Akako stood over a bubbling cauldron, dressed in her full witchly glory, staring down into the glowing contents. A faint, unnatural glow lit the room, thrown off by the liquid that sloshed slowly within the pewter confines of the large bowl, stirred by a large silver rod that moved on its own, set into its path by a small spell earlier in that day.

It would be ready by the specified time, no, sooner, tonight in fact. It'd better be; she'd skipped school to create this. This, this, thing…she could stop now if she wanted to. She hadn't added the most important ingredient, and without it the mixture wouldn't harden, wouldn't crystallize, and would remain a thick liquid soup, devoid of power.

She'd considered stopping many times as she labored over the cauldron, the hot fumes wafting from the surface and making her eyes water. She would push the idea to the back of her mind and press on, continuing the next step in the forbidden and incomplete recipe. She had to keep going, even if she came close to breaking one of the rules set down by her grandmother's grandmother.

Akako took a single strand of black hair between her thumb and forefinger, drawing the thin length in front of her face, just looking at it. Eyes hardening in determination, she gently tugged at the strand, pulling the now loose hair free of entangling strands. She wound it around her fingers, finally tying it off into a loop. It was hard work, tying a knot using something so small, with one hand, but she managed. It was the final piece, the base for the crystal and the source of the power. She let it slip from her hand, falling, falling, into the milky white soup before her.

It sparked the moment it touched the surface, the magic she'd placed within the strand releasing and spreading to the rest of the mixture. The off-white color flashed, turning a deep red as the magic worked its course, the light reflecting all throughout the room. She had to do this.

She really didn't want him to go. She didn't want to lose one of two people to ever evade her grasp. She didn't want to lose the main source of light in her life, steeped in dark magic as it was. His cheerful presence, and easy going manner, had been sorely missed, and now that she found him again—it had to be under these circumstances.

--

Knock, Knock.

His knuckles rapped lightly against the wooden door, pausing after the second stroke to listen for any response. A softly called, 'Come in' answered him, leading Shinichi to tuck his notebook under his arm and open the door, letting himself into the room. In was dark inside, the lights out except for that from the moon, which was only a sliver away from full now.

He could see Kaito from where he stood; the boy was sitting cross-legged on the half-made bed. It was hard to see much in the dark aside from shadows and silhouettes, a fact that served well to hide the small frown he knew was tugging at the magician's usually smiling face, or the worry-lines that wouldn't have looked right on Shinichi's own face, much less that of someone who looked much younger.

"I figured you might want to know how things went today." It was a good enough ice-breaker, drawing Kaito's attention away from juggling his stones and toward him. In answer the boy caught the stones one by one, setting the pile of glittering quartz on the nightstand and flicking on the lamp. He made no move to get up, and instead scooted down closer to the end of the bed, leaving an empty spot free. Shinichi took the invitation, settling on the edge, and laying the notepad down on the comforter. Kaito was watching him now, quietly, intently, and with a deep breath Shinichi opened the book to his marked page. "I went and checked out the neighborhood, the only new information I found was from a little further down the street. Nakamori-san's house."

He was forced to pause when Kaito almost choked on a tired laugh, "I take it was an interesting experience?"

"Not as much as you seem to think. She was really helpful once I cleared up the case of mistaken identity." Pause. "She's worried about you."

"I know." Kaito flopped backwards onto the pillow, staring up at the ceiling. He refused to continue that train of discussion and brought it back to the original point, "So? What'd she say?"

"She reported a black car sitting across the street at 9 and someone exiting the vehicle at…" Shinichi double checked the notes he'd jotted down, "well, anywhere between half an hour to an hour later. She thought it might have been a Konosuke Jii, but I spoke with him and he wasn't anywhere near there that night. That didn't help much other than confirm what we already knew."

Shinichi flipped to the next page, reviewing the scenes from memory as well as written notes, "I also checked out the address written on the note—and yes, I did disguise myself. I do have some sense." He added that last statement almost last minute, causing Kaito to snap his mouth shut and the ghost of a smile to appear. "I did a bit of scouting. It's a full warehouse, plenty of blind spots behind and around the piles of boxes and crates. There weren't any guards that I could see, just locks on the gates and video cameras. "

"What kinds of locks?" The question was rather unexpected, earning an odd, thoughtful pause from the detective before answering, "The main gates require a key code and what seem like ID badges, but there's a back, service entrance that sports a heavy padlock. Difficult, but pickable."

Now it was Shinichi's turn to be on the receiving end of a surprised and speculative look. He chuckled, shaking his head, "What? Learning how to pick locks is almost a required skill for a detective."

"Riiight." Kaito drawled, turning onto his side and propping his head on his arm. Shinichi couldn't help but notice how much he didn't look like a child in that moment, the laidback loose posture more reminiscent of the teen he was. His eyes were half-lidded, head tilted up and hair falling messily across his forehead, "In other words, the meeting place practically screams ambush, and is essentially a locked box with only one feasible way in or out?"

"In a nut shell." The detective shrugged, "I can't really do much more without contacting the police, which we've already ruled out. I talked to Agasa earlier today; he said he may be able to fix up some of his inventions that might be useful."

"Like what?" The ideas the professor had run by him actually sounded pretty useful, and neat. The man really was a genius, even if most of his actual 'money making' schemes ended up blowing up some wall or another. What were they again? "Well, mainly at the moment, he has plans to put together a quick tranquilizer, which might be useful if, and we will, need to incapacitate the kidnapper. I can't always rely on having things to kick at people or the police being handy."

"…you kick things at criminals?" He laughed at the confusion and disbelief coloring the magician's tone. That was right, Kaito hadn't been with him on any of the cases that required some kind of projectile, whether they be actual balls, globes, or even random other small, hard objects. "Only when necessary. I even know a bit of karate, but that's more Ran's thing than mine."

"At least we're not defenseless." The lighter atmosphere seemed to melt at that, returning both of their minds to the next night, a night when a woman's life would hang on the line. Thinking things had progressed too far, Shinichi closed his notebook—there wasn't really much more to go over, just a follow up interview and his research into the reason behind the entire mess.

A movement drew his attention back, looking over to see Kaito sitting up straight, hands touching lightly the edge of the bed and eyes staring out the angled window some ways down the wall. "Do you think…"

He wouldn't let it finish. "It'll be fine."

A half smile, "Yeah. You're right."

--

'If only I could actually believe that.' Kaito checked his location out of the bus window, almost there. He didn't really want to use the bus; the driver had given him a funny look upon boarding. A kid riding the bus alone after dark was an oddity, especially with his rather largish pack. He probably looked like a runaway.

The bus rolled to a stop and Kaito sprung out of the seat, grabbing his pack and slinging it over his shoulder before disembarking. He quickly checked his orientation and the state of the streets, good, not too busy, but not empty either. One block down had him ducking into an alley, donning his black stealth suit as he moved. The target building wasn't far from here, and easily accessible via scaling a fence or two, and then picking a side entrance. It was so much simpler on an official heist. He barely ever had to actually sneak in to get to his targets, all he had to do was disguise as some random police officer, avoid Nakamori and his pinching team, and then he was free to do what he wished.

The door lock was taken care of in seconds, as was the padlock on the other side of the door. His diminished size was actually an asset here, his smaller arms finding more room to maneuver in between the barely open door and the frame. Soon enough he had the padlock and chain falling to the floor, and he left it where it was, closing the door behind him and making his way up the stairs, flight by flight. There weren't any cameras in this stairwell, hence him using it as his entry point. From here it was just three flights up to where the jewel was on display, with a few pit stops along the way to disable the alarms.

Kaito sighed and pressed on, his footsteps slowly diminishing to nothing as he moved into fully silent mode. Show Time.

--

Nakamori stood beside one of the smaller display cases, arms crossed so that he could look down at his watch occasionally. A security guard from the building stood next to him, bored out of his mind and yawning quite obviously. Nakamori had to hold in the urge to scoff, he had been allowed in at least. Being known as one of the faces of the Kaitou Kid Task Force had given him a little extra credibility when it came to the owners of precious jewels. It'd helped him at this point, the owner, while doubtful, was willing to let him into the showroom, with the one guard, but that was as far as it would go. But to be honest, Nakamori hadn't even expected to be allowed into the building given the time of night.

He scanned the dimly lit room—the lights had been left off so that they'd have the advantage of surprise. The shadows were large, caused by the full blast of the moon's rays pouring through the large bay windows that took up almost the entire length of the outside wall. There was a nice view of the city from here, he noted, before drawing his attention back to the two entrances of the room. His position by the display case gave him a perfect view of the entrance to the main corridor. The second door, the stairwell, was to his right and still in view. Between the two doors sat the emerald itself, which was situated near the center of the rest of the smaller cases.

He checked his watch; it was a couple minutes before midnight when he heard something besides his and his companion's noisy breathing. There was a faint scratching sound, of what exactly he couldn't tell through feet of plaster and metal. A glance at the yawning guard told him that he hadn't noticed. The member of the security personnel remained oblivious until at last the door to the service stair creaked open, an act which instantly brought the man to alertness and had him moving forward to rush whoever it was that was currently entering.

That wouldn't do. Nakamori grabbed the man's uniform and shook his head, putting his finger to his lips for quiet. There were only two of them; his usual dog-pile-on-the-bandit plan wouldn't work. In this case the best bet would be to wait until the thief believed he was safe, and then get the jump on him. The door was fully open now, unfortunately blocking the inspector's view because of their position in the back corner of the room. Luckily, the door would also limit the thief's line of sight, and gave Nakamori a few precious seconds to tug on the guard's sleeve and duck out of sight. The dim light from the stair cast a long shadow into the display room, cutting through the sea of moonlight. Nakamori couldn't help but be disappointed at the lack of top hat and cape. He really could only make out the build of the person—very slender judging by the width of the shoulders—because the stretching of the shadow made height a little hard to calculate, but he didn't have to wait long to see the silhouette move soundlessly beyond the blocking range of the door, showing up in stark contrast against the glass window panes.

His first reaction was shock; the person who entered was barely over four feet tall. He couldn't tell if they were a very short adult, or a child with the way the large, cloak like garment fell loosely around the figure, blocking any and all attempts at seeing the proportions. His—he was just going with 'he' as a temporary measure—head and face was likewise covered with a hood.

The thief prowled down the line of display cases, not even bothering to turn his head to examine the other little, but valuable trinkets that lead the way to the main prize. Once the silhouette had passed their position, Nakamori signaled to his companion to get up slowly and quietly, they were going to circle around and block off the exit from behind. Or they would have, if the bumbling fool of a guard hadn't grazed the corner of one of the display, the barely audible sound of the bit-back curse causing the thief to freeze in mid step.

Aw, hell with it. Nakamori then sprang out of hiding, quickly signaling the—stupid, inexperienced, moron of a—guard to quickly head for the other door, so they could block both exits. He called out with his loudest and most commanding bellow, "Alright! Stop right where you are and keep both hands where I can see them!"

Two things happened then. First, the thief's hands slowly rose, and Nakamori's were searching his jacket for his handcuffs. Second, after a few precious, silent moments the thief suddenly spun around, something small and round and very familiar dropping out of one long black sleeve and filling the entire room with that pink, sweet smelling smoke that Nakamori knew was sleeping gas. His gloved hand immediately and habitually went to his nose and mouth, even as he knew from experience it was no use.

He wasn't quite sure if it was reality or just his imagination, but before he dropped off into the familiar darkness of a drug-induced sleep he heard that same breathy, lilting voice that had haunted him for years, and would for years to come.

"I should have expected you."

--

The jewel glittered under the moonlight, but Kaito wasn't watching it beyond just a cursory check. His attention was on the man snoozing lightly against one of the display cases. He was a little proud that someone had figured it out from his tricks with the alarms, but seeing that inspector had nearly given him a heartattack. Still, Nakamori did know him the best out of those on the police force, even if he wasn't Kid right now.

Kaito slid the emerald back into its glass cage, fitting the small bit of glass he'd cut out back into place. He turned away from the jewel, retracing his steps back toward the door. He still had a few minutes before the gas would wear off on Nakamori—he was just glad he'd remembered to bring along a couple of the gas canisters. If he hadn't had it, well, it would have been a bit more difficult to get out of that situation.

He stopped in front of the prone police inspector, crouching down to look at the sleeping face. He was rusty. Nakamori might have actually gotten the jump on him there if it weren't for the other guard, who was currently passed out happily on another section of the floor. He wanted to do something particularly Kid-like right now. His fingers itched to leave a note, a message, something as a reward for his most stubborn pursuer.

But he wasn't Kid right now. Kaito steered himself away from the father of his childhood friend, pushing past and pulling the door shut behind him with a less than quiet clang.

--

Kaito stared up at the looming house, one hand shoved in his pocket and the other attempting to cover up a wide yawn. He was exhausted. He didn't even bother to sleep after getting in this morning; he just grabbed some coffee and headed out. The coffee was the only thing keeping him awake right now; a power nap was definitely on the schedule once this affair was settled.

He shook his head, stepping up the large, ornate wooden door and rang the doorbell. Once, twice, and then he moved back, slipping his hand back into his pockets as he settled in to wait. It wasn't long, the door creeping open with creaking sound, revealing a person about his height. Kaito was a little hesitant to discount the idea that Akako had maybe summoned some sort of imp—the old man sure looked the part.

"Aaah…" The sound was almost a wheeze as the old man pushed the door open further, motioning him into the building, "The mistress told me of your coming. Please follow me."

Kaito eyed the dark innards of the western-style mansion, before shrugging and following after the little goblin. It wasn't too bad at first, the place looking much like any other mansion he'd seen—which had actually been a fair amount—and it wasn't until the wooden-paneled walls faded into stone and they slowly began to descend what seemed to be and endless flight of stairs that he began to feel a little edgy.

Aside from his initial introduction, his guide hadn't said a word. The silence was eerie, especially when the flickering torches, old-fashioned stonework, and the lack of any sort of escape route were added in. The situation didn't change much until, at last, the floor evened out, the stairs spilling out in what seemed like a large, circular chamber. There were many doors ringing the edges, but the old man didn't waver in his path, opening one directly to the right of the staircase, moving to the side of the door frame and bowing, "The mistress awaits."

Mistress, hah, Akako must love that. The door shut behind him, and only when Kaito didn't hear the telling click of a lock did he let himself relax even the slightest bit. Alright, disregarding the fact that he'd have a difficult time trying to find his way back out again…

"I take it you couldn't find it?"

He didn't even bother answering; he wouldn't be here now if he had. First that weirdo butler and now this underground dungeon—he really couldn't call it much else—and of course Akako had to throw her usual omnipotent attitude on top of anything.

"Of course not." She continued, turning away from him and gliding across the stone floor. She was headed toward what appeared to be the main centerpiece of the room, a large cauldron. Unfortunately, because of his height and its position on a raised dais, he couldn't see what was inside, but he didn't need to. His imagination did the work for him, conjuring up various bubbling and glowing oozes, probably with an eyeball floating somewhere inside. The image of a wide fish eye immediately popped into his head, sending an involuntary shudder through his body. Ugh, he didn't want to know.

"What's your plan, Koizumi?" That's it, don't let it show. Kaito stuck his hands into his pockets, leaning back against the stone wall. He was standing near the door, he'd followed his ex-classmate this far, but he wasn't willing to give up the only means of escape. The only reason he was here was because he didn't really have any other options. She'd also seemed like she genuinely wanted to help, which was a first as far as he knew.

"This." Akako plunged her hand into the cauldron, the actions sending some kind of red goop splashing over the rim and landing on the stone dais with a soft hissing noise. It was less than a moment before she drew back, red droplets rolling down her bare skin, pooling at the tips of her fingers, and then dripping back into the container below.

His eyes watching the path of the potion, he almost missed it. Held within the palm of her hand was a small, milky white stone, glistening drops of red clinging to the facets, like tears. He eyes widened.

"The philosopher's stone." Akako informed him in a hollow voice, pulling out a pure white cloth and wiping the almost opaque gem clean, "It isn't complete, of course. I do not have the power, nor desire for immortality. But it should be sufficient for your purposes."

She walked over to a table, situated somewhat closer to the wall and Kaito's position than the dais. On it sat a bowl of some kind of glistening dust and a thin silver chain. Akako paused in front of this table, motioning Kaito closer, and frowned when he refused to move right away. "Fine." He muttered, crossing the rest of the distance, and taking up a position at the foot of the table. To his annoyance, he could just barely see over top.

"Kuroba-kun…" Her voice made him stop examining the materials, instead turning his head to look up at her. That wasn't the sound he was used to. Gone was the superior quality, leaving just the sound of a concerned classmate. Her expression was weird too; she was looking down at him with this look, somewhere between determined and sadness. "I can only give this to you under some conditions. I created this for multiple reasons, the most obvious being it is supposed to be a diversion. But, you cannot use it in an honest bargain with the criminal. While this one may not grant immortality it is a powerful healing agent." She was trying to keep her voice steady, but Kaito could hear the cracks. She was making him uneasy, with the way her fingers curled protectively around the gem in her hands, almost as if she didn't want to let it go. "Koizumi…"

She held up a hand to stop him. "Also you cannot give it back. Ever."

That stopped his conclusion just as it had begun to form. He'd thought that she was having second thoughts about giving it to him, from the sounds of it such a stone was a source of power, and he knew Akako coveted power, especially over others as shown by her harem. "Koizumi…if it's that big a deal, I can do without it. Kud—aah, my partner and I can work around it."

There was silence, and for a moment Kaito thought she looked relieved. But then she laughed. "You don't get it! I want you to have it. I've broken so many rules to create this stone for you. I saw it in the same vision I saw the kidnapping. I just need to know you won't try and destroy it, or drop it into the ocean, or give it away, or some other such nonsense."

The intensity beyond her words was almost frightening, and the air around them and throughout the room was cackling with power, enough that Kaito could feel the hairs on the back of his neck stand on end, and every single instinct was screaming 'danger!' at him. He couldn't believe it, if this stone, this pretty little rock, not even the size of a five-hundred yen piece, was that important, why the hell did she make it? She was a witch, she could have probably rigged something so that some random fake glowed under the moonlight, perhaps a time-triggered spell, or maybe even just throw a red LED into a clear stone, like Shinichi had suggested just that morning. All they needed was a distraction.

"So." Those hard eyes seemed to bore into his, and she held out one hand, in her palm lay the innocent looking pebble, "Will you take it?"

When he didn't move she tossed it at him, and without thinking about it he reached up, fingers curling around the cool, smooth object and snatching it out of the air. A few odd words that he couldn't quite catch filled the room, the chain from the table lifting of its own accord and wrapping around his wrist. Surprised, Kaito drew his arm back suddenly, eyeing the chain warily. It didn't hurt, it wasn't even tightly wrapped, but he couldn't help but remember that once Akako's goal was to capture the Kaitou Kid as her own. He'd gotten caught up in the moment, with the magic crackling around and between them.

He noticed that the end of the chain disappeared under his closed fingers, and upon opening them, discovered that it looped through the end of the stone, passing through a hole he could have sworn wasn't there a moment ago. "What the hell is going on Akako?"

She simply smiled and shook her head, and she straightened up, almost relieved, "The pieces are all set, Kuroba-kun. Let the jewel hang."

Deciding that it was a little too late to second guess her now he shrugged and did as he was told. Looping the chain over his fingers, the stone hung suspended in the air, spinning gently around and around in the dimly lit room. Akako picked up the final object, taking a handful of the glittering dust and muttering a few more of those incomprehensible words.

Soon a sparkling cloud rose from her hands, swirling as if driven by a light breeze through the underground room. It coiled and twisted around the white gem, hiding it from view, before hardening into what Kaito would swear up and down looked like an honest to god sapphire.

"The illusion will last until this time tomorrow night. You shouldn't need it after that." She took the necklace from his hands, running a finger over the finely cut surface as if to inspect it before handing it back. "Keep it with you after that, Kuroba-san. Please."

"We'll see." Kaito responded evasively, moving to tuck it into his pocket before thinking better of it and hanging it around his neck, hidden under his shirt except for the smallest glint of silver. Even with the sapphire it wasn't an obvious bulk. While normally he wasn't a necklace kind of guy, he knew better than to put important things in normal pockets. The pockets in his working suit were different, they were specially designed to keep his cargo safe and in one place.

"Igor will lead you out Kuroba-kun." With a wave of her hand the butler-thing was opening the door, motioning for Kaito to follow him. Ready to get out of such a creepy place Kaito turned to follow, but paused in the door frame when he heard Akako speak again.

"Good luck Kuroba-kun, and goodbye."

That was an odd way to phrase it.

The door closed behind him.

--

"Kuroba-kun…" Akako sighed when she was sure they were gone, looking down at her hands and at the faint tingle of magic that still clung to them. A fake just wouldn't be a fitting parting gift to Kuroba-kun. Especially when she knew she'd never see Kuroba Kaito again.

--

Shinichi was in the library, skimming through an old and worn, but well loved copy of The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes. He knew most, if not all of the stories by heart now, after years and years of reading them over and over again. Holmes was what had gotten him into detective work, Holmes and his father, and Holmes was what he always returned to.

He glanced over toward the desk, at the small digital clock sitting innocently on the desk. The blinking numbers told him exactly what he'd expected—it wasn't time yet. This time he wasn't reading for fun, or to reinspire himself, but it was to pass the time. There were hours yet until nightfall, and even after that some time before the moon would be fully visible. Kaito wasn't back yet either, he'd just barely caught him this morning, catching the boy in the middle of a cup of coffee shortly after waking up, but Kaito had run out without much word after that. They only had a few hours, and they didn't even have a plan.

Other than the fact that I'm going to be disguised as him, there really isn't anything concrete. Shinichi reflected, stifling a sigh and shaking his head. He returned his attention to the book, trying not to think of how much didn't like just sitting here, doing nothing and letting the hours pass by. He'd considered scouting out the warehouse again—if he was lucky he might catch the criminal unawares or manage to get Kuroba-san out of there—but the risks were too great. If Kaito was correct about the identity of the culprit, which he was given the demands, then they were dealing with a very dangerous man. His father's files didn't really have much to say about his methods, but they were very clear on that point.

Wait…

He looked at the clock again, closing the book gently while marking his place. It was 1 o'clock now, which meant it was 6 o'clock yesterday in Hawaii. He placed the book on the desk, grabbing the telephone and pulling the receiver toward him. A few short blips later and he was listening to the ringing of a phone, his fingers thrumming against the arm of the chair as he waited for it to connect. He couldn't believe he hadn't thought of it before. His father kept records on this guy, and his father never wrote everything down, he always left out more sensitive information that he kept locked up inside his head.

"Hello?" The English answer made him pause, he usually didn't call his parents, they called him, before he shook his head and continued, "'Tou-san?"

"Shinichi?" His father switched to Japanese, "What is the matter?"

That caused him to stop and stare at the phone, "How'd you know?"

"The only time you call me directly is if you need something."

Right…He usually called their vacation home if he just wanted to talk, not the cell phones. He'd wanted to make sure he got his Dad this time; he didn't want to have to explain anything to his Mom. "Anyway, I need some information. Do you know of a man, a jewel thief, who operated under the code-name Snake?"

There was silence on the other end of the line, but Shinichi waited. He shifted in the large arm-chair, grabbing his notepad and pencil out of his pocket and braced it against his knee, ready to take notes. When his father's voice returned it was quiet, hushed, "Shinichi…what have you gotten yourself into now?"

A wry smile, "It's actually not me this time. A friend of mine's mother was kidnapped, and the culprit is either this Snake man or someone who works with him. I found your file on him, but any other information would be appreciated."

"I think you are in a bit over your head, son." Yuusaku sighed, "But knowing you, you won't stay away even if I told you to. I don't have anything more recent, but eight years ago this man was part of an organization dedicated to researching immortality. If I recall correctly he was part of the group looking into old legends, especially—"

"Gemstones, sounds about right." Shinichi muttered to himself, jotting something down. "Dad, does 'Pandora' ring a bell?"

"…where did you hear about that?"

Bingo. Now his Dad sounded worried. "It's the demand."

"Shinichi, this is serious. That jewel has a very bloody history with this group. They are willing, and have killed for it. My contact was killed for sticking his nose into the matter with that stone, and if it weren't for his family's connection to the local police, they would have been too. This group has a very clear policy, there are no witnesses, and obstacles must be eliminated, thoroughly. Not just the obstacle, but their family, close friends—"

"I'm back!" Kaito's voice echoed up the stairs, drawing Shinichi's attention away from his father and pausing the scratch of his pen against the paper.

"Are you listening to me Shinichi? I'll be flying out there in a couple days—don't do anything before then, alright?"

"I've gotta go Dad. My friend is back."

"Shinichi! Promise me."

"Bye." He hung the phone up with a click—he was going to pay for that later, but there was no way he could do as his father asked. The deadline was tonight. He managed to slip the notebook into his pocket and returned the phone to its normal position before he heard Kaito on the stairs. He didn't want to tell the magician anything of what he'd just learned; there was no need to worry him. It was bad enough that just his mother's life was on the line, he didn't need to know that there could be a chance it could spill over onto every other person he held dear.

Shinichi had grabbed his book and started to pretend he'd been reading the whole time when the door opened, admitting a very windswept looking Kaito. Hair messed up even more than usual, face colored a little red from the chilly air outside, the boy quickly crossed the open space, stopping a few feet from Shinichi's chair, "Well, well, I thought I was the one who liked to lurk in here."

"It was my space long before you came around, kid."

There was a quick shift in his expression at the comment, but it was smoothed over so fast that Shinichi wasn't quite sure if he'd actually seen it. The kid's 'Poker Face' was definitely on today, it had to be for him to be acting so calm, especially with what would happen in the next five, six, seven hours weighing on his mind.

Kaito just waved off the retort with an airy "Details, details" before his hands went to his neck and touched a small silver chain that glittered against pale skin. Shinichi blinked, that wasn't there a minute ago, was it?

"Catch." Was the only warning he got before Kaito slid the chain over his head and tossed the necklace at the detective. He had to drop the book into his lap in order to receive it, hands closing around something large and round. Held in his palm was what looked to be a large sapphire, facets gleaming in the overhead lights, "Is this—"

"Nah, it's not the real thing. But it should be fine as bait; they've never seen it before."

"Where'd you get it?"

Kaito frowned a little, "Would you accept the answer that it's a secret?"

"Kaito—"

"Please?"

"…fine…" For now at least. One day, there weren't going to be secrets anymore. He'd make sure of that. They just had to get through tonight in one piece.

A/N: Okay, that should be the last of the set-up chapters. The confrontation should be next. I'd actually had this chapter—up until that last section—done about a week ago, but it didn't seem like the right stopping point. Still doesn't, but I can't think of anything else. I'd tried to tone down the 'telling', it's just an experiment.

Anyway, next chapter…I don't know. I haven't started it yet, so it could be soon, or a month from now depending on motivation.

By the way, there's been something bothering me. A couple people mentioned Shinichi and figuring out Kid, right? I've went over everything Shinichi knows, and I can't see him drawing the connection. He'd only met Kid once(clock tower) and that was from a helicopter. There was no Movie 8 to let him know that Kid looked like him or any other clues from the DC Kid cases. And Kaito's been careful. Everything Kid-like he'd done, that Shinichi knows about, could be explained away as being a magician. Shinichi sees the magician, not the phantom thief.

And…I guess the point of that little paragraph is that Shinichi won't figure it out with the information he has. He will, eventually, but it will be because of an outside source. And, I should probably shut up now before I give anything more away.

Thank you so much for the comments! The ones about the 'show not tell' were helpful with my little dilemma, and the ones (or parts of ones) about the story give me a look into what the readers are getting out of this story. It's very interesting, seeing which parts of the chapter stuck out the most to different people. Oh, and special thanks to The Shang Kudarung, you didn't need to review every chapter, but I really enjoyed reading them!

Remember to leave a review~

Till next time.

-Katreal