Omake: "On The One Hand – An Aside"
Disclaimer: Nothing belonging to me…
AN: The last volume of the Magic Kaito Treasured Edition came in! I am sooooo happy right now – and I decided to share some of this happiness with you! Have fun reading this latest installment of my ever-growing fanfiction Tea, Anyone?
This (hopefully last) Omake of this fanfiction is explain some of what might have happened in the time before the last chapter/or give you readers a hint about how it could go on, at least. Now, if anybody cares to review on this story (maybe again?) – I might take suggestions/inspirations from those reviews. Though I feel quite confident that this story is quite finished as of this chapter, I am not (yet) opposed to continuing these rather amusing tea sessions. You may say that I have grown fond of them, by now.
I have also included an explanation for the Japanese numbers that function as chapter breaks at the end in a separate author's note!
And now: On with the story!
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Kyû/Ku/9
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Waiting. She was good at that. She'd been playing the waiting game for too long, not to be. Languidly, she stretched her abused muscles. Absentmindedly, she mused that she might have been standing in this position a little bit too long now. Of course she knew that everything would go as she wanted it to. But that didn't mean it really and truly would. She had to make sure…
After all, it wouldn't do for him to get hurt or injured in the process, would it? He made such a fine tool- oh. Dark blue eyes, ever-sparkling, ever-analyzing looked straight at her through the glass that she was bent over. Right. So he'd noticed her watching, had he? An eagle's eyes fixated her. His intelligence was present, his mind putting together clues that only barely left her lips and which could be found in the letter that she'd had delivered to him. Naturally, he'd find out. He was a detective at heart, and she shouldn't have forgotten that fact. Now she was paying for her carelessness with the truth that he'd deduced.
Really. Why in the world had she forgotten that a bookwright sometimes made for a much more dangerous detective, and was at the same time, a much more underestimated enemy? Would it matter in the grand scheme of things, though? No, it probably wouldn't. The ripple that this distraction, this careless mistake would cause wouldn't be felt much at all in the world, she mused. Her world, however, might get shaken around, the foundations being swept aside like so much dirt on his pristine, perfectly white necktie. If it should be rattled for all it was worth, then so be it.
She'd take his accusations and deductions face-on, she decided, still gazing into those deep swirls of blue that he'd claimed as eyes. With a snap, the image was diffused, leaving her glass bowl and her alone in the dark room, unwanted watchers and obsessions forgotten for the moment. Only the shadows that played all around her, guarding her and playing with themselves on the walls – never intruding, never controlling – framed the high school girl who started meticulously packing away her belongings. It wouldn't do to dawdle, she knew, but if she rushed things now, nothing would go according to her plans later on.
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When he entered the room that she was sitting in that very same day, it was already dark outside. Not that this hampered her any, nor did it him, it was just an ignorable little tidbit that brushed both their thoughts with a feather-like touch. Both knew that the one person they had put all their focus on these past few weeks, had a few months passed by, even?, and, in her case, years, would probably cross his own house's threshold now. Maybe he'd already crossed it. They didn't know. For once.
It was a negligible notion, when the more important problem was standing right in front of her. In all honesty, she didn't know what to make of him. Having invited himself into her abode – the lioness' den, so to speak, - she couldn't begrudge him his achievements, no matter how much she wished the opposite was true. And yet… Had he not helped her, played her henchman for those past intricate strings that she'd had to pull in order to extricate-
And there went her mind again. They'd never get anything done if her thoughts kept chasing themselves in circles on tangential issues. She had to admit to herself in her mind, though, that she was curious about what he had come to speak about. With her right hand, she motioned for her manservant to leave them alone – the spirit had brought him in, it didn't need to watch or eavesdrop or, in the worst case, do something about what they'd tell each other. The spell that she put on it would only last a short while, but that would be enough time to talk about things, she reckoned. The spirit was there to guard her, after all. It wouldn't do to anger the prison guards assigned to her.
With another gesture, she invited her guest to come closer and take a seat on the opposing end of the oak table she was sitting at. Perched in a dark green, very much cushioned chair decorated with ornaments that were reminiscent of one of those that duchesses in European countries may have once sat in, she regarded her… deliverer? Yes, that word described him quite nicely. Nevertheless, she didn't dare speak this term out loud, lest he take offense. Detectives were such a delicate folk to be handled sometimes… dangerous and delicate at the same time. A rose came to mind as a mostly-accurate comparison, as did an overgrown hedge. A puzzling people. In a league of their own.
In that, they made as much sense as thieves did. The mystery writer – detective! – dangerous opponent and keen helper at the same time – slowly ambled closer. She was certain that his eyes; despite never roaming the room in anything other than quick glances to the left and to the right; drank in every single thing as though he wanted to reproduce the room, the atmosphere and the magic in it, just as he was seeing it in that moment later on in a book of his. Undoubtedly, this chamber, the grand and beautifully decorated dining room of her house, would inspire at least one location in a chapter of his books-to-be.
Mayhaps, it would feature honorably as the Dining of his antagonist's house. Her lips curled in a grimace of a smirk for a brief moment. There and gone again. He'd arrived at the table by then, his arms dangling at his sides in a relaxed gesture of confidence and alertness. Her own arms and hands were lying on her chair's armrests, her fingers curling loosely, claw-like. She didn't want to appear threatening at all, nor did she want for him to take her lightly.
He had placed himself right behind the second chair that she'd put at the table's side opposite of her. It was less decorated than hers by far, but still served its purpose, so she had supposed it would suffice for the writer's one-time visit. She'd see to it herself that this occurrence would not repeat itself.
The author closed his eyes and took on a benevolent expression that didn't fool her for a second. With a slight smile on his face, it appeared he'd finally settled on something to say.
"Now, now. I should think that unnecessary violence isn't all that necessary here. This is, after all, a conversation between two grown people, isn't it? And we do have the same interests, at least in this case. Now, would you please put aside the knives and switch off the electronic crossbows that are aimed at my person, Miss Witch-san?"
She did not trust him, did not trust his words at all. With a flick of her right thumb, the switch that activated the crossbows to fire was turned off. Her eyes were half-lidded as she regarded him levelly. Detectives. Or, rather, famous authors of mystery novels. A representative of an extraordinarily dangerous species had come to pay her a visit. The dark blue suit that he was wearing most certainly did not distract from its owner's intelligence, nor did its flattering his features do anything to put her at ease. It was almost as though the night sky had come visit her in person. And still.
Was it abnormal for her not to be on her guard too much tonight? She had to guess so. But her knowledge of where exactly his loyalty and his morals lay reassured her that her paranoia might just not be justified this once. So she turned it down – never off, never far away at all to reach. Right after she'd switched off the crossbows' fire mechanism, he'd pulled out the chair, sat down in it and his whole demeanor relaxed. A slightly ironic smile played on his lips when he moved on.
"Now, shall we move on to business matters? Or would you rather we did some small talk for appearance's sake?"
He'd seen through her plan, hadn't he? It was fairly obvious that he'd met her kind somewhere, possibly way before he'd agreed to work for her. With her? One could never be sure who manipulated whom in such delicate situations. The odds certainly had been stacked against her when he'd approached her. Oh, she was sure it had not been the other way around – as she'd first believed. Dangerous. It definitely fit this midnight blue suit.
Yet he'd returned him. Inadvertently, he'd helped her. What was this world coming to? And, more importantly, what would happen now? First things first, she still owed him an answer.
"Let's not dwell on the mere beginnings of a conversation. We know one another too well already for that to make sense any more, don't we? I suggest a truce concerning this time, detective. Will you accept?"
"And leave without-?" – "And leave without destroying the peace." It was her smile that became dangerous now. Edges developed where there should have been a smooth line. She'd cut him off on purpose this time, knowing roughly what his next words would have been, had he been allowed to utter them. Sometimes it was better not to end a sentence with a point.
She'd had to leave it hanging in the air; in this room, under these circumstances and with these eavesdroppers you had to be careful if you didn't want to be devoured. Ironic, wasn't it? Without actually intending to, she'd protected him from their wrath. It was almost like that thief, she mused to herself quietly. He was territorial about his things – some of his chasers as well as his chased ones – to a fault at times, too. This one time it wasn't to her disadvantage, she thought. Maybe she'd need his services again. Frankly, she was of the opinion that she would need them again sooner rather than later, if she wanted to call on him in particular or not.
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Jû/10
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After he'd exited the mysterious mansion and saw the night sky spread above him like a dark blanket once more, he turned around and took one last look at the witch's abode. He had to give her points for style, he conceded in his mind. Nonetheless, this meeting of theirs certainly did bring matters into perspective. A slight smile graced his lips as he put his hands into his pockets and made his way back home. The mystery author knew he'd have to flag down a taxi, otherwise it'd take too long, but he wasn't worried. There were plenty of those to be found at the nearby Ekoda station, weren't there?
His mind was elsewhere, deeply entrenched in the mystery that was his friend's rescue. He knew he'd played a fundamental role in this endeavor, but the girl had been careful to exclude the mention of anything untoward that might have happened while he'd been at it. Oh, he knew something weird had been going on – especially when that light show had started. The smile developed into an amused smirk. That girl couldn't have been foolish enough to think she'd be able to hide everything from him. She hadn't appeared foolish to his eyes, at all.
No, he'd had the impression that she was almost cat-like, as she'd perched on her throne in front of him. They wouldn't get along for too many adventures, he'd known immediately. As a precaution, he hadn't touched the tea, either. What a pity. She would have been an intriguing tea partner, to say the least, had they decided to meet more often in the future – a proposal which she'd negated almost in the second right after he'd uttered the invitation.
At the same time he was immeasurably glad, though. She'd helped him, after all, hadn't she? She'd aided him in regaining his most-sought-after rival and dear friend. That was a gift that nothing could compare to. His friend. How lost and desperately hopeful he'd been, when he'd finally picked him up! How long his journey had to have been, how far he'd probably travelled by the time that the mystery author reached him. Yes, Yûsaku mused to himself quietly, it certainly was a value far greater, far beyond most anything else that the world could offer, to have a friend waiting for you – helping you out of the deepest depths of the world's abyss, just because they were worried for you and wanted you safe and home again.
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AN: Well, it seems this installment is kind of an Easter Egg for you. (Believe me when I say that the date overlapping with Easter was utterly coincidental. Yes, there actually is a system to my madness.) Hope you like it!
Important: Like I said above, I am considering this story to be concluded now – should someone have an idea or inspiration for me, please leave a review or write me a pm. I'll be sure to take it into consideration and might create yet another chapter for this fanfiction – though, as of now, nothing is set in stone yet.
All in all, I'm slowly getting back into the process of writing again, but I'm taking it easy at the moment. University – my semester abroad is looming on the horizon –, work, family and various other projects are taking up a considerable amount of my time, so I don't know when I'll be able to post another chapter for my other stories yet. I'll try to update my profile page fairly frequently and keep you updated there.
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Aaaaaah right. Almost forgot! ;_D
The riddle about the numbers in all these chapters will be solved and explained here:
Have you ever heard about a game called Goroawase? It's a Japanese word play that utilizes numbers as a code. Wikipedia has a very good site on it, I suggest you google this game. The numbers symbolize specific syllables from the Japanese alphabet:
1=i/ichi
6=ro/roku
8 = hachi/ha/ba
9=ku/kyû
10=jû or tô/dô
In this story I have used them to form words – one word per chapter. In this chapter I used 9 and 10 – Kyû/Ku and Jû or Tô/Dô. My intent was to create the surname of Akako's tea companion: Kudô. Which one, however, is your call. ;_)
Anyone finding out the three other names that I've hidden like this? I'll hand out cyber cookies to the one who posts it first in a review!
Happy Easter to you and
Thank you very much for reading!
Cheers, Leuny.
