Hello there, this story is based on a Tumblr post I read. If you enjoyed this, please leave a review! English is not my first language. Have a lovely day.
Sincerely Anemonenfisch
Shinichi really wants this man to get robbed. It is astonishing what the exposer of his presence did to the detectives own moral compass. Shinichi really, really wants the guy to get robbed. In a spectacular, embarrassing way that will make headlines the next morning. In his defence, his colleague does so as well. Hakuba Saguru decided to come along with him to hide away from Nakamori and his dispute with the owner of KID's new obsession. It sounds more like an ancient battle. If screaming would have been the primarily used weapon in any of them.
"This is rather an unfortunate turn of events", states Hakuba, leaning against a brick wall. Shinichi would have chosen a different language but maybe that's why the owner told him to not disrespect his elderly. And offered tea to Hakuba. Shinichi never claimed to be good with people in general. He would never dare to even think about being nice to a person so dumb and straight up begging to be mugged by a downright crazy phantom thief.
"That thing", Shinichi spits out "is an insult to common sense. I bet KID will make us pay somehow for the lack of entertainment that it will pose to him. Did you bring spare clothes with you?"
"Sounds like a realistic progression of the evening. Shall I bring some coffee before we make our way back into the war zone?" Both teen detectives (even if they are both almost 19 years old, nobody regards them as adults. It's more infuriating to Hakuba than it is to Shinichi. If you are forced to endure a second childhood, people going back to treat you like a teenager feels like heaven.) share a moment of silence, straining their ears for the distant but still clear sound of the fight which is going on in the dining room of the mansion.
"That sounds fantastic", is the answer which Shinichi delivers belated. He had been in a way better mood before coming here. It's depressing, the sheer stupidity that some people put on display. But they can't force anyone to protect their property better. It may be the diamond that KID announced to "borrow" a week before but the diamond, sadly, belongs not to the police but to a private owner. It would've never occurred to Shinichi that he could miss the energy and creativity of the self-declared top rival of Kaitou KID, Suzuki Jirokichi, but he genuinely does. At least the man tried.
Hakuba gives him a mocking parody of a two finger salute before turning around and making his way to the mansion's kitchen. Leaving Shinichi alone in his fume at certain individuals. It's not unusual for people to rub Shinichi the wrong way. As Ran likes to point out, he tends to be a bit harsh on people from time to time if they, he quotes, "can't keep up with some insane thing you just came up with". He tends to be a tad too smug about his victories to be regarded purely as joy. Arrogant, some might say. Conan changed this aspect a lot, apparently. It is true that Shinichi nowadays tends to avoid the spotlight. He's a little bit quieter, he keeps more to himself.
But this man makes Shinichi want to abandon every lesson regarding his manners and scream insulting words at him. Repeatedly. It's one thing to doubt the competence of the police. And Shinichi grudgingly admits that the KID Taskforce may not have a good reputation, regarding their competence when it comes to actually capturing the thief. But that thing that had the unfortunate fate to stand between the diamond and a cunning thief is an insult to any security measurements created since the dawn of time.
It is glass! Not a bad safe or an unprotected security system. To be fair, the security cameras look like the professor could build something better with a potato. But there is the glass. No reinforcement. No sensors. A glass box, fixed with four bolts. Shinichi wants to scream. Maybe he becomes obsessed with this fact. He should check for possible escape routes. Maybe there is an open window on this floor! For the air circulation probably!
They already encountered bad safeguard measures. But people tend to have enough common sense to listen. Not this time. It seems almost like someone pissed of a god or if someone wants to fill their bingo card themed "Idiotic things one human being can do".
Even after putting quite some distance between himself and Inspector Nakamori, he could still lipsynch the whole argument with around a 95 percent of accuracy. It goes like this: It is safe enough, It is not, I can take care of this whole affair myself, KID is my arch nemesis, It is safe, It is not and so on and so on.
Shinichi lets the air escape through his nose with an angry puff. He massages his tempers with his fingertips. He wants Hakuba to hurry up. He wants KID to break his rules and to start this heist as early as possible.
And he wants to once and for all prove this guy wrong. KID will love to do this. In around two hours. Which feels like an eternity. Somebody will get killed before KID makes an appearance. And Shinichi will most likely be the culprit.
So Shinichi makes a decision. Not the brightest in his life, but a decision. When Hakuba and he tried to find a quiet place to discuss strategies he's pretty sure that they passed a storage room. And in a storage room, there could be tools.
Ignoring the shouting match at his best, the young detective turns around a corner. There it is! A plain door, not actively standing out from the rest of the house. It is just a fraction too plain to belong to anything else than a room which holds cleaning devices.
"Kudo-kun", pipes a voice up as he opens the door. "What are you doing? Do you have a lead? Do you think that KID is hiding here?" The voice belongs to a young police officer. Her name is Akasi Yusima. Shinichi remembers her from his time as Conan, for her he's a new addition to the team. It still amazes numerous people how quickly Kudo memorized all their names. The magic decreases if they would know that he spend quite some time with them.
"No, no Akasi-san", he replies, not turning around. You may consider this as rude but he is not in the mood for polite conversations.
"Then what are you doing?" He has a distinct feeling, that the young woman wants a distraction. That she wants the great detective to have a lead so that they can all go home. And he is going to sorely disappoint them.
"I'm making a point", he mutters. So, there's a hammer. There's an empty jam glass. There's a swap. And there's toolbox. Bingo. Seems like his rotten luck is finally worth something.
"About what?" Akasi asks curiously. Maybe she's KID Shinichi thinks casually. Not that he cares much at the moment. They have still time. Only because Kudo Shinichi rummages through a toolkit the annoying thief won't change his evening plans. Maybe Shinichi has some messed up priorities at the moment. He should definitely focus more on catching the known criminal in this house rather than nursing a hurt ego.
But, in his defence, this is nothing personal. The guy did not insult Shinichi per se. That is something, the detective learned to live with over time. No, the man decided to insult physics, the law of common sense. That's something Shinichi can't stand.
"Got you", he smiles a sharp smile, normally reserved for his eureka moments and occasionally for KID.
He rocks back on his heels, holding his breath so that he can listen more closely to the sounds around him.
"That's insane", is shouted somewhere in the house. Yup, still ongoing. He clicks his tongue in annoyance. If he had any interest in stealing this stupid rock, he would have now all the time in the world to prepare whatever he wants. Or maybe KID left already, feeling bored out of his mind and spending his time more productive. Like drinking some coffee. Shinichi really wants some coffee. Maybe, if Hakuba doesn't turn up in the next ten minutes, he will leave and get something to drink himself. Because he will most certainly get kicked out. Not the way he wanted this evening to turn. But this is about basic laws of the universe getting bend by some stupid moron. Somebody needs to step up.
"What are you planning Kudo-kun?" Akasi looks worried by now.
"Nothing", he retorts.
"A moment ago, you said that you were going to make a point. Settle on one answer, would you? Because you got this look on your face, you know?"
"What look?", Shinichi asks, unconsciously dragging one hand over it.
The woman makes a sweeping movement with her hand. "That one."
"Hey Kudo", Hakuba calls across the hallway. Shinichi peeks out of the room. His college holds two paper cups in his hands.
"Thanks", he says, not taking the cup. He steps out of the room and turning in the direction of the fight. His detective senses tell him that behind him, Hakuba and Akasi exchange confused glances.
Even without the layout memorized, Shinichi would have found the display of the diamond with ease. Just follow the voices and walk in the opposite direction of all other people.
The owner and the inspector are standing opposite to each other. Shinichi is sure that he can see lightning cracking in the gap between them. The detective is not sure if they moved since he left them or if they made any progress regarding the obvious flaws in the security. He isn't even sure if they moved past the point where police officers will be allowed in the same room as the diamond. Because apparently there will be a dinner party tonight and the police would disturb the scenery. Who hosts a dinner party on the day he will be robbed? Shinichi can feel a pinch in his tempers. Don't try to understand him, he reminds himself. He is beyond saving.
Neither of both men spares him a glance. The diamond is not exactly displayed in the dining hall. It is in an extra room, just out of sight. This room is a wet dream for all thieves, KID included. There are a few paintings that look expensive and as if they are no forgeries. There is a necklace put on display. KID may take this piece another time. There are rings. And there is the diamond. It is small, only the size of an apple seed. The colour is a dark green.
"What are you doing?", Hakuba asks, looking warily between Shinichi and the diamond. Then he looks over his shoulder.
"Keep an eye on them for me", Shinichi orders, swirling the screwdriver once in his hand. Then he kneels down.
"Kudo", his blond colleague hisses.
"Making a point", waving a hand in dismiss, the blue-eyed detective leans forward. "There we go!"
"Are you doing what I think you're doing? Because that is illegal. We're going to get kicked out!" Hakuba doesn't sound as worried as he should do.
The first bold comes loose without a sound. Shinichi wants to laugh and cry at the same time. Glass! He could smash it in. But he wants to make a point, not get arrested for damage to property.
The second bold comes loose than the third. Shinichi presses his hands against the glass panel to keep it from falling down. Then the last one. It's so easy.
"You should switch sides", Hakuba insists.
Shinichi ignores him, setting the screwdriver aside and slowly taking the glass panel out of its place. There's a certain thrill to this. Somehow he can actually understand a certain extent of why KID steals.
"I prefer to solve cases, don't worry Hakuba-kun", he assures him. For a second he just stares at the diamond. There's nothing standing between him and the stone. He just has to grab it.
"How long did this took me?", he asks, before grabbing the diamond and putting it on the top of the glass box. Then he starts to put the bolds back into their respective places.
"Around three minutes and forty seconds. So what do we do now? Put it into our pocket and walk out of here?"
"Would be safer", Shinichi mutters. He can feel Hakuba rolling his eyes behind his back. The bones in his legs pop back into their right places when he gets back up. Hakuba is still holding the paper cups in his hands. The coffee is still warm when Shinichi finally accepts one of them. This is not a good sign. At least the coffee should be cold after stealing this diamond. One should emphasise the worth of the security system when considering the time of a heist. It's pathetic.
"Excuse me", Shinichi starts while stepping into the sight of the arguing men. They don't stop. "Excuse me", he tries again. No change.
Nakamori will either hate him for this until the end of the world or will get him a coffee after this.
"Hey! I stole this diamond in under four minutes. Your security system needs serious improvements. I will now leave, this is getting quite ridiculous." Putting down the stone on the wooden table has a deeply satisfactory effect on the poor, battered soul that Shinichi owns. The look on the owners face almost makes up for the almost two hours he wasted here. Nakamori throws him a look that is either impressed or immensely worried.
"What ... how ... what did you do?!" At the moment when the owner started to voice his opinion, Shinichi was already halfway down the hallway.
"You think KID is still going to steal the stone?", Hakuba asks him when he catches up to Shinichi.
"You could stay and find out", is Shinichi's reply. "Not even the prospect of arresting that stupid thief will make me stay any second longer in this house."
The half-brit chuckles. If Ran could see him now, actually making something remotely close to a friend!
"I presume, now that we have acquired a free evening, we will be able to drink something more palatable." Shinichi snorts at the phrasing but otherwise agrees wholehearted.
When stepping out of the mansion, he turns around one last time. Akasi-san is standing on the top of the stairs, looking down at him with crossed arms. Maybe it's a trick of the light, but for a moment her eyes seem to twinkle with a familiar mischief. But as Shinichi blinks once, it is gone. The woman turns around silently and disappears in one of the hallways.
(KID doesn't steal the diamond. The owner is furious. Nakamori buys Shinichi a coffee the next day, trying hard to give him a lecture and looking deeply betrayed throughout the whole speech. He threatens him to bench him for the next two heists if he pulls such a stunt again.
But he has to suppress a laugh when Shinichi retorts dryly, "That won't be necessary if the next heist will involve competent people."
He tells nobody that there had been a notice in his mailbox in the morning. First, he needs to sort out how he feels about KID complementing his "stealing skills".)