The characters in Detective Conan are all just really amazing. I wake up wanting to write about them, it's weird. Thanks for voting for this story in the poll. I know it only got two votes before I took it down and started writing it, but it made me really happy. I started writing the first chapter as soon as I realized that someone else would be interested in reading it. I have so much planned out for this story, I hope that readers will enjoy the twists as much as I do. I will also have you know that I've been writing this chapter almost non-stop since I posted the last chapter. I really wanted to finish and post it tonight.
KID smirked at the answer. He had really hoped Conan would agree. If he was being honest, he would say that the reason that he had invited Conan to help plan a heist with him was because he wanted to show him just how much fun heists could be. The little detective had said that he had fun at them, but what if he could have a hand in orchestrating them? KID wanted to see what kind of show Conan would be able to cohost. Of course, it would be the kid's first show, so he knew he couldn't expect too much. Still, whenever he put Chibitantei up to a task, he had always somehow managed to exceed his expectations.
"So," KID began, "Since it's your first time planning a heist, I'll leave it up to you to decide which gem to steal." He took out some photos to show him. There was a big diamond belt buckle, a set of garnet earrings, and a gold topaz necklace.
KID sure cut to the chase fast enough. Conan frowned, putting a hand to his chin, the necklace seemed familiar. "I don't really have a particular interest in gems, I'm more interested in the locations—where are they all being kept?"
"The belt is on a wall at a national level boxing center. It's going to be a prize for a tournament coming up in a few weeks." KID began, pointing at the pictures of each as he talked about them. "The earrings are going to be put on display next week at Bell Tree Tower, and the necklace was given to the Young Miss Suzuki by a suitor. Much to the annoyance of her fiancée, I might add."
"Eh?" Conan blinked, "Sonoko?" He sighed, so that was why it seemed familiar. Now that he thought about it, he remembered Sonoko bragging about it a few weeks ago, "I'd really rather not have to deal with her uncle taking a heist notice as a challenge. His security has many holes, but it's always extreme. If you tell me how to tell if a gem is Pandora or not, I can probably just check it out on my own. If it ends up a hit, you can always send a heist notice and steal it later."
KID looked at him with interest, "Could you really do that?"
Conan shrugged back, "Probably."
"If you look at Pandora under the moonlight, the inside should glow red." KID offered the information. "I don't know much about its appearance other than that, unfortunately."
"Red…" Conan put a hand to his chin, there were a few gemstones that would glow other colors in certain lighting. While he knew that under normal situations topazes didn't glow red, he also knew that KID was looking for a unique jewel. "That shouldn't be too hard to notice. I should know by tomorrow night."
He turned back to look at the other two pictures. "There's still some time before the belt will be given away, so you could do that one later. If I had to choose one of them, I'd say we try for the earrings. We're both familiar with Bell Tree Tower, and it's has tons of floors to hide on. Not to mention it'd be easy to escape from the sky or to a nearby building. If worse comes to worse, you can always just hide on one of the floors until you have a chance to sneak out."
"Hmm. You ever consider switching careers? You'd make a great thief." KID observed.
Conan snorted, "Only if you become a detective."
"Touché." KID didn't think he'd ever want to do something as boring as that. Too much paperwork, responsibility, and waiting involved. Not to mention that most of the detectives he knew were stiffs. The exception in front of him seemed to be thinking deeply about something. He looked dispirited, contrary to his earlier sarcastic retort.
"Yen for your thoughts?" KID asked, making a 10 Yen coin appear in front of Conan.
Conan looked up at him, "It's nothing."
KID hummed, disbelieving. "I said you could complain to me. I won't tell anyone, thief's honor."
"No, it's really nothing." Conan smiled sadly at him, "I appreciate the sentiment."
KID decided that he didn't like being thanked like that. It made him feel useless, he wanted to hear about his problems. Maybe that way he could help somehow. What cruelties had the kid gone through to be so mature for his age? The little detective always seemed to have bad stuff going on in his life. He wished he could shield him from them somehow. Of course, that was impractical thinking. The boy lived at a detective agency. What could he even try to do?
"So, where are the earrings going to be displayed?" Conan prompted, going back to the earlier conversation.
KID laid down lazily, taking out blueprints of the tower. He pointed near the top, "At the observation deck, there's going to be a storytelling of how the gems came to be cursed. Apparently, anyone who wears the earrings is surrounded by death, because of this, the garnets are nick named Death Harbingers."
Conan frowned, "Have people actually been dying around them?"
KID shook his head. "Other than the guy who had them forged over two centuries ago? No." He always targeted big jewels or jewels that had mystical rumors surrounding them. The reason was because those were the gems most likely to be Pandora. He hadn't expected Conan to consider in the realities of a curse. He was probably just trying to figure out the whole story behind them. KID took out his smartphone to look up the meeting, having already configured it to hide any personal information.
"There's going to be a photo shoot. Maybe we can photobomb." Kid pointed out an article on his phone.
Conan quirked a brow, sitting down by his side, glancing at the screen. "I wouldn't risk it. No matter how well disguised you are, there's always a chance that something in the shot could lead to you getting caught."
"I guess you're right." KID mused, thinking that Conan sounded like he was speaking from experience. He watched as Conan inspected the blueprints, looking from one part to another.
Conan pointed at the top of the blueprints, "We could set up a decoy KID up here, having it go off right after you grab the earrings. If there aren't helicopters around the tower, then we can disable the elevators, forcing the others to take the stairs. While they're doing that, then you can just slip out the top and escape with a large head start time wise."
"Hmmm." KID listened, letting Conan take the wheels. "And if there are helicopters?"
"If there are helicopters, then you can slip into the crowd of onlookers or task force members and escape by foot. If they think about checking the people there to make sure that you really did go through the roof, then you can just gas the room and head down. If they have gas masks, then you can put on a gas mask and blend in with the task force members without worrying about them checking your face. If they don't have gas masks, then you can just head down by yourself anyway, since the force will be unconscious. Of course, we won't ever know what will happen for certain until it happens." Conan finished.
He had been pretty thorough for the short amount of time he had been looking at the prints. The boy was practical, he'd give him that. KID pointed at the bottom. "There are a couple ways I can disable the elevators, I can cut off the entire building's power which would be good camouflage as well, or I could just cut the circuits of each elevator." He stated, before grinning widely, "But, wouldn't it be funnier if we disabled all but the main elevator and then wait for Inspector Nakamori to get in the elevator to head down? And then just press all the buttons? I could wave as the door shuts and then fly off the roof. The look on his face would be priceless!"
Conan quirked a brow, amused. "No wonder he hates you so much."
"Are you kidding? He dedicates his life to me. He loves me." KID laughed. "We could also put paint and glitter bombs in the elevator they're in. Just think about the aesthetic."
"You're insane." Conan remarked, though there was no bite behind his words.
"I try." It was really nice having a second mind to bounce ideas off of, even if the heist in question wasn't the most complex in the world. They still didn't know how the police would react to a new heist notice, so there was always the possibility of added security measures. They could figure that out later.
KID was just thinking about how he could convince Conan to participate in the heist too, when his keen ears heard a door being shut nearby. It sounded like it came from the Mouri's and KID nearly groaned in response. Conan looked up at him curiously. KID sighed, "I'll be right back." Conan nodded, letting him go. When the thief came back, the doorbell was ringing.
"Conan-kun?" Ran's voice came through. "Are you still here?"
Conan blinked, before looking at the thief, "What'd you do?"
"I locked the door." KID said calmly. Conan's eyes widened before bursting out laughing at his petty antics.
He clutched his little stomach, gasping for breath. "S-sorry. See you tomorrow? Same time, same place?"
KID smiled back, "Of course." Personally, while he knew there wasn't really any gain in having locked the door, he felt that it properly conveyed his annoyance at once again being interrupted.
Conan started heading for the front door, knowing that the thief and any evidence of him having been here would be long gone by the time he opened it.
"Conan-kun, is that you?" Ran asked.
Conan unlocked and opened the door. "Yeah."
"Why was the door locked? Didn't you come to get a book?" Conan realized he forgot to bring the Night Baron book down with him.
He put his shoes on before heading out of the house. "I decided to read it here. I'm going to come back to read more tomorrow. By the way, Ran-neechan…"
"Hmm?" She looked over at him curiously.
"Can you ask Sonoko-neechan if I can see her new necklace? The pretty yellow one."
The next day Conan found himself heading to his old house again. The police were stewing over a new heist notice they had received, and he had just gotten the necklace from Sonoko after telling her he had read about a charm that he wanted to try out with it. She agreed, but only because she was bored of it after having it for a few weeks. He wondered how much more she would like it if she found out that her precious 'KID-sama' wanted to see it. He was also a little disappointed that he hadn't gotten to work on a riddle for the notice with KID. The note had been straightforward, probably because KID knew he wouldn't be there to help the police solve it.
He entered the building, heading straight to the library. As he reached it, he saw KID coming in through the window. The thief had probably waited until he had gotten there.
"You could have waited in here you know." Conan climbed up one of the armchairs, once upright, his legs dangled off the side.
KID shrugged, "I don't know how comfortable the owner would be with a thief alone in his house."
"But two thieves seems perfectly reasonable?" Conan asked, knowing that KID would get a kick out of him calling himself a thief. KID smiled, taking his hat off and pulling cloth out of it. When it was completely out, Conan recognized it as KID's uniform, only smaller…much smaller…
"I am not wearing that." Conan deadpanned, immediately rejecting the idea.
KID frowned, "But I haven't said anything yet."
"You didn't have to." Conan glanced the outfit over. It looked incredibly well made. "Besides, I wear glasses, how am I supposed to wear a monocle?"
KID grinned, "I was thinking contacts. If you got color prescription contacts, then you'd instantly look like a different person! I don't know what your prescription is, otherwise I would already have some contacts ready."
"It's okay." Conan said, getting up from the chair. He took off his glasses and he headed towards the outfit. If the thief had put so much thought into it, the least that had could do was wear it. "I can see pretty well without them."
KID handed him the outfit, happy that he seemed to be willing to try to wear it at least. "Are you sure? I don't want to make your eyes strain."
"Yeah. I'm good." Conan pulled the shirt over his head, shoving his arms through the sleeves. He put the pants on over his shorts, and snapped the little cape onto his shoulders. He then put the shoes, gloves, monocle, and hat on. "This is surprisingly comfortable." He noted all the hidden inner pockets with interest. It was strange how the outfit didn't feel hot to wear.
"Right? You look great." KID complimented. "Though without your glasses, you seriously look like a mini version of me."
Conan rolled his eyes, taking the hat, monocle, gloves and shoes off and setting them to the side. KID picked up his glasses and put them back on him for him. "Thanks."
"So what do you think?" The thief asked, excited.
Conan exhaled, considering, "It's okay."
"Okay enough to wear to a heist maybe?" KID pushed.
Conan pursed his lips together. He might not get another chance for something like this. And it's not like he wasn't considering going, it's just that he didn't want to be found guilty in a court of law and all that. As long as he was careful and stayed near KID, he would probably be fine. "I guess just once would be fine."
"Yes!" KID bounced up, "I should probably warn you that a troublesome acquaintance of mine is going to be showing up. Hakuba's arriving right after the day I put in the notice, so we should be fine, since she'll be by herself."
"An acquaintance? How troublesome?" Conan asked, not seeming to be all that bothered by the news. He didn't fail to note that the thief knew Hakuba's vacation schedule. Whether that was from his own personal knowledge of the detective, or simply something that he looked up for this particular heist, he didn't know.
KID let out a sigh, "She reminds me of a snake just slithering around you in circles. She's scary but actually pretty harmless. All she does is watch mostly. She still freaks me out a bit."
The analogy just made Conan more curious. Someone who scared the Kaitou KID? He wondered what she was like.
"Meitantei, do you believe in magic?" KID asked, seemingly out of nowhere, but with a somewhat serious tone.
The tone might have been the reason he answered a seemingly trick question earnestly. "I didn't use to."
"But you do now?" KID finished the implication.
"…" Conan looked down at his shrunken hands. Science had made him small. Nimble fingers and wit let KID perform his tricks. While gravity made things fall, things with low densities could fly. None of these things were magic. From a stranger's point of view, he had no reason to believe in magic. Even his own mind had denied even considering such a thing for so long. Still, recently, he had begun to suspect some sort of outside influence on his life. Without a better word for it, he guessed that 'magic' was the closest thing that he could call it. "I've… I've seen a lot of things…" He looked at his hands, picturing blood stains on them. "I wouldn't say I believe in magic, but I've been looking for an explanation behind something for a long time. Something that's so improbable, people would call it impossible. There has to be a reason that something impossible can be happening, right? So maybe another impossibility is the cause."
The thief thought that sounded very reasonable. The only magic KID had ever seen was directly from Akako. Conan seemed to have a different kind of experience with it. He cleared his throat. "She can use magic."
Conan put a hand to his chin. "I…see."
"You don't seem all that surprised." KID quirked a brow. "Or do you not believe me?"
"No. I do." Conan shook his head, "You don't seem like you're joking. But what do you mean by magic?"
KID hummed thoughtfully, what was the best way to describe it? "She can manipulate things. From someone's heart to the air around her. Her limits are questionable, unfortunately. She'll probably just tease us. I don't know the reason, but some of her magic doesn't seem to affect me, most of those have to do with love. Just do what I do around her and we'll be fine."
"She sounds interesting." Conan said.
"More like annoying." KID corrected, which Conan found more amusing. Conan was about to sit on the floor, when he remembered something. He reached into his pocket, pulling out a solid gold chain.
"I haven't had a chance to check it yet, but I got this today." Conan held up the necklace in front of him.
KID sat down in front of him, admiring the gem, "Oooh, not bad, Chibikaitou."
"Hey, I didn't steal it." Conan scowled, the new nickname not quite bugging him as much as he'd like to admit. The thief who called him a thief happened to be a very honorable one, it almost felt like an endearment. "I'm going to return it tomorrow, anyway." He sat down too, setting the gem in between them so that KID could have a better look.
KID picked it up, admiring it from different angles. After he was done, he handed it back. Conan pocketed it. "What else do you normally do to prepare for a heist, anyway?"
"Well, we still have to wait for the police to decide on their security measures. We can check those out the day of the heist, and alter our plans accordingly." KID stated, before breaking out into a wide grin, "For now we can start planning the magic act."
Conan's eyes lit up in interest. "What are you thinking of doing?"
KID put his hands on his shoes, happy that Conan was enthusiastic about it. "The heist is happening at 10PM, so it will be dark. Some of the audience will be in the tower, but most of the guests will be at the bottom, around it. So something bright or easy to see from afar would probably be best. The question now is, what do you want to see?"
"What do I want to see? What do you mean?" Conan asked.
"What would you want to see if you were in the audience? It can be anything." KID clarified.
Conan frowned, "I don't know, but I think the audience would like any of your tricks."
KID looked Conan directly in his eyes. "Forget about the tricks. Close your eyes. Relax." Conan complied. "Think about the most magical experiences you've ever had, or thought of. Add movement, lights, color, watch it play out. Think mystical. Think happy. Take your time."
Conan sighed, deciding to try. The first thing that popped into his mind was Sherlock Holmes. As a child, reading about the adventures, cases, and overall amazing mind that was Holmes—had felt magical. The memories of wasting away hours and hours reading them, hidden away in this very library, he looked upon very fondly. The Night Baron gave off a similar appeal, he often found himself reading those books secretly. Whenever his dad caught him reading his series, he would smile with pride, and the younger Kudo would stuff the book away, embarrassed. When he wasn't reading, he and Ran used to run around the secret passage ways of the manor. Often, he would find himself wanting to read a new book. But sometimes he would look over and see Ran smiling so brightly that he just couldn't look away. Back when his parents still stuck around they did all sorts of goofy things. His dad would tell stories to them, his mom would act things out. The nostalgia hit hard, and he immediately regretted getting sucked into the memories.
He tried to switch his train of thought. Something magical. His mind went somewhere darker, thinking about something that he had been thinking about constantly. This was the first time in over a year that two days had gone by without a case. If that wasn't magical, he didn't know what was. He knew this wasn't quite what KID had in mind, but he couldn't help thinking about it. Why was there so much death around him? Why did the death seem to stop when he was near KID? It didn't make sense. This was the longest break he'd had from a case in over a year, and no matter how illogical it was, he knew that as soon as he stopped meeting up with KID, the cases would start again. This wasn't happy, so he forced himself to stop thinking about it.
Conan opened his eyes, looking straight at the thief in front of him. KID smiled at him and he closed his eyes again. Mystical. Happy. Doves, flowers, KID… He thought back to all the heists he's been to. The tricks that had amazed him so thoroughly. Appearing out of nowhere, teleporting, the flower sparklers, walking on air. He chuckled at the memory of KID mistaking Sera for a boy and stealing her clothes. It was easy to imagine KID doing impossible things. He could imagine him flying, walking on water, turning into a bird. He watched the KID in his mind swoop down into the audience, pulling himself out of a hat. Lights shone around him, and he seemed to dance on fireworks as they would burst. The huge grin on his face getting larger and larger as he soared through the air. The people below KID looking on with as much wonder as Conan felt. He opened his eyes again, and scratched the back of his head nervously.
"Well?" KID prompted.
"I-I don't think I'm very good at this." Conan mumbled. "How about fireworks?"
KID's brow rose, "Fireworks? That sounds kind of plain. You can say anything you know, I'll find a way to make it work. Like if you wanted to see a dragon, or gravity reversed."
Conan thought for a bit. "…Lots of fireworks?" KID laughed at his uncertainty.
"Sure! Any theme in mind?" The magician took out his phone, typing something.
Conan tried to think of something happy, or grand. Tropical Land came to his mind and he had to block out the thoughts of decapitation, exploding watches, and gunshots that he associated with the place. "Maybe an amusement park?"
"An amusement park, huh?" KID put a hand to his chin, "Yeah, I think that could work."
"What do you usually think of?" Conan prompted, curious about the inspiration behind KID's normal tricks.
"Hmmm. I think of puppies and double chocolate ice cream. I think of the task force turning into pigs. Sometimes I imagine being in a world full of magic, where it's more unusual to follow the laws of physics and gravity than to not." KID smiled brightly, "Whenever I'm really stumped though, I think of my dad."
Conan blinked, "You mean the original Kaitou KID?"
"H-huh?" KID shifted, suddenly on alert, "What makes you say that?"
The shift in atmosphere didn't go unnoticed. Conan took this as confirmation and decided to share his deductions with confidence. "Well KID started stealing things about 20 years ago right?"
KID nodded, not liking where this was going, but having already put his poker face back in place. Conan continued, "Let's say that the original KID was your dad. 19-20 years ago, he starts stealing, has you within a year or two, and taught you magic. 8-10 years ago, he died, or sustained an injury that made it impossible for him to continue being KID. That would also line up with what you said about becoming KID to avenge your dad. Then 2-3 years ago, you found out about your dad being KID and decided to follow in his footsteps."
"If he is my dad, what makes you think he had me after being KID?" KID asked, not wanting to let him know that his deduction was completely on point. "I mean, the timing seems oddly specific."
Conan pushed his glasses up, making them shine with the promise of a solved case. "Well there's also the fact that you are still in high school. The way the heists are planned caters around the schedule of someone in school, not only that but your body is that of a 17-18 year old."
KID blinked, "Woah, hold on. I'm a master of disguise, you can't really guarantee anything by how I look."
"If you consider yourself a master of disguise, then I'm a master of deduction." Conan stated, not batting an eye. "You've disguised yourself as Shinichi-niichan a few times, at least one of the times, you were checked for a disguise. That can only mean that you look just like him. It would also explain why you use him so often when you're in a hurry."
"Okay, your deductions do seem to make a lot of sense, but you can't be sure those were me, right? Couldn't they have really been that detective?" KID asked, worried that he might have been being too careless.
'Idiot, of course that wasn't him, I'm Kudo Shinichi.' Conan shook his head. "But some of the times you pretended to be him were times when it would be impossible for him to be there."
KID sighed, "You know, if you keep deducing things like that, we might not be able to hang out anymore."
"So if I keep my theories to myself, will you still come over? Even after the heist?" Conan asked earnestly.
The magician quirked a brow. "Only if you don't mind me showing you stolen goods in your house."
Conan was silent. Looking back at the thief in front of him, maybe he should tell him. About how whenever he's near, people don't die. That while he didn't know how, the thief's mere existence seemed able to save lives. Of course, that sounded utterly ridiculous so he kept the thoughts to himself. "I don't mind."
"Then I might just keep visiting." KID looked curiously at the boy in front of him. Normally he'd make a jab at him to stop stealing, even if he wasn't all that serious. He wondered what he was thinking about.
Deciding to change the subject for now, Conan went back to the topic of the heist at hand. "Is there anything else we can work on right now? For the heist?"
"Not really." KID said, "Honestly whatever we come up with now might end up being useless depending on how they decide to guard the earrings. I can work on the fireworks, but we have to wait for the day of the heist to decide anything else."
"I see." Conan frowned.
KID didn't understand why Conan was so down. "What's wrong?"
"It's nothing." Conan repeated, sighing. He was tempted to ask KID to come back tomorrow, but not only was Subaru coming back then, he also didn't have a reason to. It was also still possible that his theory about the magician's presence in relation to cases was wrong. "I guess I'll see you Saturday then?"
"Yeah, I'll scope out the place during the day, and I can come pick you up around 9PM. We can go through basic scenarios and changes of plans then." KID said, getting up.
"Wait." Conan got up as well, taking off his cape, shirt and pants. He handed the thief uniform back to KID. "It'd be safer if you held unto this."
KID nodded, taking it from him. "See you." Conan held up a hand in in parting, silently wishing him good luck with his stake out.
That night Conan looked at the topaz in the moonlight. It stayed yellow, making him feel slightly disappointed that it wasn't Pandora. Not that he had really expected it to be, but it would have been a nice surprise.
The next day, a case showed up and Conan found himself wishing that he had asked KID to visit again after all. The next night another happened. Conan felt sick. The next, another case. The next day, another case. Conan was extremely relieved when Saturday finally rolled around. He stayed in his room until it started to get late, and told Ran that he was going to spend the night at the Professor's house. After going over, he left his overnight stuff and told them to cover for him if anyone checked in before he got back. The Professor happily agreed while Haibara scolded him for lying to Ran again. He had finally gotten her to agree that it was best to not tell Ran about him since it had already been so long. The Black Organization was still on the loose and with them having been kids so long, their covers were pretty strong. That could change if people started to find out about their real identities, even people as close to them as Ran and the Detective Boys.
Conan leaned against the side of the Professor's house. They didn't really say a specific place to meet, but Conan knew that KID would find him easily. It was around 9PM now and Conan felt uncomfortable not having a watch to glance at. He left his glasses and watch inside since they would be suspicious if found at the Tower. He had also left his bowtie, having the Professor make a small voice-changing tie instead. Just in case. He was still wearing his suspenders and belt, they wouldn't be seen from under his outfit and were very useful in a pinch.
A rustle from his side alerted him to the thief's presence. He let out a small laugh when he saw Sonoko smacking a branch out of her face.
"Ne, Sonoko-neechan, you look nice today!" Conan laughed at KID's disguise. He was wearing a yellow spaghetti strap crop top and a short skirt.
"Thank you for noticing." KID used his hand to brush the hair away from his face. "Though coming from a brat like you it doesn't really mean much." He sighed wistfully, putting his hands together as if in a mock prayer. "Ahhh, if only KID-sama would say that to me, then I would dump my current boyfriend in an instant."
Conan smirked, "Narcissist." While the impression of Sonoko was good, he knew that real Sonoko would never say that about Makoto. Especially now that they were engaged. Makoto had always been straightforward about his feelings towards her, and he was proud of Sonoko for focusing on him rather than other boys. She had even started rooting for Makoto during KID and Makoto's occasional face offs. Sonoko still fan-girled when it came to KID though.
"What can I say? I'm fabulous." KID grinned back, making Conan snort at his playful vanity. KID took his hand, guiding him down to a car in an alleyway at another street.
"It's weird seeing you without your glasses." KID mentioned, "It seriously makes you look like a small me."
Conan rolled his eyes, 'More like you look like regular-sized me.' He copied the thief's tone,"It's weird seeing you in a skirt. It makes you look like you don't have a-"
"Ahhh!" KID put his hand over his mouth, hastily cutting him off. "You have some mouth, you know that?"
Conan smirked at his reaction and KID removed his hand to open the back door of the car in front of them. "Ladies first." KID said merrily. Conan quirked a brow at him when the thief went in before him. He knew that KID took the police lightly, but to be goofing around right before a heist like this? KID found entertainment in anything. Conan shook his head in amusement before getting in after him, noticing the silhouette in the front seat, but politely not looking into him. There was a shaded window in-between the front and back of the car, Conan respected the privacy they wanted. He also appreciated that KID had sat in the back with him, instead of leaving him alone in the back.
"He-" KID jabbed a finger in the driver's direction, "-is going to be taking care of the power for the elevators and setting off the fireworks. He also was very against the idea of bringing you along today, but I managed to convince him."
The guy in front started the car, sighing. "Young Master…did you really need to tell him that?" He sounded used to dealing with KID's foolish whims, making Conan feel for the guy. He drove out of the alley, they started heading in the general direction of Bell Tower. Conan felt nervous about actually being a part of this.
KID laughed in response, making it clear that, yes, he did need to tell him that. The laughter implying that his partner was such a silly guy for asking. The way KID was having fun made him feel better about things. KID noticed him staring and turned to him. "So how was the necklace?"
"It was just a regular topaz. Big and worth a lot, but not anything special aside from the density and size of it." Conan sighed.
"Bummer." KID said, before adding. "I don't really feel like the Death Harbingers will be Pandora either, but it's still good to check."
"You even told him about Pandora? Please, Young Master, do at least try to be more careful." The man in the front reprimanded. Conan apologized silently to him.
"Hey, he's trying to help, besides, I still owe him for helping me and letting me go." KID defended. Conan wondered what his partner would think about the fact that the thief agreed to share with him his first name. He wasn't about to be the one to mention it.
Conan shook his head, "That was something I did by myself. You don't owe me."
"This is where we agree to disagree then." KID said. He always returned favors, it was kind of his thing. "By the way, I saw you in the news the other day."
Conan tilted his head, "Really?"
"Yeah, Ryotaro Kashima's case. You and your friends were on the security footage, checking for clues. They said that it was really thanks to you kids that they found the criminal in the first place. The little Yoshida girl was going on about how you were the one who figured out that the murder weapon was a block of ice! You really know how to find the crazy ones." KID ruffled his hair affectionately.
Conan pushed the hand off, grumbling, "More like they know how to find me."
KID looked at him curiously, thinking the way he phrased that was strange. As they approached the tower, KID got some stuff out of a compartment below them. He handed Conan his little white suit, cape, hat and monocle. He put his own on with a snap of his fingers, making Conan slightly jealous that he could do that so fast. Conan put on his pants and shoes and was about to put on his shirt when KID held something out to him. It was a small bullet proof vest. KID put it on him for him, "Just in case. I wouldn't want you to get hurt at something I invited you to."
Conan nodded, putting on the rest of his costume. "What's the security look like?"
"It's just the task force so it should be beyond easy tonight." KID laughed. "It didn't seem like they were planning to use helicopters, either. They really never learn."
When they arrived at the tower, it was already packed with people. KID and Conan snuck into an opening that KID had cut out of the glass earlier that day. The opening was on the third floor, which was easy to sneak into from a nearby building. From there, they got in an elevator and shut the doors, pressing the button for the floor 2 floors from the top, and going through the top of the elevator, catching a ride from above. They did it that way so that even if someone got on the elevator, they wouldn't see them. Also, if someone tried to go to the top floor, they would still be safe since it would have to stop before they smacked into the top.
"This is actually terrifying." Conan whispered under his breath as the elevator quickly rose.
KID chuckled, "I'd say thrilling fits better." The elevator slowed to a stop about halfway up, making them stop their conversation so as to not get caught. The listened to a few passengers getting on, before it headed up again. They could hear Nakamori in it and Conan felt his heart hammering at the proximity. When the elevator stopped 2 floors from the observation deck, they could hear Nakamori complaining loudly, "Which one of you idiots hit the wrong floor number?!" KID chuckled silently, cutting through the outer glass. He reached out, shooting his grappling gun at the top of the tower. Once he insured the grip would hold, he picked Conan up with his other arm, and swung out moments before the elevator started up again.
Conan's breath hitched, looking down at the crowd below them, so far down that they looked similar to ants. They swung out a little ways before gravity and the thick wire from the grappler combined to send them safely back to the side of the tower. KID pressed the safety mechanism on his gun, making it pull them up slowly. It reminded Conan of his suspenders.
Once they were at the top, they looked down at the audience. KID whistled at how big the crowd was tonight. "Ready to start the performance?"
"Considering that I'm not a magician, and that I don't really know anything about the tricks set up tonight, I'm going to go with no." Conan said. KID hooked a white harness to Conan, almost invisible in contrast with the dark sky around them. It blended in with the pure white of his costume.
"Don't worry, it'll be fine. If at any time you feel unsafe, just press the button on the right side. It'll make the harness eat at the wires until we're touching. If for some reason we have to split up, press both of the buttons on the left, it'll cut the wires." KID started setting up a blow up KID dummy on the other side of the roof. The wind wasn't bad tonight, but the high attitude still made Conan feel uneasy. Conan gulped, seriously hoping that KID wasn't planning for to do what he thought he was going to do with the harness. They were too high!
He followed KID as KID started setting up what looked like a projector and speakers, probably so that everyone could hear and see his entrance. He then synced them with a black smartphone, before he twisted a black malleable cord of some sort from it to his belt. Once positioned, it stayed above him. Conan looked at it in interest, knowing that the phone couldn't be his personal one, "So how are we going to get the earrings, anyway?"
KID turned to him, finishing the set up. "They're in a glass case in the center of the observation deck right now, I was thinking we just smash it and run." Conan probably would have laughed if he wasn't going to be part of the thievery.
"It's show time." KID said, pointing at the phone's time, 9:59PM. "Are you ready?"
"As I'll ever be, I guess…" Conan sighed, "Just…just warn me if we're going to jump."
He set the phone to start recording at 10PM on the dot and smiled as the projector showed his image in the sky behind them. "Welcome, ladies and gentlemen!" he said loudly, Conan noticed that KID was purposely keeping him out of the shot right now. "Thank you so much for coming, I hope you will find the show tonight amusing." Conan could hear the crowd screeching from here. "I have a special guest tonight, I'd like to introduce you all to KID Jr.!" He shifted so that Conan was right in the center of the shot, his face mostly hidden, but quite obviously a child. The crowd yelled loudly, and Conan wondered how Nakamori was taking this in. He glanced behind him at his projection, not liking being the center of attention for such a large crowd. Not that he really had to worry about some random Black Organization member seeing a silhouetted child and thinking to themselves 'That's Kudo Shinichi, isn't it? So he really isn't dead after all!', but he still felt the very real fear of being found out someday.
"This is his first show, so I hope you all treat him kindly!" KID grinned brightly. "And without any further ado, let the show begin!" He bent down, scooping Conan up, "We're going to jump!" As he said that, explosions shot up. Conan screamed when they actually jumped, he hadn't meant to. His cheeks would have been flushed if his stomach wasn't dropping. Just behind them, fireworks exploded, but the way the camera was angled made it looked like they exploded right below them. Conan looked at the projector in shock. The fireworks looked like seats on a roller coaster, they went around in sync with KID and him spinning around the tower. It looked like they were actually on a lit up ride.
They could see the task force glaring at them through the observation room glass. KID grinned after they went around the tower for the fifth time. He reached for the phone and had it stop recording, immediately tapping loop. The projector seamlessly went from recording to replaying the video, making it seem as if they were still riding the firework coaster. The fireworks continued going off, and KID yanked the phone off its holder as he used another grappling gun to take them closer to the tower. Conan kind of felt like kicking him for not giving him more warning about the jump. But was pretty impressed with how the affects turned out so he kept his feet to himself.
Once they were just above the deck, they could see the task force all at the windows. Nakamori was yelling for them to go catch them, but the force was lost as to how to do that when they were in the sky around the tower. KID shared a look of amusement with Conan. He then quietly opened up the trap door on the roof, lowering down, unheard because of the loud fireworks outside. Conan was almost impressed that the force was so absorbed in the illusion of them being just outside that not a single one turned around to see as the two of them approached the glass case.
"Press the right button 15 seconds after I smash the case." KID whispered to Conan. Conan nodded.
KID smashed the case loudly, taking the two earrings into his hand. Nakamori turned around, "Wait, YOU-! WHY WASN'T ANYONE WATCHING THE CASE?!" He yelled as they ran toward him.
KID smirked, "Now you really shouldn't be blaming anyone other than yourself, Inspector. They were just trying to catch me like you said." He lifted his hand to show that he had the earrings, "And now that We've gotten the jewels, we really should be going now." KID released smoke bombs, as he shot his gun into the ceiling. Conan pressed the button right then, and they stayed at the top, hidden by the rising smoke.
The projector outside stopped, setting off the dummy to fill with air and fly away. "I-Inspector! KID's getting away!" One of the task force members yelled, pointing at the dummy.
"Wait, arrrgh dammit!" Nakamori yelled. "Don't just stand here, catch him! Everyone, get down to the first floor, we'll chase him by car!"
"But Inspector, the elevators aren't working!" A task member yelled.
"What?!" Nakamori turned behind to open an elevator while the other members checked the other ones. His opened up but none of the others were working. "Nine of you, get in here, the rest of you take the stairs!" He bellowed, before quickly adding, "And don't dawdle!"
Conan couldn't believe how idiotic he was.
"Do you want to press the buttons?" KID asked quietly. Conan blinked at him, the elevator buttons? He could… It would add to the illusion that KID really had gotten away, and that only 'KID Jr.' was still here. He nodded, changing the settings on his tie to Nakamori's voice. KID let him down quickly, still hidden by the smoke. Conan ran forward into the elevator, pressing the buttons.
The task members reached to grab at him and he bellowed into his tie, "Stop it you imbeciles! This is just a dummy KID Jr, the real KID and KID Jr are getting away, follow them!" He felt a little bad for Nakamori. He pressed the right button to make him go back to KID quickly as the door closed.
"Wait, you imbeciles! That wasn't me! OPEN THE DOOR!" Nakamori yelled.
"But inspector, the floor buttons have all been pressed! We can't!"
When Conan got back to where KID was, KID smiled at him, impressed. They then went through the top latch, and KID grabbed his first gun that was still hanging there, he pressed the safety to pull them to the top again. Once they were at the top KID looked around, looking for the best direction to go. He turned to Conan, "So how'd you like it?"
"It was okay." Conan said, mentally preparing himself for the jump that was going to take place. "It was really fast, everything felt like it happened at once."
"Just okay?" KID prompted.
Conan grinned as KID grabbed him, jumping off the top, hang glider opening up. "If I wasn't so scared the whole time, it might have been better. I still think that this kind of work is better suited to you though. I feel like I held you back today."
KID tilted his glider, knowing that people could see them but also knowing that the police wouldn't be able to reach them before they landed. "I wouldn't say held back, believe me, I was a lot worse my first heist. You did great."
Conan couldn't tell if he was trying to cheer him up, or honestly didn't think he did a bad job. It was great seeing behind the tricks as they happened, but Conan felt that if he could go back, he would have rather helped KID in other ways.
Conan noticed KID still suddenly, he whispered under his breath, "That acquaintance of mine that I was talking about…She's here." Conan looked around, shocked when he saw someone approaching them, seemingly ignoring the wind and flying through it.
She caught up to them almost immediately and motioned for them to land. KID sighed, tilting his glider down so that it arced and landed smoothly upon a roof. The sorcerous followed in suit and Conan watched her land gracefully with no sign of a glider or propeller of any sort.
"We need to talk." She stated, tone leaving no room for argument.
Once again, thank you all so much for reading and for all the feedback. This chapter was also a pretty long one. There's a lot of plot points that I've been introducing pretty fast. It should calm down soon though. I also want to apologize in advance for the next chapter. It might be a little dark.