DISCLAIMER: Magic Kaito is the respective creation and property of Gosho Aoyama.

AUTHOR: Melpomene-the-Tragic-Parody

MAIN CHARACTERS: Kaito Kuroba, Aoko Nakamori

CHAPTER: #12

TITLE: Love Me Like You Do

INSPIRED BY: ~ Love Me Like You Do, by Ellie Goulding ~

~M.K~

Would Kaito Kuroba describe himself as a jealous man? Sometimes, but never aloud. Regardless of the situation, he had an innate ability to turn anything against him in his own favor. Would Kaitou Kid call himself suicidal? Despite risking his life for heists and the possibility of being murdered, no, he wouldn't. Though in this case, he probably was.

It had been seven years from the beginning of his journey, and the elusive, internationally wanted Phantom Thief had yet to be caught by the Police Task Force headed by Inspector Ginzo Nakamori. A clear reputation had blotted his way from jewel to jewel and multiple encounters with Snake and a variety of his colorful and unruly subordinates.

Life as he had known it had changed since he discovered the truth of who his father had been before he died. He had continued his jewel larceny in search of Pandora with limited success in tracking its history, whether rumored or fabled and its possible locations. If he had to steal every prized gem in the world, he was sure he wouldn't retire before his thirtieth year.

As Kaito Kuroba, life had grown equally as complicated. He had graduated top of his class in high school and dove into his magical performances, which blew his audiences away. The real trick that caught him off guard was falling in love with the one woman who hated his alter ego the most.

Aoko Nakamori was an enigma that drove Kaito insane, but he wouldn't have her any other way. Lovely in her own right, and a late bloomer to boot, Kaito's heart would badger him from time to time at the sight of her gleeful smiles or laughs, or when that fire in her eyes blazed brightly from her own determination.

To reach where they were now had been no easy feat.

Kaito Kuroba was a household name for magical wonders, touring the country and stunning his audiences with delights to make his own father proud. Aoko Nakamori was a budding officer in the fraud division where her father was stationed, with a bright future in the police force. On the outside, everyone saw the bizarrely comical friendship of a cheeky troublemaker extraordinaire and a respectable law enforcer.

Yet beneath those layers was a life that would have given Aoko's father a heart attack. And they knew it, too.

Kaito had been certain that his life had come to an end the day that Aoko had discovered the truth of his nighttime activities. The risk of permanent heartache had weighed on them both. Yet through the tears and screaming and bludgeoning, and the long uncertainty that their future together had been forever unraveled, they had found their way into this compromise. To avenge Kaito's father and drag that Organization from the shadows. To destroy Pandora and leave this life behind. To start something new together that would change their lives forever.

Love was love, even if it turned their world inside out and upside down.

For Kaito, separating his dual identities had become trickier when his girlfriend enlisted in her father's Task Force against Kaitou Kid. Truth be told, she had done it to keep an eye on him and protect him should Snake appear and attempt to assassinate him again. Not that he approved whatsoever. Should she ever cross that line of fire, Kaito would never forgive himself.

It was a task easier said than done, but not one that either was willing to let go.

And in times like this, Kaito was certain that Aoko Nakamori had strung him so tightly around her fingers that common sense ventured to the backseat when caught unawares. Such a beautiful, stubborn, intelligent, and infuriating woman, Kaito often found himself unwilling to resist her charms.

She was the only woman who could work her magic on him.

~M.K~

Would Aoko Nakamori describe herself as a mischievous woman? Only when she wanted to be. Years of growing up with a troublemaker for a best friend had taught her that the best fun was the kind that no one could see coming. Would Detective Nakamori call herself insubordinate? Not if she could help it. Though in this case, she probably wouldn't bear any blame for the events that occurred in that particular heist.

Aoko was a popular member of her father's Task Force. Quick-witted and hard-working, Aoko had built a steady reputation from her earliest years in the workforce. Almost always one of the first to arrive at the office in the morning and one of the last to leave at night, Aoko managed to incorporate a hectic work-life with a graceful social-life for at least forty-percent of the year.

Inspector Nakamori could hardly deny that his daughter had become a strong-willed and beautiful young lady. Without his consent, the other young men in the task force had also taken notice of the busy-body that was the inspector's daughter. It was without question that she received a fair number of date proposals from a few considerable hopefuls from different divisions at HQ, but each had always been turned away, a cause from the smallest and irrevocable fact.

Her heart had been stolen long ago and that thief was always near. Not that the world was allowed to know. The possible danger it could unleash shook the lovers to the core, silencing their secret between their lips, and their lips only.

For Aoko, some secrets were worth keeping. She knew Kaito's heart. For all his thieving and trickery, he had a code of conduct never to harm others. For all the sorrow he held inside, he brought as much joy to the world as he could, because laughter was the power of life. They made an odd pair, a criminal, and a police officer, sharing secluded dates, dinners, and beds when the world was fast asleep. Yet, for every moment his lips found hers or their eyes held each other, she knew in her soul she had made the right decision for them both.

Perhaps the thrill of their secret had become addicting. The excitement that graced the heists after Aoko's enlistment had become irritatingly obvious to the inspector, but not for the obvious reasons. He was relieved that his respectable daughter could resist the charms of the elusive gentleman thief but was entirely irked that the wretched man continued to flirt with her at every encounter.

Not that Aoko would ever divulge the truth of the matter to him. The chances that he would be the one to kill Kaito instead of Snake would skyrocket.

~M.K~

Those chances were tested on latest of Kid's gaudy heists in Beika.

The mission of the Task Force had been simple, considering that the event was, once again, arranged by Adviser Jirokichi Suzuki. A good number of the officers had been assigned undercover roles to mingle with the white-tie crowd. Aoko was rarely ever given the chance to doll up within the past few months. What she chose to wore was nothing glamorous, considering her comfort and ease to do her job was necessary over looking pretty.

That wasn't to say she hadn't caught any eyes. She had worn it to test Kaito's attention since he loved seeing her in deep, royal blue.

Weaving through the crowd, she smiled kindly at the other guests and accepted the compliments of her fellow officers as she made her rounds. She recognized the familiar faces of the Suzuki family and their frequently invited friends. The revealed Kid Killer and his wife stood to the side, admiring the crowning jewel of the night, the Weeping Widow.

The twenty-five-carat necklace was made of benitoite amounting to a little over one million yen and glinted from its bulletproof case guarded by ten of her father's best subordinates. It was one of Adviser Suzuki's cheaper displays, apparently. The likelihood that it was Pandora was slim, but Kaito never refused a chance to spar with the elder man and the Kid Killer.

The prickling of smoldering eyes followed her path through Kid's impending audience. Aoko had long learned to sense the presence of her beloved in a crowd, whether he chose to wear his own face or the face of another. It was a secret she told not even him; it gave her comfort to know he was close by and she wouldn't let him spoil it.

"Aoko-san!" Aoko turned at the sound of her name and recognized her fellow colleague in his black-tie getup for blending into the crowd.

"Mizaki-kun!" she said, returning his smile politely. "Is it my turn to patrol the west wing again?"

"Uh, no, it's Kenichi-kun's," he replied, blushing beside her. "You look lovely. Blue's really your color. I suppose that's to be expected, considering its in your name."

Aoko felt distinctly pleased. "Thank you. That's kind of you to say."

The modest dress certainly hugged her willowy frame in all the right places. With an ample flow allowed for flexible movement and a long length to disguise the boots on her feet for running, it was far from a uniform but lovely for her civilian appearance. Not to mention that it brought out the color of her eyes.

It seemed to have caught Mizaki's attention with those lingering, hopeful eyes. Aoko knew what that meant long before he opened his mouth, and she felt slightly guilty to have to disappoint him.

"I was wondering, Aoko-san," he said hesitantly. "Um, when it's all over if you would want to grab a late dinner? Kid wouldn't keep us all here more than an hour if he's just putting on a show."

Aoko gave an internal sigh. Mizaki had asked her to dinner twice before; she supposed the hopefulness hadn't faded easily.

"That's very sweet of you, Mizaki-kun," she said quietly, "but I'm afraid that I'm not—available—in that capacity."

She hardly had time to register his crestfallen expression before she noticed a plump young man standing behind Mizaki smirking at the ground. A keen chill flooded through her. Then, without warning, the lights flickered and smoke exploded from the midst of the crowd. Several people screamed in alarm.

"Kid!" she exclaimed, even distracting her disappointed colleague. They immediately hurried off in the direction of the jewel as planned. To protect it from Kid as expected of her. Whoever said she had to make Kaito's job easy?

~M.K~

It went down like clockwork, just as they'd planned. From the darkness, he appeared in his dazzling, snowy suit as Kaitou Kid before the audience of Adviser Suzuki's guests.

Charming was the smirk that adorned his face at the sound of his fan's excited cries and pleas for his attention. Calm was his voice in conversation with his adversary, the cured boy-returned-adult, Shinichi Kudo, the Kid Killer with an extraordinary past. Quick was the flick of his hand and the bombs that burst at their feet. Vanished was he from sight in the space of only a minute. Determined was the course of the young detective racing from the room after him.

"Damn you, Kid!" Aoko heard her father roar out. "All units-"

To his credit, getting the jewel had been the easy part, but escaping the building had been the real trick of the matter. Yet, with the help of Jii and a few copied blueprints, they ended up where they knew they would always be regardless of whatever challenges came their way.

On the roof.

The white-clad thief lounged leisurely on the railing, checking for Pandora with a lazy hand. Aoko frowned slightly as the flood of Task Force officers grew behind her and Kudo. That detour wasn't part of their plans. He was supposed to cause his distraction and leave.

"Hmm, well, I can't say I hoped," Kid said coolly, pocketing the jewel and standing smugly before them. "The lack of challenges was a letdown, to say the least."

"The night is young," Kudo said bracingly. "There's enough time to place you behind bars."

Kid laughed softly as Inspector Nakamori and Adviser Suzuki finally caught up with his daughter and Kudo, unabashed by his declarations to capture him. Instead, he retrieved the Weeping Widow from his pocket and dangled it from his hands, watching the necklace swing back and forth like a pendulum.

It gave Aoko's heart unnecessary palpitations. Did he even know just how valuable that piece of jewelry was? Of course, he did but the way he acted, as though he didn't, rattled her nerves.

"I can assure you that this isn't the jewel I'm looking for," he said, tossing the necklace to Kudo who caught it with quick hands. "However, I'm afraid my heist has yet to meet its destined end."

Now Aoko was worried. What was he doing?

"Oh, and what would that be?" she asked, daring to move close enough that Kudo was no longer in front of her, but behind her. Kid was a mere few feet away now. "What more could a rascal like you want?"

Kid placed his hand over his heart. "I'm wounded, Nakamori-keiji," he said. "After all, thieves desire the greatest and most precious jewels in the world. I've found one far more valuable now."

"Whatever it is, you're not getting your hands on it!" Inspector Nakamori declared furiously.

"Oh, my dear inspector," Kid said lightly. "I hate to correct you, but I'm afraid that you are quite mistaken."

Without so much as a warning, Aoko saw the smoke bomb too late.

~M.K~

Kudo yelled out a warning as the smoke billowed up around them but gasped when he heard Aoko give out a cry of alarm and disappeared into the misty haze. It was only when the smoke began to clear that everyone on the roof realized that Aoko Nakamori was missing and that Kid's hand glider was already making a distance from them.

Tugging his night-vision glasses from his pocket, Kudo perched them on his nose and zoomed in on Kid's figure, his jaw dropping when he realized there was something—or rather someone—lying in his arms.

"Where's Aoko?" Inspector Nakamori demanded desperately.

"Um…" Kudo's mouth went dry with nervousness. "You see…"

The inspector practically tore the glasses from Kudo's face and narrowed in on Kid, quickly coming to the same conclusions Kudo had seconds earlier. "A-AOKO?"

"Did Kaitou Kid just kidnap Nakamori-keibu's daughter?" Adviser Suzuki exclaimed in disbelief.

"Yeah, he did," Kudo muttered, dumbfounded as they watched the inspector's face turn as red as beetroot.

~M.K~

The people of Beika Town paused momentarily at the howling voice of fury belting out over their heads somewhere in the night.

~M.K~

Aoko clung tightly to her boyfriend's neck as they flew in between the taller buildings to Kid's rendezvous point. The palpitations of her heart were hardly improved when that cunning smirk graced his smooth, pink lips.

"Are you insane?" she snapped at him. "Kaito, what the hell were you thinking?"

"I was thinking the night should end on a high note," he said teasingly.

They both stared at one another in surprise at the sound of Inspector Ginzo Nakamori's voice roaring into the night like a deranged opera singer.

"And how high were you when you made that decision?" she continued wryly.

His poker face almost broke with laughter. Her look of disapproval definitely gave him pause in his response. It wasn't like Kaito to act so impulsively unless he knew the outcome would fall in his favor. Aoko was sure the next heist would be far from pleasant.

"You shouldn't have done that," she added, pressing her head against his shoulder. "My father's going to kill you."

"Given he has no idea where you are, I highly doubt it," Kaito replied coyly, the skin beneath his suit burning as she moved her hand across his chest. "No one's interrupting us tonight."

Kaito's car was parked out of sight at the rendezvous point. Without even changing his clothes or setting Aoko on her feet, he placed her in the front seat, careful as not to rip her dress.

"Kaito, you know I have to go back!" Aoko insisted. "Kid's built a reputation longer than my arm. Abduction is going a little far, don't you think? I should have your head for that."

Kaito gave her a knowing grin. They both knew that, had Aoko truly been mad, he would already be running for his life down the street with her driving the car behind him. He removed his top hat and leaned toward her, caressing his gloved hand along her jawline.

"I can imagine something far more enjoyable," he whispered, kissing the nape of her neck. "You're ravishing, Aoko."

His smile widened when she shivered at the gentleness of his breath. At how his smooth lips skimmed along the curve of her neck to her shoulder. Her hand gripped onto his and all chances of her scolding him had diminished.

Aoko pressed her finger against his lips, recognizing the coyness in his eyes; of how that piercing gaze caressed her satin-sheathed body, from her demure dress to every curve it concealed; and in his desire, she saw sparks of what she could only call envy.

"And perhaps you were just jealous," she teased him, reaching for his top hat and placing it on her head. She gasped as he moved forward and pressed his lips to her neck again.

"Jealous? Me?" Kaito's eyes sparkled. She smelled sweet of vanilla and lavender. "Where's your proof, Nakamori-keiji?"

Aoko's head fell back against the car seat, her skin burning from every one of his kisses.

"Kidnapping me wasn't enough for you, Kaito?" Aoko's lips formed a sly smirk. "Perhaps I could accept Mizaki-kun's date proposal, then?"

The blush that tinged his sharp, handsome features was enough to elevate her heart rate again. Tossing his monocle aside and tipping the hat from her head, Kaito captured her lips with his own, taking long moments to savor their time until breath nearly abandoned them both.

"Behave, Kaito!" Aoko gasped in surprise, her arms grasping around his shoulders which shook with his laughter. He pressed her slender figure closer to his and kissed the tip of her nose. His blue eyes sparkled at the cute expression that adorned her face.

"I beg your pardon, my lady," he said, lowering his voice and planting his lips on that sensitive spot below her ear, relishing in the breathy moan that left her. "With such beauty to inspire me, how could I resist?"

He lifted a gloved hand to her neatly piled hair and carefully withdrew the heavy hairpins holding them together. His heart hammered as they fell in a messy frame around her glowing face. Her little pants only fueled the flame.

It was worth Inspector Nakamori's wrath to toss the jewel at Kudo after confirming it wasn't Pandora and literally sweeping the inspector's daughter off her feet and into the night. He was sure he'd be shot at come his next heist. It had truly been a suicidal move, he was certain of it. The next time he would sit with the inspector at dinner, he wondered how well his poker face would protect his amusement and worry.

"Resisting temptation hasn't been your forte lately," Aoko said, gazing at him with playful eyes. "Bakaito."

She giggled at the disgruntled noise he made. But her triumph waned when his mouth found hers and blissfully stolen her breath with a frenzy of heady passion, parting her lips and scrambling her focus until she thought her heart would fail her.

She whined fretfully and tugged at those stubborn buttons of his white jacket, clumsily trying to shrug it off his shoulders.

"Take it off," she demanded breathlessly.

"What's the magic word?" Kaito teased, his face flushed and his blue eyes and dark as night.

Aoko's sharp gaze never left him, her finger pressed along his clean-shaven jawline. "Now!"

Kaito's mouth went dry.

~M.K~

Aoko hoped that her appearance was not as disheveled as she imagined while she skirted around the dispersing crowd and presented her ID to the security of the building. Kaito had the decency to take her home to freshen up before bringing her back to the scene of the crime. Yet, she was sure she must have been a sight: hair loose, dress hem muddy, and wearing a black cloak, one of Kaito's tools for escaping into crowds.

Hopefully, she would look like she fought Kid off and escaped back to the heist site instead of someone who had had a rather enjoyable night with her boyfriend.

It was the preferred assumption since no one knew she had an official lover, and she didn't want her father to assume the idea that Kid had violated her. Technically, the reality had been that she seduced Kid in the end but she wasn't in the mood to give her father a heart failure by confessing that endeavor.

After all, a respectable officer of the law and notorious thieving criminal couldn't possibly be in love, right?

~M.K~

FURTHER NOTES:

Nothing really new to report but I was hoping to get this chapter up earlier. What are the odds that Kaito's life is endangered more from Inspector Nakamori than Snake, really?

Reviews and criticisms are welcome.

—MELPOMENE-THE-TRAGIC-PARODY, signing out.