5: Crows, Bad Drivers Make

Shinichi cursed as he ran for his life. Trust him to get caught up in a murder case while under the affects of a temporary antidote and then run into some low level Black Organization members.

The nondescript black van squealed as it slid around the corner at high speeds. There was no way he'd be able to outrun them on foot. He could practically feel the heat from the engine as the car bore down on him. He grit his teeth expecting pain any second. Instead there was a bright flash of light behind him and he found himself being tackled to the side.

He hit the ground in a roll hearing the thump of his body on the pavement, but not feeling it. There was a second louder thump and a pained grunt half a second after and someone else landed heavily next to him. The loudest sound however, was that of the Black Organization goons crashing into one of the ally's brick walls with a horrible crunching noise.

Shinichi forced himself to his hands and knees and nudged his rescuer. "Get up! They might be knocked out, but if they're not they'll be on us in minutes, we need to go or they'll kill us!"

"Nng…" the other moaned, slowly pushing himself up. There was a sound from the car and Shinichi startled, grabbing the other under the arms and hauling him up. The man hissed, but did not complain. Slinging one arm over his shoulder, Shinichi helped take some of the man's weight and together they limped off into the dark.

"How badly are you hurt?" Shinichi asked once they had gotten a couple blocks away. The man winced, "not as badly as it could have been", he said, "I…" he paused to consider, "have a fractured tibia, broken wrist, maybe a couple broken ribs, and will definitely be sore tomorrow." Shinichi scowled at the other's flippant response. "I'm taking that to mean contusions and possible lacerations." The man chuckled, "sure, if you want to get into medical terminology." Frowning, Shinichi wondered why he was taking this man's word on what his injuries were.

They hobbled a while longer when suddenly the man pulled Shinichi sideways, "this way." Without a word, Shinichi allowed himself to be guided down another ally, through a back door, and up some staircases. Pulling a key from his pocket, the man unlocked a door and led Shinichi into a rundown hotel room.

"Nice." Shinichi commented, glancing around at the pealing wallpaper and rough wooden floor. Laughing again, the man sat down on the bed. "I'll admit I've had far nicer than this too." He said, "but this was the closest hotel to my… place of employment… that doesn't ask questions when being paid in cash for only a single night." Alarms went off in Shinichi's head, something about the man's wording.

Shinichi flicked on the lights and saw, for the first time, the one who had jumped to his rescue. He appeared to be an average man with casual clothes, dark hair and a mustache, and dark smiling eyes. However, with the light it became obvious that none of this was true. The skin on the face had a deep cut on the left side from which dribbled a small amount of blood and was mutilated where the man's face had been scraped on the pavement. Instead of acting like skin, the 'wounded' areas sagged loosely.

In a practiced move, the man reached up and pulled. The latex mask pulled away and KID grinned out at him, having somehow put his monocle on before Shinichi caught a good glimpse of his face. There was still a small cut going vertically along his cheek where the mask had been deeply cut.

Shinichi gaped as KID examined his face in a hand mirror. "I am immensely glad I was wearing a mask… otherwise I would have had to explain much worse scrapes to my mom… plus face injuries are so hard to conceal."

"K-KID!" Shinichi finally stuttered. "Yes tantei-kun?" KID asked innocently. "What the hell are you doing here?" KID's face warped into one of innocent confusion, "me? Well, I was taking a midnight stroll and admiring some modern architecture when I saw a favorite critic of mine in distress, so like a knight out to save a damsel, I swooped into action."

Shinichi growled, then sighed, "well I guess letting you go this once is payment enough for you saving my life." He bent over and examined the cut on KID's cheek despite the magician's discomfort at the close proximity. "Does this hurt?" KID huffed, "it certainly doesn't tickle, but I'm far more concerned about my wrist."

Shinichi nodded agreement and, before the thief could protest, took it in his hands. KID hissed through his teeth. "Sorry" Shinichi mumbled, he knew very well that having healthy hands was paramount to a magician's tricks. Carefully, he felt the thief's swollen arm. "Definitely broken", he agreed, "I'd recommend going to a clinic for this one, but I'll splint it for now."

Surprisingly, KID remained silent as Shinichi fussed over his various scrapes, to the point where Shinichi forgot who it was he was treating. "It would be best if you just took your shirt off so I can check your ribs.' Shinichi said with a decisive nod. KID gave a wry grin, "only so long as you don't try to later identify me by my birthmarks or… other… distinguishing features. "Detective's honor." Shinichi replied.

Hesitantly, KID pulled his disguise's t-shirt off. His left side was a lovely shade of blue against his pale skin, but Shinichi found himself not looking at that, but the scars. Two nearly parallel bullet grazes stretched along his arm and another couple that were more jagged looked like results of various hang-glider crashes. Most worrying was the vaguely star shaped one over his heart. KID's expression was neutral, "when you get shot at as often as I, you're bound to get hit."

"What is this from?" Shinichi asked. KID chuckled mirthlessly, "The Blue Birthday gem. It was in my breast pocket when Sna - one of my crows shot me off a building. Fortunately it saved my life; unfortunately it left its own mark. Now, that's enough talk over depressing things, if we continue at this rate I'll reveal all my secrets and then what kind of a magician would I be?"

Lost in thought, Shinichi automatically wrapped KID's ribs. He didn't even notice KID redress into a different disguise in record time until a darkly dressed teenager in a black baseball cap tapped his shoulder. "Oi Kudo, if you stay here isn't your Ran-chan going to worry, or are you permanently cured now?"

"Crap!" Shinichi shouted, jumping into action. "The cure will run out in an hour! I've got to get home!" He raced out the door, leaving the bemused moonlight magician alone. Shrugging, Kaitou KID limped out after him, already making plans to see a doctor and reschedule the heist he'd been planning when he detoured to help the modern Sherlock Holmes. The thought made him frown, so tantei-kun has his own crows to deal with… interesting.