Chapter 29

Chapter 29

First Meeting

Heiji's POV

"Drat! It's almost dinnertime! I've got to get back now, Hattori-kun, or else my dad'll be worried about me!" Mouri frantically grabbed her things and took off towards the door. She and Kazuha had been attacking me with question after question about the specifics of Jodie-sensei. I didn't want to tell too much, so I just said that she had back-up, and a secret double agent in the society. No names given. She didn't even tell me.

"Too risky," she said, with a slight smile on her face. "It's already hard enough as it is. But I trust you, Hattori-kun. I think you might be able to help us-for real."

Hm, for real, eh? I wondered what in the world that meant.

"Oh my gosh!" Ran screamed from the front door. "Are you okay?" I ran to the front door to find her trying to revive a boy who had collapsed on the porch. He had messy dark brown hair, and was covered in sweat. And that face…. It couldn't be. The boy opened his eyes, and uttered one word.

"Help."

"Kazuha, Mouri!" I ordered. "Help me get this kid into the house. He'll need food and water." The boy looked truly exhausted, like he had been running all day. There was also a strange jewel around his neck, was it a lucky charm or something?

We settled him on the couch, and Kazuha prepared a simple chicken broth. He accepted it gratefully, but he still wasn't well enough to talk coherently. Whenever he tried to talk, he would start coughing and he was also running a very, very high fever. "Heiji, do you think he's okay?"

"He'll be fine," I assured her. "Just a little bit of rest, and food, and he'll be fine. Then, I can ask him some questions."

"Don't you think we should get a doctor?" Mouri was kind of fidgeting in the corner of the room, torn between staying and looking after the mysterious teenager or heading back home.

"No doctors. This kid'll end up in prison if we do that," I uttered without thinking.

"Prison?" exclaimed Kazuha. "Wait, what did he do?" Drat, I thought. Great going Heiji, now there's no way you're going to be able to go through this secretly!

"Doesn't his face remind you of someone who's been headlining on the papers this morning?" I hinted, watching their faces light up with understanding.

"You-you don't mean he's-" stuttered Mouri, mouth gaping.

"Kaito Kuroba. Better known as the internationally wanted criminal Kaitou Kid." I looked down at him, and he seemed to be nodding.

"That's me alright." His voice was extremely hoarse, and it croaked more than a couple of times. "But don't turn me in just yet, tantei-kun. I can help you with that syndicate of yours."

Syndicate? Oh, he meant Organization. Wait a second! How the heck would he know about that? I had only mentioned it as a stinking theory during the interview. Since then, I'd been trying to deny it. Didn't want to end up like Kudo.

"What can you do?" Mouri's voice was guarded, and accusing. He flinched, and then visibly relaxed, chuckling.

"I want to stop them as well. I have a friend, who's kind of a witch-like, real magic, no joke- who told me we were after the same thing. Eight years ago, my father was killed in what seemed like a stage accident. He was a world famous magician known as Kuroba Toichi. Have you heard of him before?"

Mouri nodded vigorously. "Shinichi and I saw his show once when his dad brought us. He was amazing. Shinichi's dad was shocked when he died."

"Kudo Yuusaku was one of his best friends." The boy's eyes seemed to water up a bit at the thought of his late father. "But it wasn't a stage accident, it was a murder! Those stinking bastards killed him, just because he wouldn't steal something for them!" His voice became raised, and I felt so bad for him.

"Steal what?" asked Kazuha cautiously.

"It's a gem called Pandora," he sounded calmer, and trusting. "In the presence of a certain comet, it will cry tears, and whoever drinks those tears will become immortal. It's inside another gem, and it's pretty hard to see. The only way to know if it's Pandora is to hold to the light of the full moon. If it turns red, then you've found it."

"I know you're trying to save your skin here," I started. "But why are you trusting us so much already?"

"Because I honestly want to help." He stood up, and he was actually a little bit taller than me. "With a celebrity like Kid on your side, you could lure them out much more easily if you wanted to. All I need is Pandora. And revenge of course." His blue eyes were determined, and showed no trace of doubt.

"You can help, but will they seriously show up if you stole Pandora?" I asked. Why did I believe him so fast? Well, if you've been pushed into a case where reality isn't what it's supposed to be, you're going to have to believe fantastic stories. And this kid… well… I could tell if he was lying. Maybe.

"If I flaunt it in their faces. That would be the moment to lure a couple of them out." He snickered. "After all, Kid is quite the enemy in their eyes." He spun around, and instantly he was dressed in a white tux and cape. I was surprised, but I didn't let it show.

"But your identity's been exposed! Wouldn't they put the people around you in danger now?" Did he even know that it be like this?

"That's why I'll have to do it fast. Otherwise, Aoko will be-" he broke off, unwilling to continue.

"Who's Aoko?" Kazuha gently pryed. Her eyes were filled with sympathy.

"The girl I left behind. I promised I wouldn't be caught when that damn detective brat exposed me right before class started." He was angry again, but he showed nearly no trace on his face. As I looked at him inquisitively, he answered my unspoken question. "It's called a Poker Face. The most important magic trick of all. Don't let the emotions show." He pointed to his smothered grin, and confident eyes. "I should teach you sometime." He started coughing again, and doubled over.

"You're not in any condition for that right now." I pushed him back onto the couch, he didn't attempt to resist. "We're not going to turn you in. But that's all I'll promise for now. I'm still not completely sure about you." He smiled, and turned away from us.

"I knew coming here would be a good idea." In a couple of seconds he was snoring, still dressed as Kaitou Kid.

A knock from the door drew our attention away from Kid. "You left the door unlocked," Haibara's voice rang out, trying to sound uncaring, but it the little trace of happiness was still evident. She walked in before any of us had a chance to stop her. "Why the hell is Kaitou Kid here?"