Chapter 3 - Curse
The soft rays of the midday sun shone through the translucent windows of the now quiet museum.
Hakuba made his way towards the stairs along with the museum's director.
"I'm surprised that you decided to stop by Saguru-kun." The chubby bald director commented while walking beside him.
"I apologize for coming all of the sudden. I just wanted to check something." Hakuba said. "My father was also worried. He told me to send his best regards to you." He smiled, charmingly. He knew using his father's name always brought him benefits while trying to search for information.
"Oh! Is that so?!" The director exclaimed, pleasingly. No doubt he was pleased to be on Hakuba's father good side. "Well, you're free to look everything! Just tell me when you're done."
"Thank you very much." He waved at him with his most charming smile. Apparently, that smile didn't work for girls only…
As soon as the director left, Hakuba put his white gloves one and got to work; searching for any clue that might lead to the truth of what happened to KID that night. It had been really mysterious in his opinion the way he had just vanished instead of keep leading the police trough a wild goose chase around the city like he usually did.
He started with the stairs where KID was seen for the last time, and after searching for several minutes he noticed a kind of mark in one of the steps.
'Bingo.' He cheered in his mind. The mark was a couple of stairs above from the floor; he stroked it with his thumb and like he guessed it wasn't deep, like something small had grazed it. His trained mind told him that there was only one thing this small, with the enough high impact, to make such a mark on a marble stair. He turned his head towards the window directly in front of the stairs. "As I've thought, it's not something that was fired at close range." He mumbled while taking his gloves off.
"That mark interest you, eh?"
Hakuba quickly turned around and to his surprise came face to face with the two most prestigious detectives of the East and the West of Japan.
"Judging from the position and distance, it was most likely shot from that building one block away directly across from this window." Kudo Shinichi explained, his hand grazing the translucent glass from the window.
"The real question here is, who shot it and for what reason." Hattori Heiji added, leaning with a confident smile against the railing.
"K-Kudo-san? Hattori-san?"
"I was sure I would see you here too." Shinichi smiled.
"Ahh…there is something odd about this case that just wouldn't leave my mind." He returned the smile.
"Well, as usual we are one step ahead." Heiji commented proudly. "So try not to bother us, okay?"
Shinichi sighed, sensing a new battle arousing between those two.
"For your information Hattori," Hakuba confidently placed his hands inside his pants' pockets. "I highly doubt that you, out of all the people, are one step ahead of me. Don't talk about impossibilities."
Heiji growled. "You damn pompous-"
"Oi! Oi!" Shinichi exclaimed. "Let's focus on this case for now. You two can get at each other throats after we have solved this, okay?
Hakuba nodded. "I agree. We shouldn´t be making such childish displays when we are working."
Heiji snorted, facing away from the detectives.
Shinichi sighed once again, glad things hadn't escalated into something worst this time.
"So, I guess you two are here for the same reason I am." Hakuba commented.
Shinichi's face turned serious. "Ahh…we heard about it at the police station and decided to investigate. We are hoping it's not linked to them."
"People shooting at a KID heist? I'm bloody sure it's the guys you are looking for." Hakuba was saying with a somber expression when something they said clicked in his head. "Wait… What do you mean you heard about it at the police station? Do the police know about the shooting? How come they are not investigating it?"
Both detectives blinked questioningly at him. "What are you talking about?"
Hakuba paused; now he was confused. "What are you talking about?"
"We are talking about the missing girl, you idiot!" Heiji screamed, exasperated.
"What?" Hakuba asked. "What missing girl?"
Shinichi and Heiji stared at each other before looking and the British detective with a solemn look.
"Hakuba…" Shinichi started. "Nakamori-keibu's daughter has been missing since that night."
Hakuba stared in shock at them.
"Nakamori-keibu was the last one to speak with her over the phone the night of the heist." Heiji continued explaining. "He said he had tried to call her after he got home but couldn't reach her on her normal line and had to use a second line she only uses on emergency cases. He said she had promised to call him as soon as she got home. When she never did, he decided to visit her this morning but found her flat empty. He spoke with her friends and workmates but nobody knows where she is. The whole police force is looking for her right now."
Hakuba couldn't believe what he was hearing. It had to be a joke. "It can't be…"
"Do you live in a bubble? How can it be that someone like you who lives among cops don´t know anything about this?" Heiji scolded him.
"It's just…I haven't been in Tokyo all these days until today in the morning. A friend called me when I went back to my apartment the night of the heist to help him urgently with a case in the city of Kyoto." Hakuba explained. "But, I would have seen it in the media. How can it be?"
"Nakamori-keibu didn't want the news to reach the media. He wants this case to be as private as possible." Shinichi said.
"But, Aoko works in the media…"
"Her father took care of that." Heiji answered. "He spoke with the director of the newspaper she works for…I'm pretty sure he was quite persuasive when talking to him. As for her work partners, to them Aoko is on a license for a month due to some family business."
Shinichi put a comforting hand over Hakuba's right shoulder. "Hakuba, I know she was your friend but we need to focus. The three of us will solve this."
Hakuba slowly nodded; the news still heavy in his heart. Aoko was one of his best friends, one of his oldest and dearest friends; she was such a sweet person. Still, his detective side wouldn't let him grieve for long. "Ahh…yes. Let's get to work."
Shinichi nodded. "We heard from some police testimonies that Nakamori-san was seen the night of the heist using these stairs to get down since the elevators weren't working."
"That's when we found the mark." Heiji pointed the mark in question. "Since it's obvious it was made by a bullet, and we couldn't find any trace of it but the mark on the stairs, we immediately realized our guys were involved since KID also used these stairs to escape from the police."
"Of course…the task force would never shoot at KID." Hakuba agreed.
"Exactly." Shinichi said. "What we are still trying to figure out is Nakamori-san's participation in all this. If her disappearance is really linked to the organization, then maybe KID is helping her to hide out."
"I highly doubt Aoko-san is linked to them." Hakuba denied. "I've known her since high school. I would have noticed something of this magnitude."
"Are you sure? They are quite good at hiding their real personalities…"
"Definitely. She's not that kind of person." He reassured them. 'Besides, Kuroba would have definitely noticed if she was.' He thought, chuckling on the inside at the silly idea of his friend being part of that kind of organization.
"What about 'wrong place, wrong time'? Maybe she was just passing by and got involved." Heiji suggested.
"Maybe, that is assuming KID and Nakamori-san met in these stairs. But if that is so, why is she missing? What happened here that made her to suddenly vanish?" Shinichi asked.
"When you say it like that, 'suddenly vanish', makes you think of KID making her disappear with a magic trick." Heiji chuckled while readjusting his SAX's hat.
Hakuba blinked.
"Why would KID make her vanish? Are you saying he kidnapped her?" Shinichi arched an exceptical eyebrow at him. "KID steals jewels. Not people."
Heiji shrugged. "Maybe they know each other and he's, for some reason, helping her?"
Hakuba eyes got larger.
"That would imply that KID is friends with the daughter of the inspector trying to capture him…" Shinichi said, sarcastically.
Heiji shrugged, once again. "Hey, if you shrank into a ten year old kid because of some weird drug, started living undercover at your girlfriend's house and then got your body back, why can't they be friends?"
Shinichi sulked.
At that moment, Hakuba's mind was running wild and gave the other two detectives a victory-like grin.
"I think I know where we can keep investigating."
Both detectives blinked questionably at him. "Where?" They asked.
Hakuba's grin widened.
"—Nnn…" Aoko blinked, making an effort to lift her head from the soft pillow and look around. "He's gone…?" She murmured. She tried lifting her upper body only to fall back down over the mattress. "Damn it. It hurts…"
Gathering all her strength, Aoko lifted herself up into a sitting position feeling quite disoriented. 'How long has it been? I don't even know how many days I've been here. Don't tell me ten days have already passed by…?' The chain jangled over the sheets when she moved and only then she realized her left hand was free again while the right one was still firmly locked to the bedpost. She also noticed, with a kind of feeling she couldn't quite describe in her fuzzy mind, that her left hand had been wrapped with clean bandages and didn't hurt as much as it did yesterday. With a groan she tried sliding her legs over the side of the bed; she was a mess, her whole body felt sore and she smelt of sweat and sex all over, not to mention the sticky feeling between her legs… 'I should take a shower while he's gone…gah, even my legs and hips have no strength…damn, that jerk humping me endlessly every damn day.' She couldn't even begin to describe how she felt. Her mind was too unsettled at the moment to organize her feelings and thoughts in relation to what has been happening these last days. A warm shower was the only thing she wanted at the moment.
She gave a tentative push with her legs but instead of keeping her up, they gave away immediately as if they were made of pudding, making her naked body to fall unceremoniously on the floor. "Gyaaa! I…I can't walk!" She exclaimed quite annoyed.
"Of course. How many times do you think I've fucked you?" A knowing merry voice said, out of the blue startling Aoko.
Kaito was leaning over the closed door while watching unashamedly at her with clever eyes and a soft smile. "I did it so you won't start walking away without my permission again."
"Ah…Kuroba!" Aoko exclaimed with an angry tone.
With a chuckle, Kaito walked towards his naked ex-girlfriend and offered her his hand. "Here, give me your hand. I'll wash you." He said quite naturally.
A fury red blush crept over her cheeks and with impetus slapped his hand. "D-Don't touch me! I can wash myself!"
He grinned. "What's wrong?" With a quick movement he took hold of her chin, nearing her face towards his. "I've washed you many times since you have been here, even when we were dating. Isn't that right?"
Aoko tried to resist her head from getting any closer to his.
Kaito sneered. "And you always seemed to enjoy it."
A subtle click was heard between them, and next thing she knew was that her handcuffs had been unlocked and her left hand was now wrapped in some kind of transparent bag with a rubber band holding it against her wrist. 'What the- Again?! When did he…?' And before she could finish that sentence inside her head, Kaito had pulled her up over his shoulder turning her world upside down.
"W-What? Hey! Put me down!" She kicked and screamed with the little strength left on her body but nothing seemed to unfazed him while carrying her towards the bathroom. After the door was firmly closed, Kaito let her down inside the bathtub and, while with one hand he prevented her from escaping, with the other he turned on the shower. Lukewarm water hit her over the head, blinding her for a moment plus dampening her hair as well as her body. And even though she wanted to sigh in relief at the feeling, this was not the way she had expected to have a bath. She heard the sound of clothes hitting the floor and then two strong arms were once again lifting her up and pressing her against a hard warm body. Once she shook the water from her eyes, she could appreciate for a second the deep blue pigment in Kaito's eyes before his mouth came crashing over hers.
His mouth teased her lips with his tongue while his hands held her waist, keeping her pressed against his body. But she wouldn't go down without a fight. Aoko kept squirming in hopes of freeing herself from those strong arms and warm body. She felt a deep growl coming from Kaito's throat and next thing she knew, she had been turned around, facing the cold wet tiles of the shower, and Kaito's fingers trusting inside her from behind. Her whole body instantly shuddered and a deep moan betrayed her actions.
"Ah…! Uh…ahh! N-no…stop…Uh..Ahhh!"
Kaito chuckled while kissing the back of her wet neck. "Wow, to think I can get that reaction from you by just inserting my fingers makes me happy." He added a third finger while his thumb massaged her sensitive bud. "You are wet again? Did it feel that good?"
"Aaahhhh!"
"I guess you can't help it. It's because you really want it, right?" He started to make a path with his tongue along the curve of her neck.
"N…No…AH!" Aoko moaned loudly when she felt him go inside her.
Kaito started trusting inside her with a fast tempo making her moans and screams to grow in intensity. "Here, you wanted it, right?"
"AAH…! UHH! HAH..! Y-…Y-…You…" She muttered between gasps.
Kaito blinked a few water drops from his eyes. His own breathing was labored enough to make it a bit hard for him to speak. "Huh? Did you say something?"
"Wh…y…are…you…doing this…?" She gasped. "Just…tra…pping…me…here..." She slightly turned her head to look at him through wet locks of hair over her blue eyes. "…is…enough…so…why…AHH…!" She moaned when he hit a sensitive spot inside her, pressing her head and hands more against the wall.
Kaito looked at her with a sad expression. "….yeah…" He whispered, while memories of the last night before he had left Japan flooded his mind…
-.-.-.-.-
The city looked marvelous in the dark night, surrounded by millions of warm yellow lights.
His cape fluttered softly against the summer night breeze while standing on the edge of a tall building, not too far from a well known museum in Tokyo that just a few minutes ago had been filled with pranks and fireworks. Once again, his mission had been a failure. The gem, though incredibly beautiful, had not been the one he was looking for. And once again he was heading back empty handed.
His eyes lifted towards the full moon and there he stood for a while, stilling his return towards what he now called home. 'I wonder how she's doing…' He pondered, and bitterly chuckled when he realized he had drifted his thoughts towards her once again.
"The next time you meet her, you will break her world…" Kaito slightly froze when he heard that well known voice behind him. With the grace that only KID possessed, he turned around full of confidence with his well trained poker face in place.
"What's that all of the sudden?" He mocked at the witch who thankfully was wearing normal clothes for once. "I have no idea what you're talking about, beautiful lady."
"I guess that's true." Akako responded to his mockery by speaking with a serious tone. "Then I'll speak. I placed a curse on you…and that woman."
Kaito- no, KID tipped his hat a bit lower over his eyes. "…A curse?" He grinned. "I apologize for my rudeness but if someone else were around they'd be laughing at you."
Akako's face remained emotionless. "You would think that I would be lying about this." She took a step closer. "The next time KID meets Aoko Nakamori, she will die in exactly ten days." She said in a definite way that left no room to think she was joking.
KID remained silent. As usual, his body language gave nothing at all but he wasn't grinning anymore.
"'That girl has nothing to do with me.' Is that what you are going to say?" Now it was Akako's turn to mock the thief. "You probably know why I placed the curse on that girl." She clenched her fists at her sides. "Your feelings…will never be returned!" She shouted, pure angry leaking from each word. "You should both live in the shadows, hating your fated destiny!"
A sharp card hit suddenly the wall just beside her head. Akako shut her mouth instantly.
"….Now, I can take it as a lie if you apologize now." His voice was deep, commanding even, his arm remained stretched with his card gun pointing towards her, and his eyes held a certain menacing glow that made a cold chill to run down Akako's back.
But she couldn't lose now. So, she laughed. "It's the first…to stare at me with those eyes…" She smiled. "I wanted to see those eyes. I'm satisfied." She crossed her arms while leaning against the wall behind her. "However, I'm sorry. I don't ever plan to undo the curse."
KID grinned, tossing the card gun expertly between his fingers. "It's no use putting the curse on poor Nakamori-san. I would gladly accept it if it's on me." KID may look cool but on the inside, but Kaito was frantically looking for a way to save Aoko. He already had too many bad experiences with the witch to believe her.
Akako's hands twitched with contained anger. "You guys should have never met each other in the first place." She muttered. Her red eyes stared deeply into his. "It wasn't meant to happen."
A sudden shout and police sirens coming from below them interrupted their conversation.
"Looks like you don't have much time…" She snickered. KID put away his card gun while looking down at the Japanese cops getting inside the building and shouting commands to get to the top of the roof. "I'll give you a chance to save her. You have two choices, either you vow complete obedience to me…or you make her your slave." She grinned. "But I doubt your heart is dark enough to turn her into something as low as a slave."
KID glanced at the witch.
"That's if you can do it within the next ten days you next meet her." She laughed. Now she was sure the KID would finally be hers, and only hers. But her laugh abruptly died when she noticed he was also laughing quietly.
A hard punch on the door alerted them of the cops trying to get to the roof.
Akako didn't think it twice. Her broom magically appeared between her hands before she mounted on it. "I'll give you time! Think about it until we meet next time!" She shouted before quickly flying away, disappearing from the thief's sight.
Just as she left, the cops made it through the door and stared at the thief, in all his glory, standing on the edge of the building under the full moon.
"There he is! It's KID!" From inside the mob of cops, a very irritated inspector Nakamori, came up to the front of the squad and pointed a finger towards the cunning thief. "KID! You better be prepared to be arrested!"
And just then, KID started to laugh. Very loudly.
Everyone stared at KID with a confused expression and wondering if he had finally gone mad. Meanwhile, a vein on the inspector's forehead seemed ready to explode at any moment. "Wha-What's so funny?!" He shouted.
Another set of footsteps resounded on the stairs towards the roof; KID instantly shut, and when he saw from the corner of his eye a small flutter of a skirt around the doors' frame, he immediately disappeared in a puff of smoke with a bitter thought running through his mind. 'Is this feeling that much of a sin…?'
"Dad! Where is the KID?" A gasping Aoko wondered while her eyes lingered on the spot he was supposed to be.
'Aoko…'
-.-.-.-.-
Of course he knew. But he just couldn't accept the idea that maybe she…
"AH!...AHH!" He now had turned her around, holding her legs wide apart; the cold tiles were slightly warming up from the friction of her back against them.
"This is a punishment, Nakamori-san." His trusts were getting deeper and faster. "So you won't think of running away again…" His tongue traced along her jaw towards her open mouth, were he merciless plunged into it to taste the inside of her mouth. He could feel her close, and so was he. "Let's climax together, alright?"
A few more trusts and Aoko couldn't hold on any longer. Her climax came hard and so did his; the warm feeling of his seed filled her on the inside and their loud moans were barely eclipsed against the sound of the shower running. She was completely worn out, her arms couldn't hold onto his shoulders anymore as they fell limp on her sides. She could barely breathe as Kaito lowered her weak legs, immediately holding her shoulders to keep her steady. 'No more…of this…' She thought, tiredly. 'Of this violent act of ignoring one's feelings…'
But just as she was thinking that, she felt one of Kaito's strong arms holding her securely around her petite waist while the other hand tenderly brushed the wet locks on the back of her head. An unexpectedly tender kiss landed softly on her right cheek. "I'm sorry…" He whispered.
Aoko rested her head against his shoulder and sighed deeply. 'Why…all of the sudden…' She thought while closing her eyes. 'Are you kind…?'
And once again, her world turned black.
In a place quite far from the center of the city of Tokyo, more to the countryside were vast forests and some huge houses covered the land (most of them only used for the summer holidays), was the location of a particular antique mansion. In one the many rooms of this huge residence, decorated in a way that made you remember the England from the nineteenth century, and lighted only by the soft hues of several candles, sat in a big armchair a quite beautiful woman with dark reddish hair, matching red eyes and long black robes. The room was devoid of any kind of furniture except for the armchair the woman was sitting at and an old looking marble pedestal decorated with intricate patterns and scary looking snakes; a pedestal that was holding a huge floating crystal ball.
The woman sat in silence; head resting on one of her delicate hands while contemplating the crystal ball in front of her.
"What's wrong, mistress Akako?" Said a slow creepy voice coming from the floating crystal ball.
Akako sighed, unenthusiastically. "I'm just feeling stupid now."
'He will probably accomplish something within these ten days.' She thought, a small smile forming over her lips. The same amused smile that always appeared on her face whenever she thought of him doing the impossible. 'Something even I wouldn't think of-' She froze that thought. "But that's not good!" She scolded. "I can't just let him go that easily!"
She focused her gaze on the crystal ball. "Magic crystal ball, I wish to lift one curse." She ordered.
"Of course, master. Which one?" Answered the frightening voice inside the crystal ball.
"The one on phantom thief KID. I've had enough. I'll just think of something else." Judging from the way he had acted last time she saw him, he had already found a way to fool her curse. Of course, with him you would never be able to tell if he was lying or not. But she couldn't be careless. She needed to act and, if she could change her plans on time, she might have the upper hand in the game.
The crystal ball remained silent for a few seconds.
"That's something I can't do." It finally said, startling the witch.
"What do you mean you can't do it? Are you being sulky?" She couldn't believe what was happening.
"It's not that."
Akako blinked, confused. "What do you mean?"
"Because that's a curse that can't be unlocked." It explained. "The only time the curse can be lifted is when Aoko Nakamori truly falls for the phantom thief KID or when the thief vows complete obedience to mistress Akako. A curse that deals with life can only be compensated with life."
'Eh? How come I didn't know that?' She wondered, with a dread feeling forming in the pitch of her stomach.
"Oh yeah…there is also one more thing…that is-"
Akako's eyes widened in shock and horror at this new revelation.
"No way…"
"Great job!"
"That was awesome!"
"Nice job, Kaito! Here, use this towel." Tia smiled while offering him a white fluffy towel.
"Ah, thank you, Tia." Kaito thanked with a full grin. He felt elated, as he usually did after finishing one his magic shows. The cheers from the crowd kept vibrating in his ears while making his way towards the lockers.
"I'll go change my clothes first."
"Ok!"
Kaito was making his way while removing his white gloves, when he spotted Hakuba ahead.
"Kuroba-kun." Hakuba greeted courtly. It was those British manners of his that sometimes irritated Kaito the most. "Good thing I calculated your time to reach the lockers from the stage and was able to meet you here."
Kaito eyebrow almost twitched with annoyance. 'Must. Feign. Surprise. That was faster than I thought…'
"Hakuba! What brings you here?" He grinned casually. "You didn't have to intercept me on my way to the lockers to get an autograph! We have known each other for a while, you could have just asked."
"If I ever ask for your signature, it would only be to compare it with some evidence I may have found to finally incriminate you as KID."
Kaito sighed long and tiredly. "Again with that silly idea about me being KID? You know, instead of accusing me without any evidence whatsoever, you should be thanking me for sending you and Nakamori tickets for my show." He looked around feigning surprise. "She didn't come with you?"
Hakuba's face adopted a more somber expression. "…Kuroba-kun…you know…"
"So he's the guy who'd know something about Nakamori-san?" Said a loud voice, with a certain Osaka accent, from behind them.
Kaito turned around to come face to face with the two best detectives from the East and the West of Japan.
"Hattori-kun, your lack of manners while introducing yourself to someone else never ceases to amaze me."
"Shut up, half-brit!" Heiji yelled.
"Guys, I mean it. One more fight and I'll continue this investigation on my own." Shinichi murmured while rubbing his forehead.
"Eh? Why is it my fault?!"
"I think it's quite clear."
"Tweed-freak, I warn you!"
"I'm warning you two! Stop it!"
"But Kudoooooo!" Heiji complained.
The three detectives were now, for the fifth time since they left the museum, bickering against each other (mostly Hakuba and Hattori) about manners and detective skills while ignoring completely the surprised magician beside them. Of course, he looked surprised for anyone who decided to look at him; in reality, his thoughts were running wild inside his head, far from the discussion being held at hand. 'I see…Nakamori-keibu finally realized his daughter was missing and now everyone is looking for her. But why these two? Not good…Hakuba you bastard.'
His concentration focused once more when he saw they had finally calmed down. "So, you are the famous detectives of the East and the West, right?" He smiled. "That's awesome! I'm Kuroba Kaito. I've often read articles about the cases you two have solved." He grinned at Hakuba. "Wow Hakuba, it's so nice of you to introduce me these two famous celebrities!"
"Ah, actually it's not that, Kuroba-kun…"
"Sorry for not introducing ourselves before." Shinichi interrupted. "My name is Kudo Shinichi and this is my friend Hattori Heiji. We didn't mean to bother you after your performance when you must surely be exhausted but we must ask you some questions."
'Wow, no beating around the bush, ne Kudo?' Kaito mentally laughed. "Sure, I'll be glad to assist you with anything you need." He nodded. "You mentioned Nakamori before. Is it about her you want to ask?"
Shinichi's face turned somber. "Nakamori-san has been missing since the night of KID's heist."
"EH?! What do you mean?!" Kaito exclaimed, pulling up his perfect acting skills.
"What he just said." Heiji said, irritated. "The keibu's daughter hasn't been seen in her flat or her work place since the heist. And we were expecting you could tell us something about that."
Kaito blinked. "I-I don't know how I can help you with that. The last time I saw Nakamori was at a café in the morning of that same day as the heist. And I only saw her there because Hakuba here invited me." He added pointing at the detective.
"What is your relationship with her?" Shinichi asked.
Kaito shrugged. "She's a childhood friend."
"And ex-girlfriend."
"Yes. AND ex-girlfriend, thank you Hakuba…" Kaito arched an irritated eyebrow towards him.
"Childhood friend and ex-girlfriend? How come you still call her by her last name if you two are so close? Scratch that, how come you don't even know she has been missing all these days?" Heiji questioned, his face reflecting an ironic smile.
"Because, tantei-san, as the term 'ex-girlfriend' means, we are no longer a couple due to some fights we had while being together. Therefore, we cut al laces in order to continue with our lives." He explained, slowly as if teaching to a child with a confident smile stretching over his lips, which made Heiji's expression to turn into a frown.
"The thing is," Shinichi intercepted before his friend began another fight. "We have suspicions that Nakamori-san is with KID right now since the last time she was seen she was heading towards the main stairs of the museum, which the police later confirmed, were being used by KID to escape."
"Also, because when her father called her the day after the heist, she said she was fine and promised him to call him when she got home." Heiji added. "The thing is, she never went to work the day after the heist, nor went to her apartment. So, the only one who could have imitated her voice in a perfect pitch to even fool her own father was obviously KID."
"Right…" Kaito nodded, as if trying to follow the detective's deduction. "I still don't know what that has anything to do with me."
"Because I told them I suspected you were KID." Hakuba grinned, like a cat cornering it's pray.
Kaito glared at Hakuba and sighed deeply, placing his hands inside his pants' pockets. "I'm sorry you two were dragged into his madness." He addressed Shinichi and Heiji. "He has been obsessed with that since high school."
"If he has suspected you for that long, he must have his reasons." Shinichi's penetrating stare was solely focused in Kaito eyes.
"With no evidence whatsoever, it can be qualified as madness." Kaito grinned at Hakuba. "Or maybe you are in love with me and KID so much that you want us to be the same person?"
Heiji tried to stifle a laugh.
Hakuba frowned and continued, already used to the magician's snide remarks. "We found a bullet mark on the stairs where Aoko-san and KID apparently met and we know the police didn't use their guns. We also know that the gun fire came from outside the museum and judging from the position it looked like it was shot from a really far distance, so we can assume that it was made by a pro. Now, I know Aoko-san wasn't the target. What I don't know is why these black crows are after KID." Hakuba glared.
Kaito's face remained expressionless, staring at the three detectives with a relaxed posture. "I assume the police are also looking for Nakamori."
"That's right." Shinichi nodded.
"Then you should be working with them instead of being jerked around by Hakuba like that." Kaito shrugged. "You guys are detectives, right? Then you better start working as such."
"Why you-" Heiji glared, and was stopped in his attempt to grab the magician's shoulder by Shinichi. Luckily for them, the tension of the moment was cut by Hakuba's phone ringing.
"Hakuba here….eh? Yes, I understand." He hung up and faced the trio. "The Police department said that they've received another letter from KID."
"That's good. Then you should ask him directly." Kaito smiled and turned around to continue heading towards the locker room.
"Ah, Kuroba-kun," Shinichi stopped him. "Just one more thing."
Kaito stopped but only turned his face towards them.
"If KID really kidnapped Nakamori-san, do you think there is some reason behind his acts?"
Kaito contemplated his question for a few seconds before answering. "Well, since its KID maybe there is a reason?" He grinned. "But…if I were him, I wouldn't want to kidnap some troublesome girl like that one." He continued once again and waved at them before closing the door to the locker room behind his back.
The three detectives remained silent while contemplating the closed door; each making their own deductions, but all of them with the same missing puzzle.
Meanwhile, in the locker room, Kaito was leaning against the door, eyes closed while a hand was ruffling his already messy hair. He smiled and started chuckling. 'You've done it Hakuba…I know what you are trying to do.' He opened his eyes with a determined expression. 'But I simply cannot stop the wheel of destiny that has started turning…'
Aoko began to feel the soft sheets around her body as she slowly left her dreamless sleep. Her senses were coming back to her and the second thing she noticed was a weird taste on her lips. 'Huh…? Again…' It's not the first time she felt that sweet taste in her mouth every time she woke up; at the beginning she would paid it no mind due to more important matters regarding her current position. But now that she took a few seconds before fully waking up, she began to wonder…
"…orry."
'Huh? Someone is talking?' Aoko quickly opened her eyes and saw Kaito sitting on the side of the bed with his back towards her.
"Sorry, Jii-chan for asking this…"
'Jii-chan?' Aoko tried to listen quietly to what he was saying since she couldn't hear what Jii-chan was answering him.
"No, with this rate I think a half-day would be good enough…"
'Half-day?'
"I'll do the rest."
'What is he saying…?' She began wondering until she saw him lifting a tiny bottle with a strange red liquid inside. She panicked when she saw the bottle and suddenly sat up, ignoring the sheets slipping from her body leaving her completely naked from the waist up. Out of the blue, a strong hand pressed on her shoulder making her to lie down again even though she began to struggle to get up.
"No! Stop!" She screamed. But it was no use, she saw him opening the bottle with one hand, drinking in one gulp its contents and smashing his lips against her, forcing her to drink the strange red fluid. "N…noooo….mmm!"
With a strong wave of shock, Aoko recognized the taste immediately. It was that strange sweet flavor on her mouth every time she woke up. Aoko helplessly drank the liquid and, with the last remains of strength in her body, she pushed Kaito's body away from hers; noticing his lack of resistance while she did so. "You…!" She sat on the bed once again and tried to hit him on the shoulder with her injured and still bandaged hand. The chain from the handcuff rattled with a metallic sound when her wrist was swiftly grabbed before it hit his shoulder. Still, she didn't stop her assault and continued to struggle even though she could feel her body getting weaker with every second that passed. "Don't tell me this whole time...!"
"It's okay." Kaito said, in a relaxed tone. "It works instantly but it's not something addictive."
"…not saying…" Aoko was vision was beginning to blurry and it was getting harder to speak. "I'm not saying that…" Her body went suddenly limp against his chest and she could feel his hands circling her back while softly leaning her back down against the comfortable bed.
"Shhh… Just sleep for now…" He said, softly like putting a child to sleep whilst covering her naked body with the white sheets.
Aoko felt like crying. And she couldn't stop that single tear from escaping her closed eyes and rolling down her cheek. "Don't humiliate me…any…mo…re…"
Had she had her eyes open, she would have seen the look of pure pain in Kaito eyes. "Sorry…" He murmured. His fingers wiping the single tear while caressing her soft cheek. "I'll protect you…"
'What….?' Aoko struggled to stay awake if only to hear what he was trying to say.
"I promise, even if I use my life." Kaito leaned down to kiss her softly on the lips.
'What does he mea-?' But she couldn't even finish that thought as sleep took over her body completely. Only the memory of soft lips pressing against her own kept lingering inside her dreams.
Kaito sat once again and turned his face slightly to face the other person in the room. "Take care of her, Jii-chan."
Jii nodded. "Ah, yes master Kaito."
Kaito turned and looked at Aoko's sleeping face with a soft smile and deep blue sad eyes. "When I come back, I will tell you." His fingers caressed the messy locks over her forehead. "The reason for my existence…"
"Isn't that his eighth cigarette in the last hour?" Heiji commented, leaning against a wall next to Hakuba and Shinichi while they three watched the inspector Nakamori lighting up a cigarette.
Shinichi frowned. "Can you blame him? His daughter has been missing, the police can't find a single clue and tonight there is a KID heist."
"We have a clue."
Hakuba snorted. "But no evidence, idiot."
"You…" Heiji growled.
"Don't start." Shinichi interfered with a stern tone. "KID's heist begins in fifteen minutes and we need to keep our eyes open." Shinichi's frown deepened, his clever eyes surveying the room for anything out of normal.
"As far as we know, he could already be in the room." Hakuba grumbled.
"Ahh…most likely." Shinichi agreed, with a scowl.
The three detectives' mood was still spiked up by Kaito's behavior some hours ago. They didn't have the evidence, but all their intuitions were screaming at them that Kaito Kuroba was, without doubt, Kaitou KID. They were feeling so frustrated knowing that they were so close and yet so far.
"What's still bothering me is KID's letter for tonight's heist." Hakuba grumbled while taking the heist note, already in a plastic bag as evidence.
"You mean the drawing he made besides his signature?" Heiji questioned.
"Yes…it obviously means something, but what?" Hakuba pondered while looking at the note. The note itself had been easy to solve for the three detectives; KID's tonight's target was 'The Tower of Sapphire', a tall impressive sapphire crafted with intricate designs, the owner was an old rich lady who said the jewel had been passed through her family members over more than three centuries. Still, the old lady had claimed to be afraid of owning such a valuable piece of art, so she had decided to the let The Tokyo Museum to look after it in exchange to make it part of their gem exhibition. And that's where the task force, along with the three detectives, were at the moment.
But something about this particular heist note was a tad different from his regular ones. Next to KID's characteristic signature was a drawing; a caricature of a black bird, a crow from the looks of it, with and arrow striking it.
"It sure is unusual of him to make such drawings." Shinichi commented, also looking at the note in Hakuba's hand.
Heiji cocked his head to the side to look at it from another angle. "Doesn't the arrow's head look like an ace spades?"
Hakuba and Shinichi blinked at the Osaka boy and looked more closely at the drawing.
"It sure does…" Shinichi murmured.
"Well look at that…you finally discovered something Hattori-san." Hakuba mocked him with a grin.
"OY! Who do you think-?!"
"IT'S TIME!" An officer shouted.
The lights suddenly went out. Confusion and anxiety filled the room. Some of the police officers started shouting. "Who is it?" "It's KID!" "Switch on the lights!" "It's KID! Protect the jewel!"
"Tch, where is he?" Heiji murmured with a low growl.
"Everyone stay calm! You're falling into KID's trap!" Hakuba shouted.
A light from a small flame unexpectedly appeared, attracting everyone's attention towards it, and consequently illuminating KID's smiling face.
He was right next to the gem.
"KID!" The inspector Nakamori shouted. "Capture him! Don't let him get away!"
All the police officers started running towards KID.
"No!" Shinichi shouted. "It's a trap!"
The small light swiftly went out, making everyone to stop in their tracks from the sudden darkness. Immediately after that, the strong light from a reflector appeared behind KID leaving everyone blinded.
'Ugh…damn!' Shinichi cursed. 'My eyes!' He felt the swift flutter of a cloak pass by very fast next to him and quickly turned around barely able to open his eyes. 'Just now…!'
"The jewel is gone!" "Where is KID?" "Find him!" Once again, frantic shouts began resonating around the room. Most of the police officers were still blind, rubbing their eyes while walking in circles.
"It's KID! He's up there!" Hakuba shouted.
Everyone who had regained their sight turned towards where he was pointing and saw KID already standing over the windowsill of one of the tall open windows, far away from their reach.
"Wha- KID! How the hell did he get there?!" The inspector shouted.
"Hello Keibu. I could feel deep in my heart that you were missing me, so I decided to take 'The Tower of Sapphire' to grant your wish" KID grinned. "Isn't that nice of me?"
"KID! The only wish I have is to see you behind bars!" The inspector barked with a fist aimed towards the thief. "Now, don't move! And don't run away you bloody motherfucker of a thief!"
"Do you really think that the thief will stop if told not to run away?" KID chuckled, waving his hand while preparing to jump out the window.
Though, just before jumping, the thief turned towards Shinichi and moved his lips to form some words before grinning widely and flying away with his glider. The inspector was left shouting orders about following the thief before he got too far.
Shinichi blinked confused. But once the message sank in, he scowled deep and fisted his hands. "I will one day…" He growled.
"What? What did he say?" Heiji asked the angry detective.
"'Capture me if you can.' That's what he said." Hakuba answered, staring pensively at the small figure of the thief in the sky.
"…chan…"
Aoko groaned; she could feel something was trying to dig her out from her dreamless sleep but she just couldn´t manage to fully wake up, resulting in digging her head deeper into the soft fluffy pillow in hopes of catching some more blissful sleep. The soft sheets were cool against her warm skin and she could faintly feel her left wrist much lighter than before.
"Nakamori-chan!"
Her eyes snapped open at the sudden loud call but quickly closed them again when an abrupt ache took place in her head. "Ah…shit it hurts…" She groaned while holding her throbbing head.
"Oh good, you are awake."
Aoko blinked, trying to adjust her eyes to the light in the room and noticing someone was standing near the bed with something in his arms. "Who-?"
"It's me Nakamori-chan." Jii bowed.
"Ah! Jii-san!" Aoko exclaimed, finally recognizing him. The cool air from the room made her remember the state she was in and, with a heavy blush, quickly grabbed the sheets to cover her naked body the best she could. Luckily for her, Jii acted as if nothing had happened.
"I have taken off your handcuffs, please wear these." He handed her the bundle he had been carrying in his arms and realized they were the clothes she had been wearing the day she got to that place.
Aoko greedily took her clothes, while Jii turned around to give her some privacy, and put them on noticing with an even heavier blush, if possible, that even her underwear was there.
And on top it, they were clean too.
She just managed to put on her panties, bra and shirt when Jii started talking again.
"Bocchama believes the medicine works for about twelve hours when, in fact, it actually works for only half of that." He said.
She frowned. 'Why would he lie to Kaito about that?' She stared at him and noticed his back was really tense.
"That is…why are you-?" Aoko was feeling really confused.
He interrupted her. "Bocchama has changed…I don't want Kaito bocchama to do these kinds of things…" He turned to look at her with a solemn face. "So, please, go to the police and tell them everything."
Aoko stared, shocked. "Eh?"
"There is not much time. We should hurry." He said, looking at his watch.
"B-But…Jii-san…you're KID's partner, right? If I go to the police, you'll be caught too…"
'Do I really want to go to the police?' She pondered for a second.
"I don't care what happens to me as long as I can stop bocchama!"
Aoko stared at him in silence for a long time, processing his words. "What's going on Jii-san?" She said, almost whispering. A sense of fear was beginning to creep inside her, trying to reach her already troubled heart. "What is he going to do that you are so desperate to even send you both to jail?"
Jii remained silent, evading her question. "So you're not running away? It's a perfect chance."
Aoko clutched the sheets still covering her from waist down. "I will…but that time is not now."
'I still need to know…he went so far as to keep me here…I want to know what Kaito's intentions really are.'
"This is a matter between me and KID." Aoko said, firm in her decision. "I plan to win the bet between us and then go to the police."
Jii stared at her with a poker face worthy of being KID's partner. "Even though he's done terrible things to you?"
Aoko scowled, but blushed deeply nonetheless. "I'm pissed off about that…might kill him too…" She grumbled, furiously ignoring a tiny voice in her head that was trying to tell her not to complain too much because she had enjoyed those intimate moments even if for just a bit.
"I see…then I have no other choice." Jii sighed.
Before she knew it, Jii was pointing a gun towards her. "I'm sorry Nakamori-chan, but you will have to die right here."
Aoko was beyond shocked. Her fear intensified and she could even swear her heart had stopped for a second. "Jii-san…what…?"
KID landed on a roof close to the museum after he had checked the task force wasn´t following him anymore. He took the jewel recently stolen, lifted it towards the full moon and stared at it for a few seconds.
"Maaah…you are not it either…" He sighed.
The sound of a gun being loaded was heard behind him.
KID smiled, lifted his hands with the gem already gone in one of his hidden pockets, and slowly turned to look at the face of the man who had killed his father, pointing a gun at him. "I have been waiting for you Mr. Crow."
"Well well…I have no idea what your intentions are. But I thank you for your polite invitation." Snake smirked.
"I just thought this game of cat and mouse was starting to become boring." His smile widened, turning into KID's famous mad grin. His eyes glistened with a deep blue shine that made him look quite surreal.
"Now…" KID quickly raised his card gun towards Snake. "Let's start this countdown to hell…"
Aaaaaaaaaand it's finally here! More than a year later….but here nonetheless! I'm still alive as you can see! 8D I'm really sorry for being so late, truly honestly sorry… and I'm not going to promise you that I'll update next chapter faster because I really don't know…Life is…well, life…
But I do promise you that I won't abandon this story. That much I can promise!
So? How was this chapter? Good? Bad? Interesting? Boring? Tell me what you think! :)
Well, it 5 am in my country and in a hour I'm supposedly to wake up in order to go to work…But I didn't want to leave until I finished this chapter! XD
So, see ya!
Butterfly-chan