.

Epilogue

He was an old man, now, with an old man's shaky hands that couldn't preform the magic he had once done so effortlessly, but his children—not by blood, though that hardly mattered—and several of his grandchildren and great-grandchildren delighted in making the same magic that he'd used to awe the world.

He'd done as Shinichi had suggested, had brought smiles and wonder and laughter in magic, and security in everything from homes to museums, and when three siblings had been orphaned just after he'd turned twenty-four (ages nine, seven, and three) and he'd seen them, terrified of losing each other after having lost the only other family they'd had…

He'd already been well known and well-off. It hadn't been as difficult as he'd expected to bring them into his family, and he'd come to adore them as much as they eventually did him. It was funny, really, that now the oldest of his children was eighty-one.

He was tired, and the old loss still ached when he thought of it as such, and he'd never forgotten the one he'd cherished most, but he'd found happiness in his children and the smiles and joy of others. He'd done as Shinichi had wanted him to—not just survived but lived.

He'd kept his youthful escapades to himself, though. He'd been Kaitou Kid for a time, as his father had before him, and he hadn't spoken of it—not even to his children. Not that, and not of Tantei-kun, of Shinichi and Conan being one. He'd written it out, all on paper, and locked it away in a safe that wasn't nearly as secure as the Iron Tanuki but would do all the same.

He'd had his will witnessed and signed, and part of it would be for his grandchildren to have that little section of history given to them. He was old, after all, and tired.

It was a fine night. A full moon, bright and nearly overwhelming, and he felt a moment's wistfulness for adrenaline-fueled chases and open sky.

His eyes slipped closed, and the world fell silent.

Shinichi was there, waiting for him, just as he'd promised.

"What do you think, Kaito? Are you ready to fly again?"

He felt years melt away. With Shinichi, there was only one answer.

"Always."

xxxx