Time is Running (Kaishin)

"Kuroba-kun."

Hakuba was looming over Kaito, quietly shaking his shoulder. It was almost concerning at this point that the lad hadn't already smacked him square in the face when he stepped into his personal space, but all those heists of KID were a quite plausible explanation for his lack of alert.

"Kuroba-kun, wake up. School is over."

Hakuba sighed and crouched down next to Kaito before shaking his arm instead.
"Kuroba-kun, I'm not leaving you here, wake up. You'll get locked in. Come on."
Kaito stirred a little, tired eyes slowly blinking open. It took a few seconds- but then he sat up straight, startled out of his mind and clearly showing that on his face as well.
"H-haa?!"
Hakuba raised himself back to his full height, satisfied. That worked out well.
"There you are. School is over, Kuroba-kun. You fell asleep."

Pokerface slamming in place, Kaito quickly got up and gathered his things, profusely avoiding eye contact.
"Thanks" he muttered, a little frustrated with himself. How come he had slept so deep? And god beware, completely ignore Hakuba's presence in his personal space?
Hakuba only gave him a small nod as he turned around and headed for the classroom door.
"Catch some sleep, Kuroba. You need it."
Kaito bit back that snarky remark and opted to ignore that hint of concern in the brit's voice as well. He waited a few seconds until he was sure he had left, then rushed out of the classroom as well.

"Goddammit..." he muttered, speedwalking home. He only had a few more hours until his next heist. He had to get things in place. Why on earth did he even choose to go to class? Right, if he had skipped, Aoko would have been on his trail.
Which was bad.
Kaito held a hand to his forehead, closing his eyes for a moment to enjoy the cold feeling of his hand. His thoughts were all over the place. How could he even focus?

Maybe I should catch a nap before I head out.

Arriving home, Kaito tossed his schoolbag into a corner, took off his shoes and jacket, then quietly shambled upstairs to fall fully clothed into bed. Kaito barely managed to set an alarm for three hours before he had to get up and prepare for the next heist- and promptly knocked himself out, deep asleep.

Slow and sluggish, Kaito opened his eyes. Gosh that was a good nap. He hadn't felt that good in a while. With all those cat naps he had instead of a real night's sleep, he felt like this one had been especially relieving. And he even woke up before his alarm!
Kaito sat up, rubbing his eyes.
"Time to get to work..."
He grabbed his phone, quickly switching out of standby mode to check the time, before he got up from the bed and arched his back. He sure hoped Jii had prepared everything in order to be able to pull tonight off.

Kaito immediately slipped behind the portrait of his father and went down the slide, only to come face to face with his costume. Very well. Time for another cat and mouse game.
He had one of the charms carefully placed in his pockets, just in case he needed it.

Silence.

Hold on a moment. Wait. Fear overcame Kaito as he immediately fumbled for his phone again. What was the time?!

12:31am

"WHAT?!"
Kaito started to panic. He had slept through his alarm. Oh god he had slept through his alarm. Holy fuck. His heist was supposed to begin exactly one minute ago. Oh my god.
Thoughts running wild, Kaito barely put on a mask before getting a cab to drop him off near the crime scene, sprinting the last few steps to slip into the crowd of KID fans who were... cheering?

Kaito's mind couldn't process what he saw. A KID dummy, flying off over the crowd and disappearing above the buildings, with the KID taskforce chasing behind.

Why is no one questioning KID's absence...?

Kaito managed to squeeze by the masses, just in time to slip into the shadows behind the secured area.

Something is wrong here.

Just as he barely managed to suit up to inspect the area, he saw something he could not fathom to understand.

A white clad figure, standing on top of a lantern, smiling down at the masses below.

Kaito's brain shut down, and all he could do was stare with his mouth agape. There was KID- standing atop the crowd, greeting his loyal onlookers and bidding his adieu for tonight.
But... he was KID.
This didn't make sense.

To his sleepdeprived brain, nothing made sense anymore. What he saw, what he heard, the voice oh so perfectly mimicked as his own, he could only stare.
The KID did seem to notice the intense stare of his, and even tho he never seemed to look his way, Kaito could feel his eyes drilling into his own.

Backing another step away, deeper into the dark, Kaito could not help but stare as he held out the target in hand, letting the crowd eye his prize.
Kaito could only pull himself away as the KID disappeared within a cloud of smoke, and with him tonight's target. The boy released a puff of air he did not remember holding in, panting a little now.

"What... the fuck..." was all he managed to stammer. Who on earth had the nerve to copy him?! A second KID?! Probably out and about to ruin his good name.
Kaito felt like crying, he did not need to deal with an impostor right now with his life on a timer. And he felt so frustrated. Everything he had built up, constructed, it had been used and abused by this KID.
And tonight's target? Gone.

Kaito couldn't help but slide away into the shadows, taking a few backalleys to avoid the masses. He had to think about this.
Those tired and spiraling thoughts cut short as he heard the soft noise of a pair of feet landing behind him, ever so slightly audible. Kaito whirled around, just in time to catch what the stranger was tossing him-

tonight's target.

"Rise 'n shine, KID." the stranger grinned, hands disappearing into his pockets. A while suit, eerily similar to his, a top hat with a blue ribbon, and a monocle with a clover symbol etched in.
"You must be extremly sleep deprived to not even hide your staring."
Kaito opened his mouth to reply, yet couldn't find himself able to. His brain didn't function well enough for that; that voice felt familiar but for the life of him he could not place it.
"Are you alright?"
By now the stranger had stepped closer, right up into Kaito's personal space, and he could feel his eyes drilling into him, analyzing him.

It made him nervous.

The stranger slowly took off the top hat and monocle, before gently nestling said hat on Kaito's brown hair.
"Hey there. Talk to me. Did I shock you that bad?"
"You could never," Kaito immediately snapped back and that's when it clicked into place.

The stranger standing only inches away with that smug smile on his lips was no other than Kudo Shinichi.

Wearing the mantle of KID.