Ladies and gentlemen! I humbly welcome you to the fourteenth chapter of this story!
Please enjoy and review!
On Thursday's evening Kaito found himself again strolling around the Hakone Open-Air Museum. The heist would start in just a few hours but if he were to be honest, he wasn't feeling any more confident about it than he was on Sunday. He came earlier to set everything up and hopefully find out what his adversaries were up to. Unfortunately, up until now he found no traces of Snake or anyone suspicious and what he saw from the police only served to worry him further.
He was so nervous that he was tempted to cancel the heist all together but as he learned during the Red Tear heist that wasn't the best idea (1)... All he could do was hope that the crowd had discouraged the organization and that they wouldn't show up after all.
Subconsciously he avoided a child that was about to collide with him. He raised his gaze and looked over the densly packed crowd, strolling around the museum grounds. Despite people trying to be conscious of their surroundings, the place was buzzing with constant murmurs and children laughing or screaming. It was a stark contrast to how tranquil the scene was when he visited with Aoko.
The memory brought a soft smile to his face that brightened his otherwise tired expression. For now he was disguised as an around fifty year old man, dressed in a cheap yet neat, dark suit with a matching hat. To finish the look of an everyday businessman and add a little bit of personality to his look, he added a small, well trimmed mustache and thinly framed, low hanging glasses.
Having reached his designated bench he let out a tired huff and sat down. From the spot he had a very nice view of the surrounding forest, giving him the opportunity to admire the warmth of daylight as the sun set behind the mountain. The weather was still nice, although the forecast warned about strong winds at night. Not that it mattered much. He didn't intend on using his glider tonight.
He knew that he didn't really have the time to be wasting it like this but he figured that it would do him good to try and relax, even if just for a moment, and gather his racing thoughts before everything turned hectic.
Having debated it for a while, he eventually decided on sending a note via a dove earlier today to Saguru as KID. In it, he promised to meet with him during the weekend in hopes that it would be enough to appease the detective and prevent him from doing something drastic during the heist. He didn't really like the idea, since it was hard to predict if he would be in shape to do so but he figured that his convenience was less important than not having to deal with a dragon during the heist. The downside was that he wouldn't know if it worked until something happened. So far it didn't seem like the blonde was anywhere on the museum grounds, so he tried to remain hopeful. However, Kaito couldn't shake the feeling that it wouldn't be the case and sooner rather than later he would be seeing the golden dragon looming right above him.
He couldn't help but feel sick to his stomach just thinking about it…
His thoughts were cut short by a familiar voice calling out from the netting of the interactive sculpture inside the Woods of Net. "Ai-chan! Conan-kun! Come on, you're missing out on all the fun!"
Brought back to reality, he held back a smile and allowed his gaze to slip over very familiar three figures of two children and a rather chubby, elderly man, as they reacted to the call. The group was actually the main reason why Kaito chose this very bench to sit on. While he was usually more than happy to let his smallest critic do as he pleased during his heists (even though that more often than not lead Conan far too close to catching him), he didn't think that it would be wise to do so this time. The last thing Kaito needed now was a loose cannon running blindly around and causing havoc.
Meanwhile Conan, seemingly unaware about being observed, looked up from his phone in the direction of the Detective Boys and called something back to them in an annoyed tone. He was obviously more interested in the conversation he was having with the other two than acting like the child he was supposed to be, which amused Kaito further.
He figured that it was probably time to give him a little more to think about. Kaito reached into his inner pocket and took out a telescopic, white cane. He twirled it between his fingers, unfolding it and tapped its tip over the ground. At the same time he shifted his pose, straightening his shoulders and raising his head to give himself a more confident look. A small smirk played on his lips as he raised his playful gaze towards the group and reached to his hat to fix it so that it would shade his eyes a little.
Both of the shrunken teens must have felt or somehow noticed his movement, as they quickly turned to him for a moment, their stance shifting in an instant. Ai looked startled but Conan quickly comforted her with a hand over her shoulder. They exchanged some words that Kaito couldn't quite make out with the professor before the boy broke off from the group and started walking to him with an annoyed expression. The other two looked at them for a moment longer before leaving to join the children.
Kaito kept following them with his gaze even when Conan sat on the bench beside him, glaring holes in him. "And what do you think you're doing here?" he grumbled eventually in lieu of greeting.
"Enjoying the weather obviously~" Kaito replied cheerfully, without bothering to shift his voice into a more fitting one and finally looked at the boy with a grin, "I think you're getting rusty~ Took you long enough to notice me~"
He didn't hold back an amused snort when he saw annoyance on his adversary's face and twirled the cane in between his fingers. Smoothly, he switched it for a black one, making it seem like it changed colors. He was rewarded with a small frown on Conan's face, who's gaze was lured by the movement.
"Show off. You just switched the canes," he stated with an unimpressed expression.
It's not like he expected to stump the detective with such a basic sleight of hand but he still couldn't help himself from teasing him. "So where's the second one~?"
His eyebrow twitched. "You didn't come to show me some lame tricks. Better tell me why shouldn't I call the police on you instead?"
Kaito purposely made a thoughtful expression and leaned over his cane, his gaze turning to scour around the crowd. "Well, it would be quite troublesome if you did…" he mumbled and made a pause before turning to Conan with a sly smirk and finishing in a menacing tone. "For you, that is."
The faux-child's expression turned serious and he scooped in closer. "So I was right that there aren't any undercover officers around?" he asked with a hushed tone.
Kaito hummed affirmatively, privately glad to see his reaction that betrayed trust. "Aside from the few museum guards, who are rather focused on keeping the children from hurting themselves or damaging the interactive sculptures, there are only eight officers on the grounds I believe. All of which should be around the Main Gallery currently."
Conan's eyes widened in shock. "And I'm guessing that's not your doing?"
He gave him an amused grin. "Do you honestly believe I would stop halfway if I decided to make the police vanish~?"
Conan didn't reply to it and instead looked away, gazing into the void and promoting his chin, thinking. They both knew that, if anything, KID made more police show up. There was usually at least a squadron present. Sometimes there wasn't a need for so many but despite the Main Gallery being a relatively small building, eight people weren't enough to keep it secure. It was barely enough to cover the display room. Kaito supposed that if Ginzo really wanted he could station two people outside to keep an eye on who came and left the building but that would be useless against KID.
"If it's not you then who would benefit from there being less security..?" he asked slowly.
"Ah~ Ain't this the question for a detective to answer?" he sighed regretfully, "Although I think you might want to give this one a pass."
Conan frowned, giving him a sharp look, denial evident on his face, as he opened his mouth to voice it but Kaito continued calmly, efficiently cutting him off.
"You have people who need protection this time around, don't you?" He turned to look towards the netting and smirked in amusement seeing Genta's legs wiggling about, as he tried to squirm himself out of a tight spot. "They can be quite the handful, right? Just like their mentor~" he said with a sideways smirk directed at Conan and added a little more seriously, "Though I doubt they can be just as resourceful as you…"
He followed his gaze but only tightened his lips and looked back at him. "You know what's going on."
That sounded very much like an accusation but it only amused Kaito further. "It's nothing I can't handle~" he replied cheerfully. After all, he couldn't really tell him too much, or he risked the pint-sized detective getting too involved. Besides… Kaito found messing with him just too fun to pass.
Conan's lip twitched in annoyance but suddenly he closed his mouth before he could say what he wanted and deepened his frown. "Do you expect King's Sky to be what you're looking for?"
Kaito felt a chill run down his spine. This guy was just too sharp. Just how much did he manage to figure out already? "Who knows? Although I doubt it," he added with a sudden surge of honesty. Even with the whole dragon shenanigans he still wasn't sure if Pandora, in the way it was described, really existed. "Still, it's something you should consider to sit out, Meitantei."
"KID…" Conan growled out in annoyance, which made Kaito chuckle.
"I find it touching that you worry for me so much but I assure you that I can handle myself, Meitantei~" he said with amusement but continued in a more serious tone. "I might, however, have my hands full and thus unable to look out for others. Which is why I would greatly appreciate it if you took care of your friends this time."
Conan opened his mouth and closed it again. He looked towards the kids and sighed. He turned back towards Kaito, who was silently observing him. "Tell me this then - does all of this have to do with Hakuba?"
That threw Kaito off the loop and he blinked a couple of times not bothering to hide his surprise. "Why would you think so?"
Because yes, Saguru was a problem and had the potential to complicate today's heist more if he showed up but he was far from the main concern Kaito had right now.
Conan shrugged, closely watching him for any other cracks in his poker face. "He was acting weird during the last heist and so were you..." He made a pause, seemingly refraining from saying more but Kaito could probably guess what he meant. In the end, being the son of the Superintendent General Saguru had the ability to influence the number of officers dispatched to a heist. "What was that all about then?"
Kaito would be lying if he said that he wasn't tempted to share at least a little of his worries with the shrunken detective. Not for the first time, as silly as it was, he felt some kind of kinship with him. It was just too easy and tempting to give him tidbits and tips about the man behind the monocle and see what he did with it. He entertained the thought of sharing some scaly tips for a moment before dismissing it. In the end, Conan was probably the last person he would share this particular secret with.
It was a pity though.
Suddenly feeling a surge of loneliness, he sighed and shrugged. "Who knows? More importantly, why does it interest you so much?" he glanced at him, spreading his lips in a grin. "You didn't think that you are the only detective I speak with from time to time? Are you maybe feeling jealous, Meitantei~?"
Conan shot him a flat glare. "Idiot…" he seemed to want to say something else but failing to find the right words, he just looked away.
Kaito couldn't help a soft chuckle escaping him, while he reached into his pocket with one hand and to his hat with the other, leaning it down over his eyes. "Ah~ It's so nice to know that you cherish me so much~! I'm touched!" He bowed slightly.
Growling angrily Conan stomped his foot on the ground and was about to say something, when Kaito pressed the button, startling the boy and making him turn around to look at the loud fireworks. The moment the detective was distracted, Kaito jumped over the bench and hid behind people there. He leaned his shoulders down and slipped through the crowd.
As fun as the conversation was, he had a heist to hold. At least now he wouldn't have to worry about his smallest critic jumping head first into danger and dragging Kaito along with him. At the very least the guy knew now to be careful.
(1) manga: Volume 4: Chapter 2, anime: TV Special The Secret of the Red Tear
Since you've gotten this far into the story I would like to ask you to leave a comment before clicking away :D I would greatly appreciate it!
Hope to see you next chapter *bows*
