-FIRSTS-
Disclaimer: The works of Detective Conan and Magic Kaito belongs to Gosho Aoyama-sensei.
Warning: KaiShin relationship.
A/N: Please don't kill me.
First Danger
Kaito ran as fast as he could, dodging the stray patrol that managed to spot him during his escape. It was purely bad luck to have such an encounter, and it definitely had nothing to do with Kaito's skills as a phantom thief. At the back of his mind though, he could hear the imaginary voice of his detective admonishing him for his inattention.
Kaito threw down another smoke bomb as he rounded another corner. As much as he wanted to use the sleeping pallets, he refrained from the action. Letting them keep their consciousness would help them to escape once that timer hits zero, which would most likely go off in a minute or so by Kaito's guess. It also meant he had to make a mad dash to his chosen exit, the time-honoured tradition of escape via hang-glider. He packed the incognito version of the hang-glider with him today instead of his trademark white. It was meant to be used as an emergency-only, and this current predicament surely counts as an emergency.
There was a series of coughing from behind him, possibly through inhalation. Kaito made sure to hold his breath for this particular concoction of smoke had chilli pepper extract in it, causing irritation of the throat and watery eyes. It was similar to a pepper spray, only more potent. Seeing as his general chasers (i.e. Task Force) were nearly all immune to the normal pepper sprays, Kaito had to create more inventive versions of it. He also had a stink version of the smoke bombs and one that causes strange hallucination (he rarely used that one, reserving them for his other chasers). He dared to glance behind to see a still shadow within the mist of smoke, but he kept his fast pace as he ran up the staircase. Kaito took care to actually open several of the doors leading to other floors as he ascended the staircase, to create a distraction and to look as though he escaped through the lower floors when in fact he was aiming for the roof.
He made swift work of the lock baring his rooftop escape, opening and closing the steel doors without a single sound or dislodging a single speck of dust on the ground. However, he could not let himself relax just yet even as he neared to his point of escape. Fiddling with his clothes, he managed to unfurl out the hang-glider and secured the struts into place. He tested for wind direction, thanking his patron goddess that the weather was amiable for a flight. The building was lower than Kaito was normally used to but he could make do with the low altitude. His only concern was the closeness to nearby buildings, and not being able to catch the updraft caused by the change in air temperature.
He slowly stepped up to his launching point, letting himself have a final look towards the doorway just in case, before stepping off the building. Unfortunately, the door chose the exact moment to slam open, causing a ruckus, and pot-shots were taken towards his previous location. He felt searing heat on his shoulders and he knew his hang-glider was compromised. Kaito's glider descended rather gracelessly as he lost control. Kaito locked his jaws as he rummaged about his pocket for his card gun. He managed to fire it off towards one of the opened windows, the hook securing itself onto a ledge, before he disengaged his hang-glider. The black glider fell swiftly without Kaito's added control, twirling in the air before crashing onto the hard concrete.
Kaito's hold on the card gun jerked on his shoulders, causing a groan to emit from his throat. He could feel the strain placed onto his shoulder as he climbed up, the wire cutting into his hands more than usual. He managed to heave himself over the ledge and allowed a minute of resting. The room was too silent, only to suggest that a majority of the people have evacuated the building, leaving the more expandable agents to comb the interiors for traces of Kaito. Glancing at his watch, he guessed he had less than a minute left and it was not enough time for the other escape.
"Improv time." Kaito glanced out the window he just climbed through. Three storeys up without any pipes to scale down nor any form of tree, shrub, or foliage to cushion his fall, his only option left was to try and find a window overlooking the waterways that were not barred with iron even though he was quite sure Shinichi had left the pick-up location now that the time has passed.
Opening the first door he saw in the corridor, Kaito was elated to find an open window overlooking the waterways. There was not much time to lose as he searches around for a place to secure his line. Not having any choice, he chose the heavy cabinet by the corner and tied his line around the leg. Giving the line an experimental tug and placing all his weight behind it, Kaito saw very little movement with the cabinet. Deciding it was now or never, walked over to the window to secure the line around his own waist before his climb out the window.
Two hand holds down and all hell broke loose.
There was a loud eruption from the building, followed by fire spouting from the windows nearby. Whatever the bomb was, Kaito was sure they put accelerant into the mix to have caused such a large explosion, or that there could have been multiple bombs. He could feel the heat on his skin as fire burned too close for comfort. Kaito quickened his pace and instead of the careful climb, he let himself slide down the wire, all the while ignoring the burn on his hand. Though, several seconds later, a second explosion ruptured many of the window frames. Kaito watched in morbid fascination as the metallic frame came closer towards him. He had no way of escaping as jumping down into the cold waters below at such a height would result in more injuries that would hinder his escape. He clung onto the wire as best he could, flattening himself to the side of the wall to avoid the falling debris.
However, his efforts were in vain for the metallic frame struck him on the head, causing him to lose grip from the momentum as he tumbled down into the dark, cold, waters below. Faintly, he heard another explosion and the roaring of flames before he hit the water's surface. More debris fell as he tries to surface for air but this time, instead of a metallic frame, it was fragments of cement and concrete. The rubble rain caused the water to become more turbulent, stirring up the silt and mud from below. Directionality was lost on Kaito as he floundered about the water. He reached out what he assumes to be the topside but was suddenly struck by concrete and steel rebars. He let out a voiceless cry, losing precious oxygen in the process, when he felt the contact of the heavy object on his wrist. The debris managed to hook one of its rebar onto Kaito's clothing, dragging him downwards into the murky waters. Kaito struggled valiantly to create a larger tear to allow the steel bar to pass through the material, but the water was hindering and the lack of oxygen in his lungs was causing him to lose the little strength he had left. Just as he managed to free himself of one obstacle, another came in the form of a large cluster of debris. In the back of his mind, Kaito knew The Organisation was removing all forms of evidence of their habitation from the building, thus the large explosion that would draw in crowds but leave little physical signs of the building having ever existed.
He floundered underwater, trying his best to avoid the larger pieces and let the smaller ones hit him with bearable pain. As he thought he was cleared of the debris, for how much concrete can a single building be consist of, the largest piece came unsuspectingly atop Kaito. There was no where he could hide when it struck him first on the head then grazing his side. Thankfully it had not resulted in him trapped beneath the rather large concrete slab but its fractured edges and exposed steel left nasty gashes along the side of his face and had probably dislocated his shoulder along with tearing skin along the whole of his left body and leg. Kaito feared this might be the end as he struggled to regain his senses but in between the darkening vision and blaring pain, Kaito eventually submitted to the depths of oblivion even as he felt himself floating in the water and abruptly coming to a stop.
-TBC-
