A/N: Hey, ppl! The Ryoma heist is here finally. It took me surprisingly long time to write... I want to thank everyone who have added this story/me into their alerts. I'm glad to have new readers. :)
Chapter 47.
"I will once again clean up Japan!"
The sentence Sonoko quoted made the rest of their group: Ran, Conan, Tsukiko, Mai and Namida, look at her.
"Okay, whose line is that?" The polka-haired girl asked.
"Let's see, I've heard is somewhere before… Who was it?" Ran thought aloud.
"That's pretty famous quote I think…" Namida whispered.
"It was Sakamoto Ryoma." Mai stated. Not surprising really that she knew. She was the best in their class and had that amazing memory of hers after all…
"On June 29th in the 1863, the third year of the Bunkyuu Era, Ryoma wrote that in a letter addressed to his older sister…" Conan continued.
"Whoa! That's amazing, Tantei-chan!" Tsukiko grinned to the boy who sweatdropped.
"Impressive indeed." Mai blinked. She'd heard a lot of Conan and saw him to solve the case with the haunted warehouse but remembering details like that in such a young age…
"No… That's what I heard on TV! Because of the current 'Ryoma Boom'." The bespectacled boy explained nervously.
"Is that so…" Sonoko muttered.
"But Sonoko, why are you quoting Ryoma?" Ran asked her best friend.
"Jirokichi-ojisama's museum set up a Ryoma exhibition last week. And who do you suppose sent out an advance notification of attendance? None other than our dear Kaitou Kid-sama! That's who, zeyo!"
"'Zeyo'?" Tsukiko couldn't help but repeat with a slight chuckle. Sometimes Sonoko's antics were just too funny.
"Don't make fun of Tosa dialect…" Namida muttered, her cheeks flushed. "My grandma was Tosan…" But all that went unheard by everyone else except Mai who patted the shy girl on the shoulder sympathetically.
"'Zeyo', Sonoko? Are you speaking in a Tosa dialect now?" Ran asked the rich girl.
"I suppose so~! I was studying up on Ryoma, and I guess I got carried away…"
"Yeah, a bit." Tsukiko snorted. "Say, Suzuki-senpai… Did the notification also tell whether Red Moon is coming?"
"Sure, sure… I'm sure we'll see her too… as long as she doesn't try to hog Kid-sama entirely to herself!" Sonoko declared loudly.
"No worries for that… He already has other people to do so… Aoko-chan, Akako, Hakuba…" The blonde thought and stifled a laughter. Yeah, all of those pairings existed in fanon. All of those three wanted Kaito/Kid for themselves and for themselves only, though the reasons differed a bit…
"But I don't think there's anything at the Ryoma exhibition that Kid would want to steal…" Conan stated his doubt.
"Of course there is! The pistol Ryoma received from Takasugi Shinsaku, along with a gun belt!" Sonoko rebutted immediately.
"A gun belt?"
"That's right! A magnificent belt with a huge ruby embedded in the buckle!"
"Imagine if that ruby were to have Pandora inside… No worries though." Tsukiko mused and took out her phone. She should probably meet soon with Kaito and discuss about their plan once again.
"Suzuki, stop yelling in the middle of the street." Mai sighed in irritation. "You are going to embarrass all of us."
"…Is it a real thing?" Conan decided to distract Sonoko before the older girl could snap at the lower classman.
"Ryoma even wrote about that belt in a letter and we have a certificate of authenticity from a famous appraiser!"
"Yeah, if we assume that appraiser is clean…"
"Well, why wouldn't it be real? Jirokichi-san bought it, after all!" Ran smiled.
"Actually… he wasn't able to…" Sonoko explained a bit embarrassedly. "The person putting on the exhibition and providing the belt as a centerpiece doesn't seem to want to sell it…"
"Hmm, I wonder why…" Tsukiko deadpanned mentally. Her cellphone beeped, informing her about a new e-mail. "Gaah, I gotta go…"
"Okay, but you are sure coming to the opening of the exhibition?" Sonoko called after the blonde who was already a couple of steps on her way.
"Sure! I wouldn't miss it for anything!"
"Hey, are you two coming too?" The rich girl turned to address the other two lowerclassmen. She didn't care about them as much as about Tsukiko but hey, she could always be nice. "I'm sure Jirokichi-ojisama won't mind. He likes to brag."
"Sorry, I've got a meeting then." Mai shrugged. The class president was actually going to meet Kouki but that she wouldn't tell it to that gossiper.
"I need to stay home." Namida explained quietly. "Family stuff… Sorry."
"Ah, alright then. It's just us three and Tsukiko-chan then."
"Like before." Ran mused.
"Ojisama~! It's been a while~!" Sonoko greeted her uncle.
"Oh! Since that time with the Iron Tanuki!" Even thought they had also met at Bell Tree First, they rather not mentioned it. It had been stressful and maybe even slightly traumatic time.
"There's quite a crowd of guests lined up!" Ran noted.
"Yeah! In addition to the Ryoma Boom, they also heard about Kid's notice…" Jirokichi explained to the trio. "Of course, if I were in charge of the exhibition, I would have flooded the newspapers and TV stations with ads, gathering a crowd several times this size!"
"Say… Isn't it rare for you to lend out space in the museum for someone else's exhibition?" Sonoko pointed out suddenly.
"I didn't want to at first, but since I learned Kid would be after it, I knew I couldn't leave it up to amateurs…"
"Amateurs?"
"Yes… The man behind this exhibition, Tarumi, opened exhibitions for each of the previous 'Booms', like the ones for Yoshitsune and Nobunaga… And because of lax security, something gets stolen each time…"
"So… one could think that all was intentional since this guy didn't bother to learn from his mistakes…" A new voice joined in. Tsukiko had arrived.
"Tsukiko-chan! You made it!" Ran greeted the blonde.
"Yeah, I got held up in the traffic bit but now it's over. Finally!" Tsukiko rolled her shoulders. "Ugh, the bus was really cramped. In any case… don't you think it's suspicious then? That every time something gets stolen? Like deliberately?"
"Yeah! I wish you had bought the Ryoma gunbelt, oji-sama! Was the price too high?" Sonoko agreed.
"On the contrary, it was quite a bargain… I just haven't been able to get my personal appraiser to determine its authenticity before buying…" Jirokichi replied.
"But didn't you get a certificate of authenticity from a famous appraiser?" Ran pointed out.
"That's right… I felt uneasy about whether or not it'd be able to hook Kid…" This time the man sweatdropped. Hmm… was he also actually suspicious about those guys? Tsukiko leaned her head against her palm thoughtfully.
"But Kid was hooked, wasn't he?" And enter the greedy forgers. "Even though his target doesn't seem to be the gunbelt… That gun belt is authentic… It's the original one that Ryoma received from Takasugi Shinsaku! Isn't that right, Hanamura-sensei?"
"Indeed…" The appraiser next to the belt owner nodded. "Based on the condition of the leather, it is from the approximate time period… The ruby in the buckle is superb… Furthermore, Ryoma even drew an illustration of the belt in one of his letters… I am therefore compelled to declare it the genuine article."
"Believe if you want to…" Tsukiko mused to herself while stuffing her hands into the pockets of her jeans. "You are in the same league with Goudzu… Forgers and the real thieves…" Only Conan heard her though.
"If you girls would like, why not come see the genuine article with your own eyes? A special viewing before it opens!" Tarumi told them. The blonde felt like gagging at the tone he used on them.
"Wow~! So this is Ryoma's gun belt!" Sonoko leaned closer to the display case with Ran. Tsukiko in the other hand was standing on the side with her arms crossed. She was curious to see it, naturally since ti was the one claimed to be real, but last week she had already seen several of them when she and Kaito had gone and 'borrowed' the fakes from Tarumi's warehouse.
"It sort of gives off an aura, doesn't it?" Ran commented along with her best friend. "There really is a picture of the belt in this letter…"
"But you can't read the words…"
"Well, messy handwriting makes it easier to copy and forge, doesn't it?" Tsukiko smirked. "No one can be too sure what the real one originally said." She received a glare from the two men. The appraiser told them then what the letter supposedly said.
The group proceeded to look at the other exhibits in the room. Sonoko stopped by a hanging scroll on the wall.
"And this hanging scroll is…" She began.
"He wrote that scroll without thinking as be lamented the depravity of the Tokugawa government!" Hanamura told the girl.
"Well, there are doubts about its authenticity as well…" Jirokichi added, Conan and Tsukiko silently agreeing beside him.
"If you lack confidence in my eyes to that extent, then after the Ryoma exhibition is concluded you may also show it to your own appraiser…"
"That's what I intend to do!"
"Of course, that's provided you're able to keep these items away from that Magician of the Moonlight's demon hands…"
"Well then, I appreciate your assistance with the building's security, advisor Suzuki…" Tarumi told Jirokichi before the shady pair exited the room.
"Hey, is it possible that the items on display are insured for a lot of money?" Conan asked Jirokichi.
"I also suspected that and looked into it… but the amount is only a drop in the bucket!" The advisor answered.
"Kid getting his hands on these items isn't the problem you know…" Tsukiko stated once they were out of earshot. "Since Kid returns everything he has stolen. The problem lies in the black market."
"Black market?" Conan repeated.
"Yeah… Did you hear about the arrest of President Goudzu? He was leading party in the black market selling copies of stolen goods. Lately he finally got arrested though after he was targeting Kid and trying to get him killed." The blonde girl explained.
"Eh? Someone tried to kill my Kid-sama!?" Sonoko popped seemingly out of nowhere.
"Yeah, I heard the plan was to get the real deal out of way and then have an impostor to continue. And unlike the real Kid, they wouldn't return the items via police or at all. Instead they'd remain missing and a bunch of copies would be sold at high price. Thus the low insurance prices."
"Where did you hear about that then?" Conan asked Tsukiko. A grin spread on her face.
"Try to guess~… But I can tell you this: the same trick was about to be used on Phantom Lady 18 years ago in Paris when Kaitou Kid appeared for the first time. Goudzu was there too, trying to kill her and get an impostor to replace her. It failed and she disappeared while Kid-san took the stage."
"Kid-san? Doesn't she usually say 'Kid-kun'?" Conan thought while Sonoko began pestering her uncle about the safety measures this time. In the end there was only a space reserved for the returned items.
"If we at least knew what time and day he was coming, we could prepare…" Jirokichi sighed.
"Eh? He didn't even write when he was coming in this notice?" Sonoko exclaimed.
"That's right!" Nakamori had arrived with his men. "Even though he's never before sent out a notice that didn't at least have a hint of when he'd arrive…"
"Are you implying that this is some copycat pretending to be Kid!?" Jirokichi was immediately alarmed.
"No… The announcement definitely came from him…"
"I bet he intends to send another notice with the time and date after he sees an opportunity!" Sonoko butted into the conversation. "Like, maybe his schedule is full and he's waiting until it's convenient!"
"Yeah, the right time to clean up Japan from yet another stain…" Tsukiko muttered.
Tsukiko wasn't there when the second notice came but she knew what read on it. Easily. After all she'd been there when Kaito had written it.
"Tomorrow evening, as the building is closing at 20:00,
I will bring the pistol along with the other items.
In the name of Bakumatsu Patriot, Sakamoto Ryoma,
I will once again clean up…
-Kaitou Kid"
"So… Kid-sensei…" Red Moon leaned back on her seat and let her hands stop checking her equipment. "How excited are you actually about tomorrow?"
"Quite. Good to have people like Goudzu behind bars."
"If we succeed and Tantei-chan won't get us caught." The female pointed out and adjusted her hat better.
"Why are you even wearing that at the moment?" The other teen questioned with a frown as he packed the fakes into the body suit.
"Because I'm Red Moon, not Tsukiko at the moment."
"What do you-?" Kaito looked up to see the girl's demeanor slightly different than he usually saw. More relaxed and mischievous. Less witty but equally clever. More mature but also more childish at the same time. It was scary really. "But why?"
"To protect my identity and sanity. Didn't she tell you? Being a whole different person when doing these heists? When you stated never losing yourself? It meant me. The Red Moon." The blonde leaned closer to the boy and smiled slyly. Oh yeah, she seemed to me more flirty like this too. Kaito sweatdropped.
"Her-… Your sanity?" Poker face, Kuroba, poker face.
"Her. There has happened a lot to her lately. Things she can't necessary handle. Thus me. Thus Kage. To protect her. To preserve her sanity and secrets. And this is something I tell only to you. This is something no one else shall know. So we can live in peace. So we can do what we must." Yeah, that was Red Moon alright. Making her sentences rhyme by repeating the beginning of them.
"…"
"Are we good now?" The female tilted her head with a smile. "Do you have any questions?"
"Who is Kage?" Kaito asked.
"Oh, don't worry about that one. You'll hopefully never encounter them." Red Moon waved the question off. "It'll be just Tsukiko and me. And I'm only here when needed. Tsukiko is the original and most real one of us three. Ever since Jade was left behind…" The tone in her voice turned a bit sad when remembering the girl back in their original world. But there was no going back. At least not yet, if ever.
"'Jade'?" The boy repeated in confusion.
"She is unreachable. Don't worry about her either. And please don't tell about her to anyone." Red Moon offered a teary smile, before leaning back and continuing her work with the equipment. Kaito watched her for a moment before leaning to take the fedora off her head. The girl blinked and looked up, tears falling freely now.
"I don't understand everything you just told me, but know that you are not alone." The messy haired teenager whispered softly and pulled the girl into a hug. For him she was Tsukiko, no matter which alter ego of hers was on the surface.
"I hate crowds!" Tsukiko declared when she, Ran, Sonoko and Conan were at the Ryoma exhibition. The room was almost flooding of people. Thankfully they weren't in the room themselves yet.
"It's still two hourse before the announced time, but Kid-sama might already be here!" Sonoko gushed.
"But with the gates, he wouldn't be able to sneak the pistol in…" Ran pointed out. "Besides, he said he was coming here today to return things that another thief stole. Maybe he'll just give up?"
"Nah, Kid-kun would never back up from a challenge he has sent himself." Tsukiko rebutted. Okay, the heist in the Hopper's magic show was an exception but he appeared there anyways, though for a different reason.
"Eh? Another thief?" Conan asked. Oh, did you get some new information Tantei-chan?
"That's right! The three items Kid's returning this time – Ryoma's letter, his bloodstained sake cup and the pistol that was in his pocket when he was assassinated – were all items that were stolen twenty years ago by the mysterious female thief, Phantom Lady!" Sonoko told the boy.
"I mentioned her yesterday, didn't I? Some people are speculating that Red Moon is following in her footsteps though no evidence about it has been found." Tsukiko recalled the article in the morning paper.
"Phantom Lady?" Now that the mysterious thief had been mentioned twice in a short timespan, Conan's interest was piquet.
"Yes! She was a great thief known as the Showa Era's Woman of Twenty Faces! She wore horror makeup and was very popular for only targeting large companies and very rich individuals with unscrupulous earnings!" The rich girl continued. "Well, she loses to my Kid-sama, of course!"
"Even when Kid-san was the one to save her life in Paris?" Tsukiko chuckled.
"If what you are saying is true… Especially then!" Sonoko announced proudly.
"But why are the items that she stole being returned by Kid?" Conan tried to get the conversation back on the tracks.
"How should I know? Maybe they know each other!"
"They are similar thieves, right?" Ran agreed.
"Very…" Tsukiko mused as she watched Conan running to the bathroom. In distance she also saw Kaito, ready to go and hint the little detective of the real state of affairs.
Ran and Sonoko pushed their way into the crowd, during which Tsukiko took a chance to disappear and do what she needed to do before the great confrontation. Oh, this was going to be so fun! The grin of Red Moon found its way on her face.
"Kid-sama's announced time is in four more minutes. Think it's about time that we go in?" Sonoko flipped her phone shut.
"But there's so many people that we wouldn't even see Kid if he showed up…" Ran stated. The two girl's glanced at each other before noticing a group approaching the exhibition room. "Ah, Nakamori-keibu!"
"And Jirokichi-ojisama too… Let's head in too!"
"Yeah!"
"I think it'd be better if you don't!" A voice said by the level of their waist. Conan pushed his way through the crowd and out of the exhibition room, covered in sweat.
"Why shouldn't we go in?" Sonoko demanded immediately from the 'brat'.
"I thought you wouldn't want to get wet… Since is seems Kid really does intend to clean up there!"
"Hey, where is Tsukiko-chan by the way?" Ran noticed for the first time the absence of the blonde girl.
"She… She is in the crowd! I saw her!" Yes, the boy had seen her. And this time he wouldn't try to stop her. Either. After all the place truly needed cleaning up.
Red Moon tossed the white top hat in the air. Preparations were ready now and it was the showtime.
"Kaitou Kid!" Nakamori exclaimed. The thief clad in white was standing on the gunbelt case.
"And Red Moon!" Jirokichi noticed the female in her black attire balancing on the rim of the giant vase inside which Ryoma had supposedly hid as a child.
"They got through the metal detecting gates, so they're unarmed! Seize them!" Nakamori barked as Kid was making a bow to his audience. Red Moon laughed.
"Sieze? Arrest? You've got wrong people this time Keibu-san." The female snickered. "We aren't taking anything from here. Just returning a lot of them while you shall be the clean-up crew!" She spread her arms with a tilt of her head, making the male population of the fans cheer. Apparently anything more showing off move made them act like a mindless cattle.
"Clean up? The only think getting cleaned up here is you, after you're captured!" Jirokichi told the duo. Unknowningly the wrong duo.
"Indeed…" Kid agreed. "However, if you're going to clean up, you need water. So I shall create some rain in this very room…"
"Oh I've always wanted to dance in the rain. Puddles are so much fun." RM clapped her hands happily together. "Not as much fun as Pizzeria Yutaka though…" She added as an afterthought. At that Kid lit the matches thus activating the fire sprinklers.
"Well, that's all from me…" The male thief bowed.
"Hey, wait a minute! Aren't you going to return those three items?" Nakamori frowned.
"This shower shall make everything clear…" Kid began.
"…And this rain shall wash away the muddy waters…" Red Moon continued. The two disappeared with the help of mist created in the room.
Nakamori set into work immediately, telling his men to check for guests who have just left and are dripping wet. Problem: all the guests were wet inside and outside as it was a rainy day.
"Then, what about the items he said he'd return?"
"They are on top of the gun belt display case…" Hanamura told them, taking the sake cup into his hand. "Oh dear, I'm sorry, I accidently got my blood on the sake cup… But since these items appear to be forgeries it won't be a problem."
"The problem is with the gun belt." Tarumi told as he lifted up the lid of the display. "Th'The antitheft device was destroyed!? Then, Kid switched the gunbelt inside with a fake!? Damn!"
"You know… That's kinda crude work… I doubt Kid-kun would make it like that." Tsukiko emerged from the crowd, dripping wet.
"Tsukiko-chan, you are soaked!" Ran hurried to dry the blonde girl with a handkerchief. "You'll catch a cold…"
"I really hope I won't…" Tsukiko muttered, taking her own handkerchief too and patting her hair dry. "This is what I get when I want to see Kid-kun once again close up…"
"What were you saying about the anti-theft device, Tsukiko-oneesan?" Conan appeared by their side.
"That Kid wouldn't destroy it so crudely. He'd confuse it so the alarm would still blare when those two would check the item. Not to mention that it's quite easy to destroy before in the hopes of the belt getting stolen and putting a fake in there in the first place. Something like that those two would plan…" The girl jerked her thumb towards the direction of the two forgers. Suddenly Nakamori noticed the plate beneath the display case dripping paint.
"The gunbelt was a complete fake from the beginning, because…" And the truth was out. "Hey, is what it says on this plate true?"
"N-No, that's just nonsense!" Tarumi denied immediately.
"First of all, where are these mass numbers of forgeries?" Hanamura added. "There's only lightweight plastic pistol and the fake sake cup and letter…"
"Keibu-san!" The men of Kaitou Kid taskforce called.
"This gunbelt and pistol were placed on me while I wasn't paying attention!"
"Me too…"
"There's also a note on the belt: 'Borrowed from Tarumi's warehouse'…" They explained.
"That Kid… He took advantage of the crowd to put them on us…" Nakamori gritted his teeth.
"I see… You broke that anti-theft device to make it look like a robbery… And this time you planned to sell off the gunbelts." Jirokichi smiled smugly as he realized the plan. (He hadn't heard when Tsukiko had told her guess to Ran and Sonoko.)
Nakamori went to examine the writing scroll hanging from the wall.
"PULL"
A bunch of forged letters were stashed inside of it.
"Speaking of which… Red Moon was standing on that vase…" Tsukiko pointed it. "I doubt a vase from the 19th century would have withstood her weight…"
Sonoko's head perked up at that and she walked to the vase in question.
"CRASH"
And it went down. The vase had withstood the weight of the female thief but when hitting the ground in an angle, it went in half.
"Hey, Sonoko?" Ran panicked.
"But Kid's plate said to do this!" The rich girl explained. "'Crash'…"
Nakamori and Jirokichi came to examine the 'crashsite'.
"Hey, there are a bunch of sake cups inside!" The inspector exclaimed.
"And each of them has a blood stain…" The advisor noted. "If we conduct a DNA test on the blood, it'll be clear who was making the phony sake cups… I wonder if the same thing as before happened with all these cups? With you rubbing your cut finger on them and getting your blood on them. Well, it'll all be revealed when we search your warehouse. If we find a pile of forged items that you haven't sold yet…"
"Ah, there you are…" Tsukiko jogged to Conan and Kid(disguised as bulky middle aged man). "Are you done now?"
"Yes, we are." Kid smiled. "I'll see you later, Tsuki."
"'Kay."
"Yes, I think I'll let you go this time, for Ryoma's sake…" Conan deadpanned.
"Hm? You're a Ryoma fan?" Kid blinked.
"My mother is… She was born in Tosa, and even acted the role of his maiden elder sister before…" The boy told the two.
"I can relate…" Kid chuckled. "Not being able to stand up to my mother… Later~!"
Conan sweatdropped and Tsukiko smirked at his expression.
"Yep. That's right! I talked with her a couple of days ago." She told the chibi.
"Say… what was your role this time?"
"Mine?" The blonde blinked. Yes, technically it had been her role as Conan didn't know about how she had managed to separate 'Tsukiko' and 'Red Moon' from each other. "Well, to point out the fraud and put place the sake cups in the vase when visiting last night as a member of a clean-up crew. The cameras had some distortion for a minute."
"I see… Say, what exactly do you know about President Goudzu?" The two began walking slowly back to the others.
"About what I told you earlier. Selling forged objects after the real ones have been supposedly stolen. But with Phantom Lady and Kaitou Kid the problem was that they were returning the stolen goods to the police. Thus the killing order. I faced the guy with Kid-kun at Touto Tower a while back…" Tsukiko shrugged.
"I see…"
"Is that all you can say?"
"Yes… What? No!"
A/N: Hey did you read the latest chapter? Shukichi makes an appearance! And I hope we'll get some plot related in this case too. I mean... The nent file is 900th...
In anycase... I decided to take the personality split between Tsukiko and Red Moon(and Kage at the same time) a bit further. Tell me what do you think. And this far Kaito is the only one who knows about it. Vermouth knows only that Tsukiko doesn't think herself as Jade anymore and hates being called by that name.
And that leads to the way our protagonist addresses Kid. Kid-kun means Kaito as Kid while Kid-san means Toichi. Kid-sensei is used by Red Moon occasionally.
And now is the reply time to the reviews:
-spoiler:
There is? That's great!
-Zeladious:
I decide that Akako would emphasize Tsukiko's alias thus I put it in the Japanese form. Basically it's what everyone say anyways...
-GeekyGenius:
Great to hear you like it. :)
I love Chikage and Yukiko too.
-chibianimefan26:
Hi, great to see you again! I was wondering where did you disappear to.
And yes, Tantei-chan is here!
-TanteiAPTX4869:
This review confused me to no end. You say you've reached chapter 25 and you are giving me suggestions how to improve this? Shouldn't you do that when you've reached the point I and the rest of the readers are going? Because I can't go changing whole story lines twenty chapters backwards. Well, I can but it doesn't make any sense as they are already established.
And then to the points you wanted me to improve:
-Conan is already suspicious about Tsukiko but he also has learned to trust her. If you've read Raven Chaser chapter, you know what I'm talking about.
-A custom pairing? What do you mean with that? Some to couple up with Tsukiko? Or two canon character together that aren't established as a pair in canon? I've already made a pair of my OCs: Mai and Kouki.
-I can't make plot related chapters any faster than Gosho has written the cases. The bourbon arc was long and tiring and I'm trying to pick the best cases for Tsukiko to participate in.
For the rest of the readers: please review. That'd make me really happy. :) I'll see you soon(hopefully).