Tag Archives: ic

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kazuha–toyama:

Somewhere at the half way point Kazuha got tired of dragging Hakuba along with her and slowed the pace a bit. Kazuha lifted her other hand to her cheek – touching it briefly in order to ensure her fluster was gone before turning to face the detective.

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“What’s wrong Hakuba-kun? I didn’t hurt yer arm right?” Kazuha questioned tilting her head slightly and dropping her arm from his. She still hadn’t known what it was but could definitely tell something was on his mind. 

“Oi? Hakuba-kun? Oi!” Kazuha yelled her eyes solely focused on him. It was him after all who’d offered to take her. Why was he in such a trance like state – perhaps she was a bit too rough?

Oh. He was being rude, wasn’t he? 

Hakuba blinked once, then forced a smile, straightening up once they’d come to an awkward sort of pause. 

“There’s no need to yell, Toyama-san… my apologies; I was just thinking about the strength of your grip.”  The detective said this, only realizing after the fact how it might come off, so laughed and quickly amended his statement. “I was trying to figure out which sport you might be engaged in to put that strength to use. I’m aware that Hattori-san is something of a Kendo champion… but I’m afraid that I’m unaware what captures your extracurricular attention.”

He turned to her, tilting his head, and looked her over from ponytail to foot. Then, he began to pace around her, investigating, while rubbing his sore, previously clutched arm, with his other hand. Ow.

“You’re clearly athletic… built for speed and power, yes… But what are your individual strengths and weaknesses?”

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phantom-thief-kid:

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“Why don’t we see where the adventure takes us?” Actually, he did have something in mind, but he wanted to leave a bit of mysteriousness with this. “Come along, detective.”

Hakuba was, of course, suspicious… but he pushed that away for the time being. If Kaito, dressed as KID or not, wanted to be nice to him, there was no way in Hell that he would prevent it. Niggling in the back of his head was the worry that it was a trap, meant to make him vulnerable before striking him down, but… those words of his were far too alluring to resist.

“If you insist.”

He followed. 

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Some Nights (blackfeatherswhitedoves)

The nightmares usually came when Hakuba tried to sleep during the beginnings of a storm. The tea and the alcohol helped, but they usually came anyway. That night was no different, except that it was also the night of a KID Heist. Hakuba had intended on attending, but when his nap was hijacked by some rather painful memories, he decided to take the night off.

Still, the approaching rain didn’t stop him from wandering into the city, hands in his pockets, jacket bundled against himself. It wasn’t cold… at least not too cold, yet. It would be once the rain started, but for the moment it was almost too warm. The barometric pressure of the gathering storm clouds pressed upon Hakuba, and he sighed at its display.

Once in the heart of the city, Hakuba gained access to one of the taller buildings with his ridiculously lucky key card, and took a seat on the rooftop to watch the distant lightning storm – and what he could see of the heist. Which, really, wasn’t much. Just the strobe lights and some of the clumps of the crowd wandering about below the heist. 

But Hakuba had given up the idea of chasing Kaitou KID. At least that night, when his head ached as much as his heart did. So really, it didn’t matter. 

Hakuba checked his pocket watch and looked back at the crowd, curiously. If he knew Kaitou – and he had to admit that he at least had a passable knowledge of his skills and routine – the show was likely to start any moment now. He could almost hear the screaming fan girls, could almost see Nakamori-keibu’s disappointed face when he realizes that he’s lost yet again. 

The detective smiled to himself, pulling a bottle of cheap beer from his coat pocket. It wouldn’t be good, but it would keep him relaxed while he watched the unfolding events. He popped it open, took a swig, then settled back.

Let the show begin.

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kazuha–toyama:

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“I suppos’ yer right,” Kazuha thought momentarily about her direct meaning of the word. “Well, as long as it’s somethin’ orange or yellow than it’s good ‘nough for me” Kazuha said aloud looking over to Hakuba with a grin.

Kazuha could tell that he was pondering over something – he had the face Heiji had when he was contemplating something. She just wasn’t so sure what it was – or why he was looking at her while he did so. “Somethin’ wrong Hakuba-kun?” Kazuha asked furrowing a brow to him “Ya got that annoying anxious look on yer face" 

Kazuha then took one of her arms and placed in on her hip and cocked her head to the side as she glared at him – in a full on attitude stance. 

Kazuha then noticed the detective extend his arm for her – something Heiji had rarely done. If ever.  She stared at him for a moment in awe – before her cheeks heated up and she gripped his arm semi roughly and began pulling him along, trying to hide her flustered face.

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Annoying? She was calling his face annoying? Hakuba wasn’t sure what was worse, the insult, or the fact that this girl thought that it was appropriate. Then again, he had to remind himself that this was Osaka, and Kazuha was Hattori-san’s savage woman. A fine choice for a mate, he supposed, if one was a brute looking for a wild one. 

The half-brit detective considered this further as the girl took his arm and dragged him onward, which caught him by some surprise.

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"Ah- right, then,” Hakuba stammered and shifted his focus to keep pace with her. 

What was he getting himself into?! At least at this rate, it wouldn’t take them long at all to reach the mall.  

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phantom-thief-kid:

KID blinked. Wait, he didn’t feel all that different? A titch less annoyance and definitely a lot less fear of getting turned in.

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“Hello, detective.” He grinned. “So, care to follow your quarry instead to do something a bit more fun than the constant chase of thief and detective? Not that it isn’t fun to have our back and forth games, just that variety is the spice of life.”

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“I’m inclined to agree… and must admit that I’m intrigued by your proposition. What did you have in mind, Monsieur voleur?”

The warm greeting did wonders for a pleasant return from the detective. Perhaps their recent conversations had smoothed over some of the cracks and strengthened the bonds of friendship between them? Could it be that… that Hakuba might actually have a friend? 

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Re: HAKUBA’S MOTIVE

phantom-thief-kid:

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Oh, crap… He definitely broke Hakuba. Or, at least, it was a crash and required a bit of time for a reboot, to use a computer metaphor.

Kaito put his hand on Hakuba’s shoulder, him pressing the other on Hakuba’s chest. “Breathe. Sit down if you have to. It’s a big thing to wrap your head around. Not every day you hear that someone has somehow defied the aging process in such a radical way.”

Hakuba swallowed hard and tried, desperately, to steady himself with Kaito’s assistance. He shivered under Kaito’s hands, while his own wiped furiously at at the tears in his eyes. Then he laughed, and it was only very slightly hysterical.

“I.. think…” The detective said, leaning more and more toward Kaito with every passing second. “I think.. sitting down is.. a good… idea.”

Or, you know, fainting. Which is what Hakuba did next.  

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Re: HAKUBA’S MOTIVE

phantom-thief-kid:

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A smirk. “My, my, detective. Cat got your tongue?”

Teasing was probably unwise. His expression softened. Did he manage to break Hakuba? This was very un-Hakuba-like behavior, gaping mouth and silent, with no barb or retort. “…But, really, I warn you that this whole affair is such a mess that I shudder to think of it. I’m just at the periphery of all of this, so I cannot tell you much.

“…Are you okay, Hakuba?”

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Hakuba barely heard Kaito over the roar of words within his head. The hand over his mouth moved to his forehead and he hesitated, trembling. Already, he was mentally combining case files and merging the complex timelines together and 

it

all 

fit.

The detective swayed here he stood, bringing his other hand to join the other, now covering his eyes as he attempted to grasp the gravity of this discovery. 

“I.. ah, just.. need.. a moment, Kaito-kun,” he managed with some difficulty. 

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Re: HAKUBA’S MOTIVE

phantom-thief-kid:

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Kaito just stared and blinked for a moment. Hakuba took it the wrong way in the worst meaning possible. “Yes, he is safe.

“Let’s leave it like this, if you’re so annoyed with my riddles. He leads a double life because he, I think, managed to piss off similar people that are after KID. He is not who you think he is. Conan Edogawa does not exist in birth records or school records before a certain year.

“It may not be prudent to reveal others’ secrets, but circumstances dictate it’s more prudent now.” …Particularly with that Bourbon guy lurking around. It was still why Kaito kept avoiding the agency, too, even though that guy wouldn’t recognize him. Hakuba barging in would be unwise, as Kaito honestly had no idea of what the situation inside was and that could end with Hakuba getting shot. “Let’s just say that time has reversed for him physically, but not mentally. He appears much younger than his real self.

“He is the Azure Dragon. He is Hattori’s detective counterpart when keeping in mind the whole of Japan. He is your detective counterpart in Tokyo. Understand now, detective?”

There was very clear relief on Hakuba’s face when Kaito was able to confirm, at least, that Edogawa Conan was not, in fact, the victim of a case of domestic abuse. This relief dwindled, however, as the other teenager continued on. 

Hakuba listened quietly, patiently, assembling each tidbit of information as he received it. These were processed and set in position similarly to best-guess numbers in a Sudoku puzzle, and left to ruminate while he collected more information. No decisions were reached, no conclusions made. 

But even with his mental processes ticking away at profiling and tagging each piece of puzzle, the detective’s body reacted as if he weren’t such a rational, logical, human being. He tensed, jaw setting firm, and stared at Kaito with a fierce intensity that betrayed the slowly boiling horror in the back of his mind.

Oddly enough, it was the dragon comment that snapped the whole picture into place and it clicked like a light switch. The resulting audible gasp was one that Hakuba had absolutely no capacity to hold back.

He opened his mouth to speak, but the words – of which there were thousands, all competing for a chance to be set loose – didn’t manage to make it out. Hakuba tried again, mouth moving not unlike a koi begging for feed, and finally closed his mouth tightly, one hand lifting to cover it, such was his shock. And surprise. 

Everything suddenly made sense. Mostly. 

The detective looked to Kaito, wide eyes pleading for some kind of… answer? Reassurance? But he had no words. None that he could form into any sort of coherent sentence, question or otherwise. 

And thus, Hakuba was rendered completely speechless. 

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Re: HAKUBA’S MOTIVE

phantom-thief-kid:

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“You think I’m threatening him? No. What happened to him happened before I met him.“ He may not get along very well with Kudou, but he wouldn’t force that fate upon anyone.

“But let’s just say that there is a certain river with only one current. Somehow, despite how so many have tried to swim against the current, he managed to, without losing his intellect in the slightest. Understand the river is something we all are in.”

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“I’m not certain if you were aware or not, but I have never enjoyed working through your riddles." 

This admission on Hakuba’s part came with an irritated, but somewhat sheepish, roll of his eyes. The language barrier was something that he had worked at extensively, but no matter how studious he was, there would always be more Japanese word play references than he could possibly grasp. Every riddle of Kaitou’s was eventually solved, true – he kept up with the heists even when overseas – but it always took him far too long for his comfort and pride.

"Is Edogawa-kun all right? Is he safe? Do I need to step in, some how, to guarantee that he is in a positive environment?" 

Clearly, the detective had misunderstood. The ache in his heart was strong and he wondered, intentions good but misplaced, if he ought to be leaving to make a trip to the Mouri Detective Agency at that moment to rectify whatever horrible situation the boy had been put in. From one kindred spirit to another… he would do whatever it took!