Chapter two
Kuroba
ooOO-OOoo
"Coming~," Yukiko sang as she skipped to the front door. The bell had dragged her from a cup of green tea in the library, but she didn't mind. As soon as her husband got hit by an idea and went into writer-mode, it was like talking all to herself. Sometimes, she welcomed these phases because she could do whatever popped up in her mind (not that she would hold back in other times) but she got bored rather quickly. After pestering her son about the heist and Ran's party, calling some friends and redecorating the living room, she was left with nothing else to do. An unexpected guest could be just the right distraction for her.
She opened one of the huge double-doors to greet the visitor with a beaming smile - and paused. It took her whole five seconds to realize that her mouth hung open and that she was impolitely gaping at the young man who waited patiently in front of her.
"Uh oh, sorry," she laughed a bit embarrassed. "It's just – you look like… well, never mind. How can I help you?"
The boy smiled winningly. "Don't worry, no harm done. Kuroba Kaito is the name." He snapped his fingers and produced a red rose that he offered Yukiko with an elegant bow. "I would like to see Kudou-kun if possible."
Yukiko took the rose with a blush. "Oh, you're one of Shinichi's friends. Come in, come in." She waved him into the entry hall. "He is upstairs in his room. Such a fine weather outside and that lazy bum is reading all day. He really should-"
"Oi, I've heard that," came a shout from the stairs. With a scowl on his face and after some fiddling with his cane, Shinichi stood next to his mother. "I'm trying to learn up there, you know? And thanks to you I've already lost two whole hours today. Don't you want me to-"
"Ano, Shin-chan," Yukiko interrupted his ranting. "Maybe you would like to say hello to your friend?"
Shinichi blinked. 'Oh right, I've heard the bell and thought it might be Ran.' He turned his attention to the boy behind his mother. "Err…" He had no idea who was standing there, what was a dead giveaway to who it was; if that made any sense. 'Okay – this is rather unexpected.'
"Hi, uh..."
The boy smiled widely at him, with just the tiniest hint of his usual grin. "Kudou-kun, hi. I'm here 'cause you've promised to help me with my studies." He linked his arm with Shinichi's and led him back to the stairs, a small frown on his face. "Don't tell me you've forgotten about your pal Kuroba Kaito. I told you, I'm counting on you."
"Yeah – right, sure." Shinichi slowly recovered from his surprise. "We'll be upstairs then, Kaa-san."
"Would you like some tea?" Yukiko asked after them a bit puzzled. Her son was acting weird. And she was pretty sure that she had seen this boy before, aside from him being a nearly mirror image of Shinichi.
"No no – we're fine, thanks."
'You're really pretty, Obaa-san.' In Yukiko's mind's eye, a small boy held out a red rose to her.
'Kuroba Kaito – could he be…' Her hand slowly covered her mouth.
ooOO-OOoo
Closing the door behind him, Shinichi looked at his guest, who glanced around his room at the moment. A teenager about his own age, who bore a significant resemblance to himself, casually dressed in blue jeans and a light blue t-shirt with a white print on the front.
Kuroba Kaito.
The name 'Kuroba' stroke a chord, but he couldn't place it right now. It wasn't important either, because the name could be fake; as well as the face and the voice for that matter. He wouldn't put it past the thief to have several identities in petto, though he was pretty sure that KID actually was in his teens. But did he have to look like he could pass for his twin? Well, a twin with a serious case of bed-head that was. Maybe he should be thankful that the thief hadn't chosen to show up as a girl, what seemed to be a preferred disguise of him. His mother would have had a field day – and would've called Ran. Urrg.
Shinichi walked over to his bed and shoved some books aside to sit down, gesturing- well, he could go with the name for now, right? Gesturing at Kuroba to have a seat on his swivel-chair. It felt a bit awkward to meet outside of a heist and he wasn't sure how to start this. His gaze fell on the thief's left hand. "How's your injury?"
Kuroba absently stroke over the bandages while his eyes roamed over Shinichi's bookshelf. "Just a graze. In a few days it'll be as good as new."
Shinichi nodded. That was good. A thief who couldn't use both hands was a captured thief. Wait – why did he think that was good again? He rubbed the nape of his neck. "Well, as I'm sure you've heard, the hotel manager was glad to get his jewels back."
"Oh, yeah – I've read the newspaper this morning. Nice shot of Nakamori-keibu on the balcony," Kuroba chuckled.
Nakamori had been pissed, to say the least. Shinichi had told him that KID got away after a short struggling. He felt a bit guilty, because he'd wiped away KID's blood from the door-handle, but how should he have explained it? Furthermore, they would've had the thief's DNA and that really wouldn't help to keep him alive. As long as he didn't know who was after KID, he wasn't willing to take any risks. It wouldn't be the first time that someone had infiltrated the police. And what better way to keep an eye on the thief than to join the task force, or even fill a higher position in division two? So, he'd destroyed evidence – great. He groaned inwardly. It would be best to make this cooperation as short as possible or he would end up in jail instead of the thief.
"Okay KID, fire away. Who is after you and why?"
"Kuroba."
"What?" Shinichi asked confused.
"My name," the thief clarified. "It's Kuroba Kaito. I would prefer you'd call me that. I'm not exactly on the job right now and I presume that your house is save enough to speak openly."
"Ok, yes – no problem. Go ahead then, Kuroba."
"Thanks. Well, it started with the KID who appeared nineteen years ago. Originally, he'd been a stage magician and he happened to cross paths with a syndicate that searched for a certain jewel. Now, here is where the story becomes a bit – magical? Unbelievable? Mystical?" Kuroba shrugged. "Call it whatever you want. I don't believe it either, but this jewel is said to have the power to grant eternal life and youth."
Shinichi almost choked. Eternal life and youth? This was exactly what Kaneshiro had been after. "You're sure they have nothing to do with the Black Organization?"
"Pretty sure, yes. I think they have been subdued by the them, 'cause as soon as the Organization had vanished, they became a lot more aggressive."
That was highly probable. With an organization as powerful as the BO, all the smaller gangsters and wannabe-godfathers had to keep a low profile or associate with the big brother. Figures that they would go on the rampage now. Shinichi didn't delude himself. Just because the BO was gone, didn't mean that there weren't any criminals left. The Tokyoter underground was about to reorganize itself. He grimaced as he saw a lot of work coming up.
"Usually, they appeared just every now and then, but now Snake pops up at every single heist. Quite a pain," Kuroba said and scrunched up his nose.
"Snake?"
The thief waved dismissively. "They are using animals as code-names and Snake is the one who seems to be assigned to kill KID, though I don't think it was him the other night. His trademark move is a shot to the heart. Because of that, I had to add a bulletproof vest to my uniform. Do you have any idea how difficult it was to find one that doesn't look bulky under my suit?" At a loss what to say, Shinichi just slowly shook his head no and KID shrugged. "Anyway, I'm just glad that he aims for the heart and not the head or I would have been dead at our first encounter." He grinned and made a peace sign. "Lucky."
The thief surely knew how to keep up a carefree facade, even while saying something like that. Shinichi sighed disbelievingly and decided to change the topic. "So, a stone that grants immortality – fine, why not. And then?"
Kuroba pulled up his legs and now sat cross-legged on the chair. It didn't look really comfortable to Shinichi, but the thief seemed to feel quite at home. "This jewel, named Pandora, is a double-jewel. I'll spare you the complete legend, but held against a full moon, the inner jewel is supposed to glow deep red. Since no one knows any more details, it could be any given jewel in any collection all over the world. And that's what made 1412 an international thief," Kuroba said, spreading his arms out to the sides. "He wanted to find Pandora before the syndicate and that," he faltered just the slightest, but Shinichi caught it nonetheless. "got him killed in the end."
If Shinichi remembered correctly, 1412 had performed heists in France and Germany, as well as in America. His father had put tabs on him back then and had been a consultant for Interpol a few times. The nickname 'KID' had been his doing, because he'd misinterpreted the scrawly writing of some officer. KID and he had had a similar competitive relationship as he himself and Kuroba had nowadays.
That the 'new' KID's heists were focused on Japan made sense if one assumed that the original KID had been an adult, while the current one was a minor, who couldn't travel as freely.
Anyway - Kuroba's behavior when he'd spoken about the first KID's death prompted that he'd had an emotional bond with him. Gone was the devil-may-care attitude, and the boy before him was suddenly just that – a boy. A boy who'd suffered a great loss.
"There is more, isn't it?" Shinichi prodded carefully and in a gentle voice. He didn't want to push, but he had to know as much as possible if he wanted to be any help at all. "You knew him."
Kuroba's eyes darkened. Lost in memories he bowed his head. "I did. Actually, I knew him very well." He looked up again with a mournful yet determined expression and Shinichi sensed the answer he was about to get.
"He was- I'm his son."
ooOO-OOoo
Hours of talking later, Shinichi had gotten a pretty good overview of how Kuroba had found out about his father being KID and his past adventures. Some of them sounded quite unbelievable, but he had little room to talk, having been shrunk back into a grade-schooler.
He'd always surmised that there was more to KID than met the eye and in some way he could understand where the thief was coming from, though he still didn't believe that searching for vengeance was the right way to make peace with his father's death. Especially not if he had to break the law repeatedly. At least KID returned all the jewels, so the only thing one really could hold against him was breaking and entering and some collateral damage (and many officers' lost dignity). If you wanted to see it from the bright side, KID's existence maintained the jobs of a whole task force and Shinichi was sure their families were grateful to know that the utmost danger to encounter on a heist was to be humiliated by the thief.
Or so they'd thought until now. Apparently, KID had had to deal with these attempted assaults since the very beginning. That no one had noticed anything so far spoke volumes about KID's precautions and his eagerness to keep everyone who attended his heists save.
'No one gets hurt on a heist.'
The question was how to catch those responsible for the first KID's death and preferably bringing down the whole syndicate.
Frustrated, Shinichi dragged a hand over his face. It never could be easy, could it? "So, I take it your assistant already helped your father back then?"
Kuroba nodded. "He also is an acquaintance of my family, though I'd like to keep quiet about his name for now."
"Fair enough. Now, what do you expect me to do? I'm sure you're aware of the fact that I'm obviously not more suited to go up against them singlehandedly than you are. And if I have learned anything during this whole Conan-fiasco, it would be that it never pays out to take everything on yourself anyway." He leaned forward; arms propped up on his knees, chin resting on his hands. "You actually want to use my connection to the police? You do realize such cooperation won't come without some accommodations, right?"
Poker face was something KID excelled in, Shinichi had to give him that. If the thought of giving up on his career as phantom thief burdened KID in any way, he didn't let it show. If anything, Shinichi thought that he might have seen a fleeting shimmer of relief in Kuroba's eyes.
"As much as I love to entertain my fans and my loyal task force, I never intended to go on as KID forever. I do have a private life and I just took on my father's legacy to bring these criminals to justice." Kuroba's voice was sober and calm. "If that means I have to hazard the consequences, I will approve." The thief's gaze intensified as he looked at Shinichi. "All I ask for is the safety of my friends and family."
That was a wish Shinichi could comprehend quite easily. The same desire had led him to most of the decisions he'd made as Conan, but for KID to so easily accept what would most likely end in his arrest…
'He really has to be in a pinch.' He examined the boy in front of him more closely, noting how his skin seemed to be just a shade paler than could be called healthy, and how the area under his eyes was slightly darkened.
'Or maybe he is just tired of being chased. I can sympathize with that.' Again, Shinichi wondered if he was looking at the thief's real face, because why should he have bothered to add such details to a mask? Then again, exactly this train of thought could be the reason why. "Good. Then I'll talk to Nakamori-keibu tomorrow. The sooner we get this started, the higher the chances we can get them unprepared. If they become aware of you working with the police, it will just complicate the situation."
Kuroba inclined his head. "Right, so I will take my leave for now." He stood up and Shinichi mirrored his movement. The thief caught a card out of thin air and handed it to the detective. "Please contact me after the meeting. It's the number of a prepaid cell phone. I think I don't have to tell you to call from a safe line?" he asked teasingly. Shinichi huffed but took the card. He was strangely relieved to see that the mischievous spark in the other boy's eyes was back. It had been kind of disturbing to interact with an earnest KID.
On their way back to the front door they crossed the living-room, where Shinichi's mother was snuggled up on the big comfortable couch, while his father stood at the window.
'They were waiting for us,' Shinichi realized.
At the boy's entrance, Yukiko jumped up. "Kaito-kun! It's so wonderful to see you again," she cheered, startling him with a quick embrace.
He looked at her questioningly. "Thanks- but I believe it have been just a few hours since we met?" And why did she use his given name? Not that he himself was much into all this formal stuff, but usually the rest of the world seemed to care.
A soft chuckle directed his attention to Kudou Yusaku. "Please don't mind her Kuroba-kun. She just was really attached to your father and gets excited fairly quickly."
Now both of the boys were wide-eyed. They had known his father? For Shinichi it was the answer to his question if Kuroba was who he pretended to be, but it also meant that his father had known the first KID. Was he aware of that? While his thoughts ran back to a certain treasure hunt, Kuroba had gone very still.
He blinked a few times. "You- you knew my dad?" Swallowing suddenly seemed to be a difficult task as a lump formed in his throat.
Yukiko smiled at him warmly. Taking his hand, she led the befuddled teen to the couch and gently pushed him down in the cushions. Tucking a stray strand of her honey-brown hair behind her ear, she sat down as well. "You have been very young back then, so it's just natural that you don't remember. He was my tutor in the art of disguising. It was a great help for me, seeing that I've been at the very beginning of my career and lacked experience so far." Her eyes misted slightly with memories. "Kuroba Toichi – he was an amazing man. Always patient with his students and so very talented and kind." Her gaze met Kaito's and she smiled again. "And you wouldn't believe how proud he was of you."
Kaito had to remind himself to breathe. He rarely met people who had been acquainted with his father. Most of them just knew the showman, the magician, but few had seen the more private Toichi. It also was a bit strange to learn that he had some ties to the detective that went back that far. As if their fates somehow had been linked from the very beginning.
Yukiko chuckled as she eyed the wonder the boy's face expressed. "I couldn't believe my eyes when you stood in front of me earlier and pulled off the exactly same trick you did at our first meeting. Oh, and your mother-"
"Yukiko, I think you're overwhelming the poor boy with your little outburst," Yusaku's calm voice interrupted her. She gave him a pouting look, but he kept his eyes trained on Kaito, examining him. He was lean, but his movements told about well-trained muscles and excellent body control, his eyes were bright and observant. It was possible…
Yusaku had kept track of KID's heists over the last two years. Part out of mere amusement, but more importantly out of suspiciousness. He hadn't known Toichi as good as his wife had, but he'd had his fair share of encounters with the man at his magic shows, though he was sure that they had met more often on a completely different kind of stage. He'd never gotten the last proof that Toichi had been KID, but his gut feeling told him that he'd been right. The heists had stopped after Toichi's dramatic death and who would be better suited to pick up his cape than his son? Though that left him with the same question as back then.
'Why?'
He didn't believe that Toichi could have wanted for his son to carry on as his successor, so the boy must have decided on his own. But why did he wait so long? He had been really young, so it might have taken some time to grow into the role. Or maybe he simply hadn't known before.
Yusaku had many questions for the youngster, but decided they could wait for now. Watching how Yukiko saw Kaito off after she'd gotten him to promise that he would visit again soon, he just hoped that his son knew what he was doing. Shinichi had had more than enough near-death experiences and was still on his way to recuperate. Seeing him walking up the stairs a bit awkwardly with the cane was a painful reminder of that fact.
This time he would keep a very close eye on him.
A/N: Much talking, no action - I know, but it is necessary. We all know Yusaku is one hell of a detective, so it shouldn't be surprising that he suspects Kaito of being KID. Sometimes, I don't like how he takes the spotlight from Shinichi, but ok- he is older, he has more experience. I think that being a writer also gives him some advantage over his son. He sees was could be possible and combines that with his analytic skills. But every now and then he really is just too good to be true…
