Of course, Yusaku Kudo did not let himself be deterred from accompanying his son to the Kuroba family the next afternoon. He carried a briefcase under his right arm, but when Kaito opened the door and asked her into the living room after a brief greeting, he didn't say anything at first, but let Shinichi go first. He smiled at his friend.
"We'll talk later about the great show that we were able to attend last night. First I want to know whether you were able to win the object you were looking for!"
Kaito smiled in amusement and pointed to the living room table, on which was a steel cassette. "Of course the part is in my possession. There is the fulfillment of my assignment! I hope the government is satisfied with it!"
Yusaku Kudo looked at him in amazement. "I thought it was about the pearl!" he interjected.
His son laughed cheerfully. "But not! It was just a diversion. What should our government do with such a gem?That brings Kaito to Nakamori's office as usual, and the good man will probably ask himself again how that is possible. In reality it was about exchanging this cassette for an imitation! "He turned to Kaito, who was amused to hear how relish Shinichi explained the situation to his father." Did you open it? "The detective wanted to know.
He nodded with a grin. "Of course! What do you think? If I have to do the work, I also want to know what all the excitement is for. The lock was also child's play. The security door in the house on the cliff was more difficult to open recently ! "
Shinichi shrugged. He couldn't take that into account. "Well! Mr. Kanno believed that nobody could steal something from his water cage. Why should he hang a lock that is difficult to open on the box?" He opened the lid of the cassette, reached inside and pulled out a handful of papers, which he leafed through with interest.Suddenly he let out a sharp whistle.
“Great!” He smiled at Kaito. "That will cause huge waves. There is some evidence against other so-called honorable persons with whom the good Mr. Kanno did business. Oh yes! I am sure! The government will be very happy with it!"
"If you say so!" his friend interjected. "Then I believe you too!"
"So!" Yusaku Kudo interfered, finally coming to the subject that really interested him. "How did you come into contact with the Thieving Magpie? Did your father have any records about her?"
He looked at Shinichi's father in amazement. "Huh?" did he. “Who should I be in contact with?” He couldn't do anything with the question.
That made Yusaku angry. "Now don't play the innocent lamb here. Nobody will buy that from you anyway. I recognized her last night. Your magic partner was the Thieving Magpie, a criminal from 20 years ago. How do you know her?"Kaito shook her head in disbelief. "But that can't be!" he stuttered. "That is completely impossible!"
At that moment a calm voice came from the background.
"Don't press my son! He really doesn't know anything about it. But of course you're right!"
Yusaku, Shinichi and Kaito turned around quickly. Opposite them was Hibarue Kuroba. "Hello Yusaku! You haven't seen me for a long time. So someone recognized me after all. I actually thought that my last gig was too long ago for that!"
"Mother!" Kaito stuttered. "What are you talking about here anyway?"
She gave him a reassuring smile. "Don't worry, my boy. You'll understand everything soon!"
"Hibarue? You were The Thieving Magpie?" Yusaku was also amazed. He would never have thought of that, even he had never found out.
She looked at him with a full grin. “Surprised?” She saw his nod with satisfaction. Then she turned to her son. "You were absolutely right a few days ago, Kaito.I am anything but an innocent lamb. On the contrary! Before you were born, I was a masked thief myself! "She pointed to the briefcase that Yusaku now had next to her." I guess you are carrying newspaper clippings about me with you. What do you think you don't want to show us? "
He nodded silently, opened the bag and took out a wad of paper and placed it on the table.
Kaito was the first to pounce on it. The first thing he saw was a photo. It showed a masked woman in exactly the same appearance as he had seen his mother last night.

Below was:
"The thieving magpie next to Kaito Kid the most cunning jewel thief"

He quickly scanned the newspaper clippings with Shinichi, who was looking at Ms. Kuroba with newly awakened respect. Today's master thief finally raised his eyes and looked at his mother as if he had never seen her before.
"Maybe you should explain this to me ..." he pointed to the newspapers "...!"She nodded slightly and pointed to the armchairs. "Yes! You are right! But take a seat first!"
Everyone sat down and looked at the woman who was smiling strangely.
“It was clear to me that at some point I would have to explain why I acted like this at the time!” She looked at Kaito. "The times were different back then."

***

Twenty years ago:
Hirabue hit the table angrily with his fist. Again she had received a rejection. She just didn't understand. Everyone attested that she was the best magician there could be, that she had no need to fear competition from either side, not even from the men, but still nobody wanted to hire her for his show.
"Those fools! Just because I'm a woman they don't want me!"
She was desperate because she had no more money to pay the rent for her room, let alone buy something to eat. So she picked up the newspaper and wanted to look for a new job advertisement.There was probably no other choice. Whether she wanted it or not, she probably had to consider taking on another job first so that she didn't have to starve and then continue looking for a job in peace.
But the first thing she saw in the newspaper was an announcement that a famous diamond was about to be moved to the museum in Tokyo and what security measures had been taken.
Hirabue laughed ironically. At first glance, she saw at least five different ways to steal the diamond. Suddenly she grimaced in thought, then laughed out loud.
"You know what? I've been trying to earn my living honestly for months, but nobody wants to pay me anything for my art. If that's the case, I'll just take what I'm entitled to!"
Her eyes started to sparkle. She had finally found her zest for life again.

***

"And that's how Diebische Magpie was born!" Yusaku nodded thoughtfully. He himself had never had problems buying something to eat or struggling to survive.Hibarue nodded. "Yes! It went really well. I stole the diamond and sold it to a rich collector. Now I had everything I wanted. Sufficient money and recognition! So I continued. A short time later, a second thief appeared on the scene, who used sorcery to steal prey! "
Shinichi smiled. "Kaito Kid!" he guessed.
"Yes!" she agreed. "At first we were really competitors, but it didn't stop there. We quickly found out each other who the other was. Then we met more and more in private life and finally became a couple. From that point on it was only shows when we fought each other publicly and it was always agreed beforehand who was allowed to take the loot with them on the respective day! Then we married, but it went on like this at first! "
She sighed. "Finally I got pregnant. Although I didn't want to admit it at first, it was the end of the Thieving Magpie!"Her gaze fixed on her son. "In the beginning it was really not easy for me to just stay at home when your father went on a thief tour, but I had no choice. And you were more important to me than a little thrill. But because I personally felt that way know, I could never hold you back when you set off as the Kaito Kid. And it wasn't just your father's legacy but also mine that awoke in you! "
“Oh mother!” Kaito jumped up, ran to her and hugged her. "Why did you never tell me that? Did you think I was going to blame you?"
She laughed. "But no! I knew that you would be more proud of me. But that way I could at least keep you under control and I didn't have to hear that I wasn't better either. Today you take things a little bit more serious, but at first you were too reckless! "
Yusaku looked at her questioningly. "But why did you turn up again last night?I mean you haven't forgotten anything. It was the best magic show I've ever seen, but there must be a reason you took the risk of being recognized! "
Kaito looked at him seriously. "I had a problem with this job!" he admitted.
Shinichi looked at him in amazement. "Why is that? You've already shot much more difficult things!"
Kaito gave a self-deprecating laugh. "Think about it! What did I say to you when I invited you and your girlfriend to dinner at the Golden Dragon. What did I ask you to do at the end?"
The detective thought for a moment, recalling the conversation from that time. “We shouldn't order a fish because you can't see or smell it!” He paused. "Does that mean...?"
"Yes!" Hirabue nodded. "He has a fish phobia. No matter what state, alive or dead, he is disgusted with them. And then this huge aquarium. But on the other hand, of course, he wanted to do the first job. He's my son.It was clear that I had to help him. At that time I had to give up Die Diebische Magpie because of him, but last night he needed her. That's why there was this unique appearance of my alter ego! "
Yusaka laughed ironically. "I'm not at all sure if it was the only gig. As long as it was ago, I felt how comfortable you felt last night. You enjoyed being able to do this magic show.
Hirabue smiled. "Well! Who knows? Maybe the Thieving Magpie really shows up more often to support the Kaito Kid. I can't completely rule it out. In any case, you should be more careful around me!" She held a car key under his nose. "Do you know him?"
Kaito laughed and looked at Shinichi. "Do you want to knock her magic fingers too? And I can tell you hers are even better than mine!"
He waved it off. "No! I'll