Chapter 31

Chapter 31

Regret

*Author's Note: Since nobody answered my 'do you prefer 1st or 3rd person view question, I'm continuing 3rd. It just makes more since anyways. I can't think of a clever heist note, so I'm skipping it. I'm sorry for making the characters act out of character. I don't really get how the Magic Kaito characters act anyways.*

Hakuba clenched his fist in frustration as he watched Kaitou Kid-no Kaito Kuroba- disappear into the crowded streets, at least a hundred feet below him. He had been so close to catching him, only to watch him escape his grasp once again. Dammit, he thought angrily. So close… But at least I have him cornered now. He's got nowhere to run. No home, and by morning, his face will be known as a criminal's. The only problem is the overwhelming number of Kid fans out there… He sighed, proving his identity was only step one in catching the Phantom Thief.

"Where's the closest place we can land here?" he asked the pilot, looking out the open door of the helicopter. There were several clear rooftops, but he wasn't very experienced with helicopters. He usually operated from the ground only. The sky was Kid's territory.

"There's a landing spot just a couple of minutes away, Hakuba-kun," answered the pilot quickly, handing the blonde a map. "It's this one, right here." He pointed to a small, but noticeable H. "It's right next to the harbor, is that okay with you?" The blonde looked for other perhaps more convenient and practical options, but with Kuroba

"As long as it takes me down to the ground." He surveyed his surroundings once again, as if the eye-catching white hang glider would suddenly appear in front of him. No such luck.

"Inspector Nakamori!" he called out to the officer who was waiting for him on the port. The police car was empty save two officers. "Did you catch him?" Like he even needed to ask. Since when did those bumbling idiots ever get a job done right?

"He got away, we lost track of him when he entered Beika. Unfortunately, it would take forever to search and you need warrants if you want to check houses. For all we know, he's boarded a plane and is heading for Osaka or someplace." Nakamori let out a weary sigh. "Never thought it would be Kaito-kun. I trusted the kid, didn't think he'd be a Phantom Thief. Known him almost my whole life, wonder what made him do this. What am I going to say to Aoko?" he said to no one in particular. He didn't sound like the usual 'I'm going to catch that bastard Kid!' But he reminded Hakuba of something he had forgotten about.

Aoko, thought the blonde almost fearfully. There had been hurt on her face as he proclaimed the truth in front of everybody, there was horror in her eyes as he was about to handcuff Kaito, and she had been the one that disobeyed him to set Kaito free. He had screamed at her for being so stupid. How could she let Kid go? Caught up in the heat of the chase, he hadn't stayed to watch her reaction. He wished he did.

He looked at his watch, hoping that there was still time left in class. Luck just isn't on my side today, is it? Clearing his throat, he approached Inspector Nakamori. "Would it be okay if I accompanied you on your way home? I need to apologize to Aoko for something."

"What did you do to her?" he replied suspiciously. "Nothing improper, right?"

"Of course not, Inspector. It's just that I upset her when I told everybody that Kuroba-kun was Kid, that's all. I want to see how she's taking it." His light blue eyes showed true concern for the Inspector's daughter. Kaito was Aoko's best friend, she definitely needed somebody to help her up again.

"You can go," said Nakamori, with slight hesitation. "I can't come with you just yet though. You know how to get to the house, right?" Hakuba nodded. He might have visited only once, but his amazing memory and serious crush on Aoko made recalling the location a piece of cake.

A knock on the door sent Aoko back to reality. She'd been completely out of it since Kaito had left her, since she discovered that he was her hated Kaitou Kid. But some part of her had known all along, so she was still willing to help him escape, and she was willing to forgive him. She wished he had told him the truth earlier, but you just couldn't change the past. Will I ever see Kaito again? She thought desperately. She didn't think she'd miss him this much. Her idiot magician. Her best friend. The guy she liked. He never heard her say that, did he?

"Aoko," called a familiar voice. But it wasn't the one she wanted to hear, she muffled her ears in an attempt to block out the sound. "Aoko, are you there?" That boy had revealed the truth and because of him, Kaito wasn't going to come back, unless he was behind bars. She didn't want to open the door; she didn't want to see Hakuba-kun's face. "Please, Aoko. Please open the door." The voice was so full of desperation and longing that she couldn't ignore it any longer.

Slowly, she picked herself up, off of the tearstained couch she had been lying on since school ended. The teacher had tried to continue class as usual, but no one had paid any attention at all. No one had suspected that the fun mischievous Kaito had been Kid. Wiping her eyes, she answered the door. "Hakuba-kun, why are you here?" His face wasn't bragging as she thought it would be, even when she heard his voice. Instead, it was filled with regret and sorrow, a face she'd never seen before. Suddenly, she was afraid she sounded too accusing.

"I'm sorry, Aoko," he whispered. This wasn't like him, he was supposed to be sure of himself. Instead, he seemed to be-what was the word? - so unconfident. "I didn't for all of this to happen. I'm sorry that I hurt you."

"What do you mean?" she asked. "I'm perfectly fine!" What is there to get him so upset? Why does he look so sad? Poor Hakuba-kun. But it was too hard to forget he was the reason that Kaito wasn't here. Why Kaito would never be able to show his real face again without ending up in prison.

"You're not, just look at you." He gestured to her tear-streaked face, her messed up hair, and her red eyes. "I had several reasons for turning in Kuroba-kun. Some of them were good reasons. He was a criminal, and I had to give him justice. But one of them was jealousy." He looked down at his feet, was that blush she saw on his cheeks. "He had you, and, I wanted to be him. I thought, maybe if he was gone then you would just forget about him. But that won't happen. I can see it in your eyes." He looked up at her, saw shock, surprise, and was it anger? "This time, I have to ask myself why I did this. It feels criminal."

"Hakuba-kun," she started, not knowing where to continue. He waited patiently for her answer, even if it involved pain. "Look, I appreciate your apology but I can't accept it. Kaito was my best friend and everything. I know what he did wasn't right, but some part of me knew the entire time so he's nearly completely forgiven in my book. I know it's your job to catch thieves being a detective and all, but I can't forgive you. I know it isn't right and I'm sorry about that, Hakuba-kun. Can you please leave?" He looked at her one last time. Then he left. She was alone, once again. Kaito, why did you have to be Kid?*********************************************************************************************

Inspector Nakamori ran right into Hakuba, who wasn't paying attention as he walked down the street. Nakamori was about to tell him off for not paying attention when he noticed something wasn't right about the detective. He looked sad and rejected. "Hakuba-kun, what's wrong?"

"I apologized to Aoko. She said she wouldn't forgive me," he admitted, trying to keep emotion out of his voice. Nakamori looked sympathetic, but there was nothing he could do to force his daughter to forgive him. He probably wouldn't believe it even he did succeed.

"Just give her some time," he suggested. "It's probably been a hard day for her and I know that she'll want to fight this herself." But he knew he was kidding himself. Aoko had always been stubborn, and she would be stuck in her own lonely world for a while.

"Doubt it, Inspector." Hakuba shrugged it off. "I'm sorry, but I'm heading back home for tonight. You can call me if something important happens." With that he left, looking even more depressed than before.

Ring! Ring! Ring! "Saguru, can you get the phone please?" asked his mother who was cooking dinner. He rose slowly from the table where he had been making up the work he had missed that day.

"Hello, this is Inspector Nakamori," said the voice on the other end. "Can you get me Hakuba-kun."

"Speaking," he answered emotionlessly. What was it now?

"We just got a new notice from Kai- I mean Kid." He had almost said Kaito. "No puzzle this time. Let me read the note to you: I'm coming to steal the Devil's Crown, hidden in my own home. I'll be there at 8 o'clock. Don't be late!

~<3>

"I'm sorry inspector, but I'm not interested today. I don't want to go." His tone was unusually dismissive. What was up with the kid? He just about never refused a Kid heist. Inspector Nakamori didn't really feel much like going either. Kaito had been a good kid. Knowing it was him kind of made him a little regretful and sad. He had known Kaito for years, he never seemed like the thieving type.

"But Hakuba-kun," Nakamori pleaded. It wasn't just about the heist anymore. "Maybe you could get Kaito to just talk to Aoko. He thinks of you as a rival and a friend, I think he'd listen to you. He won't need to throw a show, I haven't released the notice to the press. Heck, I haven't even found what he's about to steal. My men are searching, but there's no jewel in the house." He looked around at the police, still cluelessly looking around the house.

"I said no." His voice was now angry. If he didn't want to go, he didn't want to go. "Good night Inspector!" He hung up before the Inspector got a chance to respond.

"Saguru," scolded his mother. "You shouldn't be so rude. Just because you're in a bad mood doesn't mean that you can talk like that to the inspector." He scowled at her, ice forming in his eyes.

"I betrayed a friend and upset the girl I love today. I don't want to talk to anybody." That's right, Kuroba had been his friend even he was annoying. He had made it all fun, hadn't he? Made trying to catch him exciting, made class more entertaining. What had he been thinking? That was a friend he had gotten rid of. "I'm going to my room." He stomped up the staircase and through the hallways, slamming the door shut.

And Aoko… He had made her cry. He had gotten rid of her best friend. Her love. How selfish he had been. Just for one moment of glory he had ruined everything.

"We're going to capture Kid tonight!" declared Inspector Nakamori, but there was no determination behind his voice. "He's coming soon! Team A, handle the roof. Team B, front door. Team C, back door. Team D, guard all windows."

"Yessir!" they answered in unison. As a couple of them passed by Aoko's hiding place, she held her breath until the footsteps had died away. No wonder Kid-no Kaito- always had such an easy time with the police. It was so easy to hide from them.

Pulling herself out of the cramped cabinet, she snuck upstairs to Kaito's room. If there was a jewel somewhere, it had to be here. And if it was in his room, he'd have to pass her to get it.

She was going to see Kaito tonight. She was going to make him answer every single one of her questions. She was going to tell him she loved him no matter what.

*Did you like it? Did you like it? Did you like it? The internet crashed when I finished this chapter, so I went over it about three times and fixed some things, and added new things. If I made them act too out of character, I apologize. I tried my best during my research (/wiki, great website for DC info.) but it's hard to fit a storyline to characters sometimes. As all fellow writers know, a review keeps the motivation coming. So please review this chapter! The next one will be out soon, promise! P.S. Is anyone willing to beta-read my story? I know there's a directory but it's kind of hard to find a DC fan. I don't even care if you're not a real beta-reader, I just want to know if a chapter's good and what it needs. Thanks in advance!*