Tag Archives: thread

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The Interim

smokebombsandmirrors:

Kaito wanted so badly to break out into a wide smile but held back to a minor passive one. To be honest he had completely forgotten about the shoes being there but they did provide a perfect opportunity to see is Hakuba would react traditionally. Well there was a reaction, a tiny one, at least there wasn’t the screaming accusations.

“Great!! Let me put on the kettle and grab the tea. You can sit where ever you like. Make yourself at home.” He said cheerily and moved easily to the kitchen area. Leaving Hakuba to find his own way.

The abundant cheer seemed manic at best, and Hakuba winced as he followed along. Had he upset Kuroba by noticing the shoes? What should he have done? And why, now, was he being granted such freedom in the house? It worried him. Worried him in that way when prey knows it’s being played with, even if the cat swears otherwise. The detective padded, slippers making soft sounds as he attempted to keep up, not wanting to get lost or be swept with too much temptation. And there was, really, so much temptation.

“Th-thank you,” he said, voice full of caution. But, really, now that he had Kuroba talking to him, he didn’t really want to leave his side. “Is there anything that I can do to help?”

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The Interim

smokebombsandmirrors:

“You’re welcome.” He chirped and knelt down in front of the mans feet to collect the shoes and lay the slippers down. Carefully and neatly he rested the dress shoes next to one that look frightfully like KID’s and closed the door softly.

“Do you want anything? Tea?” He asked with his usually teasing tone. 

“Tea would be…”   Hakuba’s voice trailed off as the shoes caught his gaze and he blinked at them, freezing for a heartbeat as the evidence smacked him in the face. He recognized those shoes. They were, without a doubt- no, there was the possibility for assumptions to ruin him, but they could EASILY be – Kaitou Kid’s shoes.

But why would Kuroba leave them by the door? His brows knit but he tore his gaze away, biting back the oh-so-strong urge to investigate. Leave it, he commanded himself like he might a hunting dog. Instead, he turned his attention  back to Kaito and nodded with another small and carefully measured smile. “Lovely. Tea would be lovely, thank you.”

If the tease was noticed, he didn’t let it show. Whether that was because he was used to Kuroba’s teases or he just didn’t care enough as long as there was tea… was up for debate. 

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The Interim

smokebombsandmirrors:

For the second time that morning Kaito felt his brow lift. He aloud Hakuba pass before closing the door. Out of habit he click the lock closed then quickly opened it again. “Sorry habit. You can place your shoes in here. Do you want a pair of slippers?” He said with a small grin and crouched next to the shoe cupboard. With a soft slide of the door he waited for the shoes and an answer. 

It took a little bit of effort to remove his stupidly expensive shoes, but Hakuba did so as quickly as he could, practiced movements still a little bit awkward at the impracticality of it all. “Ah, yes, please,” he said in regard to the slippers, stepping out of his shoes and offered them to him. It was so… odd to see Kuroba there, serving him. It was only polite, of course, but… even so… he felt somehow guilty. 

He knew that he was being ridiculous; Kuroba had invited him in, had been more or less cordial in class before aside from the pranks… there was really no reason for him to be afraid. Well, other than the uncertainty of addressing the topic, anyway. 

“Thank you…" 

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The Interim

smokebombsandmirrors:

Now this was a change and a confusing one. Kaito shift on the balls of his feet to his heels, a sign of relaxation in his book. His curiosity was piqued but he was also conflicted. His self protection as KID and the longing for a person to simple be near, even if it was Hakuba, were waging war. Slipping his hands out of his pockets he rested one on the door lightly then looked back to the man. He wonder if Hakuba knew how apparent his thoughts and feelings were at the moment. 

Shifting to the side he held the door open and offered a pass inside. “We’ll talk inside.”

Of all of the responses that he’d considered for Kuroba to give, that was near the bottom of the list. At least, of the responses that made any sort of logical sense whatsoever. Hakuba blinked, confused, and it took a few seconds for it to process before he nodded. 

“Oh! If that’s really all right, Kuroba-kun…” That was a politeness convention of Japanese culture, for certain. All the same, he managed a bow and took the opportunity to step inside, shock and awe readily apparent on his face. He laughed in spite of himself, shaking his head. “God, I never expected you to…”

He cut himself off abruptly, grimacing. Bad slip. 

“Ah… Shoes off here…?" 

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The Interim

smokebombsandmirrors:

A soft laugh escaped the master thief then morphed into something a bit stronger. It wasn’t blusterous; it wasn’t even loud but it did make Kaito’s sides hurt from the strain. Struggling to right himself he straightened and took a deep breath.

“I’m doing fine. I’ve picked up a part time job and sent in some applications and got a few replies.” He said quietly and watched the sky.

It was a strange sort of calm for him. A weird, very weird feeling seemed to shift and settled in him.  Looking back to his former classmate he moved his hands away from the door to his hoodie’s pockets.

“I wasn’t expecting you to ever swing by here. Except with another claim that I’m KID. So why are you here, Hakuba?”

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Of course Kaito would immediately assume… why wouldn’t he?!  God, accuse a person for the same crime half a dozen times and suddenly that’s all that ever seems to stick.

“It wasn’t to accuse you of anything, Kuroba-kun, if that’s what you’re insinuating…” Hakuba said, immediately on the defensive, though he halted the worst of it quickly. “Ah, no, I… I actually wanted to talk. If you had time. I…” He sighed. “What I mean to say is…” There were plenty of things that he could list – he was lonely, he needed a friend, he missed him, he wanted to find out how the whole stealing precious stones thing was going… 

In the end, what he decided was a quiet and apologetic request.

“…I need some advice." 

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The Interim

smokebombsandmirrors:

A neatly groomed eyebrow winged up at the detective’s flustered speech  and complete out of character nerves. Awkward smile. He thought then opened the door a bit wider to get a good swing shut in case he had to bolt. “Huh?" 

That… wasn’t quite the response he’d been expecting. What was the protocol for that sort of thing in Japanese culture? Smile fading, Hakuba strained to remember, desperately recalling what he’d learned from textbooks and Baaya, but returned no results. Perhaps he needed to restate the question in way that was more direct? That felt wrong, somehow, for both Japanese and British culture, but he really couldn’t think of anything else. 

"We graduated fifteen days ago, Kuroba-kun… I wanted to see how you were holding up without your classmates to tease. Are… things going well for you?" 

It wasn’t the real reason he came, but he was genuinely interested in Kaito’s well-being.

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The Interim || smokebombsandmirrors

Why was he doing this…?

It’d been two weeks since he’d graduated from Ekoda high, finishing his GED at not quite but NEARLY at the top of his class. Two weeks since he’d seen the so-called friends (they were more like acquaintances, really) in class. No one had contacted him since, but he’d never expected them to. 

Really, since leaving school, things had never been quite so lonely, and it upset him. He had no one at home, no friends, and not having the grueling Japanese school schedule left him with far too much free time to be happy or healthy. Especially with so many decisions to make.

And time was running out.

That was why he stood in front of Kuroba Kaito’s house that afternoon, nervously fumbling with his keys before trading them for the pocket watch. Hakuba glanced at it, then at his wrist watch, then the door, then his pocket watch again before snapping it closed and slipping it back into his pocket once more. He could do this. He was Hakuba Saguru, after all; famous international detective. Young prodigy. A genius. Wasn’t he? 

Regardless of their actuality, Hakuba felt like a fool as he knocked on the front door. An imbecile, even. Why this person? Kuroba had more reasons to despise him than most, but he was the only one that he could think of who might be remotely intelligent and honest enough to help him. It wouldn’t end well, he knew that. He wasn’t welcome at the Kuroba’s door, but he waited anyway. Waited and hoped, fidgeting with the collar of his dress shirt. 

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International Adversaries || worldsgreatestthieves

It was frustrating to work so hard, for so long, to still have the majority of his work with the police be relegated to the third division – theft. Hakuba wanted to be with the first, as homicide cases always offered something far more interesting than the greed and shortsightedness of most thieves. But, no. He was good at solving cases involving theft of all sorts, and his antics chasing Kaitou Kid had left a permanent scar on his curriculum vitae – he’d been type cast, and no amount of resolved murders would ever let him get past it.

This was why the young detective was hesitant when one of his contacts sent him a lead on the one and only Lupin; a thief far more menacing and experienced than Kaitou Kid. Not because it was a challenge, but because it would cement his fate with absolute certainty should he succeed. Was any accolade worth separating himself from where his interests truly lay? He doubted it, but took the lead, anyway.

After all, what kind of detective would he be if he just chose to ignore an international criminal simply because he was a thief? 

So he leaned against a column in the museum’s lobby, sipping coffee that had far too much sugar and cream to be healthy, and waited. How his contact had come across the information, he’d never know, but in theory, Lupin’s associates had been seen investigating an embezzlement coverup using imported artifacts, which meant that there was quite a bit of difficult-to-trace capital just waiting to be stolen. 

Yet it was all speculation. Would Lupin be coming? And, if so, were the alleged artifacts even the target? Was he just wasting his time?

It was a very high possibility. But at least he had his coffee. 

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Oh but it’s true. Do you want to know how he begged for it? How much he said he wanted it? How he laid down and took all of it like an obedient pet? That he screamed and sobbed like a little brat because he bit off more than he could chew.

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It wasn’t the first time that he’d heard of the incident… but while he originally dismissed it, further research proved far more troubling than he’d anticipated. Hakuba pulled out his mobile to send a text while he scrolled through the forums, brows furrowed. Dread and horror filled him slowly, ache like the gnawing cold of rising flood water. 

[text] Just checking in. Hullo!

He’d seen Kaito just recently, hadn’t he? Or spoken to him, at the very least. Really, the detective had been so busy since returning from his trip to London that the past week and a half had been little more than a blur. Still, though, this sort of thing didn’t happen to Kaitou Kid. It just didn’t. …did they?

[text] Would you like to do something later?

Hakuba stretched, leaning back in his chair as the information sunk in. From the video clips that had been posted, it was a simple enough task to determine the approximate location of the scandal, but even with that, it was difficult to ascertain if any of it was legitimate or not. Sex tapes and snuff films were popular among a particular crowd, and many adopted celebrity or character personas to draw in a larger audience. It was a disgusting practice, but unfortunately one of the things that a detective had to deal with from time to time. 

[text] Are you still asleep~?

As the seconds ticked by – which Hakuba verified via pocket watch – his anxiety deepened. To act or not? If it really was his Kuroba Kaito, he needed to be there immediately. If it wasn’t, did he risk revealing that he had a particular and personal interest in the thief’s wellbeing? While it was true that he hadn’t made the claim that they were enemies recently, and he was one of the forefront members of the Kaitou Kid task force, there was easily cause for concern that he could become emotionally compromised without due cause, betraying his secret. Both of their secrets. 

[text] Kuroba, I really need to know that you’re all right

What to do? He’d need to proceed with caution, regardless. Sighing, he set to work drafting a reply to one of the forum threads. 

leprofessorholmes posted:

Has anyone been able to confirm this yet? Or, more importantly, has anyone reported the incident to the authorities? 

That was all that he really felt he could discuss openly on the matter; it all upset him too much. Kuroba or not, those who took photos, recorded video, or stared instead of immediately informing the police were nothing but cruel abusers, themselves. And, had it been staged, it was at the very least a matter of public indecency. How did this sort of thing happen? So many had died simply because the available people had chosen to be spectators instead of heroes. He knew that all too well. Paparazzi was such a dirty word. 

…and why the personal messages? A trap, perhaps. After all, Hakuba had made many enemies in his profession, so it wasn’t completely unlikely. He picked up his phone again, this time attempting to call his classmate, but was met with voicemail. After a brief ‘please get back to me as soon as possible,’ he hung up and began dialing the station to see if there had been any reports made.

But before he could hit the ‘call’ button, another call came in.

“Hakuba Saguru speaking.”

“Hakuba. Where are you right now?”

“Conan-kun?” Hakuba frowned, surprised at the tone and aggressiveness with which the normally sweet boy addressed him. “I’m at my father’s estate in Ekoda. What can I do for you?”

“How fast can you get to Akihabara?”

The blond closed his eyes, taking in a breath while he calculated, again, the ETA for travel time. “Approximately twenty six minutes, though I may be able to shave it to seventeen and a half, dependant on traffic and parking. Why do you ask?” Though he already knew.

“You’re the so-called expert on Kaitou Kid. I’m calling you in.”

That was all the confirmation that Hakuba needed, and was out the door and jogging down the hall in an instant. 

“Understood. I’m on my way.”