Chapter 12: True Name

With Kaitou Kid's real identity found, Shinichi and Hakuba have uncovered one of the many layers of mysteries wrapped around the thief. And now, it's only a matter of seeing this meeting to the end.

"Kuroba… Kaito, huh? A fitting name, plus the age range matches with the timeline of events. One would only need to find a picture of him as a child and compare it to his current appearance to back the claim up." commented Hakuba after listening to Shinichi's deduction.

Shinichi glanced back towards the thief, who remained seated at his bedside with arms crossed. "So, Kaito-kun? We are very curious as to why someone who was supposedly dead is running around under a false name."

Fingers tightening around his arms, Kid spoke through gritted teeth. "I insist that you don't call me that. I'm sure you can figure out why that is."

"Ah." The terribly familiar situation dawned on Shinichi, pulling him back to his days spent as 'Conan'. Meaning, it was supposed to be a closely guarded secret that could bring danger to those that knew it. "I'll try to keep that in mind, Kid."

"Oh well… " Kid heaved a tired sigh, turning his head away from the two detectives standing in front of him. "I guess congratulations are in order. All because your parents happen to know my father."

"The police would have figured it out eventually but I just sped things up. I believe you were hoping that your hidden identity would buy time for you to plan an escape and then go into hiding under a different name and face. Am I correct?"

"Me? Go into hiding? My, what an unexpected course of action." Sarcasm soaked into each word he said. It was plain as day that Kid had dropped the façade of being calm and collected, opting to go on the defensive. He redirected his agitation and frayed nerves into vexation. "What do you expect when you guys are trying to get me jailed?"

Hearing that, Hakuba jumped in while looking quite annoyed too. "You misunderstand something, Kid. Kudo-kun and I are here trying to help apprehend a criminal organization. And that very same group of criminals have made attempts on your life. Arresting you is secondary right now. You must know something about why they want you dead."

Shinichi joined Hakuba in their effort to appeal to Kid. "Please. Whatever is going on, you can trust us and the police. We can work for the same side."

"Tch." Kid reacted as if that very idea offended him. "Same side? Trust the police? That's a tall order coming from a detective to a criminal, but a romantic idea nevertheless."

Shinichi chewed at his lower lip, understanding that Kid was intentionally being difficult with them out of spite for finding his real name. "You're not like most criminals, Kid. You know the difference between what's wrong and what's right. We're asking you to make the best of your current situation."

"… I wouldn't be in this position in the first place if the police had- Never mind, it doesn't matter." Kid bit back a hiss under his breath. After stopping himself from finishing his previous statement, his face regained a disdainful sneer. "You're terrible at this, you know that?"

Fine. "How about this?" Shinichi lifted up the case folder he held in a hand. "Evidently, Jii Konosuke was someone close to you. If you cooperate, we'll try to convince the investigators to reopen the case. Then, it will only be a matter of-"

"Nice try, but I refuse."

The detective was rendered speechless, but not from what Kid said. What he did not expect was the thief's sudden shift to a deadpan expression. The keen eyes that bore into him made Shinichi uncomfortable in ways he never wanted to feel again. They were achingly similar to the stare Ran gave him when she found out the truth, filled with silent anger and heavy disappointment.

Shinichi struggled to push words through his mouth. "I-I don't understand what you mean." If he wanted to know the reason behind the change in attitude again, asking sounded like a good first step.

Maintaining the blank look, the magician replied plainly. "You're only investigating that case because of who I am, in hopes to get me to divulge information. Too bad for you, because I'm not falling for that."

Inwardly cursing at his poor choice of words, Shinichi tried to find a way to return from his steps in the wrong direction. He didn't mean to dangle the truth behind a close family friend's death like bait. Kid's earlier comment must have gotten to him before he realized it.

Hakuba saw that Shinichi had been driven away by the unforeseen apprehension. He shot a glare at Kid, who only blinked back at him. "I assure you that both of us remembered about the incident before we knew about your connections to it."

"No, Hakuba-kun. That's not it. I shouldn't have used that case like a bargaining tool. It was a callous move on my part." Even hearing himself admit his wrongdoings made Shinichi wince. He needed to find a better approach than aiming to resolve Kid's immediate source of grief. What if he started at the root? "I… mentioned before how the legitimacy of the reports on the Kuro- your family's deaths could be called into question since you are in fact very much alive, Kid. Could you tell us what really happened?"

The slight raising of an eyebrow told Shinichi that the thief noticed him switching tactics. Shinichi prayed that it wouldn't upset Kid further, and that it conveyed his intentions on listening to the truth behind the Kuroba family cases.

His hopes had been somewhat answered when Kid responded in a neutral fashion. "You're right, the reports were fabricated. I myself wasn't even sure why those events transpired until recently. But-"

Shinichi gulped as he felt his stomach drop when he saw another change in Kid's demeanor.

The corners of Kid's mouth lifted up into a thin joyless smile. "I'm afraid that I just don't feel like humoring you guys anymore. Being injured and all. It really takes a toll, let me tell you that. I would prefer if you detectives would leave me be now." One of his hands waved. "Shoo."

"Kid, you can't be serious… " Hakuba pinched the bridge of his nose.

"... " A thick air of stubbornness now permeated around the thief. He even closed his eyes as if in meditation to ignore the two presences in front of him.

After a few more seconds of nothing happening, Shinichi and Hakuba reluctantly accepted that they were going to get no more answers for the time being. Still, they have learned a lot more information from Kaitou Kid than they expected at the start of the visit.

Shinichi felt partially at fault for cutting their talk short. At first, he hadn't been sure what interrogation method to try if he wanted Kid to cooperate. Seeing the results, he made a mental note to discuss a different approach with Hakuba. "I think we should listen to him, Hakuba-kun. Let's call it a day."

"Alright." The blond breathed out then stepped forward to retrieve the bag resting on the nightstand by the bed. "Kid. As you saw, I have yet to hand it over to the inspector despite his orders and I don't plan to do so anytime soon."

Shinichi returned the report folder along with the fingerprint analysis results to Hakuba, which the blond put with the rest of the evidence related to the case. As Hakuba pulled the zipper back to close the sports bag, Shinichi caught a glimpse of the inside. White…?

Judging from what Hakuba said previously and the brief glance at the contents, Shinichi guessed that the bag, or at least its contents, belonged to Kaitou Kid. The other detective must be hanging on to it closely to keep the fact that Kid had been captured an absolute secret. Still, why hadn't he just left it somewhere secure instead of lugging it around?

Hakuba was the first to walk out, leaving the door open for Shinichi. Just before stepping out, he turned his head to look at Kid who remained still as a statue since he last uttered a word. "I'll ask Inspector Nakamori to come by at another date instead of later today. In the meantime, please reconsider. We mean to do the right thing, I promise."

After the sliding door closed, Shinichi immediately tapped Hakuba on the shoulder. "I need to talk to you. Follow me."

Both of them went further away from the room and around a corner in another dim corridor to avoid unwanted listeners. When they made sure they were alone, Shinichi pointed at the bag at the blond's side. "Why did you bring Kaitou Kid's belongings with you today?"

"My words hold true, Kudo-kun. I don't plan on giving them to Inspector Nakamori."

"Then why would you carry it on your person? Surely, you must have access to safe places to hide evidence of Kaitou Kid's capture."

For a moment, the other high school detective shifted uncomfortably. "I admit that I initially wanted to use it to strike a deal or earn his cooperation in exchange for returning his equipment to him."

Shinichi was not sure how to react to that. "H-how come you didn't bring it up during the visit?" Even so, he highly doubted that offering the thief a means to escape had been a good idea in the first place.

"Don't give me that derisive look, Kudo-kun." A sigh escaped out of Hakuba's mouth. His eyes looked elsewhere, lost in thoughts. "I know it was a silly idea, even more so after I learnt about his strange circumstances."

"Do you mean, how he is supposedly dead?"

"Exactly. Once I knew that, I decided that it would be better to keep an eye on Kid by preventing him from making any kind of escape while he isn't in top form. When he recovers enough, I will hand this bag back to him as a show of trust. Hopefully, he will be more willing to work with us then."

While listening to Hakuba's suggestion, Shinichi nodded along. It certainly sounded better than forcing Kid to work with them by using a bargain, knowing how stubborn and fickle the thief could be at the same time. After all, Kid had always shown a strong sense of integrity to those that show him the right amount of leniency.

Having said that, Shinichi's contemplations returned to the Kuroba family cases. "Do you think that perhaps his faked death has anything to do with how there are people that want Kaitou Kid assassinated? His father, Kuroba Toichi, was the original Kaitou Kid after all. That man was said to have died when a stage trick had gone wrong."

"Hm, I see where you're going with this. If there are people attempting to kill Kid right now, then there is a chance that it's not the first time it happened either. And if the first Kid is dead, then it is plausible that they succeeded in the past."

So, Kuroba Toichi's death must not have been as accidental as the report said. The same logic could then be applied to the deaths of the people connected to the magician, such as his wife, his son, and his assistant. If so, what's the reason behind all of this? Shinichi had found himself going down quite the rabbit's hole indeed…

With the detectives gone, he was left alone at last. Kaito loosened his posture and fell back on his bed. He hadn't been lying about his injuries taking its toll on him, especially on his stamina and patience. His bandaged arm throbbed in protest from the prolonged grip he forced it to do. But the pain helped to keep his emotions in check during the visits, reminding him to keep his guards up.

Kaito lifted his legs and pulled them onto the bed to settle into a more comfortable position. He tugged the hood of the jacket over his eyes to block out the light. The stillness inside his room finally gave him a break. He breathed in and out deeply, feeling his chest rise and fall with slight tremors.

Naturally, the events of the day occupied his mind like an unwanted tumor. He really dropped the ball this time around, more than he had at the heist. Kaito chewed the inside of his cheeks as he recalled what he did or didn't reveal.

Kaitou Kid's death, his mother and his own falsified reports, Jii's relationship to him…but most egregious of all, his true name.

After replaying the conversations he had with Nakamori and the detectives, he arrived at a single conclusion.

They knew too much about him already.

The dull ache in his chest returned as his heart palpitated at that thought. After so much time spent on practicing his poker face, it had all amounted to nothing.

A hazy but distinct childhood memory rose up from the depths of his mind. The day of his father's funeral, his mother had taken him out of bed in the dead of night to suddenly live under another roof. Apart from the shocking news that she was leaving him, Kaito could also recall the challenge he was posed.

Live as 'Kurokawa Haneji' and don't let anyone find out he was really Kuroba Kaito. And he had utterly failed.

Of course, he had accepted the task out of childish naivety. The downsides that came with living as a false identity hadn't really settled within him until a year or so had passed. His mother's ominous words about the consequences echoed back whenever he tried to think about why he had to live in hiding. It was after he discovered his father's secret that Jii finally admitted that they had to lay low because of people who wanted Kaitou Kid and his family dead over some gem they thought he had.

After nearly a decade had passed, Kaito felt increasingly numb to his previous life. He was even ready to accept that 'Kuroba Kaito' would never return, content to simply be another person and find a way to bring justice to his father's death while masquerading as Kaitou Kid. And with Jii gone, he had lost his final connection to his old name. Or so Kaito thought.

He could have sworn he almost had a heart attack when the formerly shrunken detective found his real identity and then said the name out loud. Kaito had felt an immediate learned aversion upon hearing Kudo pronounce it. That had been the start of Kaito's mood taking a nosedive, which only worsened when the detectives put Jii's case on the table. It was a cheap tactic, and Kaito had hoped they wouldn't do that. He did not miss the fact that Hakuba was the one holding onto his stuff either.

Following that line, Kaito's thoughts drifted towards the investigations being done on him. When he envisioned himself being caught, he expected the press to go absolutely insane from the news. Yet from what he determined, things sounded fairly calm outside his hospital room. It was almost too quiet in fact.

Something else had bothered him too. He had expected the doctor or the nurses to be cautious or overly enthusiastic around him, yet they treated him as if he were a regular patient, not that he minded. Even the people who came by to talk were oddly a specific range of individuals. It consisted of only the Kaitou Kid Task Force's lead inspector and their two most trusted consultants. It's as if…

But why would they keep his capture a secret? This blatantly went against the task force's goal! Hakuba must be the one with the most knowledge about the situation since the blond was somehow allowed to carry criminal evidence around without penalty. Kaito then heard Kudo's parting words repeat themselves from the back of his mind.

Did they really mean it when they said they were prioritizing Snake's organization over his arrest?

…

No, he had to keep his hopes in check. Even with the threat of Snake and his compatriots gone, he was determined to win back the ability to live out of hiding especially after wearing the monocle of Kaitou Kid. It sparked a renewed passion for magic which he had to stomp out while using his false name.

It wouldn't even surprise him if the detectives only said that as a means to coax information out of him. Then again, Kaito didn't have much to hide anymore. The police knew both of his names and could therefore find his address. Hopefully, the hidden room at his house could remain a secret. His mother's whereabouts would continue to be unknown, as even Kaito himself had no idea where she went ever since his father's passing.

On the other hand, he admittedly did have some faith in Hakuba, Kudo, and even Nakamori. Their interactions during the heists provided some form of excitement and joy in his dull life as 'Kurokawa Haneji', the ordinary and plain teenager with no connections of any kind…

A small chuckle shook through his body. All these skirting thoughts about Kaitou Kid and his own future had nearly made him forget about the raw feeling prodding him for the past week.

After a handful of years, Kaito believed that he had learned to smile, move on, and live with Jii acting as his surrogate grandfather. But once he found the secret behind a hidden doorway inside his father's room, Kaito felt the bitterness return in full force just when he thought he could leave it behind. And in the process of trying to find justice for his father's murder, Jii's death brought back a fresh wave of those very same feelings he had learnt to dread. Not even an entire week had passed by, and they came back again when Kudo had brought forward the case files.

Oh great. Now his eyes stung from wallowing in self-pity.

For now, despite his own feelings of solitude, he was glad to be by himself. He wanted nobody to see how pathetic he looked, stuck in bed and having no means of escape despite carrying both the name of a legendary phantom thief and a famed magician.