This one is shorter than the other two, but it also wasn't planned... I just wanted to let them be happy at the end since up until now the story was entirely just Kaito panicking.
Kaito was late...
"Ah, there you are," Saguru says as I approach, "I've never known you to be more than five minutes late before. What happened?"
He seems concerned. Of course he is. I even show up at the scheduled time for heists when I have the flu after all. He's probably assuming the worst.
"Sorry, nothing big. I just got a bit too caught up in deciding what to wear today," I chuckle, giving a little spin so he can take a look, "It came out nice, right?"
I had ended up settling on beige skirt, and a light blue blouse, a bit of make-up to give my face a 'natural' feminine look, and a wig with fluffy curls the same colour as my natural hair. Of course, I'm quite the perfectionist so I was wearing suitable underwear too, a matching white bra and panties set, the bra lightly stuffed to match a B-cup. It was quite the cute look, if I do say so myself. I could probably be a beauty influencer if I tried.
"Ah, so you were just being vain and lost track of the time... kidding," He smiles, "... You look lovely as always, Kaito."
"Thanks!~" I grin.
"You know, there are already all kinds of rumours spreading about me being some kind of womanizer, since you show up looking so different every date..." He gives an amused chuckle.
We'd been dating for about a year now, and while I don't share his feelings it's still fun to be around him and to see him happy. I'm sure I probably would have felt pretty similar to this if I had ended up dating Aoko like I had originally expected, but being with Saguru let me be honest about a lot of things that I'm pretty sure would have hurt Aoko.
As far as the press was concerned Saguru had seemed to start dating girls without ever really commiting to one, that was definitely my fault but it couldn't be helped, I was dating a celebrity detective, how was I supposed to decide what kind of style to go with. There was even a somewhat troubling hidden page on the Hakuba Suguru fan-site devoted to trying to figure out who these girls that had dated him were.
"Hey, I probably won't be able to pass as a girl this well in a few years time... I've got to try all the styles while I can~"
"Knowing you, I'm sure you'll find a way, you're a professional after all," He comments as we make way to the museum we'd be walking though as venue for today's date.
This date would be just as much business as pleasure, scoping out the museum before the heist I'd be preforming tomorrow night. Saguru of course was aware of my ulterior motives, and he still wasn't exactly approving of my methods and he doesn't get in on the planning side of things, but he tended to go along with these kinds of things because he knew how important it was for me to find Pandora and if he was with me then at least he knew that I was taking appropriate precautions.
"Definitely, there's no way I could give up being this cute- plus, I enjoy seeing the reactions of your fans."
"If you really want to throw them for a loop you should come as my boyfriend sometime, that'd get some big reactions,"
"Well, if I want to get a big reaction I just have to tell the media that I've been the same person this whole time, and that I'm Kid. The Press, my fanclub, your fanclub, Nakamori-keibu... everyone would be all over you trying to get the scoop~" I giggle.
"Oh God..." Saguru pales a bit at the thought, "You wouldn't-"
"I might," I slow down my walking pace a little and pretend to look at some modern art as we get closer to the target for tomorrow's heist, "I could probably pass it off as Kid playing a prank on you, and call in a favor with an acquaintance of mine to make sure that two of the 'girls' show up in the same place so it can be confirmed that they weren't all Kid. Then it should all blow over..."
"An acquaintance... who might that be?"
"Oh, just this person I know who has a face and figure that's naturally pretty similar to mine, he's also a decent actor so I think he could probably pull it off... if I could get him to agree with it..." Of course then I'd be stuck owing Meitantei-kun, so maybe I'll table this idea for now and reconsider it if I get bored.
"An acquaintance who looks like you? Why haven't I met this person?" He asks, seeming to have gotten past the initial fear of this 'prank', now he seemed only curious who this mysterious helper would be.
"He just knows Kid, not Kaito, and he's got his own secrets, so there hasn't been a good chance to introduce you." I know that putting it that way will make Saguru assume this is a criminal friend, but it's not like the pint-sized detective will ever know.
"Speaking of Kid... It seems Edogawa-kun will be coming to tomorrow's heist," Saguru says, thinking he's changing the topic, "Will you be alright? That child seems to play a bit rough when it comes to those balls he kicks..."
"Ouch... getting kicked in the balls by Meitantei-kun would be rough." I say mostly joking, but I definitely would be incapacitated if he did that, not that I think he would, "... Jokes aside, I'll be fine. Worst case scenario he can be reasoned with, unlike Nakamori-keibu."
He raises an eyebrow, yet again curious.
"That kid... he's got his own secrets, his own dangers... he and I can probably strike up a deal if it comes down to it."
I can tell he's still curious, but he knows better than to ask me to give away secrets, he knows where the boundary lies.
...
Saguru was still very nervous...
Sure, yesterday Kaito told me not to worry about it, but that doesn't change the fact that Kaito has a habit of doing things that necessitate worry.
As far as I was aware Kaito had only started the plan for this heist a week ago, though they certainly seemed to have a habit of running heists with even less planning than that with how quickly challenge heists needed to come out.
It had been quite an adjustment getting used to all of the eccentricities and crime, but I've been enjoying every moment of dating Kaito.
The regular heists were almost becoming a game at this point, I would still show up and try to keep up with the pace Kaito set while letting Nakamori and his men come to their own conclusions... but I was no longer trying to catch Kid, if it reached the point where everyone would have previously trying to knockout or handcuff Kid then I'd just let them go instead and mark it down as a win. Of course, I had to be careful not to do anything suspicious when the task force members were around, but it had become a relatively fun way to spend the occasional night.
But Edogawa-kun would be here this time, so it definitely wouldn't be a regular heist. Kaito always pulled out their most showy tricks when Edogawa-kun was around, as if trying to call for his attention and stir up a real challenge for the game of cat and mouse- I'd be jealous if it weren't for the fact that the 'Kid Killer' was an actual child.
That said, Edogawa-kun was an unusual child. He was far more intelligent than he tried to appear, to the point that he could be creepy at moments when he suddenly dropped the facade of being a normal child to explain deductions that most adults couldn't keep up with. Plus he had those gadgets that more than made up for the physical differences between him and others. The child was nothing if not a threat, and I could fully understand why Kaito held the child in high regard...
All that to say, when the heist was coming to it's conclusion I found myself on the roof, hanging back while the child was staring down Kaito.
"I've got you now, Kid!" The child detective exclaims.
"Don't count your chickens before they hatch, Meitantei-kun," Kaito perches on the guard rail of the roof.
Edogawa-kun crouches down, no doubt preparing those dangerous shoes of his. Kaito kept their poise and held the gem he'd stolen aloft to the full moon, red light filtering though to the roof below.
Pandora.
I see the surprise dance across Kaito's face, quickly suppressed by the poker face they're so proud of.
"I can't believe it..." I unintentionally mutter aloud, the small detective and the thief both quickly turn to face me.
"Hakuba, Do you know what's going on?!" Edogawa-kun asks rather rudely, but I suppose now isn't the time to be concerned about a dropped honorific.
My eyes flick to Kaito who responds by mouthing, 'tell him'. I can't help feeling acutely aware that the diminutive detective is analyzing our every move, trying to understand why I reacted more strongly to the gemstone's strange behavior than Kid did, and now trying to determine what the relationship between Kid and I was... it's exactly what I'd be doing in his position.
"It's the one they've been looking for, Pandora," I explain, not minding that Kaito is essentially using me as a mouthpiece for exposition they would have trouble saying, "the gem said to be able to grant eternal life."
Kid tucks the gem into one of their many pockets, "That's right, Meitantei-san, so you can tell Nakamori-keibu this is the one gem that I won't be returning."
"You should tell him yourself," I retort, Nakamori had been depressed when Kid failed to appear for three months in a row after their reemergence- he deserved to hear about Kid's retirement in person rather than from a third party.
"Hmm... You're right, he shouldn't hear this from anyone else..."
I toss them my task force radio, they catch it easily.
Edogawa-kun is looking back and forth between the two of us, calculating his best course of action. He's probably considering me an enemy, reasonable given the circumstances but I'd much prefer to not have that sharp gaze trained upon me. Is that a reticle on his watch? Yikes. What's that for?
Kaito barrows my voice and speaks into the radio with urgency, "Nakamori-keibu! Come to the roof, quick! Kid is here! Come alone, too many people will only make it easy for them to mingle with the crowd!"
I crouch down, to continue explaining to Edogawa-kun, "Kid has been thieving this whole time to find that gem and keep it away from people who killed someone precious to them... it'll be safer in Kid's hands than anywhere else, please, stand down for this one."
"I want a full explanation later." The child grumbles, his watch clicks closed.
"In a few days time I'll barrow a familiar face and visit with Meitantei-san," Kid promises.
"Fine, but don't show your face in front of Ran," He nods, apparently understanding who Kaito will be disguising as despite the vague statement, must be an inside joke between the two of them.
Kaito nods, and it's at that moment that Nakamori bursts onto the scene. As requested he hasn't brought any of his men with him, so I suppose my words carry more weight with the task force than I'd previously thought. But I hear the sound of a helicopter starting up nearby, we should hurry.
"Kaitou Kid!"
He starts to lunge at the thief, but I throw out a hand to stop him, "Keibu, talk first, please, you can try to catch him after he's said what he needs to say."
The inspector is clearly confused, but thankfully he goes along with it.
"Thank you, Meitantei Hakuba Saguru," Kaito gives a flashy bow to me before turning to face the inspector more directly, "Keibu... Nakamori Ginzo... I apologize for the sudden notice, but it appears tonight's heist will be my final one."
"What?! I don't understand! You're leaving again?!" Being in such close proximity to Nakamori when he was shouting was unpleasant as usual.
"The gem I've stolen tonight was the one I've been looking for since I made my return..." Kaito continues, "I'm retiring. Any notices you receive claiming to be from me are fakes... I'll inform you through Hakuba-san in the case of an exception."
Nakamori's attention snaps towards me for just a moment before going back to Kid, "You're getting ahead of yourself, you won't be getting away tonight!"
"Keibu... there are other people after this gem... people who would kill for it, people who have killed for it. I intend to keep this gem safe, but arresting those people will be left to the three of you. I'll give all the information I've obtained about them to Hakuba-san..."
"Like hell you-!" Nakamori once again tries to lunge at Kid and... he falls like a sack of bricks.
Beside me I hear the faint sound of Edogawa-kun's watch clicking closed once again. Is that what the reticle was for? That's terrifying, who the hell trusted a child with a tranquilizer capable of downing an adult that quickly?! That can't be safe!
"Thank you, Meitantei-kun." Kaito bows to Edogawa-kun, "Now then... I must be off, farewell, my detectives."
Kid leaps from the roof, using his trusty hang glider to fly away.
"So, this whole time you've been Kid's accomplice?" Edogawa-kun asks.
"No, their accomplice is someone else... I'm Kid's boyfriend." I admit, somewhat proudly.
It's a shame Kaito didn't see the expression on Edogawa-kun's face, they'd have loved it.
