Thank you so much to all my readers for being so very patient while I worked so painstakingly slowly on this chapter! You guys are what give me the fuel to write (and reviews too...especially the reviews). However, I feel the need to give a big shout-out to BrookeRan1414 who was so supportive of me while I slugged through my writing. Thank you so much, Brooke-chan! :D

Since you all have been wonderful patient readers, I am rewarding you with the longest chapter yet! So now, without further ado, I present to you...Chapter 4 of "The Raven's Eclipse" (featuring everyone's favorite thief)! Enjoy!

The Raven's Eclipse
by pikacutie25

Chapter 4: An Unwanted Guest

It was such a beautiful night. The temperature outside was perfect, and there wasn't a single cloud to be seen in the sky. Without the clouds, which at night could only prove their presence by passing arrogantly in front of one of those majestic lights in the sky, one could have an unobstructed view of all the bright stars and, more importantly, the not-quite-full moon.

It's such a shame to stay indoors on an amazing night like this, said a certain phantom thief to himself. Ah well, at least it will be honored with a special performance by yours truly, he snickered.

"Kaito? What's so funny?" a familiar voice cut into his thoughts. Aoko, daughter of Nakamori-keibu and winner of the "Most Annoying Person in the World" award, was currently looking at him with an expression of suspicion.

"Oh, Aoko! I'd completely forgotten you were there!" Kaito said with a straight face.

He received the reaction he expected. She instantly became furious-seriously, you could almost see the steam she was emitting- and shrieked, "Bakaito! I've been next to you the whole time!"

It really was a regular routine with them, though. He would first provoke her, usually through an announcement of the color of the day after a not-so-discreet peek under her skirt, she would get mad at him and either chase him around with a mop or threaten him with fish (which was definitely the scarier of the two!), and then things would return to normal fairly quickly. It wasn't exactly the most common routine to have-make that they were probably the only two people in the world who had it-but he had fun nevertheless, and he was certain that deep down, she did as well.

She continued giving him a dirty look for a moment longer, then made a gesture of indifference. "Aoko didn't have to bring you along, you know! If it weren't for me, my father probably wouldn't have let you in. You know how serious he is about catching that stupid, [insert string of curses here] Kaitou Kid!" she fumed again. Oh boy, does she hate me! Someone remind me never to tell her the truth…

"A-ah," Kaito glanced down at his watch. 8:50 pm. Well, guess it's about time then… "Hey, Aoko, I've gotta head home now," he attempted.

"What? Already? You always leave right before Kaitou Kid appears!" Aoko complained.

"Ah, sorry, but I have a project to finish," Kaito pathetically made an excuse and started walking off.

"Geez, why did you wait until the last minute?" Aoko grumbled. "Well, go on and finish your project then! And you better not procrastinate again!" she called out one last time.

"I'll try!" he called back. …not. Man, Ahoko is way too easy to trick! No wonder she hasn't figured out my identity yet. As he made his way towards his destination, he noticed how all the cops were scrambling about. They seem even more disorganized than usual! Well, looks like this one will be a cinch to grab…too bad, I wanted to have more fun with Nakamori-keibu tonight. After all, games are always more fun when the opponent actually gives you a challenge…

Meanwhile, Aoko was left all alone in the room with the gem. Well, that wasn't entirely correct: she had a bunch of frantic, shouting police officers to keep her company there. Why did it always turn out like this? Every time she tried to bring Kaito and have him watch Kid's heists (regardless of how she knew they always turned out), he always ran off for some reason or another.

Well, there was that one time when Hakuba was there, and Kaito finally got to see Kaitou Kid…he seemed really shocked. But Aoko was too, especially since Kid went flying off on a broomstick! That was totally unexpected. Oh yeah, that's when I decided that Kaitou Kid must be gay! Although, now that I think about it, that's probably not right…he must have had a cold or something.

"Aoko!" An abrupt voice calling her name quickly snapped her out of her reverie; she immediately recognized it as that of her father's. "You need to move back a bit from the jewel. Who knows what Kid has planned tonight? I wouldn't want you getting caught up in any of his tricks," he told her kindly.

"Oh, right," she responded, stepping back a few steps. He had a point, Kid's tricks did tend to cause the officers all sorts of discomforts, and she certainly didn't want to be affected by them either if she had the choice.

As she moved back, she caught sight of a large digital clock on the wall behind the jewel case that read 9:02 p.m. Only three minutes until the designated time. I'm also wondering what Kid is planning. I'll bet it's something pretty over-the-top, as usual. Why is he such a show-off? He's just like that annoying Bakaito, always doing whatever he wants and getting on people's nerves! Aoko fumed to herself. Always causing trouble, hurting my father's reputation—

She was cut off from her thoughts again when she suddenly heard a countdown begin amongst the officers.

"10!"

"9!"

This was how it always went.

"8!"

"7!"

As soon as this countdown would end, something…

"6!"

"5!"

Something unexpected would happen, and…

"4!"

"3!"

The officers would be helpless before what happened next…

"2!"

And Otou-san's credibility would fall through the ceiling…

"1!"

And the next thing they knew, something had indeed fallen from the ceiling.

"W-what was that!?" One of the officers asked. "A ceiling tile?"

Before anyone had time to think of what to do next, all the lights in the room shut off for an instant before shining brightly with beautiful, multi-colored lights. As if the place was a dance hall, the lights moved around and shone in random directions, lighting up parts of the room different colors at different intervals. At around the same time, music like the kind one would hear at an arcade started up and seemed to come from everywhere in the room at once. Following the path of one of the lights, Aoko's eyes came to rest on the clock behind the jewel case, which she realized no longer displayed the time of day but instead a timer set to begin at 15 seconds.

At that moment, smoke billowed out from somewhere above their heads, drawing the attention of everyone in the room to the ceiling. Quite predictably, there was a gaping hole in the ceiling where a tile should have been. Not quite so predictably, there was some kind of mechanical device now lowering itself from said hole. It lowered itself by about two feet before coming to a halt, allowing everyone in the room to have a better view of the strange object. Upon closer inspection, it appeared to be a mechanical claw of sorts.

"Ladies and gentlemen," an irritatingly familiar voice suddenly boomed through the music, "Let the game begin!"

And with that, the timer on the clock began its countdown, and the claw started to lower itself again.

"Th-the claw! Someone, go up there in the ceiling! Kid is probably controlling the claw from there," Nakamori called out over the noise and confusion. "Go, go, go!"

After a couple of officers ran off at dangerously high speeds, he returned his attention to the still-descending claw, which was now just a few feet above the gem case.

"Oh, no you don't!" he shouted angrily, jumping up to grab onto the claw.

"Otou-san, be careful!" Aoko called out to him, but to no avail. The claw, detecting the excessive weight, rotated rapidly and sent him flying. He landed with a hard "thump" several yards from the claw, but, being the stubborn officer he was, he was not at all hurt.

"Agh, no! The jewel…!" he watched helplessly as the claw successfully grabbed its target and began its ascent back into the ceiling. However, what happened next was beyond what anyone present, including Kaitou Kid, had expected to happen.

Shortly after beginning to rise, the claw came to a sudden halt. It then sporadically rose up a few inches, then lowered a few inches, and just generally went crazy.

"What? What's it doing now!?" remarked Nakamori. He voiced perfectly everyone's thoughts at present.

"Sir, we're approaching the area where we believe Kaitou Kid to be!" a voice floated out from the radio on Nakamori's person.

"Alright! Go get him, quickly!" he responded through the radio. "Before he has a chance to get the—"

At that moment, the claw decided to drop the gem it was holding, allowing it to fall back onto the pedestal unharmed.

"…jewel?" he finished, obviously confused. Just what is going on here!?

Meanwhile, Kaito, currently in the guise of the infamous Kaitou Kid, was swearing internally. For some reason, his flawless plan had become…well, flawed. Right now, the claw contraption that he had spent hours upon hours making and perfecting was going haywire, and no matter what he tried, he could not get it back under control again.

"What? What's it doing now!?" he heard Nakamori-keibu shout from the room beneath him. That's what I want to know too! Kaito cursed. This is not how this game was supposed to turn out…

"Come on, this way! He has to be around here," Kaito heard someone call from near his present location.

"Sir, we're approaching the area where we believe Kaitou Kid to be!" a different voice stated from even nearer. Crap, they're getting closer!

"Alright! Go get him, quickly!" he heard Nakamori-keibu speak urgently again. I have to get this thing under control, and fast…! "Before he has a chance to get the—" Eh? "…jewel?" It…dropped it!?

"Kaitou Kid, we know you're in there!" the first voice from earlier called out from…right by his location!? Ack! When did they get here? It's no use, I've gotta get outta here…!

Not wasting any more time, Kaito scrambled out of his ceiling hiding spot in the opposite direction and started sprinting for his life. Following his preplanned escape route, he avoided the areas where he knew the cops would be stationed and looking for him. Sure, he would run into a couple here and there, but they were nothing a few smoke and flash bombs couldn't take care of.

Eventually, he came to a door that he knew lead to a room perfect to complete his escape. He knew there was a window in there large enough for an adult to fit through, and so from there he could glide away safely. Looking around, Kaito was relieved to see that there were no cops near his location, and so determined it safe to enter inside without being followed. He tried opening the door, but found it was locked. Funny, I could have sworn it was unlocked when I was last here…oh well, nothing a little lock-picking can't solve!

And with that, Kaito took out his trusty lock-picker and went to work. Within seconds, the simple lock was undone and he had full clearance inside. Since the officers could be approaching him at any moment, he threw open the door, rushed into the dark room, and quickly shut the door behind him. Hmm…I should probably lock it, or else they'll figure out I came this way… Deciding to take an extra precaution, Kaito started to lock it again with his lock-pick. Darn two-way locks…this would be much easier if— "I thought you might be escaping this way, Kid," a smooth, confident voice suddenly rang out from behind him, "so I came here and waited for you." Wh-what? Who could possibly have…?

Kaito swung around, ready to confront the owner of the voice, and he perceived someone standing in front of his only hope of escape. I don't recognize this voice…but, at the same time, I don't think it's anyone hostile… Kaito squinted, trying to see through the darkness, but the shadows in the room were too thick. Great, I can't see him, but I stick out like a sore thumb in this outfit…

Keeping his all-important poker face intact, Kaito responded just as confidently, "Well, this is a pleasant surprise. I don't remember inviting anyone else to play this game, but it seems I now have a worthy opponent." Something about this situation seems familiar…just where have I experienced it…?

"Yes, but it was far too simple to figure out your plan, really," the voice taunted. Damn, who does this guy think he is!?

"You see, I read your heist notice in the newspaper, and I couldn't help but come and accept your challenge," the voice began its side of the story. "So, I came just a few hours ago and checked out the area. The first thing I noticed that was off was that one of the ceiling tiles seemed slightly different from the others. I thought it would be important to check out, so I asked one of the officers for a blueprint of the building and went to the area above the room with the jewel." Why did the officer let him have something like that!?

"I spotted your interesting little contraption in the ceiling," the voice continued, "which I could have easily taken apart right then and there, but I figured it would be much more fun to watch you panic when things went awry during all the action." Oh, he is really getting on my nerves…! "So, in order to make things more interesting, I set up a few of my own gadgets with your contraption." Wait, is that what caused—? "Yes, that's what caused your claw mechanism to malfunction right at the most crucial moment of the heist—when the jewel was being lifted up to you," the voice seemed to read his mind.

"After I finished with that, I took a look at the building's layout once more and asked the officers what their plan of catching you afterward would be if you were confirmed to be in a certain location—the ceiling in this case," the voice went on. The cops helped him again!? "I knew you would be able to avoid all the officers, so I figured out what route you would take in that situation, and my deduction led me to this room as your final destination for escaping. Which, by the way, I had clearance to enter."

"Why did the cops help you so much? Who can you possibly be that you hold such a high status with the police?" Kaito questioned, thoroughly confused and annoyed by now.

"Ah, now there's a simple question that can be answered equally simply…"

At that moment, the lights switched on, revealing all in the room. No way! How…? Kaito's poker face nearly broke when he perceived the figure before him. The person who stood blocking his path looked almost identical to Kaito, save for the hairstyle. Hold on, I think I recognize this guy! His appearance, his manner, his intelligence…I saw all of this in the news all the time a while back! He's…!

"You…you're—!"

"Kudou Shinichi. Tantei-san," Shinichi finished. "And, unfortunately for you, the winner of this game is none other than me."

"Oh? You should know better than to think that you've won just because you're blocking one window I can get out of," Kaito managed to say without a trace of doubt. "I could just as easily get out of this room and find another path of escape."

"Ah, but I'm afraid that I've anticipated that as well," Shinichi stated in a mock tone of sadness. "You see, the only exits in this room are the window behind me and the door behind you, making this room the perfect trap." Crap, how could I have overlooked this!?

Shinichi then removed his left hand from his pocket—which up until now had contained both of his hands—and revealed a radio. "K-3 to P-4, now's the time," he said into the radio. Oh no…!

Almost immediately, Kaito heard the shuffling of feet out in the hallway, followed by deafening knocks on the door to their room. "Kaitou Kid, we know you're in there! Come out and surrender yourself!"

"As I'm sure you've noticed, both of your exits are now blocked, Kid," Shinichi said menacingly as he now pulled his right hand out of his pocket. It didn't take Kaito long to recognize the familiar glint and shape of the object he had pulled out.

Pointing the gun at Kaito, Shinichi continued in the same tone of voice, "You can see with common sense that your situation right now is futile and that you have absolutely no chance of escape. So, you have two choices, Kid." Two?

"One, surrender yourself right now to the police and live the rest of your life rotting in jail for the crimes you've committed." Well, that sounds just dandy…

"Or two…" Shinichi paused. "You could help me with a problem of my own, and in return I could 'accidentally' let you escape." Shinichi lowered his gun here. What? Me, help him?

"What kind of problem?" Kaito said, slightly suspicious.

Shinichi was silent for a moment, apparently thinking of what to say, before deciding how to phrase his response. Then, his facial expression suddenly changed from one of utmost confidence to one of uncertainty and desperation before answering, "It all started with these two men in black…"

Author's Note: Whew, I finally did it! So how'd you guys like it? Huh huh huh? (In case it's not obvious, I want you to review! Please!)

The action's about to start, as you can see! Things are going to become even more exciting! So, look forward to it!

I know this chapter took forever to come out, but the next chapter may take just as long if not longer. I'm terribly sorry, but school will be school...

Oh, and one last thing: REVIEW REVIEW REVIEW! I've said it before, but I'll say it again, your reviews tell me how I'm doing, not to mention give me the drive to keep writing! Maybe if I get more reviews, I'll write the next chapter just a little faster...*cough cough*...so yeah. 'Til next time!
~pikacutie25, signing off.