Detective Conan and Magic Kaito characters, settings, and ideas do not belong to me but to Aoyama Gōshō.

TMPD Antics

By Taliya

LXXVII: Kuroba and Hattori

"Kaitou KID-sama is so awesome!" one blonde female office worker gushed as both Kaito and Heiji passed by on their way back from their lunch break.

"Isn't he? I'd bet he's even better than the Magician of East Asia, Kuroba Touichi-san, who was said to be the world's foremost illusionist before he died," her companion replied. "I wonder how they'd fare in a faceoff…"

Heiji listened to their conversation, though he paid it no real mind as they were harmlessly comparing magicians. He continued walking, only to notice after several steps that his companion was no longer striding alongside him. "Kuroba…?" he murmured, swiveling to find his coworker stomping up behind the two girls.

"Of course Kuroba Touichi would win," Kaito snapped, completely butting into their conversation.

Oi, oi, Heiji thought with incredulity as he approached the trio, Aren't you arguing against yourself here, Kuroba?

The first woman glared at the Division Three officer. "And how would you know?" she bit out, irritated at the intrusion. Her friend watched quietly from the side, observing with worried eyes.

"Because Kuroba Touichi was my father, and he taught me how to be an amazing magician before he died," the brunet retorted with no small amount of ire in his voice.

"Well, what can you do that the great KID-sama cannot?" the blonde challenged.

Kaito clenched his jaw. "I could likely do everything he could and more, provided I have enough time for set up."

The woman dismissed his claim with a flap of her hand. "Worthless, unless you can prove it," she proclaimed, a victorious glint in her eyes. "But—oh!—there's no way to prove it since there's nothing here to prove in the first place!"

Heiji's eyes widened as she laughed and Kaito flushed in anger. "I'll prove it to you," Kaito snarled through gritted teeth, and the Division One officer stared at his coworker in horrified amazement. "I'll prove that the son of Kuroba Touichi can outdo Kaitou KID in magic any day!"

"Oh, no, you're not," the Osakan injected, shooting his friend a stern stare. "I'm not about to let you go off breaking the law just to prove a point!" Even if you already do, he thought privately.

"No proof!" the blonde mocked, and Heiji decided he needed to act before Kaito suffered an aneurysm.

He grabbed Kaito by the back collar of his shirt and tugged, yanking the theft detective off balance. "Come on, you KID wannabe," Heiji grumbled as he dragged Kaito away. "You can't win this argument, and I'm not letting you pretend to be KID."

"I don't want to be KID," Kaito wailed as he stumbled backwards, trying to catch his footing, "I want to beat him!"

Heiji rolled his eyes. "Heaven help me and save me from the idiots," he muttered under his breath while including Shinichi in his definition of "idiots".

Author's Note: So Kaito gets a little bent out of shape anytime someone makes a remark against his father. Now weigh that against his pride what with being KID, and I think his love for his father outweighs his pride. Makes for an interesting twist, doesn't it? I hope you enjoyed it.

Completed: 16.06.2016