffed but dropped the subject, "Are you going to tell me why you came home looking so disturbed?"

Shinichi exited the closet wearing a loose shirt and some pajama pants. He toweled his hair dry and answered the mirror, "I ran into one of your kind on my walk home. It wasn't the most pleasant encounter."

"Really? Who was it?" Kagami-san asked.

"I didn't ask his name, I acted as if I couldn't see him. I wasn't sure what would happen if he knew I could. He was a large lantern, about as long as I am tall. He had a pale face and long, dark hair."

"That sounds like my friend Iwa-san, the lantern yokai. Did he still have that dreadful cold? He always seems to have one," Kagami-san answered sounding eager.

"Yeah, he sneezed right on me," Shinichi grumbled.

"Ho ho ho, that's him alright. Iwa-san never did have the best manners, although aside from that he's a good chap. If you had talked to him, he probably would have engaged in pleasant conversation with you," the mirror replied.

"The first yokai I ever encountered said he was going to eat me, so I've been a little cautious of them ever since," Shinichi answered.

"I don't recall you sharing that story with me, I thought I was your first yokai encounter," said the mirror.

"I'm told it was a kasa-obake. I accidentally insulted him by asking him 'what are you' and he tried to eat me."

The mirror chuckled, "That's a friend of mine as well, and trust me he wasn't going to hurt you. He can be a bit of a prankster"

Shinichi felt mildly embarrassed remembering how he had run away scared that a paper umbrella was going to eat him. "Are all tsukumogami harmless?"

"Yes! Well, most of us anyway. You'll probably never run into a bad yokai, they just aren't common. I make no promises that they won't be a little mischievous, however. Yokai are heavily influenced by how they were treated before they gained sentience. Seeing as it's part of your country's culture to take care of their things, most of us are not malicious. Next time you're out and you see one of us, feel free to strike up a conversation. They might even be willing to help you if you're on a case.

Shinichi felt like he could almost recall a memory from his childhood of his mother teaching him to not tear up the furniture. He nodded, "I'll keep that in mind."

-0-0-0-0-0-

Shinichi dove into the information he had received from Jodie-sensei. There was a lot to go through and organize. He took a bite of the sandwich in front of him.

Wait, he never made himself a sandwich?

He looked up from his work to the sandwich on a plate in front of him, then quickly looked up at the person across from him. He yelped and nearly fell out of his seat, "Ahh! Kuroba, what are you doing here?"

Seated across from him was Kuroba in casual wear, his elbows on the table and his face resting in his hands. He had a thoughtful look on his face. "It is fascinating how much you can focus. Did you know that's the second sandwich I've given you? When's the last time you ate? And don't you think its a bit dangerous that you didn't even notice I was here? What if I was someone who wished you harm?"

"If it had been anyone but you I would have noticed," as soon as the words were out he realized what he said and blushed.

Kuroba blinked at him, then he looked very smug. "So you're saying you feel comfortable enough around me that you subconsciously drop your guard? Do I make you feel safe?"

Shinichi's face was red before, but now it was on fire. "Forget about that, what are you doing here?"

"A little bird told me you were overworking yourself, so I came to check on you and make sure you were taking proper care of yourself," Kuroba answered.

Shinichi's eyes flicked to the window where he saw a couple of doves sitting on the windowsill. He made a mental note to close his curtains next time.

"You need a break," Kuroba stated.

"I'm fine, Kuroba. I haven't been working for that long," Shinichi reasoned.

Kuroba gave him an incredulous look, "Shinichi, it's been 40 hours."

Oh, now that it was pointed out to him, he did feel kinda tired. And his back did fell a bit stiff. Since when did he have a headache?

He sighed and stood up, "Fine, you have a point. I guess I could use a break."

"Great, then let's go," Kuroba sprang up and ushered Shinichi to his front door.

"Where exactly are we going?" Shinichi asked while toeing on his shoes.

"Only for a simple walk. I don't want you to over exert yourself. Once I get back, you are going straight to bed," Kaito answered.

Shinichi closed the gate behind them and looked around. The weather was perfect. It was a little overcast, not too dark nor to bright. There was a gentle breeze that moved through his hair without chilling him. Shinichi allowed his eyes to close while he took a deep inhale; the air smelled fresh.

"Come on, this way," Kuroba took him by the hand and lead him down the street.

"Why this direction?"

"No reason in particular!" He cheerfully replied.

Shinichi felt himself relaxing, an easy smile spreading across his face. He didn't think much about Kuroba still holding his hand.

The two boys went for a slow, lazy walk. They chatted with each other about whatever came to mind. It was incredibly easy to talk to the magician. Kuroba did a lot of the talking, answering Shinichi's questions while Shinichi used the opportunity to get to know him better.

All too soon they were back at the gates to the manor. "I have to admit, Kuroba, I do feel much better after that little break. So thanks, I guess."

"No thanks needed, Kudo. I know you're working hard for my behalf."

Shinichi shrugged, feeling embarrassed, "Everyone knows I'm a workaholic anyway. It's not a big deal."

"Don't try to devalue it. You throw yourself into your work to catch killers, not to track down myths of jewels that grant immortality that may not even exist. I appreciate you giving my search the same attention you would a homicide case."

If it's important to my friend it's important to me. He didn't voice his thoughts out loud and instead just said, "You're welcome."

-0-0-0-0-0-

After Kuroba's visit, Shinichi went to bed. He had no choice, the damned thief had not only threatened to spray him with some of his sleeping gas he used during his heists, but had also hidden all of the files on Pandora. Once Kuroba promised to send a dove with instructions on where the files were hidden in the morning, Shinichi grudgingly agreed to go to bed.

After a full night's sleep, Shinichi continued to work on finding Pandora, but he took breaks more often, though once again it was less his choice and more due to Kuroba's threats. If he went too long without a break, one of Kuroba's doves would tap on his wind to get his attention, then stare into his soul until Shinichi gave in and took a break.

Once Shinichi had tried to close the curtains and ignore the doves. He wouldn't make that mistake again. It took a little time for him to experience the consequences to his actions, most likely because the doves were waiting for their opportunity. He got up to refill his coffee and when he came back, his files were gone. In their place were just a couple of white feathers. His phone chimed with an incoming text. He checked it and it was from Kuroba, as he expected. The message was a picture of some papers being held dangerously close to the flame of a candle. It couldn't have actually been his files, he hadn't been gone long enough for the doves to take them that far, but the threat was clear. The picture was followed up with a bunch of cheerful emojis that seemed to communicate Kuroba's demands. The emojis were various kinds of foods, a sleeping emoji, sun emoji, etc.

He wasn't going to make that mistake again.

It only took a couple more days, a little longer due to all of the breaks Shinichi was forced to take and he also had his own work he had to do as well, but Shinichi was able to compile a modest list of potential Pandora gems. He also included their locations, a schedule on when they would be featured in upcoming shows or viewings, and other relevant information.

"This is amazing," Kuroba told him once he was given the finalized list, "With this, I bet I'll find Pandora by the end of the year. Shinichi, I could kiss you."

Shinichi looked away from Kuroba's brilliant smile, suddenly feeling modest, "I was happy to help, Kuroba."

"You should call me Kaito."

He smiled, "I guess I should. You have already started calling me by my given name."

Kaito immediately set to work planning his next heist. Shinichi attended of course and still did his best to catch the thief. He still enjoyed the chase even if he had no intention of turning KID over to the police. The heist ended with just the two of them on the roof top, Nakamori's task force either sleeping off the knock out gas or trying to escape the glue trap they were stuck in down stairs. KID held the gem up to the moon and Shinichi found himself holding his breath. He couldn't help but feel disappointed when the jewel wasn't what they were looking for.

"Cheer up, detective," KID tossed the jewel to Shinichi sounding as optimistic as ever, "There's always the next one."

And so a new routine started for Shinichi. Do some school work, solve a murder case or two (or three or five), catch up with Ran and Sonoko (and even Hattori if he was in the area), and attend KID's heists. Kaito would also show up outside of a heist on occasion to hang out or drag Shinichi out of the house.

Shinichi still took Kagami-san with him to cases (but not KID heists), and he would sometimes still see yokai. He followed Kagami-san's advice and stopped ignoring the yokai he saw on the streets. Some of the yokai weren't overly interested in him, but most seemed happy to say hi. Occasionally they would even help out with cases he ran into, just as Kagami-san had suggested, though not very often. Mostly they were helpful by telling Shinichi what they had witnessed when suspects didn't realize the unseen yokai were nearby watching them, but many yokai weren't very interested in the affairs of humans and ignored them.

This new routine continued for Shinichi for another couple of months. He still looked forward to KID heists, but he started to notice a strange feeling of disappointment that followed after the heists. He wrote it off to disappointment that KID's target wasn't Pandora. He had worked so hard on that list for Kaito, what if he was wrong? What if one of the gems he had eliminated from the list was actually it? He could be leading Kaito in the wrong direction.

Yeah he must be disappointed that Kaito still hadn't found it. He would just have to be patient. KID still hadn't reached the end of his list and Pandora could be the last one KID checked for all they knew. Kaito seemed to have nothing but faith in Shinichi's list, something that made him feel warm on the inside.

One night after another unsuccessful heist, KID and Shinichi were sitting together on the roof. Nakamori and his task force had long since left after getting tricked by a dummy, so they had no reason to worry about getting interrupted. Both young men were seated together on the edge of the roof with their feet hanging over the side, looking at the city down below them. It was high up, but Shinichi wasn't afraid, he knew if he fell KID would catch him.

"That's one more to cross off your list, its only a matter of time until I find the right one," KID said with a large grin, his eyes looked determined.

Shinichi nodded, "I guess until than, you'll just have to continue your heists and keep pestering poor Nakamori-keibu."

That got a laugh out of Kaito, "Did you see his face when he realized I had dyed his mustache pink? Oh I am going to miss these moments when KID retires."

Shinichi swallowed the sudden lump in his throat before answering, "So that's your plan after you find Pandora? To retire KID?"

"You sound a little disappointed, detective," Kaito teased before he continued a little less jovial, "But yes that is the plan. I love being KID and I will miss it when I hang up the cape, but I never intended to do this forever."

"What are you going to do once you retire?" Shinichi asked.

The breeze picked up and Shinichi felt himself shiver. It was starting to get chilly this high up. Kaito scooted closer and wrapped his cape around Shinichi without a comment.

"Once my goals as KID are accomplished, I can finally get on with my life as Kaito. Planning heists takes a lot of time and doesn't exactly pay well considering I return everything I steal. I could be investing that time into starting my career as a magician. I also would have more time for the people I care about, maybe deepening some of those relationship," Kaito said and gave Shinichi a look he couldn't read.

Shinichi tried to force a smile, "Sounds like you are really looking forward to it. Well I'm happy for you."

"Why are you talking like after I retire you're never going to see me again?" Kaito wrapped an arm around Shinichi and pulled him closer. To his mortification, Shinichi felt himself blush so hard his face was probably glowing in the dark. "If anything once I'm no longer KID you'll probably see a lot more of me. You've become very special to me, Shinichi. I'm not planning on letting you go."

Shinichi laughed in relief, feeling the knot in his chest release, "When you talk like that, it sounds like you have a thing for me."

"What if I did? Would that be a problem?"

Shinichi turned his face to look up at the other man, searching his face for any hint of a joke. Kaito was trying to give a lazy grin, but his eyes held a nervous vulnerability. Shinichi didn't think others would be able to see it, but to him it was obvious.

Oh.

He does like me. And I like him too.

How long have I had these feelings for?

Shinichi gave a shy little smile, "No, that-that wouldn't be a problem at all."

The smile Kaito gave him was brighter than the sun.

He wasn't sure who leaned in first, maybe they both leaned in together, but the next moment Kaito was kissing him. It started off as just a hesitant brush of the lips, the usually confidant thief seeming uncertain for once. Shinichi leaned in and returned the kiss. Feeling encouraged, Kaito wrapped his other arm around Shinichi, holding him close. Shinichi leaned against him and rested his hand on the other's chest.

They parted and Kaito chuckled, "I wasn't planning on doing that until after KID retired, but you have a way of making my control go out the window."

Shinichi felt his cheeks grow hot at Kaito's admission, feeling pleased that he had that affect on the other man. He grumbled, "You talk about your control? I don't think I have blushed once in my life before I met you, and now my stupid face can't seem to stop when you're around."

Kaito laughed, "I think it's cute." He placed a small kiss on Shinichi's cheek causing the receding blush to return brighter than ever. He flicked his wrist and produced a red rose. He offered it to Shinichi, "A promise, for after KID is retired."

Shinichi took the rose and smiled, "I look forward to it."

-0-0-0-0-0-

Things continued much the same for another few weeks except for one change. Now during his heists, KID would often steal small little kisses from him when he could get away from it. The kisses always left him breathless.

"You seem to be in a good mood lately. Did KID finally make a move?" Haibara asked one day while doing a check up on him.

"I don't know what you're talking about," he lied.

"Mm-hm, sure," She clearly didn't believe him but also didn't seem to care to push it, "Have you had any knew symptoms or changes?"

Shinichi shook his head, "All of my previous issues seems to have nearly resolved as well. The muscle weakness and fatigue are pretty much gone. My temperature regulation and blood pressure have gone completely back to normal."

"Are you still able to see and talk to yokai?"

"Yes, I see them as easily as I see you in front of me. But they don't bother me at all any more. Kagami-san, the mirror I had told you about, explained to me that most yokai are harmless pranksters. They also don't seem to be very common in the first place."

Haibara nodded, "Just be careful. I don't know much of what the organization knew about yokai, but they seemed pretty confident that at least some of them out there have malicious intent."

Shinichi nodded, taking her warning seriously.

Unfortunately it wouldn't help him.

The next KID heist, something didn't seem right. Shinichi could feel it as soon as he arrived at the gallery the jewel was being showed at. He tried to pinpoint the source of the feeling, walking deeper into the gallery.

The air itself felt wrong somehow. It felt similar to murderous intent he sometimes felt from criminals, but not quite the same, the feeling a little more alien than what he had previously felt. It seemed to grow thicker the deeper he went into the gallery, he was almost surprised he wasn't choking on it. He felt dread crawling up his spine, his palms beginning to sweat. Nobody else seemed to notice anything. How could they be so oblivious? Didn't they notice how wrong it felt in here? He felt a growing sense of anxiety, but he still hadn't found the reason why.

He rounded the corner to a new room and stopped in his tracks. He had found the source of the malice. And it was coming straight from the case that held KID's target.

I can't let Kaito take that jewel, he turned frantically, trying to see if he could find KID hiding in the crowd. It was almost time for the heist to start, he didn't have much time.

He took off at a run, not caring about the looks he was getting from the people in the crowd. He went from room to room, staring down each person before moving on. He finally stopped after circling the gallery twice. He's not here, he realized. Instead of disguising himself and hiding in the crowd, KID must be hiding elsewhere, in the vents maybe? How was he going to find him in such a short amount of time?

"Kudo-san?" Someone approached him.

"Hakuba, something is wrong," Shinichi turned to the other detective.

Hakuba was suddenly on high alert, "What is it?"

They were interrupted by the lights going out plunging them into darkness.

No no no no no!

"Ladies and gentlemen!" KID's voice boomed, the stage performer catching and holding his audience's attention.

He stood atop the jewel case lite only by the moonlight from the full moon that came from the window behind him. It might have been a beautiful site, if it wasn't for the waves of pure malice Shinichi could see radiating from the jewel below him.

"I think you for coming out to my show tonight. Now for me to take the jewel," he snapped his fingers and the jewel was suddenly gone from it's case.

"Don't do it!" Shinichi yelled in terror.

It was too late. KID held the jewel in his hand and he held it up over his head, showing off his stolen prize to everyone watching. Shinichi's eyes widened when the moonlight hit it and he could suddenly see another jewel inside of it, before the jewel began to grow crimson.

That's it, he found Pandora.

The glow grew brighter enveloping everything around it and filling his vision. He pulled up his arm to shield his eyes from the light, the police officers around him doing the same. When the light faded, Shinichi dropped his arm.

KID stood on the jewel case still as a statue. Everything was quiet and nobody moved. Then Shinichi heard laughter.

It started low, but began to crescendo. It sounded anything but happy. The hairs on the back of Shinichi's neck were standing on end. He realized with horror that the laughter was coming from KID.

KID threw his head back laughing hysterically now, and Shinichi saw his eyes were glowing red.

"Oh, it had been far to long since I got to have any fun," he spoke in a voice sounding far to sinister.

That's not Kaito.

Nakamori-keibu seemed to notice something was off as well. "KID?" He asked hesitantly.

KID, or no it wasn't KID. Pandora turned to him and Nakamori flinched under his gaze, "I'm afraid not."

The inspector seemed to gather himself, remembering he had a job to do, "W-well that doesn't matter. I don't care if you're the Kaitou KID or not, you're still a thief and I'm not going to let you get away. Don't just stand there, men, get him!"

At the command of their inspector, the task force seemed to pull themselves together as well. They ran at the thief making as if to grab him. In the blink of an eye, Pandora was suddenly gone. It wasn't a trick, he really disappeared.

He reappeared several feet away standing behind another task force member. Before the officer could react, Pandora had the officer's gun. He pointed it at the officer with a sick grin, "Good-bye."

Shinichi tackled Pandora, causing the gun shot to go wide thankfully not hitting anyone.

"You! How dare you ruin my fun," Pandora seethed in anger. He disappeared again, reappearing at the entrance to the stairs. "It's a little crowded in here anyway, I think it's time I found somewhere else to play." He turned and took off up the steps.

Shinichi immediately followed. He heard a yell followed by several curses. He made it to the top of the stair case and found Pandora trapped in one of KID's traps for the task force. He was currently tangled up in a net.

"Did KID really get caught in one of his own traps?" Hakuba asked from behind him. He hadn't noticed that the other detective had followed him.

Once again Pandora teleported away to safety, "Don't let that happen again or you will regret it." He didn't seem to be talking to either of them. He turned and continued running, heading for the roof.

Shinichi and Hakuba chased after, and Shinichi could hear the task force catching up. They moved at a much slower pace considering they had to avoid KID's traps. At times Shinichi could hear a yelp from behind him signifying that a task force member had gotten caught. Pandora kept flicking in and out of existence as he teleported down the hallway and past the traps.

Shinichi heard a yell behind him and turned to see Hakuba caught in a glue trap. "Don't worry about me, I'm fine. You keep going. But something is very wrong, be careful."

Shinichi nodded at Hakuba and continued on without him.

He made it to the roof and burst through the door, ready for anything. Pandora stood in the center with his back to him, speaking out loud, "I know you had a plan that involved the roof for how you were going to escape, now show me what it was. Stop trying to hide it from me or I will destroy your mind!"

Shinichi approached cautiously, his tranquilizer watch held ready, "You are Pandora, aren't you? Are you possessing KID?"

Pandora turned with a sneer, then paused once he was facing Shinichi. He blinked out and reappeared behind Shinichi. He grabbed Shinichi and suddenly it felt like the world was turned upside down. When the world had rightened itself, Shinichi realized Pandora had teleported both of them to the safety fence surrounded the edge of the roof.

He was now facing Pandora, his back to the fence. Pandora clapped his hands together and when he pulled them apart, he was holding some kind of glowing, red rope. It didn't look like anything Shinichi had ever seen KID use, he must have conjured it the same way he was able to teleport. Pandora grabbed his wrists and roughly tied them above his head to the fence behind him.

Shinichi tried to struggle and let out a yelp of pain. The ropes around his wrists were tightening as if they had a mind of their own. He felt sharp jabs of pain radiating from his bond wrists going down his forearms. He stopped struggling and the pain slowly stopped as well, the ropes loosing marginally.

Pandora cupped Shinichi's face mockingly while Shinichi gritted his teeth, "So this troublesome human, the one that stopped my fun downstairs, is yours, Kuroba?"

"Are you talking to Kaito right now?" Shinichi asked while trying in vain to pull his face out of Pandora's hold.

"Of course. He can see and hear everything, you know. But he's forced to watch while I do whatever I want in his body, powerless to stop me. All he can do is scream uselessly. Currently he is demanding that I stop touching you. I must say, I don't like being told what to do by lowly humans."

"Kaito, listen to me. I'm going to find a way to fix this. I'm going to find a way to save you. I promise I will-ahh!" He yelped as Pandora grabbed him by the hair and pulled his head back exposing his throat.

Pandora trailed his tongue up Shinichi's throat to his chin. He moved to Shinichi's right side and bit his earlobe hard enough to draw blood. Shinichi couldn't stop the hiss of pain. He felt a blood drip down his neck.

"Tell me how you were planning to escape, or I will do much, much worse to the one you love."

"Kaito, trust me. I'll find a way to save you. Please just hang on until I do."

Pandora threw back his head triumphantly and laughed, "Artificial wings? How simply marvelous." He teleported to the other side of the fence and jumped. KID's glider activated a moment later.

-0-0-0-0-0-

Hakuba found him some time later. He carefully released Shinichi and put the strange, red rope that had bond him into an evidence bag. They both made their way back downstairs in silence.

They made it back to the ground floor, back to the gallery, and found Nakamori-keibu and his task force, all free of their own traps. "Did he get away?" The inspector asked.

Shinichi simply nodded, feeling numb.

Nakamori-keibu exhaled, "What was the thief thinking firing a gun at one of my men? I thought he operated under some strange honor code?"

"That wasn't KID," Shinichi heard himself say. He didn't elaborate further though.

Hakuba spoke up, "I must agree with Kudo-kun here, inspector. Whoever that was must have been some kind of copy-cat. Surely you must have noticed the differences?"

"He seemed like the real thing at first, the heist notice, the flamboyant entrance, but you're right. I noticed as well that he seemed like a totally different person," Nakamori said.

Hakuba nodded, "There's too many inconsistencies. KID would never have gotten trapped in one of his own traps, and he would never fire a gun at someone else. And notice he used a stolen police officer's gun, rather than his card gun? Probably because he didn't have a real, working card gun."

Or because Kaito didn't tell him that he had a card gun, Shinichi thought to himself. He had quickly realized that Pandora must have been attempting to read Kaito's memories or his mind, maybe both, and Kaito was doing his best to block him.

"In fact he didn't use any of KID's props. No smoke bombs or glitter bombs, no doves, just the pre-laid traps that he got stuck in himself. And he used this," he pulled out the evidence bag that held the glowing rope, "to retrain Kudo-san. Does this look like anything that KID has ever used before? Not to mention he's injured Kudo-san. He's bleeding and his wrists are pretty badly bruised."

The stress of everything had raised Shinichi's blood pressure, causing the bleeding to be worse. It dried on the side of his neck, looking far more ghastly than it actually was. It did hurt though, his ear lobe throbbed in pain. His wrists pulsed in pain as well. Already both of his wrists had a welt from that strange rope he had been bond with.

"You should get that looked at, Kudo," Nakamori shot him a small look of concern before moving on, "Alright Hakuba, you've made your point; that obviously wasn't KID. This is wonderful! Now we have a Kaitou KID copy-cat that seems far more dangerous. I think I'm going to need to make a public statement about this. As much as I hate to admit it, KID has a lot of fans and someone could get hurt if they run into the copy-cat instead. Just more work to add onto my plate. Kudo, you head home and get your injuries looked at. You can give your statement another day."

Shinichi nodded and turned to leave.

"Kudo-san, a moment before you leave please?" Hakuba stopped him.

Shinichi paused but didn't turn around to look at the other detective.

"'When you have eliminated all which is impossible, then whatever remains, however improbable, must be the truth.'"

"I'm sorry, Hakuba-san, but it's rather late and I'm tired. I don't have time to discuss Holmes with you."

Hakuba continued as if Shinichi hadn't interrupted, "Everything use to be firmly rooted in logic for me, but in the past few years I have seen things that have made me question what is and isn't impossible. Did I ever tell you I use to go to high school with a witch?"

"Is there a point to all of this?"

"That was KID at the start of the heist. But once he touched the jewel, he wasn't KID anymore. You know that as well as I. You're in shock right now. I have suspected for some time that you and KID might be an romantically involved, and I can tell you're taking this hard. But even though I may not know you well, I know as a fellow detective you're going to try to save him."

"I don't know what you're talking about but I really have to get going, Hakuba-san," he tried to leave again. He stopped when Hakuba grabbed his elbow, clearly not done.

"I know you have every right not to trust me, I'm a detective that has been trying to catch the Kaitou KID for some time now. Same as you, I might add," he gave Shinichi a pointed look which Shinichi ignored. "But I consider Kuroba a friend of mine and I don't want to see him hurt. If I can do anything to help, please let me know." He released his grip on Shinichi's arm.

Shinichi stayed silent for a moment, blinking back the tears that tried to fall. "I'm sorry, I've met Kuroba a few times already but I'm not sure what he has to do with anything or why you're bringing him up now. But..thank you…for the offer to help."

-0-0-0-0-0-

Shinichi walked back home and finally allowed the tears to fall. He was so so scared for Kaito's sake. He couldn't imagine what Kaito must be going through, his mind held prisoner in his own body while someone else commanded it and did awful things. The worst part was it was Shinichi's fault. If he hadn't given Kaito that list and helped him find Pandora. If he had been able to stop Kaito before he had taken the jewel. If he had been able to stop Pandora before it leapt off the roof. A part of him knew logically that it wasn't really his fault, nor was it Kaito's, but he just needed a moment to wallow in his own self-pity.

Once the Kudo manor came into view, he wiped away his tears. Alright, pity party over. Time to be a detective again and figure out how to fix this.

He threw the door open and made his way straight to living room where Kagami-san was watching TV.

"Kagami-san, I need to talk to you," he picked up the remote and paused the movie the mirror was currently watching.

"Young master, is everything alright? You look absolutely dreadful," the mirror asked.

"What can you tell me about Pandora? Is it a tsukumogami?"

The mirror seemed to jolt in shock, "What did you just say?"

"I asked what you can tell me about Pan…"

"Don't say its name again," Kagami-san interrupted. He sounded terrified. "No, no, no. We are not going to discuss such frightful things."

"Please, I need your help. He has someone very special to me," Shinichi pleaded.

Kagami-san shuddered and sighed, "Very well, young Kudo. The one you are speaking of is a ancient tsukumogami of great evil. Some of the other yokai say he is the result of the worst desires and feelings of the men that sought to possess him. After centuries of others seeking to possess him, now he is the one that possesses others. He is rumored to grant great power, but all stories of him from the past involve a trail of blood."

"What does he want?" Shinichi asked.

"As far as I can tell, the only thing he wants is to cause as much chaos and destruction as possible. I believe he is quite insane," the mirror answered.

Shinichi nodded before asking, "How do I stop him."

Kagami-san groaned, "You mustn't, young Kudo. It is far to dangerous."

"Kagami-san, please," he sounded desperate.

The mirror paused and searched Shinichi's face. He seemed to come to a decision, "Very well, young master. I believe I might have a way you can save your friend. But it's going to be dangerous and you are going to need my help."

Shinichi nodded in determination, "What do we need to do?"

"First we are going to have to find your friend and that cursed jewel. Next you are going to need me. Do you remember when I told you that I have other abilities aside from seeing through nearby mirrors and reflections?"

-0-0-0-0-0-

Shinichi watched the news obsessively, looking for any hint of Pandora. It wasn't hard, the cursed jewel didn't seem to be trying to hide his presence. He seemed to be everywhere. He had traded out KID's white suit for one that was black with red accents and a red shirt under the suit jacket. The news called him Kaitou Black and discussed him as much as possible.

Soon Shinichi noticed a pattern to his movements. He would show up in seemingly random places just to cause fear and chaos as Kagami-san had said, sometimes people that got in his way would get hurt but thankfully nothing life threatening or permanently life altering so far. But Shinichi also noticed he had a thing for stealing jewels, and not just any jewels either, but jewels that had a legend or myth surrounding them. In fact, he seemed to be following the list that Shinichi had made for potential Pandora targets. He wasn't sure what the cursed jewel's motive was for stealing other jewels. He did notice that unlike KID, Pandora didn't give the jewels back. He also didn't send out heists notices, but rather just stole whenever he seemed to feel like it.

Whatever the reason, it made his movements more predictable. It also gave him something he could use as bait.

Shinichi picked up his phone and dialed, "Hello, Hakuba-san? I need your help."

-0-0-0-0-0-

Shinichi looked into the press camera in determination and continued speaking, "That's why I'm challenging Kaitou Black, who is just a fake imitation of the real Kaitou KID. He could never live up to the real thing, and that's why I know he won't be able to steal the Hortensia Diamond while I'm guarding it." He pointed at the camera in challenge, his pose communicating confidence and arrogance, "I will be at the Beika Museum this Friday at 11pm to guard the diamond. Kaitou Black, try to steal it if you can."

Shinichi left the podium, ignoring the calls of the reporters shouting questions at him.

"Do you think it will work?" Hakuba fell into step with him.

"Only if he sees the news broadcast, but that's why I had to play up the dramatics. They're going to broadcast my challenge on every news program tonight if I had to guess."

"Oh I think they're going to do more than that," Haukba suddenly stopped, grabbing Shinichi's sleeve to get him to stop as well. Shinichi gave him a questioning look, and to answer Hakuba simply nodded at one of the large televised billboards above them at Shibuya's Crossing.

Shinichi looked up at saw his own face blown up on the screen. "Kaitou Black, try to steal it if you can." His voice boomed out from the speakers. Shinichi wasn't sure how he had missed it before, he must just be used to ignoring the large billboard whenever he found himself in Shibuya. "That was young detective, Kudo Shinichi, issuing a challenge to the villainous figure, the Kaitou Black." A reporter had replaced Shinichi's image and was speaking to the camera now. She continued talking but Shinichi tuned her out, losing interest.

"Good, that's more than I could have hoped for. He will have to see it now," Shinichi murmured.

Hakuba shook his head, "You're sure you won't need more time to prepare? He's dangerous, you know."

"I should be asking you that, you're the one with the harder job," Shinichi easily evaded the question.

Hakuba wasn't fooled but let it slide anyway, "I can manage. Are you sure there isn't anything else I can do to help?"

"No, as long as you take care of your part, I can handle the rest," Shinichi answered.

"Alright, then I will see you Friday," Hakuba gave a nod of farewell and they parted.

-0-0-0-0-0-

Soon it was Friday and Shinichi was at the Beika Museum, waiting. Nakamori-keibu and his men had showed up as well. Shinichi had kind of hoped that they wouldn't come, worried about their safety, but he knew he wouldn't be able to keep them away. The task force seemed to be after Kaitou Black as well. He looked around and his eyes found Hakuba, the other detective gave him a nod.

"Young Kudo," Kagami-san hissed from his pocket in warning.

"I know, I can feel him," Shinichi answered.

He didn't have to wait long. Suddenly he heard a wicked laughter that set off his nerves in warning. A smoke bomb was thrown and when the smoke cleared, Pandora was revealed.

It seems he found some of Kaito's props.

Hakuba was looking at his watch with a scowl, "You are 12 minutes and 42 seconds early."

Pandora sneered at him, "As if I would follow the rules set by lowly humans."

"Kaitou Black, you aren't going anywhere. The task force will catch you and make you pay for the crimes you have committed," Nakamori yelled.

Pandora snarled, "Do not call me by that idiotic name your media has given me." He pulled out a gun, a real one not KID's card gun, and aimed it at Shinichi. "And you, you called me that on television. You challenged me, and you compared me to him even though I am far superior to any human. You are the one that ruined my fun the first day I awakened. You are quickly proving to be a thorn in my side. I think it's time I finally did something about you."

"Kudo, get down!" Nakamori shouted.

Shinichi didn't move and stared in determination into Pandora's red, glowing eyes. Pandora pulled his lip back in a sneer and pulled the trigger.

The gun clicked but nothing happened.

"That's the same gun you stole from the police officer before. I've been keeping an eye on you, watching every news program and reading every newspaper article about you since your appearance," Shinichi went into case solving mode out of habit, a safety net to fall back on after the very real fright of having a gun pointed at him (even if it wasn't the first time, and even if he knew it wouldn't fire, it still didn't stop it from being terrifying). "A standard issue officer's gun holds 6 rounds. You fired one shortly after you stole the gun, one when you stole that necklace that's said to bring it's wearer good fortune, two when you stole the earrings of eternal beauty, and another two when you took the ring of wisdom. After you stole the ring, you would flash the gun around, but you never fired it again. That's because you ran out of bullets, and you haven't replaced your ammo."

Pandora gave him a scornful look, his red eyes holding nothing but hate.

"Enough of this. Whatever your name is, you are under arrest," Nakamori interrupted.

"Hakuba," Shinichi shouted for the other detective.

The blond discreetly untied an invisible wire and several small canisters fell from the ceiling. They hit the ground with a clatter and burst open, releasing gas from inside them.

The task force was unprepared and they all fell to the sleeping gas one by one.

"It's up to you now, Kudo. Be careful," Hakuba's eyes drooped shut and he fell to the floor, snoring softly.

Shinichi had been ready and once the gas dissipated he dropped his jacket sleeve that he had been breathing through. He and Pandora were the only ones left standing, everyone else around them asleep.

Pandora gave a slow, mocking clap. He was wearing KID's gas mask. "Almost, detective, almost. Was this your big plan to stop me? With a little sleeping gas? Well I'm afraid not only did your plan not work, but now you are also alone."

"You're wrong," Shinichi answered confidently.

"About what, exactly?" Pandora asked.

"All of it. And I was right that you couldn't take the diamond while I was protecting it. See?" He held the diamond up to the one in black, "Try to take it from me if you can."

He turned and took off at a run, heading for the roof. Pandora teleported in front of him making a grab for him, but Shinichi twisted and slipped out of his grip. He continued for the roof and after a few seconds of running he pulled a trip wire that released a net onto the cursed jewel in the stolen body behind him.

Pandora roared in anger and teleported out of the net. He took off in a run chasing after Shinichi.

Shinichi called after him as he ran, "I've noticed that your teleportation skills have a cool down period of about 7 seconds. I'm pretty fast, I used to play football, you know. I can get pretty far in 7 seconds."

At 7 seconds exactly, Shinichi twisted anticipating Pandora trying to make another grab for him. "You also don't do so well if your target is moving. That's why you typically appear behind someone when you teleport to another person. It's so that they don't see you and they don't have time to move."

Shinichi started to run in a zig zag pattern, keeping his movement as random as possible. He would periodically set off more net traps, forcing the cursed jewel to use his teleportation skill and wait out the cool down period.

"And you can only teleport a certain distance, about 10-15 meters I believe. Meaning that you can't just teleport straight to me if I get too far away," Shinichi called back to the cursed jewel.

Just a little farther.

Shinichi burst through the door of the roof with a bang and ran into a waiting Pandora.

Pandora grabbed him and slammed him into the wall beside the door. "So smart detective, but once I realized your destination, I just had to wait for you outside the door." He wrapped his hand around Shinichi's throat and lifted him with one hand, his strength unnatural. His other hand reached inside Shinichi's pocket and pulled out the diamond. "What's this, a fake? You never had the real Hortensia Diamond in the first place did you? I'm going to make you pay for making a fool of me."

Shinichi griped Pandora's arm trying to loosen his hold, but it was useless. His feet dangled several inches off the ground, giving him nothing to brace himself against. Black spots started to appear in his vision.

"You should hear the owner of this body. He is currently screaming, begging me not to hurt you," Pandora taunted. Tears began to roll down his cheeks, the real Kaito's emotions showing through. Pandora laughed, "Watch helplessly as your love is killed by your own hand."

"You thought the sleeping gas was to catch you, but it was actually to get the police out of the way so that you couldn't hurt them. And you said I was alone earlier," he chocked, trying desperately to get air to his lungs, "But you were wrong." He released one hand from his grip on Pandora's hold on him and reached into his pocket. He pulled out a mirror.

A bright, pure light poured out from Kagami-san. Pandora dropped Shinichi with a shout and covered his face. Shinichi fell to his knees and gasped for air, but he never dropped his arm holding Kagami-san up to Pandora.

He only gave himself a moment to recover, knowing that Kagami-san had told him he wouldn't have long. "It's in his breast pocket, young master. I can sense it!" The mirror shouted to him.

Shinichi, still not fully recovered from nearly being strangled, pulled his strength together and sprang up. He grabbed at Pandora's breast pocket and felt the gem inside.

"I will kill you!" Pandora screamed.

He ripped off the pocket and took the gem with it.

For a brief moment, everything turned red and Shinichi felt another presence in his head, but Pandora was still weak from Kagami-san. Before the gem could possess him, Shinichi threw it to the ground with all his strength, shattering it.

Suddenly all was quiet.

"Shinichi?"

Shinichi looked up from the shattered remains of the jewel and saw Kaito staring back at him. His eyes were thankfully back to their normal indigo color, the most beautiful color Shinichi had ever seen.

They crawled to each other and Shinichi reached out, needing to touch Kaito. Kaito in turn gently brushed his fingers over Shinichi's neck, and Shinichi could already feel the bruises that were forming.

"Kaito," he breathed out in relief, his voice raspy.

"Shinichi," Kaito answered.

"Young master, I hate to interrupt but some of the police officers from down stairs must have woken up, they are currently making their way upstairs. I would have told you sooner, but as you know my vision only goes so far," said Kagami-san.

"The task force is coming. You need to go," Shinichi told Kaito.

"But…," Kaito tried to protest.

"No arguing, just go! I'll see you back at home," Shinichi told him.

With a final reluctant look over his shoulder, Kaito leaped from the roof and was gone, the black wings of the glider much harder to see than his typical white.

Moments after he was gone, Nakamori slammed the door to the roof open, "Kaitou Black!"

"He's gone, inspector. I'm afraid he got away. But he didn't take the jewel, even if it was a fake," Shinichi answered.

"That damn criminal got away, he's just as bad as KID. Worse actually since he doesn't have KID's same rules about not hurting anyone," Nakamori argued.

Shinichi let out a dry laugh, "Careful inspector, it sounds like you're complimenting Kaitou KID."

"As if I would ever compliment that no good thief!" Nakamori shouted. Once he finally looked at Shinichi, he paused, "Say, I just noticed your neck. Are you alright? Did that damn Kaitou Black injure you again?"

Shinichi touched his sensitive neck, it would probably be sore for days, "I'll be fine, but I'm afraid there was a scuffle and it seems that Pan-I mean Kaitou Black had that jewel from the previous heist on him. It shattered in the commotion."

Nakamori bent and began to gather the shards in an evidence bag. Thankfully nothing happened when he touched the broken pieces, as Kagami-san had promised. "Well at least the owners had it insured. But that's strange, I would have thought that the jewel wouldn't break so easily," Nakamori said in confusion.

"Yeah, it's almost like it had been weakened somehow," Shinichi answered, discreetly making sure the mirror in his pocket was still tucked away, out of site.

"You should get home, Kudo-kun. I can't believe you got hurt by Kaitou Black again," Nakamori ordered.

Shinichi nodded and began descending down the stairs. Hakuba joined him and walked with him. "Did you do it?" He asked.

Shinichi allowed the relief to show on his face, "Yeah, I did. KID is safe. Thank you for your help."

"Of course, I'm glad I was able to be of use," Hakuba answered, "Are you ever going to tell me the full story of what happened?"

Shinichi only gave him a mysterious smile.

Hakuba sighed, "I thought not. I guess the important thing is that Kuroba was saved."

The smile on Shinichi's face grew, "I still don't know why you are bringing up Kaito or what he has to do anything."

"Right," Hakuba rolled his eyes, "and I'm sure if I were to visit your home later this evening, I wouldn't find you and Kaito together in each other's arms, reunited at last."

Shinichi's grin didn't falter, not caring about the name slip up he had made. He was just too tired and too happy to care, "I've only met Kaito a few times but he's pretty attractive and a likable enough guy. I don't think I would mind being in his arms."

Hakuba groaned, "Love has made you a fool. Just hurry home already."

Shinichi just laughed and decided to follow Hakuba's advise.

-0-0-0-0-0-

Shinichi opened his front door as fast as he could. He pulled off his shoes, noting that another pair of shoes was already there. He turned around and found himself in Kaito's arms. The thief picked him up and spun him once before pulling him into a tight embrace.

"You saved me," Kaito murmured into his hair.

He hugged Kaito back, "Of course I did, I told you I would. You've saved me enough times I think it's time I finally returned the favor."

Kaito made no move to release him and neither did Shinichi. They stayed together, enjoying the moment.

It was Kaito who broke it first. "Wait a minute, you feel thinner than I remember. Have you been eating?" Kaito pulled away and looked him up and down.

"You want to discuss my eating habits now of all times?"

Now that Kaito was done twirling him around and embracing him, Shinichi was able to get a good look at the other man. The black suit was gone thankfully, and he had apparently raided Shinichi's closet. He wore a Kaitou KID pajama shirt that Haibara had given him as a joke. (He couldn't bring himself to throw it away. It was just really comfotable, that's all.) The shirt was a little large on the detective, but fit the thief perfectly. All the acrobatics KID did during his heists had clearly done wonders on his shoulder muscles. The grey sweatpants on the other hand were a bit loose on Kaito's hips, and they were a couple inches too short and showed a lot of Kaito's ankle. Obviously years of football had done their own wonders on Shinichi's legs (and his ass as one outspoken fan had once told him.)

"Don't try to change the subject, your health is very important," said Kaito.

Shinichi rolled his eyes, "I might have skipped a meal or two while I was learning what I could about Pandora. I had more important things on my mind, and besides I was worried I might miss something vital to stopping Pandora."

Kaito picked Shinichi up and threw him over his shoulder like he weighed nothing, "Well come on then, you aren't doing anything else until we get some food in you."

Shinichi blushed at being basically manhandled but found that he didn't really mind.

45 minutes later both boys were huddled together on the couch, sitting close enough that when they moved, their arms or legs would brush. Both had a bowl of simple curry. Once Kaito was satisfied that Shinichi had eaten enough (he even made him eat a second helping) he asked, "So dazzle me, detective. How did you manage to do it?"

Shinichi picked a stray thread on his sweater feeling a touch nervous. Would Kaito believe him or think he was crazy? "Kaito, do you believe in magic?"

Kaito snorted, "I was possessed by an evil rock less than two hours ago, remember? Even before that I was aware of magic. Did I ever tell you I went to high school with a witch?"

"Why are you the second person to tell me that? Are high school witches common?" Shinichi asked while shaking his head.

"Who was the first person?"

"Hakuba," Shinichi answered.

"Ah, that explains it. Him and I were classmates. We are both referring to the same person."

Shinichi shook his head again before continuing, "After I took the cure and regained my old body back, I found that I was able to see yokai."

Kaito cocked his head to the side, "Yokai are real?"

Shinichi nodded, "Apparently most people can't see them. Haibara theorizes that I may be able to now when I couldn't before because of a side effect of the cure, or because of my heart problems I had after taking the cure."

"You mean when your heart stopped beating for 16 seconds and you almost died? Is that what you're referring to?" Kaito asked sounding like he couldn't believe Shinichi was being so nonchalant.

Shinichi rolled his eyes but continued, "So yokai are real and I can now see them. In fact I would like you to meet one, although since you can't see yokai, I'm afraid he will look like an ordinary mirror to you."

He reached into his pocket and pulled out the antique hand mirror. He held it in his hand for Kaito to see.

Kaito looked at the mirror with a frown, "So this is a yokai?"

He nodded, "I would like you to meet Kagami-san. Kagami-san, this is Kuroba Kaito."

"So this is the person that was worth risking my life and yours against that cursed jewel to save? I hope he knows how lucky he is to have your love, young master," Kagami-san said with a twinkle in his eye.

"Wait did he say something to you, Shinichi? Why are you suddenly blushing? No fair, I want to know. Tell me, tell me!" Kaito whined.

"Wait I think I recognize him. Would young Kuroba here happen to be the son of Kuroba Toichi?" The mirror asked.

Shinichi raised an eyebrow, "You knew Kuroba Toichi?"

"Did you say he knew my dad?" Kaito asked, trying to follow the one-sided conversation.

"Your mother was trained by Kuroba Toichi back when she was a young actress just starting her career. She brought me with her to a couple of her lessons when she needed to practice controlling her facial expressions. Of course neither her or Kuroba Toichi could see me or talk to me," Kagami-san explained.

Shinichi relayed what the mirror said back to Kaito who took the information with a thoughtful nod.

Shinichi set the mirror down and continued with his explanation, "Pandora was also a yokai, a very evil one, though I'm told evil yokai are very rare. When you touched it, it was able to possess you."

"I was wearing my KID gloves when I touched the jewel and yet it still possessed me. How come it never possessed anyone else? At the very least when the display was set up, someone had to have moved it," Kaito asked.

"It was the moon," Shinichi explained, "You held it up under the light of the moon. Moonlight makes yokai more powerful."

He continued, "I saw first hand how strong and dangerous Pandora was. After Pandora first ran off with your body, I spent weeks analyzing whatever information I could on him learning everything I could. That's how I was able to discover his teleportation cool-down weakness. It's also how I knew he was out of bullets in the gun he stole."

Kaito groaned and put his face in his hands, "I nearly forgot about that stunt you pulled when you just stood there with a gun aimed at you. Stupid, stupid detective. I'm going to get grey hairs with how much you make me worry."

Shinichi ignored him and continued, "I had a plan, but luring him into it was the hard part. His actions seemed unpredictable. Then I realized how prideful he was and how much he seemed to hate humans. I noticed he was stealing jewels with myths surrounding them. At first I thought it was a poor imitation of KID, but he never returned them and he didn't announce his heists. He didn't seem to care if he had an audience at all. I wasn't sure why he was stealing, but I knew I could use that. I challenged him, hurting his pride and ensuring he couldn't refuse."

"From what I could tell while he was controlling my body, I think he wanted to possess things the same way humans were always trying to possess him," Kaito said softly.

Shinichi hadn't realized Kaito would ever be able to read Pandora's thoughts the same way Pandora could read his. He had assumed the connection only went one way since Pandora was the one in control. He briefly wondered what it must have been like before deciding he didn't want to know. He reached for Kaito's hand and gave it a squeeze and was rewarded with a smile and a little squeeze back. Kaito laced their fingers and didn't release his hand, but Shinichi didn't mind.

"With the challenge issued, I knew law enforcement would be attending as well. I needed a solution to get them out of the way and keep them safe. Hakuba wasn't aware of the full story, but he offered to help, and I gladly accepted. I had him set up sleeping gas canisters at the heist. When I gave the signal, he set them off under the guise that Pandora was the one that dispensed them, effectively getting the whole task force out of my way and keeping them safe. I also managed to convince him to gas himself as well under the pretense of keeping suspicions off him, otherwise I would have had to worry about him as well. Once the task force and Hakuba were taken care of, I just needed to evade Pandora long enough to make it to the roof."

Kaito sighed in exasperation, "Probably the most dangerous game of cat and mouse you have ever played." He wrapped his arms around Shinichi's middle and hugged him from behind. "One mistake on your part and he could have caught you. Although it was very impressive watching you outsmart and evade someone that can teleport. I had to concentrate so hard on not thinking of ways to catch you, I was worried he would read my mind and use my ideas. I'm afraid that's how he got the idea to teleport up to the roof and ambush you, I couldn't help myself with that thought. But I'm still lost on why you even had to go up to the roof in the first place."

"Because I needed the moonlight," Shinichi answered, "Some yokai have extra abilities, like Pandora's teleportation, and those abilities are enhanced by the moonlight. Kagami-san also has extra abilities and I needed him as strong as possible, even at the risk of also enhancing Pandora's power. Kagami-san has been in my family's possession for a long time, maybe even since the mirror was first crafted. And as it would turn out, my family have always been made up of those that sought justice. Even my father, who is a mystery writer, will often be a consult for the police. This strong sense of justice and fighting evil influenced what kind of yokai Kagami-san became once he gained sentience. Thanks to that influence, he has the power to protect from, weaken, and ward off evil. He used that ability to weaken Pandora. He also gave me immunity from possession by Pandora once I broke the gem's hold on you, although Kagami-san warned me that he could only shield me from possession for a few seconds. Kagami-san's ability also literally weakened the Pandora gem, and I was able to shatter it as if he was made of nothing but glass. You know the rest from there."

Kaito hummed and adjusted his hold around Shinichi's waist, "I always knew my detective was brilliant."

My detective. Shinichi liked the sound of that. God he had it bad, didn't he?

"Dare I ask if you have a plan for Kaitou Black's disappearance? Or are you just going to hope the police and public eventually forget about him?" Kaito asked.

"I do have a plan actually, though its not the most satisfactory, but I don't there's a better option. Did you keep that black suit Pandora was wearing?"

Kaito gave a look of disgust, "Only because I haven't had time to burn it yet. Why, what's your plan?"

"I need you to wear it one more time and pretend to be the Kaitou Black. I'll take an interview from a reporter discussing Kaitou Black's failed heist, and you'll crash the interview. Make up some kind of excuse about why you're not continuing as the Kaitou Black, maybe stealing has lost all of it's fun since I stopped you and you don't want to risk getting caught, and say you're going to go into self exile far from anyone, maybe in Hokkaido. The police will probably still search for awhile, but eventually with no knew information it will become a cold case."

Kaito nodded in understanding, "It won't be satisfying to those that want to see the Kaitou Black brought to justice and spend time in a prison cell, but they don't know that Pandora was shattered." He paused in thought for a moment, then gave Shinichi's waist a little squeeze and asked in a gentle tone, "Are you going to be okay?"

Shinichi knew what he was asking. He took a deep breath through his nose before releasing it. He leaned back against Kaito's chest; Kaito tightened his grip around him. Shinichi spoke softly, "I know I didn't have any other choice. I-I had shatter him. I had to do it to protect you and anyone else that could ever be hurt by him. I know he wasn't human, and I know he was evil, but I still can't help but wish there had been another way."

Kaito pressed a kiss into his hair, "It's because you have the kindest, purest soul of anyone I know. I hope you can forgive yourself one day."

Shinichi closed his eyes and just allowed himself to enjoy the feeling of Kaito holding him.

Finally he broke the silence, "So are you really going to hang up the cape now that Pandora is gone?"

"I am, although not right away. Kaitou KID has too many connections to Kaitou Black; it would be suspicious if they retired at the same time. Besides, I want to go out with a bang. Have a final heist for my fans. Tell my task force good bye and drive Nakamori-keibu's crazy one last time," Kaito answered.

Shinichi nodded and tried to stifle a yawn, but Kaito caught it anyway.

"Time for bed, detective. Something tells me you haven't gotten a good night's sleep in a while."

Shinichi grumbled something about over protective thieves but headed up the stairs to his room anyway. Once he made it to his room, he stopped suddenly unsure what was going to happen next. What would Kaito do, was he going to leave? The magician had been right, he hadn't been sleeping well, but it wasn't solely due to his tireless task of figuring out how to save Kaito from Pandora. Every time Shinichi closed his eyes, he saw red, glowing eyes. He saw himself bond by a red rope to a fence on a roof top. He saw Kaito in chains while a demon with red eyes stood over him laughing. Yeah, he hadn't been sleeping well. His fingers brushed the bruises on his neck, aware that now he had more ammunition to add to the nightmare fuel.

Kaito followed the movement of his hand on his neck with sad eyes. He took a hesitant step closer to the detective, then another when Shinichi didn't flinch away. He gently brushed his fingers over the bruises coloring Shinichi's neck. "I hate that its my hand print on your neck," he stated.

"It wasn't your fault. Kaito listen to me, don't look away. You want me to forgive myself for shattering Pandora, you must forgive yourself for this," he wrapped his arms around the magician and rested his head on his chest.

Kaito held him, "Truly the kindest, purest soul I know. Shinichi..may I…could I stay with you? I can take a guess what I'm going to dream about tonight and I want to be able to wake up and immediately see that you're okay."

The last of the tension that Shinichi was holding left his body and he smiled, "Please stay. I'll fend off your nightmares if you fend off mine."

Kaito leaned forward and hesitated, unsure if his advances were welcome after everything that had happened. Shinichi raised his chin to the slightly taller man, leaning in to the other man himself. Kaito took the invitation for what it was and closed the distance between them with a gentle kiss, then another, and another, the kisses growing a little more heated with each one.

Kaito pulled away before it got too far with a little chuckle, "I'm afraid if I don't stop myself now, I might not be able to stop if we continue."

"What if I don't want to stop either?" Shinichi asked.

"Because my detective has had an exhausting past couple weeks and needs to get some sleep. Besides, we don't need to rush. I have you now and I'm not letting go, we have all the time in the world," Kaito answered before giving him one last kiss that seem to be filled with promise.

Shinichi smiled.

They lay in bed together like the first night after Shinichi got his body back, but this time they faced each other, arms wrapped around each other and legs tangled together, Shinichi's head tucked under Kaito's chin. He could smell Kaito's scent and hear his gentle breathing. He felt warm and safe. He easily fell into a deep sleep, Kaito following once he made sure his detective was sleeping peacefully. The future would hold trauma and nightmares that they would get through together, but at least for tonight, despite both of their fears, they both had only good dreams that night.

End

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My Inspiration

This fanfic was inspired by two different things. One was some of the fanart I had seen of KID possessed by the jewel. I wanted to do something with that.

The other thing was I had heard that there is a Japanese Shinto belief that everything has a soul. If anyone listens to Abroad in Japan podcast or watches his YouTube videos, you might remember him mentioning that Japanese mothers will teach their children to take care of their things because they have souls and can be hurt. In reality it's probably just to stop kids from breaking things, similar to telling kids if they don't behave Santa will put them on the naughty list.

This belief goes a little deeper, including the belief that after 100 years (or just many years, whether or not its actually 100 is up for debate) objects can gain sentience and become Yokai, or basically spirits/demons/goblins whatever you want to translate it as. These Yokai can be harmless pranksters or vengeful spirits out for revenge; the type of spirit can depend how their previous owners took care of them in their past life.

This belief inspired this fanfic as soon as I heard it. It is not however an accurate portrayal of the real believe system. If you are interested to know more, I urge you to do your own research and not use my fanfic as fact.

I guess now that I think about it, I guess Shinichi ignoring the yokai was also loosely inspired by the anime Mieruko-chan. I would highly recommend it for anyone interested in a comedy horror anime.

Other notes

I really debated on keeping the red, glowing rope that Pandora used to tie Shinichi to the fence in the story. It was only used one time and just didn't seem to hold much importance. I decided to keep it in anyway because I really didn't want Pandora to use any of KID's tricks or props.

The song that the mirror was singing doesn't mean anything, I just wanted a song about mirrors.

I imagine Kagami-san's voice to sound like Baldermort for some reason. He's a YouTuber that talks about Warhammer (though I actually know him from a podcast I listen to instead). Look up one of his videos if you would like to hear Kagami-san.

The disappointment Shinichi started feeling at KID heist wasn't because KID hadn't found the jewel yet, it was because he was falling deeper in love with Kaito and wanted KID to kiss him. I couldn't figure out how to make that more obvious since this is written from Shinichi's POV and Shinichi wasn't aware himself. Hopefully you guys were able to figure it out.

I'm going to start cross posting onto Archive of Our Own. If you are interested in reading my work on their instead of here, you can find me under LMeg9_90. I'll post all of my new works and some of my old works as well. But some of my really old stuff I'm either going to rewrite it or not post it at all. For example, I'm planning on completely rewriting the Side Effects one shot where Shinichi couldn't tell lies. It's going to keep the same prompt, the unable to lie part, but otherwise its going to be a completely new work. I will also post the rewritten one on here as well once I finish it, and I'm not going to remove the old one if for any reason you enjoyed it. But the one shot where Shinichi was turned into a fish, I'm not currently planning to rewrite it and I'm not going to post it on AO3. Some of my other old stuff might just be posted with minor changes, like probably the Legend of Zelda cross over.

Thanks again for reading. Comments/reviews make me happy, and if you aren't sure what to write in your review just tell me your favorite part. It's always interesting for me to read what parts were everyones favorites. See you next time!