Chapter Text
They always say that crime is unforgivable, that princes and commoners are equal under the law, but is this truly the case? Even in the realm of crime, there still exist biases and hierarchies.
Kudo Shinichi paused, raising his head to see the advertisements displayed on the outer wall of a large department store in the bustling Ginza district of Tokyo. A murderer he once apprehended was now granted parole and invited to a TV interview. The man, now seemingly polite and reformed, was the model of prison rehabilitation. He was being interviewed, not for any other reason, but to engage in a dialogue with Kudo Shinichi from afar.
"Mr. Kimura, your comments about preferential treatment seem to imply something specific. Can you reveal the information you possess to the public?"
Hattori Heiji , walking ahead of Kudo Shinichi, also stopped in his tracks, hands in his pockets and eyes narrowed. "A bunch of bastards who are not afraid of causing trouble ."
"Ha, isn't that the case? Let me give an example, and everyone will understand. Japanese viewers, isn't your beloved Kaito Kid a criminal through and through? The class system can easily be......"
"Hey, wait a minute, sir. What do you mean by that? What right do you have to say..."
The studio gets into an argument, with the host and guest openly quarreling, and the audience below joining the heated debate. Ran pushed Kudo, snapping him out of his daze at the intersection as the cars behind them honked repeatedly.
"Shinichi, let's go. Sonoko, you too. Don't let that scum's words get to you," Ran said, pulling Sonoko by the arm and Shinichi by the collar, dragging them onto the sidewalk.
"How can I not care? Who is he to badmouth Kaito Kid like that? Didn't he kill his own family for money? Such a person should go back to where he came from," Sonoko retorted, shaking off Ran's hand.
"Sonoko!"
"But he's not wrong. Whether it's the police or the public, we do have our own unique perspectives and actions towards Kaito Kid," Hatorri said.
"Hmph! Of course, he's different! How can Kaito Kid be compared to other criminals? Who else risks their life for the weak and public safety like he does? Those who just talk have no idea. If they had Kaitou Kid's courage, they'd get their sentences reduced too!"
Ran quickly tugged on her friend's sleeve, "Sonoko, stop it." But this didn't stop Shinichi's face from turning even paler.
"If only Kid could be as selfish as other criminals. Then... maybe things wouldn't have happened as they did. Maybe..."
Yes, with Kid's intelligence, if he were just a selfish criminal, if their relationship wasn't complicated by personal feelings, maybe he would still be Conan. But at least Kid would still be here, not disappeared, not fallen into the abyss.
At least he could still follow Kid's every step and enjoy each confrontation.
Kudo admitted, theoretically, he should treat every lawbreaker equally, but he couldn't help the unique emotions he had for Kid, his carefully hidden, cherished, once-in-a-lifetime adversary. Indeed, Kid was different from the rest.
"Shinichi, it's not your fault. Stop blaming yourself," Ran said, seeing through Shinichi's inner turmoil. He glanced at her and avoided her attempt to hug him.
They walked away.
Compared to a Meitante like Kudo Shinichi , who constantly engages in cases with criminals, Makoto Kyogoku might not win over him with intelligence and detective skill. But he was never just a brawny fighter. UnlikeKudo, who excelled in reasoning and deduction, Makoto was adept at using his body and muscles to think and deduce. His physical memory was unparalleled. Any encounter, even a fleeting glance, would be etched in his sensory memory.
"Conan... Kudo Shinichi . I'm still not quite used to it," Makoto Kyogoku said, scratching his head. He looked at the familiar, handsome face that perfectly matched Conan's. The impression Edogawa gave him was a blend of mature wisdom and childlike demeanor. Truly, Tokyo's famous detective.
His memory drifted back to that night a few weeks ago. He had finally caught up with Kaito Kid, finally restrained him with one hand, completely subduing him. Yet what he felt beneath his grip was not a struggling adversary, but an enemy who had given up, with a self-mocking smile.
What did Kid say?
"You're truly the world's best. But I never intended to fight you."
"Cut the crap. You have no choice. I promised I'd send you to jail."
"Ha, this sounds familiar." Kid gazed at the stars, as if they were just a calm, tranquil night sky, as if he had returned to his childhood, lying under the eaves watching shooting stars with Aoko.
When did he stop being a child? When did he become so distant from his childhood?The scene before him grew increasingly blurred. Kyogoku Makoto's words seemed to come from across a vast ocean.
"That... thanks." Despite holding Kaito Kid, Kyogoku Makoto was very careful with his strength, ensuring he neither harmed Kid nor allowed him any chance to escape. He faintly heard Kid's voice, mixed with static whispers.
"Conan found me and we came back to the building to find you. He's looking for a signal to call for help. I advise you not to..."
Despite catching a slight movement from the corner of his eye, Kyogoku Makoto wasn't as fast as Kid. A faint blue spark surged through him, numbing his shoulder and neck. The next moment, their positions were completely reversed. Kyogoku Makoto was stunned, realizing the extent of Kid's injuries but not expecting him to escape so recklessly. He instinctively tried to block Kid with his back muscles, but Kid had no intention of escaping. Using a white pistol to fire a steel cable, Kid pulled them both behind a concrete pillar, and the terrifying hail of bullets answered Kyogoku Makoto's confusion.
Kaito Kid had saved his life.
The great thief's elegant white suit was now a mess, his courteous and other props lost in the chaos, leaving only his handsome, delicate face, which resembled that of the Meitante Kudo. Blood-soaked his blue shirt and white pants. Kyogoku quickly checked Kid's condition. In the moment they were flung, he realized Kid had used incredible force to protect him, while he hit the concrete floor directly.
"Hey... you..." For the first time, Kyogoku Makoto saw Kid's true face up close. Blood was seeping from his temple, spreading along the fine lines of his skin. Kid, looking at him with hazy eyes, said, "Sorry for dragging you into my mess. Do you see the exit ahead? Turn left and then right; there's an emergency staircase. Go down; Miss Suzuki is waiting for you."
Some things are too hard to say.
Kid smiled. "What? Afraid I'll run away? This building is crumbling bit by bit, the steel frames unable to support its weight will eventually collapse off the cliff into the sea. Even if I have a one-in-a-million chance of escaping, the police surround us..."
Don't overestimate me. I'm just a mere human.
"I'll take you out."
Kyogoku was always a man of few words and action-oriented. He lifted Kid from the ground and noticed Kid's injuries were far from minor. Judging by his years of experience, Kid had at least broken ribs. Despite his poker face, his breathing pattern betrayed him. Kid's every breath or word triggered his fascia and nerves. Kid noticed his scrutiny and, in his usual indifferent tone, said, "Stop looking. It's not as bad as you think. I won't die."
"You won't do what, huh?"
Kid's heart tightened. With his current strength, it was hard enough to escape Kyogoku Makoto, and now Meitantei had returned, giving him no chance to flee.
"You plan to let Kyogoku escape alone, leaving yourself here alone?"
"So you saw through it,Meitante." Behind them, the sounds of gunfire were relentless. If you closed your eyes and listened, it was like a high-pitched, lingering dirge, not played on white or black keys, but on the strings of life and death.
"FBI and Public Security are confronting the terrorists. Staying here longer is playing with our lives." Kid forced himself to speak. "Meitantei, What's your side?"
"Signal's intermittent. Haibara managed to hack the satellite and get my location, anyway, once we're out of this building, we'll be clear targets."
"So the priority is to get you two out safely," Kid said.
"What do you mean by that?" Conan asked sharply.
Kid gave Conan a blank look. "Meitante, as long as the gem is on me, I'm their target. As long as you're near me, you're a target too."
Conan was stunned. Damn, the gem is still on him? Using his small, agile body, he dodged bullets from behind a pillar and rolled over, reaching out. Usually, Kid would return the gem, but this time was different. Five slender fingers tightly clutched the gem emitting an eerie red glow, holding his wounds and stubbornly standing against Conan. Kyogoku Makoto, as the third person, felt a subtle change inside, sensing the unspoken delicate relationship between the two before him.
"What reason makes you unwilling to give up the gem?"
"No reason," Kid laughed lightly. "I just refuse to submit to force. When a robber comes, you don't just hand things over."
Surprisingly, Conan didn't retort, seeing Kid hiding something from him.
"Is this the gem you're looking for?"
Kid raised an eyebrow. "I'm surprised you remember such details." Conan pushed his hand away. "Stop talking nonsense, is it or not!"
Don't tell me this is the end. Don't tell me you're planning to exit like this.
Silent gazes.
Then, an explosion in his left ear, followed by dead silence. Thump thump... thump thump... thump thump... rapid heartbeats, heavy breathing. Conan opened his eyes forcefully, finding his chin resting on Kid's shoulder, and ahead, a sweating Kyogoku Makoto, breaking falling debris with his bare hands. He felt the strong frame supporting him, hidden beneath Kid's thin frame, running with sheer willpower despite his chest injuries, breathing difficult, yet not abandoning him.
"Kid! Hold on! Don't you dare die!" Kyogoku Makoto shouted from the front, and behind, Kid had no strength to respond. Conan guessed right, Kid was pushing his remaining strength and life to the limit.
Kaito Kid remembered what his father always said: "Kaito, remember, no matter when, a magician must keep a poker face, no matter the obstacles, even at the brink of life and death, because it's not over, the ending undecided, everything still has a chance. That's when magic begins."
Dad, I haven't avenged you yet, it's not that easy to die.
But is that true? No, his body kept warning him, his physical limit was reached, a sudden nausea surged up, he closed his eyes silently, wiped his mouth, slipping on something like mud. Kid instinctively hugged Conan tighter, maintaining balance, accelerating again, and it wasn't him screaming but Conan.
"Kid!"
Turning back, Kid saw the blood pool he himself had just bleed.
Black Rose—neurotoxin.
"You... put me down! Put me down now!" Conan struggled above, Kyogoku Makoto stopped, equally shocked. Kid frowned, seemingly intent on wiping blood off Conan.
"You're still acting like nothing with such injuries?!" Conan roared, truly angry for the first time, usually defiant and daring Kid, now not cherishing life. The person didn't care at all.
"Damn it, Kid... what are you hiding from me!"
Facing Conan's loud questioning, Kid had no strength to argue. As soon as Conan's feet hit the ground, Kid's body, like a taut string snapping, lost its balance without the adrenaline support. Instinctively, he leaned against the nearest steel frame. They stood at the edge of the half-naked building, a cliff below.
"You met with Gin."
Conan said, his boldest and worst guess, yet the highest possibility for Kid. Kid didn't deny it.
"You... what did you give him... no, what did he give you in exchange?" Conan pressed, but Kid didn't answer.
Conan understood.
"The drug you gave me wasn't from Haibara, right, it was..."
"It is the final antidote, the one that can turn you back permanently..." Kid clutched his chest, adjusting his breath against the concrete pillar. The downstairs gunfight had ended, the organization members defeated by police and security, all escape routes destroyed by Kid, no way out. But they knew, this was just one base under Rum's leadership, members committing suicide by poison, Rum falling into the sea. The rest...
A cold night wind swept through, forcefully cutting Kid's forehead..
"What did you trade with Rum for the antidote? Queen's gemstone? Or... your life?"
The words were trembling, filled with fear. Conan's cold voice was sharp as blades.
Kid slowly stood, unexpectedly grabbing Conan by the collar, pulling him back. Kyogoku Makoto couldn't react, seeing Kid bind Conan with a long steel cable, Kyogoku immediately posed for battle, wiping sweat, coldly laughing.
"Finally showing your true colors, Kaito Kid."
Kid didn't waste words, picking up a real gun from nowhere, chambering it with a click, no extra moves, aiming steadily at Conan.
"So this is the real you?" Kyogoku Makoto gritted his teeth, unwilling to gamble on Kid's gun and muscle speed. Against anyone else, he would attack directly, but not Kid, knowing he wouldn't dare risk it.
"Turn around," Kid said. Makoto gave him a wary glance, sighed, and silently turned around, actually focusing on observing the movements behind him. Kid held a gun steadily in one hand while the other hand reached back. He unlocked the device behind him, and Conan saw that it was the glider.
"You... you must be joking... Kid... this is no time for showing off..." Conan, unable to move at all, silently cursed the cunning thief and himself for being so unguarded.
But Kid didn't stop. He walked step by step as if he didn't see Makoto's murderous eyes, placing the device on Makoto's back, adjusting it in person, ensuring the device worked perfectly.
"Do you know how to use a glider?" Kid asked. Makoto hesitated for a moment and then nodded. Not only Conan understood what this meant.
"Don't... you... damn it! Don't... you! Let me go! Quickly take his gun! Don't listen to him!" Conan was really anxious.
Kid smiled, turning the gun steadily towards Makoto.
"You won't shoot," Makoto said.
"I promised to let you both leave safely. I guarantee it. But if I have to break a leg or an arm to make you obedient, I won't hesitate to pull the trigger," Kid said, facing Makoto . But Conan could tell he was saying goodbye, then he slowly walked to Conan, squatted down, and with one hand, laboriously lifted Conan, carrying him to the cliff's edge. Kid fastened the divided locks of the steel cable tightly around Makoto's chest.
"To answer your question, Meitante, I found the gemstone, the one that should never exist in this world."
"Damn it! Let me go!"
Kid's slender fingers reached into Conan's chest, pulling out the pill he had given him earlier. In his other hand lay the gemstone, shining with a brilliant blue light. Then he smiled, raising his left hand with the gem high, and with a sharp clang, a gold pillar, sharpened like a harpoon, fell, shattering the gem in Kid's hand. Inside, a blood-red liquid, shimmering like lake water, flowed out, more like tears.
"What did you do... Kid!" Conan shouted.
"You know I never believed in fate, but an invisible force has always pushed me to do certain things. Meitante, this world never needed the existence of Kaitou Kid. What the world needs is you."
No... even Makoto could foresee Kid's next move.
"Please don't turn around,Makoto. I'm begging you," Kid said, his steady tone pressing on his request. He looked up, letting the blood-red tears drop into his throat. Conan couldn't see Kid's expression clearly, only hearing his sobbing breaths, resonating like waves spreading.
What was happening? He didn't know, but Kid, like a puppet, staggered step by step, biting his already red lips hard.
Too close.
Conan held his breath, daring not to make a sound. The entire space seemed oppressed by Kid's powerful aura. Too close, just a little movement would make him touch Kid's delicate jawline. Suddenly, he felt cold fingers shove something into his mouth, and then he was stunned.
First, a terrible chemical taste spread, followed by the soft and thin feeling, like the hot cocoa his mother made as a reward for taking medicine when he was little. Conan's brain short-circuited. It took him a long time to realize the sweet, bitter taste, the rebellious and humble breathing, then he tasted blood. He opened his eyes wide, just in time to meet those eyes, like the night sky filled with stars, meteors falling, deep blue and clear, with a sorrowful loneliness.
The pill, mixed with blood, slid down his throat, spreading a strange sensation, neither cold nor hot, from his chest to his heart. It was too familiar.
Pure as liquor.
Again, the taste of blood, sweetly enticing, instinctively, he kissed back, wanting more. Their breaths became chaotic. Conan suddenly snapped back, lifting his leg to kick Kid away.
Kid's body was already weak, unprepared, he took a kick and stumbled back several steps. His gaze towards Conan became complicated, and Conan regretted immediately.
He wanted to tell Kid, "I didn't do that to you because I hate or reject you."
He wanted to tell Kid, "Don't come any closer, or I'll want more, like a vampire."
But Conan wanted him to live well.
But he couldn't say it. The sweet and sour taste of blood filled his mouth. He wanted more.
"Swallow it."Kid wiped the blood from his mouth, commanding. Conan immediately understood the reason behind Kid's actions. The blood of the one who took the poison was the antidote. Makoto never knew what happened behind him, and he couldn't have guessed. Still, he never broke his promise, partly because his instincts told him Kid would never harm Conan.
Kid slowly approached, taking off his white cloak and tightly securing it under Conan's armpit.
"Makoto "
Conan could no longer hold back. He finally freed an arm and tried to grab the thief in front of him, but the other didn't give him any chance.
All he touched was the glove.
The most brilliant turn, the most decisive fall, the former arch-enemy, like Moriarty at the end of the Sherlock Holmes novel, his falling body disappeared into the white waves crashing ashore.
"Kaitou Kid!!!!"
No one asked why Makoto was controlling Kid's glider, carrying Kudo Shinichi, who appeared out of nowhere. The Meitantei who had disappeared for months, slowly landed on the boat dispatched by the police department. Hattori Heiji first looked stunned, then immediately reacted, seeing the ruined child's outfit, scattered Meitantei tools, the oversized white suit and pants.
"Is that Kudo Shinichi...?" Suzuki Jirokichi rushed forward, and Kudo Shinichi said nothing, waiting for Makoto to open the steel cable. He turned around, stunned by the sight of the boy.
"Kudo Shinichi? Are you blind? That's not Kudo, that's obviously Kid! How could Kudo be here? Makoto went in with Conan to find him and now brought him out." Inspector Nakamori shouted.
"What! What about Conan?"
Ran Mori rushed forward in tears, grabbing Makoto by the collar: "Is he... is he still inside?"
"Ran Mori, actually..." Makoto's voice was drowned by the crowd.
"You... you are... Kid..." It didn't matter what others said. When Inspector Nakamori approached, Kudo just calmly stared at him. He wanted to roar at the crowd, demanding an immediate search at sea, but the words choked in his throat, and all that came out was dark red blood.
Blinking, it was the blood Kid had fed him.
Ran and Sonoko, attracted by the commotion, saw this scene. Kudo, surrounded by policemen, didn't seem to want to escape. He just let them hold him down, kneeling on the ground. The pain in his heart was excruciating. The figure that jumped now fiercely branded on his heart.
Why did his heart feel so heavy?
If justice prevailed in the end, wasn't that the Meitante's duty? Shouldn't he be happy? However, no one has the right to take anyone's life, not even Kid.
"Wait... he isn't!" Finally, Makoto broke through the crowd, rushing to Kudo. He spread his arms, blocking Nakamori and Kudo.
"I know it's hard to explain, but at that moment, Kid handed me the glider, and tied... tied Conan to me. We jumped off... the cliff."
"What?!" Nakamori didn't take such absurd words seriously. He pushed Makoto away, but when he saw Kudo, he was stunned. The boy wore Conan's glasses, had a kindergarten stamp on his hand, and the most naked evidence, under the shirt, was the child's outfit, torn to shreds, clinging to his skin like rags.
"Who the ... who the hell are you?"
"Who... who am I really?"
The simplest explanation, as if returning to the first encounter between the thief and the little Meitante. But this time, he permanently became Kudo Shinichi.