23: Crime and Punishment

Kaitou KID was once named as such because of his light-hearted attitude, his tricks, traps, and pranks, the ability to mislead and confuse even the best task forces as though they were no more intelligent than children themselves. He had dazzled crowds and garnered fans who would chant his name in excitement for his magical heists. His riddles and puzzles had even drawn the attention of the greatest detectives in the world, and while they had proved it was possible to thwart his thefts, he was still as illusive and untouchable as ever. Bright white and shining in the darkness, KID was beheld as a non-violent phantom thief whose heists were more like games than actual crimes.

That all changed with the detonation of a bomb.

The explosion had taken the lives of both Nakamori Ginzo and his daughter Aoko, along with everyone else within a fifty-foot radius. Among the dead were Konosukii Jii and Kuroba Chikage, who had been staying up late in the living room of the Kuroba house, waiting for Chikage's son, Kaito to appear. Kaito only survived the blast due to his being in a hidden basement room. After treatment for severe burns, he vanished without a trace.

Afterward, the thief was still called Kaitou 1412, but the titles of Moonlight Magician and Modern Lupin had been stripped from him. He still wore white, but now it was a color of death. He was still called Kaitou KID, but now it was due to the innocent and childish expression he bore as he cheerfully shot his razor cards into his enemies as though he were still playing the same games as before. His eyes were lit with madness and he was met with only hate and fear.

The light faded from Snake's eyes and KID grinned at the thought. He pulled two dice from a pocket in his bloodstained suit and dropped them. They rolled, each landing so that a single dot marred their top-most faces. The thief laughed hysterically, "what a lucky role! I win!"

"Are you done?" Asked a tired voice. KID turned to his greatest opponent, "ah! Tantei-kun! Care to play a game? Perhaps chess?" Conan glared at him without any real heat, only pity. "What happened to you 1412?" KID pouted, "my name is Kaitou KID." Conan shook his head, "your name is Kuroba Kaito." KID hissed, "not now."

Conan sighed, "I've figured it out, your father's death, the explosion, the snipers in black…." KID laughed, "all those crows are dead, the last lies here." He waved a hand at Snake's mangled corpse. "Kaito" Conan said calmly, "I understand, but you need to stop." KID smirked, pulling his top hat and monocle away.

Kaito's face, revealed, was mottled and disfigured by harsh burn scars across the right side. "Do you really understand tantei-kun?" He asked mockingly, the milky eye, blinded by fire, made his mad stare even more frightful. "Your love still lives, she breathes, she laughs, she cries, she goes to school, and brightens your world simply by being there. Your father and mother, just a phone call away, live and breath, laugh and cry, and busy themselves in their travels because if you called they could return within hours. Your friends, those three little children and that shrunken girl, they live and breath, laugh and cry, and bear a future of innumerable possibilities." Kaito shuddered, grinning horrendously, "it's for them that I do this! They deserve to not fear the darkness like I did! They deserve to be safe! They deserve to never lose their loved ones! You deserve it too! That's why I can't stop!"

Conan sighed, "I understand, but there is a right way to bring peace. This is my only chance to make you see that, then the police will have authority to do whatever is necessary to stop you."

Kaito's eyes flared, "I don't care, they can't stop me either!" "Would you kill them?" Conan asked. Kaito opened his mouth to answer, "because if you do kill them you'll have taken fathers from children, husbands from wives, brothers from siblings, sons from mothers." Conan continued before Kaito could make a noise. Kaito's teeth clicked as he snapped his jaws shut, swallowing the 'yes' he'd been about to voice. "You'll have made more children like you, who live with the pain of having lost loved ones." Conan finished.

Kaito clenched his teeth; he would have done it. He would have killed them and taken them from their loved ones. Good people, people trying to uphold the law and protect others, people who would only have died because they were in his way and he was a thief. He was a thief who stole lives. He was a thie- no he was a murderer. Kaito's hands trembled and he looked down at them in surprise. For the first time he actually saw the blood.

He saw the blood and he was disgusted.

Kaito glanced back at Conan. He grimaced, "I don't… I don't have anyone. I'm a murderer… I'm a scoundrel… I'm not a dove, am I?" Conan shook his head, "you're not, but that doesn't mean you can't be one again. I'm offering you a chance." Kaito shook his head, "I can't, I don't deserve…" his card gun was in his hand again, his intent obvious. Conan didn't move to stop him.

"You always deserve a second chance, you were despairing and sick, but you can get better. If you try to pull that trigger though, I will be obligated to try and stop you. If you kill yourself and I fail to stop you, you will have made me your murderer because I pushed you to it and opened your eyes to your crimes." Conan closed his eyes, "I won't stop you if that's what you decide to do, but you will have made me a murder too."

The gun clattered to the floor and Conan opened his eyes. Kaito stood like a statue, his eyes closed now. He didn't react as the police, hidden within the area, cuffed him and led him away. He didn't react when they questioned him, beyond stating in a detached voice all that he had done and why in precise detail. He didn't defend himself or give opinions, only answered the questions. It was ruled temporary insanity brought on by grief and he was sent to a high-security mental ward for an indeterminable amount of time. Despite their efforts, he refused to ever open his eyes again.

(Every once in a while Conan would visit him and they would play chess. Kaito wouldn't open his eyes because he didn't want to see a world where he had failed Aoko and become a true criminal. He also didn't want to ever see the color clothes people were wearing because he didn't want to be reminded of all the men in black he'd killed.)