Chapter 10

Written by Hatake Shiko

Revised by Katreal (Best Beta EVER!)

One week was all that Artemis had left. Merely seven days to find out who Conan really was before he would have to ship the boy back to Japan with the idiot detective. The black haired young man sat back in his computer chair and stared at the ceiling with a frown on his face. Every move would have to be precise from now on; there was no room for error. He now had a deadline that he absolutely had to keep. After all, he wouldn't have a reason to see Conan after the week was up. Artemis righted him self in the chair and frowned a bit more. "I need a reason," he concluded as he stood up, the chair rolling away. "I won't find out anything about him in a week, he's too well guarded to let things slip with me around, I need to get him on his turf so he can be more relaxed…"

He began to pace, only going a few feet each way as his mind began to come up with several different excuses to follow the boy back to Japan. 'This might actually work,' he thought with a Fowl grin. 'The game is far from over, Conan, the game is just beginning!'

Conan weighed a book in his hands carefully, debating for a moment before placing it into the pile he wanted to take back to his room. He was still stunned by what he had discovered and a million thoughts were racing through his mind. Why would Artemis have a book that had a painting of Kaito Kid in it? Sure, it could belong to someone else in his family… but then there was the parcel with a KID uniform inside that needed to be explained. So many things were not adding up and the young detective didn't like it.

"Right now I have come to at least three theories that are out of this world but they could somehow work. One, he IS KID and he has made all of this to mess with me. Two, he's an accomplice of KID who does some of his international work or tells him what to steal next. Three, he is some kind of obsessed Fan Boy that has somehow discovered that I battle KID and," he stopped in his musing and shivered. "Fan boy…"

So maybe the last theory wasn't the greatest but it was at least something. There were just too many sides to Artemis and the fact that KID has somehow come into the picture not once but twice was unsettling to the detective. The phantom thief was somehow connected to Artemis and he wanted to know how. He picked up his pile of books and left the study, hurrying to his room to start doing research on the painting he had discovered. 'Those gems are also something to look into… I KNOW that Kid has stolen three of them so maybe the others have a connection with him as well.'

He ran up the stairs and passed Artemis who was on his way down the stairs. 'He's probably going to attempt to cook again,' Conan thought as he heard the young man gasp from behind him before he was out of ear shot and in his room. He quickly locked the door and went to the desk where the computer was and sat down. He opened the book with the painting and turned to the page, staring at the picture intently. He noticed a few things about the figure that didn't quite match up the KID he knew, like the mustache.

He looked under the picture to the paragraphs that described the painting and found the words "painted by one JPR" and followed by "this was his only painting". Conan typed the words "JPR Kaito Kid painting" into a search engine and waited for the links to appear. He glanced back at the picture, wanting to examine the gem in his hand a bit more. It seemed normal, other than the fact that there was a liquid coming from it, and it was a red color. "Interesting," Conan said to himself before he turned back to the computer and noticed that the search engine found some links. The detective scrolled down a bit before clicking on one that seemed a bit promising.

"The painting "Moonlight Shadow was found in an underground art smuggling ring just outside of Paris in 1991. Police kept the painting in lock up for a few years before handing it over to a local art Museum in Paris where it soon became popular for having the famous Kaito Kid as the subject. This was the only picture of Kaito Kid that the public had and the only clear picture of the thief in the world. It was a highly valuable piece of art and collectors all over the world tried to add it to their collection.

About 3 years later Kaito Kid vanished from the world and slowly the public began to forget about him and the painting. The die-hard KID fans would come to pay their respects to the painting and a few police officers but other than that it was just a painting of a man in white.

Moonlight Shadow has slowly begun to reclaim its popularity since the return of Kaito Kid but is still kept under the radar from the general public. According to some of the Kaito Kid web sites the reason that it is under the radar is because the public now has photos of the thief where they didn't have them years ago.

No one knows who painted the picture other than the initials of the painter."

Conan closed out of the site and opened another link. He skimmed the contents and found that they said almost the same thing that the other site has mentioned. 'So there really isn't a lot of information about this painting,' he thought as he glanced back at the book. 'Figures, I get a lead and it ends just as quickly as I find it.'

He leaned back in the chair and pulled out the picture in his pocket. "I will figure this out," he promised himself as he glared at the books. "I will…"

Kaito yawned as he finally got out of bed and stretched. He shuffled to his suitcase and pulled out some clean clothes ,still groggy from jet lag. He glanced at himself in the mirror on top of the dresser and decided to try and tame to mop of hair on his head. After all, he was at his Uncle's house and he had to look somewhat presentable for his family.

A final once over in the mirror and he decided to head down stairs for some much needed food. And maybe ask Artemis if he knew a good place to start looking for an out of country detective . He smiled a bit as he started down the stairs, once again thankful for his cousin's connections with the people in the world.

He closed his eyes for a few moments, lips quirking as he heard the faint patter of footsteps on the stairs. At first he assumed it was Artemis—but it wasn't like his cousin to rush so. Actually, the footsteps didn't sound like they belonged to a teenager, and most certainly not the far heavier Butler. They were…small… His eyes snapped open just in time to see the culprit, the figure of blue and black moving past as if someone had decided to slow time down just for those few. Short black hair and large glasses were the first things that he noticed before he took in the entire picture. He choked on a strangled gasp as the boy disappeared out of sight and into a bedroom not to far from his own.

"Tantei-kun…" he whispered before charging up the stairs as quickly as he could. He had found him… had actually found him! He was here and now he could-

A hand reached out and grabbed Kaito by his arm, pulling him back and then forcibly slammed him into a wall.

"I see you've finally decided to join us Kaito," Artemis said from behind his cousin. "Let me get you caught up on a few things. That boy that you just saw? He's mine and-"

"Conan is NOT yours," Kaito hissed in frustration. "I saw him first… wait, why do you want Conan? Better question, how do you KNOW Conan?"

Artemis let Kaito go and the phantom thief turned around to face his cousin. "It's simple, he's been providing me with several challenges that I find interesting. I'm sure you feel the same urge , Kaito… the desire to unravel the puzzle-box that is Conan." He slipped his hands into his pockets and smirked. "Although, knowing you, you've already got him pretty much figured out, hmm? That's right, the young boy who is constantly thwarting your heists…"

Poker face. Poker face. Kaito kept his expression neutral, even pulling in bits of his Kid mask he hadn't expected to have to use on family. There was no way he was going to let Arty keep the upper hand, "And how would you know?"

"Connections," the answer was simple and very Artemis like. "You should know better than to ask that, cousin."

"Then why didn't you tell me? I showed you a picture of him when I first got here."

"Oh? All I saw was a crude drawing of a monkey with large glasses with a maniacal grin on its face. I saw no real connection with the boy at the time until after you retired for the night and I had a moment to think. Perhaps if you had provided a better picture I would have recognized him right away for you."

Kaito opened his mouth to retaliate but was stopped by Artemis' hand over his mouth. "Now then, my dear cousin, there are a few rules you're going to need to abide by while you're here. First, you need to be gone in less than a week. Second, you are not to go near Conan at all. I don't want him knowing you are here. Failure to follow these rules will end with you and Butler having a few self-defense lessons." Kaito clamped down on a shiver, but it left his stomach twisting in knots, defense courses with that man were never a good idea… last time he had one he broke his arm.

Kaito slipped out of Artemis' grip easily, ignoring the spark of annoyance on his cousin's face. Kid allowed himself to be held by no one, Artemis seemed to have forgotten that. "And why can't I see him, oh lord and master?"

"I'm only going to have him for the next week… then I have no other reason to see him. Stop being so selfish. You get him every time you have a heist near him. . Consider him borrowed for now."

Kaito moved to say something else when he was aware of a very large person approaching. The thief paused and looked up to see Butler standing a few feet away with a frown on his face. "Is there a problem here Artemis?"

"No, no problem Butler," Artemis said with a smirk. "Just make sure that my dear cousin here doesn't disturb Conan in any way shape or form. I don't even want him looking at the boy."

Butler looked at Artemis and nodded, "I understand, this way Kaito. I'll show you the kitchen since you're probably hungry."

"…starving," the teen muttered as he glared at Artemis. He turned away from the Fowl and obediently followed Butler down the stairs. He ignored his smirking cousin. 'Let him think he won. If he thinks that that little threat is going to stop me he has another thing coming… I AM going to see my Tantei-kun. After all, I am a phantom thief.' They may be family, but that didn't mean much when the gloves came off. Or on, in his case.

Artemis watched his cousin walk down the stairs and ran his fingers through his hair. That had been a little to close for comfort. He hadn't counted on Kaito finding out about Conan this soon but now that he had there was little he could do. He glanced at Conan's door down the hall and then back at the stairs. 'He's going to try and see him,' he concluded as he walked back into his room. 'Hopefully as KID and not as Kaito… that would be a nightmare.' Not to mention, they looked enough alike it would raise questions. Artemis did not need to have to explain the tangled criminal family tree of theirs.

He grinned as he imagined what would happen if Conan were to discover that KID was in Ireland… the boy would lose his mind! 'Of course, Kaito is going to play right into my hands as well,' he thought as he sat at his computer desk. 'After all, he is just the excuse I was looking for.' The genius opened up a word document and began to type, his fingers becoming a blur against the keyboard as lines upon lines of words appeared on the screen.

Finally Artemis finished typing and re-read what was he had in his word document. A wicked smile appeared on his face, he hadn't had this much fun in years. It was almost like creating a plan to steal from the People again, he had to do his research and think of all the possibilities. His fingers went back to the keyboard and the words 'look up Japanese myths and ask Holly if they are true' appeared on the screen a few moments later.

The young man glanced at the clock on his laptop and noted that it was about time to go get Conan out of his room for a little one on one time. He glanced back up to his document and skimmed it over one more time. "Time to put my plan into action," he said to himself as he stood and smoothed the slight wrinkles from his shirt. "First thing is first, I need to tell him that he is going home, I'm sure that he will be thrilled to find that out." He pouted, "Actually, he probably will be VERY happy to find that…"

He walked out of his room and to Conan's, waiting a few heartbeats before knocking on the door. The sound of a muffled 'hold on' came from within and the door opened to reveal the pint-sized genius. "And to what do I owe this visit Fowl," the boy stated obviously annoyed at being interrupted.

"Well, I'm afraid I have some bad news," Artemis said, pausing as he saw Conan's eyes widen. "An unforeseeable event has caused me to shorten your stay here. You will be leaving in six days to go back to Japan," he finished and watched as Conan's eyes lit up. 'I knew he was going to be happy about this.'

"Is this another one of your tricks Fowl?" Conan asked, was he really that suspicious?. "This seems right up your alley…"

"Afraid not. I know it must be painful to know that our little game has to come to an end but it has to be." He shrugged his shoulders and looked away, "although, I was hoping that maybe we could-"

A muffled song started playing from Artemis' jeans and he reached into his pocket and pulled out his cell phone. He didn't recognize the number, something he was used to in the old days, and flipped the phone open.

"Hello?" He waited a few moments as Conan rolled his eyes. "Hello? He-"

"Mudboy."

Artemis froze and looked down at Conan quickly, "…yes…?"

"Meet me in the garden, now, it's an emergency."

The teen heard a beep and quickly closed his phone and put it back into his pocket. "Yet another unforeseeable event has come up Conan, we will have to continue this later." Conan looked like he was about to reply but Artemis didn't have time to sit around and find out. He took off down the stairs and sprinted down the hallway to the back door that led to the garden. He ran outside and looked around for any clue as to where the person he was meeting was.

"I'm in front of you Artemis."

To say the teen was surprised would be an understatement. He jumped back a little and glared at the spot in front of him. "Thanks for the warning Holly," he muttered as he crossed his arms. He somehow knew that she was smirking at him even though he couldn't see her, he knew her too well.

"Anytime mudboy," she said, still invisible. "But enough with the small talk Artemis, we have a problem. Not a little problem either."

"What? Has another psycho decided to take over Haven?"

"Well, you got one part right Fowl, I'll give you that. I'm sure you remember Opal, well, she's out and about somewhere thanks to your incompetent police force here."

"She's out? When did she escape? Better yet, how did she escape?" Artemis felt his heart beating faster and his palms began to dampen with sweat.

"I don't have a lot of details Artemis," Holly told him and he felt her touch his elbow. "All I know is that you are pretty much number one on her hit list and I need to get you and Butler to Haven immediately."

Artemis started to nod his head in agreement when a picture of Conan and Kaito flashed through his mind. "I can't go just yet Holly," he said as he rubbed his temples. "I have two other people at my house right now, my cousin and a young boy. I can't get rid of them quickly without them knowing that something is up… Is there any way that the LEP could put guards around the manor till they leave?"

"I'll need to talk to the others about it," Holly confessed. "I'm really going out on a limb trying to bring you two back with me. Are you certain you can't get rid of your guests? They could be in danger if they stay here in any longer."

Artemis nodded and stuffed his hands in his pockets. All of his plans were going up in smoke… how was he supposed to follow Conan to Japan now? 'Wait a minute…'

"Holly," Artemis said with a Fowl grin. "I have an even better solution… come to my room tonight and I will tell you the plan, alright?" Artemis heard a muffled "alright," before he got the feeling that he was alone again. He sighed and shook his head, "what did I do to deserve this," he muttered to himself as he went back inside. "I just hope that this gets sorted out quickly…"

A/N

So… Chapter 10! ^^, Yeah… I honestly didn't realize that it had been so long since I last posted. I'm kinda mad at myself right now actually. I left everyone on a HUGE cliffy… sorry about that ^_^, Hopefully this chapter will make up for that. I worked really hard on it (I even managed to type over 1.5k in one night for you guys!) and I hope you all like it! As you can see I am moving the story along and Kaito now knows where Conan is~ I wanted to prolong it, but that would have gotten out of hand very quickly. And yes, I made Arty a complete jerk to Kaito~ It has a purpose! I swear! I wanted this chapter to be longer and have a few more plot developing scenes in it but I suddenly realized something… if I use up all of my ideas now I won't want to write the next chapter. So, the next chapter is already planned out and I'm hoping to have it up when I finish it (I don't know when that will be ^^,)

I also have important news! I will be hosting a workshop along with Katreal (I have a link to her account on my page) that deals with fanfiction and creating original ideas at Otakon this year. If any one wants to come feel free and if you can't make it tis cool~ If you know anyone going let them know ^^, We'll be in Workshop 2 (so far) and it's from 1-2:30 Saturday afternoon.

Thank you to everyone who has reviewed, faved, and watched this story. It truly means a lot to me and I thank you all for being so patient. Big Thank You goes out to Katreal who helped me keep Kaito in character~

See you in the next chapter!

Shiko