A/N: Woo, this was an awkward chapter. I don't know why, but I feel like it turned out awkwardly. Oh well. XDDD Anyways, I hope you enjoy this chapter and its half-hearted heist~! (Laughs) Also, I finally – finally – created a cover for this story! What do you guys think of it? It's a blend of pictures with Midori standing behind a chessboard – anyone recognize that as her internal one? XD – and there's some playing cards at the bottom and then behind Midori and the chessboard is Conan, slightly faded out, since I wanted to make it look like he was in a different environment (different world). And the "shhhh" pose that they're making was just a nice touch! XDD (you can see Heiji briefly in the corner and I feel like that just is, like, the extra sprinkles you always wanted! Pretty happy with how it turned out. XD) Anyways, enjoy?

Disclaimer: I do not own Detective Conan or Magic Kaito in any way or form. (or shape!) Ryukaze Erise is owned by Iriss-sama.

Chapter Forty Seven; Lucid Nightmare Arc

I left early in the morning when dawn was just arriving, quietly sneaking out of the Koizumi household, leaving a note on the table. If I had stayed there for breakfast, I just knew that seeing the witch again so soon would've made me feel indescribably awkward after my foot-in-mouth the other night. So, my solution was to sneak out when I woke up, but since I hadn't received any sleep – like I'd predicted –, I just decided to leave when the sun came up.

So, it was about six-thirty in the morning and I was currently holed up in The Den. The first day of November brought a cold light from the windows and a light, chilling, breeze, but I was comfortable in the little shack of a building. I rested in my safe room, sitting in the leather chair. A laptop Akako had given me earlier in the week was booting up on the desk as I sat in the barely-lit room, light falling in from the open door. The lack of windows in the room didn't really help, but, oh well.

I bit my lip, feeling eyes disappear from the back of my head and I relaxed, pulling a notebook on the desk closer to me and flipping it open. It was my DC notes, as I figured carrying them around all over the place would probably get me in trouble sooner or later. Yeah, no thanks…

I flipped forward in the pages, marking down that I had changed yet again into 'Midori' yesterday and would be doing it again today. The slanted line in the corner of the pages was basically unnoticeable and looked unimportant. I was quite proud of my notes, actually. They were detailed and emphasized with different colored ink and recorded my whole process since I've been here – if anyone got their hands on these notes, I'd basically be in the palm of their hands, and so I had decided to take precaution measures.

My pen glided across the page easily despite the greyness of dawn, writing out my experience with the Koizumi clan. I paused when I reached the part with Yuudai, deciding to not write out what I had asked of him – again, if anyone found this book, then it wouldn't be a safe hold anymore and it could be used against me. I set the pen down, watching it roll off to the side and collide with the computer's vent for the fans and a frown twisted at my mouth.

Akako's mother had been killed.

The revealed fact had been spinning around my mind, begging for attention, but I had held off any analysis of the situation – it felt oddly like prying and even though I was a pretty nosy person, this one left me with a bitter taste in my mouth. Probably due to the fact that she hadn't just died – she'd been killed. It wasn't pity I felt for Akako or anything like sympathy or empathy – I didn't know the feeling and I knew better than to fool myself into thinking I did – but there was a feeling quelling into the pit of my stomach that slowly rose and rose until it was stuck in the base of my throat. It was something like rage that bubbled just beyond the surface – just out of reach; too out of reach to comprehend.

I shook the thoughts away, pulling my cellphone out of my pocket to look for a distraction. Giving little heed to the time it was, I shot Erise a quick text. Good morning~! How have you been, darling~? 3 I hope the police weren't too rude with their questioning. If they did, they'll be sorry! :(

I stifled a grin at my playful behavior as I clicked my phone shut and put it on the desk. Sure, I was a bit anxious since the last time I'd spoken to Erise was the day of that crime – The Cowardly Culprit, I had decided to dub it proudly – and when she found out I had two names, but I had missed her. And she was a good distraction from pondering on Akako's mother. I sighed to myself, realizing I was having a lot of problems lately – a stalker, Heiji finding out, Erise being very close to figuring out, Akako's mother's death being pitched in my face, not to mention that I have a heist tonight and still needed to scout the place out. I closed my eyes at the oncoming headache.

I jumped when my phone buzzed on the table and my eyes flew open and I reached for it, flipping it open, happy to see it was indeed Erise who had replied. Stress melted away – I had always felt better with friends beside me if I was stressed out. Of course, I hadn't really had anything to stress about in my world, but it was something I had discovered over time; though, I could deal with stress fairly well. I was the level-headed one in the family, while my mom and sister would both blow a cow over every little thing.

Midori-chan~! 3 Its good to hear from you again! Been busy this week? I've been great! I aced my math test this week, so I'm pretty happy! And they weren't~ They were a lot more considerate now that they knew I wasn't the bad guy. xD You never did come, so I was curious if you had your interview at a different time…?

A grin quirked on my face as my hands slowly – awkwardly – typed out the response. Yeah, been pretty book lately. Family reunions and I had a cold. . That's great! Erise-chan is so smart! We should go out to celebrate! :D And good! Actually, now that you mention it…they never called me in… o.O Weird.

Really weird, I mused, raising a brow at the oddity after I sent the message. Maybe they felt like it wasn't necessary, since I'd come after the original murder had happened? Probably, I decided, not wanting to have to think about another thing. My eyes turned to the waiting computer screen, which had gone blank since I hadn't touched it in a while, and I ran a finger over the mouse pad, bringing the screen back to life – the login screen appeared.

I quickly typed in the password and hit ENTER, greeted by the background screen of the desktop that I'd set it as – a picture of a grey wolf in the snow, about to take a drink from a river before it noticed the photographer. It was a really pretty picture that I'd found online and decided to keep as the desktop. I moved the mouse on the screen to the Internet Explorer icon on the taskbar, double clicking it with ease. The new window popped up, taking its time to load. Usually, one would think I wouldn't have internet connection in this place, but Akako had told me it was already connected, which was convenient, to say the least.

My phone buzzed with a new message. Ohhhh, family reunions~! How'd that go? I'm glad your cold is gone! Colds suck. . And a celebration just for acing a math test? xDDDD And that's strange... Maybe they forgot, lol. xDDD

Glancing at it briefly, I clicked the search bar on the computer, typing up the name of tonight's heists museum swiftly. I clicked the search button before going back to my phone as the page loaded swiftly – from just the short seconds, it already had 27,000 results.

It went…well. I suppose, lol. And yes! Celebrating is always fun! Nothing wrong with celebrating small things! XD We should grab a bite to eat – on me, math ace-r! And maybe… XD

My attention turned back to the computer and I clicked the first link that had shown up on Google, which was the museum's official website. I chewed on my thumb nail absently, scrolling down the page, eyes darting to and fro. The website was plain as plain could be – the designer obviously hadn't put much effort into it and instead focused on giving you the correct information for it. And while the site was so inexplicably boring looking that I immediately wanted to click the back button, I surged forward, quickly locating the museum hours.

The Beika Museum opened at ten AM on Saturdays and closed five PM and since it was the first Saturday of the week, the general admission was free due to some company funding them. I kinda remember a museum doing that somewhere near where I used to live, grinning at the prospect of getting in without paying. I admit my bad luck was definitely balanced out with the amount of convenient things I came across, which I was immensely thankful for.

My concentration broke as my phone, instead of buzzing, let out the familiar tune of James Bond – Erise had decided to call. After a split second of hesitation, I answered. "Hello, Ri-chan~!" I hummed, earning a laugh from the other side. "Hello, Mi-chan~!" Erise echoed back with an amused tone, "Since you so kindly offered to take me out for breakfast, how about we go to Poirot? It's in Beika, but it isn't that far and the food is great! It's pretty cheap, too." She tacked on for good measure. We'd known each other long enough for her to know I mostly went for cheap food – quality tasted better if you paid less for it, in my mind.

"Oh, Poirot, huh?" I snickered, very familiar with her choice of restaurant, "Sounds good." I glanced at the computer screen, "And…hey, you want to go to the Beika Museum while we're at it? Might as well and today's free since it's the first Saturday of the month, so…," I trailed, waiting for her answer as I rested the phone between my chin and shoulder, hand going back to the mouse pad so that I could exit out of the webpage. Almost immediately, I clicked the documents icon on the taskbar, the small window popping up.

Erise hummed over the line, thinking it over. I could hear some pages turning and figured she was looking through her daily schedule – I had seen her use it once or twice before. If there was anything I knew about Erise, it was that she loved to be busy; not in the uptight, everything-has-to-be-done-in-a-certain-time kind of way, but more of an energetic, upbeat, I'd-like-to-do-all-this-today sort of way. I clicked documents and scrolled down the list of notepad files I'd created within the short time I'd had the computer, all titled with dates. My finger tapped against the metal framing of the computer rhythmically while I decided what I wanted to do.

I clicked one open, dated October 29th, 2012, and almost immediately, my fingers pressed down the familiar CTRL and N, the small entry disappearing to give me a new notepad. The cursor blinked at the starting point as Erise began to speak again, "I can fit it in today! We can go there after we eat breakfast~! I've always wanted to go to Beika Museum, but all my other friends thought it would be boring, so I'm glad you asked, Midori-chan! Sometimes, it feels like you can read my mind!" She laughed brightly and I grinned, chuckling, as she went on, "But, breakfast first! I'm starving. Last night, mom wasn't there to cook since she went with some of her friends to an onsen and my dad and I aren't that great at cooking, so we made microwavable meals."

"Microwavable meals aren't too bad." I interjected in the short moment as she took a breath, tone amused. Kaito and I ate microwavable meals quite often and they were filling enough. Her pout was practically tangible. "I know, but still. I wanted to go to the onsen with her and she didn't take me, since it was still the school week when she left. They went to an outdoor onsen at Nakanoshima in Nachikatsuura, Wakayama. We should go there sometime together! It looks really nice~!"

My hands flew across the keyboard as I typed out a short message detailing that I had a heist tonight and that I'd be celebrating with Erise at breakfast and then scouting out the building with her as my companion. My mind recognized the name, "Nachikatsuura? That's in Higashimuro district, right?" If I remembered correctly…

"Yup! So? Would you go with me next summer? You'll still be here, right? I mean, you and your family came here from America, but you never mentioned if you were just visiting, or…," She trailed curiously before picking up once again, "Plus, it's in the Kansai region, close to Osaka!" I blinked at the randomly tacked on fact, saving the notepad file as November 1st, 2012. That done, I clicked the documents folder shut and logged out of the computer, shutting it down. The wolf picked blinked off to display a boring blue screen while it shut off.

"I'm…not sure, Erise-chan." I commented, at a loss. Would I still be here next summer? If so, that'd mean I'd been here for almost a year and once it reached August… I bit my lip. Once the screen blacked out, I shut it gently and pushed it to the corner of the mahogany desk pensively. "But…," I hesitated for a moment, "But, if I'm still here, we'll definitely go!" I finished, feeling like a weight had just lifted off my chest. I suddenly felt much better and I let out a sigh of relief as I slumped in the chair tiredly. Perhaps pulling an all-nighter was a bad idea….

"Okay! I'll keep you to that, Midori-chan!" She warned playfully. "Anyways, we'll meet at the place just beyond the Teimuzu River where there's a Ferris wheel, okay? You know where that is, right?"

I gave a low hum in my throat as affirmative and she bid a quick goodbye, saying she'd be there around seven-thirty, since she still needed to get ready. I also bid a quick goodbye and we hung up respectively after one another, and I pocketed my phone, getting up to shut the door of the safe room to change into Midori.

A sudden thought hit me in a flash and I paused for a split second, eyes widening as I thought of the possibility. Unseen, a vindictive smirk crawled on my lips.

ooOOoo

Beika Museum was a large building, with several floors and lots of precious things ranging from paintings, to gems, to ancient artifacts and vintage vases. And unlike my first heist building, I knew that this building in particular didn't have the crappy security that my first heist building did. Erise walked beside me as we travelled through the museum, a brochure that had the map to the building in my hands as we went around, gazing in awe at the things around.

"Woah…," Erise paused in front of a specific painting in amazement and I froze mid-step, eyes darting up to see a vent entrance big enough for entering just above the picture. Quickly, I fished out a blue sharpie from my pocket and created a tiny dash where it began – there were already a few other marks on the other pages (other floors) of the brochure and once I got back to The Den, I'd make sure to connect them in the most realistic way possible to chart out the system.

That done, I turned to see what painting she was looking at. It was quite dark in color, greys and blacks dominating most of the canvas while a murky golden sheen like fog spread across the background, a woman in the middle, capturing attention. It was hard to believe the woman was a painting, looking more like an impossibly beautiful real human. Her skin was a pale white, shadowed with grey and long black hair fell down her back gracefully. She was dressed in a gothic-style black dress that tumbled down to the wilderness' floor, golden silk highlighting places on the dress magically.

Golden butterflies flew in the background – that was a mix between looking like a wasteland and a majestic nature scene – and the woman's left hand was extending outwards, a golden apple that seemed to be emitting some type of magical fog in her hand, Greek wording above. However, despite all this, the woman's expression was a dead giveaway to what was actually evil – or, at least, unpleasant – intentions. The smile on her face looked nice enough, but it had an underlying tone of sinister-ness as her eyes looking to her right, staring at something out of view.

I found myself grinning and I glanced down to the nameplate as Erise continued to look, sky eyes tracing the lines of the paint. The Apple of Discord was proudly presented on the fake gold plate and I blinked in surprise. I glanced at the painting once more before chuckling – what a coincidence to see a painting of Eris in this museum while scouting for a heist.

I pulled out a purple marker to make a quick note to myself on the brochure with a sly smirk, feeling amused as Erise and I finally left from the painting to travel more along the path of more paintings.

ooOOoo

"By the way, I've been wondering…," I began, hand slipping into the pocket of my low drop camouflage pants. I pulled out the charm Ryo gave me, the silver twirling as it hung on the black string carelessly, as I showed it to Akako, who was sitting across the table. I was currently back at her house for lunch – Erise and I had parted ways after looking through the whole museum – and I was still feeling a bit awkward, but Akako seemed to be back to her usual self. Fiery red eyes took in the metal, tracing the intricate design that reminded me oddly of an old-fashioned apartment building.

I placed the rectangular-shaped charm on the table, taking another bite of the kuri-gohan Akako's butler had made earlier. "What's this for? Ryo-kun told me that it would come in handy." I finished.

Akako quirked an amused brow, "It figures that imbecile would help you with your idiotic career choice." She murmured, lips upturned in a smirk. My brows rose in curiosity as I grabbed the string once more to pull it closer, wondering what the charm was for. What career choice? I was only thirteen – I wouldn't be working anytime soon; wasn't even old enough to.

"That's the 1st Pentacle of the Moon. It opens all locks and doors, no matter how they're fastened." She explained half-heartedly and it suddenly made a lot more sense as to what she meant by idiotic career choice. "Ohh…,"

I took another bite of the autumn dish. "So, how'd he know I was a thief? It's not exactly something I advertise." I said once I finished swallowing, also finishing the food on my plate.

"Minoru-kun probably told him about it. He made you pick a card, didn't he? At that time, he probably also took a peek at your soul to see if he could help with anything." She answered. I stiffened as an unpleasant chill went down my spine – "What do you mean peeked into my soul?" I squeaked and she narrowed her eyes in amusement, finishing off her food elegantly and pushing the plate to the side. As if on cue, her demon butler immediately took both of our empty plates and headed to the sink to begin washing them.

"I mean what I said. Some witches or warlocks can look into someone's soul. Minoru-kun has the ability to do that, at a low-scale. Hayato-kun can do it, as well, and he tends to use it as a vice to whether or not he should trust the person. That's probably why he acted strange at first." She chuckled somewhat sinisterly as I sighed to myself, face palming. "You know, Akako-neesan…your family is too confusing. So many things happened at once and now you're telling me that not only is a gem bonded with my soul, but someone looked at it?" My incredulousness didn't last for long as Akako shot back, "Stranger things have happened."

And, once she said that, both of us knew quite clearly that she was the winner of this battle of wits.

ooOOoo

My outfit was on, my pouch on my belt was stocked with as much things it could hold, my card gun was tucked safely in my left boot, and the blueprints of the museum were folded up and tucked safely in my pocket – I was basically ready to go. I glanced at the mirror, carefully applying the black eye shadow around the whole of my eyes, making me look like a panda – or like someone had just slugged both of my eyes, but whatever. The eye shadow – color 10: let's do the moonwalk and 11: wild at heart, metallic effect, respectively – made my eyes look completely different and I think it looked a bit…sinister.

Brown now looked like a hazy black and I gave a sharp grin, happy with the result that would serve to keep my identity under wraps. Carefully, I grabbed my white mask, putting it on and taking another look in the tiny mirror. As expected, the black stood stark against the white of the mask and in the darkness, it'd probably look like someone had gouged my eyes out – I chuckled as I thought of the reactions I'd probably get before they got a closer look. I placed on my fedora, securing the hairclips that kept it up.

"Showtime~!"

ooOOoo

The heist building was under security that was most definitely tighter than the previous heist, but it wasn't yet up to par with Kaitou KID heists – thank goodness. Getting in would be easier than getting out, I could tell. Guards were placed strategically around the building, blocking off all doors, but I hadn't planned to go through them anyways. No, this time, I planned to go in through a window – a risky course of action, but, well, if you're going to be a thief, might as well do it right, right?

My eyes narrowed at the blueprints, taking in where the little orange dots littered across the web-gloss pages. There was an opening in the front, double doors – a large entrance – and there was a backdoor for workers and janitors along with four emergency exits placed on all sides of the building. The good thing about entering through a window in this place was that they were everywhere. The whole exterior was basically made of glass with the occasional interjection of brick.

As casually as possible – and as quietly – I headed over to one of the window-walls, black cloak pulled over me, heart practically beating out of my chest as I realized that I was smack-dab in between two guards, one who was guarding the emergency exit to my left and the other who was guarding the main entrances left side to my right. I swallowed thickly, putting the brochure back into my pocket and unzipping the pouch slowly. I winced at the zipping sound before hurriedly setting to work, taking out the miniature drill from before.

I took a steadying breath, knowing that this would have to be quick because despite the screwdriver-drill being decently quiet, there was no way both guards wouldn't hear it. Throwing all those thoughts down the proverbial drain, I quickly switched the drill on and slammed the sharp base into the glass. Pieces of the thick glass rained down as I focused on drilling through, my heart jumping into my throat when footsteps sounded in a hurried pace towards me.

"Come on, come on, come on…," I mumbled frantically, pushing all my weight into it, rewarded with the glass cracking, spiraling outwards from the 'puncture point' like spider webs – at the crackling sound, more footsteps sounded from my right. Figuring there was no time to wait for it to further crack and weaken, I pulled back the drill, flicking it off and stuffing it back in my pouch before taking steps back. Readying myself for the ensuing shoulder pain, I took another breath of chilled air and surged forward.

My shoulder impacted with the place I had drilled roughly, jarring my body – and I just knew that would bruise later – but rewarding me with a loud cracking noise as the glass shattered around me, nicking my cheek harmlessly as I continued forward, not bothering to wait. Shouts sounded behind me and I let out a manic grin of accomplishment, pushing my shoulder pain out of my mind for the time being as my eyes adjusted to the darkness.

I skidded across the hall and there were suddenly a lot more people in the dim building, all making grabs that I avoided haphazardly. My mind screamed at me to turn back – survival instinct, I suppose – but my body told me to keep running forward, to get what I was here for, and to get the freak out! Outrunning the guards was somewhat easy, given I was probably way younger than all of them, and before I knew it, I was in a dark hall alone.

My back connected with the wall behind me as flashlights neared just beyond the corner. I held my breath pensively, hoping that they couldn't hear my heart pumping adrenaline into my veins. My eyes were wide, stinging as I didn't blink, listening to the police shuffle around nearby.

"Did she go this way?" One of them questioned in a deep voice – a shiver ran down my spine as I fought the urge to turn tail. If I moved, they would know which way I went and there was no freakin' vents in this hall! Something about the voice sounded oddly familiar, but I couldn't pinpoint it…

"No, that hall is a dead end. Let's go back to the front, maybe she's there…damn thief…," The voices faded as they decided to go back to the front and I let out a soundless sigh of relief, feeling my legs tremble for a moment before I steadied them. Now was not the time to back out – I'd done this once, I could do it again!

Quietly, I pulled out the brochure, sliding down the wall to sit in a small huddle on the ground of the hall. There was no blue marks for vents, but I easily made out the spot where the gem was displayed. I was actually quite close to it, probably unconsciously heading towards it in my blind scramble to escape the guards – I mean, I should really pay more attention; I had hid in a dead end…

I listened for any telling sounds of people, but found none, so I carefully slid out of my crouch and carefully headed in the direction of the gem slowly, eyes wide in the darkness. The fabric glued to my shoes made little sounds as I shuffled around and I paused at the sight of a familiar painting, looking creepy in the darkness. The woman's eyes looked like they were glowing. I grimaced at the creepy sight – and it was strange that ti was so beautiful during the day, but so creepy this late – and pulled out a slip of paper, taping it on the wall next to the painting. At the mischief, my grimace quickly turned into a shark-grin.

Leaving, I peeked around the corner and once it was deemed safe, I slipped into the room. It was kind of stupid that they didn't have anyone on guard here, but maybe they had and the guard had left to search, too. I rolled my eyes at their idiocy, glad they made the mistake but hoping that next time they wouldn't. There was only so much you could take before you lost hope in humanity. I stifled a chuckle and walked confidently to the podium in the middle of the room, the DeLong Star Ruby innocently sitting in its casing.

With one more furtive glance around the room, I pulled on a string around my neck, pulling the silver charm that Ryo gave me out of my shirt collar. I watched with amazed eyes as the lock on the display case quickly and quietly clicked open, not even setting off any alarms. Oh, Ryo, you're amazing! I'd definitely have to thank him for this!

My hand dropped the charm, letting it rest against my collarbone once more, and I reached forward with gloved hands to pull off the bulletproof case. Swiftly, I snatched it out of the case, wrapping it in the cloak from earlier (which I had taken off sometime while running from the guards) and zipping the pouch back up.

Wondering why it was so quiet – it was kinda freaky – I carefully headed out of the building, not even encountering one guard, strangely enough. It left my feeling with a sick, dreading feeling as I walked out of the front doors, not one person showing up or running after me. Despite being safely out of the building, I broke into a cold sweat, unnerved by the turn of events. I had honestly thought I would have to run up the stairs again for an exit from a higher floor, but it seemed unnecessary now.

Just as I was scurrying down an empty alley in the quieter than quiet night, a voice spoke up from behind me and I froze, feeling a lump grow in my throat. I know this voice…

"Aw, isn't stealing bad, kitten?" The voice was deep yet smooth, an sneer obvious in the tone. My spine straightened as an uncomfortable feeling travelled down my neck to the base of my back and all the way down to my legs, which didn't seem to want to move suddenly. I tried to control my panic, forcing myself to swallow down the lump in my throat and to act calm. I couldn't let him know I was scared. After all, he would probably enjoy that and I would rather be eaten alive by piranhas than please the creeper.

I cleared my throat conspicuously, "Aren't you a little late at jumping in...," Not wanting my back turned to the dangerous man, I swiveled on my heel, my arms crossing defensively across my chest. My eyes easily spotted the other person in the dark alley, focusing on the three glowing, red, orbs formed in a triangle where his eyes should've been. They spun once and I absently wondered if they were programed to do that every few minutes before pushing it out of my mind because at the moment that wasn't important.

Despite the perilous situation, a cocky grin spread on my lips as I realized my out-there theory was right. Something burned in my pocket, pressed down on my leg like a hot coal, and my heart started at a frantic pace. The man smirked, as if he could hear it – and my gosh! I had to get out of here! What was I doing chatting with him?! – and the rest of his body blended in with the dark background, as he was dressed in all black. His name flew from my lips like acid and I knew that I had to acknowledge him now that I had said his name. There was no going back now. Hopefully my knowledge could get me out of this one – but I doubted it.

"…Spider."

Review Replies:

To: Kudo Shinichi Tanteisan – Yeah… (Winces) But, since she's Akako she recovered quick enough. XD Though, it'll probably be still really awkward for Midori. And I guess I can give you a little hint, since someone else asked to, and I don't want to be a complete jerk~! XDDD (not that the hint is going to be a good hint, but… -shrugs- ) *grins evilly in Kaito's direction* Heyyyy, Kaito-kun~ Can you come here for a moment~? XDDD And yup, there was a heist this chapter! But, it was really half-hearted, since not much happened during the heist itself, but it's more important what happens after the heist. XDD Hope it wasn't disappointing. (and if it was, I hope it can be compensated with the next chapter XD) (Grins as snowflakes fall and eats cyber cookie) Thank you, E-chan~! 8DDD

To: Meow-chan-15 – Yup! Kaito is too awesome to deny! 8DDDD And, yes, in a sense. The thought within itself is interesting and it would be awesome, but the events that would occur in its wake wouldn't be very pleasant. When I say going to another dimension would be awesome, I mean it in the sense of it actually happening, since it would be such a fantastical event (dimension travel! 8O), but the consequences wouldn't be awesome. XD And thank you, please do! Those darn bugs are very irritating. XDDD Aw, it'll get better for her~! (I'm so dispassionate for the character. XDDD) Oh, I could do that. (Nods) I think it would help a lot, but I need to stop being lazy and jut write it. XD I'm not sure if I should post it on this story, though. Maybe at the end, or at an interjection between chapters? (though, it annoys me when people do that, so… XDDD) I was planning on putting profiles at the end of this story for all the OC characters, since it could become confusing with mixing them all together, so. Yeah. XD As for the "love" thing, it just depends on how you look at it. If they do like-like her it will probably not be expanded on, but more hinted at or something, since I feel like having a relationship with someone in the Detective Conan world would just complicate things more for Midori, so I've been avoiding it. But, it's possible that someone~ ( - glances at Minoru - ) might like her. It's just how you see it, really. XDD Other than that, though, a lot of Akako's family is a lot older than her, so it'd be kinda strange if certain people liked her. XDDDD Thank you! 8D Hope you liked this chapter! ^^

To: MagicMilkbone – Thank you! I'm glad you liked how I used her – I was worried about getting her character wrong. XDDD And thanks! Once I heard split personality, it was the first thing to come to my mind. XD As for her mother, she unfortunately is still sick… (Feels Bad) But! I'll make up for that! (Guilty Grin) And I made her like that, yeah. XDD I'm glad I could portray that well enough! ^^ And she will~! Midori has a soft side for people who are misunderstood. Thank you! I try to do a decent amount of research for each chapter, to give it some depth. XDD And I'll put a hint at the bottom, since you're the second person who asked for a hint~! XDDD And yes~! I love heists, so hopefully this one wasn't too disappointing, since its more focused on what happens after the heist rather than at the heist. XDD As for Kaitou KID, he'll be showing up soonnn~ (Grins) And he'll be stealing the Black Pearl actually really soon, I'm surprised. I just counted how many cases are left and there's only three more cases that Midori/Alice will be involved in before the Black Pearl heist! 8O I'm (pleasantly) surprised! XDD And don't worry, Ayala wasn't the cause of my writer's block. ^^ I just had a hard time with that chapter for some reason – Ayala actually helped me get unstuck when I was like, "my gosh, what the heck am I gonna do here?" and low-and-behold, Ayala~! So, thank you for letting me use your wonderful OC. o^^o

-Seems like everything was long replies today, but meh. XD Long replies for the win! I love socializing with my readers! ^^ And since two of you asked for it, here's the hint~!

"Hayato's Language Hint: It's spoken in Europe!"

(Laughs) Come on, you didn't expect a good hint from me, did you? XDDD I'm sure you all know by now (or I'd hope you do) that I'm a troll that likes to withhold information~! XDDDDDD (Coughs) Anyways, yup. That's the hint. XD

Note(s):

Kuri-gohan (Chestnut Rice) – Chestnuts are called 'kuri' in Japanese and are harvested in the fall for the people of Japan, as opposed to how chestnuts are usually known as a winter food here in America. Kuri-gohan is a popular Japanese autumn dish which consists of steamed rice with chestnuts.

-see you next time~! (Waves)Did anyone expect that plot twist? XDD (Curious)