MAGIC MIRROR
Disclaimer: Detective Conan and Magic Kaito belongs to Aoyama Goshou-sensei.
Mahou no Kagami is also not mine. Check it out; Mahou no Kagami, sung by Rin and Len (Vocaloids).
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1st: The Solitary Girl
A man in his twenties is seen talking to two suspicious men dressed in black. "So how is it?" He asked them. The man is quite handsome, with a pair of intelligent grey eyes, tanned skin, and bleached hair.
There are two men in front of him; one is big and chubby while the other tall and intimidating. The chubby one answered, "We were able to get their current location, but according to our agent, they are ready to move again."
The tanned man frowned hearing that news. "I see." He sighed. "It's so hard to get to the Kudo's nowadays. That man must have some sixth sense."
The chubby man in black laughed, "Hah, he is just a novelist—what can he do against us?" he asked in mockery.
"Don't underestimate him, Vodka." The tall man spoke for the first time with heavy, intimidating voice. He raised his head enough for them to see his eyes from under his hat, "His intelligence is on par—if not more—with Vermouth. I'm sure he is suspicious enough of her. Don't forget that he does also have connections to both local and international FBI agents."
The chubby man called Vodka frowned beneath his sunglasses. "Then, what should we do, aniki?"
"That depends on what our client wants," he said with an evil smirk, staring pointedly at the tanned man before them.
Said man sighed irritated, "Fine. Just lay low for now. We don't want Yuusaku to catch on us just yet."
"You mean 'to catch on you', Bourbon." The tall man said with an evil smirk. "Everyone knows about the Kudo's greedy nephew who doesn't mind dirtying his hands to get into their inheritance."
"Shut up, Gin." The man called Bourbon snapped with an annoyed frown.
"But, Bourbon," the chubby man asked. "If you want to get their inheritance, why don't you just kill their little brat? They left her here, didn't they?"
"Nah, don't mind that invalid brat. She couldn't possibly know what I'm doing—I never allowed her to leave the attic. Even if she knew, she won't be able to do anything about it—let alone stop me." Bourbon said smugly. "Her parents won't ever believe her without any solid evidence—they trust me too much. Did I ever tell you that I'm a great actor?"
The tall man called Gin paused to stare at the man called Bourbon coldly before he turned away, "One day, you're going to be eaten by your own words, Bourbon." He said as he turned to get back on the black Porsche car without a word. The chubby man wordlessly followed the tall man like a loyal puppy and get on the passenger seat. The black Porsche drives away from the front gate, leaving the man with his own thoughts.
Unbeknownst to him, he is being watched. Someone is watching him from above, from the small window at the attic that was crowded by a pack of pigeons that always flying around. A small, thin, frail girl watched wordlessly, blankly, from above, shielded by the pigeon's wings. Her pretty pale face was framed with wavy, pale, silvery locks—making her look even paler. Her legs are abnormally skinny, pale, and angled in distorted way. There is no way her legs could be used to walk. She heaved herself to the corner, where her futon lay, and covered herself with a blanket. It is always colder here than downstairs. So when the sunlight streams through the window, she would indulge in it, basked in its warmth.
It has been a while since she first saw that man, Amuro Toru, interacted with those black-clad men right outside her own house. It is always the same people and they always come with the same vehicle; black old Porsche 356A. Why did they choose to meet at such plain—easily to be seen—place? Won't that look too suspicious when someone walked by? More importantly, what does exactly Amuro Toru's business with those men?
No one has ever visited the room in the attic for too long. Every servant of Kudo Mansion had been there but only for a short moment of passing some food to the disabled girl inside.
Kudo Mansion is home for the rich conglomerate Kudo family. Kudo Yuusaku, the head of the family is a writer—a novelist. His signature work, Knight Baron, has been translated into more than 16 languages across the world. More than that, he is also known as a brilliant detective. His wife, Kudo Yukiko, is a renowned actress and has won many awards for her acting. She is beautiful and confident. Right now, they both are busy globe-trotting. Yukiko is an adventurer by heart while Yuusaku needs to evade his persistent editors.
They are rich people. They have many servants, butlers, and attendance. But since they are rarely home and almost always out of country, the one currently headed the house is their nephew, Amuro Toru. Why not her? Because she is too young to handle the house by herself—or to be exact, she is a disabled girl who won't be able to do anything by her own, let alone handled such a big house; that's probably what her mother thinks.
There is a knock at the wooden door. It is opened by an old lady—an old attendant of Kudo family—and most importantly, the girl's favorite nanny. Unlike other attendant, she is always come with a warm, kind, motherly smile that she got used to since she was a child. "Lady Shin'ichi. It's time for lunch." She said kindly, friendly.
The girl called Shin'ichi smiled slightly and nodded. Her name is Kudo Shin'ichi—the only child and only daughter of the Kudo family. She was born perfectly, had been able to walk (albeit wobbly) when she was only one and a half; but when she was only ten years old, she caught polio and she has been spending time on her wheelchair ever since. She has always enclosed herself in library, reading, researching; because even if she is disabled, her IQ is more than 400, higher than any normal person. But because she was disabled, her childhood friend, Ran, cannot be seen together with her without being bullied. Shin'ichi, concerned of Ran's safety, wanted to broke their friendship, but Ran was a stubborn and kind girl. Even if Shin'ichi hadn't been able to come out of the house, Ran had always been visited her with new puzzles or dolls for them to play indoors. It made Shin'ichi's heart warm when knowing that Ran wasn't minding her disability at all and played with her as if they were normal—as if she was a normal girl.
Thanks to Ran, she accepted her disability and she was okay with her condition—until that man came to her life. Amuro Toru. She doesn't like him. She doesn't trust him. When she first laid eyes on him, there was something stirring inside her, screaming at her to get away and not get too close. Something inside her told that he is a dangerous person to be with. Alas, her mother trusts him and there was nothing she could do. Her parents wanted to go globetrotting to indulge themselves and left the house on Amuro's hand. They would've taken Shin'ichi with them but she was too young to have her own visa. More than that, she is unable to walk; her mother was afraid she won't be having fun. Shin'ichi highly suspect what her mother meant was: it would be such a nuisance to have to push Shin'ichi's wheelchair everywhere while I'm having fun.
It had been a year since her fourteenth birthday, nearly a year since she first met Amuro. Immediately, after her parents were off to Europe in her fourteenth birthday, he locked her up here—in the attic; not allowing her to come out. He chased off Ran's tail out of the house and Ran, being a scaredy-cat she is, is now too scared to even pass in front of the mansion. For precaution's sake, Amuro even ordered the butler to guard the stairs where the attic starts. She almost rolled her eyes. She is unable to walk, for God's sake. Is that even necessary? He reasoned that she is a smart lass; if he doesn't prepare, she could've gone before he bats an eye—regardless of her situation. In a way, Shin'ichi actually flattered he thinks that highly of her. She wondered, if even a man as heartless as Amuro recognized her potential, why didn't her mother?
With him around, she had been in this attic for nearly a year. Fortunately, he needed her to be alive, that's why he still ordered the maids to bring food to her. Although he forbids the maids to talk to her, this old lady always does so, no matter what Amuro said. She likes her. But, she thought, there's nothing wrong with being too cautious, especially when you've become a prisoner in your own house.
"Lady Shin'ichi. Why didn't you eat your breakfast?" She asked kindly while tidying up the dishes of her last breakfast. She almost doesn't eat at all. She left so much leftover.
Shin'ichi sighs, "I'm not hungry, Mrs. Harada."
"But, Lady Shin'ichi, you are ill. You need food for your strength. If you keep doing this, we feared about your condition."
Shin'ichi rolled her eyes. "Mrs. Harada, I've been ill for a long time already. Not eating now or tomorrow won't make a difference." She said coldly.
She can feel Mrs. Harada staring at her with something akin to pity in her eyes. She wordlessly took the dishes to the tray and stood. "We're sorry, Lady Shin'ichi. But Mrs. Kudo has made Amuro-sama the head of the house. We—the servants are to do what he said while your parents are gone. We don't wish to do this to you, Lady Shin'ichi. Especially I. I've known since you were a little girl—you were like a daughter to me, Milady."
Shin'ichi sighs. "I don't mean to upset you, Mrs. Harada and I already know that. I'm just not hungry, that's all. But I'm not upset towards you, it's towards that person." She said as she ate her lunch pinch by pinch. She realized she had just opened one of her cards. She cannot trust anyone in this house when she they had held her prisoner. That's the only card she will ever open, she swore to herself.
"I understand, Lady Shin'ichi. Now that Amuro-sama had made you a prisoner you cannot trust anyone here. I understand completely." Mrs. Harada sighs then smiles understandingly. "Don't worry, Lady Shin'ichi, what you said will not come out of this room. I will not ask anything more of you until your parents arrive." She bows and turns to leave.
Shin'ichi leans her head to the glass window, "Thank you." She whispers quietly.
Mrs. Harada heard it. She smiles quietly, understandingly, "Your welcome, My Lady." She says, walks out of the small, tiny room.
When the old lady has come out of the room, Shin'ichi sighs once again and stares out of the window. It was still broad daylight out there. The sunlight streams through the glass and Shin'ichi basked in it. The only reason why her skin still maintained its shine was because she always basking in sunlight every morning and early noon.
She swept her sight through the room she is in. The room is small. This room was only supposed to store old, antique furniture than being a bedroom. Amuro was being humane enough to order the maids and attendance to clean the room for her and decorated it so it doesn't look too much like an attic anymore. The place is still clean. The maids came to sweep and mop the floor each day. She isn't being abused; either physically or verbally; and not even physically tied up. Amuro still feeds her, orders the maid to clean the room, and made sure her clothes are clean enough not to raise suspicion. After the attic was clean enough—at least no spider's nest, piles of dust, or rat's dunks around—he moved her furniture up here. He told her that he needed her room to store his inventory—for business' sake, he had said. Like Shin'ichi ever got fooled with that excuse. She knew he wanted her to get out of his way. But since Shin'ichi is already disabled, he is being humane enough not to kill her. Besides, he still needs her mother's trust. Off course he told her not to tell her parents about this. Shin'ichi doesn't intend to. They won't believe her anyway, since he had also forbid and threaten the attendance to not tell a word to the Kudo's of what he did to their child. At least this room now looks a lot like a bedroom and less like a storage room. For Amuro's own sake, he had put some bookracks, along with Shin'ichi's favorite books around the room. If he didn't keep her entertained, she would make a racket that promised a long headache and annoyance. A bored Shin'ichi is a dangerous Shin'ichi. And at the corner, just at the corner of the room, there is a big dusty mirror attached to the wall. It had been there long before she can remember.
This mansion was designed and built by her father—only her father knew the tricks and whatnot inside this mansion. He hinted that there was a possibility of a secret passage around the mansion but he was reluctant to outright say where exactly it located. Shin'ichi had spent the rest of her life trying to solve the mystery of her own house without any outcome. But that doesn't mean she gave up. Even now, as she was being a prisoner in her own house, she is still searching for a way for the secret passage.
Shin'ichi looked up and saw that grey cloud has hovered over the sun. It will be raining soon. She sighs; it will be cold when it rains. She snuggles further into her thick blanket and prays that the rain won't be too long. More than that, she prays for a chance to get out of this attic.
As she fell asleep, unbeknownst to her, a deity up there was listening to her prayer.
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2nd: The Boy from the Mirror
Amuro Toru is a clever man, always preparing for the incoming consequences and almost never failed to predict what would happen with his logical reasoning and analysis. But even he cannot predict the arrival of a card that is now in his hands. He is staring at the card as if it had done something to offend him—in a way, perhaps it does.
"Sir Amuro Toru,
When the moon is out within the fortnight, I shall fly through the tower of Empress to free the Princess from her prison.
Kaitou KID"
Amuro Toru is usually a calm man, but this time, he is on the verge of losing it. What does this mean? The card is sent through the post. It was written in a neat, curvy, handwriting, and the address was sent to Kudo's family mansion, but the greeting on the letter was addressed to him directly. How did that petty thief know him? More than that, the letter said that he will free 'the princess' from her 'prison'. Does that mean he knows that he kept Shin'ichi inside? There's no way he could know about Shin'ichi's existence. He had made sure no one talks about her. He must be talking about something else. About the big pink heart-shaped gem he had acquired the other day. Yes, that must be it. The pink jewel was called Heartphilia. The name itself was rooted from the story of Princess Millephia who sacrificed herself to be prisoned out of love, but was betrayed and shed tears of heart-shaped jewel before her death, became the gem of Heartphilia. Yes, that must be it. There is no way an outsider could possibly knew about Shin'ichi's existence.
But what should he do? He couldn't call the police. They won't be able to arrest KID; instead if they find Shin'ichi at the attic, they would arrest him. No, that can't happen. But still, he knows how smart KID is and how he cannot be underestimated. Amuro calmed his breath. What's a man to do? He has to protect the jewel himself. No, he cannot afford any police here. If KID wants to take the jewel, he can take it. At the very least, he cannot let the thief knew of Shin'ichi's existence. That invalid girl is an important key for him to acquire the wealth of Kudo's family inheritance. If he must, he would kill that thief himself to avoid his meeting with Shin'ichi.
The tanned man grabbed a lighter and burned the card to crisp. Amuro gritted his teeth. His entire plan could be ruined by this petty thief.
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The dinner was rather rushed, Shin'ichi noticed. The maids look quite nervous—even more nervous than usual. She doesn't ask—they won't tell her a thing anyway. Amuro has sealed their mouths shut—with money and threats off course. She doesn't really care, but as the daughter of a mystery novelist, she couldn't help but being curious. She can't ask anyone but Mrs. Harada and she is off her shift right now. She also can't sneak around because—well, she literally can't walk. So all she can do is watch and listen. The maids are usually gossiping just behind her door—their voices can't be count soft as well.
"Have you heard about the notice?" They murmured not so softly.
Shin'ichi sharpens her hearing ability—they really came in handy. "Yes, I've heard it. It's Kaitou KID, right? He's so cool!" One of them squeals like a fangirl and Shin'ichi softly snorts. Fangirls. Then she smiled warmly for a second, so a wild card will come to her rescue.
"Sssh!" Some of them shushed the one who just squealed. "Don't be too loud! You know we're not supposed to talk about this." One of them murmured.
"If Amuro-sama knew what we're doing, he'll scold us for sure." Shin'ichi can practically hear them shiver. "Don't you see how he turned red when he received that notice card? We're lucky he doesn't yell profanities." So he does receive the notice letter. She wonders what kind of riddle Kaitou KID put inside the letter. Did Amuro solve them? She looked out the window as she listened to the conversation.
"What I don't understand is why he didn't tell the police. Kaitou KID would've stolen his diamond for sure without Nakamori-keibu." One of them ponders as Shin'ichi scoffed. Off course he wouldn't dare to call the police. The risk was just too high. He knew he needs her alive. If the police find her, they wouldn't arrest Kaitou KID; they would arrest him instead, she ponders as she continues to look out the window. A couple of pigeons are loitering around her window, accompanied by a pristine white dove that looked out of place with other pigeons. It's not that weird to see some pigeons or even ravens loitering about here and there around this neighborhood. They have always been around ever since she could remember; being pests and being cute at the same time. The avian creatures croon at each other, sitting by her windowsill.
She had also heard about the diamond Amuro recently acquired. So Kaitou KID is currently targeting his diamond. Shin'ichi throws her head back in satisfaction. Hah, karma works wonders. But knowing him, Amuro wouldn't care about the diamond. All he would care about is keeping her safe. She knows she is his important key to steal her family's heritance.
Yes, off course she would know. If she knows, she was sure her father does as well. What she doesn't understand is why didn't her father convince her mother about Amuro's true intention? Why did he let her suffer like this? She clutches her palms into fists. Is it some kind of test, dad?
Her door suddenly opens and Amuro appears on the doorway. "Shin-chan," he greets.
She raises a pair of dark blue eyes at him. "What honor do I have to receive your visit, Amuro-san?" she asks cynically.
Amuro smiles—obviously forced, unlike other evil smiles he used to show her. "I just need you to do me a simple favor." He says. His body language is all tensed and forced, like he is preparing to pounce in every second. Then he frowns, "Do not be too noisy. Please."
Shin'ichi rolls her eyes at his failing attempt to be subtle. She can't help but to smirk at the man. "It's Kaitou KID, isn't it?"
He flinches and tensed even more. "How did you know?"
She smirks as she stares back to the birds by her window, "Some little birds told me in the passing." The white dove that had been sitting around her window fluttered above the window pane and flew away, followed by the other two pigeons. She smirks, staring at the rest of the avian creatures that were loitering just outside her window and then at the man before her.
Amuro's eyes harden. He shivers a little—Shin'ichi wonders if it's from anger and if he would pounce on her. Unexpectedly, he turns around, "Whatever. Just keep quiet. And for now until dawn, I will lock your door."
Shin'ichi rolls her eyes again and lies on her makeshift bed uncaringly. "Do what you want."
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Amuro grits his teeth. That brat always knows how to push his buttons. If she wasn't careful, one day, he would really kill her for sure—off course when her part is done. He hates it; the way her dark blue eyes looked at him, it was as if she can see through his soul. Even if he was sure he had hidden everything from her watchful eyes, she can always seemed to see through everything as if they were made of glass. He hates how she always seemed to be one step ahead of him. He hates it. How could he being bested by a mere brat—a disabled brat no less? Amuro fisted his palm. When everything is over, when his plan had succeeded, he would be topping her at last—he would kill her when he had no use of her. That's for sure.
It was almost time. The moon is out. Kaitou KID will be here anytime soon. He had hired a special private guard—not to catch KID or to protect the gem; rather to protect the room where Shin'ichi is in. "I don't care what happen to the gem. Your job is not to let Kaitou KID enter the attic whatever the cost! Understand?"
"Yes, sir!" The guards hollered simultaneously.
When Amuro reaches his closet, where he keeps the velvet box, where the gem is residing. As he opened to velvet box to reveal the big, pink, heart-shaped gem, everything went black. Amuro flinched as the world went dark and the guards also gasped loudly in the darkness. The only source of light was the dim moonbeam streaming through the windows. "Everybody! Don't panic! Stay where you are!" Amuro's commanding voice made them calmer, despite a few nervous murmuring.
"K-KID! It's KID!" One of them pointed to the largest window in the room, right above a large mirror, where the moon directly shines through. Sure enough; right there, on the slightly opened windowsill, KID, with all of his white glory, perched. His silver monocle is reflecting the moonlight, doubled by the shadow as he stood with the moon on his back; it makes it impossible to see the man clearly. They gasped and exclaimed in amazement, awe, shock, even fear. "How did he get up there?" "Did you see him?" "How could we not hear him?"
The unknown man clad in white smirked and picked up a pink heart-shaped gem for them to see, "I have received my prize. Thank you, Amuro-san." Then with swish of his cape, a light shines so brightly from him that makes them all close their eyes. When they all open their eyes, the thief has gone. Up there, floating on the air outside, there was balloon silhouette with KID hung on to it.
"He—he got away! Amuro-sama, what should we do? Should we chase him?" One of them asked as they stared at the balloon floating away.
"No need. It's just a dummy." Amuro frowned as he explained calmly. "No air balloon with that size could hold a grown man like him. He must be still here; if not hiding somewhere, perhaps masquerading as one of you." Somewhere, a boy, still with his monocle and top hat on, flinched and tensed upon hearing that. Apparently that man is smarter than he anticipated. "Split into three teams. One team stays here to guard, one team will sweep the entire house, and the rest sweep the outside garden. Understood?"
"Yes, sir!" They exclaimed.
"Do not let your guard down, do not go anywhere alone, and holler if you find something odd or suspicious—be it just a speck of dust or just a little flower. Remember, every little detail is important."
"Yes, sir!" With that, they split themselves into three teams and do exactly what he says. One team stays in the room to guard—in case KID decides to come back again. Another team sweeps the house carefully. They are searching carefully with three or two men for each room they investigate. While the rest of them sweeps the large garden.
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Shin'ichi raises her head when her door is opened carefully. Three men with private guard uniform enter hesitantly when seeing her.
One of them tries to be polite. "E-excuse me, Miss. We need to… erm…"
Shin'ichi rolls her eyes. "I've heard. You can search as much as you'd like. But please do not invade my stuff." She says coldly and back to her book.
The man nods stiffly and signals his friends to enter. They begin to search, carefully and hesitantly, knowing that the young girl is watching their every move. They search behind the bookracks, under the table, even inside her closet. Seeing nothing suspicious and perhaps too reluctant to stay in the same room with the young girl, they say a quick, insincere, thank you—which she ignores—and leave after locking her door. She narrows her eyes. So they have checked with Amuro's key. It's either his own paranoid command of make sure KID doesn't meet her or he was just wanted to save his gem so much that he lends them the key. Shin'ichi rolls her eyes at the latter thought.
Shin'ichi closes her book, sighs, and leans her head to the wall. If they were searching to the attic, then it means Amuro thought right—KID is still here, stalling for time before he actually left with his prize. But if they haven't found him, it means… Shin'ichi frowned. Could KID know the existence of the secret passage? How could he have known? Even she hadn't been able to solve it—let alone Amuro who doesn't know anything about secret passage.
She hears something creaks loud enough and Shin'ichi turns her head sharply to the left—where the sound came from. A pair of dark blue eyes widens. The large mirror in the corner is opened, revealing a brown-spiky-haired boy—wearing a monocle with a dangling clover charm, white suit, and white mantle. His top hat is in his gloved hand, so she can see his messy brown hair perfectly. Her eyes met his and they widen simultaneously.
The white-clad boy looked too stunned to say any word as he just gaped with his mouth open and close without a single word. She smiles amusedly at the irony—a boy who came out of the mirror in the solitary room in the attic where he met a disabled girl. Isn't this feel a bit like a shoujo manga?
"Welcome, Kaitou KID-san." She greets with a polite smile. The young man flinches and her smile widens.
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3rd: A Secret Encounter
Kaito has always triple check his preparations before a heist; always triple check his escape route, always preparing for the worst, and always have back-up plans. When he has plan A, he would always make plan B; for precaution's sake, plan C. For the worst case, plan D. Kaito never came unprepared. When he had sent the warning notes, it meant he is holding all the cards in his hands and has maintained his poker face.
He knew it was weird when that Amuro man never contacted the police or publicly announced his heist notice (if he did, his beloved Nakamori-keibu would be shouting profanities by now and press would be everywhere) and hired private guards instead. When he was masquerading as one of the guards, he realized that the Amuro man never showed his gem in the open. At first, he thought he was too paranoid to show it. But when he mention nothing about the gem and instead clearly commanded them to guard the attic and specifically told them that he doesn't care about the gem as long as KID doesn't enter that room, he immediately got suspicious. That was why he tried to lure guards away to enter the room through a secret passage.
However, he had never heard of this. He knew that man named Amuro doesn't really care about the gem and always seems paranoid about this room. He had thought that perhaps the gem in the box is a fake and he had hid the real one here. But never, in his time of preparing, had he think about that this room has an occupant inside.
"Welcome, Kaitou KID-san." The girl greets with a polite smile. He flinches. He is caught red-handed.
The girl at the corner of the attic is too thin that she looks like she will break if he touches her; her skin is an unhealthy shade of white, as if she never gets a stream of sunlight. Her long, wavy, pale hair is slightly messy but still shiny. Compared to the average paleness of her figure, her eyes surprisingly are contrast dark blue, the same shade of a lapis lazuli. It was her eyes that captured him; the wide, dark, blue, intelligent, mysterious eyes that could pierce through you and left your soul bare for her to see. The girl is sitting, bundled in her white thick blanket—it makes her look much smaller than she already is. Her legs aren't seen since the lower part of her is bundled in the blanket on her thick futon.
Kaito—or KID now—quickly recollects himself, putting back his top hat to cover his head, and maintains his poker face. "Good evening, Ojou-san." He bows gracefully. "I came here to collect the gem of Heartphilia."
The girl tilted her head to the side. "But you're here. Doesn't that mean you've already had your prize? Or are you assuming that because Amuro is guarding this room the real gem would be here?" She asked with a slightly curious tone.
KID bows before him. "I'm afraid it was both, Ojou-san. Yes, I have gotten the gem straight from its box." He pulled out the pink heart-shaped gem for her to see.
The girl smiles, "Well done." And he raises an eyebrow.
"But I'm afraid, as you said, he was so fiercely guarding this room; so I had assumed that this is a fake and he had hidden the real one here." KID explains and then gracefully gets down on one knee to her sitting level. "You must have known where he hid that jewel, Ojou-san. Please let me know. I will not steal it—I will only borrow it for a short moment."
The girl now giggles. "Unfortunately, your deduction is wrong, dear Kaitou-san." She said. KID gaped upon hearing that. "Please take a closer look at the gem you've taken. I can assure you that it's real."
Hearing that, he did what she asked. He held up the gem to the moon. It glows pink, and yes, his trained eyes recognized the true glint of a diamond. "You are right, Ojou-san. It is real." He said. Then his face turned rather crestfallen as he handed the gem back to her. "But unfortunately, this is not the gem I'm looking for."
Shin'ichi shook her head and pushed his hand away. "Go ahead and take it. He wouldn't mind. He never paid any attention for things like that." She said.
"It is not my tradition to steal things that doesn't pull my interest." He said. Kaito stared at her in curiosity for a moment. "If you don't mind me asking, Ojou-san; then, why did Amuro made such a fierce protection over this room if he really held the real gem?"
Upon hearing his question, she smiled sadly. "Because," she started slowly, thinking how she should answer that question. "He doesn't want you to see his flightless bird." She answered finally with a forlorn look in her eyes. "The bird is important for the sake of his selfishness. If you found it, his plan would be ruined." She continued. Kaito frowned, it was definitely a simple riddle. But if what he thought was true, then what's the meaning of 'flightless'? And what 'plan' is she talking about? He was about to ask when the sound of footsteps are coming near.
The girl panics, "Quick, go back behind the mirror, KID-san! It's the safest place for you right now. Amuro doesn't know about the secret passage." She harshly whispers.
Hearing that, he turned to where he came from; the large mirror—and pulled it back in place. In the darkness, he thought back; why had he blindly trust the lady and go back inside the mirror? He could've gotten away via window with his hang-glider. But he realized that she was right. Amuro's hired men must've still loitering outside the garden and Amuro doesn't know about the secret passage. It's the best place to hide. He just hopes—now that he had decided on impulse to trust the lady—that she won't give him up.
Then he thought back on her riddle. A flightless bird he needs for the sake of his own selfishness and if he found that bird, his plan would be ruined. He had a theory of what probably she meant. The flightless bird is obviously the lady herself. The 'he' is Amuro. So does that mean Amuro needs her for his own selfishness? What kind of selfishness? What kind of plan does Amuro making? Does it have to do with this house? He knows that this house belongs to the famous rich family of Kudo's. Amuro Toru must've some strong connections to them if he's now the head of this house. Last time he heard, the Kudo's family is on a long vacation overseas, and that had been a year—or so—ago. Do they have a child? If they do, did they bring their child with them? No parents would leave their child behind, wouldn't they? So, the lady couldn't be one of the Kudo's family. Or is she? If she is, then his theory would be complete. But the Kudo's aren't that mean… are they?
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Shin'ichi looked up when her door is opened. Amuro came with two other men with the same uniform she saw previously. She smirked, "Well, the fact that you're here means that you suspect that he had met me and I hid him. Correct?"
Amuro doesn't look amused, "Where is he?"
Shin'ichi sighs, as if exasperated—her mother is a renowned actress, for God's sake. "How should I know? I didn't meet him. You can look around and check my things if you feel the need to. You wouldn't find a thing because it's the truth." She says so without looking up from her book.
She can feel Amuro's angry gaze at her. She knows he highly suspect her, but with her calm demeanor, she also knows he wouldn't be able to prove his suspicion. "Search this place; thoroughly!" He barks and the two men move forward.
Those two opened her only closet and puffed up her futons to make sure no one is hiding there. They moved her bookracks to see if there's someone hiding behind it. They searched under the tables and knocking the wooden floor to see if there was a secret room. They also opened and searched inside an old wooden chest. Still, they find nothing. "There's nothing here, Sir." One of them reported. Amuro was silent for a moment and fixed his gaze at her.
Shin'ichi fought the urge to smirk and kept her poker face intact. She is really tempted to smirk at him, but it would be an unspoken challenge and that will destroy her only opportunity to ruin his plan. If she challenged him, he would be more determined to proof her meeting with KID and the possibility of him finding the secret passage would be higher. She won't let him find it.
"Now that you don't find anything, go away. You've done enough of disturbing my peaceful little world." Shin'ichi says with a drop of venom in her tone.
Amuro smirks evilly. "Be grateful that I still need you, Shin-chan." He coos, smiling in satisfaction as he sees her frown of hatred. He turns on his heel, "Let's go. Kaitou KID has probably gone amidst all the confusion while we're splitting up." He commands and the two men follows him out like loyal puppies.
Shin'ichi is still frowning with hatred burning from her chest as the steps faded to nothing. She was still deep in thoughts about what she should do to survive when she heard the mirror creaked and the boy stepped out of it. She forced a smile at him, "I'm sorry you had to hear that, Kaitou KID-san."
The young gentleman thief shook his head and surprisingly, he sat down next to her. "I think I owe you my life, Ojou-san." He said kindly with a practiced charming smile.
Shin'ichi, however, not affected by it and just shook her head. "Don't mention it. I just want to reward you. You know the existence of the secret passage and even used it to your advantage. If I don't know you, I would've said that it was magic." Shin'ichi flattered. She was also bewildered when she knew KID had used the secret passage.
"Ah, don't you know, Ojou-san? Despite that I am indeed a thief, I am also," with a puff, he conjured a white rose from nowhere and handed to Shin'ichi. "A magician extraordinaire."
Shin'ichi smiled amusedly and took the rose. "Why, thank you." She nodded with a smile. "May I know how you know about the secret passage, KID-san?"
KID looked hesitant before he decided to say something. "Since you've saved me, and since you kind of saw my face, I think you deserve to know. But, in exchange, I also want to know some things."
Shin'ichi smiled amusedly. So this is plan, his way of knowing things. "What is your condition, KID-san?"
"I will answer your question, if you answer mine."
Shin'ichi frowned in hesitation for a moment before she said, "How about, I will answer things I can actually answer?"
KID looked stunned but then he nodded. "Good enough for me." He coughed. "Well, actually, my father was a good friend with the one who built this building. He has a copy of this building's blueprint. That's how I know about it." Shin'ichi widened her eyes. His father was a good friend of hers? But why hadn't he said anything? Shin'ichi shivered and KID noticed. "Are you all right, Ojou-san?"
She shook her head, "I'm fine." She took a deep breath, "What do you want to know, KID-san?"
KID looks at her in the eye, "What's your real name?"
Shin'ichi's eyes widened in confusion as she lifted an eyebrow. Of all questions, she didn't expect that one coming from him. Mostly, she suspected he will ask about Amuro or why she is here, but she least expected him to ask her name. "Kudo Shin'ichi."
She could see his eyes widened behind his monocle. She frowned, could he actually know about her current condition with just a little hint she threw earlier? "So, is it true, then?" KID asked with a serious tone. "That Amuro is targeting this house—or rather, your inheritance?"
Shin'ichi's eye bulged with genuine surprise before it softened with a genuine relief. "So you figured it out, KID-san." She smiled genuinely, "I know you are a smart man, but to be actually this sharp—I am honestly never thought you will figure it out within such short amount of time."
KID looks blank for a second or two, but he looked quickly to the side, avoiding her gaze. Shin'ichi had to tilt her head in confusion for that behavior. "Ah, well. It comes naturally to me, Ojou-san." He stuttered a little. "However, there is a little bit I don't understand within your riddle, Ojou-san." Now he is looking at her with a little curiosity. "What do you mean by 'flightless'?"
Shin'ichi smiled sadly, "I meant that literally, KID-san."
He was silent in contemplating for a second before his eyes widened in shock, "Wait, do you actually mean that you are…" he trailed off, staring at her legs that was covered in blanket.
Shin'ichi nodded sadly and lifted her blanket.
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Kaito stared in horror when the girl—that he now knows as the legitimate heir of the Kudo's heritance—lifted the blanket that covered her legs. Her legs are abnormally thin and abnormally shaped in gruesome way. That's a proof that her legs hadn't been used in a certain amount of time. But, if he looked more closely, her legs still maintain some shape and muscles. That means she was not born this way. She must've caught an illness when she was young. "I see. You caught an illness, m'Lady?" he asked carefully.
The girl—or maybe he should say Lady, because she doesn't really act like a normal girl—nods sadly. Kaito hates to see someone sad, especially when he knew how beautiful this girl is when she smiled genuinely. He had actually blushed when seeing a girl smile! Damnit, he had never even reacted when seeing Aoko in her best outfit—well, maybe he had, but that was a long time ago. He never likes seeing people sad. That was one of the reasons why he had learned magic.
He frowned in determination and started to examine her legs. "Excuse me, m'Lady." He put down his top hat and pulled out a little flashlight from his breast pocket to examine more clearly. He heard her small gasp when he touched one of her leg and started to examine it. After a while, he found what made her legs like this. It's obviously polio. Long time ago, this illness doesn't have any cure. But now almost every hospital has antidotes and immunity of this illness.
"Did your parents take you to hospital already?" He asked.
"They did; many times when I was little that I couldn't remember anymore. But the doctors always say the same thing, that they don't have any antidote left." Shin'ichi said. Then she snorts. "There's no way they don't have it. They just want to take advantage of my family's riches."
Kaito secretly looked up, and frowned seeing the sad, betrayed look on her face. He wanted it to disappear. He wants her to smile. With a snap, Kaito turned off the flashlight. "What if I told you that I can get the antidotes for you?" He asked with a charming smile.
The lady turned quickly to him, "What? By 'get' you mean 'steal', right? That isn't a legal thing to do." She argued. "Who knows, there might still other people who need them more than me. You shouldn't do that." Her face turned crestfallen. "Besides, I'm not one of your concerns, KID-san. You could just fly away with your hang-glider and you know I wouldn't be able to stop you."
Kaito frowned at her sad face. He took her chin in his palm, "I could. But then, I would be breaking one of my own rules, wouldn't I?" He asked with a kind smile. She frowned in confusion. He let her go and conjured a white rose from nowhere, "I've told you—I am a magician. What more a magician does than to make people smile?" He smiled kindly, giving her the white rose. He could see her arms were shaking as she took the rose. Kaito smiled, reaching up to tuck her hair behind her ear. "I can see such a rare diamond inside of you, Ojou-san; a beautiful, kind-hearted, strong, but lonely sapphire. I can't stand seeing such beautiful diamond suffers inside her jewelry box."
The girl is shaking, gripping his given rose so hard that her fingers turned white. A lone tear made its way to her pale cheek. Kaito frowned in sadness as he brushed the tear away. "I promise you, m'Lady. I will find a way to unfold your wings and free you from this cage. That includes a way to expose Amuro's plan and bring him to justice."
She suddenly looked up in rather horrified expression, "No! You can't involve yourself in this, KID-san! It's too dangerous. He has connection to some people dressed in black and I can feel that they're dangerous. Please, I can't have you risk your own safety! You have your own life; you have friends and family, you have a real life out there…" She trailed off and sobbed, "Unlike me." More tears made their way down her beautiful face. "So please, just forget that this meeting ever occurred."
He stared at the sobbing lady in front of him, too confused of his own feelings. He really wanted to help, but on the other side, he knew that it wasn't really his business. He had a feeling that the lady was right—he could get killed if he was involved too deep. But, as he stares down at the sobbing lady, he could feel his own heart breaks. If he left her to suffer alone, then she would be no difference than the man downstairs.
Deep down, Kaito knew he is no different than the lady. The only difference is that Kaito has strength and opportunity to fight while she doesn't. He sometimes feels lonely too; not being able to share his experience to anyone else and had to keep quiet about almost getting killed every night. He knows that nobody will understand his reason of being a thief. He still feels rather lonely sometimes; even though he has friends by his side, he can't just talk about his night job to anyone—after all, he is an internationally wanted thief.
But this lady—Shin'ichi—is even worse. Even though she still has parents, it's feels like she doesn't have anyone. She doesn't even have friends. She spends her time alone, trapped in the attic, every day for who-knows-how-long; not being able to come out even if she wants to.
Like hell he's going to leave her like this! Gritting his teeth, he made his decision. Carefully, gently, he lifted her head with his gloved hands and brushed her tears away. "If you don't want me to get involve with the men in black, then fine, I won't mess with them. But I will still get you the antidote, no matter what you say." He said gently. Shin'ichi opened her mouth to say something but stopped when she saw the determination in his indigo eyes. Kaito smirks a KID smirk, "You won't be able to stop me, Ojou-chan."
He sees as her blue eyes soften and she smiles a weak, tired smile. She sniffles cutely—wait, did he just think of her as cute? She brushes her eyes weakly and laughs tiredly, "I guess even tears won't be able to stop you, KID-san?"
He shook his head, "Usually it would, but I can't just stand by idly seeing your predicament."
Shin'ichi shook her head again, "My predicament is none of your concern; you are an internationally wanted thief—and I'm just a hostage in my own house." She laughs tiredly. "We aren't even supposed to meet like this."
He gripped her shoulders when he felt her growing limper in his arms. "I want to help you and no one can stop me."
He grinned when she giggled. "True that one." She lifted her head to smile at him. "After all, who can stop the great phantom thief?" She asked with a warm smile, even if her eyes are damp and sparkling of tears. Kaito swears he feels warmth in his chest, spreading to his face upon seeing her warm smile.
He smiles gently, "I will come back tomorrow night, m'Lady."
"Call me Shin'ichi." She asks and smiles. "I will be expecting you, Kaitou KID-san."
Kaito has never been tempted as strongly as now to give her his real name but he keeps his mouth shut, smiling sadly. He then stood, "Well, then. It's time for me to leave." He tips his top hat to her, "I'll see you tomorrow night, Shin'ichi-chan." He said as he leaped out of the small window, unfolded his hang-glider and fly into the night with the moon on his back. Even as he glided away from the Kudo mansion, he couldn't get the image of the young woman off his head.
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Author's Note:
I'm sorry if this is confusing. I have to debate with myself for a long time if I'm going to finish this fic. There's no inspiration anymore and I have no idea how am I going to finish this. Because the idea is that Shin'ichi is a disabled girl (she can't walk, as in the Vocaloid song Mahou no Kagami) so I have no idea how Kaito is supposed to help her. As "magical" as he seems, Kaito cannot magically cure people in just a snap of fingers. That's why I'm confused and thought of rebuilding the whole story. Please let me know how you think of the story it the comments-I need your feedback.
By the way, the Female Shin'ichi in this story is different in my headcanon. Male Shin'ichi is drawn so alike with Kaito and his father, but in my headcanon, Female Shin'ichi should look like her mother, which is why her hair in this story is light. To be exact, her hair is light blonde. The style of her hair is like Victorique de Blois from Gosick. If you ever wondered who that is, googled her up. That's how I think female Shin'ichi would look like.
Thank you for reading and I appreciate it if you read until the end. Your feedback is most appreciated.