Well, here we are, ready for Conan and Kaito vs. Snake and Sider. Can't wait. So school has started back up again, and since I work at one, it will be difficult to have enough time to write. I will try though. Thank you for reading and your reviews. I appreciate you all.

Kaito tripped slightly as Snake dragged him down the stairs back to the ground floor. He was constantly in alert mode, ready for Conan to give the word. His fidgety fingers gauged how quickly he could pick the handcuffs and drop an assortment of flash bangs, smoke bombs, and other fun little toys. In his mind he had it down to about two seconds, but he knew he could be even faster if the need arose.

Conan was just ahead of him, Spider yanking him along by his upper arm, not paying the child any mind as he hissed in pain in the assassin's not too gentle grip. The worst thing right now was not knowing what to expect and what the scheme was. All he had received was partial confirmation that it was working, whatever it was. He needed to find some way to communicate with the detective, but how was he going to do that with two assassins who were watching them very closely?

He couldn't really do anything but watch Tantei-kun very intently, hoping he understood that he was observing him for any sign of his next move.

He saw the smallest of shivers up Conan's back as he stepped down onto the next floor's landing, almost like he had experienced a cold chill, but Kaito knew better. He knew that with Conan's paranoia and high sensitivity he was aware of his gaze. The small detective's fingers twitched on the left side, before they fell slack.

The arduous and irritating journey, only made so because of Snake's incessant gloating and purposeful tripping, finally came to an end as they made it to the bottom floor. It was easy to see what had happened to the poor goon squad that were left to stand guard by the front door. Kaito hadn't exactly had time to give them special treatment, but he certainly went all out. They were covered in confetti, multiple dyes, silly string, and enough glitter that they would be picking it off of themselves for months. It looked like a rainbow vomited on them. Kaito couldn't help a snicker as he surveyed his handiwork. They honestly had not seen it coming. Conan turned at the noise, and Kaito could easily see the amusement hidden in the shadows of his face.

"Shut up KID."

Spider started to go toward the men, possibly to wake them up, when Snake grunted.

"Leave them. We have more important things."

Spider nodded, hauling Conan toward the door.

"Right. Boya, you are going to sit up front with me and give me directions. You make one wrong one, and I kill you and KID. Snake, you sit in the back with our thief friend, and keep him from doing anything. He moves, you kill him."

Conan suddenly brightened, and Kaito recognized the childlike personality as it was, and instantly listened closely for any hidden messages the sleuth could have hidden in his simple words.

"Ne ne, can we listen to music on the radio? I like to hear the vibrations through the speakers!"

Kaito blinked, trying to decipher what he meant. He mentioned a radio and feeling vibrations. Wait, back all those months ago when they were together in the woods versus the robbers, he pretended that the comm link between the two of them was a normal radio, and they had managed to talk to each other through Morse code. He still had the two way ear piece from earlier in his pocket, so he could talk to Conan if he needed to, but it was going to be impossible to put it in his ear, and to tap on it would be suspicious.

Ah, Conan mentioned hearing the vibrations through the speaker. If he turned it up all the way, he could possibly feel the vibrations like Conan was talking about, possibly. It was a bit of a stretch. He gave Conan a cursory glance, seeing that his left hand was in his pocket. He gave the earpiece an experimental tap hoping for some confirmation that this was what Conan wanted him to do.

If Kaito wasn't used to studying people for tells, and if he wasn't used to trying to read the mini detective during heists, he would have missed it. The small twitch in his left arm, the barest of glances, and the tiniest spasm to signify a smirk. He pressed his fingers tightly against the surface of the earpiece and he felt the responding tap. It wasn't loud enough for the assassins to hear, and they couldn't possibly notice the tiny movement if the boys hid their hands in the pocket. Perfect.

Spider frowned and Conan gasped as Spider lifted him up by his upper arm, fingers digging into his bicep. Conan winced in pain at the pressure as he felt his shoulder straining with the effort to not dislocate. Spider warned, red goggles glinting threateningly.

"I thought I told you not to speak."

Suddenly Snake was empty handed as Kaito was there, scooping up Conan so he wasn't just dangling by his arm. He soothed, with a pacifying smile on his face as he pulled Conan back against his chest protectively, the boy's arm still in Spider's hand, but now supporting the detective's weight.

"Ma Spider, he is just a child. Relax."

Conan released a breath and took a small comfort at feeling KID close, literally having his back. KID seemed calm and his usual self, but Conan could once again feel KID's body language. The slight tremble of rage and the strong pulse of his heart told him the real story. It looked like the thief was getting impatient with going along with what the assassins wanted, and that little stunt had almost pushed past that limit. He was as well, but it was not time yet. This was all very delicate; they needed to believe that they were winning, even though they weren't. Kaito refused to crumple his stance as he felt Snake join the fray, holding a pistol to his head.

"Drop him KID."

He ignored him, not take his eyes off of Spider.

"Spider, drop him."

The tone was smooth, almost a suggestion, but everyone heard the slight warning undertone. Spider gave a smirk, before gently lowering Conan back to the ground. Conan gave Kaito a curt nod, before jumping out of his arms. Kaito allowed Snake to take him into his custody again, but his indigo eyes sparked; Spider just earned another prank on him when they finally got out of this mess.

Conan was shuffled into the passenger side, while Kaito was shoved unceremoniously behind him. Spider took the wheel while Snake sat across from Kaito, glaring at him with the pistol leveled between them, eyeing his every move.

This was fine, however. Out of the two of them, Kaito had far better slight of hand, and could fly under the radar with his messages while Snake was watching him like a hawk. Conan, who was worse, could deal with Spider whose main focus would be driving and taking directions couldn't give as much attention to the boy. Plus, as an added bonus, they could see each other in the side mirror. Conan and Kaito locked eyes in the mirror and gave each other minute nods.

"First head to Beika. I will give you better directions once you get there."

Conan ordered softly. Spider started the engine, advising intimidatingly.

"If you give one wrong direction Boya, KID dies."

Conan wanted to give a snarky reply but decided to be tactful and keep his mouth shut. He needed to play the helpless child act for just a little while longer.

Kaito waited until they were on the road, before tapping on the earpiece in his pocket methodically. After his last adventure with Conan, he had studied Morse code thoroughly until he knew it cold, just in case the need for it ever arose again. Now, he was thanking his planning skills as he tapped a simple word.

Plan?

They needed to keep their communication to a minimum and as concise as possible. They couldn't afford for their captors to get wise and find out about their communication. He kept his eyes front, but in his peripheral, he saw Conan in the side mirror giving him a glance and a small nod. His fingers pressed against the small speaker, concentrating on the barely felt taps on the other end.

Divide. Attack.

Kaito remained completely neutral and he digested the new information. Yes, once they got to the Kudo Manor, if Conan managed to lead one of them into the house to pick up Pandora, he was fully confident in their ability to tackle them individually. Which led to the next problem: getting Pandora before them. He could toss a knockout bomb at his person, probably Snake, since Spider seemed to take an interest in Conan, and then be in the house to help Conan deal with his person. Now that that was kind of planned, the next course of action was to get to the gem before them. Both assassins wouldn't stay down for long, so knowing the jewel's location would save them precious time. He tapped a little quicker as Conan gave Spider a direction in the front seat.

Pandora. Where?

If he could get into the house and get to Pandora before them, he could possibly rectify this whole situation. He could get Conan and Pandora without anyone losing their life or the precious gem. Surely Conan would tell him now the location right. He glanced back at the mirror again, only to see Conan staring at him, with a twinkle of disbelief in his eyes. Kaito realized his mistake and sighed inwardly. He felt the taps against his fingertips.

You don't know?

He clenched his jaw. Conan had expected him to figure it out, and normally he would have found the location, being the phantom thief that he was, but Conan was more secretive then he expected and hadn't even given any hints to the whereabouts of Pandora. He saw the smug look on Conan's face even without looking directly at it and bit back a sigh again. He wasn't going to hear the end of this was he? Conan was going to gloat on this forever. But they didn't really have time, and he would lay his pride to one side for now. He tapped hesitantly.

Hint.

Conan's lips twitched into the smallest of smug smiles, the one Kaito despised on the detective's face, the one that promised teasing and merciless arrogance. He worried that would deter the hint, but he felt the steady pulse, strong against his fingertips.

K.I.R.I.N H.O.R.N.

Kirin's horn.

Kaito froze, mind whirring. Kirin's horn? That name rang a bell, as he sifted through the hundreds of heists he had held. Ah that's right. He remembered that heist, with the detective boys. He had played Nakamori Keibu.

What did that have to do with now though? Did that heist have something similar? He was so close to the truth; he could feel it. Wait, he remembered. He had knocked Conan out in an attempt to use him to escape, just like Conan had done the night before. Was that the only similarity though? No Conan wouldn't have brought it up unless there was something else. Where had he hid the jewel during that heist?

Wait a moment. He had hidden the jewel in Conan's clothes in order to take it off of him later when he delivered him to the hospital.

Kaito's stomach dropped and he stiffened slightly.

Oh, he was going to murder that conniving detective.

His other hand slowly dropped down to cradle the two fake jewels in his pocket, feeling them through the fabric of his pants. Of course. It would have been so easy for Conan to pull out one of the fake jewels to hide somewhere in the house. Hide a tree in a forest, or a real gem among well-made fakes and it would have been impossible for him to guess. He had made sure when he made the fakes to make them look as authentic as possible, so it was even hard for him to tell, at least in daylight. Although, it did make the most sense now that he thought about it. Conan wouldn't want the real Pandora to be unprotected. Now he felt like an idiot for not figuring it out sooner.

He glanced toward the side mirror to see Conan's eyes light up, the detective understanding that Kaito had figured it out. He tried to admonish with his eyes because really, Snake had held it in his hands! But Conan just continued to give him that confident smirk. Now though, the plan was much easier to see. Once they got there and hopefully separated the two assassins, he wouldn't have to worry about grabbing Conan and Pandora, just worrying about the boy. Yes, that made things easier. Would Snake and Spider find that suspicious though? No, they knew he would prioritize life, over the jewel which he could retrieve later. This could work.

They drove in almost silence, it only being broken by Conan giving the odd direction or two, telling Spider to turn down streets towards their destination. Kaito kept eyeing Snake, fidgeting in his seat slightly as he prepared himself. This was a small space, so he needed to have a plan and be ready.

"Stop squirming thief."

Kaito smirked confidently, portraying his KID persona for real for the first time all day. He had had to play the desperate thief, but it was high time for the real Kaitou KID to make an appearance.

"Sorry Snake, can't help it. Sitting still isn't exactly my style."

Snake narrowed his eyes irritably.

"Neither is not shooting you."

Kaito chuckled.

"Oh you sweet talker you."

"Shut up, both of you."

Spider ordered from the front seat. Kaito raised his hands to rest them behind his head, keeping his movements slow so Snake didn't blow his head off, the picture of absolute casualness with a gun to his head.

"Come on Spider, you are a magician, you should get it."

Conan was fighting hard not to face palm, he could tell. But he had the slight leverage of needing to stay alive to give Pandora's location/Conan's cooperation, so they wouldn't shoot him just yet. Spider didn't grace him with a reply, only giving a warning glance int he rearview mirror. Kaito closed his eyes, pretending to nap.

Finally, they pulled up in front of the Victorian style house. Spider turned the key and the engine shut off. He unbuckled his seat belt.

"I am taking the boy in to get it. You stay here with the thief."

Ah, so they had the same thought, to separate them so they could 'take care of them'. Kaito's window of opportunity was very short; if he had to take a guess, he was going to be shot as soon as Conan and Spider were inside the house, shutting the front door and cutting off their view of his execution. That was when he would strike as well, Conan's gaze met his, glinting confidently as Spider dragged him from the car. Kaito could practically hear him saying 'good luck.'

Kaito watched as they went up the sidewalk, dexterous fingers picking the lock on his handcuffs, sliding the smoke bombs into the palms of his hand. They were climbing the stairs, reaching for the door handle. Snake smirked cocking the pistol in his hands.

"Finally, Kaitou KID. I can finally get rid—"

Kaito saw the front door close and literally exploded. BANG

Snake blinked at the sudden loud noise and instantly the car was filled with smoke. Instinctively he shot the gun, bullet pinging into the door, instead of the phantom thief, who seemed to have vanished. He waved the smoke away from his face.

"What the—"

The pistol was slapped from his hand and Snake looked up. Kaito had threw the smoke bombs at Snake and had flipped over into the passenger front seat. Then he had somersaulted forward to the driver's seat, so he was directly in front of Snake. He had reached over, using the driver's seat as a shield. He grabbed the pistol with one hand and had his card gun out in the other, shooting some of his cards that sprayed a special smoke, combining anesthetic powder, chili powder, pepper, and sneezing powder, making sure to hold his breath.

Snake immediately began sneezing uncontrollably, hacking and coughing in an awful display, with liquid spilling from his eyes, nose and mouth to make even the worst allergic reaction look tame. The more the sneezing powder chili powder and pepper caused him to sneeze and cough, the more air would get sucked in, the more the anesthetic powder would be forced into his system. Kaito rammed his way through the driver's door, slamming it shut and making sure to hit the child lock, keeping Snake in the car with the devilish concoction. One buffoon down, now to rescue Conan.

He sprinted up the stairs to the front door, easing it open and sneaking inside. Now, where were they?

A yelp upstairs made his decision for him. He was up the stairs in a second, using his grappling gun to rocket him forward and he spun down the hallway, toward the door that had a light on. He slammed through the door, rushing into the scene.

Conan kept eyeing the assassin as they shut the front door.

"Tell me Boya, where is it?"

He needed to get Spider as far away from Kaito and Snake as possible. He was sure that as soon as he provided the chance, KID would take care of Snake. He had to keep up the pretense for as long as possible.

"I hid it upstairs."

Spider glanced around the house looking for traps, before whisking Conan up the stairs, to his bedroom. Conan glanced at the soccer ball that he had next to his old bed as Spider walked around. Conan pointed to the closet.

"There is a button there, open it and it should show the safe it is in."

Spider stalked forward, turning his back on Conan, which was a big mistake on his part. The detective smirked, creeping over to the soccer ball, lifting one foot to flick on his power shoes.

The assassin looked around, feeling the wall, so he was completely blindsided by the soccer ball that caught him in the back of the head. He stumbled, falling to the floor. Conan sprinted forward, reaching for the button to uncover the safe. The Pandora in it was fake, but he had to act like it was real. He didn't put as much power into the kick, so Spider wouldn't stay down for long. He needed to see and take back the fake Pandora no matter what.

He glanced down at the prone assassin as he flicked the combination into the dial. He was stirring, and he hurriedly pulled the gem into his hand with a handkerchief. He turned, walking back toward the closet door.

Unsurprisingly, a hand reached out grabbing his ankle. Conan let out a startled yelp as he fell flat, jewel bouncing out of his hand against the hardwood floor. He glanced back to see Spider leering at him.

"Thought you could get the drop on me Boya? Big mistake."

Conan gritted his teeth, kicking back at the assassin's hand. He had to put up a fight, make it as believable as possible.

Suddenly KID was there in the doorway. Conan gasped as he was yanked out of Spider's grip, and KID threw something directly in the assassin's face that exploded in smoke, and glitter. Conan yelled as he was hauled toward the door.

"Wait, Pandora!"

KID ordered, playing along as he forcibly hugged Conan to his chest, yanking him out of the room.

"We can retrieve it later."

Conan found himself out of the room and down the hallway. He lightly tapped the thief's hand.

"Let me go."

KID shook his head continuing to sprint toward the end of the hallway, where a window was letting in the almost afternoon sunlight.

"Hold on Tantei-kun."

Within milliseconds the window was open, and KID had his signature hang-glider extended and they were leaping from the second story window. Conan instinctively tensed, hugging the arm that embraced him tightly as KID reached into his breast pocket with his other hand, pulling out his grappling gun. He shot it toward the roof of another house, using it to rocket himself up to a higher altitude. He did this several times, speedily escaping their pursuers until Kudo Manor wasn't even seen anymore.

Conan opened his mouth to talk to KID, but the thief suddenly divebombed, running across the roof of a building, flipping and dropping down into an alley. Conan blinked twice, and they were on the ground and KID was changed into another disguise, his normal black jeans, black cap and a black turtleneck. His face was different through, a mask of a nondescript police officer from his task force that Conan had seen several times. The Phantom Thief pulled Conan further into the alley, away from the street and behind some dumpsters. First order of business was to make sure Conan was all right, before going back and tailing the assassins back to their base. KID knelt down, and Conan could see the concern in his ally's eyes as he looked him over.

"Are you ok?"

Conan finally took the time to take in a breath. All of that was done within a minute, and they had ended up several blocks from the house, and KID was already changed into another person entirely. No wonder he was considered an escape artist. The sheer speed and precision were enough to make him feel impressed of KID's abilities, but what else was new.

"I am fine, are you ok?"

KID nodded. Both of them finally relaxed, processing everything that had happened in the past hour, the stress of almost dying and almost giving up their prize, and of course acting out of character for both of them, putting up with all of the bull crap Snake and Spider had put them through was exhausting. Kaito slumped against the dumpster, looking relieved and tired.

"Tantei-kun, for my sanity, how much of that was part of the plan?"

Conan blinked up at him innocently.

"Almost all of it, why?"

KID closed his eyes.

"What parts weren't planned?"

Conan counted on his fingers.

"Didn't expect them to find me at your safe house, and I didn't expect to get caught in Spider's illusion, or at least for that long."

Kaito sighed. Ok, so Conan really did have everything under control, even though it didn't feel like it ninety percent of the time.

"Ok Tantei-kun, it is time to start telling me this plan, because I thought for sure they were going to murder you. It would have been so much easier if I had known what was going on."

Conan sat down next to the thief, extending his legs.

"I needed you to act correctly KID. If you hadn't done things just right, they wouldn't have bought it. Besides, I was going to, but they showed up quicker than I expected. I had no time."

KID gave him a sidelong glance.

"Again, I am a much better actor then you are Tantei-kun. There should have been no reason why you couldn't tell me the plan ahead of time, back when we were at Kudo Manor this morning."

Conan protested.

"I thought I did perfectly fine! You have to remember my mother is a famous actress. I can act the part that I need to."

He settled down, explaining quietly.

"You acted just how I needed you to."

KID closed his eyes, ordering softly.

"The plan Tantei-kun. Now."

Conan gave him a glance, before explaining.

"Well, after you got back to the safehouse, I was going to tell you this, but then things happened. As soon as we were ready, we were going to lure them out like we did. Once they caught us, they would interrogate us, and I knew that if they threatened me, you would act and spill the location of the fake Pandora. I had to push them a little bit, but they finally managed to make you give up the fake location. We escort them there, separate them and take them down, while they take the fake Pandora, and we escape, supposedly with our tails between our legs and desperate. I think we did that pretty well."

KID held up his hands and snapped, displaying the jewels that had previously been in his pocket.

"Really Tantei-kun? Hiding it on my person? Didn't we decide that not hiding it on us was safer?"

Conan smirked.

"Yeah exactly, no one expected it right? I set it up that way so you would instantly assume that I had hid it in the house. I told you I hid it in a safe place."

KID snapped his attention on the boy, giving a mild glare as he protested with some frustration leaking into his tone.

"Snake held it in his hands! How is that safe?"

Conan smiled at the thief's outburst.

"Yeah, thank goodness you had made multiple fakes. If it was just one he wouldn't have believed it, but since there were two, it made it much more believable. They didn't expect you to have it on you, because they knew they had a high chance of catching you and they knew you didn't want to take that chance."

Conan gave him a confident look.

"KID, you have invested your whole life into this gem. You would protect it with your life; I know it. That's why I didn't leave it unprotected at a house and made you carry it. You have proven your ability to escape situations, and to escape with jewels many times over. I knew of all places, you were the safest."

Kaito gave an exasperated sigh.

"Again, I gave up Pandora's location to them to keep you safe. You were incorrect in your theory."

Conan narrowed his eyes.

"You gave the location I wanted them to know. I didn't realize you actually didn't know the location. Could you not tell the difference in the fakes?"

Kaito closed his eyes to ignore the growing smug smirk on the detective's face.

"I made them very well, and preconceived notions played a part. It didn't occur to me. A truly amateur mistake."

Conan nodded, still smugly smirking.

"Yeah I thought you figured it out ages ago. That wasn't like you, to make those kinds of errors KID."

Kaito rolled his eyes.

"Yeah, well I had more pressing matters, like keeping a certain trouble magnet out of trouble. Seriously Tantei-kun, you caused me so many heart attacks over the past hour."

Conan placed his hands in his pockets nonchalantly.

"Would you like me to make it up to you?"

Kaito narrowed his eyes slightly.

"How so?"

Conan held out his hand.

"First, I do believe you have something that belongs to me?"

Kaito blinked before whisking Conan's signature glasses into his hand. Conan took them smooshed them onto his face, relaxing as he truly became Conan again. It had been a little unnerving to not have his disguise on. He fiddled with his shirt, pulling out the body cam that he had hidden in his buttons.

"Well, the first thing is I have had this thing on and rolling since I left the safe house. If we don't get them for anything else, kidnapping and threatening a child we can definitely put them away for. Don't worry I can scrub the first few minutes if you don't want your safe house location in there for the courts. But this will at least give us a little evidence to make them suspicious."

He reached up to tap the button on the frame of his glasses, grinning at the two yellow blinking dots that were very close together.

"Secondly, I managed to put transmitters on both of them, so we can follow them at a leisurely pace. They will think that is the real Pandora and take it to their boss, and they won't figure out it is a fake until tonight when the moon comes up, so that gives us all afternoon to follow them, find their hideout, and plan a strategy on how to take them down."

Kaito gaped slightly.

"Wait, when did you put transmitters on them?"

Conan just grinned.

"They both were really rough with me. It was easy."

Conan pushed against Snake's foot that was pinning him against the wall, sliding the transmitter into his pant leg.

He wrestled with Spider, who was taunting KID down the hall, slipping the transmitter into his arm sleeve, making it look like he was trying to hit the man's wrist to make him let go of his neck.

He chuckled at the absolute disbelief on Kaito's face.

"Come on KID-san, did you really think I was going to let them escape?"

Kaito just stared at him before pulling his cap lower of his face, enough to hide his eyes, but not his grateful smile. He had had his misgiving on letting the detective brat join his plans and had even put up with the frustrations that had come with it. He hated not knowing what the plan was, and dealing with Conan's life being in constant jeopardy, and of course him tricking him about Pandora. Now though, he was forever grateful he had gone with his gut to invite Conan. Any frustration was forgiven because of the absolute success the detective was currently having at hunting down the prey that eluded him for years.

The detective had exceeded his expectations once again. Not only had he come up with the plan that would put the criminals that had plagued him for so long behind bars, but had gotten them out with minimal injuries, had reacted quickly to save Jii-chan, and had even put a plan into action that would gather evidence against them to help in the legal process. Everything was methodical, and he had been foolish to doubt the boy detective.

"Tantei-kun, you…"

Conan raised an eyebrow.

"Why KID-san, were you about to thank me?"

Kaito snapped out of his gratefulness with a huff, getting back into business.

"Not until this is completely over."

Conan smirked, standing straight up again.

"First thing first. We need to secure my backpack from that clocktower, and get some police officers to get those other minor agents arrested right?"

Kaito nodded.

"I can give them a tip, but we shouldn't get involved personally with the arrest. I am sure you of all people know how long witness statements last."

Conan nodded.

"Right."

He sighed.

"We don't really have transportation though."

"My bike is still at that train station Tantei-kun."

Conan blinked, before nodding.

"Right."

Kaito stood up, following the detective out into the street.

"So, what is the plan now?"

Conan glanced around, and Kaito could tell he was analyzing the people around them, looking carefully for any threats hidden in the crowds.

"Well after securing our supplies, we should check and follow them, like you said, at a distance. Once we find their hideout with hopefully their boss, I will turn all scheming over to you. After all, catching criminals may be my specialty, but breaking into places is yours."

Kaito grinned. Oh yes. Finally, he could feel like he was in control of taking down Snake and Spider, and of course the mysterious boss that had ordered his father's death.

"I like that proposal Tantei-kun. Although…I don't know how to feel about you getting to listen to my strategies for heists."

Conan blinked up at him innocently.

"Why? After this is over, you won't have a purpose as a thief anymore, right? So, will you continue doing heists?"

Kaito hesitated before shrugging.

"I don't quite know yet Tantei-kun. I might have one to announce my retirement for sure, and whatever old man Suzuki comes up with, but who knows what the future holds."

They continued walking for a bit, before Conan gasped. He had completely forgotten in all the chaos.

"Oh, how is your assistant? Is he ok?"

Kaito nodded, noting that Conan got the gender of Jii-chan correct. Did he deduce it, or did Jii-chan let him know his identity? Thoughts for later.

"Banged up, but alive. I sent him into hiding."

Conan let out a relieved sigh.

"Good. He was reckless."

Kaito snorted.

"You are the last person to complain about someone's reckless behavior."

Conan rolled his eyes.

"Oh come on, I can take care of myself."

Kaito deadpanned, turning toward the station.

"Might I remind you that you or I could have died multiple times in the last hour because of your behavior?"

Conan shrugged.

"All under control KID. I didn't die, and neither did you."

He glanced up at his criminal companion.

"Not to mention, I know you cared about me as a friend, but I didn't expect for you to try so hard to keep me alive. You went beyond my expectations."

Kaito's poker face twitched slightly in utter bafflement. Really? After everything they had been through, he doubted KID's care of him? He explained easily.

"First of all, I dragged you into this mess and you are my responsibility. Second of all, I dislike all murder, like any other normal human being. Thirdly, yes, my dear Tantei-kun, I thought we already established that we were friends?"

Conan blinked.

"No, I know that, but KID, Pandora could have been lost to them. You were willing to throw that away to keep my alive, and unharmed?"

Kaito shrugged nonchalantly.

"Gems can always be recovered; lives cannot Tantei-kun. You knew this didn't you? That's why you put it into your strategy."

Conan nodded. He had played into KID's good-naturedness, and it had paid off, leading their enemies, who also knew KID, into a trap. He had used their knowledge against them.

"Yes, and now they think they have won, and they will be overconfident and careless. That will make it even easier to topple."

Kaito grinned, and suppressed a shiver at the same time, as Conan's eyes glinted as hard as steel, completely focused on his prey. He was so glad the chibi Tantei was on his side this time.

They had successfully escaped, and now they can finally begin a counterattack. Kaito couldn't help the mischievous grin cross his face. Snake, Spider, their whole organization, was finally going to get their just desserts, and then some including the pranks he had planned in his head during his capture. It was time to begin their counterattack. No more pretending to be afraid or acting the correct way like some play that only he and Conan were the actors in. No, now was the time to show the crows just how terrifying a boy detective, and a nonlethal Phantom Thief was going to was going to be so much fun.