It was the day after the Kid Heist, a cloudy Sunday afternoon, and instead of going home afterwards, Ran had gone over to Shinichi's place. It was so much easier to hide from everyone here, because other than Agasa-Hakase, Sonoko and possibly Hattori-kun, nobody would think to look for her here. Of course, Conan-kun was with her; he was more at ease here than anywhere else; and so was Hakuba-kun and Kaitou Kid, both of whom were currently in a guest room down the hall.

          Feathers were strewn all over, shed by something that was both highly distressed and injured, and several books lay scattered about due to that certain feathery something knocking against the shelf they'd been resting on. Ran drew the curtains to block out more light, before picking up aforementioned books and placing them back on the shelf with resignation. They were bound to be knocked off again later. She sighed good naturedly as her young charge peeked at her from the near darkness of his latest bolt hole, sapphire eyes scared and vulnerable.

        Settling down on the floor by the bed, the Karate champion patiently waited, knowing Conan-kun would come out on his own terms if she gave him long enough. It was painfully difficult to see the young detective like this, but the kind hearted girl knew she wasn't exactly an expert on this sort of thing, and though the one person she thought might be able to help was actually in the building, she had no desire to disturb him whilst he was so badly injured.

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Saguru jolted awake, noting the semi-coherent magician stirring. It was too early for Kaito to start moving, Ariade-sensei had said as much after he'd checked him over, recoiling at the injury. Saguru still hadn't got a good look at it, nor did he really want to. Gently, he put his hand against his boyfriend's chest, willing Kaito to stay still. He kept his hand there, noting that Kaito's breathing steadied as he did. A familiar feeling was probably comforting for him then.

Saguru waited for Kaito to wake up a little more before he even attempted to communicate with him. Tired Kaito was extremely rare, what with how little sleep his lunatic boyfriend actually needed, but when Kaito was tired, he was usually also injured, like now. Tired, injured Kaito in a strange house was a very, very scary thing. The magician would either fly into a panic, prank bomb everything and escape, or demand answers. Answers which Saguru himself was still unsure of.

Amethyst eyes snapped open to meet honey brown, worry and fear clear and bright in the magician's eyes. He didn't try to get up, though he did lean into Saguru's touch as the other teen rested a hand against his face, promptly noting he wasn't in a neck brace, meaning he couldn't have fallen. A fall from that height would be paralysing at best, and lethal at worst.

He crooned softly as Saguru caressed his cheek, not really up to talking yet, but content to know Saguru was there with him, in this strange room that was decidedly not a hospital and not his or his boyfriends house. Nor was it Aoko's come to think of it. Where was he? He nearly panicked, but Saguru put a finger to his lips and simply whispered in a gentle manner that they were safe here, Kaito didn't have to worry about anything and that the magician should get some more rest because he'd been significantly injured and should keep himself quiet if he wanted to recover properly....

         Saguru was dozing in an armchair by his bedside when Kaito came to for the second time. He felt marginally better, despite the knowledge that his leg should be hurting a hell of a lot more than what is was. He ran through every possible place Saguru could have taken him, coming up blank for his possible location, then he did a quick visual evaluation on his sleeping boyfriend, pleased to find no obvious injuries, and mildly concerned when he noticed the time.

        Saguru did not sleep in. It was nearly noon. Had Saguru been with him since the heist? Or had Jii-chan found him first? He huffed with annoyance as he realised that his memories of the heist ended at falling from the roof with Tantei-kun in his arms. He remembered being shot in the leg, but not much after that. He wasn't sure if that was a good thing or a bad thing.

       A quick evaluation of his own body told him he was fine, other than his leg. He was fairly concerned about the appendage by now; he should be in way more pain than what he was, and that wasn't a good sign. It was quite likely he'd sustained at least moderate nerve damage, probably meaning months of slow recovery and physio, along with a high chance of permanent limitations after that.

          Kaito sighed miserably. He damn well hoped he was overreacting and prayed the damage wasn't as bad as he thought. He didn't fancy losing his acrobatic prowess, but then again, he guessed he could live with it if it came down to it. He sighed again, clearing his throat afterwards in a quiet manner that still somehow managed to wake the sleeping brit sat next to the bed.

           "Hmmmn?" Kaito rolled his eyes.

           "Articulate as always, Tantei-san!" He mocked, coughing at the end of it because of a sandpapery dry throat. Honey brown eyes snapped open, wide and surprised as the brit registered who was talking, before the detective broke into a relieved smile as he offered him a glass of water.

         "Kaito. Damnit. I was starting to worry." The magician laughed softly, reaching out to grab the glass from the blonde's hand as he winked cheekily.

        "Can't catch a phantom 'Ru."he teased, wincing as he tried to sit up properly. He really should hurt more than that. The dull pain should have been raging agony, but it wasn't. "Maybe wound one though." He added as an afterthought. "Where are we anyway?"

            Honey brown eyes softened into concern, and Kaito didn't doubt that his detective was thinking back to last night. Kaito had a vague notion that Saguru wouldn't have gotten him out of that on his own, and guessed (correctly it turned out) that Tantei-kun was somehow involved.

        "You don't remember?" A shake of the head, sending chaotic spikes of brown hair bouncing wildly. Saguru sighed, seemingly not too surprised. "Your glider failed after you were literally shot off a rooftop with Conan-kun in your arms. I wasn't there, so I don't know the details, but somehow he managed to get you both to safety a couple of rooftops over. He then called Mouri-chan, who helped get him as far as the ground floor of the hotel they'd landed on, where Mouri-chan ran into me." Amethyst eyes widened a fraction. So Tantei-kun really had been involved.

         Saguru continued, a worried frown on his face. "You were still conscious at that point I think. You sent Tama-chan to me, and she must be spending too much time around Nakamori-keibu, because she's got one hell of a foul mouth for a dove. Did you know she can swear in French and English? I guess I'm grateful you taught her morse code though. If she hadn't told me to trust Mouri-chan, I wouldn't have been able to help her get you here.

        "You completely crashed around two thirty this morning, just before we got you into the car and brought you here, to the Kudo mansion in Beika. Conan passed out for a bit around the same time. Conan-kun's doctor —I think his name was Ariade-sensei?— tended to your leg once we got here, then we carried you upstairs to this guest room with the help of Conan-kun's two friends, an FBI agent and an NPSB agent of all people. Apparently he saved their lives and they owe him one." The detective paused, looking suddenly nervous.

        "Conan-kun and Mouri-chan are just down the hall. The two adult 'critics' as you call them left as soon as Ariade-sensei confirmed you'd be fine. Also, I think you're safe here. Apparently the occupier of the house is away on business, and the owners are travelling abroad until next year. Mouri-chan is friends with the owner's son, and for some reason has full access to their home. Before you ask, I'm not sure what's going on with your leg, but it sounds fairly bad, and Conan-kun bolted into a room as soon as we got here and I haven't seen them since.

        "Mouri-chan did say she'd come check on you at noon, and it's almost that now, isn't it? Maybe we can get the whole story from her. Oh, and a word of warning, Conan-kun knows your name. He knows you're Kuroba Kaito, but he didn't say why. If he did, I can't remember. I was too busy worrying over you." Saguru paused and smiled weakly at the magician, tears pricking at the corners of his eyes. Kaito frowned and pulled Saguru by his hand so the detective fell onto his chest, wrapping his arms around his detective as the other teen dissolved into quiet tears.

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          Conan-kun slowly crawled out from his current bolt hole, giving Ran a hesitant look before actually sitting next to her, glasses tucked away in his pocket, leaving his face bare. Ran didn't move, knowing that since the 'accident' two months prior, Conan-kun was more flighty than usual if he got injured, and a sudden movement might send him fleeing back under Shinichi's bed.

         (She just couldn't bring herself to think of Shinichi and Conan-kun as the same person, even though she knew they were. She'd gotten so used to calling the younger boy Conan-kun that it was habit, and probably safer for them both. Of course, only Agasa Hakase and Ai-chan called him by his real name in front of her, as they knew she knew. Hattori-kun on the other hand.... she could see why conan-kun hadn't told him she knew yet. He was, much as she was loathe to think it, a liability.)

        "Gome-ne Ran-neechan." Her young charge murmered, leaning into her more as she relaxed slightly at his words, "I'm feeling better now. I'm not pulling that stunt again for a while though, and I'd like Kai-nii to know so he can check them over for me. That... it's okay, right Ran-neechan?" Ran smiled and nodded. That was another thing she knew now; Kaitou Kid's civilian identity.

       "Do you want to come with me to check on him? Hakuba-kun will probably be there, he hasn't left Kai-san's side, I don't think. I'll make drinks. Are we telling Hakuba-kun too? And how much? Just about how you dealt with the last heist, or everything?" Conan-kun smiled brightly at his best *female* friend slash big sister figure.

        The easy way she just accepted everything now really helped him cope, though when she first found out he'd been forced to vanish for a week to let her calm down and think things through. He stood up, offering his tiny hand to Ran, who chuckled and gently swatted the offer away before springing lightly to her feet unaided.

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        "Ano... Hakuba-kun?" A hesitant voice asked from the other side of the door after an equally Hesitant knock. "I've brought tea and vegetarian bentos for you and Kai-san if he's awake. Can I come in?" A quick nod followed by a wince from his magician had Saguru walking over to the door, opening it to a worried looking Mouri-chan balancing a tray in one hand.

Saguru narrowed his eyes slightly, moving aside only when Conan-kun appeared from behind Mouri-chan, eyes frighteningly vulnerable. Mouri-chan walked in cautiously, and with a start, Saguru realised she wasn't looking towards Kaito. She was avoiding looking at him.

"Saguru?" Kaito queried, not looking at Mouri-chan either. The young detective blinked innocently up at Mouri-chan, reaching for one of the bento's and handing it to Kaito with a shy smile. How had he managed to cross the room without being noticed? The British detective was frankly shocked. Conan-kun was just... he seemed so different here, away from a crime scene or heist. It was like he was a different person almost.

Saguru sat back down besides Kaito and observed Conan-kun as the boy interacted with Kaito, noting with confusion how the boy treated Kaito like they were the same age, rather than treating Kaito like the much older teen he was. Only... Conan-kun wasn't treating Kaito like he was Conan-kun's age. No. Conan-kun was behaving like he was Kaito's age. It was... disconcerting. And damnit but could his thoughts get any more convoluted right now?

"Ran." A curt nod in response. Saguru notes the lack of suffixes with mild surprise. He'd never heard the younger detective be anything less than polite and respectful before. The karate champion turned to face further away from Kaito, a look on her face that seemed more appropriate on Nakamori-chan's face in regards to Kaito rather than Mouri-chan's in regards to someone ten years her junior.

Like childhood friends a voice in the back of his mind supplied, before he could quash such ridiculous thoughts. Ok, so the young detective was scarily smart for his age, perceptive and a better detective than any other person Saguru could think of (except of course for the mysteriously vanished Kudo Shinichi, but no-one save the Heisei Holmes was that good.). But he was just a kid. Right?

A startled cry tore Saguru from his thoughts, honey brown eyes widening as they focused on the sight before him. That... but.... no.... it wasn't.... impossible. His mind made a feeble effort to register the sight as anything other than what it actually was before it finally gave up and he slumped slightly in his chair as he fainted.

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A soft chuckle escaped the thief as he watched Saguru slump into a dead faint. Sharp amethyst eyes snapped over to the cause of his boyfriend's shock, drinking in the sight before him with a wry sort of amusement.

         Ok, if Akako Hadn't gone and used one of her 'critter' spells on him, he'd have a hard time trying to compute too. But, the fact was that he had been subjected to the Red Witch's critter treatment, so really, seeing Tantei-kun like this really wasn't a shock. Well..... it wouldn't be a shock anyway, if it hadn't been for the gory, messy, clean break he could see poking out from beneath the mottled brown.

"I... don't know why he's like this Kid-san, but.... Conan-kun says you're really good at treating your own birds if they get hurt, and normal people would just kind of... freak if they saw him. He trusts you, which means I trust you, and he got hurt trying to save you, but I'm not going to hold it against you if you either can't or don't want to help." Kaito's eyes widened slightly at the plea from Mouri-chan, a small part of his brain noting she hadn't turned to face him at all.

"Everything she's found in her research keeps telling her that if a bird has the kind of damage I've sustained, the only kind thing to do is to put it down, if it hasn't died of shock first." Tantei-kun explains, magnificent mottled brown wings flexing slightly despite the obvious pain it caused. "Also, she won't look at you because she thinks she might figure out who your civilian identity is. She already suspects. I think."

"You know as well as I do that I'm not Kudo-Meitantei, Tantei-kun.... and really, if my witchy acquaintance hadn't turned me into a kitten once, I'd be inclined to think this was some kind of well thought out prank." Conan raised his eyebrow at him in mock exasperation. Kaito merely grinned somewhat cheekily.

        "However, there are still claw marks in my kitchen table, and there's a rather uncomfortable bullet hole in my leg right now, so I'm going to believe you. I am curious though. Can I have a closer look at them whilst you explain how you got them? You don't have to though." Kaito elaborated, going silent when the much smaller boy climbed up onto the bed and sat as close as he could. Saguru was still slumped in his seat.

          Tantei-kun winced visibly as Kaito reached out to gently examine the wings, noting that Mouri-chan was suddenly watching them like a hawk. (kinda ironic really, considering the wings were reminiscent of a bird of prey.). Carefully he pulled each wing out fully, earning a grimace and a glare as he flexed the broken wing with a gentle caution that gave away just how often he'd done this.

         (Kaito wasn't stupid; far from it. He'd noted early on that the snipers were also aiming for any and all pigeon like birds, and had taken to thoroughly checking his feathered spies over after every heist. Practice like that meant dealing with Tantei-kun's much larger wings was fairly easy, though still nerve wracking.)

        Tantei-kun made a faintly pained sound as kaito carefully poked and prodded the broken wing, mildly surprised to find the damage looked far worse than what it was. Tantei-kun wasn't wrong, most vets really would put a bird down for an injury like this, but not Kaito. And anyway, Tantei-kun wasn't a bird. He just had wings. Ok. Yeah, Kaito was crazy. He was perfectly calm, despite having a teenager-turned-seven year old shinigami stalked detective sporting wings sat next to him.

     Tantei-kun looked at him expectantly, and Kaito sighed. He had no idea why tantei-kun had wings, but it certainly could be worse. The mini teen was bright, too bright really, and Kaito wasn't too surprised to find the detective addressing him by his name. Not Kaitou Kid, but Kuroba. Frankly, he was surprised to have made it this long without someone figuring out who he was. (Saguru didn't count, and those few others that suspected had been thoroughly misled into thinking otherwise.)

And well... He trusted Tantei-kun, even with the knowledge that the young boy was actually the Heisei Holmes miniaturised. (Edogowa Conan was Kudo Shinichi, he'd figured that out long before the boy actually told him, and anyway, no normal seven-year-old was that good at deducing crime scenes. But... how exactly did a teenager so effectively become a seven -soon to be eight- year old boy? He knew Shinichi was conan, but how? The not-child had been deliberately vague on that. Whatever it was hurt. He'd bore witness to a 'transformation ' once, and he dearly hoped never to do so again.) A mildly irritated huff dragged him from his thoughts. Oh. Right.

"It's not as bad as it looks Tantei-kun. Though you won't be able to fly for a while. I should probably sort Ru out first though. He's not exactly... aware of... ah... the highly improbable, shall we say?" Kaito grinned at the boy, wincing noticeably when the boy accidentally brushed the broken leg with his wings. Tantei-kun noticed this. Of course he noticed. He noticed everything.

      "Ariade-sensei did his best, Kai-nii, but... it's bad. Hakuba-niisan said no hospitals, so I called a friend of Shinichi-niichan's instead. They might take a few days though. Flying in from England takes time, and, in their case, a hell of a lot of paperwork." Kaito nodded, despite being mildly confused. Meitantei had friends in England? Seriously? More importantly, had friends that required ridiculous amounts of paperwork to leave the country and even listened to what appeared to be a seven year old child? Exactly who was this friend of Meitantei's anyway? A member of the secret services?

       "I... Ran? Can you go downstairs? I was supposed to meet the kids at the park today, and Haibara knows I'm here. Distract them for me? I want to explain to Kai-nii why I can fly now." Kaito was mildly amused at the semi-childish act, but he tried not to show it. Mouri-chan smiled and agreed, muttering something about evil-eyed girls with dangerous weapons as she left the room.

         Once Mouri-chan was safely out of earshot, Tantei-kun folded his wings with a soft sound of pain and approached Saguru, prodding him awake with an amused look. The blonde blinked dazedly when he noticed Tantei-kun's lack of feathers and muttered something about hallucinations and lack of sleep before shaking himself more awake and glancing at Kaito with a concerned Look.

     "Hakuba-niisan I owe you both an explanation. Don't I?" Both Kaito and Saguru turned their eyes on him, curious and cautious both. Kaito was desperate to know why his Tantei-kun had wings, and Saguru was likely wondering just how much Tantei-kun knew about Kid and his night job. The boy cracked a nervous smile. "You won't like it."