Phantom Thief Hakuba

Kaitou Kid nearly garroted himself while trying to escape last night. If he hadn't pulled up on his leap from the building, if he hadn't grabbed the cord that had caught him around the neck, Kid would have been a hanging corpse before he could fly off on his hang glider. The weight of his body falling would have snapped his neck.

Not that Kaito Kuroba would have known. That part of the story never made the news. Instead he walked over to Hakuba's desk at school and he flashed his tablet to show the only part of the coverage that mattered to him. The headline.

Kaitou Kid Escapes With Kashmir Diamond!

"Looks like you fail again." Kuroba grinned. "Aren't you supposed to be bringing the truth to light? You're not having much luck, London detective."

Sagaru Hakuba allowed a confident smirk to cross his face. "I wouldn't be too sure of that. Kaitou Kid leaves a clue at every scene, even if it is only allowing us to observe a part of his methodology. He doesn't realize that he's drawing us closer with every heist."

Kuroba sniggered. "That's the refined way to say you don't know anything yet. I'd have better luck with a plastic bag."

"You're welcome to try," said Hakuba, still with a smile.

Kuroba didn't know the truth, none of their classmates did, and in the meantime Hakuba had to put up a front he wasn't failing due to incompetence, so much as Kid was just that good. It helped that Inspector Nakamori wasn't having any better luck. Of course, it was mostly due to Hakuba that Nakamori's luck continued to fail.

It wasn't easy, being both Kaitou Kid and the teen detective trying to catch him, but being a detective participating on a case allowed for certain benefits. Hakuba tried not to exploit Nakamori too much. The inspector was not the sharpest tool in the shed, but even he'd notice if things went too perfectly for Kid. Hakuba needed police efforts to be at least partially rewarded... sometimes.

"Maybe I will," said Kuroba.

"The three of us can work together," said Aoko, coming over to join them. "Dad should be all right with us stopping by before a heist. After all, nothing will have happened yet, and maybe we can find clues to how Kid is going to break in."

Inspector Nakamori might just let them, since Aoko was his daughter, and though Hakuba outwardly had no issue egging Kuroba to try and catch Kid, he didn't really want either of them around. Hakuba could plan around the police security setup in advance of the heist, and the officers would follow it to the letter, but having Kuroba and Aoko around would be inviting a couple wild cards.

Next time it might go worse than a cord around the neck. He could still feel the burn marks along his throat, hidden by the collar of his winter uniform. Visibility had been bad last night, shadows in all the wrong places, and he had been in too much of a hurry to escape.

Maybe Baaya was right. Maybe he should stop being Kid.

"Kid likely shows up well in advance of the heist," said Hakuba. "Just because nothing has happened yet, doesn't mean that he's not there, scouting his approach." He smiled at Aoko. "It's probably not as safe as you think it is."

"But if he's there..." She paused, thinking. "Maybe if we just go early enough... We can be out of the way the instant Dad feels it's dangerous. Kid isn't known to hurt people."

Hakuba sighed. "Kid might be dressed up in a suit and top hat, but his crimes aren't a show."

"Oh?" said Kuroba. "If it's not, then why's he dressed up like that?"

It was a good question, and one that Hakuba didn't have an answer for. He hadn't been the original Kaitou Kid.

When his father had died unexpectedly in the line of duty, Hakuba had discovered that the real reason behind the superintendent general's death was something far more complicated than a grudge from the criminal underworld.