Aoko sometimes went to help her dad out at the heists.
She'd bring him lunch, or dinner, depending what time of day it was.
Sometimes Kaito'd tag along, too, but then he'd disappear randomly and she'd be all alone.
Today was a day like that.
Kaito had left, again, and she hadn't tried to stop him.
It was futile, trying to get him to stay.
But he left her all alone, to just wander around in those empty halls.

She reflected that there really could've been worse places to be left at.
These hallways were nice and rich, and elaborately decorated.
Purple curtains hugged each tall window, and golden statues stood in increments off to her sides.
The carpet looked like it was vacuumed - or maybe even handcleaned - each day.
Aoko looked up and saw the chandelier hanging from the painted ceiling.
She sighed.
What she wouldn't give to have a house like this.
But still... who had this type of money?
Who could afford this?
All her life it had always been coupons for this, sales for that, hand-me-downs for everything.
Once she asked her dad for a new computer and he said that they couldn't afford it.
She knew it was hard on him, trying to support a family on just a single parent's income.
She had thought about getting a job, to try and help out with the expenses.
"Aoko, I'm not letting you do that," her dad scolded her.
"Just stay in school and let me take care of everything, okay?"
She thought about it now, and sighed to herself again.
The people living here never had to worry about that type of thing, did they?

Everyone was babbling on and on about how KID was supposed to be coming soon.
They were literally counting down the seconds until he came.
She supposed that it was actually quite ridiculous.
Everybody was watching for KID, watching for any of his traps...
That it seemed that nobody would even notice...
If another thief came by and simply -plucked- one of those gold statues off its stand...

When everything was over, she found Kaito's face in the mob.
Her dad was with him, so she made her way over to them.
"Did you catch him, Tou-san?" she asked, as she always did.
He shook his head. "Not this time."
That meant another big mansion to go to, more gold statues, and more purple curtains.
"You'll get him, I believe in you!" Kaito was the one who brought her dad's spirit back.
"Of course I will!" Her dad grinned. "As long as I'm around, no thief can go free!"
She tried to ignore the heavy weight in her purse.