And just like that, my two years as a non-existant human passed.

***

Spotlight falls from above, illuminating the flashy suit with all its grace.

Helicopters swarm around.

The adult I named Meitantei on the roof, twenty meters away.

I feel their glares all over my body, trying to strip me bare to the bone. Astonishment. Disbelief. Wonder. Anger. Jealousy. Amazement. But I have nothing to strip free under this flashy suit. A puddle of black, perhaps.

I lower my head with a smirk and spread my arms, greeting my precious audience with a perfect imitation of KID's voice.
"LADIES AND GENTLEMEN!"
As I, the nameless copy, perform a midair walk.

I watch the screaming mass down below, have their glares directed right back at me. I would laugh if it wouldn't destroy my pokerface. It sure is ridiculous.
The crowd screams the name of their beloved idol to a shameless liar, someone who copies the miracle himself and nobody noticed.
KID would feel sad and proud at the same time. Nobody ever found out about the man behind the mask; his identity. Only thanks to that I feel myself enamored with the cries of astonishment.
I want to thank KID.
With his death he gave me a new name, a name that fit way more than all the others I went with the whole time. KID, the name of a phantom, carried by a shadow.
I love the thought.

My cape settles rather gentle as I go step by step, slowly down onto the ground. KID's fans gather all around the podium I plan to reach and continue the praise to the figure beyond realistic measurements.
My steps echo above the crowd. What a time to be alive.
Where are you? Meitantei?
"Come to me. Reach me. Try to stop me."
My silent pleas become swallowed by the crowd as my foot touches the podium. And a second later... here I am, bolting from everyone's view.

Laughing like a madman, I vanish into the main building. I don't have to look at any plans, I know every oh so little escape located within.
Safety.
I never felt this safe than within the suit of white, armed with pranks and gadgets.
The chase never stops, sudden eagerness from the task force surely surprises me. Perhaps Meitantei? I hope it's Meitantei. And yet, bit by bit, I hear the echoing steps dying out. Have they lost track of me? My bottom lip pushes up into a silent pout as I slow down my speed, too.
How boring.

I end up coming to a halt it in front of the bathroom. Should I just change and leave? A rather unflashy exit for the marvellous copy-KID.
"Raise your hands!" a voice demands right behind me and I nearly snort- because it's just so expectable of a detective like him, to just surprise the heck out of me in a moment I feel safe.
"Meitantei," I respond, lips curling up to a deadly grin as I turn around to face him. Surprisingly, I notice myself staring into the barrel of a gun.
"A gun? Did you forget the policy? No one gets hurt."
Meitantei voices a small 'Tsk' and fixes my hands with his eyes. He didn't forget, a magician's most dangerous weapon are his hands.
"Don't move."
I'm not stupid, of course I realize what he wants to do. Without a second thought I make a dash for my life- promptly hearing a cute squeak of the detective who bolts after me, cursing in a way Nakamori-keibu would be proud of.

The detective corners me at a dead end but I definitely won't go down like this. KID definitely won't go down like this. He inches closer and I can feel my pulse rising, the thrill of chasing each other around always is addictive to me.
A short unconcentrated moment of mine and Meitantei's expression darkens all of a sudden.
"K-Kaito!" he exclaims and my eyes shot up wide.

Kaito. Kaito. Kaito.
This name rushes like thousand electric shocks through my bones. I feel so light. This name. This name. Kaito. It's... it's right. It fits. It fits just like the cold monocle against his eye.
"Why?" the detective asks, voice dry of all emotion.
"Why what? I came to steal."
Meitantei slowly drops to his knees, tears prinkling within his beautiful eyes.
"K-Kaito... I searched. T-two years. T-two goddamned years s-since you disappeared. Why? Why?! Why?!"
My brain just stops all function and I stare at him, confusion visible all over my face.
"...y-you... y-you don't remember..." He states in a matter of shock and I notice myself nodding. I want to hug him. Embrace him, pull him close. Where does that urge come from?
But a magician spreads smiles and doesn't take them. I inch closer and lower myself next to the crying detective, my arms wrapping around the trembling adult.

"I... I woke up in a hospital. With an unhealthy obsession over KID. I don't know anything else."
Meitantei eases into my arms and it feels just... perfect. I have no idea where this overwhelming feeling of comfort comes from. I belong here. At this adult's side. Into his arms.
I... belong to him.
How did I fail to notice this?

"Let's... let's go home," Meitantei whispers and slowly raises himself, hand locked with mine.
"...home, Meitantei?" I repeat slow and careful. A word I didn't hear since long.
"Yes. Home. Let's go home Kaito. And... please call me Shinichi again."
My lips curl up into a smile as I allow Mei- no, Shinichi, to pull me up onto my feet.

I think... I think I finally received a name.

[The end]