Beginnings and Endings (Fanfic100)
Title: Beginnings and Endings
Fandom: Detective Conan
Characters: Kaito (General series)
Prompt: #3-ends
Word Count: 1542 words
Rating: PG
Author's Notes: I do not own Detective Conan. It all belongs to Gosho Aoyama. I simply borrow the characters, tie them up, and dance them around like life-sized puppets. I do wish they’d stop complaining.
Summary: He remembers the day he found out…a Kaito vignette. For aishuu.
This is not the end, nor the beginning of the end, but
perhaps the end of the beginning.
- Winston Churchill
He remembers the day he found out that his father was gone forever.
At the age of nine, he came home from school with Aoko in tow, as usual. He can even remember that she was upset with him and chewing him out…also as usual. They walked up the front steps and into the house…and found that Aoko’s dad was standing there, talking to his mother.
And his mom was crying.
That was the big sign that something was wrong, and he stopped dead in his track when he saw it. Aoko was walking behind him, and he stopped so suddenly that she crashed into him. She started to say something until she also noticed that something wasn’t right.
He stared at her, confused. Moms were supposed to be strong and happy and know all the answers-even when they didn’t-and fix things and make any injury better with the healing power of a kiss. Moms were supposed to be able to do anything and everything.
Moms weren’t supposed to cry.
She noticed him standing there, and rushed past Aoko’s dad. She fell to her knees and wrapped him up in a hug so tight he couldn’t breathe. Normally he would have asked her to let go, but something told him that now wasn’t a good time to try and wriggle loose. So he held still and let her hold onto him.
After a few minutes, she let go…and told him.
There had been an accident.
Dad wasn’t coming home.
Dad was gone.
Dad was dead.
Dead.
That was the end of his childhood, and the beginning of years of wondering.
-o-
He remembers the day he found out why his father was gone forever.
He would sometimes talk softly to the portrait in the living room when he was alone. It was silly, he knew. But somehow, it helped on days when he just needed to get it out. It would be nice if Dad could hear him, he thought, but he wasn’t sure if he believed in such things.
One hand pressed against the picture frame…and suddenly he was falling forward as the picture in the frame spun around, sending him flying into a room hidden away behind the portrait. He had been completely unaware that such a room existed-even though he had lived in this house all his life.
In some ways, it was like something out of one of those stories he had always heard when he was young-a magical world hidden away inside a wardrobe or through a mirror or otherwise tucked away within something completely mundane. In this case, it was a world of real magic…and secrets.
But if Dad had been Kaitou Kid…then who was running around out there right now?
…could it be Dad? Or was it an imposter? One way or the other, he had to find out. And so he pulled on the suit, cape, hat, and monocle for the first time.
He met Jii that night-an old friend and assistant of his father’s. But before he could ask any questions, the police arrived with Nakamori-keibu at the helm. There was no time for explanations, and no time to think about things. In a split second, he made his decision…and greeted the Inspector not as himself, but as his new alter ego. He acted on instinct; it felt completely natural.
After they escaped from the police, Jii told him the truth. And that changed everything.
It wasn’t until much later that he realized what he had really done. He had committed a crime, if in name only. He had set himself against Aoko’s father. And he had embraced the mantle of the person his best friend hated most.
If anything, it was really only that last that made him hesitate. Aoko had been his best friend for most of his life. She was the one who had seen him through his father’s death. She had been there for everything…and she was important to him. And she hated Kaitou Kid. For him to become Kid was a betrayal.
But…being up on that rooftop, dancing out of the reach of the police and spreading his white wings for the first time to escape the bounds of gravity…he had never felt so alive. He had gone into the situation blind…and something inside him had awakened on that rooftop. He felt at home inside behind the monocle-like it was what he had been born for. He existed to do this.
So he made his decision: he would become Kaitou Kid.
Deep down, he knew that sooner or later, Aoko would find out. That was how things tended to work out in situations like this, wasn’t it? It was inevitable that at some point she would discover that her best friend and the person she hated most were one and the same. But…he had to do this. It was in his very blood.
He would become Kid. It was a risk he would take, and a regret he would live with, if and when it came to that.
That was the end of his innocence, and the beginning of a grand adventure.
-o-
He remembers the day he found out who took his father away forever.
Standing atop a sky scraper with that evening’s prize in his hand, he was met by a gun-wielding maniac clad in black. A man who seemed to have no qualms about shooting to kill with him as a target. A man who wanted to remove Kaitou Kid from the picture permanently.
A man who called him by his father’s name.
He was knocked from the rooftop by a bullet after that confrontation…but the prize he lost was not the true one, but an imitation. He followed the assailant, and learned some very interesting information.
There was a allegedly gem somewhere in the world called Pandora. And supposedly, this gem had the power to give its holder immortality. They wanted that power…and had already proven that they would kill to get it.
He had no real belief that a stone with such a power could really exist. It sounded to his ears like a bedtime story for children. Still, he did believe in magic, if only on principle…and so he alerted them to his presence after he had gleaned as much as information as possible, and he told them of his intent. He would find Pandora first, and he would destroy it. They would never get their hands on it or its reputed powers.
That…was not the end. If anything, it was the end of the beginning, and the beginning of something entirely new.
No longer would he, as Kaitou Kid, wander aimlessly, teasing the police and having his fun. Now he had a mission, a specific goal. He would find the gem known as Pandora. And he would make sure they would never get their hands on it. And if at all possible, he would see to it that they were brought to justice for their crimes.
He dreamed that they would be punished for the murder of his father, but on a more practical level he knew that was nigh impossible. If Kaitou Kid specifically accused those men of the murder of Kuroba Toichi…it could open up a can of worms that he doubted could be good from any angle. And there were few, if any, avenues for Kaito to make such an accusation as himself-he doubted he could come up with any truly logical way for him to have stumbled across the necessary information.
So he sadly conceded that justice might have to be delivered indirectly. They had many, many other crimes to their names, he knew. If he could bring them down for those crimes instead, then he could pretend. Or he could comfort himself (to a certain extent) knowing that they knew what they had done. It really was the best he could do without risking blow his cover.
Unless circumstances changed, he would never be able to actually see them condemned for his father’s murder. A small part of him hoped that somehow, it would become possible. But contrary to all appearances and most popular beliefs, logic and reasoning were close friends of his-and logic and reasoning told him that if circumstances did shift, he would lose control of his situation. And he could never allow that to happen.
Control was power.
Control was the thin line between freedom and incarceration.
Control was everything.
And he went on, confident in his control and his abilities, to bring down those who had taken someone precious from him…and to make certain that they never got their hands on something they seemed to feel was so important. In a roundabout way, he sometimes wondered if that made him any better than them-seeking to deprive like that.
But in the end, he reasoned…he had never killed anyone.
-o-
He remembers how he became Kaitou Kid.
It was the end of his normal life…and the beginning of his life as a ghost.
And he lived it with only a single real regret…
PS. This is written (with much love) for the amazing aishuu. She gave me the quote at the top for a prompt. And this makes thirty fics done for this challenge-almost a third done! Hope everyone liked it-thanks for reading, all! Much love!
Fandom: Detective Conan
Characters: Kaito (General series)
Prompt: #3-ends
Word Count: 1542 words
Rating: PG
Author's Notes: I do not own Detective Conan. It all belongs to Gosho Aoyama. I simply borrow the characters, tie them up, and dance them around like life-sized puppets. I do wish they’d stop complaining.
Summary: He remembers the day he found out…a Kaito vignette. For aishuu.
This is not the end, nor the beginning of the end, but
perhaps the end of the beginning.
- Winston Churchill
He remembers the day he found out that his father was gone forever.
At the age of nine, he came home from school with Aoko in tow, as usual. He can even remember that she was upset with him and chewing him out…also as usual. They walked up the front steps and into the house…and found that Aoko’s dad was standing there, talking to his mother.
And his mom was crying.
That was the big sign that something was wrong, and he stopped dead in his track when he saw it. Aoko was walking behind him, and he stopped so suddenly that she crashed into him. She started to say something until she also noticed that something wasn’t right.
He stared at her, confused. Moms were supposed to be strong and happy and know all the answers-even when they didn’t-and fix things and make any injury better with the healing power of a kiss. Moms were supposed to be able to do anything and everything.
Moms weren’t supposed to cry.
She noticed him standing there, and rushed past Aoko’s dad. She fell to her knees and wrapped him up in a hug so tight he couldn’t breathe. Normally he would have asked her to let go, but something told him that now wasn’t a good time to try and wriggle loose. So he held still and let her hold onto him.
After a few minutes, she let go…and told him.
There had been an accident.
Dad wasn’t coming home.
Dad was gone.
Dad was dead.
Dead.
That was the end of his childhood, and the beginning of years of wondering.
-o-
He remembers the day he found out why his father was gone forever.
He would sometimes talk softly to the portrait in the living room when he was alone. It was silly, he knew. But somehow, it helped on days when he just needed to get it out. It would be nice if Dad could hear him, he thought, but he wasn’t sure if he believed in such things.
One hand pressed against the picture frame…and suddenly he was falling forward as the picture in the frame spun around, sending him flying into a room hidden away behind the portrait. He had been completely unaware that such a room existed-even though he had lived in this house all his life.
In some ways, it was like something out of one of those stories he had always heard when he was young-a magical world hidden away inside a wardrobe or through a mirror or otherwise tucked away within something completely mundane. In this case, it was a world of real magic…and secrets.
But if Dad had been Kaitou Kid…then who was running around out there right now?
…could it be Dad? Or was it an imposter? One way or the other, he had to find out. And so he pulled on the suit, cape, hat, and monocle for the first time.
He met Jii that night-an old friend and assistant of his father’s. But before he could ask any questions, the police arrived with Nakamori-keibu at the helm. There was no time for explanations, and no time to think about things. In a split second, he made his decision…and greeted the Inspector not as himself, but as his new alter ego. He acted on instinct; it felt completely natural.
After they escaped from the police, Jii told him the truth. And that changed everything.
It wasn’t until much later that he realized what he had really done. He had committed a crime, if in name only. He had set himself against Aoko’s father. And he had embraced the mantle of the person his best friend hated most.
If anything, it was really only that last that made him hesitate. Aoko had been his best friend for most of his life. She was the one who had seen him through his father’s death. She had been there for everything…and she was important to him. And she hated Kaitou Kid. For him to become Kid was a betrayal.
But…being up on that rooftop, dancing out of the reach of the police and spreading his white wings for the first time to escape the bounds of gravity…he had never felt so alive. He had gone into the situation blind…and something inside him had awakened on that rooftop. He felt at home inside behind the monocle-like it was what he had been born for. He existed to do this.
So he made his decision: he would become Kaitou Kid.
Deep down, he knew that sooner or later, Aoko would find out. That was how things tended to work out in situations like this, wasn’t it? It was inevitable that at some point she would discover that her best friend and the person she hated most were one and the same. But…he had to do this. It was in his very blood.
He would become Kid. It was a risk he would take, and a regret he would live with, if and when it came to that.
That was the end of his innocence, and the beginning of a grand adventure.
-o-
He remembers the day he found out who took his father away forever.
Standing atop a sky scraper with that evening’s prize in his hand, he was met by a gun-wielding maniac clad in black. A man who seemed to have no qualms about shooting to kill with him as a target. A man who wanted to remove Kaitou Kid from the picture permanently.
A man who called him by his father’s name.
He was knocked from the rooftop by a bullet after that confrontation…but the prize he lost was not the true one, but an imitation. He followed the assailant, and learned some very interesting information.
There was a allegedly gem somewhere in the world called Pandora. And supposedly, this gem had the power to give its holder immortality. They wanted that power…and had already proven that they would kill to get it.
He had no real belief that a stone with such a power could really exist. It sounded to his ears like a bedtime story for children. Still, he did believe in magic, if only on principle…and so he alerted them to his presence after he had gleaned as much as information as possible, and he told them of his intent. He would find Pandora first, and he would destroy it. They would never get their hands on it or its reputed powers.
That…was not the end. If anything, it was the end of the beginning, and the beginning of something entirely new.
No longer would he, as Kaitou Kid, wander aimlessly, teasing the police and having his fun. Now he had a mission, a specific goal. He would find the gem known as Pandora. And he would make sure they would never get their hands on it. And if at all possible, he would see to it that they were brought to justice for their crimes.
He dreamed that they would be punished for the murder of his father, but on a more practical level he knew that was nigh impossible. If Kaitou Kid specifically accused those men of the murder of Kuroba Toichi…it could open up a can of worms that he doubted could be good from any angle. And there were few, if any, avenues for Kaito to make such an accusation as himself-he doubted he could come up with any truly logical way for him to have stumbled across the necessary information.
So he sadly conceded that justice might have to be delivered indirectly. They had many, many other crimes to their names, he knew. If he could bring them down for those crimes instead, then he could pretend. Or he could comfort himself (to a certain extent) knowing that they knew what they had done. It really was the best he could do without risking blow his cover.
Unless circumstances changed, he would never be able to actually see them condemned for his father’s murder. A small part of him hoped that somehow, it would become possible. But contrary to all appearances and most popular beliefs, logic and reasoning were close friends of his-and logic and reasoning told him that if circumstances did shift, he would lose control of his situation. And he could never allow that to happen.
Control was power.
Control was the thin line between freedom and incarceration.
Control was everything.
And he went on, confident in his control and his abilities, to bring down those who had taken someone precious from him…and to make certain that they never got their hands on something they seemed to feel was so important. In a roundabout way, he sometimes wondered if that made him any better than them-seeking to deprive like that.
But in the end, he reasoned…he had never killed anyone.
-o-
He remembers how he became Kaitou Kid.
It was the end of his normal life…and the beginning of his life as a ghost.
And he lived it with only a single real regret…
PS. This is written (with much love) for the amazing aishuu. She gave me the quote at the top for a prompt. And this makes thirty fics done for this challenge-almost a third done! Hope everyone liked it-thanks for reading, all! Much love!