Imperial Ungual

This is far too easy...

That was Kaito's thought as he read the challenge from Suzuki Jirokichi. Not that he could miss it really, what with it splattered across the front page of every newspaper he could find. He didn't bother with a return notice (and it was quite rude of Suzuki-san to not give a proper notice, only a few hours to prepare? Quite the height of ill-manners), and instead, put the hours to good use, dragging Jii down to the intersection for a bit of scouting and plotting.

And then...it was time for the show. A bit traditional with the dummy, but he couldn't disappoint his fans who expected some classic tricks mixed in with the new. It was a bit...nerve-wracking, to be that close to the press, guards and fans, unsure how well his 'disguise' would hold up to the un-blinking eye of a camera, but...he couldn't resist, playing to a captive audience. And besides, Hakuba-kun was in London and the others were not as likely to obsessively review film footage until they could practically recite where Kid's latest zit was (not that he had one, thank you very much).

He smiled for the cameras, and for the fans that came running, one hand on his hat as he passed on his message to Suzuki-san, the other reaching for the rose in his jacket, specially prepared for the first female fan to approach, inwardly pouting as the nets sprung up. It was just like Suzuki-san, to ruin his gentlemanly act and shove things along. Again, the man was just rude all over.

So instead of presenting a gift to the beautiful brunette in front of him who was so eager for him to transform into her (how kind his fans were! Truly, he was a blessed man), he carefully packed away the (very, very ugly) shoes, waving off the concerns of press and fans, flashing a brilliant grin as he shocked them with his announcement.

He had to pause, smiling as Nakamori called out to him, biting back the bark of laughter that bubbled up in his throat as the man ordered him not to move. Really, even as Kaito he wouldn't have listened to that order, and to obey it as Kid...or even for Nakamori to slightly think that he'd listen...well, it would have him giggling for most of the night.

A smoke bomb later and Kid was sailing into the air, pleased with how easy the whole night had gone. As he returned the fake heel to the reporters on the roof, he contemplated sending the correct pair to Hakuba as a prank, but decided the additional expense and bother just for a joke.

He took to the air, thinking all was well, unable to resist the laughter that had been desperate to escape since this morning...and then it all went to pot. Not only was that the fifth monocle he had lost in the past six months and he now had a rather nice bruise on his cheek, but it was a soccer ball that had hit him.

He blinked, before turning, eyes eagerly scanning the crowd before finding what he was searching for, smirking slightly at the look of rage on the tiny detective's face. He had to wonder why the police didn't confiscate Conan's belt as a lethal weapon, but gave up on the thought as he angled his way towards where Jii was waiting, the smile fading as he felt a throb from his cheek. He rotated his jaw, wincing and cursing tiny little hellion's under his breath.

--

Bruise heavily covered and sweltering in not only his suit, but his civilian clothes as well, Kaito adjusted the fringe of bangs that hid his left eye, before tracking down the mini detective he wanted to have a few words with. The task wasn't as hard as one would think, even in a crowd this size. All he had to do was look for his number one fan (and really, Suzuki-chan really needed a hobby...besides him that is) and then look down.

Once he got the crowd going (and he really should try that more often), it was easy to separate tantei-kun from his guard dog, pressing the tip of his card gun to the back of the boy's head, smiling as he froze. It wasn't until he spoke, that Conan relaxed, and Kaito felt the slightest twinge at scaring the boy, but it was nice to see he was at least trusted, once Conan knew who it was...well, trusted not to kill him at least.

His fun of winding up his smallest critic was interrupted by his guard dog, and Kaito spared a glare for Mouri-chan, before sticking the bug to the back of Conan's collar, shifting through the crowd as he did, in order to release the second speaker card (and get out of grabbing range).

He smiled as he listened to Conan's completely wrong deduction, wondering how long before the boy would notice the bug and how much he could hear until then. But such things would have to wait until later, as he had a show to do.

He had to smile, at the reaction of his longtime Task Force members and fans, as he appeared in the place of the usual dummy. He had been working for months on how to properly fly with the propeller without cutting off his feet at the ankles, screwing up his steering or even falling like a stone because he did something stupid on the now heavier glider.

Landing was an interesting experience, as the amount of yen he had spent on bandages lately could attest. Not only did he have to adjust the heavy glider to land upright, but he had to stop it in time to not cut something he might need (like his feet), but not to damage the blades either, by them striking something.

Everything went as he expected, a thrilled crowd, all set to be amazed by what he did next. He hadn't seen his little critic anywhere around, and it gave him a bit of a creepy feeling, to know Conan was out there somewhere where Kaito couldn't keep an eye on him, but he brushed it off as being paranoid.

One of the few mistakes he vowed not to repeat.

When he heard Conan's voice above him, he could have sworn that his heart had stopped. His thoughts were panicked, running in circles as he tried to figure out a way to get out of this, but unfortunately, the prevailing thought for a moment seemed to be Holy Mother of Disco Jesus, I'm screwed.

Once Jii had released the load, and managed to get him stopped (and he was rather pleased with the fact that he and Jii were reasonably the same weight, enough to keep them balanced and him away from the midget annoyance), Kaito recovered enough to banter with the small detective, brain working on three different tracks as he kept up the conversation, figured out an escape path and a way to get rid of the extra load that the heels were. Generally, the police and detectives left him alone when he left the heist behind.

Hampering his escape plan, was Jii. No matter what, he couldn't leave the older man behind, and it was tempting (if a bit sickening), to simply allow his own capture, in order for the man who had been a grandfather to him to get away. The part of him that adored everything about being Kaitou Kid railed against that thought however, and when the time came to choose a path, he took the one with the most risk, slicing both his and Jii's cables and taking the plunge.

Go, go, go, go, go, go, gogogogogogogogogogo...

Kaito's mind refused to think about the consequences of his actions, all of his focus on the single hand that he had to grab.

Please...won't lose him, can't...refuse. He. Is. MINE.

Kaito closed his eyes, not wanting to watch as he made a desperate bid for Jii's hand, almost shouting in relief as he felt the older man's fingers grasp his. The hang glider sprang open a second later and Kaito reached down with his other hand, glove dangling from his mouth as he grasped Jii's forearm and jacket sleeve, memories of Jack Connery plunging to his death because of his glove too fresh in his mind. Granted, he now wore a smaller glove size, but there was still no way he was going to risk it, not when it came to Jii.

"...Young master...Kaito!"

Kaito jerked out of his thoughts, looking down at his impromptu passenger, smiling at the slightly exasperated look on his assistant...partner's face. "Sorry, distracted. What?"

"If you would turn left, we will be closer to the car and able to land soon."

Kaito nodded, making the adjustments Jii suggested, shifting his grip on the man and rolling his shoulder to try to release some tension, finally spotting the building they had scouted out earlier, heading for it. "Get ready!" he yelled over the rush of wind and angled his body for a landing, releasing Jii before hand so the other man wouldn't become entangled in the thief as Kaito snapped closed the glider, stumbling a bit as he tried turning before he was completely on the rooftop.

Jii was standing, brushing himself off, removing his cap to run a hand through his hair. "Are you alright, young master?"

"I think that should be my question for you," Kaito said, trying not to give into impulse and run to Jii, mentally swatting at the panicking portion of his brain that refused to be silenced until Jii was checked over and cleared of anything being wrong. And judging from the expression on Jii's face, the older man was going through the same thing.

"Well," Kaito said, slipping his hands into his pockets in an effort to keep them to himself. "That went well."

"In what way, young master?" Jii asked, raising a skeptical eyebrow.

Kaito gave Jii his familiar manic grin. "We now know the glider can hold two full grown adults for at least a short period of time." He ducked the swat Jii aimed at his head, humming contently as the pair headed down the inside stairs to the car, Kaito's suit vanishing to the pair of jeans and t-shirt he had worn before the heist.

Note: The title essentially means "Purple Nail" if one abuses a thesaurus.