And now for a not-depressing update! I mean, different story, but still...
Chapter 37
The times did overlap, so Shinichi planned a heist, as it was Kaito's turn to be 'invited' and he'd pointed out that Sherlock Holmes was really more Shinichi's area, anyway. Shinichi just wondered if anyone would figure out the note without him or Kaito having to spell it out.
x
To my lovely Magician-kun
The First of the First
Held by one who Holds in Great Esteem
The Modern Tantei First as Written
At the Home of the Brother
I Shall Claim in the Darkness of the Silent Moon
4869
Kaito Kid (doodle)
x
There was a sprig of marjoram twined around a lupine flower* taped in the corner.
xxxx
Two days later, Nakamori and the Taskforce were still scratching their heads and even Hakuba had been caught scowling at a copy of the notice in the classroom.
Kaito had to sigh, reach over, and snatch the paper out from under Hakuba's twitching fingers.
The scowl was redirected to him, Hakuba's eyes promising some kind of retribution just as soon as he could figure out how. Kaito pouted at him, "Don't look at me, Haku-chan! This kind of thing is Shinichi's field!"
And if that wasn't a big enough hint, Kaito was going to smack the blond over the head with a copy of Holmes. Really. Just because it wasn't a normal heist…
"… What?"
Oh, hey. Shinichi had a paperback copy of The Hound of the Baskervilles—in English, of course, the geek—in his hands. How very convenient.
Kaito promptly smacked Hakuba over the head with it, without using his hands or moving from his seat, the book simply appearing over the Brit's head and taking a swing at him, seemingly unassisted. "Shi-hatchi-roku-kyuu, Haku-ba. Geez, I thought you were supposed to be a fan."
Hakuba blinked twice and leaned over to snatch the paper back, glaring at the number. "That's a hint?"
"Isn't it obvious? Shinichi's been ignoring this one entirely, since it was addressed to me, but after living with him, how wouldn't I see that?"
"See what?" Hakuba demanded, a little petulant as the few other people brave enough to hang out in the classroom at lunch with a bored-looking Kaito still inside watched with bated breath.
Shinichi made a gesture as though plucking something from the air, and his book (which had hung mostly forgotten above Hakuba's head for the entire bizarre scolding) obligingly appeared back in his hands. He opened to where he'd been before Kaito had stolen it and continued to ignore the goings-on around him.
"Shiharokyu," Kaito scowled at the blond, "Sherlock. Holmes. Your idol. You can handle the rest on your own: I don't want to be the one solving heist notes! I'd rather go challenge Kid on my own, but watching you struggle with something so blatant was painful!"
Hakuba stared.
The rest of the class did, too, and finally Hakuba just dropped his head into his hands with a resounding groan. Aoko decided to ask the question Hakuba hadn't. (Then again, Hakuba probably thought that Kaito had written the note.)
"How do you know that, Kaito?"
"I said, didn't I?" Kaito huffed at her, "I'm married to Shinichi. He took one look at the note, snickered, and walked off. That pretty much gave the whole thing away."
Hakuba perked back up, "'Whole thing'?"
"Mm. I had to double-check, because I wasn't sure I believed it, but there's this die-hard Homes fan with a first-print edition copy of A Study in Scarlet, and he does this competition thing at an inn he owns named 'Mycroft' every year. He claims that anyone who manages to pass some ridiculous fan-test he hands out with ninety-nine percent will get a chance to participate in some deduction quiz to win the book. Since this one was addressed to me, I kind of think Kid's making fun of Shinichi."
"Kaito."
"Huh?" Kaito pretended not to notice the thread of irritation in a certain detective's tone.
Shinichi shook his head, "Nevermind. You'll probably do your level best to recolor that white, anyway."
"Only before he gets the book," Kaito assured, grinning. "I wouldn't want to damage such a priceless treasure!"
The Hound of the Baskervilles hit Kaito's head, that time.
xxxx
"Why a book?" Hakuba had to ask later that day, safely in what he'd noticed both Kudo and Kuroba referring to as 'the White House' or simply 'White'. He still didn't know where Kuroba was hiding his Kid equipment, and a very amused set of Phantom Thieves (and wasn't that a scary thought, that Kudo was as much Kid as Kuroba) having given him free reign to roam the house as he pleased to look.
Kudo grimaced, "A month and a half from now, I was going to enter the contest. I ended up on the trip along with seven other people, as well as the owner and the maid. The owner and one of the contestants ended up dead and another was injured because someone really didn't like that book the owner co-wrote with a friend of his: The Scorn of Irene Adler. We're kind of hoping that taking the book for a week or so might get the owner to get some security, as it will draw a lot of attention to him. The person who killed him—and one of the contestants, because that contestant saw something she shouldn't have—will be less likely to act with increased security, and I may be able to intercept and talk him down before next year."
Hakuba grimaced. "Agh. And the fact that you know these things isn't concerning at all."
Kuroba shrugged at him, "Well, what can you expect? Shinichi knows all."
The magician got a retaliatory swat for that, "I do not."
"It feels like you do," Hakuba muttered, repressing the urge to shiver. His senpai was creepy, knowing things like that.
"Only the ones I could be there for, near as I can tell," Kudo sighed, "and not even all of those, to be honest. Mainly the heavily premeditated ones."
Which was a different kind of disturbing, if he thought about it. "How are you even sane?"
"Sanity is debatable," Kudo admitted wryly. "Have you met me? I agreed to sign a marriage license with Kuroba Kaito."
"Oi!" Kuroba's affronted yelp made it impossible to keep a straight face, and Hakuba chuckled.
"Nevermind, then. I'll report your riddle answer to Nakamori-keibu, Kuroba."
xxxx
Nakamori was less than happy with a high-school detective (that was nothing remotely like family, unlike Kudo) reporting Kaito's (Kaito's) breakdown of the riddle.
"A book?"
"That's what I said," Hakuba Saguru agreed. "But it does match up, and it's the first time Kid's picked a new moon for a heist. Something is going on. It looks like an authentic notice and the style and handwriting are Kid's, but the choice of target is ridiculously outside of his usual, so…"
"It could be an imposter or it could be a real Kid notice," Nakamori sighed, "Well, Kudo might be a better choice on this one, because he's more careful and it's easy to damage a book, but it is Kaito's turn and even Kid acknowledged it."
"Which means it probably was Kid, as we haven't made the semi-alternating heists common knowledge." Hakuba mused.
Nakamori scowled, "Damn it, why a book?"
The helpless shrug from the highschooler was his only answer.
xxxx
*Marjoram stands for illusions and Lupine signifies imagination.