Sorry this took so long. I only had a beta reader for half of it, so if there are any mistakes, please let me know.
Thank you.
Author's Note: Anything about Falconry could be wrong. I think I've said this before. Everything about the rabbits though (for the
most part) is authentic.
And, for the record, I have no idea what rabbit tastes like.
Chapter 28: Attributes of a Hunter
"I don't usually do it this way," Hakuba admitted as he walked along the line of trees. "He doesn't need me with him and too many of us will mess with his senses, but he's not going after anything in the air like he usually does when I'm not with him."
"Then ya shouldn't have brought so many of us. If ya want to go out with yer bird, go 'head. Yer supposed to do it that way anyway."
Hakuba looked at him darkly before continuing to walk along the trees.
The rest of us sat where we were for a while. The sun was nice, offsetting the cold weather enough that we were all comfortable. The grass wasn't hard, it cushioned the ground enough that I was able to comfortably lie down and watch the sky.
Over the next hour, I spent my time looking up at the sky and hearing the bells attached to Watson's feet ringing. Hakuba looked up in the direction the bells rang every time, but never made a move until there was a bell that rang slightly longer than the others.
The detective quickly darted off into the woods. Kudo seemed to be waiting for this because he immediately went after him as well. Hattori shook his head at this before going back to a conversation he was having with Aoko and Ran about the places they'd traveled to in Japan.
I thought about it for a moment before getting up to follow after the detectives.
"I don't think you want to go with them," Haibara spoke up from where she was leaning up against a tree. "You won't like it."
I wanted to ask her what she meant, but I'd lose the other two in the woods if I didn't go now. I spared her a second glance before dashing into the forest, weaving between the trees.
It was hard to catch up with Hakuba since I wasn't used to having to run through a forested area. The logs and bushes were easy enough to get around, but the branches that I could only half see broke against my legs more than once. Since it was cold, all my clothing was durable so it didn't really bother me, it just made my passage really loud and the thief inside me that depended on stealth didn't like that.
How Kudo had stayed with the detective on such short legs was surprising. I was able to keep up enough that they were always just within sight, but never any closer than that.
Suddenly, I noticed Kudo stopping, although Hakuba kept going, continuing to walk foreward.
I kept running, only stopping to watch beside the small detective, who was standing off to the side and quietly watching Hakuba.
Watson, being the large bird that he was, had a brown rabbit caught in his claws. The small mammal was still breathing, but in shock. I could see the blood where the bird had gotten it with his talons.
It was nothing I hadn't seen on a nature channel. However, Hakuba with a knife in his hand was a new sight.
It was a small switchblade with a dark brown handle. The blade had a flawless shine to it, which showed that it had been recently sharpened. The detective crept over to the two creatures, whispering small sounds that I couldn't make out.
The bird looked up; its orange eyes almost a deep shade of red. It watched the detective as he drew in closer. Hakuba whistled and the bird released its catch, flying to a nearby perch where it continued to watch on.
Hakuba took the startled creature, immediately cut into its throat and hitting my ears with a very sickening sound. The blood ran down the small knife and the detective kept hold until he was sure the rabbit was dead.
Once done, Hakuba took the knife and cut into the animals flank, taking a chunk out of its side, causing more blood to spill onto its fur.
I had to look away.
I swallowed and looked into the trees behind us instead of the bloody mess in front of us. The detective let out a sharp whistle and I heard something be thrown onto the ground.
Yuck, I did not want to think about what that something was.
"Kuroba-kun," I heard Hakuba call to me. I glanced over my shoulder, but didn't turn far enough to give the corner of my eye any distinction on the matter at hand. "What is it that you find so disturbing that you can't even look at me?"
"Nothing, it's just kind of gross."
"Never had rabbit before have you?" I could hear a smile in his voice.
"Why the heck would I eat a rabbit?"
"It's really not that bad," Kudo informed me from my side. "It tastes like chicken."
"Are you done mutilating it?" I asked Hakuba, trying not to think about how the four legged mammal could taste like poultry.
"Yes, I just needed to give Watson his share."
I turned back to the detective just as he was stabbing the knife into the ground to get the blood off of it. At some point the rabbit had lost his head, as well as the piece of his side. There was very little blood dripping from the headless creature, as Hakuba picked it up by its hind feet, compared to how much of its body was missing.
"Well, you don't have to eat it if you don't want to."
"In that case, thanks but no thanks. I appreciate the offer, but I rather not eat a fellow stagehand." I watched for a while as the animal dangled from his hand; I could smell its odor. I didn't know if it smelled so strongly because it was dead, or because it was a wild animal and thus, naturally carried around the repelling aroma.
"Let's see if we can get another one before we go back. With three of us, it shouldn't bother the wildlife as much as a whole group." Before Hakuba started walking again, he held out the dead animal to Kudo. "Do you mind carrying it for a while? I think Kuroba would throw it back at me if I tried to get him to touch it."
Kudo shook his head. "I don't mind." With all I'd seen and heard about the smaller detective's ventures, I was certain he felt more comfortable holding the rabbit carcass than examining a human one. Than again, he was more used to the latter so I couldn't say for sure
And I would have thrown it back at you. I thought to myself. I do not – will not – carry around a dead animal. Gross.
Hakuba stood underneath Watson, putting his arm out to recall the bird. The hawk flew down and moved his body in a liquid motion, leaving behind a feeling of almost careless grace and power.
"Follow me and try not to make too much noise, or you'll scare away the game."
"Good," I muttered.
"Kuroba-kun, you can go back if you want. I'm not asking you to come with us." When he looked back at me, there was a new gleam of concentration in his eyes. It was notably different than when he was chasing me or putting together clues; there was a new solidity and boldness there that held none of his usual smug tones.
The fact that his dark hair and light skin matched his bird's made him appear to be Watson's human counterpart. Which he was in a sense, given that the detective was just as much a hunter as the hawk.
He was a predator in these settings.
And the strange thing was, he'd never looked at me like that.
Not that I was jealous, mind you. It was just that Hakuba clearly showed his feelings towards his prey when he'd killed it. He'd done it quick and painlessly with all the delicacy he possessed, showing his care for the small animal even as it died. He never looked at me like I was prey.
Good thing to because I never want to be become his prey – Hakuba looked scary.
"Just get going," I said as I pushed the detective forward. It felt funny to see him acting this way because I was used to the impression of sauntering and well-bred wealth that usually hung around him. It wasn't that I didn't like seeing the detective this way, it was just different.
Hakuba shrugged and made his way forward. Kudo had smaller feet so he was able to avoid most of the noise-making twigs and brambles. Unfortunately, I still had trouble with that aspect, what with my injuries and all. Thus, I was ashamed when my footsteps came away louder than both of theirs together. Normally, I was the most quiet of us three.
The hawk looked aimlessly around the forest as we kept walking further and further in. I wanted to ask how much longer we were going to keep walking because if we went any farther, we weren't going to be able to find the group again. However, I didn't because I didn't want to break the hushed silence. Therefore, I just had to trust the detectives to know what they were doing.
When we came to a brushy area, Hakuba raised his hand and Watson flew off to roost on one of the lower branches. Once he was on the branch, he began scanning the ground for possible prey. The detective put a hand up and looked at us, effectively telling us to stay put. He lowered his arm and looked towards a larger area where the grass was long and several fallen logs and sticks lay.
He went from completely quiet to trying to make as much noise as possible in seconds. Why it was we had to stay still and quiet, I didn't know. He walked right up to fallen trees and kicked them, spreading his feet out and knocking aside as much grass as he could.
There was a sudden movement, and something darted out in front of the detective and away from us. Watson spread his wings, but didn't fly after whatever the detective had flushed out. A splash of white caught my eye as the creature was stupid enough to come back the way it had just come.
Watson was waiting for this as he dived down on the rabbit before it could return to the thicket. The rabbit tried to get away, but the larger bird's talons dug into its back and around its neck and front paw.
The detective didn't waste any time getting to them. He immediately had the bird off with a sharp whistle and another fuzzy creature once again in his hands.
"Hm, an albino," he whispered to himself before taking the switchblade out of one of his pockets. Because this cottontail rabbit was white, it was easier and more disturbing to see the blood run over it when Hakuba cut its throat. The red eyes and rushing liquid stood out clearly against its pale features. It was a miracle that it had lived as long as it had with its odd coloring. I knew from school and nature shows that not many albinos survived in the wild because they couldn't blend in with their environment and were thus easily spotted by predators.
I watched this time as Hakuba repositioned the knife and used his full weight to cut through the bone in the animal's throat. He discarded the head into the brush and again cut off a piece of its hind leg for the hawk.
"That is really disturbing," I told him frankly after he'd cleaned off the knife and took the other rabbit from Kudo.
"It's an acquired practice. You get used to it after the first few times," He admitted. "When I first started hunting, I wasn't too keen on the idea either. It's a shame if you let the animal's death go to waste. And if I'd let Watson finish it off, he wouldn't serve me as a good partner any longer. It's a must if I wanted to keep him."
"I couldn't do it. I prefer my doves; they only eat seeds."
"Doves have their own attributes. They far outshine Watson in social behavior, but I prefer him."
Hakuba held out his hand and the hawk obediently landed back on the glove. He did so for his own merit though; you could tell he'd fly off the minute Hakuba displeased him. It was clear the hawk and my doves were very different. I had a few of my favorites that would nuzzle up to my face and sing with me, Watson looked like he'd rather eat me.
"Well, let's go back. I don't think some of our guests will be eating the rabbits," Hakuba smiled broadly at me "So two should be fine."
"You couldn't pay me enough," I answered in response. I wasn't going to be eating those little furry creatures. Although, given the choice between that and fish, I'd take the rabbit in a heartbeat. Luckily, I didn't have to make that decision. And hopefully, I never will.
Hakuba shrugged and made his way back through the forest. His internal compass and mine must have been just a few degrees off, since I thought we were heading too far to the left.
As it turned out, Hakuba was the better navigator. He emerged dead center in the clearing and the other four turned when they heard our footsteps.
Kudo had been picking up solid looking dry sticks along the way, putting them off to the side of the three, who were in the middle of the field, before holding an outstretched hand towards Hakuba.
"Thank you, Conan-kun." Hakuba dug into one of his pockets, taking out a small shovel. "I appreciate the help."
"I've done it before," he said in response to Hakuba's inquisitive look.
"How'd you get the rabbits?" Ran asked. She looked up at him with none of the disgust I had at the headless creatures. Aoko's look, on the other hand, closely matched mine, which was the only reason I didn't feel like the world was going crazy.
"Watson," he answered her. I mentally shuddered as Ran actually took the creatures from him when he handed them to her. He went over to the carrier to put the hawk away. "He's been trained to hunt with me."
"That's cool. I wish I could have joined you, but you guys took off so fast, I wasn't ready for it."
She wanted to come with us. I was really losing my long-held impressions on women, mostly thanks to Aoko's temper, Akako's creepiness, and Ran's indifference to things that would make any other girl scream.
The detective came back and took both creatures before laying them on the ground. "Do you want to know how to prepare them?"
Aoko looked on nervously, but Hattori and Ran drew in closer to watch. Hakuba took the knife back out and held the brown one's back foot. "After you take the head off, you take the feet and cut through the bone above the knee joint." Hakuba proceeded to do just that. I cringe outwardly when the bone snapped. Aoko mirrored my reaction, but everyone else seemed fine.
The detective then did the same thing to all the other legs on both creatures. I had to walk away as the snapping of tendon and marrow got to me.
I shivered, leaning up against a tree about ten meters off so I didn't have to see what he did next.
"It's not that disturbing," Haibara said as she walked up to me, away from the others, coming to stand in front of me like some judgmental god. "If cooking a rabbit bothers you this much, then you don't stand a chance against the syndicate. Count yourself lucky and get out while you can."
"Just because it bothers me doesn't mean I can't face my problems when I have to."
"If you say so," she shrugged. "What's wrong with killing and eating a rabbit? You eat cows, birds, and fish as well. They're killed in a similar fashion."
"Not fish," I whispered unintentionally. "And I know that."
"So why does it bother you? Because you can see it? Because you prefer it when your food is locked behind closed doors where you don't have to see the face that goes with it?"
"That's not the problem." I smiled at her. "Are you trying to turn me into a vegetarian or something? No, the reason it's bothering me so much is because I'm not used to it. That and the fact that Hakuba's the one who killed them," I shrugged. "I'm used to the detective keeping stuff like this to himself."
Having turned around to look at Haibara, I could see as Hakuba used his hands to skin the rabbits without the knife. Underneath the fur, it was impossible to tell which rabbit was born normally and which one was born to live a harder life. They were both just pink and bloody.
He did bring out the knife after they were skinned. I knew he was cutting into them, but I couldn't see exactly what he was doing from my viewpoint.
"Are you going to eat any?" I asked her just to keep up the conversation.
"Yes, if it's good. Sometimes rabbit meat is too tough."
"Why is it that everybody here has eaten a rabbit before?" I sighed. "I didn't know it was so popular."
"Kudo-kun caught one when we were camping once. It was the first time I tried it." She narrowed her eyes, that sadistic smile crossing her face again. "Trust me on this; with Kudo-kun's face, it was more disturbing to see him cutting open the rabbit."
"I would have to guess it would be." I let myself slide down the tree so that I was level with her. "So why do you always have to act so negatively whenever I ask you anything?"
"I don't act negatively. You're just overly optimistic while I'm naturally a pessimist so the distinction between the two warring personalities is more obvious."
"What a speculative answer," I replied, randomly flicking some of her hair. "Care to try again?"
"What do you mean? I've already answered your question, which is more than I can say you've done for me. I would appreciate it if your less than advanced linguistic skills didn't assault my ears any longer."
"Hey now," I reached out and grabbed her when she tried to walk away. I had nowhere to put her so she ended up falling into my lap. I crossed my legs to make it less uncomfortable. "I didn't say that you act like a cynical old witch now did I. So keep your insults to yourself."
"Release me, you weirdo." She struggled. but her body was small and by keeping hold of both of her wrists, I was able to hold her back.
"Now I'm a weirdo am I? You insult my speech and then have the gal to have at it at my personality. I'm hurt," I said sarcastically. I lifted her by the wrists to turn her around and face me. In that position, she could have kicked me in the face if she wanted and our eyes met when the idea crossed both of our minds. Luckily for me though, she didn't act on it.
"Now that I've got your attention," I stated, sitting her on my crossed feet so that she was high enough off the ground. "I don't think we've been properly introduced. I'm Kuroba Kaito." I handed her a light pink rose out of a cloud of smoke and confetti. "Or Kaitou Kid, whichever you would prefer."
She took the rose and looked at me with a crude smile. "I'm sure you have the ladies falling all over you." She spun the flower around instead of dropping it like I originally expected her to and looked me in the eyes. "Haibara Ai." The smile carried over and she added, "Or you can just call me Sherry."
The implications were all there as I put two and two together in a heartbeat. All the other random facts and strange actions from her melded in, completing my mental assessment of her.
"Well Ai-chan, it's nice to meet you." My smile was real as I showed off all the charm I could to try and get my sentiments across to her. She was one of those murderers, crime lords, or whatever term best fit the mysterious group that I still knew next to nothing about – stress on the word was – and I had to bet that she'd seen more than her fair share of horrors. Yet she seemed to use her old identity as a way to get to me, expecting me to turn away from her. I had to sympathize.
The surprise look on her face was the only proof I needed to prove my point. I could see it in her expression even as she tried to hide it.
"Don't you want to know why I'm here? What I've done? Who I am?" she asked in succession.
"I'm not a detective," I replied. "I don't need all the answers. I see you and, from what little time I've spent in your company, I have an idea of you. I don't need to know what happened in your past to trust you."
"You really are a weirdo." Ai smiled, with no wicked implications in it this time.
"Why thank you, I do love it when people complement me." I smiled back and searched my pockets, trying to keep her balanced while I did so.
"Why'd you give me a pink rose? I thought it should be red."
"Red doesn't suit you," I answered instantly, without any thought. "When I saw you, I immediately thought a subtle pink was best."
"You're wrong. It should have been black." She continued to twirl the flower, her smile now sad and pained. I didn't like smiles like that.
"Nope!" I declared. "I'm never wrong. One of the few things that comes with being a good Phantom thief, you tend to know people from just one glance." I found what I had been looking for; I took out a small red box with velvet lining and an imitation gold rim.
"Here, hold this," I told her and handed her the small red box. "It's empty right?"
Ai's smile lightened as she inspected it. "Yes, it's empty."
"Here," I dug the key for it out of another pocket and rolled up my sleeves to show I wasn't going to use them. "I want you to lock it and make sure it's closed."
She took the key and did as I instructed. Going above and beyond, she even checked the box for any hidden doors or panels. She then took the key and used it to make sure you had to put it all the way in to unlock it.
"Ok, so it's locked and in your possession." I palmed a small plastic heart in my hand. "Now I'm love sick and I don't want my girlfriend to cheat on me so I'm going to put my heart in the box so no one can steal it. Will you open it so that I can put it in?"
Ai played along and opened the box. I handed her the heart to show that there was no way I could do anything to the box. She checked it over and saw that it was just a plastic heart and put it inside before locking it and rechecking the box. I had to give her credit for thoroughness.
"Woe is me though and I've lost the girl of my dreams for she is in love with another man. My heart is broken and yet it still remains in the box for I cannot love anyone after her." I raised my eyebrow to show that Ai should open the box.
She looked at me doubtfully since there was no seam in the heart where it could be broken open and I hadn't touched the box so it was impossible for me to have done anything to it. When she unlocked it the heart was indeed in two pieces, cut in a zigzag pattern.
"Lock it again please," I told her. Ai did and held the box closer to herself this time so that I couldn't do anything to it.
"As time passed though I have come to meet another young girl and she says she loves me. I cannot give her my heart thought since it is locked away and broken." I feigned sadness. "Oh what should I do?" I smirked. "Why I should let my heart become whole again and tell her that I love her, too. The only problem is there is a thief in our mists who has already stolen my heart and mended it for me," I put my hand out. "I would appreciate it if the young lady would return my heart."
Ai gave me a sour looked at the simplicity of the trick and went to reopen the box again before I put my hand on top of hers to stop her.
"Ah, but I said my heart has been stolen. It is no longer in the box."
She pushed my hand away and watched my fingers, every movement I made, before opening it anyways. The box was indeed empty.
"So now what?" Ai closed the box and handed it and the key over to me. "That was it?"
"Well I would need the thief to return my heart first so that I may give it away," I smiled.
"And where exactly would it be? You're the only thief I see here."
"But it was you who has stolen and mended my heart. I believe you put in the inner right pocket of your coat."
This time she looked at me with full out doubt since there was no way I could have put it there without groping her. Ai watched me closely as she unzipped her jacket and reached into her inner pocket.
Almost numbly she handed the heart back to me and I waved it in front of her before having it vanish.
"Thank you for returning it."
Where Kudo would have been examining every movement I had made, his callousness did not fall on her. She smiled with honest to goodness happiness that I was able to pull of something like that in front of her, even as she tried to figure it out.
"I have to admit you have some good attributes as well and you're rather talented." She picked up the rose where she'd laid it down at her side. "You shouldn't risk so much for so little reward. You'd have a great future if you just let everything be." That sad smile was back on her face and I lifted her up to take her back to the others. Hakuba was done doing whatever mutilation he needed and the rabbit parts were cut up and cooking over a small fire pit that Kudo must have dug.
"It wouldn't be any kind of future I would look forward to if the ones I cared about weren't in it."
I put her down in front of me as we came upon where everyone was sitting. Before she had a chance to say anything back I added, nonchalantly, "Would you also do me a favor? I'm not ready to give my heart away to the one I love just yet so could you get it out of her left jacket pocket for me?"
That successfully derailed her train of thought and she looked over at Aoko.
"You couldn't have possibly done that. We just got over here, you've been holding me, and she's at the other side of the fire."
"So you won't get it back for me than? Oh well. Aoko!" I yelled over to her as I sat down. She looked up at me with a face that had clearly forgotten she was angry at me. "Can I have the plastic toy in your pocket?"
"There's nothing in my pocket. I just looked because I usually carry a tissue and I couldn't find it."
"Oh this?" I lifted the white handkerchief over to her, standing so I wouldn't burn it. "Sorry."
"Kaito keep you hands off my things!" She yelled, stuffing the cloth back in her pocket and looking up in surprise. Aoko took out the little red heart and threw it to me. "That's strange, that wasn't in there a minute ago."
I pocketed the heart and winked at Ai as she looked more than a little startled. She hid the expression quickly and watched the fire.
"Kuroba-kun if you done stealing everyone's possessions would you please return my watch as well?" Hakuba asked from next to me while he continued to cook what was left of the rabbits in a small black pan.
"Aw, but I like your watch. It's so tacky it can go in my box of things that used to be popular in the fifties." I took the chain watched out of another pocket and handed it over to him. "When did you notice it was gone?"
"I checked when Aoko said she was missing her handkerchief a few minutes ago and I knew I didn't lose it. I'm still cooking so I couldn't very well go and get it from you until you came over here."
"Um," Hattori mumbled as he felt around his neck. "Ya took my charm too didn't ya?"
"Oh yeah!" I had to dig in one of my inside pockets for that one. "I took it a while ago when you took my frequency device. I wanted to get back at you." I smiled. "Sorry about that. I forgot I had it." I handed over the string pouch and he put it back around his neck, underneath his shirt.
"It's no big deal. Kazuha would've killed me if I lost it."
"Why did you have everyone's things?" Ran asked from my left side. Aoko sighed from the girl's other side and answered for me.
"Kaito's just like that. One time when we were little I brought my favorite toy to school with me and Kaito kept making it appear on the teacher's desk. I had to get up like twenty times to keep getting it back. How he pulled it off is beyond me."
"That was easy." I smiled, thinking back on it. It had been fun trying to find where Aoko hid that small plush Dalmatian to keep it out of my hands. For her part some of her hiding spots had been creative. "If I recall you wouldn't talk to me for a week after that."
"I liked that toy and I did not like having to interrupt class and get it every five minutes!"
I shrugged. "It was good practice. I wasn't able to make larger things disappear until a year after that."
Aoko started to bring up bad memories. It was within that week that my dad had died – no, that my dad was killed. Aoko's devote silence only lasted three days.
A sudden attack by her distracted me as she reached over Ran and shoved me hard enough to make me fall backwards. She got up and walked around the other girl to stand over me and glare downward. "That does not mean people like it when you take their things Kaito."
"Yeah, sorry Aoko" I smirked. She knew what I'd been thinking about. It was just like her to try and get my mind away from such memories. "Too bad your not wearing a skirt today, the view from down her would have been perfect."
"Kaito!" She kicked some of the mud at me. Because we were in a forest the ground was loose and it rained down in my hair on my face.
I got up quickly and spit out the pieces that fell in my mouth.
"Hey what was that for?" I yelled at her.
She looked at me angry before stomping back over to her spot. "For having such a dirty mind."
Aoko sat back down next to Ran and the other girl looked at me with slight disgust. Apparently me being myself was an acquired taste since she didn't have a problem with me before now.
I scratched my hair to try and get the dirt out and muttered under my breath at the unfairness of it all. When all the particles were gone I looked back up and smiled at Aoko, even though she wasn't looking at me.
"You two are very strange." Hakuba took the pan off and the rabbit pieces were surrounded but onions and several types of seasoning I hadn't seen him add. The detective smiled at both of us as we threw him offending glances. "I'm not saying it's a bad thing."
"I'm nothing like him!" Aoko blushed. "I'm normal, he's the strange one!"
Whoa, déjà vu setting in. I was not going to have a conversation like I had with Hisa.
"Yeah, how could you compare me to this spastic girl who's more likely to win a screaming contest then a beauty pageant?"
"Kaito that's mean!" Aoko yelled at me. After insulting her I always remedied the situation in some small form. It was just the way things went.
"No it's not! The girls at those kinds of contests are way too stuck up. I like you better when you're yelling than if you got dressed up to please a bunch of people you never met before."
"You're the only one who's ever gotten me in a dress!" She crossed her arms but couldn't hide her embarrassment from me. "Even in the middle of winter!"
The ski trip. She did look really pretty in that dress. For all her tomboyish charm Aoko had a very feminine side as well, even if she didn't like to show it. I smiled at her and laughed.
"Let's keep it that way."
"I don't think I want to know" Hakuba said as he shook his head and Kudo got out some small plates to serve the rabbit. For his part the, detective pulled off making the rabbit look very un-rabbit like. I wouldn't admit it to him but it smelled good too.
"Kuroba-kun?"
"What?"
The minute I opened my mouth and faced him Hakuba shoved a piece of meat in it. My instincts were to spit it out but he held his hand in front of my mouth.
"You could at least taste it."
It was very disturbing to have a piece of one of the rabbits I'd just seen in my mouth. It was impossible to ignore the strange taste of the meat. I took the detective's hand and removed it forcefully with a scowl. I could have spit it out then. I thought about it for a second.
I chewed it, not thinking about what it was. Well, trying to not think about what it was. It was harder to chew than chicken and had a distinct sweetness and strong flavor to it that the bird meat did not have. I didn't hate it but I definitely didn't like it. I swallowed it anyway and faced Hakuba.
"Are you happy now? That was gross."
He shrugged. "At least you tried it."
Aoko went up to him too. "Can I try it?"
"Sure." He scooped up a piece of the meat and held out the spatula to her. "If you don't like it there are some snacks too."
Aoko picked it up with her hands and put it in her mouth without provocation. After the first piece she smiled.
"It's pretty good."
"Here you go nee-chan!" Kudo said with a cheerful voice as he held out one of the plates to her. He took another one and walked it over to Ran.
I didn't take long for everyone to have a plate and start eating. I stole a bag of chips and made myself comfortable watching the sky again. The sun was high in the sky, since it was somewhere around two by now, so I took out a hat from my jacket to shade my eyes.
"Kaito you're such a baby" Aoko said from a few feet away. "It tastes good!"
"Whatever" I mumbled, eating some more chips. It wasn't bad but it wasn't good and I didn't like it, not because it was a poor, defenseless bunny rabbit, just because I didn't.
Hakuba went back over to Watson's cage and looked over at me when he was finished. "Do you want to go back out? Whatever Watson catches now will be his so you don't have any reason not to."
"I'm going. I don't want to sit here and smell this anymore."
"Baby!" Aoko yelled at me again. I let her get away with it.
Hattori didn't want to be with Hakuba so he stayed behind. Ran didn't want to leave him alone so she didn't leave either and Aoko was mad at me so was adamantly trying to avoid any contact to prove her point.
In the end it was Hakuba, Kudo and me back in the forest.
The bird stayed preached on the detective's arm as we waded back through the trees.
"Why didn't you just let him go when we were in the clearing?" I asked him.
"Because if I had done that then Watson would have had free roam of the forest and we would have to wait hours for him to come back."
I sighed and followed along. The smell of the food made me hungry but the images and remembered taste was enough to throw off most of my appetite. I was still very hungry and the chips didn't appease my stomach as much as I thought they would. I'd scavenge around the other bags when we got back to see what else the detectives took from the professor's kitchen. From what I saw of it earlier it couldn't have been much. All the good, fat inducing food seemed to be oddly missing from the larger man's kitchen.
"Whoever comes back with me is going to have to wait while I get some fast-food" I declared so that Kudo would be prepared.
"I figured."
I didn't know how else to continue the conversation. I was out of less serious material and I wasn't about to bring up anything when the situation was more relaxed than I thought it could ever be without any secrets between me and my pursuers.
It felt rather nice.
"Kuroba-kun what are you smiling about?"
"What are you taking about detective?" I made my smile into a grin. "Can't I just be happy?"
"When you're happy it tends to be less fortunate for those around you."
"Quit being so suspicious."
I lightly pushed Hakuba on the back and Watson flapped his wings when the detective moved to catch himself. Hakuba glared at me before turning to walk forward again.
We walked for a while with no particular destination in mind, it was just nice to walk in the forest. In the trees the sun was shaded but it still made the weather comfortably warm. We were all in shape and young and restless which only made us walk further.
Hakuba stopped at a new clearing that was smaller, at around ten meters by ten meters.
"This should be fine." Hakuba lifted his arm and the hawk flew off.
I heard a sharp indistinct sound from off to the right and turned to face it. I turned back to Hakuba in less then a second when he let out a soft cry of pain and drew his arm close to himself. I thought the bird's claws had nicked him as it took off but there was too much blood. It wasn't a lot but the bird could not make that kind of wound.
Instantly I moved between the detective and the direction the sound had come from, my back to the former.
"Are you ok?" I asked over my shoulder, scanning the trees.
"It's not life-threatening." He tried to look beyond me as well, still curled in on himself.
"That's not what I asked."
A dark shadow hesitated before moving forward and coming to stop at the tree line. It was a man, somewhere in his forties who was large in both height and girth. He had dark, slicked back hair showing off a receding hairline accompanied by a large dark mustache. There were small laugh lines around the man's eyes which seemed accustomed to smiling rather than the steeling indifference he was showing now. I could have sworn I'd seen him before but very little of my brain power was working on that, it was more focused on the small caliber gun adorned with silencer that he was pointing at us.
"Father?" It was barely audible but I heard the whispered gasp from the detective.
I couldn't hide the surprise in my eyes as they reassessed the man. I'd only caught sight of Hakuba's dad once and I hadn't paid him much mind. I was in an officer's uniform at the time and I was more interested in the new detective than his father, who quickly made his way out of the building after introducing his son to the Inspector. The man looked like he hadn't been sleeping well and he'd lost a significant amount of weight judging by the way his clothes hung on him.
"I'm sorry Saguru but they've taken your mother and her sister. They've threatened to take more and I have no way of protecting them. This is the only way."