Finally another update! And it didn't take four years this time, isn't that great? Thanks to everyone that faves and follows this story. Please enjoy!

Chapter 24: Plan

The discovery of Pandora is honestly unexpected. Sure, they have been looking for it, but actually finding it so soon and seeing its eerie, red glow shook him more than he wanted to admit. Conan is still skeptical over its supposed magical properties but he cannot deny the strange feeling the mere sight of the glowing gem evokes, even through a picture.

The young detective had been mulling over some ideas on how to shake off the organization out of his cousin's trail, but this new discovery may change things. He stayed up all night, plotting along with Haibara, before deciding his father might have a different perspective he could use. They both decide it's best to consult him as soon as possible the next day.

Conan wakes up early and immediately heads towards the Kudo household. He finds the front door locked so he knocks. "Ojii-san?" he calls out.

He was ready to ring the doorbell when Yusaku opens the door. "Ah, Conan-kun" he greets, "Good timing. Come on in."

The shrunken teen follows him to the library only to see Yukiko and a man with cherry blond hair and spectacles waiting for them. "Subaru-san? You're back." Conan knows he left for a 'vacation trip' last month. The fact that Tooru Amuro also left for a faimly visit around the same time wasn't lost on him.

"He arrived at the crack of dawn. We were quite surprised." his father informs as they sit.

"We were wondering if you would be up soon so it is indeed quite good timing." Subaru's gaze suddenly turns intense, eyes clearly visible through his glasses, as he looks at the small detective, "There's important information to discuss."

Meanwhile, the wind ruffling her hair, Aoko is making her way to Kaito's hause. She called him as soon as she stepped outside her house, making sure he remembered their agreement. After her encounter with the men in black she hasn't been able to relax or keep him out of her mind. She knows they must be keeping watch over him since. She's been trying to act as normally as possible, but she couldn't help but worry. She wanted to keep close, even if that did nothing to protect him.

She shakes her head and speeds up her pace, determined. She had enough time to panic yesterday. If she's gonna keep this act up, she's gonna do it right. She won't let anyone realize something is amiss. Kaito's life literally depends on it.

As she reaches the young magician's home she can hear the tv loudly playing a trivia show through the door. This makes a cold shiver run down her spine.

"Kaito? Hello!" she knocks. Keeping a cool head, she opens the door with her spare key and walks to the living room. Nothing looks out of the ordinary at all and she takes a long breath. She can see Kaito's room door slightly ajar and walks carefully towards it. All of her dread flees as she sees her friend's brown messy hair moving around the other side of the doorway.

Aoko quickly realizes Kaito must have gotten out the shower not long ago as the shirtless teen finished buttoning his pants. Any other day she would have been extremely flustered by this, quickly fleeing to the living room to appear as unaffected as possible. That would have happened today too, if not for the black-blue bruise on his chest, right over his heart. The bruise she easily identifies as a bullet bruise. In the very same place she saw KID get shot at two nights ago.

Her mind freezes as a rush of emotions wash over her, the realization feeling like a punch in the gut. Kaito is KID. They are the same. All this time, her friend was Kaito KID. Toichi-jii-san was hunted and murdered because he was KID. And now, Kaito was following his footspets.

She starts backing without taking her eyes off him. Her foot trips over a small table and it loudly scrapes the floor, a few objects falling over.

Kaito hears this and finishes pulling the shirt over his head before peeking through the door. He sees Aoko hastily returning some small ornaments and card decks to the low table in the living room before straightening up and looking at him.

"Hey, you arrived." he casually greets.

"H-hey! Yeah, I just got here, but I actually have to go." She smiles nervously, a strange look in her eyes as she slowly makes her way to the front door.

"What?" confusion in his complexion, "Aren't we going out today? What happened?"

"Nothing, r-really! I just, I-" He can tell she's panicking but she tries to laugh it off, "I was on my way when I remembered I actually had something urgent to do. I was so close already I-I simply decided to tell you in person! But I have to g-go now, yes."

The magician just sweat drops, "Okay..?"

Aoko almost runs out the door as soon as she can. 'What the heck?' he thinks, looking around to see if there could be anything in sight to make her act this way.

He just sighs, a hand messing his hair even further as he returns to his room to take his discarded towel. Taking the wet cloth in his hands he looks back out to the living room and notices the small low table she was fixing is in his immediate view. This makes gears turn in is head. Could she have looked in as she arrived? He was changing, is that it? She got embarrassed? He puts a hand on his chest and lets out a puff of air, rolling his eyes, a slight blush on his cheeks. It's not like she's never seen him shirtless before.

All the blood immediately leaves his face as he feels exactly what is under his hand. His bruise.

"Shit..!" he exclaims as he runs out of his room, hastily putting on some shoes and locking his front door before going after Aoko.

He is an idiot. How did he not realize sooner? Where would she go? Back home? Maybe to the police? Thankfully he doesn't have to think too hard as he manages to see her in the distance after running down two streets. She turns her head back as his loud footsteps resound down the pavement. Eyes widening, she stops immediately, tense, and waits for him, expression hardening subtly.

Kaito stops in front of her, panting. "A-Aoko, I-"

"What are you doing here, Kaito? I hope you at least locked your front door before running here." She interrupts as soon as he opens his mouth, tone filled with a confidence and casualness she doesn't actually feel, glancing around quickly before casting him a meaningful look. Oh. Right. There's eyes on him and she knows it.

"Ah… Yes. I know you said you have something important to do but, well..." Kaito gets his bearings together and looks right at her, a hand scratching the back of his head bashfully, "I thought I could go and help you with it, that way you'd be done faster.. and we could.. still hang out after..?"

She takes a deep breath before answering, "Ok. That's a good plan." Grabbing his arm in a grip she starts dragging him the rest of the way to her house, keeping close to his side.

Kaito keeps a relaxed front but thoughts are swimming on his mind. Aoko is doing her best to act casual but her tight grip and the slight tense of her gait betrays her in his eyes. As they arrive, Aoko locks all doors and leads him to her room upstairs. Inspector Nakamori isn't home as he left early for work but the farther from the streets the better. Aoko makes him sit on a chair as she silently stands by her bed, her back to him, shoulders trembling, searching for words to start this conversation.

He wants to explain himself but the guilt he feels leaves him silent. This truly is terrible timing.

Aoko turns and stares at him hard, a mix of anger, betrayal, sadness and fear in her eyes. She's panting silently, hands curled into fists, gripping her own skirt, as her eyes slowly start to water. A slap would have been kinder than the painful twist on Kaito's chest at the sight.

"Aoko, please, I-" He starts desperately before she cuts him off angrily. "Be quiet! I don't wanna hear it, ok? Not a single word. Shut up."

She wipes at her eyes, trying to stop the tears. Every fiber of her being wants to scream at him, to yell and throw a fit. But she can't. She can't scream at him for being Kaito KID without the whole neighborhood finding out and that is the last thing any of them need. Keeping her voice as low as possible is hard.

"Do you have any idea of what I'm feeling right now? What this means for me? What it means for you?" Her voice trembles. "All this time, you…."

"Aoko-" He tries again.

"Shut up..!" She whispers harshly, frowning. He maintains her gaze and sits quietly, letting her finish, poker face on.

"All this time you were making trouble for everyone. Making fun of my father and the police. Doing dangerous stunts and playing stupid tricks. Breaking and entering. Stealing precious jewels just to return them later like a silly game." Aoko says slowly, no longer trying to stop her tears to keep eye contact. "But it's true what he said back then, isn't it? Conan. This is not a game. It's not an egocentric stunt. There's a reason. You are looking for something. And those men in black are too. You are both looking for the same thing, aren't you? Something valuable enough for hitmen to look for, and for you to risk your life for. Why? What is it?"

"I can't involve you in this, Aoko, it's too dangerous." Kaito explains.

"Too dangerous? Get involved? And is it not dangerous for you? The risk of capture and prison? To get shot at after a heist? What would we have done if we found you one day filled with bullets? You didn't think dad would do everything in his power to get to the bottom of it? That I wouldn't? How come I learned of the whole 'Kudo' situation before this?"

"You knowing about that is dangerous enough." He defends, standing up. "That was a life or death situation, no other option but for you to find out."

"And this situation isn't life or death!? They want you dead…! They aren't only looking for KID anymore, they are looking for you! For your family and those close to you, don't you get it?" She whisper-yells.

"Of course I get it! I know how dangerous this is, that's exactly why I wanted everything to stay as normal!" He whisper-yells back.

"This isn't normal, Kaito..! You clearly aren't quitting nor asking for help."

"Because I don't need it…! I'm doing just fine!" He really doesn't want to argue. He knows she's right. But so is he. He can do it and he will. He won't let the Organization do whatever they please.

"It's clear that you are capable, but you are not immortal…!"

"I promise it'll be okay-"

"They killed Toichi-ojisan! Y-You can't promise me that...!" Her eyes widen, realizing what she just said. All words get stuck in Kaito's throat at Aoko's desperate exclamation. She knew. That night, on the last heist, Snake and the rest of the men in black must have spoken of details she didn't share. Is there any point in trying to hide it anymore? She isn't stupid.

He sighs and looks at her in the eye, putting a hand on her shoulder before confessing. "I know… That's why I have to stop them."

"Kaito…" A fresh new wave of tears flow out of her eyes, brow still contorted in frustration, sadness and fear, as she rushes forward and hugs him tightly, sobbing. He hugs her back with as much force, blinking away the wetness in his eyes.

"I can't lose you too… please…" She wails quietly, burying her face on his shoulder. Kaito's tears spill as steadily as the wet patch on his shoulder extends.

It takes a while before both calm down enough for the conversation the continue. Kaito explains everything. The way Shinichi and him learned of each other and how they are actually working together is something he also fully explains, making her aware of both situations. He knows his reasons may not excuse the fact that he is constantly breaking the law in his pursue of Pandora in her eyes, but at this point it's worse to try and hide it. She didn't interrupt this time, didn't even talk. More tears are shed on both parties during the whole process.

"I'm still angry at you." Aoko mutters a while after the end of the explanation. "But. I understand. I don't know when I'll stop being angry, but I want to be informed. I-" she falters, "I-I'd like to help too, in any way I can."

"Aoko-"

"It's not up for deba-" She starts angrily before Kaito puts a palm on top of her mouth to shut her up.

"I'm not arguing. I'll keep you in, ok?" She calms down, sheepishly, as he continues. "But I want to keep your involvement with this as limited as possible. It's enough that one of us is breaking the law." He can see her relax sightly as she agrees. He knows she's not a fan of illicit acts, being a cops daughter and all, but is stubborn enough to force herself do it in order to help. "Besides, I'm keeping low right now."

"Don't you need a decoy?" She thoughtfully adds. "If both Kaito KID and Kuroba Kaito keep low it will be suspicious."

"Correct." The teen magician crosses his arms, "Jii-san immediately offered but things could get more dangerous with Gin involved so we are still planning."

Their conversation is cut short when Kaito's cellphone starts ringing. He takes it out of his pocket and checks the caller. It's an unknown number. Dread clutches his heart for a moment but he answers, "Hello?"

"Kaito-kun? It's Mouri Ran speaking, good morning!" The voice of the female teen comes through.

"Oh, Ran-chan! Good morning." He internally sighs in relief.

"Say, Kaito-kun, Conan-kun and I were hanging by the arcade when he insisted on inviting you." Ah, so that's it. This is probably a cover call. Has he come up with a plan? "So I was wondering if you would like to join us at the arcade? We could even go to the karaoke later." A place to speak privately. Something's up. Kaito smirks.

"Sure thing. Would it be okay if I bring Aoko? She's with me right now, I'm sure she'd love to see you." Said teen looks at him curiously.

"Oh, well…" She trails off, Conan's voice barely audible in the background, before she resumes. "Of course she can come! It'll be great to see her. I'll send the directions to your phone."

"Perfect. We'll be on our way and text Conan when we are close by."

The call ends and a direction pings on his phone not long after. "What was that about? Were you speaking with Ran-chan?" Aoko asks.

"Yep. Seems like Conan insisted on inviting me to the arcade and karaoke and I asked if you could come."

"O...Okay?" This kind of contrast is a bit jarring for her. First they are dealing with an extremely important and delicate situation and now they are going to sing karaoke with some friends?

Kaito easily reads her confusion and explains, "You said you wanted to be involved, didn't you? He probably has things to tell me that are more safe to tell in person, most likely came up with a plan."

"Oh. Alright." She nods in understanding.

They stay in the house for a little more of half an hour after the call before leaving to avoid suspicions. Kaito is supposed to be helping her with some errand after all. As they go and meet up with Ran and Conan, Aoko can't help but be a bit lost in her own thoughts. Her mind is still going around all the new information Kaito dropped on her. There is nothing out of the ordinary so far. The small group is going around the arcade, playing and laughing, but she can't really focus on what's around her. From the outside, she's just another teenager having a fun time with her friends, but inside she's dazed. If you asked her the next day what games they played at the arcade or what they talked about she would not be able to tell you.

Her focus starts to sharpen as they enter the karaoke that afternoon, though. As the three teenagers and single child enter their reserved room the atmosphere changes; it rapidly becomes grave and serious despite the loud and cheery tune that starts playing at Conan's selection. Right, they are here to plan. Kaito is the first to speak, "I brought Aoko with me because she figured me out and wants in. I already got her up to date with what is going on. We agreed that I'll keep her informed but she'll stay as uninvolved as possible." He signals her as he explains before looking directly at his cousin. "She already knew about you so I guess this would happen sooner or later." The other two nod even as Conan's eyes narrow a fraction.

Aoko's first collected thought is 'isn't Ran-chan unaware of either situation?' as she stares at her. Her confusion must have shown on her face as the other three look at her. "This isn't actually Ran, it's my mother." Conan explains. 'Ran', actually Yukiko in disguise, smiles and waves at her, "Hello, dear."

"As you know, Okiya Subaru, the man who rents our house, is the FBI agent Akai Shuichi." The shrunken teen starts after that is out of the way. "He left for a mission last month and just returned with vital information earlier today."

"Three months ago, the FBI and Interpol managed to discover the location of two of the B.O.'s main bases, one in the United States of America and the other in France." Yukiko continues, "Last month, many members of these groups, including Subaru-san, were summoned for a simultaneous raid to both bases. Both raids were very successful, but the French raid was able to provide quite an amount of information on their leaders and bases worldwide, including Japan. This information was carefully shared with other law enforcing groups around the world, Tokyo's Public Security Bureau is just one of many. Since then, four other base raids have been carried out around the world."

This leaves the other two teens shocked. "Really? But- But how come there haven't been any news about this anywhere?" Aoko asks.

"They are covering everything up, of course." Conan shrugs and flips a hand casually. "Both the police and the Organization are doing everything they can to keep this fallout under wraps. Both sides need secrecy on their side. But the more this goes on, the more things are starting to slip to the public. American, German and Arabian news have caught a few discrepancies already."

"Why would Akai come to you, though? I know you have helped out the FBI before but you're still just a civilian." The magician wonders.

"It's two things, actually. Akai is a very smart man so he came looking for me with very open requests. He wanted Haibara to confirm the information they gathered with whatever information she knew."

"He had already figured out her identify because of his connection with Akemi-san, didn't he." Kaito guesses flatly.

Conan nods. "He also figured that telling us and working together is safer for us than to find out and try something by ourselves. Superintendent Matsumoto has apparently heard enough about me that both the National Police and the FBI apparently agreed on this." He crosses his arms, slight frown in his brow.

The magician can only snort humorlessly. Conan may actually be more recognized among police forces now that when he was Shinichi. With his constant appearances in crime scenes and KID heists it comes to no surprise. "Talking about police, did you return Tear of Paradise yet?"

The shrunken teen sobers up quickly and looks directly at him. This reaction makes Kaito's slight smirk disappear completely. "Something came up, actually. Do you still have the fake one?"

"What? Yea, I still have it. I can't really get rid of it in my current situation. Don't tell me you lost it!" he exclaims.

"We didn't lose it, Haibara must be making tests on it as we speak, but we can't return it, we have to return a fake one." Kaito's face shifts as he realizes where this is going. "That's the other thing we found out. Kaito… You got it this time. It's Pandora."

Time stops for the teen. It's Pandora? He can hardly believe it. He's spent so long looking for it. Expecting this moment. Waiting to finally be able to destroy it and put an end to everything. It feels surreal.

"We have to destroy it." He says almost desperately. "We have to get rid of it."

"Yes, that's what Haibara is doing. She's studying it's chemical composition. We don't know if breaking it will actually render it useless or just make multiple working shards. She's looking for a way to destroy it completely."

"We have gone through this, Shinichi. It's magic, not science. You being a skeptic doesn't render it false."

"Sure, whatever. I believe you even if it makes no sense, but the argument is still valid. Or do you actually know how to destroy it completely?" Silence is his only response. "Yeah, that's what I thought."

"I could find out how. I know someone." Kaito defend.

"Right. Your witch." Aoko double takes at the child's words. Kaito knows an actual witch?

"She's not my witch. But she has offered to help. Having both options is always good, no?"

"Having a backup plan is always good." Conan nods in agreement before turning to Aoko. "We shouldn't involve you too much but having you aware of what's going on will actually help us in giving Kaito an alibi."

"You have a plan?" She wonders.

Yukiko takes out a small envelope from her purse and hands it over to Kaito. "After finding out about Pandora, Shin-chan came over to brainstorm with his father. Yusaku was able to give some nice ideas and they came up with a plan."

Conan smirks. "After we get them off of your back we will be free to counter attack. We finally have considerable advantage over the Organization."

"They already have a plan of attack don't they?" Aoko clenches her hands on her lap. "The police, Interpol, the FBI, all the groups involved. They will attack soon, won't they?"

"Yes." the child answers. "A full attack to their main Japanese headquarters in Yokohama will be carried out in three weeks."

And there we go, another chapter. Action is coming soon! I hope you enjoyed this chapter. If you liked it please leave a review with your thoughts.