File Sixty-Three: The Jewel of Destiny
Conan's hot-blooded informant had been quite fast doing his work. Barely a day after they had last seen each other, the kid had already received a call on his phone, on his way back from school. Naturally, he had slowed down his pace so he could walk behind his friends and answered.
According to Heiji, there was no registry of a student called Mizunashi Rena in the last twenty years, in any school in Osaka. Showing her photo around the Tsutenkaku area, it turned out everyone knew she was a famous announcer taking a vacation, but nobody knew her when she was young. When he showed Hondou Eisuke's picture, which Conan had sent to him, the results had been fairly different.
It turned out he would come to an okonomiyaki store with his father frequently. That man would occasionally come in with his co-workers, but stopped coming abruptly a few years ago. The current manager had also added that he was good friends with the previous one, but had unfortunately passed away.
That manager had, however, a grandson he had been really close to, who worked at a model store close to Beika. So that's where I have to go next, huh? thought Conan, with a smirk, after Heiji said he would send his phone number and address to him.
"Thank you, Hattori," he then said to him. "You've been of so much help."
"You're going to question him, aren't you?"
Conan didn't answer his question, causing Hattori to sigh, loudly, as if expecting that. "Just... Be careful, okay?" he sounded resignated, probably knowing better than to try and stop this kid. "That Hondou Eisuke's father isn't some ordinary person."
"Yeah, I know," the child frowned. "That's why I have to figure this out before it's too late."
"Don't go alone, you hear me?" Conan cringed, but wasn't surprised about Hattori somehow knowing that the thought of actually going there alone had briefly crossed his mind. "At least, tell the Professor and that little scientist to come with you."
Blinking confusedly at the phone, the kid actually paused. "Why Haibara-san?" his eyes fixed in the strawberry blonde, momentarily, as he whispered. "Hey, hey, you don't think she's secretly eighteen, do you?"
"Of course not," he denied the claim, with an amused chuckle. "I just thought fitting if you had someone around to stop you when you try to do something recklessly stupid."
Conan's eyebrow twitched. "I don't want to hear that from you."
Not even giving the detective from the West the chance to properly defend himself, the child hung up with a huff, placing the phone back in his pocket.
"Something wrong?" he barely suppressed a jump at the sound of the monotone voice resounding in his ears. "You sounded quite annoyed right now."
"It was nothing," he didn't even need to look to know he was talking with that insufferable scientist that lived with the Professor.
Opting not to say anything else, the boy simply walked past her and joined his friends. Seeing his antics, Haibara paused for a moment, eyes narrowing for less than a second, before she did the same.
They did not talk about it again. That was, at the very least, until she got out of the shower many, many hours after they had departed ways.
"Hondou Eisuke, you say?" she heard the Professor's confused voice long before she could open the door. "Why do you want to go find out about him?"
"Don't be so loud!" he shushed him, instantly. As expected, she met with the sight of Conan's back, as he whispered to the older man. "Or that sharp-eared wicked girl is going to hear us-"
"Hear what, exactly?"
It was almost funny the sight of the usually composed young boy spinning around until he faced her, eyes wide as he stared at her, unable to utter a word. Her blank expression didn't shift.
"Who is that Hondou Eisuke you're talking about?" she continued, drying her soaked hair with a towel as she walked closer to the pair. "You haven't been updating us in a while, have you, Kudo-kun?"
His shock receded, and a frown took hold of his face, before he let his eyes close.
Silently, he nodded.
The trio could only wait, impatiently, in their car.
Agasa had called a few hours ago the number Heiji had given Conan, pretending to be someone who knew the previous owner of the okonomiyaki shop and that he had been entrusted something a frequent client had lost, so he was trying to find out who he was.
Apparently, the grandson had a photograph he had taken by chance ─ even if the man didn't like being photographed. He had said that the man's young son was most likely playing with his camera.
They had agreed to meet half an hour ago, after the guy had claimed that he would cancel his trip to the gym, eager to talk about his beloved grandfather. But he had yet to make an appearance.
So, the young boy decided to finally open the door. "I'll go check," he stated, turning around to say something.
It confused Haibara the way his eyes seemed to fix on her, for a moment more than needed. Then, he turned to the professor. "Stay here."
Just like that, he left. Ai simply watched him rush towards the entrance, and a faint, suspicious frown took hold of her face.
"Huh? Ai-kun?" Agasa blinked when he noticed the girl opening the door. "What are you doing?"
She just gave him a pointed look and, without even gracing him with an explanation, hopped off the car. Sighing, resigned, the old man did the same.
Of course, Conan wasn't too amused, but did not comment on it. Just sighed, tiredly, before he rang the bell to the apartment.
All of sudden, the boy suddenly paled however, at the sight of a gun suddenly resting on top of Agasa's shoulder. The three panicked, of course, until the attacker revealed he was just playing a prank on him, like his grandfather would always do.
So yeah, that guy was the one they had come to visit.
Little did they know, this innocent prank would prove to be the least of their problems as soon as Conan stepped inside, and took notice of the neatly arranged slippers in the toilet of that messy apartment.
Conan's sharp eyes scanned every single little thing in that room. Something wasn't right, his gut would tell him over and over again.
"Hey," so, the boy gathered the man's attention, pointing at his computer. "Do you have the photo on there?"
"Huh? Oh, yeah."
Instantly, the man went to sit on the chair, and the boy instantly hopped on the one next to him, his curious gaze falling on the screen. He noticed that the man was confused, since the data had been strangely erased.
His little fingers pressed against the CPU, and he understood everything.
"Somebody snuck into this apartment."
The blunt words from the child next to him caused the man to freeze and stare at him, as if that kid had suddenly grown a second head. He seemed to be unbothered by it, however, his blank gaze still fixed on him as he pointed at the CPU. "It's warm," he pointed out. "Far too warm, considering it hadn't been on for more than a minute."
Hoping off the chair, his gaze started studying every single corner of the room again. "The slippers in the toilet are neatly arranged," he stated. "Which is weird considering that," he motioned at the several slippers scattered all around the entrance "That's what got me thinking that someone had used the toilet before. That guess turned into certainty when I felt the CPU just now."
"Wh-What the...?" the man managed. "Who in the world are you?"
"Edogawa Conan, detective."
He didn't speak of it, but behind the confident smirk he flashed the startled man hid his fear. Not because of a petty thief ─ no, a thief wouldn't just steal some data on a computer. Conan couldn't help but think that it was them instead.
Of course, Ai noticed but did nothing but to watch the boy try to solve the mystery, even if his face was a bit more pale than usual, or his smile was a bit more forced than before. Because she felt the same way.
"H-Hey!"
Not paying attention as the older man tried to stop him, the boy promptly opened a door and walked inside, his ever piercing eyes darting around, taking in every single aspect of the art room he was getting in.
Without saying a word, he moved closer to the curtains, upon noticing them swaying lightly. "The window is open," he pointed out.
"So that's where the culprit got in," Agasa concluded. "Not very secure."
"Ah, no. I always leave that window open like that. I'm always making dioramas in this room, so when I paint and glue the parts and make carvings, it can get bad in here."
He also pointed out that there were plenty of stores and people around, so there was no way someone was getting it from the balcony without anyone noticing. Conan hummed, stepping outside and realizing that, indeed, that was true.
How did they get in? Conan frowned, deep in thought. With this many people, sneaking in is impossible. The door hasn't been forced open either.
"Say, Sohei-san," the man looked down when the child called his attention, hands on the rails on the balcony and eyes fixed on the people down below. "Did you give anyone a spare key to this room? "
"Y-Yeah," Sohei blinked, confused. "Three people."
The child didn't reply, only puzzling the man even further.
Judging by the heat in the CPU, whoever was here wasn't here for long. And we have been parked at the entrance of the building for at least half an hour, but nobody got out. We would have seen them otherwise.
His hand went to his chin.
Assuming they got in using the keys, got surprised when we rang the bell and saw Sohei-san on the intercom's monitor, where would they run to? he started to stoll around the balcony, earning a quizzical look from the man beside him. Escaping from here seems impossible.
... Unless...
His eyes fell on the washing machine that randomly stood on the corner of the balcony.
Meanwhile, the man was blinking, partly confused and parly annoyed by that weird kid running around his place as if he owned it. Agasa laughed, awkwardly, and Ai simply watched him.
The horror on his features had long disappeared, and that was enough for her to feel relieved. That meant it wasn't them.
"H-Hey, kid, would you-?"
"Sohei-san."
"... Yes?"
"Are any of those three people you mentioned dangerous, somehow?"
"No, I don't think so."
"I see," a childish grin took hold of his features. "Then they must love playing hide-and-seek a lot!"
"Huh?"
He motioned at the washing machine behind him, causing Sohei to, hesitantly, inch closer to the machine. His hand rested on top of the lid, and paused to glance at the weird kid beside him.
Who just stared back at him, hands clasped behind his back. It weirded him out a bit how easily his behavior had changed, so radically...
"Aren't you going to open it?" his smile didn't waver, as he pressed him.
So, he did.
He was surprised when he found his friend Tago inside.
Company.
That word had yet to stop popping up in Conan's head.
The photo hadn't been such an important clue or, at least, not as much important as what Sohei and his friend had commented about him.
Apparently, according to Sohei's grandfather, Hondou worked in a company. He had gone several times there with his coworkers, and once had been heard saying something along the lines of 'I'll dive in deeper', to which they would reply with things like 'good luck' or 'no pain, no gain'.
Therefore, the thought of him working for 'The Company' was not so farfetched.
So when someone came to Kogoro with a strange note that said that they would steal The Jewel of Destiny, he hadn't as much as reacted, barely paying attention at the conversation developing in front of him, cradling his cheek with his hand, as he sat at Kogoro's desk.
If Mizunashi Rena and Hondou Eisuke are actually related... That obviously means she was related to someone working for the Company, and that changes things, by a whole lot.
... But is she, really?
Then, all of sudden, his thoughts came into a halt the moment he felt it. A burning sensation in the back of his neck made him shiver and spin around.
This is weird, he thought, eyes darting to each and every single inch of the street below him, and the buildings around. Nothing.
Just now, he could have sworn that he had been observed.
There was nothing, absolutely nothing but that lone white dove that stood on the window he was sitting beside of.
... Now that he thought about it, that dove seemed to be staring at him.
With a huff, he shook his head. Figured he had finally gone crazy.
You couldn't have been watching me, right? with a resigned chuckle, his finger went to the bird's head, intending to caress it.
He didn't expect to get bitten. Bitten by a dove.
So, naturally, the child cried in pain.
"Conan-kun!" Ran was at his side in an instant. "You shouldn't be bothering that poor bird!"
That 'poor bird' was bothering me.
A scowl still present on his features, Conan cradled his injured finger and took a look at the white dove that still sat there, on the window's edge, ruffling its feathers as if nothing had happened. But didn't leave.
... It was kind of weird.
"Let me take a look of it," the girl said, a bit worried, as she gently took Conan's hand into hers.
"Ah, don't worry," he tried to convince. "It's nothing..."
He turned to face the teenager, but his eyes drifted to something else instead. Blinking, he glanced at the letter Kogoro was reading and noticed it, that particular doodle at the end of it that he knew very well.
"Romeo
Juliet
Victor
Bravo!
In the midst of where 26 letters fly about
I shall call upon you and gratefully accept The Jewel of Destiny
─ Kaito KID "
That was followed by a drawing of a two of spades, split in two halves, beside the thief's name.
I must have been really out of it, he realized. Considering all he had been through the last few days it shouldn't have been surprising. If that dove hadn't arbitrarily bitten me, I wouldn't have paid attention.
... Now that I think of it, it really looked as if it was scolding me for not paying attention...
Slowly, he turned back around. The bird was still there. Staring.
But now, he noticed it. The little thing wrapped around its tiny leg.
Ran let out a startled yelp when, without warning, he roughly closed the window, causing the bird to flutter its wings and fly away ─ hopefully far, far away from him.
That petty thief... I'm so going to catch you.
"Hey, Conan," he heard Genta's voice coming from behind. "What's with the backpack? It's getting in the way."
"Ah," he gave them a smile, tugging the straps of his bag down. "Just a little something."
That only made his friends all more curious, but he didn't give in. Just shrugged when Genta stated that he suspected Conan was carrying snacks he wasn't planning on sharing and turned back around, patiently waiting for Juri to come.
KID was going to make an appearance here, in that theatre to steal the Jewel of Destiny, which Maki Juri, the lead actress, had on her hand.
Soon her manager, Yaguchi Masayo, called for Kogoro and started to guide the group to the dressing room where, not only did they meet the actress in question, but also Sakai Natsuki, her hairstylist and make-up artist.
While Kogoro seemed to flirt with the actress, in some way, and Ran scolded him, annoyed at that, Haibara's attention drifted somewhere else and fixed in some particular spot in the room. Absent-mindely, she walked closer to the table where several, different cosmetics were lying around.
Her expression did not shift, as she simply stared at them.
"Ah!" she heard Ayumi's excited voice next to her. "There are so many cosmetics!"
"Looks like it," Ai gave her a faint smile.
Ayumi's hands wrapped around one of them and she studied it, curiosity glimmering in her eyes. "This is called foundation, right?"
The scientist nodded, stretching her hand to grab one of them. "There are five types of them," she commented, as a passing thought.
"Five different types?" the girl was amazed. "Wow, you know a lot Ai-chan!"
"Not really," shrugging, she put the foundation she was holding back on its place. "Oneechan liked putting on these things a lot," her eyes softened, at the memory. "She wouldn't let me play with them when I was younger."
Ayumi paused for a moment and slowly turned to look at her friend, her eyebrows scrunching together in worry, until she finally noticed the sweet smile the strawberry blonde had on her lips, or the tender look that had taken hold of her face as she gazed at the cosmetics scattered around the table.
It was so rare to see Ai like this, she realized. Ai-chan must have loved her sister a lot...
"She... She must have been really pretty," Ayumi offered, with a bright grin.
At the sight of the girl giving her an odd, almost confused look, made her wonder if she had said something wrong, but then all doubts vanished when Ai seemed to chuckle a bit under her hand. In response, Ayumi giggled as well.
All fun instantly vanished when Natsuki suddenly scolded them, without any real danger, while taking the foundation Ayumi had been holding away from her little hands, claiming that they were too young to be interested in cosmetics.
Ayumi nodded obediently, watching the adult put all her things in her bag once again. Haibara merely stared, unblinking, before turning around to return to the group.
Her steps came to a halt, however.
"Is something wrong, Ai-chan?" Ayumi asked, worried.
She noted the way her friends' eyes narrowed slightly, before she offered her a convincing smile, waving off her concerns.
Just now, Haibara had seen it. The way Conan's eyes seemed to dart away the moment they met hers, or the way he had instantly retreated back, absently checking out a random portrait in the opposite wall from where she had been standing at.
Something else caught his eye soon enough, though, the moment the door opened for four more actors ─ Narusawa Bunjiro, Tajima Tenko, Shinjo Isao and Ban Toru ─ to walk in.
Followed by Inspector Nakamori, of course. The sight of him stretching hands, and squeezing hard with anger, caused the young spectacled boy to sigh, heavily.
But he couldn't lose focus with that, he realized. KID often disguises himself as someone close to his target, sharp, blue eyes scanned every single spot in that dressing room. Perhaps he's already among us...
"Oh, yes," Nakamori rubbed his sore hand. "This time I've specially brought along someone to help with the investigation..."
That caught Conan's interest, wondering for a moment who it could be. His eyes grew wide, as the face of a certain detective crossed his mind. Wait... his face grew pale. Don't tell me... Is that person...?
"Well, I said there was no need, but that rascal Megure... Ah, no. Inspector Megure strongly recommended him."
If pursuing KID is what we're talking about... There's only one single person that comes into mind...
Oh, please, not him.
"Get in here."
Conan's frown deepened. I swear, if Hakuba Saguru walks in from that door I will...
His mind drew into a blank, his thoughts trailing down into silence, muffled by the white noise that filled his entire head the moment he saw a teenager slowly appearing from behind the door.
Hands hidden inside his pockets made the air freeze in Conan's lungs.
A cocky, severely arrogant caused Conan's jaw to grow weak and his mouth to hang open.
And those confident, bright blue eyes stole a startled, loud gasp from him.
Because there, right in front of him, a high school detective stood. Certainly, it was not Hakuba Saguru.
It was...
"Hello, I'm Kudo Shinichi."
And there he was, his brother. That who had pissed off an entire Organization to the point that they wanted him dead, casually standing there. In plain sight.
All for a KID's heist?!
Conan wanted to reprimand him, scream and tell him to get out all the same, but it got out as incoherent sputtering sounds.
"Shinichi!" Ran managed to get out a sentence that made actual sense, even if she seemed as shocked as he was.
He could feel his friend's gazes slowly tearing away from the teen to him, yet even if he wanted he couldn't do anything but stare. Stare as he gave Ran a bright smile, moving closer to them, confidence showing in each and every single step he gave.
Before long, the shock on his face dimmed. His mouth closed, slowly, as he took into the sight of the older boy, talking with Kogoro and the inspector for a few moments, until something finally clicked.
That bastard...
A chill ran down Shinichi's back, causing him to freeze in his spot. Shivering even if it wasn't cold, the boy slowly turned around until he was face to face with the kid with glasses and felt it.
Edogawa Conan's sharp, cold glare piercing through his entire being.
For the first time he could remember, Kuroba Kaito felt the true fear.
"In other words, if my deduction is correct... KID won't kid around us via the roof!"
Unbothered by the quizzical looks both girls were giving him, Shinichi nodded to himself, proud of his statement, before spinning around and walking away, leaving the other two frozen, dumbfounded by that lame joke just now.
This is going perfectly, he thought, mentally grinning, widely. Now I have to wait a few hours, and when the play is over...
There's a single, little problem, though...
Slightly, the teen peeked from over his shoulder, before instantly looking away once more. Yep, that's the little problem, he shuddered, trying to keep his face straight despite the very dark aura emanating from the miniature detective whose glare was burning holes into the back of his head. Are children supposed to be that scary?
Seriously, the child seemed to be moments away from committing murder in the spot, regardless the many witnesses that were around.
It made him wonder if guiding him to the roof, alone, was actually a good idea.
Trying to play it off, he went to the three children admiring the view of the city from the window and joined them.
Conan's eyes never left him.
"To think that Shinichi would show up like that," Agasa commented, as a passing thought.
"He's not Shinichi-san," answered Haibara right away. "He might be careless most of the time, but he wouldn't just show up in front of everyone just like that."
"Then..."
"That must be KID, without a doubt."
The kid looked at her for a few moments, promptly ignoring Agasa giving out a shocked gasp, before Haibara noticed him staring. He broke eye contact right away, the moment their gazes met.
Before he could walk away, again, Conan stopped in his tracks, blinking at the arm that the scientist had put in front of him.
"Smell it."
"Huh?!"
"Don't make me repeat myself. It's just a scientific experiment."
"I'm not a lab rat, you know..."
"What did I just say?"
Though weirded out, he complied ─ encouraged by the dark look the scientist was giving him ─ and gave it a tentative sniff. The fact that there was no unusual odor on her confused him more than anything.
"What does it smell like?" she asked, her face straight despite the situation.
"... Flowers, I'd say," he said, slowly. "Gardenias, probably. You've been using perfume, haven't you?"
"Does it smell bad?"
"... N-No. It's... uh, pretty good, actually."
"Then, enlighten me," though her expression didn't change, the severity of her voice caused Conan to realize she was serious. "Why had you been avoiding me as if I smelled bad or something?"
Conan inhaled, sharply, having been caught by surprise by that question just now. Yet didn't do anything but to glance at Agasa briefly, as if asking for help, only for him to blink, dumbly. He was unable to grasp the situation, let alone aid him in escaping the interrogation he was being subjected to.
"If there's something you want to tell me, please just do it," she continued. "I've grown tired of this and-"
Her words came into an abrupt halt. For reasons neither Agasa or Conan could immediately understand, the little girl had grown sickly pale, beads of cold sweat rolling down her forehead.
"Ai-kun," called the professor, seriously concerned. "What's wrong?"
She just gave a shuddering breath in response. This caused the kid's eyes widening, the horrifying realization finally dawning on him.
"Are they here?" his eyes scanned the room, looking for someone suspicious.
For a few beats, Ai didn't say anything. Then, gradually, she managed to get out a quivering breath, eyes closing, finally calming down.
"They are gone," Conan said, more as a statement than a question.
That was fast...
Haibara-san felt someone belonging to the Organization nearby, for a little over a second, he observed. But there's nobody but us in this observation deck... How...
The moment his eyes met with the elevator right behind the place they were, he frowned. Must have used it to go down from the roof, he took a single step towards it. The real question is, which floor?
"H-Hey..." Agasa seemed to grow nervous at the mere sight of the boy's face.
"Don't even think about it," Haibara's voice was firm, however. "KID is still here. Are you willing to take your eyes off him?"
"You can't be serious," he argued. "Do you really think I would care about such a thing when-?"
"KID Killer."
Conan paused.
"Most people know you're here and are expecting you to stop that thief from stealing the jewel," her eyes fixed on Shinichi. "What would make the KID Killer suddenly lose interest and not even try to apprehend him? People will wonder, will ask," they went back to the young boy. "Not all of them will be convinced with whichever excuse you fabricate... And if that certain 'someone' you just tried to pursue suspects they are the reason and tries to investigate..."
She didn't really need to complete her sentence for him to press his lips into a thin line, turning to stare at the elevator for a moment more than necessary and sigh.
"The best for now is to stay put," she closed her eyes. "You'll draw too much attention if you try something risky."
Conan understood what she meant, but it didn't mean he did like it.
If somebody asked the young boy what the play was about, he would probably be rendered unable to answer. Not that he could be blamed for it, considering that there was simply too much to pay attention to in place of a simple play.
From the entire duration of the show, Conan couldn't help but study each and every single person ─ it was in these moments that Conan was genuinely grateful for the Telescopic Lenses the professor had fabricated for him ─ sitting in the big theatre, looking for anything that could be suspicious.
He didn't find anything, as expected, but figured it was okay. If any of them was close to them, it would have most likely shown on Haibara's face right away.
There was also that guy who called himself Kudo Shinichi, who casually stood there, close to the exit, yawning constantly due to the boredom he was suffering.
The play came close to an end and Conan's gaze fell on 'Shinichi' once more. He noticed he was grinning at him ─ as if somehow he knew he could see him from his spot ─ and waving, before disappearing behind the door.
Conan frowned slightly, raising a bit from his seat, but remaining still for some reason.
Haibara, suddenly feeling observed, turned around to realize that, indeed, Conan was giving him another look and sighed. "Nobody is here, Kudo-kun," she whispered at him, annoyance sipping on her voice. "Just go already. I'll contact you if something goes wrong."
He took into her exasperated expression, before giving her a hesitant nod. "Be careful, Haibara-san," he whispered back, slipping away without anyone else noticing.
"Have fun."
Not giving another look back, he exited the room and took off running through the halls, rushing down the mechanical stairs with an amazing speed. They are most definitely gone, his hand curled around his Detective Badge, before his grip on it tightened. I... I have to trust her.
He went around the corner.
If I back up just know, it would most likely be suspicious.
His line of thought got interrupted when, all of sudden, he crashed into somebody else. Barely having time to roll in the ground, protecting himself from a fall that would be dangerous otherwise ─ considering the high speed he had been moving just now.
"Kid, are you alright?" he looked up to the concerned officer he had just bumped into. "That was pretty dangerous."
Conan got back into his feet right away, with a nod. "I'm fine," he replied, with a smile. "Anyway-"
"Is something the matter?"
Both the kid and the officer turned around at the third voice coming closer to them. The moment his eyes met with the officer, Conan frowned slightly, barely paying attention to the other one explaining the situation.
"But your baton is really something!" he gaped, faking amazement, after stating he was fine, again. "Isn't it longer than the one this man has?"
"Well, there are many different sorts of batons-"
"Length: 60 centimeters of below," the kid stated right away. "Diameter: 3 centimeters of below. Weight: 320 grams are below," his hands wrapped against each other behind his back, shifting his weight to one single of his feet. "Those are the regulations on batons mandated by the public safety commissions in each of Japan's administrative regions, right?"
The other officer blinked at the young boy that was stating all those facts as if they were mere multiplication tables, before it clicked on his mind. Slowly, his eyes shifted to his 'partner,' not failing to notice that a smirk was beginning to draw on his face.
"Say," the sweet smile the child had been wearing dropped slightly, a knowing glint crossing his gaze. "Why is that?"
"That's because..." he held the baton in question in front of him. "It's not a baton!"
Conan barely had the time to block his eyes before a bright light blinded them. It took him a second to recover, but when he did, the impostor was already getting in an elevator.
I won't let you get away, KID!
At the sight of the doors of the elevator closing on him, while the thief cheerfully waved at him caused the kid to groan, then curse when he collided against them. Luckily, the one beside it opened, so he rushed inside, even if the people getting out were giving him weirded out looks.
He bolted the moment he reached the top floor and looked from side to side, searching for him among the civilians hanging around, oblivious of what was really going on.
Upon spotting the stairs that lead up to the roof, he ran again.
He was so determined to capture the thief he didn't even notice the man with the horseshoe moustache that sat there, wearing a black overcoat and a hat of the same colour.
His eyes fixed on the KID Killer, until he disappeared around the corner. Silently, and with a sadistic grin, he stood up.
Gasping for air, Conan finally stepped on the rooftop, and instantly spotted him. Standing under the faint, silver moonlight was an officer, gazing at the starry night.
So, Conan smirked. "Let's end this game here," he stated, once he recovered his breath. "Stalker-Thief-san."
"We should," he turned around, with a pleased smile. "It's growing too dark to continue playing hide-and-seek with you..." he teared away his outfit, letting him see his pristine white, magician suit the kid had grown used to see. "... Tantei-kun."
The child's eyes narrowed. Hide-and-seek? he wondered, slowly kneeling down so he could activate his shoes.
"You never cease to surprise me," KID stated, with a wide smirk. "I didn't expect you to figure out I was impresionating Kudo Shinichi that quickly."
"The same could be said about you," the annoyance was visible in the little detective's face. "To attach a camera in a dove's claw so you could stalk a child," Conan huffed. "Not to say, I don't even want to know how you instructed it to bite me, whatever the reason."
"Oh, so that's why you were so mad earlier!" the thief exclaimed. "You can be a bit too scary for no reason."
"You were stalking me."
"I wasn't stalking you, merely making sure my message went through properly," he stated, rather calmly. "And when I noticed you weren't paying attention, I made sure to put your mind right on track."
"Your bird bit me!"
KID stared for a moment or so. "... Didn't expect you to be this one-track minded, Tantei-ku-"
He didn't get to finish his sentence, because he had to duck just in time for a soccer ball to wheeze pass his ear. "Wow, someone is angry today," he whistled, taking in the form of the child that stood right there, sparks dancing around his shoe and the deep frown on his face.
In a flash, KID had taken out his card gun and fired at him, so this time it was him the one who had been forced to dodge, rolling on the floor.
What is this guy's objective? He didn't even come close to the jewel. Not even once.
Another card was shot, and the kid stepped backwards, out of its way. The only thing he did was to talk with Ran-neechan... And then mess up, over and over... Then right, left, up... They kept coming and coming. Why would he show up with a baton that long? KID definitely knows it isn't allowed...
Was it deliberate?
Until he backed up. His back collided against the rails.
Romeo... Juliet... Victor... Bravo...
"Well, it does seem like the end is near..." then, the magician added, as if mocking him. "Tantei-kun."
Before he could reply, something caught the kid's eye causing him to raise his head, all of sudden, confusing his rival for a slight moment before he understood it.
Because there, he saw it. In the middle of darkness, Conan saw some dots of light moving, soaring across the night sky. A plane, he observed.
'In the midst of where 26 letters fly about', huh?
At the same time, as if synchronized, both detective and thief fixed their gazes back on each other. There was a satisfied grin plastered all over KID's face, which made Conan realize that he knew he had figured it out. That was his plan, after all.
None realized the man that was watching them, intently, hidden in darkness behind the door Conan had just busted in from.
"Should have expected from such a flashy magician like you," the kid stated, with a roll of his eyes. "Stealing something in the middle of a play isn't as much as of a show as stealing in a soaring plane."
"Huh? So you finally realized it?"
"Yeah," he nodded, without batting an eye. "Those English words you wrote are used over wireless communication in order to prevent miscommunication. Airplanes also use it," he shrugged. "I don't have an idea which flight is going to be, but considering those two halves of the two of spades you drew, which means an uneven number, I can tell it is a flight departing from Tokyo. Just need to find out where Juri-san is going to fly to next."
"Wow~! Amazing!" the sounds of clapping caused his eyebrow to twitch. "I assume I will see you there, no?"
The man in black slipped away, retracting back to the stairs unnoticed by the pair.
A smirk curved the little boy's lips upwards. KID could swore he saw something burning, behind his gaze... As if something had been brought to life just now.
"If you make it out of here."
Another card was shot, only to get stuck in the rails behind the boy when he dodged it.
When the boy seemed to slip, losing his balance in the process, KID's eyes widened in horror. At the sight of him actually falling down over the edge, the thief instantly sprung into action, activating his hang glider and diving downwards, closer to the child.
But Conan's face was devoid of horror ─ far from it, actually. He pointed his wristwatch at him, but KID reacted just in time and moved, narrowly avoiding getting struck by an angry needle.
Now, KID would have expected anything from this boy. Ever since he had met Tantei-kun, that child had never ceased to amaze him with his bright mind and amazing deduction abilities ─ and there was also that moment when he had been shocked to see him escaping from a burning tower back in March in such a way, but he figured the situation had called for desperate measures.
But the sight of an ─ somewhat ─ ordinary eight year-old brat deliberately falling down from a building, then pulling out a paraglider, without showing any signs of fear was one he would never, ever be able to forget.
Kaito decided it. Tantei-kun belonged to an entirely different species.
So he let a grin take over his features.
Thus, the chase through the sky began.
To say that KID was impressed was more than an understanding, considering that this kid was not bad maneuvering through the air with a paraglider. Sure, he could do better, but he had managed to follow him like a rabid dog, despite his attempts to lose him.
Then again, Conan was eight and was giving him a better challenge than that bastard Hakuba had ever been able to.
Eventually, after spotting a moving train, the thief decided to finally descend, an action that the grade schooler copied. KID then unbuckled himself, landing on top of the vehicle, and Conan did the same.
So, they stared at each other once again.
"You sure can be a bit obsessive when it comes to it..." KID sighed, despite the grin that he was wearing.
"You've got nowhere left to run. Without flight even Kaito KID is just an ordinary sneak-thief," Conan's lips tugged upwards in a very arrogant smirk. "Or should I say Kuroba..."
KID did an abysmal effort to maintain his panic from showing through his poker face.
"... Toichi-san?"
This time, the thief did not try to hide his reaction. At the lack of answer, Conan blinked confusedly, watching the magician give him a very odd look, so different from the one he would have expected from him.
"... What did you say just now, Tantei-kun?"
"I must admit I was fooled. I thought you were a teenager when I took a look of your face that other time," the child's frown only deepened. "But I should've realized you were in a disguise. You wouldn't be as stupid as to hide your true face and age under a mere monocle, would you? "
KID did his best not to look too offended at that.
"I don't know why you faked your death nine years ago, nor why you decided to use Kudo Shinichi's face, but..." his hand went to his belt. "You better give me a good explanation, or I swear I'll murder you."
"... As much as I would like to clear those points out... Hey, let me finish!" he barely avoided a soccer ball shot to the head. "... I'm not Kuroba Toichi, unfortunately."
Confusion pinched his little face.
"You are not?"
"Nope."
"And you are telling me that?" the kid was stunned. "Anyone would accept that fake cover in a heartbeat," an eyebrow rose, suspiciously. "Assuming you're telling the truth, of course..."
His shock only grew more prominent when the magician smiled at him. "I would never do such a thing," if Conan didn't know he was a master of disguise and deception, he would have said it was... genuine. "Kuroba Toichi is, after all..." he looked up at the silver moon above him. "... the magician I respect the most."
For a moment or so, Conan couldn't find the right words to say, far too shocked to speak.
But then, KID's smile twisted, and his usual mischievous grin met his eyes. It was at that moment that he noticed that a thin, almost imperceptible wire was attached to the thief's white suit.
At the realization that it connected with his hang glider, that floated right above his head, Conan took off running. In vain, obviously, because the thief flew away before he could even reach him.
Incredibly frustrated, Conan groaned as loud as humanly possible.
That was close! thought Kaito, as he soared through the darkened sky. I need to be a bit more careful around that kid...
Slowly, he turned to glance over his shoulder. Conan was still standing there, and the magician could tell he was glaring daggers at him, even if he couldn't see his face.
Really, that kid... How come his first thought is that Dad faked his death?
Sighing, KID looked back ahead. Tantei-kun is insane, he thought again, before his angry glare from before, that clearly promised a world of pain for him, popped into his head. And scary, too...
... Should I stop messing with him, maybe?
A beeping sound caused him to pluck something up out of his pocket and, with a huff, place it against his ear.
"I can't talk now, Meitantei," he made sure to let his annoyance show on his voice. "It's pretty dangerous to talk and fly, you know."
"What's taking you so long?" 'Meitantei' was irritated, also. "You were supposed to be done there half an hour ago."
"I had a little miscalculation here," he chuckled at his own joke. "Relax, everything is wrapped up for today."
"How can I relax with you using my face around?!" he raised his voice. "I swear, if you said something weird to Ran..."
He decided against telling him he had told her something along the lines of 'I wanted to see your cute surprised face'. For his own safety.
"Word is going to spread quickly, so don't worry. Everyone is going to know that Kaito KID used Kudo Shinichi's face because it was convenient, and that he wasn't actually there."
"... So, how did it go?"
"Ah, right. I spoke with her for a bit," Kaito shrugged. "Rest assured, your secret is safe."
"Are you sure?"
"You said she would have used her karate on you if she suspected something, right? My face is still fine, so..."
"Unfortunately."
"Anyway, you haven't forgotten, have you? You still have a debt to pay."
A heavy sigh was the answer he got. "It's Hakodate, Hokkaido," he stated. "As we expected, Juri-san and the rest are going there for a post-performance celebration party."
"Did our dear 'Kaito KID' get the message that his appearance there, tomorrow, is required?"
"Yeah, I sent him the text... Also, got into Inspector Nakamori's head the idea that Kaito KID wouldn't give up just like that."
"Inspector Nakamori needs to pay better attention to the faces of his men. Slipping in is getting so easy that it hurts."
"For once, I think you might be right..."
Eventually, the phantom thief disappeared from Conan's sight, causing the child to plop down and let out a long, heavy breath. He got away, he huffed, sitting cross legged as he thought of the weird expression that had taken over the thief's face when he told him his deduction. If his reaction can actually be trusted, I would say he wasn't lying. He is not Kuroba Toichi...
... Then again, he seemed to panic a bit when I said 'Kuroba', huh?
Conan sighed, closing his eyes and feeling the breeze blow by his face, as the train continued its way as if nothing had happened. I need to look into it a bit further, he decided.
But first, there's something else I need to figure out...
His eyebrow twitched.
"How do I get down from here?"
A/N:
Guest: Well, Conan is eight at this point of time, Ayumi, Genta and Mitsuhiko are around that age, too. Haibara is around nine, though. Since this chapter should take place around late April, Shinichi is going to be eighteen soon, Ran should be around that age as well (I don't think we have ever been told when her birthday is, so...).
CherryGirl 6-21: As a matter of fact, I hadn't seen it until I read this. I went over to see it and, indeed, it was really beautiful. I really liked the fact that, towards the end, you can hear a bit of Mai Kuraki's Secret of My Heart. I don't know, it seemed to me as a nice touch.