"Get back here, Kaitou KID!" Nakamori charged at the thief, but the phantom disappeared in a puff of green smoke. Nakamori let out a series of infuriated chirps as he unfurled his wings. "Find him!" He ordered. As though it needed saying.
Saguru was gone the moment he saw the green smoke. Taking stairs two at a time, he grumbled under his breath about KID's incompetence. Kuroba had promptly ignored Saguru's warnings and gone on with the heist despite the fact that he was molting. Honestly, what sort of madman— rather, why did Kuroba have to be such an insane, self-destructive piece of reptilian idiocy?
He burst through the door leading to the roof, and he was promptly tackled to the ground by a little black ball of fur and wings. "Get down, Hakuba-niichan!" Edogawa shouted. A bullet whizzed past the spot his head just was. Gunpowder and smoke burned Saguru's nostrils.
On the ground, Saguru looked around the roof. A safe spot, sheltered, stood only a meter or two away behind an air conditioning unit. Edogawa had the same thought, and they both dashed forward. Edogawa spread his wings wide in an obvious attempt to shield Saguru from any more bullets, but Saguru was having no more of this self-sacrificing crap. He pinned Edogawa's wings against his back as the two of them crawled as quickly as they could.
"Not a chance, Edogawa-kun," Saguru growled. He all but carried Edogawa to safety despite the little bat's protests.
When Saguru finally let go, Edogawa shifted his wings. "Never do that again." The pure malice coupled with the resonant tone he was so famous for in his voice startled Saguru. A shiver ran down Saguru's back. When had Edogawa had the time to discern his frequency? The Detective Koushien?
No matter (he told himself as much, but this was definitely going to be looked into later). Who was shooting at them?
"KID?" asked Saguru breathlessly, brushing off the irritation flowing from Edogawa. Now was not the time for emotions.
Edogawa's ears swiveled in all different directions. "Hiding. Until he disappears or gets shot, we're under fire."
"The gem?"
At that, Edogawa smiled, all teeth. "Right here." He pulled the little amethyst from his pocket. It glinted under the moonlight a deep purple before Edogawa stashed it away again. His grin faded. "KID's slipping. He's not breathing right."
"He's molting," answered Saguru. "He shouldn't be here."
"I thought he was mammal," Edogawa said, giving Saguru a strange look.
Saguru shook his head. "Reptile. He can disguise the scent, the voice, and the skin, but watch his mouth. He tries hiding the forked tongue, but he still tastes the air during a chase. I'll send you footage."
Another bullet pinged off the top edge of the AC unit, leaving a burn mark at the top corner. Edogawa's flattened his ears against his head. "Seriously? This idiot—"
"Yes. He is that stupid." Saguru interrupted. "Edogawa-kun, have you discerned the shooter's location? KID may be a flamboyant, arrogant idiot with no regard for his own well-being, but he's not bulletproof."
Giving his wings a few small flaps, Edogawa reached down and turned a dial on his shoes. Electricity crackled around the little bat's feet. "Yeah. I've got it." He spoke a few words out of Saguru's hearing range, his mouth moving and seemingly no sound coming out. "And KID had better know Morse code. He's dead otherwise. Four meters behind us, two to the left. He's close, but he needs to be gone. When I give the signal, move."
Saguru nodded, crouching on his toes. He only had to wait a moment before Edogawa screeched, sending shivers through Saguru's body. Mentally shaking off the feeling, he bolted for Kuroba's location. As Saguru darted to the figure in white, something soaring over his head with all the force of a bullet. Behind him, Edogawa hovered mid-air, his shoes alight with energy and a satisfied smirk on his face. Saguru watched the soccer ball fly for just a moment, and a fraction of a second later, a cry of pain sounded from somewhere nearby.
Crouching next to Kuroba, Saguru couldn't relax yet. Nakamori was sure to be here soon. "KID, get up. You need to go." He couldn't capture Kuroba. Not like this. Never like this.
Brilliant green eyes flashed with anger (fear), and KID leapt to his feet. (If Saguru saw him stumble, he never said anything.) "Thank you for your concern, tantei-san. I assure you I am quite alright." His voice shook but neither of them said a thing about itr. He gave a swooping gentlemen's bow. His arm trembled like a skyscraper in an earthquake. "Until we meet again." With another puff of emerald smoke, Kuroba vanished into the night.
Edogawa hovered at Saguru's side, watching the place KID had stood. "How much longer is he going to keep this up? He won't survive pulling a stunt like this again. He couldn't move, Hakuba-niichan." The little bat frowned at Saguru.
Saguru could only sigh and shake his head. "I- I don't know. He's KID. It's like asking you not to run into murders." Edogawa started at that. "Police gossip," Saguru assured him. "But I'm sure he won't hold another heist soon. Don't worry. I'm almost positive who he really is, and he has people who will ensure he gets the rest he needs."
Nodding, Edogawa settled to the ground. "Oh, um, by the way."
"Hm? What is it?"
The fur on Edogawa's neck fluffed in embarrassment. "Ran-neechan… doesn't know I'm here. So I gotta go here's the gem don't let Nakamori know and thanks bye!" In one motion, Edogawa handed off the gem, bowed to Saguru, and flew off.
"Wait, Edogawa-kun, I can't- you can't just-" but the little bat was long gone, flying with an expertise no six-year-old should logically have. Saguru was still reeling in shock at the sudden abandonment when Nakamori and the Taskforce finally burst into the rooftop.
"Hakuba-kun! Where's KID!" shouted Nakamori.
"Which one." Saguru asked dryly, officially done for the night. "Here's his target." He threw the gem at Nakamori. "I'm going home."
"Ah! But how do we know you are not KID!" that one obnoxious taskforce member pointed out. in an instant they swarmed him, and Saguru groaned from beneath the pile of hot, sweaty bodies. This was really not his night.
(0 0)
Kaito missed being able to disguise as Aoko. It was so much easier before her wings fleshed out, growing to almost double either of their heights. Kudou Shinichi had wings, too. The only one left was Aoko's look alike, tantei-kun's sister Mouri Ran. So when Kaito was exhausted after a heist and wanted very little to do in terms of disguising, he found a secluded bathroom and went through the familiar motions of Aoko, but with no feathers and cleaner hair. It was so simple Kaito wanted to pat himself on the back, but molting was really taking it out of him. He kinda just wanted to pass out.
He ambled out of the bathroom, down the hall and into the streets. He'd glided a few blocks from the heist location and sent a dummy the opposite direction. He was a half hour walk from home. Nothing he couldn't handle. Kaito took an umbrella from a nearby stand, leaning on it heavily. Almost home. Almost home. As Kaito fought against gravity to keep his balance, he tripped over a little kid.
"Sorry, sorry," he mumbled, barely glancing over his shoulder. I just need to get home.
He tried walking away, but something tugged on his skirt. "Ran-neechan, what are you doing here?"
It took all Kaito's self control not to swear out loud. Throwing up Poker Face like a shield, he turned on his heel and frowned at tantei-kun. "I didn't tell you where I was going?"
Tantei-kun shook his head slowly, swallowing. "No, it's just, I thought you'd be gone a little longer."
"Gone a little longer, huh?" He put his hands on his hips. "Just what do you think you're trying to pull?" He looked at his watch for the effect. "It's nearly ten! You have school tomorrow, Conan-kun. Come on, we're going home." He reached for tantei-kun's hand, but the little bat suddenly jerked away.
"Who are you," he demanded. Kaito tasted the air nervously, acrid asphalt clashing horribly with the fear rancid in the air. Tantei-kun's wings were tense, ready to fly away at the drop of a hat.
Play oblivious, whispered Kaito's instincts. "Aw, tantei-kun. What gave me away?" he asked in KID's voice.
Tantei-kun relaxed in an instant. "Ran's claws are bigger. And her scales are rougher." He shook out his wings, taking a breath. "Give me a reason I shouldn't take you in right now," he said flatly.
"I'd die of boredom," Kaito chirped. He switched to Ran's voice. "Please don't let me die of boredom, Conan-kun."
Tantei-kun went hilariously red, his ears flattening against his head. "Fine. Just...don't do that." Tantei-kun gave his wings a few powerless flaps. He looked around with an exasperation far beyond his years and sighed. "Stay here. You actually look like death."
Kaito laughed. "Tell me something I don't know."
Tantei-kun rolled his eyes. "Just wait here." Kaito nodded, not sure he could do anything else. He was pretty sure that his knees would buckle as soon as he took a step, and this mask was probably going to take some skin off with it when he went to bed tonight. Molting always made his skin crawl. His head buzzed with all the caffeine he'd downed earlier, his tail ached from being under his suit for too long, and right now Kaito wanted more than to coil up in a ball and die.
Tantei-kun tugged on Kaito's arm, snapping out of his Self-Pitying Internal Monologue of Woe. "Oneechan, the taxi is here. Didn't you want to go home?"
Bless. "You are a god, komori-chan," said Kaito in a feminine voice. Tantei-kun made an odd expression at that, but he pulled him over to the taxi. It was all Kaito could do not to fall over. How exactly did he think he was going to make it home?
Kaito collapsed into the backseat of the taxi, and to his surprise, tantei-kun only cleaned in the door. "Oneechan is sick. Can you drive her home, oji-san?" he asked the driver. "She can tell you her address. I gotta go, but here's some money. Oneechan lost her wallet."
Handing a few bills to the driver, tantei-kun ducked out of the taxi. "Oneechan, don't be out when you're sick. You won't get better that way," he said with a very six-year-old pout. "Go home and get better. Please? I wanna come and play again when you're better." Don't be an idiot.
Kaito waved weakly- both because he had no response, and because the caffeine was wearing off. "I will. Good night, komori-chan."
With a nod, tantei-kun finally closed the door,and the driver chuckled. "That kid seems to like you. You babysit him?"
Kaito grinned. "Yeah. But only at KID heists."
"KID heists? He a police kid?"
"Something like that."
The driver shrugged. "Alright, miss. Where do you live? That kid's glaring something fierce and I don't want to wake up tomorrow with the police knocking at my door because I didn't take his babysitter home fast enough."
Kaito gave him his address and looked out the window at tantei-kun.
Never again, mouthed the little bat quite clearly. Or I bring Hattori.
Kaito just grinned. The more the merrier, he mouthed back.
The taxi pulled away before tantei-kun could properly respond, but it looked an awful lot like he muttered Screw you, KID.
(0 0)
Kaito did spend the next two weeks at home as he molted. Aoko came by every day until she forcefully dragged him to her own house, and Hakuba visited a few times. They kept Kaito caught up with schoolwork and the gossip (Aoko) or news (Hakuboar). Kaito never had enough energy to pull pranks on anyone, so he had no outlet for the flurry of thoughts about the little bat who saved him from hours of misery.
He asked his mom for suggestions, and through hypothetical situations he consulted Aoko's dad (who was more intelligent than the news gave him credit for). It took him a week and a half to come up with something (granted, seventy percent of that time was spent sleeping or wishing he was asleep) for the little bat.
Kilometers away, a little bat opened up a package sent to Komori-chan. Heart racing, he knew it wasn't a bomb, but no one who knew would send him an unmarked package like this. Especially one labeled "To my darling Komori-chan." Ran would have a cow if she'd seen this before he hid it.
Peeling away the layers of bubble wrap, Shinichi found a little necklace, three small glass bottles, and a note at the bottom of it. He pulled out the diffuser set and tested each of the scents. They were relatively odorless, but so much so that they seemed to suck the scent from the air. With a grin (Shinichi had needed something like this since that day at Tropical Land), he finally read the note. His toothy grin only grew.
For saving my skin, the note read. The next heist is in two weeks. See you there.
- Kaitou KID