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The sound of the choppers echoed from the sky, loud and deafening, just like the thunderous chanting of “KID, KID!” from the crowd inside Tatsukaba Jewel Museum.
In the museum's 18th exhibit hall sat a glass display case with a strangely shaped palm-sized blue sapphire resting on a soft cushion. Its name was Half Free, and it was the Moonlit Magician's target for that night.
"Everyone, get into your positions!" Nakamori-keibu bellowed at the KID Taskforce. "KID's not getting away this time!"
Conan merely threw a look his way, barely even bothering to pretend to listen to his usual speech of throwing KID behind bars for good. Nakamori-keibu was definitely as lively as ever.
He was instead focused on the target. The "jewel" this time had a peculiar shape. Half of it was a polygonal shape, clean and tidy, but the other half was uncut and raw, shape irregular, making it look messy and ugly. Its colour was beautiful to look at, however. It was as if several shades of blue had blended together to create the weird jewel. The uncut side was polished to give it a sharp look, but the contrast between the shape of each half was still there. It was almost... enchanting, to walk circles around it and watching the artificial light make it sparkle.
He was at the heist with Ran. Her father had been unwilling to come along as the date of the heist clashed with Okino Yoko's show that day. So there he was, listening to Sonoko squeal about KID. Ran seemed a bit off, like she wasn't paying much attention.
Conan briefly wondered about it, but let it go as he couldn't remember anything of importance.
The exhibit hall was crowded with Taskforce officers. People weren't allowed inside the hall where the target was displayed, so fans cheered for the phantom thief from the other exhibits.
The atmosphere was always the same. Excitement, anticipation, joy. It was why Conan liked coming to these heists. He could forget all about what happened. He could join in on the hunt for Kaito KID and distract himself.
Half Free was a vague name. Did the owner mean that half of the sapphire was clean and cut, therefore free from all its impurities? Did the owner mean half of the sapphire was uncut, raw and natural, therefore making it free, unlike the proper cut half?
What had been lost?
Conan stopped. He didn't like where his mind was going with this. He didn't want to dwell on it any longer should his mind circle back to the depressing thoughts about 2 weeks ago. He took a deep breath, putting a hand on his chest.
Then, there was a blackout.
"Protect the case!" Nakamori-keibu shouted, pointing at the sapphire even in the darkness. His men echoed, "Yes sir!"
They shifted nervously as a voice boomed from several places at once. "Ladies and gentlemen!"
The crowd had seemed like it couldn't get any louder, but that was proven wrong when squeals erupted and chanting became more energetic, hands pumping in the air as the lights came back on. "KID, KID!"
A flutter of a cape, the tilting brim of his hat.
"Welcome to tonight's show!" A smirk not out of place, a monocle set on his left eye. "Let us... begin!"
Conan panted, out of breath as he ran past the gassed exhibits. Fans and officers alike were sleeping on the floor, awkwardly strewn over each other. He had a damp cloth covering his nose, but it was still a bit hard to see.
KID usually doesn't gas civilians. Why this time?
He took a sharp turn to the right, into the Colour Exhibit hall. Here, many gems and crystals were displayed based on colour in the order of the colours on a rainbow. It was a long and spacious hall, starting with red and stretching all the way down to purple coloured gems and jewels. The walls were lined with door-sized windows, letting the moonlight fill the hall and illuminating it despite the blackout in this particular exhibit.
Finally slowing down, Conan put the damp cloth away and walked down the hall. Somewhere at the back of his mind, he registered the distant cheers for Kaito KID outside the museum. His footsteps echoed loudly, breaking the precious silence. His heart was still beating hard, still exhilarated from dodging the traps and running to catch up with the elusive phantom thief. He was grateful.
Stopping at the blue coloured gems and jewels, he looked pointedly into the shadows. Kaito KID emerged with a smirk. He chuckled, as if to silently praise him for making it there. The sound seemed to come from right beside Conan's ears.
"So, what's so special today?" Conan started, looking suspiciously at KID. "You don't usually gas everyone during a heist."
"Hm? Did you forget again?"
"Forget?" Conan asked. "Forget what?"
KID's smirk only widened. He took out the target from seemingly nowhere and set it on the display case next to him. It basked in the moonlight, casting blue hues on the floor. It was beautiful.
"It's your birthday."
Conan's eyes became bigger for a moment. He recalled Ran's longing look earlier that day when they left the Mouri Detective Agency to attend the heist. He remembered he couldn't show up as Kudou Shinichi anymore just as quickly.
"You're right," he replied after a pause, "it's Conan's birthday."
KID was slightly surprised at his cold tone. He smoothed over his poker face.
"Kudou Shinichi is dead," Conan continued. KID's posture stiffened only subtly. "He's not coming back."
KID titled his head. He offered quietly, "Want to talk about it, tantei-kun?"
So Conan did. He slowly opened his mouth, telling KID about what he had been trying to distract himself from.
He told KID about the raid on one of the Black Organisation's headquarters.
Many of the Organisation's members were arrested and sent to prison. However, the building was blown up. It was like they were ready for the attack and set up a bomb inside the building to destroy something they had so the police couldn't find it.
What could it be? It was the APTX-4869, and other experimental drugs.
A sample of the original drug was needed for Haibara to create the permanent antidote. Now, it was all gone with the explosions that day. He had ran into the debris, desperately trying to find the lab in the huge chunks of concrete. Takagi-keiji swiftly dragged him away from the building, away from the remains. Conan didn't even cry. He had a horrified look on his face, eyes never once leaving the collapsed building even as he was left to sit on a small stool next to an ambulance car. He didn't notice the bandaging or wince when antiseptic was applied.
It was a blur for Conan. Everything happened and then it was the MPD praising him for being a good boy, even though he did nothing of worth while the operation was carried out.
He had been hopeful that he could return to his previous life, filled with friends and joy, but he realised now how naive that thought was. Being Conan let him learn a lesson or two about humility, since he had to give credit to Kogoro. He saw Ran as someone he should protect, not a girlfriend. She cared for him like an older sister.
He had tried to convince himself that it was okay. Now, less people could fall victim to the drug, so it was fine that he stayed as Conan. If people will die less because of this, then it's fine that he doesn't get his body back. It's alright that everyone will forget the once famous high school detective.
He had apologised to Haibara and Professor Agasa, turning his focus to anything that could distract him. Cases, homework, anything. Even Ran had gotten worried, no longer observing his liveliness. When Ran called Shinichi's phone after the raid to tell him about it, he didn't pick up or reply.
He swallowed his feelings, not wanting pity from anyone, since it was his own choices that had led to this. But now, it was all spilling out to a certain phantom thief.
Maybe it was because he knew KID would understand, would not call him selfish for wanting to go back to his original body. The thief had become a good friend of Conan's over time, after all. By the time Conan was done, his voice was wavering, yet his gaze didn't leave the ground.
"No one will wait for me anymore," Conan said, shaking. His fists were clenched tight, although the tears weren't there. "Kudou Shinichi is dead."
Conan didn't notice when KID had come closer. All he saw were the white shoes and then a gloved hand was slowly tilting his chin upwards. Conan was sure his face looked extremely bitter and tired, so he closed his eyes, refusing to see KID's face.
"Now, now, don't burn holes into the ground like that!" KID said, a gentle smile present on his face, though Conan couldn't see it. The gloved hand moved up from Conan's chin to rest in his hair, giving it a little ruffle.
"I'll wait for you, Shinichi."
Conan opened his eyes, utterly surprised by the thief mentioning his real name. "...huh?"
"I said," the thief wrapped his arms around the small body, "I'll wait for you. I'll wait for you to grow up again, and I'll stay with you."
Stuck in the warm embrace, Conan felt like something was going to burst in his chest. It swelled. "Will you... really?"
KID hugged just a bit tighter. "Of course, Great Detective."
That something burst with a small pop.
It was quiet at first, then Conan was suddenly bawling into the pristine white suit jacket of the great Kaito KID. The phantom thief whisked his glasses away, stroking his hair and rubbing circles in his back. He started humming a soft melody, though Conan couldn't identify it.
The tears kept spilling, and it felt good to cry. There were hiccups and there was ugly crying. His face was red and his vision was blurred, but his chest gradually felt lighter and the feelings became more bearable. It slowly became softer until there were only sobs. Conan found himself slumped against KID's chest, exhausted.
At some point, KID had sat down, cross-legged. Conan was in his lap, and his hand was still running through the small boy's hair.
"Thank you." Conan managed after a short while, pulling himself together. "Sorry about the jacket."
He felt much better, and he wasn't going to make the phantom thief's suit jacket any dirtier. He stood up, wiping his face as much as possible with the sleeves of his own blue jacket.
A soft laugh escaped KID's mouth. "It's no problem, it's going in the laundry anyway."
Conan smiled at the thought of the great elusive phantom thief throwing his suit jacket into a washing machine.
Just then, the sound of distant footsteps could be heard. Nakamori-keibu and group of officers burst into the hall, panting. Seemed like they had finally woken up.
"KID! There you are!" Nakamori-keibu bellowed once again, jabbing a finger at the phantom thief. "Let's get him!"
The officers charged, running up to where Conan and KID was.
"It seems like my time here is cut short once again," KID spoke, "I'll see you again, tantei-kun. Take good care of yourself."
There was a small puff of smoke and confetti, and in KID's hand was a red rose. He handed it to a confused Conan before turning to the officers running towards them. "Well, then! I shall take my leave!"
With a swirl of his cape, the phantom thief disappeared into thin air, the spot where he was standing replaced with the target that night.
Holding on to the red rose and smelling it, Conan breathed in the light scent of chocolate blended with the rose's natural smell. He looked down at Half Free. Maybe it doesn't matter what was lost. It still looks beautiful from any angle.
"Hey, Conan, are you okay?" One of the officers in the Taskforce asked him later. He supposed his face was still red and puffy from crying. "I heard KID made you cry."
Several other curious officers turned to listen.
"What?" Conan asked, eyes widening. Conan held tightly on to the rose with both hands and looked to the side shyly. Then he smiled and turned to speak again, "He found something I thought I lost forever. I'm really happy!"
The looks from the other officers instantly softened, some of them coming around to pat his head and smile at him.
"That's good!" The officer replied. She walked away to get Ran and Sonoko who also inhaled the sleeping gas.
Ran jogged up to him a moment later, noticing that he looked better than he had been after the last 2 weeks. She forgot about how Shinichi no longer replied to her texts or calls. She heard from the officers about what happened and got curious.
"Conan, what did you lose?" Ran asked when she held on to Conan's hand and walked him back.
"Hmm?" Conan turned his head a little, considering for a moment. Then he beamed, "It's a secret, Ran-neechan!"
Kaito sighed happily when he got back home, getting out of his black street clothes and into something comfortable. He had known Conan had something on his mind, but he didn't know what, only that it had to do with the Organisation building raid. He had seen the boy 3 days after the raid when he was heading over to Beika after school had let out to check on him discreetly. He hadn't seem happy at all, despite having attacked one of the headquarters of the crime syndicate that wanted him dead.
Conan had a carefully blank look on his face, only smiling a bit and speaking a sentence or two when his friends needed input. Even the fierce little lady had seemed worried. Conan was also less attentive and careful than usual. He hadn't notice Kaito tailing a distance behind at all.
It looked like Conan was trying to forget his emotions existed at all. The kid could probably have a scarily good poker face if he wanted to.
That was when Kaito decided he should make his next heist's priority to cheer his little detective up and get him to talk about what was troubling him.
Kaito threw his white costume aside, not even bothering to hide it away. He collapsed on to his bed, back landing on the covers. With a forearm over his eyes, he imagined the sight of the crying boy again.
It almost broke his heart to see his favourite detective breakdown. Kaito opened his eyes and stared at the ceiling. He would definitely come up with an amazing magic trick that would blow Conan's mind. He would impress and cheer him up.
With a determined nod, Kaito turned on his bed and went to sleep.