[teaser] The Price You Pay for Friendship
Sep. 20th, 2004 08:03 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
ickaimpMentioned recently that aside from someone asking about finishing up the Movie 8 summary (*pokes summary*), no one had expressed any sort of preference in our current WiPs, and lacking motivation other than to get something bloody well done, wasn't really sure what to work on next.
Angl3brt grabbed my arm and demanded the next part of Price You Pay. Ysabet loudly expressed long-standing interest in the Vampyre AU Beach Fic.
And since both of them know where we live and thus are within striking distance, here's the begining of the next part of PYP. Beach fic is being prodded as we speak. (been working on plans for Kaito's biniki for over a year now anyway... ¬_¬)
+++ For Friendship Teaser +++
"I don't need an escort, Hakuba." Kaito growled. "I can find my way around Osaka just fine, thanks." He'd been trying in vain for the past half hour to ditch the British Detective, but Hakuba stuck to him like a bad rash.
"And I want to meet this 'cousin' of yours." The disbelief in his icy tone was nearly tangible.
Kaito rolled his eyes. "Yeah, yeah. Whatever. We're here anyway." He stopped in front of a gate leading to a very traditional looking house and pointed to the name written on the side. "You think you could leave now? Y'know? Shoo! Shoo!" He made little brushing movements with his hands at the blond.
Hakuba crossed his arms, an eyebrow rising. There were times when Hakuba reminded Kaito of a stone golem. Denser than a boulder and just as un-moveable. Idiot probably thought he was pointing at a random house, never mind the fact the detective had looked over his shoulder to see the scrap of paper with the map and address on it several times since they'd started walking.
"Fine." He sighed, opening the gate and walking in, courteously holding the gate open for the detective, just to be annoying. Hopefully Heiji would know of some way to shake him off, this was getting annoying. While he usually didn't mind Hakuba's company so much, he really was looking forward just spending time just with his cousin.
He smirked to himself. Of course, Hakuba was probably still sore over the fact that the Kid got away with another heist early this morning. He clearly didn't believe that Kaito himself was in Osaka for a little shopping and to visit a cousin.
Hopefully Heiji wouldn't be sore about the Kid getting away with the heist either, he'd been on the case as well. He didn't think the two detectives had crossed paths, but then he hadn't been keeping too close of an eye on either of them at the time either.
Kaito broke off his musings as they reached the front door and he knocked. A pattering of footsteps echoed from inside the house and a bright grin greeted them.
"Kaito!" Hattori Heiji beamed. "'Bout time ya got here, cuz! C'mon in, c'mon in!"
Out of the corner of his eye, Kaito watched as the smug look on Hakuba's face fell and quietly smirked, a sense of relief going through him. Served the idiot right.
"Hey, ya brought a friend too." Heiji's grin turned to Hakuba. "Ya must be Hakuba Saguru, my cuz has told me a lot about ya. You spendin' the night too? Great!"
Relief was sidelined by confusion and shock as both of them were bodily escorted inside, the door sliding shut behind them.
Kaito blinked. Hakuba blinked. Heiji rambled on. "I don't see any bags with ya, do you have pyjamas? If not, we've got some sleepin' kimonos that should fit ya-"
Heiji was tuned out as he slipped out of his sneakers, sharp ears picked up the softer sound of footsteps. He glanced up just in time to see a small boy patter up to them a small amount of hesitation and a large amount of curiosity and suspicion on his small face.
A small familiar boy with glasses.
His brother, in fact.
Kaito smelled a set-up.
"Oh, hey!" Heiji grinned, still yammering at a thoroughly confused Hakuba, something that Kaito would have enjoyed immensely any other time, and paused to make introductions. "This is Ku-er, Edogawa Conan. He's stayin' the night too. Kudo, this is my cuz I was tellin' ya about, Kuroba Kaito and a friend of his, Hakuba Saguru. He's a detective from England."
Both he and Hakuba twitched faintly at being introduced as 'friends'. Friendly Rivals, certainly. 'Friends' was occasionally pushing it. Hakuba moved forward anyway, his impeccable manners coming to the fore automatically. "Pleased to meet you." He gave a slight bow.
"We've met." Conan bowed back. "At the Sunset Mansion."
"That's right." Hakuba relaxed slightly, back on more stable ground. "The Kid was disguised as your guardian, Mouri Kogoro. I hope he was not too harmed."
Kaito ignored the almost sarcastic looks the blond was giving him out of the corner of his eye.
"A little drugged." Conan shrugged. "Not that anyone could tell."
"Heiji..." Shoes left in the entryway, he stepped up to the main level of the house and wrapped a not-so friendly arm around his cousin's neck. "Favourite cousin of mine. Can I talk to you for a moment?"
Heiji made a choking sound as his windpipe was playfully crushed. "Sure, cuz." He wheezed, waving at the other two. "Be right back."
They walked not-so amiably around the corner of a hallway to a separate room, where Kaito let go of Heiji's neck to push him not so gently against the wall. "What the hell is going on here?" He demand, fire burning in his eyes.
Heiji gave him a weak grin, apparently un-ruffled by the rough treatment. "I don't know what ya mean."
Violet eyes narrowed. "I can smell a set-up pretty darn well, Cousin. And this positively REEKS. Why is my brother HERE?! Are you -trying- to ruin everything?"
"I invited him, okay?" Heiji shot back, a spark of his own temper flaring. "He was in town for the Kid heist!"
Kaito wasn't buying it. The miniature tantei could have stayed somewhere else, Heiji knew that as well. "And Hakuba?" He asked pointedly.
"Alright, so Hakuba was spur of the moment." Heiji dismissed it, slapping the magician's hands off of him and taking a step back. "Man, what's yer problem with yer Brother?"
"He's here, that's the problem!" Kaito shot back. "I'm to protect him, alright?"
"And that means stayin' as far away from him as possible?"
"Exactly!"
"I think you're tryin' to protect yerself instead." Heiji smirked.
"What if I am?!" Kaito growled.
"Dammit, Kaito!" Heiji grabbed the front of Kaito's jacket, yanking him forward off balance and giving him a small frustrated shake. "What are ya so afraid of?!"
"Why are you so eager?" Kaito snapped back, grabbing the front of Heiji's shirt in return. He was sick of this, Heiji trying to pull everyone together. That was great for the detective, not good for him. And things were just fine the way they were, without Heiji stirring up more trouble. Kaito had his cousins to heckle and his brother didn't know about him at all and that was just the way it should be.
The two glared at each other for a moment, defensive violet clashing with angery viridian.
"I just wanna know my family better." Heiji growled. "As -people-. Not just these strange relatives that others have. Is that wrong?"
"No." Kaito sighed, his shoulders slumping slightly as he let go of the Kansai detective. "No, it's not wrong."
Heiji let the fabric he was holding slip through his fingers, but kept his hands on the fabric in case the thief decided to run. "Alright, yes, fine, I'm afraid. " Kaito muttered, hands clenching into fists at his sides. "To be frank, this scares the crap outta me. Terrifies me even. Happy now?"
"No." Heiji continued to glare, marginally less hostile than before. "I still wanna know why. He's yer BROTHER for goodness sake!"
"Exactly!" Kaito shoved Heiji away from him, stepping away to pace a few strides in either direction to burn off the nervous energy. It was either that or self explode. "He's my twin. I know that, you know that, he doesn't know that. And when the proverbial shit hits the fan, He's Sherlock Holmes, I'm Arséné Lupin. You three are detectives. I'm a thief. That -really- stacks the odds out of my favour, which something I'm not entirely comfortable with."
"Kudo's not a bad guy." Compassion tempered Heiji's tone "Really he's not."
"I know, I know." Kaito ran a hand through his hair. "It's just kind of hard to picture him welcoming me with open arms after all the times we've clashed in the past. I'm really -not- one of his favourite people."
Was that an understatement if he ever uttered one...
"The -Kid- is not one of his favourite people." Heiji corrected. "He doesn't know Kuroba Kaito. Don't you think he deserves that chance? To know you as you instead of the theif? He doesn't have to know about the rest of it. -At least not tonight."
Kaito thought about it for a moment. It was so tempting, so very tempting. No mysteries tonight, just four guys hanging out and having fun. That didn't make the danger level any less real or insigficant, it just meant playing a little closer to the vest than ususal. "Alright. Fine." He slumped, hands up as he signaled defeat. "We can play it your way tonight. But-" He caught his cousin's eye and held it "-if anything happens, I need you to swear two things to me."
Confusion flashed across Heiji's eyes. "What?"
Kaito smirked. "One: you're the one who gets to explain everything to both of them."
"Jeez, just give me the hard job." Heiji mock-grumbled, but his spirits where obviously light. "And the other?"
"Hold the other two back for at least two days."
This one caused Heiji to pause. "A two day head-start?"
"One day to pack everything up. The other to say good-bye." He could feel his face freeze in a bland mask to cover the nervous coiling in his gut.
"Good-bye? To... Oh." Heiji trailed off, understanding dawning across his face as he finally realized just what he was asking. Heiji could afford to be optimistic about the whole affair. Kaito had to think in worst case scenario, it was his neck on the line if this backfired. Heiji grinned weakly, making a half hearted attempt at teasing. "Would it really take ya an entire day to say good-bye to Aoko-kun?"
Kaito shrugged. He wasn't about to say that most of the second day was just to prepare himself mentally for saying good-bye. "How long would it take for you to say sayonara for good to Kazuha-chan?" He pointed out.
Heiji grimaced. "Yeah... Alright. My word on it. But I don't think you'll need it."
"We'll see." Kaito grumbled. He then raised an eyebrow, allowing a small grin to peek through. This was supposed to be a fun night after all. "Speaking of things not needed; Firecrackers."
"Firecrackers?" Heiji smiled, accepting the subject change with easy grace.
"Firecrackers." He reiterated, raising an eyebrow. "Who's bright idea was it to launch firecrackers at the Kid as he was getting away?"
"Mine, actually." Heiji beamed. Kaito glared. Heiji shrugged unrepentantly. "They couldn't get the permits for the 'surface to air' missiles."
Kaito paused, then a small shudder ran through his frame. "You disturb me sometimes." He muttered as he moved back towards where the other two waited.
Heiji's grin grew wider as he joined him. "We aim to please."
"And the attack Chihuahuas?"
"That was NOT me. Damn funny though."
Privately, and much after the fact, Kaito had to admit that the Kaitou Kid being attacked by hordes of tiny little yip yip dogs had been amusing. Almost worth the hassle that he had gone through, including scrambling to the relative safety of the chandelier in the middle of the room, with the mini-dogs hanging on to his cape just to hear Nakamori curse and threaten to drop kick the little buggers after one had peed on his shoes.
Outwardly, Kaito raised an eyebrow, maintaining his cool facade "Your sense of humour needs work."
"I don't know what you're talkin' about." Heiji grinned. "Works just fine for me!"
They paused as they came into the foyer, where Hakuba had discovered the history of Conan's name and the two Sherlock Holmes fans were deep in a an animated discussion about their favourite cases and characters.
Kaito froze for a moment as he realized what they were talking about. "Oh, no... " He wailed as he theatrically threw himself at his cousin, who not-quite comfortingly patted him on the shoulder. "Save me!!! They've CLONED!!!"
-To Be Continued-
Angl3brt grabbed my arm and demanded the next part of Price You Pay. Ysabet loudly expressed long-standing interest in the Vampyre AU Beach Fic.
And since both of them know where we live and thus are within striking distance, here's the begining of the next part of PYP. Beach fic is being prodded as we speak. (been working on plans for Kaito's biniki for over a year now anyway... ¬_¬)
+++ For Friendship Teaser +++
"I don't need an escort, Hakuba." Kaito growled. "I can find my way around Osaka just fine, thanks." He'd been trying in vain for the past half hour to ditch the British Detective, but Hakuba stuck to him like a bad rash.
"And I want to meet this 'cousin' of yours." The disbelief in his icy tone was nearly tangible.
Kaito rolled his eyes. "Yeah, yeah. Whatever. We're here anyway." He stopped in front of a gate leading to a very traditional looking house and pointed to the name written on the side. "You think you could leave now? Y'know? Shoo! Shoo!" He made little brushing movements with his hands at the blond.
Hakuba crossed his arms, an eyebrow rising. There were times when Hakuba reminded Kaito of a stone golem. Denser than a boulder and just as un-moveable. Idiot probably thought he was pointing at a random house, never mind the fact the detective had looked over his shoulder to see the scrap of paper with the map and address on it several times since they'd started walking.
"Fine." He sighed, opening the gate and walking in, courteously holding the gate open for the detective, just to be annoying. Hopefully Heiji would know of some way to shake him off, this was getting annoying. While he usually didn't mind Hakuba's company so much, he really was looking forward just spending time just with his cousin.
He smirked to himself. Of course, Hakuba was probably still sore over the fact that the Kid got away with another heist early this morning. He clearly didn't believe that Kaito himself was in Osaka for a little shopping and to visit a cousin.
Hopefully Heiji wouldn't be sore about the Kid getting away with the heist either, he'd been on the case as well. He didn't think the two detectives had crossed paths, but then he hadn't been keeping too close of an eye on either of them at the time either.
Kaito broke off his musings as they reached the front door and he knocked. A pattering of footsteps echoed from inside the house and a bright grin greeted them.
"Kaito!" Hattori Heiji beamed. "'Bout time ya got here, cuz! C'mon in, c'mon in!"
Out of the corner of his eye, Kaito watched as the smug look on Hakuba's face fell and quietly smirked, a sense of relief going through him. Served the idiot right.
"Hey, ya brought a friend too." Heiji's grin turned to Hakuba. "Ya must be Hakuba Saguru, my cuz has told me a lot about ya. You spendin' the night too? Great!"
Relief was sidelined by confusion and shock as both of them were bodily escorted inside, the door sliding shut behind them.
Kaito blinked. Hakuba blinked. Heiji rambled on. "I don't see any bags with ya, do you have pyjamas? If not, we've got some sleepin' kimonos that should fit ya-"
Heiji was tuned out as he slipped out of his sneakers, sharp ears picked up the softer sound of footsteps. He glanced up just in time to see a small boy patter up to them a small amount of hesitation and a large amount of curiosity and suspicion on his small face.
A small familiar boy with glasses.
His brother, in fact.
Kaito smelled a set-up.
"Oh, hey!" Heiji grinned, still yammering at a thoroughly confused Hakuba, something that Kaito would have enjoyed immensely any other time, and paused to make introductions. "This is Ku-er, Edogawa Conan. He's stayin' the night too. Kudo, this is my cuz I was tellin' ya about, Kuroba Kaito and a friend of his, Hakuba Saguru. He's a detective from England."
Both he and Hakuba twitched faintly at being introduced as 'friends'. Friendly Rivals, certainly. 'Friends' was occasionally pushing it. Hakuba moved forward anyway, his impeccable manners coming to the fore automatically. "Pleased to meet you." He gave a slight bow.
"We've met." Conan bowed back. "At the Sunset Mansion."
"That's right." Hakuba relaxed slightly, back on more stable ground. "The Kid was disguised as your guardian, Mouri Kogoro. I hope he was not too harmed."
Kaito ignored the almost sarcastic looks the blond was giving him out of the corner of his eye.
"A little drugged." Conan shrugged. "Not that anyone could tell."
"Heiji..." Shoes left in the entryway, he stepped up to the main level of the house and wrapped a not-so friendly arm around his cousin's neck. "Favourite cousin of mine. Can I talk to you for a moment?"
Heiji made a choking sound as his windpipe was playfully crushed. "Sure, cuz." He wheezed, waving at the other two. "Be right back."
They walked not-so amiably around the corner of a hallway to a separate room, where Kaito let go of Heiji's neck to push him not so gently against the wall. "What the hell is going on here?" He demand, fire burning in his eyes.
Heiji gave him a weak grin, apparently un-ruffled by the rough treatment. "I don't know what ya mean."
Violet eyes narrowed. "I can smell a set-up pretty darn well, Cousin. And this positively REEKS. Why is my brother HERE?! Are you -trying- to ruin everything?"
"I invited him, okay?" Heiji shot back, a spark of his own temper flaring. "He was in town for the Kid heist!"
Kaito wasn't buying it. The miniature tantei could have stayed somewhere else, Heiji knew that as well. "And Hakuba?" He asked pointedly.
"Alright, so Hakuba was spur of the moment." Heiji dismissed it, slapping the magician's hands off of him and taking a step back. "Man, what's yer problem with yer Brother?"
"He's here, that's the problem!" Kaito shot back. "I'm to protect him, alright?"
"And that means stayin' as far away from him as possible?"
"Exactly!"
"I think you're tryin' to protect yerself instead." Heiji smirked.
"What if I am?!" Kaito growled.
"Dammit, Kaito!" Heiji grabbed the front of Kaito's jacket, yanking him forward off balance and giving him a small frustrated shake. "What are ya so afraid of?!"
"Why are you so eager?" Kaito snapped back, grabbing the front of Heiji's shirt in return. He was sick of this, Heiji trying to pull everyone together. That was great for the detective, not good for him. And things were just fine the way they were, without Heiji stirring up more trouble. Kaito had his cousins to heckle and his brother didn't know about him at all and that was just the way it should be.
The two glared at each other for a moment, defensive violet clashing with angery viridian.
"I just wanna know my family better." Heiji growled. "As -people-. Not just these strange relatives that others have. Is that wrong?"
"No." Kaito sighed, his shoulders slumping slightly as he let go of the Kansai detective. "No, it's not wrong."
Heiji let the fabric he was holding slip through his fingers, but kept his hands on the fabric in case the thief decided to run. "Alright, yes, fine, I'm afraid. " Kaito muttered, hands clenching into fists at his sides. "To be frank, this scares the crap outta me. Terrifies me even. Happy now?"
"No." Heiji continued to glare, marginally less hostile than before. "I still wanna know why. He's yer BROTHER for goodness sake!"
"Exactly!" Kaito shoved Heiji away from him, stepping away to pace a few strides in either direction to burn off the nervous energy. It was either that or self explode. "He's my twin. I know that, you know that, he doesn't know that. And when the proverbial shit hits the fan, He's Sherlock Holmes, I'm Arséné Lupin. You three are detectives. I'm a thief. That -really- stacks the odds out of my favour, which something I'm not entirely comfortable with."
"Kudo's not a bad guy." Compassion tempered Heiji's tone "Really he's not."
"I know, I know." Kaito ran a hand through his hair. "It's just kind of hard to picture him welcoming me with open arms after all the times we've clashed in the past. I'm really -not- one of his favourite people."
Was that an understatement if he ever uttered one...
"The -Kid- is not one of his favourite people." Heiji corrected. "He doesn't know Kuroba Kaito. Don't you think he deserves that chance? To know you as you instead of the theif? He doesn't have to know about the rest of it. -At least not tonight."
Kaito thought about it for a moment. It was so tempting, so very tempting. No mysteries tonight, just four guys hanging out and having fun. That didn't make the danger level any less real or insigficant, it just meant playing a little closer to the vest than ususal. "Alright. Fine." He slumped, hands up as he signaled defeat. "We can play it your way tonight. But-" He caught his cousin's eye and held it "-if anything happens, I need you to swear two things to me."
Confusion flashed across Heiji's eyes. "What?"
Kaito smirked. "One: you're the one who gets to explain everything to both of them."
"Jeez, just give me the hard job." Heiji mock-grumbled, but his spirits where obviously light. "And the other?"
"Hold the other two back for at least two days."
This one caused Heiji to pause. "A two day head-start?"
"One day to pack everything up. The other to say good-bye." He could feel his face freeze in a bland mask to cover the nervous coiling in his gut.
"Good-bye? To... Oh." Heiji trailed off, understanding dawning across his face as he finally realized just what he was asking. Heiji could afford to be optimistic about the whole affair. Kaito had to think in worst case scenario, it was his neck on the line if this backfired. Heiji grinned weakly, making a half hearted attempt at teasing. "Would it really take ya an entire day to say good-bye to Aoko-kun?"
Kaito shrugged. He wasn't about to say that most of the second day was just to prepare himself mentally for saying good-bye. "How long would it take for you to say sayonara for good to Kazuha-chan?" He pointed out.
Heiji grimaced. "Yeah... Alright. My word on it. But I don't think you'll need it."
"We'll see." Kaito grumbled. He then raised an eyebrow, allowing a small grin to peek through. This was supposed to be a fun night after all. "Speaking of things not needed; Firecrackers."
"Firecrackers?" Heiji smiled, accepting the subject change with easy grace.
"Firecrackers." He reiterated, raising an eyebrow. "Who's bright idea was it to launch firecrackers at the Kid as he was getting away?"
"Mine, actually." Heiji beamed. Kaito glared. Heiji shrugged unrepentantly. "They couldn't get the permits for the 'surface to air' missiles."
Kaito paused, then a small shudder ran through his frame. "You disturb me sometimes." He muttered as he moved back towards where the other two waited.
Heiji's grin grew wider as he joined him. "We aim to please."
"And the attack Chihuahuas?"
"That was NOT me. Damn funny though."
Privately, and much after the fact, Kaito had to admit that the Kaitou Kid being attacked by hordes of tiny little yip yip dogs had been amusing. Almost worth the hassle that he had gone through, including scrambling to the relative safety of the chandelier in the middle of the room, with the mini-dogs hanging on to his cape just to hear Nakamori curse and threaten to drop kick the little buggers after one had peed on his shoes.
Outwardly, Kaito raised an eyebrow, maintaining his cool facade "Your sense of humour needs work."
"I don't know what you're talkin' about." Heiji grinned. "Works just fine for me!"
They paused as they came into the foyer, where Hakuba had discovered the history of Conan's name and the two Sherlock Holmes fans were deep in a an animated discussion about their favourite cases and characters.
Kaito froze for a moment as he realized what they were talking about. "Oh, no... " He wailed as he theatrically threw himself at his cousin, who not-quite comfortingly patted him on the shoulder. "Save me!!! They've CLONED!!!"
-To Be Continued-
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Date: 2004-09-21 04:22 am (UTC)Kaito paused, then a small shudder ran through his frame. "You disturb me sometimes." He muttered as he moved back towards where the other two waited.
Heh. A large net made of 'invisible' thread. Yeah, that's the ticket.
And the Gallery would like to note that the thought of Kaito in a bikini is... disturbing. Very disturbing.