Day 36: Waiting Room/Lobby 1
Oh yeah. This was bad. Grabbing a chair and ignoring the woman who had brought him in, Takaya crossed his arms and glared at the wall. He wasn't going to participate in this bullshit. Being told he had 'company' and that he should he happy about it had ruined what was otherwise an okay day
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He followed the nurse down the hall, arriving at a room he hadn't been to before. He yawned loudly, feeling somewhat more alert than when she woke him, but not yet fully coherent.
"Take a seat," she told him cheerfully. "Your visitor will join you shortly!"
She bustled off then, and Kaito dropped into one of the chairs, wondering who was supposed to be his 'visitor'… Was it going to be someone he didn't know, but who would insist that he did? Or was it going to be someone he actually knew, dragged into the whole mess? Aoko, maybe, or mom. Hell, he wouldn't be surprised to see Hakuba waltz over (precisely on time, of course, right down to the damn millisecond), just to irritate him.
He crossed his arms, frowning. Ugh. What if it was going to be Hakuba? The last person he wanted to see was that smug detective.
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A tired-looking, slightly hassled man was shown into the room by Kaito's nurse. Spotting the one he was visiting, he moved deliberately over to the boy and swept him into a tight hug.
"Kyle," he said, voice overwrought with emotion.
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Even so, Kaito stood when he saw him, the legs of his chair scraping against the floor. And when the man who couldn't possibly be there crossed the room and pulled him into a hug, Kaito's eyes widened. He couldn't have been there, but he felt real enough...
He'd been called by the wrong name, the fake name that he'd been given here, but his voice... It was the same as he remembered, the same as had been on the degraded tape he'd found. He knew better than anyone that a voice and a face was hardly evidence of an identity, but...
"D-dad?"
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"That's right, I'm here. Everything's going to be okay, I'm right here."
At least he was for the time being. This whole mental institution business had caused Thomas to go a little overboard on the affection where Kyle was concerned. He'd convinced himself that this was entirely his fault. If he'd just been there... this wouldn't have happened. Now he was going to make it right.
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No.
Kaito jerked away, pulling out of the embrace. This wasn't right. It couldn't be right; it couldn't be real. It was an impostor, someone who was well-trained in the art of disguise like Kaito was, or Toichi had been. Dad had died; he'd died. You didn't just come back from that, act like everything was okay, and visit your son in the crazy mental institution he was trapped in.
He reached for his chair and sat down again. Kaito knew his poker face had fallen away and his disbelief registered on his face, but he didn't much care as he studied the man. This was just some trick, and he should have been more prepared for it than he was. He'd seen his file; he knew that they claimed his father was still alive. But reading about it and seeing how far they would go... they weren't the same.
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He looked back at his own chair and took a seat, watching Kyle intently. What had he done? Kyle didn't deserve this. He was a good kid.
"I... know this doesn't change anything, really," Thomas began. "I know I haven't been the best father to you. I haven't been around, too wrapped up in my work to see you or your mother... she called me about the robbery. I didn't even know until then. Can you ever forgive me?"
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"'Haven't been the best father'?" he questioned incredulously, the words spilling out before he could even think of keeping them back. So much for keeping any semblance of his poker face... "You were a great father. I- I idolized you; I still do. But you're- you can't be here."
He looked away pointedly. "It's impossible."
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"Why is it impossible? I'm sitting right here. I embraced you." Thomas looked down, suddenly uncomfortable. "I wanted to see you. We've been apart too long. I want you to come home, so we can be a family again. But perhaps it's too soon. Too much of a shock..."
What was right, then? Seeing Kyle, not seeing Kyle? Thomas wanted to see his son, but he seemed to be doing more harm than good.
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He crossed his arms, looking at the man that may or may not have been his father. Another thought came to him. "Or unless... Unless you staged the whole thing: the accident, your death... Everything." And if that was the case... Kaito would understand, but it wouldn't have stopped it from hurting, even more than if Toichi really had died.
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"Kyle..." Thomas began. "There was no accident. There was no murder. I'm right here. I understand how you feel, and I'm as ashamed of my behavior as you are. But I came here to tell you that I've changed. I want us to be a family again. I want to take responsibility for my mistake. And that starts with conveying to you that I'm here for you. That I'm going to make the effort to be around more, for both yours and your mother's sake."
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He almost rose again, ready to let his emotions get the best of him and lunge at the man, but a shout and commotion from elsewhere in room pulled his attention away. It looked like another of the patients was as unhappy with his visitor as Kaito was... He clenched his fists, reminding himself that he couldn't cause a scene like that boy had.
The interruption had done wonders for his self-control by the time he looked at the impostor again, his poker face back in place. This man couldn't be his father, and there had to be some way of proving that. Even the best disguise had shortcomings; Kaito could make himself look identical to someone else, but he was still the same person underneath the makeup. It would be the same for the fake sitting across from him.
"Sorry, dad," he ground out, his true sentiments still leaking into his tone. That wouldn't do; he needed to get close enough to the fake to get his proof, so he had to play this well. He tried regain control over his voice as he continued, "I guess I'm just a little bitter. Since you... haven't been around."
Ugh.
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"You have every right to be, son. I should have been there instead of working those cases. They all seem so pointless now. No wonder you hate detectives so much."
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What was the Institute trying to pull? As if trying to convince Kaito that his father was still alive wasn't enough, they had the gall to claim that he wasn't the best magician in the world... and was a detective instead?
"Y-yeah," he said, looking away.
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"How are things here? Are they treating you well? Have you made any friends?"
Possibly too many questions at once, but Thomas was eager to start talking with Kyle.
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He pushed the memory away; dealing with the fake was more pleasant at the moment. And the answer to the man's last question was rather ironic, given what the man had said just a moment ago.
"I'm friends with this one guy: Hattori," he said, smirking lightly. "He's a detective."
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So it wasn't that Kyle hated detectives, he just hated him. Thomas vaguely wondered if this level of intense dislike was normal. Probably. After all, his neglect had driven his son insane.
"Oh..." Thomas said, looking extremely hurt and uncomfortable. He gave a small sigh. "I know it's hard being away from your friends and school, but all of that can wait until you're better. I'm only doing this because I love you, son."
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