[fic] "The Price You Pay"
Jun. 20th, 2003 08:57 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
ickaimp'Kay, posting a large chunk of part 1 of the Price You Pay here... This is still pretty much rough, need to write some other stuff and wait a while before we go back and re-read it or the words will just blur together before our eyes. (happens a lot)
... This monster just reached 40 pages, no notes. o_O Over17,100 words.
Dammit, I'm a SHORT FIC writer, not a novelist! *jumps up and down*
"Kudo Shin'ichi is now wanted for the murder of-" Dr. Agasa turned off the television with an angry click of the remote control. It had been all over the television and radio stations for the last couple of hours, and already he was sick of it.
Kudo being accused of murder. It was as un-likely as it was impossible. Kudo, or Conan, had been at school at the time. There was no way for it to happen.
It was just up to him to figure out how it was done.
"He really didn't do it, you know." A voice spoke from his window ledge, startling both him and the doctor who nearly dropping the beaker he carried. The figure in white chuckled, sliding into the room from his perch on the windowsill and closing the window after him with the ease of familiarity.
"Don't startle me like that, Kid-kun!" The Doctor scolded. "It could have been something highly explosive and 'KA-POW'! There goes the whole place."
Kid the Phantom Thief, the moon lit thief himself, looked amused. "I would have caught it before hand, Agasa-sensei." He assured the scientist. "Although..." He added in a thoughtful tone, "It wouldn't have been out of character for that to have happened."
Dr. Agasa playfully threatened to hit him with the beaker, causing the thief to laugh and hold his hands up in a placating gesture, acting like a child around a favourite uncle. The scientist certainly resembled one as he chuckled, un-successfully hiding a grin in his moustache. "So what brings you to my window tonight, Kid-kun? I don't have any new toys ready for you yet."
"What?" The Kid looked around the lab, poking at the various things that could be found there as if searching for a distraction. "I can't come visit an old family friend?"
The scientist raised an eyebrow. "Right. Now what was that you said when you first startled me so? 'He didn't do it, you know'?"
"He didn't." The thief agreed, all amusement fading from his face to be replaced by a blank mask that did nothing to hid the startling fury behind the sharp indigo eyes. "I saw the whole thing. It was someone who used my father's techniques to look like Kudo."
"Ah." The scientist nodded. "And you know who did it?"
"I saw their face." The thief replied edgily.
"Enough to recognise them at a later date?"
Hattori Heiji then abruptly found himself looking down the barrel of a card gun. He slowly raised his hands, a bead of sweat sliding down the back of his neck. That was probably not the smartest move he could have made, he mentally reviewed.
The Kid paused for a moment, then smoothly put the gun back where it had been as quickly as he had taken it out. "Sorry." The thief apologised, his tone and expression blank. "I'm a bit jumpy at the moment."
"Understandable." The Kansai detective agreed, pushing himself off of the doorframe he'd been resting against to walk in. Seeing someone killed would do that, and surprising an edgy thief probably wasn't one of his best ideas. There had been no known record of the Kid hurting anyone, but Hattori wasn't about to push his luck.
Sensing the underlying hostility, Dr. Agasa faded into the background.
"How's the Shrimp doing?" The Kid inquired.
One of Hattori's eyebrows rose at the question. Kudo had complained in the past about the thief knowing who he really was, but he hadn't quite believed it. "'Neechan's currently using him as a teddy bear. Partly for comfort, partly so that he stops shouting at the reporters coming to their door. He was starting to edge towards the soccer balls."
A proud grin spread across the thief's face. "Good for him."
"You said that you saw what happened?" He asked, bringing the subject back to the relevant topic at hand.
The grin faded once again from the Kid's face, to be replaced by a more cautious expression. "I did."
"Then we can clear Kudo!" He beamed "All you have to do-"
"Woah, woah, woah." The thief held his hands up, stalling the teenage detective. "In case you hadn't noticed, 'Police' and 'Phantom Thief' do NOT go together. As fond as I am of the modern Sherlock Holmes, I am not going -anywhere- near the cops!"
Hattori gave him a dark scowl, definitely not pleased by that announcement. There was also something rather odd about that statement that set off warning bells.
Agasa cleared his throat, catching both of their attention. "Kid-kun, would you sit down with Heiji-kun and explain everything from the beginning, please?" He requested pleasantly, motioning for them to sit down on the lab stools. "I'll go make us some hot chocolate in the mean time."
The thief shot the scientist a disbelieving look.
"Just how you got involved in Shin'ichi-kun's current mess, if you would. I think he would find it immensely helpful in a case of his own." Agasa assured him. "You don't have to tell him how you became the Kid if you don't wish."
Kid shrugged. "It's your head."
"Maa, maa." Dr. Agasa made a reassuring gesture. "Heiji-kun, please don't arrest Kid-kun while he's a guest in my house. Kid-kun, play nice with Heiji-kun." With that, he slipped out of the door, shutting it behind him.
"I always play nice." The Kid grumbled, taking up a perch on a counter top. "And there had better be marshmallows for this."
Hattori snorted, grabbing one of the computer chairs in the room, and turning it around to straddle it. Marshmallows. Right. As if Kudo being framed for murder wasn't weird enough, Agasa and the Kid certainly were. "Alright. Just how did you and Agasa-sensei become such good friends anyway?"
"Long story." The Kid flicked his wrist, a small crystal ball about the size of a tennis ball, appearing in his hand. Almost idly he played with it, rolling the ball around his hands and between his fingers in ways that appeared to defy gravity and the laws of physics. "Which can be summed thusly."
The Osaka detective nodded, frown gracing his features as he stretched out his legs and got comfortable.
"Agasa-sensei has known the Kid for longer than you'd probably believe." The Kid began, the clear sphere flowing from hand to hand like a crystal water droplet. "Trading gadgets for information and assistance, much like he does with Edogawa now. Nothing illegal, mind you. So when Kudo's *ahem* -small- problem came up, he naturally turned to me for help."
"With what?" Hattori looked suspicious.
One deep cerulean eye peeked out from under the brim of the white hat. "You don't honestly think that the paper work allowing 'Edogawa Conan' to go to school and function as a normal member of society appeared by magic, do you?"
"Err..." He hadn't quite thought of that.
The Thief chuckled. "Forgery isn't my speciality, mind you. I ended up having to take a peek at Kudo's records to make sure I got them right. That's when I discovered something odd, which is what I'm figuring Agasa-sensei wants you to know about. Some of Kudo's records were incomplete. Nothing big, the hospital that he was supposedly born at had no records of him, there's no physical proof that he was born at all, that sort of thing. When I did a little bit more digging, I found 2 more people with records like that."
Hattori frowned, alarm bells going off in his head. "Three."
"Hmm?"
"Grand total of four people." He clarified. "You're missing one."
The Kid gave him a knowing look that made the Osaka detective look decidedly un-comfortable. "Get on with your story." He growled, narrowing his eyes in a defensive glare.
Kid shrugged gamely. "Not much to tell. I did the forgeries and have been keeping an eye on the on the ones I found ever since."
"And this has to do with Kudo's set up... how?"
"It doesn't." Dr. Agasa confirmed, walking into the room with 3 cups of steaming hot chocolate and a plate of brownies. "But unless I'm missing the mark, it's very similar to another story, ne Heiji-kun?"
His features came down in a deep scowl. Way too familiar. He'd only told the Doctor about a private case he was working on when he reached a complete and utter frustrating dead end. Agasa occasionally picked up random bits of information that came in handy, and he had promised to send any information his way but this wasn't quite what he had in mind when he had asked for help. "You mean he knows about-?"
"Bits and pieces. From his own experience." Dr. Agasa smiled into his moustache again, holding the tray up to the thief. The crystal ball vanished as the Kid gave the treats a quick once over before reaching for a steaming mug of hot chocolate.
"Haibara didn't make the brownies, did she?" He asked warily.
"They're from Ran-kun." The scientist assured him. "I hid them from Ai-kun this afternoon, so you don't have to worry about them. And I'm afraid we're out of marshmallows, she's watching what I eat again."
The Kid laughed and eagerly took one of the large brownies, grinning like a little kid with a special treat as he dunked it into the hot cocoa and took a bite.
Dr. Agasa chuckled, bringing the tray over to Hattori. "He doesn't like to admit it, but he's got a weak spot for chocolate that's gotten him into trouble a few times." He whispered to the other boy, sounding much like a fond uncle. "Ai-kun's snuck a few nasties into the sweets before."
"Ah." He nodded in confusion. He wasn't exactly sure what to take of sitting down and having a snack with a thief he was pretty sure he was supposed to be chasing, but he was pretty sure that there were worse things he could be doing.
"Why'd you want me to tell him about that?" Kid asked suspiciously, even as he looked more at ease then he had a right to while he devoured the treat.
"Heiji-kun's has some information on that particular mystery that you may find useful." The usually absent-minded looking professor had a knowing gleam in his eye. "And since you claim not to be a detective-" The thief made a face, affirming the statement "-the information should more than make up for your lack of 'deduction' abilities."
"Oi." Hattori shot a glare at Agasa. "What's in it for me? By all rights, I should be busting his butt for even being in public in that ridiculous outfit."
A frosty glare the Phantom Thief shot him made him reel backwards a bit in surprise, sweatdropping again. Open mouth, insert foot...
Agasa ignored the silent interplay, calmly sipping his hot chocolate. "I'm proposing a truce." He announced. "Heiji-kun tells Kid-kun about that case-" A stern look in his direction. "-and Kid-kun helps Heiji-kun clear Shin'ichi-kun's name." Another stern look, but this time in the Kid's direction.
The Kid was silent, an introspective look on his face while he thoughtfully chewed on a bite of brownie. "I don't like this." He finally announced, speaking slowly. "There's too much at stake for things to go wrong now, but..." He trailed off, an almost protective gleam in his hard gaze as he looked at Hattori squarely. "I'm in."
Hattori had to admit that he didn't like this either. Working with a wanted thief rubbed him the wrong way, but on the other hand, he didn't have any other leads to clear Kudo's name either. All of his other leads had fizzled out, which was what brought him to Agasa's in the first place. He was figuratively between a rock and a hard place.
"Alright." He agreed. "Truce. For now. But as soon as we've got whoever did this, all bets are off and I'm tracking you down."
The Kid smirked mockingly back.
Agasa sweatdropped. "Oi, oi..." He looked between the 2 grinning teenagers before sighing, realising that there probably wasn't a way around the clashing of egos. "Heiji-kun, if you would start from the beginning?" He requested, looking grateful for the distraction at hand.
"Right." The Osaka-jin leaned forward, resting his elbows on his thighs, resting the mug of cocoa in his hands between his knees. "A few months back, I started to get a little curious about some things that just didn't seem to fit. Mainly the fact that I realised that I've never seen pictures of my Grandfather who I supposedly get my dark colouring from. A little digging showed that there weren't any baby pictures either. There were a few of 'Kaasan pregnant, but none of her in the hospital."
"Let me guess." The Kid commented not exactly un-kindly, his legs tucked up on stool in a relaxed manner. "You're adopted."
"And then some." He nodded, rubbing the back of his neck. Even though it had been several months since he'd found out, it still felt like a raw wound in his side. It didn't help that he was telling his most guarded secret to a thief either. The things he did for Kudo... "I discovered a book in my father's drawers, a journal written by his brother. He'd never talked about his brother, Dad having gone into the Force, and his brother having joined a crime syndicate. But the real shock was when I started reading it..."
He trailed off again, gathering his thoughts. The Kid was thankfully quiet as he did so, watching him with too-wise eyes under the brim of his hat.
"Dad's brother went by the code name 'Tequila', in a crime syndicate you may be familiar with. They wear all black." He finally commented.
"The same ones who shrunk Kudo?" Kid queried.
He gave a short jerk of his head, motioning towards Agasa. "We think so. No evidence yet, they hide themselves pretty well."
Kid nodded, saying nothing.
"Shin'ichi-kun's predicament was the by-product of looking for a way of creating immortality." Asaga supplied. "Not that you would know anything about something like that, would you Kid-kun?"
The Kid flashed a too-innocent grin. "Me? Never..."
Hattori filed this tidbit of information in the back of his head to muse over later. "Before they could work on creating eternal life, they did experiments on -creating- life." He continued. "Genetic human constructs, from the DNA on up. Created to be the reincarnations of some of the greatest literary minds ever created. The first being Shelling Ford, the predecessor to Holmes."
The thief's eyes practically -glowed- at the information, and Hattori realised with a jolt that the Kid was probably much more familiar with the case than he was telling.
"There was some sort of flaw in Ford, they forgot something essential when programming the intellect. That was to be expected, which is why they started out with Ford. They then started on Sherlock Holmes. Only to have something un-expected happen. The cells didn't just divide up like they were supposed to, but split into a separate entity of it's own. Twins."
"Twins?!" The Kid almost seemed taken back.
"Identical twins." He confirmed, noting the odd reaction. "In a pique of humour, for lack of a better term, they turned one into Sherlock Holmes, and the other into Arséné Lupin, sort of a yin-yang type of thing. The most famous detective and thief as twins..." He narrowed his eyes at the thief, a small click falling to place in the back of his head. The Kid looked to be roughly their age as well, now that he was able to look at him somewhat up close.
"Oi, roll up your right sleeve a second, will ya?" He requested.
The Kid shot him a blank look, his mouth full of brownie. "Bwah?"
"Each of the experiments has a distinctive scar." He pulled back the sleeve on his right arm, showing off a scar that looked like a hook or an upside down question mark on the back of it, about a finger digit long. "Looks like that."
An eyebrow was raised as deft gloved fingers un-did the buttons on the jacket sleeve and dress shirt of the thief's right arm. "Nope." The Kid raised it in the air, not offering to come any closer as he rotated the arm at the elbow to show the un-blemished skin of his forearm. "No scar there."
So much for that theory. He shrugged "After the sudden appearance of the other twin, they decided to make one last back-up in the batch, Ellery Queen. Evidently they didn't like Peroit's stuffy attitude."
"Wasn't Ellery Queen two people?" Kid inquired, buttoning up his sleeve again. "A father-son team?"
"Uh, yeah..." He blinked, taken back. Agatha Christe was not a topic of conversation he ever thought he would have with a thief.
"What?" The Kid grinned, almost the mocking smirk he was famous for. "Thieves aren't supposed to read detective novels?"
Agasa covered up a snicker with his cup of cocoa.
"Um... anyway.... Back to Tequila..." He shook his head to himself; this wasn't the time to get distracted. "He may have been working for the Syndicate as one of the major baddies, but evidently something about creating and playing with life rubbed him the wrong way. Near as I can figure he had a weakness for children, and didn't want to see kids raised in that kind of environment. So he went to his brother, who was still just a cop at the time and made a deal to smuggle the kids out, and have them raised by extraordinary couples that didn't or couldn't have kids of their own."
"Such as Kudo Yuusaku and Yukiko." Kid grinned. "Bet they disappeared and travelled around so much that no one would be able to tell if she was pregnant ahead of time or not."
"Actually, they had a couple of months to pull it off and prepare." He smirked back. "Humans aren't created overnight, especially not with the materials they had then. It's a freakin' miracle that they were able to accomplish what they did at that time."
"True." Agasa nodded, looking nostalgic.
"Anyway, Mom had been pregnant, but lost the baby before it was born. So they adopted me when they had the chance, and now I guess Kudo went to his folks, so my problem now is that I don't know where the other 2 ended up." Hattori sighed, reaching up to fiddle with his cap. "It wasn't written down, for fear that someone besides one of the kids found it. So I don't know who or how they're doing."
"I know who they are." Kid said quietly, looking into his hot chocolate, as if contemplating something. He glanced up, sharp violet eyes catching his for moment, as if weighting him in their depths. "They're both doing well, driving everyone around them crazy. Rather like you and Kudo actually, top of the class and everything."
His green eyes peered back. "You're not going to tell me who they are, are you?" He questioned with a sinking feeling. So close, yet so far.
The Kid sparkled back. "Maybe later!" He winked. "Have to keep some aces up my sleeves, you know."
"Right." Stupid thief. He made a mental note to either get the information from the thief or to kick his ass before this was over. "Dad and Tequila went separate ways again after the kids made it to their new homes and were adopted. There was a quiet uproar at the syndicate as well, but some how they managed to trick them into thinking that all four infants died, so Tequila was never suspected. Kudo met him shortly after his small problem arose, just long enough to see him get blown to smithereens by a bomb, so Tequila's a dead end."
The Kid opened his mouth, then shut it, most likely biting his tongue on a comment. "Anything else?" He asked diplomatically.
Hattori shrugged, not feeling very forthcoming at the moment. He'd fulfilled his end of the bargain anyway.
The thief nodded, then flipped the last of his brownie in the air and caught it in his mouth with a pleased snap. "Then I guess we'd best get down to the business of clearing Kudo's name before the squirt has a heart attack. If he hasn't already."
"Not yet."
"Good." Kid seemed pleased. "What do you need to know?"
"Everything. Any and every little detail."
"Detail, huh?" The Kid looked thoughtful for a moment. "Well, I'm not much of a storyteller-" Hattori got the feeling that was likely a lie "-or a detective, but I AM a showman. You know where 'Kudo' killed the victim?"
"Yeah...." He replied warily.
"Great." The Kid hopped off the stool with cat-like grace. "I'll meet you on the rooftop above the scene. Half an hour enough time?"
"Wait, what are you up to?" He rose as well, just in case the thief made a break for it. He doubted he was as fast or agile as the slippery Kid, but he was sure that his kendo skills could amount to something.
The Kid beamed in response. "I'm going to -show- you."
He blinked. That was... new. "I'd really prefer if we went together then." He scowled, fighting un-ease in the pit of his stomach. "I don't want you out of my sight."
"Afraid I'm going to run off before fulfilling my end of the bargain?" Kid teased. Agasa sweatdropped and held up a hand to try to forestall the upcoming argument.
"Exactly."
The thief raised an eyebrow. "It's not like I can just go walking around on the street like this." He pointed out.
"You are a master of disguise, are you not?" He countered.
"You WANT me to dress in drag?"
He blinked, not quite how to respond to that one.
"Maa, maa..." Agasa stepped between them. "Hattori-kun, Kid-kun will keep his end of the deal-"
"It's okay, Hagasei." Kid cut him off with a slightly bittersweet but still friendly grin. "After all, Honour of Thieves and all that, right?"
Hattori felt a pang of conscious for that one, but said nothing. They were on opposite sides of the law after all. Agasa looked sad at the comment. "Kid-kun..."
Kid winked, and pulled a white card out of mid-air. "Here. Will this be enough insurance for you?" A pen appeared similarity and the kaitou leaned over a desk to scribble on it before handing it to him.
Hattori took the card and looked it over. It matched the description of a typical Kid Note, right down to the grinning figure in the corner, stating plainly that the Kid would meet 'one Hattori Heiji' on the rooftop of an address above the crime scene at 22:53.
The Kid had yet to miss arriving for one of his notes, even if sometimes the meaning of his notes was obscure enough to confuse people. "Yes..." He said slowly, pocketing the note. He was sure that there was a way for the thief to worm his way out of it, but he couldn't spot any tricks in the wording.
"Good." The Kid smiled, all cheerful again. "I'm counting on your detectives code of honour, or what ever you want to call it, that you won't be tipping anyone off to my appearance. While I -do- enjoy a challenge, in this case it would be counter-productive for both of us."
"I'll keep my end." He growled gruffly. "Just keep yours."
"Heh." He saluted them, turning to head for the window. "See you later, Hagasei!" He called cheerfully; ignoring the fierce glare the detective was shooting him. "I'll ask Mom about those fat-free brownies, okay?"
"Thank you, Kid-kun! Take care!" He waved back.
Hattori snorted and turned to walk out the door. "He's not a bad person, Hattori-kun." Agasa informed him, following him.
"I figured that much." Hattori sighed, his shoulders slumping as the scientist escorted him out. It was rather hard to reconcile that with the fact that for all intents and purposes, he was supposed to be catching the theif instead of making friends with him. The whole situation was making him nervous. "Tell Kudo that sometime." He grumbled, taking protection in surliness. "He's going to throw a shit-fit when he finds out the Kaitou Kid is a frequent visitor to your house."
"Infrequent." Agasa corrected absentmindedly. "But I doubt he would complain about the gizmos he has, eh?"
"Huh?" Hattori blinked. Kudo's toys?
"Where do you think I got the idea for a voice changer in the first place?" Agasa winked. "Or the sleeping darts? And Kid-kun was nice enough to help me out with both of those; I never would have gotten the range of voices so quickly. And he donated the first batch of sleeping serum before I figured out my own."
"You're saying that Kudo's detective devices-"
"Were modified off the Kid, yes. He's very creative." Agasa sighed lustfully. "You should see the things his father used to come up with. Flamboyant, but they worked so very well in unexpected ways..."
Hattori stared at the scientist as if he had just found out that the absent-minded doctor was an alien from outer space. Not only had the doctor been friends with the Kaitou Kid -for two generations-, but the Kid himself was helping the detectives from behind the scenes!
"Oh, don't look so surprised Heiji-kun." Agasa cheerfully scolded. "This may come as a shock, but you don't know -everything-. And Kid-kun is really a nice boy doing the best he can in some tough situations. Lighten up! Who knows? You may get a friend out of it."
Agasa patted him on the back and ushered him out the door, barely giving him time to slip his sneakers on before firmly shutting the door behind him.
Belatedly, Hattori realised that neither of them had asked that he not pass on word of just what Agasa was doing...
Yet at the same time, he realised that he probably wouldn't anyway.
***
-TBC-
Threw out the idea on the O1T ML about an Alternative Pairings Contest, kinda wondering what people might think.
The idea behind it is that Canon couples aren't allowed. No Shin'ichi/Ran, Ai/Conan, Heiji/Kazuha, Kaito/Aoko or any of the parents. Any other pairings welcome, including yaoi and yuri. (C'mon, Ran and Sonoko have SUCH a Tomoyo/Sakura thing going!)
Alternate pairings are harder to write and write WELL. Hence the challenge. *evil grin*
Anyway, anybody interested? Disgusted? Intriqued?
... 3 hours, 1 minutes, and 49 seconds to go. But who's counting? ^________^
... just realised we have been up and running since about 4:20 this morning, and prolly won't get home until after 1am with the book... Who's up for staying up past 24 hours straight with no coffee?! @_@
... This monster just reached 40 pages, no notes. o_O Over17,100 words.
Dammit, I'm a SHORT FIC writer, not a novelist! *jumps up and down*
"Kudo Shin'ichi is now wanted for the murder of-" Dr. Agasa turned off the television with an angry click of the remote control. It had been all over the television and radio stations for the last couple of hours, and already he was sick of it.
Kudo being accused of murder. It was as un-likely as it was impossible. Kudo, or Conan, had been at school at the time. There was no way for it to happen.
It was just up to him to figure out how it was done.
"He really didn't do it, you know." A voice spoke from his window ledge, startling both him and the doctor who nearly dropping the beaker he carried. The figure in white chuckled, sliding into the room from his perch on the windowsill and closing the window after him with the ease of familiarity.
"Don't startle me like that, Kid-kun!" The Doctor scolded. "It could have been something highly explosive and 'KA-POW'! There goes the whole place."
Kid the Phantom Thief, the moon lit thief himself, looked amused. "I would have caught it before hand, Agasa-sensei." He assured the scientist. "Although..." He added in a thoughtful tone, "It wouldn't have been out of character for that to have happened."
Dr. Agasa playfully threatened to hit him with the beaker, causing the thief to laugh and hold his hands up in a placating gesture, acting like a child around a favourite uncle. The scientist certainly resembled one as he chuckled, un-successfully hiding a grin in his moustache. "So what brings you to my window tonight, Kid-kun? I don't have any new toys ready for you yet."
"What?" The Kid looked around the lab, poking at the various things that could be found there as if searching for a distraction. "I can't come visit an old family friend?"
The scientist raised an eyebrow. "Right. Now what was that you said when you first startled me so? 'He didn't do it, you know'?"
"He didn't." The thief agreed, all amusement fading from his face to be replaced by a blank mask that did nothing to hid the startling fury behind the sharp indigo eyes. "I saw the whole thing. It was someone who used my father's techniques to look like Kudo."
"Ah." The scientist nodded. "And you know who did it?"
"I saw their face." The thief replied edgily.
"Enough to recognise them at a later date?"
Hattori Heiji then abruptly found himself looking down the barrel of a card gun. He slowly raised his hands, a bead of sweat sliding down the back of his neck. That was probably not the smartest move he could have made, he mentally reviewed.
The Kid paused for a moment, then smoothly put the gun back where it had been as quickly as he had taken it out. "Sorry." The thief apologised, his tone and expression blank. "I'm a bit jumpy at the moment."
"Understandable." The Kansai detective agreed, pushing himself off of the doorframe he'd been resting against to walk in. Seeing someone killed would do that, and surprising an edgy thief probably wasn't one of his best ideas. There had been no known record of the Kid hurting anyone, but Hattori wasn't about to push his luck.
Sensing the underlying hostility, Dr. Agasa faded into the background.
"How's the Shrimp doing?" The Kid inquired.
One of Hattori's eyebrows rose at the question. Kudo had complained in the past about the thief knowing who he really was, but he hadn't quite believed it. "'Neechan's currently using him as a teddy bear. Partly for comfort, partly so that he stops shouting at the reporters coming to their door. He was starting to edge towards the soccer balls."
A proud grin spread across the thief's face. "Good for him."
"You said that you saw what happened?" He asked, bringing the subject back to the relevant topic at hand.
The grin faded once again from the Kid's face, to be replaced by a more cautious expression. "I did."
"Then we can clear Kudo!" He beamed "All you have to do-"
"Woah, woah, woah." The thief held his hands up, stalling the teenage detective. "In case you hadn't noticed, 'Police' and 'Phantom Thief' do NOT go together. As fond as I am of the modern Sherlock Holmes, I am not going -anywhere- near the cops!"
Hattori gave him a dark scowl, definitely not pleased by that announcement. There was also something rather odd about that statement that set off warning bells.
Agasa cleared his throat, catching both of their attention. "Kid-kun, would you sit down with Heiji-kun and explain everything from the beginning, please?" He requested pleasantly, motioning for them to sit down on the lab stools. "I'll go make us some hot chocolate in the mean time."
The thief shot the scientist a disbelieving look.
"Just how you got involved in Shin'ichi-kun's current mess, if you would. I think he would find it immensely helpful in a case of his own." Agasa assured him. "You don't have to tell him how you became the Kid if you don't wish."
Kid shrugged. "It's your head."
"Maa, maa." Dr. Agasa made a reassuring gesture. "Heiji-kun, please don't arrest Kid-kun while he's a guest in my house. Kid-kun, play nice with Heiji-kun." With that, he slipped out of the door, shutting it behind him.
"I always play nice." The Kid grumbled, taking up a perch on a counter top. "And there had better be marshmallows for this."
Hattori snorted, grabbing one of the computer chairs in the room, and turning it around to straddle it. Marshmallows. Right. As if Kudo being framed for murder wasn't weird enough, Agasa and the Kid certainly were. "Alright. Just how did you and Agasa-sensei become such good friends anyway?"
"Long story." The Kid flicked his wrist, a small crystal ball about the size of a tennis ball, appearing in his hand. Almost idly he played with it, rolling the ball around his hands and between his fingers in ways that appeared to defy gravity and the laws of physics. "Which can be summed thusly."
The Osaka detective nodded, frown gracing his features as he stretched out his legs and got comfortable.
"Agasa-sensei has known the Kid for longer than you'd probably believe." The Kid began, the clear sphere flowing from hand to hand like a crystal water droplet. "Trading gadgets for information and assistance, much like he does with Edogawa now. Nothing illegal, mind you. So when Kudo's *ahem* -small- problem came up, he naturally turned to me for help."
"With what?" Hattori looked suspicious.
One deep cerulean eye peeked out from under the brim of the white hat. "You don't honestly think that the paper work allowing 'Edogawa Conan' to go to school and function as a normal member of society appeared by magic, do you?"
"Err..." He hadn't quite thought of that.
The Thief chuckled. "Forgery isn't my speciality, mind you. I ended up having to take a peek at Kudo's records to make sure I got them right. That's when I discovered something odd, which is what I'm figuring Agasa-sensei wants you to know about. Some of Kudo's records were incomplete. Nothing big, the hospital that he was supposedly born at had no records of him, there's no physical proof that he was born at all, that sort of thing. When I did a little bit more digging, I found 2 more people with records like that."
Hattori frowned, alarm bells going off in his head. "Three."
"Hmm?"
"Grand total of four people." He clarified. "You're missing one."
The Kid gave him a knowing look that made the Osaka detective look decidedly un-comfortable. "Get on with your story." He growled, narrowing his eyes in a defensive glare.
Kid shrugged gamely. "Not much to tell. I did the forgeries and have been keeping an eye on the on the ones I found ever since."
"And this has to do with Kudo's set up... how?"
"It doesn't." Dr. Agasa confirmed, walking into the room with 3 cups of steaming hot chocolate and a plate of brownies. "But unless I'm missing the mark, it's very similar to another story, ne Heiji-kun?"
His features came down in a deep scowl. Way too familiar. He'd only told the Doctor about a private case he was working on when he reached a complete and utter frustrating dead end. Agasa occasionally picked up random bits of information that came in handy, and he had promised to send any information his way but this wasn't quite what he had in mind when he had asked for help. "You mean he knows about-?"
"Bits and pieces. From his own experience." Dr. Agasa smiled into his moustache again, holding the tray up to the thief. The crystal ball vanished as the Kid gave the treats a quick once over before reaching for a steaming mug of hot chocolate.
"Haibara didn't make the brownies, did she?" He asked warily.
"They're from Ran-kun." The scientist assured him. "I hid them from Ai-kun this afternoon, so you don't have to worry about them. And I'm afraid we're out of marshmallows, she's watching what I eat again."
The Kid laughed and eagerly took one of the large brownies, grinning like a little kid with a special treat as he dunked it into the hot cocoa and took a bite.
Dr. Agasa chuckled, bringing the tray over to Hattori. "He doesn't like to admit it, but he's got a weak spot for chocolate that's gotten him into trouble a few times." He whispered to the other boy, sounding much like a fond uncle. "Ai-kun's snuck a few nasties into the sweets before."
"Ah." He nodded in confusion. He wasn't exactly sure what to take of sitting down and having a snack with a thief he was pretty sure he was supposed to be chasing, but he was pretty sure that there were worse things he could be doing.
"Why'd you want me to tell him about that?" Kid asked suspiciously, even as he looked more at ease then he had a right to while he devoured the treat.
"Heiji-kun's has some information on that particular mystery that you may find useful." The usually absent-minded looking professor had a knowing gleam in his eye. "And since you claim not to be a detective-" The thief made a face, affirming the statement "-the information should more than make up for your lack of 'deduction' abilities."
"Oi." Hattori shot a glare at Agasa. "What's in it for me? By all rights, I should be busting his butt for even being in public in that ridiculous outfit."
A frosty glare the Phantom Thief shot him made him reel backwards a bit in surprise, sweatdropping again. Open mouth, insert foot...
Agasa ignored the silent interplay, calmly sipping his hot chocolate. "I'm proposing a truce." He announced. "Heiji-kun tells Kid-kun about that case-" A stern look in his direction. "-and Kid-kun helps Heiji-kun clear Shin'ichi-kun's name." Another stern look, but this time in the Kid's direction.
The Kid was silent, an introspective look on his face while he thoughtfully chewed on a bite of brownie. "I don't like this." He finally announced, speaking slowly. "There's too much at stake for things to go wrong now, but..." He trailed off, an almost protective gleam in his hard gaze as he looked at Hattori squarely. "I'm in."
Hattori had to admit that he didn't like this either. Working with a wanted thief rubbed him the wrong way, but on the other hand, he didn't have any other leads to clear Kudo's name either. All of his other leads had fizzled out, which was what brought him to Agasa's in the first place. He was figuratively between a rock and a hard place.
"Alright." He agreed. "Truce. For now. But as soon as we've got whoever did this, all bets are off and I'm tracking you down."
The Kid smirked mockingly back.
Agasa sweatdropped. "Oi, oi..." He looked between the 2 grinning teenagers before sighing, realising that there probably wasn't a way around the clashing of egos. "Heiji-kun, if you would start from the beginning?" He requested, looking grateful for the distraction at hand.
"Right." The Osaka-jin leaned forward, resting his elbows on his thighs, resting the mug of cocoa in his hands between his knees. "A few months back, I started to get a little curious about some things that just didn't seem to fit. Mainly the fact that I realised that I've never seen pictures of my Grandfather who I supposedly get my dark colouring from. A little digging showed that there weren't any baby pictures either. There were a few of 'Kaasan pregnant, but none of her in the hospital."
"Let me guess." The Kid commented not exactly un-kindly, his legs tucked up on stool in a relaxed manner. "You're adopted."
"And then some." He nodded, rubbing the back of his neck. Even though it had been several months since he'd found out, it still felt like a raw wound in his side. It didn't help that he was telling his most guarded secret to a thief either. The things he did for Kudo... "I discovered a book in my father's drawers, a journal written by his brother. He'd never talked about his brother, Dad having gone into the Force, and his brother having joined a crime syndicate. But the real shock was when I started reading it..."
He trailed off again, gathering his thoughts. The Kid was thankfully quiet as he did so, watching him with too-wise eyes under the brim of his hat.
"Dad's brother went by the code name 'Tequila', in a crime syndicate you may be familiar with. They wear all black." He finally commented.
"The same ones who shrunk Kudo?" Kid queried.
He gave a short jerk of his head, motioning towards Agasa. "We think so. No evidence yet, they hide themselves pretty well."
Kid nodded, saying nothing.
"Shin'ichi-kun's predicament was the by-product of looking for a way of creating immortality." Asaga supplied. "Not that you would know anything about something like that, would you Kid-kun?"
The Kid flashed a too-innocent grin. "Me? Never..."
Hattori filed this tidbit of information in the back of his head to muse over later. "Before they could work on creating eternal life, they did experiments on -creating- life." He continued. "Genetic human constructs, from the DNA on up. Created to be the reincarnations of some of the greatest literary minds ever created. The first being Shelling Ford, the predecessor to Holmes."
The thief's eyes practically -glowed- at the information, and Hattori realised with a jolt that the Kid was probably much more familiar with the case than he was telling.
"There was some sort of flaw in Ford, they forgot something essential when programming the intellect. That was to be expected, which is why they started out with Ford. They then started on Sherlock Holmes. Only to have something un-expected happen. The cells didn't just divide up like they were supposed to, but split into a separate entity of it's own. Twins."
"Twins?!" The Kid almost seemed taken back.
"Identical twins." He confirmed, noting the odd reaction. "In a pique of humour, for lack of a better term, they turned one into Sherlock Holmes, and the other into Arséné Lupin, sort of a yin-yang type of thing. The most famous detective and thief as twins..." He narrowed his eyes at the thief, a small click falling to place in the back of his head. The Kid looked to be roughly their age as well, now that he was able to look at him somewhat up close.
"Oi, roll up your right sleeve a second, will ya?" He requested.
The Kid shot him a blank look, his mouth full of brownie. "Bwah?"
"Each of the experiments has a distinctive scar." He pulled back the sleeve on his right arm, showing off a scar that looked like a hook or an upside down question mark on the back of it, about a finger digit long. "Looks like that."
An eyebrow was raised as deft gloved fingers un-did the buttons on the jacket sleeve and dress shirt of the thief's right arm. "Nope." The Kid raised it in the air, not offering to come any closer as he rotated the arm at the elbow to show the un-blemished skin of his forearm. "No scar there."
So much for that theory. He shrugged "After the sudden appearance of the other twin, they decided to make one last back-up in the batch, Ellery Queen. Evidently they didn't like Peroit's stuffy attitude."
"Wasn't Ellery Queen two people?" Kid inquired, buttoning up his sleeve again. "A father-son team?"
"Uh, yeah..." He blinked, taken back. Agatha Christe was not a topic of conversation he ever thought he would have with a thief.
"What?" The Kid grinned, almost the mocking smirk he was famous for. "Thieves aren't supposed to read detective novels?"
Agasa covered up a snicker with his cup of cocoa.
"Um... anyway.... Back to Tequila..." He shook his head to himself; this wasn't the time to get distracted. "He may have been working for the Syndicate as one of the major baddies, but evidently something about creating and playing with life rubbed him the wrong way. Near as I can figure he had a weakness for children, and didn't want to see kids raised in that kind of environment. So he went to his brother, who was still just a cop at the time and made a deal to smuggle the kids out, and have them raised by extraordinary couples that didn't or couldn't have kids of their own."
"Such as Kudo Yuusaku and Yukiko." Kid grinned. "Bet they disappeared and travelled around so much that no one would be able to tell if she was pregnant ahead of time or not."
"Actually, they had a couple of months to pull it off and prepare." He smirked back. "Humans aren't created overnight, especially not with the materials they had then. It's a freakin' miracle that they were able to accomplish what they did at that time."
"True." Agasa nodded, looking nostalgic.
"Anyway, Mom had been pregnant, but lost the baby before it was born. So they adopted me when they had the chance, and now I guess Kudo went to his folks, so my problem now is that I don't know where the other 2 ended up." Hattori sighed, reaching up to fiddle with his cap. "It wasn't written down, for fear that someone besides one of the kids found it. So I don't know who or how they're doing."
"I know who they are." Kid said quietly, looking into his hot chocolate, as if contemplating something. He glanced up, sharp violet eyes catching his for moment, as if weighting him in their depths. "They're both doing well, driving everyone around them crazy. Rather like you and Kudo actually, top of the class and everything."
His green eyes peered back. "You're not going to tell me who they are, are you?" He questioned with a sinking feeling. So close, yet so far.
The Kid sparkled back. "Maybe later!" He winked. "Have to keep some aces up my sleeves, you know."
"Right." Stupid thief. He made a mental note to either get the information from the thief or to kick his ass before this was over. "Dad and Tequila went separate ways again after the kids made it to their new homes and were adopted. There was a quiet uproar at the syndicate as well, but some how they managed to trick them into thinking that all four infants died, so Tequila was never suspected. Kudo met him shortly after his small problem arose, just long enough to see him get blown to smithereens by a bomb, so Tequila's a dead end."
The Kid opened his mouth, then shut it, most likely biting his tongue on a comment. "Anything else?" He asked diplomatically.
Hattori shrugged, not feeling very forthcoming at the moment. He'd fulfilled his end of the bargain anyway.
The thief nodded, then flipped the last of his brownie in the air and caught it in his mouth with a pleased snap. "Then I guess we'd best get down to the business of clearing Kudo's name before the squirt has a heart attack. If he hasn't already."
"Not yet."
"Good." Kid seemed pleased. "What do you need to know?"
"Everything. Any and every little detail."
"Detail, huh?" The Kid looked thoughtful for a moment. "Well, I'm not much of a storyteller-" Hattori got the feeling that was likely a lie "-or a detective, but I AM a showman. You know where 'Kudo' killed the victim?"
"Yeah...." He replied warily.
"Great." The Kid hopped off the stool with cat-like grace. "I'll meet you on the rooftop above the scene. Half an hour enough time?"
"Wait, what are you up to?" He rose as well, just in case the thief made a break for it. He doubted he was as fast or agile as the slippery Kid, but he was sure that his kendo skills could amount to something.
The Kid beamed in response. "I'm going to -show- you."
He blinked. That was... new. "I'd really prefer if we went together then." He scowled, fighting un-ease in the pit of his stomach. "I don't want you out of my sight."
"Afraid I'm going to run off before fulfilling my end of the bargain?" Kid teased. Agasa sweatdropped and held up a hand to try to forestall the upcoming argument.
"Exactly."
The thief raised an eyebrow. "It's not like I can just go walking around on the street like this." He pointed out.
"You are a master of disguise, are you not?" He countered.
"You WANT me to dress in drag?"
He blinked, not quite how to respond to that one.
"Maa, maa..." Agasa stepped between them. "Hattori-kun, Kid-kun will keep his end of the deal-"
"It's okay, Hagasei." Kid cut him off with a slightly bittersweet but still friendly grin. "After all, Honour of Thieves and all that, right?"
Hattori felt a pang of conscious for that one, but said nothing. They were on opposite sides of the law after all. Agasa looked sad at the comment. "Kid-kun..."
Kid winked, and pulled a white card out of mid-air. "Here. Will this be enough insurance for you?" A pen appeared similarity and the kaitou leaned over a desk to scribble on it before handing it to him.
Hattori took the card and looked it over. It matched the description of a typical Kid Note, right down to the grinning figure in the corner, stating plainly that the Kid would meet 'one Hattori Heiji' on the rooftop of an address above the crime scene at 22:53.
The Kid had yet to miss arriving for one of his notes, even if sometimes the meaning of his notes was obscure enough to confuse people. "Yes..." He said slowly, pocketing the note. He was sure that there was a way for the thief to worm his way out of it, but he couldn't spot any tricks in the wording.
"Good." The Kid smiled, all cheerful again. "I'm counting on your detectives code of honour, or what ever you want to call it, that you won't be tipping anyone off to my appearance. While I -do- enjoy a challenge, in this case it would be counter-productive for both of us."
"I'll keep my end." He growled gruffly. "Just keep yours."
"Heh." He saluted them, turning to head for the window. "See you later, Hagasei!" He called cheerfully; ignoring the fierce glare the detective was shooting him. "I'll ask Mom about those fat-free brownies, okay?"
"Thank you, Kid-kun! Take care!" He waved back.
Hattori snorted and turned to walk out the door. "He's not a bad person, Hattori-kun." Agasa informed him, following him.
"I figured that much." Hattori sighed, his shoulders slumping as the scientist escorted him out. It was rather hard to reconcile that with the fact that for all intents and purposes, he was supposed to be catching the theif instead of making friends with him. The whole situation was making him nervous. "Tell Kudo that sometime." He grumbled, taking protection in surliness. "He's going to throw a shit-fit when he finds out the Kaitou Kid is a frequent visitor to your house."
"Infrequent." Agasa corrected absentmindedly. "But I doubt he would complain about the gizmos he has, eh?"
"Huh?" Hattori blinked. Kudo's toys?
"Where do you think I got the idea for a voice changer in the first place?" Agasa winked. "Or the sleeping darts? And Kid-kun was nice enough to help me out with both of those; I never would have gotten the range of voices so quickly. And he donated the first batch of sleeping serum before I figured out my own."
"You're saying that Kudo's detective devices-"
"Were modified off the Kid, yes. He's very creative." Agasa sighed lustfully. "You should see the things his father used to come up with. Flamboyant, but they worked so very well in unexpected ways..."
Hattori stared at the scientist as if he had just found out that the absent-minded doctor was an alien from outer space. Not only had the doctor been friends with the Kaitou Kid -for two generations-, but the Kid himself was helping the detectives from behind the scenes!
"Oh, don't look so surprised Heiji-kun." Agasa cheerfully scolded. "This may come as a shock, but you don't know -everything-. And Kid-kun is really a nice boy doing the best he can in some tough situations. Lighten up! Who knows? You may get a friend out of it."
Agasa patted him on the back and ushered him out the door, barely giving him time to slip his sneakers on before firmly shutting the door behind him.
Belatedly, Hattori realised that neither of them had asked that he not pass on word of just what Agasa was doing...
Yet at the same time, he realised that he probably wouldn't anyway.
***
-TBC-
Threw out the idea on the O1T ML about an Alternative Pairings Contest, kinda wondering what people might think.
The idea behind it is that Canon couples aren't allowed. No Shin'ichi/Ran, Ai/Conan, Heiji/Kazuha, Kaito/Aoko or any of the parents. Any other pairings welcome, including yaoi and yuri. (C'mon, Ran and Sonoko have SUCH a Tomoyo/Sakura thing going!)
Alternate pairings are harder to write and write WELL. Hence the challenge. *evil grin*
Anyway, anybody interested? Disgusted? Intriqued?
... 3 hours, 1 minutes, and 49 seconds to go. But who's counting? ^________^
... just realised we have been up and running since about 4:20 this morning, and prolly won't get home until after 1am with the book... Who's up for staying up past 24 hours straight with no coffee?! @_@
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Date: 2003-06-20 09:18 pm (UTC)>D FUN!