Well, now… KID was sending him flowers? Intriguing…
Hakuba leaned back at his writing desk, glancing between the floral arrangement and the note, one hand raised to his chin in thought. He and Kuroba Kaito had an unstable alliance at best, but of all those he associated with, Kaito could easily be best described as a friend. Perhaps his only friend. Not that this went both ways in consideration, no; he was fairly certain that Kaito disliked the British detective almost as much as everyone else did. But only almost.
Had the teenage thief known Hakuba’s reason for disappearing off to London quite so suddenly? Did the flowers, representing bright friendship and cheerful tidings, mean that he hoped to ease some of that lonely burden? Curious.
Still more curious was the note.
How did Kaito know Hattori-san, under the guise of the Phantom Thief or not? True, Hattori-san spent far more than the healthy amount of time with young and promising Edogawa-kun, who was famous for his own attempts to capture Kaitou KID, but did that really put them on a first-name basis? Since the letter had KID’s symbol on it, Hakuba could infer with relative absolution that this was a relationship between KID and Hattori, not Kuroba and Hattori, so at least there was some guard between personal and professional there. And also likely meant that Hakuba remained one of the only ones who knew the truth about Kuroba, which pleased him.
All things considered, he didn’t need another reason to despise the Osakan detective, and getting territorial over the thief that he should have turned in long ago did not seem like it would benefit anyone.
So what, then, did the thief intend by the note? Heiji had, apparently, requested that Hakuba know. But why? What had happened? Hattori had no memory of the incident, but how did that concern him? How could he possibly be of assistance? Better yet, why should he offer help after their last interaction?
Hattori had unearthed two of his most shameful secrets and mocked him for it. There’d been an outbreak of physical violence. Provoked, yes, but nevertheless actual fact. Words of anger thrown on both parts. Insults. Accusations. Precision-strike barbed comments aimed at the jugular, like rival wolves fighting over territory.
Hakuba reached into his suit jacket and withdrew his lighter from an inner pocket. Hattori had taken it. Rifled through his pockets while he had been out in the rain. But it was returned, safe, and no news of the secret leaking had reached him. Yet. The foreign detective bit his lip, set the lighter between the flowers and the note, and read over the text again.
Kaitou, despite his sometimes unconventional methods, seemed at his core a pacifist. At the very least, he seemed to desire peace with his hunters. How else had he managed to get Hakuba to back off and leave the trail hot and untampered? He had plenty of evidence to have Kaito brought to court, but he couldn’t bring himself to. It was unlike him, but then, Kaitou had managed to appeal to his curious and latent chaotic nature, and so… It wouldn’t be difficult to imagine that he had done the same to the other detectives that had followed after.
Kudou, for example, hadn’t been to a KID heist in quite some time. True, he’d all but disappeared entirely, but that was… and Edogawa-kun, as ruthless as a child can be, surely had had opportunities to take Kaitou down but had stayed his hand for one reason or another. So Hattori, especially when paired with Conan, would be a choice target to befriend and…
Oh.
Hakuba sighed. The rivalry between himself and Heiji was in no way a secret – from anyone. If KID cared enough about Hattori-san to visit him in the hospital, then he was likely displeased with the tension between two of his detectives. And if Hattori had gone through the trouble of mentioning Hakuba by name, then there would be plenty of cause to be concerned about another explosive interaction, which, in addition to causing undue stress, prove to be problematic in a public setting. Clearly, KID was concerned about Hattori, and somehow, Hakuba’s assistance was needed.
The flowers were for Hattori, not for Hakuba. It was a suggestion of peace and cheer. The sad character of KID seemed now like a plea. Manipulative, perhaps, but not maliciously so.
Were it anyone else, KID…
Hakuba pushed away from his desk and pulled out his phone. It wouldn’t take long to locate which hospital Hattori Heiji was in, not with his connections. And though he was loathe to do it, he could not ignore a request from Kaitou KID. He’d follow through, and on his best behavior, at that.
Certainly, things couldn’t get worse than they already were.
