Chapter 4: Doubts

They looped around to one of the back corners of the top floor where there was a storage closet. KID shifted Conan's position so he was being held with only one hand and used his other one to swiftly pick open the lock on the storage room door. Even single-handed, a lock like this was nothing to the Kaitou and the door swung open in less than a second. KID stepped into the room and closed the door behind them, relocking it from the inside as he did. Only once it was closed did he set Conan down before taking a seat himself, his back pressed against the door as he slid down, blocking the exit.

Conan had a million and one questions he wanted to ask, but the memory of the anger in the thief's voice made him hesitate. Instead he took a glance around the room, giving KID a moment to hopefully calm down. It was just a dark room with shelves and boxes. There were two windows, one on each of two different walls, and Conan could tell where those two walls met was the outermost corner of the 5th floor.

Deciding to risk speaking, Conan turned back to look at KID. "You could fly out from one of these windows," Conan muttered as a friendly suggestion. He hoped suggesting a means of escape for the thief would remind him that he wasn't his enemy right now, and sooth the anger KID had briefly expressed before.

"I'm afraid that isn't much of an option at the moment. My glider's taken a bit of damage; from this lower height especially, a glider with holes in it won't catch the air well enough to function. I suppose a five-story drop wouldn't kill me, but I'd rather not try it. And anyway, primarily, I should think leaving you alone right now isn't a good idea." His voice was neutral but stiff. He didn't readily sound angry but…. Well, he didn't sound like the carefree KID that Conan had grown to know either.

Conan raised an eyebrow questioningly. "That man didn't see me, I don't think. Why couldn't I be left alone right now?"

KID sent him the most unamused stare Conan thought he'd ever seen. "If I did leave, could I really trust you wouldn't rush off to search the crowd for him? You seem to have a real knack for getting into trouble. In fact, based on what's happened tonight, I'd postulate that you actively seek it."

'Like he's one to talk, he's the thief!' Conan grumbled internally, realizing now that KID was sitting in front of the door not only so he'd know if someone else approached their hiding spot, but also to ensure Conan was stuck inside as well. 'He's the one getting shot at and getting himself into trouble, he's the one who should be hiding.'

As if he could tell what Conan was thinking (and he probably could, as a master of disguise and impersonation he could read the expressions on people's faces flawlessly), KID responded to Conan's own inner thoughts. "Speaking of which, Tantei-kun, exactly why did you decide to get involved back there? I know I'm the mischievous thief, but I can handle myself. I knew what I was doing. Why would you risk getting involved? I honestly expected more from you, I never thought you'd do something so incredibly idiotic."

Conan scowled. "Oi, I was helping you, he could have killed you! He had a gun pointed at you in case you don't remember, you could have died!"

KID's eyebrows shot up in surprise. "What, me? Die? You must be joking Tantei-kun." KID scoffed. "For starters, you know I am wearing a bulletproof vest? I'm not completely insane, I always wear one if I don't have any disguise plans it will compromise, not that I was planning to actually be shot anyway. I would have escaped before that guy you saw really had the chance to shoot me. You've seen me handle far worse situations before, I've taken down more people with heavier fire power, and you left me to it then. So why all of the sudden are you doubting my abilities? Why are you so lost in your own head tonight? What did I do wrong to make you think I can't handle these things myself?" The final sentiment of this went unspoken, but it was conveyed clearly: I thought you saw me as an equal? What changed?

Conan snorted and faced away from the thief, crossing his arms and feigning anger, but the reality was he couldn't bring himself to look the Kaitou in the eye. Couldn't see him face-to-face and tell him that, in spite of all the times he'd proven himself, Conan still didn't believe in him. He imagined the thief was probably secretly feeling pretty hurt right about now, even if he didn't let it show. At least, if the thief had been the one to doubt him, Conan would have been upset about it too. Even in his small body the thief had always treated him as an equal, and Conan valued that more than he'd ever care to admit.

The truth was, Conan did believe in the magician, or at least he wanted to, and he used to, but his father's warning was throwing off the whole dynamic he had with the thief now and it was frustrating, but he couldn't just go back to letting the thief put himself in danger and not think about the possibility of him being killed. Yet, he also couldn't look the phantom thief in the eye and tell him he was doubting him because the thief, as annoying and a criminal though he may be, had earned more respect than that, and Conan was ashamed to be doubting him now. He just couldn't help it though. Not after what his father had said.

"…. KID…. What happened to the one before you? The first KID?"

The Kaitou looked up at him, but Conan still didn't turn around to face him, so in a feigned voice of innocence KID responded: "The first KID? Whatever do you mean? I'm the only KID."

Conan twisted to glare at him over his shoulder. "Now who's doubting who? Don't say a dumb thing like that to me! I know you're way too young a guy to be the first one! KID first appeared before you were even born, based on what I can tell."

"You're pouting, Tantei-kun," the thief laughed at the expression on the detective's face. When Conan's glare only hardened KID conceded. "Fine, fine, I might not be the first KID, but I'm still not interested in sharing my secrets with you Meitantei. I'm not as carefree with my information as you are."

Conan turned away from him again, instead opting to look out one of the windows on the far wall of the room, a stream of white light from the moon and flashing red and blue lights from the squad cars below pouring through the glass. "Was that first KID as good as you? He was a magician too right?"

Kaito contemplated for a moment before humming in confirmation. "Yeah, he was better. Actually, he was the best. I'm not quite like him yet, though one day I plan to be."

"And? Didn't he…. He died because of the same things you're involved in now didn't he? No one will tell me about it so I can only guess but I'm not wrong am I? If he was better than you and he couldn't handle it, then what makes you think you can?" It wasn't an accusation, it was a concern, KID could hear it clearly in Conan's tone of voice.

The Kaitou sighed softly and stood, stepping closer to the detective who still wouldn't turn to face him. He knelt down and with a gentle pull turned the detective around by the shoulders to face him. With a final consideration, he pulled the chibi-tantei forward into a hug, wrapping his arms around the back of him to hold him in place. Conan didn't resist, caught off guard as his mind stalled.

"It won't end like that this time. Even if it doesn't seem like it, I am being careful, truly I am. That man back then, he didn't die as KID. It happened because they found out who he really was and took advantage of that. I won't let that happen now, the circumstances have changed, they won't find me, and no one can kill KID." Kaito pulled back to smile down at his smallest critic. "Back then and now, as long as I'm wearing this hat and monocle I won't be killed. The Kaitou KID would never succumb to such things." KID stood, taking a step back again and smirking down at Conan. "It's cute that you're worried, even if it's rather unwarranted. You should really look after yourself though, you're the one who might get into worse trouble. If Snake had seen you today, he would easily be able to find out where you live. You are staying with a famous detective after all, you're not exactly hard to find. You should certainly be more careful!"

'Snake,' Conan thought, cataloguing the name for later. KID still didn't seem like he had any intention of explaining the whole story, but the information he had shared tonight was enough, for now.

"In fact," the thief continued as he placed an ear against the storage room door, listening for any sounds on the other side that might indicate people still snooping about, "I promise you I won't get killed."

"Your arrogance astounds me. I know that's not a promise you can make, stupid," Conan snarked. "As if you could guarantee something like that, you're a magician not a fortune teller, you don't know what could happen."

'I suppose I could ask Akako to tell my fortune, but I'd better not. Something like that is best left unknown, and she isn't the most generous sort of person,' Kaito thought to himself. 'Not like Tantei-kun would believe in witchcraft anyway.'

KID removed himself from the door, satisfied that he hadn't heard anything on the other side. "It's an easy promise for me to make though isn't it? Since I'll either keep the promise, or I'll die trying and you won't be able to do anything to punish me. What would I care if I break a promise like that if I'm dead?" He joked, chuckling lightly, but Conan didn't find it to be in good humor.

"Don't say dim-witted things like that or I'll murder you myself," Conan threatened. "That kind of dark comment really doesn't suit you."

KID scoffed in response. Then, with a quick shift of his cape the magician did an instant costume change, switching out of his white clothing into a full black outfit, complete with a black cap that he tilted down over his eyes. He unlocked the storage room door and carefully peeked out around it, checking the hallways near them for any signs of life.

Before he could leave, Conan reached forward and tugged at his now black pant leg. "Hey, forget that other promise. Instead, can you just promise me that if you really need help, you'll come to me?"

KID looked down at him and, seeing no wavering or fear in the detective's blue eyes and solid levels of determination, he smirked and nodded. "Of course, haven't I asked for your help before when I needed it? Haven't we both always done that? I know you have no problem abusing my skills for your personal gain either at least," he teased.

Conan nodded, releasing his hold on the magician. "Yeah, if you need it, I'll try to help you. After all, what kind of Uncle would I be if I didn't protect you?"

KID raised an eyebrow and tilted his head in confusion. "Uncle? My, you do say the strangest things Tantei-kun."

Conan smirked. "It's something the original KID and I used to talk about, he would have known what I meant."

"What, when did you meet him?!" Kaito asked with a little more volume and intensity than he'd intended.

"What are you his fanboy?" Conan snickered. "Maybe I'll tell you about it someday." [4]

"Tsk. Fine, be like that," KID huffed, looking back out the door. "That guy from the roof should be long gone by now so I guess it's fine to let you out. Try not to run into a murder on your way home yeah?" KID winked at him before slipping out of the room, the door swinging half-way closed behind him. Conan ran forward and came out after him, but by the time he pushed the door back open the thief had already disappeared into the shadowy hallways and vanished.

[4] See episode 472 & 473 "Kudo Shinichi's Childhood Adventure". In this case he meets Toichi and we even get a few frames of Kaito when he was a kid. In episode 472, Toichi tells a young Shinichi that he (KID) is his younger brother. This is because Yusaku is responsible for giving Phantom Thief 1412 the name of "KID," which would make Shinichi the original KID's 'older brother' in a sense. And since the new KID is the son of the original KID, that means Conan is his uncle, aka the brother of his father. (And yes, this also makes Yusaku out to be Kaito's grandfather in a sense. It's a silly and playfully thing Toichi came up with in the past, it was only mentioned briefly in the show but it's part of what sparked the creation of this story and I wanted to explore it a little bit more.)

Hope you enjoyed the chapter! If you have a moment, reviews are much appreciated~! ^^