A/N: Part sixteen of the Pandora Arc! (This arc is coming to a close…) And here's the final, BETAed version of the chapter. For those who hadn't read this prior to now, I had uploaded an unBETAed chapter because it had been two months since my last update. But now it's up so enjoy~!
Warnings: Samizu Kichiemon
Acknowledgments: Cai-chan
Other (possibly irrelevant): Random tidbit alert! There is a group of people who are planning to fan dub Case Closed… from where Funimation left off (aka episode 124) I hope they (me included :D) can get this dub in progress. I'm excited!
Today's quote is: "In Hogwarts, they use magic; in Rome, they use slaves."—Papilio
Double-M and KID vs. Conan: Speedy Movement
Beika, Japan
Mouri Detective Agency
November 29, 10:15 AM
"Take a look at this," Kasuma said, handing Conan a newspaper article.
"What's this…?" Conan looked at the front page article. "…Hey… isn't this…?"
"Sugihara Kohaku. The business man that was sitting across from you on the way to Seattle. He's been arrested on the charge of twenty-seven murders. His most recent successful strike was in California," Kasuma explained.
"The Detective Serial Killer?" Conan asked.
Kasuma gave a short nod. She looked around the office, making sure no one was in the vicinity, and continued, "Seems he lied to the officer interviewing him on the plane. His mother is, in fact, dead. His nervousness stemmed from the heavy number of officers on the plane. Apparently, his motive was because of the careless mistake a detective made in the past which caused the death of his wife and children. Potassium Cyanide was found on his person when the police arrested him. He told the police he was planning on using it on you, Shinichi-kun, when… rather if, by chance, he ran into you."
"Poison again? What is it with me and poison?" Conan exclaimed with a growl. "Oh," Conan looked up at the teen, "How is Hakuba-san?"
"Fine from what I've heard," Kasuma answered. "I haven't seen him myself… I've been busy catching up on my hours, since the WLH messed up my entire schedule at the mall. In fact, I was just about to leave for the mall… after I checked on Ai-chan. I'm worried about that agent who's supposedly supposed to track her down."
Conan quirked an eyebrow, "…You mean… Bourbon?"
"Is that the codename? I don't remember reading a codename… but maybe I just wasn't paying close enough attention."
Conan nodded. "I heard about him from Jodie-sensei… FBI agent," Conan added after a few moments.
"So you know…? About this intelligence gathering agent?" Conan responded with a small nod. Before Conan could input a comment, a beeping from the agency's fax machine caught his attention. Conan ran over to the machine and pulled out a white sheet of paper, eyes widening when he read its contents.
"It's… a heist note," Conan murmured. At that statement, Kasuma immediately joined Conan by Mouri's desk, leaning over the desk to read the note.
"'A treasure hundreds of years into existence with the true age of 61 will soon be recovered by us who meow nine months and three days after its birth… KID and Mage…' What the hell?" Kasuma exclaimed. Conan faintly heard a vibration and turned to see Kasuma opening her phone and quickly bringing it to her ear.
She jerked her hand away just as quickly and even Conan could hear the exclamation emanating from the phone. "KAZUKI, YOU'RE LATE! GET YOUR ASS OVER HERE ASAP!"
"Ah, shimatta!" Kasuma returned the phone to her ear, "Sorry, sorry! I'll be right there Kaemon-san. Something came up at my place but I'll be there in five." Kasuma closed her phone and gave Conan a brief wave. "See you later, Shinichi-kun," she said, running out of the agency and down the street.
Beika, Japan
Kazuki Residence
November 30, 3:49 PM
Kasuma sat on the desk in the library of her home, an amused eyebrow raised as she noticed Hakuba's eyes still on her. Even as she jumped off and walked over to one of the bookshelves, she could feel his eyes on her. Pulling off a book about gemstones and turning, she threw the book towards the detective, who barely registered and caught the book. "Okay, I know you have a hawk but you don't have to act like one," she remarked with a small smile.
"You don't really give me much of a choice," Hakuba responded.
"You worry too much," Kasuma said with a sigh. "I haven't gotten myself killed and I'm not about to anytime soon. I wonder how you'll be when it comes time for you to actually worry."
"Don't remind me. Please," Hakuba muttered.
"Will you be acting this predatory when Conan-kun and whoever's with him comes?"
"Ojamashimasu~!" Came a chorus of voices at that moment.
"You left the door unlocked?" Hakuba asked incredulously.
Kasuma shrugged, "They might not have had a key… If Ai-chan wasn't with them."
"Kasuma-oneesan!" Ayumi ran into the library first, followed by Genta, Mitsuhiko, Agasa, and finally Conan. "Can we play some of your games?"
"Go ahead," Kasuma nodded. "You don't have to ask."
"Arigato!" Ayumi and the boys, minus Conan, exclaimed. The three children proceeded to run up the stairs, disappearing behind a corner, Agasa following at a leisurely pace, chuckling.
"I half expected them to run up to the games immediately," Kasuma murmured as Conan walked further into the room. "Was Ai-chan with you, Conan-kun?" Conan shook his head.
"I'm over here," Came Haibara's quiet voice. The scientist had just entered carrying an empty food bowl, several toys, and Neko in her arms, which was a feat in itself—Neko was no small puppy.
"Ai-chan," Kasuma moved across the room and took the bowl and toys from Haibara's already occupied hands. "I'm sure you could have taken several trips… instead of bringing Neko and her stuff up in one go."
"She was too excited," Haibara defended. "I didn't want to trip over her or something." Haibara giggled quietly as Neko happily licked her left cheek as if in response.
"Mattaku," Kasuma slumped in defeat. "Oh, where's Winter?"
"Sleeping on Takeo-kun's bed," Haibara answered. "Oh, and I told Hakase to monitor the others' behavior. He will make sure they're not too destructive in his room."
"Right… Uh, Hakuba," Kasuma turned to the British detective, "Can you look up 'Cat's Eye' in that book I tossed you? Or maybecymophane would be better?"
"Will you tell me your reason for doing so?" Hakuba asked, opening the book and flipping through the pages.
"That's probably the gem type KID and Mage are after this time. Otherwise, the random 'meow' in the heist note wouldn't make sense," Kasuma explained.
"Now the hardest part of that riddle is figuring out what that 'true age' phrase means," Conan murmured. "It's not possible to be in existence for hundreds of years yet have a 'true age of sixty-one' so maybe it's not using the literal term?"
"And it seems we can't figure out when they strike until we figure out that part," Kasuma remarked.
'True age of sixty-one… nine months and three days after its birth… Could it be…?' Haibara set Neko next to her food bowl which Kasuma had placed by the foot of a book shelf and faced the three detectives in the library. "What about a leap year?"
"Eh?" Kasuma turned to look at Haibara.
"Every four years, February gains an extra day. If someone was born on February twenty-nine, then it'd be another four years before that same day comes around again. However, people in those situations generally celebrate their birthday on the twenty-eighth but if you disregard that fact, the 'true age of sixty-one' part makes sense. And to further back that up, November is nine months after February."
"In that case, the last leap year was last year," Kasuma mumbled almost to herself. "So sixty-one times four is…"
"Two hundred forty-four," Haibara answered immediately. "Whatever it is, it's been around for two hundred forty-five years."
"And with that information, we now know the heist will take place on the second of December… nine months and three days after it was found," Conan mused.
"Now to figure out what 'it' is," Hakuba murmured.
"Oh crap!" Kasuma suddenly exclaimed. "I forgot to give you the supplies you asked for, Ai-chan. Since I've been so busy this week, it completely slipped my mind! C'mon, I'll get them now." Kasuma led Haibara out the library and in the direction of the car garage, leaving the two boys very confused.
Conan then bounded happily over to Hakuba, "Ne, ne, Hakuba-niichan?"
"What is it?" Hakuba asked, taking his eyes off the library doors and pulling a laptop out of a drawer of the room's desk.
"Why were you watching Kasuma-neechan so intently?"
Hakuba started at the question before closing his eyes and opening the laptop. "I've… been trying to figure out what she's been doing outside of school and work. She's already begun working insane hours and I was hoping to catch any other change in her usual habits."
Kasuma returned in that moment, without Haibara, and picked up Neko, who had pranced up to her, cradling the puppy to her chest. "How's the jewel search?"
"I was just about to start that," Hakuba answered. "Although, it would have been nicer if KID and Mage had hinted at a physical location in their manifesto. That would have made the search easier."
"Since when has either of them made our searches 'easier'?" Kasuma countered.
"Good point." Hakuba opened an Internet browser and began pulling up the websites of local museums while Conan flipped open his phone and began a search in that same manner. Kasuma set Neko gently on the floor then walked over to Hakuba, leaning over the desk to read the information on the computer screen.
"Hey, what about that museum?" Kasuma asked, pointing to one of the links on the site. "I heard they received some new artifacts recently." Hakuba opened up the page, scanning through the different sections of the website.
The door to the library opened and Haibara poked her head in, "Kasuma-neechan? Can you help me… with the higher shelves in the lab?"
"Sure. I'll be right there," Kasuma answered. Haibara closed the door. "You know… Ai-chan's like you," Kasuma looked over at Hakuba. "She loooves science. Maybe even more so…" Kasuma started for the door, "Well, I assume you'll continue looking for the jewel so I'll see what Ai-chan needs… Actually, I might as well pull a snack together." Kasuma opened the library doors and shut them behind her.
Haibara was waiting several meters from the doors and Kasuma urged her towards the kitchen. "Can you give me a hand with some snacks before we head down to the lab?" Haibara nodded, following Kasuma down the hall and into the kitchen. "Let's see… what do we have in here?" Kasuma asked herself as she opened several cabinets and sifted through the variety of bags and containers inside.
In the meantime, Haibara pulled out two large ceramic bowls and set them on the kitchen table, kneeling on the chair to give herself better purchase. "Ne…" Kasuma stopped what she was doing and looked behind her at the scientist. "Do you think I can find an antidote? With how everything's been going, it seems hopeless."
Kasuma closed her eyes briefly, opening them shortly after and pulling out several packets of Yan Yan and a large bag of potato chips. "If you could create it, you can cure it… You just need to find the right formula. Stop being a pessimist. You're smart… that's why the Organization wanted you. You can find an antidote." Kasuma ripped open the bag of chips and poured them out into the two bowls set out on the table.
"But if I had my notes…! Or if I was able to get a hold of the original research…"
"What have you been doing so far?" Kasuma cut in, dropping the packets of Yan Yan into one of the bowls and taking the two bowls in her arms.
"Well since the cells are what are affected, I tried utilizing several kinds of proteins that have the potential of sustaining cell growth but…"
"Not the right combo?" Kasuma finished, walking out of the kitchen and up the stairs to the room at the end of the hall. Kasuma nudged the partially opened door open, "Hey kids, you want some snacks?"
"Snacks? What kind?" Genta asked excitedly.
"Potato chips and Yan Yans," Kasuma answered, setting one of the bowls on the floor a meter or so away from the television. The three kids jumped up excitedly and dragged the large bowl closer to themselves.
"Arigato!" the three of them chorused in unison.
"Dou itashi mashite," Kasuma murmured, her eyes shooting to the white dog in the room, who was now stretching. Winter jumped off the bed and trotted out the room, in the direction of the kitchen, where her bowl of food was waiting.
"Bye, bye, Winter-chan!" Ayumi exclaimed cheerfully. Winter barked in acknowledgement, then continued on her way.
"Well, enjoy," Kasuma said then. She closed the door and headed down the stairs again, Haibara at her heels. "I'll be right with you Ai-chan, so just head down to the lab. First I'm gonna drop off this bowl and see how the boys are doing with the heist." Haibara nodded and walked further into the house, disappearing down a flight of stairs leading towards the basement, where the lab held its domain. Kasuma once again opened the doors to the library and made for the desk inside, setting the bowl down after reaching her destination. "How's the hunt coming along?"
"Well, unless we're mistaken, we've found the gem," Hakuba replied. "The Blue Door. It's a turquoise cat's eye and was called 'blue door' because of the white line cutting through the center of the jewel… almost like a door streaming bright light in."
"It's cut as a sphere and is being held at a building near the Tokyo Metropolitan Art Museum," Conan continued.
"So it ended up being at that museum I pointed out?" Kasuma mumbled. "Or at least, near that museum… I guess it was part of that new wave of artifacts. Was it really found on February twenty-nine?"
Hakuba nodded. "Two hundred forty-five years ago, it was found in India near Sri Lanka and was soon after moved to the building where it currently rests. How it got here, exactly, is a mystery. What we do know is the building was built by Samizu Kichiemon about two hundred years ago."
"Which means, it's bound to have some sort of trap or some clever trick embedded within it," Conan said.
"Hmm… Well, help yourselves to chips and whatever else I have in the kitchen. I need to help Ai-chan in the lab," Kasuma turned and exited the library, following the path Haibara had taken earlier and entering the lab. She closed the door behind her and locked it, facing the young scientist. "So… what did you really need my help for?"
Ekoda, Japan
Kuroba Residence
December 1, 3:51 PM
"See ya later, Aoko!" Kaito waved as Aoko walked back down the path towards the sidewalk. Sighing, Kaito closed the door and headed up to his room, rubbing the back of his head. Opening the door to his room, Kaito unbuttoned the collar of his gakuran, setting his book bag on his desk. It was then that he got a weird sensation, like his sixth sense was trying to tell him something. Pulling out his card gun, Kaito quietly stole out of his room, silently checking all the rooms on the second floor. Finding nothing, Kaito headed down the stairs, adopting the same routine as his second floor search.
Now in the family room back on the second floor, Kaito stared at his father's portrait, the room behind it being the only place he didn't search. 'I really doubt it but… Just to be sure.' Kaito pushed the portrait and slipped inside, keeping the image of his father as Kaitou KID facing the lair. Walking blindly—though not quite, due to his night vision—Kaito entered the hidden room and felt around for the light, flipping it on. "Holy crap!" Kaito exclaimed when he saw a figure in black leaning against the desk in the room. "I was not expecting you to be here! How did you get here?"
Mage looked up and smirked, adjusting the blue cap on her head. "I knocked, of course." Mage pushed off the desk, patting the sleeves of her black turtleneck. "And I had something to show you. It was urgent. Hence the sneaking into your lair."
"This doesn't have anything to do with tomorrow's heist, does it?" Kaito asked, tucking his card gun into an inside pocket of his uniform.
"None at all," Mage answered. "But it does have to do with heists in general." Curious, Kaito joined Mage by the desk. On the desk, by the computer, was a single sheet of paper with the image of a pink-orange colored jewel on it. Underneath the image was a short paragraph describing the jewel.
"What is this?" Kaito asked, picking up the paper and reading it over.
"Do you know what 'amaraniya' means?"
Tokyo, Japan
Near the Tokyo Metropolitan Art Museum
December 2, 10:47 PM
"Do we even have an idea of when KID and Mage'll strike?" Kasuma asked as she leaned against the wall of the room housing Blue Door.
Hakuba turned his eyes towards the female detective then shrugged. "The best bet we have is going with the time the jewel was found… eleven eleven."
"In that case, we have a little less than a half hour until then," Kasuma murmured, glancing at her watch. "Now the question is: how to kill the time?"
"Nakamori-keibu's taking care of security and there are already plenty of officers scattered around the building," Conan whispered from beside Kasuma.
"Well, we could try figuring out what Samizu Kichiemon did to this room," Kasuma suggested.
"Well, nothing was triggered when we entered so that's ruled out," Hakuba murmured. "It's possible something inside the room needs to be tripped for whatever it is to activate but if that's the case…"
"Then we haven't come across it," Kasuma finished.
"Oi, Hakuba-kun! Get over here!" Nakamori yelled from across the room. Shrugging, Hakuba complied, leaving Kasuma and Conan by the wall.
"You're not going with him?" Conan asked.
Kasuma shook her head, "Nakamori-keibu's not gonna completely trust me since I constantly refuse to have my cheek pinched. Besides, I'd rather observe from the outskirts… that way, I don't have to split my mind between some plan and scanning the room for the thieves." For a while, the two of them were quiet, simply watching the officers run in and out of the room, some with baggage, others without.
"Ne, Kasuma-chan," Conan began, breaking the silence between them. "Hakuba-san seems to be worrying about some strange habit changes you go through. What exactly is he talking about?"
Kasuma smirked, her eyes closed. "He's still fretting about that?"
"What are you talking about?"
"It's a yearly routine," Kasuma answered shrugging. "I've been doing it for a few years now… I don't know why he worries; I always come out of it in one piece."
'Oi, oi,' Conan thought. 'Will you explain what 'it' is?' Before Conan could voice his next question, a familiar laugh flooded the room.
Nakamori whipped around in a circle, "KID! Where the hell are you? Show yourself!"
"As you wish, Keibu~!" KID crooned, his voice cueing a cloud of smoke that nearly filled the room.
Cursing, Nakamori sent an order across the room, "Bring the cage down!" In response, there was a loud CLANG and the clearing smoke revealed what looked like a steel cage surrounding the Blue Door. "HA!" Nakamori exclaimed then. "Try getting through that KID!"
"Very well," KID murmured with a laugh. "I wonder if I can harness the abilities of Kid Flash to speed my way to that jail cell."
"Wow," Kasuma rolled her eyes, "Way to make us sound like the bad guys. Not to mention almost no one in this room will recognize who Kid Flash is. By the way, where's your partner, KID?"
"Hmm… No idea!" KID exclaimed happily—too happily, Conan thought. "I wonder what happened… Let me see if I can find Aibou." There was another cloud of smoke and KID disappeared. Following the thief's disappearance, there was a period of silence between the officers and detectives alike, all of them awaiting the reappearance of the thief and his partner. When yet another cloud of smoke filled the room, the figure revealed was not KID but Mage, calmly smoothing out a sleeve of her white suit.
"So it's Mage now," Kasuma murmured.
"What the hell do you have planned?" Nakamori yelled to the thief.
Mage released a laugh. "Well if I told you that, then that would ruin me as a magician," Mage answered in her neutralized voice. She tilted her head to the left, looking over at Nakamori. "Wouldn't it?" Mage pulled out her gun and shot two projectiles, the projectiles spewing smoke when they landed on the floor. Seconds later, another cloud of smoke appeared and with it the second arrival of KID. This time, he was significantly closer to the middle of the room.
Nakamori growled, then swept an arm around the room, "What are you waiting for? Dog-pile him!"
"W-wait," Kasuma tried to get out, "That might not be a very good id—"
KID let out a hearty laugh. "Impatient, now aren't we, Keibu?" Before the officers could reach him, KID disappeared in a cloud of smoke. Almost immediately after the smoke cleared, another smoke bomb activated and Mage appeared, standing in one of the corners of the room and waving smoke away from her face.
"Wow, we seem to really like smoke today," she said nonchalantly.
"You're sure taking your time to get to the jewel," Kasuma muttered.
"Yes," Mage said in reply, "We are." The thief shrugged. "Well, it's not like we have to rush or anything." Mage ruffled the bangs of her bright pink wig. "It's not a Week Long Heist, after all. It will all be over… in a matter of time." Having said this, Mage tossed several smoke bombs and disappeared with a short wave. When the smoke cleared, KID was standing in the middle of the cage, waving cheekily at the officers in the room.
"H-how?" Nakamori choked out.
"I said I'd harness Kid Flash's abilities, did I not?" KID grinned, opening the jewel case as he continued. "And can't Kid Flash oscillate his molecules through solid objects?" KID extracted the Blue Door and gave another wave. "Ja ne~!" KID released another smoke bomb and disappeared, hearing the beginnings of a famous Nakamori profanity rant.
So busy with organizing a squad to chase the thieves, Nakamori failed to notice the white note that had been left on the soft cushion of the jewel stand. One of the three detectives at the heist, after raising the steel cage, picked it up before departing the room in order to join the chase.
Final Notes: The building built by Samizu Kichiemon I completely made up. I just needed some excuse to utilize for KID and Mage's trick. Oh, and if you know what 'amaraniya' means then rejoice but please don't say anything. I wonder if anyone caught the foreshadowing sentence in this chapter…
And here's a note written by Cai-chan…
B/N: Cai-chan would like to extend her most sincere apologies for taking 2 whole months to BETA a single chapter (and a short one at that). The only feeble excuse she can offer is the tortures of junior year. She wishes she had a better one, like flying with dragons or saving the world, but alas, she does not. However, if you, like Cai-chan, have an overactive imagination and would like to believe she really was flying, befriending dragons and saving the world, she will fully support you in that.
P.S. Please, please don't kill Azarath for taking so long. It's really not her fault. You can kill Cai-chan if you must. (But that really wouldn't be very nice)
Coming up next in Double-M and KID vs. Conan: "I was ready and planning to wait until morning. Hmm, I even got myself comfortable."
