Ahhhhh, gomen nasai for not updating!!! I was having writer's block
Anyway, it's off now, and here's the next part. Sorry if it's too short...
PART 5Kid turned around slowly.
It was Aoko.
She walked up to Kid, trembling slightly. The first sentence that came out of her mouth was, "Who are you really?"
Kid kept silent.
"You can tell me," Aoko said, her eyes looking at him pleadingly. "I know you aren’t Kaito. He’s still in the hospital. Come on."
Kid started. He most probably didn’t expect to know that Aoko knew who Kid really was. He hung his head, and reached up, pulling the mask off. Aoko gasped.
"Chii?"
Chii nodded nervously. "Yes, it’s me, Aoko-chan," he croaked. "I’m sorry."
"You---you knew Kaito was Kid, right?" she demanded.
Chii nodded again. "Yes. I’ve been helping little master on heists too. B-but how did you know he was Kaitou Kid?"
Aoko shook her head. "Don’t ask. I just want to know why you’re doing this."
"I-I just want to help him. In case anyone suspects little master as Kid, I took his job for the mean time. Other than that, I’m looking for the ring he had stolen last night too…it wasn’t on him."
Chii watched anxiously as Aoko took a couple of steps backward, trying to take everything in. He started a little when she looked up at him again.
"So…you should know, right?" He blinked in confusion. Aoko stomped up to him. "You know what I mean," she said firmly. "You should know why Kaito decided to be Kid. Tell me, please."
Chii looked away, sympathy on his face. "I-I can’t."
Aoko stamped her foot in frustration. "Why?!" she demanded.
"It is not little master’s wish for you to know this information, and I respect him. I’m sorry, Aoko."
Just then, they heard shouts to search their direction. Chii started to panic. He tried to get past Aoko, but she stood in her roots. "I’m sorry too, Chii, because I can’t let you go. You either tell me, or surrender to the police. Your choice."
"Please, Aoko---" Chii was freaking out as the voices and footsteps were heading towards them. Finally, he didn’t have any other choice. He pulled his cloak around Aoko before she could object, and they disappeared together.
When the police arrived, they saw no one. Kid was gone.
---
"Why do I have to come with you to the hospital?" Ai asked in boredom as she was pulled by Ayumi across the lobby.
It was the next afternoon, and Ayumi had pleaded Ai to go to the hospital with her after school. They were both still carrying their bags. The boys had gone to play soccer too, lucky for the girls. It had to be important if Ayumi didn’t want the boys to know where they were going.
When they reached the right floor, Ayumi was the first one out of the elevator. She rushed to the ward and stood on the chair to peer in through the window. She sighed.
Ai walked up to her. She didn’t need to look inside to know what was going on. "He doesn’t heal that quickly. It takes time," she said, sitting down on the chair next to Ayumi. "You want to ask him about the ring, didn’t you?"
Ayumi nodded sadly, jumping off and sitting down. Ai shook her head. "Why do kids always believe the impossible?"
"Ai-chan, you’re a kid too, aren’t you?" Ayumi asked in confusion.
"Never mind."
Just then, the elevator doors opened at the end of the hallway. An old man trudged out of it, looking glum. He walked past the girls, not noticing they were there. He put his hands on the glass, peeking into the dark ward at Kaito.
"I’m sorry, little master," he whispered. "Maybe I shouldn’t have attempted it. I should have minded my own business. But I couldn’t help it…please forgive me, little master…"
Upon hearing these, Ai knew instantly what he meant. She hopped off the chair and tugged the man’s shirt. He looked down in surprise.
"Oji-san, you know that the boy is Kaitou Kid, don’t you?" she said.
The man was shocked. He quickly pushed Ai to on side, Ayumi quickly following behind. "H-how did you know this, little miss?" he asked in panic.
"We’ll tell you after you answer my question," Ai said calmly, walking to Ayumi. The man was dumbfounded, looking from Ayumi to Ai. "Who are you, and how do you know the boy is Kid?" Ai asked.
The man hung his head in defeat. "All right. My name is Chii. I’m Kaitou Kid’s personal assistant."
"I thought so," Ai said. "You were the one who stole the jewel last night, wasn’t it?"
Chii nodded. "Now, will you tell me how you know that, little miss? And does anyone besides you know?"
"First of all, no, only the two of us know," Ai replied. "And we knew because of the ring."
"Ring?"
Ayumi fished out the ring from her pocket and showed it to Chii. "Niichan gave it to me at the accident," she said. "It’s the ring Kid stole that night."
Chii stared at it. "It---it is…" He looked up at the girls anxiously. "W-what do you want?"
"We don’t want anything, just the truth," Ai answered.
He sighed. "All right, it’s true. Little master---Kaito---the boy is Kaitou Kid. But he did not do it for pleasure, trust me. He---he has his own reason."
"I don’t think I’ve questioned this part, but fine," Ai said, walking past Chii and sitting back down on the chair. "That’s all we want to know anyway." She looked at Ayumi. "Well, you heard him. So let’s just forget about it, okay? Let’s go."
Ai had turned and started to leave, but Ayumi hesitated, staring at Chii with a sort of look in her eyes. "Ayumi," Ai called, realizing that she wasn’t following.
Ayumi quickly turned. "I’m coming. Err---bye," she said softly to Chii, and then rushed after Ai.
Chii shook his head sadly, placing his hands on the glass. "I’m so sorry, little master…I’m sorry…"
---
"Shuffle it…put this here…flip it…ahh, no---"
"Aoko?"
Aoko jumped so much that the poker cards fell and scattered over the floor. She turned around, her heart pounding. "O-Otou-san! You’re home!" she gasped.
It was evening, and Nakamori-keibu had come home unexpectedly. He nodded as he took off his coat, staring at the poker cards. "What are you doing with those?"
"What? Oh, you mean those!" Aoko laughed nervously. "I was just---er---polishing them!"
He bent down and picked up a card, his eyes narrowed in suspicion. "You don’t polish cards, Aoko. These look like the trick cards that Kaito gave you last Christmas and you threw aside. What’s up? Are you trying to learn magic?"
Aoko tried hard not to blush. "No! Who wants to learn that stupid stuff?" she retorted. "Magic is for dummies." She folded her arms.
"Then, what were you doing with them? Besides polishing and learning magic," Nakamori asked firmly.
Aoko bit her lip, trying to find an excuse in her mind. "I---was---I miss Kaito," she blurted.
Aoko looked desperate. Nakamori-keibu’s expression softened as he reached out and hugged her. "It’s okay. I miss him too. But what surprises me is that you use magic to comfort yourself. Aoko, there are lots of other ways to comfort yourself. I’m not saying it’s wrong, it’s just that---you, trying to do magic---don’t you think you’re overreacting a little? Please, Aoko, if you have any trouble, just tell me. I’ll always be here to help you, okay?"
He had a kind of smile that Aoko had not seen for a long time, and she couldn’t help turning slightly red, inwardly delighted that she had the chance to see it again. Nakamori-keibu had always been so busy and pressured because of Kid heists, and clearly Aoko missed the smile. She smiled back.
"Thanks, Otou-san. I really appreciate it. I won’t try to do magic again, I promise." She hugged him.
Nakamori-keibu sighed in relief. "That’s good to hear. Now, do you want me to cook something, or we go out for dinner?"