Day 37: Arts and Crafts Room
Honey was relieved when breakfast was over. Even though there'd been plenty of sticky-sweet french toast to be had, the company left him feeling a little inadequate. Usually girls fawned all over him, but Callisto had been downright mean. Had he done something wrong? What kind of girl wanted to fight rather than play? It'd only been a few days
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He set aside the paper he was working on momentarily, considering Kudou's question. The last thing he remembered was hearing the little detective's voice above him during his heist, but that wasn't exactly something he could tell Kudou. Kid's heists were still obvious events that he could use to answer. The question, however, was which one to use...
The job to steal Purple Nail would be the honest answer, but maybe he should pretend that he came from a point in time earlier than that? It increased the risk of slipping up and saying the wrong thing, but it also allowed for what would possibly be a more believable gap between the memories of "Kuroba Kaito" and "Kaitou Kid." Between Kaito and Kid, Kid was the one who needed to have the most information. Kudou was going to learn Kid was around one way or another, and he couldn't let a lack of information be used against him. If one of his identities was going to be more in the dark than the other, that would have to be "Kaito."
He had never really thought to ask Hattori when he'd come from; after all, when they'd met, Kaito hadn't yet known about the way the Institute could kidnap people from different points in time. But Hattori hadn't asked him about it, either, so he was free to come up with almost any answer he so desired. He'd mentioned Suzuki Jirokichi in passing, but there were a few jobs between Suzuki's first challenge and unresolved second that he could use as the point of reference, some more famous than others.
He could use the time when he'd been framed for murder, with those paintings… That had generated a lot of press, but the little detective had really been the only one to see Kid then. Or maybe when "Nightmare" had blackmailed him, but he couldn't be sure that Kudou knew about that job… He needed to use something big, that would be in the papers, but that wouldn't be controversial like that painter's setup. One of the matches with Suzuki, then.
Claiming that last Kid case he remembered was when he was challenged to steal Blue Wonder could be too long ago, though. It made the likelihood of a misstep far more likely… But if he was going to be truthful as Kid, he couldn't as Kaito. He needed that lapse as part of his alibi. Maybe he could still use the challenge to steal Purple Nail, but claim that Kaito had come from before it and Kid after? But if Kudou knew how things had ended then (assuming they had), he couldn't play at having that same knowledge quite as easily. The fact that he hadn't shouted accusations about Kaito being Kid was a good sign, though. It meant his identity (probably) hadn't been compromised...
So it was Suzuki's challenges: Blue Wonder or Purple Nail. Take the risk of slipping up at the benefit of providing additional distinction between himself and Kid, or take the risk of appearing too similar to Kid... Or maybe he could keep it vague, and see what assumptions the detective made before he committed to any one timeframe...
"The last thing I remember?" he echoed. He had to make a decision. "Well, the latest Kaitou Kid heist was headlining all the papers, but I'm not sure if there was anything else major going on..."
Things had been so much simpler when it had just been Hattori. Hattori didn't know Kid the way tantei-kun did.
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He considered mentioning the specifics that he did know. He knew that one of Hattori's cases was about Kid. Hattori knew that he knew. If Kudou asked Hattori about cases and found out that Kaito had known about the Kid case and hadn't said anything...
No. It was too early to bring up Kid's presence in the Institute. He hadn't been able to resist baiting the detective about being in the first grade, and in light of that, he couldn't let him know that Kid was there until time had passed and the memory of talking to Kaito had faded...
"A bland hell, indeed," he agreed, nodding slightly as he picked up the paper he'd been using again. "School's dull enough without having to learn the basics for a second time."
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He tapped on, outwardly oblivious to Kaito's inner monologue, but inwardly studying the other boy's reaction. Kid's last heist, huh? "Oh, Purple Nail Pair?" he asked pleasantly. The name was well enough known by now, and Shinichi was supposedly in close contact with Conan anyway. It worked well enough, and it would give him a basis for establishing a timeline. He didn't exactly suspect Kuroba of being Kid--not totally--but the thought was there. They had the same height, the same build, similar voices. There was just enough evidence that he could be Kid, but not enough to start compiling a case. Shinichi himself fit those descriptors, plus a few others. Athletic and intelligent, for example. Kaito didn't really look like he had enough muscle on him to do some of the stunts that Shinichi had seen Kid do.
Still, it was something to keep in mind.
"Thanks, I'll make sure I do that. Hattori didn't mention anything, but he could be going the stoic samurai route." He laughed. "He seems to think that one of the guys here is Okita Souji. You know, from the Shinsengumi?" It was a little far-fetched, but maybe Kuroba had some information on who the person Heiji was currently fanboying really was.
Time to steer the conversation away from the first grade. "Speaking of school, what year are you?" Kaito couldn't have been older than Shinichi and Heiji were, so he had to be in 11th grade or thereabouts.
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He had to make a decision about when he came from, and quick. Even though he'd decided that his identity as "Kid" needed to remain the one with the most information, it was difficult to decide to put his knowledge as "Kaito" too far behind. He wondered if the Purple Nail job was really the most recent one for Kudou, or if he was from further in the future and playing at the same game that he was...
Another possibility was that he could tell the truth about when he'd come from, and avoid giving any information about Kid's timeline. As Kid, he had no real obligation to give the detectives any information that he didn't want to; the benefit in sharing any information was solely to create a further distinction between "Kaito" and "Kid."
Of course, if Hakuba showed up next, any distinction he tried to create was going to get shot to hell as soon as he fired off his accusations... But that detective wasn't here, and Kaito had other detectives to deal with. It all came down to whether or not having a gap between the memories of Kaito and Kid was actually going to be convincing enough evidence.
"Purple what?" he asked, making his decision. "No, no, his target was called 'Ocean's Miracle.' Some guy challenged him to steal it, and this little kid stopped him. Edogawa..." He trailed off there, his brow furrowed as though in thought. Then, with a frustrated tone, he groaned, "Aah, Hattori told me the kid's name last week. Something about parents that were real Conan Doyle nuts... Edogawa Doyle? No, that's not right... Arthur? Conan? Yeah, that's it: Edogawa Conan!"
He finished tearing up his paper, and started trying to wrap it into flower-like shapes. "Hattori may've just had a lot on his mind, with you showing up and all. I wouldn't wish this place on anyone, and especially not on friends." He fiddled with the paper; it wasn't working the way he'd hoped because of the weight. "But he told you about Okita-san, did he? Hijikata-san was here, too, but I'm not sure if he is any more... I haven't seen him around lately."
Frustrated, he tossed the paper aside. Maybe he could find something more lightweight for his flowers... "I'm in the second year of high school, same as you and Hattori, I assume," he answered. "You're seventeen, aren't you?"
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"Ocean's Miracle? When Kaitou Kid walked in midair?" That was...the first time they'd met Suzuki Jirokichi, wasn't it? The golden statue holding the bright blue jewel, the one that had once been the figurehead on the prow of a pirate ship. It was also months ago. The detective was...distantly disappointed, in a way. Kaito came from even earlier than Hattori did. Still, he dutifully marked it off on his sheet of paper. Yeah, it was a little depressing to have months worth of memories that the others didn't, but he couldn't ignore his calling as a detective. He had to find the truth behind this place and get all these people--and himself--back to where they should be. "Yeah, Edogawa Conan. Weird kid. Bit of a brat, but smart. He's the distant relative of a friend of mine, and one of my other friends and her father are taking care of him while his parents are abroad." Good. Stick to the story, add in a deprecating comment about the child. Maybe a little bit complementary as well.
"...Hijikata too?" Who was next, Saitou? Kondou, maybe? Why not the whole Shinsengumi, with the Ishin Shishi thrown in for good measure? It did confirm one point, though--Kaito had met this man who claimed to be Okita. At least he existed beyond a random name on the bulletin board.
Shinichi watched Kuroba try to fold flowers for little while, but the other boy didn't seem to be having much success. "Yeah, my birthday was in the spring."
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He prevented himself from laughing, or even just smirking at Kudou's description of Edogawa. Nice, Kudou, but you forgot the part where he's you. Somehow. "He's related to you? Hattori told me that he had died, too, but I kind of get the feeling he was lying about that. He said it when he said that you were dead, after all, so in light of you being alive..."
Kaito riffled through a nearby stack of paper, making a sound of triumph when he located some brightly-colored tissue paper. He set to work again, nodding. "Yeah, Hijikata too. I don't really know him all that well; he's pretty stoic. Okita-san is much more friendly." And had a nice mischievous streak in him.
"Ah, when the in spring?" he asked; maybe furthering the line of small talk would help to cement himself as someone that was not Kaitou Kid. "Mine's in the summer."
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...Hattori had told Kuroba that Conan was dead, too? "What the hell? Really?" Shinichi couldn't help the look of utter disbelief that registered on his face, but he figured that it would look more like confusion than anything else. "I can understand killing me off to...protect me, but why Conan? He's just a little kid who likes playing detective and is actually kind of good at it." Stick to the story.
"May 4th. So I guess I'm a little older, then."
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That was good... very good. The reminder that the little detective's voice was the last thing he remembered before waking up here had been agitating him, but now that he had a reasonable amount of proof that he hadn't gotten caught then, he could relax a little.
"That's what I want to know," Kaito said, frowning. "He implied that Edogawa was murdered, for getting too close to something. To close to Kaitou Kid, maybe; Hattori said something about the police thinking he was killed because he kept getting in Kid's way, but that doesn't make much sense if you ask me. Kid doesn't kill, and who'd want to kill someone for stopping a phantom thief?"
Truthfully Kaito knew enough people who might've gotten antsy over someone getting too close to Kid, but he shrugged anyway. "But like I said: now that you're here safe and sound, I think Hattori was just making it up to protect the kid. He seemed pretty worried about the wrong people hearing about either of you."
And then came the small talk. Despite his intentions of sharing mundane information in an attempt to seem more open (and decidedly not suspicious), he couldn't resist a tiny jibe at the timing of Kudou's birthday... "The day before Children's Day, huh?" he said. It was such a shame it wasn't one day later... "I'm June 21st, myself, so there's not too much difference between our ages... It would've been something if we'd happened to have the same birthday, given our looks."
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"I appreciate that." The detective smiled. "Hattori's heart was in the right place, but I'm not sure his head was. Whatever. I'll talk with him about it later."
And he would. Oh, he would.
"Yeah, I guess," Shinichi replied kind of distractedly, not really getting the implication. "And yeah, it would have." He laughed. "Sorry. I mean, I'm sure you're a great guy and all, but I don't want a twin, thanks."
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"Alright. I should probably ask him myself if there's anything else he was... exaggerating about when we met, but if I recall, that was it for killing people off," he said, chuckling. He felt distantly guilty about possibly getting Hattori into trouble with Kudou, but he brushed the feeling off. Kudou had been obviously surprised, but he didn't sound too upset... Maybe he could warn the Osakan detective before Kudou found him again, to give him a heads up. That would settle any debt.
"I don't want a twin, either," Kaito agreed. "I'm perfectly happy without a brother." The fact that he and Kudou looked so much alike was a peculiarity he'd taken advantage of in the past, as Kid. He wondered if he could take advantage of it again, here, but the risks were far, far greater than at home... Without his masks and tricks, posing as Kudou Shinichi would paint him as the perpetrator right away if Kudou or Hattori ever caught wind of it.
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