Stand by your man
And show the world you love him
The mood was still dismal and bleak when the plane touched down on the runway. As they skirted through the baggage claim and out towards customs, Aoko felt her ears perk up at the sound of a nearby television in the waiting room, playing the news:
"In a statement released today, Interpol Special Agent Yaw Thabo confirmed that the search for the Phantom Thief KID in relation to the attempted murder of Interpol Special Agent Istvan Galambos and Tokyo Police Detective Saguru Hakuba has been officially taken over by the Interpol organization. Following this statement, Agent Thabo revealed Interpol's prime suspect in the case to be a Japanese magician named Kaito Kuroba, pictured here. Interpol is requesting any and all information on the whereabouts of this man…"
Aoko's blood ran cold.
The television was showing their latest family picture, with Shinju and Aoko's faces blurred for privacy.
She didn't ask Kaito if he saw the TV. She couldn't afford to spend those precious seconds, out in the public without anywhere to hide, asking him a stupid question like that. Anyone around them could turn at any moment and make the connection. She grabbed Shinju's little wrist and pulled her along with her, wanting desperately to just leave - not knowing exactly where to go but knowing she had to go somewhere - before crashing headlong into a large, burly security guard with a large, burly beard.
"Hey, missy, watch where you're going."
Right, airport security.
Wait…
Airport security!
Aoko gulped. If Interpol was already making statements to the press, what did that mean for Kaito and her? Interpol was a huge organization that specialized in large affairs that required covert operations. Notifying the press of their suspicions wouldn't be a priority; if anything, it would be a strategic move to corner their prey… after tracking their passports and locking down the airport they had flown to!
"You're Japanese, aren't you?" The guard narrowed his eyes at her. "We have orders to be looking out for your kind."
As disgusting as it was, racial profiling, Aoko admitted, in this scenario… was a rather smart move by Interpol. How many other Japanese tourists would be on a flight from Edinburgh to Pretoria? All the security guards would have had to be told would be to detain any Japanese passengers. Detain them and hold them – and then wait.
She searched for a way out of the situation… and found none.
This was it. This was the end.
She finally glanced over at Kaito, who looked visibly offended at the racial profiling but not particularly worried, as she would have expected him to be in the face of his certain arrest. Did he not realize the gravity of the predicament they were in?
"I'm gonna have to ask you to come this way with me," the large, burly guard, whose nametag read Officer Haldeman, said.
They followed Officer Haldeman through the crowd, the security guard guiding them to a locked white door that led to a holding room. Various other security guards were lounging about, almost a dozen eyes instantly locking on the family as they entered the room. The guard motioned for them to sit on the metal bench and wait as he informed his supervisor of their arrival.
Aoko turned to Kaito and felt herself speak at a mile a minute, leaning heavily on the hope that none of the guards around them would understand her hurried Japanese, "Kaito, we're going to be arrested, they're onto us, we're going to jail -"
"What are you talking about?" Kaito rolled his eyes, crossing his arms across his chest as he leaned against the wall. "This is just some bullshit racist protocol. They think we're dangerous just because we're foreigners. All we have to do is just sit tight until they realize they have nothing on us."
"But they do! You're not listening to me!" Aoko practically begged. "I saw it on the TV in the lobby! Interpol just released a statement about -"
Kaito interrupted her with a good-hearted laugh. "Who cares about Interpol?"
She gaped at him. "Kaito, just hours ago we were -"
"Aoko, listen to me," Kaito looked at her with serious eyes, tone somehow still humorously buoyant. "Who. Gives. A. Shit. About. Interpol?"
YOU DO, Aoko wanted to scream. But that look in his eye – it was the same one he had back in the throne room in Mazenderan when the security guard there had said the jewel was fake. It was the same look as when he was about to perform a trick that he'd had waiting up his sleeve for the past two hours unbeknownst to anyone. Of course Kaito cared about Interpol. But this Kaito – whoever this character was that he was playing now that seemed to share his face – didn't.
And if she was reading his cue right - she sure as hell didn't give a shit about Interpol then, either.
The guard returned with a kind-looking man in a rumpled yellow suit. "Agent Thabo, the detainees, as you requested."
"Perfect!" the man said with a sincere smile, clapping his hands together. "Mister Kuroba and Miss Nakamori, it's a pleasure to meet with you both. My name is Special Agent Yaw Thabo. I am an associate of Istvan Galambos, who I understand you have both met with before – just in passing, that is… anyway, I just have some questions for your family. It shouldn't take up too much of your time."
"O…kay," Kaito yawned. "But before we get started, could we use the restrooms? We just got off a very long flight."
"Very well," the man in the yellow suit said agreeably. "But we only have one stall, so you all can't go in at once. Officer Haldeman, would you please escort this young man to the restroom?"
Kaito got up and followed Officer Haldeman down the hall, somewhere Aoko couldn't see, but she could hear a door open and the distinct voice of Kaito complain, "Seriously? You actually have to come in here with me?"
He was back within a few minutes, however, and Officer Haldeman motioned gruffly that it was Aoko's turn now to follow him. Aoko shook her head. "Thank you, but I went on the plane."
Kaito gave her an aggressively stern Look. "Aren't you the one who always says Go When You Can?"
Aoko, in fact, had never said anything even remotely like that before in her life. It was another nudge from Kaito, she realized. Another hint that he had a plan up his sleeve, and that she needed to follow his lead or else risk ruining everything.
"I suppose you're right, dear," she said, laying on a thick layer of sarcastic affection, hoping to convey the picture of the nagging wife who'd just gotten her comeuppance.
She followed Officer Haldeman to the bathroom, and sure enough he followed her in. The idea of having a strange man watching her use the bathroom was embarrassingly uncomfortable until –
"I just spoke to Kaito. Everything's set."
Aoko's whole body froze in place.
That wasn't – no, it couldn't possibly be…
That was Chikage's voice.
"Chikage-san?" Aoko cautioned, peering back at Officer Haldeman's rough features. "Is it really you?"
"Yes, Aoko-chan. But we don't have much time." Chikage turned around, giving Aoko privacy. "Use the bathroom now. After I take Shinju to the bathroom, I need you and Kaito to stall for some time to give me a chance to get Shinju far away from here. Afterwards, you two are going make a break for it, and then who knows when you're going to have time for rest stops."
"What are you saying? Shinju's my daughter, I'm not just going to abandon her with you!"
Chikage's shoulders tightened. "And Kaito is my son. He asked me to do this."
Aoko could hardly believe what she was hearing. "When?!"
"The morning after his last heist." Chikage said. "He called me in tears, saying he didn't think Shinju would be safe with you two anymore. He arranged for me to meet you at the airport, but with the Interpol announcement just now, I had to improvise. I texted him my plan an hour before you landed."
"Why didn't he tell me?"
"I can't answer that." Chikage sighed. "I don't know why that boy does half the things he does. But for now, Aoko-chan, understand that this is the best course of action right now. I can take care of Shinju just fine."
"But – but -" Aoko floundered for the words to say. But She's My Daughter kept ringing in her ears. Her cheeks were burning. "I can't believe Kaito would actually do something like this without telling me first." She shook her head. "She's not going with you. She's staying with me."
Chikage turned back around to face her. She had a cold glint in her eyes that Aoko had never seen before. "Aoko-chan, I love you like my own. But you don't have a choice in this matter. There's nothing more to discuss. It's done." She pointed at the toilet. "Now go."
Aoko complied, head spinning and feeling very far away as she did. Nothing made sense anymore. Here she was, in a restroom in South Africa, with Kaito's mother, who had apparently conspired with Kaito to kidnap Shinju. When was the last time she even saw Chikage?
Numbly, she flushed the toilet and washed her hands. Chikage opened the bathroom door and escorted her down the hallway, back to the waiting bench.
"Shinju, it's your turn," Kaito patted his daughter's back and motioned for her to follow the officer.
It was hard for Aoko not to scream and give it all away, and it just about killed her to watch her daughter walk down the hallway and disappear into the bathroom, unable to say even a single word of goodbye.
After the restroom door closed, her vision faded to red. She was vibrating with anger in her seat, seething to the core. How could she sit next to Kaito at a time like this? He'd just given away their child – to Chikage, no less! How many times had he complained about her to Aoko when they were teenagers, saying he could barely stand to share a house with the woman? And now, to go behind Aoko's back and arrange something like this…
And she knew – she knew, dammit – the reason he didn't tell her.
He knew she would say no.
"Agent Thabo?" Kaito asked, stirring Aoko out of her stewing anger. And, fuck, even the sound of his voice was like nails on a chalkboard for her right now. "Shall we begin the questioning?"
"Don't you want to wait for your daughter to return?"
Kaito shrugged. "In all honesty, sir, she has a medical condition… it's called paruresis. The best way to explain it is that she has a shy bladder. Sometimes it takes her nearly thirty minutes just to start peeing. So unless you want to wait a while, we might as well get started."
Agent Thabo opened his mouth as if to speak, but after a moment of thinking he closed it and motioned for Kaito to follow him. Aoko stood, but he just held his hand up. "I just need Mr. Kuroba right now. I'll call for you when I'm ready, Mrs. Nakamori."
Agent Thabo led Kaito down the hallway to the last door on the right, and the two disappeared from Aoko's view once the door shut.
What was she supposed to do now? By this time, Chikage and Shinju were probably halfway to… wherever the fuck she was taking them. Aoko put her head in her hands and let out a silent scream. Her husband and her mother-in-law had just kidnapped her daughter and now she was actively obstructing justice by remaining silent on the matter.
She was furious with Kaito. Absolutely furious. They were going to have a long talk the next time they had a minute alone.
It wasn't that she didn't understand. She knew their lifestyle was going to become problematic for raising a child at some point. She'd be a bad mother if she hadn't realized that by now. But when did Kaito decide to do this? Why not talk to her first? What if Aoko had a better idea? What if Aoko didn't want to abandon Shinju like this? What if Aoko chose to stay with Shinju rather than stay with Kaito? Why did Kaito get to make that choice for her?
Was this actually Kaito's choice all along?
She knew Kaito never wanted to get married. He never wanted to be a father. He told her that years ago, dammit! She was so upset when she got pregnant because she knew it was going to drive a wedge between them.
Now she knew. Now she knew the truth. Kaito was given a choice between his wife and his daughter, and he had just picked the one he loved more.
It was the worst feeling in the world.
"Alright, let's go over this one more time," Agent Thabo said, shuffling around some papers.
As he did, Kaito took a moment to reflect on just how cliché the whole arrangement was. There was a steel table between them, and a bright fluorescent dangling lightbulb shining aggressively in his eyes. Kaito had long ago given up trying to save his eyes; if they burned out during this interrogation, so be it.
Agent Thabo found the page he was looking for and read off of it slowly, his steel glasses slowly drifting down his nose as he peered down at the text. "So your statement is that you are a traveling magician that just so happens to have been in the same country – sorry, city, excuse me – as The Phantom Thief KID for the past… thirteen heists." He looked up at Kaito with those final words, clearly unimpressed.
"I don't know what you want me to say," Kaito said neutrally.
Thabo put the papers down. "I want you to stop dodging the question."
"You haven't asked me any questions yet."
"Fair point," Thabo said. He took his glasses off to stare at Kaito with his bare eyes. They seemed to pierce deep into his soul as he asked, "Are you the Phantom Thief KID?"
How did Thabo still seem to look so nice when he was asking such a threatening question? Kaito almost felt like he was going to disappoint him by lying to him; furthermore, he felt bad about having to do so. "No."
"Why did the Tokyo Police find your blood at a crime scene?"
That triggered some minor alarm bells in Kaito's head. He tried not to react to it but quickly thought through what he knew. Yes, after Aoko shot him at that October heist, he had left a substantial amount of blood on the rooftop and elevator shaft. But as far as he knew, they didn't have any of Kuroba Kaito's blood to compare it to. So what was Thabo getting at here?
Okay, Kaito. Get a grip. He commanded another neutral response. "I wasn't aware that they did."
Thabo placed a laboratory printout in front of him. "This is a compilation of genetic information we were able to extract from a blood sample found at a heist two years ago in October."
So there was the blood sample he knew about… nothing to be worried about yet. Not until he saw what else they had, at least. "And?"
Thabo pulled another paper out and placed it side by side the first paper. "This is the genetic report on your saliva."
My saliva? Kaito thought, alarm bells ringing louder than before. When did they get my saliva?!
Continuing on without missing a beat, Thabo pointed at various spots between the papers. "Note the similarities." He removed a third paper from his folder and placed it next to the second. "We did a genotype comparison and found that the samples have a 99.99% chance of being from the same source. Considering statistics, the significance of that 99.99% allows us to conclude rather definitively that the samples are indeed from the same person."
Kaito made a show of looking at the papers thoughtfully, rubbing his chin. "That makes sense."
"It – what?" Thabo stumbled over his own words, suddenly looking up at Kaito with wide eyes once again. "No refutation?"
Kaito swept his hand across the papers. "Nope. I agree. I think it all makes sense."
"So… you are agreeing that you are the Phantom Thief KID?"
"Woah, woah, woah," Kaito held up his hands defensively. "That's a pretty big leap. Let's not jump to conclusions."
Thabo put his glasses on with an amused expression on his face, staring at Kaito like he was a puzzle that he couldn't quite find the last piece to. "Explain."
"I mean, let's consider the sources of the samples. Let's look at the one you are saying is the most directly connected to me: the saliva." Kaito was talking out of his ass at this point, praying some of the bullshit he was saying would help him climb out of this deep hole he was in. He leaned on his usual, preferred diversion technique of casting doubt on the evidence. "First question; how are you so sure that this is a sample of my saliva?"
"Well, it came from the lip of a bottle that you drank from."
The fuck? When had Kaito ever been careless enough to leave DNA around for a cop to collect? It must have been recent, since the police database obviously hadn't had his DNA on file when they collected the blood result otherwise this conversation would have happened two years ago in the Tokyo Metropolitan Police Department. "Who collected it and when?"
"My colleague Agent Galambos collected it - during a dinner you shared with him earlier this week, actually."
Kaito tried to think about his actions during that meal. He remembered reluctantly sitting down… enduring a nerve-wracking conversation with Galambos… and then leaving. Nothing more. "I don't recall drinking anything." He shrugged. "Maybe it's not my saliva after all, then."
Your move, Thabo.
Thabo didn't look convinced. "No, you didn't drink anything there. I never said you did. The sample was brought to the table by Detective Saguru Hakuba. It was a preserved water bottle that he assured us you had taken a drink from after…" Thabo's eyes darted back to the paper, rereading the passage with momentary disbelief, "…gym class in high school, apparently."
Kaito let out a low breath, a pang ringing in his chest from the mention of Hakuba. It was just a day or two ago, everything was still so fresh, and thinking about Hakuba hurt, but at the same time… damn Hakuba. He should have expected something like this. Kaito was a lot less careful in high school. He was just starting the criminal life and wasn't used to taking precautions against leaving his DNA all over the place. And to make matters worse, Hakuba was so damn meticulous he probably had proof that it hadn't been tampered with – like surveillance footage of it sitting safe and sound in a locked box, or something of that nature. He wouldn't put it past him. Still, it was worth asking… "Are you serious? That was nearly ten years ago." Seeing Thabo was sticking resolutely to his guns on the matter, he stressed, for good measure, "That water bottle has got to be nearly ten years old."
"Evidence is evidence," Thabo said simply. "The saliva sample is yours."
There would be no further debate on that point.
Thabo 1, Kaito 0.
Kaito felt a bead of sweat drip down the side of his face. Okay, new tactic. He tapped his finger on the first page, the report on the blood sample. "Let's discuss this."
"By all means." Thabo looked at him expectantly. Apparently he was going to let Kaito do the explaining without prompting.
Kaito stared at the paper for a long time. He… didn't know what to say. The longer he stayed silent, the more damned he was. There was a piece of paper on the table that conclusively detailed his specific DNA sequence, which was shown to conclusively match with a blood sample found at a KID heist. All of the evidence was ironclad and solid. If the saliva sample was his, and the blood sample was KID's, then there was no arguing about anything: Kaito was KID. This wasn't speculation anymore; this was science. And science was an uncompromising, nonnegotiable, cold-hearted bitch. Except –
"Where was this blood collected from?"
"This particular sample came from the rooftop of an apartment building on the night of the Dresden Diamond heist two years ago." Thabo thumbed through the papers. "We have other samples from various spots in the apartment building, including the stairwell, the 26th floor's hallway, and the shaft and cabin of Elevator 5. How do you explain that?"
It had been a long shot to hope they had only collected a blood sample from one spot. No, this was going to make things much more complicated. He looked at the paper a little while longer, getting his thoughts in order.
Interpol believed the blood to be his, because it had the same DNA as his saliva sample. There could be no convincing them otherwise on this matter. Better to just accept that. But perhaps he could utilize a different approach to the problem? He decided to start off small, working with bits of information that were non-negotiable in their truth. "That's my blood."
"Is this an admission of guilt?" Thabo eyed him carefully, not getting too excited about having seemingly cornered Kaito again.
"Not at all. I'm just saying that the blood samples you have are mine," Kaito said.
Thabo scratched his head, tilting it bemusedly. "These are samples of the Phantom Thief KID's blood. If the blood is yours, and if the blood is the Phantom Thief's, then it stands to reason that you must be the Phantom Thief KID. And yet you're expecting me to believe otherwise."
"Why do you think they came from KID?" Kaito asked back, latching onto the first semblance of an upper hand that he'd found in the conversation since they started.
"The Phantom Thief KID was shot and was bleeding rather profusely."
"Says who?"
"We have several eyewitness accounts, Mr. Kuroba."
"Such as?"
"You know I can't tell you that," Thabo frowned.
"You can't because you don't have any," Kaito declared with a note of triumph. He was rather confident in this bold claim. Yes, he'd made a dumbass out of himself in front of one of the officers who had nearly apprehended him by the elevator, but upon review of the officer's statement (which he had obtained through a simple hacking of the police department's online evidence bank… hacking, taught to him by Jii's professor friend, of course) he had found the poor officer to be utterly confused in what he had seen, rendering his statement completely useless. Bless the rookie who didn't know how to remember details to save his life – the poor man hadn't even remembered what color suit the Kaitou KID was wearing at the time! (Kaito willfully ignored the thought that perhaps this officer wasn't the only person to give a statement about him that night…) "Without a witness to attest to this being KID's blood, this –" he waved his hands across the table, "- is all just baseless conjecture and speculation."
Thabo frowned, clearly not agreeing with Kaito on this point. "If that's how you want to argue it."
"It is."
Thabo looked thoughtfully at the sample analysis report, before putting it away. "Let's talk about the blood, then. Specifically – where did it come from?"
"My body," Kaito said as levelly as possible.
Thabo cracked an honest grin at that. "Obviously, Mr. Kuroba. We have established that." The grin fell away. "What were you doing on and in this building at the time of this heist that led to your blood being spilled throughout the premises?"
Definitely not stealing, Kaito thought, trying to keep a straight face. "I was picking my daughter up from a sleepover."
"And that came to you becoming injured how…?"
"I -" Uhh. Spin a story, Kaito, any story! It didn't have to be convincing – they were way past that at this point. "I went to the roof before I picked Shinju up because I knew KID was nearby and I thought I might be able to see him from there. When I got to the roof…" he trailed off. The blood spatter evidence the police had obtained clearly showed that the blood misting had come from a gunshot wound. He needed to explain a gunshot wound. But ordinary people didn't get gunshot wounds. And if they did, they went to the hospital. Why didn't he go to the hospital? "There was somebody waiting there already. I didn't get a good look at them because it was dark. They suddenly shot me… I think they thought I was Kaitou KID." Kaito took a steadying breath, trying to take on the role of an innocent gunshot victim reliving a horrible event.
"Go on," Thabo prompted. Kaito couldn't tell if the gentleness in his voice stemmed from a faint source of belief that Thabo might have held in his story, or if Thabo truly was just that kind of a person to play along with the farce for the time being…
Regardless, Kaito nodded slowly while trying desperately to thread together a cohesive story but finding the details fuzzy and hard to arrange. Fearing the consequences of remaining silent for too long, he started running his mouth and just hoped whatever he said would do the trick. "I ran away from him and escaped by running down the stairs. I got tired after a flight or two so I tried my luck by the elevator. On the way down, I called my wife and asked her to pick me up because my leg hurt too much for me to drive, and I was too scared to try to get home by myself on public transportation."
"What time did this all occur?"
"About 10:30pm, I think."
"And which apartment building was this?"
"The Plaza Tower."
"I see," Thabo said, scribbling some notes down on a paper, and then repeated, more firmly, "I see."
"Does that satisfy you?" Kaito asked, a hint of nervousness escaping in his tone.
Thabo was still writing, forehead pinched in deep thought. "Is that your complete statement for that night?"
Was it good enough to save his hide? Maybe, maybe not. But it'd be too suspicious to add anything in now (not that Kaito necessarily had to worry about suspicion anymore… but still). All he could do now was just hope for the best. "Yes."
Thabo closed his notepad and locked his kind eyes on Kaito. "Then we are done for now. I just need to speak with your wife."
As he was escorted from the interrogation room, with wrists as free as they were when he entered, Kaito couldn't help but feel like he'd just cheated death. It was an odd sensation – ominously fleeting – that he knew wouldn't last long.