Thanks for the comments/favourites/follows you guys! Hope you enjoy this update.
In which everyone is in Tokyo, and Heiji joins the investigation to find the very people he's helped break out.
Tokyo - 4.01 pm
"I still don't think that this is a good idea."
Kaito doesn't respond to the nervousness this time, grabs hold of Shinichi's words and throws them out into the wind.
Nothing they're going to do, really, is going to be a good idea - breaking out of prison and causing panic across the police force was technically a bad idea, but they've done it. Catching the train into Tokyo wasn't the smartest idea either, but well, they've been walking around Chiyoda for over an hour now, weaving in and out of crowds.
He's not even sure what Shinichi's worried about. Either he's uneasy by the crowds that swamp them, drowning them in a sea of pedestrians, or he's unsettled by the fact that they've slowly started to wander in the direction of the police station they're planning to break into.
Kaito doesn't particularly mind it himself, slowly sidestepping closer and closer towards his target. They can't go into the station yet - need to prepare, need a little more time to come up with a plan that won't get them caught immediately - but they can case out the station.
"Listen," Shinichi mutters, "we shouldn't test our luck. We should plan and then go near the station-"
The thief turns to him, gives him a blank expression before shaking his head. It's stupid to hesitate, Kaito thinks. Why would they want to subject themselves to extra worry, negativity that might not even affect them at all.
He just needs Shinichi to think of something else. Anything that gets him to forget about their proximity to the police station will be welcome, and Kaito needs it to be big. He can't talk about their personal lives - cannot say anything that people might overhear and link back to them later… but…
"I never actually told you about Pandora, did I?"
Shinichi stops in his tracks. And just like that, Kaito's pretty sure that he's got the ex-detective's attention. It just sucks that he has to talk about Pandora, to get him to stop thinking about being captured again.
"You didn't." Shinichi says quietly, walking again, next to Kaito in the street. It's weird having conversations with one another in fake voices, Kaito thinks, but at least he's not the one who's listening to a female - he wonders whether it's easy for the detective to remain serious, or whether he has to try.
"It's a gemstone." Kaito says, after a few seconds. "It's the one I've been trying to steal for years. The one I ruined my life to find."
Beside him, Shinichi stares at the ground. Kaito doesn't know what's going on in the detective's mind, but there's surely something circling around, questions he wants to ask. Sometimes, when they talk, Kaito wonders whether Shinichi is judging him - he's not a criminal, and Kaito is… He wonders if he's judging him now.
"Why Pandora?" He asks, and Kaito isn't sure if he's asking why that gem in particular, or why he decided to choose Pandora over the rest of his life.
Sometimes, Kaito wonders it himself - he could be living a perfectly average life right now, but… He really shouldn't spend his time looking back.
"The original KID was murdered when he didn't steal it for them." Kaito says. "So, now I'm going to find it, and I'm going to destroy it."
Shinichi sighs, and for a moment, Kaito doesn't know how to react. He smiles instead, like a machine trying to act out emotions, the quirk of his lips strained.
He tilts his head when he looks at Shinichi, the subtle action screaming at him to respond.
"I'm going to take down the organisation that killed my father," Kaito continues, throwing his arms up and spinning around to face Shinichi on the pavement, walking backwards. He grins, "And you know what? It's going to make all of what's happened worth it."
The responding frown isn't very comforting, but Kaito doesn't let it bother him.
Instead, he waits for Shinichi to speak, watches at the ex-detective grapples for the right words - He doesn't seem able to find them.
"I didn't think you'd be the type of person who wants revenge." Shinichi says.
"You're trying to take down your own organisation," Kaito points out, "tell me that's not slightly out of revenge, for the fact that they got you thrown into prison. Tell me you're not going to feel any satisfaction when you get them thrown into prison."
"That's different," Shinichi sighs, and it's obvious to anyone with ears that this is not the way he'd imagined the conversation going. It's not how Kaito had imagined it either, but he's never been very good at letting things go - is probably why he's in this situation in the first place. "My indictment was a result of my investigation. And I was only looking into it because it was the right thing to do."
"I'm also doing the right thing." Kaito says.
"Are you?" Shinichi asks. This time, it is Kaito who stops walking - beneath his mask the blood drains from his cheeks, and his smile falters ever so slightly. He should have known that detectives only ever take the moral high road… But still… He takes a breath and reworks the smile back onto his face.
"Frankly, I don't know. I've only ever been taught the law - Nobody explained the difference between right and wrong. I think everyone just assumed that I got it, that rightness coincides with lawfulness, but that's… that's not true…"
Kaito turns walks ahead of Shinichi so that the ex-detective can only see his back.
"Maybe you're right…" Shinichi says from behind him. "The law hasn't exactly helped me out either… Looks like we're just on our own to figure it all out."
Kaito lets out a small laugh, "we've got a lot of time to figure it out, I suppose."
"I can't believe ya fell asleep on th' train."
Heiji lets out a sigh, rubs the sleep from his eyes as he pockets his phone. He's done the polite thing, has checked in on Hakuba's situation at the police station - You'll be able to find us in Department Two, we're sat in the main offices.
He's also done the illegal thing, and checked in on Kudo and Kuroba, the phone call short and brief, telling them he's also in Tokyo and that he'll check in with them properly when he's got more information.
Now, cradling his cheek in his hand, he stares out of the window of his taxi, Kazuha sat beside him. He's not told her everything about the reason he's decided to come to Tokyo, hasn't even mentioned the case - but she does know that it's got to do with him being a detective.
"I was tired, ya can' blame me for tha'." Heiji whines as the taxi pulls up at the station. He yawns, stretching his legs as much as he can in his chair. He can't wait to be outside again, to actually stretch without hitting his elbows against the car's interior.
"I guess not." Kazuha sighs, "Were ya workin' a case again?"
Heiji nods, leans forward to pass the taxi driver his fare. As they're getting out of the taxi, he says, "yeah, was looking over a few murders."
"As you do," Kazuha says, climbing out of the taxi. They grab their bags - they've not brought much from Osaka, just two backpacks, each with clothes that will last them a few days - before making their way into the station.
Neither Osakan has been to the station before, and have to ask at the front desk for directions. It takes a while, since everything is so hectic - Heiji has the faint feeling that Kuroba would love to hear that, it seems to fit what he's read about KID - but after a while, one detective says that he's on his way there and that he'll show them the way.
He introduces himself as Detective Takagi, and Heiji tries not to let it show on his face that he recognises the name from Kudo's stories. Instead, he grabs hold of Kazuha's wrist and pulls her along with him, telling her to hurry up and not be an inconvenience.
"Ahou," Kazuha mutters, but her steps quicken.
"Don't be such'a idiot, idiot." Heiji says, and lets out a small laugh as she hits his arm.
It doesn't take long until they reach division two however, and their playfulness dies out, drowned out with the serious atmosphere that swamps the division.
Kaitou KID had been their biggest arrest in years, the sheer publicity of catching KID reaching the news stations not only in Japan but across Europe as well.
The fact that Kuroba is now free… well… The moment it gets out to the media, Heiji's certain the division is going to have difficulties surviving the scrutiny.
"Thanks detective," he says to Takagi, before calling out for Hakuba, who's sat by a desk. Kazuha trails behind him, mutters under her breath that 'I wasn't expectin' th' guy to be so… blond…' stopping a step behind Heiji by the table.
"The psych files ya wanted," Heiji says by way of greeting, and drops the file in front of Hakuba, grinning as the other detective jumps, glancing up from the stack of paper he'd been reading over. "How's th' investigation goin'?"
Hakuba frowns, before signalling at Heiji to take a seat.
He does, and beside him Kazuha sits as well, although she pulls out her phone. Heiji finds it astonishing how easy it is for her to tune out cases, especially when they're in a police station - it truly marks her as the daughter of a police chief.
"It's difficult." Hakuba says, passing the papers he's been reading over to Heiji to read.
They're about Kudo's time in solitary confinement, and Heiji glances over them with minimal interest. He already knows the basics of what had happened - Kudo had caught a lot of murderers, and inside the prison, he'd had to protect himself. Violence was a necessary evil, and while Heiji doesn't condone it, he understands.
"It's not easy to solve, I mean." Hakuba continues. "The solitary reports aren't telling me much. I've not looked at KID's yet, but Kudo-kun's are telling me things I'd already gathered. Some violence, although it's only ever against people he'd gotten convicted…"
"Except here," Heiji says, having flicked through the pages, and stopped on the final pages. "On this page, he gets two days in solitary fer attacking Yoshida Haruki - he wasn' one o' the men convicted by Kudo before he was locked away."
"No…" Hakuba says, taking the paper that Heiji passes to him, to look over the incident report. "But he was present at one of KID's heists a year ago… was arrested shortly after KID was for grievous bodily harm… Do you think… This was the first point of contact between the two?"
Heiji nods - it's the first link they've been able to find, anyway. He remembers Kudo telling him about standing up for Kaitou KID, and wanting to talk to the criminal he'd once squared off with in the past.
"And then th's final incident." Heiji says, reading over it. "He got eight days in solitary after a violent outburst wit' a guard?"
Hakuba nods. "It's probably a lead, but I'm not sure what to make of it yet."
Neither does Heiji… The next time he talks to Kudo, he'll have to ask him about it. It's something Kudo had kept even from him. He doesn't fully understand why Kudo would fight with a guard - either something big had happened to settle him… or… maybe he'd wanted to get himself locked in solitary for an extended time.
"It's something we'll have t' look into." Heiji agrees, and tries not to shudder at the thought of it. He crosses his arms, "what other leads have we got? We might need some to do with the actual escape, not what happened weeks before it."
Hakuba's expression shutters, and crosses his arms over the table. He steeples his fingers, and Heiji hates when the Brit does that, because he's one of the few people who can steeple their fingers without looking completely stupid.
"All the guards found in the cell when searching for any clues, was a playing card on the top bunk." Hakuba sighs, "it had KID's caricature on it, along with the words, 'better luck next time', scrawled in pencil."
Heiji has to suppress a grin. Such a bold display left behind by Kuroba makes him believe that the thief might actually want the police to come chasing after him again. He wonders whether Kuroba enjoys having the police on his trail - whether he likes the danger that comes along with it.
Maybe he'll ask.
"Well… then…" Heiji says, "maybe this is a sign that Kuroba plans on coming back to play games with the KID task force."
Hakuba glances up, "…Kuroba?"
Heiji freezes for a millisecond, realises that he probably shouldn't be referring to Kuroba by his surname, before offering a sheepish smile. "That's what KID's called right? There's no use calling him a phantom thief if everyone knows his name."
He receives a raised eyebrow. "… I suppose that makes sense. You're probably right though, KID isn't just going to give up his heists, when I spoke to him last, he told me that he was searching for something. He'll resume heists until he finds the gemstone he's after."
"Do you think he'll come back to Tokyo then?" Heiji asks, despite knowing that they're already in the city, walking around, waiting for Heiji to send them crucial information on the locations of any safe houses that Kuroba had before his capture.
"It's certainly possible." Hakuba nods. "Aoko-kun… Ah… Inspector Nakamori's daughter, seems to think that he'll return to Tokyo."
Heiji nods. "And Kudo, do you think they'll be travelling together?"
Hakuba shrugs. "I'm not sure yet. From the way he got angry over Kudo-kun's case however, I think that KID might be loyal to Kudo-kun for at least a short time. But, I'm not sure."
"Okay…" Heiji nods his head, takes the information in. "Suppose they're in Tokyo… I imagine KID would have places they'd be able to hide. I'm pretty sure newspapers said that he had safehouses. Think he'll use any?"
"It's possible." Hakuba reaches over, picks up a bulky folder. It's labelled Kaitou 1412, and Heiji waits as the detective opens it up, flipping through pages until coming to a stop. "There were four locations found when he was caught. All found through CCTV feeds to give us more evidence for a conviction. We could suggest to the Inspector to watch over the locations, just in case they drop by."
Heiji nods, stands and reads the locations over Hakuba's shoulder. He says, "that's a good idea. We're probably closer to catching them already."
4.26 p.m
A text buzzes in Kaito's pocket - he'd taken it from Shinichi shortly after the phone call with Hattori, testing his pickpocketing skills - and he pulls it out, almost eagerly.
In the text, are four addresses. Kaito curses, but after a few moments of hesitation, passing the phone over to Shinichi to read, he brightens again.
"Don't worry," Kaito says after a moment, "there are more places we can go."
Shinichi raises an eyebrow, "really?"
Kaito nods, leans forward and grins. "They only found four of my Tokyo safe houses. I've got two more - so where do you want to go, Shinjuku or Nakano?"
The author very much so enjoys comments.