“Hakuba-san.” Kaito greeted back with a customary bow and a little more reassured than his patient seemed. But he was prepared for this moment after all. He was smiling warmly, although for a short moment the corners of his mouth twiched. It was a little amusing to see the other’s surprise.
“Take a seat, please.” He gestured towards the therapy bed in the middle of the room that was about the right height for Hakuba to sit down comfortably. Then he thanked the nurse that had accompanied the detective and closed the door.“Considering your reaction it wouldn’t be that wild of a guess that you didn’t expect to see me here.” Pulling up the stool on wheels he sat down as well and adjusted its height to be eye level with the detective. “I admit I was a little surprised as well when I got your file. But I didn’t want to hand it to someone else. Although I fully understand if you prefer another therapist and you may say so any time you wish. From my side though, I will gladly work with you.” He reached for the file on the desk and rolled back to the table, repositioning himself slightly sideways from Hakuba. Posture straight, but still relaxed he kept up the hint of a smile and gave the detective a little bit of time to digest and decide what he wanted.
Hakuba hesitated, watching him for a moment as he considered his options, then… shook his head and crutched over to take a seat on the bed. It was far too tempting to sate his curiosity, even though there were more than a few red flags popping up in the back of his mind that told him he did not need this additional source of potential drama.
“No, no,” he said, quirking a smile with a wince. “It’ll be quite all right. Physical therapy, hm? Somehow I always expected to see you on stage with your tricks, but… well, this is certainly a noble profession, so that suits you, as well.”
The detective laughed, adjusting his position so that he could scoot back comfortably, wincing as he eased the weight off of his leg. “Could you take these, please?” he asked, bundling the crutches and pushing them out to him. "And, ah, how have you been, anyway? Well, I assume…“