I own nothing and no one

Chapter Two

A pleased smirk crossed the phantom thief's features as he watched the task forces preparations on a small handheld computer. It had been barely a moment's work to hack into the feed from the cameras. His grin widened, imagining everyone's reactions if they knew he was keeping track of them using the museum's own security system.

Kaito wasn't worried about being seen. His outfit was nearly invisible against the background of white marble the building was made of. Someone would have to be looking straight at him, with a pair of binoculars, to have even a chance of determining his location.

A pair of blue-violet eyes flicked to the generic watch he wore on his right wrist. Half an hour 'til the show was set to begin. He still had a little time left. Kaito took the opportunity to run another check of both his ordinary, and more metaphysical pockets.

Flash bombs, smoke bombs, cards for his card gun, a closet full of disguises, sleeping gas, climbing equipment, lock picks, materials for a slew of magic tricks, and more. Basically, anything and everything a phantom thief could possibly want or need. He paused over one spot, a faint frown crossing his features. Hold on, Kaito thought to himself. What was this?

The magician reached into the spaces between, focusing on the strange object. It had evidently been in there for some time. His hand closed on some sort of handle and he pulled, moving it back into the real world. Kaito blinked down at the thing in his hand befuddled. It was a can-opener. How the heck had that gotten there? He honestly had no clue.

After a moment the magician shrugged, shoving it back into the shadows. If worst came to worst he supposed he could throw it at someone. On second thought, that probably wasn't the best idea. His fingerprints might be on it. He could figure out what to do with the can-opener later. For now, he had a heist to run.

A gloved hand tapped on an armored man's shoulder. "Excuse me Sir." The officer turned just in time to get a face full of pink sleeping gas. Kid caught him as he fell, easily supporting his weight. After a quick glance around the hallway, the magician pulled his incapacitated victim to a nearby closet, depositing him inside.

A snap of his fingers and a puff of smoke later, an exact double of the officer stood where Kid had been a moment before. Nonchalantly, the disguised kaitou continued on his way.

Nakamori scowled down at his own watch. "Where is he?" the inspector growled. "He should be here."

Another of the officers shrugged. "Maybe he got held up in traffic?" he tried to placate his superior. He didn't bother to suggest that Kid wasn't coming. He always came. Besides, by his watch the kaitou still had two minutes until the time indicated on the notice.

One of the rookies grinned, this was his first heist. "He could have double booked himself," the young man joked. "Kid might be on a hot date." Almost immediately the officer cringed as he was subjected to a myriad of glares from the senior members of the force. Note to self, he thought. Keep mouth shut. Evidently the others didn't think it was funny.

"Or maybe," a third voice entered the conversation. "He is already here."

"Yeah," someone repeated. "He could already be here." There was a moment of silence.

Then Inspector Nakamori snapped around, glaring at the group of officers. "Get him," he roared.

The task force paused. Get whom exactly? None of them were exactly sure where the voice had come from. The afore mentioned rookie bit his lip and pointed at the man directly to his right. "I think it was him."

The others shared a look of complete accord before pouncing on the rookie. "Hey!" he shouted as he went down. "What's the big deal?" One of the cops grabbed his cheeks and pulled. "Ouch!" the hapless young man shouted. "That hurts."

A cough attracted the task force's attention, and they looked over to see Kid standing against a nearby wall, dressed in his trademark white suit. He waved. "Over here guys."

The group struggled to untangle themselves, Nakamori among them. This time Kid would not get away! En masse, they lunged for the thief, who easily dodged. Save the rookie, who hadn't quite recovered from his first Kid induced experience.

Kid laughed, the sound echoing through the building as he took off, the officers right on his heels. As much as he loved performing for an audience, he just couldn't resist this chance. No crowd, no detectives, Hakuba was down with a cold, just him and his taskforce.

It didn't take the officers long to get split up. Kid was good at things like that. "Group C," the inspector snapped into his radio. "Where are you?"

A moment later a voice came back. "We are still pursuing Kid. He is headed down the west wing, towards the gemstone exhibit."

"Excellent," Nakamori's voice came back. "We will intercept him at the doors."

Nakamori blinked. That wasn't him. He opened his mouth to refute that order only to have his eyes widen as Group C came tearing out of the hallway directly in front of them. Both groups tried desperately to stop, but it was too late. They collided.

Shortly thereafter, Kid exited the hallway at a leisurely pace. He had allowed the officers to pass him some time ago. They had been chasing a ghost, no pun intended. The magician spared a moment to look down at the officers' dazed forms. "Oops," he apologized. "I guess Nakamori-keibu wasn't quite that far."

The phantom thief threw the doors open, walking towards his prize, only to stop halfway as he saw something out of the corner of his eye. His breath caught in his throat. Surely that wasn't what he thought it was. Kaito spun, looking at the object head on.

It was a full-length ornate mirror. Complicated patterns were carved into the frame and the corners were studded with emeralds. The kicker though, was the small inscription at the bottom. Not just anyone would have recognized it, but Kaito knew what it said. He had learned the language on his grandfather's knee, like his Father before him.

Kid raised one hand, pointing at the mirror. "Where did that come from?" he demanded.

Nakamori, who had regained his feet, frowned. What did the thief care? Kid was acting weird, even for him. Which was probably why the inspector was inclined to answer the other. "It was transferred from somewhere in New York, just arrived today."

Kid's grin had vanished. In fact, the magician looked quite serious. Purposely he took a step towards the mirror.

"But," Nakamori protested, thrown by the thief's abnormal actions. "What about the gemstone?"

"Forget the #$!!&#? gemstone!" Kid snapped.

The inspector looked severely taken back. He took another look at the object of his prey's interest. It didn't appear to be anything special. At least, not compared to some of the other things that had caught the kaitou's eye. "It's just a mirror," he pointed out. Maybe Kid had finally lost it?

"Just a mirror," the white-clad figure repeated flatly. "JUST A MIRROR!!! Do you have any idea what that is?!" It was Titania's mirror, the queen of the third race. Slowly, Kaito took a deep breath, calming himself. Of course they didn't.

Kid took a few more steps, wrapping his arms around it before looking back at his pursuers. This is not just a mirror," he informed them. "And I think it is best if I take this with me, before some idiot," the thief paused. "Or worse, someone who is not an idiot, gets their hands on it.

Kid tipped his hat to the inspector, a gesture of respect. "Please convey my apologies to the curator. This is one object I will not be returning." A smoke bomb rose around the figure, concealing his form from view as he quite literally sunk into the shadows, taking the mirror with him.

The task force never did figure out how he managed that disappearing trick. But then, they didn't know they were looking for real magic.

TMTMTMTMTM

Another chapter done

Question: Should I include the epilogue after Chapter Three or upload it separately?