Day 5!

Words: 1,936
Character(s): Kaitou Kuroba, Shinichi Kudou, Heiji Hattori
Raiting: PG (for some swearing)
Prompt: #5, family concept; must be first person POV; min 1500 words
Disclaimer: Not mine!! Gosho Aoyama owns all!
Notes: Kaitou POV; Kansai-ben is the term for the accent of folks from the Kansai area (like Osaka); a shinai is a bamboo sword used in kendo; takes place sometime after my fic, "Rebirth"

Downtime

It was official…I was going insane.

That was the only reasonable explanation for letting myself be cooped up in this tiny tent in the middle of the mountains to spy on some possible criminal.

I suppose I should explain a bit, huh?

Name's Kaitou Kuroba, age seventeen, with a side-job of being the most supported thief in the world, the Kaitou Kid.

How that came about is another story irrelevant to this one…

…well, okay, it's a bit relevant.

You see, not too long ago, I somehow buddied up with these two detectives (no, not Hakuba! The say we work together is the day hell freezes over) not too long ago to take down this big, bad, underground crime syndicate.

Did I mention that said syndicate had managed to shrink one of them? That would be Shinichi Kudou, same age as me. He happens to be seated right next to me, too, playing chess with Hattori.

How the hell they got a chessboard up here in the mountain, I have no damn idea.

Hattori? He's Heiji Hattori, and like Kudou, is a high school detective. Only, he's from Osaka, and talks in heavy Kansai-ben.

So, then, back to the original question:

What are two detectives and one thief doing in a tent in no-man's land?

That has to do with why I became the Kaitou Kid…something I revealed to Kudou first, then finally gave in and told Hattori. They know my identity, after all.

I digress.

You see, it started with my father. For whatever reason he put on this white mantle and hat and went gallivanting around as the renowned thief, Kaitou 1412, which became the Kaitou Kid when Kudou's old man read the numbers together.

Yea…we were destined to meet even before we were born. How about that?

Where was I?

Oh, right.

So, this crime organization that uses animal names somehow gets on dad's case, he opposes them by trying to get his hands on the Pandora's Gem so they won't, and they off him and make it look like an accident.

When I found out a little over a year ago, I donned the cape to try and catch his killers…oh, and maybe get my hands on that gem and destroy it.

Immortality isn't something that humans need.

Even Kudou and Hattori agree with me on that, even if they don't agree with my methods.

Which leads me to where I am, now…in a tent with two detectives that insisted on helping me when Hattori managed to find a lead about this organization. It's a race all over again…but if we took down a world-wide organization, I'm sure we can take down dad's killers.

It's still quite an experience…even when we were after the Black Organization (that group we downed that I mentioned earlier), we did our separate things until planning sessions and D-Day.

But here, we're all together.

And, lemme tell ya, it's fun and annoying at the same time.

All of us are used to operating alone.

Well, I have an assistant, who's in the vicinity should anything go wrong, but he's never where the action is.

"Checkmate."

"Dammit!"

I glance over at the game that the two detectives are playing. "Kudou win again?"

"Hattori is overzealous in his moves," Shinichi responds with a grin.

"What's that apposedta mean, Kudou!?" Heiji growled from where he's seated.

"It means you choreograph. You show where you're moving," Shinichi explained.

"So, that explains why ya lost a couple times?" Heiji smirked.

Shinichi shrugged. "Win some, lose some."

I snicker. Chess…no thanks? I don't hate the game, but it's for people with patience. I'm a guy of action.

Then again, these two can be like that, too.

But, once I have a plan drawn up, I'm ready to follow it. I don't like waiting, and I don't like purposely keeping my mind two or three steps ahead of my opponent.

Maybe that's why they insisted on coming along…

"You wanna play, Kuroba?" Heiji offers.

"Naw." I wave my hand disinterestedly. "You two go have fun playing knights and castles."

At first, both sat there with dropped jaws.

I couldn't help but laugh…at least, until I saw an impish look pass between them.

This did not bode well for me.

The next thing I know, both are on top of me, tickling the living daylights out of me.

I mentioned that we're all seventeen, right?

Yea.

Yet, I was enjoying it in some strange way.

That doesn't mean I'm gay! Kudou's getting married after high school since he finally proposed to his girl, and Hattori…well…if he ever gets the guts to propose, he'll be dating that girl that always hangs around him, too.

And me?

I do not like Aoko that way!

…okay, maybe a little.

So, no…despite the rumors, neither Kaitou Kuroba nor the Kaitou Kid is gay.

End of story.

This didn't mean I'd let these two gang up on me.

Hell no…I turned around and tickled them right back with all my might.

That's the great thing about having friends…real friends.

And especially these guys.

We've been through a lot together…we took down an organization together…and we're going after another one. We've had to spend time in each other's company both in and out of the hospital…

…sort of makes an impression, ya know?

And, just like now…one minute, we're at each other's throats, the next, we're actually acting like kids our age should act.

Minus ten years or so, but still…

We share information, and the three of us play "cops and robbers", only the real version.

Where Kaitou Kid, me, is the thief, and they have to try and catch me.

And, if they ever do…I'll just get out and the game starts again.

Outside of our 'work' is this…our playtime.

Our target isn't back in the house, and these two have told me that, should I try to sneak into the guy's mountain villa while he's out and put myself at risk, they'll tie me up to a tree so tight that even Houdini wouldn't have been able to escape.

Considering how much survival knowledge Kudou knows, and what the two of them must know about knots considering their profession, I had to back down on that one.

So, there are arguments.

Take three teenaged guys and stick 'em in a tent together, and there's bound to be at least one argument, even if it's if we're eating that can of ravioli that Hattori brought with him or if we try our hand at fishing.

Though, I think Kudou had been joking about that.

Ever since he found out my fear of fish, he and Hattori takes cracks at me whenever possible.

It's not unfounded…I do the same to them.

"Okay, okay! Truce!" Hattori finally puts a halt to our tickle-war, then flops onto his back on the tent, out of breath.

Kudou and I join him as best as we could in the small tent.

"Didn't know your stomach was ticklish, Kuroba," Shinichi states after a moment of us gasping for breath.

"Didn't know your feet were ticklish, Kudou," I drawl back.

Hattori snickers. "I didn't know Kudou was ticklish at all!"

"And you're extremely ticklish," I respond with a grin.

Hattori flushes a bit and mutters under his breath.

Kudou and I exchange amused looks.

We can mercilessly tease each other, but it's all in good fun. We're friends…and we're also like some dysfunctional family.

Weird, huh? How just a little time in each others' company can glean knowledge that we'd never know otherwise.

Kudou parts the tent a bit and peers out with a pair of binoculars.

"Anyth'n?" Hattori inquires.

Ah…they're talking business.

I've scoped out the villa, myself…by air, of course. I don't need a copter to fly…my wings are a glider from the cape of my Kid suit.

Of course, Kudou went agro on me when he found out I'd checked it out that way, saying that there were a couple occasions where he knew that my shadow wasn't a giant bird during some of his other cases.

After a heated argument, I agreed to never do it again.

"Lights are still off in there. No sign of movement. Think he knows he's being watched, and fled?" Kudou had that serious frown on his face.

I sat up with a sigh. "Doubtful. And, if he did…then we just start over. No big deal."

"It is a big deal!" Kudou snapped back at me. "This is for you, Kuroba! This is your case! We won't let them get away."

I felt Hattori pat me on the shoulder…I must have looked fairly gobsmacked.

I was shocked, but should have expected it, honestly. Kudou is a detective…same with Hattori. They don't do it for the fame (though, I think they used to do that a bit before the entire Black Organization thing)…

…they do it to help people.

And, they've taken a personal interest in my case, because we're friends.

Damn…my eyes are itchy.

I shake my head, then grin. "I hear ya, Kudou."

Kudou smirks back, then reenters the tent. "So…anyone for another game of chess?"

Hattori gags. "Got a deck of cards, instead?"

The two look at me.

I roll my eyes. "Since when don't I have a deck of cards?"

"Haha, Kuroba…" Kudou drawls.

I grin, then produce a deck of cards from my pocket. Of course, I did it in a way that made it look like they appeared in my hand.

The two detectives scoff, but I can tell they're amused. They know how every magic trick works (though, Kudou had to explain to Hattori, after laughing, how one makes a rose appear out of nowhere), but there's still some childish innocence in them.

That, or it's the company.

I happen to make good company, I must admit.

Not to sound like I'm bragging or anything.

We didn't even have to ask what we wanted to play…it was unanimous by just looking.

Poker.

"Kudou, you count the cards, and I smack ya with my shinai," Hattori warns our other companion.

Kudou put on an air of looking innocent…something he acquired from his half a year in the body of a child. "Who…me?"

Hattori smacks him over the head, which causes him to snicker.

I, too, can't hold in a chuckle as I deal the cards out.

That's what I love about these guys…we're pals, but we're also that strange family. We've seen each other at our bests, and at our worsts. We've seen each other swathed in bandages and covered in blood.

But we've also seen each other laughing, or smirking as we figure something out or do something we enjoy.

And, yes, even we enjoy things that don't deal with dead bodies (the detectives) or rare artifacts and gems (me as Kid).

Like the time Kudou talked us into an impromptu game of soccer…and proceeded to whip our asses in it.

Or when Hattori showed us some Kendo swings…and smacked me over the head for a nice wise crack.

I thought it was funny…so did Kudou, who was laughing so hard he couldn't hold his shinai anymore at that point.

And me…magic tricks. I taught them a few, though they got it quickly cause the bastards already had an idea of how they worked.

Detectives…go figure.

So, here we are…one thief and two detectives…best buddies forever…camping out some dude that could belong to the syndicate that killed my dad…

…playing poker and laughing up a storm.

Seriously…I owe a lot to these guys, and it's the same for them.

END