The entire day felt like a bad dream.

After walking out of the apartment as 'Kurokawa Haneji', he headed straight to the nearest police station. While pretending to ask for directions, Kaito lightly taped the plastic bag containing the stolen jewel and a Kid note to the underside of one of the lobby's front desks. Eventually, the front desk worker would shift his leg position and cause the bag to fall after brushing past it. The staff there were sluggish from the early morning hours and positioned few in between, making it an easy task. With that done, Kaito made his way to the Blue Parrot.

"Yo, Jii-chan! It's me." He exclaimed casually as he pushed open the door to the bar. The front door itself was locked as per usual, but nothing stopped Kaito from simply doing some lock picking. He didn't feel like digging through his bag for the keys when he had lock pick wires hidden up his sleeves.

With none of the dim coloured lights turned on and the chairs set aside, the atmosphere was rather bleak. Kaito strode by the neatly set pool tables to make his way to the back of the establishment. After going through a staff only door, he announced his presence once more. "Jii-chan, are you busy with something?"

No response.

A crease formed between his brows. Kaito ruled out the possibility of him being in the restrooms since they were at the front of the place for customers to access. Last time he checked, the doors were open. If the old man wasn't at the bar polishing the glassware or the pool cues, then he could be in one of the back rooms.

Kaito walked down the dark corridor leading to the storerooms where supplies to run the parlor were kept, including a hidden area for Kaitou Kid. He took a peek at the room where the alcohol was stored. Usually, Jii forbids him from going in there without supervision, citing that Kaito was too curious for his own good. And admittedly he was.

The inside was nearly pitch black but Kaito could still see thanks to the light seeping through the small window in the hallway, plus his eyes were trained to see in dark conditions. He was about to move on to the next room until he noticed that something was different. Although there were a few tightly packed shelves in the way, Kaito could faintly make out that the wall mounted shelves in the backside of the room had gone missing.

He stepped in carefully and reached for the light switch. "Jii…?"

With the lights on, Kaito clearly saw that he was right. The shelves were gone. Once he got closer, the strong smell of alcohol wafted from the back. He quickly found the source of acrid smell when he walked around the shelves that blocked his view.

Kaito stared blankly at the nightmarish scene before him, suddenly feeling cold and numb. Sprawled on the bare concrete floor facing up was Jii. The long boards that served as a shelving unit were laid atop his head.

"Jii! No, no, no… please!" He hurriedly ran to the man and lifted the heavy wooden planks off of him, ignoring the broken glass and the pool of liquor under his feet. Jii's glasses were bent out of shape and barely hanging onto his nose. His eyes were closed and his mouth was agape. A deep wound near his forehead bled out profusely.

Silently praying, Kaito kneeled down. With shaking hands, the dark haired teen touched the old man's face. His deepest fear came true when he felt how cold and stiff Jii was. There was no saving him anymore. The dark wine and liquor mixed with broken bottles surrounding the body suddenly began to look like blood.

How? Why? Kaito began to question himself over what he was seeing. What should he do? His eyes were beginning to sting from the fumes and the shock he felt.

Calm down. He was the one and only Kaitou Kid. There was no situation he could not manage.

The teen swallowed slowly and took a few steps to back away from the intoxicating smell and the body. He breathed deeply and steeled himself. His eyes darted around to look for any indication of what happened. It looked like the shelves gave in and fell on Jii.

But that's impossible. Kaito had helped Jii install them last week and they could easily bear his weight. He clearly remembered forcefully hanging off of them to test the strength of the shelves, even when they were filled with bottles.

Kaito looked towards the part of the wall where the screws had held the thick wooden planks secure with steel brackets. There was no sign of wear and tear. The holes were cleanly shaped and new. It's as if someone loosened the screws or removed them…

A realization dawned on him. This was made to look accidental. But who…

His pulse quickened at the thought of it being Snake and his men. Perhaps Jii was targeted for being associated with Kuroba Toichi, whom Snake believes is the current Kaitou Kid.

Kaito felt light headed from the smell and the scene in front of him. He stumbled his way outside to get some fresh air. Now, what should he do next?

He dug out his phone with hands still quivering and called the police. This was out of the ordinary for him to summon the police willingly outside of heists but there was no other way to deal with a body. He would rather give Jii a proper burial.

Just in case, Kaito pulled out the Kid outfit from his bag and hid it across the street behind a dumpster. In a short time, an ambulance and a police car arrived at the Blue Parrot. A man with tired eyes and a broad nose stepped out of the car and made his way towards Kaito who was leaning back against the building outside.

"I'm Inspector Ikari. Are you the one that called?"

With the most neutral professional tone he could muster, the teen answered. "Yes. My boss has been murdered. I found him this morning half an hour ago in the back rooms."

The inspector grunted and beckoned the paramedics to follow him inside, an assistant officer tailing from behind. Kaito felt he should lead them in but he didn't feel like going back there. He doesn't think he can keep it together if he saw Jii's lifeless face again.

The inspector walked back outside and took out a form to fill in, a routine thing as he didn't look too thrilled about it. "Could you give me your name and occupation?"

"Kurokawa Haneji. I work here."

What followed was a series of mundane questions about what he saw, the time of discovery, and the victim's identity.

He felt nauseous watching the paramedics carry Jii away in a bodybag. A part of him wanted to run after the ambulance that drove away, but he knew better. 'Kurokawa Haneji' was not supposed to be close to Jii Konosuke. The teenage boy named 'Haneji' was just a part time employee at the Blue Parrot, nothing more.

A click of the pen pulled Kaito's attention back to Inspector Ikari. "Sorry to say this, Kurokawa-san, but this looks like an accident to me."

"What?" His voice came out airy and unsteady. "This must be a mistake. I-It's so obvious that the shelf didn't come off on its own!" Kaito wanted to yell so badly.

He received a strange glare from the man. "Oh?"

Kaito's instinct told him that he shouldn't give away more than what's necessary. "I just think that it's so unfair…My boss didn't deserve this." He played the card of being overwhelmed and confused.

Rejoining them outside was the inspector's partner who ran up to the man and whispered something to his ears. Much to Kaito's frustration, he couldn't lip read what the subordinate was saying since a hand covered his mouth.

Inspector Ikari pulled back and sighed while dragging a hand over his face, stretching his features downward. "Fine…" His eyes shifted over to the teen. "We'll call in a homicide team to search the place. But I doubt the ruling will change."

"Thank you, Inspector." Kaito gave the most hollow sounding gratitude. What made the man suddenly change his mind? Was it something the other officer said?

Just when Kaito felt that he gained enough composure, he wanted to head back inside the Blue Parrot to do his own search. He was stopped by an open hand from the inspector however.

"Kurokawa-san, stay out here. Can't let unnecessary people go in and mess with the crime scene."

"A-alright." That order made sense. Yet, Kaito had this feeling of unease ever since they arrived.

Once the area got more busy with investigators buzzing around the place, Kaito thought that he might be able to sneak back inside to check the progress. But as the one who found the body, the number of eyes set on him was high and he couldn't find a gap in their notice. If he goes missing, they could suspect him. And the last thing he wanted was attention to himself as 'Haneji'.

The sun was beginning to set. Kaito spent nearly the entire day on stand by, ready to answer any questions the investigation team had. His feet were aching and he felt lightheaded as if he were still inside the alcohol storage room.

Once again, the inspector walked up to Kaito but this time he was clearly fuming. "We looked through every nook and cranny of this damn place. We considered every eyewitness and camera footage from last night. There is no evidence that points to murder."

A lump formed in Kaito's throat. Was this guy serious? Should he reveal what he noticed at the crime scene?

For now, Kaito decided that he had to stay firm on his stance in hopes that the investigators notice the same discrepancy as he did. "I refuse to believe that it was an accident. Look harder at the back walls or something. I'm sure that's where-."

"Why you…! Don't tell the professionals how to do their jobs, you brat!" The inspector snarled with gritted teeth. "Just be grateful that we wasted so many hours on your wild claim."

Kaito felt blood rush to his head. His hands were balled into fists, but he kept them hidden inside the pocket of his track jacket. What is going on with the investigation? "Are you saying that there is no evidence?" Of course, he knew the answer he was gonna receive.

"Yes! Did it finally go through your thick skull!?" As the man finished screaming at the teen, something else drew his attention and he redirected his irritation at it. "Hey, who let these two kids in here?!"

From his peripheral, Kaito could see two figures approaching. All this cooperating with the police and Jii's sudden passing had thoroughly drained him. He was in no mood for dealing with more questions.

Quietly, Kaito listened to the inspector deal with the two detectives. Of all the people to arrive, it had to be some of Kid's most ardent pursuers. Kudo Shinichi and Hakuba Saguru. His luck just couldn't get any more worse.

As Inspector Ikari turned and left, Kaito kept his eyes on him, watching the man's back. What annoyed him the most was how he couldn't read anything wrong with the man. Sure, the inspector was impatient and rude but he seemed genuinely angry that there was no evidence of a murder. Kaito could only conclude that the inspector was not hiding anything from him. Maybe he was wrong in assuming he could rely on the police for something like this…

A hushed exchange between Hakuba and Kudo pulled Kaito out from his glaring at the inspector. He was aware that his weak poker face was leaking his internal turmoil out onto his face, but he was too tired to care anymore.

The blond detective addressed him first. "May I ask who you are?"

It was a strange moment for Kaito. He made a mental note to act like a stranger to the detectives he has known ever since taking on the role of Kaitou Kid. "Kurokawa Haneji. Just call me by my name."

Hakuba proceeded to introduce himself and Kudo, which was technically pointless to Kaito but he allowed the blond teen to talk.

Standing at the side, Kudo finally spoke to him. "Can you tell us what happened?"

Straight to the point, huh? Truth be told, Kaito was in no mood for an interrogation or reliving the scene again. But a naive part of him felt compelled to tell the two detectives. They, at least, still had his respect as rivals.

"Jii, the owner, I mean, was found this morning. I passed by here to check the place and found him. He…had a head wound and wasn't breathing, so I called for help." Kaito had repeated this testimony more times than he would like to over the course of several long hours to numerous other investigating officers.

Kudo continued. "And what is your relationship with the victim?"

"I work part time at the Blue Parrot. That's all." A quick and short answer. He'd rather they not dig too deep on the nature of their connection, especially not now.

"You seem awfully upset for just being a part time employee."

Of course, Hakuba, ever the nosy detective. Kaito had to resist the urge to sigh in disappointment. And here he thought they would help. "He was kind to me. We became friends." A story Kaito had spun many times whenever someone asked about him and Jii. It irritated him that the detectives were focusing on this aspect. "My relationship with the victim has nothing to do with anything. Shouldn't you be investigating the crime scene instead of asking pointless questions, Detective?"

Kudo raised an inquisitive eyebrow. "Crime scene? Mind if you tell us why you think it was a murder, Hanejii-kun?"

The longer Kaito dwelled on it, the more doubts he had about telling the evidence he saw. The reason the inspector couldn't see it was due to sheer incompetence from his person and his team… Or is it?

Suddenly, he was mentally smacking himself over the head for being so stupid and careless. Snake's organization probably had moles inside the police or bribed some of the officers. Kaito had been too focused on the inspector, letting the investigating officers move freely about while he had tunnel vision from Jii's death. Focus, Kaito, focus…

"It's just a gut feeling." He knew it was a nonanswer, and so did the two detectives.

The magician inwardly breathed a sigh of relief at the fact he hadn't said anything to mark himself a target, such as saying how the screw holes for the shelves were new and undamaged. He had to put as much distance between 'Kurokawa Haneji' and 'Jii Konosuke' lest he wanted to get his cover blown and risk attracting attention to his existence. Seems like calling the police was truly pointless after all.

Turning to leave, Kaito threw out a farewell. "Well, I'm leaving. I have other matters to attend to." It was best that he left the area as soon as possible before he let himself make any more suspicious moves. He no longer felt comfortable with all the police circling the Blue Parrot. Plus, he had been on his feet for nearly the entire day. His mindset wasn't at its best either.

"Hold it, Haneji-kun."

"What?"

Hakuba's sudden outburst nearly made Kaito flinch. He was really not in the mood to talk anymore.

"Before you leave, can we check the contents of your bag?"

Sometimes Kaito wonders if the blond teen couldn't get any more annoying to be around. He knew, however, that he wouldn't be able to leave freely unless he complied. "Search away, Detective."

Unsurprisingly, Kudo and Hakuba found nothing out of the ordinary. Once the satchel was returned to him, Kaito made a quick leave. He just wanted to pass out in his bed and forget about everything but he knew he could not do that yet.