Chapter 85: Kid Makes His Move
The grand clock ticked down, inching closer to the exact moment promised in Kaitou Kid's notice letter. Guests continued to filter into the exhibition hall, their excited chatter filling the massive space.
Kaito Kuroba, currently wearing the flawless disguise of Natsume Natsuki, strolled through the gallery alongside Sonoko and Ran. He kept his posture relaxed, a polite smile painted on his stolen face, while his sharp eyes mapped every camera, every guard, and every exit.
Security was... surprisingly lax. Inspector Nakamori had flooded the perimeter with uniformed officers, but the inner sanctum holding the prize was practically bare. Did Ningguang truly place all her faith in those two Fontaine magicians?
Kid glanced casually at the siblings, Lyney and Lynette. They were chatting quietly, paying absolutely no attention to 'Natsume'. Good. The earlier encounter must have been a fluke. They didn't suspect a thing.
Meanwhile, Conan's glasses caught the chandelier's light. He had been tracking 'Sister Natsume' for the past twenty minutes. Her gait was too light, her center of gravity entirely wrong. The real Natsume moved with the grounded, quiet lethality of a seasoned fighter. This person moved like a stage performer.
Time for a test.
"Sister Natsume! Watch out!" Conan pitched his voice into a childish squeal, pretending to trip over his own feet as he lunged toward a display case. He slammed directly into Natsume's knees.
A heavy thud echoed over the polite chatter. Kaito, entirely unprepared for a child to tackle him like a miniature linebacker, lost his balance and crashed hard onto the carpeted floor.
Ran gasped, rushing forward to haul them both up. "Conan! There are too many people here for you to be running around! Look what you did, apologize to Natsume right now!"
"Yeees," Conan dragged out the syllable, rubbing the back of his head before looking up with wide, innocent eyes. "I'm sorry, Sister Natsume. I accidentally bumped you. Are you hurt?"
Kaito quickly waved his hands, forcing a gentle, reassuring smile. "I am perfectly fine, Conan. Don't worry."
A sharp glint flashed across Conan's lenses. "Ah-le-le? How strange..."
Sonoko chopped the top of Conan's head with the side of her hand. "You brat, what nonsense are you spouting now? Natsume looks perfectly fine. Stop cursing people with sickness!"
Conan rubbed his stinging scalp, glaring at the teenager. 'That Sonoko... always ruining the timing!'
"But before," Conan continued loudly, pointing an accusatory finger, "when Genta accidentally ran into Sister Natsume at full speed, she didn't even budge! She stood completely still! This time, I just bumped her a little bit and she fell right over. So I thought maybe Sister Natsume was feeling weak today!"
Silence fell over their small group. Ran blinked, her gaze shifting to her friend. Sonoko's eyes widened, the gears turning rapidly in her head.
"You know... the brat actually has a point," Sonoko muttered, stepping closer. "Natsume, you really are acting a bit strange today."
Ran nodded slowly, her athletic instincts kicking in as she assessed the person standing before her.
"Could it be... that you're..." Sonoko's voice began to pitch upward, a familiar, fan-girlish thrill coloring her tone.
Seeing the absolute adoration sparking in Sonoko's eyes, Kaito instantly knew his cover was blown. He raised a single, gloved finger to his lips in a silent 'shh', offering a charming, unmistakable wink.
Sonoko slapped both hands over her mouth, nodding furiously, her cheeks flushing bright red.
Conan stared in sheer disbelief. 'What are you doing, Sonoko?! You are supposed to expose him!'
Refusing to let the phantom thief slip away, Conan sucked in a massive breath and screamed at the top of his lungs. "Kaitou Kid is here! He is disguised as Natsu— cough! hack!"
Before the name could fully leave his mouth, a sharp popping sound echoed at his feet. Thick, acrid white smoke erupted across the floor. Conan inhaled a lungful of the powder, doubling over in a violent coughing fit, his eyes watering instantly.
Chaos erupted in the hall. Screams echoed as the smoke rapidly expanded.
Kaito didn't waste a single millisecond. He pivoted, abandoning the Natsume persona entirely as he sprinted along his memorized route. He wove through the panicked crowd, slipping past blind spots until he reached the center pedestal.
There it rested beneath reinforced glass: the Starlight's Brilliance.
He reached out, his fingers dancing toward the hidden security panel beneath the display.
A cold hand clamped around his wrist like a vice.
"Ta-da. Caught you."
The voice was flat, entirely devoid of inflection, whispering directly into his ear.
Kaito froze, his heart skipping a beat. He forced a strained smile and turned his head. "Ah, Lynette. You have misunderstood the situation. I saw the smoke bomb go off and assumed Kaitou Kid might make his move, so I rushed over to secure the area..."
He let the excuse trail off. Lynette stared back at him. Her feline eyes were half-lidded, her expression completely deadpan, radiating a quiet, crushing contempt. She didn't believe a single syllable.
The gig was up.
With his free hand, Kaito slammed a second smoke capsule into the pedestal's base. Another cloud of blinding white plumed upward, catching Lynette directly in the face. Her grip loosened just a fraction as she coughed.
Kaito wrenched his arm free, spinning back toward the glass case. He just needed three seconds to bypass the lock—
A sharp hiss of displaced air screamed past his ear.
Kaito threw his entire body backward, his spine bending at an impossible angle. A blinding arc of silver steel sliced through the exact space his neck had occupied a fraction of a second prior.
He hit the ground rolling, cold sweat instantly beading on his forehead. He stared at the spot.
Lynette stood between him and the gemstone, a slender, lethal rapier gleaming in her hand.
'Where in the world did she pull a sword from?!'Kaito's mind raced, his pulse hammering against his ribs.'Does she just carry a deadly weapon in her dress? How did Nakamori's security detail miss a literal sword at the metal detectors?!'
"Kaitou Kid! Where are you?!" Inspector Nakamori's booming voice echoed through the dissipating smoke, accompanied by the heavy thud of police boots rushing into the hall.
Kaito weighed his options. A master thief knew when a stage was rigged against him. With the sword-wielding magician blocking the prize and an army of cops descending, tonight was a bust.
He cleared his throat, perfectly mimicking Natsume's voice, and screamed into the chaos. "Inspector Nakamori! Over here! I saw Kaitou Kid disguise himself as Miss Lynette! He is right next to the gemstone and about to make his move! Hurry!"
Footsteps immediately swarmed toward the center pedestal. Lynette clicked her tongue, her tail twitching in mild annoyance beneath her skirt. She had no intention of wasting her breath explaining things to a mob of frantic police officers.
Her form blurred. Slipping into her Pilfering Shadow state, she vanished into the lingering smoke without a single sound, leaving the bewildered officers to surround an empty pedestal.
In the confusion, Kaito had already stripped away the Natsume disguise, revealing a standard police uniform underneath. He pulled the cap low over his eyes, blending perfectly into the rushing crowd of officers, and headed straight for the exit.
He almost made it.
Conan burst through the crowd, his eyes locking onto the single officer moving against the flow of traffic. The boy's hand slammed onto his belt, a soccer ball instantly inflating at his feet. He drew his leg back, ready to launch a devastating strike.
Thwack! Thwack!
A sharp whistling sound cut through the air. A playing card buried itself into the floorboard mere inches from Conan's shoe, forcing the boy to abort his kick and jump back.
Kaito paused, his escape route suddenly cut off. Three more playing cards shot through the air, whistling like bullets, forcing the phantom thief to backpedal rapidly into the center of the hall.
Both Conan and Kaito snapped their heads toward the trajectory of the projectiles.
Standing atop a decorative balcony, Lyney held two more playing cards between his fingers. He offered a brilliant, theatrical smile, tipping his top hat gracefully toward the disguised thief.
Kaito gritted his teeth. 'Show-off.'He glanced over his shoulder. The playing cards weren't just scattered on the floor; they were deeply embedded into the solid concrete of the exhibition wall. A drop of cold sweat slid down Kaito's neck.'Could a normal human really throw a flimsy piece of cardboard with that much lethal force barehanded?!'
Lyney flicked his wrist, preparing to launch the next volley.
Suddenly, a heavy clunk echoed through the building. Every light in the exhibition hall instantly died, plunging the room into pitch blackness.
Lyney lowered his hand, his violet eyes glowing faintly as he activated his Elemental Sight. The world shifted into a monochrome canvas of elemental traces. Through the darkness, he clearly tracked the glowing white silhouette of Kaitou Kid popping a window latch and slipping out into the night sky.
The Fontaine magician smiled softly in the dark, slipping the cards back into his sleeve. He made no move to pursue.
Ningguang had hired them to ensure the Starlight's Brilliance remained in its case. The gemstone was safe. There was no need to push a cornered thief to the brink.
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