The streets were lit up brightly with the lamp posts lined along the pavement. But what really shine the most were the bright ghostly decorations and lights that were in the yards of houses and gates.

Kaito tucked his hands deep into his black jacket as he walked down the slightly crowded district with kids in weird costume and teenagers like him, laughing and posing around for nice pictures

He wasn't going to drown himself among these bunch of people in their large and bulky costume. Kaito already had a goal about where to go, and it was all thanks to the source he had. Saguru Hakuba, he thought bitterly in his mind. Kaito sort of owed him for getting some information he couldn't get, so might as well he acknowledge that the detective had a name.

Hakuba told him that though Aoko had cancelled her party, their class monitor had organized one instead and the entire class was invited. Aoko went, definitely, and the detective added an extra information about how he wasn't attending and he would be unable to bear the responsibility of Aoko's safety at that moment. That dumbass horse. He wasn't sure if it was because Hakuba was too highly-notable to attend such kind of party, or was it entirely his plan to lure him out and get Kaito to check on Aoko himself.

Oh well. Kaito wanted to see Aoko anyway.

The house came into view in just a few minutes and the loud blaring of music could be heard from a distance away. Kaito scrutinized the building before pulling out the needed disguise he had prepared beforehand. Hakuba better hold onto his words and made sure he didn't come to the party at the last minute or shit would bound to happen once Kaito stepped into the house with his new identity.

But before he could set up the mask, Kaito noticed a figure walking out of the front door and towards the gate. He quickly skipped aside, hiding in the shadow of a convenient tall tree and watched the person who left the party at such a timing.

Kaito widened his eyes.

It was none other than Aoko.

She was wearing a dark black sleeveless dress that reached her knees, with a pair of black boots that thumped loudly against the pavement with every step she took. Aoko removed the witch-like hat from her head and ruffled her hair as she set out of the front gate and down the streets.

Although Aoko was dressed entirely in black, but to Kaito, she was shining as bright as white. Something about her today just couldn't let Kaito get his eyes off her. Was it because of her smooth-looking shoulders, or was it how the way her wavy and bouncy hair hit her back every time she took a step?

He shook his head inwardly and chucked his disguise into the back pocket of his jeans. Implementing one of Kid's usual skills, he easily blended in naturally with some people to make it less obvious he was following Aoko.

Based on the direction she was going, Kaito deduced she was heading home. He wasn't sure about the timing, but it should be unusual since the party looked like it barely started and there were still many people on the streets and showing off their treats and costumes; it shouldn't have been the time to go home yet. Nonetheless, he kept quiet the entire time and continued watching Aoko's back.

Somehow, Kaito noticed that her steps were uneven. Sometimes she would slant to her left and then right again. Or she would almost trip onto nothing, and the funny thing was, she didn't seem like she noticed she even tripped at all. Either she was drunk, or something was weighing in her mind and her focus wasn't on the road. He guessed it was the latter. The Aoko he knew could barely walk if she was drunk anyway.

"That girl looks hot."

His ears perked up and blue eyes shot to the direction of the voice just a few feet away from him. Kaito couldn't care less for any other girls tonight, but something in that tone he heard didn't seem right for him to ignore. As he was right. Two boys were gawking at Aoko's direction, with looks that were closed to nothing but sinister and evil.

"She's alone too." The other commented.

He quietly watched the two talking feverishly towards each other, with jokes and snickers that followed behind their plans that Kaito wasn't interested in, since he would make sure the two guys would be going to hell first before they could even execute their silly ideas. After they finished theirs whispers, they started following closer and closer behind Aoko, but Kaito was on the move too. His steps grew wider and in a few seconds, he was already behind them.

Without a sound and their knowledge, Kaito pulled out two pink balls from his jacket and stealthily hit it right onto their head.

"What the heck!-"

"Shit! My hair!"

Kaito ducked and mixed perfectly into a crowd that was not far from him, while pretending to be picking up candies for a small child that had spilled out some from his pumpkin bag. He smirked as he watch his masterpiece unfold.

Two giant pink blob of candy floss head, walking in circles and screaming like girls. Their shouts were enough to gain attention from many, and even Aoko's.

She had stopped in her track and had turned around to see the commotion that happened behind her. Now Kaito could see her features even better. The blush on her cheeks and her dark red lips...

Aoko looked completely oblivious and uninterested in whatever was happening right then. Only sparing a glance, she turned on her heels and began to walk again.

He sighed and began following behind Aoko like usual. How could he not worry about her every single time? Despite being smart and witty at times, she had no idea how to handle her safety and well-being at all. What could have happened if he didn't follow Aoko instead? What could have the two guys done to her? Kaito had the urge to shake Aoko awake, reminding her to open her eyes wide and care about herself first, but he knew he didn't really have the rights now.

His fingers twitched and he hid them deep into his jacket's pocket again.

Now he was asking for more. Originally, he just wanted to take a quick look at her and leave. What was he doing now? Following her like some stalker. And then what did he just have on mind? Talking to her.

Damn it. How selfish could he get?

They finally reached the street that Kaito hadn't seen for a long time and he thought he was right about Aoko heading home. Did she forget something to make her leave the party? What could it be? She had the perfect attire and accessories on her body and Kaito couldn't imagine what else she could add on to her costume.

Aoko tugged the hat under her arms and unlocked her front gate before heading to her front door.

He waited outside, obviously, and waited and waited and waited until he saw the light in her room switched on. He waited again, for Aoko to possibly come out from her house again after doing whatever she was going to do. At that moment, Kaito promised himself that he would send Aoko back to the party and leave. Nothing more. Yeah, that was what he planned.

But for the next fifteen to twenty minutes, her bedroom lights were still on and there were no signs of Aoko leaving her room at all.

Kaito bit his lips.

Did something happen?

.o.

Aoko's phone had been vibrating on her desk for the past five minutes, but if it wasn't because she felt her eyes dried from staring at the computer, she wouldn't have noticed that someone was trying to contact her at all.

She quickly fumbled through the pieces of papers on her table and scooped up the phone as fast as possible before the caller hung up.

"...Hello?"

"Nakamouri Aoko!"

The said girl winced. She slouched into her seat and gave the best laugh she could afford. "Hey Keiko-"

"Have you actually left? It's just nine!"

Aoko fiddled with the hem of her black dress. It was part of Keiko's effort that got her this costume and she must have disappointed her best friend by a ton for leaving the party like this. Aoko sighed inwardly and bit her lips.

"I'm not feeling well and... I've got something on hand too."

"But what could be more important that celebrating Halloween with us? The fun barely started." Keiko groaned and Aoko felt a pang of guilt hitting straight into her chest.

"I would promise you I'll come before everything ends, but I'm not sure if I can fulfil it..." What else could be worse than lying? Giving people hope and shattering it afterwards. Aoko knew how much it hurts, and the last thing she wanted was for Keiko to feel that. "I'm sorry."

There was a short silence, and Aoko thought that Keiko was angry and hung up on her. But hearing a sigh a second later proved her wrong.

"Are you upset because Kuroba-kun isn't here?"

Aoko combed her hair through her fingers and propped her knees up on her seat and to chest. "No I'm not." Her voice cracked and she cursed herself inwardly for that simple mistake she made in front of her best friend. Now Keiko would definitely never let this go.

A sigh again. "Aoko-"

There were sudden mumble and muffles and Aoko waited before Keiko came back to finish what she had to say. "I'll interrogate you next time. But if you can come back while the party is still on... Please do come, alright?"

Deep down, Aoko was hoping something would distract Keiko so to get away from this conversation, and it seemed luck was on her side.

"Okay. I'll try."

"See you."

The line went dead and Aoko gently placed her phone back on the table with all the notes and pieces of crushed paper balls littered all around. Aoko rubbed her eyes and stretched her back to let all the tension go. It worked like heaven and she slumped back onto her seat after a round of stretches.

While she was unofficially declaring a rest, Aoko stared down at all her notes on her desk and to roughly go through what she had learnt so far. It was the just a week ago when Aoko decided that this was it. She didn't want to not know anything when everything had been bothering her since the day Kuroba Kaito left her all alone. She had finally woken up and realized how stupid of her to be dumbly waiting for that asshole to come back. Aoko would find him instead. And when she did, she would know everything without forcing him to tell her anymore.

But the starting was always the toughest and finding answers was just like finding a needle in the haystack. Where and how on earth was she supposed to start? That was what she first thought, but now she had researched enough about Kaitou Kid to even know how many fan clubs he had, though of course there were more than that. She even drew a timeline on a long roll of paper that started from one end of her table to the other. It seemed the number of heists held since Kaitou Kid appeared was climbing to a hundred.

What Aoko got were things she already knew before she needed to look up the Internet. Kaitou Kid had been part of her life for so long since she was young and even if she hated that fact, she knew enough things to be called as his so-called fan.

What she knew was that her father had being angst over his own failure to capture the grand and well-known magician thief eighteen years ago. And then when Aoko thought her father was finally back to her side ever since Kaitou Kid disappeared for eight years, he suddenly appeared to steal nothing but gems and stones (and her father) again.

There was another thing Aoko was very sure of too, without the need of even looking it up on her computer; Kuroba Kaito was just barely nine when Kaitou Kid first disappeared. And eighteen years ago, Kuroba Kaito wasn't even born.

Aoko thought of many possibilities. It was possible that Kaito was such a huge fan of Kaitou Kid and he was unhappy with his idol's disappearance, so he became the thief for the sake of bringing back the fame and spotlight. Then again, it could be possible someone challenged him to become Kaitou Kid, and not wanting to lose, he took up this silly game and got hooked with it.

And then this was the biggest possibility that seriously made Aoko a little scared to think about it.

What if Kuroba Toichi, was Kaitou Kid? And Kaito, who came to realize this secret, took up this identity because he missed his father?

It all made sense, somehow, with the dates and timing of Kaito's father's death. But still, it was just her guess. All these things she knew were just the surface, nothing more. What was the first Kaitou Kid's purpose? Why did he disappear for eight whole years? Why did Kuroba Kaito become Kaitou Kid? What was his purpose instead? What was with all the gems and diamonds? Why did he return the gems in the end? Was it all... just a game?

The questions never end.

Aoko sighed and roughly pushed the long detailed timeline to one side before dragging her laptop to a closer distance. It was only till two days ago when she decided to put Kid's investigation aside and directed her attention on a new case that may help with her, somehow. Aoko just couldn't give up. Something about everything was a little messed up, but she couldn't put her finger to it. And since she couldn't find anything just by researching about Kaitou Kid, she thought maybe that disturbed look on Kaito's face during the day the lady mistaken him for Kudo Shinichi might have meant something to all of it.

Kudo Shinichi.

Detective disappeared a year ago...

Detective of the east... Missing...

There hadn't been any latest news about this so-called Kudo Shinichi anymore. But there were tons of information for Aoko to be glued to her computer for almost two days straight and possibly more if there wasn't school. But there were more notable things, like what she had written on her papers and notepad that struck Aoko odd.

First, Kudo Shinichi disappeared just three months after Kaitou Kid appeared again.

Secondly, he looked uncannily like Kaito.

When Aoko first saw the images of Kudo Shinichi, she came to realize why the lady back then was so persistent that Kaito was Kudo Shinichi. She began fiddling with a few seemingly useless notes before staring at one blank piece of paper with the title written in black marker.

Kaitou Kid and Detective of the East?

She tapped onto her chin for almost a minute before a bulb in her head lit up.

If there's a detective of the East, there's got to be a detective of the North or something! It was a perfectly random thought, but there wasn't a harm trying to look from another angle anyway. She cracked her knuckles and began typing on her keyboard when she noticed the search engine automatically gave her a couple of options to look at.

Detective of the-
East missing
East Kudo Shinichi
West
East VS West

West was more popular searched compared to the North and South. Not thinking much, Aoko clicked on the third choice and she was instantly directed to a list of pages.

Osaka.

Aoko narrowed her eyes.

Hattori Heiji.

Hold on. Where did I hear this name before? She frowned and bit her lips. It felt like she could reach out for the answer any time soon, but yet it was slipping away with every seconds that passed.

She then clicked on the images option.

And then it all hit her like a truck.

Hattori Heiji was Conan's friend, the one she met during the time she went to the cafe alone. Aoko sprung up from her chair and began pacing up and down in her bedroom, her brows furrowed the entire time.

This was definitely the newest and sort of juiciest information she ever got for the past week. It all seemed like it had nothing to do with Kaitou Kid, and of course Kuroba Kaito. But there was a link, a thread, something that had been bugging Aoko since forever about the weird connection between everything and everyone.

Just what the hell is it? She screamed in her mind before she sat back onto her seat and began looking at other related images, like Hattori's school, parents, the police force and-

There was one picture that caught Aoko's eyes.

She hastily slammed her mouse around to enlarge the image bigger for her to see.

Sleeping Kogoro.

And Conan.

And the lady with beautiful purple eyes.

I need more information. Aoko straightened her posture and headed out and towards the storage room just the end of the corridor. She would have said that the night was young for this Halloween, but she felt that time had been passing too fast when she was barely starting on what she was finding. She switched on the lights in the small storage room and began ransacking a couple of boxes until she found one that kept a book with all her clipped newspaper articles.

Aoko wasn't kidding when she said she was a fan of Conan.

Lately there hadn't been news of Conan getting in Kaitou Kid's way, moreover, Aoko had stopped keeping track of Kaitou Kid's activities since the day she was taken out of Kaitou Kid's squad because of her arm injury. She quickly flipped through the pages of her newspaper clippings before tucking the book under her arm and decided to continue reading back in her room.

As she was about to step into her room, she felt a cool breeze and noticed a shadow stretched out towards the door. But her reaction was too slow and before she could stop herself entering the room and at least hide behind the wall to see what on earth was happening, she stepped into the view of the intruder and turned to face directly at the person.

The book slipped out from under her arm and was slammed down, hard, onto the floor. Pieces of clippings and newspaper fell out from her book and scattered all across her feet, though right at that moment, those things weren't important to Aoko at all.

"Why-Wh-Why..." Aoko croaked. "Why a-are you h-here...?"

Kuroba Kaito looked up from her messy desk, his hand held onto a couple of papers that Aoko wrote about Kaitou Kid and Kudo Shinichi. He instantly placed her things back down respectfully, as if he was afraid she would accuse him of contaminating her belongings.

"Hi." That was what he only said before he glanced down at her feet and the greyish newspaper all over the ground. He walked forward and bent to pick it up, and Aoko quickly picked them up on her own too.

"I'll handle it." She muttered, hurriedly grabbing the papers without a care if her harsh grasp would tear those fragile papers. She stood up and stepped to her desk again, remembering to create a decent amount of space between them so it may lower the chance of him hearing how hard and fast her heart was beating right now.

Is this a dream? She shut her eyes tight and counted to three before opening them to cast a side long glance at his feet.

She could sense him bending back down on the floor again. And afterwards, he silently approached to her side and slipped a piece of article she didn't notice to pick up.

The silence was slowly creeping in, but he broke it in an instant.

"What are you planning to do with all these?"

In such a situation, it was pretty easy to get her shouting. "Why do you care?" She turned her glare on Kaito. It was just one month, and she didn't know a month could change a person's appearance so much. Did he grow taller? Did he comb his hair the other way? Did he eat well at all? She tried to fixate her glare at him for a while longer before moving her eyes away. Aoko didn't want to show that deep down, she cared. And Kaito was always good at reading her since forever.

"It does; involves me. Unless you're calling this stalking."

What the hell... what the hell?! Did he really come all the way here to say all these to her?

Before she could retort, his words beat hers.

"Stop doing whatever you are doing."

"Why should I?" Her eyes left her table and she glared at him again. "I'm finding the reasons by myself because someone refuses to tell me."

He gave a soft sigh and messed up his already messy hair. His blue eyes were downcast and this time, it was him that seemed unwilling to look at her. "Please don't go back to that conversation again." His words were barely a whisper.

"Then don't try to stop me."

"I didn't come here... to argue." If one could speak and sigh at the same time, Kaito did it.

Aoko was at the limit of her capability to withhold her temper. She abandoned the pieces of newspapers she was clinging to as support and grabbed the collar of Kaito's jacket to pull him down to her level. Their eyes met, and she was pretty sure it the second time she had seen such raw shock in his expression. The first time... she had been trying to forget that day all along.

"Then why the hell are you here for?! Why are you standing here in my room and talking to me?!"

He snapped his gaze from hers again. Out of the sudden, he looked exhausted and deflated. His blue eyes were vast chambers that Aoko wanted to explore since ages ago, but she could tell it was locked, from her and from everyone else too. Aoko remembered it was a few weeks ago when Kaito already missed school and their class went on an excursion to a pet rescue centre. She wanted to be there to help and make all the dogs happy, but they looked distant and isolated, even when there were food and sharing of cages.

Kaito wore a similar look.

Weirdly, she felt terrible. Her lips quivered and her grip loosened. This wasn't what Aoko wanted in the first place. She always hoped to see Kaito again, not as strangers, but best friends again. She would know and understand everything about him and his other identity and he would come to her, telling her it was all over and the Kuroba Kaito that she always knew since they were young was back.

But those looks he gave her told her nothing was over, whatever he was up to anyway.

Her hand slipped from his collar and she was about to move away when her hand was gently taken hold by a bundle of warmth. She inwardly gasped and glanced up, staring at Kaito who was looking and holding her hand like it was the world's most precious gem he ever came across. Fragile... and beautiful. She never knew her hand could make someone turned so mesmerized like that, but Kaito always proved her wrong.

Is he out of his mind? Did he crash and hit his head when he flew in his glider?

Aoko couldn't breathe. She couldn't move her hands away too. She was frozen, everything was frozen to her. But not Kaito. She watched Kaito, dumbstruck at his sudden action and she wasn't sure how to react at all.

Not just that. Kaito wasn't just holding onto her hand. The moment his thumb caressed her fingers was making her inside jumble everywhere.

Oh God... She prayed hard she wouldn't faint from the lack of oxygen reaching her brain.

When she thought thing couldn't get any shocking from there, Kaito finally choose to reply her question at that moment. "Because I miss you." He said in a low but audible squeak.

Remarkably from those words, she gained enough strength to move her hand away from his and stepped back. Aoko shook her head and gave a curt scoff before slumping hard onto her bed. Her legs were too wobbly to stand for any more second.

"Don't give me all that bullshit."

He smiled. He bloody smiled at her. "It's the only truth that I can tell you."

She looked up at him sharply, entirely loss for words.

"Sorry." Kaito suddenly said. "I shouldn't have said those things. It's just going to make you feel... worse."

"You knew, but you've said it."

"I couldn't help it."

Aoko closed her eyes and wiped her hand over her weary-looking face. It wasn't luck that her tears hadn't fell, it was a skill she had mastered well enough for the past one month. "Why do you always love to do this to me?"

"It's always been my duty to annoy you since forever. Though-" He bit his lips. "Though I really should stop now. I don't know what I'm saying. I just- I'm sorry that I... couldn't do what you wanted me to do... I've missed... talking to you."

She wanted him to treat like their past didn't exist, and that they would be strangers from now on. She was the horrible one, in asking for such a favour that night before turning to leave and never looking back. And now, here he was, standing here and apologizing for failing to do something, which she herself couldn't even do as well.

What could she say now? She was the one who stated such request, and even if she wanted to back out, her mouth wouldn't move like what she wanted. Sealed and close, like her heart. Aoko was too tired to do anything. And besides, if she really said something to mend this, was she supposed to forget that he was Kaitou Kid and pretended nothing happen? Was she going to continue sticking around even when he warned her about the bad guys coming after him? He wouldn't let her anyway, and she knew she couldn't force her way into his circumstances too.

It hurts like shit to stay away, and then at the same time, she couldn't even enter his world. So what on earth could she exactly do, other than to keep silent right now?

"That's all I've got to say." He stuffed his hands in his pocket and headed to her balcony. And with a glance back, he gave her a smile again. "Happy Halloween, Aoko. You look really nice tonight."

Aoko quietly watched him disappeared into the darkness, just like the Kaitou Kid that she always knew.

oh... Too much information, too little moments.
Terribly sorry for the lack of updates, this was supposed to be up by Halloween but oh well. But on a happy note, internship is ending in two weeks' time and I'll probably get my life back. Reviews are much appreciated!