A/N: Hey, folks! I defied my mum's orders and wrote this one up. The Phantom Lady chapters from Magic Kaito! Go read them if you already haven't.
And by the way. I've put some drawings on dA. Tsukiko's outfits parts 1-3. The fourth one come when I have an access to a scanner again.
Chapter 46.
The dummy was launched and the crowd was cheering. Nakamori instructed his men to check everyone inside. Among those task force members was also an extra. Red Moon smirked to herself.
"Nakamori-keibu isn't falling on that one again… Good. He's learning." She thought as she prevented the Kid and RM fans inside the manor from leaving. "But we still have that one trick in our sleeve…"
And right then Kid – disguised as Nakamori Aoko – slipped past the squad members.
"Please wait a moment!" Red Moon's 'colleague' stopped 'her'. Tsk, what a newbie…
"I'm Nakamori Aoko! I just came to drop off a bento for my dad, so I can go, right?" 'Aoko' asked.
"A-A bento?"
"She's Nakamori-keibu's daughter! Don't you know!?" Red Moon told the other police with the gruff voice of her role.
"I-I'm so sorry!"
"No no, keep up the good work…" 'Aoko' saluted before leaving. As soon as 'she' was out of sight, the second trespasser decided to disappear too. When a bunch of task force members came to the manor the heist had been, RM took her chance to slip away. She blended in among the rest of similarly clad people and managed to an empty corridor where she shed her uniform and the mask.
"No use hiding them…" Red Moon smirked as she dropped her card a top of the pile of clothes.
"Thank you for the loan.
They are surprisingly
comfortable and
easy to move in.
Not to mention helpful
when blending in.
Red Moon"
She slipped then among the rest of the fans, trying to get out. Now she wasn't wearing any mask and since none of the police knew her face beforehand, she was safe.
Thirty minutes later the blonde was finally out of the heist location and walking towards a bus stop. On the way she dug out her cell phone.
"So… Ya got out too then?" Aoko's voice answered.
"Cut the crap Kuroba. I was taught by the best." The blonde muttered without a real heat behind her words. "And when are you going to take that… look off your face?" The girl glanced around in the case someone was tailing her or otherwise eavesdropping.
"Soon? Anyways, I just put the jewel in the mail. It wasn't the Pandora."
"Somehow I guessed it after seeing the size of it. I'd bet that the legend itself should be at least the size of the tip of thumb thus causing the jewel to be the size of Blue Birthday in order to conceal it inside of it…"
"Good point. But we can't be too sure. And if I – we – don't check those first, Snake and his gang will come and they aren't subtle at all." Kaito sighed, still using his 'girlfriend's' voice.
"And you are? Subtle?" Tsukiko chuckled as that was what she was now: High school student Okiya Tsukiko.
"At least no one gets hurt on our heists!"
"Sure not… In any case. I think you shouldn't use that trump card of yours anytime soon. Someone might get suspicious. Not of you but Aoko-chan and Nakamori-keibu."
"What do you mean?"
"This is the fifth time you've used Aoko-chan's face, no? That's the face that won't get pinched in the fear of Nakamori-keibu's wrath and Aoko-chan's mop. Someone's bound to notice. And even if they won't connect it to you, Kuroba Kaito, they might make a direct link between those two. Not to mention that you return the stolen goods to Nakamori." The bus arrived and the girl got on. "In any case, I'll see you tomorrow. Let's discuss more then."
"Yeah, jaa ne, Tsuki-chan!"
"Jaa ne, Kuroba."
And once again, the heist was the hottest topic when Tsukiko, Mai and Namida stepped into the classroom. The younger of Maki twins had taken up walking with them if they happened to match their steps. She still blushed vividly whenever talking to them though.
"Again?" Mai shook her head. Tsukiko's shoulders slumped slightly.
"This is getting old…" The blonde muttered. Yeah, she liked attention and it was interesting to see when others thought about her alter ego but too much was too much. Especially when the theories were downright insane and majority of RM's fans seemed to be male. Why? She had no idea.
"Well, she became popular by tagging along with Kaitou Kid so I suppose she'll stay in the headlines." Namida shrugged. "And Kaitou Kid's heists never get old. Always new tricks and excitement."
"True but the theories! And the insanity of this fandom!" Tsukiko waved her arms helplessly. "They just… argh!" She stomped to her seat.
"My, my… Tsukiko-chan, one would think you don't like Red Moon." Mai smiled slyly as she sat beside the blonde.
"I do like her. I admire her courage and independence. Skill and wit. But I hate that craziness wrapped around her. Even Kid doesn't have the like." In a way Tsukiko didn't like when saying she admired her alter ego. Red Moon had many qualities, she didn't have. Kage was the same. Those two were a way to keep her sane and maintain low profile. Could she call it a split personality disorder? Maybe…
"You sure? You obviously haven't read the right papers." The class president snorted.
"Well, I think I'll stay clear of those 'right papers' then…"
"Aoko-chan got an invitation to the highest platform of Touto Tower? And she doesn't remember attending to that competition?" Tsukiko arched her eye brows and looked up from her packing.
"Yeah. That's what Akako says. And I think I know what that message on the back of the diamond meant." Kaito stated while pulling on his disguise of the day: Nakamori Ginzou.
"Well, doesn't that mean we are going to the Tower then?" The blonde smirked and continued packing. The boy took a look of what she was doing and frowned.
"…Are you sure you need that?"
"Yes. Red Moon can't afford being afraid of heights." Another perk of Tsukiko's layered personality: while Tsukiko couldn't stand seeing nothing beneath her feet, RM fared just fine. About Kage she wasn't sure yet.
"You talk like that isn't you." Kaito snorted.
"Well, haven't you ever felt like whole another person when wearing that silvery white cape of yours? That shield your father created to protect the wearer's identity."
"…No. I never forget who I am."
"That wasn't the question." Tsukiko zipped her back pack and got on her feet. "In any case I'm out now. See you up there." She took the fedora from the clothing rack along with a long but light coat that she pulled over her wine red dress shirt and was about to leave.
"Hey, Tsuki-chan, wait!" Kaito called after her. The blonde stopped, the fedora half-way on her head. "How are you going to get in that floor?"
The girl smirked. "With skill."
It wasn't too hard to slip into the elevator and get to the top floor. All Tsukiko needed to do was to distract the staff to look in the other direction and then sent the vertically moving box back to the middle platform.
And in the top floor the situation was already getting heated. The extremely rich antagonist had confronted Kaito as Nakamori and put Aoko to sleep. He was assuming that Nakamori was the original Kid retired from thievery and Aoko was the new one. Oh, how wrong he was.
Tsukiko walked towards the commotion and secured the straps of her back pack, clipping them together across her chest and around her waist. Now there was no way it would slip off. Pulling her fedora even deeper to her head and pushing her sunglasses a bit, she stepped right behind the corner, waiting for an appropriate moment to walk in.
"Well, well… You've caught onto the 'stake that sticks up gets pounded in' part, but what are you going to do? The circumstances are quite similar, however unlike last time your partner won't be of any help to you…" The mistaken antagonist talked to Kid. "Admired as the 'Woman of Twenty faces', she suddenly disappeared in Paris 18 years ago… Lady Thief, Phantom Lady!"
For a moment Kid seemed to fall into the memory, a story he'd heard from the Phantom Lady herself, but not for long.
"Well? What are you going to do, Kaitou Kid… I don't mind if you ride in that car to flee like you did 18 years ago but back then, it was a slim bike. No matter how small this Lotus 7 is, it won't clear the window frames on this special observation deck." The evil millionaire stated. "Of course, it's a moot point, since that replica won't run…"
"I see… So the story about this being a super-rich guy's prized collection was a complete fabrication…" Kid smirked slightly. "And that huge ruby that's going to be delivered next week – that's a replica too… You planned for it to be stolen by Kid, so that you could secretly sell a whole lot of them later."
"And as for the accomplice… Phantom Lady-san has already retired…" Red Moon stepped out of her hiding place, a wide smirk on her face. "But I, Red Moon, have taken her place."
"What are you doing here?!" The man frowned.
"Didn't you get my notice? It should've arrived today as I delivered it personally…" The girl asked innocently.
"Here, sir… It arrived five hours ago…" The antagonist's minion gave a card to the man.
"Light of Paris
Light of Tokyo
I shall come in that light
once I've found the truth.
I shall leave in that shadow
once I've touched the stars.
Catch me if you can.
Catch me if you dare.
Red Moon"
"It can't be helped then. It all has been arranged… What's left is for Kid's life to be taken and the fake Kid we've trained to take up the task will… As for Red Moon… She is new. We can easily find some other use for her when she disappears."
"Who do you take me for?" The disguise was shed accompanied by a smoke bomb. "Do you really think you could so easily steal a Phantom Thief's life!?"
"I was trained by the best, don't take me lightly even though I'm new." Red Moon announced. She pulled the 'turbo engine scooter' over. "Time for test ride~…" She hummed and positioned her left feet over the button of the engine.
When the smoke finally vanished, the two trespassers were out of sight.
"Tsuki, you stay in the edge and behind me, clear?" Kid told the girl.
"Roger that!" The blonde drove to the space between the display cases and the windows. It was narrow but she had only a scooter and with a high speed she managed just fine.
The two vehicles looped around and came up behind the group of idiots. Those goons began firing at them but thankfully missed the moving targets.
"Kid! Left!" Red Moon yelled indicating that she'd move away from the display cases.
"Vertical!" Came the reply. The small Lotus bumped into one of the vitrines and tipped on its side… And slid out of the window.
"Oh, by the way! I sent that note to the police too!" The female 'outlaw' shouted over her shoulder before following her teacher out of the window.
Air rushed past her. But it didn't feel bad or scary, like when falling from the airship back then. Now it felt safe, thrilling, liberating. Like there was nothing wrong in the world.
The scooter was folded up and attached on the back Red Moon's belt. Then she pulled the handles on the straps of her back pack. A paraglider shot out. Copying Conan and movie 8 but who cared, this far she had done practically nothing than copying.
From the corner of her eye, she could see Kid panicking when hurrying to open the lock of Aoko's handcuffs.
"Tsk, always have more than one piece of your tools. One can be easily lost…" The girl mused before landing in the midst of the woods of Shiba Park. Somewhere far the replica car crashed and even further away the sirens were heard. When her feet hit the ground, she took off her fedora and glasses and gave out shudder. A wide happy smile spread on her lips and she stretched her arms towards the inky black night sky.
"Aah, how brilliant that was!" Tsukiko sighed happily. She proceeded gathering and packing her paraglider then and detaching the scooter from her belt. It weighed quite a lot after all.
"Akai no Tsuki. No… Okiya Tsukiko." A relatively young female voice stated behind the blonde. Tsukiko froze for a second but didn't turn around.
"I should've seen it sooner really. When Nakamori-chan and Kuroba began talking about that new friend of theirs. When quite soon after that a new thief appears with Kid…" The voice continued.
"Ah, you must be Koizumi Akako-san, right?" Tsukiko smirked when she finally managed to connect the dots. "Kuroba-kun has mentioned you once or twice." The blonde turned around to face the young witch with dark magenta-tinted hair. "What do I owe to get this pleasure?"
"I got a prophecy from Lucifer. At first I didn't understand whom it concerned but after spotting you at the Tower… It made sense. The Child of the Moon veiled in black donning the mask of Red." Akako stepped closer.
"Why, thank you… but what is that prophesy about?" Tsukiko tilted her head and smiled her eyes closed.
"One steps on forbidden area but is invited.
One lets lies slip past their lips.
Thou are one, thou are three.
No one knows whether to trust thee.
Thou aren't from here,
but from space between spaces.
Thou must step warily in the midst of your lies.
Reality shan't be disturbed when thou flee.
Lies must not make thee.
Once they do, thou can not return."
"That's… interesting." The blonde kept her smile on but opened her eyes now. "Thank you."
"I hope you understand what it means. I had enough troubles in finding you." The witch turned on her heels and slipped into the shadows the trees casted everywhere.
"I think I do…" Tsukiko muttered, hoisting her back pack on her shoulders and stepping on the scooter. Time to go back to Kid's lair. "I think I do…"
"Geez, kaa-san! You could have at least told me that villain from 18 years ago still hadn't been arrested yet!" Kaito was talking to the phone while watching news about the evil millionaire's arrest. Apparently that guy's name was Goudzu. But who cares! Tsukiko was sitting opposite the boy and flipping through a magazine that Kuroba Chikage had subscribed some time ago.
"In the end, I had to deal with all his pent-up aggression… It wasn't easy, you know?" The messy haired teen continued.
"We had to." Tsukiko corrected him.
"Yes, we had to." Kaito added to his mother.
"But you captured them for me, right? What an accomplishment My Kid Jr. and his beautiful assistant Red Moon-san!"
"Why, thank you." Tsukiko grinned.
"Anyway, Chikage-san… When are you coming back to Japan?" Kaito switched off the box.
"My friend here seems rather taken with me, so I don't think I'll ever be able to return…"
"Hey, some on now…"
"Oh, that's right! There are some guys who are like President Goudzu's disciples. I hear that up until not they're been using the same MO in order to line their pockets… A long time ago, mommy worked really hard to collect all the evidence. I got so tired collecting it all, so I left it all on the other side of the hidden storage room… So, Magician under the Moonlight-san? Punish those guys for me too! I've already mailed you the evidence list so thanks a lot! And Tsuki-chan will surely help you!"
"Wait, now hold on!" But the call was already disconnected.
"So… What's the next job?" Tsukiko hopped off the armchair, tossing the magazine aside and sat next to Kaito. "Ooh! Sakamoto Ryouma! Sounds interesting." She smiled while reading the mail over the boy's shoulder.
"A pain in the neck more like…" Kaito muttered.
"Hey, do you think we can include Tantei-chan too?"
A/N: I picked that layered personality thing from Ten-Faced's fic layers and split personalities. It's a brilliant one. And no I didn't ask for permission. Split-personality is such a common theme in fics so I figured it wouldn't be too bad. I just had to tell you my source of inspiration to this and recommend you to read it. Take a look on her other fics too, okay?
BTW, have you notice that the tag 'Shuichi A.' includes now Subaru too? It's 'Shuichi A./Subaru Okiya' nowadays. XD
And the latest file? Just awesome! I'm still waiting for the English translation but what I saw in the Chinese file... Just brilliant!
Review replies:
-Akai4Ever:
I'm glad you liked it. :)
Oh, that's a typo. I'm not sure was I writing brother or brother's though...
Okay, I'll stick with this name since I'm used to it.
-Zeladious:
:)
-GeekyGenius:
Thank you. The first one is behind now but on Wednesday is the second one... Tasukete...
I'm glad you liked this. I also loved the case. Detective Ai on the roll!
-yui639:
Great to hear that I have new readers.
The update is here!