Hello everyone! Apparently I'm not dead yet. No, really, I'm still alive and... stuff.

Anyways! I had this idea for half a year now, and finally, fiiiiinally, I can show it to people. To be honest, the original idea came from Hebiaczek, and the fact that I've made it so far is all thanks to her, with her tips and encouragement. Not only that, but she basically wrote the riddle in this chapter for me. She's more of a co-writer now.

Also, I'm not planning to abandon those stories that are on hiatus now, so don't worry~

Well, please enjoy~

For the last two of three centuries, dragons have been solitary creatures. They slowly disappeared from the world, and the last of them lived in isolation, hoping to protect themselves from humans. Some tried to keep in touch with others, others didn't. There were occasionally small families, the ones who tried to stick together – their fate was usually to be wiped out at once, upon discovery. The ones who tried to live alone died alone, bitter and depressed.

Years went on, the letters between families and solitary dragons stopped, and they were left alone to shoulder their secret and identity, in a world that wouldn't accept them.

This is the world Hattori Heiji lived in, and reluctantly called his own. His parents were gone, have been since years, and having lost contact with everyone else, he was left to wonder if maybe he was the last one.

He never liked thinking about that. He tried not to. But the thought kept finding him, haunting him like some nightmare, until it left him in some half paralyzed state that made him unable to do anything.

As he sits on his couch, he wonders: what is he supposed to do if he's really the last one? He doesn't know the answer. He just tilts his head back, looking up blankly at the ceiling, watching that one spot where the paint is slowly peeling off, letting the noises from the TV wash over him. He rests his legs on the coffee table, and two glasses clink together when his heels land too harshly on the surface. He feels himself sink into the squeaky leather of the couch, and tries to shut his mind off. He mostly succeeds.

The world only drags him back with the increasingly excited voice of the news reporter, now near squealing, and Heiji just sees Kid do some odd backflip, away from an outraged Nakamori, in the moment he raises his head once again. It's an older footage, one Heiji has seen before. The woman talking in the background almost reaches ecstasy just by summarizing the events of the previous heist, and then her voice just enters a whole new register when she's finally reading the notice of the next one.

"The pigs expecting pearls squealed at the azure shining before them.

With the invitation I come wingless from the sky so bright,

Rising from the soaked Earth to claim the surprise prize."

He is vaguely interested, turning the words of the note over in his head, analysing them. He didn't really care about Kid before, never bothered to look him up, he just occasionally heard about the guy, when he appeared on the news or when Kudou talked about him. His conclusion was that Kid was most probably a weirdo, but at least he was an entertaining one. But that wasn't enough for Heiji to chase after him.

In the end, he just lets his head fall back once again, as if that spot on the ceiling is really that interesting.

It happens only a day later, as Heiji slowly becomes aware of the crick in his neck, that he wonders if staring upwards is some escape mechanism for him. No, he didn't stay on the couch that long, though it wouldn't be an unusual occurrence to him. In fact, he's quite sure that he wouldn't mind if that were the case, rather than enduring the train ride all the way to Tokyo.

Honestly, he wouldn't bother with trains if he had a choice. He'd rather fly over there, under the night sky, feeling free and wild as the wind plays with his mane… But then he'd have to land even before reaching the outskirts of the city, and then get lost in the maze of various districts and the wonders of public transport. Just the thought makes him cringe a little. At least this way, after the torturously long train ride, the meeting place is only a few minutes away, and on foot too.

Now, by his mother's principles, a meeting with a human (because yes indeed, he's meeting one) would be a suicide. But, for one, Heiji doesn't exactly follow those principles anymore, and two, he spend enough years being "suicidal" and finding out more about that particular person he's seeing to know that he's in no danger with him. Well. There's the whole issue with Heiji not quite having revealed himself yet, but still. He trusts his one human friend as much as he can despite being a dragon. Truth be told, there are many issues with this friendship, like the fact that Heiji will have to eventually disappear before anyone finds out that he isn't really aging like he should. But, he tells himself, he's going out to have fun. Spend time with his friend and enjoy himself, not lament on things.

Just then, the train arrives to the station, so he clears his thoughts, and gets off as soon as he can, a little grateful to feel the steady ground beneath his feet. With a sports bag on his shoulder, Heiji tries to make his way through the buzzing Tokyo crowd. Full of life, full of noise, such a contrast from the quiet little neighbourhood where he temporarily settled down. He's gotten used to the presence of people, but not quite the presence of crowds. Even now, though it's not his first visit in the capital, he feels a little like he's suffocating.

He likes to believe that he can mask his unease well, though. People don't give him odd looks, he doesn't even stand out much – just another teenager out on the streets, and his tanned skin is not enough to bring too much attention to him. It's good, he thinks. He doesn't like too much attention.

His steps slow down as he reaches a small café. A little bell rings as he opens the door, and the strong smell of coffee reaches him instantly. It's a relatively peaceful place, a sanctuary in the overly lively capital, and the atmosphere is calming too. That is, except for one little corner where the customers tend to shy away from as a young man sips on his coffee in a particularly menacing way.

"God," Heiji thinks to himself, and his shoulders sag a little. "Kudou is worse than some of the dragons I've known." The dark aura doesn't exactly help, it makes him look even worse than usual, but Heiji knows, knows full well: the emphasis is on "look."

"You've made it, huh?" he says when Heiji reaches his table. The murderous glint is gone from his eyes, replaced by a bit of weariness, but he seems like he's still happy to see him. It took years for the dragon, not being too good with humans, to fully decode this man, but now he's brave enough to say that he does know him.

"Yeah. Good to see you, man." He lets the bag slip from his shoulder, and he sits down. A few years ago, they would've started the usual round of "how have you been" and "what are you up to," but now, their meetings don't start like that anymore. It's not Heiji who changed, not really. The only thing that's different about him is that his knee-jerk reaction among humans isn't to run anymore. It's Kudou who's gotten sour and weary, and it's just another reminder that he's aging faster… It's a little stab in the heart, but Heiji learned how to move past it.

He orders something for himself, only half paying attention to actually what it is, while Kudou reads a case file, not unlike the last time they met. But this time, there's a set of gruesome looking photos in front of him as well that makes Heiji question if he really wants to drink anything at all.

"So, what brings you to Tokyo?" he asks casually, as he flips the page. He looks up for a moment, then turns back to the file.

"I've missed you and your sour face!" he grins, and Kudou allows himself an almost pout, looking just a little younger while doing so. "Come on, cheer up, you're just 25 and you look like an old geezer! Aren't you happy to see your buddy?" Heiji never knows what gets into him, acting loud and cheerful, unlike the reserved, burned out quietness he embodies at home, only that it feels much better to act like that, so he pretends he's not about to be 100 soon. He also pretends he's not obsessed with his friend's age or how the years seem to slip from his hands too quickly.

"That's all?" he asks, but a smile still appears on his lips, and he puts the files away.

"That's all!" The silence stretches out between them after that. It's not enough to feel too uncomfortable, but Heiji knows the reason behind it: Kudou is waiting for him to say something. He doesn't want to pry, but it didn't take him too long to notice that his friend never talks about his own life and what he does at home. And he's curious. Well, too bad for him – Heiji's lips are sealed over this matter.

"I see…" Judging by the looks he gives, he does see something, but then he takes a deep breath and leaves it alone. "Want to hear about this case I got?" It only makes sense that he would bring up cases – they became friends because of one. Heiji is grateful for the diversion, and nods.

So, Kudou talks about his case. The things he saw, the things he heard, the things he thought about, the things others thought about, all that. Around the middle of his speech, a little hesitance shows in his voice that grows and grows until he goes quiet all of a sudden. He doesn't look like he realized something, but Heiji asks him anyway. He just shakes his head then, and shows an almost bashful smile as he says: "I'm sorry. This isn't what old friends should talk about after not seeing each other for so long."

It doesn't really make sense for Heiji. It has because of his lack of experience, but really, Kudou is his only "old friend," so, to him, this IS what old friends talk about after not seeing each other for so long. The two of them, they always return to cases in the end, even if they take a slight detour to talk about friends, some TV show or just the weather. It might be a proof of how empty their lives are, but Heiji doesn't really care about that. Dragons who have to hide themselves and can't live their lives to the fullest because of that are expected be like that, and so, they accept it. Kudou, on the other hand…

"I don't mind," he says, just to keep the conversation going.

That's right. His friend didn't have that many years to accept that emptiness, and he… he doesn't even have that many years to spare. Half a decade wasted like that, it's almost fatal for a human. Heiji can't hold back that wave of pity he feels for the other, even if he knows it wouldn't be appreciated. All he can do is hide it to the best of his ability. Which is… well, almost non-existent, but if Kudou notices it, he doesn't mention it at least.

They discuss the case then. Heiji adds his own ideas, and then they both agree that they would need something, just a little more of evidence, to reach the conclusion. It's at that point that the waitress informs them that the café is closing.

"Let's go to my place then. You don't need to go to a hotel, there's a guest room for you."

Heiji, like he's usually been doing before, accepts it. He is led through the maze of streets and alleyways then, though this one route he follows is familiar to him. They don't talk, not continuously. One of them throws in a topic, they talk a little, and when it dies, they let it do so. To Heiji, who neither likes nor hates the silence, this is nothing new or interesting. But once again, his gaze wanders to his friend, and he thinks about how the other might feel. He's not that desperate to fill the gaps with talk, he thinks to himself. While he doesn't seem to particularly enjoy being quiet, it looks like it doesn't hurt or worry him that much anymore, and that's good. He finally got used to it. Maybe it would be better if he didn't have to, but that's, sadly, not an option, not… "Not yet" or "not anymore," I wonder… Heiji settles with "not yet," looking at those hunched shoulders. He deserves a "not yet."

Kudou's flat is a modest, clean little place at first glance. A harder, second check however reveals the true extent of that cleanness. It's eerie, simply put. Nothing is out of place, not a single knick-knack around. The only decoration is a modern painting with depressing dark colours and no real shapes, right above the pristine white couch. There's a glass coffee table too, absolutely spotless. A single newspaper rests on it, its sides perfectly aligned with the table's edges. The rest of the furniture loses its colours under the cold white light – not that there were many colours to begin with, just grey and light blue.

"Want a drink?"

"Yeah, thanks."

Heiji has to cringe. It seems like Kudou made a conscious effort to make his flat look as unwelcoming as possible. He doesn't know how it happened, gradually since his last visit (which was months ago) or suddenly. He wonders why, though – what's the point of removing all comfort a home can provide? Especially when Kudou obviously needs it. He sits down on the couch, feeling a little uncomfortable with the leather squeaking under him. It's as if no matter what he does, he'll only make a mess.

"I didn't let go of myself," Kudou says from behind him, his voice sharp and clear, "in case you were wondering." He hands Heiji his drink, then sits down. Some tension is already leaving his body, but he looks careful, too careful, to keep up appearances.

"I wasn't thinking of such thing." Really, dude, you did the opposite. And went batshit crazy with it, too.

"Is that so…" He looks thoughtful for a moment, before an annoyed expression shows on his face. Again, he looks a little younger. "Everyone seems to think that nowadays. At work, too. Do I look like that?"

"Like what?"

"Like I let myself go." Shinichi huffs, dismissing the whole idea as ridiculous. Then he bursts out. "That's not going to happen, come on! What are they thinking, that I will become a drunkard, or, or… I don't even know what." He loses steam quickly, a little change from when Heiji last seen him. In the end, Kudou just looks at him helplessly. "Why would they think that anyway?"

"Your ghostly face might have something to do with it," Heiji mumbles into his glass and sips on the cold beer. His lips twist at the bitter taste – he only feels this when he wants to forget.

When he looks back at his friend, the other is watching him with surprise, and a moment later he asks, a little dumbfounded: "Ghostly?" Heiji feels his fingers tighten around the glass.

"Your eyes, dude, your eyes! Do you ever look into the mirror?" At that, Kudou scoffs, but he's interrupted before he could protest. "Your face is just screaming "I'm worked to death, please call help!" or something, man!"

"I-I'm not- I'm not worked to death, what are you even talking about?"

"Then you work yourself to death!" Heiji claims, for some reason proud at himself, as he shoots up and points at the other, if a little overdramatically. He expects Kudou to deny it, to come up with a reason why he's wrong, but he just has this expression on his face as if he's been caught with his hand in the cookie jar.

Oh man, this is just sad.

The thing is, Heiji could guess the reasons behind that behaviour. He might not be so good with humans, but he can understand a few things about them, and loneliness is one of those things. Kudou can't stand being lonely anymore, simple as that. He has a life that's empty and he can't seem to fill it with anything. So what does he do? He turns to work, willing to tire himself out until he doesn't notice that he has nothing and no one in his life. And he's been doing it long enough that now he sees nothing wrong with it.

Heiji grits his teeth, but instead of sharing about his guesses on Kudou's life, he takes another sip from his beer. And then it clicks.

Forgetting.

He might not be able to fill his friend's life as another person could, but he can at least help him with forgetting his problems for a while. He doesn't see it as running away, more like temporary remedy. Maybe deep down he knows it's just a fancy name for a shitty method, but he ignores it as he slams down the glass on the table, and smiles to himself when the perfectly aligned newspaper flutters a little to the side from the impact.

"It's about time we have some fun! We're going drinking tonight!" he shouts, boisterous as he can be. Kudou groans, looking reluctant and holding his own glass protectively to his chest, but they are long outside before he could even finish his first round of complaints.

The next morning, when Heiji finds himself hugging the fridge close while slouching on the floor, he plays with the thought that it might've been a bad idea to go out and get drunk like that. His head certainly agrees, with daggers at his brain after the slightest movement. From what he can see, he concludes that he made it back to the apartment at least. Kudou is nowhere in sight though, so there might be a chance that he fell behind. Heiji would want to look into that quickly, but his body is slow and uncooperative.

It feels like several centuries go by before he can even stand up, and it doesn't help that the cool surface of the fridge tempts him to stay a lot. Even more time passes before his jelly legs solidify enough for him to walk without falling over right away. When that finally happens, he explores the apartment with careful steps, looking for his friend. Frankly, he doesn't know how long it takes him to find Kudou, only that he feels the slightest jealousy when he sees that the other, unlike him, made it to his bed, even if he didn't manage to take off his shoes or clothes. Still, he feels nice enough to let the other sleep, so he gets a glass of water on his own.

Kudou emerges from the room half an hour later, clutching at his head and trying to pull off a furious looking expression for Heiji, but he only looks miserable.

"You told me we're going to have fun," he says accusingly. "Now I don't even remember anything from it."

Heiji, sprawled on the couch and still recovering, tries to dig up something from his memory to prove him wrong, but it's a long process. In the end, he summons the image of several shots gathered on the table and Kudou's enthusiastic look over them, and settles with that.

"Yeah, but the shots, those were your idea!" he calls back, and little too loud and he immediately regrets it.

"It was yours, actually."

"So you do remember!" His smile doesn't quite reach his eyes, as his headache returned from speaking too loudly and just having to force himself to be coherent, but it seems to be enough to annoy Kudou. He feels satisfied already. Even more so when the other can't retort back with anything and just goes to sulk on the other side of the couch.

"Thank goodness I'm free today," he rasps, massaging his temples.

The first part of the day goes on just with the two of them recovering on the couch, with the help of water and painkillers. They banter about the things they do and don't remember about last night, then fight more when their memories seem to clash. They do it in good spirits though, grinning by the end. Kudou says in between honest-to-god giggles how he swears he remembers Heiji ballerina dancing on top of a table. But then he adds that he probably joined him later on, or at least he remembers really wanting to. Heiji in return talks about how Kudou was definitely serenading someone in the pub, more off-key than usual. To be honest, he completely makes that one up, but it puts this mortified grin on the other's face along with a little blush, so he's happy. Anything to make him look more alive.

What breaks them out of their haze in the end is the loud grumbling of their stomach. Kudou just groans at it, burying his face in a pillow, but Heiji is already on his feet. Like hell he's going to let his friend shut himself in like that. With the same energy and stubbornness he had yesterday, he drags the other along. They're already outside when he bothers to ask what they should eat, when they've already left, so Kudou wouldn't be able to stall for time with being indecisive. It happened only once before, but Heiji is careful.

In the end, they pick a relatively quiet restaurant, just to not tempt another headache. They sit down, they order, everything seems to be alright. Heiji enjoys the moment, some peace and he's also not alone, but with someone he actually trusts. To some extent. With some luck, he'll be able to improve Kudou's mood too, if only temporarily, if only with silly jokes and banter. Whatever works, really.

But then he sees his friend wilting, just like some sad little flower, hunch and curl up as much as he can. Heiji doesn't get what's happening, and he feels anxious that maybe he messed up something. He shouldn't have stayed quiet for so long, he chides himself, his friend obviously needs distraction now and he just failed at providing it!

"Hey, what's wrong, buddy?" he asks, then curses at himself when his voice sounds too desperate. Kudou just looks up at him, then turns away again, chuckling and sounding painfully bitter.

"I just remembered… we came here once. She seemed to have so much fun…" Heiji doesn't have to hear more, he gets it right away. Kudou has that wistful look in his eyes and that sad, bitter smile that wobbles just a little.

"Should we go somewhere else?"

"N-no, it's fine." It clearly isn't, Heiji thinks, then curses his lack of knowledge about humans and their coping when he can't decide what the right decision would be – leave and distract, or stay and let Kudou make peace with the place. The waiter decides for them when he puts their plates on the table. It all tastes like ash in his mouth. When he glances over the table, he sees that his friend is the same, reluctant and only picking at his food.

Heiji's patience lasts for half an hour before he practically drags Kudou away. He does it for both of them, not wanting his friend to suffer more, and not being able to stand the dark mood either.

"Sorry…" Heiji blinks, then he feels his heart breaking a little at the self-loathing look on his friend, but he doesn't let it show. He just flings his arm around the guy's shoulder and ruffles his hair. He doesn't speak, it would be just a waste of words anyway – there's nothing he could say to Kudou that he hasn't heard before. He chooses to listen instead. "We should go out again."

"We're already out, dude," Heiji smiles, ruffling the other's hair a little more before his hands are batted away.

"No, I mean," he groans, "go somewhere. Not just, you know, stand on the street like this."

"Oh well, what are you thinking about?"

"Kid's having a heist tonight." Heiji blinks again.

"A heist? Really, dude? I know you're hard-working, but this is just-"

"It's not for work. It's just… fun."

"Hm… Didn't know you had a thing for getting covered in goo and glitter." That earns Heiji an exasperated smile.

"I'm pretty good at avoiding Kid's traps now." He frowns a little. "Well, usually. Last time he somehow still managed to dye my hair pink."

"Oh man, I need to see that." Kudou just winces at his shark grin.

"There are probably several pictures and videos of it already… So, you're coming?" Heiji shrugs.

"Yeah, sure. Might as well. And hey, maybe he'll dye your hair again."

"Maybe he'll dye yours instead," Kudou shoots back, but he's smiling. It's going to be alright, Heiji tells himself.

Heiji barely has time to settle down on the couch, sinking into the uncomfortable leather, when Kudou hands him a little black notebook. It's opened on a page filled with Kudou's blocky handwriting and little scribbles.

"What do you want me to do with this thing?" He frowns a little at the smug grin of his friend, and it only widens at his question.

"This is Kid's riddle. Try to solve it."

"Oookay…" He reads and rereads the words, trying to piece together the meanings he digs out of the scrambled sentences. He's a little sorry now that he didn't think more about the riddle when he first heard it, but at least he can play along this time. "You already solved it?"

"Of course."

"Of course." Heiji sighs. Why else would Kudou do this if not to show off? Well. There was something cute about that, too. He accepted it already, the fact that other than occasionally teasing, he's mostly there to comfort and give in. Let the other have fun.

He squints at the first line. It reminds him of the saying "casting pears before swine," which is…

"Hey, Kudou. I think he's bitching."

"You think?" He laughs. "It suits him, you know, being the diva he is."

"Any particular reason why he's doing it?" A part of him is stalling for time, another part is genuinely curious, and a third part just wants to keep the other talking, enjoying the sight of that happy little grin that took the place of that weary, sad look.

"I was pretty busy lately so I didn't go to his heists." Heiji looks up, his eyebrows rising.

"So?"

"So he might be feeling like he's only up against chumps." A shrug. "Not sure what goes on in that foolish head of his."

"Wow. He likes you that much?"

"I can… keep up with him. Guess he likes that." Kudou looks a little bashful and just a little uncomfortable. Heiji just smirks at him – he feels like there's a history there, and he wants to know all about it.

"Does he now?"

"Just read it."

"Okay, okay." He frowns. "Is he… stealing something blue?"

"A necklace of sapphires, to be exact." That joyful expression on his face doesn't falter as he waits for Heiji to continue, while staying eager to show what he got out of the riddle.

"Huh. So you already told me it'll be tonight… How did you get that?"

Kudou blinks at him. "You… you give up?"

"I've never tried to solve any of Kid's riddles, you know." He grumbles, before he smiles up at his friend. "Go on ahead. Impress me, man."

"Well, alright. In the last line, the words 'soaked Earth' refer to the date, 3rd June, Saturday. June is the month of water, and Saturday is associated with the element of earth. And then the first line with the pig? It specifies the time, the hour of pig – so it'll happen between 9 and 11 pm."

"So," he starts, already feeling the laughter building up inside him. "He went ahead, specified the time and insulted you all under the same breath. I think I like him."

"Anyway," he raises his voice a little, ignoring Heiji's remark, "he also hints on how he'll approach. Coming 'wingless from the sky' probably means that he won't be just sneaking in and disguising himself."

"So he'll come from above?"

"Yeah. I'm not exactly sure how, but… They'll probably bring in the helicopters, maybe guard the air ducts too? Also… I have a bad feeling about this part here." He points at the end of the second line, with a little frown on his face.

"'…sky so bright…' What about it?"

"I can only guess, really. But it wouldn't be unlike him to use bright lights or flash grenades or… fireworks… I don't know. To be safe, the Task Force is going to get something to shield their eyes. I hope that'll be enough."

"Huh. Does he do this often? Hinting at what he'll do?"

"Sure he does."

"That's… I dunno if he's brave or stupid. And what's this about invitation? What invitation? Did someone seriously invite this dude… to steal stuff? Or wait, it was a challenge, wasn't it?"

"Lure, actually. Museums and galleries tend to do that, lately. Gathering all sorts of gems, hoping that Kid would go there. It's good advertisement for them, whether he's caught or not. And he gives back what he steals anyway."

"Why is he stealing in the first place then? Seems like a waste of time."

"I know. I don't get it either. I tried to ask him once, but he… he wasn't very willing to answer." Heiji perks up at that.

"What, you guys chit-chat?

"N-no, we just-"

"Ooh, Kudou, is there something you're not telling me?" He's almost worried that his grin will split his face in half, but he can't help himself. The unimpressed look he gets in return only makes it grow wider.

"I know what you're implying. Stop it."

"Oh well." He sighs, shrugs a little, but that smile, it's not leaving his face. "Now at least I'm sure I'll have to go."

"Why?"

"To see if I approve of him."

Kunida Art Gallery is a minimalistic, glass and concrete fortress near the centre of the city. It is by no means a beautiful place, and the owner, one Kunida Soichirou manages to show perfectly what kind of people visit the place – the type who looks at art not for enjoyment, but for building and maintaining prestige, as well as showing off knowledge and taste that doesn't exist.

Heiji eyes the man with barely masked disgust – it's absolutely not because he's bitter about the guy humiliating him before others, criticizing his clothes, claiming he was too casual for the place, oh no. He just… can't stand his type.

"You're going to burn holes in his back if you keep glaring at him like that," Kudou says from behind him, but he doesn't look more sympathetic towards the owner either. "Just ignore him."

"Will do," he growls.

He didn't like the place at all. Or the people, any of them. The cops, they seemed alright, but they dashed all across the gallery like poisoned mice with dark goggles hanging from their necks, leaving only the owners and some rich family - to whom apparently half of the exhibition belonged - for further inspection. Prissy, snobbish bunch, noses held high, too proud to talk to anyone they deemed unworthy. Double-triple checking every safety mechanism, whispering among themselves with that uncertain expression – as if they've regretted the mayhem they summoned upon themselves.

"A little too late for that now," he mumbles to himself, not even trying to deny how pleased he is with all this.

Maybe he would be impressed by all the security measures they've taken to stop Kid, if not for the fact that Kudou explained to him, just a few minutes earlier, all the weaknesses of it, with painstaking care. For example, that army of freshly hired security guards next to the police? Just more people to disguise as, and they didn't even know those people at all. Even if the riddle seemingly hinted at something else, they should be more careful.

"It's ridiculous, really. He could just walk in as me, and people wouldn't know any better." Again, there's that odd fondness in his voice that Heiji doesn't quite get. Kudou's not the only one though – almost all Task Force members sound like that too, even the inspector, despite all the insults towards the thief.

He's curious, more than he'd like to admit. Though at first he only came to see if he could witness more things he could tease his friend later on with, now he really wants to see what makes some people so fond and others so afraid of Kid.

The cops, the guards, they all begin to settle down, take position. The owners stand just a couple feet away from the necklace's glass case, craning their necks in every possible direction, like birds. Heiji watches them, his annoyance mixing with anticipation, until Kudou pulls him towards the entrance of the room.

"Hey, where are we going? I thought we don't have to guard the door."

"We're more likely to survive if we don't stand in the middle."

"Maybe you just don't want me to see you with pink hair."

"Maybe I just don't want to see you with pink hair."

"Aw man, that's cold. I'd look fabulous."

"We'll see if Kid thinks so too."

From the entrance, they can see the large hall as a whole, the only place in the large gallery which holds some real beauty. It's not much, just the large white pillars at the sides and the skylight at the far end, but Heiji easily finds this one the most pleasant room for the exhibition. He leans against the cool marble walls, and watches the rest of the people buzz with excitement, as they line up like chess pieces on the board. He's the same as well, though. For once, he doesn't feel that wall between him and other humans, for once he's just like them. He wonders if it ever happened to him before.

"Any minute now." The low grumble from Nakamori tears him out of his thoughts, and he glances at the man. Even he seems a little giddy, despite doing his best to mask it with his usual grumpy exterior.

"Is it always like this?" Heiji asks. He doesn't like how he sounds just like some child who's been taken to the circus for the first time, but he forgives himself easily enough. The situation is oddly similar.

"Well, usually my men don't make a fool of themselves even before the heist…" He casts a disapproving look at a group of officers taking silly pictures of themselves with their goggles on, then turns towards the two of them and hands them their own goggles. "So busy running around, you two even forgot to take these. You're not supposed to make it that easy for the bastard."

"We're not going to." Kudou smirks, looking just as eager as Heiji feels. The inspector grunts something in return before he goes to put his men in place, then talk to the owners, still fretting over the case of the necklace. They insisted on staying, something that no doubt made the inspector angry.

Goggles safely covering his eyes, Heiji finds himself hopping from one leg to another, excited to do something, anything. He wonders, how can the Task Force even stand this maddening wait? Maybe they've gotten used to it.

The lights go out. For a moment, the room is in complete darkness, before they hear faint rumbles from above. The people in the hall, they whisper to themselves, to each other, in surprise. The burst of colours shocks them, waves of blue and orange coating the white walls through the skylight. Fireworks.

"So that's what he meant by bright sky," Heiji mutters to himself. Some of the guards take of their goggles, he does the same. Fireworks are hardly enough to blind them here. It all seems pointless, though, Kid's achieving nothing with this, right? He can barely hear Kudou hissing "No, don't!" and then-

The lights are back, brighter, harsher than before. He can hear the others groaning in pain, blinded by it. Heiji's own eyes, a little stronger than a human's, can barely take it, and he curses to himself. But through the starbursts of white, he can see someone, if faintly, standing right on top of the case of the necklace, just as the screams of the owners ring through the hall.

"There you are." He grins, springing forward, not letting his momentary blindness stop him. He's feverish, like a hound before foxhunt, and feels his blood singing with that eagerness in his veins. This is it, he's finally-

His legs give out beneath him, and he falls to the ground. He doesn't even get to register the pain, because with startling suddenness his senses fade. He tries to grab at the last bits of his conscience, confused and scared, but it all seems to be in vain. It's like some pink mist is enveloping him, refusing to let go, pushing him to the ground. He gasps, but there's no air around him. He can't… breathe…

With muted cries all around him, the world fades to black.