“The first day he was in class! Remember, you got those concert tickets, and Hakuba introduced himself before asking if he could go with you?”
"Of course, I remember. But that wasn’t really a date.”
“True! Besides, I was doing it more to annoy you, Kuroba-kun… not that Nakamori-chan isn’t a sweet and wonderful girl~”
“Well, I already got used to it over the years.”
“Ah, you’ve become immune to the toxic effects due to exposure over time, I see. That does make more sense, though I worry about your long-term health.”
“Yeah, that’s a part of him as well. Maybe you should talk a bit more with him. And not only about KID. I’m sure you could become good friends.”
“Ah, to be so optimistic about even the worst of situations… How is it that you survive, Nakamori-chan?”
whiteknighthakuba said: “What do you see in Kuroba-kun?!”
“He’s funny, cute and even can be nice if he wants to. Even though he’s a pervert. Also, he’s my best friend after all. Is that enough of an explanation for you?”
“No. He’s obnoxious.”
“I thought about buying a black tie for him. They really suit him.” She kneeled down and looked for a black tie. “Hm.. I don’t see any black tis here. Do you see any, Hakuba-kun?”, she asked the detective behind her.
Hakuba continued to rub the tie between his fingers as he turned his attention back to the racks, working his way through the colors to reach up to a set of black ties higher up. “There are some here,” he said, and read over the labels to find one of higher quality. Once he found one of a suitable thread count and length, he pulled it from the hook and offered it to her. “Here… he may like this if it’s within your price range. The width of it is just right for the windsor knots he usually wears."
“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.
Send “Tick Tock” for a random thought without context that my character has during a day.
“Smile, nod, and bow. Pretend that they didn’t just prove that they’re bloody racist hypocritical gits. They’re officials, yes, and they should know better, but I musn’t say anything."
She thought about it for a moment but then acepted his offer. “Sure! I’d love to go eat lunch with you! Well, we should get going. It surely it will be troublesome to find a fitting tie for you, since I’m sure that every kind of tie will look great on you.”, she said and walked towards a shop that sells ties.
Well, at least she sounded sincere when giving the compliment. Hakuba managed a small, but genuine smile at her, brows knitting. Perhaps it wouldn’t be so bad after all. It was just spending the afternoon with his classmate, right? He followed along with her, wondering what kind of store Aoko frequented, given their vastly different price ranges. But if he could find something with the right material or thread count, perhaps it was salvageable…
Besides, it was retail therapy, not a tie needed for any sort of function. Hm.
“That’s very sweet of you to say, Nakamori-chan. I can only hope that you’re right, though the biggest trouble will be finding something different enough from the ties that I already have.” He chuckled. Oh what a good joke. Even though it was true. The detective had far, far too many ties.
Send “In Another Life” and I’ll tell you a fact about an AU version of my character.
In the Starwars/Order 66 AU, Hakuba was a Jedi Master with young Shinichi as his padawan. Until Anakin Skywalker was discovered, it was thought that Shinichi would be the one to bring order to the force. Alas, Shinichi was just too passionate and easily swayed toward the dark side, and SO INCREDIBLY ANGRY to no longer be the specialest snowflake. This caused Hakuba many headaches and so much shame and he, like Master Shifu in Kung Fu Panda, never quite forgave himself when they stripped Shinichi of the Force and exiled him from the temple.
Hakuba also had a ridiculously strong crush on Obi-Wan Kenobi but never once acted on it as much as he wanted to.
Oh, and his lightsaber was totally silver. How awesome is that?
“Oh really? That’s nice. If you want to, we could buy one together. You know, my dad asked me to buy him a new one anyway. So I wouldn’t mind helping you to find one too.”, she offered him with a smile on her lips.
Oh. Getting help buying a tie? Hakuba resisted the urge to make a horrified face, instead forcing his smile to be just a little bit broader. It was strained at best. He didn’t need help buying a tie. He didn’t need help with anything, really, and especially not with clothing.
But… it was a sweet offer… and the detective didn’t have it in him to be overtly cruel, so with a sort of sag in his shoulders he nodded, corner of his mouth twitching. “Certainly… yes, that would be wonderful, Nakamori-chan. Perhaps…” No, don’t say it. “Perhaps we could get lunch together while we’re at it?”
God, no what was he getting himself into?
