Kimiko: I feel like I'm counting down to the New Year with these chapters. They just keep coming. I'm so inspired. Thanks for your lovely reviews, Kaida and Alice Edogawa! I love you guys!

Pandora's Jewelry Box

Shinichi sighed, closing his eyes. "I'm sorry, Kaito. I got upset last night. If I had just told you outright, we wouldn't be in this mess."

Kaito squeezed his brother's hand. "Stop blaming yourself. And stop sighing. It's like you're going to sigh your soul out. Geez, when this is all over, I'm going to do something unspeakably funny to you. You need to forget about all the depressing things. I should too."

"I guess. Just whatever you do, don't make the wound open up. I have enough troubles as it is. Right now I can't help you in any more of your midnight trips to the museum. Speaking of which, I guess security will be even tighter after this, right?"

"Actually, I don't think so," Kaito remembered. "There wasn't anything on the news about the stuff last night. I called the police, but I guess they didn't find anything suspicious."

"Which is even more suspicious," Shinichi mused. His eyes wandered over to Kaito. "I don't suppose you had time to clean everything up?" Kaito shook his head. "That means the guys we ran from did it. That can't be good. They're probably going to use us."

"You mean they're going to wait for us to find Pandora?"

"It's the most reasonable answer." Shinichi frowned, thinking. "We're going to have to find it faster now. Oh, on that matter, I'm going to need you to bring my laptop."

"I don't think the doctors want you working in the hospital, but I'm sure I can sneak it in. What's on it?"

"All the info I got yesterday. I can narrow the Pandora choices down considerably with it. It still might not be them, though."

"But that Akako girl said it was. Weren't you the one who wanted to believe her?"

"I did, didn't I? Well, this is at least the best chance we'll get for a while." He tried to sit up more, but winced in pain as he felt the wound through the painkillers. He leaned back. "Ow, I didn't know how much a bullet—" his eyes widened. "Uh, I suppose Mom knows, right?"

"Yeah, she does. She says she's going to have a very long talk with us once this is all over. Last time I saw her, she was convincing the doctors not to call the police. We both figured that we don't need any extra attention right now."

"That's smart."

"You sell us short, don't you?"

"I don't really mean to."

Kaito laughed. "Just relax for now. I'll get you your computer, but you'd better be asleep when I get back. The last thing we need right now is for you to be collapsing from exhaustion."

"You too, Kaito," Shinichi called after him. "I don't think you got very much rest last night, either."

Kaito looked back as he was about to go out the door. "Okay. But that means you'll have to wait longer." He didn't stay long enough to hear Shinichi's response.

That evening…

When Kaito did get back with the computer and some of his own equipment, he found the room full. His mother and Jii were sitting on the only chairs and all the members of the Detective Club were gathered around Shinichi's bed. Kaito distantly remembered that it was supposed to be a school day. His mom doubtless had made a phone call to the school explaining that neither of them would come to school. And these people had heard about it from one of the teachers.

Shinichi saw Kaito come in and tried to get rid of his friends with little success. They were all determined to stay as long as possible. But then Chikage gently informed them that Shinichi was still recovering and could only handle a few visitors at a time. Still, the tenacious friends managed to stay long enough to wish him well and promise to visit again.

Kaito was glad Shinichi's friends cared so much about him. He wished Shinichi would keep that in mind before he ran off on his own, though he himself wasn't in the position to criticize him.

Shinichi must have explained the situation to the other two, because they came closer as Kaito set up the laptop and handed it to Shinichi. He propped himself up, still wincing when he felt his wound. But Shinichi seemed totally focused.

"All right," he said, pulling up a file. "This has all the data I got. From what I remember, there aren't that many diamonds on display that might fit in our time range. A lot of the diamonds are newer ones. People really want to see them because many haven't been accessible to the public before this. Just give me a minute and I'll have a list of the older ones."

The room waited in silence as Shinichi worked. Kaito was glad to see he was more active than before.

Finally, Shinichi stopped. He turned his computer around. "Here they are. I also put down where they are in the museum."

Kaito, Jii and Chikage all smiled. Chikage hugged her son, saying, "That's my boy. That's my brilliant Shinichi. Now leave the rest to us."

The next day…

Jii and Chikage had warned Kaito not to try the night they got the list. They felt it was a little too risky. Kaito didn't like waiting, especially when he only had a handful of gems to check, but he understood their concern. But there was one annoying thing: he had to go to school.

Everyone was asking where Shinichi was and what had happened. Thankfully, none of the Detective Club guys had spread anything, but there were still rumors. And paying attention in class while he knew he was going to the museum again that night was almost impossible. He tried hard to remember a Poker Face, but he wasn't sure how it turned out. At least the teachers seemed to feel sorry for him and didn't expect too much from him, even Mr. Okiya. Mr. Akai and Ms. Vineyard seemed suspicious of his anxiety, though.

Finally it was time to leave for the not-heist. Kaito was much more careful this time and slipped through the museum like a phantom. He stayed focused on what he was doing and constantly listened for any noises that might be that organization.

Each time he held a diamond up to the moonlight, he desperately hoped it was the one. But after eight misses, he was about to feel discouraged. Then he remembered Shinichi, his mother, Jii and his dad. His motivation.

Kaito shook his head to clear it. He still had a few on the list. The next one was called the Shah Diamond. It looked interesting, almost completely clear and not cut in an expected fashion. He sneaked it out of its case and brought it to the window.

It glowed red. Kaito's eyes were drawn into it as he stood, amazed. There, in the center, past the carving, was a shadow of a tiny diamond in the shape of an eye. Pandora's eye, ready to weep at the misfortune she brought upon mankind, yet still so influential in deciding mankind's fate.

This was it. He had found Pandora.

Kimiko: Please review! I'm going to try to finish this up soon, but that doesn't mean you have to wait until the end to review. I love hearing your input, and I try to answer any questions you have about the story.