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It was not stalking.
Kaito was just following Tantei-kun home to find out where he lived in order to ask for help! Not to hurt the kid or kidnap him or anything! Just to ask for help.
It didn't make Kaito feel any better about himself.
It also didn't help that the boy seemed to have a sixth sense for when people were watching and/or following him. Kaito had had to duck into alleys and shops with only seconds to spare from those sharp eyes, only to come out to find the boy and his sister gone. It had been three days so far, but Kaito was getting weary of this kind of tracking.
Finally, on the fourth day, the family disappeared into a small apartment/shop combo with Mouri Detective Agency written across its windows.
It’s too late to ask tonight, Kaito decided as he turned to leave. Tantei-kun will have a curfew, so I’ll call on him tomorrow.
@ @ @ @ @
The next day, Kaito did recon. He wasn't sure when the best time to approach Tantei-kun would be, so he decided to follow him around and get to know his schedule. As far as Kaito knew, people’s schedules didn't change in the loop unless he interrupted their pattern.
So Kaito watched through the windows of the Mouri home as Tantei-kun helped his sister clean up around the house. The kid tried to sneak out multiple times, only to be caught by the girl. Finally, at 10:30, he was allowed out of the apartment.
From there, the boy wandered from the fifth block to 22 Beika block Second Street and up to a fairly large home with rows of Windows to make it look more modern than the surrounding houses. A young girl met him at the door and the two disappeared inside. They stayed there until dinner time rolled around and the boy left in a light jog back to the Mouri residence.
After a quick dinner, the boy and his sister left the apartment to meet up with another girl. Kaito recognized Suzuki Sonoko, niece of Suzuki Jirokichi, a common challenger to KID.
There, the trio went to his heist and the rest, Kaito knew.
@ @ @ @ @
The listening devices were just more recon, not stalking.
* * * * *
“Okay, Conan, you can go play now “
“Thank you, Ran-nee-chan!”
Kaito winced at the childish pitch and slamming door. That didn't… sound like his Tantei-kun.
Maybe different settings made the person and all that?
Roughly twenty minutes later, there was a knocking sound from the other device and the door being opened.
“Kudou-kun,” A new voice greeted. She sounded cold, but welcoming –a strange contradiction that left Kaito unsettled.
“Haibara,” Tantei-kun returned, his voice sounding more like what KID remembered it being.
“Oh! Shinichi-kun!” An elderly voice called from further inside. “Come on in! I’ll make coffee.”
Coffee? For a kid?
And Kudou-kun? Shinichi-kun? That didn’t… sound like the name the kid had introduced himself under. Or the one his sister used. How many names did Tantei-kun have?
“Did you see the listening devices?” The girl asked, voice steely.
Shit. Kaito thought.
“Yeah. Here and with Ran,” Tantei-kun said, equally harsh, “and I felt someone watching me all morning. They followed me here.”
Double shit. From Kaito’s spot, he could see that Tantei-kun was still standing in the doorway. A quick check through his binoculars showed those far too intelligent eyes staring straight at him. Kaito couldn’t help but feel those flight instincts act up.
The girl behind Tantei-kun froze up. Eyes going wide as she searched in the direction that the boy was looking. She obviously found nothing when she relaxed and glared at him. “It’s not them, is it?”
Tantei-kun made a noise of agreement, “whoever it is, they aren't malevolent, but I wouldn't say they’re on our side either. If they were, there would be no need for listening devices or tailing.”
Well, that was a very pointed statement. Kaito grumbled and bit the inside of his cheek.
“Would you like to come in, then, Edogawa-kun?” The girl said, far louder than their previous whispers. They must have underestimated the range of Kaito’s modified devices.
“Yeah!” Tantei-kun said, overly childish again. From his spot, Kaito watch the boy skip inside. The girl trailed in after him and reached for the door. Kaito shifted his binoculars to search for Tantei-kun through the windows. The boy was fairly easy to spot as he scrambled onto a couch chair positioned around a table.
An older man came in with three steaming cups of coffee. “Oi, Shini-er, Conan-kun.”
The correction was quick, if not smooth. Obviously the boy had signaled him somehow to use his other name, but it did allow Kaito to pair up the first and last names.
Edogawa Conan… Kudou Shinichi… just who are you? Kaito wondered as he watched.
“Where’s Ai-kun?” The man asked as he placed two mugs on the table.
Tantei-kun made an indiscernible sound, “she was following.”
“I’m here,” The girl answered, coming in with a group of flowers in her hands. They contrasted heavily with her gloomy complexion. “I found some flowers.”
“O-oh?” The elderly man looked completely confused. “Do you want me to get a vase for them?”
“Mm!” The girl handed off the flowers to the bemused man who then turned to find an acceptable vase.
“Are you going to make them into a crown?” Tantei-kun asked, his childish voice grating on Kaito’s nerves. Why couldn’t he just talk like he did when he faced down Kaito?
“No,” The girl answered, “Ayumi-chan is better at that than I am. I just wanted to make Professor Agasa’s house prettier.”
“Really?”
“Mm.”
“How is this for a vase, Ai-kun?” The older man asked. The glass in his hands was more like a cup than vase, but the guy couldn't be faulted for that.
“Looks great, Professor!” and now the girl was doing the overly cheerful childish voice. Her expression even changed to something far more cheery than her previous gloom. What was up with these kids?
“Hmm?” the elder man leaned over the table to place the glass, then remained to look at something the girl had in her hands. “What do you have there?”
“A bug!” she said happily.
“A bug?” the elderly man sounded just as confused as Kaito felt. What girl was excited about a bug? Kaito knew there were a few, but this girl hadn't looked like it when she's opened the door.
“Un!” Tantei-kun was the one to answer this time. “Ai-chan found it with her flowers!”
“Did she?” the older man grumbled, still off put. Kaito strained his binoculars, trying to see into the windows enough to figure out what in the world was going on.
“Yes,” the girl said, her hands fiddling in the table –likely playing with the bug, “It was hiding.”
“Did you fix it?” Tantei-kun asked excitedly. He stood up in his chair, hands balancing on the table in front of him.
“Shin- Conan-kun!” The older man stuttered, reaching towards the child.
Wait, fix it? Kaito frowned, why would she need to fix a bu-!
A bug. Hiding in the flowers. Which were the exact shade of flowers Kaito had hid his listening device in that morning.
Shit!
“Yes. I inverted the tracking. You should be able to find it on your glasses.”
Kaito should have realized their voices were coming in too well! His modifications helped with the range, but he didn't put any inside the house!
“I see him, two streets over,” Tantei-kun said, voice deadly serious. He stood facing Kaito, hand on his glasses. One side of them was backlit blue, showing a red blinking light that was centered around Tantei-kun’s eye.
The girl next to him pointed, “there! The open window of Nakoumi-san’s house.”
Kaito reared back in shock. How did they know he was here?! He was two streets away!
“Got it.” Tantei-kun dropped to a crouch on the back of the sofa. His shoe sparked as a soccer ball expanded in front of him.
Kaito needed to leave.
Now.
Scrambling up from where he lay on his stomach, Kaito had a split second of hesitation of gathering up his equipment or leaving it. The criminal in him said to leave no evidence behind, but he knew that he’d wake up the next day and everything would be like he's never been there.
“Sorry about the window, Agasa.”
His debate was cut short as a soccer ball flew through air and slammed into his head. The world faded to black.
@ @ @ @ @
So. Either Tantei-kun kicked with enough force to kill a man… or the world would reset anytime Kaito fell unconscious.
@ @ @ @ @
Kaito should not be relieved that the world reset whenever he took a nap. It was just another thing this curse took from him. He should not be relieved.
He was anyway.
* * * * *
Kaito typed the name 'Kudou Shinichi’ into the Google search bar. What came up astounded Kaito. Page after page, article after article –this guy was famous! He's solved hundreds of cases for the TPD Homicide Unit. He was actually a certified consultant at the age of sixteen!
He abruptly disappeared two years ago.
There were several articles about his disappearance, stating that he’d run into the worst kind of criminal and hasn't been seen since. Some said he decided to follow his parents in their travels, but the larger consensus was that the attention-seeking, adrenaline junkie teen detective had met his unlucky end.
Most pictures were of him bent over bodies, crouched down with gloves on his hands, or standing in a crowd of people, arm extended towards the culprit. There was one, though that had Kaito pausing.
Kudou stood at the edge of a crime scene next to a man in a brown hat and overcoat (Inspector Megure, the caption said). By the way their bodies were angled, Kaito assumed that the inspector was discussing something with Kudou, but the teen detective wasn't paying attention. Instead, Kudou stared at the photographer, hands in his pocket and cocky smirk on his lips, as if he had everything figured out and was just waiting for the culprit to realize it.
Kaito knew that smirk. But no… it couldn't be…
Opening a new tab, he typed in the name “Edogawa Conan” and waited for the results. There were far less pages and articles and even less that matched Tantei-kun. A few showed him with the detective boys, Shounen Tantei, holding up certificates from the mayor and head of police for helping with such-and-such case. The boy appeared in two yearbook photos at his elementary, but other than that, there was nothing.
A stark difference to Kudou Shinichi.
What's more, these photos only reached back two years. Now, it's not uncommon for young children and Kaito is kind of shocked that the Detective Boys managed to get in the paper as much as they had, but something else struck him as strange.
There is a day set aside in the community where children are sent in their first task by themselves. It's often for young children, younger than Tantei-kun for sure, but they always get their names at least mentioned in the paper. Kaito found the rest of the Detective Boys, but not Edogawa –at least, not in Beika. Other cities were an option, but Kaito didn't find him listed in any of those papers either. Though he should be in the same relative year as the rest of his friends…
Growing suspicious, Kaito searched the online public archives… but, yes, Edogawa Conan had a birth certificate, signed by his parents and dated eight years prior.
So, despite how much they had in common, Edogawa and Kudou must be different people.
But then, why did that girl call him by that name? Why 'Kudou-kun’?
There was something darker going on here. The only thing Kaito could do was confront Tantei-kun and watch his reaction.
@ @ @ @ @
His first reaction was the sleeping dart.
@ @ @ @ @
As was his second.
@ @ @ @ @
His third was a soccer ball, shockingly enough.
Kaito wanted to note, it was not the soccer ball that killed him. It was the fall afterwards and landing on one of his mini-explosives he’d forgotten was in his pocket.
@ @ @ @ @
It was only after KID had evaded both his sleeping dart and his soccer ball, and stolen Tantei-kun’s ball-ejecting belt (no, KID was not thinking about it, thank you), that Tantei-kun stopped to listen to him.
More like he frozen in terror at the thought of his secret identity being revealed. Kaito had to hand it to him; he did a lot better than just a monocle and top hat.
A shaky smile made its way onto Tantei-kun’s face, “w-what do you mean, Onii-san? I’m not-!”
“Drop the act, Tantei-kun.” KID ordered gently, crossing his arms. “I know you’re Kudou Shinichi.”
The boy’s head turned so fast, Kaito was surprised he didn't get whiplash. Calculating blue eyes scoured the street, but nobody else was around. Kaito had chosen the route to the girl’s house, specifically because he knew there wouldn't be any onlookers.
Last thing he wanted to do was go to jail for supposed pedophilia or possible kidnapping.
When the boy realized the coast was clear, he turned back to KID with ice in his stare. “What do you want?”
“This might sound silly, but…” KID scratched at the hair underneath his hat. “I could really use some help.”
* * * * *
“So you've been cursed by the gem you are supposed to steal tonight and have been stuck in a loop ever since?” The look on Tantei-kun’s face was heavily doubtful, but he couldn't argue with the truth.
“Yes, pretty much sums it up,” KID answered, crossing his legs at the ankle. They had moved their discussion to the girl’s house (actually the older man’s as Kaito found out) and were currently seated on the couch and table set that Kaito had seen through the window days prior.
“Prove it.”
KID sighed. What is with these detective types and proof?!
“How would you like me to prove it, Tantei-kun?”
The boy scowled, “you know my name. Use it.”
Kid blinked, wondering which name the boy was referring to.
“As for proof…” the boy leaned back on the sofa, “shouldn't it be obvious? Whatever you told me last time would work.”
“There is no last time, Kudou-san.” KID said, not missing the way the boy twitched at his own name coming from a stranger's mouth. “This is the first time I’ve come to you with this problem.”
“The first time?” The boy looked curious, “what have you been doing since this first started?”
“Let’s see…” KID tilted his head back in thought, “I wasted sometime in the beginning perfecting my heist plans. When I got bored of that, I tried ending the loop. Turns out, death doesn't work, so I turned to other means.”
“Wait, what do you mean death doesn't work?” Tantei-kun blanched, eyes going wide. “Are you telling me you killed yourself?!”
“Multiple times,” Kaito shrugged nonchalantly. Yes, he could see how someone like Tantei-kun could be very… put off by that fact, but Kaito was still alive, right? That’s what mattered.
“How could you-?! Why would you-?!” Tantei-kun’s words devolved into incredulous sputters.
“Because man was not meant to live in a bubble in time,” the girl said from her place at the top of the stairs, “Man was created to continuously move forward through the eons of time, without looking back to the times before him.”
“H-Haibara,” Tantei-kun looked over, but didn't appear to understand what she was getting at.
“Living the same day over and over again, one can become a little crazed, no?” the girl asked as she stepped forward coming to the arm if the sofa beside Tantei-kun, “Haibara Ai.”
“Kaito KID,” KID replied, “pleasure to meet you.”
“Tell me, what day is it to you?” the girl, Haibara, asked.
“February 13th,” KID answered. The look she gave him told him he was being a smart aleck. “If you’re asking about the rotation, I am on day 64.”
KID didn't think it was possible, but Tantei-kun got whiter still before he seemed to shake himself out of his reverie, “Say we believe you, what did you try after that?”
“I have a friend who is a witch,” KID paused at Tantei-kun’s scoff, but shrugged, “I wouldn’t believe it either if she hadn't tried to kill me on several separate occasions and try to be spell me into loving her on countless more. Anyway, she said one option to break the curse is to have someone take the gem from me.”
“Then why not do it?” Haibara asked.
“Because it would transmit the curse onto that person rather than myself,” KID answered.
“So?” the girl shrugged, “Let one of those detectives you always have chasing after you take it. I’m sure your reputation can withstand a loss if it gets you out of this.”
KID stared at her quietly, mouth pulled down into a vague frown.
“No, he can't,” Tantei-kun cut in. His eyes hardened when KID turned his attention from the girl onto him. “Because placing the curse on someone else would be inadvertently 'hurting’ them, which goes against his code.”
“Got it in one, Kudou-san,” KID applauded with a smile.
“Was there any other method your friend told you about?” Tantei-kun asked.
“Mmm, it didn't work,” KID answered with a relaxed shrug.
“What was it?”
“True love’s kiss!” KID sang brightly. The two children shot him seething looks.
“Now I know you’re making stuff up!” Tantei-kun huffed, throwing himself backwards into the couch back. His tiny body bounced adorably with the force of it.
“It is true, in a sense,” KID tutted, wagging a finger at the boy, “According to my friend, who is a witch mind you, I just had to confess my love and be accepted and the curse would be broken!”
Tantei-kun stiffened to the point where Haibara shot him a funny look. “And? What did you do?”
KID hesitated, mind pulling up events from weeks prior with Aoko’s devastated, betrayed eyes staring at him from across the chasm that had opened between them. Kaito swallowed thickly, “it didn't go too well.”
Tantei-kun didn't say anything, but the look on his face made it obvious he wanted more to the story.
KID pasted on a happy KID grin, making fun of his own lot in life. “Turns out women don't like it when you keep secrets. Who knew?”
“KID…” Tantei-kun’s face did something funny. If Kaito didn't know any better, he’d almost call it understanding or sympathetic, but KID knew that was impossible. After all, a detective could hardly understand the life of a criminal like KID.
“I’m not sure I believe you,” the girl said. She slid off the arm of the couch to stand, actually losing herself some height in the process.
“Oh~?” KID grinned even as he felt his heart sink into his stomach. He leaned forward, resting his chin in his hand, “how would you like me to prove it?”
“GND-406,” the girl stated, drawing her hands behind her back, “repeat this code to me during the next cycle.”
KID immediately committed it to memory, “so if I do, you will help me break this?”
“Ye-!”
“No,” Haibara interrupted Tantei-kun’s affirmative, “I will believe you. If you repeat it, we will be willing to negotiate. Otherwise, you’re on your own.”
This looked like news to Tantei-kun. “O-oi! Haibara!”
“Kaitou KID is an internationally wanted criminal, Kudou-kun,” Haibara turned her back on them as she headed towards the stairs. “I’m not going to promise anything without something in return,” she pause, hand on the rail, to send Kaito a curious look, “KID should know how these transactions go.”
“I very much do,” KID replied with an easy smile. Truth was, he’d never had a 'transaction’ like what she was talking about. Most of his involved hostages and guns, but that was neither here nor there. He knew what she meant.
Pushing himself to his feet, he dusted off his pants (white always collected dirt no matter where he went) and headed towards the door. It was nearing dinner time, so KID knew Tantei-kun was going to follow on his own way out (and probably try to track KID himself).
At the door, KID turned to send his detective a little finger wave. “See you tomorrow, Tantei-kun.”
Then he disappeared into the night.
@ @ @ @ @
Haibara Ai didn't show up in a Google search. She had no photos, no news, nothing.
Her yearbook picture said 'No Show’.
* * * * *
“GND-406,” KID told her the next day. He had gone early to the professor’s house. Tantei-kun wouldn't be there until a little after 10:30, but KID wanted some time to figure out this strange girl.
Her face paled immediately, eyes going wide. The grip she had on the door whitened to bone.
Interesting reaction.
“How do you know that code?” she demanded. Her typical cool exterior broke down, showing her desperation.
Very interesting indeed.
“You told me it,” KID shrugged, “you said if I told you, you’d believe -!”
“You are living in a loop,” she blinked, her grip relaxing the slightest bit. Her shoulders came up defensively. “Why are you coming to me, though?”
“Technically, I’m coming for Tantei-kun,” KID answered, “He just won't be free until after 10:30.”
Haibara stared at him with distrustful eyes.
KID sighed, “Go call him if you want. His sister’s got him cleaning this morning.”
“Sister?” The girl parroted, confusion swimming across her face.
“Yeah, the girl that always brings him along on heists,” KID gestured with a hand. Although, now that he thought about it, if Tantei-kun was really Kudou Shinichi, she wouldn’t be his sister, would she? “Can I come in?”
“I don't know, could I stop you?” the girl raised an eyebrow.
“As if I would force my way into a lady’s home!” KID out a hand to his heart in mock offense, “but I would sincerely hope that such a lady wouldn't leave a poor thief out here all on his lonesome.”
“You aren't helping your case,” Haibara said, the door pressing closer to the latch.
“Of course, if you leave a phantom thief such as myself on the doorstep, surely someone would notice,” he beamed, “I have quite the fan base, you know.”
That made the girl pause, likely thinking of all the cameras that would find and swarm him. She's done a very good job of keeping her face from being seen, so he knew she wouldn't want to lose her advantage.
“Fine,” she said eventually. She pushed the door wider to allow him in. “But don't touch anything. I’m going to call Edogawa-kun.”
“I know he’s Kudou Shinichi. No need to act on my behalf,” KID said as he made himself comfortable at the couch/table set from the previous day. He waited patiently as she disappeared around a corner.
A coin slid from his sleeve as he heard the phone click from its cradle and the dial tones of a call. The coin made a few quick circuits between his fingers, disappearing and reappearing a few times as the girl conversed with Tantei-kun. The girl was fairly straight to the point, getting the details out as quickly as possible before falling silent for a long moment.
As she spoke, the older man, Professor Agasa, came from where Kaito assumed the kitchen was. The man did a double take upon seeing Kaitou KID, Phantom Thief, sitting on his couch.
KID gave him a jaunty wave.
“A… Ai-kun?” Agasa called over his shoulder, never taking his eyes off of KID. “Do we have company I should know about?”
“Kaitou KID has come to Kudou-kun and I for help,” Haibara said as she put down the phone and returned. She ignored the professor’s sputtering about Shinichi-kun’s identity, and continued her explanation, “he appears to be living in a loop. Why he came to Kudou-kun and I for help, though, that remains to be seen.”
“I require a detective’s tough, it seems,” KID replied to the unasked question, “I tried asking a friend of mine, Hakuba Saguru, but he chose to arrest me for being KID instead.”
“And?” Haibara made herself comfortable on the opposing couch. “How did you escape jail?”
“Oh, quite easily,” KID answered, fidgeting with the coin again, “I just had to fall asleep. The loop resets anytime time I fall unconscious.”
“What else have you tried?” Haibara asked, “To get out of the loop.”
“Death,” KID said bluntly, partly to see her reaction. Her face paled the slightest bit, but otherwise, her poker face was steady, “Also, confessing to my childhood sweetheart.”
That’s what got her.
Her face twisted into confusion as she asked, “Why would that be a possibility?”
“One of my friends is a sorceress,” Kaito began, ignoring the dubious looks he received from both the professor and the girl, “she knows the story of the gem that cursed me, the one I will be challenged to steal tonight. She said that was one method to break the curse, if I confessed and was accepted.”
“It didn’t work?” Haibara asked.
“I wasn’t accepted,” KID replied, “my crush… does not approve of KID. At all. If she can’t love all of me, I guess the spell won’t break.”
“… I see,” Haibara said quietly. She leaned back in the couch. “Kudou-kun will not arrive here until 10:30, like you said. If you knew that, why are you here half an hour early?”
“Mainly, I wanted to get a read on you,” KID said, “my researched turned up nothing. If I didn’t know, for a fact, that you are indeed a person, I would have thought you never existed.”
“Good,” she said, and seemed blatantly pleased with that fact. It made Kaito wonder what she was hiding from.
“I also came to discuss the price for Tantei-kun’s help,” KID continued, the coin stilling in his hand and slipping back into his sleeve, “You said the code would get you to believe me, but not to help.”
“Everything has a price in this world,” Haibara noted sagely, “What I want will come before any help we give you. Otherwise, the day will reset for you and Kudou-kun and I will have gained nothing.”
She was quite the businesswoman, “That seems fair.”
“What I want, is the chemical formula for Apotoxin 4869,” she said slowly, eyes sharp. If she was waiting for a reaction from KID, she didn’t get one. “You know Edogawa-kun is Kudou Shinichi.”
“Yes, I discovered it when you two called him a different name than what his nee-chan called him,” KID noted the wince from Agasa. Apparently there have been a lot of slip-ups between them. “A little research nearly dissuaded me, but Tantei-kun’s own reaction to his name sealed the deal.”
“Of course it would be Kudou-kun.” Haibara rubbed at the bridge of her nose. “He can’t lie for shit.”
“I think it’s admirable that a detective doesn’t lie,” KID said, a little more defensively than he’d intended. “Anyway, I confirmed the secret identity, but I wasn’t told how it came to be or how Tantei-kun is… how he is.”
“So sense of self-preservation is your answer,” Haibara said. The bite to her words made it sound like it was a fairly common argument between her and Tantei-kun. “He tried to investigate the Black Organization, the same one I used to be a part of. He was found, poisoned, and left to die, but his DNA fell into the 0.000001% that were shrunk instead.”
Her hands started to twist the bottom of her skirt, but she stopped herself and smoothed out the wrinkles. “That poison is called Apotoxin 4869 –the one I worked on and improved and the same one I took to escape the Organization when they killed the only family I had left.”
KID kept quiet as Haibara seemed to gather herself.
“I tell you this so you know what you’re getting into,” Haibara said quietly, “The Black Organization are ruthless killers. Even now, they are looking for me, searching me out to kill me and take my secrets to the grave. If you wish for my help, you will need to find their current hideout, break in and steal the formula for Apotoxin 4869.”
Dark brown eyes shot him a challenging look, “For a Phantom Thief such as yourself, this should be no problem, right?”
KID didn’t answer immediately. Sure, he was always up for a challenge, especially since he had the world’s greatest RESET button. He had no doubt, given enough time and enough tries, he’d find the hideout, sneak in, get the info and get out. With his eidetic memory, it was all the easier since he wouldn’t have to man-handle any hard copies out.
The problem lie with what Haibara wanted the poison for.
“If I do this,” KID started, “because I know I can, but if I do this, what will you do with the formula?”
“I plan to make an antidote,” Haibara said without pause, as if she knew he would ask. “Right now, I have temporary antidotes, ones that will age us up for a few hours, possibly a day, but our bodies quickly become immune to the effects. If I had the original formula, I could create a more pointed antidote and possibly bring our older selves back for good.”
“And what do you plan to do once you have your older self back?” KID asked.
Haibara grew quiet. She ran one hand through her hair to tuck a few loose strands behind her ear. “I don’t plan to go back.”
KID frowned, “Then why do you need…?”
“You misunderstand. The antidote is not for me,” Haibara shook her head, “It is for him.”
Tantei-kun, Edogawa Conan, Kudou Shinichi…
“I have nothing to go back to,” Haibara explained, “My parents are dead, my sister murdered, my assets frozen –my old life is null and void. Should I ever return to my original form, I will be hunted to the ends of the earth and killed. As I am, I have the better chance for survival... it is not the same with him.”
Her eyes drifted down to the coffee table between them, “He has something to go back to, someone. He is not one to run and hide when the danger rises. He fights against it, turns the predator into prey. If anyone could take down the Organization, it would be Kudou-kun, but… he can’t do it in the form he is now. No one listens to an elementary student, no matter how smart. He has to lie and manipulate others in order to make his voice heard and I know he hates it.”
She took a deep breath and fixed her eyes on KID once more, confidence in her voice, “So the antidote would not be for me, but for him, who needs it most of all.”
KID watched her for a few more moments after her speech then grinned. He stood with a flourish, hand gripping the brim of his hat with the sudden movement. “Consider your wish granted, Ojou-chan. The next time I meet with you, I will have the formula in hand.”
“Where are you going?” Haibara asked, dropping to her feet. “Kudou-kun isn’t here yet!”
“I suspect you will fill him in on our deal,” KID replied as he wandered over to the nearest window. A snap of his fingers and the frame opened up for him. “But I must head out before then. After all, I have a secret organization to find and break into. No time to waste!”
The doorbell rang just as KID disappeared through the open window.
@ @ @ @ @
So, finding the nearest hideout for the BO took longer than Kaito anticipated. He actually had to return to the two teens-turned-children multiple times to get caught up on their current information.
The hideouts Haibara knew about had been evacuated and left in ruins. Getting a hold of Kir was hard and once he’d done so, she met with a bullet in the spine. Vermouth just straight up shot at him. He did find out she was originally a student of his father, which made the shooting feel a little more personal.
So that left Kaito with Tantei-kun’s hint of the children’s song Nanatsu no Ko.
Of course, Googling it in his house led a sniper to his window. Looking it up at the public library had the building blown to smithereens. Telling Hakuba only resulted in a dead detective. Turns out, Hakuba was not immune to Apotoxin like Shinichi was.
Finally, Kaito managed to find what he was looking for after renting a helicopter and dragging his ass to hover over the freaking Pacific Ocean. Even then, he only got the name of the person that phone number belonged to before a missile slammed into the helicopter.
A few more days like that and he had enough information for a small-time heist. No lights, no cameras, no reporters, just him and the members of the BO.
Attempt One had his hang glider going down in a rain of bullets, so he decided to go on foot. That brought him to the gate just as the guard was making his rounds. Kaito died from one shot to the frontal lobe.
Day after day, he went back. Day after day, he died, but it wasn’t for naught. He was learning. Through trial and error, he was slowly learning the pattern of the guards and the patter of the day, to the point that he could recite full conversations that guards had around him while he hid.
Finally, Day 53 into his search (day 118 of his loop), he found a room that looked like the lab Haibara had described. A long scientist was at the computer and quickly fell to the floor as Kaito gassed the room. Unfortunately, either the scientist hadn’t logged in yet or had just logged out as the computer asked for a username and password. Kaito cursed under his breath and set to hacking in.
As soon as he started, an alarm sounded in the buildings, notifying them of an “Intruder in Sector 5”. His program hacked in five seconds later. He had all of five minutes to frantically search for the file before his brains painted the screen.
He decided, when he woke up to his alarm clock again, that he needed a different plan. Hacking in wasn’t going to cut it. Kaito needed a username and password. Luckily, he knew where to find one.
* * * * *
“What do you mean I can’t use yours!?” Kaito whined into his mug of hot chocolate. It was the twentieth time or so that he’d visited Tantei-kun and Haibara, but only the fourth such time for information. It had gotten to the point for Kaito that he just showed up in his civilian clothes instead of the whole KID ensemble.
It was just easier to go in jeans and a sweater than a full suit and tie, even if Tantei-kun always looked at him weirdly for it.
“My username and password, if they are even in the system, will immediately set off an alarm,” Haibara said, taking a sip of her tea. “You will have to find another username and password to use.”
“I… might be able to get in touch with Kir or Vermouth,” Tantei-kun said hesitantly. “Kir will help, if she’s not still under suspicion, but I’m not sure about Vermouth…”
“I tried both of those already,” Kaito sighed dramatically into his mug. “Kir got shot because of me and Vermouth shot at me. So I don’t think either of those two will work…”
Tantei-kun tsked and took a sip of his coffee, lost in thought.
“By the way,” Kaito perked up as he remembered a question he’d wanted to ask the two. “Are all the Organization members named after alcohols? Because I’d heard Kir, Vermoth, and you –Sherry –so far, and I was just kind of wondering…”
“Yes,” Haibara said simply, “All members are named after alcoholic beverages –Gin, Vodka, Bourbon, Rye…”
“Snake?” Kaito asked. He blinked as Haibara froze and Tantei-kun looked up from his drink, curious.
“I… haven’t heard of that one,” Tantei-kun said, “But I know there is an alcohol that ferments an entire snake in its bottle, like with pears or peaches. Haibara?”
“…Most typically, members are named after types of alcohols,” she set her tea cup down, hands shaking too hard to hold it properly, “lower tiers are given names of brands or special brews containing the alcohol of their immediate superior. I have no doubt that there would be a member named Snake somewhere in the ladder.”
“Why do you ask?” Tantei-kun cut in with narrowed eyes, “Have you come across a person with that name?”
“Oh yeah, loads of times,” Kaito dropped another handful of marshmallows into his drink since the ones before them had melted, “he’s one of the guys that shoots at me at my heists. I was just wondering if they had anything in common since he and his people also dress in black and seemed like the ‘shoot first, question later’ types.”
“Wait a minute, you get shot at during heists?” Tantei-kun seemed outraged for some reason. Kaito didn’t really understand it. So he had a few run-ins with bullets, what’s new? He was a thief. It was bound to happen eventually.
Though, the Taskforce usually refrained from using such tactics, especially since Kaito didn’t shoot real bullets at them either.
“Yeah,” Kaito confirmed, sipping his drink and getting a mouthful of delicious, half-melted marshmallows, “they don’t like that I’m looking for Pandora too, so they try to kill me whenever they can.”
“Pandora?” Haibara caught on first, cutting Tantei-kun’s rant short.
“Mythical stone, said to grant immortal life,” Kaito explained briefly. He hadn’t ever planned to tell anyone, but it’s not like these two would remember anything the next day. Tantei-kun would never know Kaito got shot at on a regular basis, would never know he got angry on Kaito’s behalf.
Would never know Kaito was KID.
His heart gave painful thump.
The children shared a curious look, but Kaito decided he’d had enough for that day. One sleeping pill later and he was waking up to his alarm, ready to make another day as useful as he could.
@ @ @ @ @
The scientists was groggy as he came to. His vision swirled and his tongue tasted like cotton. Did he go drinking last night?
“Oh, good! You’re awake!” a voice said. The voice gave the scientist pause. That was… his voice? “I was beginning to think you were going to sleep the day away, which would have put a downer on my plans. I didn’t break in to watch you sleep, you know.”
The scientists started and jolted up –or tried to. His bound hands and feet made that impossible, skin pulling on duct tape as he twisted uselessly. Looking up, he paled at the sight of a too large grin and white top hat.
“Well, more like ‘walk-in’. I’ve done this so many times, you know?” what had been his voice shifted to another person’s voice, one of his female co-workers. “I can literally stroll in through the front gate and walk all the way here without seeing a guard once. It doesn’t even make my heart speed up anymore! No fun in it, I tell you.”
That white hat, the white suit, that monocle –it was Kaitou KID, the international thief! But… why was he here? At Headquarters?! There weren’t any jewels here! Nothing to steal except-!
The scientist ground his teeth together in a panic.
“So anyway, I kind of need to borrow your userna –hey, are you okay? You’re kind of… foaming at the mouth –why is there the smell of almonds?” the voice slipped into one the scientist wasn’t familiar with, high-pitched and panicked. “Did you just kill yourself?! Was there a cyanide capsule in there?! Do people actually use cyanide capsules?! Is that an actual thing?!”
The scientist couldn’t answer him, seeing as he was already dead, broken capsule hidden under his false tooth.
@ @ @ @ @
“Okay,” A voice stirred the scientist from his daze, “Now that I stole the cyanide pill before you could use it, we’re in business!”
Cyanide? Took? Who was he? And how did he know about the cyanide?!
The scientist bit down on his tongue.
“So, let’s start, shall we?”
The scientist swallowed a thick knot at the back of his throat.
“All I want is a username and –you-? You swallowed you tongue, didn’t you? Fu-!”
The scientist choked to death.
@ @ @ @ @
“Okay, let’s try this again.” A voice stirred the scientist from his daze, “I took the cyanide pill and your tongue so you can’t kill yourself and I just realized you can’t talk now… Shit.”
The scientist stared wide-eyed at the white-clothed thief –infamous on TVs now-a-days. Except his pristine white uniform was splotched with red blood, presenting a truly gruesome image.
“Well…” The thief fidgeted, “This is awkward…”
A brief bout of silence.
“You know,” the thief started, holding up a familiar pill, “I’ve not died by cyanide poisoning yet.”
Then, before the scientist’s eyes, the thief popped the pill into his mouth and bit down.
The thief was dead seconds later.
@ @ @ @ @
“Third time’s the charm!” A voice stirred the scientist from his daze, “or, well, more like 8th or 9th, but who’s counting?”
The scientist crunched down on his fake tooth… only to find it gone.
“Took that,” the thief said, throwing a familiar pill up and catching it. The scientist went for his own tongue, but found a gag in the way –it smelled like his own sock. “Thought of that too!”
The scientist rammed his head back, only to be met with a soft pillow.
“Man, I have to say. You Black Organization guys are creative!” the thief gave a finger fun, then lifted his real gun, “Now, all I need is a name and password. Are we going to play nice? Or do I have to get mean?”
He had to get mean.
@ @ @ @ @
“Glad to see you’re awake,” A voice stirred the scientist from his daze, sounding deadly serious, “Martini.”
The scientist looked up to see his greatest nightmare. Gin, all silver hair and black cloak, stood over him, gun posed in tombstone grey. The scientist gave a whimper.
“We have some… reports of a rat,” Gin said, “Getting into our system and stirring up trouble. That person has put me in charge of flushing them out.”
The scientist swallowed down a sob as Gin slowly knelt down, an insane gleam in his eyes. The gun made a reappearance under the scientist’s chin. “Would you like to make my day, Martini? All I need to know is your username and password. We have the perpetrator on file. If they match…”
The scientist hurriedly spat out his username and password, clinging to the thought, the fact that his wouldn’t be it.
“And you haven’t shared it with any other member?” Gin’s eyes narrowed as the gun dug sharper into the scientist’s jaw.
No, of course he hadn’t!
Gin stared at him, hard, before an uncharacteristic grin spread across his face. The voice that followed was not Gin’s, “Thank you, Martini-san. It’s been a pleasure doing business with you.”
The butt of the gun met his temple and the scientist knew no more.
* * * * *
“Ugh, finally!” KID said as he took off the mask, “Only took 13 attempts. I think I’m getting better at this!”
He also hoped that he never had to do this again.
Sitting himself down at the computer, Kaito used the prized username and password to log in. it took a little digging to find where the file was, but he eventually found it on the internal network. Unfortunately, he poked at a couple other sensitive files before he found the research nots on Apotoxin 4869.
He died that day, but the info was ready and waiting for him when he strolled through the complex the next day and the day after that. He got about an hour each day to read and memorize the notes and experiment results written by Haibara as Sherry, before he was discovered and killed. Still, it gave him and his eidetic memory plenty of time.
A week later (Day 135 his time), he was knocking on Tantei-kun’s door again –this time, the full poison formula in mind.