A/N: Alright, I managed to finally write this chapter. It was honestly quite fun even if Red Moon doesn't do much outside her disguise role. Well, she trolls everyone but that's nothing unusual from her normal behavior.

I've been rereading some of my older chapters and discovered plot points I really wanna explore in the future. What are those? Not telling!

Chapter 66.

"So now you are willing to talk to me again?" Red Moon glared at the teenager in front of her. Maybe technically her body was that of a teenager too, but the fact remained that her mind was much more mature. Even if she had a tendency to act childishly during the shows. "Now that you need my help once again?"

"I don't need-…" Kaito interjected but quietened under the woman's glare. "Fine, alright… I could use of your help, Reds, but mostly as usual. The distraction for tantei-kun to figure out where I actually am… And of course an extra pair of eyes is always useful."

RM huffed and sat down on the chair behind her.

"Your silence from last week is not acceptable though. Just because I'm helping you out, don't think I've forgiven you!" She pointed one accusatory finger at the young magician. Kaito threw his hands up in surrender as if he was being held in gun-point.

"Oi, you are the one who didn't warn me about tantei-kun's plans. Explosives seriously… Even my baddies don't go to that extreme and that's saying something considering Snake's temper!"

"The information void was all on Kage and Tsukiko. On the girl because she held control about all the week and the no-gender, because they restricted my information sharing privileges. I was physically incapable of warning you."

Kaito gaped. He still didn't exactly understand the deal with Tsukiko's three personalities and long time ago had decided not to question it but this. This was insane.

"Red Moon… Are you alright?" Was all he could eventually ask when the silence stretched.

"I'm… fine. Just frustrated."

"Can you tell me what happened to Tsukiko to… develop multiple personalities? This is worrying me." Kaito had asked some back when they had been dealing with the fakes of Sakamoto Ryoma's relics but now he really needed to know more. To help this girl that stood by his side no matter what, regardless of which personality was in control at the moment.

The female thief leaned her elbows against her knees and pressed her palms together. Taking a deep breath, she leant her forehead against her fingertips, deep in thought.

"In the end you don't know much about her, do you? You taught her lockpicking and she was mostly present during the Lady Sky case. You know about her friends and where she goes to school but nothing else much, right?"

"Un. You have been the one to keep control of our meetings afterwards. I understood that Tsuki-chan was busy with cases that popped up around her." The high schooler nodded.

"I can't tell you much about Tsukiko's past since I haven't been present that long. You know when the drastic development happened, right?" Red Moon looked up at the boy.

"Hai."

"Good, it was several months ago. Tsukiko arrived to Tokyo. She had been home schooled that first year of high school so she didn't have to worry about falling behind. Almost immediately she got into a car accident. Hit and run. Tsukiko was in a hospital for a long time afterwards. In coma. When waking up, she was immediately swept up with a case there. One involving the same bad guys that you went against in the train. She had back-up though. Tantei-chan and FBI agents. But they didn't trust her. She was in only due freak accident and pure damn luck." The woman saw Kaito drawing a sharp breath but keeping silent. So she continued.

"I guess the beginnings of the split started then. They managed in whatever plan they had, you don't need to know what it was, and Tsukiko was offered to stay with one of the agents. But before leaving the hospital, another one of the agents, one that Tsukiko had befriended, died in the hands of the organization.

"Yeah, it wasn't easy for her. But she got through it. Next Monday she started in Teitan, thrown in the middle of curious high schoolers. Cases began cropping up, she reunited with her trusted… brother." Red Moon paused and corrected then. "Adoptive brother. More cases began cropping up, she got then involved with you. Shadows of the organization loomed in the periphery, she had her normal life to deal with. A whole load of information that she couldn't share with just anyone."

"Information overload." Kaito spoke up. The woman nodded.

"Essentially yes. At Tanabata the next split happened. Tsukiko shot a gun for the first time. She was beaten by a suspect and then shot by the freak-ass gun in that black helicopter. The role of the Red Moon was next. While tantei-chan knows it's her as me… it's easier for her to compartmentalize. She began using herself as a sounding board because there were things she couldn't talk with anyone. Not to her friends, not to her brother, not to the FBI agent who looks after her… So the split happened. Different information stored on different hard drives. Some can be transferred, some can be stolen. But essentially, we know stuff that the others don't. Like with the train. Tsukiko was in the planning operation. Kage was as a back-up. I wasn't involved at all. So I couldn't have proper access to the information even if I saw and heard Tsukiko talking about it with other people in the plan."

"I see… but is Tsuki-chan alright then?"

"Yes." Red Moon replied tersely. "The rift may have grown and each of us may have gotten stronger individually but ultimately she is still alright. The problem is if…" She trailed off and frowned to herself.

"Yes? What is the problem?" Kaito asked urgently.

"Koizumi warned me about this. Even had a prophesy or something similar."

"Akako?!"

"I met her after our case at Touto Tower. Ya know, the one with the guy who thought the Nakamori's were behind Kaitou Kid?"

"Yes, that guy… But don't change the subject! What prophesy?" Kaito glared while Red Moon showed innocent visage at him.

"Don't worry about it… I'll make sure nothing will happen to Tsuki-chan." The woman waved the concerns away before smirking. "Now, what all have you already planned for acquiring the Blush Mermaid?"

On the Day of the Exhibition

Just like with Iron Tanuki, there'd be a swap in place. Meaning that Kid would disguise as Tsukiko while Red Moon would take Sera's role. But the swap would only happen after the altercation with Inspector Nakamori. So Red Moon would be Tsukiko at the beginning. She even let the girl take the reins as she went to meet with her friends.

So there she was, right outside the museum/exhibition hall with Ran, Sonoko, Masumi and Conan. And Sonoko was demonstrating a magic trick she'd seen in a TV show a couple of night ago. It was quite a nice trick to pass time with. Though Conan would've done without spoiling all the fun. Masumi was excited when she figured it out too.

"Ran! Why did you bring that obnoxious brat!?" Sonoko finally barked.

"Your uncle Jirokichi invited him, right? Because Conan-kun is the Kid-Killer!" Ran replied with a smiled. "More than that, the one I'm surprised about is you, Sera-san! I didn't think that you'd be interested in thieves and things like that…"

"I'm certainly not uninterested." Masumi laughed. "Holmes had this professor Moriarty, Akechi Kogorou had Phantom with Twenty Faces… It's natural for detective to have a mysterious rival! And anyway, I wanted to ask you about this hat that you picked up on the Bell Tree Express…"

"Eh? I simply picked it up from the corridor." Ran blinked.

"So you didn't see him? A man wearing black clothes, black hat, and with a burn all down his right cheek…" So Masumi did remember the man but not necessarily the circumstances that caused her to lose consciousness. And going by the way she gave a side-glance at Tsukiko, she was suspecting the other girl for lying or at least omitting some details.

"AHA! So you came, Shirou's wee lass!" And Suzuki Jirokichi himself had arrived. "I must apologize about the Bell Tree Express fiasco the other day."

"It's fine!" Sonoko smiled. "It wasn't Jirokichi-ojisama's fault!"

The group went to see the exhibition in the museum. There was a lot to see. Paintings, statues… Tsukiko chuckled lightly when Ran went to cover Conan's eyes when they came across a bronze statue of a naked woman.

And then finally, they got to the last room. It was void of any other objects to show and had a wall to wall carpet instead of tiles as the case were in the other rooms.

"Wow! There are loads of people around that glass case!" Ran noted.

"Or rather… Isn't that…" Sonoko trailed off.

"An aquarium?" Masumi guessed.

"That's right." Jirokichi told them as he led the girls and the kid to the aquarium. "The object of kid's desire this time is the red diamond upon the back of this turtle, The Blush Mermaid!"

"I'm just grateful that there isn't any fish inside this tank…" Tsukiko thought. "No need for Kaito to freak out"

"It's stuck to the turtle's back, gold necklace chain and all…" Ra noted.

"There are a lot of jewels stuck on its belly, too…" Sonoko peered into the tank and then deadpanned. "You were trying to display this 10 cm long decorated turtle in the Bell Tree Express First Class carriage?"

"Exactly!" And Jirokichi went to explain the security measures of the tank. "The aquarium's made from toughened glass. The back is a concrete wall that's two meter's thick! The top and the sides are metal mesh made from a special alloy and on top of that, his prey swims freely in the water… So even the so-called Moonlight Magician shouldn't be able to steal this one!" The man laughed while receiving unimpressed stares at his back from Conan and Masumi.

"Seems pretty poor taste, to me…" Masumi was mumbling. Tsukiko chuckled behind the girl and asked then:

"So, what exactly makes this turtle so special? Aside from the jewelry it's wearing?"

"There's actually a story behind this one." Jirokichi sobered from his cheery laughter. "I trust you've hear about this? The great Italian actress who died in an accident at sea about half a year ago. It is said that this is the turtle called Poseidon that she kept as pet. The owner of the Blush Mermaid was her, after all."

"But why would she put the jewel on her pet?" Ran asked worriedly.

"The story goes that she desperately stuck the jewels onto the turtle with glue just before the ship sank, in hope that the turtle alone would be saved and taken in by somebody! The jewels were both for breeding expenses and a sign of gratitude. The local fishermen found it floating in the water along with the tank. And that, by chance, then found its way into my hands!"

"Italian actress… Poseidon… Why not Neptune…" Tsukiko muttered with a frown. She didn't remember all the details of this backstory. Was it true at all? Well… Maybe she should just take a seat and let Kid and Red Moon to take the stage once again. Just watch how the things would turn out.

"But have you actually had the jewel appraised?" Sonoko sweatdropped.

"I tried… But the expert was bitten by the turtle during the appraisal." The girl's uncle explained sheepishly. "Well, the turtle is soppused to she its skin sometime between may and November… In truth, I wanted to wait until the turtle she its skin so that I could take the jewel to the expert for appraisal before I bought it. But I just couldn't wait…"

Cue more deadpanned looks from Conan.

After Nakamori had shooed the rest of the guests out of the museum and caused a scene by angering Masumi, Tsukiko took a look at her wrist watch. It was time to go. Silently she slipped into the crowd just when Kogoro arrived. There wasn't much people if any at the men's restroom of the first floor. And with appropriately ambiguous clothing, the girl managed to sneak in without anyone glancing twice in her direction.

When Tsukiko stepped into the stall, it was the moment Red Moon once again took over. The thief took forth a can of knockout gas from the shoulder bag that Tsukiko carried practically everywhere. It was basically trademark for the girl and no one questioned it. The woman was going to use the same method than Kaitou Kid had used during Golden Eye heist. She left the stall door slightly open so she could see when Masumi took the stall next to hers and locked the door. Moments passed. Finally the telltale flushing sound was heard as well as the zipper of the jeans. Immediately, Red Moon crouched down and sprayed the gas into the neighboring stall while making sure she didn't inhale any herself.

Thump.

Agilely, RM climbed over the stall wall and dropped down onto the now closed lid of the toilet seat since her unfortunate victim had slumped onto the floor. Swiftly, the female thief exchanged her clothes into the girl's and placed her sitting onto the toilet seat. With duct tape, Masumi was bound onto the seat itself and silenced.

"How did that saying go again? Silence is gold, duct tape is silver? From Mythbusters? Or somewhere else?" RM mused to herself while pulling on the mask and wig. It was lucky that Masumi's voice was similar enough for Tsukiko's that RM could mimic it without a voice changer since the outfit didn't allow her to cover her throat. Well, yes, Red Moon had practiced voices when she had a chance but it wasn't exactly easy because she didn't have constant access to the physical body. It was quite annoying frankly.

"Now…" She crouched down again and rifled through Tsukiko's bag that she was going to leave into the stall. The magnet was the only thing she needed. And Masumi's cellphone. It wouldn't do any good for it to ring and someone discovering the girl before the time. And Kid had his card gun already. "It's Showtime." Red Moon smirked, exiting the stall and discreetly locking it again from outside.

Red Moon met Kid coming out from the women's restroom. He decidedly wasn't looking at her. But at least his Tsukiko costume was once again spot on.

"Sera-san?" Kid asked then with Tsukiko's voice. It was relatively safe for him to use that way of addressing instead of 'Masumi-nee'. It allowed Conan to find the correct tips once again.

"Alright, Tsuki-chan?" RM asked back. It was a veiled question: 'Alright voice?'

"Alright." 'Tsukiko' nodded.

"Good to hear. Now let's go before all the excitement begins!" 'Masumi' grabbed her friend's wrist and practically dragged 'her' back to the exhibition room.

Minutes passed by. Cheering of the fans outside the museum just got louder and louder. RM and Kid stood next to Sonoko and Ran and Conan, with RM holding the magnet.

"The cheering for Kid is getting loud…" RM mused aloud.

"How many minutes do we have until Kid appears?" Sonoko asked Ran who then took out her flip phone.

"Er… Let's see… What?" The phone had a black screen so the karate champion went on her way to see what was going on with it, Conan following on her heels. Around the same time the strings hidden into the ceiling, walls and carpets began to reel into the mechanism hidden into the chandelier.

"Huh?" Sonoko blinked in surprise.

And the carpet was lifted up! It swept Sonoko, Kid and Red Moon with it and dragged Nakamori and Kogoro into the tank, smooching them against the glass.

Red Moon saw the turtle happily eating the food right at the magnetic placard on the tank before being dragged closer and getting stuck into the glue. She quickly positioned the magnet she had and with it, swept a circular motion against the glass, thus managing to hide the chain of the necklace behind the placard.

"Three."

"Two."

"One."

"Pon!"

And the carpet fell down. With it, everyone trapped inside were freed too. Red Moon hung onto the fold on the carpet before landing not so painlessly. The magnet was already hidden.

"Sonoko, Tsukiko-chan, Sera-san, are you alright?" Ran asked as she hurried to her friends.

"Never mind that, what about the jewel!?" RM shouted whilst grimacing in pain. No need to even pretend.

"Eh?" Conan turned to stare at the tank. Ran gaped too.

"You're joking…" The girl breathed. "I can't see it anywhere… Ah, but in the water… a card? 'The shy little mermaid has dissolved into foam and disappeared in my hands. Kaitou Kid'." Ran read aloud.

"He's referencing Andersen?" Was the first thing Kid-Tsukiko 'managed' to say. Since Conan already seemed to be suspecting European roots for the girl, what one clue more would do? So RM had instructed Kid to say it if appropriate. After all H.C. Andersen was the author of the original Little Mermaid story and he had been Danish. And if Tsukiko/RM were to guess not that many people remembered it because of the Disney version being so popular and having a different ending than the original story.

"The jewel has disappeared along with the turtle!?" Nakamori shouted. "That's not possible! Look for it! It's got to be here in the tank somewhere! Maybe in the shadow of a rock, or in the gravel!"

"Hm?" And there was the Kid-card at the feet of Advisor Suzuki. "Th-This is Kaitou Kid's…"

"What?"

"What does it say?" Conan asked.

Advisor read the entire card of small text in silence. Then…

"It says, 'I have taken the jewel. If you don't believe me, check!'."

"Wh-What!?" Nakamori seethed.

"Remove the locks on the aquarium mesh and bring a stepladder this instant! I shall check the tank myself!" Jirokichi shouted into his phone. And just scant few moments later the lid of the aquarium rose and the man climbed on the ladders to see himself where the turtle was. And found it right behind the placard.

"How is it, ojisama?" Sonoko asked worriedly.

"…"

"Is there turtle there, or isn't it? Which is it?" Nakamori asked nervous/angry sweatdrop.

"It's no use…" Jirokichi spoke once the turtle was safely removed from the tank and in his coat pocket. "It isn't there."

"Th-That's ridiculous!"

Behind everyone the security tried to keep the fans outside of the exhibition room. And then the cheers broke out outside the museum itself.

"Damn! Why the hell are they cheering on the criminal?" Nakamori gritted his teeth. RM smirked mentally.

"Maybe because he is a showman with charm? Someone to pull the impossible and very different from your average joe?"

Meanwhile Kogoro was reciting the specifics of the tank like a recap in the style of 'Previously, on Kaitou Kid Heist" like this was an episodic anime. No wait…

"How come you know all the detailed specs of the tank?" Nakamori glared at the private detective.

"It was on the news!" Kogoro deadpanned back.

"But hasn't this all been too well done?" Red Moon then asked as Masumi. "He'd planted all the strings in the carpet and set a winch in the ceiling light to pull them up!"

"Didn't you check them?" Nakamori growled at the taskforce.

"Er… Yes, sir… But we'd heard that the carpet and the light had both been changed a few days before the tank was to the exhibited here." One of the taskforce members replied.

"A few days before?"

"We redid the carpet because there was a visitor a few days ago who sprayed coke around everywhere." Jirokichi explained. Kaito you sneak! "But the worker from the interior design company suggested that we change the light to that it matched the color of the carpet. It seemed like a good opportunity for a spot of redecorating because we'd just moved all the artifacts from this room into another to make space for the tank, so I took up their offer. But now that I think of it, those two workers… Could have been…"

"What do you mean 'could have been'!? That was Kid with an accomplice!" Nakamori yelled at the old man. "They already knew that this was going to be the exhibition place!"

"Well, I'm not gonna stew over what's come to pass…" Jirokichi muttered while Red Moon discreetly reached at his cheek. She'd always wanted to do this… "I've lost this time! Let's withdraw! He's probably run far away from here by now…"

And pinch'n'pull!

"OWW, OWW, Oww, oww…"

"Or maybe that's what he's made it look like, when actually he's still here in the gallery?" It might seem counteractive to try and keep the culprits in the building but in the other hand, neither of them had the diamond. So in a sense Kid and RM both were relatively safe. They just needed to avoid Conan's scrutiny.

"W-What?"

"Because Kid always disappears into the darkness or under a smokescreen, right? But this time around the light's been on the whole time and he hasn't even shown himself. If Kid really did manage to steal the jewel with the turtle, then he should still be here. And the guards blocking the entrance aren't making any moves… In which case I'd really to pinch every person here, just like how I just did and find out if Kid is disguising himself as one of us or not."

"You wouldn't pinch my face Sera-san now, would ya? I've been with you almost the entire time." Kid-Tsukiko asked playfully. "Not to mention… Kid-kun has that pretty accomplice of his too, right? Red Moon? She probably is somewhere here too!"

"That's right… One of them should still have the turtle with the jewel so… Maybe we should split into groups and do some body searches. What do you think, Conan-kun?" Red Moon smiled down at the grade schooler.

"Ye-Yeah… I guess…" The boy smiled nervously like he did every time Masumi 'asked' his opinion.

So they split into the groups. The 'four teenage girls' together.

"What about we take youngest first and start with me?" Kid suggested, sending slightly meaningful look to Red Moon's direction. While the phantom thief did have slight bumps underneath the clothes of Tsukiko-disguise and there was no worry about being discovered that way, it could be better safe than sorry for RM to check him over. The problem in the other hand was the fact that Kid thought that Masumi was a boy, thus it would be through his eyes even weirder that 'Tsukiko' would let some guy grope her chest no matter how good of friends they were.

"Does that mean I'll be the last one?" RM asked instead, giving Conan the clue he needed to figure out the disguise even if he ended up shooting and missing.

"When you say that… What month were you born in, Sera-san?" Ran asked in confusion.

"More to the point, how come you know our exact ages?" Sonoko frowned.

"Sera-san is a detective…"

In the end, Ran tested Kid-Tsukiko and Sonoko, and Sonoko tested Ran and RM-Masumi. (And Sonoko did think that Red Moon was damn flat.) That way no males or alleged males touched girl chests. (A/N: I really think I've spent enough time with this topic.)

Police investigation continued. The taskforce discovered the winch, the wires, the recording of Kid's voice… The tank was emptied and checked thoroughly and the body searched finished. Even if Sonoko interrupted midway in Ran's search since she thought Kid was dressed up as the karate champion.

"Maybe Kid's escaped after all…" Red Moon spoke up again.

"He really is a mystery, isn't he? It's like magic how he vanished with the jewel." Ran spoke up.

"Speaking of magic, I saw a really similar trick to all this on TV the other day." Sonoko remembered. "They did it at the same time as the cola trick I showed you at lunch. The coin that the magician put nxt to a glass bottle, just suddenly slid through the glass and dropped into it! That trick, maybe it's got some connection with the method Kid used this time?"

"I bet you're right! Maybe you should tell Nakamori-keiji about that trick."

"…Having said that. If I told the Inspector you'd be in trouble! Wouldn't you, Kid, my darling? " The rich girl whispered to her best friend.

"Huh? No, you're wrong! I'm…"

"Shhh…! I'll keep it quiet for you… Because I saw you earlier! It was just before the carpet rolled up. You sneaked away from us. That was because you knew the carpet was going to roll up and you were trying to avoid getting wrapped up, right?"

"N… No! That was because you asked me what the time was, and when I tried to check it on my phone my screen was all black…"

"Really?" And Conan joined into the conversation. RM tuned herself off and turned to talk with Kid.

"Alright, Tsuki?" She asked. Status report.

"Alright." He smiled back. "I guess Tantei…-chan, is close to the truth of this case." They turned to look just when Conan dashed to Jirokichi to ask if the clasp of the gold chain of the jewel was rusty. It was. Red Moon had seen it herself.

"I think I'll need to go and check with our poor victim…" The young woman whispered then. It was also a good opportunity to get rid of the magnet.

"I can't believe it…" Red Moon muttered. "They actually let me go… Maybe it was because of the body search."

She waited until the two guys even the mangapanels had showed had left before slipping into the toilet.

"Mmm… mmm… mmm…" It was faint but when RM was right in front of the stall, she could hear it. The female thief slipped into the stall next to the 'prison' and climbed up to peek over the wall.

"Why hello, Masumi-chan." The high school detective's head snapped up. Her eyes widened for a moment before narrowing into a glare. "Now, now, that's not very nice…"

"Mmmmh!"

"I know, I know…" Red Moon sighed. "You are pissed at me right now. Believe me when I say that it was better I took this disguise than Kid-sensei. And no, I'm not going to release you just yet. I bet with some more time you can manage to free yourself just fine." The young woman eyed at the duct tape that was already slightly peeled off at the edge. "I just came to retrieve this…" With a hook and fishing line, RM grabbed the strap of Tsukiko's bag and lifted it up from the stall. It was a small thing that was unnoticeable in the pocket. And something that Kid had ignored during the body searches. "See ya!"

Conan aimed… and missed. Sonoko slumped against the tank. Alright, it was partly Ran's fault but really who cared? At least Kogoro would get a break for once. Besides Sonoko had been quite smart and observant during this whole case. So it wasn't unnatural for her to solve this case.

"Are you alright? Sonoko-neechan!" Conan asked worriedly. And the deduction show began. "I'm fine! Everybody here was just being so cowardly, it went to my head and I got really dizzy. Nobody's noticed that the turtle carrying the red diamond, the 'Blush Mermaid', on its back wasn't stolen but it was just made to vanish out of sight!"

"Vanish out of sight?" Nakamori questioned.

"That's right… For proof of that… Hey, squirt! Show 'em!" And there was a transition back into a kid. "Got it! Hey, Kogoro-ojisan, have you got a lighter?"

"Yeah, but it's a cheap little 100 yen thing…" The currently not-sleeping detective showed the thing he dug from his pocket.

"Can you try dropping the lighter into the tank right above here?" Conan pointed the placard.

"Jeez, how is this gonna help us understand anything…" The lighter fell. And then it didn't. "Huh? What? It didn't fall…" Kogoro climbed on the stepladders to take a look over the edge of the aquarium. "What… What just happened? It's stuck… How?"

"A magnet." Red Moon spoke up. Honestly, why not use the exact lines Kid had used as Masumi in the original manga? "That plate is a really strong magnet, isn't it? That type of 100 yen lighter has its sparker wrapped in iron, doesn't it?"

"But even if this is a magnet, that doesn't help solve the mystery of how the turtle vanished." Kogoro pointed out.

"He's got a point." Nakamori echoed the sentiment. "It's not like that turtle would stick to a magnet and the ornamentation surrounding the jewel had a gold necklace. Gold isn't attracted to magnets. The only thing that would stick would be the necklace clasp…"

"Oh yeah, there was a lot stuck to the turtle's belly as well…" Conan was back in the game as Sonoko.

"Oh, come on… Those were diamonds!" Kogoro felt the need to point out. Logical in a way.

"If those were all synthetic diamonds, maybe they would stick to the magnet? Because when you make synthetic diamonds, sometimes the iron in the solvent is taken into the crystal as an inclusion."

"Inclusion?" And Nakamori was baffled. As the head investigator when it came to Kid, maybe he should read into gem lore a bit more. Could help him quite a bit when unravelling Kid's tricks.

"Wow, Sonoko!" Ran cheered.

"Anyhow, the turtle was swimming in the tank, so it was impossible to hold it in place simply by magnetism. But I'm sure that plate had enough strength to at least attract it!" The explanation continued.

"Attract it?"

"That was all that was needed! Right? Kogoro-ojisama? Tell them what happened to the lighter…"

"It's not just a magnet… The glass on the back of the plaque is covered in glue. If the turtle got stuck on this it wouldn't be able to move." The private detective made his observations.

"But how did he get the turtle up towards the plaque?" Nakamori frowned.

"With food." Kid-Tsukiko spoke up. "Some iron dust mixed into the turtle's feed and spread around the back of the placard and voila! Dinner is served. After all turtles have quite the good sense of smell which would've lured it right to the trap. And the device used to spread the feed was most likely hidden in the chandelier just like all the other contraptions of the day."

"Exactly. Everything was set into motion when the carpet covered up the tank." Conan continued. "The length of the turtle is around ten centimeters. A plaque of that size would've easily allowed the turtle to hide behind is without being seen."

"That would mean that Kid's accomplices were mixed in with the workers who made the tank." Jirokichi mused aloud. "Just as expected of the moonlight magician. He's very good."

"This isn't the time to be praising him…" Nakamori sweat dropped right before the realization creeped in. "Hm? Wait a minute… If the turtle's supposed to be stuck on the back of the plaque why isn't it there now!? We drained all the water and searched it from end to end!"

"Maybe someone removed it." 'Tsukiko' spoke up again. "Someone who got his cheeks pinched to be shown he wasn't in disguise and thus escaped the body search. Someone who never left this room during the heist time… Someone who went to check the turtle before the tank was drained… Isn't that right, Suzuki Jirokichi-san?"

"That's right. Jirokichi-ojisama could have removed the turtle that had been stuck to the glass and hidden it in the inside pocket of his jacket. It would've been hidden by ojisama's body and unseen by everyone behind him." Conan-Sonoko continued.

"If that's so, let's take a look!" Nakamori went to check and… "Ouch!" The turtle bit his finger.

"Ah!" Ran exclaimed. "It's the turtle! I'm glad it's alright…"

Faintly, Red Moon could feel Tsukiko expressing her desire to have a turtle as a pet. It wasn't by words though, merely a feeling.

When Nakamori was attacking the supposed mask on Jirokichi's face, Conan picked up the explanation again. Quite wordy explanation at that.

"Is she right?" Nakamori asked the advisor skeptically.

"A-Aye.. This is the card. It's mostly as Sonoko says." Jirokichi retrieved the card and showed it to the Inspector.

"So that's why you kept telling us to wrap things up…"

"I kinda felt sorry for the turtle I put my money into…"

"I really want that turtle. He is cute…" Tsukiko thought.

"He?" Red Moon send back with a hint of amusement in her voice.

"Just a feeling…"

And then? What happened to Kid?" Kogoro asked 'Sonoko'.

"All the devices could be triggered by remote control. He probably carried out all his operations mixed in amongst the crowd pushing around at the entrance. Maybe he's skipping home tonight looking smug about himself…" Conan answered. And thus the case faded to its conclusion. Or did it?

"But you're amazing Sonoko! Nice to see the Deduction Queen back in action again!" Ran gushed.

"Well, yeah!" Sonoko sweat dropped. It must be frustrating… To have things happen and others praise you about something you didn't remember.

"Could you wait for me?" Ran dashed forward.

"If it's a loo trip, I'm coming too!" Sonoko hurried after her friend. A moment of silence passed. Kid-Tsukiko went to lean against the wall between windows while Red Moon looked down at the boy.

"But don't you think your deduction from earlier was a little incomplete?"

"Eh?" Conan blinked.

"Even if you could hide the turtle behind the plaque with that trick, the long necklace on the jewel would've been dangling in the water. You would be able to see it behind the plaque…"

"Kid himself probably had a strong magnet as well. Maybe he used that to attract the necklace chain that was seen around the plaque and twisted the magnet upwards so that the necklace was hidden behind the plaque, too."

"But when did he do such thing?"

"Obviously during the time when the tank was covered up by the carpet! He probably shot the card at Jirokichi's feet during that time, too. The people wrapped up in the carpet were all tangled up, so if Kid was amongst them, whatever strange move he made wouldn't have looked suspicious at all."

"I… I see…"

"As evidence of that, Ran-neechan' phone want black as soon as she opened it right? Clam shell phones like that detect if they're open or closed by using a magnet. That means there was somebody next to Ran carrying a strong magnet at the time. Maybe Ran-neechan's phone sensed the magnetic force and the screen stayed off because it thought it was closed."

"But the person next to Ran-chan at the time was…" RM 'thought' aloud while Kid dug out Tsukiko's cellphone and opened the camera app. Funnily enough Samsung A5 didn't need its lock screen open for it to take pictures with.

"Me, and Sonoko-neechan, and Tsukiko-neechan, and you, Kaitou Kid."

"How did you work that one out?" RM smiled and shifted her weight on her left feet. Kid had by now stopped leaning against the wall and was readying to take the picture.

"The keyword was the magnet." Conan explained proudly. "Because the one closest to Ran when she opened her phone was you, you were holding the magnet in your left hand then, weren't you? And this trick wouldn't work unless you pinched Jirokichi's cheek to start with, then split everyone off into groups for the body searches. At the end though, it was because of that body check that I worked out you were Kid."

"Hm…? How so?" She could just barely restrain her smile. Iron Tanuki had been a fluke since Conan hadn't expected Red Moon to impersonate the maid and Kid to the Tsukiko. Now he knew the trick though. He shouldn't fall into it again. Yet…

"The reason why you thought you were older than they were, was because you thought 'Sera' was a boy from the year above, right? Usually they'd call a boy from the same year either by his name or with a 'kun' not 'Sera-san' even Tsukiko-neechan…" Conan paused suddenly, a thought occurring to him. During this case, Tsukiko had called 'Masumi' Sera-san, not Masumi-nee like she'd been doing for a while. "No way…" With wide eyes he looked up at 'Tsukiko' and 'Masumi'. Kid-Tsukiko snapped a photo on his face.

"Pin-pon, tantei-chan!" Red Moon grinned. "You fell for it again!"

"And you tricked me, Tsuki-chan." Kid pouted. "I honestly though that disguise was a boy yet you…"

"I did deliberate mistakes. Think about it! I played the role of Kaitou Kid in the role of Sera Masumi. This has been the most fun I've had in ages!"

"Ahem, anyways…" The tiny detective composed himself. "You helped us out on the Bell Tree Express, and you haven't stolen anything this time… So I'll look over for it today. I will, at least."

"Huh? 'I will'?" Kid frowned. Right then Red Moon ducked the kick aimed at her face, letting Kid receive it instead. She somersaulted gracefully backwards though and out of the range of the irate Jeet Kune Do wielder. She landed on a crouch and grinned gleefully at Kid's downed form.

"You are getting rusty, Kid-sensei!" She giggled, her voice on the Red Moon pitch instead of Masumi's or Tsukiko's. It was another easy one. "First you didn't see through my deception and now she got to surprise you. I mean, she was even slower than tantei-chan's footballs!"

"You! You bastard!" Masumi raged, dressed only in her underwear. "How dare you even try to knock me out with sleeping gas!"

"Sera-san, you underwear, your underwear!" Ran was hurrying towards the tomboy with a towel on her hands. Where did she even get that?

"Full display!" Sonoko giggled behind her friend. But that distraction was more than enough. Kid threw down a smoke bomb and escaped through the nearby window. Red Moon in the other hand made a swift change of attire into a pair of denim shorts, a violet t-shirt, black mid-calf boots and a baseball cap thrown over her blonde wig pulled on a tight bun at the base of her neck. It had been relatively easy in her disguise to use her own hair and shape it like Masumi's. Especially when some of it could be hidden underneath the hat.

It required some more acrobatics to avoid the remaining security but Red Moon played it on insanity that was Kid-fans. Even her cap and t-shirt were fan merchandise. On the way she snatched her bag from its new hiding place behind one fake plant and then ran outside. Glancing behind, she could see Tsukiko's friends still by the window. And glancing up, she could just see the outline of Kid's handglider. And inside her bag, a cellphone was ringing.

"Huh?" The woman slowed her run into a jog and eventually stopped by a park bench in the shadow of a tree. She dug around the bag, looking for the culprit to the noise. It wasn't any of Tsukiko's cellphones. Moreover, Kaito still had the girl's personal phone. Business phone in the other hand was currently safely tucked away in the drawer at Jodie's apartment. The spare phone RM did have, but that was only on vibration.

Locating the infernal device, the thief had to blink in shock. It was Masumi's.

"Did I...? I emptied my pockets to Tsukiko's bag… and forgot I still had this." Red Moon bit her lip, pondering what she should do. The screen said that 'Mama' was calling. From the relatively recent files that Tsukiko had read, RM deducted it meant the Mystery Child, Mary. The very same that appeared on the lock screen picture now visible. With a sigh, she pressed the answer button. It wouldn't do good for a mother to worry.

"Moshi, moshi?" RM answered, pitching her voice back to the form.

"Masumi? Are you already on your way back?" A slightly hoarse voice asked, before coughing a couple of time.

"Un. The heist stretched a bit but everything turned out okay! I'll be on my way now. I just say bye to my friends. They are waiting for me over there."

"What about the boy? Was he there too?"

"Yes. Found all the clues as usual. Solved the magic behind the case like a true wizard!"

"Still going on about the wizard, Masumi?" Mary sighed.

"Hm, yeah…" RM suffled her feet, like she was embarrassed. "But I'll keep my guard though, don't worry mama."

"Just come back already."

"Yes, see you soon!"

The call ended then and Red Moon let out a sigh of relief. It went better than expected. But now she had another problem.

How to get the phone back to Masumi without blowing her cover?

A/N: That phone call honestly came behind a tree for me. I hope it sounds somewhat belieable though. With Mary and all...

Anyhow, there is something I want to say about Red Moon's abilities. She is good. She is very good at what she does. True, her skills doesn't reach Kaitou Kid's yet but it's entirely possible she can eventually do it. This doesn't however mean that Tsukiko can do that. They share a body. Something is in the muscle memory. But they are not the same person. Not anymore. Same goes for Kage. They are a good shot and much better at hand-to-hand combat than Tsukiko. If Tsukiko were to train herself, she could do a lot too but she is sort of keeping a low profile and keeping a track on the plot. As you could see from this chapter, Red Moon doesn't actively follow it. Neither does Kage, only concentrates on the relevant chapters. And I know the ablities of Kage and Red Moon came sort of out of nowhere, but in the other hand, neither of them are exactly natural born either.

Replies to reviews:

-Zeladious:
Nice to see you again here. :)
Hisashi?
And yeah, Red Moon is on the stage now! She'll appear also in the next chapter.

-AnnaMariaNordlade:
Thank you. I'm not sure yet if she is in that case. Though it is a long time until then. We'll see. :)

-Grace F:
I'm glad that you've picked this up again then. Sorry I've taken so long to update.
I'll try to keep updating semi regurlarly. Though my school has just started and I have many other fics that I'd like to continue. Online games are murder for my free time though...
I enjoyed their interractions immensely. And there will be questions that Conan will ask but there will be a 'explanation' for it too. I don't know about the memory stuff just yet. I will think about it.

-tokyoghoul234:
You are welcome. There wasn't that much of 'Tsukiko' in this case really. But I think Red Moon is a good substitute, yeah?

-Tsuki:
You are welcome. I'm thinking about updating Dawn and Dusk relatively soonish. Dunno when though.

-PurpleSnow10:
Ah, a new reader. Welcome. You began just at a good time since I have this chapter ready now. I hope you like it. And yeah, Amuro is awesome.

()

Alright. Even thought you guys are all hyped up now, I think I'm going to update either Leap or some other fic now. Because the next chapter has : Movie in it and it takes time.

But as usual, review are welcome even when I'm not updating!

Oh, oh! And you guys know what? We got over 300 review on this fic now!