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Rain and moonlight bathed Kaito in a shady mist as he ran out the rooftop door onto the sullen roof. The cool air gave him a feeling of freshness and renewal, washing away some of the sweat on his face from all of that night’s running.
Kaito skidded to a stop as soon as the door closed behind him, not wanting to slip in one of the puddles pooling on the surface. The skyline was just dipping fully into night, light ending on a successful heist.
With nobody on his tail, Kaito walked briskly but carefully to the middle of the flatted standing, holding his latest catch up to the sky with no hope to be dashed when nothing but any old twinkling of a gem in moonlight happened.
Kaito hadn’t given up on finding the Pandora gem but he had given up on hope of it happening any time soon. When he did find Pandora, he expected to be pleasantly surprised. There was no point in having hope. Four years of searching had dampened him, and yet he wasn’t going down without a fight.
Sighing in only mild disappointment, Kaito turned his attention to his surroundings, looking for a glint of red from any snippers. A click of a gun, anything to indicate revenge.
It was good to be suspicious, even though the night was most silent with only city sounds and the occasional police noise.
At a previous heist, he’d killed his worst enemy Snake. Kaito had wrestled the gun from him, and the bullet had gone right through the man that had killed his father, and ended him almost instantly.
Kaito hadn’t mourned, but he was understandably shaken up by the experience. Even though the feel of a gun was actually... thrilling. It had become a new, familiar weight in his pocket.
He hadn’t seen any members of the syndicate since, even with two heists between then and now. No sign of the syndicate keeping watch on him now that he had turned to pure violence.
That couldn't last long, he was sure of it. There was no way they would just give up their chase of him and the Pandora gem over the death of one member.
That was why he had given Saguru a sleeping pill in his hot chocolate before the heist, since the man had caught onto the fact that Kaito was giving him the wrong dates of the heists. He had finally thought to fact check with Nakamori this time. Kaito had also made sure his aunt kept Yusaku at home again with some false story. Neither his partner nor his cousin needed to be here for heists now. Who knew how the syndicate would react to a killing of what he assumed was one of their higher ranked members?
Even without the syndicate, Kaito was always smart about his plans. Nakamori's drive to catch KID hadn't waned at all since the days he'd been chasing the original KID, and it wasn't only luck he'd actually been able to deceive them into thinking he'd gone to the basement instead of the roof. Kaito tucked the gem into his breast pocket, already cooking up schemes of how to mess with Nakamori while returning it. He couldn't linger here long.
“Hey,” Kaito whisper, turning his head to the sky again as he counted the city lights reflecting off of the puddles and water splashed on his face, “Where are you, Pandora?”
He was feeling wistful, but not distracted enough that Kaito didn't hear the soft splashes of someone creeping up behind him. Kaito turned his body, ready to fight back in any way he could, hand going to rest on the bulge of the gun but not yet taking it out.
Stepping out from behind the raised entrance to the roof, was a familiar face.
Originally, Kaito had only known of that bastard Snake, and everyone had seemed faceless and generic, but over the years more distinct faces had crossed his path. All seemed to have nature themed names in vague English or Latin, and their members were scattered across several nationalities despite seeming to be based in Japan.
This member was Falcon, and like his seeming namesake, he seemed to be a lone hunter, although Kaito didn't dare to think Falcon had truly come alone. He was usually dressed in standard wear of the syndicate, aside from lacking the hat, and wearing a neck ruffle instead of the tie many of the rest wore.
Falcon looked like he hadn’t slept in a week, dark bags under his eyes almost all the way to his higher cheekbones. His curly brown hair wasn’t held back with hair gel and instead frizzed out in all directions. His shaking hands were wrapped around the hilt of a curved knife. His green eyes were pooled with tears, and he looked at Kaito with all the venom a human being could have in their heart.
Meeting Falcon the first time was a surprise. Falcon had showed up midway through 1988, barely coming up to Snake’s shoulders. Falcon had a squeaky, high pitched voice toned with some English accent, but had coldly referred to himself as a man more intimidating than the gun he’d had pointed at Kaito.
In time, Falcon had proven himself to be one of the most dangerous people Kaito would face, seeming to be the only one who didn’t think he was Kuroba Toichi. If his comment made once during a chase, about having a younger brother around Kaito’s age was any indication. While Falcon’s hair was graying, it seemed premature, and he otherwise looked younger than Toichi would have been. Late twenties to early thirties to his father’s stolen forties.
Meeting Falcon now, Kaito knew that the syndicate had done its mourning and was now ready to fight again.
“Falcon,” Kaito greeted through gritted teeth, “It's not the one you're looking for."
"I never cared about that fucking gem!" Falcon stumbled forward and swiped at Kaito with the knife, snarling like an animal.
Kaito dodged out of the way. Falcon swung again and Kaito blocked the arm with his shoulder. They traded blows, both trying to land a hit. Kaito managed to grab Falcon's arm and twist, and the knife came loose from his grip. Kaito sent a fist towards Falcon's chin, and as quickly as the fight started it ended as Falcon crashed into the door with a sickening thump.
Not like Falcon weighed much more than 100 pounds, so Kaito had the advantage in weight and height. Still, it was a good try. Kaito was about to mockingly compliment Falcon when he heard a gentle sob. Falcon tried to stand up but fell down quickly after, at mercy at Kaito's feet.
"You don't understand! Give him back! Give him back…!” Falcon feebly bashed at his knees. “Give him back…give him back…” Falcon grabbed at the fabric of Kaito’s pants, tears staining the white and turning it gray. “He was mine, give him back…” Falcon, now full on sobbing, asked “What is wrong with you, kid?” Falcon wiped his face of tears even as they were quickly replaced. “You don't kill! Why did you kill him?!"
Kaito knew that the answer would be painfully obvious but felt a strong urge to say it to Falcon's face "We were enemies." Kaito answered, "He was a threat to my existence and I put a stop to him."
Falcon snorted in anger. "Don't you give me any of your shit, boy! You sound like my brother when he was trying to play grown up!"
"I'm probably much older than you." This was a perfect time to try and convince Falcon he must be wrong about his rightful assumption that Kaito wasn't the original KID. “No fan of KID would be this dedicated, don’t you think?”
"Yeah, right." Falcon snarked, "I was about the same age as you were when I joined the team, and I bet I sounded the exact same! Optimistic fool! Black and white thinking!" Kaito didn't miss Falcon eyeing around for the knife, and Kaito took the opportunity to grab Falcon by the fabric of his shoulder and fling him across the roof.
Falcon had a quick of enough recovery time, this time being able to get into a standing position on only mildly bowl-legged shaking limbs. "We're people too!" Falcon's tears were replaced with rage. "We have names! Snake's name was Ryūji! I'm Elias." Falcon gestured wildly. "You're a criminal too, you don't cease to exist as a person just because you break the law! Snake was a person with his own thoughts and very very very deep down he had feelings, and...and...I just want him back...You'll pay for killing him." Falcon said coldly, "I promise."
Kaito chittered, moving closer, already sensing another fight brewing. "So you're just going to threaten me? Fine then, Falcon, go ahead and try something better."
Falcon was too slow and clumsy, and Kaito moved himself out of the way of Falcon going at him again, rolling to the side to dodge a fist. Kaito truly thought he had the upper hand here, but he couldn't be more wrong.
Hissing at the missed attack, Falcon pointed accusingly at Kaito. “You fucked up! This wasn’t how it was supposed to go, Kuroba! You were supposed to- Well, your father was supposed to…aaah!” Falcon launched himself at Kaito, growling unintelligibly. “Your father was a bastard and broke all his promises!”
Kaito didn't dodge this attack. Instead, he grabbed both of Falcon's wrists and pulled him up into the air, feet kicking and hanging off the ground.
"You…you know who I am…"
"Of course I do! It's so obvious! We know the original KID was Kuroba Toichi-" Falcon spit on the ground after saying the name. "-so since you're young you have to be his son. No fan would be this dedicated! You said it yourself!"
Kaito looked at Falcon with a gaped mouth and Falcon seemed to enjoy the almost cracking poker face. Kaito dropped Falcon to the ground.
Did the whole syndicate know who he was? Were the people he loved in danger all this time and he'd just kept poking things with a stick. Kaito's hand went to the gun again. "I...you...!
But if Falcon was the only one who knew...?
"What's wrong Kaito? Is the magic gone?" Falcon attempted to lear and appear intimidating despite his short stature. Kaito pushed Falcon away, closer to the edge of the building. Kaito didn’t need to use the gun, but he did need to get away.
Falcon’s foot caught the edge of the wet roof and only that. His other foot dangled in the air above the street below. In a split second, he reached out for Kaito, panic and fear and realization crossing his face.
Kaito didn’t move. He almost wanted to, but it was like time was moving slowly and his feet were frozen to the spot. He didn’t move.
Not even when Falcon tumbled over the edge fully, did Kaito move from his spot. Not to open up his hang glider. Not to walk over to see if Falcon had caught a ledge on the way down.
When Kaito did move to leave the roof as the rain dissipated, he flew in the opposite direction.