Silver
Business was great these days. Hordes of people flooded in every hour of every single day this week. The twin-tailed purple haired receptionist barely had time to smile at each and every visitor, let alone remember their faces. However, when a very loud girl with obnoxiously long and ridiculously coloured pigtails tripped over her own hair, it was a very hard sight to forget…
"Miku!" she thought she heard a brown-haired man call out to the girl. A couple? The still-single receptionist thought enviously.
"Sorry Kaito, I think I need a haircut…"
Here the receptionist noticed a pair of what appeared to be black-haired twins looking in on the commotion. However they were only worthy of her attention as they had interrupted the flow of people…
"Excuse me!" she called out in a squeaky voice. "Please don't hold up the crowd!"
At her request, the pair finally moved on, as did the couple. The purple-haired part-timer at the Tony-Prim Mansion soon forgot all about them, save for the persistent image of that handsome man…
The tiny receptionist laid her head onto her arms and sighed, ready for another boring day at work.
"Miku, didn't I tell you not to attract too much attention?" Kaito harshly whispered to the girl.
"Sorry, I just tripped."
"And why are you not in disguise like the rest of us? What if somebody recognised you?"
"Chill Kaito! I'm not the one doing the heist -"
Kaito shushed her harshly. "Do not talk about tonight and do not speak my name whilst we are here."
Miku responded with a pout. Kaito was no fun when he was being all serious.
"Ok, you know what to do now, Miku."
The teal-haired girl huffed as she started scanning the room, identifying the locations of all the security cameras. While she did so, Kaito and the twins distracted all the staff members in the room with questions regarding the exhibits. The twins' overpowering adorableness was enough to take down most of the guards. Kaito's weapon of choice was his bottomless pit of cultured knowledge, enough to baffle even the most intelligent staff members to continue pondering his questions for hours. Of course, by the time they remembered their duty in life, Kaito and company were long gone.
The group had reached the final room. It was surprisingly small, with only one guard stationed outside the door. From a tiny glass window, the gem of the mansion could be seen. It was an exquisitely detailed, yet dainty sculpture of a quaver note, sparkly brightly under the multiple spotlights in its own little room.
Kaito knocked on the walls beside the glass. From what he could tell, they were rather thick, probably soundproof, and bulletproof. For this heist, he wanted to cause as little commotion as possible, until after the festival, therefore tearing apart the walls was out of the question. There weren't even that many cameras, and with Miku's skills, he knew he could get away with it without being seen.
But how do I get to the gem in the first place? As he pondered the question, his sapphire orbs automatically started scanning his surroundings: From the walls, the glass window, the floor to the twins, standing awkwardly side-by-side, to Miku, still diligently scanning the nooks and crannies. His eyes wandered up to the cream white ceiling. From his peripheral vision he could spot some of the blinking red lights of the cameras, something Miku had surely picked up as soon as they had entered the room. But he also spotted something else: a square of off-white that didn't quite match up to the ceiling.
Kaito's eyes focused, as if they were a pair of binoculars zooming in on a target. He identified the square panel as a ventilation shaft. But what a tiny shaft it was! His shoulders would barely fit, and it would surely be difficult to navigate within such a cramped space.
What to do? What to do? Just as before, while he mentally chanted to himself, his eyes wandered, as if his subconsciousness was responding to his predicament. From the ventilation shaft, to the twins, back to the shaft, and the twins again.
And finally, it clicked.
The same purple-haired receptionist was pleased to see the handsome brown-haired man one final time before she had to pack up. That figure was hard to miss, and she stared with dreamy eyes as his broad back disappear beyond the double doors, the setting sun illuminating his figure as if he wore a halo. Snapping out of her reverie when the man exited her vision, she prepared to end her shift early, for every shop and business would do so on this special night. Still in a trance, sighing as she dreamed of her own prince charming, she locked the drawers, shut the windows, closed the doors and left the mansion.
Unbeknownst to her, said man was right outside, waiting for her to leave. He and Len had given their wigs to Miku and Rin to discard, and had changed into darker coloured t-shirts and pants. Kaito reached into his tool bag, hidden beneath his shirt, ready to pick the fairly simple lock on the window, however Len easily pushed said window open: the receptionist had forgotten to lock them…
The pair wore gloves and soft soled shoes. They padded silently through the exhibits, Kaito having already memorised the map of the place. Miku had fiddled with the cameras earlier in the day, so no image of them would be recorded, though they had no idea if there would be hidden audio bugs too. It was unlikely, given the lack of importance of a place like this, however it was a risk Kaito would rather not take.
They had arrived in the final room now. Len lifted the bottom of his shirt, revealing a coil of rope wrapped around his waist. He uncoiled it, and gave one end to Kaito. The other end remained tied to the boy. Len reluctantly let Kaito hoist him up as he removed the panel with a screwdriver. The panel was handed to Kaito, who placed it on the floor without a sound. Meanwhile, Len had to jump and grip onto the edge of the square hole to reach the shaft. For a second, he was hanging on with the tips of his fingertips, and Kaito feared he was going to fall. He saw the boy scramble for purchase, so he whispered words of advice, much to Len's chagrin.
"Shut up, Kaito. I don't…need…your…help!"With a grunt, Len hoisted himself up and into the tunnel-like opening. He lay panting for a bit, exhausted already, though he would never admit that.
"Are you okay, Len? Remember, when you need my help, just tug at the rope and I'll pull you back here." Kaito whispered.
Len scoffed. "Like hell I'd ask for your help." His words echoed along the shaft walls and rebounded back at him. Help, help, help… This pissed him off greatly, and he finally mustered up enough energy to start crawling along on his knees.
"From where you entered, you're supposed to turn left." At this last piece of helpful advice, Kaito could hear a soft clang of metal, and Len's echoing swears as he tried to manoeuvre himself in the tiny space.
Tokyo Square was a flurry of activity that night. People sang and danced amidst stalls brightly lit up with all manner of souvenirs and other goodies. The place was packed with both locals and overseas tourists. From the young to the old, the poor to the rich, it seemed everyone in the world was present to celebrate. And in the centre of the commotion was the massive Night Gem that rose like a great tower, illuminating the sky and the city. It emanated a mystical violet glow, billions of pinprick lights seeped through the porous rock, combining into a spectacular display of wondrous colour.
The magnificent exhibition of lights was largely lost to Rin, though even with her limited vision, she could tell it was a wonderful phenomenon. Miku's eyes were also sparkling with delight. Regardless whether Kaito was with her or not, the Naito Festival was not one to be missed, and never failed to impress. In previous years, she had been largely alone, with nobody to watch the final fireworks display with. She would sit on the grass, admiring the multitude of colours that lit up the night sky, shining more brightly than the stars, yet feeling so isolated. The finale always seemed a dream to her, accentuated by the fact she had nobody to share it with. But this year would be different. This year she had Rin with her.
Suddenly, her stomach grumbled.
"Rin-chan, stay here, I'm getting some food for us!" As the teal-haired girl skipped away, a hooded figure approached the young girl. Rin jumped when a smooth, velvety voice spoke right into her ear.
"You're invited."
The mysterious figure placed some sort of paper into the girl's hand, and then disappeared without a trace. Rin was unable to read the paper, nor see the person's face. She merely stood on the spot, until Miku returned.
Kaito winced as he saw the ventilation panel in the other room fall to the ground. As he had guessed, the walls were indeed soundproof, but seeing the lack of care in Len's actions was aggravating. Said boy almost tumbled out, remembering at the last minute to grab onto the edge of the shaft and lower himself to the ground for a softer landing.
The room was much smaller, with a lower ceiling, and housed only one precious item on a velvet podium. Len saw the prize, strutted over, and promptly swiped the gem and put it in the bag Kaito had supplied. The blue haired man looking through from the glass panel on the other side cringed once more. Thankfully no alarms went off, and nothing signified that anything went wrong at all.
Next, the boy made his way directly underneath the shaft. He jumped, reaching out with his hands to grab the edge, but missed. He tried a few more times, but failed each time. Kaito became progressively more frustrated with each jump. He could tell Len was getting tired: the altitude of his jumps had decreased drastically.
What is wrong with him? Why doesn't he just tug on the rope so I can pull him up?
Finally the man could take it no more. With a harsh tug, the boy in the other room was audibly dragged right into the shaft. Kaito could hear more cursing from his partner in crime, as well Len's shouts for Kaito to just STOP.
Len sounded like a car accident as he was bumped and tumbled through the small tunnel. He held his breath and closed his eyes, barrelling forward like a train out of control. His arms and legs were sore and probably red. He just wanted it all to end.
Suddenly, he dropped, headfirst. His heart rose to his throat. It seemed like he had fallen off a cliff. The boy opened his eyes to see Kaito glaring at him…upside-down.
Huh, what…?
The blonde squirmed around a bit, but he remained in the same position.
...Crap…I'm stuck.
Kaito noticed his companion's predicament and made a move to help, but Len quickly barked out a sharp no.
"Stop, I can do it without your help."
The harshness of his tone threw the blue haired man, but after a few seconds, ignoring the protests of the boy, he tugged once more on the rope in his hands, and Len came tumbling down. The blonde got up, rubbing his sore behind, and glaring daggers at the man before him. Kaito rolled his eyes as he motioned for them to leave.
This kid makes the worst partner. What did I even see in him?
It was a both a successful yet incredibly painful heist.
Miku came back looking so cheerful Rin couldn't bring herself to rain on her parade, instead, choosing to hide the paper for until they returned home. The teal haired girl had bought a yukata for each of them, and together, while eating deliciously fluffy cotton candy and steaming palettes of takoyaki, they enjoyed the festival to its fullest.
"Wow this is the first time I've had so much fun at this festival!" commented a cheery Miku. Rin responded with a small smile. She had never attended a festival at all and all the sensations were so new to her.
But, I wish Len was here too…
Suddenly, Miku squealed and pointed into the distance where a small stream of fire shot up into the sky like a tiny rocket before transforming into a brilliant explosion of light and colour. Soon the giant fire flowers lit up the night sky. It was stunningly beautiful, and Rin could see them through her new glasses: great balls of red that lit up the blue backdrop before sizzling away like ashes in a fire.
It was a memorable night for both girls.
As the majority of the city focused on the fireworks display, a hooded figure viewed the scene from on top of the famous violet jewel. The surface of the Night Gem was flat, providing the perfect vantage point. In front of the figure were two photos, stacked on top of each other. The mysterious person watched the festival with a slightly sadistic smile on their face, while drilling a hole into the face of the person in the photo.
Rin and Miku came home to a very moody atmosphere. The males were watching television together, though sitting on opposite ends of the sofa, as far away as possible from each other.
"Hey, hey? What's wrong with you two?" demanded Miku.
"Nothing…" Kaito and Len replied at the same time. Both glared at the other, then turned their heads away with a huff.
Miku was about to start lecturing the two when Rin unexpectedly interrupted.
"Um, guys. Something weird happened at the festival while Miku-chan was away…"
Len immediately jumped up, fearing for his sister's safety. Miku glanced curiously at the blonde girl. Kaito nonchalantly looked over as Rin produced the piece of paper.
"A stranger gave this to me…But I can't read it…"
Her brother quickly snatched the paper away and began reading aloud:
To Miss Galaco:
You are cordially invited to the Hirata Mansion for a dinner party on the 25th of June.
This is a formal event and you are requested to dress appropriately.
The event begins at 7pm.
Please bring this invitation.
Uninvited guests are not permitted to enter the venue.
Thank you
Toshio Hirata
"…"
"…"
"…"
"…who the hell is Galaco?"
"No idea," responded Miku. Rin also replied with a negative.
"…Hirata, Hirata…" Kaito mumbled to himself. "Toshio Hirata, I'm sure I've heard his name before."
Miku piped up."Isn't he, like, that really rich guy?"
A pause, as Kaito's brain registered the information before reaching a conclusion. "That's it! Toshio Hirata is the wealthy inheritor of the Hirata fortune. It is also said he owns one of the rarest gems in the world: Alexandrite."
Almost everyone in the room could tell what the blue-haired thief was thinking, especially when his gaze shifted to the recipient of the invitation. Miku looked pityingly at Rin. Len, of course, objected.
"No way, you are not gonna bring Rin into this. It's too suspicious. She got this today, but it just so happens that the party is tomorrow. Why wasn't this delivered to Galaco, but to Rin?"
"Len-chan," Kaito began condescendingly, "there are times when fate gives us brilliant opportunities. And when those opportunities arise, a man like me grabs at them."
"No!" Len shouted defiantly, "This time, I'm not letting you do whatever you like! This could potentially put Rin in danger, and I'm not going to let anything happen to her!"
Rin and Miku could do nothing but watch as the males argued. The teal-haired girl started shivering as the battle became intense. Both males looked as if they would start getting physical soon.
"Stop." Kaito and Len froze when an uncharacteristically loud voice interrupted their fight. "I-I'll do it." Len shifted his head to stare at his sister. Never before had he seen her so defiant.
"W-wait, Rin-"
"I'll do it." His sister stated more clearly, which brought a smile to Kaito's face.
"See Len, even Rin-chan agrees."
"W-what, Rin doesn't even know what you're doing-"
"She doesn't need to. I'll keep her safe, I promise."
"Let me go, Len." Said Rin. "I want to help you."
"N-No…" Rin's gaze was determined and defiant. It unnerved him, but there was no way he was going to let his beloved sister walk into this trap.
"No, Rin…" Len gulped. "I-I'll do it."
Who likes cross-dressing Len? ;)