The Dove Thief

This is an alternate version of 'Once a Dove, Now a Pigeon'. It'll be about the same length as my Christmas specials if it's popular… Hope you like it, and hope you find some tropes too!

Disclaimer: See 'Once a Dove' for the disclaimer. Since I use my own version of the doves, I own them.

Run! Kaito told himself. If she catches you, she might do something nasty…

'She' was Akako, who was currently in one of her 'I can't make Kaito Kid love me' rages. "If I can't have you, then I'll turn you into one of those doves you're friends with!" she yelled, zapping the spiky-haired teen with a bolt of scarlet magic…

…and sure enough, there was a dove where Kaito had been. "What did you just do to me, you stupid witch?" Kaito asked her as he took a good look at his new feathered body. Everyone's jaws dropped at hearing Kaito's voice come out of a bird, except Akako, who had expected that to happen.

/

As Hakuba opened the door, he noticed everything was chaos as usual – Aoko was chasing Kaito, and Akako was charming the pants off other boys. But strangely, Kaito was missing all of a sudden…there was a dove instead, getting hit by the broom. What happened to Kuroba-kun? he wondered. He couldn't be the dove, could he? "Or did he turn invisible?" he asked himself sarcastically, as he observed that the bird was still trying to get the hang of flying.

Just then, the teacher ambled boredly into the classroom. Startled by the noise, Kaito tried landing on his chair, but instead became human for some strange reason.

/

The rest of the day was spent avoiding the other people's gazes as he tried…and failed…to keep Akako's spell under control.

As Kaito rushed out the door with his bag at the end of the day, Aoko in tow, he spied his doves, which made him stop dead – he'd been seeing one all day, of course. The queer thing is that just seeing a dove made him turn into one again, complete with his bag and him being dragged down by gravity.

"Hey, bird-brain!"

Kaito's newly feathered head swivelled towards the callout. It was one of his doves – Kuro - insulting him! How ironic…he thought. My birds calling me 'bird-brain'.

"Oh great…" he muttered, as he stared up at Aoko. She had picked up his bag and was looking around for the bird that was him. The only problem was that he looked too much like every other dove (excluding Kuro, who was a bit darker than average) to be noticed by her...

"Bird-brain, are you listening? Did you need help with that bag there?" Kuro grumbled, apparently unfazed by his owner turning into a bird. (Then again, as Kid's helpers, they must have seen some weird things in their lifetimes.) The other bird – Shiro - repeated what he said in a high-pitched, squeaky voice. "Shut your beak!" the darker one snapped at him.

"But Kuro…" Shiro moaned. Kaito decided to cut Shiro off there by accepting Kuro's offer with a nod.

"Ambush position 108, Shiro!" the grey dove commanded.

It turns out 'ambush position 108' was just a V formation, Kuro at the point and the others flanking him. After snatching the bag out of Aoko's hands, they had to flap as quickly as possible to lose her.

/

As the doves and the thief-turned-bird dragged the bag across the city towards his house, the two real birds couldn't help musing over their escapades – most being Kid heists, naturally. Of course, no one can hear a dove speak unless they are a dove themselves, so no one heard them except Kaito. However, since the thief had planned every single one of those heists, he was slowly being driven insane by their nattering.

They were almost at the Kuroba mansion when Kaito stopped in his path.

In front of him was a fishmonger's. He'd never actually seen this shop on his way home from school before, so it must have been new.

Just staring at the symbol on the shop window was enough to make him scream - a strange high-pitched noise. "What's wrong?" one of the doves (he couldn't tell which one) asked him.

"It's a place that sells…

…FFFFIISSSHHH!"

With that, he thudded to the floor, becoming human as his consciousness escaped him. "Well, we do already know about his ichthyophobia," Shiro commented as he pecked at Kaito's face (to wake him up).

/

Kaito found himself on the concrete where he had fainted; hoping the past day had only been a dream. But when he heard a soft cooing in his ear, he knew it had all been real. Then he noticed Aoko strolling out of the fishmonger's with a fish…and this time, chose to run, Aoko giggling as she began to pursue him.

"Just get me away from the scaly demons already!" he cried.

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