A/N: Just a note: In this AU, Conan hasn't happened, and Shinichi remained a teenager. Also, this writing is unedited, so sorry if there are mistakes.

Icy wind slashes at Kaito's face, rain dancing on his head, but he doesn't notice. Goosebumps spread down his arms, but he's far more interested in the whimper of the man beside him - one of his new, fellow prisoners.

"Oh God," the other man sobs. It belongs to another prisoner, with the number 035823 on the prison overalls he's been supplied with, "I don't belong here. I don't, I really don't."

Water drips from Kaito's nose as he glances across to the blonde haired man. He's got short stubby legs, and a pudgy structure and Kaito decides that he's not going to last long, not before the man breaks down completely.

Kaito shivers against the cold, "Dude. Shut up."

"You don't get it, I'm innocent, I don't belong here!"

Kaito scowls as they are led out of the van they've been transported in. During the ride here, there have been seven potential opportunities to escape, except, without any of his usual tools, only one had been realistically possible. And even then, with the guards that had been stationed on each side of him on the bus, trying would have been pushing his luck.

Lady luck hasn't really been on his side recently.

Mud squelches beneath Kaito's shoes as he shuffles forwards. His movement is staggered by the shackles around his wrists and ankles. It's useless to claim innocence at this point, he thinks. Kicking at the ground, he glances at the prison that's going to be his new home for the unforeseeable future.

Mud splatters against one of his guard's trouser legs, and Kaito has to suppress a laugh as the crying man behind him balks, wide eyed and terrified.

"Sure." Kaito rolls his eyes, "and I'm the Emperor Akihito."

As they continue further into the prison, Kaito surveys the security of the outside. The gates are high - his guess is that they're at least three meters of reinforced steel - topped with barbed wire. Considering the guard stations nearby and the flickering of flashlights from inside, it's probably too high to climb.

The man beside him continues to sob, and Kaito snickers as the guy stumbles over a rock. It's not that he's intentionally being cruel, but Kaito can only take so much broken pride before it starts to get old, and he's already at his limit.

"You… you may be a c-criminal," the guy says, "but… b-but I'm not."

Kaito sends one the guards a look that practically begs for help in making the guy shut up. Without any help, however, he's left to assess the walls dwarfing the gate, estimating the width of the walkways used by patrolling guards.

He wonders what type of guns they use to shoot down anyone who tries to run.

He reckons it'll be a rifle, like the one's the guards who've brought them in are carrying. The sight of it makes him miss his own gun, although these don't hold cards.

"Dude," Kaito turns to him with his best poker face, and tries to keep the exasperation from his tone. "Just own up to it. Stop it with the wounded puppy look, you're like… at least thirty two. That's way beyond sympathy level - now it's just sad."

He can feel the anger ooze off the other man, rolling from every pore like sweat. It is sudden, and it weighs the other man down more than the handcuffs ever could.

"Who do you think you are, huh?" He growls. "You think you're better than me?"

Kaito gives the man a grin. "As a criminal, I think I might in fact, outshine you, sure. I mean, how many people can actually claim to be Kaitou KID?"

Before he'd set foot into the van, Kaito had decided that he was going to be secretive about his identity as a phantom theif. After all, doesn't it make sense for KID to remain a phantom?

After a few minutes in the van with guards chiding him for being caught in the first place however, Kaito had thrown that idea away. Why should he bother to keep his identity secret? It's been plastered over every news station, and he's lost the part of Kuroba Kaito that was so precious to him.

Watching Aoko's expression as they led him away had been heartbreaking.

Kaito's decided he just wants to be KID from now on. No Kuroba-kun, just KID - if that's who they're locking up, then that's who he's going to be.

"Sure," the man says, and this time it is his voice that breeds sarcasm. "And I'm the Queen of England."

Kaito spares him another glance, "the queen has a lot more pride than you do."

Kaito isn't quite so sure why Lady luck is being so cruel towards him.

The blonde, sobbing man ends up as his cell mate. He's called Himura Ryu, and even after he's finally stopped sniffling, having been warned to shut up or deal with the consequences by their new warden, he's still annoying.

He's got the kind of voice that grates, prickling at his skin in a way that makes Kaito's skin crawl. Himura takes the bottom bunk without asking - which isn't that bad because Kaito likes being up in high places, but it would've been nice to be asked - and immediately starts snoring obnoxiously loud.

If only Kaito had some of his tricks - he'd have pranked Himura way worse than he ever did to Hakuba.

He'll just have to find other ways to mess with him.

He starts by getting Himura in trouble with the guards.

As KID, he's taught himself to mimic voices, and so whenever he can, he'll imitate Himura's voice, throwing him under the proverbial bus and spouting stupid comments that only increase his agitation.

Kaito knows it's not necessarily mature, but within a week he's already bored.

He misses being able to do something, and there's nothing here to do but read and listen the radio in the background. He doesn't have any paper or a pencil, so it's not like he can even write down the various inventions for heists he will never attend, so messing with people is the best thing he can do.

About two weeks into his sentence, Himura tells him to shut up. It's not the usual irritation, but curiosity, and his own boredom causes Kaito to sit back against his wall and listen out for whatever Himura has overheard.

"-Finally out of solitary-"

"-That's the third time this month, surely they should just keep him there-"

This, at least, is interesting. Kaito hasn't heard much about solitary that much, and information is always more interesting than bugging Himura, so it's the better option, really. Raising his voice, he calls out, asking who's just gotten out of solitary confinement, asking why they were in their in the first place?"

The voices cut off. Then Kaito hears the laughter of his fellow prisoners, all of them mocking his question, as if was a stupid thing to ask about in the first place. One of the guards bangs against the wall, ordering them to shut up because it's lights out, but when they all start laughing, there's very little that a single guard can do to get everyone to shut up.

"Oh, you'll meet him soon enough," one of the prisoners croons, "he's gonna love talking to Kaitou Kid."

Well… That's certainly… ominous.

Kaito doesn't know how to respond, so he doesn't. Instead, he lies back down against his bunk, staring up at the wall and the spider's web that remains in the corner. He hasn't seen the spider since the first time he's spotted it, which would be terrifying if he had arachnophobia rather than ichthyophobia, but instead is vaguely reassuring.

The spider's absence reminds him that things can escape from this prison.
Every time he looks up at the empty web, he imagines his cell door open, his cape fluttering behind him as he escapes to freedom.

The police have his KID suit now. He wonders how long they're going to keep it in custody for. He wonders if they'll keep it as a trophy, of sorts, to prove to people that Division 2 has finally come out on top against the man who's been toying with them for years.

Kaito wonders, briefly, whether Nakamori-kiebu is satisfied with his job, or whether he's as broken as Aoko looked when he was taken.

"Oh…" Himura says from the bottom bunk, "maybe it's not so nice to be well known in here."

Maybe not, Kaito thinks.

The only thing that's bearable about this place, is the fact that Kaito gets an hour outdoors each day. For the first few days, they reinforced his captivity, only letting him walk around in an 'exercise room', but now, they've relaxed slightly.

The hour time outdoors gives him time to get a good idea of the prison grounds. He estimates the amount of time he'd need to scale the wall without equipment, he analyses the rocks at various points of the prison yard to see which side has the softest rocks, which side would be easier to burrow out of.

His hour is never enough. Kaito thrives off of fresh air, and while he knows he's not free, he enjoys feeling the wind on his neck, the air alive and dancing, not stale and dead like it is inside his cell. He's not sure how he will deal with being unable to go outside during the winter months, when the rain is too much and the ice too cold to let them outside.

"What're you looking at huh?"

Roughly three weeks in to his imprisonment, after a new batch of prisoners have arrived, the first fight happens. One of the new prisoners, Yoshida something, (Kaito doesn't care enough to ask), likes to mouth off, and seems to have personal vendetta against Kaitou 1412.

Kaito isn't sure what his problem is, but then again, he's not particularly bothered enough to find out.

"Rocks," he responds, "geological structures."

It's enough to avoid being called rude, although his voice is curt enough to warn Yoshida away, to emphasise that he does not want to talk.

"I bet it's a boring substitute compared to the jewels that you always used to steal away."

Everything is a boring compared to his heists.

Kaito shrugs, dropping the pebble he's been brushing mud off of back onto the ground. It's small, a dull black - tiny traces of onyx are inside, he thinks, but now isn't the time to focus on the specifics.

Kaito hums his agreement, turning to face Yoshida. He's tall, more brute than human - more muscle than fat. Kaito, who's always had more of a lean, athletic build, is not sure how to respond.

He hides behind his poker face, and raises an eyebrow.

"It's funny though," Yoshida continues. His nostrils flare, and Kaito thinks that he is not unlike a rhino preparing to charge, "how you thought you were entitled to what you don't own."

Ah, Kaito thinks, he does seem like he's from a rich family.

It doesn't take him long to assume that the other criminal has been victim to one of Kaito's own heists. He's searching his mind for any heists involving the Yoshida family, or something related to him, when the other man throws the first punch.

Years of acrobatics and dodging traps set for KID are the only reason Kaito manages to move in time. He avoids the punch, dancing on his toes as he jumps backwards. It's not the same without his cape and monocle, but for a moment he almost feels like he's on a heist again.

"You stole my family's diamond," Yoshida growls, throws a second punch. Kaito jumps backwards, foot tripping backwards against a loose rock. He trips, curses his non-existent luck, and lands against the ground with a thump. "And then you made us all look bad."

Kaito balls his hands into fists, wonders if he should fight back, before telling himself no. He's never been the fighting type, has always been an escape artist at heart. Fighting is too hands on, and he's always enjoyed having the upper hand.

If he tries to fight back… well, Kaito knows he's not going to win.

Still, he's never been good at helping himself, "it's not my fault if your security was bad."

Yoshida reaches for his collar, lifts him up. Kaito, kicking out, lifts his hands up to his face to shield his eyes. The third punch clips his ear as Kaito squirms.

The fourth hits him in the jaw, rattling his teeth, making him bite down into his tongue.

The pain isn't too bad, considering he's been shot before, but it certainly isn't a welcome feeling.

"Oi, cut it out."

The voice is one that Kaito has heard before, although he's not exactly sure where. A fifth punch hits him in the shoulder as he tries to jerk backwards, forcing Kaito to let out a hiss.

"I said, cut it out."

Yoshida stills, drops Kaito down to the ground before turning slightly to look over at their new visitor. Wiping blood away, Kaito shuffles backwards, wincing.

"What do you get out of telling me what to do?" Yoshida growls, getting back up to his feet. "Kicking me too… who do you think you are?"

Kaito isn't sure what happens afterwards, the pain muffles most of the sound, although he can hear several other prisoners shouting warnings to watch out before someone ends up in the infirmary again.

Shit, Kaito thinks, someone's going to be beaten to a pulp because of him, simply because they'd wanted to help.

More shouting, and then with widened eyes Kaito watches as Yoshida drops to the ground, hands covering his face. He jerks slightly, letting out a sound like that of a wild animal, leaving Kaito to look up at his saviour. The saviour who's wiping his hands against his overalls, taking a few steps up to him.

Kaito has seen this guy before.

In newspapers, across various different news channels - he's the same age as Kaito, but there is an innate difference between them that makes the other seem more adult, more dangerous. He's not sure whether to thank the guy, or try to rush away.

"You okay?" Kudo Shinichi asks, coming to a stop in front of him.

Kaito remembers the scandal, the headlines, the case that heralded every news station in japan for the weeks leading up Kudo's trial.

Teen detective lacks cases, so creates own.

The papers had told him everything he'd needed to know. Six people had been killed - the only link had been that victims had been residents in Tokyo, Kudo's 'signature' left behind at every scene, or so the newspapers had declared.

Kaito's classmate, Hakuba Saguru, had mentioned that each victim had been a criminal. There had been no links with age, appearance or gender - the only lead the police had been able to pursue was that each victim had been brought into the police station to be interviewed for various different crimes.

It had lead to an internal investigation of the police, until the evidence had lead investigators to Kudo, the sixteen-year-old who'd been working the case with them.

His trial had been met with protest, so much controversy. People wouldn't believe he'd murdered people so violently. But the evidence had held in court, and eventually the public who'd been following the case from day one, had been forced to admit they'd been manipulated by the young detective.

Kaito doesn't exactly know how to respond.

"Oi, Oi," Kudo's voice makes him snap out of the daze he's fallen into, "get back to earth."

Kaito looks up, winces at the pain in his jaw. He's tries to ignore the dread filling in his stomach - how else is he supposed to respond to a murderer? - and forces himself to nod.

He says, "I'm okay."

Kudo kneels in front of him, hand grabbing Kaito's chin in a way that's not quite violent, but not exactly soft either. He pushes Kaito's chin up, squints, before pushing back.

"You're going to bruise," Kudo says, offering his hand, "but at least you're in one piece."

Hesitating, he takes Kudo's hand, pulling himself up.

"I guess…"

"Well," Kudo takes a step, apparently he can read the tension in Kaito's posture, and he seems to cut whatever conversation they could have possibly started short, "I won't save you next time, so don't get into trouble."

It is not until later, when he's leaning back in his cell, that Himura pipes up.

He says, "don't fool yourself into thinking that Kudo guy will have your back around here. The other inmates say that he's gone completely insane."

Kaito leans back against his bunk, and he thinks on it.

"Don't worry, I know. I'll stay away."

In the end, he doesn't really have a choice in the matter.

Himura loses his temper one evening after Kaito mimics his voice again, and the thief keeps pushing and pushing until eventually the guards have to open the cell doors to shut them both up. At least this time Kaito keeps his balance, because he's not sure how far Himura will go now that his anger has snapped.

It's all down to plan though, Kaito thinks, as he's pulled outside of the room. In their haste to open the cell door, the security hasn't been properly adjusted for inmates to be outside their rooms. So as soon as he's outside, Kaito stomps on the foot of the guard holding him, pivoting to face him as he lets out a cry.

He strikes the guard's solar plexus, and then, before anyone can react, he races down to the end of the corridor.

Kaito's cell is on the second floor, but looking over the edge of the railings, he's pretty sure that he can get down without using the staircase. He climbs over the railing, dropping down, hanging from the edge before dropping himself onto the floor below.

The second he hits the ground, he drops into a roll. Then, he's on his feet, racing towards the door that's been left slightly ajar. Shabby policing, Kaito thinks, as he snickers to himself.

He reaches the door seconds before the guards that are chasing after him do.

But he never exits it.

Instead, he hears the loud hiss of something behind him.

"Oh shit," Kaito mutters as he realises what it is.

The feeling of barbs embedding in his clothing stings, scraping the skin of his back. Electric pulses his synapses, his skin, his body, jerking his muscles as he realises that oh God, he's being electrocuted.

It hurts.

He's being tased, and it hurts.

His muscles are still jerking from the aftermath of the shock when the guards grab him under his arms, pulling him up. One is swearing, and he thumps Kaito over the back of the head, growling about how he's going to get him back for winding him seconds before.

Kaito wants to say that he's already gotten him back, seeing as they fucking tased him, but the most that comes out of his mouth is moan.

Heists used to be so much more fun than this.

"I have an idea…" Another guard says, voice overtly cheerful. "Let's throw him into cell 409."

Kaito has no idea what cell 409 means, but he's certain he's not going to like it very much. Not with how the guards keep sniggering behind him.

They carry him up three staircases - ah… fourth floor, now he gets it - and drags him to the cell at the end of the block.

"Oi, I got you a new roommate, you'll play nice now, won't you?"

They throw Kaito inside, leaving him to slump against the wall as they lock the cell behind him. His sight is bleary, and Kaito is pretty sure he's bleeding where they've ripped the barbs from his skin. Rubbing at his eyes, he slowly slides down to the ground, letting out another groan.

When he finally rubs the pain from his eyes, awareness returning, he looks up meeting the widened, vivid gaze of his new roommate.

"I've got to admit, I wasn't quite expecting this," says Kudo Shinichi.