Tag Archives: ic

by

phantom-thief-kid:

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“I understand. I may be a thief, but I don’t wish to cause you problems. We’ll leave it for the heists, yes?” KID glanced to Hakuba. He noted the looking, but didn’t say anything. As the elevator opened up, he walked out and headed through the front and out to the street.

“So, my friend, where is the place? I am not really a traveler around here…” Well, that was indicative, but it was utterly pointless, as Hakuba already knew. If he didn’t, then Hakuba was incredibly obtuse and that would require him not to be a detective at all.

Hakuba followed KID out to the street and continued walking down the sidewalk, glancing backward. “This way. It’s a short walk." 

He could have called them a taxi, but it really was only three or four blocks from their present location. The detective kept his pace measured to ensure that KID would walk with him, at which point he offered a guarded sort of hopeful smile. My friend. What had KID meant by that, exactly? If it held any special meaning at all… 

"Ah – what am I to call you, by the way? As a client of mine, you’re of course granted rights of anonymity… but it will seem strange if I don’t refer to you by name casually after check in." 

by

detectivephiliac:

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Sorry, I haven’t gotten around to that—

*—More like it hadn’t crossed her mind, since she was feeling particularly attached to her theories, but they’d probably be good to check out—*

—But he told me that he was found by a patrol car passing by. I feel that doesn’t entirely add up when you put the fire and the fact that the culprit didn’t outright kill him into the mix… We had a discussion about it, but his missing memories helped us get nowhere.

“Indeed… it all sounds rather suspect. I could pay the hospital another visit to gather information and then go over the results with you, if you like. I do have a certain amount of sway when it comes to personal records by throwing the family name around…”

It wasn’t something that Hakuba liked to do, but it was definitely something that came in handy in situations like this.

“Did, ah, Hattori-san say what matter pulled him away during your investigation?" 

by

kazuha–toyama:

As they arrived to the building Kazuha strutted up the the front door and tugged on it. It was locked. She sighed heavily and went around towards the back where she had easily opened the side window and climbed in.

“Hurry, Hakuba-kun! Don’t wanna get caugh’ do ya?” Kazuha laughed lightly and ran down the hall and too the back of the building – pausing every so often to let Hakuba catch up. As they arrived to her locker Kazuha couldn’t believe her eyes – all of her belongings thrown to the floor and scattered about. The door to her locker wide opened and inside… A note.. One she had not been familiar with.

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“Oi…Hakuba-kun…” Kazuha whispered lightly biting her lip as the fear within her gut grew larger and larger. She hadn’t even wanted to look at what the note said – she’d decided this was no prank!

“I have a bad feelin’ le’s jus’….” Kazuha said taking baby steps toward her locker before being cut off by a strange click sound. As she turned to see what the sound was – something had speed past her face and a loud bang was heard.

Kazuha was knocked against her locker, her cheek was intensely throbbing – there was blood gushing from it as Kazuha lifted her hand to the wound and touched it lightly. It was almost numbed. When she pulled her hand away to look at it Kazuha’s eyes had been wider than ever before as she stared in awe at the thick deep red blood on her finger tips.

So much for this having not been a dangerous investigation. Breaking in through the window had been bad enough – but not the worst idea, really, as it would have to be assumed that the darkened hallways and off hours meant that they could investigate without being interrupted. But proceeding onward had yielded nothing more than a deeply unsettling feeling and then the dark locker room? While Kazuha went ahead, the detective began to take in the surroundings, pulling up his cellphone to open up the flashlight application when the sound and clatter pulled his attention.

Dammit! 

“Toyama-chan!” Hakuba cleared the distance between them in a sprint and took a position of defense in front of her, crouched, holding his breath for a moment to listen for their attacker. 

But after a moment, nothing happened… and the detective frowned, shifting his position to search the floor with the assisted light. Ah- there. 

A cross bow’s arrow, just feet from them. He looked around the room and saw a glint up ahead, which matched the trajectory. No person, just a mechanism. Hakuba took a deep breath, then turned and knelt next to Kazuha, looking her face over quickly before pulling a handkerchief from his pocket, which he offered to her.

“Apply this to the wound, keep it tight. It’s a graze- ricocheted from the locker, it looks like. I’ll dress it later." 

He had a lot to do. Phonecalls to make. A perimeter to secure. The arrow could have easily killed the girl had it been set up just a little bit differently. But he hesitated. It would do him no good if the girl freaked out on him. Calm, sound minds were far more easy to manage. 

"I’m going to call for security, and then I’ll try Hattori-san, all right? It looks worse than it is, just stay calm. Can you promise me that you will stay calm, Toyama-chan?”

by

detectivephiliac:

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My theory… Is something like that, yes. Perhaps a bit more complicated. I don’t believe he could be responsible for both. It would have been more convenient for him to leave the corpse in the burning cafe. Likewise, if he was responsible for the murder and putting the body in the dumpster, that could mean he was capable of taking on whoever his assailants were – and for him to not immediately flee the scene of the fire is most peculiar, because rather he was knocked out a few blocks away… I feel he has an important role in this but…

*She paused – now reminded of the tea she hadn’t even touched.*

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Eh? O-Oh… My apologies, thank you…

*She picks up the tea cup and takes a small sip – before bringing it up to her lips again and draining most of the cup.*

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Anyways… If we could rewind for a minute… When the two of you first entered the cafe. Did you notice any changes in perhaps his personality or composure at any point? Since this is where his memory breaks off, I feel this is a key moment…

*She decided to hold back any of her forced memory loss and split personality theories for now, just in case it would be met with a negative reaction. She hadn’t been keen about telling the Osakan detective about her own experiences, so she didn’t want to go through it again in attempt to justify it. Plus, she wasn’t sure if Heiji wanted her planting this idea in others’ heads, so she wanted to figure it out and confront him about it above anything else.*

Once the other detective had had some tea, Hakuba felt much more at ease. Not about the case at hand – no, that still left him quite unsettled – but at least he could be assured that he had been a decent host for his guest. A relief to be sure.

“Changes… hmm..”  Hakuba looked thoughtful at that, stirring his second cup of tea, which he took with him as he leaned back in his chair. He crossed one leg over the other, then took a sip from the cup before responding.

“Actually, yes. Once I brought up his father, I saw in him the fury that I had always suspected had been there but had never seen. Despite being in an uncomfortable position then, it was validating to finally see Hattori-san snap. That’s awful of me, though, isn’t it?”

More tea.

“Immediately after, however, once the dust had a chance to settle… he did seem to change. I imagine it was the realization dawning that I had been right. He removed himself from me without a word, at first, and seemed to suffer from an incredible headache. From that point on, it was only cold, terse exchanges. None of the previous banter – except for when I returned for the lighter. It was not quite what I had expected, but then… I had provoked him into physically attacking me, which I think may have surprised him more than it surprised me.”

Hakuba pursed his lips. “Have you had a chance to look over Hattori-san’s medical files? I’d be very curious to see what the report of his reception said regarding his condition. Actually, do we know how he was found and by whom?”

by

phantom-thief-kid:

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“We don’t have to.” KID let go of Hakuba’s hand and walked over to the rooftop access door. He grinned slightly and pulled a small lockpick out, working quickly on the lock. “It is a simple matter and there is an elevator in this building.”

The lock clicked and KID turned the door, then stowed the lockpicks away. He didn’t comment on the chosen venue, as he wasn’t going to look a gift horse in the mouth. Beckoning Hakuba, he headed down the staircase and to the elevator. This place was actually an apartment complex, but it would be fine as long as Hakuba didn’t act like they weren’t supposed to be here if someone showed up.

Hakuba watched KID pick the lock but made no comment. The last thing he wanted to do was to get into an argument and, well, he really didn’t want to have to climb down the fire escape, either. Beside, he’d busied himself with the phone.

“Yes, this is Hakuba Saguru… I need to make a reservation." 

He followed after the thief, casual and calm as if they were supposed to be walking through the apartment building. The detective gave his membership number, and stepped into the elevator. 

"That should be fine, yes. Thank you. That is the correct card on file. Ah – yes, if you wouldn’t mind… The usual. Thank you.”

The detective ended the call and slipped the phone back into his pocket, glancing over at KID afterward. Elevators. It was always elevators. He let out a nervous breath and pushed a lop-sided smirk.

“It’s all arranged. And, ah, I don’t suppose I could ask you to… not use my membership number to book hotels as you fancy, could I? Not that that the expense is any concern, but should I turn up in two Hyatts across the world on the same night, it could be a little bit awkward to explain." 

Actually, he wouldn’t have minded at all. Helping KID – no, Kuroba, with something would actually be a pleasure. He wanted to be useful to him. And then, being in that elevator, he wanted to be closer, too. But he stayed where he was. Just… looking.

by

detectivephiliac:

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Not much, to be honest. The evidence was destroyed well – certainly not the work of an amateur. Even the body didn’t give much, especially since there wasn’t any identification at the time. We carried out the investigation before the officials got there and left afterwards, as Hattori-kun had something he had to attend to.

But the body hadn’t been found until that day, so it presumably was in that dumpster since the day of the murder. Decomposing hurt the evidence and it became difficult to determine even the cause of death… And Hattori-kun admittedly became little help because of the odor and the infestation of bugs.

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As said, the cafe was literally nothing but ashes… Nothing was recognizable… Except… except for a cell phone, which Hattori-kun identified as his. It wasn’t functioning – perhaps just a dead battery – but it was among the ash and didn’t appear to have been caught in the fire due to its condition…

The odor gave Hattori problems? Hakuba hadn’t been aware of this tidbit of information. Not that it was terribly uncommon; all decomposing bodies gave off a rather pungent odor once it reached a certain stage… that was just part of the chemical process. Still, he noted that for later, and nodded once again to Kyouko.

“There’s much here that suggests quite a few things to Hattori’s – as you put it so aptly – unreliable testimony. Am I correct in assuming that your current theory is that Hattori-san had something to do with the death of that man that you found, as well as the fire? Perhaps being the cause…”

Hakuba finished his tea and set it on the table, reaching for the kettle to make another cup.

“Also, your tea is getting cold, Kirigiri-san…" 

by

phantom-thief-kid:

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“I have had to master the art of changing costume rather quickly. It is a useful skill for a phantom thief, yes?” He gave a slight grin. “So, whereabouts is the hotel?”

That was good neutral ground, actually. Meant that Hakuba couldn’t do any tricks involving stuff where he was more familiar with the layout than KID. This put the suspicions in the back of his mind at ease.

“There are three that I frequent who won’t give me any trouble,” Hakuba explained, using his free hand to pull out his phone. “The closest is…” he looked back out to the nighttime city skyline. “…the Hyatt Regency, actually." 

This pleased Hakuba as he had built up an insane amount of membership rewards between the Hyatt Regencies in Japan, the United Kingdom, and elsewhere overseas. Standardized, conventional, and perfect for his particular tastes. 

"I’ll call them on the way.”  He paused. “Do… we have to go back down the fire escape?”

by

detectivephiliac:

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A separate case brought me to the hospital Hattori-kun was staying at. While looking for someone else, I found out he was staying there.

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I had… never exactly met a famous detective before, you see. I much prefer to work in the shadows – but I recognized his name and impulsively decided to check it out myself. He told me about his case and I said I was willing to help, so when he was discharged, he called me and requested my services.

“Understandably…” Hakuba wondered if Kyouko thought of him as a famous detective as well, then… If Hattori-san was worth visiting, perhaps…?  Not that that mattered. He chided himself inwardly. And drank more tea.

“So what is your next step from this juncture, Kirigiri-san? What did you learn when you visited the site?”

by

kazuha–toyama:

Kazuha turned to him – walking backwards as she spoke, every so often turning her head to make sure she was going the right direction.

“Well- ‘f there from muh Aikido class then, we could be in serious trouble” Kazuha said concernedly as she’d watched him carefully and listened to yet another theory.

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“A-A prank?” Kazuha raised a brow ignoring the fact Hakuba had willingly said he’d get a hold of Heiji… Kazuha couldn’t help but contemplate the entire situation in her mind… “Who’d do such’a thin’?” Kazuha asked angrily bawling a fist as in one swift movement she turned and faced forward again.

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Kazuha without thinking further more about the other possibilities began to run towards the Aikido practice area – she’d sworn if this was some kind of a sick joke, there’d be hell to pay!

“That’s what we’re going to find out." 

Ah, that temper. Perhaps it had something to do regionally? He would have to begin compiling some data on Osaka, specifically the area where Hattori and Toyama were from. Wasn’t Hattori Heizo also violent and hot-tempered? Hmm..

"I suppose if there is an actual threat, we will just have to call for backup. But I do not think that we need to worry; one of my specialties is diplomatic communication to diffuse anger.”

Not that anyone would guess that with how often he made people angry, but… 

“At any rate, let us check on the status of the note.”

by

detectivephiliac:

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… There’s no point in blaming yourself. You couldn’t have forseen it. It’s not as if you neglected to give that possibility a single thought even though it had been staring at you in the face. The possibility didn’t even enter your mind…

*She stopped, some sort of distress or regret flashing on her face for a few moments.*

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I feel… the corpse was not responsible for the fire. Culprits wouldn’t exactly return to a scene where they know a fire will start at. They must have approached the fire afterwards for some reason. And if, they happened to be an assailant of Hattori-kun… who ended up unconscious a couple blocks away from the fire…

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Hakuba couldn’t be sure, but it almost sounded as if the girl were blaming him. At least, making him partially responsible. Had she meant to sound sarcastic, or was that his own insecurity making him think that? The half-brit wasn’t certain. So he drank more tea. 

After a moment, he lowered the cup again and nodded to her.

“And now with no recollection of what happened…" 

There were a lot of things about this case that bothered him, aside from being all about Hattori and partially about the argument that they’d had. Things weren’t adding up.

"May I ask how you came to be on this case, Kirigiri-san? Specifically – if you know why Hattori-san asked you for your help…”