Twilight

Chapter 4

Sundown

It was with rather large reluctance that Kaito decided to give up on his search. Honestly, with the vastness of the internet one would think it would be easy to find information on a famous man and an even more famous jewel. But then again, Dawlish Michael was a corporation head, not a film star and the Roulette Ruby had not been outside the Dawlish family vault in decades. According to the small bits of information Kaito had been able to gather the gem had not been on a museum display once, so of course there would not be much knowledge to gather. There was still one option Kaito had not tried, though. He could still contact Jii and see if the old man had some useful contacts.

A soft sigh escaped from Kaito as he placed the small set of printouts on the desk, right next to the computer screen. He still had not managed to figure out exactly what it was about the English man that set him on the edge. It was like Kaito knew the man from somewhere but could not remember when he had met the foreigner. Whenever it had been, it had been a long time ago. Maybe he had seen the man during one of his father's magic shows. Dawlish certainly gave the impression of a man who enjoyed cultural activities, such as magic shows and opera.

Kaito was not really getting anywhere, this was quite clear to the young man. He was no detective, after all, and there was no way he could remember a face he might not possibly have even seen before. Perhaps Dawlish just reminded Kaito of another person and that was why he could not recognize him from appearance alone. Whatever the case might have been, Kaito did not think it was such a good idea to send Dawlish a notice, at least not yet.

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The sky was grey with a thin layer of clouds that could have been blown away even by the weakest of winds. But the air stood still, allowing the clouds block the sun. It was drizzling, the continuous rain wetting everyone who went outside without an umbrella under the impression that such small rain could not get them too wet.

There was at least one person who had dressed accordingly to the weather. A long, dark brown raincoat landed around a frame that had broad shoulders but was otherwise slim. Fudge-colored hair landed over blue eyes and thin lips were spread into a gentle smile despite the man's gloomy surroundings. The graveyard spreading around the man was well-kept but the absence of daylight gave it a slightly unwelcoming feeling. The man did not seem to notice, however, as He conversed with the tomb that lied in front of him like it was an actual person.

"It's been a while, old friend", the man spoke in clear Japanese despite his foreign appearance. "I'm planning on seeing what the new generation of master thieves is made of." The small smile turned into a confident grin. "I'm giving them the ultimate bait. We'll see how many decides to show up." The man laid a hand on top of the gravestone. The hand was covered by a black leather glove, since the rainy weather was making the day cold even though it was the beginning of summer. "I wonder if he'll live up to the challenge?" The hand slipped away from the stone. "Your son, I mean."

"Michael!" A feminine voice rang in the air suddenly, cutting any further words from the fudge-haired man off. Michael turned his head around to look at the Japanese woman who was standing a bit over ten feet behind him. She was wearing a long, dark green coat and her straight, raven black hair fell down all the way to the middle of her back. She was looking at Michael with a disapproving expression as she lectured: "You're going to be late for your meeting! Me and the driver are not going to wait for you much longer!"

"I'll be right there, darling!" Michael shouted back in a laughing voice before turning briefly back to the gravestone and speaking: "That's Akena, my wife, if you don't remember her anymore." He grinned widely once more as he leaned closer and whispered in a conspirational manner: "If it weren't for her I would have taken an early retirement just because I'm that lazy. I think she secretly wants to take over my position in the company." He winked at the inanimate object before him. "Just don't tell anyone, okay pal?"

"Michael!" the annoyed voice of Akena bellowed in an impatient manner and Michael straightened himself. He turned away from the tombstone but still called over his back: "I'll come you again soon, Toichi. That's a promise." After that the man walked away, joining his wife as they continued together to the dark limo waiting for them. A thought briefly passed as Michael climbed inside the vehicle. He really wished he had been able to find the time to pick up some flowers before his visit. Toichi would have probably liked the classical while lilies.

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"Dawlish Michael you say?" Jii questioned as he eyed Kaito from across the table. The two were currently in the elderly man's house, drinking oolong tea. The older man had reheated it after Kaito's surprising appearance but it could easily be forgiven, since the man had been cleaning before Kaito had decided to drop by.

"Do you know him?" Kaito questioned as he took another gulp from his tea. Jii's voice had held some recognition in it, so the man had at least heard the name before and knew who Kaito was talking about.

"Of course I know him", Jii responded. "And I'm surprised you don't." Kaito was planning on asking the man about the last comment before Jii continued: "He was a friend of your father's, bochama, a rather close friend I might add."

"Oh?" Kaito questioned briefly. "How so?"

"Michael was the first one to find out about master Toichi's secret identity", Jii explained. "He was around even before me." A fond smile came to the man's face, a clear sign that he was remembering some fond memories. "They were but boys back then, impatient and rash. They seemed to care more about having fun and than doing a good job. But I guess it all evened out, since they were not ones to fail and they also had a lot of fun." Jii chuckled softly at that point. "The two of them pulled quite the few heists together."

"But I thought Michael is a corporation chief", Kaito commented, actually surprised by Jii's revelation. "You're saying he's a phantom thief now?" The brunet gave the man a nervous smile. "Are you sure you're not getting your Michael's mixed up?"

"I'm positive", Jii answered sternly. "He may not show any signs of it now but he was a formidably skilled thief quite some years ago. He was known by the name Nosferatu but he also gained a Japanese nick name: Akai Komori."

"How come I've never heard of him?" Kaito muttered with a frown. "If he really did work with Kid in the past then why has he not been brought up?"

"I think the explanation to that is quite simple", Jii spoke. "You see, Akai Komori left a notice of retirement about five years ago. Nothing has been heard from him since."

"A notice of retirement?" Kaito questioned. "Seriously? Why would he do that? He looks like he's still in decent shape."

"He may still be feeling as strong as then physically but emotionally he is a different man", Jii explained, the expression on his face turning somewhat melancholic. "I told you young Michael and your father were close friends. Master Toichi's death must have had an impact on him. He retired in your father's memory." That sentence had Kaito blinking is surprise before he questioned: "What makes you think it was in dad's memory?"

Jii studied Kaito for a short moment before replying deadpan: "He retired in the same age your father was when he was murdered."

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Shinichi turned over for the fifteenth time that night, and still was not comfortable enough to sleep. It might have had something to do with the stressful day he had just gone through or then the pair of eyes watching him intently from the darkness of the room. It was actually very little consolation that Lamares had been watching his sleep for months now, it made him think even more of the option that the shinigami could find something else to do with his time. Not to mention it was different to feel eyes on his back and to actually know that someone was watching.

Once again Shinichi turned around, this time so that he was facing Lamares' gleaming eyes. Not bothering to hide his irritation from his voice the shrunken detective grunted: "Do you have to stare at me all the time? I'm pretty sure I'm not going to drop dead while I'm lying in bed." He allowed a sarcastic smirk tug on the edges of his lips. "I promise I'll scream in agony if the poison starts acting up all of a sudden." Only a snort replied him from the darkness, the shinigami clearly not amused by Shinichi's sudden sense of morbid humour. Honestly Shinichi was certain that even Ai would have been proud of him at the moment.

"I suppose there really isn't any need for my constant presence", Lamares conceded suddenly, his voice thoughtful. "It's not like I won't know when your time comes…" It was completely silent in the room after those words and Shinichi wondered for a long while if the shinigami had truly left or if he was still sitting on the desk. Finally the silence managed to lull the detective into a deep and well-deserved sleep.

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Kaito was feeling distinctly anxious when he was getting ready for bed. Jii had promised to see if he could arrange a chance for Kaito to meet Akai Komori privately. Of course the prospect of learning more about his father's past had Kaito excited but he was also nervous. This Michael might know his father a lot better than he did and that could prove out to be slightly depressing.

The only other people Kaito had come across so far who had been aware of his father's double identity were Jii and Snake, and Kaito had not been able to get much information out of those two. Snake was not the ideal person to talk with and Jii simply refused to speak, so Kaito had very little to go by when it came to keeping the Kaitou Kid legacy alive. There was also a very high possibility of Kaito's mom knowing more than she led on about Toichi's so-called night job. But she had never approached the subject with Kaito and Kaito was not willing to bring it up either. It would not be the most pleasant of dinner conversations, a confession of following in his father's footsteps on a path that had gotten him killed in the end. Of course Kaito was curious about his mother's thoughts and worried about her feelings on the matter but he did not really want to know what his mom exactly thought.

But now was not the time to worry about a meeting that might never take place. Kaito would need to sleep, or otherwise he would make his mother worry needlessly about him. But that would be easier said than done, since Kaito had always found it most difficult to sleep when something was about to happen. It was after the upcoming event had reached its conclusion that Kaito finally managed to sleep. It was actually after heists when Kaito slept the best. It was probably the thorough exhaustion that put Kaito's lights out so effectively. Every now and then Kaito wondered how ever he was going to get a decent night's sleep when he was finished with his mission. It was because Kaito liked to stay positive that the brunet kept firm belief in him succeeding one night. It kept him from going insane from desperation.

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It was a late night when Michael finally got back home from his business meeting. The man immediately went to the privacy and safety of his own bedroom. He was just about to crawl in between the sheets when the phone on his bedside table started to ring.

There were two phones in the Dawlish household that were considered as Michael's private phones. They were both connected to the same line and one of them was behind his locked home office door. The second one was the one in his personal bedroom, the one that was ringing now. Only a selected few people knew the number to the line in question, most of them family members and the rest old and good friends. Never one to reject a contact from a friend Michael picked up the receiver and brought it to his ear.

"Michael here", the man spoke and was startled to hear a very familiar voice that he had not heard in a long while: "I see you still have little manners, Michael my boy. Tell me, do you still have your old suit in the back of your closet?"

"That depends, Jii-ojiisan", Michael replied flippantly. "What would I need it for?"

"You will need it for an informal meeting with a new yet old friend."

"Sounds like fun", Michael commented with a grin. "Sure thing, Jii-ojiisan. I'm all for it."

To be continued…

Ending Notes: I'm not really all that happy with this chapter, since its in so many bits and pieces. It had very little happening in it as well, for which I feel like apologising. Hopefully I'll be able to get the next chapter work better.