Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

Looking back at it, he really should've just stayed home.

It was a Wednesday morning, the day right after another successful Kaitou KID heist. Kaito, uncharacteristically, was quietly staring at his fingers, slowly counting his nails like he'll gain new ones after the 27th round. Were they this sharp 4 rounds of counting ago?

He sighed internally, forcing his eyes to continue the action of circling back and forth between his hands. It was a mind-numbing task, one that he hoped would keep his eyes distracted from the inevitable action of shutting down to sleep.

Through the haze of sleep deprivation, Kaito took note of how uneasy his silence seemed to make his classmates. Hell, even the teacher's shoulders seemed a bit tighter than they should be. He also noticed the slight twitch of her eyebrow as her eyes landed on him after taking a look at her students, trying to pinpoint her next victim. She wisely avoided calling him on.

Now that amused him to no end. Kaito will forever pride himself in making people uneasy. Obviously, since it's a side job of his.

Kaito's eyes slowly drooped again, and he magicked a coin from his sleeve to twirl between his fingers instead. How he was supposed to survive five more hours of this was beyond him.

The answer to that came, weirdly, in very quick succession. Thanks again, Lady Luck.

He took that gratitude back just as quickly.

The chronological order of events were lost and jumbled in Kaito's head. As far as he was aware, there wasn't any student-exchange program set up for the month, let alone the year.

Oh, because that very much matters at the given moment. His brain helpfully supplied.

Shut up, brain. You focus on staying awake. He replied to his brain. To himself? What was he talking about again?

Neurological matters aside, Kaito thinks checking his vision should be his main concern, because there's absolutely no way in hell and heaven and whatever is sandwiched in between that the real Kudo Shinichi is currently standing beside his teacher waiting to introduce himself.

For a hot second, Kaito almost reached upward to make sure that what he's looking at is not himself with his hair in a ridiculous cowlick. Do not fret, ladies and gentlemen, his braincells rebooted before the action played out.

Blinking back to reality (because he seems to be more in his own head than out of it. Fuck his late night heists. Fuck his life, too. For extra dramatic flair.), he stared at Kudo with his mouth open and eyes wildly twitching. Truly a classic.

Apparently having gotten the class to quiet down, his teacher started her announcement. "Though it is an unexpected twist of events, it is certainly not an unwelcomed one." She paused, seemingly waiting for someone to disagree, only to realize no one really seemed to give a flying fuck. "Please give warm welcomes to our exchange student from Beika."

Nodding at the teacher, Kudo stepped forwards and took a bow.

"Good morning, everyone. My name is Kudo Shinichi, and I will be joining your class for a brief few weeks." He reached up with his hand to scratch at his neck. "It's a little bit of a messy complication. I do hope we get along well."

At that, the class seemed to buzz with life again. After all, Kudo Shinichi was no strange name. Even while out of it, Kaito took the time to glance at Hakuba, watching for any reaction over having a rivaling high school detective within his personal space. If there was any kind of inner turmoil, he seems to be hiding it well. Kaito almost felt proud of Hakuba's poker face, then he sobered up.

Oh, what the fuck now? Wasn't this guy a meter tall like.. a few hours ago?

Kaito tried his hardest to school his expressions, because there's no way he's going to dunk himself in the self-made hole of exposure purely because his sleep-craving brain couldn't keep the shock off his face. He had to say, though, it was truly a marvel at his skills.

This is going to feel like hell turned over, and he's right where the crack started.

Surprisingly, at least to Kaito, Kudo and Hakuba seemed to hit it off almost instantly. Apparently, their love for Sherlock Holmes was more than enough. He sighed, some dudes they were.

He somehow managed to make it through the school day without having to interact with the should-be-shrunk sleuth or collapsing on the spot. Honestly, this deserves a treat. Chocolate ice cream it is.

Quickly making it out of the grocery where he bought his promised ice cream, Kaito started his way back home, like any sane person running on 2 hours of sleep would. For some damn reason, Lady Luck seemed to have abandoned him recently. Maybe she just flees whenever Shinigami-sama himself is within a specific mile radius.

A murder had happened right at the grocery where he bought his ice cream, and no one will ever be able to guess who also happened to be in the area.

Oh, what? You were able to guess it correctly? You must be some genius.

Kudo himself was crouching right over the body of a woman with a knife peeking out of her back.

Having been called back for questioning since he had literally just left, Kaito took a look at the victim and deduced (eugh) that she should be in her late 20s. What a waste.

"Do you have any cameras in your store, sir?"

Kaito will absolutely not admit he jumped at Kudo's voice so nearby.

The owner of the shop shook his head at Kudo, quietly admitting that he only has cameras right over the cashier and right at the staff door. Kaito watched as Kudo assured the owner that the footage could still be helpful, and that he would like to check it out. Apparently, the detective of the East was well known enough to not have anyone question why a high schooler was poking around a crime scene before the police arrive.

While the owner is back at the computer pulling up footage, Kaito failed to notice Kudo's attention swivel to him until he looked back at him. They blinked at each other for a few countable seconds, perhaps filing in information or simply admiring. They do have very similar faces.

Kudo cleared his throat. "You're in my class, right? Well— my current class at least. Kuroba-kun, is it?"

Kaito nodded slowly, not trusting his brain-to-mouth filter to function well enough.

"Well, I truly apologize for having to hold onto you longer, but you were at the wrong place at the wrong time—" as you always seem to be, Kaito's thoughts added. "—and you would have to be a little patient with me until we have this sorted out." He gave Kaito a small smile in apology.

Kaito huffed out a breath. It's not like he's never seen a dead body before, but this was, as Kudo put it, a very wrong time for someone to drop dead. Not that there's ever a right time for that. 

"It's all good. Though, if I do drop unconscious myself due to sleep deprivation, I do hope you'd catch me."

Kudo blinked at him once again.

You see? This is why he should've kept his mouth closed as he initially intended.

It did manage to get a laugh out of Kudo, though. "I will be sure to keep a lookout." 

As soon as the detective turned around, Kaito felt his face heat up in mortification. He can absolutely flirt with any breathing being, but with Tantei-kun? Oh gods. Poker face. Poker face. Poker fa—

"Oh right, I was supposed to ask when exactly you left. If you remember when exactly."

Oh, jolly.

"Not long ago. Perhaps 2 or 3 minutes at most. I was still around the corner when I was called back," Kaito explained.

Kudo nodded. "I see... well, alright then. Thank you, Kuroba-kun."

He can probably survive a few more hours with the one person he definitely will not be able to survive a few more hours with.

Kaito magicked a deck of cards from one of the uncountable pockets in his clothes and started absentmindedly performing card-shuffling tricks. If he's going to be here until Tantei-kun cracks the case, he sure as hell will not be seated and silent about it.

At some point, he started humming a tune out of boredom, and quickly tried to scale up the challenge by adding another deck to hold with the other hand, simultaneously shuffling both decks with two seperate hands and two separate techniques. Asymmetrical hand movements were not for the weak. Lucky for him, he was no weak one. Like, at all.

Noticing sharp eyes looking at him, Kaito lifted his eyes to glance at Kudo, not stopping his hand movements. Kudo seemed a little mesmerized.

"Interested in magic?"

Snapping out of his trance, Tantei-kun narrows his eyes very slightly before throwing him a sheepish grin. "Not exactly, but a certain thief is one for the art."

Kaito's brain reeled back a bit at that. He quickly threw a council in his head between him, himself, and his brain.

Are we overthinking or is he onto us?

Nah, dude. Probably not.

That was probably his brain. Kaito doesn't think his apparent IQ of 400 is of any help at the moment.

But he narrowed his ey—

Nah, dude.

Remembering a conversation is meant to be a two-way thing, Kaito replied.

"A KID fan? Didn't peg you for one, Kudo-kun."

Kudo snorted. "Yeah, right. A fan of KID. Me."

Kaito raised an eyebrow. So rude.

"I mean— I'm a detective, of course. It's sort of my job to pay attention to details. Especially that related to criminals." Kudo said, pointing vaguely at the show of skill Kaito had just done. "Are you a KID fan yourself?"

You see, usually, Kuroba Kaito is an avid Kaitou KID fan, but something (definitely not his brain) was telling him saying that would probably be a bad idea.

"Nah, dude."

Chapter Text

Eventually, Kudo Shinichi was successfully able to deduce the nature of the crime, and the criminal was arrested.

Kaito, however, still had to be questioned by the (slightly useless) team from Division One for his statement before he was allowed to be set free. He wasn’t even actually here when the crime occurred.

That is how he found himself tucked at the back of the warm grocery with a certain detective by his side. According to the sleuth, waiting for him so that he could walk him home would be the least he could do after the trouble they had caused him, which quickly had Kaito informing him that all that is not something that is anywhere near his fault.

“Yes, but… it sort of is. I’ll just drop you off and make my way to the train station. That’s near your house, correct?”

Raising a questioning eyebrow, Kaito replied, “and you know where I live, Kudo-kun?”

Kudo chuckled before raising his palms up in surrender. “I took a very long walk around the area the day before, and happened to find you by a park. I also saw you walking to school–from the road that leads to that same park–with Aoko-san, whose house I already know courtesy of Nakamori-keibu. I assumed you guys live close by to each other, and that the park is the one close to your homes.”

O-kay. This guy’s creepy, alright.

Not that you’ll find Kaito complaining, this shit turns him on.

“Couldn’t I have just been at the park after visiting Aoko? My house could’ve just happened to be located where Aoko and I would run into each other while going to school.”

Kudo smiled. “Ah yes, but you wouldn’t be buying ice cream from a place that isn’t close to your house, would you? You would risk it melting on the way. Even if it is winter, more than 15 minutes outside its freezer will have it mush up."

Kaito grinned. He got him there.

Then he remembered his poor, very much melted ice cream.

“Oh, damn it. This grocery is warmer than the outside weather. Should’ve placed it back in the store’s freezer until I could leave again. I didn’t realize I’d be staying for so long,” he sighed in misery.

Checking his (damned terrifying) watch, Kudo nodded to himself before walking away to speak a few words to the inspector. Kaito watched in confusion as the sleuth came back towards him with a small smile gracing his handsome face. Woah. Who said that?

The detective stopped to the left side of him and grabbed his shoulder firmly to steer him out of the shop. Kaito squawked in confusion and tried to turn around to question the action, but Kudo was busy talking over his shoulder to the store’s owner, apparently easing his thanks and accepting the gratitude.

Finally turning to face the magician, he grinned slightly. “There’s a great cafe that sells ice cream three blocks away that I could treat you to, though you definitely would know of it.” He then grimaced, “and I am thoroughly ignoring the fact that you eat ice-cream in 10 degree weather.”

He did know the shop. It was run by a sweet couple that adored Kaito to pieces. According to his mother, he used to constantly practice his flower tricks on them as a child. That is certainly one way to earn their favor.

He smirked. “Ice-cream is an all-year treat, and this is what? An apology for the murder you happened to be there for to solve?”

“Maybe, and maybe it’s because I tried their coffee this morning and it is absolutely phenomenal, the kind of which I would definitely love more of,” Kudo shrugged.

Kaito scrunched his nose. No doubt that cup had no traces of glucose. “This morning? How did you manage to visit them before school hours?”

“Couldn’t sleep.”

With that, Tantei-kun shoved his hands in his pockets and tilted his head, inviting Kaito to start walking ahead of him.

He dumped himself gracefully onto the worn-out wooden seat of the cafe, thanking the waitress as an artistic looking pile of absolute heaven was placed in front of him.

Kudo sipped his coffee. “Would you, by any chance, like to volunteer as tribute to become a lab rat for a fellow friend and scientist?”

With the spoon shoved in his mouth, Kaito looked up. His face was almost one with the chocolate sundae, and there was whipped cream on his nose. He tried to lick it off with his tongue, but much to his chagrin, touching his nose with his tongue is a talent he wasn’t born with. He blinked at Kudo, not processing the question beyond what would be considered illegal and a little creepy. He was willing to turn a blind eye to the illegal part (he was no hypocrite), but… huh?

Kudo grabbed a tissue from the center of the small table they had occupied and reached over to wipe the cream off Kaito’s nose. “The consumption of such obnoxious amounts of sugar should be studied,” he huffed.

Kaito spluttered at the action, leaning back so that he is no longer within range of Kudo’s scary tissue (because everything about this man is scary) and felt his ears start to burn.

Flustered, he decided not to grace that with a reply and instead shoved another spoonful of double chocolate ice-cream in his mouth– without getting cream on his nose. Or anywhere else, thank you very much.

The detective only smirked before lifting his cup of atrocious liquid to take a sip. The thief filed that smirk away for inspection on a later date.

“So, since we’re here, why not tell me why you came as an exchange student? We do not have programs up this semester, so it must be of some importance.”

Tantei-kun paused to look at him, and to Kaito’s trained eyes, appeared to be assessing him and the situation. Typical, something Kaito would probably do, but the overall behavior seemed to hint at something more.

Kudo hummed a little, “it is a little bit of a secret–has to do with a case I’m working on. I do hope you do not mind me shutting down your curiosity.”

Kaito propped up his chin on his palm. He had expected such an answer, of course. He was no stranger to law-enforced confidentiality, especially with a police inspector as a father figure. “Not at all. I’m familiar with the process.”

(Did he imagine that, or did Kudo narrow his eyes very slightly?)

He, however, knew there was more to it. He did not know what Kudo pegged him for, but it did not take a genius to figure out there is a reason the detective moved himself to this specific high school. Beika was not far enough from Ekoda, and Kudo does go back to the former area after the school day ends. The curiosity is at the reason Tantei-kun chose his school. Hakuba, perhaps?

Kaito highly doubted that, but he is resolutely ignoring any other highly concerning ideas plaguing his head.

Walking home with Kudo Shinichi shouldn’t have made Kaito as uneasy as it did. At this point, the thief was almost 79% sure the detective was onto him. How? Only the gods know. What Kaito really wanted to know, however, was why his brain thought it was a good idea to allow Kudo the opportunity to know his exact address (it’s the fuckass lack of sleep). He tried convincing himself it was always going to be a losing fight, but that just solidified the suspicion Kudo should have for him to insist on accompanying him.

Oh well, the worst that could happen would probably be waking up one morning for a boring school day only to open the door with the entirety of Division Two staring down at him.

They reached his door, and though Kudo seemed to walk with self-assured confidence the entire way, they ended up staring at each other awkwardly with the door open between them.

Kaito cleared his throat, “ah, I thank you for the treat. You’re more than welcome to come in–if you’d like.” He definitely did not want a detective in his house, moreover this certain detective, but his mother did not raise a shit host.

Kudo pursed his lips, (whether in apology or a quick endeavor of deep thinking, Kaito did not know) then shook his head slowly.

"I think I'll start heading to the train station, lest I end up missing the train scheduled at the time I was hoping for."

Kaito nodded, not knowing what else to say. He watched for a few, very long seconds as Tantei-kun stared at him, lost in thought. Kaito had to clear his throat once more for the detective to blink at him more comprehensively. He bowed his head before turning to walk away, raising his arm to wave good-bye without looking back.

Kaito raised an eyebrow, but shrugged it off. Tantei-kun is sure one strange being.

He went in, closing the door behind him. "Tadaima," he greeted the empty house.

Removing his shoes and hanging his coat and scarf, he shoved his feet in his home slippers before making his way to the kitchen to make himself a cup of warm, sweet milk. Gods know he needs it. One would think one mountain of ice-cream would be enough to sate his sudden anxiety, but it apparently did not. He sighed, rubbed his arms to chase away the cold, and made his way upstairs to his room.

He stared at the portrait of his father, as he did every time he came back home after school.

Kaito walked over to his desk, pulling out the heist notes Jii-chan had prepared from a hidden compartment under the piece of furniture. The target was a moderately sized jewel, a black opal just big enough to be a candidate for Pandora. Eye of Hecate , it was called. He smirked, wouldn't that just interest their resident witch. The owner of the jewel was a pagan woman of a rich background, which seemed awfully well-suited.

Kaitou KID had received a challenge note from Suzuki Jirokichi, as is the usual. It seemed a little unusual for the religious witch who owns the prize to be willing to give up a jewel which must mean a lot to her, but Kaito was in no mood to figure that out.

The heist was set to take place on the night of the Winter Solstice, 3 weeks from now. Again, awfully convenient. Perhaps he should take advice from Akako, after all.

He huffed. With his recent and shocking streak of bad luck (no doubt Meitantei's fault), Hakuba would most likely be present at the heist too. The heist would be on December 21st, and though he'd assume Hakuba would be in London for Christmas break, he hadn't been at the last two heists because he was out of the country, and it seemed unlikely the Holmes dupe would leave again so soon with so much to catch up with.

Which would mean Kaito has two pain-in-the-ass detectives to look out for, assuming Kudo remains more than a meter tall until then.

School was meant to let out for the winter break next week. He'll have to wait and see how the situation with the unshrunk detective goes along.

Kaito picked up his cup of milk, warming himself up in the rapidly cooling weather. His eyes trailed to the fogged up window, watching his doves settle in their spacious cage as the sun began to set.

His eyebrows furrowed at the thought of Tantei-kun.

Something isn’t right.

With no little amount of exhaustion, the magician flopped on his bed, welcoming the lull of sleep with only one thought circling his mind.

What does Kudo Shinichi know?

Chapter Text

He was standing atop a random rooftop that wasn’t familiar to him. The act itself was second nature to Kaito, but the air felt different. It was a full moon–-another indicator that it was a heist night–and the wind was blowing his cape out artistically. The hat on his head, against all odds, remained seated atop his wild hair, but the monocle was oddly missing. 

The city was awfully quiet, building lights off and watch towers still. It almost gave the impression of looking down an abyss. The only thing between Kaito and the vision of a haunted city was the bright moonlight. The wind was freezing enough to give him the impression of the red nose he must be sporting. It made his eyes tear up, but he didn’t seem to mind that. 

Breathing in, he heard the sound of footsteps. 

“Is the presence of a full moon part of the criteria required for the Kaitou Kid to make an appearance?”

His eyes burned further. A wind-blown tear slid down his cheek. 

KID turned around, and was faced, unsurprisingly, with the familiar face of one Edogawa Conan.

The one unfamiliar thing he noted on the boy’s face, however, was the expression. Instead of the usual smugness that came with the thief cornered, his face held a melancholic stillness that, as quiet as it was, screamed unease.

“One could say so. It puts me in a spotlight no one can figure out but myself,” and gives him the key to filtering out his stolen jewels in hopes of finding Pandora.

KID reached up to pull the top hat over his eyes with a smirk, a futile attempt at shadowing his face with the absence of a monocle, as well as rubbing the tears off his face. He lowered his hand, moving his eyes to meet those of–

–Kudo Shinichi's

He startles, and though the shock does not appear on his face, the smirk slips. He stared at the detective, one who had switched with his older counterpart in the blink of an eye. KID knew better than anyone that adults disguising as children--and vice versa--is a concept of which is next to impossible. 

He knew–- of course he knew. Kudo Shinichi and Edogawa Conan are one and the same. It was not an astonishing realization that informed him, but rather a gradual and slow understanding that had no significant moment to go back to. Meitantei is aware that his identity is not a secret when it comes to the thief–-gods know he takes advantage of his uncanny similarity to the detective more often than he probably should. None of that explained the scene in front of him.

Another tear slipped.

“Have you rested?” Said a voice that was suddenly much deeper. 

KID’s carefully constructed poker face dropped a little further. “Excuse me?”

This time, Kudo smiled. “Have your eyes rested, Kaito?”

What–

Kaito woke up. It was a jolt of consciousness, but his eyes took their time to open.

He does not move, but instead stares at his ceiling. Turning his head to look out the window, he realized that the sun of the early morning had managed to flood his room with a light strong enough to wake him up. 

It was the same reason he woke up at the same time every morning. 

This did not feel like every other time.

“Bakaito? Why the gloomy face?”

Kaito huffed, “even your concern manages to sound annoying, Ahoko.” 

To ease her worries, he magicked a yellow rose and stuck it behind her ear, snickering at the eye roll he received from her end. 

They were on their way to school. A cold, dreary Thursday awaiting to be lived. 

Aoko wound her scarf tighter around the lower half of her face, attempting to cover her slowly reddening nose. Kaito, in turn, pulled at his sleeves, trying and failing to warm his hands further by covering them with the long fabric of his school uniform. He should probably find warmer gloves to wear. A magician is not going to deal well with stiff fingers.

“Aoko thinks Kaito is becoming depressed.”

Kaito blinked at her. “Eh?”

She shot him a playful smirk. “He hasn’t terrorized the class in a good while, and it has been over an half an hour and he still hasn’t tried to put snow down Aoko’s shirt.”

It was his turn to roll his eyes. Then, with practiced speed, he scooped up a handful of snow and cupped it into a ball. Within moments, his hand was up, aiming at a now shrieking Aoko as she ran away.

Laughing all the while, the two of them made it inside school grounds still throwing snow at each other.

For a few, blissful moments, Kaito forgets his worries.

That is until they enter class. 

As they were the day before, Kudo and Hakuba were seated next to each other, talking animatedly about, upon closer inspection, the case that occurred at the grocery yesterday. Kaito’s eye twitched, remembering the dream he had woken up from this morning. Today is not going to pass in peace.

“Ah– good morning, Kuroba-kun. I was just telling Hakuba-kun about the case we ran into yesterday.”

Kaito stilled the movement of pulling out his books and turned back to acknowledge the detectives. Hakuba had his chin propped up on one hand while the other nursed a take-away cup of something , and he was looking at him with mild interest. Cool. Kudo was standing by Hakuba’s desk with his arms crossed. Nice. 

Hakuba then pursed his lips. “And I was just acknowledging how creepily identical the both of you look.” He huffed with a smirk, “seems like there’s a flood of those who share your face, Kuroba.”

He’s never beating the KID allegations with this fucker.

He should probably be more careful with detectives knowing that he can disguise as Kudo Shinichi without a mask. 

Kudo raised an eyebrow, but wisely didn’t comment. “Anyhow, I passed by the cafe again this morning and they asked about you, Kuroba-kun,” he gave Kaito a small smile, “you should probably visit them in the morning more often, since they asked me to deliver this to you.”

He twisted around to reach his desk and grabbed one of the two cups (of which looked like the one Hakuba had) and handed it to Kaito.

Kaito stared at it for a few seconds before taking a sip. The taste of warm, sweet hot chocolate burst on his tongue. He let out a mild sound of excitement then grinned. Just the time for it!

Kudo blinked at the display of joy, then turned to Hakuba, who stared ahead unbothered, sipping his own (probably) tea. 

“Thank you, Kudo-kun. I’ll make sure to pass by them every morning if they’re going to serve this bomb.”

The sleuth nodded slowly, a little bit of confusion seeping through, but he turned back to Hakuba to seemingly continue the conversation they were having before.

Kaito turned back to his desk, placing the warm cup at the corner and taking his stuff out. He readied the tricks inside his sleeves, and discreetly checked on the confetti bombs he had hung up.

If this shitty morning wants to test his luck, he’ll give it something to be testy about.

The weeks went by, and though school had already let out, Kaito kept running into Kudo around Ekoda. 

Going to school with Kudo Shinichi was surprisingly not as eventful as he certainly used to think. Ekoda did face a sudden spike in dead bodies, but none were anywhere near their high school. Good, Kaito was starting to fear Meitantei’s bad luck completely overpowers his own good luck. 

Now that winter break had started, Kaito busied himself with his upcoming heist. Not long now, only a few days till the solstice.

The cold was still as brutal as it was yesterday, and the day before. Apparently, Tokyo is facing a harsh winter. True to his word, Kaito had started visiting the old couple at the cafe more frequently in the morning, and he was rewarded with hot chocolate that warmed him up greatly. It was also the place where he most often ran into Tantei-kun. 

He still doesn’t know how or why the detective remains a high school student of his own height.

He still doesn’t know why he sees him in his dreams.

2 hours and 32 minutes.

KID lowered his wrist after checking the time and brushed the long hair away from his face. 

The heist proved easier to plan than he originally thought, and though he still had his doubts about the owners intentions, he prepared himself to improvise in case trouble crashes. 

They are at the hotel where the exhibition is, and the task force seemed to be blended well with the guests. The exhibition was done in the form of a party, where the guests viewing the jewel were people invited by the owner herself.

Tonight, he wore the face of Himari-chan, a newly graduated surgeon. Her build was slight, and her black wavy hair flowed down her back, covering most of what the backless dress she was wearing didn’t cover. The bangs framing her face did a good job at hiding any evidence of a wig or a latex mask.

KID decided to join the party earlier than he originally intended, and has been at the exhibition for around two hours now. He was currently seated at one of the round tables, observing the crowd while engaging in a conversation with a businessman who took his seat beside him. 

His eyes suddenly caught a blond head halfway across the room. It was Hakuba, talking to a couple who seemed a little familiar to KID. 

That’s one detective checked off.

“—and the company rose with the brilliance he possessed. It truly was fascinating— Himari-san?”

KID smiled. “Ah, yes. Apologies, it seems my headache is getting to me,” he said, then stood up. “I’ll try to see if I can book myself a room for the night and rest in it for a little while before the heist begins.”

The man—Souta-san—nodded. “I’ll escort you to the room, then.”

KID’s eye twitched, but he kept his act up. 

“Ah, don’t worry about me,” he smiled shyly, “I do not want people to get the wrong idea, anyway. Sorry.” He took a bow—a very short one because the hem of the dress is dangerously high—then waved and took off before the man could argue further.

Ugh. This is exactly why he avoids female disguises. Too many eyes, too many hands. They have his sympathies.

He’s not going to deny the perks that come with being appealing to certain men, though, no matter the circumstances.

He made his way to the bathroom, praying it’s empty before going in. He isn’t exactly ever comfortable using the women’s bathroom but desperate times call for desperate measures. 

Luckily, it indeed was empty. He stared at the mirror and touched up his makeup, then entered a stall and gathered up his material for the heist.

1 hour and 49 minutes.

In the end, KID found the detective of the east 20 minutes before the heist’s allocated time. 

He was double-checking the tricks he planted when he ran into none other than Nakamori-keibu. Not paying attention to his surroundings didn’t bother KID too much, since it was in character for Himari, but did he have to body slam into Nakamori-keibu out of all people? 

“Oh, apologies, ojou-san. Are you alright?”

KID nodded his head at the inspector. “It’s all good, Sir.” 

He then saw who Nakamori was speaking to. 

Unfortunately, some people just aren’t as easily fooled as others. Kudo was currently staring at him with a look KID has been at the other end of way too many times. The scrutinizing, my-gut-tells-me-something-isn’t-right look that always managed to strip KID off his disguises. 

Before the detective could voice his suspicions, KID tilted his head downward and smiled at the inspector, quickly taking his leave. That’s another detective checked off. According to his notes, no other threat should be attending.

Besides maybe Snake and his cronies. Those were a little too unpredictable for KID to prepare for. They're a tactless, reckless bunch, anyway.

He kept an eye on the detectives as he went about. In all honesty, coming so early seemed a little fruitless. A guest arriving so late could raise suspicion, but KID’s current persona wasn’t one to mingle with the crowd, and so she had very few acquaintances. The sudden appearance of one Himari-chan would not be noted by many.

All in all, it was a pretty boring few hours. Now, however, the real attraction is about to start.

The detectives were now beside one another, murmuring amongst themselves. Hakuba pulled out his pocket watch. The countdown began. 

KID grinned, looking at his own wristwatch. 40 seconds until midnight. 

He readied his card gun, eyeing the fishing line attached to the ceiling.

30 seconds.

The smoke bombs are in place, ready to be activated to spray from the vents.

20 seconds. 

His eyes did a final scan, noting the places of every potential threat.

10 seconds. The crowd began chanting the countdown.

Wait, where was…

“Five! Four! Three–”

He was roughly dragged back.

“Two!–”

The world reeled away from him.

Chapter Text

It took an unbelievably slow 2 seconds for KID to snap his eyes open.

The hands wound around his middle were tight, and the movements pulling him back from the edge of the crown were rushed yet calculated and quiet. There was a hand holding some cloth over his nose and mouth, presumably a drug of some sort, but KID didn’t feel anything more than a little dizzy. The sleeping gas he made and tested on himself probably made him a little immune. 

Regardless, even his practiced immunity wouldn’t save him from the chemicals if he breathed them in any longer. 

They’re 7 seconds into the solstice.

He had no idea if his aggressor was targeting Himari or KID, but there isn’t time to ponder. Taking advantage of his free hands and forearms, he grabbed the arms encircling him and twisted . With just the right amount of space, KID slid down and with lightning fast movements yanked on the offender's arms over his own shoulder, effectively flipping them on their back. Which hurt. KID did not expect them to be so heavy. 

As unfortunate as it was, he expected the commotion to draw attention, especially with KID being almost half a minute late on his scheduled heist. 

He made a show of dusting his hands and adjusting his dress, finally looking the half-knocked out Souta-san in the eyes. The thief scoffed in offense, and to think his suspicions about the owner were right. 

He glanced at the audience he harbored, spotting many familiar faces. Hakuba had his pocket watch hanging limply from his hand, simply staring at KID with raised eyebrows. Kudo was busy giving Souta a look of annoyance and mild disgust.

“Ladies and Gentlemen!” KID said in his own voice as he placed a foot on Souta’s chest, “We’ve had a few technical issues, but do not fret. We have yet to start this party!” He grinned wide, and with practiced ease, whipped out his cape and shed off his disguise, appearing to the crowd as none other than Kaitou KID. He heard Nakamori-keibu yell at his subcoordinates to move their asses. Most started chasing after him as he used his grappler to swing towards the case holding the jewel, but a few moved towards Souta instead.

Truth to be told, he had already rigged a contraption under the case to flip and switch out the real jewel with a fake one early on. The team dedicated towards moving the jewel did not pay great attention to their staff. 

He knew it would’ve been a lot easier to simply exchange the real deal with the fake one when he disguised himself as a staff member instead of adding a contraption, but the risk of a last minute check on the jewel kept him from doing so. Besides, where’s the fun in a heist falling so short?

With all the commotion, the audience were transfixed on him swinging away, and discreetly pressing the button to activate the contraption was a piece of cake. KID made a show of gracefully falling on top of the case, shooting Kudo, who was the first to chase after him, a smirk. Before any detectives or task members got to him, he dropped a smoke bomb from his sleeve. Normally, he would simply disguise himself as a random person and slip into the crowd, but knowing Nakamori, he’d probably lock every guest up in this hall and check everyone for disguises. 

With the smoke still hiding him, KID made the last ditch effort. He stretched his arm to aim his card gun at more bombs circled around the room, and just as he heard the inspector yell out for the vents to clear the air, he had already slipped through the window. 

It didn’t take long for the party to disperse after the fake jewel was discovered, and the rest of the heist went smoothly. 

Standing at the rooftop, he held up the real opal he retrieved up to the bright moon, inspecting it with little hope.

“Not what you’re looking for?”

KID sighed and dropped his arm, twisting to acknowledge the detective. “It was an eventful heist, but a fruitless one.”

Kudo hummed, shoving both his hands in his pockets. “They arrested the man you handled, and the owner of the jewel soon after.” He smirked, “it seems your heists are common occasions for arrest. That is, the arrest of many criminals but the one hosting the heist.”

KID smiled, “I had my suspicions. It seemed odd a self-proclaimed witch would be willing to give a jewel named after a goddess of witchcraft up for Suzuki to handle,” he tossed the jewel up and down in his hand, “especially one as religious as she claims to be.”

Kudo nodded, “her divination business was a cover-up for a trafficking system,” he frowned, “I guess she was targeting your disguised identity.” 

“Catch!”

The startled detective quickly pulled his hands out of his pockets and fumbled with the jewel he barely caught. He gave KID the stink eye.

The thief chuckled before sobering up. “They were good. Their technique was brash and could’ve easily drawn attention, but they knew the commotion from the heist would cover it up. Anyone less experienced with sleeping drugs would’ve been a goner.” He turned to face the moon. “I’m guessing the ‘owner’ of the jewel used the heist to cover up several other cases of kidnapping. It’s an opportunity she can’t pass on.” He chuckled again, “guess they were unlucky enough to nab their only source of camouflage instead of the other hundred victims they had available.”

Kudo was looking down at the Eye of Hecate in his hands, twisting it around as if contemplating. “It isn’t your fault many criminals have used you to get through with their plans,” the detective pocketed the jewel and started walking back towards the staircase. “I’m going to go check with Nakamori-keibu. I already contacted Megure-keibu in case others were already taken and hidden. The police could use the help in their search.”

Turning his head to look back at Kudo, KID’s shoulders slumped. It’s unlikely many others were captured, since their planned had been foiled pretty early on. Though, it’s better safe than sorry.

“Not even going to try tonight?”

“I think you’ve had enough on your plate,” Kudo kept walking without looking back, “have a good night.”

It took a bit for the thief to acknowledge the words.

“‘Night,” whispered Kaito to the empty rooftop.

For the first time in a very long while, Kaito did have a good night.

He had a dreamless sleep, waking up only because he wanted to. Reevaluating that, he looked out the window to find the sky cloudy. Huh, that’s probably why he wasn’t roughly awoken by the sun as is the usual. 

He stretched out his sore muscles, glancing at his wall to check the date. A cloudy Saturday? Perhaps they’d get another snowy weekend.

Wait. Saturday?

Kaito quickly grabbed his phone to check the time. 10:58 am, and he had received several messages from Aoko.

He slid a hand down his face. How could he forget? He promised to take Aoko with him to the cafe at 9 this morning. 

Sighing in resignation, Kaito opened his messages.

Aoko : Kaito!!! Aoko is ready.
8:55

Aoko : Are u still asleep?? U didn’t hear Aoko through the window
9:01

Ur phone is shut off too
9:01

Aoko : I used the key to check up on u and left some croissants on ur kitchen table
9:44

U slept in. Dont worry abt it
9:44

U can make it up to Aoko later. Text me when ur up
9:45

Kaito truly did not know how to feel about this. On one hand, he was glad he got to sleep away the hours he’s been missing. On the other hand, he felt immensely guilty towards the care Aoko was giving him, and the fact that he skipped on a promised go-out.

The planning for this heist wasn’t particularly any different than the rest, but his nights have been draining him out. Kaito hasn’t been resting anywhere close to what he should be resting for, and the heist last night hit the last number on the scale. 

So he exited the messages app and went to call her instead.

“Bakaito!” Kaito held the speaker a little further away from his ear. 

“Good morning to you too.”

He heard her huff through the phone. “Are you okay?”

Kaito blinked several times before replying. "Of course I’m okay. I’m sorry about sleeping in. You didn’t have to check up on me.”

“ Of course I did! You weren’t answering Aoko in any way!”

“Ah, well. I guess the lack of sleep is catching up. I’m sorry.” He tried for a tone that didn’t completely give away how exhausted he’s been feeling the last few weeks.

“I know, which is why I let you sleep this promise out,” she paused, a ruffle of curtains can be heard through the speaker. “Do tell Aoko when you can’t actually take her out, though. I won’t kill you or anything. Probably.” 

He chuckled, opening his own window. He truly was glad he had an Aoko in his life, “oh please– you’d take any chance to throw a mop at me.”

She grinned at him from her window and ended the call in favor of yelling through it. “You better eat the croissants while they’re still warm! Don’t waste my efforts, Bakaito!”

Kaito waved his hand at her, “I’ll put on the show we’ve been watching. Come over and grab your packets of hot chocolate with you.” He shivered, “it’s damn freezing!”

With a shiver of her own, Aoko gave him a thumbs up and shut her window.

Kaito closed his own window and dragged the blanket off his bed to take with him downstairs. As much as he’d like to deny it, the crime show he and Aoko were currently watching was pretty interesting. 

The magician yawned as he heard Aoko’s cheery voice come through the door. They prepared their mugs and Kaito grabbed the food Aoko left earlier. With that, the duo settled for a late breakfast of cold croissants and warm chocolate drinks.

Chapter Text

With not much to do after Aoko left to finish up her chores, Kaito spent the rest of the day sulking. As eventful as that must be, the day blended into one of the thousands of days already lived and forgotten. 

The next morning brought similar woes, and he busied himself with whatever homework was assigned to him for the winter break. He usually piles it all up to finish at the very end of the break, considering he can rush through it all within an hour quite easily, but he rather didn’t appreciate the lack of activity he was faced with. 

“Tsk, the post-heist period of the month is always the most tedious,” Kaito grumbled.

As expected, his work was done by 10 in the morning, and whatever chores he could find to complete were similarly done by 11:30. 

Kaito walked into his living room to turn on the TV, keeping his attention on the reality show playing as he walked around the living room to tidy up the last of the house. He found a lighter to light up the sweet-scented candle Nakamori-keibu gifted him last Christmas. Ah, that reminds him. He has like… today to get Christmas presents. Great.

For now, he decided to raid his make-up supplies for nail polish. He usually avoids applying stuff like nail polish, as it just becomes a bother when he is in need of a disguise, but with the last heist over just before yesterday, there was no harm in dabbling a bit. 

He finally decided to still his constant movements and dumped himself on the couch in favor of sorting through the polish, humming to the background music playing on TV. 

Then, the doorbell rang. 

Kaito mumbled something about rude Sunday guests, waving his hands up and down in a futile attempt to dry out the nail polish a little faster as he walked towards the door. 

“Hello?”

“Ah, Sorry for intruding–-”

Kaito let out a shriek he will absolutely deny at a later date. 

Standing there was Hakuba, his arm still up in a wave, but looking entirely unbothered by Kaito’s dramati– reasonable reaction.

Kaito’s eyes twitched. “What the hell are you doing here, Hakubastard?”

Hakuba’s lips quirked up, insufferable as ever, “Can I not pay a classmate a visit?”

He received a quick and firm-- “No.”

Hakuba has never attempted to visit him before, and though Kaito doesn’t doubt the blonde already knew of his address, he’d rather ignore that fact. What would bring the detective to him now? Something is telling me this has to do with Kudo Shinichi.

The blonde sighed, taking a step closer to Kaito. “May I be let in?” He paused before adding, “Please?”

Resigning himself to an already ruined day, Kaito raised his chin up a fraction and walked back into the living room, leaving the door open. 

Despite his attitude, Kaito’s curiosity beat everything else. He’s already been worried about this whole… thing, and even though he’s trying to gaslight himself into believing the detective of the east still knows nothing, the evidence is piling up against him. If Hakuba is here for a purpose that would aid his curiosity, Kaito is going to have to grit his teeth and put up with his sworn rival.

(He hasn’t hated Hakuba for a long time, but the detective doesn’t need to know that.)

Hakuba paid the empty house its due respect, took his shoes off in favor of guest slippers, and closed the door behind him before following the other boy. 

The detective took a seat, taking in the space around him (ugh, detectives.) before his eyes paused at the various shades of blue nail polish spread at the coffee table. He raised a slight eyebrow and reached for one of them, rolling it around between his fingers with a thoughtful expression. Kaito took the remote and turned off the TV.

“Would you like some tea?”

Hakuba raised his head up as if snapped out of his thoughts, but instead of meeting Kaito’s eyes, he seemed to be looking at the hand stretched out with the remote.

The magician was confused. He was pretty damn sure Hakuba had seen him wear plenty of nail polish at school. Why the sudden interest?

“Why are you wearing that shade?”

Kaito blinked at the question. He always wore this shade, it was his favorite. “Because it matches my eyes, obviously–” 

Oh. Shit.

The shade in Hakuba’s hand was the one that matched his eyes, a deep indigo. His favorite. 

Kaito’s nails were a sharp azure.

Like Shinichi’s eyes–

Kaito snatched the nail polish from Hakuba’s fingers and quickly shoved all his make-up back into its bag. “Nothing more than an attempt for change. Now, would you like some tea?” He gritted out.

The detective hummed an affirmative, and Kaito dashed out.

He shouldn’t do anything while lost in thought, apparently. He sighed as he opened the cabinets in the kitchen to find the teacups, placing them on a tray as he went to find the tea and cinnamon. 

Kaito walked back to the living room with a tray holding two teacups and a container of sugarcubes. He placed it on the coffee table and set one of the cups down in front of Hakuba, then held his own and dumped around 6 sugarcubes in before mixing it hastily. He then took a long swig, effectively burning his tongue. 

He could feel Hakuba’s eyes on him, watching his every move. Was that about the nails, or was the reason the detective visited him unnerving? Or maybe that’s just his Detective BehaviorTM. Kaito scoffed inwardly.

Then scoffed outwardly, “Now, may I know what brings you here?”

Hakuba took a small sip of his tea before placing the cup down. “It’s about your… nightly activities." 

Kaito promptly spit out another mouthful of tea, giving Hakuba a bewildered look. 

The detective blinked a few times before processing the innuendo, then blinked some more. 

Kaito shook his head. Some things never change. His actual implications aren’t really any better starters to a conversation, though not unexpected. 

“This again? If you’re just here to falsely accuse me of being KID again, you can take that out the door.”

The detective continued as if he hadn’t heard Kaito. “It’s related to Kudo Shinichi.”

Ahh, there it was.

The magician swallowed, making sure his face betrayed nothing. “What about him?”

Hakuba took another sip, not very subtly glancing at his blue nails, “Interested?”

“And so what if I was?” He growled. 

Hakuba put his cup down and reached into the inside of his brown jacket, pulling out a… letter? He placed it on the coffee table and slid it over to Kaito. 

Kaito eyed the detective warrily, unsure of what all of this was about. Maybe both detectives were conspiring against him at the moment. He wouldn’t put it past Hakuba to tell Kudo about his suspicions towards the phantom thief’s identity, but, unfortunately, this cat is a curious one. 

He took the envelope off the table and ripped it open, but instead of finding some love letter from a soldier overseas, he found documents and clippings of people in hats and coats.

Documents on an organization. 

No. No. 

This couldn’t be. Where did he get this from? 

His eyes snapped up to meet Hakuba’s, knowing full well his poker face had failed him when he needed it most. 

He threw the papers back at the table and stood up, clenching his fists. He tried to speak, but his mouth opened and closed with no sound. He watched as Hakuba stood to face him, raising a hand as if to reach out, but thinking better of it. 

His vocal cords finally seemed to function, “What is the meaning of this?”

Hakuba swallowed, looking to the side before his shoulders slumped and he sat back down. “It’s… it’s the reason Kudo-kun has been around lately,” he raised a hand to cut Kaito off before he could ask. “I am unaware of the details, nor am I aware of how much he knows, but he did ask about you. He--” The detective hesitated, “He asked me what’s keeping me from arresting Kaitou KID, when he is so nearby.”

Kaito froze, ice cold water dunked on him from head to toe. 

But the blonde wasn’t finished, “As much as it pains me, I tried to veer him off that idea. I wasn’t aware of an organization following you, and once I was, I definitely wasn’t willing to arrest you under such circumstances. I don’t think I was able to persuade him enough, so Kudo may still know who you are, but I needed to talk to you about it before he does.” 

Kaito’s knees buckled, hitting the couch and toppling him onto it. He took a deep, shaky breath, unsure of what else to say or do. Great, the one detective he thought he could trust to not arrest him was actively trying to do so. And for what? To get himself closer to an organization that has always been Kaito’s problem? 

Then Hakuba spoke again. “I knew of snipers at your heist, but never realized how deep this runs,” he placed an unsure hand on Kaito’s shoulder. “Kuroba, I know we never hit it off well, but let me help. Kudo has only informed me as much as what’s in the envelope, but I’m sure you’re aware of more–”

Kaito smacked the detective’s hand off his shoulder. “No! Are you insane?” His hands found their way up his face and towards his hair. “Why would he bring you into this? This is MY problem! Why would he bring HIMSELF into this? The whole point behind Kaitou KID is that no one gets hurt. That the thief remains the sole target. This is crazy.” Maybe he was going hysterical.

He turned on Hakuba, who looked startled, wide eyes staring at Kaito in shock. 

“You will not involve yourself in this, do you hear me?” He stressed out. 

He then watched in horror as Hakuba’s face set into a determined, stubborn look all too familiar to the magician. 

“I’m sorry, Kuroba, but I’ve already involved myself.” His face morphed to something more concerned. “Please, let me help. At least have someone who’s aware of this who isn’t out to get you too.”

Kaito watched his face helplessly, looking for… he doesn’t know. Anything that would stop all of this. Anything that would indicate this is all just a shitty midday dream. He felt his resolve dropping, felt his need to have someone to lean onto break the surface. He loved Jii-chan with all his heart, but he was loyal to his father before he was loyal to him. Hakuba was a detective, one who was set out to arrest him, true, but one who values justice beyond the legality of it. 

His eyes drifted away, landing on the candle that he lit up, the flame dancing to music neither of them can hear. He saw it dance harder, larger. It engulfed its case, spreading further until he was sure his eyes glowed orange from the light. Until it engulfed him just as it engulfed his father–

“No.”

Hakuba stilled. “No?”

He squared his shoulders, slipping his poker face back on like an uncomfortably small blanket. “No. You will not bring this up again, and whatever you’ve seen or heard, you forget. I don’t want you back here again.” 

Hurt flashed in the detective’s eyes, and Kaito tried not to let the guilt get to him. 

“Kaito–”

“Take your leave.”

Hakuba stared at him for a few seconds longer, then stood up and bowed his head, making his way towards the door. 

As soon as Kaito heard the click of the door, his shoulders slumped and his head hit the backrest. 

He will not allow anymore hurt to worm its way into his life–-onto his people. Not because of this damned organization. Not again. 

The room was freezing, its temperature closely matched with the outside. The tea got colder. 

He didn’t move, his eyes roaming over the table in front of him.

Snake’s face stared back.