DCMK || KaiShin || DCMK || The White Collar Phantom Thief || DCMK || KaiShin || DCMK
Title: The White Collar Phantom Thief – The Secret of Pandora
Fandom: Detective Conan / Magic Kaito
Disclaimer: All rights reserved to Gosho Aoyama for he created the awesomeness that is Kaitou KID. Ah, and Detective Conan, too. This fanfiction on the other hand is entirely mine. No money is made with this, though reviews are more than welcomed.
Tags: m/m, future fic, post-Conan Shinichi, secret reveals, slow-burn, hurt/comfort, canon-typical violence/death, canon-typical magic, canon-typical crossdressing, fake relationship, fluff, adoption, found family, explicit intercourse, anal, oral, f/f, m/f
Main Pairing: Kaito/Shinichi
Side Pairings: Sera/Ran, Saguru/Aoko, Heiji/Kazuha, Makoto/Sonoko, Takagi/Sato
DC/MK Characters:
Task Force: Kuroba Kaito | Kaitou KID, Kudou Shinichi, Hakuba Saguru, Nakamori Aoko, Hattori Heiji, Sera Masumi, Koizumi Akako, Furuya Rei | Amuro Tooru | Bourbon, Akai Shuuichi, Takagi Wataru, Sato Miwato
Others: Mouri Ran, Suzuki Sonoko, Kyogoku Makoto, Tooyama Kazuha, Jii Konosuke, Suzuki Jirokichi, Nakamori Ginzo, Megure Juzo, Mouri Kogoro, Kuroba Chikage, Kudou Yuusaku, Kudou Yukiko
Detective Boys: Agasa Hiroshi, Haibara Ai, Yoshida Ayumi, Tsuburaya Mitsuhiko, Kojima Genta
Black Organization: Gunther von Goldberg II | Spider, Snake, Rose
Summary: Akako gives Kaito a prophecy: If KID is not captured by the demon of light, both of them will die and only if he gets captured will he be able to reach his goal. Kaito would rather go to jail than risk Shinichi's life.
With Kaitou KID gone, Snake starts going after the jewels more actively and people get killed. It doesn't take Shinichi long to see a connection to KID – and that this is the last branch left of the Black Organization he had taken down a year ago.
So Shinichi forms a special task-force to end the BO for good. And for that, he needs Kaitou KID's help.
The White Collar Phantom Thief
The Secret of Pandora
Case 1: The Capture of Kaitou KID
"Inmate Kuroba! You have a visitor!" the guard barked loudly.
Kaito was laying sprawled out on his bunk, with one arm folded behind his head, holding A Study in Scarlet in his free hand. How peculiar. He had told Jii-chan to lay low for a while, just to make sure, and his mom not to bother, not for now, not while there was still a target on his back. Aoko was still too angry with him to see him. Hakuba also seemed mad – or perhaps disappointed, Kaito wasn't entirely sure, really. Maybe both – at him, ever since they had talked briefly during the arraignment, so he doubted the detective would visit him. Akako, perhaps. Since she had put him here, indirectly. With a heavy sigh did Kaito put his book down and slowly get up to casually trail after the guard. His curiosity was piqued. Who would come to visit him in jail...? When he saw who sat on the other side of the glass, a bright smirk spread over his lips, his trademark KID smirk, but it was so much more genuine than often times. With the slow ease and grace of a cat did he slip into his seat and take the phone, his eyes drinking in the sight in front of him.
"My, my, the Great Detective himself. Have you come to gloat? Rub it in?"
If not for his impeccable poker face, Kaito would flinch away from the look in Shinichi's eyes alone. Those beautiful cerulean eyes that would sparkle at him with mirth and excitement were cold as jaggedly cut ice, staring at him devoid of any emotion. It made Kaito swallow hard.
"Why did you do it?" Shinichi sounded off. "Why did you let me capture you?"
"Now, don't underestimate yourself, tantei-kun," chided Kaito, tilting his head sideways. "You are the Great Detective. You were able to capture me all on your own. No one else but you."
"Don't," Shinichi spat the word out like it was poisonous, his eyebrows drawn together deeply. "Don't mock me, KID. You didn't have to be arrested that day. You... You chose to. Why?"
Kaito smiled, a sad little smile, as he tilted his head. "That's for me to know and... well, for you to figure out, Great Detective. A new mystery for you to unravel, mh?"
/flashback\
"Kaitou KID has to be captured by the demon of light, or they will both die by the next full moon."
It was their graduation ceremony and Akako had taken him aside to share this ominous line with him. Normally, Kaito was quick to dismiss any accusation that he was KID. Even though Akako knew his identity, knew it for a fact. Kaito wouldn't be careless enough to admit it aloud.
Yet this felt different than any other time. What stood out about it was that it wasn't just about KID. The demon of light – that was what Akako always called the Great Detective. Kaito's Great Detective. And while Kaito was quick to ignore her strange prophecies when they were all about KID, it was impossible for him to ignore Akako when she spoke of Shinichi's pending death. That, he couldn't ignore. Because he knew her magic was real, he knew her prophecies came true more often than not. And there was no reality in which Kaito would shrug off Shinichi's potential death.
"What does that even mean? Why would they die?" asked Kaito disturbed and angry.
Of course was he angry. The thought of Shinichi dying made him furious and sad and terrified. He'd once lost someone he loved because of Kaitou KID. He'd lost his father. He could not lose the one he was in love with too. Not Shinichi. How many times had he swooped in and saved Shinichi's life – even back when Shinichi had still been in the adorable, easy to carry form of Conan.
Oh, how much Kaito had admired that mind even back then. Yet the chase had become so much more fun after Shinichi had gotten his big boy body back – no more being held back by nee-chan or adults underestimating him. Finally, they were free to play cat and mouse to their hearts' content.
For the first time, Kaito allowed himself to examine the way his heart raced when being chased by Shinichi, compared to the chase with Nakamori or Hakuba. For the first time, Kaito truly investigated his own feelings. Because it was something he hadn't allowed himself to think about while Edogawa Conan was still around. And even though Kaito was decidedly not a detective – what a dreadful thought, really – with the evidence presented, the deduction was clear and simple.
Kaitou KID was in love with his greatest critic. That was why he would plan heists specifically all for Shinichi, spending days coming up with the most magical shows possible when challenging tantei-kun, why Shinichi's admiration weighed so much heavier than anyone else's. Why he would patiently wait on rooftops for too-short legs to catch up with him so they could talk underneath the moonlight, even though KID could have made his escape quick and undetected. Why Kaito had gone and abducted Conan to bring him to Singapore to help clear KID's name, because there was no one Kaito trusted more to solve the case and because Kaito knew, deep down, that Shinichi knew he was not a bad person, he had faith in the detective to know for a fact that Kaito hadn't done it.
Every time Shinichi had let Kaito willingly escape with a flimsy excuse that no, this time Kaito hadn't stolen or this time Kaito had saved his life – and the way those excuses had made Kaito's heart race each and every single time. And, of course, every time Kaito had done exactly that, every time Kaito had protected Shinichi – his life, his secret – and it wasn't just because No One Gets Hurt. It was, yes, because Kaito wouldn't let little Ayumi fall from a skyscraper either, but there was a different angle too, one that made Kaito's heart race frantically in his rib-cage while also feeling as though it had entirely stopped beating at the same time when it was Conan falling off a building.
"I don't know the details," replied Akako, her arms crossed over her chest. "But I know the only way for Kaitou KID to keep soaring the sky and reach his true goal is for him to be captured by the demon of light. And before the next full moon. Or both will die by the crows' talons."
That was insanity. It didn't even make sense. The only way for Kaito to keep being KID was... to be captured and put in jail? That made no sense. And why would his capture save Shinichi's life? Did he put Shinichi in danger...? It'd be so very easy to just scoff at this and ignore it. But on the off-chance that something could happen to his tantei-kun... Kaito would never forgive himself.
"You think that Kaitou KID would need to be captured in order to survive?"
Kaito did scoff, because it sounded too ridiculous when he said it like that. Akako tilted her head, something in her eyes shifting, though Kaito couldn't pinpoint what that meant. He supposed there might be a certain angle to it; while he was in prison, Snake and his colleagues couldn't kill him. Probably. What he could actually be sure of was that Shinichi would be safe then. If – and that was a big, disturbing if – Akako was right and the next full moon was when both Kaito and Shinichi would die, then Shinichi's death would be Kaito's fault. Both dying on a full moon night?
Being the cause of Shinichi's death, because he put the target on the one he loved simply by dragging the Great Detective into all his heists, putting him on the radar of the people who wanted KID dead...? That would be worse than dying for Kaito. Not even if there was the slightest chance of this being true, and it being Akako, the chances were quite high...
"Bakaito! Akako-chan! We're taking pictures!" Aoko called as she rounded the corner.
Suddenly, the moment was broken. The atmosphere shifted and all seriousness that had been there before was gone, replaced by the light aloofness of school. Kaito put on his usual grin, casually linking his hands behind his head and heading over toward his best friend.
"Don't rush us, Ahoko," complained Kaito. "We were reminiscing about our youth."
"Youth? You still act like a five year old brat," argued Aoko skeptically.
Kaito stuck his tongue out at her as the three returned to the rest of their class. Everyone had cleaned up nicely, was laughing and joking. This was the end of an era. Something nostalgic was in the air. The future was uncertain. College, probably? Out of obligation more so than desire. He wanted to become a world-famous magician, after all. Well, if he was even going to live that long. His eyes wandered over to Akako, her words echoing in his mind.
/break\
When Kaito felt lost, he liked to kick a soccer-ball around. One he had nicked from his tantei-kun. Sentimental, perhaps. One of the many, many balls that Shinichi had kicked at him over the time they'd known each other. Though Kaito himself had never been interested in soccer, the repetitive motion of kicking it against the wall and catching it as it bounced back was soothing and it reminded him of his little 'demon of light'. The name always made Kaito grin just a bit, because yeah, especially as Conan, he truly had been an absolute demon brat. All the times Kaito thought he would die because of that damned detective. Yet all that murderous intend, the way Conan stood up to him, kept figuring him out, it was what first intrigued Kaito.
Groaning frustrated, Kaito abandoned the soccer-ball and quickly changed. He grabbed his cap from the wardrobe and put it on, whistling with his free hand. One of his doves immediately came flying to him. With a smile did he attach the transmitter to her leg and sent her her way. Tama-chan knew where to go; to her favorite human (even more so than Kaito. And Kaito couldn't even pout and fault her for that). He put the ear-piece in and made his way. By the time he reached the café, he finally got the sound he wanted. He took the menu to hide his broadening grin behind it.
"So, what's the plan now?" asked Sonoko a little bored.
Kaito sat in the café, tapping the fingers of his free hand against his cheek. He had his cap drawn deep into his face and was facing away from them, with a couple tables between them. Them, being Suzuki Sonoko, Mouri Ran and Kudou Shinichi. He couldn't resist. Couldn't stay way. Not after his own graduation ceremony and Akako's words. All pacing at home and kicking a ball he had gotten from tantei-kun did him was make him spin in circles. This was... marginally better.
"Plan?" echoed Shinichi confused, looking up at her.
Kaito watched him through the reflection of the window-front. It was a beautiful day, so they could sit outside of the café, which allowed Tama-chan to get close enough to the group so Kaito could hear everything. A soft smile spread over his lips as he watched Shinichi.
"Yeah. We are now high school graduates," Sonoko spread her arms. "What's the plan?"
"Shinichi is going to start his own detective agency, we all know that," commented Ran fondly.
"Well, yes. I suppose," Shinichi smiled a little.
"You suppose? I always thought that was a given," Ran blinked.
The way Shinichi averted his eyes from his childhood friend told Kaito that this was about the time spent as Conan. He hadn't told her the truth, even though he'd been back for weeks now. Kaito supposed there was no reason to do so anymore, it'd only hurt her.
"Not the way I ever imagined it," explained Shinichi, scratching his cheek. "I've been... considering something. But I don't know yet. There's... people I have to talk to, first. Before I can say..."
"Of course he once again can't just say it outright. Typical," Sonoko rolled her eyes. "I am going to college. Get my business degree to join the family business. What about you, Ran?"
"I don't... I don't know yet," Ran smiled. "I was thinking, maybe..."
"C'mon. Tell us," Shinichi grinned at her, nudging her beneath the table.
There was always an ache of jealousy coursing through Kaito whenever he saw Shinichi interact with Ran. Which was stupid and pointless. The two were childhood best friends, of course were they close. He himself had impersonated Shinichi often enough and played into that closeness. Still, all Kaito wanted was to get to be that close to Shinichi. To nudge him gently, banter with him across a table instead of only on a rooftop, only in disguise, only from a distance.
"I was thinking about getting a business degree too," admitted Ran after a beat. "To... To open my own dojo. The time that... Conan-kun was living with us, with the Detective Boys coming by all the time... I loved being with the children. I think that teaching them, it... could be good, for me."
That made Kaito smile a little. Good for her! He could totally see that. Ran, kicking butt and teaching little girls to defend themselves. That was nice. Sonoko and Shinichi also expressed their approval and support of that plan. The thought of the future made Kaito feel both warm and anxious. What if he ignored Akako and took that future from Shinichi? What if his Great Detective were to die, because of him, and he'd never... get to see Ran open her dojo? Never get to do whatever secret future plans he seemed to have for himself? A world without Shinichi seemed so much duller and much more dangerous. There was still so much good he had to do.
Regardless of how slim the chances of this coming true really were, Kaito couldn't risk it.
/break\
Kaito decided to go all out. And to put more faith in Akako than ever before. She'd saved his life, and protected his secret, many times before. He had to trust her that this truly was the best course of action to protect himself and to protect Shinichi. Both his mom and Jii thought that he had lost it. But today was the final show. At least for a while; if Akako's prophecy was true, then supposedly Kaito would get to don the white get-up once more, at one point.
As his grand finale, at least for now, this heist needed to be memorable. He kept Nakamori-keibu and Hakuba on their toes, but managed to shake them off toward the big finish, so it would be only him and his Great Detective. Shinichi was out of breath as he opened the door to the rooftop, shirt clinging to his chest, sweating from all the running. Kaito liked him all panting and sweaty. That sure was a visual Kaito wanted to keep for the near future. It might be a while before he'd get to see Shinichi again. How much he was going to miss this.
"I got you, KID," Shinichi straightened up, taking a deep breath to calm down.
There it was, that foreboding smirk that spread over his lips. The pure, raw excitement whenever Shinichi figured out the solution to a puzzle. Kaito loved being that puzzle. He'd miss being that puzzle. Miss Shinichi's attention. Miss... so many things. But that way, Shinichi would get to keep solving puzzles. Keep living. A small smile found its way onto Kaito's face as he bowed deeply.
"I suppose you did, Great Detective," agreed Kaito. "The final curtain's closing and I wouldn't want anyone else in my last audience than my greatest critic."
"W... What...?" Shinichi looked completely thrown off his game.
"You got me, as you just said," Kaito tilted his head.
Shinichi took an instinctive step back from him. As though the physical distance would undo the words. It was kind of endearing to see the Great Detective squirm like that. For the first time, he was confronted with the fact that he never pulled through. They both knew it. They both ignored it. Neither ever put it to words, it was just... a part of their game. Kaito ran and Shinichi chased him, Kaito would wait for him at the end of the line and Shinichi would find him. They'd talk, banter, and then Kaito would take to the sky and Shinichi would watch him fly off, not using any of the real openings to dart Kaito, shoot Kaito, cuff Kaito. For his part, Kaito never brought it up because it felt like something very precious and fragile. As thought it would break and he would lose it forever if he pushed Shinichi too much. Now was the time to break it.
"What are you doing?" asked Shinichi, sounding nearly angry. "Are you... mocking me?"
"Mocking you? I would never," assured Kaito, his smile turning sad as he slowly reached for his top-hat. "You have me completely cornered. I don't have my hang-glider. No escaping."
"Why would you come to this location without your hang-glider?" asked Shinichi.
He was raising his voice, his fists were shaking beside his body. He was furious. It was touching to see just how much his beloved detective didn't want to arrest him and for a fleeting moment, Kaito wondered what would have happened if he had confronted this fact earlier. What justification Shinichi would have for this. How he'd try to rationalize it away. But now it was too late. Kaito bowed again, this time taking his top-hat off during the motion. He put it down next to his feet and reached for his monocle next. Just once, only once did he want to stand before Shinichi not as Kaitou KID but as Kuroba Kaito. If this was the end, he wanted to tell Shinichi his name at least.
"Kaitou KID's story ends here, Great Detective," announced Kaito with fake cheerfulness. "And I'm genuinely glad that it is with you. Will you arrest me now, tantei-kun?"
The bright smile on his lips physically hurt Kaito as he held up his wrists for Shinichi to put the cuffs on. The shouting of Nakamori-keibu and the stomping of two dozen police officers climbing the stairs. Still, KID made no attempts to flee, he simply stood there, patiently waiting. With shaking hands did Shinichi get his cuffs out and approach Kaito. Never before had Shinichi looked more ready to actually kill KID. Kaito had often thought about this day, the day he might get arrested. This was not how he had expected it. Whoever would do it, he thought there would be gloating, pride. Not... anger and unwillingness. The metal was cold as it wrapped around his wrists.
"Kaito," whispered the thief softly. "Kuroba Kaito. So you know who you're arresting."
"Kuroba Kaito," even with all the anger in his voice, Kaito still thought his name sounded great rolling off Shinichi's tongue. "You are... under arrest. For being an idiot. I don't know what you're playing here, but... you're not KID. This isn't... This isn't how it's supposed to end."
The indignation of his detective made Kaito feel strangely warm. "I'll give myself into your capable hands, tantei-kun. And I trust you'll figure it all out some day."
/flashback|end\
Kaito smiled brighter than he had in months as he looked at his detective. How much he'd missed these inquisitive, sky-blue eyes that seemed to see directly into Kaito's soul. Made his heart race. Even when they were looking at him with so much disappointment.
"I've read up on you," continued Shinichi, as though he wasn't minding Kaito at all. "Kuroba Kaito, only son of the famous magician Kuroba Toichi. The first KID, I assume."
"Very well done, Great Detective," praised Kaito in delight.
He hadn't thought he'd get to listen to another one of his tantei-kun's deductions again, not live at least. This was a rare treat and he planned on cherishing it. Shinichi continued looking unimpressed.
"This hardly counts as a deduction. Not when the vital information is just handed to you on a silver platter and you have to do nothing for it," Shinichi's glare intensified.
"You really are mad at me for getting arrested by you, huh?" Kaito chuckled softly.
This was surprisingly endearing of his detective, making Kaito's heart race. There was a jerk going through Shinichi's body, as though he was trying to kick Kaito before remembering that there was a wall between them. Well, jail was currently saving his life, apparently.
"I'm mad because... I didn't... I didn't arrest you. This wasn't earned. You took that away from me. And I can't figure out why," Shinichi averted his eyes, looking down, away from Kaito.
"Even if I can't explain it to you, can you..." Kaito's voice wavered and he got Shinichi's attention back, the detective looking up at him once more. "You once trusted me, tantei-kun. With your life, repeatedly. Can I please ask you to trust me one last time...?"
"I don't know what you're asking of me," Shinichi frowned at him.
Closing his eyes, Kaito let his poker-face slip off. When he opened them again, he looked at Shinichi with raw honesty, trying to convey all of his feelings. Make Shinichi trust him.
"I did it to save your life," admitted Kaito. "And that's not making any sense to you right now and it might never make sense to you, but please trust me... I didn't do it to mock you. I did it for you."
The expression on Shinichi's face was complicated. A mixture of too many conflicting emotions. Confusion, hope, warmth and that intense need to solve a riddle, if that counted as an emotion. With his detective, it definitely did. Kaito hoped Shinichi could figure it out, for the both of them.
Author's note: With how deep I've fallen back into this fandom, I'm very happy to work on a multi-chapter fic for it! I've always wanted to write a longer take on Kaito and Shinichi working together to find Pandora and take down Kaito's BO.
If a part of this chapter seems familiar to you, you might have read my excerpt of it over on my tumblr (come visit me at takaraphoenix)! The pitch for this story was also born over there ;)
This is going to be a slow burn! Shinichi is, ah, still in denial of his feelings. Meanwhile, Kaito's out here pining openly. Poor little thief. Next chapter, we're going to focus on Shinichi's side of it and his feelings on this matter, I hope to see you then ;)
