31: Sanctuary

Running for his life wasn't a new thing. Kuroba Kaito often ran from his friend's deadly mop and his alter ego, Kaitou KID, often faced down the barrels of guns and the threat of jail, a grin on his face no less. The difference was that daytime was Kaito's playground and nighttime was KID's domain, but right now… it was KID being chased and it was the middle of the day.

The magician's feet made barely a sound even as he ran full pelt through a labyrinth of allies. Heart pounding and in the midst of panic, it was lucky that silence was a habit. He wasn't supposed to be Kaito right now, but he certainly didn't feel like KID. Still, silence was good and speed was too. There was nowhere to hide. It was too bright. He should have waited for the cover of darkness, but he'd been cocky and careless.

The last time he'd been in Beika for a heist, KID had noticed men dressed in black enter a pub. What had really drawn the thief's attention, though, had been the routine glance the last one had thrown over his shoulder, making sure they weren't followed. If that wasn't suspicious behavior, Kaito didn't know what was. Unfortunately, Kaito hadn't been cautious enough in his investigations. Now, he was learning the hard way that the crows in Beika were a bit more aggressive than the crows in Ekoda were.

Case and point, they weren't afraid to give chase in the middle of the day.

Kaito bit back a curse, saving his breath for running instead. He knew he was naturally agile and fast, but he was still barely keeping ahead of his pursuers. And kami, he was lucky he'd gone with a full-face mask, because he'd lost his hat at the beginning of the chase. In the light, his face would have been fully exposed. Then his doom would have been certain because they would have been able to identify him.

To Kaito's left the wall exploded slightly, leaving a pockmark. Shit! They're shooting at me!

Kaito redoubled his efforts, fueled by adrenaline and fear. For a while it seemed as though he had pulled ahead. Then something impacted with his shoulder and nearly sent him sprawling. He scrambled to regain his balance and jolted when he realized how close they'd gotten during his missteps.

Kaito needed somewhere to hide, some way to disappear, without tipping them off on him being Kaitou KID. Problem was… he didn't have many safe houses in Beika, and the ones he did have weren't close.

There was one place he knew would be empty though.

Will a goal in mind, Kaito changed tactics. He still was fleeing, but now he needed to find a way to disappear. The best way to do that, would be to find a crowd. Hopefully these crows wouldn't shoot in a market place. They obviously wanted to remain covert, as proven by the silencers on their guns.

Kaito skidded around one corner, more bullets impacting at his feet, one grazing his calf as he leapt over a trash bin. Over the rushing of his pulse and the pounding of his heart, Kaito could hear the loud chattering voices of the target market street. Ducking another shot, Kaito sacrificed some of his precious lead by throwing another trash bin over his shoulder.

With the falling waste as a distraction, Kaito rounded the last corner and simultaneously changed his disguise. He easily mixed with the crowded street in a dark school uniform. Straightening his skirt, Kaito made sure that a charm ankle bracelet covered the shallow wound on his calf. Making a show of tying up his long blonde hair, Kaito discretely watched the ally he'd just exited.

The tall silver-haired man who'd been chasing him stopped at the mouth and scowled at the loss of his prey. His portly companion arrived shortly after, huffing from the long run. "He got away, aniki?" The taller man growled in reply and turned away, his long hair streaming behind him in contrast to his black trench coat. "Come Vodka, this must be reported" was all he said in a cold voice.

Kaito sighed in relief as the two left. As he worked through the crowds adrenaline rush began to fade and Kaito became aware of a pain in his shoulder and the burning of the cut on his leg. Clenching his teeth, Kaito took off at a run again.

His arm was screaming with agony and blood was dripping off his hand when Kaito finally stopped in front of the Kudo Mansion. Glancing around warily, Kaito made his way around to a more secluded area of the mansion's wall. Confident that there was nobody around to catch a peak under his skirt (this is why female disguises could be inconvenient), Kaito vaulted over the wall and landed with a roll in the yard on the other side. After that, breaking into the house was easy for the master thief.

As he had thought previously, the house was entirely abandoned. After all, Kudo Shinichi lived here, but currently Kudo Shinichi was Edogawa Conan, ward to the Mouris. There was a light layer of dust on everything.

Grimacing at how unsanitary it probably was, Kaito changed back into men's clothing and inspected the amount of blood on his disguise's school uniform. He was lucky it was a dark enough color that the blood didn't show through very much. He had more important things to worry about though. As the bathroom mirror revealed, he'd been very lucky: the bullet hadn't hit anything important. He was also unlucky: the bullet hadn't exited on the other side due to his lightweight bullet resistant vest.

Gagging himself and biting down in pain, Kaito carefully contorted his good arm over his shoulder to remove the bullet. If only Jii or his mother had been in town. Blinking rapidly to clear reflex tears, Kaito forced his hands to remain steady and dug the bullet out.

Despite his best attempts at keeping his poker face, Kaito's expression was stricken and pale by the time the bullet fell with an innocent 'clink' into the sink. Trembling, Kaito pressed a towel into the wound and fumbled for the medical thread and needle he had started keeping with him. It was distressing how often it came in handy.

A few minutes later the bullet wound was carefully stitched up and bandaged.

Kaito had even been paranoid enough to change his disguise. It was simple, but he'd slicked back his hair, tied a bandage around his head, and set a pair of rectangular, wire-rimmed glasses on his nose.

He cleaned up the bloody mess to the best of his ability and stood up. He instantly regretted the action when the blood rushed from his head. Kaito swayed as his vision darkened abruptly and grabbed onto the bathroom sink's counter to keep himself upright. His face felt strangely warm while the rest of him was in chills. The world faded out and a sudden weakness prompted Kaito to drop to one knee while he waited for the dizziness to fade.

The second time he stood, Kaito did so very slowly. With the way his muscles were protesting and his hands were shaking, he wasn't going to be going anywhere for a while. He was also exhausted.

Using the walls and furniture as aids, Kaito stumbled through the mansion. He didn't feel right claiming a bed as he was neither family nor guest, so he instead made a soft nest of blankets on the floor in the library. It was close enough to the front door to hear if anyone entered the house and nonrestrictive enough that he'd be able to move quickly if needed. A glass of water later, and Kaito was settling himself gratefully on the blankets.

He glanced at the wound close to his ankle. He'd completely forgotten about it when dealing with his shoulder. Luckily, the graze wasn't deep and had already stopped bleeding. Blinking drowsily, Kaito curled protectively around his right arm so as to not aggravate his shoulder and fell asleep.

~o0o~

"You're sure you saw someone climb the wall" Conan said again. Ai eyed him coldly, "I may not have your sharp 'detective eyes', but I am far from blind." She said dryly and pointed at the wall. "It was a girl in a school uniform, she got over the wall here, but has yet to leave." Conan inspected the area carefully, "any details you can remember will help, Haibara" he reminded her. Ai sighed, "she was favoring her right shoulder and had a nearly unnoticeable limp."

Conan dabbed at the pavement where a drop of what he was sure was blood had fallen. "She was running from someone, injured, but not a blunt wound, which likely rules out an abusive family or boyfriend. In fact, she's likely not from around here as she sought shelter in my empty house rather than at a friend's. Or she was trying to protect others, she felt threatened enough to vault a wall despite her injuries, so maybe she didn't want to get anyone else involved. However, that doesn't make sense… if she's not from around here she shouldn't have known my house would be empty and if she was being threatened, why didn't she call the police or for help?"

Ai rolled her eyes and shook her head, "well, I warned you that someone went into your house. I've got experiments to return to." She turned back towards the hakase's house. "If you get yourself killed I will be very displeased." The shrunken scientist called over her shoulder.

Conan sighed. Rationally, Haibara was right and the girl could be dangerous. Emotionally, however, the shrunken detective was curious and his conscience wouldn't allow him to walk away if there was an injured person possibly dying in his old house.

Giving in to the inevitable, Conan walked back around to the front of the house and entered through the gate. His key turned easily in the lock and Conan opened the door. The house was cold and unwelcoming, but he entered anyway and quietly began searching through each room for his uninvited guest.

He was nearing the library when he heard a soft 'thump'.

Instead of doing what any normal child would do, Conan ran and flung open the door, ducking instinctively as something flew over his head. Ignoring the projectile, the young detective's hand flew to his belt. He didn't dispense a soccer ball when he noticed the sickly looking young man leaning heavily against the wall. There was a pile of blankets the guy had obviously been resting in before he tried to escape. "You should sit down before you fall over" Conan remarked, as though there wasn't a gun being pointed at him.

Taking in the man's appearance, Conan noted that his shoulder was heavily bandaged. His shoulder, just like Haibara said for the girl! Conan realized. Taking a chance, he glanced behind himself. Sure enough, there was a playing card imbedded in the wall behind him.

Conan turned back to his guest and sighed when he saw that the man hadn't moved and was still in a position to flee. "Sit down KID." Conan ordered, "and tell me why you're in my house or I'll call the police."

Kaito smiled weakly and levered himself up only to drop back into his nest. "Shouldn't you be calling the police regardless." He commented softly, dropping his card gun unto his lap, but still watching the detective warily.

Conan closed the door behind himself and settled onto the couch. "I could: you are technically breaking and entering." Kaito snorted, "I didn't break anything while entering" he retorted. Conan chuckled, "I am, however, more than willing to let you claim sanctuary until I catch whoever did that to you." He offered, "they're obviously more dangerous than you."

"I think" Kaito said slowly, "that this would go over your head even if you weren't travel sized, tantei-kun."

Conan bristled, "why don't you tell me, then I'll decide whether I can handle it or not." Kaito shook his head, "if I tell you, you'll feel honor bound to help." Conan glowered at the magician, "then… give me one hint, it could have been someone I'll recognize." Kaito frowned, one hint…?

Just when Conan thought the other wasn't going to answer, KID spoke in a tone that gave Conan chills. "This is your one hint then." The thief said, but it was with the cold voice of someone the young detective knew all too well. He shuddered, eyes wide. "Gin." Conan whispered.

Kaito's eyes widened, "Gin?" He repeated.

Conan frowned, "Gin and Vodka, agents of the Black Organization and the ones who did this to me." He indicated his child-sized body. "They are cold blooded killers and I've been working to take them down for a while. They're too good at covering their tracks, but they've still been noticed. The FBI, CIA, and some others are also chasing them."

Kaito blinked rapidly as he considered this new information. He let out an aggrieved laugh. "Brilliant… I got them mixed up with a group I know." Conan looked at him curiously. "I've been going after a shadow syndicate of my own" Kaito explained, "they have a similar taste in style, but use animal names."

Conan hummed, "could be another branch of the Organization… I wouldn't believe that two organizations could exist together in such close proximity." "Regardless", Kaito muttered, waving his good arm shakily, "I guess I've got some information on the alcoholics, geez… it's a small world." The magician leaned back wearily.

When the magician's eyes closed, Conan approached in concern. KID blinked his eyes open again when the detective poked him. "Are you okay?" Conan asked. Kaito's lips twitched, "concerned, eh?" His head lolled to the side, "I lost a fair amount of blood, not my first time getting shot, but I'm tired. They chased me half across the bloody city." The magician's words started to slur.

The detective stood up abruptly, making Kaito focus on him again. "As you were then" Conan said, "I'll quiz you on everything you know later. I'll even make soup!" Kaito laughed and curled up on his side again, "sure, sure, tantei-kun."

Conan frowned as the magician fell asleep again. He really could make soup, KID looks like he needs it, and possibly find a trustworthy doctor. The detective grinned evilly as he went to make arrangements. He finally had a lead on the organization and KID's skills could be very useful. Perhaps a parley would be in order.

(I know nothing about medicine or surgeries, so don't assume I know how to deal with bullet wounds. For all I know, Kaito could have doomed himself and his arm. That said, I also know nothing about bullets or firearms in general or how well vests work. The only part of this that is accurate is the scene where Kaito nearly passes out from blood loss after standing up. Having low blood-pressure can be a pain, especially when one is an idiot who didn't drink enough water and almost faints. Key word being almost. It is beneath my pride to actually faint.)