Storm
Maybe there was one thing he wanted from her, but it was the only thing she wouldn't give to him. Kid/Aoko
A/N:
HeLLO, I've finally woken up from my eternal slumber... Just that some things happened earlier part of this year and school was trying to half-murder me to death so fanfiction was literally out of my zone for a while. Well, enough of my pointless rant, but to celebrate how MagicKaito has been updated recently, hope you'll enjoy this trashy long ass fic of my faves trying to get their shit together.
Ps: this is also majorly inspired by blinkblink, because I needed the muse so badd too
I am caught off-guard by you, like a wave I pulled into.
It's a feeling I can't fight. Like a wildfire, deep inside
- Ruelle , Storm
Aoko didn't want to be involved with Kaitou Kid's chase.
She would rather be watching Kid's heists in front of her television screen, or standing among the crowd with her anti-Kid! sign clutched tightly in her hand. Her father didn't care if her presence was there or not, and Kaito, who often tagged along with her, bailed out at the last minute for random reasons she couldn't bother remembering. It was only when Hakuba was around and invited her to stay, although she ended up regretting at the end as seeing Kid up close did nothing but ruined her night.
However, this time was different.
Her father, who had no patience for the police HQ's lift and took the stairs, slipped and injured his back while he was at it. Ended up, he had to stay in the hospital and wasn't permitted to even move without the doctor's permission. But Kid's scheduled heist was going on as plan, and the Task Force wasn't going to sit out. In fact, all the members had to double their alertness and speed to cover the gap of her father's absence. And the chances of failure would probably increase by two folds since Hakuba wasn't in town at the moment...
And so Aoko joined the Task Force, temporarily.
One reason was to ease her father's piece of mind, while the other was because why the hell not? She could neither remember half the Task Force members' names were or understand what the blueprints of the museum meant, but it would still be fine. Her opponent was just a quick and sneaky clown with lots of tricks up his sleeve. It wasn't the first time she came across this type of guy; Kuroba Kaito had given her plenty of mental and physical trainings to be eligible to join the heist. It was just temporary, for her father's sake.
Besides, she was hoping to jump on this opportunity to tell Kaito and Keiko off that whatever delusional, god-like thoughts about the thief was going to be proved false by tonight.
Leaving the Task Force to do their usual routine checks and other duties, Aoko didn't bother staying in the main hall where the sapphire necklace was kept in the glass case and left for the surveillance room. When the clock struck eight in the night and the usual blackout ensued, she waited and hoped for the cameras and light to set back in before scanning over the monitors to see where Kid's final escape route could be.
Noticing the direction he was heading towards, she guessed it was the roof instantaneously.
Her long hair bounced off her back every step she skipped, and she put her faith in her legs as she dashed up the stairs like the wind.
Just one chance-
Moments as she reached the highest floor of the staircase, she noticed the heavy metal exit door of the rooftop coming to a close. Without a care in the world, she dived, twisting her shoulders to fit through the tiny gap as the door shut with a loud bang. But before she could say any word, a sudden force yanked her backwards, slamming her back against the wall. Aoko grunted out loud, feeling the tears stinging her eye as she reached for her scalp and touched the part where the pain was. Still clueless to the cause, she whirled her head around to check, to realize she couldn't as her hair was caught in between the non-existent gap of the door and its metal frame.
She desperately reached out for the handle to open the door and let her hair free, but to no avail. It was locked from the inside.
"My, what a surprise, Nakamori-san."
The voice, as chilly as the strong wind, sent a shiver down Aoko's spine before she could register where the source of words came from. She turned, though still stuck, and glared at Kaitou Kid, who was standing on the ledge of the rooftop with his wings spread and ready to fly. From the distance and dark shadows, Aoko couldn't see his face, but something about the tilt of his head made her cheeks twitch with annoyance.
"Kid." She snarled, her teeth grinding against each other.
"Inspired by your father's career?" He jumped off the ledge and onto the rooftop, his cape changed its state and began fluttering in the wind.
"It's none of your business."
He took another step and halted at the next. "Are you stuck?" His tone was now more amused than curious.
Aoko didn't want to admit she was stuck, even if Kid was absolutely and irritatingly right. "So instead of flying away like what you intended to do, you've decided to stay so you can mock me, huh?"
"It'd be a little bit cruel, though." Kid surveyed her for a second and took a few steps closer towards her. All of the sudden, a shiny flash of light, which was reflected from the metal object Kid suddenly whipped out from his suit, shone directly into Aoko's eyes and caught her off guard. She thought the reflection was too bright to be a prized-necklace, and she was right; a pair of scissors was wrapped around his gloved fingers.
She gulped, her hands slowly turning numb. The cold winds wasn't the only reason for that, too. "What are you planning to do?"
He didn't answer and stepped forward again, so close to her she could almost feel the heat coming from his body. His sleeve brushed past her shoulder, and it was softer than anything she owned and had its own fragrance, one that sparked off a vague memory of walking past the department store in her local mall that sells hundreds of perfume brands.
"Aren't you trusting me too much to not knock your hat off?" She spat, her fingers twitching on the cue. She could grab his tie, whack him upside down, pull off his monocle-
Despite the shadows, Aoko could still see the faint smile underneath his hat. "I trust myself more."
She suddenly felt a gloved hand tangled within her hair and she squeezed her eyes in reflex and-
And she felt free.
Aoko slowly peeled off her eyes and Kid was already standing a safe distance away from her, his finger twirling the scissors in his hand before it disappeared into his sleeve. She turned, to see the short end of her hair still caught between the door, but the rest had escaped from the impending torture.
Her scalp was no longer in pain.
"You're welcome, by the way."
She spun around again, eyes wide in mock fury. He was grinning and already standing on the edge of the roof, like a big white dove ready to take flight.
"Kid-!"
He was gone in a blink, disguised as the speck of lights in the distant. Aoko could hear blaring of sirens from below, but before she could rush to the ledge to see the ongoing commotion, she felt something heavy around her neck.
It was the goddamn necklace.
.o.
Having no need to be in the state of chasing criminals, Aoko was wearing her favourite pink sundress and a pair of matching white heels for the movie date with Kaito later, who just texted her a second ago about how he'd be running late because of traffic. And so, bored and alone, she wandered off towards the museum that Kid held his heist just last night, which happened to be a good two minutes walk from their meet-up.
The barricades and tapes were all removed by the police and business for the museum had resumed. Everything looked so different from what Aoko remembered last night, and she wasn't sure if it was because of the audiences, raging policemen, or the way Kid managed to set the mood no matter where he was that made the difference.
She recognized a few staffs there who gave her a surprised-and-merry nods of acknowledgement before doing about their work. Aoko could only smile back in return whilst sheepishly skipping towards wherever her legs were bringing her.
The only thing that didn't change was the empty glass case, which was still standing in the middle of the main hall like yesterday. She trudged forward to the glass, lips growing thin at the thought of how Kid somersault his way through and making a joke out of her father and the Task Force less than 24 hours ago.
Kid's an idiot.
"I wouldn't hope for that frown of yours to stay permanent on your face, though it might if you continue glaring like that a second more."
She turned, her eyes blinking at the person who just spoke next to her.
The man, probably in his late fifties, smiled at her with teeth that looked unnaturally white and healthy for an elderly. Before she could get a word out from her throat, he gestured his head over to the glass panel. "The heist last night was spectacular, wasn't it? Kid's got some moves."
"He does move like a retarded monkey." Aoko muttered under her breath. When she realized what she said might have sounded crude, she quickly, and awkwardly, waved a hand to dismiss the comment. "Sorry. I was rude."
The old man smiled, but his lips were lopsided, and something about the twinkle of his eyes changed the whole geography of his face; He didn't look all that old anymore. "I guess I'll have to step up my game then, Nakamori-san." The voice that spoke was no longer low and frail. It was now strong, snarky, and full of confidence, just like-
Wide, blue eyes turned from shock to horror and back to shock once again. "Y-You!"
"It's a pleasure seeing you today. What are you doing here?" Kid gave her a once over. "You're all dolled up too. Are you going for a date later?"
"That should be my question." Aoko snapped and whirled her body around the hall, eyes scanning the empty room before giving him a threatening glare.
"Oh?" Kid's smirk didn't falter. "Yes, I do have a date later, actually-"
"I'm asking what are you doing here?" She gritted her teeth, eyes narrowing to a slit.
His amused gaze held a little bit longer until his face fell lax when he answered the serious question. "To return what I have stolen." Kid, being as careful as he was known as, tapped the glass case with his nail instead of his finger, which would have leave evidence of his prints behind if he did. "I've done so and was about to leave till I see you."
"How noble of you." She growled. The more they converse, the less she understood. "Then why did you come to talk to me?" Aoko challenged, her face contorted between haughty and confused.
He turned expressionless for a moment. "It was hard to resist."
She swallowed a hot lump down her throat, her cheeks twitched uncontrollably. "Hard to resist taunting me?
"Hard to resist telling you that you look beautiful today."
Her face bloomed red, fusing between embarrassment and anger. "Don't make me rip off your mask-"
The phone in her pocket buzzed, shrilling the ringtone she set specifically for Kaito whenever he called. By the time she fished out her phone, the ringtone died, leaving a missed call from Bakaito notification on her home screen.
She glanced up.
Kid was gone.
.o.
Unlike Kid, Aoko wasn't flashy in her fashion taste. Her hair wasn't dyed with wild colours, and her wardrobe consisted of pale and calm colours; there was completely nothing about her to garner attention onto herself. Besides, even without Kaito's teasing, Aoko knew neither her figure or looks would attract men to look at her twice. There were just far too many pretty and beautiful girls out there.
And that was why Aoko didn't get it.
Because of her math club's meeting today, Aoko couldn't go to the museum earlier with her father. So by the time she arrived to the location, she couldn't get inside, not if she wanted to be squashed to death trying to get past the crowd. All she could do was to stand with the sea of people and watch Kid's ruining her father's day.
He was in the middle of doing a stupid stunt in the air when she arrived to join the crowd. And just as fast as the scowl that appeared on her face, Kid stopped his act for a brief second, his attention directed towards her direction.
Among the huge, ass crowd, he spotted her. He spotted her.
It would be insane to say their eyes met.
(But it did)
Aoko blinked right at the moment when Kid twirled his cape and vanished in mid-air, the loud sirens blasted from a distance away not long later. The crowd was slowly dispersing, and it was barely two minutes since she came to watch the stupid heist before it ended.
It would be insane, too, to say that she was expecting something more.
.o.
The next time, Aoko, again, failed to participate the chase because of a school project that required her presence till late evening (It wasn't like the heist was important to her, even if she did write the date on her calendar and highlighted the words in bright red). She was on the ground, not really able to see what was going on inside the museum, unless Kid flew off the roof or the sirens of police cars sounded, indicating his success to his insufferable deeds
Tired but nonetheless still wise, Aoko choose to stand under a large tree and a few metres away from the crowd, not wanting to torture herself with the humidity even if her view of the museum was obscured from where she was. It just wasn't worth suffering more than what she had for Kid.
Ten minutes barely passed before she could hear the crowd roared and the loud sirens blasting, contributing to the noise pollution. Aoko sighed and leaned an arm against the tree, not sure if the numb feeling in her chest was due to annoyance or final admittance than Kid's capture would forever be as bleak as how it was at the start.
"Good evening, Nakamori-san."
Aoko nearly shrieked. Her neck shot up to the voice and her brows instantly merged together when she spotted the thief in white sitting on a thick branch above her, his legs swinging teasingly over her head. Instinctively, Aoko jumped and tried to grab hold of his cape, but he stood up just in time as the tip of her fingers brushed against the fabric of the white cloth.
"Did anyone tell you that you've got good reflexes?" He added.
"What are you doing here?" Aoko gritted her teeth (It wasn't long later when she realized her questions towards Kid was often the same).
"To be fair, I would like to ask this question to you first, since you'd asked me back then at our last meeting."
"I didn't know thieves play fair."
"I'm not sure how many other thieves you know, but I'm definitely not like them."
Before she could retort, Kid supplied an answer to the empty question. "It's an honour for me to know you've taken your time after your strenuous school activities to see my heist."
"And how you flushed my father's hard work down the drain like nothing and make me detest you even more." Aoko narrowed her eyes, her fingers twisted onto the hem of her school skirt as she continued when Kid didn't reply. "It's definitely an honour, for you."
His suave smile that was on his face a minute ago was gone. And like some magic, the shadows under his hat grew darker even when he didn't move a single inch. "That's not true."
"Which part is not true?" Aoko snarled. "I don't lie, not like you."
The words hung in the air, heavy. She wasn't sure if she'd stepped or crossed the line that wasn't meant to be crossed. How much did she exactly know Kid? How much could she ironically trust him that he wouldn't hurt her after she said all those things to him?
"Of course not, Nakamori-san." He finally said with a tilt of his head, and Aoko could feel his gaze on her even if she couldn't see his eyes.
She looked at him warily. "What exactly do you want from me?"
"Nothing."
"Nothing?"
Kid paused, as if to confirm with himself again. It had been three, long and agonising seconds before he responded. "Maybe there is one thing I want from you, but it's also the only thing you wouldn't give to me."
Aoko straightened her posture, unable to hide the nonchalance she strived to achieve. But before she decided on what to say, he slipped a smoke bomb in sync with the thumping of shoes that were running towards where they were. The Task Force had noticed his failed camouflage.
By the time the smoke dissipated and her coughing fits stopped, he was long gone.
.o.
To go up against Kid, tricks were definitely needed.
But everyone else, including Aoko, wasn't Kid. She wasn't a criminal, a liar or a magician. And in addition to those traits, she wasn't as stealth, as quick or as equipped as Kid to retreat back her steps in time as the floor of the museum under her opened, creating a hole that was meant to capture the thief.
As for Kid, he was already hanging in the air with the wire he stuck to the ceiling from his gun, safe from the trapdoor that was about to swallow Aoko. She screamed, and stretched her hand out to reach for something, anything, to stop her from her fall. She could see her father tried, the Task Force members tried, and even the guilty billionaire who set up all the tricks tried, but none of them could save her in time.
As the door closed above her, she noticed a flash of white before feeling her body being wrapped in warmth as she fell, down and down for nearly an eternity until she hit the ground.
It wasn't painful, not at all. But the warmth was still there, almost unwilling to let go.
Aoko didn't know she had been shutting her eyes the entire time until she opened them, but the surrounding was no different from having her eyes closed. She blinked furiously, trying to accustom to the lack of light around her.
As if her prayers were answered, she could see a source of light, but it wasn't because of the power of her sight. Three purple glow sticks were floating in the air, and before a scream escaped her lips, her brain registered that it wasn't some kind of mystical or possessed glow sticks. Someone was holding it.
"Are you alright?" A voice whispered into her ear.
Her head throbbed as realization slowly dawned over her. It was Kid. The white flash that saved her was... Kid.
"Nakamori-san?" Aoko felt a gloved hand shaking her shoulders slightly, the strength growing by the millisecond. "Nakamori-san, are you alright? Can you hear me?"
Her voice cracked and all she could let out was a whimper.
"Thank God." She heard his whisper that was tainted in slight panic but mostly relief. She wasn't sure how to respond to that odd and new reaction she'd never seen or heard from Kid before.
"Can you stand?" He said again, this time more like his usual calm self.
Aoko turned and propped an arm on the soft ground, trying to lift herself up. She was doing good until she tried to stand with her right foot and a sharp pain spread all over her leg. She unwillingly let out a wince and she felt the familiar, gloved hand reaching out for her shoulder again, supporting her back.
"You okay?"
For a split moment, Kid sounded more like a teenager than a thief who should be around her father's age. He was always a good actor that could copy anyone he wanted to, but that voice... Aoko thought it sounded like the real him. She didn't speak her thoughts out loud, but kept that mental note in the back of her mind.
"I'm fine." She spoke. The pain wasn't helping to make her voice sound as strong as she liked.
"It's charming to be independent, but not very when you're stubborn."
"I don't give a damn if I'm charming or not."
If Aoko was stuck here alone, she would have been hyperventilating and crying. If Aoko was stuck here alone with a stranger, she would have been scared and freaking out. But she was here with Kid, and there was only one emotion that she knew how to portray with him; which was frustration.
Kid was unfazed by her outburst, or maybe the dim light in his hand wasn't enough to show anything about his expressions. He didn't say a single word as he shifted in his position and stood up, his cape brushing against her arm. She pursed her lips, briefly wondering if he was going to leave her here alone. If he really did, she couldn't blame anyone but herself for deserving this. After all, she was the one that fell; the one that was the true burden of this outcome, and yet she showed nothing but annoyance to the man that jumped down to save her.
Aoko's lips parted to a gasp when Kid shoved the three glow sticks into her hand and tucked his hands underneath her. She didn't have time or strength to retaliate as Kid lifted her up, her legs dangling over one arm while she leaned her back on the other. The air was musty and tainted with moist soil, but she could smell the lingering fragrance coming from him, the same one she remembered when he snipped her hair off on the roof.
Her mute shock was slowly replaced by acceptance to their uncomfortably close distance from each other. She meant it, but she didn't need him to understand her silence represented the unsaid gratitude for not leaving her alone.
He walked in a way like he knew where he was going, though she wasn't surprised. It was already known the castle was famously built above the cave, and for a man who planned six steps ahead, the cave should be of no problem... Aoko hoped. After a few hesitant seconds, she couldn't resist the question.
"Do you know how to get out?"
"It's not a maze like the owner claimed it to be." He said dully.
It was good to know, though bad as she was starting to relax and be comfortable in his arms. Not good, not good. She squirmed slightly in her position, only just remembering the existence of the glow sticks in her hand when she felt them rolling between her fingers. Glancing up to see how the light had any effect on her surrounding, she noted the purple glow was nice enough to shine some light under Kid's hat.
She unconsciously raised the glow sticks nearer to his face.
He does have a pretty, sharp nose.
"I would appreciate if you don't shine the glow sticks in my face but more on the path."
Aoko didn't know how to argue with logic. She put an effort to hide her flustered moments and moved the glow sticks away from his face and to her side, casting shadows onto the ground he walked.
"You should know the risk before you even fall down the trap hole with me," She muttered, breaking the quietness. "But why did you do it?"
Kid was looking ahead the entire time. "Are you worried for me?"
"I'm not." Aoko spat, nonplussed. She was just six-percent more puzzled than concern for her saviour.
"Whatever risk you think applies to me couldn't be compared to your safety."
Her eyes twitched in mild annoyance. Aoko couldn't tell if he meant his words or was trying to charm her like how he did to his brainwashed audiences. "My dad is going to ambush you outside."
"Perhaps. If he knew where to find the entrance of the cave first."
Aoko scowled. He talked like he was conversing with a wall, but she could sense the slight sarcasm in his dull voice. "He will catch you."
"If he don't," Kid looked down at her properly to speak. "Will you?"
"It's what I want, but not something I would sacrifice the rest of my life for." It was her father's job, and her mother's departure made her understand that there's more to life than what it is. This chase was all just temporary. Temporary. "I have a purpose in life, unlike you."
She felt his arms tensed under her body, and there was something expressive about the lines of his shoulders that told her she was right. She just didn't know which part hit the jackpot, and she didn't dare to confirm it either.
"A purpose." He echoed, but his words sounded more like a question than a statement.
"Isn't it for money? The thrills? To prove your ability to play tricks with the police?"
"I don't need anything so cheap." His gaze flickered down to her. His voice was cold, just like the brief breeze that Aoko could feel brushing against her skin. It was a sign that the exit was near. "As Kid, I only want two things."
Aoko tightened her grip around the glow sticks.
"Would you like to know?" He continued when she was too busy fighting for the air inside her lungs to speak.
Kid could be generous to make the effort to return what he'd stolen, but Aoko knew the only time when he was being frank with his words was to only confuse the entire conversation even further. She wasn't falling for that. She wasn't going to play his silly mind games with him.
"No." Aoko wrinkled her nose, trying not to sneeze. "They'll end up being lies anyway."
"However, what I have to say next is the truth." The faint smile under his hat almost went unnoticeable if Aoko blinked. "That's the exit. Not as far as I thought." He said, almost to himself.
Aoko spun her head, her eyes widened in delight.
The smell of air went from dirt to fresh in almost an instant when Kid stepped out of the cave. The bright moon was hanging low in the sky, surrounded by hundreds of stars that Aoko was too busy to admire for now; her focus was on Kid when her sight came back to her. He slowly put her down, almost with an effort of putting a thread through the hole of the needle, and let her back rest against the wall of rocks.
"Are you okay?" Kid asked, for no particular reason she could understand.
"Yes. I'm fine." She made sure her tone sounded as normal as possible.
"Good." Was all he said.
She twiddled with the glow sticks in her hands, suddenly unsure of herself. Seeing the moon, seeing the ground, seeing anything but darkness from before gave her the composure she needed to speak properly with Kid without bursting a blood vessel. Or perhaps, she had realized she had no reasons to be angry at him, for now.
Because ignoring the fact that he was a criminal, ignoring the fact that he was an insufferable twig, he still nonetheless saved her this time round.
"Kid,"
He looked down at her, waiting.
"I- Are you okay too?" She said lamely.
Aoko couldn't blame him for the lack of response. He must be confused at her weird and stupid question. "I am." Kid finally said.
"I just-" Aoko swallowed. Quit beating around the bush. "I don't understand your methods and decisions you make sometimes, but... But still, I want to thank yo-"
"Don't thank me." His sentence sliced through hers.
That wasn't the answer she was expecting. She thought he would infuriate her with his suave grins and over-chivalrous remarks. "I don't want to owe you." She murmured.
"You don't owe me anything." He gave a slight shake of his head. "I'm the one that owed you, far more than you can imagine."
"Why would you owe me anything?" She didn't need to feign any surprise.
"Aoko!"
Both heads turned to their side. At the top of a hill where the entrance of the castle was, her father was sliding down the slope by foot, along with a handful of Task Force members behind him. His brief concerned look disappeared, to be replaced with fury and a wave of his fist in the air when he noticed Kid standing next to her. "Kaitou Kid!"
"Get well soon, Nakamori-san." He disappeared into the darkness before she could say a word.
She realized not much later that, between Kid and her, there was always a matter of bad timing.
.o.
It wasn't just Aoko herself. Her father had noticed her regular attendance for Kaitou Kid's heist recently too. So before she could ask if she could go with him tonight, he initiated the conversation and told her to sit the latest one out. She didn't try to argue her reasons since it was a fact that her sprained ankle was going to make her presence a nuisance more than help.
And maybe it was better to not see Kid for a period of time.
She still disliked how he was a criminal, and the ways he treated her father, the Task Force members and the jewel's owner a dog-chasing-their-own-tail fool. But during those restless nights when she stayed up and wondered what the two things Kid wanted were and the importance of his purpose... she was afraid the balance of her feelings towards Kid was tipping.
It wasn't supposed to be like this. She was always so firm in her detest towards Kid in front of Kaito, in front of Keiko, in front of everyone she knew.
What is wrong with me? Aoko sighed, staring at her bedroom ceiling while lying flat like a starfish on her bed. She turned to her side to check the time from her digital clock on her bedside table. More than half an hour had passed since the promised heist started. Should she watch the news on TV? No, it would defeat the purpose of trying to avoid the thief. How about going to bed early? Or maybe she could practice more on her math?
Still distracted in contemplating her decisions, she didn't notice a figure coming from above and landed in her balcony until a tap came from outside. She turned, wondering if it was a lost pigeon pecking its way in, though her answer wasn't that far off either.
Aoko flung up from her bed when she realized who was responsible in tapping her glass window. Her sudden sit-up exercise caused some slight pain to radiate around her ankle, but she was still fully capable to lift herself from her bed and trudge towards her balcony. She pushed the sliding door aside, the wind instantly whipping her hair in full force and making it messier than usual.
"Kid." Her hands automatically slipped into the pockets of her pants and she squared her shoulders, hoping to look a little bit more intimidating. Her cute, black panda T-shirt was definitely ruining the effect. "What the hell are you doing here?"
"You didn't show up for today's heist so I've decided to drop by." He said, lowering his gaze as he casually leaned against the safety railings behind him. "How is your ankle?"
"Treated, and better." She said cautiously, but truthfully.
"I see." He nodded, as if she had passed a test she didn't know she was taking. "That's good."
Her father, who was probably still chasing a fake balloon somewhere, would definitely flip the entire house upside down if he knew the thief was talking to his daughter. Any of Kid's fan, who was either watching the broadcast LIVE or standing dumbly outside the museum, would kill for this chance to be so close to the phantom thief. But no one on earth, besides her, got the chance to live this moment. It was the moment everyone wants, except for her.
"Is that it?" Aoko pulled out a hand and waved it in the empty air. "You, wasting your time and effort, for this? The well-being of my ankle shouldn't be tough for you to not know, since you love to disguise as everyone to get any information you want."
"I can, like what you've said. But I would rather ask you personally myself."
"How nice of you." She remarked blandly. "For a person who have two identities to lead, you sure have plenty of time to do pointless things like this."
He considered for a moment before giving a short, small laugh. "You're right, though. Time-management isn't my best forte."
Aoko had no idea what to make out of their current conversation. There was no reason for Kid to take any interest in her or even acknowledge her existence. She was just a normal high-school girl attending a normal high-school in a normal town. She was no babe, no rich heir of a billionaire. She was a nobody.
But why?
The gears in her head started to shift and rotate, and before she knew what processed in her brain, the words left her mouth.
"Is it because I'm the Inspector's daughter?"
The four-leaf clover hanging on his monocle blew along with strong wind, slapping his chin a couple of times. "Pardon?"
"You mentioned about the thing you wanted from me." Aoko said, each word articulated clearly and strongly. "And the same thing that I wouldn't give you."
"What about it?" Kid didn't flinch, but his posture had stiffened like a bud growing out of a crack on the road.
"Is it because I'm the Inspector's daughter?" She repeated again. "Because it's fun to not just ruin an Inspector's career but twist his family members around, that's why."
Kid sharply looked up at her, his eyes almost visible under his hat. She could almost make out the shape of his eyes-
"You're wrong, Nakamori-san." His words were sharp and cold, not a hint of his nonchalance was present. "You're wrong."
Aoko took in a deep breath and closed her eyes, trying to regain her composure back from before. She didn't mean to be this blunt, and she couldn't believe herself to twist his words and give such a bizarre reasoning behind it. It wasn't entirely her fault. There was just this odd and extraordinary power that Kid had to make her put her foot in her mouth whenever she talked to him.
She didn't challenge him or pressure him to correct her this time. For once, in her life, she was afraid to know the true answer that Kid had been unintentionally and indirectly conveying to her for quite a while. She was afraid if she knew, she couldn't face Kid with the same feelings she possessed since the day he returned after disappearing eight years ago.
Because besides rage, frustration and annoyance, she didn't know what other emotions to use towards Kid.
"I'm sorry." Aoko simply said and looked away.
"No it's-" He sounded genuinely surprised. Maybe he wasn't expecting an apology from her. "It's not wrong for you to guess, Nakamori-san."
Her eyes slowly moved back to his face. "Now that you know my ankle is fine," she murmured. "You should leave."
"No threats to knock my hat off?" He inclined his head to one side. "No threats to rip my mask off?"
"Would you like to hear one?" Aoko scorned. "Are you a masochist?"
His smirk grew, just a tiny bit. "Now you sound more like you."
Those words sparked off something in her. "You don't know me."
"I guess I wouldn't." He pulled the brim of hat down, the shadows grew longer till it reached his collar. "Goodnight, Nakamori-san."
As quick and quiet as he came, he swirled his cape around and jumped down from her balcony, disappearing into the darkness.
.o.
The news about Kid's next upcoming heist had flooded the entire internet just before chemistry class ended, and being one that followed most of Kid's news, Keiko delightfully started discussing about the entire topic with a couple of interested classmates and Hakuba during lunch break. Hakuba's input often led the scowl on Kaito's face to grow bigger, but nothing about the rest of the conversation triggered any reaction from Aoko.
While the others were still immersed in sharing some Kid information from their phone, Kaito leaned over to pluck a sausage from her bento before pointing out her questioning lack of interest, or rather, lack of rage towards Kaitou Kid recently.
She didn't know how to answer, but only twitch her ankle that looked much less swollen than before.
Similarly, like the hatred she felt for Kid too.
.o.
The weather forecast had underestimated the weather.
It wasn't light drizzle as broadcasted in the news. The beads of water droplets were large and hit the floor with good effort to make sounds that drown the sound of Aoko's own footsteps. Her clothes were soaked and clinging tightly to her skin, exposing the lines of her body. The weight of her clothes was slowing down her run, and her breath was getting raspy and shorter from the tired effort, but her desperation was enough to maintain her speed and reach where she needed to go.
-Reach to where she wanted to go.
"Any sightings of Kid?" The waterproof radio her father spared her for the heist today crackled to life in her back pocket. She stopped to listen, just in case her theory was wrong.
"None, sir." The reply came back
"No, sir." Another followed the same.
She continued her way.
The crowd that were cheering for Kid moments before the rain ruin their parade was long dispersed and gone. Thanking heavens for the lack of obstruction, she dashed past the street and towards the two office buildings where she last saw Kid crashed into from the rooftop of the museum.
It might be the wind, or the rain, or how Kid had been exhausting himself out by hosting a heist nearly twice every week, a number which was out of the norm and a contributing headaches to her father and the Task Force. Something in Aoko's gut was telling his sudden increase in activities wasn't because of fun and games, which Kid also denied in the first place when she first asked him in the cave.
Even if her heart forced herself to not believe Kid, her brain registered there was indeed something important about his purpose behind all his thieving ways. No criminal who steals for money would make the effort to return the jewels. No criminal who seeks for thrills would be concerned for the safety of other people. No criminal who wants to challenge the police would save the inspector's daughter when she slipped down the trap hole and into a cave of uncertainty.
There was something about his purpose that drove him to do what he had to do. And if she wanted to believe in that purpose, there was no way she could reveal her findings of Kid's possible location to her father. Yes, she loved her father, but she needed to do what was right, even if it was technically wrong; Helping a thief escape would betray her principles, saving a thief who once risked his purpose to save her wouldn't. That was how she convinced herself before pushing her radio deep inside her pocket and sprinted down the stairs.
Aoko gave herself five seconds to catch her breath when she reached the office building and began her search for anything coloured white around the building. The heavy rain had kept the streets mostly empty, but there was still a chance that someone else had spotted Kid first.
She had nearly finished one circle around the building and was pondering if her sight and guess made a mistake when she reached the narrow alley between the two office buildings. The droplets of rain that seeped into her eyes was distracting her vision, but the triangular white wings that Kid used to glide his way out was unmistakably on the ground before Aoko.
"Kid!" She exclaimed and stepped forward, turning the glider around.
Her eyes widened.
Holes. Two black, charred holes was found in the middle of the glider.
"Kid?! Kid!" She dropped the damaged glider and began flipping boxes and dustbins that were littered along the narrow alley. "Kaitou Kid?!"
She found him, sitting on a cardboard and under a black garbage bag, his back leaning against the wall. He didn't speak or respond to her calls. She tried again.
"Kaitou Kid!" Aoko shook his wet shoulders, trying to get some reaction from him. His hat and monocle were still miraculously fixated on where they belonged, but the last thing she cared at the moment was to take those things off his face and reveal his identity. If the thief was dead, there wouldn't be a point in it anyway.
"... Aoko."
Her hands moved away from his shoulders and she bent down, wondering if it was her imagination that she heard his voice. She paused, waiting and waiting...
Kid tilted his head upwards, his eyes staring right straight into hers. "Aoko..." He said again, softer this time.
"Are you okay?" She wasn't sure on how to acknowledge that Kid had called out her name not just once but twice in the same row. Pushing those irrelevant thoughts to the back of her mind, her eyes started scanning across his suit and pants, searching for the colour red while hoping not to at the same time. The front was clear, but she wasn't sure of his back. And the knowledge of the two mysterious black holes on Kid's glider wasn't helping to ease her worries.
"I'm fine, Nakamori-san." He straightened, some faint act of chivalrous was slipping back into his tone.
Like hell she would believe that. "What happened to you?"
"Don't worry," he smirked under the shadows. "A Phantom can't die."
The rain didn't help to stop her blood from boiling. She raised a hand, tempted to slap him awake from his nonsense, but she stopped in fear that he had injuries somewhere on his body that couldn't be seen with the naked eye. "A Phantom can't die, but you will. You're not a superman. You're just a human who leads two identities. If one dies, the other does as well!" She took in a deep breath, the water from the rain almost entered her nose. "Even if it isn't for your own sake, treasure yourself for the people who care about you!"
Pitter-Patter
"Do you?"
Aoko leaned back, shocked. Her mouth parted and close and she repeated it for around three more times before her voice came back to her. "Do I what?"
"You know what I mean." His words were particularly loud and clear despite the rain. When Aoko was still trying to search for an answer, Kid leaned back against the wall, his shoulder tensed and seeming as if he wished he could unsay everything. He lowered his head and rubbed a gloved hand down his face. "I'm sorry. I shouldn't have asked. I wasn't thinking straight all these while."
Disregarding his words, Aoko spoke. "It's not just whether if I do or don't. It's the point on whether I should or shouldn't."
He glanced up, his gloved hand hung in mid-air.
She bit her lips and tore her gaze away from him before continuing. "I shouldn't. I shouldn't at all." Her lips turned into a bitter smile that remained stiff on her face as she turned to look at him. "But I do. I don't want you dead."
"Even when I've hurt you?" His voice was as thin as a layer ice. The coldness, somehow, didn't seem like it was directed towards her.
"You infuriate me, with your methods and tactics as an insufferable thief." Aoko couldn't help but soften her eyes at the truth she was about to say, "Despite that, you've never hurt me before."
All of the sudden, the radio kept inside of Aoko's pocket crackled to life, breaking the silence that almost lasted an eternity between them. "I want reports on Kid's findings again."
"Still none, sir."
"Nothing on our side too."
An annoyed gruff. "Team A. I what you to go south. Team B, go to the east. Report your findings again later."
"Yes sir."
"Roger that, sir."
Aoko cast a side long glance at the end of the alley. If she was right, it meant that Team A would be on their way to where they were in less than fifteen minutes...
It seemed Kid understood what the flicker of her gaze meant, but he continued sitting there like a heavy wet stone. Not moving, not doing anything.
As if he accepted his fate.
"You can take the second street. The one across Beika." Aoko pursed her lips. "Everyone was dispatched to different areas, but my father didn't send anyone there."
Kid stared at her, long and hard and looking as though he wished he died instead of crashing his wings into a building instead. "Don't do this to yourself."
"What did I do to myself?"
The rain was getting lighter and it was easier for Aoko to hear the mutters under his breath. "Going against your principle."
"Like I've said; You don't know me." She narrowed her eyes. "You don't know what my principles are."
Looking at how thin his lips were pressed together so dangerously, she wondered how she once thought him as facetious.
"Go already." She spat when he still didn't make any movement. It only occur to her a second later that the reason why he didn't could be because he couldn't. Her eyes started wandering around his body again. "Is it because you can't move? Did you hurt yourself?"
For a human who just crashed his landing less than half an hour ago, Kid stood up with unbelievable grace, indirectly answering her question. Aoko scrambled to her feet as well and used the chance to check his back since it had been pointless to ask. His back, too, was cleared from red. She heaved a sigh of relief out loud.
"I'm fine." Kid informed as he watched her frantic search from the corner of his eye.
"No you're not."
He used silence as his way of putting the conversation to an end and picked his ruined glider up. With a tap and a fling, the glider turned back to his infamous cape as he stuck and clipped it onto his shoulders, though his magic wasn't great enough to get rid of the two black holes that were still there.
"Nakamori-san," he turned to look at her, though the brim of his hat made it impossible for her to look at him in the eye.
She knew what he was about to say. Somewhat, and somehow. "You can take it as a repayment of my debt."
His posture looked calm like always, the only sign of his agitation were his lips that were turning nowhere but downwards. "There was no debt."
"You're not the only one who has the freedom to do whatever you want." Aoko moved her gaze from his damaged cape and to his shadowy, hidden face again. "I can do whatever I want too."
"Then I hope you'll not regret what you've done." He sounded unfriendly. Not sarcastic-unfriendly. It was distant, so far that Aoko could barely reach it.
"I won't." She sent him a look of confirmation.
He still didn't look convince. Without any farewell wishes, he turned and ran down the alley, disappearing into the fog of the rain.
Aoko spent the next five minutes standing in the alley alone and wondering if Kid was upset with her. It wasn't the lack of gratitude he had towards her or how he didn't bade his usual goodbye that puzzled her tonight. It was just odd that Kid cared about her going against her own principle more than she did.
.o.
When she reached home, drenched and tired and absolutely not looking forward to waking up early for school tomorrow, she'd almost missed the large missing jewel that was situated on her desk with a note attached to it.
Other than this, there is nothing I can give in return for what you'd done today.
Aoko wondered about the possibility of the alternatives.
She kept the note, and turned the jewel in to her father who came back two hours later.
.o.
There was smoke everywhere.
Aoko clasped a hand over her mouth, trying to cease her rapid coughing that was making her breathe in more of the toxic fumes around her. The entire corridor was clouded with nothing except smoke, but she could feel the heat of the fire growing stronger and stronger, the humidity causing the material of her shirt to cling against her skin.
Brimming with tears that was resulted from the smoke and pain in her chest, she dashed her way through the second floor and towards the third bathroom to confirm what she needed to check.
Please please please please.
Right at the turn when Aoko was about to make at the end of the corridor, she collided right into something that was moving at great speed and making the same turn but going the opposite direction as her. The impact made her retrace back her steps, and she nearly fell right on her butt if her hand didn't grab onto the walls next to her for support on time.
"Kai- Kid?!"
"Why haven't you evacuated with the rest of the Task Force members?" Kid's jaws were clenched so tightly she could see his cheeks twitched. Before she could retaliate and throw his question back at him, he grabbed her arm and turn her body towards the direction of the exit. "You need to get out now."
She shrugged off his grasp with an amount of force she didn't know she could possess. "I need to find somebody!"
Anger, something Aoko rarely seen from Kid, started billowing around him like the thick smoke that was suffocating her. "You need more help than whoever the person you're finding."
Her entire body was shaking, not just with fury, but the worry and growing anxiety that Kaito could be hurt somewhere and was unable to pick up his phone for the tenth time when she tried to call. Because of the chaos that erupted when the empty security room, which was two floors above where she was now, exploded ten minutes after the heist started, Aoko's memories were too jumbled up for her to recall them properly. Was it fifteen or thirty minutes ago when Kaito excused himself because he had a tummy ache? And when he slipped away to do his business, did he mean going to the museum's bathroom or going home? Where the hell could he be-
"Kaito." Her dry mouth moved on its own. "I need to find him before doing anything else."
Kid froze, looking as though he was pinned back by a gust of air. But Aoko was too busy running through her memory than being perspective about his reaction. She continued her rambles. "He could be inside somewhere and-"
"Nakamori-"
"I can't lose him." Aoko whimpered. Her vision of Kid turned blurry until she blinked, hot tears rolling down her cheeks. "I can't lose him, you know?"
"Trust me," Kid suddenly grabbed her shoulders, shocking her awake as she looked at him up straight. "I know."
She blinked. There wasn't any tears left in her eyes.
"Kuroba Kaito is fine." He quickly intercepted himself, as if he was correcting his previous sentence that wasn't exactly wrong or right. "I saw him running out with one of the Task Force members. He's fine."
Aoko thought her soul just left her body. "Is it true?"
"Yes." Came the quick reply as he glanced over her shoulders. "You need to-"
"Are you really telling me the truth?" She cut in again, her gaze firm and serious. His words could be playing at anything, just like all those times when he taunted her during his heist and escaping moments. But if he was saying it just so to trick her to give in and get out to safety, she would never forgive him.
There was no trace of hesitance in his voice. "Yes. I'm speaking the truth." Without warning, he brushed his gloved hands across one of her ears, sending shivers down her entire spine when he did. She didn't have the chance to ask what the hell he was up to, not when she touched her face and realized it was magically half-covered by a mask.
He pushed her towards the direction of the exit. "Go straight and down the stairs."
"What about you-?" She muffled behind the mask.
"You don't have to care about me. You have someone who is more important for you to find, right?"
Her heart gave a funny squeeze. She knew Kid's words were true because it should be true, but the fault of doubt was due to herself instead of the phantom thief. Burning her thoughts like the fire that was about to consume her floor, she took her entire body's nerve cell to force herself to twist her foot and amble her way out of the smoke, which she was doing fine until the fourth step and she stopped.
Aoko turned.
Kid was already gone.
She adjusted the mask around her face once more and dashed down to the first floor.
Her father wasn't all that pleased when he found her, not like it wasn't expected. His raging yells and shouts was put to an end temporarily when a paramedic ordered him to, just so he could patch up the tiny scratches on Aoko's arm in peace. The lack of opportunity for him to shout ironically cooled him down a bit, and after the paramedic left to tend to other patients who needed his help, her father gave her a sudden yet awkward hug.
"You scared the shit out of me when I was doing head counts."
"I'm sorry, I-" Aoko was too sheepish for her father's actions that she had completely forgotten the reason why she was inside the building in the first place. "Where is Kaito?"
"Kaito-kun?" Her father broke the hug and glanced over his shoulder. "He was out there somewhere, but he sped off when-"
"Aoko!"
She would still recognize the voice even if she was burnt down to ashes by the fire. Aoko turned, her hair whipping past half her body to see Kaito skipping towards her with a face mixed with eagerness and worry. She might have pounced onto him and hug the soul of his body if she wasn't so annoyed at him, at herself, and at all the trouble that was unnecessary created earlier. Her father left them alone when he knew it was pointless to be standing there in between their arguments.
It was known later that the explosion of the security room was a set-up, though it was definitely a blessing that no one was around at the point of time. Her father wondered if Kid had played too far, but Aoko inwardly begged to differ. It wasn't all just about believing in Kid's honour and such; she had her suspicion about a lurking and unseen danger ever since she'd witnessed the two black, charred holes on Kid's glider the night he fell.
.o.
With bland interest, Aoko stared at the time shown on her phone screen before turning it off.
Exactly five minutes later, she could imagine Kaitou Kid sweeping across the floor with his cape and the jewel in his hand before he disappeared into a puff of smoke, leaving the Task Force guessing where the hell he could be. If he wasn't up for any tricks or using specific methods in response to some challenge note he received, she could see a pattern in his steps and escape. But tonight, Aoko wasn't up for it.
She changed her mind when she was in the subway train and on the way to the museum where Kid held his heist. Without much of a contemplation, she got off just one station away from where she should alight and walked out of the quiet streets under the star-filled sky.
It wasn't just the stress from over-loading school work or the lack of sleep as of late. The intensity of her desire to see Kid captured had grown lesser, and it made her sick in the stomach to feel that way when her father was pumping every blood in his vein to make sure his job was done right.
"Then I hope you'll not regret what you've done."
The thief words came back and bit her right in the butt. But she wasn't thinking about the day when she found him lying, cold and almost lifeless under the pouring rain. Every night, she would be trying to figure out at which point did all of it started; from the first time when she crossed path with Kid personally and the consistency of their contact afterwards.
Almost unbeknownst to Aoko, she had walked the entire stretch of road and towards a quiet garden up a hill during her heavy thoughts. The slope that was starting to turn steep caused her to change her focus from her worries to how she needed to put in effort to make her way up to wherever she was going. The lack of exercising had decreased her stamina, and the fact that Kaito was a little quieter in his pranks meant there was less mop-chasing too.
Her tiring effort was paid off with a magnificent view over the city below, its bright lights sparkling like reflection of the stars in the sky. Her eyes twinkled in awe, and her entire trouble had almost vanished in an instant. It's been long since she managed to see such a view, and she made a mental note to bring Kaito along some day in the future. He would certainly be all impassive and unimpressed as usual, but his company would definitely make the trip and view much fantastic that it could be.
The thought of it made her genuinely smile from ear to ear for the first time in weeks.
"That should be Ekoda High School." She closed an eye and angled her thumb over the far end of the city, trying to find the exact spot where she thought her High School would be. Slowly, she moved her thumb to her right. "And that, should be the clock tower."
"Wrong." Something had grasped her elbow and shifted it a little more back to the left. "That is the clock tower."
Aoko screamed. She jumped back, almost losing a footing until a gentle yet firm force wrapped around her back, helping her to gain back her balance. Her eyelashes fluttered rapidly until her eyes grew wide at the figure in front of her.
"K-Kid?!" As though his touch burns, she pushed his arm that was still wrapping around her waist and stepped away, her face scowling so badly it was hurting her jaw. "You-! You scared the hell out of me!"
"Sorry." He sounded more amused than apologetic. "But to be fair, I was here first. It was you who didn't notice my presence."
"You are an idiot!" She hissed. Her heart still hadn't settled down, and this moment was giving her a prickling sense of Deja Vu. Not something she experienced with Kid, but more like with Kaito. Still, she couldn't put an exact word to this feeling.
He simply flaunt his nice set of teeth and started wriggling something out of his pocket. In an instant, a bright blue diamond appeared in his hand and he raised it to the sky without any words. She watched him with an arm-length distance, trying to decipher the tricks he was about to pull.
Nothing happened, except for a brief flicker of disappointment that flashed across his face.
The jewel he was holding must be today's loot. Maybe she could grab the jewel and push him off the hill. Even though she was hundred and one percent sure she would miss, she still wanted to do it. But before she could put her thoughts to action, the diamond disappeared from his gloved hands.
"I thought I can rest my wings here." He began, slicing the cold wind that was starting to build up. "But I don't mind some company."
The pointless remark wasn't enough to distract her realisation towards his habit of showing the diamond under the sky every time. "What is your goal? Trying to find the best, glowy-sparkly diamond in the world? Was the one you just stolen under my father's nose not impressive enough?"
She was pretty sure she sounded very sarcastic, but Kid was silent for a moment, seeming to be considering her words thoughtfully. "Whatever that floats your boat." He finally replied.
Kid was always like this; either replying her indirectly or giving her an open-ended answer. If Kid wanted to play words games, she could do the same. "The only thing that floats my boat is something ethical and noble." She scoffed. "So, what? Are you trying to scoop out the fakes and help to make the jewel-industry a better place?"
"Disregarding my purpose or goal, I think what's more important to you is the outcome of it all." He paused, as if to prolong the dramatic tension. "I will disappear."
Aoko lost. Her gripping determination to dig out information from him was gone like the breeze that blew by, her attention now on the new topic that didn't do anything but confuse her even further.
"You'll disappear?" She said in a voice she hoped was nonchalant. Inside, however, her heart dropped.
"Something I remembered you wanting, wasn't it?" He gave an all-like innocent tilt of his head.
"That's-" Her lips quivered, the words stuck in her throat and unable to get out.
There were only three men in this world that made a difference to Aoko's life; her father, Kaito and Kid. But what made Kid different from the rest was his unusual and weird attraction towards her. Her father was obsessed with his work, and Kaito was sometimes in a world she couldn't enter. Kid; Kid treated her differently. Liked he cared. Like she mattered. Like she was extraordinary compared to the thousands of fans who were willing to do anything to get his recognition.
Although she had been effective in convincing Kid to assume she was the last person on Earth to give a shit about the day when he disappeared, it was too late. The balance had already tipped, to a point she couldn't even fool herself.
And she was afraid she couldn't hold that facade any much longer.
"That's?" Kid's interest must have peaked to the point he couldn't resist prompting her to continue.
That's not true. Not anymore, at least.
His existence, be it his name or his presence, had changed her, and she couldn't imagine living it any other way. But she had to hold it in. She couldn't admit to him, or correct him, that he was wrong. She was already on the losing end, and she would do anything to scrap up the scattered remains of her pride.
"That's very kind of you." The words flowed like a boat sailing in the tough, stormy sea. "For you to fulfil my wish."
"It's something I owe you," There was something in his tone that made his sentence incomplete, but he didn't add anything else to the deafening silence that was starting to fall between them.
"Why do you keep saying you owed me?" She said, exasperated. "What exactly did you owe me?"
"Many things." The way his shoulder slouched showed his regrets of bringing up this subject, despite how calm his voice was.
"Name one, then.
"It's worth a price you can't afford to know."
"Or rather because you can't afford to say it?" Aoko narrowed her eyes. "I know my math; the secret of your debt couldn't be worth a price I can't afford."
Kid turned away to watch the city lights below. "Even with the risk of destroying your relationship with Kuroba Kaito?"
Shocked into immobility, she scrutinized him for an uncomprehending second before her brain started working again. "What- How does this involve Kaito?"
"You said any price."
"That wasn't relevant." She snapped. It couldn't have been.
Kid continued staring down the city, still refusing to look at her. "The secret you want to know is worth that much."
Aoko's scowl grew even bitter, if that was possible. "But there's no worth to you."
"Yes, it does." He said, so frankly and plainly that she wasn't sure how to retort even after a second of silence passed.
"Why are you doing this?" She felt herself reel. All the frustration, confusion... All the emotions that she'd pushed down deep inside of her for the past weeks came suddenly rushing back and she squeezed her fists tight, digging her fingernails hard into the palms of her hand to block out the pain. "You have my father chasing after your tail for more years than I've lived. And now you're trying to take another person out of my life? The one that meant the most important to me?"
When he finally had the decency to turn to face her, he looked completely exhausted. "One was inevitable, the other was a choice."
She couldn't quite get the picture right. Her brows merged, more because of puzzlement than anger. "Which is which?"
"It doesn't matter for you to know."
"Then why are you telling me? Why are you explaining everything to me like you want me to understand yet you don't at the same time? Is it fun to you to play these kind of mind games with me?"
Her shouts didn't make Kid flinch, not even a single bit. "No." He answered impassively.
"Then what is it?" Her throat was starting to hurt. "Because you're bored?"
"Because I can't help but wish that you don't hate me."
Aoko stared at him, wrong footed by the change of mood, and she couldn't believe she was ridiculously relieved when a faint yet clear sound of synchronised laughing was coming from the slope of the hill, which was good enough as a distraction to change the atmosphere between them. She turned, watching as a pair of couple climbed up to the garden, perhaps to end their date with a night view together.
She could hear Kid shifting his weight beside her, preparing to take flight.
"We're not done talking." Aoko blurted.
He stopped, almost obedient. But the next words that flowed out from his mouth proved otherwise. "We are. For me." His cape burst into the famous triangular shape on the cue, the wind hitting the solid form like slaps.
"Kid-!"
"Don't worry, Nakamori-san. What's most important for you to understand is that I'll disappear, soon." He lowered his hat as a replacement for a salute. "And that, Kaitou Kid's honour, I can promise."
Kid took a step back, allowing the wind to take charge as he swirled and flew away from the hill before dipping his shoulder and down the city lights, disappearing into the shadows.
She made sure the distance was far enough before the words rolled out of her heavy tongue.
"But I don't hate you." Her hair flapped across her shoulders, eyes wavering along with the shimmering lights beneath her. "And I don't want you to disappear too."
.o.
"Kuroba Kaito! It was you who peeked inside the girl's locker room again, wasn't it?!"
Aoko took a back seat this time, not bothering to get involve in the fight as she silently watched several of her girl classmates throwing paper balls at Kaito, who dodged them without breaking a sweat.
He was still sweet, confusing, and a pervert jerk that flipped her skirt at least once a day, but Aoko could still see the signs. He was often tired, inattentive and less livelier than before. She questioned the change, but he gave some vague excuses and spent more time having his own inner monologues than trying to talk to her about it.
She couldn't understand why.
Or maybe she didn't want to.
.o.
The stars littered like bits and crumbs around the moon, which was full and round like a belly of a happy, filled stomach. It was a beautiful view... and of all the bloody nights for the sky to decide to be romantic today.
Aoko crushed the movie tickets in her hand and dumped it deep inside her pocket, trudging away from the theatre and several couples who just came out of the said movie and talking about how fantastic it was.
It was Kaito who initiated the movie date, but he was late. So damn, darn freaking late that everything was over. Even when the movie wasn't one that Aoko was interested in, even when it was on the night she had planned to attend Kid's heist, she still agreed to his request. Because she thought his company was the most important. But he didn't show up.
For the first five calls, Aoko was constantly swearing and cursing when she reached his voicemail. By the sixth and onwards, she grew more worried than anger, but her mood easily slipped back towards annoyance when she realized Kaito could have forgotten all about the movie because of Kid's heist (She could sense his suppressed interest when Hakuba was talking about it during lunch break). He might have left his phone at home, or dropped his phone from all the pushing and squeezing, or the cheers from the crowd made his ringtone sound like a mute.
Fuming, she decided to go to the heist, which was just three stations away, just to find Kaito and give him a very painful lecture. On her way there, she stopped before a traffic light, her eyes focused on the large TV screen hanging at the top of a shopping mall just across her. It wasn't showing the usual, flashy advertisements Aoko remembered. It was broadcasting a LIVE cam, and when she pondered about what it was filming, she saw a flash of white and the camera turned shaky again.
Kid's promised capture of Silver Moon is currently interrupted by intruders! was the headlines bolded in red at the bottom of the screen.
Oh.
The focused changed to the new reporter as she began updating into the small mic she was holding. The sound from the TV was faint due to the noise pollution around her, but she managed to catch some important words if she strained her ears enough.
"Kid... succeeded... running... roof..." Aoko was only able to piece the words together when the camera started zooming on Kid, who was standing on the ledge and clutching on the red gem to his chest. So it seemed he had succeeded in stealing the gem and was currently running to the roof to escape. Oh bravo.
Aoko read up on the diamond when her father told her about it. Silver Moon, or so they named it. The price of the gem didn't just come from the quality and beauty; it had quite a lengthy history to it... but she didn't know it would be so red. The gem looked as if it was glowing in Kid's hand.
Glowing.
Her lips parted.
"Trying to find the best, glowy-sparkly diamond in the world?"
Her cheeks twitched at her own words echoed in her head, hitting her like a cold shower.
The camera turned extremely shaky all of the sudden and Aoko widened her eyes, almost afraid of what was happening on the other end. All Aoko could make out from the sound of the TV was "gunshot... screaming... gone..." She only exhaled a breath she didn't know she have been holding when she saw Kid flying away, safely, from the roof he was standing on before.
Not long later, the screen showed the rioting fans and a blast of red and blue police lights.
The LIVE cam ceased, and the screen turned back to the news reporter again. "The police... investigating... suspicious intruders..."
Aoko felt a bump on her shoulder, which sent her attention back on earth once again. The traffic light had already turned green as the passers-by began on their way, leading their life like nothing had changed.
But not for her.
Her foot twisted to another direction where the nearby bus-stop was. She could take a bus that sends her straight home since there was no point in going to the museum now.
Kid is gone. And Kaito would be, too.
Aoko bit her lips and instantly stopped in her tracks, feeling puzzled from the odd yet natural flow of her thoughts.
It was only till her father called her phone, telling her he wouldn't be home and perhaps the whole of tomorrow morning too, then she managed to find the will to continue the journey back home.
She didn't question about Kid and only wished her father well and goodnight.
.o.
After Aoko sent a text to Kaito, telling him he was going to get it in school tomorrow, she spent the rest of the night staring at the ceiling of her bedroom, unable to find peace to sleep (Her bedsheets had wrinkled under her from all the tossing and turnings). Giving in to the fate of her sleepless night, she tossed her blanket away and lifted herself off the bed, dragging herself to her desk. She could read up on history, and if she was lucky, she might turn drowsy and get some sleep.
As she trudged across her bedroom, she caught a movement at the corner of her eye and jumped to her side, arms across her chest like a defence stance. She stared at the balcony window, where her curtains were drawn close and shut. But behind it; behind the glass, something moved again, and the dim light from outside casted the shadow of the figure onto her curtains.
She would scream if it was anything else, but the shadowy-shape that looked too familiar to a top hat immediately gave it away. She stomped over her curtains and pulled it to one side, revealing the very Kaitou Kid she suspected resting his wings on her balcony.
Her bewilderment had garnered her some incredible strength as she pushed the sliding door with one hand and slammed it all the way to the end. "How long have you been standing here?!" Aoko exclaimed the first thing the wind started hitting her face. She sincerely hoped her curtains were drawn to a full close beforehand, or Kid would have seen everything inside her room and the way she rolled restlessly and idiotically on the bed.
"Quite a while." He admitted, looking nothing but impassive. "And sorry if I've disturbed your rest, Nakamori-san."
"I thought-" Aoko swallowed the words she didn't know how to phrase and rethink some new ones. In the end, she could only manage the typical, overused sentence she always used on Kid when they crossed path at unexpected locations; for example, her balcony. "What the hell are you doing here?"
Kid looked like he was searching for an answer, despite how he should have had a perfect script since he was creeping on her balcony all these while. "I've told you I only wanted two things." He said, standing unusually stiff and still. "And I'm here to tell you; both of them."
"Of all timing, why now?" She gasped between her words, unable to contain her astonishment in regards to his randomness. "I'd asked you before, and you were stubborn like a goddamn bull."
"Because Kaitou Kid is going to disappear tonight." He unconsciously touched the brim of his hat, as though for an assurance Aoko didn't know he ever need. "Although without your knowledge, I'd promised myself that I will tell you before I go."
"So... That means you've found what you wanted." She murmured in one breath as she danced through her memories, remembering the glowing red diamond in his hand which she seen on the TV screen. "You fulfilled your purpose."
"Not quite, yet. But yes. At least I got one out of the two things I wanted."
"And what are they?" Aoko finally asked, while hoping there wasn't too much curiosity tainted in her voice. Or disappointment. Not that.
"One," Kid slowly unclenched one of his gloved hands, revealing a small shard of the red jewel lying in the middle of his palm. "Destroy a myth."
She slowly lifted her head to look at Kid, her eyes widened.
"Two," He slipped the shard somewhere up his sleeve and reached out for his monocle. He pulled, the four-leaf clover swung around his wrist as he showed it to her. Before she could say a word, he took off his hat with the other gloved hand.
For the first time in her entire life, she was able to look right into Kid's two blue eyes that were exposed under the moonlight.
"Two," He repeated again, his voice no longer pitched as the honeyed, confident Kid. "Your forgiveness." Kuroba Kaito finally said.
Aoko couldn't move. She couldn't even breathe.
"I'm sorry that you missed the movie because of me," Kaito quietly slipped the monocle inside his pocket and placed the hat by his feet. No magic. Nothing.
"You..." Aoko was still trying to find back her ability to operate her lungs.
"Can I... Can I tell you a story instead?"
Her heart was racing so fast to the point she was afraid it would stop. She wanted to shout, wanted to wail, wanted to strangle the very man in front of her, but her body wasn't responding to what her brain wanted. Instead, she let out one shuddering breath and mentally prayed that her eyes wouldn't pathetically brim with tears. Some stars in the sky must have heard her prayers, and she had collected enough composure to make sure her voice didn't crack when she spoke. "What story?"
He seemed relieved that she answered, but a flash of hesitance and lit up his eyes. Kaito was never hesitant in his moves and magic, and Kid was never hesitant when he faced any threats or tipped his balance off the roof and fly into the night. But he was. Kaito or Kaitou Kid. They both, as one, was hesitant, and seeing him like this was enough to make Aoko feel sorry, guilty and unsure of herself.
Still, she held back her emotions and decided to listen before she judge or respond. She was drained from trying to remain calm, but this was her dream; to listen to Kaito's inner words, ones that she knew he always kept to himself.
"It's a story of a boy who tries his hardest to do the wrong thing right," Kaito glanced away, "but ends up lying to the girl he didn't want to hurt."
She only understood half of his implications. "What's the thing that boy did wrong right?"
"Becoming a criminal to avenge for his father's death." Kaito dared himself to face her.
"Your dad...?" Aoko shook her head, not understanding all of the sudden. "Wasn't he..."
"He was killed," Kaito's voice was low and almost chilly. "For trying to stop the murderers from getting something that wasn't meant for them to seek."
"Kaito-"
"It's done and dusted; The thing they wanted." His tone, slowly and steadily, was turning back to its usual state. "I'd destroyed it."
Aoko's lips started quivering non-stop, till her teeth were grinding against each other. The enlightenment and realization dawned upon her pretty quickly once she pieced Kaito's words with the timeline of events. His father's death and the first Kid's disappearance, the eight years gap and the sudden revival of a phantom thief... Everything just clicked instantly. Everything that she blindly missed out for so long.
Or everything that she was trying not to see.
She wiped her eyes, just so the tears wouldn't fall. "Then who's the girl that boy lied to?" She asked, even when the answer was as obvious as the bright moon hanging in the sky. She wanted a change of direction to the story. She didn't want to linger over a topic that Kaito would end up relieving the hurt and pain.
"She's someone who is the most important to him in the world." He looked right into her eyes, as if trying to read her soul. "You."
Even though she knew the answer first-hand, she wasn't expecting such an extravagant reply, even from Kaito. "You're an idiot." Aoko choked on her hiccups and sniffed away her teary snots, her face coated in red.
"I'm sorry." He afforded a soft, miserable laugh. "I'm sorry." He said weakly again, just to break the silence that drifted moments later.
"Was the debt Kid; you, have been saying all these while... this? The explanation? Kaito, no." His father's death was already a blow, and knowing that he was killed... Aoko couldn't imagine the turmoil Kaito had gone through. She should be the one owing him, for not realizing all these sooner, for failing as his best friend and for hurting him every time with her cruel words. At least her father came back for dinner occasionally. Kaito faced a house that wasn't a home. "You don't owe me anything. You don't owe me an explanation."
"I do." He lowered his gaze and his lips twisted bitterly. "I knew that avenging my father would cost you yours, but I still went ahead to do it. I knew how you felt about Kid, but I still went ahead to do it. I hurt you, Aoko. I did hurt you. I betrayed you."
"As much as I am reluctant to admit, Dad is indeed happier when Kaitou Kid returned." Aoko sighed, her eyes droopy in response to Kaito's painful and awkward smile. "He wakes up early for breakfast, strives harder for work than before, and goes out to celebrate with his colleagues after the jewel was returned. He is happier."
"But you aren't." He said solemnly, not missing a beat.
"I have you, Kaito." At this point, sheepish was the last thing she bothered to feel for her sudden admittance. "But my Mom isn't here and Dad is all alone. I only managed to get him back on track, but Kaitou Kid is the one that gets him running."
"Aoko-"
"And you don't know how I feel about Kaitou Kid." Aoko paused to take in the rare form of a very surprised-looking Kaito. "At least not anymore." She muttered in the end.
He blinked, shock still radiating his features. It was ironic when he came here as Kid to tell her the truth, yet he was the one being stumped all along. "I don't understand." Was all he managed to say.
She might explain that to him one day, but not now. "I don't want to hear your story because you feel like you owed me. And I don't want to hear your story because of some Phantom's honour." Aoko hardened her gaze and Kaito's straightened in reflex. "I want to hear it because you want to tell me."
"And because I don't want to lie to you anymore." He added.
Aoko nodded. "And that."
"And because I love you too."
"And tha-" When the words registered insider her head, her face had turned red and hot like fire. "You're an idiot, Bakaito."
"I know."
He took a step, closing their distance and ran his gloved hand past her hair (just like the day he did when they first met on the roof to cut the ends of her hair that was stuck between the metal door) and kissed her.
Everything else could wait later.
.end.