Sorry, it's been a while, but here it is! The next update! Please enjoy. :)

Chapter 20. Normal POV.

"Well, they sure gave up easily…" Rima commented on the leave of Nagihiko, Ikuto and Tadase. Utau nodded. It was exactly what she was thinking.

"They did, didn't they?" The blonde mused, squinting her eyes slightly at the door that the three had just gone through.

"Maybe they were just tired of fighting back." Amu threw in, though she didn't believe her own words herself.

"Oh, forget about them. What are we going to do now?" Kukai asked, looking over towards Kairi.

"Well, I suppose we'll send a note to Calothstine, telling him that we've done research on his disease, and seeing as though he had reacted well to our experimental dose, we'll give him a full one. We'll meet him tomorrow as we had discussed last visit." Kairi answered, and Kukai nodded, reaching into Kairi's medicine bag for piece of paper and pen. When he found them, he began writing the note.

…

Ikuto, Nagihiko and Tadase sneaked through the dark hallways, depending on only the moon through the windows to be their light source.

When the three had first returned to Calothstine's mansion, Tadase had been reluctant to help them with their scheme, but the other two had convinced him, promising money and the gratitude of their cowardly friends. When he did agree, they wasted no time, after their day's work was finished, quietly planning the heist among themselves.

After the sun set, and the three were sure all of the staff were sound asleep, they made their move, slinking down the now familiar hallways, this time, not having to conceal themselves in the shadows from any late night workers.

Nonetheless, they moved through the hallways surreptitiously*, always cautious of their surroundings.

The three said nothing when they reached the door. In fact, they had said nothing since they reached the agreement to proceed. That's the way it went with every game they pulled. When it came to the culmination of their plans, there was a make-it-or-break-it silence that lingered around them. They didn't need to speak, or didn't want to. It was almost a sort of nervousness that they had; afraid that making even the smallest sound would make their game come crashing down.

So, at the entrance leading to the basement, Nagihiko and Tadase left to their stations, watching for unwanted company, as Ikuto finessed with the lock with almost uncanny grace, moving faster than ever before.

It was obvious to Nagihiko and Tadase, when Ikuto had unlocked it. The three were breathing lightly, standing still as statues, so the click that the lock made was almost painfully loud to them, in the eerie silence. Nagi and Tadase moved back to Ikuto silently, and, once again, the thieves found themselves climbing down towards Calothstine's safe.

Again, Ikuto led them down, stepping over the third step. Nagi followed suite, remembering the third step as well. But, Tadase, blinded by darkness or simply forgetting, did step on the third step causing a loud moaning creak. The blonde, startled, stumbled forward, unable to stop himself from bumping into Nagihiko, which caused the raven-haired male to fall forward as well.

To Ikuto's luck, Nagihiko stopped himself, grabbing tightly on the old wooden rails. But the weight of Tadase forced Nagi forward an inch or so, causing splinters to catch on his hands. He recoiled at the pain, and stumbled the last couple steps, holding his hands in themselves. Tadase earned a well aimed glare from the other two, and managed to look ashamed enough for them to roll their eyes and continue, Nagi wincing as he pulled a wooden shard out of his right hand. A drop of blood fell to the floor.

Ikuto took a match out of his pocket and dragged it quickly against a rough piece of paper that accompanied the matches. Nagi took out a small candle from his coat pocket, lit the wick with the match, causing the room to brighten somewhat.

Slowly, the group made their way to the wall hiding the safe, but as the other two continued, Ikuto paused for a moment. The crystal platter was no longer their.

Gods, the nerves are getting to me, he thought, following the two again, they just moved something, nothing to be alarmed about.

They reached the wall, and began to move the bookshelf out of the way, half pushing, half carrying, until there was enough room for the three of them to manoeuvre comfortably around the wall.

Again, the wall slid back mutely, revealing the metallic safe.

It almost gleamed in the candlelight, Nagi thought to himself, entranced by it. He looked back, and received a nod from Ikuto. He squat down, and took the stethoscope from his pocket, sliding the ear tips into his ears, and, with his left hand pressed the chest piece onto the door, close to the lock mechanism. With his left hand, he began to turn the dial, three to the left, as was customary for a Brandonberg safe. Then, he motioned for Ikuto to apply pressure onto the lever and moved the chest piece down so that his knee could push it against the safe door, and he could have both hands free to work. Nagi put his right hand beside Ikuto, also applying pressure to the lever, and began to turn the knob again, starting at zero and working his way up, tediously, until he felt a miniscule lack of pressure.

But before he could continue, he heard something, from what he thought was inside the safe. A chuckle? No…impossible… Nagi shook it off, and continued to turn the knob, left this time, until he dropped the second tumbler off as well. Then, he commenced to find the final number, moving only a hair slower than before, feeling and listening for a click or a pressure change. It was hard, Nagihiko thought, squinting his eyes as though he could see inside the lock; it's hard when your heart thumping was so loud, so deafeningly loud.

As he continued up the number scale, 30…35…40… his true skill kicked in. That's why, with every single game the group played, it was always Nagihiko who unlocked safes, because, he had something that none of the others had. True lock intuition. It was a feeling, he couldn't quite describe where…in his stomach? No…in his head? Maybe…maybe it was in his hands. Because even though his mind was making his body move, and his eyes watching the numbers, his ears listening…his hands were almost another being, when he was unlocking. The faintest, most diminutive movement he could feel. They turned the knob so gracefully, so methodically; it was like a very skilled lute player, performing his favourite song. One he had practised a hundred times. It's not quite. He had practised far more than a hundred times.

So, when he reached the number sixty-three, something, in his hands, stopped him from doing anymore.

Ikuto couldn't feel a thing, and looked at Nagihiko a tad unsure. Nagi smiled, and nodded at his companion's doubtful expression. One he always gave when Nagi and him were unlocking something together.

The two stood up slowly, both not taking their hands off the lever.

"Shall you do the honours?" Ikuto grinned, and took his hand off. Nagi grinned back, and gradually pulled the lever down, pausing only slightly when he heard that chuckling sound in his mind again. He looked down at the chest piece. It wasn't on the safe door anymore. He looked at Tadase and Ikuto, seeing if they heard it too, and Ikuto turned the palm of his hand up and gave a look that said what are you waiting for? Nagi looked back at the lever and pushed it down the rest of the way. Then, with further assurance from his friends, pulled the safe door open.

The three gaped at what they saw. At first, it looked like a shadow monster of some sort, something out of a fairytale. But the light adjusted, and so did their eyes, and they realized it was no monster. No. It was Roderick Calothstine, sitting in a chair, sipping at his wine.

He smiled at them, though it didn't reach his eyes.

"Well, hello there, gentlemen."

* Oh no! A big word! Thank God for the dictionary.

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