After a short ride on the bus, Kaito made it to his house at last. It was a two story house in a secluded neighborhood. He had been living there ever since he took the name of 'Kurokawa Haneji'.

On a few occasions, he would disguise himself as his mother in order to sell the story to any neighbors that she was living with her son in that house. The official story was that she had a divorce and is raising the boy on her own with the money she got from the dispute. But the truth was that his mother had barely ever set foot inside the house. Ever since his father passed away, Kaito could count the number of times he has physically seen his mother with a single hand.

Before he did anything else, Kaito headed towards the balcony of one of the empty guest rooms. That part of the house had a small ladder setup to lead to the roof, where he 'kept' his doves. It was late evening so the birds had all returned to their perches on the tv antenna and nearby power lines, getting ready to settle in for the night. The mix of cooing and wing beats was a soothing sound he'd gladly be around for hours to listen to.

Once he got done changing the water and refilling the feed tray, Kaito made a quick overall health check of the birds. After all, he needed his partners to be in top shape for heists and reconnaissance.

One by one, he signalled them to come perch on his finger. Each bird had a specific pattern of tongue clicks and finger snaps assigned to them as a call. Whistles were a little too loud for the late evening routine and were reserved for special commands.

During the day, he would let them fly outside as they please unless there was some training and rehearsal to do. Of course, sometimes misfortune striked during the day. There was always the risk that a bird could be injured or killed. Cramming an entire flock inside a small room seemed like a bad idea, so the only other alternative was to let them out during the day. Perhaps if he didn't have to worry about looking inconspicuous, he would let the birds fly inside the whole house.

After counting a total of twenty three doves, Kaito was sure they were all accounted for. There were also a few regular pigeons that had joined the flock and were perching with the other snow white birds. Some of those he had trained alongside his doves, in case he needed a bird that would not stand out as much. By the time he was done with the routine check, the sun barely peeked out in the horizon. Time to make his move.

Kaito quickly changed into a set of dark clothes and grabbed his regular arsenal before heading back outside. The streets were dark and only a small glimmer of light from the sun reached them. Good. It was the perfect condition to conceal himself from any eyewitnesses.

Silently, he hopped off of his roof and landed into a tree before reaching the ground. Weaving around streetlights and staying close to shadows, Kaito travelled around via the back alleys and sometimes the rooftops. To shorten the journey, he rode on a bus while donning a simple disguise consisting of a wig and scarf. Once he got to his stop, he scampered off into the bushes to remove his disguise and resume skulking in the dark towards the Blue Parrot.

On the way there, Kaito retrieved Kid's iconic outfit from its hiding place behind a dumpster across the street. It laid neatly wrapped in the cape, all tucked in within the top hat. The suit was likely going to be wrinkled from the tight fit, but a good old ironing and steaming would make it nice and slick again.

The front of the billiard parlor was desolate, a far cry from the scene during the day. With a few glances, Kaito saw that there were no officers stationed anywhere to guard the establishment. Either they have deemed it a low priority case or there was no need for patrol on an accident case deemed conclusive. There was also the possibility that the police trusted the locked doors and alarms to do their jobs, but that surely won't stop the Kaitou Kid from breaking in.

Easier than any heists he had done before, Kaito made his way inside via the back door that led directly into the rooms behind the Blue Parrot. Being back in there felt a bit surreal. Everything looked the same as he remembered but coming in without hearing Jii's voice greeting him or tinkering away in the hidden room made the place feel alien.

Walking lightly, Kaito made his way to the crime scene. He took a deep breath before rounding the corner. It still smelled of a mix of alcohol and a tinge of blood. Most of the liquid and broken glass were cleared away to who knows where by the police investigators. A deep stain still remained, marking the place where Jii's body was found.

Working up the courage to move forward, Kaito got closer. He needed to check something that has been bothering him ever since the police came by and sealed the area off from the public.

"What..?" Kaito mumbled in disbelief at what he saw.

The holes where the screws had been in were chipped and uneven, as if they were made years before. Even some of the paint on the wall was made to look faded with age. If Kaito trusted anything, it was his memory. There was indeed some tampering done by some of the members of the police, all to make it look more convincingly like a freak accident in the report files.

Kaito had guessed right, but to see it confirmed made him angrier. It dredged up similar feelings of betrayal and bitterness he felt when he heard the truth behind his father's death.

It was unbelievably late by the time Kaito made it back home via the back door. He didn't even have the energy to lift his arm up to check his phone or to change his clothes. Not even a hot shower could motivate him into getting up from his living room couch.

Despite feeling spent, he couldn't relax at all. The teen simply sat in the darkness, staring at the ground between his legs. After what felt like a day filled with never ending noise, Kaito finally had a quiet moment to himself.

It was night time, a car drove around in a seemingly haphazard fashion. Inside, a woman and a child sat together in the passenger seats while an aging man chauffeured the unlit car. The woman had a hat that shielded half of the top of her face. The driver sported a steely expression and gripped the steering wheel a little too hard as he turned.

Leaned against his mother, the small boy looked half asleep. It had been a long day for him, and his mother had just carried him off of bed to sneak out of the house through the back. His eyes looked despondent and puffy. His breathing hitched once in a while, but no tears came. He was simply tired from the funerary ceremony and wake. There was no cremation ceremony needed to be done for the body.

The scenery outside of the car shifted to unfamiliar streets. It pulled the child out of his daze. His mother's hand, which had been stroking his hair in an effort to comfort him, lifted away to allow the boy to look around. She had been trying to enjoy one last quiet moment of contact with her child.

"Mom, where are we going?" His tiny voice was hoarse and slurred from not speaking for nearly an entire day.

"You'll see." His mother gently grabbed his shoulders and pivoted them to face her. "Kaito, look at me. I need you to listen very carefully."

The boy, still dressed in his sleeping clothes, looked through the veil that covered her eyes. From the distance he sat at, he could clearly see how exhausted she looked yet there was a twinkle in them. "Mom?"

"Kaito, do you remember the game of pretend your dad taught you?" Her voice was as quiet and soft as possible, knowing that she might hurt him by mentioning his father.

The face on the child wrinkled slightly, but he resisted the urge to look away. He nodded.

Her lips forced a bright smile, trying to pull her son along the intended direction. "Good. For old time's sake, why don't we play that game again?"

The brows on her son's face knitted together. He didn't quite understand why she wanted to do that. "I'm not a baby anymore, Mom."

The woman laughed, her face under tight control in front of her child. "I know, Kaito. Which means it's time to make that game more difficult. Are you up for the challenge?" She asked with a taunting smirk and a lift of the brow, knowing he couldn't turn down a test of skills.

A small smile cracked through the boy's drained expression. "Okay, what are the rules this time?"

From under their seats, she pulled out a sizable suitcase. "I packed everything important from your room in here." Chikage handed it to her son, who let it sit on his lap. His curious eyes were still trained on her. "Your new name is going to be Kurokawa Haneji. You were born in Nagano, but have recently moved to Tokyo after your parents divorced. Your father was a banker while your mother is a real estate agent."

From inside her sleeves she pulled out a pair of glasses and a small case of contact lenses. After a bit of squirming from Kaito's part, she completed the simple change in appearance. It's something a child like him could easily manage on his own.

The boy looked up thoughtfully while adjusting the glasses. "Sounds easy enough." He seemed to have perked up considerably from the distraction his mother provided.

Jii alerted them in a low voice. "Madam, we are almost there."

"Thank you, Jii." Immediately afterwards, she removed her black overcoat to reveal a bright red casual dress underneath. With trained dexterity, she flicked open a compact mirror and began applying makeup to her face. Hair extension clips were added to lengthen her hair so she could tie it into a simple braid. By the time Chikage was done, she looked like a completely different woman.

The child barely blinked, haven gotten used to these types of impromptu transformations. He looked at her once again when she spoke.

"Here comes the hardest part of the game, Kaito."

With a small squeak from the brakes, the car came to a stop. Jii stepped out first to unload a large suitcase from the trunk. He then dragged it and left it near where the woman stood. She was going to take a taxi to the airport.

Meanwhile, the boy looked at the house they stopped in front of. He remembers coming here a few times when his father had smuggled him here to show him tricks his mother won't allow inside their own home. He turned to his mother and asked weakly. "Mom? Why are we here?"

She lifted a finger to her mouth and winked playfully. "Shh, I'm not done with the rules yet." Chikage paused to glance around. Everything looked clear and safe. She had tried to stay vigilant without alerting her son. "Like I said, Kaito. This is the hardest part of the game." It took a lot of effort for her not to show the guilt and regret on her face.

He pouted, suitcase in hand. "Okay…? But I don't understand wha-" His words were cut short by his mother, who suddenly kneeled down and embraced him tightly.

"The biggest challenge in this round of pretend is that I need to leave you." She fought back tears as she said it, her brows knitting together.

The boy took a sharp intake of air. "B-but, when will you be back?"

"..." The woman was not sure. For all she knew, this game could never end at all. However, she was sure of one thing. She looked into his eyes with great sincerity, keeping her voice steady. "When everything is over. I'll be back, and then you won't have to pretend anymore."

The young boy was too overwhelmed by the sudden news to respond.

While he was stunned, Chikage switched to a stern face this time around. Her grip on his shoulders was tightening to drill in the severity of what she was about to say. "Kaito, this will be a very difficult test of your abilities. If anyone finds out who you are, it's game over. Do you understand?" One mistake could jeopardize his safety.

"Welcome back, Young Master. How was school today?"

A gloomy faced boy threw his school bag and glasses aside on the carpeted floor and made his way to the kitchen table. He pulled himself up onto a chair. "It was fine." He responded robotically.

It had been nearly a year since the pretend game began. Until Kaito was old enough to live on his own, Jii would drop by everyday, disguised as his 'grandfather'.

"Ah, that's good to hear." Jii turned around with a tray in hand. He approached the table and set it down gently since an entire tea set was balanced on top of it. With the same amount of care, he poured out two cups.

The boy accepted the steaming beverage and held it in his hands, waiting for it to cool. "Jii-chan?"

"What is it, Young Master Kaito?" The man said as he wiped his round glasses with the hem of his sweater, clearing the mist that had gathered after taking a sip of the hot tea. It was only when they were alone and inside the house that Jii called him by his real name.

"I don't want to go to school anymore."

Jii roughly shoved his glasses back on and nearly stood up from his seat. "W-what's wrong? Is there someone bullying you? Are the teachers being mean?"

Kaito shook his head. "No, everyone at school is nice to me. I just don't like staying there all day."

Under the guise of 'Kurokawa Haneji', he had to refrain from doing anything 'Kuroba Kaito' would do. It wouldn't be such a big deal if a school day didn't last so long. Each day he acted as discreet as possible, keeping still and quiet. It was so stifling.

Jii rubbed the top of his head. "Well, you still have to go to junior high. After that, well…" He didn't want to push Toichi's son off of the path of normalcy. Later before the end of junior high, he'll maybe try to convince Kaito to take the high school admission test.

Meanwhile, Kaito was staring at the drink in his hands. Jii's words echoed in his mind and blocked out the rest of the sounds around him. Junior high… He was currently in fourth grade, that would mean five more years. The tight feeling in his chest increased. Five more years? He could barely endure one.

"Y-young Master?"

Tears were gathering up in the boy's eyes. He pushed away the tea, no longer feeling like eating or drinking anything. Kaito stood up from his chair and began walking away to retreat to his late father's room.

With a hand, Jii grabbed the boy's arm before he could escape. "Young Master, talk to me. It's not healthy to go coop up in Master Toichi's room each time you get upset." It was a normal sight to see Kaito practicing simple sleights of hand in there, but it was also common to see him sitting in a curled position on top of the bed staring at nothing in the dark with a stony face.

The boy's face was red, but he somehow kept the tears in his eyes from spilling out.

Jii walked closer and leaned forward to be at eye level to Kaito. "I'll always be there to hear you out." He rubbed the boy's back reassuringly.

The dam finally broke. "I-I'm so sick of this! I'm so tired of this dumb game…" He could no longer control the stream of tears coming from his eyes. He felt so immature and selfish for being upset, especially when it was either he played along or he risked potential death. Even his breathing betrayed him as he broke into uncontrollable sobs. This went on for a solid minute.

"There, better?" Jii patted his back with a sympathetic smile wrinkling his features.

"Yes…" The boy managed to speak in between deep heaves and sniffling. The embarrassment from crying didn't make him feel any better. But by voicing what he wanted to say for a long time to someone willing to lend an ear, the world felt easier to breathe in. Another year didn't seem too bad.

"Jii…" Kaito quietly wept in the dark where nobody could hear him.