The Darkness Inside

Chapter 12 Alone in the snow storm

With Kaito's name on her tongue and her heart beating wildly in her chest, she gasped when not a carriage awaited her but the dark sky, hidden by snow clouds and the raging winds. The carriage beneath her dropped and suddenly she was in a free fall down towards a pit of darkness.

Her ears were still ringing from the explosion, her chest aching in mind numbing pain and her heart racing, pumping air into her lungs and blood through her veins, desperately trying to keep her alive but it was in vain with imminent death looming above her.

She had jumped in hopes of getting away from the fires and more explosions, not because the earth had split up and swallowed the last carriage, trying hard to get her, too. And it was grabbing for her, Aoko felt death's claws upon her feet, dragging her down, down, gravity taking over and stopping her jump in the highest point and pulling her back to the treacherous, deadly earth.

Adrenaline pumped blood through her veins, but it only made things worse as she suffocated with fear she'd never felt before, making her freeze, obscuring her view because everything went so fast she didn't even know what happened. She couldn't tell if it was hot or cold, if there was wind or a storm raging on, if the train was driving away and leaving her behind. There was nothing but mind-numbing terror make her fight a losing battle.

Her heart sank in panic, her body on autopilot desperately trying to grab anything, only there was nothing but air making her look like a fish out of water.

It was in that moment that Aoko decided, she didn't want to die. Not now and not like this. It wasn't her time yet. It wasn't. Something, she needed to do something, survive somehow. She couldn't die like this. Why was this happening?

Suddenly, there was something gripping her hand so tightly, she was sure it would break. It stopped her fall, though, making her dangling above the abyss. Looking up sharply, she only saw white, the storm obscuring most of her view and let whoever saved her, pull her up.

She fell onto something solid but not hard like the ground and it was warm, at least as far as her adrenaline filled mind could grasp. She was gasping, shuddering, and something was holding onto her, pressing her to something else. When ever so slowly her mind finally started processing things, she realized she was pressed to a body, a rather warm body. A body clad in nothing but white but right now, terror still running through her, she pushed against him, leaning into him.

His arms tightened around her and only when she calmed down more she realized Kid was gasping just as much. The whole ordeal must have cost him as many nerves as it cost her – and who knew how many deaths he died along with her watching her somersaulting to her certain death.

His body felt warm or at least much warmed than the wind that tore through her sweater, making her shiver in cold. She wondered if he trembled for the same reason.

It was when she softly pushed him away from her, that Aoko realized how badly she hurt, making her gasp in pain. She grabbed her side in agony – probably cracked a few ribs, making breathing hard but since she was able to breathe at all she figured that her lungs at least must still be intact, making things a little better.

"Nakamori-san!" Kid uttered in panic, his hands hastily going back to her arms, ready to catch her whenever she might fall over and watching her with hawk like eyes, worry more than evident on his so handsome face. "How do you feel since obviously you are not ok. What happened?"

Shaking her head, she tried to tell him that things weren't too bad – she wasn't feeling too bad. She wasn't too sure her voice wouldn't break once she tried to say something. But maybe things were very bad. When she tried to gather where they were, where they landed, she turned her head around and saw nothing but white. Something ice cold digging into her thigh got her looking down, making her realize she was sitting on the rail tracks.

Looking behind her slowly, she found a fuming bridge for the fire must have been put out by the snow storm already, half the bridge destroyed, a gaping whole welcoming her and she felt death standing at the edge, calling out to her, grasping for her. Her heart started beating painfully in her chest, fear spreading inside of her and making her freeze to the spot – only her pain got her out of it, reminding her how very alive she still was.

Gasping in horror when she remembered her father being on the train with murderers who might very well be after his life, she jumped to her feet hurriedly and started running after the train. There was just one way, with the one direction being ultimately destroyed, there was just one left the train could have continued in.

"Otou-san!" she yelled desperately. Her father was still on board. He was in danger. She needed to warn him. She needed to catch him, she – losing her footing after just a few steps, she fell hard to the ground and winced in pain.

"Nakamori-san. Stop" Kid uttered in exasperation and worry – she'd never known he could sound so worried and then hands were on her body, helping her up again. Only she patted them away and tried to stand back up, she needed to follow the train. When Kid grabbed her elbow, efficiently hindering her on walking, she snapped.

"My father is there. We need to get back on the train. He's there. Why is that damn thing still going when it lost a whole carriage? What is going on? Why doesn't it stop?! My father! KID!" she yelled in panic and pulled at his jacket in despair. He always knew what to do. Why wasn't he doing anything now? Why was he here with her instead of with her father when he was in danger? She needed to protect him and all she accomplished was getting thrown off the train with a whole fucking carriage and why the fuck were they not stopping?!

"Calm down, Aoko-san. You're hurt. You need to calm down or you're going to hurt yourself more." He sounded soft, worried, so unlike him that Aoko had to make double sure it was actually Kid and not some imposter. Only, it wasn't so easy to make out Kaitou Kid in his white attire when everything around them was just as white and no light was shining down on them. But there was no time for that either, dammit.

She wanted to hit his perfect face, she wanted to bash it in just for being this calm when there was absolutely no reason to be calm and why the fuck was he calm?! Her ears were still ringing and the damn wind was being way too loud and somehow breathing didn't feel as easy as before, not to mention how her head was killing her but she was somehow clear enough to question his sanity right now.

She was hitting his chest because someone needed to do something, and she had tried but failed and since he so tightly held onto her arm, Kid needed to do something, save her father, use his magic, anything really, but he wasn't. Instead, he was calmly watching her with a guarded but very grim look.

Grabbing both her arms in his in an attempt to stop her from hurting herself even more than she was, Kid shook her slightly.

"Calm down, Aoko-san. If you don't you'll start hyperventilating and we both can't use that right now. Just breathe, alright? Calm down and breathe."

She wanted to hit him even more, wanted to blemish that perfect face that was looking at her because how could she calm down when there was nothing to be calm about? Kid seemed to sense it, too, because he sighed in defeat and gave her an annoyed look.

"Just for your information, your old man is still in Tokyo. How do you think I got on the train?" He sounded annoyed, even offended that he apparently had to explain things to her. Shaking her head in denial, only to stop because all of a sudden the world had started spinning, she couldn't really believe his words.

"I promise, Aoko-san, even knowing that a thief's promise doesn't mean much. But I promise that your father is as safe as he could be. Whoever blew off the carriage is on the train and not in Tokyo. Your father is safe from those people."

Letting it all in, because if he really was Kaito then Kaito had no reason to lie to her, especially when her father was at stake right? There was nothing for him to win or lose if he told her that, right?

"Really?" she asked quietly, hopefully with eyes full of worry.

Nodding, he let go of her hands, seeing as she visibly calmed down. "Yes, really. Division two squad is there, though, but I'm rather sure they'll be able to handle whoever was behind this."

"Thank god," she whispered silently, more to herself than to anyone else, thanking whatever god made Kid choose her father as his disguise this time and effectively saving his life. Slumping slightly, she swayed in the harsh winds and tried keep her hair out of her face that has been blown there.

Kid shook his head, as if in disbelief that something like this could have happened and then turned his gaze back on her. "You look horrible, Nakamori-san. How many fingers do I show?"

Aoko scowled as best as she could, the shock finally catching up with her and taking its toll on her. Also knowing her father was safe, made her calm down, making the adrenaline ebb away for sure and leaving her feeling drained and tired.

"Nakamori-san, I'm being serious here. If you have a concussion you need treatment."

Aoko shook her head in denial. She had blacked out and that was enough evidence for her concussion but they had no time for that. They had no time to tend to her broken ribs – at least that's what they felt like. She'd never had a broken bone before and while she was sometimes rather clumsy, she'd never felt such pain. Luckily or maybe not so luckily, it heavily depended on the view, the wind was harsh and cold, cooling her wounds and keeping the swelling at bay. At least, that's what Aoko hoped for. Well, the not so luckily meant that she might actually freeze and die, after all.

"Come on, I'll take care of your wounds once we found shelter. We need to get out of here. Can you walk?"

Out of nowhere, Kid produced a blanket and put it around her shoulders, making Aoko nod in gratitude, grab the ends of it and pull it tightly around herself.

"Sometimes, I'd love to know where you store all these things."

Kid only grinned, the first true grin – the first at all – this evening and somehow Aoko never knew how much she needed to see him carefree again. If Kid was carefree then things weren't as grim as they appeared. Maybe they somehow survived, after all.

"Sure you do. But let's get out of here first."

Aoko nodded and looked around helplessly, until her look ended back on him again. "Where to? I don't even know where we are."

All her things were still inside the train, so there was no way she could find out via technology and since she didn't keep track with the way they passed, she could only guess where they were, but having her head thrum like that, she didn't feel like thinking much.

"We're pretty much in Hokkaido already but Sapporo is still some time away, especially if we are to make it by foot. But I'm sure there is a hut somewhere. This is a rather rural place and usually huts are all around. We'll just need to find one. Unless your injuries are too bad."

But they both knew that they couldn't wander in this weather too long. The storm was raging in full blow and they needed to find shelter, now.

"I'm fine." Seeing the look he gave her, she gave in. "Alright, I'm not fine fine. It's my side. I might have cracked a few ribs. But I can breathe so my lungs should be fine and anyway, I'll freeze before we can find a hospital or anything. A hut is our best bet right now."

Watching him tug at his hat all the time, probably so it doesn't get blown away by the wind, Aoko sighed. He might feel safest within his disguise and she'd much rather talk to Kid looking like Kid and not someone else but they had little to no options here. Their both lives were on the line here and some stupid sensivities couldn't play a role right now.

"You should change. You cannot fly in this weather, so change into someone I know. Disguise as Kaito for all I care and make it easy for the both of us. Imagine something happening, making you lose half your disguise and me seeing who you are. That is quite the big deal. I promise not to try and uncover your disguise. Make this easier for the both of us." Turning her back to him, she exhaled slowly. "I won't look."

He seemed to think it over because it took him a while until a grim looking Kaito was standing in front of her. It was too dark and the snow was too strong, so she couldn't see well if it was a mask or if he really just took off his Kid clothes and stood before her as her best friend but she felt like not knowing anyway. She'd keep her promise, both to herself and him and not try to find out the truth because whatever did it ever bring her? Exactly. Nothing. Maybe the only up thing was that being in Kaito's vicinity made her feel safe and protected while she might not be so calm around Kid if he were a stranger.

Kid, not Kaito because it was Kid wearing Kaito's face – and it was bad enough she had screamed for Kaito when she knew her friend would never make it because he wasn't there but Kaitou and Kaito sounded the same, so if anyone asked she'd always say she screamed for Kid because if anyone he'd save her – nodded and with his hand on her shoulder blade pushed her softly into motion.

"If you feel faint or your pain gets any worse, tell me."

Aoko nodded silently and kept forward. He was guiding her away from the rails, towards nothing and nothing but mountains of snow but this was Kid and she trusted he knew what he was doing. Kid was in no way suicidal and she was sure, if he had to take care of someone else beside him, he'd fight extra hard to save them both. She trusted him so much it scared her shitless.

"Aren't you c-c-cold?" she stuttered after a while in a tiny voice, because even his blanket did nothing to keep the cold winds away from her and she couldn't imagine him not freezing when he wore nothing more than a sweater himself. Sure, it was softshell, so maybe it actually protected him a little from the wind but it wasn't nearly enough to keep him warm right now.

"I'm fine, Nakamori-san. Don't worry about me. Stay focused on the path and on yourself."

The up side was that the wind actually cooled her ribs enough for them to not hurt as bad as before, only an annoying buzz stayed, making her wince all the time when she moved the wrong way but at least, it wasn't mind numbing anymore. Her head still hurt, though, and the cold wasn't making it any better. The down side was she was freezing.

It felt like forever when Aoko stumbled and would have fallen right on her face if Kid had not caught her in time. She was shivering so bad, her legs wouldn't carry her anymore and as Kid pressed her to himself, she noticed how he didn't fare any better.

"Come on, I'll carry you. Alright?"

His eyes were the shining blue she remembered them to be and she nodded, opening the blanket and slowly climbing on his back. She closed the blanket around him, when he stood up, trying to warm him up a little bit. His back felt as cold and frozen as solid ice and Aoko wondered if they'd make it out alive, after all. She couldn't walk anymore and if he lost his strength, then they were doomed. She felt bad for having to rely on Kid, burdening him with herself but she barely had any strength left to keep her eyes open, let alone anything else.

When a soft voice spoke to her, something shaking her, Aoko opened her eyes and only then realized that she must have fallen asleep.

Disoriented and tired, she looked up slowly, seeing nothing but darkness and snow and the cold, it was mind numbing – literally.

"Nakamori-san. I need you to wake up. Oi, Nakamori-san. Wake up. Come on."

Aoko blinked a few times and tried to clear the fog only it took forever and apparently took too long for Kid who then cautiously dropped her to the ground. It kind of woke her up good, when she had to use her frozen legs, immediately folding up beneath her weight and not supporting her like her stupid dumb legs were supposed to.

"I got you. Can you stand?"

She felt Kid hold her tightly to him, keeping her upright and Aoko tried hard to determine if she'd fall again once he let go of her or if she could stand for a second before she fell. Accidentally, she let go of the blanket she never realized she still held tightly in her hands and it flew off in a hurry. Her sluggish mind didn't process it until she felt much colder and her body didn't stop shuddering.

"Nakamori-san." Looking up sharply because right, Kid was waiting for her answer. Kid was there, with her and why was he standing and now she lost their only source of a little warmth and what were they going to do now? Weirdly enough, she wondered if she just lost his favorite blanket and hoped that in fact, she didn't.

"Can you stand?" He inquired again and why didn't he just let go of her? Wouldn't it be much easier?

Nodding slowly, Aoko realized she still had her arms around his neck tightly, holding onto him like a lifeline and maybe that was the reason he didn't let go of her – he simply couldn't.

"Alright. I'll let go now. Just stay here. I'll have the door opened in no time, alright?"

Door? Aoko focused her tired eyes on her left and realized that in fact there was something there. It was dark, so she at first mistook it for the darkness because her mind was too unfocused to see well, but now that she really looked around herself, she found herself standing next to what looked like a house. Or a hut, she couldn't tell but it was shelter, promising them survival and she could have melted in relief right then and there because they were not going to die, after all.

Kid let go of her carefully, and she swayed dangerously but kept standing on her feet. She was sure it was all just her pure will and not her strength because her legs screamed at her, how dare she stand when even being carried hurt all over.

She tried to stay as still as possible in fear of falling over from the smallest movement, so she barely turned her head to look where Kid went, but with his dark sweater she could make him out kneeling in front of what must be the door to their shelter. He seemed to have trouble picking the lock, it was such an unusual sight, seeing him struggle with something that normally didn't take longer than a second for him. It actually didn't make her feel any better seeing this usually so suave and arrogant boy struggle in what he was best at. She should have celebrated seeing this weakness right before her very eyes but then again, maybe she'd already forgotten all about it by tomorrow and maybe, if he didn't get it open, they'd die anyway. So, there really was no reason for celebrating.

But Kid wouldn't be Kid if something like a lock got him to his knees and it took him some time with his frozen hands and body to wiggle the door open and carry her inside but he made it. If felt weird, being carried bridal style and then over the threshold. In western traditions that was a thing for weddings and wedding nights, wasn't it? But her mind was tired and unfocused and soon forgot the thought again.

She was put down on something soft and she let herself sink. With the immediate danger over, Aoko closed her tired and frozen eyes and let the darkness take over. Only for an annoying voice to wake her up again just a second later.

"Listen, Nakamori-san. I'm the last one who'd deny you sleep but I'm rather sure you are concussed and sleep is not something I'd advise on right now. I'll let you sleep later, alright?"

Aoko groaned in irritation and swatted his arms away, but he was like a thousand of flies, it was impossible to get rid of him. Opening her eyes slowly, she tried to register what was going on. She had just closed her eyes but apparently, she had fallen asleep right away, judging by the fire burning behind her and some lights being turned on. Kid must have found some emergency electricity and lighted a fire. He'd make a fine boyfriend and husband one day – unless he already had a happy girl or boy waiting for him at home.

Aoko nodded and righted herself. It was harder than she anticipated, though, and Kid actually had to help her and keep her up.

"I'm afraid the heating was damaged but at least we have a fireplace and some blankets. I doubt we'll freeze to death now." He was smiling like the guardian angel that he was and it made her feel all warm and tingly inside. Maybe it was just her sluggish dumb mind but she actually would have fallen for him all over, if he were Kaito, and if he wasn't then she was walking on a damn dangerous path right now.

Holding her, the boy put some pillows behind her back to keep her upright while she was still swaying even when sitting and it only confirmed his assumption about her having a concussion. He looked worried for a second and Aoko wanted to wish that look away from his face, for it looked so strange, so alien there. It wasn't supposed to be there and she'd rather see him smile or even grin that arrogant grin of his every day of her life than just once more that worried look.

Suddenly, he took out a cloth and dabbed it on her face. Aoko stood stock still, holding her breath without even realizing it when Kid was so soft, she barely felt anything. Her face couldn't have been frozen anymore, so really, she must have felt the cloth more but she didn't.

It felt wet, though, and Aoko did wonder what he was doing. And if her mind had been clear she'd have yelled at him and asked him exactly that, but as her mind was still sluggishly processing what was going on, she just watched in wonder how his brows furrowed in concentration and how the fire behind her threw weird shadows on his face, making him look like something otherworldly. But weirdly enough, she wasn't scared. She felt oddly at ease, safe and warm and could have kept watching him for all eternity until she realized this was Kid with Kaito's face and she shouldn't enjoy his touch as much as she did.

"You got hit really badly, Nakamori-san. Can you tell me what happened?"

His voice sounded as soft as his touch was and she felt like melting. Deep down there was Kid-hating Aoko screaming at herself for falling into his trap, becoming like all the furies who called themselves his fans and she hated every bit of it but that Aoko was buried deep down and the Aoko who enjoyed Kid's touch tried hard to grasp a single thought.

When he put a first-aid kit next to her and opened it, she found her swallowed tongue. Surprisingly, it was still there.

"That keiji – that one you chased away?" Her mind felt still sluggish and it was quite the battle to piece the puzzle together.

"That one who was flirting with you? Who didn't want to leave you alone?" Kid looked highly focused on her, on her eyes when she nodded, getting captivated by the intense look he gave her. Only she knew it was one of rage and hate beneath all the masks that he wore.

"Yes, that one." She closed her eyes because looking into his eyes only broke her concentration and there were some things she needed to ask him herself. "There was gunpowder in the last carriage. I had been looking for you and kind of stumbled upon it. That was when that guy found me find that gunpowder, so he decided to blow me up along with the secret."

Frowning in though, Aoko opened her eyes again and looked straight into one that successfully lost its Poker Face and looked truly fear inducing. She'd never seen Kid look so angry, and neither had she ever seen Kaito's face look so dark.

"I don't really get why they'd blow it up, though."

Kid nodded in agreement. "Aa, doesn't make much sense if they actually needed it for something."

He took out some bandages and started putting it on her head. The fog was slowly lifting and she felt like she could finally think again. Even though those thoughts quickly left her again, when Kid leaned above her, to meticulously wrap that bandage around her head. He was way too close, so close she could smell him and feel the heat radiating off his body. That actually brought her back to earth pretty fast because she was really glad his body heat was back to normal. She was sure he'd been near frozen, too, when they got to this place. How long exactly had she been asleep?

"Why did the train not stop, though? If a carriage got blown off and then fell of the bridge, wouldn't it have slowed it down somehow or something? They should still have stopped, why didn't they? It could have the train derail, but thankfully nothing like that happened."

She was confused and maybe it was her mind that still didn't work very well, or it simply didn't make any sense.

"They must have broken the brakes. There is no way the train wouldn't have stopped otherwise."

Fear gripped Aoko again when she realized how there were civilians on board as well as her father's subordinates and if something happened to them, it'd be all her fault.

Suddenly, her chin was lifted and she looked in some frustrated looking eyes. "Don't worry your pretty head about that. They are trained police officers, even if all they have been doing lately is chasing after me. Don't mistake them for some civilians who don't know how to wield a gun or how to behave in a hostage situation."

Eyes widening in horror, Aoko gasped. "Hostage situation?!"

Kid sighed and probably wished to have said nothing. He usually wasn't such a blabbermouth but he was probably as shaken as she was and that was some extreme situation they had there.

"Don't worry about it. I'm sure those guys are just fine. I'm also sure they called for reinforcements and they have the situation under control."

Aoko bit her teeth in worry and watched Kid sit back again and frown. He rummaged through the kit and took out a few patches and put them on her face. Then he turned his eyes on her again.

"Now, Nakamori-san, don't take this the wrong way but I need you to take off your sweater. I need to check you for other injuries and your ribs."

Aoko blushed heavily because if this was Kaito or not, it didn't matter or maybe it did because maybe taking off her clothes in front of a stranger was less embarrassing than in front of her best friend but maybe both options were the same amount of bad. Shaking her head and hugging herself in order not to let him undress her without her consent, she watched him roll his eyes and sigh in exasperation.

"You can keep your bra on and I won't look more than necessary. I promise."

Aoko still shook her head and didn't let up but then an idea came to her mind. "Let me check myself. I can bandage myself up good enough, also I'm not stupid. I think I'd know if anything was broken. I can feel them myself."

Kid seemed to consider this for a while before he nodded and honestly, he had no other choice than to nod because she sure as hell wouldn't take off her shirt in from of him. She could breathe, albeit it hurt and wasn't quite as easy as she was used to, but she could tell there was no harm done to her lungs at least and if she had internal bleedings, she would have already died or at least showed some signs of those.

"Alright, but first, take a sip of this."

He handed her a glass of water and two pills. She watched the glass suspiciously. "I swear Kid, if you put anything inside – and what are those? I'm tired enough to sleep through the next few weeks and I already told you that I'm not going to try anything funny. I don't actually want to know who you are."

Kid nodded and pushed the glass towards her. "I know. It's just water. Promise it's not tampered with. And these are pain killers. They are quite strong so they'll probably make you tired, though. But your head wound is rather bad and I don't know about your ribs but the pain might still be numbed from the cold. Once your body temperature is normal again, it'll probably start hurting again."

She took both the glass and pills cautiously into her hands and after a while looked Kid in the eyes. "I trust you." With that she downed the pills and the water and only then realized how thirsty she was. The water was lukewarm and she never thought lukewarm water could be this delicious.

"You shouldn't trust me, though, Nakamori-san."

There it was again. Kaitou Kid and the daughter of the keibu that tried so hard to catch and imprison him. He was the internationally wanted criminal Kaitou Kid and maybe she had deluded herself to see someone else when she shouldn't. Maybe she showed too much trust. Maybe the water had been tampered with but she couldn't change it anymore.

But it dealt as a great reminder who she was with and that it was just a face he wore and not her best friend. Maybe, underneath all these layers, there was somewhere her friend but right now, there was only Kid who actually wasn't even her ally.

Trying to get up and only then realizing that Kid must have put two blankets on her because they fell off when she moved, she gazed at him in wonder.

"Thanks. You saved me again. And again. I probably would have died even in this place without you."

Kid sighed and stood up. "Don't worry about it, Nakamori-san."

Aoko nodded and let it be. There was too much that would have to be discussed but both were too tired and maybe there was another time and place for that kind of talk.

Standing up carefully, Kid was on watchout to make sure she didn't hurt herself any further, at least Aoko thought that was the reason why he watched her like a hawk.

"Come on, I'll show you the way to the bathroom. It's actually on the second floor. Do you think you'll make it?"

Nodding, even though she wasn't so sure, she started walking away from the sofa Kid had obviously placed her on. Her clothes felt somewhat wet and she needed to get out of them as not to catch a cold or worse. "Do you think there are some spare clothes somewhere?"

Maybe she could even take a hot bath, geez what would she do to soak in something hot right now? She was warm enough for hot water not to scald her but it sure would help her get better faster.

"There are. I'll get you some when you're up."

The sofa was seated quite in the middle of the room with a small table in front of it and behind a TV there was the wall with a window. The storm obviously still raged on as badly as before and she shuddered when thinking about how close they both had come to dying today.

Kid steered her away from the wall though, towards the fireplace and she could see how strong and warm the flames were. She nearly lost herself in the flickers of the fire and realized that Kid was right after all and she must be concussed for not being able to focus longer than a second.

He guided her carefully upwards and then left inside the bathroom.

"I'll let you know when I'm back with the clothes, alright?"

Aoko nodded and closed the door behind her. Sighing, she walked up to the mirror and looked herself over. Ok, so, she never noticed how badly she hurt had her head. She didn't even know when that was. But there must be quite the laceration for Kid having to bandage her whole forehead. So, he probably had to wipe away all her blood. Jeez, her face must have looked like one from a horror movie. She nearly felt sorry for him.

Her sweater was ripped at parts, probably from the explosion, that was where she must have gotten her headwound, too, and there was some blood all over her body. It didn't seem too bad and she had actually been quite lucky to not only have survived but also made it out hardly wounded – besides the thing with her head and ribs.

Frowning in disgust seeing all the blood, she took off her sweater and winced when she barely got her right arm above her head. The shirt was just as hard to take off and she winced even more when she saw what her right side actually looked like. It was blue and purple and at parts blackish. Come to think of it, she wasn't too proficient in such injuries so maybe having Kid look at it was the better alternative, after all.

First, though, she'd need to clean her other small wounds, get the blood off her and maybe put some bandaids on some lacerations, but nothing looked very serious. She found a small towel and wetted it with ice cold water. Somehow, warm water didn't come so Aoko decided to just take what she got.

Cleaning up didn't take too long and soon her skin was purple and blackish but at least not bloody anymore. It looked like she wouldn't need any bandages since all her wounds were already closed and she'd have clothes on to protect them from opening again. Also, wearing a lot of bandages was uncomfortable, anyway.

When the knock came just a few minutes later, she opened it with a serious face and was glad when his Poker Face never broke when she turned and showed him her badly hurt side. She kept her shirt in front of her chest, so adding to her bra, he couldn't see much of her breasts at least. She didn't even know why she was so embarrassed – being in a bra wasn't much worse than being in swimsuit and sure, a swimsuit was for showing and a bra wasn't necessarily but yeah. She was blushing when he looked her up and down and wanted to hit him for it, but his face scrunched up and he shoved her into the light to see better and she actually lost her shyness because he was only trying to see how bad it was.

She did hit him, though, when Kid touched one of her ribs and she thought she'd die right then and there. "I'm sorry, Nakamori-san, but I need to feel if anything is broken. This looks really bad."

Aoko shook her head. "It hurts."

Nodding, he agreed. "I know. It looks plenty painful. But I need to check."

Aoko grinded her teeth and nodded. "Alright, just hurry up."

She felt like walking up the wall when he touched her again, gasping and gnashing her teeth together. She was sure he was being gentle and careful, so her wound must have been bad enough for her to want to die to get away from the pain. Maybe his touch could have made her feel something else, if she wasn't in so much pain. But thankfully it stopped soon enough and she fell to her knees, breathing heavily as if she just ran a whole marathon.

Kid kneeled in front of her and held her at her shoulders. "You do have a few broken ribs, Nakamori-san. I'll get you some cold wraps to keep cooling it. At least it's not swollen badly, yet."

Aoko nodded and closed her eyes, wishing the pain to go away finally.

"Change your clothes and come back down or call me. I'd love to have you take a hot bath but unfortunately we have only icy water."

Looking up sharply, Aoko drew a sharp breath. "But the water in the glass!"

Kid was the ever-collected phantom thief again. "I had it warm up at the fireplace." Well, that explained how he got warm water when all she got was just ice.

Taking the clothes he gave her, she made him leave and turned around to put them on. It was less hard then getting them off, especially since they were at least a few numbers too big but Aoko was very fine with that. She had taken off her bra, too, knowing that she wouldn't be able to put it back on the next day but she really rather wore nothing than tortured herself the whole night and possibly all tomorrow.

When she got down, she found Kid finishing setting up – well, good question. "What are you doing?" She asked incredulously. She would be able to sleep on the floor but with her ribs, she'd rather not.

"I'm sorry for this but this is the warmest place. The heating is broken and if we don't want to freeze, after all, we'll have to sleep close to the fire. I put a lot of blankets on the ground so it should be comfortable enough."

Aoko sighed. It sure was the reasonable thing to do and he even expected her to share the impromptu bed with him but she wouldn't deny him any warmth when he was the whole reason she was still alive right now. But she was afraid it might feel very strange indeed. It wasn't the first time she wished for Kaito to be here. She trusted Kaito and Kaito'd never tell her not to trust him and then she wouldn't be so embarrassed about lying next to him and things would be much less complicated than they were.

"Lie down and try to get comfortable. I'll just change real quick myself and be right back."

Aoko nodded and sat down on the bed. At least, he did his best in placing down as many blankets as there probably were. She lay down and slipped beneath the covers, embracing the warmth that spread around her. Again, she closed her eyes only for a second but her mind felt groggy again, when she opened them when there were sounds she couldn't sort to anything she knew.

Blinking a few times, she found Kid sitting next to her and – watch her?

"I'm sorry you have to spend Christmas with me, hurt and some foreign place, Ojou-chan. This is surely not what I envisioned when I planned the heist."

Aoko sighed and rubbed her eyes. "Well, and because of me you never got to see the jewel. You'll probably never see it again, so let's call it even."

Kid smiled sadly and shook his head. "Actually, I got to see it before the whole incident."

Aoko raised an eyebrow in question. "Oh? So? Did you steal it?"

Kid just shook his head and kept this secret but somewhat sad smile. "No. It wasn't what I'm looking for."

"And what is it that you're looking for?"

Kid grinned, his eyes sparkling in mischief for a second before they take on a softer side. "You do know how they say knowledge is power? Sometimes, power is deadly."

"Hm, so it's some kind of secret that is cursed and I'll die if I know about it?"

"Not quite." He said secretly and Aoko sighed. She truly never got anything out of him but at least, now she knew for certain that there was something Kid was looking for. She turned her head away from him again, looking at the dark ceiling, only little illuminated by the flames that barely reached them. She wondered what kind of secret that was. So he was looking for a jewel which was very dangerous? But why? And why would a jewel be dangerous? And then she remembered how there were sometimes dangerous people at his heists and maybe they had something to do with the whole thing.

Come to think of it. "Ne, Kid?" She turned her head to face him again only to find him not having moved a bit. It was a little creepy to know that he was watching her all the time so intently – wearing Kaito's face.

He waited for her question patiently. "That keiji, ne? I never saw him before and obviously he had an evil mind." Was he maybe part of those who tried the assassination in April? Was there an organization behind all of it?

"He wasn't. I checked every person on the train and there were six who didn't belong there but I actually thought they finally thought up a good enough plan to catch me and let it slide. Apparently, those six had other plans all along."

"What do you think did they try to do, though? Blowing up all the gunpowder? Not very clever, if you ask me. And why was he being so friendly with me? I don't really get what they wanted to do."

Kid nodded in thoughtfulness. "I'm sure we'll know soon enough. Since they attacked a train full with police, it'll make news really fast."

"Otou-san must be worried sick. I wonder if they told him I went missing. I wonder if they already find out that Otou-san was never aboard the train. They could think we both died."

"Nah, wouldn't hope on it. They know I hardly go down without a fight and that wasn't a fight."

Aoko pursed her lips in frustration. "That keiji could have told them anything. Besides, how did you find me? You must have gotten off the train. How did you know I was not, say on the toilet or something. You possibly wouldn't have made it back up anymore."

Suddenly, Kid looked very annoyed for a while, just like Kaito looked whenever she did something stupid but it disappeared soon enough and an even look stayed. "I knew you went back and had a feeling I might actually find you right where the explosion happened. Also, you screamed loud enough for everyone to hear, so there weren't many other options for you to be."

Aoko blushed. "W-well." She remembered that she had screamed, but everything was really blurry by now and she couldn't tell when exactly she did. Still, she was fairly sure he must have jumped before he knew that she was down there or maybe her memory was too twisted and maybe to that time the train wasn't too far off, yet and he could have easily made it back on. Well, it didn't really matter. She was safe and he was too and that was the important thing right now.

He was lying on his side, his head prepped up on his hand and Aoko wondered if it wasn't exhausting after a while. The pose didn't look comfortable, at all and he really was making her nervous. If this were any other time with someone else, it could have been considered romantic. But she was hurt and they both didn't know where here was and she was actually the daughter of the keibu that was trying to catch that internationally wanted criminal that lay right next to her in their makeshift bed. And maybe that internationally wanted criminal was actually her childhood best friend Kaito, who she actually liked more than just a simple friend. He'd always her best friend but she'd love to kiss him and cuddle with him. She'd love to tell him her secrets and let him protect her now and then. She'd love to hug him right now, even more so since he was Kaito right now and she hated it because in reality he wasn't. He was Kid in disguise as Kaito and he made her feel things she wasn't ready to feel for a criminal she was supposed to hate.

Turning her head away from him, she scoffed. "Don't look at me like that with his face."

"Why? How am I looking at you?"

Aoko closed her eyes and pinched her nose. "As if there could be something else."

"Eh? Something else? What else? Where? You are not making much sense, Nakamori-san."

Aoko pouted and would have turned away from him but given that he was lying on her left side and her right side was pretty messed up, she could only lie on her back or on her left side and yeah, she was a little pissed right now. Couldn't he just stop playing with her? Sure, he'd been tame for the most part but couldn't he stay like that for a little longer?"

"I think there are worse ways to spend Christmas, though." She said after a while of comfortable silence.

"How so?"

"I still remember how I would spend holidays with Kaito and his mom because Otou-san was always busy. Later, I held parties with friends because somehow I knew that Otou-san wouldn't be there and right now, if Otou-san hadn't taken me along, I'd be sitting in the living room and staring into the darkness, because lately Kaito doesn't have any more time, either. So this is actually much better than what I could have anticipated. Besides, even if you hadn't left Otou-san in Tokyo and we somehow made it to Sapporo, I highly doubt I'd be anywhere but in the hotel room because Otou-san would be celebrating with his squad or maybe already doing all the paper works – who knows."

She wondered why she told him all that but maybe she needed to. She had bottled it up for quite some time and it had been bothering her. Although, she didn't tell him that she basically felt left alone and lonely because all of them were leaving her behind, she was sure, he still got the message. Being here with him, with someone and not alone, being cared for and taken care of, it actually felt nice and she felt warmed than she'd felt for a very long time now. She'd still anytime prefer spending time with her father than with Kid but beggars can't be choosers.

Taking out the pocket watch from Kaito that she had kept on her, she opened it and regarded it with a somber look. She still wondered why he'd give her something like that.

She turned back to Kid and showed it to him. "Is it real?" Maybe it was futile to ask the one who actually got it for her, unless she was wrong about it, but he wouldn't lie to her, now would he? He had no reason to lie to her because even if he got a fake for her, she'd still treasure it and she hoped he knew as much.

"May I look?" It surprised her a little that Kid asked instead of just took like usually. After a moment, she gave him the watch and watched him examine it carefully.

"Yeah, looks real enough to me. Fakes are usually too clean, too perfect but this one isn't. Where did you get it?"

"Kaito gave it to me as a Christmas present. He didn't have to, that baka. But I still like it." But she usually like what Kaito got her, be it flowers or fireworks. He simply never ceased to amaze her.

"Then let me add something as an apology."

Aoko gaped in wonder as there was suddenly a necklace woven through the watch. "N-no. It's alright. You don't have to." He was a magician through and through and lately she'd seen too little of it. Still, she shook her hands in order to keep the necklace but he didn't listen and suddenly the necklace with the watch was around her neck. She had wanted to buy one to be able to wear it like that but was it ok, if she wore a necklace one Kaitou Kid gave her?

"But I'd like you to have it."

"Is this some kind of love confession?" She asked confused and scared, because Kaitou Kid? Falling in love with her? Not possible and yet why did he give her something?

But Kid only grinned playfully and winked. "That's a secret."

She didn't like how her heart was beating wildly in her chest and the warmth spreading in her body? Nope. Not good, at all.

Still grinning, he stretched to pick up a glass. "You're all red. Would you like to drink something?"

That bastard knew exactly how flustered he got her and he enjoyed every second of it. Only he didn't know that she felt attracted to his soft side and not the show-off, even though she had to admit that she didn't dislike that side, either. Still, she was no rabid fan and he better knew that.

Taking the glass, because drinking was important, she gulped it all down and got comfortable again. She was tired and maybe the world would be much brighter the next day.

Kaito couldn't sleep a second the whole night. He wondered if he'd looked for her outside the train if he hadn't known she was there. She had screamed and he had heard her, but actually it wasn't much louder than their talk before because the train was loud and the storm had been raging and there was no way anyone inside the train would have heard her.

She would have died.

He still shuddered just thinking about how close to death she had gotten that day. And had he been just a second too late, she'd not be right now.

It terrified him – a life without her was unimaginable even when it was hard right now to be close to her because it was too dangerous. This didn't mean that he could spend time with her as Kid because that actually got her in more danger than his real self but he couldn't stay away, either. She was like a magnet and if she was the positive then he was the negative and she was pulling at him, keeping him at her side all the time.

He'd put a receiver inside the watch and through that was able to hear when that douchebag was annoying her, as well when the first explosion went off. It was also a tracker and he was glad she had it on her. He actually only gave her the watch because he needed to know what was going on with her and since she wouldn't tell him, he needed to find out the dirty way, even if he risked her finding out and hating him for it. But today, it saved her life and he couldn't be more grateful.

Watching her sleep like that, he couldn't keep his hands to himself. Her face was bruised so badly and he knew she must be in a lot of pain, he'd never seen such black bruises before. He saw that she was breathing, just like when he was carrying her and she had fallen unresponsive, he had freaked out, thinking she had died on him when all she did was pass out. Still, it freaked him out even now and he couldn't even blink in fear he'd miss when she stopped breathing and thus, died after all.

The shock was ingrained deeply in him, having already lost someone he held dear, he couldn't allow to lose her, too. It shook him so much he couldn't even bring forth his sassy attitude he usually had with her.

That was why he was checking her pulse every other second even if he saw her breathe but what if his eyes tricked him? He couldn't even trust them right now. No. As long as her skin was warm and her heart beating inside his chest and as long as he could touch her face and feel her pulse beneath his fingertips, he could rest at ease but also only then.

Another long ass chapter, I hope you guys don't mind?

Thank you for all the reviews, they actually motivated me to update faster :D Hopefully you liked this chapter and look forward to the next chapter - there will be some New Year's action and hey, will we meet with the BO?

Reviews make the author infinitely happy and definitely update faster.