Midnight Magic ~ Under Thief's Guise [IC / S / A]

[Ren✧]

Azami continued to watch the guards and officers below her. She could strike whenever she pleased, it was just a matter of when. Did she wait for another magician to show up? Perhaps get a challenge. Or did she do it now without risk of endangering herself? Whatever her choice may have been, the free will of decision was quickly taken from her. "Inspector! UP THERE! There's a Magician's Thief! I- I think he heard you!" "You there! Stop where you are and turn yourself in quietly!!" Azami cussed loudly. There was no way that someone could see her up there. At least, not someone that didn't have training as a thief. Those idiots! They had a magician thief in their midst and didn't even suspect.

 

Kicking out the cover of the ventilation shaft, Azami sprung into the room a [acronym='Teasing Fragrance']pink mist[/acronym] following her. The intoxicating aroma filled the air, and Azami could instantly see the shift in most of the guard's composure. This would be easy. Throwing a storm of kunai at the nearest guard, blood splattered against the ground as he fell, screaming in pain. She was on him in seconds, her masked face inches from his. "Bad night on the job?" She asked. Azami was slightly surprised by the way her voice sounded. The hissing was no longer just in her head, but coming out of her mouth as well. But, she was not given long to think about, as the other guards would soon react. Plunging a kunai into the guard's heart, she turned to see a massive fist coming crashing her way.

 

Taking the flying arm by the wrist, Azami flipped the large man over her shoulder. He landed with a sickening thud that was followed by a groan. He wouldn't be getting back up any time soon. Looking to the rest of her opponents, Azami spotted the little snitch that had ratted her out. A man with red hair to match her own. Leaping out him, Azami took him by the collar of his shirt and turned around to use him as a shield as Detective Shino pointed a gun at her. Whispering into the man's ear, Azami made a threat. "The Hinoemma doesn't take prisoners...but I might make an exception for you." Her voice gave no trace of remorse, just cold fury. This man would suffer.

 

[hr]

[Merci]

Judging by the pink mist that followed after her fleeting appearance, his opponent right now was the Hinoemma, a reckless yet sadistic female Magician Thief. Were he a normal human being, he would've been instantaneously overcome by the properties of the Lotus Bloom in her hair. However, he had prepared himself beforehand by building his immunity almost exclusively to her immobilizing scent.

 

Thus, as she whispered harsh words into his ear while clutching onto his collar, he closed his eyes.

"That won't be necessary." The Magician's Lion replied in a monotone. A void tone. No remorse. No fear. But no mocking or chiding tone either. It was only tasteless, as if he was merely a robot in disguise giving an automatic response.Psychological warfare wouldn't affect him.

A second later, his collar reacted to the girl's hands and exploded with light, blinding everyone in the vacancy.

Beneath his collar, he had hidden a tube-like flashbang that reacted by touch, and the collar itself was slightly transparent and specifically designed to magnify its intensity through the cloth. While his original intention was to activate it himself since nobody would ever pay heed to an innocent simply tidying his collar, Hinoemma's decision worked to his advantage.

Within the six seconds he gained as an opening, having already memorized the entire area within his head, he used the distraction to escape from Hinoemma's grip and take over the entire situation. Throwing his uniform off and putting his mask on, he moved towards Detective Shino, who was approximately five meters away as he recalled, before swiftly snatching his gun away.

Once the light faded, the Magician's Lion was in full regalia, though he was still blind. Even so, his ears were attuned to the generated noise enough to decently hear through it, and he could simply rely on his other senses for the time being. The cloak he wore beneath the uniform shielded him from its burning effects.

"You should've had the foresight to kill me on the spot." He stated emptily, pointing the Detective's gun at his opponent's presumed position. While he had full confidence that she could avoid the bullet, it was still a necessity. And at the moment, its original owner would be stupid to engage against him without a second gun. "But no matter."

The lion's mask he wore now had no expression - it was like a real lion, hungry and indiscriminate.

"You know, we are alike, you and I. Like me, your actions are unlike a normal 'human'. Not distinguishing between concepts such as good and evil, disregarding the lives of human beings... While I am a 'human weapon', you are a 'human beast'. Compared to the other Thieves, neither of us possess these senseless shackles of morality."

Holding the gun in his right hand, should she move, he'll hear her footsteps. But even with his trained senses, he was only human. If it came to a battle, all he could do was depend upon her footsteps and fire at above those sounds. The proximity of the light was an advantage, in a way, but a disadvantage in that it would take a while for his eyes to recover.

Pointing the gun away - though he still had a knife concealed in his sleeve should she attempt to take advantage of his hospitality - he took a few steps away from the Detective.

"You too wish to obtain Pandora, correct? Then this is a good chance. We both know that the treasure is fake, so there's no point in fighting over it. However, if we prepare a trap now, all competition will be snared within it."

 

It was dangerous, there might still be security measures he didn't know about, and he didn't doubt that there was a camera somewhere watching them, but this was the best option to take for now. He had already exposed his face to get in, in order to exceed the other thieves and avoid the same mishap that happened with the Fallen Star Topaz.

 

"I propose an alliance. Do you accept, Hinoemma?"

 

Had this diamond not been a fake, his plan would've gone smoothly. Right now, all he could do was play speed chess and hope that this mentally unstable human would agree to it. Although, he had a feeling she wouldn't accept. Her hand had probably been burnt, and she was just as blind as him at the moment if not more. He wouldn't be surprised if this Magician's Thief refused. These weren't exactly favorable conditions.

[Ren✧]

Azami recoiled dramatically at the explosion of light and heat. She turned away, trying to both shield her eyes and nurse her hand. The mask that she wore had shielded her partly from the explosion, but it was not meant to guard against attacks, but to inspire fear. She had been blinded, and for how long she did not know. "You know, we are alike, you and I. Like me, your actions are unlike a normal 'human'. Not distinguishing between concepts such as good and evil, disregarding the lives of human beings... While I am a 'human weapon', you are a 'human beast'. Compared to the other Thieves, neither of us possess these senseless shackles of morality. You too wish to obtain Pandora, correct? Then this is a good chance. We both know that the treasure is fake, so there's no point in fighting over it. However, if we prepare a trap now, all competition will be snared within it. I propose an alliance. Do you accept, Hinoemma?" 

 

Azami listened to her assailant. He made sense, they shared a common goal and as far as she had seen, this man was nearly as ruthless as herself. An alliance made sense, but it wasn't exactly her style. She was the Hinoemma, feaster on men's blood. Running around with an accomplice would reduce the fear that she inspired with others. He is our ticket. Our ticket where there is no fear of imprisonment. Just blood. Delicious blood. The hissing returned to Azami. The dreadful hissing that encompassed her entire thoughts. The hissing that made her decisions. The hissing that...that...was right. "That was some trick." Azami said, straightening herself. She had heard the movement of the man after the flashbang went off and the guttural cry of the detective in the room. There was no doubt that the man had a gun pointed at her, should she decline his proposal. 

 

"You too seek Pandora? Then we share a goal, but if you were truly as ruthless as you would claim, you would have killed me already. I question your motives, but how can I refuse? Hinoemma will join you in your pursuit. Now, when will the blindness wear off?" 
 

[Super Chaos Sonic]

Kaitou Kid kept quiet as he infiltrated the hotel, snagging a guard's uniform and just quietly walking down the hall, until he heard the flashbomb, from a couple of rooms ahead of where he was. Seems like the party is already starting...and its probably getting started by that girl. he thought, as he headed towards the main display room. He kept himself at a distance, as he saw Hinoemma and also the Lion magician too...along with a bunch of blinded security...and Shino.

 

Seems like they had something going on for today. And what's this? There's one diamond in the case and one that Inspector Shino has hanging out of his pocket right now. Kaitou Kid thought, as he noticed the one beginning to dangle from Shino's pocket. Best bet...steal both just to make sure I didn't take the wrong one. But right now...how to get in there and do this...

 

~*~*~*~*~*~*~

 

Inspector Shino was blinded by the flashbomb, as he stumbled around the room. "GAH!!! What happened? Is it Kid?! Someone answer!!" he yelled, trying to roam around the room, completely blinded.

[Merci]

-But if you were truly as ruthless as you would claim, you would have killed me already.-

 

So would you, the Lion mentally noted, before looking upwards. "Five more seconds."

 

Her lack of foresight, in taking him as a hostage instead of killing him when she had the chance, was the only reason he had overlooked his own chance in ending her life. Besides, the Hinoemma was a rare Magician's Thief who disregarded pointless morals just as he did, and just as the Heretic usually operated as well. Of course, he had no idea what actually went on in her head, but if he had to take a guess, she had the mindset of a serial killer. A sociopath.

 

His eyesight returned just as Inspector Shino stumbled towards him, and he tripped the man without hesitation. If this inspector hoped to defend against such superior beings, he should've at least learned the art himself like Heretic did, instead of relying upon grunts. The party hadn't even started and the entire force had already been wiped out.

 

"With that done," Kneeling down to rip a second diamond hanging out of Shino's pocket, he inspected it with a blank look. It looked completely identical to the fake in every way, but it might be a copy. The only way to know for sure would be to attempt to smash it, something he didn't have time for. "Now, Hinoemma, we shall..."

 

Suddenly, the Lion's attention was caught by a suspiciously young guard from nearby, who looked somewhat familiar. The kid from that school? No, no, it looked more like Kaitou Kid! But without an amplified hearing aid, he couldn't possibly hear them from that distance.

 

"How powerful is your Lotus Bloom's fragrance when applied to a single object, and how long does it last in thickness?" There wasn't much time left until the rest of the magicians began arriving. Moving back, he dropped the gun to shatter the fake diamond's casing with a trained, powerful blow from his fist, before tossing both the fake and the possibly-real ones over to Hinoemma. "The plan is simple - we each carry a diamond, let a thief with an Ace unknowingly 'steal' it from us, and then have them immobilized by its scent. Unlike me, I doubt they'll resistant to its effects."

 

It wasn't much of an alliance, but it did increase their chances obtaining an Ace. And the only way to check if their 'ally' had managed to steal an Ace would be to confront them directly after this little event over, allowing either magician to prove their superiority and steal any obtained Aces from the luckier one, alongside the real Amon's Diamond. At least, according to Lion's calculations.

 

"So, Hinoemma. Can you do this?"

[Hotaru987]

As Mirage made it to the room where the Amon's dimaond was, she found a hiding spot and turned her self visible again. She planned on saving the last 10 seconds of her invisibility just in case she would need it for a slippery escape later. So now she peaked into the room, noticing the inspector was still there along with a few guards. 'Sweet this shouldn't be to hard. I've dealt with worse.' She was even happier because it seemed like she was the first one here. That was until one of the guards shouted,

 

"Inspector! UP THERE! There's a Magician's Thief! I- I think he heard you!"

 

Instantly Mirage flattened herself against the wall, suddenly panicking. How was she spotted!?....Wait...He said "Up there" and they weren't coming to her position. The guard wasn't talking about her. Again peaking out there appeared to be someone hiding in the ventilation system. The thief suddenly sprang into the room, a pink mist following after her quickly engulfing the room. Mirage cursed under her breath, and covered her mouth hoping that would help. It must have been Hinoemma. She was the only one who had that mist. Mirage couldn't go into the room now, not with that mist and from where she was she hadn't inhaled any of it yet. Slowly thought the mist thinned out only to be replaced by a bright flash of light. It too a while for her eyes to readjust but when they did, Magician Lion was also there. 

 

And he was holding the Amon's Diamond! Glancing back to the case she noticed that it was still there. 'What's going on...Did the inspector commission a fake? That would be smart considering, but then....Which one in the real one? I'll just have to take both. Better safe than sorry.'

 

Lion then tossed one of he diamonds to Hinoemma, before explaining his plan. Through their entire conversation she could only hear bits and pieces, but it was enough for her to put together what they were saying. So it was basically she go after Hinoemma, Lion or attempt to take them out now while they didn't know she was there. Taking both head on would be dangerous, so she'd wait for an opening first.

[Ren✧]

"So, Hinoemma. Can you do this?" Azami glared at the man, although he probably couldn't tell through her mask. "Of course I can." She said, squeezing the possible Diamond in her hand. She had thought about putting it up her sleeve, but if she hid it, then she wouldn't attract any Magician Thieves. With a brief nod, Azami disappeared in an [acronym='Spore Dance']explosion of yellow and pink spores.[/acronym] Jumping back into the ventilation system, she made her way to the roof. If she wanted to attract some attention, then that was the place to be. 

 

Kicking the metal grate that barred her access to the roof, it came off with a clatter of metal. Landing gracefully on the roof, she noticed the door leading to the stair case was swinging closed, someone had just been up here. She thought about chasing them down, but decided against it. Releasing a giant puff of the pink mist, she waited. Any Magician Thief that saw that would know that she was challenging them. That she believed herself to be better than them. And of course, that was because she was.

 

[hr]

 

Takeshi grumbled in frustration. Having searched the entire hotel, he had made his way to the roof to find nothing. It would appear that the Kaitou Kid had pulled one of his disappearing acts. Deciding to search the hotel once more, Takeshi began to sprint down the stairs in the hotel. Just shortly after entering the stairwell, there was a loud explosion behind him. The lights that illuminated the stairwell flickered before going dark. Grumbling to himself, Takeshi summoned a ball of fire to float around him. Taking on a blue hue, the fireball cast strange shadows about the enclosed space. 

 

Wondering what had made the noise, Takeshi peeked around a corner to see the hulking form of a blue garbed man walk down the stairs. His footsteps fell heavily and electricity crackled around him. Heretic. Takeshi recognized him from the research he had done on the Kaitou Kid. This guy was supposed to be one of his greatest enemies. An enemy to Magician Thieves everywhere. Knowing that he wouldn't be able to escape the man in the enclosed space, Takeshi fired the will-o-wisp that hovered around his shoulders at the magician hunter.

 

Knowing that the intense blue fire would blind the man for a few seconds, Takeshi grabbed his mask out of his back pocket and transformed his cane into a sword. This battle would be a tough one. 

[Kyng's Old Account]

Heretic was too focused on his ideals, far too focused. He was obsessed with the thought of the Kaito Kid in his grasp, lightning destroying, burning away at the fool's flesh, being able to put an end to the ring leader of this foul fester of filth that called themselves Magical Thieves - one can easily imagine how the hatred boils beneath his skin by the fact that, for his frequency in mingling with these affairs as well as being adept in his own form of 'magic' he, too, was associated as one of this band of rogues - and being able to continue his campaign of eradicating Nakama City of the filth that stained it so. It went without saying that Heretic's thought was stuck on the Kid, and killing him.

Of course, this backfired, because the will-o-wisp that was launched at him had struck him just as its master had intended. The ethereal flame smacking and searing his cheek, Heretic held his burnt bone and harmed eye. The blinding light brought a grunt of pain, it rendered him unable to immediately respond to the attack. Wiping his eye he looked with anger towards the individual to see who had the audacity, the sheer balls to make such a sucker attack. As soon as he managed to recompose himself, his leer managed to spot the very individual beyond the blinding that was brought upon by the wisp. It seemed to be a cocky, sword-wielding individual. Heretic didn't do homework, he seemed to be able to bulldoze through his enemies, but he felt he'd best figure out who this was.

"I suppose you thought that was very clever" he retorted. "I will assure you that was the last mistake you'll ever make." Turning himself to face the Magician Thief, Heretic ensured to make use of his shroud if needs be, but for now charged a vicious bolt of lightning into his hand. Quite simply, nothing special about it, he threw the lightning for Takeshi. Not a lethal blast, but a forceful one indeed.

[Hotaru987]

This was her chance! Hinoemma just left, leaving Lion by himself. They had a shaky alliance last time, which didn't end so well but that was in the past. He had something she wanted, and she wasn't planning on failing this time. The the dead guards, the guns began to raise from their holsters and all of them pointed towards Lion. Moving from her hiding spot she smiled, "Looks like all that waiting paid off. It's nice to see you again by the way." With a teasing smile she said, "You know you're not the faithful type. Can't believe I'm being kicked to the curb already. It hurts you know."

 

Well that was enough playing, she didn't exactly have time to spare. "Now if you'd be a dear and hand that Diamond over to me I won't have to pull the trigger." Truth is, 9 times out of 10 she wouldn't pull the trigger. Mirage didn't have have a problem with death, it was a natural part of life, but when she does it herself it leaves a bad taste in her mouth. It was against her morals, she was a thief not a killer and if it could be helped she wanted to keep it that way. There was only one other occasion when she was forced to kill, and it still haunts her. "Come on times a ticken. Gotta catch your female friend after this." Even so she couldn't just not do anything. So once she had the diamond she'd knock him out. Simple enough.

 

'Probably can't take me serious with this stupid outfit.' Mirage thought bitterly.

[Super Chaos Sonic]

Well things escalated quickly... Kaitou Kid thought, sighing for a moment. Hinoemma took one diamond and Lion had the other, and unless he was two places at once...he couldn't really...wait a moment. He turned slightly to hear a clash going on with Heretic and Takeshi...and somewhat noticed the thunder bolt being shot at him. He glanced back at Lion who was now at gun point by Mirage. Gah...damn...well better save this guy. He'll probably wanna talk to me...I do owe him that much. Kaitou Kid thought, as he ran to where the two brawlers were.

 

As he reached the area near the two, he discarded his guard disguise and returned to his normal thief attire. "Mind if I butt in?~" he said in a sly way, as a faint emerald green light shone from his belt, as a severe wind gust blasted the thunder bolt away, as well as sort of incapacitate Heretic. "You seemed to have needed some assistance, my friend. Shall we make a quick retreat? I do happen to owe you a small chat." Kaitou Kid said with a small smile, as he tipped his fedora to Takeshi.

[Merci]

This was a good opportunity. While the Lonesome Rose distracted the Heretic, and being surprisingly competent with it, he'd be able to draw out the others. Kaitou Kid was in the vacancy, and Hinoemma had gone off to attract any other potential Ace holders. That was when he encountered Mirage once more, though this time as enemies. This was starting to become rather crowded, but then again, he'd been expecting it from the very beginning.

 

"So shoot me." The Magician's Lion replied flatly, taking her words seriously even with that rather impractical outfit she was wearing. "Go on ahead. Think of it as my apology."

 

If it was a single bullet, he could defend from it easily with his Body Barrier ability, which he'd activated in response to her.  He couldn't be sure if she would actually shoot the gun, since she appeared to be far more humane than neither himself or Heretic, if she did, then she might've been shocked that the bullet bounced off of him like he was made of metal.

 

Then, just as Kaitou Kid attacked the Heretic, the cloaked magician used it as a distraction and had a sapphire blue light shine brightly from below his right sleeve. "Form Form - Assault." All of a sudden, the air around then began to dry up as the water vapor around them condensed to create... a thick whip of water, moving all by itself?! Before Mirage could shoot the gun, the whip quickly snapped forth and smashed into the gun while it was still in her hands, Lion's right arm moving with it in sync.

 

This was - without a doubt - the power of the Sapphire Diamond.

 

"Surprised, Mirage? Perhaps not, but if tricks and imitations are all you can do, then you cannot win this battle."

 

The only way to confirm if anyone else here possessed an Ace would be to reveal his own. It was only natural. He wasn't sure if Mirage had one, but by systematically assaulting her, the answer to whether or not she had one should reveal itself. Adopting a martial arts stance, he followed it up with an uppercut to the air, with the aquatic whip following suit, lunging at his former ally like a flying serpent.

[Hotaru987]

Well Lion didn't fall for her bluff, demanding her to shoot him. Mirage frowned. That wasn't what she wanted to do. She was hoping that he would just give in, and hand over the diamond. Of course she should have expected it to not be so simple. Things never were. Besides, she already knew he wasn't the type to give into other people's whims. It was more like her being overly optimistic. 'I'll just aim to incapacitate.' "Fine then, suit yourself." Just as she was about to shoot, he raised his arm and from beneith his sleeve there was a bright blue light. "Form Form-Assult." The air around her was quickly becoming dry, and she realized why when water was collecting around Lion's right hand creating a whip. It shot out completely destroying the gun, causing Mirage to gasp.

 

"Surprised, Mirage? Perhaps not, but if tricks and imitations are all you can do, then you cannot win this battle."

 

'What was that....Does he...I've heard there were four all together but...' Lion dropped into a martial arts stance, coming in to attack her with an upper cut. Following his punch, was a stream of water. His lunge was quick, much quick than Mirage expected but she didn't look worried. 'I don't deal with imitations.' From beneith her skirt, there was a faint purple glow. Ever so slightly, Lion's lunge path was alter to the left allowing her an opening to the right. Performing a 45 degree pivot step she moved to thrust her palms into Lion's side. "Push!" Again there was a purple glow. If Lion was hit then he would be sent towards the wall, feeling as though a brick wall was slammed into him. If he did dodge he would see a visible, but translucent bend in the space that when it hit the wall actually caved it in slight. Either way, Mirage would drop into her own stance to prepare for the next attack.

 

"Hey is everything ok?" It was K checking in.

 

"Yeah, just find myself fighting that Lion guy from before. Can't talk right now."

 

"Understood. Activate visuals so we can get some fight info on these guys." Mirage nodded. It was a good idea. Especially with this guy having an Ace like her. She cursed, he probably realized she had one now. She didn't like people knowing. Mirage knew the stories of that pandora thing, but she didn't have any interest in it. And to be honest she liked the perks of having one of the Aces. She just hoped this guy didn't care, and didn't want her Ace for that or any other reason. Once activating the contacts, she readied herself for his next attack.

[Kyng's Old Account]

Heretic barked with fury seeing Kaito meddle with his affairs again. A fierce, furious rage burning in his eyes, he drew and thrashed his Mantel des Gottes against the wind, watching it helplessly dispatch against the shroud as if a titanium shield or some sort, yet tying it into place proved that this wasn't a trick, and that small rage had rendered his wind attack completely useless. Taking a moment to compose himself, Heretic leered over to Kaito. How dare he? This justice-bringing harbinger of death was merely punishing the foul scum that dare strike against him in revolution, yet this phenomenal thief wished to meddle again, and again? This wasn't doing good on Heretic's nerves.

"You two can chat when you bring yourself to final judgement." Heretic taunted Takeshi and Kaito, scowling at the pair, before gaining his psychotic smirk. "Until then, stop resisting the envoy of your dispair, sinners!" Stomping a foot into the ground, a small spark of electricity flickering, he charged a thunder bolt in both arms, before drawing the pair together, forming a single, large sphere of lightning, concentrating the power yielded within his hands. A wicked smirk, Heretic promptly barked out "Drei!", an order to his power, to fire and fork off, into a trident, a bolt aiming for Kaito and Takeshi respectively, with one bolt between the pair of them.

[Merci]

Noting the purple glow from beneath her skirt, the Magician's Lion found his lunge being redirected to the left, and Mirage took that opportunity to attack him from the side. A second purple glow came with her, and it was too late for him to dodge her. However, there was another way for him to defend from such an attack - Body Barrier. Just as the psychic attack hit with a sound, a loud sound like shattering glass echoed throughout the room and the cloaked magician was pushed back.

 

"Impressive." He breathed out, surprised at the force of her attack. It felt like a brick wall had been thrown at him "You destroyed seventy percent of my barrier with one move. Good. This will be an interesting match."

 

Gathering more water from the air around them, he increased the thickness of his whip as it floated in air above them. Even if it was revealed that she had an Ace, it changed nothing. He'd always known that she was psychic in one way or another due to her abilities, so all he had to do was set up a proper assault and overpower her mental capacity. His disadvantage was the diamond in his left hand, so he couldn't use it properly, but elbows and such were still possible.

 

Taking another stance, he took a subtle step forth before launching himself onward with unexpected strength, rapidly closing the distance between them and aiming his right fist at her stomach, with enough force to cripple her. As he did, the watery whip above them split into two and threw themselves at Mirage from both sides. Basically, an attack on three fronts. Just how well could she defend herself with the power of her own Ace? He was about to find out.

[Hotaru987]

"Impressive. You destroyed seventy percent of my barrier with one move. Good. This will be an interesting match."

 

Mirage laughed, "Well I'm not a push over. So don't expect me to go down without a fight." His second lunge was much stronger and quicker than earlier. So quick, that she wouldn't be able to alter his path like she did earlier. She had planed to dodge to the left, seeing as it was temporarily his weakest side. However, he was prepared for that. The water whip he created earlier split into two, coming to strike her from either side making for a three-way assault. The two water attacks would be hard enough to block, but if she focused on that then she would suffer from his punch. Which did not look like a walk in the park. She knew that if she was hit with that she would need time to recover. So it would be best to back away. All this passed through her mind in a second, and she made her decision. "Push!" This time she pushed the attack through her feet allowing her to propel herself backwards and away from the attacks.

 

Though it wasn't quick enough as she felt a pain run through her right arm. Seems she got hit by one of the whips during her retreat. She shook off the pain, ignoring the blood and produced 3 throwing knives in each hand. "If you like my last one then you'll love this one. Lion-Sama." There was a slight pause when Mirage laughed as if they weren't fighting, and scratched the back of her head. "You know cause I'm in a maid outfit. It's a joke." She cleared her throat returning to a more serious expression, she was still amused by her earlier joke. If she was lucky maybe it caught him off guard. She threw the knives all with accurate precision. Another purple glow, "Freeze." She never attempted this at another magician, let alone one with an Ace so she wasn't sure if it would be different. Even so it's not like she used this particular technique enough to be exceedingly proficient at it without the need to seriously concentration, and with all the added chaos around them it would be difficult. So she was really banking on it to at least force him to hesitate enough to give her the upper hand.

 

With that in mind she held her hand out behind her, ready to continue whether or not her last attempt failed. "Push." Another shot of energy hurled her forward. She plan on using the extra momentum and speed to land a kick right into Lion's chest.

[Merci]

Although his assault failed, he did manage to cut her right arm slightly. Were he anyone else, the tear in the maid outfit might've been fetish material, but he remained undistracted by it. He did blink when she called him 'Lion-sama', and the thought 'did she manage to figure out my true identity?' crossed his mind for a split second before waving it away. Then it was Mirage's move again, and she launched a few knives at him. As talented as she was, even an average thief could dodge such a move.

 

"Freeze."

 

He had to clear his head. For some reason, his thoughts weren't running correctly and he was making false assumptions one after another. Though he could break this telekinetic attempt with enough effort, it would slow him down enough for the knives to hit. "Form Freeze." Merging the two whips above him into a water disk, he quickly froze them and let the chunk of ice fall to defend himself, timing it correctly with the knives for them to stab into it. The ice shattered as it hit the floor, and as much as this fact was an inconvenience, he was unable to convert ice back into water.

 

There had an opportunity to steal her Ace, and that opportunity came when she hurled herself forward with boosted strength. He needed to conserve his barrier for an escape, but like this, it would be difficult to dodge it. Gaining an idea, the Magician's Lion prepared himself into a stance as she rushed at him.

 

The faint glow had come from beneath her skirt. Therefore, the Ace had to be located in a hidden pocket down there, and so...

 

"Self-Form Flow."

 

Manipulating his own body through his bloodstream, he locked his left arm around her leg with unnaturally quick precision, just as she delivered a powerful kick to his chest, scraping through a small part of the cloak he wore. Lion gasped in pain, forcing himself to stay in his position by rooting his bloodstream firmly where it was. It had been a powerful blow, maybe even enough to crack one of his ribs, but as long as he controlled his own body, he should be able withstand it and then later escape for proper medical attention.

 

Besides, with this, she was locked in a vulnerable position, giving him a slightly awkward opening.

 

"My apologies, Mirage-chan-" Then he revealed a knife from under the sleeve of his right arm that slashed through the right section of her skirt, while adding a tiny cut through her waist. 

 

The piece of clothing fell to the ground, but judging by its weight, it wasn't there. If he was going to search for her Arce, it would be easier to search through a corpse. Very well then.

 

"But I need Pandora. I've lived my whole life for it."

 

Still holding her leg at his chest, the Magician's Lion moved his right hand to plunge the knife into her chest. Her Ace w

[Hotaru987]

Mirage was completely surprised that not only did he take her kick head on, but he was still standing. Though they were both in the dark about each others powers, she wondered if this was some type of manipulation on his part. Either that or he was a lot more sturdier than she initially believed. Though he did gasp in pain so it must have had some effect. Further surprising her she found herself in a leg lock, leaving her in a rather awkward position. 'Dam* it! How the hell did he grab me so quick? I didn't even see it!.' She would quickly realize the extent of her mistake. "My apologies, Mirage-chan-" With his free right hand, he pulled a knife slashing at her skirt tearing a piece off as well as cutting her waist slightly. As any female would do, she blushed but she realized what he was doing. 'He's going after my Amethyst Club!'

 

"But I need Pandora. I've lived my whole life for it."

 

She didn't understand what he meant, but her eyes widened when she noticed the knife now heading for her chest. 'N-no...Spe...ak...Sp...eak....Speak!' She shut her eyes, and moments before the blade made contact she screamed. "PUSH!" It was a completely desperate scream, one that she herself never knew she could make. A blinding purple glow emanated from her skirt, and the force of the attack would have forced Lion to remove his lock or have his arm broken. Mirage was flung backwards, and quickly scrambled to her feet.

 

Never in her life had she come so close to death, and she could feel it. He wasn't playing around. He would have seriously killed her. She took a step back, attempting to regain her composure. Remove the fear from her system as much as she could. Lion had an entirely different mindset than she did. This was different from any other heist she had, and now that he knew of her Ace she just became yet another target. "I...I don't know why you need Pandora, but...I can't just hand my Ace over to you. It precious to me." Somehow she managed to calm down. She now knew not to make that mistake again. But now there was another problem, she was becoming tired. No one had ever pushed her to these limits with her ace, and it was clear he had much more experience using his.

 

'I think it's best if I abort the mission....I can't take much more, and as much as I hate to admit it...I'm still a bit shaken.' She thought weighing her options. She glanced at the diamond. For all she knew she was fighting for a fake. Hinoemma could have the real one. She frowned wondering what his next move would be.

[Merci]

In a moment of desperation, Mirage screamed out and unleashed an unexpectedly intense wave of psychic energy. He knew he should've let his left arm relax, but due to the control he still held over his own bloodstream, it was locked in its position and ended up broken as her leg was shoved out of it. His body had also been pushed back a few meters, his mask taking the brunt of the force, and he gasped out in pain. The left arm dropped to his side, his hands still curled around the diamond, and parts of the sleeve having been scraped off to reveal small triplets of blood.

 

With or without enhancements and barriers, her blows were quite powerful, and while he had plenty of defenses against the more traditional magic attacks such as fire and lightning, he hadn't really prepared himself against a psychic opponent. He couldn't maintain his Self-Form Flow much longer, but if he canceled it now, he'd be assailed with a world of pain that would distract him far too much to put up a decent fight - let alone escape and live.

 

If there were any advantages to this situation, it was that Mirage was also tiring out. Also, he still had his right arm and otherwise plenty of energy, even if it would take a while for him to recover from this latest fight.

 

"Precious to you? To you, it's but a mere, convenient trinket." The Magician's Lion told her calmly, but with levels of spite mixed in. "I acknowledge you as a worthy opponent, Mirage. However, the Aces were never meant to be tools for mortals."

 

Right at that moment, the string keeping his mask on suddenly tore apart, having been weakened by Mirage's push attack. The lion mask fell off with it, revealing to everyone his true, surprisingly young face, with long red hair and eyes to match... while also revealing that he had been the Irish exchange student from earlier, 'Lion'! The expression he wore was a blank one, matching the monotone he'd been using the whole time.

 

Now, Lion had two options. Either escape now while Heretic was still preoccupied with the Rose and Kid, or press onwards and overpower Mirage with what little time he had left.

 

No. There was still a third option.

 

"...I surrender." He voiced all of a sudden. "I'm at my limit, and my identity has been revealed. If I continue, I will definitely lose." Walking forward, he held out his gloved right hand as if for a handshake while looking directly into her heterochromatic eyes. "Either one of us dies, or we both walk away safely before Heretic escapes. Think of this as the culmination of our alliance, Mirage. A temporary ceasefire. Do you accept?"

 

Looking down at the diamond in his left hand, a smile crossed his face - a fake smile, but a smile nevertheless.

 

"Hinoemma possesses the real one anyway. This one is of glass."

[Hotaru987]

"Precious to you? To you, it's but a mere, convenient trinket. I acknowledge you as a worthy opponent, Mirage. However, the Aces were never meant to be tools for mortals." Mirage winced from the words. Perhaps precious was too personal of a word. The word 'important' would have been more accurate. The Amethyst Diamond had been in the Nasahara family for generations, and she knew it was a priceless treasure in their house hold. It helped them continue their thieving legacy. Because of that reason is was important to her. She couldn't let the Nasahara family down and let it get captured by someone attempting Pandora. Mirage didn't know much about Pandora, and she couldn't deny there was some curiosity about it, but at the end of the day it wasn't her goal. It was during that moment that the Magician's Lion's mask fell off revealing familiar, striking red hair and cold matching eyes. More surprising was that her opponent was the same exchange kid from school. Her eyes widened. "L-lion..."

 

 'I wonder....If he knows who I am...But more importantly I can't fight anymore. Other than his now broken arm, I don't have much of an advantage. He can probably still use his ace. Not only that, but he was close to finding my Amethyst Club. Any more to the left and he would have stolen it.' Luckily for Mirage Lion surrendered, offering out his hand for a shake while still speaking. That's right...Kid was still here, and so was Heretic. Without much of a choice she nodded. "Forgive me if I don't shake your hand..." As he told her about the diamond she noticed he smiled, but there was something off about it. Like he was just going through the motions. It wasn't true. "And thanks for the tip but...I'm done for the night." As she turned to leave, through her extreme kindness she couldn't help but say. "Sorry about your arm." With that she vanished using her last 10 seconds for a get away.

 

((So Mirage is done for the night. I'll come back once the night is over))

[Ren✧]

Takeshi had readied his blade, preparing to intercept the bolt of electricity with it. But it appeared as though he didn't need to. As the lightning drew nearer, a powerful gust of wind shot through the crowded stairwell, intercepting the attack. In a blur of motion, Takeshi found that a figure stood beside him. The Kaitou Kid. "You seemed to have needed some assistance, my friend. Shall we make a quick retreat? I do happen to owe you a small chat." Takeshi couldn't believe his luck. It appeared as if his searching had been in vain all night, for the supposed immortal himself had come to find him. "What exquisite timing." Takeshi said. In truth, he knew that he couldn't be Heretic...at least not in his current circumstance. The confines of the stairwell favored the large man much more than they did the lithe figures before him. Their agility and speed was what rescued them from Heretics strength, but in such a confined space there was no room to move. 

 

"Drei!" Heretic barked the word, the stairwell instantly lighting up. Takeshi turned to see three arcs of lightning heading straight towards the two magician thieves. Having no time to question his moves, Takeshi's mind leapt into action. Three orange fireballs appeared around the two Magician Thieves. With a flick of his wrists, Takeshi sent them hurtling towards the three arcs of lightning. The two attacks collided with explosive results. Takeshi was thrown backwards by the force of the explosion. Dazed and confused he could only hope that Kaitou Kid was in better shape to get them out of there.

 

[hr]

 

Azami waited impatiently on the roof top. But, no one came. It would appear that her challenge had gone unanswered. It wasn't long after her thoughts turned sour that an explosion rocked the rooftop. There was a large crash and Azami that the door to the stairwell had been blown off. She was missing all the fun. Scurrying over to the top of the stairwell she looked down to see an interesting sight.

 

Heretic stood facing away from her, his still form slightly unnerving. The walls were covered in black scorch marks, obviously remnants of the explosion. Farther down the stairwell were two smaller figures. Upon closer inspection, Azami saw them to be Magician Thieves. The Kaitou Kid and The Lonesome Rose. Anger rose within her. She had a bone to pick with both of those fools. Of course Heretic was a problem. If she tried to intervene then he would be able to easily show off with his superior strength in such a confined space. 

 

The best course of action was to wait. She would bide her time at the top of the stairwell and the moment that anyone tried to escape, she would be more than happy to spoil their fun. 

[Super Chaos Sonic]

Kaitou Kid saw Takeshi's attack and saw it created a smokescreen, pure genius. Guess it'll be time to use the healing factor. But first... he thought, as he picked up Takeshi, and disappeared within a cloud of smoke. As the smokescreen subsided, both Kaitou Kid and Takeshi were gone.

 

~*~*~*~*~*~

 

Kaitou Kid made it to one of the janitor's closest as he locked the door and put Takeshi on the ground. "The Spade's Healing..." he whispered, as the faint green light from his belt shone forth again, this time the green aura like power began to pour over the Lonesome Rose, healing the wounds he had just gathered from that fight. "Quite the guts you have to take Heretic head on like that. I'll have to give you some kudos for that later." Kaitou Kid whispered, as he stood up. "Now, I owed you a talk. What did you want to know and if I answer, you have to promise to help me out."

[Merci]

The Magician's Lion had his eyebrow twitch ever so suddenly when she refused the handshake, but it wasn't because he was a maniac who had a fetish of holding hands. It didn't matter though. As she turned to leave and apologized for his arm, he tapped her back so gently that it couldn't even be called a tap, being more like having the tip of his finger press upon the air mere milliliters before her clothing, so she wouldn't sense it. The tracking device had been planted, disguised as a smudge of dirt.

 

"It will recover in time." He assured her, taking a quiet step back, and Mirage took the next ten seconds to safely retreat out of the hotel.

 

I should probably do the same, Lion thought, noting his arm.

 

...But to his extreme displeasure, Kaitou Kid and the Lonesome Rose chose that moment to escape into a janitor's closet, leaving him alone with the Heretic, who was able to see what he really looked like without his mask, and standing not too far behind him was the Hinoemma. Even if the two of them teamed up, they probably wouldn't be able to beat this monstrous man what with Lion's current condition. Not only that, but even if off-chance that she decided to listen to his orders and they miraculously beat him, he'd be far too tired to defend his own Ace.

 

He had to escape.

 

"Take the diamond." Lion stated with a clear voice, and moved the diamond over to his right hand before throwing it at Heretic. As he intended, it flew right over the man's head and landed at the top of the stairwell... which just so happened to be where the Hinoemma was lying in wait.

 

So much for an alliance, but it couldn't be helped. Hoping that the flung diamond and her presence distracted him enough, the Magician's Lion tensed his body up and raced out with enhanced speed, still controlling his bloodstream. The rooftop was a no-go, so he would have to escape through a window. Normally, he had a parachute with him at all times, but it didn't fit into the police uniform. No matter, there were always the curtains.

 

Hoping that he wasn't being followed, Lion ran for the nearest window, his left arm helplessly besides him.

[Ren✧]

Takeshi could feel a force pushing him, but he was still dazed from the explosion. He heard the sound of a shutting door and a faint voice. Suddenly, he began to feel weightless and his sight was overcome by a beautiful green glow. When the feeling subsided, he found that his head no longer hurt and things were beginning to once again make sense. He took stock of his situation. It appeared as if he was in some kind of custodial closet. The air smelled heavily of cleaning chemicals and a fallen mop sat on the ground beside him. 

 

Taking notice of the other person inside the room, Takeshi saw that the Kaitou Kid had saved his life. Something that he didn't want to readily admit. As the green glow faded away the two were left in complete darkness. Snapping his fingers, a small gold fireball appeared on the tip of his pointer finger. Despite its small size, it gave off a powerful light that illuminated the small area. 

 

"Quite the guts you have to take Heretic head on like that. I'll have to give you some kudos for that later. Now, I owed you a talk. What did you want to know and if I answer, you have to promise to help me out." Takeshi took to the compliment graciously, only dipping his head ever so slightly. "I believe we have a common interest." Takeshi said, retrieving his sword from where it lay on the ground. He pointed to the hilt of it, which began to glow with a beautiful red light. "You're looking for Pandora." 

 

[hr]

 

Azami watched as the Kaitou Kid and the Lonesome Rose disappeared in a blur of movement. She cursed loudly. It looked like they had escaped. Then, the sight of her accomplice appeared at the very body of the stairs. She watched as he threw something, hitting Heretic in the head and then landing at her feet. The second diamond. Looking back to the man, she saw that he had gone. So much for an alliance. He had left her here alone with Heretic and two stolen diamonds. Bastard.

 

Heretic was undoubtedly going to take notice of her. Quickly setting a trap at the top of the stairwell, a small tripwire that would send anyone who came up tumbling to the ground, Azami moved out of the line of sight. Unlike her so-called ally, she wasn't about to leave without something more than just two clear pieces of rock. 

[Super Chaos Sonic]

Pandora? Kaitou Kid thought, still keeping a face as if he understood. He couldn't remember if his dad's notes ever mentioned Pandora...but he'd figure it out later. He then noticed a red glow from the Lonesome Rose, as he nodded. "Indeed it seems that way. I'll venture to guess you have hold of the Ruby Heart and its matching Ace." Kaitou Kid replied. Was this the reason he was wanting to talk to him before? ...Or was it something else.

 

But other things were in his mind right now:

• Getting the diamonds
• And hoping to see whoever emailed Kaitou Kid earlier the night prior

"So I take it this would be the main reason you asked me to chat with you, correct Lonesome Rose?" Kaitou Kid asked.

[Ren✧]

"You could say that..." Takeshi said. In truth, the main reason to talk to Kaitou Kid was to inch his way in close with the Magician Thief. Head on, Takeshi wasn't sure that he could take on the Phantom Thief, but after gaining his trust, Takeshi might be able to take the Emerald Spade right under his nose. "I do indeed have the Ruby Heart. But, the ace seems to have been lost over time. I know not where it is." Takeshi lied. It was one thing to strike up an alliance, but it was not wise to hand away all your secrets. "I see that you have proctored yourself an exquisite beauty yourself. And an Ace to match." Takeshi eyed the Emerald Spade. Its green shine sparkled deviously in the golden light, almost as if it was asking Takeshi to take it.

 

"But, we can talk about this later. I suppose we have a different problem on our hands."