It's barely a week since Aoko's accident and Kid had already announced his next heist. Aoko looked over at her computer screen, absorbing the details of the heist's note that had been taken as a picture and uploaded on the internet. It stated that his next target would be the largest pink emerald in East Asia named Scarlet and it belonged to a millionaire in Tokyo, at exactly 8 P.M two days from now, which was Saturday.

Aoko had just finished her homework so she had some time to focus on Kid for a while. She searched for some images on Google, wondering how the millionaire's' mansion would look like before closing her computer when she knew the information she got would never be enough. If the heist was held in some public museum or some famous building, Aoko might be lucky enough to find some relevant images on Google, but for a private mansion like this particular case, it's a little tough for Aoko to do anything now.

She plopped on her bed and raised her arm, staring intently at that one long scratch on the back of her hand. It was taking quite a long time to heal but it was definitely much better compared to the first day when she was still in the hospital.

Aoko sighed and let her arm fell on her side. That wound reminded her that she was still alive, and the fact that she was still alive was all thanks to Kid and this irked her for some reason. Why couldn't she be more careful and watch out for cars on her own? Why couldn't she just escape from the incoming vehicle on her own? Why must it be Kid? Shaking her head, she decided not to think about the car accident anymore and focus on the heist instead.

Should I skip this one? Aoko pondered for a while before deciding on the opposite. No matter if Kid was a criminal, he still saved her life and she felt the need to at least give him a thanks even though she would be more than glad to say her thanks when he was behind bars. But that heavy feeling in her heart just couldn't make her wait for that long, because deep down, she knew Kid couldn't be caught so easily even though she always prayed for her father's success.

And the last thing she ever wanted was to owe Kid anything.

Aoko closed her eyes as she placed her heavy arm over her head. In the end, she never get to tell anyone about her incident with Kid, not even her dad. She couldn't find the courage or the correct time to break the news about it and she finally decided to let it be. Maybe if she were to really tell her father about this, he might never let her step a foot near Kid's heist ever again, be it to deliver him some afternoon snacks or to even watch Kid's performance outside.

She rolled herself out of bed to prepare for the night, deciding to push those thoughts about Kid out of her mind for tonight.

.o.

Kaito had went home, like what she was told on the phone when he suddenly called and said something about getting some inspiration for his magic tricks and having to rush home to test it out. Aoko was used to him disappearing all of the sudden after she delivered food to her father so she didn't bother to fight with him over the phone and just ended their conversation smooth and quick.

Maybe she was a little glad that her best friend was gone for today too, she wanted to look around the mansion herself too and she didn't want her best friend to question her intentions for it.

She did take a small peek at the pink emerald before being told to back away by the arrogant millionaire and Aoko tried hard not to roll her eyes. True, the gem was truly rare and it must have been very expensive, but there was no reason for that millionaire to be so rude just because she was taking a look at it for a while. Noticing that her father was still too busy to chase her out, she continued her way around and left the hall.

There were probably more than a dozen corridors connecting to another dozen that led to who-knows-where in the mansion. A hundred of rooms, probably and a huge-ass hall where the gem was secured in a glass box and surrounded by four guards while the millionaire was pacing up and down around it, counting every seconds till the clock hit eight at night. Servants were all told to go home early, to lessen the chance of Kid disguising them and that they might be a hindrance during the heist.

Aoko roamed around a bit more, hoping to find the chance to locate some possible ways of Kid's escape route but the mansion was just too big and she almost got lost herself. She noticed a few vents here and there and also a few windows but she was not too sure either. The mansion was only four storeys high, there might be a chance Kid would use the roof instead of the window if he was escaping with his glider.

The only door to the roof was locked, but she wouldn't be surprise if Kid could just open the door with some magic of his. She scratched her chin and looked back at the rooms behind her.

Should I take a peek inside? Aoko bit her lips as she slowly made her way forward to one of those doors. Just when her hand encircled around the door knob, she immediately retracted them when her father was stomping towards her.

"Aoko." Nakamori said firmly before he turn to order his other squad members. "I want you guys to check every floor and make sure there is no one suspicious before reporting back to the hall."

"Yes sir!" They quickly scrambled to do what they were told.

Nakamori turned back to his daughter. "Go home now. Where's Kaito-kun?"

"Alright I'll go now. Kaito went back home first."

"Good, now go back. Shoo-shoo." Nakamori waved Aoko off as she slightly pouted. He then turned back and screamed something in his walkie-talkie before running off somewhere again.

Aoko slowly trudged towards the exit, contemplating what she should do now. Just as she was taking her own sweet time to the entrance, she noticed one of the policeman standing outside the bathroom, a hand clutching tightly onto the wall for support and he was panting slightly. As she came even closer, Aoko recognized the skinny man as one of the most hard-working member in her father's squad who never failed to take part in every single heist that Kid had announced. His dedication could mirror her own father.

"Are you alright Shinji-san?" Aoko commented and Shinji looked up tiredly, heavy bags under his eyes.

"It's just a slight fever. I should be fine, thanks for your concern Nakamori-san." He coughed.

"I really think you should go home and rest. You can barely stand!" Aoko said in concern as she gave a few pat on his back. "I can tell dad for you, you don't have to worry. Even though my dad put this job before everything, he still wouldn't let his squad members work when he's sick."

It was easy to convince Shinji to go home since he was really weak at that point to even think of any good reasons to reject Aoko's offer. She kindly guided him back to the police van and waited till he changed out and got a taxi waited for him near the mansion even though it was cold outside. Taking care of the sick would be the priority for now, she could think of her plan to interrupt Kid's escape later on.

After Aoko watched the taxi go, she was about to go back to the mansion to inform her dad since calling his phone would be pointless when she passed by the empty police van and she stopped. She stared at it silently for a moment before an idea struck her as she clapped her hand in glee before rushing forward. Aoko looked around in the van, grabbing hold onto the police uniform and the helmet Shinji had left behind inside and quickly creeped into the building again.

.o.

The clothes and helmet fitted her perfectly and maybe this was the only time Aoko was happy that her chest wasn't as big as she hoped it was. Shinji's size was similar to Aoko and she felt that it was definitely fate that made her destined to stay in the mansion to stop Kid. She didn't have any rubber bands to tie her hair into a bun so she had no choice but to try to stick most of her hair into the helmet, hoping it would make her looked just like a guy. Kaito mentioned that her figure was no different from a boy and she was always pissed about it when he kept on reminding it to her. But even if her best friend didn't say it, she knew that she indeed didn't have those curves like other girls had in her class.

Reporters and Kid's supporters were starting to flood outside the mansion, chanting all the way and it annoyed the millionaire to no end as he continued his endless ranting about how much he hated the noisy fans. There were two more hours till Kid would appear and now Aoko wished she could use this chance to look around instead of standing around the hall and doing nothing, but it was an order from her own dad so she couldn't do anything about it. Her legs were starting to ache, but she managed to forget all about the annoying pain when she was trying to guess how Kid would flashy enter the mansion and steal the pink emerald.

Pink smoke bombs like usual? From the ceiling? From the ground? Could he already be inside, disguised as someone else? Aoko glanced around carefully as she observed everyone in the hall. The millionaire was as usual, complaining about everything while her father was talking to one of the members of his squad. There were a few familiar faces she recognized, some dedicated workers, some long-term workers, but Aoko couldn't judge if they were real or fake just by looking at them.

As the seconds ticked by slowly but gradually, it was finally one minute before eight. The hall started to become tensed and the Inspector was already ready with his handcuffs in his pocket. Four guards around the glass box, all exits and windows were sealed, the Kid's supporters outside were chanting louder and louder as they were getting more excited.

It was finally time.

All of the sudden, everything in the hall became dark. There was a blackout and Nakamori was immediately yelling at someone from the control room to do something about it with his walkie talkie. Everyone were confused, wondering what would happen next but they still remained in their position, especially the four guards when they were ordered again to stay where they were by the Inspector.

The lights started flickering and the blackout was over. Everyone's eyes immediately flew to the transparent glass box and to everyone's horror, although Aoko sort of knew it was coming during that seven seconds interval when everything was in darkness, the jewel was already missing from its original position.

Everyone in the hall started panicking, the millionaire was in rage and Nakamori began yelling Kid's name and ordered the rest to look for him. While everyone were rushing to different corridors of the mansion, Aoko avoided the massive crowd of policemen pushing and rushing as she stepped back into the shadows, spying hard on the glass box. She remembered a trick Kaito showed her before, about how a transparent box looked empty from the outside but in fact, there were actually contents inside and she wondered if that trick was applied to this heist.

There were four guards that were supposed to be guarding the box and one of them, Aoko guessed, must have been Kid in disguise. And within that seven seconds of darkness, one of them must have done something to make the jewel disappeared, or maybe looked like it had disappeared. She frowned even harder.

"My precious Scarlet! It's really gone!" The millionaire cried out after he hurried to the glass box and opened it, staring dazedly into the box before closing the lid angrily. A few policemen were loitering around, patrolling to see any signs of Kid but the millionaire suddenly flew into a temper. "Why are you tax robbers still standing around! Hurry up and go find that Kid and get my gem back!"

"We are suppose to take guard here-"

"I'll make sure to remember all of your faces so I'll report you people for slacking around!"

The few policemen looked doubtful for a moment but they finally gave in as they signalled each other and started running off to join the search for Kid.

"What are you doing there?! Hurry and find Kid as well!" The millionaire glared at Aoko when he spotted her at the corner but she remained unfazed. She took a step forward and smiled sweetly at the scrawny millionaire.

"I already found him." Aoko said merrily.

"Where is he?" The millionaire went to full alert as he started glancing around.

She briskly walked towards him and grabbed hold of his wrist. The millionaire was immediately caught in surprise as Aoko quickly flipped the lid open. Just like what she guessed, the pink jewel was still inside and the millionaire...no... Kid was actually hoping to use the chance to chase everyone away from the hall to take the jewel and escape by himself.

"Oh, the gem is back." The millionaire smiled faintly.

"You don't look very happy." Aoko glowered.

"Maybe." The voice had changed, it was no longer the deep and grumpy millionaire's voice that Aoko had been hearing for the past few hours. It was Kid's and she knew it the minute he said that single word because she hated it so much that she had carved that very voice in the back of her mind.

"The real millionaire was knocked out in his room!" There was a faint shout coming from one of the corridor suddenly. "That guy in the hall must be Kid!"

With a poof, Aoko couldn't feel the wrist of the man anymore as she stepped back and stood in a sort of battle stance. Kid was already in his white suit and pants, his hat tilted forward as his cape swirled around his leg before it floated behind his back. His hand contained the shiny pink emerald. Without saying a word, he sprinted away to the other side. Aoko quickly gave chase.

They ran from corridors to corridors and Aoko was wondering where most of the squad members were when there were so many of them but none of them were there to stop Kid's track. But her question was finally answered when Kid was about to make a turn but he U-turn back when he noticed a couple of policemen running along the next corridor that he was about to go to.

Kid almost collided into Aoko when he turned back but she still fell back when she stopped too suddenly. Kid grabbed her arm and pulled her forward as she nearly landed on his chest and she shrieked at the close contact although he helped to break her fall. He immediately dragged her along with him and after passing a few doors, he opened one and shut it fast but quietly behind them.

They were in a small storeroom, a couple of old stools and chairs and also a few boxes lying here and there. It was a little dark and only a hand-sized window was located at the corner of the room, allowing some light to shine in. Kid was leaning closely against the door, his face looking stern. After a short while, there wasn't any sound from outside, seeming that those policemen didn't take notice of him just now to inspect this corridor. He smiled at the fact before turning around to face Aoko who was already fuming at him.

"Nakamori-san!" Kid said in surprise as he straightened his posture and leaned on the clean wall beside the door. "Fancy meeting you, again. I appreciate your silence until now."

"Fancy." Aoko muttered dryly, taking off her helmet as her long hair fell nicely and smoothly on her shoulders. She then put the helmet under her arm as she stepped forward and stood in the middle of the room. "You sounded so shock to see me even though you've seen me already. You are really good in switching between characters, aren't you?" Her tone tainted with sarcasm.

"Oh thank you." Kid accepted her words.

Aoko clicked her tongue. "It's not a compliment!"

"Are you taking an interest on your father's career? That's really filial of you. I'm sure you will surpass your father in no time." Kid said smoothly.

Aoko sneered. "The only interest I have is for my fist to connect your jaw."

Kid waved both of his hands. "No violence intended, Nakamori-san." Kid then eyed down at Aoko's arm and he blinked slowly. "I hope your injuries are healed by now."

Aoko stepped back, as an act of defense at his change of tone, wondering what Kid meant before he closed the distance between them and took her hand. Only after a few seconds passed then she was able to compose herself when he touched her as she immediately pulled her hand away and took another step back, to only realize the wall was right behind her and there was no space for her to back away anymore.

"I'm fine." Aoko hissed before her eyes moved to the sudden sound behind the door.

"Kid must be around here somewhere. Team A go this side and Team B go that side!" Nakamori's yelling could even be heard clearly from the inside the storeroom.

"Yes sir!" The teams responded before the sound of running boots clacking loudly everywhere.

"Look." Aoko turned away from the door and glared back at Kid who was still scrutinizing her every move closely, his eyes never leaving hers even when the door was behind him. "I have did you a favor by letting you off when I can just scream right now and everyone will rush here and it's over for you."

"What makes you think that I want you to do a favor for me?" Kid sounded hurt, but Aoko knew he was just faking that tone. What a stupid and very infuriating actor.

"I just don't want to owe you anything." Aoko emphasized. "You saved me that time, and now I'll let you off as a way of repaying my debt. That's why I hope that this is the end of it and the next time I ever see you, you'll be in handcuffs."

"I saved you because I wanted to. I wouldn't want you to get hurt because you are chasing after me." Kid said plainly, there was no flirtatious or kidding tone, just plain... or maybe... serious. There was a short pause. "You never owed me anything."

Aoko huffed. "You sounded so nice. Maybe you should have slowed down a bit so I can catch you much easier that day." She snarled.

Kid's solemn expression was long gone and he chuckled, but Aoko didn't see how her words sounded funny at all. "That would have been a much pleasant outcome for you, Nakamori-san, but not for me." He smirked and Aoko immediately growled inwardly.

Did she ever mention how much she hated it when the magician thief curled his lips like that? She wasn't even this angry compared to how Kaito always flipped up her skirt every single day. Aoko just disliked the fact that Kid could still be so relaxed, as if he was enjoying every single second when the police force, or rather her father, was chasing him so foolishly for so long.

The sound of the running footsteps seemed to become clearer and clearer.

"Open every single door and leave none unchecked!" Nakamori yelled.

The sound of door opening and slamming could be heard. Kid glanced back at the door before looking back at Aoko again.

"I would love to stay and chat but I have to go." Kid gave a small bow. "I guess we'll be meeting again, until the day you see me in handcuffs." He said.

"Even if I'm letting you get away, you must return the gem." Aoko snapped.

"It will be return soon enough once I confirmed something with it."

"What?" Aoko spat. "Confirm if it was fake or genuine? Are you trying to sniff out all the imitation because you're actually some hero in disguise? Benefitting the jewel industry from being scammed?"

"Very interesting, Nakamori-san. You can write a novel with such a creative mind you have." He leaned forward and his smirk immediately changed to his usual charismatic smile.

Aoko blinked in surprise and in just that split second, he was already on his way, opening that small vent in the corner of the room. Aoko sulkily watched him, but she didn't stop him and she felt that Kid knew she wouldn't too. For a moment, Aoko wasn't sure if the thief really trusted her so much to actually escape in such a calm manner when she could betray him in every way.

But then, she really wasn't going to do that because she promised Kid that she'll let him escaped and she wasn't going to go back on her own words. Aoko disliked liars and she didn't intend to become one. Even if she lied to a criminal, lying is still lying.

Before he squeezed inside that small space, he turned and gave a wink and Aoko shuddered and scowled. "Goodnight Nakamori-san."

Aoko gritted her teeth and waved her fist in the air. "I hope your white suit turned black when you get out from the other side!"

"That's not really a nice thing to say, Nakamori-san." Kid's muffled voice echoed in the vent. He hook onto one of the holes of the metal cover with his foot and closed it softly behind him. Soon after, Aoko could hear his shuffling noise as the sound got fainter and fainter till there was no more.

It took Aoko quite a while to make sure she was really alone before she slumped right onto a dusty stool across the door and threw the heavy helmet on her side as it twirled around for a moment. Her legs were wobbly and she got a little dizzy all of the sudden. It was like an after-effect for being in the same room with Kid for more than five minutes, but even if she wanted to find some excuses to dismiss her jittery feelings, she couldn't run away from the truth.

Aoko was entirely nervous when Kid was with her.

She let out a breath and both of her hands curled into a fist. This was the first time she ever interacted with Kid, and it was a small conversation that didn't end within three sentences. It wasn't exactly Aoko's favourite topic, but the fact that she was in the same room as him, breathing the same air together, it really made her nervous. Although she knew the thief would never harm her, but it was scary, to be alone with a criminal who was probably twice her age with so many tricks in his hand while all she had was just a voice for her to scream if she felt the need to.

But Aoko knew he would have a hundred of ways to keep her mouth shut and she was glad he didn't do anything to her. Very glad actually.

And how dare he tried to flirt with her. His attempts probably worked on his thousands of female fans but it didn't worked for her, in fact, it actually disgusted her. Kid was definitely much older than her and she couldn't help but feel irritated at how he was trying to act all caring and gentleman-like in front of her. What was he even trying to do? Making a young high school student fall in love with him for his charming acts?

Aoko sighed as she stared down at her covered hand.

Kid was the one that dragged her into this room in the first place, but Aoko knew that he would definitely have a back-up plan if Aoko were to do anything to expose his location. Maybe he would gagged her, or maybe he would use a sleeping gas bomb. Probably the latter. But still, she had chosen to let him off willingly so it was considered a debt paid. Everything was over. She was finally free from this stupid burden.

The clattering footsteps outside were getting louder and louder until a few shadows lurked under the dim light that shone under the door and it was flung opened.

Aoko who was sitting opposite the door stood up immediately, feeling relieved that it was her father, along with a few other policemen that inspected the room and not anyone else.

"Dad!"

At first shock flashed across Nakamori's face but anger quickly replaced it. "Kaitou Kid! How dare you impersonate my daughter!" Nakamori jumped onto Aoko and started pinching her cheeks as she yelped out loud. "Get him! We have finally caught Kid!" He turned and ordered as the policemen were all about to pounce on Aoko.

"Dad! I'm Aoko! It's really me!" She cried out.

Noticing what he was pinching was indeed flesh, he backed away, so did the rest of the squad members as he realized the person in front of him was indeed his daughter. Aoko rubbed her sore cheeks as tears gathered around her eyes due to the pain.

"It's really you." Nakamori said blankly before he frowned again. "Why the hell are you here in the storeroom, furthermore in this police outfit?! Aren't you suppose to go home long ago?"

Before Aoko could say anything, Nakamori's walkie talkie suddenly came to life and his attention was immediately snapped away.

"Kaitou Kid is already outside! He is heading South-East from here!"

"Get the rest to chase after him! Prepare a car outside, I'm coming right over." Nakamori yelled in the walkie-talkie before he glanced at Aoko. "Go home first and we'll talk about it later." Without waiting for a reply, he whirled around swiftly and rushed off with his team, leaving Aoko all alone in the store room.

She wasn't suppose to feel like this; not when her father always leave her all by herself to catch Kid, but when Aoko noticed the creaking door moving back and forth slowly, she felt a little lonely inside.

Obeying her father, she slowly made her way outside, trying her best to find the entrance of the empty mansion after she changed back to her own clothes. It took her quite a while to finally get out, but at least for the past fifteen minutes, she managed to get her attention away from her sore cheek and that stupid thief clad in white.

Wow, this story got a little more well-received than I thought it would. Thanks to everyone who favourite and review this story, it really motivated me to continue writing! Updates soon to come and reviews are appreciated!