This story now has a sequel. It's called "Behind Glass Eyes" and I'll post it as soon as I look over the first chapter again.
This one has all the same characters but focuses on Snake instead of the Black Organization. I can't say that everything that I put in part one will stay in part one. I do tie up some loose ends. (Of course, I can't tell you what I mean ^_^)
P.S. You do need to know that half of the story is not written in Kaito's point of view (for certain reasons)
I FIXED UP THE THIRD PERSON :)
So keep in mind, still having third person focus on Hakuba, some of the names may be reversed.
P.P.S. I do not drink. I'm twenty but a good girl. If anything is wrong with the alcohol, I'm sorry.
What he's making (in the second sentence) is a Chocolate Martini for those who would be wondering.
Okay, there seems to have been some confusion at one point. There is 'Tokyo Tower' and a new 'Tokyo Tower'.
They ARE, in fact, different structures. Tokyo Tower is Orange and white (The one I use in the story) whereas the
new Tokyo Tower is gray (and not used in the story, though I mention it)
Tohou Tower that they sometimes call it in the anime IS Tokyo Tower
Epilogue: Two plus Two Equals Fish
I smiled coyly to myself from Professor Agasa's basement. Ai was in the room with me but ignored my musings. The dark chocolate liquid and cream were already in the container and I twirled the larger see-through bottle on my fingertips, second-guessing myself.
"I wouldn't do that" the scientist finally spoke up from over her research. I'd come to know her quite well in the last few weeks.
"Then I'm going to make it my goal to do everything you won't. Someone has to," I said humorously, pouring the clear fluid in to fill up the other half of the container. I put the top on and shook it up with the ice. I thought I saw her smile but once I blinked she was back to typing dourly on her computer. I shrugged.
"Did you have to use gin? You're supposed to make that with vodka."
"I don't think it makes a difference. What's wrong with gin?"
This time I was sure she was smiling, a touch more cynically then the last time.
"Nothing. Gin just has a way of coming back on you."
(This part of the story will now be written in third person for obvious reasons)
The three detectives watched as Ai made her way out of the basement, a mixture of anger and evil enjoyment printed across her face.
"What's Kuroba-kun been doing down there for so long?" The blond asked her.
"Believe me, you don't want to know. If he comes up I suggest you run."
Conan narrowed his eyes.
"Haibara, did you do something with your clothes?"
"I had to turn them inside out." She offered no explanation why. "I'm going to Ayumi-chan's. I won't be back until tomorrow." Ai closed the door, leaving the other three teens very confused.
"Hey K-Conan-kun, what did she mean by that?"
"I don't think I'll ever be able to understand her."
Saguru eyed the basement stairs for a minute to see if Kaito would follow her.
After nothing occurred, the detective went back to his book. Saguru's house was still under construction and he'd been offered a place at the professor's until it was done. The Organization had done a good job of searching through all his positions; along with the beds, connecting walls, floorboards and plumbing, so it was completely uninhabitable for awhile. Conan came to see them almost every day and Hattori had followed, claiming it was more fun to be there after school than anywhere else, even if he was constantly traveling back and forth.
Saguru couldn't fight Hattori's presence since the annoying magician made it a habit to show up with him. Both Saguru and Conan had a monkey on their backs. Without having to hide behind a guise around any of them, Kaito had shown them all how very distracting he could be. Conan actually had to try on his homework, since Kaito had been coding it every opportunity he was presented with.
It couldn't have been more than ten minutes later that Saguru had to put his book back down because of loud, crashing noises coming up from the basement.
"What is that idiot doing now?"
Conan sighed, putting away some papers he was working on so Kaito wouldn't mess with them. Hattori smiled. He was the only one who appreciated the magician's humor.
They didn't expect the latter to trip up the stairs... twice.
When Kaito reached the top he was giggling silently with one hand on his forehead and the other against the wall, unsuccessfully trying to balance himself.
The detectives looked at one another, confused. The thief finally seemed to notice them, and he leaned against the wall he was supporting himself with, and put on an evil smile.
Kaito made slow and sloppy movements as he took out Kid's cape from around his waist. He placed the cape in front of himself to block his body from view; his shaky movements making it look like some invisible breeze was blowing it. The magician peeked out the side to make sure they were watching. When the cape fell away they were all shocked when Kaito was no longer there.
"Pretty cool, huh?" The magician asked from behind them. Saguru sighed and turned around, freezing when he caught sight of the other. Kaito had not only switched out his school clothes for a white t-shirt and pants, but his hair and eyebrows were white as well. If his coordination had been better, Kaito would have had white contacts in as well.
"Cool!" Hattori gave him the thumbs up and winced as he plugged his nose. "Geez, ya smell like a bar."
"Do not!" The thief wavered where he stood. Hattori's smile fell.
"Ah, Kuroba... are ya drunk?"
"Am not! I swear to you I'm not him! Why would I be drunk?"
Hattori shook his head as he tried to make some sense of Kaito's statement. It was clear that he was indeed a good deal intoxicated.
The magician snorted at the dark skinned boy before waving his cape back in his hands, somehow transported there from where it had fallen on the floor. "I'm not done," the newly white haired teen pouted. Saguru didn't have enough time to evade before Kaito threw the cape over him.
"Get away from me you imbecile!" Saguru ripped the cape away and saw Kaito's face smiling down at him. He'd felt the magician touch him even though it looked like he hadn't moved. Kaito quickly grabbed the cape back and threw it over Conan, who sat gapping at them.
Saguru was able to see the small boy's flaring red hair and matching clothes that Conan hadn't been wearing seconds ago when the cape disappeared off of him as well. The detective looked down at the golden silk outfit he had on instead of his school uniform. He puzzled over how Kaito had changed his clothing so fast without him noticing. After turning his cuffs up and finding his original clothes hadn't been covered up, they were gone altogether, Saguru was even more baffled.
"Whoa, no ya don't!" Hattori tried to weave away from Kaito and his evil grin. The magician stumbled but was able to gain enough momentum by jumping off the couch to catch the Osakan teen in the thin material, bringing them both to the floor.
Hattori stared darkly down at a pair of purple jeans and a purple collared shirt. He streaked a hand through his radiant lilac hair that he would only see out of the corner of his eye.
"Why'd ya give me the purple clothes?" he asked sourly.
"'Cause Hisa-chan said that you were purple" Kaito explained with a lopsided grin, "And I thought it would be fun to see things the way she does." Kaito stuck out his tongue as Saguru. "But since someone already had gold hair I could only make it look sparkly."
"What did you do to my hair?" the British perfectionist asked, combing through the strands with his fingers and finding the texture strange.
Kaito leaned over the couch and tried to grab Saguru's hand to make him stop irritating the oils he put in it. Unfortunately Saguru drew his arm in towards himself and the magician tumbled onto the couch, losing his balance, and falling into the detective's lap.
Kaito thought this was hilarious, and all Saguru could do was flush almost imperceptibly and try to push the other off of him.
"Aw you're so mean," Kaito mumbled as he rolled onto the floor.
Saguru looked around the room at how ridiculous they all appeared, like someone had made an attempt at a human rainbow. The detective wouldn't have put it past the magician if he took the liberty of dying their skin as well if he weren't so loaded.
"For someone who doesn't like the taste of alcohol, you sure must have drunk a lot." Conan looked down at his clothes. The material was nice but his hair was bothering him. His new red socks also had little smiley faces on them, which wasn't his style at all.
"Didn't taste bad." Somehow the magician took out a flask that he couldn't have had anywhere on him since his own white shirt was button up and his white jean pants would have shown the bulge. "Try some," he offered Saguru.
"No thank you, I prefer being sober."
"Come on! It tastes good!"
"No thank you!" Saguru pushed the magician's hand away and Kaito shrugged.
"Fine, more for me."
"No more fer you." Hattori took the flask away as Kaito feebly tried to get it back.
Pouting, the magician sat on the floor. He soon got bored of that though and wandered around the room, footsteps both normal and even, or weaving and causing him to bump into more than one wall.
Hattori opened the flask and smelled inside. He looked puzzled for a minute before putting his finger in and trying to taste the contents.
"Don't do it Hattori," Conan warned.
"I'm not gonna drink it! I wanted ta know what it was!" Hattori turned to Kaito who was on the other side of the room and had somehow gotten to the computer paper and had made an intricate miniature tree house out of the sheets. "Are ya sure this is alcohol?"
Kaito smiled back, grin uneven and eyes elsewhere. "I don't think I know who that is."
"I doubt you'll get anything out of him Hattori, he looks pretty wasted."
Hattori nodded. If he couldn't get the answers from the other, he wanted to taste it. Hattori just took a sip of the liquid, and he felt creamy and rich taste of it. There was a bitterness that tingled his throat but it was lost in the overwhelming sugary flavor.
"This is chocolate?" Hattori looked over as Kaito proceeded to make an entire city out of the paper. "Ya got drunk on chocolate?"
"Let me see," Saguru held out his hand. If he was good at one thing because of his British background, it was identifying liquor.
Hattori handed it over reluctantly. "It kinda tasted good."
Saguru reopened the flask and did smell the chocolate aroma. It wasn't real chocolate though, some elixir that held that smell. "Nope, it's alcohol. Don't drink anymore of it, I think it's strong."
Hattori took the flask back. He hadn't tasted any liquor. Because of his father and a few other social events of his own, he'd become aware of the taste and flavor of wine. He wasn't fond of it but it wasn't unknown to him. Hattori had always assumed that other alcoholic beverages had the same burning to them this wines did.
Kaito was back in the center of the room, leaving a mess near the professor's computer. He'd built a miniature model of the city of San Francisco.
"I'm bored!" Kaito announced, drawing all their attention. Hattori took the opportunity to hide behind the couch Saguru was sitting in and taste the drink again. He didn't want Conan yelling at him for it afterwards. It wasn't as if the Osakan wanted to get drunk, he just wanted to check what it was.
The magician, in the meantime, was having fun with Conan. Since the boy was small, Kaito found it amusing to add things to his outfit. A large red necklace with chili peppers was placed around his neck, red hearts were drawn on his checks with something Conan hoped would wash off, and red cap was placed on his head. The boy could do nothing to stop it because overpowering Kaito was completely out of the question and he'd left his watch with the professor to get it fixed and didn't know where it was at the moment, or if it was even working. He'd have to get it back before this happened again.
Saguru could do nothing to help either. He'd tried to intervene after he saw how much Conan disliked the new hearts on his face but Kaito had turned on him and added gold hearts to his face as well. Saguru went back to sitting with a 'better him than me' attitude. It wasn't as if Kaito was hurting anybody.
Once he had nothing more to place on Conan, Kaito sat on the table in front of both of them.
"I have a headache!"
"Of course you do you booze hound, now go back to the basement until you're sober." Saguru took him by the arm. "I'll help you. It's been over a month now and you can finally move around so don't go hurting yourself."
"But I wanna stay here!" Kaito was physically crying and Saguru let him go, astonishment getting the best of him. "Don't make me go in the basement! I want to be up here with you guys."
Saguru ran a hand through his hair. "Fine but stop touching us. We don't like it."
"I'm sorry," Kaito continued to cry. "I thought it would be fun. I didn't – I'm sorry."
"Stop apologizing. It's not like you're going to remember this in a few hours."
"But I didn't mean to make you mad." Kaito slumped forward, "I must be a bad person. I do bad things even when I don't want to."
"Kuroba-kun you're not a bad person, you're just an idiot. Now shut up and stop crying already." Saguru had never, never seen the magician cry. Even as wasted as he was, Kaito was a very secretive person. It seemed wrong and out of place.
"Okay I'll be quiet." Kaito sat perfectly still and silent on the table. There were no swaying movements or anything that gave away that the magician was stone-cold drunk. His eyes were perfectly clear as well.
"Kuroba-kun, you're creeping me out." Saguru kicked the table after ten minutes of silence. "Move or something."
"But you told me I had to be quiet. I don't want to make you mad again." Kaito looked Saguru in the eyes and, for the first time, the detective could see the appeal of the boy adorning himself in white. It suited him. The hair made he look ethereal instead of like an old man.
"You won't make me mad as long as you don't touch me anymore. Go do whatever you feel like and make as much noise as you want."
Kaito smiled and the liveliness that he had been suppressing was back. "Okay, I wanna do something."
"What?" Saguru was almost afraid to ask.
"I wanna… I wanna… I don't know what I wanna do." Kaito smiled with half-lidded eyes. "I just wanna do something."
"Where's Hattori?" Conan's question brought Saguru back to the realization that he hadn't seen the other for some time.
"I don't know."
"Ya don't want ta know."
The Osakan's voice from behind him made Saguru jump.
"That was very rude!" He told the other.
"Ya well I didn't mean ta. I can't really think very well right now." Saguru could smell the chocolate liquor on him and figured out just what was wrong. Hattori looked dejectedly at Conan. "Sorry but I drank more than I should 'ave. I don't think I'm sober anymore."
"I'm leaving." Saguru stood up. "As if Kuroba-kun wasn't bad enough. I am not dealing with two idiots who think it's fun to get sloshed."
"Hey come back!" Kaito fell off the table but he did manage to grab onto Saguru's pant leg. The detective tried but couldn't get out of the magician's grip.
"Kuroba-kun you said you wouldn't touch me."
"I'm not touching you; I'm touching your clothes!" Kaito dug his fingers in deeper so that he couldn't be pried off. "You have to stay. It's no fun without you."
"How so? I'm sure you and Conan-kun will get along just fine. If you'd release me now, I'd appreciate it."
Saguru was surprised when Kaito complied with his request.
"I remembered what I wanted to do!" The magician jumped up with such enthusiasm that he bashed into the table behind him. Kaito swore aloud before his smile returned and he ran off down the street, not fully closing the door all the way behind him.
"Should we really let him run loose?" Conan wondered out loud. "Kid isn't the best creature to let drunk on the female population."
"I didn't even think of that," Saguru sighed. If anything happened he was sure the police would catch Kaito. How the thief would react to the officers, drunk, brought up new concerns. "Maybe we should follow him."
"I think yer too hard on him. He's a good guy. He ain't gonna go assaultin' women the first chance he gets." Hattori tried to sit down on the couch but, after a few minutes, settled for sitting on the floor and resting his head on top of the table. "He looked like he already had plans anyways."
Hattori wasn't as intoxicated as the magician and his logic did make sense. The detective sat down and got back to his book while Conan pulled out his papers. The Osakan just wanted the sourness in his stomach to fade. He didn't feel like throwing up.
…
After the first hour Saguru started to get worried.
"Shouldn't he have been back by now? I would think that he'd have returned, or that the police would have caught him by this time if he was up to anything." Saguru closed his watch as he spoke to Conan; it had been exactly one hour, seven minutes, and twelve seconds since the magician rushed out the door.
"I don't know. I wish I knew where he bought this hair dye though." Conan had tried, after the magician was gone, to free his hair of its new red color. A shower hadn't worked at all and the red locks now dripped onto the towel around his shoulders.
"At least you're not Hattori-kun."
Saguru looked at the Osakan teen's light purple hair. It stood out drastically against his dark skin and made him look like he had cotton candy on his head.
Conan shrugged. At least Hattori can hide his under a cap.
"I don't care so much about what's in my hair as to where he put my school uniform." Saguru didn't have dye in his like Conan did, and he figure he could get whatever was applied to his hair out before he had to go to school tomorrow. His clothes he couldn't be without. They'd both scoured the professor's house but hadn't come across them.
"Hey." Hattori lifted his head and looked around the room with unfocused eyes. "Now that ya mention it, I need my stuff too. He took my charm from me again an' Kazuha will kill me if she sees I don't 'ave it."
Conan patted down his clothing and pockets. "He has my detective badge too."
Saguru gripped his watch tighter in his pocket. As careless as the magician had seemed with the belongings of the other two, he'd taken the time to make sure that Saguru still had his watch. It was a thoughtful gesture and it separated him from the other two. Saguru didn't know if that was a good or a bad sign where the magician was involved.
Kaito couldn't have gotten into that much trouble. Since he wasn't back yet maybe he'd passed out somewhere.
…
It was now five hours later and Saguru couldn't take it anymore.
The detective pulled out a small white phone, which he'd bought to replace his old one. He'd gotten the white for obvious teasing reasons later, and he dialed Kaito's number.
It went straight to the magician's machine which was him declaring that he was currently waging war on impromptu calling and so was not there to pick up the phone since he wasn't expecting a call. Saguru hung up without leaving a message.
"Calm down Hakuba-kun, he's not doing anything bad or we would have heard something by now. Hattori's already passed out so maybe Kuroba-kun is too."
Saguru looked down at Hattori who'd fallen asleep sitting at the table some time ago. Yes but we're talking about Kuroba-kun. Saguru remembered Conan referring to the magician's behavior in a similar way, it's not like he follows the norm.
…
It was less than an hour-in-a-half after their conversation that Kaito came back in the house. He closed the door and stood against it, giggling to himself.
"I ran out," Kaito told them, white hair pressed down to his skin with sweat.
"Yes Kuroba-kun, you ran out of here six hours and thirty-two minutes ago" Saguru responded, glad that the other was safe at least.
"No I ran out."
The repetition of his statement didn't make it any clearer. Kaito made his way to Hattori and tried to wake him. The teen moaned and blinked his eyes before covering his mouth with a hand. "What dya want?"
"I ran out," Kaito said before laughing again. "I didn't know it but I ran out so I had to mix it."
"Mix what?" Hattori could feel as his brain tried to work but it was just no use. "What're ya talkin' about?"
Kaito laughed and tired to pull Hattori up to his feet. The Osakan attempted to but it took him a while to get up and then, as Kaito led him across the room, his footsteps were just as unsteady. Kaito put him down near the large TV before going back over to the other two.
"Come see! It's not so good 'cause I ran out though."
"Kuroba-kun I have no idea what you're talking about. You've gotten my attention though, and if it'll make you happy, I'll come."
"Yay!" The magician actually jumped up and down. "You too Conan-kun!"
"Only if you tell me how to get this out of my hair." The small boy's gaze was steady and he was serious. If Conan waited until Kaito was sober again, he wouldn't be going to school.
"Oh sorry, you have to use vinegar. It's gonna stink but it comes right out. Its special hair dye my dad made so that you can go swimmin'!"
"And our clothes?" Saguru asked.
Kaito had to think about it. "I think I put them in the car before I left."
"You think?"
"They're there, so come on!" Kaito ushered the other two, tripping over his own feet a few times in the rush to get them over to the television.
"How much to you want to bet whatever he's going to show us is not good?" Conan asked once they sat down.
"Everything, I wouldn't be stupid enough to think otherwise if he's making us watch the television."
"I feel bad that I ran out" Kaito told them again. Saguru still couldn't understand what it was that he was referring to. The magician turned on the TV.
It wasn't good.
It wasn't cataclysmically bad but it certainly wasn't good.
"I thought about working on the new Tokyo Tower but its gray already and it wouldn't have worked. I wish I hadn't run out."
"Kuroba-kun," Saguru took a second to breathe, the people on the news channel seemed to have a hard time believing what they were seeing as well. "You did not paint Tokyo tower blue."
"I wish!" Kaito exclaimed. "I told you I ran out!"
Saguru watched as the camera spanned the latticework of the building. The majority of it was a reflective metallic blue and the white streaks that used to be painted across were pink.
"How did you do that?" Conan's eyes were wide. The sun was only now starting to set! How had the magician pulled something of the magnitude off in front of thousands of people?
"It was easy" Kaito put his hands behind his head. "I didn't want anything to hit it though, like planes and stuff when they're flying, so I had to be careful with my colors. Orange and white are just so boring."
"Kuroba," Saguru still couldn't believe what he was seeing. "I am amazed by what you can get away with."
Hattori just watched, dumbfounded. "I didn't actually think you were gonna do it. Damn, I mean, that was a joke!"
"Nope! I said I'd do it when I was drunk, but I'm not… Hm. I did it anyway. You should have seen how much the wind blew me!" Kaito started laughing again. Unlike Hattori, the alcohol didn't seem to be wearing off for him.
"Did anybody see you?" Now that Saguru was able to look away from the television, he noticed Kaito had on different clothes and there were large splotches under his shirt where the paint had stained his skin.
"'Course nobody saw me! I put a big cloth just like I did with the clock and then I had this spray thing. I don't know, I guess it's kind of like a – wait!" Kaito shut himself up. "I'm not telling! That gives away the magic!"
Kaito let his head fall and started giggling. "They know I did it though."
"What?" Any amusement Saguru may have been feeling at the stupid stunt vanished. Of course Kaito was smart enough to use water-soluble paint but Tokyo Tower was a landmark! He could get in serious trouble. "Who knows that you did it?"
"Everyone!" Kaito spread his hands out. He sat down next to the three detectives for the first time, energy still failing around widely. He pointed back to the TV, which they all they all had taken their eyes off of. "Look!"
In the center part of the tower, on the first observation deck that was now pink, was a large Kaitou Kid caricature showing a peace sign in vivid black paint.
"See?"
"Kuroba you are going to be in so much trouble when you're sober," Saguru warned him. "That was really stupid."
Kaito shrugged, happy. "I don't really care. I like it!"
"You have ta admit, it's pretty awesome." Hattori backed off when the Conan turned on him. "I'm just sayin'. I couldn't have done somethin' like that even if I wanted to. Even if they let me."
Saguru turned off the set.
Kaito laughed before reaching into his pocket for his phone. Saguru saw that the teen had it turned off, which was why his call hadn't gone through. The brightness of the screen against the setting sun prompted the detective to go turn on one of the lights.
Kaito whistled. "You called me," he raised his head to indicated Saguru, "Aoko called me… seventeen times," Kaito whistled again, "and mom called."
"I don't think your mother would have like you doing that either."
"Aw, you really don't know mom that well, do ya?" Kaito lay back on the bed they were sitting on that had the best view of the screen. "She's probably laughing. I may have made her think I'm drunk now."
"Kuroba-kun," Saguru hardened his voice "You are drunk."
"Um…" the magician/ thief/ graffiti artisan mumbled, closing his eyes.
"Are you falling asleep?" Saguru asked him. No response came.
"I can't believe he just passes out after doing something like that." Conan stared at Kaito's unconscious form, mouth slightly open from trying to reply to Saguru's questions. "I'm sure it must have tired him out, but still."
"Let's just get our clothes back and this stuff out of our hair. We'll worry about the rest tomorrow."
(It is now back to first person/Kaito because… well, he's cognitive now)
I had to go to the bathroom. It was the first and only thought that passed through my brain when I woke up.
I rolled over and, instead of finding the edge of the bed, I hit the foot of it and banged my head against the wooden frame.
"Ouch!" I looked around, trying to figure out where I was. Bathroom, bathroom, bathroom.
I was in the professor's living room. The bathroom was that way.
"Kuroba-kun, you're awake." Hakuba turned the corner, coming out of one of the bedrooms.
"Later!" I yelled as I ran pasted him. I made in to the toilet in time to throw up.
"That should teach you not to drink in the future. I hear hangovers aren't something to laugh at."
I heard the self-righteousness in his voice but I couldn't fight back as I continued to heave in the toilet bowl. It didn't take long to stop and I felt like my head was going to explode. I flushed the toilet and found a small towel to wash my face. "What happened?"
"Do you remember getting drunk?"
"Ah, I remembered Ai-chan and I remember drinking." I tried to think back. "Everything after that is very blurry."
"Yes, she's back now. Is that all you remember?"
I tried to think, but the headache! The pain was so bad that I couldn't focus on anything. "I remember everything was very colorful."
That made the detective laugh, though I didn't know why.
"Because of you, everything was rather colorful. You took the opportunity to relieve Conan-kun, Hattori-kun, and I of our outfits for ones you procured for us. They were very… colorful. You also seemed to think our hair should be colorful as well."
I laughed. "Oh really? I don't remember doing that."
"You wouldn't. You were so drunk yesterday I don't think you'd remember if you had kissed an elephants butt."
"Please don't say that. Did I do anything that bad?" I tried hard to conjure up the memories of yesterday. It had been cold out. I remembered that. "Was I outside?"
"Without a jacket. None of us noticed until you passed out and we saw you had a fever again." Hakuba sighed. "And yes, you did do something bad, though I don't think you'd take it the same way we did."
"What was it?"
Hakuba showed me the afternoon news of what had happened last night.
"I did not do that." I looked over at the detective for some reassurance. He nodded his head.
"You proudly came up to us and told us that you had. You were in the process of also telling us how you had done it but you didn't get far, so I'm still interested about that part of your late night adventure." We both stared at the reporter as she started mentioning Kaitou Kid and I saw the doodle that could have only been done by me.
I started laughing. "I can't believe I actually did it."
"You will not be getting drunk in the future." It made me laugh more with how serious Hakuba was. Laughing only made my head hurt so I tried to cut it off.
"Don't worry it was just an experiment, won't happen again." Until I'm legal… maybe.
"What had to be the most amusing thing though, was what you were dreaming about. We all had to sleep in the same room in the basement to get away from you because you were so loud."
"I do not talk in my sleep!" That was one thing I was sure about. I'd had my mom make certain that I didn't, I wouldn't have risked the few sleepovers at Aoko's otherwise.
"Maybe not when you're sober but you absolutely do it when you're intoxicated." Hakuba didn't even try to hide how happy he was about that fact and it made me angry.
"What did I say?"
"With all that had happened, I thought you were going to have nightmares about the Organization." The detective lowered his voice in a dismal expression, "especially when I heard you whimpering."
Even unconscious, I couldn't imagine myself doing that. I do not 'whimper' in front of people.
Hakuba chuckled, amusement clear and unclouded by my assumptions in favor of his memories. "I was wrong. You cried 'don't let the goldfish get me!' and I knew you were all right."
"I did not!" I knew I was blushing. I hated letting people know how much fish scared me, goldfish in particular were ugly and just thinking about them made me shiver.
"Come on you guys!" I heard Hattori yell from somewhere in the house. "Tell me how to get it out!"
Conan walked into the living room with us. He shouted back to the Osakan, "No you shouldn't have gotten drunk either!" before looking at me. "Be thankful that we let you get away with that last night."
"I am." It hadn't even crossed my mind before now that the detectives could have turned me in last night for what I'd done to the tower.
"Come on!" Hattori complained. He came into the room and I just stared at him.
"What happened to you?" I asked him. His hair was bright purple.
"You happened to me!" He sighed but it was a happy one. "Now that yer up can ya tell me how to get it out? Conan – damn Conan-,"
"You don't need to keep correcting yourself. I think we're all getting tired of it." Hakuba looked down at Conan. "I may not understand it, but I know. Which name do you prefer?"
Conan looked up at him sideways and remained silent for a moment. He closed his eyes. "Whichever you like."
"Very well." Hakuba bent down and put his hand out, "Nice to meet you Conan-kun."
Conan looked at him in surprise before smiling and shaking his hand. "Likewise."
"Now how do you get this out?" Hattori asked desperately.
"Ah…" I had to think. "Which kind did I use?"
"How should I know?"
I did recognize the hair dye and knew how to get it out. Where was the fun in just telling him?
"I don't know… I only have one purple dye, since it's not a very fun color, and that one is permanent."
"Permanent! Yer kidding me right?"
I shook my head. Damn it was so hard to keep from smiling. Hakuba caught on.
"Too bad Hattori-kun, looks like you're going to have to deal with the purple hair." Hakuba nudged him with an elbow. "At least everyone will be able to recognize you. The purple haired beast of Osaka."
Hattori's expression did it. I started laughing and the detective joined in, when Conan saw our expressions he laughed as well. Hattori looked at me like he wanted to kill me.
"That was so not funny!"
"Sure," I laughed. "That wasn't funny, it was hilarious!"
Hattori laughed along, out of relief. "Fine then, how do ya get it out?"
"Vinegar."
"What?"
"Vin-a-gar" I pronounced slowly.
"I heard ya!" Hattori bit back. "Where does the professor keep it Ku-do?" The Osakan almost stopped saying his name now, out of habit.
"It's under the cabinet in the bathroom," Hakuba pointed behind him. "Kuroba-kun you should use it to."
"Why?" I looked at my bangs and saw how white my hair was. "What did I do that for?"
"You claimed it was because of Hisa-chan."
Oh, that made sense now! I wondered why I'd given Hattori purple hair.
"Sounds like it was fun hanging out with drunk me."
"Until you started crying," Hakuba said. "The clothes and hair weren't that bad but I don't know how to deal with you when you're upset."
I did not start crying. Everything Hakuba had been telling me so far had been the truth though, so it was harder to deny it than it was to believe him.
"I must really trust you then." I smiled to myself and felt happy. "I've only ever cried in front of Aoko, and even that was only a few times." I looked at the three of them. They all came from different upbringings, they all looked, acted and spoke differently, and they all were after me. "That's some messed up friendship."
"But it is friendship" Hattori spoke up first. "I don't care if yer a thief, yer a good person and I trust ya."
He held out his hand and I shook it. "I don't care if you're a detective either," I joked back. Hakuba put his hand on ours and Conan was tall enough to do this same, though he turned away, narrowing his eyes and chuckling
"If feels like I should yell 'break' and we all go running out on the field."
Everyone laughed at that and we dropped our hands.
It was strange, but not unwelcome, associating myself with them. It may not be possible for me to work with them in the future, Phantom thieves do their best work solo after all, but one thing was sure…
Things were definitely going to be interesting from now on.