Chapter 2: Transposition
It had been a week, and Aoko was getting more and more worried at school. Kaito couldn't it take it anymore. The hope that maybe she'd change her mind if he stalled had failed.
So here Kaito was, buying a prepaid phone to build up this fake identity of Kirino Kaiko. He'd already started drawing up a family tree, and figuring out relationships between these made up Kirinos. Her father was a travelling salesman (that was still a thing, right?), and her mother was a travel journalist. They met somewhere tropical. He was still torn between São Paulo and French Polynesia, but he'd figure that out later.
With the phone purchased, he snuck off towards a deserted park to call Aoko, taking a moment to shift his voice up.
"Hello? Who is this?" Aoko's voice asked. This cheap phone was annoyingly tinny. It didn't do Aoko's voice justice... and when did he start finding Aoko's voice so nice?
"Hey, it's Kaiko. Sorry, mom and dad got arguing about phone plans, so I only just got my phone."
"Oh, Kaiko! It's okay, Aoko expected that it might take a while."
Kaito grimaced. She expected it to take this long? Then what was that moping at school today? Kaito shook his head, not wanting to let any sarcasm into his voice. "I'm glad to hear you weren't worrying. So, since you were the one who brought up the second date first, did you have anything planned?"
Aoko was just ahead on the busy Shibuya street. Kaito had to struggle against every fabric of his being not to open with a little magic trick. Sighing, he pulled the rose out now and walked over to Aoko.
"Something cute to match you," 'Kaiko' said, walking into Aoko's field of view.
"Oh!" the shorter girl gasped as she took the flower. "You're quite the romantic. I...huh, Aoko has the exact same dress."
Kaito struggled against the urge to grimace. Of course Aoko owned one, Kaito had bought it to disguise as her on heists. It had been so long since Aoko had worn it though that Kaito had been sure she'd thrown it out and wouldn't recognise it. (Honestly, there were more than a few disguise dresses sitting in his closet that were unlikely to get a second use... why did he always struggle to part with them so much?)
Kaito's had extra pockets sewn in, however. The young magician had gotten very good at sneaking pockets into dresses.
"Heh, well, you know what they say. Great minds think alike," Kaito said.
"Maybe we can match at some point."
"Maybe," Kaito offered with a smile. A good 40% of female outfits in the young magician's disguise closet were copies of Aoko's wardrobe, so it wouldn't be hard. "So, were there any specific destinations you wanted to visit, Nakamouri-chan, or will we just see where the flow of the crowds takes us?"
"Aoko has one or two destinations in mind, but was mostly thinking we could browse," the brunette replied with an adorable grin.
Walking around Shinjuku, browsing at various shops, Kaito was honestly having a wonderful time.
Suddenly, Aoko ran ahead to a store that seemed focused on accessories that all generally followed a severely kawaii aesthetic. If the young magician were here as Kaito the response would be grimacing and teasing Aoko about her kiddy fashion sense.
However, Kaito was here as Kaiko, whose fashion sense (due to it being the easiest option with existing clothing supplies) was similarly youthful. Plus, part of why Kaito liked to use Aoko was a disguise so much was because the outfits were cute. Even if they could be cavity inducingly so, and too cute for any self respecting boy to show interest in. (A realisation Kaito had learned the hard way in middle school when the other boys in class had mocked him for reading fashion magazines with Aoko and Keiko.)
Suddenly, Aoko turned around, a hair clip in hand. Before the confused magician realized what was happening the clip was in place in Kaito's hair and Aoko was holding up a mirror.
"There we go, that suits Keiko, and helps show Aoko your cute face," she said, smiling away in her innocent and lovely way. "Do you like it?"
Kaito tried not to blush, because the answer was yes. Why the idea of being called cute was getting to Kaito so much, the young magician couldn't say, but it felt nice. "It'd... it'd probably look cuter on you."
"Well, we'll just have to buy matching clips then, won't we?" Aoko replied with an innocent grin.
Kaito's heart skipped a beat. Something about it just seemed so delightfully romantic.
Kaito had to use every fibre of his willpower once more, this time struggling not to gloat as Aoko rained compliments on 'Kaiko' as she discussed the date after school the next day. Or, maybe it was more a struggle not to grow flustered... both were warring in Kaito's gut.
"She's so easy to compliment too!" Aoko declared as they walked along the river on there way home. "All Aoko has to do is call her pretty and she gets so flustered. How could a girl that beautiful find it such a surprise to be called what she is?"
Kaito had to study the ground, hoping Aoko wouldn't see how much he was blushing. That girl could cut through his poker face like nothing. How was being called 'beautiful' in the third person like this getting to Kaito so much anyhow?
"Maybe she's shy," Kaito mumbled, trying to regain composure.
"Maybe. Aoko just doesn't know what daddy's going to think when she tell him..." Aoko said, sighing a little.
Kaitou Kid sat on a rooftop, bored out of his mind as it was busy pouring rain. The weatherman on JNN hadn't predicted any rain at all... he was changing networks over this. At least he'd been vague about the time of the heist in his note.
Suddenly his phone began to ring. Only that wasn't Kaito's phone. Or Kid's phone. It was Kaiko's. Pulling out the cheap pink thing, Kaito took a moment to slip into the right mindset.
"Hi there. Ao-chan. What's up?" Kid asked in Kaiko's voice.
"Hi! Have you heard about the big heist downtown?" Aoko asked.
"Who hasn't? It's Kid. The news loves to gab about him," Kid said, beaming away. It was fun to praise yourself.
"Well, Aoko is here at the museum with daddy, and guess who she bumped into?" a very excited Aoko said.
Trying to work from the tone, Kaito was coming up a blank. "A movie star of some sort?"
"No, no. It's Masumi! She was so happy to hear we've had a couple dates now. She's right here, if you want to talk to her?"
"Um," Kid paused a moment. The rain was clearing up now, it was time to go. But Kaito did honestly want to thank Masumi for the help, and apologise for losing her business card... and hey, it made a good show to chat with one of the investigators while flying in. So Kid hopped into action. "Sure, I'd love to."
Kid's paraglider extended while the phone was being passed, and the phantom thief glided silently towards the heist.
"Hey there, Kaiko," Masumi Sera began. "I was worried I might have scared you with the tailing thing. That was probably overstepping a bit... I've just not had many chances to play matchmaker, so I got excited."
"Hah, no. I just, well, I ended up losing your card. Really sorry about that," Kid explained, avoiding a police searchlight. It would be no good to get spotted too soon. (The young magician was still quite embarrassed about losing that card but... that day had been rather unusual.)
"I guess I shouldn't be too surprised. You seemed pretty flustered," Sera's voice replied as Kaito swerved past a spotlight.
The roof was only a few metres away, it was almost time for phase two. "What was you number again? I'll write it down."
As Sera replied, Kaito committed the number to memory. The young thief was in heist mode, not date mode, so trusted it would be stored away until needed.
"I," Kaito muttered, before pulling the phone away and switching to a more maternal sounding voice. "Kaichi, sweety, dinner's ready!"
Kaito then brought the phone back, "Uhoh, I've got to go. I'll talk to you later. Tell Aoko I'll talk to her soon."
Sera handed the phone back to Aoko, giving a brief explanation of why Kaiko had hung up so quick. She also did her best to ignore the name she'd heard Kaiko get called. It was a good thing Aoko hadn't been on the phone with the girl.
"Her parents called her away, sorry," Sera said as she handed the phone back to Aoko.
"Aoko supposes it is close to dinner time," the cute girl replied, looking sadly at her phone.
"And heist time," Sonoko added, giddiness evident in her voice. "I can't wait to see Kid-sama again. I'll never tire of his handsome face."
Aoko rolled her eyes in response. "For whatever reason, Kid loves stealing Aoko's friend Kaito's face to annoy daddy... Who knows what he really looks like."
Sonoko opened her mouth to reply, before crossing her arms and huffing. "I'm certain he's handsome. He's too charming not to be."
"Charming or not, he's not getting through the reinforced glass that the Silver Memory tiara is behind," Inspector Nakamori announced as he strolled casually past the girls. "That glass is as hard as reinforced concrete. No cutting tool could break through fast enough for him to steal the jewel. And no disguise is going to help him get past it either."
"So that's why we haven't had our faces pinched as much as usual," Ran said, half to herself, before turning to the young boy lurking in her shadow. "What do you think his plan is, Conan?"
The bespectacled boy blinked, Sera trying not to laugh at how distracted he'd been looking, standing between Ran and Aoko. Not that she could blame him, she found the pair distractingly cute herself.
"Uh, he might have tampered with the casing ahead of time?" Conan offered. "Or... maybe he's going to do some sort of illusion, to make it look like the tiara has vanished and make us open the case? Uncle Kogoro would probably know better... it's too bad he's sick."
Inspector Nakamori nodded. "You two! Double check the case! And, remember, don't open it, whatever happens!"
"Yes sir!"
The overworked inspector stormed off to yell at some of his other officers, and gradually left earshot, to Masumi's relief.
"Have you told him yet?" the fanged girl half whispered to Aoko.
"Told-Oh! You mean about the girlfriend issue? No... not yet. Aoko was going to, and then the new heist was announced, so daddy's been very busy."
"I hope he's better about it than my dad," Ran said flatly, a comment that got a confused and panicked look from Conan. "He really disapproves of my boyfriend. Parents can be so meddlesome."
The wave of relief that hit Conan was too much for Masumi, and she had to let out a few laughs. The other girls turned to her with confusion (and Conan with murder in his eyes) when the lights went out. Everyone went on alert. The heist was starting.
"Llllaaaadiieeesss aaaaannnd Geeennnntlleemeeeennnn!" a voice announced, the smugness unmistakably Kaitou Kid's, however, the pitch seemed off to Masumi's ears. A tile fell from the ceiling and a streak of white descended, though Masumi's eyes were still adjusting to the dark and couldn't make out much more. "I do apologise for the slight delay. I'll be changing weather stations in future. But! The show must go on!"
Finally, Masumi realised what was happening with Kid's voice. He was mimicking Ran's... and her eyes adjusting to the darkness showed her he was currently dressed as Ran in Kid's suit as he stood in front of the case that held the Silver Memory.
"I can see there's some questions about my appearance," Kid said, a wide grin spreading across his face, so unquestionably Kid, and so wrong to see on Ran's features. (Well, mostly wrong. Masumi had to admit that the image of a cute girl with a cocky grin like that was doing something to her heart.)
"The simple answer is," Kid continued, still perfectly mixing Ran's voice with his showmanship, "I felt like embracing my feminine side today, and, well... Mouri-chan offers a lot of femininity to embrace."
With that, Kid hugged himself, squeezing a quite accurately padded chest. Masumi felt her eye twitch, but, before she could respond, Ran has streaked forward, a fist flying Kid's way. The white clad thief dodged by a hair, and instead the room was filled with the sound of shattering glass.
As Ran turned, preparing to launch another strike, Masumi noticed that the casing contain the crown had been shattered completely. She couldn't say she was surprised, watching the aura of rage flowing off Ran right now.
Ran charged forward with a barrage of punches, all of which Kid dodged, though a few were closer than others. Masumi swore she saw a look of fear on his face in those instances.
"I must admit, Mouri-chan, I'm impressed. You shattered the glass... I was only expecting for you to crack it and make my job a little easier," Kid said, hopping onto the case of another exhibit.
"I'm going to kill you," Ran replied, her voice filled with a cold rage.
As Kid continued to dodge around the room, Inspector Nakamori tried to order his men to tackle kid. The general response was that the men valued their lives too much to risk getting in the way of one of Ran's blows.
"How about I make it up to you?" Kid offered, doing a backflip to get some distance from Ran and landing in a handstand atop a Roman looking bust. "Your boyfriend isn't around much, right?"
Ran responded with a 'kya' as she tried to deliver a roundhouse to Kid's face.
Kid launched himself to safety, disappearing into his cape as he flew through the air, before landing looking the spitting image of Kudo Shinichi, school uniform and all.
"When's the last time I told you you look stunning, Ran?" Kid asked in Shinichi's voice.
Ran paused a moment, before shaking off any blush she had. "That's not going to make me let you go."
"How about this, then?" Kid asked, stepping forward and producing a bouquet of red roses and white orchids. "I ran into the real Shinichi the other week, and he mentioned how he wanted to give you flowers in person. Even if you're the most beautiful orchid, I do hope you appreciate these."
That apparently proved enough to briefly short circuit Ran's brain, as she took the bouquet in hand, quietly muttering Shinichi's name. Masumi wasn't about to let Kid get away, and charged to make up for Ran's distraction. Kid's smirk seemed far more fitting on Shinichi's face, and Masumi watched as the thief raised his card gun and shot one of the fire suppression nozzles on the ceiling. She briefly wondered what he hoped to achieve by drenching everyone, only to watch as billowing pink smoke descended.
She remembered then that the fire suppression system in the building was gas based, and Kid must have tampered with the system to create a smoke screen instead.
By the time the gas cleared, Kid and the crown were gone. There was a small note where the crown had been, and Masumi walked over, curious. The writing was written quickly, but read as a surprisingly genuine apology towards Ran for having gone too far.
Sonoko tried to insist that it was a sign that Kid was still a gentleman, though Aoko and Masumi were rather less impressed. Ran, for her part, was smiling away as Conan hastily concurred that Shinichi had been talking about wanting to send Ran flowers lately.
Kaito stared into the mirror, smiling at the reflection of Kaiko looking back, wearing an elegant ball gown and the Silver Memory tiara rounding out the look. Kaito had always been so tempted to wear the jewels that Kid had stolen, but knew most of them were meant to be worn by women. Once or twice, Kaito had modeled as Aoko in front of the mirror, but the knowledge that the young magician could never see the real Aoko with those jewels had made the moments bittersweet.
Kaiko, however... this was as real as she could ever be. Though, the young magician felt a little sadness that Aoko wouldn't get to see her girlfriend looking so elegant.
Almost before realising it, Kaito had picked up Kaiko's phone to text Aoko, hoping for another date.
Kaito jumped and almost dropped the phone when it vibrated. The screen popped on to inform that it was a text from Aoko. Opening it, Kaito's heart warmed while reading Aoko's simple summary of the heist. Though it did hurt to read how much Aoko was complaining about Kid disguising as Ran. Hadn't the apology note been genuine enough?
Kaito typed a quick reply, saying that Aoko sounded tired and seemed like she deserved to go to bed, trying to change the subject. Aoko agreed she'd go to bed soon, but then... then she asked to have a date tomorrow, to cheer her up and Kaito's heart skipped a beat. The young magician typed 'yes' immediately, too giddy between the rush of a heist and how cute the girl in the mirror looked right now to remember the crisis looming over the relationship.
It was only after getting a time and place to meet up that Kaito remembered things had to end. That old need to push Aoko away really needed to return...