Hate Date in Osaka

meitanteiosaka:

“Freedom, huh? Freedom’s what you make of it. It’s always there, it just depends on how much you grab.” Well, it seemed as if they were now at an impasse. Hakuba didn’t seem to want to abandon his shell – though he was doing a good job of poking his head out right now – and Heiji didn’t know what other advice to offer.

It saddened him somewhat that Hakuba felt the need to lie to his own family. To keep them from worrying? They were going to worry regardless, that’s how parents were. At least, that’s what Okan had told him when he was younger.

Meal finished, he set his chopsticks on the plate, muttering a quick ‘thanks fer th’ food,’ under his breath. “Just a warning: if you don’t find an outlet for your stress, things will get worse.“ It had happened to him, after all, and he’d learned to work with it since. Granted, Hakuba seemed to have the patience of a saint and was lasting longer than he ever did, but everyone had their breaking point. “So if you need someone to yell at, I’ll be here to yell right back.” Bad joke, but he hoped the Brit got the point. “And if you come back to Osaka, I might even give you the grand tour. There are so many great places to see here, not just the library.“

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Concern about his well-being? Mention of a possible return and subsequent offer to continue to associate?  Hakuba watched Heiji for the time being, expression placid, and nodded at the appropriate times. The surprise he felt was a little overwhelming, considering how upset he’d been just a few moments ago. 

"I should very much like that, Hattori-san,” Hakuba said regarding Osaka, then laughed, voice soft and amused. “That could count as an outlet, right? Better yet if we get into an argument again and need to yell.”

Really, the offer was touching, and quite possibly the nicest thing Heiji had ever said or done to him. And, admittedly, the idea of intentionally yelling at a willing participant and reciprocant, was… tempting, joke or not. Certainly more healthy than his other outlets, as well, which he did not feel the need to mention. 

He turned back to his food and worked at it, feeling much more relaxed. 

Moonlight Visitor

themoonlightthief:

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He couldn’t help but tense slightly as Hakuba’s hand wrapped around his arm, no matter how gentle the action. Although that was a hint more expected, compared to the detective’s previous shock, it still made the nervousness in the thief’s chest flare up like fire, gaze sharply darting back to meet the other’s own.

“…I, ah, told you, detective. It was a delivery. Someone asked me to.”

While it was the truth, it was hardly the only reason he’d done it, but telling Hakuba what those other reasons were was simply…not something he could bring himself to do. Not now. Not while he still wasn’t sure—

Swallowing, he once more aimed a grin at the taller teen, head cocking slightly to the side. “That’s all.“

”…Oh.“ 

Confusion turned to disappointment, which was quickly covered by a smirk of skepticism. Hakuba removed his hand, coolly regarding the thief as he returned it to his side. Yet those honey-colored eyes betrayed that hesitant pain.

"It seems rather a lot of trouble to come just for that… I can’t imagine who would have asked you to do such a thing, but they must be important, indeed." 

A helpless shrug. 

"Still… thank them for me, won’t you? It was a lovely reprieve from a restless sleep.” Not that Hakuba knew how ragged he looked, tie hanging loosely about his shoulders, hair uncharacteristically unkempt. 

phantom-thief-kid:

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Kaito walked, tail in the air, still ignoring the humans he saw. He was utterly uncaring of them at this point and would much rather sleep. Maybe his human would come with and eat what he gave him. (For a human, he did look a bit scrawny and pale.)

He went back into the Kuroba residence through the window and laid down on the bed. The birds were squawking again and the small kitten was now hiding again. He set his head down. Though his toe still bothered him, he was otherwise comfortable. Much better than falling asleep out by that deer last time.

It was with some difficulty that Hakuba managed to get through the window and into the house, but manage he did. The detective, once inside, looked back through the window and moved to close it – but thought better of it. The lion was full as far as he could tell and, according to his research, that meant it was time for a nap. As if lion lying on the bed weren’t indicative of that. Besides, he didn’t want to risk annoying the lion or making it feel caged in; that certainly wouldn’t do. 

So instead he went to Kaito’s desk and set the deer leg upon it, taking a seat after. 

phantom-thief-kid:

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Okay, good. Now he was behaving. Kaito finished up the bite he was working on and ripped off a foreleg. He took it over to his human, waiting for him to grab the leg. Then he’d set off for his den. If his human followed, he didn’t particularly care.

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“Oh… ah, thank… thank you.”

Hakuba took the leg, gulping hard against the turn of his stomach. He’d seen many gruesome murder scenes in his time, and always dressed his own kills while hunting, but something about the rather savage nature of the break in flesh, offered so sweetly, made him pale a little. The amount of discordance at work in his head rattled him as he tried to put every bit of information in its place. 

As the lion moved, the detective followed. Stumbling at first, dizzy, then more calmly, taking the leg with him. While he didn’t want to be seen carrying the piece of bloodied animal, he didn’t exactly have anything else at hand. No weapons, no lures, no evidence that the blood that stained the mouth and fur of the lion had been animal, not human. But now he did. 

But where was the lion off to now? Hakuba regretted leaving the deer behind; there was still good meat there, and it was wasteful to leave, but… but the lion was more important. The waste would just have to be taken into consideration for the future. 

Moonlight Visitor

themoonlightthief:

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His fingers carefully and gently unfolded from the collar of Hakuba’s shirt, hand pulling back and away with a slowness that easily conveyed the uncertainty he refused to let show on his face – not that he could do the same for the faint hotness on his cheeks, but the shadow cast by his hat, along with the darkness of the room served to hide it well enough. He hoped.

Perhaps…this had been a bad idea after all.

The detective still hadn’t spoken and indigo eyes scanned his face swiftly and carefully for any sign of what he might be thinking. And, upon noticing the faint flush on his cheeks, the thief’s lips quirked into the hint of a grin. Well. That was something, at least. But not quite what he had expected.

A push, cursing, hell, even a punch—

Something more.

Instead of this…silence.

Kid tried hard to keep himself from fidgeting, the way Hakuba was simply staring starting to get to him. He wasn’t sure what to say and silence reigned for a few minutes more, before he finally got his mouth to work again.

Well. It seems the delivery was a success.“ The lightness in which he spoke covered the nervousness, hesitancy and embarrassment well and he shifted away, tipping his hat forward slightly as he made the grin on his lips widen. “If the way it seems to have struck you speechless is any indication. That is all I came here to do, so if you’ll be so kind as to excuse me…”

Kaitou’s movement and the stated intention to leave, to take that warmth and wonder away, spurred Hakuba to act. He took a step forward,  reaching a hand for the thief’s arm, to stop him- but gently. 

“Ah- no, wait… Please.”  Hakuba’s cheeks turned redder still, feeling somewhat like a shy mouse suddenly thrust out into center stage. “I-is that… really…?”  So much for eloquence. The detective gulped. “Wh-why did you-?”

He had to know. The intentions and motivations of others had always been a driving force in everything he did, but this question, this action, was something he had a desperate need to understand. 

phantom-thief-kid:

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The lion looked up for the moment. His human staring at him and it was rather annoying. He let out a small growl and went back to eating, not taking his eyes off his human.

If his human wanted to join in to eat, he was welcome to (Kaito had already eaten quite a bit and was working on one of the hind legs now), but he would have to cut that out. This was Kaito’s territory and, though his human smelled like a mate, trying to challenge Kaito was about one of the stupidest ideas his human could have.

“Er…”

Well, all right, if he were honest, Hakuba would admit that the particular look, coupled with the growl, that the lion was giving him was distinctly unsettling. He nervously averted his gaze and instead looked around the area, wishing that he knew more about lion psychology.

Oh, but he had his phone on him. He fished for his mobile again, then began his research, glancing from the phone to the lion every so often to make sure that he hadn’t left. 

Moonlight Visitor

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He’d been sleeping at his desk when the visitor arrived. Case files, papers, and letters were piled and pushed to make room for the detective when he’d finally given in to exhaustion. Were it not for the working lamp attached to the desk’s canopy, the room would have been nearly dark. Shadows stretched out from the large, bay window panes above the cushioned window seat, spilling moonlight across the carpeted floors and the padded arm chairs by the fireplace. 

The rap-tap-tapping against the glass hadn’t been enough to wake Hakuba at first. Uneasy dreams clawed after shreds of sinewy confidence, begging him to give in to the oblivion of sleep. But, as he’d become a light-sleeper as of late, it only took a few more tries before he stirred.

The detective lifted his head, spilling more papers in the process, and got to his feet. Visitors after eight o’clock were typically discouraged, but never before had he heard of someone trying to come to his window, much less in the dead of night.

Briefly, the thought crossed his mind that it could be one of the many vengeful criminals that he’d put away, but he felt foolish for entertaining such a ridiculous notion. If someone wanted revenge, coming to his window and calling for his attention was probably not the most subtle or useful one.

Still, even while he kept those thoughts repeating in his tired mind, making his way from the writing desk toward the window, he couldn’t help but draw parallels the haunting dreams he’d just been pulled away from. 

Probably just the hedges or bit of ivy scraping and tapping against the shutters…

Thought changed, however, from Poe to Barrie when an all-too familiar silhouette took shape on the other side of the glass. The cape and top hat that had caused him plenty of grief in the past, now relaxed him and filed him with curiosity.

He put one knee on the window box and unlocked the latches for the window, swinging it inward, quiet and bewildered. 

“Kaitou-san?” Hakuba asked, unable to stop the slow smile that spread across his lips. Whether the thief were here for business or a social call, he really couldn’t be sure. Either way, since it was KID, it was bound to be interesting.

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The kiss, gentle though it was, stunned the detective to silence. Once parted, Hakuba let go of the breath he’d been holding since KID approached, quiet and soft, as if the very air between them were only a paper-thin, delicate work of woven lies. 

Wide eyed, and with a decidedly rosy tint to his cheeks, the detective swallowed hard. Question after question rose to his mind but, just as his body seemed to be stuck still, the words would not come. 

What fantasy world had the disheveled detective just stepped into?

phantom-thief-kid:

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After getting as close as he could to his target, he bolted for it. As soon as he could, he latched his jaws to its’ neck and snapped it, felling the deer. This, naturally scared the other wildlife off, but Kaito lion didn’t care. He started eating, working on the internal organs first and blood coating his jaws.

Hakuba had learned to accept quite a few things in the last few weeks that he never thought he would have ever had to do. Watching a lion hunt, kill, and begin to eat a deer, so close to the city in Japan of all places, was… was something else. Especially considering that that lion was mostly likely his… er, thief, as it were. 

He took a seat a few yards off and watched, still working away at ideas. Capturing a lion would not be easy. He’d worked with horses, his hunting dogs, his hawk, and he’d been hunting several times, but none of that really made him qualified to tangle with an adult male lion. Any lion, really. But it wasn’t like he could call animal control. At best, they would traumatize and capture the Kaito lion and drag him away to some zoo. At worst, they’d kill him. 

Neither were really ideal. Particularly since… well, Kaito couldn’t stay a lion forever, could he? Factoring in what they’d discussed on the phone earlier, there was some crazy magic involved and… Well, it was rather like a werewolf. 

God, he was thinking about were lions and how to seriously deal with them, now? So much had changed since he left London. What in the.. 

At least Hakuba wasn’t negatively effected by watching the lion eat. 

phantom-thief-kid:

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Kaito looked back for a moment. So his human was following him. That was all well and good, so long as he kept quiet and out of the prey’s field of vision. He stalked around, crouching low and sneaking around trees. There were a few deer and he wanted to get one.

Hakuba recognized the shift in posture and gait. The lion was hunting. He hung back, keeping his eyes on the beast, He didn’t want to get too close and risk upsetting KidLion, but there was no way that he was just going to let him wild. The area had wildlife, sure, but there were also people on occasion. It wouldn’t do for him to attack a human. Not at all. 

So, while observing, he began devising plans. 

phantom-thief-kid:

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He looked around. Interesting tone change and it was unexpected, though not really startling. Kaito yawned, his tail twitching back and forth.

Speaking of hunger, his stomach grumbled. He wandered off, heading for the park. Whether or not his human would follow him was up to him. So long as he didn’t scare off the prey animals lurking about and didn’t try eating first from the kill, Kaito didn’t care.

“H-hey! Don’t just walk away from me!" 

Typical of that damned thief. Hakuba got to his feet and went after, keeping his pace measured and careful. "Was it something I said?”

Okay, clearly the lion was somehow Kaito, Kaito, but a lion, who didn’t seem interested in listening to human languages. With him wandering off, that meant that the lion had other things to be doing. And this, like most things, worried Hakuba. But a lion loose in Japan was not a good thing for anyone, Kaito and his bizarre immortality tricks, or otherwise. 

So he followed after.