Ladies and gentlemen! I humbly welcome you to the tenth chapter of this story!
Please enjoy and review!
Kaito knew it would be suspicious if he was seen feeling exhausted after a heist was held by KID the previous night. Especially for the second time in a row. So, it would have been the best if he could act like the whirlwind of chaos and pranks but sadly that was impossible for him today. It already took all of his willpower to force his body to move at all with how stiff he felt.
Thankfully he managed to get home early enough to not only put himself in order with a quick shower and putting on a mask of his own face to hide his fatigue and cracked lip, but also managed to stuff his face with most of what he had stoked up in his fridge before Aoko came over. With that he didn't have to suffer from hunger on top of exhaustion this time. He definitely wasn't above appreciating small things like that. And having a full stomach was somehow enough for him to manage to make up with his poker face what he lacked in mobility so at the very least it didn't look like Aoko was suspicious.
After he reached his seat at school, he took out his phone to look up some news from last night, before the lessons started. Surprisingly enough, there were no reports of any… supernatural sightings. Which was strange to say the least. He could understand that no passerby on the streets would have reported seeing a dragon flying by, as they would have probably figured that it was a delusion due to the late hour. Or even if they believed it, they didn't want to sound like lunatics. But what about the pilots and passengers of the plane? There was no way they didn't see neither him nor the winged dragon and with so many people confirming they saw the same, they should be less inclined to keep quiet.
Maybe it was just too early for that?
He felt bile coming up his trout as a stray thought about the possible implications passed his mind, so he dismissed it quickly. There was just too much to unpack about it and he could not afford to start freaking out at school. In order to distract himself, he continued browsing articles from last night. There were a few fun ones too~
Aoko leaned over his shoulder and saw an article about KID's last heist he had currently open and snorted in annoyance. "Aoko doesn't understand why Kaito likes that thief so much. At least he failed to get away with the jewel this time~" she grinned as if she was the one who stopped the theft.
Kaito glared at her, instantly regretting that he returned the diamond so soon. "He still stole it from the case, so it's still his win," he argued back.
"You're fanboying too much, Kaito. Aoko is sure he just had to drop everything and run in panic. It's only a matter of time until KID is caught and dad won't finally have to work so much!"
Kaito didn't bother holding back twitching his eyebrow in a display of annoyance. She wasn't exactly wrong about him running away but not for the reason she was thinking. And while he felt bad about taking Aoko's father away from her, he was not going to get caught just for her sake. His mission was too important. Plus now he apparently had to worry about what would happen if anyone found out that he wasn't actually human.
"As much as it pains me, I must agree with Kuroba-kun on this one, Aoko-san," said a voice from behind Kaito, causing him to stiffen in an attempt to hide his flinch and cover it by turning in his seat to look at Saguru.
It did seem like their night-long chase did a number on him as well. He had a general look of fatigue to him. The dark circles under his eyes could probably rival the ones Kaito had hidden under his mask. His hair was kind of a mess as well. A stark contrast to his usual well-groomed appearance. Kaito might have felt sorry for him. If not for the tiny detail that it was Saguru's fault that they both were in such a state. As it was, in Kaito's humble opinion, he got off too easy.
"Haaah?! Not you too Hakuba-kun!" Aoko exclaimed, devastated, "You were supposed to be on my dad's side!"
Saguru's lips quivered a little upwards, as he bowed apologetically, touching his chest with one hand. "I'm sorry Aoko-kun. Regrettably, I am first and foremost a herald of truth. And you need to admit that, as unnerving as KID can be, he does eventually return all of his targets. That being the case, him snatching a jewel from its holding place and escaping the interior of the building with it, should be considered his win. I'd even go so far as to assume that returning it before actually leaving the heist location is beneficial to him, as he doesn't need to bother with it later."
While it was interesting to have Saguru, of all people, siding with him for once, it was also suspicious. Was he trying to get on Kaito's good side with this favorable deduction? Fat chance!
Aoko was definitely not pleased with his words, as she scoffed, "Aoko still thinks that it was KID's loss. Whatever either of you say." She stuck her tongue out at them and stormed off to speak with other girls. And probably complain about them.
Kaito followed her with his gaze, unwilling to be left with Saguru but not really having a reason to leave. Though he was curious about what he wanted from him.
As expected, Saguru turned his attention to Kaito, as soon as Aoko left and spoke up. "Kuroba-kun, if possible, I'd like to resume our conversation from before during lunch break if-"
"Not happening," Kaito interrupted him with a flat tone, without letting him finish.
Externally, he displayed nothing but disinterest and boredom but on the inside he was sweating. Did Saguru grow suspicious of him again? Why? Maybe he noticed how exhausted Kaito was again? Was coming to school a mistake? But not coming would have been more suspicious… Then again it could have been just what he said. While it would be a great opportunity to get some information, it was far too big of a risk, so he still needed to push the guy away.
Apparently unaware of Kaito's internal struggle, Saguru blinked in surprise at him. "Why?"
He glared at him. "You're seriously asking me that? After what you did last time?" he tsked and turned away, waving him off to lay his head on his desk. "Forget about it. I'm not going anywhere with you."
Was he being a little bit too harsh? Maybe. But Kaito was at the end of his rope with how tired he was and didn't really have the energy to try and maneuver it around to be more gentle and just as effective. Besides, he was pissed at the guy both for what happened yesterday and for making him feel nervous now.
"B-but…" Saguru mumbled and walked around the desk to be in front of Kaito again, leaning over. "Look, I'm terribly sorry for what happened. But that's exactly why I want to talk with you. I want to explain myself properly."
Kaito glanced at him, sighed and straightened on the chair, crossing his arms over his chest. "So explain now."
Saguru's lips twitched in annoyance. "It's a private matter, which I would highly prefer to-"
"Then I guess it won't happen," he interrupted him again with a challenging glare.
The guy pinched the bridge of his nose. "Seriously, Kuroba-kun? How am I supposed to make it right, if you're not letting me? I do understand that my behavior must have been off putting and unsettling. I grossly overstepped my boundaries and am truly sorry about it. But don't you think you're overreacting by not letting me at least explain myself? I promise to keep my distance."
Why the hell did he have to be this persistent? Kaito had no doubt in his mind now that Saguru was wanting to make his reveil. Which would inevitably turn into a double reveil and was the last thing Kaito wanted right now.
"I thought I made myself clear. Say what you want or buzz off. I'm not going anywhere with you," he growled out angrily and out of the corner of his eye noticed Aoko returning to them.
She grimaced at them as she reached them and placed her hands on her hips. "Are you guys arguing again? Jeez… Kaito, apologize!" she demanded with an angry glare directed at her friend.
He gave her a look of utter outrage and flailed his hands, "Hah?! I didn't do anything!"
Saguru turned to her. "He's right Aoko-san. It was my fault." He looked again towards Kaito. "Again, I'm sorry, Kuroba-kun. I'll leave you two alone." With that he walked away to his desk and Kaito held back a sigh of relief.
Aoko on the other hand looked confused as she looked between them, finally settling on Kaito. "What happened?"
He glanced at her and shrugged, poorly faking indifference, so she would know that he didn't want to talk about it. "Nothing important."
She still tried to get him to answer for a while but he decided to leave it up to Saguru to figure out what to sell to her and simply deflected her questions. Kaito couldn't help but feel sorry that he couldn't have that private conversation with him but it would have been too dangerous now since he had no way of knowing how Saguru would react after finding out that he was the other dragon.
The more pressing question was what was he going to do about Saguru? Kaito probably didn't need to worry about him at school. At least for a little while. Heists on the other hand were the opposite… Saguru was bound to come and if Tantei-kun decided to show up again then he could expect another mid-air chase. And he definitely didn't want that. It wouldn't lead anywhere and could only cause frustration, for both sides. And Kaito had a lot of questions, which for the time being, seemed only Saguru knew the answers to.
He had to figure out some other way to speak with him as KID but without anyone interfering and without giving him the possibility or even a reason to change into a dragon.
Kaito paused, blinking a couple of times and held back a snort. Saguru did ask KID to talk. So he now had a reason to come over and do just that. This would allow Kaito to pick both time and place. He could even take Saguru by surprise and not announce his visit beforehand for even more safety. It would have to wait a couple of days, until he felt better but aside from that it didn't seem there were any more drawbacks.
Unless Saguru secretly wanted to murder him or something like that. But that was a problem he would worry about when it came.
For now he decided to relish in finally figuring this problem out despite being half asleep. He celebrated by doing a few simple card tricks during lunch break, purposely ignoring Saguru, who true to his word, kept his distance.
Hope to see you next chapter *bows*
