Minawa: Oh, my... it's hard work keeping all this work updated. I hope you have found patients with me...
Conan: Whatever, just start the story already.
Minawa: ... cheeky brat.
Conan: *about to say something but was cut because of the story starting*
Two days full of sightseeing, good food and capturing a murderer or two I felt myself becoming somewhat uneasy. Where was that thief? If he sent you two notes, wouldn't that mean he was going to do something else while I was here?
Something that did bother me was the fact that he had sent me the notes, calling me a detective. Wouldn't that mean he knew I was "Shinichi Kudo's assistant"? Or even worse, that I was Shinichi?
I shook my head as if to clear my unpleasant thoughts. James came in with breakfast and a newspaper under his arm. Handing me it he started to pour the tea.
Reading it through quickly I found what I was looking for.
Tonight at eight o clock the famous thief Kaito KID shall attempt to steal the Holy Maiden. The statue has been on show inside Notre Dame for the last three weeks and it appears also the thief has caught his eye for the beautiful object.
I rubbed my cheek. The Holy Maiden had been on display for a while, we as well had seen it when sightseeing and true enough, it was beautiful. It was a small statue in pure gold, a figure of Maria herself holding Jesus. Her eyes were said to be two small sapphire stones so together with the gold it was worth quite a lot.
Further down they had put in a copy of the thief's note.
Call the bells, say a prayer
Give your hearts to the knight
The fair maiden will soon be rescued
And the curse shall be lifted.
Kaito KID
I smiled at the simple message the paper had translated. The bells and the prayer obviously meant Notre Dame since it is famous for it's size as a church and it's bells. The fair maiden… the Holy Maiden since it was currently on display. Being rescued, meaning he was going to take it way…
But the second and forth line bothered me since I couldn't understand them. Maybe my French was rusty?
I took a sip from my tea as Agasa came running in.
"Shinichi, the paper…" he said with his breath up his throat. I nodded.
"I've read it." I said and eyed him. He took as seat.
"And would you stop calling me Shinichi? It'll blow my cover." I said to him slightly annoyed. He gave me a smile before he dug in his breakfast. I sighed but felt relieved. At least now we had plans for the evening.
The plaza outside was crowded with people hoping they would get to see the phantom. I sighed and waved Agasa and James with me. Reaching the door I walked up to the guard outside. He motioned a no, refusing me in French. I handed him a note I had written earlier, sent by "Kudo".
He read it quickly and then nodded, letting us in.
Finally inside he called the inspector on scene over. The man coming over didn't exactly look all that friendly, with his hard gaze and a thick moustache covering his face. I smiled at him.
"Good evening, Sir. I've been sent instead of Kudo Shinichi, the famous teenage detective." I said in a childish voice, putting my hands behind my head.
The man looked as if he was ready to explode.
"We don't need small boys running around, ruining our police work! The only reason you got inside is because the boss admires your so-called "teenage detective". So please do us a favour and leave!" the man spit, clearly not happy we were in his presence. I glanced up at him.
"Well, like you said, your boss favours my masters help so I don't think there will be any problem with me only keeping an eye on the situation." I said, slightly more serious. I believe he got my point as he sighed and eyed the professor and James.
"Those two can not come in, they could be KID in a disguise! They leave and that's final!" he spat before walking off. I shook my head.
"What a rude man…" I said mostly to myself. James nodded.
"I will not mind waiting outside." He said and Agasa nodded in agreement.
They left the same way we came and soon I was free to move about as I wished to. I eyed the statue placed in the middle of the huge hall, the different hallways nearby and the organisation of police officers. Walking up to one of them I pulled his jacket.
"How many police officers are there here?" I asked him in a somewhat child's voice. He knelt down to my level.
"Oh I don't know… there are about 20 surrounding the buildning, 10 in the hallways and about 30 in here, protecting the statue." He said. I sweat dropped. Don't say, "I don't know…" when you clearly know the numbers…
The clock neared eight and it bothered me, how did they know for sure it would be at eight sharp? Giving it some though I wondered if the note said anything.
"Call the bells, say a prayer…"
When the bells call? Prayer?
I ran over to the same officer I had talked to earlier. Pulling his jacket he knelt.
"Will the bells ring soon?" I asked. He nodded, telling me they usually called 15 minutes to eight. Asking him why he told me it was to tell people when the church open for prayers.
"And when's that?" I asked. He thought for a moment.
"Ten to, I think." He said.
I eyed the police officers, counting 31. In the same moment the bells started calling and it was impossible to talk to anyone. Kid was inside and no one noticed the fact that they were too many.
In a flash of smoke the thief appeared, standing on the display case, holding the statue. The bells stopped in the same moment.
"Gentlemen, thank you for joining me tonight." He said as his eyes fell on me. The inspector yelled something but I didn't notice.
"If you excuse me, I have a meeting with a heartbroken man." He said in a low voice as the officers ran for him. In a flash he was gone.
I stood frozen for a moment but then got annoyed. He couldn't be far…
I ran through the hallway, passing big statues of knights.
Knights?
I stopped and eyed the men. There were three of them and as I looked closed I noticed there was a small crest on one of the knights armour, on the left side of his chest. Climbing the statue I looked closer, seeing a picture of a dove holding a heart.
Pressing the crest it sunk in a few inches and the statue swung open to the side. Behind an opening in the wall revealed itself and inside I spotted a staircase already lit with torches. I grinned as I ran inside and let the statue close behind me.
Standing on the bridge connecting the two towers you had a beautiful view of Paris at night. Unfortually for me, I didn't have the time to enjoy it much.
In front of me I found the Thief standing on the other side of the bridge, grinning. I took a deep breath.
"Quite the steps, don't you think? Monsieur?" I said, putting my hands in my pockets. The thief lifted his head, revealing a monocle covering his right eyes and a blue left one staring at me. He nodded.
"Notre Dame is known for its size and beauty, isn't it? And the view!" he said and gestured with his arms in a dramatic way.
When moving around I got a closer look at him. Younger than I had expected and well fit. Under the white jacket I saw his slightly dark shirt with black tie and a darker blue vest with thin white stripes. I got to admit, a quite handsome get up.
I smiled and walked closer.
"There is no use struggling, you're under arrest for stealing the Holy Maiden." I said and took out a pair of handcuffs. He grinned, hiding half his face beneath the hat.
"Oh, I am?" he said and somehow, from some place on his body, took out the statue. He put it gently on the ground.
"You may have this, I have no use for it anymore." He said. I felt annoyed.
"Are you mocking me?" I asked him, reaching inside my jacket for the pocket watch. Kid froze for a moment until he saw the watch. He sighed.
"Me mocking a detective? No way. After all; all you do is observe, a critic that follows someone's footsteps, am I right?"
I ran forward, aiming with the watch. Getting in close I fired but to no success as he avoided the dart and reached inside his own jacket. Pulling out an odd gun he made me hesitate and roll to one side. Hearing him fire I shut my eyes, soon finding myself pinned to the stonewall.
Looking at my sleeve I found "ordinary" cards pinning the fabric up. Trying to tear them off, I failed miserably, finding myself stuck. I sighed.
"I actually thought you'd shoot me." I said as he walked over. Kneeling to the ground he rubbed his cheek.
"Interesting watch, make sure you show it to me sometime." He said and popped a rose into his hand, laying it in front of me.
"Unfortunally I have to leave but fate will surely make our ways cross soon enough." He said and walked over to the opposite side of the bridge, jumping up in the stone railing. I felt myself panic as he turned to me with a grin.
"Soon, detective, the maidens curse shall be no more." He said and made a dive backwards.
Struggling against the cards I made myself free and ran over, looking out over the city. Futher away in the night I saw a white glider disappearing over the city.
I sighed and shook my head in disbelief.
"Where did he keep that...?" I asked myself as I walked over to the Holy Maiden.
Lifting he gently I started for the door.
The maidens curse? Somehow I couldn't understand the thief's words and it left me feeling uneasy. And I still found myself annoyed over the whole "only observing" thing he had mentioned. The fact that he was partly right and acted as if he knew me annoyed me to no end.
The case of the maiden was closed swiftly without much trouble and to my expectation the news of what had happened in Notre Dame came with the morning paper. At least the part downstairs as I had refused to say anything about my accounting with the thief or how I had gotten my hands on the statue. And unfortunately everyone in Paris now knew of the English teenage detective's very cute assistant.
"Now, now Shini… I mean, Conan." The doctor said. "No need to worry about this." He gestured as he put down the paper on top of the table we were sitting at. I sighed.
"No worry? Women are pointing at me and men insist on shacking their hands. It's annoying to no end!" I exclaimed and had a sip of tea. The young waitress came over.
"Can I get you anything, Monsieur?" she asked and took out a pen and notebook. I set down my cup as Agasa ordered breakfast. I looked at the paper.
"What did he mean by; "the maidens curse shall be lifted"?" I said, mostly to myself. The waitress left as Agasa rubbed his cheek.
"What do you think of it then, Conan?" He asked. I sighed.
"The statue has no reputation of a curse so I don't think he was referring to the statue, the fact that he left it so easily is suspicious…" I said, sharing my thoughts. Agasa shrugged.
"Then, who is the maiden?" he said. I nodded and glanced out over the crowd as the waitress came back and served the breakfast we'd ordered. I glanced at James.
"What do you think, James?" I asked. He stiffened and was obviously uncomfortable. In surprise I put my hand on top of his.
"Are you alright? James?" I said. He smiled my way.
"Yes, Sir. I'm sorry to worry you, I was thinking of my sister." He said.
I thought back and recalled James telling me about his younger sister living in France. Apparently she was very sick.
I pressed his hand as to show him my understanding. Suddenly a chill hit me and I had the feeling someone was watching me intensely. I turned and looked around but found nothing suspicious. Agasa tipped the waitress and urged me to eat. I did so silently as I still had the uncomfortable feeling of being watched.
Minawa: oh, they met at last. How fun! ^-^
Kaito: I'm kinda not pleased...
Minawa: well, I can't let you guys go out on each other in an epic battle. I wouldn't have an ending if I did that...
Kaito: That's not what I ment... *figet*
Minawa: no? Then...
Kaito: *interups Minawa* when will we kiss?
Minawa: ... *ties up kaito and throws him into a dumpster* No spoilers! *claps dust off hands*
