The Phantom Thief of Hearts || Saiouma Phantom Thief AU

2

3rd Person POV

Shuichi woke up to his monophone ringing loudly into his ear. He immediately sat up and answered, only to hear his uncle's voice.
"G'morning Shuichi," he said loudly.
"G-Good morning."
"Rise and shine. Be at the agency in 30 minutes."
Before Shuichi could respond, his uncle hung up. The boy sighed and checked the time on his phone. It was 7:30 am. He had overslept, and now he only had half an hour to get ready and drive to the agency. He quickly scrambled out of bed to get ready, almost tripping over a pillow which had fallen onto the floor.

*Timeskip*

Shuichi drove up to the agency a whole 15 minutes late. When he stepped into his uncle's office, he was met with two unfamiliar faces, as well as his uncle.
"...And this is my nephew, Shuichi Saihara," Shuichi's uncle told the strangers.
"Well, I see he's certainly got a thing for punctuality."
Shuichi cowered behind his hat in embarrassment. He did not like that sarcastic comment about the him being late.
"G-Good morning... Would you mind introducing me?" he stammered.
"Of course," his uncle replied, "Shuichi this is my old friend Jin Kirigiri," he paused, "We go way back... And that's his daughter. Aspiring detective Kyoko Kirigiri."
"Nice to meet you-" Shuichi said nervously. He never liked meeting anyone new, and was known for being reserved and very introverted.
"Nice to meet you too," Kyoko said.
Shuichi looked at her. She had long lavender hair with a small braid tied with a black ribbon to the side. She wore a skirt, and her gaze was just as cold as her father's.
Shuichi shivered out of pure anxiety and looked away.
"Right then," Shuichi's uncle said, "Shuichi- I've partnered you up with another agency to take on the phantom thief case. The Kirigiri family are the owners of that fine institution. I expect you to work together, especially with Kyoko. You're both considered some of the best young detectives in the world."
"Okay," Shuichi hesitantly agreed, "I'll do my best."
"Excellent. Me and Mr. Kirigiri are excusing you two from my office. You may use the conference room upstairs to discuss today's coming encounter with the thief."
Shuichi silently led Kyoko to the upstairs conference room. The two sat down next to each other at the large table, and Shuichi pulled his notes out of his bag. He put the thief's clue in front of Kyoko.
"Y-You most likely already got a case summary," he said, "B-but incase you don't know about this particular detail- We always find these riddles near the scene of the crime. A-And they always provide a clue as to where the thief will strike next-"
"Right," Kyoko said, taking Shuichi's notes to read over. "And you have determined that the thief will next strike at the Geological Museum of Tsukaba next?"
"Well y-yes-" Shuichi answered, "That's where the clue led me to."
"Alright," Kyoko said, "We will take a bus to the museum now, by the time we arrive the time should already be nearing 5:30. I'll notify law enforcement to meet us there at precisely that time."
"Okay, so we're leaving now?"
Kyoko nodded, and began helping Shuichi pack the case notes back into his bag.

*Timeskip*

On the bus, Shuichi couldn't help but feel nervous for his and Kyoko's first mission together. Their personalities just didn't mix- Shuichi was soft, shy, and sensitive, while Kyoko was stoic, cold, and serious. Shuichi hoped they could find a way to work together.
As the teenagers began to near the museum, Shuichi's anxiety grew and grew. What if he missed the thief again? Or even worse- what if he was completely wrong about the location?
The bus stopped at the museum, and tourists flocked out the bus, with Shuichi and Kyoko following suit. The teenagers walked up the steps to the museum, having to nudge their way through the crowd to do so. Kyoko was right- the sun had started setting. It was about to be nightfall. Inside, they walked through the grand halls with many gems on display, looking for the biggest one they could spot, which was the thief's target. Just as they found it, the power in the museum went completely out. It was pitch black.
On impulse, Shuichi and Kyoko pulled their phones out and turned on the flash, and a ton of other people had done the same. Hushed whispers filled the large room- the room with the biggest gem in the whole museum. Suddenly, a voice was heard on the loudspeakers- However it wasn't the voice of the phantom thief.
"GREETINGS VISITORS," the voice- a girl's voice- said loudly, "THANK YOU FOR COMING. THE FUN IS ABOUT TO START."
Immediately after the loudspeaker cut out, Shuichi turned around only to spot the phantom thief standing on the display case of the jewel, holding what looked like a pistol- albeit hard to tell in the dark.
This caused a commotion amongst the crowd, and people began to rush out of the room. Shuichi and Kyoko looked at each other, knowing that they had to act now.
Police quickly filed into the area with pistols and tasers, even a police dog. Shuichi thought he saw the thief look nervous for a second, but decided it was just his imagination. He noticed the thief had a bag- probably full of jewels. Immediately after Shuichi took note of that, 10 others- dressed in similar attire to the phantom thief- appeared on the scene. They took the bag of jewels from the thief and began their getaway, only to be chased by law enforcement, Kyoko also on their tail. Shuichi panicked, not knowing who to go after, which left him and the thief in the same room, alone.
"Well well well," the thief said from his perch on top of the tall display case, "If it isn't Shuichi Saihara. The detective of detectives."
"I-I am not-" he began, but was cut off by the thief.
"Don't you realize that this is the perfect chance to unmask me? C'mon Shuichi, chase me~" he said before dropping to the ground and taking off running.
"H-Hey!-" Shuichi exclaimed, chasing after the thief. The teenagers raced all around the museum- and at some points it seemed like Shuichi was the one getting chased. He kept in mind that the thief still had a gun, and that he needed to be cautious. Out of breath, Shuichi was just about to give up, when the thief came up behind him.
"You aren't giving up, are you?" he cooed.
Shuichi whirled around, attempting to grab the thief, but accidentally pinning him against the wall. Upon realizing the position the two were in, Shuichi panicked, losing all composure and his face turning beet red.
"Whoa there-" the thief said, also seemingly surprised. Shuichi hated that it was hard to tell what the thief was feeling, since his face was covered by that mask. The mask... Shuichi could unmask him right here right now-
So why couldn't he bring himself to?
So Shuichi stayed there, frozen in place, face burning. The thief decided to take advantage of this.
"I'll give you a big hint~" he said, "I don't work alone."
"I-I-I figured-"
"Yeah? What a smart boy," he used his gloved hand to boop Shuichi's nose.
If Shuichi's face was burning then, it was absolutely flaming now.
"But now I have to take my leave," the thief pushed Shuichi to the side. "I'll see you around- Oh but congratulations- You stopped me from getting the big gem- boohoo- but," he paused, "I have tons of tiny ones in that bag all on its way to HQ. Now isn't that fun?"
Shuichi shook his head no as he reached up to feel his burning face.
"Wow Shuichi," the thief said.
"W-What?"
"You look hot," the thief said, winking at Shuichi, who got even hotter, "Hot both literally speaking," he said, "And figuratively."
And then he pushed the window open, leapt out, and left Shuichi there, confused and red in the face.

--Word count: 1366--