Kaito was an inherently cheerful person. He just wasn't quite as cheerful as most people assumed. True, the majority of the time it was genuine, and he liked being cheerful, but he was often forced to use it as a mask too.
When playing the role of a Phantom Thief, part of the job description was to give off an air of unwavering confidence. The smirk he always wore as Kid was a required part of the illusion, just as much an essential part of the costume as the cape or monocle. The occasions when it matched his feelings were pure coincidence. And in Kaito's daily life, the fact that he was Kid, and the fact that it had to stay a secret, often required him to feign cheerfulness. After all, there were many problems and emotions that Kuroba Kaito was simply not supposed to have because he was not supposed to be Kid. So, as exhausting as it could be sometimes, he was accustomed to forcing away all other emotions after a heist to pretend to be the same (mostly) innocent person that his friends and classmates were familiar with.
That made it all the more significant that Aoko now knew about at least some of the emotions that were bound to come up after every heist. So when she invited herself into his house the next morning, overly enthusiastic to hear the next bit of gossip on his non-existent love life, he didn't feel the need to feign cheerfulness for her.
Her face dropped at the expression he met her with, and she quietly joined him on the couch.
"What happened?" she prompted when it became clear he wasn't going to volunteer anything otherwise.
"Ah, well…" He wanted to tell her everything. About how he'd tried to help Tantei-kun when he was cornered, only to find out it was his fault in the first place. How he'd accidentally endangered both of them, and how their conversation had devolved into an argument. He wished he could tell her, lean on her willingness to listen, but he simply couldn't think of a way to frame it without worrying her or burdening her with potentially dangerous secrets. He needed her too much to risk that. So he shrugged and said, "He told me to stay away from him." A partial truth at least.
"Oh…" she answered softly, wringing her hands in sympathy. She seemed genuinely distraught, as if she were the one being rejected.
"Hey, cheer up, it's fine! It was hopeless to begin with, remember?" He offered her a quick comforting smile, relieved that she wasn't going to push for more details about a problem that was, quite frankly, the least of his worries right now. He had more important things to deal with. For example, there was the fact that he was now in increased danger, his job had just become more complicated, Tantei-kun might be in danger, and he couldn't ask anyone for help. But the very worst part was that the "mistake" that started all this had been a conscious decision that he would choose again if he had to.
When Jii-chan had called and told him, nearly hysterically, that he'd been injured and left some blood at the site of the heist, Kaito had known immediately what he had to do and how important it was. Of course he had hoped that disguising as Kudou wouldn't cause any problems for Tantei-kun, and was absolutely horrified to discover just how much it had. But even in hindsight, if the alternative was Jii-chan going to prison, he knew he would have still been forced into the exact same course of action. He'd chosen to take up the mantle of Kid, consequences be damned, and this was one of those consequences. Their status as criminals and his responsibility as Kid demanded that of him. Kid was once again forcing Kaito to inadvertently hurt the people he loved, as if it were the fine print of a contract that Kaito had signed without fully reading. That was one thing Kid had stolen that he wouldn't ever be giving back.
Kaito graciously allowed Aoko to prepare his favorite foods for lunch and keep him company watching movies that afternoon. It was the best anyone could do, and even if it couldn't ease the pain at all, he appreciated it all the same. But he found himself unable to focus, his mind inescapably burdened by problems that no one else could know about.
—
He had learned several important pieces of information from his discussion with Tantei-kun. First, he'd been lying through his teeth when he'd claimed that the situation was fine and that he wasn't concerned. Snipers that can hit a bullseye at six hundred yards?! That was not fine! And the idea of being kidnapped and tortured for information was concerning. Tantei-kun was not at all wrong when he'd said it would be too dangerous to hold a heist now.
But what Tantei-kun didn't know was that it was also too dangerous to not hold a heist.
There was something that had bothered Kaito ever since the night he'd met Snake: why wasn't the man trying harder to kill Kid? After their first confrontation, Snake would occasionally send someone to threaten him, and of course there were the usual assassins and snipers, but Snake was not acting at all as he should have been.
Snake and his men had known his father's identity and apparently still believed that Kid was Toichi. So, if they actually wanted to get at Kid, they should be targeting Toichi's friends and family. It was also unexpected that Snake never bothered to steal the jewels that Kid had already checked. Kaito had puzzled and worried over these issues for a long time. Were they planning something bigger, something unexpected?
No, the most probable explanation was deceptively simple once it occurred to him: Snake was just plain lazy. Snake's bosses had ordered him to find Pandora and kill Kid. But stealing large jewels took a lot of work, and Kid was good at it. Snake and his group must've decided to leave the hard job of checking jewels to Kid, while putting up a token fight with cheap snipers and half-hearted assassination attempts, presumably just to make a good report to their bosses.
It was what had allowed Kaito to carry out his work in relative safety so far, but it also meant that it was too dangerous to stop the heists. If Kid were no longer useful to Snake, would they try harder to kill him? Would they finally target the Kuroba family? At the very least, they would start stealing jewels themselves, and they certainly didn't have a 'no one gets hurt' policy.
Even worse, now that Tantei-kun's enemies had realized that he was alive and thought he was Kid, wouldn't they resort to extreme measures to capture him if he ceased making public appearances? Wouldn't they go after all of Shinichi's friends and family if they didn't think they had a chance of catching him directly? The little detective hadn't mentioned that possibility, but he was probably trying to avoid burdening Kaito with his own problems, like the self-sacrificial moron he was. But Kaito would never allow that to happen.
So he had no choice but to continue his heists and just blindly hope that the police would be able to do their part in time.
Kaito was also still struggling with the revelation that Tantei-kun had somehow found out about the organization and had been working with the police to investigate them. Kaito had already seen a few vague police reports from his snooping that had made him hope such an investigation was in progress, but he was still surprised to find out that Tantei-kun was involved. He had plenty of feelings about it.
He was glad that Conan hadn't been avoiding him after all. At the same time, he worried about Conan's safety. On top of that, he was curious about how much the detective knew, relieved that he wasn't fighting alone anymore, grateful for the efforts to help him, bitter that he wasn't able to be more involved, and irrationally jealous that Conan was working with the police instead of him. He kept reminding himself that the important thing was to take down the organization, that it made more sense to work with the police than a criminal when fighting criminals, and that it was not helpful to even entertain all these emotions in a life-or-death situation like this. Nevertheless, the emotions persisted, weighing him down in a perpetual bad mood, his only defense being to avoid thinking about it.
He'd refused the offer to work with Tantei-kun for several reasons. Of course he was mindful of the inevitable police involvement and preferred to avoid prison. He had also grown accustomed to working alone and didn't like the idea of endangering others or being given orders. But mostly it was because Tantei-kun was already doing as much as he would be able to do, by helping out on the law-enforcement side to investigate the organization. The rest of Kaito's work — putting on shows and searching for a jewel that he still intended to steal and destroy — was not something a detective would ever endorse, and therefore not something he could ask for help with.
So holding a heist would be extremely dangerous. Not holding a heist would be extremely dangerous. Asking for help would be extremely dangerous. Not asking for help would be extremely dangerous. All in all, Kaito was stressed, frustrated, overwhelmed, and a little scared.
For now at least, he decided not to talk to his mother or Jii-chan about these new dangers. It was enough that he was turning into a nervous wreck himself; he didn't see a reason to bother them with it.
—
He had managed to make it almost two weeks since that one failed heist without coming to a real decision about how to proceed. But Jii kept prompting him to make good on his promise to return for that jewel, and he could no longer put it off. Dangerous or not, he had to go through with the heist. Which was why he was now at the Blue Parrot, sipping on a milkshake and looking over the draft of a plan that Jii had assembled on his laptop for him.
"What do you think, Young Master?" Jii asked nervously as Kaito frowned slightly at the proposed tricks. Kaito did, in fact, dislike the plan, which would leave him more exposed than normal, but was trying to come up with an excuse that didn't involve telling Jii about the additional targets on Kid's back this time.
"Well, I have a different idea about—" he began, but cut himself off at the sound of the door opening. Both of them spun in shock to see none other than Conan in the doorway.
"Um, excuse me," Conan began, in a surprisingly convincing act of an innocent child, "Can I come in? I want a drink of water."
Kaito's heart nearly skipped a beat with the combined adrenaline of seeing his crush (sometimes he found his feelings for the boy highly inconvenient) and from fear. As much as he trusted Conan, Kaito's instincts still screamed at him to hide. The possibility of anything being exposed was a frightening concept, especially on top of all the stress he'd been experiencing lately.
"I'm terribly sorry young man," Jii was saying, politely trying to shoo Conan away. "We're not open today. I merely forgot to lock the door. If you're thirsty, there's a convenience store—"
"No no, it's ok!" Kaito interrupted Jii, hurriedly shutting the laptop and jumping to his feet. "He's already here, after all, we might as well give the kid some water!" He flashed a bright smile at Jii, trying to reassure the old man to trust Kaito's judgment. Whatever had brought Conan here, the safest course of action was to gently probe for information without unnecessarily antagonizing him. So Jii sighed and reluctantly filled a cup with water.
"Thank you!" Conan smiled and approached the bar. Kaito picked him up and placed him on the bar stool next to his, careful to maintain an expression of casual cheerfulness.
"Do you remember me, Kid Killer? We met at a heist once," Kaito began pleasantly as he resumed his seat.
"Of course I remember you, Kaito-niichan!" Conan replied. Kaito suppressed a shudder — he greatly preferred interacting with Tantei-kun when neither had to put on an act. Hearing the brilliant teenage detective pretend to be a child and call him 'niichan' was... unpleasant.
"So what brings you out to Ekoda?" Kaito asked conversationally.
"I wanted to see Nakamori-keibu, but he's not home!"
"Well, he's probably still at work then. What did you want to see him about?"
"I wanted to ask if there's been any heist notices from Kaitou Kid because I need to talk to him about something important."
"Hmm," Kaito hummed thoughtfully, leaning back and resting his head on his hand. So that's how he wanted to play it, huh? Tantei-kun wanted to talk to Kid, and had come to Kaito in order to do so. That Hakubastard had probably tipped him off about it, which definitely called for some more pranks. But Tantei-kun was graciously being indirect, leaving him with enough plausible deniability to not indict himself. And Conan was almost certainly not here to arrest Kid. It should be safe to play along a little and at least hear him out.
"Oh really? And what would a grade-schooler like you have to say to someone like Kaitou Kid-sama, hmm?" he prompted, hiding his nerves behind a thin layer of sarcasm.
Relief and gratitude overtook Conan's expression, making Kaito's heart swell in fondness, and when Conan spoke, he finally dropped the exaggerated child-like tone. "I want to tell Kid that we're almost ready to take down the organization he's been fighting, and ask for his help."
"Eh? Kid-sama is fighting bad guys? That's so cool, he's sort of like a superhero, huh?" Kaito replied with exaggerated cheer, falling into the familiar role of fanboying over his own alter-ego. "But why would you want his help? Aren't you a detective? You should ask the police for help instead."
"Why not both?"
"Well, that would be ridiculous! Kid-sama is a thief. Thieves don't work with cops."
"Even if I promise him that it's safe and we won't turn him in?" Conan pressed, half hopeful and half pouting.
Kaito shrugged half-heartedly. He wanted to accept. He really did long to be able to accept the offer. He certainly trusted Conan enough, even enough to trust his associates to some degree as well. The idea of tackling this problem alone felt that more more daunting when compared to the tempting offer of companionship that was so close. But Jii had gone pale, his eyes conveying his inner panic, silently begging Kaito to not consider the alliance and to end the conversation quickly. Jii needn't have worried. Kaito remembered his promise.
"That aside, aren't you forgetting something important, Conan-kun?" Kaito asked evenly. "Remember, Kid-sama is a thief. Even if you and your cop friends arrest all the other bad guys, Kid will keep stealing jewels. What will you do then, detective?" Of all the many reasons that he couldn't go along with Conan's request to stop holding heists, this was the easiest to talk about, and sure to silence any further argument.
"Kid's not like that! He's not a bad person! He only steals because he's looking for a specific gem, but he'll stop once he finds it."
Kaito snorted, biting back a sarcastic reply. If only it were that easy! On the surface, he plastered on another polite smile and answered, "Yeah, I guess. But who knows how long that will take?"
"Not long. I found it."
Kaito couldn't resist a good-natured laugh at that. "Sure, sure, I bet you did! Isn't that usually old man Suzuki's job though?"
"I'm serious," he insisted. "I found a gem that matches the description of Pandora."
Ok, so that had been a bad time to take a sip of his milkshake, Kaito thought as he dealt with a sudden coughing fit from choking on it. Not even a well-practiced Poker Face can magically clear one's windpipe, it turns out.
"Excuse me?" Kaito eventually managed a moment later, turning an accusatory glare at Conan, who had been happily snickering at the milkshake debacle but quickly dropped the smile and shrank away slightly from the sudden heat in Kaito's tone. "How do you know anything about what gem Kid is looking for?"
"Uh, well..." Conan stammered, avoiding his gaze and awkwardly rubbing the back of his neck. "I kind of... spied on Kid?"
"You what?"
"Well what else was I supposed to do?!" Conan countered defensively. "I'm a detective, of course I would want to know what he's up to! And it's not like he would've told me anything if I just asked!"
"Ah, of course, how could I forget? Kid's a criminal, you can't trust someone like that," Kaito forced the words out bitterly, averting his own eyes now. Conan blushed and stared angrily at the counter, arms crossed firmly against his chest. Out of the corner of his eye, Kaito noticed that Jii had been subtly maneuvering closer to the emergency supplies, should they need to take drastic action.
"It's not like that! I just wanted to help him," Conan muttered morosely.
"Kid-sama doesn't need your help."
"I know." Then Conan sighed deeply, almost sadly, and most of the tension left his posture. "I know. But... I still wanted to help him."
Something about the way he said it dissipated some of Kaito's anger, and he sighed as well. What a lousy situation they both were in, he thought miserably. He could tell from Conan's body language that he was sincere, that he really did want to help Kaito. And hadn't Kaito also been desperately wishing for that practically since meeting the boy? Ah, if only it were so simple. If only he wasn't required to go on the defensive now.
Being spied on was a disconcerting thought. At least it was by his dear rival, the only person he wouldn't mind occasionally being outsmarted by, and someone he trusted not to hurt him. But he still had to deal with it now, to ascertain and control the damage.
"So how did a brat like you manage to spy on Kid-sama?" he asked, no longer angry but still unhappy. "Did you eavesdrop on him or something?"
Conan hung his head and fidgeted awkwardly for a moment, then silently nodded. Kaito sighed. It did make sense — the detective had a lot of crazy gadgets, so it would probably be easy for him to slip a tiny microphone onto Kid's cape or something. Then he would just have to listen to any one of the debriefing conversations he usually had with Jii... Damn it, why hadn't Kaito thought of this before?
"And? What did you find out?" Kaito prompted, trying to hide his unease.
"...everything," Conan admitted, shifting uncomfortably. When Kaito gestured for him to go on, he added, "I overheard about Snake and his group, and about Pandora."
"Kid's identity?" Kaito asked, though the answer was obvious. Conan nodded. "And his assistant?" Kaito almost didn't want an answer to that, and didn't get one except for the way Conan's eyes briefly flicked toward Jii. Kaito swore under his breath and buried his face in his hands, elbows propped up on the counter.
"Damn pesky nosy detectives, can't mind their own business…" Kaito grumbled for a moment, rubbing his face in frustration. Then he collected himself, forced on a defiant expression, and faced Conan again. "So? What evidence do you have?"
Conan seemed taken aback by that and blinked at him in surprise. He thought for a moment, then, "I don't have any."
"Nothing at all?" Kaito was shocked. A flicker of hope shot through him.
"Nothing that would hold up in court," he answered with a friendly shrug and reassuring half-smile.
"Huh." Kaito frowned, considering everything. It was good news if Conan couldn't force him into anything, but it didn't make sense. "So if you're not going to blackmail Kid, then how do you expect to make him agree to help you?"
"I'm not going to force you to do anything! Please just hear me out. I really think my plan will be safer. And if you'll agree to help me with it, then I'll tell you where Pandora is."
"Hmph. What's that worth? Maybe you just heard another useless rumor about Pandora that won't even help."
A hint of a familiar triumphant smirk grew on Conan's face. He put down his cup of water to reach his hand into his pocket and draw it out with something shiny in his fist. Kaito instantly rose from his seat to stand over Conan and grab the item. He was surprised when Conan willingly passed it to him, but before he could ponder it, his attention was wholly captured by the gem.
Well-trained eyes immediately zeroed in on the internal flaws in the crystalline patterns, revealing a distinct shift inside it. A second gem? Was it really possible? It couldn't be. After all this time… but there it was. He let out a small breath, hardly believing what was happening.
"The one inside glows red in the moonlight," Conan told him solemnly. Kaito wasn't sure whether he wanted to jump for joy or collapse in shock or shout in excitement. But he definitely wanted the gem.
"I need this," he demanded, his tone leaving no room for argument and his fist clenching tightly around the gem as if to prevent it flying away.
"That's why I brought it. So, what do you say? Are you in?" Conan grinned up at him. Kaito's own expression was stony, nothing left in his thoughts except a single-minded determination to own Pandora.
Kaito turned his gaze to his fist for a moment, then back to the detective. "Say, Tantei-kun," he began lightly, "what's to stop me from just stealing this thing right now?"
Conan's grin faded, but rather than the anger or hurt that Kaito expected to see, his expression became inexplicably soft and his eyes almost seemed to convey affection. "Nothing at all," he stated. "But you won't, will you?"
Kaito just froze, captivated, his own posture unknowingly relaxing and even his grip on Pandora loosening. Warmth filled his chest. His lips twitched.
That's when Jii, taking advantage of the moment when the normally observant detective was distracted, lunged across the counter and grabbed Conan from behind, pressing a chloroform-soaked cloth over his nose and mouth.
Conan kicked the counter with enough to knock both drinks over, then he reached over and flipped open his dart watch. Instinct took over, and Kaito wrapped his hand firmly over the watch before he could dart Jii. They locked eyes for an instant, then Conan went limp and Jii released his hold on him, leaving Kaito to cradle the unconscious boy in his arms. The room seemed to suddenly grow colder, bringing Kaito crashing back down to reality.
"Young Master?" Jii asked nervously, seeing his expression. "Are you alright? How do you want to escape?"
"Huh?" Kaito asked numbly, unable to tear his gaze away from Conan's face, and still reeling from the last expression on the boy's face before he'd passed out.
"Surely he didn't come alone. It's only a matter of time until someone comes to check on him." Jii continued anxiously. "We must leave with the gem before we're discovered!"
A chill ran down Kaito's spine. He knew that Conan was working with the police – it was only natural to assume they were nearby in case Kaito refused to cooperate. In case this exact situation occurred.
Kaito squeezed his eyes shut, willed himself to block out the memories of Conan's soft affectionate gaze and subsequent shocked confusion, and threw on his best Poker Face. He had Pandora in his pocket, a criminal syndicate to take down by himself, and very little time to do so. And he had to project a confidence he didn't feel in order to reassure Jii.
"Right," he agreed, forcing his tone to be strong and clear. "We'll leave in disguise through the secret exit. Go ahead of me and set up everything we'll need to execute our end game plan tonight. I'll head home for supplies then deliver the notices."
"And… what are we going to do with him?" Jii asked, nodding toward Conan.
"I'll lock him in the Kid room. They'll find him eventually, but we just need to stall him long enough so that he can't interfere with us."
"But, uh," the old man stammered helplessly. "The evidence in that room..."
"We can't go back. It's too late. He knows everything, and after this..." Kaito trailed off, unwilling to say what they both knew. They had just started a countdown on their time as free men until they would have to live undercover or face the law.
Jii nodded solemnly, then began gathering his laptop and a few other supplies into a bag. Kaito looked down once more at the sleeping detective in his arms… No, he forced his emotions away and got to work.
He removed Conan's jacket for comfort's sake, then took his phone, watch, badge, glasses, suspenders, bowtie, second phone, shoes, and belt for safety's sake, and wow that kid had a lot of dangerous toys. Actually, it was probably safer to just strip him. Who knew if those innocent looking buttons on his shirt were actually sneaky tracker stickers or something? Fortunately they kept some spare clothes among the Kid supplies at the bar. No children sized clothes, of course, but he was sure Conan would prefer an oversized T-shirt over just his boxers.
"We'll meet up at the site this evening?" Jii asked in confirmation before he left.
"I'll be there," Kaito agreed. They nodded at each other, then the door closed, then Kaito was alone. He'd already disguised himself and had placed Conan in a large backpack but had yet to seal it. He reached out to brush a few strands of Conan's hair out of the way so they wouldn't get caught in the zipper… and found that his hand lingered on the other's face, gently stroking his hair. He'd always thought it looked soft, but actually petting it was something else. Satisfying. Soothing. Addicting. If he weren't a thief—
He shook his head, dropping the soft smile that had crept onto his face. There wasn't time for this — he had work to do. So he sealed up the backpack, rose to his feet, and unceremoniously tossed Conan's things in a careless pile in the backroom on his way out.
The road and scenery passed by in a blur on his walk home as he focused all his attention on looking for cops, deciding what supplies he would need, planning the rest of the day, and anything but the warm heavy weight on his back.
If anyone had been hiding to try to stop him along the way, they had done a lousy job, for Kaito arrived home without incident and soon found himself safely in the Kid room.
First he took Conan out of the backpack and laid him gently on the floor. Realizing the ground would be uncomfortable for him, he grabbed a spare futon as well as the pillows and blanket from his own bed, which he carefully arranged around the little detective. He also got some water and snacks from the kitchen to place by his side, in case it took longer than expected for him to escape.
Kaito busied himself with gathering any supplies he might need from the room, then made to leave. He paused with one hand on the poster door, hesitated slightly, and made the mistake of glancing over his shoulder one last time.
Why couldn't it have worked out? Would it really have been so bad to just listen to his plan? Tantei-kun usually came up with pretty good plans, everyone knew that. Hypothetically, it wasn't too late to wake him up… But no, he couldn't risk it. It sounded like Conan's plan was already fully formed – if there was anything in it that was problematic for Kaito, he would be stuck, like always. In fact, now that he thought about it, Conan had probably brought Pandora as nothing more than a bargaining chip in the first place. What if he demanded it back? Kaito already knew he was just a useful pawn for the detective, to be kept in the dark and used when it suited Conan. But that was just the best a criminal could hope for from a detective, wasn't it? There was no point in wasting time with a little heart-to-heart about it now.
Jii was right — criminals and detectives didn't mix. Working alone was the right choice. He would make it work.
Kaito knew it was unlikely that they would even meet again. Or, if they did, it would mostly likely be during Kaito's criminal trial. A friendly conversation was certainly too much to hope for. But Kaito had made his decision. Now he would live with it.
Before the dizzying mix of emotions springing from his heart could make him too disoriented, he yanked his gaze away, slammed on a Poker Face, and left, locking the door behind him.
—
Kudou Yuusaku checked his watch. It had been nearly half an hour since Conan entered the Blue Parrot, but there was still no news from him. This could be problematic. Everyone had agreed that it would be best for Conan to speak to Kaito one-on-one first. And he trusted that his son would explain everything properly. And he knew Kaito was intelligent enough to listen to reason. And the tracking app on his phone indicated that Conan was still inside, and they hadn't seen anyone leave. So really he had no reason to worry.
…actually, it might be better to check on them.
The Blue Parrot was on the second floor of the building, and Yuusaku was standing outside the door to the base floor, so he couldn't hear anything from inside. He would have to go in to see how it was going.
He entered the base floor of the building and went to the back door where Hakuba was waiting.
"I don't suppose anyone has come out this way, Hakuba-kun?" Yuusaku asked.
"Nobody. Is it time for us to intervene?" Hakuba answered, checking his watch to try to subtly remind Yuusaku that the next part of the plan wasn't supposed to begin for another five minutes and forty-two seconds.
Yuusaku was well aware of that fact. He also knew that Hakuba was easily stressed by changes to the timetable. So he smiled patiently and replied, "No, it's a few minutes early, but I have a bad feeling. Come, humor me."
They walked up to the second floor, paused outside the door of the bar but heard nothing, and entered to find a completely deserted room. Several bar stools had been knocked over, and the remnants of a spilled milkshake sluggishly dripped over the edge of the counter. Hakuba cautiously pushed open the back door to reveal all of Conan's gadgets and clothes discarded in a pile.
Yuusaku ran a weary hand over his face, trying to hold back a frustrated groan. "Ok…" he sighed, resigned. "Plan B it is."
Author's Notes:
Next Up: We continue with Kaito's perspective for the set-up of his plan, then switch to Jii's point of view to watch the plan being carried out.