Just so you know...

A Rampo Kitan: Game of Laplace one-shot

A/N: Well... at least I tried. Just so you know (pun intended), this is a translation from one of my works (so originally, it was written in french), so don't expect perfect English. Far from it. I just hope you native English speakers out there won't have a sudden urge to maim me by the end of this.

Also: unbetaed. You've been warned.

The scene takes place after the end of the anime, but don't expect anything too awe-inspiring. x'D

On this note...

ENJOY!~

(Disclaimer: Rampo Kitan: Game of Laplace belongs to whoever made it; only this particular situation is of my invention.)

Hashiba heaved a great sigh while observing his classmate rummage through the agency's disk collection.

"...Kobayashi... One day, you'll seriously be the death of me. I know it has already been two months, but I still can't believe how you could have done such a thing... You may not value your life, but – and I wanted to tell you this earlier, but what with all the Twenty-faces cases recently... – but, at least for me, or, well, I mean, you can live for me-I mean, if you wish, with me-!"

Before the bespectacled young man could spontaneously combust, Kobayashi interrupted his speech, though he didn't bother turning around for now.

However, this time, his answer was different from all those he had given his worried classmate during the last two months.

"Oh but, Hashiba-kun, that's not the reason I jumped."

To his credit, his absent-minded answer had at least the merit of getting the attention of, not only the glasses boy, but also the detective sprawled on the sofa, the latest 20-Faces case resting on his chest.

Usually, Kobayashi would have already teased Hashiba and his mother hen tendences at this point, and would have smiled when faced with the obvious affection this young man held for him.

Not today.

The short brunet continued.

"It's just that, in order for Akechi-senpai and Namikoshi-san to make up, the only way was for me to jump."

After saying those words, the 'part-time transvestite' finally reported his attention from the gramophone and the disk in his hands, to Akechi. His golden eyes looked deep into the detective's stratled ones.

"I'm sorry Akechi-senpai. I was so sure it would work..."

Silence.

Then,...

"KOBAYASHI!""What is it Hashiba-kun? I'm right here, no need to shout.""You...! You can't just-! This kind of-...!-"

"Kobayashi." This time, the interruption had come from Akechi. "Come here for a sec."

The young detective had set himself back upright on the sofa, and was staring at his assistant with a rare intensity.

Said assistant observed him for a little while before coming over and sitting in seiza position at his boss' feet.

"Are you mad Akechi-senpai?" he pouted, tilting his head to the side.

"Kobayashi. From now on, even if it is the only way to accomplish what you want, the most logical way, I want you to remember this: never ever use your life in the equation again."

Kobayashi's big curious eyes were staring up at the abnormally serious detective.

"I thought you'd have wanted to be with Namikoshi-san?" he said after a moment, some confusion in his voice. "And I already said it on that day: I wanted to make my life useful."

Akechi considered those words as well as their author, still kneeling in front of the sofa and himself.

'Yes you did, and at the time I thought you were talking about sacrificing yourself to help Namikoshi complete the program...'

The detective took his head in his hands, elbows resting upon his knees, and sighed silentely.

"I did think it seemed way too reckless for someone like you... This time you really outdid us all, Kobayashi. To think you had planned this far ahead, even the program hadn't predicted that."

(It was almost scary.)

The shorter boy didn't say anything, but his mind seemed to have focused on something else already, namely the new 20-Faces file his boss had set down on the low table, clustered with coffee cans.

As usual, when something caught his interest, he was easily distracted.

However, while some months ago he would have pounced on the item that caught his fancy by now, today he settled on the occasional furtive glance; then he'd focus once again on Akechi, as if waiting for his approval, before starting all over again, long bored with the conversation. Might it have been a sign of his growing interest in the people around him?

Akechi motionned Hashiba to take over, before lounging once more on his sofa, saving the file from Kobayashi's unnerving gaze.

This made the brunet pout while he stood up, dusting his clothes and turning his attention towards his classmate.

Hashiba had a sad expression on his face, which was rapidly transforming into anger.

"Kobayashi! Why didn't you say anything sooner! You can't use your body- I mean, your life this way! I won't allo-""I won't do it again Hashiba-kun."

The short innocent sentence brought the bespectacled young man up short.

"I know it's illogical, but you already told me not to do it again because you don't want me to die. I don't understand why, but I did promise I wouldn't do it anymore, for you Hashiba-kun.""I-I-I -y-y-y-you...! Akechi-senpai! Tell him that he can't just say that...!" the furiously blushing teenager attempted, half-turning towards the slouched detective, who – by then – had long averted his eyes from the scene.

"Yay for youth. Do take extra care in cherishing your friendship.""Hn!~""Akechi-senpai!"

During the 'reprimand' that followed, Akechi had enough time to wrap the new 20-Faces case, call and inform Nakamura of the news, and was starting to sip his third coffee can.

(He may not need to drink the stuff with his pills anymore in order to try and dull the pain, like he used to, but now he was completely hooked.)

As for Kobayashi, he had had the time to change his cute clothes at least five times, while Hashiba had changed colors just as many times – sometimes discovering previously-unknown shades of red.

The detective never would have thought he'd gain a couple of assistants overnight, the both of them so bright, and one of them whose potential he had apparently underestimated; Kobayashi had a unique view on things that often offered the new angle of reflection he needed, while Hashiba gathered the data that would be essential to the resolution of the case, and at an impressive speed.

The first time he had lost Namikoshi, he had sworn not to ever get attached again; but he barely had the time to fall once more into solitude, that he had met two strange specimens on a dismemberment case. The androgyn with a never-ending curiosity for the macabre, and his mother hen of a class rep..

Several cases solved with those two clinging to him, and it was way too late for him not to get attached: somehow, they had already found a way in his mental palace without his knowing.

Namikochi. If you're still alive somewhere out there, know that I found two people you'd probably be at least as interested in as I am. Even if you don't like them in the beginning, you'll see that they're quite stubborn, mostly Kobayashi – well, at least if you catch his attention, but I think you might have done that already, what with jumping off a building together. And Hashiba- he'd surely be worried once he'd see your injuries – because if you're alive, you musn't have wriggled out of this mess unscathed –; he's that sort of person after all, even the police didn't stop him from seeing his best-friend. To be honest, I wish I'd had his courage back then, and maybe then everything would have gone differently.'

Akechi hid his smile behind his can and momentarily closed his eyes, the sounds of Kobayashi's laugh and Hashiba's stutter merging with the music of a very special disk.

At last, he slept.

A/N: Yep, not much I know. Hope you enjoyed reading it anyway ;) Please leave a review, even if it's to rage about my abysmal English skillz~ xD See ya! ;D