"...The family heirloom, the largest black pearl in the world..."
"...1412, looks like a wanted criminal's file..."
Conan, who had been seriously listening to the conversation among several people, glanced sideways and saw Kazawa holding a notebook, scribbling and doodling, clearly not paying attention.
He quietly sat up straighter in his chair, leaning over to sneak a peek at what Kazawa was writing, but Kazawa snapped the notebook shut and looked at him reproachfully: "Don't spy on other people's privacy."
Conan couldn't see the exact content but noticed what looked like many names, arranged in neat rows. He quietly asked, "What are you writing? Didn't you say you came here to listen about the phantom thief?"
"Some trivial stuff, just think of it as me writing an address book." Kazawa coughed lightly after being caught slacking off and flipped to a blank page, taking notes again about the conversation between Suzuki Sonoko and Mouri Kogoro.
What else could the list of names be? Of course, it was a "beat-up, no, reform" list.
After all, he was the Phantom Thief of the Heart, not Kaito Kid. Writing some names in a notebook wouldn't cause anyone to die; at worst, he'd just snatch a few of Kogoro's clients, so he felt no guilt at all.
Conan squinted suspiciously at him for a moment, then skeptically refocused his attention.
"Kazawa, you're actually interested in that kind of thief?" Conan said, bored, resting his head on his hand.
"What, you're not interested in the 'phantom thief'? I thought detectives with chuunibyou would definitely chase after these mysterious criminals," Kazawa said.
"Chuunibyou? Who's chuunibyou? Don't talk nonsense. I'm a serious detective, okay."
Kazawa first held out his left hand: "'Heisei era Sherlock Holmes,' 'Savior of the Japanese police'..." Then he held out his right hand: "'Heisei era Arsène Lupin,' 'Magician under the moonlight'..."
Conan's ears reddened as he protested softly, "Those exaggerated nicknames weren't given by me!"
"But I see you like them a lot, 'Sherlock,'" Kazawa snorted and kept teasing him.
Mouri Kogoro, holding a paper full of riddles and cryptic messages, frowned and looked up at them whispering in a corner, annoyed: "What are you two whispering about?"
"Discussing the phantom thief," Kazawa immediately straightened up.
"Those mysterious show-offs," Mouri Kogoro was already annoyed by the phantom thief, "The newspapers are ridiculous too, always trying to link me with the phantom thief. So frustrating."
Kazawa, the culprit, showed an innocent, obedient smile.
"Let me see!" Conan saw the paper in Kogoro's hand and jumped over.
Riddles, codes, crime announcements — to a detective, they were irresistible. Though he had just said he wasn't interested, Conan suddenly became alert.
"April Fool,
When the moon divides two people,
Under the name 'Dark Star'
Invited to the waves,
I shall come."
Reading the words one by one, Conan's eyes lit up as he grabbed the paper, clearly captivated by the riddle.
Kazawa's pen never stopped as he raised his eyebrows in satisfaction and wrote down "Cupido Grand Hotel."
Mouri Ran looked around, feeling strangely left out in this space where it was all about detectives and phantom thieves.
"I don't understand this," Mouri Kogoro sighed. "Anyway, the time is April 1st, April Fool's Day, right?"
"Amuro-san..." Kazawa looked helplessly at the person standing with crossed arms at the stairway.
"I promised you I wouldn't go, I just came down for some water," Kazawa said.
Amuro Tooru tilted his head and didn't budge, clearly not trusting him.
Kazawa surrendered and raised his hand, jingling the keys wrapped on his thumb: "I'm handing over the keys first, alright? I really won't go."
Amuro Tooru was unmoved, took the keys, checked that they were for the café door, and put them in his pocket without courtesy.
Kazawa looked honest but was actually full of tricks. Amuro wouldn't let his guard down — if Kazawa really behaved, Kazami wouldn't have to work overtime.
"Then I'll leave for today. I'll return them tomorrow morning." Amuro put on his suit jacket hung on his arm, firmly locked the door, turned the handle a couple more times to confirm it was locked, then glanced at Kazawa, who was at the bar getting water, and felt slightly relieved as he left.
Kazawa stood in the dim café, watching Amuro's figure walk towards the Mazda and waved cheerfully.
Then he climbed to the attic and softly called: "Nijuu Mensou."
The dark cloak of Nijuu Mensou unfolded in the invisible world, and Kazawa's Teitan school uniform instantly changed into an all-black phantom thief outfit.
He spun in front of the mirror, checked for flaws, then touched his hair — his fluffy chestnut hair instantly changed to white, becoming smooth and shiny with a metallic silver gleam under the light.
This wasn't some transformation technique Kazawa learned — it was a wig.
One day, while running and fighting in the Shibuya subway, the Phantom Thief of the Heart suddenly had an idea.
Since toy guns can act like real guns in the cognition world, and blades without edges can act like real knives there, can a wig act like real hair?
In theory, his phantom thief outfit could be changed too. Using the game system, he could easily pull out many strange costumes to switch. The cognition world was essentially idealistic.
He acted immediately and bought a white high-temperature synthetic wig the next day to bring into the cognition world.
You have to admit, the effect was excellent. You couldn't tell it was a wig either by looking or touching — it was like real hair.
Though this disguise was a sudden idea, it was also insurance for Kazawa. After all, having the same hairstyle and hair color for himself and his future alter ego, the Phantom Thief of the Heart, would be a disaster. Just one insight from a sharp detective like Conan, and he'd be exposed.
Didn't you hear? Gin only needed one hair to go "Ah, Sherry!"
As for why he chose white, making him look more like 9S... it's simple: because it's cool!
Besides, a phantom thief in all black clothes, pants, and eye mask, with black hair... might be invisible at night. That wouldn't do.
"I told you it won't affect anything, don't worry Amuro Tooru." Kazawa took out his phone, tapped the navigation, and smoothly switched into the otherworld.
"Going to join the fun is 'Joker,' not me, Kazawa Akira."