A/N: "This" is conversation, 'this' is thought.
Chapter 1
Kaito realized that sometimes, things changed so slowly that you don't realize that the world you've become accustomed to has been irrevocably changed. Other times, things change so fast that you're left breathless and dazed and with no idea how to proceed with your life. Kaito swore that he would never let something catch him off guard ever again, after he learned the truth behind his father's death and found himself thrust into the role of phantom thief. So he began mentally distancing himself from the people around him just in case Something Bad happened and he would be forced into hiding.
Having a good Poker Face helped a lot and he knew that he had his father to thank for that skill, although Kaito didn't know at the time that the Poker Face was intended to be used as an aide in the family profession as kaitou. Kaito assumed that it was something for use on stage, as a magician, but it wasn't until afterwards that he learned how useful that skill was for every day life. Then again, Kuroba Toichi was responsible for passing on many of the skills that made it possible for his son to progress naturally from Magician to Kaitou. As a child, Kaito learned that in order to put on a good performance, he had to know how to hide his emotions and know how to read others'.
For a magician, if you couldn't accurately gauge an audience's reaction, it could result in an awful performance. For a kaitou, it could result in a humiliating capture...or even death.
Every day, Kaito was eternally thankful that his father had chosen to teach him the skills to understand people before moving on to the more advanced magic and thievery skills. Of course, there were times that he wished his father had left behind a notebook of useful Kaitou tricks but he could usually handle it. He had to, if he wanted to bring his father's killers to justice.
But it's possible to relax your guard, just a little bit mind you, in the right company. Even the best performer needs to have a place to go where they don't have to worry about being "on" at all times.
"Kaito!" Aoko huffed with eyes blazing and hands on hips. "You're not even pretending to listen to me, are you?"
"Eh?" Kaito blinked owlishly at her and then smiled widely when he noticed the glint in her eyes and the mop within arm's reach. "Of course I was listening."
"Then what did I say?"
"You were talking about how the Kid had it lucky this week and how he's a jerk for making cops look like fools, right?" He said and internally praised his father's brilliance for teaching him how to listen to, and more importantly, remember, conversations when your mind was wandering. Very useful.
"Well he IS!" Aoko shouted, annoyed that she was unable to catch him off guard. "He'll be caught one day and that'll show you the police are better!"
"Maybe the Kid is just out of their league," Kaito retorted with a grin. "After all, the Kid's too smart and skilled to be caught by the kind of plans that the cops come up with."
"Then what about Hakuba-kun? He came really close the last couple times!" Aoko scowled fiercely. "He'll probably catch the Kid soon!"
Kaito grimaced. "That was just dumb luck."
As much as he really hated to admit it, Hakuba had been getting closer and closer to catching him so Kaito had been forced to come up with increasingly complex plans to ensure his continued freedom. He liked Aoko's dad and all but he wasn't quite ready to give up the game yet. There were still so many things at stake. However, the British detective was not making it easy to get away with his target anymore, not that it mattered to Kaito since he welcomed the challenge. It made things interesting.
Kaito leaned back in his chair and glanced across the room, fully expecting to see that infuriatingly superior smile on the detective's face as he tossed a few choice words towards the thief, when he noticed something odd. Hakuba's seat was still empty.
'That's odd.' He thought, 'That guy's never missed so much class without a good reason, like a heist. But the problem with that is that I haven't sent out any notices lately...'
But Hakuba was absent today, just as he had been for the last week. In fact, now that Kaito thought about it, the detective had been absent from the Kid's last couple heists and that would certainly explain the sudden difference in difficulty when it came to getting that night's target and escaping unscathed. Inspector Nakamori was good at catching criminals but he would never be good enough to outsmart the Kaitou Kid.
Besides, as far as Kuroba Kaito was concerned, there were only two people that stood a good chance of finally stopping the thief and they were Kudo Shinichi and Hakuba Saguru. However, the former had zero interest in searching for phantom thieves and the latter was too much of a prude to have any real fun with, not to mention being punctual to an almost obsessive level. That was the case except lately, when the latter was refusing to show up like he was supposed to and thus made certain magicians very nervous and edgy.
"Geez," Kaito rest his chin in his hands and stared accusingly at the vacant seat. 'Where did that guy disappear to?'
"Hakuba has returned to England." A dark female voice murmured into his ear, her breath tickling the hairs on the back of his neck.
Kaito yelped, recoiling violently from the voice and quickly bit back the urge to curse loudly as he spun to face a leisurely smiling Akako. She was up to something. His face automatically schooled itself into a mask of annoyance and bored indifference, betraying none of his fright beyond his initial reaction and renewed irrational suspicions of the witch's ability to read minds.
"Why are you telling me this?" Kaito said blandly.
Akako smile widened, making Kaito's watch her with narrowed eyes as she took her time to chose her next words before answering. "You look like you're worried about him and wanted to know."
"And why would you think that I'd care about where that guy is?" Kaito rolled his eyes and turned away with an exaggerated huff. "I'm not his keeper, even if he does need one."
But Akako was not so easily convinced.
"You're been restless ever since he left," she pressed. "Although that's only to be expected since the Kid has lost one of his more intriguing adversaries."
"That's right!" Aoko said with an accusing tone that made Kaito switch his wary gaze to her. "You've been going on about how good that thief has been lately but that's only because he's been underestimating the police! Once Hakuba-kun gets back, the Kid's as good as caught!"
Kaito smirked at her. "But he hasn't caught the Kaitou Kid yet, has he?" Then, he turned to Akako and said, "I'm not worried about Hakuba and I'm not the Kid, if that's what you're implying. Now both of you, stop ganging up on me!" He said with the slightest hint of a whine.
"Oh my, did we say something that disturbed you?" Akako said mildly.
He grit his teeth behind a sunny grin that only appeared slightly strained. "No, not at all."
"Is that so...?" Akako smiled.
Aoko sighed as she turned to look at Hakuba's empty desk. This behaviour wasn't like the detective at all and it worried her. "Akako-chan?" She interrupted their argument before it could become dangerous, although for whom, she wasn't entirely certain.
"Yes?"
Aoko hesitated. "Do you know why Hakuba-kun had to leave so suddenly? Doesn't he usually only go back to England during long vacations and at the end of term?"
"Hmm… that is a good question, Nakamori." Akako began to say but allowed her words to trail off as she watched Kaito from the corner of her eyes.
The dark-haired boy leaned his chair back at an angle that threatened to deposit the magician on the ground if he dared to lean back any further. He rest his crossed legs on the top of his desk and his arms were crossed behind his head while he stared at the ceiling with a distant smile on his face. It would have been a perfect image of Kuroba feeling absolute boredom and indifference towards the current conversation if Akako didn't notice how the muscles around his eyes tightened when she replied to Aoko's question.
'So he's interested after all,' Akako thought with amusement.
"Akako-chan?" Aoko prompted, drawing the other girl's attention back to the matter at hand.
"Forget it," Kaito said dismissively. "Who cares if she knows anything about Hakuba?"
"Then we won't bother you with our conversation, excuse us." Akako replied, taking Aoko's arm and gently pulling her to the other side of the room as Kaito glared at her in annoyance. He tried to ignore the girls as they whispered to each other but it was possible that Akako was taking the chance to plant dangerous ideas into Aoko's mind. Kaito frowned but resolved to remain silent and uninterested, which lasted the whole of 10 seconds before his curiosity defeated his pride.
"So what're you talking about?" He called over with a grin. "You're not trying to gang up on me again, are you?"
"You'd deserve it if we were," Aoko said as she walked towards her seat. "But it's nothing that concerns you."
"C'mon Aoko!" Kaito pleaded as soon as he noticed that Akako had yet to return to his side of room. "You can tell me, I promise I won't tell anyone else! I'm really good at keeping secrets! …So what were you talking about?"
"I don't know," She said but after taking a good long look at the pitiful expression on Kaito's face and the barely restrained curiosity that was threatening to bubble out of him, she relented. It was better to just tell him than to take the risk that Kaito would come up with some scheme to embarrass her into telling him what he wanted.
Kaito's smile just beamed.
"Akako-chan was just telling me some interesting things about you, Hakuba-kun and the Kid…"
Kaito interrupted her before she could finish that thought. "What did she say about that guy?"
"You mean, the Kid?" Aoko said innocently.
"No, you know who I'm talking about!" Kaito said.
"No, who could you be talking about?" Aoko blinked quizzically at him.
Kaito opened his mouth to retort hotly when he stopped and groaned, finally noticing the grin that was slowly spreading across Aoko's face. He ran a hand through his hair. "Oh, fine. You win. I'll say it." He grimaced at the look of triumph on her face. Damn, she won this round.
"This is payback for flipping your skirt on the way to school, right?"
"Yup!" Aoko confirmed with a smile. "Now admit that you're worried about Hakuba-kun to me and I'll tell you what I know about his disappearance."
Kaito grumbled and muttered several uncomplimentary things under his breath.
"What was that, Kaito?" Aoko asked brightly as she tightened her grip on the mop she had retrieved while speaking with Akako. She was pleased at how Kaito's eyes flickered nervously at the motion.
"I was just saying," he had to pause to swallow his pride and animosity towards the British detective, but needed another moment to vow revenge on Akako. He had to get back at her for doing this to him one way or another… or not. He decided quickly that starting a prank war with somebody like Akako, with her unnatural powers and eerie premonitions and who knew what other tricks at her disposal, could prove to be a Very Bad Idea. The brief glimpses of her abilities when he first met her had been more than enough to convince the magician that crossing Akako was something to be avoided if possible.
Kaito sighed.
"I just wanted to know what you know about that… Hakuba hasn't been showing up."
Aoko smiled at Kaito, who looked as if saying those words had left a foul taste in his mouth that he wanted desperately to get rid of. "But didn't you say that you weren't worried about him?"
"But that was then and this is now." Kaito chirped brightly, switching tactics. "If somebody has to look after Hakuba and make sure that he knows just how badly he messes up, it might as well be me!" He leaned towards Aoko with a maniac grin. "Besides, weren't you saying how I shouldn't fight with Hakuba so much?"
"Yeeaaaah," Aoko admitted reluctantly. She didn't like how quickly Kaito had taken her advantage and reversed it but she could think of no way to counter his words. And with his convoluted admission of concern, Aoko's own concerns about the whereabouts of their classmate returned with full force. She had felt a bit better after Akako told her where and why Hakuba left so suddenly but now, she wasn't so certain.
"So?" Kaito asked impatiently, "What do you know?"
"He left class around noon last Friday. You weren't here that day, so Hakuba-kun was spending most of his time reading some foreign newspaper that he brought to class. He said something about how you probably wouldn't be here, so he might as well do something useful with his time."
"Sounds like him," Kaito snorted. "What else?"
"Well, I wasn't really paying close attention to what he was doing since he was just reading. There was an announcement on that he had to take an urgent call in the office and he got really upset, crumpled up the newspaper and left it on his desk. I guess that the call must have had something to do with the Kaitou Kid's heist that night since he didn't come back to class to get his bag."
Kaito remained silent as Aoko stopped to collect her thoughts. His mind was promptly sifting though this new information and comparing it with his previous knowledge about the events that day. Last Friday, he cursed, was the day that he decided to cut class to prepare for his heist. He had come up with a particularly difficult riddle in hopes of stumping Hakuba and had sent it to Nakamori several days before the noted time. It was possible that Hakuba had missed class so he could prepare his latest trap but Kaito quickly discarded that idea. It would not be like Hakuba at all to rush out in the middle of class like that and just disappear without telling anyone where he was going. Not only that, but he wouldn't need a call from the cops to be excused from class on the day of a heist. No, Aoko's theory couldn't be right. It didn't fit Hakuba's usual behaviour and, from the looks of things, Aoko didn't fully believe her theory either.
She continued, "Well, Akako-chan told me that she saw Hakuba-kun in the library so that's where he must have gone instead of returning to class. She saw him sitting at a table and reading some mythology books as she was leaving school. He must have left sometime after she went home."
Kaito stared at her. "Hakuba? Mythology? But, why?"
Aoko shrugged. "I don't know either, but that's what Akako-chan said he was doing and she has no reason to lie about something like that."
"That's true," he said. "But that doesn't make things any clearer."
"Anyway, she thinks that Hakuba-kun went back to England to look something up that he couldn't find in our library. It probably has something to do with that call he got." Aoko said.
"But didn't you say that he was called to the office about the Kid's heist?" Kaito frowned.
"That's what I think, but Akako-chan thinks that he left because of the call." Aoko looked troubled. "Maybe the police asked Hakuba-kun to look up something related to the Kid's note and he had to go home to find it. But, I don't know why she thinks he would have to go all the way back to England to find out."
Kaito mentally backtracked and separated the facts from speculation. He paused.
"Wait a sec, Aoko? What newspaper was Hakuba reading? Did you see the name? Language? Anything?" Kaito demanded, grabbing her arm. "Please tell me you still have the paper!"
"I… I don't know!" Aoko stammered.
With a colourful curse threatening to escape his lips, he released her and flopped bonelessly into his chair. All of the animation and excitement that filled his wiry frame vanished instantly and only left behind a sullen and silent Kuroba Kaito. It scared her. His blue eyes stared unfocused and unseeing at the desk as his mind rapidly sifted thorough the facts and cursed the loss of a vital piece of information that could have gone a long way to explain Hakuba's strange behaviour.
There had to be a connection between what Hakuba had read in the paper, the call to the office, the sudden urge to research mythology and his sudden disappearance but Kaito didn't have enough information. Heist be damned, Kaito wanted to figure this out first. It was possible that Hakuba had finally realized the connection between the Kaitou Kid's recent targets and the legends associated with them and rushed to the library to plan ahead. If the call Hakuba received contained some clue that set the blonde's mental gears in motion then that would explain things.
Except, that theory couldn't account for Hakuba's impassioned response to an article in the newspaper and being interrupted by the intercom. Nor could that theory explain why Hakuba would cut class for a whole week. A few days could be explained away but it simply wasn't in the detective's nature to ignore a notice from the Kid without a damn good reason. Or, now that he thought about it, why Hakuba would have to leave the country to research myths about gems when Kaito himself didn't bother tapping information networks beyond what was readily available in Japan.
Not that Hakuba knew that.
'Why does that guy have to be so hard to understand?! ARGH! He's pissing me off and he's not even here!'
Aoko hesitated and swallowed hard before gathering her courage to interrupt Kaito's thoughts. His eyebrows were drawn low over eyes that twitched with annoyance every few seconds. Normally his eyes would glitter brightly with his love of mischief and his ever-present smile would be plastered on his face as it always was. But at the moment, Kaito's eyes were dull and dark with some emotion that she didn't recognize. He seemed unaware of his surroundings as his full attention was focused inwards. Aoko noticed that the smile was still present but it definitely was not one of his usual smiles, it was mocking and sinister and belonged on the face of a criminal like the Kaitou Kid and not on the innocent face of Kuroba Kaito.
"Kaito?" Aoko cringed at how weak her voice sounded and tried again. "Kaito."
"Hmm? What is it, Aoko?" He looked up at her quizzically with a warm smile on his face.
She blinked and began to wonder if she had really seen anything except the usual Kaito that she had always known. A quick shake of her head dismissed any lingering worries about the hauntingly familiar expression on his face.
"If you really want to try and read the paper that Hakuba-kun was looking at, you should check his book bag." Aoko said, "I think I remember putting it in there."
Kaito brightened. "You still have it?!"
"I brought it to his house." Aoko answered with a giggle as she watched Kaito, who suddenly appeared to be having great difficulty deciding if it would be more appropriate to look pleased or horrified by the news. "Why are you so interested in that paper anyway? Have you figured something out? You have, haven't you?"
She eyed Kaito accusingly.
"You went to Hakuba's house, eh?" Kaito drawled with a mischievous smile. "So that means you know where it is and had the keys to get inside."
"Well, yeah. He had all his stuff in his bag and…" Aoko trailed off as her brain caught up with Kaito's words, and what he was suggesting. "KAAITOOOO!"
He just laughed and hopped out of range as Aoko grabbed her previously forgotten mop and swung at the nimble magician. And again, and again, and again, only to miss Kaito by centimetres as he dodged with practiced ease. It wasn't long before all thoughts and concerns about Hakuba's disappearance and any peculiarities about Kaito's behaviour fled from Aoko's mind as she found herself taunted into greater levels of rage and embarrassment.
It wasn't until after the final bell had rung and Aoko had been escorted safely home that Kaito had the chance to devote his full attention to the mystery surrounding Hakuba's sudden disappearance without distraction. If he wanted to know what had upset the stoic detective enough to make him leave the country as Akako suggested, even though Kaito wasn't ready to accept the truth of that claim yet, he would have to find a way to get into Hakuba's house to look for the bag and the newspaper that Aoko returned. There were a lot of questions that could be answered by a thorough search of Hakuba's home but not all of the questions Kaito wanted answered were necessarily related to the matter of his disappearance. The magician certainly had some mischief in mind.
Kaito pressed the hidden switch in the painting of Kuroba Toichi and stepped into his father's work room. He had to prepare for tonight's heist. Or at least, that was what he was intending to do until he was sidetracked once again by the puzzle presented to him by the girls.
It would be ridiculously easy for somebody like Kaito to get inside Hakuba's home, especially since he doubted that Hakuba would expect to be visited by a certain moonlit thief and would take the necessary precautions. Even if Hakuba did take precautions, it would hardly be enough to keep Kaito out if he really wanted to get inside. No, the real problem lay in the fact that Kaito had absolutely no idea where to find Hakuba Saguru's house. Of course he could just ask Aoko where it was but he had already swallowed enough pride for today. It galled him to admit the lack of knowledge even to himself, since he usually made it a point to keep an eye on anybody that could reveal who he was and present a threat to himself and the people he cared for.
'It's probably because I see that guy all the time at school and heists,' Kaito thought as he absently shuffled a deck of cards to load into the card gun. 'I don't need to know where he lives if he's always following me around.'
Kaito shook his head with a rueful smile as he set the card gun aside to prepare the smoke bombs. It would be lying if he said that ever expected that he would ever voluntarily want to go to Hakuba's house for any reason other than to leave a nasty surprise for the British detective. It was risky enough for Kaito to spend all that time with him at during the day at school and at night during a heist without giving that guy any additional chances to figure out who he was.
Even though it was so much fun to dangle tantalizing clues in front of Hakuba's nose about his identity only to snatch them away at the last moment.
One of these days, Kaito resolved that he would take a good look at his sense of self preservation and do something about his habit of baiting dangerous people. Really.
A glance at his watch informed Kaito that he had spent far too much time thinking about the problem and would really have to speed up his preparations if he wanted to make it to the museum on time. It wouldn't be right if the Kaitou Kid failed to show up at the appointed time, even if it was highly unlikely that the Kid would be encountering a great deal of difficulty this time. The resident pain-in-the-neck was gone and would definitely be unable to show up in time to foul up what would otherwise be a splendid performance. Without that guy hanging around the museum and only having Inspector Nakamori's men to worry about, Kaito figured that he was justified in cutting a few corners to make it there on time.
'I just hope that dad's murderers don't show up today.' Kaito though as he slipped out of his street clothes. 'But they've been quiet ever since that first time that I saw them and the target tonight shouldn't be the Pandora.'
A grin spread across the wild-haired boy's face as he pulled on the layers of white clothes that were the Kaitou Kid's trademark. All worries about the men after his life that may or may not come after him fled from his mind as he turned his attention to more pleasant matters.
Like how much easier tonight's heist was going to be.
"This is going to be great! The only guests tonight will be Nakamori-kun and the Kaitou Task Force." Kaito grinned maniacally as he pulled on the Kid's gloves. "It's been too long since I've been able to put on a really spectacular performance!"
It wasn't long before a familiar, electric hum of excitement and tension sang though the thief's veins like a drug. It was almost time for another Kaitou Kid performance and it was going to be something unforgettable. As much as Kaito understood how wrong his night job was intellectually, he could not deny how quickly he had become addicted to the dangers of sending a notice and sneaking into a building, past all defences and security, and to make off into the night with a spectacularly memorable exit.
The hang-glider was definitely one of his favourite ways to escape, Kaito thought as he secured the collapsed package containing said glider onto his back.
Beyond the enjoyment that came from putting his skills, intelligence and expertise to practical use as a phantom thief, he had met some very interesting adversaries. They were equals in intelligence and cunning, although Kaito felt that they still had a ways to go before reaching the thief's level, but what was most important was that they liked to play the game of Phantom Thief and Detective with the infamous criminal 1412. Kaito would be the first to admit that there was a heavy burden that accompanied the white hat and monocle but now, now he could have some fun as he worked.
It made things bearable.
There were so few people that could fully appreciate the depth of his best plans and riddles so it wouldn't be hard to understand why, every now and then, Kaito would actively seek the company of the genius teen detectives on one of his heists. It was intriguing to pit the cunning mind of a master thief against the intelligence of a great detective and watch the battle to see which one would come up victorious. A loss to one of them was nothing to be embarrassed about, although that didn't ease the blow to Kaito's ego when his plans failed to go smoothly and he was forced to improvise or risk losing the target.
Yes, a battle of wits with an equal was a refreshing break from the monotony of escaping from the police's traps. Even though Kaito would never tire of seeing Inspector Nakamori's face contort with rage when his schemes failed to catch the Kaitou Kid and fell apart in front of his eyes in a burst of brightly coloured smoke and confetti, he welcomed the challenge that the genius detectives offered. It was absurdly satisfying to know that you had butted heads with one of the great deductive minds and managed to escape unscathed with target clutched firmly in hand.
That made the risk of inviting them to the heist more than worth it.
That was why Kaito wanted to know where Hakuba disappeared to.
Knowing that the British detective was in the area but wouldn't come to one of his heists disappointed Kaito more that it should have. Then again, Hakuba was one of the few people that possessed the kind of intelligence that inspired the kind of respect that compelled Kaito to send notices to directly challenge the detective's skills.
Kaito's hands stilled in mid-air, white cape threatening to slide from slack fingers, as startled blue eyes widened. That's why. It had been bothering him all week, but now he knew why the last several heists seemed so easy. So routine. So… boring. The heists were planned with the expectation that somebody with above average intelligence would interfere but the blonde never showed up. The plan proceeded without a hitch but the victory seemed dulled by the ease. There was no challenge.
"Well, that's one problem solved." Kaito smiled dryly.
Nimble gloved fingers resumed their motion by settling the cape across his shoulders and clipping it into place, gathering up that night's tools and tucking them away into hidden pockets, double checking the disguises for his entrance and exit from the museum, taking one last look at the floor plans and memorizing the key points before placing the papers on a shelf and then finally putting on the white top hat and monocle to complete the transformation from Kaito to Kaitou.
He walked up the stairs to the roof and pushed open the hidden trapdoor.
"Neither Kudo nor Hakuba have been invited to tonight's performance so I will only have Nakamori-kun and the Kaitou Kid Task Force as my audience. If luck is on my side, tonight will be the Kid's last show." Kaito laughed in the smooth, dark tones of his alter-ego. "I can only imagine Hakuba's disappointment if he returns to find that the Kaitou Kid has retired."
The thief ran soundlessly across the tiles of the roof and bound onto the next building, hurrying along his sky-level road towards the museum that lay a short drive away. He could already see the distant searchlights of the police department scanning the velvet sky and illuminating the regal building like a beacon. They were waiting for the Kid's arrival and were determined to make the thief work to get the gem, even though Kaito knew that it was a futile effort. There were no guests of honour at this performance but it would be rude to keep his audience waiting.
Kaito lengthened his stride to reach the last building before the highway and leapt down onto the roof of the cross-town bus with a muffled thump. He crouched low to avoid notice and waited for the bus to turn onto the last stretch of its route through the residential district before changing into his second disguise of the evening. The bus puffed and roared as it left Kaito's neighbourhood and turned onto the final stretch of road that lead to the museum.
The Kaitou Kid slid from the roof of the bus and disappeared into the crowd of onlookers surrounding the museum as the clock's hands ticked closer to 11pm.
"Time for the show to begin."
