It seems the artists these days are not who you think

[bakaitoukid]

Who: bakaitoukid (as Johto's resident phantom thief Kaitou Kid) and YOU [Open!]
Where: The rooftops of Violet City!
When: Sometime this evening
Summary: There is a strange figure in white not-so-discretely bouncing across the many rooftops of Violet City. Investigate, y/n?
Rating: G
Log: Pandora was a gem that, most likely, existed only on Kaito's world. And even if a version of it existed in Johto, Snake and his cronies from back home had no way of reaching it themselves, which means it wasn't the jewel Kaito's father was killed for, and it wasn't the jewel he was so determined to find and destroy.

Without Pandora as an incentive, Kaito had no reason to steal. No reason to don the white top hat and monocle he had found in a thrift store in Cherrygrove, no reason to traverse the rooftops and break into museums and steal priceless jewels right out from under Officer Jenny's nose. Kaitou Kid stole to find Pandora. Kaitou Kid stole to draw out his father's murderers. Kaitou Kid stole to get his father's murderers caught. Kaitou Kid stole to find the one gem his father's murderers wanted most and destroy it before they got their dirty hands on it first.

And yet, the magician turned thief still managed to find himself standing on top of the Pokemon Center roof, top hat perched on his head and monocle firmly in place. He hadn't quite managed to find a white suit close enough to his Kid uniform yet, so he had to settle for the change of clothing this world had given him instead. The red and black ranger outfit clashed spectacularly with his hat, but it would have to do. For now.

There might not be a concrete reason for Kid to heist in Johto, but Kaito was filled with far too much nervous energy not to do something while he was stuck here (every day spent here was one more day his enemies at home had to search for Pandora without him, after all. That is, if time really did pass there the same way it passed here). And he couldn't just let his skills get rusty, either. There was no way he was going to let his enemies back home one-up him while he was stuck training Pokemon, and if that meant keeping himself in shape by heisting every now in then in Johto, then so be it.

The thief lifted a hand to tip his hat backward a bit. The clouds from the day's shower were beginning to drift away, though a few remained to blanket the stars partially obscure the moon in the sky. Even so, there was enough light for him to see... and plenty of light that allowed him to properly judge the distance between the Pokemon Center rooftop and the one right next to it.

This was always his favorite part when he took the time to explore rooftops. The only thing he lamented was the fact that Violet City didn't have any taller buildings for him to leap off of. With a deep breath, he took a running start and leaped from the Center's roof to the one next to it, landing without so much as a hesitation and continuing on to the next rooftop. It wouldn't be easy to see his ranger outfit in the dark, but his hat definitely stuck out like a sore thumb. Just as planned.

The point of Kaitou Kid, after all, was to try to be seen.

Comments

[overthedratini.livejournal.com]

Johan had been out training that night when he'd entered the Center. He couldn't let himself get too weak just because he wasn't traveling anymore, and he certainly wasn't going to stop now with a battle with a Gym Leader on the horizon. Still... He hadn't expected to stay out so late, but he was at least glad that the Pokemon Center stayed open as late as it did.

He let out a yawn as he absentmindedly gave his Noctowl, perched on his shoulder, a fond pat. He'd give her something nice when they got back to the room, that was for--

"Toooowl!!" With a cry, the bird suddenly took off into the sky after something, something Johan had only seen out of the corner of his eye. Something white? He couldn't tell. Still, he wasn't about to let his partner get away from him like that, so giving a cry of his own, Johan quickly gave chase.

"Come back, Misola--!!"

[bakaitoukid]

If it hadn't been for the Noctowl's cry, Kid might not have ever seen the Pokemon coming. An owl's wings were notoriously silently when they flew, and the Pokemon based on then in Johto were no different. As it was, the thief shot a quickly glance over his shoulder when the cry reached his ears, and for a moment, he paused, crouched on a rooftop and prepared to run again. His gaze flickered from the approaching bird, to the trainer chasing after it from the ground.

Would Pokemon and trainer continue to follow if he kept running? A grin curled up the corners of his lips. Not even five minutes and already he had attracted the attention of someone from below. Perfect.

He pushed himself to his feet and broke out into another run, leaping across an alleyway chasm and onto another roof. He had slowed down though, just to make sure his pursuers could keep up if they wanted to.

[overthedratini.livejournal.com]

"Toooooooowl!!" came Misola's cry, giving chase once more as the mysterious figure began to flee from it. It didn't recognize it, but the bird knew that sneaking around in the night like this typically meant something, be it trouble or just something interesting. Even now, evolved from the Hoothoot stage, she was as curious as ever.

Johan, meanwhile, was doing the best he could to keep up, now not only with the bird, but the figure she was chasing. Had she seen something? Had something happened? Or was Misola just chasing someone who... happened to be innocently doing something on the roof? Had the white not been there, Johan would have had to wonder if it was Kay, for a moment. Misola going to greet her would have at least made sense, but this didn't seem to be the case.

... In any case, it seemed the person was aware that they were being chased, unless they coincidentally chose that time to slow down. Johan chose that time to look around to see if there was anywhere he could climp up on without losing momentum-- Seeing none just yet, he shook his head. If it came down to it, there was always... that option.

Instead, though, the usual Johan plan could always come first.

"Hello up there!"

[bakaitoukid]

The voice is what brought on the sudden wave of recognition. He had thought the trainer below had looked familiar, but with the distance and darkness of the night, he hadn't been able to put a name to him, particularly since he had yet to meet the owner of said figure in person. But Kaito had spoken to Johan enough over the gear network to recognize his voice.

There was something odd about the fact that Kaito's first meeting with the blue-haired boy would be under the guise of an international phantom thief instead of himself.

He didn't slow down as Johan called up to him, instead continuing to grin and opting to lift his hand in greeting. "Hello down there!" he said cheerfully, and he jerked his head back to indicate the pursing Noctowl. "Your bird, I presume?"

[overthedratini.livejournal.com]

Johan blinked. Did that voice sound... familiar? It did, he was sure of it, but from where--

"Tooowl!" ... Misola was still in hot pursuit, temporarily breaking Johan from his thoughts, but he kept up chase regardless of where his mind was.

After a moment, he mentally snapped his fingers, remembering a message and a person that had appeared once, quite a while back, on the network. He might not have been the best with directions, and he was still having trouble with a few other things, but as a duelist, and the fifth ranked one in the world at t hat, he at least had to have a good memory to most things, and faces and voices was one of them.

"Hehehe, that's right!" he called up cheerfully, deciding that the person, at the very least, wasn't a threat - yet. "She's been with me since I got here almost, as a matter of fact! Also, if I remember right... Your name is Kaitou Kid, isn't it? I remember seeing you once before! I'm Johan, in case you've forgotten!"

After all, it was always good to introduce yourself, and who knew what this mystery person had been up to since they'd last spoken?

[yattagarasu.livejournal.com]

Like Johan, Kay had also been out training-- the problem of having a team of mostly nocturnal Pokémon was that you yourself became somewhat nocturnal trying to keep up with them. Prim was the only one who was asleep at the moment, curled up on Kay's bed in the inn, while her trainer had been out practicing strategies, working on strengthening her team, and... thinking. Thinking hard for that matter, which was something she'd been doing with almost alarming regularity these days.

When she'd finished for the night and Byrne had adjourned to his regular perch on her shoulder, Kay didn't go back-- not immediately. It was a good night, and she was wide awake enough to spare the city another dramatic speech but stand on a roof nonetheless. She loved heights, and right now, it was quiet and clear enough to be an ideal thinking spot. It didn't take much time for her to find a nice one and pull herself up with minimal effort.

Just in time for a figure in a white top hat to come bounding in her direction.

[bakaitoukid]

Kaito had expected several varying reactions to his journey across the rooftops of Violet. He had expected perhaps one person to try and follow him. He had expected a few to call out to him and ask him what he was doing. He had even expected a few late-night bystanders to stare silently as he passed by.

What he didn't expect was to run into someone else on the roofs besides him.

As soon as Kay's figure came into few, he quickly hit his own breaks and skidded to a stop on the shingles. His surprise was easily masked by a neutral expression, and it didn't take him long to identify his fellow rooftop dweller. The outfit, the hair, the Murkrow-- it was Kay.

Perhaps he shouldn't have been surprised to see her here after all. She was a thief, much like him, and he had already discovered she enjoyed her fair share of high places. He straightened and tipped his hat to her in greeting, one hand plunging into the pockets of his pants. "A pleasure seeing you here, Miss."

[yattagarasu.livejournal.com]

The surprise in Kay's eyes (unmasked, unlike a certain thief's) quickly cleared to recognition. Not the recognition one would have expected from a friend, but someone they'd barely met, but apparently she was just as friendly to near strangers as she was to good companions, because she flashed him a grin and returned the greeting with an upraised hand. Byrne sidled on her shoulder, only calming when she turned her head enough to let him preen her ponytail.

"Nice night for a stroll, isn't it?" she said cheerfully, as if it was perfectly natural for two people to be out meandering on rooftops at night. "But I guess you had the same idea... Kid, right?"

[bakaitoukid]

His hat settled back onto his head as he nodded at Kay, arms crossed over his chest and expression very amused. "A very nice night," he agreed, head bobbing back a bit so he could glance up at the cloud and star dotted sky, "Though I admit I didn't quite expect to meet anyone while I was out here." Leave to to Kay to prove him wrong and take him by surprise all in one fell swoop.

His gaze shifted back to her quickly, and he unfolded his arms to bow at her in a very gentlemanly-like gesture. "And Kid is correct!" he said, tone cheerful, "I see you haven't forgotten our last conversation, Kay-san."

[complexrestart.livejournal.com]

After taking a walk around Violet City, Rika was approaching the Center to call it a night. However, before she could even enter, she noticed something on a rooftop. There was someone standing on it. Wearing a white hat. And a monocle. That certainly didn't happen every day.

She looked at her pokémon. "Hope, do you see that?" The Vulpix's gaze was currently fix on the roof, where the figure was currently standing. So it wasn't just Rika's imagination.

Letting her curiosity get the best of her, Rika asked, "Mii, what are you doing up there?"

[bakaitoukid]

Rika's voice was loud enough to catch Kid's attention quickly, and he glanced down to see the small girl standing right out side the Pokemon Center, staring up at her with wide-eyed curiosity. With a smile, the thief crouched down so Rika might be able to hear him better, though he didn't leap off of the roof just yet. It was nice up here, after all.

"It's a rather quaint night, don't you think?" he responded with a friendly tip of his hat, "And the view of the city is much better from such an elevated position."

He replaced his hat on his head and tapped the side of his cheek thoughtfully. "And what are you doing awake so late at night, little miss?"

[complexrestart.livejournal.com]

Rika smiled a little in response to his answer, her smile crossing into the territory of a smirk. "I bet it is. Would you mind if I enjoyed the view with you?"

She couldn't help but giggle a little at the question. As old as Rika truly was, that was not how everyone else saw her, which made her habit of staying up late seem a little odd. So, she came up with the most reasonable explanation that she could think of as to why she was still up. "I couldn't sleep, so I decided to explore a little!"

[bakaitoukid]

"Ah, but is it best for someone as young as you to explore the city alone?" His conversations with Rika so far had been all over the gear network, so despite having worked with child detectives who were far smarter than children had any right to be at home, he was no more suspicious of Rika than he should have been.

But as for her first question, he certainly didn't have any problems with sharing his rooftop. "And I believe this view is far too stunning for me to enjoy alone. There are stairs in the Pokemon Center that lead up to the roof, if you wish to use those."

Not that he had used those stairs himself. Scaling buildings was far more fun.

[her-mouse-jesty.livejournal.com]

Another day of hard training had passed, and now it was time to get some sleep. She still didn't feel they were any closer to beating the Gym Leader, but that wasn't the only thing weighing on her mind. In fact, it was easy to say that her dedication to defeating the Violet Gym Leader was to try and distract her from the 'other' weight in her mind. Stopping before the doors, she looked down at her hands, and faintly touched her ring finger. Hidden underneath the glove was her wedding ring... perhaps a blessing that they had allowed it to come with her.

A whimper shook her throat, her eyes watered, and she forced herself to look up at the night sky to distract herself...

... to see a boy leaping from rooftops.

"Oh my goodness!"She shrieked, not in fright for herself, but the danger that young man was putting himself in.

[bakaitoukid]

Kid, of course, wouldn't consider this exercise dangerous at all. He had performed stunts like it before, and several of them were far more death-defying than merely leaping from rooftop to rooftop.

Minnie's exclamation was loud enough for him to hear, and it made him pause in his running and leaping. He tipped his hat back a bit and scanned the ground for the source of the cry, and he stopped when his gaze landed on Minnie.

"Hello!" he said cheerfully, and he lifted a hand to wave at her, "Beautiful evening, is it not?"

[her-mouse-jesty.livejournal.com]

She continued to stare at him, her own sadness and depression lost in confusion and worry. The beginning tears rolled down her cheeks, although she seemed oblivious to it, flailing and trying to shout to Kaito.

"Just what do you think you're doing, young man!" She squeaked, although the words 'young man' may have sounded strange, considering she barely looked older than him. Digging her high heels into the ground and waving her arms, she really did think he was putting himself in trouble. "That's very dangerous! You could fall and hurt yourself!"

[bakaitoukid]

"Worry not, miss!" Kid called back with another wave, "If I weren't a professional, I assure you I wouldn't be doing this--"

He cut himself off as he caught sight of something trickling down her cheeks. Immediately, his grin faded into surprise. From up here, those looked like... tears? Was she crying?

If there was one thing that was certain, Kid didn't like watching people cry.

"Ah, forgive me miss..." he said, tone apologetic, "Is something troubling you?"

[walking-the-cat.livejournal.com]

Bridget had just woken up from a bad dream. He had woken up in a sweat, his heart pounding but he couldn't recall what it had been about. He only knew that he wouldn't be going to bed right away- and he was a little hungry.

He had gone out, it was late but maybe the pokemart was open.

He stopped in his tracks, seeing the top hatted figure on the rooftops, causing the boy to consider that he was still dreaming.

"Hey Mister! Why are you on the roof this late at night?" He shouted.

[bakaitoukid]

Kaito couldn't exactly say he was surprised to see and hear other people wandering Violet City's streets at night. And with the way his top hat stuck out like a sore thumb against the dark blanket of the night, he certainly wasn't surprised that people had seen him leaping from building to building.

And he definitely couldn't say he was surprised a few people were brave enough to ask him what he was doing.

The thief stopped his sprinting and turned to search the ground below him fro the owner of the voice that had called out to him. When he found it, he grinned and waved. "Getting some exercise!" was his answer, "And making use of a very nice night!"

[walking-the-cat.livejournal.com]

"You're being really suspicious, Mister." He walked closer, rubbing the sleep sand from his eyes.

"Only people who are up to no good walk on the roofs." Slowly drifting out of his grogginess, Bridget's tone becomes firmer. He's been keeping a watch for anyone suspicious after Melfina's pokemon was briefly stolen. That was weeks ago but Bridget wasn't like most kids whose whims faded.

"Um. . .but if you're trying to be sneaky you might not want to wear white at night."

[bakaitoukid]

Ah, someone was suspicious. Any normal thief might consider this a bad thing, but for a thief like Kaitou Kid who thrived on people finding him suspicious enough to investigate, he was nothing but pleased.

"Shouldn't the fact that I am wearing white at night prove that I'm not trying to be sneaky?" he responded, arms folded over his chest. Kid was well aware that there were other ways to be sneaky. Ways that didn't involved attempting to blend into the darkness of the night.

Or I could fail, that too.

[savedinapinch.livejournal.com]

'Bone! Cubone 'bone 'bone! Cubone! Tifa giggled as the small Cubone jumped a bit when Tifa splashed him. She had her legs in the same lake Cissnei, Aerith and herself had been goofing off in. She was alone this time, and very much clothed...or at least...she was back in her usual outfit. She didn't mind the outfit the backpack had provided for her, but Tifa wasn't a big fan of pants. She mostly did it out of courtesy for America who seemed rather flustered by her choice in clothing.

She looked up at the sky and smiled a bit, though she looked melancholic. Johnny did the same and matched her expression just as well.

"You know, I like the stars, Johnny. Back home, we have this big old well that I used to climb all the time just so I could get a better look of them." she looked down at her Cubone and patted his head.

"I still don't understand why you get so sad when you look at the moon. But...it probably has to do with something that happened before I met you." There was a pause, silence as Tifa and Johnny just stared up at the sky, but it quickly ended as Johnny started flailing a bit.

Cubone! 'Bone! 'Bone! Cubone!

Alarmed, Tifa stood up quickly and looked over in the direction he was. She bent her knees and brought her fists up into a fighting position instinctively. She relaxed a bit as she saw a flash of white and...wait...was that a person?

'Booone!

Tifa's confused expression quickly lit up and she was suddenly excited.

"Let's follow them!"

html fail happens to us all ;;

[bakaitoukid]

Run, crouch, leap, land... it was system he had perfected ages ago, though he couldn't have run from rooftop to rooftop like this without the proper training beforehand. It was almost a liberating experience, being able to run freely through the night sky, feeling the wind whipping past him as he did so, knowing that if he made one simple mistake such as lose his footing or land incorrectly he could tumble off the building and onto the ground in a painful heap. Kaito had always been an adrenaline junkie, and this was the perfect way for him to get his fix.

Unaware that Tifa and her Cubone had seen him, he continued on. Run, crouch, leap, land... only to repeat it for the next rooftop in line.

[savedinapinch.livejournal.com]

Tifa quickly had Cubone return to his pokéball before running after him on land. She didn't bother putting her boots back on, they'd only slow her down. Finally, something fun! It was starting to feel too much like Nibelheim, and while that wasn't a problem, she wanted to find something fun to do in this new place. The pokémon fascinate her, don't get her wrong, but she needed something.

She reassured herself that America wouldn't need her for however long she was going to wander about, Aerith was an excellent mother to him. Not to mention Cissnei was there as well. Nothing to worry about.

She took a deep breath as she jumped over a small fence, looking back up to follow the white hat. She laughed a bit, she didn't know why, but...she just felt so free. Like when she explored Mt. Nibel. Like when she would climb on top of the well.

[bakaitoukid]

Kid might have laughed in amusement at her enthusiasm if he had seen her chasing him, but for now, he was so focused on the path in front of him (and avoiding making any dangerous mistakes) that he didn't have time to glance down to see Tifa at all. Without the cry of a Pokemon to alert him, he was still completely oblivious to her presence.