A/N: Mage&Magician? What Mage&Magician? –shot– … –revives– Anyways, there's changes in the point of view in this one, for forewarning! ^^ Enjoy?

Disclaimer: I do not own Detective Conan or Magic Kaito in any way or form.

Chapter Thirty Nine

There was a silence as the both of us regard each other quietly. And before I knew it, I couldn't contain it anymore. A loud, long, laugh escaped my lips and I curled over slightly, clutching my sides as mirth took over my actions. Conan took a surprised step back, a bead of sweat running down his cheek. His expression just made me laugh even more. It was just – it was just – this was just too much!

"Ahaha–I'm sorry, meitantei-kun–it's just that–hahaha–this is too–haha–amusing–haahha–and your–your–hahahaaa–face!" He interpreted the garbled laughter and words mixed together and took another step back. Finally, he managed a wary smirk as I continued laughing. I just couldn't stop and I could feel my face go red as I struggled to gather my breath – obviously, it wasn't working too well, as I was still laughing. "You're obviously a new criminal that others haven't heard about, but now I see why you decided to be a thief, Jester."

I lifted my eyes to his form as I stifled my laughter to tiny chuckles. "A-And what would–hahaha–that be, meitantei-kun?"

"You're insane." He pointed out in a dry tone, deadpanning at me.

I blinked at him in surprise before letting out another laugh – and now that I thought about it, that probably didn't help his view on me at all. It sounded pretty manic, too, now that I listen to it. Oh well. I pushed the thoughts out of my mind and once again stifled my laugh, flashing him a grin and leaning back to rest on the window pane. His eyes sharpened as he searched for signs of moving, but I just sat there. I was a bit tired and right now was the perfect time to refresh and also…

"I'll let you believe that, meitantei-kun. Or can I call you chibi-chan? I think that'd be much cuter and you're just the most adorable little boy I've ever seen. The glasses suit you~!" I complimented, ignoring his scowl, "I'm curious, though. How'd you manage to get into this building? All the other places were guarded and no matter how smart you are, they wouldn't let a child in with an unknown 'black'." I chuckled in interest, raising a brow beneath my bangs. His scowl faded to melt into a sharp smirk and I felt a bead of cold sweat run down my cheek.

"I waited outside the building and then I followed you inside when you broke through the emergency door. The police were too occupied with you that they didn't notice me slip inside." My eyes glanced down to his feet, noting that the power shoes were still – thankfully – turned off, but that also made me notice that his hands were 'casually' placed behind his back. Seems like he was doing the same thing to me that he'd do to KID next month.

"Oh~! That's pretty sneaky for a detective. Then again, you're pint-sized, so I guess you can slip past people easier than most…," I trailed, my grin growing a fraction as he once again gained a scowl from my blatant teasing of his height. He decided that we'd had enough idle chatting, though, and was once again smirking up at me, stepping forward a bit. I shrunk against the pane nervously. Damn it! Why was Shinichi so creepy? So, as a last ditch resort, I sprung up another curious question. "How'd you know I was going to come up to the twenty-first floor, chibi-chan?"

He ignored my taunt, ever cool. Instead, he obliged my question, with a cocky curl to his lip that made my brow twitch indignantly. "'Krustallos and sapphire drop into baby blue tears that fall from Marius Scotus' eyes'," He quoted directly from the heist note and I sighed internally. Of course he was going to strip it down with his weird memory skills. Even I couldn't remember the whole heist note off the back of my head and I was the one who wrote it!

"That line tells your targeted object clearly. The word krustallos is the Greek word that the English word crystal derived from and sapphire explains itself. I'm guessing you believed that the color of the gem was baby blue, which is referring to the colored 'tear' you mentioned. Marius Scotus was a Scottish paladin of Charlemagne who helped the Franks defeat the Longobards and established the Italian Marescotti-Ruspoli family. In whole, you were hinting at the Ruspoli Sapphire Crystal that would be here for this weekend exclusively before it's transferred back to its museum in Paris."

I swallowed thickly before gestured for his to continue with a careless wave of my hand. How he could come up with this information from the top of his head was beyond me. His brain was a scary thing, indeed. By now, his hands were shoved into his pockets and he looked slightly more at ease than before. "After that, you state in your heist note that 'cameo bracelets sing songs of Saturn mournfully'. This refers to the day of the heist. Some cameo bracelets have the Greek gods or goddesses as the planets to represent the days of the week. Saturn is Saturday. You probably just added 'mournfully' to sound fancy." He chuckled a bit dryly and I bit my tongue to resist the retort I so wanted to say.

But, I resisted.

Just barely – but I did.

He went on and my eyes flickered upwards in silent exasperation and embarrassment. With him, it felt like my code had been child's play. "The line 'to the tune of the song, panda's do workouts – 16 pushups and 7 crunches' is again referring to Saturday while saying that the police – the 'pandas' – will be working themselves out thoroughly on that day, at eleven o'clock PM. If you add sixteen and seven, you get twenty-three, which simplified in time is eleven." I shifted slightly, bracelet bell jingling, and his eyes sharpened once more, but he continued with that demeaning smirk. That little brat…

I knew I could simply leave through the window now, but he'd probably dart me as I turned around to flee. My teeth worried at my lip gently as I let him deduct the whole note, my mind whizzing behind my eyes. "'An unexpected 'swoop' and the tears will be 'gone'' is hinting that you're a new thief in town – hence unexpected – and then you'll steal the gem. You put swoop in quotes because you never intended to swoop from the ceiling or anything, but just intended to take it, most likely. I'm not exactly sure why you put gone in quotes, though…," His cerulean eyes narrowed suspiciously and I grinned nervously back, chuckling a bit as I shrugged.

Like heck was I going to tell him – of all people – that I put gone in quotes because it most likely wasn't what I was looking for!

"Isn't it your job to figure that out, chibi-chan, so I can't exactly tell you now, can I~?" I cooed, "Continue please, I find this incredibly fascinating~!" Seeing I wasn't planning on making a getaway just yet, he hesitated before going on.

"Then 'swept into an ocean of 'black' in your monochrome world' is quite easy to interpret now that I've met you." His eyes skidded over my black-and-white clad form with an inquisitive eye – probably thinking it was tacky, like he'd think with KID's later – before he looked up and locked eyes with me – irritated brown meeting intelligent blue; his eyes were so deep that I felt like I was being slowly submerged in an ocean that would drown me. Suffocating, to say the least. His gaze was too intense, but I refused to back down. Can't have him getting the better of me!

"Earlier, you referred to yourself as an 'unknown black'. I'm guessing 'black' is your way of saying criminal and you say 'in your monochrome world' because you believe the police to have only a black-and-white view on things. Therefore, you're basically saying they see all criminals as 'black' and see themselves as 'white'. But, due to you putting black in quotes, you must not think you're in the wrong." The look on his face at the moment was extremely unnerving…

"If you're not 'black', Jester-san, what exactly are you?" Conan questioned with that same daring smirk.

I looked to the ceiling in fake thought, humming to myself, before I shrugged and looked back at him with a grin I purposely made look demented. I held back a laugh as I watched his eyes widen just the slightest. I raised my hands to him, as if welcoming him into my arms. "Well, what do you think I am, chibi-chan~?"

"A criminal who doesn't know right from wrong." He stated bluntly and I flinched, bringing a hand up to clutch my heart dramatically. "Ouch~! That's rude~!" I laughed, feeling incredibly amused. It was too hard not to, especially when your favorite anime character tells you you're a criminal with no sense, basically. My brows furred the slightest as I thought that over.

This situation sounds completely nuts…

"But, you still haven't finished~!" I crowed happily, subsiding my laughter. Internally, I frowned. This was bad – his deductions wouldn't last too much longer and I needed a distraction. Like, super quickly. He rolled his eyes at my somewhat childish display, looking extremely bemused, but complied either way. "'Sincerely, 37.4 F, the 333-9.' The parting line refers to an English poem called The Jester. 37.4 F is 37.4 degrees Fahrenheit, which converts to 3 degrees Celsius. The Jester mentions three degrees three times. 333-9 states all three degrees which equals nine all together. Basically, you're saying you equal each three degrees: The Jester. It's a fairly simple code when you think about it."

My lips twitched as I willed away a frown as he went on, "You're smart, Jester-san, I'll give you that, but that code should require a hint to solve."

I felt a little bit elated to have him call me smart, but I could sense a 'but' coming up; I raised my brow in question. My eyes caught sight of an incoming distraction, though, moving up to the floor Conan and I were on. The lights inched up the numbers on the elevator and I stiffened to get ready; they should be arriving here soon-ish. The diminutive detective didn't notice, as his back was turned towards it. "Your note indicates that you're absentminded." Was he calling me slow?! Then again, I couldn't really argue. I am absentminded…

His lips parted just a bit, flashing white teeth as his smirk widened and his eyes narrowed dangerously, "That's your downfall."

The brat!

With no time to spare though, I gave him a Cheshire grin as the elevator dinged at the police's arrival and as he was taken aback, looking over his shoulder, I darted forward determinedly. His panicked eyes turned to me as I grabbed both of his forearms and yanked them apart from behind his back and pulling him into a sorta-hug – it was more like smothering him with my chest. Ignoring his muffled protests, I took another stun grenade from my pocket and pulled the pin before chucking it at the approaching officers as they ran out of the elevator.

As expected, they scrambled away and I hurriedly unclipped Conan's watch as he flailed before I dropped him unceremoniously, closing my eyes and plugging my ears. A flash illuminated my eyelids red and a dim explosion met my ears before I was in action again, heart pounding against my ribcage. Conan, the closest to me, was blinking painfully – blindly – and stumbled as he tried to get up, his eyes zoning on his watch dangling from my mocking grip above his reach as he finally got his vision back.

He knew he was defenseless now, as he was too disoriented to kick, as well. My eyes swept the premises, downed officers easy to spot despite the numerous desks and cubicles. Seeing no immediate threat, I walked up and crouched in front of Conan, who was glaring warily.

My hands slipped into my pouch, grasping a familiar cool can of sleeping gas. On impulse and the innate need to annoy the Heisei Holmes, I grinned in his face – which seemed to unnerve him as he struggled to move – before darting forward and pecking him on the cheek. He flinched back, looking startled and somewhat disturbed, as I smirked predatorily and whispered in his ears, "Thanks for the date, chibi-chan~!" Then, with a sinister snicker, he lost consciousness, slumping to the floor, as I spritzed him with a generous amount of sleeping gas.

I positioned him more comfortably before darting back to the window as the police finally began making their way towards me again and I hastily clipped my belt to the cord before literally throwing myself out of the window after vaulting over the edge. It was only as the cold air hit my face that I realized I had just freakin' vaulted out a window. My heart leapt into my throat and I twisted midair, grabbing the rope.

Well, would've grabbed it.

I couldn't reach it.

My eyes widened and I watch in horror as windows passed me by – floor twenty, nineteen, eighteen… - but my grin wouldn't leave my face, frozen as it was. The police officers crowded around the window in the twenty-first floor and they also looked completely horrified by my falling, then they were gone, most likely on their way down. I vaguely saw someone pick Conan up – still sleeping – with a confused face. Everything else was a blur and finally, after reaching the sixteenth floor, my hand caught the rope tightly, the other coming up to clutch my hat as it threatened to fall off.

My arm jerked upwards painfully and I swear I felt my shoulder dislocate for a second before popping back in – shit, that hurts! – and I spun out of control, my hand burning under my glove as I continued to slow my fall while holding the cable. Rope burn was never fun to get, I decided absently, wincing as the ground came closer. I had lost count of how many floors I had fallen and I couldn't tell which way I was facing as the world blurred.

Suddenly, everything came to a stop with a rough jerk and a loud crack pierced the air. A strangled yelp left my lips and tears pricked in my eyes as I looked up. My left leg was tied up above me, coiled tightly as the mountain climber's cable wrapped around my ankle painfully. I let out a broken laugh, breathless. "Oh my god… I'm not dead…haha…haa…," My tone sounded a bit hysterical and I swallowed back my frightened chuckles as to not lose it.

Fear spread from my stomach like acid and I just dangled there for a moment to comprehend what to do, one hand still clutching my hat to my head in annoyance. It was all I could do to regulate my breathing from erratic to normal so that I didn't pass out from hyperventilation. That would be lame – like, really lame. After a moment of debating, I realized that if I didn't move – no matter how painful it would be to move – I had to move, otherwise I'd fall eventually. My grip was already loosening tiredly.

I bit my lip – pushing away the irritated thoughts of rather falling than being in this much pain – and I lifted my torso, untangling my foot with the hand that had been holding my hat. Thankfully, due to my sitting position, it wasn't falling off yet. I sucked in a breath before completely untangling my ankle and as suspected, my body swung downwards and my good foot crashed against the side of the brick building as I began rappelling downwards slightly too quick.

After what seemed like forever, I finally reached the floor and fell backwards with a stumble, landing with a thud on my back. Laying there a second to catch my breath and slow my speeding heart, I breathed in the cold air of the night, feeling oddly calm for someone who had almost died. It was odd when you looked back on something like that – unbelievable almost. With rolled my eyes behind my mask, standing up slowly and making sure all the weight was put mostly on my left leg and I scurried away into the nearby street, dodging the frantic police heading for the opposite direction by ducking into a nearby alleyway.

Unzipping one of my skirt's pockets, I hurriedly put the black cloak back on and headed on my way back to The Den – but, I'd probably take a detour to Akako's house first. My ankle was killing me with every step I took. It probably didn't help any that I was running.

ooOOoo

The snow was something he liked, he decided. He couldn't recall where he had intended to go, but he was walking in the general direction of his target; at least, that's what it felt like. No, he knew he was headed in the right direction. He sauntered into a dark alley, the night already pitch black, the only light provided by the moon and surrounding city lights.

A figure scurried past him, tense and wary of his presence, but also ignoring him. He chuckled deeply, a sound that had the cloaked figure hurrying to reach the mouth of the alley before the person turned the corner and disappeared. He frowned as he noticed the slight limp the figure had while running before smirking to himself, a dangerous expression as he realized who it was, pulling off his sunglasses to look at the sky directly.

"What an interesting show."

ooOOoo

Akako looked up as someone hobbled in, clad in a conspicuous – yet somehow inconspicuous – black and white outfit. She blinked in bemusement as the figure waddled over, limping, before finally dropping down onto the couch. A towel was wrapped around her shoulders and she was shivering, wincing every now and then as something pulled. Akako absently thought it was good that her butler had given the dimensional-crosser a towel, otherwise her couch would be soaking wet by now, too.

She smirked at her companion, crossing her arms with an almost scolding huff. "When I said 'break a leg' earlier, I didn't mean it literally." She was ignored, but she could see the embarrassed blush – or was that because she was cold? – dance on the other's cheeks, halfway covered by the white mask underneath the brim of the hat. Said hat was pulled off a moment later, revealing shaggy, short hair, looking black with the moisture.

"You look like you got hit by a bus," She mused, still scanning her visitor, "and then thrown into a lake to drown." Was that what she thought it was on the hat? She held back a cackle when she realized that, yes, yes, it was.

"Feels like it, too…," Midori finally croaked, throat sore. She gave a sniff and hoped she wasn't getting sick. Despite her statement sounding pained and regretful, Akako could see the edges of the girl's mouth pull up a bit in an amused smile. "And can you clean this? Some birds thought it'd be funny to use it for target practice when I was resting underneath a tree." Midori grumbled, looking mournfully down at her fedora, which had a black-and-white splat on the top, as if to mocking match the colors of her choice.

With a smirk, Akako nodded and her demon butler took the hat from the teen, who gave him a grateful, weary, smile.

The mask was off next, followed by soaked gloves, boots, and gadget belt – they were all disposed quite carelessly onto the velvety carpets of the living room. Once the boots had been removed, Midori took the sock on her left foot off, revealing a swelling, purple and black and red ankle that looked horrible. "You walked all the way here with that?" Akako asked, incredulous for once. She waved her hand at her butler standing at the door and on command he left to go find the first aid kit.

"Of course I did." Midori rolled her eyes good naturedly, chuckling a bit before wincing as her ribs and back strained with the movement.

Akako rolled her eyes and took the kit from the butler as he returned with the needed materials. She leaned on her knees, beginning to access the damage on the girl's ankle – it seemed like a bad sprain. With a sigh, the older began to wrap the other with the gauze she'd just taken from the red box of medical equipment. "So, other than this, how did it go?"

Midori grinned brightly, an expression that made her look younger than she actually was as her eyes lit. "Oh, the heist itself was really fun~! Of course, it was nerve-wracking, but that was the best part! It went wonderfully until a certain chibi came along, but I handled him fairly well. The heist actually ended at twelve, so…," She trailed sheepishly, avoiding bemused red eyes.

"You do realize it's already two o'clock, right? What were you doing on your way here? Wrestling with boars?" The witch regarded her guest's wet visage, "Or, better yet, whales?"

The brown-haired girl pouted lightly, deadpanning. "W-Well, it was the part getting back that was the hard thing… There were police everywhere and it was dark and my ankle hurt and, yeah… To end it shortly, I ended up hiding into someone's backyard, but I hadn't noticed the 'beware of the dog' sign," The girl shuttered, as if remembering something thoroughly unpleasant. "And then I didn't notice a koi pond and then when the police found me once, I wasn't paying attention to where I was going and ran into a rose bush."

The trans-dimensional teen took a small thorn from her sleeve with a frown, wincing slightly. "A thorny rose bush."

Akako finished wrapping Midori's ankle and stood up, going to the hearth to gather materials as the new thief continued, "And there was a creepy man in the alleyway that laughed at me, but thankfully, he didn't do anything. Oh! Can't forget when I had to hide up in a tree and then accidently fell forwards. My ribs are killing me." Despite that, she chuckled, amused by her misfortune.

"Did you at least get your target?" Akako questioned, tone just as amused as Midori looked and sounded.

With a zip, Midori put one glove back on and took the gem out of her pocket, showing it off, the strange form glinting in the light from the fireplace, orange making it appear baby blue like in the photos. "Yup~! This thing was worth the trouble – look how pretty it is~!" She cooed before a large yawn interrupted her. Akako looked back to Midori as the girl rubbed her eyes. "You can get changed and then go to sleep. You've had a long night." Akako paused before wondering curiously, "Are you going to keep it, even though it's not the one you're looking for?" There was no judgment in her voice, just mere curiosity.

Midori flashed her a grin that made her butler take a step closer to the door, as if feeling the need to run away. "I think I'll keep it for now~! They won't miss it." She laughed, placing it back into her pocket before standing precariously and making her way out to a guest room – the only other room she knew how to get to at the moment.

Akako stared after for a moment before gesturing her butler closer. "Tell me when she's asleep. Kuroba-kun will not be pleased if she comes back to him with such injuries." The demon nodded before swiftly taking off down the hall Midori disappeared down.

The red-haired witch sighed to herself, gathering materials for a strong healing potion. Really, her not-sister could be so troublesome sometimes.

Review Replies:

To: Kudo Shinichi Tanteisan – Yay~! Welcome back to the land of the living, E-chan~! 8DDD And I know, right~? The jewel is so pretty~! X3 lol, yup, it's originally displayed in Paris. XDDD But, earlier it was mentioned that that jewel would be at that certain museum for that weekend exclusively before being transferred back to Paris. XD I think it was in the movie special… (Thinks) (Shrugs) I dunno. XD It's in there somewhere, lol. Yeah. XD Conan is always so troublesome. XDD Here's the next part~! (Grins as snowflakes fall and eats cyber cookie) Thank you, E-chan~! ^^

-Well, I hope that wasn't too horribly disappointing. XD I feel like I could've made it better, but I just didn't know how. It's probably because this is technically the second time I'm writing this heist and so I was like – erk. What? XDDDDD Oh well. The next one should be more exciting, if this one was disappointing. XD Next, we have another case! However, it's not how it seems… (Smirks)

"Next Revolver Hint: Wedding Ring!"