Domo! Dudes!

Sorry for not updating for a while!

Felt guilty so I will update freaking long chapters!

P.S. Me B-day is on Wed.

Happy Birthday to Me!

Turning 18 Peaps!

Anyway Happy New Years!

Enjoy!

"LEFT!" Shouts Kaito, running fast to catch up with Shinichi. Since his brain's off line at the moment, Shinichi blindly trusts Kaito, and takes the next left he comes too.

"STRAIGHT" comes the next order from around the corner. Stumbling slightly, Shinichi runs past the cross roads. He looks back slightly to see the reassuring sight of KID following him. It still hasn't fully sunk in that Kaito is KID, so his muddled brain doesn't make the connection. Either way, he's glad to see a familiar sight in this foreign environment. BA-Bump
Why do there have to be so many hallways? Argh. I can't run for much longer- my muscles are tightening up.

"LEFT" following the orders automatically, Shinichi comes to the familiar corridor. Shinichi literally falls straight through the door, and immediately locks it behind him. I'm feeling so dizzy now. The room won't come into focus. But it's so hot in here too. I'm going to burn up at this rate. ... No wait. That's just a side effect of the transformation.

Hating the pain that's coursing through his body, Shinichi slams his fists against the nearest object- the side of a book case. It's just like earlier on today... Why is the pain so much greater than ever before?... And... the transformation time. I barely had 5 hours. I know ... that Haibara said... that it wouldn't last ... a whole day, but surely... more than 5 hours. When I find... those ... fucking Bastards... that did this to me... I'm gonna... I'm gonna. Shit, I can't even think straight anymore. The pain... it's building and building... and I just can't... anymore...

Shinichi's breathing is labored, deep and gasping, as waves of pain roll through his body. He rests his back against the door for support, whilst he holds his head in his hands.

Finally giving up the fight against the storm of pain, Shinichi lets out a scream of torment before falling back into the blackness.

Kaito turns the last corner in time to see Shinichi literally crumple through the doorway. He arrives at the door, his hand on the handle, when he hears the lock clicking shut. Knowing that Shinichi doesn't want him to enter, he slumps against the doorway, hand still on the doorknob above him, and listens to what's going on inside. I'm sure that Shinichi will want his privacy for this. So I'm not going to force entrance this time. I'm not sure that he trusts me enough to want me to see. After all, to him, I'm still really KID. The trustworthy friendly rival of a phantom thief, nothing more.

"But he did trust you." Comes a voice inside his head. " It was Kaito and not KID that he allowed in his house, knowing full well that you would be there, and could walk in at any time during the transformation. To even have you in the house at the time shows a colossal amount of trust in you."

Inside the room, all Kaito can hear is a lot of thumping, like someone is pounding in the floor, and a few whimpers from Shinichi. Again these are sounds he has never heard from Shinichi, nor Conan, and it makes Kaito wonder how immense the pain is to dramatically change his friend like that.

Eventually the sounds stop coming through the door, and Kaito rests his full weight against it. Little does he know that this is exactly what Shinichi is doing on the other side of the door.

As he hears a rush of footsteps, Kaito looks up and sees Tsuna and his Guardians approach, confusion on their faces.

"Kaito, what's going on here? Is Shinichi alright?" questions Tsuna, looking down apprehensively at Kaito on the floor.

"No, of course he's not alright. Shouldn't your Hyper Intuition tell you what's going on?" Kaito replies sarcastically, not in the mood to play around. He's too worried about Shinichi, waiting for the...

"Che, show Juudaime some more..."

...Scream...

Since its Shinichi this time instead of Conan, the scream comes out more as a roar of defiance. But even in this deeper replay of before, the pain is still evident, and still cuts straight through to Kaito's soul. Quickly Kaito is on his knees, facing the door, looking ready to open it. But instead Kaito grips the door handle tighter, and with a look of despair and anguish in his eyes, dejectedly returns to his previous position, back against the door. Gasps of shock come from the others, as well as a general step forwards towards the door. Even Hibari has joined them, admittedly leaning against a wall further down the corridor. At the sound of the scream, he stands up off the wall, and looks towards the door.

"Kaito, was that Shinichi?" questions Mukuro, shocked at the sound that came from the office. In response, Kaito looks down, shadows covering his eye. Even the monocle doesn't glint.

"Let Ryohei in, he'll be able to use his sun flames to help." Suggests Yamamoto. The others all nod in agreement.

"I don't think that he'll be able to help. Shinichi will be alright, he's transformed before, to solve murder cases, or to see Ran. He'll pull through. Conan is a lot stronger than he looks." Answers Kaito.

"Hn? I thought we were talking about Shinichi. What does this Conan person have to do with it?" questions Ryohei, not having gotten the fact that they were the same person- the sun flame did work on his body instead of his brain after all.

Kaito sighs and looks up at Ryohei. "You're someone who gets things better if it is physically shown to them, rather than being verbally explained, aren't you?" Tsuna, Yamamoto and Gokudera behind Ryohei all nod. "Well you'll see soon enough. There is no way for anyone else to enter this room. Shinichi went in, Conan will come out. That's all there is to it."

"Umm. Kaito. How long will it be until Conan comes out? My intuition is saying that he's unconscious at the moment." Probes Tsuna, Kaito's mood making him even more nervous than usual.

"Judging from this morning, I'd say about an hour. You guys should go get something to eat, I'll stay here." Recommends Kaito, hand gripping the door handle again. He moves into a more comfortable position, and looks back up at the people in front of him.

"But Kaito." Starts Tsuna.

"All you herbivores are crowding, move before I bite you to death." Brandishing his tonfas, Hibari steps forwards threateningly, his voice a low growl.

Not wanting to be bitten, the guardians all move down the corridor. Some try to look back, but Hibari's tonfa soon blocks their vision. Herding the herbivores down the hallway, Hibari looks back in time to catch Kaito's smile, and a small mouthed Thank you before they all turn the corner of the hallway.

Kaito sits vigils there, outside the door, hoping for all the world that Shinichi is okay. He listens to the door, and once again can hear nothing but silence. Turning back to face the doorway, Kaito stares off into space, his hands unconsciously fiddling with a pack of cards.

"Oi, Kaito."

Kaito closes his eyes, and opens them in his room, to find the painting already turned to KID's portrait. Dragging his feet- he's not in the mood to talk to KID right now- he walks through the painting and keeps on walking, face turned to the floor. He is eventually stopped by KID's embrace.

"Kaito, how are you holding up? You were pretty shaken by Meitantei's scream earlier. I'm surprised that you didn't call upon me again." KID whispers caringly into Kaito's ear. One hand pats his head in support, whilst the other rubs Kaito's back soothingly.

"I heard his scream again, and it felt as if part of me had died. I was so worried about him. I nearly did break the door down again. But Shinichi locked the door. I respect him enough to follow that unspoken order and not interfere. I would be more of a bother than a help anyway. I'm sure that Shinichi doesn't want anyone to witness something so... personal. So I'll do what I can and protect the door, and what little privacy he can have here in this base. "

"I think that we should check on him, though. We don't know if he transformed okay. For all we know, something might not have shrunk right, and he needs medical treatment. Plus he's going to get cold, laying on the floor like that." Reasons KID

"Yeah, you are right, I suppose. It'll calm me down knowing he's alright too. I worry about him when he's not in my sight. He's always getting into trouble. "Replies Kaito, laughing slightly into KID's shoulder.

"Hey, someone's coming, you'd better open your eyes now" warns KID, pushing Kaito away.

Kaito turns and runs straight towards the painting back to his room. Once there, he opens his eyes again, ready to fight off anyone who wants to interfere with his Shinichi.

Violet eyes flash as they spring open, a scary look dominating his eyes. Once he notices who it is however, he blinks. "Oh, it's you, Yamamoto."

"Yeah, I brought you something to eat. Shinichi said you guys haven't eaten anything all day." He smiles his usual bright smile, placing a tray down next to the door. "Is there anything else I can get you?" he asks, rising up again. Kaito looks worried sick. He must really care for Shinichi. But by the look on his face, I'd say he hasn't seen Shinichi transform too often before, first, maybe second time. I can tell in how stressed out and jittery he is.

"A bowl of warm water, and a couple of towels would be great please." Replies Kaito, glad that someone offered. He didn't really want to leave the door to go hunting for them himself.

"That's fine. I'll ask a Housekeeper to bring it to you. One second." He takes a few paces away, and pulls out a cell phone. Dialing a number on speed dial, he places the phone to his ear, whilst he leans against the wall. "Hello, Maria? Yes it's Yamamoto. Can I have a bowl of warm water and a couple of towels? How large? Well..." he turns to Kaito who makes a sign meaning small. "Um, small ones please. Yeah, can you bring them to the Boss's office? Underground. Okay, thanks a lot. Bye" he closes the phone, puts it back in his jacket pocket, and turns, smiling brightly at Kaito. "There you go all sorted. I wouldn't have a clue where to look. Even after a few years of living here, I don't know where everything is. The staff like to do things for us, so I'll expect that I'll never know where everything is."

Yamamoto walks back to Kaito, a sportsman's eyes noticing how he is shaking slightly. He rubs the back of his neck, trying to think of a way to help. Out of the corner of his eye, he notices his ring glint. Yamamoto has a 'light bulb' moment, complete with 'ah' and raised hand. He kneels in front of Kaito, slightly too close for Kaito's comfort. He doesn't mind invading others personal space, but he likes his own to stay his.

Yamamoto takes in a deep breath and closes his eyes. Kaito raises an eyebrow as Yamamoto lifts his hands and rests them on Kaito's neck above the veins.

"umm, Yamamoto, hello. What are you doing?" questions Kaito skeptically. Still Yamamoto doesn't move, or even acknowledge that he's heard Kaito. Kaito is about to move when Yamamoto answers him.

"Tranquility." Kaito just makes a 'what?' sound in the back of his throat. Yamamoto takes another deep breath, his brows furrowing in concentration. "We eventually learnt that our flames have different attributes. My rain flame's is Tranquility. Like Hibari's cloud flame is Propagation, since clouds multiply easily. So I'm pushing a little of my flame into your body to calm you down. You can't help your friend if you are too tense and shaken up to move, now can you?" Yamamoto attempts another smile, but is too busy concentrating to make a real effort. Too many rain flames, and he'll either paralyzes Kaito or send him to sleep.

Kaito is touched by Yamamoto's display of concern. He releases a sigh of relaxation when he starts to feel the flames effects. Muscles he didn't realize were tight relaxed and his whole body began to unwind. "Thanks Yamamoto, that's enough." He whispers, relishing the feeling. As the flames retract back into Yamamoto, both release a deep breath.

"Oh, I'm glad that worked. I should use it on Gokudera sometime. He's always uptight about something. All that shouting can't do him any good." He laughs, trying to picture a calm Gokudera. He finds he can't. The only time Gokudera ever seems calm is when his nose is in a book, and even then its intense concentration rather than calm.

"Yeah I agree. He tried to attack us with dynamite once, Shinichi darted him and he fell asleep. He looks a lot softer in his sleep. All I've ever seen him do is shout. Whether it's a telling off, or apologizing to Tsuna, he's always shouting." Kaito laughs too. "Oh, is this the maid you were talking to?"

Indeed there is a maid turning the corner, towels over one shoulder, a bowl of steaming water held in both hands. She stops in front of them, and attempts a small bow, careful not to spill the water.

"Young Master Yamamoto, here are the items you requested. Can I be of any other service?" she asks politely. Yamamoto takes the bowl of water out of her hands, whilst Kaito rises and takes the towels. Yamamoto looks at Kaito, wondering if he needs anything else. Kaito just shakes his head.

"No thank you Maria. But thanks for coming all the way down here just for this." Yamamoto pats her on the shoulder in thanks. The maid just bows again before taking her leave. He turns back to Kaito to find him stood still, eyes closed.

Opening his eyes, Kaito stands in the middle of his own room. All around the place is a blue mist. Kaito turns in a circle, and sees the blue mist everywhere he looks. Holding out his hand, he calls for the mist to sit on his palm. A small handful of the mist floats over and lands in his hand. It doesn't feel foreign, but familiar, as if he's felt it before. However, there is still this strong feeling of Yamamoto on the mist too.

"This must be his flame, rain is blue after all."

Turning his hand, he lets the flame fall like sand to the floor. Then he turns to the painting and walks over to it. Pushing against it, it starts to spin. It seems that even the paintings have caught onto his calm mood, as it spins lazily. Eventually it does land of KID's portrait. Kaito steps through, and into KID's domain.

Whilst there is no visible blue mist or flames, the night sky does seem bluer, as if slightly closer to dusk than midnight. KID himself can be seen lounging in mid-air, hands behind his head as if taking a nap. Kaito walks over and flicks the thief on the forehead.

"Oh, it's you. That baseball guy did a real wonder in here. You were shaking so much I thought the sky was going to fall."

This was ironic since the whole of KID's room looked like the night sky.

"Yeah, I'm guessing that you heard the explanation. Anyway, I'm going in to see Shinichi now, well Conan really. Can you open the door?" Kaito responds, stepping within arm's reach of the thief. Seeing the glint in 1412's eyes, he knows that nothing in the world can stop him from opening that door.

Conan is his after all

Over the years, it's the personas of KID and Conan that have become friends, not Kaito and Shinichi. Conan is KID's favorite critic, KID's rival, KID's reason for flashy and exciting heists.

Falling backwards into the thief's arms, they recite the transfer phrase

"Let the magic begin"

"Oy, Kaito are you okay? What do you mean 'let the magic begin'" asks Yamamoto. Whilst Kaito has not has his eyes closed for more than a few seconds, it's the change of atmosphere that has Yamamoto worried.

When Kaito whispered that nearly inaudible phrase, everything about him seemed to change. He straightened up, his chin rose, and a very wide grin crawled upon his face. Hands come up to adjust the monocle and top hat, casting his face in shadow. Hey he looks just like the Kid. Those hats do wonders for their images. I wonder if Kaito has met the Kid before.

"You heard that? Well I suppose that me and Kaito say it, so as the host at the time, it's possible that he says it. No one's been around before to comment upon it. When I was with Conan earlier this week, it would have been covered up by the shouts of the mafia members looking for me. Jii has never commented upon it before either. Anyway, Baseball-boy, I'll take that." KID mumbles to himself before talking directly to Yamamoto.

He takes the bowl of warm water from the guardian. "Make sure than no one enters here okay. Not you, your friends, or even your Boss. If anyone does have to enter, then knock and wait." He turns to the door, and to Yamamoto's eyes, passes his hand over the lock.

"Whoa, how did you do that Kaito? There were no lock picks or anything." Says Yamamoto in awe.

"Well, I am the International Phantom Thief 1412. Unlocking a door is as simple as breathing for me now. It's something that I, Kaitou KID, have been able to do since, well, for as long as I can remember." Winking at Yamamoto, a cheeky grin on his face, he opens the door, and pushes the tray of food in with his foot.

Walking into the room Kaitou KID shuts the door behind him. He sees Conan immediately, passed out in front of the other door. Shinichi's clothes are in piles around him, like a tangle of different blankets. Conan has curled up in the fetal position, his entire body covered in Shinichi's shirt and suit jacket, meaning that the boy would have stayed warm. Bending down, KID takes Conan's vital signs. His heart beat seems strong and steady, a constant beat under KID's hand. Conan's breathing is similar, regular and deep, clear from any obstructions.

Carefully KID unwraps the child size package from adult sized wrapping, and wraps him on one of the towels. KID, having no shame whatsoever, sits against the door, like he and Shinichi were doing earlier, and pulls Conan into his lap. From there it's easier to support Conan whilst he wipes the sweat off. Dipping one of the towels into the bowl of water, KID starts the slow process of cleaning Conan off.

Once fully clean, KID looks around the room for Conan's bag. It's right next to him, sat next to the bookcase. Opening the bag, KID is presented with some Conan sized clothes. Not wanting the boy to get cold, KID immediately dresses Conan, and lays him on the floor. He then proceeds to dry himself off.

Whilst he was dressing the boy, he carefully went over the muscles and bones with his agile and dexterous hands. It looks like someone checking a horse over before buying it. From his inspection, KID is relieved to know that all of Conan's bones were full, healthy and not broken. All of his joints were working fine too. It seemed like the transformation went without a hitch. Except for the scream.

KID stands up, slightly stiff from all of the time this body- under the control of both him and Kaito- has recently spent on the floor. Looking for a comfier place to sit, KID notices the sofa that they sat on earlier. Picking Conan back up gently again, he walks over to it and curls up protectively around Conan. Knowing that Conan is alright has calmed him down greatly, even Kaito's presence in his mind has disappeared.

He sits there, stroking Conan's hair, and feels his eyes start to close. He pinches himself, not wanting to fall asleep. But the mixture of relief and rain flames is taking its toll, and slowly KID closes his eyes, arms still wrapped protectively around Conan.

And this is how Tsuna finds them over an hour later, when he finally summons up the courage to check on them. It's been over an hour, nearly two, since Shinichi ran off. I thought that they would have been out of there by now. I know that Kaito told Yamamoto to keep everyone out, but it is my office that they are holed up in.

Peeking around the door, the pair aren't in sight. Walking up to his desk, he can now see the whole room and the sofa that the pair are situated on.

To Tsuna it looks like the pair are asleep, lounging full length on the sofa. Conan is all but visible, with only his head peeking out from under the cover of KID's cape- presumably for air. But the atmosphere is wrong. If they are sleeping then it should be peaceful and calm.

Tsuna shouldn't be feeling like someone is watching him with the intent to harm- which is exactly what he is feeling. Slowly KID moves his head, and light slides over the monocle, revealing a pair of piercing violet eyes staring straight at him.

KID has been awake the whole time. Senses honed during his time as a thief warned him as soon as someone approached the door. His ears picked up the muffled sound of a conversation between Yamamoto and Tsuna. But his eyes remained closed.

The moment the door unlocked and clicked open, KID's eyes were wide and intense, targeting and tracking the intruder to his safe haven. KID isn't foolish enough to fully fall asleep when protecting something precious to him, even if this base is supposed to be safe. But there are too many unknowns here. This base is new: he doesn't know the people, the layout, any escape routes. Being underground, there is no chance of breaking a window and using his glider to escape danger.

"I thought I told Yamamoto not to let anyone in here." Comes the quite growl. He wants to get his point across, but without waking Conan.

"I-It's been nearly t-two hours since Shinichi started to transform. I was getting worried about you two. Plus this is my office." Responds Tsuna, trembling under KID's pointed gaze.

"Well as you can see I'm alright." Conan interrupts, pulling the cape over his head and snuggling back into KID. The transformation really tired him out. Along with the meeting and the tour, there has been a lot to take in, and it's wiped him out. As has being on guard the whole time- like KID, he doesn't feel completely safe here yet.

"C-C-Conan, you're awake?" stutters Tsuna, believing that the child was asleep.

"Well, I was, until the atmosphere changed. After years of worrying about the Organization killing me, I've gotten used to waking up at a change of environment. I felt Kaito become tense, and then I heard voices, talking about me, and I thought it was time to intervene." The reply is muffled, coming from KID's shirt and under the cape.

"Tantei-kun!" shouts KID, hugging his detective tightly. "I thought you were never going to wake up. We'd be locked in here for ever then." He laughs, imagining how inconvenient that would be for Tsuna.