Haibara makes some very good points at the end of this chapter that, honestly, it's a rather large plot hole that it hasn't been mentioned in canon at all. In movie canon, at the very least, but the point about the Bell Tree Express incident is valid no matter how much you limit canon. But that's why we're all here reading fan-fiction, right?

Conan and Haibara had not explicitly discussed what had happened. Though surprised that she was capable of letting someone else's misery go un-mocked for any length of time, Conan was nonetheless grateful for it. He had enough to sulk about without her reminding him every few seconds that she was right and he was wrong.

At first he wanted to blame Kid for it. Kid had gotten careless and wasn't trying as hard as he could have, partly because he'd gotten used to Conan's own carelessness. But he knew that wasn't enough of an answer. Kid's comment that he couldn't dodge bullets had brought to mind both the bulletproof vest as well the injuries he'd sustained in Singapore. It was true, Kid — Kuroba Kaito — for all his bravado, really was just as human as everyone else. The Kaitou Kid had a reputation that made him seem invincible, untouchable, almost capable of actual magic. But Conan also had some idea of just how much effort it took to maintain that image of effortlessness. He'd seen the endless heaps of books and blueprints, and binders full of plans and contingency plans that covered the floors and desk in Kid's secret room.

Kid was human, just as vulnerable as the rest of them, and Conan was perfectly capable of arresting him at any moment he chose, at a heist or not. The knowledge brought with it a heavy burden of morality, as he could no longer ignore the decision he'd pretended was out of his hands for so long. Should he arrest Kid or not? How could he even go about making such a decision?

—

Conan jerked his head around so fast that it would've hurt had he been back in his less forgiving teenage body. But not even the whiplash inducing speed was enough to catch a glimpse of whoever was following them. It was starting to get frustrating. Although he didn't sense any malevolence from the stalker, that wasn't a guarantee of safety, and being watched was an unpleasant enough sensation on its own, especially when one's nerves were as attuned to it as Conan's were.

Conan always seemed to know when he was being watched, which was a sixth-sense that had come in handy many many times in his life, but it did have its costs. It left him on edge and jittery, especially when it continued every moment that he was outside for almost an entire week, as was the case now.

"See anything?" Haibara asked him. The two were trailing behind the chatting Detective Boys who were leading the way to Genta's house to play some "amazing wonderful you won't believe how cool it is" new game.

"No, nothing. I'm sure it's nothing to worry about," Conan assured her with an overly cheerful smile.

"Of course it's not anything to worry about. I would know if it were one of them."

"Huh? So you feel it too, Haibara? That we're being watched?"

"It's not as if your reaction to it has been subtle. But it would have been obvious anyway. Surely you've noticed the doves that appear around us too often to be natural?"

"Oh th— come on, that doesn't prove anything! Those could be anyone's trained pet magic spy doves!"

Haibara snorted in a rare show of real laughter. She hardly ever laughed, even though Conan could have a surprisingly good sense of humor at times, if he did say so himself. How unfair of her to finally laugh now when he was being dead serious. That was such a Haibara thing to do.

"Really, Kudou-kun? Are you that desperate to avoid dealing with this? I haven't known you to run from the truth before. Or is there something else you're running from?"

"Oi oi!"

"Just go talk to him already. He's obviously been waiting for an opportunity to speak with you privately. And you know that too, which is why you've been unusually friendly with the children all week, as a way to prevent him from approaching you."

"Wh— well so what? I don't owe that stupid thief anything, and I certainly don't want to talk him. Let him get bored and go find someone else to bother!"

"No. I refuse to be caught in the middle of a stubbornness content between the two most block-headed men I know. If you won't hear him out, at least go confront him and get him to stop following us before the children start naming the birds."

Conan muttered some nonsense under his breath, more of a growl than intelligible words. He desperately didn't want to talk to Kid. He didn't want to see him or even think about him. The week had been hard enough with trying to run from his own thoughts fraught with emotions too heavy to handle. Facing the source of those emotions was about as appealing as yanking out one of his teeth with a pair of rusty pliers.

But Haibara had already pulled ahead of him to explain to the others that Conan just remembered he had to do some chores at home today so he would have to leave them now. The kids expressed their disappointment, said goodbye, and immediately turned back to continue skipping ahead and going on about the game. And so, with one final acidic glare at Haibara, Conan veered right to cross the street toward the park.

He chose a large sturdy tree at the top of a small hill and sat against the trunk, waiting. He stared up at the sky and focused on breathing to try to drown out any other, more scary, thoughts. Soon, an utterly unremarkable young man with straight black hair and brown eyes and a simple suit strolled across the park and casually settled down against the tree trunk next to him, at a ninety degree angle to Conan's right.

"What do you want?" Conan asked, hoping Kid would pick up on the hostility in his voice and take it as a sign to not be too friendly this time.

"I just want to talk to you," Kid answered, not bothering to disguise his voice. In spite of himself, Conan relaxed slightly at the familiar sound of his rival.

"Well I don't want to talk to you. So please stop stalking me. It's scaring my friends." That was a lie, but it shouldn't have been. Why was Haibara only mildly annoyed about Kid following them when she was always so paranoid the rest of the time? She was probably just not showing her fear so that Conan wouldn't worry, he decided.

"I'm sorry. I didn't mean to scare anyone," Kid answered, sounding genuinely repentant. A pang of guilt hit Conan but he quickly smothered it with more irritation. Irritation was easier — one of very few emotions he was actually comfortable with.

Kid continued, "Ok, I'll back off, but please hear me out first. I don't have much to say. Can I buy you a coffee while we talk?"

Conan scoffed. "Right, because accepting a gift from an internationally wanted criminal will help with the moral dilemma I'm having." As soon as the words left his mouth he regretted revealing so much and turned his face away as if that could protect him from the feels.

"Ok, point taken."

Neither of them said anything for several minutes. At first the energy between them felt tense, but it quickly melted into an almost companionable silence, both of them just watching the clouds go by and basking in the warm afternoon sunlight. It could have been just a nice day out together, if they had been friends.

"I wouldn't mind, if it were you," Kid said eventually. His tone was soft and earnest, with no hint of teasing, which unnerved Conan.

"What are you talking about?"

"Being arrested. I don't want to be arrested, but if it were you, I wouldn't mind so much."

"What? Why?" Conan asked incredulously. No matter what he'd expected Kid to say, this was the opposite. Funny, how Kid could manage to defy expectations that he didn't even have.

"You're special," Kid replied with a shrug, as if it were an entirely expected everyday occurrence for celebrity magician thieves to admit to caring about random undercover detectives. Conan felt his heart twist at the words and he covered his mouth with a hand to hide his expression and possible blush.

"…I don't know what to say."

"You don't have to say anything. I just wanted you to know. Whatever decision you make, you don't need to take my feelings into account. You should be able to make a decision that you're truly comfortable with, without worrying that it's out of guilt or anything. So… I just want you to know that we'll still be friends no matter what. That's all I wanted to tell you."

"…thank you." That was actually very thoughtful of him. Of course, Conan considered the possibility that it could be reverse psychology. Kid was, after all, known to be a master manipulator. But he remembered Chikage-san's strict instructions, and thought of the timid-looking Jii-san, and dismissed the notion that this was a ploy. They would probably lose their minds if they knew what Kid had just said, but here he was anyway. So Conan decided to take it at face value and trust Kid, just as he'd always instinctively trusted him. He found himself really wanting to believe the promise that they'd be friends either way.

They lapsed into another peaceful silence. Conan broke it this time.

"You know, the worst part is that I don't even have anyone I can really talk to about this."

"Don't you? What about your professor friend, or the scary angry girl who lives with him?"

"The Professor is a fan of yours and Haibara just likes to watch people suffer. Neither one of them understands where I'm coming from or why this is such a big deal for me."

"Hmm."

"And that's the real problem. Everyone I know is either your fan or your enemy. They've all already made up their minds about you, and they all think it's such an obvious decision that they'll mock anyone who disagrees. I don't know anybody who sees any gray area in it at all!"

"I see… so what you want is to be able to speak with someone intelligent and capable enough to capture me and yet didn't?"

"Oi, if you're about to suggest Hakuba, then I've got some bad news for you because he doesn't have any sympathy for you."

"No, I was not about to suggest Hakuba," Kid returned with a mixture of horror and humor. "And don't sell yourself short my friend, you and Tantei-san are not in the same league at all! He'll never be able to catch me no matter how hard he tries."

"I don't think that's true…" Conan muttered, then more clearly, "Well if it's not him, then who did you have in mind?"

"Didn't your father use to chase me?"

"My… oh. Huh." Conan was about to object that it had been back when Kid was played by an entirely different person, but opted not to reveal that he knew anything yet. And besides, it didn't matter — even if it were an entirely different criminal, it was still true that his father had failed to capture someone he probably could've captured. So maybe he emwould/em understand.

"Thanks, Kid. That's actually not a horrible idea for once."

"You're welcome~" Kid still seemed more subdued than normal, but at least there was some cheer mixed into his serious tone now. That was better — Kid was a person who was supposed to be cheerful. Conan wanted to keep it that way.

"What about you?" Conan asked on a whim, suddenly feeling comfortable enough for his thoughts to roll off his tongue without restraint. "What do you think about all this? Do you think that you're doing the right thing?"

"...Yes, I do."

Conan glanced over at him in surprise, not at the answer, but at the long hesitation before it and the serious tone used to deliver it. He waited for Kid to elaborate, which he did.

"I know that stealing is wrong, and I know that I cause a lot of trouble for the police. I do enjoy the thrill of the chase, and I admit that I may potentially get a touch carried away with my pranks on occasion, but I actually don't like having to steal and I wish I didn't have to cause so many gray hairs for the task force. Especially when I know that they might get too worked up about things and even neglect their families to come chase me," he explained solemnly.

The last comment brought to mind Aoko and Kaito's friendship, and Conan remembered suddenly how she had been sitting alone in a dark house watching the heist on tv with no family or friends to keep her company. He hadn't realized before, but Kuroba was probably very close to both of the Nakamori's, and it must hurt him to lie and cause so much trouble for them. He knew how painful that could be from his own experience of lying to Ran and her father daily, and he felt a sudden wave of empathy for the teenager sitting next to him.

"So I know it's not exactly a 'right' thing to do, objectively speaking," Kid resumed after a pause. "But sometimes you have to choose the lesser of two evils. And when I think about what I'm trying to accomplish, I know I would regret any of the alternatives. I'm confident that I'd make the same choice again. Does that answer your question?"

"Yes. Thank you." Conan was busy thinking about magic gems and criminal syndicates and wondering what decision he would've made in Kid's shoes. What else could he have done, besides take on the role of Phantom Thief? The situation certainly made it harder if not impossible for him to approach the police or even a detective for help. How should that factor in to Conan's verdict on him?

They passed several more minutes together before Conan stood to leave.

"Remember that you promised to stop spying on me now that I've let you talk."

"I made no such promises! Though I will consider giving you a little space just for now while you think."

"Oh, how generous! At least that makes my decision easier," he said with a glare that he hoped looked threatening. Kid laughed warmly. Not threatening, then.

"Well, at least you'll come visit me in jail, since we're definitely friends, right Tantei-kun? Maybe we'll even have that coffee then~"

"Yeah sure, and when I visit I'll bring you copies of all the Sherlock Holmes books so that we can try to rehabilitate you into a halfway decent citizen."

"Aw, bringing me gifts already? I knew you cared, how sweet~! Very well, I accept! It's a date! Prison orange isn't my best color, but I'll make it work for you, Tantei-kun~" Kid also rose to his feet, reached out to tussle Conan's hair affectionately, lingering just slightly longer than was natural, and then he strode off, looking like didn't have a care in the world, while Conan tried to force away his blush and straighten his hair.

"Stupid thief, saying dumb things like that so casually…" he muttered, then turned the opposite direction and hurried home — to his real home, that is.

—

Conan let himself into his old house and looked around. He found his mother in the kitchen and she lit up when she saw him.

"Shin-chan, what a pleasant surprise! Did you come to see me because you missed me so much?"

"Where's Dad?" he asked bluntly, partly because he wasn't a very patient person and partly because he enjoyed pushing her buttons and watching her overly dramatic pouting expressions.

"In the library, surrounded by heaps of boring books, as usual. Hey Shin-chan, wouldn't you like to—"

"Sorry Mom, gotta run!"

Her mostly theatrical protests followed him out the kitchen as he hurried up the stairs to the library. Sure enough, his dad sat at the desk focused intently on his computer screen with several reference books cracked open around him. He didn't react to the door opening and closing, but did make a vague gesture to the armchairs in the center of the library without looking up.

Conan walked over and clambered into one of the armchairs, then waited. He hated waiting, but his dad hated being interrupted even more. Conan knew better than to try to talk to him mid-writing with anything less urgent than a literal dead body ("And if there's no dead body, then you'll become one," as his dad had told him on one memorable occasion back when he was actually six, hence his willingness to be patient when it came to his dad).

He picked up a nearby newspaper to peruse while he waited, found that it was an article about Kid, including some rather bizarre speculations about why his suit was covered in orange paint splatters at the most recent heist, and he tossed the paper aside. No wonder he couldn't get the damn thief out of his mind when the world was simply conspiring against him like this! That had to be the reason.

After an eternity of nearly three emwhole/em minutes, his dad finally came over to settle into the armchair across from him.

"Good evening, Shinichi. What's on your mind?" he greeted warmly.

"Well…" Conan debated trying to be subtle or just going straight for the hard questions. His lack of tact combined with his father's eerily sharp intuition meant subtlety wasn't a super viable option, but he was also feeling strangely nervous. Did he fear his father's judgment?

"Dad, you're really smart," he began, electing to start with some easier buildup.

"Yes, I noticed," he answered with a slight smirk and a glint of humor in his eyes.

"You've solved every mystery you've ever come across, and succeeded in taking down every criminal you've set out to capture."

"Also true," he admitted with one hand held palm up, as if conceding a point in an argument.

"Sometimes it seems like there's nothing you can't do."

"But?"

"But you couldn't capture Kaito Kid."

Kudou Yuusaku stiffened slightly and said nothing.

"Why is that, Dad? Could you have caught him if you wanted to? Why didn't you?"

"Well," he finally answered, speaking slowly to choose his words deliberately, "That is a question with a good deal of nuance to it. I suppose my answer would depend on why you're asking."

"So it was intentional then. You didn't want to arrest him! Why not? Were you friends with him, Dad? Did you talk with him? Could you sense his presence?"

"Wait, 'sense his presence'? What?"

Ok, clearly not. It couldn't be that unusual, could it? Nevertheless, Conan rapidly backpedaled to avoid any weird follow-up questions about that one. "I meant, were you able to see through his disguises easily? Were you close to him, like, as friends? Did you talk to him often? Did you know his real identity?" Conan was sitting up straight now, and unknowingly inching closer to the edge of the seat in excitement as he talked.

Yuusaku must've mistaken his eagerness for that singleminded energy he always had when closing in on a criminal, because he suddenly became more guarded. After a moment of silence in which deep strategic thoughts played out across his face, he opted for a diversion. "You used the past tense to talk about Kid. Why is that?"

"Oh please, of course I know that the current one is a different guy. But you knew that too, since you knew his identity, and therefore you also know the identity of the new Kid too."

"I… have an educated guess about it, but no proof."

"So what about my question? Why didn't you ever arrested him? Either of them?"

Another long pause. "I wasn't convinced that it was the right thing to do," he finally confessed.

Ah, finally! This was exactly what Conan had hoped for — someone finally daring to voice the feelings he'd been too scared to admit even existed until Haibara had forcibly dragged them out of him. But now maybe he'd be able to face them.

"And why not?"

"Hmm, how should I put this? Even though I believe that there is an objective right and wrong, it's rare to find something in this world that's purely one or the other. Sometimes morality must be determined relative to the choices we're given. Without knowing everything about Kaitou Kid's situation, I can't say conclusively if I agree with his actions or not. But from what I knew of his character, I knew he had strong morals and an upright sense of justice. Ultimately, I decided to trust that he had a good reason for doing what he did, and as long as he stayed that way and never hurt anyone, I felt confident with that."

Conan leaned back in the chair, his hand coming up instinctively to grip his chin. His father saw his thoughtful pose and added, "Shinichi, you have a very strong sense of justice, which your mother and I are very proud of you for. Every parent wants their child to grow up knowing the difference between right and wrong, and caring enough to do right. The only thing I wish to add, is the distinction between legality and morality."

"A distinction? What do you mean?"

"I mean that there's a universal standard of right and wrong that transcends even the written law. Of course there's nothing wrong with following the law, and it's good that you do. But there are times when they come into conflict or don't overlap, and one must make a choice. Ancient laws about slavery are an obvious example. As another example, it's not illegal to write a nasty and unfounded criticism of someone's flawless book and publish it in headlining news on cheap tabloids, but it's still immoral to do so."

Conan chuckled slightly, glad for the momentary relief from the heavy atmosphere, then nodded in agreement. "Sure, granted. Your point?"

"My point is that I want you to look at the law from the perspective of morality, rather the other way around. Decide what you believe and why, and do so on your own without letting other people or even your own emotions tell you what's right and wrong. Otherwise you will be too easily swayed by circumstances and always feeling uncertain."

"I… I understand. But what about this situation? If I don't use the law or my emotions as a basis, how can I know what the right thing to do is?"

"That's exactly my point, Shinichi. There is no written source of morality comprehensive enough to cover every detail of every situation you might encounter in life. If there were, you wouldn't need to be a moral person because you could simply look up the answers and repeat them back without any conviction. That's why you need to settle on objective principles of morality, be convinced of them, and then consider how they apply to specific situations. That is, in fact, how one becomes a moral person."

Conan reflected on his earlier conversation with Kid from earlier that day, and how confident the other had been in his declaration that his actions were right. Had Kid thought through all these issues already? Did that mean he had a stronger internal moral compass than Conan's, which currently leaned heavily on the law? Conan shook his head when he caught his thoughts gravitating toward 'what would Kid do.' Not very helpful in this situation.

"Ok, then what principles do I need to apply to this situation? How did you make your decision about it?"

Yuusaku shook his head. "It's obvious enough what my conclusion was, but if I told you all my own reasons, you'd simply be borrowing from me, just as you're now borrowing from our legislative system. That's just another way of shifting responsibility to someone else. I think you're mature enough now to come to your conclusion about the right thing to do. That's the only way you'll ultimately be satisfied anyway."

Conan sighed. He fidgeted with the newspaper that was still by his hand, wishing he had a soccer ball to kick around. Eventually he slid out of the chair.

"I feel a lot worse now, by the way," he said with a flat look at his dad, who merely smiled pleasantly at him.

"That's the first step in the right direction! Good luck, son, and I hope you won't have any regrets with your decision."

"Thaaanks. Good night."

—

Outside his house, he kicked at the ground absently for a moment. It was not quite dark, and Ran would expect him home soon, but he decided to make one more stop before then. So he found himself entering the Professor's house a moment later.

"Please, make yourself at home," Haibara droned sarcastically, only briefly glancing up from the fashion magazine in her hands to make sure it wasn't a murderer entering her house.

"Thank you, don't mind if I do," Conan answered just as dryly, not particularly in the mood for her biting commentary tonight.

"So what did Kuroba-kun want?"

"Huh? Oh, that. Well… he… he said it would be ok if I arrested him."

"What?!" Haibara actually slammed her magazine down at that. Conan was taken aback by her response.

"Yeah, he said we'd still be friends either way, which I'm not even sure if we're even friends in the first place but he seems to think so. And then he suggested I could talk to my dad if I wanted someone to talk to about everything, and that was basically it." He knew he'd never hear the end of it if she found out exactly how "friendly" their conversation had become toward the end, so this was all she would be getting out of him.

"So, did you talk to your dad then?" she asked in a measured tone, though still with a threatening undercurrent in her voice.

"Yes."

"And what did he say?"

"That I have to decide for myself, basically."

"And what did you decide?"

"I haven't yet," he responded defensively. Honestly, could Haibara even hold a conversation without sounding like she was going to waterboard him if she didn't like his answers? She really needed to work on that, he thought.

"Well, since it has now become clear that you do not intend to ask for my opinion, I will simply have to tell you directly. I absolutely forbid you from arresting Kaitou Kid."

"What?" Conan gaped at her, completely floored. "Wha— but Haibara, weren't you the one telling me to arrest him before? I thought you were anti-Kid?!"

"How on earth did you get that idea?"

"When you were mocking me for all the times I missed opportunities to get him?!"

"If merely hearing facts about your own behavior feels like being mocked, then perhaps you need to re-evaluate some of your life decisions, Kudou-kun!"

Conan's mouth dropped open in an angry gasp and he spluttered his indignation while he attempted to get some (probably unkind) words out, but she cut him off. "If you'll recall, you were upset because you had finally realized that you didn't want to arrest Kuroba-kun. I thought that you might feel more comfortable with it if I explained to you that it had already been that way for a long time. But I shouldn't have bothered! It doesn't matter what your feelings are, because you absolutely must not arrest him. I forbid it!"

So much for his father's insistence that he make up his own mind about this. He let out a long loud sigh halfway between frustration and fatigue. "At least tell me why," he asked with a weary resignation. Haibara forbidding something could sometimes carry more weight than even the law in his mind.

"Are you serious? He knows your identity!" Haibara nearly screamed at him. "By extension, he surely knows that I've shrunk as well, and has probably even guessed my connection to the organization, or at least to Bourbon, after the Bell Tree Express incident! You should be thanking your lucky stars that he's too much of a sweetheart to try blackmailing you with it, not looking for ways to get on his bad side! Not to mention the risk of any information getting out to the police or other prisoners if he were taken into custody!"

"…...oh yeah." Well that was stupid. Ok, seriously, how had he never considered that before? Did he really just instinctively trust Kid so much that he had never even given a second thought to the thief knowing his life-or-death secret? He didn't believe that Kid would ever tell anyone about it like Haibara was suggesting, but throwing someone in prison did seem like a rather bad way to repay a favor like that.

"And what about the snipers after Kid?! If he were arrested, they would know his identity and he would never be safe again! They would likely even send people after him in jail. As a general rule, I try to avoid inflicting that on people who have risked their lives to save mine!"

"You're right." He hated it when Haibara was right. Well, he usually did, but right now he was very very glad about it. A huge weight left his shoulders and everything suddenly felt fresh and clear. How had he ever struggled with this question?

"Promise me you won't arrest him!"

"I promise. Thank you, Haibara."

She continued glaring at him a moment before finally sighing deeply, leaning back into the sofa, and picking up the magazine again, muttering something unfavorable about his intelligence, so Conan said good night and hurried home.

He wondered if he shouldn't have let Haibara force his hand like that, but he knew with utter certainty that he was 100% confident with this verdict. Truthfully, he had been sure of what he would do ever since his father mentioned not making decisions he would regret. If he arrested Kuroba he would regret it for the rest of his life, and the way that idea twisted his stomach made him sure he would never even consider it again. Talking to Haibara had just helped him with the final step of clarifying his reasons into something he could articulate. She'd actually done something kind this time. What a strange notion! It made him smile.

—

Well, Conan wasn't going to arrest Kid, but that didn't mean he couldn't manipulate him a little. There was one loose end left over from his conversation with Nakamori-chan several weeks ago that he couldn't overlook any longer, one little stain on Kuroba's record that needed to be addressed if he were to remain free. So Conan drafted a quick letter the next morning and dropped it in the mail on his way to school, snickering wildly and feeling sorely disappointed that he wouldn't be there to see it delivered.

In case anyone is wondering why Kaito "doesn't like stealing," that actually comes directly from a line in the anime. I don't have the exact reference because Magic Kaito is now apparently premium only on Crunchyroll, but it's when Aoko is ranting about how Kid just likes to steal for fun and mock her dad, and Kaito thinks to himself that he doesn't actually like stealing and only does it because he has to.

Next Up: We switch to Kaito's perspective for a chapter as he reflects on the strange happenings of the last few weeks and receives a mysterious letter with no return address.