Hey all, back to case inspired ones!

Review chapter 631, episode 515 because I do abbreviate some things. Though the chapter/episode related stuff will be much more relevant next update.

Kaito did not whoop when he saw Suzuki Jirokichi's new challenge to him. It had been too long since he'd had a proper heist Conan could attend. On top of that it was a pair of gems. He could check two at once!

"What's got you so happy?" Aoko asked when Kaito returned to class. Beaming, Kaito turned his screen to his friend. Not even her hatred of KID could ruin his mood.

Aoko scoffed, as expected. "Seriously? Aoko bets this is why Dad said he'd be missing dinner this weekend! Aoko has to make him bentos!" She turned on Hakuba. "Hey! You'd better catch him this time! Okay, Hakuba-kun?"

Hakuba smiled at her apologetically. "I'm sorry, Aoko-san. But I can't make it this one."

"What? Why?" Aoko demanded in dismay. Kaito eyed Hakuba with a mixture of suspicion and irritation. (He'd better have a goddamn good reason for missing another heist.)

"I have a pre-existing commitment." Hakuba explained. "Besides, I would be redundant." The detective's eyes slid unconsciously to Kaito before snapping back to Aoko.

"Redundant?" Aoko frowned. "What do you mean?"

"It's a Suzuki challenge." He answered. "Edogawa Conan will be there." He smiled wanly. "I wouldn't want to step on any toes." Kaito was very intentionally controlling his expression. Aoko was still talking to Hakuba, but Kaito was lost in the implications of the detective's excuse.

Hakuba and Conan had never attended a true Kaitou KID heist together. In fact, the one time they'd both encountered KID was when Hakuba first met Conan. That… seemed unlikely given how many heists the high school detective was at, even flying in from England on one occasion. It was statistically unlikely that they would miss each other every time.

Was Hakuba avoiding heists Conan attended? It was true that Hakuba's absence allowed Kaito to focus all his attention on Conan. And heists were the only time that they could interact.

Holy cow, Hakuba was helping him.

He couldn't actually aid him, he would never make himself an accomplice, so he was helping him the only way he could. By making himself scarce. By allowing all of Kaitou KID's attention to be on his young soulmate without having to worry about the high schooler.

Kaito was seized by a sudden desire to hug the detective. Sure, he'd passively helped him with Conan before, but this? Arranging things (even if it was just his absence) so Kaito could have more time with Conan? He was practically his wingman!

Kaito's default poker face was an unnerving grin, and he was unknowingly making Hakuba increasingly uncomfortable as he stared at him with that smile on his face.

. _

.^_O~

Kaito looked around the intersection appraisingly. This had to be good. Aoko bounced beside him, excited by his promise to buy her sweets. He'd already cased the intersection once, but none of his ideas had that panache he needed to impress Conan. So he went and grabbed a couple of muses to help him out.

"Why am I here, exactly?" His second muse asked through gritted teeth, shoulders tense.

"I told Aoko she could invite a friend." Kaito said, pointing at Aoko. Couldn't blame him for an invitation from Aoko.

"He said Aoko could invite anyone except Akako-chan." She added, slight annoyance plain in her words. Yeah, so he knew she'd invite Hakuba or Akako since she wouldn't want to deal with a KID fan like Keiko so close to a KID target. So what? And yeah, maybe Hakuba's invitation was less verbal and more waking up on the train here, stuck between Kaito on his phone and Aoko reading about treats so that he didn't have a chance to reject their kind offer. It wasn't like it was kidnapping or anything. Hakuba could leave anytime he wanted to.

Hakuba drifted a bit too far from them, towards a slowing bus. Then found himself handcuffed to Aoko.

Okay, maybe it was kidnapping lite.

"Kuroba!"

"BaKaito!" The outraged shouts overlapped as Kaito sniggered and danced away from the lunging Aoko. Aoko managed to catch him and yanked him back by the scruff of his neck, her arm twisted awkwardly despite Hakuba's attempt to accommodate her. Kaito released them smugly as the bus pulled away.

"I am not helping you with this." Hakuba hissed when he was close enough to remove the cuff and Aoko was a few steps away, rubbing her wrist.

"I don't know what you're talking about." Kaito scoffed, making the handcuffs vanish. Hakuba glared and Kaito turned resolutely towards Aoko. "So where to first, Aoko?"

First stop was a fancy restaurant over looking the southern side of the intersection. Fortunately the lunch prices were reasonable. Kaito managed to snag a table at the window, but Hakuba very obviously grabbed the seat next to the glass and Aoko had gotten the other one before Kaito could so he reluctantly sat next to Aoko. He shot a glare at Hakuba. The detective simply raised an eyebrow as if to say you knew this would happen and you still chose to abduct me, or maybe Kaito was just projecting.

Aoko ordered for the table. She kicked her legs happily in her chair. "So, what are you doing that's keeping you from the heist, Hakuba-kun?" She asked. "You were kinda vague when Aoko asked you before."

"Oh, just an errand for Baaya." He answered, looking vaguely uncomfortable.

"What kind of errand?" Kaito pressed mischievously, his head propped up by his elbow. Hakuba shot him a dirty look.

"That is none of your concern." He said shortly. Kaito hummed and looked out the window. Hakuba needed to work on his excuses.

The tower of sweets arrived and Aoko excitedly directed the boys on which to take. Kaito absently noted that Hakuba seemed to like the mint flavored thing best, saving it for last. He couldn't glean much useful information from gazing out the window, so as soon as they were finished Kaito paid and allowed Aoko to drag them to the next location.

Despite his obstinate refusal to assist Kaito, Hakuba couldn't avoid inadvertently aiding him. Kaito followed Hakuba's observant eye to the covered speed bumps in the street... that continued on to the sidewalk. And there was a device attached to the corners of the buildings.

Okay, that was a trap. Maybe some kind of net to cut off the intersection? Hm... he'd have to go over, under or through it. That escape could be the flashiest part of his show, the centerpiece of the event. He needed to get the Purple Nail out. Then he could just change his disguise and let Jii appear as KID outside the trap... No. Conan would know it was just his assistant if he disappeared and reappear some place else. And Kaito wanted to impress him by actually escaping.

So, the question was again, over, under, or through. Under was boring. Through would be interesting if he could be seen passing through the net like a ghost. But that left evidence behind that Conan could find and required he access the net in advance, so it was too late for that. Kaito put the walking through a thing trick on the back burner to play with later. If he could think of a way to hide the evidence that might be good for another heist.

That left over... He couldn't hang glide from street level, so the question became how could he get high enough to go over the net? He was staring up at the buildings, following Aoko to the next café without really paying attention. Grappling hook was obvious, but it would take him too long to climb. It was more a tool for swinging. And it was boring. He frowned at a billboard for autumn fashion. Damn, it looked like it was flush with the building, that was no hel-

Kaito walked right into Aoko, who had stopped abruptly. She toppled over with a yelp, catching Kaito with her flailing limbs. Hakuba tried to grab her before she hit the ground, but with the addition of Kaito's sprawl, only ended up being taken down himself. The three of them ended up in a tangled dog pile in front of the store window that had caught Aoko's interest.

"Kuroba?"

"Yeah, Hakuba?"

"There are no words to properly express how much I dislike you right now."

"Watch where you're going, BaKaito!" Aoko was having no trouble expressing how she felt at the top of her voice. She popped up to her feet, shedding the boys (yanking Kaito's arm and kicking his shin in the process of disentangling herself). She started brushing herself off. Hakuba climbed to his feet with a groan. Kaito stayed where he was, sprawled on the sidewalk, hoping that if he looked pitiful enough they wouldn't yell at him anymore.

Hakuba caved first, the sucker. He looked down at him and concern passed over his expression. "Are you injured?" He asked while Aoko continued her scolding.

"Pride... Foot... Maybe." He said, trying to look pathetic. The concern vanished from Hakuba's face.

"You're fine." He said flatly. Right, Hakuba didn't buy his puppy dog eyes. Kaito huffed, pouting. Hakuba rolled his eyes and offered his hand.

He pulled Kaito up, a bit too fast and hard to have fully forgiven him. Hang on... What if something could pull him up? Kaito surreptitiously glanced around at each of the buildings, and, sure enough, there was one that could cover a rapid ascent and decent.

Yes!

Kaito beamed at his two muses. Aoko was immediately taken aback, as she was still chiding him, and Hakuba was immediately suspicious. "Let's go eat cake!" Kaito flung his arms around them so he had an arm over each of their shoulders, and started for the café.

Aoko sighed, "Geez," but leaned into him. Hakuba put his hand on his wallet.

He didn't need to worry. Kaito owed him for the inspiration.

. _

.^_O~

Jii-chan used his contacts to get a job with the TV station that was on the right roof. Kaito tested the pully and determined the precise extra weight Jii-chan would need to match the speed of the news scroll. He didn't spend extra time steaming wrinkles out of his suit. That would be stupid.

Kaito arrived early and lost himself in the crowd. It always was gratifying to have a huge crowd like this, especially with how they cheered for him. He was a performer at heart and he was as excited to show them his trick as they were to see it. Kaito drifted around the pedestal, using the anonymity of the throng to conceal him.

Nakamori was frustrated over the lack of police presence, and Kaito had to admit, four guards seemed foolish. What if someone other than KID decided to take advantage? It wasn't as if he were the only criminal in the world. All it would take was one armed gang- nope, he was going to stop thinking about that. The sheer number of people crowded into the intersection would surely dissuade any potential bandits.

Kaito chuckled at the banter between Jirokichi and Nakamori. Then, as he rounded the pedestal his smile widened.

My audience has arrived.

Conan stood beside Ran and Sonoko, sharp eyes surveying the area.

Showtime.

Hey guys, kinda fell of the Detective Conan fandom for a little while (four-ish years, but who's counting) but I binged the movies, I read the manga, and I am currently back.

Oof, got a few things to tackle here.

1) I've been writing a lot, a lot of stuff for my friendship fic Manipulations of the Heart. (If you want to see Kaito pining for friendship with his detectives and a meddling witch deciding to use that to her advantage, please check it out! I updated it earlier this month and it should be getting another update tonight.) It is also, definitely, what was on my mind when Hakuba popped up in this chapter.

2) This heist is a little tricky for me, because you know how KID's assistant looks exactly like Kaito when KID is grabbing him? Well, someone came up with a reason for that which I will never really let go of, even if I can't use it here. The fic is called The Kings and Queen of Mayhem by Icka M Chif (mischif) over on AO3 (it's Hakuba-centric). I tried to post the link but as expected could not, so just google the title, AO3, and Hakuba and it should pop up. The description doesn't do it justice (I personally don't read it as very shippy). But I love it because of the identity of KID's assistant and Hakuba getting some friends. Regardless, I'm having a lot of trouble not imagining that version of KID's assistant taking part in this heist.

I think that's it for business, now for the chapter.

I'm sure many of you have seen Magic Kaito 1412, which shows this heist from KID's POV. This does not really work for my story, so I kind of took elements of it (Kaito and Aoko hanging out, which honestly makes no sense so I tried to frame it as him looking for inspiration) and made it my own.
I, myself, am more partial to the TV specials that preceded Magic Kaito 1412. If you have not seen them, check them out. They are a delight.

There is a very thin line between fond (exasperating) frienemy that you can prank and friend that you can kidnap. Hakuba has just (unknowingly) cross that line. ^_^ It's also a really good reason for Hakuba and Conan not to be at the same heists!