PART 2

Aoko checked her watch. Glanced up at the dazzling decorations. Then checked again. Perhaps such movements were comical went done repeatedly, but at this point in time, she could care less. If -someone- wasn't here soon, it would be a wasted invitation. Not that that mattered much to her-she could always call up her friend Keiko-who had really wanted to come. But as the saying went"first come, first serve".

She leaned back against the wall, staring at the glittering chandeliers. Her hand moved towards her purse (and had attempted earlier to check her pockets- which the dress she was currently wearing lacked), unbuckling it. There the note was, the walls of the purse making it barely readable. Aoko bit her tongue again. Then slapped the purse shut, letting it fall back by her side.

-

"Stupid shirt" Kaito muttered as he ran along the sidewalk, trying to put on his white shirt. He had decided to wear the white shirt and pants which he usually wore when he was being Kid, just to save time. But that was where the similarity ended. Of course, he did not want anybody to notice that he and Kid look alike.

He walked into the room, pausing momentarily to scan his surrounding. "Pretty" he murmured"but where's the loot? Or shall I say" He grinned as he saw a couple of police officers heading towards a door. That way.

He started to sneak after them, not noticing that Aoko was only two feet away in the crowd.

Her hand reached out to grab his arm-but she missed, her fingers snagging firmly against his sleeve. "Kaito! Finally! What took you so long"

Ehhhh? Kaito halted and turned. "Oh, hi, Aoko" he said meekly with a nervous grin. "I, er, got lost. You look-nice." But he had only merely glanced at her dress.

He turned back to the door. The officers had already disappeared through it. "Eh, where's Nakamori-keibu" he asked.

She blushed slightly from his comment, but was brought back to reality by his question.

"My Otou-san's upstairs on the east balcony. Are you looking for him"

"Er, yes, I mean-no. I mean-is he guarding the so-called golden hand or something" he asked quickly, wondering now where the east balcony was. He scanned around the room continuously.

Aoko looked just the teeniest bit apprehensive. "The East Balcony is East, you dope. And yeah, there are people guarding it, but my Otou-san's not really 'with' them. He was muttering about a change of tactics or something…"

"Reallyyyy" Kaito said in amusement. He looked at his watch, and then at the large clock on one wall. Guess I should get the plan to work now.

"Err, I'm going to the bathroom for a while, Aoko" he said, moving away. "I'll be right back."

"Again! Wait" Without waiting for Aoko, he ran off towards the door where he thought the officers had disappeared through. Then she sighed, straightening back up, looking the slightest bit annoyed.

Aoko glanced around, then followed him to the bathroom. Or so she thought…

-

Nakamori-keibuuuu, where are youuuu? Kaito thought with a grin as he sneaked down the hallway, looking around. He passed the bathroom, but did not bother to go in, of course.

Just as he was reaching the end of the hallway ("Whew, this place is big."), he heard a voice. He stuck himself close to the wall, listening.

"I want heavy guards on both items no matter what! Do not let your guard down! We're going to catch Kid tonight, you hear"

Two items? Aha, he prepared a fake! Like he can outsmart Kaitou Kid-sama! Kaito snickered as he started to run back towards the party, his footsteps making no sound. He looked at his watch. Only about a couple of hours to go-

Aoko had a heck of a time deciding whether or not her friend had tricked her. True, he had told her that he was going to the washroom, and true, she had followed him there. Not exactly following him-she actually just went to find him.

But he wasn't there. Or at least, he wasn't out of the bathroom. It seemed almost like a repeat of what happened after school. "All the time" she muttered.

She crossed her arms, leaning back against the wall, waiting. Again. Situations like these bored her, though she couldn't do much about it. Not many people knew her around here, and she preferred to stick by her only companion because of that.

Aoko really, really wanted to go in and check if he was there. He was taking too long. (And she would have, if she were allowed. Going into the men's washroom, even if she was Inspector Nakamori's daughter, was a big nono. Obviously.).

When she spotted Kaito passing by. "K-kaito! Weren't you in the Washroom"

Kaito froze when he heard his childhood friend's voice. He started to sweat a little. He managed to turn towards Aoko and laugh awkwardly.

"Er, hi, Aoko! I, um, realized that I already went in, see" he said nervously. "Let's get back to the party" he added hastily, grabbing her hand and leading her back.

"Ah-wai-Kaitoo" Her features flushed slightly from the touch. Before she could protest, they were already back into the main hall-in the crowd.

Kaito let go of her, heaving a relieved sigh. He turned to Aoko. "Want a drink? I'll get some for you."

She stared at him for a moment. Then glared. "Strawberry flavour, please."

And hopefully she doesn't question anymore, he added mentally as he headed towards the buffet table.

Aoko watched as he went away.

-

"Strawberry, strawberry..." Kaito muttered as he looked for it among the variety of juices. He finally found it and got two paper cups full. He walked back to Aoko and handed her one. As he sipped his, he glanced at the large clock on the wall. Geez, how long do I have to wait before I could begin?

"Thanks." She muttered, sipping the juice. It tasted a bit...milky, which was alright. Milky was good.

Just then, the musical band started to play a rather slow piece while the announcer asked the guests to dance. Kaito choked a little on his drink. A dance? He glanced at Aoko for only a second.

Aoko blushed, the lip of the cup still in her mouth. Faintly, her mind panicked. I…I can't dance.

Why not? It's only one dance...there's still plenty of time before the heist. But if I ask her, she's bound to laugh at me! Kaito narrowed his eyes at Aoko, blushing a little. Oh, what the heck...she laughs, I don't care.

He looked around to make sure Nakamori-keibu wasn't around (just in case). Then, coughing, he said in almost a whisper"Err, Aoko...want to-want to dance"

That's it, she's going to laugh!

Instead, her blush deepened. "Wh-what? Dance" She slowly leant back, slightly taken aback from the...abruptness. "W-why"

Kaito blinked for a moment. Then he caught himself. "Well, er-it's no use just standing around doing nothing. I-I need something to pass the time. So, are you dancing or not" he retorted.

She glared at him. "Whatever" Aoko suddenly stood up-she could hear her voice shake. She stepped forward, swallowing, hand hesitantly reaching out for his...M-maybe...just once...I-I... and grasped his wrist instead, attempting to pull him up.

"L-let's go then" Aoko muttered, not sure of where to go.

Okay...First, the dance floor. Kaito led her to the dance floor where everyone was. Then he looked at Aoko. "So, you know how it goes? Just-er, look at everyone else."

Why in the world did I say that! he thought as he glanced nervously at the couples around them dancing gracefully to the slow piece. "So, er, you do know how to dance to slow music, right"

Aoko just froze. Her mind tried to recall what they had learnt in class, all those months ago-...but her brain refused to budge. She anxiously glanced around, hoping that maybe watching the others would remind her of something...

...but came up blank. "S-sorta. Do you know how, Kaito" She asked, hoping that maybe he -did-...but knowing him? Not too likely...

Let's see...I've danced with two actresses, a princess, a couple of singers, even Nakamori-keibu...what else?

"Of-Of course I know." Kaito's voice cracked a little. He coughed, and then looked up again. "All right now...hold one hand..." He took her right hand in his. "...and you place the other on my shoulder, I..." Somehow, his hand couldn't find his way to Aoko's waist. Darn...why am I so nervous? It's not like I had never touched her!

Her hand did that he told her out of its own accord. Aoko tried hard to fight down the blush on her cheeks. She could almost hear Keiko hovering over them, along with her classmates, teasing her. Aoko sweatdropped, not noticing that Kaito was having a similar problem.

Kaito took one glance at the door (in case Nakamori-keibu had come in) before gingerly placing his hand on her waist. "Okay...now take a step backward, and then forward again, and"

He blinked. All of a sudden, he was wondering what he was doing. He took a deep breath. Calm down...you can't forget your dance steps now! She'll laugh at you... "Umm, you got it"

"Y-yeah." Aoko replied, looking nervous herself. She had followed Kaito's lead pretty well. She breathed the same time he did, trying to steady her own nerves. "I think so."

"Okay...and, um, I guess we just, well, keeping doing it slowly until the music stops." Keep doing it, eh? Oh well, it's better than NOT doing anything in the middle of the dance floor humiliating myself.

She continued to blush, eyes fixed on Kaito's shoulders. "Uhhh-okay.." Aoko tried her best to do that, trying to ignore the feeling of being watched (which her mind was probably making up).

Meanwhile...

Inspector Nakamori chewed on his pipe. His eyes ran over the surveillance cameras his small crew was working on. They hadn't found anyone suspicious-not yet.

"Where's the Kid" he muttered. "Should be here by now..." His crew traded glances, making no attempt to comment. This wasn't new by now, the Kid had always found his way in without rising too much suspicion.

The Inspector left the room, to check that things were going well elsewhere. They went back to eyeing the real-time footage, switching the views from time to time…