by

Of Crimson, Tigers, and Birdwatching

phantom-thief-kid:

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“I’m not and the murder hasn’t happened yet, so figuring it out would be wisest. Obviously, I can’t go to the police. And, even if I tried, that would result in an innocent man getting arrested instead of the killer, along with other consequences.”

That was only half-true, but Heiji was dominant lately. Or Sazerac had perfected his little act. Either way, this would be bad. Very bad. Especially since it involved the ravens.

Blink.

That sounded awfully familiar. Hakuba tilted his head, glancing back at Kaito again, forcing a neutral expression. “Perhaps it might be prudent if we went back inside and you filled me in? I’m quite curious…”

He took the bottle of scotch in his hand, lighter and suit jacket in the other, and gestured back to the room. Suddenly, he didn’t feel very tired anymore.

by

Hate Date in Osaka

meitanteiosaka:

whiteknighthakuba started following you

“Oi. What’re you doin’ here, Hakuba?”

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“I’m headed toward the library. Your city’s main public archives has a book that I’ve been looking for forev- Ah… this… is the way to the library, isn’t it?”

Hakuba blinked, confused as he glanced around curiously. Where was he? He looked back at Heiji. Huh. He didn’t recognize any of this part of the city. He must have been wandering again, lost in thought. Troubling. 

“Hattori-san. We meet again. Could you direct me to the library, please?”

by

For the Love of a Painting || kaitouxjeanne

The following evening brought out the usual high society crowd in droves. Each dressed in their finest to impress, young Saguru Hakuba included. He’d forgone wearing the deerstalker and ‘classic’ Sherlock outfit in favor of a black tux with burgundy vest, both because the costume was technically inaccurate and because he wanted to show off as he had been unable to adequately do the night before. If there was ever a time to be a pompous ass, a function like this was it. 

He stood near his client as they greeted the guests, but could not keep himself from glancing periodically at the painting in question. Truthfully, he was a little nervous. He much preferred to work with cold, dead corpses that weren’t going anywhere, with paper trails coated in inherent flaws that he could inspect to unearth the truth. This robbery business… It was well enough and fine, but he was no athlete made to chase over buildings and up walls. And their riddles? Exhausting. But he did as he clients bid him to do, and so steeled himself for the evening.

Hakuba nodded politely, charming smile fixed into place, polished and friendly as was expected. Despite the mixed blood, he had good breeding on both sides, which went a long way with the rich crowd. ‘Oh, both sides of the family are rich? What a fine young gentleman!’ 

It was difficult not to think about that while taking the hands of the ladies to kiss and the men to shake, nodding hellos, bowing, and offering bits of trivia about themselves to confirm that, yes, he was supposed to be there, he did belong, and he was a damn good detective there was no need to worry. 

But where of the girl from the night before? She was new. Jeanne. He hardly knew anything about her except that she was interesting and very suspicious, both of which he enjoyed. Surely, she would show. 

He hid a sigh and turned to his client, raising a faint brow at a whispered request, then moved away to seek out a server. Asked to retrieve drinks? He wasn’t a butler. But he did as he was told, slipping into the crowd, disappointed bitterness hidden away.

by

Of Crimson, Tigers, and Birdwatching

phantom-thief-kid:

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“I can’t forget this ‘raven business,’ though. It is tempting, yes. Even so, I’m not going to leave my friends who are involved with those ravens. Also, please don’t bring Hattori into this. He and I get along fine, unlike you and him.”

Interesting choice of a location, now that he thought of it.  He rested his head on the rail. Yes, running could get you far, but it didn’t change how the people left behind were stuck in whatever cesspool you’d fled.

“And I got a bizarre riddle. From what I can tell, if I don’t figure it out and stop the writer, they’re going to kill someone very soon. I’m not gonna let that happen either, Hakuba..” No need to mention Sazerac being the writer. That… wouldn’t go over well.

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“I… was joking,” Hakuba said, frowning again. “I know we can’t just leave." 

The detective turned back to the city view. He knew he was being unreasonable, but it still hurt. 

"I went and visited Hattori-san just like you asked. I was more than polite. I’m not going to cause any problems, don’t worry. I’m not the one that has an extreme temper and violence problem.” Pause. “…bizarre riddle? Wait, since when were you a homicide detective?”

by

✉

[A Text Message from Half-Asleep Hakuba (at least he’s not drunk)]

please savv a dance on oyur cande card for me because i should very much like to before i make the big arrest

by

themoonlightthief:

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An utterly unamused look was aimed the detective’s way as he noted Hakuba’s own expression and he had to resist the urge to mutter some very well chosen words under his breath.

Well.

Two could play this game. Whatever kind of game it was Hakuba was playing.

“I don’t know what you’re talking about, but if you’re planning on staying here, then one pizza is not going to be enough,” he replied with a roll of his eyes and turned to head back inside, reluctantly motioning for the other to follow.

He’d hidden the sapphire in the secret room behind the painting, and there was no way Hakuba was getting in there. It didn’t stop Kaito from feeling slightly unsettled though – he hadn’t expected to run into the detective again quite so soon – but he hid it with ease behind a well practiced poker face.

Success.

Hakuba walked into the house and removed his shoes, casually taking in the surroundings with careful, practiced gaze. Yes, memorize all of the details.

“That’s fine. You order, I’ll hand you my credit card. Is that agreeable enough for you?”

Shoes off, he straightened up and offered a grin. It was that same amused, ‘I’ve got you now’ kind of grin that he had worn before, but now it was a little more relaxed.

“We need drinks, too. I suppose pizza delivery doesn’t bring scotch, but… Soda should be fine? What do delivery places in Japan usually bring? Do you have tea already in the house? Oh, wait, I’m sure that you do… Oh, are you watching something?" 

by

✉

[A Text Message from Half-Asleep Hakuba (at least he’s not drunk)]

youthn no you are relly too pretty to solve cases alone

you;r gonna get hurt and thn there wikll be nom ore tea

by

koizumiakako:

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More than anything, having him roll his eyes at her had irritated Akako the most and for a moment she imagined that he had actually rebuffed her invitation. Thankfully, for both of them, he had conceded and made his way over to the table. She ignored his rudeness and instead fixed him with an equally neutral stare, trying to hide the effect he had caused.

“Hello, Hakuba-kun,” she greeted flatly. There was no inflection in her voice; not even a hint that they had once been involved in any way. She laid the spoon on the table next to the half-empty cup of melting cream and straightened it just so before taking a small sip of iced tea. Normally she preferred juice but she had been going through a lot of changes recently.

Crossing one leg over the other and straightening her back, Akako tried her best to appear taller. It wasn’t difficult considering she already rivaled his height on a normal day but she hadn’t been feeling her best and the extra few inches couldn’t hurt.

“What brings you here?” She was only half curious but chose sugar over vinegar. Saguru probably wouldn’t respond to anything else from her. Actually, even with him joining her, Akako would still be a little bit surprised if he decided to respond at all.

The posturing was noted with a bite of irritation, which Hakuba showed by tightening his jaw. He nodded to her greeting, then took a sip of coffee – which was, as always, far too hot to drink right away – then set it down in silence. Until the question, anyway. 

“I had some shopping to take care of,” the detective answered quietly, stating the obvious. “I suppose I should ask the same of you?”

Hakuba glanced over again, trying sort of hard to keep the disdain out of his expression and stay neutral. When it didn’t work, the drank more burning coffee. Ow. 

by

askkudoushinichi:

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“The police can always use the help on cold cases. Is there any specific reason you would choose the United Kingdom over Japan?” he asked as an after thought. It did seem rather strange to him, but then again, he realized that Saguru was raised in England.

They were a lot alike in some ways and then completely different in others. While Saguru wanted to work on cold cases, Shinichi was much more involved in the here and now. Organized crime had become his game, which wasn’t really all that surprising. Maybe he would go back to solving murders when they were finally put behind bars.

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The question brought Hakuba to a near-stumble. “Ah, Kudou-san… Well, that is to say…”  

He looked back at Shinichi, raising a brow, frowning somewhat. Either Shinichi was teasing him or he’d somehow managed to transcend mortality and was, as he might have guessed, an angel of equality.

Either way, he decided to err on the side of caution and answer the question seriously. 

“Considering I look about as Japanese as a piñata, I’ll never make it past rank 6, and that’s only if I am incredibly fortunate. I’ll have a much better chance advancing in London."