Ladies and gentlemen! I humbly welcome you to the sixteenth chapter of this story!
My deepest apologies for taking so long to post the chapter. Sadly Covid got me and it's kind of troublesome to breathe lately...
But, without further ado...
Please enjoy and review!
As the night slowly claimed the land underneath the sky, lights were lit to disperse the darkness. The lights on the grounds of an open air museum looked like shining gemstones, however the scene was far from being tranquil. Despite the fflate hour, the place was filled with visitors and was buzzing with constant conversations, laughter and shouts. In the midst of that was a female television reporter with a small crew.
"For the viewers who just joined us, we're broadcasting live from Hakone Open Air Museum! Tonight, according to his notice Kaitou 1412, better known as Kaitou KID, is going to attempt to steal the King's Sky sapphire!" The woman had to pause, smiling, as the cheers around her gained in volume and people waved behind her at the camera to be seen better. "As you can see, the atmosphere here is astounding! Everybody is eagerly waiting for the one and only mysterious Magician Under the Moonlight! But will he even appear? Some argue that the fireworks not long ago were a sign that KID had already entered the premises. But if so, it's still unknown why would he want to announce it. Is it a challenge? Who could it be directed at? We have an expert at the studio who…" she continued rambling on, as some decided on staying to argue in favor of their idol and some just walking away, as they lost interest.
The museum grounds were filled with people busy within their groups, walking around or settling to sit somewhere. All waiting and hoping for something to happen soon and barely anyone paid any attention to a lonesome female figure sitting on a bench nearby the very crowded Main Gallery.
Suddenly, there were fireworks, again. This time, however, it was not a singular blast. Instead there were a myriad of colorful lights brightening the sky at the southernmost end of the museum grounds. People murmured in confusion, until chanting reached them. The distant cheering made it obvious that the Kaitou KID had been sighted. The uproar, obviously caused by seeing a landing kaitou, were more prominent as well. They pushed people to start rushing towards the site.
Undivided with whoever adored the thief and who did not, all were united in wanting to see him. But there was no one organizing the crowd. Some wanted to reach the Picasso Pavilion, where he was apparently sighted, some wanted to reach higher grounds to have the best view of all and lastly some, figuring that KID would be headed to the Main Gallery, wanted to do their best to get into or around that building.
It was pure chaos and in the midst of it the lonesome female vanished from her bench and was nowhere to be seen anymore.
Inside the Main Gallery, the few officers did their best to bring order around them but they were poorly outmatched by the excited fans around them. The two, stationed at the entrances, had it the worst, as people were pushing in both directions - some wanting to get out of the building to see the fireworks and some wanting to get inside in anticipation for the thief. One of the officers, Yasuki Tono, just barely managed to take a deep breath, in preparation to continue shouting out to people around them to keep calm when he felt a tap on his shoulder. He turned around with an angered frown on his face.
"What?" he barked, as he saw a pair of laughing eyes, staring back at him.
In the split second he noticed that the person was wearing white gloves and was covering their mouth with a handkerchief with one hand and holding a spray can with the other. Directed right at him. Before he could react, the person pressed the can, releasing pink gas. His knees buckled underneath him, as the person grabbed him under his shoulder and shoved him under a pillar, pulling something from his belt. Right before he lost consciousness he thought he heard a familiar, silky voice in midst the excited shouts:
"Sweet dreams~"
People moved away, seeing the officer let out a quiet moan before getting swirled away from his post and collapsing at a nearby pillar. At the same time, where he stood before, there was a stream of smoke facing upwards. Somebody shouted from excitement as they thought they saw a glimpse of white fabric at its center, right before the overhead lights blew up in sparks, plunging the interior in darkness. At the exact same time two more smoke columns erupted at the both entrance and exit, making people flinch away letting go of the door that slammed shut and on the outside cans of paint sprung from above the windows and sprayed the glass black, plunging the interior in darkness and blocking the view from outside.
The remaining officers swiftly put on their gas masks but it was futile. They strained their eyes, as they heard the unmistakable sound of the cape fluttering above the excited crowd when all were suddenly blinded with a bright flash. People inside were shouting in confusion and those outside banging on the glass, struggling to see what was going on inside, making it nearly impossible to hear the whisper of two cards for each officer being shot in rapid succession. One precisely cutting the straps, the other yanking the gas mask away from the shocked and confused officers. Next thing they knew, their eyes stung a little and they were starting to feel dizzy and slumping over.
The last man standing was Nakamori Ginzo, who at the time was stationed at the entrance. Thanks to that he still held onto his gas mask and was now struggling to push through people who were falling unconscious around him, so he could reach the main chamber. As the voices inside turned into even breaths, he became more aware of the quiet hiss of the gas coming from the ventilations. Not for the first time that night, he cursed the lack of manpower, remembering wanting to recheck those before sunset but dismissing it in order not to lessen the security.
As he crossed the threshold, he pulled out his flashlight and directed the beam towards the pedestal. Although unsurprised, he froze in shock as the light reflected from the pristine white suit and cape of the thief standing on top of it. However the light didn't help, as his face didn't need the cover of his signature top hat. It was hidden behind a police-issued gas mask, which he must have stolen from one of Ginzo's men.
"KID! Freeze!" he shouted out of reflex, despite not having any means to enforce his order.
"Sorry inspector~ Maybe next time?"
Because of the mask disrupting his voice Ginzo must have misheard, because KID's voice sounded wishful before there was a blinding flash of light that forced him to look away. But by the time he could see again the white clad man was gone. He blinked a couple of times to chase away the afterimages and started looking around, combing the room with his flashlight, already knowing that it was in vain. The thief was already gone, however there was something white reflecting the light of his flashlight left on the pedestal.
Curiously, Ginzo carefully walked over and when he got closer he noticed that it was a piece of paper secured to the glass with a small piece of tape. As he reached it, he noticed that it was a handwritten note from KID:
Dear Nakamori-keibu,
Regretfully, I must admit that I was severely disappointed with the lack of challenge. Today I have made an exception because I wanted to show that such a level of security will not do anything to stop me. It doesn't matter how devoted or determined the few, underequipped officers will be. In the future, I won't show up at all and might even reconsider leaving preemptive heist notices. What's the point when I can't expect a fair challenge?
Please do treat me seriously.
Yours truly,
Kaitou KID
To say that Ginzo was surprised would be an understatement. The note sounded too much like a threat to be taken lightly. And there was precedence… KID had in fact once refused to hold an announced heist when the conditions did not suit him 1). And on top of that he was known to act out of his modus operandi, causing more property damage than necessary, when he was annoyed by people trying to usurp him 2). While unlikely, it was on the cards that he could simply start stealing without notices, which this note suggested or even stop returning his spoils. But it's not like Ginzo could really do anything with this.
Which just maybe, considering the sneaky bastard was the whole point…
After all, this note could not be directed towards Ginzo at all, but towards the higher ups instead, who refused to provide the support necessary for today's heist. It's not like they could afford to simply ignore the note, especially if it reached the press. And KID was very likely to deliver it himself if it wasn't published officially. Which, funnily enough, made it a gift for Ginzo.
The question was why would KID want that? It couldn't be just for the thrill of the chase… Ginzo believed that he knew the thief well enough to know at least that.
As he wondered about it, he heard somebody grumble on the ground, so he quickly looked over there and noticed some people stirring awake and that's when he noticed that the hiss of gas from the vents had been replaced with the humm of fresh air being pumped from the outside. At the same time he heard the doors at both ends being opened and voices of shocked and disappointed people who were locked outside gaining in volume.
Ginzo sighed in annoyance and turned off his flashlight. The heist was over and with the lack of people standing he had no means to block the two exits, making the escape easy for KID. If he hadn't left already, that is. As he leaned down to help a person at his feet get up, he heard the blasted fireworks going off somewhere on the museum grounds, most likely marking the end of the event for the onlookers.
As he tried to regain his composure and order his waking up men to help people out he couldn't help but feel unsettled. It wasn't only about how KID acted and the note he left but everything about this heist felt off. He knew that it wouldn't be the same the moment he was unexpectedly denied backup but the way everything went down made him sure that something was terribly wrong. Things seemed to be changing behind Ginzo's back. And worst was that he had no idea what he could do to stop it.
1) Kaitou Kid's Teleportation Magic: Detective Conan manga Volume 61: chapter 634, anime: (Magic Kaito 1412) episode 21, (Detective Conan) episode 515 (previously 563),
2) Christmas Eve - Two Kaitou Kids: Magic Kaito manga: Volume 3: Chapter 1 (14), anime: episode 12
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Hope to see you next chapter *bows*
