Disclaimer: I don't own MK or DC, or any other manga/anime to be exact. I just like to let my imagination run loose :D
Ladies and gentlemen! I humbly welcome you to the next chapter of this story.
This chapter I present you how our detectives will put their plan into action. As I am sure you'll notice, the first part is written from Kaito's perspective only.
First of all I wanted to apologize that it took me this long to update. Unfortunately I've got a tense situation at work, but it shouldn't last longer than one more week, so I'll probably have you waiting only once more ;)
Sele-chan – Despite all the warm it would give, I don't think a person with cracked ribs would appreciate the hugs xD And it wouldn't be Kai-chan's style to let it be anyway ;)
Chibi Youkai – I'm glad you appreciate my works, hope I can keep you satisfied ;)
Lady Paper – Sorry to keep you waiting there :D And glad I could put a smile on your face ;)
Madelita – I probably made a too much of a 'mama bear' out of him xD But I honestly couldn't stop myself xD I just love it too much ;)
Spade – Oh believe me, I loved writing it myself xD I believed he would want to traumatize the guy who started the whole mess x]
Mists – You have no idea how happy it makes me to read a review like that :) Yeah – just wanted to show somehow the mix of feelings Kaito was going through, how tired he was from all the stress and pain he's been through and that he wanted nothing more than just accept the comfort Saguru was offering (in the end he is just a teenager), but at the same time how much unsure and wary of it he was. Glad I managed to achieve it at least a little bit :) And as for the detectives idea – Iwon't probably surprise you guys here xD
JarayZ – I'm happy to read that I managed to warm your heart so much ;) In the end that was part of my goal :D Thought Kai-chan might want to let the guy feel how it is to be blast every now and then :] Thank you for your kind words :D
Loyal DC Fan – Well, I think that the biggest problem in writing DC fics is the sole fact that the boys are geniuses and - for the most of us – we're not ;) It's sometimes hard to imagine what and how fast they could figure out without any background info, and which traps they can manage to avoid, and how ;) And since they're here up against another genius – well that kinda adds to my issues here xD
Kameo1 – Oh yes, she is very important to him. And Kaito isn't the type of a guy who is able to keep up being silent for too long once he doesn't have a direct need for it ;) I hope I won't disappoint you with this chapter 3
Kensy Echo – Well I haven't read the "Sunflowers.." as I want to see it first :D The typos are my nightmare xD It is sometimes hard for me to write in English ;) I'm very glad that you like my story so much and that I managed to draw so many emotions out of you with it :)
So without further delay…
Please enjoy and review! :)
Chapter 12: Hunting or hunted?
He was abandoned by Lady Luck. This much was obvious… It's probably all because he decided to act friendly with Hakuba. Yep, best settle with blaming him. At least it's a little fun. But not the point here… All started yesterday, at school. Ahoko got mad at him because – as she claimed – 'he pranked Togashi-kun too much'. Yeah right, the little weasel had it coming. Heck, if Kaito knew how it was going to end he would do so much more, than just explode everything the guy opened… Anyway after that Aoko was just a pain, he tried to distract her and eventually managed to, promising her to spend some time with her on the next day. Well, he had plans only for the evening and since he couldn't train too much, he guessed that he could spare some of his rest. Was he ever going to just be able to lay down and rest for a day? He doubted it… Aoko tried to make him agree that Hakuba would join them, but no way. He may have agreed to go easy on the detective, but he surely didn't intend to let it move that fast.
In the morning not surprisingly Kaito found Aoko and Hakuba both standing on his doorstep. Again. This time, he did slam the door in their faces. And it felt good. Too bad he only managed to smirk a bit before he got kicked out from his house by his mother… traitor. Oh yeah – she came back a couple of days before, like the stray cat she was. She decided that she would be acting like a mother now… At least what she believed mother should act like. Kicking out an injured son didn't quite match with what Kaito would expect from a 'motherly care'.
That's how he ended up going to a café with Aoko and Hakuba. The girl was annoyed for the 'door slamming' thing, he was annoyed by her bringing the blond along, so they argued for the whole way there. Kaito even managed to lighten up a bit, but seeing how Hakuba was acting bugged him. He was just too quiet and a couple of times Kaito noticed signs of worry on his expression, when he was sure magician wasn't watching. Was he still going through their conversation? Or maybe he felt guilty for butting into their private time? He should if he had any decency. None the less Kaito decided to keep a closer look at the blonde, just in case he was planning something. But besides that, nothing unexpected seemed to be happening.
With a simultaneous sigh with Aoko they finished their quarrel and sulked a bit. That didn't last long. They all made their orders, started chatting and it seemed everything would turn out nicely.
Just as Kaito started relaxing, letting his guard down, somebody roughly grabbed his left shoulder. He barely held back a wince. He turned towards his assaulter only to notice to his dismay a dark skinned guy yelling at him with a strong Kansai accent.
"Oi Kudo! Why didn't you say you returned, huh?! And why aren't you in Beika? Got in an another quarrel with your little wife?" Hattori was babbling fast and loud, laughing in between and not letting anyone to cut in, while Kaito was struggling with his flee or fight instinct.
He would sure love to question why did this happen, but he couldn't let his mouth babble just random things, while he would be busy with his thoughts. So once he regained control over his Poker Face, he backed out a bit rising his arms.
"I think you got the wrong guy here. Don't know any 'Kudo' and sure am not him myself."
A quick glance lower reveled the shrunken Kudo beside his Osakan friend… Well… that was expected… If you see Tantei-han you are bound to see Tantei-kun somewhere near. Lady Luck really did hate him today.
Fortunately Aoko decided to join in the dialog, so he could gather his thoughts. Now why did he ever think it was a good idea to let that shrimp know, that they look similar? Ah… because it was so hilarious to see his shocked face back then. Kaito sighed mentally. But wait a minute, Tantei-kun was here so why did… Oh no they didn't… They were expecting him here, weren't they? And it's a trap to make him squirm. But how did those two even know he would be here, Kaito didn't usually pick this café. Unless… hounds are pack animals right? He threw a quick glance at Hakuba, who was showing now an inconclusive shocked expression, at the newcomers. 'You're gonna be so sorry if it's your doings…' he thought. He had to recall what was said until now, as he had to move, because Hattori was pushing his way on a bench, Kaito was sitting on alone. He wouldn't normally let him on it, but if he didn't move the other teen would bump into his injured leg.
"That's right, he's Kaito, not Kudo." Now, why was Kaito grateful to Aoko for butting in? Oh right, time for thinking…
"Huh?" Hattori blinked in quite convincing surprise "But he looks just like Kudo Shinichi. You sure, you're not the one mistaken?"
"No, he's Kuroba Kaito, my childhood friend, like I would mistake him for anybody else…" Kaito had hard time not shooting Aoko an annoyed look and another to the devilishly smiling shrimp.
"But look here…" this was the moment Hattori decided to sit next to Kaito, forcing the magician to make some space and taking out his phone "See? This is Kudo with his girlfriend – Ran. By the way you could be her sister!"
Aoko and Hakuba in unison leaned towards the phone to take a look, sticking to his role Kaito also took a glance there. The girl let out a shocked gasp and took the device to take a closer look.
"Huh, freaky. Who knew I had a doppelganger." Kaito's voice was nothing but impressed "But who are you guys? And who's this 'Kudo' guy anyway?" He threw a suspicious look at the two boys. Little imp sat himself next to Aoko and Kaito was sure he did that just to annoy him more…
"Oh right, we haven't introduced ourselves…" the guy was so going to regret that sly smile… "My name is Hattori Heiji and this kid here is Edogawa Conan. His my friend's cousin. Me and this guy here…" He poked the phone "We're kind of famous. They call me the Great Detective of the West and he is from the East." Kaito was glad he didn't have to hold back his smirk seeing how Tantei-han was proud saying that.
Kaito spoke before Aoko could introduce herself "Hm… Great Detective you say? Probably not so great… Never heard of you…" The annoyed glare from Heiji was all the pay the magician hoped for, unfortunately Tantei-kun only smirked at it "You Aoko?"
The girl shook her head with apologetic smile towards Heiji and looked at Hakuba, who shrugged.
"Well yes I did, we have even met a couple of times with Hattori-kun… As for Kudo-kun, we haven't met yet, I believe." He answered to the silent question.
His tone did indicate that the Brit and the Osakan didn't love each other too much and a little something about Kudo, but Kaito couldn't place his finger on it, yet. But it wasn't important now.
'Got ya!' He held back the victorious smile and asked thoughtfully "Oh, you did? And is he any good? Compared to you, that is…"
The frown on Hakuba's expression made magician sure, that he saw through his scheming, but he couldn't just boast the hot-head "Well… He isn't that bad…" He tried to get out of the question diplomatically, but Hattori cut in angry, clearly swallowing the bait with the hook.
"The hell? I could solve a case, before you would even figure out your zipper."
"Unless you would destroy all the evidence running around like a maniac." The Brit sighed tiredly.
"At least I have my priorities right!"
And it looked like there was no stopping them, as Aoko's and Conan's attempts to calm them down went unnoticed. Kaito pondered a bit over the hint of a smirk which appeared on the Osakan's face, just before he took the bait. During the quarrel their order was delivered and the magician asked for an additional slice of cake. Eating his ice-cream Kaito was holding back his grin, content listening and betting which one would withdraw first, when Conan asked loudly with his chirping voice towards him, in an attempt to distract the two.
"Kaito-niisan, are you also a detective?"
Hearing the question made Kaito stop holding his grin back, as that was all he needed "Me~? Heavens, no~! I'm much more fun than that… I'm a magician~!"
There was a blast of confetti which covered him and Hattori. A startled "Oi!" left the dark skinned teen mouth and a second later there was another rain of colorful paper around Conan. As the confetti covers cleared the magician chirped "Smile~!" followed by a click of a camera. Aoko covered her mouth and Hakuba's eyebrows moved upwards when they saw Kaito holding his right arm around shoulders of the now neon yellow-haired Osakan, with full make-up and glasses on his face. The girl squealed delighted looking at the little boy held by the magician with his left arm. He didn't have his glasses on and his hair was ruffled in the same way Kaito's were.
"Oh my gosh! Kaito~! How did you do it? He looks just like little you~!" she took the startled boy out of his hands.
There was a small puff of smoke, as the camera vanished from Kaito's hand and he let go Hattori. 'One blackmail material obtained~' He smiled at Aoko and waved his finger at her.
"A magician never reveals his secrets~"
Hattori rubbed his face and looked surprised at his colored hand "What the..?" He looked puzzled at some bystanders laughing form the scene and looked at a hand-mirror given to him by some woman "The hell?!" He stood up suddenly and dashed towards the bathroom, nearly trampling the magician, who just barely managed to move away.
"Hattori-kun! Don't use wat –" Hakuba stood up and yelled after his fellow detective to stop him from making a mistake and regretting it later.
"Oh no, you don't~!" Kuroba cut in with a devilish smile and there was another puff of confetti.
After the paper cleared again Kaito was sitting at his starting place, near the window, propping his chin with his left hand and watching Hakuba with delight.
"Pink really is your color~ You should consider permanent change, you know."
The Brit sighed not impressed, nor angry and took out a bottle out of his pocket.
"You're getting predictable Kuroba…" And he sprayed the substance on his hair.
Hattori let out a scared yelp, as he saw watching from the distance, when Hakuba's head got covered with pink foam. The Brit tried to shake it off, but it seemed in vain. Conan and Aoko moved away from the now resigned teen and watched the mess on his head in awe. Kaito was glad he was himself right now, as he could laugh to his heart content. Were they going to get revenge on him? That was for sure, but at least he's going to get his fun before it happens~.
"You were saying~? Kekeke… Hakuba… Thought you'd learn by now~…" He kept laughing as the Brit's hair turned into a pink afro.
"Oi… What will happen if I wash mine with water..?" Hattori, with his eyes still focused on the mess the ex-blonde's head was, asked with shocked voice pointing his own hair.
"Who knows~? Why don't you give it a try~?" Kaito teased and threw a glance at Conan.
He grinned imagining the boy with green hair. The shrunken detective looked at him with startled eyes and hid behind Aoko, quickly smoothing his hair back to the cowlick.
"Nee-chan… I'm scared…" He cried clenching his fists on her clothes.
She protectively locked her arm around the boy "Don't worry Conan-kun, Kaito is NOT going to do anything to you…" Aoko threw an annoyed glance at her friend, challenging him to do so.
Imp's act maybe was good enough for Aoko, but Kaito didn't miss the sly spark in those blue eyes. He should have dyed his hair before, but couldn't help wanting to show off before Aoko. He clucked annoyed, he was not in shape to face a mop-fight and a vengeful detective at the same time. And how fun could that be?
Hakuba was calmly studying a hair, he plucked out of his head and scrubbing it with his nail, while Hattori slammed his hands on the bench and table next to Kaito.
"Oi! How do I wash this of?!"
The magician grinned at him and shrugged "You're the 'great' detective~ Figure it out~"
Kaito didn't miss how Heiji stopped his movement, when he nearly touched magician's right arm. Nor how he slightly widened his eyes as he did, or the angry look Hakuba shoot at him for it. Kaito smirked, as that was all the proof he needed. He leaned on the window, pushing Hattori away with his foot. Then he flipped over the backrest, supporting all of his body weight on his left arm for a brief moment and landing on his right leg, on the next table. Detectives gasped disbelieving they had an injured man before them. Few of the audience clapped their hands. As Kaito felt a wave of pain from his ribs, he bowed deeply towards the onlookers to hide his expression, if anything unwanted should slip from under his Poker Face. Back in control, he looked back at Hattori.
"Catch me and I might tell you~" He sang showing his tongue.
Conan laughed dryly seeing as his friend took the bait again, clearly not learning his lesson from the last time. Hakuba watched in awe how Heiji ran towards Kaito to tackle him.
"Hattori-kun!" The Brit's voice carried a threat.
The Osakan slowed his swing, clearly recalling something he shouldn't know. Magician smirked and dodged it with ease. Unfortunately he felt his body was closing to its limit as he moved, so he had to cut the fun. After another dodge he quickly retreated to the corner of the ceiling, shocking his audience and the two detectives who didn't know this trick.
"Oi Aoko~! Seems I found a perfect match for you~! A brute and a failure of a detective in one person~! Kekeke…" He laughed covering his heavy panting and pained grimaces.
"Bakai –" she roared standing up, but was out-shouted by Heiji.
"Get down from there you freak!"
"But you'll hurt me if I do~! Attacking so fiercely poor little old me~… Shame on you~!" He quipped, causing peals of laughter from his audience.
"This is not a place for your tricks young man! Get down from there this instance and stop making a scene!" A woman, probably the café owner stepped in ending the fun "And you stand down!" She pointed her finger at startled Hattori.
Using her moment of distraction Kaito jumped down and bowed before her, gently taking her hand and placing a kiss on it, conjuring a flower for her when he did.
"I apologize for all the inconvenience I've caused and I promise not to do it again, beautiful lady~" As she turned with shock at him, blushing and taking the flower, he locked at a watch on his arm "Aw damn… Sorry Aoko – gotta run. Have fun with those failures~"
Hattori wanted to stop him, but when he saw the magician taking out a handkerchief out of his pocket and waving it at him. The detective jerked back seeing as the material grew as Kaito flopped it, not willing to get pulled into another trick. And then, when it covered teen's whole body for a brief moment it just fell on the ground, with the magician nowhere in sight anymore.
The Osakan blinked at it and looked around. Hakuba and Conan managed to catch a glimpse of Kaito leaving through the crowd and out of the building with something in his hand. A waitress who was bringing additional order to the table gasped as she noticed one plate missing. Heiji growled annoyed unable to find his opponent. Huffing with anger he ripped the material off the ground, uncovering a piece of paper under it. He picked it up and read the few words written on it, smiling dryly. He turned back to the table, to join the others.
"Tsk… What's the deal with that guy..?" he asked annoyed sitting back at the bench and passing Hakuba the note he found.
Aoko huffed annoyed blowing her cheeks "Bakaito is always like that! Always annoying everybody and… Ugh... I could just..." She looked back at Heiji's and Conan's shocked looks and blushed a bit refraining herself from continuing the thought "I'm sorry..." She wanted to go on, but noticed Hakuba frown over the note.
She blinked a couple of times and leaned to the side to see what Bakaito wrote on it.
*I know you owe me Hakuba- yarou, so start with paying the bill!*
Detective sighed tired, not surprised to see that Kuroba was mad at him now. He bit the inside of his cheek. After hearing out Kudo's explanation he made up his mind to give it a try. He figured that if worst came to worst, he preferred having the magician angry with him, rather than being able to see him only at his grave in the future. Hakuba could only hope now that their deduction was correct and he would at least listen to them tomorrow. They chose to approach him for the first time during a meeting with Aoko for two reasons. First to stop him from fleeing and second, to show him that they had no intention to blow his secret. But it seemed he had planned an escape beforehand anyway… Figures… At least now they could try and reach him. If Kudo was correct he shouldn't try to avoid them, too interested to see what they wanted from him. Hakuba guessed that Kuroba wouldn't mind to tease them in the process. As he noticed that the girl by his side went silent, he asked with a curious voice.
"Say Aoko-kun… Do you happen to know where did Kuroba go?"
"Yeah well, he told me yesterday that he would have to leave around this hour to do his errands…" The detective hummed in acknowledgment and she continued biting her lip "Nee… Hakuba-kun? Did you two get in a fight again..?" She asked facing her knees, clenching with her fingers the corner of her blouse.
Conan noticed her concern and placed his hand on hers showing a reassuring smile.
Ex-blonde looked at her widening his eyes. He gasped holding back a chuckle. So that was it. Kuroba didn't write the note like this as a message for him, but rather for her. He wasn't mad, but confused. Most probably instead of feeling betrayed the magician was just unsure what to think about Hakuba inviting the other detectives. So now he was testing him with Aoko, just like before he did with his injured arm. Kuroba was trusting him to clear this situation on his own. And he was challenging Kudo and Hattori to question her. Hakuba could only hope the other two boys would hold back their curiosity. With reassuring smile he shook his head slowly and spoke with a soft voice.
"We just had a long chat the other day about that whole unfortunate situation. We still do have some things to clear out. I wouldn't want to talk about it in more detail, but I don't think there's any need for you to worry."
She smiled with relief hearing those words "Thank you Hakuba-kun. Aoko was so shocked to see him act like he did for such a long time. And Aoko thinks it pained him too. Aoko doesn't even know what happened… But please, don't let it be like that again, alright Hakuba-kun?"
"No worries, I have no intention to."
That did sound like a private talk and Heiji didn't want to intrude. He was feeling awkward, not sure if he shouldn't leave. He poked his order with a spoon. Well at least he wasn't annoyed anymore, until he started grimly wondering how to get this dye off his hair. He started rubbing his face with a handkerchief to wipe off the make-up and sighed heavily bringing everybody's attention to himself, as he finished.
Aoko gasped noticing that she forgot they had company "Oh my, sorry about this! Aoko feels like an idiot…"
"Nah, don't worry about it… um…" He smiled sheepishly not sure how to call her.
The girl slapped her forehead "Oh right, in the commotion Aoko forgot to introduce herself! Sorry about that too. My name is Nakamori Aoko, pleased to meet you."
The boys gasped hearing her full name and Conan asked with perplexed voice "You don't happen to be related to Nakamori-keibu, the one who's in charge of KID Task Force, are you?"
"He's my dad~!" She chirped happily.
Hakuba held back a snort of amusement and only slightly smirked seeing their reactions.
Hattori laughed dryly mumbling "Heh… what are the odds of that..?"
Aoko threw him a puzzled look clearly hearing what he said "Huh?"
"Ugh… erm you see…" Hattori waved his hands searching for an explanation and pointed at Conan "This little guys here! They call him the 'KID-killer'. He probably has a lot to do with your dad."
"Oh~! Aoko thought I knew your face from somewhere! So you must hate that jerk thief just like me?" She beamed smiling to the little boy.
"Heh… So you dislike him so much Aoko-neechan?" Conan asked with curiosity feeling somewhat sorry for the magician.
"Aoko sure does! Aoko hopes we won't have to see him ever again…" she turned away recalling the last time she bad-mouthed the thief and how it ended, but she recovered fast, adding with annoyance "And Bakaito claims to be his biggest fan! Aoko is sure he says that only to annoy me!"
"Y-yeah, he does seem the type to do that…" Heiji tried laughing dryly at the awkward situation "He seems like his the opposite to Kudo, right Conan-kun?" He added trying to change the topic.
The boy nodded at that cheerfully and then they told her about his older self and Ran. Heiji received an annoyed glare from the shrunken detective, when he described the Heisei Holmes being inferior to himself. Aoko was most pleased to hear that her doppelganger was a karate champion and was willing to meet her, sure they could be friends. The cheerful chatter didn't last too long and soon they left the café. The boys parted with her, as Hakuba excused himself saying he wanted to talk about a case with Hattori.
They walked in silence for a while, as each of them was gathering their thoughts, heading towards Hakuba's mansion. Heiji was glad he could hide most of his hair under his cap, especially seeing how much attention did the Brit was draw due to his pink afro. Despite that he seemed to be taking this without much concern. Wondering about that Hattori was the first to break the silence.
"You seem to be talking this easy. Used to it?"
Hakuba threw him a puzzled look and sighed noticing the Osakan was looking at his hair "Yes, well… Probably most of our schoolmates are. Nowadays even the teachers rather ignore his antics then try to do anything about it. I'm pretty sure that, once we get closer to that direction less people will be surprised to see me like this."
Conan chuckled joining the conversation "When you say it like this he sounds a lot more fierce than KID."
Hakuba snorted amused at this "Well I guess you could say it like this. Kuroba tends to do what he wants and gets away with it with his charm. But still, he does have his boarders. He never hurts anybody and usually doesn't humiliate too much, unless you annoy him that is." He chuckled "Best be prepared for the same thing tomorrow. Although I would suspect he would want focus first on Kudo-kun, as he didn't get his chance today."
Hattori threw his friend an annoyed stare, reminded that he was the only one to avoid the hair color change. Conan laughed dryly grinning at the Osakan. Heiji clucked annoyed and turned to Hakuba.
"You could have told us before he does stuff like that…"
"Oh, didn't I? I'm sorry I must have forgotten to warn you…" It sure didn't sound like he was sorry about it, but Hattori decided to settle with a glare.
Hakuba sighed and continued, taking out a notebook and writing something in it "Anyway I feel I must apologize to you, for not discovering before that he was to leave so soon…"
"Don't worry about it." Conan smiled at him reassuringly "We managed to meet him officially and that was the main point for today. Anyway, it's probably for the best that he left when he did. I'd rather not imagine what more was he planning to do, if he had more time. But I wonder where he went. From what I've noticed this little encounter left him rather tired and in pain…"
Hattori frowned with worry at this and Hakuba just nod, ending his note and showing it to his fellow detectives.
*I think that most probably he bugged us, so best watch out what you say*
Conan raised his eyebrows and pat his jacket wondering where he could have put it, recalling how the thief grabbed him.
Hattori gave Hakuba a bit shocked stare "Oi, oi... are you kiddin' me?"
The blond sighed hiding the note in his pocket "Well I'm afraid that with -"
"I don't mean him." Hattori cut in with disbelieving expression "We gave him a scare and he well deserved it. I still intend to give him a piece of my mind about how he was acting, but don't go overboard here..."
Conan frowned watching his friend closely "What are you talking about?"
Osakan clucked annoyed clearly not suspecting Shinichi would share Hakuba's point of view "Don't give me that Kudo. You said it yourself to not push the culprit too hard and he's not even a culprit here. Guy has done wrong, but we already agreed that he wanted good, right? I was glad to hear that he ain't scared of us, so don't go trying to give him a reason to. I'm sure you've seen his face when I grabbed him. Didn't show more than a startled gaze, but I guess that's as much as you can see from him before he jolts.
"You have to remember he's been hunted down and blown up just a while ago. We ourselves didn't give him yet a lot of reason to trust us too much. So don't go acting secretively. Think he'll be happy when he sees us through? We all know it's more his game anyway, so I wouldn't doubt that he will. Best be honest with what we want from him. And as you said it yourself, let him decide on the next step." He shrugged "If he bugged us it'll just be easier for us."
Brit's eyes widened a bit as he put what he's learned together "... So you didn't fall for his trick? You took the bait willingly?"
"Sure did. And I had hell 'a fun with it too." Hattori grinned challenging towards the still pink-haired teen.
Conan chuckled dryly "Oh yeah? Attacking him was still a fully controlled idea?"
"Tsk... he may have enraged me a bit there... But still wouldn't hurt him. I do have enough control like that, unlike you with your soccer balls after you launch them."
"I'd still rather see you refrain yourself more from actions like that." Hakuba cut in with an annoyed glare at the Osakan.
"Oh yeah? Why don't you tell him that too? Anyway he didn't seem like he was to complain. And I didn't even try to take him off that ceiling. We know this guy can take care of himself, so don't go acting like a 'mother hen' for him…"
As Hakuba was clearly angry and wanted to reply, Conan cut in fast raising his arms "Guys, guys! Calm down, both of you alright?" Seeing they focused on him, he turned to the Brit "Hakuba-kun, try not to worry too much. You said it yourself, you don't know how injured he really is. He is cocky and reckless, but he isn't stupid. He knows what he's doing and anyway unless you want to tie him up, best leave him at it."
Hakuba clucked annoyed and averted his gaze from his fellow detectives "Alright, guess you might be right."
Fortunately they weren't far from their destination and once inside the Osakan felt odd holding up the tense atmosphere against their host. He started a carefree chatter with his friend about food, encouraging Hakuba to join in the conversation. Somehow thanks to that the tension dropped.
Later on the Brit run some tests on his own and Hattori's hair, discovering that Kuroba used his usual mixture to dye the Osakan's hair. Needless to say Heiji was not amused to know that he could have used Saguru's antidote already at the café. It took a while, but eventually Hakuba managed to get his own hair back to normal too and stored the new formula.
Detectives searched for possible bugs and found only one in Saguru's hair, after he got rid of the afro. Despite their efforts Hakuba wasn't sure if they managed to find all of them. The two detectives wondered if he was just being paranoid, or was KID that good. The latter possibility made them anxious, so they decided to drop the subject.
They decided to finish their talk without getting rid of the bug they found. They agreed that on the next day Hakuba would be to alone visit Kuroba and ask him to meet with all of them. They stated firmly that they didn't intend to force anything onto him, hoping silently that the thief would listen to the record before tomorrow, as it could make things easier.
Kaito was walking towards one of his safe-houses to switch his outfit and check, if his wounds weren't too much aggravated from his play with his detectives. He was humming to himself cheerfully. He once again felt like he was Lady Luck's favorite and silently apologized to her for ever doubting her.
Now why did he think meeting all of his critics as himself was such a bad idea again? Oh right… Because they were a bunch of bloodhounds aiming to put him behind bars… But he had so much fun it was worth the risk~ And the additional pain… He hissed as another wave flooded him from his ribs. Doing a flip over the bench? Not his best idea in his condition. But he just loved the startled look on their faces it earned him. Anyway he decided that he didn't have to worry too much about the meeting. It didn't matter how many detectives were there as long as didn't have any evidence. And Kaito was sure he gave them none. He also had tones of alibis, just to be sure. So he could use those three as his pastime to amuse himself, before he could hold another heist. He just had to always have an escape ready, if they managed somehow to corner him.
He sighed heavily changing his clothes. Unfortunately he had to leave the happy thoughts for now, as what he would be doing now was going to be serious and require his full concentration. He'd gladly take up his unexpected vacations, as KID was temporarily considered possibly dead, but he couldn't have that believed by everybody. So instead he put on his not-so-random male mask and his trade mark smirk, leaving to places he didn't like, to let some people notice that he was alive, well and not afraid.
When Kaito was finished, he switched back to his regular clothes and headed back home. On his way he was happily reminding himself of the fun he had with his critics. He sighed wondering about the whole situation. A week full of pranks to get back at Hakuba sounded way better than the glaring and going for the silent treatment. That thing didn't work at all anyway. But now it mattered more to figure out what this situation meant. It was too obvious to be a trap, right? Or was it what they were hoping he would think… Or was it the opposite? It wasn't too surprising for him to discover that his detectives were working together. It could have been that way for a long time now and Hakuba could have decided to be finally honest about it… Kaito frowned irked. Here he was, solving another puzzle his detective presented him with. That was definitely starting to be annoying.
He ruffled his hair wondering if he should seek them out on the next day, after he finished his business, to have some fun. He had no doubts that they would try to make his life a living hell now, so at least he could take out form it as much as he could. And anyway he couldn't care about it. 'Have fun now, regret when the time comes~' he hummed happily to himself.
His mother was waiting for him when he returned. She had the best Poker Face Kaito had to deal with since his father's death. Despite how good he's become at figuring what people hid behind their masks, she was a hard nut to crack for him. When he came back, he could see only glimpses of worry hidden in her expression, which he thought were genuine. The knowledge how good he could be with his skill, if he had the opportunity to train with her more often saddened him. Even with this detail he was left alone. Just like with everything else.
"So Kaito, did you have fun with your friends~?" she sang happily.
He winced and threw her an annoyed stare "You mean after you kicked out your injured son, neglecting him his very needed rest to recover?"
"Mmm~..." she confirmed humming cheerfully, clearly not concerned by his words.
He clucked unpleased with her reaction "I ended up overstraining my injuries, while running away for my dear life, from yet another brute and a little devil. They just seem to be piling up around me for some reason..." He sighed raising his arms.
"I'm happy to hear you had so much fun Kai-chan~ Now go get a shower, I'll prepare dinner~" She chirped cheerfully and went to kitchen.
He chuckled amused and allowed his smirk show on his face as went up the stairs to do what she asked him to.
Afterwards they spend some time together. Kaito showed her a few heist videos letting his mask slip enough, so she saw he missed her and was happy to have her home. Chikage praised and teased with her son, but for all he could tell she didn't let any true emotions slip from her iron mask. They didn't mention his 'errands' and spend a lovely and full of family warmth evening. Both of them tried hard to believe the atmosphere was genuine.
Phew! That ended as a long chapter xD I hope it'll make up for the long wait ;) I had a lot of fun writing the first part xD Hope you guys liked it ;)
I know you guys probably expected something more from the mysterious plan, but… I've been over a dozen of them (and yes – I had an idea of a KIDnapping that should work too xD probably gonna turn it into a humorous one-shot, when I find the time ;) ) and only saw multiple reasons why it was a bad idea. Finally decided that Shinichi might want to bet on KID's self-confidence that wouldn't allow him to withdraw from a challenge, when there was no clear risk involved. Up to this point irking him made him willing to take revenge rather than run x)
Am I just evil with those bitter endings or what? xD
See you next chapter *bow* ;)
