A/N: Quick reminder that Movie 3 is canon to this fic, and therefore KID does know that Conan is Shinichi. Exactly what else he knows will come up in the text. Anyhow, I'm sure this is the chapter at least some of you have been waiting for, so please enjoy!

My job may affect fic-posting times, but I'm hoping it won't cause an overall delay. Still, the worst-case scenario is that the next chapter goes up Wednesday instead of Tuesday.

Chapter 4

Shinichi didn't know KID, really—no one actually knew KID, you couldn't actually know a mask, much less one that thrived off lies and unpredictability—but he knew about the way he thought and that was enough to make him wary when he showed up at the warehouse KID had indicated in his note.

He was expecting something. He wasn't sure what, he was very deliberately not sure what, because being sure would end in being wrong and that wasn't what he wanted. KID had called him here, KID knew what was going on, KID was taller than a mailbox…KID had the upper hand in most of the ways that counted. So he just focused on keeping his wits about him and being ready for surprises.

It was near twilight, but the warehouse was in the middle of Tokyo. If he shouted, someone would hear him. They had enough privacy to talk here, but not enough privacy that KID could get away with anything.

Light footsteps echoed as he walked across the slightly damp floor; it took him a few seconds to remember that, yes, that was what he sounded like now, and there was no small child following him. Even after more than a year of being Conan, he still occasionally forgot.

He let out a little huff of frustration, and scanned the warehouse, eyes widening as they landed on the one thing he hadn't been expecting—KID, undisguised and in full costume, standing in plain sight beside one of the building's structural beams.

It's a trap, somehow, he thought, instantly wary. His hands went for the buttons on his shoe and belt before his brain had fully caught up to what they were doing.

KID's eyes widened. "Okay, hands away from the weapons," KID said quickly, straightening—because, yes, he'd been leaning on that beam, just a little bit. He stepped back, raising his hands to shoulder level as if in surrender, his smile turning strained as he did.

"See?" He said. "No weapons."

Not even a smart remark, Shinichi thought, and then the stiff set of KID's shoulders registered.

"The injury at the heist was more serious than you let the Task Force think it was, wasn't it?" he asked, coming out of his crouch. Attacking KID when he was hurt wouldn't be right.

KID lowered his hands, one much more gingerly than the other. The gesture flattened his normal empty smile into an inexpressive line.

"They don't call you Meitantei for nothing," he said, slowly. His face was pale, and he was leaning on the column again, subtly…but not quite subtly enough.

"How bad?" Shinichi asked briskly.

"You think I'm telling you how badly I'm injured?" KID asked, cocking an eyebrow. The expression was disconcertingly weary. "No thank you."

Shinichi felt a twinge of…something. Hurt, maybe? He and KID had been allies before, and the flat distrust in the man's voice stung a bit.

"At least tell me you got medical attention," he said, a bit more sharply than he really meant to.

"Worried, Meitantei-kun?" KID teased, his expression relaxing just a bit. "Yes, the bullet didn't hit anything important, and—"

"Bullet?" Shinichi interrupted. Takagi said that KID was injured during the heist, not that he'd been shot. "What the h*** was the Task Force—"

"Wasn't them," KID cut him off, expression suddenly stony.

Shinichi's heart decided that this was an excellent time to climb into his throat, because there weren't a lot of people outside of law enforcement who could get ahold of a gun accurate enough to hit a moving target like KID in Japan, and there were even fewer people who could actually force KID into seriousness. Unfortunately, Shinichi had an idea about a group that would fit into both categories.

Please don't let KID be tangling with the Black Organization, he thought, dread surging through him like adrenaline.

"Who was it, then?" he asked, keeping the words steady because KID respected nothing like he respected a good façade.

"That's—" KID stopped short. "I was about to say it's none of your business. But it's kind of related, I guess."

"To what?" Shinichi asked, confused.

"To the reason I sent you that note," KID said. "Fun as this is, I did not ask you here to discuss my health."

Shinichi waited, expectant. Silence was the best way to get information sometimes—especially when dealing with a natural showman like KID.

"The police are never going to track down Hakuba," KID said. "Neither will I, by myself."

"Because you're injured," Shinichi guessed, relieved that something in this conversation was finally making sense.

"No, because he's terrifying," KID said, with conviction.

Okay, what? "Have you been talking to Hattori?" Shinichi blurted out, without thinking.

KID looked at him, a bit oddly.

"Sorry, it's just that Hattori thinks there's something off about Hakuba, and—" Shinichi started.

"He noticed?" KID asked, looking a bit impressed. "Do you think you could get him down from Osaka for this?"

"Maybe if you explain why you called Hakuba 'terrifying,'" Shinichi said, with what he felt was admirable patience.

It was like Shinichi had gone for the soccer ball again. KID suddenly looked just a bit terrified, almost overwhelmed—and this really was the widest emotional range he'd seen on the man so far when their lives hadn't been at immediate risk.

"Ah, it's a little hard to explain," KID said, aborting a motion to scratch the back of his neck and confirming for Shinichi that his wound was somewhere on his upper torso, where such a gesture would pull at it.

"Try."

"There's a lot you don't know about Hakuba," KID said. "There's a lot I didn't know about him until the last heist, even though I probably should've figured it out before then."

Shinichi swallowed. "And what exactly is it, that I don't know?"

"The face you know as his isn't his real face," KID said bluntly.

"He had plastic surgery?" Shinichi asked, not following. "Is he in Witness Protection? Is that what this is about?"

"No, Meitantei-kun, the face you knew him with is a disguise," KID said. "It's been a disguise, from the start." He laughed, the sound horribly brittle. "Turns out he's really good at those. He's impersonated me twice—first time, he fooled my assistant, the second, the entire Task Force."

"The heist—that's why the police thought you weren't that badly injured!" Shinichi said. "But—wait, he's Hakuba-san, he's been chasing you since he came to Japan, why would he—"

"It's not really because of me," KID said. "I'll get to his reasons, okay? For right now, what you aren't appreciating here is that his normal face has been a disguise this whole time and neither of us noticed. Not the Moonlight Magician, not the son of Kudou Yukiko. He fooled us both."

"So, he's a secret master of disguise," Shinichi said. "That's confusing, and weird, but not exactly terrifying."

"We're trying to find a secret master of disguise," KID corrected. "Passing around his description isn't going to help us much here. And if that was all it was, maybe it wouldn't be terrifying."

"Okay, well, what's the rest?" Shinichi asked.

"It's not really just the disguise," KID said. "I've got good reason to think he learned from the same people who taught me, only so far, the evidence says he's better at most of it."

"Learned what, exactly?" Shinichi asked.

"Pretty much everything I know," KID said, grimacing. "And then he went and learned detective-ing and whatever else he picked up in London."

"Everything," Shinichi repeated slowly.

"I at least know for certain that he's broken into my house without my noticing at least once, and he can run across roofs if the mood takes him," KID said.

"What," Shinichi said, not so much a question as a sort of gasp.

"It threw me too, honestly," KID said. "But the important thing is that he burned his identity as Hakuba Saguru over a stupid misunderstanding, so we have to get him back."

"What kind of misunderstanding scares off somebody like that?" Shinichi asked, in quiet awe. If he had that many skill sets he'd have taken the Black Org apart—or at least gotten a good start on it—by now.

"He thought Kuroba Chikage—that lady I impersonated—figured him out," KID said. "I bugged the interrogation room; seems like he bolted after answering some of her questions about him."

"She was really curious about him, for some reason," Shinichi said, remembering probing questions disguised as idle curiosity. "Maybe she guessed something was up, as well. Do you want to bring her in, now, too?"

KID shook his head rapidly enough that it almost certainly pulled at wherever that wound of his was. "Hattori's different," he said. "I've met him before. I've got no reason to trust this Kuroba lady."

"Wait," Shinichi said. "If he broke into your house…if he's been wearing a false appearance for a year and you find him terrifying, why do we have to go after him?"

KID blinked. "Well, it's not like he means to be scarily good at things; you of all people should know about that," he said.

Shinichi gave a small shrug of acknowledgement.

"And…well, he's been trying to help, weirdly enough," KID said. "Not just that heist. With the breaking and entering-would you believe that he snuck bulletproof vests into my costume?"

Shinichi stared. "Seriously?"

"That's where the, um, people with bullets, from the heist, come in," KID said. "I'm not sure what happened there, but he definitely knows about them and he is not happy. I think I might be in the middle of a fight between him and them."

"These people, they wouldn't happen to really like wearing black, would they?" Shinichi asked, stomach churning.

"Some of them, yeah," KID said.

"We…might have more to talk about, than Hakuba," Shinichi said, mind racing. "But that's for later. So, he's been trying to fight them?"

"And I'm in the middle somehow," KID said. "He's been screwing with them during heists, from behind the scenes, and occasionally just plain doing things to keep me alive, but I'm thinking it might just be because I tick them off."

"So you're convenient," Shinichi said. "Not exactly a reason to want to go after someone."

KID shrugged. "He might also care about what happens to me personally," KID said. "I don't know. He gassed me after I got injured so I was easier to transport, and I woke up the next day at home with stitches."

"You didn't even go to a hospital?" Shinichi demanded.

"What, and get arrested?" KID replied. "Bullet wounds don't exactly turn up in the Tokyo ER every day; I would've been suspicious. Never mind if they put me on narcotics and I started saying things…"

"Okay, point," Shinichi said, holding up his hands briefly. "But still…" One hand drifted to the scar on his stomach. "Even with hospital drugs, getting shot sucks."

"Don't worry, someone got me medications," KID said with a small wave of his hand—and then froze. "Wait. When did you get shot?"

"Um, last summer?" Shinichi said. "It was police gossip for like two weeks; I was surprised you didn't show up in the hospital. Probably wouldn't have helped things, though…Ran was being suspicious and Hattori was being loud…"

"Ran was being…are you telling me you got shot like that?" KID said, gesturing with one hand in Shinichi's general direction.

Shinichi nodded. "I've given up spelunking for life and the Detective Boys are really good at riddles," he said. "That's all you need to know about it. Anyway, Hakuba?"

"Whatever his reasons, he saved my life during the last heist," KID said. "The bullet wasn't near any organs but it nicked an artery, and I was still under fire—he was the one who got me out. If nothing else, I owe him for that."

"There's more to it, though, isn't there?" Shinichi pressed.

"Yeah," KID said. "It wasn't just the bulletproof vest. Not by a longshot. He's been protecting me in various ways—maybe just to tick off someone else, but still—since he came to Japan. The more I think about it, the more I realize how much effort he must have put into it. But…did Takagi show you the 'crime scene' from his disappearance?"

Shinichi nodded. "All of his identification laid out on his bed. He might as well have screamed, 'I'm not coming back' on his way out."

"Right," KID said, smile thinning a bit. "Pretty dramatic…which, really, is kind of expected from that Inverness-wearing drama queen. But…he could have faked his death, if he'd wanted to. And he didn't. Because, either he didn't think he needed to disappear completely, or he didn't want to." KID grinned, wide and sharp. "It's the only mistake I've caught so far, but there have got to be others."

That wasn't really an answer. The fact that Saguru might've wanted them to come after him wasn't enough to explain KID's insistence about this, either—but if KID was going to dodge the question with this much dedication, Shinichi was going to let him. The Shinichi of the past, who ran fearlessly into dark corners of Tropical Land while chasing men in dark clothes and kicked globes at suspects to catch them in lies—he wouldn't have. But Conan knew something about standing in front of an enemy, vulnerable, with little more than words and determination on your side.

It was partly empathy, and partly the knowledge that if he really cornered KID, in this position, the counterattack would be brutal. He'd never seen KID not holding back—he'd seen something close a few times, with the Purple Nail and the Kirin's Horn, but it had always been controlled. If KID ever decided to launch a full-on attack—well, Shinichi wasn't really counting on a wound, no matter how serious, to actually slow him down enough to matter.

"If we're going to do this, we're going to need someplace to work from," he said. "I don't think you need me to explain why it can't be the Mouri Detective Agency."

"You aren't using your house at the moment," KID pointed out.

"Actually, we have a renter," Shinichi said. "A grad student…he'd get curious after a while, and I don't think we'd want him involved."

"I can lie to a grad student, and so can you," KID said, dismissive.

Shinichi made a quiet humming sound, pondering his choices, then said, "Well, maybe he's less a grad student, and more…someone who, if anyone asks you, you should say is a grad student."

"Oh," KID said slowly. "Not someone who could be talked around into helping?"

Shinichi thought about Akai Shuichi, his ruthless streak, and the likelihood that the man would actually believe in the idea of a nonviolent criminal. "I don't think so," he said. "There's a possibility, but trying would be taking a risk with the odds against you."

"Those are my specialty," KID said cheerily.

"He's an American and I think he's still got his sniper rifle, somehow," Shinichi said flatly. "They're pretty bad odds."

KID sighed. "Bad odds indeed. How do you meet these people?"

Shinichi tried and failed to configure the phrase, We were on the same bus when it was hijacked, into something less alarming. "It just happens," he said at length. Though, thinking about Akai, and people I've met…if Hakuba's really been here on a mission, fooling people, the whole time…I know someone else who knows something about that.

"KID, there is someone else, besides Hattori, who I could call," Shinichi said. "He wouldn't be able to come in person, because he's in America, but he's another detective…and he might know more about how Hakuba-san is thinking than we do. When I met him, he was using his real name and appearance…but he was also lying about what he was doing in Tokyo and why."

"And you're still in contact with him?" KID asked, quirking an eyebrow.

"He had good reasons," Shinichi said. "He thought Ran's old man was mixed up with…well, we really need to talk more about those people shooting at you, but probably that same group. And when he realized that wasn't what was going on, he spent a while trying to figure out what was."

"So he was after them," KID said, expression unreadable. "Same as you?"

"Not quite," Shinichi said. "He was looking for his sister."

"Did he find her?" KID asked.

"Kind of," Shinichi said, deliberately holding KID's gaze.

"Something happened, though," KID said lowly, grin dimming.

"She's alive," Shinichi said. "And I can't tell you anything more than that." KID's gaze didn't waver. Relenting, Shinichi added softly, "He doesn't know much more than that, either."

"So he comes to Tokyo, thinking he's going to be facing down people with guns, lies to you long enough to find his sister, and that's all he gets?" KID asked. "I feel a little bad for the guy, honestly."

That's not factoring in what happened to his father, Shinichi thought. Does—did anyone ever tell him, about that? But—

"Maybe, but he's still a force to be reckoned with," Shinichi said. "A complete klutz, yeah, a space cadet some of the time, but dangerous enough when crossed."

"Isn't everyone?" KID asked, almost philosophically. "So, what's this guy's name?"

"Hondou Eisuke," Shinichi said. "Would you like me to call him?"

"If you think he can help and don't think he'll call the police as soon as my name comes up, sure," KID said. "For some reason, I'm trusting your judgement."

Shinichi rolled his eyes. "Don't worry, I can keep him from calling the police before he hears me out, and he'll want to help once he hears about Hakuba."

"That's a pretty tall order for little Conan-kun," KID observed, snickering.

"The height jokes got old a long time ago," Shinichi replied. "And he knows I'm Shinichi."

Surprise was such a rare expression on KID's face that seeing it was always satisfying. "He figured it out?"

"I told him," Shinichi said, forcing a casual tone.

"Do I want to know the circumstances?"

"They aren't your business," Shinichi said curtly. "But, speaking of things he can and can't know…I think it would be best if we tried to pool information about the group that's been shooting at you once Hattori's here. But we shouldn't try to involve Eisuke."

KID's expression was openly curious.

Shinichi held up two fingers. "Two reasons," he said, then put one down. "One, he's in America, and while we can use video calls and email and the like to involve him in the investigation itself, this group isn't one you want to be talking about over technology without the means to be sure that no one is listening in. Getting that for both me and Eisuke would be a challenge, at best."

"Not impossible, though," KID said. "I have resources."

Shinichi gave him a searching look.

KID moved to hold up his hands in front of him, winced, and settled for an offended expression. "Legal resources," he said petulantly.

"Okay, fine," Shinichi said, putting up a second finger. "Two, through a set of circumstances I really can't explain to you, I promised Eisuke's sister he'd be put into Witness Protection because of what he already knows about these people. But he turned it down. The least I can do is keep him from finding out more and getting into more danger."

KID actually frowned at that. "Witness Protection?" he asked. "You're both in pretty deep, aren't you?"

"Me and Eisuke, or me and Eisuke's sister?" Shinichi asked, just to see how KID would answer.

"Either one, really," KID said lightly, false smile back in place.

"Well, anyhow, I don't want to tell him more than I have to," he said. "So we talk without him. Do you think we can find someplace for us to meet?"

KID looked troubled. "I'll see what I can do. How do I contact you?"

Shinichi rattled off his number—the one for Shinichi's phone, not Conan's. "Call me with a burner, unless you want to set up a permanent line of communication. It might not be a bad idea to buy a phone for this case, if you think it's going to take a while."

"I don't know how long it's going to take," KID said, and that was a rare spark of honesty in his voice, unless Shinichi missed his guess. "I don't know everything that Hakuba's capable of, but I know he didn't want me to know, and I know he managed to make sure I didn't find out. I don't like that he pulled that off. It doesn't bode well."

Shinichi didn't agree out loud.

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A/N: And now you know how I'm bringing the other detectives into the fic! I hope you enjoyed the verbal sparring match, complete with a fair amount of lying from both sides.

Next chapter actually introduces the other two; here's hoping you enjoy my take on them (including Heiji, as I've fleshed out my thoughts on him since RiR). Anyhow, leave a review on your way out if you enjoyed it and would like to let me know.