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Kaito strolled to the station, hands deep in his pockets and earbuds in as he talked with Shinichi about anything and everything. This was primarily so that they could test how well Shinichi could hear the world around him. Kaito might not have been able to bring Shinichi to the station, but he could and would try to bring him the latest news on his supposed murder case.
Kaito was thankful that Shinichi didn’t question the modified earbuds; he could see the questions in his eyes, but he didn’t voice them. Shinichi had probably realized that it was all connected to the nightmare that was going to unfold before him once his parents arrived from America. Kaito was already dreading it. Shinichi was going to be soooo pissed, and he didn’t know if he could handle Shinichi deciding to hate him, even if it was only temporarily. It was getting harder and harder to keep himself under wraps around his detective. Sooner or later, he was going to slip, and Shinichi was going to see just how much Kaito liked the other.
That would be the nail in the proverbial coffin; Shinichi would be done with him, but Kaito didn’t want that.
“Kai, you’re mumbling about something,” Shinichi called.
Kaito froze midstep. Was this it? Was this how he fucked up? “Oh… S-sorry. Did it make any sense?”
“No, just figured you were getting stared at by now,” Shinichi chuckled before groaning. His ribs had to be killing him.
“Thanks,” Kaito chuckled before he continued walking. Kaito entered the station, looking around for Megure-keibu. He said he would be waiting in the lobby for him when he had called just before getting off the train. What Kaito didn’t expect was for everyone to freeze and stare at him. Someone suddenly pulled out a gun and leveled it at Kaito.
“Hands above your head, Kudo!” Kaito did as was instructed but gave the officer a confused look.
“I’m not Shinichi,” Kaito tried before someone else walked behind him and cuffed him. Kaito tested them for a moment but decided against it, slipping them was not a wise idea with so many officers around him.
“Kaito?” Shinichi called through the earbuds. His concern was evident.
Kaito felt himself patted down before his phone, wallet, keys, and earbuds were removed before being placed in evidence bags. Kaito didn’t resist at all; there was no point. He knew that he resembled Shinichi a good deal, but he was so used to everyone being able to tell them apart that he forgot that people could still, in fact, confuse them. “Um,” he tried before he got shoved to walk forward.
“No talking, murder,” The officer behind him hissed, gripping Kaito’s shoulder hard enough to bruise. Kaito sighed and complied. He would get this sorted out soon enough. Fingerprints would tell the tale, that is unless they were faked as well. Kaito soon found himself in an interrogation room, cuffed to the seat as he stared at the two-way mirror. Mouri-keibu entered the room; his face was a mask, but the rage was apparent to anyone who could read one. It was hot and vibrant, barely being kept in check.
“Where is Ran,” He started. Kaito had to give him credit; his voice didn’t waver.
“I’m not Shinichi, I’m Kuroba Kaito.”
“Enough lies. I know the two of you well enough to tell you apart. Now, where is my daughter?”
“Mouri-keibu, I swear, we just talked last night about Shinichi being missing. You have to be able to see I am not him.” I mean, really, my hair isn’t even remotely tame today!
Mouri-keibu tsked as he sat across the table, leveling his glare with the heat of his fury at Kaito as if that would rattle him. Even with how angry Mouri-keibu was, it was nothing compared to Kaa-san, and Kaito was still waiting on that, so this was just a warm-up. “Make this easier on yourself, and just tell us why you killed Ran.”
Kaito raised an eyebrow at that, the only hint of how shocked he truly was. She was… dead? That didn’t… well, actually, if Shinichi was as injured as he was, that made some sense, but who the hell managed to best her? She was a powerhouse and had never lost a karate competition, so the idea of someone killing Mouri-san was hard to believe. “I’m sorry for your loss,” was all Kaito could get out as he tried to think of some way to prove he was, in fact, not Shinichi. He wasn’t sure how long it would take for the fingerprints to come back, but he just needed to not have his head meet the table in the meantime.
Mouri-keibu grew red and stood so much for not meeting the table. He reached across the table, grabbed Kaito by the collar of his shirt, and pulled him as far forward as the handcuffs would allow. “Don’t you dare give me that. Now, where is Ran?!” He seethed. Kaito felt sorry for the man, going mad with worry and pain.
“I’m sorry, but I can’t tell you since I’m not the one who hurt her.” This only angered Mouri-keibu more, but the door opened, and Sato-keiji walked in.
“Mouri-keibu, I’m sorry, but he is telling the truth. His fingerprints came back as Kuroba Kaito. Megure-keibu had said he was going to swing by to report S-Kudo-san as missing.” So everyone here believed Shinichi was the murderer, that was not a good sign. What evidence do they have that he did it?
Mouri-keibu released Kaito while shoving him back, muttering something of an apology before Sato-keiji walked over and uncuffed Kaito. “I’m sorry for the treatment.”
“No, I guess that’s what I get for looking like Shinichi,” Kaito smiled, though it was a weak smile, playing up the distressed factor. “Why do you think Shinichi killed Mouri-san?”
Sato-keiji sighed, “I can’t say it’s still under investigation, but there is evidence to support it.” She looked grim as if she wasn’t willing to believe it either.
“You don’t think he did it, right?”
“I don’t know. We have proof that Kudo-san is involved, and Mouri-keibu said that he has been really pushy with Ran-kun lately, so maybe…”
“He would never force himself on her if that is what you are thinking. Shinichi wants to help people, and that goes against his moral code,” Kaito stated coolly, even though inside, he was furious that someone would ever insinuate that Shinichi was capable of harming someone, never mind kidnapping and killing them.
“You are free to go; we don’t need the missing person’s report now,” Sato-keiji sighed. “I’m sorry you came all this way for no reason other than to be harassed.”
“No… It’s fine, thank you,” Kaito stood, rolling his shoulders before sighing, “Can I have my stuff back?”
“Oh, yes, follow me,” she said, leading the way through the station and getting Kaito his things before returning to the front entrance. He slipped his earbuds in and dialed Shinichi.
“Kaito?!” He sounded panicked.
“I’m fine. All is well,” Kaito sang as he walked out of the police station, “We have so much to talk about when I get home, though.”
“No kidding, they arrested you thinking you were me! What was that all about?”
“Patience, my grasshopper,” Kaito chirped.
“Your poker facing me,” Shinichi muttered back.
“I certainly am. Right now is not a good time to not,” Kaito hummed. He could feel someone following him, and it didn’t feel friendly either. Say, tell Kaa-san I might be late for dinner.”
“What happened?” Shinichi clearly picked up on the tone shift of Kaito’s voice.
“Hmm? I don’t know yet,” Kaito answered before hanging up. His parents could track him through his phone or the bracelet he wears for that express purpose should he get into trouble.
Someone either doesn’t believe I am not Shinichi, or they believe I somehow faked the evidence of who I am, Kaito sighed. He looked around quickly before ducking into an alley. He heard hurried footsteps behind him before three men followed him into the alley. Kaito was waiting for them, leaning against a wall as he watched them, “What’s the hurry?” He smiled, getting an angry snarl back from one of the men. Based on the uniforms, they were all lower-level officers, likely men who looked up to Mouri-keibu and thus would be willing to do anything to defend the man’s honor.
“Stay still,” One of the three raised a gun and leveled it at Kaito.
Kaito sighed, shrugging slightly, “So much for that approach.” He raised his hands as the men all began to shift closer once they were close enough to strike. Kaito dropped a smoke bomb and booked it down the alley, gunshots ringing out after him. Smart, firing away from the public. Kaito turned the corner and headed back towards the station, only to meet another man and another gun.
“Nice try, Kudo. Let’s not try anything else funny.” The man grinned, taking a step closer. Kaito could hear the others running towards him, and he sighed. Kaa-san is going to beat the shit out of me if I get shot. Kaito turned and launched himself down the alley, away from the newest man and past the other three, shots echoing again. Kaito dodged them easily enough before twisting down another alley and zipping up a fire escape. If he could get to the roof, he would be able to get away.
He heard the group yelling and firing off more rounds that missed their mark as Kaito neared the end of the stairs, jumping into the roof before scanning to see where he was going to jump too. He only had a moment to decide before selecting the roof and running towards it. He jumped at the edge, launching himself forward and up before grabbing at the edge of the roof and pulling himself up swiftly. Easily the most risky moment since he couldn’t dodge hanging on the side of the building.
The cursing floating over from the other roof was comical. Two of the men bickered that they could pull off the same feat while a third, likely the leader of the group, told them not to bother and just to watch him for his next move. Kaito was a sitting duck on the roof; they might run out of bullets trying to hit him, but he couldn’t get down either. There was no escape ladder on this building. Kaito hunched behind the wall rimming the edge of the building to breathe and think of his next move. He needed to get down to the ground without them seeing him. He could try to wait them out, but his parents would come looking for him first, and that would make this mess a lot messier.
A bullet zipped overhead, making Kaito’s choice for him. They had no interest in leaving him be. He looked around, selecting his next building before standing and darting for it. Thankfully, this one was lower, so it was easier to jump to with less of a chance of getting shot. He rolled on the landing before standing to take off running again. This building had a set of stairs leading to the ground, which was just what he needed. Kaito jumped from landing to landing as he descended, reaching the ground in record time. He turned to make his way back to the safety of the street when a gunshot tore through his left ankle. Kaito yelped before losing all weight-bearing capacity. He landed harshly on his knees, turning to see the supposed leader of the group grinning.
“I had a feeling you’d pick this roof,” He was out of breath, likely having raced his way down from the previous building the moment Kaito moved. Kaito cursed under his breath. He tried to stand, but his ankle was not stable. The bastard aimed to make him immobile, smart move. This wound wouldn’t do much more than that. It hurt, but it wasn’t anything that Kaito wasn’t trained to handle. What was his plan now? Running was out of the question, and there was still a gun trained on him. “Oh, don’t glare at me. You had this coming.”
“You do realize that I was released because I proved I was not Kudo Shinichi, right?” Kaito growled, trying to stand again only to get the same result.
“Yes, yes, I know,” the man grinned, walking closer ever so slowly, like a cat stalking a mouse. You are Kuroba Kaito, Kudo Shinichi’s best friend, right?”
Kaito didn’t answer. What was he supposed to say? Yes? Lying wasn’t going to do him any good here, and it would be at least an hour before his parents could get here. Why on earth did Shinichi have to live in Beika? It was so far away from his place.
Kaito glanced behind him before eyeing the gun again. It would hurt like hell, but he had to move. The bullet missed his joint, so he was lucky in that there was no bullet lodged in the bone. His ankle really just didn’t want to support his weight, which he could push. He’d pay for it in a short while, but he just had to get somewhere to hide till help arrived.
Decision made: Kaito lunged forward, the officer firing again, catching Kaito in the thigh as he darted around the corner and then down another side street. He could hear the man cursing as he managed to outpace him. It must feel pretty bad when a kid can outdo an officer with a shot ankle. Kaito raced out into an open street, getting several odd stares as he bent over, panting. There was no way the officers would attack him in public, or so he hoped.
Kaito straightened out before starting to limp back to the station. People parted for him as they all looked on with concern. “Stop!” Kaito ignored the call. He wasn’t worried about being shot, but stopping didn’t bode well for him either. A hand wrapped around his right arm pulled him back while turning him to face the officer calling out to him. “I said stop you little shit.”
“I have no reason to. I haven’t done anything,” Kaito snarled back. He heard the cackle of electricity before pain flared through his stomach, dropping him to his knees. Kaito hissed as his left hand moved to cover the spot where the taser touched. His movements were sluggish now.
“You don’t have the right to say that. You evaded arrest.”
“I-I’m not Kudo Shinichi!” Kaito shot as he glared up. Another officer appeared, taser drawn. This was getting excessive, and Kaito didn’t know how exactly to get out of this mess. A gun was easier to deal with since tasers mess with the whole system. Kaito knew if he tried to run, either his legs wouldn’t listen, or he’d stumble and get tased again, thus rendering him unable to move or out cold.
The second officer readied the taser, making Kaito’s only option to get away. His kaa-san was already going to get mad about being shot. Getting caught by corrupt cops would only add to his punishment. Kaito sprang up as quickly as he could, but he didn’t expect the crowd to intervene. He crashed into a tall man with blonde hair that grabbed his shoulders and held him still. It only took a few seconds before the taser connected with his back, and Kaito collapsed to the ground.
---
Kaito found it hard to wake from whatever drug he had been dosed with. His mind was foggy at best and slow to string together any thoughts at all. “This had better be worth the trouble,” Someone’s voice pierced through the mess, and Kaito tried to focus.
“Oh, it will be. If nothing else, we will show the Kurobas that their little game has gone on long enough. Losing their precious son will be a blow the pair likely won’t handle well.” Kaito knew that voice, knew it very well, in fact, but with the sludge clogging up his mental processes, he couldn’t place it.
He tried to move, lift his head, twitch a finger, or something, but nothing seemed to respond. He wasn’t injured when he passed out, well, not counting the gunshots anyway, so where was this coming from? “Well, enjoy your game of hide-and-seek. I have other things to do. If you do manage to find the Kudo brat, let me know.”
“It's not my fault your drug didn’t do its job,” the familiar voice sang. She got a growl in response from whoever she was teasing, but beyond that, the room went silent again. Kaito tried again to move, getting the same painful response.
“Oh, someone is waking up, about damn time.” A new voice echoed in the room, seemingly happy to see Kaito coming around. Kaito struggled but managed to open his eyes only to find that he couldn’t see anyway. He had something over his head. He tried to lift his head slightly before the hood was pulled free, blinding Kaito with the sudden light. He squeezed his eyes as tightly as possible, but he could still see the lights behind his eyelids. He whined at the pain, getting a chuckle in response. “Don’t be such a baby.”
After a few brief moments, Kaito opened his eyes as someone tipped his head back to see who it was that was that sounded so familiar. What greeted Kaito was not a familiar face though. He knit his eyebrows in confusion, the woman barely looked over twenty but she looked like she could stand her ground with any man and not lack any power. Another wave a familiarity stuck Kaito but he wasn’t sure why. Her face didn’t ring any bells.
“Something the matter Kaito-kun?” Kaito froze, blinking at the person standing before him, the cadence of her speech was yet another familiar thing but who was she?! The woman grinned, “Can’t place me? You poor baby.” Kaito stared at her for a while longer before the woman let his head drop and moved over to a table just outside the blinding lights. She returned with a syringe, a smile splitting her face, “Oh how I have been waiting to do this. Your cheery ass needs to get knocked down a few pegs.” The voice had shifted to something younger.
Kaito shivered as it finally dawned on him why it sounded so familiar. A hand buried itself in his hair before pulling Kaito’s head back to the point of discomfort, he stared at the person before him as the realization sank in. Kaito tried to speak but he couldn’t get any words out. The woman’s grin seems to grow even more as Kaito struggled. The tip of the needle pressed against the artery of his neck, “How do you feel about never walking again?”
Kaito felt the color drain from his face, his poker face shattering as the needle sank in. He couldn’t move to get away as his veins caught fire with whatever was being shot into his system. Kaito couldn’t fight the scream that tore from his throat as his blood turned to scorching lava. His head was released but instead of dropping to his chest, it thunked on the back of the chair as Kaito continued to scream even as he felt himself choking on his own saliva. It didn’t take long before the pain overloaded his mind and everything began to swim, his vision turning black around the edges.
Just as the pain reached a level that was border-line unbearable, Kaito felt his conscious fade away.