KAITO

Kaito flipped to the next page in the newspaper and whistled cheerfully to himself. He'd come up with a couple of challenge ideas to inflict on Hakuba if the detective didn't manage to recover the camera, and the empty seat a few desks over suggested that "Benoit Renee" hadn't been lying when she said she was leaving the country. Of course, the real Benoit Renee wasn't in Japan to start with, and that – the fact that Hakuba's cover was more than just a name, that it was a whole person he was borrowing – had been a bit of a surprise to Kaito when he'd gone to trace the passport Hakuba had shown and checked out with the police. He'd also found an airline reservation made by Mademoiselle Benoit bound for London that originated from Paris, France, as well as a reservation made by Hakuba Saguru from Japan to London to arrive on the same day. Kaito hadn't expected him to utilize outside help. There wasn't a formal rule against it, but of all challenges possible, Kaito had thought that Hakuba would want to keep this one quiet.

A quick trip to Facebook to look up the girl had proved that Benoit Renee and Hakuba Saguru were, in fact, distantly related. Renee had some old pictures on her page from a few family events back in middle school, and a few photos revealed, amidst the vast family, a slightly dorky, tween Hakuba Saguru. Kaito had practically squealed when he saw the link to Saguru James Hakuba's Facebook page in the "suggested" column, because he could just imagine the teasing material that he'd unearth there, but was disappointed to find that it was just a fan page. He was interested in a few pictures from a gaming convention that Renee had attended with her sort-of-cousin. The outgoing girl had fashioned a kick-ass homemade Zelda cosplay. The elegant dress would have made any one of Kaito's female personas weep with envy. Hakuba stood next to the beautiful Zelda in an equally impressive Link ensemble, complete with sword and pointy ears. The detective was actually smiling in the picture. Kaito remembered Hakuba's statement at the soccer match that he would probably be an elf, out of all the mythological creatures.

Kaito paused in the middle of whistling the refrain for "Magic" by The Cars – Renee had liked 80s music in middle school and had posted about it often – when he spotted a rather curious notice in the personals section. There were usually a handful of ads written in English, but this one piqued his interest, given the last riddle he'd exchanged with Hakuba. It read:

TO THE WHITE RABBIT –

Stag kangaroo falcon nightingale mastiff badger corgi hummingbird barracuda butterfly leopard gecko toucan cat seal giraffe wombat puma raccoon monkey armadillo penguin moose tortoise gerbil rhinoceros snake rat gopher piranha sheep husky buffalo emu.

It was nonsense, but of an organized kind. There was some kind of word puzzle here. Kaito copied the words over into his math notebook and spent first period rearranging the letters to get some kind of coherent message. After math was English, and Kaito was too busy examining the individual letters to read properly. Thankfully, the teacher didn't call on him today.

By fourth period, Kaito was about to give up on this monstrosity of a coded message. There were so many letters that the permutations were practically endless. He'd done the math earlier, and despaired at the prospects of stumbling upon the right order for the letters. It was possible that the message wasn't even for him. Perhaps it was meant for a huge fan of Lewis Carroll. Reluctantly, he dragged himself back to the original message and read just the first letters to see if that meant something. Eh… no. Then he read just the last letters:

gone friday don't let anyone else trap you

Ah. Kid wasn't supposed to know that Hakuba was going to miss the heist. This was the detective's way of formally bowing out of the heist so that Kid wouldn't track him down and demand to know why he'd skipped out. It was good thinking, since Hakuba didn't have the Kaitou Kid's contact information to otherwise let him know. Since Kid had accepted challenges made by Suzuki Jirokichi via newspaper, it was reasonable to guess that Kid regularly read the paper.

Kaito turned on the computer in the Kid room before he'd even put his backpack down after school. He logged onto the Kid forum and opened a chat box. \Afternoon, Sono-chan! How fare the party preparations?/

Kaito left to get a snack from the kitchen, and when he returned there was a response waiting for him: \Ah, Katsuki-kun!/ It was safer to continue with a pseudonym in online media in case anyone ever came across the chat history. It would be hard for Sonoko to talk her way out of trouble if she called her correspondent "Kid" outright. This way, she could claim Katsuki did some Kid roleplay but that she didn't actually believe he was the real thief. \The caterers are all lined up, and practically everyone who hadn't responded before the notice was published replied that they're coming. ^_^ If I hadn't paid for the space already, I think Nakamori-keibu would have made the museum cancel on me/

\Timing in life is everything, I've been told. "Cancelled." Haha. The absolute nerve of some people :P/

\Oh I KNOW! Will I get to see you on Friday before the heist, my charming dove?/

\Sono-chan! You know how that name makes me blush!/

\Which part do you object to? You can't deny your ability to attract people – I have a zillion Kid fans as proof. And of course you couldn't disagree with the idea that you take to the skies./

\You have a talent for hyperbole, my dear./

\I prefer the term "poetry"./

Kaito laughed. \Hmm. You have asked attendees to come in costume, correct?/

\OF COURSE. I CAN'T WAIT. You're bringing my wings over tomorrow, right?/

\No promises that it will be tomorrow, but you will be the loveliest angel to grace the party, I assure you./ Kaito glanced over at the twin feathered contraptions made during short spurts of spare time over the past few weeks.

\Thank you!/

\Anytime, darling. But these wings do NOT have a hang glider concealed in them, be warned./

\Ha. I'll try not to jump out of any windows./

\Excellent. I might stop by while you're out, depending on other factors, so if not tomorrow, I'll certainly see you Friday. Until then~ :)/

xxxxxxXXXxxxxxx

SAGURU

"No."

"Please?"

"No."

"S'il vous plait?"

"Renee, why on Earth would asking me in French change my mind after the last thirty-seven times you've asked? No."

Saguru rubbed at his temples in an attempt to ward of the impending headache. A couple of days ago Renee's flight had landed at Heathrow Airport just before his and they'd shared a ride to the Reynolds's Estate. Apparently his "cosplaying" as her in Tokyo brought them closer as family and made them the best of pals. She'd enjoyed the selfie pictures he'd taken on her phone – which were unfortunately badly composed and hardly showed any of his gender-swap guise (so they couldn't count as proof for his challenge). And when hearing his account of how his day out as her had gone, she'd made him go into excruciating detail over every little thing in case she ever went to Japan and ran into Hattori and the others and needed to maintain Saguru's cover story. Since then he'd hardly had more than a moment's peace without her presence as she pestered him over what he was to wear to his mother's charity event, suggesting themed costumes they could wear together, each one more ridiculous than the last. Her most recent suggestion was to dress up as identical twin characters. A theme as to what kind of twins hadn't been decided yet, aside from the fact that it would involve Saguru dressing up as a woman again.

"Aww," Renee pouted. "But it would be so much fun! And your mum would never see it coming."

"That's because I have refused to go along with such idiocies in the past."

"But you pretended to be me for a day in Tokyo! I don't see why we can't be twins for the party."

"That particular event was an extenuating circumstance. Also, I don't want to give my mother any ideas and you've sworn on your honor as a lady that you wouldn't tell anyone. And I mean anyone, Renee."

"Relax, Jamie. I'm not going to tell Aunty Lizzy about your day of cross-dressing. You threatened to stop helping me with my cosplays if I did, and I really need your help with my Victorian Steam Punk ensemble."

Saguru shook his head, again questioning his European relations' sanity. Ignoring Renee for the moment as she chattered for the hundredth time of what she wanted her cosplay costume to look like for some convention coming up in November, Saguru returned to the task he'd been appointed to by his mother.

So far he'd had to scrap a lot of the designs that the hired costume and makeup designers had come up with for the charity event. His mother had been very clear that this was to be a charity event fundraising for children's education and that the theme was haunted fairytale stories. Most costume designs had been either too bloody and gory or too pretty and cute. The bunch that was hired had talent, that was for sure, but he doubted many of them had worked on a team and on a project of this scale before. When he'd first arrived he'd challenged them to pick a favorite fairytale character from their childhood and to warp that character as if they'd been twisted by the realities of Wonderland. Why Wonderland? Because when one referenced Tim Burton's variation on the popular children's story it could be as dark as it was whimsical, exactly what his mother was looking for.

Saguru supervised the development of these designs and after OK-ing them for fabrication, the artists got to work. He was surprised that none of them appeared to resent him for being younger than them or for the fact that he had been put in charge. Rather, they seemed to appreciate his input and often sought his advice on some aspects of their make-ups. But it probably had more to do with the fact that he was the elite fashion and make-up designer, Elizabeth Reynolds's only son. He'd grown up around the industry and was very knowledgeable about fashion, fabrics, costuming, make-up and how it was applied. Simply knowing fashion and make-up tips could, however, put him in a gay stereotype. He would rather do without that stigma on top of everything else. Saguru was not homosexual – he liked men and women, thank you very much – but all the same, he had done his best to hide this aspect of his life while living in Japan with his father.

While the designers were working on their projects Saguru himself was sculpting facial prosthetics for Mad Hatter and March Hare costumes. "You know, you're really good at that," Renee mused as she studied the two sculptures and three others that were set aside, ready for molding: the Red Queen, White Rabbit, and a flower fairy. "You should be a special effects make-up artist and work on movies like Lord of the Rings or Harry Potter or something, instead of being a detective."

"Who says I can't do both?" Saguru asked offhandedly. "Mum ropes me into her projects no matter where I am and what I'm doing anyway."

"That's not the same as making your own career out of it," Renee sighed. "I'm sure with your talent, you'd be much more successful as a make-up artist than your are as a detective."

"Thanks for the vote of confidence, cousin," Saguru said coldly.

"Sorry. But aren't you only doing detective work to impress your father? You've never been able to see or spend much of him even though you live with him now, right?" Saguru didn't even deign that comment with a reply.

"…So what are you going to dress up as at the party?" Renee asked, quickly switching gears.

"Not your twin, that's for sure," Saguru scoffed, etching some details into the nose of the March Hare.

"Fine then. …Oh! I know! Be Legolas! And I can be Tauriel from the Hobbit movies!"

"Why do you want to coordinate costumes?" Saguru sighed.

"Because it's more fun this way," Renee pouted. "Please, Jamie?"

Saguru didn't answer, tweaking the nose and smoothing out the shape of the brow on the Mad Hatter. He supposed that he could. Dressing up as Legolas and Tauriel from the Hobbit movies was a much better option then all of the other costume suggestions that Renee had come up with before. The idea of dressing up as an elf reminded him of his conversation with Kuroba.

"If you had to be a mythological creature, what would you be?"

A small smile quirked at the corners of his lips.

"Please? Please, Jamie? SJ? James? Sagaroo? Sa-chan?"

"…Fine."

"Woo hoo!"

xxxxxxXXXxxxxxx

KAITO

Kaito grinned like a fool as he fastened the monocle over his eye, and the thief in the mirror grinned back. "Ready?" he asked. Kaito checked the door one more time to make sure no one else could get into the public restroom, and switched on the camera that he'd glued to an old earring post. He'd carefully wiggled it into the hole that had been closing up in his left ear.

Waving at the mirror, Kaito began: "Good evening. As you can see –" he said to Hakuba, who would be reviewing the video afterwards "– I am in full costume. As per the parameters of our challenge, I am allowed to disguise myself until I reach twenty meters of the Mori Art Museum. I will leave the camera on and inform you when we – excuse me, I – reach that point. Sound good?" Knowing that Hakuba couldn't answer him, Kaito smiled brightly. He slipped on a jacket and a pair of dark pants and unlocked the door to the restroom. Kaito took off the top hat and held it casually under one arm, tucking the monocle inside it as he left the gas station. He'd planned to start the video in a public place so that Hakuba wouldn't try to track his movements and figure out where he lived. Kaito slipped on a black baseball cap with the brim turned back and slung a backpack over his shoulder to look more like a student. Even though it was rather late for a student to be returning from classes or the library on a Friday.

Kids in small hordes passed by in costumes, babbling playfully and swinging half-full candy buckets. Even their grownups were lively tonight, stopping to compliment other children on cute or clever costumes. The young adults who were too old to trick-or-treat still made use of the opportunity for cosplay, and Kaito winked playfully at a faction of cat ladies. One of the girls giggled and Kaito produced a yellow rose for her.

"You look lovely, Neko-chan." She brightened at the compliment. Peripherally, Kaito noticed her friends stop walking a few steps after she did.

"Who are you supposed to be?" she asked.

"Ah." Perfect timing. Kaito donned the top hat and monocle and removed the dark coat with a flourish, revealing the white jacket and cape hidden underneath. "I am but a phantom thief, captivated by a jewel like you."

The girl blushed. "You're not wearing the white pants," she murmured, looking off to the side shyly. "Haven't you ever seen Kid on TV?"

Kaito laughed. "I've got white pants on under these, but I didn't think you'd take too kindly to me stripping out of my pants in the middle of the street. I mean, I don't even know your name, Neko-chan."

Her face reddened further. One of her friends, a black cat with tall boots and a layered skirt, spoke up. "Minako-chan may not be comfortable with it, but I wouldn't mind watching." She eyed him like a cat that had cornered a mouse.

Kaito dropped a smoke bomb and stowed away the pieces of his darker disguise. He bowed when the smoke cleared. "How did I do? Was that like Kid's tricks?"

The girl called Minako clapped. "That was great!"

"Thank you, my lady." He took her hand a laid a kiss on it. Then, turning towards the second girl: "I notice that you are wearing all black, Neko-chan. Would you happen to be Chat Noir this evening? I have always assumed that the French cat burglar was a man, but you would be a beautiful rival for the Kaitou Kid." No one was supposed to know that Chat Noir was a woman, and Hakuba wouldn't hear it from Kid.

"I wasn't planning on it, but I guess I could be. Are you worried about having a rival?"

Kaito thought of his classmate, who was out of the country, and the grade-school detective, who was probably out getting candy with the Detective Boys. "Not tonight. Have a wonderfully spooky Halloween evening." He tipped his hat to them and continued towards the Mori Art Museum.

Tilting his head down so the camera would record the white attire, he murmured, "As you can see, I'm not disguised any longer. I'm a little early, but it doesn't much matter at the moment." In full Kid regalia, Kaito walked the last few blocks to the heist location. A few people stopped him to talk about how he'd put together the costume, and he directed them to a shop that sold fabulous top hats in a variety of colors.

As he approached the building, he made a show of pulling an invitation out of his backpack and handing it to the two police officers manning the main entrance. There was a moment where the pair glared at him for his choice of costume, but overall they seemed resigned. "That makes eight tonight," the first muttered to his partner.

The second one replied, "I'd hate to be up in the gallery right now. Nakamori-keibu must be furious at all the Kaitou Kids walking around." Kaito bit back a smile. It was just as he had expected. Given Sonoko's influence with the fan base and that her guests knew there was going to be a heist the night of the party, of course a host of Kid cosplayers would show up.

"Is it safe?" Kaito asked with affected nervousness as the officer handed him back the invitation. "I don't want to be arrested for attending Suzuki-san's costume party."

"Oh, he tried to arrest the first two, but after it became clear that there were going to be a handful of imitations sauntering around, he gave up and decided to bide his time until the heist officially begins."

"That makes sense," Kaito answered mildly. "Besides, Kid's probably going to come in by window or something with his hang glider, since it's near the top of the building. I couldn't imagine him just walking through the front door." Kaito couldn't decide whether he thought Hakuba was going to have a conniption when he watched this video or remain perfectly blank-faced the entire time. Either way, Kaito wanted to sit there and watch his reaction, which would undoubtedly be fascinating.

"Right. Go on up, then." Kaito nodded and waved to the other folks walking around the first floor until he reached the elevator. One of the officers passing by with a building security team waved back before remembering why he was there. Kaito grinned.

This was going to be the easiest damn heist he'd ever pulled.

He got into the elevator with a foreign-looking group in their twenties who had known Sonoko's family forever. One woman was dressed in a red and black jester's costume and her husband wore purple and had used temporary dye to make his hair green. The other three claimed to be space cowboys after he asked, but he hadn't heard of the single-season American TV show that their characters had come from. When the elevator opened, Kaito bid farewell to Harley Quinn and the Joker as well as Mal, Zoe, and Wash.

The gallery space was glitzed out in the over-the-top manner that he expected of Sonoko. She'd gotten gauzy spider webs and candelabras placed around the room in the short time between the museum's official closing and the time the party started, and there were sparkles everywhere that the museum hadn't marked as off-limits. Jack-o-lanterns sat on every surface, candles flickering inside. Everything was draped in purple, black, and green, and it was perfect for Halloween. In the adjoining room, a space that the museum currently used for meetings and presentations because of the small stage available, there was a band playing music with a good tempo for dancing. Along one wall there were tables with drinks and hors d'oeuvres, and there were circular tables and chairs scattered throughout the room. The room smelled like pumpkin spice and apple cider.

Kaito took a few minutes to chat up one of the Kaitou Kid cosplayers and got himself invited to his own fan club. Kaito tried not to burst out laughing after the fake Kid had moved on, but a few breathy chuckles slipped out. This was so much fun. He might record another heist sometime, if only to see Hakuba's reactions to it. Finally, he found the hostess, who was sipping some purple drink and chattering loudly with another girl Kaito didn't recognize. Sonoko had on the wings that Kaito had made for her, a headpiece made of silver tinsel, and a white dress that showed off just enough of her legs to walk the border between cute and sexy.

"Suzuki-san," Kaito began during a break in the conversation. "Good evening. I'm the 'plus one' for one of your guests, but my date seems to have wandered off. Would you care to join me for a dance?"

Sonoko's smile almost split her face. "Of course! I'd love to!" She hurriedly set down the drink and excused herself.

Kaito took her hand and led her towards the open area near the band that had been designated as the dance floor. "My name is Akiyama Asahi, by the way. It's a pleasure to meet you, Suzuki-san." He could practically hear Hakuba rolling his eyes at the name choice. One set of kanji used for Asahi meant "morning sun" and Kid was here to steal the Sun-drop Topaz. Heh. "Is swing dance alright?"

"Yeah, swing is fine, and it's nice to meet you too, Akiyama-san. Neat earring, by the way." She nodded at the half-sphere that covered up the inner workings of the camera.

Kaito laughed as he slipped his free hand around her waist. "I worked so hard to put together an authentic-looking Kaitou Kid cosplay, with the monocle, top hat, cape, and everything, and you like the earring? You're something else, Suzuki-san." To be fair, Sonoko saw the full costume on a semi-regular basis, so it was nothing special, but tonight they weren't supposed to know each other.

Sonoko giggled as he spun her around. "Sorry about that. Would you be appeased if I said you look dashing this evening?"

"Only if you meant it, lovely. And you are looking quite dapper as well. You play the part of an angel nicely."

"Angel?" Sonoko questioned slyly. "What makes you think I'm not a female Kaitou Kid? If I put on your hat and monocle, I'd be all set."

"Those wings don't look much like a hang glider."

"Well, I suppose I shouldn't go leaping out of tall buildings, then," she smiled, echoing their last conversation.

Kaito winked. "Mm, that would be inadvisable. Do you think Kid will really come for the gem this evening, Suzuki-san?"

"I have no doubt about it. Kid-sama always comes once he's given a notice. He'll be here."

"You're probably right. How could a phantom resist an appearance on the most haunted night of the year?"

After a few more dances with Sonoko, Kaito let her return to her hosting duties and invited other guests to the dance floor. He waltzed with two youkai and Frankenstein's monster, and the skinny pumpkin girl abandoned formal dance patterns in order to be spun in circles until the end of the song. The guest in the Britannian Knightmare costume was too unbalanced to do any serious dancing, but Kaito did the robot with her. Or him. It was hard to tell with the helmet and bulky armor. He overheard a conversation about time travel and eventually dragged the Tenth Doctor onto the dance floor as well.

Kaito checked his watch at two minutes to midnight and began making his way over towards the jewel display. He moved subtly, of course, because Nakamori-keibu was wound tighter than Hakuba's pocket watch at the moment. At forty seconds until 12:00 he clicked a button in his pocket and the power cut out. Kaito tossed smoke bombs in the direction of the display stand that held the Sun-drop Topaz.

Once he was practically invisible in the smoke and dark, the magician jogged right through the circle of distracted task force officers. With another click, the power was restored. "Ladies and Gentleman," Kaito shouted in English. All attention turned to him as the air cleared. He felt Kid's razor smile overtake his poker face and his nerves settled. There was so much excited energy pumping through him right now that another round of rooftop gymnastics would be called for later.

Gods, if this was how Hakuba made him feel all the time with challenges, Kaito would never stop.

Switching back to Japanese, he began: "I wish a Happy Halloween to all Division Two officers and my fellow guests. Tonight I have something special in store for all of you, something… spooky."

"Arrest him," Nakamori bellowed, and the task force officers charged from all directions.

Unworried, Kaito continued, "Halloween is not for the faint of heart. The dead return to life, monsters cross into our world, and even the most innocent of things can give us the fright of our lives." The jack-o-lanterns around the room, which had been left at the museum anonymously for Suzuki Sonoko's party and had no cuts around the top to indicate how the insides had been removed, seemed to come to life. The carved pumpkins appeared to sprout legs and crawl around, skittering like mice. They bumped into each other and into people and objects in their path, following no discernable order.

There were screams of fear and surprise as some guests climbed on the chairs and some of the officers tried to stomp on the pumpkins. Kaito went to work on the jewel's display case. He'd loosened the seal between the glass covering and the base earlier this week, and with one strong tug it lifted off like it was nothing more than a cup flipped over on a table. He stowed the topaz in a deep pocket and turned back to the show, mission accomplished. The coffin propped up in one corner opened when he manipulated the strings attached to it, plastic skulls rained in the presentation room, and eerie music played over the museum's speakers.

Nakamori and his men had realized that the crawling pumpkins weren't a genuine harm to anyone and recovered some semblance of order. They organized themselves again to charge, and Kaito produced more smoke. In cover of the fog, Kaito drew out an armful of white capes and nimbly attached them to the backs of the task force members. Officers would see a white cape and grab at it, believing it to be Kid, which would distract them from the real Kid and hinder their teammates in the process.

With his mischief managed, the magician sprinted for the low vent in one corner of the room. Ducking down, Kaito popped the cover out of its frame and wriggled inside. After replacing it, he squirmed through to the next floor down where he knew there were a set of windows that opened. From there he snapped open the hang glider and launched himself out into the wide, empty space.

He'd gotten some much-needed excitement and dancing in, obtained the jewel, and escaped without notice. Oh, and Snake's men hadn't showed up. It was the perfect night to be a trickster.

xxxxxxXXXxxxxxx

SAGURU

"Just sit still for a few more seconds," Saguru huffed as he applied the final touches of Renee's makeup on her elf ears. She made a beautiful Tauriel.

Saguru himself was already in complete costume. They both looked like they'd come right off the Lord of the Rings and Hobbit sets. He had to admit that Renee had done a wonderful job picking out the fabrics for their costumes and distressing them so that they looked authentic. His distant cousin knew what she wanted and how to go about getting it. It was just the tiny details and final touches she had trouble with, something that Saguru was rather particular about and the main reason he was consulted when she designed and fabricated her cosplays.

"Done."

"Finally," Renee huffed as she got up from the makeup chair and checked herself in the mirror. "Oh my gosh! I look just like her!"

"If only a little shorter in stature and rounder in the face," Saguru muttered under his breath.

"And you look absolutely fantastic, Jamie," she smiled. "Those swords are a nice touch. They're real aren't they?"

"Had them custom made a few years back," Saguru grinned. "And yes, they are real, but blunted for safety reasons. I usually hang them on the wall in my room."

"Right between your map of Middle Earth and your collection of vintage Basil Rathbone Sherlock Holmes movie posters no doubt, you big nerd," Renee snickered. "Oh, I'm sorry. I think the correct term is otaku."

Saguru leveled an unamused look at her before she wrapped her arm around his and dragged him off to the front hall. They needed to get to the venue tonight and oversee the application of the costumes on the models that would be wearing them for the charity event.

While Saguru was helping to apply finishing touches on some of the makeups his mother appeared. She was dressed in her normal navy business dress suit, long wavy blond hair tied up in an elegant bun, and sapphire eyes shining much like Saguru's did when a case had come together or he was on the verge of catching Kid. They shared the same high cheekbone structure and slim figure. When standing besides each other there was no doubt that they were mother and son, unlike when Saguru stood beside his father and there was hardly any family resemblance to be found at all.

"Oh, Jamie! Everything looks fantastic!" his mother cooed, squealing happily over some of the costumes.

"Thank you," Saguru smiled. "Everyone's worked so hard to pull this together. I'm sure your party will be a huge success."

"With all you've managed to pull off, I have no doubts. Especially with the Hobbit skit. And oh look, you're even in costume already."

"Hobbit skit?" Saguru frowned.

"Oh, didn't Renee tell you? You two are going to perform with some actors that river scene from the Desolation of Smaug! Oh it'll be fantastic!"

"No, she didn't," Saguru glared at Renee who at least had the decency to look sheepish.

"Sorry, but not sorry," she giggled nervously. "Oh, come on, Jamie! It'll be fun!"

"When the hell did you two cook this up?" he demanded crossing his arms.

"…After you agreed to help with the event?" She smiled nervously.

"That was little over a week ago!"

"Like you don't remember every fight routine in those movies," Renee protested. "And I know that your bow and those arrows are more that just costume props. You're a stickler for authenticity in every aspect of your life, so I know you can shoot with them. Now come on, we've got to have a few practice run-throughs." She grabbed his arm again and dragged him off towards the hall where the charity event was taking place.

"Mum!"

"Oh go along darling, I'm sure it'll be spectacular. The actors are already in their costumes and make up."

"You can't be serious!"

"Like a heart attack," his mother replied smugly. "Sir Ian McClellan will be introducing the fight routine himself. He'll be dressing as Gandalf of course and I'm sure he'll take a few pictures with you and sign an autograph or two. He's really a delightful man." Saguru had nothing to say to that. Ian McClellan was one of his favorite actors and meeting him would be worth putting up with these shenanigans. His mother better not be lying.

While Saguru spent the remainder of the time before the party working out choreography, he couldn't help but wonder how Kid's heist was going. He had gotten his invitation from Suzuki Sonoko weeks ago for her Halloween party, but sadly had to turn down her invitation after he'd gotten the call from his mother. Sonoko had made him promise to attend the next one. After Kid's notice was announced and it was deduced that he'd be crashing her party, she promised to fill him in on the Halloween heist. He was sure that Kid had had a ball with his heist and that Sonoko would be enjoying every moment of it. It should have occurred by now in Japan.

Finally at seven o'clock guests started to arrive and it wasn't long before the great hall was filled with guests both distinguished and common. Many children from local orphanages and schools filled the room as well, enjoying the games and areas set up for them and their chaperones. Renee was stuck to his side like glue, soaking in the atmosphere and showing off her Tauriel cosplay whenever possible. Saguru played along for the most part, enjoying children's reactions. At one point there was even a little boy who was also dressed as Legolas. He had come up to him with suspicious narrowed eyes and spoke to him.

"Are you really Legolas?" the boy demanded.

Before Saguru could respond, however, Renee had grabbed and tugged on his arm. "It's time, Legolas," she said, referring to their choreographed fight.

"Boe i 'wên. Nover," he said to the boy with a small bow. I must go. Farewell. Little Legolas brightened upon hearing the elvish words and smiled, waving.

"You are such a nerd," Renee huffed. "I can't believe you can speak Elvish."

"Only a little," Saguru shrugged.

"Enough to hold a conversation."

"Oh, so ten or twelve phrases are enough to hold a conversation by your standards?"

"Shut up and get into position, Elf Prince."

Saguru was excited to find out that his mother hadn't been lying when she said that Ian McClellan would be introducing their stunt show performance. The performance itself went better than he'd thought. The choreography had him and Renee bouncing from raised platform to platform over guests' and actors' heads shooting arrows and flashing their swords as they fought "orcs" while wheeled barrels filled with "dwarves" rolled through roped off sections from the crowd that made up the river and made their way through the room. Children squealed and shouted in excitement as they stood atop tables and sat on the shoulders of adults to have a better look.

Saguru didn't want to admit it, but he was having a lot of fun. He could understand now why Kid turned many of his heists into shows for his fans. The cheers of the crowd gave him a high he'd never experienced before and just seeing the awed looks of the children made him want to break character and smile.

When the show came to an end the whole room was filled with cheers. It was time for the children to return home. Saguru and Renee were asked to sign many autographs before the adult portion of the evening started. He saw the Legolas kid again and signed his bow.

"No gelin a velthin idh raideg," he told him.

He was surprised when the kid lunged forward and hugged him before hurrying off with his parents.

"Aww. That was so sweet. What did you say to him?"

"May your ways be green and golden."

"Nerd."

Saguru snorted. "This from the one who twisted my arm into doing this. You made those ridiculous costume suggestions on purpose, didn't you? Just so that I'd agree once you suggested something more reasonable."

"So what if I did? You know you enjoyed it. That smile you've been wearing for the last half hour says so. You need to loosen up more. You'd be an even bigger hit with the ladies if you smiled like that more often."

Saguru rolled his eyes, but he couldn't lose the smile. He was reminded once again of a certain trickster magician who also thought that he should lighten up. Looking around at the party and the models in costume serving food and drinks, or simply acting out their characters for the amusement of the remaining guests, Saguru couldn't help but think that maybe Renee and Kuroba had a point.

xxxxxxXXXxxxxxx

MG: Aw yeah! That's chapter 6! Kaito had a blast. Did you recognize all the characters at the Halloween party? Aside from the obvious Doctor Who and Batman references, there were some Firefly cosplayers and a Knightmare from Code Geass. And Kaito went to the heist as himself, haha. My thought process for coming up with challenges for him goes something like "Gosh, what kind of heist would be really effing hard to plan and write?" and then after we decide on something Kaito goes "Actually, that's pretty easy" and makes something like the Disguise Challenge (or, the Lack of Disguise Challenge, in his case) look like a piece of cake. Fingers crossed that this keeps up. I'm glad Sonoko and Kid got to hang out again too; they're just ridiculous and I love them. Also, I really like that Saguru ended up being a LOTR dork, SR ;)

SR: Yeah, well he IS a teenager and grew up in London, so I imagined that he'd be a big Tolkien fan, especially after the movies came out (what with how we've established him and his mother being big movie fans in general). He is also more than likely a closet Doctor Who fanatic as well and probably has the Fourth Doctor's scarf somewhere in his closet (which the nerd probably crocheted himself - he does NOT knit, people, there is a distinction) along with all current models - old and new - of the sonic screw driver. Coming from two rich families he can afford to buy all the fun toys and design and create the cosplays we wish we could have (like his inverness coat/cape). We talked about this earlier, MG, but everyone associates Hakuba with Sherlock Holmes just as much as they do Kudo Shinichi, but Hakuba never does the nerdy quoting and out right fan-boying that Shinichi does over Doyle and Holmes. All he does is wear the inverness coat/cape and cap (cosplay!). I think behind Hakuba's polite and proper attitude lies a fellow teenage fanboy who adores many fandoms, though he probably sticks more to the classics, like Classic Who, the Basil Rathbone Sherlock Holmes films, Lord of the Rings, and of course classic Disney films. But that's just my interpretation, and thus why Hakuba may seem so OC to you guys. I hope this explanation clears up some of the aspects of his character that have come forth in these last two chapters. Hakuba is an otaku of various interests just like me and you. ;)

MG: I'm glad we got to make Saguru a fuller character, and it's great discovering things about him along the way. In Kaito's case, I had no idea that he had his ears pierced until I was literally writing the sentence where he turned the camera on. It makes sense, though, if he spends lots of time in female disguises.

SR: It is fun figuring out your characters as you go along; canon and OC alike. Renee was a joy to write and I can only wish that Hakuba's mother got more screen time, but she just didn't want to step in and steal the spotlight from her son and sort-of-niece, the fickle lady. Don't worry though. She's bound to show herself again sooner or later. This chapter was rather interesting to write though because we didn't have our two main characters interacting, though they're certainly missing each other. ;) Thanks for reading and please review! Any and all comments are useful, especially if you have ideas for what kind of challenges you'd like to see our detective and thief perform next!