Chapter 7: Two for the Price of One

"So what am I supposed to do?" Hakuba yelled at me. We'd been having this argument for some time now and he still couldn't let it go.

"Go get some sleep, watch over the kids, I really don't care what you do but you aren't going anywhere near this."

"Kuroba-kun, I'm a detective and already on this case, it would be stranger if I didn't go than if I did."

"Don't you get it Hakuba-kun? What if the people after you are using this hoax as a way to get you out of hiding? Then you're going to be a sitting duck and I can't help you when you're surrounded by cops!"

"You can't help anyone right now. Have you forgotten just how injured you are? If you go out now, you'd be in just as much danger as me."

"I won't get caught."

"Neither will I."

Mom sighed from the chair. None of us had moved, trying to figure out what was happening and what we were going to do about it.

If this Kid was just an imposter I could handle them easily enough. If it was the people who were after Hakuba and the kids, it wouldn't be safe for the detective to be there even if he was still disguised. Inspector Nakamori would have to know about him and a teenager hanging around the police was like a beacon in the night. Either way, having Hakuba leave the house was a phenomenally bad idea.

"How come someone so smart can be so clueless sometimes? You can't do anything by coming along."

"And neither can you Kuroba-kun. Don't you think a bullet wound should ground you from the matter as well?"

"The young master would have me" Jii interjected "and I wouldn't let him get hurt. You have the children that you need to protect as well. I hate the young master putting himself in danger but he must, you do not need to."

Score one for me. I had Jii on my side now and Hakuba wouldn't be able to change his mind.

"I think you're wrong."

Damn, so close.

"What do you mean Kuroba-san?" Jii asked her.

"Kaito's hurt badly even if he doesn't want to admit it." Mom turned to me. "If you had to, would you be able to get out of a locked room before the police arrived?"

"Of course I-"

"Really, so there's nothing that could possibly make tonight a catastrophe? You'll come back home no matter what, even with your arm hurting you so bad you can't remove it from your side?"

I sat down at the table and rested my head in the palm of my left hand.

"If I had to get out, I could. I can't ignore something like this mom."

"Of course you can't. I'd be disappointed in you if you did" she got up and grabbed my cape from where Kei had dropped it "and Jii-san isn't as young as he used to be."

"I will do everything I can for the young master." Jii remarked to my mom's insinuation.

"I'm not saying you wouldn't but it might not be enough. I'm sure Kaito hasn't relied on you too much in the past, for both your sakes." She tapped him lightly on the shoulder to show she meant no hard feelings by it. It was true; I didn't take advantage of Jii unless I knew the man would be safe.

"Both of them want to go and I only see one solution" mom took the cape and put it around Hakuba's shoulders "and that's to go together."

My head slipped off my hand and I hit my chin hard on the wood.

"Are you crazy Okaasan?" I stood up and had to restrain myself from striking the table. "There's no way I would let Hakuba-kun do that, not like he would anyway. That's crazy!" I turned to the detective for back-up. He was looking at my mom.

"That's brilliant."

"Have you gone off the deep end too?" I turned to Jii, trying to get someone to see that this was insane. He just shrugged his shoulders.

"You've let him this far and if he's willing to help, you should take it young master."

I closed my eyes and stormed out of the room, muttering how they'd all gone bonkers. When I passed Hisa in the main room, she looked at me and had to rub her eyes before turning away, not turning to face me again. Kane was busy watching Kei who was busy watching a show about talking food products. How much more messed up could my life get?

I made it to my room without smashing anything. How could Hakuba have agreed with my mom so easily? He was a detective for the love of- Why would he agree to go with me? I mean, I wasn't going to be stealing anything; I always made it a point to leave my own notice instead of acting on the fake one, but… hm...

It made sense in a weird kind of way. I wouldn't be taking anything and we'd both be stopping a crime from happening.

That didn't change the fact that he would be working with me as Kid… in the open… again…Hakuba's priorities were shifting just as mine had little more than a year ago and I couldn't blame him for it; I was the one who could write a book on getting a good outcome from doing something bad.

It didn't mean I had to like it. I had enough arguments with him as school and, even though we'd been getting along for the most part, out objectives and personalities were just too different. It also meant that I would have to change in front of him and work openly with him. The proverbial cat had been let out of the bag ages ago and Hakuba had seen the outfit in my dad's room so there was no reason to hide anymore. I hadn't even realized that I'd revealed myself to him, I'd given him indisputable proof and he hadn't even said anything.

Things would definitely be weird after all this chaos was over.

I wasn't going to let Hakuba know he had won so I stayed in my room longer to figure out just how this was going to work. Hakuba wasn't recognizable anymore but having him with me would be noticeable and there was a chance that the hair dye and clothes wouldn't be enough to fool everyone.

There was no way I was going to let him dress up with me. It would be hilarious watching the police scramble around when three Kaitou Kids, if my imposter showed, appeared but the detective would not find it amusing and I couldn't count on how he would react.

There were still those masks that Jii and dad had, that would hide his face, I could definitely use those and I was sure I could find some sort of outfit that wouldn't scar Hakuba's ego. I chuckled to myself when an option came to me, one that he might be able to live with.

I went down stairs and snuck past the kitchen where I could hear mom talking quietly. The kids weren't as easy to sneak past, but I made it to dad's portrait without being stopped. There was a lock mechanism on the back that had kept me out when I was a kid, which I employed now to keep from being interrupted as I worked out my idea.

…

"Kaito, are you in there?" I heard my mom knocking on the side of the wall. I looked up at a small clock sitting on the desk and whistled to myself when I saw that three hours had gone by.

"Just a minute mom, I'm a little busy." I wrapped up the finishing touches on the material so it didn't look as pieced together as it was. My sowing skills had improved since I had to fix the little cuts in my suit and I'd help my mom a few times with repairs, but my stitch work couldn't stand up to a critical eye... and if anyone asked it was shotty because my arm was injured.

I sighed and eyed over my work. Well, it was better then nothing and I hoped it would fit him since Hakuba was larger than me and I didn't have any measurements besides his height. Oddly enough I had remembered it from when he'd told Aoko even though I hadn't been trying to. My subconscious worked in mysterious ways.

I folded up the material and grabbed a can of spray paint from the drawer. They rattled around as I searched for a black one, most of them being red because it was such an attention grabbing color, even at night.

I slipped a few other things in my arm after disabling the lock on the entrance. My mom was standing on the other side, smiling at me.

"So did you figure out what you were going to do? You're not leaving Hakuba-kun out are you?"

"Nah, I found something he could help with and I've got it all planned out." We walked into the kitchen together where Hakuba and Jii were talking civilly to each other. Whatever they were discussing was halted when they caught sight of me. I emptied my arm everything but the spray paint and warned all of them not to touch anything until I got back.

"What is it?" Hakuba eyed the dark material as I started shaking up the spray bottle.

"You'll see when I get back, just give me a second." I went out the front door with a backwards look in the kitchen. Hakuba and my mom both raised their hands to show that they hadn't gone near it. I shut the door.

I mademy way to the back yard and grabbed a foldable top hat out of one of my pockets and placed it on the ground. I had made sure to get it before leaving my dad's room and the fold-up one was easier to carry. It took me a while using one hand with the spray bottle and not being able to move the hat without setting the can down but I eventually got it all black without accidently spraying the house. A bit of waving around helped it dry faster.

After five minutes I thought it was fine and wrapped a light gray ribbon around the base, which was harder then sowing the outfit had been since it was a 'must use two hands' job.

The hat came out looking like a negative of the one I would be wearing tonight. Everythingwas finally done.

It felt nice to have made something, almost identical to the feeling of finding a new magic trick and performing it flawlessly. It wasn't as good but it was a close call.

I made my way back into the house with the black hat and Hakuba spit out some of the water he was drinking.

"What exactly are you doing? That better not be for me"

"Of course it is, de-tec-tive." I gathered the other materials and handed them to him "Don't knock it until you try it. This option is better than having you parade around as a second Kid or follow me with your weak disguise."

"What is it?" He held up a piece of black cape and revealed the white mask hidden in its folds.

"A way to keep eyes off of your visible features. It's always worked for me." I took another hat out, this one for myself, and placed it on my head. "You'll fit right in."

He put the hat down and stared daggers at me "I will not be wearing anything like the gaudy outfit you flit around in."

I laughed at him and picked up a piece of the clothing. "Don't worry about it, this isn't as gaudy and it's black so I'm hoping no one will see you. This is just in case they do."

I dug out the white shirt from the pile and the dark tie. "Hopefully this will blend in more when you put the black coat over it. I was going for authentic."

"Authentic?" He looked at the negative of my own coat "Just what were you going for?"

"Can't you tell? Tonight will be the first time in history that that infamous Kaitou Kid and ill-famed Night Baron team up for the good of... whomever!"

Hakuba gave me a sly smile, falling in with my plan. If things went my way he wouldn't be noticed and I'd be able to get all eyes on me. For good or bad, since teaming up with Hakuba, my luck had been in a downward slope so I made sure he was as inconspicuously conspicuous as he could be.

Hakuba's dark hair went well with the costume and he actually freaked me out. The white smiling mask was what did it. Hakuba had gotten the suit on along with the strange belt that went around his waist, designed to show on top of the coat. It looked good on him, a mixture of my outfit and his Sherlock Holmes, just in black. The flared out collar hid the sides of his face and the white mask hid the rest.

"This feels so wrong." He said to his reflection, voice muffled from the papier-mâché "Why am I the bad guy?"

"Are you saying that Kid's a good guy?"

He shut up instantly and gave me an uncertain, and a bit pained, look.

"Oi, Hakuba-kun, are you ok? It was just a joke." He just looked at the mask as he took it off and played with it in his hands.

"Kuroba-kun, will you ever answer my question?" he eyes were embedded on the mask and his voice was quiet though his eyes held none of the weakness his body langue was emanating.

"What question?" He had to drop the subject. Hakuba would be in so much danger for knowing who I was if Snake and his associates found out. They'd use him to get to me in my 'normal' life and kill me just like they had dad. Hakuba wasn't someone who'd give into them. He'd be killed.

"I don't want you second-guessing me tonight so I'll drop it for now but when I want something I don't stop until it's mine." I grabbed the mask and put in back on his face.

"I don't feel like getting back to it later, you're staying away from this." I kept the mask on his face as he tried to pull away "Don't ask anymore and don't go looking for the answers, they may be the last thing you get."

The obvious threat stilled him and he removed my hand. "I think that's smart" he handed the mask back "it would be stupid to trust me." Hakuba walked out of the room, and left me feeling like I'd just kicked a puppy.

"It's for the best." I told myself "He'll get hurt if he goes any further down my path." Hah, as if I could fool myself. I let the mask fall and went to my room. I was stopped by a sudden pounding at the door.

My heart sped up. Mom was already at the house and Hakuba had just gone... somewhere in the living room with the kids, Jii was with my mom. No one should have been knocking at the door.

The knocking continued and I tried to calm myself down. If it was a hit-man they wouldn't be knocking at the door, they would have came in quietly and picked us off.

"Kaito! You open up right now!"

Ah, such a lovely sound. I went to open the door and it was pushed in just as I turned the knob.

"Ow Aoko, you hit me in the face!" my nose and forehead were sore from where the corner hit it.

"Kaito, I told you not to go skipping school!" She yelled right in my ear and I was sure the neighbors could hear her.

"What? What days is it?" I had really lost track of the days...how far away was the weekend? My honest reaction took her aback.

"Kaito" she looked at me nervously "it's Thursday."

"Really? Sorry about that Aoko, school must have slipped my mind. It happens sometimes" I wasn't lying. I smiled at her and put went to put my arms behind my head, forgetting for the hundredth time that those kinds of motions were a bad idea.

"Kaito you should really come to school daily" she stressed "it's not fun without you." I saw the blush start under her eyes.

"I'm sorry..." I was going to say that I'd be there tomorrow but that wasn't looking promising. "How about if I try to come tomorrow? I'm still fighting off a little cold so I'm not sure if I can make it."

"You're still sick?" she went to reach for my forehead but I pushed her away.

"I'm getting better so don't worry about it. I don't want you go get sick too." I leaned over and took her right hand to kiss it. "It wouldn't do for the princess to miss school as well." Her blush was in full force now and removed her hand. "And I've already proven that idiots can catch a cold."

The blush turned an angry shade of red and I really didn't want to get into a game of tag with her at the moment so I didn't egg her on anymore.

"You should come to school then so I won't have to be worried sick over you." She turned to leave and I caught hold of her shoulder.

"I really don't think I'll make it tomorrow but I'll be sure to be there all next week, is that fine?" She smiled back at me.

"Sure."

I watched as Aoko vanished out of sight in time to turn around and almost run into Jii.

"Wooh young master, watch yourself." He forced my injured shoulder away so he wouldn't hurt me.

"Sorry Jii-chan," I sighed "it seems like I'm doing everything wrong. I just made Aoko and mom worry about me, being here now is putting mom in danger, I got Hakuba-kun mad because he doesn't think I trust him, and I've gotten your place burned down. There's not much else that can go wrong."

"There are always things that can go wrong." Jii faced me "The detective could have turned you into the cops, the kids and I could have been killed in that fire, and you could have been killed when you were shot. I don't think you know this but that bullet just missed an important artery and you would have bled to death before you made it to me." I saw him smile "Everything else you just mentioned can be fixed."

I returned the smile hesitantly. "Yeah, but it'll be a pain in the butt to fix everything."

"Then get to it." He went off the kitchen where I could hear my mom making lunch.

Ok, I thought to myself. Aoko first, I had ignored her the past few days and for good reason but I would have to make it up to her. Another day at the amusement park, this time around my schedule, seemed encouraging. Done.

Then I needed to do something about Hakuba, I'd worry about my mom later since I didn't know where else we could stay. The detective didn't understand why I couldn't tell him anything and I didn't want to redraw the line that had separated our enterprises. If he couldn't understand, then working with him on this wouldn't be possible.

I made my way into the main room but didn't see him. The children were still watching TV, though the pillows and cushions were all around the room, indicating that they'd been up to something earlier.

"Hey, where's Hakuba-kun?"

Hisa turned away from me and Kei was too engrossed in commercial for pop-candy that I had to rely on Kane again. He looked up at me and pointed to the portrait.

Why in the world would Hakuba go in dad's room? My mind immediately went to thoughts of betrayal and I shoved them away. Despite what Hakuba thought, I trusted the detective more than most anyone else. With people like him you knew where you stood and where their values lay.

"Hakuba-kun?" I moved the frame in easily and found him sitting where Hisa had on the steps. They didn't lead anywhere, there was just more storage area above the room like a miniature attic. The black hat was on the step beside him. Hakuba didn't look as angry as he had before but he tensed up when I entered.

"Kuroba-kun, come to tell me I won't be going tonight? You can't keep me here." I held up my hands and winced, this time hurting the burned area when I bent it.

"I'm not Hakuba-kun, you're free to come with me if you want," I handed him the mask I had swiped off the floor on the way over. He looked like Dracula without it. "I trust you."

"I can see that," he said sarcastically. "I'd hate to meet someone you didn't trust."

"Hakuba-kun will you shut up and think for a second? If I didn't trust you would you be here, in this room right now? Would I have let you come to Jii-chan's with me? Would I have brought you to my house and let you come with me to Yanami-san's if I didn't trust you?"

"Then why are you keeping the most important information from me?" The anger was back "I've not been fair, I know. I've been invading your life and for the most part, it's one-sided but I didn't choose that. Want to know something?" He took a breath.

"Hisa-chan is my little cousin; my dad's sister was part of the group who wanted perfect kids. My father wanted me to be a lab baby as well but my mother wouldn't allow it which is why I grew up in Britain. I only found out the reason recently..." he faced me "and you know what bothers Hisa-chan the most? You. Isn't that funny?" Hakuba chuckled humorlessly.

"What do you mean?"

"She says you're aura's white, ironic isn't it?" He watched me with resignation "The person who I've been trying to catch for so long has the spirituality of an angel. It makes me feel like..." he took the mask from me "...like a bad guy. I need to know that catching those who break the law, even for good reason, is right. It used to be simple before you came along."

"Don't over think it." Hakuba watched as I gathered up the blankets we had left out from last night. "I've said it enough, I'm different. You're not going to find people in my situation every day. You're doing the right thing, arresting people I mean, I don't know about the rights and wrongs of working with me. I think that just makes you psychotic."

"So what I'm doing right now is wrong."

"No, I mean, kind of I guess. Hakuba-kun the world isn't black and white; sometimes you need to go in the grey."

"So it's ok to break the law occasionally."

"No..." I laid down on the floor and leaned against the blankets I'd just folded. "I'm not the best person you should be talking to about this. Let me see. There are bad people out there and you're going to run into them, human and all. Everyone has a reason for what they do like woman killing their abusive husbands. Sometimes the reasons are good and sometimes they're bad, but you don't have to make that choice, society does. That's the point of court."

"The court system is full of flaws."

"Hakuba-kun stop trying to criticize everything I say! If someone commits murder, no matter the reason, they're going to need to get away, either to jail or therapy. Nothing is perfect so you can't expect your judgment to be. You just have to do what you think is right, that's what I'm doing"

"And you can't tell me why that is."

"No, I can't. The reason I can't tell you is for your own sake. I'm not some self-sacrificing hero, telling you won't help me in anyway even if it gets you on my side, it will only hinder me. Can't you understand that?"

Hakuba remained silent for a long time. I was afraid any movement from me would snap him out of whatever realization he was coming to before he was able to look into it. My black and white, right and wrong speech was my own version of life quickly muddled clumsily into words. I wasn't sure Hakuba had understood what I was trying to get across.

"Sorry I've been such a fool." He finally broke the silence. I laughed, gently but not insulting.

"Don't worry about it, I'm the one who's tearing your would apart. Try not and take too much of my rationalization with you when we go back to being rivals, I don't want you seeing through my tricks."

"It's still so confusing," he put his palms up to rub his eyes. "I won't ever know why you're doing this, helping me and stealing. It's like you have a contradicting personality I can't figure out. Would it be right to arrest you?"

"That's for you to decide, isn't it Tantei-san?" I got up and brushed off make believe dust from my pants. "Let's get ready before we're late to the show."

…

Hakuba fixed a jacket over his shoulders to hide most of the costume. I was able to change on the fly but being injured made it impossible so I wore a large overcoat as well, both of them a dark inconsequential brown.

"Be carefully Kaito," mom kissed me on the forehead and I brushed it off. "You be careful to Hakuba-kun, look out for each other" they shook hands.

"We will" the confidence in Hakuba's voice put me off.

"Let's go, is your nanny still coming to pick us up?" I asked him when we were down the street, even if Hakuba knew who I was; I wasn't going to give his house keeper any information.

"Yes, but we'll need to find an alternate way home or she'll think something's up when we don't stay with the investigation."

"Understood, so how are we getting back? The buses don't run this late."

Hakuba shrugged he shoulders. "We'll overcome that obstacle when it comes."

"I'm rubbing off on you" I teased and elbowed him.

"I hope not" he put his hand to his head in a dramatic fashion "imagine me parading around in a gaudy suit in front of hundreds of Kid fans." Hakuba smiled wickedly.

"Oh, ha ha, that was sooo funny." The loose atmosphere between us was no longer one-sided and I was able to relax, a dangerous habit should he decide that Kid needed to be arrested.

Hakuba's house keeper picked us up a block down and made no comment, though I saw her look back at Hakuba's hair several times which was hiding under a European style cap for the moment instead of the black top hat folded in a large jacket pocket. The drive there was a horrible thirty-five minutes of awkward silence and I couldn't think if anything casual to talk to the detective about. The woman pulled over on the side of the street to drop us off since the police had already set up street barricades.

"Botchama, be safe. Are you sure you'll get a ride home from one of the officers?" The woman wasn't too pretty but she looked like the motherly type when she spoke with him.

"It'll be fine Baaya, don't fret." Hakuba shut the door and she took off after looking me over with my newly styled hair playing more towards Hakuba's old one.

"I feel bad tricking her; maybe you're rubbing off on me too." I scolded him, "stop it." he smiled and looked at his pocket watch.

"Fifteen minutes, twenty-three seconds and ten mil-" I bumped into Hakuba to make him knock it off.

"Timing isn't everything; it's the show that people remember. You really have to lighten up." The detective scowled before thinking about it. Hakuba seemed to be taking my opinions into consideration instead of just blowing them off like he used to or thinking I had some ulterior motive for my comment. To give the guy credit, ninety percent of the time I let my opinion or information slip because I did have an ulterior motive.

"Well then, let's get started. Where will this imposter be coming from?" He rubbed his hands together though an identical pair of my white gloves that he now sported.

"I could only find the best vantage points for me... this isn't me. This is more up your alley. Where would a copy-Kid come from?" I looked around the tall buildings surrounding the large museum that was holding the diamond. This copy-cat had gone after a black diamond just like I had in my latest heist and both had legends surrounding them, making me think that they were just picking the next closest item to the one I failed to acquire.

"Well let's get inside first." I told Hakuba "If we can't tell where they'll come from, we'll go to where they'll be."

"How do you suggest we get in with all the police officers?"

I started walking to the back of the museum where there was a significantly less crowd of people but the same amount of cops. If it'd been anyone else they would have covered the back entrance more heavily but I had made it a point to go through the front more than not.

Almost three fourths around the building I pulled out a thin, invisible string and shot it to the roof. "Hold onto me and help me get up when we reach the top." Hakuba nodded and held onto my good side while I secured a rope around his belt to hold most of his weight.

The mechanism under my coat sleeve that wrapped around my body drew us up quickly and Hakuba grabbed onto the ledge and heaved himself up.

"Thanks" I mumbled as he helped me, feeling bad for grabbing his hands that were still burnt. I quickly threw a beige sheet over us as a helicopter passed overhead. The search light passed over us. "Let's get in through the ventilation. Be quiet and follow me." He nodded.

Making our way through the ventilation duct was slow and not as noiseless as I would have liked. It was easy enough if I could have used both my hands and Hakuba was more skilled in the art of 'not making as much noise as an elephant stampede.'

"Sorry" he apologized when he hit his elbow against the side of the shaft. I hissed in a breath.

"It's not that much further." I thanked whatever god was out there for the ventilation duct being just ten feet from the exhibit.

We reached a grate still a few feet from the diamond and descended. Inspector Nakamori must have noticed that this was a fake as well because there wasn't anyone to meet us as we dropped down. Hakuba was quieter during this since his new change to tennis shoes.

We snuck slowly towards the goal and avoided the police. Hiding two people was harder but Hakuba was patient and waited for my signals.

We arrived in the exhibit room and found twin hiding spots a few feet apart. The lights were on and we'd be in the spot light if we had to jump out to stop the imposter, Hakuba's clothes were good for blending into the shadows but not the light and he would stand out more than me so I had to make sure it was safe before sending him to wolves. Both jackets hid us from view and I barely noticed the difference when Hakuba removed his. I did catch his motion and a flash of white when he placed the mask on his face.

Something further ahead my attention.

"What? What did you see?" He breathed

I smiled diabolically. "I think I've just been hit with brilliance."

"Are you sure it isn't stupidity?" Hakuba whispered to me from the shadows "because that's the look you get on your face when you're about to do something really stupid."

"Genius and stupidity go hand in hand."

"Only with you Kuroba-kun."

"I love being the exception."