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Summary: In which Shinichi wears different masks, and escape is a popular topic
The next week flows in a disorganised harmony of confusion and unease.
Kaito tries not to toe the line too much, attempts to avoid attention and the staring eyes that follows it. His cell is on the top floor in C block, which he's learnt is in the prison's centre. From what he can make out during time in the prison yard, and from making his way to the west workshop during the afternoon, blocks A and B are either side of the gatehouse.
There are roughly six-hundred yards between his cell block to A-block. If he sprints it, he's certain he can cross the yard in just under a minute and a half.
The issue is just where he goes from there - sneaking into the other cell block is just a lock down waiting to happen, but if he can manage to get inside the gatehouse…
He'd be one step closer to freedom.
The only problem is that he hasn't got the tools to get out of his cell. He could try to antagonise Kudo like he had with his previous roommate, but something in his survival instincts are warning him that he really, really shouldn't try that.
Not after finding out what happened to Yoshida. When Kaito sees him walking around the prison yard, he notices the patch over his eye and shivers. He doesn't know how injured the man is - but if Kudo did that unprovoked then…
Kaito shudders.
"What are you thinking about now?" Kudo asks from where he's sat cross legged against the wall, another book in hand. It's the sixth Kaito's seen him with - the dude's book obsessed, he swears.
Kicking his feet from where he is sitting on the edge of his bunk, Kaito shrugs.
He says, "that Yoshida guy… you did something to his eye?"
Looking up, Kudo closes his book. He looks faintly surprised, as if he hadn't been expecting to be called out on the matter. He tilts his head. He says, "after I got him to stop hitting you, he decided to go for me. Going for his eyes was the quickest way to get him to stop."
Kaito thinks back to the fight - it had only taken seconds before Yoshida had been on the ground, curling in on himself, covering his eyes. But… But still.
"I… Why'd you help in the first place? He wouldn't have come after you…?"
Kudo's fingers tap against his book, once, twice, each tap more violent than the last. After a moment, he sighs, "I'm pretty sure if I hadn't stepped in, you'd have been in the infirmary for a long time."
"What…?"
"Yoshida was immediately placed in Block C." Kudo leans his head against the wall, looking up. "They only place high profile cases in here, the people who need to be under the most supervision. He's not exactly high risk of escaping, with how heavy-footed he is, so he's probably here for serious assault or murder."
What does his crime have to do with this? Kaito thinks. He's about to ask, when he notices the small smile on Kudo's face. It's the expression of someone who is content - he's seen it before, on others who've come to a conclusion and are eager to share it.
"He's quick to anger," the ex-detective continues, "and he wouldn't have held back, not with the way he was shouting, radiating all that anger. If I didn't break it up, there was the likelihood that he'd have fought back against others."
That… almost makes sense. Even if it does seem to be a pretty… drastic response.
"Plus, I'm pretty sure Yoshida wasn't going to understand the dynamics of this place," Kudo lets out a small laugh, "people should really learn their place in here."
Kaito gulps.
"Their… place?" He mumbles, moving back on his bunk. For a moment, he wants to beg the guards to send him back to his old cell, understands why they think keeping him in this cell would be a problem - they've given him a room mate who is out of his mind.
Glancing up, Kudo stills. Rubbing at his temples he says, "that came out wrong. What I mean is that all prisoners are here to be punished, not to punish others."
Does he not understand how hypocritical he sounds?
"And you're… above Yoshida? You can punish others…"
Kudo smiles - when he meets Kaito's gaze, his eyes are devoid of warmth. In his head, Kaito reminds himself of what he knows about the case: A detective who had punished other criminals by taking their lives, of course he feels like he can harm others, he probably thinks they deserve it.
"Didn't you see how he went for me?" Kudo tilts his head again, "that was pure self defence."
Kaito's nervousness grows.
Both roommates tend to keep their distance outside of the cell, something that gives Kaito a temporary state of calm - a time to rest the poker face that he's constantly wearing inside his cell. The only time, really, when they notice one another outside of their cells, is when all of C-block are ushered into the cafeteria during meal times.
Usually, Kaito tries to avoid Kudo during meal times. It's not that difficult - most prisoners leave Kudo to his own devices, letting him eat in peace lest they end up in a situation of Kudo's 'self defence.' They leave a gap between them and him on tables.
Some days, when Kaito glances over, Kudo is talking with one of the guards - always the same officer - expression shifted from calculating to something… kinder.
Two weeks into sharing a cell with one another, Kudo beckons Katio over during lunch. The thief hesitates, but is quickly shoved forwards by another prisoner telling him not to risk it. Which… doesn't fill him with much confidence.
Still, he makes his way over to the table, tray in his hands.
"KID!" Shinichi says as Kaito places his tray down on the table, taking a seat opposite him. "I thought you might walk past me again."
Now that he looks at him, Kaito can see purple marring the other man's neck, bruises hidden beneath his overalls. It's strange, how even after two weeks he'd been so unobservant as to not notice them - either Kudo hides them brilliantly, or Kaito is the worst cell mate ever.
"Kudo-kun," Kaito says, and then he pauses, "…again?"
Kudo pauses, lowers his chopsticks, "…oh, if you didn't notice then I guess it wasn't on purpose. Don't worry about it!"
Even if he tries not to, Kaito knows he will. Instead, he picks up his own chopsticks, mumbles a thanks for his food, before digging in.
"So, KID…" Kudo pipes up after a moment, "…have you had anymore… incidents since Yoshida?"
Around a small bite of mackerel, Kaito shakes his head. He feels almost calmer now, having something to do while the other man talks. Dinner conversation, he thinks, is always much more neutral compared to conversations within a cell.
"Nothing," Kaito says, "people tend to leave me around."
Kudo smiles. Kaito thinks he prefers this smile over the previous one's he's received - whereas the other was cold, this one has a warmth to it that reminds Kaito of autumn and fallen leaves rustling beneath his feet. It is not a smile he's seen since setting foot inside the prison.
"I'm glad they're leaving you alone," the ex-detective says.
"But they don't leave you alone,?" Kaito asks, glancing around momentarily, before bringing his gaze back to Kudo's bruises. They look like hand prints wrapped around his throat, but grow more splotchy as they reach under his clothes. "Do they?"
Taking a bite of his own food, Kudo shrugs his shoulders. He winces as he swallows and Kaito can't help but feel like he should have noticed earlier.
"A fair amount of the people in here," he says, "are here because of me. From when I was a detective. Sometimes they like to blame their imprisonment on me."
It's both illogical and logical, Kaito thinks. He does it too, sometimes he feels resentment welling in his stomach when he remembers how he'd still be free if Hakuba hadn't thrown the shackles on him - sometimes he feels more like Hakuba is an enemy, and less like he is a rival.
"That's not fair…" Kaito protests.
Kudo turns, looks over at the over prisoners that give him a wide berth, and sighs. He says, "it doesn't really matter if it's fair. It just… is."
The following day, when Kudo beacons Kaito over during meal times, Kaito doesn't hesitate.
He's not sure what it is about the ex-detective, but there is something melancholic about him. He's seen shifting emotions and he's not exactly sure how he should respond to each reaction he receives. It is like Kudo is constantly weaving through different masks, like KID used to during his heists, and… Kaito doesn't exactly understand why he's shifting so much.
Kaito wonders, not for the first time, if Kudo is similar to him - so used to hiding the integral parts of himself that now it is difficult to let them simply exist.
"Did you know," Kudo says, hands wrapped around a cup of tea, "that I once attended one of your heists?"
Kaito can feel the moment his eyes brighten, feels a small amount of glee in his stomach. "Oh really? I didn't know."
Kudo lets out a small laugh, sipping at his drink. He says, "you were trying to steal a clock tower. It was a pretty fun case."
"Ah," Kaito leans back, his chopsticks firmly against his plate. "I remember that being one of the hardest heists to pull off. Someone kept anticipating my every move."
"What can I say," Kudo grins, "I'm pretty good at solving crimes."
He is also good at creating them, the unhelpful part of Kaito thinks, and while he tries to push the thought away, he can't. It's surprisingly easy to talk to Kudo, despite him having murdered people, but it is a lot more difficult to forget what he's done.
Kaito is pretty sure there will always be a part of him that is on guard against the other prisoner.
"You're quite the escape artist though," Kudo continues, "you kept coming up with various different ways to get out, even as I started seeing through them all."
"I wish it were as easy there, as it is in here." Kaito breathes.
The sad thing is that it would be easy to escape from this prison, if he had all of his devices and tools. If he had access to the building plans, he'd be able to memorise the dimensions and come up with several escape routes. If he knew where guards patrolled and when, he'd be out of the prison without so much as being seen.
Without all of the information, his plans are incomplete.
He can only improvise.
"It is easy," Kudo says, glancing around - his gaze lingers on the air vents and the window, all places Kaito has scouted before, "if you just look in the right places."
Kaito pauses.
"If you talk to the right people," Kudo gestures to the guard in the corner that Kaito has seen him conversing with regularly, "and if you know the layout of the prison well enough…"
"I suppose," Kaito says, "but there's a lot more than that, like unlocking doors, I don't have anything…"
Raising an eyebrow, Kudo leans back, finishes the rest of his tea. He says, "once again, I really think you should look in the right places."
Half of him wants to ask whether Kudo has planned his own escape, whether he'd be capable of actually following through with finding freedom. The other half of him wants to stay quiet out of fear of the answer.
"Anyway," Kudo stands, brushes the creases from his overalls, "I'm heading off. See you in a while."
"See you," Kaito says.
Kudo lies.
They do not 'see one another in a while'.
When Kaito returns to his cell, it is empty.
A week passes, and it remains vacant. A week passes, and Kudo remains gone.
His week ends the way it starts - uneasy and confused.