The Phantom Thief of Hearts || Saiouma Phantom Thief AU

13

3rd Person POV

Shuichi shot up in his bed early the next morning to a phone call. It scared the boy, since he wasn't used to getting calls this early. He turned on his bedside lamp and sleepily answered his cellphone.
"Hello?" he said groggily.
"Shuichi, you're needed, stat."
Kyoko's voice...? Shuichi honestly hasn't heard from the girl for a while, so this must be important. He checked the time- 4 in the morning?-
"I-I'm listening," he said, sitting up fully.
"The thief broke into the Tokyo Metropolitan Central Library just now. Everyone we know is on the scene. You need to get here immediately."
She then hung up- and Shuichi immediately jumped out of bed. What was Kokichi doing and why!? He felt his head grow light with worry and his heart pounding in his chest.
Trying his best to ignore his anxiety, he quickly brushed his teeth and threw on some work clothes. He was about to look for his hat to cover his messy hair, but realized that he and the thief swapped hats and never gave them back to each other. But Shuichi knew there was no time at all to ponder, so he rushed out with his work bag- messy hair and all- nearly tripping down the stairs. A police car waited outside his apartment complex, and he briskly entered it.
The sirens blared and lights flashed as the police car sped down the road. Shuichi covered his ears- he hated loud noises like this. What the fuck was Kokichi doing? What if Shuichi was forced to unmask him- or worse- arrest him?
They soon arrived at the metropolitan area, Shuichi frantically pushing past policemen to run up to the building. He swung open the large doors, and rushed in. He immediately paused and looked around- there were so many hallways of books, so many staircases...
He became overwhelmed by the scene- but tried his best to stay calm. He looked around- by now fully awake- deciding to trust his intuition and go up the central staircase. He ran up the steps and immediately felt out of breath- he wasn't exactly in shape.
Shuichi heard policemen begin to file into the building. This was truly a race against time. He had to find the phantom thief before they all could, and then "accidentally" let him escape. Yeah... this would be a challenge-
He rushed through the maze of bookshelves in search of Kokichi, so he was stunned when the boy slid down the railing of a different staircase and landed standing right in front of him.
"Ouma kun!- What the hell are you doing-"
"Shuichi- Please just trust me, okay?" was all he told the detective before grabbing his hand and running up the staircase that he came from, practically dragging Shuichi behind him, since he struggled to match Kokichi's natural agility.
They ascended the building, going higher and higher up different staircases and racing through hundreds of bookshelves, until they reached the final staircase to the roof. Both boys were out of breath- especially Shuichi. They paused to catch their breaths a bit.
"Saihara chan," the thief said, panting, "I didn't come here to steal books- I came here to steal you, yourself. We're running away. Today."
Shuichi quickly nodded and opened his mouth to speak but was cut off by running footsteps coming from down the hall. The boys looked at each other before running up the final set of stairs. Kokichi burst through the door to the roof, leading Shuichi through before closing and locking it from the outside.
"Wow Shuichi~" he said, "This seems familiar doesn't it?~"
Shuichi blushed and looked down nervously. It was very familiar-
They then heard pounding on the door that was even louder than the pounding of Shuichi's heart. Both boys panicked- knowing it was only a matter of time before the door was busted down. Kokichi silently led Shuichi over to the fire escape, which they began descending as fast as possible. Now Shuichi understood Kokichi's plan- to delay the cops by trapping them in the building, even just temporarily.
Once the boys reached the end of the fire escape, Kokichi hopped down before helping Shuichi down, and then began dragging Shuichi by the arm, sprinting across the parking lot. Shuichi looked back and saw policemen and his own uncle gathered on the roof- watching the two in shock and confusion- some beginning to climb down the fire escape with the intent of catching the two boys- however they were way too far ahead for that to be a realistic goal. Shuichi was shocked when they reached the end of the lot only for Kokichi to unlock a car- a car that looked somewhat scratched up with a couple dents here and there. Kokichi ran around it to jump into the driver's seat. Shuichi took the hint and quickly entered the passenger side. He began buckling his seatbelt but Kokichi slapped his hands away, insisting that there was no time. He started the car and pounded his foot against the gas pedal, launching the car out of the parking lot and speeding down the road, just barely missing cars he cut in front of.
Shuichi held on to the sides of his seat for dear life as he fumbled with the seatbelt, still trying to get it on himself. Kokichi's car was an absolute mess- You couldn't even see the floor in most places because it was covered in objects- At first glance Shuichi saw old fidget toys, some shirts, McDonald's Happy Meal boxes, and more. It also smelled strongly of cigarette smoke, and one of the cup holders had an ashtray build into it.
Shuichi heard sirens following them, his heart was racing- his head was running cold- and he knew that Kokichi was probably feeling the same way. He was lightheaded with anxiety, but part of him enjoyed the thrill.
"Ever been in a police chase, darling?" Kokichi asked Shuichi while just barely missing a car which could have been a fatal accident.
Shuichi's face reddened at the pet-name, "N-No... I'm usually the one doing the chasing, Ouma kun."
"I knowww-" he snickered, steering around another car.
Shuichi found himself nervously giggling. He did NOT feel safe with Kokichi in the driver's seat.
"Okay," Kokichi said, quickly buckling his belt while simultaneously keeping his foot on the pedal, "I never wear my seatbelt, but- buckle yours now okay? What I'm about to do is... risky- to say the least-"
Shuichi's face paled with worry, and he bit his bottom lip nervously as he buckled his belt.
Kokichi then took a sharp left, veering off the side of the road. Shuichi bit down on his lip even harder to hold back a scream- biting down so hard it began to bleed. The car landed off the edge of the freeway, and Kokichi sped it into the forest.
They successfully lost the police.
Both boys let out a sigh of relief, Kokichi holding up his hand for a high-five, which Shuichi met.
The boys kept Kokichi's car in the forest for a bit longer- making sure they lost the police for good- while they made plans for where they were running away to. They decided to call over D.I.C.E. to help make fake passports for the 11 members (12 counting Shuichi) and disguise as a family visiting the United States. They planned on all relocating to New York City, but since fitting 10 additional teenagers into a small car was impossible, the D.I.C.E. van had to be brought over. They ended up deciding to abandon Kokichi's car in the woods, since it was damaged even more after the police chase.
And soon enough, the 12 of them were on their way to New York City, where they would be starting their new lives.
Kokichi gave Shuichi a quick kiss on the cheek while they boarded the plane.

The Phantom Thief and the detective could now live together in peace.

--Word count: 1341--