A/N:I'm really delighted to be here, updating this story again! I cannot wait to write KID meeting Shinichi, so that's one of the reasons I'm updating so early. Also, I cannot stop watching the newest incarnation of the Scooby Doo series:Mystery Incorporated, I believe it is called? It is so captivating, so well-written and so surprising that I find myself using my deductive skills all the time to try and figure out what will happen next. Wow, it's good all right! Just like this fanfic! Well, I try...KID is an awesome character, so he pretty much speaks for himself.

KID:That I do.

Shut up. Now, on to the story and enough prattling around about trivial, mundane things.

Chapter 8 The Thief and the Detective, eye to eye at last!

The day was finally here, and Kaito was thoroughly worn out from all the work he'd had to do the past few days. He'd had to don disguise after disguise, travel through different stores, trying to obtain as much information as he could on this new gem that he was targeting. Still, he knew he had a lot of work left to do, so he couldn't bother to slack off.

He had only a few hours left to himself before he would have to sneak out to the location and get everything ready, so in that small interval of time allotted to him, Kaito was just relaxing and hanging out. He wondered if his cousin would show up tonight in order to challenge his alter ego, Kaitou Kid. The answer to that was probably yes.

Knowing Shinichi, he probably couldn't pass up the chance to meet the great thief.

This was something that the detective would want to go to. What better fun than to try to catch the world's greatest thief? Though, maybe his cousin would get bored by the entire thing. That sounded more like him. Shinichi tended to get bored when things weren't interesting enough to draw him in. This happened every time he read a book or watched a movie that was very predictable.

To interest his cousin, something had to be clever and unpredictable. Unpredictability was what Kaito lived for. To him, a mundane and boring life was just too dreary and tiresome to draw his attention. He also loved to see people smile, so what better way to fulfill that dream than by being the charismatic and handsome thief, KID?

Shinichi would probably strangle him if he had ever heard those words come out of his mouth. Kaito smirked. Just the thought of seeing his cousin try to catch his alter ego, and then fail...that brought a KID smirk onto his face faster than if he'd heard that fish had gone extinct.

Show me what you've got tonight, Meitantei-san. I'll be waiting for you to show me your abilities...don't disappoint me.

His cell phone rang all of a sudden. He picked it up and answered.

"Hello?"

"Hey there, Kaito. I'm sure you know who this is."

Kaito's jaw dropped. Crap, why of all times, does he pick NOW to call? It's almost as if he suspects me-calm down, Kaito...the odds of that happening are close to none.

"Kaito?" The voice asked, sounding uncertain. "Are you still there?"

Kaito took a deep breath. If he just relaxed and acted calm, he wouldn't suspect a thing.

"Ah, hello, my dear cousin. What did you call me about this time?" He asked smoothly.

His cousin sounded irritated. "Would you like to come to the heist tonight that a Nightmare Inspector is making me go to?"

"Huh? What heist?" Kaito asked, feigning stupidity.

"You know, the heist done by the crazy Kaitou KID," Shinichi said huffily. He did not sound like he was in the best of spirits, but to be honest, who would expect him to be? This wasn't a job that his cousin adored. He'd much rather hang around dead people than be around the living any day.

"Oh, yeah, that heist. Don't worry, everyone's been talking all about it," Kaito lied. Though you will see me as the main event, cousin. I'll be sure to point you out to the crowd.

"Really now? You sure you aren't lying to me about anything?" Shinichi asked sharply.

"As sharp as you ever were, my cousin. I'm lying, but it's something that doesn't concern you." Kaito said.

"Really? My dear cousin sure seems distant from me these days. You don't seem willing to do anything with me lately," Shinichi said sharply again.

"I want to, but Aoko's dragging me out to the heist tonight, so I have no choice but to go with her, so I'm sorry. I can't go with you today, okay?" Kaito said softly, in a voice that he only used with his cousin and other people he just couldn't resist giving in to.

"I'm sure you know the Nightmare Inspector. Uh-oh, it seems like he's calling me now! I'll see you later!"

Kaito grinned wordlessly upon hearing the phone click. "Yes, you will see me later, but you will see another I...Kaitou KID. Let's dance tonight in front of the moon, meitantei-san."

He was looking forward to tonight with great pleasure. One of his doves cooed and he stroked it with one hand before putting a message in its beak.

"Deliver this to the Police Headquarters in Ekota, all right? They need to know when I'll be coming. It's almost like a date, except most dates don't have the desire to put you behind bars." He joked to himself. He grinned and stared at his dad's portrait before he touched it with his hand, ready to unleash the other side of him.

That night...

The moon shone bright and clear over the heads of the public clustered around the outskirts of the art museum that was being engulfed by numerous policemen, all asking people to stay away and not come too close.

The public had come with plenty of things to stay out the night. Some had brought pillows and blankets to sleep on, while others had night vision on so they could observe the arrival of KID, even while others were wearing their pajamas and snoozing out of boredom. Young children were sitting on their parents' heads, watching for when their moonlight savior would arrive to ease them out of their boredom.

Their heads all turned at the sound of a voice, low and temperate. It came from behind them.

"Hello there, everyone. I am Kudou Shinichi, the detective who will be assisting Inspector Nakamori on this heist. I am glad to meet all of you," He introduced. A boy around seventeen or eighteen stood there, his cobalt eyes filled with nervousness, yet if one stared into them long enough, they would know that there was a hint of excitement.

"Mommy, he looks a lot like Kaitou Kid!" A little boy whispered excitedly.

Shinichi heard and smiled politely. "No, I'm not a criminal, sorry. I'm here from Beika to monitor the action and insure everything goes according to plan. Inspector Nakamori here is the one who will do most of the work tonight."

He shot a glare over at the said Inspector, who was now positively gloating. "Oi, oi, his ego already resembles the Goodyear Blimp; let's not have it swell up any more than that..." He remarked under his breath. He studied the police gathered. There seemed to be more than he remembered, for some reason.

One was standing there, fidgeting with his tie for some reason. That sort of behavior really set Shinichi's suspicions on edge. He had heard that KID had a propensity to disguise himself as a police officer. He moved to call out to the man, but he saw that the man had stopped doing it and was looking directly at him with nervous eyes.

"Ha...he saw me. I need to be more careful." Kaito whispered under his breath. He had just started to grow bored with the Inspector's usual pep talk/brainwashing ceremony and was just fiddling around with the tie he had stolen from a police officer who was now peacefully asleep in another room, when his cousin had noticed.

Things were going to be really hard now that his cousin was on the job. Saguru, at least, was a bit too unobservant and allowed little things to slip past his eyes, but Kudou Shinichi let nothing slip past his eyes. Therefore, if he wanted to play this part, he had to change costumes quickly or else let the detective's focus leave him.

He returned the latter's stare for a few moments before smiling and waving cheerily. The other just raised an eyebrow before he started to approach Kaito, who inwardly screamed and panicked as he tried to figure out what to do.

"Hey, there. What are you getting so worked up about? You're really suspicious, you know that?" Shinichi said sharply.

Sweat dripped down on Kaito's face from inside the mask. He was glad that he wasn't looking too close at his "face." This was getting really, really, bad.

"Really, sir? You must be that famous detective I've heard so much about. That's why I got all nervous-because I'm a big fan of yours." Kaito lied, trying hard to make it sound like a plausible excuse.

"Really now? Well, keep it together...and stop sweating so much. You act like you're hiding something..." He trailed off before he walked over to another officer. "Keep an eye on that one. He's acting quite peculiar."

The officer nodded his head. "He's gone, you know."

Shinichi turned around in alarm. Where had that officer gone to? Shit. I almost had him, too!

Blue eyes darted around wildly, trying to find the uniformed "officer" he'd just been speaking to. There was no sign of him. "That was him, wasn't it?"

Kaito cursed under his breath inside the museum as he changed disguises into his KID outfit. As he slipped his top hat on, something fell out of it. He picked it up and stared at it and his eyes widened. The thing in particular was a trinket that Shinichi had given to him as a gift when they were kids. There was a note attached to it that had Shinichi's handwriting on it from several years ago.

Even now, his handwriting still looked like chicken-scratch. He put on the monocle and a KID grin slid up his face as he attached his cape and waited for the signal to go off. A few seconds later, the signal for the officers to enter came in and he hid behind a wall.

"I know I saw him, Nakamori-keibu!" Shinichi's voice entered his ears.

He let out a sigh. He immediately regretted having done that, because the detective's head turned in alarm.

"I don't believe you, kid." Nakamori scoffed. "Even the dumb KID wouldn't mess up that easily."

"I'm serious...did you hear that sound just now?" Shinichi said.

Kaito cursed mentally and immediately scurried up the wall like a rat, making sure not to be seen as he did so. He made his way over to the next room and hid. He was aware of running footsteps going down the other hallway. Probably the other officers going in to check in on the other room and make sure the gem was still secure. Dang it, that was where he was headed next.

Shinichi frowned. He was positive he had heard someone breathing from up that wall. As he investigated, he thought he noticed scuff marks up on the wall, as if someone had just hurried up that wall a little while. He hurried down the hall, as quietly as he could manage. He could be quite sneaky if he wanted to be, but he was certain that no matter what he did, the quirky thief would become aware of him.

Kaito hurried off and checked the room for the jewel. It was right there, unguarded. The red glint of it made his eyes light up with glee. Maybe this one was the right one for him. Maybe after this one, he could put the mask aside and end this escapade.

"There you are." He said under his breath, and pulled a rope out of his bag and dangled it over the side and inched his way down carefully, making sure to get past the cameras. He succeeded for the most part.

However, he had barely grabbed the gem when a voice rang out, causing him to freeze and nearly drop the red gem. His right hand caught it.

"Ah, so we meet at last, Kaitou KID." That voice sounded quite triumphant. Almost like a cat cornering its prey after chasing it for a long time.

He turned to face his cousin, knowing without a doubt that the only one to follow his route would be him. Only his cousin would be that smart. "Ah, if it isn't the detective, Kudou Shinichi. To what do I honor this meeting? But as you see, I am in the middle of something important, so maybe we could talk later, meitantei-san..."

"Forgive me, but I think we'll talk now." Shinichi said smoothly. He kicked a soccer ball in his direction and accidentally knocked over an ornament. The ball missed, but only by mere inches.

Kaito jumped back and fired one of his cards at the detective, who dodged. Of course he would. This was the moment Kaito had been waiting to see:the two of them evenly matched like this. This was a once-in-a-life-time opportunity.

He turned away and climbed over to the other side of the room, only he didn't expect to slip and fall into a tank full of...fish. The fish all crowded around him in curiosity. One of them was a piranha, who bit onto his cape.

Kaito's eyes widened in horror as he struggled to get away from the horrible things. He nearly screamed as one of them bit his gloved hand and held on tightly. "G-Get off, you horrible little thing!" He yelped.

He managed to get most of them from him and he swam back up to the surface, but the stupid piranha kept on sinking its teeth into his arm. He cried out and this alerted the other officers who showed up and surrounded him in an instant. He threw the fish off and it landed harmlessly back into the tank, carrying a piece of his glove. He cursed as he aimed his card gun at the ceiling and slid back a panel and moved up into it in an instant.

Kaito headed onto the roof. He didn't expect a bullet to nearly hit him. He turned to see Shinichi standing there, holding a smoking gun, grinning.

"You're good, meitantei-san. You're really good."

"Now, game's over." Shinichi said as he aimed his gun again.