Disclaimer: I don't own DC nor MK.

Author's Notes: I try to be canon as much as possible. This is the spin-off sequel to Feature Story (another fic of mine, do check it out if you have the time). Good thing about this is that even if you didn't read Feature Story, you can still catch on and understand this one. Some references are made from that story, but not much.

O O O

The Princess and the Moon

Chapter I: Fairytale

"Once upon a time, there lived a princess who fell in love with the moon."

All stories start with "once upon a time". The anonymous narrator wouldn't tell you exactly when it happened. Like dreams with no start or ending. Like fragments of memories after an amnesia. Like something you want to forget. Or worse, like something you keep on remembering that it deteriorates after every use. Like from your memory recording player. Its vinyl, scratched and broken. Distorted.

"Every night, she would gaze at the luminous orb in the sky from her balcony in the castle, and pray hard that it would come upon her. Every night, she longs. Every night, she lives. Every night, she loves."

And, love. Of course there is love in every story. Why shouldn't there be?

I keep on reading the story aloud, as I stand, poised. The classroom was silent save for yawns with a lazy autumn afternoon at fault. Book in one hand and the other parting the bangs away from my eyes.

I look around and see every boy's pair of eyes on me – even our pervert of a professor Katoko Noboru-sensei – well, everyone except his, of course… I continue reading the stupid fairytale from page forty-five of our English book. After the fourth paragraph, Katoko-sense raised his right hand in his gesture for me to stop.

"Excellent as always, Akako-chan," he said as he shifted on the teacher's chair. "You may now take your seat."

I did as bid. It irked me that he was calling me "Akako-chan" but I let it slide. I'll save my anger when my snakes need some feeding. That perv of a teacher assigned this girl seated in front to read the next few paragraphs. His eyes were glued on her chest.

Such child's play this studying thing, really… If it wasn't for him, I wouldn't put up with this. I don't need this, anyway. Everything I need to learn, I already know. And it's not like I want to get into university.

"Koizumi-san, you have such a nice English diction," this guy seated beside me said. I forget his name… Sano? Sato? Whatever.

"It must be so nice to be rich and traveling all around the world," he continued to rant. "That must be why your accent is perfect… If I didn't know you, I would think you grew up in America!"

"Thanks." I flashed him a smile. The fool's eyes lit up like Christmas lights on crack.

"Okay next to read is Nakamouri-kun," that perv of a sensei said.

As the girl in front (Keiko? Kiki?) took her seat, Aoko stood up and – hey, what do you know, he's suddenly paying attention to class.

"The fairy took pity on the maiden and visited her in her room one night," Aoko read.

Is it just me or is she wearing push up bra today? His eyes were surprisingly not focused there… He's… Oh fuck, he's looking at the way her lips move.

I try to fight that uncomfortable feeling in my chest that makes me want to snap someone's spine.

"The fairy gave the maiden three choices – one, to be a star that always accompany the moon, two, to be the sun who gives the moon light, or three, to be the clouds that will shield the moon from the earth," Aoko continued reading.

Hm. To be fair, not a bad accent. I keep looking at him and he remained entranced with her lips. It made me boil inside. It made me want to –

Crash!

Shouts.

Panic.

A baseball from the field has crashed into a window and almost hit Aoko. Shards of glass hit everyone seated near the windows… except for me, of course.

Everyone in the class turned to where Aoko was seated. She wasn't there anymore and neither was Kaito.

Katoko-sensei, along with his bushy beard and dark-framed glasses, panicked at once. He stood up from the chair and started scratching his head.

"Where are – how did they – are they – ?"

"They're at the back of the room," I told the professor.

As usual, I need not look to know. It's this fucking annoying super intuition that makes me see things 360. I can see Kaito carrying Aoko on his back. I can see little beads of sweat drop onto his uniform collar. I can hear him panting from exhaustion.

"Did you just carry her all the way there?" Katoko-sensei asked.

Kaito nodded.

"Kaito put me down!" I heard Aoko say.

I couldn't bear to look at them in such an intimate position. I closed my eyes and hoped the image from the back of my head would go away.

Katoko-sensei asked the two boys seated nearest the back of the room's door to check the field to see which class caused the ruckus. The rest of the class was in pandemonium.

"Kuroba-kun you were so fast! You're like a ninja!" said this pigtailed girl from in front of the class.

"You're like a newly-wed!" said her seatmate with long (and obviously fake) lashes. I tried to remember her face very well so I can voodoo her later. Probably some curse so all her lashes disappear. Maybe an eyebrow, too.

Some idiots laughed while the others teased some more. Others were talking about that the ball would have been a home run and that since we were in the second floor, whoever hit it must have a good arm. Katoko Noburu had a hard time making everyone "settle down, settle down, show's over."

"Kuroba-kun, Nakaouri-kun, would you kindly go back to your places? Why does the two of you always make a scene out of everything?"

Aoko looked flustered. "Sensei, it wasn't really our fault that the ball came crashing to the room."

The perv raised his bushy unibrow. "With all the trouble you and your magician boyfriend cause, I would even think that you attract trouble by just being yourselves. Now can you please return your seats? I hardly think another ball would fly into the room again. Oh and remind me to write an incident report to – "

Out of nowhere, there was another loud, crashing noise. I didn't expect it this time. A soccer ball had forced its entry to our classroom. It broke the window glass near the board and knocked the petite, empty flower vase on top of the teacher's table. If Katoko-sensei had not stood up earlier, his face would have been bull's eye.

I looked around and saw that familiar mad glint in Kuroba Kaito's eyes. So, this time it was his doing…

Just in time, the two boys, whom Katoko-sensei asked to check the field, returned.

"Sensei, there was no one," one of them asked. He was out of breath.

"No one's using the field. It's empty," said the other one.

I turned my head to look at Kaito again. This time, he was also looking at me.

O O O

After class was just as chaotic. The earlier episode of the mysterious balls was outshined by Hakuba Saguru who arrived for last period. He just came from the police head quarters to meet with Aoko's otou-san about their pre-heist preparation.

While waiting for our Math teacher, everybody crowded around him to – I dunno, exactly. I don't find amusing his stories of some boring police conference. These people are too simple-minded and are probably bored with their own lives.

Hakuba-kun seems to be enjoying the attention, though.

"He did send the notice. I saw it with my own eyes." He was adjusting his uniform's cuffs for whatever reason.

I shot Kaito a look and he avoided my eyes this time. He pretended to be fascinated with the darkening outline of the clouds in the sky.

Hakuba kept on ranting. "I bet you all saw it in the television last night. He really is planning to steal the Purple Majestygem that will be displayed in Touto's Museum for Modern Arts."

There were nods and affirmations from the thickening crowd. Actually, everyone except Aoko and Kaito were not in that circle. Our classmates are so easy to read. Half of them are KID fans and the other half are fans of Hakuba Saguru. Or maybe they're all a bit of both.

"Is it going to be another showdown between you and KID?" said that girl Kaki (Kika? Keki?) with the pigtails.

"It appears so," Hakuba-kun said.

I walked over to the huddle. "I just don't get why the amethyst would be displayed in a modern arts museum. Jewels are anything but modern."

Hakuba looked up at me with those clear, blue eyes. "I'm afraid, my lady, that your concern has something to do with business rather than political correctness. The jewel is being displayed at that museum for publicity, they say. Touto's Museum for Modern Arts opened its doors just recently and the owner also invested a huge amount of money to bring the gem here in Japan."

Then, though uninvited, he ranted on about the history of the gem – how it was originally owned by a cruel, European prince who ate the hearts of his slaves. The prince believed eating the hearts raw would grant him immortality, the detective said. Both girls and guys looked sick to their stomachs. I reveled in their expressions. I loved every flinch of their faces.

Just as he was starting to elaborate on the rumor about the gem's powers to bring wealth to its owner, the substitute math teacher, a fresh graduate from Beika University, walked in. She was carrying her copy of our text book and also, a magazine.

"Delivery for Hakuba-kun!" the young teacher said. It's too obvious that she was in love with the detective. Ours is the only class she goes to with layers upon layers of make-up. Imported make-up nonetheless, if my intuition serves me right. Imported perfume, too. Probably a British brand.

"That must be my copy of Nichiuri's new magazine," Hakuba said as he stood up and took the copy from the substitute. "I'm one of the cover boys of the magazine, as you can see. They have a feature story on young detectives and of course, they didn't forget Hakuba Saguru."

He held up the magazine for all to see. He and a dark-skinned teenager graced the cover. They were seated on a Victorian-looking couch. The girls gasped while guys muttered their congratulations.

"I'm sorry to have bothered you, Minako-sensei," Hakuba said. He turned and smiled at that slobbering thing holding the books. "I was just too excited that I had it delivered here. Thanks for letting me use your name as the addressee since the school can only accept deliveries for employees."

That thing I'm ashamed to call teacher had blushed. She said something that sounds like "any time don't worry about it don't hesitate to ask for any other favors"… but it also could have been "please consider me I want to give you babies and lots of them". I dunno, I wasn't really paying attention.

"Nakamouri-san was also interviewed for the article as someone who would shed a brighter light on my character," Hakuba said. "Of course, the story is about the romantic relationships of us young detectives and we all know that Nakamouri-san is my interest."

The girls threw dagger stares at Aoko's direction. Minako-sensei looked like she wanted to strangle her to death.

Aoko waved her arms to gesture the confession to be false. "As a friend! Kaito was there too during the interview! He was our chaperone! Tell them Kaito!"

Kaito just turned away. "What're you asking my help for?"

Minako-sensei tapped the chalk hard on the blackboard. It was so hard that the chalk piece broke in half.

"Okay that's enough about Sagu-cha – Hakuba-kun's love story," she said. "Can you children please go back to your seats now?

Those simple-minded fools went back to their places. Sensei had started teaching but no one really bothered to listen. Almost an hour has passed and then it was time to go home. Most of our classmates stayed and crowded around Hakuba as he read the article out loud.

I glanced around and saw that Aoko was nowhere in sight. Kaito, on the other hand, was in the other corner of the room and was talking to someone in his mobile phone. I waited for him to finish his phone call before I approached him.

"I don't assume that you were talking to girlfriend because I saw her leave and you're not the type who calls her when you've just spent the whole day together," I told him.

He pocketed his phone. "It's a new friend."

"You know, it's an old saying that when you gain a friend, you also gain his enemies." I gave him one of my sweetest smile.

"I'm well aware of that," he said. "Now, what do you really want to talk about?"

"I was just curious where Nakamouri-san is…"

He gave a frown. "She rushed to Beika to hang out with some new friends. Oh, and just to be clear, we're not together. Now, that's still not what you want to talk about…"

My lips started to quiver and I swear I didn't do it on purpose. I bit on my lower lip hard before I talked.

"Don't go after the amethyst," I finally said.

Please, listen to me this time… I don't want anyone to catch you, except for me. Until I can have your heart, you must remain safe. Please, Kaito…

He raised a brow and in annoyed tone, he asked me, "How many times do I have to tell you that I'm not KID?"

"And how many times do I have to tell you I'm a witch and that I know everything about you, Kuroba Kaito!" I said in defiance. "Even about the incident on Valentines Day and how I cast that spell on you. And even of that almost-failed a heist at the Ochima Art Museum."

Kaito had that poker face on. "I don't know what you're talking about, princess."

"Whatever, Kaitou," I said.

"It's Kaito!" he replied as his face started to show signs of being pissed off.

"Kaitou," I repeated. Whatever. I know who you really are.

"Anyway, if I'm KID, I don't think I'll be backing down any challenge." He walked back to his seat as I followed him. "KID has never failed, after all."

This hard-headed son of a –

"There are other people after the gem," I said.

"I know," he replied as he cramming in books and notebooks into his bag. "You're several heists too late for that warning."

"It's a different group," I told him. "Lucifer told me that the white devil should be careful not to taint his wings black. Lucifer warned me that the crows are coming."

"Here you are again with those riddles of yours…" He yawned and finally closed the zipper on his bag. "Don't think about KID too much, ne? Who knows what kind of ball would fly into the room next time…"

I blushed. Blushing was disgusting and a show of weakness but I couldn't help it this time. He knew that I aimed the ball at Aoko. Chances are, he also knew I was jealous.

"I warned you, thief." I watched him as he walked to the door.

I slumped on my chair and waited for the others to leave. I wanted to get a personal item from that girl in front who said Kaito and Aoko looked like newlyweds. It's for the voodoo doll, see. I was so focused on remembering the process of making the doll that I didn't notice Hakuba Saguru behind me.

"An enchanting lady shouldn't depress herself over a boy who wouldn't return her affections."

I turned around and there he was, seated on the table behind me. The magazine was rolled up and tucked into a pocket.

I raised an eyebrow at him. "If you're talking about Kuroba, you're wrong."

"Wrong about you having feelings for Kuroba-kun? Or wrong about him not returning them?"

"Wrong on both accounts," I said.

He only smiled and we stayed silent for a while. The classroom was near empty now.

"The heist will be this Friday," he finally said. He got off the chair. "I know you'll be there. You worry about him as much as I do."

"You're chasing after him and you call that worrying?"

"You're worrying about him and you call it apathy." He patted my head in what he probably thought is a gesture of good will. "They're just labels but it doesn't change what we really feel."

"You're wrong," I insisted. "I don't feel anything for him. If you ask me, I think it is he who is enamored by my charms but of course, he can't have me!"

Hakuba shook his head. "Ah, well, as they say, there is nothing more desirable to a man than a woman he can't have."

I was left speechless as he said his goodbye, leaving me alone in the room with my thoughts.

O O O

After collecting the samples of my classmate's hair, I was on my way home when I spotted that annoying phantom thief by the river bank.

He was talking to a fat lady with short, brown curls. She was wearing this long, red dress with a black, knitted shawl over her shoulders. She kind of reminded me of an old aunt who lives with cats. I approached them.

"Kuroba-kun, who is this?" I asked. He turned around and smiled at me.

"This is Kisa-san," the thief said. The cat lady bowed. I returned the gesture. I noticed she was holding on to a copy of the magazine.

"She said she's a fan of my otou-san and even trained under him for a while. I saw her waiting for me by the school gate, hoping to get a chance to talk to me," Kaito said.

"Is this your girlfriend, Kaito-kun?" she asked in a voice well-fitting for a cat lady. It sounded like a cat's purr. There was something about that voice that doesn't seem right.

"Iie, iie! She's a friend, that's all!" Kaito was waving his arms around like mad.

"A pity. She's very beautiful," the lady said.

"I'm Koizumi Akako, it's nice to meet you," I said with a bow. Japanese niceities.

"If he's a friend of your otou-san, how did she track you down?" I asked.

"She said she saw my picture in the magazine." Kaito turned to me and explained. "The one with Hakuba in it? You see, two weeks ago, he was interviewed to be featured in the magazine and Aoko was interviewed, as well. I was chaperoning her and the reporter insisted that I should join the photograph."

"I found the photograph in the inside pages," the cat lady said. "I was surprised when I saw the caption underneath the photo that says 'classmate Kuroba Kaito'! Basing from the surname, I thought that he must be Toichi's son… even their likeness is extraordinary!"

"Well, they are father and son," I said matter-of-factly.

The cat lady's lips twisted into a sly smile. I sensed that she had caught the sarcasm in my comment and wasn't pleased by it.

"You'd be surprised about resemblances, young lady. It happens that I am also interested in young detectives and if I hadn't read the caption, I would think that I was seeing Kudou Shinichi," she said. Her voice sounded cold this time. Icy. Piercing.

Also, that name… Kudou Shinchi. The black angel. The threat from the East. I recalled his name from during the clock tower heist.

"Of course, I was more pleased to know that the young boy must be Toichi's son! That's why I came to see for myself. It's a good thing the article mentioned where you and that young detective were studying."

The lady opened the magazine to the centerfold and pointed to a large photograph of Hakuba, Kaito and Aoko, together with four other teenagers and a little kid.

Kaito scratched his head and faked a laugh. "I have a common face, that's all. I heard there's a kendo champion in Osaka who looks just like me and that Kudou guy."

"You must be a really big Toichi fan to have followed Kaito," I said. My distrust for this chatty, cat lady is growing by the second.

"I just wanted to see if his son is doing well, that's all." Again, that irritating smile. I feel that she's hiding something.

"I lost touch with our old group of friends many years ago and began traveling around the world. It is only until recently that I've gone back to Japan," she continued.

"Kisa-san said she used to be a stage actress but now she's a manager of a traveling theater troupe," Kaito said. The boy looked so relaxed! He probably isn't sensing what I was sensing.

"Oh," was all I could manage to say. Theater acting involves putting on masks or characters. Maybe this lady is...

"Maa, I better get going," she suddenly said. "It's getting darker and I don't want to delay you kids from your date."

"It's nothing like that!" Kaito repeated in a frantic tone.

"I'll see you soon, Kaito-kun," cat lady said with a bow. "It was a pleasure meeting you. And you too, Koizumi-kun."

We both bent our heads to return the gesture and said our goodbye-it's-nice-to-meet-you-toos.

"She was really nice," Kaito said when the cat lady was out of earshot. "She told me stories of my old man when he was teaching them. She said he trained actresses on make-up and disguise and people from all over the world would fly in to meet him."

He sounded melancholic. He was smiling but his voice betrayed him.

"He's really great, my chichi, you know," he continued. "He only lives in their stories now. That's why I'm really glad when I meet an old friend of his, especially when they tell me stories that I haven't heard before. It's like he's alive again."

I knew he was struggling with this. I felt pathetic that I doubted the woman the entire time. She only meant well. Probably.

"But it also confuses me… When I hear their stories, it's like I'm discovering a new side to him and I also feel like maybe I really never knew him at all." He was staring at the last rays of setting sun. Slowly, he lowered his head. "Well, he's a magician after all, and a magician has many secrets."

I wanted to hug him. I know I should have said something really comforting, or patted his back, at least. Or maybe I should have hugged him, after all… but I just stood there like an idiot.

"I'm sorry for going on like this, princess," he said. "But thanks for listening. Do you want me to walk you home?"

I shook my head. "Arigatou, but there's something I have to do," I said.

We said our goodbyes and I sped off. He must've been bewildered from my actions but I didn't look back to check. I knew what I had to do. I need to find that cat lady and maybe ask a photograph from her or something.

I ran some more and I entered a closed alley. I checked if no one would be passing the alley. When I saw the street deserted, I brought out a compass from my bag.

The compass was made of bronze and titanium. Engraved all over the compass were symbols only my people could understand. I muttered them under my breath and closed my eyes. I pictured Kisa-san on my mind and touched the hand of the compass.

The hand spun wildly and when I opened my eyes, the hand pointed east. Now all I have to do is keep following the hand and it would lead me to Kisa-san. I walked through streets and alleys and finally, the compass led me to Ekoda Nature Park.

It was pretty easy to spot cat lady because of her shiny, red dress. The park was quite empty, save for an old couple, who was feeding some pigeons. I thought she was going to sit beside them to feed some pigeons too (or cats) but instead, she entered the Nature Trail.

The trail was located at the rear end of Ekoda Nature Park and it's basically just a forest of sorts for trekking, bird watching and small-time camping. Odd, the trail is popular among teenagers and young professionals who wanted to hike… elementary kids who would go camping, too. I never knew the cat lady was also interested in this. My old doubts sprung back to life.

Ding-dong.

The bell of the old clock tower said it was six in the evening. My doubts grew. Why would an old lady fancy a trek at this hour? I had to take precautions. I hid behind a tree and took out a vial of invisibility draught. It only works for a few hours but this would do.

I watched as I disappear and I slathered some potion on my clothes and stuff, too. When I was completely invisible, I entered the forest. She wasn't far and kept walking at the speed of an old cat lady. Nothing suspicious. I sped up so I could follow at her heels.

She must've sensed my movements because she did turn around to check if anyone was following her. I covered my mouth with my hands so she wouldn't hear my breathing. She searched around the nearby trees before going onwards. I crept quietly behind her.

We walked a few more minutes before she abandoned the trail. I followed, careful not to step on broken branches or leaves on the ground. It was growing dark and the trees were growing thicker. We must be at the heart of the forest by now.

She stopped at this empty space. I almost gasped when I saw what appears to be a giant mound. It was a giant earth mound but now it's a shiny, red motorbike. The flashy type. It appears as though she covered it with a camouflage cloth. Now what would an old cat lady be doing with a motorbike?

She smiled at it and adjusted the mirror.

"This is one of my ugliest disguises yet," she said. She used a different voice. This must be her real voice! She used it because she thought she was alone! My heart started to race.

She fumbled at her neck and when I thought she was going to reach for a pendant underneath her dress, she instead started peeling her face off.

Aha! So even her face is not fake.

When she has completely taken off the latex face, she cast it aside. She was beautiful. Golden waves on her head, pale skin, rosy lips. She reminded me of that princess in the book we were reading in class earlier that morning.

She checked her face on the mirror one more time. She must've seen something on that mirror because she turned her head to the sky. I did the same.

Oh. The sky was really dark now and there were no clouds nor stars. Just the moon. Like the full moon that captured the heart of the princess.

Once upon a time, there lived a princess who fell in love with the moon...

"Toichi," she said with a smile on her lips. She scoffed before fishing for something out of that dress' pocket.

It was her phone. She dialed a number. Her mobile phone was that type that made sounds when you press the keys. The sound the keys made reminded me of a Japanese children's song. The one about the crows.

"Yeah it's me," she said to whoever picked up the phone. "I went to see the boy. Toichi's kid… Yeah, the one that looks like that detective boy Kudou… He's what we expected. He's exactly like his father."

Her lips twisted into a sinister smile. "We got him," she said. "We got KID."

Next: The Lady in Red