#kaito's got it all planned out as if it's a heist

[hayaku14]

nothing more tragically hilarious than kaito excitedly taking shinichi out to a surprise date only for it to be at tropical land

[raifuujin]

Anyone else feel like Kaito is almost becoming a secondary character in his own manga due to the heists slowly becoming DC clones of figuring out the tricks going on instead of just letting the heist happen and staying within Kaito's perspective.

[leonawriter]

Excuse me while I basically make Azure Throne into a hakukai fanfic.

This got... really long, and veered off from what I intended for it several times, but is basically at heart as I said, a look at Azure Throne through the lens of "what if we work on the assumption that Hakuba knew it was Kaito from the start, and/or they're actually outright flirting."

Hakuba: Kuroba what are you doing here. Why aren't you even in a disguise- oh, I see. This is interesting.

Kaito: Oh god it's Hakuba he's going to see through me like I'm made of cellophane or something. Please don't call me out here. I am pretending not to know you. Shush. PLAY ALONG.

Kaito: Come on please let one of my detectives have SOME faith in me. Restore my faith in humanity. Take the fucking bait, Hakuba.

Hakuba: Oh, that's. That's... I see what's going on here. That does complicate matters. All right, fine. I'll play along. Because I want to find the truth more than I want you arrested.

Hakuba: [Merely pays more attention to the actual suspects]

Kaito: [internally shouting "THANK YOU."]

Hakuba: We need to know exactly where everyone is, what they were doing, and if you'll excuse me I am going to geek out over science now-

Kaito: Okay well watch me explain in detail how Kaitou Kid (who is Not Me, by the way, in case you needed to be reminded) got in here. And let's conveniently not bring up how no one knows how Shinichi got here and Kid left.

Hakuba: Oh, and I anticipated your entire trick.

Hakuba: Because I know exactly how you work and I also know exactly what your clothes are made of.

Kaito: Wow... you're creepy, you know that? This is why I try and send you off on a wild dove chase each time you're heading to one of my heists.

Hakuba: Isn't it funny how I planned to catch Kaitou Kid that way, and instead I caught you two. I'm sure there's absolutely no connection between either of you and Kid... is there? Kaito?

Kaito: Oh but you know you can't say anything until this case is closed. I know you can't.

Hakuba: This means you too, Kaito. I'll be needing your firsthand knowledge of the way things went, of course.

Hakuba: It'll be good to have another actual detective on board for this!

Honestly I can just leave this one be. Kaito is enough of a tsundere that "But, to think Hakuba came back... he should have just stayed and studied in London forever!" is accurate to what I think he'd be thinking right there.

It also matches with the several times (Dark Knight and Green Dragon especially) when he's personally redirected Hakuba away from the heist.

Plus, with his attachment issues (one parent he idolised is dead, the other is barely home), I think Kaito would have a very hard time dealing with Hakuba, who (like his mother) travels a lot, and is... barely there, really. :(

Hakuba: Now, I wonder if you can keep up as a detective when playing one?

Kaito: Oh yeah? Watch me! Uh... I just need a pointer. That's all.

The interesting thing here is that Kaito has played at being a detective in the past. He's even played at being Mouri Kogoro right next to Hakuba here, in the Twilight Mansion case. However... in that case he wasn't needing to play a smart detective, and in any other instance he wasn't technically a "detective" (Magic Lovers Murder Case, where Katsuki Doito is a medical student) or he knows that Conan is capable of solving the mystery if he gives the right hints (Four Masterpieces, when he's being Takagi).

There's also the time when he played Hakuba himself in the movie Private Eye's Requiem, and we don't know how many times he'd have done that, that we haven't seen.

Point is, though, Hakuba doesn't know how good Kaito's observational skills are as a detective and it feels kind of like... if he knows (and I'm sure he has a gut feeling from the start even if he doesn't have evidence) he wants to know- "I can keep up with you, on your territory, but can you keep up with me, on mine?"

With that in mind, the fact that Kaito's only relaying what Shinichi's telling him must be... frustrating, for someone who'd actually be curious what Kaito can do, and I'm sure Hakuba would want to push Kaito to be able to figure things out for himself as well.

But I digress. Moving on.

Hakuba: [Has just seen "Kudo" flirting and being sentimental with Ran, "his" girlfriend, in a way that Shinichi himself says is so spot-on its kinda pissing him off] Oi. Kaito. I thought you were interested in Aoko. Watch it. [Also kinda jealous himself.]

I freakin' LOVE these two panels. This entire sense of "Yeah Hakuba's got Kaito sussed and he's already got half of what's going on with Conan, and yeah the next thing he does is question "Are you really Kudo Shinichi?" it's because of a potential flawed deduction when Shinichi's supposed to be this perfect saviour of the Japanese Police Force.

And in posing the question in such a way, he's allowing Kaito - master of disguise! - to come up with a cover story. Which, of course, he does.

But overall? It's the sense of... actually, just as I said. Hakuba's going "Shh. I'm talking to [him]! Don't interrupt us, okay?" - He's going "I know you're helping him, but I want to know his capabilities. Not yours."

Kaito just calling his ass out like "Hakuba I know you're obsessed with me- I mean Kid- c'mon I know you better than that~"

Also the phrase "Rumoured to have his eyes light up at the mere mention of Kid" more like. Kaito you have seen that in person.

More like I look at it and I'm like, is this Kaito saying "I Know What You Are"?

I know that it's not just them, but it's this nice little touch of the two of them standing next to each other, while Conan is on the other side of the group, and they're both mirroring the other's posture.

Kaito's already thought to himself how he barely needs to change his voice, and it's easy to imagine him barely changing his behaviours but adjusting so that he's more serious and less playing the clown or showman.

In this case, he's fully paying attention to the case (just as he has in previous ones as a witness) and...

He and Hakuba are on the exact same wavelength, with Hakuba finishing Kaito's sentence here.

Again with the twinning. Kaito has a slightly more clueless look about him, I'd say, but that's because he is out of his depth. Other than that? He's just as much taking Hakuba's lead on the case as he is Shinichi's!

The sheer amount of "Kuroba, your alibi is slipping!"

Hakuba's not going to outright cover for something that might be noticed as a flaw later on, nor is he outright going to call Kaito's disguise out immediately when other things are going on. He is, however, going to tease him to hell and back, push buttons, you name it.

And, of course, Hakuba in hearing Kaito's alibi and seeing Conan back it up, will also know that Conan is on Kid's side here even more than before.

Small and simple observation: Kaito is behind Hakuba.

At this point Hakuba in canon and the Hakuba who knew from the moment he laid eyes on him both know that this is Kaito. It's Kaitou Kid.

The start of the case had the crime get pinned on Kid.

Yet - Hakuba's just fine with Kaito watching his back and/or fully capable of doing whatever he likes behind him, knowing full well that Kaito's a skilled magician who'd be able to hide his actions. The obvious point is that he trusts Kaito.

And then - we get to the Flirtening.

I call it that because in canon it's bad enough, with Hakuba clearly only started making moves on Ran to make Kid slip up.

But in a world where he knows it's Kaito from the start? In Hakukai Fanfic Land?

First off- I'd say that this is actually payback.

Earlier on in the case, Hakuba saw Kaito (as Shinichi) flirting with Ran. Thinking back to the very first set of cases Hakuba ever appeared in, and... he'd walked into class for the first time and seen Kaito being mean to a girl, to Aoko, who was clearly hurting, and then tried to be nice to her by saying, basically, "If he won't take you to the concert you wanted to go to, I'll go with you."

Going on him knowing that this here is Kaito? He'd be seeing Kaito flirting with someone who isn't Aoko, and getting very in character, and... basically going "watch it."

So Saguru is a) defensive for Aoko, b) jealous because oi, why are you flirting with her, when he is right here, and c) using this as a means of poking a hole in Kaito's disguise, because sure he's more interested in the truth than he is in arresting Kaito, but that doesn't mean he's above making life hard for him.

In which case...

Kaito going "What did you say, jerk!!" is just as much "oh shit yeah I'm supposed to be being Shinichi right now" as it is "Hakuba why are you flirting with someone else?"

The reaction would be delayed because a) Kaito knows Hakuba's not interested in Ran, or not interested in girls in general, and b) the sheer amount of "what the fuck is happening. what is going on in front of me here" he'd be feeling.

Because for one thing, Conan's down there making attack dog noises, and for another- d'you think Kaito would just reflexively fall back into poker face if he saw the guy he likes/who he knows is interested in him just easily flirting around? I think that ordinarily Kaito would just be like "eh, that's just Hakuba being Hakuba" but I'm also aware of how fragile Kaito's social connections and relationships often are, as well as the rift between logic and emotion.

After this we have a few different things happening at once.

We have Kaito not having asked which cheek Ran had kissed Shinichi on and gesturing to the wrong one, which Ran instantly notices:

Note that the flashback isn't just for our benefit; we see later on that Ran realises probably in this moment that there's something Wrong with "Shinichi" because how could he forget which cheek she kissed him on?

This being relevant because right before that...

He'd told Ran to not "space out" - but with the weirdness going on between him, Hakuba, and Conan, I wonder if it was actually Kaito who knew he was kind of spacing out here! Like, sure, Shinichi's sending Kaito lines, but in terms of narrative and themes...

And in canon, this is where Hakuba first notices the mike and earpiece that Kaito and Conan are using to communicate. Even in a version where he knew it was Kaito from the start, this would still be where Hakuba realises "Hey, what's UP with that kid?"

Hakuba, in canon: Could it be... that those two...

My headcanon for that is that he was meaning to say "are working together," which is the easiest and most obvious/simple conclusion of his sentence.

Hakuba, in fanfic hc land: Hey, why are they working together? I know I didn't warn him I'd be here, but he could have been working with me. That kid already stole some of my reputation regarding going against you, and now this too?!

Honestly, sometimes I remember the times when Kaito has shown himself able to figure out a trick or even a murder trick more or less on his own or at the same pace as Shinichi, and I see times like this when he's shown as needing a lot more help, and I feel frustrated that Kaito's seeming to be dumbed down a little to make Shinichi look better.

But then, I think about how there's multiple times over the course of not just Detective Conan but also Magic Kaito itself, where Kaito is uncomfortable around murders and dead bodies.

Which then starts to make sense of the times when he relies more on his detectives' wits for things like this; if it's a logic puzzle trick that he can treat as one, then he can keep up. If there's blood and bodies and Someone Died Here, which they did - someone died before his heist could even begin! - then his mind has a hard time, skittering around the unnerving parts and not being able to give the trick the attention it needs.

I'd imagine his thought process goes kind of like "Okay okay so if I could think of anything that'd be really useful (but a guy died a minute ago I was out there and doing normal things and a guy died) yeah but if you don't think smart now it's going to happen again or they won't get caught (oh god what if I can't do it) I have to but-" and... so on.

And back to point, but - Hakuba hasn't really seen Kaito in the direct aftermath of him having seen someone die, when Kaito isn't pretending to be someone else.

Technically, he still hasn't here, because Kaito is Being Shinichi.

Dark Knight had Hakuba arrive on scene late, as Kid was already leaving the scene, and in Twilight Mansion Kid was Mouri Kogoro, so even if his reactions were touched with reality, no one could tell what was Kid and what was Kogoro. Here, Hakuba wasn't the first on scene, and he only sees Kaito once Kaito's had a chance to put his poker face (and a Mask of Shinichi) on.

I'd even say that... this being Detective Conan, we've had a chance to see an entire character development arc between Shinichi and Kaito, even if it is still one-sided and not the healthiest of dynamics. We know that Shinichi's not really going to hand Kaito to the police on a silver platter.

But Hakuba? The irony is that in MK canon Hakuba is KNOWN for calling Kaito with helpful knowledge about his opponent (Golden Eye, infamously) and withholding information that would put suspicion onto Kaito's civilian identity (Midnight Crow, at least). And yet in this heist, because we're a) seeing things from Conan and Kaito's perspective here, and b) we haven't seen what Hakuba would do in this sort of situation before, he seems... more of a threat if he outright found them out than if it were just the police (who they can trick) or Hattori (who Shinichi would be able to shush).

Personally, I believe that Hakuba WOULD have worked with Kaito to come to all of the same conclusions that they came to in canon with Shinichi as the POV. Hakuba's a good enough detective, after all, as we even see him doing this in canon, drawing the same conclusions without Shinichi having to whisper in his ear once.

Is Kaito side-eyeing Hakuba because he knows Hakuba's being a little shit over this but he can't say anything because he can't admit that he knows the guy personally as well as he does? Is Conan flailing because he feels like they've been sussed out?

Or is it more along the lines of "Oh, you think you're so smart, don't you? Soooo clever. Yeah sure, after you've been hounding me all case- but don't think I'll let you have the last laugh"?

And now, I'm thinking of Shinichi hearing some of the familiarity come out in their voices around now, if not before, and he's finally realising "Oh- okay so Kid knows this guy. Not just aware of him, he knows him. Oh. Oh shit."

Fun fact: we do not see Conan again alll the way through the explanation of the fireman's carry that Hakuba is doing with Kaito as his partner. The next time we see Conan, it's after they've pinned the criminal in place.

I find this interesting because... in spite of this being a case that Hakuba is starring in - the guy who is well known for asking "Why did you do it?" - it's the victim's wife who asks that, by way of her "But why did you kill my husband!?" and it's Conan who suggests a potential reason.

In a sense, they've both stolen Hakuba's thunder here, the wife by taking his catchphrase and Conan for taking the words out of the criminals mouth before the guy can admit it himself, in his own words.

(Ironically, Kaito would agree with Conan on this, probably, what with him having said "isn't it your job to figure [motive] out?" but as I've said before, I see worth in Hakuba asking for it in the criminals' own words.)

I feel like both I and other people have probably made all the jokes about the "I've got the stamina to keep carrying you for ages" part that I don't need to rehash it that much, haha.

But I DO have other observations.

Kaito: So, you figured it out, huh... Hakuba: Of course!

Like... even way aside from the fact that Hakuba's probably just internally going "you're SO lucky I like you, otherwise I'd have just pointed out that you just flattened your hair the moment I walked in" there's something this reminded me of.

In the translation here, Kaito trails off on an ellipsis, but... in a way, that's a question. It's literally "So, you figured me out?" except Kaito may well have been expecting it even in canon, so it's no longer a question.

What's the significance of this?

Well.

It brings to mind how Toichi asked "Will you be able to stop me?" and Yusaku said "[Yeah...] of course!"

And of course we know that whatever Yusaku was able to do, it was never enough to stop the legend of Kaitou Kid from growing - and we also now know that he almost certainly knew that it was his brother Toichi right from the start.

In many ways it's meant to show how Kaito and Shinichi have taken up their fathers' mantles and become each other's rival... but this moment of "You found me out?" "Yeah, of course!" shows that Hakuba is just as much Kaitou Kid's worthy rival. He is thematically and narratively Kid's rival.

(And this is where I get my post limit for images, whoops!)

So, yeah. Kaito then has a space of about three [3] panels between Hakuba saying "I know you're Kid" and then Hakuba trying to walk and finding his legs are cuffed together.

I'd also say that in terms of pranks that Kaito (as Kid) has played in order to get out of a Situation, that was... a lot more on the immature roughhousing side than a lot of what he does. So much of his DC appearances relies on... action movie stunts? Stuff that's actually really risky? Because he needs to rely on that. But with Hakuba he doesn't have to. It reads more like play fighting.

(Because Hakuba, he knows, isn't going to attack him with a deadly soccer ball or knock him out midair.)

A thought on why he cuffed Hakuba's legs together like he did even if they're on better terms would also be the easy "Kaito knows that Nakamori is there, knows that Hakuba wouldn't be allowed to carry him all the way to the station, knows that something would go wrong, and almost certainly by this point knows that he shouldn't go out in public as Shinichi. So he's just as much going "yeah nope, not doing that, bad idea on SO many levels" as he is "I don't fancy going to jail today."

And, for an ending note: Hakuba at no point seems frustrated or upset that Kaito got away. Not for one single moment.

If anything, I'd say he's just going "Ah, there he goes again. Look at him go." with a fond look in his eye.

[detshin]

Do you think Shinichi is also putting a facade?

Hmmm. I think that with Shinichi it's complicated.

The way I see Kaito, he is just a normal guy who CAN have normal relationships up to a certain point, he has his own safe space, he has his normal every day to day routine... So his life is not THAT different, he has these extra things he has to add to that, like planning for heists, pretending ignorance and innocence in front of his close ones and shutting people out if they try to cross his limits, which is added to the fact that his social circle is very small too. But even if he's got to be alert because of these things, he still has the structure of his routine life and safe space, which makes it easier for him too to be alert when he needs to be. The fact that after all this time he sTILL refuses to accept or comply to Hakuba telling him more or less directly that he's Kid kinda proves that. He still has energy to keep that mask on at all times he HAS to have it on.

For Shinichi... It's much more complicated. He doesn't have a safe space. He doesn't. He has to be wearing the mask CONSTANTLY. If he had in the end let's say lived at Agasa's house, maybe it could've been a little easier for him mentally because as soon as the door closed, inside of Agasa's house he could act like himself, but he can't do that, and it's gotta be... Exhausting. The people who KNOW and he can act normally are, sadly, sort of out of his routine, he doesn't see Agasa everyday (not now that he's Conan, he probably did before though), he doesn't see Heiji every day either,... He sees Ai at school, but it's not completely safe either because the kids are around, they meet mostly at school, again, not a safe space either... It's complicated. I feel like Conan's mask cracks easier for two reasons: one: he's not specially good at lying and he doesn't like to do it (he's got his moments). Two: he's tired. It's gotta be EXHAUSTING to act completely different as you would normally at all times, that's why he cracks, that's why he messes up more, that's why when with people who KNOW he indulges so much and then of course messes up too. So is Shinichi wearing a mask, is he putting up a facade? Sure, but not completely. His personality bleeds more through his mask than Kaito's imo, because he has to keep it on all the time and THAT is not easy. For example, he falls comfortable at times with the kids and takes this more mature stance with them, took the role of the older brother even being the smallest child on the group, and they let him, because they're kids.

And of course he takes EVERY opportunity he can get to take the mask off (he takes antidotes when possible, he wants to go on dates with Ran and take her to a nice restaurant and tell her his feelings, he wants to go on a school trip with the rest of his mates and with the love of his life...) because he's tired.

Shinichi and Kaito have similarities but are also very different, it's interesting to explore!

[localgirlbecomesobsessed]

The things you do for a date

ITS HEIST TIME

heist time turned kind of spooky and Xena is having an unfun time and Romeo is done with life. This actually turned a bit horror lmao

part one

Leo x Xena

something something something...thinking about how rich people used to eat mummified bodies.

warning:violence,detail of injury,kind of cannibalism?

Xena took a deep breath to steady herself as she smoothed out the emerald dress Romeo had forced her in. It was a simple slip dress that slitted at both sides, revealing toned thighs and Xena’s heavy scars, earning looks she’d rather ignore and is meant to ignore as Kaito retied the laces of her knee high boots.

How Romeo convinced Kaito to play the role of servant she doesn’t know…but she does know he’s enjoying this a little bit too much.

“Kaito; see if you can get any info from the others, just in case we missed something.”

Xena hissed out at him, subtlety yanking her leg away. The blonde haired man pouted at her but followed her instruction as she grabbed a flute of what she’s hoping to be wine, the server carrying the plate of drinks eagerly started talking to kaito as the two disappeared into the sea of people walking into the ballroom, Kaito giving the excuse he needed to get his mistress her favourite dessert…

Xena walked through the huge hall, narrowly avoiding the dancing dolls swirling around her as she aimed her direction to the stage, pretending to be like the many people who seemed to be extremely weirdly estactic for the hypnotist…she was more excited to see Romeo flop on stage.

It was still the beginnings of the party, people still filing in as she found a quiet place to sit. Angling herself in the corner nearest one of the huge windows in order to get a better view of the both the eerie stage and the row of mausoleums at the back of the mansions gardens.

There were five mausoleums and two of them were painted a light gray, the other three black with golden doors. The last one with the golden door was meant to be the entrance to the underground hopefully-not-dungeon but just storage basement that holds the anomaly artefact.

She had to wait for Romeo’s show to start and for him to give the signal before she can actively explore, the plan was for Kaito to wait with her until the signal is given and then he’d meet them at the rendezvous area.

If all goes to plan...

“Mistress, I brought you the chocolate covered strawberries.”

Xena raised an eyebrow as Kaito handed her the hugest bowl of strawberries, he grinned sheepishly at her as he sneakily took one for himself as he leaned against her chair, they probably seemed too causal for a master and servant but she didn’t care that much.

“You’re enjoying this.”

Kaito laughed lightly as he took the bowl off of her, holding it so the two can munch on their snack, he shrugged shyly as he grabbed her another drink.

“They say a secret party happens in the mausoleums, they’re not sure which one but apparently the organiser and his husband send special invitations that tells you which mausoleum to get into…”

Xena frowned as she looked around the many invitees who cheerfully chatted with eachother, she needed to get one of those invites…knowing her luck she’s going to walk right into the party grave.

Her own faked invite was mustard coloured with small golden doves above her name, she flipped it over trying to see if there’s some sort of clue of how they differentiate between the special and the normal invites when a passing group’s gossip was overheard.

“Oh Diana, getting a plain pink invite well I would just die, see Nancy got the special invite and I got the prestigious one…”

She whipped her head at Kaito, taking a deep breath as she slid into the group.

“Oh my Diana it’s been so long, it’s me Cassandra do you remember?”

She forced on a huge smile as she went in for a cordial hug and awkward kiss of the cheek, Diana forced by social convention to awkwardly pretend she recognises the girl before her. A forced strained smile on her face as she turned to her group.

“Everyone this is Cassandra! It’s really been such a long time!”

The group turned to look at her, eyes hungrily eating up the sight of the fake aristocrat, Xena smiled as she greeted each and everyone of them, already feeling exhausted from the group of seven as each demanded a hug, they all glanced at Kaito ignoring him as Xena gestured for him to follow behind.

“Darling, you must tell us what colour your invitation is, the lowest has to volunteer to get on stage with the dreamy hypnotist-he’s a professional you know!”

They all laughed cheerfully with no actual emotion underneath it, they reminded her of blank dolls with nothing under their surfaces. The three men all had the black tuxes, one was bedazzled with diamonds and rubies, the other was a black velvet and the last one had a dark green trim all around his suit with a matching shirt. The women all had backless black dresses that matched with the men…except one, Diana, the one with the plain pink invite, she had an extravagant golden dress with golden chains and silver swords swinging down the back, it was deep plunged with bat winged arms and it seemed heavy, she stood out and was in both Xena’s and Kaito’s words ‘extremely hot.’

“Mines, mustard with doves…”

She held it up between two fingers as the others sighed in disappointment.

“I guess Diana will be the volunteer.”

The man with green trimmings said, disappointment and jealousy dripping off his words as he glanced at the woman.

“Hmm I guess so, how entertaining.”

Diana chimed out, popping her fan out as she cooled herself. Xena inwardly squealed at the movement; it was just like what they did in her manhwas, Diana looked at them with amusement as she twirled around, the rest eagerly following as they strode to hypnotists area. They all had to get out their invites to sit at the front, apparently the invites all have levels to them, she just hopes she has the right one.

She checked over the ones everyone held out, in case there was a clue or a clear sign as to what colour was the special invite, she had an inkling but she had to see the others before she swapped hers.

Two of the men had green ones, the other had a blood red one; obviously Diana had pink; the prestigious invite was the mustard with the doves; the other two also had green ones and the one that was meant to have the ‘special invite’, had a plain white one which was actually just the basic invite and Xena had to watch as she got turned away. Her supposed friends all walked off ignoring the woman who demanded to speak to a manager as she proclaimed it was special.

Xena held back as she looked around as the other guests who all had the same white invites went into the places behind them. The ballroom had been swiftly converted into a seating hall, everyone in their seats with a drink in hand as they waited patiently for the hypnotist.

Diana swished her way back to them, noticing Xena straggling behind as she wrapped a hand around her with an iron grip, dragging a surprised Xena as Kaito hurriedly followed them. The others gaped at her as Diana forced her to sit closely next to her, to the point they were basically sharing one seat, Diana traced a finger lightly over Xena’s scar smiling flirtatiously at her as she leaned in close to a flustered Xena.

“You don’t know me do you?”

Xena dropped her face into its usual one of indifference, the act of a too friendly acquaintance being thrown away as the women chuckled at her. She could've kept up the act but honestly undercover work wasn't quite for her.

“Don’t worry, you’re far too interesting to stop talking to now~how bout we find somewhere more private to talk?”

She had brought her hand further up, Xena gently grabbed it as she smiled apologetically at the lady.

“You’re a very very and I mean this with all my heart, very attractive person, isn’t that right K?”

She gestured to Kaito who had been watching the ordeal with an extreme flush covering his ears, face and neck. He began nodding enthusiastically as the woman sighed in disappointment.

“I'm sensing a but...can I guess what it is Angel?...You have a partner.”

Xena nodded, brushing her hand against Leo’s necklace with a slight smile.

“I have a partner.”

The woman smiled before leaning away, taking her hand back as she pointed at Kaito.

“Does he have a partner?”

Xena cracked up as Kaito leaped at the chance to tell Diana that he definitely didn’t have a partner, his enthusiasm not lost on Diana as she chuckled in amusement as she slid Kaito her number, winking as Xena settled properly into the chair next to her; sipping her drink as her phone buzzed erratically.

Romulus: IS THIS A DATING SHOW? BBD GET HIM UNDER CONTROL.

She grimaced as she looked up and met Romeo’s furious gaze, Kaito gulping as he paused in conversation and physically paling at Romeo catching them.

“Hmmm I thought he was single.”

Diana whispered to Xena.

“It’s uh-complicated.”

Diana raised an eyebrow before looking back at the woman who kicked off about her basic invitation-who was now sat at the front of the cut off point for the basic invites with a glare of pure fury aimed at Diana, who sighed before nodding in understanding.

“I get it…”

She reached out and squeezed Kaito’s arm in sympathy, who feigned tears as he thanked his new goddess.

Xena ended up switching chairs with him as he begged to talk to Diana the breezy hall ran a chill down Xena's back as she did so, the woman pausing in conversation as her gaze flickered between the two.

“You two are quite different to the usual crowd that comes here, it’s lovely.”

Diana gestured happily to the two of them as she brushed a hand across Kaito’s blushing cheek. Her kind eyes gazed at him in admiration, she had deep brown eyes that you could melt into and long red braided hair that she had tied intricately with tiny golden skulls and butterflies clipped on each braid, she had a dark emerald eyeshadow that made her eyes stand out and she had golden bangles running up her arms with tattoos hidden underneath them, brown skin shining beautifully, she really was a vision, even Romeo couldn’t help glancing back repeatedly as he seemed to check Diana out.

“It’s actually our first time here believe it or not! We were told we just had to see what was in the mausoleums~!” •_•

She couldn’t force herself to smile but made sure to keep the enthusiasm clear in her voice as Kaito silently agreed with her, Diana’s eyes shone as she grasped their hands, pulling them both in as she glanced around to make sure no one was watching.

“Speak no more, we can go after the show, I can only take one of you with me but I’ll let them know that your invitation has been upgraded!”

She spoke excitedly, running a thumb over Kaito’s knuckles.

“That would be amazing, Kaito could go with you right! I’ll go in afterwards.” ^_^

At least someone could keep an eye on Diana, how does she have so much influence to the point she could change the levels…she wasn’t on their dossier of the family who’s organised it. Plus, from the way the others spoke she had the lowest level of invites among them...

“Wow! Really shgsgsgss ahem…. Thank you Miss.Diana!”

Kaito’s blush never disappeared as he went all gooey eyed at Diana, who’s attention got turned to the stage as the lights began to dim and Romeo confidently and slowly strides onto the stage.

“Welcome one and all, to a night of mystery…”

A puff of smoke boomed around Romeo as he got swiftly replaced by the actual hypnotist. Smoke surrounded the stage before dramatically being blown away as Romeo was revealed on to be sat elegantly on a tilted throne. The hypnotist bowed before him as he faced the audience, the hypnotist started the show bringing randoms on stages which of course included Diana as he made them pretend to be duck, ballerina and such.

Romeo was his unmoving assistant, correcting and bossing the hypnotist about as he explained and worked the room with the science behind hypnotism. It was actually quite fun watching the hypnotist shake in his boots under Romeo’s watchful eyes, their plan was to get the room under their control, find one of the family members (who are meant to be sitting at the front) and get them to lead them to the mausoleum or for them to be brought on stage and Romeo will swipe the key, if the hypnotist fails then at least they have Diana as a backup plan.

If all else fails Romeo will cause a distraction and Kaito and Xena will make a run for it during the commotion.

They had a multitude of plans that they’re hoping they’re not going to have to run through but…

As the hypnotist worked the room, now involving everyone in his tricks, they couldn’t help but notice not one family member was there. The hypnotist called for them to come forward only for an attendant to run onto the stage whispering something in his ear, both Romeo and the hypnotist frowning from the news.

“Well it seems our dear rulers for this evening started their private festivities early, I’ll need…some different volunteers, you girl come forward.”

Diana cheered as he dramatically beckoned Xena to join him, who just sighed in disinterest as she got up and made her way to the stage.

He placed a blindfold on her and placed her next to Romeo, claiming he’ll make them swap minds through just the sound of a gong. Now the hypnotist doesn’t know they knew eachother, only seeing Romeo’s face when he came to blackmail him, so it’d be amusing to see how he’d go about it.

“Oh!! Im terribly jealous how exhilarating!!”

Diana proclaimed as the hypnotists eyes gleamed in self satisfaction as his eyes raked over her figure.

“Then my queen, how about you do it instead, with myself of course.”

He snatched the blindfold off Xena as he attempted to seductively wrap it around Diana, the woman couldn’t help giggling at the hypnotists obvious ploy to flirt with her, enjoying every bit of attention as the crowd gasped at the dramatics of it all.

“It seems the owners have secret parties in our targeted area…”

Xena murmured to Romeo, who slightly nodded as he crossed his legs haughtily.

“They’re not here so the bastards have probably started early.”

She continued as she leaned slightly on the chair’s arm.

“We have a way in, the hot lady has a special invite.”

Romeo’s eyes flitted to hers as he slightly nodded, a quirk of a smile flickered on his face before falling.

“Good work BB.”

Xena tried not to preen under the small bit of praise, she had begun to highly respect Romeo as they continued to work together…he was tenacious in what he wanted and slightly insane, not only that but the way he perseveres despite how painful things can get was inspiring. Sometimes when her leg injury acts up she can barely get out of bed, it was encouraging to see how he continues on despite everything.

Kaito awkwardly sat in the crowd, as he tried to concentrate on the show, which was quite entertaining if not annoying how he also had to sit front row to the show of Romeo and Xena chatting it up. He tried to swallow the bitter ball of jealously that kept trying to rise up…it was bad enough she was with Leo, now she’s all buddy-buddy with Romeo too?

Xena awkwardly waved at Kaito as she watched his face fall into a deep frown…he probably didn’t like being by himself surrounded by hungry sharks that seemed ready to pounce on anything.

They just had to get through this show…and through the mission.

Then it’ll be over.

———————————————————

Diana lead them to the mausoleums, preening under Kaito’s constant compliments, the hallways were abuzz with excitement as people passionately chatted about the hypnotist show, they were lively and full of guests showing off their newest businesses or purchases as they all tried to loudly outdo the other.

Which is why Xena found it strange that as soon as they turned a corner the hall was empty…in fact instead of the blinding white walls they were previously trapped in, the walls were black with gold covering previous cracks that littered the walls, the floor was still a boring white tile but in between each tile there was one with a silver cobra painted onto it…

“They’re all connected my dears~all the little mausoleums, it’s just for show so they can make their family look large and important.”

Xena furrowed her brows at that statement and the indifference of Kaito and Diana at their change of surroundings, this all differed from the original house plans that Romeo had acquired, though from how hush-hush they are about everything it’s no surprise that they faked the layout.

“How do you know so much Diana?”•_•

Xena kept her voice low as she walked beside Diana, her eyes narrowed as the woman had avoided answering that very question everytime Xena tried to subtlety ask previously.

“I’m the chef darling.”

Diana answered, her smile too wide, her eyes void of any emotion as she turned to face Xena, they were in the middle of the hall now, surrounded by paintings that reminded her of a Francisco Goya piece, the unsettling images putting Xena further on edge.

“They have a…peculiar palette you see, I’m one of the only chefs on the planet who can capture a cuisine like that.”

She leaned in twirling a strand of Xena’s hair as she sniffed the air before hungry eyes landed on Xena. Who stood frozen as her hand trailed to her nape, Kaito shot his hand out in an attempt to stop Diana as he watched Xena’s face ashen, finally snapping out of whatever spell Diana had him under.

But it was too late…

Diana’s claw like nails ripped at Xena’s skin drawing blood as Xena hissed in pain, her blood boiling in anger and fear as realisation hit her like a truck.

Diana…She knows…

Xena and Kaito watched in horror as Diana swiped up the blood with her finger before sucking on it, moaning at the taste as drool escaped her mouth, she tried to reach for another taste only for Kaito to shakily stand in front of Xena, looking more like a protective chihuahua than a guard dog, Diana only laughed in amusement sighing as she wiped the drool from her chin.

“Truly delectable darling…I knew you were a treasure.”

Xena shuddered stepping back as she tugged at Kaito’s sleeve to follow her. He couldn’t move, frozen in fear as predatory eyes locked on his, he was shaking in pure terror, eyes filling with tears as Diana’s face slowly transformed, long fangs protruding from her lips as golden scales bloomed all over her face. She smirked as she reached out for Kaito, drool dripping off her fangs and falling onto the tiled floor as smoke emitted from the ground, her spit was acidic and burning A gaping hole into the floor.

“I’ve never tasted ghoul before either!”

Xena yanked Kaito away, using all her strength to throw him behind her as Xena hastily reached into her boot, pulling out a tiny pod and pressing her thumb hard into it causing it to snap in two, the pod extended into a long and thick staff. She silently thanked Alan for the hours of training with the weapon as she swung ferociously into Diana, hitting her violently in the stomach as she doubled over.

“Don’t.”

Xena warned as Diana tried to get back up, the woman’s furious eyes met hers as she struggled to get back up.

“Xe-xe XENAWESHOULDLEAVEPLEASE-“

Kaito screeched at her tugging her arm vigorously as Xena glared down at Diana stubbornly standing in place as she anticipated that them running was exactly what Diana wanted.

Kaito, however let fear overtake him as he let go of Xena and made a dash for it, promising to get some form of help as he tried to run. Yet, as much as he ran the hallway just continued to extend…

There was no escape.

———————————————————

“Those idiots have been OOC for a while…”

Romeo sat on one of the white marbled chairs with the hypnotist, who was currently sweating buckets as he watched probably the prettiest man he’s ever saw sip his wine as he fiddled with the gun hidden under his long purple cape.

“Th-they did go with that woman…”

He managed out tremors racking through his body as Romeo turned to look at him in disgust.

“I’m aware.”

Romeo snapped at him as he pulled out his phone, he made the two of them carry trackers for this very reason (also so he can stalk Kaito later.) Sighing as he forced himself up, Romeo followed their trail, calling one of Darkwick's agents to take the hypnotist away. He was lucky that Hyde allowed him a couple of agents to be dotted around...but that also concerned him, surely this wasn't as easy as Hyde originally made it out to be if he's allowing him all this extra help.

Clumps of people gathered around eachother, all grouping themselves seemingly by their colour coded invite. Romeo watched as a group of red invites got lead out of the room, they all held tightly to the cheap pieces of paper as they seemed to be enveloped in joy at the fact they’re getting something exclusive from the elusive family…

But Romeo always found that special privileges in a place like this…never lead to anything good.

———————————————————-----------------------------------

“PUTAIN DE SAKÉ.”

Xena spat out as she dodged the stinger, Diana as it turned out was some fucked up scorpion-snake-dragon like anomaly, something they so luckily found out when a tail with with huge stinger came launching right at them.

The electricity that thrummed through her staff needed a moment to charge as she had been keeping her at bay with just that…that wasn’t going to get them out of this, something that was frighteningly clear to Xena as she looked around the strange hallway for anything she could use. They couldn’t break through the windows, they’d pause before completely shattering and then putting itself back together again, which was what Diana also did when Xena beat and ripped her arm off….

In conclusion they were fucked.

There were only paintings surrounding them, the windows were unbreakable, Kaito was having a minor breakdown after failing to hit Diana 3 times and Xena was trying to both calm him down and avoid getting murdered or worse…drugged by the stinger.

“Kaito we don’t have time for a melt-DOWN!”

She dived out of the way as Diana flew at her, rolling herself away as she glanced around once more. Diana had been proactive at keeping them away from this end of the hallway…so maybe there was something here.

Diana had been calculative though, stood in between the two as she glanced from side to side deviously smiling at Xena as she watched the girl locate the garden doors.

“KAITO COME ON!”

She kicked the door open, breathing a sigh of relief when it actually flew open.

Kaito stood frozen though as Diana loomed over him, feverishly grinning at him as her jaws snapped at him.

“Poor pretty boy…whatever will you-“

WHACK

Xena slammed the staff across Diana’s head, aiming to burst her eardrum as she watched blankly as Diana screeched in pain. The noise being so loud as Kaito covered his ears tremoring in pain as he struggled to stand up, grabbing one of his arrows as Xena started repeatedly beating Diana with the staff. Blood splattered across the floor and Kaito thought it looked like the cobras were spitting blood at Xena.

Xena who was now covered in blood frantically panting as she threw the staff away, falling back in shock at what she had just done…

She couldn’t.

She couldn’t handle the way she was looking at her, like she was meal to be devoured…

She had a feeling whatever she was about to see in the mausoleum…she definitely wasn’t going to like it.

Before she could have a moment of reflection and delve into whatever horrors await her, the broken body in front of her started twitching forcing itself back together as a strained arm reached in desperation towards Xena.

Who tried with extreme restraint to calmly step back and not let herself attack the dying anomaly, instead she felt bile rise in her throat as she watched Diana screech in pain grappling to pull herself together and tear the frozen girl apart.

"Xe...XENA!"

It all sounded muffled to Xena, she tilted her head as she watched almost mesmerised as Diana's features flickered between human and monstrous...is this what she'll look like? she couldn't help herself as she looked down at the anomaly...at Diana...was she like her? someone cursed to become twisted or was she just born like this?

Was there a difference between her and Diana?

Were the two not monstrous in their own rights? Diana just underestimated or even misunderstood what sort of monster she was dealing with...someone like Xena, she wonders what will become of her in the following months-

"XENA?!?!?!?!??!?!?!?"

Kaito grabbed her arm yanking her backwards and by his side as he stared in fright at the seemingly apathetic girl, Diana slowly and with extreme sluggish movements stood upright and attempted to make her way over to the two.They could hear her bones reforming as she used the wall to stablise herself, dragging herself towards the two and leaving a trail of blood in her wake, her eyes fixed fiercely on Xena.

Diana spluttered as she shakily pointed at Xena, her talons broken and bleeding, she was grinning showing Kaito and Xena her broken fangs that were dripping acidic poison into her own mouth causing her to drool and bleed as her tongue dissolved and rebuilt itself over and over again.

"Y..o.."

Yet, before she could even try to get a word out the piercing sound of a gunshot echoed through the air, snapping Xena out of her own turmoil as she turned to face a furious Romeo.

"This is why I can't leave you two morons alone."

Romeo sighed as he lowered his weapon, rolling his shoulder as he had to hastily try and get a decent aim on the anomaly. He strode over to the two frowning as he caught a glimpse of Xena's face twisting into a horrified look before taking a deep and forcing it back into it's blank state. Kaito was shaken up as he held on tightly to Xena's arm causing Romeo to roll his eyes as he grabbed Xena's other arm and leading them through the door to the gardens. Leaving behind the dead body of Diana, something Xena forced herself not to look at.

"LET idiots-this is more of a massive headache than that SOB let on."

Romeo grumbled out as Kaito and Xena followed him, Xena took a deep breath and forced herself onward finding herself more distracted and annoyed by her dress, it was torn and tattered whilst also being in the way of her scar, brushing against it in a way that was slowly starting to make her extremely irrate. It was all she could focus on...all she allowed herself to focus on, but even that fact was pissing herself off to no end.

Kaito was muttering something to Romeo as Xena marched onwards, ignoring the irritation, the bubbling anxiety and slowly increasing pain in her leg was something she couldn't concentrate on right now...what she needed right now was to smash someone to pieces.

------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Xena kicked down the mausoleum door, wincing as she had to put all her strengh into it, the feeling of the weighted door slamming against her foot vibrated throughout her leg.

Romeo pushed past her sending her a look of mild concern as he walked confidently and with purpose into the crypt. They could hear the cheers and laughs of the 'special' guests down below, Kaito repressed a shiver as the smell of smoking meat breezed to them, the smell unsettled something deep within Kaito as it smelt like something he couldn't quite place.

It didn't take long for them to find the source of the smell, all three of them paused at the entrance of what was meant to be a place of rest...instead the tombs had roasted anomalies splayed on top of them, they were all crudely cut open as the trio watched in horror as the fellows who had the red slips and the family who owned the mansion itself ripped into the bodies in a frenzy.

Xena felt cold sweat drip down her back as she watched the disgusting creatures ravage the poor bodies before them, some of the anomalies she recognised...they were ones kept in Jabberwock, ones she's cared for and know they would never harm anyone...

"Ah! Glorious days young ones I say better late than never, our chef is running a bit late but Matthews decided to crack them out anyway, Ol' lad's better than that monster anyway!"

A man who disturbingly looked like colonel Sanders came up to them, slapping Kaito on the back as spit flew from his mouth, as he spoke he waved a bloodied rib around; Romeo and Xena had to hold back their looks of disgusts. They recognised the man as the patriarch of the family, the eldest and the one with the most bloodon his hands...both literally and figuratively. Kaito faked a laugh and nodded at the elderly man as he guided the trio to a table, Xena felt her hands tremble as she looked at the body before them...it looked like a Kyklos.

"This here is one I caught on a hunt just last week, a Eleusis! something more for the vegetarians aye love!"

The man tried to grab ahold of Xena a greedy grin spread across his face as grubby hands darted towards her, before Xena could launch herself at him and slightly kill the man, Romeo wrapped an arm around her and pulled her close leaning his head on top of hers and chuckling gently.

"But sir Eleusis is a place, don't you mean this is Chlooephi?"

Romeo's tone was light as purple dangerous eyes darted into the man's enraged ones, he spluttered as his face turned a bright red, he forced himself to turn himself away from the trio not wanting to ruin his feast but a subtle hand gesture to what they thought were just other invitees caused Romeo to hastily force the other two to sit at the table.

"He's called for reinforcements."

Romeo muttered to the other two causing Kaito to audibly gulp as Xena nodded, her leg bouncing as she continued to stare at the anomaly before her.

"Why the fuck did you antagonize him?"

Kaito seethed out, not even budging when Romeo's eyes narrowed at him.

"Look at the anomaly they chose for us, those POS know who we are...look at Xena."

Romeo crossed his arms as he smugly watched Kaito freeze in horror as he turned to finally face the girl. Her jaw was tense, her eyes dark and furious as she glared fiercly at the patriarch.

"We're gonna have to fight our way through this."

She announced nodding at her own words as Romeo sighed but reluctantly agreed, Kaito just gaped at her but one look from Xena forced his mouth shut as he silently agreed.

They hadn't even found the artefact yet...

"Kaito, you look for the artefact, me and the BB will handle this."

Romeo ordered and before Kaito could argue with him,not wanting to leave Xena alone with Romeo or in the room with a bunch of rich bastards wanting to devour her. Xena placed a hand on his shoulder and solemnly nodded in agreement with Romeo's orders...

Kaito waited for the battle to commence, Romeo leaving it up to Xena as she abruptly got up, her chair falling behind her as she stormed towards the colonel sanders look-a-like grabbing a metal pole that was used to roast one of the anomalies. She twirled it in her hands as she winked at a group of people who were munching on some poor creature, unsure if this was some weird entertainment act or an actual threat, she grinned maniacally her sharp canines poking out as she swiftly approached the colonel ignoring the people who tried to call to her or stop her as she wildly swung the pole.

Kaito watched in placid horror as Xena kicked the back of the colonel's knees and then promptly swung hard, knocking the colonel out...

"Fucking go Fuji."

Romeo brought out a revolver from his jacket as he shooed Kaito away, the blonde not waiting around as he ran off happily avoiding a fight as he looked back at the scene behind him catching sight of Xena flipping one of the men over and breaking his arm, smiling cruely as she did so.

Kaito was slightly greatful at getting to avoid the mini bloodbath as he went searching for the artefact...

------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Romeo sighed as he put his glock away as soon as Kaito ran off, pulling himself up as he avoided swinging fists and scared patrons as he found his way to the bar, the clearly anomaly bartender looked at him in surprise as they started to prepare him a drink.

A sparkling red wine with crushed ice.

"Belissimo."

He cheered with the anomaly, a slightly robotic looking creature in a bartenders outfit...he could use one of those for the casino, he glanced at the silver and gold necklace adorned around the creatures neck, ignoring the sound of Xena's grunt and fists landing blows against their enemies.

He wanted to leave her too it, letting her get her anger out on these bottom feeders as he enjoyed his delicious wine. He gestured for the creature to come close as Romeo leaned forward tugging the necklace off and watching the creature let out a sigh of relief. He saw the same sort of thing on that Diana creature...

It was the same sort of thing he caught Xena staring down at when she couldn't take her eyes off of the creature on the table.

He spun in his chair as he watched her grapple with one of the larger enemies, he winced slightly as Xena got thrown hard into a tomb, breaking the stone as she let out a low groan. Xena huffed out a laugh reaching for a sharp rib poking out of the Merrow and stabbing it into the man's eye, she struck at his nerves immobilising the man as she swept under his feet and smashed his head into the wall.

The anomaly passed him another wine this time it was in an even bigger glass, with a decorated rim and strawberries cut into intricate shapes.

"Thanks."

He raised his glass cheersing the anomaly and taking a sip, sighing happily as he waited for Xena to finish up.

All he had to worry about was Kaito fucking this up...

------------------------------------------------------------------------------

"PLEASEDONTBEADEADBODYPLEASEDONTBEADEADPLE- AHHH"

Kaito shrieked out as he stared at the black and gold tombstone, it was behind a hidden door with the same Cobra sign on it. The tombstone had moved slightly as Kaito pleaded with literally any god or anomaly or Xena out there that he hoped was blessing him with luck, he shakily pushed the lid off hiding behind it as he waited for something-anything to jump out at him.

But, there was nothing...

He got up from his hiding place as he looked into the tomb, only to find it was hollow with a set of stairs cascading downwards.

"Nope."

He shook his head frantically as he went to rush back to Xena only to let out another cry as a hand with broken talons slammed against the wall.

"NOPENOPENOPENOPENOPE-"

He screeched as he ran down the stairs, blasting through the heavy set door that had an abundance of locks on it. It was enough to keep out a human...but not a ghoul.

Kaito paused as cries screamed out to him, a large amount of rusty cages surrounded him, filled with sad looking anomalies...all with gold and silver chains around them.

"Y..you found it."

A quiet voice floated to him as Diana heaved for air as she slid against the wall, she'd seemed to be halfway healed but still deeply struggling as she looked at Kaito with hope in her eyes.

"He did."

Xena's montoned voiced chimed out to them causing Diana to flinch as the bloodied girl stumbled into the room, she limped over to Diana before joining her, sitting next to her with her bad leg stretched out.

They all sat in tentative silence as Kaito nervously glanced between the two, neither making a move as the two women seemed to debate on their next move.

"I'm sorry."

Xena hurried out as she looked at Diana in a panic, she took a deep breath as Diana stared at her with shocked wide eyes. A silent understanding between the two women as they looked at eachother.

"Me too..."

Diana triedto smile sweety but the exhaustion and pain wouldn't allow for it.

"I can take it off of you? if you'd like..."

Xena fiddled with her hands as Diana silently nodded at her, nervously turning around as Xena started fiddling with the chains on her dress, undoing them one by one.

"My children are here..."

Diana muttered out as she looked around the room, Kaito gasped slightly as he spotted a cage with two scaley children in it, they were silently crying as one gripped hard at the bars staring at their mother with shining brown eyes. Kaito hurried over to them, kneeling down as he ripped the lock off of the door taking a step back to give them room, the kids didn't move though. They huddled further back into the cage shivering in fear as the smaller one curled into the larger one, they both had black curly hair with Diana's deep brown eyes.

He turned away from them, their gaunt tearful eyes terrorised him as he went to help Xena, who's shaky hands struggled to undo the chains. Kaito took ahold of some, gently undoing them as he glanced at Xena.

"Where's Romeo?"

He whispered to her, as she stopped undoing the chains, leaving Kaito to finish the job. It was only then that Kaito noticed Xena's hands, her knuckled were split open bleeding an bruised with dust covering them as they shook in a mixture of fear, exhaustion and pain.

"He's calling for reinforcments...so we don't have much time."

She shakily got back up running over to the children's cage as she opened the door and held her hand out. Tiny hands reaching out for her bloodied ones as she guided them out of the cage, Kaito raised an eyebrow slightly jealous at how easily the kids went with her.

"They can smell the Kyklos in her blood."

Diana murmured out, letting out a sigh of relief as the last chain fell. She abruptly stood up stretching out as long pink fluttering wings burst out from her back, twitching and flapping as Diana let out a pained groan from having them tied back for so long.

Diana strutted over to Xena and her children, standing before her as she reached out and gently cradled Xena's face in her hands. Diana's eyes searched hers, becoming tearful as she seemed to find what she was looking for...

"I'm sorry sweet one."

She brought her forhead to Xena's before reaching out for her children, glancing between her and Kaito in a silent plea.

"Let them go."

Xena commanded, her voice shaky as she tried to hold back a wave of overwhelming emotion...her mother used to call her that-

Sweet One.

Kaito stared at her wide eyed before nodding in agreement, stepping out the way as Diana hastily made her escape pausing as she handed Kaito a golden dagger, he could tell just by holding it that this was the artefact they were all after, Diana glanced one more time at Xena as the two shared a watery smile before she and her children disappeared into the shadows.

It took all of Xena's energy to keep herself together as Diana left before collasping onto her knees, gasping for air as Kaito ran over to her.

"It's okay, hey Xe please don't...it's okay-"

------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Xena took a deep breath as she forced herself into the vagastrom dorm, her body aching all over as she waited for the painkillers a very disappointed Professor Nicholas had given her to kick in. She was basically a mummy with how many bandages she had wrapped around her.

She forced herself up the stairs and to Leo's room, knocking on the door as she was met with no answer...she sighed in disappointment as she realised he must already be asleep.

She hadn't had a moment to charge her phone or even grab proper clothes as she had to wear her destroyed dress back to the dorms. She could’ve just burrowed some clothes from the hospital but she desperately just wanted to get into bed and crash out for hours on end and not wait around embarrassingly in a breezy gown as she awaited for someone to bring her new clothes.

She leaned against the door letting out a slight yelp as it swung open behind her forcing her to fall on the floor with a loud oomphf.

She laid on the floor in despair as she peeked a look at Leo’s bed, seeing if he was actually there or if she’s just accidently awoke the grey haired man. She smiled softly as she realised…

He was there.

-and luckily, he hadn’t woken up.

Xena sighed as she grabbed onto the door frame using it to help her sit back up as she silently closed the door, limping over to Leo’s closet as she grabbed one of his t shirts and hastily made her way into the bathroom to get change, in her tired state she missed the crack of bright yellow eyes beaming at her presence as he feigned sleep.

He forced his eyes closed when he saw her tip toeing out of the bathroom-or her attempt of it at least; she was hobbling to Leo’s bed, trying her best to not collapse on top of the sheets as she struggled to find the effort to make herself actually comfortable.

Leo peeked an eye open once again as he sensed her deflation, turning over to face her as he pulled the covers from under her.

“Have you showered?”

She huffed out a weak laugh at his question as luminescent eyes found hers.

“Ya.”•_•

He held up the covers inviting her in as she awkwardly shuffled into him, he flopped his arm over her sliding his hand under her shirt as he started lightly dragging his fingers up and down her back, frowning at the feeling of her bandages as he glared at her.

“The mission go okay?”

Xena sleepily nodded, exhaustion setting in as her eyes fluttered, she was trying so hard not to keep them closed, Leo dragging her closer as she sighed wrapping her arms tightly around him as she hid her face into the crook of his shoulder and flinging her leg over Leo’s waist, which made Leo’s glare lessen as he brought his other hand to gently brush through her hair.

“…you okay? Not gonna bleed out on me or anything? that would be disgusting and you'd have to pay for the dry cleaning Xexe”

Xena shook her head, tightening her hold painfully around Leo causing him to hiss out in annoyance.

“Xe, what the fuck?”

Xena gasped a shaky breath escaping her as she tried to bite back the threatening sob, she silently trembled trying to grasp at the man before her to help anchor herself and forget the possible future that she saw for herself…everything she tried to keep down during the mission was slowly rising up as she finally got a moment of quiet…

Leo sighed grimacing as he felt her tears seep through his own pyjama shirt, a choked apology escaping her when she realised. He couldn’t bring himself to make a bitchy comment or tease the girl and instead clutched her closer to him, forcing himself to ignore the gross fluid seeping in his shoulder as Xena sobbed into it.

They stayed like that for a while…Xena letting out sweet hiccups as she finally stopped crying, her moment of vulnerability ending as Leo gently pushed her away.

“Oi, your face is all puffy now…”

He murmured out rubbing a thumb across her cheek.

“Hmmmm-you could use an actual bath, not just a shower.”

He wrinkled his nose as both got a whiff of Xena…the showers in the hospital weren’t the greatest and she only had a quick one to wash the blood off…

“But the band-“

Leo shook his head as he helped her into a sitting position.

“They’re waterproof moron.”

He flicked her forehead rolling his eyes and sliding off the bed as he dragged her to the bathroom, pausing halfway before turning to the wincing Xena. He clicked his tongue before swooping her under his arm, carrying her like a piece of luggage as he shook his head.

“You overdid it honour roll.”

Xena grumbled under her breath letting herself be carried as Leo chastised her, though it was hidden under a barrage of insults that had no real heat to it.

She could feel his curiosity eating at him to find out what happened on the mission, she was surprised he wasn’t questioning her but took solace in it as it gave her time to inwardly take in what happened.

He plopped her on the ground as he set up the bath, bringing out an army of salts, dried oranges and a milky liquid that Leo seemed pained to pour out.

“Get in.”

Xena sighed from her spot in the floor, the cool tiles felt nice and she really didn’t have the energy. But, Leo’s look of expectancy forced her up as she threw her shirt off and clumsily went to sit awkwardly in the bath. Leo sighing as he followed suit, getting in with much more grace that Xena did as he pulled her onto his lap, earning a small squeak of surprise from her. Leo wrapped his arms around her waist resting his head on her shoulder as he waited for his potions to work…

Xena felt weird…the pain that drilled into her very being seemed to slowly drift away, she was able to clench her hands without the strained feeling of her skin pulling away. She tilted her head in confusion as her leg that was literally screaming at her to stop moving, felt almost pleasant…almost normal (well normal for Xena.)

“It’s a healing potion.”

Leo was partly pouting partly smug as the gift from Romeo was working wonders on his girl. He smirked to himself as she finally relaxed in his hold, leaning against his chest as she turned her head towards him. She had so many questions…too many questions to count about where the fuck he found a healing potion and why didn’t Darkwick use these all the time.

But she was far too tired, feeling her eyes droop as her body finally felt relieved of pain…for the first time in a long time.

“It only works whilst you bathe in it…your fresh wounds will be healed but anything else…”

Leo murmured out, gently massaging her waist as he watched her sadly nod in understanding.

They stayed like that for a while…Xena falling asleep as Leo tenderly caressed or massaged anywhere that seemed to be causing her pain. He even washed her hair whilst she slept, ensuring to use his best products…not that he’d tell Xena this but she would guess it as the sweet smell of pina colada’s drifted to her when she awoke the next day…

Leo had scooped her out of the bath, dried her off and dried her hair, braiding it before putting it in a silk bonnet. The shivering girl was then dressed in an oversized hoody, one of Leo’s favourites that was big even on him.

She was still asleep and Leo was glad for it as he didn’t want to be caught doting on her, not for free at least.

He carried her back to bed, the octopus that is Xena grappled him in to a hug, legs and arms wrapped around him as Leo melted in her embrace with a mixture of defeat and preening at her need to be close to him even when she’s deep asleep.

If he had the ability to move his arms he would’ve taken so many selfies, but he just had to will Sho to do that job when he came to wake Leo up in the morning…

———————————————————

Sho sighed as he tried to get the best angle of his two favourite idiots.

Xena starfished on the bed with Leo starfished on top of her, the snoring morons were both snuggled into eachother and fighting for the covers.

He decided to give them an hour more of sleep as he left the room to make breakfast, if the blood on the door frame and the many bandages covering her was anything to go by…Xena was in need of something to cheer her up…

Maybe she’ll even tell them what happened on the mission if she felt up to it…

[cdreambur]

got another idea recently and: kaito kid and shinichi kudo inspired au.

wilbur as this very smart and talented and charming phantom thief who announces all of his heists with riddles and makes a fool of the police with his magic tricks.

and dream as the part-time uni student, part-time respected investigator who's the only one clever enough to solve wilbur's riddles and figure out his plans (although he doesn't always manage to stop him).

[sineluce-velius-tristitia]

Merry Holidays @slushedpuppys!

Your Secret Satan Santa makes an entrance! I’m sorry it isn’t in the e rating, but I did my best to slip it as close as I can manage (which is a T, lmao). I also wasn’t sure if you’d rather read it here on tumblr or on Ao3, so I posted it here as well. I hope you enjoy it! 

@dcmkkaishinevents

 Kaito didn’t even know how it started.

They were in the massive Kudō library, the room having become a place where the two gravitated towards when laziness struck. Shin'ichi because it was already his hang out, and Kaito because Shin'ichi was there. 

As long as the magician avoided tricks that put the books’ life in jeopardy, Shin'ichi tolerated his presence with the long-suffering kind of acceptance born from a lifetime of suffering through obnoxious individuals.

(Kudō Yukiko delicately covered a sneeze. Arms wrapped around her shoulders to pull her closer to a warm chest and she giggled at the wordless offer of comfort.

Yu-chan was the best.)

(Somewhere, Suzuki Sonoko bit her tongue. A vein pulsed on her forehead.

“What is that no good mystery otaku planning now? Ran! Where’s your ex-husband!?”

“...I don’t think that’s—”)

But as often as they spent quiet afternoons just happily existing in the presence of each other, there was no shortage of any kind of interaction between them. 

Shin'ichi was hardly a chatterbox, preferring to quietly read his precious books though open to indulging Kaito when the magician demanded some form of attention, but when he got going…

Well.

Kaito was only human. One that was caught in the throes of admiration on something people were usually put-off by.

Blue eyes simmered with the embers of cool confidence that always came with the detective’s recount of a recent case—this time, a KID heist. Kaito wasn’t really listening anymore, too distracted by the way those lips moved with each word, its corners twitching up to express the smugness inherent to what its owner was saying.

It was stupid. 

Shin'ichi gets like this all of the time. All smug and arrogant and frustratingly gorgeous going about it. Being this affected at this particular time didn’t make sense.

Maybe it was the topic. Maybe it was the leftover excitement after a successful heist, and here the detective was, happily talking about Kaito.

And Kaito had always been rather greedy when it came to holding the attention of someone. Voracious when it came to his detective. 

Lost in the sudden haze of his thoughts, Kaito shoved into the detective’s personal bubble and spoke, “Ne, Shin'ichi. If you really think you’ve got KID’s tricks all figured out, why don’t you help him instead?”

Fascinated by the flush that quickly spread from the detective’s cheeks—down the column of an enticing neck to where the first two buttons of the detective’s shirt were left open to expose a tantalizing amount of skin along his clavicle—Kaito’s full attention went to what he was doing rather than what was being said.

The magician leaned in, pressed cheek against flushed cheek as he unconsciously took in a deep breath. He feels the chest near his do the same, feels the hand that went up to grip his shirt, wonders if the detective finds Kaito’s smell just as pleasant, just as wonderful and invigorating.

The tension, already charged from the beginning, felt taut and ready to snap. Kaito was more than happy to take the plunge.

A kiss on the neck was given. A question and a declaration.

Shin'ichi nods, the heat of his skin spurring Kaito on. But when the detective says, “Sure, I’ll do it,” he’s momentarily distracted but soon brushes it off. 

Kaito hummed, “Sure,” and pulled away to cover the detective’s lips with his own.

He’ll think on it later.

 -0-

In true Kaito fashion, he didn’t think on it later.

So when one day, he found Shin'ichi casually sitting in the KIDcave, looking cozy with his butt planted on Kaito’s work table, arms and legs crossed as his sharp eyes regarded Kaito haughtily, the magician spluttered, “Wha– how? Shin-chan?”

(A moment was spared to entertain some thoughts about the image his detective currently made, cool and calm as if he belonged among KID’s things– Kaito’s things.)

Kaito very much felt secure in their relationship. They made it work, somehow, despite being on quite the opposite sides of the law. He always thought that they were toeing the line between, a teasing dance shared under the moonlight with secretive smiles and ambiguous contention.

KID’s identity was something left unsaid. Neither confirmed nor denied. Discussed as if they were removed from the situation rather than two whose roles were central to the tale of a Phantom Thief.

Seeing his detective here– it certainly did something to Kaito. 

(Reframed their relationship in a way that opened something up. That unwound a rope tied around his neck with doubts and fears and the same things that choked out what Kaito and Aoko could have had.)

Shin'ichi leveled him with a quirked eyebrow, clearly questioning his intelligence. “I’m here to help you with your heist.”

Which, honestly, made no sense at all. Then again, finding Shin'ichi in here wasn’t something Kaito had ever dared to consider, accompanied as it was by lingering trepidation and nervousness born of having an entire task force gunning for his white-clad moonlighting persona.

Managing to get a hold of himself, Kaito made his way towards the detective. Slowly, he stated, “I have so many questions.” So many.  But it’s mostly on the how.

Luckily, Shin'ichi had weird mind powers that Kaito was still convinced he had despite the other’s protests and promptly answered, “You’ve left me in your house unsupervised before. Did you really think I wouldn’t look around? A portrait that serves as a secret entrance is a little bit on the nose.”

Detective, right. Couldn’t help himself but poke his nose into things he shouldn’t.

“Well, you’re no better, thief. You should train your spy doves better.”

Like Shin'ichi wasn't plotting a dove rebellion against Kaito? They listen to the detective more than they do with Kaito, the one who raised them! The one who nurtured their doveliness.

Shin'ichi rolled his eyes. "I'm not turning your doves against you." 

“See!” He snapped his fingers and pointed accusingly at the detective. “You do read minds.”

Shin'ichi sighed the sigh of someone who’s gone over it dozens of times. "I don’t. You’re just predictable.”

“Moi!?”

“Sometimes.” The detective conceded with a shrug and Kaito preened exaggeratedly. It earned a snort.

Suddenly, the stated reason came back to Kaito. “Wait, what do you mean help?”

The deadpan look sent to him was a given, Kaito doesn’t take offense. It was cute, honestly. Makes him want to pinch those cheeks just to get a reaction.

“Oh,” There was a dawning realization there, and, yep, Shin'ichi grinned. Shit-eating and all. “Oh, you don’t remember. The great Phantom Thief 1412 doesn’t remember.”

Well, now he does.

“Shut up,” Kaito grumbled. This was unfair. Kaito was supposed to be the one doing the teasing. “I was distracted.” 

Shin'ichi hummed, his grin melting into something less badgering. Pink tinged his cheeks as he recalled. “It was memorable.”

(Lips touching skin, tongue tasting flesh, teeth leaving marks. Trails of heat and mingled breath. A bruising grip and begging, pretty blue eyes. Each burning caress was a gentle brush at the layers draped between, a peek behind the veil woven for others to see. 

It was temptation and seduction, a loop of pleasurable bliss and exploration. It always was, with his Shin'ichi.)

As someone who takes pride in being able to change gears fast, Kaito quickly got over his grievances and stalked closer to the other boy. All throughout, Shin'ichi hadn’t moved from his place, and Kaito’s mind was eager to pull up the images it had run through earlier.

The work table was specifically made for Kaito to work while standing; a little above waist height, a surface area that could fit all of the hang-glider’s parts while disassembled with space to maneuver things around, and able to support some heavy equipment when pushed. It was the room’s center of activity, where Kaito spent most of his time pouring over blueprints and plans and gadgets.

“Was it?” Kaito knocked a finger on the work table to check its integrity. Coincidentally, this brought him much closer to the detective, hovering by legs that automatically shifted to accommodate. It was easy to slot himself in between them. Familiar. Gaze heated, he said, “I think I’m missing parts of it.”

“You are,” answered Shin'ichi, uncrossing his arms as Kaito’s palm gently landed over his thigh. But other than a deepening blush and a half-lidded gaze, he remained unaffected. Serious.

Kaito hummed in contemplation.

If he were being honest, having Shin'ichi’s help on a heist would be a huge boon. Sure, Kaito had all the experience he needed, but a detective’s input would make things easier. He’d been doing his best to keep Jii out of it as much as possible, and Kaito was feeling the strain of handling everything on his own.

Information gathering was often too tedious and boring, and it was only the fear of getting caught because of poor information that got him through it. Planning was where his mind was at, executing said plan was where he thrived.

“Aren’t you a detective?”

It was an out.

Shin'ichi rolled his eyes, the sassy jerk. “And you’re a thief who thinks too highly of himself.”

Like I’d let that come between us.

Kaito smiled winningly. “Aren’t I great?”

Neither would I.

Shin'ichi scoffed and shoved at Kaito’s face. The magician laughed, joyous and free and completely, hopelessly fond. He swooped in to plant a quick kiss on the detective’s nose. “Okay. Okay, you’ll help.”

 -0-

Including Shin'ichi into the heist planning was, in a word, bliss.

Kaito gets to spend even more time with his detective, he doesn’t have to do all those research and piecing disconnected articles together and bleh, he gets Shin'ichi all to himself, he doesn’t have to waste as much resources on contingencies or evidence cleaning, and Shin'ichi was there with him.

It was easy to tell which was his favorite part.

Oh, they get into arguments, primarily about necessary risks versus doing it just to showboat. But those tend to lead towards discussion of safety measures and how they can extend it to Kaitō KID’s loyal audience.

They were productive. Efficient, even. And Kaito had never been this excited over a heist before, dampened only by Shin'ichi’s refusal to attend it as one of his pursuers.

“It’s cheating,” Shin'ichi declared as he gestured at the whiteboard filled with their notes, its surface an amalgamation of neat handwriting and ones that trailed beyond the frame. He looked disappointed and dangerously close to pouting. “I already know what you’ll be doing.”

Kaito couldn’t stop himself from tackling his detective into a hug. Gosh, he was so adorable. “Don’t worry Shin-chan, I can always spice things up for you!”

Used to the magician’s (and his own mom’s) antics, Shin'ichi managed to stay on his two feet instead of falling on his ass. Kaito was heavy, though, so his hands had to find purchase on any surface.

Balance regained; Shin'ichi scowled. “What? No! We already have a solid plan here.”

Kaito shushed him, so close to the detective’s face that they were almost nose to nose. “Things don’t always go as planned.”

“They will if you don’t change them on a whim!”

Kaito and Shin'ichi, by and large, had a fundamentally different way of planning things. Where Kaito himself favored the spontaneity of preparing for many things at the heat of the moment and creating moves as it was needed, Shin'ichi outlined major events with the cutthroat specificity of someone who thought three steps ahead in varying directions.

But they respected each other’s abilities enough to compromise.

(Realizing how much the detective actually could predict Kaito-as-KID and everyone else involved when given the time to scheme was distracting. And really, really hot.)

An arm tightened around the chagrined detective’s waist, the other gravitating lower so that the hand attached to it could grab the back of his knee and lift the leg up. When Kaito shifted forward, Shin'ichi was forced to grab onto him with an indignant “Oi!”

“I’m pretty good at thinking on the fly, Great Detective.” Kaito reasoned into Shin'ichi’s ear, voice low and rough and breathy as he turned up the charm to maximum to try to get his way. He smirked when he felt the body in his hold shiver, delighted in the responding heat in those pretty blue eyes. “Now, are you?”

 -0-

Kaito was unsuccessful in his bid to convince his detective.

However, they did manage to find out that Kaito’s work table can, indeed, hold its own against two very eager and very energetic teenage boys.

But he also made a note to recalibrate the force required to set off this batch of smoke pellets. And to keep the sleeping gas out of an annoyed Shin'ichi’s reach.

They tend to be mood killers.

 -0-

Then the time of the heist came.

With Shin'ichi’s voice in his ear and the comforting knowledge that the detective was safely tucked away in a hotel room with a great view of the heist location, Kaito had significantly less unnecessary clutter in his mindspace and it was great.

The plan was simple.

Get the target, spend time taunting the Task Force, put on a show for his audience, and then get away. 

Easy peasy. It’s the details that contained a bulk of boring things he didn’t want to go over. Again.

(As it turns out, Modern Holmeses weren’t exempt from the nerve-fraying effect of the waiting game. Kaito was both relieved and driven up the wall.)

Shin'ichi was monitoring everything, ready to notify the Phantom Thief if something happened that they had to adjust to. The detective was surprisingly great at the voice-in-the-ear thing, telling Kaito about turns he had to take, people he might want to keep an eye on for emergency disguises, the super spy things.

Didn’t he also know how to disarm bombs just by staring at the wirings?

“Shin-chan, are you sure you’re not a criminal mastermind or something?”

“Ba’arou, what are you talking about?”

“So you’re a super spy?”

“Wha– No. Focus on your surroundings, idiot. It wouldn’t be my fault if your disguise gets found out.”

Kaito grinned. “I love it when you worry about me.”

“You know what, go ahead and expose yourself, see if I—”

The abrupt pause made Kaito tilt his head, previous amusement waning. “Shin'ichi?” 

Nothing. Not even after a few more tries.

The longer time passed, the harder it was to ignore the worry, but there was still a heist to be had and Kaito had to push through. While his body went through the motions of his current disguise—a newer task force member he’d stalked throughout the week just to get his act right—half of his attention was on the cute little earpiece Jii had long ago commissioned from his inventor friend, the piece of tech fitting snugly behind his ear and small enough to hide with his masks.

(Come to think of it, how did Shin'ichi have access to it when Kaito kind of forgot to tell him about it? The detective was good with technology, but not that good.)

Finally, after doing a full circuit of the floor that his disguise was supposed to patrol, Shin'ichi finally spoke, “Sorry, I had to make some calls.”

It was faint, but Kaito was pretty sure he heard the sound of traffic from the detective’s side of the line. Eyes narrowed, he quietly asked in his own voice, “Where are you, detective?”

“Just a little…snag. But it’s been dealt with, just focus on your heist.”

A snag. That could be anything, and knowing his detective, chances were high that they were either the life-threatening kind or there-was-a-dead-body kind.

Shin'ichi huffed. “I so can adjust plans too. Now shut up, it’s about time for you to start.”

As if on cue, the police radio buzzed with Inspector Nakamori’s instructions.

Kaito reluctantly let it go. 

He still had an audience to entertain, after all.

 -0-

“Yamabuki-keiji’s closing in. If you enter that room on your left, there should be a vent.”

KID did as suggested, mentally going through the blueprints of the place he had memorized. Besides giving him a way out without having to resort to climbing up the windows and exposing himself, he could access one of his bigger and more entertaining traps through this route. 

“Inspector Nakamori and nine other task force members are enroute area 3.” Right into where he needed them to be.

A manic grin spread through his face. “Have I ever told you you’re the best, Shin-chan?”

“Shut up.” It was easy to visualize the flustered expression on his detective’s face.

Needless to say, the corridors were filled by Inspector Nakamori’s loud curses as he and the unfortunate task force members were paired off with their lower bodies stuck together in a gigantic version of the Chinese finger trap. 

Not that they realized what it was and were therefore doing what they weren’t supposed to do.

 -0-

"You know, I honestly thought it was hilarious to watch them squirm in it, but I didn't think it would take them this long to escape. They missed the rest of my heist!"

"Kaito, you glued them inside. That's hardly fair."

"And that adhesive dissolved within 5 minutes. Shin-chan, someone had to call Hakuba all the way in England just to get them out of that thing. It's a toy."

“...yeah, Hakuba-kun didn’t sound amused, either.”

 -0-

After the heist, Kaito decided to retreat into the hotel room Shin'ichi had set up as his base of operations.

It was a business hotel, so the room was small. The walls were only wide enough for the length of the double bed to fit without scratching the paint. A good-sized desk was fixed on a wall maybe two hops away, hidden from the doorway’s view by a unit bathroom. It barely had room left to fit in a storage space for the guest’s luggage.

For its main purpose, it was fine. Shin'ichi had booked it before KID had even released the heist notice, having determined it to be the best static vantage point and the most accessible if the need arose. Lodgings around a KID heist always got fully booked after news got out, so nightlife tended to end later than usual in the area, especially when the heist target owners reveled in the publicity. 

As the heist had officially finished an hour or so ago and the civilian audience shooed away long before that, the curtains in the room were drawn closed. Shin'ichi’s laptop screen, displaying none of the programs it must have been running through the night, served as the only source of lighting. 

Kaito’s sprawled out form fit the bed just fine. Top hat and white suit and all. Even the cheap mattress felt softer than it should after a few hours of physical work. But his brain was still buzzing with left over excitement to allow him to truly relax.

“At least change your clothes first.”

Lazily eyeing the detective’s form by the desk, Kaito let out a groan of protest. Shin'ichi merely raised an eyebrow, leaning further back into the chair with his arms crossed. He looked tired, more so when Kaito first came in (through the window) to find the other boy slumped over the desk and glaring at his laptop. 

(“How did you even get in without anyone noticing? Your suit’s blindingly white.”

“Mh, and what will you give me in exchange if I tell you?”

“I still have my tranquilizer watch; I don’t have to deal with you.”

“Meitantei, why do you have to be so mean to me!”)

Considering what time it was—a little past four in the morning—it wasn’t a surprise.

Partially feeling at fault, Kaito rolled over, dislodging his hat and lightly entangling himself in his cape. He patted the bed in invitation.

Shin'ichi squinted at the small space, visibly weighing his options.

Both of them were, by no means, big in size, but they certainly shared a height that was in the upper parts of average. The double bed would barely fit the two of them, nevermind that either boy probably shifted in sleep.

To make his offer seem more enticing, Kaito scooted further to make more space.

This seemed to convince the detective as he pushed himself up from his chair, closing the laptop and plunging them into darkness. “I’m not going to sleep there with you in your KID suit. Who knows what muck it has gone through tonight.”

“Excuse you.” Kaito grumbled, patting his suit self-consciously. It was still its pristine white, but he decided not to argue the point. Having it on for long periods of time does get stifling. So with a puff of smoke, he was in casual lounge wear– a loose shirt and some sweatpants. As a bonus, he put Shin'ichi into more comfortable clothes, too.

There was grumbling and probably a stink eye, but the detective quietly crawled onto the offered space, burrowing under the covers the moment Kaito had settled himself as well.

Kaito chuckled. “Tired?”

Shin'ichi huffed. “I ran out of coffee.”

Ah, Kaito thought. There was a burst of utter warmth and fondness, and he wasn’t quite sure if the lump in his throat was because he was coming down with something or he was just that hopeless.

(Shin'ichi rarely spoke how he felt, unable to get himself to form the words charged by emotion that wasn’t righteousness. No, his kindness showed in his actions, in the unspoken concessions and sacrifices made.)

He pulled the other close, relishing in having his detective within his arms. A cold nose pressed against his throat and Kaito smiled, soft and content as he ran his own hand rubbed at Shin'ichi’s back, tracing patterns and warming up the other. Shin'ichi arbitrarily ran cold, something about the antidote messing with his body’s homeostatic responses when stressed.

And while the fact that Shin'ichi became stressed enough to this point was frown worthy, Kaito takes advantage of it now. Getting to cuddle with his detective was always a treat.

He felt the moment when his detective's body finally decided to let go of the tension, melting into the heat seeping from his bed partner, and Kaito followed suit.

The heist was a success. Their heist was a success. And there was no better way to celebrate than sharing a bed with his detective, legs tangled and toes unconsciously curling over skin, nose buried into the other’s hair as they basked in each other’s presence.

Sometimes success was languid, was the sleepy haze and comfort after a day of hard work. 

As seconds ticked by, his brain decided to float between consciousness and dozing off, tired enough to want to rest but too wired to completely settle into sleep.

It was an indescribable amount of time later when Kaito drowsily asked, “Ne, Shin. What happened before the heist started?”

“Mh,” Shin'ichi’s hot breath fanned over his skin, but Kaito merely nuzzled the detective closer. “‘S jus’ a sniper. Not Snake. Taken care of. Now sleep.”

Not entirely registering those words, Kaito nodded and drifted off.

 -0-

Hours later, Kaito woke up with a gasp. “What sniper!? Detective, are you okay?”

Shin'ichi groaned in suffering. There wasn’t enough coffee in the world to deal with the magician so early. 

Or at all.

[unovanhunny]

You have so many aus already maybe you've already done something like this but have you ever done a phantom thief au? Y'know something akin to kaito kid from case closed, or lupin the third (who is himself inspired from Arsene Lupin the one who arguably started it all).

I dunno, I feel like years ago there were plenty of phantom thief aus. But it seems to have fallen to the wayside...

Tbf my biggest manga knowledge on Phantom Thieves is Man of Many Faces by Clamp, but I know what you mean. And you know what, I can definitely make an AU out of this.

Twins separated at a young age, one gets into detective work and the other falls in with a strange crowd that starts with petty theft and evolves into more fun elaborate schemes. Ingo can be the detective and Emmet can be the thief I think. A Phantom Thief all in white is a fun image and also Emmet loves to entertain and a Big Factor of Phantom Thieves is their presentation and calling cards left at their crime scenes.

Emmet meticulously working on making the next reveal even more fun and fancy! He wants to kinda maybe impress that one detective he keeps seeing at the crime scenes as he watches from afar to see how the theft is received. He seems so serious, he just wants to make him smile once! Yes that's counterproductive when he is actively stealing things, but still!

Ingo is getting frustrated at how this thief keeps getting away with these crimes when there's so much set up involved in his heists! But... He has to admit it's also fun. To see what the thief has set up for him to find. He has never successfully caught a glimpse of the thief but he is determined to, it's his life's work now. Trying to figure out where he'll strike next before he gets the chance to, figuring out his moves before he makes them.

And they get the chance to meet once. Emmet's plans are foiled but he doesn't get caught. They met eyes, their faces were close, and though Emmet was wearing a mask, Ingo may have felt his heart skip a beat, seeing this Smiling Man in White. He let him go, not intentionally, but in the moment they met, Ingo got so surprisingly flustered, he didn't react quick enough before Emmet was Gone.

They are both determined to run into each other again. To capture or to kiss-

[ao3feed-brucewayne]

Kaito's No Good Very Bad Trip to Gotham

read it on AO3 at https://ift.tt/rcgIvya by Lilacantics When Kaito planned the heist for The Lazarus Water gem, he didn't think it would end up with him, Conan, and Haibara in a city called Gotham. Now he's got a long list of stuff to steal to help them figure out a way to get home and he's been pulled into one thing after another. First, he had to stop a couple of kidnappings then he sees a bunch of supervillains causing problems, and right in front of him! The audacity! Of course, he had to do something about it! What do you mean he's a vigilante? What do you mean he's a crime lord?! Honestly can't a simple Phantom Thief just be allowed to steal stuff in peace? Words: 8864, Chapters: 4/?, Language: English Fandoms: Batman - All Media Types, Magic Kaito Rating: Teen And Up Audiences Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply Characters: Kuroba Kaito | Kaitou Kid, Kudou Shinichi | Edogawa Conan, Haibara Ai | Miyano Shiho, Bruce Wayne, Jason Todd, Damian Wayne, Scarecrow Relationships: Kudou Shinichi | Edogawa Conan & Kuroba Kaito | Kaitou Kid, Haibara Ai | Miyano Shiho & Kuroba Kaito | Kaitou Kid, Batfamily Members & Kuroba Kaito | Kaitou Kid Additional Tags: Attempt at Humor, Light Angst, from kaito, but also in general, Children and not-children in dangerous situations, Canon-Typical Violence, it's gotham come on guys, Hijinks & Shenanigans, from Kaito mostly but also from the Batfam, Sending a message with glitter and confetti, Not Beta Read, It's Not Paranoia If They're Really Out To Get You, Kaito using his gag manga powers for fun and profit, Theft, the batfam have no idea what's coming, Dimension Travel, headcanons galore btw read it on AO3 at https://ift.tt/rcgIvya

[risingmoonyue]

Go one further and add in Kaito KID

Why is he suddenly in a different dimension and very accepting of spontaneous dimensional travel?

Well.

You see.

He was just at a KID heist

And KID just found this wicked cool gem that glowed red in the moonlight, who'da thunk?

And, you see, he was immediately sniped at, except shenanigans happened and they accidentally shot the gem instead

And it maybe sorta blew up but didn't???? Biiiiig flash of red, and suddenly whoops! In an alley, no blank spots between here and there. Just POOF! Gotham.

Meanwhile Kaito has ALSO come to the alternate universe answer, and has put one and one together when he hears about the weird kid/potential new Robin who stopped a mugging with a soccer ball, got found by the local vigilante crime boss, got caught in a murder investigation, finally made it to be interviewed by the police, only to disappear without a trace.

Y'all, Kaito is tired. Can his detective not stay out of trouble for one, singular day?????

(The answer is no. No he cannot.)

So now Kaito has to find this universe's equivalent to Pandora (or possibly find a witch or alien, there's a lot of those around here apparently), find Tantei-kun, wrangle the little death magnet like the feral shrunken teenager of a cat Kaito knows he is (perhaps a phantom theif grade child leash...?), find out if Snake or anyone else followed him here, and do all that without being arrested by the local furry vigilantes or murdered by the various themed murderers.

So naturally the first thing he does is plan a heist!

(Well actually recon, but heist soon after!!)

Kaito thinks he's being the reasonable one here. He is not. He is just as feral as Conan, just with more glitter.

Conan feels like he should be apart of the Batfam tbh. I mean, he's got the Gremlin Energy.

Fairly certain that @jettidaughter and I have discussed this amongst ourselves before--that Shinichi basically *is* Batman. (But also Robin-shaped, so. XD)

(Gordon here very much inspired by Shannon Tindle's take.)

[raifuujin]

It's been more than 20 years and for some reason I feel that Gosho hasn't given Kaiao any development, how can more than 20 years pass and Aoko dynamics, relationship and feelings remain the same? At this point I feel like Gosho is just going to make them date because "they already liked each other" they remain in the same status quo

Hey, if we go by DC romance progress, they've been going too fast. We've already had suspicion of identity chapters, and that didn't happen until more than 400 chapters in DC. /j

Since heists have taken over any character development recently, I don't even know if Kaito and Aoko will even get any romantic progress. Maybe the actual identity confrontation will happen down the line, since that's thief drama, but atm, it really wouldn't surprise me if they only ask each other on a real date at the very end of the manga.

Like. I'm sure Gosho would love to make MK a love drama as well, but he writes MK so rarely, and usually as hype for something Kid related in other media. So the MK stories tend to be heavy on drama that can only take place at Kid heists. (To the point that the new chapters just. Use Kid as the plot device to show off a new character. Even Hakuba's never gotten so much 'look at this character being a detective' treatment in MK.)

-sighs- I just feel bad for MK as a series at this point. I like the characters, I like the general story idea, but. It's been going down a very steep hill with Gosho wanting things exciting, but not wanting any real progress in. Anything. But unlike old MK, the new stories aren't even nice standalone setpieces of story, they're... mundane. They could be high stakes, if you purely look at the scenarios on paper, but. We all know nothing's gonna happen to Kid. Nothing even happens to him when the actual bad guys show up, much less one-time antagonists.

We need actual character focus and development, not heist drama. Badly. Not even romance, though that'd be a nice change. Just any character expansion of our limited cast of characters. Gosho wants big, all the time, meaningless big stuff, when small would be so nice.

[leonawriter]

When Gosho first introduced Hakuba, he seemed very... well, stuck up, full of himself, and a bit of a nepotism kid with a cosplay streak. I say this with love.

He barges in and Nakamori has to accept him onto the team whether he likes it or not, and his plans are all well and good but rather high-risk and high reward. His second attempt, after figuring out who Kaito is, lands him and Kaito in hospital (though how much is played for slapstick, I don't know).

But in the most recent heist in MK he seems a lot more mellow, a lot more like a normal kid. (I can't speak for the most recent heist in DC, as I haven't got to it yet, but he seems rather bright from what I've seen of that, too.)

I don't think this is just who he always was - and unless Gosho shows Hakuba's childhood and past previous to his first Kid heist, I'm sticking with the idea that bring in Japan, and hanging out around Kaito, Aoko, and their friends, has been doing him an entire world of good.

Kaito forces him to loosen up and think outside the box, while at the same time recognising his abilities. As much as Kid will send him (literally!) packing sometimes, he does admit to himself that heists are more challenging and fun when Hakuba is around compared to when he isn't, as not everyone is a decent opponent.

In class, things are non-serious and fun. He probably has to deal with Kaito and Aoko fighting with mops and brooms, as well as Kaito's magic and Akako's strange behaviour.

Most importantly?

He has FRIENDS. They're people he can let his guard down around, who don't care about whose son he is, who mouth off at him and who defend him just because of who he is, not his social status!

So he went from mostly seeming to either rely on or not realising he was dependent on his social status to having people who don't care about any of that, and a criminal to chase where it's more like playing catch in the playground but on a bigger scale.

Of course he's loosened up. He's happier.

[bumbleboa]

Hello! You are literally one of, if not my favorite, people in the DCMK fandom! I was so worried that when I entered it that people wouldn’t be that active in it since it’s pretty old, but lo and behold I was wrong and this is the best and nicest fandom I’ve ever been in.

I love every piece of art you post (especially the ones about Ekoda gang since we never got to see enough of them all together), they literally make my day. So thank you for all you’ve contributed! I was wondering if you had any headcannons about any of the characters that you’d be willing to share? Annnd what your fav Kid heist is (since I’m pretty sure you’ve previously mentioned Kaito is your fav?? which if it is, same!!! And if not who is?)

Anyway! I hope you have a wonderful day/night!

First of all, thank you for this sweet ask!

I think it's BECAUSE this series has been so long-running that the people participating in the fandom are passionate about it. There's been a lot of talk recently, about how fast-paced fandom has become, how lots of people move fandoms quickly with the changing trends. It is a special kind of affection to stick with something that doesn't get to have the spotlight of the month. I am a firm believer that fandom is what you make of it and I've seen a great community in the DetCo space, willing to nurture contributions. I've felt very welcome in this space since I decided to participate more actively this summer!

I have so many headcanons, but all of them are linked to story ideas or a bit weird out of context, haha~ I guess my most prevalent one is weak-as-a-noodle returned!Shinichi. The boy did soccer before he was shrunken, but quit the soccer club already at the point we meet him in the story. And I just don't buy it that he can regain his true size with all the muscle intact. But I am happy to talk about specific headcanons with people if anyone is curious about my thoughts on something specific!

And how dare you make me choose a favorite Kid heist, that's like asking to pick a favorite among my children! /j

The heists we see in DetCo are more technical, while the heists in MK have such a delightful ridiculousness. I love the gadgets he gets in MK, I plan to do a fanart for his roller skates, they are incredible and deserve a spotlight. I like the heists most for the way thy interact with the story, so I think I'd choose the Nightmare heist or the Sun Halo one!

I hope you have a lovely day as well!

[sagurus]

Sure! When you have time I would love it if you any interactions between Saguru and any of the Gosho girls. It doesn't have to be shipped or whatever, but it's just because I've read so many of his interactions with the Gosho boys and I feel like the girls are underrated in that sense. I love crack and I love Saguru and I adore your writing and edits :)

Hey anon from 2018, lmao. You're right, there really do need to be more interactions between Saguru and the girls. I have a WIP I started recently that I feel really shows Aoko's acuity. It's not crack, but instead a tense interaction between two friends.

Eventually this'll make its way to AO3, but for now, here it is:

--

“So, Saguru-kun…”

Saguru finds himself bracing. Aoko has seemed to be in a strange mood the entire evening. He’d almost wondered if she was irritated with him at first, or maybe just more disappointed about Kuroba’s last-minute cancellation than she wanted to let on. But their plans had gone as expected otherwise; they studied, watched a show Aoko had been excited to show him over some reheated leftovers, all without incident. Now they’d settled in the living room, occupying themselves with their own activities.

But now, as casual as she was trying to seem, Saguru detected an underlying tension.

“Yes, Aoko-san?” He kept his eyes on his book.

“Did you know that Aoko’s dad thought Kaito was KID once?”

Saguru’s entire train of thought stuttered to a halt. Every thought vanished — and then his mind raced with questions. For what reason was she bringing this up? What kind of reaction was she expecting?

Her gaze was drilling into him, he could tell. She hadn’t turned away from her video game, but she had to be concentrating on him in her periphery. The sensation of it raised the hair on the back of his neck..

He turned the page, but wasn’t reading anymore.

“Did he? I’ve never heard anything about that,” Saguru said mildly. His heart rate was elevated. He focused on breathing normally.

“Yeah!” Aoko said, and she said it with a giggle. A feint. “He told me that and I thought it was so strange. Sure, he’s obnoxious, but he’s not stupid Kaitou KID.”

It was best to leave space in the conversation. He didn’t say anything, waiting for Aoko to continue.

“Anyway, Dad got a look at him at one heist, and he was sure he looked like Kaito. So to prove him wrong, I asked Kaito on a date!”

“A date?”

“Yep! I mean, thinking back that was pretty silly, but it got him to come. But isn’t that so weird? That he’d even think for a second that Kaito was KID?”

She sounded so cheery. The version of herself she put on in class when she was getting along with everybody. Masking away her acute intelligence and calculations. He used to think she wore her feelings on her sleeve - and to an extent she did. But these days he knew that there was plenty she kept under wraps. She and Kuroba were truly quite the pair.

“It does seem like a strange conclusion for the inspector to come to.” He tried to keep his voice neutral as he could. “How did the date go?”

Aoko stuck her tongue out, and for the moment turned her eyes back toward the screen, organizing her character’s inventory. “Oh, you know. Bakaito. He was his normal annoying self, but he showed up on time. We met up at Tropical Land and had a lot of fun! We saw a 3D movie and everything.” She paused, then added, “Actually, I even handcuffed us together. Which was probably overkill, honestly.”

Great minds think alike.

“And the heist?” Saguru asked.

“Oh, the heist still happened. And Kaito was with me the whole time.”

“Well, I imagine that remedied the inspector’s suspicions?”

“Yeah. Dad never said anything about it again.”

The conversation lulled into silence, but the tension in the room was palpable.

“It’s just weird. That’s the only time Dad has ever had a suspect. Honestly, I don’t get why he’d even entertain the idea.”

Saguru hmmed, hoping it sounded like agreement.

“I mean, Kaito is way too young to be KID. Everyone knows Kaitou KID has to be in at least his forties.”

“That does seem to be the most prominent theory,” Saguru said neutrally. It wasn’t the most satisfactory response, he knew. But he could toe this line, if he focused on the commonly-held beliefs and not his own hypotheses and opinions.

“I wonder who Kaitou KID actually is. Whoever it is, I really can’t stand him. I’d like to give him a piece of my mind for all the trouble he’s causing everybody.”

“That’s fair of you.” Saguru wouldn’t condemn KID himself. But he’s already made clear to her that he doesn’t share the same hostility. “What with KID’s talent, I wouldn’t be surprised if the public never comes to know his identity.” After a moment, he amended, “Not to imply the task force is lacking in talent or capability. Your father has prevented many thefts from coming to fruition.” Never mind the fact KID so far still hadn’t truly stolen anything regardless. “But no matter how successful plans are on this side, KID has still proven successful as an escape artist, if nothing else. We’ll just have to see if ever he’s caught, or we get a hint.”

“It would be nice, though,” Aoko said, and Saguru had a hard time reading her tone. “To know who it is.”

What was she trying to accomplish here? It felt like she was fishing. Like she wanted a specific response from him. She might want him to agree that it was a ridiculous idea, confirm that the suspicions were completely unfounded. But he couldn’t imagine lying to her outright. But on the other hand…

“Have you ever suspected anyone of being KID, Saguru-kun?”

Ah.

“Well,” he said.

He couldn’t bring himself to lie to her, but he certainly couldn’t tell the truth. Saguru wouldn’t betray Kuroba like that; Kuroba may not trust him, but Saguru wasn’t going to confirm Kuroba’s own impressions.

And it wouldn’t just be betraying Kuroba. It would be a betrayal of one of Aoko’s closest friends.

No winning. Catch-22.

He forced himself to turn the question over in his mind, as slowly as he could allow without seeming as if he took too long. It wasn’t like he’d obtained any real proof. Other than observable evidence that Kaito wasn’t KID. And the DNA proof he’d destroyed. Of course, Saguru knew, but technically he’d proved the opposite.

“You’ll laugh, but I actually suspected Kuroba once myself.”

Aoko paused her game. “You did?”

And now the tension amplified exponentially. Did she know? He’d suspected before that she might. With how perceptive she was, how could she not have at least considered it?

Even then, that didn’t mean he could confirm it. Kuroba was the only person who could do that.

Steady. “Yes, well. I did test the theory, and my suspicions were proven false.” Based on the happenings, anyway.

“How did you test it?”

Saguru crooked a slight smile now. Casual. Easy. Amused. “Much like you, I handcuffed myself to him just before the heist began.”

She still didn’t say anything.

“So, in both of our cases, the heist still went on. So that would appear to clear Kuroba’s name on two different accounts,” he said lightly.

“Yeah, I guess it does.”

She’d slipped a little, seemed more pensive than casually amused. She recovered quickly. “It’s so funny that both of you thought it was Kaito.”

The way she continued circling, the way she persisted… on some level, she must know.

Aoko asked, “What made you think it was him, anyway?”

At least the capacity of the labs was something he wasn’t at liberty to discuss. “Probably proximity bias,” Saguru said. It wasn’t entirely untrue. “KID has a tendency for elaborate magic tricks, and Kuroba is certainly the most talented magician I’d ever met.” And then, after a beat: “But there’s plenty of talented magicians out there.”

Aoko hmmed, and fell silent again. Saguru imagined her putting him under a microscope, considering everything he said. Everything he didn’t say.

She unpaused her game and resumed playing. “Yeah, Bakaito could never be KID,” she said.

But all Saguru could think was that there was no way she didn’t know how false that was.

[bloustorm]

How to un-possess a child

- fic title game. Dcmk

Kaito KID's various plans in trying to figure out what the fuck is wrong with Conan as that can't be normal child behavior, surely?

Ending up on the conclusion that a) Conan is a child possessed by a demon or b) Conan is a demon who took on a child form

(Akakos words do nothing but help this suspicion)

As B) makes more sense regarding Conans legality Kaito tries out various methods to banish demons while on a heists to hopefully conceal these methods as part of his prank, wouldn't be good to piss of a demon who is strong enough to hold his form for so long, seems to feed on souls and is able to temporarily posses people to solve the case

(Too many people die or commit murders when Conan is around for that to be an accident)

Thus Conan being the target of many specific pranks by KID that don't make any sense to him, Sonoko and Ran are the first to catch onto and got mixed feelings, (Sonoko is cackling and Ran is miffed, Conan is a sweet child a bit strange sure but sweet)

The more nothing works the less Kaito sleeps as he spirals more and more, after all Conan seems to be a strong demon, who could do more harm than he is doing right now? But he isn't?

[hayateart]

The Eye of the Storm - part 3

Part 3 of my contribution to the KaiShinShi week 2022.

Theme: Kaito, toeing the line.

Read part 1 here.

Read on AO3 or under the cut:

The time has come and Kaitou KID could not be late.

He has taken a risk talking with the scientist girl but he could not stop himself. First of all, hello, it was a perfect chance to finally properly meet her after he almost got himself blown up in her stead. She owned him a conversation – at least! Secondly, she had already noticed the man in black by the time Kaito got to her. It was only fair to put her at ease and assure the man was not there for her.

Honestly, Kaito was surprised any of these guys showed up at all! Of course, while the police got most of the members of the black org behind the bars, they could not get them all. With such a vast operation, there were bound to be some who gave the law enforcement officers a slip. Though, as the scientist said, they should be in hiding now, hoping nobody finds them. Looks like the promise of immortality was just too enticing for them to let it go. Too bad! The guy would be going to jail tonight with the rest of his pals.

Kaito dropped a smoke bomb and with a pull of a string his police officer suit changed into the KID attire. Swiftly, he jumped on the stage which tonight just happened to be on top of the Eye of the Storm’s display.

“Ladies and gentlemen and everyone in betwixt!” Kaito said loudly, getting everybody’s attention. “Thank you so much for attending tonight’s heist.” The police were too stunned to move at first but they were quickly regaining their composure. In less than 5 seconds they would make their move. But Kaito would be faster! “Unfortunately, I cannot stay long but please! Enjoy the show!”

The lights went out. The clouds he had painted on the ceiling with fluorescent paint came into full view. But it would not be storm without rain and thunder!

Kaito stomped hard of the cover of the display below him with his heel, effectively breaking the enforced glass. Yup, modified shoes plus a bit of prep weakening the glass beforehand, in just the right spot, did the trick. Soon the fire alarm system would turn on and everyone would be drenched in water.

Kaito knelt reaching for the gem. From the corner of his eye, he noticed the man in black making his move.

He ducked, barely in time.

A gunshot tore the air.

Kaito could swear the bullet swished just above his head.

Well, the guy clearly did not care for the crowd of civilians and law enforcement officers loitering the exhibit hall. It fell onto Kaito’s shoulders to ensure their safety. As always.

Maybe… maybe he did not have to do this all by himself that night. Both of his detectives and the scientist girl were there, available and ready for action. And they owed him. They owed him oh, so much!

But then, he could not put them in danger either.

It’s not like Kaito was a lone ranger. He often got Jii’s help with his tricks. Magicians often relied on trusty assistants.

However, His detectives and the scientist were not assistants. They were his critics. And critics needed to be challenged but also should be kept safe.

It took Kaito barely a second to form a plan. If the scientist were as smart as she seemed – and Kaito had full confidence she was – he should be able to apprehend the man in black without anyone getting hurt. The only catch was Kaito would risk getting captured himself. He had to trust she would follow his suit and not give him away. It was risky. He could do it.

The sprinkles went off and during the initial confusion, Kaito changed his disguise as well. It was a simple suit that, in the first version on the plan, was supposed to only disguise him long enough to get to the door. Now, the challenge was greater.

Kaito combed his hair with his hands and headed straight for the man in black. On his way he very deliberately brushed against the scientist.

“Shinichi?” she asked.

In response Kaito winked at her which made her pause. Then in the blink of an eye she was running in the opposite direction. Hopefully, not to notify the cops of Kaito’s most recent disguise.

The man in black was still by the wall, scanning the crowd for a magician in a white cape. Too stupid to be an independent operative, clearly. Snake had been arrested almost at the very start of the operation – the man here must have been one of the lowly underlings. In the know enough to grasp how precious the gem was, not high enough to realize that Kaito KID rarely spent the whole heist in one costume.

Kaito reached into his pocket and sneaked up on the man in black. The man noticed him all too late. One of his hands was already handcuffed by the time he understood what was going on. But Kaito also miscalculated.

There was a loud bang as Kaito reached for the man’s other hand.

This time, Kaito did not manage to dodge in time.

He moved, but the bullet grazed his side. Sudden pain left him half paralysed for a few moments. With his free hand he clutched at his side to stop the bleeding. The other though was holding the handcuff tightly – Kaito’s reflexes stronger than the pain.

The man in black aimed again, finger of the trigger. Kaito pulled on the handcuff. The sudden move knocked the attacker out of balance and gave Kaito enough time to kick the gun out of the man’s hands. Kaito did not waste any more time as he snapped the handcuff around the other wrist.

“You’re not going anywhere,” Kaito said in his best Shinichi impression. Louder he shouted: “Officers, I have apprehended the shooter!”

The nearest policemen quickly found their way through the crowd. With guns drawn and ready, they approached Kaito rather carefully. Kaito knew his Shinichi act was impeccable but he could only hope that the water and darkness managed to hide the differences in their suits tonight. That and the hole in his shirt with hopefully only a small blood stain forming on his white shirt. After all, he could not go to the hospital as Shinichi. Especially with the real Shinichi still in the building. Speaking of which…

As the police approached, Kaito took a careful look around the room. Thankfully, he did not see either of his detectives around. And the scientist was gone as well. Looks like she managed to keep them occupied far away. Hopefully for long enough, so Kaito could sneak out after the real police takes care of the culprit. She was a gem!

“How do we know you’re the real Kudo?” One of the officers asked.

Kaito had to stop himself from rolling eyes. His favourite trick was the thing the police was worried about when he had a potential killer right next to him? Give him a break!

“I understand your apprehension,” he said calmly. “You can check if I’m wearing a mask. I even invite you to do so. Hopefully, after someone secures the suspect, though. I presume we will have at least a few people who can confirm they saw him fire a gun. The one that is currently on the ground. There. Between us,” he said pointedly when none of the officers moved to pick it up. “I would rather have it safe and out of people’s hands with one of you guys, if you please.”

Kaito could swear they picked all the stupid ones to be policemen and as soon as anyone showed a hint of brain activity, they promoted them to a detective. Or they left their jobs.

Someone finally took the gun and bagged it safely as evidence.

“I’m also certain you will find gunpowder residue on this gentleman’s hands.”

He pushed the man and this time the officers were faster to react. It might have helped that the wan was already handcuffed. Also, Kaito practically pushed him into the arms of the nearest officer.

“I will give you my report as soon as I can,” he promised. “I just need to find my friend first. He did manage to fire the gun twice, after all – I should check if she’s alright.”

Kaito was going to disappear on them. But the officers did not need to know that little detail.

He was already on the move when one of the policemen shouted weakly.

“Wait, we need to check if you’re KID.”

The others quickly shushed him though. It was glaringly obvious that Kaito-as-Shinichi was more competent than any of them, and the smarter peas in the pod picked up on how irritated it made him to work with those imbeciles. Good for Kaito and hopefully, good for Shinichi as well. Maybe Kaito managed to gain him some more respect among fellow officers.

The stairs to the roof were guarded but Kaito managed to pass by with no problem. Shinichi’s face opens every door.

Hopefully, the roof would be empty. Hopefully, the scientist girl took his detectives far from the sight. Hopefully, they did not hear the second gunshot and were not heading back to the exhibition just yet.

Kaito almost never gambled. The risks he took were always carefully calculated. Yet, tonight he chose to trust the scientist and he could not predict the outcome. He was thrumming with excitement running up the stairs, taking three steps at once. And when he finally reached the top… he laughed.

The roof was empty!

With a grin he changed back into the KID costume and jumped over the edge to make his grand escape.

Part 4