Liar, Liar, the Mage's Desire Vol. 2 (The Oumeno Strikes Back)

Partners In Crime (Phantom Thief AU)(9)

      Himiko and the Phantom Thief once again made their way to Junko's mansion. They hid behind the same bush as they had done the previous night. 

   "Nyeh...are you going to use another super electrobomb?" Himiko whispered. The Phantom Thief didn't respond. Instead, he brought a finger up to his lips, signaling for Himiko to remain silent, and pointed past the gate and towards a tree in the mansion's front yard. Just barely, Himiko could make out the figure of Shuichi, who was hiding behind the tree, but not enough to the point where he remained completely hidden. Impressed, Himiko nodded at the Phantom Thief. 

   "Hmhmhmm...didn't catch that before, eh?" he whispered with a sly chuckle.

   "No," Himiko admitted. "But, since he's there, how do we get inside the mansion?" Before responding, the Phantom Thief was silent, as if he were deeply pondering something. Suddenly, he snapped back to life.

   "Put your disguise on, love," he finally said to Himiko. Himiko was confused as to why he had ignored her question, but she did as she was told, anyways. The Phantom Thief then pulled out a pair of gloves from his utility belt, and handed them to her. "And put these on, as well."

   "Um...now what?" she asked once her disguise was on. The Phantom Thief pulled out his walkie-talkies from before, and handed one to her. 

  "Take this, and no matter what, stay hidden in this bush," the Phantom Thief said. "I'll be right back, and I'll contact you if I need you for anything, okay?"

   "Nyeh...where are you going?" Himiko asked nervously. 

  "I've thought of a way to lure that nosy detective away from there," the Phantom Thief replied, pulling out a phone. "When that detective fellow...er, what's his name, again?"

  "Shuichi," Himiko whispered.

   "Right! When that Shuichi fellow leaves the premises, let me know," the Phantom Thief finished. 

   "B-But...whose phone is that?" Himiko asked, pointing to the phone in the Phantom Thief's hand. 

  "Hmhmm...Kokichi was rather sneaky enough to snatch one of your classmates' phones for me," the Phantom Thief chuckled. "I'm going to use it to lure Shuichi away using a distress text made to look like the original owner of this phone sent it out to him."

   "Oh, my!" Himiko replied, clearly intrigued. "Nyeh...do you think it'll work?" 

   "I should hope so," the Phantom Thief replied. "Nosy as that boy detective is, he sure is bloody brilliant." He then firmly gripped Himiko's shoulders. "Remember, love, don't move from this very spot until I give you further instructions. Keep your eye on Shuichi, and if he leaves, let me know on the walkie-talkie. Think you can do that for me?"

   "But...where are you going?" Himiko asked.