He was at a loss for words. About half way threw Hakuba’s explanation about their meeting he did remember him. This jumbled mess of nerves and who gave little to no explanation as to what he had wanted it was all he could do just to keep up with the other. Then by the time he had actually recovered from the forwardness the other was walking off and him staring at his hand.
Picking up his tea he took a sip and found that there was nothing inside. Suddenly embarrass he felt his ears and neck flush. Placing it down with a clatter he cleared his throat. “You really are forward. I do remember you … I’m sorry that I didn’t recognize you sooner. Ah, my adventures?”
He barked a short laugh then composed himself.
“Sorry, Periot’s is not the best place to explain my adventures.” He said softly, smiled gently and nodded his head at the little girl and her mother that walked in through the door. “As long as the stories can go both ways. I’ve read up about you as well. Your talent in Scotland Yard and the Task Force is quiet something to read. I’m sure they’re somethings we can trade.”
Quite forward? Hakuba froze at the words, holding his breath as Shinichi continued. He hadn’t meant to be, but then, that brief meeting had admittedly been a little odd… He hoped it wasn’t a problem. The laugh, at least, settled him somewhat and he managed a little chuckle of his own, wincing over flushed cheeks, though he attempted to stay more or less composed.
After a glance at the other patrons, the blond nodded his understanding before turning back to Shinichi, awkwardly shifting on the bench in an attempt to alleviate some of the pain in his tense muscles. “Ah, yes, I understand.” And he did, at least in part. Neither of their stories, he imagined, were anything short of gruesome. His with Spider was a tale of murder, after all, and Hakuba couldn’t imagine that much less would keep Kudou away for so long.
“And… yes,” Hakuba said then, tilting his head ever so slightly as he suddenly understood what Shinichi had said. He had read about him. He had researched him, just as Hakuba had researched the other. It was both terrifying and thrilling, and his feigned smile faded a touch. But that was why he’d come, wasn’t it? So, necessary. He’d chosen his juror well. “I’m more than willing to… tell you anything that you wish to know, Kudou-san.”
His words carried a significance that he hoped Shinichi could read. Never before had he made this offer to a person, but he felt somehow prepared to do so in the face of utter disparity. In many ways, Kudou was his last hope for any sort of clarity, whether he knew it or not.