Man the conversation Kaito and Hakuba end up having in this chapter is all over the place, but I had fun writing it and that's what counts. This was originally going to be a two-shot but they get one more chapter because I'm enjoying this chaotic version of the dynamic between these two even though it's entirely the result of me just doing a bit of spring cleaning in my brain and picking up a few loose thoughts.
Saguru was still quite worried...
Kuroba hadn't come to school the next day, and while I hoped that meant that the other teen was actually resting as advised... I liked to think I knew him well enough to know that he probably wasn't resting properly at all.
The absence was quite unexpected though, it wasn't as if Kuroba had perfect attendance, but he even came to school on the nights after his heists unless extenuating circumstances such as an injury or foreign adventure would prevent him.
Perhaps he stayed up all night doing something foolish and simply ended up crashing and sleeping past the start of school, that would be the best case scenario but perhaps once he was out of my sight he'd had another flare of panic and ended up in worse condition. In the worst case he could have fainted again whilst in the middle of some kind of dangerous activity and gotten himself injured...
I fight the urge to skip school to check on him. Even if the teacher would likely buy any excuse I give about an urgent case coming up, I know that Kuroba would only be troubled if I suddenly showed up at his home during school hours.
There's no need to be anxious, Kuroba is probably fine...
I resolve myself to go check on him after classes have concluded for the day. It may be awkward after the events of yesterday, but I won't be able to relax until I know that he's safe and well.
In the meantime perhaps I can take a note out of Kuroba's own book and do some research during class to take my mind off things, after all, Kuroba had pushed himself so hard to give me a hint I would be remiss to not pursue it. Besides, it's not as if the teacher will be teaching anything about English that I don't already know.
I partially cover my phone with a notebook, making sure that the back of the person sitting in front of me will block the rest from the teacher's view.
It doesn't take long to pull up the obituary pages for several local newspapers dated for the day after the last heist Kid had done before his modern return. It's fairly tedious work, reading through all the names and looking at their professions to see if any might would have had slight of hand skills necessary for Kid's usual flare for showmanship. When I find no one meeting that criteria I move on to the papers for the next day. I'm looking at local papers because between Kuroba being his successor and Nakamori being his main rival the original Kid probably also had his main base of operations nearby, but if I don't find anything within a month of the heist he disappeared after then I'll expand the search area bit by bit...
It's a lot of data to wade through until I see it.
Kuroba Toichi, world renowned magician, died in a stage accident...
I instantly know this was what I was looking for, this is the lead.
Somewhere in the back of my mind I could recall having heard the name as a child, a famous world-traveling magician that had visited London once or twice before his untimely demise... yes, I'd heard of him, but I'd never gone to any of his shows nor had my mind made the connection to Kuroba Kaito.
I take a bit of a deeper look into the publicly available information on Kuroba Toichi and the circumstances under which he'd died. He had a wife named Chikage and a young son who's name wasn't mentioned in the press due to his status as a minor. It seemed he was a careful fellow, who made certain to always check and double check his equipment before every show... a stage accident serious enough to be fatal seemed unlikely, and yet apparently there was no claim made of potential sabotage, nor any theories floating around that he'd faked his own death intentionally. It had simply been declared an accident and the story ended there.
This was troubling information.
Connecting it to the facts as I knew them painted a clear picture, a very clear picture.
Kuroba Toichi had been the original Kaitou Kid, he was killed by people who were either skilled enough to make it appear like an accident or influential enough to have the police completely close the investigation as an accident without actually investigating. Kuroba discovered this eight years after his father died and took up being Kid to find out the truth, it's unlikely that he knew much going into it, early on in his return 'Kid' had forgone his old pattern of only going after jewels in order to instead just go after whatever caught his fancy, but after only a few heists he'd course corrected and begun only targeting jewels again... there must have been some encounter that told him what the original Kid had been after and he started to pursue the same thing.
Kuroba had managed to completely reveal his motive, that had eluded me for the year I've been chasing him, with one simple hint. He's the son of the original Kaitou Kid, seeking to finish a mission his father had started... and possibly get revenge for his father's murder.
I don't like the thought of it. Revenge is a somewhat versatile word, but for the most part it implies an equal recompense. I don't want to consider the possibility of Kuroba trying to kill his father's killer, I'd like to think that murder isn't within his bag of tricks... however...
I want to ask him about this... to talk to him about it... but after yesterday...
No, I can't try to pry any information out of him.
...
Feeling awkward and tense I knock on Kuroba's door.
There's no answer. Seconds tick by, then a minute. Perhaps he's gone out... or perhaps he didn't hear me? Should I knock again? But I wouldn't want to be rude...
Just as I'm about to knock again the door swings open.
"...Sorry for the wait, I just got out of the shower..." Kuroba says almost shyly. Sure enough his hair looks somewhat wet and his skin looks soft and clean...
I quickly force myself to stop staring, worried that I might make him uncomfortable, "Ah... um... I can go if it's a bad time... I suppose I should have called ahead to let you know I was coming..."
"No, it's fine," He gestures me inside, closing the door behind me when I enter, "I was actually thinking about calling you to ask if we could continue where we left off yesterday."
"Are you sure that's alright? It seemed like it was a bit much for you yesterday..." Now inside I take a look around, it's cleaner than I would have expected of Kuroba, but I suppose this is just the main living area, perhaps he keeps this part tidy for guests or in case his mother returns home.
Somewhere in the back of my mind is the lingering thought that I'm alone with Kuroba in his home and that no one is likely to intrude. I try to push this thought aside.
"Yeah, I'll be fine. I thought about it a lot last night... I don't mind talking about stuff you already know, but... well... a magician never reveals his secrets. Understand, Tantei-san?" At the last phrase, the air around him seems to shift from being my mischievous classmate to that of the riddle I'd spent the last year trying to solve. He was no longer Kuroba, he was Kid.
I gulp a bit. "Understood, Kid."
The more serious air about him is quickly shed and he returns to the persona of Kuroba again, "Good, anyway feel free to take a seat, I'll get you some tea. I've only got Japanese style though, so sorry if it doesn't suit your tastes."
I do certainly enjoy British tea, but it's not as if a cup of sencha or matcha will offend my pallet. Kuroba probably already knows this from all the times he's snuck into my home and rifled through my possessions though. I take a seat as directed, "Japanese tea will be just fine, thank you."
"So, where were we again?" He asks as he starts brewing tea in the kitchen.
"... I believe you'd just admitted to me that you were Kaitou Kid, albeit indirectly."
"Yes, but that's old news, you'd known that much for quite a while after all. Before I interrupted you I believe it was..." There's only a brief pause before he resumes speaking, this time in my voice, " 'and after months of observing him both at school and at heists I'd started becoming fascinated, I felt like I'd gotten to know a considerable bit about you, but I still couldn't understand the thief's motives at all'."
I can't help but feel myself flush a little hearing my own voice and words through him, "... I... Yes... I suppose that is where I left off..."
"Well... you can continue there if you'd like, or just start where you're comfortable, I derailed it yesterday, but the purpose of that meeting was for you to tell me why you loved me after all."
"Right..." I'm somewhat flustered by the reminder, "Had I not already made it clear?"
"Nope, I don't get it at all," Kuroba states as he sets a cup of tea on the coffee table in front of me, and sits down in an adjacent chair with his own cup.
"I see..."
I sip the tea as I take a moment to think about how to word it since apparently Kuroba is a bit dense when it comes to being on the receiving end of romantic feelings. I suppose I was being a bit coy before...
"After I had spent a lot of time watching you- both Kuroba and Kid, I was charmed by your bright charismatic presence, drawn in by the mystery that is your mind, impressed by your skill, and while I certainly didn't approve of the thieving I admire your determination to ensure that no one is hurt at your heists no matter the cost..." I keep going, no longer focusing much on my words as I begin to ramble, "I enjoy matching wits with you... I love to hear the musical sound of your laugh, to see the the rare occasions that you truly smile..."
He stops me there, a faint blush on his face exposing that he's not accustomed to being languished with such compliments. I feel as if I've gotten through to him when he asks a question I hadn't expected, "... And how does that differ from love you feel for friends or family? Hakuba... what is love to you?"
I was a bit taken aback, struggling to find words that would explain, "Well... it's not easy to describe but... romantic love is... um... perhaps like the sun, If you are accustomed to the dark it may be scary at first, but it's bright and warm and once you've gotten used to it it may lead you to find new appreciation for things that you may have seen differently without it's presence."
"... and it may cause cancer?" He adds with a joking tone.
"It's not a perfect metaphor, I was put on the spot... but love can also hurt, so the comparison still stands..." I mutter back.
"Ah, sorry, sorry... I might have gone a bit too far with that one," He gives me an awkward smile, "Thanks for trying to explain... you did a better job of it than the internet at least..."
I raise an eyebrow, "You were looking up love and such on the internet?"
"Yeah...well... After I got home last night I looked into LGBT stuff more cause I wanted to understand you but uh..." He hesitated, "The deeper I looked into it the more I realized that a few of them seemed to fit how I felt and... so I think I'm asexual, aromatic and... maybe genderfluid?"
This... This was certainly unexpected.
I have several questions but it takes me a moment to figure out what's most important to ask.
"Pronouns?" I settle on, "I understand you're still questioning but, what pronouns would you like me to use for you?"
Kuroba seems to consider, "... I'm not sure... I'd like to try they/them though."
Gender neutral certainly suits them after some of the feats Kid had preformed. I give a nod, "Alright. Just in private then since you're just trying it out?"
"If you don't mind," They confirm.
"Good, with that out of the way... you're aro ace? I won't claim to know your own emotions better than you but... what about all that effort you put into seeing panties?"
"Professional curiosity mostly, I look at men's underwear too... also what the internet called 'aesthetic attraction'... I guess I just appreciate the look?" Kuroba attempts to explain.
"Huh..." I suppose that someone's underwear choices may in some way inform certain quirks of their personality that may be useful for a phantom thief that utilizes disguises as much as they do, but it still seems quite odd, "And Aoko-kun? I was always under the impression that you loved her..."
They look away a little, "Yes but... I'd always just assumed it must be romantic love because it was what was expected between childhood friends but... when I tried to really think about it last night, I think I probably think of her more like family. Like... a little sister. She brightens my world... I want to see her smile, I want her to be happy but... I don't want to hold her hand, I don't want to kiss her... I don't want to... do the things lovers do."
Unexpected, but this is completely different from the impression that I'd gotten from how Kuroba acts towards Aoko but... given their acting abilities it's not that surprising that Kuroba might have been unconsciously masking his own emotions to try to fit into the childhood friend role they felt expected to play. Between them and Aoko someone is going to end up getting hurt in the long run, and knowing Kuroba they aren't going to let it be Aoko.
"You need therapy..."
"Eh...?" They seem a bit surprised by the non sequitur.
"Sorry, I... got a bit lost in thought a moment there. What I mean to say is... thank you for trusting me enough to tell me this..."
"Ah um... you're welcome," They scratch the back of their head awkwardly, "Well, I felt like it was only fair since you told me your side... I'm still not completely sure though..."
"Well, as you question, if you find yourself in need of a friend to talk to, you can call on me," I offer.
"A friend...?" He asks, "Hakuba... are we friends?"
It kind of hurts that they have to ask that at this point, but it's completely understandable considering how hard I've been trying to arrest them up until now. It's kind of hard to justify any answer, "... If we aren't then... I'd like to be."
"I think I'd like that too." They chuckle a little, "You won't regret being friends with me, will you Tantei-san?"
Once again the sudden switch to them referring to me as Kid does is somewhat jarring. Reminding me that perhaps I shouldn't be getting close to them- as if I would be able to turn back at this point, "I suppose I'll simply have to make do with commiting several accounts of criminal negligence as you go about completing whatever important mission your late father left unfinished that led to you traipsing about in that showy outfit... though if your goal is revenge on your father's killer then I can't condone it if you choose to take an eye for an eye as your approach..."
"Ah so you have had time to look into the hint I gave you... it seems you learned alot..."
"I'd known for a while that you couldn't have been the Kid that started more than 18 years ago... But the fact that the previous Kid had died was a missing piece of the puzzle, it illuminated several of the threads of logic I'd had to leave dangling until now. Thank you for that hint, it likely would have taken me quite a while to put certain pieces together without it."
"You're welcome... and perhaps it'll reassure you to know that I intend to leave dad's killers to the police once it's time for Kid to retire."
"Any idea when that retirement will happen?"
"When I find the gem I'm looking for, of course."
"And what might that be?" I ask, knowing full well Kuroba won't answer.
"What do you think?" They counter.
I sift through all the data I'd managed to collect so far, "A gem... a relatively large one judging by your usual choices of targets when not being challenged... probably one that's man-made with a story behind it... Presumably, something about a full moon will help you identify the gem."
"How did you deduce that last point?" They seem curious, "I'm fairly sure you haven't caught me inspecting them like Meitantei-kun has."
Another hint, though this time more subtle. Someone else has seen Kid do something with the gems, I may be able to get some information if I can ask that person. Though it irks me to think that someone may have information on Kid that I don't, and it irks me even more so that Kid seems to respect this person well enough to call them 'meitantei' rather than simply 'tantei' as they call me.
"... Meitantei-kun?"
"Ah right... you two haven't been to a heist together... Edogawa Conan, that clever child detective. He's as much of a pain in the ass to deal with as you are, but he's a good kid, I think you'd like him."
"Why is the literal child 'Meitantei-kun' when I'm 'Tantei-san', isn't that backwards?" I fail to resist the urge to ask.
"Jealous?"
"Perhaps..." I answer, only half-joking.
"Sorry, sorry... Guess it's about time I promote you to Meitantei-san anyway, but if you're curious why he gets to be a 'great detective'..." Kuroba seemed to think for a moment, "Want to go on a 'date' tomorrow and accidentally bump into him?"
Did I just hear the word date? From Kuroba? Directed at me?
"Whoa... you look like you're about to short-circut, sorry, calling it a date is no good ...huh?"
Ah... it was a joke... of course. "You did just reject my confession yesterday..."
"Eh? ... I don't remember rejecting it..."
"What...? But you said sorry..." And I had been expecting rejection anyway, I'd mostly only confessed so that years down the line I wouldn't be looking back on these days in Ekoda wondering what could have been...
"I was surprised... I wanted to ask for time to think before giving an answer..."
"Wait, so I actually have a chance?" I realize a bit too late that I've said my thoughts aloud.
"Well... I told you I think I might be aro so... I guess if you don't mind that I probably won't love you the same way you love me... sure?"
