phantom-thief-kid:

“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?" 

phantom-thief-kid:

“It’s not comfortable, sitting in this blood, but I wanna get this stuff straightened out before I head off to shower. The anticipation and worry building up like that as you wait for me to reappear clean? Bad.” And Hakuba fretted enough as it was.

“But that would be a wise idea, having my other side caged up.” He gave Hakuba a smirk. “I have a pacifist reputation for a reason. I’d rather not attack people, even as the king of beasts.

"Maybe you could train my lion self over time and I could be your oversized cat? Wonderful to have for keeping warm on chilly nights, I would imagine.” Jesting there, but making jokes would probably keep Hakuba reasonably calm.

“I’m… not actually a ticking time bomb, you know… I can handle stressful situations.” Just not when they were about Kudou. Or feelings. Or half a dozen other, important topics. 

“For this, I’ll recommend that you wear a harness under your clothing… loose, so that it can accommodate the lion’s form. That would at least make it easier to recapture you, should you escape. Securing your house would be another step." 

The detective looked thoughtful. ”…as for training, I’ve never actually owned a cat before. I’ve got experience training dogs… Horses I’ve worked with. My hawk, of course. But a lion? How do I know you wouldn’t just eat me up?“ 

Hakuba smiled at this… mostly because he’d managed to follow the KID lion earlier with great success in the not getting eaten department. 

phantom-thief-kid:

“Oh, I’m fine.” He laid back, crossing his legs as he did so. Well, that was a relief. He didn’t kill anyone, at least as far as he knew.

“So lion me considers you territory?” Kaito grinned slightly. “Still, you’re right. This is really, really bad, especially since I am not sure about when I keep transforming. And you’re taking this rather well, Hakuba…"

This was really starting to bug him. It was a rather bizarre juxtaposition, Hakuba fainting when he found out about Kudou, yet seeming entirely together and a little too damn calm when his friend turned into a fully grown lion.

Too damn calm was right. Hakuba blinked, tilting his head at Kaito’s last statement. “Ah, well… there’s work to be done and shutting down won’t help anything.”  The detective bit his lip. 

“I suggest that you not be alone for the time being, as you don’t seem to be yourself as a lion, claiming me as territory aside…  Ah, speaking of which, the, ah, the ring?” Hakuba flushed. “The, ah, lion didn’t… seem to like it.. And, ah, had I known you were actually going to wear it, I would have gotten something a little more practical… Ahm.”

At least the formally too-calm detective had returned to flustered embarrassment. 

phantom-thief-kid:

Yup. He was that thing running around the area. How was he going to deal with this when he didn’t know what days this would happen? If it were a pattern, he could just lock himself up somewhere with some meat, but he couldn’t tell at this point. “The blankets will be fine, Hakuba. I’m used to cleaning out blood stains and from much more delicate fabrics, anyway.

“I don’t remember anything, though. I just woke up outside naked next to a dead animal the first time and I put two and two together from there.”

“Aside from how exhausting that process is, though? My finger hurts and I’m worried. Did I kill someone?” The calm was freaking him out, though. Hakuba not freaking out over how he turned into a lion and probably killed something or someone? Surely that was a sign of Hakuba having completely snapped or something?

“I can’t speak for anything that happened before I ran into you, but I can assure you that the blood presently on you is not human.” Hakuba reached over to the desk and picked up the deer leg, holding it up for Kaito to see with as much nonchalance as someone might have holding a golf club on the green. “It’s deer.” He set the leg down again.

“It’s troubling to me that you have no memory of it… There was certainly some holdover of you, as the lion allowed me to get very close. Rubbed on me, even, to mark his territory. We’ll have to come up with a solution. This is very dangerous.”

Hakuba sighed then, concerned and thoughtful. “In the meantime, can I get you anything, Kaito-kun? A glass of water, perhaps?”