Um…hi everyone. It has been a while hasn't it? Sorry for the long hiatus. I have been busy and unmotivated, a terrible combination. I can't promise regular updates, but I am getting back into writing.

Kaito blinked several times, disbelieving as he stared. There was absolutely no way.

It had been a long and paranoid filled afternoon with him and Conan basically chasing Snake and Spider all over Tokyo. They had taken a cab, rode the train, and even took the bike again, just to stay under the radar. They had kept their distance, him following Conan's directions as he used his GPS glasses to follow them to random places. It was a little obvious that the two assassins thought they were being followed and were trying their best to shake them. Never once though did the transmitters show that they had been removed or stuck to a different person. Finally, after several hours, the two criminals had reached their destination.

A completely ordinary skyscraper.

There was no stereotypical gargoyles or cultists chanting outside or an army of gun wielding bad guys. Just an unassuming office building, like the thousands in Tokyo. Kaito gazed up toward the top floor in his sixth disguise, a middle-aged man dressed in business attire.

"We sure this is the place?"

Conan had kept his spectacles on for his disguises, but he had changed several times as well. Right now, he was a blond ringlet girl dressed in pants and blouse, much to his chagrin and Kaito's delight. Kaito could see the flash of the GPS system on the lens before it blinked away as if it was never there.

"Yeah sure is."

Kaito bit back a snnrk, and his gaze narrowed immediately, scanning the building with a more critical eye. Now that he knew where they were located, the fun could begin. He was already scheming, heist plans clicking into place as he stared at the different floors, taking stock and making an inventory list with experienced ease. A tug on his sleeve interrupted him. Conan thumbed to the left where just off the street there was an internet café.

"Come on, let's get some food first. They can't do anything until tonight anyway."

Kaito nibbled on his lip with a frown. He knew in his heart of hearts Conan was right; they would have to check the fake jewel in the moonlight, and if they went in unprepared it would be a death sentence. He knew it was the correct, tactical decision to make a true plan of attack, but man did he want to just sprint in there like a phantom of chaos and stir up the joint. Despite his wishes, he followed Conan obediently into the café.

It was an open room filled with computers and gaming consoles. At the front desk, it was an easy task to reserve one of the private rooms in the back.

Conan pulled back the dark privacy curtain to see the small cubicle, adorned with a few pillows for comfort, a monitor and keyboard. A small trashcan sat in one corner. It was barebones, but beyond perfect for their purpose. He glanced at his companion. It was a little more difficult to see through the disguise to the phantom thief beneath it, but what he could see was the paradox of restless exhaustion. He knew KID wanted to take them down as quickly as possible, but it was in their best interest if they had a plan. It was just the two of them against an army of organization level threat agents. They couldn't afford to be reckless.

Kaito slumped onto the pillows gratefully and let out relieved sigh. Conan took notice of the lack of security cameras and slumped against the wall as well, dropping his backpack in the corner. Finally, after a few tense paranoid hours, they were alone without any possible threats. It was beyond strenuous to be on red alert all the time, even with his usual cautiousness. Every person on the sidewalk, in a car on the road beside them, in the train, anyone could have been a threat. The sweet relief being behind walls and even the flimsy protection of a curtain was overwhelming.

"What now Tantei-kun?"

KID broke the silence first, looking at him expectantly. Conan hesitated, looking at the computer screen thoughtfully. What would the next course of action be?

His stomach answered for him, growling and reminding him he hadn't eaten anything since the coffee this morning. KID's smirk curled teasingly and Conan rolled his eyes.

"Well, I do believe I have done my job as a detective by leading you to the base. I think…it is time for you to use your special talents on planning heists for this next part."

KID's eyes sharpened with enthusiasm, and Conan could already see the devious gears turning. It was going to be odd to be on the heist end of this, but it will be a good practice run for the raid on his organization base, if he managed to get that far. It would be fascinating to say the least, and he can push away his guilt of the breaking the law in exchange for the criminals they were going to be putting behind bars. Conan shook himself and pushed himself off the wall again.

"While you do your…thing, I will go get us lunch."

KID blinked, as if brought out of his planning process. Conan raised an eyebrow at the faint scowl that wrinkled over the disguised face.

"What?"

KID hesitated for just a second, before he handed Conan some yen and a tracker. He must truly be tired if he wasn't spouting his usual whimsical teasing. Conan rolled his eyes.

"I am not a child KID. Surely I can get instant ramen from the vending machine without dying."

KID's face couldn't be any more deadpan if he tried, the look of someone who had disbelieved in the power of Conan being a trouble magnet too many times and had been burned by it. Conan rolled his eyes again, shook himself to regain his paranoid posture, before slipping out of the curtain.

Kaito watched him go, only slightly concerned. Conan was right, if he was a normal kid that didn't literally have two assassins about to kill him after less then an hour without Kaito's supervision.

Gosh, he has got to get a grip. He trusts Conan to handle any possible situation that should pop up. No way are their lives going to be dodging murderers forever, so he can loosen up just a tad. His eyes drift to the computer, as if drawn by a magnet. He shook himself and removed the disguise, breathing in the fresh air not from behind a silicone mask, replacing the suit with his dark attire and cap. More comfortable now, he readjusted a few of the pillows so he could sit in front of the computer with relaxation. He sends a quick text to Jii-chan, in which a quick reply of be careful was returned. He cracked his knuckles and bent over the keyboard, fingers flicking over the keys, mind gravitating back to the upcoming heist like a black hole he couldn't escape.

Building blueprints were brought up first. He needed to know what he could work with, along with the company owning the building. Shouldn't take too long to memorize the layout, even if it was a massive skyscraper, and maybe look at the numbers of the enemies they might meet. He also went in to try to hack into the camera and security system and raised an eyebrow at the difficulty of it. Normal office building indeed with this number of firewalls and electronic locks that had the system locked up tighter than a safe.

A soft sound behind him caused him to jump, whirling around to see Conan standing there, undisguised and also looking startled. Looks like they were both on edge. Conan had changed back into his normal clothes and was holding two bowls. The young detective softened first, an apology in his eyes as he held out the steaming instant ramen as a peace offering.

"Here, this was by the door. Didn't even have to leave."

Kaito took the bowl and settled it on his lap as he continued trying to get the blueprints from the city planner. It was a common practice for him by now. He suddenly stiffened as Conan settled next to him, peering over his shoulder. Ah, that was something he hadn't considered.

"Is that the building?"

The tone was curious. Kaito fought the urge to just cover Conan's face. He had never planned a heist with one of his greatest enemies/rivals/a detective in the room before. Conan seemed to notice the slight discomfort and pulled back a little.

"Something wrong KID?"

Kaito gave him the side eye as he laid his dexterous fingers aside the keyboard.

"Are you going to use this against me, Tantei-kun?"

Conan blinked a few times before he shrugged.

"It will be interesting to see your method on planning a heist, but how many more are you planning on having exactly? Shouldn't this be your last one?"

That was a good point. There was no real reason to hide it if his job was finished after this right? Still, it made his thief senses constantly be on red alert. He didn't want Conan to learn any of his tricks of the trade or thief life hacks that he used so he could catch him in the future. Conan rolled his eyes and muttered something that sounded suspiciously like 'drama queen' before sitting on the opposite side of the room, digging around in his backpack.

"Fine, I won't look. What do you need me to do?"

Kaito smirked at Conan's back and watched as the pressure of his gaze cause the small sleuth to shiver.

"I will do what I am best at. You do what you are best at."

Conan finally found the item he was looking for, a notebook and pen and his smartphone.

"Yeah I know my strength is not…heists. I will leave that to the master."

"Aww Tantei-kun~"

"Shut up you stupid thief. Tell me how I can help."

Kaito chuckled at the obvious disgruntlement, before getting down to business. Right. He was kind of on a time crunch and can share some of the menial tasks with the detective. It would be entertaining to have a capable partner.

"I can handle the heist. I need you to investigate the business who owns the building. See if they have had any legal problems in the past, what the security is like, anything useful. Also, do you know how to get in their electronic system to check and make sure Snake and Spider did actually go in there and we haven't been stalking two random strangers for the past hour?"

Kaito watched as Conan fluffed one of the remaining pillows in the room, and settled into the corner, phone in one hand and pen in the other. A smirk that could be best described as fatal to all who cross the mini detective flitted across his face. Kaito thanked all his luck that Conan was on his side this time.

"All right let me see what I can dig up. Will let you know if I find something useful."

Kaito turned back to his own work, using his chopsticks to eat some of his ramen.

"Don't forget to eat Tantei-kun."

He didn't hear any confirmation but after a few moments he could hear the sound of noodles being slurped.

They delved into their roles in companiable silence. Kaito continued to eat but not taste anything and ignored Conan for the most part, focused totally on his planning. The only things he heard were the slight sounds of writing, or tapping of fingers against a screen.

The tower was thirty-eight stories tall, extending to the sky. Most of the rooms inside were offices, almost like a completely normal business, a coverup to all their shady business. There was extensive ductwork, a thief's paradise and a sprinkler system in case of a fire. There was a set of emergency stairs on one side of the building, an elevator going up the middle, and a set of stairs near the elevator for normal everyday traffic. Thoughts for later. As Kaito rotated the image and zoomed in. There was a helipad at the top of the building, right above the CEO's office. If they were planning to raid the place, the boss would escape if they didn't move quickly. It looked like there was a vault a few floors down as well. Interesting. Maybe they kept their jewels in there?

"Conan, what's security like?"

The absentminded question broke the air. There was no hesitation in the answer, as if the detective read Kaito's mind and had researched that first.

"They handle their own security, not relying on any security companies to take care of it. Their camera and electronic systems are difficult to crack into, but I am almost through. It sure looks a lot more then what an office building should ever need. I have a list here of all of their guards, again an excessive amount for a normal office building."

Kaito easily pulled up another tab, digging into the list that Conan mentioned. Was there any chance that these guys were just normal security and weren't caught up in this occult organization? Possibly, but that is a job for the police, and as Kaito scrolled through the pictures of the guards, he recognized many of them as people he had seen at his heists as Snake's pawns. They probably only hired the ones interested in their twisted ideals, weeding out the ignorant and the uncorrupted.

There were over two hundred people on this list, and if they thought they had Pandora, they were probably going to have everyone on deck to defend against possible raids. He had no room for mercy in this heist; a child detective and a non-hurt rule thief versus an army of gun toting murderers already had the deck stacked against him.

Ideas were forming as he absentmindedly pulled out his pack of magic items and thief gear. He could feel Conan's curious gaze as he started taking ingredients out and mixing them, giving some of his attention to making sure the chemicals mixed well, while the rest was focused on the computer.

Step one. He had to take care of the army, an idea for that he was already acting on. Step two, he had to take care of Snake and Spider somehow, and who knew all of the other shady agents of their caliber that were hiding in the tower. He had to focus on a large range attack to take out the grunts, and he was sure whoever was left he and Conan would be able to take care of.

Step three, he needed to think like his enemy here: he needed evidence. It wouldn't matter if they got put in jail if there was nothing to hold them there. He would bet that most evidence would be on the CEO's computer, but since it was on the top floor it would be difficult to get to it. He could just glide to it, but this building was the only tall one nearby and it would be tedious and time consuming to use his grappling gun to reach it.

"Hey."

Conan's interruption caused Kaito to stiffen slightly, a dog catching the scent. He turned his head slightly to glance back at the detective shoving a phone in his face.

"Finally broke into the camera feeds. Snake and Spider did go in there."

Kaito's eyes almost crossed as he stared at the scene in front of him. It was the view of an office, large with several couches and a coffee table in the middle, with both couches occupied by the two assassins, sitting straight and tense. By the window, facing outward, was a large desk with a computer and man sitting in a mahogany red cushioned chair, occupied by someone he couldn't see the face of. Snake was talking without audio but held out the fake gem to place it on the table, and it was clear he was reporting. Spider managed to look uninterested while also managing to not lose eye contact with the gem. A moment later, the second in command Kaito had met all those months ago walked in holding a tablet with something on the screen, talking about something. He still couldn't see the Boss's main face, but still rage threatened to swallow him.

This was him. The man who ordered his father's death.

He was so close he could taste it.

"KID?"

Kaito blinked up at Conan who managed to correct his concerned look just a tad too late. Kaito managed to give a small smile.

"Perfect Tantei-kun. Could you research about that man there and see what he does?"

He pointed to the second-in-command. Conan raised an eyebrow.

"Queen?"

Kaito blinked before a genuine grin flashed across his face. He had almost forgotten the information session last night.

"Yes, the queen."

Conan nodded seriously, resuming his position among the pillows and typing furiously, and Kaito could see the notebook pages already halfway filled with neat and tidy scrawl. Kaito turned back to the computer, flicking through the blueprints.

A plan was forming quickly, as Kaito continued to place metaphorical cards to stack his deck, moving efficiently as he prepared everything he needed. The potion he was concocting finally was sitting in a bottle on the table, and his plot was about as finalized as it was going to get. Kaito stood abruptly, and Conan watched him warily.

"What are you doing?"

Kaito gave him a smirk as he snapped his fingers, another disguise settling into place almost instantly. He pulled at the clothes and mask, making sure his disguise was perfect.

"Running a few errands. Don't worry be back in less then an hour or so. You finish eating and rest a bit."

Kaito could read the nervousness lingering in wrinkles on Conan's brow. Seems like he wasn't the only one not comfortable letting the other out of his sight for any length of time at the moment. In this unsure time of not knowing who was an enemy and a civilian it had gotten easy to depend on the other, to rely on at least one person who he didn't have to question loyalties, and he felt Conan understood the sentiment as well. Kaito flicked the transmitter he had pocketed off of Conan in his fingers.

"Don't worry. I will be back soon."

Conan glanced to the side at soggy ramen still in his bowl and slumped his shoulders slightly.

"Text me every fifteen minutes or I am coming after you."

"Hai hai Mother hen-kun."

Conan grimaced at the nickname as Kaito swept aside the curtain and glided away, not even leaving his footsteps to show his presence.

Conan leaned his head back against the wall tiredly. The affects of being in a safe room and last night's research finally catching up with him. He wanted to stay awake for KID, in case he needed help. They were literally on the enemy's front doorstep. He couldn't afford not to be vigilant.

His investigation on this business was...basic at best. They had a clean bill of innocence, nothing to incriminate them at all. They dealt in trade and commerce, and it would be easy for jewels to be one of the many items they dealt in. They had no debts and no sign of corrupt money management either. He had hoped something along the lines of smuggling or fraud, but no they even paid their building lease on time. They were financially responsible and there was no sign of any stolen jewels anywhere.

The only thing incriminating he found was that they sponsored Gunter Von Goldberg several times in his travels overseas, but it wouldn't hold up in court if they claimed deniability and cut their loses on him and let Spider take the fall.

He eyed the bottle of…whatever KID was making on the desk that held the computer. Who knew how the thief's devious mind worked, but watching him was…fascinating. The way he easily focused on information that Conan would not have considered and multi-tasked was amazing to watch. No wonder KID gave so much trouble to the police. Truly a master of his craft. Not that he was going to give him that; the thief's head was already big enough with smugness, he didn't need more ammo.

It was no wonder though. This was KID's whole purpose, and the completion of it was within his grasp. Of course he was going to put himself completely into the task. Still, being able to look at the heist planning process from the other side was eye opening to say the least.

He had his report ready if KID asked for it. Now though he had a decision to make…

Conan startled as a hand laid against his shoulder, shoving him abruptly out of the doze he had settled into. The disguised KID almost looked regretful, but offered him a cup.

"Here. Coffee."

Conan was never so grateful for the cup of caffeine as he was right then. He took an appreciative sip, before he asked.

"Get your errands done?"

KID nodded and winked.

"Yep, all ready to go Tantei-kun. I have texted Nakamori Keibu to have the taskforce ready for tonight as well. We can move out in an hour or so."

Conan shook the last dredges of sleep out of his mind as he straightened, all focus dropping on the thief with a heated intensity.

"What is the plan?"

Kaito fought the shiver as those cerulean sapphires concentrated on him, ready for the briefing. He sat near the computer and pulled up the blueprints of the building.

"All right, they know we are coming probably right? We can't exactly be subtle about it either because we need the police to show up."

He pointed to the corners on the ground floor and held up a remote.

"I went out and bought some nice fireworks, the loud and bright kind. I set them up to go off from the roofs of the buildings around this one. A declaration of war of sorts, and it will be a signal for Nakamori Keibu where to go."

Conan nodded, following along so far. It would serve as a nice distraction and sow confusion among the guards that might be working. Kaito smirked as he pointed to the front door.

"I am going to go in first. Really wreak some havoc in the best ways I know how. I need their attention on me. Should be easy evade some goons."

Conan felt a spike of worry before he shoved it ruthlessly away. If KID could make fools of an entire police task force, a couple of security guards at the front desk shouldn't be that difficult. Kaito continued.

"I will draw them away from the front desk. This is where you come in."

He zoomed in on the ground floor and traced a hallway toward the back of the building to a room.

"Can you pull up the cameras from the lobby?"

Conan flipped onto the tab on his phone and flicked through the different cameras, until finally the lobby with the front desk was on display. Both froze as it looked like a huge group of 'security' came right in through the front door. It looked like their enemies were also preparing for tonight. KID pointed.

"Any cameras back down that hallway?"

Conan clicked on the camera, and he could see a long hallway. KID pointed at a door at the far end of the hall.

"Straight back, that should be the door marked maintenance. I need you to go there and find the sprinkler system. It should have a pipe, or a tank labeled. You need to put this in it."

He nudged the bottle of greenish clear liquid. Conan picked up the container, eying the solution cryptically.

"What is it?"

Kaito zoomed back out so they could look at the whole building again.

"A sedative that is water soluble. We don't have time to take them all down with your watch or smoke bombs. It probably won't take out Snake or Spider or any of the other higher ups that are immune to sedatives, but it can take care of some of the pawns. This will give us an edge, and help the police when they show up. Once you pour it in there, let me know, and I will perform some nice little fire magic to make the sprinklers work, dousing them. If they breathe it in, they go down easy."

Taking out a lot of their enemies in one shot and not really harming but subduing them. Effective. Conan nodded seriously, examining the bottle of liquid.

"I can do that."

Kaito smirked. Of course the detective could; that's why he was trusting him with it. He also wanted Conan as far out of harm's way as he could in the middle of an enemy stronghold.

"What's next?"

Conan's eyes followed his finger as he pointed to the office near the top floor.

"That footage you found is apparently in the CEO's office. I am betting he is the top boss of this whole organization, and if there is chaos on the ground floor, he is going to want to escape. Where would you go to escape if you knew the ground floors were compromised?"

Conan's eyes flicked up to the helipad, and then over at KID.

"He has a helicopter. I would flee that way."

Kaito nodded.

"Right, so we have to move fast to stop him. If he gets away…"

There was a moment of tense silence. That wasn't an option. Kaito continued.

"There are three ways to get to the top floor. One is the elevator that goes up here."

Conan hummed as he tapped a finger thoughtfully on the table.

"If you take the elevator it would be faster, but you could get trapped in it, and they will probably expect you to take it."

Kaito nodded.

"Right, but that's if I use the elevator itself."

Conan raised an eyebrow and Kaito grinned, holding up his grappling gun. Conan easily saw through the idea and let his mouth curve into a devious smirk.

"Right. You aren't going to get squashed are you?"

KID placed a dramatic hand on his chest, gasping.

"Do you doubt my abilities Tantei-kun?"

Conan rolled his eyes, gesturing.

"Ok, I agree you should definitely be the one to go after the boss. You have unfinished business after all."

Kaito nodded eyes flashing almost dangerously if Conan could ever consider the mischievous thief dangerous.

"Right, and my plan is to get him and his computer that probably has the evidence we need to put him behind bars forever in one shot. If we get both, we win."

"You are right. That sh—"

"Oh, tell me I am right again."

Conan let out an exasperated sigh, and continued.

"That should be our top priority, but how are we going to get past his flock of animals?"

Kaito snorted but was almost immediately serious, and oh man Conan could see the indecisiveness in his eyes. He knew he needed Conan on the front lines, or it would be a three or four vs. one fight, but he didn't want to put Conan in harm's way either.

"KID."

The authoritative and almost stern name caused Kaito take a deep breath, eyes closed as if anticipating what Conan was going to say. Conan continued, eyes narrowed and confident.

"I can handle it."

He did pretty all right this morning, and it was only because he wanted to get caught that he allowed the assassins to catch him. It was going to be different this time. He couldn't afford not to get involved; KID needed his undivided attention on the main issue. A couple of assassins when Conan has been dodging his own for months should be not that difficult.

"I said I would help you catch these guys, and I will. If you expect me to just wait for the police to arrive you are dead wrong. I can definitely be a decent distraction for them."

Kaito sighed.

"I figured that would be the case."

Conan huffed, crossing his arms.

"Stupid thief."

It was mostly for KID's benefit and he reaped the rewards of watching KID relax minutely and a rare genuine smile flicker across his face.

"Fine but no reckless stunts Tantei-kun. If it is too dangerous, you have to leave."

Conan took an obnoxiously loud sip of his coffee, not breaking eye contact as if to say good luck on enforcing that. Kaito gave a self-suffering sigh. This stupidly brave detective.

"I can pretend like I am going for Pandora."

Kaito perked up at the suggestion. Conan had already pointed to the vault a few floors below the CEO's office.

"Wouldn't they keep it there?"

Kaito shrugged.

"My guess is they would keep it in the office with the boss, but you can definitely try it. It would keep them away for the moment."

Conan hummed thoughtfully.

"Usually you are the one breaking into vaults, but I can make an exception this time. Do you have anything else you need to give me besides the sedative?"

Kaito nodded. He dug in his pack and held out several things.

"Yes. Here are some zip ties for you to tie up them when you find them. Just do the ones that will cause the most trouble and leave the rest for the police. Here is a gas mask as well, you know for when the sedative happens. Here is a communicator so we can stay in touch. Do you need anything else?"

Conan drained the rest of his coffee in his cup and pulled at his own backpack.

"Nope, got my shoes, watch, and soccer ball belt. I am ready."

Kaito watched as a spark of hesitation managed to still Conan's movements, before he seemed to shake himself, as if bracing for something.

"You said we could be ready soon right? Like less than an hour?"

Kaito nodded. Conan grabbed his backpack and stood.

"All right, I am going to the bathroom to change. Be back soon."

Kaito nodded as he drank some of his hot chocolate he had purchased for himself, allowing it to cool slightly. Conan pushed aside the curtain and stepped out into the hall. Kaito leaned back against the wall, pulling out the gems he had had in his pocket all day. He couldn't risk taking them in there, and he couldn't afford not to lose them again either. It took no time at all to hide the gems in a puzzle box and place them in a locker he rented from the front desk, grabbing some more coffee and hot chocolate as he went. It felt strange, just leaving them here, and he wanted to be absolutely sure he didn't lose them.

He settled back in the cubicle to wait, already changing to his KID attire that he could switch to easily. He had enough flash bangs, smoke bombs, and sleeping bombs to take out half of Tokyo, he hoped. Grappling gun and glider were tested once again, even though he maintained them regularly he wasn't going to take any chances.

The gravity of the situation was beginning to weigh him down into the ground. This was it. Finally, after all these years, the men responsible for his father's death would be put away. Justice would be served. Excitement, nervousness, fear, and anger swirled in his stomach like acid, mixing like a poorly constructed science experiment. What if he failed? What if he lost his life? What if Conan or Nakamori Keibu lost their lives? All for the name of justice, of protecting the world against a criminal organization who wanted to be immortal.

Kaito took a deep breath.

Remember son, don't forget your poker face.

The show had to go on. It would be less about magic this time and more about being the criminal he was. He had barely anytime to prepare anything extravagant, and he had no time or place to handle it with his usual finesse. It would be about beating the clock, moving efficiently. What if he failed? He couldn't afford to, so he won't.

And won't it be so much easier with the capable, daring, and intelligent Tantei-kun by his side.

Speaking of, he had been in the bathroom for awhile now. A glimmer of suspicious caution made Kaito pause. Should he go check on him?

Suddenly, he heard footsteps coming toward the cubicle and he relaxed minutely. That had to be him right?

Kaito took another sip of his hot chocolate his back turned as he heard the curtain get slid to the side and someone step into the room.

"All right are you ready to—"

He turned and froze, staring at the newcomer in shock.

Because there in the doorway, in the flesh, wasn't Edogawa Conan, but Kudo Shinichi.

There was no way he could mistake him for anyone else, considering the research he had done on him, had taken his face many times, and man did they really look almost like twins. He was sweating slightly, and had taken a page out of Kaito's book, wearing dark clothing and a baseball cap to cover his hair. His glasses were out of sight, but the ball belt was still there, and the watch still adorned his wrist. Con-no Kudo Shinichi smirked and the cerulean eyes flashed familiarly.

"Is this what it takes to get you to shut up? I should have done it ages ago."

Even the voice was similar to his own. Kaito realized he was gaping, and he returned the smirk with one of his own.

"Well then Tantei-san, that is definitely one magic trick I would like to know the secret behind."

Shinichi pulled the curtain closed and pushed the cap up on his head. His eyes narrowed in on the second cup of coffee and grabbed at it a little desperately.

"I have something that…transforms me back for a few hours at most. Figured it would be the right move in this case."

Kaito scooted a little closer, eyes roaming over the detective's form. He had never seen Shinichi in person like this before. A surprising treat. It was nice to match a body with the mind he had been a rival with for years now.

"Why did you think it was the right move, Tantei-san?"

Shinichi sighed, cradling the coffee cup like it was the last one on earth.

"Well Conan has his uses. He is best used when people underestimate him however, because most people don't expect him to be able to take down adults, and also most criminals don't want to hurt a child. He is best at long range attacks, but up close he is almost useless. He has a child's speed and strength, so in an actual brawl it would pretty poorly for him. That's why the gadgets are so useful to make up for that difference."

He frowned.

"These criminals wouldn't go easy on a child, and wouldn't underestimate him after this morning. They are aware of most of his gadgets, and could outrun him. All it takes is for them to get close enough and it would be over, gadgets or not."

He gestured to his teenager body.

"I am faster, stronger, and don't need as many gadgets. I can still use my soccer balls and wrist watch at far range, but I am less likely to lose if they get close, which I am assuming Spider and Snake will try to do."

He winced, and brought his hand up to his chest to rub there absentmindedly, as if in pain.

"I am not at one hundred percent because of how the antidote works, but it still better then being a child up against an army."

Antidote? Kaito remembered how panicked Conan had been when the robbers in the forest had tried to poison him. He had been a little shocked, considering how much the detective had to have dealt with poisons before. Was a poison the reason he was shrunk in the first place?

Questions for later. He asked cautiously.

"Why not all the time though? If you could choose to be a teenager, why not use it all the time?"

Shinichi sighed, eyes closed in frustration.

"I know, I would like to be this way all the time, but every time I use one the potency of it wears off a little more. If I use it too much, it won't work anymore, so it is saved for special occasions."

Kaito felt a stab of guilt and gratitude. The detective had decided that helping him was a special occasion when he could have easily saved it for something much more important.

"Well, thank you."

Shinichi's eyes sharpened.

"You can thank me by completing this heist on a few conditions."

Kaito could see the absolute seriousness in Shinichi's eyes, and nodded. Shinichi held up a finger, counting off on his hand.

"One, you don't use my real name. Call me Tantei-san or whatever, but never Kudo Shinichi. I am supposed to be dead, and if it is found out I am alive a lot of people could get hurt or die."

Kaito nodded silently. Shinichi held up a second finger, blue eyes flashing harder then sapphires.

"Two, we catch all of them tonight. Not a single person escapes to tell them of my involvement."

Kaito almost shivered by the harsh tone, thankful that this unbreakable, unfaltering detective was with him and not against him this time.

"I can do that Tantei-san."

Shinichi relaxed minutely. Yes, Kaito knew what was at stake here, and what would happen if Kudo Shinichi was exposed. He just imagined what would happen if Kaito Kuroba had been exposed to this organization, how they would consume all of his friends and acquaintances with evil. Death, hostages, kidnapping, and a variety of other manipulating ways to destroy his life. He would protect Kudo Shinichi's way of life; it was the least he could do after everything the sleuth had done for him.

"All right. Then I am ready when you are."

Kaito glanced up to see Shinichi drain his cup and throw it in the small trashcan in the corner. The confident smirk that was on the detective's face was so much more dangerous on the adult Conan. Kaito grinned in return, impish like the phantom he claimed to be. It was time to sow the seeds of chaos and take down an organization. Between the Kaitou KID and Kudo Shinichi, they didn't stand a chance.

"Let's do it."