Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

It all started, as it happens, with a heist.

It wasn’t even an important heist. The gem was tiny, very unlikely to be Pandora. There weren’t important players —no little detectives, no British nuisances. Only Kaito and the Task Force.

Then everything went south.

First, the Task Force engaged in a shooting. He didn’t want to distract them, so he sent a note for a raincheck. But then he discovered that the other party was the Organization —so he put on his black clothes and approached.

And he was seen. He didn’t know how or who, but suddenly he was being chased and shot.

His usual disguise had protection; his incognito clothes didn’t.

He ended up against a wall, Snake and two other men aiming at him. And then it happened.

Him.

With a whoosh of white he was there, standing in between. Kaito couldn’t see him, he could barely see the suit, but he knew it. It was him.

Kaitou KID attracted the three men’s attention. When he ran, they chased him, and Kaito was left alone.

He leaned against the wall and his legs gave way beneath him. He curled up, with the forehead in his knees and his arms around his legs. He didn’t notice the time go by while he tried to control his breathing.

That’s how Ginzo found him.

“Hey. This is Nakamori-keibu, from the MPD. Are you okay?”

Kaito looked up; he half noticed that Ginzo was approaching slowly, with a raised hand, as if he was a scared wild animal. But as soon as he recognized him, he rushed to him and kneeled at his side.

“Kaito-kun?”

The tears filled his eyes before he could stop them.

Ginzo pulled him and squeezed his arms around him. And Kaito let himself be hold by the man who was a second father to him, who had half raised him, who had taught him how to ride a bike and how to tie a tie, right after being saved by his apparently-not-dead father.

Chapter Text

Ginzo dragged him into a car and took him home. Kaito didn’t acknowledge it, acting as if he wasn’t really there. He didn’t know how to explain anything or what to say, so he just sat still there, in silence, and stared out the window all through the drive.

He wasn’t sure how much of it was an act, actually. He was aware when Ginzo guided him through the garden to the front door, and when Midori opened the door and greeted them, but he let his body go in autopilot; it felt somehow like a dream, like doing a play that he hadn’t read the script of.

(Midoriko was home, he noticed, and awake. Ginzo should’ve got him to his own house instead of spent their rare moments together worrying about him. He knew Ginzo could never leave him alone like that, though.)

“Is Aoko around?”

“She’s already asleep. What happened?”

“The heist was cancelled because some armed people showed up. I guess Kaito-kun went to watch the heist, and was close when the shooting started, so he got scared. I think he’s in shock.”

It was a good explanation. There was no reason for Kaito to have a reaction that bad for some guns; though, Ginzo wouldn’t know that he was used to them.

“Is he staying the night?”

“If you don’t mind. I don’t want him alone in his house.”

“Of course I don’t mind. When I married you, I knew I was signing for two teenagers, not only one.”

Ginzo took Kaito to the spare room.

“Go to sleep, Kaito-kun. We can talk in the morning.”

Kaito nodded. Sleeping sounded nice; maybe when he’ll wake up everything was back to normal.

“Okay. ‘Night, Ginzo-san.”

He smiled. “Goodnight.”

Chapter Text

Kaito woke up with Aoko throwing herself at the bed and crushing him.

“What is Kaito doing home? And why here? You usually sleep in Aoko’s floor.”

Kaito sat up and pushed Aoko to the foot of the bed.

“Didn’t Ginzo-san tell you already?”

“Otou-san knows?”

 “Yeah. He… we run into each other last night after Kid’s heist was cancelled. Ginzo-san took me here and you were already sleeping, so I’m here.”

“Oh.” She leaned over and stared at him. “Are you okay? You look like you’ve been crying.”

He didn’t know. He didn’t know what to feel, what to do. He wanted to tell Aoko; god, he needed Aoko to know, to understand. She was close to his dad before, it had hurt her too; they could be happy together, or angry together, or whatever together.

But even if he was alive, it didn’t mean that the Organization didn’t try to kill him. They just weren’t able to. Knowing would put her in danger, and Aoko was the one thing that he could never lose.

So he hid his shaking hands under his legs and put on a smile.

“Everything’s fine, don’t worry. Just boy things, you wouldn’t understand.”

She pouted, but let it go.

“Okay, let’s go get breakfast then.”

“’Kay.”

When they went down, Ginzo was already in the table; he looked surprised to see him.

“Kaito-kun? I thought you already left.”

“Uh, no. Why?”

“There was light in your house. Is your mom back, then?”

Kaito didn’t know, but it made sense, didn’t it? Last time, with Kaito Corbeau, it had been the same.

“She didn’t say anything, but maybe.”

“Oh. Are you heading there soon, then?”

Kaito absolutely didn’t want to face her right now.

“Actually, I would like to stay here a little longer, if I can.”

Both Nakamori sent weird looks at him, but didn’t question him.

“Of course, you can stay all the time you want, Kaito-kun, you know that.”

Chapter Text

He managed to avoid his own house for three days, which is pretty much considering that it was literally the house next door. He had everything he needed in Nakamori’s; some of his clothes were in the spare room, including a spare uniform, and whatever else he needed he could borrow from Aoko.

He could’ve continued if it weren’t for his mom ringing the bell on Tuesday.

“Kaito!” She hugged him. “Oh, I missed you so much. How are you? How is school?”

He forced a smile and hugged her back. She was never so effusive when she came back, so she was putting on an act, and he played his part. “Everything’s fine, Kaa-san. I missed you too.”

“You must come home today! I made an American recipe that I learned in Las Vegas and you’re going to love it.”

Aoko and Ginzo were there; they would support him if he said no, but he’ll need an explanation later and he couldn’t give it.

“Okay.”

He followed her, preparing himself. Last time, she had gaslighted him into believing that his dad wasn’t alive; this time it wouldn’t work.

But when they went through the door, Kaito froze. Their eyes met and Touichi smiled.

“Okaeri, Kaito.”

Chapter Text

The dinner was weird. The worst part was that his parents acted like everything was normal. No explanations, no glad and happy hugs, just… a dinner. Eating, small talk, all the things he usually has with the Nakamoris.

(This was worse than the first –and only– time he’d eaten alone with Midoriko; and god, that dinned had been awful.)

If they were pretending Touichi was never (believed to be) dead, Kaito wasn’t going to go against that. Acknowledging it would need him to react one way or another; and he couldn't. His mind was still too confused, he didn’t know what he wanted to do or say. 

His dad was alive! That was good, wasn’t it? But at the same time, if he was alive, that meant that he left.

Has Chikage always known? And has she been lying to him all these years? All that travels, leaving him in Japan, was she going with him?

Or has she just found out? Is she mad, and pretending as well? Or has she already forgiven him? 

So many questions, and there weren’t any good answers. Whatever they’ll say… It wouldn’t be enough. Half his life he had believed that his dad was dead; a lot of him was built around that. His goal was to become a better magician than his father; he had become Kid to revenge his death.

He kept his poker face through all the dinner, and only let it fall after he reached his room and closed the door behind him. He closed his eyes and breathed deeply.

He then reached the secret spot below the door and took the emergency bag there. It had everything he would need running away if the police or the Organization were ever to discover his identity. He never imagined using it because of this.

He look one last time at the full size portrait of his father. Then, he jumped out of the window.

Chapter Text

All the plans he had ready for running away were unnecessary. He wasn’t going to use a new identity and start a new life; he didn’t need to disappear and leave Aoko vague messages to let her know he’s okay (because he wouldn’t let her believe he was dead; what kind of person does that to a loved one?). The closer safe houses he had were meant for brief moments, not a long time staying there; the ones he could live in were way too far. He wasn’t planning on leave his school or friends, only the house while his parents were there.

A friend’s house? He couldn’t go to Aoko’s or Keiko’s, his parents knew about them and would look for him there; and he hadn’t many more real friends. Maybe two. And being comfortable enough to live with… 

Honestly? There was only one option.

Saguru was in the living room, lying on the couch with a case file he had found in his father's desk when the doorbell rang. He sat up. It was late at night and they weren't expecting anyone.

Moments later, Baaya entered through the door. "There's someone here to see you, Botchama." And she took a step to the side to reveal Kuroba.

And he looked bad. Dark bags, wet red eyes, messy clothes and messier hair. No sign of the make-up he wore at school, and no sign of his sempiternal poker face.

"Can I stay here a few days?"

"Of course." No hesitation, no doubt; if he was letting Saguru see him looking like that and asking him for help, he must really need it. He knew he wasn't his first option; maybe the second to last, only fairly better than Koizumi. And whatever the problem was, it wasn't illegal; he wouldn't go with him for that. "Let me show you one of the guest rooms."

"Thank you."

Chapter Text

The next week felt surreal. At school, Kuroba was his usual self; energetic, noisy and annoying. But in Saguru’s house he seemed angry at moments, and others just sad.

When he was there, at least; most of the time he wasn’t, but every night he returned and slept there. The first two days it was like he wasn't even there (Saguru was sure that his father wasn't aware at all), but the third one he joined Saguru in the living room after dinner and asked him to play chess; he had a case to work on, but it was pretty cold, so he agreed.

It was the most defying chess match he'd ever had. And the most fun, too. They started having matches every night, and soon Kuroba started joining dinners.

On the weekend Kuroba disappeared during the day, but Saguru knew he came back to sleep. He wondered if Kid was going to have a heist, but there was no notice.

Thought it all, Kuroba never said why he was there; it was on Monday that Saguru finally knew why, when in a break Aoko slammed her hand in the table in front of Kuroba.

"Kaito! You haven't been dinning with us for ages!"

"I know, I know. Sorry. You know that when Kaa-san is in town she likes to have meals together."

"Is Chikage-san still here? She usually leaves after a few days..."

"Yeah, it looks like she's staying for a while this time." Kuroba smiled, and if Saguru didn't know better, he would believe that he was truly happy for that.

Seeing his frowning face, Kuroba pleaded with his eyes to him to wait to question him. And, since he had more chances to understand that way, he didn’t called him out.

Chapter Text

Later that night, when they were alone in the middle of a chess match (Kuroba was winning), Saguru finally could start the interrogation. “So, your mom’s home.”

“Yeah.”

“And you’re here.”

“Observant as always, Hakuba.”

“Don’t antagonize me, Kuroba-kun. I’m just trying to help.”

He seemed to be about to say a strong answer but then sighed. “You already are.”

“Are you here because you’re hiding from you mom?”

“Yeah, kinda.”

“Why don’t you want Aoko-san to know that?”

“If I tell her that I don’t want to see Kaa-san, I’ll have to explain why.”

He shrugged. “She ate my chocolate.”

That was an obvious lie. But, well, of course he wasn’t going to tell him either; if he wasn’t telling Aoko, then it must be Kid reasons. So he decided to change the topic to something that had been bothering him too.

“Why here?”

“Well, the first three days I was with Aoko, but she went there looking for me. And she knows Keiko, so she would search there too.”

“So you went with me?”

“Well, who else was there? Akako and you would be only ones to let me stay with them. And Akako scares me, so I’m here.”

“How did you know I would accept you?”

Kuroba frowned at him. “’Cause we’re friends. Why wouldn’t you? And, y’know, you did, so it’s not like I was wrong.”

“We’re friends? But… I chase Kid.”

“And I’m not Kid.”

“We antagonize each other all the time.”

“Have you seen me with Aoko?”

“Okay, yes, point. But…”

“You don’t think we’re friends? Like, if not me, who else? Apart from me, the only ones you talk with are Aoko and sometimes Akako.”

“There are some girls that talk to me.”

“Those are crazy admirers, doesn’t count.”

“Then I don’t… I mean… Yes, we can be friends, Kuroba-kun.”

“Okay, nice, friendship doesn’t usually work like an agreement, but I’m glad we took that out of the way. Do I need to tell you that you can drop the kun?” Saguru didn’t answer. “We’ll work on that later. You know Aoko thinks she’s your friend too, right? So, congrats! You have two friends now.”

Chapter Text

Kaito had been living with Hakuba for ten days when Suzuki announced his most recent gem and a challenge for Kid. He hadn't had a heist since the one when his father revealed himself, both because he didn't know how to feel about Touichi's mantle, and because it was like a spit at Hakuba's face after his hospitality. But he couldn't let Suzuki down.

Hakuba didn't agree.

"Don't do it."

"I don't know what you’re talking about."

"Kuroba..."

"Hey, no honorific! Progress!"

"Kuroba-kun. I can look away usually, but if you're living here..."

"When in your life have you ever looked away?" Hakuba only stared at him. "Okay, hear. I'm not Kid, but I don't think is his fault, y'know? He hadn't thrown a heist in two weeks, but if Suzuki-no-jiisan wants the front news so bad, what can he do but show up?"

Hakuba sighed.

"Fine. But I'll go too."

"Wait, why? You never go to his heists."

"I went to the chair one. That reminds me, we never talked about that heist, and Kudo..."

"No," Kaito cut him off. Whatever Kudo's problem was, Kaito suspected that getting involved would leave him worse than just almost blown up. And he didn't want Hakuba close to that; being even tangentially involved with his own Organization was bad enough. "You don't know anything, I don't know anything, and Kudo's stuff is Kudo's stuff."

"Okay... Should I avoid him in the heist, then?"

"Ye— Actually, no. That would be suspicious. Just don't investigate and, please, don’t do him any favor. Never."

Chapter Text

Suzuki's heist were always Kaito's favorites. They were so public that the Organization never showed up, and he had the best opportunity to show off his magic. Also, they were his style; his father's heist used to be more stealth.

He was ready. All suited up, with an amazing trick with fire prepared and about to go into view... Then smoke filled the room and, when it dissipated, there he was: Kaitou KID.

His father.

Stealing his heist.

Saguru was standing next to Edogawa when the room was filled with smoke and the imposter showed up.

A second after, he noticed that no, it wasn’t an imposter; perfect body shape, estimated from what it could be seen, and that moustache.

It was the original KID. Kuroba’s father.

Noticeably not dead.

“That’s fake.” Edogawa looked around at the police force, who started to chase KID. “Why is no one saying anything? It’s obvious!”

To someone not on the know, it would appear that the polices were acting normal; but Hakuba noticed that some of them, especially the ones that were old enough to be around with the first KID, looked angrier than usual. Especially Nakamori.

“Because it’s not fake.” Edogawa frowned at him, but he didn’t explain. “Sorry, I… I have to be somewhere else.”

Saguru left him alone, being careful not to be followed; he could get away from him when the original KID stole the gem and caught Edogawa’s attention back.

He had seen a suspicious woman before the smoke in one of the balconies around the room, so he went there. He found Kuroba sitting on the floor, clenched fists, and looking down at the ongoing heist with a scarily blank expression. His clothes were completely black, including the hat, but Saguru could see a blue collar peeking out of the sweater.

He didn’t try to talk; just sat next to him. Kuroba glanced at him, but there was no other acknowledgement of his presence.   

The heist kept going. Edogawa tried to confront KID, but he ignored him and escaped with the gem. The police looked really worried, with Nakamori shouting orders and insults... This wasn't the same Kid they were used to lately; this time, there wasn’t certainty that the gem was going to be returned at all.

Saguru stood up and lent Kuroba a hand. “Come on, let’s go home.”

There were a few moments when Kuroba didn’t react; but then he sighed and took his hand.

“Yeah, okay.”

Chapter Text

When they arrived at his house, Kuroba excused himself and went to his room, saying he'll return; Saguru didn’t know what to do, so he made tea.

Minutes later, he found Kuroba in the living room and offered him a cup; he had placed himself on the couch, now in pajamas, and was fidgeting with a coin. Saguru thought that it looked like the coin of Kaitou Corbeau's heist, but he wasn't sure.

When Kuroba took the cup, Saguru sat next to him with his own. Since he hadn’t locked himself in his room, Saguru assumed that he was allowed to ask; and there was no point in beating about the bush, that way Kuroba would only divert and deny.

“How long have you known?”

Kuroba raised his legs and laid his chin on his knees; he took a sip.

He took so long to answer that, by the time he did, Saguru was sure that he wouldn't.

“Half a month.”

“It isn’t your mom who you’re avoiding, then.”

“Well… she too.”

Saguru doubted for a moment. “How are you feeling?”

“Pretty direct, don’t you think?” Saguru only waited. “Angry, mostly. Sad. And… pointless.” Yes, Saguru suspected that his father’s legacy must have something to do with him being Kid. “Shouldn’t I be happy?”

“I think anger is an appropriate response. Hell, I’m angry and he’s not my father.”

Kuroba sent him a surprised smile. “Thanks.”

They sat in silence, drinking, until there was no tea left.

“Hey, Hakuba?”

“Hm?”

“I’m not Kid.”

All the previous times he had said that it had sounded like a denying; honest, sure, he was too good to sound like a lie, but a defense against the accusations. A fact, a statement… impersonal. Like Kid have nothing to do with him.

This time? It sounded like a resolution. And for the first time when Kuroba said that, Saguru believed it. 

“Okay.”

Chapter Text

The day after the heist Kaito almost skipped school. The weekend had been stressful; first with planning without Hakuba noticing, then with his father’s appearance and then the conversation.

But the damn detective had dragged him there. Oh, how he missed living alone... 

As soon as he got into school, Kaito found himself trapped in Keiko’s arms.

“Um… Keiko? Something happened?”

“No, I just felt like you needed it.”

“Why?”

“No reason. Here, I brought you a cupcake Tou-chan did last night.”

“Oh, thanks.”

Aoko approached them. “Why is Keiko giving Kaito food?”

“Because murder is illegal.”

Hakuba looked at her with a frown, while Aoko and Kaito jumped directly to being overdramatic.

“Eh!?”

“Wait, is this poisoned!?”

“No, of course not. Please, I just said it was illegal. Also, come on, I could do it better than poison.”

“Hm…” Kaito looked suspiciously at the dessert. “Hey, Ahouko, do you want half of it? Let’s die together at least…”

She accepted it with a pout. "Fine, but Aoko is not eating anything before Kaito does!"

"Hai, hai." He took a bite. "Tastes like always. Maybe with more anise? I'll ask Shogo-san later."

As Aoko and Kuroba walked away, talking and sharing the muffin, Saguru turned to look at Keiko, curious.

"I didn't think you knew, Keiko-san."

She turned to him with a convincing confused look. "Know what, Hakuba-kun?"

And in that moment Saguru realized that she had not only grown up with Aoko, but with Kuroba too. He wasn't going to get any direct confirmation from her, that was clear; but if he knew something about Kuroba and Aoko, was that chaos was their way to go.

"Did you know that Kuroba has been staying in my house for the past weeks? I wonder what could be in his house that he's avoiding..."

Keiko's expression turned into a smile. "Should I ask Aoko to pass by later, see what she finds?"

"That could work. But if there is a murder, just don't tell me."

Chapter Text

Kaito lay in the bed he'd been using in Hakuba's house, throwing and catching Kid's monocle.

What should he do with that? Being Kid had been about finding his dad's assassins; that was pointless now. Pandora's search had been real, as well as the fun he had, and he would continue with that if he didn't think that his dad would steal the show again.

He wasn't going to be Kid anymore; he hadn't lie when he said that to Hakuba.

He could forget it all and live a free-crime life; Aoko (if she knew) and Hakuba would be pleased with that.

But... Kudo. Ran, Sonoko, Jirokichi, all his fans... he'll lose all of them, they didn't know him in his civil life. He could arrange a first meeting, of course, but it wouldn't be the same, and he shouldn't risk his identity with the little detective like that.

And there it was Pandora to consider. It shouldn't fall on bad hands; or in any hand, to be honest. Or either it's never found, which would be good, or someone needs to find it and destroy it.

(Someone is Kaito in this case.)

Kid might have started as revenge, but it was about something bigger. It was about mystery, illusions and hope; it was defying the impossible. It was about the joy of his audience; but also about justice and freedom. And, more important, it had always been about the right thing to do.

When Saguru arrived home after helping the police with a bank theft, he went directly to his room, ready to sleep.

He stopped from throwing himself to the bed when he saw a recognizable monocle and a note. It read: "found this lying around, thought you might like to keep it —K"

It was for real. Kuroba was quitting Kid.

He went to the other's room.

"Hey, I found the..." No, acknowledgement was met only with deny. "Anyway, are you alright?"

Kuroba startled and covered a lot of papers in the desk in panic.

"Yeah, yeah, everything's fine."

Saguru looked at the papers; the only thing he could glimpse was human figures and a lot of pink and violet.

Oh, no. Quitting Kid wasn't equal to quitting the career.

Chapter Text

Chapter Text

Kaito left Jii’s bar and started walking towards Hakuba’s house after a long conversation with the old man. It seemed that he wasn’t aware about Touichi —he discovered it with the last heist—; but he wasn’t mad at the plot, only relieved.

Kaito wished his feelings were as easy.

He heard a car getting closer, but he didn’t pay attention to it until it stopped right next to him.

Kaito recognized it instantly. 

For a moment, he thought about running, not wanting to face what would come next; but it would be worthless.

The driver’s window lowered and Ginzo smiled at him. “Kaito-kun! Do you want a ride?”

“Uh…”

“To wherever you’re staying. I know you haven’t been in your house in a while.”

“… Yeah, sure.”

Kaito got in and Ginzo started the car without asking him where to go. He drove for a while, both in silence, until Ginzo stopped next to a café and parked.

“May I invite you something?”

With a sigh, Kaito nodded and they got in; Ginzo got a dark coffee, while Kaito got a hot chocolate and ice cream.

Ginzo choose a table at the back, private, and Kaito followed him, preparing himself for whatever Ginzo was going to talk with him.

Through rare, this wasn’t something that hadn’t happened before. Actually, this was Ginzo’s way to go when he needed to have a boy-to-boy conversation with Kaito. It happened when he was twelve years old and Ginzo wanted to tell him that he shouldn’t have that many sleepovers with Aoko anymore —that one only half-worked. And also when Ginzo thought that he was dating someone when Kaito was being too secretive because of Kid. (And the talk, but Kaito preferred not think about that.) Besides a few more.

So, he was expecting something. Probably with some awkward questions before. But no; Ginzo took a sip of his coffee and, completely serious, went straight to the point.

“I know about your father.”

Kaito chocked on his ice cream.

“What?”

“He’s alive and living in your house.” Kaito didn’t know what to say, so he stayed silent. “I understand why you didn’t tell me, but you know that you can come to me if something is bothering you, don’t you?”

“Yes. Of course.”

“Do you need anything? Where have you been living?”

“I’m fine; I’m staying with Hakuba.”

“Good, he’s a good boy.” He frowned. “Unless you two are dating; in that case, you’re forbidden to stay with him.”

“Wha—? No, no, we’re friends.”

“Okay.”

After that, they didn’t talk about more important stuff while they were in the café; but when Ginzo dropped him in Hakuba’s porch, he hugged Kaito and asked one more time if he needed something.

“No, no. Just don’t tell Aoko.”

“Why?”

“She’ll be really mad. Might do something… drastic.”

“Okay, I won’t.”

Chapter Text

Saguru, Aoko and Keiko reunited outside school when it ended. Kuroba already had gone away to do whatever mischiefs thieves do in their free time, which came in handy when they didn't want him to be involved.

"So, let's go?"

"I would like to come too."

The three of them jumped at Akako's voice. Keiko was the first one to unfrozen.

"Um... Akako-chan? I'm sorry, but we're doing something kinda secret..."

"You're going to get rid of Kuroba-kun's father. I want to help."

"You know about that?"

"Of course, Lucifer keeps me updated on Kuroba-kun."

Lucifer? What?

He shared a confused look with Keiko, but Aoko didn’t question it, just clapped happily.

“Well, if you know, I don’t see why you wouldn’t be able to help!”

Aoko headed to Keiko’s house, jumping, followed by Akako; that left Saguru and Keiko behind. He leaned closer and whispered.

“Do you know what that was about?”

“Aoko told me once that Akako-chan and Kaito-kun have an inside joke about she being a witch, so maybe it has something to do with that? Maybe she larps 24-7?”

“Ah…”

“I think Aoko and Kaito-kun have the politics of just… let her be when she says things like that.”

“Maybe for the best. I don’t know if I want to know if she actually believes that she’s talking to the real Lucifer.”

"So, on Friday."

"Two days to prepare everything."

"Nakamori-san, don't forget to bring me the things we talked about to school tomorrow."

"Aoko remembers! I don't get why do you want them tho..."

"Don't worry about that."

"And everyone has to act normal around Kaito-kun! We don't want him suspicious."

"Yeah, yeah."

"We know."

Chapter Text

Nothing worked. Not Saguru pulling out laws, not Keiko and Aoko making them believe that Kaito had been assassinated; the Kurobas reaction to them were that they should keep it a secret, and make their son go talk to them. Which none of them would ever accept.

But the thing was that, by confronting them, they revealed themselves. The Kurobas knew about Saguru and Akako now; Kuroba couldn't hide in their houses after that. They needed to get rid of them.

They were getting more desperate... And then Akako said some strange words and a circle of red light surrounded the two adults. She took out two plushies off her bag and squeezed them.

And the Kurobas bent in pain.

Aoko, Keiko and Saguru looked at each other.

That was magic. That was fucking real magic, which shouldn't be possible but—

"You leave this house before Sunday afternoon, or I turn these things on fire and what you faked would be real for both of you."

And with that she left the house.

The others rushed behind her, not wanting to stick with the for sure angry Kurobas.

But when they got outside, she was already gone. They looked at each other.

"Did we all see that?"

"You mean the fucking voodoo dolls!? Yeah, we all saw that."

There were a few moments of silence.

"So... When Bakaito calls her a witch..."

"And when she said she had talked with Lucifer..."

No one finished the thought, but it wasn't necessary; they were all thinking the same.

It was all real.  

Hakuba stormed into the living room with a haunted look in his eyes. Kaito stood up, worried.

“What happened? You look like you saw a ghost.”

“Akako-san.”

“What? Did she use one of her dolls on you or something?” Hakuba only looked at him. Not denying that it could be possible. “Wait, did she really?”

“Not on me.”

“Oh, shit. So…?”

“So.” Hakuba collapsed on the couch and looked at the ceiling for a while; Kaito sat next to him and waited for the crash out. “Magic’s real.”

Kaito patted his shoulder. “Yeah…”

“What the…?” Yep, there it was.

It was going to be a long night.

Chapter Text

Early Saturday morning, while Kaito and Hakuba were having breakfast, the bell rang. Moments later, Shikibe walked through the door.

“Two young ladies to see you, Saguru-botchama, Kuroba-san.”

Aoko stormed into the room in that moment, followed by Keiko.

"Go pick your stuff, we're leaving in twenty minutes!"

Kaito blinked. "What?"

"I got us five tickets for the Food-on-Rails tour!"

“What?”

"It's a food tour, but on a train. It arrives in Nagawa this evening, we spend the night and tomorrow morning there, and then we return to Tokio." Keiko unhelpfully explained. 

Where did the idea of this trip came from...?

"Wait, I'm going?" 

Hakuba wasn’t surprised by the travel itself, but with coming along?

"Of course! You were a part of the thing, after all."

Ok, this was really suspicious.

Kaito looked with a frown at the other three. "What thing?"

"It's a surprise for Bakaito! Come on! Get your and Hakuba's bags!"

"I haven't packed," Hakuba said.

Aoko dismissed him. "Kaito surely made a run bag for you." 

He frowned. "Run bag?" 

"Yeah, he's been doing that since we were kids."

"When your parents just randomly decide to go on vacation and expect you to be prepared in ten minutes, you learn to do that. And for the friends you want to take with you."

And when there's a criminal organization that could go after you anytime, you do that too.

"Did you steal some of my things for that?"

"No? They’re all new clothes, in your size and style."

"I need to go get some extra things then."

"Sure, yours is under the loose table under your desk. You can't miss it."

Chapter Text

Akako met them at the station, and they got in the train.

It was a nice trip.

Suspiciously nice.

Akako didn't try to infatuate him; Hakuba didn't accuse him of being Kid (though they probably were over that already); Aoko didn't eat any fish in front of him, even if there were options; Keiko didn't insinuate anything about him and Aoko.

Actually, the four of them were acting very friendly; he didn't know that Keiko, Hakuba and Akako even talked to each other... But they looked like friends now.

And Aoko had said something about a surprise...

Clearly, they were plotting together.

He needed information; assuming that they all knew everything, he could try with anyone.

So, he chose Aoko: she was the easier to break. Hakuba, knowing how to interrogate, probably knew how to avoid spilling anything; Akako was a mystery, but because of that, he didn’t think he could get anything from her.

He wouldn’t dare try with Keiko. She would just tilt her head and play ignorance; she had a fucking good natural poker face.

He got Aoko alone with the excuse of exploring the train, and when they were far enough, he dragged her to a corner.

"Since when are you all friendly?"

"Uh... Wednesday? Maybe Friday?"

Wednesday wasn't of any significance to him, but Friday...

"Wait! Does it have to do with Akako's magic?"

"What? Magic? Pff, no. Magic doesn't exist."

"Hakuba told me what happened."

"He did!? He knew he shouldn't!"

"He was too shocked to think about that."

"Well, we all were! Between the voodoo and on who she did it..."

Who?

He couldn't ask; if he did, she would notice that he didn't actually know.

"Yeah, unbelievable. Can't imagine why would she do that to them..." 

Aoko wasn't fooled. 

"You don't really know then!"

Damn.

"Oh, come on, Ahouko, what are y'all hiding?"

"It's a surprise! You'll find out tomorrow."

"Fiiine..."

Chapter Text

The girls had a room for themselves, which left Kaito and Hakuba together.

Everything was as expected until Hakuba took his shirt off.

Under, he had a white vest; it would look like normal underwear for inexperienced eyes, but Kaito recognized it instantly.

"Is that a binder!?"

Hakuba jumped and looked at him with wide eyes.

"Uh..."

Kaito had spent at least the last 18 hours with him, and he hadn't changed since the pajamas he had that morning.

"How many hours have you worn it? Take it off!"

"Kuroba..."

Kaito took Hakuba's pajamas and slammed them in his chest.

"Change. Now."

Hakuba looked like he was going to argue for a moment, but just sighed and closed himself in the bathroom.

Minutes later, he came out and Kaito raised an eyebrow at him. With a frown, he raised his hand, in which he had a recognizable white piece of clothing.

"Good."

"Is that it?"

"Hm?"

"Aren't you saying anything else?"

"Uh, like what?"

"I don't know!" Hakuba raised his hand in the air and fell on his bed. "Questions, surprise, maybe asking if I’m a girl!?"

Kaito frowned. "One, rude, I’m not misgendering you. Two, I… Did you think I didn’t know?"

Hakuba sat up. “You knew!?”

“Well, yeah. I investigated you. There’s so much you can do to hide your birth certificate…”

“Oh. Right.”

“And three…” Kaito tilted his head. “I thought you investigated me too.”

“I did.”

“So why you don’t seem to know that I’m trans?”

Hakuba blinked. “Your birth certificate says male.”

“It does? Huh. I didn’t do that. Must’ve had been one of my parents…”

“So you…?”

“Yeah.”

“Oh. Okay, cool.”

Chapter Text

Hakuba spent the whole travel back to Tokio with arms crossed and frowning at Kaito. Aoko was worried.

“Something happened?”

Kaito looked at Hakuba, but seeing he wasn’t answering, he said. “Nothing, nothing. I didn’t let him put on the… shirt he wanted to wear.”

“Why?”

“It didn’t match his eyes.”

Keiko looked at Hakuba with pity. “You’ll have to get used to that if you’re friends with Kaito-kun. He does that to all of us.”

The train stopped at the station, and they got off. Kaito turned to them and rubbed his hands.

“So. What is it?”

“Baaya is waiting to drive us there.”

Kaito started bouncing; but the closer they got to his house, the more still he became. When the car stopped and everyone got out, he looked at the two houses.

“Is it in Aoko’s house?”

“No.”

He took a step back. “I don’t think it’s a good idea…”

“Kuroba. Trust us.”

Kaito looked from Hakuba to the rest of them. Then nodded. “Fine.”

They approached the house. Kaito put the key in the lock and turned it; there was a click. Aoko and Keiko stepped at one side, used to it, and Akako imitated them after a glance.

Kaito opened the door and something was shot.

“Shit.” Kaito pulled Hakuba just in time.    

Hakuba stared at the net in the floor, right where he was moments before. It was sparking; clearly electrified.

"What was that?"

"Anti-theft measures."

Hakuba stared. "Your family is weird."

"Yeah, Kaa-san always puts some when she leaves... Wait." He got into the house —no signs of life, no shoes in the genkan, no coats in the rack... no signs of people living there. "They left?"

"Surprise!"

Kaito looked at them amused. "You... What?"

"They won't be back. O they'll face Aoko's fury." She punched her hand.

"What... What exactly did you do?" Aoko, Keiko and Hakuba turned to Akako. And Kaito realized Aoko had said the surprise had to do with last Friday. "You voodooed my parents!?"

She didn’t seem guilty at all while she nodded.

Kaito looked at his friends; then back at the house. There was only one thing he could say.

"Thank you."

Chapter Text

“How did you two know? I know about Hakuba, and I guess Akako’s answer is magic…”

They had migrated to Kaito’s living room, and they were spread in the different seats. Kaito was squashed between Aoko and Keiko, which they probably did on purpose.

“I came to your house and saw him. Why didn’t you tell me? I could’ve gotten rid of him earlier.”

“I didn’t think he wanted you to know.”

“You don’t owe him anything.”

“Well…" Kaito didn't know how to answer, so he turned to the other girl. "And you, Keiko? Did Aoko tell you?”

"No, no."

“Keiko already knew. She told me to look in your house, actually.”

“Yeah, I saw him on TV.”

Kaito froze. Did she know?

“On TV?”

“Yeah, in KID’s heist.” There was a pause, in which Kaito’s heart almost stopped. “I saw him in the crowd.”

That seemed unlikely. Most of the time, he’d been the thief; and being seen before? Touichi was better than that.

He looked at her questioningly, and she made a little nod.

Shit. They needed a talk one-to-one soon.

That night, Kaito climbed Keiko’s house and reached her window; it was open. He slid inside.

Keiko turned the chair she was in. “So you’ve finally come.”

“We have to talk.”

“Go ahead.”

“How did you know Oyagi was alive?”

“I saw him being KID instead of you last heist.”

“So you know?”

“Of course. You’re not subtle, Kaito-kun, not for the ones that know you. The only reason Aoko doesn’t know is because she doesn’t want to believe it.”

Kaito didn’t know what to answer.

“Now” —Keiko took some papers from the desk and presented them to him— “we need to talk about this.”

Chapter Text

The next month was oddly ordinary. Kaito had breakfasts and dinners with the Nakamoris. He went to school, fought with Aoko and annoyed Hakuba. Akako made prophecies and tried to infatuate him; Keiko incited both Aoko and him to fight by casual comments. 

And KID kept stealing. It seemed that his father had nothing else to do, because he made one or two heists per week. People online started to made theories about him; they had noticed that he looked different, but they couldn't decide if it was a different person or just a different disguise. A few ones had (correctly) noticed that he looked like nine years ago, so the theory of him being the real KID and Kaito an imposter were around too. 

Meanwhile, Kaito didn't have anything to do. Without the heists, his free time had increased significantly, and Aoko was taking advantage of it; she started to arrange going outs, sometimes only the two of them, sometimes with Keiko too, and sometimes the five of them. 

Another thing that changed was that they weren't going to the heist places anymore, staying in home instead.  

When the first heist came, Keiko showed up in Kaito's house and watched the live broadcast curled on the couch with him. She said that, since Kaito knew now that she knows, there was no reason to leave him alone, wallowing in his anger.  

The second one, Hakuba appeared in his house too (Keiko probably had invited him without warning Kaito) and joined them. He kept himself away from all the platonic hugs, though, preferring the armchair.

The next time, Aoko found them together and insulting KID; she was so happy that Keiko and Kaito were now against the thief that she didn’t question it, just got a bowl of popcorn for them to throw at the TV and happily started to insult him as well.

By the fourth time, Akako was inexplicably there. No one had invited her (Kaito checked), but they weren't surprise that she found out. 

And so, a tradition began. Every time there was a heist they would reunite in Kaito’s house with snacks and soft drinks for them, and a lot of popcorn for throw (this was such a nightmare to clean after, but it was worth it). Most of the time, Aoko, Keiko, Hakuba and Akako would spend the night, all five of them falling asleep on the seats.

And then Jirokichi made to the news, setting up a jewel and challenging Kid to steal it. And that challenge included a fake note.

A note that had obviously been made by Kudo, since it had a very well-hidden code, demanding his Kid to go, not the one that had been doing the heists lately.

Chapter Text

Hakuba closed his hand around Kaito’s arm and dragged him to the school bathroom.

“What are you doing!?”

Without answering, Hakuba revised that the bathroom was empty, and then closed the door.

He turned with his arms closed. “You can’t go.”

“What are you talking about?”

“Edogawa-kun’s note.”

Kaito tilted his head. “What?”

“Kuroba. It’s stupid. It’s a trap for sure, and you-know-who is going to go anyway, not minding the note.”

“Hakuba…” Kaito sighed. How could he explain it? “How would you feel if I disappeared without a word and you didn’t have a way to see me almost every day?”

Realization crossed his eyes. “He’s worried.”

“It's my fault. I should’ve sent him a note or something…”

“You had other things in your mind. No one would blame you for forgetting.”

“Still. I need to go.”

Hakuba frowned. “If you miss one of the heist marathons in your own house, Aoko-san will suspect.”

Kaito groaned. He was right.

But…

“Well, I just need to talk to him. It doesn't necessary have to be on the heist.”

So, after school, they traveled to Beika. Kaito wanted to go alone, but Hakuba didn’t let him; he was glad that at least neither Akako nor Keiko had tagged along too.

Hiding in an alley, they saw Kudo walking back from school; alone, he already had parted ways with his little friends.

And Kaito… well, there was only one thing he could possibly do. After all, Kudo was too impudent and got into a lot of trouble. Helping him be more aware of the surroundings was a noble purpose, a worthy cause.

He kidnaped him.

Chapter Text

Shinichi turned around with the arm raised, ready to shoot a tranquilizer to the man that had grabbed and dragged him to an alley.

The man —black clothes, hat covering his face; there was an accomplice a few meters away, with equally dark clothes and hat— raised his hands.

“Hey, hey, Tantei-kun, it’s me.”

He immediately lowered his arm. “Kid! What are you doing here?”

“I won’t be on the next heist, but I saw your note, so I decided to stop by and say hello.”

“Why aren’t you going to go to the heist? Where have you been? What happened? Why is someone else pretending to be you, and why did you not stop him?”

He turned to give his ally —his assistant? Shinichi thought the assistant was old, and this man looked about their age, but it could be— a smug look.

“See? It’s not a trap, he was worried.”

Shinichi crossed his arms. “I'm not worried. I'm just... You disappeared.”

“There are a lot of circumstances that I cannot disclose, but the summary is: I quit.”

“What?”

“I’m not Kid anymore, the one that has been doing the heists is.”

“You have to be kidding me. What do you mean you’re not Kid anymore?”

Kid —Shinichi didn’t have anything different to refer to him in his mind— sighed.

“What did you already deduce about my origin?”

“Uh… Well, I don’t know about the first KID, but with the eight-year gap and the fact that you’re a teenager, I assume that you took the mantle for some reason regarding the first KID disappearance. Probably his death.”

“All of that is right.”

“So?”

“So, the KID that has been doing the heists is him.”

“But you just said that he was death.”

“It seems that he’s not.”

“… oh.” So, the first KID was alive, and now the new Kid couldn’t be it anymore. “That’s why Hakuba said that he wasn’t an impostor.”

“He’s not.”

“How did he know? That the Task Force could recognize him would be logic, most of them have met him, but I don’t think he did.”

“That is part of the information I can’t disclose.”

Chapter Text

Shinichi looked at the former thief; he couldn’t imagine that someone he believed dead —and was the reason for some decisions— was actually alive.

“Well… If you don’t do heists, what do you do?”

“I’ve been watching them from TV with my friends. Throwing popcorn is really cathartic.”

The mysterious man in the shadows snorted. He must be one of his friends, then.

“So… this is it?”

He couldn’t imagine it. Kid was a great part of his life as Conan; and sometimes a valuable ally, one of the few people that knew his identity.

The thief made his characteristic Kid smile. “Oh, Tantei-kun, I can assure you that you hadn’t see the end of me.”

“What!?” The man in the back approached; that was clearly new information for him. “I thought that Ke… Our friend in common had talked to you and got that idea out of your head.”

“She talked to me, yes. We got to an agreement. But not the one you wanted.”

For sure there were a lot of things happening there, but more important…

Shinichi recognized that voice.

“That’s Hakuba?”

Both looked at him; then Kid turned to Hakuba. “I told you you couldn’t speak!”

“Well, sorry if I was worried because you’re going to become a thief again! I thought we were over it!”

“I never said that I was going to be a thief.”

And… they’d forgotten Shinichi again.

“I saw your drawings!”

“You barely saw anything.”

“It was a pink suit. For what else could it be?”

Shinichi blinked. “First white, now pink? What about the old and trustful black?”

“For the record, we decided it’s going to be violet. And Tantei-kun, don’t you have to go home? Mouri-san is going to be worried.”

“You’re the one that kidnapped me.”

“Okay then, you’re officially not kidnapped anymore. You can go. And we should go now too; we have a homework due tomorrow.”

“Wha… That was assigned two weeks ago! You haven’t done it yet!?”

“I was busy!”

They walked away, still arguing.

So, Hakuba and Kid were classmates —and friends. Interesting.

Chapter Text

As said, Kaito didn’t go to Suzuki’s last heist.

Kudo didn’t go either. Or, at least, he wasn’t in the front row; Kaito was looking for him while watching the heist, but he never was on the TV.

At the end, it was for good.

It started fine. Normal.

Suzuki showed his latest acquisition in the middle of a park. It was a gold necklace with a really huge ruby. It seemed like a good candidate for Pandora —Kaito should check it later.

The Organization thought the same, it seems.

When his father was leaving the park, there was a shot. There wasn’t any sound, but the bullet impacting the floor next to Touichi was unmistakable.

Kaito and Hakuba looked at each other; the girls didn’t seem to have noticed it.

Then there was another. This one reached its target.

KID moved abruptly, and red started to spread in his shoulder.

Aoko startled. Keiko screamed. Akako started to mumble something.

Hakuba gasped and leaned forward, trying to analyze everything about the scene he could.

And Kaito...  

“No, no, no. He can’t die, not again. I can’t lose him. Not again.”

His words repeated again and again. Soon, his four friends were rounding him and talking, but he couldn’t make his mind pay attention to them.

Hakuba asked for his phone, but Kaito didn’t really process it until he was forcibly taking it from his pocket and using his hand to unlock it. Then it was pressed to his ear.

“He’s fine.” He heard his mom’s voice and relaxed. He wasn’t going to lose his father again.

After he hung up, he raised his head and saw his four friends worrying around him.

“Uh…”

“Kaito,” Aoko started to say, but doubted. She looked at the rest, but no one said anything. So she took a deep breath and… “Touichi-san is KID?”

Shit.

Chapter Text

Silence filled the room.

Kaito had gotten pale… and didn’t deny it.

He always denied it.

Aoko looked at Keiko, Hakuba and Akako to see their reactions; they looked concerned about them, but not surprised at all.

All of them already knew it.

“Kaito?”

He took a deep breath and stood up, all without a world. Aoko saw him go until he was on the bottom of the stairs.

He turned around and raised an eyebrow. “You coming?”

The four of them rushed to follow him.

Kaito guided them to his bedroom. He stood in front of a bedsheet in the wall, behind which probably still was Touichi’s portrait.

Kaito pulled the sheet to one side and pushed the frame; it turned, revealing an empty space behind.

“What…?”

“Be careful. This goes down to the basement, you won’t want to fell.”

Said that, he used a stair in the wall to go down.

Hakuba was the first one to unfroze and follow him, with an amused smile. Akako followed him elegantly.

Aoko swallowed and looked at Keiko. “There’s no way this turns out good, right?”

With a smile, Keiko took her hand and squeezed it in reasurement. “Just remember that Kaito-kun is still Kaito-kun and everything would be fine.”

Aoko nodded and started to climb down.

Kaito stood in a corner while his friends came down into Kid’s secret base and started to look around.

Hakuba was shining, drowning in evidence of Kid’s crimes. Akako was walking around with a slow pace, trying to pretend indifference.

Kaito just let them wander around, with conflicted feelings. The place felt so strange now. He’d been only once down there since he had come back to live in his house, but it was freakingly empty. The jukebox and the chair were gone, as well as most of the useful tools. Even the car wasn’t there anymore. (Kaito still hadn't figured out how it was possible to take it in or out.) The only things that were still there were the least useful. Old blueprints. Replicas of a few of the gems.

Finally, Aoko got down, followed by Keiko; and ignored the room over going directly to him. Seeing that, Hakuba and Akako approached too.

They looked at him expectantly, and Kaito sighed. “Okay. It all started eighteen years ago…”

Chapter Text

As soon as Kaito explained everything, Aoko left. He almost followed her, but Keiko stopped him.

“That would be worse.”

Kaito sighed; she was right.

Hakuba walked towards him and stood at his other side. “I think she’ll get over it. You weren’t doing it for fun. Mostly. And about the Organization… We’ll work on that. In a more… legal way.”

“They have the police on their pockets.”

“Then we get another law enforcement. I know someone on Interpol. I’ll call her tonight.”

“Okay. After that tell us what she says.”

“Of course.”

“Well, Kuroba-kun, as for my part, I can help with the magical side of this. That stone you talked about, Pandora, seems interesting. I’ll ask some people. And not people.”

Hakuba opened his mouth and Kaito shook his head. He had the feeling that they really didn’t want to know what she meant.

However, something that did worried him about Akako was her plans. “If we found it, you can’t keep it. It needs to be destroyed.”

“We’ll see.”

That night, Kaido didn’t go eat with the Nakamoris. He didn’t want to force it and make it worse.

Then Aoko showed up with a pot with food.

“Kaito didn’t come dinner with us.”

He shook his head. “I didn’t want to… force it.”

She sat next to him on the couch. “About Kid… Aoko is still mad, but understands. It was a stupid thing to do, but Kaito is Bakaito and Aoko expects him to do stupid things.”

“Oi!”

“So, now that Kaito is not longer Kid, what is he going to do about Pandora? That sounded important.”

“Well…” Kaito smiled, leaning forward. Aoko’s smile immediately mirrored his mischief. “Keiko and I have a plan. First of all…”

Chapter Text

The next two weeks were filled by the finals, so the conversations about still stealing without being Kid were rare. However, it also bought good things: Aoko’s anger eased thanks to all the late-night study sessions the three or five of them had.

And then, the break came. And KID announced a heist.

KID was aiming at a big necklace with a huge sapphire in the center and two diamonds on its sides. It was in a museum, in a display case in the center of a room as main exhibition, with more display cases against the walls. 

The day of the heist, the museum was full. KID’s heist always made people go see the exhibitions before it was stolen, even if the heist itself wasn’t open to public. This time the note said 11pm; the museum usually closed at 7pm, but they had extended the visit hours by two hours to get as many visitors as possible, even with Nakamori’s complaints.

It was 6 o’clock when the lights came off.

The people started to mutter. Was KID advancing the show?

Then a single spotlight turned on upon the center display case and dense purple smoke started to fill it. When it disappeared, there was someone standing on top of the case.

His clothes were mostly violet; from his pants to the vest to the fedora hat on his head. Even the gloves and the glass of the glasses that hid his identity were that colour; the only different thing he had was the gray shirt matching with the hat band and the shoes.

“Good afternoon, dear audience…”

Then the spotlight turned off and another spotlight turned on, over another display case, and in top of it there was another person. She was wearing mostly pink; baggy pants, jacket, beret and glasses. Her blouse, gloves, ballerina flats, choker and the feather on top of the beret were sky blue.

“You’re here for the Sweet Crest Necklace…”

Another change of spotlight. This time, the girl wore sky blue half leg leggings, over which she had a short violet skirt. The cartwheel hat and blouse were also sky blue, and the boots, the scarf and gloves were violet.

“That is going to be stole by Kaitou KID this night.”

Darkness and a fourth spotlight illuminated someone else. A girl in a yellow tight slit dress with a high neck and an equally yellow boater hat. She also had high boots and long gloves, both pink, and hiding her identity the hat had a thick pink tulle.

“But we arrived first.”

The light turned off again for a moment, and a new member was illuminated. He had gray pants and blazer, and a bower hat and tinted glasses in the same colour. Below he wore a yellow turtleneck, and shoes and gloves of the same colour.

“We’re the Pandora’s Box.”

The darkness came back for a second, and then the five spotlights turned on together. In the center, Kaito bowed and let a wide smile show in his face.

“And we’re here to steal the show.”

Chapter Text

A month and a half before…

“Now” —Keiko took some papers from the desk and presented them to him— “we need to talk about this.”

Kaito recognized them; they were his ideas for a new suit design.

“How did you get them?”

“I got into Hakuba-kun’s house when you weren’t there.”

Kaito blinked. “How? His house has a good security.”

Instead of answering, she made her own question. “How are you so good stealing?”

He wasn’t expecting that. He never thought of that question himself.

“I guess I know a lot…”

“Yes, exactly. How? Why?"

"Uh..."

"It's because every time you wanted a chocolate or anything, Chikage-san put it behind security. And when Aoko and I were in your house, you weren’t the only that had to manage to break it.”

“… Oh.”

“Now. This?” She shook the papers. “I bet them.”

“I’m not quitting, I don’t mind if you approve it or no.”

“I know, I wasn’t going to try to stop you. But I want to propose this.” She handed him a different paper.

This one with five designs.

Kaito let a smile grow in his face.

The day of the heist, morning…

When Saguru arrived at Kuroba’s house, it was empty. A little chalk arrow in the floor pointed at the stairs, and then two more pointed at Kuroba’s room and the secret base.

When he got down, the other four were already there. He sighed when he saw Kuroba in a violet suit, but wasn't really surprised.

But then he noticed that Aoko and Keiko weren’t in their normal clothes.

“You two too!?”

Keiko put a pile of clothes in his hands. “All of us.”

“No.”

“We’re not doing anything illegal, I promise!”

“Kuroba, stealing is illegal.”

“The necklace is going to stay in the museum, and we’re going during visit hours. Not even breaking and entering. Just listen to us.”

“Why did I thought that becoming their friend was a good idea?” He murmured to himself; then, to the others: “Okay, go ahead, what is your plan?”