AN: Sorry for the wait, here's chapter fourteen! I hope everyone enjoys this chapter, and I thank everyone for reading it. As always, I would very much appreciate it if you could be so kind as to leave a review on your way out! Well then, until next time!

The Bells Chime Beyond

Chapter Fourteen

Deep Blue Under the Moonlight

"Wake up, sleepyhead." With a slight frown, Kazuha knelt in front of the sleeping form of her childhood friend, watching as his ears twitched slightly in his sleep. Otherwise, the brown fox didn't budge at all, and it was enough to cause her to let out a long sigh. "Geez, don't you have a case to work to work on, Heiji? And yet you're lounging around like this, with your belly exposed, even. How shameless."

It was cute, though.

"You could have at least thrown your trash away." Kazuha muttered, glancing over towards the table where he had left the now empty cup of shaved ice. Heaving another sigh, she rose to her feet, carefully picking it up and tossing it away, before glancing down once more at Heiji's sleeping form. Honestly, he really did seem to be sleeping more lately- animal instincts, maybe. It wasn't as if it got in the way of his daily life, so it didn't really bother her- but she couldn't help but take note of the little changes that had begun to appear here and there.

"Heiji, wake up." Kazuha repeated, reaching out a hand, giving the fox a light shake. "If you don't wake up, I'll start scratching your belly~."

That seemed to prompt a reaction for him, his ears and tail alike twitching in annoyance. Don't do that, Kazuha! She could make out his voice whining in her head, as he slowly blinked his eyes open. Getting to his feet and shaking off traces of sleep, Heiji glowered up at her as best he could in his current form. Honestly, I'm not yer pet, ya know.

"Really? I thought that was our cover story, Hei-chan~." Kazuha couldn't help but taunt him a little, a sly grin forming on her face as she reached out, lightly scratching his chin. Although he leaned into her touch for the first few seconds, he quickly grumbled, swatting her hand away, before stalking off, putting some distance between them, tail angrily swishing behind him.

Just in case ya forgot, I used ta be human, ya know. Heiji mentally grumbled, heaving a slight sigh as he stretched out, placing his front paws out before him, feeling his bones creak. He had intended to patrol the inn after finishing the shaved ice, but the warm sun had lulled him into slumber, and before he knew it, he'd fallen fast asleep. Glancing over at the clock, he cringed a little, realizing that he had been sleeping for an hour.

"I haven't forgotten." Kazuha said simply. "I'm just enjoying this situation while it lasts." With a slight frown, she carefully studied her friend, watching as he shook off the last traces of his lazy nap. "Don't you forget either, Heiji."

Idiot, like I would. Casting her a slightly dirty look, Heiji nevertheless quickly quirked the best grin he could on his currently canine features, pacing over towards Kazuha, sitting down in front of her. I still intend ta return ta bein' a proper human, somehow. There's probably a way, Grandmother Fox even said so herself.

"Well, I hope so." Kazuha said with a slight frown. Frankly, she'd rather not marry a fox- even though this change hadn't done anything to dampen her feelings for Heiji at all. She really was hopeless. "Maybe that spiritual healer that Kawamura-san knows might be able to tell you something?"

That's what I was thinkin', yeah. Heiji told her with a nod. Yer comin' with me, right, Kazuha? Ku- no, Conan-kun, will comin' with me too, if he can make it.

"Have you talked that over with Ran-chan yet?" Kazuha asked, her eyes narrowing as she could tell from the way he averted his eyes from her that he hadn't. Heaving a slight sigh, she reached out, lightly flicking his forehead. "Well, of course I'll be coming with you. Getting your voice back will be one step closer to getting you back to being the normal Heiji."

Ya don't mind me too much this way, do ya though? Heiji inquired, tilting his head to the side. Well, I guess it would be pretty weird, havin' yer childhood friend be like this.

"It's definitely weird." Kazuha said with a nod. "But I don't really mind it that much, surprisingly enough. I guess I've just gotten used to it already. Now then," rising to her feet, Kazuha planted her hands on her hips, looking down at him. "Hurry up and return to being human already, Heiji. You've got work to do, you can't just lounge around in that form all day."

I wasn't plannin' ta! Heiji protested, making an irritated swish of his tail. I was just lured into sleep, that's all! With what she was pretty sure was an annoyed pout, one that made her laugh into her hand, Heiji stood up- before he turned his head in the direction of the hallway, his ears twitching. Someone was coming, and those footsteps didn't belong to anyone that he recognized.

One... no, two people? While he didn't recognize their footsteps, it didn't feel like it was the first time he'd heard them. Maybe someone he had just met recently? Who was it?

Oi, Kazuha. Someone's comin'. Heiji noted, gaze still fixed on the hallway. It's not Neechan or Conan-kun either.

"Eh?" Kazuha blinked, straining her ears- and after a second, she could make out the sound of approaching footsteps herself as well. With a slight frown on her face, she went over to the door to their room, sliding it open just in time to thoroughly surprise the two teenagers who were just about to knock on it themselves. Instantly recognizing one of them, a quick smile graced her features. "Ah, you're Kuroba-san, aren't you? From earlier?"

She didn't recognize the girl, though. She could more or less make a guess as to who she was, though. Ran had told her about her own encounter with Kuroba Kaito- namely that he had such a surprising resemblance to Shinichi, that she had actually mistaken him for him for a moment. Well, she wouldn't really know herself- she'd only had the chance to meet Kudo Shinichi all of twice herself, and he didn't exactly leave much of an impression on her either time.

For some reason, when she first heard about him, she had expected someone a little more dynamic- but well, she guessed that not every high school detective was like Heiji. Rather, that was probably a good thing. One hotblooded teenage detective with a bad habit of getting himself into trouble was probably enough.

"Ah, yes." Kaito blinked, more than a little surprised at being caught so off guard like this. It wasn't something that happened often. Was it just coincidence? But there was something within Kazuha's eyes that told him she had almost expected to find someone on the other side of her door. It was a little strange. "Once again, I'm Kuroba Kaito. Ah, and this girl is my childhood friend, Nakamori Aoko. You know, the daughter of Inspector Nakamori."

"Hello!" Aoko beamed, nodding her head, trying to peer behind Kazuha, doubtlessly checking to see if her pet fox was in the room with her. When she spotted a hint of the animal, her eyes almost lit up, glittering with excitement. Kaito had promised he would take her to meet Kazuha so that she could see the fox again- provided that she minded it's moods a little bit better this time. "It's nice to meet you, Toyama-san! Um, I hope you don't mind, but I heard about your pet from Kaito, so..."

"Ah!" A look of understanding- and amusement, Kaito couldn't help but note- crossed Kazuha's face at this statement, and she nodded her head. "I see. So you're Nakamori-san? Did you come here to see Hei-chan?"

Send her away, Kazuha! She could make out Heiji mentally grumbling, not even needing to look back at him to know that his tail was angrily twitching. He'd missed his chance to return to human form, and was regretting it now. Honestly, what did that girl think she was doing, just scooping him up out of the blue like that? He wasn't a real pet, damnit!

"Yeah!" Aoko said, nodding her head. "Ah, but it's not a bother, is it? Aoko was just sort of curious. It's not often that you see people with foxes as pets, after all."

"No, it's fine." Kazuha said, casting a sly look back towards Heiji as she stepped aside to allow the pair into the room. Well, there were any countless numbers of things that she needed to take revenge against Heiji for- and she was going to exploit this situation while it lasted. "You can both come in."

"Thank you." Kaito said, giving her a quick smile. "I hope we're not interrupting anything. Aoko ran into your pet in the hallway earlier, and she hasn't shut up about it since." Well, it was a good cover for coming over and asking her questions about the animal- namely if it had been trained to do anything by the girl's own childhood friend.

Provided the fox in question wasn't somehow also Kazuha's childhood friend. If that really were the case, nobody would know that better than the person who had grown up with him. It was a silly theory to be sure, but even though he wasn't ready to rush into it, he wasn't ready to dismiss it out of hand, either. After all, he'd seen some pretty strange things since he started moonlighting as Kaito Kid. A high school detective that could turn into a fox, or perhaps a fox that could turn into a high school detective, while strange, wouldn't be that unusual, all things told.

"No, you're not interrupting anything, Kuroba-san." Kazuha told him, shaking her head. No sooner than had Aoko entered the room, did she make a beeline for Heiji, sitting down right in front of him and quickly making herself at home, lightly scratching him behind his ears. She had to fight back the urge to snort at the way it was obvious that he almost wanted to melt into the sensation- before he gathered his dignity up, and swatted both of her hands away with his paws, slinking off out of arm's reach from Aoko.

"I can't tell if he's friendly or not." Kaito couldn't help but observe to himself, quirking a brow. Well, if that really was a human, that would explain things- whatever the case, it would probably be a good idea to watch what he said around the fox. It would be smart to watch what he said around Kazuha as well- because even if his theory was wrong, she would be able to pass on any information that Heiji wanted to him.

Speaking of it, where was he anyways? It always only seemed to be either Hei-chan or Heiji, one or the other. He'd never seen them around at the same time as each other, which now that he thought about it, was a little odd. Granted, they hadn't crossed paths all that often yet, so it wasn't really that strange, all things told. Maybe it was just bad timing?

"Where's Hattori-kun?" Kaito asked, glancing around the room. "Did he go out again?"

"Yeah, something like that." Kazuha said, nodding her head with a quick smile. Taking a seat by where Heiji had sulked off to, she scooped the brown fox into her lap, smiling a little as she listened to his mental grumbling as she did so. Well, it was either this, or allow the obviously still yearning Aoko to do so, and she suspected he would prefer her better. "Right now, it's just Hei-chan and me here. So? What can I do for you two? Or did you really come here just to see Hei-chan?"

"Well, something like that." Aoko said, feeling a little bit flustered when she was asked so directly about her intentions. Speaking of the fox, though... "By the way, Aoko couldn't help but notice when she was scratching his ears that he seems to have a scar behind one. There's one on his right paw as well- did something happen to him?"

"Well, you could say something like that." Kazuha said, nodding her head. Thank goodness she had taken time to practice her lies in regards to this. She'd gotten quite good at it. "I don't really know what, though. Hei-chan only started living with me around two months or so ago, so I can't really tell you about anything before then." She said, shaking her head. "We think he was probably someone's pet before this, and that's why he's so docile, but he might have been through some tough times before that."

"Eh, that's horrible!" Aoko said. "But you're lucky that you wound up with such a nice owner, right, Hei-chan~?" She asked, reaching out another hand again to lightly scratch under his chin, pouting a little as he pushed her hand away again with one of his paws. "Geez, you could at least let Aoko pet you a little. What a weird animal."

"He's only been with you for two months?" Kaito asked, blinking a little at that statement. He didn't quite miss the dirty look that Hei-chan had directed towards Aoko as soon as the word 'owner' left her lips- sometimes, it felt like it could almost understand them. Come to think of it, when he'd asked the Inspector to elaborate on what he knew about Heiji's aforementioned disappearance, he had mentioned that it had happened about two months ago or so now. That timing was kind of...

"Yeah." Kazuha said, nodding her head. "Well, one thing lead to another, and I ended up taking him home with me."

Why's this guy so interested in me in the first place? Heiji mentally grumbled, twitching his tail a little. Honestly, what a pain. Kazuha, I'm goin' out. I'll be back in a little bit as the usual me. There's obviously no way I can change forms here.

Rising to his feet, Heiji carefully got out of Kazuha's lap, heading over towards the inn door. Sliding it open with his front paw, Heiji left the room behind him, making out the faint sound of Kaito asking if it was okay to let him wander away by himself like that. Kazuha was quick to reassure him that 'Hei-chan' was a rather clever fox, and vaguely, he couldn't help but narrow his eyes at that- especially as Kaito prompted again, asking if he'd been trained somehow.

A bit too curious, really, Heiji couldn't help but think to himself. Glancing around the hallway, making quite certain that there was no one else around, he let out a silent sigh. Smoke twisted around his form, slowly altering his shape, before he once more was back in human form again. Rubbing the back of his neck, Heiji glanced down the way he came, making a mental note to be a bit careful around Kaito. He wasn't sure what his motives were, but it bothered him a bit.

He couldn't sense anything from him like he could with Erika, but Kudo was right- he needed to be careful about who it was that learned his secret. The last thing he wanted was to end up either becoming someone's lab rat, or become the latest thing in the headlines. He had meant it when he said he was still determined to return to being human- he didn't exactly want to gain a reputation for being like this when he had every intention of going back to normal as soon as possible.

Or at least, as normal as he could. Grandmother Fox hadn't answered him when he'd asked what might change about him when he finally returned to being a real human- just that his perception of the world might be different. He figured that probably meant he'd be able to see the things he could see now for the rest of his life- but well, he'd already gotten used to it pretty quickly.

"Oh, Heiji!" Glancing up as Heiji returned to the room, this time in his human form, Kazuha beamed up at him. "Did you see Hei-chan on your way here?"

With a quick nod of his head, realizing that she was asking for show, Heiji beamed down at her, before glancing over towards Kaito and Aoko, acting as if he was rather surprised to see the two of them here. Glancing back towards Kazuha, he made another show of asking her why they were here in sign language. Maybe it was the fox blood that was flowing through him now, but he was slowly getting the feeling that he was getting somewhat better at lying.

Or well, maybe it was just easier to lie when he couldn't say anything.

"Ah, this is Kuroba Kaito and Nakamori Aoko. They came to visit to see Hei-chan." Kazuha told him, smiling at him as Heiji took a seat next to her, crossing his legs in front of him. "You've already met them, haven't you?"

With a nod of his head, Heiji grinned at them both, reaching into his back pocket to pull out his notebook and pen, in the off chance that he needed it. If they really had only come here just to see well, himself, then with the fox supposedly gone now, they would both probably leave soon.

Come to think of it, wouldn't it be possible for Kid to be impersonating one of these two? Casting a careful eye between the two of them, he pondered this possibility. It was a bit early for him to infiltrate the inn, but he'd heard from Kudo that he'd done something like this before, where he had impersonated that uncle from the detective agency for some time. That had been unrelated to a heist, however. The Inspector's daughter and her childhood friend each would have easy access to the proceedings, and plenty of time to set traps and gather information. It would be the perfect disguise- the only one better would be the Inspector himself.

Well, although no matter how perfect Kid was at impersonating other people, someone would probably notice something after awhile. He was just a human, after all. Still, he'd keep them both in mind for the near future, just in case.

"Yes, we've met briefly." Kaito said, nodding his head, a slight shudder running down his spine at the careful way the Osakan detective studied him. If it weren't for the fact that he appeared to be studying Aoko just as intently, he might actually be worried- but it looked like he was just simply considering his options. "Although, I've actually heard about you before, Hattori-kun."

Eh? Really? Heiji wrote, blinking a little at his comment, his suspicions momentarily put aside. He couldn't help but be a little excited whenever someone told him something like that- and judging from the dry look he caught Kazuha making out of the corner of her eyes, he guessed it was showing on his face. What? Ya a fan?

"Ah, it's not that." Aoko said, shaking her head. "Actually, we have a classmate by the name of Hakuba Saguru. You've heard of him, right? He told us that he worked with you on a case before, Hattori-kun."

Whoa. That was quite the face he made at the mere mention of the half-British detective's name, Kaito couldn't help but think to himself, watching as an expression of vivid annoyance all but bloomed across Heiji's face. This guy sure could shift gears quickly! Well, it was a feeling that he could sympathize with- it was too bad they were on opposite sides here, because he got the vague feeling that he might actually be able to get along with Heiji under more normal circumstances.

Yeah, I know the guy, unfortunately. Heiji wrote, and vaguely, Kaito wondered how he managed to make even his handwriting seem angry. He had kind of suspected that Heiji probably cared for Hakuba very much in the same fashion that his fellow high school detective cared for Heiji- which is to say, not very much at all. Yer classmates of that stiff? My sympathies.

"Hakuba-san didn't seem that bad to me." Kazuha noted with a slight frown. She had only briefly met the young man, as they had parted ways almost as soon as they were done with the police. He'd been quite polite to her, which only seemed to color Heiji's impression of him all the more. "Ah, but is here, by any chance? He's a high school detective too, right, Heiji?"

"He's not here." Kaito said, shaking his head, mentally thanking the powers that be for that. He hoped it stayed that way too- Conan and Heiji were more than enough to deal with at the moment. "He was back in England again, the last I checked. Well, he does sort of appear on a whim back in Japan though, but I don't think he's coming."

Well, if he were here, maybe he and Heiji would distract each other so much that it would make Kaito's job easier, rather than harder.

"Ah, but that's right, Heiji! Don't you need to go look around the inn?" Kazuha asked, glancing over at him. If they kept talking about Hakuba, she knew it would only make him angrier. "You were saying something about it earlier. You've got a lot of work to do before Kid shows up, don't you?"

'Ya tryin' ta shoo me away, Kazuha?' Heiji signed towards her, quirking a brow. 'Be careful around that Kuroba-han, though. I'm gettin' a weird feelin' from the way he was askin' questions about me earlier. Don't tell him too much now.'

'I won't, I won't.' Kazuha signed back, her own hands somewhat unsure, hoping that she was making herself clear. She was better at interpreting it than doing it herself, really. She got the feeling that this wasn't something he wanted Kaito to overhear, even if he could only hear one side of the conversation. 'Don't worry, Heiji. Nobody's going to learn your secret from me.'

Nodding his head, Heiji reached out, lightly ruffling her hair, not quite noticing the red tint that crept on her cheeks as he did so. Rising to his feet, he quickly turned to a different page in his notebook, one he'd already long since written a message on. Well, I'm headin' out then. See ya later!

Giving the group a mock salute and a quick grin, Heiji departed the room. Now would probably be a good time to link up back with Conan and take a look around the inn together. The police would probably start showing up tomorrow, so he wanted a chance to make a mental map of the place before they all started bustling about. It would be a good chance to discuss a few things with his shrunken friend as well- namely, the fact that Kuroba Kaito was acting some questions that rubbed him the wrong way.

There was also a slightly uneasy feeling to the air that he picked up from time to time- and that too, was starting to bother him. Perhaps Kid wasn't the only one with their eyes on the Mermaid's Tear.

"You're planning something, aren't you, Hattori?"

The grin that Conan's question earned him from his best friend did nothing to assuage his fears. There was that glint that he had cause to know all too well- one that told him that yes, Heiji was in fact planning something, and something rather devious at that. It had been there since the start, really- from the first time that they crossed paths in the inn's lobby. It had only been growing over the course of the day, and as they drew to the conclusion of their patrol of the inn, getting a good idea of the layout and theorizing how Kid might use certain aspects of it to his advantage, it was starting to bother him.

Whatever gives ya that idea, Kudo? Heiji wrote, doing nothing to mask the wide grin on his face. Well, there was no point in hiding it from his friend- other than that it might be more fun that way. Kazuha had observed that it seemed as if his mischievous streak had gotten rather strong lately, and she was probably entirely right in that regard. It didn't really feel like anything had changed all that much in regards to his overall personality since accepting his current true nature- but he guessed it was true that a few things here and there had shifted.

Such things were probably all too obvious to both of his best friends- the one who had known him all of his life, and the one who had come to know him well over the course of the past year. Speaking of Kazuha though, there was a matter that he needed to discuss with her- he just hoped that she would agree to it.

"Don't just write that name where anyone can see it." Conan advised him, narrowing his eyes. His annoyance lasted only a second, before he heaved a long sigh, locking eyes with Heiji, a rather expectant look to them. "So? What is it that you're planning, exactly? Kid's pretty clever, so if you're not careful, you might wind up exposing yourself, you know."

Well, it's not like he's really in position ta tell anyone in the first place. Heiji wrote, crossing his legs in front of them. After scouting out the inn, the two of them had found a nice spot in the courtyard- there was still some time to kill before they had to all meet up for dinner. But don't worry, don't worry! I'll be careful! Besides, even if he does figure somethin' like that out, there's a chance I might be able ta hold his own identity against him, ya know?

"Well, if you say so." Conan frowned a little, a rather skeptical look on his face that didn't quite suit his childish features. "Even if you do figure it out using that nose of yours, I don't want to know, Hattori. If I don't catch him myself, it's meaningless."

Ya make it sound like I don't plan on catchin' him myself! Tapping his notebook to get across the protest that he would otherwise carry in his voice, Heiji frowned a little, before his expression gave way to a slight shrug. Well, it's true that I do have somewhat of an unfair advantage now. If I catch him, it's gonna be with my human abilities, an' not anythin' else. 'Sides, Kid's not really my thing anyways, an' I've only really been hired ta keep him from runnin' off with the jewel, so catchin' him is somethin' I'll leave ta you, Kudo.

"I just said to stop writing that name, didn't I?" Conan asked, heaving a slight sigh. "Well, the real trick is determining who Kid's going to disguise himself as. I imagine you'd be able to tell by smell right away if he disguised as someone we've already met, which, by the way, is still weird," he noted, quirking a slight brow, "...but there's still a chance it might not go as smoothly at that. You know there's really a chance that he might try and disguise himself as Kazuha-chan, like they were saying at the beach earlier, right?"

Nodding his head, Heiji only beamed at him again. Well, if he does somethin' like that, ya best believe I'm gonna kick his butt harder than I was plannin' on already.

"Don't overdo it, Hattori." Conan noted. "Well, I guess there's also the chance he might try and disguise as you. Like you mentioned earlier, the Inspector and his daughter and his friend are possible candidates as well- not to mention Ran and Sonoko."

Speaking of the Inspector's daughter and her friend, he had to admit that he was a little worried about the line of questioning that Kaito had put Kazuha through earlier. Heiji had told him all about it, and while it could simply be nothing more than run of the mill curiosity about what he thought was an unusual pet, if there was one thing Conan knew full well, it was that even innocent questions could pose a danger if one dug too deep. Whatever the case, for Heiji's sake, it might be a good idea if he kept a close eye on this Kuroba Kaito.

Heiji might bumble and trip over himself sometimes, but at the end of the day, he did his best to help protect his friend's secret. If he could, Conan wanted to repay that debt to him- even if he was certain that Heiji would tell him with an easy grin that it was no big deal. There wasn't much he could do for Heiji, not in this small body of his- so what he could do, he would, even if he wasn't asked to.

I'd like ta see him try an' disguise himself as me, that punk. Heiji seemed to almost grumble at the mere idea of such a thing, and for a brief moment, Conan could almost envision an angrily twitching tail behind him- which he quickly shook off. Heiji was mostly human right now- he didn't need to start imagining such things when he didn't even have them. Well, just in case, ya should be careful how ya address me. I guess that makes ya the only safe one?

"Pretty much." Conan said with a slight nod. "Seriously though, Hattori, what are you planning?"

The other thing that Heiji had mentioned to him- that uneasy feeling in the air- bothered him as well. He hadn't picked up on it himself, but he didn't doubt that there were things Heiji could sense that he couldn't as it stood now. It was worth paying extra attention to his surroundings, just to make sure no one was really planning anything- no one besides Kid and Heiji, that was.

Kazuha too, he supposed- but he imagined that whatever Kazuha was planning on doing to take revenge for Ran's sake against Kid was probably a hell of a lot more straightforward. If he had to be honest, he kind of wanted to see that. Sera kicking him in the face had been something of a highlight, really.

I'm just gonna mess with him a little. Payback, ya know? Heiji's sour look quickly gave way to his usual wide grin. Don't worry about it so much! It'll stunt yer growth!

"Shut up, you damn fox." Conan grumbled, shooting him a rather dirty look. "At least I'm not an animal."

Well, I'm more like a youkai than an animal, really. Heiji wrote, tilting his head a little. As Conan's expression slowly turned from one of annoyance to a completely blank, dry expression, he couldn't help but grin a little, especially as the pint sized detective reached up, and started rubbing his forehead.

"For my own sake, I'm going to pretend I didn't read that, Hattori." Conan noted, before heaving a sigh. Well, maybe he wasn't in a position to have the right to protest to such things being reality- given the current state of his body. But still, the less he learned about the world that Heiji seemed to be steadily engraining himself in, the better. "...Don't go too far away from me, though."

Sensing what his friend meant, a soft smile graced Heiji's features, as he carefully tucked his notebook away. Reaching out to lightly pat Conan's head, an action which the shrunken teenager didn't quite protest to at the moment, Heiji didn't need words to get the message across that he had no intention of leaving him behind. As many new doors had opened up to him with his current state of being, he'd always be there for his friend- besides, if he went too far over to that side, he was slightly worried that he might forget he belonged here in the first place.

That was something he wouldn't let happen.

Blearily blinking awake, the unavoidable call of nature rousing him out of his otherwise deep slumber, Kaito grumbled lowly to himself. Careful not to disturb anyone else, he reached out for his cellphone, checking what time it was. One in the morning- at least he'd have plenty of time to get back to sleep. Still, what a pain, he thought to himself, pushing his futon covers off of him and slowly getting to his feet. Glancing to those who slept next to him- Inspector Nakamori using his own body to divide the two childhood friends, he was glad to see that the both were fast asleep.

He would be lying if he said that there hadn't been an uneasy feeling in the back of his mind ever since he sent out his heist notice. As usual, it was picked up by the media, and he imagined that they would start showing up in force tomorrow- or well, today, actually, given the fact that the date had already changed. After all, the jewel he was targeting this time was named the Mermaid's Tear- and out of the many legends surrounding mermaids, the one that the Japanese were most familiar with was that of immortality.

Deep down, he could only hope that maybe he was going to strike gold this time. Somehow, he got the feeling that neither tantei-kun nor tantei-han would take very well to the idea of him destroying the jewel they were trying to protect- but he wasn't about to let that stop him if this Mermaid's Tear really did turn out to be the item that he was looking for.

He had the vague feeling that those guys might try and show up ever since before he had arrived here. Part of checking out the inn was to check out the inn patrons- and he had breathed a slight sigh of relief when it seemed like there were no guests who were very suspicious. He'd asked the innkeeper, and she'd told him that she had redirected any other guests who weren't related to the upcoming heist to other inns, on the off chance that Kid might sneak in as one of the guests.

Well, he had, but he wasn't about to tell her that. A good effort though, he supposed.

Still, that didn't mean they might be lurking around- and with Aoko here, he couldn't help but be a little nervous. Not to mention that pint sized detective- that kid got himself in enough trouble on his own, judging from that damn exploding train business, he didn't need to get mixed up in that of Kid's own. And if he had any idea about it, he probably would- that kid was the type to not let go of any mystery that presented itself to him.

Honestly, it was like he didn't remember he was only a first grade student sometimes. Somehow he didn't get the impression that Heiji would do all that much to reign him in, and would only encourage him, though he didn't doubt that the Osakan detective was nevertheless invested in the kid's safety. What an odd friendship that pair seemed to have. He'd heard from Ran at dinner that Conan was apparently learning how to be a detective from Heiji- something which the child himself had grumbled at, and something which caused Heiji to beam from ear to ear.

Seriously, what a weird friendship.

At the very least, he was starting to formulate a plan- he'd already picked out who he was going to disguise himself as. It was a bit of a risk, really, but he thought it would pay off in the end. As long as he played his cards right, neither detective would notice a thing. If he was lucky, it might cast suspicion away from himself entirely.

Well, hopefully his worries were for nothing, and everything would go smoothly. Rubbing the back of his head, he carefully crept out of his room, making his way to the toilet. It was on his way back that he paused, glancing out into the interior courtyard, pausing to squint for just a moment.

There, just underneath the faint shimmering moonlight, he swore that he could make out the vague shape of something. Creeping behind a column, Kaito peered out from behind it, trying to establish what it was that he was looking at. A trick of the moonlight, creating an illusion? No, it didn't feel like an illusion- there seemed to be something there, though not anything very substantial, at least not by his eyes. Faintly, he could make out an almost human form, and for some reason, it tugged at him, giving him the sense that he should know this person.

What exactly was it that made him think that? And what was it that made him think it was a person to begin with? Slowly realizing that this figure wasn't alone, making out the low, hushed voice of someone speaking in whispers, he squinted, just barely able to make out the figure of the innkeeper herself within the dark night.

Who was she talking to? What was she even doing up this late? It was a bit suspicious.

When the flow of the one sided conversation that he could only faintly make out, not quite able to hear anything from this distance, came to an abrupt stop, Kaito flinched. Hiding himself behind the column again, he held his breath, for a moment feeling as if the eyes of that insubstantial figure had fallen upon him- a vision of deep blue strangely seeming to haunt him.

It was only once that pressure vanished that he let out a long breath, daring to glance out from behind the column once more. Not only was the strange, faintly visible figure gone, but so was the innkeeper- as if they had both vanished without so much as a trace.

What the hell was that? Somehow, he couldn't shake the vague impression that there was something more going on behind the scenes here than he knew about- and that was a rather uneasy feeling.

Kaito didn't like unknowns- especially when it came to his heists. Whatever was going on behind his back here, he was going to find out what it was.

Scratching the back of his head and letting out a long breath, sensing that it was probably safe to move again, Kaito made his way back to his room. Just out of the corner of his eye, he made out the faint image of a fox's tail rounding the corner, heading towards where he knew the pair from Osaka's room was. With a slight frown, Kaito quietly crept down the hallway, just catching sight of the brown fox opening up the sliding door that lead to the room those two were sharing, and entering inside.

Out for a late night walk? Well, foxes were generally nocturnal to begin with, and given how free range the animal seemed to be, he guessed it wasn't really that odd. He had gathered from Kazuha that the fox in question knew any number of tricks, and he'd already seen it open and close the sliding door by itself. He'd already filed it underneath something to watch for during the heist. Kaito Kid wouldn't be able to live it down if he allowed his prize to be snatched away from him by an animal, after all- no matter how smart the animal in question was.

No, rather, what was odd was the fact that when the sliding door was closed, it wasn't a paw that was doing the closing. Rather, it was a hand- and a dark skinned one at that. Quickly darting all the way back behind the wall, Kaito wondered if that was something he should have seen. Was Heiji still awake at this hour as well? What was he still doing up?

Or rather, was the reason why he'd seen something like that because... With a slight frown, Kaito narrowed his eyes in thought. Maybe that silly theory of his wasn't entirely so silly after all.

But if his silly theory was actually true, then... turning his head down towards the hallway, in the direction of the room where the Mermaid's Tear was now safely tucked away for the night, Kaito couldn't help but wonder if perhaps he really had struck gold this time. If Pandora were for real, then he didn't doubt that there were things beyond his comprehension that might be involved with it. If anything, he'd kind of always half expected that much. If there were strange things lurking around the jewel in question, then maybe, just maybe, he'd finally found what he was searching for.

Or perhaps he'd just wandered into someone else's story, one that involved things just slightly outside of his understanding. Well, given what he'd heard of the high school detective of the west's reputation for dealing with the vaguely supernatural- afflicted by the occult, some had said, somehow he didn't feel as surprised as he should be about all of this. He had done a fair bit of research on Heiji ever since he had first shown up at the inn, trying to get to know his otherwise unknown opponent as much as possible.

While it appeared like all of the cases that showed up in the paper revolved around hoaxes, Kaito couldn't help but note just how many of those there were. It left him wondering if perhaps, there was a bit more to the Osakan high school detective than met the eye after all.

Tantei-han, he decided, turning his head and glancing back down the hallway towards Heiji's room, was rather interesting indeed.