“The secret is to be afraid all of the time.”
“Prioritizing objectives by breaking less than ideal situations down into basic tasks with clear and manageable objectives. Then, it’s simply a matter of completing each task. Fear is easily defeated with a thorough to-do list.”
That man with the pure smell of having a blessed object? Amaterasu grinned about as much as a wolf could, her tail wagging.
She hadn’t really seen many humans who had that smell. Those that did were usually those exiting some local shrines (she wasn’t allowed to enter; they shooed her away). As she tried following up on them, though, most of them didn’t keep the smell for long.
Poor wolf. If only she knew.
The man in question, a detective by the name of Hakuba Saguru, walked on a path next to the river. It was late afternoon and the forest floor was splotched in shades of ambient yellows from the sun in the leaves. In one hand he carried a briefcase, in the other a cup of coffee. He was alone and looked tired. It was an unfortunate drawback to having so much casework to do on top of his schooling, which meant using weeknights and weekends studying files and reviewing court papers. This left little time for sleep or, heaven forbid, relaxing.
But the managed woods offered a reprieve from the story, at least, and the walking path was orderly enough. Hakuba passed by several small, informal shrines along the way and stopped at each one to regard them respectfully before continuing onward, looking for a comfortable place to sit and work.
Thus far, he hadn’t noticed any sort of wildlife except for the calls of the local birds.
“Thank you,” he sighed, relief washing over him. Maybe he had expected Hakuba to question it or even to disagree with the terms. His open understanding of the idea was the best outcome possible.
Though he couldn’t say that he was fully trustworthy just yet, he did know that Hakuba was an honorable guy and an exceptional detective despite his one-track-mind. And who knew? Perhaps Hakuba had gotten past his flaws since the last time they met. Everyone had the ability to advance.
Look at how far Hattori had come.
Regardless, Shinichi smiled at him with gratitude. Even though he seemed nervous, he figured that it was probably Hakuba’s curiosity. He had wanted to talk to him after all.
“I appreciate your silence,” he added. “It’ll make it a lot easier if we run into anyone.“
Hakuba, the detective with no flaws whatsoever, nodded at the other, likewise flawless, detective, and continued onward sheepishly. No, the foreigner wasn’t sinister, just a helpless fanboy.
"Of course,” he said again, agreeing, which he hoped would not come off too strongly. “I have to admit that I’m intensely curious, but I won’t press. Ah, that said, might I ask if you intend to officially join the force when you’re finished with studies, or will you be opening your own agency?”
Kind of a leap there, but okay.
KID slowed a little bit, looking back at Hakuba. Maybe the sooner they found a hiding place, the better. Sadly, nothing as of yet was looking familiar at all.
“Normally, there’s not much of a need for a hiding place. Our gun-happy friends don’t show up very often." He wasn’t about to give away too much information just yet, but little things were alright to slip, the brunette figured. “Ne, Tantei-san? You mentioned something abandoned?”
“It’s not strictly abandoned,” Hakuba said, backtracking through his thoughts to remember what he had been trying to say earlier. Were they not in such a dire situation, he’d probably argue with KID about it, but since they were, he would let it go. For now. “It’s close for the season. A, ah, holiday shop… Three blocks… that way, I believe?”
The detective picked up the pace so that he could get a better look at the street sign ahead. “Yes, it’s just over that way. Costumes and ilk. On top of a bicycle repair shop."
“Yeah. Giant thing. It threw me around and tried chewing on me. I have no clue why it did that.”
He blinked and looked up at Hakuba.“Hakuba, are you okay?” This was worrisome. He didn’t need to break Hakuba again. Especially not over some stupid scaly thing with no manners whatsoever.
“Bloody hell. Honestly.” Hakuba pulled himself away, moving to sit at the edge of the bed, bare back to Kaito. “I can’t tell if you’re being serious of if you’re trying to take the mick out of me."
The detective reached for the bundle of clothes on the nightstand and began to get dressed. Boxers first, then pants, hands fumbling from the tired and irritation.
“It’s a lot of stuff, yeah.” Kaito yawned widely. “I’m pretty sure I can stay safe if I can get chewed on by a giant dragon thing with eight heads and have a shorter stay in the hospital than being shot when I was normal.
“I dunno about any other side effects. Maybe they haven’t appeared yet.” Okay, that worried him. If there were other side effects, things he couldn’t control… “Worried I’ll become a demon or a vampire?” He gave Hakuba a grin.
Hakuba met the grin with apprehension. Yes, he was worried again. “No… nothing like that.” But why not? There were witches. Witches, immortality, magic stones, and gods. Demons and vampires wouldn’t be that much further of a stretch. It made his head hurt.
“Wait… did you say something about…?” The detective pushed himself into a sit, looking down at Kaito. “What was… Dragon? Eight heads?!"
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mahbrits: hungrylikethewolfie: andythanfiction: nerdsinmypants: Stages of Deterioration in the Human Body The Moment Of Death: 1. The heart stops. 2. The skin gets tight and ashen in color. 3. All the muscles relax. 4. The bladder and bowels empty. 5. The body temperature begins to drop 1 1/2 degrees Fahrenheit per hour. After 30 minutes: 6. […]
Meanwhile, Kaito was enjoying the time in the bed, lounging about. He was content with this, relaxing in a bed with one of his detectives. Sure, there was the question of how this would affect their interactions from now on, but they would cross that bridge when it came.
He had snuggled up to Hakuba, only half awake when he got the kiss on the shoulder. The question, though, made him wonder. Hakuba was worrying again? “‘Course I’m gonna…" Kaito muttered, his voice low. He was pretty sure he sounded groggy. “You worry too much, Hakuba.“
"I’ve been told that before,” Hakuba said, expression going dry. Here he was, concerned and close, and Kaito was calm and casual. KID, true to form. He sighed.
“I’m still attempting to wrap my mind around… everything. Secret crime organizations? Implications of eternal youth? And gemstones with the power of granting… what, immortality, was it?” The detective frowned. “How are you going to stay safe? What other side effects could there be?”
The hour was late- very late- and Hakuba was exhausted in almost every way a person could be. Still, he fought against impending sleep to live in the present, taking in as much sensory detail as he could. The cool of the sheets against warm, bare skin; the scent of that dark, wild mane of hair on the pillow next to him. He forced his eyes open, struggling against the call- and, indeed, desperate need- for sleep, and bent to instead kiss lazily at Kaito’s shoulder. Soon, his eyes closed again, and the distinct feeling of being lost washed over him. So the detective shook his head, waking himself up a little more.
It wasn’t that he couldn’t sleep. They were in bed, comfy and cozy, with several hours remaining before checkout at the hotel. Sleeping was a very good idea, in fact, with the work of the next day looming ahead. But Hakuba didn’t want to let it go, to return to reality. When they left the hotel, he knew, things would be different. Not in any overt way, but different. Subtle changes in the rules, whatever they were. Or would they? The uncertainty of it made him anxious.
With that anxiety, too, the truths revealed earlier were busily attempting to settle into his conscious mind, like ticks searching for flesh. He would need to eventually sort through everything, write it down, mentally tag and organize it all, each to its proper place. Unfortunately, that also meant becoming responsible for and dealing with each piece of information. He’d have to form an opinion on it, decide what he thought and how he felt, and come to terms with it.
…which was something that was far too painful and difficult to do at present. That said, it was impossible to ignore, as well.
He longed for a cigarette, and maybe another bottle of scotch. Both were impractical for many reasons. So instead he leaned his forehead against the back of Kaito’s head and sighed.
“Kaito-kun… will you really be all right?"
As his gait smoothed out, KID loosened his grip on Hakuba’s arm. They’d gotten to a part of the city he wasn’t familiar with, which would make the escape that much harder. He didn’t know where they could go for safety. Suddenly, he missed the familiar shopping centers and business areas of Ekoda.
“Surprisingly, that’s the plan. We need to keep moving, and we need someplace the ravens won’t think to check." He wasn’t overly fond of sharing the fact that his plan needed work with the detective, but there were two of them in this predicament just now, and KID had to admit, he could use the help.
Hakuba managed to keep up easily enough, though he was getting more and more tired the further they went. He hadn’t prepared himself to be part of a heist. If he had, he wouldn’t have been drinking earlier, and he might have taken a nap or at least tried to sleep the night before. As it was, the detective probably would have been nodding off on the top of that building by this point. Add in the adrenaline rush, terrifying glider ride, and gunfire, and he felt very tired indeed.
He huffed, and took a moment to look around as they moved, putting his mental map of the city into perspective.
"Ah- there are abandoned… Ravens?” Oh, the ones shooting at them. He rubbed the side of his head, fingers digging through his hair. “What kind of place do you normally hide?”
