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The sound of sirens tore through the night as the white glider sliced across the sky like a phantom bird. Under the glow of the moon, the legendary magician thief landed gracefully on a rooftop, cape fluttering behind him. Another flawless heist completed.
Or so he thought.
A Slow claps echoed from the shadows.
“7 out of 10. You could’ve done it faster.” A man in a black suit stepped forward with the air of someone attending a mildly disappointing school recital rather than watching a felony in progress.
“What do you mean faster?!” Kaito sputtered indignantly. “That took me ten minutes!" And that includes infiltrating the museum, stealing the gem, escaping the security system, dodging Nakamori, and delivering a one-liner before he can comes up with a comeback.
“You wasted valuable escape time disguising yourself as a police officer, sending out a three decoys, and fly of in Kaitou KID's appearance.”
“That’s called branding.”
“That’s called showing off.”
“YOU TAUGHT ME TO SHOW OFF!”
“Yes,” his father said proudly. “But efficiently.”
Normally, parents were supposed to discourage their children from becoming internationally wanted criminals. Kaito’s parents, unfortunately, had never been what anyone would call “normal.”
On his sixteenth birthday, Toichi had sat him down and revealed the family secret with the same tone other parents used to discuss college funds.
“Son,” he had said solemnly, “your mother and I are phantom thieves.”
Kaito had laughed for a solid minute before realizing nobody else was laughing.
Apparently, years ago, his father had become a phantom thief purely to impress his mother. According to him, romance was about dedication, trust, and committing highly elaborate thefts for someone’s affection. His mother, Chikage, meanwhile, mostly enjoyed the luxurious lifestyle funded by auctioning stolen treasures on the black market.
Unfortunately, they had also accidentally angered a dangerous organization. Possibly the yakuza. Possibly several yakuza. The details were apparently “complicated.”
So Toichi Kuroba spent his adulthood balancing three full-time jobs:
World-famous magician.
International criminal mastermind.
And fatherhood.
Shockingly, he managed all three with alarming competence.
Then one day, he’d casually asked Kaito if he wanted to join the family business. The choice was completely his.
Kaito, being sixteen and catastrophically incapable of making good decisions, had said yes. It was like his Quinceañera.
And now here he was, standing on a rooftop at midnight while his father graded his crimes like a disappointed theater instructor.
“You also shouldn’t rely on decoys that much,” he continued. “They’re meant for escaping difficult situations, and besides, they were time consuming to make. While you’re still young, you should learn how to use your time more efficiently.”
“Oh yeah!?” Kaito shot back defensively. “It’s not like you were doing any of this at my age!”
Toichi sighed dramatically, placing a hand against his cheek with fake melancholy. “That’s true. I wasn’t.” He paused. “At sixteen, I was only performing in front of a royal Indian family by the Taj Mahal.”
Kaito stared at him.
“If only I had met your mother then, I would’ve become a phantom thief sooner.”
Kaito grumbled as he looked at him, thoroughly disgusted by the man’s utterly shameless expression of affection for his mother. They had always been like this—disgustingly loving, unbearably sappy, and somehow still flirting after all these years.
Being internationally wanted criminals must done wonders for marriages.
“Ah, the moon’s out. Take out the necklace, KID” his father said. There was probably nobody nearby to overhear them, but they still stuck to codenames. Kaito was KID. His father, meanwhile, went by 1412.
They would switch the color of their outfits whenever one of them needed to tag in for the other. While the police focused on the thief dressed in brilliant white against the night sky, the other could slip away unnoticed in black clothing that blended perfectly into the darkness.
“Can’t believe there’s an entire group of people obsessed with immortality,” Kaito muttered as he raised the gem beneath the crescent moon. Pale moonlight shimmered across the jewel, scattering tiny sparks of light across his gloves. “They’ve definitely hurt a lot of people for it.”
“Hm. Humans are fascinating creatures,” Toichi replied casually. “What separates us from animals is that we can do things far beyond survival or passing down our genes. We create tricks, perform a show, and entertain ourselves.”
“But in the end, we still hurt each other for the same primitive reasons animals do. Fear. Greed. Survival. All just to stay alive a little longer.”
“What do you mean, ‘we’?” Kaito frowned. “Not everyone’s like that. You and I aren’t like those people.”
His father hummed softly. “You can’t be so sure.”
Kaito lowered the gem slightly as Toichi continued, his tone calmer now, quieter beneath the night wind.
“We never truly know ourselves until the moment comes. Until we’re desperate. Afraid. Given the choice.” He glanced at the jewel reflecting the moonlight. “That’s why I want us to destroy Pandora before anyone can get their hands on it.”
For once, there wasn’t even a trace of theatrics in his voice.
“Immortality is a burden no man should carry.”
“Looks like this isn’t what we were searching for.” His father’s tone shifted once again, returning to that cheerful, easygoing voice.
He held out a hand for the necklace, and Kaito passed it over.
“Now then,” Toichi said brightly, “while our beloved Inspector is still busy chasing the Phantom Thief, how about we make a little bet on how long it’ll take me to return this and come back? The loser has to rebuild all the decoys you have wasted.”
“No way! I’m not rebuilding those!” Kaito protested immediately. “I have plans this weekend!”
“Well then,” his father replied smugly, already stepping toward the ledge, “you should make a choice.”
In the end, Kaito wagered that he couldn’t possibly do it in under ten minutes.Toichi confidently claimed it would only take five.
It took him three.
Once again, Kaito was reminded exactly why his father is still the greatest magician in the world.