It was late Thursday night when inspector Nakamori received the note:

"Expect to see me when the moon vanishes

and only hope's light illuminates the sky"

KID

After hours of studying the mysterious note, the inspector had no more knowledge than he had to begin with. The small lamp on the corner of his desk flickered dully before sputtering out. Sighing, he leaned back in his chair and massaged his temples. He was glad for the distraction.

The coming Saturday night an eclipse was going to occur roughly around 11:30 pm. As for 'hope's light', that also seemed too simple. The world famous Hope Diamond was currently on display at a museum, just a few blocks from his office. It made perfect sense, was practically spelled out for him. Surely there must have been some hidden meaning he had overlooked? He sighed heavily. If there was, he had missed it completely.

Kaito sat on his bed at home, his long fingers nimbly flipping through a deck of cards. But his eyes stared off distractedly, focused on an empty space on his wall. The note was delivered. Being so straightforward about his heists really wasn't his style, it was too much fun to watch the police try and answer his riddles, but he wanted to make sure they were there for this one. Not that he doubted the mind of inspector Nakamori, he was by no means an idiot, but it was just another precaution. If the mysterious hit-man was going to her there, he couldn't afford any slip-ups, on his part or the police's.

The cards arced high in the air, jumping from one hand to another with surprising ease. Tucking the deck carefully into another pocket, he stretched out on his bed, running through the plan again before allowing sleep to carry him off.

The next day after school was sunny and bright, the perfect day to explore the town. Of course, Shinichi and Kaito were volunteered to carry books back to other classrooms they were borrowed from.

"How did we get stuck doing this?" whined Kaito, shouldering the bag that he had somehow managed to fit over half the books in to avoid several trips.

"I think they had hopes of seeing more of your magic." Shinichi said as they arrived at the last classroom and began unpacking the remaining books. Kaito grinned. Despite it being only his second day, he was already one of the most popular people at school, and he couldn't deny that he liked the attention.

"Well, that's the last of them!" Kaito exclaimed, dramatically placing the last book upon the stack. "Still up for playing tour guide?"

"Sure." Shinichi replied, nodding. As they walked out of the room and down the hall, they became aware of the sound of footsteps behind them, approaching fast. Before either could react, a nerdy looking boy slid around the corner and rushed past, shoving Kaito out of his way. Kaito fell backwards, his head just about to slam into the wall when Shinichi reached out and caught his arm.

"You alright?" asked the detective, pulling Kaito to his feet.

"Yeah. Thanks a- Watch it!" An entire group of boys tore around the corner, pushing the two carelessly out of the way, shouting after the boy who had rushed past just a few moments before. Shinichi quickly stumbled out of the way to avoid being trampled, pushing Kaito against the wall to avoid the same fate. When the stampede had passed, Shinichi breathed a sigh of relief.

"Bullies…" he muttered. "I hope that poor kid can run faster than them."

A mischievous smirk spread across Kaito's face.

"Oh, but Shinichi, we've hardly met!" he exclaimed, giggling to himself. Shinichi, becoming aware he still had Kaito pinned against the wall, immediately jumped back, feeling a blush rising in his cheeks.

"S-sory." he said, laughing uncomfortably. Kaito just laughed and threw an arm around the detectives shoulder as they kept on walking.

"Nah, it's fine. You saved me from being trampled to death, anyways. Maybe on a second date." he added, winking, then broke out in laughter again. Shinichi pushed him away in mock irritability as they made their way out onto the street.

"Hey!" exclaimed Kaito as they walked past a newspaper stand, a newspaper suddenly appearing in his hands out of thin air. "Looks like Kaitou Kid is about to pull another heist!"

Shinichi grabbed the newspaper as it was handed to him, his keen eyes carefully scanning over the small black words. Sure enough, a warning letter had been sent to the police, as usual. "So, what do you think of him, being a detective and all?" asked Kaito, breaking the silence between them.

"He's good at what he does, can't deny that." Shinichi replied as he dropped what he guessed to be the stolen newspaper on an empty bench. Someone else was bound to pick it up.

"I doubt he'll ever be caught." said Kaito confidently, resting his hands behind his head.

"No," Shinichi said quickly, grinning to himself. "One day he will be caught, and I'll be the one to do it. I'll be remembered as the great teenage detective who caught the mysterious Kaitou Kid!" he said, his mind wandering off into fantasies of catching Kid. But his daydreams were cut short. "Wait, don't tell me you're a Kid supporter."

"Of course!" Kaito replied cheerfully. "Magicians have to stick together."

Taking this as kind of a challenge, Shinichi smirked.

"Well one day you're going to be cheering him on in jail where he belongs."

Picking up on his thoughts, Kaito returned a devilish grin.

"Okay, you're on."

"If you're such a fan, why don't you come with me to the heist tomorrow? You could get a front row seat."

Amazingly, the other boy only shrugged.

"I'd love to, but I have to work. Maybe next time." he said casually.

"You have a job? Where do you work?" asked Shinichi. Kaito only grinned.

"Maybe you can figure that out for yourself, detective." he said, peering up at the sky. "It's getting late. See you!" he exclaimed, and took off.

Shinichi stared after him. He was a bit on the strange side, but he seemed like a nice enough guy. Plus, it was nice for him to have someone to talk to who wouldn't constantly question him about Ran. Somehow, he even felt more comfortable about it, just being around the light-hearted magician. But there was still that feeling that something about him was so familiar. Shrugging it off, Shinichi set off for his own home.

to be continued…

Holycrapmywritingsucksass.

I really should give up, but I might as well finish it, since I already have it posted…

The next chapter is longer, promise!