A/N: Heyheyhey, everybody!~ Here's a story that just got my right-side brain working recently. This time, it's a Hakuba x Akako story. Yes, I know, I'm not much of the fan of this pairing either, but I thought they'd fit the parts well...

Plus, this is my way of 'apologizing' to Hakuba for making him a big jerk in my other story, LOL.

Enjoy the prologue!~ ^_^

Summary: In pursuit of the serial murderer, Spider, Hakuba finds himself trapped in his illusions, and what it showed him made the detective from London lose his wits. HakubaxAkako, romance, mystery, humor, maybe even fluff, rated T coz I'm paranoid.

Prologue

"SNAP OUT OF IT, HAKUBA SAGURU!" he heard someone shout, and before he even found out what's been going on, he felt cold water touch his exhausted features, getting even his best suit wet.

In an instant, the blonde detective's eyes swung open, his pupils dilating, his heart loudly beating inside his chest, his blood violently gushing through every vein in his body, as if awakened from a terrible dream. The first thing he saw when his brain started to process correctly again was a white-clad figure that is the Phantom Thief, with a water hose at hand, his silhouette outlined by the strong white lights behind him.

Upon the sight, every detail of what happened came back to him, and realized his feet are hanging a meter or two above the ground, and that the rest of his body is being held up by wires against his will.

There was sound of trump cards flying on either side of the detective, and Hakuba felt the wires loosen their hold on him, before he was sent falling face-up to the concrete with a loud thump. Once done, Kaitou Kid turned his attention to a higher platform of the building, his card gun threateningly pointed to a figure clad in all black, almost like a shadow, grinning on the both of them with malice.

It was the night of another Kaitou Kid heist, and Hakuba swore that if Günter von Goldberg—the world's greatest illusionist—is back in Japan, his alter ego—the greatest assassin in the world, Spider—would be appearing that night in an attempt to kill the magician. Sure enough, he was right. That is, until a miscalculation came to him: Spider was well-prepared to kill the Phantom Thief, he's more than willing to put the British detective inside his nightmares.

"END OF THE LINE, SPIDER!" Kid shouted, his thunderous voice void of any gentlemanly decorum. "I'm the one you want. Don't get other people involved in this!"

To this, the silhouette replied, as the three circular red orbs on his ebony mask glistened in the shadows, "Haha, and here I thought I would finally get rid of you once I send the detective to his death first."

Turning his attention to Hakuba, who's leaning on his elbows for support, Spider added, "If only I knew you would have such an interesting nightmare, I should have done this a long time ago."

With the little strength he has left, Hakuba stood up and glared at Spider as if what he said was taboo. He could have sworn the guy's smirk grew bigger before he continued, his misty voice flooding the scene, "Like they say, 'the higher the pedestal, the harder the fall.' You might be a genius, but once a genius falls, he breaks. You're not that special;you're only a fragile boy after all."

Both teens gritted their teeth at this insult, much to Spider's delight, and without warning, Kid sent a barrage of trump cards flying to the illusionist's direction. If not injure him, the thief thought he could at least get his mask off of his face. But just as Kid thought he has finally injured him, a flash of red light blinded both Kid and Hakuba, and the next thing they know, Spider has already disappeared, his voice echoing around them in a macabre fashion that will send chills down anyone's spine…

"We'll meet again, my dear Tantei-kun… But never forget, your nightmare is always by your side"

The thief and the detective stood petrified on the now empty precipice Spider was standing on just a while back. After they fully realized their common enemy is not making a reappearance, Kid automatically turned to the direction of the detective and casually walked over.

"Tantei-kun, are you okay?" the thief asked, more of curiosity than concern.

Hakuba felt his knees collapse. With one hand to his forehead he informed him in a feeble manner, "Y-yeah… somewhat…"

He didn't want to admit it, but Hakuba's mind right now is still being clouded by the nightmare Spider has shown him. The assassin's little 'present' to him physically and mentally drained him more than his years of pursuit of him. But what was that about?

"Up on the rooftop!" someone from the Kid Task Force said over the now grounded receiver strapped on Hakuba's belt. Footsteps from below continued their way up the building. Once the inspector managed to appear on the doorstep, he bellowed "I've got you now, Kid!" before he ran towards him, desperate of capturing said thief.

"Whoops, gotta run!" Kid uttered, and with a puff of smoke, he was nowhere to be seen.

It took only seconds before Ginzo turned his attention from the place where Kid once stood to the crouching form of the Superintendent General's son, drenched and utterly fatigued. "Oi, Hakuba, what happened?"

"Kid just saved me, I think," Hakuba murmured to no one in particular. His voice was so soft, Ginzo had to lean over to hear his every word.

"From what?" the inspector asked in curiosity.

For a moment, Hakuba hesitated. If he told the police about Spider, they might get themselves in a bigger problem. And so, with a shake of his head, and still in a dazed state, he spoke with the same soft voice, "N-nevermind."

Hakuba grabbed a fistful of his flaxen hair, his almond eyes focused on nothing in particular. But that vision… that girl… I'm pretty sure that was…

"Oh, I can't believe I fell for an illusion," he whispered. He's a man of reason. Just how stupid can he get to be caught up in as such ludicrous thing as an illusion?

"What was that?" the middle-aged man asked, leaning even closer to him.

"Ah, uh, nothing," he lied, but not without a stutter. Hakuba tried to stand up and let out a curse upon realizing how exhausted he's become. Ginzo instinctively helped the younger lad up and commented in the hope of making the teen at least a little better.

"Well, at least you got the Silver Siren back. Great work, Hakuba," and he gave him a tap on the back.

"Huh?"

Confused, Hakuba looked down to his chest and saw the jewel, a silvery-bluish moonstone as big as one's palm, hanging around his neck. Attached to it was a note that both Ginzo and Hakuba read:

As it turns out, I'll return this gem.
I look forward to our next rendezvous, Nakamori-keibu.
-Kaitou Kid (beside it is a caricature, with Kid doing a peace sign)

"Geez, I really can't understand that thief…" Ginzo remarked, but the blonde quickly cut him off.

"Wait, there's more," he told him, plucked the paper off the gem and turned the note over, only to realize it was meant for him:

P.S. Take it easy, Tantei-san.
I shall resume my endeavors two weeks from now to give you time to recuperate.

Before the inspector can even finish reading the rest of the note, Hakuba hastily crumpled the piece of paper and hid it out of sight.

"On second thought, it's not that important," he informs the elder. I don't want anyone getting the wrong impression.

Out of concern, the inspector inquired, "You think you can still get yourself home on your own?" with which Hakuba only managed a nod.

Giving up in their pursuit against the Phantom Thief who vanished out of thin air, everyone retreated, including Hakuba who is currently letting Inspector Nakamori assist him back down the building.

"I appreciate your concern, Kid, but that's not what I'm worried about…" he said quietly. At the back of his head, the same riddle that bothered him rung loud and clear…

Spider…

What's the purpose of showing me that?

'Welcome to your Nightmare, Hakuba Saguru...'

And just what is in this nightmare that got the British detective all worked up?

Find out in the latter chapters! (It gets interesting, I swear.)

A/N: Uhm, it doesn't quite sound like a Kaito x Hakuba fic, does it? *paranoid mode*

Anyways, I had this idea way back and only managed to write it now. I considered writing this would give me a different perspective to Magic Kaito's secondary characters... I also wonder what Hakuba's greatest fear is, and by pondering so much on it, this story concept was born, teehee!~

Just a little background info: Spider is an anime-only character who made his appearance in the Magic Kaito special episodes. Unlike in the manga where Hakuba aimed on capturing Kaitou Kid, the anime adaptation made Hakuba's priority is to capture the serial murderer, Spider, using Kaitou Kid as bait. If you guys need a little more background information on this, I suggest you watch episodes 7 (The Splendid Rivals) and 9 (The Witch, the Detective and the Phantom Thief) of the Magic Kaito specials, or visit detectiveconanwiki. *smiles*

Comments and reviews are loved!~ (although I doubt the HakubaxAkako pairing has as much fan as, say, KaitoxAoko or KaitoxHakuba or KaitoxShinichi or HakubaxAoko, LOL)

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Love Lots,

-neonquincy1217

:3