Kaito grasped Conan by the hand, leading him down the busy sidewalk. Conan bounced about like a balloon tethered only by that Kaito's grip, seeming ready to float off as he laughed and swatted at air. Kaito had to force himself to remember he had decided he would investigate the kid. It was hard to believe that this overenthusiastic child was the same serious-eyed one he'd rescued the night before.

"Left or right, Conan-kun?" Kaito asked, looking down at the child once the two had reached an intersection. According to Conan, this Professor Agasa lived in Beika, in the second district on block twenty-two.

However, Conan wasn't paying attention to him. He appeared to be entranced with a nearby newsstand. Tugging on Kaito's hand as he advanced on the stacks of newspapers and magazines, his eyebrows tipped down in a remarkably un-childlike expression. Kaito watched for a second before Conan turned on him. "Hey, Kaito-niichan, who's Kaitou Kid?"

Kaito choked. Not only was he surprised by the question, but if he was remembering correctly, even six-year-olds knew about Kaitou Kid. Crouching down and trying not to show the results of Conan's (probably) unintended affront to his ego, he answered, "Well, Conan-kun, he's a really famous magician thief. He steals gems and sends heist notes ahead, which are usually riddles alluding to how and what he intends to steal."

Conan raised an eyebrow, looking mildly intrigued. "Oh. This newspaper says he's going to have a heist tonight, doesn't it?"

Gulping, Kaito nodded. "Yes, that's what the Kid force thinks, at least."

Glancing over at him, Conan wondered, "Kaito-niichan, are you a Kid fan?"

"Ah, yes. Maybe the biggest," Kaito answered, suddenly feeling uncomfortable underneath Conan's wide-eyed azure gaze, the one that held far too much maturity and left him breathless.

He quickly turned away. If a six-year-old's gaze makes me breathless, does that mean I'm a...

Oblivious to Kaito's crisis, Conan offhandedly commented, "I'll see if I can go to the heist tonight. It sounds like fun, huh, Kaito-niichan?"

And just like that, Kaito's ability to breathe abandoned him.

Hey, if you're enjoying this, would you mind leaving me a review? This isn't exactly one of my favorite things to write, so if I don't have a ton of support, I'm considering dropping it.