"Hiya, Kudo!" Similar to a couple of days ago, Hattori waltzed into the Mouri agency in the early morning. He made himself at home by falling back against the couch.

Putting his mug down in surprise, Shinichi exclaimed. "Wha- What happened to going to school?"

The Osaka detective shrugged. "I decided ta skip class again today. I know it happened a week ago, but I need a long break after goin' ta the trial fer the guy that shot me durin' the raid. Never seen such a slippery and verbose bastard in court in my life."

"Uh huh." Shinichi nodded as Hattori complained about the court hearings once again.

"Anyways, have ya heard o' the shootin' in Ekoda?"

That news caught Shinichi's attention immediately. "No, what do you mean by that?" He had checked his phone in the morning this time and had not seen any headlines related to a shooting.

"I was walkin' from the train station ta yer place and I happened ta pass by an intersection. The entire part was cordoned off. The inspector there told me that there were several people injured and two dead from an unknown shooter."

"That is a major incident. How come it's not in the news yet?"

"Yer guess is as good as mine. I reckon that their investigations is bein' watched by the higher ups fer whatever reason."

Shinichi took one last gulp of his morning drink. That could be a possible reason. But why would the police keep that under wraps?

"Oh, I have an idea!" Hattori sat up straight. "Why don't we give that Hakuba a call? He lives around there, doesn't he?"

Walking away to put his mug and his dishes from breakfast into the sink, Shinichi waved a hand. "Feel free to do that."

With a few jabs at his phone, Hattori called the blond's number. It didn't take long for the call to pick up. "Yo, Hakuba-kun! I'm callin' ya regardin' the- huh?…Yeah, ya do know about it?… Ya did what?!"

Hattori's sudden outburst quickly made Shinichi run up to him. Seeing the shrunken detective approach with an expression of wanting to know, Hattori pressed a button on his phone. "I'm puttin' ya on speaker. Kudo wants ta hear too."

Hakuba's voice played out. "Like I was saying before Hattori-kun nearly deafened me, I was the one who asked for the incident to be kept out of the news."

Trying not to let his shock reach his voice, Shinichi responded. "What was your reason?"

"How can I say this…After I talked to Kid yesterday, he warned me about impending danger. The shooting happened late evening on the same day, and he has not responded to my calls or messages since then. That prompted me to investigate the shooting."

"Ya think he might be one o' the victims?" Hattori wondered out loud.

"I thought so too at first. After checking surveillance footage, the police found out that the gunner was shooting down at a high altitude. But more importantly, there was a hooded figure who ran away in a hurry from the scene. He wasn't armed at the time so the police ruled him as a bystander that got lucky."

Shinichi could see what Hakuba was trying to imply. "And you think that could be Kid?"

"Yes. After I convinced the leading inspector to let me see the footage myself, I can confirm that the build and what little is shown of his face matches him. Not that the quality of the video allowed me to see anything in great detail, but I trust my instincts."

"Wait, do ya mean that someone was shootin' at Kid and somehow missed?"

Nodding to Hattori's suggestion, Shinichi added his own educated guess. "It's possible. Either Kid was really lucky or, more likely, that whoever is behind this let him go on purpose."

The shooter was either really impulsive about pulling the trigger in a public setting or had a team working in coordination that could cover up their tracks. Considering that Hakuba had brought up the notion that there was an entire organization involved, Shinichi would assume that the gunman hired by the group had enough skills to not miss like some greenhorn.

Hakuba's voice picked up once more. "I told Inspector Nakamori about it and convinced him that this whole affair had to stay out of the news until the investigations are over, unless we want whoever was behind this to do a coverup story and close the case. If the police conclude the investigation, then our chances of finding the truth will be reduced marginally."

"Hold it there, Hakuba-kun. I know ya're close ta Nakamori-han since ya go ta those heists so often, but why would ya bring it up to him o' all the people? Can't say that he's the most… rational o' inspectors, ya know?"

At his side, Shinichi made a grunt of agreement. They've all seen the man at the heists. Nakamori could be a little overbearing, but it was his strong force of will that allowed him to command an entire task force by himself. Yet the times the inspector had lost his cool and screamed his lungs out was also notable.

A crackled sigh resonated out of the phone. "I knew he would be the easiest to persuade to cooperate with me. I… may or may not have used Kid's real name back when I told him about the shooting, and that riled the inspector up. Fortunately, Nakamori-san hasn't made any connections between Kid and the person he knows. He only believes that Ku- Kid's daytime persona is in danger." He cleared his throat during the last part of his sentence.

Both detectives on the other side of Hakuba's phone hung their mouths in disbelief. After learning that Hakuba attended the same class as Kaitou Kid, it was not hard to imagine that the next step in the series of shocking revelations was going to be that Nakamori was personally acquainted with the thief's civilian self. Still, they would have never imagined such irony could be real.

"A-anyways, Hakuba-kun, do you have any thoughts on what our next actions should be? You have a much better grasp of the situation than we do after all."

"That is a good question, Kudo-kun. I will admit that I have no right to dictate your next move. Even if I do have a better understanding about the organization I'm chasing after, I am still blind to one side of the entire matter."

"And that would be...?"

Hakuba let out a light chuckle. "What else could it be? I need to know how Kaitou Kid fits in this entire puzzle, and I can't find a solution to our problem without his cooperation. I just hope that he's still alive."

"I see. Well, thanks for the information, Hakuba-kun. Hattori and I will figure something out between ourselves. We'll tell you if something comes up."

"Understood. Good luck, you two." The half-British detective ended the call on his side first.

Putting away his phone, Hattori looked down towards Shinichi. "What do ya think, Kudo? I kinda want ta see the scene o' the shootin' fer myself."

Knowing that the gunman was still at large, Shinichi felt wary about going out there. But his sense of curiosity was irresistible. It's not like some danger had ever stopped him from investigating. Additionally, the presence of police around there should provide some level of safety.

"Same. I still have a few hours before I have to head to school. Maybe I can even get Ran or Professor Agasa to call the school for me so I can skip." Since Ran had early morning practice for karate, Shinichi sent her a message to inform her about his going to Ekoda with a fellow high school detective. "I'm all set. Let's go."

Following Shinichi, the Osaka detective muttered as he left the agency and closed the door behind him. "Still can't believe that inspector had been starin' at the wanted thief in the face the entire time..."

According to Hattori, the location of the intersection was somewhere between Beika and Ekoda. As a result of Hattori being unfamiliar with the layout of Tokyo, he had actually taken a longer route between his hotel and the Mouri agency building. For efficiency's sake, Shinichi decided to lead the way this time to show the Osaka visitor the most direct route to Ekoda.

"While I do appreciate taking the scenic route, my current form isn't exactly a fan of long walks. It's really tiring for me, Hattori."

"H-hey, don't blame me, Kudo. The best road was barricaded by the police and they won't let anyone go through."

True to his friend's words, Shinichi saw a police blockade straight ahead of the main road. It was nowhere near the actual crime scene but he could see that it prevented traffic from coming through the intersection. Shinichi visualized a map inside his head. "Hm...I guess we could reach there by cutting through a nearby park. Nobody really goes there since there is not much to see and it's kind of boring to be honest."

The pair took a sharp turn to head to a narrow sideroad. They walked in between a rusted fence covered in foliage before entering the park itself. At a glance, it looked like the area consisted of only some paved road for cyclists and joggers. Dividing the area was a series of wild plants and trees.

Looking around at the misty morning air, Hattori commented. "This feels more like a miniature nature reservation in the middle o' a city than an urban park like I was expectin'."

"Ah, well I guess this place isn't too bad. Not my cup of tea though." It certainly was a quiet and peaceful area. Although… something was off. "Hattori, can you hear that?"

"Hear what?"

In the early dawn hours of a lonely park, Shinichi had expected the sounds of birds and distant traffic. Mixed in with the ambient sound however was the unmistakable thrill of a cellphone's ring. Hattori had to lean his head down to Shinichi's level to hear it. The two detectives began swiveling their heads around in search of the source of the noise, concerned that no one was picking up. It eventually stopped on its own.

"This is gettin' a lil' creepy… "

Even with the occasional streetlamp dotting the place and the sun slowly rising above, the park was still left lingering in darkness. Combined with the fact that they were the only ones there and the dense greenery surrounding them, the atmosphere suddenly became less pleasant.

Putting a tense hand on Shinichi's shoulder, Hattori nearly made the smaller detective jump out of his skin. "Hey, Kudo. I see somethin' ahead."

Looking at where Hattori was pointing, Shinichi easily spotted what his friend was referring to. It looked like a pile of electronic parts littered on the ground. But on a closer look, he realized that they were nothing of the sort. When loosely assembled, the metallic parts looked more like… a strange gun?

Picking up a piece of the familiar device, Shinichi inspected it to confirm his theory. "Hattori, I think this is Kaitou Kid's card gun."

"Hah?! Th-then, Kid must have run 'ere at one point after the shootin'. Ya think he's still nearby?"

Unable to answer for certain, Shinichi and Hattori began looking around for any signs of what happened. As if to aid their search, the cheery tune of a phone ringing returned again. Since they were closer, the sound's direction became more clear this time. It led them to an off-road area where a wide shallow ditch formed to contain a variety of plants and trees.

Ducking, Shinichi and Hattori stepped inside the space not made to have any sort of foot traffic. In the increased darkness, the faint glow from a phone left discarded beneath a bush could be seen. Bending down to pick it up, Shinichi suddenly heard a twig snapping from something moving. The noise was not from Hattori who stood behind him. They gave each other a wide eyed stare, uncertain what to expect. It could be an enemy for all they know.

Being the more physically stronger between the two of them, Hattori stepped in front of Shinichi. Meanwhile, Shinichi had his watch activated and ready to fire from behind. After more sounds of something rustling in the dark foliage, the two detectives heard a raspy voice.

"Oh, it's you two..."

Seeing Kid emerge slowly out of hiding, the two detectives relaxed their stance considerably. He was heavily leaning against a tree as he stood.

"Jeez… You scared us, Kid. It's not like you to creep so quietly in the bushes." Putting down his watch, Shinichi then noticed that the thief looked worse for wear. "Y-you're hurt!"

Hattori also realized that and he hurriedly went to offer some support. Blood ran down his forehead from a head wound, but the most concerning injury was what seemed like an arrow sticking out of Kid's shoulder area. The bleeding seemed to have stopped but leaving the foreign object embedded there any longer could lead to an infection.

Slowly, Hattori helped Kid stagger out of the greenery while Shinichi retrieved the phone. On the lockscreen, Hakuba's name was displayed on several missed calls and unread messages. In a way, the blond's persistence had helped them locate Kid.

"What happened ta ya anyways?" Hattori asked, pulling the injured thief's arm over his shoulders.

Kid winced from the movement, speaking with labored breaths. "I… woke up there… Th-they know… about me. I should have..."

"Hattori, leave the talking for later. We need to get him to Professor Agasa's place." Shinichi began walking ahead to lead the way.

"R-right. Sorry about that."

Beneath the hood and the messy brown hair, Kid's eyes made it known that he was barely hanging on to lucidity. He didn't even question where Shinichi and Hattori were dragging him to.

Far above them, a mechanical eye watched the detectives lend a hand to the thief. Patiently, it watched the route they travelled on.

(A/N: I updated my profile to include my personal thoughts and comments on stuff I'm working on. Again, thanks for the support!)