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The Kaitou Kid breathed a small sigh of relief as he made it to his designated rooftop safely. Hang-gliding at night during typhoon season wasn't the wisest thing to do. Hot sticky weather, unpredictable downpours and aerial escapes from the police didn't always mix smoothly.It was worth it though, if this stone turned out to be the one he was looking for. He grinned as he retracted the hang-glider, the material turning into his usual cape that billowed in the gusting wind, a few drops of rain mixing in with it. Kid ignored it for the moment, relishing in the rush of another heist pulled off successfully, a few new curse words learned from Nakamori-keibu and the comforting weight of the stolen stone in his hand.He grinned as he held the pendant up to the moonlight before the clouds covered the pale moon. It was a pale olive-green, slightly smaller than the palms of his hands, shaped like someone had taken a sphere and squished it slightly before carving the face of a beautiful woman on one side and a hideous face surrounded by snakes as hair on the other.A 'Gorgoneion', meant to frighten away evil spirits. It was carved out of serpentine, not usually a gemstone that he usually dealt with, the unusual clarity of the stone having been what caught his attention.The fact that Medusa, a Gorgon, was also a cursed Greek woman had been what had cemented the pendant as a target. The little bit about blood taken from one side of a Gorgon's body being able to resurrect the dead and blood taken from the other side of the body being able to kill instantly hadn't hurt either. It may not have been Pandora weeping tears of immortality, but it was close enough to garner a closer look."Let's take a look at you." He murmured as he turned the stone in the fading light, the silver light playing with the swells and valleys of the carvings, turning it almost incandescent. A few drops of rain landed on it, coating the stone as the water twining its way around it.The light struck the wet gemstone just right and it glowed sea-blue, the colour of sunlight through the ocean waves. "... Oh." He breathed. It wasn't the long hoped for Pandora with it's red light of immortality, but it was definitely some sort of magic. It was gorgeous, it was amazing, it was...... a damn good distraction, he realised a half-second too late as a hand covered his own and a metal bracelet clicked around his wrist. "Good evening, Kaitou Kid-san." Hakuba's sweetly obnoxious voice purred in his ear, the blond detective not quite leaning against him.Dammit.Hakuba wrapped a warm hand around the wrist that was handcuffed, the other hand gently removing the gem from the Kid's grasp. Kid let his now gemless arm drop, the half-british detective still holding on, despite the handcuff that chained them together. "Was wondering where you were." The thief ad-libbed with a practised smirk. "You didn't appear at the heist.""Flying into tonight's weather would have been stupidly suicidal." Hakuba smirked back. "And while sometimes I wonder about the latter, you are most assuredly not stupid. So I merely laid in wait. Although I am flattered that you missed my presence.".... damn self-satisfied arrogant sneak."So what do you plan to do now?" Kid inquired loftily attempting to subtly twist his hand out of the silver cuff. Unfortunately, Hakuba's grasp prevented him from doing much more than rolling his hand around. "Call for backup?""Once I have placed the object of tonight's regard out of your reach, yes." The detective affirmed as he glanced at the green stone in his hand, rolling it slightly in his bare fingers. "I was uncertain as to my calculations- OW!"Kid blinked as the usually overly elegant detective fumbled with the stone in his hand. The thief took advantage of the situation as he squirmed out of the blond's grasp, pulling his hand out of the handcuff as he stepped back to flee. Another hang-gliding flight wasn't the smartest move to make tonight, but it was better than being caught.He almost made it to the ledge before he was jerked backwards by a tight grip on his arm. A second binding wrapped around his leg, and then his other leg, his free hand, his waist, another around each of his arms, his shoulders and torso, something just brushing his face as he was suddenly lifted up into the air.The thought crossed his mind that Hakuba did -not- have that many limbs before he was pulled back towards the centre of the roof, the tips of his shoes just barely brushing the tarred surface. Then he saw the blond detective, huddled on the rooftop and quickly retracted that opinion.Hakuba was kneeling, or would be kneeling if he had any legs, one hand clutching the other, which appeared to have a cut across the palm. His button down shirt, suit jacket and tie which were usually so immaculate were askew, most likely due to the mass of writhing limbs that were where his legs had been less than thirty seconds prior."I... It -bit- me." Hakuba said, his normal arrogant tones terrified and confused as the limbs that had been or currently were his legs pulled Kid closer. A logical part of his brain got distracted by the fact that there should be no way Hakuba's legs could have turned into so many tentacles, there wasn't enough mass. It was distracted as several tentacles faded out, sliding through the roof as they turned transparent and several more appeared in the same fashion. A primal part of his brain took over logic functions at that part, emphasising on -escape- and -run away-, which he struggled to do.Which would have worked better if had been able to get out of the tangled mass' cool clutches. The tendrils didn't hold him hard enough to hurt, but they moved with him every time he tried to twist out of their secure embrace, holding him more fiercely than mere iron bars could.
The panic faded after a few seconds and he stopped fighting, just hanging lax in their grasp as he tried to figure out what to do next. The tentacles moved him closer to Hakuba again, carefully cradling him as they did so. It would have almost been comfortable except for the sheer freak-out factor."Can you escape?" Hakuba asked quietly, his words carefully enunciated, like he was sorting through them with great care.Kid pulled an arm up, the tendrils attached to him allowing the movement without releasing him. "It would be easier if you'd let me go." He commented indifferently, ignoring the panicked heartbeat in his ears. He hated being tied up."I am trying." The detective said and Kid realised that he was too. Now that he was still, he could feel their shifting weight around him, coiling tightly before relaxing. Once again, never enough to hurt, but not creating enough slack for him to escape their tangled mass either. Evidently the tentacles had a mind of their own."Ah." The Kaitou Kid thought it over, inspecting the closest limb to him. It was the same pale golden colour as Hakuba's skin, with a slightly darker mottled pattern towards the tips, reminding him vaguely of argyle. The flesh wasn't so much skin as it was covered in tiny little scales, each one smaller than the nail on his pinkie finger. Not scaled like a f-f-fish, but closer to a snake's skin, smooth, slightly cool and dry to the touch. He could feel the strength or muscle that the tendrils held through their skin. "Not without severely harming either of us in the process." He concluded. And possibly not even then, if that wasn't just an optical illusion and the limbs could become immaterial."Oh." Hakuba said quietly, looking down at the cut on his hand. "... Do you think you could try?" He said, almost wistfully."Hurt you?""Escape." Hakuba said briskly, this time nearly tripping over his words as the limbs increased their grip again. "I do of course realise that you do endeavour to avoid inflicting harm during the course of your heists, but I was sincerely hoping that in this case you would be so kind as to make an exception-"Kid interrupted. "Hakuba-kun?""-Yes?""Shut up."And amazingly, the detective did. Wow. He should have tried that -ages- ago. He briefly wondered if it would work during class and then set that thought aside for future pondering. "Now. What's this about wanting me to hurt you?" If he'd been Kuroba Kaito at the moment, he would have called the blond a huge pain in the ass. But since he was currently on the job so to speak, he had to settle for a more cavalier term of address."I do not want to you to hurt me." Hakuba said quietly, in that broken sort of way that people did when they were holding on to control by their fingernails and teeth as the tentacles shifted restlessly around them. "I want you to escape before I hurt you."Okay, he good point there. Hard to argue with that kind of logic. Except that Hakuba, or what ever brain was controlling the limbs holding him, other than keeping him from the potentially suicidal manoeuvre of throwing himself off the edge of the roof in the middle of a possible rainstorm didn't seem all that interested in hurting him."I don't think you will." Kid said confidently. Of course he said it with confidence, he was a showman. You didn't sneeze, didn't show anger, didn't show fear and most of all, you kept your Poker Face. Because the minute you allowed the panic to show, you lost control of the situation. Even if the situation was being tied up with tentacles. Ten-ta-cles. With some sort of nefarious intent.Well, at least now they knew what kind of magic stone it was. It was a tentacle magic stone. Which made a certain amount of nonsense really. The beautiful Medusa turned into a creature with writhing snakes for hair and scales for skin because of her bragging to the gods. They'd just managed to get the wiggly bits on the wrong end of the body.Yeah... Something like that. At least he was somewhat comfortable. Metal handcuffs chafed after a while, especially if you did as much squirming as Kid did to get out of them."What makes you say that?" Hakuba asked, an edge of suspicion in his tone.Kid shrugged, the limbs rolling across his shoulders as he did so, as if fascinated by the movement. He almost did it again, just to see them move, probably about as curious about them as they were of him. "Cause you haven't yet."He was shifted closer, close enough to see Hakuba's eyes clearly. They were a strange shade of blue-green, the colour of ocean waves in sunlight. Hungry waves. Or had they always been that colour? He briefly debated, trying to remember if Hakuba had blue or brown eyes before dismissing it as unimportant at the moment. Because Hakuba was currently looking at him like he was a man starving for something and Kid was a tasty treat.Not that it was a far stretch from how the detective usually looked at him, really.Then the hunger was banked, swept under the control that the blond just seemed to -ooze-, that control that Kaito usually wanted to crack, just to see what was under it. Although at the moment, that control was probably a very good thing."Kid?" Hakuba said softly, limbs rippling under him as he slowly rose to eye-level with Kid, close enough that Kid could feel the lack of body heat. Yup, those eyes were definitely blue. Very blue."Yes?""Run." The detective breathed, sending a puff of air across Kid's damp cheek, making him shiver slightly. Ah, that was why the detective's eyes were bright blue. It was because the dark pupils were narrowing down into little slits, leaving a vast ocean of blue. Good to know. "Please."Kid opened his mouth to inquire if the 'please' part of the request for him to run, or a plea for something else when Hakuba leaned forward and rested his head against Kid’s, close enough that their noses almost brushed, their uneven breaths mingling.It was unbearably intimate. Kid had never been this close to anyone before. It wasn’t -bad-, aside from the whole ‘caught’ aspect, but it was new and unpredictable. He wasn’t sure if he liked it or not.The limbs tangled around Kid shifted restlessly, tightening and loosening as they slithered around him, never relaxing enough for him to escape. It was however, enough to illustrate that they could rip him literally limb from limb of the detective got worked up enough.Best not to get Hakuba worked up then. Gore was -such- not a good look for him. It took forever to get bloodstains out of his white suit too."Okay." Kid said with a calm he really didn't feel as he tested the grip of the tentacles wrapped around his arms. "When you say 'hurt me', do you mean in the 'slasher flick guts and blood all over the place' kind of way, or in the 'H-manga ecchi tentacle monster' kind of way?"Those blue eyes snapped back to his face, then flickered away, as if avoiding looking at his features as much as possible. Kid absently noted that the detective had almost made no move towards removing the hat and monocle that concealed the thief's face, something he would have thought the blond would have done immediately, with quiet gloating. "This is not a joke." Hakuba growled, staring somewhere in the vicinity of Kid's left shoulder."Yes, I realise that." Kid nodded. "I'm attempting to figure out if it's worth my while to hang out for a bit or if I should get my card gun and attempt to slice the tentacles off." He wasn't entirely sure the latter would work, the card gun wasn't designed to cut more than a few centimetres at most, and even then not living flesh. The tentacles tensed him, as if bracing for injury, which also had the effect of momentarily immobilising his arms.The card gun was a bit of a red herring anyway, he had some throwing daggers up a sleeve, but even those he wasn't sure if they were strong to cut through the mass of limbs. And blood. Blood bad. He resisted a shudder. No, no blood or hurting or pain unless it was a very last resort."I'd prefer if you would attempt the latter." Hakuba said quietly, his hands brushing against Kid's sides, tracing the slight curve from hip to shoulder, resting over the card gun's holster without quite touching. "I’m not… I’m not myself right now. And I don’t know how honourable my intentions are at the moment."Not honourable, but not murderous either. Definitely more touchy-feels than usual. He pulled on the restraining limbs, feeling them relax enough allow the movement, but only so far. Okay, he could work with that. Although the 'our' was some what worrisome."One day, detective." Kid said, resisting the urge to grit his teeth. Maybe the tendrils would stretch enough so he could smack the detective upside the head. "We are going to have a conversation about this need of yours for me inflicting physical damage upon you. Now. I am not going to hurt you because you're scared. You are not going to hurt me because you are scared. Can we please move on?""You do not know that." Hakuba argued quietly, some of the non-restraining lower limbs lashing around like irate cats tails. "You do not know what-""Yes, I do." Kid snapped, feeling very much like Kaito at the moment, having yet another endless tiff with the stubborn blond. "Because I'm the freaking uncatchable Kaitou Kid, come back from the eight years in the grave. And you're the idiot that cross half the globe to chase me because my sole purpose in life is to confuse and torment the lives of all the people I meet. Okay?!"The tentacles around his arms relaxed fractionally as Hakuba's glaze flickered up at him for a moment before moving to stare off to one side again, his jaw dropped just enough that Kid could see that yes, he definitely had fangs now. He briefly wondered if the blond's tongue was splitting as well, to match the apparent serpent theme. "I -knew- it." The detective breathed, a flash of familiar smug smile tugging at his anxious face."Yes, well, don't tell Nakamori-keibu." Kid muttered, feeling privately pleased at getting the detective to stop freaking out. The restraining limbs further relaxed their grip as he relaxed. "He'd probably gloat for ages.""There is that." Hakuba agreed, reaching up and tracing the right side of Kid's face with a finger, the tip of the newly grown claw grazing his skin without slicing it, almost like a lover's caress. The texture of fine smooth scales on his bare skin was surprising, but not unpleasant. "You are so warm..."Kid blinked as the mirth on the blond's face faded, replaced with something else. Of course he was warm, it was hot out... oh. Reptilian theme again. Which might have explained why the blond's tentacles were trying to cover as much of him as possible. Except it was already hot and humid out... but when had the detective ever made sense?Hakuba's blue eyes narrowed, the detective leaning forward again, resting his head against Kid’s again. One of Hakuba's hands cradled his cheek as the other wrapped around Kid's torso, holding him. "Caught you." Hakuba breathed, almost a hiss as he briefly pulled away for air before kissing Kid again, hungry this time, like he was tasting him. "Wanted to catch you for ages... but not like this, not like this...""How?" Kid asked, feeling the situation fall beyond his control again, dammit. The tentacles tightened their grip as Hakuba tipped Kid's head slightly before pressing a kiss on his on each of his cheeks, then brushing his lips against the lid of his unmonocled eye. Hakuba wanted to catch him, but not like this? Then how? With handcuffs and police and iron bars? And if so, where was this... this... kissing stuff coming from? As far as he knew, Hakuba liked girls, not guys. At least Hakuba had certainly acted like it when he had asked Aoko out on a date to the Prince Prince concert after Kaito had turned her down.Unless Hakuba hadn't been trying to ask Aoko out...? Argh, this was starting to hurt his brain. "Detective? How did you want to catch me?" He asked, unable to avoid the slight breathlessness in his his voice as the blond traced his jawline with him the tip of his nose. Kid then gasped and shivered as Hakuba nipped at the pulse point behind his ear and then lingered as he kissed it better, sending pleasant tingling jolts throughout his body.... Or thinking could be overrated. Fuck. Okay, mindless panic would probably good right about now. Either that or moaning.... Mindless something... Why hadn't anyone ever mentioned that the neck was a erogenous zone before? That was distinctly unfair, he should have had his neck ravished -ages- ago. Except he really wasn't supposed to be enjoying this, was he? What was the proper procedure upon being molested by a detective with tentacles when escape failed?There was a soft hiss as the red silk tie was untied and left hanging around his neck. The sliver of exposed fleshed was nuzzled before the top button was undone, exposing the hollow of his throat. He shivered again as Hakuba whispered against the skin of his neck, too soft for Kid to make out. Hakuba rubbed his cheeks against the exposed skin, like a cat marking their territory.It felt nice, the feeling of skin on skin, pleasure twisting around his bones. He felt sort of floating, like he’d gotten something he was craving and didn’t even know it.He should stop this. He should put a stop to this right now. Really. Any minute now. Any second, he was going to open his big fat mouth and tell Hakuba to stop and if the detective didn't, well, Kid could probably knock him out or something with his card gun. Or kick him in the... tentacles. Something. Any second now.Another button slipped open, baring more skin to the humid air.Okay... He wasn’t putting a stop to this. He should, cause really, happy fluttering feelings aside, this was not good news. Thief, detective, detective caught thief... bad equation for the thief. Even if said detective seemed more interested in unclothing his body rather than unmasking his identity.Except... except except except, another button went, exposing more of his chest, making him squirm as Hakuba eagerly explored it. Except that he was curious. He wanted to know what the detective would do once he caught him. Especially since Hakuba didn't seem to be interested in hurting him, much less keeping him. The idiot hadn't even called for -backup- before attempting to capture him, so it was possible the detective wasn't entirely sure either.One of Hakuba's hands drifted down Kid's side, hitting a sensitive spot against his lower ribs. He muffled a chortle of surprise and pulled away as much as he could from the roving hand. "Not there." He scolded.He could -feel- Hakuba's smirk against his skin without looking as the detective obediently moved his hand away from the ticklish area and down towards the front of the suit, fiddling with the button that held the coat closed. "How do I undo this?" Hakuba asked, fingers exploring the fastening. So the detective had realised that a regular button wouldn't hold closed while gliding."Inside." Kid said, slightly distracted as a tendril diverted his attention by sliding into his left sleeve and exploring the delicate skin on the inside of his arm, dancing around the throwing knife hidden there. "There's a clasp on the inside of the coat.""Aah." Hakuba kissed the small 'v' of uncovered flesh left by the half-buttoned shirt as his fingers explored the fastening of the coat. "Will it explode if I unfasten it?"Kid laughed softly, tilting his head back. "Guess you'll have to find out." He taunted, eyes drifting shut. He couldn't make this -easy- on the detective, now could he? All things --tentacles, appendages, restraints, bondage fetishes-- considered.The detective made a thoughtful sound as he found the clasp and undid it with fingers that weren't entirely steady. Hakuba gave a small sigh of relief as the coat fell open without anything unexpected detonating. "Thank you."Kid just chuckled softly in return as the detective continued uncovering and exploring the line down his torso with determined fascination. He was INSANE, absolutely totally certifiably insane. Okay, so the thief thing was kind of crazy too, but this passive acceptance definitely put him in the category for a nice white jacket with lots and lots of buckles up the back. Although the explodey idea wasn't a bad one... sleeping gas if someone undid his jacket without disarming it first, a fireball out of his pants? Just in case he got caught again.Like hell he was ever being caught again. Would be a terrible black mark on his reputation if it got out that all you needed to capture him was to sprout tentacles and distract him by making him warm in the pants with some casual multi-limbed molestation. More tendrils found their way through the cuffs of his coat and pants, their scaly mass wrapping securely around his bare skin, the narrow tips undulating against whatever it could reach, not tickling, just making him hyper aware of their presence.And then Hakuba found his navel.As ticklish as he was on his floating ribs, this was more intense. Much more intense. His back arched, trying to both get away and get closer at the same time, the tentacles holding his limbs fast so he couldn't escape from them. He was rather proud of the fact that he didn't laugh, although it was close, his throat closing on his moans.Hakuba stopped his explorations with a noise that was both smug and confused as he whispered words into the skin just below it, sending Kid squirming again. That was it... next chance he got he was tying the blond up and tickling -him- mercilessly just to see how he liked it. Although some parts of Kid were enjoying it better than others, he noted with a small shiver as Hakuba began carefully pulling his shirt out of his trousers without undoing Kid's belt.His shirt was unbuttoned as well, the material hanging around him as Hakuba rested his large hands on the slight curve of Kid's waist before sliding them up his back, avoiding the ticklish spots on his sides. "Enjoying the view?" Kid snarked as Hakuba rose to his eye-level again, feeling slightly debauched and exposed in a way that didn't entirely have to do with his state of undress.A light kiss, little more than a brush of lips against his was his answer as the limbs adjusted his arms to his sides so Hakuba could slid Kid’s clothing off his shoulders, the cape falling sideways and getting tangled in the many limbs around it. Kid almost laughed as his red silk tie slithered down his bare chest, getting lost in the mass of tendrils towards the ground. Now it was finally starting to imitate the plot of a bad tentacle hentai. All they needed now was the self-lubing butt sex.Except that Hakuba didn't seem to be interested in the butt sex. The blond's expression almost looked sad, or wounded as he looked to the side, fingers just brushing the starburst shaped scars on the outside of his right arm just below the shoulder joint. "Parking Garage." Kid finally made out Hakuba's soft whisperings as the detective traced the scar with his lips like he could erase it with his touch. "Fake Kaitou Kid robot created by Ogami Electronics."The hairs on the back of Kid's neck started going up. Hakuba didn't appear to notice as he followed the curve of Kid's shoulder, across the collarbones and to his left shoulder, finding the mark on his upper arm. "Bullet graze. Minato Hotel." Hakuba murmured, tracing that one as well. "Fourteenth floor, saving Jody Hopper and the Red Tear from an assassin."The faint knife edge of panic prickled at him and Kid shivered again, this time it had nothing to do with ticklish spots or poorly timed arousal. Hakuba was -naming- his scars. The detective -knew- them.Hakuba's hand drifted down his chest, finding a mass of scar tissue under the unbroken skin up towards his shoulder. "Red Tear as well." The blond breathed, sinking down to brush his lips against the injury. "You stepped in front of the assassin's bullet." Had hurt like bloody hell as well. A bullet proof vest prevented the bullet from penetrating, but did nothing to stop the impact of the bullet when it struck flesh. It may not have punctured, but it had certainly -hurt- him.... But Hakuba hadn't been there for that case. He hadn't been there for any of those cases."Blue Birthday." Hakuba found and traced the crescent shaped scar near the centre of his ribcage, left over from when the stone had been shot into his chest, stopping the bullet and saving his life. "India Exhibition. A group of men in trench-coats. Blew you off the rooftop of the museum."He had the scratches to match on his other side, from his hang-glider being shot off his back. He'd gotten assorted bruises stopping his decent, but the injuries from Blue Birthday had been the worst of it. Not all of the jagged scar was from the stone's fancy setting cutting into his skin, he'd cracked three ribs and the swelling had never entirely gone down from that. Nor was it ever likely to, that was the problem with injuring the bone.The thought flickered through is head, wondering if the blond was going to de-pants him as well, so he for remains of old injuries down there. He had a few minor ones from when he'd been learning to -land- the hang-glider, the only major one had was from when he'd broken he'd broken his leg trying to steal the large bronze statue in the Ekoda Museum. And Hakuba had been unconscious downstairs, thanks to his own sleeping gas. Not that it should -matter- to the stupid detective, the state of the scars he'd gotten in the course of his career. It didn't affect his effectiveness, he could still get away, injured or not.... Unless it did matter... To Hakuba. If he was injured. His brain did a sort of sideways hiccup, jumping to a different bullet train of thought. No. No no no no no no... No way. Just... no. No, dammit...'The one person who can constantly interrupt my thoughts', Hakuba had described him during the case-heist at the Twilight Mansion. Kid had brushed it aside at the time, figuring it was one of the detective's sarcastic exaggerations. Unless it wasn't... it was the truth hidden in plain sight, where no one would think to look for it.The blond drifted across his chest again finding another lump of scar tissue just above his left nipple, this one with a faint line intersecting it. "Your second case. Delon." Hakuba's breath brushing the mass of scar tissue. His first major injury as the Kaitou Kid, the first reminder that he wasn't invincible. Hadn't stopped him, of course. But it had prevented him from flying away. "Shot the 'Lights of Paris' into your chest."'I don't want to see you lose to anyone until I capture you myself...', Hakuba had said, calling all the way from France so that Kid could defeat Chat Noir. If you were an extremely severely repressed over-controled half-british detective who had finally caught the object of your... attentions, what would you do?Especially if you suddenly sprouted tentacles, extra limbs that seemed to have a mind of their own. Limbs that kept the object of your attentions from running away, from doing potentially stupid things like jumping off of buildings in rain storms. That kept him still so Hakuba could inspect the injuries he'd heard about, read about, obsessively collected information about.Limbs and hands that held Kid like he was something -precious-. He went lax, not even bothering to fight the tentacles' support, allowing them to keep him upright as the hamster named Trevor in his head ran in frantic panicked little circles, trying to make the pieces fit. Hakuba lo... -liked- him. Or obsessed anyway. What was he supposed to do now? How was he supposed to react to that? He'd never asked for anything like that. He was supposed to be flashy, flamboyant, find Pandora, destroy it, avenge his father's death and get on with his life. People weren't supposed to actually like him, want him...Anger momentarily surged up and Kid quickly shunted it to the side to deal with later, falling into the Poker Mask to sort through his chaotic thoughts and emotions. Hakuba had told him repeatedly to run and he'd chosen to stay. Kid shouldn't get angry at the blond because he hadn't liked what he found, didn't know what to do with what he'd discovered. Too late to close Pandora's box, he was left to untangle a Gordian knot. And somehow, he didn't think he could cut through this one with a sword, even if he managed to get his hands on a big enough blade.This... this wasn't amusing anymore. He wanted it to -stop-, make it go back when Hakuba was just an annoying detective, fun to pester and tease. But for all of his genius for escaping impossible situations, he couldn't see a way out. He's a jewel thief, not a stealer of hearts, except for fun, except for games and somehow this is neither. Because Hakuba is -serious-. He is always serious, so serious about everything, even this. So serious it hurt, it bled and ached and Kid didn't know what to do about it, to make it not.His mind might have been tying itself in knots, but his body was slack in the tentacles' grip, comfortable as a ragdoll in a child's grasp. The tendrils confining him relaxed their hold and he vaguely noticed as their number began to disappear, that he could move his arms without their oh-so-helpful non-weight hindering his movements. Kid didn't try to escape though, not right away, even as his toes finally touch the surface of the roof, because he was running in little circles around in his head on the hamster wheel while Trevor squeaked indignantly and wanted a turn.Kid eventually became aware of Hakuba's movement, or rather, his lack of movement. The blond had his hands on the narrow curve of his waist, one of his thumbs absently stroking inside the shallow indentation of Kid's hip as he rested his head against Kid's belly. It was difficult to tell from the angle that Kid was looking from, but the blond seemed calmer, eyes closed as the pace of his breathing slowed, his exhalations tickling the fine hairs under Kid's navel, making the skin tingle slightly."Detective?" Kid asked quietly, reaching a free arm out to brush gloved fingers against the dark golden hair on Hakuba's head. Hakuba's breathing made a soft hitching noise, before giving a long exhale, the absent petting of his fingers stopping. The title appeared to bring the detective back from where ever his brain had fled to."I want to catch you." Hakuba whispered, the few remaining restraining tendrils slowly fell away from Kid's limbs, finally releasing him from their grasp. In contrast, the hands on Kid's bare waist tightened a fraction, not enough to hurt but enough to be aware of the calluses on the detective's hands. Hakuba's words were almost unintelligible, a confused desperate jumble as the as blond turned his face slightly, pressed against Kid's stomach. "But if I catch you, I cannot chase you. And therefore, I'm stuck, an endless paradox."Kid waited as the limbs slipped away, slowly joining together and merging towards the detective's waist, either revealing or becoming dark trouser clad hips and thighs. From the kneeling knees down were lost in a twisting sea of increasingly translucent tendrils. Kid absently stroked the blond's thick golden hair, getting used to the slightly disorienting sensation of standing on his two legs on the ground once more, with out any helpful wiggling assistance."My deepest apologies." Hakuba eventually mumbled, his voice thick as he gingerly pushed away from the thief. It took Hakuba a moment to rise to his feet, pulling his legs out of the mass of disappearing tentacles and getting his balance again. Kid shrugged in return as he used the opportunity to pull his shirt and coat back onto his shoulders again. Hakuba stared at Kid's gloved hands for a minute, then reached out. "Allow me." He said softly, straightening Kid's collar and fixing the set of the coat. The cape fell back into place, it's silken weight falling reassuredly back around him.Kid opened his mouth to protest, then shut it again upon catching the too neutral look on the detective's face. He was perfectly capable of straightening his own clothing, but Hakuba had the air about him of a man on a mission, trying to fix something he had not perhaps quite broken, but needed amends. He nodded, standing still as the the blond carefully did up all the buttons he had undone, covering up the scars that Hakuba had investigated. And if the his hands trembled slightly as he did, neither of them commented on it.There was also something strangely erotic, or intimate, Kid realised as Hakuba found the fallen tie and looped it about Kid's neck, about being dressed by another person, more so than being stripped. Getting naked was about lowering, or removing defences, while this... this was the opposite. Putting up defences, protection. Although Kid was uncertain just what Hakuba was trying to guard him from, the blond, the blond's confusing previous actions or something, someone else."I'll... you can tuck your own shirt in." Hakuba murmured at last, stepping backwards, after he had done up both the buttons on the shirt, knotted the tie with far more flair that Kid usually managed with the stupid noose and refastened the coat. The detective was blushing slightly, which was faintly amusing, considering recent actives."Thank you." Kid said quietly, but made no move to. He could hang-glide for a short distance with the shirt untucked, the hang-glider's harness would keep it from being too much of a hindrance. And hopefully take care of the small problem of the bulge in front of his pants which the shirt was currently hiding that he really didn't want to think too strongly about right now, much less touch. Besides, he really wasn't planning on staying in his costume for very much longer, he still needed to get home so he could get some sleep before tomorrow morning, when he had to be at school. Which Hakuba also attended. Fuck.Well, this was going to be interesting, to say the least. Which really shouldn't have come as any sort of surprise, his whole life tended to lean towards 'interesting'. Some ancestor some where must have really pissed off some gods and the whole line was paying for it ever since.Hakuba looked like he had similar thoughts, still not actually looking at him, eerie sea-blue eyes looking off to the side, his expression looking like he was schooling his features after having bit into a lemon. There were a few ghostly tentacles still hovering just below his knees, writhing about his ankles like nervous snakes without actually being physically there.The detective opened his mouth, presumably to apologise, and Kid didn't want to hear it. An apology meant that Hakuba had done something that required an apology and hearing it made it real, made it happen, something that he couldn't pass off as a joke, a flight of fancy. "Are you all right, Detective?" Kid inquired, cutting anything Hakuba might have said off.Hakuba hesitated, obviously debating about pushing the apology, before nodding. "Thank you." He said quietly instead, fidgeting slightly. The tendrils reached out towards Kid again, before twining around themselves, as if reminding themselves not to touch. Hakuba glared at them and they faded away, into vague shadows, and then not even that.Kid nodded slightly. "Are you -going- to be all right?" He asked as Hakuba took a deep shuddering breath, shoulders relaxing slightly as the detective visibly calmed down. Hmm... freaked out equalled lots of defensive limbs, composed equalled none? He'd been correct then, to pacify the detective down instead of fighting him."Yes." Hakuba said quickly, too quickly, brushing the concern off with a brisk, almost nervous gesture. "Yes. Of course. I'm certain the effects are only temporary."Kid hoped so, but wasn't entirely sure about that. That was the problem with dealing with magical gems and things outside of the realm of science... you never knew what they were going to do. "Speaking of which, do you know where the jewel is now?"Hakuba nodded, once again a little too quickly as he gestured off to one side. "There." He said thickly, voice rough as if afraid to speak, lest it bite him again. A few tendrils flickered around his ankles but never became completely visible. Kid nodded and walked over towards it, quietly keeping enough room to jump away and flee should more limbs decide to sprout.The Gorgoneion had landed in a shallow puddle, glinting pale ocean blue in the moonlight as the Gorgon face leered at him. "I will not protest if this is one heist that you do not return." Hakuba said, his voice a tightly controlled monotone as he stayed where he was, away from the olive-green stone and any more potential mutations or reactions. "In fact, I would prefer it if at all possible.""We'll see." Kid murmured, carefully picking the stone up. It shifted slightly under his fingertips, snakes wiggling and writhing like the ones that had just covered him in miniature. He did have a reputation to uphold, of returning his heists. He'd have to see how long it took to create a forgery of this one to return in its place. "But I do believe that it might be too hazardous to return without precautions."The detective made another shuddering breath and nodded, his hands clenched into tight fists. "Thank you." He said gruffly, like he'd used up all of his favours and asked anyway, surprised and grateful that it was considered.Kid nodded and stood up as one of the carved snakes moved, burrowing it's fangs into the fabric of one gloved finger, missing his flesh. He let the stone hang from his finger, held fast by the snake's grip on the glove with mixed amusement and mild relief. "Although, Detective." Kid drawled, before he vanished through the judicious use of a smoke grenade and a hasty exit through the stairwell. "This is why one should always wear protection while dealing with magical items."-fin-
----- CHAPTER BREAK -----
Serpentinize, verb [ trans. ] Geology: Convert into serpentine.
+++Kaito wasn't sure what to say to Hakuba when he saw him at school the next morning. What exactly did you say to the person who had been accosted by a magical gem, sprouted tentacles and molested your monocled alter ego the night before? 'Fuck you very much'-?... Which might have been a better line in his head if it sounded more like sarcastic wit and less like a proposition...So he picked a fight with Aoko and spent the time before class started constantly avoiding being brained in the head with a mop by a hair's-breath rather than worry about what he was going to say to Hakuba when he saw the blond next. Fun for him, amusing for their classmates and anger management for Aoko. A win-win situation all around.Until the teacher showed up and they'd had to sit down for attendance, that was. A subtle glance around had revealed that Hakuba, looking like he hadn't gotten any sleep at all the previous night and completely drained, was sitting in his usual seat, one row behind Kaito and to the right. If the teacher hadn't chosen their seats --with a little help from Kaito, to make sure that he always sat next to Aoko-- he would have sworn the detective had picked that seat on purpose with the intent to keep an eye on him.Not that the detective was doing that currently. No, Hakuba was very carefully and not entirely subtly -not- looking at Kaito. Kaito filed that observation away as he pulled out their current English book with the unusual title 'The Grapes of Wrath'. He'd read it already --it didn't have any grapes, but it did have quite a bit of wrath-- which left him with plenty of time to think about the previous night's escapades.Which he wasn't entirely sure was a good thing. He hadn't gotten much sleep the previous night either; only enough to function without being a zombie today, having spent the majority of the night trying to figure out just exactly how he felt about what had happened. Brain wise, he was fine. Found magic jewel, gotten caught, escaped with magic jewel. Getting caught was bad, but escaping was good, so it evened out.Emotionally, he'd narrowed it down to Really Freaking Annoyed and Confused/Scared.Really freaking annoyed was because of an uncomfortably aching case of his own 'Grapes of Wrath' that hadn't gone away for what felt like several uncomfortable hours after he'd gotten home, not used to the amount of touching or skin to skin contact.Confused/Scared because he didn't know how to react to Hakuba now. What did you do when you discovered that you were precious to someone? Especially when you didn't feel the same.He didn't honestly know what he felt about the detective. Hakuba just appeared one day, harassed the Kaitou Kid, interfered with Kid’s escape, showed up in class, hit on Aoko and just kind of stuck around, being an all around smug pain in the ass. Kaito didn't hate the blond, but past that he wasn't really sure. They weren't rivals but they weren't exactly friends either.What did he know about the detective anyway? Kaito frowned and began doodling a list on a piece of scratch paper, just a focus to help him aid his thoughts, like he would in preparation of a heist before shredding the paper and doing whatever he felt like anyway.Hakuba Saguru --by his own admission-- was 180 cm tall, weighed 65 kilos, 17 years old, born on 29th of August, was a Virgo and was an 'A' blood type. Tea-coloured hair, brown... Kaito glanced back and did a quick double-check ...pale stormy blue eyes. Had been going to school at the London Bridge School in London, England, before transferring to Ekoda High, Japan for the purpose of catching the Kaitou Kid. Father is the Metropolitan Chief of Police, Mother unknown, presumably in London.Sherlock Holmes fan, first seen wearing a deerstalker cap and inverness coat, later switched to tacky suits. Owned a hawk named 'Watson'. Prized possession was a pocket-watch that lost 0.001 seconds per year. Hobbies included sarcasm and billiards. Liked to ask people why they did things. Preferred tea over coffee. Had the annoying habit of running his fingers through the golden fringe in his face and flipping it up like a girl when he was feeling smug.Kaito stared at the list he had made then began erasing it. It looked more like the profile he'd pulled together before imitating the blond a while back so he could find out who was targeting him after stealing a diamond from Miyama Corporation. What did he -know- about Hakuba Saguru?Not a whole hell of a lot really.What did he like for lunch? What motivated him? What was his favourite colour? Why was he fixated on the Kaitou Kid? What was his favourite television show? Did he like guys or was Kid a special exception? Where had he learned to kiss like that? Okay, he was getting side-tracked there, but it was becoming blatantly obvious that Kaito, Kid, had over looked a lot of little details that were suddenly becoming increasingly important..... Were obsessions catching?Okay, that was a disturbing thought... He already had Pandora to find and his father's killers to catch. In addition to school work. He didn't need any more preoccupations in his life, thanks.He put the list aside and turned his attention back to the plight of Joad and his family. For a little while, anyway.+++Later that week, Aoko interrupted his doodling ideas for the next Kaitou Kid Heist and demanded to know just what he had done to Hakuba-kun.Kaito had a brief moment of panic, wondering how she'd knew about the 'Hakuba, Kaitou Kid and the Gorgoneion on the Rooftop' thing. Then she frowned and continued on, that Hakuba-kun hadn't stopped by to say hello and talk about Kaito for -days- now like he usually did. Kaito started to wonder just how deep Hakuba's obsession seemed to be if one of his primary sources for keeping tabs on Kaito was talking to his best friend.There was also a brief shout of 'Traitor!' from Trevor for Aoko -talking- to Hakuba about how he was doing, but he firmly squashed both the thought and the hamster. Stupid mind hamsters. What did they know anyway?Aoko didn't believe his claims of innocence, probably because he proclaimed his innocence regardless if he was or not and pointed out that Hakuba-kun was looking a little pale. And when he glanced backwards to verify this fact, he realised that she was correct in more than one fashion.Hakuba didn't just look 'under the weather', he looked -pale-. Kaito did a mental comparison to the wig he'd used to imitate him and realised that the blond's hair was noticeably lighter, closer to the colour of burnished gold rather than butterscotch. Hakuba's nails were also a dull bronze colour, like he'd been using semi-metallic nail polish. Interesting.Aoko couldn't remember what colour Hakuba's eyes were when Kaito absently inquired. Which sort of made sense, Hakuba had been walking with his head slightly bowed lately, the fringe hiding his eyes.A covert observation of the class revealed that he and Aoko weren't the only ones who had noticed a change in their local detective. Koizumi, the local red sorceress, was also eyeing Hakuba. But with less concern and more along the lines of a snake watching a small mouse that had just been placed in its glass enclosure.Koizumi had once given him that look in the past and he'd ended up bleeding from the head because of a mystical voo-doo doll. Granted, they'd both gotten past that --and the cursing Nakamori thing-- and become quasi-friends, but it sent off alarm bells in the back of his brain. Koizumi had a fondness for serpents, and seemed to have this weird magnetism when it came to guys, but Kaito had a sinking feeling that if she tried to play with Hakuba right now, she'd be the one bitten.Not that he could warn her about that, without giving away Hakuba's multi-limbed problem. And if she did know, it would probably just excite her, the silly girl.Then Aoko dropped a book on his head for not paying attention, distracting him from his musings and he ended up being chased around the classroom for a little while.He didn't forget however and when Koizumi coyly invited Hakuba up to the roof to talk during lunch a little while later, it sent his Kaitou Danger Senses tingling. So he slipped out of the room to follow, but subtly via the window instead of the door. All the stories had these nice little ledges that ran along them, perfect for climbing and sitting on. Which was one reason why none of the girls were able to catch him after he picked the lock to the girl's locker room, he could escape from just about every room in the building. He was still working on some of the storage closets.Up was easy, locating where on the strangely empty rooftop Koizumi was taking Hakuba was a little trickier. But it made a sort of logical sense that she would drag the detective towards the corner farthest away from the staircase back down, his back against the fence, effectively trapping the blond. After all, not everyone had Kaito's amazing escaping skills.Kaito settled down on the ledge just below them, disturbing some of the pigeons there. A few escaped doves seemed to recognise him and settled down next to him with soft coos. He tried to coax one or two over, but while they did not mind his presence, they liked their freedom and where they were just fine, thank you.He closed his eyes, leaning back to rest the back of his head against the smooth glass pane at his back as he listened to Hakuba and Koizumi's voices. He couldn't quite make out the words, Koizumi's smooth, seductive purr, Hakuba's smug rolling tones rapidly becoming more and more frantic as they talked, the voices coming closer to the edge of the fence as the detective presumably backed up.Kaito hadn't found much on the half-british detective in the little time he'd spent looking. What he had found had surprised him slightly in a sick and morbid sort of way.Hakuba's father was the Metropolitan Chief of Police, Commissioner Hakuba. And one didn't make it that far up in law enforcement without gaining quite a few enemies along the way.Hakuba had been kidnapped three times in elementary school, the year he transferred to London. It was harder to be taken hostage when one was half a world away, the political machinations of an island on the other side of the world would hardly impact a young child growing up.On the other hand, it might explain the blond's drive for justice... According to what sketchy details --mostly rumours, really-- he could find on the last case, a few of Hakuba's classmates had been grabbed as well. The stubborn half-briton had tried to shield his classmates, earning a trip to hospital for various bruises, sprained limbs and some broken bones.Hakuba's friendly-but-distant attitude suddenly made sense, if one was a social sort and enjoyed being around people, but was aware that their presence could be danger to those around them. Chasing the Kid was probably the closest he had to playing with a friend, a peer.Sad, really. Almost pathetic, but then Kaito didn't have much of a leg to stand on there, with his own jester's mask and poker face.The detective made a loud terrified shout, followed by a crash and a sharp, almost metallic sound of hissing, jolting Kaito out of his musings as he leaned forward to see if he could see anything happening on the rooftop. Koizumi had backed Hakuba into a wall, which he was currently climbing to try to get away from her. The detective quickly made it to the top off the chain-linked fence.Mostly due to the mass of dark tentacles that were spread out across the fence, gripping everything in sight to maintain his precarious balance at the very top. Only they weren't quite the limbs that Kaito remembered from the rooftop last week. For one thing, these had mouths. And fangs. And eyes. And heads. Snake heads, actually, which was new and just the slightest bit disturbing. And they all appeared to be irately focused in one direction.Oh, dear. Score a point towards the theory that the additional appendages were emotion-based. He really hoped that Koizumi was smart enough not to continue pressing her issue, because if Kaito had to interfere he wasn't entirely certain what he could do against an entire horde of hissing pissed off snakes and their freaked-out furious fanged master.The sudden presence of -Dangerous Predator- spooked the birds sitting next to him, who took to the air, cooing their alarm. A few snakes detached themselves from the hissing pack and tried to take bites out of the flying birds, fortunately missing and getting a few stray feathers for their trouble.Unfortunately, they spotted Kaito.Two heads dove down, their bare fang lunge suddenly pulling up short as Kaito did not flinch. If snakes had eyelids, he would have bet they would have been blinking at him as they hovered, jaws shut, tongues flickering in and out at him in confusion. "Yo." he said, slowly raising a hand in greeting.Hakuba's mystical magical wiggling limbs hadn't been intent on hurting him last time. Therefore, it stood to rather flimsy logic that had him ready to leap off the building and follow his birds into a nearby tree if it was incorrect, that they probably wouldn't hurt him now.One of the snakes cautiously shifted closer, the tiny forked tongue tasting his fingertips before obviously deciding he was all right. Kaito hesitantly scratched it under the jaw, which it appeared to like, from the pleased hissy noises it made. The other snake watched, head tilted slightly to the side, as if curious.Now that he could see them up close, he realised there were some subtle differences between these snakes and the tentacles he had seen before. These were black from the base down, turning paler with the same argyle pattern as before towards the tips. The argyle's diamond pattern stopped just between the eyes of the two snakes, leaving the nose a golden colour.Hakuba had been wearing tan trousers when he'd grabbed the Kaitou Kid last week. And the scaled limbs had been relatively flesh coloured. Hakuba was wearing his school uniform today, which was black, and the limbs were also black. Although the argyle pattern was worrisome. Did the man not own any plain white socks like a normal person?The hissing noise faded and he realised that he couldn't hear Koizumi's voice anymore. The snake he wasn't petting suddenly shifted a bit, the features of the serpent's head fading away, to be replaced by the tentacles he was familiar with. The other snake made a curious noise, then it turned back into just a tentacle again and both tendrils retreated from his view. He heard more than saw Hakuba awkwardly slither, er, -climb- down the fence on to the flat rooftop once more.Kaito wasn't sure how he'd operate that many limbs, if he had suddenly sprouted an extra two dozen. The detective had his respect in that regard.Hakuba didn't move for a while, not that Kaito could tell as he watched the blue, blue sky and the wind rustle through the green-gold leaves of the trees. There was a touch of chill to the air, Autumn making its presence known, the warmth of the Summer fading away to be replaced by the cold slumbering arms of Winter. He'd have to start wearing the wool long-johns under his Kid suit again."Kuroba-?" Hakuba's voice asked quietly, a slight wistful tone to it that Kaito wasn't entirely sure was merely his imagination.Kaito had no pretty words of comfort at hand to offer, for either of them. He held his tongue.After a small eternity, Hakuba's footsteps turned and walked away, towards the staircase down to the lower floors.Kaito closed his eyes for a moment and wondered how Perseus felt when he saw Medusa's head in the polished reflection of the mirror, right before he cut her head off.+++Kaito caught himself yawning in class the next day, wondering yet again why he scheduled heists early in the morning when he knew he had class to deal with. Hakuba hadn't shown up to the heist, --a large gold-coloured stone called the 'Eye of Argo' from a different Greek exhibit-- and as a result it had almost been clockwork. Things always went a little bit more smoothly without the blond detective there to throw in a little chaos into the pandemonium.-Or Kudo and his little elementary school friends, although he was grateful he didn't have to deal with that handful very often. 'What a loving Kaitou', his lily white clad ass...Hakuba was quiet at school, more so than even his usual abnormal silence, almost huddled in on himself. Kaito wondered, not for the first time where the detective had been during the heist. It hadn't been like Kid had kept the notice a secret, it had only been plastered across the front of most of the newspapers in the metropolitan district and a few non-local papers as well....Although if Hakuba had broken out in a case of tentacles, that would explain his absence. He quickly did a mental side-step to avoid thinking about just what would set off -that- particular case of the tentacles however. Kaito tapped his lower lip with the back of his pen. He couldn't decided if he should he be elated or disappointed at the prospect of a lack of half-british detective to future heists. Yeah, heists would be easier, but they'd be boring too.He resisted the urge to pound his head against the desk at that thought. Sheesh. He was turning into an adrenaline junkie, that's what he was. Being the Kaitou Kid wasn't about the thrill of the chase. He had a -purpose-, he had a -goal-. And he couldn't --shouldn't-- forget that.Something flying over head caught his attention and he realised that it was a note that someone was unstealthily sending. It landed in the middle of Hakuba's desk, the blond blinking in confusion. Kaito glanced around the classroom and noticed Koizumi smirking in Hakuba's direction. Dammit. Koizumi never had been good on catching a subtle --or a not so subtle-- hint.Hakuba went from 'pale' to 'white' as he looked at the note, then there was a snapping noise and blue ink spouted from between the clenched fingers of his writing hand. The detective yelped as the blue turned red, blood mixing with the ink that poured over his papers. "Hakuba-kun!" The teacher shouted in alarm as Hakuba stood up, the dark liquid gushing from his fist."M... My pen broke." Hakuba stuttered hollowly, holding the dripping injured limb away from his body."Go to the infirmary." The teacher ordered and Hakuba nodded numbly, stumbling backwards to get to the rear door. Kaito glanced down and realised that the blond wasn't being a klutz... Hakuba had stumbled over his own disappearing-reappearing wiggling limbs.He stood up, ducking under one of Hakuba's arms and wrapping an arm around Hakuba's waist, steadying the larger detective. "I'll take him." He volunteered, already quickly leading the blond out of the room. "He won't be able to bandage his hand like that." Any complaints or agreements the teacher might have had were lost as they rushed down the hallway, leaving blue and crimson splotches behind them. "You get to clean that up later." Kaito informed him dryly.Hakuba nodded, looking too disoriented to argue. They made it to the thankfully empty nurses office in record time, Kaito shoving Hakuba's injured hand under a faucet and turning it on, the water washing away the mix of colours. Hakuba's breathing evened out from the quick frantic breaths he'd been taking as he calmed down slightly. Good. It wasn't like the detective to lose his cool like that."What do you know about Gorgons, Kuroba?" Hakuba asked quietly, eyes half-lidded as he tilted his still closed hand this way and that under the stream of water, the water in the sink turning a pale indigo. "Medusa, in particular.""What is this?" Kaito asked, ducking out from under Hakuba's arm and taking a step back. Bandages, bandages... where were the bandages again? He'd certainly needed them often enough. Ah, that was right, in the cabinet, with the antiseptics. "European mythology pop quiz?"Hakuba gave a dull sounding snort. "Yes, precisely."Kaito shrugged. It wasn't like he'd been -researching- the subject comprehensively in-between looking for information on Hakuba's past, oh no. "Pretty girl claimed to be more beautiful than the Gods, so they turned her and her sisters ugly for their vanity." He summarised one of the cleaner versions of the Greek Myth that he'd found. It had sounded like a bum rap for the two sisters, who hadn't done anything wrong.The detective laughed, a dry empty sound that sent the hairs on the back of Kaito's neck stand up as he reached for a roll of bandages. "Oh, yes. Lovely Medusa of the long blond hair, who was so beautiful that the God of the Ocean, Poseidon, rose out of the ocean's depths and raped her in one of the Goddess of Wisdom and Warfare's temples." Kaito crushed the bandages in his fist as he turned and looked at the blond. Hakuba had his eyes closed, a look of utter contempt and self-hatred on his face. "The Goddess Athena hid her eyes behind her shield, then in revenge or punishment for desecrating her temple, turned Medusa and her two sisters into hideous monsters."Oh... shit. Oh shit oh shit oh shit. Hakuba didn't think that he had... Hakuba did. Hakuba totally thought he had... Kaito's brain stuttered over the word, skittered over the implications in alarm. Of course Hakuba thought that. Hakuba had a white-knight complex, anything outside of that, any actions that were even quasi-questionable were of course -wrong-, when Kaito hadn't said -no-, hadn't pushed him away, hadn't -done- anything to make him stop..."Snakes in place of their once proud beautiful locks, scales instead smooth skin, tusks like a boars protruding from between their lips, long hideous claws and according to some legends, wings of gold." Hakuba continued on, oblivious to Kaito's frantic thoughts. "They were so hideous even a mere glance was said to turn all living things to stone. So Medusa and her sisters were exiled to a far away island, until Perseus, who was blessed by the Gods, cut off her head and escaped, leaving behind a trail of poisonous snakes where her blood dripped.""And then Pegasus and some giant came out of her neck." Kaito said, quelling his rapidly growing horror with the strength of long practise, hiding behind his cheerful jester's mask. "And the God's Boy Scout Perseus used the head as a weapon on some king and his court before giving it to Athena, who put it on her breastplate so no one could ogle her boobs through the armour any more. So what?"Hakuba raised his fist out of the water and opened it, dumping the contents of what had once been a high quality, brass-cored enamelled pen into the sink. In little cylindrical pieces, like someone had cut it into several pieces with a saw. Or cut it with straight long narrow bronze-coloured claws, each easily the length of the finger it protruded from. The pieces hit the bottom of porcelain sink and made musical 'pinging' sounds as they bounced around.Kaito swallowed as Hakuba looked disinterestedly at the four long gouges that ran the length of his palm, each slice still oozing red blood that ran down his hand and into his sleeve. "So, I am beginning to fear the effects are not as temporary as I had hoped."Yeah. Kaito had kind of figured that out already. The snake thing a few days prior had kind of tipped him off. If anything, the effects were becoming stronger."A deal, if I might beg a favour from you, Kaitou Kid-san." Hakuba said abruptly, his tone somehow both arrogant and humble. "In exchange for my services finding the man who killed your father, help me find a way to reverse this. I will not bother you again afterwards." He bowed until his golden head was lower than Kaito's."Oh, get up." Kaito snapped, his voice and posture exasperated as a feeling of 'wrongness' settled in his stomach. A detective bowing to a thief, it was utterly rediculous. Being a thief wasn't an occupation to be proud of, no matter how good he was at it. He was still a law-breaker, --a friendly, bouncing entertaining law-breaker, but still a law-breaker-- not really helping anyone other than himself when he got down to it. "All you're doing is presenting your head as an easily reached target. And how many times do I have to tell you I'm not the Kid?!" It was somewhere in the hundreds, surely. If not the thousands."If you are not the Kaitou Kid..." Hakuba said slowly. "Why are you not alarmed by the tendril around your ankle?"Kaito glanced down at the friendly dark tentacle wrapped around his ankle and privately acknowledged that Hakuba might have a point. Hello, little tentacley friend. It waved back. How cute. Stupid tentacly friend. His dick twitched in anticipation, it knew this game and liked it. Kaito told it to shut up, this was so not the time for those kinds of games, no matter how interesting it was."Still, stand up for crying out loud. I swear you're distributing the natural balance of the universe or something." Kaito growled, rubbing his forehead. "And even if I was Kaitou Kid, which I'm not saying I am, the deal is impossible. We already know who killed Oyaji."That brought Hakuba's head up, sky blue eyes momentarily flickering at him, then away as the detective finally stood properly. He swallowed as several tentacles around Hakuba's legs that Kaito had previously overlooked in favour of the blood and the story twisted into confused writhing question marks. "Who?"Kaito tucked his hands in his trouser pockets, leaning back against the cabinet in feigned casualness. He could be through the doorway or the window before the tentacle around his ankle had a chance to tighten. "-Marks on the arm and chest?"Hakuba's eyes darted back towards him, lingering on his left arm, then at his chest, where the scars from the Red Tear and Blue Birthday heists were. "The Assassin?" The detective breathed, a slight hitch in his voice."Name's 'Snake'." Kaito's hands clenched into fists in his pockets, even as he shrugged flippantly. "A jewel thief and assassin who works for a covert mysterious organisation. He likes to come out and say hello occasionally.""I... see." Hakuba's gaze shifted back to one side of the floor as the tendrils contracted in on themselves, twining into knots. The one around Kaito's ankle reluctantly released him, sliding away to join its brethren. "My apologies." The detective said quietly. "Then it appears that I have nothing left to bargain with.".... Nothing Left To Bargain WITH!? Kaito barely kept himself from gaping in shock. Nothing LEFT?! Was he an idiot or something?! Maybe the transformations had created some brain damage. The scars alone were easily proof that he was the Kaitou Kid, it wasn't like bullet scars were -common- in Japan, much less ones in the exact same places that Kid had been known to be hit. Never mind whatever else Hakuba's obsessive type nature had squirrelled away. The detective probably had blackmail material coming out his ears.Not to mention, oh yeah, -Tentacles-. Really flexible, agile, strong tentacles that would have been many a hentai's drooling orgasmic fantasy. Or maybe kissing some more, kissing was good too. Trevor ran on his little hamster wheel, gleefully generated ideas that he waved on signs, each one more improbable than the last. Kaito may have been an athletic hormonal teenage guy, but there -were- limits to even his flexibility and stamina. Although it might be fun to prove himself wrong....... Except for that -slight- matter of discrepancy when it came his idea and Hakuba's idea of just what had happened on the rooftop...Kaito sighed, picturing how his most important person would react, if --or once-- Aoko discovered his little secret, that he was the Kaitou Kid. How much would Aoko hate him versus how much he thought she would hate him? Would Aoko reject him outright and never want to speak to him again? Would she tell her father, Nakamoir-keibu? How much would it hurt?How much -did- it hurt to have the person that was most important to you reject you versus discovering that you were their precious person and not know what to do?"Out of curiosity." Kaito said slowly. He hated misjudging a situation this badly, so badly that he had to do damage control. "This situation with the Kaitou Kid... the one you're freaking out about so badly.... Did he ever tell you to 'Stop'?""I..." Hakuba's face shifted from 'Exceedingly Bland' to 'Slightly Puzzled' as he thought it over. The tentacles stilled in their cat-tail like waving, as if contemplating the question. It wasn't a hard one. "... No?""How about 'No'?"'Slightly Puzzled' was replaced by 'Confused Reminiscence'. "He said 'Not There', where he's ticklish at his ribs."Count on the detective to remember his weak points. "And what did you do?""I... moved. Elsewhere." 'Confused Reminiscence' moved to 'Bewildered Incredulity' as Hakuba started to look at things from a less destructive, self-recriminating point of view. The tendrils around his calves started undulating again. "He... I asked him how to undo his jacket and he told me. There's a clasp on the inside.""All right." Kaito crossed his arms across his chest. There. All nice and logical and reasonable. "So. What are you worried about then?""Because I held him against his will." The wrathful self-accusation was back, Kaito noted with a sharp stab of irritation. The detective had attempted to release him, Kaito had -felt- that struggle, and chosen to not fight rather than cause injury to both of them. Obviously the blond didn't see it that way. Hakuba glared at his semi-translucant wriggling limbs, as if willing them away. They waved mockingly back. Hakuba made a angry muttered comment about them having minds of their own."Actually, they don't." Kaito felt impelled to point out, since the detective hadn't figured it out yet. "Have minds of their own. Just yours.""You think I WANTED to-" The tentacles momentarily stopped moving as Hakuba's voice broke on the rest of the sentence, flinging his arms out in a panic as he blushed red, then white."I don't think your mind was making many decisions at the time, detective." Kaito raised an admonishing finger. "From what I have observed, your new friends react to your -emotions-, not your -brain-. When angry or defensive, you get snapping hissing snakes-""So you were out there when Koizumi was!" Hakuba muttered jubilantly. Kaito ignored him."-While when panicked and confused, you cling to what's familiar." In this case, the Kaitou Kid. "And when.... well...." He trailed off, letting Hakuba fill in the blanks on that one. Never mind that it had been the detective's -hands- that had been doing the majority of the groping and the exploring there. And lips. Couldn't forget the lips. And Hakuba had certainly been in control of those."Then, I..." Hakuba -stared- at him in horror as it sunk in that he wasn't entirely blameless where it came to his limbs' grabby tendencies and Kaito's person. Said tentacles went lax, sprawled in large looping patterns all over the floor around his ankles.Kaito smirked back. "We're seventeen. I believe the comment is 'Looking at tatami mats makes us horny'."Hakuba made a strangled gurgled sound in the back of his throat which might have been laughter or an attempt to swallow his tongue. It was kind of hard to tell. "Breathe, detective." Kaito advised, pulling the roll of bandages out of his pocket. "And once you're done having a heart attack, we still need to to get that hand of yours bandaged.""I... there is no need." Hakuba waved it off, opening his injured clawed hand. He rubbed at it, removing the dry and still gooey blood from his hand, revealing four thin lines, almost gone. The blood still stuck to his hand revealed a small scaled pattern across the skin of his hand, the snake-skin was back. "This is not the first time I have damaged myself with these nails, nor do I doubt it will be the last. The injuries never remain very long."Now it was Kaito's turn to resist the urge to make a strangled sound. If the claws left marks, he wondered where else on Hakuba he would find them. One of the problems with detectives is that they were all too intimately familiar with the human body's vulnerable points, having seen them exploited time after time."It's gonna look suspicious if you return to class and there's nothing wrong with your hand." Kaito pointed out. "That wasn't exactly a tiny paper cut."Hakuba flinched. "True. Pass me the bandages if you would be so kind, I will do it myself." He put his hand back under the water, rinsing off the congealed blood on his hand with clinical detachment.Kaito walked over, the tentacles rising and waving at him as he approached. "You will not." Kaito scolded as the writhing limbs wrapped around his legs, preventing him from getting any closer. He tried avoiding them, to little success. "Stop that. It's a pain in the ass to bandage your own hand. I know, I've done it before.""It is fine, I will handle it on my own." Hakuba said firmly, a touch of anger colouring his tone as Kaito was frozen in his tracks. If the anger was directed at the mention of Kaito bandaging his own injuries or because the detective thought that Kaito had no further business here, Kaito couldn't quite tell. Hakuba continued on, his voice efficiently cold and brisk. "You may return to class, you need not concern yourself any farther in this matter-""-Oh yeah?!" Kaito demanded, cutting him off, as he began to feel much like a rabbit stuck in a tar-baby. "Tell that to me when your lower limbs aren't climbing me like a vine around a tree trunk!"Hakuba glanced down, doing a double take as he apparently suddenly realised that he had Kaito wrapped up from toes to upper thigh in a multitude of dark wiggling tentacles. A brief moment of panic flickered across his face, before being replaced by a blank mask. Between one eye-blink and the next, all the tentacles were gone and they were both standing on their own two legs.Kaito took two steps, reached up and smacked Hakuba upside the head. Tendrils waved around Hakuba's feet in alarm, but didn't touch Kaito. "Dumbass." Wonderful. So now the great and mighty repressed detective had learned a new trick... if he didn't feel anything, he didn't have any grabby limbs. Oh, -that- was a healthy outlook on life. Not.And it had been -his- goddamned heist that had cause this mess anyway. Hakuba should have never been able to get that close. Ever. So it wasn't like Kaito could just walk away from it now.Hakuba gave him a bewildered look. "Give me your hand." Kaito instructed briskly, holding out the bandages. The blond gave him a confused, almost meek look and did as instructed. Kaito pulled out a handkerchief and quickly dried Hakuba's hand off before returning the handkerchief to his pocket and starting to wrap the bandage around it the injury, mindful of the still long and sharp nails. "So what did Koizumi say that set this off in the first place?""She... ah..." Hakuba winced and cleared his throat. Kaito noticed as a tentacle tentatively wrapped around his calf again, holding just barely tightly enough for him to know it was there. "She finds my multi-limbed appearance to be more physically appealing than my standard two-legged humanoid form.""Yeah, well, Koizumi's weird like that." Kaito shrugged, most of his attention on wrapping the bandage neatly. He smiled slightly. "Take it as a compliment. She doesn't like a lot of guys.""I believe I would have much rather preferred if she had not taken a liking to me." Hakuba said dryly, accompanied by a slight shiver. Kaito chuckled softly in return. Koizumi wasn't so bad, once you got past her ego and some of the odder quirks. True, she'd endangered his life before, but she'd also done her best to make it up as well."Hey." He asked, looping the bandage around backwards so he could tie it off. "When you said you had nothing left to bargain with, why didn't you try blackmail?"Hakuba took a sharp breath, straightening to his almost six-foot tall height. "Why would I?" The detective demanded, almost affronted, like the idea was the last thing that would have ever crossed his mind. True, he liked to tease Kaito by calling him 'Kid', but he never -did- anything about proving it. Well, not anymore. There had been that one episode --the one where Koizumi had pulled his fat out of the fire-- with Hakuba and the handcuffs...Hmm... put in that context, perhaps the oh so friendly tentacles weren't -that- much of a surprise."Okay." Kaito nodded, quietly pleased to hear that what ever secrets the detective had uncovered were staying secrets. He tied the bandage, then took the ends and made them look like the bow on a present. "One last question. Do you think I'm attractive?"It was rather silly of him to wonder, but as he'd said, they were seventeen. He'd been curious to know if the groping and friendly molestation was because of -him- or because he'd just been conveniently at hand for Hakuba to take his hentai tentacle fantasies out on.Hakuba stared at him for a moment, sea-blue eyes wide before he started to turn red and looked away, curling in on himself slightly. "Yes." He said defiantly, like expecting Kaito to make an issue of it."All right." Kaito reached up and patted Hakuba's golden head, causing the detective to startle. Kaito grinned, dancing out of and away from Hakuba's nefarious tentacly clutches. He paused by the door, looking back to promise; "I'll help you find a way to get back to normal."He had a pretty good idea of where to start looking for that information as well. It looked like another trip to the museum for the Kaitou Kid tomorrow night. They had to return the stones anyway.Instead of looking pleased about the assurance of help, Hakuba had that pinched bit-into-a-lemon look to his face again. "So it's pity then?" Hakuba said bitterly, flexing his bandaged hand as he glared at the floor as if he might turn it to stone."No." Kaito said bluntly, one hand on the door knob. Hakuba raised his head, a brief flare of... something, hope maybe, shining in his ocean blue eyes before it was covered by a guarded expression. Kaito gave him a crooked grin. "A kind of respect, really. Not many people have the luxury of being honest. And fewer still will be honest if it might mean losing face.""Oh." Hakuba blinked, blushing slightly as a pleased expression softened his features. "Thank you.""You're welcome." Kaito brushed it off with a casual shrug as he opened the door, mindful of the blood trail. "Oh, and detective?""Yes?""It's not something I would have considered before, but it wasn't repulsive either." Kaito said, returning the favour of honesty with some of his own.And then he was down the hall and running before Hakuba could retort. There was only so much bright light of truth he could handle at one time.+++"Kalispera, Good Evening." The almost lisping voice breathed as Kid crouched on top of an exhibit in the dark empty --well, empty except for the two of them and the sleeping security guard-- museum, the shadowy figure's back towards him. "Come for more of my treasures, thief?""Konbonwa, Madam. And no, not tonight." Kid smiled, quietly amused at being noticed. He had thought he'd have to move a bit closer before she spotted him. But then, he wasn't dealing with a normal person here, was he? "Tonight, I come to return one treasure and see about the possible exchange of the other.""Aah?" There was the whisper-soft slither of scales, barely noticeable except for the prevailing silence of the large room and the fact that Kid had started to get used to listening for it. She did not turn to face his direction."The Eye of Argo." Kid held it up to the dim light, then gently tossed towards the woman. She held her hand out at the last moment, snatching it from the air, the gold stone landing in the centre of her palm. "I return it to you.""Thank you." The hand and the gem vanished into the shadows of her long cloak-like coat. "And the other?""Depends on the exchange." Kid smiled faintly."Oh?" Once again, the whisper soft-slither of scales, this time accompanied by a small rattling sound. A mild warning. Her patience was not infinite."Information, if you please. About the Gorgonian I stole two weeks past.""And you think I can give you this information you seek." She murmured, an amused rumbling sound."Considering it's concerning your sister, I fervently hope so my lady Sthenno." Kid nodded. "-Or is it Euryale?""Euryale." The woman, Madam Kisthene, the Museum's Greek Cultural Liaison to Japan, reached up and pulled off the long elaborate wig that had caught Kid's attention as somehow 'wrong'. Several snakes slipped free from the headband underneath, flickering tongues tasting the air as they looked at him with sinister golden eyes. "Sthenno doesn't like to leave our rock garden. She's an artist, you see. Does wonderful statues of men. So beautifully detailed you'd think they were real.""My gravest apologies for the error." Kid said quietly. Euryale and Sthenno, Medusa's immortal sisters. Either borne as hideous monsters to their parents, the Titans Phorcys and Ceto, or later changed when Medusa was, the legends kind of contradicted themselves.He'd realised something was unusual with the Cultural Liaison when he realised that she was wearing a wig and lots of make-up on her round face, and not just for beauty purposes. She also had a habit of not looking anyone if she didn't have to, it seemed to make people nervous when she did. He wouldn't have put it together except for his constant watching of Hakuba since the transformation and noticed similar traits.She snorted. "What do you want to know, thief?""An acquaintance of mine ran afoul of the Gorgonian stone I stole two weeks ago-""-And now she wants to be transformed back." Euryale finished for him, the snakes that were her hair twitching at him. Hakuba's tentacles and snakes he could deal with. They didn't give off the same aura of -menace- that Euryale's did. Her snakes were not happy with him, that much was obvious."He, actually. And yes, exactly." Kid smiled slightly. Euryale startled slightly, the snakes perking up in interest. He'd wondered about that, the Gorgons were supposed to be female, yet Hakuba was male. He kept meaning to mock Hakuba about that, but it never felt like a good time. Perhaps later.She snorted, a disdainful sound, covering up her surprise. "And what sort of acquaintance of yours is he, thief? A lover?" She sneered.Hah. Hakuba -wished-. "A Detective, whose goal it is to capture me and bring me to justice." Kid's smile turned wistful. "One of those white steed noble sorts, that make your teeth ache just by looking at him.""Perseus was like that." Euryale said quietly, the snakes drooping slightly. "Even as he petrified her body by her own reflection and cut my sister's head off, you could tell he was one of those virtuous sorts who thought he was doing the right thing. Scared out of his wits, but doing what he thought was right, never mind we wanted nothing to do with you mortals. He put her head in a bag and fled, before Sthenno or I could prevent it. So we took what was left of her, the most solid part of her petrified body and carved her likeness out of it, what she looked like before and what she looked like after. We couldn't give her a proper burial, but we could at least remember her as she had been.""... I'm sorry." He said quietly, covering up his own surprise. It may have just been legends and fables to him, but to her, it was a memory. Thousands of years old, but still something that had happened to her, that had changed her life.She shrugged in return. "So. What happened, thief?" Euryale said curtly, obviously not wanting any sympathy. He doubted she had much to give, anyway."He ambushed me on a rooftop, tried to take the Gorgonian from my hand." Kid said, shifting his crouched stance slightly, so his legs didn't fall asleep. "The carved serpents in her hair moved in the rain, cutting his hand. I escape, only to discover that he's kind of broken out in a case of snakes.""Medusa never liked getting wet." Euryale said, with a fond nostalgia. "Not after Poseidon, anyway. What do you want from me about it?""Legends say that the blood from one side of your body can bring even the dead back to life, the other side kills instantly." Kid ventured. "Would that heal him?""No injuries to heal, thief." She snorted disdainfully, the snakes' jaws dropping in silent mocking laughter, flashing sharp fangs. "And who's to say -my- blood, Gorgon blood, wouldn't like him better like this?"Kid swallowed. A very good point. "I take it that this has happened before?" He said lightly.He got a cackle in return. It was not reassuring. "Legends also say which side to take it from." Euryale sneered. "Are you willing to trust his life to that, thief?"Apollo's son Asclepius, the God of Medicine and Healing, was said to have had some Gorgon blood, given to him from Athena. Blood from the right healed, blood from the left killed. But if the legends couldn't even agree on why Medusa was transformed, who was to say that they were correct about this?And more importantly, whose left and whose right?"I suppose not." But then it also wasn't his call to make, it was Hakuba's. And the detective didn't know he was here. Kaito had said that he would help, he hadn't said -how-. And somehow, he doubted that the detective would appreciate the fact that Kid was talking to a thousand year old monster with the ability to turn him to stone by looking at him. He had taken some precautions, mirrored lenses over his eyes, but he still wasn't entirely sure it would work.She laughed. "Good call, thief. You are correct. My blood would either kill your friend or remove the last of his so-called humanity, turning him into a Monster." Her snakes made hissing noises that sounded suspiciously like jeering laughter. She held her hand out to the side, long brassy nails, like Hakuba's flickering in the dim light. "My sister, if you please."He pulled out the silk bag from his coat pocket and tossed it to her. He'd had to go to China Town and pick up several silk bags to put the Gorgonian in, it kept trying to chew through just one layer. The silk, at least, seemed to slow it down, other materials didn't fare so well. Euryale grabbed the stone from the air again, opening the bag and sliding the green stone into her hand. The stone wiggled momentarily, then settled down into it's still form again, the carved lady's face peaceful like it had been when he had stolen it. It'd been looking at him prissily ever since he'd pulled it out of the puddle.He'd tried carving a replacement, but the closest stone he could find to match the serpentine was jade, and jade was difficult to cut, even with a diamond saw. It had to be sanded into shape, not carved. And he didn't have the time or artistry to do so with such a detailed piece. Especially a detailed piece that moved every time you tried to study it.At least there was no question about her being the original owner. He'd checked before he'd stolen the piece. She owned the oldest parts of the collection, through one name or another."Is there -any- way of changing him back to human?" He asked as she tucked the stone in a pocket close to her heart."Pray to the Gods, thief." She said jeered, settling her wig back over her head. "And hope they're merciful to you.""Right." He muttered sarcastically. Because the Greek Myths were -full- of stories of people who begged for help, --usually to get away from some other overly amorous God-- and got transformed into animals, plants or rock crystals. Which, while getting them out of that particular situation, left them permanently stuck in something worse, because it was awful hard to pray to be changed back to a human when you were stuck as a cow. Or a tree. But he'd keep it in mind.She snorted. "Stop by Greece sometime, thief, and bring your detective along." Euryale instructed with a wave, preparing to leave. "We'll introduce you to our Garden.""... Thanks." Kid said dryly. He'd really rather not end up as part of the scenery. "Another question." He said quickly. "I'm searching for a gem, called 'Pandora'. Hidden inside of another jewel, it glows red in the moonlight and cries tears of Immortality. Have you heard of it?""And even if I did, why should I tell you, -mortal-?" Euryale growled, standing tall as she began storming out of the building. Of course, she was already immortal, she knew it's prices better than anyone else."If you do, or know who does, can you tell them to bury it deep?" He called after her. "Hide it so deep that NO mortal can ever find it?"Euryale paused in the doorway, posture softening slightly. "Who says they haven't already?" He didn't have to see her face to hear the smirk.He breathed a small sigh of relief. Even if he spent his lifetime looking for it, if the mysterious organisation didn't get their hands on it, it was a close enough second. "Thank you."She hesitated slightly, like surprised by his words, then nodded. "A word of caution in your ear, Childe of Hermes." Euryale warned with a sneer before she walked way, leaving him alone in the dark museum."A Gorgon's wrath was often mistaken for Fury."-fin-
----- CHAPTER BREAK -----
+++'Thank the Gods for thermal bottoms' was the main thought going through Kid's head as he flew away from the scene of the heist. It was tricky enough carrying what amounted to a knobby walking stick with a metal snake wrapped around it as he flew without freezing his legs and other vulnerable parts off in the brisk night air.The Staff of Asclepius was his prize tonight. Supposedly this was the same Staff, or at least one blessed by the Physician God to work the same as the original, that the healer used to to identify and diagnose serious illnesses. How he was going to -use- this Staff for that purpose was another matter entirely. The legends hadn't been very clear on it, but Kid was a master at the art of trial and error. Hopefully they'd figure out how to use it.And if they couldn't figure out how to work it, well, maybe the large stones that made up the serpent's eyes would help him on his primary task, locating Pandora. Asclepius had pissed off the God of the Underworld, Hades, by decreasing the number of souls coming into his realm and complained to his brother the King of the Gods, Zeus, about Asclepius bringing people back to life. This was a career choice that had tragically brought an end to the healer's life with one of Zeus' thunderbolts.Kid chuckled slightly as he noticed a few stars in the sky. This pissed off Asclepius' daddy, Apollo --God of Music, Prophecy and through Asclepius, Healing-- who killed the guy who made Zeus' thunderbolts and was punished for it. Zeus felt bad about killing Asclepius afterwards and stuck him in the sky as the constellation Opiuchus, the Snake Holder.Which once again sounded a bit like bum luck to Kid, but would hopefully bring them some luck with their own snakey problem. They certainly could use it.He'd done some other heists since talking to Euryale, switching back to a random pattern before going after something Hellenic again. Hakuba had yet to re-join the Task Force in attempting to stop Kid, but he showed up occasionally on rooftops, just watching over the heist from a distance where his emotions, or multitude of limbs, wouldn't interfere. Speaking of which... there was Hakuba on a rooftop a block or so over, a long dark blob topped with gold, watching his escape.Kid smirked and almost saluted, but his attention was still primarily on flying with the heavy Staff. It probably would have been smarter to use a blimp as a decoy and get away either on the streets or through the sewers, but that was also the predictable route. Nakamori had been expecting a ground based escape, so therefore he was in the sky. And it was probably the last of the nice nights for flying before it got cold enough to freeze his nuts off.So a good night all total, the Staff of Asclepius was in his hands, a chill wind in his face and the wails of the police sirens far behind him. Now for home and a good ni-The breath was knocked out of him by a sudden hard impact into his chest, causing him to go limp and almost drop the Staff. The world tilted, turning black, then grey as he failed to breathe. A rooftop rushed up to meet him, his lax weight having shifted the course of the hang-glider. He was going to crash, gonna crash, gonna crash, gonna die, gonna crash, which he did -not- want to do with a hang-glider strapped to his back.He clicked the button in his hand, retracting the metal poles into their usual compact mess along his spine. He had just enough presence of mind to cross his arms up in front of his head to protect it before he hit the hard surface of the rooftop and rolled, the gravel biting into his limbs as he did so and for a dizzying moment he wondered if he was never going to stop moving, if he was going to roll forever or if he was just going to roll right off the end of the building and fall to his death and never know it.Then he hit the low wall at the edge of the rooftop with his right side and stopped, face down and just lay there, struggling with wheezing gasps to breathe as the world settled back down again around him in all of its painful glory.Oh Gods, he thought he was dead. Actually, at the moment, it would be a hell of a lot less painful. He hated getting shot. Really, really -really- hated getting shot. It hurt like a sonofabitch.Okay. Limb check. Clench-unclench fingers of the right hand. Clench-unclench fingers of the left hand. Wiggle toes on the right foot. Wiggle toes on left foot. All numb and very heavy extremities accounted for. Good. Now to get out of here-Footsteps crunched on the rooftop, someone not bothering to hide their approach. He turned his head slightly, peering through his dark mass of hair to see dark dress shoes attached to black pants and the hem of a grey trenchcoat stop next to him. The ominous click of a round being chambered echoed in the suddenly quiet night. "Hello, bastard." Snake's voice growled. "I'm beginning to think that you ain't got a heart to shoot."Kid forced a smile as Trevor kicked into high gear, coming up with a quip back as well as plans for escape. Staff of Asclepius under him, low wall to the right, Snake with gun on the left, his body hurt like he'd been beaten by little vicious gnomes with jackhammers --it hadn't hurt this much the last time he was shot in the chest, WHY did it hurt to breathe so much this time-- and he needed to pull some sort of magical miracle out of his hat in a hurry-And a Magical Miracle arrived, just when he needed it, announcing its arrival with a reverberating roar that made every hair on his body stand on end. A multi-coloured mass struck Snake in the chest, sending the assassin flying across the rooftop, then down over the edge, pale green ghostly tendrils following.Oh, shit.With a muted grunt of pain, he staggered to his feet, leaning against the Staff of Asclepius and using it as a walking stick as he dragged himself to the other side of the roof.That had been Hakuba. That had totally been Hakuba. Hakuba, with large freaky looking wings and snakes and claws and -green- and nothing resembling the detective in his face. Snake's terrified screams intermingled with inhuman shrieks and howls and the echoing percussive retort of revolver fire.How the hell had that been Hakuba?! He glanced down over the edge of the rooftop, spotting Snake firing at Hakuba yet again. The blond didn't flinch at the deafening noise, hovering just out of Snake's reach, snakes twining and snapping at him without ever quite touching the assassin. Large wings, copper and blue-green and gold, almost like a double set, sprouted from Hakuba's bare back, one pair arching up, one pair curling forward, the long metal looking feathers guarding the hissing snakes from Snake's bullets. Kid swallowed, feeling a chill running down his spine as the aura of pure -Anger- filled the area.He found the fire escape and started climbing down before Snake or Hakuba killed the other, ignoring his protesting body for now. His mind spun as he followed the twisting stairs down, scrambling across the short landings. Hakuba's altered appearance was largely emotion based, but the detective tended to be more justice driven than angry. Hell, Hakuba wasn't even touching Snake, it was like the detective was trying to herd the assassin away. Kid was somewhat surprised that Hakuba hadn't turned Snake into stone by now...Anger. Wrath. FURY. Kid could have smacked his forehead. There was another Greek myth based off of Serpents and Justice. The Furies, the Eumenides, the 'Kindly Ones'. Spirits of Retribution and Punishment, who hunted down and chased those criminals who killed or disturbed the natural balance of things. They would ceaselessly chase without sleep or hunger, driving the guilty mad until they either died or atoned for their crimes. Housing the guilty chased by the Furies would bring their punishment upon the host as well. They didn't kill, but they would drive their targets to suicide, then torment them in the afterlife as well.Euryale had warned him, hadn't she? She'd said, 'A Gorgon's wrath was often mistaken for Fury', he just hadn't made the connection until now. He'd been -stupid-. Other shouts from outside the alley began to intermingle with the screams and growls from within. He heard Nakamori's distinctive bellow, the police rushing to their location. Of course, they had seen his fall, and probably Hakuba's appearance. Shit. They had to get out of here, they had to flee, they had to escape, leave before someone recognised Hakuba and the detective spent the rest of his life strapped to a table like a lab rat. Or Kid found himself grabbed and sent to jail until the end of his days.Snake screamed, his nerve breaking as the first shadowy figures reached the mouth of the alley, running away from the detective, towards the officers, screaming for mercy and babbling his guilt. Hakuba made a snarling sound, moving after the assassin. Kid winced, pulling out a smoke grenade and lobbing it to the mouth of the alley. It exploded, hiding Snake from Hakuba's view and more importantly, Hakuba from everyone else's view."Detective!" He shouted as he stumbled around the last twist of stairs and grabbed the ladder, his weight sliding the ladder down towards the ground. He jumped off before it stopped and stumbled forward, using the Staff for balance before Hakuba's serpent limbs tangled around him, keeping him from meeting the ground face first for the second time today. Yay for nefarious tentacles' grabby habits.Then hands grabbed him, hauling him upright and he found himself staring into a pair of ocean-blue eyes, feeling much like a veeeeeeeeery tiny mousie in the gaze of a very large, very dangerous predator. It was Hakuba's face, but there wasn't much that was human in those eyes. He swallowed. Yeah, Snake was a criminal --and a very bloodthirsty one at that--, but so was Kid. He stole, he lied, he wore white after Labour Day, he was getting the breath kissed out of him...Okay. That worked too. Kissing was good, he could go along with that.Except... except except except, dammit, he really didn't need a distraction right now, he needed to breathe, breathing good, --WHERE was that tentacle going?!-- Nakamori and the Task Force were on their way here, they needed to get -out- of here. He pulled back, releasing Hakuba's mouth with an audible pop. "Detective?" He questioned as Hakuba leaned forward, following his movement. Hakuba paused, his cheek brushing against Kid's, his breath tickling Kid's ear. "You with us again?"Hakuba didn't say anything as the voices got closer to them. Dammit. Kid reached into his pocket, pulled out another smoke grenade and winced as he threw it towards the entrance again. It exploded, people yelling in surprise as they retreated. They needed a plan. Plans were good, plans got you out of tight jams, even if they rarely survived the first encounter with the opposition. Running usually worked though."Okay..." Kid glanced down and realising that, yet again, his feet weren't touching the ground. It was almost impossible to see his white-clad legs for all of the wiggling serpentine green tentacles. "We need to get out of here. Can you, um... walk?" He flushed slightly, feeling like the World's Stupidest Moron. No legs. Lots of limbs, but no legs.Hakuba -moved-, turning in the small alley, his wings casually slicing gouges in the walls, the metal being both tougher and sharper than the building materials. Right. Mental note. Wings pretty to look at, but bad to touch. Actually, he was kind of jealous. Hakuba could keep the tentacle thing, but wings? The ability to actually -fly- instead of glide? Yeah. -That- he was totally jealous over.He brought his attention back to the ground as Hakuba's tentacles glided over the alley's floor. It was a bit of a slither, a bit of a crawl, but it seemed to work. The middle part of a limb would shoot forward, the smaller ends trailing behind as Hakuba's weight shifted forward, other limbs moving forward as that limb moved back in a continuous sinuous dance that was slightly faster than the blond's average brisk walking pace. The centipede's dilemma... If Hakuba stopped to think about how he was walking, would he never be able to do so again?Speaking of walking... Kid really didn't need to be carried. He had two legs, still attached to his body, that worked. That he could definitely run with, even if he was a bit shaky at the moment. Dammit, his chest hurt. "You can put me down." He informed Hakuba, who promptly ignored him. Stupid stubborn bastard detectives with groping tendencies. And, of course, Hakuba didn't. Kid sighed, reaching to tilt his hat down over his face, and found it gone. Dammit.Well, this was a -wonderful- evening. Really. At least he had the damned Staff. Yay Staff. The next person who startled him was getting it shoved up their rectum. Even if it took him a while to find said rectum.Kid peered around as they reached the end of the alley, grateful to find that the police were still occupied with the other side of the alley. Nakamori-keibu and the Task Force had taken the shortest direct route, not worrying about going around the back. Thank Gods for their simple logic. However, he found himself face-to-face with someone else who had probably heard the excitement and had come looking, because they followed the same simple logic."KYAAA~!" Aoko shrieked as she stepped back from the alley's shadows, away from them. It was purely instinctual to pull out the spray can of sleep gas and hit the nozzle. Pink gas surrounded Nakamori-keibu's daughter for a second, then she slumped to the ground in a boneless heap.Hakuba looked down at her for a moment, his blue eyes strangely blank. A tentacle prodded her prone form, hovering over her as if confused what to do. Kid stared at her still body for a second, his mind spinning in dizzying circles. He'd just knocked out his best friend. Okay, yeah, he'd slipped her a sleeping pill that one time when he'd been targeting Crystal Mother, but he'd never just -knocked her out- before.Ohhh... this day was just going to hell in a hand-basket.Except... this might work. It just might work. They needed someplace to hide Hakuba for a while, until he calmed down and turned back into his usual smug two-legged self --he wasn't going to think about what would happen if Hakuba didn't turn back, not right now-- and taking the detective back to his place was just a big 'No'. It didn't matter that the detective already knew who he was under the monocle, it was still just no. He wasn't going to give Hakuba more proof than the blond already had."Can you fly while carrying someone?" He asked Hakuba, who looked at him with those ocean-blue serpent eyes. There really didn't seem to be much going on in Hakuba's head at the moment that was all that human. Intelligent, yes. But a different kind of intelligence than either of them usually worked on. "We can hide at Nakamori-keibu's house. No one would suspect to look for us there."They had to hurry, the smoke was dissipating behind them and he could hear the first officers venturing into the alley. Hakuba tilted his head to the side for a moment, looking at Aoko, then a tendril wrapped around her waist, another one wrapping around her legs and torso as he picked her up. Kid nodded, breathing a sigh of relief. "Okay, we need to get up-"Up, it turned out, wasn't a problem. Up was a hell of a lot easier than horizontal, all those spare limbs suddenly flailing everywhere, like spiders legs, or grappling hooks as they suddenly shot upwards, sending the officers below into screaming hysterics about the monster in the alley. Hakuba slithered over the the small lip of the rooftop, looking around the level grey area with an almost disinterested expression. Definitely not entirely there."Let me down, please." Kid instructed, twisting in Hakuba's grasp, belatedly realising that it wasn't so much the tendrils holding him in place as it was the detective's hands. The detective's hands with the very long, very sharp claws on the ends. Yipe. "Detective." He growled, glaring at Hakuba's face. "Put. Me. Down. NOW."Hakuba stared back, a look of mild annoyance on his face. "I'm just going to get my hat." Kid added in a softer voice. Hakuba thought it over for a moment before reluctantly setting Kid down on the rooftop, holding him loosely until Kid had his feet steady on the ground. "Thank you." Gods, he was feeling shaky. Order of business: Get Hakuba to Aoko's. Go home. Bandage wounds. Sleep for a week.He quickly found his hat, rolling in the breeze and stuck it on his head, eyeing the slight smears of blood he'd left behind with mixed concern and distaste. Nakamori-keibu would -love- this, in this modern age of forensic science. He hadn't needed to be concerned about leaving a blood trail behind when he had first started, now it could be a massive worry. Still, it wasn't a lot of blood and he had something that could break it down, at least a little bit. Kid dug into his pockets and found a small bottle of luminol and sprayed it on the places he could see the dark smudges of blood, or in some cases, probably dirt. It left behind a temporary glowing blue trail, the chemical breaking down the blood's cellular structure as it produced the reaction.It wasn't the ideal solution, but it would hopefully give the lab boys --and girls-- enough problems to buy Kid enough time to switch the samples out later. Say, for that of a mongoose. Just to keep them on their toes. The feline DNA was getting predictable. And luminol was fun to play with, especially turning it into a temporary night light.Hakuba let out a low rumble as the fire escape rattled, officers climbing up. "Ready to fly?" Kid motioned to the sky with the Staff as he triggered the hang-glider's transformation from a cape, then repressed a wince as his ribs protested the pressure against them. Oh, this was not a flight he was looking forward to. Hakuba watched him as he hopped over the edge of the building into the wind, falling for a minute before the glider caught an updraft and he soared upwards. He looked down, spotting Snake being put into a police car and Nakamori-keibu climbing over the edge of the rooftop he had just left, a few officers following him.Hakuba took to the air just as Nakamori-keibu let out a shriek that sounded like a little girl's, the blond's tentacles coiled under him like a spring the moment before take off, carrying Aoko with him. The wings flapped once, then twice with the rasping sound of metal on metal, lifting him higher into the air, the tips of the tentacles becoming translucent as they fluttered in the dimly lit night air.It was both breathtaking and terrifying at once.And it... he... -Hakuba-, was flying towards him, soaring through the air as gracefully as a manta ray glided through the water. Kid swallowed, forcing himself keep a faint tremor of panic from rising to the surface. It was Hakuba, familiar, dorkish, sarcastic Hakuba with the Sherlock Holmes obsession and bad taste in clothes, but it wasn't. This was a Predator. A Predator whose form looked like it had been ripped from someone's nightmares, magnificent and horrifying.He was going to dream about this later, Kid realised on a gut instinctual level. He just wasn't sure if it was going to be in his nightmares or not.Then they were flying, the brisk cool air in their face as they soared, Hakuba's copper and gold wings flapping occasionally. He could feel the adrenaline rush slipping away, replaced by lethargic cold and aches and pains. He was purposely not looking at his injuries or looking for any injuries, because as soon as he acknowledged their existence, it was going to hurt like a motherfucker.Aoko, from her holding place partly on Hakuba's back, safely tucked away from the sharp feathers and the claws on the other side of Hakuba's body, shifted and groaned just as they entered his, her, their neighbourhood. Hakuba didn't appear to notice her return to wakefulness, but Kid drifted as close as he dared anyway. "Yo." He shouted in a friendly tone, the wind pulling most of his words away. "Good morning."She mumbled something that he knew from experience better than to listen too closely to. Aoko in the morning was -not- the most perky and sunshine-filled being on the planet. Then her blue eyes snapped open, wide in shock, alarm and not a little bit of fear.Internally, Kid cursed. This had been a bad idea. He should have just left her there, but he hadn't been thinking at the time, he'd just been -reacting-, which was both dangerous and stupid. But where else did they have to go at the moment? He still couldn't take Hakuba to his house and all he knew of Hakuba's house was the address and Hakuba wasn't in a conversational mood to get more details from. Dammit."I'd advise against screaming." Kid continued, keeping his voice casual, despite his panic and the cold bite of the wind. "And struggling. As the cliché goes, it's not the fall you have to worry about, it's the sudden stop at the end."Aoko made a whimpered sound that ended with "Whoashit", for which he couldn't completely blame her. Hakuba made a sort of rumbling noise, the tentacle around Aoko tightening slightly. Kaito spotted Aoko's house and steered the glider into a wide arch, curving in towards the back of the house. Hakuba shifted to follow him, wings barely flapping as he did so. Kid so wanted wings. He landed on the Nakamori's rooftop, collapsing the hang-glider again as Hakuba landed on the rooftop next to him, tentacles rippling out like a huge lacy skirt."Before you panic further, you are on your classmate's back." Kid added helpfully as a few of the tentacles playfully reached out to grab him. He danced just out of their reach, towards the roof's edge and they dejectedly fell back into the rolling mass. "Hakuba-kun is not quite feeling like himself tonight and I hoped you might offer him sanctuary until he does."He was not going to say '-If- Hakuba returns to his normal self' because Kid didn't want to think about that possibility."YOU BASTARD!!!" Aoko roared, grabbing on to Hakuba's shoulder for balance as she surged upright. "WHAT DID YOU DO TO HA-"Kid had not been expecting snakes. Or at least, he had not been expecting snakes again tonight. Perhaps on a plane. But not tonight and not towards Aoko. Several of Hakuba's tentacles turned into serpents again, hissing dire threats in her direction. Aoko quickly flattened herself back down, looking small, harmless and scared out of her mind."No screaming." Kid repeated calmly. "No struggling." Aoko quickly nodded and he a stab of pain in his chest that had nothing to do with any physical injuries. Was it considered kidnapping if you were taking the person home? "Detective, please mind your manners."Hakuba made some sort of rumbling sound again, the hiss of the snakes fading away as they returned back to their slightly less lethal and technically more harmless appearance. If by 'harmless' you meant 'capable of tearing you into pieces like a paper doll'. Kid sighed, set the Staff of Asclepius on the roof towards the edge and slipped off the rooftop, holding onto the eaves as he braced himself on the wall below so he could get to Aoko's window.This... had been a really bad idea. Monumentally stupid. Right up there with Oyaji's decision to wear white at night. Hakuba liked him, he liked Aoko, Aoko hated this part of him, which he really should have realised would set off Hakuba's clinging tendencies. The clinging tendencies with claws and fangs.The clinging tendencies that were wrapped around his waist and one thigh, keeping him steady as he undid the side of the screen to Aoko's room before tricking the window open with one hand. He closed his eyes for a moment and took a deep breath, then nearly doubled over in pain. Ribs. He'd forgotten the ribs. Later. Priority right now was getting Hakuba out of any place people could see him. Without Aoko or Hakuba killing the other. He had to keep moving, once he stopped, it was going to be a while before he started again.The window finally slid open and he grabbed the Staff from the roof before he slipped inside, stepping into to allow room for the others. He found Aoko's bedside lamp and turned it on, the two tendrils around him not releasing him. Hakuba awkwardly slithered in, metal wings folded tight around him as he squeezed the majority of his bulk in before pulling Aoko in after. Aoko looked around her room with wide eyes, as if surprised to find herself in familiar surroundings.There. Mission accomplished. Could he go home now?Except... --And he was getting really tired of all of these 'Excepts'-- as soon as Hakuba released her, Aoko was hiding on one side of the room curled up on her bed, as far away from Hakuba as possible and the detective was doing his impression of a statue next to the window. Well, a statue other than the shifting tentacle bit. A fountain, maybe.Aoko made a soft whimpering noise, nervously curled up in the corner on her bed, watching them with wide, almost scared eyes. Kid hesitated for a moment, switching trains of thought from 'Familiar Aoko and Hakuba' to what she must be seeing. Trapped in her bedroom with an Internationally Wanted Jewel Thief --whom she was rather public about disliking-- and a Classmate turned Tentacle Monster. Both male.Right. No reason for a girl to panic At All, no...."You should be fine, Nakamori-chan. He just needs a place to rest." He smiled at Aoko, a toned down Kid-grin. After all, the detective didn't seem interested in casually molesting anyone other than his person. "But if you are uncomfortable being left by yourself with Hakuba, you may wish to call one of your classmates. I believe one of them also knows about his... wriggly problem."Aoko nodded, swallowing nervously, even as she sat up straight to glare at him defiantly. "K-Kaito probably would." Her voice only wavered a little bit, as she glanced sideways at Hakuba, as if making sure he didn't break out in snakes again. "He went to the infirmary with Hakuba-kun recently."When put it that way, it sounded a lot more naughty than it actually was. All right, New Plan: go home, do a quick and dirty job on bandaging the various scrapes, change clothes, come over as Kaito and visit for a while. Still moving, still okay. "Then I shall wish you both a good night." He tipped his hat at her, then at Hakuba before making a quick exit towards the window.Only to be stopped by a squirming olive green limb wrapping around his ankle. And wrist. And thigh. And shoulders. And calf. And elbow. Helloooo, Hakuba. Kid looked up to find the blond's pale blue eyes glittering at him in the low light as he was very carefully pulled away from the window. Aoko made a soft squeaking sound as his feet came off the ground, the strong tentacles solicitously avoiding his ribs. "Detective." He said quietly as the wings wrapped around him like steel feathered walls. "Put me down. Let me go. Please." He was so close, so close to freedom, he couldn't stay here, he needed to go, needed to leave, needed to move...Hands came into play, careful touches of the strangely smooth-rough fingers, tracing his face, down his throat, over the collarbones, then his ribs, just the barest breath of claws trailing behind. Kid's breath stuttered in a way that had very little to do with pleasure at the ghostly pressure on his chest, barely avoiding wheezing. Hakuba looked at him, those ocean-blue eyes with an almost eerie calm. "If I release you-" The blond said quietly as his hands finally come to a rest, indecently low on Kid's hips. Well, that was a bit good news at least, the detective was back in residence. "-will you let me look at your wounds?"Hah. How was Hakuba going to look at his injuries without touching him? No game. "No." He said honestly, pulling on the tentacles as he attempted to back-flip out of their grasp. Hakuba's hands released him as the the tendrils stretched, allowing him some range of movement without letting him go. He gasped for air as the movement pulled the muscles across his chest, sending flashes of pain through him. "Dammit." He hissed, panic flaring. "Let me go!"Terror overtook panic as he fought Hakuba's many limbs, even as the wings opened, granting him the space to move without accidentally slicing himself on them. He had to go, had to go NOW. There was no open sky above him this time, he was trapped in a tiny room with only a window and a door for an exit.It spiked higher as Aoko joined in, shouting and waving her arms from the bed, as if afraid to get too close, but angry enough to speak out. "Release him! He's NOT staying here! Hakuba-kun can stay, but I'm not harbouring a wanted criminal in my house!"His chest twinged again as he wrestled with the tentacles, but he wasn't sure if it was the movement or the words. "Thank you, Nakamori-chan." He managed to glibly muttered under his breath as he gave the tentacles another good hard yank. Nothing like knowing that your best friend loved you like that."He's been shot." Hakuba's placid words seemed to ripple in the room, temporarily freezing both Kid and Aoko in their tracks. Aoko, primarily out of shock, Kid because one of Hakuba's insanely long claws had reached out and delicately tapped the space above his heart, sending white-hot shocks of pain through his chest. Kid curled up in a ball, arms protectively wrapped around his upper ribs, the tentacles cradling him in their gentle grasp as he wheezed loudly and waited for the pain to fade. He couldn't stop, not now, had to keep moving..."He can't have been -shot-." Aoko protested, disbelief clear in her tone as Hakuba wrangled Kid's tie off and and started with his jacket while he was distracted. Kid swatted at Hakuba's hands, as much as the restraining tentacles would allow him. "This... this is Japan! People don't have -guns-, people don't just get -shot- in Japan! And he's the KID! Everyone knows he doesn't hurt people. Why the hell-"Her protests were cut off by the ringing of a mobile phone. They all froze for a minute, staring at each other. Kid's jacket swung free, Hakuba remembering how to open the inside clasp, despite the long nails.Then Aoko fell backwards slightly as she reached into her back pocket and pulled out a mobile phone, staring at it like she's forgotten what it was. Oh, shit. Please let that not be her father, please let that not be her father, if that was Nakamori-keibu, he was totally, irrevocably, completely screwed. The Kaitou Kid, caught in under Nakamori-keibu's roof, in his daughter's room, with a tentacle monster. Oh, this was so many levels and flavours of not good at this moment.And then he realised that Hakuba was now going after his shirt. He tried to wiggle away, only to find Hakuba running the back of one finger down the front of his shirt, the sharp edge of the nail easily slicing through the threads holding the buttons on. A distant --very distant-- part of his mind noted that it was probably a good idea he hadn't tried using those claws to -unbutton- the shirt, especially not the button close to his throat, but most of his attention was occupied with Aoko flipping open the phone. "Daddy!?"Whoashit. She was over -there-, he was stuck over -here-, he couldn't reach the phone, couldn't pretend to be her, couldn't knock the phone away with the press of the trigger from his cardgun because if she screamed and the phone just fell, Nakamori-keibu would get all paranoid and...... And Aoko was just staring at him, her mouth open, without saying anything.Hakuba slowly pulled Kid towards his body, cradling him and the Staff against his torso as Aoko nodded and made affirmative noises into the phone. "Okay, Daddy. Love you too. Bye." She finally said, carefully hanging up the phone."Daddy says to stay home." Aoko said slowly as she put the phone down on her bed, her eyes never leaving Kid's chest. "They arrested a guy waving around a smoking gun who confessed to killing the Kaitou Kid. He was just shot and killed, in the back of a squad car on the way to the station."Kid inhaled and the breath got caught in his throat. Snake. Snake was dead. The man who killed his father, and who knew how many others, was dead. He probably should be jubilant, but all he could feel was a strange sort of numbness. Someone was dead. Snake was dead. He wondered if anyone would mourn the assassin..... Would anyone mourn him?"Aoko-kun." Hakuba said, distracting him. "He is going to require an ice pack. Could you kindly get one?""I..." She hesitated a moment, then nodded. "Yes. I'll be right back." Kid watched in mild confusion as he watched her leave the room. That was definitely a strange and sudden turnaround from 'not harbouring wanted criminals under her roof'. Then he caught sight of his reflection in the mirror above the dresser and felt everything come crashing down.There, in the middle of his chest, against the dark fabric of the ballistics vest, was the shiny mushroomed remains of a bullet. So that was what Aoko had been staring at. He almost laughed. Right. No one got shot in Japan. Aoko really should have known better. Her father was a police officer after all.His left shoulder was torn up, the fabric torn away and baring his scraped bloody shoulder. There were similar scrapes on his forearms and legs, his left thigh looked like someone had taken a cheese grater to part of it, and the left side of his face was coated in blood --probably from banging it with the Staff--, which explained why his face had been cold on the way here.Now that he had seen them, all of his injuries cried out in pain for attention."Stay." Hakuba said quietly, hands not quite touching Kid, but obviously wanting to. "Please."He swallowed. "I can't." He admitted softly, shaking his head and ignoring the faint sense of weakness that caused. "If I stop, I won't be moving for a while."Hakuba paused for a moment, then the tendrils began to slowly unwind themselves from him. "My apologies.""Nothing to apologise for." Kid tiredly waved it off as his feet touched the ground. Just Hakuba being his usual overbearing overprotective self. Kind of endearing, in a bondage sort of way. He stood, automatically straightening his shirt over the ballistics vest, wobbling slightly as the lack of energy suddenly hit. He leaned against the Staff, his chest aching as he breathed.Oh... kay... This was a bad idea. He still had to get out of here, which meant climbing through a window and getting to his house without looking like a common burglar. Right.This day was going -so- well."I do not entirely trust that Aoko-kun will not go for a mop while she is getting the ice." Hakuba said hesitantly. Kid glanced at him and found Hakuba watching him with concern. No pity, or he would have been out of the window without hesitation. The blond motioned to the door and Kid realised that two tentacles had stretched out long enough to peer out of the doorway, snake heads keeping an eye on Aoko. "Perhaps we could guard each other from her?"The suggestion was just ridiculous enough to make him chuckle, despite the spike of pain. An internationally wanted jewel thief and a guy out of Greek mythology needing protecting from a teenage girl with a temper. "I don't know if that'll be enough to protect us from her." He smiled slightly and took the tentacle Hakuba offered. Hakuba's eyebrows rose slightly at Kid's sudden acquiescence. "As strange as it may sound, Detective, even I occasionally acknowledge my limitations.""I was unaware you realised that you had limitations." Hakuba commented dryly as he wrapped his many limbs around Kid once more, lifting Kid off his feet in a tentacley hammock. It felt good not to be carrying his own weight at the moment, the pain in his ribs subsiding slightly."Sometimes." Kid sighed softly. Like when he was being suicidal again when there was a safer route readily available. If he was careful, there shouldn't be a problem. "Not often."Hakuba nodded, tendrils reaching up and easing both Kid's shirt and jacket over his shoulders. Kid undid the buttons at his wrist, the sleeves falling over his hands. There was a bit of confusion where the Staff should go and Kid finally put it beside the desk behind Hakuba, leaning against the wall. Hakuba helped him out of the clothing, the skin on Kid's arms goosepimpling in the slightly chilly air."This isn't part of your regular uniform, is it?" Hakuba questioned as he carefully undid the fastenings on the sides of the ballistics vest, smaller thinner tentacles sliding in between his the thin undershirt he was wearing and the ballistics vest to hold its weight off of him."No." He admitted, hissing slightly as his ribs protested. Why the hell did it hurt so much to have the pressure taken -off-?! "Borrowed it from the Police storage." Level II, twenty-two layers of kevlar between him and what ever bullets flew his way. The next level up would have protected him from injury better, but it was too bulky to hide easily and too heavy to wear comfortably while performing his gymnastics. Although in retrospect, perhaps he should have added a hard plate in the pocket in front of his heart..."Good." Hakuba said briskly. Kid raised an inquiring eyebrow. "While I generally do not approve of theft, I am greatly relieved that you were wearing it.""Yeah. Kid agreed ruefully. "Me too." The ballistics vest his father had kept in storage had disintegrated from age to the point of it being suicidal to wear. And while he hadn't liked it, he'd fiddled with the police records, appropriating the ballistics vest in the confusion.And while a ballistics vest couldn't protect from -everything-, it certainly didn't hurt to be careful. Which had been the thought in mind when he'd strapped on the vest this evening. He hadn't seen Snake in a while and a well-known magical item seemed like a tempting target."I heard the shot." Hakuba said quietly as he lifted the vest off Kid's shoulders, the detective's voice a myriad of emotions, none of them positive. A tentacle removed his hat as the vest covered his head. "Saw you fall. I thought you were dead... You weren't moving. All the blood..."The vest was lifted completely off him as Hakuba's voice trailed off, the hat plopped down on his head. Kid glanced over at Hakuba, but the tangle of emotions that had coloured the detective's tone were now carefully hidden again. Hakuba didn't look at him as he set the vest on the floor, over by the window where it could be grabbed easily when Kid left."Maybe I should start wearing the pink tie again." Kid mused, looking down at himself and his coat which was hanging off a tentacle like it would a coat hook. Red, red blood, splotched all over his formerly pristine white outfit, matching the red ribbon of his tie. Hakuba made a small snorting sound and Kid was glad to have lightened the atmosphere again. "Feel free to cut off the undershirt, we can use it to clean up some of these scratches."He wasn't up to lifting his arms and pulling the muscles across his chest again right this moment. And it wasn't like the undershirts were expensive or anything. Three for 1000yen, he could get a new one without much difficultly. His coat, however, was another story. He was going to have to learn how to sew at this rate, other than small repairs.Hakuba ran his hands carefully down Kid's sides, one nail tip just grazing his flesh as the fabric came apart. A quick pass at his shoulders and the white material fell away in two separate pieces. The detective situated them so he was eye-level with Kid's chest, the palm of one hand brushing past the injured area, probably feeling the heat of the swollen tissue. "You definitely injured it again.""Feels like the same three ribs as before." Kid painfully agreed with the assessment as he felt one of the smooth limbs slide down the small of his back. "Detective?""Hm?""As much as I am becoming accustomed to your apparent need to divest me of my shirts-" Kid smirked slightly, trying not to laugh. "-is the tentacle down the pants -really- necessary?"And, of course, because he had the devil's own luck, this was the statement Aoko walked in on. She stared at them with wide blue eyes from the doorway, a dripping plastic bag of ice in one hand, a broom in the other."Oh, God." Hakuba croaked, freezing for a moment before all the tentacles which were sprawled all over the floor retracted, tangling and curling in and around themselves, the great massive wings curled in around them protectively. The detective's face turned red as the tentacles holding Kid twitched one by one, Hakuba trying to find the culprit.Kid grinned, his mood lifting despite the weary tiredness that tugged on his limbs. "It's not what it sounds like, Nakamori-chan." He said, his tone almost giddy as the errant limb was found and slid out of his pants, eliciting a tiny shiver as it groped him. It was a pity he was so exhausted, it might have been a great deal of fun to persue that line of opportunity. Perhaps not in front of Aoko, however. "He doesn't quite have complete subconscious control of all his limbs.""It's not my fault! He smells good!" Hakuba muttered in a terror-stricken sort of way, a few tendrils waving around. The detective paused as he realised what he had said, the blush darkening in mortification. "I'm Not That Kind Of Tentacle Monster!" He squeaked in a panic.... there really was no safe sort of answer to dig oneself out of that hole.Kid tried to muffle a chortle, but it escaped as a giddy giggle, which quickly escalated to a laugh. And once he started laughing, he found he couldn't... quite... stop. It just kept flowing out of him in high, almost hysterical gasps that sent knife stabs of pain through his chest, which only caused him to curl in on himself, laughing harder.Hakuba said something he missed, then again. He was vaguely aware of movement just before something freezing cold on his chest jolted him out of the almost numbing sensation of helpless laughter. He wheezed and hiccuped a few times as the laughter faded, leaving him bonelessly drained."Sorry." Kid muttered, putting a hand over the bag of ice on his ribs. The tentacle holding it there was as cold as the ice itself, sluggishly pulling itself out from under his gloved hand. Hakuba really didn't seem to like the cold."I am honestly glad you are reacting, actually." Hakuba said quietly, and Kid was aware of a hand carefully rubbing his back, as one might do to soothe a crying child. "It is far healthier not to let stress bottle up."He almost laughed again. "Sorry." Kid apologised again as Hakuba shifted him so he was cradled against Hakuba's bare shoulder instead of encased in a loose cocoon of tentacles. Now that he was paying attention, he noticed Hakuba's scent, distinctly male, with a strange metallic, almost dusty overtone. Where had Hakuba's shirts gone anyway? Into the wings? "If I might put forth a slight treaty in the name of peace, Nakamori-chan?" He asked as genteelly as possible.Aoko looked at them warily, her mop clutched in one hand like a Viking teddy bear. "Oh?""We will stay on this side of the room, next to the window." The window was closer to the roof than to the ground, the drop was taller than either of their heights. Not a comfortable drop, but not undoable either. Especially if one had tentacular help. "Leaving you on that side of the room and the house. That way, the side of the room that has the doorway remains open, so you do not find yourself trapped in the room, should you find the situation uncomfortable.""You're staying for a while?" Aoko asked suspiciously."Just a brief nap." He assured her, absently patting one of Hakuba's tentacles. "Long enough for the good detective to regain his usual number of lower limbs. Is this acceptable to all parties?"Aoko thought it over, glancing at the window, no doubt realising that they could escape from it if they wanted or needed to as well. "Just so long as you're gone before Daddy gets home. I think I could explain Hakuba-kun's presence here if we needed to, but not Kid's." She finally nodded, then gave them a slight smile. "I may not like you, but I'm not going to hurt an injured person either.""Thank you." He said quietly, relaxing slightly."Just keep in mind that can change." She added, probably just to see him tense up again. He loved Aoko, but by Gods did she have a temperamental streak sometimes. "Okay with you, Hakuba-kun?""I find it acceptable as well." Hakuba shrugged slightly, causing the wings to rattle faintly. "It is not like I can return home like this." He added ruefully. The blond paused, holding out his hand, examining his nails. The long sharp nails had just finished receding, the sharp tips barely poking past his finger tips. He appeared pleased by this, absently cracking his knuckles. "I am regaining some semblance of control over my appearance once more, it should regress fairly quickly as long as I am not startled again.""Oh." Aoko's eyes went wide, and then she blushed in the dim light. "The, um, snakes? I shouted in your ear and..."Hakuba nodded, the tentacles rippling and swirling into loops that didn't quite cross the half room mark as they unclenched from their tangled mess. Kid relaxed as Hakuba did, glad that at least the friendship between the detective and the inspector's daughter was remaining intact. "I do sincerely apologise if I gave you a scare, Aoko-chan."She shook her head. "It's okay, I shouldn't have yelled like that. Friends?""Friends." He agreed. "I do hope you will forgive me if I delay shaking your hand on it?"Aoko giggled slightly as Kid rested his head on Hakuba's shoulder, muffling a yawn. Gods, he was sore. Sore and tired. He allowed his eyes to droop shut as Hakuba wrapped an arm around Kid's waist, a bit like a jealous boyfriend. Kid debated arguing, but he was comfortable and that outweighed pretty much everything else.It was kind of strange, to feel bare flesh against his own. Not bad strange, just strange. He didn't have many excuses to touch other people, much less without clothing. Hakuba's skin was smooth but textured, just slightly alien. As alien as the olive green skin anyway. The blond was cooler than him, but warmer than the ice pack, something he was grateful for. That and gloves. Gloves were your friend. Kept one's fingers from freezing off. Trevor waved happy flags at that.He titled his hat down over his eyes as a yawn escaped. He watched from under the brim as Aoko giggled, sitting down at the foot of her bed with the mop, staying on 'her' side of the room while being as close as she could to them. "So... how did this happen anyway?" She inquired cheerfully.Kid tuned out Hakuba's response about the Gorgonian, letting himself drift. Gods, what a freaky night. He'd gotten shot --again--, Hakuba sprouted wings and saved him, Snake was dead, they were in Aoko's room. Snake was dead, killed by his own organisation. He still couldn't get over that. The mysterious men in black were ruthless, even when it came to their own members.With Snake gone, did that mean the the men in black would send someone else to take care of him? Someone he didn't know, with unknown abilities, personality and weaponry. A faint chill went down his spine. Things had just gotten potentially a hell of a lot more dangerous."Detective?" He questioned, the words coming out of his mouth before he had decided to speak or not. Fortunately, the detective didn't appear to take the intrusion as a slight. "When you tackled Snake off the rooftop... what were you thinking?"Aoko blinked, looking confused at Kid's interruption. "I... was not. Thinking, that is." Hakuba said quietly. "He had a gun at your head... I just wanted to get him away. Where he could not harm anyone." Out of the corner of his eye, he noticed Hakuba's pale blue gaze flicker at Aoko, then down at him. Hakuba had admitted earlier that he had thought Kid dead at the time, but there were things that were private, between the two of them."Hmmm." Kid nodded, making a thoughtful sound. "But you didn't want to kill him? Rip him apart?""I-no!" Hakuba shook his head, looking vaguely ill at the thought. The detective caught killers, he didn't kill people himself.Kid almost smiled. "Nakamori-chan, what emotions would you best use to describe the good Detective here?""Emotions?" Aoko puzzled. "Um... well, he's smart, but that's not really an emotion. Calm. Smug. Is British an emotion? Until earlier today, I would have said law-abiding, but now I'm not so sure."This time, Kid did smile. "Why?" Hakuba asked, looking confused and slightly hopeful. "Did you discover something new?""Possibly." He admitted. "Another question, for clarification. When you had Snake in the alleyway were you interested at all in revenge?""No." Hakuba's answer was immediate and resolute."That's what I thought." Kid purred. "Your appearance is based a great deal to with your emotions, the stronger the emotion, the greater the transformation. Yet when you were angry to the point of not thinking, you did not change anyone to stone."From under the brim of his hat, Kid could see Hakuba stared at him, apparently at a loss for words. That was a victory in and of itself."Wait... Didn't Gorgons turn everyone who saw them into stone?" Aoko mused thoughtfully. Aoko wasn't the best at history, but there were some legends that were fairly common. "So if he didn't turn anyone into stone, does that mean he's not a Gorgon?""I think we've been barking up the wrong mythological tree." Kid agreed. "There's another Greek legend involving justice and serpents. And that would explain why you didn't try to kill Snake, just herd him towards the cops."Hakuba's hand tightened on his waist as he could hear the detective's heartbeat pick up. "What... what monster do you think I am then?""Not a monster." Kid corrected. "A Spirit. Spirit of Justice and Retribution, whose job it was to keep the natural balance of the things. One of the Kindly Ones-""The Eumenides." Hakuba breathed, catching on. Yes! He Could Be Taught! "The Furies.""'A Gorgon's wrath was often mistaken for Fury'." Kid quoted in agreement. Hakuba gave him a slight squeeze, more of a quick hug than anything else as the blond began to roll this around in his brain."Wait." Aoko frowned, her eyebrows coming together. "If a 'Fu-lys'-" English never had been Aoko's best subject "-is supposed to keep the natural balance of things, then why is Hakuba protecting the Kid? Shouldn't he be chasing him too?"Kid had privately wondered that as well. Hakuba had been his blond shadow for ages now, and even now, when he had Kid in his grasp, he did nothing to turn him over to the law. It wasn't something that Kid was relying on for the future, the only constant was that things changed, but for the moment it was somewhat nice to have someone watching his back, other than Jiichan. Speaking of which, he should really let the old man know he was okay."Because." Hakuba said quietly, looking at her with a grave look on his face. The tentacles slithered closer around Kid, holding him fast as if afraid Kid was suddenly going to disappear on him. "He's part of the natural balance of -my- world."It... was not quite a love confession, but it sounded darn close. The detective had come halfway around the world to chase him, catch him and watched over him now. And hadn't Kid deduced it earlier, that he, a thief, was the closest thing the detective had to a friend?One of the legends about the Furies was that they were the human conscience --their guilt, given form. His conscience had a not-quite friend's face. He wondered what that said about himself and the fact that Hakuba did follow him. And that he didn't mind that quite as much as he had in the past. Kid brushed one of Hakuba's hands with his free hand, giving it a brief squeeze for reassurance. Hakuba was a lot braver, and blunter, than Kid dared to be."Your father probably feels similar." Kid added quietly, directing the comment towards Aoko as he felt sleep lulling him towards its comforting oblivion. He yawned. "He always gets depressed whenever I don't send him riddles for a while."Aoko made a face back. "Do you -always- have to speak in riddles?" She complained."I used to send simple invitations." Kid smirked, relaxing against Hakuba. "Then someone protested they were too boring and unbecoming for a 'mysterious' phantom thief.""Remind me to strangle them at the earliest opportunity." Hakuba growled, but it was only half-hearted. Kid smirked and allowed himself to drift off, Hakuba curving one of his wings over him protectively.When he finally rose to consciousness again, he was in Hakuba's lap, his shirt, jacket and cape draped over him, his cheek resting not against bare reptilian skin, but the oily smooth texture of an olive green trench coat. Ah. So that was where Hakuba had gotten the coloration from this time. He did a quick glance around without opening his eyes all the way. Hakuba was fast asleep and mostly back to normal, the wings were gone as were the majority of the tentacles. All that were left were a few immaterial ones that were flickering around his ankles, weaving in and out of the carpet. Aoko was asleep as well, curled up on her bed.Good. He yawned, slowly stretching, getting some of the kinks out from sleeping in such an awkward position. The ice pack, really nothing more than a bag of chilly water at this point, fell into his lap. He grimaced and quickly removed it. His chest was still slightly numb from the ice pack's touch. He was feeling better than before, but still exhausted. And he still had to get home before he could get into some lovely, lovely painkillers.His arms were bandaged with what looked like rags, and a glance showed that the worst injuries to his legs had been treated as well. Or at least the ones that didn't require removing his trousers. Someone had dressed his wounds and he'd been out of it enough not to realise that. Not a comforting thought."Hakuba bandaged you." Aoko said quietly from her bed, and for a second he thought he had imagined it. Then one dark blue eye peered out at him from under the duvet. "He wouldn't let me help. The rags he used to clean the injuries are in a bag by the window, he said that you wouldn't want to leave any trace of your presence behind.""I shall have to thank him later." Kid murmured. Honestly. What was he going to do with the detective? He sat up and slid his arms into the shirt, a soft hiss of pain escaping from his lips as the muscles of his chest protested, even with the numbness still remaining. Oh, this was a pain that was going to linger.Aoko watched him, slowly sitting up until her knees tucked up against her chest, resting her arms on top. "I wanted to apologise." She said as he straightened his clothing. "I shouldn't said what I did about you being shot. I really should have known better.""Don't worry about it." He said, with just a touch of ruefulness in it. He rose to his feet, grabbing the edge of the dresser that Hakuba was resting against and using it for balance as he attempted not to step on the detective. He angled himself slightly, so the monocled side of his face was turned towards her. "Guns are not exactly common in Japan." And he couldn't blame her for not wanting to believe that someone was using such a weapon around people she knew and loved. Denial was a wonderful thing sometimes."Yes, but still..." Aoko trailed off, frowning. "You're a lot younger than I thought you would be." She mused as he found his tie in his coat pocket. "The Kaitou Kid that the assassin claimed he killed, he wasn't talking about you, was he? He killed the one that disappeared all those years ago, didn't he?"Aoko was her father's daughter all right. Sharp with the details. Kid debated it as he carefully looped the tie around his neck and knotted it. "Yes." He finally admitted. It wasn't anything the police hadn't already figured out years ago. "Sometimes I suspect that is why your father is so adamant about calling me 'Kid' instead of '1412', to mark the difference between myself and my predecessor.""But if he was dead, why did you have to bring the Kaitou Kid back?" She demanded, her temper flaring up again. "He was GONE."No Kaitou Kid meant that Nakamori-keibu wasn't out all hours chasing a phantom. No Kaitou Kid meant that her father worked normal hours, coming home for dinner almost every night. No Kaitou Kid meant that Aoko didn't have to worry about what mad-cap antics her father was dealing with that night, or that people were getting shot at.He sighed. Out of all the people he had hurt, inadvertently or not, Aoko was probably the one person he owed an explanation, for pulling her father away from her. No apology could make up for that."Tell me, Nakamori-keibu's daughter... If you discovered one day that one of the people you cared most about in the world was not always who they said they were, what would you do? That someone whom you thought was a normal person, was in fact a criminal?""I-I'd turn them into the police." She said firmly. Kid ignored the breif pang in his heart at her response. He'd anticipated it, but it still hurt."And if they had been murdered?" He asked quietly. "By someone outside of the law? By someone the police didn't even know about, much less were capable to touch? What would you do then?"She was quiet, her eyes wide as she contemplated it. "That's what happened to you. The first Kid. He was murdered.""I learned it the first night I put this on." Kid said softly, doing up his shirt cuffs. He hoped Hakuba had found the shirt buttons, or Aoko would be pulling them out of her carpet for weeks. "I had previously thought it had been an accident, just like everyone else. So then I kept wearing this, to find out who did it and why. I found both, and now I search to find what he could not, to keep it out of the hands of those who killed him."Hakuba made a grumpy noise, his hands opening and closing, like he was looking for the body he had been holding. And, of course, he had promised to find a way to help Hakuba. Hopefully the detective would figure out how to work the Staff of Asclepius, and see if it could tell them how to change him back. "Do you have a spare blanket the Detective could use?" Kid asked, reaching down and smoothing out a few strands of Hakuba's blond hair. "He gets cold more easily since the accident.""Um... yeah. Here." Aoko scrambled down to the foot of her bed, picking up the folded blanket there and tossed it towards him. Kid caught it and wished he hadn't. He waited a minute for the flare of pain to die down before he unfolded the blanket with a flick of his wrists and draped it over the slumbering detective. Aoko watched him, her head tilted slightly to the side."I think he likes you." Aoko finally decreed.Kid snorted. He'd figured that much out, thank you very much. He also noticed the change in subject, away from matters messily philosophical. "I'm his most precious person." He said with a touch of remorse and bitter humour. It was still so ridiculous."But he's not yours." She concluded."Under different circumstances... possibly." Kid sounded out. When the detective wasn't being an ass, Hakuba was decent company. Or so Kid was discovering. And at least the conversations were rarely boring. "But the fact remains, he is a detective and I am a thief. ...And when I am not as you see me now, there is someone I already care for." He gave her a slight smile, little more than a wry twist of his lips.Aoko's brows came down in a scowl again. "Does he know?" She asked, protective of Hakuba again. Although sometimes he wondered if he wasn't hurting Hakuba more by attempting to be friendly, becoming friends, rather than turning him down outright and avoiding the detective."Yes." His grin grew slightly. "Thief I may be, Inspector's Daughter, but never of hearts." Not intentionally anyway. And not the person he wanted."Oh." Aoko thought this over. "Does your person know?""No." The grin faded. He disabled the sleeping gas booby trap he'd put on his belt buckle before loosening it, tucking his shirt back into his trousers. Tucking in the material in back hurt, but his Poker Face had returned, covering up the pain. No, his most precious person was sitting not two strides away, watching him get dressed out of the corner of her eye, looking like she wasn't sure if she should look away to grant him privacy or just blatantly watch for foul play. He folded the fabric over each other in the front, buckling the belt over it in the hopes of keeping it closed for the short trip home."I'm sorry." Aoko finally whispered."There is no need to apologise." He dismissed it, fastening his coat. "Not everyone is a fan of roguish thieves."Aoko thought it over, probably quietly surprised that someone other than her may have not liked the Kid. "You should tell them." She finally said. "I still don't like you, but you don't seem to be a bad person."Ouch."Thank you." He said, his tone dry enough to turn what was left of the contents of ice pack into dust. "But she would not be, nor is she in a position to be comfortable with this aspect of my life. And I am much like the good Detective in that regard, I would rather attempt to hold onto the what bonds of friendship I may through minor fiction, rather than ruin it all with the harsh light of the truth.""Hmm." She rested an elbow on the end of the bed, propping up her chin with the heel of a hand. "So what's she like? To have captured the heart of the Kaitou Kid?"He snorted. Aoko may not have liked to have bring it up, but she had a romantic streak in her a mile wide. "You'd get along well with her, I imagine." As well as anyone got along with themselves anyway. "She's sweet and stubborn. Cute, but with a really bad temper. And extremely loyal to those she likes."And viewed the world in monochrome, without all the shades that his world was full of. That was one of the things he liked most of the time about her, that innocence to be able to perceive the world in 'black' and 'white', 'good' and 'bad'."Keeps you in line?" She grinned teasingly."As much as anyone can." He admitted, picking up the Staff of Asclepius. He was almost half tempted to leave it here, for Hakuba to study, but he didn't want to know what Nakamori-keibu's reaction would be to finding tonight's heist here. And if Nakamori-keibu got it, he'd never get it back. He'd smuggle it over to Hakuba's house later in the week, he and the detective needed to sit down and have a talk about what Euryale had said anyway.He checked on Hakuba, noting the still faintly pointed ears and the transparent tentacles occasionally poking up through the blanket. "I think he'll sleep for a bit longer. Emotions take a lot of a person, even without the physical transformations." He concluded, before glancing her way. "Please, don't be too hard on the detective, Nakamori-chan. Despite what it may currently appear, he -is- a good person. And he could use the support of his friends."Aoko nodded, waving it off. "It's your fault anyway, isn't it? For stealing the gem in the first place." She said brightly.... Ouch. He almost bled from that one.There were times when he was horrified that he had let himself be distracted enough that he'd been grabbed in the first place, that he had done this to the detective. There other were times, when Kid just wanted to throw his hands up in the air and shout that it was all the detective's fault, for grabbing the stupid gem without gloves in the first place, and just walk away and leave the whole mess behind, let Hakuba deal with it.Right now, the latter was awful tempting. With friends like these...Instead, he walked over to the window and picked up the ballistics vest that was leaning against the wall and tossed it out the window. The plastic bag full of bloody scraps of rags followed."Sleep well, Nakamori-chan." Kid nodded to her, hands on the window to slide out. The drop was going to hurt like hell, but then he could go home, get painkillers and try to forget this whole night. Or at least this last part, curse his aching chest. "Pleasant dreams.""Bye." She waved. "Hope Daddy catches you soon."He didn't -quite- managed to hide his wince at that. He nodded again, raising himself up to slide out when a light from a turning into a driveway from farther down the street briefly blinded him. He blinked, trying to clear his vision as Aoko gasped in the back ground.Too late, he realised that he had his -unmonocled- side of his face towards her when the light had illuminated his features."k-KAITO?!"-fin-
----- CHAPTER BREAK -----
Fury itself supplies arms.-VirgilLike Cupid fleeing the revealing light of Psyche's betraying candle, the Kaitou Kid dove out of Aoko's bedroom window, just barely avoiding the grabbing tentacles that reached for him.He hit the ground and in a move regretfully reminiscent to the tumble across a rooftop a few hours prior, rolled across the grass until he came to a rest face-down in the dirt under the branches of a shrub that grew on the outskirts of the Nakamori's small backyard. He titled his head slightly, his ears full of the rushing sound of his beating heart and the wheezing sounds of his breathing.Aoko appeared in her bedroom window, her head turning as she searched the sky and the local area for him. The small bedroom lamp backlit her curved form, hiding her expression in shadow, but he could hear her muffled annoyance and confusion. "He's gone!"He blinked, it taking a minute for his brain to catch up with that statement. White was not exactly the most stealthy of colours.However, black was. And he was back in the non-working clothes Kaito had been wearing prior to the heist, black jeans and a dark sweater over a grey shirt. He often changed into Kid through either a leap or a swirl of fabric and an explosion of smoke, the opposite was not uncommon either. Not -common-, but not rare enough to surprise him either. Hooray for survival instincts."Hakuba-kun!" Aoko turned to face their classmate, still sitting against the dresser, her voice almost cracking with conflicting emotions. "Is he?! Is Kaito the Kaitou Kid?!""There is no conclusive physical proof revealing the identity of the Kaitou Kid to the best of my knowledge." Hakuba's quiet tenor informed her apologetically. "Plenty of theories, but no proof." Kaito could have kissed the detective. It was the truth, but not the full extent of Hakuba's knowledge or suspicions.Aoko growled, slamming the window shut and locking it behind her. Kaito breathed a sigh of relief, then winced as this pushed against his injured rib cage. He waited a few more minutes before he carefully climbed out from under the concealing branches and brushed himself off.Gathering up the ballistics vest and the remains of what had been his undershirt, Kuroba Kaito limped home.At least the thermal bottoms kept his legs warm, even if the rest of him was freezing.+++It was somewhat amusing, in a dark, cynical way, how things reversed themselves on Monday morning. It had been not very long ago, sitting in his seat in class before the first bell rang, that he had wanted to avoid conversation with Hakuba. Now, he almost wanted to strike up a conversation or a fight with Hakuba, rather than talk to Aoko, whom he'd formerly used to avoid talking to Hakuba.Fortunately, faking a sniffling cold was a convincing enough disguise that not many people wanted to talk to him. Aoko had slowed down and stared suspiciously at him when she approached before sitting down as if expecting him to jump up and grab her or something. Hakuba had merely sat and watched, a neutral party. Not helping, but not hindering either.The rest of the class picked up on the change in their usual devil-may-care attitudes and the atmosphere went straight down the tubes. Kaito over heard the whispers while he pretended to be occupied with other stuff, such as trying not to hack up a lung or catching a brief nap, what they thought was going on.He hadn't previously known how many of his classmates knew that he liked -liked- Aoko, but apparently he was theoretically the last to know about his own feelings. He wasn't quite sure how he felt about that.Kaito got little to no learning done that day.Or the next day for that matter, when their classmates started in about the possibility of Aoko running off with Hakuba. Hakuba over heard that one and turned pink as he covered the lower half of his face with a hand and either laughed or had a coughing fit. Kaito gave him a weird look, but did notice that Aoko had lunch with the detective that day.Kaito ate alone.And that made up the day after that, and the day after that. Silence, suspicion and stares. Lather, rinse and repeat until he thought he was going to go crazy. Crazier. His normal coping mechanisms for the doldrums of school were out of reach at the moment. He couldn't pick a fight with Aoko, she wasn't talking to him and Hakuba was similarly off limits because he didn't want to piss off his only current potential ally in the fishbowl known as High School.And because he couldn't manage anything more strenuous than a brisk walk without triggering a coughing fit, his ribs aching like he was being stabbed by fire-heated knives, which eliminated his use of acrobatics for both escape and entertainment. In his more melodramatic moods, he wondered if it wouldn't hurt less just to rip his heart out and be done with it.And then on Thursday, Hakuba showed up to class, pale and shaky like someone had ripped -his- heart out and Kaito finally found something to occupy his attention other than his own pain. The more the day dragged on, the paler Hakuba got, until he appeared to be almost ashen, slightly grey looking.Then Kaito realised that it wasn't a trick of the light making Hakuba look ashen, the detective really was grey. Dark grey near his neck, almost blending in with the black of the high uniform collar, turning paler the closer to his face it was. A quick glance down at the detective's ankles revealed little flickers of shadowy light, tendrils disappearing almost as fast as they were appearing.Hakuba caught Kaito's gaze, the detective's eyes that eerie pale sunlight-through-the-waves blue with just the barest sliver of black pupil in the centre. Kaito froze, like a mouse in front of a snake as Hakuba gave him a wane smile, flashing the tips of his fangs. Oooooh... shit.This was -such- not a good place for Hakuba to do his whole 'Fury' thing. Not enough room for one thing, not for screaming terrified people around those huge metal knives that passed for wings. And screaming in panic could not be good for their classmates' higher education. Not to mention ruin Hakuba's reputation.He debated starting a coughing fit that would require assistance to go to the Nurse's Office, but they'd already been there once before together, which would be suspicious, since they weren't known for being friends. Although he doubted if anyone would protest Hakuba going to lie down at the moment, he really did look deathly ill if you didn't know what was going on.And then the bell rang and Hakuba made a quick escape using more stealth and finesses than Kaito usually credit the detective with. Next to him, Aoko noticed Hakuba's escape and gave Kaito a suspicious look, silently accusing him of doing something to scare away the detective. He ignored it and the coincidental pang in his chest as he stayed where he was, waiting for the next class session to start.Time seemed to slow down as the teacher eventually appeared, the class starting. He kept an eye on the movement on the clock, swearing it went backwards as the teacher droned and Aoko smouldered next to him. The room seemed to close in on him as Trevor ran in circles, coming up with theories for how the detective was doing, how far the change had gotten, if he’d broken out in a case of tentacles, why had he shifted, what if someone had seen him, --Oh Gods What If Someone Had Seen Hakuba Like That--, possible escape routes and hiding places, just in case and-A chill ran down his spine as an almost tangible ripple of -something- angry went through the air, the mind hamster curling up in the corner of his mind, squeaking confessions of things they had done that Kaito was not proud of. One of his classmates fell out of their chair, pale and shaking as the rest of his classmates shifted uncomfortably, giving each other shifty guilty looks before glancing away, as if their moral conscience had been pricked.Ladies and gentlemen, the Fury has landed.Kaito gave up and started a coughing lag that he thought was going to break all of his ribs. Not because he was worried about the stupid blond detective, it was just stuffy in here and some fresh air might do him some good. Really. The teacher had been more than willing to excuse him to the Nurses’ Office when Keiko suggested it, just to get the distraction out of the room.The hallway seemed to echo around him as he paused to catch his breath from all the coughing he’d just done, absently rubbing below his injured ribs. He grimaced and made his way to the stairway. Now… if he were an uptight British detective with not much of a sense of humour… Where would he go?Down, towards the Nurses Office, didn’t feel right, it was too confined and public of a place to hide. So he followed a hunch and wandered up the stairs towards the roof top. The thin bright sunlight blinded him when he opened the door, causing him to blink to clear his vision. Then the cold air hit his lungs and he quickly covered his mouth with one hand as he clutched his stomach with the other, nearly doubled over from the pain of coughing as the door swung shut behind him. Yup, winter was here. Oh, goodie. Maybe he really was coming down with something…He heard something move around the corner of building as he wheezed, getting his breathing back under control. Gods, being injured sucked. He dragged himself around the corner and saw a snake head peering at him from the back of the small stairwell building. It turned back into a tentacle and retreated as Kaito gave him a weak grin and wandered over, looking casual.His effort was wasted, Hakuba was leaning against the back of the wall, with his eyes closed and his head tilted back to catch the sun on his still grey-looking face. The metallic wings were stretched out on either side of him, shining in the bright light, as were the long claws, his hands lax at his sides. The mass of black and tan tentacles were knotted around him in a tangled mess, not sprawled out like they usually were.Kaito sat down next to him with a not-so muted sigh of relief. They were sheltered from the wind here, the concrete slightly warm from the sun here. Yeah. Much better here than stuck in class.”Apologies for the disappearance.” Hakuba said quietly, one of the tentacles wandering over and wrapping itself around Kaito’s wrist. The dry serpentine skin was not just cool to the touch, but cold, leaching the warmth from his skin.”Not a problem.” Kaito said, closing his eyes. “Didn’t feel much up for class myself.” Too tense, too nerve-wracking. A few more of the tentacles shifted his way, pressing against his side, and then starting to slither around him. He froze, his breath hitching as panic flared, the feeling of being trapped drowning him. Hakuba’s many limbs froze as well, pressing against him like unmoving bonds. Should he fight? Could he escape? Would the detective release him this time?Not for the first time, the feeling of just how… alien… Hakuba was like this sunk in. Wings that could slice through concrete and brick, claws that cut metal, multiple limbs that he still wasn’t sure how strong they were, but they were certainly strong -enough-. And then there was the matter of the slit-pupil eyes and the fangs, and the skin and the strange aura Hakuba seemed to ooze whenever the wings were present, the undercurrent of sleeping predator that was both unsettling and somehow secure.Like sitting next to a friendly pit-bull that could easily rip you to shreds, but was choosing at that moment to protect instead. Being friendly didn’t mean not being wary.”Sorry.” Hakuba murmured, his eyes still shut as he reeled in his errant limbs.Kaito stopped him by placing a hand on one of the tentacles. They paused, the tips twitching in little questioning motions. “Don’t apologise.” Not to him. Not about this. It was idiocy to apologise for something that was partly Kaito’s fault as well “It’s fine.” He said quietly as a tendril explored his fingertips. Hakuba -was- scary like this, but he was also so very careful as well. Even when there was nothing of the human detective in that serpent-like gaze, Hakuba was still gentle. He might not entirely trust the detective, but Kaito did trust him not to cause permanent injury.And then he was wrapped up in a wiggling mass of tendrils and deposited on… well… Hakuba’s lap. Or where Hakuba’s lap would be if he didn’t have so many lower limbs. They tentacles twined around him, covering him like a slithering cocoon. “That’s COLD!” Kaito yelped, raising his hands out of their grasp as some wiggled their icy way under his clothes, pressing against his skin in a decidedly non-erotic fashion.Hakuba made a muffled sound, the limbs relaxing and contracting in a battle of the wills. “Apologies again.” He murmured, almost amused as his limbs twitched as he attempted to remove them from Kaito’s clothing and failed.”Admit it, you’re a heat leech.” Kaito grumbled, lowering his hands and resting them on Hakuba’s lax scaly ones. Yup, cold to the touch too. What was that phrase? Warm hands, cold heart? He bet Hakuba stole all the blankets from the bed. And had cold toes. “And relax, will you? I’m not going to jump off the rooftop.””That remains to be seen.” Hakuba said snippily and Kaito bit off a laugh. The Kaitou Kid jumped off of rooftops, not Kuroba Kaito. Hakuba’s tone turned almost lethargic as he continued, flexible limbs stopping their squirming. “I do believe that this form is quite a bit more cold blooded than my standard appearance. Greece is notably warmer and dryer than Japan, with many more days of unbroken sunlight.”Kaito took a moment to process this, glancing up at the giant gold and copper wings. “So you’re solar powered?” There was also a lot more surface space to lose heat from when the air was cold.”I do not think I could eat enough to sustain such a large body mass without some sort of additional energy fuel source.” Hakuba raised his hands, carefully settling them on Kaito’s stomach, below the injured ribs, Kaito’s hands still covering the detective’s. “In addition, Furies were noted for chasing their prey unceasingly, which undoubtedly did not include stopping for meal breaks.”Or sleep, although he had seen Hakuba sleep. Possibly, Kaito had been asleep during most of the transition between Fury form and Human form, so he didn’t exactly know how much of a shift was required before Hakuba had fallen asleep.Man. Wings and the ability to go without rest. Kaito slightly envious. Although he could really do without the rest of it. Although the tentacles might be fun during a heist, really scare the crap out of Nakamori-keibu. And hey, more limbs to grab things with. … More limbs to get shot as well. Ack. Then again, maybe not.”So what set this off?” He asked, leaning backwards to use Hakuba as a backrest, tapping his forefinger against Hakuba’s hand. “Everything okay?” He was half-afraid to hear that the mysterious organisation had tracked them down to the school and were waiting for them with snipers and guns at the ready.”Delayed effect.” Hakuba said wearily, and Kaito had a feeling that the tiredness had little to do with the physical. “My father decided that we should go out to sup last night. And after we went to the restaurant, he had an errand to run at the Police Station.””Didn’t go well?” Kaito questioned, tilting his head up and to the side in the hopes of getting a better look at Hakuba’s expression. Unfortunately, the detective had his eyes closed and a shuttered look on his face.”I think my sense of Justice is no longer what it once was.” Hakuba said tightly. Kaito froze, barely daring to swallow as he took in the faint pinched look to Hakuba’s eyes and mouth. Bad statement to hear in his current position. Even if Hakuba had all but admitted that to Aoko the night he’d gotten shot, that Hakuba had had the Kaitou Kid in his grasp --several times, really-- and yet to turn the law-breaker over to the law for judgement and punishment.Fortunately Hakuba continued on as if he hadn’t noticed Kaito’s sudden nervousness. “I was… content to turn Snake over to the police and have that be the end of it. But now… I do not know if that is truly justice.”Kaito twisted back, leaning the back of his head against Hakuba’s shoulder. The problem with ‘Justice’ in Kaito’s humble opinion, was that it was too easily confused with the concept of ‘Revenge’ or ‘Vengeance’. Both were exacting punishment or retribution for wrongdoings towards the person who’d been offended in the hopes of establishing some sort of balance. There were times that he was horribly afraid that his quest as the Kaitou Kid to find Pandora, and previously to capture Snake, was falling towards the ‘Vengeance’ side of the scales.”As you know, Snake was killed while inside a police car on the way to the station. The assassin got away.” Hakuba said tightly, his coils constricting tighter around Kaito, almost to the point of being painful. “What you may not know was that Snake was shot in the head execution style by someone dressed as a Police Officer.”Shit.Shit. Shit. Shit. Shit. Shit. And again. He knew that the Mysterious Organisation had insinuated themselves into many places, but he’d never had proof that they’d made it into the ranks of the police. He’d hoped, for Nakamori-keibu’s sake if nothing else, that it hadn’t extended into the Task Force. But this was massively bad. The Task Force was probably being interrogated, torn apart as they tried to figure out who did it. And bystanders wouldn’t be a help, people usually saw the uniform, not the individual faces.”The problem with the mysterious organisation is that they’re like cockroaches.” He commented, aiming for a mild tone. “Just as soon as you’ve squished one, another appears, nastier than the previous one. We’ll find out who it was soon enough.”Hakuba froze, the tentacles ceasing their constriction. “You believe whomever shot Snake will take his place.” The detective concluded.”The Kaitou Kid is too large of a thorn in their side not to continue hunting him.” Kaito shrugged, shifting his weight slightly. “The only thing Snake had going for him was that he was at least familiar.” He’d been an obnoxious jerk who enjoyed his job to the point of monologuing, had hideous fashion sense, and always aimed for the heart.”And now we have no idea who will be after the Kid’s life.” Hakuba said tensely, his voice slightly horrified as the enormity of what had happened sinking in. The word ‘cluster fuck’ came to Kaito’s mind. “Nor their methods.””None at all.” Kaito concluded cheerfully. He didn’t know if they fought with knives or guns or poisons or what ever else. They might send someone sneaky, who enjoyed convoluted plots to set him up for death. They might know that Kid was Kaito. He had no clue, and wouldn’t until it happened. So until then, the best he could do was keep an eye out for trouble. He patted Hakuba’s hands. “Don’t worry about it right now. Continue with your story, please. How’s the station handling it?””Not... well.” Hakuba picked up the thread of their previous conversation, his limbs slowly starting to undulate again. “The entire Station is tense, this incident reflected badly upon them. I could… feel it. The suspicions, the doubt, the guilty feelings, it was like wading through vile black miasma. Not just the criminals, the guilty and the innocent, but the officers themselves. Not just the crooked ones, even the best officers have things they regret, the what-ifs, if they had called, if they had been faster, could they have saved someone...”The detective’s voice was soft and Kaito wondered if there were things that Hakuba regretted, if there were people that he wished he could have saved. It seemed almost unfair, here they were, both seventeen, with burdens that were heavy even for adults on their shoulders. But this was the life he had chosen for himself, he couldn’t turn away at this point, any less than Hakuba could probably stop trying to help people. It was just the way things were. And mythology and being shot at aside, he wouldn’t change it for all the riches he had stolen.”It was all I could do not to change there, to start hunting… But arresting someone is supposed to be part of the process of bringing someone to Justice…” Hakuba sounded lost, like the foundations of a long held belief was crumbling. “I told Father I didn’t feel well and we eventually left, but it took an hour or so do so, everyone had questions for either myself or Father.” The life of a Police Commissioner was not a restful one.”And this has been brewing ever since.” Kaito said, patting a tendril that arched into his touch like a pleased cat. No wonder the detective had been so stressed this morning.”Yes.” Hakuba nodded with a weary sigh. Holding back the rage, the fury, the alien part of himself. “I couldn’t…. I couldn’t ‘release’ it there. At best, it’d send the entire station into a gibbering panic. At worst, it might send someone into shock… kill someone.”Emotions were powerful things, especially when turned on the recipient. That was one reason why his Poker Face was so important to him --if he could control his emotions, he could control his actions and thus the events around him.“I’m sorry.” He murmured, at a loss for better words. What was he to say? That it was his fault? That he would make it all better? That this was all a dream that would fade with a wave of a gloved hand? It wasn’t, and he had the feeling that Hakuba would hate him more for empty platitudes than honest silence.Hakuba shrugged, metal feathers rubbing against each other, making soft screeching sounds. Not like either of them could change the past. “It is getting better.” He said not-quite nonchalantly. Kaito got the impression that it had gotten better since his arrival. “I find that things are… more raw in this form.” Hakuba’s tone turned pinched.”How so?” Kaito asked, curiosity rising. The more they knew about this form of Hakuba’s, the more chances they had of being able to correct things.Hakuba pointed off to the right, his limbs tense. “A purse was just snatched five blocks that way.” He said, and then pointed straight ahead. “Three kilometres that way, there was a murder.” Hakuba pointed more towards the left before letting his hand drop. “There is a domestic dispute happening a few blocks that way. Behind us, a cash machine was robbed. A body was dumped into the storm drains recently. A woman was raped. Below us, a student stole money from another one’s bag. It doesn’t -end-.””And you wish you could correct it all.” Kaito murmured, understanding part of Hakuba’s tenseness. Restore the natural balance of the world, that was a Fury’s job, to be the human conscience given form.”I want to fly as fast as these wings will take me and fix it all.” Hakuba said, a soft thud as the back of his skull met the wall. “It is most of what I can do to sit here, out of view. If I started, I do not think I could easily stop. However I sincerely doubt that the court, the legal systems, would ever recognise my abilities. Any people who turned themselves in after an encounter with myself would be thought to be crazy. Never mind the sheer panic should anyone else see me.”Innocent or not, Hakuba was damn freaky. Pretty in an unnatural sort of way once you got used to him, but still damn freaky. It wasn’t so much the physical appearance, it was the almost physical aura that burned around him in this form. “Or the jealousy.” Kaito said, to lighten the mood. “Everyone wanting a pair of wings for their own. Or how often have you wished for an extra limb to do more stuff at the same time?”Hakuba chuckled lightly, some of the tension fading. “Ironic, is it not? I oft wished for wings in which to chase after the Kid in his own element, and now that I have them, I cannot enjoy them.””We’ll figure something out.” Kaito promised. Flying was one of the best things -ever-. The wind in your face, the sheer thrill and exuberance as you left the ground behind, the addictive feeling of freedom. “I understand the sky is really blue up there.”“That reminds me.” Hakuba said, the tentacles shifting around his hips until a few of them rose from the mass, a silver chain hanging from two slender tips.Kaito blinked. “That was in your trouser pocket, correct?” He asked warily. He could feel Hakuba nod behind him. “… I’m not going to ask how you got it out.”Hakuba paused for a moment, and then nodded again, a small sharp jerk of the head. “I am inclined to agree with you.” Especially considering that other than retaining the colour of the clothing, when Hakuba’s limbs changed from two to many, he became essentially naked. Where the fabric went, Kaito cared not to hazard a guess.”Anyway.” Hakuba cleared his throat. “This is for you.”Kaito touched the chain, cradling the pendant at the end. It was a round glass eye, like a f… fish’s, only the rich pale blue of the sky at noon. “What is it?” He asked, letting it drop.”A Nazar Boncuğu.” Hakuba said, the foreign words tripping off his tongue. “An apotropaic amulet from the Mediterranean. There is an old folk legend that people with blue eyes supposedly are able to unintentionally cast misfortune with their gaze. However, wearing an amulet of such eyes is supposed to be able to repel it. And since we have not entirely ruled out the possibility of my turning people into stone, I would really rather not take any chances.”And they both knew from personal experience just how ‘unlikely’ the old legends turn out to be. And Hakuba’s eyes had changed from brown to blue. “Give it to Aoko.” He said dismissively. “She could use it more than I could.””I have already given her one.” Hakuba said, his tone slightly amused, as if he had already anticipated Kaito’s response. “She is currently wearing it.””Oh.” He looked at the concentric circles of silver, light blue, white and black and swallowed slightly. Not a f-fish. An amulet. He tentatively slid his fingers up the smooth links of the silver chain, --real silver, not just the plated stuff, unless his skills had gone completely rusty-- undoing the clasp at the top. Hakuba’s tentacles shifted, placing the chain and pendant around Kaito’s neck. The glass and metal was chill against the bare skin and he shivered, reaching back and fastening the clasp. He didn’t even want to think about Hakuba handling such a delicate task with those long sharp nails of his. Kaito shifted the chain, tucking it under his clothing. “Thank you.”The glass pendant rested blow the curve of his collarbones, just under the collar of his shirt, feeling slightly alien. But protection was protection, and at this point they could probably use all they can get. One of Hakuba’s hands slid upwards, the pad of his thumb pressing against the pendant under the fabric as if to verify that it was there, his touch as solicitous as a lover’s. “You are most welcome.” Hakuba said, his voice soft as his breath tickled against the shell of Kaito’s ear. He shivered, not from the cold.”Um. Speaking of welcome…” He said, his voice slightly chiding as he became aware that the tightness of his trousers that wasn’t all his hormones doing. “Pants, Detective.”Hakuba made a little squeaking noise, the tentacles jerking as he tried to figure out which one it was that had insinuated itself past Kaito’s waistband -this- time. Kaito bit back a hiss as he arched his back, raising his hips to allow for the tendril untwining itself from around Kaito’s sensitive bits. He swallowed, trying not to embarrass himself or the good detective further. The detective was being a heat leech and that certainly was a warm area. “Not that I’m complaining.” Kaito said lightly as he could, feeling Hakuba’s face and neck heat up behind him, muscles stiffening. “But rooftops really aren’t the best place for it. The surface is hell on skin.” He should know, he had the healing scabs to show it.Hakuba laughed, a slightly broken sound, but lost some of the guilty tensing. Not his comment was much of an exaggeration on Kaito’s part, he was going to end up with a rooftop fetish if this continued, linking ‘rooftops’ to ‘tentacles’ to ‘making out’. He idly pondered what Hakuba’s reaction would be if he turned around and kissed Hakuba like the detective had kissed him on that rooftop when the tentacles first manifested. Probably shock. The thought crossed his mind, wondering how differently Aoko would kiss from Hakuba. She’d probably be all hesitant and soft, not like that first devouring kiss Hakuba had given.The thought of Aoko’s terrified and angry face when she’d seen the Kid flashed through his mind and the comparison lost its pleasurable appeal.”I… I had thought you liked girls.” Kaito ventured, feeling like he was testing the ground much like he would before crossing a potentially frozen lake, worried about the ice cracking beneath his feet, plunging him down. He amended himself. “I thought you liked -Aoko-.”Hakuba paused momentarily, his shifting limbs still for the space of several nervous heartbeats. Then his many limbs resumed their movements, Hakuba idly rolling the glass of the pendant under his shirt, the slightly curved back of the nail brushing against Kaito’s skin. “I do.” Hakuba said softly. “Like Aoko-kun, as a friend.””You could have fooled me.” Kaito said, aiming to keep his voice light and curious and not accusing. He thought it came out slightly higher than he would have liked, his pulse picking up in nervous energy. “When you asked her to the Prince-Prince concert.”He got a chuckle in return. “At the time, I was attempting to make you jealous enough to go with her, since it was obviously her wish for you to go with her.” Hakuba’s tone was low and amused, probably having picked up on Kaito’s uneasiness on the subject. “Failing that, it is a gentleman’s duty prevent a lady from going to a crowded concert unescorted.”’At the time’, Hakuba said. Kaito wondered what had changed. From what he had observed of the sarcastic blond, Hakuba was generally cold and aloof to those around him, maintaining a snarky distance. Yet even before Hakuba had first started to suspect that Kaito was the Kid, he’d never hesitated to get in Kaito’s face. Not that Kaito had backed down from that at all either.”I can’t stand their music.” Kaito confessed. “The lead singer sounds like a dying chicken. But mostly…” He trailed off with a sigh, Aoko’s furious expression as she shouted that she wouldn’t allow a wanted criminal under her roof flickering through his mind. Even during their civil conversation before he’d left the Nakamori residence while Hakuba had slept, she hadn’t kept her dislike of his other half hidden at all.”She is the daughter of the head of the Kaitou Kid Task Force.” Hakuba filled in with an almost weary empathy, as if he’d been over these trains of thought many times, until they were well worn paths with no obvious way out. “And she hates the Kaitou Kid with a venomous passion.””Yes.” And therefore, he kept his distance. Kept Aoko at arm’s length, kept their relationship from progressing any farther than ‘childhood friends’, no matter how much he wanted to it to go past that. To protect her from his secrets and himself from heartbreak. Not that he was having much luck there; this limbo of not knowing was killing him.He wondered if it was the same for Hakuba, Hakuba knowing that Kaito knew that he was precious to Hakuba, but he wasn’t Kaito’s most precious person. He wondered if he wasn’t kind of leading Hakuba on with their current positions, but at the moment Hakuba seemed to be more interested in him as a space heater than anything else, so he wasn’t going to worry about it overly much right now. If Hakuba had a problem with the close contact, he’d most likely say something. Or so Kaito presumed, the blond had never been one to mince words and he sincerely hoped, --factoring fangs, claws, wings, miscellaneous limbs and freaking scary aura-- that Hakuba was not about to start now.It might have been easier for both of them if Kaito could give the detective an answer. No, he didn’t like Hakuba -that way- or Yes, take me now and let’s see what those tentacles can really do. But right now, he didn’t know. He was starting to enjoy Hakuba’s company and the tentacle thing didn’t bother him. Really didn’t bother him, aside from some of the bondage aspects. How scary was it that he was starting to get used to the… well, not cuddling, they were guys, guys didn’t cuddle, but the prolonged full body contact-? As long as he knew he could get out the detective’s grasp, that was.But he couldn’t just give up on Aoko either.”Speaking of Aoko-kun…” Hakuba’s voice was strangely hesitant.Kaito tensed, sensing bad news. ”Yeah-?””She’d like a meeting.” Hakuba said quietly, the palm of one hand pressing against Kaito’s abdomen below the injured ribs, as if to keep him in place and not fleeing. Not that Kaito was inclined to run at the moment, not while in the centre of this body heat leaching tangled mass. “Between her, myself, and the Kaitou Kid.”… Fuck.”Aoko-kun has been asking me a great many questions as of late about the Kaitou Kid.” Hakuba continued quietly, idly petting Kaito as if he were a nervous creature to be soothed. “I have answered them to the best of my ability. I believe that she figured out that your father died around the same time that the Kaitou Kid disappeared for eight years and suspects that Kuroba Kaito is the Kaitou Kid. I have neither confirmed nor denied these suspicions.”Of course not, Hakuba had previously been very vocal about those same suspicions. It’d raise even more questions if Hakuba suddenly contradicted himself. “I see.” Kaito said quietly. Aoko really was her father’s daughter.”This Friday night, at my place since Father will be in Osaka for meetings and Baayaa is at a Mah-jong tournament. Aoko-kun wishes to determine ways of returning myself to ‘normal’.” Hakuba said evenly, although Kaito could practically see the quotation marks around the last word. “Of course, both you and the Kaitou Kid are welcome to join us. I believe that she wishes to… discuss things with the Kid.”Kaito nodded, feeling as if someone had just shot his dog. “I have a hunch that the Kaitou Kid will be refraining from the public spotlight for a while.” He said diplomatically. The hand that was still resting at his throat drifted down, fingers and claws skimming the sore flesh of his chest without quite touching it. “Probably go underground for a few months; wait until things cool down again.””I believe this to be a reasonable idea.” Hakuba agreed. Not only would it give Kaito time to heal, but it would give him some time to focus towards helping to fix Hakuba’s predicament. And possibly look into who was taking over for Snake. Not that he’d tell the detective that. If Hakuba was this clingy now over an injury, he didn’t want to think about how bad Hakuba would be if he knew just how much trouble he and Jiichan could get into while dealing with the underworld elements. There were a great many large sparkly jewels that could only be found outside of the public’s purview. And sleeping gas didn’t exactly make itself.”I wonder if I should check to see if the sky is falling.” Kaito murmured, holding a hand out. “We actually agree on something.”Hakuba made a muffled noise that sounded suspiciously like ‘Ass’ before clearing his throat. “Speaking of cures, a question for you.” The detective said seriously and Kaito tilted his head to glance at Hakuba from the corner of his eye. “Kid made a comment before, that sounded like a quotation. 'A Gorgon's wrath was often mistaken for Fury'. Do you know where it came from?””Ah…” Kaito made a face. There was the delicate line they’d been dancing around the entire conversation, touching on Kaito being Kid but not actually saying it and the question trod uncomfortably close against it. “I promised to help find a way to return you to normal and I meant it. And during the course of doing so, there ended up being a discussion with the owner of a certain carved serpentine stone.””The Gorgonian.” Hakuba breathed, a shudder running the length of several of his tentacles. Kaito sincerely doubted it was a tremor borne of pleasure.”Yes.” Kaito nodded. “Euryale-san was very happy to get the remains of her sister back. We had a brief discussion before she returned home. We have open invitations to visit herself and her sister in their Statuary Garden in Greece, by the way.””I believe I shall pass on their generous offer.” Hakuba said, a tendril rising from around Kaito’s legs to flick like an irritated cat tail. “What else did she say?”He found it interesting that the detective didn’t question his speaking to a several millennium old creature out of folklore, merely accepted it. Of course, Hakuba’s situation may have lent to that. “More along the lines of what she didn’t say. But the blood of a Gorgon is out. It won’t heal you, it’d have the opposite effect. You’d never return to human again.””That is certainly one possibility removed.” Hakuba commented with an almost dry air. “Anything else important? I am afraid I have not had near as much luck to report.””Nothing that can’t wait until Friday night.” Kaito assured him, even as he was not looking forward to it. But Friday was still another night away, he’d figure out what to do then. Or panic about it for another day. Or both at the same time. The wind howled past the wall, the brush of cool air making Hakuba’s lower limbs shiver again, this time from the cold.”Hold on a second.” He said, pushing himself up away from Hakuba’s chest. Hakuba faltered for a moment, and then he released Kaito, holding the clawed hands away from him to prevent accidental scratching. Kaito quickly undid the buttons of his school coat and pulled it off, leaning back against Hakuba, holding the coat at arm’s length. “Okay. Put your hands back.” He instructed.Hakuba did so, hesitantly wrapping his arms under Kaito’s arms, hands resting on Kaito’s stomach again. Kaito pulled his jacket over both of them like a blanket, covering as much of Hakuba and himself as he could with the dark material. A few of the tentacles twisted around Kaito’s torso as well, hiding under the shelter offered there. “… Thank you.” Hakuba said quietly, his lips moving against the back of Kaito’s head. “You did not have to do so.”Kaito shrugged, ignoring the twinge from the injured area in his chest as he did so. It wasn’t a big deal, he kept warm either way. “There are worse ways to spend an afternoon.” Dead came to mind. Dead in a back alley or that storm drain Hakuba mentioned earlier. Or downstairs, in the classroom with all the whispers and the snide looks and the snippy politeness from Aoko. So definitely worse ways. Possibly better ways, but at the moment he’d be hard pressed to think of one. “Worse places too.” He amended.Hakuba titled his head back so it was leaning against the wall, but from the angle Kaito was at, it appeared that the detective was smiling.+++”Good Evening.” The Kaitou Kid said, announcing his presence to the two people in the room. Aoko jumped, but Hakuba merely inclined his head towards the Kid, apparently having already sensed his presence next to the window. He saluted the detective back. “I understand you wished to talk.”Not his best line, but not the worst either. He wasn’t exactly wild about being here. It positively reeked of a set up, an empty house, a thief, a detective and a damsel, but he had found no sign of either other people or of any kind of surveillance in the surrounding area. He still itched for some higher ground on which to perch on, somewhere out of human reach, the better from which to flee. But the window would have to do for now, Aoko and Hakuba hovering next to the door into to the living room, as if expecting him to come in from the front door.… Probably Aoko’s idea, not the detective’s.Hakuba nudged Aoko, having apparently decided that this was to be her discussion, at least for the beginning. Aoko swallowed, one clenched hand up near her throat as she stepped forward, head tilted to the side as if she were uncertainly studying him. Kid held his ground, a neutral expression on his face. His fearless Aoko, afraid of -him-. It was so wrong it made him want to choke.”Are you Kaito?” Aoko said, her voice both strong and hesitant. “Kuroba Kaito?”He smiled in return.Once upon a time, the Kingdom of Phrygia needed a king after a period of civil war. An oracle at the capital of Telmissus decreed that the next person to approach the city, --or the main temple, depending on the version-- was to become the next ruler of the kingdom. They got Gordias, a poor peasant riding in an ox cart and proclaimed him King. Gordias ruled for many years, bringing peace and prosperity.Gordias also moved the capital from Telmissus to a new city, Gordium, where the ox cart was preserved in the temple of Zeus, tying it there with a complex knot made out of cornel bark. Then proclaimed that anyone who could undo such a knot was to become king of all Asia. Many tried, all failed until a conqueror by the name of Alexander the Great tried. Frustrated at being unable to find the ends of the knot, he pulled out his sword and cut the Gordian Knot in half, thus finding the ends and undoing the knot.’Cutting the Gordian Knot’ - Solving a complex problem with a bold simple solution.Somehow, Kid doubted that the answer to her question would completely solve their complex web of secrets, but it might simplify things. “Detective.” He said quietly. “Would you like to do the honours?””Thank you.” Hakuba gave him a crooked rueful smile. “But no. I have yet to catch you properly to earn the right to that particular honour.”Kid shrugged. It would have been easier on him, for the detective to do this rather than having to do it himself. But then the easy way had never been his preferred way. “Very well.”He reached up, grabbing the monocle over his right eye with his left hand, his right hand gripping the brim of the top hat and hesitated slightly. This… would change everything. Once Aoko knew, there were so many things she could do with that knowledge. All his secrets, everything he worked for, could be gone in a matter of hours. All she had to do was tell her father and it was all over. And she was the one person he could not defend himself against.Hakuba raised his head, catching his eye, the detective giving him a calm, reassuring look. There was also the possibility that Hakuba knew something about this scenario that Kid did not. Things might be as bad as he thought, but they might also not be. He wouldn’t know, not until after he took action.He closed his eyes and took a small breath, then pulled the top hat and the monocle away from his face, both surprising light for the burden that they carried. His crossed arms fell away, hiding his face just for a moment longer, then his face was bare to the light, to their gaze. He placed the monocle in the silk top hat and opened his eyes.He saw Hakuba’s face first, the detective’s expression one of serene acceptance, as if he’d known all along and had been waiting for conformation. Which, of course, he had been. Just not like this. But the mellow lack of gloating from the detective bolstered his courage enough to look at Aoko.Aoko, his best friend, his closest friend, who was staring at him like he was a complete stranger. He mustered up a smile, but it felt weak, the barest of bare shields. "... Hi."She trembled, her face twisting with a myriad of emotions, none of them positive. Her lips moved, saying something that Kid could not make out. He glanced at Hakuba, noticing that the detective looked as lost as he felt. He cleared his throat. “Pardon?””Was this some sort of sick joke?” Aoko demanded, her voice cracking, every line in her body taunt with rage. “Was this FUNNY to you? Stupid Aoko, the Inspector’s daughter, too thick to see what was right in front of her? I defended you against Touchan, said there was no way Kaito was the Kid, and all this time, all this time you’re just PRANCING around with this MORONIC grin on your face, LAUGHING at us!”Her voice got louder and higher in pitch the faster she ranted, tears forming but not quite falling from her eyes as she stalked towards him. He saw her pull her arm back in preparation for a swing and closed his eyes, bracing himself for the blow. “I -HATE- YOU.”The strike never landed.”You may slap him in the face if you wish.” Hakuba’s cool voice interjected. Kid opened his eyes, finding Aoko’s fist just barely brushing the white fabric of his coat, a dark tentacle wrapped around her arm, holding it immobile. The detective had not moved, watching them impassively from the other side of the room with those eerie pale blue eyes. The only sign of emotion from him was the translucent tendrils flickering in and out of the floor around his feet. “You can stomp his feet and kick him in the balls if care to. But I will -not- allow you to hit his ribcage. With so many previous harsh blows, I fear in their damaged state his ribs might crush inwards and puncture the internal organs beneath.”Kid swallowed. That… was not a possibility he had not considered before. Trust the detective to think about things like that.”I…” Aoko trembled, looking at him with wide eyes, as if seeing him for the first time. “Ohmygod. You… You’re Kaito… you’re the Kid… and you got shot, you got -Shot- and I just sat there, I laughed and you’re injured and YOU COULD HAVE DIED and I just -laughed- and…”She crumbled, falling to her knees, the tears that had been threatening falling down her cheeks in a waterfall, crying like her heart had just been broken. Kid stared at her, uncertain as to what to do. He wanted to hug her, wrap her up, comfort her and tell her it was alright, only it wasn’t and he didn’t know what to do to make it right.He reached a tentative hand out, and she slapped it away with the back of her hand. “Don’t.” She said, her voice thick with tears. “Don’t touch me.”Kid nodded, stepping back, a detached calm falling over him and numbing the ache in his chest for the moment. The tentacle that had been around her wrist fell away, twisting up and wrapping around his hand, twining with his fingers. He squeezed it back, appreciative for comfort, but unwilling to look at the detective just yet. He had caused this, caused Aoko to cry and it was up to him to see it through. The tendril hung on for a moment longer, then retreated.”It’s not a game.” He said quietly as her tears finally started to abate. “It was, once. Towards the beginning, when I first naively put this on. Before I discovered what was going on. People -die-. The man who killed Oyaji, the man who shot me, he’s -dead-. The organisation he worked for killed him. And they’ll keep coming. It’s not a game and it’s not funny. It’s quite dead serious.””Is that-“ She hiccupped. “Is that why you never told me?””Aoko…” Kid knelt down, pulling a cotton handkerchief out of his sleeve and gently wiping the trickling tear streaks from her cheeks. “You -hate- me.”Her breath caught and time seemed to suspend for a moment, the two of them staring at each other. Then she closed her eyes and turned her face to the side, away from. “That’s right.” She said quietly, her voice almost dead, devoid of emotion. “I do.”That was when he thought he felt his heart literally break. He dropped his hand, setting the slightly damp cloth against one of hers. He’d been hoping, even if it was just a small tiny sliver that maybe, possibly, that they could patch things up. That maybe, despite the lies, that maybe she still cared for him. Could care for him.He took a deep breath and let it out, rising to his feet again. So. That was that. He had his answer. Now the only question left would be how far he’d have to flee. Nakamori-keibu had quite a temper on him, especially when it came to things that hurt his daughter. He picked the monocle out of the top hat and put it back on, the glass lens helping to distance himself from the immediate flood of hurt.”But.” Aoko said quietly, and when he glanced down he realised that she had grabbed the handkerchief and was crushing it in a fist. “-You promised to help Hakuba-kun.” She looked up at him angrily, defiantly, despite the tears still in her eyes. “And as long as you -keep- that promise, I won’t tell anyone who the Kaitou Kid is.””Aa.” He agreed. He hesitated, and then offered his hand. “I keep my promises.” After all, he was the Kaitou Kid because of a promise.”I know you do.” She said, almost coldly. Aoko glared at him a moment longer, then took his hand, shaking it once to seal the deal. He tugged on her hand, not releasing it and she tensely allowed him to help her to her feet, avoiding contact any more than necessary.”Speaking of which-“ He cleared his throat, changing the subject. “-I brought something with me.””Oh?” Hakuba said, finally interjecting. Aoko glanced at him, her chin raised, as if daring him to argue her decision. Kid ignored them both, reaching behind him and picking up Staff of Asclepius from where he’d left it leaning against the wall.”Maybe you can figure out how to get it to work.” He said with a small apologetic shrug, offering it out. “I’ve had no luck with it. Supposedly you can use it as a sort of medical scanner, I was hoping it would tell us how to undo it.”He’d tried everything he could think of on his own wounds, from waving it under his head to doing a painful version of the limbo with it and it’d hadn’t done so much as wink at him. The serpent’s eyes weren’t Pandora either.Aoko glanced between them, and then took it from him, looking at the snake twined staff almost reverently. “This is what you stole last week.” She said, just slightly accusingly.”The Staff of the Greek Physician God Asclepius.” Hakuba said, stepping closer and peering at the staff over Aoko’s shoulder, small pale tendrils playing around his ankles like so many cat tails. “Speaking of Greece, you mentioned you had talked with Euryale. Did she say anything further of relevance?””Well…” Kid drawled. “She did call me ‘A Childe of Hermes’. I had to look that one up. Herald of the Greek Gods, God of Mischief, Merchants, Travel, Trade, Trickery and Thieves.””Appropriate.” Hakuba smirked. Snarky bastard.”His staff, the caduceus, also gets confused with Asclepius’ a lot, but Hermes’ has two snakes and Asclepius only has one.” Kid lectured primly. “Rather fitting for the heist, don’t you think?” He rather liked in-jokes in his thefts. Kept things entertaining.”I trust it will go back to the proper owners?” Hakuba added dryly as Aoko stiffened, probably suddenly realising she was cradling stolen goods.”Of course.” Kid glared back with a great deal of dignity, half-heartedly affronted. “I’ll pick it up once you’re done with it so I can clean it before returning it.” Remove any traces of them from it, both fingerprints and any miscellaneous lint or dust.”Thank you.” Hakuba said. “Anything else from Euryale?”Kid shook his head. “Just that we should, and I quote, ‘Pray to the Gods, and hope they're merciful.” He left the ‘thief’ part out. Last thing he needed was for either Hakuba or Aoko to pick that up as a new pet name for him. Especially right now.”That’s not very helpful.” Hakuba frowned as Aoko offered him the staff. He nodded his thanks, gingerly taking it from her hands. “Which Go- Waugh!”The gold metallic serpent wrapped around the wood staff -writhed- as soon as he’d taken it, coils flexing around the wood pole as it raised its head, forked tongue flickering at them. “Áse me ísiho.” It slurred at them, sounding like it was speaking with a hangover.Hakuba dropped the staff, holding the long claws away as his wings arched over him, tentacles lashing in surprise. “Och!” The snake yelped, glaring at them from the floor before it rested its head back on the staff and freezing once more. “Kolobaras!”They all stared at the staff in shock, Hakuba’s tentacles moving in swirling motions around it but carefully not touching the fallen staff. “What…” Aoko stopped, and then started again. “What did it say?!””I…” Hakuba’s jaw moved for a second before closing his jaw, a mischievous spark in his eye. Kid realised what he was going to say just as the detective started to open his mouth again.”Don’t say it.” Kid warned.Hakuba shrugged, spreading his long claws wide in a helpless gesture. “It’s all Greek to me.” He said angelically.Thankfully, Aoko beat him to the punch.Literally.+++ Epilogue +++”Let’s see.” Aoko checked her watch as they walked up the main path, the scent of incense already starting to wafer through the air. “The Hour of the Snake is from 9 to 11 am. It’s almost 9 now, so we’re right on time!”Kaito yawned in response. An hour’s train ride from Tokyo to Kamakura and a twenty minute walk from the Kamakura station to the Zeniarai-Benten Shrine. On their one morning of the week they could sleep in. Joy. He tossed the now empty coffee can he’d picked up from a vending machine by the station into a recycling bin.Still, grogginess aside, he was feeling cautiously optimistic as well. Euryale had said ‘Pray to the Gods’, but she hadn’t said -which- Gods. It was kind of like pick a Pantheon, throw a dart and see which one you hit. They were starting close to home, with the legend Ugajin, a snake with a man’s head enshrined at the Zeniarai-Benten Shrine. And even if they couldn’t contact Ugajin, they still got a chance to wash their money in the water of the shrine, which was supposed to make the money double if you lucky.And they got to go sight-seeing around Kamakura. He wondered if Daibutsu, the Giant Buddha, was open to climb inside today, it was closed the last time he’d been in the area.”Hurry up!” Aoko called over her shoulder, skipping forward and dragging Hakuba along by the hand. Hakuba shot him round-eyed look, but Kaito wasn’t able to tell if it was a plea for assistance or a look of befuddled confusion.”I still say we should look into that Persian guy.” Kaito drawled, picking up his pace slightly to catch up with them. His ribs twinged slightly, but nothing too bad. The enforced downtime while they hit the books and did research was helping them to heal pretty well. Better than him going out and doing acrobatics as the Kid anyway. “Y’know, the one with the snakes on his shoulders.”Things had shifted in the weeks since Aoko had found out his secrets. It was still pretty patchy between himself and Aoko, going through the process of getting her to trust him and become friends again. It was slow going, Aoko was a wonderful girl, but reluctant to forgive or forget. It also appeared that she had taken a shine to Hakuba, currently spending most of her free time with the detective and away from him. But true to her word, Nakamori-keibu hadn’t heard a thing about his being the Kid.”The snakes ate human BRAINS.” Aoko made a face back at him. “Eww.”In the mean time, things with Hakuba had mellowed out. There hadn’t been any large flare-ups of wings, tentacles and fangs since that day on the school rooftop, which Kaito found to be a mixed blessing. True, he didn’t have to worry about inadvertently being sliced to bits while being snuggled by a tentacle monster, but he rarely got the time to talk to the detective anymore. He’d gotten somewhat enamoured of the idea of being able to talk to someone without having to dance around various topics or fibbing. With the strangeness in his life, it was a rare luxury.”Zahhāk was also an evil tyrant who slaughtered countless to feed their brains to the ravenous snakes every day.” Hakuba added loftily. “And then was defeated and chained to Mount Damavand so the snakes would eat -his- brains as punishment. I think I shall pass, thank you. However, presenting an offering to Ganesha, Lord of Beginnings and Remover of Obstacles, I would not disagree.”Although he still got the occasional phantom limb down his trousers. Since it was usually accompanied by a fumbling blush on the detective’s part, he figured that Hakuba was still interested in him, but probably holding back while Kaito recouped from things going sour with Aoko. Which Kaito was quietly grateful for as he mourned the loss of what might have been with Aoko, his emotions too raw currently to deal with a potential romantic entanglement. In return, he did his best to not to make mooning eyes at Aoko.And thankfully Koizumi was staying out of both of their paths and not trying to take advantage of the situation. Which was wise, it’d probably get pretty messy in a bloody sort of way if she did.”But he’s got the head of an elephant!” Kaito protested good-naturedly. “That completely ruins the snake motif!”Aoko rolled her eyes as they joined the queue of tourists going to visit the shrine, debating serpent gods and other potential leads to turn Hakuba back to normal. It would have been a normal excursion between friends visiting the sights, except that it wasn’t.A triangle was simpler than a knot, but it was still more tangled than Kaito would have wished.-Finis-
----- CHAPTER BREAK -----
There are four canons on the cause of death: homicide, suicide, natural and unexplained. Fear fell under that last one.-Gil Grissom, CSI:Las VegasHeiji dreamt of fire.He was trapped in a room on fire with someone who looked like Kudo, but wasn’t. The air was getting thin and he strained for breath as he tried to call for help. In the background, there was some sort of counter ticking down to their destruction. Just as the mobile in his hand finally connected to Otaki-han, the person who wasn’t Kudo started to scream, and there was a rush of noise and everything went black. Just as he thought he was dead, he woke up, safe on his bed, in his room, breathing hard and sweating, all senses straining and on alert for a threat that wasn’t there.A threat that wasn’t there, -yet-.Heiji touched the puckered scar on his hip, gulping down air as he tried to get his breathing under control. Three days. He had three days to see if it would happen or not.He hated these dreams. Sort of. They were impossible to escape while he was trapped inside of them, and then he woke up, knowing that the events would happen within the next three days. There had been one or two times when the three day mark had passed and nothing had happened, but that was rare. Rarer than the dreams themselves.Heiji wiped the sweat from his forehead and fell backwards on the bed. The last time he’d had a dream that strong was when he dreamt Kudo had been stabbed in the heart and had invited him to Osaka to prevent it. But then it had backfired and he’d ended inadvertently creating the same scenario he’d been trying to avoid, Kudo getting stabbed and Heiji getting shot. But they’d survived, mostly because Heiji had loaned his omamori to Kudo.”Hei-chan!” Okan called. “You’ve got to leave for your trip soon!””Comin’!” He called back, reaching for his nightstand and pulling the omamori off of it. He stared at the little embroidered cloth bag for a moment, then slid it over his head as he rolled out of bed. Maybe it would help him out this time too.A shower sounded good, but a quick glance at the clock showed that he had just enough time to get dressed and grab food. So with some annoyance, he threw the covers back on the bed, tossed on some clothing and added extra deodorant, hoping that he didn’t smell too much like teenage funk. He slung his backpack over his shoulder and was just about to go to the kitchen when he turned around and opened up his desk drawer. Inside were about a dozen omamori that Kazuha had given to him that he hadn’t been able to throw away.He grabbed a dark green one and shoved it in his back pocket. Maybe this person who looked like Kudo could use it.Okan didn’t make any comments as she gave him a few onigiri and a fabric wrapped obento box that he quickly shoved in his backpack, on top of pyjamas and a spare set of clothing. He thanked her and quickly ran out the door to get to the Higashi-Neyagawa station before the subway left. One transfer and an hour later, he pulled up the Shin-Osaka station and then had to run through the station to catch the Shinkansen.An hour after that and onigiri finally eaten, he got off the train at Nagoya. He stretched and yawned as he headed for the stairs to the upper floors. Sometimes it felt like he spent more time on the subway than actually walking around.He spotted a woman with a black and white flag and wandered over to introduce himself as part of the group. She introduced herself as ‘Miss Infuo’, thanked him, checking his name off in a box and giving him an identification badge before admonishing him not to wander off as someone else joined the group. He joined the group of high schoolers, making some small talk as their group grew larger before moving to the back, leaning against a wall and started people watching. While he was a reasonably intelligent guy and could generally strike up a conversation with anyone, there was only so much talk about mecha, mathematics and the latest hentai films he could take from his peers.And he always felt slightly off on the morning after a dream, nerves raw and feeling like his skin stretched too tight as he waited for the proverbial shoe to drop. He pulled out his dog-earred copy of Miyamoto Musashi’s Book of Five Rings and started glancing through some of his favourite passages. His understanding of the strategies listed grew and changed the older and more experienced he got and he seemed to pull out new kernels of knowledge every time he reread it.Laughter and cheers drew his attention away from the book for a moment, catching the backside of another teenager who was entertaining a knot of people, mostly their group, but a couple of passersby as well. Small pink puffs of smoke appeared, as the guy snapped his fingers next to a girl’s ear and a stream of butterflies flew into the air, swirling around before they flew out of an air vent to the surprised applause of the crowd. Heiji smirked, noticing the magician’s slightly baggy long-sleeves, no doubt where he’d hidden the mini-smoke bomb and the sleeping butterflies.They finally collected their last few straggling members from the various trains and were herded through the subway station, to a waiting tour bus, where their bags were put under the bus for when they went to their hotel rooms. Heiji managed to secure himself a seat in the back, where he could watch everyone as Infuo-han congratulated them and started on a spiel about why they were here. Heiji sighed. Big whoop. So they’d all scored high on some fancy standardized test and earned the ‘privilege’ of visiting some high-class science institute. Okan had insisted that he go as an educational experience, evidently she’d gotten tired of him talking about Kudo again.Wasn’t his fault that he didn’t get to see Kudo as much as he would have liked. Osaka to Tokyo wasn’t -that- far, but certainly far enough to stretch the pocketbook.He yawned and watched the scenery pass by, keeping a loose eye on the rest of the students as they drove farther out of the city and into the mountains. People shifted around in their seats to talk with each other, the cheerful sound of chatter filling the air. He zoned for a while, trying to figure out more details about the dream he’d had. It wasn’t any place that he recognised, which meant that it was someplace new. Possibly where ever they were heading to now.Which brought up the question of the Kudo-look alike. If the place with the fire was where they were heading to now, chances were that the Kudo-look alike was either on the bus or he’d meet them there. Which possibly settled the questions of ‘where’ and ‘who’, but not ‘how’ and ‘why’.”Hey.” A friendly voice jolted him out of his thoughts as he looked up into a pair of bright indigo eyes, almost a violet shade. It was an odd colour, almost as strange as Kudo’s vibrant blue. The guy glanced back towards the front of the bus, checking to see who was watching, and then did a not quite flip out of the seat in front of Heiji to sit right next to him.Heiji stared, a faint dizzying rush of déjà vu coming over him. And there was ‘who’. It was the guy from his dream, the guy who looked like Kudo. -Just- like Kudo, save for the slight difference in eye colour and the messy hair that looked like combs fled in fear of it. They even had the same devil-may-care grin.“Kuroba Kaito,” the not-Kudo said, sticking out a hand. Even his -voice- sounded like Kudo’s. With a ‘pon!’ and a tiny cloud of smoke, a small open box of Pocky --Men’s Chocolate, Heiji noted-- appeared in his hand. “Nice to meet you.” Kuroba said, grabbing a stick and biting into it, leaving a dark chocolate smear on his lower lip.”Hattori Heiji.” Heiji said automatically, realising that this was the same guy who’d been entertaining everyone back at the station. Kuroba was wearing a grey t-shirt that said ‘'ICARUS: ARTIFICIAL WINGS' in metallic silver English text over a black shirt with long baggy sleeves on top of dark grey cargo pants. Heiji's first thought was to hand him the spare omamori he had in his back pocket, but he curtailed that line of thought almost immediately; no sense in freaking the guy out upon first meeting. “Nice shirt.””Thanks.” Kuroba said, motioning that Heiji should have some pocky. “Been on a mythology kick lately. You wouldn’t happen to be a detective, would you?””Yeah.” Heiji took a stick of pocky and bit into it, the bitter flavour bursting on his tongue. “Teenage Detective of the West, that’s me.””Knew it.” Kuroba nodded wisely. “I thought you matched the description Hakuba gave me.”Heiji almost sputtered. ”Hakuba? Hakuba Saguru?” He’d only actually met the guy once, at the mock Detective Koshien, but once was enough. Guy was a Grade-A first class pain in the butt. The time with the Kaitou Kid masquerading as Hakuba didn’t count.”Tall, blond, and sarcastic?” He got a grin in return, like Kuroba understood his reaction. “Yeah. We’re in the same class, he's in the row behind me. I can tell you he was real sore that I scored higher than he did.””I can imagine.” Heiji snickered. He paused, contemplating the other guy, who was attempting to suck all the chocolate off of a piece of pocky. “Outta curiosity, what’d he say about me?” He was almost afraid to ask, with as sharp as a tongue as Hakuba seemed to possess. Probably nothing good.Kuroba gave him a sly look, as if silently laughing at his discomfort. “Nothing much.” He finally said, offering Heiji more pocky. “Just that you were tall, dark skin, on the casual side with a bad temper. Which, since you don’t seem to be wearing a pocket protector, I figured covered the baseball hat. And that despite your looks, you were reasonably intelligent and a good person to have watching your back. Which believe me, is high praise from that guy.”Heiji chuckled, taking another piece of pocky and chewing on it in celebration. “The same could be said about him.” He muttered back, but he was grinning. At least Kuroba seemed pretty good for someone who knew Hakuba. “So yer a Magician?””By nature and trade.” Kuroba agreed, shaking the small box of dark chocolate pocky and pulling out a stick of strawberry pocky, which he promptly ate.”Any relation ta Kuroba Toichi?” Heiji questioned. He’d gotten to see the magician perform before his death many years ago, before Heiji had gotten bored with magic, having figured out pretty much all of the tricks. Although he still hadn’t figured out how Kuroba Toichi hid a turkey larger than his hat under said silk top hat.”My father.” Kuroba grinned, but there was a lurking sadness mixed in with the pride. “Learned the tricks of the trade at his knee, so to speak, and kept it up after his death. Gets me in trouble often enough, but it gets me out of a far bit of it too. Bit like you detectives, from what I understand.”Heiji snickered. “Just so long as it doesn’t involve dead bodies fallin’ from the sky, I think yer good.””I’ll keep that in mind.” Kuroba promised easily as Infuo-han stood up again and instructed everyone to get off the bus in a polite and orderly fashion. Kuroba rolled his eyes, sucking on another pocky stick. Heiji helped himself to another stick, munching as they waited for the rest of the students to get off before standing up and exiting the bus into the chilly winter air. Heiji glanced up at the six-story building in front of them, its sparse modernistic style clashing with the beauty of the wilderness around them.They got another spiel from Infuo-han as they ushered passed huge glass doors to a bright, clean sterile office environment about how the company was moving forward into the future with bright young minds such as theirs. It sounded like a recruitment speech, lots of buzzwords with not much substance, designed to stroke egos. It was boring, but the white walls of the building struck a familiar chord. It wasn’t -it-, it was not exactly where they were in the dream, but it felt kind of close. He glanced around, making mental notes on various things but ultimately coming up with a blank. He didn’t know where to go next. Kuroba looked around as well, but seemed more interested in locating the exits than the exhibits. The rest of the students talked and buzzed, a few people showing off how smart they thought they were.Kuroba eventually yawned. ”Bored?” Heiji whispered while pretending to enjoy a display about the history of the company and its great contributions towards humanity, none of which were actually listed, just talked around.”Could they be any faker?” Kuroba whispered back. Or at least he seemed to whisper back, his lips didn’t move. Ventriloquism, Heiji realised with some surprise. Infuo-han started bringing everyone together to go watch a presentation in one of the rooms. Kuroba glanced around, and then playfully nudged Heiji with his arm, a predatory expression on his face. “Wanna ditch and see what they’re really up to?”Heiji could have kissed Kuroba for the offer. He had the guy and the probable location from the dream, now all he had to find was the ticking counter of doom and maybe they could divert some potentially explosive problems.Not very scientific, but if it worked, it worked.“Oh, yeah.” He grinned, feeling the buzz of adrenaline kicking in. Kuroba smirked back, motioning with a jerk of his head to follow his lead. Heiji raised an eyebrow, but nodded once, willing to go along with him for the moment. Heiji knew he wasn’t exactly -subtle-, but disappearing under everyone’s gaze was pretty much a staple in the magic business.They casually joined the flocking group of students, hanging to the outside fringes. Somehow, despite the fact that Kuroba had just been their star attraction an hour before, no one gave them a second glance, Kuroba projecting an aura of bored indifference as they shuffled along. Just as Heiji thought they were actually going to fall into the line to fit into the narrow doorway, Kuroba grabbed his wrist, tugging him to one side, and through a door in the wall that Heiji almost hadn’t spotted.”Nice work.” Heiji whispered as Infuo-han’s muffled voice continued unabated, apparently not having noticed their sudden move.”Thanks.” Kuroba said, casually unclipping the identification badge he’d had hanging from the hem of his shirt and sliding it back under a small crack in the door. Heiji raised an eyebrow at the action and Kuroba shrugged. “Saw Infuo-san making sure that the trackers in the badges worked while we were on the bus.”… He had a very good point, if a tad suspicious. Heiji unclipped his badge and slid it under the door as well. “Y’lookin’ fer somethin’?” He questioned as Kuroba nodded, looking like he was going through a mental check list.”Possibly.” Kuroba gave him a crooked smile, heading down the corridor, hands in his pockets. “What did you think of the test we took to get here?” He asked, as if he was aware of something that Heiji wasn’t.”Seemed pretty straight forward.” He said slowly. “Although the chemistry and statistical portions of it was a bit more advanced than what we’d been taught.””Yeah.” Kuroba nodded. “That’s what Hakuba and I thought as well. Rather strange, isn’t it?”… He hadn’t thought about it at the time, laughing at some of the complaints that Kazuha and a few of his classmates made. Sure, it’d been challenging, but nothing that he hadn’t been able to solve.Kuroba pulled a small notebook from his back pocket and started flipping through it. “I talked to the people on the bus, gathered everyone’s equations that they could remember together. There’s eight different tests as far as I can figure.” He tossed the open notebook to Heiji, who made a rapid grab to catch it. “Funny thing is that there’s some pretty serious similarities to the harder questions.”On the pages, written in Kuroba’s messy but legible handwriting, were chemistry equations. Heiji flipped through them, noticing that some of them seemed to have holes, probably from where someone hadn’t been able to remember all the equations. “Wait a second.” He frowned, looking at the last questions on the tests. “PV = nRT’, that’s for gases… Qmv = Qmp + W… that’s used to calculate explosive strength, isn’t it?”Gases and explosions. Heiji started from the beginning and started over, looking at the equations with new eyes. He wasn’t the best at this theoretical mathematics stuff, but what little he could figure out gave him a bad feeling in the pit of his stomach.”Yup.” Kuroba smirked, never stopping his pace as he reached back to tap an equation used to figure out the energy expended by gaseous products when detonated. “And everyone who was invited here managed to solve those.”Meaning someone had used the untapped potential of the brightest minds in the Japanese public school system to do the calculations for various chemical explosions.“Hakuba and I thought there was something strange with the tests, so we did a little digging.” Kuroba continued, his expression and tone fairly bland given the seriousness of the topic they were discussing. “They were overseen by a company called ‘Ouzo’.””Royalty.” Heiji translated the meaning. He guessed it was a fitting name for test administrators. They’d seemed like such arrogant people, what little of them and their dark business suits he’d seen.”Also a Greek alcoholic drink that’s supposed to be similar to absinthe. Sweet, from what I understand.” Kuroba gave him a grin that seemed tempered with something sharp and unnameable that made the hairs on the back of Heiji’s neck prickle. Shit. Kuroba -knew-. Heiji didn’t know how Kuroba knew, but Kuroba knew. “You’d think that a company with a name like that would be easy to find, but once you scratch the surface, they’re really only a shell company. They don’t exist. Funny, huh?””Yup.” Heiji hoped that his sudden nervousness wasn’t apparent. A mysterious company that didn’t exist named after an alcoholic drink. The co-incidence to the people who shrunk Kudo was a bit too much. And Kuroba just -happened- to be dropping this information in his lap. “Real funny.””Hakuba got kinda nervous about it.” Kuroba continued, plucking the notebook out of Heiji’s hands and putting it back in his pocket. “He wanted to come instead and investigate, but he’s developed a recent allergy that makes crowds highly uncomfortable. And I’m just a magician, I don’t do this whole ‘detective’ stuff.””Which is why you sought me out on the bus.” Heiji concluded.”Pin-pon!” Kuroba flashed him a sheepish grin. “As I said earlier, I was told that you were a good person to have watching your back. And other than being a trouble magnet, I’m kinda out of my depth there.”Heiji frowned, thinking about it for a moment. There was a chance that this was a trap, set up by someone inside the mysterious organisation, that Kudo’s cover was blown and Kuroba was actually an agent here to lead Heiji into the scene he’d seen with the fire and imminent explosion. There was also the possibility that Kuroba was exactly what he said, a friend of Hakuba’s who was investigating on the sarcastic blond’s behalf.He didn’t think it was the former. In his dream, Kuroba had looked terrified, like what ever had been happening was unexpected, which threw the ‘lead him into a trap’ unlikely, unless he was suddenly getting caught in the trap as well. And if he was trying to trick Heiji, he was doing a pretty bad job of trying to gain his immediate trust, with all the hints he was dropping. But how many people would investigate something potentially extremely lethal for a friend?Well, okay. So maybe Heiji didn’t have room to talk there, considering his continuing friendship with Kudo.”I’m still havin’ trouble believin’ yer friends with Hakuba.” He finally got out. That Hakuba might have someone who could put up with him boggled the mind. On the off chance that it really was a made-up cover story, they -really- needed to do a bit more research on what lines they tried to spin.Kuroba stared at him for a moment before chuckling. “I don’t know if you’d call us ‘friends’ exactly.” He admitted with just a touch of fond annoyance. "Up until recently, we irritated each other more than we tolerated each other.”There was obviously a bit more to it than that, one didn’t look that fond about someone they just ‘tolerated’. “Okay.” Heiji said, willing to let it slide for now. If Kuroba was who he said he was, and was smart enough to score higher than Hakuba, then it made a sort of sense for them to know each other. Past that, he still wasn’t so sure.They went deeper into the complex, taking a few random turns and going down a flight of stairs. Heiji hoped that would lose any followers they might have, as he was almost completely lost. They opened a few doors, finding empty laboratory rooms, equipment and test tubes ready and set up for action, merely missing the chemicals to do it with. It was kind of creepy, in a ‘expecting someone to jump out and say boo’ sort of way.“Got any idea where we’re goin’?” Heiji finally asked as Kuroba paused in an intersection, looking at the signs as looking for directions.”Not really. But-“ With a flick of his wrist, Kuroba summoned some folded pieces of paper from mid-air. Or, Heiji suspected, his sleeves. “-This area’s not on my map.””Map?” Heiji raised an eyebrow. “Ya do come prepared.””Hakuba’s fussiness.” Kuroba dismissively waved it off, unfolding the papers and sorting through them. “Huzzah for public domains and all that. Here, look.” He pointed to where they had been in the lobby and the door they’d taken, then switched papers for the lower level they were currently on, tracing their path again. “It’s not here.”Heiji glanced up at the corridor markers. According to the maps, they should have been looking towards a blank wall on their right. That entire section wasn’t on the official paperwork. “Interestin’.” He drawled. He frowned, taking the maps from Kuroba and shuffling back to the first page. Infuo-han had said that they were going to go into the auditorium for a presentation, but the room the door the rest of the students had gone into looked wrong. “Is it just me, or is that a bit small for an auditorium?” He finally asked.Kuroba’s eyebrow rose. “A very tiny auditorium?” He shrugged, his expression uncertain.For the size of the building and the amount of people who supposedly worked here, it was damn small for an auditorium. It was just the right size to fit about thirty people, not the hundred or so that should be occupying a multi-story building.And if this was a working lab, where were all the people? It was too quiet down here, there were no sounds of any other people anywhere. No clattering or talking from any of the rooms or people in the hallways.Heiji suddenly had a very bad feeling. If there was a bomb in this facility, it’d make it a hell of a lot easier to evacuate if there were only a few people. Or if the whole thing was a set up.A gathering of some of Japan’s up and coming intellectual minds, a test dealing with chemical explosions and a mysterious company. Kudo had commented once that the mysterious organisation kept an eye on the best and the brightest to recruit them into their ranks, usually through underhanded means. And what a better way to find the best and the brightest and keep an eye on them other than infiltrating the school system?Suddenly he was very glad they ditched when they did.”Which way, Oh Great Detective?” Kuroba asked, looking gamely confused what to do at this point.Heiji pointed in the direction of corridor and rooms that shouldn’t be there with his thumb. “Obviously.”Kuroba grinned in return, folding up the papers and putting them back where they had come from with another elegant twist of his hand. Heiji smirked, heading down the corridor, Kuroba a step behind, glancing around curiously. Heiji felt slightly buzzed as they reached the end of the corridor, like the pieces were finally coming together to make sense.Heiji knocked on the wall at the end, listening to the solid sound. There were no indentions or protrusions to form some sort of knob to open things up into a secret laboratory or anything cool like that. He felt almost let down.”Hey.” Kuroba said, his voice slightly muffled from behind an open door. “You might want to see this.”He turned away from the blank wall and wandered over to the door Kuroba had his head through. This room didn’t have the test tubes and beakers that the other rooms did, just an empty table, but it did have diagrams posted to the wall. He stepped inside, getting a closer look at the drawings. “You know what these are?” Kuroba asked, following behind him.”Yeah.” Heiji said grimly, running his fingers across some of the wiring on one of the drawings. Blueprints, really. “Bombs.””Oh.” Kuroba said very quietly. He glanced around the room as Heiji inspected the blueprints. There were holes missing, some of the designs were either incomplete or not included. “Um, Hattori?” Kuroba ventured uneasily.Heiji tore his gaze away from the blueprints. ”Yeah?”Kuroba was standing in the middle of the room, looking at the table, his eyebrows wrinkled together. He looked up at Heiji. “So where’s the bomb?”There were blueprints for a bomb, a blank dust-free space on the table roughly the same size as the blueprints on the walls dictated, a few bits of snipped off wire on the floor, but no bomb. “Um...””Yeah.” Kuroba agreed, looking slightly worried. “Wanna check the other rooms?”That sounded like a good plan to him. “Yeah.””Yeah.” Kuroba echoed.They quickly but casually wandered back to the door and into the hall. Heiji looked at the hallway and did a quick count of doorways. “Eight doors.””Eight explosive chemical equations.” Kuroba said carefully.Heiji finished the thought. "Eight potential bombs."“I’m not liking this.” Kuroba said grimly.”Yeah.” That word did seem to sum a lot of things up. “You take that side? I’ll take this side?””’Kay.” Kuroba agreed, moving to the next door. Heiji opened the one across from the door they’d just opened. More blueprints, slightly different, empty table, no bombs. He moved on to the next door, finding the same. Behind him, he could hear Kuroba doing the same, opening the doors, look inside and move on.”Um.” Kuroba finally cleared his throat, as Heiji glanced into the last room on the hall, finding more of the same. “Hattori?””Yeah?” He had a sudden bad feeling, pieces clicking together.”I think we’re in trouble.” Kuroba informed him seriously.Heiji stepped next to Kuroba, peering in through the doorway.Kudo-look a like, Check. Mysterious location, Check. Table with a large bomb on it counting down, Double Check.… Shit.Just under fifteen minutes to detonation. He pulled the spare omamori out of his back pocket and handed it to Kuroba. “Here.””Thanks-?” Kuroba took it with a sceptical look. “What is it for?””Fer Good Luck.” Heiji informed him with a bit of detached calm. ”Ya wouldn’t happen to know how ta disarm a bomb, wouldja?””No.””Damn.””You?” Kuroba inquired, still cradling the omamori.”Not really.” Kudo was the one with experience disarming bombs. And he usually had a Bomb Task Force helping him. Or blueprints, which this room was somewhat lacking in.The door suddenly pushed inward, shoving him into Kuroba and they both stumbled inside the room. The door slammed shut behind with an ominous bang. Kuroba recovered first, grabbing the door and trying to open it. It shook a few times under his onslaught, but didn’t move. “Locked.” He reported grimly.The lights went out, plunging them into near darkness, only the dim red light above the door that said ‘Exit’ and the red numbers counting down to their demise supplying illumination. They both paused, their eyes adjusting to the much dimmer light. Well, that had been genius on his part. He’d -foreseen- the damn set up, the smart thing to do would have been to grab Kuroba and run like hell the other way. Only that would have left no one to disarm the bomb.Heiji sighed as he approached the bomb. 13 minutes, 57 seconds. “The Way of the Warrior is Death.’” He quoted tensely. “This means choosing death whenever there is a choice between life and death.’””Miyamoto Musashi?” Kuroba guessed, crouching down to peer at the door handle and lock. He’d probably seen Heiji reading the Book of Five Rings on the bus.”Close. It’s from ‘Ha Gakure’ by Tsunenori Yamamoto about the decline of Bushido. He wrote it after he and his fellow followers couldn’t follow their Daimyo into death in the traditional way under the law changes of the Tokugawa Era.” Heiji said absently, crouching down to inspect the box. It was larger than the designs for the other bombs. Half as long as he was tall and almost as wide, all thin black menacing metal, completely featureless except for the glowing red counter ticking down to destruction. “Musashi said ‘The Way of the Warrior is resolute acceptance of death.’””Lovely.” Kuroba drawled with dry sarcasm, pulling out several thin pieces of metal and arranging them in his hand, the omamori dangling from one wrist. “Unfortunately for Musashi, I’m a survivalist. Which means doing what it takes to survive. If you can maybe do something with that bomb, I’ll see about getting this door open. I’ve got some experience with locks.”Made sense, with Kuroba being a magician. “Got a flashlight?” He inquired, having peered at what he could in the dim light. Kuroba rummaged through his pockets, then tossed him a small pocket light. “Thanks.” Heiji caught it and turned it on. ”’This is a truth: when you sacrifice your life, you must make fullest use of your weaponry. It is false not to do so, and to die with a weapon yet undrawn.’” Heiji quoted Musashi again, then smirked as he poked at a corner and removed a loose panel. “And I have not yet drawn my weapon.””’Pen and Sword in Accord.’” Kuroba quoted one of the fundamentals of Bushido. ”So unless you’ve got a sword hidden somewhere on your body, I’d say it’s time to put those intellectual skills to use.””You’ve been hangin’ around Hakuba too much.” Heiji muttered as he removed a loose side panel that didn’t seem to be attached to anything and peering at the machine. Kuroba didn’t bother to reply, his attention on what he was doing. Wires, wires, wires, more wires. Nothing that made clear sense to him. There was a tube with some sort of fuzzy looking gas that appeared to be under pressure that he didn’t want to get too close to.He was grateful for the fact that Kuroba wasn’t flipping out. He would have preferred it to be Kudo at his back, if nothing else, they could have tossed him through the air vents, but Kuroba being here wasn’t too bad. Better than Kazuha. He liked both her and her company, but every time they got into trouble, he heard no end of it. First he had to deal with her panicking, then getting them out of what ever the sticky situation was and then dealing with the aftermath. And -then- when they got back to Osaka, he had to deal with the lectures from Kazuha’s parents, because of course she had to tell them about everything that happened. And once they’d finished, he got it from his parents, the sly murmured comments that -surely- he could have done a better job protecting Kazuha and keeping them both out of trouble in the first place, like it was all his fault that people went psycho and started killing people.And then he’d get to school and everyone would have heard of it and the rumour mill would have gotten a hold of the latest adventure and somehow made it sound worse than it really was. So, he’d find some excuse to get out of the house and away from school, and Kazuha would of course invite herself along and something would happen and the whole thing would start up again.It was even worse when she managed to help out or kick butt, because then she’d rub it in his face and both sets of parents would drop hints about taking her along whenever he went out, instead of always talking about ‘that Kudo guy’.”Is it just me,” Kuroba jolted Heiji out of his thoughts, sounding like he was talking through a tool or two in his mouth. “Or is it getting warm in here?””It’s not just you.” Heiji glanced up at the clock. It may have been his imagination, but it also seemed like it was slightly harder to breathe. The room was probably sealed air-tight or had some sort of ventilation system pulling the air out. Fortunately, --or unfortunately-- with a room this size, they’d be blown up before they ran out of air. T-minus 10 minutes, 34 seconds to detonation. “How’s it goin’?””It’s a good lock.” Kuroba reported grimly.”Keep at it.” Heiji said, looking around for some other way to get out of the room, or for remnants of the blueprints to be lying around. He could tell they had been there at one time, the blank corners were still clinging to the walls, but other than that, there was nothing. Just him, Kuroba and the bomb.”Is there a fire alarm we can pull?” Kuroba inquired, swapping tools out of his mouth. “Get the people upstairs evacuated?””Not that I see.” Heiji reported. 9 minutes, 18 seconds. Kuroba grunted in return, tools clattering.Heiji prowled the room again and poked at the bomb some more, wishing that this bomb was in any way similar to the blueprints to the other ones he’d looked at. Or that he remembered what the counter in his dream had been at before he’d woken up. Although… Speaking of the dream… He pulled out his mobile phone, checking for reception. One bar, maybe two. It was better than nothing. “I’m gonna try ta call fer help.” He announced, hitting the speed dial for Otaki-han.”Can they get us out befo-“ Kuroba’s words were drowned out by a series of sparks from the direction of the bomb as the phone began to ring in Heiji’s ear. The sparks flickered and became flames as they hit the ground, turning the air warm and suffocating with smoke.7 minutes, 58 seconds.The line finally stopped ringing, the click of someone picking up. “Ota-“Kuroba screamed, drowning out the rest of Otaki-han’s greeting. Kuroba’s body collided with him and there was a rush of noise and sound, sending them both tumbling onto the ground, dangerously close to the flames. Above them, the counter’s blood red numbers continued to count down.It wasn’t the first time Heiji had been in this dream.”REQUESTIN’ ASSITANCE!” Heiji bellowed into the phone, not knowing if he was still connected or not, Kuroba’s body a warm dead weight on top of him. “BOMB! THERE’S A BOMB HERE!”Kuroba groaned in his ear, shifting slightly. “There’s two.” He corrected, his voice cracking with pain. “Small one in the door.”-Kuroba’s scream and the rush of noise. From the second bomb, not the one he’d seen. One of the missing seven bombs from the other rooms?He glanced at the phone, the now cracked screen flashing once at him before going dead. Hopefully his message had gotten through. ”Y’okay?” He questioned, pushing himself off the floor and trying to help Kuroba up. Kuroba’s face was twisted in pain, looking pale in the red light, one arm wrapped around his ribs.”Just an old injury.” Kuroba assured him, rising shakily to his feet. He winced, then added in a softer mutter, “…he’s gonna kill me for this....”Heiji wondered who ‘he’ was, but a quick glance at the clock showed they didn’t have time to inquire. 6 minutes, 23 seconds. “We gotta get outta here.” He said, throwing Kuroba’s arm over his shoulder. The positive side was that the door was now open, the remains hanging off the hinges. They staggered through it, avoiding the worst of the flames the best they could, reaching the cooler air of the corridor. Kuroba pointed back the way they’d come and they staggered in that direction.”Just a sec.” Heiji paused next to a fire alarm, protected by a sheet of glass. He smashed his fist into it and then pulled the lever, ignoring the blood dripping from the side of his hand from the glass cuts as he did so. Alarms went off around them. At least those still worked.Kuroba nodded grimly in approval. “Let’s go.” Kuroba said, letting go of Heiji and trotting unevenly down the hall. Heiji followed until they reached the stairs. Kuroba made a quiet whimper as he looked at them.Heiji didn’t know if he was strong enough to carry Kuroba up the stairs, but they were fast running out of options. “You go first.” Kuroba informed him.”M’not leavin’ ya behind!” Heiji protested.”You’re not.” Kuroba reached for Heiji’s backside, and for a brief moment, he thought that Kuroba was making a pass at him. Then Kuroba’s fingers wrapped around Heiji’s belt and gave it a tug. “Okay, go.”Heiji nodded and started up the stairs, pulling Kuroba along with him. Kuroba seemed to stumble over a few steps, but kept up, his breathing a harsh rasp. They made it up to the sterile corridors of the upper level, glancing around.”This way.” Kuroba motioned, checking his watch with a panicked look. Heiji nodded, wrapping an arm around Kuroba’s waist and they took off, Kuroba leaning on him slightly as he pointed out directions. They burst through the doorway into the lobby and looked around. No one was there. They stumbled towards the front doors, noticing the last of the students quickly piling into the bus.Heiji pushed on the door to follow them, only to discover the doors were locked. “What?!” He pushed against them, trying to get them to budge. They didn’t. Kuroba chuckled unmirthfully as he let go of Heiji, allowing Heiji to try to kick the doors down. On the other side, they could see the bus driver try to start the vehicle and fail. And again. And for a third.”No time!” Kuroba grabbed his shoulder as he hit the door in frustration, yanking him down and rolling on top of him. There was a loud burst of noise as the building shook as if caught in the throws of an earthquake, smaller bursts of sound as things fell down and hit the ground. The glass doors and windows around them shook and cracked, but didn’t break.Then it was over. Mostly. Heiji lifted his head and saw the bus tearing down the mountain road, the engine finally working. Something fell down behind them. Kuroba shifted off of him with a groan, slowly climbing to his feet. “Well, that was fun.” He commented dryly, moving slowly like he was testing to make sure that everything was intact.”I’d hate ta see what ya think of as a good time if that’s your definition of fun.” Heiji drawled back, rising to his feet as he looked around. The sterile place wasn’t quite as orderly as it had been, ceiling tiles and sections of the plaster walls on the ground, wires and lights hanging from above, flashing and sparking alarmingly. Heiji was mildly surprised, he’d expected more destruction, considering the size of the machine downstairs. He pushed on the doors, to find that they were still stubbornly locked.Kuroba tapped on the clear material, and then leaned against it. “Polycarbonate.” He pronounced. “Bullet resistant. We’re not getting out that way.” The same stuff that they used in banks to protect the tellers from would-be robbers. Throwing a chair wasn’t going to be able to break through this stuff. “Also, look up.”Heiji did, spotting another set of tattle-tale glowing red numbers. One of the missing bombs. Craaaaaaaaap.”Either someone planted that here after everyone left, or they went through a side exit.” Heiji growled, musing out loud. “Either way, we need to find another exit. Ideas?” Kuroba was the one who had been looking for exits earlier, and the one with the map.”’Military tactics are like unto water; for water in its natural course runs away from high places and hastens downwards.’” It was Kuroba’s turn to quote. “’So in war, the way is to avoid what is strong and to strike at what is weak.””Sun Tzu, The Art of War.” Heiji identified. “He also said ‘Camp in high places, facing the sun. Do not climb heights in order to fight. So much for mountain warfare.’”Kuroba chuckled. “But we’re not fighting, we’re escaping.””From the roof?!” Heiji said sceptically, his brows wrinkling. “We’d have a better chance with the front door, it ain’t like we can jump from the roof and land safely.” Well, there was the remote possibility that a helicopter might show up and could rescue them from there.”Trust me.” Kuroba smiled enigmatically, pushing off the glass and heading towards the other side of the room, deftly avoiding the fallen ceiling tiles. “’There are more things on heaven and earth, Hattori, than are dreamt of in your philosophy.’””What’s that supposed to mean?” Heiji demanded, chasing after him. “And no fair quotin’ Shakespeare!” The Bard wasn’t Japanese. And didn’t have much to do with Kendo.Kuroba laughed as he tugged on the door to the stairway. It didn’t move. Kuroba pulled on it again, rattling it. He peered down, inspecting the latch. “Locked.” He reported grimly. And there wasn’t a keyhole on the outside for them to fiddle with either.”Um.” Heiji pointed up. Third bomb.”Oh.” Kuroba’s expression fell.”They’re breakin’ fire codes all over the place.” Heiji complained. Lack of fire alarms inside laboratories, primary exits being locked and even the fire sprinklers hadn’t gone off yet.”Elevator.” Kuroba said, dodging some debris as he walked over and pressed the elevator button for ‘up’.”Y’crazy?” Heiji demanded. “That’s even riskier than the stairs!””Yeah.” Kuroba agreed easily, giving him a slightly manic grin. “You coming?”Heiji thought about for a movement, then walked over to stand next to Kuroba. “If we die, I’m hauntin’ you into the afterlife.” He muttered, eyeing the doors warily.”Telling me ‘I told you so’ the entire time, right?” Kuroba smirked, hitting the button again. “I’ll deal.””Heh.” Heiji snorted, debating leaning against the wall while they waited. He decided against it as another ceiling tile hit the floor in the background, taking wires with it. The lights flickered. Smoke started to seep into the room from down the hall.”Hey.” Kuroba glanced sideways at him. “So, question for you. I’ve got this friend-”Heiji raised an eyebrow, glancing around the ruined area space and the smoke creeping their way. “Y’sure this is the right time fer that?””When better?” Kuroba shrugged in return. “-So my friend’s liked this girl for ages, but my friend’s also got this other secret that he’s been keeping. And when she discovered it, she decided that never she wanted to talk to him again.””Ouch.” Heiji winced. “We talkin’ ‘body in the closet’ type of secret or ‘he’s a pervert’ secret?””Closer to the first, minus the murder aspect.” Kuroba mused. “And then there’s this other person who likes my friend, who’s really serious. But my friend’s not over the girl yet, and it’s not fair to the other person to date them while they still like someone else.””So is this person bein’ a guy a problem for ya?” Heiji inquired, tilting his head to the side.”Who said it was me and who said it was a guy?” Kuroba shot back, raising a sceptical eyebrow.Heiji smirked. “Oldest story in the book, talkin’ about somethin’ happenin’ ta ‘a friend’. And ya were careful to say ‘other person’, not ‘another girl’, which meant that it was most likely a guy. So is that a problem?”“Think what you like.” Kuroba said dismissively, with a great deal of amusement. “But no, I wouldn’t say them both being guys is a problem at -all-. ‘Agile’ doesn’t even -begin- to cover it.”Lucky bastard. Heiji found himself relaxing slightly, realising that he’d tensed up while he’d waiting for Kuroba’s answer if it was a problem. “Then I’d say the solution is simple.” He shrugged. “Find someone else to date ta get over the girl, then date the guy.”Kuroba mused it over for a moment. “I’ll keep it in mind. Thanks.”The elevator dinged, the doors opening up, a wave of heat hitting them as small plumes of smoke leaking out. “You sure this is a good idea?” Heiji asked, stepping back slightly, waving the hot air away from his face.”No.” Kuroba glanced around the inside of the elevator car before stepping on. “But it’s better than hanging out here.”He had a point. Heiji stepped inside the elevator, sweating slightly in the sudden heat. Kuroba hit the button for the top floor, coughing slightly as the doors shut, locking them in the enclosed room. They rode in terse silence; Heiji watched the floors light up. First floor, Second floor, Third floor-The elevator gave a sudden groan, shaking like something had just slipped. Kuroba hit the emergency stop button and it stopped with a lurch, an ominous creaking sound filling the air. “Gimme a boost?” Kuroba requested, eyeing the ceiling.”Yeah.” Heiji wove his fingers together and crouched down. Kuroba put one foot in Heiji’s hands, briefly resting his hands on Heiji’s shoulders for balance. Heiji lifted him up, staggering slightly as Kuroba put his hands on the ceiling, the other foot resting on his shoulder. His fingers worked rapidly, finding, then undoing the panel at the top.”You weigh more than me, don’t you?” Kuroba inquired, his head through the ceiling.”Think so.” By a couple of kilos, at least.”’Kay.” Kaito dropped back down. “You go first. You can pull me up better than I can pull you up.””Y’sure?” Heiji inquired, glancing between the hole in the ceiling and Kuroba. He hadn’t forgotten that the other guy had just been holding his ribs.”Yeah.” Kuroba switched places with Heiji, crouching down and twining his fingers together for Heiji’s foot. Heiji did a quick step, gaining as much speed as he could in the short area, putting his foot in Kuroba’s hands and leaping up. He grabbed the edge of the hole and pulled himself through it, grateful for his upper body strength. He glanced around the dim area, suddenly alarmed to realise where the light was coming from.Yet another red counter counted down the minutes. About seven minutes on this one.He thrust his arms back through the hole, reaching for Kuroba. There was no need for words, Kuroba had probably seen or sensed it previously. Kuroba jumped, grabbing his hands and went limp, letting Heiji pull him up.”Thanks.” Kuroba nodded, wheezing slightly, eyeing the bomb. “Let’s go.” He said quietly, carefully shifting around the roof of the car, and then grabbed the ladder that ran along side the elevator shaft and rapidly began climbing. Heiji watched him ascend for a moment, waiting for him to get a little ways up the ladder before following. He glanced up a few times, realising that not only did Kuroba look like Kudo, they shared some of their best features as well. Such as nicely muscled legs. Nice.Then he was suddenly viewing them from a lot closer as Kuroba suddenly slid backwards down the ladder, the bottom of his ribcage pressing into the back of Heiji’s head. The green omamori on Kuroba’s wrist smacked Heiji on the forehead as Kuroba wrapped his legs around Heiji’s waist to rest his feet on the empty rungs. He heard more than sensed something fly by, followed there was a huge blast of heat and echoing noise. He tightened his grip on the ladder until it died down, then twisted his head and looked down. The elevator car was no longer where they had left it and was now laying in burning pieces at the bottom of the shaft like something out of a bad dream. Heiji could just make out the blinking red light of the bomb’s counter.…. Shiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiit.”That was your only warning shot.” A woman’s arrogant voice echoed. Heiji twisted his head around again, trying to look around Kuroba’s body to see who was talking and failing to see around his body. Something grated from above and Heiji got a glimpse of fluttering white fabric falling down the elevator shaft, tangled up in what looked like poles. “I’ve already found your wings. You’re not escaping this time, Kaitou Kid.”…. Kaitou Kid?!Heiji craned his neck, trying to get a better look at Kuroba, catching the impression of a twisted smile. “And you would be Snake-san’s replacement?” Kuroba’s voice changed, losing the light-hearted amusement, the timbre replaced something sharp and unnameable. “Rose-san.” The hairs on the back of his neck went up again, like they had the first time the Kid had let his mask slip, when he told Heiji about Ouzo.The Kaitou Kid had been staring him in the face the entire time and he hadn’t realised it, having been caught up in figuring out that damn dream of his.Dammit, this was the -second- time the Kid had pulled this on him!”You’d be correct.” The woman, Rose, acknowledged. “And unlike my former mentor, I don’t bother wasting time aiming for heart.” Heiji could just make out a red laser light hitting the wall around the Kaitou Kid’s head before vanishing. Most likely being blocked from Heiji’s view by the Kid’s head. And Heiji couldn’t move to do anything about it without throwing Kid down the elevator shaft. Great. Just great.”So it was you that infiltrated the police and shot Snake-san while he was in custody.” Kid not so much inquired as stated, as if he’d expected as much. “I have someone who is rather interested in meeting you.”He would have thought it was a noise, if there had been any made past the rushing of blood in his ears. Heiji clung to the ladder as a -presence- filled the area, like someone had unleashed a starving Tyrannosaurus Rex into the area and they were dinner. It took him a moment to realise that he was whimpering slightly, trying to curl up into a small ball despite the ladder and the Kid already wrapped around his torso.”Meet your guilty conscience.” Kid said quietly, a grim undercurrent to it that Heiji barely noticed. Something metallic pinged as it fell down the elevator shaft, then hit the bottom with a loud crash, sending up plumes of heat and smoke, but Heiji didn’t lift his head to look. The Kid took a breath, then sighed. “It’s a good thing I’m on good terms with mine.” He said, his tone ruefully lighter as he patted Heiji’s shoulder. “I’m going to owe Kuroba such an apology at this point. Come on, we can move now. She passed out.”The Kid carefully moved around him, resuming the climb upwards. Heiji shakily watched him for a moment, then followed, pretending some of the sweat on his forehead was from the heat of the fire below. “So. The Kaitou Kid, huh? Kudo’s mentioned you a few times.””I’m sure he has. ’Fate has brought us together’, I believe he commented to me once.” Kid said with some dry amusement as he climbed. “Originally a line out of a letter by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, but out of the three detectives who regularly chase me, I believe he does have the greatest chance of actually capturing me.””Oh?” Heiji straightened, feeling lighter. He’d have to tell Kudo that.”Unlike Hakuba-kun or Nakamori-keibu, the only thing Kudo has invested in capturing me is his own pride.” Kid shrugged. Nakamori-keibu having intensely chased the Kid for over twenty years and Hakuba coming from England to do the same. “Therefore he loses nothing at my fall.”Heiji glanced down at the fire smouldering below and wondered if the ‘fall’ comment was literal or metaphorical. The oil on the dangling cable that had been holding the car up had caught fire and was heading towards them, casting the silhouettes of the two of them climbing against the walls. “So does Kuroba Kaito actually exist?” He asked, changing the subject and picking up some more speed.”Oh, yes.” Kid said almost brightly. “And has been accused of being the Kaitou Kid many times, and disproven each time. I’m afraid that with his proximity to Nakamori-keibu and his history as a magician, he makes a good cover. It’s a good thing he’s a fan of me.” He added fondly.”I’m sure.” Heiji murmured, some movement catching his eye. The prone figure of a woman dressed in black and dark grey slowly slid away from the open doorway at the top of the elevator shaft. “Uh. She just moved.””Yes.” Kid agreed. “I did warn you, my conscience is here.””Oh… kay…” Heiji ventured, then coughed as the smoke irritated his lungs. Smoke rose and they were going for the high ground. Oh, yes. This was -such- a brilliant plan.”Almost there.” The Kid encouraged as they approached the top floor. Then they still had to find the stairs to the roof and get to the rooftop before the bombs exploded. Time which Heiji had the feeling they were running out of. And unless he was mistaken, Kid’s hang-glider was currently burning at the base of this very long shaft meaning they had no way to get off the rooftop safely.Then part of the roof came off, blinding him as sunlight streamed its way in. “Grab on with both hands!” The Kid shouted as a rope fell around Heiji’s shoulders. He did as instructed, barely noticing when the rope wrapped around him securely, pulling him up off the ladder and to light and fresh air of the rooftop.The Kid grinned at Heiji as he found his feet, the rope unwinding from around him. “Hattori Heiji, I’d like to introduce you to our ride out of here.” He said, motioning to a third figure on the smoking rooftop, the omamori still dangling from his wrist.Heiji froze, staring in shock at a pair of pale blue blue eyes stared at him, as if seeing every single guilty thing Heiji had ever done in his entire life. Every failed case, all the times he wasn’t fast enough to prevent a suicide or a murder, the one time in Middle School he’d let Kazuha copy off his test for a better grade, lying about Kudo, stealing fresh takoyaki from Okan when he was five, not preventing Sakata-keiji from shooting him, all the things he hadn’t said or done…The rest of the appearance eventually sunk in, the huge metallic wings, the long evil looking claws and the mass of dark brown writhing limbs and serpents instead of legs, everything that screamed ‘big hungry predator’ to the gibbering instinctual part of his brain. “You think this is bad,” He heard Kid said jovially as if from a great distance. “You should see him when he wears tropical print.”Something nudged his leg. Heiji glanced down, finding one of the serpents looking up at him with puppy-dog like enthusiasm, one of the missing bombs ticking down in its mouth.Heiji’s brain gave up and he passed out.He waited as the phone rang in his ear. Once, twice…. “Hakuba here.” The blond’s annoying voice deadpanned.”Yo, Hakuba.” Heiji grinned. He’d been looking forward to this call since he’d woken up in the foliage near the burned remains of what had once been the building they’d been in. The Fire Department had already arrived, frantically working on putting the flames out, which is how they’d found him, literally tripping over his body.He’d been told that he’d probably been thrown clear of the blasts and was lucky to survive as unscathed as he had. As it was, they checked him into the hospital for a bit of smoke inhalation, but the worst had been a scorch mark along the back of his jacket, where the cable on fire had gotten a bit too close. He’d inquired about Kuroba, to be told that he’d already been rushed to the hospital with a concussion and bruised or cracked ribs.Kuroba, or more appropriately, the Kaitou Kid disappeared after that. He’d checked, Kuroba Kaito had signed in, but never signed out and none of the nurses he’d talked to could remember him. And then his parents and Kazuha had descended, scolding him for getting into trouble yet again, this time without someone there to watch his back. Like Kazuha.… He couldn’t win.Heiji still couldn’t figure out what the hell had happened at the rooftop. It was a little bit too vivid to be passed off as a hallucination or a trick of his mind, but it still didn’t make any sense. As weird as his dreams were, people --if it was a person-- didn't have wings or tentacles or that sort of sheer bladder weakening inducing presence.”Ah, Hattori.” Hakuba’s voice lightened fractionally. “What can I do for you today?””Just wanted ta let you know I ran into an old friend of yours.” Heiji smirked. “The Kaitou Kid.”There was a long pause on the other end of the line, then Hakuba’s voice came through, so frozen Heiji almost got chills. “That’s not funny.””… Huh?” Heiji blinked. “What’s not funny?” He’d been expecting to be able to tease Hakuba because Heiji had gotten to see the Kid for a change instead of Hakuba, not this icy anger.”The Kaitou Kid was last seen several months ago, having been shot through the heart by an assassin while escaping a heist.” Hakuba said, his words clipped and tight. “The assassin was then murdered while in police custody. The current official theory is that a second assassin deposed of the Kaitou Kid’s body before vanishing as well. Good day.”The line went dead in his ear. Heiji stared at his phone for a moment before closing it and ending the call.The Hell?!-fin-
----- CHAPTER BREAK -----
Things didn’t add up to Heiji’s way of thinking.First, he’d met the Kaitou Kid under the disguise of one ‘Kuroba Kaito’.Second, he’d met the Kaitou Kid under the disguise of one ‘Kuroba Kaito’, during what amounted to a membership drive for the same mysterious organisation who had shrunk Kudo.Which had been one hell of a surprise, stumbling upon both the mysterious syndicate and the Kaitou Kid.Third, he’d met the Kaitou Kid under the disguise of one ‘Kuroba Kaito’, during a membership drive for the mysterious organisation that shrunk Kudo, and wanted the Kaitou Kid dead. Preferably shot through the head.Fourth, when he’d called up to gloat about meeting the Kid at Hakuba Saguru, egotistical bastard and font of knowledge on all things Kaitou Kid, he’d been informed that the Kaitou Kid had been declared officially dead after being shot through the heart several months ago.Which did not add up with points First through Third.Hence why he was currently in Tokyo at the butt-crack of dawn, down a non-descript easily overlooked alley that just happened to be the location of the last place anyone had seen the Kaitou Kid. Well, technically, -next- to the last place anyone had seen the Kid, seeing as the last place anyone had seen the Kid was when the white-clad thief crashed into the rooftop above him, which he currently couldn’t access due to added security measures to keep the more rabid Kaitou Kid fans from trampling the location.He had done some digging after the phone call to Hakuba and discovered that the blond had been correct. Heiji usually didn’t deal with the Kaitou Kid, so he hadn’t been paying attention to the stories surrounding the Moonlight Magician’s escapades. And the strangest thing about the Kid’s last appearance wasn’t so much the thief’s disappearance at all.It was a monster that the Kaitou Kid Task Force had been rumoured to see. And from the gouges left in the walls of the alley, Heiji had a pretty good bet about what it had been. The same creature he’d met on the rooftop in Nagoya, staring at him with those eerie pale blue eyes. He had the strangest feeling that the ‘monster’ may have been vaguely humanoid, but he couldn’t remember much of what it looked like, past the eyes, wings, snakes and various sharp pointy bits.What ever it was, besides freaky-looking, it had probably saved his life. There was no other way he could think of for him to have gotten away from the building unscathed unless the Kaitou Kid and the winged creature had given him a lift. He touched the cuts in the wall. “His conscience,” he murmured, remembering what the Kid had called the creature.“That is one hell of a conscience,” a dry voice interjected, making Heiji jump. He spun, spotting Hakuba Saguru leaning against the wall at one end of the alley, arms crossed across his chest. The blond detective was wrapped up in a long winter coat, a blue scarf wrapped around his neck, and knit cap sitting incongruously on his head, despite the fact that it wasn’t -that- cold for a winter’s day. “I should have known that you would not leave well enough alone.”Heiji raised an eyebrow, sticking his hands in his green parka’s pocket, gearing up for an argument. “I think ya lied ta me.”“I did not.” Hakuba raised a finger, turned his head away, looking at the pattern of gouges in the wall. “I informed you that in the current official police investigation, the Kaitou Kid has been declared dead.”“But he’s not.”“The man who claimed to have killed him was shot while inside a police vehicle enroute to the station,” Hakuba said quietly, a grave undertone to his voice. “Everyone involved in heist and the Task Force is currently under investigation to find who did it.”And even if Hakuba had been bowing out of chasing the Kid for the month or so before he was shot, he was still on the books as an active member of the Kaitou Kid Task Force. Which meant A: There was a good possibility that his phones were tapped and B: The mysterious organisation was inside the police department. And they had no way of knowing who it was or if they were the ones in charge of the phone taps.Which meant that Hakuba’s terse conversation had been his way of trying to protect the Kaitou Kid, to enforce the idea that the thief was dead. Heiji breathed a small sigh of relief. “Fer an egotistical prick, sometimes yer okay,” he said with a grin, motioning to the walls. “So what can y’tell me about that night? Where ya here?”“Yes.” Hakuba nodded, pushing off the wall and walking closer. “Watching from a distance,” he said, sounding slightly haunted.“Ya saw him shot,” Heiji deduced more than questioned.”Yes. And impact upon the rooftop.” His expression turned contrite. “I am afraid much of the rest is a blur.”Heiji nodded. “Understandable. Can y’tell me about what made the gouges in the walls?”“Not much to tell.” Hakuba reached out touched one of the lower cuts with his gloved fingers. There was a mass of scrapes at the other end, like Mister Slithers had turned around before taking a stroll down the alley. “The foot patrol did not see much, the alley was filled with smoke when they arrived. The man-”“He referred to him as ‘Snake-san,’” Heiji corrected. Hakuba accepted his correction with a tilt of his head and continued unabated.“-Rushed the officers, gibbering about having killed the Kaitou Kid. They arrested him, handcuffing him and placing him in a patrol car. Meanwhile, Nakamori-keibu and several officers scaled the fire escape to the rooftop in hopes of finding the Kaitou Kid and possibly offering medical assistance.””But he wasn’t there, was he?” Heiji asked, looking up at the now chained shut fire escape.“No,” Hakuba agreed. “Nakamori-keibu said he saw something large and green, a mass of tentacles and wings, with two human like heads taking off into the night sky. Several other officers and bystanders on the ground verified something like a green winged octopus flying away.” he hesitated, then added “…That has not made it to the official reports, as statements of Lovecraftian horrors tend to have people forcibly sent to the departmental shrink.”And with the Task Force already under investigation for a murder, they didn’t need to add ‘crazy’ to that list. “It wasn’t green,” Heiji corrected again. “The… ‘legs’ were brown. And they were snakes, not octopi limbs. The wings looked sorta metallic too. He referred to it as ‘His Conscience.’”“‘A clear conscience never fears midnight knocking,’” Hakuba quoted an old Chinese proverb as he looked up.“Yeah, well trust me.” Heiji snorted. “Kid may be on good terms with his conscience, but it’s definitely not clear.” Rather pointy and wiggly, actually.Hakuba smirked in agreement. “Did he say anything else of interest?” He asked quietly, barely suppressed concern colouring his tone. This was probably the first proof Hakuba had gotten that Kid was still alive and okay.Lots of things, but he wasn’t going to mention the dating thing to Hakuba-bastard. “His ribs still hurt,” Heiji said quietly. “They gave him some trouble.” He hadn’t put that together until after Hakuba’s phone call, being shot in the heart and Kid’s injured ribs. Kid had blown it off at the time, calling it an old injury, which Heiji supposed it sort of was. “We ran into the lady who’s replacin’ Snake. Her name’s ‘Rose.’”Hakuba nodded, as if the name was familiar to him. Heiji frowned, a faint niggling thought catching his attention. “Dunno what happened to her though. Thought I saw somethin’ draggin’ her away, but m’not sure.”“She was probably pulled to safety, and then escaped police custody during the confusion.” Hakuba said dismissively.Heiji winced. “That’s not good news. She aims fer the head, not the torso.”Hakuba inhaled sharply, tensing up. Not that Heiji blamed him. Kid could, and probably had, worn a vest to protect himself from Snake, but a head shot was a lot harder to protect from. Except the alarm the blond exuded seemed a bit more personal than he would have expected. “Yer worried about him.” Heiji realised.He got a weak grin in return. “I can honestly say without hubris that I count the Kid among my dearest friends,” Hakuba said as if he knew how socially inept it made him sound, but honestly didn’t care. Heiji’s opinion of the detective rose slightly, realising that the Kid probably felt the same way to talk about him with that annoyed fondness. He felt better, knowing that someone was trying to watch the mischievous thief‘s back.“He also mentioned you’d been inna accident,” Heiji said, taking a closer look at Hakuba, noticing the pale skin and the pinched look to his face with surprise. It looked like a stiff breeze could knock him down. “Somethin’ about crowds bein’ bad for ya.”“To quote the legendary rock group Queen,” Hakuba said with dry humour. “‘It finally happened, I’m going slightly mad.’”“Ya think you’re a banana tree?” Heiji inquired, enjoying the slight widening of the blond’s eyes as Hakuba realised that Heiji understood the reference. Hakuba raised one eyebrow, a small smile playing on his own lips as he silently acknowledged a point to Heiji.… That was strange, he could have sworn the blond’s eyes were brown. He’d even made a comment to Kudo about Hakuba’s eyes being brown from being full of shit. But they were blue now – a vivid pale blue. “So what happened?” He inquired, picking up ‘not-quite-right’ vibes from the British detective now that he was paying attention to him instead of the surroundings.“I handled something I should not have.” Hakuba shrugged indifferently.”That musta been somethin’ real nasty ya touched,” Heiji said with some alarm, noticing that the blond’s pale skin had a blue tint to it. Although that may have been a reflection from the scarf as well. ”… Yer turnin’ blue.”Hakuba glanced down at his gloved hands, a flash of something metallic catching the light before he shoved his hands in his coat pockets with a look of distaste. “Sensitivity to cold is a minor side effect, nothing to worry about,” he said dismissively, all signs of amusement fading away.Okay, now that was a load of -bull-. Blue was -not- a ‘minor side effect’, blue was ‘hypothermia bad’. “School will be starting shortly,” Hakuba said brusquely, abruptly turning away from Heiji and heading down the alley. “If you head two blocks east, you will find your friend Kudo with what appears to be a homicide, but isn’t.””What? Wait! HEY!” Heiji shouted after the annoying prick.”Watch your back,” Hakuba said with a wave, disappearing around the corner. “Nakamori is clean, we are still working on verifying the rest.” Heiji debated chasing after him to get more information, but if Kudo was around…He went the other way, looking for the sun and running towards it when he did. Two blocks later, he spotted a police car pulling up to a side alley and followed it, nearly stumbling over Kudo in the process.”Ha-Hattori?!” Kudo looked up at him in disbelief as they had both recovered their balance from the near collision. “What are you doing here?””Lookin’ into another case.” Heiji grinned, feeling his mood lighten as it always did upon meeting up with Kudo. “Fancy runnin’ into y’here, huh?”Kudo rolled his eyes, but didn’t look annoyed to see him. “Great, you can help me out with this one. They’ve got some new detectives and they won’t listen to me.” Kudo, as Edogawa Conan, had the trust and semi-adoration of Megure-keibu and the Major Crimes officers under Megure’s command. Outside of that department, especially during the first time meeting any officers, Kudo tended to have some difficulty getting anyone to listen to him.“Sure,” Heiji grinned. “Whatcha got?”Kudo sighed and listed off what he’d uncovered before being kicked off the scene. The victim was Shibui Fukou, age 57. The suspects were her daughters, Aishuu, Ikaru and Itami, who according to the neighbours, had been arguing with their mother before the older woman had collapsed, wherein Aishuu had called 119. There were some complications in that Fukou was diabetic, the daughters all had access to the insulin, and they had been violently arguing money. Kudo had just found a fallen insulin-filled syringe under a chair when he’d been kicked out of the scene.It sounded like a standard scenario that he and Kudo walked into all the time. Means, Motive and Opportunity, all in a handy little package.Except that Heiji had a little niggling sense of doubt. Hakuba had directed him this way, informing him that he could find Kudo here with what looked like a homicide, but wasn’t.How had Hakuba known about Fukou’s death before the police got there? Or that it looked like a homicide? Much less that fact that Kudo was here.Especially since Kudo was currently in his shrunken form of Edogawa Conan.He set those thoughts aside for the moment, focusing on trying to solve the mystery that was in front of him at the moment before tackling the mystery that was the blond. Some sweet talking to the officers and he managed to wrangle both himself and Kudo back into the crime scene. The first thing Heiji checked was the woman’s breath, if a diabetic was going into insulin shock, one of the major signs tended to be overly sweet breath. Which Fukou did not have.Kudo did his ‘cute little kid’ trick talking to the daughters and discovered that the youngest, Itami, was due to be married soon, which had prompted the discussion about money. The soon to be son-in-law was out of town and could not be reached. Heiji talked to daughters as well, evidently Fukou had been shouting at them when she’d suddenly collapsed, one hand clutching her chest. It could have been a lie, but Heiji didn’t think it was. There wasn’t anything strange about the rest of the house, it was just a small one bedroom where the old woman lived, neat and tidy with the faint scent of mothballs.He and Kudo did a circuit and regrouped. “I think it was the eldest.” Kudo said with a frown, eyeing Aishuu. “She-““Didn’t do it.” Heiji cut him off. “It was a heart attack.”Kudo looked surprised. Usually they were of the same brain when it came to their deductions, almost to the point of reading each other’s minds. “You sure?” He asked instead.“No signs of insulin shock and diabetics usually don’t show the warnin’ signs fer a heart attack.” Heiji shrugged. “They were fightin’, her blood pressure went up and down she went. Natural causes.”Kudo fell silent, his gaze turning inward for a moment as he mulled things over. Heiji waited, keeping one eye on the grieving family, the other on Kudo. Finally Kudo sighed. “You know, I think I’ve been handling too many cases lately,” he said tiredly, an indirect apology. “I’m beginning to see homicides where there aren’t any.”Heiji made a noncommittal sound. Even during Heiji’s busiest months, Kudo usually had at least one to two more cases than he did. “We can double-check with the coroner later,” Heiji offered. “Justa check.”“Probably a good idea,” Kudo agreed, shifting his bookbag over his shoulder. He was ready for school, Heiji realised.“So what brings ya ta this neck of the woods?” He asked. “School starts in an hour, doesn’t it?” And it would take about an hour to get back to Beika Elementary, even with the mechanical skateboard.“I wanted to read the new Mary Higgins Clark in class before adding it to our library.” Kudo motioned behind him, towards a bookstore Heiji hadn’t noticed while busy with the not-homicide. It was an import bookstore, specialising in non-Japanese titles. “And it’s not the first time that the police have dropped me off at school. It’s usually an excused tardy.”He did have a point on the excused tardy, Heiji mused, eyeing the bookstore. Hm. Maybe he should see if the latest Tony Hillerman was in while he was here. It took forever for things to get translated sometimes. Might also explain Hakuba’s presence. He could see the blond as an Elisabeth Peters fan.“Are you going to stop by Mouri’s today?” Kudo asked, looking up at him with an almost hopeful expression. Heiji’s heart did a quick double-beat for a moment, then he shunted the feeling aside. He was one of the few people Kudo didn’t have to hide around, a friend in Kudo’s eyes, that was all.“Dunno yet.” He shrugged, putting his hands in the parka pockets. Depended on how things went this afternoon. “Prolly. Should I call before I drop by?”“Nah. Just stop by.” Kudo gave him a slight smile. “I’ll tell Ran that you’re in the area.”“How is ‘Neechan doing?” He asked, reminding himself that even if Kudo hadn’t been in this stupid shrunken situation, his heart firmly belonged to Ran. But Heiji couldn’t look at ‘Conan’ without seeing ‘Kudo’ there as well.The same Kudo who had looked at him with that sharp gaze and told him that there was no wins or losses, no ‘higher’ or ‘lower’ logic, there was always Only One Truth. The one who had looked so heartbroken when he said that he wasn’t perfect, he was just one person. Kudo who was annoying and addictive, so very strong and weak at the same time.Kudo gave him a bittersweet grin. “She’s doing alright.” Holding up the best she could, Heiji mentally translated. Still crying when she thought no one was looking. Unfortunately, or perhaps fortunately, Kudo was always looking.“Ya told her yet?” He asked, looking back at the ambulance with its lights still flashing.“No.” Same answer as always. Kudo hiding his feelings behind the child mask. He was falling apart under the weight of it. Kudo changed the subject. “How’s Kazuha?”“Same as always,” Heiji said neutrally. He’d already turned off his phone, having gotten four phone calls from her on the three-hour Koizumi Shinkansen ride up. Kudo looked pleased with the answer and nodded before tiredly turning his attention back to the chaos in front of them.“… Heart attack?”“Pretty sure,” Heiji agreed.Kudo sighed. “Okay.”Meaning Kudo hadn’t been all that certain about it being a murder in the first place. He’d probably just been going through the motions, having seen this pattern so many times. “C’mon.” Heiji nodded his head in the direction of the police. “Let’s go talk ta the officers. And see about gettin’ ya a ride ta school.”“Oh. Goodie.” Kudo said, not bothering to hide his enthusiasm. Or lack thereof. Heiji chuckled, stepping towards the crowd of people. “Need any help with your case?” Kudo inquired wistfully, trotting slightly to catch up.“Not that kinda case,” Heiji said, giving him a weak grin. “Kinda a personal matter, fer the moment.”Mentioning the Kaitou Kid around Kudo was sort of like waving a red flag in front of a bull and calling it a dairy cow. One of two dark marks on Kudo’s otherwise perfect record; the Kaitou Kid and the mysterious organisation who had tried to kill him. And Kudo was bound and determined to catch both of them. Which if Kudo did, between snipers and security, Heiji would lose any chance to ask the questions he wanted answers to. Hell, even if Kudo didn’t catch the Kid, he’d certainly scare the thief far enough away that Heiji’d never see him again.So, for the moment, a bit of subtlety was called for.… He hated subtlety.Damn.Kudo’s face fell slightly, although at the lack of case or the excuse of not having to go school falling through, Heiji couldn’t tell. “Tell me about it later?” Kudo requested.“Prolly,” Heiji agreed. Depended on how today went. Kudo looked pleased at the answer as they approached the officers, Heiji explaining that it was probably not a homicide and getting Kudo a ride to school. Kudo had sparkled at people, radiating sweetness and innocence at everyone until he waved farewell to Heiji. Heiji had waved back, then managed to wrangle a ride for himself back to the police headquarters.…. In the back of the police car. He could kind of see why Kudo, Ran and Mouri had taken slight offence to being escorted around Osaka in a police car, no matter how new, bright and shiny it was. The accusing looks of the people they passed by were exactly not the most pleasant. If he’d cared more, he might have felt kind of dirty. But he knew he was innocent and just catching a ride, so why sweat it?Once at the station, Nakamori was rather easy to track down. He simply had to inquire once where the Kaitou Kid Task Force’s offices were, and wander around in that vague direction until he heard Nakamori’s distinctive bellow. Something about ramen. “Yo, Nakamori-keibu,” he said, wandering over with a wave.He got a blank look in return as Nakamori looked up at him. “Huh? Oh! You’re that friend of Edogawa’s, aren’t you?” Nakamori placed him from the time they had been chasing a blackmailer and ended up with the Kaitou Kid stealing a rather large diamond in broad daylight from out of the sky. Heiji really didn’t consider that a meeting, however. No heist note to decipher, just a random well-timed appearance. “The one with the accent.”“Um. Yeah.” He nodded. “Hattori Heiji, at yer service.”Nakamori raised an eyebrow, a thoughtful look on his face. “Any relation to Oni Heizo?” Nakamori asked gruffly.Just his father. ”Some.” He shrugged. Although it was kind of interesting and refreshing to be known because of Kudo instead of Oton.Nakamori nodded and let the subject drop. “What brings you here?” He asked as a few officers skirted past them with wary looks.“A friend of a friend suggested I talk ta ya,” Heiji said, kind of stretching the truth a little bit. “I recently met our white-clad friend and what he calls his conscience.” He made a wiggly motion with his fingers. Nakamori’s eyebrow rose as he straightened, a serious pall falling around him.“Let’s go for a walk,” he said. Heiji nodded, motioning for Nakamori to proceed him. Which Nakamori did, heading to the break room. “Coffee?” Nakamori asked, grabbing a cup and pouring some of the dark brew for himself.“Thanks,” Heiji said gratefully, following the older man’s example. Four am had been a long time ago; he’d caught the first train up. They fixed their coffees in silence, Nakamori sitting down at a table where they could both see everyone passing by.“So,” Nakamori raised an eyebrow. “Talk.”Heiji nodded and briefly outlined running into the Kaitou Kid in Nagoya, then the creature on the rooftop. Nakamori grimaced at the news of the new assassin, and then went silent at the description of the winged tentacle monster Heiji had seen. Heiji mentioned meeting Hakuba in town, some of the details Hakuba had said about the flying Mister Slithers and his suggestion of talking to Nakamori.It was like following a trail of breadcrumbs. Kid had mentioned Hakuba, and lo, he’d met with Hakuba. Hakuba had mentioned Nakamori, and now he was meeting Nakamori.“How’s the brat doing?” Nakamori asked off-handedly.“Hakuba?” Heiji blinked in surprise. “He was… well… blue.”Nakamori nodded like it wasn’t a big surprise. “Turned grey the last time he was at the station. Haven’t seen much of him lately, not since the Kid switched to focusing on stealing Mediterranean jewels,” Nakamori said, sounding slightly embarrassed at the show of concern. He sat back in his chair, changing the topic. “And the flying tentacle creature didn’t have two heads. He was carrying someone.”“He?” Heiji echoed.“For whatever else, the torso was human. Possibly the head as well.” Nakamori frowned. “Creature buzzed us just after Kid was hit, everyone on the street saw it, not that they’ll admit it. Scared them right out of their minds. Saw it again when it took off. Gold hair on the creature, long dark hair on the person being carried.”Gold hair. The only guy Heiji knew with blond hair was Hakuba. He tried to think about what colour Hakuba’s hair had been in the alley, but mostly remembered the odd knit cap. It’d been dark blond, when they had met at Detective Koushin, but then his eyes had been brown then too, so what did he know? He filed that away for later investigation.They discussed Kid’s injury, Nakamori quietly relieved to hear ‘the bastard wasn’t dead,’ and the likelihood of future heists with someone gunning for the thief. And the possibility of someone in the police being part of the group trying to kill the Kid, something that left a bitter taste in both their mouths. Finally Nakamori left him with a bunch of Kaitou Kid case files to look through, to see if he could glean any more information.Heiji was rather surprised to actually find something useful. The assassin he’d caught a glimpse of had been arrested after a Kaitou Kid case, the Kid stealing Europe’s largest topaz, ‘The Crystal Mother,’ from Queen Selizabeth of Ingram during her trip to Japan. Their lady Rose had been where she should not have been, found unconscious from some sort of sleeping dart. There were also a series of bad mobile phone pictures of Snake, holding young Prince Philip hostage as he pointed a gun at the Kaitou Kid.He had a vague memory of Kudo mentioning some excitement on their train ride down to Osaka a while back that sounded like it may have been a part of that adventure. If he remembered right, Kudo had knocked out a female assassin who wore pink socks before being dragged off by Ran. He made a mental note to ask Kudo about it later.He made a copy of the page and gave it to Nakamori with a note that she aimed for the head, not the heart. Nakamori looked weary when he thanked Heiji, the stress of the situation obviously starting to wear on him. Heiji wasn’t sure what he could say or do to make things better, so he wished him well and went out to get something to eat.He found a MOS Burger nearby and settled down to eat and think. Heiji had pieces of information, but nothing that felt like a complete whole just yet and it annoyed him. He still needed some more information before he could put the pieces together.There was still one more lead he wanted to check out, the other reason he had come up to Tokyo. According to the clipboard that Infuo-han had been carrying, Kuroba Kaito was the representative from Ekoda High, the same school Hakuba Saguru went to. And while he wasn’t completely eager for another run-in with the strange blond, he was curious about the real Kuroba Kaito. Kid was rumoured to be able to mimic a person so perfectly that their spouse and children couldn’t tell that he was an impostor, he wondered how well of a job the thief had done this time.Stomach reasonably full, he wandered off in search of directions to Ekoda High School. Which wasn’t terribly far and he had plenty of time, so he walked there, watching the people as he walked by. He smiled and waved at the shopkeepers who called greetings. It was kind of nice to have some time by himself where he was just another guy on the street, not a familiar face, or Oni Heizo’s son, or a detective that everyone knew.Ekoda High looked much the same as any other high school; tall, squarish and boring. Except for a pair of swordsmen fighting outside, a small guy with extremely spiky hair and a taller bald student. Heiji watched as they clashed, broke apart and clashed again, skirting across the schoolyard in a series of hit and run attacks. Heiji whistled to himself, vaguely recognising the swordsmen from a tournament he and Okita had lost in a while back. They were above his skill level, that was for sure. Not by much, but enough that he’d get his ass kicked or killed if he tried to step in. Still, he could admire their movements and the skill in which they wielded their swords.The schoolbell rang, drawing his attention back towards the gates. Students began filing out of the building, swarming out of the gates and heading their various ways down the streets in small groups, talking and laughing amongst themselves. Hakuba was easy to spot at the back of the pack, his height and blond hair standing out. He was flanked on either side by a girl with medium-length brown hair and a boy he couldn’t get a good look at due to the angle he was standing at.“I’m telling you, we need to look into Quetzalcoatl.” A familiar voice drawled. “Scales AND wings.”“But we still haven’t finished looking into the Greek and Roman,” The girl argued back. “There’s still the Hydra, Ladon, Pytho, Amphisbaena-““I do not eat my own tails.” Hakuba interjected.“-Ouroboros.” The girl added without missing a beat.“Those are Monsters anyway, we need Deities. Could always look north.” The familiar voice said. “Jörmungandr.”“If we go north,” Hakuba said with a weary tone. “We may as well start expanding the search for Wyverns as well.”“Aren’t those dragons?” The girl questioned.“Oi.” Heiji raised his hand and waved. “Hakuba!”He immediately found himself the focus of Hakuba’s pale-eyed intent attention. “Hey.” He grinned, the hairs on the back of his neck creeping up, feeling like he was being judged as an intruder or not. “What are you talking about? Kura-Okami?” Since they seemed to be talking about various dragons, the Japanese god of Rain and Snow seemed to fit right in there. Kura-Okami was the first one Heiji could think of, the god having been created from the blood dripping off of Izanagi's sword when he killed his son, the fire god Kagu-tsuchi, when his birth burned his mother Izanami to death.“Nah, we already met him, he wasn’t any help.” The familiar voice muttered and Heiji wasn’t entirely sure if he was meant to hear the comment in the first place. Although how did one meet a deity like Kura-Okami?“Hattori,” Hakuba said, his tone just polite enough not to be termed ‘cold’. Heiji glanced at the blond hair sticking out from the knit cap and noted that it was light gold, not dark blond. So it wasn’t just his eyes that had changed colour. “What are you doing here?”“I was hopin’ ya could introduce me.” Hattori said, tilting his head in the direction of the as of yet unseen person.“Ah.” Hakuba turned, motioning with some reluctance to the figure standing next to him. “This is my classmate Kuroba Kaito-“Heiji found himself staring as the other boy stepped around Hakuba and waved, finally giving Heiji a good look at him. He had been expecting it, but at the same time it felt like a punch to the gut to see him standing there. Kuroba Kaito. The -real- Kuroba Kaito. ‘So, I’ve got this friend-’ He could hear the Kid’s voice echo in the back of his head.“Yo.” Kuroba grinned, the same damn grin Heiji had seen back in Nagoya. Damn. Kid really was that good. Or Kuroba really was Kid. Either or. Kuroba motioned towards the girl on Hakuba’s other side. ‘-So my friend’s liked this girl for ages, but my friend’s also got this other secret that he’s been keeping.’ “This is my childhood friend-”“I’m Nakamori Aoko,” the girl said primly, cutting him off and not letting him finish the introduction. A brief flicker of sorrow crossed Kuroba’s face, and then was quickly hidden. ‘And when she discovered it, she decided that never she wanted to talk to him again.’“This is Hattori Heiji, the infamous Teenage Detective of the West.” Hakuba finished, motioning towards him.“Pleasure.” Heiji grinned, giving them a small friendly bow. “Was wonderin’ if I could invite y’all out for somethin’ warm ta drink.” If Hakuba was as sensitive to the cold as he’d appeared to be this morning, it probably wouldn’t hurt to get him out of the wind.The other three traded wary looks, as if expecting him to spring a trap on them. Kuroba finally shrugged and sent a questioning glance at Hakuba, as if asking if he was going to be okay with it. That allergy to crowds, Heiji remembered. Hakuba thought things over for a moment, and then nodded, answering it back. At the silent response, Aoko shrugged as well, adding her vote. “It would be our pleasure,” Hakuba agreed for them.“… Do ya always do that?” Heiji questioned.“Only recently,” Kuroba assured him, stepping forward so they could walk on the sidewalk two by two, Kuroba and Heiji leading, Aoko and Hakuba following behind. “So how do you know Hakuba here?”Heiji shrugged as he launched into an abbreviated story about the Detective Koushin and how Natsuki had staged the whole thing to catch the funny speaking teen detective who had driven her friend to suicide.“Not one of my finer moments, I am afraid,” Hakuba said with a wince at the memory of the island. “I never did apologise for my comments.”Heiji nearly stumbled, Kuroba catching him by the arm to keep him upright. “Thanks.” He nodded at Kuroba and the other guy removed his arm. He glanced back at Hakuba, who had an impassable expression on his face, neither smug nor contrite. Just…kind of weary, like the smug ego that had been present back then had taken a severe beating. In retrospect, he’d been like that at the alley this morning as well. “S’alright.” He brushed it off. “Wasn’t exactly my best either.”He had been going half-cocked throughout the entire case. Partially from jealousy because Kudo had thought well enough of the blond to remember his name, partly because he’d been trying to show off in front of Kudo. And a bit because Hakuba had annoyed the -crap- out of him and he had wanted to solve the mystery before Hakuba, just to shove it in his face. And then of course Kudo had gone and shown them both up.Hakuba tilted his head, both extending and accepting an apology. Aoko looked confused at the interchange, but Kuroba seemed amused by it. And while thinking of Kudo… “Hey, I went where ya suggested after ya left.” He said, glancing sideways at the blond. “It was just like ya said, looked like a homicide but wasn’t. But Edogawa was there, not Kudo.”“Is that not what you call Edogawa-kun?” Hakuba inquired, his tone and expression bland. “’Kudo’?”“… Oh.” Kudo was Kudo, no matter what shape or size he was, but Heiji supposed that was a habit he really should get out of. It was certainly getting him into trouble. And if Hakuba had picked up on his always referring to ‘Edogawa’ as ‘Kudo,’ other people probably had too.“As to your next unasked question, it was suggested that I keep an eye out for the young Edogawa-kun,” Hakuba continued. That still didn’t explain how Hakuba knew that it wasn’t a homicide.“Did he suggest it?” Heiji asked, raising an eyebrow. Kid had commented about Kudo being the one most likely to capture him, and Heiji’d had a rather panicked discussion with Kudo a while back about the Kid knowing he was Edogawa. The question was, did Hakuba know that Kudo was Edogawa as well? And if so, how?“Yes.” Hakuba shrugged and spread a hand out eloquently. “A child that young encountering so many mysterious circumstances… It is strange, is it not?”“‘He?’” Aoko cut in, raising an eyebrow at Heiji. “You mean the Kaitou Kid?”Heiji startled, belatedly remembering that he wasn’t the only one in this conversation. “Um.”“We’ve all met him.” Aoko waved it off, looking vaguely annoyed and largely unimpressed.“Wait… ‘Nakamori?’” Pieces started to fall into place. “As in ‘Nakamori-keibu?’ Head of the Kaitou Kid Task Force?”“My father.” Aoko nodded. “Daddy’s been chasing the Kid for over twenty years and Hakuba-kun’s a walking encyclopaedia of Kaitou Kid information. And Kaito-kun is his biggest fan.”“Been mistaken for the Kaitou Kid twice!” Kuroba flashed him a proud grin and a victory sign.… Three times, Heiji mentally corrected. Hakuba gave him a look, like he was challenging Heiji to say something about Kuroba being the Kaitou Kid as well. Heiji debated for a moment, and then decided against it at the moment. He wasn’t here to rile up the blond. “Okay,” he said instead and changed the subject. “Are we headed ta any place in particular fer drinks?”“Almost there.” Kuroba motioned farther up the block. “Place on the corner makes the best hot chocolate in town.”Heiji raised an eyebrow, glancing back to find Aoko rolling her eyes and Hakuba looking amused. “Yeah?”“Yeah.” Kuroba grinned and Heiji remembered the Kid as Kuroba offering him dark chocolate pocky on the bus. He wondered how much of that sweet-tooth had been the Kid and how much of it had been the masquerade.Well, that was what he was here to find out.They walked into the shop, Hakuba visibly relaxing as they walked into the warm air of the bustling café. “Hakuba-kun and I will save us a seat,” Aoko said, wrapping an arm around Hakuba’s elbow in a possessive move, tugging the blond away. Hakuba gave them a wide-eyed look, like he was out of his depth and floundering as to what to do while he was pulled away.Heiji almost laughed. Looked simple enough to him. Girl knew what she wanted and went after it. He then winced, the thought hitting a little too close to home before he glanced over at Kuroba. The magician had a torn expression on his face. He glanced back at Aoko dragging Hakuba away and realised that Hakuba wasn’t looking at him, he was looking at -Kuroba-. ‘And then there’s this other person who likes my friend, who’s really serious. But my friend’s not over the girl yet…’No. Way. No way Hakuba liked Kuroba. No way Hakuba liked -anyone-. The mere thought broke his brain. For one thing, Kid had said that the guy who liked ‘his friend’ a.k.a. Kuroba was Agile. Something which Hakuba was the sheer anti-thesis of. Hakuba was anti-agile, he was solid, he was dense. Like a wall. A really thick brick wall.Kuroba elbowing him jolted him out of his thoughts. “C’mon. The house’s special hot chocolate for me, hot apple cider with caramel for Aoko and a royal milk tea for Hakuba. What do you want?”“Uh.” He glanced up at the list of beverages served. “Café au lait,” he said, finding something familiar and caffeinated on the board.“‘Kay.” Kuroba agreed easily, stepping forward and chatting with the barista behind the counter with the flair of a natural flirt. The barista smiled and chatted back, obviously an old hand at flirting customers, the two of them having a good time. Heiji smiled to himself. If there wasn’t something a little extra on the drinks, Heiji didn’t have the right to call himself a detective.Kuroba smiled and winked at the girl as he picked up two of the drinks, Heiji moving to take the other two and thanking her with a drawl of his own. He got a wink back and a murmured comment from a different barista about the accent. Kuroba heard it as well and gave Heiji a silent nod, a measuring grin on his face. Heiji grinned back, proud for no reason he could pinpoint and followed Kuroba through the tables.Aoko and Hakuba had placed themselves in a back corner their coats and scarves draped over their chairs, Hakuba with his back against the wall. The other seat next to the wall was left open and Heiji quietly took it, noticing Aoko and Hakuba’s amused looks. Kuroba just rolled his eyes and set about distributing the drinks and Heiji noticed that they all had more whipped cream on all of them than the other people sitting around them. Yup. Still a detective.Aoko and Hakuba passed him the money for the drinks like it was part of a familiar routine. Heiji belated followed their lead, shedding his own winter parka and setting it on the back of his chair. Kuroba quickly shed his outer layers as well, Heiji catching a glimpse of silver at his neck, a blue glass eye sparkling at him from Kuroba’s collar. It was a… the phrase was on the tip of his tongue. Some sort of amulet against evil. ‘Been on a mythology kick lately.’“Ya wouldn’t happen to own a shirt that says ‘Icarus: Artificial Wings’ on it, wouldja?” He inquired as Kuroba sat down.”No…” Kuroba, to his credit, looked confused. “But I’ve got one that says ‘Quidquid Latine Dictum Sit Altum Viditur’ on it.”Now it was Heiji’s turn to look confused. “What does that mean?”Kuroba gave him a huge wide grin and Heiji got the sense that he had just played right into Kuroba’s hands. The answering smirks on Hakuba and Aoko’s faces did nothing to distil the feeling. “‘Whatever is said in Latin sounds profound.’”Heiji’s palm met his forehead with a sharp staccato. Yup. He’d walked right into that one. Although he had to admit it was fairly accurate. Aoko and Hakuba snickered, hiding their mirth behind their drinks.“So. You’re a detective,” Aoko said, steering the subject away from his embarrassment as she leaned forward, as she crading her warm cup in her hands. “What kind of detective are you?”Okay, that was an odd question. “A good one, I’d hope,” he said gamely.“I believe what Aoko-kun is attempting to ascertain is what type of deduction style you use,” Hakuba filled in. “For example, I follow a more Sherlockian approach. ‘Eyes and Ears’ and ‘When you have excluded the impossible, whatever remains, however improbable, must be the truth’ would be my credo.” He’d never thought of it like that, but both Aoko and Hakuba had a point, there were different approaches to solving a puzzle. He usually didn’t think about it, too caught up in actually doing. “I’d like ta think I follow Musashi’s Way.” He mused.“Musashi?” Aoko echoed curiously as Hakuba stiffened and glanced behind them. Heiji followed his gaze and didn’t see anything out of the ordinary, so he turned his attention back to the conversation. “I thought he was an undefeated sword master, used two swords or something.”“Minamato Musashi was also an artisan, master strategist and the founder of the ‘Ni To Ichi’ or ‘Two Swords’ school of Kendo,” Heiji explained with a slight blush, like he was an otaku who had just been found out. “… I practise Kendo. Anyway, in his book on strategy ‘The Book of Five Rings,’ offers Nine Rules for strategy and how to conduct yerself.”“‘Do not think dishonestly.’” Heiji raised a hand and counted them down. “‘The Way is in trainin’. Become aquatinted with every art. Know the Way of all professions. Distinguish between gain and loss in worldly matters. Develop intuitive judgement and understandin’ for everythin’. Perceive those things which cannot be seen. Pay attention, even to trifles. Do nothing which is of no use.’”“Wise advice.” Hakuba commented, his mouth slightly pinched looking. Heiji almost took it as a sarcastic insult except for the thoughtful look on the other detective’s face, like he had actually listened and was contemplating it.“Um. Yeah.” Heiji shrugged, regaining his equilibrium. “Seemed like it was as appropriate for a detective as a swordsman, really. Bit more complicated than Hakuba’s ‘Eyes and Ears’ or Kudo’s ‘There is Only One Truth,’ but it works fer me.”Kuroba snorted and this time Heiji did raise an eyebrow, feeling his back stiffen. “What?”“‘There is only one truth,’” Kuroba echoed with faint distain. “Such a black and white view of the world. How often is anything ever one thing, much less true?”-At least five times a month, if not more frequently, Heiji thought to himself. “Every time he-”“-Do you smell smoke?” Aoko cut in.Actually, now that she mentioned it, he could smell something burning. Kuroba froze and glanced back in the direction of the kitchen.“Yes,” Hakuba said brusquely, his face pale and pinched. “I believe it would be wise for the entire premises to be evacuated.”“Isn’t that a bit ext-” He didn’t get the rest of the word out as a loud ‘fwoosh!’ heralded the appearance of a large fireball from the kitchen. People screamed as the fire caught and started to spread out. “Oh, shit!”People screamed and ran for the doorway, tripping over each other and everything on their way out. “Kuroba,” Hakuba said, rising with his long coat slung over an arm. “If you would.”Kuroba nodded, jumping onto the top of their table with remarkable ease. “LADIES~ AND~ GENTLEMEN~!” He roared as he raised his hands above his head, his voice reverberating weirdly in the room, drowning the sounds of panic and Heiji had the oddest sense of déjà vu. He’d heard that before, somewhere. “PLEASE REMAIN CALM. DO NOT PANIC. HEAD TOWARDS THE EXITS IN AN NEAT AND ORDERLY FASHION.”Strangely enough, it worked. People slowed down and made their way to the exit, still in a hurry but not pushing and shoving each other as much as they had been. Heiji noticed Hakuba heading assuredly towards the flames and followed him, wincing as the smoke stung his eyes and tried to scorch his lungs. It was like being stuck back in the elevator shaft with the Kaitou Kid, the same rush of heat and adrenaline. He knew what he’d be dreaming about to night and it sure as hell wasn’t the future.“Whaddya doin’?” He bellowed, narrowing his eyes to try to follow the other detective. The air was wavering strangely around the blond, giving the impression of dancing tendrils of something around him. Then Hakuba reached down, pulling someone out from behind the counter, half carrying them as the stack of tea on the counter behind them caught on fire. Oh. That was what he was doing. It was the girl that he and Kuroba had been flirting with earlier, blood dribbling down the side of her face as she stared groggily in his direction. Head injury.He rushed over, looping her arm over his shoulders, helping carry her out of the door. Aoko and Kuroba met them at the exit, both with their coats back on. “That everyone?” Kuroba demanded, grabbing Hakuba’s arm and tugging them out.“I’ve already called 119,” Aoko reported, tilting her head towards the rest of the crowd, who were leaving the burning building a wide berth. Many had their mobile phones out, either taking pictures of the smoke or talking to people in excited chatters. “The next floor is the owner’s residence and the top floor is an office that should be closed for the day. There shouldn’t be anyone else.”And the buildings next door were already evacuating, adding to the crowd of onlookers, Heiji noticed. “How many injured?”“A few minor scrapes and bruises from what I’ve seen.” Aoko shrugged as they made it to the edge of the crowd and set the barista down. “She’s the worst. The other workers made it out already.” She pointed to where another barista and someone who was probably the dishwasher were standing there, gawking.He glanced and noticed that Hakuba was leaning on Kuroba, his pinched face a shade of pale grey as he looked up at the building. “Ya look ashen.” Heiji said, feeling a stab of concern as Kuroba grabbed the coat Hakuba was still carrying and wrapping it around the blond. “Ya alright?”“It is merely the smoke residue.” Hakuba waved it off, his eyes never leaving the building. “On the second floor however-““We need to get you out of here.” Aoko cut him off, her voice concerned almost to the point of panic. Crowds, Hakuba was supposed to be allergic to crowds or something.Kuroba said something quiet to Hakuba, motioning to a building across the street from them. Hakuba nodded. “A good plan,” he said quickly and Kuroba took off at a sprint, running full tilt back into the burning building.“HEY!” Heiji shouted, reaching after him. A tug on his arm stopped him from following after. He glanced back and found her staring in the other direction. Hakuba running towards the building Kuroba had just motioned to. “Dammit!”“Let them go.” Aoko instructed. “They probably know something we don’t.”“Ya sound like you’re used ta them runnin’ off.” Heiji frowned.“Hakuba can’t handle crowds and Kaito-kun isn’t interested in police work.” She shrugged, flashing what looked like a PDA. “So I do a lot of footwork.”Her questions about what kind of detective he was suddenly made sense. “Yer learnin’ ta be a detective?” He said, slightly surprised. There weren’t a lot of female detectives, but there were some.“Didn’t see something that was in front of my face when I should have.” Aoko said, her tone suddenly frozen. “I’m never making that mistake again.” ‘But my friend’s also got this other secret that he’s been keeping…’“Okay.” He nodded. “Got anythin’?”Aoko blinked, as if she’d been prepping for a fight. “Yeah.” She relaxed and motioned to one of the men standing and watching the flames burn with a placid expression. “The owner.”“Rather calm fer someone whose livelihood’s goin’ up in smoke, isn’t he?” Heiji remarked. Most people, upon seeing their home or business burn would be having hysterics. He might as well been out for an evening stroll and accidentally stumbled upon the incident.“That’s what I thought.” Aoko nodded, raising the PDA, which had web access Heiji realised. “His name and picture is on the website for the café. I ran a quick net search, according to various news articles from all over, this will be his fourth business to burn down. The previous three were remodelled and sold for a profit shortly afterwards.”Motive, Means and Opportunity.A shout went up from the crowd and he looked up to see a figure on the rooftop, silhouetted against the smoke. “Holy-” He bit off a curse as he realised that it was Kuroba, carrying something to the very edge of the rooftop. No, someONE. Someone small on his back, piggyback style. He heard someone screaming something behind them and glancing back, discovering that it was the owner. Now he was distraught, crying as he pointed to Kuroba and his burden. Heiji looked back up. “How the hell is he gonna get out of there?!”“There.” Aoko pointed to the other rooftop. “Hakuba’s got him.”Heiji squinted, spotting Hakuba on the other rooftop, leaning over the edge and holding on to what appeared to be a laundry line stretched across the buildings. Kuroba hesitated on the edge of the rooftop, arms outstretched for balance and weight distribution, one foot hanging off, looking at Hakuba. “No way.” Heiji gasped as he realised what Kuroba was up to. “He’s not gonna-”“Kaito’s going to do it.” Aoko grabbed his arm in a surprisingly strong grip, her round eyes riveted on the scene above them. A collective gasp echoed around them as Kuroba stuck his other foot out in mid-air, and then stepped. He wobbled slightly, found his balance and took another step, balancing on the centre cord. “Oh, My Gawd.”He silently agreed with her sentiment. It almost looked like Kuroba was walking in mid-air, nothing below him except a long hard drop. But once he started walking, he continued with a confidence Heiji envied, staring straight ahead at Hakuba’s outstretched hand and the safety implied there. The crowd murmured and gasped with each wobble, praying for his safety with the same breath they used to wish for a gory fall.He glanced around, noticing that the owner wasn’t looking quite so calm anymore, his face was pale and he was yelling something Heiji couldn’t discern with all the other noise around them. A name?Kuroba made it, holding on to one of the other cords when the wind blew up, grabbing Hakuba’s hand and letting the blond pull him on to the opposing rooftop. The crowd cheered and went wild, Heiji adding his own jubilant laughter to it. He certainly wouldn’t have been able to perform such a feat. It was almost as amazing as some of the Kaitou Kid’s tricks he had reviewed, only this one hadn’t been constructed for entertainment purposes.It was a bit of a shock to realise that an ambulance had arrived while Kuroba had made his daring rescue. “Kaito-kun will probably be down in a minute or two,” Aoko said, looking up at the rooftop with a mixed expression. “Hakuba will probably stay up there until we head home.”-Allergic to crowds. Right. He nodded. “We’d better go meet him at the door. It’s gonna be a mad house,” Heiji said, motioning to the doorway of the building Hakuba and Kuroba were on. Aoko nodded and they started pushing their way through the crowd, Aoko snagging an EMT from the ambulance and pulling them along with. Kuroba met them at the front door, covered in black soot and a girl about young middle school age on his back.The EMT took charge, having Kuroba sit down on the kerb with the girl. The owner was there beside them immediately, wailing as he took the girl off of Kuroba’s back and crying over her. Kuroba waved off the EMT’s assistance, insisted that they check out the girl first, and then wrapped his arms around his ribs as he coughed. Heiji and Aoko stood protectively over him, shielding him from the press of the crowd around him. “Ya alright?” Heiji asked when he realised Aoko wasn’t going to say anything.“Yeah.” Kuroba gave him a tired half-smile, resting one arm on his knee, keeping the other clutched around his ribs. “Chest cold that won’t go away.” Images flashed through Heiji’s mind; ‘Just an old injury.’ ‘Shot through the chest.’Aoko made a tense noise and Kuroba flinched. “The girl,” he said, his voice slightly hoarse as he changed the subject, motioning to the girl being checked by the EMT under the eye of her hovering father. “Daughter of the café owner. Came home from school early with a stomach bug. Wasn’t feeling well, so fell straight into bed without telling anyone she was home. Kept her eyes closed the whole way across the rooftops, ‘fraid she was gonna hurl.” The last part was directed towards Aoko, who relaxed at the news.The owner of the café nearly killed his own daughter by accident. Heiji’s blood ran hot, then slightly cold. Aoko nodded as if it made sense. “He always reacts more strongly when it’s families, doesn’t he?” She mused.Kuroba chuckled, and then doubled over in a coughing fit. “Yeah,” he croaked with a grin and either a wink or a grimace as a second EMT rushed up and started checking on him.It was almost sunset by the time Hakuba re-joined their group. They had hidden themselves on the other side of the building, ducking two news vans that showed up after the owner had been arrested. Video of Kuroba’s daring rescue had been caught by several people and would probably be airing on the news tonight. The blond was still pale and slightly grey looking when he sat down next to Kuroba, shoulders brushing. The two of them looked at each other, with their darkly stained clothing and slightly scorched hair, and smiled at each other with weary amusement. It looked like a private joke between friends and Heiji glanced away. So Hakuba could and did have friends after all.“We should get home,” Aoko said abruptly, breaking the spell and causing Hakuba and Kuroba to startle away from each other slightly. “It’s been a long day,” she said meaningfully, blatantly ignoring Kuroba as she turned her attention on Hakuba.The blond sighed, giving one last glance at Kuroba before nodding. “I’ll walk you there,” he said with tired grace, standing up and collecting his school bag. “I”ll see you later, Kuroba. Hattori.”“Yeah.” Kuroba waved unenthusiastically from his seat, not bothering to rise.“Take care,” Heiji said. Kuroba watched them walk away with an almost hang-dog expression, like someone looking in through a window at a party that they wanted to go to, but wasn’t invited. Heiji thought about things for a minute, figured that this was as good of a time as any and went with his gut. “Ya got a minute?”Kuroba startled, looking up at him as if he’d forgotten that Heiji was there. “Yeah.” He tiredly held a hand up and Heiji grabbed it, pulling Kuroba to his feet. The guy looked worn out and Heiji had a feeling it wasn’t just from his earlier high-wire act. “Thanks,” Kuroba said, finding his feet and then stretching. “Anywhere you need to go?”Hattori thought about Kudo, long home from school now and probably doing homework while talking to Ran about what to have for dinner. A sweet, domestic scene. He shook his head. “Not at the moment. Ya okay with a walk?”He got a tired grin in return as Kuroba grabbed his own school bag. “I don’t think I’m up for any more coffee houses tonight,” Kuroba confessed and Heiji chuckled.“Me either.” Usually it was Kudo that had this kind of hectic day, not him. And, after some weary consideration, Heiji figured Kudo can keep them. “I wanted ta talk to you anyway,” he admitted.Kuroba raised an eyebrow. “Oh?” He shifted slightly, tensing as if to fight or flee. But if he was who Heiji guessed he was, Kuroba had every reason to be nervous about talking with a detective.“I had a run in with the Kaitou Kid recently,” Heiji said, looking up at the streetlamps and the few stars that were starting to come out. “He was masqueradin’ as you.”“Really?!” Kuroba grinned, proud and playful. It quickly faded into a thoughtful look. “Is that why you wanted Hakuba to introduce us?”“Partly,” Heiji admitted easily. “I like Kid, he got us outta a couple of tense spots, and I owe him fer that. But before his cover was blown, he was talkin’ about troubles ‘A friend’ was havin’, about a childhood friend who wasn’t talkin’ to his friend and someone who liked his friend.” He laughed. “I though at first he meant himself, oldest trick in the book, right? Then I find out he’s only pretendin’ ta be you-”“-And you came here to see if this ‘friend’ was me.” Kuroba finished.“Yup.” Heiji nodded, pleased that Kuroba was just as sharp as Kid had made him out to be.“So was it?” Kuroba asked, cynically arching an eyebrow.“Pretty sure.” Heiji grinned. “Ya act like you and Aoko were pretty close, but she’s stubbin’ ya fer Hakuba.” However, that had faded when Kuroba had been doing his tightrope act; there she’d been concerned and scared for him. Then as soon as he’d made it down safely, she’d retreated back to her previous cold behaviour. He frowned. “Haven’t quite figured out who the guy crushin’ on ya is yet through... Couldn’t be Hakuba.”Kuroba tilted his head back and laughed, his shoulders relaxing from their previous tense position. “I’ll keep that one to myself, Great Detective of the West.” He grinned at Heiji, eyes sparkling mischievously. “So now that you’ve satisfied your curiosity, what do you plan to do?”“Ask you out on a date.”Kuroba stumbled slightly, tripping over his own shoes, eyes going round. “Wha-What?”Heiji scratched the back of his neck, holding out a pacifying hand. That hadn’t come out quite right. “Wait, before ya freak out, ju-just listen okay?”Kuroba nodded, giving him a wary, confused look. Heiji sighed and stuck his hands in his pockets. “See, I’m kinda in a similar but reversed position. There’s this guy -I- like, one of my best friends, but he’s taken. Really, really taken, head over heels for this girl, and there’s some other complications.” Like being shrunk to the body of an elementary school kid and living with his sweetheart.He kept asking Kudo if he’d told Ran yet. The weight of the secret was killing Kudo and Ran was suffering from the distance, even though Kudo was right there. There’d be some pain on both sides once she found out, and Heiji had no illusions that she wouldn’t find out, but if they could get over it, they’d be happy. And if they couldn’t get over it, well, maybe Heiji had a chance for some happiness with Kudo. But either way, the limbo of waiting would be over.“On the other side, there’s my childhood friend, Kazuha.” He sighed, closing his eyes. “We grew up in each other’s pockets, baths, sleepovers, playdates, that whole thing. Her parents and mine are friends an’ all that. Problem is, she’s crazy in love with me.”“And you’re not,” Kuroba said with quiet empathy.He chuckled. “Naw, I love her too,” He admitted, closing his eyes for a moment, trying to calm the flood of emotion the words brought. It’d be easier if he didn’t feel anything for Kazuha past the brother-sister relationship they proclaimed to have. “But I mean, she’s -crazy- in love. Like, the first time I invited him down ta Osaka, she stalked his girlfriend through half the city before threatenin’ her, just to make sure she wasn’t goin’ ta put any moves on me. All the while proclaimin’ ‘sisterly’ concern.”Kuroba winced. “Ouch.”“Yeah.” Heiji chuckled weakly. “I didn’t notice until I met his girlfriend and her best friend. Kazuha’s got no friends she hangs out with outside of school, she never dates, and the only activities she has is followin’ me around to cases or Aikido, which she took up because I started Kendo and she wasn’t allowed in the same dojo. Even as far back as Middle School, when she sprained her ankle skiing, instead of takin’ care of it in the lodge, she sat outside in the snow just ta watch me.”He looked at Kuroba helplessly. “She’s been starin’ at me fer so long, I don’t think she actually sees -me- anymore, just this picture she’s built in her head. And it terrifies me.” Heiji was surprised to realise that he was shaking and stuck his trembling hands in his parka pockets. It was the first time he’d actually managed to talk to someone about this, voice his concerns about her. His folks wouldn’t listen, they rarely did, and he didn’t think hers would either.After all, Heiji was probably ‘over-reacting’ and they went on, planning Heiji and Kazuha’s wedding and naming their unborn grandchildren in their heads.“And so you want to date me.” Kuroba said, not unsympathetically, but with a clear note of scepticism.“I want Kazuha to realise she has a choice. She’s never looked anywhere other than at me and I think she needs ta while we’re young and have the opportunity.” Heiji said quietly. And he hoped, by him dating someone else, she would realise she had that choice, and that chance. He had a hunch they would end up together eventually, but he didn’t want either of them to get to that stage thinking ‘what if.’ He’d seen the backend of too many relationships-gone-bad not to want to build a stable foundation first. He smiled. “And if you’re anythin’ like Kid acted ya were, especially after yer stunt today, I’d like ta have ya as a friend. And a big part of datin’ is gettin’ ta know each other.”Kuroba thought it over. ”So you help me get over Aoko and I help you get over your guy friend. And possibly get your girlfriend over you.” He looked at Heiji intently. “And this would be a short term?”“Yeah.” Heiji shrugged. “Dunno about you, Kuroba, but m’not lookin’ fer serious or happily ever after just yet.” They were still in High School, with hopefully a long road ahead of them. And he wasn’t looking something all that physical either, just someone to share similar experiences with. Although he wouldn’t nessicarily say no to one with Kuroba.“No.” Kuroba rubbed his chest, above his heart. “Definitely not.”“So.” Heiji looked at the other guy nervously. “Want to go out on a date sometime?”Kuroba looked up at the ground thoughtfully for a minute, his face a meditative mask. “Kaito,” He finally said.”Huh?””If we’re going to start dating-“ Heiji got a smile in return, Kuroba looking hesitant but cautiously optimistic at the same time. “-I think you’d better call me ‘Kaito’.”-fin-Heiji's section of Gordian Knot will be concluded in 'Taste of Flames'.Heiji will have three chapters, hence 'Fic 2 of 3', then we will start on Conan's section. Gordian Knot was supposed to end with the first four fics, then it rapidly expanded so I apologise for the confusion.
----- CHAPTER BREAK -----
We who were right all along Will then read out your names Those who stole secrets will pay With a taste of our flames
Two Lone Swordsmen - Taste of Our Flames
Heiji’s phone rang, interrupting the chess match between himself and Kudo. They both startled slightly before he reached into his pocket and pulled out his mobile. “Hattori.””Hey, Handsome.” Kaito’s playful voice greeted him. “I heard from a little bird that you were in town. Wanna get together?””Hello there yerself, Good Lookin’.” He grinned, ignoring Kudo’s surprised look as Heiji craned his neck to try to peer out the window without getting up from his seat in the middle of the Mouri Detective Agency. There was white blob mixed in with the pigeons lining the rooftop across the street, most likely a dove.Could be anything, could be nothing, could be one of the Kaitou Kid’s doves. Not that he knew anything about that, nope.“And I’d love ta.” He agreed, not bothering to disguise the warmth in his tone. He checked his watch, ignoring the strange look Kudo was giving him. It was early afternoon still, only a couple of hours past lunch. He’d hoped to meet up with Kaito while in Beika and had arranged his schedule with that goal in mind.”Excellent.” Kaito purred. “You, Me, Movies?””Perfect.” Heiji agreed. “What, where and when?”Kaito made a mock thoughtful sound, as if he didn’t know where Heiji was. “Beika City Building has that new action comedy playing around four.” He suggested helpfully.Which gave him an hour to finish kicking Kudo’s butt at chess and the follow-up match before catching the train down to the rebuilt entertainment skyscraper to hang out with Kaito. “Sounds good ta me. I’ll see ya then.””Ciao, Darling!” Kaito warbled flirtatiously before hanging up. Heiji grinned, shaking his head as he shut his mobile phone. Dating Kaito certainly was like nothing he’d anticipated when he’d first suggested it. He’d expected have a sympathetic ear, someone who was having the same troubles and an excuse to not date Kazuha. Instead, Kaito constantly surprised and delighted him with a flow of almost over the top flirting and fun. It was rare that he didn’t have a smile on his face after talking with Kaito, the magician easily lightening his mood."You look happy." Kudo commented with just a slight amused quirk to his lips. "Things going well with Kazuha?""Better than expected." Heiji said with a grin as he put his mobile back in his pocket. "She's out date today with Kujira fer Valentine's Day." What he wasn’t going to mention to either Kudo or Kazuha was that he’d practically had to twist Kujira’s arm to ask her out in the first place, the guy had been so nervous about it, despite having liked Kazuha since Middle School. It was their third date, the two of them getting along well after it was pointed out to Kazuha that talking about Heiji to her dates was bad form. The realisation that this left her with a scant few subjects to talk about had been a harsh lesson for her, but she was learning.Kazuha hadn’t taken the news that Heiji was dating someone in Beika well. She’d taken the news even less well the first time Kaito had come down to Osaka for a visit under the pretence of being ‘a friend’. Oton had been rather cold and distant about the entire thing, but Heiji had expected that. Okan had made a soft barbed comment about him getting it out of his system while he was young, before he settled down and he’d agreed with her.He, Oton, and Okan had talked that night, like they hadn’t before and Heiji felt better for it. Things certainly relaxed around the house after that and he was enjoying his new found freedom now that everyone wasn’t jumping on him to be constantly watching Kazuha. Although Kazuha wasn’t talking to him much past monosyllable comments, and he occasionally found he missed her company.He became aware that Kudo was looking at him like he’d just been struck over the head with something blunt and heavy. Heiji grinned in amusement. It wasn’t often he got one up on Kudo like that, even by accident. "That was my boyfriend." He added helpfully as an explanation. "You'd probably like him, you're pretty similar. He even looks like ya.""y-Your boyfriend?" Kudo echoed, his voice high and disbelieving."Yeah. Name's Kaito. Kuroba Kaito." Heiji sat back and grinned. "His dad taught yer mom make-up and disguise, ya know. Small world, huh?"Kudo stared, mouth agape for a moment longer. "Kuroba Toichi is his father?""Yup. Anyway." He turned his attention back to the game with a grin. "I gotta trounce ya pretty quick, I got a date inna little over an hour."And of course, Kudo being Kudo, he then had to try to trounce Heiji. –Try- being the operative word, Heiji won again, which tied up their scores for winning their chess matches. Not that either of them admitted to keeping track.Well, much.He left the Mouri residence in a good mood, promising to call Kudo later that night before heading to the subway station and catching a train to the Beika City Building. He had the odd feeling of being watched a few times, and glanced around feeling paranoid. He caught a flash of blue, like Kudo’s almost trademark coat once, from the car behind him, but dismissed it. There was no way Kudo was going to intrude on a -date-.Heiji thought that statement over and debated being -really- paranoid and taking the long way around to the Beika City Building. But Kaito was waiting for him and if it wasn’t Kudo, he didn’t feel like spoiling what promised to be a good afternoon.Kaito wasn’t easy to miss, the magician had trouble sitting still for long periods of time if given the choice. Or standing still as the case may be. Kaito had a small crowd of admirers around him, mostly girls in twos or threes who were going sparkly eyed over the various flowers he was producing and giving away. Heiji stopped and watched for a bit, a grin on his face.Eventually Kaito noticed him and lit up with a broad grin of his own. “Heiji!” He waved, excusing himself from the girls and quickly bouncing over. Some of the girls grabbed each other’s hands and giggled as they watched him go, chattering excitedly. Heiji made a mental bet on which ones would come over and ask them out for coffee in exchange for the flowers. Although some of them weren’t bad looking.Then he was distracted by Kaito’s wide grin as he ‘accidentally’ bumped into Heiji in his enthusiasm. “Hey.” Heiji grinned, nudging him back under the guise of re-settling his backpack. “Hope ya weren’t waitin’ long.””Nah.” Kaito’s grin faded into something fond than hyper as he casually motioned behind Heiji. “I see you brought company.”He glanced back to find Kudo trying to hide behind a trashcan. It would have worked if it wasn’t obvious that he was trying to hide behind a trash can and not be seen, which then caused everyone who passed him to stare in confusion. Heiji resisted the urge to smack his forehead. Hard. ”Not on purpose.” Heiji muttered quietly, for Kaito’s ears only, causing to muffle a snicker.He’d heard of friends being jealous because someone had started dating, but this was just ridiculous. Heiji raised his voice. “Ya might as well come out.”Kudo didn’t move. They waited about a minute, Kaito doing his best not to laugh and ending up making the occasional sprofly sound. “Naw, seriously.” Heiji deadpanned. “We can see ya. C’mon out and meet him.”Hesitantly, like the small child he pretended to be, Kudo peeked around the trash can and then crept out, looking as shamefaced as he got. “Kaito meet Edogawa Conan meet Kuroba Kaito.” Heiji ran through the introductions. There. Kudo had seen that he did, in fact, have a boyfriend. Now maybe Kudo would catch a clue and leave. “Behave.” He added through gritted teeth, nudging Kaito, whose smirk was threatening to reach past his ears.Kaito grinned, a very Kid-like sparkle in his eyes and Heiji realised that he had just discovered a previously unknown worst horror ever.He should have ignored Kudo’s presence and just headed inside of the movie theatre. Seriously. Mentioning the Kaitou Kid around Kudo was bad. However, it was becoming increasingly obvious that he’d failed to take Kid’s teasing nature into account when it came to shrunken detective. “So this is the one you’re always calling ‘Kudo’?” Kaito asked, his voice sparkling with innocence and light.Kudo gave Heiji a dark glare. Heiji ignored it. It wasn’t like Kaito didn’t already know who Edogawa really was anyway. Hell, even Hakuba had commented on it before. “Yeah.” He said easily through his teeth. “He’s a detective too.””Seriously?!” Kaito said, crouching slightly to be more at eye-level with Kudo, who was looking at the magician in irritation and confusion. Heiji nearly groaned at the cheesiness of the act. Right. Like there wasn’t a braincell sparking in his boyfriend’s head. None. At all. He stepped on Kaito’s foot accidentally-on-purpose. Kaito laughed, a friendly sound and he toned the brainless act down. “Sorry.” Kaito said, sounding more sincere and like himself as he straightened, Kudo giving him a wary look at the abrupt change of attitude. “It seems like I’m surrounded by detectives sometimes.””Really?” Kudo brightened slightly at that, a calculating look in his eyes. “Why is-“”-Speakin’ of which.” Heiji said, cutting Kudo off. Kudo -really- didn’t need to be interrogating Kaito. Especially while on a DATE. He was sincerely hoping that Kudo would catch a hint and leave. Or he might be able to distract Kaito away from the Kudo-baiting long enough to put their date back on track. “Check my bag, will ya Kaito? Big pocket.””Huh? Oh, sure.” Kaito walked behind him and unzipped the large section of the backpack and glancing in. Heiji promptly found a heavy weight resting on his shoulders and back as Kaito jumped on top of him, nearly strangling him in his delight, legs clamped around his waist. “You’re the Best Boyfriend EVER!” Kaito gleefully not-quite-squealed in his ear. Manly squealed.Heiji grinned even has he staggered for balance. It was Valentine’s Day, which meant chocolate. And while traditionally, it was the girls who gave the guys chocolate on Valentine’s Day, he knew Kaito had a sweet tooth. Which was why he’d bought about ten bars of Meiji chocolate and solid chocolate dove the size of his hand for their ‘date’. Screw traditions, it made Kaito happy, which made him happy in return.”I got you…“ Kaito’s voice trailed off and Heiji realised with a dour feeling they had an audience. He glanced over, expecting one of Kaito’s fans and was surprised to meet a pair of startled light blue eyes.”Ah! Sorry!” Hakuba back-pedalled, quickly distancing himself. “I did not… I was not…” The blond seemed to be at a loss for words, staring at them like he’d just wandered into a pit of vipers.… Oh, for goodness sake! Was EVERYONE going to follow them on this date?!
Except that Hakuba’s wide-eyed mortification didn’t seem to be an act. Or if it was an act, it was a damn good one. Heiji glanced down at Kudo, to find Kudo staring at them all in polite innocence, and quickly discounted the idea of Hakuba pairing up with Kudo to follow them. Unlike some people, Hakuba didn’t seem to have an alterative motive for following to the movies. Especially since he remembered Kaito mentioning that the blond had been distant and somewhat avoiding him since he and Heiji had started dating. Maybe Hakuba didn’t like that Kaito was dating a guy?Kaito broke the awkward silence with a friendly voice. “Yo, Hakuba. You got a date too?”Hakuba grimaced. “Endeavouring to evade one, actually.” He said, a small spark of dignity returning. He held up a movie ticket. “I thought hiding amongst the crowds might be the most prudent opportunity to circumvent Aoko’s attempts at presenting me with chocolates today.”He didn’t have to look to see the twitch Kaito made at Aoko’s name and chocolates, he could feel it against his body. Kaito gave a small sigh and went limp, sliding off of Heiji in a way that wasn’t entirely unpleasureable. It didn’t take a rocket scientist to figure out that Kaito had obviously not gotten any chocolates this year from his childhood friend. Hakuba’s refusal of Aoko’s chocolates was surprising however. They’d looked pretty tight the few times he’d seen them since he and Kaito had started dating.But then, that was usually Aoko constantly dragging the blond off, not the other way around. Which, if he was being honest, was scarily reminiscent of Kazuha’s previous behaviour around him. Still, he didn’t resist glowering in Hakuba’s direction for running Kaito’s good mood by bringing up the girl.”Wait, don’t tell me.” With a flick of his wrist, two movie tickets appeared in Kaito’s hand. He took Hakuba’s ticket out of his hand and compared them before nodding. “Same showing.” He said, turning to give Heiji a faintly amused twist of the lips that did not completely qualify for a smile. Heiji glanced down at Kudo, who had a slightly triumphant look on his face, like he’d had the perfect opportunity drop in his lap.”My apologies.” Hakuba took the ticket back, his voice dry and sardonic again, but even that didn’t cover up his obvious awkward embarrassment. “I will go exchange it for a different showing.”Heiji sighed tiredly. ”Nah.” He surprised himself by saying. Kaito’s eyebrows rose slightly as Heiji motioned towards Kudo. “We’ve already got one surprise chaperone for the evenin’.” He said, some irritation slipping out and colouring his tone. “A second one’s not gonna make much difference.””I didn’t… I wasn’t…” Kudo sputtered, looking like he’d just gotten caught with his hand in the cookie jar.”Right.” Heiji deadpanned, ignoring Kudo’s denials as he shared a look with Kaito, the expression of disbelief on the magician’s face fading into distantly amused resignation. Not exactly the friendly -private- date they’d hoped for.Hakuba got a slightly pinched, uncomfortable look when he glanced down at the smallest person in their group. ”Greetings, Edogawa-kun. It’s been a while.”Kudo laughed nervously, backing up a small step from the blond. “Um. Yeah.”Heiji glanced at Kaito to try to understand what the hell was going on. Last time Hakuba and Kudo had met, they’d been on friendly terms, Hakuba had even stuck up for Kudo’s detective skills. The sudden chilly attitude was odd. Kaito shot him a knowing look back, but gave a small shake of the head. Heiji nodded back, Kaito knew what was going on, but this wasn’t the place to discuss it. Too many damn secrets in this group, really.”Shall we get another ticket then?” Heiji inquired. At least children’s tickets were cheap.”I’ll pay my own way.” Kudo muttered darkly as they headed as a group into the building and up to the escalators towards the movie theatres for one more ticket, Hakuba maintaining his distance from Kudo as much as he could and still remain part of their group. Kudo did the same, keeping Heiji and Kaito between himself and the blond at all times. Kaito smirked, apparently finding the whole situation amusing.… Which was better than the confused irritation that was rolling through Heiji. “The line’s kinda long.” Kaito commented, pulling Heiji from his thoughts. “Why don’t Hakuba and I go on ahead and grab snacks while you two get the ticket and we’ll meet in the lobby?””Sounds good.” Heiji would have rather gone with Kaito for snacks and left their chaperones in line for the tickets, but splitting up the two trouble makers sounded like a good plan. And hopefully he and Kaito could get out of Kudo and Hakuba what the hell was going on. “Takoyaki if they have it, yakisoba if not.” Heiji requested, pulling out his wallet.Kudo followed, handing Kaito a few coins. “Small popcorn, please.” He said, voice high and polite.”Sure thing, kiddo.” Kaito agreed easily, exchanging the cash Heiji handed him for a movie ticket. “Hakuba’d be uncomfortable no matter who I was dating.” Kaito said softly in his ear, his voice thick with barely restrained amusement. “It’s that he’s intruding on a –private- moment. So ease up, okay?”Heiji fought the urge to blush, he hadn’t been aware he hadn’t lost the glare towards the blond. “Sorry.” He muttered back, taking his ticket. Kaito smiled in return as he moved back, tossing Heiji a wink and strolling off, Hakuba obediently following as if pulled by a leash. Well, that was one problem taken care of. Hopefully Kaito could talk some sense into the blond so the two of them could hang out together more often, the sudden distance had been bothering the magician.Neither he or Kaito had a lot of close friends, and those they did, they both held close.Speaking of friends… Heiji stuck his hands in his pockets and glared down at Kudo. “Talk.” He growled, not bothering to hide his irritation, especially with their audience was gone.Kudo’s expression flickered through several distinct different emotions, guilt, fear, embarrassment, before settling on vaguely remorseful. Not for following, Heiji understood, but for getting caught. “An apology isn’t going to cut it, is it?” He finally offered.”Ya think?” Heiji muttered. First time Kudo went out with Ran, he was going to grab Kaito and stalk -them-, just to see how Kudo liked it. He glanced around, taking stock of the people around. Fortunately, no one seemed to be paying much attention to them, save for a few maternal types keeping an eye out on the ‘young boy’ in the press of people. “What the hell are you tryin’ ta pull?””You can’t honestly tell me that you told me about him and then didn’t expect me to find out more on him.” Kudo insisted, crossing his arms.”No, I -hoped- you’d let me go on my date in peace, then bug me ta meet him -later-.” Heiji growled. Stalking Kudo with Ran was starting to sound REALLY good. “I’d been planning on introducin’ ya later. AFTER Valentine’s Day.”Kudo flinched. “Then why’d you let Hakuba join you?” He sulked irritably.”Because Hakuba is a good friend of Kaito’s.” Heiji stared off towards the front of the line, setting his jaw. “And he didn’t try ta butt in on the movie.” Points for the blond, even if it had been a cover for avoiding Kaito.He glanced down at Kudo. “Ya gonna try tellin’ me that ya weren’t gonna try talkin’ yer way into the movie next?”Kudo debated it, and then his lower lip came out slightly in a pout. “No.””Good. Cause neither of us look like idiots.”He got a glare for the comment, Kudo sulking harder than ever. “You never mentioned liking guys before.” He finally muttered, keeping his voice low.Heiji raised an eyebrow. “Why? Ya interested?”While a part of him was disappointed at Kudo’s flaying reaction and mourned the loss of hope, the rest of him thought it was worth any future potential awkward questions to see Kudo choke and turn seven different colours of red in the time it took to inhale.”Chill, Kudo.” Heiji looked up at the signs proclaiming what movies were showing and the times. “It’s pretty obvious what yer answer ta that is. Figured that out ages ago.” Two words: Not. Happening.Kudo ducked his head, his hair and the reflection off his glasses hiding his face and his thoughts. “He looks just like Shin’ichi.” Kudo said almost an analytical tone and Heiji breathed a small sigh of relief, grateful that there wasn’t any disgust colouring Kudo’s speech. “The only other person who looks that much like me is the Kai-“”Kaito’s also been accused of that before, because he’s a magician.” Heiji interjected tiredly. “And proved that he’s not several times.”Like a cat pouncing on an errant dust bunny, Kudo jumped on that. “What proof does he have that he’s n-“”Kudo.” Heiji felt a vein pop on his forehead, his temper snapping. He crouched down, bringing the two of them closely at eyelevel. “Do ya see a dead body anywhere ‘round here?” He hissed. “Or a madman in white laughin’ his fool head off?”Kudo looked at him like he was insane. “Noo…” Came the hesitant drawl.”Then he’s not in the middle of an investigation.” Heiji said with as much patience as he could muster at the moment. Which really wasn’t much. “And if he’s not part of an investigation, ya got no grounds ta be pokin’ into his business.””So he -could- be the Kid.” Kudo purred, looking smug at that titbit of information. “Tell me-“He put a hand on top of Kudo’s head. “Think -real- hard before ya finish that sentence.” He warned through gritted teeth, eyes narrowing dangerously as he barely remembered to keep his voice down. “Cause if yer tellin’ me that it’s okay fer me ta be blabbin’ any possible secrets of -his- ta ya, then it must be okay fer me ta spill any possible secrets of -yers- as well.” And he had the Mouri Detective Agency on speed dial. He wondered who would take the news about who was really living under their roof better, Mouri or Ran.Kudo paled, swallowing. Heiji nodded, seeing that he’d finally gotten through to Kudo. The subtle approach just did -not- seem to work on the guy sometimes.He sighed and eased up a little on his friend. “I trust Kaito or I wouldn’t be datin’ him.” He said, removing his hand from Kudo’s head. “I like him. He’s a nice guy, a -good- person and we’re helpin’ each other through some tough stuff. Which is really all ya need ta know. So. Ya can either stop actin’ all jealous and come watch the movie with me and my boyfriend, or ya can go home and mope with ‘Neechan cause it’s Valentine’s Day and ya don’t have a date. What’s it gonna be?”Kudo blanched at the comment about Ran and sulked slightly. ”I am not jealous.” He muttered, making the decision to stay.Right. Sure. Uh-huh. Heiji stood up again, moving forward with the line and filling the gap.Kudo sulked the rest of the way through the ticket line and Heiji sighed, letting it be. The Detective of the East was a stubborn cuss. Which was one of the things that Heiji liked about him, even as it was irritating.They got the ticket and moved into the theatre, catching the dismay of the people that had been standing behind them as it was announced that the show was now sold out, Kudo evidently having gotten the last ticket. Luck was with them today. That didn’t stop Heiji from urging Kudo ahead of him, blocking the smaller guy from the crowd’s wrath, imagined or not.Kaito and Hakuba were standing in the middle of the lobby, looking like a pair of awkward statues. Heiji flicked an eyebrow up in silent inquiry and Kaito rolled his eyes. Evidently their conversation had not gone sparkling well either.Yeah. This was shaping up to be a -wonderful- date. Not.They shuffled through the lines of the theatre, handing over their tickets and then finding a short row of four empty seats off to the side in the back. They stared at each other awkwardly for a moment, trying to figure out who went where when Kaito finally rolled his eyes, shoved Hakuba into the row, grabbed Heiji’s hand and dragged him along, Conan following after. As they sat down, glancing at each other, Kaito silently daring them to dispute the seating arrangements.”I’m good.” Heiji grinned, settling back into his seat. Kudo gave him a sulky glare, Hakuba shifting in his seat uncomfortably. Kaito smiled almost shyly back at Heiji. Heiji leaned back, lips just brushing Kaito’s ear. “Good job.” He whispered.”Thanks.” Kaito whispered back. He paused for a moment, then added: “Put you on the edge, just in case something comes up.”And Hakuba didn’t like people, so they acted like a buffer for that. Logical. He nodded, the lights suddenly dimming to signal the start of the show. They both leaned back, and Heiji was pleasantly surprised to find Kaito’s hand ‘accidentally’ brushing his. He glanced over and found Kaito a little too avidly watching the screen as the first of the trailers started.Heiji grinned, his spirits rising as he took Kaito’s hand. It was kind of silly, how the simple things could mean so much. He was aware of the stupid smile on Kaito’s face as well as they both turned their attention to the movie.It was your classic cheesy plotline with awesome special effects, mindless entertainment really. An enjoyable enough way to pass the afternoon with friends on a quasi-date.At least until Kaito removed his hand to tap him on the shoulder, looking troubled. “Death in the women’s toilet on the other side.” He said softly, his voice serious. “Think it’s a suicide.””… Death?” He echoed, glancing past Kaito, to where Hakuba had his head bowed, arms crossed over his chest, fingers digging into his upper arms, looking very pale and tired. “Hakuba?” Heiji added with concern as the blond shuddered, eyes pinched shut.”His allergy.” Kaito waved it off. “This is minor, he’ll be fine once I get him out of here and get some fresh air. You and Kudo go do your detective thing, we’ll meet you up on the top floor afterwards.”Heiji nodded, mentally writing off the movie as he turned the other direction to poke Kudo. “There’s been a death.” He informed Kudo, rising partway out of his seat. Kudo gave him a slightly rounded eye look, but obediently scurried out of his chair and into the aisle, allowing Heiji the room to follow. He glanced back at the other two, Kaito giving him a muted smile and a wave. Heiji waved back, ignoring what looked to be a long snake wrapped around Kaito’s thigh.Heiji took the lead out of the theatre, Kudo silently following until they reached the corridor. “What’s going on?” He asked, his face serious, already in business mode.”Death in the women’s toilet.” Heiji shrugged, shoving his hands in his jacket pockets as he turned and headed towards the other side of the theatre complex. “It’s apparently a suicide, we’re just checkin’ to make sure. Hakuba’s allergy is actin’ up, we’ll meet them up on the observation deck after we’re done.””Okay.” Kudo frowned. “But how did-“”-I didn’t ask.” Heiji said quickly. It wasn’t something he wanted to think too terribly hard about. Hakuba’s score was currently one for one on calling the crime scenes, he wanted to see if Hakuba could do it again. Especially since there had been no way to physically contact Hakuba in the theatre without either he or Kudo noticing, and he hadn’t noticed any mobile phones active or headsets for Hakuba to get the information.”More secrets?” Kudo muttered sourly.Heiji shrugged again. At least Kudo knew that he would and could keep secrets well.The first screams began just as they reached the other women’s toilet, the door open as a trio of girls gave horrific shrieks. He and Kudo ran the last bit of the way, quickly taking charge of the scene and making sure that the authorities were called and the crime scene, a toilet stall, was left undisturbed.The victim was hung on the back of the door in one of the toilet stalls, a pair of hose having been used as the rope. A very small gap between her toes and the floor, another finger width and she would have been able to stand to avoid choking to death. It would have seemed like an almost impossible short height for her to have killed herself, if it hadn’t been for the foot and hand marks on either sides of the narrow stall, leading up to the top brace above the door that connected all of the stalls.Rather than jumping off of anything, she had used the narrowness of the stall to climb to the top and fasten the rope to the top brace before allowing herself to fall. There was no room for anyone else to be in the locked toilet stall, nor was there enough room above or below for someone to crawl through, making murder highly improbable. A few questions to the surrounding crowd revealed that she was a ronin, under a lot of stress as she studied for the college exams and had just been dumped by her boyfriend during the movie.… On Valentine’s Day. The proverbial straw that broke the camel’s back.Heiji sighed as they handed the scene and their findings over to Major Crimes when they showed up. He was happy to see it was Satou and Takagi who had gotten the call, seeing as both detectives were familiar with himself and Kudo, and their apparent inability to go anywhere without the police having to eventually be called in.Although Satou did take the opportunity to rib him about his interrupted date and Heiji knew that it’d be all over the police stations within a couple of hours. Oton would probably question him about it as soon as he got back to Osaka. Oh, goodie.But it left Hakuba two for two in the ‘Sense A Murder’ guessing game.Kudo sourly followed him out of the theatre section of the Beika City Building and to the elevators that would take them to the top of the skyscraper. “How’d you know it was suicide?” He asked, expression serious and thoughtful.”Same way I knew Fukou-san wasn’t a homicide.” Heiji looked up at the elevator, watching the numbers count down.”Which is?””Secret.”Kudo made an annoyed sound in the back of his throat. It was actually kind of comical, coming from the body of a six year old.Heiji hid a smirk as the elevator doors opened, waiting for the people to get off before stepping inside. He glanced up at where the top access hatch was as Conan stepped on, making a note of it as he had ever since the incident with the Kid and the elevator. You never knew when you were going to have to make an abrupt escape out of the enclosed metal box after all.Kudo was silent as they rode up, looking lost in thought as a few other people on the elevator talked quietly among themselves. News of the suicide was just starting to make it around, people talking about it in shocked horrified whispers as if speaking in a normal tone might summon evil.The elevator came to a stop and Heiji stepped to the side, Kudo following as they waited for everyone else to get off the elevator before following. He glanced around the large open observatory area, not spotting his boyfriend or the blond. Top floor, Kaito had said. He wouldn’t be completely surprised if Kaito hadn’t meant ‘rooftop’, with the magician’s penchant for heights.He stuck his hands in his pockets, looking around, Kudo trailing after him with a thoughtful look on his face. They walked in silence for a little while until it started to get on Heiji’s nerves. Just when he was about to ask Kudo about it, the other detective spoke up. “He looks like me.” Kudo fixed him with a serious gaze. “He looks -exactly- like me.”And this time, Heiji had the sinking feeling Kudo wasn’t linking Kaito’s appearance to the Kaitou Kid’s mimicry. “Yeah.” He agreed blandly, not wanting this conversation but not seeing a way to avoid it.”Hattori-””He looks like ya, he’s stubborn like ya, but he’s not ya.” One of Heiji’s eyebrows flicked upwards. “And in the event he does turn out to be the Kaitou Kid, m’not datin’ the Kid, I’m datin’ Kuroba Kaito.”Kudo glared sternly back. “That’s not what I meant, Hattori.””I know.” Heiji sighed, feeling the last remnants of his good mood from the movie falling away, leaving him feeling old and tired. “And I already told ya. I already knew what yer answer was. You’re too caught up in ‘Neechan for it ta be anythin’ other than ‘no’.”There was a slight pause, Kudo thinking over his words before responding. “You’re always asking if I’ve told Ran yet.” His mind already jumping ahead. The only way for Heiji to have a chance with Kudo was if he wasn’t involved with Ran. And the only way he wouldn’t be involved with Ran was if she had found out about Kudo being Conan and all the lies that hid that secret.”Yeah.” He agreed. He fixed Kudo with a tired look. “Bein’ in limbo, not knowin’ one way or another… It hurts, Kudo. Don’t think it doesn’t.””… Oh.”Silence descended. Heiji looked around, trying to find his missing boyfriend through the thin crowd.”I just… I thought…” The normally eloquent Kudo stumbled over his words, sounding slightly lost. “If you and Kazuha didn’t make it, what chance does that make for Ran and I?””Sometimes, Kudo…” Heiji said slowly as he spotted what looked like a dark root or a snake slowly wiggling over the low wall of one of the top most observation balcony, next to the café. It vanished backwards, Kaito’s grinning head replacing it. The magician waved down at them and Heiji raised a hand in acknowledgement, Kaito ducking back behind the wall. “… It’s not about you.”Kudo was silent as they climbed the stairs to the upper level, spotting Kaito and Hakuba tucked away in a corner. The blond looked a lot better, he was still pale, but he wasn’t white anymore. Both of them were comfortably slouched, legs brushing against each other with the ease of comfortable familiarity. Heiji felt a slight pang of jealousy, but easily brushed it aside. At least someone had made up today.”Hey.” Kaito gave him a fond grin, one unlike the calm one that he had just been sharing with Hakuba and the faint jealousy faded away. “How’d it go?””Suicide.” Heiji shrugged as he slipped into the seat next to Kaito. He nodded at Hakuba, then turned his gaze back to Kaito. “Thanks for the heads up.”It was slightly amusing to watch both Hakuba and Kaito’s eyes flicker to Kudo, who was standing impassively at the end of the table, looking at the chair next to Hakuba with an expression of wary distaste. “No problem. Just passing on the message.” Kaito said easily as Kudo glanced between the three of them with a suspicious look.Hakuba broke the awkward air by rising and grabbing his coat from the back of the chair. “I believe it is time for me to retire back to my abode. Hattori, a pleasure, sincerely. Kuroba, I’ll see you at school.”Kaito waved back, his posture relaxed and easy at the farewell. “Wanna catch lunch sometime?””I’d be delighted.” Hakuba promised with a small smile that expressed that honest opinion more than his words did. Kaito smiled back, looking happy. Hakuba nodded once to Kudo, both the blond and the smaller detective keeping a wary large bubble of space that was more than politeness dictated away from each other as Hakuba departed.”I should go as well.” Kudo said abruptly as Hakuba’s tall form retreated through the crowds.”Will you be okay getting back on your own?” Kaito asked, his expression shifting to concern as he glanced outside. Darkness had fallen sometime between the start of the movie and investigating the suicide.Kudo waved it off. “I’ll be fine.” With a nod to both of them, he turned and walked away as well, the lack of farewell hanging in the air. They sat in silence, Kaito pushing some of the chocolate covered espresso beans that had come with the hot chocolate he was drinking towards Heiji. Heiji nodded back, slowly eating them, the coffee beans cracking in his teeth.”I take it you’re not crashing at Kudo’s place tonight?” Kaito asked softly, staring down at the dregs of his chocolate.Heiji shook his head. “I don’t think that’s a good idea, no.” Kudo’s house was always open for him to crash at, but he didn’t feel like it tonight. How Kudo had lived in such a large place by himself for years was a mystery, the place echoed with just one person there.”Wanna crash at my house?” Kaito asked, eyebrows almost waggling in invitation.Heiji made a show of debating. “Well… y’do have all that chocolate…” He smirked, slow and easy.Kaito shoved him out of the chair and on to his feet, laughing at the insinuation, with just enough of a blush on his cheeks to boost Heiji’s ego. “Move it.” He ordered, pointing towards the door with one hand as he gathered his coat with the other.”Yes sir.” Heiji grinned, feeling a bit lighter as Kaito man-handled him towards the elevator.+++Heiji liked Kaito’s house. It was big, but not in the opulent way the Kudo household or his parent’s traditional house was. It felt a little empty as well, the ghosts of Kuroba Toichi still floating around, but was friendly and warm.Kaito’s ‘Kachan was surprisingly easy to talk to as well. If she had any problems with her son dating another guy, she didn’t show it, treating Heiji like he was another friend of Kaito’s. He’d been embarrassed the first time she’d walked in on them wrestling on the bed, limbs tangled together, but she didn’t make a big fuss and Kaito didn’t make a big fuss, and somehow it became normal for when he was over.It might have had something to do with the fact that while they were often tangled together when ‘alone’, she never walked into anything more than that. They’d tried going farther than the occasional kiss and gotten as far as hands down the pants before they’d both started laughing and it never gotten farther than that. It felt good, but it was… awkward, in a weird sort of way.Kaito thought Heiji was attractive, Heiji thought Kaito was hot, but neither of them were the kind to settle for second best. So their relationship strangely remained one of comfort, instead of passion. Although under different circumstances, he could see things going much differently.A gentle finger tip running along the tip of his ear made him shiver and drew his attention out of his thoughts. He looked up from his position using Kaito’s chest as a pillow to see Kaito looking at him with a concerned expression. “Everything okay?”He almost said that it was fine, but caught the lie before he said it. “Possibly.” It could have gone a lot worse. It could have gone -better-, but it could have gone much, much worse. “I think I said more than I shoulda. We’ll have to see how long it takes before he’ll talk ta me again.”It was a toss-up what probably freaked Kudo out the most, finding out that Heiji could, and did like guys, or the possibility of a guy liking Kudo. He although didn’t quite understand how Heiji’s current relationship with Kazuha tied in with Kudo’s relationship with Ran. Kudo could be oddly complicated sometimes.”Not too long.” Kaito muttered darkly and Heiji chuckled. He wasn’t the only one with a protective streak a mile wide. Heiji put his head back down on Kaito’s chest, listening to the sound of his boyfriend’s internal organs. The whoosh of the lungs, the steady thump of his heart, the occasional gurgle as Kaito’s stomach digested the mass of chocolate he’d just eaten. It was a good melody. Reassuringly full of life.Usually when they sprawled out on a bed or a sofa, it was Kaito tucked against Heiji, the slight difference in height and build making it comfortable. Kaito seemed to appreciate the full body contact and Heiji liked being the one that people lean on. But for right now, it was nice lean on someone else.”Kudo thinks you’re the Kaitou Kid.” He offered and is rewarded with the sound of Kaito’s laughter.”Oh, does he now?” Kaito chuckles, hands not stopping their petting. “Should I have him talk to Hakuba about that?”Previous to today, he would have said ‘yes’. But Hakuba and Kudo’s odd interactions bother him. “I… Is there somethin’ goin’ on with the two of them?” He asked.Kaito’s hands stilled for a moment, then continued moving. “It’s Hakuba’s allergy acting up. Don’t worry about it.”One of these days, Heiji was going to the base of what exactly this mysterious allergy of Hakuba’s was. He’d figured out some of the symptoms, but it didn’t sound like any allergy -he- knew of. “So you guys made up.” He glanced up at Kaito, catching the smile at the corner of Kaito’s lips.”Yeah.””Good.” Heiji smirked. “If he disappears on ya again, lemme know and I’ll beat him up fer ya.” He promised.Kaito smacked him on the back of the head. “I can take care of my own light work.” He growled. “But the offer is noted and appreciated.” Kaito thought about it for a second, then magnanimously added. “Besides, it’d be a lot more fun to tie him down, force feed him sugar until he vibrates, then set him loose on the unsuspecting public and follow him around with video cameras.”Creative -and- evil. Heiji loved it. “Deal.”His boyfriend laughed. “You just want a chance to do something mean to Hakuba.” He accused.Heiji shrugged. “I don’t mind him as much as I used ta.” He admitted. “It’s mostly for the sake of arguin’ anymore.””Tell ya what.” Kaito said, his tone mischievous, but there was a thread of seriousness in it. “If Hakuba’s mean to me, I’ll let you help me tie him to a chair and feed him sugar. And if Kudo’s mean to you, we’ll run him up a flagpole by his underpants.”… Considering Kudo’s current size, that actually eminently doable. “Sounds like a plan ta me.””Excellent.” Kaito purred evilly and Heiji grinned back. He liked the way Kaito’s brain worked sometimes, all strange devious angles. Non-lethal angles at that.He moved up Kaito’s solid body a little bit and kissed him, mostly because he could and felt like it. Kaito made a soft hum, hands winding in Heiji’s hair and kissed him back, mouth tasting like all the chocolate he’d eaten earlier.One thing Heiji was going to miss, when their dating came to end, was the warm taste of chocolate flavoured kisses.++++++As the last person to see the Kaitou Kid alive, unofficially or otherwise, Heiji was invited to a closed confidential meeting of the Kaitou Kid Task Force by Nakamori. He felt somewhat conflicted about not telling Kaito that he was up in the Tokyo Metropolitan area, much less about the meeting. But if Kaito was the Kid, telling him about the meeting almost amounted to treason.… And if Kaito really was the Kid, there was probably very little chance that he didn’t already know about the meeting, which nullified the whole argument right there.Or at least that was what Heiji was telling himself.He was rather surprised to find Hakuba Saguru already sitting at the table when he arrived in the little used upstairs conference room, looking pale and tired amongst the tense and twitchy police officers. Everyone was eyeing everyone else suspiciously, wondering if the other person was the Kid or a spy. Heiji went through the ritual face-pulling to verify that he wasn’t wearing a mask and went to sit across from the blond detective, rubbing at his sore cheeks.Hakuba nodded at him as he sat down, hands cradling a cup of either tea or coffee. It took Heiji a good minute of study to realise that Hakuba wasn’t so much cradling the ceramic cup as he was white-knuckling it, holding the cup as if it was the only thing keeping him together at the moment. Heiji hoped for Hakuba’s sake that it was a quick meeting.Nakamori brought the meeting to order, stating the basic knowledge with a hard fast clip that did little to hide his anger at the situation. He did not waste time with diatribe however, which just drove the point home how serious all this was. The other officers reacted accordingly, faces grave as they sat up straight, wasting little time on jokes or the topic falling off the proposed track.When prompted, Heiji stood up and briefly described the goings on in Nagoya. Most of the people nodded at the name Kuroba Kaito, the magician was known among them, either under suspicion of being the Kid or for attempting to out-magic the thief and failing. Most relaxed at the discovery of the Kaitou Kid, proof that their pain in the butt was still alive, but their expressions then fell again delivered the news about Rose and her standard method of execution.The mood further soured when he explained their deductions for the organisation’s motives with the school tests and the bombs as the realisation of just how large and organised a group they were going after. He answered a few questions and expounded on some points before sitting back down again, keeping his gaze away from Hakuba as he explained that he didn’t know how he escaped the final explosion.Something brushed his leg as he sat down and he repressed a shiver at the gentle contact. Hakuba winced and shifted in his seat, stiffly straightening his posture.Nakamori passed out pictures of Rose, the one Heiji had identified earlier and debates started flying around the table as people put the pieces together. Past cases were brought out and reviewed in light of the new information, and Snake’s presence was seen with new eyes.Heiji found himself re-assessing Hakuba as it became increasingly obvious that the blond’s role among the officers was not as some sort of mascot or because of his father’s position, but for his knack for analysis. There was little doubt in Heiji’s mind that any of the information was new to Hakuba, but with the influx of information about the mysterious organisation in dark colours, Hakuba was able to expound further on Kid’s motivations for previously confusing situations with apparent ease.It was rather ironic, while the British detective had trouble explaining and understanding a murder scene, he could get into the Kid’s trickster head with little difficulty, something that everyone else in the room stumbled over.It was also a slight shock to realise that the Kid’s primary motivation wasn’t necessarily always jewels. A startling amount of the time, Kid made an appearance to help someone, usually by uncovering information that would have otherwise remain hidden. It was with some chagrin to realise that what Heiji knew of Kid, even after all this time, was mostly second hand by way of his reputation.Which was a well deserved reputation, but also slightly off. Sort of like Kid.He smothered a grin at the thought and turned his attention back to the notes he was supposedly taking and discovered that while he’d been thinking, he’d doodled little stick figures with katana taking out black trenchcoated guys with guns. Or at least, they were supposed to be trenchcoats, but really looked more like dresses. Heh. Oops.Although calling in re-enforcements might not be a bad idea. He was pretty sure he could still get ahold of Jodie-sensei and the rest of her FBI buddies, maybe see if he could arrange a meeting between them and Nakamori, pool their resources together. Especially if the FBI weren’t aware that Kid was a target, since it was extremely rare for the various agencies to actually get together and share information.Hakuba’s cup made a rattling sound and Heiji glanced up to see if the blond had caught what he’d been doodling instead and found Hakuba staring at the table like it had mortally offended him. His face was the colour of chalk, almost matching the white shirt he was wearing. The ceramic cup was also now sitting on its saucer, Hakuba’s arms tucked under the table. Heiji glanced around and realised that Nakamori had noticed as well, but no one else was paying any attention to Hakuba.Nakamori glanced around and declared a brief recess, surprising a few of the men, but they obligingly headed out of the room, most of them heading downstairs for a smoke. Heiji glanced back at Hakuba and found that the blond had somehow vanished without Heiji’s noticing. He quickly rose out of his chair, heading for the door. Nakamori gave him a pointed look and Heiji tried to look reassuring and wasn’t sure he succeeding in doing so.He paused at the stairwell for a moment before looking up. Up. Definitely up.Heiji quickly climbed the stairs, peering around every landing to see if Hakuba was there. He didn’t see anyone until he got to the top level, the blond leaning next to the emergency exit door, which was shut and alarmed. Hakuba was almost curled into himself, like he had been at the movie theatre, hands gripping his upper arms, face twisted in pain.What hadn’t been at the movie theatre was the wicked dagger long nails digging past the flimsy material of the white shirt he was wearing and into the flesh. He must have made a sound at the sight of the fresh blood oozing between the blond’s fingertips because Hakuba suddenly jerked his head in Heiji’s direction, pale blue eyes looking more like a cat’s than a humans.”You did not see anything.” Hakuba all but hissed. “Turn back around and return to the others.”Oh, hell no. He may not have cared much for Hakuba, Kaito’s friend or not, but there was no way he was going to just leave someone who was hurt --bleeding—like that. “It’s okay.” Heiji said softly, stepping closer. “M’just here ta help.””You may assist by removing yourself from this vicinity.” The blond’s tone may have been haughty, but his expression was scared shitless. Scared of –Heiji-, he realised with a sickening lurch.He paused, taking in the fangs protruding slightly from Hakuba’s lower jaw and the impossibly pale blue eyes. A tremor wracked the other boy’s body as he fought what ever it was he was trying to contain within himself, eyes pinching shut as he turned away from Heiji to wrestle his own demons for a moment.“I know who Kaito is.” Heiji whispered quietly.Hakuba’s head snapped up, eyes wide and alarmed before he could catch himself. It was gone quickly, replaced by a scornful look. “So that is why you wished for me to introduce you.” He said, voice dripping with bitterness.”Partly.” Heiji admitted with a casual shrug. “I don’t know if he knows I know, but I’d like ta think he trusts me with his secret.” He added softly.The other detective froze, as if contemplating something he had not previously. “Therefore I should trust you because he does?” The words were mocking, but the tone was questioning.“The real art of conversation is not only to say the right thing at the right place but to leave unsaid the wrong thing at the tempting moment.” Heiji quoted.He got a blank look for it. “That is not Sun Tzu, is it?” Hakuba asked hesitantly, as if trying to recall where the quote might have come from and failing.”Uh…” Heiji scratched the back of his neck. “… Actually, I got that off of someone’s e-mail signature.”Hakuba laughed. It was an okay sound for a moment, before it turned dark and somewhat twisted. “Alright then.” He said, face pinched. “Stay if you wish. But do not say you were not warned.”And with that, Hakuba just seemed to… let go. There was almost like an atmospheric pressure change as Hakuba’s legs seemed to fly out in all directions at once, two limbs becoming many. Something snapped and hissed at him and he looked down to see a snake looking up at him, just within striking range. Hakuba made a muted whimper and the snake vanished, into a smooth tentacle, only for another one to appear on another one of multitude of the writhing limbs, disappearing and reappearing again and again.He was distracted by the limbs by Hakuba doubling over in two, hands around his arms again as the pale material of his shirt seemed to try pull back away from his spine, shifting like something was trying to grow out of his spine. The pressure seemed to get worse, little whispers in his head, the failures and the pain he caused, but that was all they were. Little whispers. Talking to Kaito, honestly talking to someone who, if he didn’t understand, at least didn’t belittle it them, had exorcised a lot of his minor personal demons. That didn’t mean that all the hairs on Heiji’s body stood on end. He fought to stand his ground, not flee from the sense of a large hungry predator infront of him.Hakuba growled, an animalistic sound as he visibly pulled back whatever part of him was trying to grow, the intensity growing and fading as he fought with himself. Eventually he won, the pressure fading back away to nothing. Hakuba remained where he was, curled in on himself, breathing heavily for a few moments before slowly turning his head and looking up at him as if surprised to still see him in a detached sort of way.”’Conscience’, huh?” Heiji drawled. Hakuba ducked his head slightly, as if embarrassed be caught like he was, the tentacles curling in loop-de-loops and agitated spirals. He glanced away, rubbing a long clawed hand over the smooth bare skin of his other arm.”I gotta say, I’m completely stumped on explainin’ this one.” Heiji added with a small grin. This was –way- outside of his expertise.
”I touched something I should not have.” Hakuba said, glancing away as if he was ashamed, curling limbs pulling closer as if to hide."Ya said that before." Heiji pointed out. "Back at the alley. Still haven't said what it was." When he'd asked about Hakuba's 'allergy'."A... stone. From his hand." Hakuba elaborated softly. Heiji stared, suddenly understanding better. The Kid was known for targeting things with supposed magical properties. If one had turned out to be more than they'd bargained for...Well, Heiji wasn't sure if he believed in 'Magic' or not, REAL Magic, but it would explain a whole lot of what was in front of him now.“And then further compounded the error by doing something I should not have.” Hakuba added quietly, his voice heavily laden with guilt. A few limbs spiralled into the air, as if climbing someone who wasn't there, then fell limply to the ground, slowly sliding back towards Hakuba as if he could make himself smaller that way.Oh. OH. The only way for Hakuba to get a stone from the Kaitou Kid's hand was if the blond had been close enough to grab the thief.The aftermath leaving them with a new friendship and fissure between the two of them. Which explained a lot of the cues he hadn't been able to figure out.Heiji was silent for a moment, trying to do find words to fit the few theories he had. The way that Hakuba would reach for Kaito, then pull away. The way Kaito would purposely put himself in Hakuba’s personal space anyway. The fact that both he and Heiji knew about Kaito’s night job was and didn’t report it, despite the fact that they were in the best place to gather the evidence. That they were having this conversation at all.”There’s this guy I’ve liked for a long time.” Heiji said quietly, surprised at the past tense slipping through so easily, much less that he was mentioning it at all. “And a friend who has liked me fer a long time. But he’s got someone he loves and never gave me a second look and I didn’t wanna string my friend along. When I met him, he mentioned that he had this friend, one whose long time crush now hated him, and had someone else who was interested.””Ah.” Hakuba’s voice was impassive.”So I figured that mebbe his friend and me could help each other out, be the rebound person fer the other. Rebounds never work, right? Only I couldn’t figure out who the other person who had a crush on him was.” Heiji leered. “He said that they were really flexible.It was worth it, any ego bruising for the conversation, to watch Hakuba turn bright red. The blush went almost all the way down to his navel, the various snaking limbs flaying about as if they didn’t know which way to go in their embarrassment. Gotcha.”So… ah… you are not serious in perusing a relationship?” Hakuba asked delicately, the words coming out in a rapid rush, strangely hopeful.”Beyond friendship when this is over, no.” Heiji smirked, showing just a bit of fang. Kid had told him that Kudo was the one greatest chance of actually capturing the Kid, because he lost nothing but pride at Kid’s fall. Heiji taken himself out of that running, by investing himself into the Kid’s --and Kaito’s-- welfare as well. He couldn’t say that he regretted that decision. “You hurt him however, and y’wont know what hitcha.””Understood.” The blond nodded, the blush receding. He didn’t think the other detective would hurt Kaito, but Heiji had gotten there –first-, which gave him first dibs on beating up anyone else who was interested in Kaito. Heh.Hakuba cleared his throat, his expression turning more serious. “Speaking of which…” Several tentacles made a dismissive motion before returning to a random rhythmic dance.”There’s a reason yer allergy’s actin’ up?” Heiji frowned. He’d made the leap from ‘kick-ass death sense’ to ‘allergies’, and from ‘allergy’ to ‘snakes’, but he still didn’t know how it –worked-.”Unfortunately.” Hakuba nodded, his face grave. “I shall save the details for a later date on the hows and whys, but I believe that our efforts to root out those with ill-will towards our phantom friend have not been entirely successful.””There’s someone in the room.” Heiji frowned. He knew that Nakamori and the police had been working hard at uncovering the people who had been shooting at Kid, but they wouldn’t have invited anyone they suspected to the meeting. “Can you point them out to Nakamori?””On what grounds?” The tentacles began their agitated writhing again. “’Pardon me, Nakamori-keibu sir, but someone in the room reeks of subterfuge and blood and it’s making my allergy flare up. It’s quite socially unacceptable, so would you kindly mind doing something about it without any evidence or logic to back that up?’” His voice practically dripped sarcasm, self loathing and despair.”I get yer point.” Heiji muttered. Somehow, he didn’t think ‘breaking out in tentacles’ would be acceptable as evidence in court. No wonder Hakuba had stopped showing up to heists and crime scenes if this is what happened to him every time he was around it.”Apologies.” Hakuba murmured, running a taloned hand through his hair, surprisingly without cutting himself. The gouge marks on his arms were gone as well, Heiji noted. There was a bit of dried blood, but if there was any scarring at all, he couldn’t see it. If he healed that fast, Heiji did -not- want to be the person on the other end of a fight with Hakuba right now. Detective or not, that little voice in the back of Heiji’s head was correct, Hakuba was currently a very large, very scary looking predator. One that Heiji wasn’t sure if he could beat, even with a finely forged katana.That wasn’t a reassuring thought.Heiji shrugged it off. “Could you pick out who it was?”Hakuba gave him a wry look. “In case it had escaped your notice, we’re in a Police Station. There’s more than the usual share of people with blood on their hands in our current location.””So it’s some sorta empathy thing?” Heiji mused.”Some sort of ‘Possessed Greek Deity’ thing.” Hakuba looked annoyed. “Potentially Gorgonian or Erinyes, but seeing as I haven’t turned anyone to stone, most likely the latter.”Heiji filed that away to look up later. ‘Erinyes’ sounded familiar, but he couldn’t place it at the moment.Hakuba sighed, reading his confusion. “I can… ‘Sense’ when an… injustice happens. Only… it’s always going on. All the time. Everywhere. The worse the crime, the strong the pull to fix it. Time… doesn’t matter, the scent of blood never fades.””And ya can’t go out like that.” Pieces began to fall into place as to Hakuba’s strange behaviour. Withdrawn, but not. Hakuba nodded, looking like someone had just kicked his dog. He couldn’t be a detective, not if he always snaked out at a crime scene. “So what’s with the-“ Heiji made a flapping motion with his hands.The blond grimaced, the tentacles flaring up for a moment before calming down again. “I… cannot always control… my appearance. They…” He hesitated, the normally eloquent detective struggling for words. “Everything is amplified… There is less of -me- whenever it goes… gets too far. I am sure you have noticed what Kaito has described as ‘heavy pressure’ whenever that happens.””Oh, yeah.” Heiji remembered the first time he felt that, stuck in an elevator shaft with the Kaitou Kid. He shivered slightly.Hakuba gave him a small smile. “He isn’t immune, but it does not effect him strongly either.”So did that mean that what Kid did wasn’t causing an injustice, but creating justice? Heiji scratched his head, his head starting to hurt. “Can we use that to catch whoever’s hidin’ here?” He asked instead, deciding that this wasn’t the time to get distracted by wiggling bits, wings and weirdness.”I would rather not release that here.” Hakuba made a face. “But I would like my shirt back.” He added wistfully, running a hand down his pale chest.”Ah…” Heiji shut his jaw with a snap. Right. Focus. Catch killers first, then ponder vanishing clothes later. Although… where -did- Hakuba’s clothes go?Bad thoughts, bad thoughts, bad thoughts.”Okay, new plan.” He tugged on some of the longer hair on the top of his head, using the sharp pain as a distraction to focus. “We know he’s not dead, but injured. And he’s gettin’ better.” Which they both knew, Heiji intimately, Hakuba not so intimately. At least, as far as Heiji knew.”Which means it is almost certain that it will not be too terribly long before he makes a reappearance.” Hakuba nodded gravely, following his train of thought.“And if we had enough of a warnin’, we could use it as bait fer a trap, catch these mooks in black.” Heiji stared at Hakuba pointedly.Hakuba stared back impassively. “If we had enough warning.” He dully agreed, echoing Heiji.… He didn’t have any more of a clue than Heiji did for when Kaito was going to don monocle and cape. Dammit. At least Heiji had the excuse that he didn’t get to see Kaito everyday.But then, he didn’t know much about their relationship, other than they friends, in a strange twisted way. Friends with tentacles.”Nakamori-keibu would probably be more than happy to help us in this objective.” Hakuba added hopefully.”But first we need a date and a location.” Heiji mused. Hakuba nodded gravely, crossing his arms over his chest so that the talons were hidden from sight. “We could use that as an opportunity ta dig out whoever’s hidin’ with us now.””If at all possible, I would prefer for Nakamori-keibu not to be hurt in the process.” Hakuba looked almost worried. “Vocabulary and temper aside, he is a good man.”Heiji was slightly taken back at the concern, but figured it made sense. Nakamori had also expressed some worry for Hakuba when they had met before he’d started dating Kaito. “Agreed.” He nodded. “Figure out the details later?” He offered. Most of what planning they did would depend on time and location. Hm. He’d have to see what he could do about coaxing Kaito into revealing that little titbit.”That would appear to be the most prudent.” Hakuba agreed, looking relieved. “In the meantime, the break is almost over, you should probably return.””Nakamori-keibu knows I followed ya.” Heiji shrugged and stuck his hands in his pockets. “How long before y’think you can change back?”Hakuba frowned, holding a hand up and narrowing his eyes at the talons. His hand shook for a moment, then the long nails started to retract. “Give me a few minutes and I can probably find my legs again.”Hah. Funny guy.”Tell y’what.” Heiji offered, rocking back to rest his weight on his heels for a moment. “Yer jacket and shirt are prolly ruined. I’ll loan ya my jacket, tell Nakamori-keibu and the rest of the guys that y’got sick and that y’need me ta escort y’home. Think I’ve pretty much done everythin’ I can at this point, it’s all re-hashin’ the material at the moment, so it’s no skin off my nose ta leave.”Hakuba paused, looking off in the shadows with a contemplative look. “Kaito will most likely be home by the time we arrive in Ekoda.” He said carefully, almost as if he wasn’t speaking to Heiji at all, but towards another person who Heiji couldn’t see. “He would probably enjoy a surprise visit.”If that wasn’t a peace offering, Heiji didn’t know what was. “Sounds good.” He cautiously agreed back.Hakuba nodded back, then closed his eyes and leaned back against the door, taking a deep breath and letting it back out. Heiji wasn’t sure, but it seemed like the number of limbs started fading out. Either that or it was a trick of the light.He leaned back against the wall as well, content to wait for a while. He wondered what he’d say to Kaito about this, without revealing too many confidences.+++Heiji dreamt his phone rang.So he answered it. It was Kaito, asking him when the next time he was going to be up in the Tokyo area was, because he didn’t want to break up with Heiji over the phone. Heiji’d had a feeling this was coming for a while and easily agreed, on one condition--If Kid’s first re-appearance was in Osaka.He woke up, holding an imaginary phone to his ear.Heiji stared at his hand in mild amusement for a moment or two, the surreal feeling of having lived this moment before fading as the seconds ticked by on his alarm clock. As reality reasserted itself, he laughed, throwing the covers off his bed and reaching for whatever was laying around to get dressed in as he mentally reviewed his bank account.Three Days. He had three days.Perhaps it was time for an early visit to Ekoda. After all, it wasn’t very often he got to truly surprise Kaito.-fin-
----- CHAPTER BREAK -----
Don’t chase ghosts, Don’t get too close,Don’t get caught, Don’t get spentDon’t get boughtDon’t sell out, Don’t get bentDon’t fuck your Best FriendIf everything is just the way it should be,Why am I, why am I still hungry?Be like Water – Sarah Fimm
’The darkest of night of the longest day,
I shall steal the stone of the beheaded sun swallower.
Golden wings shall carry the phantom away
Whilst the wolves hunt the SPIRITS of the night
-Kaitou Kid <3’
The words of the heist notice ran through his head as Conan raced along the rooftop, his heart thudding in his ears. He wondered if he was too late, the Kaitou Kid had released the notice late the night of the 20th, and the solstice was the 21st. He hadn’t heard the news until he’d gotten home from school, having to race from Beika to Osaka to try get to the heist on time.The first two lines of the riddle were easy. 'The darkest of night of the longest day’ was midnight of the Summer Solstice, which was tonight. The twelfth annual Osaka Mineral, Fossil, and Gem Show currently had a collection of Hessonite, a honey coloured gem which was known to be symbolic of Rahu, the immortal head of a serpent in Hindu mythology. Rahu swallowed the sun or the moon, causing an eclipse. The sun or the moon then passed through his severed neck, illuminating the world again.Knowing the Kaitou Kid, the thief was after the largest piece in the collection. Although why he appeared in –Osaka- of all places was a mystery. Conan could think of a half dozen more likely targets in the Tokyo area alone.It made him wonder, especially considering the confusing last two lines of the riddle. This was Kid the Phantom Thief’s first appearance since he’d been shot last autumn. Rumour had it that the Kid was dead, but he hadn’t been able to believe that. The Kid was too tricky of a bastard, too troublesome to die.He dismissed the thought as he screeched to a halt at the rooftop’s edge, overlooking the mass of screaming people and blinding lights below. The wind from one of the many helicopters around buffeted him and he braced himself as he looked for the white-clad thief’s appearance. He hadn’t seen this many people and helicopters before without Sonoko’s Uncle Jiroki somehow being involved. Nakamori-keibu and the Task Force were certainly going all out for this tonight.Conan spotted some movement on the rooftop across the street, narrowing his eyes as he spotted the Kid for the first time. Kid was little more than a white blur in a patch of dark shadows. Then the Kaitou Kid stepped out onto the ledge of the tall building, throwing his arms wide as he practically glowed in the spotlights, the golden stone in his hand catching the light. The crowd below went wild, the roar of approval almost like a physical blow.Why did he do this? The question roared through his mind as he gritted his teeth. The thief had more than enough skill to do this in secret, to pull impossible thefts, yet he insisted in doing so in the spotlight, ridiculing them, mocking law enforcement for their efforts, forever dancing out of reach.The thief was out of reach of his stun watch, but he could probably hit him with a soccer ball. Make the Kid’s reappearance his last.The sound of a gun cocking caught his attention, so faint he wasn’t sure if he’d even heard it correctly. He turned, scanning the area, catching the silhouette of a gun barrel sticking out of the shadows from the corner of the rooftop he was on.The world condensed as he saw a glint of blond hair, a woman’s face leaning over the long barrel of a sniper rifle. A sniper rifle that was aimed at the illuminated Kaitou Kid.He barely had time to bring his arm up, either to arm the wrist dart watch or the belt soccer ball, he didn’t know, when the trigger was pulled.
*pft*
Conan nearly fell over, a dizzying wave of… something overwhelming him. Guilt, sadness, despair. Ran’s crying face. Her brave smile, wavering on the edges. His lies, lies, lies, piled up one on top of each other like an unbreakable wall surrounding him, too high, he was in too deep to get out. Tears and lies and remorse. Hollow and empty.It stopped almost as suddenly as it started. He uncurled, heart in his throat as looking over the edge, wondering if he'd pitch over. He looked around, expecting to see the Kid crumpled on the rooftop in a spray of red blood.Instead, he found a glimmering metallic sphere shape where the Kid had been standing. It shifted, resolving itself into two sets of very large wings. Metallic wings, gold, copper and teal. One set arching up over the Kid’s head, the other wrapped around him in a protective shield, sharp edges glinting like razor sharp knives.And embraced in the middle was Kid, looking calm and almost smug. Winged and untouchable.
”Ladies and Gentlemen!” The Kaitou Kid announced as he raised his hands, his voice strangely amplified although it almost sounded like he was talking casually. “Let us shed some light into the darkness!”He snapped his fingers, and there was a blinding flash of light and heat as a spotlight beamed down upon the rooftop, clearly illuminating the female sniper from a helicopter above. Conan squinted his eyes to see the best he could, seeing her scramble to her feet. He brought up the dart watch and fired, uncertain if he’d hit her or not until she stumbled and went down.Conan backed away as he realised the roof was shaking slightly, not all of it from the force of the helicopter above. The door burst open, officers in bullet proof vests and armour. He backed up, curling up and hiding in the shadows of the rooftop as far away from the fallen sniper as possible.In the distance, he could see four more rooftops lit up, shadows moving around the spotlights. Snipers. Five snipers total. Whomever was trying to take out he Kid wasn’t wasting time.”A parting gift, for the cute hunting wolves.” Kid said with a grin that was unmistakable even from this distance. Conan glared at him as the Kid leapt into the air, the metallic wings flapping with the screech of metal on metal. Bastard.The Kid flew past him, something transparent fluttering after him, like the tendrils of a jellyfish. Conan shuddered, that sick, remorseful feeling creeping down his spine again.Conan ground his teeth together, jaw tensing as he watched him go, hoping that for once no one spotted him.+++’Golden wings shall carry the phantom away, whilst the wolves hunt the SPIRITS of the night’ Conan mused to himself as he walked down the dark still crowded streets. The last two lines of the notice hadn’t been meant for the robbery, that much was obvious, but as a warning toward the mysterious organisation in black. Bait, and they had taken it.Was that the reason to have his welcome back heist in Osaka? To plant a trap? The police and the Kaitou Kid Task Force must have to have been on it as well, it was almost a little too coordinated. But the idea of the Kaitou Kid voluntarily working with the Osaka police and the Task Force was almost laughable. For one thing, he was a wanted criminal.Although he was rather worried that he hadn’t heard anything about this set up, or any rumours about the mysterious organisation currently after the Kaitou Kid. He’d heard that the Kid had been shot, of course, but there hadn’t been much in the newspaper about who had done it.”-Surprised there wasn’t more a Judeo–Christian theme to the notice.” A familiar voice caught his attention.”Oh?””Something about the whole ‘Rising from the Dead’ issue-“”Kid’s a ZOMBIE?” A kansai accent interrupted.The first voice continued on, ignoring the interruption. “-and ‘Golden Wings’ could also be a reference to Saint Michael the Archangel, the Patron Saint of Warriors and Police Officers.””There’s one problem with that theory, Hakuba.” A teasing voice made the hair on the back of Conan’s head twitch slightly. “Do you know who the Patron Saint of Thieves is?”Conan froze as he spotted Hattori, Kuroba and Hakuba walking down the street, close enough that they were bumping against each other every few steps. Kuroba was grinning like a cat who had just won first place in a canary eating competition. Hattori was staring at him like he was waiting for the other shoe to drop while Hakuba looked unruffled and pleased.Kuroba’s grin spread. “Santa Claus.”Hakuba started snickering, while Hattori did a double take. “Yer kiddin’.” When Kuroba smugly shook his head, Hattori draped an overly friendly arm over Kuroba’s neck and pulled him down so Kuroba’s head was leaning against Heiji’s chest, causing him to stumble a few steps. “Alright.” Hattori said cheerfully, resting the knuckles of his free hand against Kuroba’s hair. “Now cough up the rest.””What makes you think- Ow! Hey!” Hattori ground his knuckles against Kuroba’s scalp, causing the magician to flail. “Okay! Okay! Saint Nicholas is the Patron Saint of Reformed Thieves! Reformed!””Much better.” Hattori purred, pulling his hand free but not releasing his grip on Kuroba’s neck. “Hakuba? Anythin’ ta add?””Nope.” Hakuba, Conan belatedly realised, had stepped back to walk behind the other two. He’d thought it was so that Hakuba could walk without getting hit by any waving limb, but in fact the blond detective was quite clearly enjoying the view. “Carry on.”Conan sputtered.This was a mistake as he found himself the focus of three intense gazes. “Oh.” Hattori casually released Kuroba. “Hey, Kudo.””Hattori-niichan.” Conan nodded back. “Hakuba-niisan. Kuroba-niichan.”Hattori, Hakuba and Kuroba glanced at each other, exchanging looks. “Well.” Hattori said with a shrug. “Y’might as well come along. You can stay at my place tonight.”.... He hadn’t even thought about where he was going to spend the night. “Thank you.” He half-mumbled, stepping alongside Hattori. Kuroba gave him a half-smile and dropped back so he was walking alongside Hakuba, keeping the blond and Kudo as far away as possible and still be walking as a group.They walked in silence for a while, Hattori looking peaceful and casual, Kuroba and Hakuba having a private and apparently silent conversation, consisting of tilts of the head, eye movements and hand gestures.”I didn’t see you chasing the Kid.” Conan said quietly, turning his attention to his Osaka friend.Hattori smiled, wolf-like. “I was chasing bigger game.”Conan’s stomach lurched. The men in black. He glanced backwards at Kuroba, who was laughing silently at something Hakuba had not-said. “You didn’t tell me the Kid was back.” He said quietly, trying to keep the hurt out of his voice.Hattori shrugged. “Ya never called me.””Huh?” Conan nearly stumbled. What did Hattori…He never called Hattori. Hattori had always the one to call –him-. And Hattori hadn’t called him up to chat since Conan interrupted Hattori’s date with Kuroba back in February, four months prior.A wave of guilt ate at him and he followed Hattori without a word to Hattori’s house in Osaka suburbs of Neyagawa-shi.+++
+++He stayed in the background as much as he was able once they reached the Hattori household. Hattori’s mother didn’t seem that surprised to have another person join them; she just included him in the offer of tea and pastries when she greeted them at the door. Hattori’s father was going to be busy tonight, dealing with the fallout of the men that they had caught, and ensuring that they met justice –alive-.Hattori and Kuroba excused themselves to set out the spare futons, as Kuroba knew where they were from previous experience, leaving Conan alone with Hakuba. They stared at each other awkwardly for a few minutes, before Hakuba excused himself. Conan breathed a sigh of relief as the blond left the room, feeling as if a weight lifting from the room. He fiddled with the nearly full tea cup infront of him for several minutes before placing all their cups on the tray and standing up as well.He owed Hattori big time. He’d messed things up, and the knowledge didn’t settle well in his stomach.Worse yet, he didn’t know how to apologise for being a douchebag to someone who was theoretically his best friend.Conan stepped out onto the wrap-around porch and paused, realising that he wasn’t alone. Hakuba and Kuroba were sitting on one of the steps, leading into the garden, talking quietly between themselves, heads turned towards each other in a semblance of companionable intimacy. Occasionally they’d look out and admire the garden, pointing something or another out to each other, then their attention would be drawn back to one another.It looked like they were flirting with each other.”Hakuba hasn’t asked him yet.” Hattori’s voice behind Conan made him jump. “But Kaito’s already said yes.”Conan looked up, finding Hattori leaning against the other doorframe, watching the other two teenagers with an unguardedly fond look on his face.”I thought you were dating Kuroba.” Conan said quietly. He would have thought the short tempered Osaka native would take offence to Hakuba moving in Hattori’s territory.”Broke up a few months ago.” Hattori shrugged casually in return. ”We were datin’ each other ta help each other through some rough spots. We’re still good friends.” There was a slight inflection in Hattori’s tone that said that he would have told Conan if he’d ever bothered to contact Hattori. Conan winced.He didn’t really have a problem with Hattori dating a –guy-. But the whole idea that Hattori was dating a guy who –looked just like him-. Like Shin’ichi.When he was Shin’ichi, he’d learned how to handle fangirls and the occasional fanboy. He loved Ran, and was that.But Hattori… Hattori really was his closest friend. The closest thing he had to a best friend. The idea that Hattori liked him as more than a friend… It felt almost like a betrayal. Like Hattori had betrayed him by liking him more than the parameters set in Conan’s mind.Yet he was the one who betrayed Hattori. He was the one to intrude on what was supposed to be a private date. Prior to that, he was the one who never bothered to call, to reach out and make an effort to continue their friendship.In retrospect, it was obvious that Hattori’s behaviour had always been more like someone trying to catch their intended's attention, than as a regular friend would act. He could see the difference now, between before Hattori started dating Kuroba and afterwards. He wasn’t the focus of Hattori’s attention anymore. Selfishly, he found he missed it.”I’m sorry I ruined your date.” He said softly, glancing up at Hattori. “I shouldn’t have done that.” He didn’t know what was worse, the fact that he had ruined Valentine’s Day for his friend, or the knowledge that had come from it.Hattori shrugged. “It worked out.” He said blandly. Hattori had learned beyond a shadow of a doubt that there was no chance for the two of them to be more than friends, gotten over it, and had moved on with his life. He seemed happier now, more laid back, if that was possible.What was that Hattori had said? About being in limbo, not knowing one way or the other, hurts?If that not knowing had this sort of effect on Hattori, what was it doing to Ran? He closed his eyes, feeling his gut make a funny lurch, or possibly his heart. How often had she cried because of him? Put up a happy front when ‘Shin’ichi’ called, only to sob later? That hollow look of hers when she was thinking of him, knowing that –he wasn’t there-?Hattori pushed himself away from the door frame. “I don’t know about y’all, but I’m beat.” He said, drawing Kuroba and Hakuba’s attention, as well as Conan’s.”Oyasumi, sweetie.” Kuroba said, tilting his head back to grin unrepentantly up at Hattori as the dark-skinned teenager walked toward them.Hattori leaned down and kissed Kuroba's forehead. ”Oyasumi yourself, darling.” Hattori drawled back, as he straightened, making Kuroba laugh. To Conan's surprise, Hakuba didn't respond to this, just watched the scene placidly. He would have expected the blond to protest the casual intimate behaviour, not just sit there and accept it.Hattori surprised him further by companionably patting Hakuba on the shoulder as he continued past. “Oyasumi, Hakuba.””Oyasumi, Hattori.” Hakuba said with a small smile and a tilt of his head. “See you in the morning.””Okan’s makin’ takoyaki fer yer trip back.” Hattori waved. “Just follow yer nose to the kitchen when ya wake up.”"Now that sounds like something to wake up for." Kaito stretched, his spine curving in a near impossible arc, much to Hakuba's obvious enjoyment. He flipped up to his feet, offering a hand to the blond. "Shall we?"Hakuba stared at him blankly for a minute, then smiled gently, accepting the hand up. They somehow managed to 'forget' to release each other's hands as they followed Hattori inside.Conan made his way to the step that Kuroba and Hakuba had been sitting, finding the wood warm beneath him as he stared up at the stars, his thoughts a chaotic mess.+++
+++It was later than he cared to guess by the time he finally made his way to the guest bedroom, finding the other three teenagers sprawled out on futons on the floor, snoring softly. Hattori slept closest to the door, spooned behind Kuroba. Kuroba didn’t appear to have a problem with this, one arm stretched out and holding on to Hakuba’s hand, who was on the far side of the mass of bedding. The magician lifted his head as Conan shut the door behind him, a sliver of an eye peering at him before his head dropped back down, falling back asleep.Conan lay down on the edge of the futons, grabbing a blanket and pulling it over himself. After a moment, he remembered to take his glasses off, folding them next to his head. He closed his eyes and evened out his breathing, trying to focus on going to sleep through the waves of guilt eating at him.The sensation of someone staring at him jolted him out of a partial doze and he opened his eyes a slit to glance around.Nothing.He rolled over and closed his eyes again. Sleep. He needed to sleep.… Was that a hiss?Conan opened his eyes, glancing around. He was pretty sure he’d just heard a snake.Nothing.He frowned and closed his eyes again. Why would there be a snake in the room? It made no sense.-And there was another hiss. He tensed, opening his eyes a little bit, peering through the eyelashes at the slumbering forms of Hattori and Kuroba.Tendrils, as transparent as smoke were draped over their sleeping bodies, pinpricks of light that might have been eyes staring at him. He swallowed and stared back. A forked tongue flickered out at him, but the serpents didn’t venture any farther than they were, draped protectively over the sleepers.Conan swallowed. He was hallucinating. Had to be.The bogeyman wasn’t real. The bogeyman didn’t exist.He shuddered and closed his eyes tight, pulling the blankets closer around him.Sleep was elusive, but when he finally succumbed to it, the stare of serpent eyes followed him there.+++
+++Conan was up and awake before Hattori’s Okan was, leaving a note behind as he caught the subway to the Shin-Osaka station to catch the Shinkansen back to Beika. He watched the sun rise, the world turning from shadows and shades of dark to sharp bright colours and a frantic buzz of activity.He observed it all in a distant sort of haze, still trying to sort everything out from last night. He probably shouldn’t have left Hattori’s like that, but he couldn’t deal with Hattori right now, much less Hakuba or Kuroba. He didn’t know what to say to Hattori, not now, not after so much silence.And then there was Ran. Ran, who was waiting for him, still waiting for him. Ran, who unlike Hattori, hadn’t given up on him and moved on with her life.What was he keeping silent for anyway? Agasa had warned him that if the mysterious organisation heard the was still alive, they’d take down everyone around him. But then, if that happened, it wouldn’t matter if they knew or not, did it?Ran would still be dead, waiting for him. While he was right there, hurting as much as she was.She would hate him, must hate him, for keeping silent so long. He’d hurt her worse than he had Hattori. And while he didn’t know what to do to make things right with Hattori again, --Hattori hadn’t accepted his apology, just said that everything ‘worked out’-- he could at least come clean to Ran.With this decision in mind, he wearily stumbled home, back to his real home, to the Kudo residence. He didn’t bother trying to struggle his way up the stairs, just walked into the library and collapsed into one of the comfortable padded chairs there.+++
+++When he woke up again, it was to the sound of someone moving around the house. He sat up, looking around with some alarm. The musical hum of someone singing softly relaxed him, and he stretched, rubbing his eyes a bit. The sun had fallen down, the angle of sunlight streaming into the window nudging it closer to sunset than sunrise. He’d slept most of the day.”You’re awake.” Ran wandered into the room, dressed in her school uniform, a small smile on her face. He stared at her, soaking up her presence like an orchid did water.”Ran.” He whispered as she moved towards the desk that dominated one end of the room.”I was worried about you.” She scolded as she turned around and leaned on it. “You just up and disappeared. Agasa-hakase called and said that you had slept over at his house. Are you feeling okay?”He nodded, staring at her. “Yeah.” He said dumbly. Then he gave himself a good mental shake. He needed to talk to her, not just gawk at her like some sort of love-smitten schoolboy. “Ran.” He said, firmer this time.”Ah!” She held up an admonishing finger, her eyes sparkling with teasing. “It’s ‘Ran-Neechan’!” She corrected.”No.” He shook his head, reaching up and pulling his glasses off. Best to do this now, quickly, before he lost his nerve again.She lost the playful air, head tilting to the side as she looked at him. “Conan-kun?” She questioned, confused.”I’m not.” He said, staring at her, his sharp blue gaze locking on to hers, his heart in his throat, despite the levelness of his voice. “I’ve been wanting to tell you for ages, Ran.””I am Kudo Shin’ichi.”-Fin-
----- CHAPTER BREAK -----
Close your eyes and bow your head, I need a little sympathyCause fear is strong and love's for everyone who isn't meSo kill your health and kill yourself, and kill everything you loveAnd if you live, you can fall to pieces and suffer with my ghostI shot my love today, would you cry for me?-Soundgarden “Burden in my Hand.”He could see the reactions flickering through Ran’s face. Confusion, bewilderment, amusement, mockery, rage-The phone rang before she could come up with a rebuttal for his confession and a polite business mask settled over her face as she picked up the house phone sitting on the library desk. “Kudo Residence.” She chirped, as if his confession hadn’t happened at all.He couldn’t hear what the other person said, but Ran’s expression fell, becoming almost fearful. Her hands shook as she set down the retriever. He swallowed. “Who was it?” He managed to get out.”I don’t know.” Ran said, giving him a perplexed look. “All she said was ‘He shouldn’t have told you Angel. Run.’”
He felt his blood run cold. Angel. Vermouth’s nickname for Ran.Shit.”We have to go.” He said, reaching up to grab her wrist and started pulling her out the door. “We have to go NOW.””C-Conan-kun!” She scolded, trying to pull her hand free, but fear gave him more strength then usual. “What-““We have to get out of here before they show up.” He cut her off. If Vermouth had heard, that meant that the mysterious organisation she worked for had him bugged.Agents were probably on their way right now to clean up this mess. They had minutes, depending on who was in the area and what was going on.”Before who does?” Ran’s voice was sceptical as he got them to the front door. “You’re not making sense.”He ignored her for a moment as he peered out the frosted glass of the front door. A black car was just pulling up front. They were a lot closer than he’d anticipated. “Shit.””What are you-“ Ran’s voice trailed away as two men dressed in black got out of the vehicle, the flash of polished gun metal gaining their attention. It wasn’t any members He knew. Probably flunkies. Had they been watching him then? Following him? How long had they been there and he not noticed?!”Get your shoes on.” He said tersely, grabbing his and shoving his feet into his shoes. “We’ll go out the back. Over the tree like we used to do when we were kids.”Ran did as he said, quickly tying her shoes. He did the same, giving the door one last glance before turning away. Ran followed him, grabbing her bookbag and throwing it over one shoulder. They dashed through house, feet working on automatic pilot after years of familiarity. Ran opened the back door, holding it for him, looking around for signs of other people. They weren’t any and she carefully, quietly, closed the door behind them.There was a bang from the front door, either the men in black coming inside or attempting to knock politely, he wasn’t sure. He grabbed Ran’s hand, tugging her towards the tree that they’d used to use as a tree fort when they were little. She picked him up, half-tossing, half placing him up on one of the branches that were now taller than her head. He scrambled through the branches, Ran lifting herself up like a gymnast behind him to follow.He paused at the wall, glancing over at Agasa’s house. He and Ai were thankfully out on a trip, visiting a sick friend of Agasa’s. He pulled out his phone, quickly pulling up Ai’s contact information and sending her a text of a single character.4.Shi.Death.He closed the phone and left it on top of the wall before jumping down into the alley. Ran followed. It was a pre-determined code, that their cover was blown and the mysterious organisation was on their way.”Which way?” Ran whispered, crouched next to him.”I don’t know.” He admitted. Anywhere but the Mouri residence. That would be the first place they’d look for them. Nor could they go to any of their friend’s houses.Oh, Gods. Ayumi, Mitsuhiko and Genta. He still didn’t have a way to get them out of their homes, away from the men in black. He shut that down, focusing on what he could do, getting Ran to safety. That was his number one priority.”North.” He decided on. Hattori was to the south, so they’d go the other way. When he’d first shrunk, there’d been a case on the boat and the young married couple had moved to Hokkaido. Hatamoto Takeshi and Natsue. They had an open invitation to visit their farm. He didn’t want to get them involved either, but it would give them a goal, a place to strive for that the mysterious organisation shouldn’t know about.There were also flights out of Hokkaido out of the country, if they could figure out how to do that. Right now though, they had to get out of Beika. He grabbed Ran’s hand and trotted away, ducking down one of the side alleys to get as much distance between them and the house as they could. They needed to avoid the large roads as well, where the cars would be travelling to get to the house.”They’ll be watching the local subway stations.” He thought outloud. The rail was the fastest way out of the city. “So we’ve got to get out of Beika before we can catch one.””What about Megure-keibu?” Ran asked, keeping pace with him. “Wouldn’t he be able to help?””They’ve infiltrated the police before.” He shook his head. “And I don’t know if they have sleeper agents there or not.”Ran’s face scrunched up in a surprised and leery expression. “Who are they?””I’m not going to lie.” He hesitated over the words before he answered. She already knew the big one, there was no reason to keep up the charade or the veil of secrets anymore. “… I don’t know.” He finally said honestly. All his time and energy spent trying to track them down and he still didn’t know much more about them than he had at the beginning. “Only that anyone who gets near them dies.”Something in Ran’s expression crumbled a bit, worry practically shining from her eyes. “Is that-?” She faltered over the words. Is that what happened to him.”Yes.”She lapsed into worried silence, holding his hand tightly. It was different from how they usually held hands, but he couldn’t quite place what was different. They jogged for a while, keeping an eye out for black shadows or cars. As they approached one of the rivers, He spotted and scooped up a couple of wide-mouthed bottles.”What are the bottles for?” Ran finally broke her silence as he stopped on the edge of the river, grateful for the moment to catch their breath.”One of my phones was replaced a while back.” He explained. The one that he’d left back at the wall at his house. “Mobile phones have GPS units and microphones in them, they’re probably tracking us through them.”Ran looked around, nervously checking that there wasn’t anyone in range wearing black. He almost laughed to himself, briefly remembering the one time he’d passed through a business district on lunch break. Hundreds of people, all wearing black suits, wandering around en mass.“They don’t just kill who ever discovered them, they kill everyone around them.” He continued gravely.”Otousan.” Ran gasped. “Sonoko…”He closed his eyes, taking a deep breath. Hattori. The Shonen Tantei. “You have one phone call.” He said roughly. Ran. Ran was the priority. “Make it quick. I’ll contact the other.”Ran swallowed, then nodded. ”I’ll call Otousan.” She decided. “Sonoko’s family is used to dealing with threats.” Coming from a wealthy zaibatsu family, no matter how clean they worked or how charitable they were, having money meant having enemies.”I’ll tell her not to go anywhere without a body guard.” He promised, pulling out his Shin’ichi phone and pulling up Sonoko’s number, texting her the message as fast as he could. Hopefully she would take the sign that it was from Shin’ichi as an additional warning. When he was done, he shoved his phone into one of the bottles. It was a tight fit and stretched the mouth into an odd shape, but it worked. He screwed the lid on, grateful when it returned back to a reasonable shape.Ran handed him her phone. “I told Otousan that there was a gas leak in the building.” She said with a worried look. “He’s using it an excuse to stay at a friends house for a few days and play mah-jong.”He barely bit back a scathing comment, taking the phone and repeating his actions before tossing both sealed bottles into the river. They disappeared under the water for a moment, then bobbed back up, floating down the river. “That should keep them busy.” He nodded, pulling out his Detective Boys badge. He stared at it for a moment, wanting to warn the others.He couldn’t tell them to run, where would they go? Hattori had found the mysterious organisation in their schools, the police department wasn’t guaranteed to be safe and they couldn’t go to Agasa. He closed his eyes and dropped the pin, before stepping on it, crunching it under his feet, praying that the mysterious organisation didn’t know anything about them.A foolish prayer, perhaps. But he didn’t have anything else to offer.Ran took his hand again and they trotted off again. They’d barely gotten a block away when the screech of tires and people shouting about rude drivers caught his attention.Two black men were coming out of an illegally parked black car, heading for the river bank with an intent air. Ran saw them as well, squeezing his hand so hard it hurt.”Down the side.” He whispered. Get out of visual range. She nodded and they quickly ducked down a side street, moving as fast as possible without drawing attention to themselves. It was quiet and he thought that maybe they had dodged them when he heard faint footsteps.”They’re following us.” Ran whispered, voice high and nervous.”Run.” He instructed.And they did. They ran and ran, down twists and turns, side alleys and empty streets. They paused for breath, leaning against a wall. “I think we lost them.” He murmured, pushing sweat-sticky hair out of his eyes.Footsteps approached. Dammit. Ran’s eyes narrowed, looking furious. “Wait, What-“ He reached out to grab her, but she moved before he could make contact, she was stepping out in to the alley.Oh, Shit.Ran roared out a battle cry and he peered out just in time to see her take down both men in black in four moves. She let out a hissing breath, calming back down. “Let’s go.” She said, holding out a hand, a wrathful vengeful goddess.He gawked at her for a moment. Then he hastened to take her hand. She wrapped his small hand in her strong grip before taking off running again. “Which way?” She said, a commander in charge of her army.”North.” He blurted out, feet barely touching the ground.She paused, looking around and he pointed. She charged off in that direction, him following after. They paused when they got to a major street, slowing down to a brisk walk.They didn’t say much as they moved as fast as they could without gaining suspicion. He steered them towards a train station so they could get to one of the larger stations to get out of the metropolitan area.As they approached, he felt his spirits cautiously lift. It seemed like they were going to be getting out okay.Which is when he spotted the black clad people hanging around the entrance to the small train station. They almost looked casual, businessmen waiting for an associate, except no businessmen would stand that stiffly off duty.He grabbed her hand, hauling her backwards and stopping her forward momentum. “They’re there.”Ran froze, staring at the gates. So close, yet so far.”Keep moving.” He said, tugging her away.”Can’t we sneak past them?” She whispered.He looked at her and thought about it. The mysterious organisation was probably looking for a teenage girl and a small boy. If they could change one of their genders, it might work. But all they had for a change in disguise was Ran’s gi. If they had something to bind Ran’s chest and hide her waist, it might work, but then they’d have to cut her hair. And he didn’t have anything to look like a little girl with, his clothing today was distinctly masculine.”Not without help.” He said slowly, with great reluctance.She nodded and then they were on the move again. The stations tended to be a couple of kilometers apart, they could press on a little longer. Darkness was falling, perhaps they could slip by under the lower lights.They kept walking. He was getting tired and Ran was starting to lag, her energy levels dropping. He glanced around, finding a vending machine and slipped a few coins in, getting them both energy drinks. They needed to stretch their money, they didn’t know how long they were going to be running.”Thanks.” She murmured, leaning against the vending machine she drank. He nodded and closed his eyes for a moment, running through their options. There really wasn’t a lot.He felt a shiver down his spine, like someone was watching them and opened his eyes. He looked around. There was no one around, but some of the shadows nearby didn’t look right. “Let’s move.” He said quietly, throwing his mostly empty drink away.Ran didn’t argue, trusting his instincts as they started walking again. The feeling of being watched increased, as well as a vague un-nervy feeling of despair that they were running out of time.Footsteps got closer. Ran grabbed his hand, gripping them tightly. He shot her a small smile, but wasn’t sure if she saw it.They turned a corner and she stumbled. Tiny bits of plaster and brick showered down upon them. They were being fired upon. He gripped her hand hard and pulled her deeper down the alley. More bits of walls exploded behind them. Ran made a small shriek as the bullets struck closer, dodging down another small side alley, dragging him with her.A few stumbling steps later, he realized this was a mistake.They were facing a dead end.Ran let out a soft whimper as they turned around. Two dark shadows with guns stood there.Shit.The flitting thought through his brain was that they maybe didn’t need to save their money quite as much.The two men in black snickered as they advanced, lowering their guns. Ran made another whimper, pulling him closer to him.”Grab on!” A voice shouted from above them. Something wrapped around his waist and he did as instructed without thinking. Ran yelped as both of them were pulled up the side of the building, the ground flying away beneath their feet.He wasn’t expecting to find himself lifted high into the air above the rooftop before being lowered down. Ran let out a gasp as they were set down on the rooftop and he got a good look at their rescuer. A gloved hand helped him to his feet.Ran gasped and pulled him away from their rescuer, her hands shaking.
”Greetings, Lord Hades.” The Kaitou Kid, his white clothing glimmering in the pale light grinned at them. “And my Lady Persephone. I am Charon, your guide for the evening.”Charon. In Greek mythology, the boatman who ferried the dead across the river Styx to the realm of the underworld. Conan broke out in a cold sweat, staring past the thief.Snakes. Lots and lots of snakes were the first thing he saw. All different shades of grey. Big snakes. Hissing snakes. The moonlight clad thief didn’t appear to be paying any attention to slithering creatures wrapped around them. Nor did he appear to notice the long blades that hovered dangerously close to his neck, attached to a human like torso. The monster’s face was twisted into a grotesque snarl, the pale eyes staring down the alley as if neither he or Ran existed.The face of the creature reminded him of Hakuba Saguru for some reason.”Don’t mind my conscience.” Kid said easily, comfortable in the monster’s grasp. Bullets whizzed passed them, one of them striking the low wall guarding them. One of the snakes flinched, making a hissing nose. Dark fluid dripped from a cut on it. Kid rested a hand on the creature’s shoulder as the snarl went up a notch, sending his hair standing up on end. ”Cerberus will guard our flight.””Ke… Kero…” He ground out as Ran squeaked and gripped him tighter, hard enough to bruise, to hurt. Sure that was more like Scylla, was it not?’Cerberus’ made a sound like a hiss from a very large annoyed cat, gaining Kid’s attention. He felt like he was going to faint, the aura the monster was putting out pressing against him. It was like the moment during the Kid’s heist when the thief had sprouted wings, only tenfold worse.He could feel Ran tremble like a leaf behind him, too afraid to move.Oh, god. Ran.Kid looked completely calm and unaffected by it as the thief turned towards Cerberus, placing a hand on the bare silvery arm. “Go.” Kid said, his voice rich with affection. “Catch your prey. I’ll meet back at the safehouse later.”Cerberus nodded, curling in on himself. Ran gasped as Cerberus’ seemed to almost split open, glints of metal rising from his flesh like knives. Gold, copper and teal. The pressure of the creature’s aura increased as the metal blades grew upwards, arching up over the Kid’s smiling form.He was drowning, suffocating in his guilt, in the lies he’d told, despair filling his mouth, gagging him, cutting off his air. He couldn’t breathe, expand his lungs, his deceit pressing on his ribcage, preventing him from drawing air. The world swam around him, inky black filling sparkling across his vision.As he passed out, he was left with the odd impression that the monster was sprouting wings.+++He woke up to the impression of flying. He was mostly warm, pressed up against something solid except the cold wind blowing on his face. He opened his eyes to find himself looking up at the Kaitou Kid’s face. The monocle was blocking most of his view, but what he could see looked more like his Shin’ichi self than his dazed mind cared to think about.”Ran?” He mumbled. He could hear her grunt nearby and turned his head to look. He kind of wished he hadn’t as he saw her launch herself off a rooftop.And then Kid followed. He swallowed a gasp as they flew into the air, Ran doing a somersault in front of them, then rolling to her feet as the Kid landed with a thud and kept moving.”Right.” Kid said briskly, just a bit of a smile in his voice. “We’re almost there.” Ran nodded firmly, dropping back out of his vision as Kid took the lead, directing her where to go. He clung to the thief’s white clothing as they leapt the small gap between rooftops again.”Ah, you’re awake.” Kid said, glancing at him before returning his attention back to their sprint. “You’re a hard person to track in an emergency.”He made a helpless confused noise in the back of his throat. “How?” The thief shouldn’t have been able to track him at all.Kid spared a hand to flick his glasses.He could have hit himself. Tracking device in his glasses. Ai had tracked him like that before.The Kaitou Kid came to an abrupt stop on a rooftop. “Here we are.” He said cheerfully, tapping on the rooftop with his heel twice. There were two thuds back and the Kid nodded to himself, apparently pleased. “Lower yourself off the rooftop’s edge, if you are uncomfortable, my dear. We shall assist you in.”He didn’t have a chance to ask about that before the Kid did a spin as he jumped straight down from the rooftop. There was a slap as the arm not holding him grabbed the rooftop’s edge, the Kid swinging in through an open window, landing inside in a crouch. Just past the Kid’s grasp, he could see several guns pointed in their direction. “Greetings.” Kid said, setting him down on his feet before the thief rose to his own.There was a grunt outside the window, Ran dangling from the rooftop’s edge. She swung her legs, hooking her feet on the window sill. The Kid nonchalantly assisted her in, one hand on an ankle, the other wrapped around her waist. Ran slid inside in a quixotic mix of graceful and not. “Here you go.” Kid said, taking Ran’s hand and pulling her deeper inside the room as if she were a fine lady of old. “Lady Demeter, I return your daughter Persephone to you, as promised.””Ran!” Eri broke loose from the shadows, engulfing her daughter in a tight hug. He wasn’t surprised to see tears in the ‘Ice Queen’s eyes.”How go the others?” The Kid asked, turning the attention away from the mother and daughter reunion.”We just retrieved Hypnos.” Megure’s voice startled him. As he looked around, he realized that they were surrounded by polices officers from the Metropolitan Headquarters. “Loki is Charon for Hephaestus and Aphrodite, Thor and Sif are waiting to receive them.””And the Zodiac?” Kid inquired.Shiratori answered. “Being bound by their Government. They’re working on it. Scorpio is debating joining us regardless, given his ‘undead’ status.””Right.” Kid nodded. “Well, he’d be useful. And the Erinyes?””Safe.” Shiratori inclined his head. “We’re attempting to collect their families.”The Kaitou Kid nodded again, face serious. “Thank you.” The thief said with a tip of his hat. “Since this Charon’s duties are done, Hermes shall collect our faithful watchdog.”That, at least, he could latch onto and understand. Watchdog for the dead, Cerberus. Hermes was the God of Thieves, Tricksters, Travelers and Messengers, so therefore probably the Kaitou Kid himself.Megure twitched. “Should we be expecting bodies?” The Inspector asked, not quite able to keep the disturbed tone out of his voice.The Kaitou Kid laughed. “Not unless they turn their weapons upon themselves.” The thief assured them. “Or Scorpio gets to them first. Until next time, gentlemen.” With that, the Kaitou Kid launched himself out of the window, disappearing into the night.The police officers around them breathed a sigh of relief. “Man.” Takagi sighed. “He kind of gives me the creeps.””You mean the monster that follows him around gives you the creeps.” Satou said, putting her gun away, tucked into her jacket.”Well, yes.” Takagi agreed shakily.”Psyche. Eros.” Shiratori scolded with an amused look. Both Satou and Takagi looked somewhat chagrined.He got his throat to work, his voice coming out as little more than a squeak. “Ah.” Megure turned and looked down at him, his face more somber than his usually friendly expression. “There you are, Co… Ku… Hades.”That gave him his first clear question. “What’s with the names?””Hermes’ idea.” Megure motioned out the window, the direction Kid had gone. “The walls have ears, as was evidenced by your declaration to Ra- Persephone earlier.””Four words.” Shiratori smirked slightly in bitter amusement. “Created a shockwave through the greater Tokyo metropolitan area.””How?” He croaked out.”Various listening devices in your residences.” Satou filled in. “You managed to drop that little bombshell into the ears of us, the FBI, the bad guys after you and the Kai… Hermes.”… Fuck.”It’s a good thing that Hermes was able to track you or we wouldn’t have found you in time at all.” Takagi added cheerfully.… Double fuck.”So I’m Eros.” Satou continued.”Psyche.” Takagi raised his hand. “… I don’t quite get it.”Greek mythology. Eros was the God of Sexual Love and Beauty. Psyche was his wife, who had won that right after several trials. He wasn’t going to explain that to Takagi if he had to.”Apollo.” Shiratori inclined his head. God of the Sun, Music, Poetry and Healing.Megure held up a hand. ”Poseidon.” God of the Seas and Rivers.And he was Hades now. God of the Underworld. Of the Dead. He glanced over at Eri, who still had an arm wrapped around her daughter. Demeter, Goddess of Agriculture, and her daughter Persephone.Following this logic, Aphrodite, the Goddess of Love, was probably Ai and Hephestus, the God of the Forge and the maker of Zeus’ thunderbolts, was Agasa. Which meant that they were safe.Hypnos, the God of Sleep, was probably Mouri. And according to Virgil, there were three Erinyes, so with the family reference, hopefully that meant that the Shonen Tantei were safe.He grasped on to that hope like a lifeline thrown to a drowning man.”But enough of that now.” Megure cleared his throat. “We need to get moving. Demeter, I assume you’re staying with your daughter?””For a little while.” Eri had a pinched look around her eyes and mouth, the past few hours had not been kind to her. He reeled, realizing that it had truly only been a few hours. Less than a day since he’d stood on the rooftop in Osaka, staring at the Kaitou Kid dazzle the masses.Megure… No, -Poseidon- nodded. “Then let’s go. There are cars are waiting for us.”++++++They traveled for the next several days, the hours bleeding from one into the next. Eri scarcely left Ran’s side until the time came for them to separate, Eri hiding in a different location for a while. Promises were made to meet later that month at an undisclosed location.He hovered around her, scared to approach her, but afraid to have her leave his sight. No one seemed to quite know what to do with him either, and he seemed to hover in the strange limbo of child and adult. Much like being a teenager, only drop-kickable.So he floated, offering information the few times that people talked to him, mostly sitting and listening with a sense of failure. He hadn’t been able to protect Ran after all. Or the Shonen Tantei. Or anyone. The Kaitou Kid had gathered the information and connected the people to fight the Mysterious Organization outside of the normal channels.Hattori was the one to pull the Police Departments together, using his father’s connections as an excuse to travel and deliver messengers. Having a high-ranking father meant that he was both inside and outside the police’s sphere of influence at the same time.Hattori was also known as ‘Heimdall’, the all-seeing, all-hearing sentry who guarded Bifrost, the rainbow bridge, the entrance to Asgard. There was some irony there as Heimdall was known as the ‘Pale White One’ and Hattori was the darkest Japanese person he’d ever met.As Heimdall, Hattori worked mostly with the police officers in Nagoya. Yamato Kansuke, Uehara Yui, and Morofushi ‘Koumei’ Takaaki, were Thor, Thor’s escort Sif, and Loki, respectively.They were currently somewhere in the United States, hidden by James Black’s branch of the FBI, also unofficially known as the Zodiac. Akai, Scorpio, was off hunting their prey as Jodie, Cancer, helpfully hid them.And no one knew what hell was going on with Kid’s ‘conscience’. Such a creature should not exist, save for the mythology books.So he quietly floated around the edges, not really sure what to do or what his place was anymore. He was used to taking action, being in charge, even if it was behind the scenes, but there was nothing for him to do here.Which was nearly as unbearable as the sense of failure that pressed down upon him.It was around a week in this state that Ran eventually sought him out. He’d been curled up in the library of the large house they were hiding in, holding a large volume of Sherlock Holmes novels, occasionally opening the book and flipping through the pages without seeing or reading them. The words were old familiar friends, ones that he was thankful for, even now.”Co… Shi….” Ran shook her head, even as he looked up from his book at the cut off versions of his name. “I don’t even know what to call you.” She admitted, almost sadly.”Which ever you prefer.” He shrugged, setting the book aside. It didn’t matter to him, not really. At least not while he was stuck in the body of a child. If he was back in his real body, that would be a different story.She made a non-committal sound, just looking at him. It was an effort, but he kept his head raised and looking at her, soaking in her lovely visage. She looked tired, slightly lackluster, as if she had lost some of her sparkle. Some of her wondrous naiveté at the world.Yet another sin to lay at his feet. “They’re offering to send me to ‘Kaasan for a while.” Ran said quietly, leaning on the wall against the closed window. It wouldn’t do for the wrong person to look in through the window and see them after all.He couldn’t quite hide the flinch her words brought. “I see.” He murmured softly, sliding out of the chair to stand, the better to face her. It made sense, to give Ran a chance to recover with someone who hadn’t caused the problem in the first place.”I turned them down.” Ran said, giving him a soft smile. It was the same soft fond smile he often saw as Conan while she was thinking of the missing Shin’ichi. “I’d rather stay with you. …If you don’t mind.”It took a second for him to be able to speak from the lump in his throat. “I… don’t mind at all.” He admitted shakily, relief nearly making his knees weak.Hades had kidnapped Persephone, from her mother’s colouful fields and dragged her down to the dark gloomy Underworld. Demeter, in her rage and grief, set a curse upon the land, refusing for anything to grow. The Gods intervened, sending Hermes down as the messenger, to bring Persephone back to the Gods.Demeter rejoiced, but Persephone had eaten a few pomegranate seeds in the Underworld. And since she had eaten the food of the dead, she had to return there for half the year, ruling as Queen of the Underworld.In some legends, she was tricked into it. In others, she chose this willingly, having felt sympathy for the lonely Lord of the Dead. Ran smiled at him, and this time there were tears in her eyes. “I’m so glad to see you again, Shin’ichi.”He moved closer, reaching up and brushing her hand with his. “Me too.” He admitted, tears pricking at the corners of his eyes as well.She clasped his small hand in hers and held on.Nothing more needed to be said.-fin-
----- CHAPTER BREAK -----
"So how does it feel to be going up against your former employers, Eris?""Just fine." The statuesque blond cocked her shotgun with a feral grin.Aoko grinned back as she adjusted the fit of the body armour around her waist, her own expression just as bloodthirsty, if not more so.A lot of people had protested when Chris Vineyard, aka Sharon Vineyard, aka Vermouth had joined them, claiming that she was a spy or a traitor for the mysterious organisation. Not that Aoko had blamed them.At least until she saw Eris in action. Their ‘Goddess of Strife and Discord’ went after their prey with a single-mindedness that rivalled Aoko’s own.The fact that both Hades and Hermes vouched for her didn’t hurt either.Aoko had gotten her name, Artemis, the virgin Goddess of the Hunt, for a reason. Although she was aware that most of the guys called her ‘Shiva’ behind her back.But it felt good to have a focus for her anger. When she was younger, she was annoyed at the Kaitou Kid for mocking Touchan.Then she found the real seed of her anger. The Mysterious Organisation. The people who had killed Uncle Toichi. The people who made Kaito take up the mantle of the Kaitou Kid. The ones who tried to kill Kaito.The ones who destroyed her Touchan. He never recovered from the discovery that they had infiltrated his inner circle, becoming one of his assistants, the big nosed guy that no one could remember his name. Touchan quit the Force after that, unable to deal with that betrayal.So Aoko took up the mantle, hunting the people that had ruined the lives of those that she loved. It was a dirty job, but someone had to do it.No rest for the wicked and all that.Kaito and Saguru helped. She was the only one to know that they were actually Hermes and Cerberus. Everyone else knew them as informants Janus and Perseus, travelling magician and detective.Janus, the two-faced God of gates, beginnings and endings, and Perseus, the Greek hero who slayer Medusa. There was some irony there, that Saguru was rather pleased by.They were the main ones in contact with Hades and his bodyguard Persephone. Vermouth, just before she took up the name Eris, confessed that she believed Hades to be the ‘Silver Bullet’ to take down the mysterious organisation. After all, she’d added with a smirk, just look at what he’d inadvertently accomplished just by attempting to confess to his girlfriend.Aoko hadn’t been there for that night, but she’d heard stories about it, from all sides. Kaito’s was the best, because it included screaming and fainting like a little girl, which the other stories lacked.Another reason why Aoko didn’t mind Eris was that the immortal woman had decided that if Aoko was going to charge head first into danger, Aoko needed back up, and had promptly taken Aoko under her wing. Both on and off the battlefield, Eris was Aoko’s personal private shadow, making sure she ate, slept and didn’t let her temper get the best of her too much.Aoko knew that she was a replacement for Persephone, who was kept far out of reach of danger, but she didn’t mind. Eris was the mother-type figure that she’d never had.Mother type of figure with sharpshooting capabilities, lethal aim and an even more lethal sense of honour and humour. All of which were in fine form today, as they prepared to confront her former compatriots, Gin and Vodka.Eris had a just the teeny tiniest grudge against Gin and Vodka for tapping into her wiretaps on the Kudo residence, seven years ago. Thereby getting to Hades and Persephone before she did and endangering their lives.Today was payback. The Pantheons versus the last of the Mysterious Black Organisation.The Gods versus the Ghosts.Kaito’s idea, a psychological trick, but it worked well.”You ready?” Eris inquired at her, rising from her crouch with casual ease.”Always.” Aoko nodded back, doing a cursory check of her side arm. She was Supervisor to the unofficial squadron, therefore not on the front line today, much to her annoyance. “Got my back?””Of course.” Eris smirked. The words were flippant, but her expression was not. Eris would, and had, take a bullet for Aoko.Aoko smirked back, triggering the Bluetooth radio in her ear that allowed Hades to listen in. “This is Artemis to all Gods.” She announced.Her men, her loyal hounds, looked back at her, eager to start the hunt, merely waiting for her command. She motioned them forward with a predatory smile.”Attack.”-fin-