Note: This one-shot is set after 'Kaitou Kid vs the Strongest Safe'. You'll probably want to watch that episode before reading if you haven't already, as this one-shot won't make much sense without some knowledge of what went down in that safe.

I'm also following the manga-verse for this one, so Kid doesn't know Conan's real identity and Conan has never seen Kid dress up as him before. Why? Well, you'll have to read and see …

In Which Kid is Cornered

Edogawa Conan was used to solving mysteries. He was a detective, after all, and piecing together the truth from a bread crumb trail of facts that other people saw as an impossible mess was what he did on a daily basis. It was just second nature. Unfortunately, the mysteries that he usually solved involved a corpse of some kind (be it burnt, bloodied or bloated), and that got old after a while. There was only so much a guy could take of looking at cold, lifeless things without starting to feel like some Shinigami-in-training. He liked mysteries, thank you very much. He did not like dead bodies.

In any case, that was why Conan had started taking more interest in Kid the Phantom Thief's heists. No blood and no victims (unless you count the Kaitou Kid Task Force, one of whom was almost always knocked out, stripped, and then locked in a bathroom for however long their identity was needed ). But that wasn't the point. The point was that there were no dead bodies at Kid's heists. Ever. It was like a breath of fresh air and, though Conan would never admit it aloud (especially not within the thief's hearing), the heists were just plain fun.

Kid might be an annoying thief with a flair for the dramatic, but his skill with magic, combined with an intelligence that matched even Conan's, did make him a worthy opponent in their battle of wits. Conan was shamelessly looking forward to tonight's heist (and unravelling and ruining Kid's plans every step of the way). For now, however, he had to suffer through a walk in the park with Ran, Sonoko and Suzuki Jirokichi's dog, the ironically named Lupin.

Conan's flat expression and twitching eyebrow said how much he was enjoying the unplanned excursion. Not that he didn't like dogs. Or Ran. Or even Sonoko (though he still thought she was one of the most irritating girls he had ever met). It was the fact that at this very same moment, while he was stuck listening to Sonoko tease Ran about her love for the absent Kudo Shinichi—never mind that he was right there , albeit in miniature form—there were a group of adults crowded in a hi-tech van coming up with a plan to capture Kid. Conan felt like he'd drawn the short straw. People were making plots and traps that he just knew he could help improve if he were given the chance, and he got stuck listening to girly gossip. Because Lupin needed a walk. Because Sonoko had said she would take the dog. Because where Sonoko went, Ran (and a reluctant Conan) was sure to follow.

Conan sighed. This sucked. Lupin didn't seem to care for the topic of conversation either. The dog had wandered off towards one of the park benches, where a teenage boy wearing jeans and a casual button-down shirt sat hunched over his phone. The boy must have been listening to something, because he tilted his head and touched his left ear, right where a small earpiece could just be glimpsed. Conan could not see his face.

"And then I said—" Ran broke off and glanced around in confusion. "Where's Lupin?"

Conan pointed to the bench. "There."

"Geez," Sonoko muttered, planting her hands on her hips and turning to look where he had pointed. "That dog is as bad as the four-eyed brat: always wandering off the moment you turn awa—" She trailed off, her eyes widening.

Conan frowned, wondering what had caused the brunette to look so startled. He got his answer a second later.

"Sh-Shinichi?"

The sound of his own name on Ran's lips had him spinning around in surprise. Both girls stood as if paralysed, their jaws slack, just staring at the teenage boy who Conan had seen sitting on the park bench. The boy who was now trying to shoo away a wagging Lupin, and who could have been a carbon copy of Kudo Shinichi.

Now it was Conan's jaw that went slack. What the hell was going on?

Ran was the first to snap out of her daze. Her eyes narrowed and she clenched her hands into fists. The next thing Conan knew, Ran was stalking towards the unsuspecting teen with murder in her eyes.

"Ah, wait!" Conan exclaimed, reaching out his hand. "Ran-neechan!"

But the girl did not listen. Cursing under his breath, Conan had no choice but to dash after her as fast as his little legs would carry him, knowing for a fact that the boy she was about to terrorise was not Kudo Shinichi. Sonoko trailed behind.

"Oi, oi," they heard the teen mutter to the dog, who was still wagging ecstatically. "You can't hang around here. Go on." He gave the dog a nudge. "Go back to your owner."

A shadow fell over the teen. He glanced up, shielding his eyes to see Ran looming over him.

"Shinichi!" she growled, grabbing the boy by his collar.

Panic flickered in blue eyes that could have been Conan's, they were so alike. The boy held his hands up in an appeasing gesture. "Um, I think you have the wrong person."

Ran twisted her lips. "Do you really think I'm going to believe that?" She pointed at his head. "I'd recognise that—that—" A crease formed on her brow. "Did you style your hair differently?"

The boy leaned back, avoiding the jabbing motion of her finger. "Uh, no. Not that it really matters, since I'm not Shinichi."

Ran's eyes narrowed. "Are you sure you're not just saying that?" She moved forward so that they were almost nose to nose, still gripping his collar. "Because if you're lying—"

"I'm not lying," he insisted. "I've never met any of you before. I don't even know who this Shinichi guy is!"

A crease formed on Conan's brow. Lupin seemed to disagree that they had never met. The dog was still wagging, nudging his wet nose against the teen's jeans, and every now and then giving a happy bark. It was the behaviour of an animal who saw "FRIEND" in big, bold capitals. Conan would know, because Lupin had been treating him the same way ever since he'd been present when Kaitou Kid had rescued the poor dog from Jirokichi's safe (except there was much more slobbery kisses involved, since Conan happened to be of a more accessible height). If Lupin were the type to normally befriend strangers, the dog's behaviour now wouldn't be such a big deal, but Lupin had never shown much interest in other people before. Something was very suspicious.

Rather, that teen was very suspicious.

Conan frowned at the boy, whose collar was still trapped in Ran's death grip. It was bizarre how much the guy really did resemble his true self. If Conan were in his proper body, they would have looked like twins. Ran seemed to agree. She narrowed her eyes at the Kudo doppelganger, staring at him intently for a moment as if she were performing some special scan to determine if the boy she held trapped was indeed as innocent as he claimed. In response, the boy gave her a winning smile.

The creases deepened on Conan's brow. There was something about that smile—something that felt so familiar …

Ran released the boy's collar and stepped back. "He's not Shinichi."

"Eh?" Sonoko exclaimed, even as the boy sighed in relief. "How do you know?"

A light dusting of colour came to Ran's cheeks. "I just know, okay? This guy isn't Shinichi." She turned to the boy, who was now fixing up his collar. "I'm sorry." She bowed. "I should not have grabbed you like that."

"Hey, no problem," he said, waving the matter off with a casual hand. "No harm d—"

He broke off as Lupin let out another happy bark and leapt at him, paws hitting his chest. The teen stumbled from the impact and fell on his rear, suddenly finding his lap filled with furry animal and his face smothered in slobbery kisses.

"Lupin, no!" Ran exclaimed.

"Off!" Sonoko shouted at the same time, making a grab for the animal.

Conan's mouth just curved into a wicked little smile. Now that was interesting. He watched as Ran and Sonoko dragged Lupin off his now slobified victim and put said dog back on the leash; watched as the girls bowed and apologised, while the Shinichi doppelganger just kept insisting it was fine. No, really, there was no need to apologise. He'd just go wash his face and no harm done. And of course the doppelganger would say that, since all he cared about was for them to take Lupin and get far away from him.

Sonoko and Ran finally took the hint and made their goodbyes, pausing only to tell Conan that it was time to go. Conan responded with a cheerful "Hai!", though he made no move to follow. Instead, he waited until the girls had gone out of hearing distance, dragging a reluctant Lupin in tow. Then he turned back to his doppelganger.

"You're Kaitou Kid, aren't you?" Conan said bluntly.

The teen froze, eyes widening a fraction. Then a smile was plastered onto his face, covering up any trace of surprise or discomfort.

"Are we really going to do this again?" the doppelganger said, sounding amused. "First I'm Shinichi, and now I'm Kaitou Kid?"

Conan's glasses glinted in the sunlight. "You're definitely not Kudo Shinichi, but as for Kid?" A smile tagged at his lips. "Well, I have every reason to believe that is exactly who you are."

"Oh?" The doppelganger straightened his back, staring down at Conan with the hint of a grin. "Do enlighten me."

"First," Conan said, ticking the word off on his finger, "Lupin."

"The dog?"

Conan nodded. "You recognised the dog straight away, and you knew he recognised you, which was why you panicked and told Lupin that he couldn't 'hang around here'. Most people wouldn't say that to a stranger's dog who was just trying to be friendly. A dog hater might tell Lupin to get lost, but you didn't come across as someone who dislikes animals. After all, you didn't get angry when Lupin jumped on you, nor did you use any real force to drive him away."

"Maybe I just didn't want to be interrupted," the doppelganger said with a shrug. "There's nothing suspicious about telling a dog to go back to its owner."

"Perhaps," Conan allowed, "but when you take into account Lupin's personality and how he normally behaves towards strangers, it definitely is suspicious."

"That so," the teen said. His grin looked more tacked on now than genuine.

Conan's own smile widened fraction. He proceeded to explain how Lupin was not the kind of dog who went out of his way to greet strangers. In fact, there were only three people to whom Lupin showed such open exuberance: Suzuki Jirokichi, Conan himself, and—

"Kaitou Kid," Conan ended softly.

The doppelganger gave a nervous laugh and rubbed the base of his neck. "Maybe the dog just liked the way I smelt or something. I had some yakitori earlier, and—"

Conan let out an amused snort. "Unlike with humans, a dog's senses are not so easily fooled. He liked your scent, alright, but it wasn't because of what you ate earlier. That dog greeted you as if you were a close friend—someone he has met several times before, and who saved him from the Iron Tanuki. That was why he got excited when he heard your voice, and why he jumped on you and licked you like that."

The teen's grin definitely looked brittle now. Even his eyes looked a bit glassy, as if he were trying very hard to maintain a mask of calm amusement when all he probably wanted to do was flee for the hills. Conan had to admit that it was enjoyable to watch Kid squirm. No smug grins to be seen now. No witty little retorts either.

"What can I say?" Kid-who-claimed-he-was-not-Kid said with another nervous laugh. "Maybe I'm just special."

Conan merely raised his second finger. "The other thing that caught my attention was that earpiece you've got inserted into your left ear." He pointed at the device. "You were listening to something on that when I first saw you, though I admit I didn't think much of it then. However, considering that a Kid heist is happening at the museum not far from this park, I'd say that you were listening to the strategy meeting Suzuki and Inspector Nakamori are having at this very moment."

The teen removed the earpiece. "What, this old thing? It's just a Bluetooth speaker. I was using it to listen to music."

Conan raised his eyebrow at the obvious (and weak) lie, but simply moved on with his deduction. He explained that the boy had been behaving suspiciously throughout the conversation with Ran and Sonoko. Most people would have got more upset at being manhandled by a teenage girl, having their identity mistaken for another, and then pounced on by a random dog. Kaitou Kid, however, had every reason to want the girls to leave with dog as quickly as possible.

"After all," Conan said with his most wicked smile yet, "I was right there."

There was a pause as the two boys stared at each other, and then—

"Well, tantei-kun," Kid said, slipping into the smooth tones he used when dressed in moonlit-white, "that was a very interesting deduction. I think you're forgetting something, though."

"What's that?"

Kid bared his teeth in a smile. "You have no proof."

Conan laughed softly. "True. I have no physical evidence to prove that you are Kaitou Kid. That doesn't change the fact that I'm right." A crease formed on his brow. "Though there is something that is still troubling me."

"Oh?"

Conan stared intently at the thief. "Was it intentional?"

Kid blinked. "What?"

Conan waved his hand at Kid's appearance. "I'm assuming you're wearing a mask or some kind of disguise, right? I just wondered if you had intentionally wanted us to see you like this, because, well, you really do look like Kudo Shinichi."

Kid tilted his head to the side, gazing back at Conan like a curious bird. It was obvious that he was confused. Conan wondered if he had been mistaken. Maybe Kid had no idea about his own secret identity. Maybe meeting in the park like this really had just been a coincidence, as was the strange Shinichi-look-alike disguise that Kid had donned. And why the heck was Kid suddenly smiling at him like that?

"I see," Kid said, straightening to his full height.

Now it was Conan's turn to blink. "See what?"

Kid's smile widened, and then—

"Conan-kun!"

The miniaturised detective winced. The next second Ran was hauling him away by the scruff of his jacket, leaving no room for argument. When Conan glanced past her to look back at the park bench, it was to find that Kid had vanished without a trace. Typical.

Conan sighed and folded his arms across his chest, legs still dangling in the air. Just what had Kid realised? Somehow, Conan had to figure it out, as something told him that the answer wasn't going to make him very happy. Kaitou Kid only smiled when he was brewing mischief.

Damn. This was not good. Not good at all.

OMAKE

Kuroba Kaito scrolled his finger down the smartphone screen and then clicked on the desired newspaper article. There, under the bold heading "Kudo Shinichi: The Modern Sherlock Holmes", was the image of a boy who looked just like him. Scratch that. A boy who looked just liked that shrimp-sized detective, only more grown up and minus the glasses.

"Why hello, tantei-kun," Kaito—or, rather, Kid—murmured. "It seems that the one who has been caught is you."

A mischievous little smile curved his lips. This was going to be fun.