A/N: High everyone! I'm so very, very sorry for the delay. Real life, writers block and laziness have been the cause of almost a month of not updating. But here it is! I just want to say that this entire story is dedicated to my wonderful reviewers, the bestest, most nicest and awesome people on the entire planet! If it wasn't for you guy's then this probably would have died already (yes, after the first chapter) and I made it extra long to make up to ya'll. Two day's worth of none stop typing, my most effort put in ever, so I hope you enjoy it. Plot really picks up here; although, I'm not too happy with how the begging turned out...let me know what you think. Thank you!
Disclaimer: Oh how I wish it were mine, yet sadly, it's not and this is not the script, merely a fanfiction.
QQQQ
Aoko Nakamori woke with a start. The frigid October night air that swept through Tokyo this time of twilight all but sent odd chills up the spine of anyone who dared to venture out into the imposing darkness; instantly telling the girl that something was defiantly not right.
'Baka, it was nothing more than a silly nightmare, thank goodness…Aw, and why it is so cold in here…mustof forgot to close that damn window again…'she muttered beginning to roll over, almost immediately drifting back into the bliss that was sleep; but then it hit her, the hard feeling of rocks beneath, the icy, wet dampness like mist upon her clammy sweat drenched skin and the overpowering smell of what…fish? This wasn't her room, and she most certainly was not in her own bed.
The inspector's daughter groggily opened her eyes, all remnants of sleep now instantly dissolving away.
"Oh god, what's happened to me!"
Wave upon wave of memories came rushing back, flooding the girl's mind with a sea of emotions.
'Those people in black, why in the world did they take me, I-I was only walking home...and then that black car…and guns… and what was Kaitou Kid doing there…Damn it! It's so fuzzy, I can hardly remember anything!'
She slowly sat up, dizziness threading to overwhelm her.
Blood was everywhere, leaving a crimson pool soaking into the ground, the warm liquid running down her face, and staining her shirt. (Yes, she was still fully dressed, thank goodness); although, her clothes did feel rather baggy for some strange reason…
The ropes that bound Aoko's wrists and ankles were quite loose, and she easily wiggled out of them. Finally, for the first time, she took a moment to take a look at her surroundings. Darkness still covered vast majorities of the shipyard reaching under the abandoned pier, where those men had left her to die. Yet, apparently they had been gravely mistaken. Horns and bells echoed throughout this place, weary ships coming in to dock at harbor for the night.
Lying next to Nakamori upon the ground was the single rose that he had given to her. Somehow, it had managed to survive fairly unscathed within the confines of her jacket's pocket. Thoughts drifted back to just hours before, when the magician, looking oddly almost nervous for some strange reason, had presented it to the wild haired girl, who took the flower without much thought. But now, she noticed; now she understood. It wasn't white or yellow like all the others…it was red; red for passion, red for love.
'Kaito…' she thought before lapsing into comfortable unconsciousness.
QQQ.
Not but a few miles away, Kaito Kuroba, son of Touchi Kuroba, great magician and legendary phantom thief, sat alone, distantly watching the early sun rise higher to the sky. Still clad as Kaitou Kid, the last wizard perched himself as still as stone on the edged rooftop, gravely leaving this world and the awaking city far below. He had no idea as to what possessed him to come here really. After all, what sane person would go to the roof of an old, dilapidating building such as this? Of course, it was Kaito Kuroba, and he was considered just as sane as he was normal, (or not normal, for that matter.)
Often he would come here to think and clear the head, especially in those late months after becoming his father's ghost. He could remember this place, (for it wasn't an old theater) when it vibrantly lived, still young in its prime. Before he died, Touchi would take him to see all sorts of show's and acts. Why, even the famous magician himself had been up there a few times, Kaito could practically hear the musical rustle of dove wings taking flight, the cheer of the crowd and swoosh of a magician's cape. His father showing him the secrets of every magic trick, always teaching his son that no matter what the act or performance was, the most important thing is that it be done full heartedly; and that applied to everything, for life itself was it's own grand stage. But, now the theater was gone, fading away to nothing but memories, just as Touchi was.
The great thief sighed, worry and guilt plaguing his already heavy mind. How he hated those bastards, those enigmatic fools who ruined so many, many lives. Hell, for all he knew, they could have killed hundreds, even thousands, maybe; for there was no telling how long the organization has been around, no telling how many souls have proved a nuisance to them. Now, they had royally screwed up his life as well, they being the reason he was an internationally most wanted criminal, they being the cause for all the tears his mother shed, for him growing up fatherless. They were the biggest thieves of all, robbing him, not once, but twice now of the ones he loved most.
'But what about Aoko, Damnit! She had nothing to do with this, with my night job. Heh, and to think all this sht just to threaten me into finding their precious gem faster. They had no freaking right to take her, god what if she's hurt, what if she's…No, bad Kaito, you are not going to even consider that possibility, got it?. She's not dead. Period, end of discussion. She can't be...'
The magician bowed his head, top hat and monocle shadowing cobalt blue eyes, happy of all those years experience in holing back the tears.
"Great, just great, what to do now? Defiantly can't go home, that for sure. And hell, I don't even have the slightest clue as to where to begin looking for Aoko, need a detective for that…Wait… detective… of course, the twerp! Why didn't I think of it before? He's suffered almost as much as I have because of those vermin; oh yeah, and that creepy girl he hangs out with, didn't Kudo say she used to work for the Org or something? Well, he's bound to be of some help!"
QQQ.
Meanwhile…
"AAHHHHH! NO, this isn't real, it can't be, right? Lord… what did they do to me?"
A small girl stood, staring in disbelief and total shock at the forgotten form of herself, reflecting clearly in the pieces of broken mirror that was left by someone lone ago at the shipyard.
"Okay, Aoko, lets not panic. Definitely not panic…. ":
She sat back down, hiding safely behind an overturned sail boat.
Earlier, when the unconsciousness had finally lifted again, it was alreadylate morning. She had somewhat urgently gotten up, thinking to go looking for some help and maybe a phone to call her father with. Heavens knows he'd probably had the whole squad out looking for her. But then, something hadn't been right, everything felt somewhat different, somehow bigger. Then, finally a glittering object caught her eye. It had been the broken mirror, and now as she sat there, child hands covering her face, she could only hope not to pass out again.
"Alright…First, I'm still alive, that'smost important. Second, I'm not as tired, nor is my head bleeding anymore, okayand from what I can tell, I can walk and no broken bones, that's good. Third-third, it seems as though somehow I've gotten turned into an eight year old; not good…really, really not good."
She needed to go home, then to the hospital, or was it the hospital then home? Either way, she needed to get away from here and find help, Yeah, help. Although, as to how anyone could help was beyond her, 'I mean, I don't think many doctors specialize in curing people who've been turned into kids again…I've never even heard of such a thing. No, I need to go home and think this through, maybe I can even figure out what to do about those bad guys who did this to me."
So, after crawling up again, she managed to wash away some of the dried blood- thanks to the ocean, and began the journey home. Luckily, she knew where she was, and her house wasn't but about a thirty minute walks from here.
QQQ.
The last wizard felt quite awkward now, as he waited for 'Conan-kun' to arrive. Of course, the boy had no idea about the little unplanned meeting that was about to take place, but Kaito was desperate, and he most certainly couldn't show up at The Sleeping Kogorou's Office as Kaitou Kid. Well, technically he could, but between Ran's karate and the shrimp's sleeping darts, well, let's just not go there, shall we? Anyhow, desperate times call for desperate measures, and as much as the teen's ego hated to admit it, he was rather on the desperate side right now, even willing to let the twerp see him in "civilian mode".
'Well, if worse comes to worse, I could always threaten him, that works; of course, I would never actually accidentally let his secret slip, but he doesn't know that, now does he?'
"Ah, speak of the devil; hear he comes now; well, lets just hope he left those little darts from hell at home this time. At least I had the courtesy to not bring any of my weaponry along; the least he could do is not shoot me. Hmmm...almost…a little closer…closer…bingo."
. Shinichi Kudo, currently in the child's form and aliased as Conan Edogawa, didn't know what hit him. One minute he was innocently making his way over to Dr. Agusa's house, the next, he somehow found himself tied up, dangling helplessly upside-down from the nearest tree. The face of his captor, currently staring back at him, was almost a mirror image of himself, (his real, teenage self of course.), although, the stranger's hair was a bit wilder, and his frame somewhat leaner. The amused grin plastered across his face, almost instantly giving away his identity.
"Kaitou Kid." Shinichi spat, getting very, very annoyed, possibly even pissed.
The magician smiled.
"What the hell do you want now? You have no right to do this; it's not even a heist! And I thought we had an agreement that you wouldn't go masquerading as me anymore!"
"Heh, and what makes you think I'm trying to be you?" his reply was somewhat an amused one.
"You mean, this is what you really look like?"
"Look Kudo, I don't have time to discuss that now, I'm sorry about the err…abrupt meeting, but this really is an emergency, andIsortofneedyourhelp."
"Emergency huh, hmm…oh, sorry, KID, what was the last part of that?" said Conan, trying hard not to gloat.
"I need your help okay! Damnit, they took Aoko. I have no idea if she's, well….maybe some things are better left to discuses inside," Replied the phantom, suspiciously glancing around the suburban neighborhood.
"Okay thief, I'll talk with you, just one thing first... Get me Down from HERE!"
"As you wish, jeze. "Sighed Kaito dramatically as he swiftly pulled out a small pocket knife and proceeded to cut the boy down.
Once back on his own to feet again and feeling much less vulnerable, Conan turned to his temporary ally.
"Fine, I'll help...maybe. Although, it seems pretty desperate, even for you. But under one condition, Never EVER think about doing that again, got it? Oh, why did you tie me up in the first place? I mean, it's not like I would have shot you…immediately…if you just called a meeting like a typical person would!"
The Kaitou merely shrugged. "Eh, consider it payback for the clock tower incident, that and 'cause I got bored waiting for you to walk by here and I might as well have gotten your complete attention, Ne? Anyhow, this has to do with the black org, so you might wanna listen."
"Come on, we can talk at Dr. Agusa's house, and since it's dealing with them, I think it's time you meet Ai anyhow." Replied, Conan, leading the magician to a fairly big house at the end of the street, correction, a fairly big house at the end of the street that seemed to be partially exploding that very minute. Shinichi winced. At Kaito's raised eyebrows he replied,
"Err…don't mind that, the doc's an inventor so this is surprisingly common."
'Hmm, must spend all his money replacing new windows every month…'
When they got to the door, Conan instantaneously went in without knocking, beckoning Kaito to follow. Upon entering, the child turned to the noisy lab and yelled into the room, which currently bellowing great clouds of multicolored smoke up to the ceiling.
"Hey Doc, it's me, and I've brought a guest, we really need to talk to Haibara, where is she?"
"Yes, Kudo-kun, no need to yell, and what, pray I ask, do I owe to the pleasure of this visit?"
The cold voice came from behind, causing both boys to sweat drop, and instantly turn around to face the blond haired girl, warring a very un-childlike expression.
Her eyes immediately narrowed upon Kaito, seeming as though she were looking right through him.
The thief smiled, letting the familiar poker face slide down with an almost audible 'boom.'
"Err, Haibara, this is um…Kaitou Kid, yea, and he's kinda our ally now, heh, long story…but he's had a run in with the organization, and his friend was taken from them, and so I've agreed to help get her back."
For the briefest moment, the scientist seemed doubtful, even somewhat anxious, but then her own cool demeanor took control, and reduced her only to minor glaring.
"Humph, I suppose a thief's word is as good as any."
Shinichi sighed in relief. Going and plopping down on one of the kitchen chairs, followed by Ai in the same suit.
"Well, come on Kid-Kun, have a seat, you might as well tell us everything from the beginning." Replied the girl, never taking her eyes from the teen.
Kaito bowed his head, obeyingly following her orders, "Call me Kaito if you want, Kaito Kuroba, heck, you already know what I look like, why not know my name as well, anyhow, consider it your collateral."
Thus the last magician relayed everything to the two teen-turned-children, beginning with a brief explanation of his own life story and ending with the events of that previous night. When he was through, Conan seemed to have lost some of his original hate for the thief, gaining a cheerless understanding instead. Ai was very quiet, but then finally spoke up.
"You said they put a pill in her mouth...after they knocked her out?"
Kaito nodded
"Hmm, well, I suppose there was still some of that last batch left…"
"Last batch of what, Hybra-Kun." Asked Shinichi, already getting bad feelings as to what the answer would be.
Ai sighed. "Kuroba-kun, it would appear as though your Aoko has injected one of the last remaining capsules of the APTX4869.
"You mean…"
".The very same Kudo-kun. You see Kuroba; the drug will have one of two effects: it will either immediately have a negative reaction in the girl's body, causing instant death, or very well may drastically change the chemical properties within the cells, reversing her aging process, and reverting her to our state. For both of your sakes, let's hope it was the ladder."
"Well, then, what do we do now?" said Kaito, seemingly relaxed, but worry seeping through his voice.
"We wait, those competent fools at the Organization almost certainly wouldn't count on the drug having the same side effect on yet another person. If so, then more than likely they dumped her some place to die, probably not to far from where the heist occurred. If she does in fact survive, then more than likely she'll be on her way home right now as we speak."
The magician jumped to his feet, "Wait, Kuroba-kun, I wouldn't get your hopes up, but if you do find her, bring Aoko back here immediately, or at least call as soon as you can. I'd need to run some tests on her, and then we must figure out where would be the safest place for her to go."
Kaito left, promising the strawberry-blond haired girl all she asked, and Kudo that he would be contacted regardless within a week's time. The teen set out, the walk home would take him at least an hour or so, besides all the shortcuts known only to him, and it was already well passed noon.
QQQ.
A young girl slipped silently along the brick wall, her baggy t-shirt, which had once fit quite nicely before, now falling to well below her knees, serving as a somewhat makeshift dress. She was clutching the delicate, battered stem of a red rose as though it were a lifeline, long rather wild hair falling into deep eyes, brown strands covering most of her face. She roughly pushed it back, and looked on.
"Kaito…" the pang of emotions all but overwhelmed her at the sight of her best friend walking alone to his house. The well-known sly grin usually abiding upon the teen, plaguing his expressions had seemed to vanish overnight, replaced with a strange, straight all-too-serious poker face. His blank stair had seemed to have lost that infamously familiar mischievous twinkle, the cobalt blue eyes now dimmed, gazing distantly ahead.
The girl's small hands furiously rubbed at the tears streaking down her face. God, what could she do, 'those men, what if they come back for me, what if they want to finish me off?' Even if she did manage to convince the magician that it was really her, knowing him, he'd run headfirst into the danger without even thinking of the dire consequences. But, what else could she do, where else could she go? Certainly not her father, he was probably in such a state right now as it was, if he saw her like this, more than likely a heart attack would soon follow; the police, heh, who'd believe a silly little girl anyway? No, she thought, Kaito was the only one to confide in and maybe…maybe once he had calmed down a bit, they could figure out just what to do with her…problem, and everybody else.
Gathering the last bit of courage, the teen-turned-child awkwardly shy, walked up to her best friend giving the end of his jacket a light tug.
"Err…um…excuse me, but…"
Looking down at the youth, the magician met her blue eyed gaze. All color instantly drained from his face as recognition settled in; the once impenetrable poker face seeming to break for a second time that day, as he sunk to his knees, meeting the girl at eye level. "Oh my God…Aoko!"
He then hugged her deeply, quite surprisingly to Aoko, who immediately tensed, but after a moment, gave into the embrace.
"How-How did you know it was me?" She was still in shock. Why was it that he could accept her like this so…openly?
"Baka, how could I not? We've been together since kids; of course I'd know and love you anywhere." His reply came as nothing but a whisper, but brought the most comfort she could ever know.
"Now come on that gash on your face looks pretty deep, but we can bandage that up, and anyhow, we've got a lot to talk about. Don't worry; we'll have you back to normal in no time."
"But Kaito, you…"
The magician now had Aoko's hand clenched tightly in his as he stood up and began to walk, heading for his house; all thoughts of anything else immediately forgotten.
"Not here," the thief replied, his gaze never straying from the sidewalk in front of him. "It's not safe, those people…who did that to you, they're everywhere, never can tell who will overhear, ya know..."
'Is it just me, or does he seem to know more about my situation than even I do?'
The girl complied, not saying another word.
Neither of the two companions had any idea that they were in fact, being watched.
To be continued…
A/N: Well, how was it? Not sure where that part about Touchi came from, the voices in my head told me to type it. Anyways, yes, I've decided to add the dc/cc element to the mix as well, but let me assure you, Kaito and Aoko will both stay the main characters in this story. Oh, and hope I wasn't yet again OoC, I'm not entirely sure of the basis of Shinichi's and Kaito's association, but I guessed they'd be in a somewhat alliance by now, tell me if I'm wrong, but I've only read the clock tower incident, so the rest of my knowlage is based on the little bits of info I could get. Thanks.
Replies:
Flyliwion: Thanks so much, I'm glad you like it.
Killer Kitty 93: Aww, really? –cries- that's the nicest thing anyone's ever said, Thank You!
YumeTakato: Err…sorry it was strange and fast, I hope this one is better, thanks for being honest though.
Kaito-Neechan: -I love cliff hangers, -Evil grins- thanks for reviewing,
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