DCMK || KaiShin || DCMK || Role Reversal Rivalry || DCMK || KaiShin || DCMK

Title: Role Reversal Rivalry – A Different Detective and Phantom Thief

Fandom: Detective Conan / Magic Kaito

Disclaimer: All rights reserved to Gosho Aoyama for he created the awesomeness that is Kaitou KID. Ah, and Detective Conan, too. This fanfiction on the other hand is entirely mine. No money is made with this, though reviews are more than welcomed.

Tags: m/m, role swap, hurt/comfort

Main Pairing: Kaito/Shinichi

DC/MK Characters: Kudou Shinichi, Kuroba Kaito, Mouri Ran, Suzuki Sonoko, Nakamori Aoko, Nakamori Ginzo, Hakuba Saguru, Agasa Hiroshi, Kudou Yukiko, Jii Konosuke, Kuroba Toichi

Summary: What if Kaito blamed magic for his father's death and turned his back on it, instead he becomes a detective, under Nakamori's mentorship, obsessed with solving his father's murder? And what if Shinichi became obsessed with KID as a child, after the scavenger hunt, and he learned magic from Toichi, just to then pick up the mantle as a teenager?

Role Reversal Rivalry

A Different Detective and Phantom Thief

Part 3: Detective and Thief

"I can't believe Toichi's son became a detective," Shinichi heaved a sigh and tilted his head back. "And I can't believe you didn't warn me about this, Jii-chan!"

Jii laughed sheepishly. "I didn't know, to be quite honest. I... have lost touch with the Kurobas."

"Oh," Shinichi made a face. "I'm sorry. I didn't..."

He wasn't very good with these social interactions. Ran had always said so. It had helped a bit, becoming a magician. When he performed, he could be who he was, he could be focused on his magic and nobody called him out for being self-centered or anything, no, they were so wrapped up in his magic, they cheered him on. Still, very often, he didn't know how to interact with people.

"You seem absentminded today, Shinichi-kun," noted Agasa. "Are you alright?"

"Yes, no, just..." Shinichi frowned. "I'm just very focused on this heist. And... Perhaps I'm feeling guilty about canceling on Ran for this. I had promised to take her out to Tropical Land..."

"Ah, I'm sure Ran-kun will forgive you," Agasa smiled kindly. "You told her you promised to help me with something beforehand, right? She wouldn't be mad about that."

"But I lied to her," argued Shinichi, growing more frustrated.

His secret life as KID came in the way of his friendship with Ran more and more often these days. And it got more complicated now that he had the infamous teen detective duo of Hakuba and Kuroba chasing after him. His eyes wandered over to Jii and Agasa, grateful to have their support and help. Turned out his neighbor had actually made gadgets for the original KID and when he learned that Shinichi was the new KID, he had immediately offered his assistance too.

/break\

Aoko frowned as she watched Kaito and Saguru. It wasn't that she was jealous, she was actually quite glad that Kaito had made another friend beside Aoko! Still, at times, it felt like she was on the outside looking in. The two teen detectives shared their obsession with Kaitou KID, they also talked about other cases they worked on. It was nice, especially when Aoko went to have fun with her girl friends, knowing that Kaito wasn't all alone in that big, empty house, that he was out there with Saguru, solving cases and making that blasted thief's life harder.

Kaito turned toward her. "Aoko, do you wanna come to the heist tonight?"

A smile spread over her lips as she nodded. "Yes! I'd love that! I could bring dad a snack. He's barely been home since yesterday, so busy with planning and organizing."

Because Aoko had three guys in her life who were obsessed with that white nuisance. Part of her couldn't wait for the thief to be put behind bars. Because then her dad would be home more often and work more regular hours again, and Kaito and Saguru would get to relax too.

/break\

"Go!" Saguru barked out. "Go and arrest that bastard!"

The blonde was stuck to the wall with something that resembled chewing gum a bit too much. KID could be quite creative when it came to stopping his chasers. Kaito had barely been able to avoid it. With a last nod toward Saguru did Kaito dash off after the thief. It was only up on the rooftop that he caught up with KID. It always took his breath away when he saw the thief in his white get-up, the cape fluttering behind him. His eyes, in particular, got Kaito every time. The fact alone that he'd stood close enough to KID often enough by now to get lost in his eyes.

"Good. You finally caught up," KID grinned at him. "We should talk, Kuroba-kun."

"About what? Your arrest? Or your lame riddles? I had it figured out in half an hour."

"That's less an indicator to my bad skills at writing riddles and more an indicator to just how brilliant you are," KID looked at him in a very flirtatious way. "But no. That's not what we need to talk about. We need to talk about your father, Kuroba-kun."

That caused Kaito to freeze for a moment, before he grew angry. How dare this thief use his father to mess with his mind like that! He really thought they had mutual respect of some kind. They weren't friends, but KID had occasionally helped when his heists coincided with a worse crime. Kaito had started to feel like he could trust KID, to a degree.

"Don't say his name!" Kaito glared darkly, hands shaking. "You have no right-"

"I do," interrupted KID with an honest expression on his face. "And if you want to know why, then come to the Blue Parrot billiard bar, please."

/break\

Kaito didn't know why he had even come. He should have just told Nakamori-keibu to arrest KID in that place, instead of coming there all on his own. Something about KID... Even though he'd been angry at first, there still was a sense of trust between them and Kaito wanted to know what KID had been talking about. Sure, Kaito tried to put the thief behind bars and sure, KID did his best to escape, but something about it felt different than with other criminals. Like a game of cat and mouse, an exciting thrill. A battle of wits between two brilliant minds.

"You really came. And without cop backup too. How nice."

Kaito shouldn't love a thief's voice that much. The surprise came when he turned around. Because before him stood not the white-clad thief, but a teenager in a blue school uniform. Neat hair but with a cute little cow-lick and those blue, blue eyes. KID's real face. Not a disguise.

"What in the world-" Kaito stopped, words failing him.

"I'm Kudou Shinichi and I was your father's apprentice... before he died."

When he held out his hand to Kaito, he produced a blue rose in the swift motion. The same way KID did. On autopilot did Kaito accept the rose. His eyes were clouded with confusion as he stared at the thief, waiting for anything to make sense here. Or at least the right kind of sense. Because hearing KID had trained under Toichi... so many of KID's tricks made so much more sense now. The magic had always felt strangely familiar to him.

"Explain yourself before I call Nakamori-keibu, thief."

Kudou laughed and held his hands up in surrender before he sobered up a little. "You're clever. You know I'm not the original KID. I'm too young. But I'm similar enough to the old KID that people buy it. Because I learned my magic from the original KID. Your father."

Kaito swallowed and took a step back. "My dad wasn't a criminal."

A thin-lipped smile found its way onto Kudou's face as he stepped back. He pulled on a lamp and a secret door opened. Kaito went after him to see where this was going, without even thinking about it. The secret room was clearly KID's lair. There it was, the uniform, on a mannequin. A poster on the wall, of Toichi from his tour. In the corner stood a jukebox. There must have been some kind of mechanism linked between the door and the jukebox, because it slowly picked up a record and put it on.

"...Today I want to tell you about the rules of magic, son..."

That was the voice of Kaito's father. It felt like a gut-punch. Shinichi hurried over to turn it off.

"Sorry. I wanted to ease you into that. But... Toichi left these recordings. Advise on magic, as well as theft. They're... for you. I think he always expected you to take over for him. Look, I know you have no reason to believe just my word, but... Look around, listen to the recordings and believe your father's words, Kuroba-kun. He was KID. And he had a good reason for it."

Kaito sank down onto the couch. "What... What kind of reason could he have to... to steal..."

Kudou sighed and sat down next to him. "There are people, bad people, who are after a specific jewel. Your father made it his mission to find it before them and to stop them. And... that is... that is what got him killed in the end. I... came across all of this when I investigated his death. So I chose to take up the mantel of Kaitou KID to lure out the men who killed him."

"...What am I supposed to say to this?" asked Kaito in confusion. "This is so much."

"You don't have to say anything," Kudou rested a gentle hand on Kaito's shoulder. "But I think you deserve to know. And I would... like your help. We work well together. Perhaps, we can find the men who killed Toichi and take them down together. It's okay, you don't have to answer yet."

/break\

Shinichi had given Kaito hours in the lair to do his own research, listen to his father's recording and digest everything. It took him to come around to Shinichi, but he did. In the end, he came to find Shinichi at the Blue Parrot about a week later, with hard, determined eyes.

Something in their dynamic changed. Their friendly rivalry turned into an alliance, yes, of course. But it was more than that. The trust between them was deepened. There was a new understanding between them now, because they worked toward the same goal.

"You idiot!" Kaito's voice was high-pitched and agitated.

Shinichi managed a weak smile, hand pressed against his side. "It went clean through."

"Don't say it like that's reassuring! You got shot! You stupid, idiotic, dumb thief!"

Despite the loud exclamation, Kaito immediately rushed to Shinichi's side to support him and lead him inside, toward the secret room. He maneuvered Shinichi onto the couch and without a moment's hesitation, Kaito started unbuttoning Shinichi's shirt and peeling the costume off him.

"Do you have any idea how worried I was? Standing with Hakuba-kun, watching you get shot and fall out of the sky. I thought..." Kaito's voice wavered. "I thought I lost you. Don't scare me."

Shinichi's eyes softened as he reached out to caress Kaito's cheek. "Hey. I'm fine. It's okay, it didn't hit any vital organs, it went clear through. I'm sorry I scared you, but I'm fine."

Kaito looked up, his eyes shining with unshed tears. He'd watched his father die during a grand show and watching Shinichi out there, nearly dying. It was like that had adjusted Kaito's view. Made him see Shinichi for who he really was. Beyond Kaitou KID the thief, beyond Kudou the apprentice of Toichi. Just... Shinichi. Pretty, brilliant Shinichi who had been such a great partner in this investigation. The thought of losing him had shaken Kaito to his core.

"You can not do this to me," Kaito's voice was firm this time and so were his eyes. "You can't."

Despite that determination, his hands were shaking as he finished bandaging Shinichi up. He was right, it was only a flesh wound and he should be fine. Still, that visual of Shinichi falling out of the sky? He startled when someone grasped his hands. When he looked up again, Shinichi was looking right at him. His eyes were warm, though there was an edge of surprise in them.

"I... Thank you, for caring about me," whispered Shinichi.

"You have no idea how much I care about you, idiot," Kaito glared.

"Yeah?" Shinichi's eyes sparkled. "Tell me about it. How much do you care?"

The glare on Kaito's face intensified, but on impulse, he dove in and kissed Shinichi. Quick and brief, yet enough to leave Shinichi startled. Mouth open, cheeks red and eyes wide.

"...Oh," whispered Shinichi. "That much, huh?"

"Yeah," admitted Kaito, blushing himself. "You're still my rival. And my ally. But... you also became a whole lot more to me. Sorry. I shouldn't have kissed you like that."

"It's okay," Shinichi smirked. "I could kiss you and we'd be quit."

Kaito was a detective, he shouldn't go around kissing thieves. When Shinichi kissed him, he melted.

~*~ The End ~*~

Author's note: I do feel like this would wrap things up nicely, but I reserve the right to revisit this world at a later point perhaps. But the next couple Mondays are booked, since August is Writer's Month and I will be participating in this month long daily prompt challenge - so the Mondays during August will be dictated by the prompts from the list and those just would not add up for this universe. So this story closes, at least for now, but I think there's still room to explore this role reversal later ;)