A/N: This chapter….Why don't I like how this chapter turned out? (Conflicted) I was having so much fun writing it and then after I was pulled away from it by my sister one night (yes, I'm blaming her, lol, because otherwise I would have stayed up all night and posted it then), I haven't been able to get back in the groove for this story… Hopefully, it comes back. (Sighs) Enjoy?
Disclaimer: I do not own Detective Conan or Magic Kaito in any way or form.
Chapter Thirty Seven
Conan was shuffling through his pockets, looking somewhat frustrated, his bowtie clenched between his teeth. He pulled one back out, a muffled question of confusion escaping his mouth and he pulled out the other, looking at it with baffled eyes. He began looking through his jacket's inner pocket.
"What's wrong, Shinichi?" Agasa asked. I smirked from my spot – obviously, Agasa forgot I was here. Again.
"I don't have my tranquilizer watch." He grumbled, still searching before he blinked in realization, mouth opening and his bowtie falling – he caught it just before it fell to the floor. He looked to Agasa and he grinned mischievously. He walked closer to the professor.
"Say, Hakase," He crowed and Agasa leaned down so that the shrunken teen could whisper in his ear. I smirked to myself as he finished his request. It seems like we'd be able to go home soon. I was getting hungry, so that was a good thing. I just hope that the later police questioning – that would inevitably come – wouldn't take too long.
ooOOoo
"Inspector, we're going to take Matsui-kun to the hospital." Mikami, the director, announced to Megure, pointing a thumb to their group of supporters for the Gomera actor. We were back in the filming room with everyone else. The inspector turned to regard them, nodding and making a small noise of affirmative. They were just on the way to head out when Agasa's voice cut them off, loud and clear and accented by him thrusting his hand out forward in a somewhat comical 'hero' gesture. "Just a moment!"
The inspector and all the Gomera workers flinched before turning back to look at the professor, who had closed his eyes in semblance of seriousness. "I have deduced that one of them is the killer!" He turned his eyes to the suspects. Megure was the first to speak up again, "What did you say?" The shock of everyone was thick in the air. Shinichi scowled behind the tiny building he was hiding behind, covering his mouth and leaning to talk to the professor in a hushed whisper-shout, "Oi, all you have to do is lip-synch to what I'm going to say!"
Agasa raised his hand to cover his mouth, eyes sliding to the side, "Come on, let me act cool for a bit." The professor whispered back in a carefree voice.
"Well, then, Agasa-san, if you know who the killer is, can you explain to us the reasoning behind the murderer's disappearance on the roof?" Megure inquired in his usual no-nonsense tone. It was tone that I was getting oddly used to hearing from him – and obviously, I'd be probably hearing it a lot more in the future. My habit of getting involved – voluntarily or involuntarily – with cases was something that occurred quite often and even though it'd only been almost three months or so, I'd already been in five cases, not including this one. However, the sound of that no-nonsense tone was kind of comforting.
"Special effects!" The professor answered, as if it was obvious and with so much confidence. Conan reacted with a startled face and I resisted the urge to laugh at everyone else's incredulousness as Agasa continued, "You know, like holograms and stuff. I'm sure the killer projected those to trick you." He put a hand up to cover his mouth again, turning to wink in Shinichi's general direction, "Right?" To say that the shrunken Heisei Holmes was deadpanned was an understatement.
Tomomi pushed her way to the front and I saw Megure-keibu deadpan at Agasa's claim, "What are you talking about?" She crossed her arms defiantly, "I bumped into the killer in the hallway and saw him running away!" Fail, professor. Big fail, I chuckled internally, masking it as a cough on the outside.
Agasa rose his hands in a placating way, spluttering a bit, "I-I was just joking, joking! What really happened was–" "–It was a trick!" The professor startled, looking utterly shocked, before he regained his composure, eyes sliding to the side to give Shinichi a little glare that he ignored as he continued his deductions, "And a relatively simple one, too. Tomomi-san and the kids only saw the killer turn the corner in the hallway. We don't know if the killer went up the stairs or not."
"But there were footprints on the stairs." Megure-keibu protested.
"You're right…," Agasa stumbled, obviously not used to being on the end of such serious attention. "Oi, lip-synch to my words." Conan once again told the professor, getting a stuttering 'r-right' in return. The professor's lip-synching once he actually tried was perfect – there wasn't one thing out of place, like he already knew the deduction beforehand. It was pretty awesome and much better than I could've ever done, that's for sure.
"The killer made the footprints on the stairs in advance! Hardly anyone goes up to the roof. The killer put the footprints there because they would be easily overlooked. When he made those footprints, he most likely used only Gomera's feet. The evidence for that is the fact that there's a tailprint in the hallway, but not on the stairs. The killer stopped before the stairs with the footprints, quickly took off the costume, and went downstairs, where he entered a room, set the costume on fire, and threw it out the window." 'Agasa' deduced.
"Oh!" Megure hummed, but was overpowered by the real professor as he exclaimed, "Oh, I see!" "Eh?" Obviously, there was some confusion at the professor's revelation, since he supposedly already knew the answer. The professor brought his hands up in surrender again, "Oh, nothing…," He grinned weakly before he turned to cough professionally into his hand.
"But he couldn't have known if or what color of paint would be left on the set. How could he have made the footprints in advance?" Tomomi interjected, turning to look to the rude man who was still helping Matsui stand, "Right, Adachi-san?"
"Yeah, I accidently left that paint can on the set before the murder." Adachi agreed.
Megure turned deadpanned eyes to the professor, "Oi, oi…It looks like the facts are inconsistent with your theory." The professor flinched, but was quick to start mouthing words again as Conan continued, glasses glinting to hide his overly intelligent eyes. "Of course they are. That's because Tomomi-san and Adachi-san are lying to protect the killer." The glint disappeared to reveal cerulean eyes set in a glare.
"Eh?!"
"L-Lying?" Megure asked in disbelief. "The killer was the one who left that paint, so that he could use it in his footprint trick." The 'professor' clarified. The inspector pointed a finger at Tomomi and Adachi, who were looking relatively guilty by now. "Then they know who the killer is?" Megure shouted.
"Adachi-san is probably just following Tomomi-san's lead. But Tomomi-san should know. She probably found out when she bumped into him in the hall." By now, Tomomi looked incredibly guilty. "Then, who is it?" Megure questioned, eager to know the killer. The deduction continued, "The ones who weren't in the screening room were Director Mikami and Matsui-san. Tomomi-san and Adachi-san left in the middle of the screening. The killer is one of them. Adachi-san was only gone four or five minutes. He couldn't have done it. Tomomi-san, who saw the culprit with the kids, is also innocent. So, we're left with Director Mikami and Matsui-san."
There was a pause as the professor turned to look in Conan's direction, looking worried. "Hey, Matsui-san is badly injured, and Mikami-kun is a close friend of mine…," There were some half-lidded glares, but Conan ignored both the professor's worried half-whispers and the looks and went on.
"The killer is someone nobody suspected. Yes, the killer is–"
"Hey, what are you doing, Conan-kun?" Ayumi questioned innocently, effectively cutting off the deduction. Genta and Mitsuhiko were behind her, looking just as curious. Conan gave a look of someone caught in the act of robbery for a moment before it was replaced with some irritation. "Don't bother me! Go away! Shoo, shoo!" The voice came out as the professor's as Conan's waved a hand in the 'go away' motion and I couldn't help the bubble of laughter that surfaced as I walked up and guided the kids away to help out a bit.
"Go away? Shoo, shoo?" Megure asked, confused. The professor turned back to look at the inspector, putting a hand behind his back sheepishly. "Oh, just some flies. Shoo, shoo!" He covered ungracefully, making a shooing motion with his hand. Megure went right back to the point. "So? Who's the culprit?" I gave Conan a wink for support as the kids finally decided to heed my silent gesturing to leave him alone for now. He gave me a displeased expression as I shot him a grin, but went back to the unveiling of the culprit.
"The killer is you, Matsui-san!"
There was a short moment of shock before it was destroyed by the rude man shouting, "Idiot! How could Mat-chan run around in that heavy costume with his leg injured?"
Beside me, I saw the kids nodding in agreement to what Adachi had said, obviously wanting the culprit to be someone else other than the Gomera actor. I let a small smile onto my lips as I sighed and shoved my hands into my sweater's pockets. They'd be pretty disappointed once they realized that Matsui really was the culprit. As if to accent my thoughts, Conan – 'Agasa' – questioned, "But was that injury really inflicted before the murder?"
"Then, that wound was–?" The inspector gasped.
"That's right. The wound was inflicted after the crime. After he threw out the costume, he returned to the storage room and stabbed himself with another knife. It was all an act!" Conan proclaimed, tone steel, like it always was when dealing with criminals. The inspector walked a bit closer in interest, "But the kids saw the wound before the murder."
I decided to bump in, smirking a bit as the inspector looked down at me curiously. The kids were looking at a Gomera arm used for close-ups, so they didn't notice me sneak away. "It could have been fake blood. Since we're in a movie studio, it should be easy to find." I intoned a bit childishly before looking up at the professor, "Isn't that right, Hakase~?"
"Uh, y-yeah." I couldn't tell if that was the professor or Conan, but the inspector continued on, "But immediately after seeing the wound, didn't they see Gomera in the studio? There is only one hallway that connects the storage room and the studio. How did Matsui-san catch up to the kids?" Megure-keibu asked.
"If you leave the storeroom using the exit facing the hallway, the studio is right in front of you. After the kids left, he probably took that route. He then put on the suit and killed Producer Kamei. For the trick to work, he needed a witness to follow the footprints."
"I see…That's why he insisted on taking care of the kids, who would run the slowest." Megure concluded, taking a peek at the kids, who were still having a lot of fun investigating the Gomera arm. "And kids will always follow something interesting in a group." 'Agasa' pointed out and I didn't exactly get the reason why he felt the need to, but meh. Who knows what's running through that detective's head, right? "In order to remove traces of sweat from the costume, it had to be set on fire."
"Then what is the proof that Matsui-san is the killer?" Megure asked once more – he seemed to be wanting to get on with it. So was I; sure, listening to deductions were interesting most of the time, but I was dying of starvation here! My stomach grumbled soundlessly underneath my shirt and I grimaced, willing Shinichi to hurry the freak up.
"The second knife, with which he stabbed his leg, is in the storage room. It's probably in a box of props." Agasa said, face losing its serious glare, "His leg was wounded, so there was nowhere else he could have hid it. And another thing: the shirt Matsui-san is wearing!" My eyes flitted to said shirt with everyone else's eyes and I blinked. What was missing? It didn't come to mind at the moment, but I didn't have to dwell on it long as Conan/Agasa went on at the inspector's inquiring 'his shirt?'.
"The murderer was wearing a heavy suit and moving at full speed; his shirt would've been soaked with sweat." The inspector's gaze went back to the pristine, white, shirt Matsui was wearing and it finally dawned on me. The stain! "But his shirt isn't." The inspector pointed out.
"Of course not. That's because he changed it." "H-He changed it?" Yes, yes, he did. "This kid will explain what I mean." And with that, Conan popped out from behind the small building he'd been hiding behind – one of his better hiding spots, if I remember correctly – and pointed to himself as he chimed, "It's me!" He ran from out behind the building and up to Adachi and Matsui – Adachi looked worried for his colleague while Matsui had this defeated look that made my stomach curl uncomfortably.
"Do you remember? Ayumi-chan spilled juice on your shirt in the storage room." Conan reminded childishly. Matsui winced at the proclamation and Conan went up to look at his shirt closer, "But that's weird; there's no stain." He grabbed the shirt to see the spot where the stain should have been, "Where'd you change it? With your wounded leg, you shouldn't have been able to move."
Tomomi walked up behind Conan and kneeled down and grabbed his shoulders gently to turn his to look at her. "Little boy, don't you think you have your facts confused?" Conan blinked and turned to face her fully. Tomomi had this helpless smile on her face as she tried to persuade the shrunken teen, "Maybe it didn't spill on his shirt, but on the floor."
"But, I really…," "Are you really, really, sure? Please think again. Please…little boy…," Her hands had started to tremble a bit and tears were gathering at the edges of her eyes as she practically pleaded that he change his statement. I almost felt bad for her, but then again, she was trying to protect a murderer. No matter his reasons for killing the producer, he was still a killer – nothing justified killing someone. ….Oh no, I'm starting to sound like Shinichi…. The thought sent a shudder down my spine.
Conan himself looked really surprised at her genuine want to protect Matsui. "It's alright, Tomomi-chan." Matsui interjected. Tomomi gasped, looking up to her coworker, but Matsui paid no heed, looking to the inspector. "Just as the boy said, I broke a sweat and had to change. The other shirt is in my bag." He smiled a bit and it looked utterly…calm. It was strange, but perhaps the weight of murder was a bit too big on his shoulders.
"Okay, check it out!" Megure ordered to two officers standing behind him. They ran off to go check. "Why? Why did you kill the producer? Did you have your next job lined up?" Adachi questioned Matsui, who was still had an arm slung around his shoulder for support.
"I never even considered doing anything else." Matsui informed and his eyes opened the slightest to show sad, brown depths. "I only wanted to play Gomera."
"But – I heard you want to quit the role." Mikami reeled back in shock. Matsui turned to look at the director, "Producer Kamei started that rumor. I knew something wasn't right; everyone would smile sadly and cheer me on. I only found out about his lie two weeks ago. When I asked Producer Kamei about it, he said he already told the public that this was Gomera's last battle, so there was no turning back." There was a moment of silence as he seemed to remember something unpleasant.
"Why didn't you tell me?" Mikami asked, forlorn at the events. Matsui tilted his head downwards to stare at the tiles beneath him, "I couldn't. Everyone was putting their hearts and souls into the last production. I just couldn't do it." He looked up to all his fellow workers, who had eventually come into the room. There were camera workers and stage setters and even film editors all lined up in the room, looking on sadly. "But, I don't regret what I did. At least for the time being, we won't be able to film Gomera's death scene." He sounded happy – yet very sad – at that fact as a police officer traded places with Adachi and he was lead on his way out of the studio.
He turned back to look at everyone one last time, "I only wish the children hadn't seen such a horrible thing." With that, he was led away, this time not looking back.
There was a moment of sad silence before Adachi spoke up. "Tomomi-chan, did you really see Mat-chan in that suit?" He asked, as if he was hoping that she didn't and that they could somehow change the past. Tomomi finally broke her gaze away from the spot Matsui had disappeared around the corner and shook her head with a slight smile, tears still pooling in her eyes. Conan, still in front of her, almost looked regretful for once at revealing the truth of the matter.
"No, I couldn't see anything. He disappeared too quickly." She said truthfully. Conan blinked in surprise, "Then, how did you–?"
She leaned a bit closer, resting her forehead against Conan's with a small, sad, laugh. "Silly. I didn't have to see inside to know; I could tell by the way he moved. After all, for these past ten years…," She closed her eyes sorrowfully, the smile still on her lips, "He's been my partner."
And so was the conclusion of the Gomera case.
It was a bit of a bitter ending, but I was glad it was over. I was freakin' hungry.
ooOOoo
By the time police questioning was over and done with, it was already three and I was starving to death. The questioning had taken longer than I had expected, but at least I'd been treated kindly by the police people, since they tended to act extra nice to kids – it was nice, but the sugary sweet tone was a bit aggravating once you listened to it enough and were starving. I think they had noticed my irritation, but it had only made them tread a bit lighter. But, finally, it was over.
I had just finished – clumsily – texting Kaito that I'd be back soon and to please have some type of food ready when I got there when Conan had stepped up beside me. I was a bit surprised by his appearance, since we had all just parted way, but I offered him a grin. "What is it, Edogawa-kun?" I asked casually, stuffing my phone back into my pocket.
He stared at me for a moment – unnervingly so – before finally getting to the point. "Koizumi…Did you know who the murderer was before he was revealed?" He questioned, eyes set in a serious stare. I looked away, not able to stay on the receiving end for long, and my steps faltered for a moment before I picked them up, trying to act normal. Not that it mattered – he had obviously already saw it.
My mind whizzed for answered and I bit my lip before turning to smirk at him as the bus stop came into view, the bus waiting and already boarding people. "What do you think, Edogawa? Or should I say…'Agasa-hakase'?" I teased before dashing off to board the bus before he could gather his wits.
His gaping face when the bus past was definitely worth the added suspicion I would probably be getting from him.
ooOOoo
"I'm home, Kaito-niichan!" I hummed, walking in and leaving my shoes in the genkan as I trailed into the house; I immediately headed for the kitchen, which was letting out nice, familiar, scents. I peeked around the edge of the wall and saw Kaito sitting at the table, eating a sandwich, another one on the other side of the table, still steaming. He looked up from his food with a smile, "Welcome home, Alice-chan~! How was your trip with your friends?" He questioned brightly.
My eye twitched and I gave a small, dry, laugh, taking a seat at the plate on the other end of the table. "Thanks for the food, Kaito-niichan!" I thanked before going on, "And the trip was…interesting. We went to the studio that they make the Gomera movies at. Someone ended up being murdered, though, but they caught the culprit easily enough. It put a bit of a damper on things, but it was overall a good visit." I said honestly, taking a bite of my food, only to look down in surprise. Grilled cheese?
Kaito chuckled at my surprised expression. "I looked up some common American dishes and this one seemed interesting. I thought you might like a taste of home." He grinned, "It tastes pretty good for American food~!" He joked and I gave a small laugh, internally grateful. Japanese food had been wearing down on me for a while now – it's not that I didn't like it, it's just that I had begun to miss my usual food starches. I didn't voice my thoughts, though, knowing he understood my gratefulness by the quirk in his smile.
Then, he frowned. "But, Alice-chan, are you sure you're hanging around a good crowd? I mean, this is the third time you've encountered some type of crime, right?" He sounded concerned – and hey, no one could blame him. A laugh bubbled in my throat and I quickly swallowed it down with another bite of my grilled cheese, feeling oddly amused. A good crowd, I mused, I wasn't exactly sure if hanging out with Conan was a good idea; with his luck and mine combined, I'd end up dead before I even made it back home.
I still remember Kaito's reaction to the Library Murder Case thing – the next morning, it had been in the newspapers about how a group of kids (unnamed) had stopped a murderer and drug smuggler late at night. Of course, it didn't take long for the great Kaitou KID to fit the puzzle pieces together and he had praised me, but warned me to no do anything like that again, since I didn't know if I would get hurt or something. I'd dodged promising anything, so he probably knew that I would probably do something like that again in the future. Much to his exasperation.
Then there had been the Secret of the Moon, Star, and Sun case with the wounds and all and now there was this case; another murder.
"W-Well, you know, Edogawa-kun likes to solve mysteries and so do I! We're the Detective Boys, after all~!" I grinned, ignoring the brief flash of emotion in Kaito's eyes that was becoming increasingly familiar – that 'darn, she wants to be a detective, why does she want to be a detective?' look. It was amusing, actually. Like he was bemused that his 'little sister' figure wanted to be – was – a detective, but he was Kaitou KID.
"And about that name, Alice-chan. I'm curious; are you the only girl in the group?" He asked in interest.
A bead of sweat ran down my cheek, "Ah, no – Yoshida-san is also a girl. I'm sure we'll get more girls in the future, too, but for some reason, we're called the Detective Boys." I shrugged. "You'd have to ask the others about that. I have no idea." I stated with a chuckle.
We continued our conversation, eating lazily, about how the Detective Boys could have possibly come up with the name Detective Boys when there were two girls, until we moved onto a different subject.
ooOOoo
After spending most of the day with Kaito and Aoko – she'd come over sometime after our late lunch –, I had informed Kaito that I'd be spending the night at Akako's house and then had packed some sleeping gear in my bag before heading off to her house at about six o'clock. So, here I was, standing on her creepy porch once more.
"Alice-sama, Akako-sama has been expecting you." The butler told me, stepping to the side humbly with a bow. I eyed him warily before stepping into the house, once again becoming overwhelmed with the familiar smell of incense – I had become kind of accustomed to it, though, so it was not a big problem anymore; though, that didn't make me like the smell any more than I had. My nose crinkled and I didn't wait to be led to the usual living room, instead making my way there on my own.
Once in the living room-esque room, I took a seat in the middle of the couch – away from the creepy, metal, snakes – and plopped my bag at the foot of the couch, leaning back into it. I sat there for but a few seconds before something black and soft jumped up onto me, earning a startled yelp from me, and something wet and rough moved against my cheek multiple times. My eyes finally focus on the black cat on my lap after my brief heart attack and I relaxed, recognizing him.
"Kin-chan, you almost scared me to death….," I murmured against his ear, happy to see my furry friend again as I gathered him closer to my chest as he continued 'grooming' me. He merely purred in response, obviously just as happy to see me as I was to see him. A new voice broke the moment, though.
"He was anxious all day. I was about to turn him into a toad and stuff him in a box if he didn't stop staring out the window with a depressing gaze." Akako sounded amused and I blinked before looking up to see her. She looked just as beautiful as she always did as she walked into the room, moving a piece of hair behind her shoulder in a lofty manner. "I take it you told Kuroba-kun that you would be spending the night here as Alice?"
I flashed her a smirk, nodding absently in reply. "Hm. That way, he won't notice that I'm out late tonight." I said, finally managing to pry Kin off my face and placing him on the couch as I stood up to stretch. I reached down to grab my bag and waved it around playfully, "Thinking of that, I should probably get to The Den. I have to prepare for my heist." Just as I was about to leave the living room, Kin at my heels, I paused as I remembered something.
I glanced over my shoulder to the witch, who was shuffling through something on the side table. "You should come with me, too. When I'm getting ready, you can tell me why something non-canon occurred." My eyes narrowed in interest and she looked up at me with a smirk.
"Very well. Lead the way."
ooOOoo
"So, why did something non-canon happen?" I asked, pulling my arm through the sleeve of the black and white striped shirt. My head popped out of the collar and I took a breath, the loose turtleneck sagging around my neck. The sleeves on the shirt only went down to my elbow, but it was warm enough to keep me warm during the night – which was usually cooler than the daytime – but not so that I would sweat to death due to all the physical activity I'd be doing.
"The problem is your memories." Akako answered from out in the living room. After coming to The Den, I had decided that it'd be best to get changed first and then prepare, so I had gone into the doubling bedroom/safe room and begun to change (as Midori now) while Akako and Kin stayed out in the main room. I blinked, confused, as I pulled a pleated black skirt on over my mismatched – the left black, the right white – leggings. It was comfortable and I adjusted it on my waist as I queried, "My memories?"
"Yes, your memories. You have memories of non-canon events happening in this universe, therefore it causes an anomaly. Anything that left a deep impact on your memories of this world will inevitably happen due to the world shifting to fit your perspective, to fix the anomaly that you caused." Her voice sounded and I grimaced. Great….
I paused for a moment, realizing something before smiling a bit nervously to myself. No, no – that wouldn't even be funny. Don't think of it…
"So, since one movie occurred already, I'm assuming that the other movies will happen, too?" Finally securing the skirt, I grabbed the grey, sleeveless, cotton shirt I'd bought and haphazardly began to put it on over the striped turtleneck I was already wearing. I slid on somewhat easily and sat snugly on my form. "Most likely. It really depends; have you watched all the movies?" Sometimes, I wondered how Akako could so easily talk about movies and episodes and other things of the sorts knowing that her world, in my world, was just a manga and anime. Truthfully, I would have been crept out about it if I had learned that my world was fake.
"Uh, well, I've watched all the movies so far…," I answered honestly, feeling a bit sheepish. Sixteen movies of pure Detective Conan epic-ness were on my list of 'important' Detective Conan memories; they definitely had an 'impact', so to say. I heard Akako snicker from outside the door as I put on the black-and-white belt on – it had a small pouch clipped onto it that was currently empty. "Oh, shut up. This world was…is my favorite anime…er, place. It's only natural to watch all the movies." I grumbled, feeling a bit embarrassed.
She only gave a shrill cackle in amusement and I rolled my eyes, deciding to ignore her as I finished getting dressed, fixing the collar of the turtleneck and adjusting the belt so that I could have easy access to the pouch. I glanced over to the white fedora I'd bought – one side was painted black – and over to the two different pairs of boots – same brand and design, but different colors (I'm sure you could guess which colors, too) – before deciding to put them on later.
I stepped out of the safe room, Kin immediately coming to curl up against my leg as I grinned at Akako. I stroked a silly pose, "So, how do I look~?"
"Like an idiot about to go rob a museum." She answered after a moment of surveying me and I pouted, but felt the need to give a small laugh. She took a delicate seat on top of the crates labeled 'EXPLOSIVES' – I didn't question her choice, she knew what she was doing after all, so I trusted her not to accidently blow us up – and I sat Indian style on the floor, beginning to go through the stuff in the room. Kin curled in my lap and I grabbed a can of sleeping gas off the ground, putting it in my pouch.
"About that, Midori…," Akako trailed, "Unlike Kuroba-kun, you're no skilled at hacking. How do you plan to get the blueprints of the building?" She asked curiously and I gave her a smirk. I put a 'one minute' finger up before standing – picking Kin up with me – and going back into the safe room. The room was a lot cleaner than it had been at the start and I walked up to the mahogany desk, picking up a brochure that was on it. My eyes flicked to the whiteboard on the right – it had the details of the heist written on it in a disorderly way and I grabbed a marker to jot down 'In Progress' at the bottom before going back out to Akako.
"This is how I know the blueprints." I said, waving the brochure and tossing it to her. She caught it gracefully and opened it – only to quirk an amused smile as her fiery eyes narrowed in amusement. "…A map in their brochure, featuring every room and detailing where everything is. That's convenient." She commented, closing it and tossing it back to me, where I caught it with a grin. "Very, very, convenient~!" I chirped. It was convenient for customers and thieves alike.
Really, this museum needed some updates on security. "As for the police, there shouldn't be too much – I'm sure they realized it wasn't KID and didn't send the cavalry for an 'average thief'. That's their downfall, since I have some tricks up my sleeve." I chuckled, putting some very tiny stun grenades into the pouch – I'd tried them out and even though they did still create a tiny explosion, it was completely safe; it seemed that it was made out of some weird material that wouldn't cause something to catch on fire or to accidently kill someone.
"Tricks?" She raised a brow and I grinned sharply, reaching over to pull out the secret gadget that I'd had professor Agasa work on earlier. The metal had been painted white and black and I had loop a string around it – with a soundless bell – to resemble the caricature that I'd put on the heist note and so that Agasa wouldn't recognize it.
"See~! Some things are just cool to wave around, to make people nervous~!" I laughed.
Because, after all, I was a terrible shot and I didn't even have any cards to use with the Card Gun to begin with. But, still – the looks on their faces were going to be worth it!
Review Replies:
To: Kudo Shinichi Tanteisan – M'kay. XD And the heist is next~! 8DDD (Laughs) Thank you! XD I noticed that and it kind of bothered me. XD (Grins as snowflakes fall and eats cyber cookie) Thank you, E-chan~!
To: Iriss-sama – (Laughs) Yeah. XD You know, I had never noticed it before now, actually, which is kind of sad. I guess it just flew right over my head since I wasn't paying such close attention, lol. Haha, yeah, it took 16 chapters for her to finally use the nickname. XDD And it's okay~! ^^ And me, too! That'll be fun to write. XD Thank you~! (Laughs) Another who stays up ungodly late! 8D XD (Gathers Luck and Creates Lucky Card) Thank you, Ri-chan~!
To: Guest – Congratulations on finishing your exams~! And it's funny you bring that up – there's actually going to be an original case coming up after the heist. XD I've already come up with the trick and stuff, so it'll be out soon. 8D As for your request time, well…I've been working on Revolver for little over a year (and it's only here… -_- ) and the story goes on pretty long (may reach 100 chapters), and then there's the second story, which will also be pretty long… (Thinks) Probably about two years or so. XD;;; Sorry about that. (Bows) But, then again, it may come out sooner than I think – I've been working pretty adamantly on this story lately, so… (Shrugs) Yeah. I'm not too sure, but hopefully it doesn't take forever. XD
-…I'm not too pleased with the outcome of this chapter, but meh… (Shrugs) I hope you still enjoyed it! Next is the heist chapter and then some other things. 8D
Omake:
"I see…That's why he insisted on taking care of the kids, who would run the slowest." Megure concluded, taking a peek at the kids, who were still having a lot of fun investigating the Gomera arm. I scowled up at Megure, "You guys keep switching, make up your mind!" I flailed my arms, trying to get my point across.
Conan wandered from out behind the tiny building, grabbing my arm and dragging me back behind it with him. "Ah, don't mind Koizumi, she has issues with continuity errors…," He trailed in a childish voice before giving me a glare once we were out of sight.
"I'm trying to solve a case, Koizumi." He frowned and I stuck my tongue out at him.
"Yeah, well," I placed my hands on my hips in a lofty manner, "There's only so much you can solve if there's continuity errors." I huffed.
-That error really bugs me. XD Any errors like that kind of bug me, so there will probably be more omakes in the future, if I spot something. XD
"Next Revolver Hint: Fahrenheit to Celsius!"