Chapter 14: Fitful Start

Free from the confines of the hospital at last, Kaito returns to his regular life but not for long. The beginning of a strange roadblock lies up ahead for him.

With his head held high and walking without urgency, Kaito finally arrived at his front door. He withdrew his hands from the inside of his pockets, the house key already held in one of them, to let himself into the place he now called home. Once he retreated inside, shut the door and then twisted the lock, he let out the tired sigh he had been holding in.

With the door closed and separating him from the ambient noise outside, the dead silence indoors was a welcome change. After removing his shoes and leaving them near the entrance, he let the duffel bag he carried slip off and drop to the ground at his feet. Picking that up was going to be a problem for his future self, because all he wanted to do right at that moment was make a straight line to his room. Nothing could beat sleeping inside his own bed, especially after believing he would never get to feel it again.

When morning came back around after a dreamless sleep, he got started on cleanup work for things caused by his nearly weeklong unplanned absence. Although, the days following Jii's passing left him with little motivation to complete any chores so the resulting neglect was to be expected either way. Washing the dishes left in the kitchen sink, throwing away expired food, reading through the few letters in the mailbox, cleaning the perching area on the roof, and checking on the birds–these were the first things he made sure to do on his first full day back. Fortunately, most of the pigeons he trained still returned to the area at night like normal. But some of them now refused to obey his commands, having noticed the lack of food offerings lately. With a few more sessions of practice, Kaito felt certain they would listen to him again.

This sudden spike in productivity would not last once he settled back down, not to mention that he was supposed to be resting.

A slight problem arose, being that going outside to rehearse tricks with his birds or to simply buy groceries became oddly tense for him. Knowing that his house was being periodically watched made him uncomfortable to do anything outdoors. Having eyes on him while he was out of Kid's costume felt... wrong. The task force officers stationed nearby kept a low profile, but Kaito still saw where they had their vehicles parked when he headed out.

Nevertheless, he would make use of knowing their locations one night when he slipped away from his house. He had one last personal matter to look into.

Before he went out however, Kaito remembered that he should check on something else too.

Lifting up the screen to a laptop he had hidden inside his drawer, Kaito opened his email inbox after typing in the password. As he suspected, there was a notification stating that someone had tried to call him through video chat while he had been stuck at the hospital.

Everything that required his name was registered under the pseudonym he had been using for years. It created a cohesive story that a boy of that name existed and lived there, but he still chose to create an anonymous account for any outside contact. Kaito scrolled past the friends list which only had a handful of names present, but most of them belonged to Jii, his mother's aliases, and fake extended family members.

Clicking on the name that had logged in most recently, Kaito waited for her to pick up as he lazily perused around other sites with a knee held up to his chin. He didn't care if his mother saw that and chastised him for poor posture. Even then, they rarely had their cameras turned on.

After a few minutes had passed, the line connected. His screen only showed her username along with a rather ordinary picture of a seaside view. From the ambient sounds seeping through, Kaito guessed that she was standing somewhere crowded.

"I was worried sick." Those were her first words, spoken carefully as always.

Moving away from the screen, Kaito stretched as he answered back. "Yeah, I knew that. But I'm fine now."

"I heard about the 'accident'. Are you alright? I can come back, you know."

He knew that it was merely a suggestion to make him happy at the thought of her return. "I mean it. I'm fine." Plus, her being around him would attract police attention. They were searching for her, and Kaito didn't want to bring her into the mess he had caused when she had already covered another one.

"Of course, you're not a child anymore." She laughed airily before her speaking voice returned back to neutral soon afterward, albeit in a more hushed fashion. "The news reports are spreading hearsay that he had been killed last week, and you hasn't answered my call since then."

Heavy disgruntlement was what Kaito could sense from her tone, and he felt regret that he couldn't tell her why he had been unable to respond. "I was busy, that's all. With the funeral, and the other things he left behind."

"All right." She let out the faintest sound of a sigh, "Well, I'm sure you'll be busier now than ever so I'm going to leave it at that. I'm…glad to hear your voice again."

"Yeah, be careful out there."

Immediately after ending the call, he folded the laptop back close. Short-lived, vague, and infrequent–that was how these conversations had always been between him and his mother. Sometimes, he wondered if being so cautious was warranted. And his thoughts always concluded that it was better to be safe than sorry.

With that over with, Kaito prepared to do a bit travelling away from home. Wearing his usual disguise, Kaito boarded a train leading to the edges of the city where a well-kept cemetery and temple stood after another short bus ride.

To his relief, he found that Jii's ashes were indeed laid to rest in a new grave close to his family's.

But only his father was present there. The other two urns inside the marked tomb site had the remains from body doubles his mother had stolen from a morgue. Knowing that the authorities would brush off their cases without looking too closely, his mother had shown what their enemies wanted to see.

Kaito hadn't brought anything with him except some prayers that Jii passed on to the other side in peace. He wanted as little traces as possible of his visit, and promised that he would do a proper one after everything was over.

It wasn't the ideal closure Kaito had hoped for, but he settled with what he got at the present moment. Kaito felt hesitant on leaving, not wanting to deal with the upcoming days ahead. In the middle of the night with nobody else around, it was nice and quiet if not a bit eerie with only the presence of the dead surrounding the place.

With a reluctant heart, Kaito turned around and walked away after giving a quick goodbye to his father and Jii. He had paper forms to fill, signatures to forge, and impersonations to do if he was to make it on time for the start of next week.

Time passed and tomorrow was going to be Monday, or at least it would be in a few hours once the clock struck midnight.

Spending the past week doing nothing but rest and completing errand tasks, Kaito felt obligated to do some physical exercises inside the small gym in the hidden basement of his house. Again, he relished being out of that damned hospital room. All the blood samples the nurses had taken from him during his stay had made him wary of needles and the stinging smell of rubbing alcohol.

But that sense of freedom was not going to last.

Pushing the contraption door outwards, Kaito reached back up to his father's room. After shutting the door, he quickly pulled the sliding bookcase to cover the existence of a secret entrance. Out of habit, he gazed around the room and let his eyes sweep over the stage props resting on the shelves and table. They appeared simple enough to be considered memorabilia and souvenirs from various trips overseas. Each day, the familiar scent grew fainter as everything inside stayed frozen in time while he moved to and from the space.

Gently, he closed the door to the room and then made his way to his own upstairs. Earlier that morning, he picked up something and then left it splayed carelessly on top of his bed. Even looking at it soured his mood.

The last time he had worn a school uniform outside of heist purposes was a few years ago back in junior high. His old one's colors didn't quite match with the ones from Ekoda and it could barely fit him anymore, so he had to acquire a new set.

Kaito shot a burning glare at the strewn out clothes. He still had difficulties accepting Hakuba's ridiculous terms and conditions. The blond probably thought it was logical, but Kaito believed it must be some kind of guided karmic punishment specifically for him.

Needless to say, he was seriously tempted to drop the deal and make a run for it...

Every pair of eyes pointed themselves at the newcomer when he opened the sliding door and walked into the classroom.

As for Hakuba, he was greatly surprised to see that Kid had actually shown up. When he couldn't see any signs that Kid was there after waiting for him at the school's front gates before class began, Hakuba was ready to believe that the thief had decided to escape in the end.

With the glasses and eye contacts on, Kid looked rather similar to his normal appearance yet he managed to pull off an unassuming impression. His impeccable acting was what really sold that aspect. After being briefly introduced as a transfer student, he went to one of the unclaimed desks. Hakuba himself sat only a few tables away to Kid's right. Through all this, both of them acted as if they didn't know each other at all.

And so, the first half of the day passed without any unusual happenings.

During the lectures, Hakuba occasionally looked to the side at Kid. For someone renowned as a flamboyant magician and thief, Kid chose to act rather quiet during the day. The way the other sat and wrote his notes with a flat expression all made him look prim and proper. Kid never raised a hand, and only spoke when being asked a question. If Hakuba didn't know, he would have thought that the new guy was the shy type of person.

As soon as lunch break started, Kid got up from his seat. A few students had tried speaking to him, but he didn't seem receptive to their advances. He appeared all too eager to get out of there.

But before Kid could even leave, someone grabbed his wrist and stopped him dead in his tracks.

"Haneji-kun." Akako looked pleased. Her red-tinted eyes curved with mischievous delight. "Don't make the mistake of thinking that I won't notice you."

Narrowing his eyes, Kid had tensed up. "Let go of me."

Closing his notebook, Hakuba slowly stood from his own chair as he observed the scene. It was nothing unusual to see Akako behaving eccentrically, but to see her suddenly fixating on Kid was unexpected.

The girl's hand only squeezed itself tighter, wrinkling the fabric of his sleeve. She suddenly took a step closer, nearly touching noses with Kid. "Trying to hide them, I see... That won't work on me, because I cannot be fooled by simple human disguises. Let's get a very close look here, shall we?"

Kid began to struggle against her grip like it was a snare trap. "What are you—"

In response, she gave a low laugh from being in the know of something only she understood. "To bend the strings of fate in your favor… It's such a shame this can't be passed on through blood."

With one last forceful pull, he pried her hand off of him. Kid shot a glare at her but left without saying anything else, causing some of the witnesses to exchange perplexed looks. Hakuba hurried after Kid since he needed to speak with him. In the meantime, he saw Aoko from the corner of his eye approaching Akako with a displeased frown. She likely had some choice words to say to the other girl for disturbing the new student.

It felt so bizarre to be standing in front of a class full of people his own age all dressed in the same uniform when he thought it was a setting he had long left behind. When he first walked in, Kaito immediately noticed Hakuba there, giving him a wide-eyed stare. He ignored the detective's look, and did a routine introduction so generic that he might as well not have done it at all for what little memorability it had.

But as he walked towards his assigned desk, another set of eyes caught his attention. A cold shiver ran down his back upon the realization that it belonged to one Koizumi Akako. Her being there further dampened his opinion on attending school. He did his best to pretend she wasn't giving him an intense look filled with unwanted interest. Ever since they encountered each other at a few heists, Kaito knew that the girl was bad news–mainly after her attempts at seducing and then murdering him.

Ignoring her and Hakuba, Kaito put his focus on taking notes and thinking about his plans after school. All he had to do for now was act like the normal civilian he was supposed to be.

Of all the various handwriting he could imitate right off the top of his head, Kaito chose to stick to the neat and straightforward style he had used as 'Kurokawa Haneji' many times before. Concentrating on keeping his notes as clean as possible somewhat eased the monotony of sitting still and listening to lectures. None of the subject matter was difficult when he applied the right context to make it interesting.

At long last, lunch break arrived and he could finally stretch his legs. He stored everything on his desk away before standing up. A few people had asked him if he would join them during their mealtime, but Kaito politely refused each invitation.

He was not there to make friends, reminding himself that Hakuba technically forced him to endure this boredom in the first place.

Much to his dismay, Akako stopped him before he even stepped a foot away from the neat arrangement of desks. Her unnerving, silky voice spoke of gibberish again, much like the times they faced each other. Once freed from her grasp, he nearly sprinted out of the school building to the open fields reserved for sporting events. Finding a soft slope to sit on, Kaito let himself fall on the grass. It felt slightly cold and damp from the morning dew, but the noon sun had warmed the surface up to a more comfortable temperature.

After what happened with Akako, he didn't feel like getting anything to eat. He just wanted to be alone, away from the craziness going on within that classroom's vicinity. Not only was he stuck in there with the detective observing his every move, that witch also happened to be attending the same class. Kaito had a feeling that it was only going to get worse the longer he stayed.

But this was marginally better than being locked in a cell or in that hospital.

...

"You sure ran out here fast."

A sigh escaped from Kaito when his quiet time had been cut short by an intruder. "Hakuba, can this wait? I'm taking a break right now."

"So am I. That's why I'll try to be brief." Hakuba walked around to be standing in front of him. "Officially, the Kaitou Kid Task Force has secretly switched its objectives to look into anything related to the organization we're after. We've also reinstated a new investigation team composed of the task force's men for Jii-san's case, and the Blue Parrot has been put under guard in case of further tampering attempts."

Apart from the shift in the task force's goals, Kaito figured that the police would lock down the place when they reinvestigated the crime scene. By and large, he was not all too surprised by the news. "And? Any development to the case?"

"Well, they found nothing new. All of the locks in the building had no signs of forced entry, meaning that the perpetrator might have threatened the victim to open the way in or done some lockpicking." While he spoke, Hakuba remained standing over Kaito. A bag containing his lunchbox hung on his wrist while he had his hands stuck in his pockets. "But I have my own theory."

It goes without saying that Kaito also knew about the lack of signs of struggle. Jii was not the type to be found and caught out in the open. Kaito was more willing to bet that an ambush had happened once the culprit snuck their way into the billiard parlor, a place where both he and Jii believed was safe. "What's that theory of yours? Not enough evidence to make it a proper deduction?"

Casting his gaze at the grass at his feet, the detective nodded without much enthusiasm. "Yes, because the person I believe is the culprit leaves no evidence behind."

"Huh?" Kaito had not often seen Hakuba look so grimly before. "You think you know who killed Jii?"

The detective's eyes hardened. "Gunter Von Goldberg II. He's performing in Japan in a few days. Although his arrival has not been announced by the media yet, he must have snuck into the country early as part of his mission to kill Kid. The time of the victim's death would make sense then."

Hearing that name, Kaito's pulse quickened. "Spider… I had a feeling..." He had been too busy with preparations for the heist of the Cobalt Shine to pay full attention at the news announcement about the famed illusionist's upcoming tour. If he had, then perhaps he would have been more cautious about the man's reason for coming to Japan. Swallowing, Kaito reached to grab his arm where he had been stabbed before by the poisoned needles, a faint ache remaining. If only...

"That's right. It's possible that Spider had the victim under his control at the time and could have easily staged the death without ever stepping foot inside the establishment. Therefore, leaving no traces of his presence at the crime scene. Which leaves me with a question for you." Hakuba looked back at Kaito. "Why did he strike then, and not sooner or later?"

"Hm." Indeed, that had been a question Kaito had asked himself too. But he didn't have to think for long to figure out a potential reason for the timing of Jii's murder. "...It has been almost ten years since Kaitou Kid's first absence." Or his father's death.

"So the organization Spider works for truly does have a long-lasting grudge against Kid..." Hakuba closed his eyes for a moment. "Meaning that they targeted Jii-san as a warning or punishment. This would fit with their ploy to get rid of anyone who was close to Kid's civilian identity, even if a decade had passed."

"Yeah, that sounds about right." Kaito quickly agreed with him.

As for the reason why his father was killed in the first place, he felt unprepared to discuss that with anyone.

Their enemies thought that his father had spoken of Pandora with his mother, hence why they also had wanted her gone along with him. Anyone who heard of the thing they were searching for became a loose end they could not afford to let go, especially if that someone was a man like his father. His mother had recognized that her and Kaito's lives were in danger soon after her husband's death, thus she had assembled false identities for the both of them.

But his mother's escape was not entirely flawless due to how rushed things were at the time, more notably she couldn't get her hands on new passports and birth certificates. From what she told him over video calls and messages, the group knew that she might be alive because of her flight out of the country. As for Kaito, they had their doubts whether he still lived or not. Understanding that the organization would be searching for a mother and son pair, she believed it would be best to live apart as she also didn't wish for him to grow up on the run.

Still…

When he came across the truth of his father's death, Kaito pressed his mother about why they were after him. He was just a child at the time. Did they really think that he would know about Pandora? Strangely though, his mother sounded dismissive of the topic. She went with the simple answer that they would use him to lure her out, or force him to work for them. For the most part, he accepted her explanation. However, he could tell that there was something off about it.

Kaito stewed in his own thoughts after Hakuba had proposed the possibility that Spider was behind Jii's death. His recent stint as Kaitou Kid must have been the cause of the organization's renewed attention to his father's family and assistant. Even with all of his mother's attempts at shaking them off their trails, his disguise had become paper thin and further exacerbated by Kid's return.

Hakuba took a step back before lowering himself to sit on the grass. "By the way, I also wanted to remind you that you need to check in with an officer daily starting today. I can't do it for you but I can vouch for your presence here."

The motion shook Kaito out of his contemplations. "Oh." Kaito had not forgotten the other part of the promise he had to fulfill, as annoying as it was going to be for him.

"Although, I am curious as to who you'll speak to." While he said that, Hakuba opened his lunchbox. "Detective Katsuya and Officer Mitsuhara have volunteered, although most of the task force officers worry that you'll drop by with some form of prank prepared for them."

"Heh, don't give me ideas now." Grateful that they were moving on to something else, Kaito relaxed a bit. "Actually, the inspector said that I could stop by his place."

Looking back up from his food, Hakuba seemed taken by surprise. "Huh, interesting. Are you really going to do that?"

"Maybe." He would much rather speak with someone he knew like Nakamori, but the man's invitation had felt so stiff that Kaito didn't quite feel comfortable accepting it. Amidst the other options floating around though, that one sounded like the least troublesome choice.

"Speaking of which, have you heard from—" Hakuba paused to look back at the school building, his attention pulled by something. "It appears that we have a guest."

"A guest?" Shifting his sitting position, Kaito's eyes followed to where the detective was looking at.

One of the girls from their classroom had walked out, her own lunchbox in her hands. She made her way towards them with an eager smile.

Hakuba was the first to greet her. "Aoko-san, have you come to join us?"

"Yep! Aoko just had a talk with Akako-chan and made her promise not to touch Kurokawa-kun without warning and say creepy stuff."

"Th-thanks, I guess." Kaito blinked from the unexpected help in telling Akako off.

For some reason unknown to Kaito, a faintly sly smirk crept onto Hakuba's lips. "I believe that Kurokawa-kun here hasn't gotten your name yet, Aoko-san."

"Oh, that's right!" She gasped as she sat down on the grass near the two of them. "Nakamori Aoko. It's a pleasure to meet you, Kurokawa-kun."

The need to curse his luck again reached a boiling point inside Kaito's head. Keep it cool...and bear with it.

"P-pleased to meet you too, Nakamori-san." Instantly, Kaito understood why the detective seemed to be stifling a laugh when the girl came over to eat lunch with them. Akako, Hakuba, and now Nakamori Aoko… Just when he thought that school couldn't be more insufferable.

"Calling Aoko by her name is fine." After unwrapping the bundle resting on her lap, she glanced over at Kaito. "You didn't bring lunch with you, Kurokawa-kun?"

Kaito smiled thinly, wanting to stand up and take his leave already. "D-don't worry about me. I can eat later."

Before he had the chance to move, she already made her own. "Here, have one."

As soon as Kaito blinked, he found himself looking at a half of a sandwich being held up towards him. Without much thinking, he accepted the food and looked at her with a raised brow.

She grinned back. "Think of it as Aoko's welcome gift!"

His gaze traveled from the sandwich in his hand and back to the girl, trying to find the right response. "…Thank you." It was all he could muster.

While Hakuba and Aoko began their light banter about exam results from last winter and general school gossip, Kaito carefully nibbled at the bread. Eventually, he took proper bites after making sure it tasted edible. The fried pork cutlet had gone soggy but it was good, or perhaps he had begun to feel a little hungry. From the look of it, the sandwich was not store-bought. Tasting homemade food brought nostalgic memories when Jii would visit his house nearly daily, reminding him that he hadn't eaten anything that somebody else had prepared in quite some time now. When he had grown tall enough to use the stove without the help of a low stool, he began to make his own meals while Jii would drop by occasionally at his house to cook for special occasions. But then, that became a rare thing after they got busy with the whole Kaitou Kid business.

"Oh, Kurokawa-kun."

"Hm?" Swallowing the last bit of the katsu bread, Kaito tilted his head at Aoko's sudden calling of his name.

Closing up her lunchbox, she loosely wrapped it back in its carrying cloth as she talked. "If you need help catching up with our class's notes from the beginning of the year, you can turn around and ask Aoko anytime!"

"Sure, I'll keep that in mind." Kaito smiled back at her, mostly out of pity. He recalled that her desk was located right behind his. Judging from the material the class covered so far, he had doubts that he'll ever need her consultation.

While on the subject, her being Inspector Nakamori's daughter meant that Kaito had to time his visit. Or at least find a suitable reason to drop by. He could also meet with the inspector at his office. Then again, the distance between the police headquarters building and the school made him groan from thinking about the travel time during evening rush hours.

After contemplating over it for a while, he decided on doing a quick drop-by at Nakamori's residence. Taking his bike should be quicker than going by train in theory if he avoided any main roads. With a bit of luck, the girl would only reach her house once he was long gone.

Seeing that Hakuba and Aoko were busy discussing between themselves, Kaito took his chance to excuse himself. Thankfully, they let him go without further questions.

Ducking behind a staircase, Kaito pulled out his phone to send a text message to Nakamori. The man's phone number was registered in his contact list under a pseudonym. His current identity had little reason to be in contact with the inspector.

"Let's see here…" Should he disguise himself? That would certainly help avoid unwanted attention from any neighbors or Nakamori's daughter. Although, that meant that he had to make a detour to his own house to fetch supplies. The only thing related to Kid that he had on him currently was the card gun, his lockpicks, a couple of smoke bombs, and some spare clothes he had hidden in his school bag. The space inside of it didn't allow him to carry anymore stuff. Sneaking in and stashing supplies around the school facility didn't seem like a time-worthy endeavor to him, so he would just have to deal with being without his tools during the day.

Praying that shedding the Ekoda High uniform and donning a cap would be enough, Kaito typed a short message to notify Nakamori of him stopping by later. Much to his surprise, the inspector responded not a minute later that he would be present at home by then.

After reading the reply, Kaito mused that Kid no longer being able to hold any heists for the time being must have given a lot more free time for the man. Directing the task force to do investigative work meant no more standing guard inside museums or exhibition halls at unreasonable hours of the day.

Having finished with that, Kaito steeled himself for the upcoming time of sitting in class stock-still around Akako and Hakuba's presences. The sooner he could leave this place for good, the better. It was why he truly looked forward to the day when the detective and the inspector will be finished with Jii's case and let him provide help at his own pace.

The police had to prove to him that they could track down the people that tampered with the crime scene, even if the act of digging for the truth posed a threat to their lives. So far, Hakuba, Kudo, and Nakamori had demonstrated that they were willing to cooperate with him despite his status as a criminal. If they do succeed in bringing the true nature of Jii's death to light in spite of the coverups, then Kaito would open up about what he knew of Kid and the organization.

But from what Hakuba had told him about their progress, the evidence in the Blue Parrot still pointed to an accident. From that, Kaito understood that things were going to develop slowly but he could not break the agreement with Hakuba and risk losing the trust they have shown him.

This was his sole chance at having a strengthened opportunity to stop Snake and his people from escaping justice, and Kaito could not afford to let go of it.

And thus, class hours resumed. The breather outside renewed his energy, and yet Kaito still had the same feeling of being unnerved clinging to him for the rest of the school day.

Along with the previous two pairs of eyes he felt were pinned on him, another person has also been staring at him. The intensity of the gaze made his hair stand on end, but he struggled to pinpoint the exact source or reason for it...