A/N:Time for another chapter! I hear a lot of crows outside...O.o That's creepy...hope the BO's not around...
Chapter 14 Interrogation
A woman with long, blond hair sat in an office, smoking her cigarette and rubbing some of the ashes onto the ashtray that sat near her. She pushed her blond bangs out of her face as she sat there with a patient look on her face, as if waiting for someone to come.
Her gaze went down to the photos that sat on the table. Five pictures were on the table. One was a woman with long blond hair: Kudou Yukiko, one of Vermouth's only friends under her alias as Sharon Vineyard. She was truly fond of the woman. The second was of a man with a mustache and short brown hair:Toiichi Kuroba, a man she had greatly looked up to and admired. He had always been a gentleman to her and had never done anything to offend her. He was also the Kaitou KID. Sadly, he was now dead. His purple eyes stared into her blue-gray eyes.
The third was that of a girl with long brown hair and blue eyes. Angel/Ran Mori was printed on it in fine letters. She had always respected that girl. She was truly a kind and loving person who had risked her life to save a stranger she had never even met. For that, she was grateful to her. She would do anything to protect her.
The fourth was that of a boy with messy brown hair and purple eyes, with the name Kuroba Kaito printed on it. He was the son of the great magician Toiichi Kuroba and the one she suspected of carrying on his legacy. He was probably the new phantom knew well that he had probably idolized his father enough to seek out the truth about his death. He was one of her targets. Her eyes drifted over to the last picture, one that was smooth and not crinkled like the rest were.
This one showed a boy with brown hair that stuck up in a cowlick. He had the most piercing, radiant cobalt-blue eyes that showed such intelligence and determination that it even pierced her stone-cold heart. Kudo Shinichi was written on it in Vermouth's neat handwriting. She picked it up and studied the boy in the picture, smiling at it grimly. She also liked this young man. He had saved her life, too, though unknowingly. Besides, he was the child of her friend Yukiko Kudo, so she supposed she couldn't bring herself to kill him.
"You are truly an interesting young man, Shinichi-kun, or should I say Cool Kid...the last thing I want is for the Organization to sink their hands into such a pure lad like you."
The door opened then and a man with long blond hair walked in. Behind him was a figure in the shadows. "Boss," She whispered. He was someone very powerful.
"Hello there, Vermouth. Any more news on this target?" He said before pointing at Kaito Kuroba's picture.
Vermouth shook her head. "No, it's possible that he could be the new Kaitou KID, but the chance is slim. What if it's the original?"
"Impossible. We disposed of him. What do you think of that, Gin?"
The man was thoughtful for a moment. "...I don't know. I think the kid has something to do with KID himself. I'd love to see KID's dying face."
Vermouth smirked. "I take it we're to close in on him?"
"Yes, but first we need to confirm 100% that Toiichi Kuroba is actually dead. This means we must capture the new KID at one of his heists and determine who he is. If he is the old, then we exact vengeance. If not, then...let's just say that the end results will not be pretty." The Boss said.
"What about the others, like his cousin, the detective?" Gin spoke up. "He could figure out that we're snooping around. He's smart."
The boss shrugged. "Who cares about him? He's just a stupid brat. Go after the other boy. He shows more unpredictability than the detective."
Gin grinned as he turned to Vermouth. "You seem to harbor a liking for that brat."
"Who knows?" Vermouth said ambiguously. "I never said it was any of your business to pry into my affairs, Gin."
Gin smirked slightly. "Sometimes, I have to wonder about your loyalty to this organization, Vermouth. Watch your step..."
Then just like that, he vanished into the darkness of the hallway, leaving just Vermouth in the office as she rubbed her cigarette butt into the ashtray. "Cool Kid, I wonder whose side you will take in this struggle. Please don't get hurt."
She sighed then as she, too, got up and walked off.
"Kaito, tell me that you're not KID." Shinichi said sharply. The seventeen-year old was holding onto his cousin's shoulders tightly and it appeared that he wouldn't let go no matter what Kaito said or did until he told him the truth.
Kaito shook. 'So this is what it feels like to be a murderer under Shinichi's grasp. It's not a very pleasant feeling...this Shinichi is scary.' "What say we drop the subject, Shinichi? All this kidding around is rather unnecessary, wouldn't you agree?"
"Kaito, if you think I'm kidding around, the answer is no. I've been doing a little investigating on you. I find it rather odd how you moved out here all of a sudden without even telling us, then you suddenly know where I am...why the sudden move? It's not just because you wanted to be closer to me...it's because something or someone is threatening you, isn't it?" Shinichi inquired harshly.
"Meitantei-san, we're not like that. Please don't act like this-people may assume the wrong thing."
"Assume what? That maybe my cousin isn't all he appears to be?" Shinichi said sharply. In his deductive mode, there really wasn't anything that could shut him off from it. No matter what sort of excuse people might offer, in the end, you really couldn't turn him off from his path. He was, simply put, devoted to only his job as a detective. "Please...Kaito, be honest with me. The last thing I can stand to see is one of my own family being put away because he is a criminal. I don't want to see that happen."
"Shinichi..." Kaito whispered softly, then he started to pull on Shinichi's hair. "I thought these pieces of hair didn't really stand up on your head!"
"Oww, Kaito, stop touching them, you whacko magician!"
"You are such an idiot!" Kaito teased. "To think me of all people being Kaitou KID...what the heck is the matter with you, Shinichi? Are you really craving teasing so much that you resort to making up silly tales like that?"
"It's not a silly tale, you baarou!" Shinichi yelped. "Kaito, I'm serious. I have found many things lately that you have done to be suspicious, namely your calling me the same name that KID does, the fact that you seem to be awfully obsessive about him, the unusual number of tricks in your home, and many other things have played a part in my suspecting you of being him. So are you or aren't you?"
The Kaito he was holding then exploded as a puff of smoke covered Shinichi's vision. Then Kaito reappeared a few feet away, looking pleased with himself. "I say, Shinichi, you are such an idiot! Did you honestly believe me to give you a straight answer on anything?"
Shinichi pouted. "Kaito...you inept, annoying, clueless moron!" He cried. "When your cousin is trying to be serious, you really need to pay attention to him, not make fun of him, you idiot!"
Kaito laughed, which caused Shinichi to raise a brow, but he still didn't step away from the painting. He examined it and pushed it. Nothing happened. Shinichi raised another brow. "This picture isn't the one I'm looking for, then."
"What are you talking about?"
"I believe Toiichi-Oji-san was Kaitou Kid. I think I saw him a long time ago as a kid."
Kaito's eyes widened.
"Yes, it was when I was six or seven. I think that I wandered around a bit to get something to drink, and I ran into him kneeling before a picture and he pushed it and fell into the picture. I couldn't figure out how he did it, but I saw KID reappear and hid. I think he knew I was there, he just pretended not to notice me. That makes it all the more likely that the one who has been the current KID is in fact my cousin, Kuroba Kaito. What do you say to that?"
Kaito blanched. "Hey, you baka, here comes Aoko!"
"Dessert is coming! What are you two idiots fooling around back here for?" She said before quirking her head in confusion.
"What kind of dessert?" Shinichi asked curiously.
"Apple pie and salmon fishcake." Aoko said evilly.
"I think I'll pass on that meal..." Kaito moaned, but both Aoko and Shinichi grabbed him.
"You're going to have it, whether you like it or not, buster." They chorused.
"Shinichi-kun, I like you. You have the right mindset. You hate KID, too. Finally, someone else who is sane!" She cried before doing a little victory dance.
Shinichi raised a brow again. "Yes, I don't like him. Let's have Kaito eat some dinner. We'll spend some time KID hunting later."
Aoko smirked. "Ooh, this is going to be fun! Let's go, Kaito, you idiot!"
Kaito flinched. "Someone help me..."
That night, Kaito went down to his new hideout. "Dad, what should I do? He might find me out..."
"You could always trust in your cousin," A new voice said. Kaito turned to see a familiar redhead.
"Koizumi, you were here the whole time, weren't you?" Kaito deadpanned, annoyed at the witch's bad habit of showing up in places where she wasn't welcome.
"You know you can't hide it from him forever." The witch's voice was quiet as she stared at him in concern.
"I know...but still I can't burden him with the truth." Kaito whispered.
"You're in danger. The spirits have told me to warn you." Akako whispered before she disappeared before the thief's eyes.
"In danger? Doesn't she know I LIVE for danger?" Kaito chuckled to himself.