Liar, Liar, the Mage's Desire Vol. 2 (The Oumeno Strikes Back)

Partners In Crime (Phantom Thief AU)(10)

     Himiko and the Phantom Thief froze in their tracks with the Phantom Thief's arm still hovering over Junko, who bolted upright in a panic.

   "Wha..why...*snort,* who's there?!" she shouted sleepily out as she wiped the stream of drool from her face. She noticed Shuichi and Kyoko standing in her doorway. "You two!" she said angrily. "What are you doing in my HOOOUUUSE?!"

   "It's the Phantom Thief!" Kyoko said, pointing to the Phantom Thief. 

   "And it looks like he has an accomplice," Shuichi added, pointing at Himiko. Junko turned to her side to see the Phantom Thief reaching over her body. 

   "WAAAH!!" Junko screamed, and held Dr. Bear-Bear in front of her like a shield. The Phantom Thief calmly pulled his arm back, and turned his attention to the two detectives.

  "Hm...are you two a thing?" he asked them. Shuichi and Kyoko looked at each other in surprise, then blushed before bashfully looking away from each other. While they were distracted, the Phantom Thief swiftly snatched Dr. Bear-Bear from Junko's hands, and wrapped his other arm around Himiko's waist. "Ta-ta!" he exclaimed, waving goodbye to the detectives. He opened Junko's large bedroom window behind him, and jumped out.

   "He's getting away!" Kyoko said, then sprang into action, followed by Shuichi. They watched as the Phantom Thief and Himiko made their escape using the Phantom Thief's grappling hook. They swung over the gate behind the mansion, and hurried further down the road. Kyoko turned to Shuichi. "We have to hurry after them!" They dashed out of Junko's bedroom, leaving a very dazed and confused Junko by herself.

  "Heeeey..." she called after them. "Did you get my clothes back?" she mumbled dejectedly, knowing they couldn't hear her. Kyoko and Shuichi ran outside the gate of the mansion, and bolted down the street where they last saw Himiko and the Phantom Thief. 

   "They're probably already way ahead of us!" Shuichi called back to Kyoko as he ran. "We'll never catch them on foot!"

   "Look over there!" Kyoko said, pointing to a house with a couple of bikes leaning against the front of it. "We can use those!"

   "Right!" Shuichi said. Though he was against stealing, Shuichi knew that this was no time to think about what was right and what was wrong. He and Kyoko each grabbed a bike, hopped on, and pedaled as fast as their legs could carry them. Soon, the duo were catching up to the thieves. 

   "Stop right there!" Kyoko commanded as she pedaled closer and closer to them. When she felt she was close enough, she jumped off of the bike and dove at Himiko. Though her arms missed her body, Kyoko was able to grab Himiko by the ankles and trip her.

  "AAHH!!" Himiko shrieked as she fell down to the ground, holding her hat down tight on her head to keep her disguise from coming apart. The Phantom Thief gasped and ran back for Himiko. But before he could reach her, Shuichi jumped on him and pinned him to the ground. 

  "Phantom Thief, you're under arrest!" he said. 

   "Yes...I suppose I am," the Phantom Thief sighed, his voice dripping with boredom. "Such a disappointment. And here I thought you'd make things more...exciting for me. Well...since you've captured me, and all, you might as well take me away." Shuichi hoisted the Phantom Thief up onto his feet, and handcuffed him.

   "You're...a lot shorter than I thought," Shuichi said.

   "Yes, I'm not very fond of vegetables, you see," the Phantom Thief replied cheekily. He then looked over to see that Himiko had also been handcuffed by Kyoko. 

  "Ah, I see you have detained my lovely partner in crime, as well," he said with dismay. "She's actually quite talented, you know."

    "If she were so talented, she wouldn't have gotten caught," Kyoko pointed out sharply as she held Himiko's wrists together, walking closely behind her so that she wouldn't escape. Kyoko's words stung Himiko. Himiko liked Kyoko as a friend, but after that remark, she couldn't help but feel resentful towards her at that very moment. "Now, quit speaking. We know what you're up to."

   "I'm afraid I don't follow," the Phantom Thief said.

   "We know you're trying to distract us somehow," Kyoko continued. "It's not going to work, so you might as well just give up and accept your punishment." 

   "As you wish," the Phantom Thief replied cheerfully, though, he kept his head down as if his mind was furiously thinking of a way out of his and Himiko's predicament. Himiko, however, had a few tricks up her sleeveless dress. 

   "Ta-daaa!" Himiko said in a manner that matched that of the Phantom Thief's, but with an airy, higher-pitched voice to add to her overall disguise. The Phantom Thief, Shuichi, and Kyoko eyed Himiko to see what was going on. Himiko struck a pose, grandly holding her magically-freed arms up high. Shuichi and Kyoko looked down in surprise to see that Kyoko's wrists were now cuffed. The Phantom Thief even let out a small laugh in surprise. Himiko whirled around, and curtsied elegantly to Kyoko. "I'm so sorry, love, but I felt like those cuffs matched you, instead: cold and irritating!" As Kyoko struggled to get the cuffs off of her, Himiko did a fancy twirl over to Shuichi, and twirled her wrist, just as the Phantom Thief had done the first night he and Himiko had met. Unlike the Phantom Thief, however, a rose didn't come out of Himiko's sleeve for the simple fact that she didn't have any. Instead, she pulled it out of thin air, which shocked Shuichi to his core. As he stared at the rose, it squirted water in his face, causing him to cry out in surprise and release the Phantom Thief. 

   "Haha!" the Phantom Thief laughed triumphantly. Himiko ran over to get Dr. Bear-Bear with  the Phantom Thief close behind. Shuichi looked between the two thieves and Kyoko, trying to figure who he should tend to first.

   "Shuichi, forget about me!" Kyoko said. "You have to catch them!"

   "On it!" Shuichi replied, and started advancing towards the thieves. 

   "We'd love to stay and have a chat over tea, but there is somewhere that we need to be!" Himiko said. With a dramatic swing of her arm, followed by a flick of her wrist, Himiko and the Phantom Thief were replaced by a large puff of smoke. Shuichi coughed through the smoke until it finally dissipated, and looked around in disbelief. Himiko and the Phantom Thief were no longer there.