by

Split Decisions

blackorgkaito:

Finger on the trigger— not. His eyes might as well have been the Looking Glass, such tips tops turvy the reality he gazed at was; tremors in his hands were rejections of the gun in he was holding and I can’t do this, he wanted to say. It’s a life with a family and a past and maybe they’re someone’s father and—

He’s becoming exactly who he vowed that he wouldn’t be, couldn’t be; he’s becoming his father’s killer, he is a killer, and he can’t, he can’t—

A familiar voice.  

He could literally feel the blood draining out of his face. There was a sharp askance in his ear that he barely comprehended— What was that? What’s happening? You’d better answer me, KID, or your friends and family’s gone by next morning.

His breaths came sharp, quick, and damn it he was hyperventilating; a hand slammed to his mouth to cut off oxygen as thoughts of Aoko and Nakamori and his mother dead flashed by— house blown to bits? Maybe it would seem like a simple car accident— or if they were feeling particularly sadistic, it would be arson and memories of a burning stage and screams for his dad to come back echoed in his mind. 

If— if he could ask Hakuba to help— no, he can’t get the detective wound up in this mess. But if he could, if he could, if Hakuba could stop him from doing this, please, please— if he died in action, would his family live at least? He wouldn’t have to kill, and this nightmare would be over, but he couldn’t ask Hakuba to do that.

Not to mention they had thought of everything, he couldn’t ask anyway, the furiously whispering voice in his ear served as a reminder that he was live on air— 

Why hadn’t he checked to see if he was being tailed? Stupid stupid stupid stupid!

“It’s nothing. I’ll take care of it.”

Was his answer to the buzzing voice on the other end, his own forced through a twisting stomach and a constricted throat. A cautious shift in position to slowly rise, head swimming as he did so— placing the gun down (thank you) and raising his hands cautiously to show that he was unarmed. And he wanted to say that he was— No uncomfortable pistol hidden in the small of his back or a knife strapped down to his ankle because he was better than that, right?

But he wasn’t. 

The hidden hand gun that sat all too comfortably at his waist made him sick.

“Well then, you know what to do.”

The tone that came through the ear phones were anticipatory and taunting, a cat playing with it’s prey. He grit his teeth— Hakuba’s not the annoying classmate you know anymore, Kuroba, Kaito tried to tell himself even as his breath made an attempt to quicken again. Lets see, lets see, there was a camera somewhere that was monitoring him— Earphone guy wasn’t looking at it but Headquarters were.

Hakuba was just too noticeable of a person to pass by as a random intruder— what to do—  stupid British teenage detectives who messed everything up.

He can’t fake this, can’t pretend to shoot and cover the other’s mouth, can’t get a silent message across to him and even then he wouldn’t understand. Hakuba was just too good for that, despite his fallacies and annoyances. The stupid idiot would try to save the other and somehow save the day— because that’s what detectives did. 

Save lives.

Unlike him. 

So unlike him.

But that wasn’t the problem here he had to —

He can’t try any stupid moves. He licked his lips— one toe out of line and bang bang boom. He wouldn’t be surprised if the Syndicate would take it one step further and blow up his whole school.  

He would have to play along, then, at this game. If he knew the other as well as he did — the detective wasn’t going to flee anytime soon—or would he? The other was never one to run from danger if what he saw at his heists were any indication but then that was different. Either way, Kaito wanted him here— as soon as the detective got out of sight, the syndicate was going to hunt him down. Trap set. Game over.

He had to checkmate him— them— here. 

But how? 

All of these thoughts ran by in split seconds, mind working overdrive— he had to get the detective out of this alive. 

There was a final decision made at that moment— so many paths pointing to so many directions and he wasn’t sure if he had stepped foot in the right one. Not when all sense of moral “correctness” had gone down the drain. 

Right and wrong didn’t apply anymore.

No looking back.

“I’m afraid that doesn’t apply when the person in question isn’t quite thieving at the moment." 

Kaito said, slipping into his persona altogether too easily — Hakuba’d approached him as KID, and he’d reciprocate— stick with what’s familiar. He’s not in a rush to get to that sniper anytime soon, the conference would last for a while anyway, all he had to do was—

To do was—

He licked his dry lips again; body language Kaito, stop that, you’ve already given away enough.

The game changed all at once, and Hakuba’s expression hardened a degree in both confusion and concern, gaze trained on his classmate, his thief, flicking only briefly toward the gun set on the concrete of the rooftop, then back again. It wasn’t the card gun; that much was clear, and there was so much wrong with the scene before him that he’d have had to be a fool not to recognize it for what it was, at least in part. 

He couldn’t act without more data, though, and a clearer picture on where Kuroba stood in all of it. Theories leapt to his mind in a raging torrent, offering explanation, justification, and warnings, but settling on any would be dangerous to proceed on at the present juncture. 

At least there was the string of usual banner. It was safe– the only neutral territory in the face of potential upheaval. 

"Not quite?” Hakuba asked, forcing a smirk on his lips. “Honestly, you’d think that you could pick a better place and time to case a heist location than during a busy conference, Kaitou-san.”

The words, so familiar, gave him a chance to breathe, to sort through what he did know. KID wasn’t exactly a pacifist, he knew that, and he had dangerous people on his tail. It wouldn’t be unreasonable to assume that he had access to weapons beside his typical KID gear, especially after everything with Nightmare. But it wasn’t like KID to display so much hesitation, minute and discrete as it was. The fear, the bit of chatter… 

Was it Nightmare all over again? Were they being watched? Was Kuroba being controlled? 

Typical of his character, the detective shifted his gaze without turning his head to try to get a better feel for their surroundings, scanning for potential exit strategies. It would be such a simple matter to call for backup. He licked the back of his teeth, contemplating. He had cuffs on him. Perhaps he could take KID in– though, no, no, that wouldn’t work. KID couldn’t be caught for a multitude of reasons, and he still needed more information. 

“Don’t tell me that you’re losing your touch? Or is it just the thrill that you’re looking for?" 

by

thenightmarebyyourside:

…So serious all of the sudden. Hmm… Not what he’d been expecting the other to say, but it did make him pause the taunts.

image

“…I’m not one much for guessing motivations. That’s more up your alley, detective.”

He raised a hand to his face, leaning his head on a couple of fingers, slight frown forming. Not that he didn’t get curious from time to time, the assassin just didn’t particularly care, since knowing them didn’t change much.

"So, pray tell, if you really do believe you have enough to successfully arrest, haven’t you?”

Not that he was really expecting an answer. If the detective was trying to get him to guess, it was more likely he wouldn’t anyway.

"It’s really quite simple, Mr. Goldberg…” The detective regarded him with an even expression, though the glint in his eyes was challenging if nothing else. “When given the choice, I won’t turn my quarry over until I’ve learned the whole truth. Without understanding your modus operandi, it is impossible for me to feel truly satisfied with the case.”

Hakuba touched a hand to his lips before tapping his chin, gaze darkening the longer he watched him. “But I don’t suppose you’d favor me in telling such a thrilling secret, would you? Those motivations are what I’m after, more than anything.”

by

Bloody Moriarty

thelotusflowerfiles:

image

“Yes, yes, Thank you. Five minutes.” He sighed, hung up, and pinched the bridge of his nose where the headaches liked to gather. Glancing back inside he looked at the detective sitting there.

There was a lot of pain there, some of which he knew only too well. Inhaling the exhaling deeply he opened the door again and ventured back to the other detective. Azuza stopped him briefly to handed him back his card and a bag.

“Its curry. I thought you might want something to eat when you get home.” She said and gave him a shy smile.

He blinked at before taking it showing off an appreciative smile. “Thank you Azuza-san.” 

He sat back down and shuffled the flies back into his bag. “Five minutes.”

Hakuba put on a bravely optimistic face when Shinichi returned, nodding to the timeline. “I’ve just now finished, so the timing is ideal.” He hated assuming that his costs had been taken care of, but he’d watched the transaction between Shinichi and Azuza, and thought it better than presuming otherwise. 

Taking his time to slide out of the booth, bracing himself against the table until he could get a grip on his cane, he opted for a more careful approach. 

“I just need to settle my tab…" 

Twig, meanwhile, gathered up her leash and trotted out from underneath the table, rearing up to make sure that the end of it brushed against Hakuba’s hand before he straightened up completely. 

by

daughterofthesleuth:

Waiting on Shinichi to return at times had put a strain on Ran. She was unsure of his feelings more often than not and absence often would cause a heart to wander. It was perfectly normal, was it not? However, she still felt a little odd acting more like Sonoko than herself. But, in all honesty, she couldn’t help it. She was her own woman, able to make her own choices and she was caught up in the moment.

That didn’t stop the slight quaver in her voice as she searched his eyes for some sort of answer. She liked the way seemed to sparkle with a bit of understanding. “Y-yes… I mean a kiss.”

She stood a little straighter, conveying her thoughts in posture. She was sure he knew she could hold her own. It wasn’t everyday she was met with such a situation, however. She cleared her throat and took a step closer to the man. “I wouldn’t have said it if I didn’t mean it.”

image

Ah, the confidence even in the face of uncertainty was so thoroughly seductive that the detective couldn’t have denied her request then even if he might have before. Hakuba stroked her cheek with his hand again as he observed her, fingertips trailing to her hair again, just above her ear.

“Fair enough,” he said, conceding the point like the melting touch of warm caramel, folding over cool vanilla cream. They were already close; it was a very simple matter to let his fingertip draw down to her chin to tilt her head up toward him again and lean in to complete her request. This kiss, though, wasn’t as simple as the previous.

Not that it was crude or heated beyond what was appropriate, but it was certainly the potential start of something. Eyes sliding half-closed, he touched his lips to hers and began a steady cascade of caresses, silently counting to three before tilting his head to give another three at a different angle. Slow and gentle with just enough of a part of his lips to impart the feeling of moisture between them. He pressed deeper, closer to her, then began to pull back, watching her reactions closely. 

by

Two is Too Much

ft-dc-fan:

image

“Then how about a red or white tie? It got pretty rare to see people walk around with ties in these colors.”, she suggested to the detective, while she searched through all the different ties taking a red and a white one, showing them to him. “What do you say?”

“Red and white?” Hakuba repeated, looking down at the offered tie with a bit of a helpless expression. It weren’t exactly what he would have picked, but he supposed it were functional enough. He reached to take the slip of fabric from her, fingers running over the surface for a critical analysis. “I’ll… think about it. Which are you thinking for your father, again?”

As he asked, he thought about what he’d seen the inspector wearing before and wondered if, perhaps, his lack of fashion had been his own fault or that of Aoko. Was she to be Nakamori-keibu’s savoir, or was an intervention necessary? Was it even his place to worry about his superior’s attire? 

Perhaps Nakamori would have better luck if he dressed a little more professionally. But then, did he want him to have better luck? Would a change in dress actually even help anything? Perhaps it might improve his own opinion of the man, at least… … … not that he deserved it, but it was something to think about. 

by

Terminal Affirmation

smokebombsandmirrors:

He knew Hakuba was trying to help but all it did was sort drive and twist  a knife that was already there. He bowed his head causing his bangs to hide his eyes, more over the ….. fear? Disappointment? But in whom? Himself, Hakuba? The entire situation? He wasn’t quiet sure.

Come on Kaito, you have to smile. You have to send him off knowing that this was the right choice.

Kaito smiled and raised his head finally to look at him. He hoped he had hidden enough of the pain as to not scare the other. “You’re going to do great, Hakuba. Like you always have. I’ll be praying for your safe return and fortune over their.” 

He straightened and turned towrads him. Reaching under his shirt he lifted a quicksilver chain and a simple disk of aquamarine with a rimmed in topaz over his head and held it out to the other. “Not sure how you feel about jewelry a polytheistic belief system but I wanted to give you this. The metal is quicksilver and the gems are aquamarine and topaz, all are good luck symbols for Virgos.”

He swallowed and struggled to settle down just a bit. He knew his face was starting to flush, he could feel that much when he ears started to burn. “Sorry I tend to get a bit excited about things that are well …. to put it simply, my life.

Hakuba looked from the necklace to Kaito, then back again, hesitating as he reached his hand out to take it. “It’s… beautiful,” he remarked under his breath, wishing for all the world that they weren’t being forced to share this moment in such a crowded place. He turned the disc over in his hands, fingerpads brushing over the surface, pressing it into his palm. “Thank you." 

He hadn’t expected a gift, and certainly not one like this, and to say that he was touched was an understatement. Was there anything that he could give Kaito in return? His mind went over his personal inventory as he memorized the pendant; its weight, texture, construct. There was no way that he could part with the pocketwatch, but perhaps the lighter? No– he wasn’t ready to give up that secret yet. The cross…? 

God, no. That was a burden, not a gift at all. In the end, he had nothing, but he could remedy that once he got to London. That would be simple enough, even though it would leave him stewing in guilt for the time being. 

Without letting the time drag on any further, he slipped good luck charm over his head and tucked it underneath his collar with just a bit of effort, loosening his tie in the process, ears once again pink.

by

A History of Perfect Mistakes

japansfamousdetective:

It didn’t help when he cocked his head and it was so much like a nervous puppy. And oh god she wasn’t going to be able to stop equating him to a golden retriever. Her adorable, precious little golden retriever. 

God help her, she was too far down the rabbit hole now. 

His laughter was surprising, but welcome and it helped to soothe her laughter down to giggles. Then to a content sigh. Thankfully because she hadn’t been sure how much longer her sides could have handled all the laughter. Maybe she needed to laugh more. 

“If I were to use any of those, Hakuba, I’d probably use ‘hopeless’.” A small twitch of a smirk as she smoothed down the rumpled robe. “For ‘hopelessly adorable’." 

She loved him so much, all facets of him, and she hoped to maybe one day be able to express that to him. Today, or at least not that moment, wasn’t the day. Her mind seemed to kind of die at his compliments and she opened her mouth to argue against them.

Except that she found, for once, she didn’t want to. There was a swell in her heart and it was a feeling that she didn’t want to be rid of. Was that… what it was like to be loved?

"I… am up for whatever you wish to do, Hakuba.” Because she really didn’t care as long as it was with him.

Although he was used to picking up the slack where decisions were concerned in that sort of situation, it was unusual for the headstrong Shinori to be so accommodating. Or, perhaps it wasn’t; he had an impression of her in his head but, really, when not in dire straights, she was usually agreeable, wasn’t she?

Oh, he was so fond of her.

Finally, he reached for her, hands gentle as they came to caress the bathrobe over her back, leaning in to press a kiss to her forehead. His arms circled her, anxiety melting away with the warmth of her presence, and Hakuba smiled in a way that was nothing if not serene. 

“I’ll ask Baaya to bring something by… we can eat in bed, if you’re feeling up to it. We’ll have to get some more studying in eventually, but…" 

by

The Neighborhood Watch || miyanohaibara

haunted-haibara:

“Ah, yes I am." Of course, no matter how much she hid her face from the media they just had to know her name.

image

"It’s a pleasure to meet you meet you Hakuba-san though, what brings you here?” she inquired.

Hakuba glanced back to the silent door, lips pursing in a bit of exaggerated despair. He liked children, and while Haibara had always seemed quite mature for her age, he couldn’t resist being just a little more vulnerable around her. “I was hoping to catch Kudou-kun for once… but it appears, as you said, that he’s out. It seems that he always is." 

He sighed with a shrug of his shoulders and slipped his hands into the pockets of his jacket, pleasantly helpless. "Tell me, does he ever come home, or do I really just have the worst luck in the country?”