Two for the Show

…

…

The work an unknown good man has done is like a vein of water flowing hidden underground, secretly making the ground green.

-Thomas Carlyle

Kaitou Kid had stuck for the eleventh day in a row. It was making news at this point enough so that Hakuba Saguru found himself back on a plane from England where he had not finished up his research. If only detective work and school were his only issues. Helping his grandfather took up a lot of his time, as did the company he had been more or less running for a year now in England.

Since multitasking was becoming complicated, he once more left the businesses in the hands of a trusted advisor. A few dozen hours later he was landing, tired from the trip and coming off to find his housemaid handing him a paper, telling him in a few hours Kid was already planning his next move.

He rubbed his eyes tiredly, knowing he'd need sleep for this. School at this point wasn't worth attending since he didn't plan on staying here long, though it was something he'd have to do since he had to keep his eye on a certain classmate of his. Tonight and tomorrow morning weren't looking to give him any time to rest, so while he had a few hours, he'd take it.

"Look into this for me, please. Tell me about what's been going on since I've been gone and check out the scene where he'll be tonight. It was a long plane ride." To make matters worse he'd left early this morning and hadn't gotten much sleep the pervious night either. This sudden trip occurred only because his father had called him and, with the papers running the news as much as they were, he wanted him be there to make sure the police weren't made fools of again. His presence hadn't publicly stopped Kid before but he did find this sudden change in behavior very strange.

Nakamori-keibu was more than competent, if not a bit naive. The issue wasn't a matter of how good of a police force there was. It came down to talent and even the most talented police officer - and he would admit himself among those - didn't match Kid's own skills, IQ, and damned luck put together.

"Of course, young master. Where should I head then?"

"Drop me off at the house. I'm sure father's not there at this time of day. I'll get in some sleep and I'll have you come pick me up tonight a hour or so before anything happens."

His housemaid nodded. He had to feel sorry for her. Most of the time she didn't understand what he or his dad were doing. Work was something they both had far too much of. Even school was falling to the wayside, tutors coming in to teach him things he already knew when the educational system couldn't keep up with his travels.

In what felt like no time at all since he seemed to be falling asleep even with the car top down, Saguru found himself at his overly large house that had far too little occupants to be as big as it was. He stepped out, bid her goodbye and good luck, wanting a phone call if she noticed anything particular, and went in to get a few hours of sleep that he desperately needed. He'd worry about Kaitou Kid later. There just wasn't enough time and he had no energy to do anything about him right now.

…

There were blaring sirens and far too many spotlights on the multistory complex that held a toy store and a few dozen rooms before a suit on the top and a restaurant came into view. Saguru looked it up and down, wondering what possessed the owner to stay up in his room when he'd had notice that Kid was coming to take the large sapphire that he'd bought. Eccentric billionaires that liked to travel with such expensive possessions all seemed like fools to him, even more so when they didn't take the threat of something like this seriously.

Kaitou Kid was still known around the world, even if it was just by rumors and stale news that was near a decade old. The body guards and weak security that the man had allowed outside his room would never stand up to the thief.

He himself was stuck outside, rubbing his eyes and trying not to fall into the trance of the overly tired.

"Hakuba-kun. I heard you were coming back. Don't get in the way. We have little enough space to work around as it is."

"Don't worry, Keibu. I wasn't planning on it." Saguru nodded to the man, giving him the respect he deserved. He was a man of principal as well as devotion to his job. "I haven't had much time to catch up on the cases. Can you give me a run down of what's been happening?" He pulled out his pocket watch to check. "We still have an hour, twenty eight minutes and thirty two seconds before Kaito Kid is supposed to show up."

"Why not? Maybe you'll see something we didn't, though I doubt it."

Saguru turned to him, never having gotten information so easily before. Sure his age was a major factor to that, but pride had something to do with it too. From the expression he saw, the inspector looked confused and worn. He had to be if this pattern was now going into a second week of long days and even longer nights.

"Thank you. I appreciate it."

The Inspector shrugged. "Kid's just been targeting whatever hits the news or was already here long enough to get attention that he hadn't struck at before. Unlike the other stuff he's taken, everything he's stolen so far has been a gem. Usually he goes after something else too, things that glitter enough to catch that damn eye of his." Nakamori looked upset though and ran a hand angrily through his hair as if he wished it were someone's throat. "But he always returns the damn things. As of yet we haven't seen a trace of any of the items he's taken."

Now that was noteworthy. What Kid was doing, that had him stealing valuables and then returning them, was still a mystery, but he had always, always returned them. Sometimes it had taken a few days but never more than that.

"Is there anything else out of the ordinary?"

Nakamori shook his head. "Nope. Still writes us those damn notices and takes whatever it is that he's after. Out of the incidents so far we stopped one, but that was only because the curator worked with us and we were able to successfully hide the gem. He usually tries to get it anyway but this time he went onto the next one that was on his list."

"It does seem like he's searching for something, and fast." Saguru had to wonder what it was the thief needed. Money? It would explain why the gems hadn't been returned but then there should be some indication of them having been sold. Things like diamonds didn't get past many without getting attention somewhere. Kid had never stolen for profit before though, so why now?

"You're sure it's Kid?"

"I wondered that to at first, but I know that damn thief anywhere. I'm sure it's him." The inspector clenched his hand at his side. "And he's making a fool of us. If this keeps going on we're going to have more and more outside help coming in. We don't need that. We can take control of this situation ourselves."

"Outside help?"

Nakamori pointed to him.

"Ah. Me." He didn't consider himself 'outside help' but he'd leave that up to the inspector's judgment.

"Not just you though. There's a man from up north that already sent in notice to HQ a week ago that he'd come down if this keeps up. Today's the last day to stop Kid before he decides to show too. He's not the only one either."

That would make things complicated. It also made the police force here look weak and he knew no sector wanted to put themselves out like that. If they weren't the ones that stopped Kid, the whole division would look bad.

"Can you name me off what he's taken so far?"

"Why not?" The inspector took out his notebook and read over what he'd written. "Yesterday he took a pair of diamond earrings. They were probably the cheapest things he's gotten his hands on since the stones had been colored. Before that were two emerald necklaces, both on different days and from different people. He took a bracelet covered in rubies. The day before that was some canary diamond or something like that. It was just the stone. A local museum had it. Then there was another emerald, two diamonds, a sapphire broach, a topaz ring and tonight he's after a sapphire necklace. We stopped him from getting his hands on a blue diamond ring."

That was a lot of money. There was no way the thief could be in need of so much unless he was feeding a starving country or something. "And the locations?"

"All within fifty miles of here, some a little further but not much. Kid's making it pretty obvious that he's only striking here."

It wasn't like Kaitou Kid had made much of mark outside the Tokyo area before, but to steal so much in such a short radius was most definitely going to get that interference the inspector was so livid about.

"Thank you for the information. I'll take a look around and see if I can't return the favor. And do not worry, I will not get in the way of you or your men."

The inspector gave him a curt nod which was apparently all the attention he was going to receive as the notebook was slid back in the man's coat and he ran off, yelling at the nearest officer for any updates and if any of their men had stepped away or gone missing.

Saguru had himself a look around. He didn't notice anything out of the ordinary. Since he wasn't allowed in the room he couldn't say much for what could be set up in there. The window was the most obvious point of entry, but with the spotlights there and the officers lining the hallways, odds were Kid would pull off something he wasn't expecting instead. Disguising himself and walking in would be ideal for the thief, but no one had been allowed in. Saguru had to admit he was more than interested in seeing how he'd pull this off.

An hour passed before it was dark and everyone was on edge. Saguru kept himself outside, away from any gas traps that might be set off in the enclosed space. There wasn't much he could do to hinder this time when he wasn't allowed at the scene.

Something smashed the window open, though even watching Saguru missed what it was. The glass fell down twenty stories where a few officers below ducked and ran out of the way. The one's manning the spotlights shifted so all of them were aiming at the window. That was foolish. The sky was dark now and anything else would be masked next to the harsh light.

A minute or so later there were sounds of either a fight or something being knocked over. At this distance it was hard for Saguru to make them out in any detail. Kid came, jumping out the window as he'd obviously entered somehow from the inside. From his hand something glinted in the light. There was the sound of gunfire but Kid was already riding the winds into the dark sky, a gleam of grinning teeth the only other obvious feature.

Police cars started roaring, flying into action under their airborne target. Saguru didn't bother with it. If he were to jump in the car now he'd be far behind the police and odds were Kid would use the darkness of the night to hide his escape.

That there flickered something in his mind. Kid was usually easy to spot, no matter the time of year. The moon often served as his personal spotlight. Tonight there was nothing but a sliver in the void of space, the stars burning a bit brighter to make up for the lack of light. He'd notice the trend before and that Kid had never broken it, save the occasion or two that he was called out by one of his business prominent adversaries or the time he had employed mother nature herself to aid in his escape.

Strange. This was all very strange. Saguru let himself yawn though and walk over the few blocks to where his housekeeper was parked.

"Did you get him?"

Saguru closed the door, the noises of the area now fading as the chase was led off into the distance, beyond hearing. "It's too early. I don't have much data and there's new evidence to take into consideration. I have to observe before I can act."

She nodded to him but he didn't know if she really understood what he meant. That was all right. She had no need to. He was going to go back home, mull over these new developments, and go to school tomorrow to see if anything had changed.

…

The slow rumble of noise of the students before class started was welcoming. It had been a few weeks since he set foot in the classroom and no one seemed to care much that he came and went with the wind. He sat more towards the back than he would have liked in any normal circumstances, but since there wasn't much he did in class besides review; he could sneak through class going over other information or cases when he needed to. His desk was still empty and he gladly took the seat he had near Kuroba, finding his classmate there. Saguru had been worried he wouldn't have for some reason.

Unlike the others, Kuroba seemed to be sleeping. That wasn't much more of a surprise than anything. Saguru stood and hit him lightly on the head with his first two fingers. "Wake up. Class will be starting in a few minutes."

Kuroba took a hand, messed up his hair near where he had stuck him, and sent a glare his way. The prankster's eyes were dull with waking and he turned his head back after a few seconds of him taking in his surroundings.

"Go be a prick somewhere else. I'm sleeping."

"You shouldn't be sleeping. You're in class and if I don't wake you the teacher surely will when she walks in."

"I don't care," was the muffled reply he got. Saguru had success the first time so he hit him on the head with his fingers again.

"Hey." Kuroba turned on him as before, this time his glare more focusd, a fire of hatred seething in his gaze like it never had before. "I said knock if off before I make you."

"Was that a threat? It doesn't really work when you're passing out a second later. If you're not going to stay awake during class than you shouldn't attend."

"The bell hasn't even rung. Go sit down and mind your own business." There were teeth to his words where there hadn't been before. Sure they had animosity towards one another, but it was more in the form of un-proclaimed rivalry than it was any true hatred.

Saguru was never one to back down though.

"And just what did I do to have you bark at me? You know the rules as well as I."

"I wasn't barking at you. I'm not a dog." Kuroba covered his head with his hand and retreated to something like a cave that he made out of his arms. "I just didn't get much sleep last night. I'll be up for class so just go sit your nosey butt down and let me break whatever rules I break and get in trouble for them then."

He admitted to not getting much sleep. With the delicate situation they seemed to be in, and Kuroba actually telling him the truth, Saguru didn't feel like pushing it.

"You should get some more sleep at home then." He could at least say that much. Either he'd get the hint that he should stop his nightly outings and give himself some rest, or leave school now and do the same. Sleeping in class was only going to get him repeatedly woken and not just by him.

"I did, a little. And I'd leave if I could but I can't. Mom would kick my butt if she knew I was ditching school and they'd probably call her anyway if I went somewhere else." There was a long sigh and Saguru watched as Kuroba somehow fell asleep again after only the few seconds of silence he let pass after he was finished speaking.

Very well, he'd let him sleep. He hadn't gotten his answers though and something was up, even if Kuroba wasn't admitting to anything. He'd figure it out if he had to follow him for the next few days, just to see what was going on behind the scenes.

…

The bell rang and Kuroba slept through most of their first classes. Aoko-kun had seen him and had attempted to wake him once. After getting snarled at as well, she had stopped trying. He'd never seen her give up so fast, but by the look of worry and aggravation in her eyes, this hadn't been the first day that he'd pulled this kind of thing.

Kuroba woke to eat a few bits of lunch before he was out again, though he was up for most of the later classes as well as gym. Once he was conscious and smiling, it seemed there was a shift in the air. The others around them, even the ones that weren't noticeably looking at Kuroba, seemed to lighten up. It was puzzling.

School ended and Saguru waited only long enough for most of the students to leave before walking up and grabbing Kuroba's arm at the same time Koizumi-san walked up and did the same.

She had pulled him away from his questions before today but looking up at her and the frown she had for him… Saguru just found himself staring into her eyes. She was very mysterious. He had found little information on her and every time he saw her he could swear his heart skipped a beat.

With his hand slack, she pulled Kuroba away from him and out the door. Saguru's senses returned to him countless seconds later. He had to shake his head and rub his eyes, wondering if he got enough sleep himself.

"You're worried about him too, aren't you?"

Saguru turned to Aoko-kun when she addressed him. He nodded. "I've only been back a day and I've never seen Kuroba-kun so much as hurt a fly. Seeing him so angry is a change."

Aoko nodded to him. "I don't know what's going on. I went over last week to see if something had happened to his mom but she's just as confused. We don't know what's wrong. She said sometimes guys go through some weird changes around now and that I should just let him get over whatever it is that's bothering him, but I have a feeling I should be helping him instead. Seeing him like this… kind of scares me."

"I will admit he's a bit intimidating."

"What should I do?" Aoko looked up at him, her eyes a strange, bluish-violet that always caught his attention. She was a sweet girl, too nice for the world they were in.

"I don't know what to tell you. I suppose annoying him isn't going to work for long."

Aoko didn't give him much time to think on it before she started speaking again. "He goes with Akako-chan a lot now. I didn't really used to see them hang out much. I don't know. Maybe he's acting funny because he likes her and I'm just bothering them."

"I'm sure that's not it. I don't know how to explain it, but with my run-ins with her, I feel more like she's trying to help him as well, I'm just not sure how." She was sly enough to slip past him more than once now.

Whatever it was he had said though, it seemed to calm Aoko, even if it didn't cheer her up any.

"I still don't know what to do."

Saguru didn't either. He wanted some answers and if Koizumi-san was going to be getting in his way, that was going to make it really hard to get Kuroba alone and ask him. He could call him, but he had the feeling that the other wouldn't answer or would hang up on him quickly after.

"How long has he been sleeping through class?" Saguru didn't care, some part of him just wanted to make sure he was right. For as much proof as he had gathered, he still had no conclusive evidence. He didn't care to look for any either. He was certain, he just wasn't a hundred percent certain.

"I don't know. This week he has been. He started acting weird last Monday though, after our day off. He would just… not say hi to me or anything. He's been avoiding going out anywhere with me or coming over to the house. When I tried to stop by, he went up to his room and refused to talk to me."

There were tears in her eyes and Saguru had no idea what he was supposed to do when she started to cry.

"I don't know what I did to make him so mad."

Saguru put his hands on her shoulder, not wanting to invade her personal space but still make her feel like she was closed off and somewhere safe. "I don't think you did anything wrong. I think he's just being an idiot, okay? It wouldn't be the first time. I'm going to go over and talk to him. Until then, stop worrying yourself. I'm sure a nice girl like you didn't do anything to deserve this."

It was clear that he and apparently Kuroba weren't the only ones who were exhausted. Aoko-kun closed the distance he had been trying to keep, resting her face and arms against his chest to hide her tears. He kept his hands on her shoulders, trying not to think too much on this. She was upset. She wasn't coming to him because she liked him. He had to tell himself that a few times before he was able to speak again.

"Try and calm down. If there are still issues, I'm sure talking them out will work better than this avoidance. I'll give you a call when I track him down and tell you what happened." He'd gotten her number within a week of meeting the both of them. It was how he had Kuroba's as well.

He let Aoko rest there until she was done crying. She pulled away, red faced and red eyed, wiping them and irritating them more. "I'm sorry about that."

"Don't be. I hear I'm a good tissue."

That made Aoko laugh and it was good enough. Saguru smiled as well and held out his hand to her after offering her a handkerchief. "Come on. I'll walk you home and then we'll see what someone has been up to."

…

Kuroba wasn't as easy to track down as he thought he'd be. He waited outside his house but he never came back home. It was getting dark and the police already had another notice. Saguru sighed. Kuroba really wasn't making this easy. After another few hours in the dark, he decided to give up and called Baaya for a ride. He may have let Kuroba escape, but he wasn't going to let Kid. There was a young girl at home, likely waiting by the phone for a call from him and worrying far more than she should be.

This time the location was open to the police. The owner of the target was worried, sweating way too much, and had several important looking people around him. They were protecting a green diamond that had been placed in a black, heavy-looking safe in the center of what could have passed for a city building had it not been only two stories and several times as wide as most.

No one was within a few feet of the case and Saguru figured there were sensors set up around the small platform the safe had been put on. It was obviously not it's natural resting place but it would do for now.

"Anything yet?" he asked the inspector as he drew close to him.

Nakamori-keibu shook his head. "No, but now that Ikumori-san is cooperating with us, maybe we can stop another gem from falling into that thief's hand. I made sure not to leave any openings this time."

The way the inspector was looking around though had him think he was worried.

"Is something wrong?"

It took a minute but the inspector grunted, talking under his breath. "You might want to stand back a bit. We weren't able to keep that guy from showing up. He's over there." Moving his head just a little, Saguru was able to spot a man with a black suit on, open, no tie, and a dark gray collared shirt. His hair was cut short to his head, his eyes dark and steady. "His name is Okusawa Akihiro and he made no qualms about telling us he's armed and he's going to do what it takes to stop Kid."

Saguru clenched his fist at his side. He'd heard of others going up against Kid armed, but he didn't like the idea. You don't shoot a man who obviously can't harm you in return- who's not a danger to you. Protecting valuables was not worth a life.

"Just watch it." Saguru wasn't sure if the inspector had seen his reaction but he got a pat on the shoulder before the man walked off, leaving him with his new worries and still no answers to even one of his questions.

Saguru was more than happy to keep his distance. He wasn't ashamed either when he got out his phone and texted the warning of the gun to Kuroba. It ensured the message came across though it left evidence he would rather not have left. He'd risk it for something like this. He didn't want anyone to die.

When the time came, Kaitou Kid showed up, somehow having bypassed all the traps and sitting calmly on top of the safe in the middle of the room.

"Hello there, Tokyo's finest." Kid stood, tipping his head to the new police detective. "And others. I'm happy to see you all trying you're best but I'm afraid I've gotten what I came for." Kid held out his hand, showing off the green gem. Saguru couldn't tell if it was a fake or not and if Kid was bluffing. The thief, lit by stage lights instead of moonlight, closed his hands and bowed to them. "Until tomorrow. Good luck."

A plume of smoke billowed around the ivory thief, the color mixing in with that of his clothes far too fast for Saguru to track any movements. He did hear a gunshot, though the growing smoke hid any evidence of what the noise had produced. The large room took a while to fill but with some shouting from the inspector the windows were quickly opened and the choking gas never even reached him before it started to dissipate.

There were shout to check the safe but only the inspector and the owner of the gem were allowed near it, and only after both were proven to be clean. Somehow, even with a keypad lock, Kaitou Kid had gotten in and retrieved the gem without leaving a speck of evidence.

The seconds after that, Nakamori-keibu turned on the other officer, asking what he was doing shooting when he wasn't able to see and how someone could have gotten killed.

Saguru walked over while all this was going on, checking but not finding a spot of blood anywhere. Kid must have been fine then. He let out a breath, going back to his phone and looking at it. He wanted to know if he was really okay but it would have to wait until tomorrow.

Once he looked up, Saguru noticed that Okusawa-san was gone. He had been sure Nakamori-keibu had been chiding him for his actions but he hadn't heard any more of that conversation. A few cracks of a gunshot later had him looking up. What did that man think he was doing?

"Is he still-"

"Damn it! Enough is enough!" Nakamori-keibu ran off up the stairs that lead to an upper floor that was mostly empty, used only for what he had check were conference rooms or something of the like.

Saguru took the opportunity to step outside, the night air having a fresh scent to it that he noticed the inside of the building did not share. He couldn't see Kid but he hadn't expected to at this point. He had thought that the thief would have made his escape on a lower window and walked off into the dark instead of risking the glider on such a low hanging roof.

Maybe he had and the man had been shooting at nothing. If he had some sort of direction to go in, he would have felt a lot better about it. Checking the windows though, a few of them were open and there was no one standing on the other side.

He was worried, but all he did was tightened his hold on his phone. Someone would have said something if they had seen anything. Walking off, he called Aoko-kun, telling her he hadn't been able to meet with Kuroba yet but that he'd get him after school tomorrow and reassured her not to worry." As he hung up, he had to wonder which of them was more concerned, her for not knowing what was going on or him for knowing what could be.

…

Kuroba wasn't at school the next day. Saguru stared at where he should be sitting. It was possible he had been hit, but then there would have been blood and the other officers would have noticed. There'd be a body if he were dead. Maybe he had stayed home after all and gotten some rest.

Maybe. There were just a whole lot of maybes.

He'd grown so tired of trying to catch Kuroba as a thief that he'd never really done anything after the first few heists. Really, chasing him was fun, but this was not. Whatever was going on now had severely changed things between them. He had grown to quickly accept that Kid was never really much of a thief. The only good reason to chase him was for the fun of it, and to try and figure out how his mind worked. It was entertaining, most of the time.

Of course Aoko-kun was obviously upset throughout the day, and she showed it by not saying a word and looking at nothing but her desk, the papers or books in front of her, or at the teacher as she was handed her homework.

Saguru had promised her that he would check after school, and even if Kuroba didn't attend, that didn't stop his intentions.

Of course the school day moved far too slowly and all the questions that were running circles in his head kept him distracted, not allowing him to focus on anything. His homework would come later as he too just took it and did nothing but stare at the sheets. When the final bell rang he was more than happy to pick up his things and walk out the door. He waited only when he noticed Aoko-kun hadn't followed him.

Turning back, she was slower than the rest of their classmates as she got her books into her bag and cleaned up her desk. His chivalry he couldn't help. He went back, offering his hand once more. "I can walk you back again, if you don't mind."

Aoko started at him before taking his hand. Hers was so small he had to wonder what she thought of his own. He hadn't walked hand in hand with a girl before except when he was a child. It would be wrong of him to move in on her when she was obviously so vulnerable, but it didn't stop him from thinking that he wished he could. Kuroba was only a friend to her as far as he knew, even if an old one. He was willing to be something more for her if she wanted it.

He walked her home and did nothing more. She turned and smiled to him when they reached her doorstep. "Thank you. I guess I was feeling kind of down. I appreciate you walking me home. You don't have to."

"It's my pleasure. Think nothing of it. Anyone could see how you've been feeling. I'll try and bring you some better news before tonight."

"Thank you for that too- for Kaito. I know something's wrong with him and I'm happy he has a friend like you to help him."

Saguru wouldn't have called them friends but they weren't really much else. At least, in school they could pass as friends. "He's lucky to have someone who cares as much about him as you do as well. Catch up on your homework and eat something. I'll be in touch by nine at the latest."

Aoko nodded to him, thanking him once more before saying goodbye and shutting the door. Saguru took a second to take in and let out a breath before he turned and stared heading towards Kuroba's to see if maybe he could catch him this time.

Saguru made it to the end of the walkway and no further. He didn't know how the magician pulled it off but he was somehow right in front of him when he hadn't been a second ago and it made Saguru jump a step back. He put a hand to his heart.

"Hell. I don't know how you do that but please don't do it again."

Kuroba didn't seem fazed. He looked at him, and then towards Aoko's before meeting his gaze once more. Saguru saw some tension in his eyes for just a moment, the only sign of any emotion. "Do you really like her?"

The question took Saguru a second to answer, part of the reason being that he had to think about it, the other how to word it and not hurt Kuroba. "I think so. I haven't been with her outside of school before now but she's a nice girl. Enough of that though, I want some answers. What is going on with you? It seems you're starting to worry the whole class, let alone her."

Kuroba just acted as if he hadn't heard his question. "Can you protect her? You like her, you said so. Can you take care of her though? If something happens, would you help her?"

"Something did happen. You happened. And she needs help. She needs answers and apparently you think the best way to go abut that is to not speak with her. Do you have any idea how upset she is?"

That at least seemed to get through a bit. Kuroba decided to answer. "Yes, some. I've spied on her a bit over the last two weeks. There's nothing I can do about that though."

"You could try speaking with her. I'm sure that would fix a lot of the issues."

"And tell her what?"

"I don't know. How about you tell me what's going on and then we can figure that out."

Kuroba didn't answer him though. He just turned around, shoved his hands in his pockets, and started walking away. Saguru grabbed us arm before he could get more than a few steps. He knew the second he let him go that Kuroba would be gone as fast as the wind. As long as he had a hold, he had something.

"Why weren't you in school today?"

"I overslept." Kuroba turned to him with those dull eyes. "Mom came in and saw I had a little fever so she said I didn't have to go, so I didn't."

Saguru wasn't sure if that was the honest answer but Kuroba seemed to be telling the truth. It was so hard to judge with him.

"And you're not hurt, are you?"

"Hurt? Why would I be hurt?" That got him a raised eyebrow and it was enough to have Saguru let out a breath and relax a little. If he was back to denying, at least it meant he was fighting back again.

"I'm going to find out why you're doing this, why you're pushing yourself so hard, and why Kid all of a sudden isn't returning what he steals. I checked a bit the other day, online. I had some help too. It didn't seem like the gems, at least most of them, were stolen before Kid gained them and they weren't fakes. I know the businessman from yesterday bought his honestly. I can't think of any good reason for him to keep them."

Kuroba shrugged. "How should I know? It's your job to figure that out and catch him, right? Not mine. I'm a fan but even I don't know what's going on inside his head."

"I am so sick of these games. I have your blood and your hair that match perfectly from that crime scene months ago. I'm sure you concocted some sort of lie for that by this point but I am only trying to help. You don't have to be straight forward but can I at least have some type of hint that I can use to at least keep everyone unarmed?"

They both just stood there in silence, trying to judge the motives of the other. Saguru was being truthful. If he or the police caught him, Kid would go to jail. He was offering help as he had before, to keep everyone safe. He was not offering to help him with anything more. He wanted something, anything, he could use to make sure guns weren't in the equation. That didn't always work, he'd seen othera after items that Kid had been after too and they were armed, but at least he was going to try.

"I don't know what to tell you," Kuroba said when one of them finally spoke. "It's not something I can explain, or that I'd want to explain. Just leave me alone."

"So you can wallow in some more self pity that you're feeling for some reason? You've obviously resigned yourself to something. I can tell that just from looking at you right now. Why can't you tell me what's going on?"

Really. This was just getting annoying now. He had much more important work than Kid.

Kuroba was clearly thinking it over. They both stood there, unmoving, as everything was taken into consideration.

Finally, after what felt like forever, Kuroba turned almost desolate eyes towards him. "He knows who I am. He knows about Aoko. If I don't do what he says, he's going to kill her."

That wasn't what Saguru had been expecting him to say. He'd been expecting some sort of lie. Maybe he'd thought he'd get some part of the truth, but not a statement like that.

"He who?" Saguru asked before he could think any more on it.

Kuroba shrugged. "I guess 'they' works better. Spider's the one that spoke to me though."

It was Saguru's turn to stand there and not know what to say back. If anyone had been threatened, he was sure Kuroba would have been acting the same way. The fact that there was a killer- no, several killers by the sound of it –out there and they knew who Kuroba was… There really was no choice.

He could see now far too clearly how his classmate had been walked into a corner. It all made sense. Of course he wouldn't be returning the jewels. He didn't have them.

There had to be some way out of this. Of course they could go to the police, say that Kuroba was suspected of being Kid and now someone was targeting him, but Spider was good. He didn't know how well he'd be at tracking but there was always a trail to follow.

They could both go into hiding since this was a very real threat, but he didn't think either would and that still left the worry that, every day, they could be killed.

"Then we have to stop him."

"We can't. It's not just 'him', it's 'them'. Even if I could get my hands on him, arrest him somehow, the rest know. She'd still be in danger. And I'm not going to let Aoko be killed because of me."

Kuroba closed his eyes. This was something he had been thinking on for some time. "I'm going to keep doing what they ask me. If for some reason I can't though, please watch over her. She doesn't really know how to fight and I'm sure she wouldn't stand a chance against any real danger."

"I'm not going to allow you to do that, or, if I am, we're going to have a plan first. You're talking as if you're going to die and I will go to the police and tell them everything myself before I let that happen." Saguru had to think of something. Kuroba coming out and flat out admitting who he was along with this threat made it very hard for him to get his mind around anything. "Talk to me after class tomorrow. I'm sure you have something you need to plan tonight and it will give me time to weigh options. You must talk with me after though."

It only took a few seconds but Kuroba nodded. He had to think the feeling was just as strange for him but he didn't seem at all disquieted by the situation. When you're life and the lives of your friends are at stake, you probably become a lot more willing to accept help.

"If you find me a way out of this… I'll come." Kuroba spoke but there was something in his words that worried Saguru.

"You came and spoke to me just now because you're afraid your life is in immediate danger more so now than before, is that it?"

Kuroba nodded. "The police might get me. If they don't and if one of the others notices I might be a danger instead of an asset, they might choose to take me out too."

"Why now?" Saguru was being given very little time to find a way out of this. What had changed?

Kuroba seemed to sense his question. It only took a moment before his classmate used his free arm and pulled up his shirt enough to reveal bandages. "I think I'm a little sick from it too. I can't go to the hospital with them watching me. If they knew I was hurt and could possibly be caught and give information about them away to the police, I'm sure I'd already be dead."

"You have information?" Saguru was all for that. That was a least something to go on. That small bit of hope died down when Kuroba shook his head.

"I have a few faces but nothing more, nothing I'm sure isn't already in a file somewhere or you know. I never met Spider before you came along and it seems you know him better than I do. The others have been seen by police officers before. It doesn't matter if the information I have already exists. I'm sure they wouldn't let me go."

The situation was starting to seem pretty bleak. That didn't mean Saguru was going to give up on it. He let go of Kuroba's arm and offered him his hand instead. "You are now a client. I expect to get paid with any answers you can give me. Deal?"

Kuroba stared at him before honestly laughing as he turned his head to the side. He reached out and shook his hand. "Deal."

"That mean's you'll have to say alive until I can solve your case."

"I'm aware of that."

"But before that," Saguru pointed towards the house. "Go speak to her. Tell her you didn't mean any of it and that you're sorry for upsetting her. Being close to her now won't change anything and that will at least get rid of one issue."

The smile was nice to see as Kuroba nodded. There. Something was getting done. Sure he had just made a deal with a criminal but it wouldn't be the first time that someone had done that to take down a much bigger problem. It was far worth it too. Criminal or not, Kuroba's only charges would be destruction of property, resisting arrest, and trespassing, since all his thefts before now had been more or less borrowing. He wasn't going to let someone die for that.

With Aoko now likely going to be able to focus much better on schoolwork, the girl didn't need to know about the danger she was in. He would have liked it if he could at least have an officer with her but that would have been too suspicious. Her farther would be ideal but since he was going to be wherever Kid was, that would still put her in immediate danger should something go wrong.

Tonight he wouldn't be going to the heist. He would have to trust that Kuroba would make it back alive, with or without his prize. The inspector said he had missed one before and it was clear no one had been killed for Kuroba failing. Another he wasn't sure about. He hadn't asked before they'd separated.

Saguru had to stop thinking on that. He had his own problems to deal with. What to do to keep Kuroba, his family, and Aoko-kun safe came first.

He went back home, got a cup of tea, and sat as his desk with a pen and paper as he thought everything through. Any idea's he initially had, Kuroba would have already had as well. He still thought the best way to get rid of this threat was to get rid of Spider. The man was hard to catch though. He couldn't prove anything against him, not like he could with Kuroba. There wasn't so much as a fiber left at a crime scene that could tie him to the murders. Coincidence could only get him so far.

He was stuck. Of all the options, none were really plausible. Two weeks now it seemed Kuroba had to walk around with this worry, and now it seemed wrong to have given him hope when there was no way he could think of to really help.

They could of course lure out Spider with Kuroba's help, get him to attempt to kill him. That was risky though, and Saguru couldn't be the only one there. They would need far more help and men stationed to protect him if something went wrong.

Saguru was still a bit irked and the thought of him helping a criminal came to mind every now and then as he debated. He was never much of a fan of Kuroba. He did not like how he acted both inside and outside of class. If not for the strong sense of justice that he found in a thief, and his certainty now more than ever at who that thief was, this would have been something he left to the police.

He could talk to the inspector, tell him Kid had come to him and of the threat of the lives of others involved. That would be enough, he knew, to get the man involved and not worry about Kid for the time being. That also would put him drastically at odds with the force and likely even get him discharged after. That wasn't something he wanted to put on the man's shoulders. They could even say that he'd been working with Kid before if they did end up catching Spider and the man was able to tell his lies.

Of course, he'd also give away Kuroba, but he was sure not many would believe it. Then again, he had accused the same person, and he had heard from the task force before that Nakamori-keibu had as well in the past. Strike three might just be enough to get him in a jail cell. He'd be alive though… for a while.

The sick thought of the only option being to kill Spider upset him. He would never kill another human being, no matter how much blood they had on their hands. Kuroba wouldn't either, and that was obvious by the fact that he was willing to risk his life and die before ever making that kind of choice.

Of course there was always the option of private investigators but he knew so few that there was no way they'd be able to work as well as a police officer would.

Damn it! Saguru slammed his hand down on his desk. Was there really no way around this? Even with Kuroba's disguise skills, even if he took Kid's place and made it so the cops really weren't working with him, there would be questions as to why he was doing it, and Spider could come out looking like the good guy who was trying to stop Kid instead of the one trying to kill him.

Saguru sat there for hours, wondering what he was missing. He didn't even worry about the heist since what happened after would be null and void if Kuroba didn't make it anyway. He didn't like that thought either and it kept drawing him back from any ideas he did have by making him worry about someone he barely knew instead.

If it hadn't been for a sound, a light brushing of feet on carpet and the almost inaudible noise of the small window off to the side of the room closing, he probably would have been mulling it over till the end of time.

His heart rate picked up and he tried not to turn too fast, letting out a breath and touching his chest. "I thought I told you not to scare me like that."

"You heard me, didn't you?"

"You could have said something before sneaking in."

"It looked like you were thinking and I didn't want to bother you."

Kuroba was dressed in a dark hooded sweater and dark pants. He heard more than saw him go over and sit on his bed. It seemed then that he wasn't going to have any more private time to think on the matter. Kuroba had kept up his part of the deal. He looked very much alive still, and Saguru on the other hand had nothing to say. He turned in his chair, folding his fingers together in his lap, to meet Kuroba's dark blue eyes in the low light that the lamp besides his desk gave off.

He watched Kuroba sigh after a moment. "You're as lost as I am, huh?"

"I wouldn't say lost. There are options, just none that I'd recommend."

Kuroba nodded. "Yeah, I know." He tipped his head to the side, almost like a cat. "So… I'm going back to doing what I've been doing and you'll still watch out for Aoko if I slip up, right?"

"No. I said earlier I wouldn't allow that, and I won't." Saguru closed his eyes. There had to be something he was missing. "I wish for the time being we were able to move her somewhere safe so that he couldn't use her against you. I'd offer, but I doubt she'd take such a far trip without explanation, and even then you'd be in danger since he'd notice that you were acting against him."

"So you want to do it all at once then or something?"

"I can hide her. I can't defend you. That's the issue I'm faced with. Alone I can't do much other than witness what happens, which isn't going to happen. If we call in the police, they'll only get involved and likely the inspector will lose his job."

"Our police, maybe, but what about, say, another division?"

Saguru raised an eyebrow. "I doubt they'd work with you."

"How many police officers do you think are out there that wouldn't help if it would stop Spider? I'm sure his record is way worse than my own. Even if they think I'm doing it just to get rid of the competition, at least they'll work with me."

They could also just let Kuroba die, get proof then of Spider's identity, and arrest him afterwards. "They'd have to be pretty understanding police officers."

"I know some like that."

"And why does it not surprise me that you know more officers than the ones chasing you? Honestly, I don't think you have any restraint at all sometimes."

"What about the others though?" Kuroba asked, still looking worried. "That'd take out Spider but what about the others that still know who I am?"

"That is where I needed you here for. What others? How many are we dealing with and what can you tell me about them? You told me you didn't know much but I have a feeling you've got some idea."

Kuroba nodded. He spoke of an apparently large-scale group that he had come into contact with. The codename of the one who had gone after him and that of Spider's was too closely related to feel like a coincidence, so odds were they were working together. That meant that there were about a dozen or more men out there who knew who Kid was. When Kuroba had come to him, he'd expected two, maybe a few more at most. He had no idea how to deal with this many.

Saguru sighed. "You don't like to make anything easy."

"They found me first, I didn't find them. They existed long before me. I'm the only reason you know they're there now. I should be getting thanked."

"You should be getting hit over the head and thrown into a jail cell of your own for a few months to teach you not to go around stealing things and running the police force thin."

"You're never going to agree with me, are you?" Kuroba was starting to seem less and less worried as the conversation went on and more and more worn. His eyes were getting darker, drawn in by fatigue. Now that he wasn't laughing and trying to joke around, his voice was thin, just a hair's breath away from being raspy. He'd been pushing it to sound normal but had choked up a bit as his body was starting to give way to sleep.

Kuroba had slept for hours during class. Saguru stood, walking over to him and noticed that Kuroba hadn't realized he was coming towards him until he was already halfway over and drew back on the bed with no time to find an escape route.

"Don't worry. I don't have my handcuffs on me right now." Saguru put his wrist up to Kuroba's forehead, feeling the fever there. He was far too pale though it was hard to tell in the feeble lamplight that made everything sickly colored. "You should lay down."

"And do what?" Kuroba blinked tiredly at him. "I have to get ready for tomorrow and Aoko will worry if I miss school again."

"You were shot, right? I'll find some excuse for her if I have to, but right now you really should be in bed. I take that back, you really should be seeing a doctor. Be happy I'm not dragging you out to a hospital right now."

"I am. Trust me, I am." Kuroba was barely putting up any resistance. He turned and just half lay in his bed, not caring about the comforter or sheets. His eyes closed quickly and, like at school, Saguru could tell he'd be asleep in a matter of seconds.

"Really. First you throw all this at me and then you just pass out." Saguru spoke to himself as he went to the closet, getting out a spare blanket and covering Kuroba with it.

The look on his face and the uneven breathing was enough to solidify Saguru's resolve. There was nothing he had done to deserve death, or the looming threat of it hanging over him the way it was now. Kuroba was young, recklessly daring, and far too stubborn.

Saguru sat on the bed next to him, feeling sleep tug at him as well. He wanted to rest but he still had no answer. He was not going to let this go on another day.

Then… seeing Kuroba laying there like he was half dead, he did get an idea. It was crazy and could go wrong in so many different ways, but it was the best idea he had in a long while.

It took a call to the lab to get what he needed. Baaya could drive him there so he could pick it up and hopefully Kuroba would sleep at least the hour it would take to get everything together. This was going to be playing thing pretty underhandedly, to both sides, but it would work- it had to work.

…

…

…

Kaito hurt. His stomach had been in pain since he'd been shot and nothing he'd managed to eat had stayed down. Now the knot-like pain was enough to wake him as he shifted. He expected it to worsen as he became more aware. He hadn't had any painkillers since before he left to the heist. The pain stayed dulled, a prick at his arm getting his attention.

He looked up and to the side, the room dark, and saw a drip attached to him. That scared the hell out of him. Hakuba-kun had agreed no hospital. After a few seconds, and the smell of disinfectant mingling with tea and old papers, Kaito realized he hadn't gone anywhere.

Right. He was still in Hakuba's bed. That had been a mistake. He hadn't meant to go to sleep. His mom was probably real worried when he hadn't come back.

Taking the IV out though would be hard and he was still too tired to do much more than settle himself back down after the fright. Hakuba must have brought some medicine or something. Jii-chan had only been able to help so much, so he appreciated it. He'd need it to keep up with this schedule that they gave him.

Speaking of Hakuba though, where did he go?

Kaito saw some sort of note over on the side table but it was just out of reach. He debated leaving it there and going back to bed but something told him, being in enemy territory as he was, he needed to have whatever information he could get.

Shifting so he could move easily and not actually have to sit up, Kaito reached over and grabbed the paper. His eyes were usually fantastic in the dark but now the words were blurred and he had to squint to read them. It seemed Hakuba was in a bit of a hurry, though it didn't harm his handwriting much.

Kaito didn't need to read the note again before he sat up. Like hell he was letting Hakuba do something like that. He hadn't even called the other police officers so he'd be going after murderers with just division three. They could all get hurt or die.

Seeing the time and checking his watch and the window to be sure it was no trick, Kaito calmed down a bit. He'd only been out about an hour. There was no way Hakuba could have gotten anything ready in that time. They should all still be safe for now until he could try whatever plan he hinted at tomorrow.

Since he still had his phone, he opened it to see he'd missed a few calls from Aoko. She apparently texted him some point after school that he must have missed.

Kaito started at it a second before wanting to rip the IV out again. Damn it. He hadn't been out an hour. He'd been out twenty-five hours.

"So help me that idiot better not have gotten himself killed." Kaito was careful, making sure not to bleed all over the place as he put pressure and removed the needle in his vein. He took two more seconds to stop the line before standing up and going for the window.

He didn't make it far, grabbing the frame and finding himself incredibly dizzy. That's what happens when you sleep so long, he told himself. Shaking it off didn't seem to work and he found his body giving out before he wanted it to. Falling to the floor, he closed his eyes and leaned against the wall beside the window. "Damn it. What are you thinking?" He came to him for help, not to switch places.

…

…

…

Saguru felt strange in the costume he quickly put together. Of course the cape was merely a cape. This was all for show and he'd gotten Nakamori-keibu, as well as the owner, to agree to this ploy.

Aoko was already safe, far out of anyone's reach as she was on a plane right now and headed just a few hours away to where a friend of his fathers lived. He barely ever spoke with the man so there would be no reason to trace her there before they stopped all this.

There really was only one way to make sure that they didn't go after Kuroba, and that was to make sure they kept going after Kid. Kid, as ever, had one huge weak spot that near everyone by now who was close enough had noticed. He was one big softy.

Saguru had his hair newly dyed black and his eyes held black contacts to mask any of his true eye color. They'd pass for dark brown in the weak light.

He really was no good at magic but there had not been time to find someone who was, as well as better suited for the part. He admitted the police had done what they could to make it look at authentic as possible, under the guise of confusing Kid and getting him to chase after the fake gem that Saguru would be carrying. He had told them the truth, of the man threatening Kid, and the slight lie of him threatening the police officers who were getting in his way as well. True Aoko-kun was a target, so it wasn't a total lie, but she was a family member.

For now, Saguru had to believe it would all be fine. He had to hope Kuroba would stay asleep and that he could figure out just where Spider was meeting him to do this exchange of jewels. There was a possibility he'd set somewhere up, but he was hoping it he was simply watching somewhere nearby and waiting. If Kuroba were worried about being killed, that would make a lot more sense.

Saguru had a good feeling that he should worry about being killed as well but hopefully he'd set up enough precautions that it wasn't an issue.

It was such a stupid plan. It would at least make them doubt who they were after though. He wasn't sure that would be enough. Nothing seemed like it was enough.

Saguru had gone all out this time as a supposed Kid imposter, and it took way too long to set up for it not to work. The taskforce were the only ones who knew that they were after someone else, the target of course Spider – even if they didn't know him by name, and not himself. It wasn't hard to make up a story of lone man in the darkness that he hadn't spotted yet. They were there, he knew they had to be. It wasn't much of a lie.

Of course though, there were a million ways this could go wrong. If he wasn't able to circumnavigate his own traps, or set off the ones he did want going off at the right time, no one would fall for this ploy and it would likely get a few more targets added to the hit list.

The sun set and Saguru did his best not to check his watch. His fingers itched towards it and he instead put them in his pockets where a switch with multiple buttons, much like a remote control, lay nestled in with his hopes.

It was time.

Saguru moved, as if he were the real Kid, through the openings he had told the other officers to leave. The shadows were a lot harder than he would have thought to hide in, mostly because of the lengthy costume and it's eye-catching color. Really, Kuroba needed to get a new outfit if he was truly putting himself in danger the way Saguru now believed he was.

Pleasing a crowd was one thing, losing your life for pride and vanity was another.

The owner of the gem exhibit that was hosting the Mackay Emerald Necklace wasn't at all pleased but he couldn't say he would be either if they were in each other's shoes. The gem was on loan from the states, with a few others in the same collection baring similar roots and properties. Kid had only targeted this one in his note though.

It was a very gaudy necklace. He couldn't say the gem made any greater impact than to make a rather large and unfortunate fashion statement. He easily bypassed his own security measures before retrieving it, slipping the necklace over his head so he didn't need to worry about keeping hold of it.

Leaving he was slower about. He didn't want to rush and he'd partially started to fear that his timing had been off before he heard the first reports over the radio that something was going on in the main hall.

Saguru waited, praying he wasn't wrong.

Kuroba took a long time to show. He nearly swore and he couldn't even remember the last time he'd done that. Of course his stubborn classmate didn't know how to rest and would go right down the path to get inside that he didn't want him to.

He had things set up with another. It was the only way to proceed since Kuroba had been in no condition to play the second part in this stage production that he needed. He'd have to set that part back. The other should know to stay put and not make any moves until he met him. Saguru now had to backtrack and see what was going on.

If he was wrong and it was one of those threatening the life of two of his classmates that actually cared whether he was in school or not, even for very different reasons, it would mean that had lost faith in Kid and the situation would be very dangerous.

He did have a thought that he was walking into a dangerous situation in either case it but wasn't something he could avoid.

He got his answer fairly quickly to who it was when he was grabbed from behind and the figure in black was too small to be anyone else. The whispered angry words in his ear drove off the rest of his sudden fear. "What the hell do you think you're doing?"

Saguru tapped the hand on his mouth to show he couldn't answer even if he wanted to. Kuroba slowly let him go and, in the darkness and, for once, wearing clothes that suited it, Kuroba was nearly invisible if not for his too pale skin.

"I'm making sure that no one gets killed, obviously." Saguru looked the other teen up and down, feeling his forehead for a moment. "All the better you're here. You can help them." It was better with him than the back up plan he'd had in place. This should secure that things worked his way. "Do you know where any of them are, by the way? You gave me very little information to work with."

"Of course I did. I didn't want you doing this. This is why I didn't tell you anything." Kuroba let out a breath and leaned against the wall, clearly still weary though at least his fever had dropped. "And no, I didn't go out looking for anyone but you, so I have no idea where they are. They usually don't let me see them."

"How do you meet up with them afterwards?"

"Near my house. That's where they found me the first time so it's kind of been the drop off point since then. I'm sure they're using it to tell me they're close to Aoko too."

That was a bit easier to handle then. The police would have to be informed of a change in plans, though the wording on this was going to get tricky to keep Kuroba in the clear of any accusations if this turned out well.

"You didn't really think this out, did you?"

"Of course I did. I'd assumed I wouldn't have your help though. Now that you're here and the location has changed, it obviously has altered some of my plans. Most lay with your identity. We do need the police for this arrest. We can say that the group thinks that you are Kid, as a few people have already accused you. The problem lays in finding a plausible enough method for you to have contacted him, as a third party, with your predicament, and had him follow along. Seeing me here instead, you had reason to speak with me and we can both go to the police waiting and make some sort of plan of arrest, but that one missing piece is crucial in faking your part of the story."

"I don't care." Kuroba's eyes were dark in the shadows, only seen because his face stood out. "I don't care if they think it's me. The others will get suspicious and we don't have time for this. What I want to know is what you're going to do after. Pretend to be me? You're going to get killed."

Saguru showed off a bulletproof vest under his fake costume. "I'm ready incase something like that occurs. The police will be there though and, at the very least, once we know they're there we can arrest them on the gun charges. I assume most of them will be armed."

Kuroba let out a quiet breath of a laugh and shook his head. "You're crazy. Even if a few of them are arrested, what's that going to do?"

"Everything."

Saguru wasn't going to waste more time talking about this when people could be moving around without him knowing. They'd need to talk to the police and, as Kuroba didn't care how he went about this, Saguru would go with the simplest excuse he had and run with that. It wasn't much of a defense but it was better than nothing and they were on a time schedule.

…

Most of what he was planning now lay on Kuroba's talents, but he was sure those were still far above average, even while he was injured. The rest would be the police. Since Spider was the one that was also meeting with Kuroba by his own admission, it was likely too many weren't on surveillance duty. They could get names and locations of the others later.

Currently he was hiding. He was happy to know that Kuroba had at least been thinking and was already changed out of Kid's outfit before he met with them. It helped with his cover story, though he didn't care much about it at the current time.

He watched as his classmate showed off far more proficiency as a thief than he had in the past as he made his entrance onto the next street, and would hope the police stationed in the shadows didn't pick up on it, considering they didn't commonly watch him as himself.

Spider slid out of thin air. Saguru had to blink and look again, wondering how he had missed it. Kuroba didn't seem fazed. Either this was how he normally appeared or a magician was better at seeing through a magician's tricks.

Kuroba offered him the gem that Saguru had handed over. It was a risk they had to be willing to take. If Spider was in the same field, he was sure that a simple examination would reveal a fake faster than they could react.

Spider was the hardest to take down of this mysterious group, mostly for the fact that he wore thick clothing on a great majority of his body and a tranquilizer dart wouldn't be able to take him down. This confrontation would have to be a fatal one. Without telling Kuroba, who obviously didn't want any part in killing of any sort, there was already a marksman set on the man. To get his comrades they would have to hope he had some way of contacting them on him, and if not, have someone dressed as him in the area and hope that someone came along to see why he wasn't contacting them.

The shot was taken, near the neck first, hitting the man as Saguru's own heart raced. Wherever it was taken from, the sound of the bullet was no louder than that of someone walking along the concrete sidewalk. A few more shots, startling both Spider and Kuroba, rang out. They had to be sure he didn't have something in the mask to protect his head and it wasn't uncommon for assassins to wear bulletproof vests.

Kuroba went down almost as fast as Spider did, the ammunition aimed at him far less lethal. The lie that Saguru had told the inspector, as well as the other officers, had always been to cover his classmate. He'd deal with Kid another day, when he wasn't dealing with murderers. So far all they knew was someone had threatened Kid with their lives and was using Kuroba, a relative unknown, as the go between for the two so neither would have a shot at the other. It was a good enough lie and one that they had all bought into so he didn't care to further it.

Tranquilizer darts weren't the most painless method he could think of, but Kuroba had already shown a strong streak of acting out on his own and he wasn't going to risk it further. He might be talented but he was injured. That was more or less the deciding factor that lead Saguru to this choice.

Hopefully any lookouts would think they were both dead and not aim at Kuroba as Saguru walked out and reclaimed the jewel. He was personally wearing a bulletproof vest and had to hope it wouldn't be necessary. Anyone aiming at his head at the moment though would have a good shot, if they thought they could take it with the top hat.

Nothing happened and Saguru took the time to let out a breath before kneeling next to the assassin, his mask still in place, and checking what little exposed skin the mask allowed near the man's throat. He heart almost stopped when he found a pulse.

Carefully removing the mask there was quite a bit of blood. He'd been hit in the throat, on the far side from him, blood dripping down a bit from his lips as well. His eyes were closed and his breathing was deep.

Meaning that odds were he'd been knocked out and would survive this. His story would be the truth, pinning anything he could on Kuroba and likely able to get away with it – since in fact Kuroba had committed most of the crimes.

That was worry for another day.

Standing, Saguru made sure once more that he saw no one before walking off. This wasn't ideal but he'd get what he wanted. It looked like, to anyone, Kid had just taken out both an enemy and a weakness as long as no one cared that Kuroba wasn't obviously bleeding. He could already hear the sound of the ambulance they had stationed nearby start up its sirens.

…

Kuroba took longer to wake than Saguru would have thought. The time lapse at his own house should have clued him in on his classmate's vitals, but it was still rather shocking when he was unconscious more than a day. The hospital he was brought to, to treat the tranquilizer dart, couldn't ignore the obvious new injury to his midsection as well and he was on plenty of antibiotics and painkillers for that.

When he did wake Saguru was at home and got a call from the hospital, like he had asked for. It was late, far later than he wanted it to be to be awake himself, let alone traveling, but they needed to talk.

As hospital visiting hours were long over, Saguru found himself breaking that rule as he snuck and, finding Kuroba's room easily as he had been there earlier, and making sure the door was shut.

The lights were dim but Kuroba was watching him in the ones that had to be on, so that anyone walking in could read the machines.

"What the hell happened?"

"I see you read my note." Saguru had left it by the bedside table, knowing Kuroba would want to talk to him no matter the hour when he woke. It was a bit of his own fault that he hadn't made him privy to his plans.

"Yeah, not that 'call me' really filled in any of the blanks." Kuroba tipped his head, angery there but also worry. "What did you do? Is he dead?"

"No, Spider lived. I suppose that's a good thing though. He'll be able to at least pay for whatever crimes we can get enough evidence of him on. He was in full attire and there are more besides me who had been looking into him. My guess is someone above the normal court of law will be handling that case."

Kuroba relaxed, the news something Saguru had treated with a very different reaction. "Oh. And what about Aoko and everyone else?"

"Safe, and they will be forever after. Of course, that all relies on you though."

"The others. You had to have gotten them then, right? Everyone's safe and in jail or… or dead I guess?"

"I wasn't able to catch the others. Whoever Spider was working with, they either vanished when he was shot the other day or were never there to begin with."

"What, but-"

"I took care of it." Saguru raised a hand. "With a little help that I'm going to make you repay. While I normally wouldn't speak with Hattori-kun I know few other detectives that were both not from this area, and thus wouldn't be recognized, and could arrive here in only a few hours. More so to the point I needed someone who wasn't an officer and would be easily overlooked. As I would have chosen you for that in the past, I had little else to turn to. You get to repay him whatever he wants for his services."

"Services? He was able to track them down?"

"No. If I couldn't do it, I don't see why he would be able to."

"Stop messing with me." Kuroba near growled at the end of his sentence, hardly looking intimidating even with the low light. The heart monitor beeping throughout the conversation was likely imparting on that as well. "How is anyone safe if they're still out there?"

"What are they going to do, shoot the inspector or Aoko-kun for no reason? I highly doubt it so they should be safe unless you act up."

"No reason? They want… they want something from me. It's why I've been following along with this stupid plan from the-"

"Kid's dead." Saguru pointed to his own head. "Shot a few times I heard. There was quiet the fuss about it on the news this morning. I suppose you didn't catch it. I hear a few of the die-hard fans are even starting a memorial service. You can't use someone who's not alive now, can you?"

Kuroba laughed. It was sudden and loud but cut short with the sheer shock of the news. "What? Dead? Wait… what?"

"Yes. Hattori-kun isn't as bad with a paintball gun as I would have suspected. He was gunned down after a deal gone bad, from what I heard. I also heard mention that you were part of that briefly, and the thief had been trying to get rid of you as well. It's a good thing you survived with only that minor bullet wound."

This time Kuroba didn't stop laughing, curling in on himself under the sheets as Saguru smiled, taking a few steps closer that had separated them.

"I am smarter than you give me credit for."

"You made me into such a bad guy but…" Kuroba was still laughing lightly, smiling just as bright as he had before all this had happened. "I couldn't have done it better. I thought about faking it but I didn't think the cops would- well, they wouldn't have helped me." He let out a breath, calming himself before sitting up straighter. "Thank you."

"Your welcome. I did, in an offhanded kind of way, also put a stop to Kid. I suppose though that you're going to be starting that up at some point again for reason that you refuse to tell me, as you have near everything else. Copycats are fairly common."

Kuroba just shook his head, the same smile there. "No, I'm done. More or less. There's a few loose ends I need to tie up, and sometimes I'm sure Kid will need to poke his head into something, but for the most part I'm done. I can't take this anymore. I didn't want- don't want some of the drawbacks that come with the fame." Leaning back, Kuroba closed his eyes. "So Kuroba Kaito… isn't in trouble?"

"Nakamori-keibu knows it's an old injury, but it's one I told him you received from before. I made it seem as if you were in contact with me while I've been away so be believes that Spider gave it to you and you were simply being threatened. Aoko-kun dosen't know how old your injury is but she knows of it and I'm sure she'll be by tomorrow to tell you what a fool you've been for putting up with everything all by yourself."

"Yeah, I guess I was. I wonder, if I told you sooner, if I would have even gotten hurt."

That was shaky grounds there. Saguru had helped as much as he had because of the dire starights he had found Kuroba in. Had it just started, Kid very well might have been put in jail along with Spider. "Possibly. It's not as if we have a time machine to tell and I rather enjoy the way things turned out."

"Me too. Thanks again." Kuroba yawned, turning his head to the side. "I can't believe I'm still tired. I'll figure out a way to pay you both back, I owe you, but I don't know how yet and I don't really know what to do."

"As far as I'm concerned, simply be yourself once more. I can't very well approach Aoko-kun with any type of affection if all I'm doing is drawing her attention and worry to you instead of me. I do have two tickets of my own to see the Phantom of the Opera. I'm thinking of asking her to go with me."

Kuroba took the time to open his eyes back up, staring as if he was unsure how to react, far too doll-like for the animated prankster. It took a full minute before a smirk grew on his face, the teen turning to the side once more.

"Let's just see you try."