Promenade Eight, Pt. 2
And here's the other half, now that I'm more awake and less annoyed at LJ...
Author: ocianne
Title: Promenade
Rating: T for violence and swearing
Disclaimers: Kingdom Hearts, Detective Conan, and Magic Kaitou all belong to much richer and more creative people than I.
Notes: See Chapter 8 Pt. 1. X-posted to ocianne
Previous Chapters: Chapter 1, Chapter 2, Chapter 3, Chapter 4, Chapter 5, Chapter 6, Chapter 7, Chapter 8 Pt. 1
- - - - -
Chapter Eight: Homecoming (Part 2)
- - - - -
By the time Saturday morning rolled around, Kaito could see Riku getting antsy. Since he felt reasonably sure of success-it helped that the ruby was being displayed in a museum he had previously infiltrated-Kaito felt justified in taking the rest of the day off.
They walked around town for a while, Kaito pointing out landmarks and his favorite hangouts and slowly gravitating towards his school. Riku blended well into the crowd in casual clothes, a newsboy cap, and amber-tinted sunglasses to disguise the orange-gold glow of his eyes. Kaito opted against wearing his school uniform to avoid accusations of skipping school. Of course, he technically was, but Kaito never let little details like that get in the way. When he said as much to Riku, the other boy laughed.
“You’re insane.”
“I prefer the term reality-challenged, thank you very much. It’s easier change reality when you see what else could be there instead.”
“And you’re good at seeing what isn’t there?”
“Why, it’s a core part of being a magician-your audience can only see what you choose to show them. I’m surprised more people don’t do the same, really.”
“You’re still crazy.”
“I never said I wasn’t!” Kaito grinned unrepentantly.
Impeccable sense of timing intact, they showed up just as the bell signaled the end of the school’s half-day study session. Soon students streamed past them, groups chattering and laughing as they made plans for the afternoon. They waited beside the entrance to the campus, chatting casually, waiting for the inevitable.
Sure enough, Aoko, Hakuba and Akako appeared among a knot of other students, Hakuba and Aoko bickering good-naturedly over the Kaitou Kid’s heist, and whether Hakuba or Aoko’s father would manage to catch the thief first. Akako walked along with a faint smile on her face, watching them. They were so intent on arguing that they had passed him by completely before Akako paused, and turned, dark eyes wide.
“Kuroba-kun?”
I seem to be getting that a lot.
Any further thoughts were interrupted by Aoko’s shriek, and she instantly set about hugging him so hard that he was absolutely certain she’d bruised a few ribs.
“You idiot! Inconsiderate jerk! Going off without warning, no calls or letters or anything to let us know you were okay…” She sniffled ominously.
“Gah! Aoko, no, don’t cry.” Unable to think of anything else to do, he conjured a white rosebud and tucked its thornless stem behind her ear. He could practically feel Riku’s surprised gaze on him at that, but he did indeed carry the necessary elements for several magic tricks at all times. “I’m fine, all right? I’ve just been busy with shows and all.”
Aoko blushed and let go of him, looking down at her feet. Akako raised an eyebrow, less than convinced, while Hakuba looked on with a remarkably unreadable expression. Kaito eyed him, surprised that no outburst or accusation was forthcoming. Hakuba generally didn’t just stand and watch him in silence. Hakuba… had just handcuffed his left hand to the bicycle rack he’d been standing beside.
“You are staying put until I get a satisfactory answer for why you up and vanished without telling us and made your classmates worry both before and after your little telegram.”
Kaito blinked innocently, trying to reach more familiar ground. “You were worried about me? Aww, I didn’t know you cared!”
“Hmph. Only about what you could possibly getting up to, if that’s what you mean, but Aoko-kun and-” Hakuba stopped abruptly, registering exactly what Kaito was now playing with in his hands. “And I expect those back from you reassembled and in working order by the end of the afternoon.”
“Planning to use them on Kid? Hey, are these a new style? I thought the spring was a little tougher than usual.” Kaito brought the handful of curved metal and chain closer to his eyes, surreptitiously watching Hakuba pinch the bridge of his nose, the blond boy’s ‘tell’ for when Kaito’s antics were having an effect.
I’d almost forgotten how much I’ve missed this. Too easy…
He decided to play nice for once, and answer Hakuba. “Well, like I told the school, I’ve been working with other magicians and performing here and there, mostly around different parts of Japan. When word of the heist got out, though, I got an absence of leave to be home for it.”
The best part was, it was almost entirely true. Except for the magicians bit, but Riku had magic, so it could count…
True to form, Aoko glowered at mention of the thief, Akako narrowed her eyes, and Hakuba seemed to mentally scrutinizing his excuse before giving Kaito a silent look of frank disbelief.
Well, not like I expected him to trust anything I say in regards to the Kid, anyway…
“Hey, I have proof!” He grabbed Riku by the arm and dragged him into the spotlight. “I brought him home with me.” He gave a summary of Riku’s fabricated background, ignoring Riku’s frozen expression upon being shown off like a souvenir, then continued: “Riku, meet the most dedicated Kid-chasers of Japan outside of the official Kid Task Force.”
Once Kaito had introduced the trio with slightly more detail, Riku bowed politely. “A pleasure to meet you. It’s a wonder you put up with such an enthusiastic fan.”
“Oh, this idiot and I grew up together. I’m pretty much stuck with him.” Aoko sniffed disdainfully, turning her head up and away.
“And there’s so much more to him than a simple fan of Kid,” Akako added with an enigmatic smile.
Hakuba didn’t respond, evaluating Riku instead. “Aspiring magician, are you?”
Kaito watched Hakuba warily as Riku nodded.
“What sort of tricks do you have up your sleeve, then?”
Kaito hid a grimace behind a poker-face grin. He knew he’d forgotten something in the past few days, but he’d been too busy planning the heist to remember his promise to teach Riku some simple magic tricks. He glanced up at Riku, unable to say anything with their audience present.
“Well, I don’t know much, since I’m more an aspiring gopher, but I do have one trick I’m fairly proud of.” A snap of his fingers conjured a flash of dark fire above his hand, there and gone in an instant. “I’m rather fond of fire. If I ever become good enough, I’d like to create a show around it.”
Hakuba seemed slightly mollified, but still suspicious, while Akako gave Riku an intrigued look. Kaito glanced sidelong at the self-proclaimed magic user.
Damn. She probably knows that he didn’t do that by sleight of hand.
Aoko saved them from any increasing awkwardness. “Kaito, when did you get back? Have you seen your mother yet? She’s been worried sick about you, and she said yesterday she still hadn’t heard anything from you!”
“We just got in, and Kaasans’s working today.”
Aoko put her hands on her hips. “Fine, then. You spend the afternoon with us, today, and then go home to spend the evening with her. No excuses!”
Kaito saluted. “Ma’am, yes ma’am!”
“Hey!” Aoko laughed, smacking him lightly on the arm.
“I’m afraid I’ll have to bow out,” Akako announced. “I’ve some things to do at home that can’t wait.”
“Are you sure, Akako-chan? Just for a while?”
“Not this time. I’m sure Kuroba-kun won’t run off by tomorrow. Will you?”
“Er, no…” Kaito never felt comfortable when Akako turned her full attention on him. He always felt vaguely like a piece of meat. It didn’t help that he suspected she was going home in order to use her own vaunted magic to investigate Riku’s powers.
“Well, then, enjoy your afternoon together.” Sparing one last look to share between Riku and Kaito, she drifted off into the thinning pack of students.
“You’ll come, won’t you, Hakuba-kun?” Aoko asked hurriedly.
“I wouldn’t dream of being anywhere else, Aoko-kun.” His words felt unusually serious, at least until he smiled. The smile could have been stolen from a shark.
Translation: You’re hoping to keep an eye on me for evidence of my being the Kid, or prevent me from any last-minute preparations for tonight’s heist. Tough luck, Hakuba-kun.
Because the way Kaito had disappeared had been so mean, and he’d supposedly been making money the whole time, Aoko demanded Kaito treat her to an amusement park. Surprised both by the request and by her vehemence, Kaito agreed almost automatically. He paid for Riku’s ticket as well, though Hakuba calmly insisted on buying his own.
They wandered around for a while at first, the boys following Aoko’s undisputed lead. Conversation continued to revolve around the Kid heist, and she seemed determined to drag Riku into the argument, asking his opinion or confirmation repeatedly. She seemed to think that because he was Kaito’s senior in the magic troupe, he might have some kind of authority over Kaito, because at one point she demanded, “Yuushi-san, tell Kaito it’s true that Kid’s thieving hurts people!”
Startled, Riku looked between Kaito and Aoko, unsure how to respond to such an accusation towards Kaito’s alter ego. After a moment, he came to a decision and smirked slightly, pushing his up his sunglasses. “Aoko-san, Kaito-kun doesn’t listen to me, either.”
Aoko pouted. “Well, he should! He doesn’t listen to anyone.”
“Hey, I resemble that remark.”
“Just for that, you get to buy me soda. Arguing with you makes me thirsty.”
Girls have no business being this manipulative. If only they didn’t look so irresistibly cute when they did…
Placated with her drink, Aoko dragged the boys onto a few rides, then suggested going to the Haunted House.
Kaito took one look at Riku’s expression and realized this would be a Bad Idea. The sole purpose behind a haunted house was to surprise, startle and scare-and even knowing he was home, and safe, Kaito still jumped at movement in the shadows and fought combat-honed instinct to keep from pulling his card gun. Riku’s instincts were likely even deeper ingrained.
The sound of flowing water attracted his attention, an ornamental fountain in the center of the plaza. The work of a moment brought him over outward-aimed water jets to the apex of wrought metal, still perfectly dry, and he grinned cheekily down at the earthbound trio.
“This has a nicer view!”
Aoko put her hands on her hips. “All of that water is being spouted out of fish, Kaito,” she announced, unusually serene.
Kaito’s grin froze. Very cautiously, he tilted his head further down to confirm that yes, he was perched directly above a ring of exquisitely detailed copper-green fish. Abandoning all ideas of avoiding the haunted house in favor of getting as far away from fish as possible, Kaito launched himself upward and outward, dropping lightly to the ground back into his friends’ company. He earned a surprised glance from Hakuba.
“Rejoining us so soon?”
“Oh, didn’t you know, Hakuba-kun?” Aoko laughed. Laughed. “Kaito’s horribly afraid of fish.”
Oh, no. No. You did not just tell Hakuba that.
Hakuba eyed Kaito speculatively. “Is he now?”
He’s going to do something at the heist tonight; he’s going to do something at the heist tonight…
Kaito mentally swore, but kept his grin pasted on. He was going to have to work ‘dealing with extremely unpleasant surprises’ into his contingency plans.
“Shall we go, Aoko-san?” Riku asked, saving Kaito from having to think of anything distracting to say. He still looked anxious about the prospect of the haunted house, and Kaito decided to return the favor. He sauntered ahead of the group, using every trick he knew to anticipate where the next scare would come from, and relentlessly spoiled every one, either with a trick of his own or a mere, “Hey, Riku, come look at this one!”
Aoko finally lost her temper at his purposeful obnoxiousness, storming past Kaito towards the exit. “Hmph! If you want me mad at you again, you got it!”
“Hey, Aoko…” Kaito hurried after her, still tripping all the supposed surprises along the way. Riku and Hakuba trailed after them. Once they reached sunshine again, Kaito saw from Riku’s faintly relieved expression and slight nod that the other boy knew and appreciated what he’d done.
He turned his attention to remedying Aoko’s volatile temper, missing Hakuba’s questioning glance dart between the two boys.
When they continued onward, a game booth grabbed Aoko’s attention.
“So cute!” She clasped her hands together, staring starry-eyed at the massive penguin displayed as the grand prize, then turned to Riku. “Please, Yuushi-san, will you win that for me?”
Riku raised his eyebrows. “Why ask me?”
“Because it’s a carnival game, and magicians would be good at that sort of thing, right? Kaito’s too much of a screw-up about stuff like this, but you’re part of the magic troupe and older so you’d be better at it, right?”
Riku looked startled, then shrugged and looked over the game, which required good enough aim to knock down five targets with as many throws to earn the grand prize. Kaito, though glaring good-naturedly at Aoko, paid the operator and Riku hefted one of the balls. After an embarrassing total miss for his first throw and a partial hit for the second, Riku paused, mentally recalculated, and proceeded to knock down the last three in rapid succession.
Aoko squealed over the medium-sized penguin Riku presented her with, beaming at the taller man. Kaito scoffed.
“Too easy.”
“If you could do better then why didn’t you play, hmm?”
“I’m a magician, not a game player!”
“I’ve seen your game playing, Kaito… it’s terrible.”
“Fine, I’ll show you what I mean.” Kaito looked around until a prize offered nearby caught his eye, and he bounded over to the game, a shooting challenge. Kaito paid, took the imitation gun, and fired away-to miss every single target.
Aoko turned to him in confusion, but he winked at her. Paying again, he narrowed his eyes, adjusted his stance… and won a grand prize. “You just have to figure you how they’re rigged,” he declared with a grin at Aoko’s astonishment. “…Or it could just be luck.”
When the proprietor moved to get down the huge stuffed figure, Kaito waved his hand. “I want to split it into four mini-prizes. It’s just a reversal of trade-ins, right?”
The man shrugged, silently handing over Kaito’s quarry: four plush dolls of the white-costumed Kaitou Kid, complete with hat and a button monocle. He gave one to Riku, pushed another into Aoko’s hands despite her protests, and paused as he realized Hakuba had disappeared into the crowd.
“Where’d he go?”
All three looked around briefly, without success, so Kaito did the next natural thing, finding a high place to look from. Of course, most people usually stood on a bench, not ten feet above the ground on the rounded dome of an old-fashioned lamplight. He shaded his eyes, letting his balance hold him steady on the uneven surface as he peered over the crowd. In this case, blond hair stood out amid the crowd like a beacon.
“Oi! Hakuba-kun! Get your rear back here, you’re not escaping that easily!” He shook his fist in the air, not caring that he was attracting attention. Any good magician enjoyed an audience. “If I have to suffer through this afternoon so do you!”
“Hey!” Aoko cried from below. “What are you calling suffering?”
Riku crossed his arms. “…Why am I with you people? Maybe Hakuba-san had the right idea…”
Kaito ignored them. “Oh, no you don’t. Hey, Hakuba-kun!” He raised his voice. “Stop pretending you can’t hear me! ”
Hakuba shrank down behind a hotdog cart, trying to look inconspicuous.
“I can still see you! Hey, can you guys over there tell the blond guy to get back here? ”
That finally earned a reaction from Hakuba, who seemed to have finally hit his limit. “Stop yelling at me in public, you’re making a scene! ”
“You’re yelling too! So get back over here! ”
“No! You’re a bloody nuisance! ”
“Well, you’re not doing any better! And you’re the one who agreed to this in the first place, so you are going to come over here, you are going to experience it with the rest of us, and you are going to like it! ”
Hakuba briefly buried his face in his hands, then slunk towards the group, trying not to look at anyone. Quite a lot of the crowd was staring at this point. Aoko had decided a glare was more appropriate. “Suffering through an amusement park, are you?”
Kaito flashed her a grin and hopped off the light pole. “It got him back, didn’t it?” Hakuba stalked up to them, glowering at Kaito. The magician laughed and tossed him the third Kid plushie, staying safely out of arm’s reach. “Here, Hakuba-kun. Now you can say you caught the Kid!”
Hakuba caught the doll reflexively, registered what he was holding, and opened his mouth to retort, but was interrupted by the arrival of park security. There was a moment of confusion as Aoko automatically looked to Riku to take charge and Hakuba followed her lead, and Kaito realized that he would have to play along as well. Given Riku's appearance and cover story, it would look odd if he tried to take charge himself, so he let himself fade back slightly rather than have to deal with a lot of awkward explanations. Riku glared at him upon suddenly finding himself at the front of the group in the apparent position of Responsible Adult, and Kaito offered a faint apologetic shrug in reply.
Riku seemed to decide against bringing the matter up while they were in public, because he turned to the newly arrived security guard and slid smoothly into the air of authority that he'd had to assume often enough on the other worlds. He was actually doing quite well right up until the guard asked to see his identification, and he discreetly froze. Given the variety of worlds they'd been through, Kaito doubted that he even knew what that consisted of here. Fortunately, Kaito himself was far better prepared, a habit without which he would never have made it this far.
Scratching his head sheepishly, he pulled out a wallet and handed it over to Riku.
“Sorry, looks like I have it.”
Riku took it without missing a beat, and pulled out a flawless ID with his picture. He handed it over without comment, but Kaito caught a glance that promised some sort of retribution in the future for sheer unpredictable behavior.
“What have I told you about practicing your pickpocket routine on me? Save if for the other magicians!”
“Hah! Thief!” Hakuba crowed, though with a surprisingly good-natured undertone.
“Magician, thank you,” he retorted.
“Sir, what is your relationship to these young people?”
“Er…” Riku opened and closed his mouth several times. “Babysitter?” he managed weakly.
“Chaperone,” Kaito chimed in easily. “Because Aoko’s father doesn’t want her spending the day alone with two boys.”
“And you did not prevent them from disturbing the peace because…?”
“I’m afraid they caught me off-guard,” Riku replied, giving Kaito a sufficiently forbidding expression. “It shouldn’t happen again.”
Aoko turned her most pleading face on the guard. “Please let us stay! We never go to places like this, and we’ve hardly been here any time at all.”
Kaito was pleased to see that he wasn’t the only one affected by Aoko’s mostly unconscious efforts at manipulation. The guard, a young man not much older than they were, sighed.
“Take this visit as a warning. Anything further and we’ll be forced to escort you from the park.”
“Oh, thank you!” After the security guard left, Aoko turned on Hakuba and Kaito. “You two. Behave!”
Riku put a hand on Kaito’s shoulder. “Why don’t you take that one, and I’ll take this one?”
Aoko smiled. “All right. Here, Hakuba-kun, as punishment you get to carry my Kid doll for me.”
“What? Two of them?”
As Aoko explained what Hakuba had missed, Riku turned to Kaito. “Why did you have a fake ID with my picture with you?”
“Because it seemed like a good idea to make one yesterday, in case something ever came up?”
Riku crossed his arms. “And why would you think something would come up that would require an ID for me?”
“Narrative causality?” Riku stared blankly at Kaito. “No, seriously,” Kaito continued as they trailed after Hakuba and Aoko, who had begun arguing amiably about the Kid again. “I know odds. Looking like you do, if you were going to spend time with us you would be considered the one in charge. Therefore, ID necessary.”
“The way your mind works is somewhat scary. And why didn’t you warn me about any of it?”
“Didn’t want to worry you if I was wrong?”
“Yuushi-san!” Both boys turned to see Aoko waving them over to a souvenir shop. They approached just in time to see Aoko buying a ridiculously bright-colored shirt with a jungle pattern, complete with monkeys and a few parrots. Once hers, she turned and held it out to Riku. “Because you won my penguin, and you’re from Brazil!”
Riku stared at the shirt in concealed horror, and Kaito barely restrained his laughter. At his hesitation Hakuba leveled a ‘Don’t you dare hurt her feelings’ glare at him, and Kaito decided to intervene.
He sidled up behind Riku and discreetly murmured, “If you make her sad, I’m telling Kairi-san on you.”
At the threat, Riku accepted the shirt with apparent good grace, but insisted on the day being too brisk for such short sleeves and thin fabric. This seemed to satisfy Aoko, and she hurried them all off towards another attraction.
“This is not incentive for me to ever take you to meet Sora or Kairi, you realize,” he said quietly, in English, to Kaito when the others weren’t paying attention.
Kaito grinned in response. “Trust me, I’ll find a way.”
“…How did you talk me into this again?”
“By showing you good sense, of course!”
“Oh, of course.”
The rest of the afternoon passed relatively smoothly. When they reached the roller coaster, Riku went through the line but flatly refused to get on when he saw the ride restraints. No amount of cajoling from Aoko could change his mind. Hakuba volunteered to wait with him at the exit, leaving Kaito and Aoko to ride together. As the train climbed to the first apex, Kaito remembered the last time he had rode on one: hanging on to the outside of a car in his Kid costume, trying to make it back from a heist before Aoko noticed he had disappeared from the dark movie theatre. He grinned at Aoko, who smiled back, and then they rushing down in semi-controlled freefall.
Had Kaito known of the conversation taking place below, he might have been tempted to leave a blowup doll in his place and eavesdrop instead. By the time they made it to the exit, Riku was staring thoughtfully at Hakuba, who waited calmly with his hands in his pockets.
“What’d we miss?” Kaito asked curiously.
“Nothing,” Hakuba replied, smug smile intact.
Aoko shook her head. “Boys. Come on, it’s getting late. I want to watch the sunset from the Ferris wheel before we go home!”
The massive wheel had semi-enclosed cars capable of carrying four people comfortably, with room to stand and move around. They piled into one just as setting sun turned the sky into a beautiful palette of colors. After a few cycles around, admiring the view, they stopped as passengers unloaded below.
“What’s that?” Riku suddenly asked, craning his neck to try and see around the wheel-spokes blocking from view whatever had caught his eye.
“What’s what?” Aoko replied.
“I’m not sure. Hm…” Before any of them could react, Riku swung himself gracefully out of the car and flipped onto the flat roof. “I was right, that is the ocean!”
Aoko stared up at the car’s ceiling, looking betrayed. “You’re as crazy as he is!”
Hakuba pinched the bridge of his nose, muttering quietly, “Oh, no…”
“Really? Where?” Kaito duplicated Riku’s move, crouching beside him. There was nothing to hang on to, but as Riku seemed to have equally perfect balance and no more fear of heights than he did, Kaito wasn’t worried.
“Oi, Hakuba-kun, come see the ocean! Hey… I think I can see your house from here!”
Hakuba didn’t deign to respond, but Kaito thought he heard a sotto voce mutter: “Yes, you would know.”
“Which one is it?” Riku asked, interested.
“The big smarmy mansion down that way, y’see?”
“Oh, yeah. Nice place, Hakuba-san!”
A yell from below attracted their attention, and they peered down at where the ride operator was gesticulating wildly.
“Whoops! Time to get back inside,” Kaito announced.
“Why was he doing that?” Riku asked as the ride rapidly descended.
“Truthfully? Because we both just broke park-ride rules, and they’re afraid if we somehow get hurt trying crazy stunts we’ll try to sue them anyway.”
“We what?!”
“Honestly, no one ever listens to safety warnings,” Hakuba sighed.
“But we weren’t about to fall,” Riku protested weakly.
“Ah, but they don’t know that.”
As they exited the ride, security arrived for the second time.
“You lot again?” It was the same guard as before, this time with a partner.
“Security guard-san! Fancy meeting you here,” Kaito began brightly. “How has your afternoon been?”
Riku tried to hide in the background, quite a feat for a man standing almost a head taller than the entire crowd. Kaito suspected that an embarrassed blush hid beneath his dark skin. Hakuba merely covered his eyes with a hand, and Aoko glowered at Kaito and Riku.
“Mostly? Containing you. We’ve reason to believe you also caused trouble around the haunted house, given your description and tendency for trouble.”
Kaito grinned cheerily. “So it’s been a good afternoon, then?”
“Possibly for some very rare definitions of ‘good’.”
“Now, Yuushi-san…” began his partner, an older man with a severe expression.
“Yes?”
“As you do not seem able to take responsibility for your own safety or the safety of those in your care, I’m afraid we must insist that you leave. And you, young man,” the older guard continued to Kaito, “have shown flagrant disregard for the rules of this park. You’re very lucky we aren’t banning you from returning.”
Kaito smiled, all innocence.
“Kaiiitooooo…” Aoko growled dangerously. She bowed deeply to the security guards. “Accept my sincerest apologies for my friends’ behavior, sirs. We were just going to be leaving anyway.”
Letting her previous respect for Riku’s elder status fall by the wayside, she hooked an arm through one of his and her other through one of Kaito’s, dragging them towards the nearby exit. Hakuba gave the two guards a helpless shrug as the three fell in step behind them. The guards ended their escort once they reached the edge of park grounds, leaving Aoko to give a lecture on behavior.
“Aww, Aoko, we were just having fun…”
She crossed her arms. “Hmph. You need to go home anyway, your mother should be home by now. Is it too much to hope you can stay out of trouble on a trip across town?”
“I’ve got an errand to do first, but we’ll be good! Scouts honor,” Kaito added with a mischievous grin.
Aoko blinked, confused. “What?”
“Another one of Kuroba-kun’s odd references to the United States, Aoko-kun,” Hakuba said wearily, and explained.
“Oh. Thank you, Hakuba-kun. I need to go, I promised Touchan that I’d be home for dinner. If you won’t be going back with us, I’ll see you tomorrow, Kaito. I’ll tell Touchan you’re back; he’ll be glad to hear you’re okay.”
“Sure, Aoko. Be sure to show him your Kid. You too, Hakuba-kun!”
“Oh, you.” Aoko made a face, but she hugged both penguin and Kid doll tightly. Hakuba smirked, tucking the doll inside his jacket.
“I’m sure the Kid is overjoyed to know that manufacturers are making a killing from merchandizing his likeness.”
“Well, it’s not like he can do much about it, is there? Come on, Riku-kun. See you!”
They parted ways, Hakuba and Aoko to the subway, and Riku and Kaito to the nearest place out of sight. A few steps through one of the dark corridors, and the two boys reappeared outside Kaito’s house.
Kaito bounded through the front door, enthusiastically greeting his mother and the prospect of dinner. She in turn challenged him to spend the intervening time between dinner and the heist relaxing rather than obsessing over last-minute details. Feeling slightly chastened for neglecting her since his return, Kaito agreed.
Both Kurobas laughed at Riku’s obvious surprise when she suggested poker. Once assured that she was serious, and a formidable player in her own right-after all, she and Kaito both learned to bluff from Toichi, who was a master card shark-Riku settled at the card table with a grin.
“I won’t feel like I have to go easy on you, then.”
“You wish.” Kaito grinned. “You’re going down.”
All things considered, Kaito would have done better if he hadn’t been so distracted by the looming prospect of fish.
~End Chapter Eight
- - - - -
Author: ocianne
Title: Promenade
Rating: T for violence and swearing
Disclaimers: Kingdom Hearts, Detective Conan, and Magic Kaitou all belong to much richer and more creative people than I.
Notes: See Chapter 8 Pt. 1. X-posted to ocianne
Previous Chapters: Chapter 1, Chapter 2, Chapter 3, Chapter 4, Chapter 5, Chapter 6, Chapter 7, Chapter 8 Pt. 1
- - - - -
Chapter Eight: Homecoming (Part 2)
- - - - -
By the time Saturday morning rolled around, Kaito could see Riku getting antsy. Since he felt reasonably sure of success-it helped that the ruby was being displayed in a museum he had previously infiltrated-Kaito felt justified in taking the rest of the day off.
They walked around town for a while, Kaito pointing out landmarks and his favorite hangouts and slowly gravitating towards his school. Riku blended well into the crowd in casual clothes, a newsboy cap, and amber-tinted sunglasses to disguise the orange-gold glow of his eyes. Kaito opted against wearing his school uniform to avoid accusations of skipping school. Of course, he technically was, but Kaito never let little details like that get in the way. When he said as much to Riku, the other boy laughed.
“You’re insane.”
“I prefer the term reality-challenged, thank you very much. It’s easier change reality when you see what else could be there instead.”
“And you’re good at seeing what isn’t there?”
“Why, it’s a core part of being a magician-your audience can only see what you choose to show them. I’m surprised more people don’t do the same, really.”
“You’re still crazy.”
“I never said I wasn’t!” Kaito grinned unrepentantly.
Impeccable sense of timing intact, they showed up just as the bell signaled the end of the school’s half-day study session. Soon students streamed past them, groups chattering and laughing as they made plans for the afternoon. They waited beside the entrance to the campus, chatting casually, waiting for the inevitable.
Sure enough, Aoko, Hakuba and Akako appeared among a knot of other students, Hakuba and Aoko bickering good-naturedly over the Kaitou Kid’s heist, and whether Hakuba or Aoko’s father would manage to catch the thief first. Akako walked along with a faint smile on her face, watching them. They were so intent on arguing that they had passed him by completely before Akako paused, and turned, dark eyes wide.
“Kuroba-kun?”
I seem to be getting that a lot.
Any further thoughts were interrupted by Aoko’s shriek, and she instantly set about hugging him so hard that he was absolutely certain she’d bruised a few ribs.
“You idiot! Inconsiderate jerk! Going off without warning, no calls or letters or anything to let us know you were okay…” She sniffled ominously.
“Gah! Aoko, no, don’t cry.” Unable to think of anything else to do, he conjured a white rosebud and tucked its thornless stem behind her ear. He could practically feel Riku’s surprised gaze on him at that, but he did indeed carry the necessary elements for several magic tricks at all times. “I’m fine, all right? I’ve just been busy with shows and all.”
Aoko blushed and let go of him, looking down at her feet. Akako raised an eyebrow, less than convinced, while Hakuba looked on with a remarkably unreadable expression. Kaito eyed him, surprised that no outburst or accusation was forthcoming. Hakuba generally didn’t just stand and watch him in silence. Hakuba… had just handcuffed his left hand to the bicycle rack he’d been standing beside.
“You are staying put until I get a satisfactory answer for why you up and vanished without telling us and made your classmates worry both before and after your little telegram.”
Kaito blinked innocently, trying to reach more familiar ground. “You were worried about me? Aww, I didn’t know you cared!”
“Hmph. Only about what you could possibly getting up to, if that’s what you mean, but Aoko-kun and-” Hakuba stopped abruptly, registering exactly what Kaito was now playing with in his hands. “And I expect those back from you reassembled and in working order by the end of the afternoon.”
“Planning to use them on Kid? Hey, are these a new style? I thought the spring was a little tougher than usual.” Kaito brought the handful of curved metal and chain closer to his eyes, surreptitiously watching Hakuba pinch the bridge of his nose, the blond boy’s ‘tell’ for when Kaito’s antics were having an effect.
I’d almost forgotten how much I’ve missed this. Too easy…
He decided to play nice for once, and answer Hakuba. “Well, like I told the school, I’ve been working with other magicians and performing here and there, mostly around different parts of Japan. When word of the heist got out, though, I got an absence of leave to be home for it.”
The best part was, it was almost entirely true. Except for the magicians bit, but Riku had magic, so it could count…
True to form, Aoko glowered at mention of the thief, Akako narrowed her eyes, and Hakuba seemed to mentally scrutinizing his excuse before giving Kaito a silent look of frank disbelief.
Well, not like I expected him to trust anything I say in regards to the Kid, anyway…
“Hey, I have proof!” He grabbed Riku by the arm and dragged him into the spotlight. “I brought him home with me.” He gave a summary of Riku’s fabricated background, ignoring Riku’s frozen expression upon being shown off like a souvenir, then continued: “Riku, meet the most dedicated Kid-chasers of Japan outside of the official Kid Task Force.”
Once Kaito had introduced the trio with slightly more detail, Riku bowed politely. “A pleasure to meet you. It’s a wonder you put up with such an enthusiastic fan.”
“Oh, this idiot and I grew up together. I’m pretty much stuck with him.” Aoko sniffed disdainfully, turning her head up and away.
“And there’s so much more to him than a simple fan of Kid,” Akako added with an enigmatic smile.
Hakuba didn’t respond, evaluating Riku instead. “Aspiring magician, are you?”
Kaito watched Hakuba warily as Riku nodded.
“What sort of tricks do you have up your sleeve, then?”
Kaito hid a grimace behind a poker-face grin. He knew he’d forgotten something in the past few days, but he’d been too busy planning the heist to remember his promise to teach Riku some simple magic tricks. He glanced up at Riku, unable to say anything with their audience present.
“Well, I don’t know much, since I’m more an aspiring gopher, but I do have one trick I’m fairly proud of.” A snap of his fingers conjured a flash of dark fire above his hand, there and gone in an instant. “I’m rather fond of fire. If I ever become good enough, I’d like to create a show around it.”
Hakuba seemed slightly mollified, but still suspicious, while Akako gave Riku an intrigued look. Kaito glanced sidelong at the self-proclaimed magic user.
Damn. She probably knows that he didn’t do that by sleight of hand.
Aoko saved them from any increasing awkwardness. “Kaito, when did you get back? Have you seen your mother yet? She’s been worried sick about you, and she said yesterday she still hadn’t heard anything from you!”
“We just got in, and Kaasans’s working today.”
Aoko put her hands on her hips. “Fine, then. You spend the afternoon with us, today, and then go home to spend the evening with her. No excuses!”
Kaito saluted. “Ma’am, yes ma’am!”
“Hey!” Aoko laughed, smacking him lightly on the arm.
“I’m afraid I’ll have to bow out,” Akako announced. “I’ve some things to do at home that can’t wait.”
“Are you sure, Akako-chan? Just for a while?”
“Not this time. I’m sure Kuroba-kun won’t run off by tomorrow. Will you?”
“Er, no…” Kaito never felt comfortable when Akako turned her full attention on him. He always felt vaguely like a piece of meat. It didn’t help that he suspected she was going home in order to use her own vaunted magic to investigate Riku’s powers.
“Well, then, enjoy your afternoon together.” Sparing one last look to share between Riku and Kaito, she drifted off into the thinning pack of students.
“You’ll come, won’t you, Hakuba-kun?” Aoko asked hurriedly.
“I wouldn’t dream of being anywhere else, Aoko-kun.” His words felt unusually serious, at least until he smiled. The smile could have been stolen from a shark.
Translation: You’re hoping to keep an eye on me for evidence of my being the Kid, or prevent me from any last-minute preparations for tonight’s heist. Tough luck, Hakuba-kun.
Because the way Kaito had disappeared had been so mean, and he’d supposedly been making money the whole time, Aoko demanded Kaito treat her to an amusement park. Surprised both by the request and by her vehemence, Kaito agreed almost automatically. He paid for Riku’s ticket as well, though Hakuba calmly insisted on buying his own.
They wandered around for a while at first, the boys following Aoko’s undisputed lead. Conversation continued to revolve around the Kid heist, and she seemed determined to drag Riku into the argument, asking his opinion or confirmation repeatedly. She seemed to think that because he was Kaito’s senior in the magic troupe, he might have some kind of authority over Kaito, because at one point she demanded, “Yuushi-san, tell Kaito it’s true that Kid’s thieving hurts people!”
Startled, Riku looked between Kaito and Aoko, unsure how to respond to such an accusation towards Kaito’s alter ego. After a moment, he came to a decision and smirked slightly, pushing his up his sunglasses. “Aoko-san, Kaito-kun doesn’t listen to me, either.”
Aoko pouted. “Well, he should! He doesn’t listen to anyone.”
“Hey, I resemble that remark.”
“Just for that, you get to buy me soda. Arguing with you makes me thirsty.”
Girls have no business being this manipulative. If only they didn’t look so irresistibly cute when they did…
Placated with her drink, Aoko dragged the boys onto a few rides, then suggested going to the Haunted House.
Kaito took one look at Riku’s expression and realized this would be a Bad Idea. The sole purpose behind a haunted house was to surprise, startle and scare-and even knowing he was home, and safe, Kaito still jumped at movement in the shadows and fought combat-honed instinct to keep from pulling his card gun. Riku’s instincts were likely even deeper ingrained.
The sound of flowing water attracted his attention, an ornamental fountain in the center of the plaza. The work of a moment brought him over outward-aimed water jets to the apex of wrought metal, still perfectly dry, and he grinned cheekily down at the earthbound trio.
“This has a nicer view!”
Aoko put her hands on her hips. “All of that water is being spouted out of fish, Kaito,” she announced, unusually serene.
Kaito’s grin froze. Very cautiously, he tilted his head further down to confirm that yes, he was perched directly above a ring of exquisitely detailed copper-green fish. Abandoning all ideas of avoiding the haunted house in favor of getting as far away from fish as possible, Kaito launched himself upward and outward, dropping lightly to the ground back into his friends’ company. He earned a surprised glance from Hakuba.
“Rejoining us so soon?”
“Oh, didn’t you know, Hakuba-kun?” Aoko laughed. Laughed. “Kaito’s horribly afraid of fish.”
Oh, no. No. You did not just tell Hakuba that.
Hakuba eyed Kaito speculatively. “Is he now?”
He’s going to do something at the heist tonight; he’s going to do something at the heist tonight…
Kaito mentally swore, but kept his grin pasted on. He was going to have to work ‘dealing with extremely unpleasant surprises’ into his contingency plans.
“Shall we go, Aoko-san?” Riku asked, saving Kaito from having to think of anything distracting to say. He still looked anxious about the prospect of the haunted house, and Kaito decided to return the favor. He sauntered ahead of the group, using every trick he knew to anticipate where the next scare would come from, and relentlessly spoiled every one, either with a trick of his own or a mere, “Hey, Riku, come look at this one!”
Aoko finally lost her temper at his purposeful obnoxiousness, storming past Kaito towards the exit. “Hmph! If you want me mad at you again, you got it!”
“Hey, Aoko…” Kaito hurried after her, still tripping all the supposed surprises along the way. Riku and Hakuba trailed after them. Once they reached sunshine again, Kaito saw from Riku’s faintly relieved expression and slight nod that the other boy knew and appreciated what he’d done.
He turned his attention to remedying Aoko’s volatile temper, missing Hakuba’s questioning glance dart between the two boys.
When they continued onward, a game booth grabbed Aoko’s attention.
“So cute!” She clasped her hands together, staring starry-eyed at the massive penguin displayed as the grand prize, then turned to Riku. “Please, Yuushi-san, will you win that for me?”
Riku raised his eyebrows. “Why ask me?”
“Because it’s a carnival game, and magicians would be good at that sort of thing, right? Kaito’s too much of a screw-up about stuff like this, but you’re part of the magic troupe and older so you’d be better at it, right?”
Riku looked startled, then shrugged and looked over the game, which required good enough aim to knock down five targets with as many throws to earn the grand prize. Kaito, though glaring good-naturedly at Aoko, paid the operator and Riku hefted one of the balls. After an embarrassing total miss for his first throw and a partial hit for the second, Riku paused, mentally recalculated, and proceeded to knock down the last three in rapid succession.
Aoko squealed over the medium-sized penguin Riku presented her with, beaming at the taller man. Kaito scoffed.
“Too easy.”
“If you could do better then why didn’t you play, hmm?”
“I’m a magician, not a game player!”
“I’ve seen your game playing, Kaito… it’s terrible.”
“Fine, I’ll show you what I mean.” Kaito looked around until a prize offered nearby caught his eye, and he bounded over to the game, a shooting challenge. Kaito paid, took the imitation gun, and fired away-to miss every single target.
Aoko turned to him in confusion, but he winked at her. Paying again, he narrowed his eyes, adjusted his stance… and won a grand prize. “You just have to figure you how they’re rigged,” he declared with a grin at Aoko’s astonishment. “…Or it could just be luck.”
When the proprietor moved to get down the huge stuffed figure, Kaito waved his hand. “I want to split it into four mini-prizes. It’s just a reversal of trade-ins, right?”
The man shrugged, silently handing over Kaito’s quarry: four plush dolls of the white-costumed Kaitou Kid, complete with hat and a button monocle. He gave one to Riku, pushed another into Aoko’s hands despite her protests, and paused as he realized Hakuba had disappeared into the crowd.
“Where’d he go?”
All three looked around briefly, without success, so Kaito did the next natural thing, finding a high place to look from. Of course, most people usually stood on a bench, not ten feet above the ground on the rounded dome of an old-fashioned lamplight. He shaded his eyes, letting his balance hold him steady on the uneven surface as he peered over the crowd. In this case, blond hair stood out amid the crowd like a beacon.
“Oi! Hakuba-kun! Get your rear back here, you’re not escaping that easily!” He shook his fist in the air, not caring that he was attracting attention. Any good magician enjoyed an audience. “If I have to suffer through this afternoon so do you!”
“Hey!” Aoko cried from below. “What are you calling suffering?”
Riku crossed his arms. “…Why am I with you people? Maybe Hakuba-san had the right idea…”
Kaito ignored them. “Oh, no you don’t. Hey, Hakuba-kun!” He raised his voice. “Stop pretending you can’t hear me! ”
Hakuba shrank down behind a hotdog cart, trying to look inconspicuous.
“I can still see you! Hey, can you guys over there tell the blond guy to get back here? ”
That finally earned a reaction from Hakuba, who seemed to have finally hit his limit. “Stop yelling at me in public, you’re making a scene! ”
“You’re yelling too! So get back over here! ”
“No! You’re a bloody nuisance! ”
“Well, you’re not doing any better! And you’re the one who agreed to this in the first place, so you are going to come over here, you are going to experience it with the rest of us, and you are going to like it! ”
Hakuba briefly buried his face in his hands, then slunk towards the group, trying not to look at anyone. Quite a lot of the crowd was staring at this point. Aoko had decided a glare was more appropriate. “Suffering through an amusement park, are you?”
Kaito flashed her a grin and hopped off the light pole. “It got him back, didn’t it?” Hakuba stalked up to them, glowering at Kaito. The magician laughed and tossed him the third Kid plushie, staying safely out of arm’s reach. “Here, Hakuba-kun. Now you can say you caught the Kid!”
Hakuba caught the doll reflexively, registered what he was holding, and opened his mouth to retort, but was interrupted by the arrival of park security. There was a moment of confusion as Aoko automatically looked to Riku to take charge and Hakuba followed her lead, and Kaito realized that he would have to play along as well. Given Riku's appearance and cover story, it would look odd if he tried to take charge himself, so he let himself fade back slightly rather than have to deal with a lot of awkward explanations. Riku glared at him upon suddenly finding himself at the front of the group in the apparent position of Responsible Adult, and Kaito offered a faint apologetic shrug in reply.
Riku seemed to decide against bringing the matter up while they were in public, because he turned to the newly arrived security guard and slid smoothly into the air of authority that he'd had to assume often enough on the other worlds. He was actually doing quite well right up until the guard asked to see his identification, and he discreetly froze. Given the variety of worlds they'd been through, Kaito doubted that he even knew what that consisted of here. Fortunately, Kaito himself was far better prepared, a habit without which he would never have made it this far.
Scratching his head sheepishly, he pulled out a wallet and handed it over to Riku.
“Sorry, looks like I have it.”
Riku took it without missing a beat, and pulled out a flawless ID with his picture. He handed it over without comment, but Kaito caught a glance that promised some sort of retribution in the future for sheer unpredictable behavior.
“What have I told you about practicing your pickpocket routine on me? Save if for the other magicians!”
“Hah! Thief!” Hakuba crowed, though with a surprisingly good-natured undertone.
“Magician, thank you,” he retorted.
“Sir, what is your relationship to these young people?”
“Er…” Riku opened and closed his mouth several times. “Babysitter?” he managed weakly.
“Chaperone,” Kaito chimed in easily. “Because Aoko’s father doesn’t want her spending the day alone with two boys.”
“And you did not prevent them from disturbing the peace because…?”
“I’m afraid they caught me off-guard,” Riku replied, giving Kaito a sufficiently forbidding expression. “It shouldn’t happen again.”
Aoko turned her most pleading face on the guard. “Please let us stay! We never go to places like this, and we’ve hardly been here any time at all.”
Kaito was pleased to see that he wasn’t the only one affected by Aoko’s mostly unconscious efforts at manipulation. The guard, a young man not much older than they were, sighed.
“Take this visit as a warning. Anything further and we’ll be forced to escort you from the park.”
“Oh, thank you!” After the security guard left, Aoko turned on Hakuba and Kaito. “You two. Behave!”
Riku put a hand on Kaito’s shoulder. “Why don’t you take that one, and I’ll take this one?”
Aoko smiled. “All right. Here, Hakuba-kun, as punishment you get to carry my Kid doll for me.”
“What? Two of them?”
As Aoko explained what Hakuba had missed, Riku turned to Kaito. “Why did you have a fake ID with my picture with you?”
“Because it seemed like a good idea to make one yesterday, in case something ever came up?”
Riku crossed his arms. “And why would you think something would come up that would require an ID for me?”
“Narrative causality?” Riku stared blankly at Kaito. “No, seriously,” Kaito continued as they trailed after Hakuba and Aoko, who had begun arguing amiably about the Kid again. “I know odds. Looking like you do, if you were going to spend time with us you would be considered the one in charge. Therefore, ID necessary.”
“The way your mind works is somewhat scary. And why didn’t you warn me about any of it?”
“Didn’t want to worry you if I was wrong?”
“Yuushi-san!” Both boys turned to see Aoko waving them over to a souvenir shop. They approached just in time to see Aoko buying a ridiculously bright-colored shirt with a jungle pattern, complete with monkeys and a few parrots. Once hers, she turned and held it out to Riku. “Because you won my penguin, and you’re from Brazil!”
Riku stared at the shirt in concealed horror, and Kaito barely restrained his laughter. At his hesitation Hakuba leveled a ‘Don’t you dare hurt her feelings’ glare at him, and Kaito decided to intervene.
He sidled up behind Riku and discreetly murmured, “If you make her sad, I’m telling Kairi-san on you.”
At the threat, Riku accepted the shirt with apparent good grace, but insisted on the day being too brisk for such short sleeves and thin fabric. This seemed to satisfy Aoko, and she hurried them all off towards another attraction.
“This is not incentive for me to ever take you to meet Sora or Kairi, you realize,” he said quietly, in English, to Kaito when the others weren’t paying attention.
Kaito grinned in response. “Trust me, I’ll find a way.”
“…How did you talk me into this again?”
“By showing you good sense, of course!”
“Oh, of course.”
The rest of the afternoon passed relatively smoothly. When they reached the roller coaster, Riku went through the line but flatly refused to get on when he saw the ride restraints. No amount of cajoling from Aoko could change his mind. Hakuba volunteered to wait with him at the exit, leaving Kaito and Aoko to ride together. As the train climbed to the first apex, Kaito remembered the last time he had rode on one: hanging on to the outside of a car in his Kid costume, trying to make it back from a heist before Aoko noticed he had disappeared from the dark movie theatre. He grinned at Aoko, who smiled back, and then they rushing down in semi-controlled freefall.
Had Kaito known of the conversation taking place below, he might have been tempted to leave a blowup doll in his place and eavesdrop instead. By the time they made it to the exit, Riku was staring thoughtfully at Hakuba, who waited calmly with his hands in his pockets.
“What’d we miss?” Kaito asked curiously.
“Nothing,” Hakuba replied, smug smile intact.
Aoko shook her head. “Boys. Come on, it’s getting late. I want to watch the sunset from the Ferris wheel before we go home!”
The massive wheel had semi-enclosed cars capable of carrying four people comfortably, with room to stand and move around. They piled into one just as setting sun turned the sky into a beautiful palette of colors. After a few cycles around, admiring the view, they stopped as passengers unloaded below.
“What’s that?” Riku suddenly asked, craning his neck to try and see around the wheel-spokes blocking from view whatever had caught his eye.
“What’s what?” Aoko replied.
“I’m not sure. Hm…” Before any of them could react, Riku swung himself gracefully out of the car and flipped onto the flat roof. “I was right, that is the ocean!”
Aoko stared up at the car’s ceiling, looking betrayed. “You’re as crazy as he is!”
Hakuba pinched the bridge of his nose, muttering quietly, “Oh, no…”
“Really? Where?” Kaito duplicated Riku’s move, crouching beside him. There was nothing to hang on to, but as Riku seemed to have equally perfect balance and no more fear of heights than he did, Kaito wasn’t worried.
“Oi, Hakuba-kun, come see the ocean! Hey… I think I can see your house from here!”
Hakuba didn’t deign to respond, but Kaito thought he heard a sotto voce mutter: “Yes, you would know.”
“Which one is it?” Riku asked, interested.
“The big smarmy mansion down that way, y’see?”
“Oh, yeah. Nice place, Hakuba-san!”
A yell from below attracted their attention, and they peered down at where the ride operator was gesticulating wildly.
“Whoops! Time to get back inside,” Kaito announced.
“Why was he doing that?” Riku asked as the ride rapidly descended.
“Truthfully? Because we both just broke park-ride rules, and they’re afraid if we somehow get hurt trying crazy stunts we’ll try to sue them anyway.”
“We what?!”
“Honestly, no one ever listens to safety warnings,” Hakuba sighed.
“But we weren’t about to fall,” Riku protested weakly.
“Ah, but they don’t know that.”
As they exited the ride, security arrived for the second time.
“You lot again?” It was the same guard as before, this time with a partner.
“Security guard-san! Fancy meeting you here,” Kaito began brightly. “How has your afternoon been?”
Riku tried to hide in the background, quite a feat for a man standing almost a head taller than the entire crowd. Kaito suspected that an embarrassed blush hid beneath his dark skin. Hakuba merely covered his eyes with a hand, and Aoko glowered at Kaito and Riku.
“Mostly? Containing you. We’ve reason to believe you also caused trouble around the haunted house, given your description and tendency for trouble.”
Kaito grinned cheerily. “So it’s been a good afternoon, then?”
“Possibly for some very rare definitions of ‘good’.”
“Now, Yuushi-san…” began his partner, an older man with a severe expression.
“Yes?”
“As you do not seem able to take responsibility for your own safety or the safety of those in your care, I’m afraid we must insist that you leave. And you, young man,” the older guard continued to Kaito, “have shown flagrant disregard for the rules of this park. You’re very lucky we aren’t banning you from returning.”
Kaito smiled, all innocence.
“Kaiiitooooo…” Aoko growled dangerously. She bowed deeply to the security guards. “Accept my sincerest apologies for my friends’ behavior, sirs. We were just going to be leaving anyway.”
Letting her previous respect for Riku’s elder status fall by the wayside, she hooked an arm through one of his and her other through one of Kaito’s, dragging them towards the nearby exit. Hakuba gave the two guards a helpless shrug as the three fell in step behind them. The guards ended their escort once they reached the edge of park grounds, leaving Aoko to give a lecture on behavior.
“Aww, Aoko, we were just having fun…”
She crossed her arms. “Hmph. You need to go home anyway, your mother should be home by now. Is it too much to hope you can stay out of trouble on a trip across town?”
“I’ve got an errand to do first, but we’ll be good! Scouts honor,” Kaito added with a mischievous grin.
Aoko blinked, confused. “What?”
“Another one of Kuroba-kun’s odd references to the United States, Aoko-kun,” Hakuba said wearily, and explained.
“Oh. Thank you, Hakuba-kun. I need to go, I promised Touchan that I’d be home for dinner. If you won’t be going back with us, I’ll see you tomorrow, Kaito. I’ll tell Touchan you’re back; he’ll be glad to hear you’re okay.”
“Sure, Aoko. Be sure to show him your Kid. You too, Hakuba-kun!”
“Oh, you.” Aoko made a face, but she hugged both penguin and Kid doll tightly. Hakuba smirked, tucking the doll inside his jacket.
“I’m sure the Kid is overjoyed to know that manufacturers are making a killing from merchandizing his likeness.”
“Well, it’s not like he can do much about it, is there? Come on, Riku-kun. See you!”
They parted ways, Hakuba and Aoko to the subway, and Riku and Kaito to the nearest place out of sight. A few steps through one of the dark corridors, and the two boys reappeared outside Kaito’s house.
Kaito bounded through the front door, enthusiastically greeting his mother and the prospect of dinner. She in turn challenged him to spend the intervening time between dinner and the heist relaxing rather than obsessing over last-minute details. Feeling slightly chastened for neglecting her since his return, Kaito agreed.
Both Kurobas laughed at Riku’s obvious surprise when she suggested poker. Once assured that she was serious, and a formidable player in her own right-after all, she and Kaito both learned to bluff from Toichi, who was a master card shark-Riku settled at the card table with a grin.
“I won’t feel like I have to go easy on you, then.”
“You wish.” Kaito grinned. “You’re going down.”
All things considered, Kaito would have done better if he hadn’t been so distracted by the looming prospect of fish.
~End Chapter Eight
- - - - -