44: Aversion to Alcohol
He'd been a thief for as long as he could remember. His talents had been directed from a young age to be the best asset he could be. He had to be the best thief and he had to be loyal.
So long as he was loyal and useful as a thief, they would only give him targets that needed to be stolen. They wouldn't ask him to make use of the other things they'd taught him: delicate points on the human body, where you stab to make it hurt most, where to hit for an instant death, and where to hit to drag it out to an agonizing eternity.
He was the best thief.
But he wasn't loyal.
If they ever found out… he'd be dead.
They thought he'd forgotten, that he'd been too young to remember, but he did. He remembered his father. He remembered his smile and laugh, his gentle instruction, the games they played. He also remembered what they did to him and he wouldn't forgive them.
~o0o~
Mimosa sighed, his skin crawling as he slipped on the white suit, cape, and top hat. This was Kaitou KID's uniform, but he wasn't KID. KID had died with the great magician Kuroba Toichi and his son. Mimosa really didn't have the right to wear this suit, but if he was to be the greatest thief in the world then he had to look the part.
No pathetic thief dressed in black that hid from his crimes in the shadows.
Mimosa wore white and stood in the spotlight so his title as the best was undeniable. He was flamboyant and bold. He lived up to the name Kaitou KID.
But he couldn't accept it because he didn't deserve it.
Mimosa plastered a brittle grin on his face; he knew it was so ironclad that nobody else could tell how close it was to shattering. That was the poker face, the expression you made when you couldn't let anyone know how broken and lost you were.
With a light hop he was falling, off the edge of the building towards the ground. Death would be quick, the seconds before impact ticking away, but with a press of a button Mimosa's wings unfurled and he was carried away from such an abrupt end.
Another night, another moon, another target, only to return to his prison when it was over.
Nothing would change.
…
There was a boy on the roof.
Mimosa landed anyway. Tonight was just a test-run anyway to make the police expend resources and to hold up his persona. The inclusion of such a young child wouldn't be detrimental to the overall plan.
"Hey boy." Mimosa called confidently, "what are you doing in a place like this?"
The kid turned and deftly shot off a firecracker. "Fireworks!" He said calmly, as though not speaking to a criminal, even one as generally harmless as KID was reputed to be.
Mimosa felt the stirring of actual excitement as police helicopters approached, drawn in by the small explosive. The boy's childish exclamation of that same occurrence didn't obscure his true intelligence from Mimosa's eyes. "You're no ordinary brat." He replied, "who are you?"
The boy turned, his eyes sharp behind their glasses and a victorious smirk on his face. "I'm Edogawa Conan, a detective. Shouldn't you be worried, Kaitou KID-san? The helicopters are fast approaching."
Mimosa smirked, ignoring the discomfort that came with being called that name. As if it would be so easy to catch a master thief like he! "Hmm…" he considered, deciding to show off a little so as not to be underestimated in the future. Unhurriedly, the thief pulled out a radio and effortlessly changed his voice several times to further expedite the approaching cops, reveling in this so-called detective's shock. "Satisfied, tantei-kun?" He asked with amusement.
The boy still hadn't responded by the time Nakamori-keibu and other members of the Kaitou KID Taskforce appeared.
"My, my, you sure move fast Inspector." Mimosa jeered.
"Ha!" Nakamori boasted, "we were already in place, having deciphered your riddle. All the hotel entrances have been cordoned off; I didn't expect you to fly directly to this roof, though. Regardless! Give up! There's nowhere for you to run!"
Mimosa sighed internally, "I have no intention of going after the Black Star tonight. Didn't I make it clear at the top of my notice? 'April Fool' this was all a joke."
His glider sprang open with a click and he dropped a flash bomb before the cops' wandering hands could grasp him and ruin his next trick. "A thief is an artist, taking his prey in style. You're merely a critic following in my steps, little detective." He shot off characteristic parting words, dropped his next heist notice, and disappeared among the crowd of police uniforms.
"Try and keep up, watch carefully." Mimosa murmured. He frowned as his thoughts turned to his report to the Boss. "Hmm… a kid isn't important enough to mention…" he grumbled, "so long as he doesn't interfere with my job."
The fact that the kid did actually interfere later, stopping him from claiming the Black Star still didn't end up causing Edogawa Conan to be mentioned in Mimosa's report. He'd already checked the prize for Pandora out of habit and didn't really need or want to keep it just to return it later. So really, tantei-kun or not his objective was still completed.
Mimosa tried to convince himself that he wasn't trying to protect the boy. Edogawa was too young to get involved with Mimosa's crowd. He could only be about the age Mimosa himself had been….
~o0o~
The next heist he held where Mimosa met the Edogawa kid as a rival was a challenge by Suzuki. Honestly he'd tried to avoid the overly perceptive child, but the small detective still managed to catch on and hide in the side cart of his escape bike.
For an instant the thief had felt his heart stop, but he realized that despite the scare he still had the advantage. If letting the boy state out all his deductions stalled for more planning time, well… all the better. The child's intellect was as frightening as the veiled praise of his magician skills was gratifying.
Though… what right minded adult gives a child an anesthetic dart-watch? With the trouble tantei-kun was liable to fall into it made sense, but at the same time… he was a dangerous boy.
It was far harder to cover up the fact that he was nearly blown up in his next report, let alone the fact that it was the fault of a seven year old. If anyone else found out that a kid so young had given him trouble he'd never hear the end of it. He was lucky that his… colleagues took the newspaper reports to be over-exaggerations of the actual events, it helped that as a minor, Edogawa's name was kept out of the official story.
~o0o~
Mimosa cursed Edogawa and his entourage of friends vehemently. Didn't they comprehend the meaning of 'over their heads'? Not only was this old mansion a labyrinth of traps and riddles, but it was also infested with poisonous spiders and there was a murderer loose!
The thief grimaced. He'd already checked the gem at the bottom of the pond. Being assaulted by fish and soaked once was bad enough. He could just leave, he really should. However, they were all just children… he really did have a soft spot for children (even as inadvisable as the weakness was in his line of work).
A quick disguise later and he settled down to wait. For now those bumbling treasure hunters would keep them safe, but once the chance for getting the treasure drew near the kids would be in danger. Nobody had to know he'd protected them….
The child detective let him go.
Mimosa didn't understand it. He was a criminal, even if tantei-kun didn't know he was a member of a vast criminal organization, he was KID the phantom thief. Any interaction with a detective should have led to arrest no matter the circumstances, at least if Edogawa was anything like the English detective, Hakuba.
Instead he was allowed to flee unhindered for nothing more than saving the 'Genta' boy from harm.
Was this… was this respect?
Certainly, Mimosa held tantei-kun's mind, morals, and skills in high esteem, especially for one so young. Was the feeling reciprocated?
A pleasantly warm sensation filled the magician's chest. It made him want to smile genuinely. Did the kid actually like him?
Mimosa quickly shot the idea down. Edogawa liked Kaitou KID. He wouldn't-didn't- couldn't possibly like 'Mimosa'.
~o0o~
During their next encounter the young detective cleared KID's name, proving that he was framed for the murder of the older artist.
Mimosa was just glad he wouldn't have a crime he didn't commit on his ledger. He almost wished the crimes he had committed were. Maybe if someone knew all that he'd done he could repent and find forgiveness.
Then again, he didn't deserve forgiveness.
He also wouldn't forgive the brat for hitting him with that hellish soccer ball. The watch was bad enough, but super-kick shoes and rib-breaking soccer balls on top of that was overkill.
~o0o~
The dynamic of Mimosa's love-hate relationship with the Edogawa kid changed again when he helped rescue Suzuki Jirokichi's dog, Lupin, from the world's supposed 'strongest safe'.
Once again he was simply allowed to leave at his own pace. After some banter, playing with the grateful hound, and teasing… he flew away, once again with that pleasant feeling invading his body.
Was this happiness? He'd been friendly with someone for a change, hadn't been rebuffed, and despite his initial wariness hadn't been acted against. Was this what friends were like?
Mimosa scolded himself for the thought. Thieves and detectives couldn't be friends. Black Organization members didn't have friends. Friends were detrimental to loyalty, even someone like him with no real loyalty to speak of. Friends were something that could be used against you.
Still, the desire persisted.
…
He was called to the boss and chastised. His grin was more a bearing of teeth than actual show of amusement. At least they were only annoyed that there was nothing of interest in Suzuki's vault and not for more… dangerously sentimental reasons.
~o0o~
He had thought that finding out Edogawa Conan was really Kudo Shinichi shrunken to a child would change his view of the boy.
It didn't.
No matter Conan's true age, he didn't deserve what the Black Organization would do to him. Especially as someone the Organization had supposedly killed. If they found out he was alive, they would torture him to find out why he still lived, they would break him, if they were merciful they'd eventually kill him, if they weren't they'd twist him into one of their merciless agents.
Shinichi's intelligence and thirst for justice, gone.
The idea was repulsive to him, so Mimosa kept quiet.
The two kept running into each other at KID's heist, sometimes they worked together to defeat a greater threat and sometimes they were just rivals. It was challenging and it was fun. Mimosa could almost begin to believe that he deserved the name Kaitou KID until reality would crash back in and he'd remember that 'KID' was all just an act to cover the movement of the organization. A cover for what he did for them.
"Save me." He whispered at his rival's back and left before he could see if the detective had heard.
~o0o~
Then there was the event on the train.
He had suspected, since learning Conan's true identity, that the serious little strawberry blond girl was more than she seemed. It was only a momentary surprise, easily covered by his poker face, to have his suspicions confirmed.
Haibara Ai was Sherry, the scientist who had been working (against her knowledge) on a synthetic recreation of Pandora's tears.
The chilling realization that tantei-kun was asking him to actively make a move against the very organization that had its clawed hold on his life sent Mimosa spiraling into terror. Conan didn't know the depth of what he'd asked, the risk. Mimosa wouldn't be able to hide this traitorous act. Someone would find out eventually and then the relative control he'd managed to maintain would be gone. They'd hunt him down and either force him into a role he didn't want to take or they'd kill him.
It was Sherry's life or his own.
Looking into Conan's hope filled face, Mimosa couldn't say no. After all, he was just a thief who couldn't even avenge his father's murder, but Sherry was the one who could cure Shinichi and give him back his life. Mimosa had no life to look forward to, but if he did this… Sherry would be free and Shinichi could be salvaged.
If the tear that ran from Mimosa's eye shocked Conan, he didn't ask anything more than a confused, "KID?"
Mimosa shook his head, wiping it away and standing with a watery laugh. "I'm not KID, tantei-kun. I hope to meet you again. If I see you again… I'll tell you my name." He walked away steadily. He had an award-winning role to play with lives in the balance.
After the explosion, flying away from the scene, Mimosa stoically let the tears flow. He had things to prepare. He had to be ready for when they came.
This marked the end of the show, his curtain call.
…
It was Vermouth who accosted him at his apartment nearly half a week after the incident. Seething, she slammed him to the wall, pinning him with an iron grip on his collar. "Why did you do it?"
Mimosa cursed his youth and lithe figure; at this moment it was a detriment to be so small and light. "Do what?" He hissed back, the fires of rebellion alight in his eyes.
Vermouth slammed him down a second time, "you know what!"
Mimosa smirked, "I wasn't involved with the explosion on the train. I was waiting and preparing for my own job, which was interfered with. I really thought the big boss would be better at organizing his subordinates so that their missions didn't overlap so grievously."
The slap he received was worth it.
"You let Sherry get away! You helped her get away!" Vermouth growled.
Mimosa grinned, "Here I thought Sherry was dead, blown up, gone for good."
"I know about Haibara Ai." Vermouth growled.
Mimosa scowled, "she gave me hope for myself, are you here to kill me for my insubordination? If that's your plan you should know that I will take you with me in order to protect Sherry's secret."
The blond woman cursed, "why are you so… like your father."
Mimosa's smile melted away, rage coiling in his belly, stone-like in its density. "Don't speak of him."
"Why?" Vermouth shot back, "Because he refused to cooperate even if it meant death? Because he was a fool who abandoned his family unnecessarily? Because he was a pathetic coward of a thief like you?"
Mimosa jerked his hips, writhing out of her hold, before knocking her legs out from under her and dragging her to the floor. "Because he was a good man!" Mimosa growled, "he died to protect me as best he could. He was stolen away by you bastards! I hate you! Being one of you shames his memory and the meaning behind all that he taught!"
Vermouth's elbow slammed into Mimosa's nose, breaking it and causing his eyes to water, but he didn't release his hold. Vermouth snarled, scratching at his arms and striking at his ribs. Her final resort was to pull out the handgun she carried hidden under her jacket.
Bang!
Mimosa gasped as Vermouth dug her fingers into the new bullet wound in his side, the pain forcing him to let go.
She stood, keeping him subdued with the threat of the handgun she still held. Mimosa scrambled away, breathing heavily and smearing blood on the floor. He glared at her, pressing a hand to the injury.
"So you do remember him and that is how you truly feel", Vermouth muttered emotionlessly.
Mimosa smirked, pulling out a small remote: a dead-man's switch.
"You've rigged the building." The assassin assessed with an almost proud grin. "You're willing to die for this?"
Mimosa chuckled, "I am my father's son."
Vermouth smiled dryly and tucked her gun back into her jacket. "Go then. I'll cover your tracks."
The thief gaped, "what?"
"I have a soft spot for that little detective too." Vermouth revealed. "There will come a time when he will need allies, so go. I won't chase after Sherry any longer either."
Stumbling to his feet, Mimosa slung a prepared backpack over his shoulders, cast Vermouth a sharp glance, and vanished out the door. He was glad his organization uniform was black or the blood dripping down his torso would have been far more noticeable and alarming.
Ducking into alleys and checking for followers, even doubling back a few times, it took Mimosa a couple hours to arrive at the house he'd thought would be the safest for him to appear at. He'd lost a good amount of blood by that point and his vision blurred and distorted strangely at the edges as he staggered up the walkway of Hakase Agasa Hiroshi's house.
The door creaked open after a couple knocks.
Sherry herself peaked out at him warily, though Conan's glinting glasses were visible from the shadows behind her.
Mimosa smiled, "ah… Sherry-san, they think you're dead. Vermouth sends her regards and has vowed to desist in her attempts against your life."
Ai's eyes were wide, "who are you?" She asked severely.
Mimosa smirked, "I told tantei-kun I'd tell him when next I saw him." He looked farther in to meet the shrunken detective's eyes, "I am Mimosa, a victim of the organization's cruelty." At their sharp inhales, Mimosa dropped to his knees smiling listlessly. "Yeah. I wouldn't trust me either." His words slurred and he collapsed, blood loss finally catching up to him. He blinked hazily up at the two false children, "ah… can I be free now too? I'm… tired…."
…
Mimosa groaned, waking slowly through a pounding head and the extreme soreness permeating his chest and side. He was lying on a futon in the corner of a lab with a soft blanket stretched out over his body. A box of hastily rolled bandages sat by his head and he could feel the bandages wrapping his wound shifting slightly with each breath.
Someone had seen to his health. It felt nice; being cared for.
Curling up more with a smile on his face, Mimosa drifted off again.
He woke again at a gentle, but persistent nudging against his foot. "Wake up KID-san." Sherry said. "I need to rewrap your shoulder and you should eat and drink."
Mimosa sat up with a barely audible moan and swiped at his eyes. "My name is Mimosa, not KID", he grumbled, but obligingly let the blanket fall away so she could access the bandages. He eyed Ai warily, uncomfortably unaware of her motives.
"Don't you have a real name?" Conan asked, standing aside to watch. "Mimosa is your code name: an alcoholic beverage made from a mixture of champagne and citrus juice. Kaitou KID appears to be more of a title, which I assume you inherited. You're far too young to be the first KID. "
Mimosa flinched, "Yeah. The first Kaitou KID was my father. The Organization murdered him and took me as a prize, training me to be their pet thief. KID is supposed to be a free agent, an untouchable unpredictable phantom… I don't deserve the title. My original name, before they started calling me Mimosa, was…" He frowned, thinking hard; searching through long lists of names he'd gone by to try and find what his birth name was. "It was something funny…" he muttered to himself, "I- it was ironic."
Absently he pulled KID's monocle out of his pocket and began rolling it across his knuckles. The pendant tapped against his thigh and he took up the charm to rub it between his fingers, the white clover bold against the black.
"Kuroba." Mimosa realized. "My last name was Kuroba and… my dad's name was Toichi. Like 'first thief' or something." He chuckled, "mom was Chikage, the Phantom Lady. 'Blood shadow', it suits her as an ex fear kaitou. Kaitou… you know… I believe they named me Kaito; with different spelling than 'phantom thief'." Mimosa grinned, "Kuroba Kaito. I like it."
"It suits you." Conan agreed.
"As does yours" Ai pointed out, "Mr. True One."
Mimosa withdrew, mentally berating himself. He'd just told a detective his name. That was wrong, right? But, was he even a thief now? He'd always been a thief and didn't really know what else to be. He'd impersonated people frequently, but did he even know how to be his own person? What and who was he?
"Kuroba?" Conan asked.
Mimosa looked up with a smile automatically in place, "yes tantei-kun?"
The detective flicked his forehead lightly with dissatisfaction. "Stop that. Stop hiding behind that façade of a smile."
Mimosa tried, but it only turned the smirk into more of a grimace.
Conan sighed, "Kuroba Kaito, what is your goal?"
Mimosa's smile came back full force to cover his insecurity. I have no idea.
Conan flicked him again, "be genuine please."
Mimosa's breathing picked up as he tried to simultaneously drop his masks and keep from crying, "I- I don't… I don't know who Kuroba Kaito is. I don't know who- who I am. For as long as I can remember I just wanted to escape them, but now I have and… I don't know who I am because for- I'm just a worthless thief."
"Not worthless" Conan corrected, "despite what you may feel, you are KID, and KID is compassionate and selfless for a thief. He is also a showman and entertainer, making his heists an awe-inspiring affair. He is intelligent, clever, and an amazing magician. Certainly not worthless."
"It doesn't really matter who you are" Ai added, "you're free to start a new life. You have a blank slate. The question shouldn't be 'who was I' or 'who am I', it should be 'who do I want to be?'"
Mimosa nodded, licking his lips nervously. "I want- I want to be like my father. I want to make people happy. I want to amaze them. I don't want anyone to get hurt anymore. I want- I think this would make me happy."
Conan grinned, "how about that then? Kuroba Kaito, magician extraordinaire."
"It has a nice ring to it." Ai agreed with a calm nod.
Mimosa's – Kaito's shoulders slumped and his brow furrowed, "so, just like that you'll both forgive me?"
Conan nodded, "they forced you into their fold, you resent them for it and repent for your crimes. You want to become better in your freedom. Why wouldn't we forgive you?"
Kaito sniffled, not bothering to try and fix his poker face. "Are- are you my friends then? Is this what friends are like?"
"Yes." Ai answered definitively. "We're your friends and we'll teach you everything you need or want to know about the subject."
Kaito engulfed both faux children in a hug, sobbing like a child himself.
~o0o~
Omake (After the fall of the organization and Shinichi's return):
Shinichi and Ai led Kaito through streets he used to find familiar. He stared up at the simple white-washed house with a mix of trepidation and longing. The nameplate proudly displayed the name 'Kuroba'.
"Excuse me, are you new around here?" A girl with long brown hair and blue eyes drew the trio's attention. "I'm Nakamori Aoko and this is Hakuba Saguru." She gestured to the tall blond-haired amber-eyed boy at her side."
"Tantei-san?" Kaito murmured in recognition.
Saguru frowned, "do I know you?"
Kaito swallowed, shrugging as he tried to avoid giving a definitive answer. "I'm… Kaito, er… Kuroba Kaito…" he stumbled over an introduction. "I used to live here?"
Aoko seemed to freeze in shock, but the blond detective moved forward, taking in Kaito's appearance and that of the near identical detective beside him. "Kaitou KID?" He exclaimed in incredulity, eyes narrowing.
Kaito shrank away, fidgeting with his hands as he tried to hide behind Shinichi.
"You're KID!" Saguru accused again.
Shinichi and Ai moved protectively in front of the thief. "So?" Ai asked daringly.
"So he is under arrest!" Saguru determined, laying a hand on Shinichi's shoulder to push him aside. He stopped, however, when Kaito flinched and looked down resignedly.
"Kaito was coerced into being KID after being kidnapped at a young age." Shinichi informed the half-Brit evenly. "He helped us dismantle the organization responsible after his escape a few months ago. We are trying to gently immerse him in civilian life so that he can adjust and become a proper member of society." The modern Holmes gently pulled Kaito closer for Hakuba's inspection.
"Are you really Kaito?" Aoko asked, her eyes shining wetly. She seemed to be in a state of disbelief.
Kaito nodded hesitantly, "yes. Did I know you?"
Aoko lunged for him, wrapping her arms around his tense shoulders. "We were friends!" She cried. "We met beneath the clock tower and you said 'I'm Kuroba Kaito, it's nice to meet you' and gave me a blue-"
"flower." Kaito finished, shell-shocked. He pushed her away and looked her over. "A-aoko?"
Her eyes lit up, "yes!"
Kaito smiled and flicked his fingers to make a blue flower appear.
Aoko's beaming smile was infectious as she accepted the token, "welcome home Kaito." She said happily.
Kaito smiled, glancing over his friends (plus Hakuba). He breathed shakily, "I'm home."
(I always wanted to see a Black Organization KID. I doubted that Snake would be very good at taking in and training an already skill asset, however, so I gave KID to Conan's organization who seem more elite. Plus, they tend to handle more of the undercover work, which this version of KID would be.)