~Hello everybody and welcome back to Moonlight Reflections.

Now some of you original viewers may be saying:"Hey this looks familiar!" That would be because originally this was part of chapter 1. I decided due to the length of the first chapter I was going to separate this into multiple chapters to more match up with the lengths of newer chapters. Hopefully that makes sense.

At any rate standard disclaimer as always: I own nothing but my own imagination. Please support Goshos awesome works!

All that said...enjoy!~

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When Kaito awoke, he felt disoriented. He blinked a couple of times, trying to get his bearings, only to find himself lost in a pile of familiar fabric. "Huh?" he thought to himself as he glanced at the white suit around him. Something wasn't quite right. Why was his suit lying here on the ground, and why was he not in it? Hadn't he just… he tried to get up and steady himself, only to fall back on shaky legs, and was it just him or did he suddenly feel...shorter.

It was probably just his imagination. Either way, he didn't feel quite strong enough to stand so he just sat there for a minute in the pile of fabric. In the meantime he tried to remember what exactly happened last. He remembered doing the heist… he glanced over next to the pile of clothes he was in, and noticed the shield lying to the side discarded. Why was it over there?

His mind remained foggy. There were a lot of missing details about the past few hours events. The last thing he truly remembered was flying away with the shield...and something...or was it someone...in hand, then landing here on the roof. Then it had all went blank.

He shook his head, feeling a bit of vertigo still lingering. He felt something itchy against his nose, and reached up to scratch it, only to find himself drawing his hand back in surprise. Since when did his hand look so furry, and balled up for that matter? That...that was not his hand, nor his arm for that manner. That was a furry, white and black appendage that belonged very much to an animal of the non-human variety.

He glanced back at it, testing its movements just to be sure. His eyes widened as he watched it flex and move at his command, and then was equally surprised as claws shot out before retracting back in. What in the world? This...this wasn't possible. Then again, Kaito had seen some pretty impossible things over the past year or so. Still, he had to be sure.

Crawling quietly over to the place where the shield was lying, he stared silently at his reflection. Only to see a sapphire eyed, pure white fox with odd silvery-blue markings, staring back at him. He couldn't help himself, he jumped backwards with a start, landing on his fe...paws.

A dream. This had to be a dream. A dream brought on by Akako and his mother's strange warnings. Yeah...that made sense, right? Kaito lifted a paw to his shoulder and brought out his retractable claws, raking them against his fur, only to yelp in pain and come back with just a bit of crimson on his deep midnight black paw. Okay. Clearly not a dream.

Maybe he should have listened to those supposedly crazy warnings. If he had, perhaps he wouldn't be in this strange situation. Though, he had to wonder how much those two actually knew about the predicament he was in right now. They had both been cryptic in their wording, but something about what his mother had said bothered him.

"You don't know the forces you're dealing with here." At the time, Kaito had thought there was hidden meaning in those words. Now, he was starting to see a bit more what she had meant.

Though, that brought to mind the question: "How much do you know about this, mom? Are you still hiding secrets from me, even now?" Kaito gritted his teeth. He had to admit, despite his initial reaction, he was already getting used to this strange new form, which disturbed him somewhat. It felt almost...natural. Which made him all the more suspicious of his mother. Could it be she too…?

No. Now was not the time for such things. He needed to figure out what was going on here. He needed to think more on the events of the night, and figure out how the heck this happened in the first place.

The rooftop where he sat, trying to piece together his memory, was surprisingly silent. He vaguely recalled that someone had been with him earlier… Ah, yes. There he was, sitting there on the other side of the roof, staring at him a confused, and almost terrified, look on his face. Well, he couldn't blame him exactly. It wasn't every day a human transformed into a fox in front of you. He had no doubt that the little detective had somehow born witness to the entire thing, and was now racking his brain for some sort of rational explanation.

Kaito grinned, showing his fangs in the moonlight. He knew he had a bit of an advantage over the rational mind of the detective here. He still had plenty of questions himself, but at the very least, he knew what this was. Magic. Real magic. Though, he had to suspect not quite the same as Koizumi's. From what he could gather of his fragmented memory, this magic partially emanated from the stone in the shield he had stolen earlier. How exactly it worked...well, he would have to figure it out later. For now, he had a detective to face.

He trotted towards him, easily adjusting to his new strides. "Like what you see, Tantei-kun? I know. It's pretty unbelievable, right?" He continued to grin as he watched the detective flinch. Had the detective just heard him speak? Well that was interesting…

Conan started to mumble under his breath, something akin to; "I am not seeing this...I am not hearing this." He was obviously pretty dumbstruck at the moment. All the more reason to break in and tease him. At least it would keep his mind off his concerns for now.

"Ah, but I believe you are. What's the problem, detective? Haven't you ever heard a fox talk before?" he felt his tail involuntarily swoosh behind him. He stared up into the bespectacled eyes of his favorite little sleuth, continuing to grin a toothy grin. He was actually kind of enjoying this. "I'm afraid this is one magic trick you won't be able to simply explain, oh great mei~tan~tei."

Kaito watched as Conan gulped, his mouth closing and opening slowly. He blinked a couple of times before taking a breath and breathing out. "Holmes always said… 'When you eliminate the impossible, whatever remains, no matter how improbable, must be the truth.'" Kaito could practically sense Conan's nerves suddenly becoming just so slightly calmer. No doubt his favorite fictional hero was giving him strength to accept what was undoubtedly a big stretch for him.

Kaito was actually slightly impressed at the detective's attitude. That didn't mean he wasn't going to enjoy this moment, though. Plus, there was something about what he just said that stood out to him. Something that triggered a memory in his mind.

Kaito trudged up closer to the detective sitting down on his haunches and flicking his tail behind him. "Truth huh? Funny you should mention that. Tell me, detective...you wouldn't happen to know someone who's name means truth?" from what Akako had mentioned in her prophecy, the truth was supposed to be revealed by someone of that namesake. Well, he and Conan were the only one's here. So unless he was missing something, there was still more to this.

It became pretty obvious once Conan's eyes widened at the question, similar to a deer caught in the headlights. Seemed he had hit the nail right on the head somehow. "You...how do you know about that?" his voice cracked.

Kaito tilted his head to the side curiously. "Know about what?" he asked innocently, though honestly, he was a bit confused. Did that mean Conan did know someone by that name?

Conan fell silent, simply staring at the ground as if lost in thought. Though Kaito could still see a bit of something inside his eyes resembling panic, as well as...was that sadness? He hadn't expected such a strange reaction from him. All he wanted to know was what connection this "namesake of truth" had to do with the current situation.

It took all his instincts not to jump as Conan looked up at him, his eyes blazing with something unknown. "Shinichi. You're talking about Shinichi, right?"

"Shinichi." Kaito mulled over the name in his mind. It did sound familiar, and he knew that it meant "one truth" when read a certain way. Though, where had he heard that name before? He searched his memory for any recognition of the name.

It was an old memory from back in his early days as KID, but hadn't there been a high school detective by that name? He didn't pay much attention to those detective's outside the one's who chased him, but he did seem to recall Nakamori mentioning the name once. Just after the clock tower heist, wasn't it? Come to think of it, Akako had mentioned a "demon of light" in that premonition as well. That had to be it, then!

Kaito nodded his head excitedly. "Yes! Shinichi Kudo! I remember now… do you know him?" Could the detective hold the key to getting himself out of this situation? It was dangerous to trust a detective, but if it meant finding out the truth behind his current form, maybe it was for the best.

Conan let out a dry laugh. "I guess you could say that… I know him better than anybody."There was something truly strained in the miniature detective's voice.

Kaito waited for him to elaborate a bit on that last point, but Conan fell completely silent, seeming to collapse in on himself. Okay… something was seriously messed up with his Tantei-kun tonight. Was it something he'd said?

Conan stared at his hands, looking lost in his own little world. "Tantei-kun?" Kaito called to him, but he didn't even flinch "Yo,Tantei-kun!" he tried a little louder, though it was difficult to register how loud he was speaking in his current state. Somehow, magic induced telepathy just didn't work the same as having a real voice. He tried one last time. "Tantei-kun, I know you can hear me. Answer me!"

Conan finally turned to face him, his face still and cold. It made Kaito shiver a bit, his fur bristling slightly at the sight. Finally he decided to broach the subject that had bothering him for some time now. "Look, I know I'm hardly in a position to be asking this right now, but are you doing alright there, Tantei-kun?" he stared at the detective with curious and concerned eyes, though a bit of the expression was lost in his inhuman face.

Conan just stared at the ground, clearly unwilling to make direct eye contact. "I'm fine," he stated, not even trying to hide the clear bit of irritation in his voice.

Kaito could tell from his experience with profiling others that the detective was anything but "fine". Something was clearly bothering him. Kaito internally rolled his eyes at Conan while he snorted. "Right, and I'm just your regular, every day, upstanding citizen. Nope. Not buying it. What's eating at you, Tantei-kun? Is it something I said?"

Conan let out another dry laugh. "You really haven't figured it out yet, huh?"

Once again Kaito tilted his head curiously. Figured what out? There was clearly something missing here. The two of them had just been chatting casually after he awoke like this, that is, until Shinichi Kudo had been brought up. Then, the detective had said...oh.

Suddenly like a flash of bright light, it all came together. The strange mirror image he had seen in the shield earlier, what Conan had said in response to his question about "truth's namesake", plus all of the kid's crazy detective experience. Add all that to the fact that he had reacted so violently earlier to the joke about being an elementary schooler... "Oh Kami… you're Shinichi Kudo." He watched as Conan's face remained still and cold, further confirming his current suspicions.

He paused, unsure how to react to this new information. "Well, that certainly explains… a lot." He stared at Conan...no Shinichi, taking in his face one more time. It was almost uncanny how much he resembled a younger him. Something in the back of his mind told him that he had met Shinichi long ago. Though the memory was quite fuzzy. Felt like there was a lot of that today. He really wished he could talk to his mother right about now.

"Stop that." Kaito was broken from his thoughts as Shinichi spoke up for the first time in a few minutes.

Kaito tilted his head to the side smiling a wide, toothy grin. "Stop what?"

"Stop staring at me. It's making me feel awkward. I get enough of that from Hattori you know…" he looked down at the ground, refusing to meet Kaito's gaze.

Kaito gave a laugh, which came out rather airly. "Forgive me, Tantei-kun. It's just that, honestly, I am more surprised than anything that it took me this long to figure you out. You haven't exactly been subtle about your skills." He continued to grin.

"This coming from the one who dresses in white to go and steal jewels in the night." Shinichi commented tersely, and with just the slightest hint of venom.

Kaito shrugged as best he could, sitting in front of Shinichi and lifted his front legs in an appeasing gesture. "Fair point. Honestly, though, I'm still curious as to how this..." Kaito tried his best indicate Shinichi's body, "happened. I am assuming it has something to do with that scientist friend of yours from the train that you were working so hard to protect?" Kaito paused and watched Shinichi's reaction. From the flinch he got, seems he had gotten it head on.

Shinichi grunted. "For someone who claims to dislike detective work, that's a pretty interesting deduction." he then mumbled something under his breath, which Kaito's new sensitive hearing picked up akin to "stupid nosey thief."

Kaito waved it off with a snort. "I'll take that as a compliment." he grinned. "I said it before, and I'll say it again, Tantei-kun, you and I are not all that different." he gave the miniature detective a small stare, waiting for some reaction. Once again however, Shinichi remained silent.

Kaito shook his head and trotted over to where the shield was lying abandoned still. Staring at his reflection one more time, he was reminded again of just how strange a situation he was in. Nonetheless, he shook the feeling off, and nudged the shield forward with his head, pushing it towards the detective, who seemed to be lost in his own gloomy paused right in front of the detective's feet, staring up at him.

"Tantei-kun, look at me." he watched as Shinichi slowly acknowledged his presence, blinking absently at him. "Now, I want you to take a look in this shield, and tell me what you see."

Shinichi stared at him inquisitively, the question of "why" left unsaid.

Kaito shook his head and grinned. "Come on. Don't you trust me, detective?"

Shinichi scoffed at this, raising an eyebrow as if to say "are you serious?", but said nothing as he sighed and begrudgingly looked into the shield. His eye's widened instantly. "That's...that's not possible."

Kaito's grin increased tenfold as he stood there next to the detective, tail swishing back and forth. "Ah, but I think we both know it is, Tantei-kun. The truth has been revealed to its namesake." He didn't even have to glance at the shield to know what the detective saw there. He had seen it earlier, after all. A perfect reflection of Shinichi Kudo. The true Shinichi Kudo. "You see, no matter how much you've changed, you're still the same person you were before. You just look a little different, that's all."

Shinichi continued to gaze at his reflection in the shield, clearly unwilling to believe what was right before his eyes. Kaito knew this had to have been part of what was bothering the detective earlier. His own experiences with masks lead him to believe the detective had been lying to himself for some time now. Like it or not, Conan Edogawa and Shinichi Kudo were still one in the same.

Kaito watched as Shinichi closed his eyes, before turning away from the shield altogether. Once again he muttered under his breath, "Stupid thief", before speaking up a bit. "How can you just take this all so casually? You act… you act like none of this changes anything." Shinichi balled his hands in fists, refusing to look at Kaito or the shield. "You and I...we're not similar at all. You don't know what it's like. To be...to be like this" he motioned at himself. "To feel so powerless."

Kaito raised an invisible eyebrow. "Don't I? Tell me Tantei-kun. Have you ever lost anyone?" he could feel his heart beating fast as the memory resurfaced. "Do you know what it's like to come home one day to find your home empty and cold...to find out that the one person you respected most in the world is just...gone?" Kaito couldn't help the twinge of anger in his words. "I know well enough what it feels like to be powerless… but quite frankly, I expected better from you!"

Shinichiturned back to face him, his face a mixture between frustration and confusion. "Barou! I have had to lie to my closest friend for the past year and a half, standing by and watching as she cries over me. Meanwhile, I try my damndest not to let her find out the truth about me. You have no room to judge me!"

It was Kaito's turn to fall silent as he took in the detective's last words. He knew his poker face had completely slipped at this point, immediately he realized what Shinichi was talking about, and he found himself relating on a personal level. He didn't need to even put himself in Shinichi's shoes, he was living almost the exact same lie everyday himself. He started to laugh, it coming out sounding almost pained. Funny that it took a situation like this to bring out the true similarities between the two of them.

Shinichi stared at him incredulously, which only made Kaito laugh even harder, and start rolling on the ground. "What's so funny? I hardly think anything about this is humorous, KID."

Kaito stopped laughing for a moment, sitting in front of Shinichi before gazing at him with a look of, "are-you-serious?" Deciding that it was just the perfect opportunity to tease the poor detective, he remained silent before answering. "Oh, come on, aren't you supposed to be the great Heisei-Holmes? Surely you can figure out why this situation is so hilarious."

Shinichi stared back at him, a look of frustration pasted on his young face. It took him a few minutes of staring before it seemed it suddenly dawn on him he was talking to a thief-turned-fox. He had been so caught up in everything, he hadn't even thought about that little fact. Nor the fact that said thief probably had a life outside his night job, and it was quite possible that the thief was similar to him in more ways than one.

"You're...a teenager, aren't you," Shinichi finally stated, having come to the conclusion that Kaito had been hinting at.

Kaito grinned like the cat-that-ate-the-canary. "That's right! He can be taught!" * feeling no shame,he watched Shinichi roll his eyes and groan. He continued to grin at him. "Cheer up, detective. At least you're not the only one getting his secrets revealed tonight."

Shinichi sighed, shaking his head. "This is….just messed up." he put his head in his hands, collapsing in a sitting position on the cold concrete rooftop.

Kaito snorted. "Again, you're just figuring this out now? Little slow tonight, aren't we, detective?" Kaito swished his tail back and forth before trotting up next to Shinichi. It really was an odd sight. A not-child sitting with his head in his hands next to a supposedly not-fox. Though, Kaito was still unsure on that one. Thus, he taunted the detective in hopes of more answers, even though he was pretty sure Shinichi knew about as much about his current form as he did.

All he received in return was another groan. Under most other circumstances, he would find this highly amusing. As is, he was still trying to figure out for himself how the two of them got in this mess. There were still many secrets left unrevealed here, and it was about time that he started being more open with what was right now his only ally.

Kaito sighed, the sound coming out more as a whimper. His eyes betrayed nothing as he slowly moved his poker face into place, trying to calm his own anxieties. He was actually feeling kind of tired at this point. Whether the exhaustion was coming from the events of the night, or the strange effects of the shield's odd magic, he couldn't be certain.

Suddenly, he found himself grabbed by the neck, as small warm hands pulled him onto an equally small and warm lap. He hid his surprise as he stared up into the face of the chibi-tantei, who had a strangely thoughtful look on his face. "Don't get used to this, KID." Shinichi stated flatly, though his expression betrayed something more sympathetic than not. "I'm only letting you lay here like this because I'm certain you are hiding something from me still, and this is the easiest way to make sure you don't escape."

Kaito was about to retort something along the lines of; "You know very well you couldn't keep me here." but, he remained silent as he looked up into Shinichi's own tired eyes. Clearly, they had both had a very trying night. He decided to let the detective off easy for now. He involuntarily fell into an easy breathing rhythm as Shinichi stroked his silky fur like one would pet a dog.

"So… you aren't the first KID, are you." Kaito nearly jumped at Shinichi's sudden statement. He knew the detective had some questions he had wanted to ask, but he wasn't expecting that to be the first one.

Kaito sputtered, making something akin to a gekkering noise*. "What...what kind of question is that?" he asked, unable to come up with a suitable retort out of simple shock.

Shinichi put one of his hands under his chin in a thinking position. "Well, you confirmed you were a teenager like I am, which is something I was already pretty sure of, so you can relax about that by the way… But honestly, I met the original KID around ten years ago, and my father has a file on him that states he's been stealing for nearly two decades. Obviously, unless you deaged in the same way I did, it wouldn't make any sense for you to be the original."

Kaito had to give Shinichi credit. He was honestly one of the few who had actually noticed this fact. Though, there were probably more out there who knew that he wasn't the original, Shinichi had been the first to outright state it in front of him. He loved Nakamori like an uncle, but he had to admit the man was pretty dull if he still believed him to be the original KID. As much as he would like to pretend he was on the same level as his father in terms of pure skill, he knew he couldn't honestly believe that.

Kaito nodded. "You're correct, detective. The original...disappeared nearly nine years ago. I only took up the mantle last year after some...interesting circumstances." he left the statement open, not wishing to elaborate too much. Shinichi didn't need to know everything, though, Kaito was sure the detective would probably ask anyway.

Shinichi remained silent, clearly contemplating what Kaito had just told him. Kaito could practically see the gears turning in the detective's head, though. It wouldn't be long before the whole truth came out. Still, he was surprised at what Shinichi stated next. "The man I knocked out tonight...he took the life of the original KID, didn't he?"

Kaito stared up at Shinichi, his mouth opening in surprise. It took him a moment to recover before he remembered, 'Oh...detective. Of course he would come to that conclusion' he chuckled lightly. "You're good, Tantei-kun." he said, before dropping into a predatory growl. "Shortly after I took up the mantle, I heard the truth of my predecessor's death straight from the Snake's mouth. I've been working on drawing them out ever since." He turned to look up at Shinichi, who wore a blank expression on his face. "I should be thanking you. You've managed to do something I've been trying to do since I started this...job."

"But your mission, it's not complete, is it?" Shinichi looked down at Kaito with the same oddly sympathetic eyes from earlier. Seemed the detective understood. Though, how much was hard to be sure. The situation he was in...it was complicated, and it went much deeper than just Snake.

Kaito glanced over at the shield. Well, perhaps he could explain it a bit that way… "How much do you know about Greek Mythology, detective?" Honestly, it was ironic that the universe was deciding to bring things together this way.

Shinichi gave him another questioning look. "I've read a thing or two...why?"He stared down at him as if confused as to where this conversation was going.

"It was one of Hercules' twelve feats. Defeat the Hydra. Only, there was a catch...for each of the heads cut off…" Kaito left the thought open ended, knowing the detective would catch on pretty quickly.

Shinichi's eyes widened. "Two more sprouted in their place. Then, that Boss he mentioned earlier?"

Kaito shook his head. "I'm afraid I know very little about that, but I do know there are more of them out there. Now that Snake is down for the count...it's very likely someone will be sent in his place. It's a very dangerous game, detective, and truth be told I'd rather you'd stay out of it." before Shinichi could protest, Kaito continued. "I know better than to believe you'll simply let this matter go. We're far too alike in that regard...but still, I would request you not pursue this matter too far."

Shinichi sat silently, staring down at Kaito, obviously searching for some sort of response. He flinched when he found the detective laughing. Now that was truly odd… he didn't think Shinichi had a sense of humor, and for once, Kaito himself was being completely serious. "Hey, what's so funny?" he asked, genuinely curious.

Shinichi shook his head, and pulling out his bowtie in an impression of Kaito's voice, he replied, "Oh, come on. You're supposed to be the great Heisei-Lupin. Surely you can figure out why this is so hilarious."

Kaito twitched irritatedly at his own words being thrown back at him. The nerve! Well...he supposed he deserved it, but still. He deserved an explanation.

Well, apparently, the detective was willing to stop laughing long enough to give him one. "Honestly, KID...think about it for a moment. Do you think I chose this form for fun?"

Kaito's eyes widened. He brought his paw up to his face in an awkward facepalm. Of course...well, now he felt stupid. He was actually glad for the fur on his face right now, as it hid the hideous blush he had at the moment. After finding out the detective's secret earlier, too. Though, to be fair he still didn't have all the details…

"Hey, give me some credit!" Kaito protested. "You haven't exactly been the most open about the details regarding your little secret, either," he said, being sure to put emphasis in the right place to get the detective off his case, at least temporarily. "Also, if I didn't know better, I'd swear you're developing a sense of humor. Scary thought, that." he grinned.

Shinichi huffed before lowering his voice in a tone that Kaito could tell wasn't entirely serious. "Careful, KID, I think you forgot just what position you're in at the moment." He grinned evilly down at Kaito, and Kaito suddenly found himself struggling to get out of Shinichi's grip. Shinichi then proceeded to give Kaito a noogie in apparent revenge for his earlier statement.

Suddenly, there was a bluish-white *poof* of smoke, and Kaito was sitting on the other end of the roof. "Hey! That's not fair, picking on a poor defenseless fox like…" Kaito paused, as the sound of his voice came out of his throat, though a bit lighter than usual.

Shinichi just sat there and stared, blinking, behind bespectacled eyes.

Kaito stared back at him, unsure what he was looking at. What? Was there something on his face...again? Shinichi wasn't saying anything, so Kaito decided something weird must of happened once more.

Deciding to stand up and investigate, he suddenly found himself able to stand on two legs again, though these legs were definitely longer than that of a fox's, yet still shorter than that of a fully grown teenager's. Almost like… he glanced down, confirming his suspicions. He was human again! Well, mostly. He could still see a white, fox's tail, which was currently covering his naked extremities. Plus, by his calculations, he was standing just a slight bit taller than Shinichi's current height...so, not back to normal then. Well, that was...interesting.

Shinichi shook his head, clearly thinking the same as Kaito. "What the heck just happened?" The two of them were just sort of messing around with one another, when *poof*, magic boy. Perhaps they would figure this out in due time.

For now… Kaito walked over to where his suit still lay, and quickly sorting through it, found the convenient extra "just in case" pair of kid's clothes. You never know when you just might need a stand-in child assistant. Though, much the same as with women, Kaito did not strip children. These were designed to fit over top of an already existing outfit. After a few minor adjustments, he was able to quickly change into the clothes, and now stood, glancing at himself once more in the mirror-like shield that had been set up against the side of the rooftop.

"Hmm...not bad…" he said simply. He then turned to glance at Shinichi who stood, gaping at him, brain still trying to process what had just happened. He grinned. "What do you think, Tantei-kun? We could be twins now!"

There was no reply. This time, Shinichi was the one to black out.

_~^.v.^~_

~So that's the end of what I originally wrote for this story. Everything from here on in is a collaborative effort between my beta reader and myself. Hope you all will continue to enjoy! Please leave a review/comment to let me know what you think :D Until next chapter!~