"It had been speculated by over a dozen famous Astronomers around the world that a famous Volley comet, which passes Earth once every 10,000 years, will appear very soon this month. Many astronomers also believed that this event could be a mind-blowing experiences as-
Kaito gazed down at the red gem in his hand, his mind instantly turned away from the television. He set his legs on the fine glass coffee table before him, thumb twiddling with the cold diamond. For a moment, he wondered if it would break if he pressed just a little hard enough...
"And now let's move on to the next breaking news! The video declaration that Kaitou Kid had uploaded, concerning about the last heist he will be holding this Friday had reached 5 million views around the world, and the number is still on the rise! Let us proceed with the video."
He lazily blinked as he watched the news reporter disappeared, to be replaced by himself on the screen and waving that very Pandora gem in his hand. Kaitou Kid smirked.
"Ladies and gentleman, it had always been a pleasure performing for everyone but at last, I have attained what I needed and there is no need for me to appear ever again. However, to show and return the love and great support for all of you fans, I have decided to hold my last show this Friday as the Great Kaitou Kid. See you then."
The news reporter came back on screen again. "Will Kaitou Kid disappear forever after his final performance or is there something more to his words? The police is currently investigating on the source of this video and deciphering the clues left behind, regarding his performance and the location. More details will be-"
Kaito abruptly stood up on his feet and switched the television off before departing back into the library.
The door swung open smoothly, without a sound of creak compared to the first day he came. Here was where he spent the past hundred days or so in the room with many piles of articles and computers, doing all those researches from information that Conan had been supplying. His high IQ wasn't just a number to show off, and there were results from his painstaking efforts. And all of it would be showcase on that Friday.
That was why the floor was clean from any papers and all the computers were closed and neatly placed on the desk like where it was supposed to be. Everything was tidied up like before, well, because today was be his last day here.
Kaito twiddled with the gem.
"I'm going to miss here." He scoffed. "Not."
He withdrew a Bluetooth from the drawers and replaced it with the household keys before heading out of the library, this time locking it behind him. There wasn't a reason to come back anymore after all. Kaito stuffed the Bluetooth into his ear, gave a soft tap and spoke.
"Ready for the final discussion."
"Ok. Meet you there."
"Yeah."
.o.
Kaito remembered just around a year ago, the cold air, the starless sky, the bright full moon that hung above his head... it was the same setting where he interacted with Aoko for the first time, as Kaitou Kid.
"I've got it ya."
His blue eyes snapped away from the sky as he gazed down at the three men; more like two men and a little brat. Kaito had never felt such intense feeling of justice and righteousness before, not until the day when he was in the same place with three detectives that ruled over Japan.
Hakuba glanced over from Heiji and onto him. "This is your last show. Think about everything only after this; don't get too distracted."
"Thanks for your concern." Kaito showed his clean set of teeth while Hakuba smiled graciously back.
Conan sighed. "Then we'll head out.
For the fifteenth time that Kaito counted, Hattori Heiji gave one suspicious look at him before he hung the helmet over his head and rode away in his motorbike and down the quiet road. Hakuba departed to his own destination in his car, leaving the two behind.
"It's now or never." Conan broke the silence.
Kaito would leave a sarcastic comment if he wanted, but he thought of saving it for later. "I'm counting on you for that."
"Same to you."
Conan showed no sign of leaving even after Kaito's respond. Trying to fill in the sudden silence, the latter spoke. "Jii-chan will take good care of you." He cast down at the detective.
"I know you'll make sure of that." Conan peeled open his fist to reveal a pill in his hand. "Just trying to say my prayers to make sure my body will take good care of me."
"That scientist did meddle with Pandora for a bit. That pill got to show some results."
Conan fist his hand and stuffed it in his pocket. "It's weird hearing nice things from you."
An image of a certain feisty girl appeared in his mind. "You're not the first to say this." But really, what else could he say at such situation? He had been trying to keep his conversations clean and nice all along, despite having some people who clearly wasn't cooperating with him. It wasn't like he was the only one who had a girl waiting for him. Kaito knew this little brat had his own problems too.
The small detective smirked and scooped up his skateboard. "I'll be going."
"You should have thirty-six seconds ago."
And with that, Conan sped off with his own form of vehicle too.
Finally alone, Kaito turned to the direction of the tall building. Not by any bike, car or silly skateboards. It was just him and his legs. His wings were not up for show tonight.
As he made his way down, he noticed cars were illegally being parked everywhere and the streets he passed and jogged through were relatively empty and quiet. The only reason was because of the destination he was heading, where everyone was attracted to it like how iron nails were being attracted by a magnet.
He was finally close to the building when he stopped on his track to witness the enormous crowd before the building. Kaito had never seen such a huge number of people gathered at his heist before, especially when it was the start of the cold season. He gave himself a few moments to stare at the fans holding onto signboards, banners and everything fanciful to get Kaitou Kid's attention. They sure did, and he didn't know how to feel about it.
Nonetheless, he kept his goals in mind and pulled the tip of his hat low, all prepared to-
-Kaito stopped.
He spun around on his heels, his eyes darting across all corners to see everything normal and what it should be. There was a tickling sensation at the back of his neck, a feeling that someone was somewhere out there and watching his every move. Kaito squinted his eyes and thought of using his ears to track it down, but it was a stupid thing to do when shouts and cheers were echoing nearby.
Other than himself, he trusted his own guts; which was technically himself too. Not going to give any chance of getting his plans spoiled, Kaito turned his body fully and took quick steps towards the small alley he suspected. But before he could reach there, the Bluetooth in his ear crackled to life.
"I'm in position. Jii-san is all prepared too."
"Good." Kaito muttered back. Stealthily, he reached out for the card gun at the back of his jeans and took a giant leap forward, pointing the pistol down the empty and dark lane.
The lamp beside him flickered.
"This is your last show. Think about everything only after this; don't get too distracted."
Shit, I've wasted enough time. He scowled in his mind and stuffed his gun back before whirling around and rushing down his path. The time-freak's words never get to him before and he was making sure this time would not be different.
.o.
"Kaito-bocchama, Kudo-kun, the video is up."
"I'm watching it. Can totally understand why my fans just couldn't get enough of me."
Shinichi hoped his silence was obvious enough about his disdain towards Kuroba. He stepped to a nearby window, watching the fans below screaming and crying at the video playing the air, just above the building that was opposite the one he was in. The screen projected by the projector was shaking due to the strong wind, but Shinichi was already impressed enough with those fancy equipment Kuroba and his assistant always had.
"Ladies and gentlemen!" The Kaitou Kid on the screen smirked. "Thank you all for coming by tonight. Before my show starts, let me give you a little recap of all my heist, to show how much love and support you all had showered me for the past year."
Just to stroke his own ego. Shinichi shook his head. He moved his attention away from all those pictures and clips of his fans being shown on screen and focused to the crowd below. From the place and angle he was standing, Shinichi wasn't at a good location to spy on any suspicions people, though it wasn't his duty anyway.
"So did you find anything?"
A few seconds ticked by then Kaito finally replied. "I've spotted Snake. He's moving in with his people." There was a pause. "I think there's that long-haired man at the scene too, the dangerous one you've talked about. They aren't in a good mood."
Gin's here. Shinichi rubbed the hem of his tall hat. "I supposed that's good, maybe Hattori will handle better at his side."
"Most importantly; I don't see Vermouth."
"She's always fast." Shinichi whispered, his lips twitched once he noticed a shadow of a raised arm holding a gun approaching to his side. "Maybe she's already here."
"I'll head to my position."
Shinichi smiled and turned suavely, and like what he guessed, it was none other than Vermouth greeting him with the barrel of her gun, which was just an inch away from his head.
She certainly wasn't wasting any time. "To show my gratitude towards your father, I'm sparing you three seconds to give me the Pandora before I shoot."
"What if I refuse?"
"If that's the case, I'll bless your wish to see your father." Vermouth purred. "Then you'll finally live up your name as a phantom thief."
Father? Is this something regarding about Kuroba? A brief puzzlement spread across his face. It didn't went unnoticed to Vermouth as she frowned at his reaction too. It was hard keeping up with this dumb poker face rule. He was more accustomed to his own detective style; furrowing his eyebrows as his brain started matching and piecing people's words together. But right now it wasn't the right time. Furthermore, he noted the sound of footsteps coming his way and he still hadn't done what he needed to do, yet.
"Father or whatever, I'm pretty sure mine is still alive and kicking and hasn't had his latest draft for his novel done. I still have a score to settle with you, regarding how you've went against the promise and messed with Haibara Ai." Shinichi's eyes narrowed. "You're supposed to leave her alone."
"Wait- You're not Kaitou Kid." It happened all in a split second when Vermouth's gun trembled under her grip. "Silver-bullet?"
"Kaitou Kid! Don't think of escaping!" A voice roared from a close distance. "Vermouth catch him!"
Snake, along with Gin and Vodka and a good number of subordinates, or rather a bad number in Shinichi's case, were sprinting towards their direction, their gun readied in their hands.
Shinichi made a haste turn as he dashed to a corner and down the corridor.
"Turn right and you'll see an intersection."
"Okay."
It had been so long since he did so much workout in this body, but he didn't feel... wrong. It felt natural, like he had been in this body since forever, but he wondered how long more would this body hold. He quickly put off any thoughts before anything negative started spilling through his mind. After the quick turn, the legit Kaitou Kid was right in the middle of the said intersection, standing there and waving a blood-glowing gem in his hand.
"You know what to do." Kaito said into the Bluetooth as Shinichi continued racing towards him.
It seemed his roll of eyes wasn't evident enough. "Of course." He scoffed.
"Why the hell are there two Kaitou Kid?!"
The two glanced back at Snake and the rest, who were also slowly closing their distance. Shinichi took out a red jewel from the pocket of his suit, attracting everyone's attention as well. They started aiming and firing a few shots, but it was too late for them as Shinichi finally reached Kaito side. And with a simple signal, they bolted to their direction and the walls prevented them from getting hit by any bullets. Kaito rushed to the left that led to an exit while Shinichi ran to the right that led to the stairs up the roof.
"You go get that one while I'll handle this." Vermouth spat.
"I don't take orders from you." Gin glowered.
Ignoring him, Vermouth followed Shinichi and as much to Gin's disapproval, he had no other choice but to send Snake and his men to follow Vermouth while he and Vodka chase the other.
Clinging onto the stone, Shinichi focused on the door to the roof, clearly leading the men in coats to where he intended to go. He managed to catch a glimpse of Vermouth as well, running up the stairs like what he thought she would.
The door to the roof burst open and the cold icy wind hit him hard. He stabled himself for a second and made his way to the corner of the roof, stepping onto the ledge dangerously. Nervously, he watched the bottom of the building, the crowd still blindly admiring the video in the air. It was an amazing view, and a sudden spike of energy rushed to his head, just like how he felt when he received tons of fan letters in his mail. Maybe this was the sort of satisfaction Kuroba felt, if he was enjoying what he was doing at all.
He glanced away and made sure his poker face was intact. It wouldn't be good if he looked like he was afraid of falling, but his legs were starting to ache from staying put despite the merciless wind trying to knock him over. The monocle that was set firmly on his face felt like it was about to be blew off by the wind as well.
"Kaitou Kid!" Snake screamed once he stood before Shinichi. The gun was aimed right at his head. "Surrender the Pandora now!"
Nearly a dozen of subordinates reached Snake's side, along with Vermouth.
"Don't shoot him." Vermouth warned. She was the only one with the gun aiming at Snake.
"What are you talking about?! He's our enemy."
"You don't understand. If you shoot him and he falls, how are we going to get that gem?"
"Then I'll shoot his chest instead."
No wonder Kuroba mentioned how he couldn't take his enemies seriously enough sometimes, except for Vermouth, the only one he interacted other than the rest of the Black organization Shinichi made contact with. Snake didn't or never have a plan. All he care about was when and where to use his gun to shoot at something, just to get things done. He shook his head inwardly and watched the dumb argument until Snake put his plan into action and pulled back the hammer of his gun.
Vermouth was fast, but Snake was just as fast too. She aimed and shoot his gun away, but Snake had already fired a shot, though his aim was off as a result. The bullet that was meant for Shinichi's chest hit the gem in his hand instead and it slipped out of his hand.
Shinichi widened his eyes in horror, witnessing the diamond falling down and disappeared from his view. Damn it! With nothing in hand to secure his life and use for negotiation, they were definitely going to rage.
"No!" Everyone roared.
The subordinates were at loss, same goes for Vermouth. Snake scrambled for his gun on the ground and Shinichi knew this was it.
"Kill him!" Snake was the only one that yelled in the darkness.
"Jii-san!"
"Roger!"
Fireworks instantly blasted the sky, and all of Kaitou Kid's fan lifted their heads. White could be easily distinguished from the black sky and the bright colours, and just as planned, everyone spotted Shinichi on the roof instantly.
"Kaitou Kid!"
"Kaitou Kid is there on that roof!"
The Kaitou Kid squad knew of this matter soon enough, and men were sent to head up to that said roof in a speed of lightning. Snake, along with his subordinates, were still staring the sky with mix feelings of panic and shock. Vermouth, on the other hand, stared calmly at Shinichi, her gun was finally turned towards him.
"Don't make me do this." She growled.
Shinichi smirked. "You don't have to."
With specific and tedious training by the real Kaitou Kid, Shinichi skilfully slipped the flash bomb so quick that Vermouth couldn't make a move and the entire scene was engulfed by white, instantly blinding everything. Shinichi whipped off his white uniform and what remained on him was entirely black like the sky; it was the only way for him to camouflage into the darkness and escape from the roof without the other audiences' knowledge. Without sparing another second, he turned and jumped off the roof.
Jii certainly didn't fail him; after dropping a few floors, he fell into a safety net and was reeled into the building within a millisecond. After he was safe on solid ground, the window he just came in through was sealed back by some equipment that Jii had on hand.
Shinichi panted and cough, trying to catch his breath and make his heart start beating again after he forced himself to jump. It wasn't an everyday thing when one just falls off a roof on a cold December night without much training for that dare. Somewhat, his mind wandered to how Kuroba Kaito managed to do it immediately he took up this identity.
"Kudo-kun, are you alright?"
"Yes. All thanks to you." The part-time Kaitou Kid then furrowed his brows. "The real Pandora...?"
Jii gave a confident nod. "Still safe. Nonetheless, the fake one had been retrieved too."
Shinichi heaved a sigh, clutching onto his dark shirt and digging his nails deep into the bullet vest that was strapped around his chest. "Good. Now it's all up to them to finish this."
.o.
Kaito finally escaped the building after leaps and jumps down the stairs and his mad charge for the exit. He avoided the crowd's attention with his skills, cutting through the alley of a street and hopped onto a motorbike that was prepared a long time ago. The motor roared to life and he sped down the road, his cape flapping around, almost as loud as a hundred of birds beating their wings at the same time. He rode to different streets continuously, but Gin was constantly on his tail without fail. The few threatening shots Gin fired from his car didn't make the situation any better too.
Just when Kaito swivelled to the next street, a black menacing car was coming his way and he let out a curse before he flung the handle to one side and his bike skidded and hit a phone booth in the middle of the pavement. He flung out from his seat, but his nimble body managed to react fast and he fell onto his side before more damage was done.
Gin wasn't left unscathed too. His car hit the other and the front part of both vehicles were a goner. Kaito took the chance and scrambled to his feet, to only realize there was something wrong with his body. He limped on one side, and his hand flew to his side abdomen on reflex. Something, very painful...
A glass shard was stuck in his waist and where his hand was clutching. He scowled and in a fit of anger, he pulled out the piece and threw it aside to allow himself better movement, rather than having a burden sticking in his body. He dashed as fast as he could and tried to find somewhere safe to get cover. Before that, he gave one side long glance out of curiosity, to see Gin stumbling out of the car while Vodka seemed unconscious in his seat.
His pain shot his attention back to where it was supposed to be as his eyes focused at an uncompleted building.
Kaito abandoned his eye-catching cape and white coat with a few hits over his shoulders and jumped over the fence of a construction site. To play safe, he ran into the building and after a frantic search, he dived safely behind the huge tyres of an unused wheel loader.
He tried to catch his breath while he could, and it wasn't very long till he could hear fast steps approaching his direction, slowly becoming tentative and gone. Kaito glimpsed through the holes of the tyres and spotted Gin watching the couple of trucks and equipment carefully, including the wheel loader that he was hiding behind. When their eyes nearly met, he dodged down, wincing and cursing badly in his mind as he pressed his hands on his abdomen. He pressed his knees tightly to his chest, his original whites pants had turned all brown due to the environment he was in.
It was that exact moment when Gin pulled back the hammer of his gun, giving a loud clack sound that sent Kaito's eyes shut. He pressed his hand further down on abdomen, taking one last breath and holding it in as much as he could. It wasn't helping when the large breath he took it smelt nothing but shit and mud.
There was nothing positive that ran through his mind, although he wished there could be something that could save him from this situation. His other trembling hand reached to his ear, softly tapping the Bluetooth, but there was no respond.
"I know you're out there." The icy tone sent a shiver down his spine. He wondered how long he would get used to this voice before he could mimic it. "If you just hand over the Pandora, I'll let you go."
Kaito almost wished he could trust him with his words; he was kind of desperate here. His eyes began darting around, in hopes to see anything he could use as part of his magic or a diversion.
All of the sudden, a loud splashing sound could be heard. And just a millisecond later, thunderous footsteps echoed through site and towards them. His body stiffened. If those people that were coming their way were Gin's back up... there was nothing worse than that right now.
"There he is!"
"Freeze! You're under arrest for possessing a gun illegally in-"
Gin didn't wait for the police to finish his declaration and sprinted to the cleared opening. Kaito leaned so hard against the truck that it wouldn't be a surprise if they started to merge. He watched with relief eyes as Gin's back disappeared into the darkness, with a couple of policemen shouting signals everywhere and chasing after him. Their focus was on Gin, clearly ignoring him as their loud and annoying heels thumped against the ground past him, giving Kaito a massive headache until the very last bit of the sound was finally gone.
He slacked his posture and heaved a loud sigh when he felt the peace.
"Kaito...?"
"Kaito."
"Kaito!"
Kaito peeled open his eyes, his gaze instantly noted the figure before him. A shadow, frizzy hair, and the smell of mud and shit was gone. He smelt strawberry, strawberry shampoo...
Is this... a dream...?
There was no lamp, no light anywhere. But he could see it... He squinted his eyes for a better focus and there it was, those familiar blue eyes he had been staring at since a decade ago was gazing at him like he was about to disappear.
"Oi! Kuroba Kaito!" Aoko's strong voice made his ears twitched.
It really wasn't a dream. But if it was, Kaito didn't mind having it.
"Are you alright?!" She gave his arms a light squeeze, her concerned eyes glazing over his face. How long had it been since she looked at him like that? He felt like it had been forever.
Kaito tried to sit up straight to indirectly answer her question. "Why are you here?" He whispered meekly.
"I-" She straightened herself from her kneeling position, her eyes glanced away before she nervously turned back at him again. "I've always thought Conan-kun is a special kid. Recently, I've started to follow him." Aoko's bit her lips. "Tonight, it seemed he had led me to you. And I've decided to follow you until...here. And you even mentioned today marks your final performance. Everything that you are dealing with... it's all ending, right?"
He knew it when he felt a gaze on him behind his back just now; so it had been Aoko all along.
"Haven't I told you to stop those research?"
Aoko frowned. "You've been missing for two- For so long! I-I wasn't counting. And I've told you before. If you're not telling me, or before you managed to tell me, I'll find the answers myself." She looked away again, but something told Kaito it wasn't because she was mad or upset; more like she was embarrassed. "Besides, I didn't come here alone." Aoko turned to the direction where Gin and the other policemen went.
This girl saved him. Nakamouri Aoko saved him. She saved him yet again, like how she did a long, long time ago...
Honestly, he wasn't sure what else he could do other than throwing mud at Gin's face if he came to his hiding place.
Still, Kaito wished he could have sensed it was Aoko earlier, or maybe checked the alley more thoroughly. If he knew it was Aoko, he would never let her near him tonight. What if Gin caught her? What if Gin did something to her? There was no way in hell he could forgive himself if anything happened to her. What about Inspector Nakamouri? He had lost his wife, he couldn't lose his daughter too. And him. Kaito had lost his father. He couldn't lose his childhood best friend too. It was his last day as Kaitou Kid today, and he was hoping for this day to end because he had so much to say, so much to explain and he had thought a whole lot about what he wanted to tell her. And now she was here. What if she was hurt? What if she-
Ugh. Those silly ramblings were making him dizzy. He shook his head to regain back his composure, till he realized the dizziness didn't come from his over-thinking. It seemed he had forgotten something more important. He lowered his gaze to his waist that was slowing growing numb.
"There's actually a lot, a lot of things I've kept from you." He muttered. Will I even have the time? "B-But I don't know where to start."
"I know that! Idiot. I've always been waiting to hear you explain everything." She blurted. "And I'm not going to let anyone touches you before that."
He pressed his abdomen, hoping the scent of blood would not come. Oh, what a mess he had made. Kaito didn't care shit about the sorry state he was in before, but now that Aoko was here, he began to feel guilty for getting hurt. All along, her words cut him deeper than anything. But at the same time, something deep in his heart told him that those words were just the surface of what she truly felt; all she wanted was to hear the answers he couldn't say. A reason for her not to hate him for who he was.
He tried to let her forget him, but he failed. And judging that she was here before him, she had failed in her own parts too. It was thick-skinned and over-confident of him to think like this, but he knew all about Aoko. If something really happened to him, Aoko would definitely cry. A lot. Even if she was safe and he wasn't, he still wouldn't want her to regret for ignoring him and having to go through a hell of a pain that Kaito wasn't sure if she could endure.
And most importantly, he still hadn't even told her-
"I love you, Nakamouri Aoko." Kaito cracked a smile. "Since a long, long time ago. I've loved you."
Aoko blinked, and blinked a whole lot more times that Kaito couldn't count. He could feel her cheeks heating up, even at this distance from her face.
"What- what- wh-what are-are yo-you sayi-saying! I-I-"
If Kaito had that energy, he wished he could plunge his lips into hers. That was what he planned. But before it could happen, his head was the one that plunged forward, hitting her chest as he faded into darkness.
It was a hard time trying to find motivation to update this. I know the Black Organization looked a little stupid here compared to canon... I love writing romance, but unfolding-mysteries and action-pack scenes? Ugh get that away from me. Really apologize if there were scenes that made everything unbelievable or cringe-y. Despite that, what made me continue was that I really wish to finish this story and not leave it there like that.
WhAT? ENDING?!
if it isn't obvious enough, yeap, this story is finally (phew) reaching its end very very soon. I shall not say more. Reviews are really appreciated! I swear if I've got the time, I really MUST reply all of you guys because all of you are just toO NICE UGH T.T