Part Four

"We're almost at the station now," Nakamori was saying as he watched his daughter and her best friend quibbled over Kaito's latest offense. "Uh-huh. Yeah. Yeah. Give me an hour to make sure my daughter's taken care of; then I'll be right there. Yeah. Yeah. Okay, see you then."

Kaito looked up when Nakamori clipped his phone shut, an all too familiar vein pulsing on the side of his temple just behind his eyebrow.

"Aw, trouble in paradise?" Kaito asked in perfect innocence.

"Damn owner of the jewel collection's getting all pissy-wissy about the security we're offering. Damn foreign know-it-all son-of-a-bitch shit-head."

"Tou-san!" Aoko tsked, glaring at her father's poor language.

"Sorry, honey," Nakamori offered with sincerity, looking sheepish. "It just falls out before I realize it."

The girl snorted and turned her head away, leaving Kaito to smile fondly at her, before becoming a little too conscious of her father's knowing look. He found himself involuntarily blushing, and coughed to try and cover it up. This only made Nakamori grin all the more.

A pleasant voice announced the station they were arriving at, and Kaito was the first to get up and reach overhead to collect the bags. The car slowed to a stop, but the student moonlighting as a thief didn't even notice as he continued hauling their bags off the shelf.

"Kaito, how do you always do that?" Aoko demanded as she started hefting her overnight bag.

"I'm a magician," he offered happily. "I can't let you know all my secrets."

She snorted. "Like you have any secrets."

Kaito inwardly stiffened, knowing the hell that would come if she ever learned the truth, but shrugged it off. He didn't notice her sudden quiet, her eyes widening as something occurred to her.

Crowding with everyone as they exited the train to the platform, Kaito turned to see Nakamori was once again on the phone, and once again swearing a blue streak. He glanced at Aoko and she simply shrugged her shoulders, admitting defeat and rolling her eyes as a particularly vicious word erupted from her father's mouth.

"Kaito-nii-chan!"

Kaito straightened, abject terror - to say nothing of panic - exploding in his veins as he recognized that child's voice. Weight suddenly wrapped around his leg and he looked down in growing horror.

"I finally caught you! Kaitou-nii-chan!" the voice attached to the weight said happily.

Panic. Unfettered, uncontrolled panic. Only all his experience as Kid kept him from showing it, and it was everything he could do to kick said panic into a bag and toss it to the four winds. Options were considered in the span of a breath as he stared down at that evil grin that was innocently staring up at him and finally he decided on a course of action.

"Ah! It's an ankle-biter! Look out Aoko!"

And with all his might he lifted his leg up and tried to kick one Edogawa Conan off his leg. The teen turned toddler had a vice-like grip, however, and he absolutely would not let go. He was considering disappearing in a puff of smoke but Aoko, damn her, thwacked him on the head. "That's dangerous, Kaito!" she reprimanded, before pulling Conan off of his leg. "And you!" she admonished, shaking a finger at the seeming seven year old. "His name is Kaito. Ka-i-to! Kaitou means phantom thief and there's no way that idiot magician is a phantom thief, you got that?"

Conan frowned innocently, and said Kaitou Kaito decided, not for the first time, that the kid's acting abilities were damn good when he wanted them to be.

"Didn't I say Kaito-nii-chan?" he asked.

"Sorry about that," Ran said, quickly appearing through the crowd, her father trailing after her, looking bored out of his mind. "He's been talking about the Kaitou Kid note the entire train ride," she offered, taking the boy's hand in hers. "He's really excited."

Nakamori finally hung up his phone and turned to see the recently arrived Mouri family. "Eh? You're going to be here too?" he asked with a flat gaze.

"Afraid a famous detective like me will rain on your parade?" Kogorou asked in an attempt to be suave. Kaito could clearly see the electric sparks beginning to bounce off the older men. The girlfriend was quick to placate. "We were invited," she said quickly, stepping between her father and Nakamori. "Hattori Heiji-kun had called us when he got a note, and since Shinichi couldn't make it, Hattori-kun asked us to come instead. Don't worry, we'll," she gestured to herself and put a hand on the kid, "be as unobtrusive as possible." Mouri glared over her shoulder, making several unbecoming faces in an attempt to provoke Nakamori.

Aoko quickly stepped up in front of her father. "Thank you for letting my dad know beforehand," she said quickly, "and if you or... Hattori-kun?... have any inspiration, then please let my father know. Please regard my father kindly." She bowed politely.

Ran bowed as well. "Please regard us kindly," Ran responded.

Kaito grinned as he looked down to the kid. "You know, if girls ran the world it would be a much more peaceful place." The teen thief raised an eyebrow when he saw the openly loving gaze that was plastered on the fake child's face. Curious beyond measure, Kaito squatted down and tilted his head down to get a better look. "Careful, ankle-biter," he said with a smirk, "or your face will freeze like that."

Conan started slightly and put on a more schooled look before turning to glare at Kaito. "The same could be said for you just now," he offered with not a small amount of spite.

Kaito's face slacked on surprise for only a fraction of a second before he recovered. "You're pretty good for an ankle-biter," he said brightly, "but let's just keep that little nugget between us. If she found out, she'd kill me with a mop."

The grin on Conan's face was a little too knowing for Kaito's comfort. "I suppose that would be true," he said, his tone a little lower, his words a little older. "And if she didn't, Inspector Nakamori probably would."

And that little comment made Kaito loose a drop of sweat down the back of his neck, and he couldn't imagine why. Well, no, he could imagine all too well why Conan could make him sweat - his Everything-Possible-Goes-Wrong nightmares had both Kudo Shinichi and Edogawa Conan biting at his heels - but while he intellectually understood that there was no reason for him to sweat (yet), he couldn't help but feel that somehow the teen toddler knew his night job and that he was in Deep Shit because of it.

None of these swirling thoughts came up to his face, though; he just gave a wry smile and replied, "You're probably right there."

"Right about what?" Aoko asked, and Kaito suddenly (and justifiably) felt like Lady Luck decided to take a day off from him.

"Kaito-nii-chan was just saying," Conan chirped brightly, "that you were probably wearing pink underwear today, and I said that it was rude to guess, and he said I was probably right."

Damn you, Kudo, Kaito thought viciously.

"Kaitoooooooooooooo..."Aoko said with a fiery (and distractingly attractive) flush across her face, fist raised in warning.

"Ah! See! You called him Kaitou-nii-chan too!"

"Ah, Conan-kun," Ran said quickly, "Not a good idea."

And it was true, because metaphorical fire was radiating off of the teen girls' battle aura.

"He did what?" Nakamori's outraged cry interceded an impending bloodshed. Kaito breathed a sigh of relief and was more than pleased to see Conan do the same. "That +_)(*!~ piece of ~!#$%^&*()_ of _)(*&~! Hell yes you tell him I said that! Bastard!"

Snapping his phone shut with a growl he turned to Aoko. "Stupid overbearing shit-head silver-spooned bastard went and hired snipers to help guard his collection! I got to go, damnit, and give him a piece of my mind!" There was a growl and a long string of curse words that followed, but ultimately he gave a great sigh, putting a hand to his forehead. "Aoko," he pleaded. "Can you find the hotel yourself?"

Kaito frowned in sympathy, and Aoko quickly piped up. "Of course, Tou-san. Not a problem; Kaito and I will be fine. Go do your thing, we understand."

Nakamori swept his daughter up into a fierce hug, making the teenagers and Mouri flush a little in embarrassment. "I'm sorry, honey," he said quietly. "I'll be back as quick as I can."

"I know, Tou-san, I know," Aoko said with an equally soft voice. Kaito saw the quick and sharp look of pain on her face before she took a breath and steadied herself. "I'll have everything settled and put away for you," she said brightly, pulling out of the hug. "You take care of the heist."

Nakamori nodded, his own pain equally sharp on his face before he turned and walked through the station, phone open and a string of curses being left in his wake.

Mouri stared after the other man, an eyebrow quirked. "He doesn't expect me to-"

"Finish that sentence and I'll break your wrist," Ran said very brightly. Kaito knew the threat was because the Great Snoring Kogorou was about to complain about watching kids that weren't his own. "We can at least keep them company until Hattori-kun shows up."

The older man yawned. "Fine, fine." The quintet left the station and crossed a street, settling down on a bench. The girls were already in deep conversation; Mouri was digging through his pockets for a cigarette. Kaito affected being bored, but he was more interested in the little tidbit about snipers. He'd have to sneak into Nakamori's team and find out what the collector had in mind. He knew the foreigner had top-notch security - he'd already looked through all the plans, before and after the heist note - but this was the first he'd heard of snipers. He hadn't thought the old man to be quite so bloodthirsty, and Kaito considered himself a good judge of character considering the amount of research he'd done on the man. Could it be a show of force? Or was the guy possessive enough to actually kill to prevent theft?

Narrow blue eyes the exact color as his own focused on him very intently, and Kaito decided to stare right back. "What?" he asked with fake indignation. Inside he was nervous again.

The knowing gaze immediately disappeared to an innocent, questioning gaze. "I was wondering," he said brightly, and in a voice just loud enough to attract the girls' attention. "If you know the color of Aoko-nee-chan's underwear, then what's the color of yours?"

"Conan-kun!" Ran said in scandal.

Aoko burst out laughing. "Yes, Kaito, just what color are you wearing today?"

Kaito was not about to let this get under his skin. "Oooh, Aoko," he said, nudging her. "I didn't know you wanted to know that badly. You know if you're really interested then why not drop by tonight and-"

"Kaito!" And there was a resounding swing that Kaito ducked with practiced ease.

"Conan-kun, come here right this instant!" Conan cringed, knowing he had gone too far with that comment to Kuroba. Aoko continued to swipe and swat at Kaito, and Kogorou was yawning in boredom. Ran pulled him close and whispered in his ear, "What is going on with you?"

Conan knew he owed an explanation. He'd made a point of making sure she talked to Aoko about secrets the night of the Budokan murder, and then turned around and voluntarily spent time with his kids while Ran went off to visit with the girl - deliberately avoiding Kuroba. Now that they were face to face, he went and pounced on him and teased him at every possible opportunity. It was contradictory behavior, and Conan looked down in shame, knowing he was giving mixed messages.

"I..." he started, looking up at her, then frowned, trying to find the right words. "... Ask me after the heist," was all he could offer, wincing at the lameness of the excuse.

Ran frowned, not happy with the answer, but something in her face conveyed understanding on at least some level. She nodded. Conan was not used to being in this kind of situation. More often than not, he had too little information and not enough resources and was struggling to find leads; but now he had almost too much information and too many ways to handle it, and he wasn't sure what avenue would be best for him to take.

Kuroba was right there in front of him, he didn't have to wait until the heist to talk to him, but too many people were there: Ran, Aoko, Occhan, earlier Nakamori… it wasn't the right time. It irked him to no end when he realized it, and could only act the part of a little child. He had even tried to impress upon Kuroba that they needed to talk, deliberately calling him "Kaitou-nii-chan," but he either missed the reference (entirely unlikely) or decided to ignore it. That had only irked him further, and the fake elementary student had reduced himself to petty teasing either to blow off steam or divert the magician's keen attention.

Even now, Conan was looking out the side of his vision as the teen magician danced and pranced around Aoko, and realized the teen magician was watching him just as intently out of the corner of his eye. Conan cursed and turned the other way.

"Hey," Kogorou said, taking a long drag on his cigarette. "How long before that brat comes to pick us up?"

"Tou-san," Ran admonished, "don't be rude; I'm sure they're on their way."

Aoko turned from her latest swing. "May I ask who you're waiting for, anyway?"

"Hattori-kun and Kazuha-chan," Ran explained brightly. "They're friends of ours, and whenever we're in Osaka, Hattori-kun always makes a point of looking out for us. You should meet Kazuha-chan, Aoko-chan, I think the two of you would get along very well."

"Really?" she asked brightly, sitting back down on the bench. "What's she like?"

"I've told you a little bit about her before," Ran explained, glancing at Conan and giving him a smile.

Oh, how he loved her. He pattered past her and Kogorou and back up to Kuroba. "Ne, Kaito-nii-chan?" he asked brightly. "What brings you to Osaka? Aoko-nee-chan is here because of her father, right? So why are you here?"

Kuroba smiled brightly, squatting down to his eye level. "Mom got in contact with some family she was estranged from for a while and found out they were living here in Osaka. I'm off to spend Golden Week with them."

"But don't you think it's strange?" Conan offered, his mind calculating, "that your mom isn't with you? If she's the one who found them, then shouldn't she be with you?"

"You'd be right, ankle-biter, except Mom twisted her foot last week and the doctor said they wanted her to stay off it. She'll be joining me later."

"How's she doing anyway?" Aoko interjected, turning from Ran.

"Complaining up a storm," Kaito said happily.

"Ran-chaaaaaan!"

Everyone looked up to see a certain akido master, her ponytail swinging back and forth in a yellow ribbon that matched her sleeveless turtleneck, waving and half jogging up to them. Trailing behind her was a much taller, dark-skinned teen that looked equally happy to see them. "Yo! Nee-chan, Conan-kun," he said brightly, completely bypassing the older Kogorou. "Sorry we're late, Kazuha wuz too busy stuffin' her face ta notice the time."

"Heiji!" Kazuha cried out, scandalized. She dug an elbow into his ribs hard enough to leave the Detective of the West coughing.

"You're right, Ran-chan," Aoko said brightly. "I think I'll like her very much." She gave a meaningful glance at Kaito that reeked of possibilities, and Conan couldn't help but grin at the suddenly trapped look on the magical thief's features.

"Ne, ne," he said brightly, raising his hand, "Can I introduce everyone?"

"Of course, Conan-kun," Kazuha said brightly, bending down to smile at him.

"Edogawa Conan, detective!" he said brightly, spinning around and then pointing in turn. "Hattori Heiji-nii-chan, Detective of the West; his father is famous here. Mouri Kogorou-ojii-chan, the Great Sleeping Kogorou, who actually snores a lot." He dodged a fist from the older man. "Mouri Ran-nee-chan. I'm going to marry her when I grow up." The list of reactions for that were particularly interesting: ranging from Kazuha and Aoko cooing at how cute he was, to Hattori and Kuroba sputtering to the point of choking, to Kogorou taking a more determined swat, to Ran's eyes becoming very wide and a beautiful bright red coloring her cheeks. He gave her a slight smile before pressing on, "Toyama Kazuha-nee-chan. She's an akido master and her father helps Heiji-nii-chan's father." Pointing to the latest acquaintances he continued: "Nakamori Aoko-nee-chan. Her dad's Inspector Nakamori of the Kaitou Kid task force. He swears a lot. And Kuroba Kaito-nii-chan," he ended with a secretly flat grin, "A stupid know-it-all magician."

"All those great introductions and all I get is that?" Kuroba said in great indignation.

Aoko snorted behind her hand. "I don't know," she said brightly. "I think it's pretty accurate."

"So yer dad's here fer the heist?" Hattori said, perking up in interest after he'd finally stopped choking. "Be sure ta tell him I said hi; I gotta note too, and me an' Kudo've almost cracked it."

Conan saw Kaito steal a sharp and knowing grin at the two of them, but turned around and quickly returned to being the injured magician.

"Ran-chan, what a pretty necklace! Where'd ya get it?"

"From Shinichi," Ran said with pride.

"I'll gladly let my father... wait, you mean you saw him?" Aoko said, spinning around. "I thought you said you never do!"

"I don't, but he was able to sneak away last week and-"

"Lemme see, lemme see."

"It's so pretty! What kind of stone is that?"

"Heiji'd never have such good taste."

"Hey! I'm right here!"

"No appreciation for an abused magician..."

"Ran-chan, yer so lucky!"

"Yer a fine one ta talk, Kazuha."

"Really? An' what've you done?"

"Why do I gotta do anythin'?"

"Ahou!"

"Ahou!"

"Ran-chan, are they always like this?"

"Unfortunately, yes, they are."

Conan stared at the growing disarray of conversation and decided he would never get the six of them together for any reason. Ever. They would never get anything done.

Kogorou, however, finally decided he had better things to do than be bored out of his mind. He attempted to give a polite cough and, when that didn't work, stomped on his cigarette and announced: "SOME of us need to get to a HOTEL," before crossing his arms and glaring at the menagerie of teenagers.

"Oh, y're not stayin' at a hotel," Hattori said. "I wuz gonna have ya stay at my place, but Pops got all pissy over it."

"My folks're away on a conference," Kazuha added, her face bright. "I've got lots of room, so yer gonna be stayin' with me. Ain't it great?"

Before Kogorou could refuse, Ran quickly clapped her hands together. "Yes, that's wonderful! We can have all evening to catch up! And Hattori could keep Conan-kun entertained. I know he secretly likes it."

"Ah-!"

"Don' even try ta object, Heiji, I know ya like it too!"

"But-!"

"It's decided!" Ran said excitedly. She turned to Kuroba and Aoko, and Conan saw that the teen thief was eyeing Aoko with softer eyes, and when he looked over he realized the girl had a slightly cracked smile on her face. It made him frown. Quickly writing some numbers down, Ran gave a slip of paper to the other girl. "I know your father already has a hotel arranged; but as soon as you're settled, call and we can catch up some more. The three of us must have breakfast together, and I'm sure Kazuha would like to get to know you."

"Agreed," Aoko said, taking the paper. She turned slightly to her friend, and Conan watched as Kaito was actually squirming. "You should get going to your relatives, too, Kaito. I'll be fine."

The phantom thief stared at Aoko for a long time, before shrugging his shoulders and putting on a crooked grin. "I can at least walk you to the hotel," he said brightly. "I've never met these relatives before, and you never know; they may just kidnap me and hold me hostage for days before the let me go."

Aoko made a face. "You always say that when you're off to meet relatives."

"You never know, this time it might be true. Come on, any excuse to stall for me. Please?"

Aoko sighed and gave in, and Conan saw the relieved smile on her face. "Okay," she relented.

The pair bowed and said their goodbyes, and Conan saw his opportunity to talk walking away with them. Inexplicably, he found his feet following them slightly. "Kaito-nii-chan!" he called out, and flushed when he realized he said it out loud.

Kuroba turned around, his face carefully blank. "What?" he called out.

"... Nothing," Conan said finally, and he turned, closing the door and knowing that the opportunity had been lost. All that was left would be the heist; and perhaps that would be the better ground to have a conversation.

Ran lowered her hand for his, and he took it. She gave a questioning look, and Conan could only shake his head, his mind on other things.

"... Nothing," he said to her.

Author's Notes: Kaito is fun to write :P I believe we've mentioned this before.

Not much to say in this chapter, other than double talk, double meanings, and double entendre is really hard to do. Tried to squeeze in a part for Kogorou, but as always the teenagers took over.

Conan missed his chance to talk to Kaito. He's rather frustrated with that. Ah well, there's always the heist. Of course we have to get to the heist first. Lots of set up next chapter and more explanations of the note. (Because we're rather proud of it...)