Tag Archives: phantomthiefkid

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phantom-thief-kid:

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KID bounded forward, a large grin on his face. He led Hakuba through a few side streets and up a fire escape attached to a rather tall building, moving quickly. (Probably a bit fast, considering how he was much more used to these sorts of things than his stuffy cohort.)

“Well, great detective, there are things that you probably don’t get much of a chance to experience. After all, whenever you’re usually on rooftops, your focus is on catching me. It’s rather a shame, because then you miss some things.” He waited at the top, still grinning.

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Hakuba was careful in his routine to include daily exercise. This usually meant going for a walk or playing badminton. Fencing, on occasion. Jogging, when he could find someone to go with him. He was, in fact, considered physically fit. But climbing buildings with speed was not something that he practiced often, which may explain, in part, why he really was never that good at catching Kaitou KID in the first place. 

When he reached the top of the ladder, panting, the detective gave KID a tired, unamused look, then pulled himself up onto the roof top. 

“…you don’t say,” Hakuba muttered, gathering himself up to stand. “And what, pray tell, am I missing out on?”

But at least he wasn’t Nakamori-keibu, and would have his breath back again momentarily.

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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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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! 

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Re: HAKUBA’S MOTIVE

phantom-thief-kid:

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…Okay, so Hakuba did pick up on the admission. No point in trying to take it back. He would latch onto this one slip-up and not let it go.

“You really have no idea what is going on, do you?” Kaito grinned. Oh, dear, he knew something Hakuba didn’t. And about a great detective, no less. The irony made him ecstatic.

“He is much more one of secrets and lies than even I. Let’s just say that he has two faces as well and he and you are on equal ground for a reason. He is not nearly a prodigy as he first appears, when you understand what happened to him in the first place.”

That…

Hakuba frowned, brows furrowing faintly at the thief’s sinister words. It didn’t feel right. Nothing about that settled well at all with the detective. Too many questions sprung up all at once, each with their own, different set of implications. 

“What… are you talking about?” he asked, voice tense, serious. “What do you mean, ‘what happened to him?’”

He felt territorial. Protective. And his fists clenched at his sides in response. 

“I’ll warn you once that I will not tolerate idle threats against little Edogawa-kun, regardless of your working relationship.”

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Re: HAKUBA’S MOTIVE

phantom-thief-kid:

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“I was taking a page out of your book and trying to use process of elimination. But I understand and thank you for that.” And now he’d basically dropped the pretense of denying being KID. Shit.

“Also, if that’s your goal, you may wish to be just a bit wary of that Edogawa kid. He’s… ruthless, in a way. He, uh, used KID as live bait for ruthless murderers, among other things. I don’t know what that Mouri guy is teaching him, but he’s clearly learning a few bad lessons…”

To save pride for them both, and to avoid getting too many personal feelings involved, Hakuba only gave a nod in regard to the long-awaited admission. On the subject of Conan, however, he raised a brow, frowning.

“Don’t be so easily fooled… if Edogawa-kun is learning anything from that lousy excuse for a PI, it’s what not to do. That boy has the makings of being the most talented detective anyone’s ever before seen… And that unwavering dedication to justice is what will make him a far better detective than I ever will be. So yes, do be wary. He won’t prove to be a Javert or Lestrade… He’ll be a veritable Sherlock. By the time he’s our age, he’ll be making Kudou-san and I look like foolish children."