A/N: TW for the whole fic: Illness, Blood, Injury, Temporary Character Death

Story Cover by Chatlote on tumblr!

Mysteries are like puzzles: one must put all the pieces together to see the final picture. Some start by forming the frame to use as a guideline. Others start from the middle with the pieces that appealed most to them. There are many different ways to reach the conclusion, but only the last piece can slot perfectly at the end.

Shinichi was currently looking at that sort of decisive clue.

It was a pearl earring. Such a small inconspicuous thing—easily misplaced, easily forgotten—but powerful enough in this dance of lies and deceit to bring upon the curtain call. It had been hidden behind a photo frame on the bookshelf. Upon closer inspection Shinichi discovered several other pieces of jewelry as well, suggesting an unconventional storage spot that a person of average height would use. For this, Shinichi was so glad to be back to his regular size. He might have missed it if he had been still stuck at Conan's height. This particular earring with a shimmering bright blue coating had been the only one without a pair back there. It made grim sense, considering the same lone earring was currently donning the victim's ear.

This contradicted that person's testimony loud and clear.

Got you, Shinichi thought with a satisfied smirk.

Using a handkerchief, Shinichi plucked the earring from the shelf into an evidence bag. He thanked forensics, facing the crowd gathered at this crime scene.

Inspector Megure and Detective Takagi brightened up, since for them it meant the case was as good as solved. Noticing the change in the air, the four suspects shuffled restlessly on the spot instead.

Shinichi didn't waste time. Going over the details of the case again, the simple self-defense against a stalker's break-and-enter, turned into the tale of a dispute between unwitting roommates.

"As your official tenant has to travel abroad often, his house expenses are minimal. So you were renting this condo to people without a contract," Shinichi said. "But the money isn't enough reason to pretend you didn't recognize the victim. You were also having an affair with her! She was illegally living here. With no official document to prove that, it would be easy to kill her and frame your other tenant for it. They had a complicated history together. You knew that and used it against her, painting her as an obsessive person that would hide her things around to mark 'her territory'. But you miscalculated one thing."

Shinichi raised the evidence bag. After making sure everyone could see its contents, he moved the photo frame aside to reveal his earlier discovery.

"The victim preferred to leave her jewelry at accessible places. Maybe it was easier to grab them on the go. However, due to her illegal tenancy, she kept them enough out of sight to not rouse any suspicion. Which then raises the question: If she was such a meticulous person, why would she carelessly leave only one of a pair behind?"

In an act of showmanship—for which the KID would certainly tease him if he ever knew—Shinichi paused.

The entire room seemed to hold its breath.

Everyone's attention had locked on him like spotlights.

Shinichi's heart hammered wildly in his chest, but his mind was calm.

This wasn't like when he had faced Gin during the crackdown of the Black Organization—a mouse at the end of its wits going against a bloodthirsty sadistic wolf. Neither like his usual post-Conan discomfort of getting used to the central stage again—after months of hiding in the shadows. Shinichi finally had the higher ground, figuratively and literally, to lock eyes with the culprit for the final verdict.

It's the little things, he thought; ready to ride the high of another successfully solved case.

Shinichi took a deep breath to continue his deduction. It burned. Something was clawing its way up inside his throat as if he was about to vomit. He covered his mouth and coughed in an attempt to keep it inconspicuous. The noise that came out was so guttural and raw—like his lungs had been filled with water—it alarmed everyone instead.

Detective Takagi rushed to his side. "Kudou-kun, are you—"

"Fine…I'm fine," Shinichi spoke loud enough only for him to hear. "Sorry. Air…went down…the wrong pipe."

"A-alright," Detective Takagi said reluctantly and gave the floor back to him.

Clearing his throat, Shinichi pointed at the culprit. "Her back was turned, so you couldn't see what exactly was the victim doing in front of the bookshelf. So you missed it when you ambushed her from behind the couch. That's why you, the landlord Ishida Shoda, are guilty of first-degree murder!"

Of course, the culprit decided to run for it and Inspector Megure yelled at the officers near the door to restrain him.

Shinichi knew he didn't have to step in for the arrest. However, he couldn't help but compare the current situation to how the culprits would fall to her knees and confess when he was 'assisting' the Sleeping Kogoro. It made him wonder if culprits felt guiltier when someone older and seemingly more experienced saw through them, rather than someone on the cusp of adulthood.

After the culprit was dealt with, everyone flocked toward Shinichi to congratulate him.

"As expected of you, Kudou-kun!" Inspector Megure exclaimed, patting him heavily on the shoulder. "It is so good to have you back, but I hope you aren't neglecting your studies. You have to graduate properly, after being away for so long."

"Of course." Shinichi scratched sheepishly at his cheek.

As he did that, Detective Takagi's expression changed from elated to confused and wary.

"Is there something on your hand, Kudou-kun?" he asked, staring intently at it.

Shinichi turned his wrist. Some reddish-brown substance had smeared across his palm. It stuck to his finger pads when he tentatively opened and closed his fingers. There was no mistaking it though.

Blood? Panic seized his heart. I'm sure I didn't touch anything by accident. So how? When?

His chest hurt as if someone had stabbed through it. Another violent cough rattled him and using his left hand this time, he only half-successfully managed to suppress it. By the end of it, blood had stained even his fingers—as if he had gutted someone.

It's so hard...to breathe. His vision wavered, a high-pitched tune ringing in his ears.

The next thing he knew, Shinichi opened his eyes to the familiar ceiling of a hospital room. The blessing and curse of remembering almost every little detail had him recognizing the pale yellow curtains with silver hooks surrounding his bed. It was followed by the memory of a dark wet cave, gunshots and pain, cold panic for the lives of the children—the Junior Detective League—being in danger, and then…

Throwing the covers off his chest, Shinichi sat up fast enough to give himself whiplash. But he had to, needed to, make sure. His hands came into view. They were scrubbed clean, with no residue remaining of the blood blotches. Most importantly, they weren't small and squishy like a kid's. His fingers were lean and squarish at the tip. His palms were littered with callouses, a scar running through the middle of both. His mark of valor from grabbing a sword to save Hattori's reckless ass. One scar that got thinner with smoother edges when he got his original body back.

"I see you are still worried that one day, you will wake up and be Edogawa-kun again." Haibara's voice asked from his left.

In the half-light of dusk or dawn in the room, Haibara had perched on top of the cupboard in a similar fashion she had done back then.

The perspective was different this time though. Shinichi, with his original height, could look at her from above rather than below.

"What's this? Some new form of shock therapy?" Shinichi snarked. "Will you point that prank gun of yours at me again too?"

"No. It was the only way we'd be at the same eye level for this conversation," she said gravely. "I didn't believe you would take me seriously otherwise."

Through the extra vigilance he had developed as Conan, dread started creeping on Shinichi at her serious tone. "Why?"

Haibara pursed her lips. "Nothing is certain yet. I'll need to do some tests of my own. However, looking at your current results, there is something very wrong with your body, Kudou-kun. I think..." Her small shoulders tensed in an uncharacteristic display of emotion. "I think the antidote is killing you."

The news dropped on Shinichi like a bucket of cold water. He wanted to deny it almost immediately. They had checked and double-checked everything before Haibara had felt confident enough to let him take this specific version of the antidote. It had been the culmination of her efforts to reconstruct the damaged files of her research.

And yet... Shinichi fell back into the pillows. They are still meddling with our lives even after we brought them down.

"But it was a good three-month trial run," he said. "Don't you think?"

"Kudou-kun!" Haibara berated him. "This isn't about the data. You trusted me and I—" Her voice wavered, underlining her worry. "I fell for their last Trojan Horse."

Shinichi stared at the ceiling. "You don't know that yet. It could be temporary."

"Or it could get worse," she said with a stony expression and jumped down from the cupboard. "I'll go prepare everything back at my lab. Please get some rest while you're here."

"Sure thing," he said with a cheeky smile. "Doctor's orders."

Huffing, Haibara gave him her best stinky eye as she left.

When the door closed behind her, the smile dropped from Shinichi's face.

Haibara never raised concerns, if she wasn't convinced they were partially real. His examination from the hospital must have held some very alarming results for her to second-guess whether she had offered him the true cure, or a more terrible poison than before.

That doesn't change anything, he thought steeling his resolve. To protect the future we worked so hard for, I will find every last one of them and bring them to justice. No matter what happens to me.

Six months.

These two words echoed as terribly loud inside the walls of this briefing room as they did inside Takagi Wataru's head. Conan-kun...No. Shinichi-kun has only six months left to live.

It sounded like a bad joke, the type of cruel jokes Wataru never understood why anyone found them funny.

"And Kudou-kun is still working on that case?" he asked.

On the other side of the table, Ai-chan seemed exasperated beyond belief. "I warned him to take it easy, and I saw in his eyes precisely the moment he decided to ignore everything I had said."

Wataru could sympathize strongly with that notion. His memories were filled with the many unsuccessful attempts to keep Conan-kun out of a crime scene. At first, Conan-kun would look like he complied with an innocent smile. Then, Wataru would find him invited to the neighbor's house for tea or juice and cookies, the little detective buttering them up for clues. It seemed like this mischievous trait of his didn't disappear when he became a teenager again.

"So because Shinichi-kun doesn't listen to reason, you want us to intervene with our superiors and limit his involvement in police cases?" Miwako asked from his side. "Do you understand what you're asking, Ai-chan? He will be devastated."

"Yes. With the pace he's going now, I don't know if he'll live to see his nineteenth birthday. This is the only way he will survive till then," she said resolutely. "So, please, trust me. I will shoulder all his resentment if that's what it takes."

"A young girl like you doesn't have to—" Wataru flinched.

Ai-chan's lips had curled into a cruel smile. This kind of expression was terrifying coming from a seemingly eight-year-old kid. "But I'm not any little girl," she said.

Much like how Wataru couldn't separate his impression of Conan-kun from Shinichi-kun, he had a hard time believing sometimes that this girl was a woman almost in her twenties. It was in moments like this one too, where he saw the scientist behind this insane drug. When he heard about it back then, Wataru had been shocked beyond belief. This entire 'turning back into a younger person' situation had sounded like something out of Chiba's favorite TV shows, rather than reality. He couldn't help but admit though, it had answered several questions and concerns he had been harboring. Ignoring the discrepancy between Conan-kun's and Ai-chan's behavior didn't mean he hadn't been noticing it in the first place. Wataru had simply decided to trust these kids. In some ways, he might have been rewarded for that faith. It was now his turn to return the trust they had placed in him by sharing their secret. Even if that meant protecting them from themselves.

"We can try," Miwako said. "Shinichi-kun is still so young for us, the police, to dump all the hard work on him."

Wataru agreed with her. Conan-kun was a brilliant detective, and he would only grow more brilliant in the future. They just had to give him the chance to reach it.

But he felt like they were forgetting something. "What about the KID heists?" he asked.

Miwako hummed. "Unfortunately, this is out of our jurisdiction. I don't think Inspector Nakamori would appreciate our higher-ups making demands on his turf. Then again, I can't think of an opportunity to hold a private meeting with him as members of a different division."

"Maybe I can help," a young woman's voice echoed from the side of the door. "I know his daughter, Aoko-chan."

There was some truth to Vermouth's nickname of 'Angel' for Mouri Ran.

Ever since Shiho had lost her sister to the Black Org's scheme, she hadn't dared to believe that someone who would so unconditionally care for her existed. Ran, with her impeccable timing of appearing at Shiho's lowest points, had proven her wrong over and over again. Even after everything had come to light, Shiho still found solace in the girl whose relationship she had ruined. Part of her acknowledged how twisted and unfair it was of her. In the end, her guilty consciousness stopped her from informing Ran about this meeting. And yet, there she was; her presence alone lifting Shiho's spirits.

"Ran…uh…Sis, what are you doing here?" Shiho asked her.

"Professor Agasa called me." Closing the door behind her, Ran remained standing. "He said you were all discussing something important about Shinichi."

"But how did you know to come here?" Detective Takagi asked, flabbergasted. "I'm certain we left in the lobby."

Ran laced her fingers nervously in front of her. " told me. I know eavesdropping is rude but I had to hear the unfiltered truth," she said resolutely. "I had to know that to be of any help."

"I don't want to bring up wounds that haven't healed yet," Shiho said, hearing the hypocrisy in her words—clear as day. "But you wanted to cut ties with him after you learned the truth about Edogawa-kun. Why are you going as far as to help someone that hurt you so much?"

The smile on Ran's face seemed to hide several complicated emotions. "I want him to live long enough to forgive him properly," she answered. "Is that selfish of me?"

Shiho realized that for all she was depending on Ran, she still underestimated the depths of her devotion to her loved ones. Someone would call that weak and naive, but to Shiho, it only served as proof that there was still something good in this world.

Before she could consider how to reply to such a declaration, Detective Satou stood up from her chair.

"Resentment? Selfishness? I just had enough of this," she said. "The ones who should be held responsible are us, the adults. It is our decision to make at the end of the day. If Shinichi-kun ever dares to give you two grief about it, he will get a stern talking to." Clenching her fist, she huffed. "At this point, I'm not above giving him a knuckle sandwich too."

Detective Takagi placed his hands on her shoulders with an awkward laugh, trying to placate her. "So, Miss Ran. Did you say you know Inspector Nakamori's daughter?"

Sirens of all kinds permeated the stale midnight air. Along with car horns and indistinct voices, these ordinary city sounds rose from the ground to reach the fire escape Kaito was perched on like an oversized dove. Even at the top of the world, there was no escape from the noise of heavy traffic it seemed.

Although tonight's target had been another dud, there was some other matter that made Kaito depressed. It had been another heist where the Great Detective had been absent from.

The last time Kaito saw him in person, he had seemed a little winded.

"You are right on time, Great Detective. I have to say, our duel today was most splendid. Although, you seemed to lack a bit of your regular vigor in chasing me."

This simple taunt wouldn't have angered the Great Detective that much to make him keep his distance. It would have been an overreaction. And he still had a hand in these plans the Task Force was using.

Kaito had to get to the bottom of this.

But he couldn't disguise himself as a member of the Task Force. They appeared to be in the know, so it would be weird if any of them asked Inspector Nakamori about it again.

His other option of asking Hakuba—who was keeping a cordial friendship with the Great Detective over their shared love for Sherlock Holmes—was also null. Not because Kaito would rather eat glass, but because Hakuba was spending this school semester in London. So he couldn't possibly know any recent developments of the past couple of months.

So that leaves…

In the morning, Kaito approached Aoko's classroom before classes started. Whoever thought to change the class arrangements during their final year of high school owed him big time. At first, Kaito hadn't believed that having a hallway between their classrooms would affect their connection with each other; not any more than the KID issue already did. He didn't take long to notice the difference though. Conflicting schedules left Kaito barely catching a glimpse of her throughout the day sometimes. But he had found a pattern that made sure she would be there this time. From the gap left by the sliding door at the back of the classroom, Aoko was in plain sight. She was sitting sideways, talking and laughing with the person at the desk behind her.

Kaito pushed down the pinch of hurt in his chest as he entered. "Hey, Aoko! I heard your old man return quite late last night. Did KID send him running in circles again?"

"Is that why Kaito's here so early?" Aoko puffed her cheeks. "Take it up with that thief if it bothers you so much."

Kaito raised his hands in a placating gesture, but another voice interrupted him before he could say anything.

"For someone that seems to value his beauty sleep, you wake quite easily." The one sitting at the desk behind Aoko's was Saguru after all.

"What are you doing here?!"

Saguru closed his book. "Is something the matter, Kuroba? Did you perhaps forget this is my classroom too?"

"I wish," Kaito said through gritted teeth. "Weren't you going back to England for this semester?"

"I already finished my midterms so I could resume my studies here without any problems."

"Only a completionist weirdo like you would come back right on time for more exams."

"At least, I show up—"

"Do you guys have to do this right now?" Aoko intervened. "Is there something Kaito wants from Aoko?" she said with a pout.

Kaito had stopped thinking of teasing her as anything other than adorable. Is this what people call cute aggression?

Getting his thought process back in order, he flashed her an innocent smile. "Oh, there has been a debate in the KID forums whether Kudou Shinichi, who stepped into the mantle of the Kid Killer, has decided to give up the chase. So, I thought that if anyone would know something about it would be you guys."

"I have heard," Hakuba said, "that he might be having some health-related complications. He was away in a case for a year or so."

"Actually, Ran-chan contacted Aoko for a favor but Aoko doesn't know if that's relevant. Ran-chan wanted to know if one of the officers of Division One could talk with Dad about something important. That was a while ago. Then, Aoko met Kudou-kun the other day. She thought Dad had called Kaito again for help and went to greet him. He seemed polite, at first, but his face turned scary when I told him my name."

She was rambling, but Kaito managed to narrow down the key information and sighed.

It seemed like Aoko had unknowingly helped whoever cooked up this scheme to sideline the Great Detective. Of course, the person in question had figured it out already too. He was unfortunately known for holding grudges, so it was of no surprise he had reacted like that.

"Well, detectives tend to have a stick deep up their—" Students entering the classroom cut his sentence short. Otherwise, Hakuba already seemed like he wanted to say something about it. "Anyway. Let it be known that there is no one more approachable than me. You should consider yourselves lucky to have me in your life. I'll tell you that," Kaito said with an awkward laugh.

Aoko rolled her eyes, exasperated with his antics. For a moment, nothing seemed to have changed, finding themselves back to squabbling over his pranks and other likewise petty things.

The bell ringing pulled him back to reality. "Alright. Thanks for the info. It was most enlightening. Gotta go now before the teacher scolds me again."

Aoko wished him goodbye as usual. But Kaito didn't miss how Hakuba put a stray lock of her hair behind her ear or his soft expression when he did it.

On the other hand, Akako was waiting for Kaito in front of their classroom with cryptic words about the 'Demon of Light' fading and how she could help him ask for help on the matter from her summons. For the right price, of course.

"Why take the offer of the middle woman, when I can cut to the chase and have a deal with the devil himself?" Kaito sneered.

"That's fine by me." Akako brushed her hair over her shoulder while she passed by him to enter the classroom. "Eventually, you will have to pay a price to keep him here. I can only hope you will be as confident then as you are now."

In the end, since the Great Detective was still present at his heists, Kaito decided to disguise himself as him and gauge how the KID Task Force officers acted around him.

"It is unusual to see you without your babysitter around," said one of the older members of the squad.

Babysitter?

Kaito didn't let his confusion show on his face. Instead, he smiled politely. "Oh, that guy? He had to make a quick stop for a smoke back there. I went ahead so I wouldn't miss anything important. Is that a problem?"

The officers shared a look between them. "Not so much for us," another one said. "Just take it easy. We don't want you distracting us with any of your 'coughing spells' or the Inspector will have our hides."

Coughing spells? Kaito wondered.

Outwardly, he reassured them everything would be fine.

Right about then, a commotion in the entrance drew the officers' attention away from Kaito. The real Great Detective had arrived at the scene. True to their words, a rookie was accompanying him while he argued with Inspector Nakamori at the gate.

Kaito used that chaos to slip away at the back of this makeshift cathedral, serving as both a movie set and the backdrop to his heist. His eyes met with the Great Detective's stormy ones from across the hall though.

He seemed surprised.

Later, during the heist, Kaito had the opportunity to see what the officers were talking about when in a heated moment, the Great Detective coughed up blood all of a sudden. He continued participating, going as far as to corner Kaito.

Leaving him without any access to the floor exits, Kaito had perched on the chandelier in the middle of the room.

The Great Detective tried to shout his provocation like usual. His voice gave out though, so he ended up borrowing the movie director's megaphone. "I only need to issue an order, and the hardworking officers here will cut off the chains supporting it. But the damages will be assigned to your debt with the government. Is that acceptable?"

"That's tempting," Kaito said with a laugh. "Alas, I have already fulfilled my objective here." He set off the smoke bombs he had hidden in the chandelier. "Until next time."

Under the cover of white smoke and confetti, he listened to the KID Task Force scrambling to find his escape route while he remained rooted on the spot. This had been more of a reconnaissance mission than a proper heist, so he had kept things simple. All he had to do was wait for the police to clear the floor and he could simply walk out there.

Unless the Great Detective wants to play the game properly this time.

Something broke through the smoke, whistling a couple of centimeters past Kaito's shoulder. Of course, it was a soccer ball. But it hadn't been kicked strong enough to break through the ceiling. So, it bounced back, striking the chandelier. The impact made the huge metal contraption rattle like a broken glass tower as it started swinging back and forth in the air.

"Planning to make me go broke?" Kaito shouted over the noise, clinging to the supporting chain in the middle.

Shinichi was donning a familiarly amused smile, even if his teeth were stained at the corners. "You were warned."

"I am afraid I will have to disappoint you then!"

Slotting his feet between some of the welded flowers for better footing, Kaito shot his grappling hook at the ceiling, On the wall to the left was the stained-glass window he had replaced with a fake one a couple of days ago. Under the collective cries of those still present from the KID Task Force, Kaito used the energy of the chandelier's oscillation to jump and break through the window.

Pieces of the shattered sugar glass spread all over his pants. They sparkled, reflecting the light from the police's spotlights stationed in a perimeter outside. Right on time, his glider opened and the belts dug roughly into his body as the wind pulled him upward.

Beats splatting unceremoniously on the pavement. That's for sure, he thought with a relieved sigh.

From his bird's eye view, the officers were like ants scurrying to their cars. But the air stream his glider was riding on, led him away from the scene faster than they could begin the pursuit. In front of him, the cityscape unraveled with its blinding neon lights; its twisting streets and train tracks were equally mesmerizing in this canvas of the night. The full moon peeked from behind the nearest skyscraper, her natural light muted in contrast to the city's artificial one.

Kaito pulled up tonight's target. Shining an iridescent blue, the triangle-shaped Labradorite simply displayed its crisscrossing pattern against the moonlight. Another dud that wasn't housing Pandora. Not that he had any hopes about this specific jewel, but he still felt the pinch of disappointment in his chest.

At least, I faced off against the Great Detective this time. Somehow, even though he's big now, he's still the same little brat inside. Kaito huffed exasperatedly. But coughing blood… His eyebrows knitted together with worry. There is only one person left who can give me the answers that I need. I should go tonight since there won't be any scary neighbors keeping watch.

And with that thought, Kaito set course for Beika.

Someone was inside Shiho's room.

The professor trying to sneak a midnight snack had gotten her out of bed at this hour. By the time she had dealt with that and a quick bathroom break, Shiho had returned to find her bedroom door slightly ajar. As all hopes of peacefully going back to sleep were tossed into the trash, she stood petrified in the hallway.

Ba-dum.

Her heartbeat was hammering in her chest. Shiho thought it was so loud that even the intruder could hear it. They didn't seem to have noticed her though.

Ba-dum.

If it wasn't for the flashlight casting shadows from the crack under the door, Shiho wouldn't believe there was indeed someone inside. Their footsteps were as silent as a cat's. Their presence so completely erased, her 'bad guys' radar wasn't responding.

Ba-dum.

Shiho took a step forward, dread and anxiety twisting unpleasantly in her gut. Her socked feet couldn't possibly make a sound on the tiled floor. She still tiptoed to reach her room. Pursing her lips, she grabbed the handle and pushed the door wide open.

The noise it made when hitting the opposite wall was nothing compared to the intruder's screech that followed.

"What the heck!?" The voice of a young man came out of the shadow of a person in front of her.

Dumbfounded, Shiho could only stare as she turned on the lights.

The illumination revealed that the intruder was indeed a young, possibly male, person slouching against her cabinet. They were wearing a gray turtleneck with a casual winter jacket on top of it and a pair of dark jeans. They weren't designer clothes for sure, but still decent enough to be considered fashionable. An inconspicuous baseball hat, trying to hide the intruder's wild semi-curly hair, completed the outfit. All these details together reminded Shiho of either Hattori Heiji or Sera Masumi. But this person had their hat pulled so low, it was hard to distinguish their face.

"Who are you?" Shiho demanded to know.

Like a switch flipped, the intruder straightened their posture and a bright presence filled the room. Placing a hand over their heart, they bowed. "I apologize if I startled you, Little Miss. I don't believe we have been properly introduced to each other, but you have met me before."

Shiho had definitely heard this voice before. It didn't leave her any less unimpressed.

"Wow. An in-person visit from the great Phantom Thief KID. I'm so excited." Her tone was flat, sarcasm dripping from every word. Pulling back her pajama sleeve revealed the same watch Conan used to wear. She uncapped the cover and pointed it at him. "Shall I tranquilize you and hand you over to the local authorities, or will you explain yourself properly?"

"We don't have to be hasty about it." KID raised his gloved hands in surrender. "Of course, you deserve an explanation which I'm obviously more than willing to give. But I'd like to receive one in return as well."

"You must have misheard me. This isn't a negotiation." She aimed the watch right at the visible patch of skin on his neck. "It's an order."

"Wait, hear me out for a moment! I wouldn't have dared to enter a lady's quarters this late without proper cause." Backtracking, KID slammed his waist on the cabinet. He winched. The pain didn't discourage him from blabbering, though. "My request is tightly linked with the reason for my little midnight escapade to your house. I promise it's nothing weird! So, please!"

Shiho studied him silently. Then, she directed her gaze to the cabinet he was rummaging before she found him. It was the one holding the medical files of her patients. They were few, mainly from the people she had come to call friends—even family—along with a couple from the police officers in their circle. Shiho could guess which ones might have caught his eye, but she was still a medical professional.

"Is there a specific emergency you'd like an under-the-table treatment for?" she asked.

"Ah, no. This is more of a…" KID's gloved fingers carded through the files and pulled out the thickest of the bunch. He handed it to Shiho with a flick of his wrist. "Personal curiosity."

She didn't need to read her neat handwriting on the label to know whose it was. "The news reached you too, then?"

"I am afraid there are some gaps in my knowledge of the situation," he said. "That's why I would appreciate it if you filled me in the details."

Shiho told him about the antidote attacking Kudou-kun's organs, especially his lungs. That's why he was suffering from symptoms akin to acute pneumonia. KID listened patiently to her report, without interrupting or expressing his thoughts. For someone else, his lack of reaction would have made them refuse to elaborate further than necessary. For Shiho, it was a blessing. She didn't have to mince her words, the same way she didn't when breaking the news to Kudou-kun's parents.

"I've been trying to halt the speed at which this is happening. Give him more time, but…" Much like a teddy bear that could stave off the monsters under the bed, Shiho hugged tightly the file against her chest. "There is nothing more that modern or traditional medicine can do for him."

KID took a sharp breath. His whole body tensed, fists clenched by his side. He stood there, like a statue for a couple of heartbeats, until he let go all at once with a deep sigh.

"We haven't tried magic yet," he said.

"What a novel idea." Shiho huffed. "It would make my life so much easier if all my mistakes could be solved with the wave of a wand." Grief coiled around her heart like barbed wire. "But I can't hope for such a miracle! I was already granted one with the Organization's defeat. Now the person responsible for it is dying by my hand, and I can't do anything that matters."

A daisy appeared before her eyes.

"Little Miss." KID had closed the distance between them, sitting on his heels in front of her. "A Magician's job is to make miracles come true," he said. His voice carried the finality of a promise with dire consequences. "I will save the Great Detective's life, even if it's the last thing I ever do."

In the week following KID's last heist, Shinichi had done everything in his power to forget about it. He drowned himself in the notes and clues he had gathered for the remaining stranglers of the Black Organization—which had trickled down next to nothing now that he was allowed in the MPD's Archives only under strict supervision. He studied a little for his extra classes in Teitan too—graduating normally seemed more possible lately.

But no matter if he was doing something as mundane as rearranging his bookshelf or attending his compulsory checkups with Haibara, Shinichi still couldn't stop replaying the same memory in his mind.

KID disguised as himself, looking over his shoulder with a forlorn expression.

Ignoring how uncanny it had been to see his own face having such an unfamiliar countenance, Shinichi couldn't understand the reason behind this disguise in the first place. The movie set hadn't been so exclusive that the thief would have had a hard time sneaking in. He had already done it anyway—if the replaced stained glass window he broke through hadn't been any indication.

So why? Shinichi pondered.

"Did something happen?" Ran asked breaking him away from his reverie.

Shinichi took a moment to adjust back to the present. Friday. Cafe. Ran.

It was a nice cafe really, homey and peaceful—reminded him of Poirot a little. Shinichi could tell the choice had been intentional. Ran, if anything, was predictable. Her emotions guided her decisions in everything except for the monthly budget for groceries. The frugal experience of someone growing up with their single parent's unreliable income.

And yet…

"Why do we keep doing this, Ran?" Shinichi asked.

She tilted her head to the side, biting softly the top of the straw. "What?"

"This." Shinichi pointed between them. "Meeting every single week to sit in a cafe for a couple of hours while you try to make small talk. I know that isn't something you can afford. Did you start a part-time job somewhere just for it? Or are you mooching off Sonoko by passing it as attempts for us to get back together?" Shinichi sneered. "I thought you had made it pretty clear, when we broke up all those months ago, that you wanted nothing more to do with me."

Closing her eyes with an annoyed slant to her eyebrows, Ran put down her glass. "I don't want us to fight over this again," she said with a sigh. "But yes, I took a part-time job at the super. For my college tuition, not this. I would have told you if you just asked, Shinichi. Do you think I like sitting in this suffocating silence while you brood in your corner?"

"No one is forcing you," Shinichi snarked back. "You just appeared one day in my house and forced this on me."

Ran gasped. "How could you say that? Do you like rotting inside that house so much? Fine! Since you can't be bothered to go outside unless it's for a case, why did you stop inviting people over? When was the last time you even talked to Hattori-kun?"

Shinichi remembered exactly when—even though he wanted to forget that moment altogether. "It doesn't matter."

"How can it not matter? He's your best friend! How could you be so cruel to him?"

"It's for his own good. I can't let him get involved again. He almost died back there, Ran." Shinichi slammed his fist on the table, making the cups clink and clatter. It reminded him of an abandoned warehouse, broken glass crunching under his too-small feet, and there in a corner, Hattori barely breathing from a sword slash on his thigh. "He's too reckless and self-sacrificing for this investigation. If by making him hate me, he'll stay in Osaka and away from me, I'll take that chance in a heartbeat."

"It's not just him though," Ran countered. "You're pushing everyone away!"

"So I can fade away quietly," Shinichi said flatly.

Biting her lower lip, Ran averted her gaze. "Do you think it will make this hurt any less?"

"I don't see what's the point of all this."

"The point? I forgot everything needs to have a point with you," she said with a scoff. "The point is, Shinichi, that you mean something to other people. And always running off somewhere, chasing criminals and crooks? Are those the only memories you want these people to have of you after—" Ran's voice cracked, desperation slipping in. Clenching her teeth, she composed herself enough to finish her sentence. "After you're gone ?"

Shinichi let out a dry chuckle. "Wouldn't that make it easier for you though?"

Ran's eyes widened. "What?"

"To forget me."

"Shinichi, what are you saying? Why would I ever want to forget you?"

"Let's start from the top, shall we?" he said in a deriding tone. "I've lied to you, repeatedly, for an entire year. During that time, I also manipulated your father to further my goals. I put you both, and everyone we know, in danger. Willingly, on several occasions."

Ran made a sound like she wanted to interrupt him, but Shinichi cut her off.

"Lastly, in all the years we've known each other, have I kept any of my promises to you? No. I'm pretty sure I've broken every single one by always running off somewhere to chase all those crooks and criminals you mentioned. Frankly, I don't understand why you still want me in your life after I hurt you this badly." He gestured at her as a whole. "Don't you respect yourself, Ran?"

"How can you say that?" Rising from her seat, she clenched her fists. "I came back to remind you that you don't have to burn yourself to the ground. That you still have a life outside your fight. I cared about you enough to do that."

Shinichi took everything in. The trembling of her body. The unshed tears that glistened in her eyes. Her harsh breathing. This was like déjà vu from the day of their breakup.

"That was your first mistake," he said. "The second was that you thought I was someone worthy of all that."

The water hit him square in the face before he could register her hand moving to grab the glass.

"You…" Ran was crying again. "Jerk! " She shouted, before storming off.

Shinichi stared at the table, unmoving. Water dripped silently down his bangs and onto the plastic wood like raindrops. I hope she stays away this time. He let out a heavy sigh. I can't do this anymore.

"Um, esteemed customer, sir?" Someone said meekly from his left. It was the waiter who had served them, at least Shinichi thought he was the one. Besides his short black cropped hair and the cafe's uniform, his face had been kind of forgettable.

"Ah, the bill right? I'll pay it." Shinichi tried to pull out his wallet.

The waiter stopped him. "The lady already paid for it when she left." Leaning closer, he told him it'd make a bad impression on the rest of the customers if the establishment allowed him to leave drenched like that. So, it was offering him to rest in their backroom until his clothes dried.

Weighting his options, Shinichi accepted. He was too mentally exhausted to bother with any more social interactions if he could help it.

Under the curious gaze of the handful of customers left and some major stinky eye from the manager, the waiter led Shinichi to the promised quiet place. It was barely something above a dressing room for the staff with two wooden benches on the opposite walls and a set of lockers at the back. Since most of the damage was on the jacket of his uniform and shirt, the waiter gave Shinichi a change of clothes only for those and a towel to dry his hair. He left him alone to change. After struggling to peel them off his body, Shinichi put the folded clothes in the corner closest to the door and collapsed on the bench to the left.

"What a mess," he said to the emptiness of the room.

Drying off his hair as best as he could, he left the towel on his head to rest his eyes for a bit.

Unwittingly, Shinichi ended up falling asleep.

When he woke up, the first thing that entered his line of sight was a pair of beaten-up sneakers with worn-out laces. Those were that waiter's shoes, but as Shinichi's gaze traveled up, he realized that the person sitting cross-legged on the bench across from him was wearing skinny jeans instead of the standard issued waiter's uniform of this joint. If anything, the skinny jeans served to accentuate the other's long and lean legs which Shinichi definitely remembered very clearly for those legs were always jumping and running away from him. Completing the rest of the outfit was an unremarkable dark hoodie. A lowered baseball cap obscured the other's facial features, but there was no way to mistake that insufferable grin.

"Did you enjoy your nap, oh esteemed customer?" KID asked with his usual saccharine tone.

Shinichi pulled the towel, letting it drop in his lap. "Why are you here, KID?"

"I simply wished to check on you," the thief said with a shrug. "Is that so surprising?"

"You already did." Shinichi huffed. "Before your last heist, or is this some ephemeral whim of yours?"

"Do you view our relationship as so superficial?" KID placed a hand over his heart. "You wound me, Great Detective."

"Join the line."

"I've been there already and it's just so long. You keep provoking your loved ones like it's a sport. I preferred some exclusivity."

Shinichi narrowed his eyes. "Is this why went through all this trouble today?"

"You think I'm the mastermind behind this sorry spectacle you starred at earlier? Give me a break." KID waved his hand dismissively. "I will admit. I had several plans revolving around a similar scenario, mostly through accidentally spilling your order or the water refill. But getting Miss Mouri angry enough to do it herself was all you, Great Detective."

"If she had truly wanted to unleash her frustration on me, Ran wouldn't have hesitated to split the table in half and dropkick me. Send me to the hospital even. This move was very unlike her." Shinichi stared at KID. "I'm sure you gave her some sort of signal to get back on track with your plan."

KID scoffed. "Why would Miss Mouri be in cahoots with me? I'm a criminal, remember? I would have landed in the hospital way ahead of you, had I crossed paths with her again." Crossing his arms, he leaned forward on the bench. "Why do you think everyone is conspiring behind your back?"

"Because some of them already did," Shinichi said. "What's adding on more person—" The familiar coughing fit reared its ugly head right about then. Bitter blood filled his mouth as he tried to keep it from spilling all over the borrowed shirt.

"Here." He heard KID say, as a brown paper cup entered his line of sight. "I assure you this isn't drugged. Just plain old water for that jug there."

Some complicated feeling spread in Shinichi's chest, separate from the wheezing sensation of trying to puke his lungs out. He hadn't been allowed to play the game for so long that his patience had grown thin, it seemed.

"I'm dying."

Nothing changed in KID's demeanor. Not a twitch on his shoulders. His fingers held the cup steadily enough that the water inside didn't even ripple.

This complete lack of reaction pointed toward a single conclusion.

"Of course, you already knew that." Shinichi scoffed, accepting the offered cup. "Why all this fanfare to meet me then? You could have sent a bouquet to my hospital bed and be done with it. Wait, I got a better idea. You could have turned yourself in and spared me the hassle of chasing you around. There are other cases I need to focus on right now."

Despite the scornful words, KID smiled. "Attending my heists has always been optional." His smile grew cheekier as he added. "And technically, for the past several months, you're not the one doing the actual chasing, Great Detective."

"Details," Shinichi mumbled. His face felt warm, definitely from another fever wave passing through. "So, that's it? Me sitting on the sidelines bruised your ego and you had to come complain in person? Was it more important than tracking your next target?"

"Yes," KID said. "Because I only ever had one target and that's Pandora."

Surprised, Shinichi spit the water back into the cup. "What? "

"That's hardly a dignified response." Picking up the discarded towel, KID tried to wipe what excess had dribbled down. "It's not as cute when you do it now."

Shinichi slapped his hand away. "I'm not Conan anymore. Don't treat me like a kid."

"I don't believe I've ever treated you as a literal child. But it seems I will have to reconsider my attitude. Your current tantrums are worse even than those you were faking as Conan," KID said with a shrug, and returned to his side of the room.

"T-tantrums?" Pain stabbed sharply the side of his head. Shinichi sighed. He didn't want to deal with his blood pressure exponentially rising on top of everything else. "Okay. You know what? I've listened to enough of your bullshit already. If you don't have anything meaningful to say—"

"Aren't you curious about it?" Leaning against the back of the bench, KID perched his chin against the knuckles of his hand. "Even a tiny bit?"

Two paths were spreading ahead of Shinichi. Either he had to dismiss KID's words, sending him on his merry way to bother society at large instead of just him, or he could wait to receive an answer to any of the many questions he had asked so far. The opportunity to gather clues was tantalizing. The goal of these jewel thefts had troubled police and freelance detectives for the better part of two decades. And here was the Phantom Thief himself offering some insight.

This is huge, Shinichi thought, his mind racing. But why me?

"I don't want scraps out of pity," he said. "Didn't you say there are some mysteries better left unsolved? Why are you handing me the answer so…willingly?"

The inconspicuous baseball cap concealed most of KID's features, as usual. For a moment though, only for a moment, Shinichi thought he could make out one of his eyes. It was shining brightly with determination, but the color was as dark blue as the depths of the ocean.

"I don't mind giving up part of the mystery if it means we will continue our little chase."

Our… When KID stressed this word, his voice dipped so low. Shivers run their course down Shinichi's spine. Is what we are doing so meaningful to you?

Before he could put his thoughts in order, voices from outside cut through their bubble. The other employees might have noticed this odd situation and were trying to open the door.

KID stepped on the bench and pulled aside the grid leading to the vents on the ceiling. "It seems we will have to stop here. What a shame, I thought you'd be faster in your responses. Being a Great Detective and all," he said with a wink. "Well, you know where to find me, if you feel like continuing our little talk. Don't be such a stranger."

The cheek of this guy…

Shinichi scoffed. "Did you miss me that badly? As far as I'm concerned, I'm more convenient at the moment because you can escape whenever you want. I can't even kick a soccer ball at your stupid face properly."

"Great Detective." KID had a small smile on his face. It wasn't like his regular arrogant or joyful ones. It seemed…sad. "Is it such an unfathomable thing to be loved simply for who you are?"

These words pierced Shinichi's chest with the same pain that changing into Conan had caused. "What's that supposed to mean?" he mumbled.

But his meek question didn't receive a reply right then.

The door swung open violently. Three or four restaurant employees rushed inside, but from the force of their entrance, they ended up in a heap. KID used the confusion to make his escape in the vents, leaving Shinichi to give some plausible explanation to the agitated personnel. He spun a tale of accidentally falling asleep due to exhaustion, and how the kind employee who brought him here probably locked the door when returning to his duties so no one would bother him. The manager wasn't impressed, considering she already knew what had transpired before with Ran. Shinichi eventually managed to placate her enough to get back the pieces of his uniform that had been left to dry.

After being left alone to change into his clothes, Shinichi mulled over how easily these empty lies came to him. No emotional baggage to deal with. No one catching onto the deception. In his time as Conan lies had become as easy as breathing unless someone he cared about was involved.

How's that any different from what KID does? he thought while buttoning his jacket. As he picked up the water cup to throw it away, the blotches of blood caught his gaze. Was anything he said true? Love…No way. That's ridiculous. He talks a big game all the time. It's probably another misdirection.

But if it's not? a traitorous part of his brain argued. What then?

Shinichi dumped the cup's contents into the sink. Nothing. I don't have much time left. I have to bring what's left of the Black Organization to justice. Unraveling into ribbons against the white marble, the blood entered the drain along with the water. My duty comes first.

A/N: Hello and welcome to the fic that just didn't want to end (affectionately). Now, jokes aside, this is my contribution to this year's KaiShin Reverse Big Bang with the theme of AU!

First of all, I'd like to thank my wonderful artist Lina (Chatlote on tumblr) whose Pandora AU idea and beautiful art (which is the fic's cover image) inspired this 20k+ behemoth of a fic. I can only hope I managed to convey the same feelings in the text as the ones I got every time I looked at their art piece for inspiration. T^T

Shout-out to everyone on the event's server for their insightful suggestions when I was struggling with different aspects of this fic. Also, let's not forget our amazing mod, mac, who made this event possible and keeps bringing this corner of the fandom together!

Last but not least, a big thank you to my irl friends for listening to me crying about this fic for months. I hope you like what all this whining amounted to lmao!

Enjoy~