Title: A Never Ending Chase
Author: Angalomeion
Rating: PG–13
Characters: Main: Kaito Kuroba, Kudou Shinichi (For other characters, not yet definite)
Pairings: Kaito/Shinichi

Word Count: 2156
Summary: You can't have a police and thief be friends. It's impossible. After all, the game between a detective and thief is like a never ending chase. That is, unless something happens. This is the story about the never ending chase between two people.

A Never Ending Chase

Disclaimer: I do not own Detective Conan.

A/N: This is my first time writing DC Fanfiction so please leave comments so I'll know what I can do to improve.

Also, this fanfic wouldn't have been possible if it weren't for clover_magic. I've gotten my inspiration to write this fic from reading her stories so this fic is for her.

Prologue: The Police and the Robber

"Let's play Police and Robber!"

"But I don't want to play!"

"Come on! I'll let you be the police!"

"I'm reading! And just so you know, you always let me be the police."

"But you like it. Besides, reading all those books will make you real old before you know it."

"Better than you fooling around with magic. I swear, if you continue inhaling smoke from those bombs, you're going to develop some kind of lung problem."

"Come on! Don't be such a spoilsport. Fine, I'll develop lung cancer. You, on the other hand, will grow white hairs before you turn fifteen. Now can we forget about our depressing future and focus on enjoying our being five years old by playing Police and Robber?"

There was a soft thump as one of the boys placed the book he was reading down.

"Fine," he sighed. "But I'll be the police."

"Aren't you always?" the other boy smirked before running off to hide. "Don't go talking too much when you've found me, Shin–chan! Otherwise, I might get away while you're explaining your deductions."

"Don't call me Shin–chan, you idiot magician!"

"Can you tell me something?"

"What's that?"

"Why do you like being the Robber?"

"Why do you like being the Police?"

"Don't throw the question back at me, idiot."

"Ah, very mean, Shin–chan – ow!" a whack on the head caused the speaker to cry out. "What's wrong with you?"

"I told you how many times –"

"DON'T CALL ME SHIN – CHAN!" the two said simultaneously.

"I know," the other rolled his eyes. "Give me a break."

"Anyway, back to the question, why?"

"The same reason you want to be the police. For fun."

"How could it be fun to be a thief? A thief breaks the law. A detective would be much better."

"Ah…. But if that reasoning would be valid, there wouldn't be any thieves in the world."

"Still, where's the fun in running from the law?"

"Same thing as running after those who break it. You like being the police because you enjoy finding clues and deciphering them. You like to solve mysteries that baffle most people and you enjoy running after lawbreakers. But that's you. So naturally, YOU would enjoy being a police. Or, as you would say, a detective. For me, it's a different thing. I find more thrill in running from a person whose intellect equals my own. The challenge of the heists, the confrontations with the police…. They're all part of the adventure of a thief. Now, imagine, if there were a magician thief. That would be even more exciting! Escape routes would be far more creative and exciting compared to the boring run–down–the–stairs mode of escape."

"You talk about this as though it were a game."

"Aa, but it is a game. A game between the detective and the magician thief."

"Think you can beat me, tantei–kun?" Kaitou Kid smirked at the detective standing in front of him.

He had just retrieved the gem, which was the main goal of the heist. Unfortunately, it wasn't the one he was looking for. Now, he was on the rooftop, about to escape when the teenage detective, who had just recently regained his original body, showed himself after sealing Kaito's escape route.

"I already have," Kudo Shinichi smirked back. "You never should have sent me that notice."

"And miss my favourite detective in action?" Kaito grinned. "Of course not! Although I never expected you to chase me this fa–!"

Kaito quickly ducked as a brick whizzed past where his head was seconds ago. He barely dodged the tranquilizer that Kudo fired right after kicking the brick. Kaito ducked away to hide behind a few boxes which were nearby.

'Damn, that kid's sharp!' Kaito winced as he noted the strong wind blowing around him. Nope. The glider was definitely not an option. At least not from where he was standing. The only escape route which the detective didn't manage to find was near, but to reach that place, he had to keep Kudo distracted. 'Shouldn't be too hard.'

Kaito smirked to himself.

"That wasn't so nice, Tantei–kun. Is that how you treat your idol?" Kaito called out.

Shinichi blushed for no reason.

"What do you mean by that? Who said you were my idol?" Shinichi asked hotly.

"Aa, but why else would you pursue me this much?" Kaito grinned to himself as he heard the detective sputter. "So, how did you figure out where I would be?"

"It wasn't too hard once I figured out what you were looking for," Shinichi explained, regaining his composure. "I studied the patterns of your heists and from that, I could deduce what you were looking for and how you figure out that the gems you steal weren't what you needed. And since the rooftop's the only place where the moonlight can shine through without obstruction, you should be here. Also, you couldn't be down with the police because this time, there are only a few people. With your heist being kept a secret from the public and only a few policemen on this case, it would be hard for you to suddenly replace anyone."

While Shinichi was busy with his explanation, Kaito had already prepared to leave the scene. However, he couldn't resist teasing the detective a bit before leaving.

"Hey, tantei–kun," Kaito grinned at Shinichi, looking over the boxes to face the detective, "as much as I enjoy our conversation, I have an appointment to keep."

Shinichi quickly ran forward but by then, Kaito was already standing on a pole connected to the side of the building.

"Maybe next time, tantei–kun!" Kaito gave a mock bow. The wind had died down a bit and was perfect for gliding. "By the way," Kaito turned to give the detective one last look before leaving, "you really ought to stop talking too much. You'll only give me more time to escape! Ja ne!"

And Shinichi could only scowl as the thief flew away.

"Shinichi!"

Shinichi opened his eyes and moved his head towards the voice.

"Shinichi, are you okay?" came Ran's worried voice.

"Hmmm…." It took Shinichi awhile to process the question. "Aa…. Yeah, I'm fine."

Liar. Shinichi was actually very tired and just wanted to sleep. Even though the last heist was two weeks ago, he never had any time to rest since the police kept bothering him about solving certain murders. So basically, all he wanted was to go home and collapse, not caring about the rest of the world. Of course, that wasn't even possible since Kid just recently sent a notice about the next heist which was going to happen tonight. There was no way he would miss trying to catch the elusive thief. Although he had to admit, collapsing and not caring about the world for at least ten hours sounded tempting.

"You've been working so hard with those cases. You should try letting the police do their jobs on their own. You're still a student after all. You can't keep doing their work for them. Did you work on a case again last night?" Ran asked.

"No," Shinichi said. "But Ran, if they need my help, I can't just turn my back on them. If I let the crime go unresolved, more crimes would be committed."

"But more crimes happen everyday," Ran said worriedly as she took note of her best friend's face which was very pale. "Besides, if you do get sick, wouldn't that make you unable to help? Why don't you take care of yourself more?"

Shinichi grinned tiredly.

"I do," Shinichi answered.

Ran paused for a second, studying the man for a while.

"Maybe you should go to the nurse," Ran finally suggested. "Or I could try to find something to help with – !"

"I'm fine, really," Shinichi forced a grin. "Just need some sleep. I stayed up really late last night doing homework."

Another lie. Well, not really. He did stay up late but he was actually trying to figure out the possible escape routes and the possible traps that Kid might have for the next heist, which will be occurring later. However, thinking about it now, it wasn't just sleep that he needed. His head has been aching a lot since yesterday. At least, more than the usual kind of headache people get from the lack of sleep. It was then that he deduced that it wasn't a good sign. After all, headaches shouldn't lead to coughing and a temperature rise. He could only hope that he wouldn't get THAT sick before the heist is over. Just a few more hours, really. And then, he can have all the time in the world to sleep and recover.

That night, Shinichi found himself in the fire exit, panting hard. He was on his way to the rooftop but then, he never expected that his condition would get worse. A few flight of stairs and already he was out of breath. He had no choice but to stop for a while.

"Damn!" Shinichi cursed as he found his vision blurring. "This can't be happening…."

He swayed on his feet before starting to fall. The last thing he could see was a flash of white before he finally lost consciousness.

"Tantei–kun?" Kaito shook the detective a bit, trying to wake him. When Shinichi didn't respond, Kaito frowned a bit, putting a hand on the other's forehead.

Warm…. Too warm…. Definitely not a good sign.

"Even when you're unconscious, you still manage to delay me or foil my plans a bit," Kaito grinned as he hoisted the detective up. "You never make it easy for me, do you?"

Kaito quickly got to the rooftop and secured Shinichi on his glider before taking off.

"Maa, I guess I'll give you a chance this time. Can't have you dying on me or else, the game would be over."

"It can be a boring game really."

"Well, the usual scenario has the thief running from the police. It would be boring for you. Unless, of course, the thief is exceptionally good and can incorporate magic in his crime. That's probably the only time you'll find the game exciting considering how much you adore magic."

"True. But it's not really just the magic. If the thief is exceptionally smart, and if the detective is equally as good, then they could make the game exciting. It doesn't have to have magic. All you need is a battle of wits."

"Isn't it always a battle of wits?"

"Nah…. Usual scenarios are more like a battle between one thief and a whole squad of police. Now that is unfair. A one–on–one match is what makes it exciting."

"I don't think that really makes much of a difference. The situation's still the same after all."

"Who said anything about the police still chasing after the thief? True, it'd be exciting to have a one–on–one match but I didn't say that the situation will always be one with the police chasing the thief."

"What else is supposed to happen? The thief will chase the police?"

"Of course!" the child gave a big grin.

His companion snorted.

"You're crazy!"

"Hey! Come on! Give me one good reason why the thief cannot chase the cop!"

"Because the thief would then be securing a one–way trip to jail, that's why!"

"So you mean they can never be friends?"

"How can a thief and police be friends?"

"Well, you never know! Besides, going back to the thief chasing the cop, it's possible. You just have to be real good – wait! Don't look at me like that! I didn't mean that the thief would just stand there and wait for the policeman to come near. Come on! Use your head! As if the thief could just tag the policeman and say 'I have you now!' That's almost like tagging the 'it' even when you're supposed to be running. That's just plain stupid."

"Funny," the other kid muttered. "That's exactly what you did when we played tag before."

"Hey…. Are you trying to imply something?"

"No, you are. I'm just saying, there's no way a thief would chase a cop unless he needs something from the cop."

"True. But the point is, the thief does need something from the cop. That's why there has to be a chase."

"Really? What would a thief want from the police?"

"It's a mutual relationship actually. The thief needs the cop to NOT throw him in jail. Meanwhile," the kid who played robber smirked, "the police needs the thief to keep him on his feet. After all, without thieves, there wouldn't be any point of having cops."

"…. Somehow, that reasoning just sounds wrong…."

"Fine, I'll help you understand. I'll tell you the story of the never ending chase."

To be continued...