hannah-shikari:

I suppose it’s a bit hard to own a hound-type dog in the suburban areas, I don’t blame people for picking the other breeds. But Akio here is a special case, aren’t you, baby?“ the small pup merely barked in response when she smiled at him, as if he could understand the female’s words and was barking in agreement. The little cutie was her chosen life companion if she had a choice, it wasn’t a surprise that she spent as much time as she could with the little canine.

It’s the first time he’s run off like that, he’s usually so well-behaved. Plus we already have a huge back garden filled with so many plants and flowers, I can’t imagine why he would be so interested in your mother’s tulips all the way out here,” confused as she was, the not-too-little pup apparently decided that it was the perfect time to cuddle as he started to press himself onto her legs. You could already tell just how different the two’s personalities were without even trying.

It was a pleasure to watch the pair and their interactions. He understood the bond well, and it made him ache for his own dogs back in London. The detective’s smile was soft when Hakuba spoke next.

“Perhaps he wanted us to meet,” he suggested. “You never know. Animals have a highly-developed sense about that sort of thing.” Hakuba looked down at the dog. “What do you think, Akio? Destiny?”

An Email from Mother || akaikujixyaku

akaikujixyaku:

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Wowzah this wasn’t a charade even a little. He sounded a (lot) little uncomfortable on the phone, which almost made her laugh- instead, she just beamed and darted her tongue across her lower lip. “Not at all, Hakuba-sama, you’ven’t any reason t’be sorry. I was actually very… interested (?) to receive your mother’s message, eheh. And unusual’s my lifeblood in any case, so that’s hardly a reason to discount it." 

She could hear Marion (shouting) whispering encouragement in the background, and couldn’t help a laugh at that, before pressing her lips against the knuckle of her index finger, shaking her head a slight. He was just as baffled by the situation as she was, it seemed.

"I’d be very interested in the chance to spend a day with you, Hakuba-sama— believe it or not, you’ve remained one of my favorite interviewees to date— and I think it’ll be nice to see you outside of such a grim atmosphere, hm?

Plus, I’d wager I’m much better company when I’m not attacking you with questions.

So, what about it? Sound alright?”

“Ah, thank you for the kind compliments, Himura-san! I’m very pleased to hear that. Yes, that sounds wonderful…” He smiled, and the tone of his voice reflected it. “You know, perhaps I could interview you for a change?" 

Behind him, Marion whispered. ”Smoooooth, Saguru-chan…“

To which Hakuba rolled his eyes. "Ah. Tomorrow, then. Four pm? I could pick you up in my car." 

hannah-shikari:

Other than being a total dick to Heiji? You could’ve been more polite in that Detective Koushien episode. I get that you were irritated, but talking bad about someone isn’t going to help solve the issue at hand. I feel quite disappointed with how you dealt with the situation.“

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"Ah, yes… that little bit. I’m not one to fight fire with fire. When confronted with a point of contention, I seek the most direct and precise method of attack and go for the kill. It’s the most effective. Hattori-san threatened fire, I got out the fire hose.

"He’s used to dealing with his problems physically, which meant that using words would put him on uneven ground. From there, pointing out the flaws and inconsistencies in his methods took him down several notches, requiring him to – once he regained equilibrium – really think about his actions and proceed with proper care.

"Please note that once he began to behave as a professional ought to, I no longer had need to attack. It’s not my fault that he was brash and reckless. Honestly, it should be expected that the son of the Superintendent Supervisor would act accordingly, but alas. It was a harsh lesson, but it needed to be learned. 

"Yes, attempting to save a life is very important, I agree. But there are more ways to get into a locked room than breaking down the door. Besides, did he even consider that the person might be behind the door? Destroying evidence is bad enough, but there are times when culprits will put victims directly in harm’s way for that purpose. How would Hattori-san have felt if he inadvertently injured or killed someone in the very attempt to save them?  

"Granted, no one really knows what the situation is behind a locked door. Hence why I suggested the window. But there are times when a decision must be made, immediately and arbitrarily, because there simply is not time to debate. This is understandable, but those decisions must only be made if the individual is willing to accept the consequences of his actions, which one cannot do if they are not even considered.

"My role was to act as a catalyst to make Hattori consider these matters before acting. Consider the risks, the alternatives, the implications – and so on – many factors that go into each and every decision. A wrong decision, after all, is still better than a blind one made without any thought at all.

"I know that his father has been trying to get this through his thick skull for many years, but to no avail. Hattori-san is stubborn, which is both a blessing and a curse for him. By stepping in and sharing my opinion, I offered a direct challenge that he could not ignore… partly because I am a colleague and thus a rival, and also because I am not a member of his immediate family. As an impartial outside observer, I carried more weight in terms of an unbiased judge. Meaning, someone he could not just brush off.

"So you see, my actions, while admittedly not the most polite, were effective in their reason and purpose. By getting him to stop and think for a moment, Hattori-san was able to identify the culprit. I give him full marks for that – both for the correct deduction and for stepping up to the challenge. It’s to be commended.

"In the end, it’s unfortunate that the entire situation has resulted in bad blood between myself and Hattori-san, but I stand by my methods and am pleased with the results otherwise. I have offered my apologies to Hattori-san and feel no further need to defend myself on this matter." 

hannah-shikari:

You wouldn’t have come to the decision if this little rascal hadn’t run off like that, silly little troublemaker,“ easing into the English tongue all too easily once it became apparent that she didn’t need to continue to use the Japanese language. Even if she did use it at home, she still missed having the chance to speak it whenever she wanted to.

Most people around me call me Hannah, or Hana as with their Japanese tongue, take your pick. Pleasure to meet you, kind sir,” she answered, offering what she hoped was an acceptable smile as she quickly wiped her hand on her mused up skirt before taking the offered appendage. The small pup merely continued to watch the exchange, tail languidly wagging side to side behind him.

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“The pleasure’s all mine, Hannah, I assure you.” The detective shook her hand and released it afterward, immediately bringing the hand to rub the back of his head, amused. “Your dog is a cute little thing; you hardly ever see beagles around  here. Does he run away often? He seemed quite fond of my mum’s tulips.”

phantom-thief-kid:

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“Pardon my lack of tact, then." KID was weighing the options Hakuba had just presented him. Yes, it was important to prevent him from doing anything like that, but a harness would be a problem. He didn’t want anything making it easier to catch him as a human and he really didn’t like anything that felt binding or restricting.

"Mmm, well, I don’t know what you’ll do, if you try training. And I was joking.”

“Ah… I was joking, too. No apologies necessary or anything like that.” Hakuba returned to frowning, wondering where he’d gone wrong in their conversation this time. Was he always at odds with people, even those he genuinely liked to be around? 

The detective got to his feet and regarded the leg on the desk.

“…I should dispose of this.” He looked over his shoulder to Kaito, the blood, the nakedness. “And… you should get cleaned up. You’ve had a very busy evening." 

Of Crimson, Tigers, and Birdwatching

phantom-thief-kid:

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“If it is who I think it is, it is because they’re neck deep in murder and other horrific business. They trust nobody within law enforcement circles with this information, but they cannot confide in their bloodthirsty peers, so they decided to speak to me about it. I’m a fellow criminal and there are things only fellow criminals can understand.

"All I can say is that they are trapped and forced to follow through on orders, but they do not wish to. If they fail, those most dear to them will die." Kaito sighed. That was about as much as he could tell of Janus. This was going to end poorly. “They want me to stop them.”

Because detectives don’t understand the criminal mind at all. Hakuba steeled himself as he listened, deciding not to bring up that up, though it did even his expression to something decidedly more neutral. It was tempting to step in and demand to protect and help and… all manner of those things, but he realized, again, that there was quite the divide between their worlds, wasn’t there? So in the end he nodded.

“I suppose, then, it’s none of my business in that case, but… I do need to ask. Is there any way that I can be of assistance to you?" 

hannah-shikari:

Oh my gosh, I’m so sor-! I apologise for the trouble, he’s usually so well-behaved,“ quickly standing up and stopping her tongue from spitting out the apologies in English, bowing down ninety degrees after setting the panting dog on his feet. She quickly crouched down and got to untying the make-shift leash from Akio’s collar, fingers shaking just the slightest from the leftover adrenaline. As jittery as she felt, it took only a few moments to get it off.

"I’ll purchase you a new one, I’m very sorry for ruining it,” she straightened it as best she could with her hands before handing it back, making a mental note of the material, design, and colour in between mentally translating her English sentences into Japanese.

The blonde detective smiled as he watched the girl fumble, not because he was cruel but because he thought it charming. “Oh, please don’t worry about that,” Hakuba replied in English, voice light and cheerful. “It was my idea to tie it to your dog in the first place, and I’m fine with being completely responsible for that decision." 

He took the tie back and looked it over, brows knitting faintly in concerned amusement. It hadn’t been his best idea, clearly, but it could be worse. Hakuba shook it off, then put it in his pocket. As much as not wearing a tie made him uncomfortable, wearing a dirty one was not really desirable either. This accomplished, he held out his hand to her.

"I’m Saguru Hakuba, by the way… May I have your name?”

osakansax:

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Well, it was a kendou retreat that’d been the pretense of his sudden departure. Truth of the matter was he’d hardly come into contact with his team, calling sick at the last moment. He was back now, and the tourney for the junior members of the team would be in three weeks’ time. Now was the time to review competition rules and techniques—senior and junior members alike would quickly take their stances, and within moments the room was filled with shouting and footstomping and all the possible variants of bamboo hitting bamboo, or armor. As was custom in such sessions; kendou was a naturally loud sort of martial art to begin with.

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He’d mostly be at the sides, watching forms, correcting in strict silence. Not part of the norm, but that could be blamed on recovering sickness and the unfortunate fate that he’d stick with this walking cane for a good, long time. Dammit, Heiji should be in the reins, spearheading the practices, the show of strikes, the demonstrations—not him. The agent would curse his good luck when the time of a demonstration was called for, and he reluctantly stepped onto the mock-duel ring, bokken poised, stance tense. No pressure as the shouting whittled to murmurs, and students flocked to watch. No pressure at all.

Grace of the Shintou gods, spare him the shame of accidentally killing one of these pupils.

Ah, I’m just in time.

Perhaps against his better judgement, the foreign detective slipped into the room to watch the remainder of practice. The kendou retreat had foiled his previous plans to confront the Osakan, but that was no matter. He’d had enough to worry about in the meantime, and still so much research to be done. But after confirming time tables and proposed schedules, Hakuba had decided that taking an early morning train out and get the matter over and done with. 

It seemed a good place, anyway. Relatively public to diffuse tension. Physical exertion to both wear Hattori out and get rid of excess aggression. Potentially putting him in a good mood to start if he did well. Oh, and an ice-breaking talking point. It would no doubt be an impressive match, and Hakuba was watching closely to learn all that he could. Surely, there would be plenty of genuine compliments to give by the time they had an opportunity to speak. 

He took a place in the back in an attempt to be as discrete as possible, which was difficult considering that he looked even more out of place in Osaka than usual. But with polite nods and a serious, business-like composure, he wasn’t bothered much. It was time to observe and gather information. 

phantom-thief-kid:

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“You gonna be okay?” KID took another bite of strawberry. Jeez. “You’re eating a lot more than I’m used to seeing you eat.“

"I don’t think I’ve ever eaten this much food at once… ever… Actually, I’ve always been a light eater and… this… I can’t.. seem to stop…”

“I really,” chomp “really can’t stop.” Bite. Chew.  "Ohgod. What does this mean? What is wrong with-“  om nom ”-me?!“ 

phantom-thief-kid:

“Yes, mon beau détective. Anyway, you’re right in that it’s probably most prudent to ignore the absurdity of the situation.” KID stood up and pulled a strawberry slice from the top, then sat down and started munching on it. It was a bit less than the length of his forearm, which made it a bit difficult.

“…" 

Did itty bitty KID just compliment him? In French? 

Je suis tellement heureux…

"Oh good! More cake!”