Disclaimer: As you have probably guessed I do not own Magic Kaito, I merely enjoy playing mind games with the characters.
~ OOOO ~
A thief is a king till he's caught.– Iranian proverb
It is an early Thursday morning in mid-August. The moon still shines its shimmering light over the sleeping city as a white-clad figure jumps off the roof of a tall building gliding languidly towards the horizon where the sun is just starting its journey across the horizon. Kaitou Kid's hat shadows his eyes, but his lips are stretched into a wide grin. He hears the distant noise of sirens from far below and lets a wave of nostalgia wash over him.
'This is my last heist', he muses to himself as he soars across the sky, a stone of immense value tucked safely into one of the many hidden pockets of his white suit. After getting a proper lead from one of his contacts it wasn't that hard to trace the jewel's decent down from mother to daughter as a priced family heirloom. Kid is not sure whether or not the family knew about what exactly the jewel could do, but that is neither here nor there. He chuckles again to himself, basking in the feeling of accomplishment. His search is finally over, the curtain closing on his final show. He can't help but feel a little like he is disappointing his fans, though, by ending it all in such an anticlimax. He always imagined going out with a bang.
Though actually…
If possible, his grin widens even more as an idea springs to his mind.
Maybe this doesn't have to be his final show. Maybe there is room for just one more, just a small private show before he leaves the stage lights for good.
One can almost hear the gears turning in his brain as a plan forms in his mind. And it starts, like all great plans do, with a huge blob of bubble-gum-pink glue.
~ OOOO ~
Suzuki Jirokichi is sitting in his office reading a book, when there is a knock on the door. "Come in!" he shouts absentmindedly, placing a bookmark between the pages and setting his book on the table. The door opens and a servant steps in.
"There's a letter for you, Suzuki-san", he says and hands the envelope to Jirokichi, who opens it and takes out a folded letter. His eye catches a familiar caricature at the bottom of the page and he quickly reads the letter through. When he gets to the bottom of the page he blinks twice, rubs his eyes and reads the letter once more, this time more carefully.
"What the hell?!"
~ OOOO ~
In another part of Tokyo, someone else is having a very similar reaction.
"WHAT THE HELL DO YOU MEAN KAITOU KID RETIRED?!" Inspector Nakamori shouts, his face flushed red with anger. The officer before him doesn't flinch, having already gotten used to his boss' temper. Instead he replies calmly, "I mean exactly what I said, Inspector. It's in today's paper. See for yourself."
He hands the newspaper to the fuming Inspector. On the front page, written in large font are the words SPECIAL! KAITOU KID RETIRES. Below it, in a much smaller font, is the introduction: This morning our editor received a letter from the infamous Magician of the Moonlight Kaitou Kid himself, in which he announced his retirement and requested that his farewell notice be published as soon as possible. Under the introduction is a picture of Kid's notice.
To my dear lovely fans and critics,
It has been a great pleasure performing for all of you. As a wise man once said, a magician is nothing without his audience. For me these words are nothing but the truth and so I would like to thank from the bottom of my heart all those who have been with me through my shows, especially my most loyal critics: Tantei-kun, Tantei-han, Tantei-san, Nakamori-keibu and the Kaitou Kid Task Force, who have brought great excitement to all my heists. Sadly all good things must come to an end and so I must unfortunately announce my retirement. I hope that one day I will be able to perform for you once more.
Best regards, Kaitou Kid
Nakamori reads the notice twice, just in case he has missed something, some sort of sign that this is all a joke. "Are you sure it's authentic?" he asks. The officer merely offers a shrug.
"Who knows", he says. "It could just be a prank or a scheme."
Nakamori nods. As he walks down the hallway to his office, however, he finds himself doubting the fact. The message and caricature looked real enough and then there was the way Kid had behaved at his previous heist.
Nakamori had, yet again, chased him to the roof of a building where he saw the thief examining his prize in the moonlight. When he turned to face Nakamori there was a new sort of spring in his step and his annoying grin was more genuine than ever before, as if something good had happened. Also, unlike usual, the thief has yet to return the jewel he stole. It has been a whole week since the heist and Nakamori knows from past experience that the thief is usually very punctual, returning most of the things he steals within 48 hours of the heist, claiming that it is 'not exactly what he wants'.
Nakamori shakes himself out of his musings as he arrives at the door of his office. He steps in and sits down behind his desk deciding to make a few phone calls. When rummaging through his pockets for his cell phone turns out to be a wasted effort, he remembers leaving his phone in the break room. Swearing under his breath, he tries to get up from his chair. He can't. Frowning, he tries again. No luck this time either. He looks down and sees that his chair is covered with a huge blob of bubblegum-pink, glue-like substance.
Whoever said Kaitou Kid had retired should be fed a live sea urchin.
~ OOOO ~
Kaitou Kid hums softly to himself as he strolls languidly down the familiar corridors of the police station. They are unusually empty as most officers are currently locked in their offices courtesy of two courses of engineering, a few sleepless nights and a lot of imagination on Kid's part. The few unfortunate souls, who have not been trapped in their offices, have – unfortunately for them and to Kid's great amusement – fallen prey to one of the many booby-traps Kid placed around the building. Most of them consist of getting artistically stuck to a wall with bubblegum-pink glue. Kaitou Kid is very proud of his handiwork, thank you very much.
The thief stops as he arrives at the door of his destination. 'Inspector Ginzo Nakamori' reads the small plaque on the door. The rapid thumping of his heart is the only thing that betrays his nervousness as Kid takes a deep breath and opens the door with a steady hand.
The office is empty save Inspector Nakamori, who is rooted to his chair by a large blob of bubblegum-pink glue. His face is flushed with rage and his brow furrows angrily at the sight of his visitor. He is about to open his mouth to shower the thief with a bunch of well-thought-out swear words, but the white-clad figure holds up a hand to silence him. From what Nakamori can see from under the brim of the man's ever present hat and monocle, his normally gleeful and mischievous grin has been replaced by an almost apologetic smile.
"As you are aware, keibu, I have the habit of returning whatever I steal as my targets have not been what I desire", Kid says, his voice infuriatingly cheerful. "However, I must inform you that regrettably I cannot return the Bloody Baron as it has been destroyed, the pieces now resting at the bottom of the ocean." Kid's smirk widens and he sounds very proud of himself as he states that last tidbit of information.
Nakamori opens his mouth to say something, but stops as his adversary continues.
"For quite some time I have been searching for a certain jewel." The change of tone from conversational to serious takes Nakamori by surprise. Kid's voice is lower and there is no humor or flamboyancy behind his words. "A jewel that shines bright red in the light of the moon. Pandora, the jewel that legend tells can grant a man eternal life."
"And you're telling me you actually believe that bullshit?", Nakamori asks incredulously.
"There is truth behind old legends like that", Kid replies easily. Nakamori snorts, unconvinced. The thief is delusional, he has always known that.
Still, something piques his interest. Though there are a number of attributes that accompany Kid in the Inspectors book – ranging from arrogant and childish to a pain-in-the-ass and makes-you-want-to-tear-your-hair-out agitating – he has never expected the other to be one to seek immortality. Trying to not let his surprise show too much, he asks, "You want to be immortal?"
"Of course not." Kid sounds repulsed at the idea. "But some do. My aim was simply to prevent the jewel from falling in the wrong hands, the hands of those who are responsible for the death of someone dear to me." Nakamori is taken aback by how strongly his words are laced with bitterness and cold anger. The Inspector would never admit it, but at that moment he feels a pang of sympathy for the thief.
"I suspect many other lives have been taken by those seeking the jewel through the ages", Kid continues. "I made it my life's mission to find and destroy Pandora so that it could not destroy any more lives." His grin grows wide with satisfaction. "I am pleased to say my mission was a success."
Nakamori's brain quickly processes the information. "So the Bloody Baron-"
"Was Pandora, yes", Kid says, his voice full of glee. Then his expression sobers. He takes a deep breath and looks Nakamori straight in the eye. In the light of the office his eyes are shadowed by the brim of his hat and Nakamori wonders briefly if he planned the lighting beforehand. Most probably he did.
When Kid speaks again his voice is soft. "Keibu, you have been a most loyal critic and I have enormously enjoyed performing for you." He ignores Nakamori's comment of where he can stick his performances in favor of clicking his fingers. Somewhere in the distance a clank and a few surprised shouts can be heard. "However, as much as it disappoints all my fans and critics, my previous heist was my final show. On the behalf of myself and my predecessor, I would like to say 'thank you'". He takes a stage bow.
Nakamori is struck silent as his brain processes Kid's words and just what they imply. But the thief isn't finished yet.
"I would also like to offer my deepest apologies for yourself", Kid pauses for a second and lets the remains of his poker face shatter as he hears footsteps running down the stairs, "and Aoko."
To Nakamori's growing astonishment, Kaitou Kid removes his hat and monocle and places them on his desk. The inspector stares at the objects for a moment as if he can not quite believe they are there. A feeling of glee and satisfaction engulfs him, but it is washed away immediately as his eyes meet those of the thief he has been hunting down for years. Instead of the time-hardened eyes of a man, all he sees are the soft eyes of a boy, a boy whom he has gotten to know over the years as Aoko's happy-go-lucky best friend, Kuroba Kaito.
An involuntary gasp of shock escapes Nakamori's lips. "Kaito-kun?"
The boy's expression is sad and apologetic, but he stands straight, not wavering an inch, the spitting image of a man who does not regret his actions and is prepared to face the consequences.
Shouts from behind the door break Nakamori out of his shock induced daze and he tries to get up from his seat, but to no avail. He curses loudly at the pink glue and misses the flicker of a smile on Kaito's face. The magician clicks his fingers and the door bursts open causing a bunch of policemen, who had been in the process of charging at it, to fall flat on their faces. Others quickly jump over them and tackle Kaito, forcing his hands behind his back. Kaito makes no move to resist as they haul him up to his feet again and place handcuffs around his wrists.
"Your orders, sir?" asks one of the officers saluting Nakamori. The inspector looks lost for a moment, but quickly pulls himself together.
"Put him in a cell", he orders. "And prepare an interrogation room." The officers holding Kaito salute and walk the boy out of the office, the others following in their wake. As the last one closes the door Nakamori heaves a huge sigh and rubs his temples. His day has gone from bad to worse and he is already dreading the moment he gets home and has to break the news about Kaito to Aoko. He still can't really believe it himself. Not only did Katou Kid just stride into his office and hand himself in, but he turned out to be the very person Nakamori has often asked help from when dealing with the Phantom Thief. No wonder Kaito had been so eager to come to the heists. Nakamori shakes his head. He isn't sure if he is more angry or sad. For years he has been hunting down the illustrious thief and now that he has caught him – well this is certainly not what he'd expected.
And then there was the issue of what Kaito said before he revealed himself, about a person close to him dying and the jewel, Pandora, which could grant immortality.
'Kaito has a great many questions to answer to', Nakamori decides and tries to get up from his chair. No such luck.
Few floors up Kaito can hear Inspector Nakamori's loud cursing and idly wonders whether or not to inform the officers that the glue can be easily removed with water.
~ OOOO ~
Author's Note: Thank you for reading! Any constructive criticism on the story or grammar is much appreciated.