"Hi, I'm Kaito. Nice to meet you."

Their friendship had begun with those words.

Together, they passed through elementary and middle school, and into high school.

No secrets were kept between them. They trusted each other fully.

But,

"Oi, inspector! Catch me if you can!"

Kaito didn't trust Aoko enough to tell her.

So, she went a year ignorant.

And then,

Inspector Nakamori let out a snarl. Annoyed and frustrated by the white clad thief, he ordered chase and ran to the roof. An unexpected voice rang out in the night.

"Hand it over!"

The thief stepped out, casually examining the gem in the moonlight. He replied,

"No."

Another man stepped out of the dark shadows, gun aimed at the thief's head.

"Is it Pandora?"

"What if it is?"

"You die."

"And if it isn't?"

"You die."

"Not much of a choice, then, right?"

"Stop wasting my time. Just hand it over!"

"Eh, no."

The thief took out that damn card gun. Aiming it, he fired. The shattering of the gem echoed in the night.

"I don't know how you survived, but I swear that I'll kill you to-night!"

The man cocked his gun and pointed it at the thief. The man pulled the trigger, screaming,

"Die, Toichi Kuroba!"

The white suit, usually kept amazingly clean, developed a dark red spot near the thief's heart. He fell, clutching at his chest. The other man pocketed his own gun, laughing, and walking away, he said,

"I'll just leave it to the cops to find your body. Knowing them, though, you'll have been dead a long time."

The thief's response was a sputter of blood as the door to the roof clicked closed. Coughing, he turned to where the inspector stood hiding and said,

"You can come out now. I don't think he saw you."

Triggered into action, Nakamori rushed to the side of the fallen thief, grief showing on his face.

"Toichi...Toichi, why didn't you tell me? For eight years, we all thought you were dead!"

Surprise showed on the thief's face.

"Toichi? No, I'm not him. He's dead... has been dead for a while."

The inspector was deeply puzzled about this. Hadn't that man just called the thief Toichi?

"But... okay, now I want to know exactly what the hell is going on here!"

The thief didn't answer, but instead changed the topic.

"I'm no doctor, but I say I've got about... five to ten minutes, max. Now listen here, Inspector... I don't want to die. Kaito Kid doesn't die. Well, apparently he does because as you can see, I'm slowly bleeding to death. But my job is done, Inspector, and I want to live. I know I can't live, but I still want to. And I want my friends to live. That is why I'm asking of you this one favor – don't, please, just don't, leak my identity to the public. That man just now... he's part of a giant organization. They're looking for Pandora – that gem I shattered. It grants – no, granted – immortality, and they were willing to kill for it. That's why my – no, that's why I'm dying. Don't get yourself caught up with them, Inspector. They kill whoever they touch, and whoever gets in their way. So don't investigate them... just, please don't, Inspector..."

The thief's body went limp, and Nakamori knew it was too late for him. He knew something was off about this whole thing, and the thief's words didn't help. A giant organization being overlooked by the entire country of Japan? Highly unlikely, but still possible. Could the thief's words be trusted?

Nakamori couldn't contain his curiosity any longer, and as much as it disturbed him to do so, he reached out to remove the monocle covering the dead man's face, the only thing that protected his identity (the top hat had fallen off when he tumbled forward). Slowly, gently removing it, he lowered his gaze. Glancing up to see the thief's face, the blood drained from his face. How was he going to tell Aoko?

There, lying on the roof just inches away from the Inspector, was the cold body of Kaito Kuroba. In other words, Aoko Nakamori's best friend. It didn't shock the Inspector as much as it really should have. The dots in his brain were connecting, and then he finally realized it. Looking down at Kaito, he whispered,

"Why did you have to play the hero in this game?"

It all made sense. Kuroba Toichi's death eight years before coinciding with the mysterious disappearance of Kaito Kid, the sudden reappearance of Kaito Kid one year before... all pointed to the fact that there were, in fact, two Kaito Kids, father and son. Toichi and Kaito Kuroba were both Kaito Kid, and were both dead.

Suddenly, the Inspector looked up. How was he going to tell Kaito's mother? How does one go about the death of one's son? Avoiding any attempt to answer that, he scooped up the thief's hat and spoke into his radio,

"Troops...dismissed. Call an ambulance, or... just get an ambulance."

No secrets were kept between them. They trusted each other fully.

Aoko stood up from her reminiscing. Her eyes traveled to a picture on her desk.

"Jerkaito..."

The faint whisper was barely audible.

But,

A response was heard around the room,

"Hi, I'm Kaito. Nice to meet you."