Note: I write these stories on paper before posting them. Why? Less B.S.ing and thinking too much. Also because I can change the words around when typing them. It works for me.

Now on with chapter 3.

Chapter 3

Kaito Kuroba stared at the flyer along with everyone else in his classroom. All of the students couldn't fully understand the flyer at all; it was written in English. Kaito, on the other hand, could read it easily. It said:

Hello, Beika City! I'm back for the first time, and I've been meaning to test your best detectives. And the funniest and best way is the Beika Hotel Party on Saturday. I'll be stealing the Princess Diamonds from under your nose. Rivals aside, I'll be waiting, 1412.

Yours Truly,

L

"Whose 1412?" asked a student.

"Don't you remember? That's another name for Kaitou Kid," answered another.

"Another thief in Kid's territory? I wonder how he's gonna react?" said a third. "Didn't Kid send out a letter about stealing those Diamonds before this person?"

Mutter… Mutter… Mutter.

Kaito listened to all the conversation. How Kid will react? Easy. He'll be happy. He chuckled to himself and sipped his juice carton.

"What are you chuckling for?" Kaito choked and coughed, hitting his chest. Annoyed, he looked up to see his childhood friend, Aoko Nakamori, frowning at him. "This is another disaster for my father and the police. I hate Kaitou Kid and this guy, too. I hope they both get arrested."

"Don't be that upset, Aoko," Kaito gasped. Smirking slyly, he made a flower appear out of nowhere in his hand and gave it to her. Aoko smiled a little and took it. She walked past him and began taking to her friends.

Kaito leaned back in his chair. It was break time, noon, in his high school when these flyers began falling out of the sky, like it was raining paper. He knew Aoko's father, Inspector Ginzo Nakamori, and the rest of the Tokyo Metropolitan Police Force are going to have fits. Not only do they have to deal with Kaitou Kid, they now have to deal with this stranger. He gently rubbed his fingers through his dark hair. I will be happy. He chuckled again.

Kaito Kuroba leads a double life. One is that of a high school student who has talents as a magician. In this life, he has friends and family (he sniffed when he remembered his father), and pretty much a normal life. The other was that of Kaitou Kid, a young thief dressed in a white suit, cape, and top hat, who steals priceless jewels. He gives the police a run for their money and always gives back what he stole. Kaito leaned back further in his chair, sipping his juice; he had slowly recovered from his choking. He began to stare at the classroom lights, thinking about who this mystery thief was.

"I can tell you who this thief is if you admit that you're Kaitou Kid."

Kaito coughed and choked, hitting his chest. He nearly fell backwards but caught himself. Annoyed, he looked up to see a girl with long black hair and serious eyes staring at him.

"I…have… no… idea…what you…are talking about!" Kaito gasped through coughs. Akako Koizumi smirked.

"So you say. He will be stealing the shoes but actually has a darker aim." She turned and walked away, but continued, "This will not affect you but your rival will be changed by this encounter. The wolf waits for you."

Kaito recovered but wondered about the witch's prophecy. The mystery thief has his own agenda. Maybe, but it probably has nothing to do with the heist. He knew who she was talking about when she said 'rival'. It was that detective kid, Conan Edogawa, who always intervened in his thievery. The wolf comment he didn't understand. He'll figure that out later.

"That thief probably wants to meet me. That'll be interesting," he muttered. But then he sighed. He only wants a meeting but I bet everyone's gonna say he wants…

"… A competition! It's a competition!" cried Inspector Ginzo Nakamori. He paced back and forth in front of a conference room table filled with police officers. "That mystery thief is calling out Kaitou Kid, making a mockery of the police. I say we now watch the entire hotel from top to bottom, inside and out, understand?"

"Yes, sir!" cried the men.

Outside the room, watching trough a window, Inspector Juzo Megure stared at the yelling man and his force and sighed a little. He agreed with Nakamori but he didn't have as much fervor as him. He walked away to the chaotic police station where everyone was rushing over desks and each other. First, Kaitou Kid's usual cryptic message and now the mystery thief's blunt declaration. He wasn't too sure about the competition but he did know that those two are going to meet at the party.

Megure sighed further. They're going to be there, too. Three famous detectives, he heard, were invited to the actor Daisuke Yamada's party by the actor himself, hoping that the diamonds that he will put on display will not be taken. One of them was the teen from Osaka, Heiji Hattori. He knew his father Heizo Hattori was in charge of the Osaka Prefecture Police and that his deduction skills rivaled that of Shin'ichi Kudou's. Megure had met Heiji on a few occasions. The other, he hoped, was Shin'ichi Kudou himself. Shin'ichi's father, Yusaku Kudou, had helped Megure and the police in solving crimes despite being a mystery writer. The son was picking up where the father left off. Shin'ichi mysteriously disappeared but has occasionally appeared to help. What Megure thought has strange was that Shin'ichi now didn't want the public to know of Shin'ichi's involvement in the cases. He didn't think about it too much. Megure didn't mind meeting up with Shin'ichi again.

Who he really, really, didn't want to see is Kogoro Mouri, aka, Sleeping Kogoro. The man was a former police officer under Megure who now works as a detective. He knew Kogoro's teen daughter, Ran, who was also friends with Shin'ichi and his lawyer wife, Eri Kisaki. Kogoro and Eri are separated but still married. He also knew of a little boy who Ran and Kogoro were taking care of, Conan Edogawa. Conan was a very smart kid and has occasionally helped with police investigations. Ever since Conan lived with them, Kogoro ended up solving cases, strangely through a sleeping appearance and became famous. He let all that fame get to his head and, in Megure's honest opinion, him being there is a harbinger of disaster. Although, Megure thinks it the boy, really.

He took out a small towel and wiped his sweating head. He was extremely tired. To make matters worse, his superior had sent him a memo hours ago telling him that another inspector will be in his precinct and that he must cooperate with him. He wasn't told much about this new inspector except that he was part of an international police force, Interpol, he thought. He sighed again and sat in his desk. A cup of coffee was presented in front of him. A young female cop with short black hair and dressed in a dark red dress suit smiled at him.

"Ah, Sato! Thanks." Megure took the cup and drunk it. Miwako Sato sat on his desk.

"Is there something on your mind, sir?" She looked at him worriedly. He smiled a little. Sato was an officer who transferred here from another precinct. She was a darn good cop who does her job. All the other male officers here admired her, a couple, he thought, liked her. "Two thieves after the same item. And another inspector is coming to take command here."

"No way," Sato said. She frowned. "Do you know who this person is?" Megure shook his head. "I see."

"Right this way, sir."

Megure and Sato looked up to see another one of his officers, Wataru Takagi, walking in with another man holding a beige coat and hat in one hand and a letter with the other. Megure was so stunned at this man that he suddenly got up and cried, "YOU!!"

Everyone stopped what they were doing to stare at Megure and the man. Even Inspector Nakamori rushed to see what was wrong. Takagi looked surprised and petrified.

"Uhmmm, Inspector… this is the-" Takagi began.

"You're the inspector in charge of this precinct?" cried the man.

"And you're the inspector whose going to take over temporarily?" cried Megure. Both men walked towards each other. The tension in the room was becoming unbearable. Takagi looked as though he was about to faint. Then they both shook each other's hand and pat each other on the back.

"Long time, no see," they both said.

"Whaa!?" cried Takagi. "You know each other?"

The man nodded, giving Megure the letter. "Both of us weren't inspectors back then but we did occasionally work together in investigations involving our precincts. So Megure-keibu, how are you?" The man frowned as he looked around. "Where's Kogoro?"

As Megure read the letter, he answered, "Doing fine. He quit the force some years ago and is now working as a detective. Didn't you hear of his rising fame as 'Sleeping Kogoro'?" The man shook his head. "Ran is in high school and he and his wife are separated."

The man raised an eyebrow and scratched his chin. "I'm not surprised. They argue more than they make up. That reminds me, I should visit my family. I haven't seen them in years. What about that mystery writer that helps out, Yasaku Kudou?"

Megure's eyes rose over the paper. "He's in America with his wife. Their son is here taking over; he's just like his dad. He's in high school too with Ran." Megure stopped and stared; his eyes were about to come out of their sockets.

"Sir, what's wrong?" Sato asked. Megure gave her the letter and she read along with everyone in the precinct.

"Don't let this get exposed to the public about me being here and about this," said the man. "I also asked your superior as well. I'm only here for the other thief but I'll also help with Kaitou Kid."

Megure nodded as gasps sounded in the entire room. They all stared at the man and began to murmur. Megure went closer to him and muttered, "I'll tell you everything that happened since you left to travel around the world."

"Okay," said the man. Megure backed away to let his old friend take over. The man shouted, "Okay!! I'm now in charge and our main priority is to capture both these thieves. I need all information on Kaitou Kid, the building where the party is taking place, the people who are being invited…" People started to scramble, including Sato, Takagi, and Nakamori, as the man gave out orders. Megure stared at him. I can't believe that mystery thief is that guy. If it's true…then we need all the help we can get.