A/N: Movie 14! One of my faves! I had great time writing this and for some reason I found myself making KaiTsuki references after another. *facepalm*
Well, whether you like the couple or not, I hope you like this chapter as it's extra long. By the way there's some references to the Magid Kaito chapters like Cleopatra's Vanity Box and Jody Hopper. Please don't be confused by those. Just read the chapters from DCTP and you get them, 'kay?
I'm saying no more. Go read!
Chapter 39.
"Oh, this is going to be too much fun."
Subaru looked up from the screen of his computer and at his 'sister' who was sitting on a sofa and reading a message she just received.
"What is going to be?" The man asked.
"Nothing, nothing…" Tsukiko waved her hand dismissively while the other one was typing a reply.
"Whenever you make that face, I know it won't be 'nothing'." Subaru remarked.
"What face?" The girl looked up from her phone finally but the man was back doing whatever he had been doing with his computer thus not replying. Tsukiko narrowed her eyes. "Subaru-nii, what face I make?"
No reply. Just the tap-tap sound of the keys. The girl got up and walked to the desk. She placed her chin and palm atop of the screen and glared at the man.
"Bakai~…"
"You make certain kind of smug face whenever you get a clue of something happening. Something that you know in advance. And when I see that face I can expect you to get injured." The man replied calmly.
"I don't get injured all the time!" Tsukiko huffed, looking away and puffing her cheeks. "And I don't get into those situations deliberately."
"After hearing the recount of your last case I beg to differ."
"Are you forbidding me from going then?"
"…No. Even if I did, you'd just go anyways."
"True." Tsukiko's cell phone beeped. "Oh, I gotta go now. Planning to do, people to meet."
"So… does your brother know what exactly you are planning this time?" Kaito asked while researching the security measures and staff lists of Bell Tree First online.
"Other than getting thrown overboard? Nothing…" Tsukiko shrugged before continuing examining the Turbo Engine Scooter that Kid had used when stealing Cleopatra's Vanity case.
"Overboard?" The messy haired teen froze. He was already used to the girl's offhanded comments but sometimes they managed to hit home. Even when he didn't understand their meaning.
"Don't worry about it. This will be an easy heist. Or as easy as it can be considering that it's Suzuki Jirokichi-san whom we are facing." The blonde decided not to mention the fake terrorists that would show up. "But he did guilt trip me after my previous… case."
"Well, you did manage to get knocked down the stairs by the culprit." Kaito pointed out. The case had been a good while ago already and after that Tsukiko had stayed clear from problems for a good while.
"Yeah, yeah… please don't you also start. Having both nii-san and Jodie-san watching after me is hard enough. But anyways… Neither of them knows that I'm associated with Kaitou Kid himself. Subaru-nii knows I'm learning lock-picking from a friend and that I'm planning something with said friend… Say, do you need a new motor to this one?"
"Don't change the subject…"
"But I want to~…" The blonde whined playfully. It was nice to debate with Kaito. Almost funnier than with Subaru. Or was that even debating? Oh, well… "So, do you need a new motor? I think I know where to get one. And I want to do my first solo gig."
The boy turned around in his desk chair to look at the girl's… back. "...Yes, it does need a new motor. Where do you think you'd find one?"
Tsukiko turned to face the magician. A grin spread on her face. "Guess."
A shadowed figure walked to along a road until she came to the house she was looking for. She didn't bother using the gate; she just climbed over the fence.
"Jody Hopper said that the Japanese people are peaceful idiots… But for not having any alarm system to house where about the most paranoid person of this world lives… That's almost insane…" She mused aloud when walking to the back door that would lead to the basement floor.
The lock was picked easily and quietly, and the figure slipped inside. She made her way to the basement floor, while making sure that her boots with wedged heels made no noise. The shadow dodged the narrow stream of light that came behind one door. She did allow herself to peek in and to see the auburnette girl working with her lab equipment before continuing to her destination. She did not see the girl looking up from her work for a moment.
The shadow stepped into a room which obviously served as the old professor's tinkering area and began going through the large boxes of… stuff. Broken, dismissed, about to be used again, anything. At the moment there was one she was especially looking for. The motor of Conan's Solar Powered Skateboard. The motor had been replaced a while ago but the old one was still in pristine condition she'd heard. It was identical to the new one, just didn't have as long of a battery, and what's best: it wouldn't be missed as the professor didn't do his inventions to just anyone and at the moment he had no ideas for the old motor. Actually he hadn't many ideas for reusing his old inventions. He just started from a scratch or made modifications to the old ones.
"Here you are…" The intruder whispered, fishing carefully the surprisingly light motor out of one of the boxes. She put it into her black back pack and took out a red spray bottle(one can't help their handiness) and a simple template from there.
Klack-klack. klack-klack
She shook the spray bottle and left her mark: a red Kanji of 'Moon' on the table in front of the box. Then she uncapped a calligraphy pen and wrote a little message underneath it.
"No worries, Hakase-san and Ojou-san.
The motor will go to good use.
I don't take things I don't need.
I don't take things other people need.
Be honored since you're my first ones.
Be honored since we shall meet again.
Red Moon"
Suddenly the lights went on. Tsukiko blinked. Dammit, Haibara probably heard the spray bottle.
"Who are you?" The shrunken scientist demanded from the doorway. Right, she couldn't see Tsukiko's face at all nor recognize her otherwise. After all the blonde was wearing the black boots, a black skirt with a black suit jacket, maroon colored shirt with light blue tie and on her head was a black fedora with a ribbon of the same color than her shirt. And her hair was tucked under the hat. Overall if she were to describe the outfit, she'd say it was like a black version of feminized Kaitou Kid outfit. Without the cape of course.
But now back to the matter at hand. The teen glanced towards the door and capped the pen she was holding. Poker face, poker face… "Shouldn't little girls like you be sleeping now?" Thank god for the voice changer she had decided to take with her and hid in her collar once again.
"I can stay up if I want to." Haibara glared. "I asked once and now I ask again: Who are you?"
"Wouldn't you like to know?" All the 'props' were now safely in the back pack and a towel prevented the metallic ones hitting each other. "Maybe I won't tell you."
The glaring continued.
"I'm no enemy, ojou-san… I merely came here to get something I really, really need and you don't need." The blonde's tone was a bit mocking as she talked the faux child.
"Basically you stole it." Haibara stepped into the room. She had her suspicions about this intruder as she had felt her earlier. As a bad feeling that didn't actually threaten her but scared anyways.
"If you want to look at it like that." Tsukiko straightened her black gloves and tipped her hat so it shadowed her eyes even more. Thankfully those ice thin disguises worked well in this world. "But now I shall take my leave." She strode to the door which the scientist wasn't blocking anymore and simply dodged the girl before disappearing into the darkened stairway. Haibara turned to watch the intruder's back.
"You still didn't answer me. Who are you?"
"Akai no Tsuki(Red Moon)." Came the reply but then there was no steps, no sound of door being closed nor anything else. Just the young girl in her lab coat standing in the messy room of inventions, with a message written on the table along with a red 'moon' painted on it.
"And that doesn't answer to anything." Haibara muttered after reading the message left.
"Hakase's was broken into?" Conan repeated in astonishment. Haibara had just told the boy of the events of the previous night while they were on their way to school. Around them the rest for the Detective Boys were talking about the previous Kamen Yaiba episode and behind them Ran and Sonoko had a conversation of their own.
"Yes, they took the motor of your skateboard and left this…" The auburnette showed a photo of the message left directly on the table that she had taken with her cellphone camera right before leavening to school.
"Did you see them? If you don't usually go to Hakase's invention room…" The bespectacled kid asked before taking a look on the photo.
"A young woman. She gave me creeps when arriving and I heard them when she was about to use spray paint for the message."
"Okay…" Conan read the message and mentally sweatdropped. It couldn't be her, could it? He could definitely see her doing this. The question was why she needed to motor.
"So? Do you have any ideas?" The scientist asked, tilting her upper forwards to see the detective's face better.
"Huh? Ah, no… Not yet." The boy laughed.
"Oi, Conan, you saw it too right? The move Yaiba made last night!" Genta called and the two faux children were dragged into the conversation.
Tsukiko unscrewed the old motor of Kid's scooter and put the engine of the skate board on place. A few oily smudges appeared on her face in process but she didn't care.
"And the pedal button to the board part so the engine will stop when the weight is lifted off…" The girl muttered, a grin appearing on her face. This all was so much fun. Doing things behind the scenes, annoying people who had oh-so-white values(she considered herself grey) and of course the thrill caused by all that. "Oi, Kuroba, could you check these linkings? I'm not that good with mechanics…"
"And your brother studies engineering in Touto University…" Kaito sighed and got up from his tinkering to check out the progress the girl had made during the past hours. It had taken some time to first understand which parts did what and what exactly needed to do in order to attach the engine to the scooter and make it work safely.
"That doesn't mean that I'd ask him for help that I'd know what he is exactly doing…"
"Today is the day… Today I shall be awesome… Today is the day… Today I shall shine…" Tsukiko hummed happily her made-up lyrics to a made-up tune as she approached the rendezvous. From there she'd continue her way to the airship waiting for their group. "Today is the day of stepping into the spot light…"
The blonde walked past a television screen in an electronics shop showing the news about identifying the symptoms or the killer bacteria stolen from a research facility(which was later blown up) supposedly by the terrorist group Red Siamese Cats. Supposedly because Tsukiko knew the truth. After all, Lost Ship in the Sky had been one of her favorite movies.
"I'm enjoying this too much…" She sighed as she walked away.
And they had a lift off! The children, Ran, Sonoko and Agasa admired the view of Miracle Land near which the airship departed while Kogoro stayed firmly away from the window. Tsukiko was also a few steps safely away from the glass pane and kept her eyes on the blue sky in front of them rather than the ground beneath the ship.
Ran did try to coax her father to take in the view but…
"Shut up! I have a lot in my mind now!" The sleeping detective shouted.
"Come to think of it, Mouri-kun is afraid of heights, isn't he?" Agasa thought aloud.
"It's not like that!" The chain-smoker raged alone.
"How about you, Tsukiko-chan?" Sonoko asked slyly. "Why are you standing so far away?"
"Ah… I have to admit… I'm not very comfortable with heights to some degree." The blonde laughed nervously. "I'm fine with airplanes and tall buildings but if I can see through the surface beneath my feet, be it grating or glass… I barely handled coming the steps of the Eiffel Tower down and there used to be a time when I was terrified of scenic elevators because for me… It's only a pane of glass protecting me from the fall. I need something more solid in front of me."
"Eh? The Eiffel Tower? You've been to Paris?" The rich girl hung into that little detail immediately.
"Yeah, once… I prefer London though." Tsukiko shrugged.
"Say, do you think Kid-san always enjoys scenery like this?" Ayumi asked Genta and Mitsuhiko.
"How I envy him!" The freckled buy declared immediately.
"But still…" Genta muttered and looked up at Sonoko. "Are you sure Kid will actually come?"
"Of course he will! He even sent a reply to Jirokichi-ojisama." Sonoko answered while taking her phone and looking for the reply received. "Here."
The boy tried to read the message, failing miserably.
"Hey, you– it won't make any sense if you only read the hiragana!"
"Tsukiko-neechan, can you read it to us then? You got the message from Sonoko-neechan too, right? Ran-neechan did." Conan butted in. Tsukiko blinked once before frowning and bowing to talk with the boy.
"Hey, just because I said I fail in kanji during the Red Wall case doesn't mean that I could be compared to Kojima-kun. There's a nine-years-age difference after all." The blonde told the bespectacled kid. "I can read newspaper well enough anyways."
"Prove it!" The kid grinned and huffing, the girl took out her phone. She thanked her luckystars that she had decided to go with 'I have contact lenses' today.
"'I cordially accept your invitation to board your airship. However, I simply could not bear witnessing a 72-year-old senior in such a nervous state over a six hour flight. Instead, I will only take possession of the gem once the airship begins to near Osaka City. Please do enjoy your flight until then.
Kaitou Kid.
PS. An acquaintance of mine shall present the confirmation of our presence within the two first hours from the departure.'
Was that good, Tantei-chan?" Tsukiko asked, pocketing her phone. Behind the blonde Sonoko began fantasizing of Kid getting her into his possession, making Tsukiko facepalm.
"'Acquintance'?" The shrunken detective thought. "Could it be… that she'll make a proper appearance now? But how is she planning to get away from Jirokichi-ojisan and Nakamorikeibu's grasp?"
"I've been considering this for a while but… She really does have a unique personality." Haibara stated about Sonoko.
"Could say that." Conan agreed.
"Speaking of which, are we the only passengers on board?" Agasa asked, making Sonoko snap out of her fangirling.
"I recall a reportage writer named Fujioka-san…" The teen began, looking around for him. She turned around just in time to see the man approaching them. "That guy!"
When seeing the man, Tsukiko eyes narrowed and she bit her teeth hard together so she wouldn't make any unsavory and suspicious comment.
"He insisted we allow him to write a report on the battle between Kid and Jirokichi-ojisama…" The polka-haired girl explained. "And offered us his services. Other than him…"
"Hello, excuse me!" A new voice joined them. "Would you happen to be Mouri Kogoro-san?"
The detective grunted in response and looked up at the person speaking to him.
"Nice to meet you. I'm the director here with Nichuri TV – the name is Mizukawa." The man gave his business card to Kogoro. "I also have one of our reporters, Nishitani Kasumi, and our cameraman, Ishimoto Junpei." Mizukawa indicated the two people with him.
"Nice to meet you." Nishitani Kasumi greeted.
"Likewise." Kogoro nodded.
"Oh, look at that: the other bastard and the bitch are here too…" Tsukiko thought bitterly and tuned out of the rest of the conversation. Thankfully Jirokichi joined them soon enough. Althought the conversation had turned to the Red Siamese Cats. And naturally Nishitani and Ishimoto led the conversation.
"But who says it actually was the Red Siamese Cats or that the bacteria was actually stolen?" Tsukiko crossed her arms on her chest and tilted her head to the right slightly, giving a challenging glance to the adults in the room. "If the group was eradicated a year ago… It could be now just someone using their name. After all the only lead people have at the moment is the manifesto spread online. And about the bacteria… why blow up the whole laboratory if it was really stolen. It would be a different scenario if the explosion had been smaller, thus infecting people right away when spreading to the surroundings but now it simply destroyed all the evidence of any bacteria in the lab."
"Yes, that's true but one can never be too careful. After we have no evidence to indicate otherwise." Mizukawa laughed. Oh, he was too gullible. Maybe that's why he was here and not on the ground level looking for more information about these terrorists.
"If you say so… Just… the seven days deadline is closing today. One could think that threat is only a hoax." The girl shrugged. Better not attract any more attention. But she had to get that out right in the beginning. To give an opposition to the manipulation of those three who had infiltrated on this ship.
"I don't care if it's killer bacteria or something else…" Fujioka had walked closer. "I've flown to many places where germs move about like crazy and I'm still as healthy as a horse. We human beings are stronger than germs." He added to the children.
"That's right!" Mitsuhiko smiled in relief.
"Then again… if it's you little brats, you might just croak and be gone!"
"Eeeh!"
"Please stop! Don't say things that will frighten the children." Ran told the man.
"That's right, you're too inconsiderate!" Sonoko stepped forward.
"The situation is bad enough as it is." Tsukiko added. "Even though I just said it might not be the original Red Siamese Cats nor the bacteria going around, they are still creating panic with that manifesto of them and people like you aren't helping the matter at all!"
But the disgusting man just laughed and walked away. Tsukiko glared after him. Thankfully Jirokichi reassured the children then and let them go and see the views from other windows too.
Their group was given a tour in the Sky Deck where the jewel was presented. But just before exiting the room where they had gathered together again, Tsukiko spotted a person belonging to the staff of the ship leaning against the wall.
"Eh… That band-aid…" A smirk spread on her face as she remembered that 'plot-point' from the movie. "Maybe I should've told him not to use them… Nah, it's funnier this way." Her smirk just widened when she noticed a thumbs-up from him: a signal to leave the confirmation of their presence.
They boarded a scenic elevator inside the airship that allowed them to see the structure of the flying horizontal balloon. Sonoko could miss the chance of teasing Tsukiko about her little fear.
"I'm fine with the elevators nowadays since the floor isn't see-through and the go up such a short while." The blonde retorted. "You don't see me panicking like Mouri-tantei here, right?" She pointed over her shoulder with her thumb at the detective who was mumbling why the walls were made of glass.
"True…" The older girl pouted, obviously disappointed that she didn't have a new way to tease the girl. After Eisuke hadn't been heard of for a long time and the blonde hadn't told that much about herself. And her brother was cool, smart and good-looking so obviously that didn't work either.
They arrived to the Sky Deck. Kogoro dashed out of the elevator as soon as the doors opened. The children dashed towards the display case where Inspector Nakamori was at guard with his men.
"This is the place that Advisor Suzuki is so proud of…"
"The Sky Deck." They all were told by the Advisor. "Part of the roof can be opened and closed. It's good for sunbathing and is more than suitable for stargazing. Though there are many ways to have fun… This time, in order to capture that guy, I added a little something…"
A short(non-existant) chat with Nakamori ensued then them was the time of introducing the price of this challenge.
"Allow me to show you. That's the lapis lazuli I'm using as bait on that guy. The big jewel, Lady Sky." Jirokichi told them.
"Beautiful…" Ran breathed as they all admired the blue stone.
"This blue color possesses a certain je ne sais quoi." Sonoko commented.
"The golden grain are sparking!" Mitsuhiko stated.
"Just like stars!" Ayumi chirped.
"Lapis Lazulis are really pretty. I've never before seen one this big." Tsukiko smiled. "I love the color though. The deep blue like the night sky and the gold making it look like the Milky Way was painted across it…"
"Look at the largest spot among the golden grains." Jirokichi instructed them. "Doesn't it look like something?"
"The largest spot, you mean?" Mitsuhiko repeated.
"It looks like a woman's face!" Ayumi noticed.
"That's correct. That's the reasoning behind the name 'Lady Sky'. Even the ancient Roman natural historian Mulanius described it as, 'A fragment of the starry firmament.' It certainly is most suitable for it to be displayed on this sky deck."
"How fitting…" Tsukiko smiled. "Starting from back in the end of the Middle ages Lapis Lazuli was exported to Europe from African countries and ground into powder to make paint, ultramarine blue. But because it was so expensive and hard to get, it was only rarely used. The art on that time was mainly strictly religious though and eventually ultramarine became the symbolic color of Virgin Mary who is one of the most significant and popular holy figures in Christianity. In some paintings her entire clothing could be painted in that color. Nowadays the use of very similar bright but dark blue can be interpreted in the flag of European Union which also has twelve stars in it forming a circle. And in some art twelve stars are used to form a halo of Virgin Mary. When she stepped into heavens, she was crowned as the Queen of Heaven and that crown was made of stars."
"Really? That sounds amazing!" Sonoko clasped her hands together. "Such a great story and a romantic in a way."
"Yeah, in a way Virgin Mary could be the Lady of the Sky…" The blonde stated, gazing at the stone in the glass case.
"How do you know that much of the subject then?" Ran asked.
"Well, I've always been interested in history and as an artist I've been looking for information about the symbolism and origin of different colors. Combining those isn't a feat. I look at things in historical and artistic way rather than religious way." Tsukiko shrugged. Right then Nakamori began demanding why the precious stone was 'in a plain, ordinary glass case'. Thus giving an excuse for a demonstration of the safety measures.
"The glass is bulletproof, able to deflect bullets even from machine guns… And it won't open without both the input of my fingerprint and a certain passcode. Don't you realize this system is as strong as steel?" Jirokichi explained smugly.
"Something like that won't help us at all." Nakamori scoffed. Tsukiko crouched next to Conan.
"Hey, Tantei-chan, do you think there'll be any traps this time?" She whispered so only he heard.
"How should I know? And even if I knew, why would I tell you, Akai no Tsuki?" The boy deadpanned.
"I don't know whatever you are talking about." The girl hummed cheerfully. "Besides, I didn't ask for what are those traps but do you think there are any traps. Oh well, Suzuki-san will probably tell anyways as Nakamori-keibu is being so skeptical."
"Seriously, what's even with that name?"
"Well… Don't you know that the full moon is also referred as the red moon? And since Kaitou Kid is the magician under moonlight and prefers performing during full moon… Isn't the choice of name just obvious? And– …"
Breep, breep, breep, breep.
Genta had touched the touch screen on the display case. A brownish red boxing glove was revealed, punching Kogoro right in the face and sending him flying.
"Otou-san!" Ran hurried to the fallen man.
"They didn't have a trap like this in their system, did they?" Jirokichi asked Nakamori, referring to the earlier mention of the attack of the Red Siamese Cats. Kogoro got on his feet and began running back.
"What the hell were you doing, you stinky brat!" By the time the detective arrived on the platform on which they all were standing, he got electrocuted. Tsukiko let out a low whistle.
"That answers to your question." Conan sweatdropped, glancing to the direction of the sensor that had sent the 'wave of pain'.
"It's true that they didn't have these traps, but…" Nakamori led the Advisor to the display case. "What would you do if he did this? If he points a gun at you like this, you'll have no choice but to open it with your finger, right?" The inspector made a fake gun with his hand, pointing it at the old man's head.
"Well, I don't imagine he'd do something like that but in that case…" Jirokichi pressed two numbers, 4 and 7, and then #. A trap door opened beneath Nakamori's feet and the man fell beneath the floor. "In that case I simply do this!" The old man laughed.
"Could it be that he's fallen into the sea?" Ayumi asked worriedly.
"Don't worry, Yoshida-chan, I'm sure Nakamori-keibu is alright. Suzuki-san wouldn't do something that cruel. Besides, if Kid fell into that trap and it were to drop people to the sea… Well, he would just fly away with that hang-glider of his thus defeating the purpose of this baiting as Suzuki-san wants to catch him rather than prevent him from getting the target. That's what all these other traps are for too." Tsukiko reassured the girl.
"Good thinking, girl. Something like that wouldn't happen." Jirokichi pressed the hashtag button again, opening the trapdoor and revealing pissed off inspector.
"Damn, what the hell kind of a trap is this!?" The man raged.
"Do you still think it's an ordinary glass case?" The advisor asked. Tsukiko followed as Conan took a look at the floor paneling. Maybe she should write it up… Although it was actually quite easy to remember…
The group was on the lower decks now. When Ran and Sonoko went to visit bathroom, Tsukiko slipped away to deliver the confirmation. She went all the way back to the Sky Deck where Kaito already was, watching the gem.
"Hiya!" The girl greeted.
"Ah, konnichiwa." He replied formally in the case there were some hidden cameras. "Have you been enjoying the journey this far?"
"Yes, immensely. But now if you excuse me…" Tsukiko dropped her small back pack on the ground and dug out her 'art supplies': the template, the calligraphy pen and a spray bottle of red paint that was half the size of a regular one, making it easier to hide and use.
The red 'moon' was quickly painted right below the part of the display case where the touch screen and the boxing glove were and underneath it came a text:
"We're here to enjoy.
We're here to perform.
So sit back and watch us fly.
Sit back and admire.
Tonight the dark side of the moon
shall be painted red.
Akai no Tsuki & Kaitou Kid"
"It's quite good don't you think?" Tsukiko grinned when she finished drawing the Kaito Kid doodle underneath the message so the three parts of it formed a straight vertical line. She hid her three items again when she heard the elevator dinging. Ran had arrived. The blonde looked up. "Ah, Ran-senpai!"
"Tsukiko-chan, did you also want to see the gem again?" The karate expert asked.
"Yeah, but instead this message captured my attention." The younger girl indicated the freshly painted text. "Apparently they're here then…"
"Eh, we need to inform Jirokichi-san then!"
"Yea, I'll take a photo and go to show it, okay?"
"Sure!"
Tsukiko snapped the picture with her phone and hurried away then. She really didn't feel like seeing the next act of this soap opera. Yeah, it would be fun to watch but at the same time it was really embarrassing.
Right when Tsukiko stepped out of the elevator, Nakamori and his men arrived to the vertically moving contradiction.
"Ah, Nakamori-keibu…" The girl began.
"Yes? What is it?" The inspector asked a bit impatiently.
"I just went to see the gem again with one of the waiters but… There was a matter there…"
"A matter?"
"Yes, a message. I was just coming to show you and Suzuki-san this…" She showed the photo. "According to the drying of the paint, it was made a bit before we arrived. The waiter and Ran-senpai are up there now…"
"Nani?!" The police officers hurried into the elevator. As soon as the door closed, Tsukiko let out a sigh.
"I guess I'll go to show this to Suzuki Jirokichi now…" And she headed down the stairs.
As expected, the Advisor of the Suzuki Corporation was excited. He didn't go to see it himself though which slightly surprised Tsukiko. Nevertheless every single one of them were enjoying the flight. Even Kogoro managed to forget his fear of heights as he chunked down beer after beer.
Tsukiko watched the interactions in the ship with a fond smile on her face. They all better enjoy everything this before the group of fakes would arrive… Sonoko was teasing Ran. Conan received a knowing smile from Haibara. The Detective Boys were planning something and naturally the cake tasted good.
At some point Jirokichi received a call which got some people, including Conan and Tsukiko vary and soon after that the chaos ensued. The ampule was found as were the first rashes discovered. Completely fake but with entirely equally alarming results.
"Are you playing a zombie?" Tsukiko asked, while stepping forward. "At least it seems like it, Mr. Unlikely." She aimed a punch in the man's stomach, knocking him out completely and thus lifting some attention off Ran for the later events. She let Fujioka collapse on the ground, not bothering to neither catch him nor show sympathy through any other means. The man was a greedy bastard after all.
"Good that nii-san bothered to teach me." She merely stated.
"Tsukiko-kun, it's best that you disinfect your hands now." Agasa told her.
"Uh, yes…" It could be good the get all possible skin contact away.
"This way, we have alcohol-based sanitizers in the prep room." The other one of the waitresses told her. Tsukiko merely nodded. She didn't particularly like that woman either seeing she was one of the terrorists but she was one of those who were used but the three main villains of this case.
Tsukiko washed all the way of her arms and even her neck, too. Just in case. She didn't want any rashes showing. She didn't feel like being locked anywhere or she wanted anything itchy that'd distract her from operating efficiently.
"It seems there'll be a delay in our plan." Kaito stated as they were the only ones in the prep room.
"Yeah… Proper postponing that all sensible people understands." Tsukiko stated. "By the way, did you notice something weird between the rashes Fujioka-san had and the ones the other waitress had?"
"Other than the size and number of them? No."
"The ones on Fujioka's face and neck were shaped like palms. And if that bacterium really spreads via droplet contact…"
"The way rashes have appeared doesn't make any sense."
"That's right. Something is terribly wrong with the facts presented."
"I saw that Fujioka guy earlier grabbing that neechan's arms…"
"Spreading via physical contact then? Is there such bacterium that does so?" Tsukiko frowned. "I know it can be airborne or via insects like with malaria, the saliva of some animals, dirty waters… Okay, there's salmonella but that's a virus and it spreads via animal faeces that contaminate waters…"
"Something is not right anyways…" Kaito glanced at the door way. "We better go now."
"Yeah…"
Right when they arrived to the lounge room where the rest were gathered, they heard sound of the choppers. Alarmed glances were exchanged before Tsukiko hurried to sit in the same table with Ran and Sonoko. She took notice that all the kids except Haibara were gone.
"Good, according to the plot then…"
The door burst open and a man in a black suit resembling one of a SWAT pointed a machine gun at the occupants of the room.
"Don't move!" He ordered. Everybody looked up. Somehow they had failed to hear the copter arriving.
"Who the hell are you?" Nakamori demanded at once. Another man walked in, acting like the leader of the group. He even had his mask away.
"Did you find the ampule?" The man asked.
"The Red Siamese Cats…" The Inspector realized.
"I've planted bombs on this ship. So long as you control yourselves and hear me out, I will refrain from detonating them." The fake-leader explained.
"Voof-voof!" Lupin barked his disagreement.
"Now Lupin, simmer down!" Jirokichi told the canine. That time Ishimoto's hand inched towards his camera but the electronic device got shot in pieces, making everyone think that he was not one of the bad guys.
"I told you to behave!" The terrorist reminded them. Tsukiko crossed her arms. It was both now both a protective gesture and confident one. She kept her eyes away from the dark-clad and heavily armed men.
"We, the Red Siamese Cats have hijacked this airship. Now surrender you cell phones." Two of the goons, one tall and one short came forward at that order with bag in which the all hostages out their phones. Tsukiko gave her spare one she had taken with her once again. It was also the one she had used earlier in the case the bitch, Nishitani, would blurt out something. Then she backed up to stand next to Agasa to provide more shield to Haibara. The shrunken scientist contacted Conan then.
"I hope they're alright…" The blonde teen whispered so that only the two closest to her could hear.
"Me too…" The professor agreed with an equally low voice.
Ishimoto noticed that Mizutani was scratching his palm and Nishitani declared immediately that the director smeller like a smoke… Of course it would be those two. Tsukiko took out a palm-sized spray bottle she had prepared earlier. It contained paint that would come visible only two to three hours from spraying it as the particle in it would come contact with oxygen. Earlier, when going to wash her arms, she had sprayed it on the back of the other waitress when her innocent colleague had fainted. And now she'd mark the other two. After all she was close enough to them.
Fffsssh.
Fffsssh.
They didn't notice anything. One of the terrorist did though.
"Hey, what is that?" The grabbed the bottle from the blonde.
"M-My inhaler. I'm allergic to the pollen in the air. C-Can I have it back? I need it please…" Tsukiko explained nervously. She did lie but at least the small can resembled an inhaler and she really was allergic to pollen… of Alder and Birch and the latter one didn't even grow in Japan. And her allergy wasn't bad enough to need an inhaler. But the hijackers didn't need to know it.
"Hmph, have it then, girl." The small can was tossed back to her. Tsukiko felt like smiling at her success but she couldn't be sure who was watching her. So she settled watching as Mizutani was taken to the smoking room and Ran got worried if she was infected.
A couple of minutes passed and Tsukiko grew more and more nervous. She kept her eyes on Nishitani all the time and indeed, she looked up and asked not so quietly from Ishimoto where the other children were.
"Children?" The terrorist 'leader' repeated.
"Yeah… If I recall, there were three boys and another girl about her age." The woman replied while pointing Haibara.
"Find them." The order came to the two thugs.
"You just had to say that…" Tsukiko muttered while glaring at the woman. She noticed clearly from her spot by the wall that Haibara was about to contact Conan but knew the boy couldn't answer. And right then the evil waitress took the detective badge from the girl.
"My, how sneaky of you." The short-haired woman commented and hit the girl in the face.
"Are you alright, Ai-chan?" Ran and Sonoko hurried immediately to the child.
"Shame on you for slapping a child."
"If you try something like that again, I'll kill you!" The woman told the shrunken scientist.
"The third thing that really pisses me off… People who take children as hostages… People who injure said children." Tsukiko walked forward as the woman's attention was briefly on the trio. She kicked the woman behind knees, making her collapse. "I'd really like to beat you up from what you just did. But I refrain from doing that…" The blonde stated while staring down at the woman coldly. "…after all you already have a target painted on you back, bitch." She let out a manic grin before walking away. The woman got up and pointed a gun at the girl's head.
"What do you mean?" The waitress demanded.
"Mean? Oh, probably that red 'X' on the back your shirt." At that moment the two thugs came back to the room, the four 'missing' kids with them.
"You guys did this?" The leader asked the Detective Boys while examining one of the disarmed bombs.
"I was the one who did that." Conan told him immediately, stepping up to protect the others. "They had nothing to do with that."
At that the man put the bomb down and walked to the boy. The other three kids back up immediately but Conan stood on his ground.
"Such bravery." The man mocked and grabbed Conan from the scruff of his neck, dragging him towards the window.
Was it an instinct or a mere reaction? Tsukiko didn't know but the next thing she did, was to rush forward to stop the man.
"Don't do that! He's only a kid!" She shouted when the two thugs stopped her, restraining her movements effectively.
"Since we are getting rid of the nuisances…" The leader stated and the window was open then. The thugs pushed Tsukiko forward and in her momentum of speed she couldn't really do anything else than stumble with her steps when the man holding Conan took a hold on the front of her shirt pulled the girl her back first towards the open rectangular hole that led into freefall. And on that moment she acted along another instinct: she tried to grab the thing nearest to her. And on that moment it was Conan who was dropped right after her.
Tsukiko felt only air rushing past her as she hugged Conan tightly against her chest. It was only ten seconds into the fall when she could hold back anymore. When she finally realized what had happened.
"H… Hyaaaaaaaaaah!" She didn't remember what was the last time she'd screamed like that. Even in amusement park she didn't scream in the rollercoasters. She liked speed and adrenaline she got from those. But now…
Up in the airship Ran dashed forward, as if to jump after them but Kaito was faster. He dived and caught up quite quickly with the two but catching them in the rapid air currents was much harder as they tended to surge upwards time to time. Finally he managed to grab Tsukiko's ankle and get a good hold on them(Conan was sandwiched between the teens.). They dived through a cloud and the hang glider was opened, revealing the situation to the people up in the airship much to their relief.
"Hard to believe they'd toss you out a window…" Kid muttered. "Especially after you joked about it, eh, Tsuki-chan?"
"…"
"Tsuki-chan?" The girl was shivering and clutching the front of Kaito's jacket, still squeezgin her eyes shut. "Right… What now then, Meitantei?" Kid turned his head a bit to address the boy. "Are you giving up?"
"That's not even opinion! Return to the airship at once!" Conan ordered, pointing upwards.
"Don't be ridiculous. My hang glider doesn't have an engine on it. And with the weight of three people there's no way we could go back. Besides Tsuki-chan needs to get some solid ground beneath her feet now. So… Consider yourself lucky to still be alive!"
They landed on a beach in Sakushima, Aichi Prefecture. Tsukiko's feet didn't hold her up so she just sat down and wrapped her arms around herself, still shivering and breathing erratically. Conan was let on the ground by Kid who immediately crouched beside the girl.
"Tsuki-chan… It's okay now…" He smiled gently. The girl nodded, taking a huge gulp of air and trying to even out her breathing. Eventually she calmed down and opened her eyes.
"I'm… I'm okay…" She whispered, forcing a smile on her face.
"Nee, are you sure Okiya? You have the fear of heights after all." Conan asked worriedly.
"Yeah… I'll be just fine…" The girl nodded again.
Conan called to Heiji who was at Bell Tree Tower with Kazuha, waiting for the airship to come. Meanwhile Kid played with a friendly goat. Tsukiko merely followed this all while sitting on a railing of the small bridge they were at. She was still a bit shaken of the turn of events. She had planned originally to hide somewhere in the ship and avoid the kidnappers but they had arrived sooner than she'd thought.
A sound of choppers was heard again. It was a police helicopter this time. Conan hung up his call with Heiji and called to Inspector Megure as Kudou Shinichi.
"I'd like to make a request inspector… Allow me to board that helicopter. Me, Kudou Shinichi."
It took a bit of a coaxing for Kid to disguise as Shinichi but in the end the trio found themselves in the helicopter with Satou and Takagi. In her mind Tsukiko was a bit worried. She had no idea what she was doing there. After all she had no intention of jumping off the copter like the other two. So she had a really bad feeling about what those two were planning. Yep, there was no way they'd leave her behind.
Kid managed to dodge Sato's questions well and when Tsukiko's presence was mentioned the girl just smiled.
"I got caught up with a certain sort of case you could say and met up with Kudou…-san. And then this airship caught our attention."
They approached the airship fairly quickly. Kid gave instructions to go ahead of the ship and maintain the same speed the pilot had given him a moment earlier.
"Nee, you're not doing what I think you're going to do, eh?" Tsukiko frowned, her arms crossed tightly. Kid smirked.
"No need to worry okay?" He told her.
"I'm not coming… I'm definitely not coming…" The girl muttered as the teen and the child sitting in front of her stuck their hands out of the window.
"Kudou-kun, what are you…?" Sato began. Kid closed the window and he and Conan took of their headphones.
"C'mon, Tsuki-chan." Kid grinned to her. "It's perfectly safe. And this time you're prepared, right?"
The girl sighed and took off the phones. "Fine, but this is the last time you coax me into anything…" The blonde reached forward and took a hold of the lapels of Kid's outfit(Teitan school uniform). Conan hugged the girl around the waist, this time more comfortable between the two teens(A/N: Why does that sound weird?).
"All right then, please excuse us." The door was opened with one hand while the other held Tsukiko close by her waist. And the trio jumped off. This time the blonde managed to keep her scream inside her. The two police detectives were left behind to watch after them, confusion and astonishment written all over their faces.
The trio landed safely a top of the roof of the airship and Tsukiko was quick to release the hang glider before something like in the movie could happen. She didn't need any unnecessary comic relief at the moment. When one of the thugs appeared on the roof to shoot at the police helicopter, the trio went flat against the surface to avoid being noticed.
"I really want to get inside…" Tsukiko muttered. She really didn't like the feel of the wind in her hair at the moment. Normally she enjoyed it, like when in a boat or in rollercoasters but at the moment… And that was also one of the reasons she had folded 'the wings of the white devil' so quickly.
Thankfully the terrorist went inside fairly soon, allowing the three to walk towards the entrance. All that way Tsukiko had a firm hold on Kid's hand. The magician got comfortable against one of the air vents though and gave Conan the fingerprint of Suzuki Jirokichi that he'd acquired a while ago.
"By the way, about your important girlfriend… It's best that you keep an eye on her. That man Fujioka grabbed both her arm earlier. She did push him away quickly, though. Since it wasn't via coughing or sneezing, I don't think she's infected." Kid told the shrunken detective. "What do you think, Tsuki-chan?"
"…I think that something is seriously wrong with this whole terrorist system. Like I stated earlier, it's entirely possible that these aren't the Red Siamese Cats, just people using their name and reputation, and that this is no actual bacteria here." Tsukiko stated.
"Well, I just thought to let you know." Was Kid going to take a nap? A top of an airship?! Crazy thief…
Conan and Tsukiko descended to the inner parts of the ship.
"We need to find the bombs now, right?" The girl confirmed.
"Yeah." The boy gave her an earpiece again. "I'll help you with the locations of the two previous ones while checking the other two places."
"There is one definitely behind the smoking room… If there is actually some bacteria." Tsukiko grinned.
"You are certain about that theory of yours."
"It's merely the facts that are telling me so. The bigger picture is the one that isn't clear for me yet."
The duo looked through the entire ship. Well, the inner parts and found only two bombs. The sat down on the grating corridor with the bombs between them. Conan began pondering the situation and it's strangeness while Tsukiko took the switchblade knife offered to her and disarmed the bombs by cutting the two wires from both of them.
Heiji called to Conan and told the situation on the ground level: how the news had spread and how the whole city of Osaka was in panic.
"What?" Conan put a speaker on.
"The bullet train station is jam-packed with people trying to escape Osaka to the west. Even the highway and local roads are congested with cars leaving Osaka bound westward. Not to mention bank employees and security guards have all evacuated. Now'd be a great time to rob a bank, huh?"
"I think it's better not to do that." A kid's voice was heard. Was his name Satoshi? "Security systems nowadays are pretty tight."
"It's a joke, a joke. Don't interrupt when adults are talking." Heiji huffed. Suddenly Kid touched Conan's shoulder, startling the boy a bit.
"I saw something interesting." The thief explained.
"I can take the phone, Kudou." Tsukiko offered and the boy did so, if a bit reluctantly. Tsukiko waited until the two were out of earshot and disabled the speaker. "Hattori-san, still there?"
"Eeeh… You're… Okiya Tsukiko-chan, right? Ku-Conan-kun mentioned you once."
"Yeah, when we were on a way to eat sushi. Anyways, I was just thinking about your idea of robbing a bank… What if someone were to strike a place without such a tight security…"
"That's a valid point. This far it seems that all the airship has been doing is to cause panic."
"Yes. There is three… possibly four infected people. Three of those have been confirmed to visit the smoking room where the bacteria was supposedly released. Fourth person is either one of the kids who peeked in. Kudou has been especially worried about Kojima-kun towards whom an infected waitress sneezed. But he has showed no signs of infection…"
"And who is the other potential victim?"
"Ran-senpai. The guy, who was first discovered to be infected, touched her arms earlier. I didn't witness it so I'm not sure what exactly happened so don't start making assumptions okay?"
"Neechan, huh? Hey, wasn't it said that kids are especially prone of getting infected?"
"Yeah… But there is something that doesn't add up. The first one infected had rashes all over his arms, neck and face. The second one, the waitress, had only in her right palm and a narrow area of her left arm above her elbow. The third guy had only in his right palm. You know what I'm getting at?"
"Yeah, the symptoms are not consistent."
Suddenly Conan came running back and took the phone from the girl.
"Hey!"
The plan of the robbers was quickly explained to Heiji who was sent to Nara.
"Okay, is it show time now?" Tsukiko asked as she and Conan sneaked to the corridor.
"Yeah…"
"Well, I wish you luck then."
"Where are you going?"
"I shall mess up with their heads now." Tsukiko took out the red paint spray bottle, the template and the calligraphy pen. "It's graffiti time."
Brrrr… Brrrr… … Brrrr… Brrrr…
A cell phone rang in the sack among its friends. The leader of the group took it out. The ID on the screen of the blue phone was 'Trollolololo'.
"Hello?"
"Pizzeria Yutaka. I need to inform you that your pizza has arrived on Deck C, corridor 5, room 28." A female voice told politely before turning into gleeful. "Catch me if you can, Red Siamese Copycats!" The call was hung up. The leader sent two thugs to check out the mentioned area.
On the door of the room 28 was painted red 'moon' kanji once again and underneath was yet another message.
"I'm still here.
I still have no fear.
I'm Red. I'm Moon.
And I'm right behind you."
"Eh?" The door of the room slammed right in the faces of the two and they stumbled against the opposite wall against which they hit their heads and everything in their eyes went black.
"They fainted? Pity. They couldn't see my outfit then…" Tsukiko stepped out of the room, wearing the same clothes than when she had 'borrowed' the engine from Agasa's. This time she also had a pair of narrow sunglasses on her face though.
The girl dragged with a great effort the two thugs into separate rooms and locked the doors of those after disarming the men. It wouldn't do any good if they were to shoot the locks open.
"Hmm… I'll just leave these here." She tossed the guns underneath the bed of the room 28. "Then to my next destination…"
On the way down the stairs Tsukiko came across with Conan who had fetched his skate board from his room and was now following when Ran was being escorted to the smoking room.
"Hand shaped rashes…" The girl whispered, getting the boy's attention. They hid into a room when the escort left.
"Right where Fujioka touched her." The blonde commented. She could already see the train of thought going on the silent boy's mind as they left the room.
The plan was in motion. Tsukiko slumped on the ground, making just enough noise to alert the people in the lounge. Cat-A came to check the situation but got darted but Conan's watch she had borrowed(this time actually borrowed). The boy checked the man's fingernails which were blackened just like he's seen.
"Hurry, the next Cat is probably coming…" Tsukiko whispered urgently.
"Yeah…"
When Cat-B found his fallen comrade, he failed to notice anything wrong with the 'handle' that descended right next to him, resulting him rising up and falling down when he had grabbed it.
"You know… I hated his haircut." Tsukiko commented. Conan casted an incredulous glance at her. "What? Can't I say what I'm thinking?"
"I… I don't even know what to think about that one…"
"Good, then it served its purpose." The blonde grinned, while tucking her hair more carefully underneath her fedora. Meanwhile Conan answered to the radio the Cat and dropped.
"If it's about Cat-B, he's out cold on the roof. Which is strange… since cats shouldn't land on their backs."
"And about those to receiving the order from Pizzeria Yutaka… It managed to get cold already!" Tsukiko sang. The connection was cut then. "If I'm guessing right… They'd sent now C, D and E now… Can you handle them, Tantei-chan?"
"Yeah, you go to the dining hall."
"Righty-o!"
Conan defeated the three Cats with the traps set for Kid on the Sky Deck.
"Hey, hey… Are you serious?" Kid jumped down on the deck. "What is all this?" He actually sweatdropped.
"The third trap Uncle Jirokichi set up just for you." Conan answered confidently as he walked towards the thief.
"Is that so? Tsuki-chan failed to notify me about it then… If I stole the jewel and escaped from that hole by firing my grappling hook…" He winced at the mental image. "That was a close one!"
"It would probably also activate if you were to lift the gem skywards to check the inside of it." Tsukiko appeared from behind the platform. She took one of the Cats' radio.
"Weren't you going to the dining room?" Conan asked.
"Change of plans…" She pressed the mike button on the radio. "Pizzeria Yutaka. Cat C, Cat D and Cat E have all messed up in our kitchens. They are incapable to return. Cat D has locked himself into a cupboard, Cat E got punched into face by our cook and Cat C suffered a severe electrocution. I'm sorry for the inconvenience."
The looks she received from Conan and Kid were identical, saying 'Are you serious?'
"What?" The girl grinned, but right then the leader of the group stepped out of the elevator and began firing at them with the machine gun. Kid took a shield behind the gem display platform. Tsukiko hid behind the pillar the electrocuting sensor was installed in. And Conan… Well, he predictably knocked the guy out with the football of his.
"Your turn now, Kudou." Tsukiko tossed the radio to the kid. "I shall go to mess up with these guys a bit more."
"Okay…"
"Kid-kun, we'll see later, 'kay?"
"Yup!" Kaito grinned.
Conan made his radio announcement with the radio after confronting the 'leader'. The rest of the terrorists were caught. Execpt for three… The three real culprits. But Conan wasn't aware of them yet. He just contently returned Lady Sky to Jirokichi and went to talk with Ran then. He explained to the long-haired girl how there was no bacteria at all and realized then… that Fujioka was the real mastermind of the plan.
Tsukiko watched the boy run towards the entrance to the roof of the airship. She wasn't smiling this time. It wasn't the time yet. But she did take the cell phone she had and rang to the one that was still in the lounge room.
"Pizzeria Yutaka. Congratulations for catching the terrorists. Pity that they are all fake though. Your radar has missed three main culprits." She stated in an official manner through her voice changer.
"What do you mean? Who are you?" Nakamori's voice asked in irritation.
"There're two of them among you, Nakamori-keibu. Look for red targets painted on their backs."
"There's…" The man was probably looking around for the red 'X's.
"Fujioka-san. Ishimoto-san. Nishitani-san." The girl merely replied. At that moment Sonoko's scream was heard. "Gomenazai… I should've warned you earlier…"
"Hey, girl. Come forward if you don't want your friends to die." Ishimoto had taken the cell phone from Nakamori.
"Nope! Catch me if you can! RM over and out!" The blonde chirped cheerfully.
"Are you sure? What if they actually kill them now?" Tsukiko looked up to see Kaito sitting on a railing above her.
"Nah… If they do, they'll do it at once. There're some explosives aboard after all. Besides I trust in Kudou's judgement in this matter now. I believe he's going to solve this one way of another." The girl smiled.
A couple of minutes passed and suddenly the whole ship began to shake.
"Whoa, whoa, what's this?" Kid looked around and took out his grappling hook gun.
"I-I don't know…" Tsukiko stuttered. The ship began to turn into vertical position. The thief fired the gun at the metal structures of the ship and grabbed his apprentice by the waist. They hung in the middle of the ship until the alarms went on and the automatic steering system straightened Bell Tree First. The duo slammed against one of the walking platforms.
"That was quite surprising…" Kaito stated.
"Could you let go of me now?" Tsukiko asked in turn. The boy looked at her and then his arm that was still wrapped around her waist.
"Oh… Okay." He unwound the arm and the two got on their feet, Kid offering a hand to Moon. "Shall we go then, my dearest accomplice?"
"I don't see why not, Kid-sensei."
The hostages in the lounge were getting up on their feet and gathering their bearings after the sudden change of up and down. Kid stepped into the room first, Moon following him.
"Oh dear, what a surprise!" The magician stated a bit mockingly. "I wanted to survey the situation in the hall and the ship suddenly lurched."
"Who wants to bet it was Tantei-chan's fault?" The girl grinned, stepping to lean against the wall and crossing her arms and ankles loosely.
"You…" Haibara muttered while Nakamori raged at the male thief.
"Me." The blonde grinned. "Oh, forgive my manners." She stepped away from the wall and walked to the front of the room, right before the two culprits who were unconscious from the lurch. "I am Akai no Tsuki, the Red Moon. I'm the apprentice of Kaitou Kid and shall act as a confirmation. Whenever there's a heist, you can expect me or my signature to appear indicating our presence. Pleased to make your acquaintance." She made a theatrical bow.
"You are Okiya Tsukiko, aren't you?" Haibara asked. She had gotten the feeling of something was wrong since the beginning and Conan's behavior had confirmed it. After all the boy had stated he had no ideas about the person who broke into professor's which was impossible with the wit like his. And it was no secret to her that the two, Edogawa and Okiya(whether it was about Tsukiko or Subaru) had some sort of agreement that wasn't on her territory.
"Nope. I merely borrowed her face for this entrance of mine. She gave me the permission to though." Moon grinned.
"Umm… Where's Conan-kun?" Ran asked the duo then.
"Don't worry. That boy is alright." Kid reassured the girl and began untying the ropes binding her wrists to the bannister. "He should be here soon…" He straightened up then. "Well, please help untie everyone."
"I think I'll go to check the waitress in the emergency room. After all Fujioka escaped from there." The female thief stated. "By the way, I'd appreciate if you didn't arrest me only for being associated with him. Personally I have no intention of stealing anything. I just do this for experiences and skills."
"You assume you'll just let be walk free?" Jirokichi asked when Kid walked to the bag of Ishimoto and fished the lapis lazuli ring, Lady Sky, from there.
"Well, yes. After all, I'm the confirmation. And I'm not from here." The girl grinned manically.
"Well, ladies and gentlemen…" Kid was delivering his dramatic exit line now. "As assured, the treasure has now become mine." The ring vanished and he bowed. Moon tipped her hat.
"But no worries: we shall meet again. No worries: this won't be the end." She stated and followed the phantom thief out of the lounge room.
"We shall depart now then. See you in a week." Kaito waved to the girl.
"See ya." Tsukiko ran to the emergency room where the waitress was still bound and sitting on the floor between the two beds.
"Are you alright, ojou-san?" She kneeled beside the woman and removed the cloth gagging her.
"Y-Yes. I think so…" The older female stuttered.
"Good. Here, let me help you." The blonde untied the waitress's hands. "The rest of the staff are waiting for you in the dining room. If you were so kind to help them out. Their predicament is as bad as yours just was."
"B-But the infection…"
"It's alright. The infection is actually just skin irritation caused by lacquer." The black-clad girl stood up. "But now I need to take my leave and join Kid-sensei. If you happen to see the blonde teen girl, would you give this to her and thank her for her co-operation?" She took out her own green phone and gave it to the woman.
"Who are you?"
"I'm the Red Moon. I'm the shine of the night sky, Lady Sky." The girl bowed slightly and made her leave then. For Okiya Tsukiko's mouth those words were very uncharacteristic but for Akai no Tsuki they were perfect.
Tsukiko changed into the clothes she had when arriving to the airship and went to the lounge.
"Hey, everything alright now?" She peeked in.
"Tsukiko-oneesan!" Ayumi cheered and ran to hug the girl.
"Hi, Yoshida-chan. I'm glad to see you in one piece."
"Where were you?" Sonoko asked the blonde. "You fell with Conan-kun and Kid-sama after all."
"Yeah… That happened. But it turned out alright. We got a ride with a police helicopter because Kid disguised as Kudou Shinichi-san. And… I swear those two are insane!" Tsukiko declared. "They jumped of the helicopter with me and landed on the roof of this airship."
"Eeeh! Cool!" Genta cheered.
"Yeah, this accomplice of Kid's was waiting for us and told me to hide in my room while she and Edogawa-kun took care of the terrorists. Kid was taking a nap on the roof." The girl continued her explanation as the older girl led her to the table to sit. "Speaking of which… She borrowed my phone. Has anyone seen it? The green one I didn't give to the criminals."
"No, we haven't seen anything like that." Mitsuhiko shook his head.
"I doubt she'll return it." Haibara stated from the table next to theirs.
"No way, she promised!" Tsukiko whined.
"Don't worry about it, Tsukiko-chan." Sonoko reassured the girl. "You got close to Kid anyways. Twice at that! I wish I were you…" A dreamy expression appeared on the polka-haired girl's face.
"Hey, where's Ran-neechan?" Conan asked suddenly, looking around. A sly smile appeared on Tsukiko's face.
"I walked past her when coming here. She was on the way to the Sky Deck."
"She probably wanted to see Kid again." Haibara added.
The three – Conan, Sonoko and Tsukiko(dragged along my Sonoko) – hurried to the Sky Deck. When the elevator doors binged open, Kid was just stepping away from Ran. The thief kissed the back of the girl's hand with that familiar smile on his face before straightening up.
"Kid, you bastard!" Conan shouted, running forward. But Kid was faster and managed to escape with the help of his grappling hook and his hang glider.
"Kid-sama! So cool!" Sonoko gushed.
"You say that even after what he did to me…" Ran shot a look at her best friend.
"What's 'that'?" Conan asked. They noticed then Lady Sky put on the karate-champion's left ring finger but Ran did give her answer.
"Well, it's something that Shinichi would never do."
"… Oh!" Tsukiko grinned. "He managed to convince you that he was Shinichi then? I wonder what he asked from you~…"
Ran blushed at those words.
"Why? Why is it something that Shinichi-niichan wouldn't do?" Conan asked in confusion. "Why do you think that?"
"Well, that's because…" Ran bent forward to talk with the boy but stopped then. She noticed the band-aid on his cheek. She straightened up immediately. "Not because I like him! Don't get me wrong!"
"That was very tsundere reply…" Tsukiko settled musing aloud. She wanted to tell Conan what exactly had happened moments earlier but refrained from doing that. One was that she didn't know how to tell it without raising suspicions. The other was that she didn't want the boy to kill the thief in the next heist.
"But the face would be worth of seeing…" The blonde girl snickered when she was heading towards her room to pack her things.
"Excuse me, miss…" It was the waitress from before. "I was asked to give this to you."
"Oh, my phone. Thank you very much. I was wondering whether she'd return it. Good that she did. I need to call niisan. He's probably worried sick." Not. Jodie would though.
"That lady asked me to relay her thank you to you."
"Oh, thanks. She's one mystery, isn't she?" Tsukiko laughed and the waitress joined in too.
"Definitely."
A/N: Ufff... I made it! Oh and you probably have acoule of questions about this chapter.
-Yes, I have a slight fear of heights. But only when seeing beneath my feet, like Tsuki explained.
-Yes, I'm allergic to pollen of Alder and Birch. I've been sneezing the whole day one again...
-No, I've never been in the Eiffel Tower, only visited from below. Too many stairs and the stairs are grating. My mum had troubles coming down the first time she visited and I've inherited my traits from her(including my pollen allergy).
-Yes, I used wikipedia when writing Tsuki's tale of lapiz lazuli but only to confirm the facts I already had.
-No, Tsuki won't be arrested for acconplishing with Kid and Moon.
-Yes, everyone except Conan swallowed Tsukiko's lie about her whereabouts.
-No, people won't question her two phones.
-No, Tsukiko will never do the actual stealing in the upcoming Kid heists. She'll only do scouting.
-Yes, the Scooter will appear later. Dunno when, but it will.
And now I shall answer to the reviews:
-chibianimefan26:
Yeah, she noticed it though and as you can see in here, she was more careful.
Conan dressing up as a girl? No thanks.
Sorry, no. Well, I might put some pics to dA when I feel like it...
We visited Eiffel Tower twice but didn't climb the stairs. The queues are huge after all. The lock bridges are in every more or less romantical city I think. I've see some even in Riga! But yes, we visited a lock bridge... Several actually.
-Guest:
Akai/Subaru show up time to time. Mostly a bit in the background but there'll be a case with him too. Just read the original manga so you can predict the future case, okay? ;)
-Hikari:
I'm glad you like them. I try my best to update enough fast.
Thank you, her humour is quite dry and sarcastic don't you think?
:D Thank you, thank you, thank you *happy dance*
I try to include her feelings and thoughts more. Thank you for the feedback. I hope you liked this chapter too.
-GeekyGenius:
Thank you. They share now the mutual worry/trust/respect/whatevs so... Yep, he was cute!
()
A post note here as I have a few more things to mention.
-Tell me please which one I should use more: Red Moon or Akai no Tsuki. I'm not sure. I prefer using the Japanese terms when the people are speaking and English terms in the rest but I'm not sure at all about this matter.
-I wrote a short poem loosely related to this fic. Go read it please and comment what you think. The name is The Death of the Shadow. More explanation there.
-I'll put some drawings about Tsukiko's outfits in the chapters to dA. The Red Moon outfit will be there too.
-Tell me please what did you think about Pizzeria Yutaka and if you want it to appear again. Tell me too what did you think Red Moon's style of leaving messages.
But now, bye! Until we meet again! \o/