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 | Tsukino Guinevere, Kudou Shinichi, Hakuba Saguru, Nakamori Aoko, Hattori Heiji, Sera Masumi, Koizumi Akako, Furuya Rei | Amuro Tooru | Bourbon, Akai Shuuichi, Takagi Wataru, Sato Miwako, Jii Konosuke
Others: Mouri Ran, Suzuki Sonoko, Kyogoku Makoto, Tooyama Kazuha, 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 would 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 BO he had taken down.
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 24: Kuroba Kaito's Good Name
Don't be horny, don't be horny, don't be horny, don't be ho-
"Ladies and gentlemen, good evening and welcome to tonight's heist, as sponsored by the generous Suzuki Cooperation. Everyone, say 'thank you, Suzuki-san'."
-too late, now he was horny. Kaito blinked and shifted a little. This was hardly his fault! Shinichi, in that outfit, with that cocky grin, doing magic! How was Kaito supposed to be normal about this? And no, this was not some weird narcissism thing as Aoko had accused him of (rude). Sure, he was aware him and Shinichi looked a lot alike, and to everyone else they seemed near identical to the point of Kaito having been able to pose as Shinichi without prosthetic and make-up in the past. But Kaito had spent so much time staring at Shinichi – in a very non-creepy and just lovey-dovey way – that he had memorized every little difference between them. So when Kaito looked at Shinichi in this costume, he saw Shinichi. Saw all those little differences that nobody else could see, because nobody else was looking. Nobody else was looking at Shinichi the way Kaito was.
"H… How," Nakamori growled, looking between KID and Kaito.
Kaito, shackled directly to Nakamori's wrist. Grinning at the man, Kaito lifted his shackled wrist to wave at him. Nakamori's eyes wandered right back to KID, narrowing his eyes.
"This ought to be an imposter then."
"No imposter, as you will see," Kaito offered light-heartedly.
Today was the day. Today, they would finally clear Kaito's good name. Everything was prepared and had been rehearsed down to the smallest detail. Kaito had workshopped the notice with Shinichi together. There had been outrage and then they had all gathered here and…
/flashback\
"Nakamori-keibu," Kaito smiled and eased his arm out of Hakuba's grip.
Hakuba, dressed up as Shinichi. Not a big fan of having to play this part, but to sell it, they did have to sell the whole bit and if Shinichi was missing, that would be glaringly obvious. Hakuba had, officially, left for London to spend time with his family about a week ago, three days before the heist announcement too. So his absence was not suspicous. But Kaito, who had been posing as Shinichi's fiance? They needed Shinichi there too.
"Not now, Tsukino-san," Nakamori grumbled, trying to brush him off.
"Actually," Kaito tilted his head. "There's something you should know."
In a poof of smoke, he shed the Tsukino Guinevere costume, leaving only Kuroba Kaito behind. Oh, that felt good. To be himself in public again. Nakamori stared at him in startled confusion.
"So, there's something I have to tell you," Kaito spoke, even as Nakamori lost his mind and called for backup. "I've been living in, uh, hiding as Tsukino Guinevere since I broke out of prison."
"Kaito," Nakamori managed to put so much anger and frustration into his name. "You… I… What does this mean. Why did you do all of this. Why did you…"
Once he was handcuffed and surrounded by cops, Kaito lifted his hands in surrender, still smiling. "I want to explain it to you. Let me explain it to you, please."
Nakamori's jaw was set and he glared. "Explain. We have all night, since your heist isn't happening. Since you are under arrest again."
Kaito just smiled. "The heist is still happening, because Kaitou KID is still en large. I'm not Kaitou KID, I never was. I… surrendered and let myself be arrested to take the heat off of him."
"Why would you do that," Nakamori didn't believe a word he was saying.
"Because… Kaitou KID was after the men who killed my father, because my father had… trained him, helped KID, taught him his magic. And these men killed him. When I… I helped KID, because he told me the truth about my father's murder," Kaito looked at Nakamori, with all the pain of a boy who had never gotten over the loss of his father. "He needed time to investigate without them trying to kill him. So I… posed as him, and let myself be arrested."
"Then why would you break out of prison?"
"Because they, these men, they were trying to kill me in prison, it was no longer safe. And KID, he didn't… he didn't want me to get harmed on his behalf," Kaito continued, sighing softly.
"If I may," Akai stepped up to the inspector, flashing his badge. "I can confirm this. Because we have been working in a special task force with the real Kaitou KID. And, to make it clear, we would not have not approve of him roping a civilian in. However, he sought us out to help him take down a large criminal organization, after Kuroba-san went to prison."
Nakamori looked bewildered as he stared between the FBI agent and Kaito. "What."
"We instigated Kuroba-san's break-out for his own safety and placed him under witness protection with Kudou-san, who was working with us in this task-force," Akai continued. "You may have read about our take-down in the newspapers. We could not clear this with you or the authorities officially at the time, because we did not know where these men had their fingers in and if they learned that Kuroba-san wasn't Kaitou KID and that we got him out, they would have known we were close to them. A risk we could not take. I apologize for all the trouble."
"Yeah," Nakamori huffed. "You think this is my first rodeo with KID? You're probably an assistant or ally and that badge's either stolen or fake. I'm not buying this."
Kaito stepped closer to the inspector. "Keep an eye on me and watch the heist. I knew you wouldn't just take my word. I know I… lost your trust when I let myself be arrested. But I want to regain it. Watch the real Kaitou KID pull off this heist and keep an eye on me the entire time."
"And after that, we can talk to my bosses, and you can review all the evidence and case-work yourself," Akai offered. "Colleagues of mine are already working on legally having Kuroba-san's name cleared, by tomorrow, he will be free."
"Then what's all of this? These theatrics?" Nakamori motioned his arms around. "A heist, a dramatic reveal. Why all of this, if you have the legal means to clear his name."
Akai cleared his throat and looked at Kaito for a split second. "Our mutual friend insisted on it. Kaitou KID doesn't want for Kuroba-san to be harassed and pestered by press and fans. Clearing his name behind the scenes isn't going to sway the public."
The frown on Nakamori's face changed ever so slightly, convinced just an edge. And then he snapped the cuff onto Kaito's wrist and onto his own, jerking slightly on it to pull Kaito closer.
"I'm gonna watch. And I am going to review all that evidence afterward. But I am not buying any of this just yet. I've been tricked too many times by that thief."
"Fine by me," Kaito's grin grew.
/flashback|end\
So getting jerked around by Nakamori during a heist was decidedly less fun than doing the jerking. It was also wildly distracting, which was not nice. He wanted to enjoy the show! Shinichi looked so good and he was doing so well, with his magic tricks. This was all kinds of inspiring.
"I'm still not-" Nakamori glared at Kaito. "Why would you take that risk, for a stranger."
"For dad," Kaito argued, his clenched fist shaking ever so slightly. "I just… I would… I was acting irrationally when I got myself arrested. I just didn't… I didn't think clear, all I could think about was dad, who hadn't died in an accident, who had been killed, and his killer still being free, out there, with nobody chasing him aside from this thief."
And huh. That was even the truth, wasn't it? Only that Kaito was the thief in question. He could see Nakamori falter, the more Kaito talked and the longer this heist went on. It hurt, that he had lost Nakamori's trust like that. After his dad had died, Nakamori had been the only father-figure in his life. The only parental figure, really, while Chikage was off jet-setting.
/break\
The heist wasn't too complicated. Kaito and Shinichi had picked the gem together, a perfect target for KID. And then they had gone about gently suggesting it to Sonoko, telling her what great KID bait this would be. The next day, newspapers claimed that Jirokichi had bought the gem and was challenging KID to steal it. Trust the Suzukis to be single-mindedly obsessed with KID.
They turned this into a whole event, Makoto came to be at his fiance's side, 'Shinichi' came and brought his 'fiance' (Shinichi was still not really a fan of the way Saguru was impersonating him for this exercise, but they knew they had to sell the bit), Sera and Ran, Heiji and Kazuha. Aoko was working alongside her father, keeping an eye on them all too.
Shinichi was a showman in his own right, though his stage was usually not as literal as Kaito preferred it. Still, tonight, he was Kaitou KID. Tonight, he was going to stand on that stage and look like he enjoyed every single second of it. He'd worked too hard on all of this, learned the magic and tricks and how to use the thief's tools.
First the grand entrance, showing himself off. Close enough for cameras to capture all the details – the way his facial shape was the same as KID's, his posture and body, every little thing about the costume that was accurate because this was the real Kaitou KID costume.
It was the elaborate trick to get to the gem – a huge amethyst worked into a statue of an angel holding it above its head. The statue was locked away behind a glass cage, that was set inside another glass cage that was filled with water. The whole thing was set up on the highest tower, in a room that every visitor could only enter one at a time.
He'd placed smoke inside the water tank when the angel had been locked in, encapsulated with a mirroring substance that would dissolve on its own in time for the heist. The water filled with smoke exactly when Shinichi needed it to, everybody panicked, especially when it didn't settle. He just had to do a quick grab and switch when they opened the tank, posing as the museum curator – and he had never appreciated just how exhausting the quick costume changes actually were, or how taxing it was to impersonate someone he didn't know personally.
Switch back to being Kaitou KID, get chased by 'Shinichi' and Nakamori-keibu, do a dramatic reveal of having the gem, outside in front of all the cameras. Bid his goodbye and taunt the police as he sailed off on the hang-glider. And that, that was the only part of this night that Shinichi found himself truly loving. He closed his eyes and relished in the wind glowing all around him, before opening them again and looking down at the city beneath him.
It was stunning, he'd always loved that bit. Being Conan and tucked into Kaito's arms, carried off into the night-sky by the thief. Doing it himself was fun too, even though he found himself wishing for Kaito's company. Still, the thought that Kaito would soon get to enjoy this sense of freedom again, it was enough to make Shinichi feel warm and pleased with himself.
/break\
Kaito was ready to leave. He'd spent an additional two hours accompanying Nakamori to the headquarters where Akai had prepared all the files and evidence to be looked into. Dutifully, Kaito trailed after and quietly (as quiet as Kaito could, anyway) sat by and waited. In the end, Nakamori realized that even Kaitou KID couldn't pull off such an elaborate scheme (even though he kind of did; yes, he was being exonerated, after signing a deal that he would be working with and for the FBI for the next five years, hunting art forgers and the kind of thieves who harmed people).
"Kaito…" Nakamori rested a hand on his shoulder, holding him in place.
"I'm… sorry…" Kaito turned to look at him with furrowed brows. "I didn't mean to lie to you."
"I can't believe you did that," Nakamori heaved a sigh. "But I understand your motivation. I know how much losing your father hurt you. But… you shouldn't have put your trust in a thief, you should have put your trust in me. I'm a cop, Kaito. I could have helped you solve his murder the legal way. You just… needed to trust me."
There was hurt in his eyes and Kaito felt his chest clench at it. "It… It was just… all so tied up? I didn't know… what else to do, this felt right, sounded right, I thought I was doing the right thing."
And that was actually the truth. Huh. Kaito blinked away tears and tilted his head back. The next moment, he was pulled into a bone-crushing hug by the inspector. After a second, he started clinging onto Nakamori and sobbed loudly. Sobbed real tears, tears for the loss of his father, the isolation he had felt during all this time that he had been working alone with Jii, keeping his friends and the people he considered family at arm's length, tears about the traumatic experience of having been imprisoned, tears of relief because it was finally over, he had them, they were behind bars, his father was avenged. And Nakamori simply held him close.
/break\
Shinichi was laying sprawled out on their bed, still wearing the Kaitou KID costume. Waiting. He'd expected Kaito to return home sooner, yet he kept Shinichi waiting. When the bedroom door finally opened, Kaito looked like shit. His eyes were red and puffy from crying and he looked exhausted.
"What happened?" Shinichi immediately sat up and went to his boyfriend. "Hey. What's wrong?"
He cupped Kaito's face gently. The thief nuzzled into his touch, heaving a soft sigh.
"Nothing. It just… A heart to heart with Nakamori."
Furrowing his brows, Shinichi wrapped his arms around Kaito and pulled him into a tight, warm embrace. His thief clung onto him, resting his forehead against Shinichi's shoulder.
"All good?" Shinichi asked in a soft voice.
"All good," Kaito nodded against him. "I think. It may take a little longer to be really good, but… I think he's forgiving me. I just… now I'm going to lie to him again…"
"You talked to Aoko about this," Shinichi argued. "We all agreed that this is for the best, in this case. Lying is… complicated. But, Nakamori-keibu is a cop first, and he will not… He's not likely to understand what you're doing. It will be for the best."
Kaito grumbled against him, fingers digging into the fabric of the KID suit. "You look great."
It got him a laugh from Shinichi, who accepted the attempt at changing the mood. "I know. Though, this thing is way heavier than you make it look, with the teflon lining and all the gadgets."
Kaito nuzzled more into Shinichi's neck. "I can't believe it's all over, Great Detective."
"Mh," Shinichi smiled ever so slightly. "Neither can I, Sneak Thief."
They moved toward the bed and laid down together, Shinichi wrapping himself around Kaito and then pulling the cape around them both like a blanket cocoon. He sighed contently.
"What's next?" Kaito peeked out to look at him. "What do we do now? I mean…"
"This was what we fought for years, it's…" Shinichi paused. "I was at this point already, thinking I had done it all. So, what's next is… moving on. Finding something new. Going about your life. Your life, Kaito. You're free, you don't have to dress up and pretend to be someone else. You could… go to college, or work, or whatever you want to do with your life. What do you want?"
Rolling onto his back, Kaito stared up at the ceiling thoughtfully. Shinichi mimicked him. There were stars on his ceiling now, glowing in the dark. Because he was dating a total man-child. Though they were kind of pretty to look at. Not that Shinichi was going to admit that aloud.
"I don't know. Maybe college sounds like a nice idea. Give me more time to figure things out."
"I do know what's up next, directly next I mean," Shinichi grinned. "We will attend Takagi-san and Sato-san's wedding, together. I get to go there with my boyfriend."
Ge grabbed Kaito's hand, linking their fingers, and he could feel Kaito's giddiness too.
/break\
Sato was the prettiest bride Kaito had ever seen and Takagi was a nervous mess, which was endearing. Everyone had dressed up and looked stunning, though Kaito noticed that the cops all carried their guns. Which, was for the best. Where one teen detective was, there was usually a murder, and this wedding had all four of them as guests, as well as Kogoro, who also attracted crime and disaster. It felt so good to be himself, among others.
Everybody knew now, that he had been Guinevere, that Shinichi had 'helped' with this case and given him witness protection. Their cover story for now being together was that they had fallen in love during this time, which was more or less the truth. Love had come before then, but the getting together part was true. Kaito smiled softly as he watched Shinichi and Aoko dance and laugh, while Hakuba was distracted by arguing with Hattori. Ran and Sera were dancing alongside Shinichi and Aoko, so were Makoto and Sonoko. I was nice, to see them all so happy.
"Don't sit here, watching him like that," Haibara spoke sternly. "Go, dance with him."
Tilting his head, Kaito regarded the scary little lady. Before he could get into a conversation with her did the other Detective Boys, including Mizuki, run up to them, always looking at Haibara as a leader, ever since Conan had left. The smile on Kaito's lips turned softer as he looked at Mizuki. She was wearing a pink frilly dress that matched the fabric roses in her hair.
"Come, come, come," Ayumi spoke urgently, grabbing Haibara's hand.
That didn't bode well. He just hoped they hadn't found a dead body or a bomb or whatever Detective Boys got into (many of Kaito's nightmares were fueled by Shinichi's stories of his time as a Detective Boy. Children should never experience even a single of those things. Those kids were going to need so much therapy once they were older).
"Can I go with them?" Mizuki asked softly, unsure.
"Of course, kiddo," Kaito ruffled her hair, mindful of the hair-decoration. "But if there is anything dangerous, you come and find me or Shinichi, you hear?"
She nodded obediently and then ran off to play with her friends. She'd blossomed so much since she had moved in with them. Yes, she still had nightmares, had days that she was very quiet and lost in her trauma, but she was on the right path. All Kaito and Shinichi could do was provide her the stability to continue on that path. And for that, they had adoption papers laying in their study.
It was a long and complicated process, to adopt a child. Even more so because they weren't married and were very young. But they hoped that Shinichi's connections among the law enforcement would help them, give them the needed credentials.
"I'm sorry, but would you mind if I cut in?"
"Not at all," Aoko grinned broadly, and then took his hand. "Oh, you wanted to dance with Shinichi-kun? Sorry. You will have to dance with me now."
Kaito's eyes softened. "Never a 'have to' when it's you, Aoko."
He accepted her hand and led her, noticing from the corner of his eye that Shinichi had stolen Ran for a dance, while Sera tapped out to make sure Hakuba and Hattori weren't going to cause a scene at the wedding. Speaking of, Kaito spotted the happily newly married couple. The way Takagi looked at Sato, the way they both glowed. Kaito felt warm, hoping that one day, him and Shinichi would get to share a moment like this. To get married, to be surrounded by everyone they loved and everyone who loved them. One day. Finally, Kaito could hope for that one day.
Author's note: ONE more chapter left! Everything is wrapped up, but I love to end these long stories on a look into what the future holds, so stay tuned for that ;)