Words: 1361
Trade
Chapter 01: Rhythm
KID the Phantom Thief's heists had been one of Edogawa Conan's favourite stress relievers. It was a place where he could take his mind off the affairs with the Black Organization, and put his knowledge and deductive skills to test without anyone dropping dead within his vicinity.
KID was a very enigmatic thief – despite being a criminal, he made sure that no one gets hurt at his heists, and he always returned what he stole. Not to mention that the thief had save him and the Shounen Tantei-dan a couple times as well. Also, unlike most criminals, KID did not treat him like a child – KID treated him like an equal mind, and he respected the thief for that. He loved the surprises accompanied with the thief's magic, and the thrills attached with the chase. It was a different and unique experience at each and every heist, and it was one of the few things that he secretly wished would never change. Because of the above reasons, he always made sure that he'd able to attend KID's heists whenever they take place.
If Conan had to put a description down, he'd say that KID was the composer and conductor of the heists. Everyone, including the detectives, police officers, spectators, and fans, were merely following the rhythm and melody the thief had in mind. Whether they liked it or not, the moment they chose to participate, they'd be subconsciously following the unsaid rules of a KID's heist. Bottom line was that while detectives like himself might create turbulence to KID's rhythm, KID would still prevail at the end by escaping, either with or without his target, and without a trace.
Along with Mouri Ran, Mouri Kogorou, Suzuki Sonoko and Suzuki Jirokichi, Conan arrived at Shinjuku Kirameku Hotel, where Kaitou KID's heist of the night would take place. In the surrounding area, Nakamori-keibu and his task force were trying to set out plans to capture the white clad thief while keeping the audience away from the entrance of the hotel. As usual, upon their arrival, everyone (excluding himself) had to suffer through the routine cheek-pinch-test from Nakamori-keibu to earn their permission to entry. There're perks about being a kid after all, Conan mused. Being too small to be disguised by Kaitou KID pretty much gave him immunity from that dreadful cheek-pinch. That big red mark on everyone's face certainly looked awfully painful…
The target of the night was a ruby ring named The Hope Ruby, which was apparently one of the most expensive rubies ever sold in the world. With his connections, Suzuki Jirokichi managed to acquire this invaluable ruby ring to be exhibited in celebration to the grand opening of this new luxury hotel under the Suzuki Financial Group. While Conan felt that he could never understand why a piece of gemstone could worth as much as six million dollars, he had no doubt that something as sophisticated as this gemstone would be worthy of the phantom thief's attention.
The ruby ring was locked up within layers of bullet-proof glass containers along with laser beams projecting at every possible angle, while surrounded by task force members guarding every possible entrance and exit to the exhibition hall. There were also an assortment of traps set up in all hallways and potential escape routes. Nakamori-keibu and Suzuki-san seemed to be confident that this flawless setup would successfully capture Kaitou KID, marking the end of his legacy. While Conan would've agreed that an overkill setup like this one would be more than sufficient against most ordinary thieves, but Kaitou KID was nothing but ordinary. He wouldn't admit it out loud (unless he was up for a punch to the head by Mouri Kogorou), but deep inside his heart was beating with excitement, wondering how the illusionary thief would surprise his audience of the night.
Diverting his attention away from the ruby ring, Conan turned around to examine the rest of the exhibition hall for clues to Kaitou KID's plan. He could hear Sonoko's continuous babbling over how amazing KID was projecting through the hall while Ran mindlessly nodded and responded. He didn't want to know where Sonoko got the idea of putting super heavy make-ups on her face and wearing a huge frilly rosy dress to capture KID's attention. The child-sized detective tuned out their voices as he tried to clear his head to get the gears in his brain running.
This was a first and he couldn't fathom why, but something just felt off today, and he had this feeling ever since he entered this exhibition hall. It felt like as if something will crush the natural rhythm of a Kaitou KID's heist, as awkward as that might have sounded.
If he had to point fingers, the first thing he'd point out would be that he couldn't feel Kaitou KID's piercing presence like he usually would at a heist site; it's as if the thief's focus and presence had been deprived from him tonight. That made him wonder – since when did it become habitual for him to expect KID's attention?! Yet he had no doubt that the thief was already present at the hotel, as the thief had never failed to show up for a heist.
Other than that, he also felt a sensation of uneasiness – it was a familiar uneasiness that he had felt a few times before, except he just couldn't pinpoint what it was right now. It was different from the anxiety he had felt at a KID's heist before, though. His detective instinct was telling him that something huge was going to take place tonight, but exactly what?
Before Conan's musing could carry further, the room was suddenly engulfed by darkness, signaling Kaitou KID's impending appearance. The clock on the wall continued to tick as everyone in the room fell silent with anticipation, that even the slightest sound of breathing could be heard. Shortly afterwards, everyone tensed as noises of something cutting through air were made.
Before anyone could figure out the source of said noises, a loud bang and pink smoke captured everyone's attention as the room was once again lit by lights. On top of the bullet-proof glass case stood the white clad thief with the ruby ring in his hand. The surrounding laser projectors appeared to be all destroyed by cards from KID's card gun as none of them lit up again with the return of electricity. Conan could imagine how high Nakamori-keibu's blood pressure must be right now, judging from how red his face had turned against KID's smug grin.
"Ladies and gentlemen, thank you for coming tonight. I'm sorry to inform you that I must take my leave now. While this wasn't my most elegant performance, I hope you enjoyed it. Until next time!" Without another word, KID had disappeared along with a puff of blue smoke – except this time it was accompanied with a click that obviously came from the door leading towards the east branch of the hotel. Without hesitation, Nakamori-keibu immediately led his task force to follow KID's track.
The first thought that crossed Conan's mind was that KID wouldn't make simple mistakes like this, and that it was likely a trap to lure the task force away. The second thought however, really stood out to him – if KID had the time to take care of the bullet-proof glass cases and all the laser projectors, why didn't he knock out the task force as well?! Knocking the task force out with sleeping gas would've been a piece of cake, so why was he going through the trouble to lure Nakamori-keibu and the task force away instead?
Moreover, why did it feel rushed? KID destroyed all traps within the ruby's proximity, and he immediately made a very brief entrance while apologizing for an imperfect performance. Was there any reason why KID didn't make this 'show' as flashy as he usually would?
Baffled by KID's ambiguous intention, the boy detective immediately made a sprint towards the north branch of the hotel, where he presumed the phantom thief had made his escape. He wasn't gonna let KID get away without netting some answers for himself.
TBC.
Afterword: Thanks for reading! Please review and tell me your thoughts! Big thanks to everyone who fav-ed/alert-ed/reviewed the prologue, as well as everyone who put me on their author fav/alert list! \^p^/
Not very good at writing mysteries, so hopefully this chapter wasn't too boring. OTL
Chapter title from GARNET CROW's Rhythm. Check youtube for its live version video! =3