Darkness surrounded him as he crawled silently through the maze like air vents, ever grateful of his double joints and lithe, cat like body. He could hear furious yelling already, and he hadn't even started yet. Could Nakamori-keibu get any louder? The language as well. Did the fine inspector even care about the four children who were most likely stood near him right now? He dreaded to think what sort of colourful language these kids were learning right now. Sheesh.

Cracking a sly grin as he spotted the right grate before him, he deftly dropped a tiny grey pellet into the crowd below, before crawling further along, removing another little grate and dropping down onto the glass case silently as the smoke cloud began to clear. He wore his normal uniform; startling white suit, white dress trousers, white top hat with blue ribbon, monocle over his right eye, and his famous hang glider-cape draped over his shoulders. He was also wearing his creepy grin, one that screamed 'I'm enjoying this little game. But it's a bit easy, ya know?' That infuriated every cop within a two mile radius instantly.

Of course, one particularly foul mouthed, dedicated inspector initiated the usual dog-pile method, which never worked. (honestly, when would they learn?). Kaitou Kid smirked as he easily dodged them, showing off as he pulled off the impossible again by reaching in through the glass to snatch today's target; a sparkling emerald called the Skye's Eye. Of course, sleeping gas and smoke grenades were everywhere tonight, and the thief made it out of the room easily. However, Kaito knew escaping to the roof and escaping the building itself wouldn't be so simple.

     He set off a few of his tricks on the way up the stairs, laughing madly when he heard the various curses and shouts as most of his precious task force fell for his traps again. There were one or two who'd actually learnt by now, but he wasn't worried; he had a special surprise for them. He didn't want anyone following him as far as the roof tonight, not even his Tantei-kun. If Saguru was right, (which he often was about this sort of thing) then he could expect to see Snake and at least one sniper tonight.

          He cackled gleefully as his remaining pursuers got ensnared in the final trap; a complicated maze of wires and netting, that was designed so that no adult could get past without tripping or getting caught up in the netting. Kaito always left child sized openings in these kinds of traps so his Tantei-kun could always get by. He'd never forget the only time the kid had been caught in one.

        He'd never seen the young detective so downright terrified in his life, and it'd worried the thief enough that he'd ensured his Tantei-kun would always be able to avoid tripping those particular traps from then on. That wasn't to say he'd forgotten to think up other contingencies to counter the genius not-child though.

      (Yes. That's right. Kaito knew about Conan. About Shinichi. He'd figured it out back at the imperial Easter egg incident, with 'Conan' later confirming in the fire after the tiny detective had stopped scorpion. That... had been scarily close. Even for them. Kaito had earned a good burn-scar on his left leg for that. Luckily in a place that was not easily seen.)

          Kaito sighed as he made it to the final door without a single distraction. His heists were just a tad easy without Tantei-kun or Saguru chasing him, though both detectives always stopped short of actually arresting him. Saguru obviously didn't want his boyfriend behind bars, and well.... Tantei-kun was Tantei-kun.

     Kaito had more hope of understanding Akako, which said a lot. Understanding a normal genius was hard enough. Kudo Shinichi? He was more complex than Kaito, with an intellect that far surpassed  Saguru's and a past Kaito didn't even want to know. How did a teenager, especially one as famous as Kudo Shinichi not only melt into the woodwork, but so effectively become a child ten years his junior? Yeah. He wasn't going to go there. He probably didn't want to know.

      He paused before reaching to turn the door handle, a sudden chill running down his spine. Something... didn't feel right. Where was Tantei-kun? He was certain his heist note had specifically stated for the detective not to go as far as the roof. Surely Conan-kun had picked up on that and obeyed. After all, he'd never warned the not-child against it before.

      Flinging the door open in a seemingly careless manner, Kaito burst out onto the roof, only to feel the blood freeze in his veins. He stopped dead in his tracks.

Normally, this was the easiest part of his heist, the only obstacles usually being Tantei-kun and occasionally Saguru. However, tonight... tonight... his pokerface shattered to reveal a terrified yet furious young man, a much more human in expression than what most people saw on the thief's features usually.

"Tantei-kun!" He couldn't help but cry out. He couldn't help the rage that was now boiling just under the surface, and he certainly couldn't mask his expressions behind his trusted poker face right now. The sight before him... he'd never felt so furious. Tantei-kun was physically a child! Okay, so the not-child was terrifyingly smart and known for his ability to outthink and outwit people three times his actual age, but still. He looked seven. No child should have to experience something like this!

The young boy didn't seem too bothered by the gun pressed against his temple though. In fact, Kaito might even go so far as to say the not-child looked bored. Though what was boring about being held captive at gunpoint, the thief couldn't say. It was almost as if he was used to being held hostage, possibly at gunpoint, though surely Saguru would have heard the division one officers or the SID team talking about it if that were actually the case.

The man holding the gun to Tantei-kun's head glared at him, snarling out a demand for 'Kuroba Toichi' to hand over Pandora before he blew a hole in the (not)child's head. Kaito snapped a pokerface into place, holding up the gem to the moonlight in such a way that snake could not see, but the boy in the fedora wearing criminal's arms could. Kaito mentally sighed as he realised this gem wasn't Pandora either.

He glanced at Tantei-kun just in time to see a blatant look that screamed just run for it already. That look scared Kaito more than any gun could. The mini-teen was calm. Too calm. The thief had a sudden bad feeling about all of this when the little detective flashed a huge cheeky-yet-evil grin at Snake, who tried to whack the boy on the head with the butt of the gun. The operative word here being tried. Apparently the madman wasn't holding the boy tightly enough, because Conan-kun managed to dodge the blow by twisting almost out of the grip.

      Snake increased his grip on the young detective, cursing at the boy to stay still or get shot. Conan went quite, not moving. Though Kaito now suspected he was just leading snake into a false sense of security. The magician thief highly doubted Snake knew just what the tiny tantei was hiding about his tiny frame.

"Let. Him. Go. Snake." The thief snarled furiously, dropping the calm and collected act completely and spitting the name out almost violently. Kaito was seriously considering breaching his non-violent policy right now, but only if he absolutely had to. He liked to leave the violence to Tantei-kun's super-powered-soccer-balls-of-doom and Saguru's judo. Snake's grip tightened around the body in his arms, causing the not-child to squeak in protest, which was followed by the butt of the gun finally finding it's mark on the child's head.

        A crash announced the arrival of Nakamori-keibu and his men, but Kaito was now too angry to care. He couldn't quite think straight. Snake had his Tantei-kun hostage. He would not let the man claim another victim. Nor would he allow the man to die. Much as he thought he might want that. No, he wouldn't give Snake the satisfaction of an easy way out. No. His face must have shown those very emotions, because Snake was no longer smirking, and Nakamori-keibu, who happened to be on his left now, was silently watching, clearly afraid.

        "Kid? Your smile is really scary." Tantei-kun commented, making a sudden movement that caught his captor off guard, twisting like a cat to loosen the grip, before kicking off the arm that had previously ensured him, landing easily like a dove. Then he was racing towards the white clad thief with a speed only those running for their lives or professional athletes could gain. He wailed kid's name as he ran. Kaito kept one eye on Snake and one ear on Nakamori-keibu as he knelt down to pull the now terrified 'child' into a warm embrace, turning his head up to glare through his monocle at the gun wielding man, which caused Snake to take a step back.

      "Just give me the gem, Kuroba Toichi." Snake demanded again, this time a hint of nervousness in his voice. Apparently he was either unaware or uncaring of the police inspector who was now gawking at the white clad thief. tConan-kun was still in the thief's arms as Kaito stood up, his young face buried in the white shoulder of the man still holding him. Had the black clad man just called the thief Kuroba Toichi? But.... Toichi-kun died nine years ago. He'd I.D'd the burnt remains of the man himself with the help of the man's wife. How? What? What was going on?

        Then the thief spoke with a bite to his tone that was usually absent from the normally childish and cocky thief. "Get out of here. Before I do something I regret, and I've told you, Kuroba Toichi is dead. And until he gets the justice he deserves... I will not rest. Ever. So give up." The thief took a heavy step forward, looking much less like a cheeky spirit and more like an evil demon all of a sudden.

        Nakamori couldn't move, he was too stunned. All he could do was watch as the thief took another step forward and snarled angrily that 'Snake' couldn't kill what was already dead, so he might as well either give up, or run for it. Though the way it was said promised that running would not do the other criminal any good. Nakamori's blood ran cold. The way the thief spoke, you'd think he was a ghost. But the inspector had been shoved by the crazy magician before. No ghost could feel that solid. Right?

       Kaito held his Tantei-kun close to him as he advanced on Snake, and when he looked back later, he could honestly say he had no clue what he'd said. He heard Nakamori-keibu warning his men to stay back, but his focus was on Snake now. The man was backing up slowly towards the edge of the roof, probably planning to use a wire or the like to escape, but Kaito wouldn't let him. He was so focused on Snake, he'd completely forgotten about the child in his arms or the sniper that usually followed the criminal around.

          Nakamori-keibu, Kaitou Kid and the entire task force honestly couldn't tell you what happened next, not really. It happened so fast, it was hard to register, even for the quick witted and sharp eyed Kaitou Kid. A shot rang out, and Nakamori-keibu watched in horror as the white clad thief's right leg buckled, tipping him over the guard rail, the smaller frame of Conan-kun still clinging on like a baby koala.

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        Kaito felt the bullet make impact with his leg, sending him off balance for a fraction of a second too long. the force of both bullet and the extra weight if Conan-kun making his legs crumple, sending him toppling over the edge of the building, with his Tantei-kun still clinging to him. It took only a fraction of a second for Kaito to reach for his belt, and only a second to deploy his glider. However, the sudden lurch as his free fall slowed didn't happen, and the ground was rushing up at an alarming rate. Oh. Shit. Why wasn't the glider working? He'd checked it right before the heist!

         Panic filled the thief as pulled the young detective close, turning in the air so he would break the boy's fall. Kaito wasn't stupid, he knew a fall from this height would kill them, and with his glider not working, all he could really hope for was a swift end. Damnit, but... Snake was bound to have removed his safety wires already, and the Grapple gun was in a pocket that would require Kaito to let go of the young detective. He wasn't stupid. He'd be fine, on his own, but with a child clinging to him?

        He whispered an apology to Conan-kun, before closing his eyes and waiting for the inevitably painful but hopefully swift end. He hoped he'd judged the angle right, and prayed that, even if he did die, Tantei-kun would make it. He deserved to make it, after witnessing —and surviving— countless other disasters.

         He heard Tantei-kun apologise back, before a stinging sensation in his cheek and sudden drowsiness told the thief that the boy had darted him. That.... was incredibly kind of him, really. The Heisei-Holmes knew they were falling, knew they were not likely to make it, and was making it easier on kaito. This was his last thought as he curled around Conan-kun, protective even in as he fell into an near-unconscious state.

       Conan felt the thief wrap around him protectively, and realised with sudden dread that the magician's glider was somehow out of commission. The genius mind worked through several potential solutions, eventually resigning himself to the only real option he had right now, and sent out a silent apology to Ran before darting the thief into semi-unconsciousness. At least now, if the plan failed, the magician wouldn't suffer, and if it succeeded, he wouldn't have to explain himself.

.....he might have to track down a few reporters and destroy evidence though. He didn't want any of it getting into the media. Ever.

       Kaito was vaguely aware of his surroundings, though not enough to know what was going on. The pain in his leg had faded, and the last thing he really remembered was curling around Tantei-kun in resignation. He was coherent enough to wonder whether he'd died yet, but then a familiar but unexpected lurching sensation jolted through him, almost as if his glider had deployed, but the feel was different, well, not that different, but enough for him to know it wasn't his glider. He tried to fight the drowsiness for several more seconds, before completely losing the battle and slipping into total darkness.

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         Conan's arms screamed in protest at the weight he was carrying as he did his utmost to keep both himself and the magician airborne, but it was proving to be difficult. The magician was light in comparison to other people he'd carried (namely Ran and that witch) but he was still a hefty weight for the seven year old to carry and he was tiring fast. The boy settled for landing on the roof of a nearby hotel, setting the thief down gently before circling once then landing carefully.

       The young detective picked his Shinichi phone from his right pocket, and dialled Ran's number. (It now had a built in voice changer so he didn't have to worry about losing his bow-tie one.) Whilst he waited for his big sister figure to pick up, he set about removing the white top hat, cape, suit, dress trousers and red tie and monocle from the thief, completely unsurprised to find the magician was wearing black leggings underneath the trousers. Now the thief looked fairly nondescript, what with a blue men's blouse and the black leggings.

      "Moshi Moshi. Shinichi?" Ran finally picked up, and Conan hurriedly explained where he was and what he needed her to do. Ran agreed readily. Maybe once not so long ago, she would have questioned her young charge extensively before helping him do something, but now was different. He had her trust now, and she had his.

        Conan sighed with relief as he hung up and began stuffing the white Kid suit into his rather large child's rucksack, noting a few scattered feathers around them. Sighing, he made sure to pick up every single feather, shoving them into his bag with the rest of the incriminating evidence. His shoulders burned. Kaitou Kid remained unconscious in the exact same position the young detective had left him in, seemingly dead to the world, a small puddle of drool forming as he breathed softly and steadily.