NOTE* This one-shot is dedicated to my friend and co-worker, Mad-Hannah! Thanks girl for all the advice and fun times we have shared!

Now I know that there is still another week before Halloween, but I just couldn't put off posting this any longer!

I am uploading this as a solo story, a special chapter in Bloody Rose, and also a special chapter in Tales of a Kaitou.

Enjoy!

~The Greatest Spell~

Kaito ran as fast as his legs would carry him, his breath coming out in short heavy pants. Behind him, as much as he would like to deny it, was a wave of girls running after him, screaming out his name. HIS NAME, not KID's!

"KAITO!" they screamed, "KAITO!"

The teenager dashed into the nearest unlocked door he could find, slamming it shut behind him. Fits pounded on the door, attempting to burst through the heavy oak.

"G-Go away!" he shouted, desperate for some solitude.

How had things even gotten this crazy?! One minute he had been helping to decorate the Koizumi mansion for their annual class Halloween party and the next, he was running for his life!

The entire way here he had run, attempting to escape their determined, zombafied urges to capture him. It was like they had been brainwashed into knowing he was Kid and now all of his fans were desperately clawing for him, their eyes blank with no emotion except the endless screeching of their desperate call.

"KID!"

A different voice cut into his nightmare as he turned and gazed desperately at Conan Edogawa who stood panting, his hands on his knees as he stared at the petrified thief holding back the horde of girls.

"T-Tantei-kun", he whispered, tears falling from his eyes at the sight of someone who definitely was not a girl.

Never before had the magician feared the opposite sex more than he did at this very moment.

Shinichi let out a breath of relief as he neared the phantom, his eyes searching the other for signs of injury or brainwashing; extremely relieved when he didn't see either of them.

"W-Why are you…like that", Kaito whispered, running his eyes up and down the small body standing before him. "Did the effects of the cure… did they wear off?!"

"No", replied Shinichi with a grimace, "I don't really understand the... concept exactly, but... I think your "magic" friend did this."

"Akako?" Kaito asked, his eyes narrowing in anger at the thought, "I swear when I get a hold of her, I…"

A hand burst through the door, nearly taking Kid's head off with a massive claw. Letting out a high-pitched shriek of terror (that Kaito would later deny), he swept the miniature detective into his arms and flew down the hall. Conan, who was holding on for dear life, felt his eyes grow wider as he watched several girls break through the door and chase after them; some crawling on all fours while others ran.

"Kid…Go faster!" Conan urged, grimacing at the drool dropping from the girls mouths; their blank white eyes staring after them. The sight made Shinichi shiver-though whether in fear or disgust- he wasn't certain.

"D-Do...Do you even know... where we can go?" Kaito asked, his breath once again in heavy pants as the thief ran as hard as he could without slowing, even for the turns.

"No", stated Shinichi wide-eyed, "I was kind of hoping you did."

Kaito grumbled as he continued to run, praying they didn't meet a dead end. Suddenly a hand shot out of a nearby picture on the wall, snatching him by the back of the collar just as he started to turn the corner. Without being able to balance himself, Kaito and Kudo both fell through the picture and landed hard on their backsides.

"Ow, ow, ow", groaned Kaito sitting up as he slowly released his death hold on Conan.

"You might say thank you", a familiar voice replied, with a hint of amusement.

Kaito snapped his eyes open before narrowing them.

"A-K-A-K-O", he growled out.

The witch in questioned turned to look at him with an innocent, yet all too knowing smile on her face.

"Yes, Kuroba-kun?"

Normally Kaito would describe himself as a pacifist in nature, but right now after having ran for nearly an hour from a group of brainwashed school girls screaming out his name, he was feeling completely done with the entire night. That being said, Kaito closed his eyes and counted to ten, calming himself completely in case he got the urge to do anything rash. After all, while he may be angry, he wasn't stupid. He didn't forget the fact that this was Akako standing in front of him and not just an ordinary school girl. He really didn't feel like dying at the age of seventeen.

"What did you do", he demanded instead.

Shinichi sat up, also curious. He hated being Conan again, but for some reason, he felt like he wasn't really Conan. It was an odd feeling that he honestly couldn't explain in words had someone asked him.

The witch was silent a moment and Kaito was a bit surprised to see she was debating telling him the truth. So wait, did that mean she hadn't done it? Or did that just mean she was scared to tell him she had?

As if reading his mind, Akako answered. "It wasn't me"

"Then who the heck…"

"Oooh Akakooo, my darling~!" an echoed voice called out from somewhere, "Do come out and play!"

Kaito blinked before turning to look at Akako whose eye twitched dangerously.

"My mother", she growled in a way that left no room for Kaito to comment, "she likes to…have fun when she visits me. Seeing you guys here for a Halloween party; well… she may have gone a little…overboard."

"Overboard?!" Kaito shouted, before realizing that may not be a good idea. Lowering his voice, his eyes shot fire as he seethed. "What part of brainwashed, zombie girls chasing after Kaito Kuroba is only overboard?! That is…that…it's a nightmare!"

"Exactly", Akako nodded calmly in agreement, "That was her plan."

Kaito blinked; his expression blank.

"Huh?"

Conan closed his eyes and face palmed, utterly amazed. "She wanted to create everyone's worst nightmares?"

Akako exhaled, nodding. From the way the teenage witch acted, she seemed as putout about the whole thing as they did.

"She thought it would make our class Halloween party all the more... exciting."

Kaito couldn't help what he did next. He laughed. Really, really hard. Like rolling on the ground, laughing until you can't even utter a sound, type of laughter.

Shinichi stared at the thief in sympathy as he glanced down at his own body.

'So this is my worst nightmare?' He thought to himself, honestly a bit surprised.

"Wait, if she made everyone have their worst nightmares come to life, doesn't that mean yours did too?"

Akako refused to look at Conan, but she dipped her head in acknowledgement. Kaito stopped laughing, his curiosity getting the better of him.

"What is yours?"

Akako stared at Kaito intensely for a moment, before her cheeks blushed a deep scarlet red.

Shinichi and Kaito exchanged a somewhat disturbed glance with one another.

"Akako?" Kaito nervously asked, not entirely sure he wanted to know.

The witch glanced at him; her cheeks colored an ever deeper red when she met his eyes.

"…Mine may have been…that all the girls would love you and desire you… more than I do."

Both boys blinked before realization dawned in their eyes.

"You have got to be kidding me!" Kaito gaped, as he dropped into a nearby chair, utterly flabbergasted. "That-That horde of zombie girls is because of you?!"

Akako, still blushing, could only nod.

Kaito just shook his head, dumbfounded for a moment before a realization set in. "Wait, doesn't that mean my nightmare hasn't even occurred yet?!"

Akako cleared her throat, her expression turning serious again.

"Correct. I also have yet to find Hakuba-kun or Aoko-chan within the mansion."

"So they might also be running for their lives", Kaito muttered, somewhat amused by the idea in Hakuba's case, though not at all in Aoko's.

"Is there a way around the horde outside?" Conan questioned, peering through the one way picture frame they had been pulled through.

"They will continue to search for you until they have you, but in the meantime, yes, I can lead you in a different direction. However I think a disguise may be necessary, should we run into that horde again."

Kaito stared at her a moment before conceding agreement. With the snap of his fingers and a small explosion of smoke, Akako and Shinichi both stared at the person who now stood before them.

A girl with flowing black hair and brilliant indigo eyes stood before them. She was dressed in a short, wavy, black skirt reaching just above her knees and a red long sleeved blouse, shaped around his or her rather obvious bust. A pair of long black leather boots were worn just beneath his knees and her face, expertly done with makeup, grinned back at them with false cheer.

"I am Kai-chan~," she sang with a wink in a high pitched, teenage girl voice; a large flirty smile on her face. "Take care of me, 'kay~?"

Shinichi continued to stare at him/her while Akako smirked and stepped forward, grasping the "girls" chin in her hand. She peered deep into those violet colored eyes for several seconds before letting go, highly amused.

"You're beautiful this way as well Kuroba-kun, but I prefer your original form best."

Kaito glowered at her, rubbing his chin clean from where she had grabbed him.

"So do I", he agreed with a frown, before allowing his perfected smile to mask his emotions, "Now, care to lead the way, Akako-chan~?"

The witch nodded with a devilish grin and moved towards the hallway door, opposite the picture she had pulled them through. Conan however had yet to move or respond as Kaito walked over to him. The thief was a bit worried by the older boys sudden stillness and blank expression.

"Shinichi?" he gently whispered in his regular voice, trying not to spook the other. That plan failed miserably; for as soon as Kaito tapped the detective on the shoulder, Conan jumped back, nearly knocking over a nearby lamp. The thief barely caught it in time and set it back in its place before turning to look at his friend with concern.

"Err…sorry…just…" the shrunken detective shook his head and moved towards the door in a hurry after having dodged Kaitos touch.

Kaito stared after him in confusion before glimpsing the cherry colored face that the teen turned child was attempting to hide. Understanding dawned and Kaito couldn't help but grin after his friend.

"Aw, how cute~!" he snickered as he raced to catch up with the boy, sweeping him into his arms in a tight hug. "Tantei-kun thinks I am attractive!"

Conan blushed a deep red before turning to glare at the magician. However in that get up, he just couldn't muster the glare for long before turning back around, struggling out of the magicians arms.

Akako glanced back in amusement as Kaito skipped behind the shrunken teen, teasing the boy mercilessly and relishing the moment immensely.

As the three made their way out of the room and down the hall, the sound of footsteps running their way had all three of them freezing. Akako was just beginning the start of a spell when she froze mid word and smiled. Whatever she sensed caused the other two to become nervous as her smile took on a rather sadistic quality.

"Seems we have found our lost sheep", she smirked, "or should I say…"

Kaito stepped back, his eyes widening as the footsteps halted a few from them.

"…Lost fish", Akako finished, smirking at her crushes horrified expression.

Standing there in front of them was Hakuba who was glaring at Akako with a rarely seen aggressiveness while holding a small glass pitcher of water that housed a rust colored fish swimming circles at the bottom. A fish that remarkably was also glaring at Akako with familiar eyes.

"I-I-Is …t-t-t-that…" he whimpered, pointing at, but not getting any closer to the pitcher Hakuba held in his hands.

The eyes of the fish snapped to his own causing Kaito to pale several shades.

Hakuba stared for a moment, blinking in confusion as he looked the girl in front of him up and down, before understanding crossed his expression. Once he realized it was definitely Kaito he was speaking too, his confusion changed quickly to one of pity, as Hakuba nodded and stared down at the fish in his hands.

"Yeah", he muttered, feeling obligated to state the obvious even if it had already been realized. "Its Aoko."

Kaito stared wide eyed and open mouthed at the fish who stared right back, looking for all ostensive purposes, extremely embarrassed about being turned into a fish. Or at least it looked that way to Conan who had also found himself staring at the fish in growing horror.

"So this is your nightmare huh, Kuroba-kun?" Akako asked, laughing.

Kaito glared at her with such extreme ire, that her laughter vanished within seconds and her head lowered a bit guiltily. Hakuba and Conan both stared in surprise, having never seen Kaito so angry before.

"This. Is. Not. Funny," he growled.

His attention once again turned to Aoko who was watching him. Sensing her emotions of sadness, embarrassment, and frustration, he couldn't help but smile for her.

"Don't worry, we will change you back," he told her, forcibly smiling as he snapped his fingers and offered her a deep scarlet colored rose.

Aoko blushed (Kaito could tell), her fins moving in a way to show agreement. A genuine smile arose on his face at the cute reaction, even if she was a fish.

"I suppose I will hold onto this until later when you can take it from me with your own two hands," he replied, snapping again as the rose vanished into thin air, "at that time, I shall offer it to you again."

The fish swam happily in her bowl as Kaito stood back up. He himself felt much calmer now that Aoko had also calmed down. Her emotions earlier had been enough to cause him to lose control of his poker face and while he would never acknowledge it, the feeling that comes with losing control scared him more than he was willing to admit, even to himself.

"So uh…this may not be the time, but… why are you dressed like a girl?" Hakuba asked before his attention swept to Shinichi who startled him even more in appearance. "And… Kudo-kun?"

"Yeah", replied Kudo with a sigh, not at all happy but somewhat relieved that this was the extent of his worst nightmare.

Kaito quickly explained the situation to Hakuba who narrowed his gaze in annoyance as he listened.

"And where is your mother now?" he asked, turning that fierce gaze onto Akako.

"Wandering around the mansion, probably looking for me, and basically doing whatever she wants I would wager."

Hakuba began massaging his forehead as he felt a headache coming on.

"So let me get this straight? We need to find her and turn all of this back to normal before Kaito gets killed by an angry mob of girls, Conan gets stepped on (Hey! Shinichi yelled), and Aoko gets eaten? Sounds easy enough; what are we waiting for?"

Happy ~*~ Halloween

"Never, ever, ever, say those words ever again!" Kaito yelled as they ran, dodging monsters left and right that seemed to pop out of the woodwork. Different student's nightmares had come to life, making it near impossible for the group to get anywhere, let alone find someone in all of the mayhem.

"Kudo!" another strangely familiar voice shouted up ahead.

Conan snapped his head from his position on Kaito's shoulders, staring in shock to see Hattori standing there.

"Heiji? Wha…what are you doing here?!"

Kaito suddenly burst into giggles, struggling to maintain his hold on Conan as the others stared at him in confusion.

"T-That has to be…" the magician doubled over, tears springing to his eyes before realization dawned on Akako and Kudo who both turned to stare at Hakuba with bemused expressions.

"What?" the blonde questioned as unknowingly as possible.

"HE is your worst nightmare?!" Conan scoffed, a little bit upset on his best friend's behalf.

Saguru stared at Hattori, a grimace crossing his expression though he stayed silent which was proof enough.

"Tha…tha…that is too funny!" Kaito sputtered as he laughed, turning his head to look away from Hattori who had begun running with them; unable to look at him for fear of rolling on the floor.

"Uh, anyone know what is going on?" Heiji questioned, a bit concerned about the strange girls sudden fit of hilarity.

Akako smirked as Conan just shook his head, his own expression beginning to fade from disbelief to amusement. Hakuba just ignored them all as he clutched the sloshing water vase, attempting not to bounce Aoko around more than was necessary.

"You don't want to know", Conan replied, but filled his friend in anyways.

"Wow", was all the osakan said as he ran, his expression one of utter disbelief, "I wondered how I suddenly went from walking out my front door to here in this hallway but...that just...wow."

"Is it really that unbelievable?" Kaito asked, having gotten himself under control enough to notice the rather mixed emotions the Osakan had regarding their current situation.

Heiji jerked back in surprise at having a girls face near his own so suddenly, however when he noticed her indigo eyes, things clicked into place. With a deep chuckle, he shook his head.

"You really are the master of disguise", Hattori commented in wonder. "I would never have been able to guess it was you had the others not explained and had I not seen your eyes."

Kaito beamed at the compliment, secretly enjoying the breeze beneath his skirt; though he would deny it immediately if anyone called him on it.

"Too beautiful for you to keep your eyes off of, Hattori?" Kaito smirked when he noticed the detective still staring at him.

Heiji blushed but cleared his throat. "Kazuha is much prettier."

The magician huffed, enjoying the rise he got out of each of his friends due to his unfortunately required veneer.

"I would certainly hope so", Kaito agreed, before turning his expression to Aoko who was watching him with some unease from within her water bowl.

He smiled gently, still a bit uncomfortable considering her form, but the fact that it was her… he didn't mind just this once if he was particularly close to a f-finny thing.

"I'm alright", he told her, "Hang on okay?"

She nodded, her fins flapping in the water to show her acknowledgement. Kaito smiled, ignoring how the others were watching him. He didn't care that he had let his mask slip; Aoko was all that mattered.

"MOM!" Akako screamed all at once, causing the others to grind to a halt behind her.

Kaito snapped his eyes up in time to see Akako's mother, a woman of great beauty, turn to face them just as something grabbed his leg, yanking him to the ground. Startled, Kaito whipped his head around to find a ghostly Skelton arm dragging him through the floor. It took all of his self-control not to start screaming right then and there.

"Kaito!" the others around him shouted, running to his side.

Conan quickly struggled out of the thief's panicked embrace as he quickly turned and began attempting to drag Kaito back out of the floor. Hattori joined in while Hakuba held Aoko close to his chest and began kicking at the skeleton arm, attempting to free Kaito without he himself getting grabbed in the process as several more arms shot up around their feet.

Akako in the meantime walked up to her mother calmly, ignoring the chaos going on behind her.

"Mother", she stated sternly, her eyes narrowing.

Her mother smiled as two of Akako's male classmates fanned her like the good slaves she had made them to be.

"Darling", she pouted, sensing her daughters intentions in coming. "You don't like my gift to you?"

Akako crossed her arms with a glare before pointing at Kaito who was still struggling with the ghostly skeleton arm as a horde of girls ran ever closer, followed by a swarm of monsters behind them.

"I like him and you made all of those…those…those barbarian girls chase after what is mine!"

Akako's mother glanced past her daughter at the girl struggling on the floor to free her foot. The woman's smile twitched in amusement when she noticed it truly was a boy dressed as a girl. Highly entertained, she stood up from the chair she had seated herself in and made her way towards the boy. Those helping him paused in her presence as she knelt beside them and gently touched the side of Kaito's face.

"What are you…" Kaito started, but went silent when the woman peered deeply into his eyes. Curious about what she was attempting to do, he stared at her for a moment before sighing. Didn't something like this happen with Akako when he had first met her too?

"Mrs. Koizumi", he replied with his most charming smile, "I would greatly appreciate it if you would release your spell."

When the woman didn't move and just continued to stare at him, he cleared his throat and continued.

"I would really like to keep my foot intact."

The woman blinked for a moment before frowning; releasing his face. She turned to her daughter with an speculative eye.

"You never told me your boy-toy was a magician", she stated somewhat nervously.

Akako merely eyed her mother before glancing at Kaito who stared at her in confusion. He was obviously unsure about what had just taken place, though she doubted he really cared by the way he was once again struggling to free himself.

"Very well then," her mother stated with obvious impatience when he daughter did not reply, "I suppose I have had my fun."

With the mumble of a few little words, the dimension shifted and Kaito, Hakuba, Aoko, Shinichi, and Hattori all found themselves sitting in the living room of the mansion, their classmates chatting around them without ever having been the wiser.

With wide eyes, they each shared a look with one another before gazing around the room. Nothing seemed out of place and no one was particularly freaking out about monsters and witches. So...

"Did that really happen?" Hattori asked.

"Well you're here when I don't believe you were before, so it must have", Shinichi stated, though he didn't want to admit it, seeing as how it contradicted logic and reasoning.

"So where did that witch go anyways?" Hattori questioned, peering around.

Hakuba nodded, also a bit concerned about where Akako and her mother had vanished too. About to say as much, he turned to comment to Kaito about said concerns, but froze before smiling at the scene playing out beside him. Silently standing up, the blonde turned to his two other companions.

"Let's go get some punch", the blonde demanded before physically dragging Hattori and the now full size Kudo behind him.

Hattori struggled in vain as Shinichi conceded defeat. Looking back, he smiled when he noticed exactly why Hakuba had acted the way he had.

On the couch where they had appeared, Kaito cuddled Aoko to him. His arms wrapped tightly around her shiny, rust colored, winter coat as he buried his nose in her hair, inhaling the smell of what seemed to be pumpkin spice. He smiled when he remembered that he had gifted it to her the other day when they had gone shopping for costumes.

"You smell good", he whispered.

Aoko blushed a rosy red as Kaito smiled before a sharp stab of guilt overcame him.

"Aoko, about earlier when you had been turned into a f-f...", he sighed, giving up. "I'm sorry I couldn't hold you when you needed me too."

Aoko laughed, a gentle smile on her face.

"I understand Bakaito, you don't need to feel sorry," she said before burrowing her head into his chest, "Thanks for keeping your word to save me."

Kaito stared at her a moment in surprise before a tender, genuine smile crossed his face. Snapping his fingers, he gained her attention as he presented her with the scarlet red rose from before. Aoko slowly took it from his hand before turning her head to better see his face. Kaito's breath caught, as her expression was one of such deep affection that it sent butterflies spiraling through his stomach. Realizing she was waiting for him to respond, he slowly leaned forward, nuzzling her neck before whispering into her ear.

"I will always be there to save you, no matter what."

Aoko smiled, humming in pleasure as she snuggled further into his side. Kaito wrapped his arms around her, placing a rather tentative kiss on the top of her head before leaning back into the couch with his eyes closed. The couple soon drifted to sleep, perfectly at peace in the arms of one another.

From a few feet away, watching with cold amber eyes, Akako stared at the lovey-dovey scene, her chest tightening. A gentle hand suddenly combing through her hair had the teen witch turning to see her mother watching her with a thoughtful expression.

"Don't worry Akako, one day the magician shall be yours. After all, your beauty is surely a strong spell against any man."

With a maternal peck on the cheek, Akako watched her mother walk off, vanishing like a vapor into the darkness of the mansion, before teen turned and spied the scene once more.

"That's where your wrong mom", she whispered, her eyes closing as she moved to walk away, "there is no greater spell stronger, than true love."

AUTHORS NOTE:

So what are you guys dressing up as this Halloween?

What would be your worst nightmare?

Let me know your thoughts!

^('vv')^

Happy Halloween!

Dalantis on this Halloween:

I will be dressing up as a vampire for my friends party. She and I are writing a "mostly for fun" based story about the two of us being supernatural creatures. I myself being a vampire and she being a witch. Hence what will be dressing as.

My worst nightmare would definitely be bugs. I HATE BUGS! Especially the creepy-crawlers. YUCK! If I had been a part of this crazy story, my nightmare would probably have been the walls just coming alive with insects. (Shivering just thinking about it)

Anyways guys, thanks for reading and have a great Halloween night!

Eat lots of Candy!