marshall-lee-vampire-king-time:
OH MY GOD DO IT GUYS. DO IT. DOOOO IIIIT.
It’s my first Munday! 😀
“… Mun?”
“Oh this should be good”
"Might as well.“
SURE WHY NOT HIT UP THE ASK BOX
Hakuba’s Honor
Okay clearly the powerpoint presentation needs to be upgraded to a video so I can record a passionate rant about how wonderful this character is and play it over footage. Harrumf.
What will choose as your last meal?
“Canard à l’Orange, which I have never been overly fond of no matter how many times I’ve tried to enjoy it. Fitting, I think, to give such a classic dish one last attempt before meeting my end. The taste alone might kill me before anything else has the chance.“
Yup. He was that thing running around the area. How was he going to deal with this when he didn’t know what days this would happen? If it were a pattern, he could just lock himself up somewhere with some meat, but he couldn’t tell at this point. “The blankets will be fine, Hakuba. I’m used to cleaning out blood stains and from much more delicate fabrics, anyway.
“I don’t remember anything, though. I just woke up outside naked next to a dead animal the first time and I put two and two together from there.”
“Aside from how exhausting that process is, though? My finger hurts and I’m worried. Did I kill someone?” The calm was freaking him out, though. Hakuba not freaking out over how he turned into a lion and probably killed something or someone? Surely that was a sign of Hakuba having completely snapped or something?
“I can’t speak for anything that happened before I ran into you, but I can assure you that the blood presently on you is not human.” Hakuba reached over to the desk and picked up the deer leg, holding it up for Kaito to see with as much nonchalance as someone might have holding a golf club on the green. “It’s deer.” He set the leg down again.
“It’s troubling to me that you have no memory of it… There was certainly some holdover of you, as the lion allowed me to get very close. Rubbed on me, even, to mark his territory. We’ll have to come up with a solution. This is very dangerous.”
Hakuba sighed then, concerned and thoughtful. “In the meantime, can I get you anything, Kaito-kun? A glass of water, perhaps?”
An Email from Mother || akaikujixyaku
Yes, Hakuba’s mother is in town and already digging through the poor young detective’s life with greedy hands. The following is an email sent on behalf of her despairing son.
—-
Dearest Emi,
I hope that this letter finds you well, as I am about to ask you for a very important favor. Of course, I completely understand if you’re not able to help, but I do believe that you are the best suited for the task. My name is Marion Hakuba, and I am the wife of the Superintendent General. Our son, Saguru, is a brilliant detective, as you are well aware, but appears to be… struggling in some areas.
To put it simply, he consistently overworks himself and does not leave any time for socializing. I’m not certain if this is because he really has so much work to do (I can’t blame his clients for needing him, but he should show some self-restraint), or if it because he simply does not feel that he fits in here in Japan. I do know that his mixed heritage is cause for some contention among his peers, but Saguru has never let it stop him before when it comes to his studies or work, so I cannot understand why he lacks the foresight to not let it effect his social life.
This said, I really am hoping that you can assist me. The favor that I am asking is for you to go on a formal outing with him. A date, really. He is aware of my intentions and has agreed to my terms, on condition that you be interested and not forced into it. (He’s very much enjoyed his correspondence with you thus far and, in his words, ‘would not tolerate [my] meddling’ with your current working relationship.)
Why he hasn’t asked you on a date himself by now is beyond me. I think he might secretly be painfully shy. I do know that he has consistently referred to himself as an introvert when I have pressed, and spends an inordinate amount of time reading when he could be interacting with those of his own age.
Which is why have I come to you, specifically. With an already established repertoire between the two of you, he is sure to open up… particularly as he is used to journalists and interviewers asking things of him. Your talent and brilliance will impress him, and your beauty (you are quite a darling thing, you know), is sure to engage.
I hope that this letter does not come across as insulting in any way, but rather as a plea for help. You would make a friend for life of me if you were willing to oblige. My dear darling son really is a sweetheart, but he needs a lot of help. Would you be willing to help draw him out of his shell?
Regardless of your answer, I do appreciate your time and attention. Please let me know as soon as you can by phone or by email; I won’t be in town for more than a couple of weeks and I would very much like to arrange the perfect evening for you both.
Sincerely yours,
Marion W. Hakuba
(The Meddling Mother)
It took a while, but he eventually changed back to human form, blood still splattered on his face and neck. He was still asleep for a bit, but he woke up and looked around, incredibly disoriented.
Several things ran through his mind at that moment. Why was Hakuba in his room? Why the hell was he naked? And, more worryingly than the rest, why was he covered in blood again? Oh, gods, did he kill someone?
“Hi, Hakuba… What… what’s going on?”
Hakuba had stopped recording before Kaito woke up, and had returned to his research. It hardly seemed dangerous in comparison, letting the thief sleep after all of that. He glanced over, blinked, and very calmly crossed one leg over the other, leaning back in the desk chair.
“It appears that you’ve been shape-shifting into a lion, which explains the reports, and your phonecall the other night.” The detective frowned as he looked Kaito over, lips pursing. “I’m sorry, I should have cleaned you up… I hope that the blood doesn’t stain the blankets too badly.”
So calm, so serene. Relieved, really.
“How are you feeling?”
The lion, meanwhile, had drifted off to sleep. If one were to pay attention to him, there were changes, slow at first and getting faster as it progressed. Paws becoming more like fingers, fur receding and some hair turning back to its’ normal shade of brown on his head, muzzle receding…
Somewhere between the mane change and reading about the specific dietary needs of lions, Hakuba noticed what was happening.
…and went back to staring again. That was just a little too interesting to turn away from. Slyly, he opened up the camera on his phone to record video, eyes wide. Strange new experiences, one after the other. The detective leaned against the desk, steadying himself next to the hunk of venison.
Hate Date in Osaka
He grinned, gratified to see the Brit finally understood. “Glad to hear it,“ he replied with a challenging smirk. Unlike with Kudo, their personalities clashed horribly, and Heiji was sure they’d continue to piss each other off in the future. Therefore, it was only reasonable to use that to both of their advantage, wasn’t it? And if he successfully knocked Hakuba a peg or two in the process, all the better. He sipped at his green tea in the ensuing silence, waiting for Hakuba to finish his meal.
As if sensing the conversation was over for the moment, Katsura-han struck up a conversation of his own, expressing his surprise at Heiji’s English skills. “Well, there’s no one ta talk ta here, save tourists an’ th’ occasional foreign college student,” he replied, lapsing back into Japanese. “An’ th’ teachers,“ he relented after a moment’s thought, “but s’not really a natural conversation.” He watched as Katsura’s brows knitted together and sighed inwardly. Of course, the restaurant owner had probably only been exposed to the heavily-accented English, and probably didn’t realize just how different spoken English was from classroom English. He might not have even seen a need to keep studying the language, considering his current job. Not that he wanted to insult the man, but it was frustrating sometimes when people weren’t as smart or as motivated as Heiji was. “Well, Jodie-sensei’s fun ta talk ta, but she’s all th’ way up’n Tokyo.“ He sighed out loud this time. “They really need ta hire more foreign teachers.”
Hakuba listened while the two conversed, taking great care and effort to finish his plate. He would not insult the restaurant owner again by leaving any delusions that he had not enjoyed the meal. The conversation was interesting anyway, keeping his attention and mind entertained, quite content.
The comment about the teachers brought Hakuba into the game, however, as he straightened up, laying the chopsticks on his now-empty plate.
“That does remind me,” he said, switching back to Japanese himself. “Pardon my intrusion, Katsura-san, Hattori-san… But if you don’t mind my asking, what were the circumstances of your English language studies?”
Moonlight Visitor
No.
No, they really weren’t important.
He held his tongue though, keeping that particular piece of information from slipping out. It would just serve to confuse Hakuba and bring about more questions than he felt comfortable answering right now.
“Yes, I can imagine it was.” Indigo eyes gave the detective a careful once over, taking in the unusually messy state he was in. The corners of his lips twitched and the smile plastered to them turned just a hint more natural and amused – there was a concerned glint in his eye though, followed by a brief flash of guilt upon noting the pained look in Hakuba’s own, but a turn of his head hid it swiftly enough under the shadow of that white top hat.
“Haven’t been sleeping well? …Bad dreams?”
“Ah…” Hakuba’s tired smirk became a genuinely tired smile. “When there’s time for sleep, anyway, it’s been fragmented at best."
He combed a hand through his hair, giving him a moment to sort through his thoughts. The results only gave him cause for a helpless shrug. "Not that it really matters, Kaitou-san… as has been said before, ‘the nightmare is always by your side.’”
The detective stood awkwardly, caught between wanting to pull the thief back, close, and wanting to hide in his embarrassment. He didn’t want anyone to feel sorry for him, or to see him so unguarded. Yet… yet it was tempting, despite.
He waved a hand dismissively. “It’s nothing to worry about.”
The lion yawned and watched his human for the moment. So he didn’t eat any of it? Maybe he’d already eaten. Either way, he closed his eyes for the moment and kept listening. Just as long as his human didn’t spend his time staring at him like a predator in wait or attack, he could stay.
Hakuba had learned the first time that staring was as impolite for lions as it was for the British, and soon settled in the chair with cell phone in hand. He could watch the window this way, and keep a vigil for the hopefully soon to be sleeping lion. And while his phone battery wouldn’t last forever, it would surely give him some very valuable research time. He typed away, ignoring that the deer leg had left blood on the desk. He’d deal with that later… probably after lecturing Kaito, if he ever transformed back.