After what went on during their conversation in Shibuya, the blond detective decided to approach Kid in a different setting. Perhaps the low height of that shopping center and the taller buildings surrounding it made the thief nervous. This time, Hakuba arranged a meeting with him in a populated area. More precisely, it was a local café near their school. He hoped that the familiar surrounding, and the loud hustle and bustle of the place made Kid more talkative.
Much to his surprise, Kuroba followed him to the café willingly without arguing. Much like last week, Kuroba was oddly subdued and was avoiding interacting with Aoko. Like the rest of the class, Hakuba felt some concern for them. However, even if he was concerned for Kuroba's strange behavior at school, it wasn't the main topic Hakuba wanted to discuss with him.
Almost every booth and table were occupied by a mix of students and young adults. It was almost a miracle that they found an empty spot to sit at. It was near the glass windows of the shop, not ideal for serious talks but it would suffice for now.
Sitting across from the detective, Kuroba seemed to be glancing around him in an unsettling manner.
"Kuroba-kun, is something wrong?"
"It's nothing." He responded in a calm voice that only served to alert Hakuba that there was something amiss. It seems like whatever was bothering Kuroba still hadn't been resolved since they last spoke.
Their orders arrived before Hakuba could continue questioning the other teen. A plain cappuccino for him, and a hot chocolate for Kuroba.
After taking a careful sip of his steaming beverage, Hakuba settled the mug back down. He looked at the thief that sat in front of him. Kuroba hadn't touched his drink at all, only staring at it. It occurred to Hakuba that Kuroba hadn't eaten at all during lunch break. Now that he had time to observe him, the blond could see that there were dark lines underneath the other teen's eyes, likely due to lack of sleep.
He sighed. "Look, Kuroba-kun. It's obvious that there is something going on. Is this related to the heists-"
"Would you quit it?!" Kuroba growled, hitting the table with a fist. "I didn't come here to be interrogated."
Just like at the rooftop in Shibuya, Kuroba snapped at him. But this time, Hakuba would not let him slip away without a fight. "You're right. I'm sorry if I made you feel like I was prodding you about Kid."
"...!" The dark-haired teen pulled back from the unexpected apology.
"I wanted to talk about my case again. In fact, I was going to ask you for your assistance, just like how Kudo-kun had your help in his."
There was a silence hanging between them. Kuroba seemed occupied by something else in his mind. He finally spoke in an airy and unfocused manner. "Hakuba… I won't change my mind about it. You should drop the case before it's too late...like it is for me."
"What do you mean?" Of all things Hakuba had expected, it wasn't something as ominous as that. If anything, he had thought Kuroba's straining relationship with Aoko was the cause of his classmate's troubles.
The thief suddenly lifted his eyes to meet them straight at Hakuba. "I don't know how much you know, but-" His voice was beginning to waver. "Just...whatever happens in the near future, I want to let you know that I'm sorry. You better prepare yourself for the storm that is to come, Hakuba."
With that said, he slid out of his seat and walked away, leaving Hakuba to sit by himself. The blond detective felt his heart rate steadily rise. What Kuroba said to him sounded like a warning of immediate danger, but from where?
Ever since the confrontation with the agent called Romulea, Kaito hadn't been able to relax at all. Paranoia followed him wherever he went, even in his own house. He considered retreating to one of his other hideouts but he knew that if 'Kuroba Kaito' went missing, they would notice immediately. He didn't want to know what would happen to the people around him if he ran away.
Aoko had tried to talk to Kaito a few times, but he pushed her away. It was better if she avoided any interaction with him now. It was probably too late to cut his connection with her, but keeping her at arm's length eased his mind a bit. He was sure that it was wishful thinking but anything to maintain his sanity now was better than nothing.
Finally reaching the inside of his home, Kaito fell back against the door of his room and slid down to the floor. For several days, he was looking over his shoulder waiting for Snake's compatriots to strike at any moment. He had been so paranoid that he was afraid to enter the secret room hidden behind his father's painting. What if his house was bugged? What if there was a sniper watching his every movement? They knew his name, which means that they knew where he lived. What should he do? Will Aoko be fine? What about Inspector Nakamori? Jii-chan? His mother? Hakuba?
…
His own hands somehow found their way over the top of his head when Kaito blinked out of his trance. He must look so pathetic right then. Chuckling to himself, he let his arms fall to his sides with a soft thud. Not too far away was the image of his father, forever frozen in a warm smile. Kaito couldn't bear to look directly at that face.
"I'm sorry, Dad. I made a huge mess of things. I… should have let the ghost of the Kaitou Kid rest. But if I'm going to go down, I might as well put up a good fight, right?" He smiled bitterly as he whispered at the painting.
Forcing himself to stand, Kaito changed out of his school uniform. He still had one avenue to choose from. Time to head to Beika.
A loud crash resonated throughout the entire house. It sounded like something forcing their way through the front door. Swearing from under his breath, Kaito jumped into action. He peeked around a corner at the stairs that lead to the first floor. A figure had broken into his house.
She loudly yelled to announce her presence. "Come on out wherever you are, Kid."
He recognized that voice. Romulea. Dressed in a dark combat fatigue and vision-enhancing goggles, the woman had her rifle-sized crossbow and was aiming it around, ready to shoot. There was little chance of missing at close quarters.
Romulea's arrival was badly timed, or well timed for her, since Kaito had yet to go into his secret room to restock on supplies. He only had his card gun at hand currently. Retreating back to his room and locking the door behind him, he hoped that it would buy him enough time to fetch his stuff.
But just when he was about to reach for the painting, the glass door of his balcony in his room exploded into a million shards and a bullet found its way on the wall near the picture frame. Kaito turned around in shock.
He expected to find a sniper but instead, he spotted a large drone floating on top of the Nakamori house. Before he could finish processing what he saw, the machine prepared and fired another shot. Kaito dove to the side. The bullet hit the exterior wall and chipped it. From his hiding spot, he could hear it fly in closer.
Taking out his card gun, Kaito used the loud whirring of the drone to pinpoint its exact location. Stepping out of cover, he fired three shots at the flying weapon. The steel-edged cards dug into the thing and threw it off balance, causing it to slam against the side of his room. Quickly, he ran towards and shot a few more cards to sever the exposed wires. Once he was sure the drone wouldn't be able to fire or fly again, Kaito stood back up again. Hearing the commotion, the female arbalist was already trying to break down his door. With Romulea inside, Kaito knew that there had to be someone else outside who controlled the drone.
Hesitating at first, Kaito settled on jumping down to reach outside once he saw that the hinges to his door were about to give in soon. Landing with a roll, he had his card gun drawn and ready to fire at whoever was waiting for him outside.
To his relief, it looked like nobody was there. Yet, it was concerning him. Where was the person behind the drone? It couldn't be Romulea since she didn't have any sort of controller in her hands. But now was not the time to think about that.
Covering his head with a hood, Kaito ran out of his neighborhood. The sun was still on the horizon so there weren't nearly enough shadows to hide properly in. Without much trouble, he made it to a busy main street. By slowing down his walk and putting his hands in his hoodie pocket, Kaito attempted to blend in with the rest of the pedestrians.
From the corners of his eyes, he kept watching his sides while keeping his head facing forwards. While he was sure Romulea had lost track of him, Kaito couldn't say the same about her partner.
A shadow flew by overhead in sync with a flock of pigeons. One of the dark shapes that passed by was a little too geometrical to be a bird.
He looked up and froze momentarily. The hesitation in his movement was noticed by a second drone flying high up in the sky. He could feel the stare of the machine dig into his skull. Clicking his tongue, Kaito bolted across the street and ducked away into the back alleys.
Above him, the drone followed him. It flew too high for him to shoot accurately with his card gun, plus he only had a few shots left. Reaching the other side of the alleyway, a taxi was parked in front of him. Perhaps if he could get in real fast and have the driver-
A shot was fired and the glass of the car window exploded. Raising his arm, Kaito managed to shield himself from the shards. The elderly driver inside the taxi scrambled out from the sudden chaos. With a few more shots fired at the taxi car, Kaito realized that whoever was behind the drone's controls didn't want him to get inside the vehicle and drive off.
He made a sharp turn, feeling the drone's scope on his back. As he passed by another street intersection, a screech from a woman rang out. The asphalt at his feet cracked and bits of it flew out when the drone began to shoot around him. He watched as a few people who were walking nearby fell and recoiled from the bullets.
"Stop it!" He turned to yell fruitlessly at the drone hovering far above the streets. Panic was rising in his chest. He felt sick seeing the people around him limping away to cover from an unknown attacker. A few were bleeding out on the ground, clutching their limbs. Coming out into an open area was a terrible mistake.
Before he could give the drone another chance to shoot, he backtracked to the alleyways. He felt like a rat being led somewhere. The fact that the drone stopped shooting and now only followed him in the air confirmed that they wanted him to go somewhere. Visualizing a bird's eye view of the area, Kaito had the uncomfortable thought that they knew where he was headed. He didn't like that his own destination aligned with where they wanted him to go.
The idea of making a detour emerged in his head. At a crossroad, he turned in the opposite direction to his destination. Predictably, a warning shot was let out. It landed against the brick exterior near his face. A piece of the wall grazed his face and left blood on the bridge of his nose. He quickly wiped off the gravel-like residue that was caught in his clothes. Taking advantage of the fact that the drone couldn't shoot him for real, he pushed on.
Turn after turn, Kaito went further away from Beika and Ekoda. He avoided going out in open spaces as he veered off course. Daytime was nearly over and street lamps were beginning to light up. He had been running for so long his lungs were beginning to burn. His throat was dry and his breathing felt numb.
At last, he made it to a park. He immediately jumped into the part with the densest foliage. Straining his ears, Kaito heard the drone fly in circles. Even though he knew he had darkness and the trees hiding him, he held his breath. Cool leaves tickled the back of his neck as he retreated deeper in.
It felt like an eternity until the person behind the drone lost patience and abandoned the idea of waiting for the teen to step out of hiding. Kaito felt his legs give out under him when he heard that infernal machine finally fly away. Resting against a tree, he allowed himself to catch his breath after a chase that lasted for a few hours.
Behind his clenched eyelids, images of the chaos at the street intersection replayed themselves. A part of him was glad he hadn't gone indoors. He didn't want to know what the shooter would do to lure him out. From the few times he had to observe the drone, he estimated that the drone had a width similar to an arm and a half. The circuitry was roughly made but it did the job almost too well.
Thwup! A bolt pierced through the foliage and landed near his neck.
"Kaitou Kid, if you were more obedient then I wouldn't have had to come out here and waste my time." A man's voice, clearly annoyed and angry.
Although the shot intentionally missed, Kaito felt the cold metal bolt's touch sting against his skin. With a hand, he yanked out the bolt that was pinning him down by his hood and threw it aside. After getting up, he stepped out of the bushes with a smirk that hid his unease. His card gun was already trained on the man.
Recalling what Romulea said to him a few days ago, he could easily deduce who the man was.
"You must be Termite."
"..." With a snapping sound, the man had already reloaded the crossbow he had in his hands. Unlike Romulea, his own was small enough to carry and aim with a single arm. He wore similar dark combat fatigues as his partner and had a strange pair of goggles with oversized lenses. His headgear gave his gaze an unnerving intensity.
Keeping his aim steady, Kaito took the opportunity to extract some information. "Tell me, why does it seem like you and your friends want me to reach Beika so badly?"
"So that idiot told you our names, huh? God damn it, I told her to keep her mouth shut..." The man swore, but that was a distraction. Using his wrist to lift his weapon up, he fired his crossbow in a flash.
Kaito was ready for that. Knowing that he was too close to confidently dodge it, he let out a single shot out of his card gun. The specially modified card clashed with the bolt midair and both projectiles were knocked off course to the ground.
Two more shots left.
His heart thumped loudly at those thoughts. The magician was at a disadvantage but he didn't let it show on his face.
With a smooth movement, Termite produced another shot and loaded it easily into his weapon. It was late in the evening and there was nobody to disturb them. That fact was apparent to the man, so his stance remained relaxed in the face of the teen's card gun. An amused smirk lifted a corner of his mouth. "Beika, huh? Isn't that where you wanted to go in the first place? Start heading there now, or else you won't come out of this unhurt. I'm giving you a pretty good deal if I do say so myself."
Kaito's eyes sharpened into a glare. "So you do want me to go there. Give me a good reason and I might even consider it."
"We're just trying to keep loose ends tied, no matter how thin they might be."
"What do you mean?"
Termite took a bold step forward. "Don't play stupid, Kid. We know you were involved with the takedown of the Karasuma Group. They were like our rivals. Them being gone is such good news for us."
"Same goes for me. So, why pay so much attention to the people involved? What's the point in stirring trouble with them?"
"Things work differently in the underworld. The enemies of our enemies are not our friends. They are a threat to us." He took another step forward while laughing dryly. "Since we don't have the same intel network, we only know that whoever took down the Karasuma Group has been active around Beika."
Cold sweat beaded around Kaito's forehead. They were using him to dig out any potential threat to their own organization.
Tilting his head, the large lenses on his headgear caught the orange light of the streetlamp above him. "Now, you're gonna go to Beika and fetch us those friends of yours." He added with a manic grin."We can finish off the Nakamoris and that Hakuba brat at our own leisure."
"Don't you dare…!" The grip around his card gun tightened to the point that his arm was shaking.
A near silent thwip sound appeared when Termite pulled the trigger. Kaito caught it at the last moment. Returning fire, the card barely managed to intercept the bolt.
One shot left.
"This is kinda fun. Isn't it, Kid?" He said casually as he pushed another bolt down onto his crossbow. After a pull, it clicked into place and was ready to fire once again.
Before Termite made his next move, Kaito aimed his card gun at the weapon. If he could just destroy the crossbow itself… He was close enough to line his last shot properly too. Pointing the end of his gun at the limbs of the crossbow, he pulled the trigger.
His shot was straight and aimed correctly, yet it never reached its target. Kaito watched in shock as the man blocked it, letting the metal-edged card dig into his forearm.
No more shots left.
"Agh… That was a rather cheeky move. Nice idea. I'll give you credit for that." He winced while he assessed the damage on his arm. His good arm still held the crossbow aimed at Kaito.
Seeing the man's forearm bleed so heavily, Kaito instinctively swallowed. He had never tried using his card gun on a person before. "You're crazy..." He muttered at the sight.
There he stood, no more card shots to defend himself nor any smoke capsules to serve as distraction. But Kaito knew better than to let it show. With the card gun still raised, he maintained its sight on Termite.
The man began taking one step after another while Kaito stepped back. "Out of ammo, Kid?"
He flinched. If only Romulea and that drone sniper had let him resupply in time…
Their game of chicken lasted a solid while. Kaito was sure he had backed up by almost a block's worth of distance.
Suddenly, he heard Termite mumble under his breath. "Right about here seems good… "
Scowling, Kaito asked. "What are you talking about?"
"Oh, it's just that this spot is perfect."
"Perfect? For wha-" In the back of his mind, he noticed that he had somehow backed away closer towards Beika. But before he could finish his sentence, his trained eyes saw the crossbow's trigger being squeezed.
Kaito only had enough time to move the card gun in an effort to divert the bolt's trajectory. It worked but his gadget was too fragile. It had to be made light for his heists after all.
The card gun broke apart in his hand and the crossbow projectile found itself embedded into his pectoral muscles right below his collar bone next to his shoulder. A deep shock of agony shot through his body and he cried out as he stumbled back.
"Woops, I meant to hit your heart there, Kid."
Kaito had been shot at before but the bolt was rooted in place and limited his movement. His entire left arm felt pinned down. He internally swore as he saw red blooming out on his hoodie.
Between not eating properly, not sleeping from stress, and running around for a few hours, Kaito could feel his head beginning to spin. It seems like he had hit his physical limit. The stabbing pain from the bolt wasn't making it any better.
Termite simply stood there and waited, looking down at the magician thief with apathy.
Straining to take in proper breaths, Kaito tried to make a run for it but his body refused to obey. Instead, weakened legs gave in and he fell forward and landed on his uninjured side. With one arm supporting himself, he attempted to get up. Come on. Move!
Him trying to raise himself off the pavement only aggravated his wound.
"I have a better idea… Your friends' friends might as well be included. And if you die, that would be even better."
He saw Termite's feet walk over to him through blurred vision. The last thing he could remember was the butt of the crossbow swinging towards his head before blacking out.