Post by boogum on Apr 23, 2016 9:56:18 GMT
Read on FFN here.
Summary: "I doubt that Hakuba is up to anything interesting. He's just some detective otaku who likes to cosplay as Sherlock Holmes. Any secret of his wouldn't be worth investigating."
Characters: Kaito, Aoko, Akako, Hakuba. No pairings.
Genre: Humour
Words: 3900
“Don’t you think Hakuba-kun has been acting strangely?”
Kaito leaned on the back two legs of his chair, meeting Aoko’s expectant look with a bored expression. “I can’t say I care what that bast—”
“Kaito!”
“That detective,” Kaito corrected, though he didn’t sound the least bit apologetic, “has been doing.”
“Well, I do,” Aoko retorted, raising her chin. “And you should as well, since he’s your friend.”
“He’s not my friend.”
“Then why do you have his number on your phone?”
“Because someone—” and here he gave a flat stare at Aoko “—gave him my number, and Hakuba enjoys calling me when I least expect it. At least with him saved as my contact, I can see his name to reject his calls with Caller ID.”
She muttered something under her breath, though he only caught the words “idiot” and “so stubborn”. Kaito ignored the unflattering remarks. He had no intention of giving Aoko an opening to begin another of her “Fix Your Attitude” rants. Mostly, he just wondered why, of all the teenagers in the school, she had to take a liking to the one person who had the potential to blow his secret about being Kaitou Kid, not to mention had sworn to capture him.
Actually, it wasn’t all that surprising. Aoko hated Kid. She had even come up with the Kid Capture Brigade, which she had somehow forced Kaito into joining. Oh, and did he mention that Akako and Hakuba were part of the group? As if having a detective nosing around his business wasn’t bad enough. No, Aoko had to go and make friends with the witch who wanted to enslave him as her lover as well.
Somehow, he thought it was typical of his childhood friend. She had a knack for making his life complicated.
“Kaito, are you even listening to me?” Aoko demanded.
“Sure, sure,” Kaito said, waving his hand in a dismissive gesture. “You’re worried about Hakuba. Don’t know why, since he was never normal to begin with, but—”
Aoko smacked Kaito on the head with her textbook, almost making him lose his balance on the precariously perched chair. He swung forward so that all four legs of the chair were flat on the floor and shot her a betrayed expression.
“What was that for?” he demanded, rubbing his head.
“You know what it was for,” she said darkly. “Hakuba-kun is our friend, whether you want to admit it or not.” Her voice softened. “Plus, I really am worried. Hakuba-kun has been so secretive lately. It’s not like him.”
“Secretive?”
Kaito perked up despite his best attempts to remain disinterested. Secrets to him were like shiny things to a magpie; he couldn’t help but be intrigued. Apparently, he wasn’t the only one. Akako must have overheard their conversation and slinked over to stand behind Kaito, one hand resting on the back of his chair.
“What’s going on?” Akako asked.
Aoko explained that she thought Hakuba was keeping a secret from them, because he was always going off on his own and avoided her questions when she asked him about it. He had even stopped getting picked up after school by that old lady who seemed to drive him around everywhere.
Akako made a thoughtful sound. “I could summon Lucifer and ask him.”
There was a pause as Aoko blinked in confusion. “Summon Lucifer?”
The witch seemed to realise what she had said, because she laughed in her “I Swear I’m Not Up to Anything Nefarious” way. Except no one was buying that. “It was a joke,” she said for Aoko’s benefit. “Lucifer is my, er, cat.”
Kaito frowned. It had not sounded like Akako had been kidding. Did she seriously summon the king of demons just to ask for random gossip about her classmates?
“Summoning cats aside,” Kaito said, throwing a narrowed glance at Akako, “I doubt that Hakuba is up to anything interesting. He’s just some detective otaku who likes to cosplay as Sherlock Holmes. Any secret of his wouldn’t be worth investigating.”
“That’s it!” Aoko declared, springing to her feet.
Kaito blinked. “That’s what?”
“We’ll just follow Hakuba-kun and find out for ourselves what he’s been up to! It’s our duty as his fellow members of the Kid Capture Brigade!” Aoko grinned, still raising her fist in the air with a “who’s with me?” expression.
Kaito and Akako stared at her blankly.
Aoko’s triumphant expression faltered. She lowered her hand. “What?”
“I’m not interested in stalking that detective otaku,” Kaito said bluntly.
“I don’t see the point in going to such lengths,” Akako said with a shrug. “I could probably get Hakuba-kun to tell me his secret just by asking.”
Right, because her seduction magic actually worked on the blond.
Aoko pouted. “You really won’t help?”
For answer, Kaito picked up his phone and went back to scrolling through news updates. Akako said that she would have a chat to Hakuba herself and returned to her desk. A second later, the witch was surrounded by a circle of boys. Aoko frowned and sat down next to Kaito.
“Do you really think Akako-chan can get Hakuba-kun to tell her his secret?” she asked.
Kaito opened his mouth to say that he didn’t care either way, but then Hakuba entered the classroom. The half-Brit looked … off. His hair wasn’t perfectly combed into that smarmy style of his, and Kaito’s sharp gaze was quick to note the shadows rimming Hakuba’s eyes. Even his uniform was a little rumpled.
A crease formed on Kaito’s brow. He would never admit it aloud, but there was a part of him—just a tiny part—that actually was concerned about the annoying gnat of a detective. Hakuba Saguru was arrogant, pompous, and so meticulous about details that he liked to keep track of the time right down to the millisecond. Hakuba did not turn up to school looking like he had rolled out of bed, thrown on yesterday’s uniform, and even forgot to brush his hair. It was completely out of character. This bothered Kaito.
“How long did you say it’s been since Hakuba started acting strangely?” Kaito asked.
Aoko rested her chin on her hands. “About four days, I guess.”
Kaito made a humming sound at the back of his throat. Maybe he would try his hand at playing detective after all. Not because he saw Hakuba as his friend or anything. Not really. This was just a matter of restoring normalcy to the universe: one where Aoko wore white panties, chocolate ice cream was delicious, and Hakuba Saguru was an obnoxious detective with perfect hair and clothes that did not have a crease out place.
Yes, it was time for “Operation: Uncover Hakuba’s Secret”.
“How’s this?”
Kaito rolled his eyes. “Aoko, wearing a hat and a fake moustache is not going to fool anyone, least of all Hakuba.” He wrenched the fuzzy strip away from her upper lip, then removed the hat for good measure. “If you want to appear inconspicuous, you need to blend in with the crowd.”
Akako smiled from where she leaned against the wall. “Do you have a better disguise for us then, Kuroba-kun?”
He scowled at the witch. “Remind me again why you’re here?”
“I invited her,” Aoko said, swatting away Kaito’s hands when he tried to help her remove the bulky jacket that had been covering her feminine attire.
“Of course you did,” Kaito muttered.
He’d heard that Akako had tried to get the truth out of Hakuba during their lunch break. Apparently, the detective had blushed and stammered a lot, but he had not confessed his secret. Instead, he had made a hasty retreat from the witch. Akako must have been piqued enough to pursue the matter. Well, it really made no difference to Kaito, so long as she kept her witch voodoo away from him. The main issue was figuring out a way to follow Hakuba without being noticed.
Sadly, Kaito’s own attempts to weasel the truth out of the blond had not met with success. That was why he had allowed himself to be “forced” into joining Aoko on the stalking—sorry, “undercover”—mission after school. She thought him a reluctant tag-along, but the truth was that Kaito had not been able to shake off the odd squirming in his gut ever since his conversation with Hakuba.
“Everything alright?”
Hakuba glanced up from where he sat tying the laces on his gym shoes. “Why wouldn’t it be?”
Maybe because you look like you haven’t slept in days.
Kaito forced a grin. “Your inability to capture Kaitou Kid isn’t getting to you, is it? Maybe you should take the next heist off. ”
Hakuba responded with a noncommittal grunt. It was the lack of response which really set off warning bells. Normally, the half-Brit would have shifted into a honey-smooth tone and made a few taunting remarks about Kaito being Kid, or at least declared that he was still going to be the one to capture Kid, blah blah blah. But there had been none of that. Just a half-shrug and a grunt.
Kaito leaned forward, staring intently into Hakuba’s eyes. “You really are Hakuba, aren’t you?”
The blond raised an eyebrow. “Excuse me?”
For answer, Kaito placed his hand against Hakuba’s forehead—and promptly had it swatted away.
“What are you doing, Kuroba-kun?”
“Checking to make sure you don’t have a fever,” Kaito said mock-serious. “The only other explanation for your lack of obnoxiousness is that you’ve been abducted by aliens and this is just your doppelganger, or you’ve been possessed by a spirit who prefers slovenly attire and caveman language.”
Hakuba rolled his eyes and got to his feet. “I see you still have yet to mature, Kuroba-kun. Now, if you excuse me, I don’t want to be late for gym.”
Those parting words had been the most Hakuba-ish thing the blond had said all day, but the whole experience had left Kaito feeling unnerved. Hakuba wasn’t being Hakuba. Kaito didn’t like it. He didn’t like it one bit.
“Kaito?”
The teen blinked and realised that Aoko and Akako were staring at him. Oops, he had zoned out.
“Look, we don’t need disguises,” Kaito said, trying to get the conversation back on track. “Hakuba isn’t an idiot; the best thing to do is just act natural. So, we’ll just be three students walking together—” a sideways grin curved his lips “—who just happen to be going in the same direction as Hakuba.”
Aoko punched her fist into the air. “Alright, let’s do this! Kid Capture Brigade, move out!”
Kaito resisted the urge to facepalm. Aoko. Her idea of “natural” was not going to fly for this mission. Actually, Akako’s wasn’t either. Every male in the vicinity was already moving towards the beautiful witch, as if drawn to a magnet.
“Think you can tone down the charm,” Kaito murmured in Akako’s ear. “We can’t do subtle if we have the whole male population as your entourage.”
Akako covered her mouth as she laughed, sounding far too much like a villain from a bad theatre show. “I can’t help it men are attracted to me, Kuroba-kun.”
Kaito sighed. Maybe they would need those disguises after all.
“I can’t believe you dressed me as a fat male,” Akako grumbled.
“Deal with it,” Kaito said shortly. “It was the only way to stop those boys from following you and trying to get your number.”
Akako still seemed unhappy, but she stopped complaining nevertheless. Ransacking the Drama department for wigs and other costumes had worked out well—with the aid of Kaito’s own disguising skills, of course. Akako was now a chubby teenage boy with glasses, while Kaito and Aoko were “his” very normal-looking friends. As far as anyone could tell, they were just three Ekoda High School students walking home together.
And they were currently following Hakuba.
“I can see him,” Aoko whispered. “He’s heading into the Seven-Eleven.”
“Alright, we’re going in,” Kaito said. “Remember, act natural.”
The two girls nodded, and soon all three of them were joining Hakuba in the convenience store. The blond had not noticed them enter and stood examining a selection of onigiri and bento boxes. Kaito’s brow creased. Somehow, he had never pegged Hakuba as the type to buy food from a convenience store. Kaito had always assumed the obaasan prepared Hakuba’s meals for him, or maybe even a personal chef. Yet here Hakuba was deciding between beef or pork bento, and whether he should get a tuna onigiri on the side.
“He’s just buying food,” Aoko said with a pout. Her stomach grumbled. “Well, since we’re here, I might pick up a few things for myself.”
She moved over to where the hot food was stored. Akako had also given up spying on Hakuba and was busy tormenting a man in his early twenties, who had been perusing the magazines. The poor guy must have got pulled in by her seduction magic, only to be confronted by an overweight teenage boy. Kaito wished the man luck—and not to get too scarred by the experience—and moved closer to his own target.
“Pork or beef,” Hakuba murmured, lowering and raising the different bento boxes as if his hands were a pair of scales.
“The beef is pretty good,” Kaito offered in a fake voice.
Hakuba glanced up at him in a distracted manner. “Oh? Then I guess I’ll try the beef. Thank you.”
“No problem.”
Kaito watched the blond grab a few more things from the shelves, including cup ramen—cup ramen of all things—and head to the counter. So, Hakuba was definitely buying food that could function as a meal rather than just a snack. Curious.
Kaito joined Aoko near the food warmer. “You said the obaasan hasn’t been dropping off Hakuba for school or picking him up for four days, right?” he asked in a low voice.
“Pretty much,” she answered, and then held up a curry puff. “Want one?”
He was about to say no, but then his own stomach gave a low grumble. “Ah, maybe just one.”
“Okay!”
Aoko got in line behind Hakuba with her collection of snacks. Kaito kept an eye on the half-Brit, collating every detail he could about the taller boy. There was something awfully familiar about this situation. The rumpled clothes, the dark circles under his eyes, the stash of bento boxes and cup ramen.
“I wonder,” Kaito murmured, tapping his finger to his chin.
The old lady was the key to this mystery. That, and Hakuba’s father.
Hakuba finished paying for his purchases and left the store. Kaito rounded up the girls and the disguised trio were back to tailing the blond down the street. Hakuba stopped outside a laundry service and scribbled down a few details on his pocket notebook, then carried on walking. Kaito’s mouth twitched into a smile. If this was a game of Hot and Cold, he was definitely getting warmer.
The next stop was a pet store. Kaito was not so certain about the reasoning for this stop, and actually wondered for a moment if he needed to rethink his theory. There was no practical explanation for why Hakuba had paused to play with puppies. Maybe the blond was investigating the lady behind the counter? Or maybe he had a crush on her? She was kind of cute, Kaito supposed.
Except Hakuba wasn’t paying any attention to the woman. He was crouching next to the puppy pen, running his hands along the dogs' sleek fur and letting them lick and nudge their faces against him. Aoko squirmed next to Kaito, as if she were physically holding back from launching herself through the window to join Hakuba.
“They’re so cute,” she breathed, pressing her hands against the glass. “Oh, look at that little one with the curly tail! Isn’t he adorable?”
Akako raised her eyebrow. “You don’t even know if it’s a ‘he’. And I sincerely hope that this fascination for furry things is not Hakuba-kun’s secret.”
Kaito did as well. It would mean they just wasted their whole day stalking the half-Brit just to watch him play with puppies. “Let’s go in,” he said.
Aoko made a small sound of glee and rushed through the door. Kaito and Akako followed much more leisurely behind.
“They seem to really like you, Hakuba-kun,” the lady behind the counter was saying. “Are you sure you don’t want to get a little companion for yourself?”
“I already have Watson,” Hakuba said with a shrug. “I admit that these puppies are much friendlier than my hawk, though.” He smiled and stood up. “In any case, I had best be going. I really just came to thank you for the other day. Your advice about the trains was very helpful.”
“Of course,” the employee said, lowering her head in a bow.
Kaito glanced between the two. Hey, hey, wait a moment. Hakuba was already leaving?
“Aoko, come on,” he muttered, grabbing the girl by the wrist.
“But—”
Kaito yanked her away from the puppies and out of the pet shop. Akako joined them, grumbling about how she was sick of being a fat male and wanted to take off her disguise.
“By all means, take off the disguise.”
Kaito started at the unexpected voice. He would know that smooth yet obnoxious tone anywhere.
“Hakuba,” he said, turning to face the detective.
Hakuba stepped out from the shadows. “I thought it was strange when the three students who followed me into the convenience store turned up at the pet shop as well. Now I know why.”
Aoko pulled off her wig and mask. “We were just worried about you,” she explained. “You’ve been acting so oddly these past few days, but you kept saying that nothing was wrong when I asked.”
Hakuba pinched the bridge of his nose with his forefinger and thumb. “So you followed me?”
“It worked, didn’t it?” Kaito said, and nodded at the bag of bento boxes and ramen. “That told me everything I needed to know about your big secret.”
Hakuba blinked. “Secret? What on earth are you talking about?”
“The one you’ve been hiding from us,” Akako said, now back to her usual, beautiful self. “It’s why we followed you today. Seems like Kuroba-kun figured out the truth.”
Aoko stared at her childhood friend expectantly. “Kaito?”
“It’s really not that special,” Kaito admitted, shoving his hands in his pockets. “Hakuba here was just embarrassed; that’s the only reason he kept it a secret from us.” He shrugged. “I’m surprised you haven’t figured it out yet, Aoko. You were there when it happened to me after my mum left for America.”
A crease formed on her brow. She stared intently at Hakuba, taking in his rumpled appearance and the bag of convenience store food. “A-ha!” she exclaimed, pointing her finger at him. “You don’t know how to cook!”
Pink splotches formed on Hakuba’s cheeks. “W-what? I—”
“I suspect he hasn’t figured out how to use the washing machine and iron either,” Kaito mused. “Or maybe he used them wrong and ruined his clothes. One or the other.”
Akako nodded in understanding. “So, that’s why the old woman is no longer driving him to and from school.”
Hakuba opened and closed his mouth a few times. “You—this isn’t—”
“Don’t worry,” Kaito said, slinging his arm around Hakuba’s shoulder. “It’s okay to struggle the first time you find yourself living on your own.”
“It’s true,” Aoko chipped in, bestowing the detective with a friendly smile. “Kaito almost managed to burn down his house when it happened to him.”
Kaito scowled at the girl. “You didn’t have to tell him that.”
“But it’s true.”
There was a small moment of bickering, broken only by Hakuba shrugging off Kaito’s arm and declaring (with very pink cheeks) that they were all wrong. He solved complicated mysteries as a hobby; he was hardly going to be thwarted by something as simple as a washing machine or how to cook a meal, let alone how to get to places without a chauffeur.
“Except your uniform looks like it hasn’t been ironed or washed,” Kaito pointed out, “and you’ve bought enough food from the convenience store to last the weekend.” He raised one eyebrow. “What happened?”
Hakuba stared at the three of them for a long moment, his cheeks still flushed. Then he just sighed. “Baya has gone to visit some of her relatives; there was a family emergency. Father is out of town on business as well, so—”
“You’ve been left to fend for yourself,” Kaito finished for him.
“Something like that,” Hakuba muttered.
Aoko frowned at the taller boy. “Why didn’t you just say something? We could have helped.”
He raised his shoulder in a half-shrug. “I don’t know. I guess Kuroba-kun was right. I was embarrassed. Living on my own until Baya and Father returned should have been a simple thing, but it ended up more difficult than I expected.” His blush darkened. “Plus, I didn’t realise you would be this concerned about me.”
Kaito wasn’t sure why the small confession bothered him, but he did know that he liked it best when Hakuba was being Hakuba, obnoxious attitude and all. The distracted, distant Hakuba of today just wasn’t any fun. So, Kaito plastered on an air of nonchalance.
“Well, if you do need help with anything,” he said, scratching the tip of his nose, “I suppose I could give you a hand. Just until the obaasan comes back, mind you.”
Akako smiled in her seductive way. “I’d be happy to offer you any assistance you might need as well, Hakuba-kun.”
Hakuba swallowed, taking a step back from the witch. “Uh, thank you.”
“And you can always count on me!” Aoko said, nudging him in the side with her elbow.
Kaito leaned closer to the half-Brit. “Don’t trust her cooking. You’re better with the convenience store bento. Trust me.”
He got a kick in the leg from Aoko for that comment, but Hakuba just smiled at the three teens. It was obvious that he was “moved”, as the saying went.
“I don’t know what to say,” Hakuba admitted.
“Then don’t say anything,” Aoko said with a grin. “I mean, looking out for each other is what friends do, right?”
Akako, Hakuba and Kaito exchanged startled glances. Were they friends? Kaito wasn’t sure. The four of them were all part of the Kid Capture Brigade. It was also true that, when one of their own had got into what looked like a spot of trouble, the others had all rallied to his support to make sure that he was okay—even Kaito.
But did that make them friends?
Kaito frowned at the three other members of the Kid Capture Brigade. Akako was laughing and making sly comments, Hakuba was already slipping back into his slightly arrogant manner of speaking (apparently, being “moved” did not mean that he appreciated Aoko’s joke about high IQs and his struggle with the washing machine), and Aoko—well, Aoko was being Aoko. Kaito’s mouth curved into a smile. Well, regardless of the label they wanted to put on their odd relationship, what mattered was that the universe had been returned to normal. Aoko was still wearing white panties, chocolate ice cream was still delicious, and Hakuba was finally being Hakuba.
Mission accomplished.
I have to admit that I struggled with this one. I'm not sure what it was that kept niggling at me, but I felt like I couldn't really click with the characters. Still, I hope that you all got some enjoyment out of it, especially to whoever wrote the prompt!
Summary: "I doubt that Hakuba is up to anything interesting. He's just some detective otaku who likes to cosplay as Sherlock Holmes. Any secret of his wouldn't be worth investigating."
Characters: Kaito, Aoko, Akako, Hakuba. No pairings.
Genre: Humour
Words: 3900
Hakuba’s Secret
“Don’t you think Hakuba-kun has been acting strangely?”
Kaito leaned on the back two legs of his chair, meeting Aoko’s expectant look with a bored expression. “I can’t say I care what that bast—”
“Kaito!”
“That detective,” Kaito corrected, though he didn’t sound the least bit apologetic, “has been doing.”
“Well, I do,” Aoko retorted, raising her chin. “And you should as well, since he’s your friend.”
“He’s not my friend.”
“Then why do you have his number on your phone?”
“Because someone—” and here he gave a flat stare at Aoko “—gave him my number, and Hakuba enjoys calling me when I least expect it. At least with him saved as my contact, I can see his name to reject his calls with Caller ID.”
She muttered something under her breath, though he only caught the words “idiot” and “so stubborn”. Kaito ignored the unflattering remarks. He had no intention of giving Aoko an opening to begin another of her “Fix Your Attitude” rants. Mostly, he just wondered why, of all the teenagers in the school, she had to take a liking to the one person who had the potential to blow his secret about being Kaitou Kid, not to mention had sworn to capture him.
Actually, it wasn’t all that surprising. Aoko hated Kid. She had even come up with the Kid Capture Brigade, which she had somehow forced Kaito into joining. Oh, and did he mention that Akako and Hakuba were part of the group? As if having a detective nosing around his business wasn’t bad enough. No, Aoko had to go and make friends with the witch who wanted to enslave him as her lover as well.
Somehow, he thought it was typical of his childhood friend. She had a knack for making his life complicated.
“Kaito, are you even listening to me?” Aoko demanded.
“Sure, sure,” Kaito said, waving his hand in a dismissive gesture. “You’re worried about Hakuba. Don’t know why, since he was never normal to begin with, but—”
Aoko smacked Kaito on the head with her textbook, almost making him lose his balance on the precariously perched chair. He swung forward so that all four legs of the chair were flat on the floor and shot her a betrayed expression.
“What was that for?” he demanded, rubbing his head.
“You know what it was for,” she said darkly. “Hakuba-kun is our friend, whether you want to admit it or not.” Her voice softened. “Plus, I really am worried. Hakuba-kun has been so secretive lately. It’s not like him.”
“Secretive?”
Kaito perked up despite his best attempts to remain disinterested. Secrets to him were like shiny things to a magpie; he couldn’t help but be intrigued. Apparently, he wasn’t the only one. Akako must have overheard their conversation and slinked over to stand behind Kaito, one hand resting on the back of his chair.
“What’s going on?” Akako asked.
Aoko explained that she thought Hakuba was keeping a secret from them, because he was always going off on his own and avoided her questions when she asked him about it. He had even stopped getting picked up after school by that old lady who seemed to drive him around everywhere.
Akako made a thoughtful sound. “I could summon Lucifer and ask him.”
There was a pause as Aoko blinked in confusion. “Summon Lucifer?”
The witch seemed to realise what she had said, because she laughed in her “I Swear I’m Not Up to Anything Nefarious” way. Except no one was buying that. “It was a joke,” she said for Aoko’s benefit. “Lucifer is my, er, cat.”
Kaito frowned. It had not sounded like Akako had been kidding. Did she seriously summon the king of demons just to ask for random gossip about her classmates?
“Summoning cats aside,” Kaito said, throwing a narrowed glance at Akako, “I doubt that Hakuba is up to anything interesting. He’s just some detective otaku who likes to cosplay as Sherlock Holmes. Any secret of his wouldn’t be worth investigating.”
“That’s it!” Aoko declared, springing to her feet.
Kaito blinked. “That’s what?”
“We’ll just follow Hakuba-kun and find out for ourselves what he’s been up to! It’s our duty as his fellow members of the Kid Capture Brigade!” Aoko grinned, still raising her fist in the air with a “who’s with me?” expression.
Kaito and Akako stared at her blankly.
Aoko’s triumphant expression faltered. She lowered her hand. “What?”
“I’m not interested in stalking that detective otaku,” Kaito said bluntly.
“I don’t see the point in going to such lengths,” Akako said with a shrug. “I could probably get Hakuba-kun to tell me his secret just by asking.”
Right, because her seduction magic actually worked on the blond.
Aoko pouted. “You really won’t help?”
For answer, Kaito picked up his phone and went back to scrolling through news updates. Akako said that she would have a chat to Hakuba herself and returned to her desk. A second later, the witch was surrounded by a circle of boys. Aoko frowned and sat down next to Kaito.
“Do you really think Akako-chan can get Hakuba-kun to tell her his secret?” she asked.
Kaito opened his mouth to say that he didn’t care either way, but then Hakuba entered the classroom. The half-Brit looked … off. His hair wasn’t perfectly combed into that smarmy style of his, and Kaito’s sharp gaze was quick to note the shadows rimming Hakuba’s eyes. Even his uniform was a little rumpled.
A crease formed on Kaito’s brow. He would never admit it aloud, but there was a part of him—just a tiny part—that actually was concerned about the annoying gnat of a detective. Hakuba Saguru was arrogant, pompous, and so meticulous about details that he liked to keep track of the time right down to the millisecond. Hakuba did not turn up to school looking like he had rolled out of bed, thrown on yesterday’s uniform, and even forgot to brush his hair. It was completely out of character. This bothered Kaito.
“How long did you say it’s been since Hakuba started acting strangely?” Kaito asked.
Aoko rested her chin on her hands. “About four days, I guess.”
Kaito made a humming sound at the back of his throat. Maybe he would try his hand at playing detective after all. Not because he saw Hakuba as his friend or anything. Not really. This was just a matter of restoring normalcy to the universe: one where Aoko wore white panties, chocolate ice cream was delicious, and Hakuba Saguru was an obnoxious detective with perfect hair and clothes that did not have a crease out place.
Yes, it was time for “Operation: Uncover Hakuba’s Secret”.
oOo
“How’s this?”
Kaito rolled his eyes. “Aoko, wearing a hat and a fake moustache is not going to fool anyone, least of all Hakuba.” He wrenched the fuzzy strip away from her upper lip, then removed the hat for good measure. “If you want to appear inconspicuous, you need to blend in with the crowd.”
Akako smiled from where she leaned against the wall. “Do you have a better disguise for us then, Kuroba-kun?”
He scowled at the witch. “Remind me again why you’re here?”
“I invited her,” Aoko said, swatting away Kaito’s hands when he tried to help her remove the bulky jacket that had been covering her feminine attire.
“Of course you did,” Kaito muttered.
He’d heard that Akako had tried to get the truth out of Hakuba during their lunch break. Apparently, the detective had blushed and stammered a lot, but he had not confessed his secret. Instead, he had made a hasty retreat from the witch. Akako must have been piqued enough to pursue the matter. Well, it really made no difference to Kaito, so long as she kept her witch voodoo away from him. The main issue was figuring out a way to follow Hakuba without being noticed.
Sadly, Kaito’s own attempts to weasel the truth out of the blond had not met with success. That was why he had allowed himself to be “forced” into joining Aoko on the stalking—sorry, “undercover”—mission after school. She thought him a reluctant tag-along, but the truth was that Kaito had not been able to shake off the odd squirming in his gut ever since his conversation with Hakuba.
“Everything alright?”
Hakuba glanced up from where he sat tying the laces on his gym shoes. “Why wouldn’t it be?”
Maybe because you look like you haven’t slept in days.
Kaito forced a grin. “Your inability to capture Kaitou Kid isn’t getting to you, is it? Maybe you should take the next heist off. ”
Hakuba responded with a noncommittal grunt. It was the lack of response which really set off warning bells. Normally, the half-Brit would have shifted into a honey-smooth tone and made a few taunting remarks about Kaito being Kid, or at least declared that he was still going to be the one to capture Kid, blah blah blah. But there had been none of that. Just a half-shrug and a grunt.
Kaito leaned forward, staring intently into Hakuba’s eyes. “You really are Hakuba, aren’t you?”
The blond raised an eyebrow. “Excuse me?”
For answer, Kaito placed his hand against Hakuba’s forehead—and promptly had it swatted away.
“What are you doing, Kuroba-kun?”
“Checking to make sure you don’t have a fever,” Kaito said mock-serious. “The only other explanation for your lack of obnoxiousness is that you’ve been abducted by aliens and this is just your doppelganger, or you’ve been possessed by a spirit who prefers slovenly attire and caveman language.”
Hakuba rolled his eyes and got to his feet. “I see you still have yet to mature, Kuroba-kun. Now, if you excuse me, I don’t want to be late for gym.”
Those parting words had been the most Hakuba-ish thing the blond had said all day, but the whole experience had left Kaito feeling unnerved. Hakuba wasn’t being Hakuba. Kaito didn’t like it. He didn’t like it one bit.
“Kaito?”
The teen blinked and realised that Aoko and Akako were staring at him. Oops, he had zoned out.
“Look, we don’t need disguises,” Kaito said, trying to get the conversation back on track. “Hakuba isn’t an idiot; the best thing to do is just act natural. So, we’ll just be three students walking together—” a sideways grin curved his lips “—who just happen to be going in the same direction as Hakuba.”
Aoko punched her fist into the air. “Alright, let’s do this! Kid Capture Brigade, move out!”
Kaito resisted the urge to facepalm. Aoko. Her idea of “natural” was not going to fly for this mission. Actually, Akako’s wasn’t either. Every male in the vicinity was already moving towards the beautiful witch, as if drawn to a magnet.
“Think you can tone down the charm,” Kaito murmured in Akako’s ear. “We can’t do subtle if we have the whole male population as your entourage.”
Akako covered her mouth as she laughed, sounding far too much like a villain from a bad theatre show. “I can’t help it men are attracted to me, Kuroba-kun.”
Kaito sighed. Maybe they would need those disguises after all.
oOo
“I can’t believe you dressed me as a fat male,” Akako grumbled.
“Deal with it,” Kaito said shortly. “It was the only way to stop those boys from following you and trying to get your number.”
Akako still seemed unhappy, but she stopped complaining nevertheless. Ransacking the Drama department for wigs and other costumes had worked out well—with the aid of Kaito’s own disguising skills, of course. Akako was now a chubby teenage boy with glasses, while Kaito and Aoko were “his” very normal-looking friends. As far as anyone could tell, they were just three Ekoda High School students walking home together.
And they were currently following Hakuba.
“I can see him,” Aoko whispered. “He’s heading into the Seven-Eleven.”
“Alright, we’re going in,” Kaito said. “Remember, act natural.”
The two girls nodded, and soon all three of them were joining Hakuba in the convenience store. The blond had not noticed them enter and stood examining a selection of onigiri and bento boxes. Kaito’s brow creased. Somehow, he had never pegged Hakuba as the type to buy food from a convenience store. Kaito had always assumed the obaasan prepared Hakuba’s meals for him, or maybe even a personal chef. Yet here Hakuba was deciding between beef or pork bento, and whether he should get a tuna onigiri on the side.
“He’s just buying food,” Aoko said with a pout. Her stomach grumbled. “Well, since we’re here, I might pick up a few things for myself.”
She moved over to where the hot food was stored. Akako had also given up spying on Hakuba and was busy tormenting a man in his early twenties, who had been perusing the magazines. The poor guy must have got pulled in by her seduction magic, only to be confronted by an overweight teenage boy. Kaito wished the man luck—and not to get too scarred by the experience—and moved closer to his own target.
“Pork or beef,” Hakuba murmured, lowering and raising the different bento boxes as if his hands were a pair of scales.
“The beef is pretty good,” Kaito offered in a fake voice.
Hakuba glanced up at him in a distracted manner. “Oh? Then I guess I’ll try the beef. Thank you.”
“No problem.”
Kaito watched the blond grab a few more things from the shelves, including cup ramen—cup ramen of all things—and head to the counter. So, Hakuba was definitely buying food that could function as a meal rather than just a snack. Curious.
Kaito joined Aoko near the food warmer. “You said the obaasan hasn’t been dropping off Hakuba for school or picking him up for four days, right?” he asked in a low voice.
“Pretty much,” she answered, and then held up a curry puff. “Want one?”
He was about to say no, but then his own stomach gave a low grumble. “Ah, maybe just one.”
“Okay!”
Aoko got in line behind Hakuba with her collection of snacks. Kaito kept an eye on the half-Brit, collating every detail he could about the taller boy. There was something awfully familiar about this situation. The rumpled clothes, the dark circles under his eyes, the stash of bento boxes and cup ramen.
“I wonder,” Kaito murmured, tapping his finger to his chin.
The old lady was the key to this mystery. That, and Hakuba’s father.
Hakuba finished paying for his purchases and left the store. Kaito rounded up the girls and the disguised trio were back to tailing the blond down the street. Hakuba stopped outside a laundry service and scribbled down a few details on his pocket notebook, then carried on walking. Kaito’s mouth twitched into a smile. If this was a game of Hot and Cold, he was definitely getting warmer.
The next stop was a pet store. Kaito was not so certain about the reasoning for this stop, and actually wondered for a moment if he needed to rethink his theory. There was no practical explanation for why Hakuba had paused to play with puppies. Maybe the blond was investigating the lady behind the counter? Or maybe he had a crush on her? She was kind of cute, Kaito supposed.
Except Hakuba wasn’t paying any attention to the woman. He was crouching next to the puppy pen, running his hands along the dogs' sleek fur and letting them lick and nudge their faces against him. Aoko squirmed next to Kaito, as if she were physically holding back from launching herself through the window to join Hakuba.
“They’re so cute,” she breathed, pressing her hands against the glass. “Oh, look at that little one with the curly tail! Isn’t he adorable?”
Akako raised her eyebrow. “You don’t even know if it’s a ‘he’. And I sincerely hope that this fascination for furry things is not Hakuba-kun’s secret.”
Kaito did as well. It would mean they just wasted their whole day stalking the half-Brit just to watch him play with puppies. “Let’s go in,” he said.
Aoko made a small sound of glee and rushed through the door. Kaito and Akako followed much more leisurely behind.
“They seem to really like you, Hakuba-kun,” the lady behind the counter was saying. “Are you sure you don’t want to get a little companion for yourself?”
“I already have Watson,” Hakuba said with a shrug. “I admit that these puppies are much friendlier than my hawk, though.” He smiled and stood up. “In any case, I had best be going. I really just came to thank you for the other day. Your advice about the trains was very helpful.”
“Of course,” the employee said, lowering her head in a bow.
Kaito glanced between the two. Hey, hey, wait a moment. Hakuba was already leaving?
“Aoko, come on,” he muttered, grabbing the girl by the wrist.
“But—”
Kaito yanked her away from the puppies and out of the pet shop. Akako joined them, grumbling about how she was sick of being a fat male and wanted to take off her disguise.
“By all means, take off the disguise.”
Kaito started at the unexpected voice. He would know that smooth yet obnoxious tone anywhere.
“Hakuba,” he said, turning to face the detective.
Hakuba stepped out from the shadows. “I thought it was strange when the three students who followed me into the convenience store turned up at the pet shop as well. Now I know why.”
Aoko pulled off her wig and mask. “We were just worried about you,” she explained. “You’ve been acting so oddly these past few days, but you kept saying that nothing was wrong when I asked.”
Hakuba pinched the bridge of his nose with his forefinger and thumb. “So you followed me?”
“It worked, didn’t it?” Kaito said, and nodded at the bag of bento boxes and ramen. “That told me everything I needed to know about your big secret.”
Hakuba blinked. “Secret? What on earth are you talking about?”
“The one you’ve been hiding from us,” Akako said, now back to her usual, beautiful self. “It’s why we followed you today. Seems like Kuroba-kun figured out the truth.”
Aoko stared at her childhood friend expectantly. “Kaito?”
“It’s really not that special,” Kaito admitted, shoving his hands in his pockets. “Hakuba here was just embarrassed; that’s the only reason he kept it a secret from us.” He shrugged. “I’m surprised you haven’t figured it out yet, Aoko. You were there when it happened to me after my mum left for America.”
A crease formed on her brow. She stared intently at Hakuba, taking in his rumpled appearance and the bag of convenience store food. “A-ha!” she exclaimed, pointing her finger at him. “You don’t know how to cook!”
Pink splotches formed on Hakuba’s cheeks. “W-what? I—”
“I suspect he hasn’t figured out how to use the washing machine and iron either,” Kaito mused. “Or maybe he used them wrong and ruined his clothes. One or the other.”
Akako nodded in understanding. “So, that’s why the old woman is no longer driving him to and from school.”
Hakuba opened and closed his mouth a few times. “You—this isn’t—”
“Don’t worry,” Kaito said, slinging his arm around Hakuba’s shoulder. “It’s okay to struggle the first time you find yourself living on your own.”
“It’s true,” Aoko chipped in, bestowing the detective with a friendly smile. “Kaito almost managed to burn down his house when it happened to him.”
Kaito scowled at the girl. “You didn’t have to tell him that.”
“But it’s true.”
There was a small moment of bickering, broken only by Hakuba shrugging off Kaito’s arm and declaring (with very pink cheeks) that they were all wrong. He solved complicated mysteries as a hobby; he was hardly going to be thwarted by something as simple as a washing machine or how to cook a meal, let alone how to get to places without a chauffeur.
“Except your uniform looks like it hasn’t been ironed or washed,” Kaito pointed out, “and you’ve bought enough food from the convenience store to last the weekend.” He raised one eyebrow. “What happened?”
Hakuba stared at the three of them for a long moment, his cheeks still flushed. Then he just sighed. “Baya has gone to visit some of her relatives; there was a family emergency. Father is out of town on business as well, so—”
“You’ve been left to fend for yourself,” Kaito finished for him.
“Something like that,” Hakuba muttered.
Aoko frowned at the taller boy. “Why didn’t you just say something? We could have helped.”
He raised his shoulder in a half-shrug. “I don’t know. I guess Kuroba-kun was right. I was embarrassed. Living on my own until Baya and Father returned should have been a simple thing, but it ended up more difficult than I expected.” His blush darkened. “Plus, I didn’t realise you would be this concerned about me.”
Kaito wasn’t sure why the small confession bothered him, but he did know that he liked it best when Hakuba was being Hakuba, obnoxious attitude and all. The distracted, distant Hakuba of today just wasn’t any fun. So, Kaito plastered on an air of nonchalance.
“Well, if you do need help with anything,” he said, scratching the tip of his nose, “I suppose I could give you a hand. Just until the obaasan comes back, mind you.”
Akako smiled in her seductive way. “I’d be happy to offer you any assistance you might need as well, Hakuba-kun.”
Hakuba swallowed, taking a step back from the witch. “Uh, thank you.”
“And you can always count on me!” Aoko said, nudging him in the side with her elbow.
Kaito leaned closer to the half-Brit. “Don’t trust her cooking. You’re better with the convenience store bento. Trust me.”
He got a kick in the leg from Aoko for that comment, but Hakuba just smiled at the three teens. It was obvious that he was “moved”, as the saying went.
“I don’t know what to say,” Hakuba admitted.
“Then don’t say anything,” Aoko said with a grin. “I mean, looking out for each other is what friends do, right?”
Akako, Hakuba and Kaito exchanged startled glances. Were they friends? Kaito wasn’t sure. The four of them were all part of the Kid Capture Brigade. It was also true that, when one of their own had got into what looked like a spot of trouble, the others had all rallied to his support to make sure that he was okay—even Kaito.
But did that make them friends?
Kaito frowned at the three other members of the Kid Capture Brigade. Akako was laughing and making sly comments, Hakuba was already slipping back into his slightly arrogant manner of speaking (apparently, being “moved” did not mean that he appreciated Aoko’s joke about high IQs and his struggle with the washing machine), and Aoko—well, Aoko was being Aoko. Kaito’s mouth curved into a smile. Well, regardless of the label they wanted to put on their odd relationship, what mattered was that the universe had been returned to normal. Aoko was still wearing white panties, chocolate ice cream was still delicious, and Hakuba was finally being Hakuba.
Mission accomplished.
I have to admit that I struggled with this one. I'm not sure what it was that kept niggling at me, but I felt like I couldn't really click with the characters. Still, I hope that you all got some enjoyment out of it, especially to whoever wrote the prompt!