"So, who are you?" the teen next to him asked, body language radiating boredom rather than the tense fear everyone else had. The question was quiet enough that Kaito barely heard it, but it didn't attract their captors attention, so that was probably the point. He was staring up at the roof, but Kaito knew he was talking to him.
"Kuroba Kaito. You?"
"Kudo Shinichi."
"Kudo-san, are you in this sort of situation a lot?" Kaito tilted his head at the teen and received a piercing look in response.
Shinichi shrugged in an almost lazy manner that belied the intensely focused look he had. How that gaze had managed to escape the robbers' attention, Kaito would never know. "I guess. Bank robberies aren't that common, but I've been at the last three in the country."
Kaito suppressed the urge to laugh. This guy had to have the worst of luck. "So, how do these guys rate compared to the others?" he asked, an amused smirk on his face.
Shinichi let out a surprised snort, clapping his hand over his mouth as one of the robbers glared at him. It took him a moment to compose himself, but he then said, "Not even dangerous. Those aren't real guns, and I think only three of the five have any sort of training in fighting."
Kaito turns his gaze to the guns, unable to tell whether they were fake or not himself. A risky idea was beginning to form in his head based on this stranger's words. "How certain are you of that?"
There was something sharp in Shinichi's smile, a few too many teeth showing for it to be anything close to happy. "I know guns and even three is possibly a bit too high of a number."
Kaito hummed and met Aoko's eyes across the room. Their captors had deliberately separated anyone who knew each other, probably to prevent them from scheming. He, once again, resisted the urge to start laughing.
He gave her a smile, trying to convey that everything would be fine, even if it seemed like he was about to do something stupid. Perhaps it was a bit too much for a simple smile to convey for she simply looked steadily at him, body curled into a loose fetal position.
"So," Kaito said, voice deliberately slow. "If two hostages were to try to overtake them, how likely would they be to succeed?"
"Two teenage boys, with at least one having a background in soccer?"
"And the other with a background in gymnastics," Kaito confirmed.
Shinichi tilted his head back once more, obviously thinking it over. The sharp grin was back when he looked at Kaito. "I think they would succeed if they started in about one minute when half of the group is at the other end of the bank."
"Right then. We'll do it then," he said, voice almost too low for anyone to hear, but Shinichi nodded all the same.
"Want to meet up sometime after this?" Kaito asked, deliberately placing a hand on Shinichi's neck, making it quite clear that he didn't want to just be friends with this fascinating stranger.
A slow smile stole over Shinichi's face as he nodded. "Definitely." He let out a very long breath as they both simply stayed still. "Now."
They exploded into action, taking down the man closest to them before the others were even aware they were moving. They were almost constantly aware of the other's movements, working together flawlessly. Shinchi ducked between two desks as Kaito cart wheeled over them, landing right next to the man who had about to hit Shinichi while he was busy with the only female in the group. A hit to the back of the neck made her crumple on the floor while Kaito's opponent went down howling as Kaito viciously smacked the man's knee with a chair.
Aoko had gone after one of the men once she realized that no shots had been fired, even though they obviously could have taken a clear shot, taking him down neatly. What seemed to be a married couple had successfully attacked the last man, leaving him unconscious with a broken arm.
The hostages filed out and gave their statements before going home. Kaito waved at Shinichi, who was still talking to a police officer for the moment. He walked over to Aoko, who had finished before him and decided to wait up, and they both headed home. She seemed a bit shaken, but Kaito couldn't stop grinning. Lady Luck loved him, to make a bank robbery and hostage situation such a good event.
It was only after he arrived home that he realized the only useful information he knew about Shinichi was his name.
