“…" 

Of all of the many, many experiences that Hakuba had experienced in that vein, this was a first. The detective, confused and startled as he was, could only watch, mystified, as the other approached, touched, and then kissed him. He stood there in silence for a moment after that, eyes narrowing while he regarded his doppelganger. Really, aside from a few minor differences, the other young man might have been a mirror image of himself. 

…but there were, of course, those aforementioned minor differences. These offered a sort of reassurance on one hand – someone like Kaitou Kid or those in a similar trade wouldn’t make that sort of mistake if they were attempting to replace him for some nefarious reason. On the other hand, it did raise quite a few new questions. 

The half-brit tilted his head, setting his gaze at an angle to get a better look at his counterpart, bringing a hand up to his own lips to touch the substance that had been put there. From what he could tell from touch, smell, and taste, it was nothing more than an antiseptic of some sort; nothing immediately harmful. But why…?

Oh. The gloves. Right, yes, that made sense. But was it some sort of phobia, perhaps? A symptom of an extreme obsessive compulsive disorder? Unless it was part of the disguise. Feigning that sort of thing proved a useful distraction for those who might otherwise suspect something amiss. So who was this other self? 

Even more curious was the nature of their interaction. A kiss. But not just any kiss – a pitiful excuse for a peck, almost as if it were spurred on by some unnatural force, carried through with the utmost reluctance and hesitation. Clearly, this false detective had little, if any, experience in physical affection, nor the inclination for it.

But then again… that may be just the sort of thing that a person might want him to believe in order to mislead his deduction. Hakuba took in a slow, measured breath and let it out while he counted the seconds to himself in his head. Really, despite the various theories that had begun to surface, he felt no more confident in reaching a conclusion than he had fifteen seconds ago, and the longer he delayed, the lower his chances of reaching a satisfying resolution. 

He would have to, therefore, bluff in order to buy himself some time and, with any luck, probe additional information from his assailant. 

"Well, then,” he said, lips tilting into a lopsided smirk. “I would assume that you were Kaitou Kid in another one of his ridiculous disguises, but you certainly don’t kiss the way that he does.” Hakuba chuckled, shoulders shrugging in amusement. “So who, may I ask, are you, and whoever taught you how to kiss that way~?”