Chapter 11
Christie's sides ached with barely contained laughter as she chased KID through the moonlit passages and rooms that led to the rooftop. Her legs just ached. She'd been chasing him for around ten minutes now, and ten minutes of constant sprinting isn't something that any seven-year-old could sustain.
The heist had been fabulous, absolutely insane!
"Ladies and gentlemen! Let the heist begin!"
Practically before he had finished speaking those words, the taskforce and Nakamori had sprinted towards KID, determined to get to him before he was able to start one of his infamous, humiliating pranks.
KID had waited until they had all nearly reached him, then lifted up his arms. Immediately every object in a three meter radius of him, including the men running towards him, were picked up by some unseen force and were whirled in a circle around the room, with KID at the centre.
The thief frowned at the flying people, glanced around the crowds, and caught sight of Hakuba, quietly standing out of the way. With a wicked grin, he gestured towards the blonde detective, and watched as he was lifted up to join his comrades spinning around the room.
Christie bit back a laugh as Nakamori flailed in panic as he was carried a little too close to the crowd below and knocked a ridiculously ornate at off of the head of an elderly lady. She managed to clip him around the head with the edge of her handbag before he traveled away again.
KID scanned the crowd again, this time looking for tantei-chan. He needed to see her reaction- after all, wasn't the objective of this heist to make her have fun? Christie caught his gaze and misinterpreted it, grabbing a hold of Professor Agasa's sleeve so she wouldn't be carried away too. KID laughed.
"Are you having fun?", he bellowed to the crowd, still holding Christie's gaze.
"YES!", the crowd bellowed back, whooping and cheering.
Christie appeared to be giving the thought careful consideration. She looked up, smiling a little, then shook the flat of her hand slightly in mid air. So-so.
KID gritted his teeth in determination. Right. He would make this heist fun for tantei-chan if it killed him. The objective: make tantei-chan laugh.
Christie saw the grim look on his face and took a tighter hold of Professor Agasa. Oh God.
"What did you do?", Professor Agasa hissed, shaking her shoulder. "Why is he looking at us like that? What did you do? What should I do?"
Christie looked up at him and grinned nervously. "Hold... on to something?", she suggested.
Professor Agasa blanched.
"But don't worry", Christie continued hastily. "He probably won't do anything to you or me."
"How can you be sure?", Agasa asked suspiciously.
"It's just a gut feeling I have."
"Ah", he said, nodding sagely. He had a lot of faith in Christie's gut feelings- they usually turned out to be right. Yusako and Yukiko were just the same.
Christie frowned. This heist was meant to be fun for her, a nod goodbye to her departure. KID wouldn't involve her in the heist while knowing that, would he...?
Yes, he would if he wanted to.
Christie crossed her fingers, then slipped slowly around the back of Agasa. If KID wanted to involve her that much, he would have to come and get her himself. She peeked around Agasa's bulk to watch.
KID, meanwhile, had noticed nothing of this. He thought for a moment, then grinned. He raised his arms and, to gasps from the crowd, floated forwards so that he was hovering right in the middle of the hall. Nakamori, his men, and a few stray litter bins and display cases slowed their constant whirling and eventually stopped , hovering a few inches off the ground.
Abruptly, they landed, amid groans, retches and cursing.
Maniacal laughter rang around the room, and KID lifted his arms yet again. This time, everything moved (bar Christie, Agasa, every elderly person and young child present). Nakamori screamed as he was picked up yet again. The whirling became faster and faster, until everything was just a blur. KID could no longer be seen. When the whirling eventually stopped. Everybody up in the air had mysteriously changed clothes, and there was a vast array of multicoloured hair.
KID looked at Christie, hoping to see a laugh. He had used up more or less every trick he had on him- he had left his home in a hurry that night. To his gratification, her shoulders were shaking with repressed laughter. She pointed a few people out (such as Nakamori and Hakuba) to the professor, who began laughing also.
KID grinned at the TV crew who also hung suspended in the air, bowed to the camera, and disappeared in another multicoloured puff of smoke.
Everybody landed gently.
Many people attempted to get up immediately, and paid for it in nausea and disorientation. Hakuba crawled away quietly to vomit in a corner.
"Thank goodness that's over", Professor Agasa said, relieved.
Christie saw a flash of white in the corner of her eye and turned to see a shadowy figure hurriedly disappear from a doorway to her left. A second later, it appeared again, peeping around the door frame. Christie could see moonlight flash off of a round disk of light near the top of the shadow. KID's monocle.
"Actually, I don't think it is", Christie said quietly. The air of glee surrounding the figure was unnerving her.
Agasa once more looked terrified. "How do you mean?"
Christie ducked her head and looked at KID through the curtain of her hair. "Just a feeling."
Instinct urged Christie to look up. There were multicoloured balloons floating out of an air vent high above them. They spread out into the room, and then stopped.
Ah. The grand finale.
"Professor?", Christie said slowly. "It was raining outside when we arrived here, wasn't it? Did you bring an umbrella?"
"Yes, I did." Professor Agasa brought out his umbrella and looked at her quizzically. "Why?"
Christie pointed. He followed her gaze. "Oh."
Agasa crouched beside her at her instigation and opened up the umbrella to cover them both.
A second later, the balloons exploded. Gunk of all colours, glitter, sequins and feathers coloured the audience into a shocked and indignant mass.
Agasa looked at the chaos around him and stood up, still holding the umbrella over him. "I think I'll wait outside."
The shadowy figure grinned and disappeared from the doorway. Christie narrowed her eyes. "Keep the umbrella", she said, and ran after KID.
And now here she was, chasing KID through the building, pushing her tiny body to its limit. KID jogged along in front of her, letting her almost, just almost, grasp the end of his mantle, before increasing speed and pulling away again.
"Come on, tantei-chan, you can do better than that", he called, flashing her a mocking grin. He knew she wouldn't be able to use her watch or shoes against him- they both required her to stand still to aim, and he would be long gone before she would be able to do that.
They reached a dead end, and Christie wondered if she would be able to finally catch him. But no- KID reached the end of the corridor, planted his feet against the wall, and executed a neat back flip over her head. Christie reached the wall, going too fast to stop, and kicked off against it to gain some speed before KID could disappear from her sight.
She tried to increase her speed and had to blink yellow flashing spots out of her eyes.
Ugh. I need a time out. The sooner I get my old body back, the better.
There was a quiet, barely heard sigh from the dark recesses of her brain. Christie looked down at Pandora, which was bouncing on her chest as she ran, and tucked it under her shirt.
Just as she became convinced that she would pass out before arriving at the rooftop, KID increased his speed, kicked open a pair of double doors, and ran out into the moonlight.
"You're getting old, tantei-chan", he laughed, watching Christie brace herself against her knees to catch her breath.
Christie, too exhausted to come up with a retort that was neither ridiculously pathetic nor petulant, flipped him her middle finger and straightened up. Not exactly the most original of replies, but it was worth it for the look on his face.
She glanced down- yes, Pandora was safely hidden from the moonlight- and glared at him. "You've gotten faster."
"No, you've just gotten slower- and more vulgar. Do you even know what that sign you just made means?"
Christie closed her eyes and counted to ten. It's not his fault, he doesn't know you're not a child... She opened them again and looked at him calmly. "Yes, I do. Are you planning on returning that jewel anytime soon?"
KID tossed the gem to her. "Take it. It's-"
"-not the jewel you're looking for- i.e. Pandora", Christie finished for him, catching it neatly. "Of course it isn't. I told you, didn't I? It's too well protected for you to ever find it."
She wasn't exactly telling him a lie. She knew that there was only a tiny chance that he would ever realize that she was the one who held Pandora. It was protected by how people viewed the word 'protection'. They heard the word and thought of strong guards, vaults, locks, traps, to keep an object from harm. The jewel had a unique protection- what it was really protected by was the way other people thought.
KID especially. He spent his nights breaking into top-security locations- it was natural for him to immediately think of complicated locks and bodyguards, and a big secret place to keep the jewel in. Which meant that he would immediately count Christie out when thinking of the people who would guard it.
Christie was rather pleased with herself.
KID looked at Christie and found the familiar curiosity stirring. She tended to have that effect on him. "How do you know so much about Pandora anyway? You can't have this much information just from research- someone must have told you about this stuff."
Christie was silent for a moment. She had been prepared for this question, and knew a way to get around it. "Lets play a game", she said, grinning. She knew people like KID could never resist a challenge. "A game of tag, sort of. We both need to find each other. Whoever finds the other person first wins. The loser must tell the winner all they know. Sound fair?"
KID narrowed his eyes. "When you say to find each other... you mean we have to find each other's true identities, right?"
"Yep." Christie held out her hand. "You wanna play?" When KID hesitated, she smirked. "What's the matter KID? Are you scared?"
You little brat... you know my weakness, huh?
"...I'll play", KID said, and shook her hand. There was nothing he liked more than a challenge, and Christie's smirk had reminded him forcibly of it.
"I'll definitely win", Christie said, knowing she had a trump card. There was no way he would ever suspect Christie Edogawa was Shinichi Kudo... and she remembered dimly that Toichi had mentioned he had a son.
"But I know what you look like", KID reminded her triumphantly. "You'll have a harder time than me."
Christie mumbled something under her breath that KID was sure he wasn't supposed to hear. Nevertheless, he read her lips.
"Are you sure about that?"
"So!", Christie said cheerfully, clapping her hands together. "It's a deal!" She grinned widely, then winced and touched her cheek. The stitches had been taken out of the gash caused by a bullet from the Black Organisation, but it still throbbed.
KID frowned at it. "That cut... you got it when those men chased you, right?"
Christie scratched her cheek in embarrassment, then mentally slapped herself as fire spread across her face. "Yeah... the doctor said it would leave a scar."
"It's silvery."
"Yeah. It'll never fade, but I'm fine with that. Hey! You can use that as a hint for when you look for me!"
"What's your hint?"
"Your eyes. Nobody has eyes like yours, my dear Elpis." Christie winked at him.
KID smirked, taking it as a compliment, then frowned. "Elpis?"
"Oh, uh..." Christie was embarrassed that she had let slip her private nickname for him. "It's nothing. Look it up when you get home", she suggested. She would be long gone by then, and far away from his ability to cause embarrassment.
"So... you're leaving soon then?", KID asked.
"Yup." Christie walked past him and hopped onto the wall surrounding the roof edge.
"So, I guess this is goodbye?"
Christie shrugged. It wouldn't be, not for her. "I guess. Thanks for the heists, especially this one tonight. It was funny."
"The first time I've ever made you laugh."
Christie blinked at him. "No, actually. I've always laughed, but it would have been unprofessional to do so out loud. Always keep poker face!", she snickered. "But seriously, thank you. This may sound a little gooey, but you've actually changed my life... a lot. You brightened it up when it was dark. That's why you're my Elpis!"
She grinned at him, and he smiled back uncertainly, unsure if she was complimenting him or not. He wouldn't know until he had looked Elpis up, which was probably why she was grinning at him like that. For the first time, KID had an inkling what it felt like to be teased the way he teased people. He could understand Nakamori's constant rage now.
Christie was probably the only person he knew who had enough mischief to actually be KID. She certainly understood him enough to mimic his actions. But now she was leaving.
KID's expression softened. "Goodbye, tantei-chan. My heists won't be the same without my most favorite critic. I'll definitely find you first!"
Christie rolled her eyes. "So competitive, KID-niisan! You have no chance." She felt a little pain in her chest. Goodbyes were always painful. "Oh, and KID?"
"Yes, tantei-chan?"
KID looked at her, standing on the edge of the roof. She looked almost angelic- her hair moon-dyed silver, flowing like water in the wind. Her eyes glowed like sapphires, and her stance was almost bird-like. He wouldn't have surprised if she had unfolded a pair of wings at this point.
Justice Angel had really been a good nickname for her.
"The Heisei Lupin isn't the only one who can jump of buildings unscathed!"
She allowed herself to fall backwards out of sight. KID rushed forwards and saw nothing- no falling child, no motionless body, nothing. He saw a glint to his left and laughed- she'd left the jewel behind for Nakamori.
Shaking his head, KID opened up his hanglider and took off. That kid is really something... I'd better find her fast.
In the crowd outside, Christie folded up her black, mini hanglider, smiled at the white speck in the distance, and went to find Professor Agasa.
I know this is a little late, but... Merry Christmas! :)
Unfortunately, I've been at my Aunt's house for the past few days, which has no internet connection. I wanted to post this sooner, but it couldn't be helped...
Anyway! I hope you've enjoyed Chapter 11 of Moonlight Magician!
Please review, and if you've noticed any spelling mistakes, or have any criticism, I'll be glad to hear it.
To metantei konan: It was my plan all along to make the gem talk, so yes. I hope to make a good character out of it :)
To DCoRaNichi220: Ran is a girl. I refer to Ran as 'her', and 'she', and Christie calls her 'Ran-neechan', instead of 'Ran-niichan'. Neechan is older sister, while niichan is older brother. I hope I've cleared up any confusion :)
Thanks for reading :D