Apologies for the increadibly long break. It has been over a year by now of me neglecting this story but real life simply kept me busy and under its thumb. Alas, I managed to piece together some time to finish this chapter that has been lying around on my hard drive for far too long. As a consequence of that, my writing might have grown rather rusty and you'll likely be able to tell but I hope that it's still enjoyable to read.
Concerning the next chapter, I sadly can't say how long it will take me to finish that. To tell the truth, I haven't even started with it. Maybe it will be relatively soon, maybe it will take even longer than it took me to finish this chapter. Just know that I don't plan on abandoning this story and if I every chose to do so, I will inform you.

But that's enough of me rambling and apologizing. Enjoy the read and thank you for waiting so patiently.


Chapter 23

Complete silence lay over the hall of the Beika Art Museum as the mixture of civilians and policemen starred with gaping mouths at the grade-schooler watching over the thief kneeling in front of him. Yet they were not stunned because of the unusual display but because of what the boy had said.

"Hold it for a minute. I never said I was finished." had his last words been as he stopped Kitsune from handing him over the 'Forbidden Sun'. The palm-sized piece of amber that had been the girl's target for this heist.

"Is that so?" Kitsune broke the silence, her game master-like demeanour broken. In its place, every muscle of her body was tensed, as she seemed to supress something with all her might.

Raising from her knightly bow with one knee on the floor, she now towered over the grade-schooler and demanded, her voice quivering "Then, please do tell me, what prove have thou found?"

Not impressed in the slightest by the trickster's demeanour, Conan casually faced the crowd, not caring the least that he had turned his back on a Kitsune that seemed ready to explode.

"This is just another act." the boy knew. She might fool their audience with this play but he was certain she would never harm him. In all likelihood, she simply wanted to raise the tension for the big reveal.

"Can't you guess? Earlier this evening, I said myself that I would explain later." the boy finally spoke, his voice directed equally at the fox girl next to him as at the whole crowd in front of him" Now is the time to stay true to my word."

She did not answer right away. For seconds Kitsune stood unmoving with clenched fists and glared down at the boy. Then her head turned away and she snapped "Keep thy word, Tantei-kun!"

After sending a concerned glance her way, the small detective turned back to the crowd again "Earlier, I raised the question how it was possible for Kitsune to defend herself from the net of goo threads. Since I have now unravelled all the other tricks used, we can go back to that question."

Starting to pace again, Conan explained "If we look at the equipment that we know was used in the other tricks, there is one things that should catch your eye immediately."

The crowd pondered. They all tried to recall the boy's explanation yet could not see what the boy was referring to. Eventually, Conan did judge it to have been long enough and was about to reveal his deduction. But before he had a chance to speak, a choked giggle interrupted him.

Following the sound, he cast a curious and slightly irritated glance at its source. Kitsune stood not far from him, her whole body trembling, seemingly supressing her laughter. And just as Conan was about to ask her what was so funny she couldn't contain herself any longer.

Heartfelt and bubbly laughter filled the room as the girl practically squealed from happiness and began to tippy tap like a little child. It was a surreal sight to say the least as the thief, who had held the whole of Japan in awe and uncertainty for the last months, pranced about in innocent joy.

Suddenly she grabbed Conan and swung him in circles over here head while still laughing.

"HEY! Let me down!" the boy shrieked deeply embarrassed by her sudden action yet the thief did not relent. Round and round the boy was carried under the amused gazes of countless police officers and civilians, before Kitsune suddenly froze in place.

"Oh my god! I'm sooo sorry!" the fox girl exclaimed as she hastily put Conan back on the floor and began to apologize profoundly "I'm sorry. I didn't mean to make you uncomfortable but I was just so happy that my tricks had been seen through soo brilliantly!"

Having clasped both of Conan's hand in hers she was now on her knees in front of him while the words flooded out "My first heist and not only did you have the good heart to play along with my little show but you also did it so unbelievably good! And you solved all the riddles with such ease while explaining everything so carefully! Even the sound waves I used to alter the goo net's trajectory didn't go unnoticed by you! And not only that, but you also didn't jump to the conclusion that it must have been an air current, which would be impossible since then my clothes would have flattered all over the place and the deafening roar of the engine wouldn't even get covered by a roaring crowd!"

By now she had let go of his hands and instead grabbed both of his shoulders. But Conan had no time to wonder about the purpose of this because in the next moment he was jerked back and forth while Kitsune wailed "Please! PLEASE! Let me be your rival! There is nothing that I could want more than to get acknowledged by such a brilliant detective."

Unable to come up with anything given his current situation, Conan could barely stutter "O-o-kay! O-kay! Ju-st sto-p it!"

As the girl finally let go of him, the boy swayed to and fro, likely feeling as though somebody was still spinning and shaking him around. Barely he registered how the fox-girl began to shake his hands energetically, before a look of remembering passed over her face.

"Right! The prize! Ohh, how stupid of me to forget something again!" Kitsune exclaimed, thumping her own head with her fists before she suddenly pulled something out of her breast pocket and offered it to Conan "Here! Take thy rightfully earned reward!"

In her hands lay the 'Forbidden Sun'.

This was his moment.

Like a hawk descending on its pray, Kaito swooped down from his perch on the lamp and tore the stone out of the surprised Kitsune's hand.

"Wha-" she barely managed to breath and tried to grab him but by that time Kaito was already long out of her reach. With practiced easy he came to a stop after sliding over the marble floor and transitioned flawlessly into a deep bow. The crowd was breathless.

Suddenly the deafening squealing of hundreds of fangirls filled the room and not a few fell unconscious at the magician sight.

His entrance was perfect.

"Ladies and Gentlemen!" he addressed them all with his arms spreading out "Finally it is time for me to greet you formally to this enchanting heist, even though it is not by my design."

Extending an arm towards Kitsune he spoke with fire in his voice "The lovely hostess has done a most wonderful job at conduction it and despite this being her first time doing so, it was a truly delightful show so far."

All the eyes were now on the fox girl but instead of shrinking away like any normal person starred at by thousands of eyes, Kitsune rose to the occasion. In a puff of smoke her suit had suddenly changed back to her usual garments. With a wide flourish of her parasol, she bowed gracefully to the crowd who now broke out into loud cheering.

"By all means she deserves an applause." Kid added and at his words the hall was filled with ferocious clapping.

For minutes, the deafening orchestra of applauding hands played its piece, not relenting even as hands got sore and throats started to feel dry. But, like all things, even this celebration had to come to an end as it slowly ebbed away.

"I graciously thank you for your kind compliments!" Kitsune was the first to speak up "It has been a pleasure for me to take you on this magical journey to Death's door and Heaven's gate! Yet this wonderful experience wouldn't have been possible without the kind help off all the people who played along. Although many of them didn't even know it."

A small giggle came from her lips before she abruptly covered the stage in smoke. Once it cleared she no longer stood alone on the red carpet but had her arms draped over the shoulders of two, surprised girls.

"First I would like to thank Ran Mouri-san and Sonoko Suzuki-san for graciously playing the parts of detectives! Without their kind assistance, little Conan-kun would still be stuck in his castle of glass." Kitsune exclaimed, her cheerful voice contrasting strongly with Ran's embarrassed- and Sonoko's annoyed mood.

A round of applause was given. Thanks to Kid's speech and the whole presentation, the crowd had readily accepted that now it was time to pay tribute to the actors of this show.

"Naturally, my gratitude also befits my helpful hostage, even though he struggled so adamantly against playing his part as prisoner." again Kitsune vanished in a puff of smoke and before she appeared again, a small 'No! Go away!' could be heard before she proudly presented the small boy to the crowd. As before, she held him under the arms and thrust his body high into the air.

Another round of applause erupted, more fierce than the last.

The cheerfulness of the crowd contrasted strongly with the annoyed look on Conan's face but it soon vanished as Kitsune quickly deposited him into the arms of Ran.

"And now, last but not least, I wanted to thank the countless police officers who so adamantly fought for their squad." the fox girl thanked but unlike before she added something more this time "But today especially I wanted to express my gratitude to you for rising to the occasion and not standing in the way of a fun evening. It really has been a most pleasant evening"

With this she bowed deeply into the direction of the group of inspectors on their elevated platform and the crowd followed suit with a torrent of cheering and clapping.

Some of the officers played along and bowed like actors on a stage but the huge majority just stood rooted in their spots, quite overwhelmed by the unexpected applause.

"Hang on a minute!" Inspector Nakamori's voice thundered and the applause stopped abruptly "Are you trying to pull our leg?! This is not some kind of stage play but a heist! And unlike you, we're not here to have fun but to stop your villainy!"

"Oh, inspector. You're always so serious." Kitsune only giggled in response "But if that is how you want things to be…" she added with a noticeable change in her voice "then I shall oblige thy request!"

And in the next moment, chaos broke lose.

Colourful smoke began to flood the room and shouted orders set the police force in motion. But by the time the first officers arrived on the red carpet the two thieves were already gone.

"What?! Damn! Where-" Inspector Nakamori, who had charged onto the stage like an enraged bull, cursed as he was interrupted.

"I offered you peace for today yet you chose war. Though, since I do not fancy violence, I will, just like thee, not accept thy declaration and pursued my own path instead." Kitsunes voice spoke over the speakers, her formal tone was back but her voice still held this hint of youthful ambition now mixed with fiendish delight "So, be prepared to face thy humiliation as I will make thee the clown to dance on my stage for the pleasure of the masses!"

And with one last maniacal laugh the speakers turned off.


Slowly, heavy clouds drifting over the night sky started to hide the crescent shaped moon and its sliver rays. Yet, the light that was left still shone clearly through the piece of ember. And even the brilliant red colour of the famous 'Forbidden Sun' was not enough to give it a red gleam.

Though, this came hardly as a surprise for Kaito. Since Snake's organisation, or as Kitsune seemed to call them 'The Magpies', hadn't shown up, he had expected that Pandora was not hidden in this stone. Yet, since he had gotten his hands on it anyways, it didn't hurt to make sure.

Letting the stone vanish with a sigh, he turned to finally get home and catch some well needed hours of sleep. However, the moment he had turned, a surprised yelp escaped him and he jumped visibly at the sudden figure standing in front of him.

"Got you!" Kitsune chirped as she skipped over to the edge of the roof. His heart still beating like crazy, Kaito followed her with wide eyes, wondering how she had managed to sneak up on him.

"Has she followed me since I left the museum?" his mind raced "But I changed disguises multiple times and made sure nobody was following me. So, did we bump into each other coincidentally?"

But that seemed unlikely as well. Tokyo was big and the chance of them stopping at the same time in the same neighbourhood were almost non-existent. Then how had she found him?

His mussing was interrupted as Kitsune, who had been gazing at the moon, spoke softly "Beautiful sight isn't it?"

Taken aback, Kaito didn't find the right words but it seemed the girl didn't even expect a response as she continued "I've always enjoyed watching the moon and the stars. It is calming."

Silence set till Kaito mumbled a confused 'it is' not seeing where she was going with this. The girl, still looking up at the dark sky, turned her head at this so the grinning fox masked looked straight at Kaito.

Again, he thought he could see something blue shine behind the eye slits but it was gone as the girl tilted her head.

"Not very talkative, are we?" she inquired, her voice light and unconcerned.

Kaito thought it irritating how she could still seem so carefree and bubbly after a heist that stretched over hours but he was not about to show her how tired he really was. Thus he simply answered "I simply thought it rude to interrupted such a lovely lady."

"Ohhh?" she made an curious sound, tilting her head to the other side "Giving me the persona again?"

There seemed to be a tenseness in her words and she slowly started to approach him.

Wondering what she was up to now, Kaito kept silent, poker face in place, as she came closer and closer to him.

Soon, only an arm's length was between them and yet Kitsune took another step.

Now, only inches apart Kaito started to have a bad feeling.

What was she going to do?

Was she somehow angry at him?

Was this a trick of hers?

In this moment, she struck. Fast and precise like a cobra, her arms shot through the air directly towards him.

"AHAHAHAHAHHA STOP IT AHAHAHAHAHAH"

The next moment Kaito found himself lying on the floor, unable to control his body shaking from laughter. Desperately he tried to fend of the relentless assault but Kitsune's fingers continuously slipped past his defences and found his most ticklish spots.

"You need to laugh more! Laughing is healthy." Kitsune continuously chanted while torturing her poor victim that only shouted back 'I'm dying! Stop it!' between heavy laughter.

Eventually she showed mercy and ceased her attack but by the time she did, Kaito's stomach hurt, his mouth felt tense and he had tears in his eyes.

"You devil!" he breathed out, still lying on the floor trying to regain his breathing.

"How rude!" the fox-girl exclaimed with a huff as she stood up from her crouching position, turning something over in her hands.

Kaito's eyes went wide.

"Is that…?" he breathed out as realization hit him.

"Yes. It is the 'Forbidden Sun' you hid on yourself." Kitsune admitted nonchalantly as she let the stone vanish in her sleeve "What? Did you think I would only tickle you for the fun of it?"

Then shameless manner with which she admitted her theft caught Kaito dead cold. Staggering back to his feet, he was about to accuse her when she cut him off "You already saw it was not the original, so what's the big deal?"

Her words hit him like a cold fish that was smacked right into his face.

"Not the original?" he stammered.

Now it was her time to stop dead in surprise.

"You haven't noticed?" she exclaimed in wonder "Haven't you just held it up to the light?!"

Just in time, Kaito caught himself.

"Of course I noticed." he said as casually as possible and added in a mocking voice "You really fell for my little play?"

But Kitsune was hardly impressed. "Little play. Of course." she deadpanned, quite obviously not having fallen for his ploy.

"Anyways, I'm sure you're tired and-" Kitsune waved him of but Kaito was not about to let himself get told off like this "Wait! Wait!"

He might act like an idiot sometimes but he was no fool. He knew when he had lost.

"I didn't notice. It never crossed my mind you would go back on your word and give the detective brat a fake." he confessed only for her to surprise him yet again.

"Oh, I didn't intend to." she casually said "I really wanted to give him the real one. But when I saw you up on the lamp I knew you would try something."

Kaito's jaw hit the floor.

"You played along with me stealing it form you?!" he exclaimed, his mind rewinding back to the moment he snatched the stone out of her hand. He saw her surprise, her reflex to retract the hand and keep the stone safe. He was so sure he had caught her off-guard.

"Pretty much." the girl lightly replied and Kaito just wanted to get swallowed up by the floor.

"Damnit! What is it with her" Kaito cursed inwardly "I'm supposed to be the experienced one! How can I continuously fall for her tricks every damn time?!"

He glared at the girl in her yukata, standing there like her actions were the most natural thing.

Feeling that he would get a headache if this continued, Kaito completely surrendered and merely asked "Where is the real one then?"

"Oh, it's not what either of us has been looking for. Trust me." she simply said and climbed up on the small sill at the edge of the building.

Knowing what she was about to do, Kaito quickly called out to her "That's not what I asked!"

"In a safe place!" she told him calmly, turning to face him and added while bowing "Read tomorrows newspaper!"

And that was all he would hear from her as, in the next moment, she let herself fall backwards into the gaping nothingness around the skyscraper.

Rushing to where she had stood just a moment ago, Kaito could see her in the distance floating towards the ground with her parasol.

O

The aftermath of the heist was one giant mess. Not only did Kitsune's tricks require a cleaning crew to make the museum somewhat presentable but the medial side was in turmoil as well.

Countless journalists, news sites and celebrities bickered over the question whether the heist had been a success or a failure for Kitsune. On the one hand, the argument was brought up that Kitsune had not only taken the stone but also handed it back willingly. Thus, she definitely managed to steal it.

The other side of the argument, however, made a case that Kitsune had not left the heist location with the 'Forbidden Sun'. They argued that she would have been pursued much fiercer if she still had the stone in her possession and thus it was not guaranteed that the theft would have succeeded.

But as if the debate hadn't been heated enough, a third party, mainly consisting of Kid fans, emerged and presented the view that Kid had won the heists. After all, he had been the one to snatch the precious rock away from Kitsune.

"If they knew." Conan, stifling a yawn, thought to himself. He had been up far too long for his child body to handle properly and since Ran did not allow him any form of caffeine, especially not through coffee, he had to practically drag his exhausted body to school the next morning.

The combination of simple arithmetic combined with the cosy sun and his fuzzy mind had made it extremely challenging to not doze off. In fact, he hadn't managed to fight the sleepiness off by himself and, if not for a few timely but also very painful pinches from Ai, Kobayashi-sensei would surely have caught him.

Speaking of which, he quickly shoved his phone back into his backpack as the teacher returned to the room along with the rest of the class. Phones were not allowed during classes in high school so he didn't want to find out what would happen if he got caught with one in grade school.

"A parent-teacher meeting is the last thing I want now." he mumbled to himself and once again closed his tired eyes as the classes resumed.

It had needed another four pinches for him to not get caught till it was finally time for the noon-break. Rubbing his sore cheek he sent a glare to the strawberry-blonde who was sitting beside him on a bench in the school yard.

"Unhappy?" she merely shrugged his glare off "Would you have preferred it if I let Kobayashi-sensei catch you?"

"No. But why had it to be my cheek? Why not my hand or arm?" he grumbled at her.

But, as usual, Ai had the perfect answer ready "I hoped the additional adrenaline from the stronger pain would help in keeping you awake for a longer time. But it seems your brain is just too defective."

"My brain is not defective!" he growled but his partner remained unimpressed.

"And those mood swings!" she commented drily "If I didn't know better I would guess you stayed up too long last night."

Not honouring this sarcastic remark with an answer Conan instead pulled his phone out again. The rest of the detective boys were playing tag and he had enough of talking with this sassy miniature scientist next to him. So, instead he searched the web for new content on Kitsune, bringing up the most recent headlines and news.

Unsurprisingly, most of the articles concerned last night's heists with some being from professional outlets while others were merly posts on social media. He scrolled through the search results until his eyes spotted something. Quickly he brought up the full article and read it thoroughly.

"This is-" he mumbled to himself, rereading parts of it again and again as if to make sure his eyes weren't deceiving him.

"What is it?" his suddenly alert behaviour didn't go unnoticed by the girl next to him who leaned in to see what he was looking at.

"The kid heists?" she made no effort to mask the disappointment in her voice "What's so exiting about an article? Weren't you there?"

"I was and that's exactly why I am exited!" Conan explained, his sleepiness blown away as he once again caught the scent of a case.

Puzzled what the boy meant, Ai read through the whole article, her brows knitting more and more the closer she got to the end. "I don't see what's so interesting." she finally commented.

"What was the most interesting part about the article?" the boy pressed "What is new information to you."

The strawberry-blonde thought for a moment before saying "The part about how Kitsune slipped the stone in your pocket and you only noticed when you were about to leave."

"Exactly!" Conan cried out, surprising the girl next to him, "That's the clue!"

"Clue for what?" she asked, annoyance now lacing her voice.

"When I found the Forbidden Sun' I gave it to Inspector Nakamori but didn't say I found it in my pocket." he explained finally.

With this piece of information the dots also connected for Ai, as Conan could clearly tell by the slight widening of her eyes "So, the only person who could have known this is the perpetrator which means-"

"Kitsune! Right!" the boy agreed hastily "So, she wrote this article."

"Who's the author?" Ai asked, trying to mask her curiosity behind her usual cold demeanour, but Conan saw right through it. However, he chose not to comment on it since he preferred having Ai's wits on the case more than simply dealing her ego a small blow. Besides, there would be other opportunities for that.

"It's a post on a forum from a 'kidkiller1412" he frowned at the name who seemed like something any fanboy would come up with.

"It seems she likes you." Ai too picked up on the not very well hidden meaning of the name "Did you do anything to inspire vigilantism?

Commenting her snide remark only with a scoff he brought up the profile of the user and began sifting through the activities.

"Damn, this is not much to go by." he cursed as she saw the short list of entries and noted the recent date of creation "The profile is barely older than a month."

Her other activities included long and detailed comments discussing heists which Conan didn't particularly care to read through. He was just about to put the phone away again when the girl next to him stopped him.

"What?" he asked a little irritated as Ai copied the page's URL and sent it to her own phone.

Under the confused and questioning gaze of Conan she arched a brow back at him "You should know that you leave a lot of traces when you move on the World-Wide-Web. Once I'm back at the lab, I'll try to trace her IP."

"That sounds awfully illegal." the boy observed drily.

But his partner was barely shook by that "Oh, please. My résumé includes things much worse than a little hacking attempt. Besides" she added with a smile "It's only a crime if you get caught."

O

"Have you been at the heist as well?!" the classroom was filled with exited students chatting away about the big event of the past night. The first kid heist open to the public in months would be the topic of conversation for weeks to come.

But Aoko was conflicted.

On the one hand, listening in on their conversations could give her intel what the public thought of her. It would be to her advantage if her declarations now carried more weight and she could direct the public attention towards the Magpies. If she managed to build her reputation up and then present definite evidence, she could wipe out the whole organisation in one strike!

But on the other hand, right now she wanted nothing more than for all of them to shup up.

Last night's heist and especially her passing out from exhaustion had left its toll on her so she was barely able to pull herself out of her sheets this morning. Morning classes hadn't gone much better since the constant threat of falling asleep made it hard to follow anything the teacher told them even though she should already know the material.

And now during noon break, where she hoped to have time for a little nap, it seemed all the world suddenly wanted to talk to her about the heist.

"Has your dad told you anything?"

"Did this really happen?!"

"Were you there yourself?"

"Can you get me a VIP spot?"

Questions like these rained down on her the whole time and she barely managed to eat her lunch. So, even just thinking of sleep was impossible.

Thanks to all her training and the heists, Aoko managed to keep her poker face in place and brush off her sleepiness as having just gone too late to bed. But all the ruckus together with the exhaustion she felt made her mood grow worse and worse.

And by the end of the break, she wanted nothing more than to just run out of the classroom and sleep for the rest of the day.

And for once, fate seemed to have granted her wish.

Their afternoon classes were abruptly cancelled as their teacher suddenly fell ill due to a heavy stomach ache he supposedly got from an over-date fish salad he had eaten for lunch. And instead of organising a substitute the school changed their afternoon classes to self-study lessons.

Eternally grateful, Aoko packed her things and was about to leave the class-room when somebody caught her by the shoulder.

"Hey, where are you going? So eager to scrub the toilets again?" a cheerful voice Aoko recognized in her sleep spoke out and as she turned around, she saw her own reflection in the huge spectacles now facing her.

"I'm not going home, Keiko." Aoko answered, trying to sound convincing yet failing to do so on account of her sleepiness. Luckily, Keiko didn't seem to care one bit about the breach of school rules but this didn't keep her from teasing her friend "Oh, sure! Is it because dear Kaito is not around to help you with the scrubbing?"

Too tired to get into this topic, Aoko chose to not reply anything. But, thinking better of it, she quickly interjected a question of her own so the other girl could not continue her inquiry "Speaking of which, where is Kaito? I haven't seen him since the break began."

Looking around as to confirm whether Kaito truly was absent, Keiko's face soon became thoughtful as she said "Hmmm, I think he left right at the beginning of the break. That's the last time I saw him."

"Maybe he got himself a girlfriend in another class." Aoko joked, hoping to distract Keiko with this new piece of gossip so she could slip away. But the other girl didn't seem convinced at all.

"This guy? A girlfriend in another class?!" she said with a snort "No chance!"

A bit surprised by the definitive response, Aoko sent a questioning glance towards Keiko. But the other girl merely returned an amused grin.

Judging that there was no getting away from her friend this way, she tried to come up with a different excuse. However, before her exhausted brain could provide anything useful, Keiko spoke up "So, how was yesterday's heist?"

Normally, such a trivial lie would pose no challenge to Aoko even before she had started with her nightly career. But since all of her attention was directed at keeping her eyes open and standing more or less straight instead of swaying about, she merely managed a very unconvincing "W-what do you mean?"

And from her expression, it was evident that Keiko was not one bit convinced.

"Ohh, don't be like that. It's okay." the bespectacled girl draped an arm over Aoko's shoulder and slowly steered her out the door "Even the daughter of a police inspector and an ardent critic of Kaito Kid, like you, is allowed to root for a thief. Especially when she's sooo cool!"

The meaning behind those words didn't elude Aoko but she nonetheless chose to act obvious as she asked with annoyance lacing her voice "What are you talking about?"

"Please!" Keiko, now pushing Aoko up the stairs, grinned "I might not be as smart as you but I'm no fool!"

The moment they reached the upper floor Keiko spun forward and pointed accusingly at Aoko with a confident smirk in her face. And just as the tired brunette was about to ask her friend what she was doing now, Keiko declared "You are a Kitsune fangirl!"

Aoko stared. Her brows having wandered as high as they could possibly go while her mouth gapped slightly.

Meanwhile Keiko, who thought Aoko's dumbfoundedness stemmed from her having uncovered the truth, began to elaborate on her brilliant deduction as she continued to guide Aoko up towards the roof "You surely ask yourself how I could have figured that out. Let me explain."

Aoko felt like she had been thrown into some cheesy detective novel as her friend continued her act "The first sign I noticed was how tired you were the whole day. Evidently, something kept you up for the better part of the night, yet when I confronted you, you tried to elude my question with an overly vague and therefore most suspicious answer."

"I merely said I didn't sleep well." Aoko grumbled mentally but couldn't find the strength nor will to refute Keiko's argument.

"After this incident," the girl went on in her narrative that remined Aoko so heavily of a certain grade-schooler "I kept a close eye on you and soon enough you exposed yourself yet again! When Tomura-chan asked Miwari-chan whether she had been to yesterday's heist, you deliberately shifted your head and pretend to be disinterested. But I saw through your ploy."

Again, Keiko had jumped forward a few steps and spun around to point accusingly at Aoko. Knowing fully well what would come, the brunette braced herself.

"Obviously you feigned ignorance to mask the fact that you have gone to the heist!" the girl declared triumphantly.

Not finding it in herself to respond in any way, Aoko merely walked past her friend. Noting that they already reached the door she asked the her guide "Aren't you concerned about the teachers finding us?"

"Ohh, you try to change topics now that I've caught you?! You disappoint me!" Keiko spoke in theatrical manner. Aoko almost expected her to fall to her knees and begin some monologue about how her friend's betrayal hurt her fair heart like the sting of doubt's wretched dagger.

Luckily, Keiko was not quite there yet. Instead she briskly walked past Aoko and flopped down in the shade "I've seen through you. With your presence at the heist established, the motive was apparent."

Pushing up her glasses, Keiko smirked up at her friend as she began her final deduction "Since you hate Kid so much that you stopped visiting his heists for a long time, it was obvious that the new presence drew you back once more."

Seating herself next to her friend, Aoko waited for the dramatical pause to be over. In the next moment Keiko once again trust her finger into Aoko's face and finished "It was Kitsune! You've finally caught the spark and the same heart that so adamantly hated Kaito Kid now beats for the wicked Fox Spirit!"

Seconds ticked by as the two girls starred at each other. Keiko's gaze burning with passion and Aoko's eye half shut and accompanied by a frown. Finally, the later broke the silence.

"A spirit?" she asked as she pushed Keiko's finger out of her face "What are you talking about?"

"Hah! You dare lie again?" Keiko's response was immediate "There is no way you, as an adamant Kitsune fan, would not know of her mythical origins!"

"Mythical origins? Really?!" Aoko was not sure whether she should feel honoured or offended.

On the one hand, her fans had caught the, rather obvious, parallels to a fox spirit. She had deliberately modelled her persona that way so that the people would think of her in a similar way as they did of a fox spirit: a cunning trickster who was however not malicious or dangerous.

On the other hand, it felt as though all her achievements and hard work were simply explained away by magic. And this did no justice to the actual effort she put into every trick and the struggles she had gone through.

"Not to forget: a spirit?!" she mentally added "I'm almost offended that MY fans bought this crap!"

Yet, despite her sleepiness, Aoko didn't voice her thoughts and instead asked "Do you really think Kitsune could be a spirit?" Not that she believed there would be any merit in listening to the answer.

But Keiko surprised her "Who knows? The world is vast and there are many things we have no clue about just yet. All we can is try to come up with some explanation that does justice to what we witnessed"

Pondering over the unexpectedly insightful words, Aoko turned her head to look at the vast blue sky while the little that was left of her mind began to work.

"It's true." she thought to herself. Sure, Conan would be livid that people didn't pursue the truth but felt content with this half assed excuse. But what was the real truth? Truth always changed. For the longest time people believed it to be true that the earth was flat. And when Galilei claimed it was round the new truth did no magically manifest itself.

It needed long years of work and many sacrifices that the truth of a round earth was accepted. People were content as long as some sort of explanation that seemed plausible was there. But this explanation could change. Truth was nothing else but a story built to provide safety through certainty.

This was the same. Her fans didn't get a glimpse behind the curtain. Even with Conan's explanations, her pompous show still presented them with mysteries left unanswered. These mysteries invited the imagination to draw its own conclusions. And where logic didn't suffice, myth had to answer.

What presented a likelier solution that her being a real fox spirit, if you believed in mythical creatures that is?

"So, now I'm really a spirit?" Aoko snickered to herself, shaking her head at the absurdity of the thought. And through this action, she noted somebody else on the roof.

The figure was at the other end of the building yet Aoko could immediately tell who it was. And as if to confirm her thought, a white bird took off from the person's outstretched arm.

Keiko, who had followed her friend's gaze, noticed the silhouette as well "Isn't that . . ."

She interrupted her question and suddenly shot a grin towards her friend that let Aoko sigh in exasperation. She knew that smile.

"No!" the brunette declared firmly, yet Keiko quickly responded "Yes!"

In the next moment, she had pushed Aoko up from the floor and steered her towards the lone figure while saying "This is the perfect moment! Don't you dare ruin it!"

Feeling that there was no talking back, Aoko grudgingly trudged towards the boy she had known since kindergarten. She made no effort to quiet her steps so he surely heard her approach. Yet he did not turn around nor did he look at her when she stopped at his side.

Sending a last glance over her shoulder, Aoko could see Keiko wave her hands at her in the distance to convey some message. Most of it made no sense whatsoever but the double thumbs up along with the bespectacled girl vanishing through the door made it pretty clear.

"Why does she even pretend to leave when we both know she will spy at us?" Aoko wondered but quickly discarded the question again. Keiko's mind worked sometimes in mysterious ways and Aoko was not sure she wanted to know her reasoning.

Instead, she concentrated on the person next to her who stared of into the distance as though he had no clue she was next to him. Following his gaze, she found herself starring into the vast sky. Small puffy clouds travelled from west to east and the sun shone gently down on the landscape.

In the far distance, she could make out a low mountain range with the mighty Fuji-san towering high above them even further in the distance.

"A beautiful day, isn't it?" Kaito suddenly addressed her his eyes still glued to the landscape in front of them.

"It is." Aoko answered "To beautiful to spend it in a stuffy classroom."

"Rather use it to spy on your incredibly good-looking classmate, neighbour and childhood friend?" he asked, his head turning to her, wearing a wide grin.

"Oh please," Aoko was quick to retort "If anything, you're ruining the sight." And with that she pushed him a little away from herself.

In the next moment, Kaito flinched back and his face contorted in agony "Ouch. What have I done to deserve your wrath! Is your loathing of me not punishment enough?" His word would have been utterly convincing, were it not for the cheeky grin on his face.

But even as Aoko raised a questioning brow at him he did not stop his charade and now clasped his heart, he fell to his knees. Low sobs could be heard from his cowering form the next moment.

"And cut." Aoko said flatly as she brought a light karate chop down on his head "Remarkable performance. We would love to hire you for our next role which is 'slightly-less-obnoxious-and-self-centred-Kaito-Kuroba"

Following her lead, Kaito recovered in an instant as he jumped to his feet, eyes glittering with joy as he exclaimed in a high pitched voice "Oh my god! I have dreamed of this day for my whole life! Finally, I'm going to become an actor! I will give my all for this role."

Smirking a little at his display, Aoko thought it to be pretty silly. Yet Kaito was not yet finished with her.

"For my first performance, I will play the tragic figure of 'Aoko Nakamori' as she longs for the her newfound love in shape of a fox spirit" he declared and stepped away from her.

"Yeah.. wait what?" Aoko sputtered, first only starring at Kaito.

"Not you too!" she exclaimed, as his words had finally made their way through her currently slow mental faculty, and immediately tried to grab Kaito before he could start his act. Yet, she was too late.

Dancing out of her reach, he began his act "Ohh, why must we be apart in this cold and lonely night?" His voice sounding almost like hers yet, since he was no Kaito Kid, it did not match quite right. But this hardly kept him from continuing his play "Where are you my love? Can you not feel my longing heart reaching out to you? Won't you come and hold me in your arms?"

"I gladly hold you in my arms REALLY firmly! So, stop running away" Aoko yelled as she chased after the magician, who nimbly danced away from her.

"But Aoko," Kaito chided her as he dodged another lunge from her "You're the one who wants to be in her arms, not me! Besides, do you really think so highly of yourself ? And I took you for a modest person."

"I'll give you modest! A modest grave." the girl spat and threw herself at him again. But again he twirled through her attack and with a swift flick, Aoko could suddenly feel a fresh breeze on her butt.

"Oh, blue strips is it today?" the taunting voice rang out behind her.

That was it!

Aoko had been tired the whole day and only wanted to spend a quiet moment. But first Keiko with her matchmaking and now Kaito with his skirt-flipping.

It irritated her.

Irritated her that neither could just let her in peace.

"Oh well!" she thought to herself "If they won't me to play with them then let's play! But I get to choose what we play!"

"KAITO!"

O

"Redo this part. No chase scene but something else ending with Aoko nodding off. Maybe about how Kaito felt about heist."

When he had first seen her this morning, he had immediately recognized her bad mood. After all, he was trained to notice such things. He was even detective enough to conclude that it came from lack of sleep.

So, being the good friend he was, he tried to avoid her. When lunch came around, he sneaked some laxatives into their teachers fish salad, knowing fully well that this would at least give her a free afternoon to sleep.

So, not wanting to keep her, he deliberately didn't return but instead went to the roof. He had fully intended

Her voice carried over the whole roof and as the magician heard it, a chill ran down his spine.

"Maybe I overdid it a little." he observed and backed away from the fuming girl. Her hair floated ominously in the wind as though her now obvious wrath poured from her body like demonic energy.

Her bloodshot, sleep-deprived eyes glared at him and Kaito felt like he suddenly has come face-to-face with a feral beast out for his life.

"Kaito!" she growled his name again as she took a step closer towards him.

"L- Look , Aoko. You seemed so down. I only wanted to entertain you a little?" he stuttered his throat suddenly feeling very dry as he took another step away from her.

"How very nice of view." came the answer back, words dripping with sarcasm.

"Then let me thank you!" with this threat she took a step towards him and Kaito felt how his heart dropped.

"So, Come. Here. Right. Now." she pressed the words through clenched teeth, every syllable sending shivers down the magicians back.

"Ohh, I just remembered. Hakuba wanted me to help him with something." Kaito blurted out, cold sweat now breaking now glistening on his face "Sorry, but I gotta go right now."

Having uttered these last words, he spun around on the spot and sprinted towards the door at full speed. Tearing it open, sending a quick glance behind him, he almost froze in horror as Aoko was already hot on his heels.

Quickly he ducked through the door and rushed down the stairs but just as he was about to round the corner, something flew towards him. Stopping himself in the nick of time, Aoko hurled past him and almost crashed into the wall.

Doubtfully he stared at the girl, who just had launched herself down the entire flight of stairs and nearly tackled him full force. She crouched now on the floor below and Kaito recognized with horror how close she suddenly was.

The moment she pushed herself towards him, Kaito had also pushed himself away from her. They rushed down the corridor, Aoko just shortly behind her prey.

Kaito summoned all the training and practice to escape from the police but no matter what trick he tried, no matter what corners he cut, he just couldn't shake her off.

"What the hell?!" he started to panic internally "Since when is she this fast?!" His heart pounded in his chest as he squeezed through the door to a classroom just before somebody closed it from the inside.

Ignoring the screams as he bolted over chairs and tables to the second exit, Kaito suddenly spurred to a halt when the door was opened right before him, revealing the fuming figure of his childhood friend.

"Kaitooo!" with a battle cry she threw herself at him and he only managed to escape her grasp by pushing an unassuming boy in her way. Momentarily distracted the human obstacle Aoko was to slow to stop Kaito from slipping past her and dashing down the corridor.

But he had no time to celebrate as the girl was almost immediately back on his tracks.

"I'm sorry!" he cried, still running for his dear life "Please! I'll even take notes for you in the next lesson!"

But his plea fell on deaf ears. It even seemed as though Aoko only speed up and began to closed the gap between them.

"I'll feed you to the fishes! ALIVE!" she bellowed and Kaito knew there was no convincing her now. Only one manoeuvre could save him now.

At neck breaking speed he pushed ahead, weaving through the students on the corridor with ease. Yet his pursuer followed him with swift not losing him for even the tiniest fraction of a second.

"Please don't reach me! Please don't reach me!" he prayed, his saving means to escape finally coming into view.

Mobilizing the last of his strength, he pushed ahead and threw himself heedlessly out of the open window. In this moment, as the blue sky came into view and his feet left the ground, time seemed to slow down. He could feel the wind rushing past him as he began to fall.

Turning in mid-air, he looked back up at the horror-stricken faces of teachers and student who had just seen a student jump out of a window on the 4th floor. But unlike the fear and disbelief they must feel, Kaito felt finally safe. Closing his eyes, he enjoyed the fall.

He knew the trees below would catch and carry him gently to the ground. And there was no way Aoko could get down to him fast enough to catch up again. By the time she finally reached the ground floor, he would be long gone.

Just then he felt the first leaves and twigs catch him.

Feeling how his momentum gradually slowed down, he opening his eyes hoping to see the awe in his spectators eyes.

But what he saw instead was a mob of freely flowing brown hair, fluttering in the wind above a pair of blazing bloodshot eyes.

"NO WAY!" his brain barely managed to process the situation before Aoko crashed into him. Their combined weight was too much for the tree's twigs and they snapped audibly, sending Kaito and Aoko crashing down on the floor.

Intense pain burned on his back and his stomach hurt from the girl who had landed atop of him. But biting through the pain he cracked his eyes open.

"Finally got you." there she sat. Her chest heaving heavily from the deep breaths and under the ruffled mane of brown locks gleamed her eyes in icy blue brilliance while her lips were drawn into a wide grin.

Her disarranged uniform clung to her body as she sat on top of him, one leg to either side, giving Kaito a clear look at the smooth skin of her thighs.

His heart skipped a beat and blood rushed to his face as he stared with wide eyes at this brilliant picture.

Her rosy lips opened and the sweet voice floated through the air to his ears so he needed a moment to register their meaning. But as he did, all the blood that had rushed to his face now drained from it even quicker.

"Now, it's time for your punishment."

And from god knows where, Aoko pulled a fish.

Even years after, the students would still tell tales of the horrific torture they had witnessed that day and of the hellish screams who haunted them in their sleep.

By the time he finally left school his mood had sunken as low as the sun behind the sky scraper, casting its last golden rays through the gaps between the high building.

For two hours the teachers had kept them after school end as punishment for 'fooling around', as they called it, during the self-study session. Though Kaito and Aoko were used to these punishments, since neither of the two could be called a model student, today's was a lot worse than any before.

Kaito still had some bruises from the fall that ached and stung but the real reasons for his foul mood lay not with him but his partner in crime: Aoko. It seemed that all the fire and fierceness she had shown when chasing him had been the last flare of a dying flame.

Eyes threatening to close every other second, her face pale, she had hung in her chair. Slumping to and fro, always close to falling over, she seemed more dead than alive during these two hours. And despite her obviously bad condition, the principal remained stern in their punishment, not letting either of the two rest nor leave.

They have had the task to catch up on what the others had already done but neither of the two did get anything done, much to the displeasure of the principal. Aoko was, for obvious reasons, in no condition to do anything and Kaito's worry for her wellbeing left him unable to concentrate on anything else than his suffering friend.

As they were finally allowed to leave, he had coldly ignored all the abuse the old man threw at them and merely picked her slender frame up to carry her home. Judging from the look of the other teachers, they must have made for a truly pitiful sight, yet despite all the hostile glances they shot at the principal nobody dared to speak up.

Anger flamed up inside the young man and he would have loved nothing more than to hang the old man upside down from the school clad only in his underwear and decorated with nasty drawings. Just to let him taste the same suffering and embarrassment he inflicted on his students.

But alas, he did not do so.

The repercussions would have been severe yet that did not scare him. However, Aoko took priority over any form of revenge.

So, having her head rest on his shoulder as he gave her a piggy-back ride, he slowly made his way towards their neighbourhood. Careful to not wake her up, now that she had finally nodded off, he avoided all the busy streets and instead chose to walk along the riverbank.

A gentle wind blow their way, picking up Aoko's sprawled out hair and let them flow in the gentle current. Kaito could still smell a faint trace of apple coming from them as the glistened in the evening sun.

The pleasant atmosphere and the fresh scent of the evening gale didn't go past his sleeping baggage either.

He could feel her tense body relax as she fell deeper into her slumber. A faint trace then reached his ear and Kaito did not even have to look to know where this gentle snoring was coming from.

Smiling fondly to himself, he leaned forward to allow Aoko a more comfortable resting position.

Although it did strain his back more and his feet were already aching, he quietly endured all of it only listening to her breathing.

The sun had now vanished below the outline of the city, illuminating the sky in a crimson glow and Kaito was still walking. Though he no longer followed the river but had turned into a residential road.

The air was filled with the smell of cooking and dinner, causing Kaito's stomach to growl audibly from the delicious fragrances, and he heard laughter and talk from all around as families gathered in their gardens to enjoy the pleasant evening.

Fathers came home to their children, attentively listening to how their day was at school and wives welcomed their husbands returning from work. Some listened to the evening news or watched anime with their kids while others preferred to just sit at the table and enjoy each other's company.

Still listening to Aoko's steady breathing, Kaito walked on until he could make out their own houses just down the street. Making his way past a elderly women who laughed with her husband while sitting out on the veranda, commenting what a gentlemen he was for carrying the sleeping girl, finally Kaito arrived in front of their houses.

Dark and forlorn they greeted their residents home and as Kaito kicked the door shut behind him, utter silence enveloped them. No welcoming word, no delicious dinner were awaiting them. Only the last rays of sunlight penetrating through the gaps of the drawn curtains pushed back the dreary darkness reigning in the rooms.

Ignoring this as best as he could, the boy ascended the stairs and entered his childhood friends room. The room he had visited so often and knew by heart had the same gloomy atmosphere as the rest of the house. Gently he placed Aoko on her bed and covered her with the blanket.

As she lay there her tousled hair sprawled over the pillow, lips slightly parted and cheeks tinged in a reddish hue from the evening chill, Kaito surprisingly caught himself stroking her cheek affectionately. She looked a lot better compared to a few hours before so his worry slowly dispersed as his eyes rested on her face.

Smiling to himself, he gently tore himself away from her and forced his eyes to wander through her room instead. It hadn't changed much since the last time he was here although that had been some time ago. Ever since he had picked up the mantle his father had left him, he had sparsely had the time to spend with his friends.

Not even with her.

With careful steps, as to not wake her, he wandered through the room and picked up trinkets he found scattered through out it, each one being connected to some memory.

Here was a keychain he had bought for Aoko when they were on a school outing. To this day, he remembered her embarrassed pout as she told him it hadn't been necessary, although the sparkle in her eyes gave away the joy she was trying to hide.

Nestled in a corner, he found a board game that was likely older than either of them, yet that didn't keep them from playing it at least once a year. Although it was really just some silly children's game about treasure hunters out to collect gems.

"Every year until last." Kaito whispered softly, a pang of guilt hitting his heart. Even though he could recall how Aoko gently prodded him to come over for a solid month, he had simply not found the time. And when he finally has had the time, Aoko had given up and he forgot about it.

Shifting his gaze to distract himself from the feeling of guilt, he wandered over to her desk where various books were scattered. One he recognized almost immediately.

It was an old photo album, decorated with girlish ribbons and glitter which had been seemingly scattered at random around the scrawled words 'Aoko s yer bok'. Recalling how he had gone to great lengths to convince her this was indeed the correct spelling, Kaito couldn't help but chuckle.

Picking up the worn out book, he opened it at random, gazing wistfully at the pictures inside it. Their teacher had loved to take pictures and she combined her hobby with her job to collect a picture book for every last one of her children, documenting their time spend with her.

It not only made for a wonderful graduation present for children and parents alike but even now, years later Kaito could appreciate the work.

Leafing through the album, his eyes suddenly stopped on a particular frame. It was bigger than the others, covering half a page and Kaito knew the same could also be found in his version of the book.

It depicted two families, both children grinning from ear to ear as they presented grade's top marks with obvious satisfaction to the camera while both sets of parents sat behind them on far too small chairs, proud smiles covering their faces.

It would have been a very happy memory, were it not for the sudden feeling of loss and sadness Kaito felt from looking at his father's face.

The face of the man he had lost what seemed so long ago yet still to this day, his heart ached from just thinking of it.

His father had meant the world to him. Had been the centre of his little universe. His superhero.

And suddenly he was gone.

Leaving no charming smile, no goodbye, no body behind.

Vanished just like a puff of smoke carried of by a sudden wind.

Closing the book, Kaito returned it to it's place. He again felt this all too familiar sadness pressing on his heart. But, while his heart hurt, his mind strengthened. Every time he was reminded of his father's loss he vowed to himself that it would not be for nought.

That he would do what his father would have done.

Again his eyes wandered over to Aoko. He could still hear her soft breathing in the quietness of the room. A noise so faint, yet it strangely gave Kaito courage and hope. As long as he could come back to this noise, he knew it would be fine.

And to not accidentally wake her up, he was about to walk out of the room, when his eyes landed on a small object, peeking out just a little from its cramped position between her desk and the wall.

It was a notebook.

Curiously, since it did seem unfamiliar to him, Kaito picked it up and brought it over to the window. In the moonlight, he peered attentively at the simple, dark brown leather cover and the elastic strap keeping it closed.

"Eh, taken to writing a diary Aoko?" Kaito whispered jokingly into the sleeping girls direction "Well, don't mind if I do."

Carefully unhooking the strap, he opened it in anticipation to find short and personal notes of Aoko's day but what he found instead confused him at first. Rows of words, calculations, little sketches of what seemed like machines and blueprints, along with highlighted lines that seemed as though they came straight out of an old play write.

"What is all of this?" Kaito breathed, eyes widening every second as he seemed to recognize more and more of this initial chaos.

"Isn't that . . . the Tokyo tower?!" he clearly made out the distinctive shape of the construction in the sketch and as he followed the various arrows branching out from it, he stumbled over words like 'main power switch', 'hiding place' or 'climbing spot'.

Additionally there were routes traced on what looked like a ground plan of the building labelled with 'patrol one', 'patrol two' and so on.

"This is impossible!" Kaito stuttered as the horrifying truth dawned over him. For a moment he stood there frozen still, his mind trying to make sense of what he was seeing. In the next moment though, he changed to a madman.

Wildly flipping through the small notebook, his eyes frantically scanned each and every page, hoping to find some other explanation. Brushing over newspaper clipping and interview cut outs, his eyes darted like crazy between the sketches and plans, drafts and schemes.

His mind reeled, trying to piece together some deduction, some resonable conjecture of how this could be. But alas, he was no detective and couldn't think of any. Letting the book fall to the floor where it noiselessly landed on the soft carpet, he stumbled back from the desk.

Starring with wide eye into the air, his brain slowly piece together the puzzle he was trying his best not to see.

But in the end, he could no longer deny the truth.

"These notes are from Kitsune!"


All rights of Detective Conan go to Gosho Aoyama. Nothing of what you just read is or should be taken as canon. It simply serves as a form of entertainment.

Any form of review is highly requested and if you liked this chapter and want to see more leave a follow or visit my other stories. I do not intend to drop this project so nothing to fear on that part.

Hope you liked the chapter and till next time.

Farewell